Table of Contents
- 1 What role did mountain men play in the expansion into Oregon territory?
- 2 Why did the Trappers travel on the Oregon Trail?
- 3 Who was a mountain man before he became a guide?
- 4 Was Jim Bridger real?
- 5 Was Jim Bridger married?
- 6 Why did US settlers move to Oregon?
- 7 What did Jim Bridger do on the Oregon Trail?
What role did mountain men play in the expansion into Oregon territory?
Mountain men were instrumental in opening up the various emigrant trails (widened into wagon roads) allowing Americans in the east to settle the new territories of the far west by organized wagon trains traveling over roads explored and in many cases, physically improved by the mountain men and the big fur companies …
Why did the Trappers travel on the Oregon Trail?
They were interested primarily in obtaining and selling valuable animal hides, especially the in-demand beaver pelts used in fashionable clothing in the eastern United States and Europe. The first fur trappers passed through the Scotts Bluff region as part of the Astorian Expedition in 1811-1813.
Who was a mountain man before he became a guide?
Jim Bridger already had more than 30 years experience in the West as a trapper, mountain man and Indian fighter before he became the premier guide for the U.S. Army in the mid-1850s. Jim Bridger later in his life.
What was the first major reason that mountain men started living in the Oregon Territory?
The first Americans to live in the Oregon Country were fur traders. These men trapped beaver for their skins. Fur companies bought the skins to sell in the United States and Europe. The fur trappers were called mountain men.
Where did mountain men go in the West?
mountain man, any of the pioneers of the North American Rocky Mountain West who went to that region first as fur trappers. Attracted by the beaver in virgin streams, the trappers became the explorers of the Far West.
Was Jim Bridger real?
James Felix Bridger (March 17, 1804 – July 17, 1881) was an American mountain man, trapper, Army scout, and wilderness guide who explored and trapped in the Western United States in the first half of the 19th century. He was known as Old Gabe in his later years.
Was Jim Bridger married?
After the death of his first wife in 1846, Bridger would marry the daughter of a Shoshone chief, who bore him three more children. She died in childbirth in 1849. Bridger married again in 1850, this time to Shoshone chief Washakie’s daughter. The couple would have two more children.
Why did US settlers move to Oregon?
Some Americans went to Oregon in the very early 1800s because they wanted to participate in the fur trade. People went to Oregon hoping to claim land and to settle in the fertile Willamette Valley. These people hoped to farm in this region. Other people went to Oregon for the adventure of going to new places.
What did the mountain men do in the west?
Some mountain men were accepted by the Indians and lived with them,a few married Indian women. By 1840, fur hats were no longer fashionable and many mountain men became guides for those making the journey across the Plains to the west. The mountain men were pioneers in charting the unknown territory west of the frontier.
What was life like for a mountain man?
The lives of mountain men in the American West were ones of scarcity, poverty, and bare sustenance. Living in the wild, he was in constant danger from starvation, dehydration, freezing cold, burning heat, wild animals and Indians. Loading… Loading…
What did Jim Bridger do on the Oregon Trail?
When the trade in fur fell into decline, Jim Bridger built Fort Bridger on the Oregon trail. The fort contained a shop and a blacksmiths forge and was a useful facility for travellers to restock and repair their wagons. This article is part of our larger resource on the American West culture, society, economics, and warfare.