Record Added: 3/7/2015 Series A Frontier Library Book Setting  United States Topic History: Western Expansio Publisher Publisher, Misc ISBN 0915463318 Year 1986 Age Adult Pages 330 Description Printed dustjacket
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Based on diaries, letters, etc., this novel is as close to actual history as fiction can be. Nathaniel Wyeth, a young businessman of no experience in the wilderness but with much ambition and courage, sets out from Massachusetts in 1832 to set up trading posts in Oregon. Plagued by bad luck, incompetent or untrustworthy associates, and stiff competition from other fur companies, he fails in all ventures. However, after him come many othersthe result is history. This book, peopled with many familiar names, teaches history in a very palatable form.
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Notes
Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth (January 29, 1802 – August 31, 1856) was an American inventor and businessman in Boston, Massachusetts who contributed greatly to its ice industry. Due to his inventions, Boston could harvest and ship ice internationally. In the 1830's, he was also a Mountain man who led two expeditions to the Northwest and set up two trading posts, one in present-day Idaho and one in present-day Oregon.
In the 1830's, he became interested in the Northwest and planned an expedition with Hall J. Kelley. In 1832 he proceeded independently, traveling to Fort Vancouver. Two years later in 1834, he led another expedition, founding Fort Hall in present-day Idaho and Fort William in present-day Portland, Oregon.
Unable to succeed commercially against the powerful Hudson's Bay Company, he sold both fur trading posts to it in 1837. At the time, both Great Britain and the United States had fur trading companies, settlers and others in the Pacific Northwest. After they settled the northern boundary in 1846, both forts were considered part of the United States and its territories. After returning to Boston, Wyeth continued to see to his business affairs and amassed a considerable fortune.
The Fort Hall site has been designated a National Historic Landmark, as it is considered the most important trading post in the Snake River Valley through the 1860's. More than 270,000 emigrants reached it while traveling the Oregon Trail. |
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