Theodore Winthrop was a New Haven, CT dandy who ventured west to California, the Oregon and Washington Territories, and British Columbia in 1853 to explore the Pacific NW, its natural beauty, and its native peoples.  

 The story of his journey, The Canoe and The Saddle, was first published in 1862, a year after the death of Winthrop in one of the early skirmishes of the civil war.  

Winthrop’s depiction of the Northwest, particularly Washington Territory, earned the book great popularity. The town of Winthrop, Washington took on his name in 1890 and Mount Rainier’s Winthrop Glacier is also named for the explorer and author due to his detailed descriptions of the landscape in his book. 

The Canoe and the Saddle became popular after his death, and the inspiration for adventurers and authors for 150 years, not just because of the story, but the beautiful language crafted from this talented 24-year-old who died before his time.  Here is an excerpt from The Canoe and the Saddle by Theodore Winthrop, where the author talks about the Cascade mountains, their natural beauty, and the naming of individual peaks.