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Robert Stuart
Astoria to St. Louis
This oil painting of Robert Stuart by an unknown artist is through the courtesy of Jane
Stuart Vander Poel, great-great granddaughter of Robert Stuart. On June 29th 1812, Robert Stuart, Benjamin Jones,
François LeClerc, André Vallé, John Day, Ramsay Crooks, and Robert McClellan
left Astoria for St. Louis with two other Astorian parties. Crooks and McClellan had given up their partnership shares in the
Pacific Fur Company, and wished to return to St. Louis. As the Stuart party
approached the Willamette
River, John Day become incoherent. Robert Stuart realized it would be impossible to
keep Day with the St. Louis party. John Day was placed under the care
of several Wapato Indians and set back to Astoria.
The Robert Stuart party left the two other parties of Astorians at the mouth of
the Walla Walla River. After trading for ten horses, Robert Stuart and five men proceeded
over the Blue Mountains to the Grande Ronde Valley. In the area where the
Owyhee River emptied into Snake River, a Shoshone Indian approached
the party. The Shoshone told Robert Stuart he had guided
Wilson Hunt
and the Overland Astorians over Teton Pass to Henry’s
Fork of the Snake River. The Indian told Stuart there was an easier route through the mountains
than Hunt had used. I without lofs of time offered him a Pistol a Blanket of Blue Cloth
a looking glafs and a little Powder and Ball if he would guide us to the other
side, which he immediately accepted…. Two days later the Indian disappeared with Stuart’s
riding horse. Above Salmon Falls on the Snake River, Robert Stuart
encountered John Hoback, Edward Robinson, Jacob Rezner, and Joseph Miller. After
being left at Fort Henry by Hunt, these four and Martin Cass had trapped along the Idaho-Utah
border and a good portion of Wyoming. Joseph Miller told Stuart the Arapahoe had robbed them twice, and
Cass had abandoned them with the last of their horses. Living on what fish they
could catch, the destitute trappers were trying to reach Astoria.
Robert Stuart's party arrived at Hunt’s caches
near Caldron Linn
four days later. Six of the caches had been plundered. Stuart opened the three
remaining caches and outfitted Hoback, Rezner, and Robinson to trap the area,
until John Reed arrived to retrieve the cached goods. Miller stayed with the Stuart party. Crossing Idaho, the party lived primarily on fish they could trade for and catch. There were occasional sightings of
Antelope and Mountain Sheep.
Our succefs is bad in the extreme among the land inhabitants
[antelope and mountain sheep], and our almost
only resource for food is the produce of our fishing rods from day to day
which is poor Trout and a species of Sucker which is fat & really excellent,
called by Virginians the Stonetoater. The first signs of buffalo were tracks along Bear
River near the Idaho-Wyoming line, but there were no buffalo in the area. At Dingle, Idaho, Stuart met
twenty-one Crow warriors. The warriors wanted to trade for gun powder. At first, Stuart
refused to trade, but afraid the Indians would steal his horses, he finally agreed to
twenty loads.
The next morning smoke columns
were spotted on the surrounding mountains. Afraid the Indians were going to
steal his horses, the Astorians turned north along Thomas Fork Creek. Before
turning north at Thomas Fork, Stuart had basically traveled over what became the
Oregon Trail. The next four hundred miles, or so, Stuart's travels are off
the Oregon Trail, except for briefly being on the Lander Cutoff. Stuart’s movement through this
section of Wyoming is where I was born and presently live. On a horse, I have
crossed and re-crossed Stuart’s trail many, many times, and on pack trips my
camps have been on or close to his campsites. Because of my interest in this
section of the trail, the next four hundred miles is given in more detail. If
the reader wants to go directly to South Pass where Stuart picks up the
future Oregon Trail again click here.
In this section the text provided
by Rollins are mixed with my
comments. The material from Rollins is italicized. Stuart proceeded up Thomas Fork into Salt Creek canyon. Turning north
at possibly Packsaddle Creek, he went over the mountain to the bend of
Spring Creek. From there, he crossed over the mountain to the head of Fish Creek and followed
Fish Creek to Salt River near Forest Dell, Wyoming...It would be easier to
follow Salt Creek over a low pass through open country to Forest Dell. According
to Rollins, from Forest Dell, Stuart turned
up Salt River to where it bends to the north,
and then, followed a trail up Mt. Wagner, over Sheep Pass, and down onto Greys
River. It seems unlikely Stuart
would climb over Sheep Pass to reach Greys River. An Indian trail continued to
the east which was the direction Stuart wanted to go. Going east, Stuart reached
the head of Greys River in a couple of miles. At this point, Rollins stated
Stuart turned north down Greys River. It is hard to understand why Stuart did
this. The best guess is he was totally lost and decided to find Hunt’s
westbound trail…none of his party was familiar with these mountains. Instead of
turning north down Greys River, the Astorians could go nearly straight east and
follow La Barge Creek, or South Piney Creek into the Green River Valley directly
opposite of the Wind River Mountains and South Pass. If they were following an Indian trail up Salt River, this
is where the trail would have gone.
