USA > Wyoming > The history of Wyoming from the earliest known discoveries > Part 61
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of the reinforcements decided the battle and the Indians were obliged to retreat. Baker informed me that Frapp was a brave man and his trappers would follow him any- where. He said that while serving under Frapp in 1844 their party met Fremont on Bear River. This was on the re- turn of the Pathfinder from his first visit to the Pacific coast.
Trappers and Indians have told many stories about the cold winter of 1845. No one knew just how cold it was, but many white men claim that it could not have been less than sixty degrees below zero. Jim Baker, who was in Wyoming that winter, says that it was the coldest weather he ever experienced. It killed nearly all the horses and ponies belonging to the Indians as well as the trappers. In those days hundreds of herds of buffalo wintered in Wyoming and that year they all froze to death. Elk, ante- lope and deer largely suffered the same fate. Bridger has also told of this severe winter many times and he said that the cold extended all over Wyoming and Colorado. The Indians never tired of telling of the winter when all their ponies died. In their traditions they made the record on the rocks by the sign of a prostrate horse which told the story in the forcible language of the aborigines. Jim Baker re- lates an interesting incident connected with the loss of the horses of the trappers. The band he was connected with that winter, found themselves on foot in the spring and they left their cabins on the headwaters of the North Platte above Saratoga and went southwest into Utah in search of another band belonging to the same company. They be- came footsore and hungry. There was no game, as every- thing had been killed by the cold, and consequently the journey was a terrible one, but they at last reached the camp of trappers they were in search of and a council was held as to what should be done. The Utah trappers had saved the most of their horses, but they were in need of more. It was at last deceded to go into Southern California and supply fresh mounts, and so they united their forces and set out for
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the South. Southern California at that time belonged to Mexico and it was inhabited by Mexicans and Spaniards who had large bands of horses. The trappers had lived so long in the country where might made right that they pos- sessed no scruples in supplying themselves at the expense of the rich stockmen of the southern country. They found horses more numerous than they expected and they had little difficulty, Baker said, in gathering up 4,000 head and with these they started back to Utah. The owners followed for a long distance but the trappers sent their squaws ahead with the stock and formed themselves into a rear guard to keep off the Mexicans. The trappers, Indian like, greatly rejoiced over their successful foray and after cele- brating the event they divided up the herd and Baker and his friends came on to their old hunting and trapping grounds. But tidings of their approach had reached the In- dians, who were greatly excited to hear that a big band of horses were near, offering a chance to replace their dead ponies. No sooner were the trappers comfortably install- ed in their old cabins, with their horses about them, than they were fiercely attacked by a large band of savages. It was a long, desperate fight, in which many of the Indians paid dearly for their boldness. the unerring rifles of the trappers giving them great odds over the poorly armed red men. Nothing remains now to mark the spot where the deadly struggle for supremacy took place except the names Battle Mountain and Battle Creek, now made famous by re- markable rich veins of copper ore, which names came from the engagement fought by Jim Baker and his fellow trap- pers with the hostile Indians for the possession of a band of horses, the bitterness of the fight being intensified by the fact that they were the only horses in that part of the country.
The trappers of that day very often lost their horses by marauding bands of Indians and in this instance they justified themselves by applying the old proverb, "When yon are in Rome, do as the Romans do." This is one of Jim
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Baker's stories,and he had hundreds of them, which illustrat- ed the conditions which prevailed at that time in Wyoming. When the country became settled by white men Uncle Jim, as he was familiarly called, proved himself an honest neigh- bor and a loyal friend to those who settled about him.
