USA > Wyoming > The history of Wyoming from the earliest known discoveries > Part 18
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62
195
Sketches of Trappers and Traders.
but his vessels were only half loaded and consequently there was no margin for profits, and after pursuing the unprofita- ble business several years, he finally sold to the Pacific Fur Company all his posts, merchandise, vessels, and other prop- erty, and went to Boston and engaged in the wholesale ice business, in which calling he succeeded in amassing a for- tune. Had Wyeth come west a few years earlier and remained in the mountains he would have fought his way to the front and made fortune and reputation, but the trou- ble was, when he arrived the fur business was already on the wane. The beaver, otter and mink were growing scarce in the mountain streams, and there was no room for a new leader in the fur trade.
James Bridger has been called the Daniel Boone of the Rockies, but this does not do him justice. Boone was simply a courageous Indian fighter, a hunter of renown in a com- paratively level country. True, though there were dense forests and numerous lurking foes, the difficulties in no way compared with those Bridger had to encounter. He and his band of trappers were daily exposed in open ground. The Indians knew their whereabouts at all times because the valleys in the Rocky Mountains were devoid of timber, and through these the streams flowed where the beaver were to be found. These same streams came out of rocky recesses in the mountains, covered on either side with a dense growth of cedar, pine and other timber, where the savages lurked in ambush, because they knew the hunters, once on a stream, would follow it to its source. Narrow passes led from one valley to another, and here again the wild men of the moun- tains watched to hurl a shower of arrows at the lonely trap- pers, and if they escaped these pitfalls along their path, their camp at night was surrounded by a savage horde awaiting an opportunity to deal death and destruction to the tired sleepers. Trapping grounds lay wide apart and to go from one to another required long marches, every mile of the way exposed to dangers seen and unseen. The country was subject to seasons of intense cold, and this was even more dangerous than the encounters with the savages. In
195
History of Wyoming.
short, Bridger's life was one of constant peril, and he met all with a courage sublime; therefore, I say, Daniel Boone, who lives in hundreds of tales of the border, and who has been made many times a hero by the pen which tells the story of border life in border days so eloquently, never was called upon to suffer the privations or to meet the dangers which fell to the lot of the hero of the Rockies, James Bridger.
Born in Richmond, Virginia, March, 1804, he early came to St. Louis and enlisted in one of General Ashley's brig- ades of fur trappers. From a boy he was an expert shot with the rifle and soon learned woodcraft and the art of defending himself against savage beasts and at times equally savage men. Some writers claim that he came to the moun- tains in 1820. That would make him but sixteen years old. I am unable to trace him back of 1822, when he came to Wyoming with Ashley's trappers on their first trip to the Yellowstone and Wind River country. General Ashley soon noted his courage and fidelity, and Thomas Fitzpatrick, who was many years his senior, clung to him as to a younger brother. He was skillful as a trapper, and the Indians soon learned to respect his unerring aim and kept themselves at a safe distance or met him as a friend. Of all the white men who came to the mountains, none learned the geography of the country so well as he. Every mountain defile, every principal stream and all its tributaries were engraved upon the tablet of his memory, which enabled him to lead his men by the shortest route through any desired locality. In later years he became a guide to the army and often aston- ished military commanders by the accuracy of his know- ledge of the country through which they desired to pass. It has been said of him by Generals in the army that he could either name any stream he came to or tell in an instant of what it was a tributary. Not only was he familiar with Wyoming, but possessed a topographical knowledge of all parts of the Rocky Mountains. Possessing little education drawn from books, he graduated in the school of the moun- tains. His knowledge of human nature was beyond that
197
Sketches of Trappers and Traders.
acquired by the majority of mankind, and he read the hu- man face of the white man or the savage at a glance. I have no occasion to write his life, for the reason that his name occurs in connection with many events which are detailed in these pages. Fort Bridger, which he built, and Bridger Pass, which he discovered, are his monuments. His explora- tions in the Yellowstone National Park and' his life services in Wyoming are all related in their proper place.
