Joseph Gale - Fur Trapper

Fur Trapper

As early as 1830, Joseph Gale had traveled the Santa Fe Trail from Missouri to Taos and was fur trapping in the southern Rocky Mountains. Just how and when he arrived in the west is unclear. In October 1831, he departed Santa Fe as a member of Ewing Young's second trip to California. The goal of this expedition was to export horses and mules from California for sale in the Missouri Valley, and do some trapping of beaver and perhaps sea otter on the side. Whether Gale went all the way to California, or remained at the Colorado River to wait for the returning party is unclear. However, Gale likely accompanied David Jackson and the California livestock back to New Mexico, arriving in July 1832.

A year later, in July 1833, Gale was at the fur trapper's Rendezvous at Green River, where he joined Joseph Walker's expedition to California. The fur trappers traveled from the Great Salt Lake to California by way of the Humboldt River, crossing the Sierra Nevada near Yosemite Valley. Traversing the rough mountain terrain in October took a month. In November, Walker and company finally reached the Pacific Ocean. In February 1834, the Joseph Walker party began its return trip to the Rocky Mountains, but Gale stayed behind in California. He instead joined his friend Ewing Young on his cattle drive from California to Oregon in the company of Oregon promoter, Hall Jackson Kelley. The Ewing Young party reached the Willamette Valley in October 1834.

Less than a month later, Gale and a "picked up lot" were hired by Nathaniel Wyeth and were traveling to Fort Hall. Gale was soon leading a "spring hunt" in the Rockies north of the Great Salt Lake. In the fall of 1835, Gale lead his party of men to the Gallatin River, where they had a bloody encounter with Blackfeet Indians. Gale and his party, Kit Carson, Joe Meek, and several others were fortunate to survive the encounter. Joseph Gale continued to work out Fort Hall for the next few years. With the sale of Fort Hall to the Hudson's Bay Company in August 1837, he began trapping for the English company.