John Colter: A Mountain Man

In the early beginning of building America mountain men discovered many different regions of the United States but one mountain man in particular made discoveries and saw the country in ways that no other mountain man had before. John Colter the mountain man contributed to building America by traveling across the United States with Lewis and Clark, learning the wilderness, and discover Yellowstone, Jackson Hole and leading the Missouri Fur Company to help develop the culture of America.

In his earlier years of exploration, John Colter accompanied Lewis and Clark on two journeys across the continent (Wise, Legands of America). On his expeditions with Lewis and Clark, Colter gained very valuable knowledge of the land that he had covered, and

He only traveled with his pack and a rifle covering close to 500 miles (Wise, Legands of America 1). While on his way to discovering Northwestern Wyoming, Colter used his prior knowledge of the wilderness and a trail previously made by the Indians in earlier years (Moulton). In the fall of 1807 Colter saw bubbling ponds and steaming water called Colter’s Hell, which is known mostly as Yellowstone as a whole instead of just one spot in the park. Even though Naïve Americans had seen this before, John Colter was the first white man to have seen the thermals, geysers and the natural beauty of Yellowstone and Jackson Hole (Nelson). Colter crossed Wind River Mountain and through Jackson Hole almost 20 years before Davis Jackson’s name was given to the valley, and Coulter had no intention of naming the valley (Nelson 65). Discovering the natural wonders of the thermals of Yellowstone was a memorable journey, but Colter felt no need to record his sightings or map the before returning back to Fort Raymond to continue the Missouri Fur

Louis he joined he military and fought using his knowledge of the land. Unfortunately he was killed in battle and his remains were sent to his wife back in Missouri. He not only served his country, he was able to explore and tell about his journeys to help construct this country to be what it is today. John Colter, being the first white man to set foot in Yellowstone and Jackson Hole and contributed to the building of America by his ingenuity and ability to track and trap animals, follow the same routs when exploring and escaping the Blackfeet Indians. Colter used his knowledge of the land to maneuver his way across the continent and through Northwest Wyoming to discover the beauty and culture of the