 | |
| Author | Andrew Garcia |
|---|---|
| Translator | The first edition of Andrew Garcia's memoir, with Garcia himself on the cover. |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Autobiography |
| Publisher | Houghton Mifflin |
Publication date | January 1, 1967 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 446 |
| OCLC | 576084564 |
Tough Trip Through Paradise 1878-1879 is the autobiography of Andrew Garcia (1853-1943), a man of Hispanic descent who was born in El Paso, but moved north to Montana in 1876 and became a mountain man.[1] He wrote down his story in his later years, but never seriously sought publication due to a combination of disapproval from family members and fear of his story being exploited by dime novelists.[2] The book covers Garcia's time in Montana from 1878 through 1879.
Garcia served as a herder and packer for the U.S. Army in Montana in the Yellowstone and Musselshell country, working for Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis' "Boys in Blue" out of Fort Ellis from 1876-1878.[3] He was present during the Nez Perce War. The book begins in 1878, when Garcia left his job with the army to go into business with a man named Beaver Tom, trapping beaver and trading for buffalo robes.[2] While trading with members of the Pend d'Oreilles tribe, Garcia met and married a Nez Perce woman known among the Pend d'Oreille as In-who-lise ('Broken Tooth'; her original name, Kot-kot-hy-hih, means White Feather), who had been with Chief Joseph's tribe when they ran from the U.S. Cavalry.[4] The book includes Garcia's reproduction of her firsthand account of the final engagement with 7th Infantry at the Battle of the Big Hole.
- ^ Smith, Diane. "Tough Trip to Publication: Tough Trip Through Paradise and the Beautiful Wives of Andrew Garcia." Montana: The Magazine of Western History 58, no. 4 (2008): 3-21.
- ^ a b Worldcat.org. Tough trip through paradise, 1878-1879. OCLC 576084564.
- ^ franksrealm.com. "Andrew Garcia - Mountain Man". Retrieved 2011-12-26.
- ^ Montana Historical Society. "Guide to the Ben Stein Research Collection (1908-2003)". Retrieved 2013-07-08.