After a service of thirty-four years, he went east in 1856 and purchased a valuable and improved farm at Westport, now a suburb of Kansas City, on which he intended to re- side the remainder of his days, but after the stirring scenes. in the wild west through which he had passed, the hum- drum of farm life was unendurable, and he returned to the mountains, locating at Fort Laramie, and engaged perma- nently with the government as a guide to the army, which occupation he followed until his advanced years compelled him to retire to his farm, where he died July 17, 1881. Jim Bridger, as he was familiarly called, will remain for all time to come a part of the history of Wyoming. He lived to see it develop from utter darkness to the noonday of civilization. In appearance, Bridger was a typical hunter, tall, slim, with a face bronzed by exposure, wearing a slouch hat and ever accompanied by his trusty rifle.
The name of Kit Carson will forever be associated with the early events in Wyoming, where he trapped during his young manhood. He was born in Kentucky, December 24, 1809. In 1826, when a mere boy, he went to Santa Fe, New Mexico. From there he drifted into Old Mexico and finally to California. From this place he came to Wyoming and located on Green River, trapping and hunting. He early made a reputation for bravery and of being an expert shot with the rifle. These qualities naturally made him a leader. In 1830 he completed a tour of Wyoming, trapping in nearly all the streams. He fought Indians and trapped with Jim Bridger, Jim Baker, O. P. Wiggins, Thomas Fitzpatrick and numerous other noted mountain men. The Rocky Mountain passes were familiar to him from one end to the
198
History of Wyoming.
other. Rev. Samuel Parker, who crossed the continent in 1835, the incidents of whose journey have already been given, speaks of meeting Jim Bridger at the Green River rendezvous in the month of August, and also mentions Car- son. He says:
"I will relate an occurrence which took place near even- ing, as a specimen of mountain life. A hunter who goes technically by the name of the great bully of the mountains, mounted his horse with a loaded rifle and challenged any Frenchman, American, Spaniard, or Dutchman to fight him in single combat. Kit Carson, an American, told him if he wished to die he would accept the challenge. Shunar defied him. Carson mounted his horse, and with a loaded pistol rushed into close contact, and both almost at the same in- stant fired. Carson's ball entered Shunar's hand, came out at the wrist, and passed through the arm above the elbow. Shunar's ball passed over the head of Carson, and while he went for another pistol Shunar begged that his life might be spared."
Carson's home was at Taos, New Mexico, for many years, where he married in 1843. In 1842 he accompanied Fremont on his first tour of exploration to the Rocky Moun- tains and the two from that time forward were warm per- sonal friends. In nearly all of Fremont's explorations Car- son was his guide. During the lifetime of this noted moun- tain man he held many positions of trust and was ever on the move in the varied callings in which he was engaged. He fought Indians in Colorado, Wyoming, New Mexico and other territories. In 1864 he was in command of Fort Union, New Mexico, and in 1865 and 1866 commanded Fort Garland, Colorado. In 1867 he moved from Taos, New Mexico, to Bent County, Colorado. He died May 24, 1868. Frank Hall, the author of the history of Colorado, was per- sonally acquainted with Carson, and says of him: "This man was a rare combination of dauntless courage, keen pen- etration, true nobility of mind and generous impulse, tem- pered with discretion and sound sense." Of his personal appearance, this author says: "In physical mould and stat- ure he was not unlike the great Napoleon, but in voice and action in ordinary life the personification of amiability and
199
Sketches of Trappers and Traders.
retiring modesty. But when roused by great events por- tending danger to himself or others who for the time being were under his protection, he became a whirlwind of venge- ance, tempered and restrained from rashness by the keenest sagacity and most marvelous generalship."
