Page 2 Portland Observer
Section II Thursday. February 23. 1978
Moses 'Black’ Harris; Mountainman
The fur trappers who lived and
worked in the wilderness west of
the Mississippi in the early 1800s
explored the land, built the roads
and trails and told the stories
that later led the great magni
tude of Americans to the west
roast and to Oregon.
Blacks played a prominant role
among these fur traders - as
entrepreneurs, as trappers, and
as guides.
Prominant among those Black
fur trappers was Moses "Black-
Harris - a man who has all but
been erased from history, al
though his companions have be
come the great legendary figures
of the West.
Black Harris was among the
trappers who explored the Co
lumbia. He demonstrated the
feasability of overland settle
ment by taking the first wagon
through the Rockies, he escorted
the Whitmans and other mis
sionanes to Oregon; he guided
the 1844 train to Oregon. He
lived for three years in Oregon,
during which he helped discover
the passes and build the Apple
gate Trail, rescued the "Blue
Bucket Wagon Train" and per
formed other services for the
young American settlement.
Harris joined the fur trade
during the American s entry into
this industry, the dominant in
dustry of the western half of the
continent, when the area north
and west of St. Louis was un
known. He was a member of
William H. Ashley's first expedi
txjn up the Missouri River in
1822. H am s was with Ashley's
second trip up the Missouri,
which left St. Louis on March 10,
1823
Ashley intended to buy
horses from the Arikaras Indians
and send part of his group
overland to the Yellowstone,
which he had explored the pre
vious year. After an attack and
disastrous defeat at the hands of
the Indians, they escaped to the
mouth of the Tetan to wait for
help.
Harris, with two companions,
was sent for help, reaching Fort
Atkinson in December of 1823.
There they informed Colonel
Leavenworth about the attack.
Leavenworth launched the first
military action against the In
dians in the West - also going
down to defeat.
Harris joined the 1825 Ashley
Expedition, led by Jedediah
Smith, which left St. Louis in the
fall of 1824.
This company
consisted of 29 men, one of whom
was the young Jim Beckwourth*.
Beckwourth describes Harris:
“There was in our party an old
and experienced mountaineer,
named Moses Harris, in whom
the general reposed the strictest
confidence for his knowledge of
the country and his familiarity
with Indian life. This Harris was
reputed to be a man of "great
leg” (1) and capable, from his
long sojourning in the mountains,
of enduring extreme privation
and fatigue...it was rumored that
whoever gave out on an expedi
tion with Harris received no
succor from him, but was aban
doned in the wilderness."
Harris and Beckwourth were
sent to bring horses from the
Republican Pawnees, 300 miles
away. After travelling ten days
on foot they reached the aban
doned village. They hiked to a
trading post on the Kansas River
and in the spring returned to St.
Louis.
Ex during the Rockies
Beckwourth tells of meeting
H am s again in 1826 on the Sage
River.
“...very unexpectedly,
and to our utter surprise, we met
t wo white men. Black Harris and
my old fnend Portuleuse They
said they had come from St.
Louis, and General Ashley and
William Sublette were a short
distance behind them."
At the 1926 rendezvous Ashley
sold out to Smith. David Jackson
and Sublette.
The trappers
divided into groups, with Harris
joining Sublette.
This group
moved up the Snake River to
Henry's Fork, followed Henry's
Fork for thirty miles, crossed the
Teton Range to the upper reach
es of the Snake River and follow
ed it to its source. From there
they crossed the mountains,
reaching Yellowstone Lake.
That winter, Harris and Sub
lette travelled to St. Louis for
supplies. Sublette recollections
tell the story:
“Started on the 1st of January
1827. with Black Harris, from the
valley of the Big Salt Lake
iBonneventura) on snow shoes
part of the time - built fire on
logs laid on the snow - an Indian
broken dog carried a pack of fifty
pounds contract with Ashley -
Ham's Fork - no buffalo • carry
ing meat from Bear river - took
to the plains to shun Indians, and
found no water save what they
obtained from snow or ice - slept
on the spots where their fire had
been - struck Sweetwater about
the 14th - killed a cow and Harris
upset the coffee
slept on the
15th in a hole in Rock lndepen
dence - drifted snow here and
there in the hollows, and snow
shoes sometimes necessary for
half a mile - sage brush so
curiously nourished by snow.
Went down the Platte where
they found no more wood to fort
themselves - walking often half
the night to keep themselves
from freezing until they could get
into a hollow or someplace to
break the wind off them. About
Ash Creek came where the Paw
nees had just been slaughtering
buffalo, compelled to turn out of
their road for three days - four
days after followed a large Indian
trail to their encampment, where
they met kind treatment, and
from Big Elk, chief of the Mo
hawks (Mahas), they got friendly
attention. Left them the next
morning unmolested - got to
what they called Cold Camp
Creek - went on - met Indians
every now and then, and were
kindly treated. Sublette gave his
butcher knife for a buffalo tongue
- lost their sugar and coffee and
buffalo meat from the dogs back
- dog was tired and came in late
- sack worn out - Another night
on Grand Island in search of
game, shot a raven and supped
off the bird - the Colonel can't
tell now whether it was good or
bad. or how it tasted, he was so
hungry.
One evening found
three elm trees - after travelling
forty or forty five miles - snow
ing - both sick and starving
Here they killed the dog and ate
it. The dog meat lasted only two
days, then they ate salt and
V>
pepper. Finally they saw a bird,
but were sick and weak and were
unable to kill it. They killed a
rabbit and later a rubkey and
finally found a Kansas village.
Here they ate and regained
strength. Harris sprained his
ankle, so Sublette traded a pistol
for a horse for him. They arrived
in St. Louis just three days late.
Harris joined Sublette again in
1829. spending the spring in the
Big Hom with Smith and Joe
Meek. They crossed the Tetons
into Pierre's Hale (in eastern
Idaho) and in the fall went
northeast. over the great divide,
to Madison Fork on the Missouri.
That winter was spent at Big
Hom.
Again Harris and Sublette set
out for supplies but this time
they used a dog team and reach
ed St. Louis without incident.
* Jim Beckwourth, who was
Black, was a prominant fur trad
er who later explored much of
the Southwest and California.
(1) able to walk long distances
each day.
U t,
Picture: Bettman Archive, Inc
• • •
<» ‘u r t .
'i
.-.k
»>
•-» k it