In 1966, Edward Hoagland made a three-month excursion into the wild country of British Columbia and encountered a way of life that was disappearing even as he chronicled it. Showcasing Hoagland's extraordinary gifts for portraiture—his cast runs from salty prospector to trader, explorer, missionary, and indigenous guide—<i>Notes from the Century Before</i> is a breathtaking mix of anecdote, derring-do, and unparalleled elegy from one of the finest writers of our time.