Jim Bridger: Trailblazer of the American West

This was a good book due to the subject. I felt it went way too far in to detail on certain information. Also, the author seemed to only be offended at certain actions of the settlers but seemed to justify barbaric atrocities committed by the Indians. Jim Bridger is a legend and hard to not to find him interesting.

Western men such as Daniel Boone, Kit Carson, and Davy Crockett are well known and author Jerry Enzler has provided the reader with quite a valuable account of the life of Jim Bridger, a man who could not read or write his own name but could communicate to some extent verbally and in sign language with several Indian tribes in the American west and knew the topography of the west like it was his back yard.Death came early to Jim Bridger's family and he went out on his own getting involved in a company that hunted beaver whose pelt was popular with eastern Americans for hats and other accessories. At the age of twenty it was Bridger who discovered the Great Salt Lake in Utah. His diet consisted primarily of meat and Jim was noted for his honesty and drew the respect of those who knew him. People didn't believe him when he spoke of hot springs being in the ground but it was in reality what he found in what is now Yellowstone National Park.Jim had three Indian wives during his lifetime, one each from the tribes of Flathead, Ute, and Comanche. His daughter Mary Ann was with Marcus and Narcissa Whitman in 1847 when they were murdered by Indians near what is now Walla Walla, Washington. Mormon leader Bringham Young comes across as an early radical to the United States with his religious group in Salt Lake City. There were three different forts named after Jim Bridger. The last one was located east of the Great Salt Lake and that fort, along with Camp Supply were burned down by the Mormons. Other notable historical incidents are glossed over such as the Fetterman battle on December 21, 1866, outside of Fort Phil Kearny in Wyoming along with the Hayfield fight outside of Fort C. F. Smith in Montana and the Wagon Box fight a few miles from Fort Phil Kearny in 1867. These clashes with the Indians resulted from the American army wanting to build forts along the Bozeman Trail through the heart of Sioux Indian country east of the Big Horn mountains through the Powder River country. Jim Bridger championed a route to the west of the Big Horn Mountains to the gold fields in Virginia City, Montana, but his advice was ignored.This book covers numerous clashes between the American army and native Americans in addition to clashes between various tribes as well. I do agree with a previous reviewer that additional and clearer maps would have been beneficial to the book. However, author Jerry Engler has provided a comprehensive account on the life of Jim Bridger, a true hero of the American west.

Living in Colorado and Wyoming most of my adult life, I have seen the Bridger name thousands of times but never really knew much about him. I devoured 5 biographies on the man and this is , by far, the best and most comprehensive. Unlike many historical figures who left letters and other documents, Bridger's is a unique story because he was illiterate. He left no "letters" to tell his story.The book seems incredibly well researched and is well written for the non academic historian. One of the best books that I have read this year. AN EXCELLENT READ on an, otherwise, elusive character of the old west.

This book was very frustrating but yet I finally found it interesting. The 1st hundred pages or more was very difficult to follow any kind of flow. Also, things were mentioned in the book but not explained. In many cases one could accurately guess and once followed up with Google one could figure it out. For example a Fort Fetterman was mentioned after Fetterman was killed near Fort Kearney. And yes one can figure out a Fort was named after Captain Fetterman and of course after he was killed. However the author had me thinking Bridger had just left Fort Kearney so clearly time had passed. The editing was rather bad also. Not to the point of being distracting but I noticed it and I am no editor.Having said all of this, I couldn't put the book down after I got past those 1st hundred pages or so. The real tragedy is that Jim Bridger was illiterate so his ability to log his travels for prosperity was lost to history. To that end the author did a fantastic job of researching dates and times of his travels. With that information and family history the story has been reconstructed. I would have loved to seen maps showing where the story was taking place. I would be thinking Bridger was in one location but after Googling I realized the story had moved on.The only reason I rated it low was because of the time I spent trying to figure out where he was at any particular time.I can still recommend reading this book because the story was so interesting and oddly, I have been surprised by how many of my friends had never heard of Jim Bridger. He clearly knew every piece of the Western Mountains and was responsible for paving our way west. So if the things I mentioned don't bother you, go buy the book and enjoy.

Covers from the tycoon days of Astor and Beaver pelts to the gold rush, western expansion and the indian wars. His discovery of Yellowstone, the Great Salt lake, and the trails to the West Coast are monumental for western expansion. Great history.!!!

The book was great and since I have lived in Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming most of my life the stories and the locations were very real to me. Some I have been to, others are now on my list. Very important and wise man especially considering his lack of formal education. Had more politicians listened to him both natives and settlers would have had better lives.

I enjoyed this book about the life and times of mountain man Jim Bridger. The book was an easy read and I finished it in about 2 weeks. However, my one criticism and disappointment was that the author stated two times that Custer was lured to his death at the Little Big Horn in the same way that Fetterman was lured to his death ten years earlier. Anyone with a cursory knowledge of Custer's fight at the Little Big Horn knows he was not lured to his death. He attacked an overwhelming force, poorly as it turned out, and lost. But lured to his death by the Sioux and Cheyenne? No, that is not what happened. If anything, Custer lured himself to his own death. If not for that error I would give this book 4.5 stars.

A great book !A must read for anyone interested with the Old West

I am still reading it but so far it has been an excellent read considering that there must be very little written information to help with research