Trask

The Oregon Trilogy #1

by Don Berry

Set in 1848 on the wild edge of the continent, in the rainforests and rugged headlands of the Oregon coast, Trask follows a mountain man's quest for new opportunities and new land to settle. Elbridge Trask is a restless man, a gambler with God, nature, and life itself. Yearning for change, he sets out with Wakila, a young Clatsop Indian, and Charley Kehwa, a tamanawis man or spiritual leader of the tribe, on an extraordinary journey of discovery.Trask is at once a gripping tale of adventure and a portrayal of one man's return to the naked simplicity of life. Inspired by his belief in the transcendent power of nature, his fascination with Eastern philosophy, and the lives of historical men and women, Don Berry created a story that is strongly imagined and powerfully rendered-a landmark work. This new edition of Berry's celebrated first novel includes an introduction by Jeff Baker, book critic for The Oregonian.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Westerns, Book Club, American, Literature, Adventure

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 28, 1960

About the author

Primarily known for his historical novels of early Oregon country -- Trask, Moontrap, and To Build a Ship -- Don Berry lived and worked from 1974 until his death in 2001 as a writer, painter, musician, sculptor, instrument maker, poet, and Zen practitioner on Vashon Island, in Seattle, and at Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island. He ventured into educational software in the pioneering days of computers, authored scripts for adventure films, wrote commissioned books, and built a website called Berryworks for his own unpublished fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and philosophy. Berry developed his writing skills with science fiction stories in the 1950s, but it is his trilogy of novels and his non-fiction history A Majority of Scoundrels (all written and published between 1960 and 1963) for which he is best remembered. With them, he helped create a new Northwest fiction style. Journalist Jeff Baker has called him "Reed's Forgotten Beat" for his work, his practice of Eastern metaphysics, and his longtime friendship with poets Gary Snyder (b. 1930) and Philip Whalen (1923-2002), an association that began at Reed College in Portland in the 1950s. Berry's novels, and Scoundrels, were republished between 2004 and 2006 by Oregon State University Press.

Reviews

[jeremy · Rating 5 out of 5]

published in 1960 when don berry was 27, trask is often mentioned in the same breath as ken kesey's sometimes a great notion as the finest oregon novel ever written. set along the northern oregon coast range in the late 1840's, trask was inspired by the life of settler, mountain man & fur trapper elbridge trask (for whom both a river and a mountain are named here in the beaver state). compelling and adventurous, the story follows the title character as he tries to become the first white man to settle in tillamook bay. along the arduous journey, he and his guide (a friendly clatsop indian & spiritual leader named charley kehwa) must endure tragedy, torrential weather, rugged climate, and the seemingly bellicose killamook indians. trask is more than mere historical fiction, however, it is an insightful and exceptionally well crafted novel that captures the great uncertainty and promise the settlers undoubtedly knew all too well. berry's portrayal of the indians is compassionate and well-rounded, far from the shallow caricatures that often plague the genre. tragically, neither trask nor berry ever achieved the acclaim they so obviously deserved.

trask is the first of a trilogy of novels that include moontrap and to build a ship, referred to simply as "the trask novels." these works were long out of print until rescued by oregon state university press and republished in 2004. don berry, while attending reed college in portland as a young man, shared a house (and an affinity for eastern mysticism) with gary snyder and befriended philip whalen.

"you whites, you are always wishing to fight the world, and you ask your gods for help to do this thing, which they never give. you are always trying to overcome something, and you do not see that you fight nothing but your own minds. the world does not wish to fight you, it does not wish to be friends with you, either. the world wishes nothing at all; only men wish, and they make up their dreams and tell themselves they are talking about the world, when they are talking about the ground fog that lies on their minds."

~

a black bird of guilt hovers over the death of a man, waiting to perch where it may find room in the minds that remain. it is an easy thing to be deceived by the happenings of the world into believing you are responsible for them. it is part of a man's great conceit that he can believe himself responsible for the universe and its actions. it is a part of his conceit that he can believe himself guilty of the death of every other man, and take the guilt of the world on himself.

but there is no guilt to be taken. it is not necessary that the responsibility be assigned. it is not the concern of those who remain, but a thing between the world and the one who is dead. that which was, is not. it is a simple thing.

