A Lady’s Life
in the Rocky Mountains
in the Rocky Mountains
by Isabella Bird
Isabella Bird was born in 1831 in Yorkshire. She was a precocious child, but both she and her father (a minister) were in frail health. Their family doctor suggested travel for their ailments. She had already written several books about her travels when she penned these letters to her sister.
The letters written in the year 1879 are about her travels from San Francisco through the Rocky Mountains and on into Denver - 800 miles on favorite horse, Birdie. During these three months, as she travels the terrain, watching the sunrises and sunsets, one wishes she'd had a camera; but her descriptions are so vivid that I'm not sure photography would do justice to what she saw.
She travels alone much of the time with only her Birdie. And even when she thinks that she can't go another mile, one step ahead is a lit cabin - a place of refuge from the cold and snow for the night. All cabin dwellers were welcoming. Even the men, including the desperados. I did not get the sense that she had many fearful moments from people - only the land and the weather. Her travels take place from September through December - and she only in light clothing. How she did not freeze to death at times is a wonder to me. She speaks many times of traveling through snow up to the horse's shoulders, trying to walk on ice or waking up in an "unchinked" log cabin with snow all over her and as she is cleaning out the cabin, she doesn't just "sweep" it out, she sometimes has to "shovel" it out.
Folklore has it that she had a romantic relationship with Mountain Jim Nugent - a gentleman outlaw. She had a relationship with him it seems, though in her writings romance is played down. In fact she says something to the effect that it would be easy to fall in love with him, but only a foolish woman would marry him. It is evident that they did greatly value each other's friendship.
I'm amazed at her bravery, her tenacity and her overall positive attitude. She definitely believed in pulling her own weight and while she appreciated help from men, she did not expect it nor demand it.
I would very much like to read her other writings if I come across them. As I started to research her before writing this, I found that after she left the Rockies and Mountain Jim died, she married. She again fell into ill health - until her husband died - and she began to travel again - around the world. Apparently her doctor - even way back then - knew what she needed. Because as soon as she began to travel, her health improved tremendously until her death at age 73 in 1904 in Edinburgh.
The letters written in the year 1879 are about her travels from San Francisco through the Rocky Mountains and on into Denver - 800 miles on favorite horse, Birdie. During these three months, as she travels the terrain, watching the sunrises and sunsets, one wishes she'd had a camera; but her descriptions are so vivid that I'm not sure photography would do justice to what she saw.
She travels alone much of the time with only her Birdie. And even when she thinks that she can't go another mile, one step ahead is a lit cabin - a place of refuge from the cold and snow for the night. All cabin dwellers were welcoming. Even the men, including the desperados. I did not get the sense that she had many fearful moments from people - only the land and the weather. Her travels take place from September through December - and she only in light clothing. How she did not freeze to death at times is a wonder to me. She speaks many times of traveling through snow up to the horse's shoulders, trying to walk on ice or waking up in an "unchinked" log cabin with snow all over her and as she is cleaning out the cabin, she doesn't just "sweep" it out, she sometimes has to "shovel" it out.
Folklore has it that she had a romantic relationship with Mountain Jim Nugent - a gentleman outlaw. She had a relationship with him it seems, though in her writings romance is played down. In fact she says something to the effect that it would be easy to fall in love with him, but only a foolish woman would marry him. It is evident that they did greatly value each other's friendship.
I'm amazed at her bravery, her tenacity and her overall positive attitude. She definitely believed in pulling her own weight and while she appreciated help from men, she did not expect it nor demand it.
I would very much like to read her other writings if I come across them. As I started to research her before writing this, I found that after she left the Rockies and Mountain Jim died, she married. She again fell into ill health - until her husband died - and she began to travel again - around the world. Apparently her doctor - even way back then - knew what she needed. Because as soon as she began to travel, her health improved tremendously until her death at age 73 in 1904 in Edinburgh.
