Jedidiah Smith

Life in the wilderness took a heavy toll on the health and often the lives of the mountain men.  Those hardy trappers, who roamed the Rockies in the 1820s and 1830s in search of beaver for the hats of eastern gentlemen were exposed to hunger, thirst, heat, snow, and attack---from both Indians and grizzly bears.  Fact and fantasy are mingled in the stories of their heroic survivals and sudden deaths.  And sometimes even the facts were so incredible that true stories were immediately elevated t