27 MAY 1831: JEDEDIAH SMITH KILLED

[PzLdr]

Jedediah Smith, a legendary Mountain Man is killed along the Santa Fe Trail by Comanche Indians.

Smith, one of the first Mountain Men was, aside from being a trapper, a prolific journal keeper, mapmaker, and explorer, traveling as far as Spanish California, and the Pacific northwest. Smith is remembered for re-discovering the South Pass through the Rockies that became an integral part of the Oregon trail and gave travelers an 'easy' route through the mountains.

Smith was leading a supply train the Santa Fe when he was ambushed by the Indians. Having failed to bring adequate water on the journey, he was scouting for a water source when he was killed. His journals are one of the primary sources historians use to study the early history of the western frontier.