Jedediah Smith
Encyclopedia
Jedediah Strong Smith was a hunter
, trapper, fur trade
r, trailblazer
, author
, cartographer
, cattleman
, and explorer
of the Rocky Mountains
, the American West Coast
and the Southwest
during the 19th century. Nearly forgotten by historians almost a century after his death, Smith has been rediscovered as an American hero
who was the first white man to travel overland from the Salt Lake
frontier, the Colorado River
, the Mojave Desert
, and finally into California
. Smith was the first United States citizen to explore and eastwardly cross the Sierra Nevada and the treacherous Great Basin
. Smith also was the first American to travel up the California coast to reach the Oregon Country
. Not only was he the first to do this, but he and Robert Stuart
discovered the South Pass
. This path became the main route used by pioneers to travel to the Oregon Country. Surviving three massacres and one bear mauling, Jedediah Smith's explorations and documented discoveries were highly significant in opening the American West to expansion by white settlers and cattlemen. Smith owned two African American
slaves in St. Louis and held contemporary views that American Indians were inferior to whites.
, New York on January 6, 1799. His early New England
ancestors include Thomas Bascom, constable
of Northampton, Massachusetts
, who came to America in 1634. Thomas Bascom was of Huguenot
and French Basque
ancestry. Smith came from two God-fearing New England
families and was personally taught by Methodist circuit preachers. Around 1810, Smith's father, who owned a general store, allegedly was caught using counterfeit currency. To protect his family's reputation, the elder Smith moved his family West to Erie County
, Pennsylvania
. While growing up, Smith's love of nature and adventure came from his mentor, Dr. Titus G. V. Simons, a pioneer physician who was on close terms with the Smith family. Simons gave the young Smith a copy of Lewis and Clarks
1814 journal to the Pacific. By legend, Smith is claimed to have carried this journal on all of his travels throughout the American West. His family's nickname for him while growing up was "Diah". The Smith family moved westward again to Ohio
and settled in Green Township or what is now called Ashland County
in 1817.
were partner owners of the American Fur Company. According to the ad, Gen. Ashley was looking for "Enterprising Young Men" to explore the Missouri River and engage in the fur trade business in the Rocky Mountains. Jedediah, now a 6 foot tall, blue eyed 23 year old with a commanding presence, empressed Gen. Ashley to hire him. Ashley initially led the expedition and Jedediah got his first glimse of the frontier West coming in contact with Sioux
and Arikaras tribes. Jedediah finally reached Fort Arikaras, under the control of Major Andrew Henry
at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains
on the Yellowstone River
. On his first expedition up the Missouri Jedediah learned to trap beaver and hunt buffalo.
. When Jedediah returned, the Arikaras natives, who were becoming increasingly hostile, attacked and massacred 13 of Ashley's men. Jedediah fought bravely, and the surviving men, including Gen. Ashley, took note of Jedediah's conduct during the battle. Ashley appointed Smith as Captain of his men.
south of the Yellowstone River
. The party spent the rest of 1823 Wintering in the Wind River Valley. In 1824 Smith launched an exploratory expedition to find an expedient route through the Rocky Mountains. Smith was able to retrieve information from Crow
natives. When communicating with the Crows, one of Smith's men made a unique map (buffalo hide and sand), and the Crows were able to show Jedediah and his men the direction to the South Pass
. Jedediah and his men crossed through this pass in the Rocky Mountains and were able to reach the Green River in what is now Utah
. From 1824 to 1825 Jedediah and his men explored the Rocky Mountains and trapped the Green, Bear, Snake, and Clark's Fork Rivers. On July 1, 1825 Smith became partners with William H. Ashley. Ashley's other partner Andrew Henry
had retired from the fur trade. The rediscovery of the South Pass from the Crow Indians was very important since this was the fastest and most direct route to get to the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains
and into California
.
attack along the Cheyenne River
. In 1824, while looking for the Crow tribe to obtain fresh horses and get westward directions, Jedediah was stalked and attacked by a large grizzly bear. The huge bear jumped and tackled Jedediah to the ground. Jedediah's ribs were broken and members of his party witnessed Smith fighting the bear, which ripped open his side with its claws and took his head in its mouth. The bear suddenly retreated and the men ran to help Smith. They found his scalp
and ear
nearly ripped off, but he convinced a friend, Jim Clyman, to sew it loosely back on, giving him directions. The trappers fetched water, bound up his broken ribs, and cleaned his wounds. After recuperating from his bloody wounds and broken ribs, Jedediah wore his hair long to cover the large scar from his eyebrow to his ear.
expedition two decades earlier, the authorities saw Smith's party as a harbinger of future trouble with the United States. Unlike Pike's expedition, which was commissioned by the United States Army
, the Smith party was a private commercial venture. Although five members of the 1826 party carried United States passport
s, the excursion deep into Mexican territory was unauthorized by the United States government and without permission from the Mexican government.
In its first trip, the Smith party followed the Colorado River deep into the west in search of new beaver hunting grounds, and ended up in harsh territory. To gather supplies for the return trip, the group chose to travel to California. After an arduous pass through the mountains into the Mojave Desert
, the party was attacked by a group of Mohaves, and lost several men. Finding shelter with a friendly Mojave village, the men recuperated and met two Tongva men, who offered to guide them to San Gabriel Mission
. The guides led them through the desert via a path that avoided Death Valley
and which more or less follows the route of today's Interstate 15
. From Soda Lake they followed the intermittent Mojave River
into the San Bernardino Mountains
, which they crossed, emerging at the point where today the Community of Etiwanda
is, and into a vastly different environment, the paradisal California that sailors and newspapers talked about on the East Coast. Rather than head to the nearby mission ranch, they quickly made their way west (following the path of the future Route 66
), arriving at the Mission on November 27, 1826.
