Tribute to the Mountain Men

The New York Times bestselling author Win Blevins presents a poetic tribute to the dauntless "first Westerners" who explored the Great American West from the time of Lewis and Clark into the 1840s, in his book "Give Your Heart to the Hawks." Stunningly portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio in the Golden Globe Award-winning and twelve-time Academy Award nominated film The Revenant, mountain man Hugh Glass's harrowing journey of 300 miles to civilization after being mauled by a grizzly bear and left for dead is just one of the incredible adventures explored by Blevins.

As trappers in a hostile, trackless land, the exploits of these early explorers opened the gates of the mountains for the wagon trains of pioneers who followed them. Among the enthralling stories Blevins presents are:

• John Colter, who, in 1808, naked and without weapons or food, escaped captivity by the Blackfeet and ran and walked 250 miles to Fort Lisa at the mouth of the Yellowstone River.
• Kit Carson, who ran away from home at age 17, became a legendary mountain man in his 20s and served as scout and guide for John C. Fremont's westward explorations of the 1840s.
• Jedediah Smith, a tall, gaunt, Bible-reading New Yorker whose trapping expeditions ranged from the Rockies to California and who was killed by Comanches on the Cimarron in 1831.

In addition to the captivating story of Hugh Glass, Blevins' work provides a poetic tribute to these dauntless "first Westerners" who braved the challenges of the Great American West, paving the way for the pioneers who followed in their footsteps.

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