Joseph Walker used this trail to the 1833 Horse Creek Rendezvous. Another place the Astorians could
turn east from Greys River was up Sheep Creek and over McDougall Gap. This is a
relative low divide in the Wyoming Range roughly ninety miles due east of the
Wind River mountains. South Pass is clearly visible. The only logical
explanation as to why Stuart didn’t go east on one or the other of these two
routes is he was lost. Stuart followed Greys River to the area of the confluence
with the South Fork of
Snake River and Salt River near present-day Alpine, Wyoming. Proceeding across Salt River, the
Astorians
stopped at the mouth of McCoy Creek for the night. we were all up soon after the dawn and I had just
reached the river bank, when I heard the Indian yell raised in the vicinity of
our Camp, and the cry "To Arms" "There is Indians” echoed by all of our Party_
We had just time to snatch our arms when two Indians at full gallop pafsed 300
yards to one side of our station driving off {by their yells] every horse we
had [not withstanding their being tethered & hobbled.] With the horses gone, the party built a raft and
floated down Snake River. As they floated down Snake River, the Astorians saw several deer, a wolverine, and
killed a wounded elk swimming the river. The elk had an arrow and a lead
ball in it. Afraid Blackfeet warriors were close by, Stuart abandoned the
raft at either present day Table Rock, or Kelly Canyon, and proceeded up over the
mountains to Moody Creek. Stuart was high enough
to see the Grand, Middle,
and South Teton...Hunt’s
Pilots Knobs or Mackenzie’s
Trios Tetons. The Stuart party
followed Canyon Creek to the area of Pincock Springs, where they stopped
to rest; Ramsey Crooks had been sick several days. Disgusted with the slow pace, Robert McClellan set off on
his own towards the Pilot Knobs. Afraid for their safety, some of the men
wanted to abandon Crooks, but Stuart refused. The party slowly made its way down
Canyon Creek to the Teton River. Back on Hunt’s trail, the Astorians proceeded
into Pierre’s Hole. The travelers camped near Bear Creek (about 4.5 miles
northwest of
Driggs, Idaho), and Stuart built an Indian sweat lodge for Crooks. After two
days, Crooks was well enough to proceed. The Stuart party made its way over Teton Pass into
Jackson Hole. Stuart crossed Snake River (Mad River) near Wilson,
Wyoming. . …brought us to the Mad River and 2 {miles} more
reached the opposite bank having crofsed Five channels of from 30 to 60 yards
wide each and from 2 to 3 1/2 feet… . Stuart’s party continued down Snake River then over a
low ridge to where Willow Creek emptied into the Hoback River. The Astorians
followed the Hoback to the mouth of Shoal Creek. Continuing up Shoal Creek,
Stuart reached the Hoback Basin (Little Jackson Hole), and camped near the town
of Bondurant, Wyoming. From there, the Astorians followed the North Fork of
Fisherman Creek over the Hoback Basin Rim and onto the Green River near Black
Butte. Not finding any game, the hungry Astorians continued down Green River.
The Astorians found Robert McClellan lying on the
river bank trying to catch a fish. He was about three miles above where Highway 189 crosses
Green River over Warren Bridge. McClellan told Stuart he had had little to
eat since leaving them. McClellan was emaciated to the point he could
hardily move. Stuart had no food to offer McClellan, but after talking with him, McClellan was able to move to the next campsite. As we were preparing for bed one of the Canadians
advanced towards me with his rifle in his hand, saying that as there was no
appearance of our being able to procure any provisions at least untill we got
to the extreme of this plain, which would take us three or 4 days, he was
determined to go no farther, but that lots should be cast and one die to
preserve the rest, adding as a further inducement for me to agree that I
should be exempted [in consequence of being their leader] I shuddered at the
idea & used every endeavour to create an abhorrence in his mind against such
an act, urging also the probability of our falling in with some animal on the
morrow but, finding that every argument failed [and that he was on the point
of converting some others to his purpose] I snatched up my Rifle cocked and
leveled it at him with the firm resolution to fire if he persisted….
