R. M. Patterson: A Life of Great Adventure

Finch, David

ISBN 10: 0921102755 / ISBN 13: 9780921102755

Published by Rocky Mountain Books, 2000

About this Item

Fast Free Shipping â A well-loved copy with text fully readable and cover pages intact. May display wear such as writing, highlighting, bends, folds or library marks. Still a complete and usable book.

Seller Inventory # GWV.0921102755.A

Bibliographic Details

• Title: R. M. Patterson: A Life of Great Adventure
• Publisher: Rocky Mountain Books
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0921102755
• ISBN 13: 9780921102755
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: acceptable

About this title

Synopsis

"I think that will be a great adventure" said R.M. Patterson's mentor at the Bank of England when informed of the young man's decision to leave for Canada in 1924. He could not have known all the adventures that awaited Patterson in the Canadian wilds. This biography goes with Patterson to the Peace River country of northern Alberta where he homesteaded and on to the Northwest Territories, where he lived out his dream-questing after the fabled Nahanni gold on the River of Death. There, his escapades earned him the title "Hard to Kill" and provided the basis for Patterson's bestseller The Dangerous River.

Patterson then married sweetheart Marigold Portman in 1929 and took up cattle and dude ranching on the Buffalo Head Ranch in the foothills of the Canadian Rockies. Not content to just settle down and raise a family, he also used the ranch as a base for his adventures and spent the next 16 years exploring the high country of the Continental Divide with such colourful characters as George Pocaterra and Adolf Baumgart.

In the late 1940s the Patterson family moved to Vancouver Island, where RMP continued his exploration of remote northern rivers in British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. And he returned to his beloved Nahanni three more times. By the time of his death in 1984, Patterson had become a Canadian legend, both for his exploits and for his five published books and numerous articles. His vivid portrayal of the Canadian wilderness has never been bettered. Through Patterson's diaries and letters and through personal communication with Patterson's family and friends, David Finch has created a fascinating portrait of a man who lived life to the fullest.

About the Author

Born in pre-revolutionary Cuba, David Finch was the only son of Canadian missionaries. Finch earned a master s degree in post confederation Canadian history at the University of Calgary. He currently lives in Calgary where he earns a living writing, teaching and researching the history of the Canadian west.