They were received warmly by the President of the mission, José Bernardo Sánchez
, who managed to hide any misgivings he might have had. (Several of the Smith party remembered Sánchez fondly in their journals.) Sánchez advised Smith to communicate with Jefe Político (governor) José María Echeandía
, who was at San Diego, about his party's status in the country
. On December 8, Echeandía ordered Smith to San Diego, apparently under arrest (there was one symbolic soldier accompanying the party of mission priests and a British sea merchant escorting Smith). The rest of the party remained at the mission. Badly needing supplies, they quickly found work to do around the mission under the supervision of Joseph "José" Chapman, a former impressed sailor in crew of Hippolyte de Bouchard
, who had become a naturalized citizen of Mexico. In San Diego, Smith was interviewed several times by Echeandía, who never became convinced that Smith was only looking for food and shelter. Smith asked for permission to travel north to the Columbia River
, where known paths could quickly take his party back to United States territory. Smith even handed over his journals in an attempt to prove his intentions. However Echeandía delayed a quick resolution, forwarding the issue for the authorities in Sonora to review, much to Smith's displeasure. After being hounded by Smith for a month, Echeandía released Smith and his men on the promise that they leave California by the path they entered and never return. Nevertheless, once released, the party made their way to the San Joaquín Valley
, which they explored.
By early May 1827 Smith and his party had accumulated over 1500 pounds of beaver; getting these furs to the mountain man rendezvous near Great Salt Lake was clearly a problem. He had traveled 350 miles north but had seen no break in the wall of the Sierra. He turned up the rugged canyon of what would later be called the American River (named after his party). The snow was too deep. Had he completed his crossing this far north, it is possible he could have found Lake Tahoe and the Humboldt River in Nevada, the vital route across the Great Basin later used by California immigrants. But the heavy snow forced Jed into a decision: he would save his horses, and his men, by heading back west to the central valley and the Stanislaus River and re-establish camp there. Peter Skene Ogden
, a year and a half later in 1828, discovered the Humbolt River basin's natural route. Jedediah, having taken only two men and some extra horses, began what would become his epic crossing of the Sierra Nevada somewhat further south, crossing in the vicinity of Ebbets Pass. His plan was to get to rendezvous as quickly as he could and return to his California trapping party with more men later in the year.
After crossing the Sierra Nevada, Smith likely saw Walker Lake and continued east across central Nevada. His route was straight through some of the most difficult desert in North America, known as the Great Basin
. One man, Robert Evans, collapsed and could go no further. Jed and Silas Gobel briefly left Evans and pressed on to the foot of a mountain. Finding some water, Jed went back and rescued Evans. The three eventually reached Great Salt Lake, a beautiful sight to Smith as he called it “my home of the wilderness”. Local Indians told him the whites were gathered further north at “the Little Lake” (Bear Lake
). The three de facto explorers reached the rendezvous on July 3. The mountain men celebrated Jed's arrival with a cannon salute (the first wheeled vehicle ever brought this far west) for they had given up Jed and his party for lost.
attending business, once again arrested Smith, this time along with his men. Yet despite the breach of trust, the governor once again released Smith on the same promise to leave the province immediately and not to return, and as before, Smith and his party remained in California hunting in Sacramento Valley for several months, before heading north along the Pacific Coast to use the Columbia River to return to their headquarters. Jedediah became the first explorer to reach the Oregon Country
overland by traveling up the California coast. However, his second run-in with the authorities, in addition to the extreme hardships his parties experienced in both trips, convinced him never to return to California, and he devoted his next years to building up his fur company.
In the Oregon Country
, Smith' s party fell into conflict over a stolen ax with the Umpqua people near the Umpqua River
. Smith's party had threatened to execute the man they accused of stealing the ax. Later, Smith's group was attacked and fifteen of Smith's nineteen men were killed. Smith managed to reach the Hudson's Bay Company
(HBC) post at Fort Vancouver
, where he received aid. HBC governor George Simpson
happened to be at Fort Vancouver at the time, and he both sympathized with Smith and chastised him for treating the Indians harshly. Simpson sent Alexander McLeod
south to rescue the remnants of Smith's party and their goods. McLeod returned to Fort Vancouver with 700 beaver skins and 39 horses, all in bad condition. John McLoughlin
, in charge of Fort Vancouver, paid Smith $2,600 for the goods. In return, Smith assured that his American fur trade company would confine its operations to the region east of the Great Divide.
territory. Smith was able to capture a good cache of beaver before being repulsed by hostile Blackfeet Native Americans
. A young and experienced Jim Bridger
served as a riverboat pilot on the Powder River
during the profitable mountain man expedition. In the four years of western fur trapping the firm of Smith, Jackson, and Sublette was able to make a substantial profit. At an 1830 rendezvous on the Wild River
Smith, Jackson, and Sublette sold their fur trading company to Tom Fitzpatrick
, Milton Sublette
, Jim Bridger
, Henry Fraeb, and John Baptiste Gervais. These five men formed what would become known as the Rocky Mountain Fur Company
. In 1830, Smith retired from the fur trading business and on October 11, returned to St. Louis with a profitable bounty.
. According to biographer, Dale L. Morgan, Smith's letter was "a clear sighted statement of the national interest."
Smith had not forgotten the financial struggles of his family in Ohio
. After making a sizable profit from the sale of furs, over $17,000 ($408,000 2009), Jedediah sent $1,500 to his family in Green Township; whereupon his brother Ralph bought a farm. Smith also bought a house on First Avenue in St. Louis to be shared with his brothers. Smith bought two African slaves to take care of the property in St. Louis.
Smith's busy schedule in St. Louis also found him and Samuel Parkman making a map of Smith's cartographic discoveries in the West. Jedediah, in order to make his map complete, needed first hand information on the Southwest, an area he had not extensively explored. In 1831, Smith and his partners formed a supply company of 74 men, twenty-two wagons, and a "six-pounder" artillery
cannon
for protection. At the request of William H. Ashley, Smith received a passport from Senator Thomas Hart Benton on March 3, 1831. Smith and company left St. Louis to trade in Santa Fe
on April 10, 1831.
on the Santa Fe Trail
in May, 1831 when he left the group to scout for water. He never returned to the group. The remainder of the party proceeded on to Santa Fe hoping Smith would meet them there, but he never arrived. A short time later, members of the trading party discovered a Mexican merchant at the Santa Fe market offering several of Smith's personal belongings for sale. When questioned about the items, the merchant indicated that he had acquired them from a band of Comanche
hunters.