[Sandra The Old Woman in a Van · Rating 5 out of 5]

The more I broaden my reading of US authors the more perplexed I become regarding how books are chosen for high school and college Anerican Lit courses. This book is barely available anymore, yet is billed as Oregon’s most notable books and author. I want to give this book 10 stars as one of the top few books I have ever read with this level of a sense of place/time. The basic story is about a white mountain man turned Oregon settler in the Astoria region and his exploration down the coast to what is now Tillamook Bay in the 1840’s, before Oregon was made a US territoy. Most of the other characters are either Clatsop or Tillamook natives. I found myself taking google-diversions to map out the journey and explore more about the native cultures described. This book taught me more about this region and the pre-Oregon trail times than I have learned from any other source. I was immersed in place and time to a level that is hard to describe. I am so saddened that so little is left of the native cultures in this region. Languages and people gone. This is an extremely well researched book, the first of an Oregon trilogy.

The novel was written in 1960 and I bought a used paperback version published so long ago the paper is virgen smooth and thick. I support recycling, but have to say the feel of the paper was an unanticipated pleasure I experienced reading thie book.

This year I have and will read several books known for their sense of place. A Thousand Acres, Giants in the Earth, The Dry and this book. I am not sure how the final ranking will be. A Thousand Acres and this book are the top fiction I have read this year.

[Melody · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what I expected. I picked it up because I'd heard it spoken of with reverence among Oregon history buffs, and I happened across it at an estate sale. It started kind of slow for me, and there were bits that surprised my modern sensibilities for a minute, but the writing is brilliant. The people are real, the situations believable. But the last hundred, hundred and fifty pages are incredible. Lift the top of your head off because your brain blew up incredible. I'm glad there's more Berry to read for the first time.

[Matthew Simonson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We'll make it (back to Oregon) somehow"

[Robert Nolin · Rating 2 out of 5]

I may have been more forgiving with this novel had I not just finished reading "The Jump-Off Creek" by Molly Gloss, where a woman in 1895 leaves Philadelphia to homestead in Oregon by herself, for no good reason. In Trask, the protagonist wakes up one day and decides he must risk his life to "see some land." You see the problem here? In neither book did the author provide a solid reason to go on the journey. Maybe it's enough for the people in this book that Trask just decides to take off, leaving his wife behind, possibly starting a tribal war, all on a whim, but no thanks, I'm not going on this pointless journey. "Trask" is an amateurish attempt at historical fiction. It includes a lot of "Jargon" ("Indian" talk) which no doubt impressed readers back in the early 60's. But basically it's a standard western attempting to show the aboriginal point of view, and not succeeding. People did not just go on deadly jaunts on a whim back then. I would have had more respect for the author had he tried to show the historical man Elbridge Trask, father of eight children. An historical novel, in other words. DNF @ 30%.

Ok, so I just had to finish, mostly because I'm researching an historical novel set in Oregon. My rating is unchanged. This book, written in 1960, is a product of its time. It uses an historical setting, but it serves as the excuse (and a thin one at that) for a White man to have a vision quest. As in "Moontrap," the author appropriates the Native American experience. Compare this to the great Fools Crow by James Welch, and you can't help but see "Trask" as a White man's fantasy of playing Injun. I have to say one thing (spoiler alert) about the ending, which made no sense. Trask, at the end of his vision quest, kills his friend by accident. What was Charley doing there? What purpose does his death serve? The book barely mentions the death of a main character afterward. A real head-scratcher, that one.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beautiful edition of Trask pictured above is not the one that I read. This is something hardly worth mentioning in any review. However, it's worth mentioning here because my edition was from the late '70s and early '80s. The cover art was a depiction of a hunky Davy Crockett type with a Chuck Norris beard looking sternly toward the horizon. A band of tiny Native American men (including a feather sticking up out of the backs of their heads; wrong region, illustrator!) were standing far off in the background.

I know it's shallow, but it took me a long time to take this story seriously with that image in my mind.

For me, this story started out much like my edition's cover art: a little hokey, and a little stereotypical in its portrayal of some of the characters. However, as Trask's journey started, the story started getting interesting. When Trask and Charley finally start meeting up with some of the other communities living along the coast, the story became fascinating. The last 100 pages of the book were epic. I don't want to write anything about the last part of the book because it was so shocking in its subject and scope. I don't want to ruin it for future readers.

What made this book particularly enjoyable, personally, was being able to visualize the landscape Trask travelled in. Now, I just have to make a journey out to the coast to hike Neahkanie and the other landmarks that make their appearance in this book.

[Stephany Wilkes · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading this, I am stumped as to why Don Berry isn't a national literary hero classified with the historical importance of authors like Harriet Beecher Stowe, or with at least the fame of Erik Larson (The Devil in the White City).

I promise: you've never read anything remotely like this. The story is more engrossing and unusual than most fiction I've ever read, and contains delicious language like "damned Jesuitical rascal of a Hudson's Bay man" and "His beard was shiny, and caught red glints from the fire like tiny copper wires."

