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