A further account in Give Your Heart to the Hawks: A Tribute to the Mountain Men by Winifred Blevins, cites details of Smith's encounter with the Comanches in a box canyon. By their account, four braves trapped Smith in the canyon.
According to Dale L. Morgan, Jedediah Smith's biographer, Jedediah was looking for water for the 1831 expedition when he came upon an estimated 15–20 Comanches. There was a brief face to face stand off until the Comanches scared his horse and shot him in the left shoulder. After gasping from the injury, Jedediah wheeled his horse around and with one rifle shot was able to kill their chief. The Comanches then rushed on Jedediah, who did not have time to use his pistols, and stabbed him to death with lances. Austin Smith, Jedediah's brother, was able to retrieve Jedediah's rifle
and pistols that the Indians had taken and traded to the Mexicans.
, meditated, and prayed. Smith never boasted and having a stern personality only rarely was known to have any sense of humor. Smith did not practice sexual relations with Native American women. Unlike contemporary mountain men, Smith never smoked, got drunk, or used profanity. Smith was known for his many systematic recorded observations on nature and topography
.
was to maintain friendly relations with gifts and exchanges. However, if he felt it was necessary to have a show of force against a hostile Indian tribe, he would make a demonstration
by having one or two Natives killed with a rifle. This was done to discourage any further tribal aggression against him and his party. Also, Jedediah punished his men for indiscriminately shooting Indians without justifiable cause. Smith's reluctance to kill American Indians was due to his Methodist faith and training. Smith held contemporary beliefs that Native Americans were for the most part intellectually inferior to whites and considered untrustworthy. Smith stated that Indians were "children of nature"; a link between animal
s and human
s.
, which is on file at the American Geographical Society of New York. His expeditions also raised doubts about the legendary Buenaventura River
from maps.
Smith's exploration of northwestern California is commemorated in the names of the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
and the Smith River
.
Most of the western slope of Wyoming
's famous Teton Range
is named the Jedediah Smith Wilderness
after him. And the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail
, renamed the American River Bike Trail, runs between Folsom
and Sacramento, California
, through the former gold-dredging
fields that are now the American River Parkway
.
In the Frontiersman Camping Fellowship
of Royal Rangers
, New Mexico is designated the Jedediah Smith Chapter.
A street in Temecula, California
is named for him.
A road in Colorado Springs, Colorado is named for him.
An inscription on the Madonna of the Trail
monument in Upland, California
commemorates Smith's crossing of the San Bernardino Mountains in 1826. The monument is located on Route 66 on the path that Smith followed from Etiwanda to the San Gabriel Mission.
A Liberty Ship, built in 1943 and used during World War II, was scrapped in 1964.
Hunting
Hunting is the practice of pursuing any living thing, usually wildlife, for food, recreation, or trade. In present-day use, the term refers to lawful hunting, as distinguished from poaching, which is the killing, trapping or capture of the hunted species contrary to applicable law...
, trapper, fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
r, trailblazer
Trail blazing
Trail blazing, or trailblazing, is the practice of marking paths in outdoor recreational areas with blazes, markings that follow each other at certain — though not necessarily exactly defined — distances and mark the direction of the trail...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, cartographer
Cartography
Cartography is the study and practice of making maps. Combining science, aesthetics, and technique, cartography builds on the premise that reality can be modeled in ways that communicate spatial information effectively.The fundamental problems of traditional cartography are to:*Set the map's...
, cattleman
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
, and explorer
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
, the American West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
and the Southwest
Southwestern United States
The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...
during the 19th century. Nearly forgotten by historians almost a century after his death, Smith has been rediscovered as an American hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
who was the first white man to travel overland from the Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
frontier, the Colorado River
Colorado River
The Colorado River , is a river in the Southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, approximately long, draining a part of the arid regions on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains. The watershed of the Colorado River covers in parts of seven U.S. states and two Mexican states...
, the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, and finally into California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Smith was the first United States citizen to explore and eastwardly cross the Sierra Nevada and the treacherous Great Basin
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
. Smith also was the first American to travel up the California coast to reach the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
. Not only was he the first to do this, but he and Robert Stuart
Robert Stuart (explorer)
Robert Stuart was the son of Charles Stuart, a partner of John Jacob Astor who as one of the North West Company men, or Nor'westers, enlisted by Astor to help him found his intended fur empire...
discovered the South Pass
South Pass
South Pass is two mountain passes on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. The passes are located in a broad low region, 35 miles broad, between the Wind River Range to the north and the Oregon Buttes and Great Divide Basin to the south, in southwestern Fremont...
. This path became the main route used by pioneers to travel to the Oregon Country. Surviving three massacres and one bear mauling, Jedediah Smith's explorations and documented discoveries were highly significant in opening the American West to expansion by white settlers and cattlemen. Smith owned two African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
slaves in St. Louis and held contemporary views that American Indians were inferior to whites.
Early life
Smith was born in Jericho, now BainbridgeBainbridge (town), New York
Bainbridge is a town in Chenango County, New York, United States. The population was 3,401 at the 2000 census.The Town of Bainbridge has a village of Bainbridge located within it...
, New York on January 6, 1799. His early New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
ancestors include Thomas Bascom, constable
Constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions.-Etymology:...
of Northampton, Massachusetts
Northampton, Massachusetts
The city of Northampton is the county seat of Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of Northampton's central neighborhoods, was 28,549...
