Interesting facts about jim bridger

Jim Bridger

American explorer (1804–1881)

Jim Bridger

Bridger c. 1876

Born

James Felix Bridger


(1804-03-17)March 17, 1804

Richmond, Virginia, U.S.

DiedJuly 17, 1881(1881-07-17) (aged 77)

Kansas City, Missouri, U.S.

Other namesCasapy [Blanket Chief - from the Crow Tribe), Gabe
Occupation(s)Frontiersman, explorer, hunter, trapper, scout, guide
Employer(s)Rocky Mountain Fur Company, U.S. Government
Known forFamous mountain man of the American fur trade era
Spouse(s)Three Native American wives: one Flathead and two Shoshone
Children5
Allegiance United States
Service / branch United States Army
Years of service1859–1868
RankScout
Unit
CommandsRifleman
Battles / warsRaynolds Expedition, Utah War, Indian Wars

James Felix Bridger (March 17, 1804 – July 17, 1881) was an American mountain man, trapper, Army scout, and wilderness guide who explored and trapped in the Western United States in the first half of the 19th century. He was known as Old Gabe in h

A Map of the West in his Head: Jim Bridger, Guide to Plains and Mountains

Jim Bridger already had more than 30 years experience in the West as a trapper, mountain man and Indian fighter before he became the premier guide for the U.S. Army in the mid-1850s.

In 1822, at 17, Bridger enlisted in the Ashley-Henry expedition sent from St. Louis to trap beaver in the Rocky Mountains. He worked first as an employee and later became a partner in the famous Rocky Mountain Fur Company. He mastered wilderness lore and accumulated an astounding mental map of western North America when nearly all of it was still unsettled by whites.

It was this geographical knowledge that aided many U. S. Army Topographical expeditions to successfully complete assignments. Bridger provided from memory accurate maps of the Rocky Mountains to U. S. military commanders leading exploratory expeditions. He possessed an intimate knowledge of western geography and natural transportation routes.

Bridger was also well known among the American Indian tribes of the Rockies, especially the Shoshone. He was a person

Jim Bridger

Jim Bridger spent quite a bit of time in Grand County and has been cited as "one of the three or four most able, influential, and best known mountain men' according to historian Dan Thrapp.  Born in Virginia in 1804, he was apprenticed to a blacksmith in St Louis at the age of fourteen, and in 1822, left to join Ashley's fur trading operation in the Yellowstone area of Wyoming. He claimed to have discovered the Great Salt Lake in 1824, believing it to be an arm of the Pacific Ocean.  He was a co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, along with Tom Fitzpatrick and Milton Sublette. 

While Bridger was illiterate, he was noted for both his intimate knowledge of the Rocky Mountains and his prevarications to impress newcomers.  He was engaged in some battles with Indians, but was married to two Indian women; a Ute woman who died in childbirth, and then Shoshone women who bore him two children.

Jim's friendship with Louis Vasquez led to construction of a fort named Fort. Bridger on the Green River in Wyoming.  As a guide, he led the infamous expedition of Sir Geo

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