Explorers, Trappers, Traders & Mountain Men - B

However, in 1873 he moved to a homestead near Dixon, Wyoming, where he raised livestock until his death on May 15, 1898. He was buried at Savery, Wyoming. During his lifetime, he was married six times, each time to an Indian woman, and sired numerous children.

William Becknell (1788-1856) - A frontiersman and trader, Becknell was born in Amherst County, Virginia around 1788. Somewhere along the line, he migrated to Franklin, Missouri, served in the War of 1812, and became involved in a number of trading ventures. He left Franklin, Missouri with four companions in September 1821 on his first trip to the western US with a load of freight to deliver to Santa Fe, New Mexico. After selling the goods at a high profit, they returned safely to Missouri. Very encouraged, the next year, he advertised for 70 men to "go westward." Thirty volunteered and they left Missouri on August 4, 1822 with some $5,000 in goods. Taking wagons this time, they explored a new route, leaving the Arkansas River near present-day Dodge City and crossing to the Cimarron River, thus blazing the Santa Fe Trail. This was to be the first trip to open the route to regular traffic and military movement. It became the first and only international trade route between The United States and Mexico until a railway to Santa Fe was built in 1880. Becknell has since been known as the "Father of the Santa Fe Trail." In 1824 he led a trapping party into Colorado and Utah. 

 His first political appointment was as Justice of the Peace in Saline County, Missouri and he was elected to the Missouri House of Representatives in 1828. In 1832, he commanded a militia company in the Black Hawk War, and afterwards, continued his frontier activities. In 1825, he led a group into Texas to take part in the developing revolution against the Mexicans. Later he settled near Clarksville, Texas, where he remained until his death on April 30, 1856.

James Pierson Beckwourth (1798-1860) - Born as a slave in Fredricksburg County, Virginia on April 6, 1798, his mother was a mulatto slave in the service of his white father's household. The Beckwourth family later moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where James was raised "free" and completed four years of schooling before being apprenticed to a blacksmith for five years. When he was 18, he ran away but had trouble trouble finding work until he joined General William Henry Ashley's Rocky Mountain Fur Trading Company. In 1825, he left Ashley's expedition and went to live among the Crow Indians for the next six years, where the Crows made him a chieftain and called him "Bull's Robe." In 1837 he returned to "civilization," established two trading posts and helped to found the town of Pueblo, Colorado. He later fought in the Seminole War in 1842 and the California Revolution in 1846. In 1848 he became General John C. Freemont's chief scout. In 1850, he discovered a safer route through the Sierra Nevadas, which is now called "Beckwourth Pass." There he built a ranch and trading post. Beckwourth's last adventure took place in 1866 when he fought in the Cheyenne War. Over the years, Beckwourth's travels took him from the everglades of Florida to the Pacific Ocean, blazing the trail in the early exploration and settlement of the American West. He died in October, 1860 of mysterious causes while visiting the Crow Indians along the Bighorn River.

Charles Bent (1799-1847) - One of the famous Bent brothers who helped "open the West," Charles was born in Charleston, West Virginia in 1799. He later became a trader and he and his younger brother, William, built Bent's Fort in Colorado in 1833. The only privately owned fortification in the west and the only major permanent white settlement on the Santa Fe Trail, the fort was established to trade with the Plains Indians and area trappers. In 1846, Charles was appointed as the first Governor of the newly acquired New Mexico Territory. He was assassinated on January 19, 1847 during the Taos Revolt.

William Bent (1809-1869) - The younger brother of Charles Bent, William was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1809. The brothers established Bent's Fort in Colorado in 1833 to trade with the plains Indians and area trappers. The only permanent white settlement on the Santa Fe Trail, the privately owned fortification soon became a premier trading center and rendezvous point. He became the primary manger of the fort when Charles moved south to Taos, New Mexico Territory. William also served as a scout for Stephen W. Kearny and Sterling Price in the Mexican War. In 1849 he destroyed the fort and built a new trading post farther down the Arkansas River in 1853. Bent died in 1869 and was buried in the Las Animas Cemetery.

Bartholomew Berthold (1780-1831) - A prominent St. Louis fur trader, Berthold was born Berthelemi Antoine Marthias Bertolla de Moncenigo near the city of Trent, Tyrol, Italy in 1780. When Napoleon invaded Italy, Bartholomew joined the opposition and was wounded in battle. After the French conquered Italy, he left his homeland and arrived in the United States in 1798. At that time he anglicized his name to Bartholomew Berthold. After a short stay in Philadelphia, he settled in Baltimore, but in 1809 he moved to St. Louis, Missouri.  There, along with Rene Paul, he engaged in the mercantile business. In 1811 he married Pelagie Chouteau, the only daughter of Major Pierre Chouteau, Sr., and the couple would eventually have seven children. He formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, Pierre Chouteau, Jr., and conducted a successful business for several years. Later, He and Chouteau, along with John P. Cabanne and Bernard Pratte, became associated with John Jacob Astor in the American Fur Company. The business was very profitable, and Berthold became one of the wealthiest citizens of St. Louis. He died in St.Louis, Missouri on April 20, 1831, at the age of 57. His widow survived him 44 years, dying in 1875, at the age of 85.

James "Jim" Bowie (1796-1836) - An American frontiersman and explorer, James was born in Kentucky in 1796 before his family moved to Missouri, then Louisiana. Bowie was a knife wielding adventurer who quickly gained a reputation for his bold and fearless disposition. The long knife he carried in his adventures seeking silver and gold, soon began to bear his name. Bowie moved to Texas in 1828 and joined the fight against Santa Anna for independence. He was the commander of the volunteers at the Alamo and was killed on March 6, 1836, along with 189 defenders.

Jim Bridger (1804-1881) - An accomplished trapper, scout, and mountain man, Bridger was born on March 17, 1804 in Richmond, Virginia. At the age of 17, Bridger joined General William Ashley's Upper Missouri Expedition and was one of the first non-Indians to see the natural wonders of what would become Yellowstone Park.

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Nostalgic Photograph Prints - From our personal Photo Print Shop, you'll find a number of nostalgic photo prints mostly from the early 20th century ranging from gas pumps, to grocery stores, 1920's flappers, model-T's, children, Christmas and a whole lot more.