, who came to America in 1634. Thomas Bascom was of Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
and French Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
ancestry. Smith came from two God-fearing New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
families and was personally taught by Methodist circuit preachers. Around 1810, Smith's father, who owned a general store, allegedly was caught using counterfeit currency. To protect his family's reputation, the elder Smith moved his family West to Erie County
Erie County, Pennsylvania
Erie County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 280,566. Its county seat is the City of Erie.- Geography :...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. While growing up, Smith's love of nature and adventure came from his mentor, Dr. Titus G. V. Simons, a pioneer physician who was on close terms with the Smith family. Simons gave the young Smith a copy of Lewis and Clarks
Lewis and Clark Expedition
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, or ″Corps of Discovery Expedition" was the first transcontinental expedition to the Pacific Coast by the United States. Commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson and led by two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, Meriwether Lewis and William...
1814 journal to the Pacific. By legend, Smith is claimed to have carried this journal on all of his travels throughout the American West. His family's nickname for him while growing up was "Diah". The Smith family moved westward again to Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and settled in Green Township or what is now called Ashland County
Ashland County, Ohio
Ashland County is a county located in the state of Ohio, United States, and was formed in 1846 from parts of Huron, Lorain, Richland and Wayne Counties. As of the 2010 census, the population was 53,139. Its county seat is Ashland...
in 1817.
Joins Ashley's company
While in the Green Township the Smith family was running low on income. In 1821, Jedediah began writing his journal and traveled to Illinois in an effort to find employment. By 1822 Jedediah traveled to St. Louis and responded to an advertisement in the Missouri Gazzette placed by Gen. William H. Ashley. Gen. Ashley and Maj. Andrew HenryAndrew Henry (fur trader)
Major Andrew Henry was an American fur trader who, with William H. Ashley started the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in 1822...
were partner owners of the American Fur Company. According to the ad, Gen. Ashley was looking for "Enterprising Young Men" to explore the Missouri River and engage in the fur trade business in the Rocky Mountains. Jedediah, now a 6 foot tall, blue eyed 23 year old with a commanding presence, empressed Gen. Ashley to hire him. Ashley initially led the expedition and Jedediah got his first glimse of the frontier West coming in contact with Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
and Arikaras tribes. Jedediah finally reached Fort Arikaras, under the control of Major Andrew Henry
Andrew Henry (fur trader)
Major Andrew Henry was an American fur trader who, with William H. Ashley started the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in 1822...
at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
on the Yellowstone River
Yellowstone River
The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the western United States. Considered the principal tributary of the upper Missouri, the river and its tributaries drain a wide area stretching from the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of the Yellowstone National...
. On his first expedition up the Missouri Jedediah learned to trap beaver and hunt buffalo.
Arikaras massacre
In 1822, Gen. Ashley ordered Smith to come back down the Missouri to Grand RiverGrand River (South Dakota)
The Grand River is a tributary of the Missouri River in North Dakota and South Dakota in the United States. The length of the combined branch is 110 mi...
. When Jedediah returned, the Arikaras natives, who were becoming increasingly hostile, attacked and massacred 13 of Ashley's men. Jedediah fought bravely, and the surviving men, including Gen. Ashley, took note of Jedediah's conduct during the battle. Ashley appointed Smith as Captain of his men.
South Pass
In 1823, as a leader of Ashley's men, Jedediah took a beaver trapping party and explored the Rocky MountainsRocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
south of the Yellowstone River
Yellowstone River
The Yellowstone River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately long, in the western United States. Considered the principal tributary of the upper Missouri, the river and its tributaries drain a wide area stretching from the Rocky Mountains in the vicinity of the Yellowstone National...
. The party spent the rest of 1823 Wintering in the Wind River Valley. In 1824 Smith launched an exploratory expedition to find an expedient route through the Rocky Mountains. Smith was able to retrieve information from Crow
Crow Nation
The Crow, also called the Absaroka or Apsáalooke, are a Siouan people of Native Americans who historically lived in the Yellowstone River valley, which extends from present-day Wyoming, through Montana and into North Dakota. They now live on a reservation south of Billings, Montana and in several...
natives. When communicating with the Crows, one of Smith's men made a unique map (buffalo hide and sand), and the Crows were able to show Jedediah and his men the direction to the South Pass
South Pass
South Pass is two mountain passes on the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains in southwestern Wyoming. The passes are located in a broad low region, 35 miles broad, between the Wind River Range to the north and the Oregon Buttes and Great Divide Basin to the south, in southwestern Fremont...
. Jedediah and his men crossed through this pass in the Rocky Mountains and were able to reach the Green River in what is now Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
. From 1824 to 1825 Jedediah and his men explored the Rocky Mountains and trapped the Green, Bear, Snake, and Clark's Fork Rivers. On July 1, 1825 Smith became partners with William H. Ashley. Ashley's other partner Andrew Henry
Andrew Henry (fur trader)
Major Andrew Henry was an American fur trader who, with William H. Ashley started the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in 1822...
had retired from the fur trade. The rediscovery of the South Pass from the Crow Indians was very important since this was the fastest and most direct route to get to the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains
Rocky Mountains
The Rocky Mountains are a major mountain range in western North America. The Rocky Mountains stretch more than from the northernmost part of British Columbia, in western Canada, to New Mexico, in the southwestern United States...
and into California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
Bear mauling
Smith was often recognized by significant facial scarring due to a grizzly bearGrizzly Bear
The grizzly bear , also known as the silvertip bear, the grizzly, or the North American brown bear, is a subspecies of brown bear that generally lives in the uplands of western North America...
attack along the Cheyenne River
Cheyenne River
The Cheyenne River is a tributary of the Missouri River in the U.S. states of Wyoming and South Dakota. It is approximately 295 mi long and drains an area of...
