In another thread I mentioned the works of R. M. Patterson, most famous as the author of his adventures and exploration on the Nahanni River in 1927, which I'm sure many members here know of. I did a cursory search for his name here on CanoeTripping.net and turned up very little, though I could have missed some. I'm starting a new thread here so it's easier to find as a separate topic than where I posted originally.
The works of R. M. Patterson I know about are:
The Dangerous River: Adventure on the Nahanni (some later editions are titled just "Dangerous River")
The Buffalo Head
Far Pastures
Trail to the Interior
Finlay's River
Those Earlier Hills
I happen to have all the above as paper copies, but I don't know if any are still in print. Some if not all are now available in digital format, though quality of included images is usually poor. I have not purchased any of the digital editions yet so don't know how they compare. My interest in them is mostly just for easier searches for terms and topics he covers.
Another "exploration" book that R.M Patterson had a hand in (wrote the introduction and some editorial comments) is the journal of Samuel Black and his exploration in 1824, searching for an easier Northwest Passage route, going upstream on the Peace River from Rocky Mountain House and turning up the Finlay River then portaging to the upper Stikine near Chapea Rapids. This journal was lost for well over 100 years, finally put together from three pieces located in the early 1950s and published as a volume of the Hudson's Bay Record Society in 1955. It was only available as numbered copies in hardcover by private subscription. To my knowledge it is available used only and fairly expensive. I located a copy back in the early 1990s and it cost me $75 then. I was interested in this mainly as I hoped to do a run on the Finlay back then. I never made it, and I'm too infirm now for a trip of that difficulty. Anyone interested can Google "blacks rocky mountain journal 1824" and find a few copies still available right now (8-17-2023) listed from about $50 to near a couple hundred. One has to be fairly dedicated at those prices. As hinted, this is the edited handwritten notes of Samuel Black from his 1824 journey. Ray Patterson wrote an introduction to this HB Record Society edition, and there does appear some notes (mostly footnotes?) by him within the text. He was at most a very minor editor, though likely the most knowledgeable canoeist on the team.
For those who are interested in Ray Patterson, there is a biography of him by David Finch, published in 2000. I hadn't run across it before this and just took delivery of a used copy of it myself, haven't read yet, so can't attest to quality of the book. Someone else may have already read it and be able to do so. Please chime in. Those interested can search for "R. M. Patterson: A life of Great Adventure" by David Finch.
The works of R. M. Patterson I know about are:
The Dangerous River: Adventure on the Nahanni (some later editions are titled just "Dangerous River")
The Buffalo Head
Far Pastures
Trail to the Interior
Finlay's River
Those Earlier Hills
I happen to have all the above as paper copies, but I don't know if any are still in print. Some if not all are now available in digital format, though quality of included images is usually poor. I have not purchased any of the digital editions yet so don't know how they compare. My interest in them is mostly just for easier searches for terms and topics he covers.
Another "exploration" book that R.M Patterson had a hand in (wrote the introduction and some editorial comments) is the journal of Samuel Black and his exploration in 1824, searching for an easier Northwest Passage route, going upstream on the Peace River from Rocky Mountain House and turning up the Finlay River then portaging to the upper Stikine near Chapea Rapids. This journal was lost for well over 100 years, finally put together from three pieces located in the early 1950s and published as a volume of the Hudson's Bay Record Society in 1955. It was only available as numbered copies in hardcover by private subscription. To my knowledge it is available used only and fairly expensive. I located a copy back in the early 1990s and it cost me $75 then. I was interested in this mainly as I hoped to do a run on the Finlay back then. I never made it, and I'm too infirm now for a trip of that difficulty. Anyone interested can Google "blacks rocky mountain journal 1824" and find a few copies still available right now (8-17-2023) listed from about $50 to near a couple hundred. One has to be fairly dedicated at those prices. As hinted, this is the edited handwritten notes of Samuel Black from his 1824 journey. Ray Patterson wrote an introduction to this HB Record Society edition, and there does appear some notes (mostly footnotes?) by him within the text. He was at most a very minor editor, though likely the most knowledgeable canoeist on the team.
For those who are interested in Ray Patterson, there is a biography of him by David Finch, published in 2000. I hadn't run across it before this and just took delivery of a used copy of it myself, haven't read yet, so can't attest to quality of the book. Someone else may have already read it and be able to do so. Please chime in. Those interested can search for "R. M. Patterson: A life of Great Adventure" by David Finch.
