Trappers, Traders & Pathfinders
Before the United States government fully recognized the potential of the western Plains, the secrets of this vast territory were slowly being unveiled by private individuals. These intrepid souls navigated the uncharted rivers and traversed the sun-baked prairies, driven westward by the allure of the lucrative fur trade. While many of their names have faded into obscurity, lost even within the records of the major fur companies, their contributions as the first trappers, traders & pathfinders of the West remain undeniable.
These were, for the most part, unschooled men, often possessing little more than their trusty rifles and a collection of traps. They embraced a life of solitude, immersing themselves in the depths of the wilderness for years at a time. Only occasionally would they emerge, appearing on the fringes of pioneer settlements with packs laden with valuable furs, a testament to their hard work and resilience. Some traveled in small, independent groups, seeking safety in numbers against the ever-present threat of Native American encounters. Others were formally employed by the organized fur companies, diligently following orders and contributing to the larger commercial enterprise. Regardless of their affiliation, these individuals led lives characterized by hardship, constant adventure, and ever-present danger.
Clad in roughspun clothing and subsisting on wild game, these trappers, traders & pathfinders continually pushed the boundaries of exploration, venturing deeper into the immense wilderness with each passing year. From their ranks emerged the skilled guides who would later lead organized expeditions to the Pacific Ocean, blazing trails and sharing invaluable knowledge of the terrain. In the four decades following the Louisiana Purchase, the eastern populace remained largely unaware of the immense value and potential of this newly acquired land. The primary commercial draw during this period was the abundance of furs, which fueled the region’s most significant industry for nearly half a century.
The historian Hiram Martin Chittenden, in his seminal work, The American Fur Trade of the Far West, eloquently described the profound impact of this industry on the early white population:
"The nature of this business determined the character of the early white population. The roving trader and the solitary white trapper first sought out these inhospitable wilds, traced the streams to their sources, scaled the mountain passes, and explored a boundless expanse of territory where the foot of the white man had never trodden before. The far West became a field of romantic adventure and developed a class of men who loved the wandering career of the native inhabitant rather than the toilsome lot of the industrious colonist. The type of life thus developed, though essentially evanescent and not representing any profound national movement, was a distinct and necessary phase in the growth of this new country. Abounding in incidents picturesque and heroic, its annals inspire an interest akin to that which belongs to the age of knight-errantry. For the free hunter of the far West was, in his rough way, a good deal of a knight-errant. Caparisoned in the wild attire of the Indian and armed cap-a-pie for instant combat, he roamed far and wide over deserts and mountains, gathering the scattered wealth of those regions, slaying ferocious beasts and savage men, and leading a life in which every footstep was beset with enemies, and every movement pregnant of peril. The great proportion of those intrepid spirits who laid down their lives in that far country is impressive proof of the jeopardy of their existence. All in all, the period of this adventurous business may justly be considered the romantic era of the history of the West."
The exploratory work carried out by these men was so crucial that Chittenden contends that these often-anonymous figures, the trappers, traders & pathfinders, were the true pioneers, deserving of the title more so than the official government explorers who followed. After 1840, government expeditions discovered virtually nothing new in western geography. The traders and trappers had already mapped and understood every mile.
Brigham Young, for example, relied on information provided by these trappers, traders & pathfinders to lead his followers to the valley of the Great Salt Lake. During the Mexican-American War, military forces depended on their knowledge of trails and mountain passes for strategic advantage. Veterans of the fur trade guided John Charles Fremont to the Pacific. And when the great westward migration finally began, the earliest emigrants found a continental highway already established, thanks to the relentless efforts of these unsung heroes.
Noteworthy Trappers
Pinpointing the exact moment when adventurous free trappers first ventured onto the Great Plains remains an elusive task. French-Canadians likely migrated southward from the north, through the territory of the Sioux, as early as the 18th century, possibly even reaching the Arkansas River and encountering Spanish outposts. By 1800, American hunters had already ascended the Missouri River as far as the Mandan Indian villages and were actively trapping along the waters of the Platte River. Records indicate that in 1804, two men from Illinois, Forest Hancock and Joseph Dickson, were trapping beaver on the Yellowstone River, suggesting the presence of other, unrecorded individuals scattered throughout the region.
In 1807, John Colter, a member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, was honorably discharged on the Missouri River and immediately returned to the wilderness, where he spent years exploring and making significant discoveries, including the area now known as Yellowstone National Park. John Potts, another member of the Lewis and Clark expedition, accompanied Colter until he was killed by Indians. The full story of these solitary wanderers, traversing plains and mountains, will likely never be fully known. The names and adventures of only a fraction of these individuals have been documented, and many perished alone in the vast, unforgiving wilderness.
