The Last of The Mountain Men

Bill was our cloest neighbor for year we spent at Mackey Bar. Here was a man with emense talents in gardening, engineering, wilderness survival and with a very humerous side. The first time I met Bill he told me the story about a teacher (I was the teacher at Mackey Bar) who came back there many years ago. The story goes that a certain lady had taken a liking to him but he was unresponsive to which they found him face down in a ditch, retired. That was my introduction to Bill. This book captures much of Bills life and is an excellent story of a truly great American. In all our fantasies we think we can go to the wilderness and live happily ever after. Not so, not true. It's a jungle out there folks but Bill did it with flare and grace. He was a frontier gentleman. He really took a liking to my wife. He changed her name to Bridget because he said she reminded him of the patron saint of the Celts. I found in Bill someone I could talk to about current events (he subscribed to the New York Times), art, literature and of course, living in the wilderness. His life was art as you can see by the many illstrations in Peterson's book. My hats off to Peterson for capturing a truly unique individual. A must read for those interested in a man of our time living in another time.

My review is very brief. I met the Last of the Mountain Men in 1975 and contrary to those who think he was not a Mountain Man, they are very much mistaken. I lived in Idaho at the time and went to the River of No Return, the Salmon River near where Buckskin Bill lived. But, I saw him in Donnelly, Idaho instead and he wrote in the paperback book I had about him, entitled "Last of the Mountain Men," the following two words only: "Be Prepared!" And, he signed it in hieroglyphics (in this sense: A system of writing which uses pictures for concepts and ideas). He drew in crayon for me in the book a picture of a deer head with antlers (buck), a picture of a skinned deer, and a picture of a beak of a bird (bill). This is all TRUE! Hence, Buckskin Bill! I give this book a 5 star rating because I read it, but more than that, I met the man and he definitely was a Mountain Man. John Lisowski Juneau, Alaska

This book is an inspiration to anyone who wishes to be more independent and self reliant. Sylvan Hart epitomizes these qualities. It was his inspiration which lead my husband and I to find land in North Idaho and build our own log home far from the power lines and mail run. The author does a superb job of introducing you to this unique and accomplished character. I have given my copy of the book away too many times and now have some in reserve for the next person who shows more thatn a passing interest in a self-contained life and nearly total off-the-grid independence.

Awesome to think about life for Buckskin Bill. Makes you feel like you know the man and depressed that you never got the chance to stop by when on a float on the main salmon and say hi.

Sylvan hart lived as remote and pure a life as any man in the last half of this century. He was supremely skilled in survival, yet his skills were art. Perhaps his knowledge of natures resources and techniques of self sufficiency encouraged his retreat from society, but he must have also have been drawn by ancestral voices. This book delivers the reader to pristine, soon to be rediscovered Salmon River wilderness in Idaho. Looking over the shoulder of this man's calm, deliberate and happy practices of early skills may be your only insight to the price you are paying for societal safety.