The Adventures of Captain Bonneville

The Adventures of Captain Bonneville, U.S.A., in the Rocky Mountains and the Far West is a work by Washington Irving that was published in 1837. The book is based on the journals of Benjamin-Louis-Eulalie de Bonneville, a U.S. army engineer and explorer of the Rocky Mountains.1

Irving's editing of Bonneville's journals established a romanticized image of the explorer that historical reevaluation has since challenged. Bonneville took leave from the army in 1832 to explore the American West, gathering a party of 110 men. From a base on the Green River in present-day Wyoming, his primary aim was to establish himself as a fur trader. However, his venture resulted in neither significant exploration nor success in the fur trade. Bonneville was dismissed from the army for overstaying his leave but was later reinstated and eventually attained the rank of brigadier general.1

While The Adventures of Captain Bonneville is one of Irving's notable works, he is perhaps best known for his short stories, such as "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" and "Rip Van Winkle," which were published in The Sketch Book.23