“If you seek vicarious adventure, these pages await the armchair explorer.” —Providence Journal In 1804, John Colter set out with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on the first US expedition to traverse the North American continent. During the 28- month ordeal, Colter served as a hunter and scout, and honed his survival skills on the western frontier. But when the journey was over, Colter stayed behind. He spent two more years trekking alone through dangerous and unfamiliar territory, charting some of the West’s most treasured landmarks. Historian David W. Marshall crafts this captivating history from Colter’s primary sources, and has retraced Colter’s steps— experiencing firsthand how he survived in the wilderness (how he pitched a shelter, built a fire, followed a trail, and forded a stream)— adding a powerful layer of authority and detail.

The extraordinary life of Lewis & Clark’s right-hand man In 1804, John Colter set out with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on the first U.S. expedition to traverse the North American continent. During the twenty-eight month ordeal, Colter served as a hunter and scout, and honed his survival skills on the western frontier. But when the journey was over, Colter stayed behind, spending two more years trekking alone through dangerous and unfamiliar territory. Along the way, he charted some of the West’s most treasured landmarks. Historian David W. Marshall crafts this captivating history from Colter’s primary sources, and has retraced Colter’s steps—seeing what he saw, hearing what he heard, and experiencing firsthand how he and his contemporaries survived in the wilderness (how they pitched a shelter, built a fire, followed a trail, and forded a stream)—adding a powerful layer of authority and detail. The American Grit series brings you true tales of endurance, survival, and ingenuity from the annals of American history. These books focus on the trials of remarkable individuals with an emphasis on rich primary source material and artwork.

“If you seek vicarious adventure, these pages await the armchair explorer.” —Providence Journal In 1804, John Colter set out with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on the first US expedition to traverse the North American continent. During the 28- month ordeal, Colter served as a hunter and scout, and honed his survival skills on the western frontier. But when the journey was over, Colter stayed behind. He spent two more years trekking alone through dangerous and unfamiliar territory, charting some of the West’s most treasured landmarks. Historian David W. Marshall crafts this captivating history from Colter’s primary sources, and has retraced Colter’s steps— experiencing firsthand how he survived in the wilderness (how he pitched a shelter, built a fire, followed a trail, and forded a stream)— adding a powerful layer of authority and detail.

From the first account of “Colter’s Run,” published in 1810, fascination with John Colter, one of America’s most famous and yet least known frontiersmen and discoverer of Yellowstone Park, has never waned. Unlike other legends of the era like Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, and Kit Carson, Colter has remained elusive because he left not a single letter, diary, or reminiscence. Gathering the available evidence and guiding readers through a labyrinth of hearsay, rumor, and myth, two Colter experts for the first time tell the whole story of Colter and his legend.

From 1810, when a newspaper published the first account of “Colter’s Run,” to 2012, when one hundred and fourscore participants in Montana’s annual John Colter Run charged up and down rugged trails—even across the waist-deep Gallatin River—interest in Colter, the alleged discoverer of Yellowstone Park, has never waned. Drawing on this endless fascination with an individual often called the first American mountain man, this book offers an innovative, comprehensive study of a unique figure in American history. Despite his prominent role in the Lewis and Clark Expedition and the early exploration of the West, Colter is distinctly different from Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett, Kit Carson, and the other legends of the era because they all left documents behind that allow access to the men themselves. Colter, by contrast, left nothing, not a single letter, diary, or reminiscence, so that second-, third-, or fourth-hand accounts of his adventures are all we have. Guiding readers through this labyrinth of hearsay, rumor, and myth, this is the first book to tell the whole story of Colter and his legend, examining everything that is known—or supposedly known—about Colter and showing how historians and history buffs alike have tried in vain to get back to Colter the man, know what he said and feel what he felt, but have ended up never seeing him clearly, finding instead an enigma they cannot unravel.

Back in 1803, I was one of those crazy fools who joined Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their journey across the continent. Back then, every person who knew about our expedition said we were out of our minds. If the natives didn't kill us, the Spanish would, they said. There was no chance of our being successful. Well, we proved them wrong, didn't we? We went up that massive Missouri, crossed the mountains, reached the ocean, and then did it all again in reverse. We weren't killed by the natives and we weren't killed or enslaved by the Spanish. But when President Jefferson's famed Corps of Discovery floated back down the Missouri to St. Louis in September of 1806, I wasn't with them. Nope, I stayed up there in that wild country to make my fortune. What I ended up making was a legend. Don Amiet lives with his wife, Deborah Lynn, in St. George, Utah.

Back in 1803, I was one of those crazy fools who joined Meriwether Lewis and William Clark on their journey across the continent. Back then, every person who knew about our expedition said we were out of our minds. If the natives didnat kill us, the Spanish would, they said. There was no chance of our being successful. Well, we proved them wrong, didnat we? We went up that massive Missouri, crossed the mountains, reached the ocean, and then did it all again in reverse. We werenat killed by the natives and we werenat killed or enslaved by the Spanish. But when President Jeffersonas famed Corps of Discovery floated back down the Missouri to St. Louis in September of 1806, I wasnat with them. Nope, I stayed up there in that wild country to make my fortune. What I ended up making was a legend.

“Combines adventure, mystery, and tragedy . . . a ‘Who’s Who’ of explorers who opened the pathway for an ocean-to-ocean America.” —St. Joseph News-Press (Missouri) The story of the Lewis and Clark Expedition has been told many times. But what became of the thirty-three members of the Corps of Discovery once the expedition was over? The expedition ended in 1806, and the final member of the corps passed away in 1870. In the intervening decades, members of the corps witnessed the momentous events of the nation they helped to form—from the War of 1812 to the Civil War and the opening of the transcontinental railroad. Some of the expedition members went on to hold public office; two were charged with murder. Many of the explorers could not resist the call of the wild and continued to adventure forth into America’s western frontier. Engagingly written and based on exhaustive research, The Fate of the Corps chronicles the lives of the fascinating men (and one woman) who opened the American West. “A fascinating afterword to the expedition . . . demands inclusion in the canon of essential Lewis and Clark books.”—Seattle Post-Intelligencer “Succinct, clear style . . . The diverse fates of the members of the expedition . . . give the feel of a Greek epic.”—Santa Fe New Mexican

In 1804, Lewis and Clark set out to find the fabled Northwest Passage to the Pacific. Though they never found it -- or the lost tribes of Israel, rumored to be living in the Great American Desert --- they did discover that the entire region west of the Mississippi was swarming with beaver. And so began the American fur trade, as the first tough trappers headed out to make their fortunes in beaver pelts.