Jameson in Wyoming

[Kramerwy]

I have been reading W.C. Jameson's book for Wyoming, and was curious if anybody was familiar with it and could say how accurate he is?

 

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[Tiredman]

Good entertainment, but I wouldn't make any plans by it.

 

[Culinary Caveman]

Agreed

 

[Tiredman]

From Jameson Old Wyoming Book
The Lost Cabin Gold Mine of the Wind River Range
In 1842 gold in significant amounts was found in the Wind River Range. That year a trapper from Georgia named Tom McKeever found a deposit. Apparently he came to trap beaver 6 years prior. Supposedly when the group he was with arrived the area was pretty much trapped out. They did get some pelts but some of the members stole all the pelts and fled. They tried for a few more months and had some more pelts and talked of heading back to see family. It was at this point they were attacked and only McKeever survived. Although wounded in the leg with an arrow, he hid and was not noticed. For the next few weeks he hid by day and traveled by night and made his way to a tiny settlement and there recovered.
He decided to try some more trapping in the Wind River Range and found a stream filled with beaver. His success was still limited and thoughts turned to returning to Georgia and farming. He did have one stream left and decided to check it out first. The next morning he took his traps into the narrow canyon, the stream was too shallow for beaver and he decided to turn back. He then noticed something in the water and scooped up some sand and gravel and found several nuggets! He panned for several weeks and with winter coming soon left. He arrived at Fort Laramie and sold a couple of large nuggets. Asked where he found them, he provided some vague directions to the stream in the Wind River Range.
News of his find spread and a group formed to search for the stream, but due to hostiles they were turned back by the troopers from the fort. Since this was 1842, there were no troops until 1849!
Fort Laramie (founded as Fort William and then known for a while as Fort John) was a significant 19th century trading post and diplomatic site located at the confluence of the Laramie River and the North Platte River in the upper Platte River Valley in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Wyoming.
It was founded in the 1830s to service the overland fur trade during the middle 19th century. It sat at the bottom of the long climb leading to the best and lowest crossing point at South Pass into western descending valleys and so was a primary stopping point on the Oregon Trail. Along with Bent's Fort on the Arkansas River, the trading post and its supporting industries and businesses were the most significant economic hub of commerce in the region.
Fort William was a private fur trading post founded by William Sublette in 1834. In 1841 it was purchased by the American Fur Company and renamed Fort John. In 1849 it was purchased and its operations were taken over by the United States Army
Since the U.S. Army was not stationed here until 1849, the Jameson account could not have happened where the group was turned back by the troops.

 

[Tiredman]

I did find another story that he covered actually surfaced in an old newspaper article, in fact one was 1920 and another 1889 if I remember correctly. The thing is one has to take a lead and research it to see if it holds up or not by tracking it back in time. I refer to Little Dog's God that appeared in an 1980 magazine article. This is placed in either Wyoming or Idaho in the Snake River valley region.