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In Paul Sharp's book, Whoop-Up Country, the history of history of the Canadian West is described and explained in great detail. Sharp’s book begins by defining this area as the land beginning in Montana and continuing to southern Alberta and Saskatchewan east of the Rocky Mountains. This area was home to the Whoop-Up Trail, which connected Fort Benton and Fort McLeod, and was a vital area of commerce. A major area of commerce for this trail was the whiskey, guns, and furs, especially buffalo hides. Sharp describes the life of inhabitants of this region, telling of the trail life encountered through trading between forts, the importance of wheeled transportation since no rivers were available, and the effects of the gold rushes (especially in Montana) to the local economies. The Whoop-Up Country area began to decline once development began to transform the region; especially the introduction of the railroad and the settlers that came with it. The Railroad transformed the land, changing it from a free-roaming, lawless expanse of country into one of settlement and agriculture.
One of the areas that Sharp covers that was of particular interest to me was his calling Fort Benton the "Chicago of the West." I have studied the development of Chicago in the past and find it very interesting how one town can come to dominate a region. Being located at the base of the Whoop-Up Trail and on the Missouri River, Fort Benton was that town for the West. After reading this book I would have liked him to elaborate more on the process undertaken getting the goods to their markets, and where the markets were for these goods. I understand this might stray from his main intentions, but I find it fascinating where the goods go after the trade.