I bought the entire trilogy on a whim while at Powell's in Portland, on the basis of a glowing staff recommendation on the shelf. I am so glad I did. I finished this book and immediately started the second in the trilogy; it has that much momentum. I strongly recommend you do the same.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

recommended for anyone who loves the Oregon Coast and has driven over Neahkanie Head

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nearly 5 stars, deducted only as the denouement feels schematic, but as Jeff Baker's afterword to the OSU Press 2005 rpt. justifies, the best Oregon novel to at least match, maybe surpass, Berry's better-known early Sixties peer Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion, which appeared three years after Trask. I'd aver Trask presciently anticipates the rise in consciousness of that decade's awareness of "Indian" rights, and the countercultural advocacy, despite pandering, of righteous causes of justice.

It starts slowly, and it forces you to slow down and settle in for a nuanced examination of the conflict in 1848, as the title character seeks to open up a prize portion of Killamook flat land for grazing, no matter what the natives have to say, vs. President Polk and the white settlers about to stake claims. (That spring, nobody that far north knows yet of a fateful discovery at Sutter's Mill a few days away.)

Berry presents the standoff and capitulation evenly, as the tribes find themselves outmatched by the rapacious ambitions and grasping desires of Americans. But Berry eschews stereotypes. Trask, with a Chinook-speaking indigenous wife, is fluent too, and he's an experienced trapper who'd come to the coast long before. We get very little backstory, but this only heightens verisimilitude, as he's taciturn.

To Berry's credit, there's no romanticized or demonized stock figures. Skin colors vary, shades of moral ambiguity blur, and motives for confrontation stem from customs, culture clashes, and pride. Since this appeared two-thirds of a century ago, I'd hazard Berry takes admirable pains to present fairly the predicaments which all sides found themselves caught up in, as pressures to colonize supposedly open expanses, pushed by politics of far distant economic and diplomatic entities, proved largely indifferent to those in the vanguard, who had to look their predecessors in the eye, across a fire, and translate why they'd demanded what was neither theirs to seize nor theirs to homestead.

Lust for acquisition remains, a fundamental flaw. As thousands amass to venture west, those already there can only wait. Nobody can hold back the forces of capitalism, lumber, livestock, or immigration.

The narrative takes hold by about 40% in, after disaster strikes. Suffice to say that Trask gets caught up in meddling between rival tribal factions, and winds up going on a "vision quest" which he's not prepared for spiritually. Or even, despite his bonafide status as a backwoods frontierman, physically.

Berry conveys the power of "take it easy" as a mantra, if a decade before the Eagles' catchy hit song. The terror of the cold, the fog of hunger, the fear of freezing, and the collapse of comprehension all pulse, visceral descriptions. This impels me to seek out the next installments, Moontrap and To Build a Ship. All inspired by Barry's parallel non-fictional study, A Majority of Scoundrels, about scrappy explorers who first encountered the peoples who'd preceded them near the Pacific and in the Rockies.

[Karlajansenmiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was difficult to put this book down each night. I enjoyed how curious it made me about different parts of Oregon's history. I went down a few rabbit holes to seek more info.

[Arlene Weible · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. Very enlightened about Native American culture for being written in 1960. Maybe a bit too much personal enlightenment through altered states for my taste, but the Oregon pioneer history is legit.

[Cathleen Hockman-wert · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who grew up in Oregon, I don't know how I missed hearing about this book until now. An amazing imagining of life on the north Oregon coast, before Oregon was even a territory, based on historical characters. Highly recommended to my Oregon friends.

[Holly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Set in 1848, this book tells the story of Trask, a historical figure, who was one of the pioneers who "settled" the west. It has been described as a book about "physical and psychological ordeal out of which comes self knowledge."

I struggled with this book on many levels. I thought the sentence structure was rudimentary (there is much subject --> verb --> direct object). The shifts in perspective are jarring; most of the book is told in the third person from Trask's perspective, but Berry intersperses other characters' perspectives when the plot needs to move; it is awkwardly done. The book also struck me as very male; almost no women exist in any meaningful way in the book. The men go about performing in large gestures. The decisions they make often result in gross violence. I could not identify w/ a single person in the book - I did best with the horse! I was left feeling that Trask was merely a stubborn, selfish man who would have what he wanted, the rest of the world be damned. He pushed himself in where he wasn't wanted, knowing and understanding and in fact sympathizing with the native people, justifying it with the trite reasoning, "If is isn't me, it'll be somebody else." His greed for the land, a desire to possess, was thrown into contrast with the native people's desire to co-exist with nature. Innocent people died for his greed, and he had very little remorse as he got what he wanted in the end. I came out of this book thinking that in fact, settlers in general were likely almost always unwanted and always disruptive and destructive, and that human exploration is a thing of shame. I think the reader is meant to feel that from his Searching, Trask found meaning and purpose and alignment within a larger context...but didn't he in fact just get what he wanted all along? Permission to possess the land?

