Edward Rose, part Cherokee, part Negro and part white, grew up on the river front wharves of Louisville, Kentucky in the late 1700s. When he was a young man a brutal bar fight left him with several scarring cuts to his face. To evade the law, Rose fled down the river to New Orleans where he lived for several years, hunting, trapping and robbing river travelers.
In 1806, Rose left New Orleans to travel up the Missouri River where he worked as a hunter, fur trapper and interpreter. Over several decades he spent much of his time among the Crow and Arikara tribes. Rose was well known among the fur-trading companies that traveled the Missouri and its tributaries. In addition, and he led several trapping and military expeditions to the Rocky Mountains. Rose was living with the River Crow when his hunting party abducted an Atsina girl who later became Woman War Chief. At this time, the Crow called him Five Scalps due to an extraordinary act of bravery.
Because of his temper and lack of business sense, Rose became a controversial figure. Even so he was highly sought when the going got tough because he was courageous. Rose met numerous French, English and American traders, along with various well-known mountain men. After Rose's death, James Pierson Beckwourth, who had known Ed Rose, claimed many of Rose's exploits. The book contains a Glossary at the end.
