STORIES
Explorers
DONATE

Jim Bridger

by Zach from Commerce City


What is a hero?

I think that a hero is someone that helps other people. I think a hero is someone that does things for people when they are too afraid to or just don’t have the time. I think a hero can be strong or smart. A hero often has one strong trait and take advantage of it. For example Albert Einstein used his strong trait of intelligence and won a Nobel prize. I think heroes are very important people and the world could not live without them. A hero is someone who can bring out the good in people and make them feel good and that is what Jim Bridger does to me.

The beginning of this legendary man began in Virginia on March 17, 1804. Jim Bridger owned many shops where he sold and traded his beaver furs. He always told outrageous stories which most of the time weren’t true to people he traded with. For many years Jim fought Indians when he was in the army. In fact, Jim was in the army so long that he even got a rank of an officer.

Jim Bridger is an extraordinary man. He has helped our country in many important ways such as helping us discover the west. Jim Bridger was a beaver trapper by heart and loved the activity. Jim Bridger was a discoverer and an explorer and learned many things. In fact, he was the first one to find the Great Salt Lake.


Jim Bridger could recognize terrain in an instant. Maybe that is why he was such a good wagon guide to the west for expanders. Jim Bridger learned many native tongues in his adventures. One of these amazing languages was that of the Sioux. Another language he learned was spoken by the Blackfoot. The other native tongues he learned was that of the Crow. Jim was one of the armies best translators and helped the army’s communication with the Indians. Even though Jim was in the army, he still got most of his financial profit from his valuable beaver furs. On Jim's adventures he picked up many skills such as trading, which he became an expert on with his beaver furs.

Jim Bridger was a great explorer and discoverer. He was the one that explored Fort Bridger. In fact he assembled the building that they used as the blacksmith shop. The building was originally made to be a beaver fur trading post but it never went through. Jim also was exploring one day and discovered a path through the Rocky Mountains. Finally, on July 17, 1881, Jim Bridger passed away at age 77.

I believe that Jim was a respected man and deserves to be remembered even today. They used the path through the Rocky Mountains instead of using the south road around the rockies that took much more time.


To adjourn these paragraphs, I think that Jim Bridger was one of the greatest heroes of all time. He helped us explore the west. Jim was a nice guy and helped everyone he met in anyway he possibly could. I hope that I can meet someone with half the charisma that he had. He could think on his feet and adapt to any environment. Jim was an intelligent guy and could navigate around Indian tribes, avoiding war as much as he possibly could. All in all I think Jim is my hero because he loved to explore and do fun things.

Page created on 7/2/2013 6:28:55 PM

Last edited 1/5/2017 10:21:46 PM

The beliefs, viewpoints and opinions expressed in this hero submission on the website are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the beliefs, viewpoints and opinions of The MY HERO Project and its staff.

Related Links

Kansas City Public Library - Jim Bridger Biography
Mountain Men Pages: Jim Bridger - Biography
Jim Bridger - Biography