From the colonial days forward, Americans had continued to move westward. At first, trails were found through the Appalachians as settlers began to move into the fertile lands stretching toward the Mississippi River.
Early pioneer, Daniel Boone, helped in the settlement of Kentucky by establishing the Wilderness Road through a pass in the Appalachian Mountains known as the Cumberland Gap in 1775.
Boone recommended three essentials for a pioneer: A good gun, a good horse, and a good wife. They would also need a strong body, a sharp ax, and good luck. By the end of the 1700s, more than 200,000 early pioneers had traveled the Wilderness Road. It was a dangerous area, with threats from robbers, and massacres by Indians. Boone s own 17-year-old son was murdered by natives. Small forts, called stations were built along the way for shelter and protection.
Further to the west, the Spanish were also exploring territories they claimed. This expedition was searching for an easier way to get from Spanish settlements in New Mexico, to those in California.
In the 1800s, the Old Spanish Trail followed part of the route the Dominguez and Escalante group took.
There were Spanish settlements in New Mexico as early as the 1500s. Settlements were also located along the California coast in the late 1700s.
The time period from the 1810s to the 1840s in the West, was when Mountain Men impacted the West. Some made small fortunes hunting and trapping animals. They coped with situations such as dealing with harsh weather conditions, the rough terrain, and hostile Indians. They sometimes lived with natives, learned from them, and even married them.
Colter was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. He remained in the West, sometimes exploring it by himself, and sometimes with others. He had many adventures.
He explored parts of what are now Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. During the winter of 1807-08, he explored the area we now know as Yellowstone Park as well as the Teton Mountain Range. He was probably the first non-indian to see the volcanic activity of the region. When he described it to others, they didn t believe him, and called it Colter s Hell.
Colter had several encounters with the Blackfeet Indians. In one of his more famous adventures, he and another member of the Lewis and Clark party named John Potts, were traveling the Jefferson River in what is now Montana. They ran into a large group of warriors who demanded they come ashore. Colter went ashore, and was stripped naked. Potts stayed in the river, and was killed after firing at the Indians. His body was brought ashore, and hacked to pieces.
A brief council was held about what to do with Colter, then they indicated he should run. A group of braves chased Colter, but he was a fast runner. As one brave got closer, Colter turned around, surprised the brave, killing him. Colter took a blanket from the Indian continued on to the Madison river, and hid in a beaver lodge, emerging later at night. He then walked, naked and alone, for 11 days to a fort.
Jedediah Smith Kit Carson Jim Bridger Jim Beckwourth John C. Fremont Peter Skene Ogden John Henry Weber Benjamin Bonneville Miles Goodyear Etienne Provost
Jedediah Smith is considered the first man of European descent to cross the future state of Nevada; the first to travel Utah from north to south and from west to east; and the first American to enter California by an overland route. He was also first to scale the High Sierra Mountains and explore the area from San Diego to the banks of the Columbia River. Smith had notable facial scarring due to a grizzly bear attack.
Kit Carson explored the west to California, and north through the Rocky Mountains. He lived among and married into the Arapaho and Cheyenne Indian tribes. He was hired by John C. Fremont as a guide, and led the Pathfinder through much of California, Oregon and the Great Basin area. He gained national fame because of John C. Fremont. Stories of his life as a mountain man turned him into a frontier hero-figure: the prototypical mountain man of his time.
Jim Bridger first came west in 1822 as a teenage member of an exploration party. He was among the first non-natives to see the geysers and other natural wonders of the Yellowstone region. He is also considered one of the first men of European descent, to see the Great Salt Lake which he thought might be part of the Pacific Ocean. In 1830, Bridger purchased shares in the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. He established Fort Bridger in southwestern Wyoming. He was also well known as a teller of tall tales or incredible stories.
Jim Beckwourth was born into slavery, came to Missouri with his parents and was eventually freed. He signed on with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, and became a well-known mountain man. He lived with the Crow Indians for years and became a war chief. He was the only Black American in the West to have his life story published (1856). He was credited with the discovery of Beckwourth Pass in the Sierra Nevada in 1850, and improved an Indian path to create what became known as the Beckwourth Trail through the mountains to California.
