John Colter: His Years in the Rockies

by Burton Harris, David Lavender (Introduction)

John Colter was a crack hunter with the Lewis and Clark expedition before striking out on his own as a mountain man and fur trader. A solitary journey in the winter of 1807-8 took him into present-day Wyoming. To unbelieving trappers he later reported sights that inspired the name of Colter's Hell. It was a sulfurous place of hidden fires, smoking pits, and shooting water. And it was real. John Colter is known to history as probably the first white man to discover the region that now includes Yellowstone National Park. In a classic book, first published in 1952, Burton Harris weighs the facts and legends about a man who was dogged by misfortune and "robbed of the just rewards he had earned." This Bison Book edition includes a 1977 addendum by the author and a new introduction by David Lavender, who considers Colter's remarkable winter journey in the light of current scholarship. 

Genres: History, Biography, American History, Nonfiction, Westerns, Adventure

184 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1983

Reviews

[Greg Strandberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fantastic read for anyone interested in early fur trapping, the history of Lewis & Clark, or how the early western frontier opened up in America.

John Colter was one of the crack-shot riflemen on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and he was released from service in August 1806 to guide two trappers further up the Missouri River. This book details that winter and also Colter's subsequent life. I highly recommend it!

Update: I read this book again in April, 2015. I've read sections of it so many times on Google Books since 2013 that I'm not sure how many times I've gone through it. One thing I do know, if you want detailed information on how beaver were trapped or which early explorers were on the Yellowstone in the 1790s, this is the book. You get more, and it's well worth the used or new price.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

**1/2 I didn't particularly care for this book. It is a non-fiction book about John Colter & his geographical discoveries he made as an early mountain man. I like the subject manner at hand but didn't care for how the book proceeded. I was expecting more of a biography type book and didn't get what I was expecting. To me it read more so as a school textbook that debated the many different theories of Colter's discoveries as there was very little written history but rather stories told by others that knew him or entries taken from the Lewis & Clark expedition, with whom Colter was enlisted with at one time.

[Tanner Smithwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this read! As others said, it was on the drier, more “textbook” side of narration, but given that it was originally published in the 1950’s and is structured as somewhat of a scholarly compilation, that’s to be expected. As the author keenly points out, most of Colter’s exploits that have been passed down through the last couple centuries were largely hearsay and campfire stories, so it was really cool to read the closest thing available to a true biography of such an important character in the American frontier west.

I loved that it wove in stories of other characters who were major players in the exploration of the frontier during Colter’s time, creating a really vivid backdrop for the era. I’m totally a map and history geek, especially when it comes to the American West, so this was really a great read - I learned a ton!

[Robert · Rating 1 out of 5]

I looked forward to this book with great anticipation. I suppose I was expecting too much. I considered rating it two stars so as not to hurt any feelings of past reviews but, at last, I could not get past one star.

I felt there was too much in the book about other personalities and too little about John Colter. However, as I said before, perhaps I was expecting something like the quality of Undaunted Courage (Stephen Ambrose) or Blood and Thunder (Hampton Sides). In the end, I found the book to be highly disappointing.

[Ronald Spitzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

The longevity of this book says much about its quality. First published in 1952 and then Bison reprinted it in 1993. I bought the book new at Yellowstone in 2023 and just finished reading it in 2024. This is a well-researched book about an ordinary person who just happened to become known for finding the hot springs, geysers, etc. in the Yellowstone area. Colter's Rocky Mountain career is interesting. The author explains his sources and makes logical deductions based on the evidence. The author spent great effort finding things out about a common person that has a fascinating life but is at the same time lives in a time period that does not pay attention to just regular people. This book also answered my questions about other western men in ways the sanitized biographies you see on the Internet lack in revealing the true character of the person. A prime case in point is Manuel Lisa who was Colter's boss for several years.

[Thad · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great, mid-century biography of one of the neglected figures of western lore. What we have here is a thoroughly and lovingly researched history, presented well by someone who lived in the country opened by this subject, John Colter. There are a lot of places and names here, and taking notes would help, but I found this to be an exciting page-turner, and even a bit whimsical in tone.
I picked this up at Yellowstone National Park, as I was interested in learning more about the namesake of the campground where I was staying (Colter's Bay). Through this book, I learned about a life bravely and vigorously lived. Mr. Harris has done Colter and interested readers a great service.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy learning about the American West and this was a really good book to learn about one of the people that fascinated me when I first heard of him. Unfortunately there is just so much we don't know about John Colter that a lot of his intriguing life remains a mystery. It amazes the grit and perseverance of what he was able to accomplish during his years on the Lewis and Clark Expedition and trapping thereafter. It is really amazing.

[Thomas J Elpel · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are very few historical references about John Colter’s life, but this book compiles the available information into one comprehensive work. This text was obviously the source for much of the factual information behind the narrative in Stephen Gough’s historical fiction titled, “Colter’s Run.” Gough’s book is easier to read, and I probably would have gotten lost with Harris’s book if I hadn’t read the other first. It was enlightening to see the connections between fiction and nonfiction.

