Let's Talk Wyoming - 80 - Wyoming Rendezvous: Winter Weather & Sports and the Life of a 19th Century Trapper

Ready to traverse both time and terrain with us? First, we take you on a whirlwind tour of Wyoming’s winter wonderland, looking at game forecasts and current sports updates. Then, we embark on an exciting journey through snow-covered Tetons, wildlife sightings, and even a proud rodeo award. All while navigating the icy waters of weather forecasts and winter storm warnings. 

Next, we step back into history, unraveling the intriguing life of Beaverdick Lee, a 19th-century trapper. With a life as wild and rugged as the Wyoming landscape, we examine his unconventional family life, deep-rooted friendships, and significant contributions. We also delve deep into his lasting legacy in Jackson Hole, giving you a fresh perspective on its past and present. So, whether you're a history buff or a sports enthusiast, this episode promises an entertaining blend of both, spiced with a dash of adventure and a sprinkle of wonder. Get ready to revel in the beauty and history of Wyoming with us.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:23

Good morning and welcome to let's Talk Wyoming. I'm Mark Hamilton, your host, and today we'll be talking about our winter weather cowboy report trip across the Tetons and we'll have a story on Beaver Dick. Hope you enjoy today's show and thanks for joining us. We're going to look at Wyoming weather. Today is the 25th day of the month of October and, looking at the National Weather Service site, it is definitely, you know winter is here when you start to see all these awesome colors on the state of Wyoming, with winter storm warnings in pink, winter weather advisories in purple. We've got some high winds and special weather statements and here in Thermalpus right now we are currently under a winter weather advisory. To the south of us We've got some special weather statements, so it looks like that we're going to get our first snow storm. Right now it's got below 32. I think it was 31. The last that I looked, it started out today. Just nothing's going on. This will drizzly and kind of dark and it was actually supposed to have a little sun today but that got pushed away and right now we're just waiting it out. We're going to have some pretty cool temperatures. Looks like we're going to have two to four inches of snow coming up the next couple days. I see our lowest temperature looks like we're going to get in at about 10 degrees, 11 degrees, 9 degrees. Saturday looks like the coldest it's. Actually we're going to be at 26 for the high. So get just a little bit of an early taste of winter coming up and I see next week it looks like it's going to clear off. So, as I said, last week winter was at the door. Well, it's starting to kind of knock and just crack that door open saying I'm out here and I'm going to give you a little bit of a preview for the state of Wyoming.

Speaker 1: 2:38

Taking a look at sports here in Wyoming, the Cowboys had a week off though, preparing for this Saturday. They will be in Boise as they will take on Boise State, and that's always a contention of Wyoming fans. I have never heard of the state of Boise. I have never heard of that. It was one of our US states. I don't know how Boise became a state, but just some of those oddities. Somebody along the line just wasn't very intelligent when they named the place. They had an Idaho state and they just couldn't come up with anything else. So the Cowboys, this is a good opportunity. This is probably the weakest Boise team that I've seen in some time. They are kind of down out and out. This year Same with San Diego State. San Diego State is absolutely terrible and those would be two schools that just pretty well ruled the mountain west for a lot of years. He occurred a lot of opportunities. Harrison Whaley looks like he may start. He said he's going to play, so we'll see how the Cowboys come out and see if they can finally break that jinx that Coach Boll has had against Boise State. And there I did, I said it, I shouldn't have said it. They're at Boise and he has not beaten Boise since he's came to Laramie. So maybe Coach Boll will have some luck this year.

Speaker 1: 3:55

Also in high school sports here in the state of Wyoming, the playoffs the second season has started, all the playoffs and football will get started starting Friday and Saturday On all classifications. It's always a fun time of year. These first round games usually don't have a lot of upsets, but we'll see what happens. But we'll keep a report on that. Volleyball is regional Volleyball. All this weekend starts Friday at all over the state and those will go on Friday and Saturday. Top teams will head to Casper next week for the state volleyball tournament, so it's an exciting time.

