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Geographical organized. So in 1822, General Ashley of Missouri 
Historical and Mr. Henry established a trading post on the 
Yellowstone, and made trips through the country on 
this side of the Rocky Mountains to the Green River. 
Beaver trapping promised most profit. A peculiar 
class of men, the trappers, who traversed the country 
in all directions, were developed by this business. Out 
of this school arose leaders for subsequent enterprises, 
such as Smith, Fitzpatrick, Bridger, Robert Camp- 
bell, William Sublette, etc., names well known to 
every mountaineer, 
In 1830 two companies organized in St. Louis be- 
came active: the American Fur Company, which had 
been organized as far back as 1809, but had become 
dormant, and the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, 
founded by Sublette and Campbell. In 1832, two 
new rivals entered the field, viz.: Captain Bonneville, 
on behalf of a company in New York, and Captain 
Wyeth, from Boston. These four parties crossed 
the country on either side of the Rocky Mountains in 
every direction, save that the all-powerful Hudson’s 
Bay Company successfully excluded them from the 
Columbia River. Washington Irving has faithfully 
described in his “Rocky Mountains” the manner in 
which competition was carried on by these jealous 
rivals. Captains Wyeth and Bonneville disappeared 
from the scene after a few years, because their com- 
panies had sustained losses in the enterprise. The 
American and the Rocky Mountain Companies first 
came to a friendly agreement, whereunder each oc- 
