Journal of a Trapper

"We butchered him, as he was very fat, packed the meat and skin on our horses and returned to the fort with the trophies of our bravery, but I secretly determined in my own mind never to molest another wounded grizzly bear in a marsh or thicket.” The flavor of what it means to be a trapper and an ico......more

Osborne Russell's journal is a fascinating read. The edition I read kept his original spelling and punctuation which made it difficult at times. No paragraphs and no periods! Often the reader enters the doldrums of the author's record keeping of navigation and geographic sightings as in "I traveled......more

Interesting read I liked it for the most part, but there were huge sections of just dates, miles, and directions with no real narrative. It would probably be more fulfilling with a map to follow. The actual narrative accounts were fascinating, and when he took the time to add his thoughts and impress......more

Russell cannot be reasonable charged with embellishment. Right from the get-go he recounts shooting a male buffalo literally dozens of times, and was unable to kill him and then going into a thicket after a wounded bear and narrowly avoids being mauled. More than one time the local Indian tribe leav......more

It's not a highly polished novel or memoir, but does provide great first hand insight into the early days of white people being in The Rockies.......more