James Oliver Curwood - Writer of Canadian Mounties
JAMES OLIVER CURWOOD When James Oliver Curwood (born in 1879) was expelled from school in his birthplace of Owosso, Michigan at age 16, it was a blessing in disguise. It began a wandering life that took him to the wilds of northern Canada. He traveled by canoe, by snow shoe and by dog sled, throughout the Peace River country, the Hudson Bay wilderness and the Arctic tundra. He spent as much as six months out of a year in the Canadian wilderness, even building log cabins to live in. He enjoyed hunting for meat and for sport, until an encounter with an enraged grizzly bear that could have killed him — but didn’t. First as a reporter, then as a short story writer and novelist, he would spend the rest of his life telling of his wilderness travels. His translation of the Cree meaning of Manitoba — “God’s Country” — would become a world renowned phrase. While best remembered for his masterwork KAZAN THE WOLF DOG, his many other Northwesterns wer...