Re: Decendants of John Coulter/Colter
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In reply to:
Decendants of John Coulter/Colter
June Vance 11/09/99
John Coulter was a hunter for the Lewis and Clarke expedition. He and John Potts jumped off a clift into the waters of the possibly Missouri River to get away from a grizzly bear and the bear jumped with them. The bear was shot and killed in the water.
Before the expedition went south to Oregon on the Columbia River, they were on the north bank which is now the state of Washington.
Baptiste Charbinau and Sacajawia, his wife was in an argument over holding the papoose and carrying it out to the Pacific Ocean from their campsite.John Colter says: "I will carry the baby."These persons accompanied William Clark to the Pacific Ocean.
The expedition was on the way back east, and stopped once again with the Mandan Indians at the present day Bismark ND.. In the Mandan encampment, there were two French Canadian fur trappers, Hancock and Dixon,. John Colter got permission to leave the Lewis and Clark expedition to go trapping with the two men.No one knows what happened to Hancock and Dixon.
Much later, Colter went into the employment of Manuel Lisa Fur Company.It was at this time, Colter rejoined his expedition friend, John Potts, to go fur trapping. It was while returning in their canoe with a load of furs, that the two rounded a sharp bend in the river and was jumped by a band of Black Feet Indians.