Pilgrim's Wishes
Bronze sculpture of mountain man pulls in the chains of his trap and is surprised to find the beaver of his dreams.

20 x 18 x 20 inches without base

This accurately detailed piece depicts the mountain man's struggle for life in the untamed West. The fringe on buckskin pants helps wick water away from the cold pilgrim. His Northwest Trade rifle lays ready within arm's reach as he wades into icy waters.

The pack on his back is bulging with beaver pelts -- this is one of the last traps on his line before he heads for the warmth of his fire. In the trap he finds the largest beaver he has ever seen. As he pulls out the beaver of his dreams, the look on his face reveals his conundrum. The huge beaver pelt for which he has always wished will not fit in his backpack. Now what? Is B R Pettit warning us: “Be careful for what you wish for”?

Remembering Mountain Men

by William Stafford, poet

I put my foot in cold water and hold it there: 

early mornings they had to wade through broken ice to find the traps in the deep channel with their hands, drag up the chains and the drowned beaver.  

The slow current of the life below tugs at me all day.
When I dream at night, they save a place for me, no matter how small, somewhere by the fire.

68 lbs.

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B R Pettit was an Arizonan artist who is best known for his monumental statue entitled "Ole Bill Williams" that stands as a sentinel to "The Gateway for the Grand Canyon" in Williams, AZ. The eight-foot tall monument of the mountain man, for whom Williams, AZ was named, has become a Route 66 icon.

Poet William Stafford (1914 - 1993) who wrote "Remembering Mountain Men" was appointed the twentieth Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress in 1970.

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Pilgrim's Wishes front

Pilgrim's Wishes from left

Pilgrim's Wishes 3/4 view back

Pilgrim's Wishes from right

Pilgrim's Wishes close up

Pilgrim's Wishes close up

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