STAR VALLEY HISTORICAL SOCIETY HISTORICAL BOOKS INVENTORY DETAILS

1. Overview

Title: Dateline of Early Trappers in the Star Valley and Greys River Areas

Author:

Subject: Mountain Men

Publisher:

Publishing Date:

Number of Pages: 3

ID#: 257

Location: Website

2. Evaluation

Evaluator's Name(s): Kent and Polly Erickson

Date of Evaluation: November 2014

Key Words: Lewis and Clark Expedition, Rocky Mountain Fur Company

Included Names: , Wilson Price Hunt, Robert Stuart, Johnson Gardner, Peter Skene Ogden, John Gray, Milton Sublette, Osbourne Russell,

3. SvnoDsis The timeline begins in 1806 as part of the Lewis and Clark return trip. It ends in 1839 with an event involving Joe Meek and a Shawnee Indian.

4. Other

* Documentation is provided in the list of thirteen sources. 1

Date Line

A date line of early trarpers iri the Ste.r Valley and Greys "River areas "hetv-een 1306 a;,..:; 1839. Prehistoric- Indians of prehistoric times traveled great distances to secure salt fro::i the deposits along Salt River. /?13, pgo 12a 1806 On Lewis and Clark's retvxn trlr, they left John Colter with Joseph Dickson and Porest r.ancock near the mouth of the Yellowstone Eiver. No one knov/s v;here they trapped for a full year. Colter iQiev; the area v.ell ;.:v:c vas psked to [yAde Andrew Henry "back to the Snake. .?12, pg. 74. 1809 Henry, along with Colter, John Hancock, ildward Robinson, Jacob Reznor, Joseph lliller and a trapping "brigade, built a fort on the Snc-ke P.iver by the pre sent St. Anthony. More than likely they trapped this area. #12, pg. 114; #13, pg. 10. rJ 1811 T/ilson Price Hunt, along v.ith foujc partners, , Donald McKenzie, Robert McClellan, Ramsay Crooks, Joseph Miller and John Day, a Hunter; Pierre Dorion, an interpreter; Edward Rose, a guide; John Bradbury, an English naturalist; and numerous trappers and boat men, traveled down Hoback and up the Snake. V/hile at Hoback Junction they sent John Day and two others ..down stream to explore the Snake, for a distance of four ^ days march. On Day's return he told Hunt that he had fomid a very large tributary. This river they named Days River. ^They had only one horse for cn/ery tv;o men. #13, pg. 11, #2, pg. 394. 1812- Robert Stuart, Day, "cClel an, Crooks, and three other men traveled back from Astor's Post when they met Hoback, Reznor, Robinson, and Miller. The four inf^ormed Stuart that the Elackfeet were on the warpath, to the north and told him of a pass to the south, by Lander. Miller was through trapping and wanted to go back to civilization, so he approached Stuaxt about berling a giiiide for the Stuart Party; Stuart accepted« The three others stayed to continue trax^ping; as Stuaccts Party left, to find . the pass. V.'hile ujider Hiller's giiidaiice, they meandered , aimlessly across V:yoming and consequently Star Valley, I Stuart decided Miller was lost and hired another guide, an Indian. He was paid a pistol, a blanket of blue-cloth, .an axe, a knife, an awl, blue beads, a looking glass, and a little powder and ball. The India.n immediately stole a horse and with all the newly acquired possessions, left in the night. V/hile the party was camped near Alpine, they lost all of the remaining horses to Indians. They finally did reach the pass and eventually v.andered east. The actual first mention of Salt River. #1, pg. 79, #2, pg. 394, #5, pg. 57. 2

1325 • ' Jolinson Go2:dner, •.lio ^o;r;:o. oediah vnth a considerahlc party of o^v n'^out 100 yorac; from Peter Skene Ocdcn, who \;orI:v.'ci ^f-.r ' :.c udson' 3 Bay Company, a li\itish Company. Gai-dner flew oi- A;iorican fl.r.g mio walked Up, to Ogden iind asked, " Do you .;iiov^ whoso coui;.try you*re in? " He then informed the ot-ioi-s •. or;::U'n- for H li C, that they could work for hiiii for hiwl.r-r Fifteen ^:ien changed sides, one bein-: John Gray (Iruace Ilatchiorauquasha) a half Iroquois Inditm, Gro.y \ an tod to shoot 0/:':deh until Ogden turned to face hii:i. Gray':; Lr •. ca named for him, and later in 1S02, Jolm Day's IMvor ciiangod to Greys Hiver. • ••'This creek they were' on was called Gardner's Creek', now' named Tincup. ,!^5, 102, ;'15; • w 11, py. 102, #8, pg. 15s fn 34. 1827 _ Ogden, with sixteen trappers of II li C and six trappers • of the American Fvx Company," \.as to meet v/ith McKay and^ eleven others, who also"worked for H B C on Days River; "but when Ogden arrived there was no LIcICay. The winter was extremely had, there heing no huffalo 0x16 no grass for their horses. Ogden left a note for McKay and pulled "hack . • to Blackfoot, Idaho. LlcKay wintered on Day's River» #6, pg, ISO • 1"850 Henry Prapp, Jeaai Gervais rad tv;0 partners of the RocKy Momitain yui- Company, alon-: with some j?latheads, twcnt^-two whites, ten Iroquois, and some Crow met Joseph Rohidoux's brigade; American Pur CoMipany. Olhis was near' !the mouth of Salt River, #4, pg. 91, //'G, pg. 264. 1831 Milton Sublette, Jim hridger, Joe Week, Robert Newell, . • Antoine Godine, and a full trapping "brigade trapped the Snake, Salt, and Gray's Hole areas. ;/'5,"'pg. 98, 1832 . Sublettis, i^idger. Meek, John Gray (a Rocl-cv/ay Chief), 'G-ray's daughter, seven other Indians, and a full "brigade of .• ; trappers trapped Salt River. Then i?ear River where Gray ; staboed Su"blette, almost fatally, //G, pg. 278, //3, pg, 103, ^#10,pg.--350.

1835 , leader of Hathanial Y'yeths Party, Os'borne * Russell, with ten trappers end seven camp keepers, met ^idger, Kit Carson, Mark Head, end forty-eight others at 'Tincup, where -Mridger informed them the Blackfeet were all over. They gathered up their salt and left. #8, pg. 12. 1836 . Bridger, his wife Cora, his father-in-law (Insala, a Plathead Chief), and a party trapped the Salt "River. #10, pg. 258, jfS, pg, 4b. 1838 Russell and one other trapper •-ranped Greys River. #8j pg, 9O0 1839 I.leek and gi Shav/neo Indian, nr'i-ic:0 Jim, wore trap- ping the Salt. One ni^-ht after stakinp; one of his horses ' f or the night, iiig

1. Wyoming Pontier State, L?lnford

2o Wyoming, a Guide to its History, .;ighways and People, Lester C, Hunt

3; River of the West, Victor

4. Broken Hand, Ilafen

.!5 The Ashley-Smith Exploration and the Discovery of a Central Route to. the Pacific, lialo

6. A-Majority of Scoundrels, Don Berry

6. Journal of a Trapper, Osborne Russell

10„ Mountain Men and Pur Traders of the Par West, LeRoy R, Hafen li^o Wy0 ming Annals, J uly• 1.93 6

*13 o Y/yoming Stream Kames, Linford