|

 

 

112

CROFUTT’S NEW OVERLAND TOURIST

 

This post was named after Jamus
BripgEr, the renouned hunter, trapper and
guide, who lived in this country nearly
half acentury. (See portrait page 111.)

“Jim” Bridger is undoubtedly the
most noted of all the old plains men, and!
early pioneers in our far western country.
Through the courtesy of W. A. Carter, of
Fort Bridger, we have been furnished with
a fine picture of Mr. Bridger, and a short
sketch of his eventful life—from which we
condense:

“Jim” was born in Richmond, Virginia
—sometime about the last of the last cen-
tury—and while he was very small, his
parents emigrated to St. Louis, Mo., where,
shortly after their arrival, they both died
of an epidemic then prevailing in that
city. Having no one to look to or care for
him, he engaged to accompany a party of
trappers who were then fitting out for a
trip to the Rocky Mountains.

Entirely devoid of even the commonestru-
diments of education, he crossed the then
almost wholly unknown and _ trackless
plains, and plunged into the pathless
mountains. Greatly attracted by the novelty
of the sport, at that time quite profitable,

| he entered eagerly upon the business of

trading in fur. Being naturally shrewd, and
possessing a keen faculty of observation, he
carefully studied the habits of the beaver,
and pro.ting by the knowledge obtained
from the Indians—with whom he chiefly
associated, and with whom he became a
great favorite—he soon became one of the
most expert trappers and hunters in the
mountains.

Eager to satisfy his curiosity, a natural
fondness for mountain scenery, and a rov-
ing disposition, he traversed the country in
every direction, sometimes in company
with Indians, but oftener alone; he famil-
iarized himself with every mountain peak,
every gorge, every hill, and every land-
mark in the country. He pursued his trap-
ping expeditions north to the British Pos-
sessions, south to Mexico, and west tothe
Pacific Ocean. In this way be became
acquainted with all the tribes of Indians in
the country, and by long intercourse with
them, learned their language and became
familiar with all their signs. He adopted

their habits, conformed to their customs,
became imbued with all their superstitions,
and at length excelled them in strategy.
The marvelous stories told by Bridger are
numerous, but we have not the space for a
“specimen.” In after years, when it be-

came necessary to send millitary expedi-
tions through the far western country, the
Government employed Bridger as a guide,
and his expericuce was turned to good ac-
count as an interpreter of Indian languages.
Mr. Bridger died in 1875, near Kansas
City, Mo., having outlived the sphere of
his usefulness, there being no longer any
portion of the West unexplored, and hav-
ing reached the period of second childhood.
s this post is one of great historic in-
terest, we publish, in our ANNEX No. 17.
Memories of Fort Bridger. ‘lo the next
station itis 9.5 miles, and is named after
that old hunter and trapper,
Bridger—and it is as unpretentious as
the original. Scrubcedar in the highrocky
bluffs, sage-brush, red sandstone and red
clay, with bunch-grass for sandwiching, is
the make-up of the surrounding country.
It is inhabited by. a few wood-choppers,
some stock men, with herds of cattle and
sheep, a few deer, antelope, coyotes and
jack rabbits by the thousands. For agricul-
tural purposes, it is in a high state of deso-
lation.
For the next three stations we shall
ascend rapidly. The bluffs are nearer, and
we cross and re-cross the “Muddy” very

often, the little stream being nearly as

crooked as the streets in Boston.

A few miles beyond, on the left, is a
towering cliff, which comes toa point, near
the road, on the side of which are some
notable water-lines.

This cliff is about 500 feet in height, and
where it comes to a point is pulpit-shaped,
and is known as Pluto’s Outlook. A little
further south is his Majesty’s Stone-Yard, to
which the railroad company, years ago,
laid a track for the purpose of using the
flat stone which lay around scattered all
over the “yard,” but here a difficulty
seems to have arisen. The masons re-
ported that the stone was “ bedeviled,”
and would not lay still; when the stone
was laid flat in their work, the next
morning they would be found on the
edge; when laid on the edge and left alone
for a few moments, they were found flat-
ways. This state of things so alarmed the
masons that they abandoned their work
and the country, and it is not known what
has become of them.

Leroy—a side-track, is five miles from
Bridger. Near here the old overland road
comes down the mountains, crossing the
railroad to the west, at Burns’ old ranche,
the route marked by the line of telegraph