*spoiler alert*
What Berry does accomplish in the book are a few incredibly arresting scenes, including beautiful description of the journey along the coast. The scene where the horse and Wakila fall of the cliff, Wakila still smiling, is incredibly done and imagined. To kill off one of Trask's few allies and one of the most sympathetic characters is a bold move that shocked me. The descriptions of the Killamooks and the Clatsops were also incredible - it left me wanting to learn more. They had slaves! They bathed every day (unlike the disgusting white people)! The descriptions of their food storage, systems of governance, spiritual journeys were fascinating.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Written by Oregon writer Don Berry, published in 1960. Set in 1848, the story of a fur trader/homesteader (Elbridge Trask) in the Willamette valley and his interactions and personal journey as he seeks to understand the norms and beliefs of the native American locals, including the Killamooks (modern day name -Tillamook). Sort of a hero's journey... he ends up traversing over the dangerous Killamook head to the more remote Killamook villages, and undertakes a transformation to become more like them and live like them. Ultimately including a hallucinatory journey into the wilderness, and resolution with his native American enemy in the village.

Trask was sort of John Wayne meets dancing with wolves. I enjoyed the read... the characters were a little stereotyped, but interesting, and I was rooting for Trask all the way given how respectfully he treated the native Americans. The end was a little drawn out as he had his hallucinatory conversion to the ways of the natives, so I felt compelled to skip through some of that. But given when it was written, I feel like it showed great compassion and insight and focus on the spirituality of the local native American culture and belief systems, not just seen as a society, but value as found by Trask, the individual.

[J Bjo · Rating 5 out of 5]

'White man can be the best or among the best of any other culture/race' is the general theme, like white man makes best samurai, white man becomes ultimate alien warrior, white man is quickly excepted as top notch in the 'foreigner' ranks, rugged individual white guy can do anything if he sets his power to it. However, that said, this is not a simple ass story like Avatar, Last Samurai etc. This is well written, complex, historic fiction, this is good. This is great. This is a heart wrenching story. You know how it ends, all the brown people will die or be 'gentrified' so we can get dairy products named after their community and read books about it. That is living history. If you're Chinook you will say this is 'Dances with Wolves', maybe. It's well worth a white read and acknowledgement of the type of folks who laid the groundwork for where you live and the type of folks who were removed, Oregon or otherwise. A starting point for non-fiction encounters.

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A revelatory book, and one that should be read much more widely, Trask is a brilliant examination of humanity, racism, exploration, and death. Don Berry captures the spirit and history of Oregon, but also does much more: Berry's characters are fully human and real, and several are members of Pacific Northwest tribes. Berry treats his characters with grace and allows them to be fully themselves, not caricatures. I wish I had read this book with a group because I have so many points I would like to discuss, especially the ending of the book - what is Berry saying, truly? There are many elements in the story that interested other writers in Berry's generation, including communing with nature, Eastern and Native spirituality, and finding connection with all beings; however, Berry also seems to be commenting on fate and the inevitability of conquest. A fascinating book, and I cannot recommend it more highly.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

After some recent reading experiences, I found it refreshing to find some historical fiction that attempts to portray indigenous people as important and culturally complex agents, rather than relegating them to the sidelines or erasing them altogether. While I can't vouch for the accuracy of everything here, it's a good effort and a welcome change.

I tend not to mind long-winded setting descriptions as much as other readers, but if you pick this up, know to expect them. They physical setting is rugged and harrowing, at times almost a character in and of itself, so it makes sense in the context of this novel, but it won't be everyone's cup of tea.

The spiritually transcendent ending is jarring and confusing, particularly given the events that it follows and the more down-to-earth feel of a lot of the book. Still, I respect that the novel didn't do what I expected it to do.

[Matt Mesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and a half stars. A solid adventure story of a mountain man and two Indian friends who set off to explore lands unseen to them on the Oregon coast. Our hero, Trask, wants to establish a settlement in these lands, which are occupied by the Killamook tribe. Cultures clash and trouble ensues and the trek challenges our wandering threesome. But before he is granted permission to settle, Trask must endure a Searching, or vision quest, to see if he is worthy. The outcome is life changing and transcendent for him--and not solely in a good way. .

It's a solid read but in the final quarter gets a bit bogged down with excruciating details of Trasks Searching. But all in all a worthwhile read.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this for the sense of place (the Oregon Coast, which I love) and, at times, the dry humor. Perhaps more importantly, it nudged me to think about fulfillment.

