Oil and Water = Horse Thief?

John Charles Fremont's third expedition was westward from Montana to Pueblo Colorado which at that time was a collection of huts where the undesirables of the Southwest hung out - among them Crazy Bill Williams.  Fremont appointed Williams to pilot the rest of his expedition along with his Ute wife.  By this time Crazy Bill's drinking and temper had worsened to the point of causing real problems on the trail.

The group caught up with Walker on the White River in Utah where Fremont finally convinced Walker to pilot his remaining expedition.  Walker was headed to California with furs and horses, and probably Fremont was headed that same course.  Remember that Fremont had been hired to survey the Southwest, not California!

Shortly after joining up with Fremont, Captain Walker and Crazy Bill Williams got into it with Williams claiming that Walker had taken over his job (which he had).  Sometime in the night Williams left, taking two of Walker's best horses with him.  A horse thief is never well liked...

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This Day in History: On November 10, 1808, in a decision that would eventually make them one of the wealthiest surviving Indian nations, the Osage Indians agree to abandon their lands in Missouri and Arkansas in exchange for a reservation in Oklahoma.The Osage were the largest tribe of the Southern Sioux Indians occupying what would later become the states of Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska.

Next Time...Trouble in California