Nicknamed the Pathfinder, John C. Fremont led five different expeditions around the West between 1842 to 1853. He acted as a guide for some of Kit Carson s adventures. He dictated a lot of his experiences to his wife, Jesse Benton Fremont. His accounts read like modernday adventure novels. Fremont also met with Brigham Young, and told the Mormon leader about the Salt Lake Valley. Later, he became the first presidential nominee from the anti-slavery Republican Party.
In the Fall and Spring, tended their traps. They CACHED or hid their furs. The furs were used to make hats that were popular in the East, and in Europe. In the summer they met fur traders in a previously designated spot for a RENDEZVOUS, a French term that means a get-together.
A Rendezvous must have been quite exciting to be a part of! It was a chance to meet with others and have some fun. They swapped stories, had wrestling contests, competed in knife/axe throwing games, danced, ate, and drank!!! Traders from the east brought needed supplies, and bargained for the valuable furs. The whole process then began again.
Mirth, songs, dancing, shouting, trading, running, jumping, singing, racing, targetshooting, yarns, frolic, with all sorts of extravagances that white men or Indians could invent. ***Jim Beckwourth {THE MOUNTAIN MAN RENDEZVOUS}
By the late 1830 s, the Rockies had been trapped out, and beaver hats had went out of fashion. Some mountain men went back to the east to settle. Others stayed in the mountains, either to marry Native women, or they opened up trading posts. Many went on closer to the coastal regions, while others explored, and opened up trails through the Rocky Mountain region. Their knowledge and expertise were important in helping open up the west.
The Oregon, California, and Mormon Trails all went through South Pass. South Pass in Wyoming is a natural gap through the Rocky Mountains discovered by mountain men.
By the 1820 s, settlers were filling up the territory between the Appalachians and the Mississippi. Not very many people had settled on the Great Plains between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains. Many people were attracted to a place called Oregon Country.
Oregon Country included modern-day Oregon, Washington, Idaho, parts of Montana and Wyoming, and a portion of Canada. The area near the Pacific Coast was especially fertile, and attracted a lot of settlers who wanted to farm. The mountainous part of Oregon Country was filled with animals who could be trapped for their fur.
Oregon Country covered a huge area, and was originally claimed by four countries.
The United States, Great Britain, Russia, and Spain all claimed Oregon. Both the U. S. and Britain had explored the region, and Britain had even built a fort there. We had sent Lewis and Clark to the region as well. In 1818, Britain and the U. S. agreed to jointly occupy the territory. Citizens of both countries would have rights. Russia and Spain both dropped their claims.
The first whites to build permanent settlements in Oregon Country were Christian missionaries. Two of the first were Marcus and Narcissa Whitman. They built a mission near the Columbia River and worked to teach the local Indians about Christianity and farming techniques. They wrote to people back East and sent good reports about the area. They were hoping to attract larger numbers of people to move there.
More and more people heard wonderful stories about Oregon. People caught Oregon Fever, and decided to start their lives over in the West. Families planning to go, usually met at Independence, Missouri. There they formed wagon trains and traveled together. Each group elected their own leaders. It took about 5 months to travel the 2,000 miles. Timing was important. If you left too early, there wasn t enough grass for animals. If you left too late, you could get caught in the snow.
Everybody had jobs to do. By 6:00 in the morning you had to be ready to go. They had a short meal at lunchtime, and traveled usually until about 7:00. Wagons were often circled at night for protection.
Sometimes, wagons were overloaded, and items had to be left behind. As they traveled, swollen rivers were dangerous. In the summer, they often faced blistering heat with little shade, and snowstorms sometimes blocked passes later in the year. Diseases often spread quickly, and it was common to lose family members. Families sometimes had to bury loved ones, knowing they would never see the grave again.
Along the trail, settlers frequently traded with Native Americans. However, brutal Indian attacks occurred, usually on smaller groups of settlers. Many people also were killed in accidents, by drowning, snake bites, disease, and even accidental gunshots.
Between 1840 and 1860, more than 50,000 people had reached Oregon. Their wagons cut such deep grooves in the ground, that some can still be seen today. By the 1840 s Americans greatly outnumbered any British in the territory. We had been sharing Oregon with the British. Now, many Americans felt we should take total control of the region.