Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime and start saving today with fast, free delivery

Kindle
$9.21

Available instantly

Hardcover
from $55.00

Paperback
$9.69

List Price: $14.95 Details

Save: $5.26 (35%)

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime FREE Returns

FREE delivery Thursday, April 11 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery Tuesday, April 9. Order within 5 hrs 24 mins

Select delivery location

In Stock

$$9.69 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details

Ships from

Amazon.com

Ships from

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Sold by

Amazon.com

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

Returns

Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt

This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt.

Read full return policy

Payment

Secure transaction

Payment

Secure transaction

We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more

Details

Add a gift receipt for easy returns

Get Fast, Free Shipping with Amazon Prime

FREE delivery Thursday, April 11 on orders shipped by Amazon over $35

Or fastest delivery Tuesday, April 9. Order within 5 hrs 24 mins

Select delivery location

Used: Very Good | Details

Sold by Tiny Air Shark

Fulfilled by Amazon

Access codes and supplements are not guaranteed with used items.

Image Unavailable

Image not available for
Color:

To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the author

Burton Harris

Follow

John Colter: His Years in the Rockies Paperback – March 1, 1993

by Burton Harris (Author), David Lavender (Introduction)

124

See all formats and editions

{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$9.69","priceAmount":9.69,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"9","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"69","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"8IaT36N6BjJGuv2uAFD1pIpzyUCpf8pJhQto6iOFc2KAjR4RaWhMIqNdR5XfgO9cQY%2BZGZEZ1YuI6OXg2%2BXxdkF2JEZ40QcymhlJ89CB%2FgPmUJG3Ko8sxpiT3ijxihAo09gCJGk2Fvg%3D","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}, {"displayPrice":"$6.31","priceAmount":6.31,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"6","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"31","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"8IaT36N6BjJGuv2uAFD1pIpzyUCpf8pJPhYejs%2Fc3AaydZeKWBtldzK%2BLQGJ4pZWx62j9fknSW6CmAjxWkD6B5YAAyvju9g3WHDuzwpvE6Tb1XCsvJR%2FMa6BVe8nl0VKE1q0dMR9byuYkGNYuOyD0Srja7pD1hGGjUqAxfDIH2QZ9a2wDit9HFmmoK4YfgAH","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"USED","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":1}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

John Colter was a crack hunter with the Lewis and Clark expedition before striking out on his own as a mountain man and fur trader. A solitary journey in the winter of 1807-8 took him into present-day Wyoming. To unbelieving trappers he later reported sights that inspired the name of Colter's Hell. It was a sulfurous place of hidden fires, smoking pits, and shooting water. And it was real. John Colter is known to history as probably the first white man to discover the region that now includes Yellowstone National Park. In a classic book, first published in 1952, Burton Harris weighs the facts and legends about a man who was dogged by misfortune and "robbed of the just rewards he had earned."

This Bison Book edition includes a 1977 addendum by the author and a new introduction by David Lavender, who considers Colter's remarkable winter journey in the light of current scholarship.

Print length

184 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Bison Books
Publication date

March 1, 1993
Dimensions

6.1 x 0.5 x 8.9 inches
ISBN-10

0803272642
ISBN-13

978-0803272644
Lexile measure

1500L
See all details

Frequently bought together

$9.69

Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 11

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

Mountain Man: John Colter, the Lewis & Clark Expedition, and the Call of the American West (American Grit)

$15.24

Get it as soon as Wednesday, Apr 10

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

+

Journal Of A Trapper: Nine Years in the Rocky Mountains 1834-1843

$5.99

Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 11

In Stock

Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.

Total price:

To see our price, add these items to your cart.

Try again!

Details

Added to Cart

Choose items to buy together.

David Weston Marshall
383
Paperback
27 offers from $9.91
Raymond W. Thorp Jr.
2,577
Paperback
39 offers from $8.13
Stephen T. Gough
53
Paperback
8 offers from $16.89
Stephen Brennan
554
Paperback
64 offers from $4.78
Bill Harris
41
Hardcover
19 offers from $15.95
Ronald M. Anglin
30
Paperback
17 offers from $14.09

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Because John Colter was the first white man to see the wonders which thousands nowadays visit each year in the Yellowstone, his story has historical importance of the first order."—San Francisco Chronicle

"The first full-blown account by one who is thoroughly familiar with the intricate geography of the country [that Colter] explored and who is capable of distinguishing between facts and guesswork. . . . [A] solid contribution which is not likely to be superseded in our time."—Journal of American History

About the Author

David Lavender is the author of Bent's Fort, One Man's West, Westward Vision: The Story of the Oregon Trail, and California: Land of New Beginnings, also available as Bison Books.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bison Books; Reprint edition (March 1, 1993)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 184 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0803272642
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0803272644
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ 1500L
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.2 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.1 x 0.5 x 8.9 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #484,176 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #130 in Western U.S. Biographies
- #1,985 in Traveler & Explorer Biographies
- #7,055 in U.S. State & Local History

Customer Reviews:
124

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Videos

Help others learn more about this product by uploading a video!

