James Felix Bridger (March 17, 1804 – July 17, 1881) 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. He was known as Old Gabe in his later years. He was from the Bridger family of Virginia, English settlers who had arrived in North America in the early colonial period.
Bridger was of the second generation of American mountain men and pathfinders who followed the Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804–1806. He participated in early expeditions into the west and mediated between Native American tribes and westward-migrating European-American settlers. By the end of his life, he had become the foremost explorer and frontiersman in the American Old West. He had conversational knowledge of French, Spanish, and several indigenous languages; his photographic memory allowed him to map most of the Rocky Mountains from memory.
He was described as "at least six feet tall, straight as an Indian, muscular and quick in movement, but not nervous or excitable; in weight probably 160 pounds; with an eye piercing as the eye of an eagle that seemed to flash fire when narrating an experience." His strong constitution allowed him to survive the extreme conditions in the Rocky Mountains from the Canadian border to what would become southern Colorado.
James Felix Bridger was born on March 17, 1804, in Richmond, Virginia. His parents were James Bridger, an innkeeper in Richmond, and his wife, Chloe. About 1812, the family moved near St. Louis. At age 13, Bridger was orphaned; he had no formal education, was unable to read or write, and was apprenticed to a blacksmith. Despite eventually speaking at least seven languages, he remained illiterate. On March 20, 1822, at age 18, he left his apprenticeship, responding to an advertisement in St. Louis newspaper the Missouri Republican, and joined General William Henry Ashley's fur trapping expedition to the upper Missouri River. The party included Jedediah Smith and many others who later became known as mountain men. Because he could not read the notice himself, the details of the fur-trapping expedition were relayed to him by word of mouth, prompting him to leave his apprenticeship and join what would become known as "Ashley's Hundred" in 1822.
In 1830, Bridger and several associates purchased a fur company from Smith and others, which they named the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. After dissolving that partnership, Bridger explored the continental interior between the Canada–U.S. border and the southern boundary of Colorado, and from the Missouri River westward to Idaho and Utah, either as a guide or a partner in the fur trade.
The 19-year-old Bridger was employed by William Henry Ashley in 1823 at the time of the famous bear attack and subsequent abandonment of Hugh Glass, another frontiersman. The event has inspired two feature-length films, Man in the Wilderness (1971) and The Revenant (2016). While scouting for game, Glass was badly mauled by a grizzly bear near the forks of the Grand River in present-day Shadehill, South Dakota. There is debate about whether Bridger was present with the party that Glass was a part of. John Fitzgerald and a man described as "Bridges" stayed, waiting for Glass to die, as the rest of the party moved on. They began digging Glass's grave. Claiming they were interrupted by an Arikara attack, the pair grabbed Glass's rifle, knife, and other equipment and took flight. Bridger and Fitzgerald later caught up with the party and reported to Ashley that Glass had died, even though he had not but rather had miraculously survived. No direct witness ties Bridger to the incident, and Bridger, when asked by a historian later in Bridger's life, denied involvement.
Yellowstone and the Great Salt Lake
Bridger was among the first non-indigenous people to explore the Yellowstone region. He was the first recorded non-indigenous person to explore Yellowstone's springs and geysers. He shared that a creek south of Yellowstone Lake formed a Parting of the Waters, with one side going to the Pacific Ocean and the other side to the Atlantic Ocean. Bridger took a raft on the rapids at the Big Horn River; he was the only man known to have done this and lived.
In the fall of 1824, Bridger was the first person of European descent to explore the Great Salt Lake region, reaching it by bull boat via the Bear River.
In 1843, Bridger and Louis Vasquez established Fort Bridger on the Blacks Fork of the Green River along the Oregon Trail, in what is now Wyoming.
Bridger had explored, trapped, hunted, and blazed new trails in the West since 1822 and later worked as a wilderness guide. He could reportedly assess any wagon train or group, their interests in travel, and give them expert advice on heading West.
In 1846, the Donner Party came to Fort Bridger and were assured by Bridger and Vasquez that Lansford Hastings' proposed shortcut ahead was "a fine, level road, with plenty of water and grass, with the exception before stated (a forty-mile waterless stretch)". The 40-mile stretch was in fact 80 miles, and the "fine level road" slowed the Donner Party, which became trapped and suffered severe casualties in the Sierra Nevada.
From 16 July 1857 until July 1858, Bridger was employed as a guide during the Utah War. In 1859, Bridger was the chief guide on the Yellowstone-bound Raynolds Expedition, led by Captain William F. Raynolds. Though deep snow prevented them from reaching Yellowstone, the expedition explored Jackson Hole and Pierre's Hole. In 1861, Bridger was a guide for Edward L. Berthoud. From October 1863 until April 1864, Bridger was employed as a guide at Fort Laramie.
Bridger served as a scout under Colonel Henry B. Carrington during Red Cloud's War. Bridger was stationed at Fort Phil Kearny during the Fetterman Fight, and the Wagon Box Fight. Bridger was discharged on 21 July 1868.
Suffering from goiter and rheumatism, Bridger returned to Missouri in 1868. He was unsuccessful in collecting back rent from the government for the lease on Fort Bridger. By 1875, he was blind.
Bridger Pass and the Bridger Trail
In 1850, while guiding the Stansbury Expedition on its return from Utah, Bridger discovered what became known as Bridger Pass, an alternate overland route that bypassed South Pass and shortened the Oregon Trail by 61 miles. Bridger Pass, in what became south-central Wyoming, later became the chosen route across the Continental Divide, for the Overland Stage, Pony Express, the Union Pacific Railroad Overland Route, and Interstate 80.
In 1864, Bridger blazed the Bridger Trail, an alternative route from Wyoming to the gold fields of Montana that avoided the dangerous Bozeman Trail. In 1865, he served as Chief of Scouts during the Powder River Expedition.