Jedediah Smith Research Paper
(1799-1831)
1. Jedediah Strong Smith born on January 6, 1799 in Bainbridge, New York.
2. He was thought to have died on May 27, 1831 in Ulysses, Kansas.
3. He was a Mountain man, explorer, and trail blazer.
4. Jedediah Smith was leading a dozen men across the plains south of the Yellowstone River to open new trapping grounds but before they reach the area he was mauled by a grizzly bear. He survived but was scarred for life and wore his hair long to hide the scars.
5. He was quoted as saying "I wanted to be the first to view a country on which the eyes of a white man had never gazed and to follow the course of rivers that run through a new land.” ~ Jedediah Smith
6. He was a partner of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.
7. In 1826, Jedediah …show more content…
Smith led a group of trappers on his first trip to California, but he was arrested by Mexican authorities. He was released and said he would never go back. He did and was arrested again but released again.
8. In the spring of 1827, he crossed the Sierra Nevada Range into Utah with a group of other men. One of the men died in the crossing, but Smith and the other man eventually made it to their company rendezvous at Bear Lake, Utah.
9. Jedediah Smith concentrated on building up the fur company and never returned to California, instead focusing his efforts in the Oregon country.
10.
In the spring of 1829, Smith returned to the upper Rocky Mountains, promising to confine his operations to the region east of the Great Divide.
11. He gathered a group of trappers for the next year, he trapped in the Blackfoot country with Jim Bridger but in 1830, he and his partners sold the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.
12. In May of 1831, Smith and another man rode away from the caravan he was traveling with in search of water. He never returned. The rest of the party continued on without him, hoping that he would catch up somewhere along the way. When the group arrived in Santa Fe, they met up with a Mexican merchant who was selling some of Smith’s belongings. When questioned, the merchant reported that Smith had been attacked by a group of 15-20 Comanche Indians near Wagon Bed Spring on the Cimarron River, south of present day Ulysses, Kansas on May 27. Smith's body was never found.
13. Jedediah Smith's explorations were significant in opening the American West and included several "firsts,” such as being the first white man to cross what would become the states of Utah and Nevada, the first to enter California by the overland route, the first to scale the High Sierras, and the first explorer to reach Oregon overland by traveling up the California
coast.
1. Jedediah Strong Smith born on January 6, 1799 in Bainbridge, New York.
2. He was thought to have died on May 27, 1831 in Ulysses, Kansas.
3. He was a Mountain man, explorer, and trail blazer.
4. Jedediah Smith was leading a dozen men across the plains south of the Yellowstone River to open new trapping grounds but before they reach the area he was mauled by a grizzly bear. He survived but was scarred for life and wore his hair long to hide the scars.
5. He was quoted as saying "I wanted to be the first to view a country on which the eyes of a white man had never gazed and to follow the course of rivers that run through a new land.” ~ Jedediah Smith
6. He was a partner of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.
7. In 1826, Jedediah …show more content…
Smith led a group of trappers on his first trip to California, but he was arrested by Mexican authorities. He was released and said he would never go back. He did and was arrested again but released again.
8. In the spring of 1827, he crossed the Sierra Nevada Range into Utah with a group of other men. One of the men died in the crossing, but Smith and the other man eventually made it to their company rendezvous at Bear Lake, Utah.
9. Jedediah Smith concentrated on building up the fur company and never returned to California, instead focusing his efforts in the Oregon country.
10.
In the spring of 1829, Smith returned to the upper Rocky Mountains, promising to confine his operations to the region east of the Great Divide.
11. He gathered a group of trappers for the next year, he trapped in the Blackfoot country with Jim Bridger but in 1830, he and his partners sold the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.
12. In May of 1831, Smith and another man rode away from the caravan he was traveling with in search of water. He never returned. The rest of the party continued on without him, hoping that he would catch up somewhere along the way. When the group arrived in Santa Fe, they met up with a Mexican merchant who was selling some of Smith’s belongings. When questioned, the merchant reported that Smith had been attacked by a group of 15-20 Comanche Indians near Wagon Bed Spring on the Cimarron River, south of present day Ulysses, Kansas on May 27. Smith's body was never found.
13. Jedediah Smith's explorations were significant in opening the American West and included several "firsts,” such as being the first white man to cross what would become the states of Utah and Nevada, the first to enter California by the overland route, the first to scale the High Sierras, and the first explorer to reach Oregon overland by traveling up the California
coast.