My Sixty Years on the Plains: Trapping, Trading, and Indian Fighting

In writing this book the author had only one end in view, that of relating in a simple way his experiences as a mountaineer. In these days, when such experiences are fast becoming a thing of the past, the story is of special interest.

William Thomas Hamilton was born into a wealthy family in England but was brought to American when he was two years old. A sickly youngster, he was sent west by his father in 1842 with a trapping party headed by Old Bill” Williams (who would gain notoriety as the guide of General John C. Frémont’s fourth expedition into the Western territories) to improve his health. Hamilton remained in the West for the rest of his life. He died in Missoula, Montana.