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Title: Magnum opus
Review: This is a lively, energetic and realistic account of life in the 1846 American West. Parkman's "Oregon Trail" is considered a timeless, historical masterpiece and rightfully so. Only twenty three years old, he and his friend Quincy Adams Shaw went west "on a tour of curiosity and amusement to the Rocky Mountains". Stopping off at Fort Laramie, we acquire a taste of what life was like there in those early days of overland emigrants, trappers, traders, Indians and "ruffians". He then spends time with the Sioux, observing and describing their behavior, culture and customs while in the Laramie Mountains and Valley, and the foothills of the Medicine Bow Mountains. From here, Parkman and Shaw travel down the front range of Colorado to Pueblo, Bent's Fort and back to St. Louis via the Arkansas River. Being a very descriptive writer, we gain an insightful and vivid look as to geographical landforms and the characters who lived in those days. Excellent.
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