Speaker 1: 4:35

Of course, that weather kind of causes some issues, but it doesn't look like it's going to cause any type of major travel issues right now. I've just seen some colder temperatures, maybe a few inches of snow. It's been warm enough. I think everybody should be able to get to where they need to go. Let's play these games and go out there and support them. Make sure you dress warm and maybe take some hot chocolate If you can't go to the games. All the games are televised. You can watch all the games. There's a lot of avenues to go to to watch these kids compete. So fun time here in the state of Wyoming.

Speaker 1: 5:09

And finally, just wanted to share some other sporting news here in the state of Wyoming. Rodeo is a big sport here in the state and the Wyoming State Fair wins the Mountain State PCR circuit small rodeo of the year award. A great honor for everyone involved. If you ever get a chance, go out and support your rodeos in the area wherever you're at, and it is a sport here. That's in all of our schools. The local colleges, junior colleges all have rodeo teams and it's a great sport and a lot of great people are involved with it.

Speaker 1: 5:46

Talking about Wyoming, I had an opportunity to make a trip over to the Jackson area last week. Actually it went over to Idaho Falls. Never had been from Jackson to Idaho Falls. This is a gorgeous day. Last Friday, great day to travel. Left Thermopolis early in the morning, didn't run into any deer, got over.

Speaker 1: 6:04

Of course, when you get to near Jackson over in that country started seeing cars pulled alongside the road. Of course there's signs everywhere it says do not pull over for wildlife. And there was one stretch where they had said that this year there had been eight bears hit on this stretch of highway and one had been hit, of course, a week ago. That bear, $4.99. She ended up at last. I heard she was fine after sitting it out for a day, kind of getting herself gathered and off she went. Saw some elk people pulled off.

Speaker 1: 6:37

And then the site that just made my day there was when you get closer to Jackson there's a place where the moose congregate. There were probably two dozen cars pulled off on the opposite side of the road, heading back east. I was heading course west and everybody was up, had their cameras set up, with the telephone lens taking pictures of these two nice bull, moose and boy. They were big guys and, of course, as always happens, there were three guys out there in the meadow that didn't have cameras but they were walking out. They were halfway to from where the cars were parked to where the moose was, were actually having their breakfast and you just wonder when they talk about you can't do anything about stupid. Well, these three gentlemen guess they were gentlemen these three guys were out there and they were the epitome of stupid and I always thought there should be something passed by the legislature, that there should be some type of a law that you can get arrested for being stupid.

Speaker 1: 7:36

And we've talked about these issues with wildlife bulls that are out there and something gets into them, they can suddenly get pretty aggressive and they can move pretty fast and they're not going to stand a chance of outrunning them and probably going to have a bad ending for everyone involved. But what happens, I guess, with people? But went across into Jackson of course I don't really spend a lot of time in Jackson, just not my cup of tea and went over to Idaho Falls pretty trip over the mountain. I can't really imagine what that's like in the winter time, but of course, if you're a skier, you're getting over into Jackson Hole, going across to Driggs. There's quite a few places, there's a lot of activity, a lot of outdoor recreation in that whole area. So made a trip back that same day.

Speaker 1: 8:24

Just gorgeous, nice and quiet after I got through Jackson, from Jackson on back home to Thermopolis. I got back here about just after dark. Road was pretty quiet. I had a nice, peaceful trip across there. I got to take in all the beautiful sights. Just a gorgeous trip, just a very relaxing trip, getting to get out and see our Wyoming wildlife. Our beauty of our state of Wyoming is just unbelievable. The sights that you do see and what you're treated to. The trees had started to change Always makes you confirm why you live in the state of Wyoming. And finally, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate a couple of newlyweds, abigail and Tim. Congratulations on your wedding. And also congratulate and say happy birthday to Marcy. Happy 40th, marcy, and many more for you.

