Three Against The Wilderness Summary
The book I read for Wilderness class is called Three Against the Wilderness by Eric Collier. It was published by E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc. in 1959, in New York. The hardcover edition, which I read, has 349 pages and I spent about three hours and thirty minutes reading it. This book is based on the life of Eric Collier, his wife, and his son. The book takes place in the early to mid 1900s in Meldrum Creek, located in BC Chilcotin. As the story begins, you follow Eric as a young boy who works for a fur trader. One day, he gets a particular visit from a fascinating duo and he quickly takes notice of the old Indian woman, thinking, “Surely there stood the oldest human being I’d ever set eyes upon. Her face was wrinkled like a prune, and almost
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After a particularly rough day of battling the incessant mosquitoes that plagued them while they worked, Eric comments to Lillian saying, “You know, Lillian, I have a strange feeling that maybe God doesn't want us here.” to which she replies, “Maybe He’s just testing us, and seeing if we’re worthy enough to stay.” (Page 45).
The next difficulty they face is surviving the winter. Unfortunately, a large portion of surviving is having enough grease, or lard, to cook and tan deer hides to make clothing. So they go out and hunt down a large black bear and kill it to get bear grease. Along with killing the bear, they hunt down coyotes, who are equally as important for the fur trade and making warmer clothing.
The final challenge is a fairly large one. One day while hunting, Eric discovers a wolf. This isn’t normally a problem except for the fact that this particular wolf is a bloodthirsty menace who lingers around their house for four years before getting killed.
A big part of this book is the recreation of the beaver dams which in turn, led to the return of many animals that had previously disappeared from the habitat, including beavers. This was achieved by Eric and his wife and is actually recognized by the British Columbia Game
After a particularly rough day of battling the incessant mosquitoes that plagued them while they worked, Eric comments to Lillian saying, “You know, Lillian, I have a strange feeling that maybe God doesn't want us here.” to which she replies, “Maybe He’s just testing us, and seeing if we’re worthy enough to stay.” (Page 45).
The next difficulty they face is surviving the winter. Unfortunately, a large portion of surviving is having enough grease, or lard, to cook and tan deer hides to make clothing. So they go out and hunt down a large black bear and kill it to get bear grease. Along with killing the bear, they hunt down coyotes, who are equally as important for the fur trade and making warmer clothing.
The final challenge is a fairly large one. One day while hunting, Eric discovers a wolf. This isn’t normally a problem except for the fact that this particular wolf is a bloodthirsty menace who lingers around their house for four years before getting killed.
A big part of this book is the recreation of the beaver dams which in turn, led to the return of many animals that had previously disappeared from the habitat, including beavers. This was achieved by Eric and his wife and is actually recognized by the British Columbia Game