Into The Wilderness Author:National Geographic Society Separated from his companions during a buffalo hunt, a lone explorer wanders across the nighttime prairie. By the time he sights a signal flare from his camp, young John Charles Fremont has gain heady confidence in himself as an adventurer. Explorers like Fremont risked their lives as they charted the vast territories of North America. Lured by ... more »furs and gold, or sent on official missions, they ranged across the continent, establishing routes that settlers would soon follow. The seven authors of this book take you on a voyage of discovery into America's past. The Trail begins in the deserts of the southwest with two Franciscan friars, Dominguez and Escalante. Next, botanist William Bartram evokes the natural wonders of the southeast. Then the scene shifts to Kentucky, were you meet the man behind the legendary Daniel Boone. Join fur traders Alexander Mackenzie and David Thompson in the wilds of Canada, venture from Hudson Bay to the Pacific, north to the Arctic. Follow Lewis and Clark in their search for the Northwest Passage. Pause to swap stories with mountain men at he annual rendezous. And finally enter the promised land of California with t the daring Fremont.« less