Howdy all. For the life of me, I can't find any substantial information on the first trappers to go through my neck of the woods(Northwestern Nevada). I know that Peter Skene Ogden came through here around 1828. Not much is mentioned except that there were'nt that many beaver! ( Maybe that is why there isn't much written)
Freemont and Carson came through here a bit later, and not a lot is said about that.
I have searched on line , librairies, and diaries, not much is said until the late 1840's when the Applegate Trail was in use by thge pioneers.
Anyone out there have any good information on this? I not only want to learn. I also want to use it in our club for re-enacting and things. I'm hoping to find some good stuff to further research and write about also.

http://www.geocities.com/barrenriver1833/

I'm guessing these guys are the ones you need to contact-

Are you talking about the Humboldt River or north of that?

Sean

Yeah, the Humboldt River. Ogden reffered to it as the Unkown river, and then it was named Mary's river, I believe by Joseph Walker.
That is about all the info I can find on this stuff. Maybe there wasn't much to write about! It would sure be nice though to make some kind of connection since it took place right out my back door. My club needs something like that to get them sparked into getting more involved in living history.
I envy all of you yahoos back in the East, that can go out to specific locations, where the history actually happened!

Bones,

There's a fair bit written, but you're right that there weren't many beaver recorded taken out of the Humboldt. The Basin is and was pretty tough country.

Sean

PS I'd take the Humboldt over the east any day.

didn't Joseph Walker do some traveling in that part of the world? and Jed Smith?...Smith may have been more No.California than Nevada,but similar area/country..

Hello Sawbones,

I used to live in them there parts along the Humbolt. In Winniemucca and then in Elko NV. Actually there are a lot of beaver these days, made many there myself. Peter Ogden's party did a good job on them. He was told to make the country barren of beaver. Ogden didn't much like the thought. When Joe Walker and his party came by in 1833 there weren't many left.

So here are a couple of books that are a must for you. First " Ogden's Snake Country Journals 1827 - 1829" This book is hard to find, it wes put out by the Hudson's Bay record society. It even has a copy of Ogden's hand drawn map of the Humboldt as afold out in the back. I used it to try to camp in many of their camp locations. Great stuff. Then there is Zenas Leonard's "Adventure of a Mountain Man" He was Walkers clerk on their trip. Not as detailed as the Ogden book but still a great read. I hope this helps.

Buff,
The 1824-25 journal shows fairly poor to moderate success on beaver. I suspect most of these desert rivers were like the Gila. They might have a few years where they did really well, but the populations were unstable and easily trapped out in a season or two. And Odgen's journals are online here with the maps:

http://www.xmission.com/~drudy/mtman/html/ogden.html

Its interesting you mention that the Humboldt has good beaver populations right now. I remember having a discussion with an old rancher in SW Utah in what's now a pretty good big game unit for deer and elk. I asked him what he thought of the deer and elk and why he thought the Paiute had lived off jackrabbits and Mormon crickets. He told me, "See that ridge over there? John C. Fremont camped at the base of it in 1845 headed for California. Know what he ate for dinner?... His horse."

Mitch,
Walker used the Humboldt several times to go across the Basin. I believe the story of Walker's jump is in Meek's book.

Sean

Thanks Sean-I just finished re-reading Westering Man and Zenas Leonards' journal both books mentioned GreatBasin explorations/trapping...will have to dig out Meek again!!...always was interesting to me how the HBC could "afford" to send huge brigades into some fairly poor beaver country-I lived in Bend,OR for quite a few years and there isn't much of anything East of there!!

Thanks for the information guys. I will try to get a copy of Ogden's journal and I want Leonards book too! It seems that a lot of those guys were near here, within 15-25 miles. But they did go right through the spot we have our winter doin's at. Jed Smith though went completely around it, cut off south more towards Pyramid Lake. At least I haven't found anything written or drawn to say otherwise.

Sacmtnman,

The journals on Dean's site are very edited and not as detailed as those from the HBC record society. The maps are also from a William Kittson, the cheif clerk, not Ogden himself. Still good stuff on this site.

The 1824-1825 expedition was into northern Utah not along the Humboldt of northern NV. That expedition took place in 1828-1829. They were the first whites to see the area. They were travelling along the Humbodlt or as Ogden called it the unknown river between Winniemucca and Elko during late Nov. and Dec. of 1828. Ogden records daily beaver catches on Nov. 19th he writes "In the evening six trappers came in with fifty-eight beaver and ten traded from the indians makes us sixty." other days show 10 to 20 beavers taken.Another day another 58. He commented of a bad day that only gave them one beaver. So it seems they did good on the Humbodlt. They were losing traps to the indians and some got frozen in the river, to think some HBC traps out there?

BR,

Thanks for clearing up my mistake and for letting us know the differences between the online version and the print version. I'd like to get my hands on the latter.

A couple of interesting things there. First, 6 trappers taking 58 beaver suggests they were well supplied with traps at the start. Second, Ogden's math was interesting for a brigade leader. 58 + 10 = 60?.

My recollection of later trips on the Humboldt was that they were much less successful and that jives with the pattern on the Gila. The first couple of trips did really well, but after that they lost their shirts. I don't really think it was all that hard to create a 'beaver desert' in the Great Basin and desert west of the Rockies. I think a couple of brigades and some tough weather would put the hurt on beaver populations in isolated desert river basins like that, especially with spring and fall trapping back to back.

Sean

Very interesting stuff - thanks

That is some good information. Well, I looked into Amazon.com last night, and they have a few used copies of Ogdens journals in the Snake country. I got the cheapest one at $44. There is one left for $49...

Ah, good catch! That was how it was written. In fact the next day he tells " Having again sixty beaver to skin and dry caused us to remain here" Guess he couldn't add? You are right that they were well equipted. This was a briagde of around 120. Men, women and childeren. In this book is the list of goods for their 1827 expedition which list 140 beaver traps, also all the parts to fix them. So I image the 1828 was not much different.