In 1811 a group of American traders built a fort at the mouth of the Columbia River, named Fort Astoria in honour of its financier, John Jacob Astor. Envisioned as the spur of a fur-trading empire, by 1813 the project was a business failure and the fort was surrendered to the British. But in its short life Astoria rendered incalculable benefits to public understanding of the Great Northwest. The exploration of trade routes, the description of various...

This book describes Roosevelt's routine labor and extraordinary adventrues, including a stint as a deputy sheriff pursuing three horse thieves through the cold of winter. Whether recounting stories of cowboy fights or describing his hunting of elk, antelope and bear, his book expresses his lifelong delight in physical hardihood and tests of nerve.