Jim Bridger

The Life and Legacy of America's Most Famous Mountain Man

De: Charles River Editors

Narrado por: Mark Norman

Duración: 1 h y 51 m

Resumen del Editor

Exploration of the early American West, beginning with Lewis and Clark's transcontinental trek at the behest of President Thomas Jefferson, was not accomplished by standing armies, the era's new steam train technology, or by way of land grabs. These came later, but not until pathways known only to a few of the land's indigenous people were discovered, carved out, and charted in an area stretching from the eastern Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean, and the present-day borders of Mexico and Canada. Even the great survey parties, such as Colonel William Powell's exploration of the Colorado River, came decades later. The first views of Western America's enormity by white Americans were seen by individuals of an entirely different personality, in an era that could only exist apart from its home civilization.

The American mountain man, with his practical skills, could endure isolation in a way most could not. He lived in constant peril from the extremes of nature and from the hostilities of cultures unlike his own. In an emergency, assistance was rarely available, and he rarely stayed in one place long enough to build even a simple shelter. Travel in the American West relied upon a specific calendar, and to ignore it could be fatal, as many discovered, to their misfortune. Winter in the mountainous regions of the Rocky Mountains and Cascades was lethally cold to explorer and settler alike, but desert areas and grass plains presented difficulties as well. The network of rivers flowing west of the Mississippi on both sides of the continental divide served as early highways to the Wyoming and Montana regions, the Oregon Territory, Utah and Colorado, and the California southwest. Some were placidly tranquil, while others raged through the extreme elevations, all but defying navigation. Contact with indigenous tribes was problematic enough with linguistic and cultural barriers, but to survive required a sensitivity to tribal food sources and sacred areas when traveling. The profession of trapping was, in itself, a trespass on Native American resources, and yet the mountain man's existence was fueled, in part, by the tangible rewards of the fur trapping trade. Beaver hats were all the rage in Europe, and the market had to be satisfied by a group of courageous individualists. Apart from fashion, the beaver pelt provided a "warmth [and] luxurious texture" not found in other land animals. As American beaver pelts flooded European markets, North American companies - such as Hudson's Bay, the American Fur Company, the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, and Manuel Lisa's Missouri Fur Company competed for Western resources thought to be limitless. The effort to acquire pelts was laborious and dangerous, but as long as the price per pound remained high, wealth awaited individuals committed to the rigors of the trade.

Apart from such realities, the mountain man's poetically obsessive kinship with undiscovered lands and unspoiled nature, free from society's trappings, was secondary. The aesthetic aspect was a luxury to be enjoyed once work had been done and safety assured. Distant observers who heard or read of the journey were fascinated with the peripheral glamour, but not enamored of the work's grisly nature.

A small group of individuals have come down to us as famous figures from the fur trapping era of the 19th century, but explorer and guide Jim Bridger is the most distinguished of the lot. This is because he remained in a dangerous and vast Western wilderness long after the fur trade's demise in addition to his powers of observation which enabled him to create accurate maps decades after passing through any terrain.

©2016 Charles River Editors (P)2017 Charles River Editors

Jim Bridger story told by an Englishman

this performance was not very well done the English accent didn't fit the story being told , he mispronounced all kinds of words: Fort Washakie Chief Washakie Iroquois: Nez Perce all kinds of things were mispronounced and it was hard to follow because it wasn't clear what he was talking about. I didn't enjoy it and the book very much because of that. but I didn't enjoy learning about Jim Bridger there are a lot of things that I didn't know about the man.

Title is misleading

Interesting if you know little about western history. As another listener mentioned, not enough details on Jim's individual deeds.

Short history of the fair trade era. 

Overall, and interesting review of the fair trade history and western exploration. Not a lot of detail about Jim Bridger. Presenter’s, what I presume is a, British accent and pronunciations didn’t do anything for me.

Narrator leaves much to be desired

I wish you would have chosen a different narrator for the story of the best American mountain man…

Very High Level Overview - Terrible Narratiom

The content is only appropriate for someone who basically has never really learned anything about Bridger before. The narrator has an over the top English accent and he constantly mispronounces proper nouns - which have a defined proper pronunciation regardless of culture. I also don't understand why anyone would want to listen to the stories and love of an American legend as told by an Englishman.

if there was only an option for 0 stars

couldn't finish, rough all the way around! I don't know if it was the book or the narration or both.....