OLD WEST LEGENDS

William L. Sublette - Explorer, Trapper, &

     Mountain Man

The Rocky Mountain Fur Company was the first to depend primarily upon trapping for their furs, rather than buying them from Native Americans. The men who worked for Ashley did not earn a fixed wage, rather they split the proceeds of the furs they obtained. On June 1, 1823 Ashley and his party of 70 men were attacked by 600 Arikara Indians, inciting what is known as the Arikara War. Twelve of Ashley's men were killed and the rest were forced to retreat. Jedediah Smith volunteered to contact Andrew Henry and bring back reinforcements. A couple of months later, Colonel Henry Leavenworth leading 200 soldiers and 700 Sioux allies attacked the Arikara villages on August 9th.

Sublette continued trapping, accompanying Jedediah Smith and others into the Crow country and by the spring of 1824, was working on the Green River and its tributaries in Wyoming. Later that year, he accompanied Smith to the Pacific northwest, reaching Hudson's Bay Company territory. Two years later, he, along with Jedediah Smith and David Jackson, purchased Ashley's interest in the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.

Over the next several years he continued to trap in the mountains, while make several trips back to St. Louis to sell the furs and obtain supplies. In 1830, he was the first to bring wagons back to the Rocky Mountains, and helped to blaze the Oregon Trail by finding a shortcut, now known as "Sublette's Cut" in Wyoming. That year, when he returned to St. Louis, the partnership with Smith and Jackson was dissolved. In 1831, he entered the Santa Fe Trade, but abandoned the idea after the death of Jedediah Smith. He soon returned to trapping in the mountains and was present at the Battle of Pierre's Hole on July 18, 1832, in which he was wounded. However, he recovered and in December of that year,

formed a partnership with Robert Campbell, who had long been with him on numerous mountain expeditions. Their firm operated for the next ten years with their only serious opposition being the American Fur Company. They later sold their business to the American Fur Company and Sublette settled down in St. Louis, Missouri, where he became involved in business and politics.

From the Rocky Mountain General Store

Old West Books - Legends of America and the Rocky Mountain General Store has collected a number of Old West books for our frontier enthusiasts. For many of these, we have only one available. To see this varied collection, click HERE!