The Quintessential Mountain Man

Jim Bridger was the epitome of the hardy mountain man.  As a child he went from Virginia to the

frontier city of St. Louis with his family.  At 13 he was apprenticed as a blacksmith.  At 19 he became a member of William Henry Ashley's first expedition to the Rockies.  He was a quick learner, tall and with a keen eye.  Although he became a legend as an Indian fighter, he tried to get along with the Indians.  He had three Indian wives, each from a different tribe and each died young.

Bridger's friends called him "Gabe".  He was notorious for his tall tales, but many of his tales were based on real events.  Once he floated down the Bear River to settle a bet on the direction the river flowed, ending in Great Salt Lake (probably the first white man to see it).  Due to the salty water, he believed he was on the Pacific Coast.

Most of Bridger's maps were the most accurate of maps available.  Although he was illiterate, he spoke French, Spanish and several Indian languages. 

He roamed the Rockies as a trapper, trader and eventual partner in a fur company.  In 1843 he built a fort on the Oregon Trail where he sold supplies, did repair work, and gave advice to travelers.  For 10 years he was successful until a raid by the Mormon vigilantes destroyed the fort.  Bridger moved his family to a Missouri farm, came back alone to the West as a guide.  He was a scout for the U.S. Army in the "Mormon War". In 1866 he marked the Bozeman Trail from Nebraska to the Montana gold mines.

Bridger was disabled by arthritis and failing eyesight when he retired in 1867.  By then the coming of the railroads saw the end of the West that Bridger so loved.

Next time...Life in the wild
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Today in Pioneer History:  On  March 28, 1776, Juan Bautista de Anza, one of the great western pathfinders of the 18th century, arrives at the future site of San Francisco with 247 colonists.

Allied with the Indian Tribes

For a brief time before the settlers and soldiers arrived (12 years), the remaining mountain men lived well.  The elite group included Jim Bridger, Kit Carson, Crazy Bill Williams, William Bent and Joe Walker.  They were scattered over a huge unsettled area from the central plains and upper Missouri to the Sonoran Desert and the Sierras.  They had one thing in common - they each had a special relationship with one or two of the important Indian nations.  The only white who remained and did well were established good businessmen and bartered with the Indians for pelts.

Their tribes included:

Bent and Carson --- Cheyenne and Arapaho
Bridger --- Shoshoni
Beckworth --- Crow
Williams --- Ute
Walker --- Snake

Next time...a Special Exception

Not So Fast!

During this time the Rocky Mountain Fur Company (RMFC) tried to make a deal that would divide the territories between the fur companies, but the American Fur Company (AFC) refused.

The AFC's plan was to follow the RMFC veterans, letting them guide them to the best beaver spots but Jim Bridger was too smart for that and instead led them on a wild goose chase deep into Blackfoot territory.

In the end one half of AFC's men were killed or wounded and the RMFC seemed to have won except that Bridger was shot 2 times in the back with arrows that he would carry with him for years.

Next time...Ambush!

(for more info on fur companies in the early west, see earlier posts in this blog)