Western Mountain Man and Scout. In the late 1840's he drifted to St. Louis, Missouri where he joined a trapping party. At the Powder River in Wyoming, this group was always in constant attack from bands of Blackfoot Indians. To this end he and the mountain men soon started working for Jim Bridger at Fort Bridger, as scouts and stolen horse agents. After serving as a teamster for Stephen Kearney during the Mexican War, he married, headed to California and prospected. With the gold discovery in Montana, he tried his luck there and fought three claim jumpers killing one. He served as scout with Kit Carson at the Battle of Adobe Walls in Texas. In 1868, he was named Chief of Scouts for George Custer. In celebration, he became drunk and missed the Battle of the Washita. In 1874, he led Custer in the famous Black Hills Expedition and staked a homestead on what is now Rapid City, South Dakota. After being involved in a number of Indian skirmishes in Wyoming and South Dakota, he was scout for General George Crook when Crook was chasing the Sioux after the Little Big Horn fight. At Fort Robinson, Nebraska he quarreled with a man named Tom Newcomb, who shot him in the back. He was originally buried in the Fort Robinson Cemetery, but moved to the Fort McPherson National Cemetery, Nebraska.
Western Mountain Man and Scout. In the late 1840's he drifted to St. Louis, Missouri where he joined a trapping party. At the Powder River in Wyoming, this group was always in constant attack from bands of Blackfoot Indians. To this end he and the mountain men soon started working for Jim Bridger at Fort Bridger, as scouts and stolen horse agents. After serving as a teamster for Stephen Kearney during the Mexican War, he married, headed to California and prospected. With the gold discovery in Montana, he tried his luck there and fought three claim jumpers killing one. He served as scout with Kit Carson at the Battle of Adobe Walls in Texas. In 1868, he was named Chief of Scouts for George Custer. In celebration, he became drunk and missed the Battle of the Washita. In 1874, he led Custer in the famous Black Hills Expedition and staked a homestead on what is now Rapid City, South Dakota. After being involved in a number of Indian skirmishes in Wyoming and South Dakota, he was scout for General George Crook when Crook was chasing the Sioux after the Little Big Horn fight. At Fort Robinson, Nebraska he quarreled with a man named Tom Newcomb, who shot him in the back. He was originally buried in the Fort Robinson Cemetery, but moved to the Fort McPherson National Cemetery, Nebraska.
Bio by: John "J-Cat" Griffith
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