The Adventures of Captain Bonneville

The biography of Benjamin Bonneville - U. S. Army officer, fur trapper, and bold adventurer of the Old West - is presented here in full.

A legend of his time, Captain Bonneville personified the expansionary spirit of the United States during the early-to-mid 19th century. His intrepid journey westwards to Oregon, where he blazed and charted what would become known as the 'Oregon Trail' across the dangerous and unknown wilderness, resulted in some of the most legendary adventures ever had in the Wild West. 

Writing in the 1830s, at the time when Bonneville was at the peak of his renown both in North America and internationally, Washington Irving capably and authentically used his gifts to chronicle the life of his subject. Primarily known for his fictional writings, Irving organized this book into episodic chapters, wherein the major events and highlights of Bonneville's trailblazing life are told as a sequential story. 

Although Bonneville was a formidable explorer of considerable constitution and might, his ability to organize his notes and journals were not equal to single-handedly composing an autobiography. Washington Irving made him an offer to buy his notes, which he would organize, rework and publish into this very biography. As a master wordsmith, Irving did the fullest justice to Bonneville's adventures, and the biography duly became a classic of American literature enjoyed by generations. 

The Adventures of Captain Bonneville is enjoyable as both a history and a real life adventure story. To this day, it retains its rightful place as one of the finest biographies of the pioneer era.