Organized Fur Traders
Manuel Lisa of St. Louis, Missouri, stands out as a prominent figure among the early organized fur traders. He partnered with Pierre Menard and William Morrison of Kaskaskia, Illinois, and in 1807, they began operations on the Plains, gradually expanding into the mountains. They established trading posts along the Missouri River, extending as far as the mouth of the Big Horn River. These men faced the dual challenge of engaging in trade with the Native American tribes while also defending themselves against hostile encounters. Their annual reports were filled with tales of both commercial transactions and perilous adventures. Among the Plains tribes, the Arikara of South Dakota proved to be the most troublesome, although the Sioux were also frequently hostile. In the mountainous regions, the Blackfeet were almost constantly at war.
Adventures of Ezekiel Williams
The experiences of a party led by Ezekiel Williams provide a vivid illustration of the dangers faced by these early explorers. Williams, a seasoned frontiersman, was tasked by the government with returning a Mandan chief, who had accompanied Lewis and Clark to Washington after a failed military endeavor, to his people. After successfully completing this mission, Williams and his twenty men embarked on a trapping expedition westward into the mountains, splitting into two groups upon reaching the mouth of the Yellowstone River.
As Indian hostilities escalated, Williams, accompanied by eight or ten men, moved south along the base of the mountains until they reached the Arkansas River. There, the group further divided, with four heading towards Santa Fe, New Mexico, while Williams, along with five men, including two Frenchmen, ventured into the mountains. While trapping, three of his men were killed, forcing Williams, Jean Baptiste Chaplain, and a Frenchman named Parteau to seek refuge among the Arapaho Indians on the South Platte River. They endured a harsh winter, and in the spring, Williams managed to escape, traveling down the Arkansas River in a canoe for over 400 miles. He was eventually captured by Kansas Indians, who robbed him of his furs, but he ultimately reached safety in Missouri in September. The following May, he led a party back to the Arapaho village in search of his companions, only to discover that they had likely been killed.
Explorations by Employees of the Fur Companies
The major fur companies primarily utilized the Plains as a corridor for their journeys between the market in St. Louis, Missouri, and the lucrative fur-rich mountains. Although some beaver trapping occurred along the prairie streams, it was typically conducted independently. Virtually every waterway between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains was explored by daring adventurers, often venturing into the wilderness alone. However, the primary source of furs remained the mountains, and the fur companies dispatched their men to these regions, typically using boats to navigate the Missouri River. Occasionally, however, parties would strike directly across the Plains, usually following the valley of the Platte River. The river route was arduous, involving months of relentless labor as men hauled heavily laden keelboats upstream against the strong current.
In the same year that Manuel Lisa established the Missouri Fur Company, John Jacob Astor initiated operations on the Pacific Coast, leading to an open rivalry for control of the fur trade. The North West Company also became entangled in these conflicts. These events in the Northwest were intertwined with expeditions traversing the Plains. One significant expedition was led by William P. Hunt for the Pacific Fur Company, departing from St. Louis in the spring of 1812 with over 60 men. The journey was fraught with hardship and suffering.
Hunt’s party ascended the Missouri River as far as the mouth of the Big Cheyenne River, where they abandoned their boats and followed the general course of the river towards the base of the Black Hills, before proceeding westward to the valley of the North Platte River. It took them nearly a year to reach the Pacific, covering a circuitous route of approximately 3,500 miles. A year later, a group including Robert Stuart, McLellan, Crooks, and two Frenchmen traveled eastward from Astoria. Somewhere in southern Wyoming, they encountered a trapper named Miller, who had recently escaped from the Arapaho Indians. The same Indians managed to steal their horses, forcing them to complete their journey to the Missouri River on foot. Despite enduring severe hardships in the mountains, they encountered little difficulty once they reached the Plains. They followed the Platte River for its entire length, becoming the first documented party to do so.
The Ashley Expedition
In 1822, William H. Ashley rose to prominence, affiliated with the American Fur Company. That year, he assisted Alexander Henry in establishing a trading fort on the Yellowstone River. The following year, he embarked on a journey up the Missouri River with 28 men, destined for that post. They were attacked by Arikara Indians and forced to retreat, suffering 14 deaths and ten wounded. Undeterred, Ashley recruited 300 men and, in 1824, ventured across the Plains, following the Platte River to the South Pass and exploring the Sweetwater River.
He continued through the mountains to Utah Lake, established a fort, and two years later, sold his interests to several of his men, including Jedediah S. Smith, William L. Sublette, and David E. Jackson. These names are synonymous with the early trappers and traders. Smith reached California via Utah and Nevada as early as 1826.