A year after leaving the American Fur Company's em- ploy, Baker established a ferry on Green River which he maintained for several years. In 1855 he entered the service of the Government as Chief of Scouts under General Har- ney, joining at Fort Laramie. When General Johnston's army came west in 1857 he was again employed and served under Captain Marcy as guide and interpreter, which service is given on page 354 of this volume. Army officers always spoke in the highest terms of Jim Baker. The Pikes Peak excitement drew this hunter and guide to Colorado and in 1859 he built a home on Clear Creek, not far from Denver. Here he remained until 1873 when he took up his residence on Snake River, near Dixon, in Wyoming. Here he took up a ranch and became interested in the stock business. The incidents of his life were many. His reminiscences of the past in Wyoming covered a space of sixty years. In prepar- ing this work I have found it necessary to consult him in regard to many events. During the fall of 1897 1 spent a day with this old pioneer, which gave me an opportunity to hear him talk about the men he had known so well in the days of the fur trade. These recitals illustrated the better side of his nature and proved him to be a worthy pioneer. He lacked in education but posessed many of the finer in- stinets which will make him long remembered and ap- preciated. I chanced to ask him if he knew Captain Bonne- ville and he replied that he did not, as the Captain left this country three years before he arrived but he said he had heard much about this renowned fur trader from trappers, who regarded him as a jolly good fellow and the friend of every man who wanted to do right. He was personally ac- quainted with Captain William Sublette. Robert Campbell, and was an associate of Jim Bridger, Thomas Fitzpatrick
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and many others who were leaders in the fur trade. He had a large acquaintance among army officers but among them all none stood so high in his estimation as Captain Marcy whom he guided across the range in the dead of winter from Fort Bridger to Fort Massachusetts. He had an Indian wife and raised quite a family of children. One of his daughters is married to N. B. Kinnear, who lives on Big Wind River in Fremont County. Of his other children - I am not informed.
It must be borne in mind that Jim Baker came to the Rocky Mountains at a time when hard drinking was the rule and attended the annual rendezvous where debauchery was encouraged by the traders who had whisky to sell. Is it any wonder that the young man coming into the country when such conditions prevailed should fall a victim to the greed of his employers? Men are but human and therefore liable to succumb to the tempter. This patriarch of Wyo- ming died the spring of 1898 in his eightieth year. In spite of the rough scenes through which he passed and the hun- dred or more Indian fights in which he participated and the dangers which beset him in these mountains during a period of more than half a century, he remained to the last a man of many superior qualities and we hear him spoken of by those who knew him best as Honest Uncle Jim Baker.
The origin of the name of Independence Rock I have not been able to clearly trace. The generally accepted be- lief is that it comes from a Fourth of July celebration which occurred there during the rush to Oregon; but this is cer- tainly a mistake. I have talked to many persons in regard to it. Jim Baker, who came to Wyoming in 1838, says that it had received its name previous to that time and he is of the opinion that Bonneville named it.' The name was first Rock Independence and from this fact it has been claimed that it was so named because it was a rock occuring on the plains, independent of all other rocks, that is, a solitary rock of the prairie. Bonneville had a rendezvous on the Sweetwater near this land mark at least once while he
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was in the country and spent the fourth of July there. Rev. Samuel Parker mentioned this rock in 1835.
I have said on page 259 of this volume that the first mention of Independence Rock, I had been able to find, was by the above missionary and author, but since this statement was put into print, I have seen "The Narrative of a Journey Across the Rocky Mountains to the Columbia River in the Year 1834," published in Philadelphia in 1839 by John K. Townsend. The author of this work was accompanied on the trip by Nuttall, the English Botanist, who has been men- tioned in connection with John Colter, on page 69. Town- send speaks of visiting "Rock Independence" on June 9th of that year and says that he found the names of Bonneville, Cerre, Fontenelle, William Sublette, Milton Sublette and many others cut in the face of the rock, and, following the example of previous travelers, the party placed their names in conspicuous places. The company consisted of about a hundred persons and consequently many names must have been placed near those of Captain Bonneville and others. These scientific gentlemen went out in convoy of Milton Sublette and thirty-five men, Nathaniel J. Wyeth and fifty followers. In the party was Jason Lee and his nephew, Daniel Lee, the pioneer missionaries to Oregon.
Fremont, while on his first expedition, calls it Rock In- dependence. Several trains of emigrants passing through the country in 1847 celebrated the Fourth at the same place. H. B. Kelly, of Cheyenne, informs me that he was in the party and that there were over a thousand people gathered there that day. Some of them were on their way to California and others were going to Oregon; and they stopped by common consent at this rock and all participated in a grand old fashioned Fourth of July celebration. They loaded old wagon hubs with powder, placed them in the crevices of the rock and produced an explosion that was worthy of the discharge of heavy artillery.
