Adventure

The major theme of The Big Sky is adventure. The men went to the frontier and into Indian country for the adventure and for the experience of the lifestyle. Like Boone, they didn't want to be confined to an urban area or even to a house. They wanted to live in the great outdoors under the big sky. These men lived off the land literally and learned the ways of the Indians in order to survive. They lived from trapping animals and selling the skins and were the first traders in Indian territory.

All the men were there for the adventure, and they watched the area change. Like the Indians, as the animal life was thinned due to hunting, they moved on to a new area. For some of the men, like Jourdonnais, money was the attraction. They hoped to profit from trade. For others, like Dick Summers...