The Rockies

Front Cover
U of Nebraska Press, Jun 1, 2003 - History - 404 pages
From the time of Coronado?s discovery to the era of modern ski resorts and sport climbing routes, adventurers have been lured irresistibly to the Rocky Mountains. In this book distinguished writer David Lavender traces the colorful history of the Rockies, focusing on the period that began in 1859 with the first gold strikes. The real and fabled attractions of gold, silver, furs, lumber, and lead brought swarms of people into the mountains, eagerly seeking wealth. A get-rich-quick spirit pervaded the Rockies, leading to lawlessness, violence, vigilantism, and political expediency. The Rockies is particularly revealing about the struggles which resulted in codes peculiar to the mountainous West. Duane A. Smith provides a new introduction to this Bison Books edition of The Rockies.

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Contents

THE SHAPING OF CHAOS
1
NOTHING BUT SKY
15
EACH HIS OWN WILD DREAMS TO TRY
24
HONOUR TO OUR NATIONAL ENTERPRIZE
40
THE WAR THE INDIANS WON
57
THE SKIN GAME
72
BRIEF CANDLE
87
THE BARRIER LAND
101
THOSE WHO STAYED
207
BOOSTERS AND BOOMERS
224
SILVER THREADS
242
RAILROAD WRANGLES
258
THE RUSSET HILLS OF BUTTE
274
THEY MISSED MILLIONS
288
AMONG THESE DARK SATANIC MILLS
299
BENEFICIAL USE REDEFINED
323

THE MOUNTAIN WARS
114
THE UNREASONABLE GOLD RUSH
129
THERE IT IS HELP YOURSELF
139
STILL BIGGER BONANZAS
156
THE LOAVES AND THE FISHES
174
CASH IN AND GET OUT
186
THE NEW Stampede
348
WITH THANKS
367
BIBLIOGRAPHY
371
INDEX
389
Copyright

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About the author (2003)

David Lavender?s many books on the history of the American West include The Way to the Western Sea: Lewis and Clark across the Continent, Westward Vision: The Story of the Oregon Trail, and The Fist in the Wilderness, all available in Bison Books editions. Duane A. Smith is a professor of history and Southwest studies at Fort Lewis College. His many books include San Juan Gold and No One Ailing except a Physician: Medicine in the Mining West, 1848?1919.

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