[Richard Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like so many books about the mountian men, there is little primary sources to document there life. Author does good job of telling the accepted tales of his exploits, but wish he had done a better presentation of maps to detail his exploits in 1808. Books does good job of filling in the time period between Lewis and Clark and Astoria.

[Gail · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, this book is another Colter book mainly based on conjecture. The author sincerely researched, studied and attempted to deliver a confirmed accounting of Colters years in the frontier, it falls short once again.

[Cindy Francey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author spends half the book explaining where he got his information from or the reasons for his lack of information. There is only a small amount of information about John Colter and his exploits.

[Esther Steiner · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great read on John Colter, one of the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, his life of trapping beaver afterwards, and the story of his discovery of the geysers at what is now Yellowstone National Park.

[Evil Klown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent account & history of John Colter. He accompanied the Lewis & Clark expedition and also discovered Yellowstone in the first decade of the 1800’s.

[Will DeMan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for research, you can tell it was written in the 50s.

[Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's interesting but a bit of a hard read. That said, I must compliment the author for putting this story together from such scant resources.

[Nancy Lewis · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has so little information about John Colter that much of it is actually about other people instead - Lewis & Clark, Manuel Lisa, and others that knew Colter. When the author does discuss Colter himself, much of what he says is obvious conjecture: 'Colter very likely...'; 'he might well have...', 'he must have...', 'Colter would not have...', 'There is no reason for believing that Colter...', etc. It looks like there are several newer books on Colter out there. Maybe one of those will have more insight into the mystery.

[Benjamin Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Colter was a key member of the Lewis and Clark expedition before striking out on his own to become a mountain man and fur trader. He is often credited with being the first white man to see the wonders of what is today known as Yellowstone National Park. I’ve read a fair number of biographies of frontiersman over the years because, frankly, that historical period of America fascinates me and the men and women of that time are truly inspirations. Earlier this year I was fortunate to be able to visit both Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks and picked up this volume in order to fill in one of the holes in my collection.

Unfortunately, as evidenced by this biography, there is a lot that is simply unknown about John Colter and his life. He wasn’t the sort to leave behind diaries or much in the way of letters, etc. so any biographer is forced to rely on the observations of others, much of which has been passed down as stories, hearsay, and even tall tales. The author is careful to distinguish among them though so the reader is never in doubt about what is factual and what is speculation.

Because there is so little actually known about Colter, much of this book is padded with descriptions and actions of other people whom he encountered such as Manuel Lisa, William Clark, and numerous Indian tribes. Thorough descriptions of how fur trapping operations worked and attempts to prove where Colter may have been at any particular time based on a tedious comparison of the maps being developed at the time tend to drag down the narrative even though they can be interesting subjects in their own right. There is even a full chapter on the marvels of beaver engineering.

Overall, it was an interesting read…I just wish we knew more about John Colter himself.

[James (JD) Dittes]

Colter was the first American to explore Northwestern Wyoming, including the Yellowstone area, Colter's Hell (a now dormant geologic hot spot east of Cody) the Tetons, Jackson Hole, and a host of other places. Should I add that he did the entire 500-mile route alone...in winter...on foot?

And this wasn't even the coolest thing he did (although Harris, a native Wyominger, seems to think so). I'l always take "Colter's Run," in which he was stripped of his clothes, given a 50-yard head start, and then chased by screaming Blackfeet Indians.

Known as "the first mountain man," Colter was a veteran of Lewis & Clark's Corps of Discovery--a seminal figure in the American expansion into the West. Harris does a fair job here. The language seems a little outdated, and the style is too conversational to be scholarly, too expository to be entertaining. He obsesses over geographical possibilities that would only concern someone who knew northwestern Wyoming quite well. I kept thinking, "someone should update this."

Still, Colter's experiences need little embellishment. This book is in every bookstore in Yellowstone, and it is a worthwhile insight into the region's first American explorer.

[Lynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the amazing trappers from our early western history. He's the man who discovered Yellowstone. He led a very exciting life and managed to return to civilization (such as it was) instead of being killed by weather, accident, or hostile natives.

Very interesting book to read about the history as well as this person's exploits. He did incredible things.

I read bits of this a year or so before, but just finished reading it cover to cover.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

John Couter is proported to be one of the first men to see the Yellowstone region of Wyoming. Little of his birth and of the last three years of his life are know. Most of this biography is conjecture with the only fully documented part of his life is the time of his service with the Louis and Clark expedition.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably the first white man to see Yellowstone Park's geysers and mud pots, finding facts to verify the many legends about him is nearly impossible. John Colter traveled to the Columbia and back with Lewis & Clark, then scouted up the Yellowstone River for the intrepid Manuel Lisa. A good read.

[Ted Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m filling in the blanks of early fur trapping era. Colter was a beast and survived some pretty wild adventures. The author did a little too much speculating to fill in where no written accounts address periods of Colter’s life. I’m not a fan of that but he didn’t try to hide it either.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know before what a trappers life was like. It was pretty interesting.

[Andrew W · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best book covering the life of John Colter. End of discussion.