But, I think I see why Don Berry had to go to multiple companies, apparently resisting editorial suggestions (per the introduction). Certain sections are graphic--perhaps unnecessarily so. I gave myself permission to skim a couple of times. I was not a fan of the last 50-something pages, but I suppose even if I roll my eyes at the ending, it's a perspective to reckon with.

[Scott Schmidt · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always hesitate to 5-star anything, but this book exceeded any expectations I had about a "mountain man" novel. There's not a single A-typical aspect to plot or characters. Every piece of dialogue rang true as if I was walking the trail with Trask along the Oregon coast. I originally bought the book at Powell's in Portland, not knowing what to expect and let it sit on my shelf for years, so I'm glad I finally dusted it off. Really looking forward to reading more of Don Berry's works.

[Judy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Recommended as one of the best historical novels about Oregon, I really enjoyed this book. Written in 1960, set on the Northern Oregon Coast around 1848, this is a fictionalized story of Elbridge Trask, a real pioneer that settled near the Killamook tribe on Tillamook Bay. The author, interested in Oregon history, researched this account carefully through coastal museums and Native American stories. The Trask is one of five rivers that enter Tillamook Bay.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The poignant moments in this book, particularly the ending, hits you so hard between gut and heart that it’s hard to believe this book isn’t more renowned. Sometimes it’s the simplest of stories that move us so deeply through the complexities of our own human behavior, only to wake us with such clarity and purpose that we’re moved to forever see the world differently; like the clarity of observation as a child mixed with the humbleness and meaning of a life already lived.

[Ruth Vanderhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

I discovered this book while wandering through Powell's bookstore in Portland. They featured it on a list of books to read before you die. So glad I did! Berry's beautifully written account of the early settling of Oregon is moving and memorable-- a finely drawn picture of life among the Tillamook tribe and the world-changing arrival of the "Boston men, " including the main character, the unforgettable Trask. Am looking forward to books 2 and 3 of the trilogy!

[Jason · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book should be better than 3 stars, BUT... I had assumed that the books that followed this one in Berry's Oregon trilogy would follow on with the same story. When I picked up the second book and discovered that it was a completely different story, just still set in mid 19th century Oregon, it completely ruined the ending of this one. NOTHING was resolved! Otherwise, this would have been a 4 star book, easy.

[Ron Sanderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is unique in its depiction of the clash/meshing of Native American culture with the onslaught of Western "civilization". The introduction of Native American language and customs in a scenario of "first" contact. That it was written in the 1950's makes it even more of a premonition of current thinking about the devastation of Western American Indian civilizations.

[Book Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

BETSY’S PICK

Book Club in Manzanita, the prefer location to discuss Elbridge Trask’s life and journeys. We liked the book and were glad to walk the same beach he did 172 years ago. I created a much-needed map for the book.

Doug: 4.0 Stars

Kathy: 3.25 Stars

Wade: 3.5 Stars

Betsy: 4.25 Stars

[Patty Grasher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was suggested as being one of the best books to understand early Oregon history. It was very well written and did build an authentic look at the hardship and conditions of life for those first American settlers.

The story line itself was engaging and definitely worth reading for that alone.

Great Book.

[Diane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply....Trask

I read this book when it was originally published it. I really enjoyed the book but I reread it once more as an elderly woman and was pleased to revisit the novel. The tenacity of Trask has lasted many years and it was once more to learn to function for survival and peace

[Callie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't know when I'll revisit this one. Was doing some research and wanted to read about the Oregon coast. It's a decent book, but I ended up getting caught up in other things. It's on the bookcase in my living room in case I want to give it another shot.

[Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

“It is, in fact, no matter of clods of earth and stands of timber and runs of water. These are reasonable things, and the land-lusts of a man have no more than passing congress with them. What moves a man - and, ultimately, the only thing that moves him deeply - is the finding of his own image, the solid configuration of himself, worked in materials of better staying quality than bone and blood.”

Trask follows the mountain man Eldridge Trask on his journey, alongside two Native Americans, from his wife and homestead to Murderer’s Harbor, a rumored bountiful and unsettled land that requires long treacherous passage on foot to reach. Don Berry weaves together the dangers and bounties of the natural world with the social dynamics between the local tribes and the “Boston Men” to capture the complicated scenes of the territory of Oregon just prior to statehood. As Trask, his skills steeped in years spent fur trapping, embarks on the journey, he must masterfully navigate the dangers of the land, tribes, rumors, and his own inner demons in order to arrive at the possibility of settling the beautiful harbor. This story captured me from beginning to end.