Bloody Bozeman: The Perilous Trail to Montana's Gold

by Dorothy M. Johnson

The Bozeman Trail led to the goldfields of Montana for six years in the 1860s before the army abandoned its three forts along the way, yielding to Red Cloud and his warriors. Hailed by A. B. Guthrie Jr. as "among the very best in the American Trail series," The Bloody Bozeman weaves an "almost seamless" pattern of destiny and adventure.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

383 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1977

About the author

Dorothy Marie Johnson (December 19, 1905–November 11, 1984) was an American author best known for her Western fiction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy...

Reviews

[Aaliyah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of the early white arrivals to Montana were the worst sort of exploiters. Whoever leaves to go find gold is usually the worst sort of desperate, and this book pulls that all up. A fast vacation read. Good for a road trip

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author did a great job with bits and pieces of reports and letters from various people during the years the Bozeman trail existed. My favorite was Frank Kirkaldie and his trials and tribulations that would exist his whole life. We all know someone like him!

[Jean]

Enjoyed reading the accounts of the emigrants coming to MT. Only one map. I'm very familiar with MT, but still had a hard time visualizing the routes that were taken. I can't imagine how a reader not familiar with this part of the country would fare.

[Peter Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book amazes me how different the world was 150 years ago. Furthermore, this gory western classic gives enough historical evidence that I have been converted into believing in the existence of the state of Montana!

[Rick Saunders · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun and interesting read written in a casual, folksy style. Lots of first hand reportage gleaned from diaries and letters.

[Niko Hinz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now I know why some things are named what they are

[Tomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a great description of life in the “ Wild West.” The simplest chores were very dangerous.

[C.S. Kjar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book as research for a historical fiction I want to write. Interesting book about a trail that isn't talked about much.

[Steven Howes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is an interesting history of the Bozeman Trail from 1862 through 1868 and beyond as told through a number of anecdotes describing the trials and tribulations of a number of individuals who traveled on or were influenced by the trail. The Bozeman Trail extended from Fort Laramie in a northwesterly direction through present day Wyoming and Montana toward the gold fields of Virgina City, Montana Territory. While the trail facilitated westward travel and settlement, it also precipitated Red Cloud's War and had its share of crime committed by whites. It never ceases to amaze me how hardy some of these early settlers and miners were. It is also a minor miracle that these people sent and received mail, saved the letters and wrote detailed journals of their experiences. This book is not what I would call in-depth reporting of historical research; but a rather "folksy" retelling of these pioneer stories.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tells the stories of the individual people who migrated west to the gold fields of Montana and their trials with the natives, the weather, the military and the government. Some harrowing and horrible, some heroic, some heinous, but all human stories one can see in our own time. Dorothy Johnson's telling, from the journals and letters of those who were there, is untouched by judgment and peppered with wry humor.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Bloody Bozeman" was written using the journals of the people who were there, who traveled a wilderness that was as wild and dangerous as one could be, and it didn’t have to be imagined. Life could be short and brutal. Many went west for gold and a ‘new start’ got neither.

The bloody fighting between the whites and the Indians is all there. Pick a side if you want, but it’s the 21st century, they’re all dead now and the die was cast. If you’re interested in individual stories of success, failure, vigilantism, cruelty, incompetency and murder, it’s all there as well.

This story covers the years 1862 to 1868, and most interestingly, includes four years of the American Civil War. A period of time most of the people in the gold fields, could learn little about the war, and some didn’t care. Having food to eat or keep from freezing to death possessed the thoughts of all. Survival and success was the same for many.

I offer no spoilers. If anything, I will ask this: Would you travel a thousand miles by the crudest means of transportation, wagon, make-shift ferries, by foot for hundreds of miles on the hope of success, being that catastrophe was laterally around the next bend, at the next river ford, the next epidemic, the next ambush?

Dorothy Johnson, with her experience as a journalist, offers a straightforward prose. She finds her subjects interesting and is sympathetic, stunned and disturbed by the actions of the people she wrote of, but people are people, and she shows that they were real.

[Lynda Haghan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting history but it just continued in the same story with not a lot of new interesting facts. Got tired of reading it.

[Lesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the found history.

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit dry, but a good collection of historic anecdotes. I love learning about Montana’s early days.

[John Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. It drew upon numerous anecdotal experiences of early settlers and military personnel which gave it authenticity. Highly recommend.

[Amanda Holiday · Rating 4 out of 5]

Montana PBS winter pledge drive presented a program about the Bozeman Trail that piqued my curiosity. The offer of a copy of the book for my contribution put it in the feasible range of my budget. It's a history, with foot notes, so it will take a while to get through the 338 pages of text plus 15 pages of footnotes, but it started interestingly so I expect to finish in a while, though "a while" is definitely a subjective measure of time.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

The opening of the trail westward into Montana. Pioneers - Wagon Ho! Wonderful read