Government Hunter

GOVERNMENT HUNTER is a classic adventure novel for young readers and for those who remain young at heart, written by legendary mountaineer and woodsman, Monty Atwater. It is the story of Douglas Mulholland, a wealthy eastern lad who is befriended and mentored by an experienced man of the western wilderness, and who learns some of the hard facts of life from their experiences together. Originally published in 1940, Government Hunter is back in print, after a hiatus of several decades. The 21st Century Edition has been edited and extensively revised to render its vocabulary and dialog intelligible to and in conformance with the expectations of modern readers. Government Hunter is the author's first novel-length work. It tells of a time before the advent of modern technology, and before many of the modern day wildlife and wilderness management control methods had been developed and adopted. It was a time when dedicated foresters manned isolated mountaintop forest fire lookout towers, and supplies were packed in by mule train. It was a time when the population of the United States was only a fraction of what it is today, and the vast majority was concentrated east of the Mississippi River. Population was particularly sparse in the Rocky Mountain regions of the Western US. Back then, vast stretches of wilderness still reigned over the mountainous and forest carpeted expanse of Colorado, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. This was a period closer in time and with popular attitudes more akin to the days of the wild-west than to those of the modern era. Wild animals roamed freely, as nature intended, on both public and private lands. Predators and their prey were abundant. Black bears, brown (grizzly) bears, wolves, coyotes, foxes, marten, weasels, wolverines, bobcats, lynx, and cougars were plentiful, and the larger carnivores occasionally impinged upon the domain of man in a dangerous and deadly manner. And when that happened the members of the small and elite cadre of Government Hunters were called into action. The Author, Montgomery Meigs (Monty) Atwater (1904-1976) was born in Baker City Oregon and privately educated at Phillips Exeter and Harvard College. An avid mountaineer and outdoorsman in all seasons, he lived the life that he wrote about. His first love was the wilderness, and those who cared for and protected it were the subject of his writings, particularly the dedicated members of the United States Forest Service. Following graduation from Harvard, and prior to World War II, Atwater honed his writing skills as a freelance journalist and author of adventure fiction for young readers, penning numerous stories that appeared in popular magazines of the era, some of which were serialized and subsequently published as full length novels. During this time, Monty earned his living as a cattleman on the Bear Creek Ranch, located near Ennis Montana, where he bred livestock, served as a hunting and fishing guide, and briefly operated a dude ranch. In the snowy winter months, skiing became his primary passion. During the second World War, Monty served as a captain in the US Army's 10th Mountain Division and was wounded in action. Following the war, he was offered the position of Snow Ranger for the avalanche-prone ski area at Alta, Utah. During his ten years at Alta, he became known as the North American pioneer in avalanche control and forecasting. During the snow-free months Monty worked on various writing projects and enjoyed hunting, fishing, river rafting, and month-long treks on foot and horseback through the untamed wilderness of Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. Atwater went on to serve as the Snow Ranger at Squaw Valley, California in preparation for and during the 1960 Winter Olympics. Later in life, he served as a consultant for avalanche safety and control matters in various regions of the globe, and was engaged heavily in South America.