History of Utah, 1540-1886 - Brigham Young University

FORT ASHLEY.
Skeen Ogden with his party of Hudson's Bay Company
trappers was on Humboldt River, and James P.
Beckwourth was pursuing his daring adventures, and
the region round the great lakes of Utah first became
familiar to American trappers, William H. Ashley,
of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, at the head of
one hundred and twenty men and a train of well
packed horses, came out from St Louis, through the
South Pass and down by Great Salt Lake to Lake
Utah. There he built a fort, and two years later
brought from St Louis a six-pounder which thereafter
graced its court. Ashley was a brave man, shrewd
and honest; he was prosperous and commanded the
respect of his men. Nor may we impute to him lack
of intelligence, or of common geographical knowledge,
when we find him seriously considering the project of
descending the Colorado in boats, by means of which
he would eventually reach St Louis. Mr Green, who
gave his name to Green River, had been with Ashley
the previous year; and now for three years after the
establishing of Fort Ashley at Utah Lake, Green with
his trappers occupied the country to the west and north. 3
3 See Hist. Northwest Coast, ii. 447-8, this series. T. D. Bonner in his
Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth, 71-3, gives what purports to be
an account of Ashley's descent of Green River to Great Salt Lake on a certain
occasion in Ashley's own language. There may be some truth in it all, thong h
Beckwourth is far astray in his dates, as he places the occurrence in 1822.
Beckwourth goes on to say that one day in June a beautiful Indian girl
offered him a pair of moccasins if he would shoot for her an antelope and bring
her the brains, that with them she might dress a deer-skin. Beckwourth
started out, but failing to secure an antelope, and seeing as he supposed an
Indian coming, he thought he would shoot the Indian and take his brains to
the girl, who would not know the difference. Just as he was about to fire he
discovered the supposed Indian to be Ashley, who thereupon told him of his
adventures down Green River and through the canon to Great Salt Lake. I
have no doubt it is three fourths fiction, and what there is of fact must be
placed forward four years. 'We had a very dangerous passage down the
river,' said Ashley to Beckwourth, 'and suffered more than I ever wish to see
men suffer again. You are aware that we took but little provision with us,
not expecting that the canon extended so far. In passing over the rapids,
where we lost two boats and three guns, we made use of ropes in letting down
our boats over the most dangerous places. Our provisions soon gave out.
We found plenty of beaver in the canon for some miles, and, expecting to find
them in as great plenty all the way, we saved none of their carcasses, which
constituted our food. As we proceeded, however, they became more and
more scarce, until there were none to be seen, and we were entirely out of
provisions. To trace the river was impossible, and to ascend the perpendicu-
21