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w w w. d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m
HUSH OF THE LAND:
A LIFETIME IN
THE BOB MARSHALL
WILDERNESS
BY ARNOLD "SMOKE" ELSER
WITH EVA-MARIA MAGGI
Mr. Elser, "Smoke" to his
friends, and most of us are his
friends, is a Montana legend.
He's worked as an animal pack-
er for more than half a century
and was an instructor of wil-
derness outfitting and packing
at the University of Montana.
His stories, collected here and
shaped and edited by Eva-Maria Maggi, are portraits of a
Montana quickly vanishing but which anyone with a heart
and a love of beauty wishes would return.
These true tales include terrifying grizzly encounters,
the quietly elegiac story of finding a dead man propped
against a tree in the Bitterroot, and a frantic struggle to
stop a spreading wildfire, days spent in the sun and nights
spent camping under the stars. But they're all the more
poignant because the Montana they describe is precious
and could disappear if we're not careful; the book is mem-
oir, adventure, history, and call for sensible conservation
all at once.
THESE TRUE TALES
ARE ALL THE MORE POIGNANT
BECAUSE THE MONTANA THEY DESCRIBE IS PRECIOUS
AND COULD DISAPPEAR IF WE'RE NOT CAREFUL;
THE BOOK IS MEMOIR, ADVENTURE, HISTORY,
AND CALL FOR SENSIBLE CONSERVATION ALL AT ONCE.
Eva-Maria Maggi and
Arnold "Smoke" Elser
