John Colter

The Life and Legacy of America’s First Mountain Man

By: Charles River Editors

Narrated by: Scott Clem

Length: 1 hr and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The time of the American mountain man was not to reach its peak until the mid-19th century, but the man who served as the prototype for the cultural genre hailed from an earlier age in which the new United States had scarcely established its most basic structural tenets. A member of the original Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery commissioned by Thomas Jefferson, John Colter’s multiple journeys to the northwest country of present-day Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho were first-time events in the development of the continent.

With Lewis and Clark, Colter was met with every challenge the North American wilderness had to offer, including “constant rain and plaguing insects”, a range of cultures never before explored, an extreme mountain climate at unfamiliar elevations, and teeming wildlife boasting its share of predators. Added to Colter’s skills as a woodsman was a developing talent for communicating with previously unknown indigenous societies. He was undoubtedly assisted in this essential function by the presence of Sacajawea, a Lehmhi Shoshoni woman of the Agaidika, or Salmon-Eaters. She was married to the French translator Toussaint Charbonneau in a non-consensual contract, purchased with a second woman to serve as a working wife.

Based on the experience gained from the Lewis and Clark expedition, Colter became a valued figure in future treks as part of the international trade for “plews”, the frontier word for beaver pelts. As one of the best hunters and trackers from the expedition, he was to be sent out on missions covering vast distances in his subsequent returns to the northwest. Although the precise routes of his solo journeys are difficult to confirm, Colter was likely the first explorer to witness the thermal marvels of the Yellowstone region and the Grand Tetons towering above present-day Jackson Hole. His accounts of the boiling geysers and bubbling pools of the northern Rockies remained the butt of frontier jokes until discovered by the next wave of surprised frontiersmen.

Compared to the fantasies of Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill that entertained a fascinated public in the east, the hair-raising events of Colter’s time in the West were authentic and more than equal to popular fantasies of wilderness lore. His travels on foot were likened to the Aegean wanderings of Homer’s Odysseus, and in a comparison closer to home, he was often referred to as the Daniel Boone of the West. As the first mountain man, many factual considerations concerning his travels remain as matters of contention, and Colter never produced a written account, but the maps of William Clark and the recollections of the few who knew him have helped to clarify a story two centuries old.

John Colter: The Life and Legacy of America’s First Mountain Man chronicles the remarkable story of the legendary explorer. You will learn about John Colter like never before.

©2018 Charles River Editors (P)2018 Charles River Editors

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The story of an American hero. Colter is one of the people that we study in school--he helped expand the American experience into the West. The short 1.4 hour book concisely tells his story. It was marred by poor research on the part of the narrator and many words came out garbled, especially the native american ones. Story was great, the reading very poor.

disappointed

Compared to the other tomes of mountain man history, this book lacks in a lot of areas it was OK

Mediocre

It appears to be from a historical review of literature and delivered as from a professor. So accurate as scientific information but not much as entertainment.

it was ok

it skipped around too much but was full of historical fact, which is hard to find in these types of stories

Good information about John Colter

A somewhat short, but still good walkthrough about the few known facts on John Colters life and achievements. Few things are known about the very early part of his life, and somewhat more is known about his late years, so the emphasis is naturally on his life from the time of Lewis & Clark expedition till he settles down with a spouse.