John D. Barton Utah History Encyclopedia, 1994 In 1836 William Craig, Philip Thompson, and Previtt Sinclair built a fort at Brown’s Hole, where Vermillion Creek merges with the Green River. Brown’s Hole was a favorite wintering place for mountain men and Indians because of the mild winters and abundant forage and game animals. After news of the fall of the …
Utah’s Early Forts
Thomas G. Alexander Utah, The Right Place As the beaver supply declined in the West, traders rather than trappers began to dominate, and by the late 1830s, buffalo robes from the High Plains rather than beaver pelts from the Rockies became the most important prize of the fur trade. Few High Plains Indians trapped for beaver, but they readily hunted …
Mountain Green in 1825
MOUNTAIN GREEN, MORGAN COUNTY, WAS SCENE OF INTERNATIONAL CONFLICT IN 1825 Yvette D. Ison History Blazer, July 1995 In the spring of 1825 two major fur trading companies explored Utah to identify the region’s beaver supply. American trappers affiliated with William H. Ashley and led by Johnson Gardner had traveled westward along the Strawberry River and ultimately into Weber Canyon. …
The Rocky Mountain Sweepstakes in 1843
Yvette D. Ison History Blazer, May 1995 During the summer of 1843, Mountain Men, Native Americans, and fur traders throughout the region spread the word about an exciting event to take place in August. Sir William Drummond Stewart, an English nobleman, was sponsoring a horse race that would pit his Missouri horses against those of the American West. The race, …
Traders, Trappers, and Mountain Men
Thomas G. Alexander Utah, The Right Place Following the Mexican Revolution in 1821, traders from Spanish and Mexican territory bartered actively in Utah. Following the reconquest of New Mexico and throughout the seventeenth century, New Mexican traders purchased elk, buffalo, beaver, and other skins from the Comanches and Utes. The reports of Rivera and Dominguez and Escalante led to the …