Jedediah S. Smith, after trapping in Wyoming in the spring of 1824, led his party west down the Snake River among the Flatheads. They wintered at the Hudson Bay Company's post and in the spring pushed their way west- ward to California. He trapped in that country and was very successful, and in 1828 started north for the Oregon country with nineteen men. He had with him a long train of pack mules on which he carried $20,000 worth of furs. The natives along the route home seemed friendly, but when he reached Umpqua, Oregon, his party was attacked and all were killed except Smith, Turner and a man named Black, and the furs stolen. Smith made his way to the Hudson Bay Company post at Fort Vancouver, where he informed Superintendent McLoughlin of his misfortune. The feeling at that time against the Hudson Bay Company and its offi- cers was very bitter among Americans, and yet this leader of the company sent out an expedition to recover Smith's furs; and they were successfully brought into the post. When Smith returned to Green River that fall and told Captain Sublette of the generous treatment he had received at the hands of McLoughlin, they agreed between them- selves that they would withdraw their men from the terri- tory of the Hudson Bay Company, which they immediately proceeded to do. Smith was a man of great courage, able in business matters and generally successful. He trapped in 1829 in the streams on both sides of the Wind River Range. In September he headed a party to descend the Green and Colorado rivers, and while he was successful in securing a large number of furs, he unfortunately lost them while attempting to cross the Colorado River. In 1830 he withdrew from the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and en- tered into operations further south. He established a trad- ing post at Santa Fe and started in to do a large business.
200
History of Wyoming.
By agreement with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, they were not to enter his territory, and he on his part agreed not to enter theirs. He did not long enjoy the business in this new field, as he was killed in 1831 by a band of savages who attacked his train at some point on the the Cimarron River. He was one of the best men ever engaged in the business and his death was deplored by all who knew him.
Godin, a Canadian trapper who came to Wyoming in 1829, was for some years with Wyatt's band, and while un- der that chieftain participated in the great battle with the Blackfeet at Pierre's Hole. Old trappers tell the story of the fight of Godin with a chief of the Blackfeet at the open- ing of the battle. The Indians advanced to the number of 400 to attack the trappers. Suddenly a tall, well-built chief, splendidly mounted and arrayed in all his savage finery, came forward, intimating by his action that he desired to fight any or all the trappers single-handed. It was a feat of reckless daring such as chiefs who desire to distinguish themselves not infrequently resort to. Godin saw the move- ment, and being well mounted and armed with a short rifle, rode forward to meet the chief. They approached to within a few yards of each other when Godin raised his rifle and fired at his adversary. The chief was instantly killed and Godin rushed forward and springing to the ground stripped a scarlet coat from the dead chieftain, remounted and rode back to his companions under a heavy fire from the savages. This was regarded among the trappers as a feat showing great bravery, and won for Godin a reputation among moun- tain men. This trapper was a familiar figure in the Rocky Mountains for many years. Washington Irving tells this incident in quite another way, as will be discovered in the account of the fight at Pierre's Hole. The story as above related is told by old trappers of Wyoming who were there and saw the encounter between Godin and the Indian chief, and this is substantially the account given by Bancroft.
One of the trappers who worked under Ashley and af- terwards under Sublette was Thomas L. Smith. In a year or two after reaching the mountains he had the misfortune
201
Sketches of Trappers and Traders.
to break one of his legs. Jim Cockrell, another trapper, was with him at the time, and Smith not being able to travel, the two went into camp together. The leg was not only broken but badly crushed, the bones protruding through the flesh. Smith was axious to have Cockrell amputate his leg, and the latter, seeing that the situation was desperate, agreed to undertake the surgical operation. They chanced to have with them an old-fashioned three-cornered file, and with this Cockrell made a saw out of a butcher knife. He cut the flesh down to the bone with a hunting knife, then with the saw cut off the bone. The arteries were tied,and the flow of blood stopped. The operation was a success and before many weeks Smith was able to ride horse-back and Cockrell took him to one of the trading posts of the com- pany. This trapper Cockerell was an uncle of the present Senator Cockerel of Missouri. Smith did not leave the mountains, but soon after established a road ranch along what became a few years later the Overland Trail. He went east as soon as he was able and procured a wooden leg and became known after this as "Pegleg Smith." He was one of the characters during the days of the Overland. He was kind-hearted and generous to a fault, but somewhat addicted to drink. In 1866 he went to California, and while there died.
