map/reduce

"Jim Bridger ran away at 17. 1822, joined William Ashley’s fur trappers. Illiterate. Couldn’t sign his name. But he could read rivers, snow, and smoke. He found the Great Salt Lake in 1824. Thought it was the Pacific Ocean because it was salty. Tasted it. Told everyone. Was wrong. Kept trapping. He survived 40 years in the Rockies. Grizzly tore his back open — he sewed it himself. Blackfoot captured him — he escaped by killing a guard and riding 100 miles naked. He knew every pass, every water hole, every Shoshone chief. In 1843 he built Fort Bridger in Wyoming. Sold supplies to Oregon Trail wagons. Told them: “Take the south pass. Don’t take the shortcuts.” The Donner Party didn’t listen. The Army hired him as chief scout. He guided 1857 Mormon War troops. Led 1865 Powder River Expedition. At 60, he could still out-ride 20-year-olds. He told stories. Said he saw a river that ran uphill. Said there was a mountain of glass. Said there were petrified trees. People called him a liar. All three were real: now Yellowstone’s Firehole River, Obsidian Cliff, and Petrified Forest. He died blind in 1881. Missouri farm. Last words: “I wish I was back in the mountains.” -Golden Historical Images