Where Rivers Meet

Where the Gunnison and Uncompahgre Rivers meet, so too have the real life stories and myths of the Native Americans, Spanish gold-seekers, French fur traders, white settlers, infamous outlaws, and the many others who have attempted to lay their claim to the region. In Where Rivers Meet, Muriel Marshall returns to western Colorado, the stomping grounds for her previous book, Red Hole in Time, to unearth the rich local lore. More than rural in its appeal, this story of life at the confluence of the tumultuous Gunnison and the tranquil Uncompahgre Rivers is a meditation on the history and irresistible appeal of the American West. Muriel Marshall tells the story of human struggle and folly in a region that beguiles visitors with its beauty and defies the order imposed by an encroaching civilization - the essential conflict in the American West that in many ways continues today. Her story drops the names of the many who came to make their mark in the area - in fact and in legend - and the many who passed through, leaving a lasting impression on the region before riding off into American myth.