Frank Thompson vividly recalls his experiences in gold-rush era Montana, where sought his fortune, served in the first territorial legislature, and met some of the territory's most notorious road agents.
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Frank Thompson's lively memoir details his experiences in the upper Missouri country at the beginning of the Montana gold rush. A young man at the outset of the Civil War, Thompson supported the Union cause but realized that military life was not for him. Turning to the frontier, he headed west aboard a steamboat from St. Louis in 1862, arriving at Fort Benton, in what would later become Montana Territory.
Thompson's sojourn was relatively brief - he returned east after only two and a half years. But in that time he hunted for gold, ran a Bannack mercantile business, traveled to the Pacific Coast and back, served in Montana's first territorial legislature, and became a speculator in mining properties.
Thompson also formed a relationship with controversial sheriff Henry Plummer. Thompson knew the sheriff well, but he early stated his dark suspicions about the gold camp lawman. Drawing from his intimate knowledge of the circumstances and players involved, Thompson vividly describes one of the deadliest incident's of vigilante justice in U.S. history.
A self-styled tenderfoot, Frank Thompson recalls his days on the mining frontier with clarity and insight, making him an unmatched eyewitness for Montana's formative era.
Thompson's sojourn was relatively brief - he returned east after only two and a half years. But in that time he hunted for gold, ran a Bannack mercantile business, traveled to the Pacific Coast and back, served in Montana's first territorial legislature, and became a speculator in mining properties.
Thompson also formed a relationship with controversial sheriff Henry Plummer. Thompson knew the sheriff well, but he early stated his dark suspicions about the gold camp lawman. Drawing from his intimate knowledge of the circumstances and players involved, Thompson vividly describes one of the deadliest incident's of vigilante justice in U.S. history.
A self-styled tenderfoot, Frank Thompson recalls his days on the mining frontier with clarity and insight, making him an unmatched eyewitness for Montana's formative era.
About the Author
A specialist in western history, Ken Owens is also the editor of Perilous Passage: A Narrative of the Montana Gold Rush by Edwin Ruthven Purple (Montana Historical Society Press, 1995). Having retired from California State University, Sacramento, he now spends his time with his wife Sally in Washington state, northern California, and traveling throughout the West in search of historical documents and willing trout.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A welcome and informative contribution,
By Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: A Tenderfoot in Montana: Reminiscences of the Gold Rush, the Vigilantes, and the Birth of Montana Territory (Paperback)
Aptly edited and with an informative introduction for contemporary readers by Kenneth N. Owens, A Tenderfoot In Montana: Reminiscences Of The God Rush, The Vigilantes, And The Birth Of Montana Territory is Frank Thompson's autobiography detailing his experiences in the upper Missouri country at the beginning of the Montana gold rush. Avoiding the Civil War, Thompson had headed west aboard a steamboat from St. Louis in 1862, arriving at Fort Benton (in what would eventually become the Montana Territory) and lived their for two and a half years searching for gold, running a Bannack mercantile business, traveling to the Pacific Coast, serving in Montana's first territorial legislature, and speculating in mining properties. Having a relationship with sheriff Henry Plummer, Thompson draws upon his intimate personal knowledge of one of the deadliest incidents of vigilante justice in American frontier history. A Tenderfoot In Montana is a welcome and informative contribution to 19th Century American Western History Studies collections and highly recommended reading for anyone with an interest in how the Montana Territory developed during the mid-1860s.
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