Jedediah Smith

Jedediah Smith. . One of the most famous trappers of the Rocky Mountain fur trade era was Jedediah Smith, who came west with St. Louis trader William Ashley in 1822. He spent his first winter in Montana at the mouth of the Musselshell River about 100 miles northwest of here. Over the next decade, Smith trapped and explored the Great Plains and Rockies. He re-discovered the South Pass in Wyoming in 1824 and established overland routes to California and Oregon. The trails Smith and his comrades blazed in the 1820s served thousands of emigrants during the great overland migrations of the 1840s and 1850s. , Smith was no stranger to Montana. After wintering on the Musselshell, he explored the upper Missouri River and became well-acquainted with the Gallatin, Jefferson, and Madison rivers. Smith also worked his way through the Bitterroot, Big Hole, Clark Fork, and upper Flathead valleys. By 1828, he was part-owner of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, which employed many legendary fur traders and trappers like Jim Bridger, Bill Sublette, and Tom Fitzpatrick. Trade opportunities with the Crow Indians eventually drew Smith to this region. In July 1825, Smith and 20 other trappers floated the Bighorn and Yellowstone rivers to Fort Union at the confluence of the Missouri. The expedition reached the fort in mid-August after sustaining an attack to the east of here by the Blackfeet Indians.