The Daring Trader: Jacob Smith in the Michigan Territory 1802-1825

About this book

A fur trader in the Michigan Territory and confidant of both the U.S. government and local Indian tribes Jacob Smith could have stepped out of a James Fenimore Cooper novel. Controversial mysterious and bold during his lifetime in death Smith has not until now received the attention he deserves as a pivotal figure in Michigans American period and the War of 1812. This is the exciting and unlikely story of a man at the frontiers edge whose missions during both war and peace laid the groundwork for Michigan to accommodate settlers and farmers moving west. The book investigates Smiths many pursuits including his role as an advisor to the Indians from whom the federal government would gradually gain millions of acres of land due in large part to Smiths work as an agent of influence. Crawford paints a colorful portrait of a complicated man during a dynamic period of change in Michigans history.