Trappers and Traders of the Far West Author:James Daugherty Beaver skins! We need beaver skins! The early nineteenth century demanded thousands of skins for the making of fashionable beaver hats. — But the men who journeyed west to trap beaver cared nothing for fashion. They wanted adventure--and there was no shortage of that in the unmapped land beyond the Mississippi. — This book describes two expedit... more »ions--one by sea and one overland--sent out by John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company to establish a trading post on the west coast. The incredible adventures of the fur trappers on these perilous journeys--from unfriendly Indians and stampeding buffalo to blizzards, hunger and thirst--make fascinating reading.« less