A first-hand account of one of America’s most joyful explorers. As a member of Jedediah Smith’s first mountain man brigade, James Clyman was there when the South Pass was discovered, opening the inter-mountain West to fur trappers. Traversing the American West, he experienced a host of events in the untamed 1800’s frontier. From encountering the Donner Party to sewing Jim Bridger’s ear back on after a grizzly bear attack, and walking six hundred miles to Fort Atkinson, Clyman journeyed twice to the Pacific before settling in Napa Valley. There, he raised a family and began sharing tales of the legendary mountain men. Told with vivid description and using Clyman’s historic journal entries, Win Blevins brings to life a bygone era of adventure and danger in this colorful memoir. Drawing on real-life experiences in the American fur trade, readers are sure to be immersed in the heart-pounding excitement of the American frontier. “Blevins shows us the glory years of frontier life, fresh and rich.” — Kirkus Reviews on Beauty for Ashes