FORTS OF THE UPPER MISSOURI

by Robert G. Athearn ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 20, 1967

With a lifespan that runs approximately from 1815 to 1875, this addition to the publisher's series again tells the tale of westward expansion as it related to the forts along the upper Missouri River--Buford, Berthold, Union, Randall, Rice and Pierce among others. Furs and the search for valuable minerals were two of the mainsprings which brought the white man into contact with Rees and Sans Arcs, Omahas and Assiniboins, Hankpapas and the fighting Sioux. But as the soldiers came and the forest grew, the tribes were less and less able to hold their own. Gradually they became docile or dispersed. Scurvy, dysentery, hunger, liquor (a problem for both white and red men), politics, boredom and the redoubtable ""teepee of ill-fame"" all contributed to the difficulties of taming the northern Louisiana Purchase. A well-documented book with an easy style and passages which give some feeling of the times, this is an up-close of some of the forts which helped to win some of the west--a volume more for the reader who has already gone the primer route or for those with a predicated interest in the region.

Pub Date: Oct. 20, 1967

ISBN: 0803257627

Page Count: -

Publisher: Prentice-Hall

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1967

Categories: NONFICTION