Mountainman - Conclusion

(Cont. from Last Week)

by Dan R. Conway

(Originally published in the Hysham Echo on Feb. 3, 1927)

Built Fort Bridger

From 1833 to 1840, Bridger conducted trapping parties in the interest of the American Fur Company through the country west of the Big Horn river, reaching to the Snake, and had many fights with and hairbreadth escapes from the hostile Blackfeet.

In 1840, he was associated with Benito Vasquez in charge of an extensive outfit which they conducted in person until 1849, when Bridger and Vasquez built Fort Bridger.

Fort Bridger was located 1,070 miles west of the Missouri river by wagon road and 886 miles by railroad. Bridger selected this site on account of it being on the overland emigrant route and the Mormon trail whether by the North or South Platte routes, as both came together near or at Fort Bridger.

Buys Farm at Little Santa Fe

About 1850 Bridger took his Shoshone wife and together they went to Little Santa Fe, Mo., where he bought a little farm where he maintained his residence until the time of his death. It is however, said of him by neighbors, that each spring he would leave the farm and travel west to pilot expeditions during the summer months or to follow the trade of trapper and hunter.

It was in the spring of 1862 that the government called him from his little home back to the plains to guide the military in the Indian campaigns. He worked with the troops from Fort Laramie and took part in many encounters. He remained on the plains until late in 1870 when he moved back to the Little Santa Fe farm.

In the closing paragraphs of his biography of Bridger, General Dodge describes the characteristics of the man as follows:
“I found Bridger a very companionable man. In person he was over six feet tall, spare, straight as an arrow, agile, rawboned and of powerful frame, eyes gray, hair brown and abundant in old age expression mild, and manners agreeable. He was hospitable and generous, and was always trusted and respected. He possessed in a high degree of confidence of the Indians.
“He was one of the most noted hunters and trappers on the plains. Naturally shrewd, and possessing keen faculties of observation, he carefully studied the habits of all animals, especially the beaver, and profiting from the knowledge obtained from the Indians, with whom he chiefly associated, and with whom he became a great favorite, he soon became one of the most expert hunters and trappers in the mountains.

“... Eager to gratify his curiosity, and with a natural fondness for mountain scenery, he traversed the country in every direction, sometimes accompanied by an Indian but oftener alone. He familiarized himself with every mountain peak, every deep gorge, every hill and every landmark in the country. Having arrived on the banks of some before undiscovered stream, and finding signs of his favorite game, he would immediately proceed to his traps, and then take his gun and wander over the hills and up the canyon in quest of meat.

“While engaged in this thorough system of trapping, no object of interest escaped his scrutiny, and when once known it was ever after remembered. He could describe with minutest accuracy places that perhaps he had visited but once, and that many years before, and he could travel in almost a direct line from one point to another in the greatest distances, with certainty of always making his goal.

“He adopted the habits of the Indians conformed to their customs, became imbued with their superstitions, and at length excelled them in strategy.”

A Great Story Teller

Bridger was by nature a great story teller, but when he described the wonders of Yellowstone Park, which he visited in 1844, none believed him. Today this tale has been proved a real one. Bridger bore the record of being the champion liar of the old frontier. Nevertheless he was respected and trusted. Bridger felt keenly the suspicions cast upon his truth and honesty, and was often disgusted and angered at the talk about “old Jim Bridger and his lies.” In retaliation, he followed the custom of mountain men by stuffing his listeners with the most preposterous stories he could imagine.

Once at Virginia City, Montana Territory, accosted by a group of “pilgrims” who heard of his fame, proceeded to question the old man, whereupon he told the following harrowing tale:

The Petrified Forest

“Once years ago, I and my partner were trapping near the bad lands of the Missouri, a few miles below Benton, when we found we had no meat. Shouldering our rifles, we started out after deer, and soon were on the edge of the bad lands. A fine buck started out of the brush and ran toward a petrified forest of the kind that is often found in the queer bad land formations. My partner and I both shot, and the deer bounded forward. As the animal leaped over a fallen tree, he suddenly stopped, suspended six feet in the air with nothing to support him. We advanced to inspect our meat, and were surprised to find that the buck had been turned from flesh to stone in a twinkling and was hanging in mid-air in a mysterious fashion.”

One of the party thereupon asked Bridger if the law of gravitation would not have prevented the deer from hanging in the air that way. “Gravitation be damned,” replied Bridger, with evident disgust. “that was petrified, too.”

Bridger was then asked if he had seen any other animals petrified. He replied that he had seen a great many deer, antelope and bear petrified in the badlands zone. In fact, he said that he and his partner, while sleeping in the petrified zone, felt themselves turning to stone and got out just in time to survive.

So, as a matter of fact, Bridger did tell some fantastic yarns. But, when he did so, there was a good deal of basis for it, if his listeners had sufficient wit and sense to look for the meat.

Was a Trusted Scout

The testimony of scores of prominent military commanders and civilians can be produced to show that James Bridger was always to be trusted and believed as a guide, scout, trader and all-round pioneer. His idle tales were only told to idle people in idle hours. At heart he was as truthful as he was skilful and brave. He never betrayed any man and was never untrue to any trust, public or private.

Those who knew the man and who saw him in the early sixties, as he neared the end of his frontier career, say that as a rule, he was a silent, close-mouthed fellow. When closely questioned, he would tell some outrageously improbable story, that would be greeted with hilarious laughter by the men around the campfire, and make the person asking the question the butt of the occasion. Unfortunately, he was little given to the relation of his adventures and exploits, and he seldom mentioned such important events as the Benneville expedition, in which he played so important part.

Bridger was born at Richmond, Va., in 1804 and he died in Washington country, Missouri in 1881. His death was a sad one. In his old age, he lost his eyesight, and thereafter he sat day by day dreaming his frontier life over and over again as the sands of life ran low. Finally, at the age of 77, he passed away, and few today know that his grave is located in one of Kansas City’s most fashionable cemeteries. His remains were at first interred in an unmarked plot near Martin City, Kans., but the removal was made at the request and expense of General Dodge many years later.

And, the monument that General Dodge erected in Washington Cemetery at Kansas City, and the official records state that Pike and Fremont and Livingston and Stanley and even Cecil Rhodes did not accomplish such wonderful discovery work as did this man “Jim” Bridger.

What matters then if Bridger had one or six wives, or if he drank or was sober?
Yes, I wish I had been a mountainman, one hundred years or more ago. Print this post