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William Sublette was born in Stanford, Kentucky, on 21st September, 1799. His family moved to Missouri in 1817 and lived in St. Charles.
On 13th February, 1822, William Ashley placed an advertisement in the Missouri Gazette and Public Adviser where he called for 100 enterprising men to "ascend the river Missouri" to take part in the fur collecting business. Those who agreed to join the party included Sublette, Jim Beckwourth, Tom Fitzpatrick, David Jackson, Hugh Glass, James Bridger and Jedediah Smith.
Ashley's company was the first to depend primarily upon trapping the beaver rather than buying them from Native Americans. Ashley did not pay the trappers a fixed wage. Instead, in return for transporting them to the Rocky Mountains, he took a share in the furs they obtained.
On 30th May, 1823, Ashley and his party of 70 men were attacked by 600 Arikaras. Twelve of Ashley's men were killed and the rest were forced to retreat. Jedediah Smith volunteered to contact Andrew Henry and bring back reinforcements. A message was sent back to St Louis and Colonel Henry Leavenworth of the U.S. Sixth Infantry and later 200 soldiers and 700 Sioux allies attacked the Arikara villages.
Sublette remained a mountain man for several years. In 1824 Sublette went with Jedediah Smith to the far northwest. Two years later he went into partnership with Smith and David Jackson when they purchased the fur business of William Ashley.
Sublette became briefly involved in the Sante Fe trade but abandoned the idea after the death of Jedediah Smith. He returned to the Rocky Mountains and was wounded during the battle at Pierre's Hole in July 1832. Sublette established a new company with Robert Campbell but later sold it to the American Fur Company.
Sublette now moved to St Louis where he became involved in business and politics. He also invested in a stock farm.
William Sublette died at Pittsburgh on 23rd July, 1845.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/USAsublette.htm
Fort Laramie was built by William Sublette and Robert Campbell in 1834. It obtained its name from the nearby River Laramie. Originally the fort was mainly used by mountain men trading furs and in 1838 was acquired by the Hudson's Bay Company.
The fort had fifteen-foot adobe walls and a square earthen tower with loopholes. Inside the fort was a collection of small apartments, each with a door and window opening internally.
In 1841 Fort Laramie began to be used by wagon trains. Emigrants could buy provisions from the fort such as meat, rice, coffee, sugar and flour. However, many items were often unavailable. Visitors could also employ the blacksmith to shoe horses and repair wagon wheels.
It is estimated that between 1840 and 1860 some 200,000 emigrants stopped at the fort on on their way to California and Oregon. Mormons heading for Utah also obtained supplies from the fort.
The Californian Gold Rush in 1849 brought more travellers to Fort Laramie. Later it became a military post and served as a base for military operations, communication, supply and logistics during the Great Sioux War. Fort Laramie was eventually closed in 1890.
http://www.spartacus.schoolnet.co.uk/WWfortlaramie.htm
http://www.tomrea.net/Peace%20War%20Land%20&%20a%20Funeral.html
The Bone Wars of Wyoming: How a fossil unearthed north of Medicine Bow, Wyoming in 1899 went on to achieve world fame and helped give birth to the public fascination with dinosaurs. The story focuses on the roles of five men: Wyoming fossil hunter Bill Reed; paleontologists Jacob Wortman--in charge of the expedition that discovered the dinosaur--and John Bell Hatcher; William Holland, imperious director of the recently founded Carnegie Museum; and the steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie, smitten with the colossal animals as he neared the end of his manufacturing career.
Ella Watson's Fence: The Story Behind the Lynching of "Cattle Kate" The six men who lynched Ella Watson in 1889 were furious about the wire fence she had erected on her Sweetwater valley claim. Tom Rea takes Watson's fence as a starting place to talk about changing land use patterns as more people moved onto Wyoming's open range late in the 1800s. Watson's murder underscored the tensions between cattlemen and homesteaders, custom and law. Rea also explores how sensational newspaper reports created a false portrait of Watson as "Cattle Kate," a rustler and prostitute.
The Martin's Cove Controversy: Public Land, Sacred Land? Bad weather, bad planning and their own zeal killed about 150 members of the Martin Handcart Company as they trekked across Wyoming in 1856. Today, the spot on the Oregon Trail near Casper where some of these Mormon pioneers died lies on BLM land--and at the center of a controversy over religious freedom and the right of public access. Tom Rea explores the history of Martin's Cove, using historical and contemporary photographs, and describes its later transformation into "holy ground" for the LDS Church. His presentation raises questions about who owns the past and how we preserve a balance between public and religious rights.
Tom Rea
tom@tomrea.net
1756 S. Chestnut St.
Casper, WY 82601
307-235-9021 home
307-237-6605 office
307-277-3275 cell
The Bone Wars of Wyoming: How a fossil unearthed north of Medicine Bow, Wyoming in 1899 went on to achieve world fame and helped give birth to the public fascination with dinosaurs. The story focuses on the roles of five men: Wyoming fossil hunter Bill Reed; paleontologists Jacob Wortman--in charge of the expedition that discovered the dinosaur--and John Bell Hatcher; William Holland, imperious director of the recently founded Carnegie Museum; and the steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie, smitten with the colossal animals as he neared the end of his manufacturing career.
Ella Watson's Fence: The Story Behind the Lynching of "Cattle Kate" The six men who lynched Ella Watson in 1889 were furious about the wire fence she had erected on her Sweetwater valley claim. Tom Rea takes Watson's fence as a starting place to talk about changing land use patterns as more people moved onto Wyoming's open range late in the 1800s. Watson's murder underscored the tensions between cattlemen and homesteaders, custom and law. Rea also explores how sensational newspaper reports created a false portrait of Watson as "Cattle Kate," a rustler and prostitute.
The Martin's Cove Controversy: Public Land, Sacred Land? Bad weather, bad planning and their own zeal killed about 150 members of the Martin Handcart Company as they trekked across Wyoming in 1856. Today, the spot on the Oregon Trail near Casper where some of these Mormon pioneers died lies on BLM land--and at the center of a controversy over religious freedom and the right of public access. Tom Rea explores the history of Martin's Cove, using historical and contemporary photographs, and describes its later transformation into "holy ground" for the LDS Church. His presentation raises questions about who owns the past and how we preserve a balance between public and religious rights.
He's also availble to give talks based on the narratives he's writing for the Amerian History Cowboy Coalition. Eventually there will be 28 of these. They range from Crazy Horse to coal mine disasters to a Wyoming soldier's experiences in World War I. Contact Tom (see below) to book a talk.
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