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by James A. Crutchfield (Author)
Author James A. Crutchfield has mined thirty-seven of the most colorful episodes from Montana's provocative past--from the first glimpse of French explorers of the "Shining Mountains" in 1743 to the attempt to round up the wild horses of the Pryor Mountains. These episodes are a lively look at life in the Wild West.
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True tales from the Treasure State's past--from the first recorded sighting of the Bighorn Mountains to the capture of the Unabomber Montana is known for its big sky, cowboy culture, and abundant wildlife, but few may be aware it was the birthplace of some of America's best-known movie stars, the site of a deadly earthquake in 1959, and home of the largest copper mine in the world. It Happened in Montana goes behind the scenes to tell these stories, in short episodes that reveal the intriguing people and events that have shaped the Last Best Place. -Recount the grueling long-distance treks made by the US Army's first-and-only, all-black bicycle corps -Read about the travels of a prince and a famous painter that made them the state's first European tourists -Learn how the discovery of an ancient grave containing the remains of two children lead to some controversial and surprising DNA test results -Relive the Hard Winter of 1867-1877, when the wind chill reached 95 degrees below zero and the landscape was littered with thousands of carcasses of frozen livestock cover photo caption: The first Catholic mission in the northwest, Ravalli County, MT; credit: Library of Congress
Author Biography
James A. Crutchfield is a popular western historian and the author of more than fifty books, including several other It Happened In books. In 2015 he was inducted into the Western Writers Hall of Fame, and in 2011 he received the Owen Wister Award for Lifetime Achievement in Western History and Literature. He lives in Tennessee.
