Fur Trade
To the Headwaters
An abundance of beaver encouraged Corps of Discovery members John Colter and John Potts to return to the headwaters. In 1808, Blackfeet Indians killed Potts in a confrontation and stripped Colter bare, giving him a chance to run for his life. In one of the most famous foot races in American history, he outran his armed pursuers and escaped to the Madison River where he hid in a beaver lodge. Ten days and 200 miles later, Colter miraculously straggled into Fort Ramon near present day Custer, Montana. Colter continued to trap in the region and was the first white man to tell about the geothermal wonders of the Yellowstone area that many regarded as tall stories.
In 1810 St. Louis businessmen Andrew Henry and Pierre Menard established a trading post, Fort Henry, at the headwaters. Although Grizzly bears were a nuisance, constant raids by the Blackfeet Indians finally forced its abandonment after several fur trappers were killed, including former Corps of Discovery member George Drouillard.
Marker is on 19th Avenue near I-90 eastbound entrance ramp (at milepost 305), 0.1 miles east of N. 19th Ave. and E. Valley Center Rd., on the left when traveling south.
Courtesy hmdb.org
