Isabella Bird and Mountain Jim
When English writer Isabella Bird arrives in Estes Park in 1873, the Rockies revive her failing health — and she falls into a brief, intense love with Mountain Jim Nugent, a scarred frontiersman whose rough exterior hides a thoughtful, principled mind.
When English writer Isabella Bird arrives in Estes Park in 1873, her body is worn down by chronic pain. But the Rockies restore her, and a sickly Victorian woman becomes an avid adventurer, at home in open air and altitude. Enter Mountain Jim Nugent — buckskin-clad, face scarred by a bear. Beneath a rough exterior, he is a well-read, articulate philosopher. Isabella notices him. Jim notices her. Long walks stretch into long talks. He proposes. She’s in love, but also clear-eyed. “Any woman might love him,” she writes, “but no sane woman would marry him.” Isabella chooses independence and leaves Colorado. Later, she learns her "dear desperado" is dead. But the last sight of Mountain Jim stays with Isabella Bird: “his golden hair yellow in the sunshine, slowly leading [a] beautiful mare over the snowy plains back to Estes Park.”
About Colorado Postcards
Colorado Postcards are snapshots of our colorful state in sound. They give brief insights into our people and places, our flora and fauna, and our past and present, from every corner of Colorado. See more postcards.
