1.2 Expedition of 1832

The expedition that would become the most famous accomplishment of his life began in May 1832, when he left Missouri with 110 men, including Nathaniel Wyeth . The voyage was financed by John Jacob Astor, a rival of the Hudson's Bay Company. The expedition proceeded up to the Platte River and across present-day Wyoming. They reached the Green River in August and built a winter fort, which they named Fort Bonneville.

In the spring of 1833 he explored along the Snake River in present-day Idaho. He also sent a party of men under Joseph 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, a path that later became known as the California Trail, the primary route for the emigrants to the gold fields during the California gold rush. Much speculation has surrounded Bonneville's motivations for sending Walker to California. In particular 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 and 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 fulfill his obligation to return east by October. He wrote a lengthy letter to Macomb summarizing some of his findings and requesting more time, specifically in order to survey the Columbia and parts of the Southwest before his return.

1.3 Trying to reach Oregon

After spending the early winter at Fort Bonneville, he set out westward in January 1834 with the goal of reaching the Willamette Valley. He and his men traveled up the Snake River, through Hells Canyon, and into the Wallowa Mountains, where they found a hospitable welcome by the Nez Perces along the Imnaha River . On March 4, 1834 they reached Fort Nez Perces , the outpost of the Hudson's Bay Company at the confluence of the Walla Walla River with the Snake. Pierre C. Pambrun, the HBC commander of the fort welcomed him but refused to do business with him. Emptyhanded, Bonneville and men retraced their course back to southeast Idaho and made camp on the Portneuf River.

In July he made a second trip west, determined to trade with the Hudson's Bay Company. He followed an easier route across the Blue Mountains, where he met Nathaniel Wyeth once again and camped along the Grande Ronde River. By this time he and his men had become desperate for food and supplies. At Fort Nez Perces, they found the same rejection from Pabrun. Instead of returning immediately east he and men journeyed down the Columbia towards Fort Vancouver. Along the river, he attempted to trade with Sahaptin s but without success. He came to realize that he would probably receive the same rejection from McLoughlin at Fort Vancouver and decided to turn back east.

He spent the winter of 1834- 1835 with the Shoshone along the upper Bear River. In April 1835 began the voyage back to Missouri. He reached Independence by August and discovered that although his letter requesting an extension had arrived, it had not been delivered to Macomb. In the meantime, he commission had been revoked.

1.4 The Aftermath and Later Years

Bonneville journeyed east hoping to be able to recover his commission. On the way to Washington, D.C., he stopped in New York City where he was received by his patron John Jacob Astor. While staying with Astor, Bonneville met Washington Irving, who became interested in his explorations. Irving's account of Bonneville's travels, entitled The Adventures of Captain Bonneville was published two years later in 1837.

In Washington, Bonneville petitioned tirelessly to Secretary of War Lewis Cass to have his commission re-instated. In early 1836 he was successful, and in subsequent years was given assignments on the western frontier at Fort Kearney in the Nebraska Territory and in the New Mexico Territory. He also served in the Mexican-American War, taking part in the Veracruz campaign of Winfield Scott. He also served in the occupation of Mexico City, during which he was court martialed for "misbehavior before the enemy" Ironically, one of later assignments in the 1850s included a post in the Oregon Territory as a colonel at the Columbia Barracks next to Fort Vancouver, which had become a U.S. Army post in 1849.

He retired from the military in 1861 but was soon recalled to duty during the American Civil War, reaching the rank of Brevet Brigadier General. He retired a second time in 1866 and moved to Fort Smith, Arkansas, where he died at age 82 in 1878.

2 Legacy

Among the geographical features named after Bonneville are:

• Bonneville County, Idaho
• Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River
• Bonneville Slide
• Lake Bonneville, the Pleistocene ancestor of the Great Salt Lake
• Bonneville Salt Flats
• Bonneville Peak in the Portneuf Range

3 External links

• EndofTheOregonTrail.org: Benjamin Bonneville
• The Adventures of Captain Bonneville by Washington Irving (online text)

Bonneville, Benjamin

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