The next day, the Astorians saw three old buffalo
bulls. One of the bulls was weak enough they managed to kill it. The men
wolfed down the raw meat; Stuart was afraid it would make them sick. The party laid over the next day
to cook and eat the meat. This was the first time in weeks the Astorians
ate all they wanted. Two days later at a creek lined with pine trees (Pine
Creek near Pinedale, Wyoming), the party found: …an Indian Encampment of large dimensions deserted
apparently about a month ago with immense numbers of Buffaloe carcases
[strewed every were] in the neighbourhood_ In the center if this camp in a
Lodge 150 feet in circumference composed of` [or rather supported by] twenty
trees 12 Inches in diameter and 40 feet long—ac[r]ofs these were branches of
Pine and Willow so as to make a tolerable shade At the West end, and
immediately opposite the door three persons interred with their feet towards
the East—at their head were two Branches of red Cedar firmly inserted in the
ground and a large Buffaloes scull painted black placed close by the root of
each— This Building is circular, on many parts of it were suspended [numerous
ornaments, and among the rest] quantities of children’s mogasins, and from the
quantity and size of the materials must have required great labour and time in
erection, from which we infer that the personages on whose account it was
constructed were not of the common order… The Astorians followed the New Fork River to its
confluence with the Big
Sandy River which drained the south end of the Wind River mountains. Along the way, Stuart
traded for an old horse from a small band of Shoshone Indians living in four
brush huts.
Rollins gives the coordinates for Stuart’s camp on the
21st of October 1812 as N42° 20' W108° 56'.
If Rollins coordinates are accurate,
this places Stuart’s camp within a half-mile of where the Stage and Pony Express station and the old
Halter and Flick hay ranch were later located.
Stuart was two- and a half-miles west
and a little to the south of the Old Oregon Trail Marker. The trail marker was erected on South Pass
in 1906 by Ezra Meeker to commemorate the emigrant wagons crossing from Atlantic to Pacific
waters.
Stuart recorded in his journal: …about two miles back we crofsed a large trace
steering little to the right of the point of the mountain in the N E which [as
well as the other trails we have lately crofsed] we suppose made by another
Band of [the] Absarokas (Crow)… This entry may explain why, when Stuart actually crossed the Continental Divide
(October 22, 1812), his course was to the Southeast. Stuart followed the base of
the Seminoe Mountains to Muddy Gap, and hit the Sweetwater just below the mouth
of Muddy Creek. During the Oregon Trail migrations, there were many wagon roads and cut-offs across the twenty-mile
wide South Pass. Stuart’s path was somewhat parallel to the Seminoe Cut-Off.
The Astorians followed the Sweetwater River passed
Devils Gate and Independence Rock to the North Platte River.
Stuart followed the North Platte River to Bessemer
Bend near present-day Casper, Wyoming Where Poison Spider Creek emptied into the North Platte
at Bessemer Bend, Stuart built the first cabin in Wyoming. We were yesterday and today busily employed in
transporting our meat to camp and building the Hut all of which businefs was
finished before dusk_ Our cabin is 8 feet by 18 [wide] with the fire in the
middle after the Indian fashion the sides are 3 feet high [six feet in Travel
Memorandum] and the whole covered with Buffaloe skins, so we have now a
tolerable shelter and eighteen Black Cattle [buffalo]. The day after building the cabin, twenty-three Arapahoe approached the
camp. The warriors were after a band of Crow that had stolen horses and women
from their village. The Arapahoe were friendly, but Miller recognized some of
them as the ones that stole his, Hoback, Robinson, Cass, and Rezner’s horses the
previous winter. The Indians left the next day, but afraid the Arapaho would
return, Stuart abandoned the cabin of two days and proceeded down the North
Platte. The Astorians reached the plains of Nebraska, near
Chimney Rock
where
Stuart wrote in his journal: …the wretchednefs of our situation should we be
overtaken in these boundless Plains be a snow storm, particularly as we have
reason to expect it daily, and the Country before us such an inhospitable
waste as even to be deserted by every kind of quadruped, we at once concluded,
five votes to two, that our best plan was to return up the river to where we
shall find Buffaloe for our support and timber for Canoes, there to await the
opening of navigation… After the vote was taken, the Stuart party turned back
to where there was game and trees. On the 31st of December
1812, Stuart recorded: At an Early hour we Crofsed the river, which was running
thick with Ice took up our residence close to the bank and by the middle of the
day we had a shelter made and our meat scaffolded-- Began building our Hut, one
side of which we raised before dusk. Stuart’s winter camp was between Torrington, Wyoming
and Scotts Bluff, Nebraska. Stuart writes little about the winter except
the men hollowed out two cottonwood trees for canoes. On the 7th of March,
1813, Stuart noted: The river having been open for several days and the
weather promising a continuation of the thaw we dragged our Canoes [dugouts
from cottonwood trees] to the bank and prepared them for our reception
tomorrow morning… The North Platte did not have enough water to float the
hollowed-out canoes. After several days of struggling with them, the canoes were abandoned.
