In 1842, following the doctor's orders for a change of climate, William Thomas Hamilton found himself accompanying a party of trappers on a yearlong 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 19th 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.