27 Facts About Jim Bridger

James Felix "Jim" Bridger was an American mountain man, trapper, Army scout, and wilderness guide who explored and trapped in the Western United States in the first half of the 19th century.

Jim Bridger was known as Old Gabe in his later years.

Jim Bridger was from the Bridger family of Virginia, English immigrants who had been in North America since the early colonial period.

Jim Bridger was described as having a strong constitution that allowed him to survive the extreme conditions he encountered while exploring the Rocky Mountains from what would become southern Colorado to the Canadian border.

Jim Bridger had conversational knowledge of French, Spanish, and several indigenous languages.

James Felix Jim Bridger was born on March 17,1804, in Richmond, Virginia.

Jim Bridger's parents were James Bridger, an innkeeper in Richmond, and his wife Chloe.

At age 13, Jim Bridger was orphaned; he had no formal education, was unable to read or write, and was apprenticed to a blacksmith.

Jim Bridger was employed by Ashley's at the time of the attack near the forks of the Grand River in present-day Perkins County, South Dakota.

Jim Bridger was among the first mountain men to explore the natural wonders of the Yellowstone region.

Jim Bridger was one of the first European people to explore Yellowstone's springs and geysers.

Jim Bridger shared that the creek split in two, with one side going to the Pacific Ocean and the other side to the Atlantic Ocean.

Jim Bridger took a raft on the rapids at the Big Horn River; he was the only man known to have done this.

Jim Bridger had explored, trapped, hunted, and blazed new trails in the West since 1822 and later worked as a wilderness guide in these areas.

From 16 July 1857 until July 1858, Jim Bridger was employed as a guide during the Utah War.

In 1859, Bridger was paid to be the chief guide on the Yellowstone-bound Raynolds Expedition, led by Captain William F Raynolds.

In 1861, Bridger was a guide for Edward L Berthoud.

From October 1863 until April 1864, Jim Bridger was employed as a guide at Fort Laramie.

Jim Bridger was stationed at Fort Phil Kearny during the Fetterman Fight, and the Wagon Box Fight.

Jim Bridger was unsuccessful in collecting back rent from the government for the lease on Fort Bridger.

In 1850, while guiding the Stansbury Expedition on its return from Utah, Jim Bridger discovered what would eventually become known as Jim Bridger Pass, an alternate overland route which bypassed South Pass and shortened the Oregon Trail by 61 miles.

Jim Bridger Pass, in what is south-central Wyoming, would later become the chosen route across the Continental Divide, for the Overland Stage, Pony Express, the Union Pacific Railroad Overland Route, and Interstate 80.

In 1864, Jim Bridger blazed the Jim Bridger Trail, an alternative route from Wyoming to the gold fields of Montana that avoided the dangerous Bozeman Trail.

In 1835, Jim Bridger married a woman from the Flathead tribe, whom he named "Emma", with whom he had three children.

Jim Bridger's firstborn Mary Ann, while being tutored, was captured by a band of Cayuse during the Whitman Massacre and died soon after being released.

Jim Bridger died on his farm near Kansas City, Missouri, on July 17,1881, at age 77.

Jim Bridger is remembered as one of the most colorful and widely traveled mountain men of the era.