Upload your video

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.

Burton Harris

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.

Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5

124 global ratings

How customer reviews and ratings work

Sort reviews by

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later.

Duncan

A good read overall.

Reviewed in the United States on January 19, 2021

Verified Purchase

Some literary license throughout the book (such as making conclusions/statements which would be impossible to know without firsthand knowledge) allows the author to write from more of a story perspective. But very readable and engaging. Books appears to draw upon historical information which may also be circumspect. Hard to see how it could be written better given the historical nature.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Amazon Customer

like stories from this era

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2023

well written

Text book on John Colter.

Reviewed in the United States on July 20, 2016

Verified Purchase

Very informative if not tedious. Full of facts and research information. Not a great story. Did I say tedious???

Helpful

TJWag

Good research paper... only fair story

Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2017

Verified Purchase

I'll keep it short. This is a research paper and not a novel or story. I appreciate the work done by Burton Harris to gather the data, but I was hoping for a good educational and memorable story of Colter's life & adventures.

Helpful

Petsoman

Facts, legends and stories about a man and his times.

Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2010

Verified Purchase

The author has used his resources of anecdotes, legends and printed record to write an entertaining book.
It must have been a challenge to have had as a subject a real, fearless, famous "mountain man" who's greatest feats were to have been "there" and to have survived. Many were like him,or maybe there were not many at all, but he became a legend.
With no day to day accounts. (As in the case of Osborne Russell, for instance).
Great mountain man reading. Awesome character.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Passion for History

Colter's life fascinating - book does it justice

Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2012

Verified Purchase

Once I started this book I could not put it down. Colter's life is the high of great excitement and drama and the author does not let the reader down. Read numerous books and articles on Colter but this is full of new and interesting information and perspectives on the man. I very highly recommend this book. Plan on looking into other books by the same author - you will not be disappointed with it in any way. His treatment of Colter's life with other trappers, with the Crow Indians, his venturing into Yellowstone, and of course his legendary/famous "Colter's Run." All of them are presented by the author so very well.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

Kevin Riddle

As advertised

Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2021

As advertised

No real facts or information

Reviewed in the United States on March 21, 2019

Verified Purchase

How do you write a biography about a person, especially when you highlight his most famous accomplishment, when you don't actually know any factual information about the journey. This book s a joke of a biography. The author acknowledges that he knows almost nothing about the man so he packs the book with general information about fur trapping, Indian fighting, and general exploration. It's a so-so read, but don't expect to learn much about Colter.

One person found this helpful

Helpful

Top reviews from other countries

David Rowland

John Colter, his years in the Rockies

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2012

Verified Purchase

At the start of the 19th century, a vast area of the United States west of the Mississippi River, apart from a few small settlements on the Pacific coast, was strictly the domain of the native American tribes and very few white men ever ventured there. This changed in 1803 when the first official expedition to the west ordered by President Thomas Jefferson called the Corps of Discovery and led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark crossed the river and explored the area west of the Missouri River and eventually reached the Pacific coast. In the Lewis and Clark party there was a man they came to value very highly and he became one of a unique group of pioneers called mountain men who lived off the land like native Americans and often traded with them and who trapped beaver living in the rivers of the Rockies. His name was John Colter.

Colter was born in Virginia sometime between 1770 and 1775 and he left the Lewis and Clark party in August 1806 with their agreement during its return journey and he joined up with two other trappers, Joseph Dixon and Forest Hancock. They set out to trap beaver in the area around what is now the Yellowstone River. In the winter of 1807/1808 he set out alone to trap beaver in the rivers of what is now Wyoming and later he trapped in the Missouri River and the Platte River. Colter was a remarkable man, a real pioneer who travelled for several years trapping beaver, often alone and in great danger of attack by native Americans. He was the first white man to see many places that later became very well known. When he reported the geysers and boiling mud pools in what is now Yellowstone National Park nobody believed him.

Burton Harris in his fascinating and gripping account outlining Colter's experiences in the far west paints a picture of a group of men who existed in the west for only about twenty years and they disappeared after the beaver hat fashion gave way to another fashion. Many former mountain men became guides leading wagon trains westwards to Oregon and California through areas they knew from their trapping years. Colter's west has largely disappeared or has been greatly transformed and some of the areas where he travelled were settled by farmers and ranchers and later hundreds of towns and cities covered the landscape. If you find the history of the west as interesting as I do, you will love this book. It takes you back to a time when there were vast uninhabited regions of the west where there were no towns and cities and only nomadic native Americans whose lives were sustained by following huge herds of buffalos as they moved backwards and forwards across the great plains. Colter and his fellow mountain men were part of the story and this book captures their lives and their brief times so well.

3 people found this helpful

david wilson

second half very good.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 6, 2015

Verified Purchase

First half a bit slow, second half very good.

See more reviews

Return this item for free

Image Unavailable

Follow the author