Now that the Clark Memoir, Enterprising Young Men, has you wanting to learn more about the western frontier and when the world rushed in for gold, the following recommended resources may interest you!
To begin, consider a few pre-1849 books about the early fur trappers and indigenous people that established ways west, from Kentucky to Missouri, then across the plains to crossing the mountains:
Blood and Treasure [St. Martin’s Griffin, 2021] by Bob Drury and Tom Clavin. It addresses the life of Daniel Boone, going beyond the days of the Revolution, across the Appalachian Mountains, and the brutality that led to creating an American legend.
Blood and Thunder [Anchor Books, 2006] by Hampton Sides. This book tells of Kit Carson—another of the great legends that stems from trapping, soldiering, and serving as a scout for the US government. It reveals how “Manifest Destiny” became more than a conviction; it reveals the power of this mountain man’s ability to understand the native peoples and the land on which they had lived for centuries.
Mountain man, guide and entrepreneur Jim Bridger is often overlooked when studying the American West. He came to the rescue on several occasions for Captain John Fremont and his men of the U.S. military, who were charged to find best passages west. Westward-bound pioneers and argonauts looked to his trade post for provisions to continue their journeys. Suggested Bridger biographies include those by Stanley Vestal [Univ of Nebraska Press, 1970; and prior], J. Cecil Alter [University of Oklahoma Press, 1979], and Jerry Enzler [University of Oklahoma Press, 2023].
A great resource for all things trail, heading west from Missouri, there is no better place to start than the Oregon-California Trails Association [octa-trails.org], which has chapters across the western states along with its headquarters in Independence, Missouri. Beware: its plethora of online videos, documents, and extensive online bookstore [25 pages of listings, including educational materials] will keep you viewing, reading, and browsing for many hours! It publishes a stellar quarterly journal that is worth the price of membership alone!
Share your thoughts and experiences if you do read any of these suggestions, and please recommend your own!
Happy reading! — M. K. Clark