The Gates Of the Mountains

In this fictionalize, but highly accurate accounting of the Lewis and Clark expedition to map and discover what Thomas Jefferson had purchased from France--the Louisiana Purchase of 1803--Will Henry tells the story of one of the men in that group of twenty--Francois Rivet--a man still listed as missing from that adventure. Rivet joined the expedition to search for his father who had been captured by the Shoshone Indians years before; but his search led him to Sacajawea and a rivaly with Captain Clark for her love. I leave that alone. But beyond that, the underlying tone of the book is the hardship and struggle these men faced as they crossed the prairie and the mountains to the great Northwest of Oregon and Washington, and what kind of men it took to undergo such an adventure. Do we have such men today? Men who would do what it takes for the good of the country? This book is a wonderful read--history and adventure and mystery all in one.