Throne of Grace
By Bob Drury and Tom Clavin
This book is a history lesson. It begins some years after the famous Lewis and Clark expedition, and tells the story of the opening of the American west from the Canadian border to the southern Spanish held territory.
The push by Europeans was initially sparked by the fur trade. The demand for beaver and other furs was high in Europe, and America seemingly had an endless supply. White men established forts and trading posts from which they traded for pelts with the indigenous peoples. Unfortunately, the white men did not foresee what they were bringing about when they started trading guns to the Indians. The Spaniards in the meantime had introduced horses to the Americas.
The combination of guns and horses transformed various Indian tribes from stationary, sometimes agrarian, societies to hunters able to wander much farther afield after prey – and upped the level of intertribal warfare. Thus, as white men put together more expeditions for exploration and trapping, they found themselves up against more mobile and well-armed adversaries.
Enter Jedediah Strong Smith. Smith was a young man who came to St. Louis seeking adventure. He went on to become a famous "mountain man" – hunter, trapper, explorer – who helped open up the west all the way to the Pacific. His exploits encouraged others to "go west". Unfortunately, Jedediah himself was killed at the age of 32 at the hands of Indians. His legacy survives him in American history.
If you are a history buff, this book has much to offer you.
Boyd A. Blumer
Jennifer Lara