A novel of thrilling adventure and colorful romance about pioneer days in the great northwestern Washington Territory takes its place among the fine novels about early America. Its historical background is real, based on facts from original sources. 440 pages.
"Mighty Mountain" was published in 1940, so its strong proNative and environmental stance took me by surprise. While literarily it reads much like a romantic prudish nanny novel, the facts of its historical plot and description of the pristine natural setting of the 1850s are riveting. Told from the eyes of fictional young settler Elmer, it relays the story of the life and times of the famous Nisqually chieftain, Leschi. The somewhat-distant third person choice of an unremarkable hero was a good one for the reinterpretation of a disputed historical record. Reading it, I went from "ho hum" to "o my." A rare find for lovers of the PacNW.