Distinctly Montana Magazine

64 D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A M A G A Z I N E • FA L L 2 0 2 3 Colter opened the way for other would-be trappers and in 1822, at the age of 18, Jim Bridger, another legendary mountain man, signed on to a trapping expedition to the upper Missouri River. For the next 20 years or so, Bridger grew to become one of the most well-known and respected trappers of his period. Fearing competitive pressure from the Hudson Bay Compa- ny to the north, Bridger instituted the annual fur Rendezvous. These were multi-day "festivals" that brought together indepen- dent trappers, Natives from many tribes and Bridger's fur trading company. Furs were exchanged for cash and provisions. It was the major social event of the year. Whiskey flowed, and no doubt tales were told around the campfires, many of them probably very "tall." In 1825, Bridger led a group of trappers on travels across southwest Montana and down to the Great Salt Lake. It was on this trip that he first experienced the wonders of Yellowstone. Surely, it must have been at his next Rendezvous gathering that Bridger first started spinning his yarns about Yellowstone. Like Colter before him, the more seasoned trappers did not believe him. For the "greenhorns," new to the wonders of the American West, he laid it on thick. Believed or not, he surely would have had a captive audience around the fire. Although Bridger was illiterate and could not write his stories down, others sometimes did. He also had a sharp memory for the lay of the land. He remembered routes he took and things he saw, which served him well when he guided later in life. His de- scriptions of Yellowstone eventually reached the ears of a report- er for the then highly respected Kansas City Journal. The editor refused to publish these stories for fear "he would be laughed out of town if he printed any of Old Jim Bridger's lies." This dis- respect of his accounts of Yellowstone seemed to have pushed Bridger to embellish the stories even more. If no one was going SCAN QR CODE FOR SHOP & SOCIAL BEST CUSTOMER SERVICE BEST DISPENSARY LOCATED IN WHITEFISH & KALISPELL Live Music, Casino & Food Open 7 Days / Week 8am - 2am Entertainment 5 Nights / Week 406.728.1559 1101 Strand Avenue, Missoula Sunrise SaloonandCasino.com Missoula's only country-western bar and largest dance floor Voted Best Country-Western Bar in Montana ! Fishing Cone, West Thumb Geyser Basin, Yellowstone NP. Could this be one of the hot springs that Bridger said he could catch a fish, immediately dunk it into the hot spring, and cook it on the hook?

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