Essay Archive - Jim Bridger
Jim Bridger
Jim Bridger A trail guide, a fur tracker and hunter and a fur trader. Jim
Bridger may have been one of the best outdoorsmen of all times. James
Bridger was born on March 17, 1804. In 1812 Jim's parents moved to the
vicinity of St. Louis. He was orphaned at age 12 and became a blacksmiths
apprentice. In 1822, attracted by an ad in the Missouri Republican, 18
year old Jim, joined Gen. William H. Ashley's fur tracking expedition to
the head waters of Missouri. In 1824 while searching for fur in the Rockey
Mountains, Jim, allegedly became the first person to see the Great Salt....
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