Hiram Martin Chittenden, historian of the American West, wrote the definitive history of the American fur trade over eighty years ago. He produced less significant books concerning steamboat navigation on the Missouri River; the life and letters of Pierre-Jean De Smet, the eminent Jesuit missionary; and Yellowstone Park. Chittenden's works were transitional between romantic and scientific historiography and partook of both schools of historical writing.

Hiram Martin Chittenden, the son of William F. and Mary Jane Wheeler Chittenden, was born on a farm in Cattaraugus County in western New York State. He attended rural schools and a private academy in Franklinville ten miles from the family farm. At the academy he pursued classical studies and fixed on the profession of law. For a few months after graduation he taught in a rural school. During these early years Chittenden acquired a zeal for learning, a taste for hard work...