Wild River Pioneers
Raging down through the Flathead s Continental Divide wilderness, the Middle Fork was born wild, but the pioneers who first explored it over a hundred years ago seem equally untamed. John s book gives a spellbinding history on those daring, valiant, and sometimes different people. I d buy the book just for the chapter on Josephine Doody (the Bootleg Lady of Glacier Park).  George Ostrom, Montana s most colorful newsman, and author of Glacier s Secrets, and other books about Glacier National Park --George OstromOnce started on the stories, I read them all nonstop except for two lumber sales, four visitors, at least three coffee breaks, and one night of deep sleep recovering from the adventures of the Middle Fork s People. Hooked on the pace, suspense, and interest, I wanted always to see the next page. Would that my knees were once again strong enough to rediscover the sense of place of your story. I wish I were Slippery Bill at age 35...  Bud Moore, retired U. S. Forest Service Official Emeritus, noted conservationist, and author of The Lochsa Story: Land Ethics in the Bitterroot Mountains --Bud MooreIf natural surroundings could be deliberately secretive, reclusive, inhospitable, and grandly beautiful as well, the Middle Fork of the Flathead River would be the ultimate example. Much of John Fraley s life has been shaped by the fact that as a biologist and as a curious, caring individual he has tramped those mountains, rivers, and streams, hunted, trapped, and sought out the life-details of the few earliest settlers, eloquently sharing them with us. Read this book and you shall be touched by the heart, not only of the author, but those whose biographical records he has so diligently sought out even to their graves.  Carle F. O Neil, historian and author of Muscle, Grit, and Big Dreams: Earliest Towns of the Flathead, and Two Men of Demersville --Carl O'neil