Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez, Partners

Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez met in St. Louis in 1842 after having had passing associations in 1822 and 1826. Both had just lost their trading partners and it seemed like a match. They

Young Louis Vasquez

bought merchandise on credit and set out for the mountains in September 1842. They chose a bench of land overlooking the Black’s Fork of the Green River on the ancestral lands of the Shoshones. Technically, because the land was west of the Divide, it was considered by the European Americans as Mexico at the time. 

They struggled through the remainder of 1842 and by 1843 had to abandon the fort in favor of another on the grassy lowlands below the bench. It had shade and was well-watered by several streams of Black’s Fork. They built log houses for themselves and a blacksmith’s shop to serve the emigrants and created a separate room for trading. They also built a stockade and an attached corral for horses and livestock. 

Trees were cut down to build the stockade and buildings and it wasn’t long before the beautiful grassy land surrounding the fort was overgrazed to the point that dust blew continually. But 1843 was a tough year and the trading partners faced financial ruin when the beaver pelt harvest was smaller than expected. That and the fort was attacked by the Cheyenne who stole over seventy head of horses before Bridger even had a chance to respond. 

Now desperate for goods, Bridger went to Fort Union, located at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers, to try to be resupplied by the same fellow he had dealt with in St. Louis, Chouteau. But he needed a letter and since he was illiterate, had to rely on another to state his case convincingly enough. It worked and Fort Bridger was restocked in time for the increased emigrant flow of 1844. Emigrants found Fort Bridger to be an oasis in their journey. Many bought fresh livestock that Bridger and Vasquez had bought just for that purpose.

Louis met Narcissa, a widow from Kentucky, in 1846 at Fort Laramie after she was

Narcissa Land Vasquez (1819-1899). Courtesy of History Colorado

abandoned by the man she was traveling with. She and her two children had become burdens to feed and care for at Fort Laramie. Vasquez needed a cook and brought Narcissa and her children to Fort Bridger and soon they were married. They had six children together. 

Narcissa brought civilization to the wilderness of Fort Bridger. She had nice things that made women on the trail feel comfortable. She learned to tolerate the mountain lifestyle but never really enjoyed living there. In 1847, while playing in a nearby stream, Louis and Narcissa's son, Hiram, then four years old, was stolen by the Ute Indians. His older sister was able to escape and tell her mother what had happened. Hiram’s kidnapping sent Narcissa into a frantic search, but finding nothing she became bitter toward the wild country. 

In another blog, I will tell the tale of what happened to Hiram and what became of him.