Better not go too fur. Thar’s Injuns enough lyin’ under wolf-skins er skulkin’ on them cliffs, I’m a-tellin’ ye. They foller ye allus. They’ve seen ye ev’ry day, an’ take it frum me—when ye don’t see any of ’em that’s jest the time to watch out fer their devilment.[114]
However, he was wise in making alliances with them. Three times he married Indian squaws, a Flathead, a Ute, and a Shoshoni. These affiliations gave him greater security in his travels. Upon one occasion, when reference was made to this multiple spouse arrangement, someone asked Jim: “Which is which is which?” Quick as a flash came his rejoinder: “Thar all witches!”
From the Flathead wife two children were born, Josephine and Felix. Both were educated in St. Louis. His Ute wife died at the birth of a daughter, Virginia. Buffalo milk was utilized to nourish the infant, and she later returned her father’s care by looking after him in his declining years. His Shoshoni wife also had two children, Mary and William.
During his indefatigable peregrinations Bridger gained intimacy with Yellowstone. He must have had a soul-loving zest for the wonderful and beautiful, or he wouldn’t have noticed nature’s handiwork in the first place. Early in his experience he noted the disbelief that greeted his relations. Observing that unimaginative people regarded him as a liar, he evidently concluded to adopt the old poacher’s proverb about keeping the game when given the name. Why not embroider his tales in proportion to the listener’s credulity? Anyway, much entertainment was expected from a guide. Jim was not one to disappoint a tenderfoot. One young unsophisticate, attached to a government party, approached “Old Gabe” (Jim’s nickname) in a patronizing manner upon one occasion. “Mr. Bridger, they tell me that you have lived a long time on these plains and in the mountains.” “Young feller,” said “Gabe,” “you see that thar butte yonder? Well, siree, that mountain was nuthin’ but a hole in the ground when I come here!” It is said that two robbers entered his room at Fort Bridger. He awoke from sleep and said, “What air ye lookin’ fer?” One of the desperados replied, “We are lookin’ for your money.” Bridger then answered, “Jest a minnit an’ I’ll git up and help ye.” The robbers did not wait.[115]
When asked about some of his extravagant statements he quietly intimated that there was no harm in fooling people who pumped him for information and would not even say “thank ye.” Like most of his contemporaries, Jim didn’t think it proper to spoil a good story just for the sake of the truth. He could reel off story after story with astonishing spontaneity. These yarns were related in a solemn dead-pan gravity that was very effective.
Some of Bridger’s more notable experiences and stories follow a pattern worthy of perpetuation in the literature of the Old West. In October 1832, while hunting in the Beaverhead country, Bridger’s party was attacked by the Blackfeet. In this skirmish Jim received two long iron arrowheads in his back, one of which was embedded there for three years. It was removed by Dr. Marcus Whitman under circumstances that showed the strength and endurance of both surgeon and patient.
Perhaps this experience was the basis of the story he told about an encounter with the Blackfeet tribe. Said Jim:
The pesky devils made a circle all aroun’ me, ten Injuns deep. Then they pounce on top of me and hack me with their tommy hawks. The varmints stomp and club me until I faint dead away.[116]
At this point his voice would choke up with emotion. Finally, someone would make bold to inquire, “What did they do next, Jim?” Whereupon he would earnestly reply, “Them danged cussed Induns kilt and sculped me!”
What did Bridger actually know about Yellowstone? Probably his first visit was in 1829. He was also a member of a trapping party that worked the Bighorn Basin north, then passed over to Three Forks, and trapped to their sources during 1830. Therefore, they were in the western part of the Park. Dr. F. V. Hayden called Bridger the best mountain man the West had ever produced and said he learned of the marvels of Yellowstone from him in the early fifties. It is reasonable to believe that the old scout saw and appreciated all of the major features of Wonderland, with the possible exception of the Upper Geyser Basin. His descriptions of spouting springs, strange to say, fall far short of the standard set by the Old Faithful group.[117]