John Colter: His Years in the Rockies [Paperback]

Burton Harris (Author), David Lavender (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1993

John Colter was a crack hunter with the Lewis and Clark expedition before striking out on his own as a mountain man and fur trader. A solitary journey in the winter of 1807-8 took him into present-day Wyoming. To unbelieving trappers he later reported sights that inspired the name of Colter's Hell. It was a sulfurous place of hidden fires, smoking pits, and shooting water. And it was real. John Colter is known to history as probably the first white man to discover the region that now includes Yellowstone National Park. In a classic book, first published in 1952, Burton Harris weighs the facts and legends about a man who was dogged by misfortune and "robbed of the just rewards he had earned."

This Bison Book edition includes a 1977 addendum by the author and a new introduction by David Lavender, who considers Colter's remarkable winter journey in the light of current scholarship. 

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Because John Colter was the first white man to see the wonders which thousands nowadays visit each year in the Yellowstone, his story has historical importance of the first order."—San Francisco Chronicle

(San Francisco Chronicle )

"The first full-blown account by one who is thoroughly familiar with the intricate geography of the country [that Colter] explored and who is capable of distinguishing between facts and guesswork. . . . [A] solid contribution which is not likely to be superseded in our time."—Journal of American History

(Journal of American History )

About the Author

David Lavender is the author of Bent's Fort, One Man's West, Westward Vision: The Story of the Oregon Trail, and California: Land of New Beginnings, also available as Bison Books.

Product Details

• Paperback: 184 pages
• Publisher: Bison Books (March 1, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0803272642
• ISBN-13: 978-0803272644
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #495,477 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absorbing..., January 5, 2001

By 

William J Higgins III (Laramie, Wyoming United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Colter: His Years in the Rockies (Paperback)

Yellowstone...Colter's Hell...geysers...Indians.... I found this book a total pleasure to read. Couldn't put it down! Although it is true that Colter's life was somewhat obscure by a lack of more historical documentation, Harris does an exemplary piece of work with what there is to work with. Citing such references as William Clark, Thomas James, Brackenridge, Bradbury and others, Harris does make a justifiable attempt to back up his story. Required reading for those into this time period of the early American West when mountain men roamed the wide open spaces, high mountain valleys and peaks. It must have been a tough, but very rewarding way of life...if you survived the perils and hardships of that day.

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Obscure John Colter, September 26, 2005

By 

Eric Vondy "Eric Vondy" (Phoenix) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Colter: His Years in the Rockies (Paperback)

John Colter was a member of the Louis and Clark expedition who ventured off with fur trappers. One winter he allegedly traipsed around Montana and Wyoming and discovered Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. Little is known of Colter. He left no journals so most of what is known of him is second hand at best and thus whether he actually found what he's credited with discovering is questionable. Harris clearly believes he did discover Yellowstone although some of his evidence is very questionable.

This book is an entertaining and fast read. Read it with a grain of salt as little is know about the Colter. Make sure to read the introduction as it corrects some important errors in Harris's book. I disagree with the reviewer who says this book is a waste of time. It isn't. This is an ambitious work about an important explorer about whom next to nothing is known. There are no historic documents to source other than the ones Harris used. By default half of what he says has to be speculation.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars John Colter, October 28, 2006

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Colter: His Years in the Rockies (Paperback)

John Colter was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting primarily as a hunter (Clark praised his prowess in bringing in game). Before the expedition returned home to St. Louis, he was relieved of his duties whereby he joined two trappers heading to the Rockies. After a year trapping the headwaters of the Missouri, Colter left his partners and rafted down the river; but again before reaching civilization he encountered Manuel Lisa and returned once again to the Rockies to trap and trade with the Indians. It was while the party wintered on the Big Horn River that Colter undertook an "epic winter journey" over the Tetons and into Yellowstone Park (the first white man recorded by history to do so) and finally over to the hot springs and hot tar pits (since known as "Colter's Hell") along the Shoshone River (now mainly under Buffalo Bill Reservoir near Cody). Harris spends a good deal of space plotting and attempting to detail Colter's route during that winter trek, for getting over the Rockies in winter (in 1807-08 no less) is no mean feat. Colter must have had a high tolerance for discomfort and hard living because after this ordeal he had numerous run-ins with the Blackfeet, once being wounded, another time being captured, stripped, and forced to run for his life, which he did successfully, making his way 250 miles to Ft. Lisa on the Big Horn in 11 days. Even after this he returned to the Three Forks (Blackfeet) area TWICE (each time getting attacked by the Indians) before finally calling it quits and settling just west of St. Louis where he died in 1813.

Harris's book is probably the definitive book on Colter, despite its 1952 publication date (in 1977 he added a chapter with updated information which doesn't add to or change much of the original work). It is historically detailed and soundly written and is a superb account of Colter's life and adventures. Highly recommended.