Jedediah Smith
Jedediah Smith (
January 6,
1799 -
May 27,
1831) was a trapper and explorer of the
Rocky Mountains and the
American West Coast and Southwest in the 19th century. He was named after
Solomon's religious nickname in the
Bible, Jedidiah, but he was not very good at spelling. He is best known for rediscovering
South Pass [1], which shortened the time needed to get to the west slope of the
Rocky Mountains. He also discovered the Jedediah Smith Redwood Forest and River, killed an attacking
bear with his bare hands and a knife, and was a committed
Christian, carrying a Bible wherever he went. Smith was one of the few mountain men who shaved.
1. Maurice S. Sullivan,
The Travels of Jedediah Smith (Lincoln, University of Nebraska Press, 1992), 13.