An event of importance in Masonic circles took place on this rock July 4, 1862. Several trains of emigrants had
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gathered there and laid over for the Fourth of July. The story is thus told by Asa L. Brown in a communication to Edgar Snow, Past Grand Master of Wyoming. Brown was a Past Grand Master of Washington Territory. The com- munication was read in open lodge at Rawlins, October 8, 1897. The letter states:
"We had just concluded our arrangements for a cele- bration on the rock, when Captain Kennedy's train from Oskalooso, Iowa, came in, bringing the body of a man who had been accidentally shot and killed that morning. Of course we all turned out to the burial, deferring our cele- bration until 4 p. m., at which time we were visited by one of those short, severe storms peculiar to that locality, which, in the language of some of the boys 'Busted the celebration.' But some of us determined on having some sort of recog- nition, as well as remembrance of the day and place, and so about the time when the sun set in the west to close the day, about twenty who could mutually vouch, and, so to speak, intervouch for each other, wended their way to the summit of the rock and soon discovered a recess, or rather depression in the rock, the form and situation of which seemed prepared by nature for our special use.
"An altar of twelve stones was improvised, to which a more thoughtful or patriotic brother added the thirteenth, as emblematical of the original Colonies, and, being elected to the East by acclamation, I was duly installed, i. e., led to the granite seat. The several stations and places were fill- ed, and the Tyler, a venerable brother with flowing hair and beard of almost snowy whiteness, took his place with- out the Western Gate on a little pinnacle which gave him a perfect command of view over the entire summit of the rock, so he could easily guard us against the approach of all, either 'ascending or descending.' I then informally opened 'Independence Lodge, No 1,' on the degrees of Entered Ap- prentice, Fellow Craft and Master Mason, when several of the brethern made short, apropriate addresses and our ven- erable Tyler gave us reminiscences of his Masonic history,ex- tending from 1821 to 1862. It was a meeting.which is, no doubt, remembered by all the participants who are yet liv- ing, and some of those who there became acquainted, have kept up fraternal intercourse ever since."
In connection with the above it may be stated that the Square and Compass used on that occasion and made from
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a paper box cover, and the Holy Bible were afterwards pre- sented to the Grand Lodge of Wyoming. A story has been going the rounds for some years to the effect that Fremont held a Masonic meeting on Independence Rock during his exploring trip in 1842 but I have been unable to trace this to any satisfactory conclusion. I am of the opinion that Fremont's name has in some way become mixed up with the event of 1862, above related.
In the spring of 1836 Richard Wootton, with a party of thirteen men, left Fort Bent on the Arkansas River and pro- ceded northwest on a trading expedition. The party had ten wagons loaded with goods for the Indian trade, and they crossed the state of Colorado, trading with Indians on the way,and entered Wyoming,going up the North Platte River, finally reaching Fort Laramie. Pushing on, they came to the Sweetwater country. Here, turning north, they entered the Wind River Valley late in the season. They had suc- ceeded in meeting numerous Indian villages and trade had been brisk. They gave trinkets, about thirty cents worth, for the skin of a beaver and the result was they were doing a very profitable business. The winter came on early so they remained in the Wind River Valley until spring. As soon as the snow disappeared they made their way back to Fort Laramie and from that point went south and finally reached Fort Bent, the place from which they started, nearly a year before. All their goods had been disposed of and their wagons were loaded with furs worth many thous- ands of dollars. This was one of the most profitable trips ever made into Wyoming. The Indians had not in any way molested them, but, on the contrary, had given them a wel- come at every point. This was Richard Wootton's first venture with a trading outfit. In after years he became famous as a trader, trapper, freighter and Indian fighter. He was associated with such men as Kit Carson, Colonel St. Vrain, Charles Bent, George Simpson, Lucien B. Max- well, Joseph Doyle and many other noted men of the mountains. In his mature years, Wootton was familiarly
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called "Uncle Dick." He finally settled on a ranch at the foot of Raton Mountains, where he gracefully grew old,loved and respected by all who knew him. He was born in Vir- ginia, May 6, 1816, and died only a few years ago.
