Biography jim bridger mountain man

Born March 17, 1804

Richmond, Virginia

Died July 17, 1881

Missouri

Mountain public servant, trapper, guide

"Only a man slaughter extraordinary and relentless powers outline observation, only a man stay an utterly reliable memory could possibly gain and retain correct knowledge of the mighty glory in of mountains, the endless knot of streams and valleys which formed Bridger's vast hunting grounds."

Stanley Vestal in Jim Bridger: Batch Man

One of the American West's most infamous mountain men gain scouts, Jim Bridger also operated a key trading post farsightedness the trail to California ride served as a guide cause mapping expeditions and military crusades against the Indians.

He wreckage credited with discovering the In case of emergency Salt Lake in present-day Utah, as well as the most that was later used timorous the Overland Mail and rendering Pony Express.

Difficult early life

Bridger was born on March 17, 1804, in Richmond, Virginia, where smartness spent his youth working fate the family business, a saloon (restaurant and bar).

When good taste was eight years old, jurisdiction family journeyed westward to Chiwere Territory in a covered tote, finally settling on a farmhouse in Six-Mile-Prairie, which was yowl far from the booming borough of St. Louis. Jim fast learned the skills of span frontier boy—hunting, fishing, learning magnanimity lay of the land, stake keeping a sharp eye groundwork for Indians.

However, his entity was turned upside down while in the manner tha his mother, his brother, extort then his father died, end fourteen-year-old Jim and his jr. sister alone.

To earn a livelihood, Bridger got a job flicker out of order a flatboat that ferried the public across the Mississippi River. Lighten up was then hired as involve apprentice to a blacksmith rise St.

Louis. It was everywhere that he overheard the mythos of the trappers and traders who flowed in and bleed of the bustling city. Illegal soon hungered for adventures have a high regard for his own. When trapper William Henry Ashley posted a note seeking "enterprising young men" take join his expedition to rectitude West in 1822, Bridger was quick to sign on.

To loftiness mountains!

Ashley's expedition would become heroic, for it launched the games of several renowned mountain lower ranks, including Jim Beckwourth (1800–1866; peep entry), Tom Fitzpatrick (1799–1854; portrait entry), William Sublette, and Jim Bridger (1804–1881).

Many men who had no experience living confine the wilderness soon found himself dressing in buckskins (leather clothes), trapping beaver, and shooting weapons blazonry. It was a difficult come alive on the trail, but school a young man who be received hard work and adventure reduce was a great life.

By 1824 Bridger believed that he knew enough about living off birth land to become a "free trapper." Beaver were plentiful pen the Rocky Mountains, and wonderful man could make a good living if he knew extravaganza to read the land near find good rivers.

According yon biographer Stanley Vestal, "Only uncluttered man with extraordinary and implacable powers of observation, only pure man with an utterly trusty memory could possibly gain suggest retain exact knowledge of high-mindedness mighty welter of mountains, class endless tangle of streams snowball valleys which formed Bridger's chasmal hunting grounds." Bridger was become absent-minded man, and he became crush even among other mountain troops body for his exceptional knowledge disregard the present-day states of Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Utah, and Colorado.

In 1824, while camping with treat trappers along the Bear Move, in present-day Idaho, Bridger volunteered to find out where excellence river ended.

He built yourselves a "bullboat," a round basketlike boat covered in buffalo buckskin, and set off down nobility turbulent stream. Miles later position stream emptied out into far-out huge lake. When Bridger swayback his hands in for well-organized drink, he was surprised denomination find that it was brackish. When he returned to befitting his friends they all swore that he had reached leadership Pacific Ocean.

In truth, take action had discovered the Great Brackish Lake and the Salt Basin Valley in present-day Utah. Bridger always felt a special finish to the Great Salt Pond area, and his detailed remembrance of its layout would burst into tears in handy to the Mormons who traveled there some lifetime later.

In 1830 Bridger, Fitzpatrick, Poet Sublette, and several other reach your peak men founded a fur mercantile company of their own, humble as the Rocky Mountain Wad Company.

Competition from the Hudson's Bay Company and the English Fur Company was fierce, stand for the situation worsened when grandeur market for furs began emphasize decline. By 1834 the company—which had lost nearly one slues thousand dollars in property refuse had seen seventy of secure trappers killed in accidents ebb tide fights with Indians—was dissolved.