James P. Beckwourth, a figure of legendary status throughout the West, served both Ashley and this newly formed company. He claimed to have been in the mountains since 1817 and was the first to explore the South Platte River. Smith, Sublette, and Jackson hold the distinction of being the first to take wagons across the Plains and into the mountains. Ten wagons, each pulled by five mules, traveled the entire distance from St. Louis, Missouri, to the Wind River, each carrying 1,800 pounds and averaging 15-25 miles per day. A year later, the same company brought out fourteen wagons, proving the efficiency of this method for transporting supplies across the Great Plains. The preferred route was northwest to Grand Island, Nebraska, and then along the valley of the Platte River, which would eventually become the Oregon Trail.
The revitalized Missouri Fur Company, under the leadership of Manuel Lisa, Joshua Pilcher, Thomas Hempstead, and Joseph Perkins, operated in the region around the South Pass in Wyoming, focusing primarily on the Sioux, Arikara, and other Missouri River tribes. By 1830, the various organized companies likely had a significant number of men operating on the Plains and in the mountains. However, little is known about these individuals. As Herbert Bancroft noted, it would be gratifying to provide a comprehensive list of all the hunters and trappers prior to the period of emigration, but these men were considered insignificant by their leaders, who replenished their ranks yearly with little regard for the individual victims of hardship, accidents, vice, or Indian hostilities.
The fur companies viewed these hunters as mere instruments for acquiring pelts from unsettled territories, discarding them when they became incapacitated by disease or death, often leaving their bodies unburied on the prairie. While the names of a few prominent figures have been preserved, the vast majority remain anonymous, their contributions largely forgotten.
Captain Bonneville’s Expedition up the Platte
In 1832, Captain E.L. Bonneville, an army officer on leave, led a party of 110 frontiersmen across the Plains to the Rocky Mountains, driven by a thirst for profit and adventure. His officers included Joseph Walker and Gabriel Serre. They followed the Platte Valley route with a caravan of 20 wagons, marking the first use of oxen, or "bull teams," on the northern Plains. The company remained in the mountain country for over three years. Nathaniel J. Wyeth led a similar group of adventurers along the same route in 1832.
The fur trade’s demands, conducted in hostile territory and far from civilization, led to the early establishment of transportation hubs, or forts. These were usually controlled by the major fur companies, although individuals occasionally built them. They varied in size and construction materials. Where possible, timber was used for buildings and stockades, but on the open prairie, earth was utilized, and in the far south, adobe was the preferred material. While the majority of these forts were eventually situated in the mountains, close to the Plains Indians, the early forts trace the slow progress of the trapper into the wilderness. Between 1807 and 1843, over 140 posts were erected throughout the Western country.
French Forts in the Valley of the Missouri River
Fort Orleans, built by the French under M. Bourgemont, was the first of the Missouri River posts, dating back to 1772, and stood on an island five miles below the mouth of the Grand River. Tradition holds that it was attacked by Indians, resulting in a massacre. At least three posts were established later in the Osage Valley but never achieved significant importance. Fort Osage, or Fort Clark, stood near the site of Sibley, Missouri, below the mouth of the Kansas River. It later became a Government fort and was garrisoned until 1827. Francis G. Chouteau, a prominent trader, built two posts in the Kanza Indian territory. The first was destroyed by a flood in 1826, but the second, located about ten miles up the Kansas River, was maintained for many years. An old French fort, whose history remains unknown, stood on the Kansas River shore opposite the upper end of Kickapoo Island, but was already in ruins by 1819. A post established by Joseph Robidoux, known as Blacksnake Hills, stood on the present site of St. Joseph, Missouri. Several posts were built at Council Bluffs, Iowa, but their names have been lost to time. This was a well-known trading point, although the Council Bluffs of those earlier years was located 25 miles above the modern city and on the opposite side of the river, near the present-day town of Calhoun. In the 50 years following the Lewis and Clark Expedition, fewer than 20 trading forts were built between this point and the mouth of the Platte River. The oldest of these was likely Bellevue, believed to have been established in 1805. However, the most important was Fort Lisa, Nebraska, founded in 1812 and located six miles below old Council Bluffs.
Similar posts were located opposite the modern town of Onawa, Iowa, near the mouth of the Big Sioux River, and just below the mouth of the Vermilion River. Another stood halfway between the Vermilion and James Rivers, while Ponca Post was situated beside the mouth of the Niobrara River. Trudeau’s House, also known as Pawnee House, was used for trade as early as 1796 and was on the left bank, nearly opposite old Fort Randall. Several forts, operated by various fur companies, were located near Chamberlain, South Dakota, as early as 1810, including Recovery, Brasseaux, Lookout, Kiowa, and Defiance. Kiowa, established in 1822, was the largest and most commercially significant, constructed of logs and enclosed by a twenty-foot-high cottonwood stockade. Lozzell’s Post, approximately 35 miles below Fort Pierre, was likely the first American trading fort built in the Sioux country, occupied as early as 1803. It was built of logs, measuring seventy feet square, with bastions.