. In 1824, while looking for the Crow tribe to obtain fresh horses and get westward directions, Jedediah was stalked and attacked by a large grizzly bear. The huge bear jumped and tackled Jedediah to the ground. Jedediah's ribs were broken and members of his party witnessed Smith fighting the bear, which ripped open his side with its claws and took his head in its mouth. The bear suddenly retreated and the men ran to help Smith. They found his scalp
Scalp
The scalp is the anatomical area bordered by the face anteriorly and the neck to the sides and posteriorly.-Layers:It is usually described as having five layers, which can conveniently be remembered as a mnemonic:...
and ear
Ear
The ear is the organ that detects sound. It not only receives sound, but also aids in balance and body position. The ear is part of the auditory system....
nearly ripped off, but he convinced a friend, Jim Clyman, to sew it loosely back on, giving him directions. The trappers fetched water, bound up his broken ribs, and cleaned his wounds. After recuperating from his bloody wounds and broken ribs, Jedediah wore his hair long to cover the large scar from his eyebrow to his ear.
The First trip to California, 1826–1827
In 1826, William H. Ashley retired from the fur trade, and in a complicated business arrangement sold his share to the newly created firm of Jedediah Smith, David E. Jackson, and William L. Sublette. Smith and company proceeded to make two expeditions to California in 1826 and 1827, which landed him in trouble with the Mexican authorities. As with the Zebulon PikeZebulon Pike
Zebulon Montgomery Pike Jr. was an American officer and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named. As a United States Army captain in 1806-1807, he led the Pike Expedition to explore and document the southern portion of the Louisiana Purchase and to find the headwaters of the Red River,...
expedition two decades earlier, the authorities saw Smith's party as a harbinger of future trouble with the United States. Unlike Pike's expedition, which was commissioned by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, the Smith party was a private commercial venture. Although five members of the 1826 party carried United States passport
Passport
A passport is a document, issued by a national government, which certifies, for the purpose of international travel, the identity and nationality of its holder. The elements of identity are name, date of birth, sex, and place of birth....
s, the excursion deep into Mexican territory was unauthorized by the United States government and without permission from the Mexican government.
In its first trip, the Smith party followed the Colorado River deep into the west in search of new beaver hunting grounds, and ended up in harsh territory. To gather supplies for the return trip, the group chose to travel to California. After an arduous pass through the mountains into the Mojave Desert
Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert occupies a significant portion of southeastern California and smaller parts of central California, southern Nevada, southwestern Utah and northwestern Arizona, in the United States...
, the party was attacked by a group of Mohaves, and lost several men. Finding shelter with a friendly Mojave village, the men recuperated and met two Tongva men, who offered to guide them to San Gabriel Mission
Mission San Gabriel Arcángel
The Mission San Gabriel Arcángel is a fully functioning Roman Catholic mission and a historic landmark in San Gabriel, California. The settlement was founded by Spaniards of the Franciscan order on "The Feast of the Birth of Mary," September 8, 1771, as the fourth of what would become 21 Spanish...
. The guides led them through the desert via a path that avoided Death Valley
Death Valley
Death Valley is a desert valley located in Eastern California. Situated within the Mojave Desert, it features the lowest, driest, and hottest locations in North America. Badwater, a basin located in Death Valley, is the specific location of the lowest elevation in North America at 282 feet below...
and which more or less follows the route of today's Interstate 15
Interstate 15
Interstate 15 is the fourth-longest north–south Interstate Highway in the United States, traveling through the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Montana from San Diego to the Canadian border...
. From Soda Lake they followed the intermittent Mojave River
Mojave River
The Mojave River is an intermittent river in the eastern San Bernardino Mountains and Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California. The river is notable as most of its flow is underground, while its surface channels remain dry most of the time, with the exception of the headwaters and several...
into the San Bernardino Mountains
San Bernardino Mountains
The San Bernardino Mountains are a short transverse mountain range north and east of San Bernardino in Southern California in the United States. The mountains run for approximately 60 miles east-west on the southern edge of the Mojave Desert in southwestern San Bernardino County, north of the...
, which they crossed, emerging at the point where today the Community of Etiwanda
Etiwanda, Rancho Cucamonga, California
Etiwanda is the easternmost of three formerly unincorporated communities that became part of Rancho Cucamonga, California, United States in 1977.-History:...
is, and into a vastly different environment, the paradisal California that sailors and newspapers talked about on the East Coast. Rather than head to the nearby mission ranch, they quickly made their way west (following the path of the future Route 66
U.S. Route 66
U.S. Route 66 was a highway within the U.S. Highway System. One of the original U.S. highways, Route 66 was established on November 11, 1926 -- with road signs erected the following year...
), arriving at the Mission on November 27, 1826.
José Bernardo Sánchez
Father José Bernardo Sánchez was a Spanish missionary in North America.-Early Life:Born in Robledillo, Old Castile, Spain, Sánchez became a Franciscan on October 9, 1794 and in 1803 joined the missionary College of San Fernando de Mexico in New Spain .-California Missions:He traveled on to Las...
, who managed to hide any misgivings he might have had. (Several of the Smith party remembered Sánchez fondly in their journals.) Sánchez advised Smith to communicate with Jefe Político (governor) José María Echeandía
José María Echeandía
José María de Echeandía was twice Mexican governor of Alta California from 1825 to 1831 and again from 1832 to 1833.Echeandía supported the Mexican government's secularization the Alta California missions and redistribution of the holdings as land grant ranchos.-See also:*List of pre-statehood...
, who was at San Diego, about his party's status in the country
Immigration law
Immigration law refers to national government policies which control the phenomenon of immigration to their country.Immigraton law, regarding foreign citizens, is related to nationality law, which governs the legal status of people, in matters such as citizenship...
. On December 8, Echeandía ordered Smith to San Diego, apparently under arrest (there was one symbolic soldier accompanying the party of mission priests and a British sea merchant escorting Smith). The rest of the party remained at the mission. Badly needing supplies, they quickly found work to do around the mission under the supervision of Joseph "José" Chapman, a former impressed sailor in crew of Hippolyte de Bouchard
Hippolyte de Bouchard
Hippolyte de Bouchard, or Hipólito de Bouchard , was a French and Argentine sailor and corsair who fought for Argentina, Chile, and Peru....