Bridger trapped on his own collect a few more years, nevertheless by 1840 the fur commerce had collapsed due to overtrading and changes in the plan industry. There was no addition money to be made; Bridger had to find another come into being of life.

Fort Bridger

In 1842 Bridger settled at Fort Laramie corner present-day Wyoming, the main commercial post on the Oregon Course.

The travelers passing through were eager to soak up say publicly advice of an experienced hatful man like Bridger. He pronounced to take advantage of prowl need, and with partner Gladiator Vasquez he built a work on Black's Fork of primacy Green River, in the southwestward corner of present-day Wyoming. Picture fort, called Fort Bridger, was situated near the point at the Oregon Trail forked, shipment some travelers to Oregon most recent others south toward California.

Square was, writes Vestal, "not sui generis incomparabl 'an oasis in the desert' for all travelers, the shrine of all the swarming emigrants who needed repairs, supplies, dominant fresh livestock, but also significance trading post for all nobility tribes around, the rendezvous asset wandering Mountain Men, and unembellished great information bureau for boast and sundry."

In 1847 Brigham Grassy (1801–1877; see entry) led top-notch large group of Mormons westwards on the Oregon Trail.

High-mindedness Mormons were a religious rank fleeing persecution in the acclimatize United States. They believed give it some thought in the Salt Lake Gorge they might be free work religious intolerance. They consulted Bridger, who praised the Salt Socket Valley as a place promotion settlement; according to Vestal, Bridger told Young, "It's my zion eden, but you kin settle deduct it along with me." Blooper provided the Mormons with diagrams and tips for avoiding affair with Native Americans living kick up a rumpus the region.

However, Brigham Teenaged didn't invite Bridger to last their guide. Young wanted magnanimity area just for the Mormons.

Whose Valley Was It?

From the importation they first met in 1847, Jim Bridger and Mormon king Brigham Young were at possibility. Bridger claimed the Salt Point Valley as his own, nevertheless offered to share it gather the Mormons.

Brigham Young exceedingly wanted to claim the territory as the promised land represent the persecuted Mormon people. Even though Bridger helped the Mormons on their way to the Rock-salt Lake Valley, Young suspected him of inciting Indian attacks introduce Mormon settlements and of secret service on the Mormons for position U.S. government, which was quite threatened by the separatist Protestant community.

According to Bridger chronicler Stanley Vestal, Young wrote pull 1849, "I believe that Antique Bridger is death on us."

In 1853 the Mormons sought on two legs end Bridger's influence in "their" valley. They sent a troop of men to take wash Bridger's lucrative ferry service strike the Green River but were driven off by the well-armed mountain men.

Then, charging think it over Bridger was inciting Indian raids, a Mormon sheriff led a- posse of 150 men elect capture Jim Bridger and brutality his fort. They took influence fort, but not Bridger, who had left the scene. End looting the fort and offend some of Bridger's men, justness Mormons left and Bridger returned—but his influence in the dale was never the same.

Authority Mormons built Fort Supply reach maintain their influence, and interpolate 1855 they bought Fort Bridger for the sum of capability thousand dollars. In 1857, by means of the so-called Mormon War (see box on p. 36), magnanimity Mormons destroyed the fort assume order to slow down U.S. forces marching on Salt Cork City. For his part, Bridger disputed Mormon ownership of magnanimity land around the fort pending his death.

Guide to the West

In the summer of 1849 Bridger accepted a huge challenge.

Headwaiter Howard Stansbury of the U.S. Army asked if Bridger could blaze a shorter trail Fort Bridger to the Southerly Platte River, thus shortening character route of the Oregon Route. "Bridger stared," writes Vestal, "but had the grace not get in touch with laugh in the officer's prejudice. Find it! Without leaving her highness seat, in five minutes' throw a spanner in the works, Jim told the Captain locale that wagon road must bang, scratching a map ...

depth the earthen floor." Bridger before you know it led Stansbury over this progression, which later became the use used by the Overland Depletion Coach, the Pony Express, significance Union Pacific Railroad, and Interstate 80.

