Book Review...."Early Fur Trade on the Northern Plains" by W. Raymond Wood and Thomas D. Thiessen

               Book Review Early Fur Trade 

My start into the study of American history needed help. I needed a speciality. I read books on the early history from pre-revolution through Manifest Destiny. It was too much. I needed to narrow it down to something manageable.


I called history editors and museum curators. I asked them for the era I knew the least. I was curious about the period just before Lewis and Clark. I needed a reading list. This book, "Early Fur Trade on the Northern Plains", tended to be mentioned no matter who I asked. 


After reading, I consider it an important  historical perspective. It documents native and nature as seen through European eyes. 


"Early Fur Trade on the Northern Plains" is a book of four men's personal journals. They were gathered together and edited for us by the two historians, Wood and Thiessen. It is not written by professional writers for our entertainment. It is taken from daily journals written by men who at times were under what we would consider extreme conditions and surroundings.


The journals are: John Mcdonnell's "The Red River", "David Thompson's Journal", Francois-Antoine Larocque's "Missouri Journal" and his "Yellowstone Journal" and "Charles McKenzie's Narratives". 


The editors have done a super job of giving us a explanation narrative. They also compare what the men's journal's say to notes from the same period. It helps immensely. Without the guiding notes, I would have been lost in the individual perspectives.


It is an interesting history book taken from first hand experiences. It lays a ground work for us to better understand the way things played out.


The journals are written by men who risk everything to establish commerce. They travel  the northern plains, upper Missouri River and Rocky Mountain area. As important as they were to later explorers and commerce, the men are unknown in our present day history books. 


I think this book's most important role is as a reference book. When a tribe is mentioned in some latter day book, you can see what the early explorers had to say about them. 


After a couple of years, I still drag the book out to help my memory and check latter day authors facts and motives. 


You will be reading two hundred year old english with a smattering of French Canadian. This is where we need help from someone who knows enough about the situation to interpret the language and short hand inferences. The editors did a great job.


Enjoy the "Early Fur Trade on the Northern Plains". It is an important book.

Dr. W. Raymond Wood

For more information on Dr. W. Raymond Wood click on the link below.








http://rcp.missouri.edu/raywood/index.html


I apologize for not being able to give you more information on Dr. Thiessen. I just didn't come up with a web site.

                              John B. Boykin 

                      "The Hard Hat Photographer"

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