Photos
Clockwise from top left
The merry blacksmith.
Flatlanders inspect the wares offered by Mike
Broucksou at Shea’s Mountain on Traders’ Row.
Spinning yarn.
Musicians perform 19th century dance tunes.
All photos by Larry M. Edwards
Photos
Trapper’s wares: blanket trading.
Photo credit: Larry M. Edwards
far cry from South Pass and the heart of the
Rockies, the trappers’ quest for beaver took
them across the desert to California and the
Mexican settlements along the coast. Beaver
hides were worth more than gold, and the
trappers explored every river and creek in
search of the large rodents. The glossy furs
were then shipped to Europe and turned
into the hats prized as the status symbols of
the day.
and were thought to be spies for the U.S.
government.
The Mexican officials eventually released
Smith and his men, telling them never to
return. But having had a taste of what came
to be known as the “land of milk and honey,”
at least two of Smith’s men remained behind.
In 1828, James Ohio Pattie, his father
Sylvester, and six other lost and hungry
trappers wandered into a mission near the
Bible-toting Jedediah Smith led the first
Colorado River. Like Smith, they were taken
American overland expedition. After nearly
dying of thirst while crossing the Mojave Desert, to San Diego and jailed. Sylvester Pattie
died there, becoming the first American to be
his brigade reached the San Gabriel Mission
buried in California.
in late summer, 1826. The Mexicans didn’t
know what to make of this group of haggard
Americans who had staggered into their
Although beaver were scarce in comparison
community asking for water, food, and horses.
to the Rocky Mountains, the trappers went
back with tales of California’s mild climate
Unfamiliar with the fur trade, the Mexican
and abundant land. Others soon followed.
authorities dubbed the men “pescadors,” or
In 1832, Joseph Walker led an expedition
fishermen. Smith was sent to San Diego to
over the Sierra Nevada Mountains. They
become the first men of European descent to
meet with the governor of California and
see Yosemite Valley and the giant Sequoia
was promptly thrown in jail—for being an
trees. On his return trip, Walker skirted the
illegal alien. He and the others had arrived
now famous Death Valley.
in Mexican territory without formal papers
In the 1820s and 1830s,
fur trappers throughout
the American West
gathered each
summer in the Rocky
Mountains. For
two to three weeks,
usually coinciding
with Independence
Day celebrations on
the Fourth of July,
they traded their furs
for supplies, swapped
stories, and let off
steam before heading
out for another year of
trapping beaver.
Spring 2012 Dezert Magazine 7