Speaker 1: 9:20

Today in history we want to take a look at a story that originated from the Tetons. Since I was just over in the Tetons, I thought it would be appropriate. Beaver Dick Lee, the mountain man of the Tetons, and this is by Steve Roberts. The pack train moved slowly through the remaining snowdrifts of a late spring in the Tetons, heading for the mountain valley ahead. The buckskin horses were led by tall for his time trapper with thick red hair. He was known to his neighbors as Beaver Dick or Uncle Dick, falling behind where a Shoshone wife, jenny, and his children riding burrows. They were leading pack horses loaded with supplies for a long season of camping, hunting and trapping in the high valley that even then was known as Jackson's Hole. His 68 years Beaver Dick Lee fought in the Mexican War, guided government expeditions through the Yellowstone region and led hunting parties from the east and enjoyed life among the Shoshone and Bangkok tribes. With his red hair, blue eyes and freckles he certainly stood out from most of those around him, but despite his rough life he was a reader of books, magazines and newspapers. He kept a diary during his time in the mountains. He spelled his words as he spoke them, often dropping the H and keeping with his English accent pronunciation.

Speaker 1: 10:37

Richard Lee was born in Manchester, england, in 1831. When he was seven years old he immigrated with his sister to America. Dick and his sister Martha stayed in Philadelphia for a time, then moved on to Mount Hope, pennsylvania. From there he later left his sister and joined the Hudson Bay Company. We sent him to the Northwest where his education at Trapper began. He never looked back, or a size sister, again. He appears to have stayed in touch.

Speaker 1: 11:02

However, as he later referred to his brother-in-law, henry Wall, beaver Dick made his way from Canada back to the States to join the US Army towards the end of the Mexican-American War, in which he served under Lieutenant Colonel Henry Wilson. He was possibly part of the siege of Veracruz and was stationed there through the end of the war. Following his discharge, he traveled from Real Grand to the Salt Lake Valley where he returned to his prior trade as an independent trapper. Moving north into what would become the Idaho Territory, he continued his trapper life, finally choosing the Snake River Valley as a favorable place for a home site. This initially meant long-packed trip south for a number of years to sell his furs in the Utah Territory. On one of those trips in 1862 to Corrin near the northeast shore of the Great Salt Lake, he camped near a Bannock couple, a man known as Bannock John to the whites and his wife Tadpole, a sister of the local Chichon chief. Tarky Tadpole was in the midst of a difficult labor and with no help available, dick rendered assistance to the father in delivering the baby. The new arrival was named Susan Tadpole by the couple. Her parents promised her to Dick to be his wife when she reached maturity, as he was 31 at the time. No doubt was the kind gesture of gratitude that had little expectation of happening. Before he returned to his base camp at the confluence of the Snake and Teton rivers.

Speaker 1: 12:28

On the west side of the Teton, dick Lee married a 16-year-old Eastern Chichon girl from Chief Washke's band in 1863. The ceremony was performed by a minister, but with no existing records the bride's chichon name is not known. Dick gave her the English name of Jenny. Dick was obviously proud of Jenny's work ethic and her contributions to her life together, for he often told his friends and wrote in his diary about her many good traits. The next few years were apparently happy for the couple. Five children arrived in the following years Dick Jr was born in 1864 and Jane in 1866, john in 1868, william in 1870 and Elizabeth in 1873.

