Scotsman Dawson (1817-71) was the central figure in the waning days of the fur trade in what is now North Dakota, and his retirement from the Upper Missouri Outfit of the American Fur Company in 1864 signaled the end of that trade. During his time there, beginning in 1847, he sent long and detailed letters to his family in Scotland, which were passed down unawares by the family until recently. Here are 37 letters written between 1844 and 1861, highly annotated, introduced by a biographical sketch of Dawson. The Arthur H. Clark Co. is an imprint of the University of Oklahoma Press. Annotation 2013 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