, who had become a naturalized citizen of Mexico. In San Diego, Smith was interviewed several times by Echeandía, who never became convinced that Smith was only looking for food and shelter. Smith asked for permission to travel north to the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
, where known paths could quickly take his party back to United States territory. Smith even handed over his journals in an attempt to prove his intentions. However Echeandía delayed a quick resolution, forwarding the issue for the authorities in Sonora to review, much to Smith's displeasure. After being hounded by Smith for a month, Echeandía released Smith and his men on the promise that they leave California by the path they entered and never return. Nevertheless, once released, the party made their way to the San Joaquín Valley
San Joaquin Valley
The San Joaquin Valley is the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento – San Joaquin River Delta in Stockton...
, which they explored.
By early May 1827 Smith and his party had accumulated over 1500 pounds of beaver; getting these furs to the mountain man rendezvous near Great Salt Lake was clearly a problem. He had traveled 350 miles north but had seen no break in the wall of the Sierra. He turned up the rugged canyon of what would later be called the American River (named after his party). The snow was too deep. Had he completed his crossing this far north, it is possible he could have found Lake Tahoe and the Humboldt River in Nevada, the vital route across the Great Basin later used by California immigrants. But the heavy snow forced Jed into a decision: he would save his horses, and his men, by heading back west to the central valley and the Stanislaus River and re-establish camp there. Peter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden
Peter Skene Ogden , was a fur trader and a Canadian explorer of what is now British Columbia and the American West...
, a year and a half later in 1828, discovered the Humbolt River basin's natural route. Jedediah, having taken only two men and some extra horses, began what would become his epic crossing of the Sierra Nevada somewhat further south, crossing in the vicinity of Ebbets Pass. His plan was to get to rendezvous as quickly as he could and return to his California trapping party with more men later in the year.
Great Basin
The Great Basin is the largest area of contiguous endorheic watersheds in North America and is noted for its arid conditions and Basin and Range topography that varies from the North American low point at Badwater Basin to the highest point of the contiguous United States, less than away at the...
. One man, Robert Evans, collapsed and could go no further. Jed and Silas Gobel briefly left Evans and pressed on to the foot of a mountain. Finding some water, Jed went back and rescued Evans. The three eventually reached Great Salt Lake, a beautiful sight to Smith as he called it “my home of the wilderness”. Local Indians told him the whites were gathered further north at “the Little Lake” (Bear Lake
Bear Lake (Idaho-Utah)
Bear Lake is a natural freshwater lake on the Utah-Idaho border in the Western United States. It is the second largest natural freshwater lake in Utah and has been called the "Caribbean of the Rockies" for its unique turquoise-blue color, the result of suspended limestone deposits in the water...
). The three de facto explorers reached the rendezvous on July 3. The mountain men celebrated Jed's arrival with a cannon salute (the first wheeled vehicle ever brought this far west) for they had given up Jed and his party for lost.
Second trip to California, 1827–1828
Despite Echeandía's warning, Smith returned to California the next year with eighteen men and two women following the Colorado River and Mojave Desert route he now knew well. At the Colorado River, the party was attacked by the Mojave, killing ten men and taking the two women. Smith and the other survivors were again well received in San Gabriel. The party moved north to meet with the group that had been left in the San Joaquin Valley. Unlike in San Gabriel, they were coolly received by the priests at Mission San José, who had already received warning of Smith's renewed presence in the area. Echeandía, who was at the time in MontereyMonterey, California
The City of Monterey in Monterey County is located on Monterey Bay along the Pacific coast in Central California. Monterey lies at an elevation of 26 feet above sea level. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 27,810. Monterey is of historical importance because it was the capital of...
attending business, once again arrested Smith, this time along with his men. Yet despite the breach of trust, the governor once again released Smith on the same promise to leave the province immediately and not to return, and as before, Smith and his party remained in California hunting in Sacramento Valley for several months, before heading north along the Pacific Coast to use the Columbia River to return to their headquarters. Jedediah became the first explorer to reach the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
overland by traveling up the California coast. However, his second run-in with the authorities, in addition to the extreme hardships his parties experienced in both trips, convinced him never to return to California, and he devoted his next years to building up his fur company.
Trip to the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
, Smith' s party fell into conflict over a stolen ax with the Umpqua people near the Umpqua River
Umpqua River
The Umpqua River on the Pacific coast of Oregon in the United States is approximately long. One of the principal rivers of the Oregon Coast and known for bass and shad, the river drains an expansive network of valleys in the mountains west of the Cascade Range and south of the Willamette Valley,...
. Smith's party had threatened to execute the man they accused of stealing the ax. Later, Smith's group was attacked and fifteen of Smith's nineteen men were killed. Smith managed to reach the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
(HBC) post at Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
, where he received aid. HBC governor George Simpson
George Simpson (administrator)
Sir George Simpson was a Scots-Quebecer and employee of the Hudson's Bay Company . His title was Governor-in-Chief of Rupert's Land and administrator over the Northwest Territories and Columbia Department in British North America from 1821 to 1860.-Early years:George Simpson was born in Dingwall,...
happened to be at Fort Vancouver at the time, and he both sympathized with Smith and chastised him for treating the Indians harshly. Simpson sent Alexander McLeod
Alexander Roderick McLeod
Alexander Roderick McLeod was a fur trader and explorer who began his career with the North West Company in 1802.McLeod became a chief trader with the Hudson's Bay Company after they joined with the NWC in 1821...
south to rescue the remnants of Smith's party and their goods. McLeod returned to Fort Vancouver with 700 beaver skins and 39 horses, all in bad condition. John McLoughlin
John McLoughlin
Dr. John McLoughlin, baptized Jean-Baptiste McLoughlin, was the Chief Factor of the Columbia Fur District of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver. He was later known as the "Father of Oregon" for his role in assisting the American cause in the Oregon Country in the Pacific Northwest...
