Read Online Jim Bridger "The Grand Old Man of the Rockies" (1922) MOBI

"Jim Bridger stands forth as the most conspicuous figure in the brief but glorious reign of the trapper and trail maker in the far West...the greatest furhunter and the greatest pathfinder of them all." - Jim Bridger, Master Trapper and Trail Maker (1906)"In all my experience I never saw Bridger or the other voyagers of the plains and mountains meet any obstacle they could not overcome." - Biographical Sketch of James Bridger (1905)Jim Bridger may be most famous for being, as a youth, one of the two mountain men who abandoned famed trapper Hugh Glass after he had been mauled by a grizzly bear. It was Hugh's thoughts of revenge for this abandonment that fueled his recovery and eventual tracking down of the young Bridger.James Bridger, known as Jim Bridger (1804 – 1881), was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped the Western United States during the decades of 1820–1850, as well as mediating between native tribes and encroaching whites. Naturally shrewd, and possessing keen faculties of observation, he carefully studied the habits of all the animals, especially the beaver, and, profiting from the knowledge obtained from the Indians, with whom he chiefly associated, and with whom he became a great favorite, he soon became one of the most expert hunters and trappers in the mountains.He pursued his trapping expeditions north to the British possessions, south far into New Mexico and west to the Pacific Ocean, and in this way became acquainted with all the Indian tribes in the country, and by long intercourse with them learned their languages, and became faimlliar with all their signs. He adopted their habits, conformed to their customs, became imbued with all their superstitions, and at length excelled them in strategy.Unquestionably Bridger's claims to remembrance rest upon the extraordinary part he bore in the explorations of the West. As a guide he was without an equal, and this is the testimony of everyone who ever employed him.From inside the book:"The western plains and mountains brought forth thousands of men noted for their valor, bravery, daring, sagacity, woodcraft, frontiersmanship and skill in guiding wagon trains and military expeditions across the trackless prairie and barren desert and through snow capped mountain fastnesses on the way to the land of gold beyond the setting sun, or in trailing and bringing to bay the savage hordes that sternly fought the advances of civilization; but among those dauntless spirits there was one who stood head and shoulders above all others as the greatest scout, trapper and guide, the most skilled frontiersman, and the quietest, most modest and unassuming prairie man in all the west. That person was James Bridger, Major Bridger, or, as he was more commonly and familiarly known, 'old Jim Bridger,' the 'grand old man of the Rockies.' No history of the American western frontier would be complete without a sketch of the life of this remarkable man."