In 1837 Uncle Dick Wootton Ied a trapping expedition into Wyoming by the way of Green River. His party trap- ped on many of our streams, and he again wintered in Wyo- ming. He had seventeen men in his party. Two of his trappers were killed in this country but the balance of the party returned safely. The expedition was a profitable one to all concerned.
In 1838 Uncle Dick Wootton again entered with a large party of trappers and this time they trapped on the North Platte, Sweetwater, Green River and all its tributaries, and, passing north, they finally reached the headwaters of the Big Wind River and, following down this stream, they trap- ped in the Little Wind River, all the branches of the Popo Agie and then turned north, reached the Big Horn river, from which country they crossed to the head of Powder River and, after trapping on all the branches of that stream, they returned to Big Horn River and followed down to the Yellowstone. On this expedition they had a number of encounters with the Indians. In the party was August Claymore, one of the oldest trappers in the mountains. This trapper had a severe fight with a party of Snake Indians on Green River and came near being killed, in fact his companions felt certain he would die of his injuries but he finally recovered. La Bonte, another noted character was of the party and was killed in Utah. La Bonte belonged in Wyoming and had lived for a number of years on the North Platte in what is now Converse County. La Bonte Creek, which flows into the North Platte, and La Bonte Station on the old Overland Trail were named after this old trapper. The Indians, after killing this noted character, cut the flesh from his bones and ate it. Le Duc, another French trapper, was also killed in Utah, being shot with a poisoned arrow.
The origin of the name of the Platte River, I have been
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enabled to trace back to the earliest occupation of the val- leys of this stream by the French settlers, which occurred in the year 1719. These Frenchmen discovered that the In- dians called the river the Nebraska, which word in their language signified flat, which interpreted into French means Platte, carrying out the idea of a broad and shallow river. Hence the La Platte River, which since that time has de- scended into the ordinary name of Platte River. The early trappers made many attempts to navigate this stream. Robert Stuart, in March, 1813, constructed canoes and launched them on the river at about the east line of Wyo- ming, but the water was low and sand bars numerous. Af- ter dragging his canoes over these obstructions for a couple of days he abandoned this method of travel and his party pursued their journey on foot down the banks of the stream. After that many trappers tried the same experiment, and some succeeded in getting their boats down by taking ad- vantage of the high water season. Previous to 1820, Jacques Laramie successfully launched his bull boats, laden with furs, from the lower point of Grand Island. Other trappers and traders in after years did the same thing. Edward Ev- erett Hale, in his work on Kansas and Nebraska published in 1854, says that traders sometimes descended in canoes and batteaux from Fort Laramie to the Missouri River, and adds: "This navigation, however, is intricate and very tedious. The canoes or boats constantly get aground, and it seems to be regarded, even at the season of the freshets, as a last resort in the way of transfer of goods from above. These remarks only apply, however, to the very highest waters of the stream. The steamboat El Paso is said to have ascended the river last year, when the water was high, more than five hundred miles from its mouth, passing up the North Fork above Fort Laramie. In token of this triumph, she still 'wears the horns,' for it is a custom on the western waters for a steamboat which has distinguished herself by any decided feat like this, to wear a pair of antlers until some more successful boat surpassess her in the same enter-
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prise by which she won them. The distance achieved by the El Paso is probably over-estimated. At most seasons of the year the river is of little use for navigation."
