The Men and the Mountain: Frémont's Fourth ExpeditionThe the deliberate intent of tackling the mountains in winter, William Brandon set out with thirty-five men, among them Alexis Godey and Old Bill Williams of mountain-men fame, and a hundred mules. On all sides the warnings were sharply insistent that this winter of 1848 would be one of the worst in history, and before the men came to the mountain, they had evidence of its brutal fury. The story of the ascent, when the men were bolstered by the conviction that they were marching hand in hand with History, and the descent, when they were dogged by defeat and its handmaidens of starvation and panic, contribute a revealing chapter to the study of human nature. Mr. Brandon is neither for nor against the questionable decisions made by Fremont. Instead, he gives a fresh interpretation of the record in vivid, documentary style. It's a controversial book, and one that should not be missed by anyone interested in the opening of the West. |
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ahead animals Antoine Leroux baggage Bent's Bent's Fort Big Timbers Bill Williams blankets boys Breckenridge buffalo Cali California California Battalion camp cañon Captain Carnero Pass Carson Cathcart Charles Preuss Cochetopa Pass cold Colorado command court-martial Creutzfeldt crossing Dick Kern Doc Kern exploration feet fire Fitzpatrick fornia fourth expedition Fré Frémont wrote Godey Hardscrabble Henry King horses hunter hunting Huntington Library Indians Jessie Kearny Kearny's killed King Kit Carson later Leroux letter lived Louis McGehee Mexican Mexico miles Missouri moun mountain men mountains mules night Old Bill Williams pack party pedition plains Preuss Proue Pueblo railroad ridge rifle Rio del Norte river road Robidoux Rockies route Ruxton San Luis Valley sand hills Sangres Santa Fe Santa Fe Trail Senator Benton snow Stockton storm Taos Taplin third expedition tion Tom Martin trading trail trappers Vincenthaler Washington West wind winter young