Journal of a Trapper: Or Nine Years Residence among the Rocky Mountains Between the years of 1834 and 1843 Paperback – January 29, 2017

Very interesting journal of daily life as a beaver trapper in the early a Western frontier, specifically in the Rockies. Fascinating to read of ordinary, everyday life: trap a little, fight a few Indians, meet up with friends on the trail, starve, feast, repair your mocassins, and just go on day after day doing the same things and never worrying or thinking about potential danger. Great read.

The first part of the book, on Russell's trapping and hunting experiences, was just what the title implies--an almost daily journal. The author makes the rounds of his traps, mostly in the "greater Yellowstone" area, with not much happening, so it is rather boring. The latter part of the book, still written as a journal, is much more interesting, as now "things happen," among them dangerous encounters with Indians. I slogged through the first part of the book, but you could almost as well skip over it. The second half is well worth your while, so I gave the book four stars. There were vast herds of Buffalo at this time, and one very interesting chapter late in the book describes in detail how to hunt Buffalo if on foot versus if on horseback. The techniques are different. Also interesting are the descriptions of the different Indian tribes, some friendly, some unpredictable, and some warlike and very dangerous. You could be scalped, you could be tortured to death. I believe it was in this book that a foreword or introduction warned that the journal account might not all be true. I had no way of determining this, of course, but it SEEMED mostly true to me. The author describes how he began his hunting and trapping NOT being expert at it, pointing out instances were he learned from others. Even later, when he becomes very expert, yes, he tells you where he made right decisions while others made wrong decisions, but he also tells you where his recommendations did NOT pan out. It seemed to me that a braggart wouldn't admit his failures quite as readily. You will see that in his rounds Russell comes back, as trappers do, to the same places over and over, notably in present-day Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons (the national park just south of Yellowstone).

Excellent journal with detailed accounts of locations and day-to-day occurrences. Russell was not in a leadership position, but this makes his observations and his matter-of-fact descriptions of the many famous leaders he traveled with more genuine. A great read.

Life was very physical for anyone out West with a regular travel of 15 miles on horseback, crossing rivers, fighting off attackers, and staying alert. Not only Mr. Russell, but many more outdoor men were crossing paths, traveling together, trapping separately, and sometimes sharing information, reconnaissance, and territory knowledge.I was amazed at how many people were out there, knew exactly what direction to head, what rivers they were crossing, and the author could describe the landscape. For me, it was entertaining. Only 3 stars as it got to be repetitive.

I enjoyed the simple almost innocent way it was written. Even when he spoke of commiting attrocities I was left bemused and mortified at the same time.I was so inspired I travelled to Yellowstone to see the same things those men saw.I definitly feel a connection to Americas not so distant past now that I never had before.

A lot of these mountain man journals are fakes written by eastern hacks. Not this one, a fascinating historical account, frustrating lack of detail much of the time but some real gems when he does choose to elaborate. I wish he had written twice as much about his experiences.

It's interesting to some point that it is a written journal, but the details of his travels not very descriptive most of the time simply stating they went here and then there with nothing to keep my interest. Very short and at times difficult to read with little broken up into even paragraphs. There are much better "Journals" out there to be read. I don't recommend, sorry.

Great reading of first hand experiences for this period. Mountain men, different life than popular belief. Hard dangerous work where life was lived on the edge........