Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1909-12-09
James Bridger.
A SKETCH

and guide, was born in Richmond
Va. March II, 1904, and came with
his parents to St. Louis in 1872.
This sketch is written from notes
taken from various authors, mainly
from Chittendens History of the fur
trade of the northwest. Of Bridger,
the writer has but little of original
manuscript knowledge.
James Bridger began his life of
trapper, SO far as the records show,
when he engaged with Gen. Ashley
and Henry for their first venture to
the head waters of the Missouri In
1892. AS he lived TO 1881 he,
more than any one other of those
early adventurers, came in touch
with the later travellers and writers,
hence is better known to the read
ing public than they are. He was
apprenticed to a blacksmith when
yet boy, but whether he continued
in that employment till he entered
the service of Ashley and Henry is
not known. He was with Henry
when J. S. Smith brought that lead
er down to the assistance of his part
ner after Ashley had been disas-
trously defeated in his battle with
Aricari, at their Villages on the up
per Missouri in 1928 and was in
the subsequent fight with those In
dians when Col. Leavenworth, in
conjunction with the trappers and
Sioux, drove them from their towns
later that same year. His first
known individual exploit is not
mnch to his credit, but he was young
at the time, and his after life at
oned for that mistake. The cele-
brated trapper, Hugh Glass, when
returning to the mountains some
time after this fight, was attacked
by a grizzley bear. A shot from
his rifle failed 20 stop the bear,
which was female accompanied by
her cubs. She struck the old man
!, down and bit large piece from his
thigh which she dropped for her
cubs, and returned to the fight with
Glass. Just as the other men of
party, attracted by his shot, came
up, the bear sunk down from the
shot and knife stabs by Glass. 1t
was imperative that the party should
move on, and Glass could not travel
apparently could not possibly live.
Two men, said to have been Fitzpat-
rick and Bridger were left to care
for him. He did not die, neither
did he recover, and the two believ-
ing he could not possibly recover,
took his rife, traps and in fact all
of his belongings and overtaking the
party reported that Glass had died
and they had buried him. He was
not dead, and did not die, but even
tually reached fort or trading post
on the Missouri river. On the way
he found some wolves which had
killed buffalo and driving them off
he helped himself to meat. When
Henry quit the firm and it became
Ashley and Smith. Bridger as the
other employees did, stayed with the
new firm. In 1924 he was sent
with a party under the command of
VIM. Sublette- over on to the Bear
river in the Salt Lake valley. At
their camp a dispute arose as to
whether or not the river emptied into
the sea, and Bridger was sent down
the river to learn the truth. He fol-
lowed the stream down to the lake,
found the water salt, and returning
reported that it emptied into
the sea. He is therefore reputed
to be the discoverer of that body
of water. The fact however
is that the party were there
because Smith had been there S
years before and knew of the op-
portunities to take beaver there.
When Smith, Jackson and Sublette
bought Ashley out and the firm be-
came Smith, Jackson and Sub
lette, Bridger remained with the
new cnmnanv and continued in the