Bill Williams, or "Parson Williams," as he was some- times called, enjoyed the reputation of being a well-posted mountain man, and was considered by Kit Carson one of the bravest men in the mountains. In the fall of 1848 he was engaged by Fremont as guide to his fourth expedition across the Rocky Mountains. The command started from Bent's Fort with thirty-three men and one hundred and twenty-three mules with forage for the same. They went up the Arkansas and attempted to go across the San Juan Mountains, which had always been known to be inaccessi- ble even in summer. They plunged about in the snow, nearly all the mules were lost, eleven of the men either starved or were frozen to death, and the balance barely es- caped with their lives. Williams has always been held re-
202
History of Wyoming.
sponsible for the disaster. The next season, with a small party, he went back over the trail of the unfortunate explor- ers to pick up the pack saddles, clothing and arms strewn along the route. While on this service Williams and all his companions were killed by Indians. During the thirties and forties this guide was often in Wyoming. I have met many persons intimately acquainted with him, and have been told that he was called "Parson Williams" for the rea- son that in his young manhood he was a Methodist preacher.
Descoteaux was a trapper in Wyoming in the thirties and was regarded as a man of great personal courage. In 1842 he joined Fremont's expedition at Fort Laramie and accompanied the explorer to the Wind River Mountains and was one of the men selected to ascend Fremont's Peak. He remained in the country for many years, trapping and trading, and often visited St. Louis to dispose of his furs. On one of these trips he met a lad in that city who appeared to be friendless and alone, and he at once told the boy that if he would go with him he would be taken care of. The lad accepted the kind offer of the big-hearted trapper and from that day the two became inseparable. Visiting Wyoming shortly after this, the boy came along and thus became one of the pioneer settlers in this state. This lad was Tom Sun, now the proprietor of a large ranch at Devil's Gate, on the Sweetwater. His name will appear in a number of places in this history in connection with important events and enterprises.
Joseph L. Meek was a Virginian by birth, came to St. Louis and enlisted under Captain Sublette in 1828. Robert Newell, who was born in Ohio in 1810, also enlisted with Sublette, and both during the same year came to Wyo- ming and served many years as trappers. They were both reliable men and served under Captain Sublette and his brother Milton; also Bridger, Frapp, Fitzpatrick and Jer- vais. In 1840 these trappers went to Oregon and helped organize that commonwealth. They now settled down as staid members of society and became useful citizens with no desire to return to their former mountain life.
203
Sketches of Trappers and Traders.
Peter Gauthier and Paul Ojet were Canadian trappers who came to Wyoming in the early thirties and worked for the American Fur Company on the Big Horn and Big Wind Rivers for a number of years. After the American Fur Company purchased Fort Laramie, these two trappers came to the North Platte and trapped on the tributaries of that stream for nearly eight years. The two were great friends and were always found together. When beaver grew scarce, they determined to go to Oregon, take land, become farmers, and settle down. In 1843 they joined a party of emigrants and became Oregon settlers, married in the new country and raised families.
.In 1827 a company of forty-five men with a hundred horses came into Wyoming by the Platte and Sweetwater route, crossed the mountains at South Pass and proceeded to Green River. This company was under the command of Joshua Pilcher of the revived Missouri Fur Company. Pil- cher employed his men trapping on the upper waters of Green River and on the east side of the Wind River Range. He wintered high up on Green River and remained in that neighborhood until 1829, when he crossed the Snake River and went over into the Oregon country, where he lost all the furs he had gathered and had all but two of his men killed by Indians.
Jervais, who was associated in 1830 with Milton Sub- lette, Fitzpatrick and Frapp in the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, was one of the remarkable characters in the fur trade. He was one of the Astorians and endured much suffering while with that expedition in 1811-12. After serv- ing may years, first as trapper, then as trader, in the Rocky Mountains, he finally settled on Willamette River, in Ore- gon, and had for his neighbors Luciere and Deslard, two other trappers. Luciere was one of the Canadian voyageurs who came out with Mr. Hunt in 1811.
Peter Skeens Ogden, better known as Peter Ogden, was a Hudson Bay Company superintendent and a popular man among the early trappers. This leader was in Wyoming a number of times in the twenties and thirties. He was a
204
History of Wyoming.
friend of General Ashley and also of Captain William Sub- lette. Ogden City and Ogden River, Utah, are named after this pioneer fur trader.
William Small, who went out with Captain Bonneville in 1832, was a trapper who had been in the mountains be- fore and was known as a man of character and determina- tion. He was selected to go with Walker on his expedition to Salt Lake and California in 1833. He was killed on Sep- tember 9th of that year by Shoshone Indians, while setting his traps.
