The Canoe and the Saddle

The Canoe and the Saddle is an adventure memoir by the American author Theodore Winthrop. It vividly describes Washington state's landscape and natural resources as well as the tumultuous relationship between Winthrop and the Native American people he interacted with. The Canoe and the Saddle presents a picturesque image of the Pacific Northwest and later inspired travelers, activists, and artists. Conflicting themes of nature and evolving civilization are at odds with each other in this novel. Winthrop's literary depiction of the Northwest, particularly Washington Territory, earned him great popularity. The town of Winthrop, Washington took on his name in 1890 as well as Mount Rainier's Winthrop Glacier due to his detailed descriptions of the landscape in his book.

Theodore Winthrop (1828-1861) was a writer, lawyer, and world traveller. He was one of the first Union officers killed in the American Civil War. Cecil Dreeme, his most important work, was a semi-autobiographical novel dealing with social mores and gender roles set at New York University, where Winthrop had once been a lodger. Other works include The Canoe and the Saddle