Speaker 1: 13:12

Dick's homestead on the west side of the Teton continued to expand with additions of milk cows and more of the buckskin horses he was so fond of His diary, continued to reflect his pride in his oldest son's abilities and accomplishments. When it was time to go on the annual hunting trips over the mountains, dick took the entire family along. The geologist Fernand F Hayden, who had been in the valley with an army expedition led by Captain William Renards in 1860, returned in 1871 at the head of a civilian government-funded expedition to explore the Yellowstone region. Artists Thomas Moran and the photographer William Henry Jackson were also along. Hayden's extensive promotion, along with Moran's paintings and Jackson's photography, positively influenced the creation of the Yellowstone National Park in 1872. Hayden returned to the region with another survey party the following year to explore the area's resources more extensively. On this trip he employed Lee as a guide. Hayden and his men were so impressed with the ability and hospitality of Dick and Jenny that they named the lake at the base of the Tetons for them Lee Lake, jenny Lake and Beaver Dick, now known as String Lake. Beaver Dick joined the expedition at Eagle Rock, which is present-day Idaho Falls, and traveled north to Eagle Nest, forward at what is now St Anthony's, idaho, in order to cross the Snake River safely. Lee's family accompanied the survey group pitching their lodge near the main camp. Jackson photographed the family in front of their teepee. This is only known photograph of Jenny camping in the valley Below the Teton's created a strong desire among some of the men to climb the tallest peak, despite Beaverdick's warnings told them the mountain had never been summited, due in part to jumbled rock and timber around the base.

Speaker 1: 15:03

Nonetheless, a party of 14 were assembled and the trek toward the top of Grand Teton began. Of those that started, five reached what is now known as the saddle, nathaniel Langford and climbing guide leader James Stevenson continued to the peak, becoming the first stone climbers to make the ascent. During their climb, beaverdick and another guide scattered a route through the Teton's and hunted meat for the camp. The group continued to travel north about 20 miles and split up when they reached Connick Creek. Jenny, who was pregnant, and the Lees, four children, returned to their homestead on the Teton River while Beaverdick continued on with the expedition party. After the family were united at their home, they celebrated the birth of another daughter, elizabeth, their fifth child.

Speaker 1: 15:48

These diaries give an in-depth picture of the challenges they faced on the frontier, whether he was setting his trap lines, hunting with his son, dick Jr, leading hunting parties or assisting any of the increasing number of new settlers arriving in the Snake River Valley. Beaverdick Lee was a busy and well-respected member of the community. He also built a ferry on the eel nest forward on Henry's Fork of the Snake, which was free for anyone to use. He even acted as a liaison between the tribes and authorities at the New Fort Hall Reservation, advising them about Indian movements on and off the reservation. The next few years passed peacefully until the winter of 1876 when an Indian woman seeking food visited the Lees. They did not know that she had been inflicted with smallpox and all of the Lees family, as well as another hunter, caught the disease. In Christmas Eve and December 28, 1876, all of Beaverdick's family died. He and the hunter barely survived Two years.

Speaker 1: 16:49

Dick suffered and struggled to maintain as normal life as possible on the homestead. In the summer of 1878, some Banuks left the reservation in a protest over the government's failure to send promised food and supplies. In a series of events they came to be known as the Banuk War, beaverdick and his friend Banuk John and Tadpole laid low, staying out of sight to keep their hair, as he put it, that is, he remained unscalped. In the spring of 1879, dick Lee, at the age of 48, married 16-year-old Susan Tadpole, who had been promised to him at her birth. The couple had three children Emma, born in 1881, william, born in 1886, and Rose, born in 1891.

Speaker 1: 17:34

As before, when it was time to head to the mountains to hunt and fish, dick took his new family with him. While camp near Two Ocean Creek on the Continental Divide in the fall of 1891, they were visited by Theodore Roosevelt and his hunting party. Beaverdick and Teddy conversed for a spell, sharing stories and hunting tales. Dick continued to guide hunting parties as long as health permitted. Eventually he had to turn over his business to his son, william. He also kept in touch with many friends he had made over the years, writing letters to a lengthy list of correspondents.

Speaker 1: 18:04

Beaverdick died March 29, 1899, at the age of 68, in the company of family and friends. He is buried beside his family on a high terrace overlooking his ranch near Rexburg, idaho. His memory and legacy are well preserved in his letters and diaries, as well as the namesake feature in the Jackson Hole Valley. He loved Quite a story about Beaverdick and the life that they lived. I wonder what Beaverdick would think of the Jackson Hole area today. Thanks for joining us today and we hope you enjoy our podcast. As for the code of the West, we ride for the brand and we ride for Wyoming. You don'tque the