Fontenelle, who served many years in Wyoming as a representative of the American Fur Company and was con- spicuous as a leader, committed suicide in 1837. Of the cir- cumstances under which this occurred I am not informed. Fontenelle Creek, a tributary of Green River, was named after this pioneer fur trader and trapper of Wyoming.
Alexander Godey is spoken of by Fremont as a peerless hunter and guide and is called by the explorer a formidable rival of Kit Carson in courage and professional skill. He was well known in Wyoming and many old timers even to this day speak of him as a mighty hunter, and as a man who was never lost in the mountains.
William Sinclair was a leader of free trappers who trapped in Wyoming for many years and were often in the employ of Captain William Sublette. Sinclair had a bro- ther, who was a member of his band, to whom he was greatly attached. They were both brave Indian fighters and successful trappers.
George W. Ebberts became prominent as a trapper in Wyoming in 1829, through his service with the Rocky Moun- tain Fur Company. He was a Kentuckian by birth, born in 1810. Ebberts trapped in Wyoming eight years, then went to Oregon. His life was full of adventure and stirring inci- dents.
Tim Goodale was a noted mountain guide and a per- sonal friend of Kit Carson. The two spent much time trap- ping and trading in Wyoming. Goodale was well known at Fort Laramie during the fifties.
205
Sketches of Trappers and Traders.
Dripps, a partner in the American Fur Company, spent many years trading and trapping in Wyoming, and is spoken of by all trappers as a successful trader and a brave Indian fighter. He is mentioned in connection with many trapping and trading events in this volume.
George Nidever, a leader of a band of trappers, who in 1831 crossed from the North Platte to Green River, where he and his party wintered. In the spring of 1832 he partici- pated in the battle of Pierre's Hole and later that season trapped southwest of Salt Lake.
Louis Vasques established a trading post on Clear Creek, in Colorado, and from that point sent numerous ex- peditions into Wyoming for the purpose of trading with Indians as well as trapping. He is sometimes confounded with Auguste Vasquez.
Matthieu was a partisan under Captain Bonneville and possessed the confidence of his great leader. He returned to the states with Captain Bonneville but soon after found his way back to the mountains, where he remained for a number of years.
Tulleck was an experienced fur trader connected with different fur companies, but more particularly with the American. During the thirties he commanded a post of that company on the Yellowstone.
Joseph Pappen was a well known trapper, who for many years was on the North Platte. Later he was engaged in trade along the Overland Trail.
Jennings, LeRoy and Ross, three of Captain Bonne- ville's trappers, were killed by Bannock Indians in the win- ter of 1832-33.
The rendezvous had a broad meaning with the early trappers; not only was it the place to which they carried their furs and exchanged them for all sorts of commodities, such as clothing, saddles, bridles, tobacco, whisky, bright dyes for coloring the trappings for their horses, vermilion powders, extensively used for winning the smiles of the fair ones, but it was a place to meet traders who might wish to
206
History of Wyoming.
engage their services for the coming year. They also met here brother trappers from the various sections of the moun- tains, likewise men from the east who brought news of what was going on in the states and the world. They had here also an opportunity to drink the health of big-hearted lead- ers whom they admired. They renewed old friendships and made new ones, participated in the frivolities of the ren- dezvous, mingled with savage tribes, learned the language of the Indians, chose a sweetheart from among the native beauties, who came to the rendezvous to find some one to deck them in finery suited to their peculiar taste. It was indeed a place noted for business, pleasure, mirth, gambling and brawls, and the motley collection was not without in- terest even to the early missionaries, who have written of the things they saw and heard at this great annual gather- ing. Along about 1835, religious teachers became a regular feature at the rendezvous. These good men, in their trips across the continent, remained over for a week or two to rest and incidentally do a little missionary work. Rev. Samuel Parker made a number of religious talks to white men and Indians at Green River in 1835, and after that all missionaries who went out made it a point to preach to the trappers. Father De Smet made a number of his winning and pleasant talks in 1840 at this same place. I hardly think, however, it can be said that the influence of the mis- sionaries amounted to much with the trappers. They gave a respectful hearing to all such, but their business at the rendezvous was for everything else than to listen to religion or even morality, and yet they respected that class of men who were devoting their lives to the cause of Christ.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.