Milton Sublette has been overshadowed to a great ex- tent by his brother, Captain William Sublette. While the Captain was a gallant leader and a fur trader of unusual sagacity, his brother Milton had qualities that made him conspicuous among the trapper bands. He had that kind of daring and dash that marks the popular leader and it is said of him that his men would follow him in and through every danger. Unfortunately his career was cut short by the in- jury to one of his legs, which resulted in what was called fungus, which necessitated amputation, and this failing to give relief, the leg was a second time amputated. This put an end to his mountain operations. After this he remained in St. Louis, where he died while comparatively young. Old trappers never tired in telling of his bravery and of his abil- ity as a leader
B. F. Lowe came west from Missouri by the way of Fort Leavenworth in the summer of 1859, going as far as Camp Floyd. Late that season he returned to Henry's Fork of Green River, where he wintered, and early in the spring went to Boise Basin to trade with Bannock Indians. In the latter part of May he came as far as Fort Bridger and there engaged with Battese Lorain to manage a trading post at Burnt Ranch, at the upper crossing of the Sweetwater. Sep- tember of the same year he visited the Flathead country, now Montana, in the interest of the Central Overland and Pike's Peak Express Company to attempt the recovery of pony express horses which had been stolen. In the spring of 1861 he returned to Fort Bridger, and shortly after the news came of the breaking out of the Civil War. He went again to Burnt Ranch Station and was employed as before in trading with freighters, emigrants and Indians. When the Federal troops were ordered east from Camp Floyd and Fort Bridger for service in the War of the Rebellion, Lowe went with them as far as Fort Kearney and from that point
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went to Leavenworth and finally reached his home in Mis- souri. It was his intention to cast his lot with the Confed- erates and join Price's army, but his mother strongly op- posed this and made what she termed "her last request," which was that he should return to the West, which he re- luctantly did. I will have much to say of this man through this work, as he is one of the pioneers and has had much to do with affairs in Wyoming. Lowe is mentioned in this work on pages 364 and 371, in connection with important events.
One of the characters connected with the Overland trail was Henry Perri. He was born in St. Louis in 1830, came west in 1849 and located in Wyoming in 1851, and in July of that year went to work for Jim Bridger. He re- mained around Fort Bridger for many years. A few years ago he moved to the Wind River Valley. This pioneer is one of the oldest residents of the state and has outlived nearly all of his old friends. His recollections of Jack Rob- inson, Judge Carter, Jim Bridger, Jim Baker and many army officers are interesting and pleasant stories of the long ago. In appearance he is a typical hunter, trapper and mountain man. He knew Colonel Fremont, Robert Camp- bell, the Sublette brothers and many others of that class. He remembers distinctly the starting of the monthly stage which carried the mail through Wyoming, and later the great Overland Stage, which ran daily, the pony express, the old bridges and ferries on the various streams along the Overland Route. These have all come and gone within his memory, and yet the old pioneer remains with us, and up to a few months ago, when I last met him, was hale and hearty.
Fitzgerald was one of Bonneville's trappers, who re- mained in Wyoming after the Captain returned to the East in 1835. He trapped in 1836 along the Beaver and the three Popo Agies and wintered in the Wind River Valley. The following season he came to Fort Laramie and took service under the American Fur Company, and later joined Joseph
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R. Walker, another of Bonneville's men who located in California. He served under Fremont in his campaign against the Mexicans and Indians, and still later came again to Wyoming.
Basil Lajeunesse was one of Fremont's men and accom- panied the explorer on his first expedition into Wyoming and was honored by his commander in his selection as one of the party to make the ascent of Fremont's Peak. This pioneer was descended from a numerous family of hunters, trappers and traders. Gabriel Lajeunesse, his uncle, tra- dition says, was the hero of "Evangeline." Francois, Ba- sil's brother, was one of the Fremont party in 1843. These two brothers are spoken of by old trappers as remarkable men. They were not only successful hunters and trappers, but were familiar with the mountains, streams and valleys in every part of Wyoming. They trapped many years before they met Fremont. They were associates of Jim Bridger, Thomas Fitzpatrick and other men of their day who made fame and renown as well as wealth in the fur trade. Both of them became permanent residents of Wyoming. In 1858 Basil Lajeunesse established a trading post on the Overland Road above Devil's Gate, about 100 yards south of the place where the residence of Tom Sun is now located. He traded with Indians and supplied emigrants who passed through the country, doing a prosperous business. His family lived on a ranch at what is now Ferris, and it was there his chil- dren grew up. In 1862 he started to make a trip to Deer Creek for the purpose of trading with the Sioux. He took with him two men, and fifteen pack animals loaded with goods. On the way the party was attacked by Indians, La- jeunesse killed and all his goods and mules run off. He was married to a Sioux woman and had several children.
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