Aubrey L. Haines manuscript of Osborne Russell's journals

Aubrey L. Haines manuscript of Osborne Russell's journals, 1955-1958

Overview of the Collection

Creator: Haines, Aubrey L., 1914-2000
Title: Aubrey L. Haines manuscript of Osborne Russell's journals
Dates: 1955-1958 (inclusive)
19551958
Quantity: 0.1 linear ft.
Collection Number: Mss 416
Summary: The collection contains Aubrey L. Haines' first draft of his edited manuscript of Osborne Russell's journals from 1834 to 1842, first published as Journal of a Trapper in 1955.
Repository: University of Montana, Mansfield Library, Archives and Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections
Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library
University of Montana
32 Campus Dr. #9936
59812-9936
Missoula, MT
Telephone: 406-243-2053
library.archives@umontana.edu
Access Restrictions: Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of Archives and Special Collections, the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, and The University of Montana--Missoula.
Additional Reference Guides: Finding aid in the repository.
Languages: English

Historical NoteReturn to Top

Aubrey Leon Haines was born in Portland, Oregon, August 30, 1914, the son of Albert S. and Doris E. Haines. After high school graduation in Seattle, he entered the College of Technology of the University of Washington College Technology in 1933 and received a B.S. in Forestry in 1938. He began work as a Yellowstone National Park park ranger in 1938. In succeeding years he left the park for military service and then for post graduate work, receiving an M.S. in Forestry at the University of Montana in 1949, followed by a year’s work toward a doctoral degree at the University of Washington. Haines returned to National Park Service employment as a supervisory park ranger at Mount Rainier National Park in 1950. In 1956 he was transferred back to Yellowstone Park as assistant park engineer. In 1960 he was promoted to the new position of park historian until his retirement in 1969. He did research on the national park idea for the National Park Service, 1970-1972, and did contract research for the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation on historic sites along the Oregon Trail, 1972-73.

Haines' publications include Osborne Russell's Journal of a Trapper (1955); Mountain Fever, Historic Conquests of Rainier (1963); Valley of the Upper Yellowstone (1965); Yellowstone National Park: Its Exploration and Establishment (1974); The Yellowstone Story (1977); and Yellowstone Place Names; Mirrors of History (1996).

In 1946 Haines married C. Wilma Smith, of White Bluff, Tennessee and they had three children, Alan, Betsy, and Calvin. Haines retired in Tucson, Arizona, where he died on September 10, 2000.

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Osborne Russell was born in Hallowell, Maine, in 1814. Little is known about his parents or upbringing. At the age of sixteen he ran away to sea, only to desert his vessel in New York after a short period. For the next three years Russell was in the service of the Northwest Fur Trapping and Trading Company, operating in Wisconsin and Minnesota. By April 1834 he had made his way to Independence, Missouri, where he joined Nathaniel Wyeth's second expedition to the Rocky Mountains and the Columbia River. For the next six years Russell was both a hunter and trapper throughout the mountains of Montana, Wyoming, Idaho and Utah. His journals detailed the adventurous and often lonely life of a fur trapper. Russell worked for a period with the legendary mountain man Jim Bridger, but would most often travel alone or with a small group. He was also involved in several skirmishes with the Blackfoot and helped construct Fort Idaho. Later in life, Russell moved to the Willamette Valley. There he became actively involved in local politics, eventually running for governor in 1844. Russell moved to California in 1848 following the promise of gold. For the next fifty years, Russell lived and worked between California and Oregon. He died in Placerville, California, of "miner's rheumatism" at the age of seventy-eight in 1892.

Aubrey L. Haines' first draft of his edited manuscript of Osborne Russell's journals from 1834 to 1842, was first published as Journal of a Trapper in 1955. Russell's journal, possibly the most accurate account of the fur trade industry in the West, meticulously details the geography and hardships of his travels. Russell also outlines the trappers' routes, several encounters with the Blackfoot tribe, and the everyday life of a fur trapper. The manuscript includes Haines's preface, which offers a biography of Russell and a series of maps outlining the trapper's journey (verified and drawn by Haines). The manuscript covers the years 1834 to 1842, moving into Russell's years in the Willamette. Also included with the manuscript is a letter from Haines to the wife of University of Montana professor Paul Phillips

Other Descriptive InformationReturn to Top

The original Osborne Russell journal is in the Western Americana Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University. The bulk of Aubrey L. Haines papers are held by Special Collections and Archives, Montana State University, Bozeman, Montana.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Alternative Forms Available

Published as: Journal of a Trapper by the Oregon Historical Society in 1955 and Osborne Russell’s Journal of a Trapper by the University of Nebraska Press in 1965.

Restrictions on Use

Researchers are responsible for using in accordance with 17 U.S.C. and any other applicable statutes.

Preferred Citation

[Name of document or photograph number], Aubrey Haines Manuscript, Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, The University of Montana-Missoula.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Custodial History

The collection was donated to the repository's library by Aubrey Haines, at an unknown date. It was transferred to the Archives & Special Collections in January 1976.

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