Forty Years a Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri: The Personal Narrative of Charles Larpenteur, 1833-1872 Book

I enjoyed this book. The details it provided concerning Indian customs and culture as well as the fur trade made it very interesting. Prior to reading this book my impression was that the bulk of the fur trade was done with anglo trappers - not so, at least not on the upper Missouri River. In the last chapter of the book, Larpenteur provides insight as to the customs and culture of the Indians in the area. He also gives his thoughts on the government's policies in dealing with the Indians, in particular the placement of military forts along the Missouri which he saw as un-necessary. This was something that struck a chord with me as my wife and I recently visited Fort Buford and its cemetery. We were both surprised at how few of the graves were due to being killed by Indians. Most of the deaths were due to disease or accidents. We both commented at the time that maybe there wasn't much fighting with the Indians in this area. Apparently, Larpenteur was right!