These stories tell of adventurers and entrepreneurs, hard-drinking men and gamblers, of fishing, cougars, and high-diving elk. "Bacon and Civilization" recounts a 1901 newspaper article that touted the role bacon played in society as the primary agent in the development of the country. "Camel Not" narrates the link between camels and tells the tale of these beasts in the Kootenay region; it reveals why the match between the camel and the environment was not to be. "The Mountain-Climbing Girl" relates the life of Mary Schaffer Warren who allowed her love of the West and her adventurous spirit of exploration to discover the jewels of mountain life.

Rocky Mountain Tales reveals what life was like in the West through humor, political satire, and commentary via the writing of early newspapermen who lived and wrote of their time and place and dared to cross the line, in words, and in their vision for the West.