My Sixty Years on the Plains: Trapping, Trading, and Indian Fighting
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Of course I knew how to scalp, and soon accomplished the feat, much to his satisfaction, for he said, “You are broke in now. You will do.”
Following the doctor’s orders for a change of climate, in 1842 William Hamilton found himself accompanying a party of trappers on a year-long expedition.
Heading into the wild, Hamilton would prove himself to be a fast learner, as adept with a firearm as with sign language: this early experience would be the making of him.
As the nineteenth century progressed, along with many other trappers Hamilton found himself drawn into the Indian Wars brought about by territorial expansion.
Exploring, trapping, trading and fighting, Hamilton shows how every aspect of a mountain man’s life relied on his wits and knowledge in order survive the inhospitable environments.
First published in 1905, when the experiences of such pushing, adventurous and fearless men were becoming a thing of the past, Hamilton’s unassuming memoir relates an extraordinary life in a disappearing American West.
William Thomas Hamilton (1822-1908), also known as Wildcat Bill, was a Scottish-born mountain man, trapper, and scout of the American West. Trapping from an early age, in the 1850s he became an Indian fighter and at the end of the decade established a trading post, concurrently holding a variety of jobs including county sheriff.
ASIN : B01CV382CQ
Publisher : Lume Books (March 11, 2016)
Publication date : March 11, 2016
Language : English
File size : 2058 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 98 pages
Customers say
Customers find the book interesting and entertaining. They say it’s informative, well-written, and easy to read. Readers describe the writing style as personal and unassuming. They also mention the book is very factual, real, and believable. Customers appreciate the fast pacing and ease of understanding the story. However, some feel the ending is abrupt and too soon.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
13 reviews for My Sixty Years on the Plains: Trapping, Trading, and Indian Fighting
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mark urso –
Great accounting
A really enjoyable read. I am a student t if the westward expansion and its historical players but have never come across this biography. Well paced,simply written and interesting!
Morocco –
A Good Read
A good read. I have always wondering how the country looked before being settled. This is a good view of the country before being settled.
Wayne A. Smith –
Man of Action, Agent of Manifest Destiny
William Thomas Hamilton was a Mountain Man. This is a fascinating account of life lived as an independent trapper. Though the subtitle is Sixty Years on the Plains, the vast bulk of this thin book covers the 1840’s in the area of Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Wyoming and Montana (perhaps also present day Colorado, though his place names from that time are not descriptive of place in the current sense).The book is matter of fact and sequential. It is largely a tale of trapping among lands still largely controlled by Indians of various nations. The book is really driven by Indian encounters while trapping (or gold prospecting near the end) is noted matter of factly. The descriptions of the encounters fascinate.Hamilton was a man of his times. He believed the land was open and that trappers and miners could go among the land and that Indians could accommodate (friendly Indians) or face armed response if they attacked (hostiles). Hamilton is at once sympathetic to tribes with whom he enjoyed close and excellent relations (for example, the Shoshones) and steely-minded toward those who met his expeditions with force (the Blackfeet were known to him only through combat).The Indian encounters are described most, trapping is given more of an accounting treatment (we caught a lot of beaver here, we spent a couple of days preparing beaver hides). He does give detail to both Indian encampment (there was a lot of camping together between his various groups of free trappers and friendly Indians and much trade) and tactical descriptions of armed conflict as his band of trappers fought off war parties or followed bands of natives who made off with trapper horses or killed individual mountain men to mete out retribution.Hamilton quickly rose to be recognized as skilled and a leader among both Mountain Men and Indians. He quickly picked up Indian sign language and was noted by both whites and Indians as one of the best sign talkers of the era. I learned an interesting fact; sign talking was almost a universal language. Tribes who could not understand each other orally, could communicate by sign. The language of the hand was at least at that time universal to a great extent among natives regardless of the area of the west in which they resided.This is an interesting book and a quick read. It gives a very good taste of what life was like during the period for Mountain Men while the area in which they traced was still wilderness.
rdgridr –
Have read lots of Mtn. Man books, this is one of the very best.