, in charge of Fort Vancouver, paid Smith $2,600 for the goods. In return, Smith assured that his American fur trade company would confine its operations to the region east of the Great Divide.
1829–1830 Blackfeet expedition
In 1829, Captain Smith personally organized a fur trade expedition into the BlackfeetBlackfeet
The Piegan Blackfeet are a tribe of Native Americans of the Algonquian language family based in Montana, having lived in this area since around 6,500 BC. Many members of the tribe live as part of the Blackfeet Nation in northwestern Montana, with population centered in Browning...
territory. Smith was able to capture a good cache of beaver before being repulsed by hostile Blackfeet Native Americans
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
. A young and experienced Jim Bridger
Jim Bridger
James Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...
served as a riverboat pilot on the Powder River
Powder River (Montana)
Powder River is a tributary of the Yellowstone River, approximately long in the southeastern Montana and northeastern Wyoming in the United States. It drains an area historically known as the Powder River Country on the high plains east of the Bighorn Mountains.It rises in three forks in eastern...
during the profitable mountain man expedition. In the four years of western fur trapping the firm of Smith, Jackson, and Sublette was able to make a substantial profit. At an 1830 rendezvous on the Wild River
Wild River
Wild River is a 1960 film directed by Elia Kazan starring Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Jo Van Fleet, Albert Salmi and Jay C. Flippen filmed on location in the Tennessee Valley...
Smith, Jackson, and Sublette sold their fur trading company to Tom Fitzpatrick
Thomas Fitzpatrick (trapper)
Thomas Fitzpatrick, known as "Broken Hand", was a trapper and a trailblazer who became the head of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. With Jedediah Smith, he led a trapper band that discovered South Pass, Wyoming....
, Milton Sublette
Milton Sublette
Milton Green Sublette was an American fur trader, explorer and mountain man. He was the second of four Sublette brothers prominent in the western fur trade; William, Andrew, and Solomon...
, Jim Bridger
Jim Bridger
James Felix "Jim" Bridger was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites...
, Henry Fraeb, and John Baptiste Gervais. These five men formed what would become known as the Rocky Mountain Fur Company
Rocky Mountain Fur Company
The Rocky Mountain Fur Company, sometimes called Ashley's Hundred, was organized in St. Louis, Missouri in 1823 by General William H. Ashley and Major Andrew Henry . They posted advertisements in St. Louis newspapers seeking "One Hundred enterprising young men . ....
. In 1830, Smith retired from the fur trading business and on October 11, returned to St. Louis with a profitable bounty.
St. Louis return
After Smith returned to St. Louis in 1830, he and his partners wrote a letter on October 29 to Sec. of War John H. Eaton and informed Eaton of the "military implications" in terms of the British allegedly alienating the Native population towards any American trappers in the Pacific NorthwestPacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. According to biographer, Dale L. Morgan, Smith's letter was "a clear sighted statement of the national interest."
Smith had not forgotten the financial struggles of his family in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. After making a sizable profit from the sale of furs, over $17,000 ($408,000 2009), Jedediah sent $1,500 to his family in Green Township; whereupon his brother Ralph bought a farm. Smith also bought a house on First Avenue in St. Louis to be shared with his brothers. Smith bought two African slaves to take care of the property in St. Louis.
Smith's busy schedule in St. Louis also found him and Samuel Parkman making a map of Smith's cartographic discoveries in the West. Jedediah, in order to make his map complete, needed first hand information on the Southwest, an area he had not extensively explored. In 1831, Smith and his partners formed a supply company of 74 men, twenty-two wagons, and a "six-pounder" artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
for protection. At the request of William H. Ashley, Smith received a passport from Senator Thomas Hart Benton on March 3, 1831. Smith and company left St. Louis to trade in Santa Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...
on April 10, 1831.
Death
In 1831, Smith become involved in the supply trade known as the "commerce of the prairies". Smith was leading supply wagons for the Rocky Mountain Fur CompanyRocky Mountain Fur Company
The Rocky Mountain Fur Company, sometimes called Ashley's Hundred, was organized in St. Louis, Missouri in 1823 by General William H. Ashley and Major Andrew Henry . They posted advertisements in St. Louis newspapers seeking "One Hundred enterprising young men . ....
on the Santa Fe Trail
Santa Fe Trail
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century transportation route through central North America that connected Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1822 by William Becknell, it served as a vital commercial and military highway until the introduction of the railroad to Santa Fe in 1880...
in May, 1831 when he left the group to scout for water. He never returned to the group. The remainder of the party proceeded on to Santa Fe hoping Smith would meet them there, but he never arrived. A short time later, members of the trading party discovered a Mexican merchant at the Santa Fe market offering several of Smith's personal belongings for sale. When questioned about the items, the merchant indicated that he had acquired them from a band of Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
hunters.
According to Dale L. Morgan, Jedediah Smith's biographer, Jedediah was looking for water for the 1831 expedition when he came upon an estimated 15–20 Comanches. There was a brief face to face stand off until the Comanches scared his horse and shot him in the left shoulder. After gasping from the injury, Jedediah wheeled his horse around and with one rifle shot was able to kill their chief. The Comanches then rushed on Jedediah, who did not have time to use his pistols, and stabbed him to death with lances. Austin Smith, Jedediah's brother, was able to retrieve Jedediah's rifle
Rifle
A rifle is a firearm designed to be fired from the shoulder, with a barrel that has a helical groove or pattern of grooves cut into the barrel walls. The raised areas of the rifling are called "lands," which make contact with the projectile , imparting spin around an axis corresponding to the...
and pistols that the Indians had taken and traded to the Mexicans.
Personal characteristics
Jedidiah Smith was an atypical mountain man. Following Methodist practices, Smith was known to be a reserved pious man who often read the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, meditated, and prayed. Smith never boasted and having a stern personality only rarely was known to have any sense of humor. Smith did not practice sexual relations with Native American women. Unlike contemporary mountain men, Smith never smoked, got drunk, or used profanity. Smith was known for his many systematic recorded observations on nature and topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
.
