Moving On
Jedediah Gets Attacked By A Bear
Mountain Men
Jedediah Smith was leading an expedition to find a route through the Rocky Mountains when a bear came up and attacked him. The bear tore up Smith's face and ripped off one of his ear. The rest of the men chased off the bear, a few days later they continued exploring. Mountain Men are fur trappers or explorers who opened up the West by finding the best trails through the Rocky .
Jim Beckwourth and Jedediah Smith became famous Mountain Men. The mountain men would trap beavers for their fur. William Henry created a rendezvous system which was a trading arrangement. Trappers came to prearranged sites where they met traders from the east to trade supplies for fur.
The mountain men work on so many streams that they killed of all of the animals there. Their explorations helped provide Americans with information about the Far West. This information made it possible for more people to travel West. The Mountain Men also made it easier for people to travel on wagons, and it was less steep for people to walk on.
Follow Your Golden Dreams
Dreams of gold and wealth are creating huge masses of people to pack their bags and head for the West. Large areas of land are available for those who are willing to chase their dreams to make money. Land speculator is a person who buys huge areas of land for a low price and then will sell off small sections of it at high prices. This makes it possible for many people to own there own farm. This makes it possible for people to start over and maybe escape their creditors.