This small book really surprised me. I couldn’t put it down, until I finished it. Hamilton has lots of specific details that I have never seen in print before. Great and detailed descriptions of food and its preparation. Many stories talk about buffalo tongue. He talks in detail about a fatty substance “depuyer” and its importance. His stories really seem genuine to me, they just make sense. For instance, he talks about buffalo hunts on horseback and how many wrecks happen, with horses going down. Others have stated that the Indians had their buffalo horse who was trained not to step in holes. I don’t doubt that many did. I own may own horses and have ridden them in the Rockies and plains since 1985. It figures that anything as crazy and wild as a buffalo hunt/chase, several horses are going to go down, and lose their riders. Not every Brave will own a sure-footed horse, tons of blinding dust, and high grass depending on the season and weather. He even mentions when they were in California panning gold. That many used the barrels of their Hawken rifles as crow bars. Lots of neat information and tales in this book.
John Berry –
Tales of a Mountain Man!
This book was written in 1905 and published again in 2019. It was written by W.T. (Bill) Hamilton and represents his personal stories. As a boy his father sent him out West for his health but he seemed to adapt to that way of life and just stayed. The reader will find it somewhat difficult to follow his timeline, but really it’s not about that so much. The story is about him telling his stories. The reader will hear about American Native tribes that were indigenous to certain parts of our country that perhaps they have never heard about before. I found myself doing a lot of internet searches on these tribal names and in doing so learned a lot more. Sometimes, the author will dispel certain common understandings about rituals or hunting practices. Then again it’s back to ones own research to form opinion.All in all with several misspelling errors, I still found the book to be quite entertaining and really worth the read.It is a quick read and fun!
Amazon Customer –
New Approach to American History
My first reading of American history through the eyes of a free spirited fur trapper. A simple but engaging journey of the values, loyalty, and ethics needed to survive and be successful in the wilderness. Also, an honest assessment of the needs and challenges the the indian tribes faced when confronted with the overwhelming exodus of our country’s population swing from East to West. No one understood until too late the effect it would present to the environment, animal population and everyones way of life. From a free spirited trapper to a sheriff charged with upholding a lawless frontier. You either adapt knowingly or subconsciously to survive.
Amazon Customer –
I Love This Book
The authorâs writing style is concise and unassuming. He is direct and to the point, but not without moments of subtle humor. He is supremely confident without being egotistical. I found his insights into tribal life and the differing attitudes and lifestyles between the various tribes to be fascinating. This is a very educational and fun read. For the price it is a bargain.
Tampa 96 –
Great inside into the lives of different tribes and Mountain men
Very interesting book, with details that appear to be very accurate. So many Native American tribes were mentioned that are rarely included in any book. A very insightful book from someone who had vast experiences and interacted with many native tribes and was a part of significant historical events in the âwestâ
M –
Gritty diary of day-to-day struggles in the wildest parts of the Wild West. Dispels the myth of peaceful Indians both against Whites and especially against each other. Detsils of survival in a hostile country where a small mistake in prepararion or dozing off for a minute meant probable death and possible scalping. He spent much time amongst the Indians and recounts many rituals and social structures first hand. Enthralling read. I wish the book had been twice the size because he didn’t describe anything about his battles in the southern parts of the continent.
Crystal Vision –
Entertaining and an insight into life in the wilderness at this time period. It read as a continuous single expedition but I imagine it was a compilation of years of trips stitched into one tale. Nevertheless it was a good read.
Steve –
This is written in an era when there was little empathy for the plight of native Americans and is at times a brutal account of what was genocide .Though you never know if the author actually was personally involved it appears authentic . Despite these factors it is an intriguing read and gives fascinating insights into the indigenous tribes and the life of a mountain man who immersed himself in nature.
Amazon Customer –
Was not a bad read. It lets you see what it was like for the people in the old days
Robert –
What a tough life in those days.