Mr. Womack
Utah Studies
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In the early 1800’s the first trappers
followed Indian trails across the
Rockies into Oregon.
They traded with Indians,
exchanging metal objects and
blankets for furs.
Soon other trappers came and
started trapping furs themselves.
They were called mountain men.
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Most of them were employees of
American, British, or Mexican fur
companies.
The company traders took the pelts
to St. Louis to sell.
Most of the furs eventually ended
up across the ocean in Europe.
You had to be a little crazy to be a
mountain man.
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About 3,000 men, along with some
women and children went west to
trap.
They dressed like the Indians in
shirts and trousers made of leather.
They lived off of the land just like
the Indians.
They made themselves part of
Indian society.
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Mountain men were by themselves
for most of the year.
They had little interaction with
others, and when they did see other
people it was usually Native
Americans.
Some took Native wives, and they
also learned the native languages.
They trapped throughout the winter,
fall, and spring.
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They needed to be mobile to be able
to trap the furs effectively.
When they had too many furs to
carry around with them, they would
dig a hole, hide the furs, and cover
the hole with dirt, large rocks, and
brush.
This is called a cache.
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Each July, trappers came out of the
wilderness and brought their furs
from the caches.
They met at a site chosen the year
before.
The Rendezvous included Indian
men, women, and children and
other fur traders and their families.
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The Rendezvous took place in Green
River, Wyoming and in the Cache and
Bear Lake valleys in Southern Idaho and
Northern Utah.
These events included trading and
various mountain man and Indian
games.
For some trappers, this was the only time
they saw another white man all year.
Fur companies sometimes came too.
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Indians and Trappers had a complex
relationship.
Indians often acted as guides, and
even let mountain men spend the
winter in their lodges.
Some Indians did not want the
trappers on their land.
They often attacked them and took
their horses and furs.
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Mountain men were brave and
hardworking.
However, they often did not
understand Native Americans.
Instead of respecting them, they
often saw them as in the way of
making money.
Fur trapping was a commercial
venture.
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British Trappers working for
Hudson’s Bay Fur Company came
first.
They followed the Bear River, went
to Bear Lake and then to Ogden
Valley and Cache Valley.
Peter Skene Ogden worked for this
group. Americans working for the
Ashley-Henry Fur Company were
next.
Americans working for the
Ashley-Henry Fur were next.
 They found the Green River and
other places in Wyoming loaded
with beaver.
 Ashley invented the rendezvous.
 Jim Bridger, Jedediah Smith, and
Jim Beckwourth worked for
them.
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French trappers came from New
Mexico.
 Their names were Etienne
Provost and Antione Robidoux.
 Other trappers who were not
affiliated with fur companies
include Joseph Walker.
 The mountain men helped
explore Utah and gave us a lot of
knowledge about the state.
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He lead many trappers into the
Cache Valley and Ogden regions.
He also explored the west deserts of
Utah and Nevada.
He was friendly enough with the
Indians to accomplish his business
ventures.
The City of Ogden and the Ogden
River are named after him.
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He was about twenty years old
when he came to Utah.
He went to Cache Valley and
camped on the Bear River.
He followed the river in a boat until
it flowed into a large body of water.
He tasted the water and discovered
it was salty.
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He thought he had reached the
ocean.
He later discovered that it had no
outlet and it was a Great Salt Lake.
Jim Bridger was respected by the
Indians for his fairness.
He later built a trading post in
Wyoming that made a profit.
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He was one of the leaders of
Ashley’s American group.
“Jed” as he was known had his ear
ripped off by a grizzly bear.
He explored the dry land of
California and Nevada.
He barely made it to California
because of lack of water.
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On the way back he crossed the
Sierra Nevadas and the west desert
of Nevada and Utah.
When they made it to Bear Lake for
the rendezvous they fired off a
cannon because they thought he was
dead.
He was the first to cross the length
and width of the entire state.
Several years after he left Utah, he
was killed by Comanche Indians.
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He also worked for Ashley.
He was a miner, army scout, and
businessman.
He moved west from Missouri to avoid
slavery.
He spent time all over Utah and
California.
He was adopted by the Crow Indians,
married a Crow woman, and often
dressed like the Crow did.
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Provost is also given credit for being
the first mountain man to see the
Great Salt Lake.
He established trading posts along
the shores of the Great Salt Lake and
Utah Lake.
He was attacked by Indians but
escaped.
The City of Provo and the Provo
river carry his name.
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He worked out of New Mexico with
Etienne Provost.
He built many forts including one named
after him in the Uinta Basin.
He traded with the Utes there.
He was mainly a business man, and had
a good relationship with the Utes.
His speeches in the Midwest later in life
would inspire some to come west.
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He was a trapper who later worked
as guide for pioneer groups.
He helped establish the main trail
that went through Utah to
California.
He had an Indian wife and many
Indian girlfriends.
He also prospected for gold in
California.
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The government sent explorers to
provide more precise mapping of the
west.
They were also sent to study different
fields of science and to study the Indians.
These explorers included John C.
Fremont, Howard Stansbury, and John
W. Gunnison.
There job was to collect information.
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John C. Fremont’s report painted a
glowing picture of the west and made
people want to come out here.
Howard Stansbury surveyed the Great
Salt Lake and its surroundings.
John W. Gunnison helped establish a
southern wagon route to California, and
they also helped determine that a
railroad should come through Northern
Utah, not Central Utah.
Fremont
Island
Stansbury
Island