WESTERN TRAILS

A VIRTUAL BOOK TOUR OF THE WEST

Defining the West has always been a tricky proposition for historians—is it place? is it process?—but no one can deny the importance of the legendary paths and trails that have shaped and defined the region. 

Long before European invasion and settlement, indigenous peoples developed a vast network of trading and hunting trails that later newcomers would follow in exploring and settling the western expanses of North America. With the newly formed United States seeking to define and expand its boundaries, exploring parties set out across the plains and Rocky Mountains in an effort to discover the best routes to the Pacific Ocean while also trying to fill in the blank spaces on their maps that were anything but blank to the peoples already living there.

Following in the wake of explorers such as Lewis and Clark came fur trappers, Oregon-bound pioneers, gold-seeking miners heading to California, Mormons seeking sanctuary, young riders delivering mail by pony, cowboys trailing cattle, and a host of others whose movement across the West gave names to the trails they followed. In turn their stories became part of the literary legacy of the West, and Bison Books has helped sustain that legacy for many years through the publication of hard-copy books. Now, in its ongoing commitment to preserving the West’s literary legacies, Bison Books is proud to present its new virtual guide to these stories by offering a geographic guide and links to the e-books that capture these historic trail narratives. 

BOOK TOUR STOPS

  1. Nebraska’s Cowboy Trail
    KILGORE, NEBRASKA
  2. Fort Laramie and the Pageant of the West, 1834-1890
    FORT LARAMIE, WYOMING
  3. Bent’s Fort
    BENT’S FORT, COLORADO
  4. Pony Express
    SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA
  5. The Lewis and Clark Expedition Day by Day
    CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT, WASHINGTON
  6. Lewis and Clark among the Indians
    WASHBURN, NORTH DAKOTA
  7. Westward Vision
    OREGON CITY, OREGON
  8. Covered Wagon Women
    SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
  9. Why Sacagawea Deserves the Day Off
    GREAT FALLS, MONTANA