The Astorians continued on foot with the horse obtained from the Shoshone near
South Pass. Reaching an Otto Village, near Yutan, Nebraska, Stuart traded the
old horse to a Mr. Dorouin for the materials to make a new canoe. Dorouin
confirmed what two Otto Indians told Stuart two days before. There was war between the British and Americans. Stuart
described the canoe as: Our Canoe was finished last evening and consisted of
five Elk & Buffaloe hides sewed together with strong sinews, drawn over and
made fast to a frame composed of Poles and' Willows 20 feet long 4 Wide and 1
1/2 deep, making a vefsell somewhat shaped like a Boat, very steady and by the
aid of a little mud on the seams remarkable tight—in this we embarked at an
early hour… With
the new boat, the Astorians floated the Platte River to the mouth of the Missouri
River, and then down the Missouri to Fort Osage where Stuart wrote: …learnt to our satisfaction the melancholy truth of
war being waged since June last between the United States and Great Britain
Continuing down the Missouri, the Astorians arrived in
St. Louis, on the 30th of April 1813. From Fort Astoria in June of 1812, the
Robert Stuart party of Ramsey Crooks, Benjamin Jones, François LeClerc,
André Vallé, and Robert McClellan had traveled close to thirty-eight hundred
miles. …a little before sunset we reached the Town of
Saint Louis all in the most perfect health after a voyage of ten months from
Astoria… Robert Stuart left St. Louis on the 16th of May. He
met with Astor on the 23rd of June 1813. One year and twenty-five days after
leaving Fort Astoria. In a letter dated July 13th, Astor stated, "Mr.
Stuart arrived here 14 days ago and the account he gives is satisfactory." Robert Stuart with six Astorians discovery of
South Pass and the future Oregon Trail contributed more to America’s Manifest
Destiny than did the government sponsored
Lewis and Clark Expedition. With the exceptions
of longitude and latitude measurements, Robert Stuart’s
observations on Indian tribes, geography, plants, and animals were comparable
to the observations made by Lewis and Clark. Stuart's discovery of South Pass and the Oregon Trail
provided a feasible wagon route to the Oregon Country. The route of Lewis and Clark was of
no practical value in terms of western expansion. The Robert Stuart article was written by
O. Ned Eddins
of Afton, Wyoming. Permission is given for material from this site to
be used for school research papers. Citation:
Eddins, Ned. (article name) Thefurtrapper.com. Afton, Wyoming. 2002. Article Links,
References, and Responses are listed below. This site is
maintained through the sale of my two historical novels.
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have been put on a CD. The pictures make beautiful screensavers, or can be used
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Fur Trade
Mountain Men
Historical Landmarks David Thompson
***The quotes from Stuart are from Rollins, the
Hunt quotes are from Franchère and Rollins, and the ones
on Astor and Fort Astoria are primarily from Ronda. Brackenridge, Henry M. Views of Louisiana, Together
with a Journal of a Voyage up the Missouri River in 1811. Cramer, Spear, and
Richbaum. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 1814. Bradbury, John. Travels in the Interior of America in
the Years 1809, 1810, and 1811. Bison Books. University of Nebraska Press,
Lincoln, Nebraska. 1986. Chittenden, Hyrum Martin. American Fur Trade of the Far
West. Volume I. The Press of the Pioneers, Inc., New York, New York. 1935.
Cox, Ross. The Columbia River, Edited by Edgar I. Stewart and Jane R. Stewart. 1831. Reprint. University of Oklahoma Press,
Norman, Oklahoma. 1957.
Ewers, John C. The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture. Smithsonian
Institution Press, Washington D. C. 1969. Franchère, Gabriel. Adventures at Astoria 1810-1814. Translated and Edited by Hoyt C. Franchère.
University of Oklahoma Press, Norman, Oklahoma. 1967. Gowans, Fred. Rocky Mountain Rendezvous. Perrigrine
Smith Books, Layton, Utah. 1985. Hunt, Wilson Price. The Overland Diary of Wilson Price
Hunt, Translated From The French and Edited by Hoyt C. Franchère.
The Oregon Book Society. Ashland, Oregon. 1973. Irving, Washington. Astoria; or, Anecdotes of an
Enterprise beyond the Rocky Mountains. Bison Books. University of
Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1982.
Lavender, David. Westward Vision. Smithsonian Institution Press,
Washington D.C. 1985. Lindsley, Margaret Hawkes. Andrew Henry: Mine and
Mountain Major. Jelm Mountain Publications. Laramie, Wyoming. 1990.
Ronda, James P. Astoria & Empire. University of
Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1990. Rollins, Phillip A. The Discovery of the Oregon Trail.
Bison Books. University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1990. Ross, Alexander. Adventure of the First Settlers on the
Oregon or Columbia River, 1810 - 1813. Bison Books. University of Nebraska
Press, Lincoln, Nebraska. 1986.
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