Benjamin Bonneville - Expedition of 1832

Expedition of 1832

The expedition that would be known as the most notable accomplishment of his life began in May 1832, when Bonneville left Missouri with 110 men, including Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth and field lieutenants Michael Cerre and Joseph Walker. The voyage was financed by John Jacob Astor, a rival of the Hudson's Bay Company. The expedition proceeded from Fort Osage on the Missouri River, up to the Platte River, and across present-day Wyoming. They reached the Green River in August and built a fur trading post, which they named Fort Bonneville. The mountain men called it "Fort Nonsense" and it was never used for trading.

In the spring of 1833, Bonneville explored along the Snake River in present-day Idaho, drifting into the head of the Salmon River and eventually into Fort Nez Perce. During this trip he engaged a guide, John Enos (Enos), a 10-year-old Shoshone nephew of Gourd Rattler (Washakie) and Pahdasherwahundah (Iron Wristbands); Enos later served as a scout for the Fremont expedition.

He also sent a party of men under Joe Walker to explore the Great Salt Lake and to find an overland route to California. Walker discovered a route along the Humboldt River across present-day Nevada, as well as Walker Pass across the Sierra Nevada. The path later became known as the California Trail, the primary route for the immigrants to the gold fields during the California Gold Rush. Much speculation has surrounded Bonneville's motivation for sending Walker to California. Some historians have speculated that Bonneville was attempting to lay the groundwork for an eventual invasion of California, then part of Mexico, by the United States Army.

John McLoughlin, the director of the Columbia operations of the Hudson's Bay Company at Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, heard of Bonneville's mission. He forbade his traders from doing business with Bonneville and his men. Bonneville reported that many of the Native Americans he encountered in the Snake River were also reluctant to displease the Hudson's Bay Company by trading with the Americans.

In the summer of 1833, Bonneville ventured into the Wind River Range in present-day Wyoming to trade with the Shoshone. By this time, he realized that he would not be able to return east by October as planned. He wrote a lengthy letter to Gen. Macomb summarizing some of his findings and requesting more time, specifically to survey the Columbia River and parts of the Southwest before his return.