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Show ee Eugene (oisen and orehidinff Second! ne This comment comes all i 11" j To Look Oo Crpat Salt Loh Jim Bridger Was One Of first itltchy Footed Jim Bridger, Charmed i, Indian Maidens, Helped Pioneers By LaPreol ' 2 V Wight As far as Jim Bridger was concerned there never was any need to map out this country; he had it aH in his mind. Every st stream he crossed, every mourn tein he climbed, every tree he seated under was engraved like . a blue print behind his keen, eager eyes. That is why he was the best .scout, trapper, guide the West ever had. That is why the ti has and those in distress beat yr great a path to his door; Bonneville, I iFremont, Kit Carson, Buffalo Bill, Majestic Chief Washakie, the Donner party, President t!' Brigham Young. High or low alike, his great spirit reached into its vast storehouse of and helped human knowledge S' i beings along their way. James Bridger was born In Richmond, Virginia, March 17, .,jl804. His father had a tough time making a living for his .11 wife and three children, and ,,ever a restless soul, he moved to the then thriving trading post of St. (Louis. It was a town of 1500 citizens and in addition it was teaming with trappers, traders, settler caravans and A person could make J, freighters. a living in a place like St. Louis. But James Bridger, Sr., never had much of a chance to try, for six years later he died, followed toy Ms wife and two children. .That left young Jim, 14 years age with his fathers restless-- t "of mesa in his feet and his eyes "forever soaking up the dark bulks of wagons as they disap01 peared into the yellow fringes (.,of the landscape. The next four years Bridger apprenticed himself to a black He hammered and weld- on smith. ed and . . . listened. Above the ibeat of the anvil he heard the tales of the west and some of "a were tall ones. It was a lh them vast country, they said, wild tiand treacherous, tout '"could be made, "come sailing in. Henry and Ashley, a newly organized fur company advertised 'in a local paper for 100 men to " go into, the vast unknown as trappers. Jim Bridger was 18 "years of age at this time. He couldnt read nor write, but he " was tall and broad and lean and felt like a young colt shak-- ' ing off the dullness of winter. "Men gathered in the blacksmith "shop and read the advertise- . ment. dropped his ham mer on the anvil, took off his ;; leather apt on, and applied for a job. He got it, just ahead of ", Jeddiah Smith, who had to wait until the following year. Y - 9 James Bridger fought every inch of the way into the Rocky Mountain region, through streams, up mountains, shooting wild animals and Indians at every bend in the trail. But when he beheld the breathless he beauty of this new world filled his lungs with it and knew he had come jiome to stay. For 28 years Bridger remained here. By agreement he broke with the Ashley company and went on his own. He became a mountain man, the like of which there has been no other; the hills and valleys held no secrets from him. He spoke eleven different Indian languages. He knew from a moccasin print or the 6haft of an arrow which tribe had passed that way. He lived with the Indians, married their daughters, but never lost his identity among them. He was always the white man who carried a gun and was on to every trick of their savage ways. He had charm, our Jim Bridger, for he was a favorite among the dusky maidens. He married at least three. One was the daughter of the Flathead tribe, another a Ute maiden, and the third was a princess of a Snake chief. These women protected him, risked their, lives to rescue him from danger, and bore his children. Years later, Mary Ann Bridger, his granddaughter, then eleven years of age, attended a school conducted by some Presbyterian ministers. At least two of his children were educated in Kansas City, Mo., and Virginia Bridger, his daughter was well known and diving on a farm in 1924. Bridger is considered ' ..V. . our first citizen. He was the first white man to reach Yellowstane; the first to taste the waters of he great Salt Lake. And legend has it that he was the first to stand on Willard Peak and survey this country proclaiming it to be rich in furs; a trappers paradise. When the covered wagons came along over his trappers trail, with their picks and pans and shovels, Jim was known to say: Where in the name of common sense do all these peoHe said it ple come from? wistfully, for It was to change his mode of living. Furs were out, gold was in, and Jim was the only man who knew how to get through to the rich deposits. So the gold rushers hired him as a guide. Trip after trip he made, spinning his yarns, guiding men and ; l ' : " s, ' ' c 'Vi t .'W: i';r Y, v "V-A.Jk J - ' J : svvV- .vsV5 W 'y ') s hr ' VT v a , & s of nt i?on Ei ai w a1 i Credited with exploring this area, Jim was not the first to arrive here, but in the years knew the country better than any other person.to He is pictured here stopping Yellowstone. the edge of Great Salt Lake while enroute, possibly women away, from hazardous routes. He was the most important and colorful person in the wagon train. As soon as they were safely over the trail, In California, he returned to his beloved country. He wasnt panning for gold. The only wealth he wanted was to be found in the wide open spaces of the familiar country in the Rockies, where he had freedom to follow a stream to its source, and where a man could get his teeth into exciting mountain passes. California could keep its gold, Jim Bridger had everything he wanted right here. Jim Bridger died in 1881. He had purchased a farm in Missouri, but only after his eyes failed and he could no longer see the smoke curl from an Indian village. At his death he was placed in a grave that was soon forgotten. Later, friends had him removed to a cemetery between Kansas City and Independence, Missouri, and now he rests under a granite slab dedicated to his memory. Is,--t- v v j -- BRIGHAMS FIRST NEWSPAK WAS FOUNDED IN 1 "Parents Of News And Journal Established In 1894 And 1909, Were Merged In 1938 w'hich was set up there t the management of the man, S. C. Wixom,, where published the Weber 0 Times. The Box Elder County The Brigham Bugler, the first in newspaper to be published Brigham City, made its appearance here on June 14. 1890, with the late Mansfield L. Snow, a son of the late President Lorenzo Snow of the L. D. S. church, as managing editor and publisher. A short time later, Snow became sole owner pf the paper, which gained favorable comment by other newspaper pf the state for the great amount of local news and advertising found in its. columns. The Bugler was graciously received by both citizens and business men In and given hearty support. the spring of 1899, The Bugler ceased publication and Snow moved his plant to Ogden, v made its first A ' . .s ' ' A appearance Brigham City in April, with J. iR. Hunter as publ and editor. In 1898, Hunter succeeded by Hyrum Stan as editor, and Charles f as business manager, who ped the name 'county the News, the paper after, appearing under the captuWi the Box Elder News. upon returning from Ogde June 1899. acquired Pascoe terests in the News and in (Continued on Following V I',,. DRESSES $2.99 to $5.99 9 BLOUSES $1.99 and $2.99 9 LINGERIE $1.99 NYLON HOSE 51 gauge 15 denier $1.39 SUNBACKS $2.99 to $5.99 THE BEST FOOD SPECIALIZING IN 0 FRIED SHRIMPS 0 Delicious Steaks COUNTER TABLES IN A DELIGHTFUL ATMOSPHERE O cmcn rmtu ruiricM tniuLii Home Made Pies BOOTHS CURB SERVICE MATTIE'S Canteen Calf 68 South Mam, Brigham City On The Highway At Seventh South Right Across From The Indian NEXT DOOR NORTH OF SEELYS MOTEL School id 0 |