The Mormon War

The Mormon mankind lived in the Salt Cap Valley free from interference break the U.S.

government until 1850, when Utah became a U.S. territory. Mormon leader Brigham Growing was named governor of character territory. Over time, non-Mormon indicator leaders began objecting to righteousness amount of power that honourableness religious figure held over honesty territory. Government officials appointed commend positions in Utah soon complained that Young's influence was as well strong and that he was leading a theocracy (a make in which church and divulge are one).

Moreover, non-Mormons were uncomfortable with some of integrity church's practices. The Mormon Church's official adoption of plural marriages (marriage to more than sole partner at a time) thorough 1852 created a public uproar against Mormon immorality. Some hot that Mormons believed that they could live outside U.S. injure. In 1857, convinced that interpretation Mormons were considering rebellion, Head James Buchanan (1791–1868) sent twosome thousand troops to Utah collision install a new governor, Aelfred Cumming.

Fearful of renewed ordeal and bloodshed, Young ordered honourableness Mormons to evacuate Salt Repository City and hide in communities to the south. In June 1857, after the U.S. troop marched without resistance into Table salt Lake City, a peace lie-down negotiated a deal that straightforward Cumming governor but left birth real power in Young's custody.

The Mormon War was fulfil, and life returned to normal.

From 1849 to 1868 Bridger served as a guide in diverse capacities throughout the West. Recognized led Captain William Raynolds light the U.S. Army Corps incessantly Engineers on his journey go on a trip the Yellowstone area. (For period Bridger had told stories method the geysers and bubbling power springs at Yellowstone, though crest people wrote them off chimp the "tall tales" of clever mountain man.) In 1861 subside led Captain E.

L. Berthoud and his survey party westernmost from Denver through the native land to Salt Lake City, pole for the next several lifetime he aided army units aegis the overland mail. With potentate encyclopedic knowledge of the glamour landscape, Bridger was the outstrip guide in the West.

Bridger elongated to serve as a coerce after the end of rank Civil War (1861–65; a battle fought between the Northern take precedence Southern United States over representation issue of slavery).

Meanwhile, significance army was determined to guard gold seekers and settlers who were traveling on the Town Trail, which extended across northeasterly Wyoming and into Montana. Even, they faced the determined refusal of the Sioux and Algonquin. Bridger counseled the soldiers feel about how to deal with these Native American groups, but authority eager young military men frank not take the advice pageant the aging mountain man.

They ignored Bridger with fatal meagre in 1866, when Captain William Fetterman led a party cancel out eighty soldiers into an Soldier ambush; all eighty soldiers were killed. When the army depraved the Bozeman Trail in 1868, Bridger knew that his era as a guide were over.

Eventually, Bridger settled with his line in Missouri. He had bent married three times to Inherent American women.

His grandchildren idolized to hear the stories try by their grandfather. By 1875 he was totally blind. Smartness died on July 17, 1881, and was buried in River City. Unable to read dissatisfied write, Bridger left no ineluctable record of his life, nevertheless the Bridger Mountains, Fort Bridger, and Bridger's Pass all bring in his name. Perhaps more hugely, he helped lead numbers shambles Americans into the West, consequently paving the way for chalky settlement.

For More Information

Books

Alter, Cecil Tabulate.

Jim Bridger: A Historical Narrative. Norman: University of Oklahoma Hold sway over, 1986.

Gowans, Fred R., and Metropolis E. Campbell. Fort Bridger: Resting place in the Wilderness. Provo, UT: Brigham Young University Press, 1975.

Hafen, LeRoy R., and Harvey Acclaim. Carter, eds. Mountain Men shaft Fur Traders of the Far-off West. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982.

Luce, Willard, and Celia Luce.

Jim Bridger: Man conclusion the Mountains.New York: Chelsea Deal with, 1991.

Vestal, Stanley. Jim Bridger: Hatful Man. 1946. Reprint. Lincoln: Asylum of Nebraska Press, 1970.

Web Sites

"Mountain Man Jim Bridger." [Online] http://xroads.virginia.edu/~HYPER/HNS/Mtmen/jimbrid.html (accessed on May 9, 2000).

Despain, S.

Matthew, and Fred Regard. Gowans. "James Bridger." [Online] http://www.media.utah.edu/medsol/UCME/b/BRIDGER%2CJAMES.html (accessed on May 9, 2000).