Featured in this lot is a Montana Wilderness History Books Collection including: "Prospecting For Gold", Granville Stuart ; "High Trails of Glacier National Park", Margaret Thompson; and, "A Governor's Wife on the Mining Frontier", James L. Thane, Jr. Granville Stuart, often credited as the first man to discover gold in Montana, was an American pioneer, gold prospector, businessman, civic leader, vigilante, author, cattleman and diplomat who played a prominent role in the early history of Montana Territory and the state of Montana. His journals and writings have provided Montana and western historians unique insights into life in the Northern Rocky Mountains and Great Plains during the second half the 19th century. Glacier National Park was established on May 11, 1910. Highways penetrate it at points, yet the best of its scenic displays will never be witnessed save by those hardy enough to brave the trails, the crowning glory of Glacier. Afoot or on horseback, the trails lead to the zenith of outdoor enjoyment, and the nature lover will find the solitude the heart desires. The American Rockies make their bow to the Canadian Rockies, surrounded by fifteen hundred and thirty-four square miles of glacier-strewn mountains, flower-carpeted cirques, shimmering blue lakes, roaring waterfalls, crystal-clear streams, and conifer-clad slopes. Interlacing this "backbone of the world" is a network of trails, leading from valley to valley, back and forth across the backbone, threading every pass, ascending and descending seemingly unscalable walls, solving the riddle of a challenging wilderness. Mary Wright Edgerton left her home, family, and friends in Ohio to follow her husband 2,500 miles to the western gold fields, to the very edge of civilization. Her husband, Sidney, was appointed territorial chief justice of Idaho, then governor of Montana Territory. Though not as dangerous as contemporary western fiction sometimes portrays it, the trip was arduous. When the family settled in Bannock on the eastern side of the Rocky Mountains, it was a primitive mining camp. Mary had spent much of her life in a large house surrounded by family and friends. Now she was confined to a small log cabin with a leaky dirt roof and inadequate hearing. Of the few women in Bannock, fewer still were genteel. It was a town of men seeking a quick fortune and women who catered to them. When Sidney traveled to Washington, D.C., to lobby for territorial issues, Mary stayed behind with their young daughter. During such periods she would write about her experiences, vividly describing her journeys and episodes of frontier life. She was witness to several of the most important developments in Montana's history; her letters home to Ohio provide significant information and intriguing insights into a woman's perspective, an area where documentation is scarce and her letters therefore fill a conspicuous gap. These books are in fair to very nice condition, "Prospecting For Gold", a soft cover, has the center section detached from the spine; other books are hardcovers in solid conditions. Books measure 5.25"W x 8"L, 6.25"W x 9.25"L, and, 6.25"W x 9.5"L respectively, total weight 3lb, 2oz.