Mountain Men and Explorers

Mountain Men came to the west for furs mostly beaver, but took muskrats, and mink followed Native American trails later these trails became major routes of transportation traded with Native Americans

Mountain Men Mountain men era lasted from 1810s-1845 They would store furs in hiding places called a Cache

Peter Skene Ogden Led the Hudson Bay Company of Trappers (England Company) came into Cache Valley which was called Willow Valley Traveled south from Cache Valley into New Valley and found New River

Peter Skene Ogden later names were changed Ogden Valley, Ogden River Ogden and his men had a fight with some American trappers Ogden was now camped at Mountain Green in Weber Canyon

Peter Skene Ogden Disagreed on whose territory they were in Americans wanted to take all British furs and independent mountain men Ogden lost 23 men and over 700 furs never came into Utah again

Rocky Mountain Fur Company Company was organized William Ashley with Major Andrew Henry as a partner

Rocky Mountain Fur Company First men recruited was known as Ashley’s 100. They would hire two types of Mountain Men First type called Company Men who would work for the company and any furs taken would be the company’s

Rocky Moutain Fur Company Second type was called the Independent Trapper would sell their furs to whoever paid the most RMF Company was the first to discover and use South Pass as a means to travel over the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountain Fur Company Started the Rendezvous which is where the Mountain Men traded their furs for supplies didn’t have to travel all the way back to Missouri for new supplies

John H. Weber led one of the Brigades of Mountain Men for the Rocky Mountain Fur Co. Trapped in the Uintah and Wasatch Mountains

John H. Weber Weber Canyon, County and River are named after him when his men camped on the river for the winter Johnson Gardner was a subordinate led the fight at Mountain Green against Peter Skene Ogden Jim Bridger was in his brigade who was the first from the company to see the Great Salt Lake

Jedediah Smith most notable Mountain Man 24 years old led another group of Mountain Men from the Rocky Mountain Fur Company made several expeditions into California

Jedediah Smith Smith wrote some of the first details of Utah in his diary First to travel length and width of Utah Read a Bible around the campfire at night.

Never let the reading of the one interfere with the use of the other. Good shot with a rifle Never let the reading of the one interfere with the use of the other. mauled by a bear and survived killed by Comanche Indians in 1831

Jim Bridger Abandoned another mountain man to death to save his life One of the first Europeans to see Great Salt Lake Well know for his guiding, memory, tracking skills Credited with making tall tales

Etienne Provost Independent Trapper led group out of Toas, New Mexico First White man European to see the Great Salt Lake Brigade was attacked by Snake Indian Chief, along shores of the Great Salt Lake

Etienne Provost Provost and men were invited to sit down for dinner could not wear metal during the ceremony, it would bring bad luck left their guns indians kept knives and attacked

Etienne Provost Provost lost 7 men 3-4 others survived Provost came back to area a year later Provo River and Provo City named for him Worked for the American Fur Company

Forts Fort Uintah was built by Antoine Robidoux built in Uintah valley by Uintah River later burned and destroyed by Indians because of the fighting, slavery and stealing that took place there

Forts Fort Hall was built on the junction of the Snake and Portneuf Rivers used by immigrants as a trading post on their way to Oregon and later California

Forts Fort Bridger was built by Jim Bridger, on the Black's Fork River in Wyoming 1843 Fort Ashley on the banks of Utah Lake by William Ashley collected over $180,000 worth of furs

Trails Old Spanish trail was established from 1829-1849. A route for traders to travel from New Mexico to California without traveling over the Grand Canyon Avoided the Apache Native Americans followed the Dominguez and Escalante Expedition.

Trails Joseph Walker established a route to get to California been used for years but he was the first to publish it. Followed the Humboldt River through Nevada.

Army Explorers John Fremont Fremont was a young ambitious Army officer. Married the daughter of Missouri Senator Thomas Hart Benton Led three expeditions to Utah. Proved the Salt Lake Valley was a basin He named Antelope Island and Fremont Island, which they floated on a rubber raft to.

Army Explorer Wrote his discoveries in a book helped by his wife Many immigrants read those books creating a desire to move to the west. Journals were read by Brigham Young who decided to lead his group of religious followers to Salt Lake Valley. (Upper California as it was called)

Army Explorer Portrayed the Salt Lake Valley as a good place to settle and farm. Brigham Young felt that Fremont was less than accurate in his details Fremont was led by legendary mountain man Kit Carson

Carson carved cross on Fremont Island still seen today. Led Fremont's men across the Salt Flats to Pilot’s Peak.

John W. Gunnsion and Howard Stansbury Came to Utah to map the Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake in 1849 two years after the Mormons Gunnison wrote a book about the Mormons while he was here.

Army Explorers 1853 Gunnison was sent back to Utah to find a route for the transcontinental railroad. Was killed by the Pahvant Native Americans in retaliation for a chief that was killed by immigrants on their way to California

Army Explorers Gunnison’s group accomplished three things Established a southern wagon route to California Established a military road into Utah Determined that the railroad route should go through northern Utah

Army Explorers John Wesley Powell 1869 Civil War Veteran Took nine wooden boats down the Green River Explored one of the last areas that had not been mapped out of the United States Took two more expeditions down the Green and Colorado rivers Lake Powell is named for him

Immigrants Hastings Cutoff Lansford Hastings wrote a book on how to get to California titled “An Immigrant’s Guide to California” would save them 200 miles and three weeks Some immigrants read his book and listened to him, they traveled through Utah on their way to California

Immigrants First groups came down Echo Canyon, then Weber. Weber Canyon was most difficult to get through with area called Devil’s Gate Many busted up wagons, killed mules, oxen and horses going through

Donner Party Donner Party Last group to follow Hasting’s Cutoff. Told not to come through Weber Canyon it was too difficult Made a new trail through Immigration Canyon into Salt Lake Valley. Took them two weeks to cut brush for trail. Tired and worn out they pulled their heavy wagons up over what is not Donner’s Hill

Donner Party Teams were worn out and exhausted from this ordeal They then trekked across the Salt Flats into Nevada with little water for three days

Donner Party Trail can still be seen today with many articles they left behind to lighten the loads of the wagons. One day too late to cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains they got trapped in snow and some resorted to cannibalism to survive. The snow was over 20 feet deep at times!