Show jur UR TRADERS R through courtesy of 0 the leal ical landmarks eshouse few house building salt tah a n among early arly fur trad cute wyoming and colorado an utah was invaded a ate states had been thord now new mexico arizona did id not figure industry 8 worked under two embers of an organized a 2 free fur traders grading companies entered led by men like ashley ir r the Sub lettes camp and others As a rule per era left no written re was very high and per der cent of those who wll 0 ened t f these adventurers are fan 1 I on the maps of tho the covered hoback can ranee ance to jackson hole ie 0 labors and untimely t hoback pierres ree hole nors tho the name of another poudre oudre river in colo F MAR acs ics that at trappers trap pera peris c concealed al ca ong 19 this stream strain smiths berres erros RI hole idaho locks near lear Co cokeville keville ants obtain n and provo prove in utah section es of 01 very other names of te f or baa nd bd peaks are 1 land rid to these early wander of state er r was esson essentially bially a oi skill courage and V optimism A good digestion was equally important eight pounds or of meat per day constituted a ration tor for some of bf these men it requires an abundance of acid and plenty of oxygen to assimilate such a diet after the active trapping season was over they gathered at different points like refi res hole idaho huntsville near ogden utah in what are now various parks in colorado and gave themselves over to wholesale debauchery debaucher Y tor for weeks harse racing shooting at a mark wrestling fighting and getting drunk were con eldered proper pastimes these winter winter encampments encamp ments brought certain benefits since schools of 0 instruction st were maintained trappers were taught the art of trapping game removing hides curing them making them into packs foreast fo tor reasy easy transportation caching stores repairing firearms and doing all sorts of eppedi ants at P points pints so tar far from supplies 0 most of the fur traders were illiterate men and only a few like meeks beckwourth Beckw russell smith and ogden made any af attempts tempts to record their activities I 1 the hudsons Hud sons bay company and the northwest fur d company were bitter rivals for years yeath the organizations were brought under one head la in 1821 tho the headquarters of these united companies was at vancouver washington near portland the second post in importance was at fort colville washington on the upper columbia the hudsons Hud sons day bay fur company operated at fort boise and i pori fort hall idaho tind and as tar far south as ogden utah alexander henry built the first trading post in idaho at st st anthony in 1812 lupton st vrain and others built posts in north ern colorado baldger a post at F fort ort bridger in 1843 a and nd ash ley established one at provo in 1825 many of the fur companies w were ere organized lr in at louis MIsso missouri url which was also the assembling place tor expeditions and trappers trapp era and the market tor for furs mines had bad been developed near st louis at an early date and powder factories were established there st louis of today Is I 1 the principal fur market of the united states it rivals new york in fixing the price of lead huge hu 90 wholesale hardware concerns exist survivors or of fur trading days tho the name of james bridger is better to known to the american PU public alic through pictures and literature litera tur e than that of any ally other fur trader it cannot that he has not fairly earned his place bridger was born in I 1 n richmond virginia march 17 1804 and died near westport missouri july 17 1881 1 he was apprenticed to a bl black I 1 icat smith at the early age of thirteen a knowledge of this trade was waa of great grat assistance throughout his later care ier er at the age or of eighteen he hired jut ut to a party of trappers under willi agn H ashley andrew henry led this ex tion up the missouri river to i t ao 40 Yellow returning to S ty louis t fae be san same a year the next year ear acihl tey persona personally I 1 IY made a nd trip tot to jh and wintered I 1 in cac continued to page tour four FUR T TRADERS R A D E continued from front in p bags ae valley dradger er artl great brent salt lake nn on that tha h t trip aua i so BO far as wo ive know the first 1 to see sea this body of wat water er 41 in 1830 bridger and others ba out a fur trading compa company ny and it under the name of rocky mountain fur company connected with this visited yellowstone park n the overland route through brlek arif pass to salt lake city guided h exploring olpe expeditions a it I 1 0 ns was VI bert sidney johnstons army la a and with grenville H dodge ak i indian ca campaigns and railroad veys in 1865 66 bridger loved p cal jokes and many stories 8 are L i of his exaggerations i most famous one Is his account of 01 rifled drifted birds flying through pet pe air singing petrified songs in the rifled forests of petrified park dradger bridger never allowed b ahlai to be flattered ridiculed nor bet be get for those who would capi capital tall his accounts ile he left no arii count of his travels james P beckwourth Beckw a ma mau was also a native of virginiah virginia he bated an account of hla his own IV life which ho he designates bl himself mountaineer Mount aneer scout pioneer chief of the crow nation ot of Ws indi some pages recount his life adventures for some of which tl Is a real basis beckwourth Beckw used colors and a large brush brad was handy with both in his be acca indiana were killed like filea dua sanitary campaign he was at acet identified with early st louis gt island forts cass union and Q santa fe taos and salt baket lake vi bridger ashley fitzpatrick T ti sublette and many other earlye early T ern characters were ills his asso clite ho he began ills 1115 matrimonial 1860 at the age of 62 marrying elizabeth Lett better daughter I 1 0 first la undress in denver 1 weurth and ills his wife engaged III fat ping around denver with an ac oco al ai entrance into into mining la in the he was invited by tho the crows abo toi their headquarters north of 0 thel the I 1 waters of the missouri although had resigned as chief of these I 1 hi history relates that they asked to accept his former position t he be firmly declined asa As a final i of honor they gave him a great well dog feast on the day ot of IS hb but poisoned the meat he died soon after the banquet le ie alleged that the indiana Indians said sald 11 hey could no have him as a ho he would make great dead med the adventures of joseph 1 L 1 are recounted through the wor voit mrs francs fuller victor pull pub in 1870 meek was early assoc alsoc with the Sub lettes and manyol many ol 01 early adventures were in the vie vi of yellowstone park at a later ater I 1 he transferred his activities to arkansas Ax kansas and cimarron Cl marron rivier i and sill later became associated i dr marcus whitman and d aided in his colonization schemes i and beckwourth Beckw possessed less I 1 sense than bridger both of 0 11 were somewhat pompous and k ful and fond of display in 1831 H was appointed united states M mars tor for oregon and performed the hi da of his office with great credit |