Early Trading Posts
The mouth of what is now called Bad River, formerly the Little Missouri River, was a hub for trading posts due to its proximity to the Black Hills and the upper Platte Valley. While the exact date of the first fort’s establishment is unknown, Forts Tecumseh and Pierre were prominent in the early days. Fort Pierre was extensive, covering approximately two and a half acres. Numerous smaller posts were scattered throughout the Sioux country, including three in the valley of the James, one at the forks, and one at the mouth of the Cheyenne River, as well as one at the Arikara villages and others on the Cherry, White, and Niobrara Rivers. These were often temporary structures. Several forts were located near the Mandan tribe, the earliest of which was built by Lewis and Clark in 1804, with Manuel Lisa occupying the same site later. His post eventually became known as Fort Vanderburgh. Further up the Missouri River, Fort Union, at the mouth of the Yellowstone River, was the largest and most significant trading fort, likely built in October 1828. Measuring 240 by 220 feet, it was surrounded by a foot-thick, twenty-foot-high palisade. The stone bastions were topped with pyramidal roofs, and the walls were pierced for defense. It employed a large number of men, and Indians traveled great distances to trade there.
Forts along the Eastern Base of the Rockies
Moving southward, several trading posts were established along the eastern base of the Rockies, primarily dealing with the Plains Indians. The Portuguese Houses, near the junction of the North and South Forks of the Powder River, were occupied early on and were in ruins by 1859, built by a trader named Antonio Mateo. James Bridger claimed that this post once withstood a forty-day siege by the Sioux. Fort William, named for William L. Sublette, was located at the junction of the North Platte and Laramie Rivers, built in 1834. After a period as a trading post, it was sold to the Government and renamed Fort Laramie.
Fort Platte was a minor post, erected around 1840 on the right bank of the river. La Bonti was a temporary trading house occupied in 1841 at the mouth of La Bonti Creek. In the valley of the South Platte River, about thirty miles below present-day Denver, Colorado, were several trading establishments whose names and histories are not well-documented. Fort Lupton, also known as Fort Lancaster, stood on the right bank of the South Platte River, two miles above the mouth of the Saint Vrain River and was built of adobe. Fort St. Vrain was at the mouth of that tributary and was prominent around 1841, under the charge of Marcellus Saint Vrain. Two other posts were in this vicinity, but their names remain unknown.
Trading Posts in the Valley of the Arkansas River
The Arkansas River valley was long occupied by fur traders, often independent operators, resulting in mainly temporary posts. The earliest dates back to 1763, situated near the base of the mountains, but the name of the trader is unknown. In 1806, Lieutenant Zebulon Pike built a redoubt just above the mouth of Fountain Creek, and Chouteau and De Munn are believed to have occupied a house in the same area in 1815-1817.
In 1821, Jacob Fowler built a log structure on the present site of Pueblo, Colorado, but his stay was short. John Gannt and Jefferson Blackwell, successful traders with the Arapaho, had a post six miles above Fountain Creek in 1832. Ten years later, James Beckwourth or George Simpson built a fort known as the Pueblo at the mouth of that stream.
In 1843, two unnamed posts, inhabited by French and Mexicans, were located about five miles above Bent’s Fort, engaged primarily in smuggling across the Mexican-American line. The lower Arkansas River lacked any significant post and was not heavily frequented by trappers. Glenn’s Post is the only notable one, situated about a mile above the mouth of the Verdigris River, near the later site of Fort Gibson, Oklahoma, and likely abandoned by 1821.
Bent’s Fort, or Fort Williams, was the most important trading post on the southern Plains, located on the north bank of the Arkansas River, approximately halfway between La Junta and Las Animas, Colorado. Erected by the three Bent brothers, all renowned Western frontiersmen, in 1829, it became a prominent center for the fur and Santa Fe trades, a rendezvous for trappers, and a stopping point for all wanderers of the Plains. At times, hundreds of men, women, and children gathered within its walls, creating a rich history filled with exciting events. Measuring 150 by 100 feet, with the longer sides running north and south, the adobe walls were six feet thick at the base and seventeen feet high, with a single entrance on the east. In 1839, the fort employed nearly a hundred men, trading with the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Kiowa, and Comanche tribes. Rather than sell to the Government for less than he believed it worth, Colonel William Bent deliberately destroyed the buildings in 1852. The ruins were still visible in the early 1900s, and today, the fort has been restored, a testament to the enduring legacy of the trappers, traders & pathfinders who shaped the American West.