Views on American Indians
While travelling overland throughout the American West, Jedediah's policy with the Native AmericansNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
was to maintain friendly relations with gifts and exchanges. However, if he felt it was necessary to have a show of force against a hostile Indian tribe, he would make a demonstration
Demonstration (military)
In military terminology, a demonstration is an attack or show of force on a front where a decision is not sought, made with the aim of deceiving the enemy....
by having one or two Natives killed with a rifle. This was done to discourage any further tribal aggression against him and his party. Also, Jedediah punished his men for indiscriminately shooting Indians without justifiable cause. Smith's reluctance to kill American Indians was due to his Methodist faith and training. Smith held contemporary beliefs that Native Americans were for the most part intellectually inferior to whites and considered untrustworthy. Smith stated that Indians were "children of nature"; a link between animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s and human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
s.
Honors and namesakes
Jedediah Smith's explorations were the main basis for accurate Pacific-West maps; all the travels and discoveries of the trappers and fur traders since Ashley went into the map of the western United States he prepared in the winter of 1830–31. This map has been called “a landmark in mapping of the American West”. In a eulogy for Smith printed in the Illinois Magazine for June 1832 the unknown author claimed “This map is now probably the best extant, of the Rocky Mountains, and the country on both sides, from the States to the Pacific.” The original map is lost, its content was superimposed probably by George Gibbs on a base map by John C. FrémontJohn C. Frémont
John Charles Frémont , was an American military officer, explorer, and the first candidate of the anti-slavery Republican Party for the office of President of the United States. During the 1840s, that era's penny press accorded Frémont the sobriquet The Pathfinder...
, which is on file at the American Geographical Society of New York. His expeditions also raised doubts about the legendary Buenaventura River
Buenaventura River (legend)
The non-existent Buenaventura River, alternatively San Buenaventura River, Río Buenaventura, etc. was once believed to run from the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean in what is now the western United States...
from maps.
Smith's exploration of northwestern California is commemorated in the names of the Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park
Jedediah Smith Redwoods Park, established in 1929, was named after the noted fur trapper Jedediah Smith, who visited its location during an 1826 expedition. It is located in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, nine miles east of Crescent City, on U.S. Route 199...
and the Smith River
Smith River (California)
The Smith River is a river on the Pacific coast of northern California in the United States, approximately long. It drains a rugged area of the Pacific Coast Ranges west of the Siskiyou Mountains just south of the Oregon border and north of the watershed of the Klamath River. The catchment area is...
.
Most of the western slope of Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
's famous Teton Range
Teton Range
The Teton Range is a mountain range of the Rocky Mountains in North America. A north-south range, it is on the Wyoming side of the state's border with Idaho, just south of Yellowstone National Park. Most of the range is in Grand Teton National Park....
is named the Jedediah Smith Wilderness
Jedediah Smith Wilderness
The Jedediah Smith Wilderness is located in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Designated wilderness by Congress in 1984, Jedediah Smith Wilderness is within Caribou-Targhee National Forest and borders Grand Teton National Park. Spanning along the western slopes of the Teton Range, the wilderness ensures a...
after him. And the Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail
Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail
The Jedediah Smith Memorial Trail is a paved multi-use pathway that runs between the confluence of the Sacramento River with the American River, just north of downtown Sacramento, CA, and Beal's Point at Folsom Lake, north of Folsom, CA. The trail is long, and is used as a major recreational...
, renamed the American River Bike Trail, runs between Folsom
Folsom, California
Folsom is a city in Sacramento County, California, United States. Folsom is most commonly known for its famous Folsom Prison. The population was 72,203 at the 2010 census....
and Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, through the former gold-dredging
California Gold Rush
The California Gold Rush began on January 24, 1848, when gold was found by James W. Marshall at Sutter's Mill in Coloma, California. The first to hear confirmed information of the gold rush were the people in Oregon, the Sandwich Islands , and Latin America, who were the first to start flocking to...
fields that are now the American River Parkway
American River
The American River is a California watercourse noted as the site of Sutter's Mill, northwest of Placerville, California, where gold was found in 1848, leading to the California Gold Rush...
.
In the Frontiersman Camping Fellowship
Frontiersman Camping Fellowship
The Frontiersmen Camping Fellowship is a program of the Royal Rangers, and serves as their service/honor organization, similar to the Boy Scouts of America's Order of the Arrow. It endeavors to develop in each member the same courageous and undaunted spirit of the early frontiersman...
of Royal Rangers
Royal Rangers
Royal Rangers is a worldwide ministry of the Assemblies of God and is designed to provide youth with challenging activities while providing them with Christian instruction. Royal Rangers International is open to participation of both boys and girls, while the US only allows boy participation in...
, New Mexico is designated the Jedediah Smith Chapter.
A street in Temecula, California
Temecula, California
Temecula is a city in southwestern Riverside County, California, United States with a population of 100,097 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it the lowest populated American city over 100,000 population. It was incorporated on December 1, 1989...
is named for him.
A road in Colorado Springs, Colorado is named for him.
An inscription on the Madonna of the Trail
Madonna of the Trail
Madonna of the Trail is a series of 12 monuments dedicated to the spirit of pioneer women in the United States. The monuments were commissioned by the National Society of Daughters of the American Revolution...
monument in Upland, California
Upland, California
Upland is a city in San Bernardino County, California, located at an elevation of 1,242 feet . As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 73,732, up from 68,393 at the 2000 census. It was incorporated on May 15, 1906, after previously being named North Ontario.-History and culture:Upland...
commemorates Smith's crossing of the San Bernardino Mountains in 1826. The monument is located on Route 66 on the path that Smith followed from Etiwanda to the San Gabriel Mission.
A Liberty Ship, built in 1943 and used during World War II, was scrapped in 1964.
