Thomas Fitzpatrick (fur trader)

Thomas Fitzpatrick (* 1799 in Cavan County , Ireland ; † February 7, 1854 in Washington, DC ), also known as "Broken Hand" , was an American fur trader , mountain man , scout and trapper . He was given the name Broken Hand because a rifle exploded in his hand and he lost three fingers.

In 1816 Thomas Fitzpatrick emigrated to the USA . In 1823 he joined the fur trading company Ashley & Henry , founded in St. Louis by William Henry Ashley and Andrew Henry , later the Rocky Mountain Fur Company . Together with Ashley and other mountain men like Jim Bridger , he took part in the first expedition to the Rocky Mountains .

Together with Jedediah Smith he explored the South Pass and the valley of the Green River . From 1826 he worked as a clerk , i.e. responsible for the commercial side of the fur trade, under David E. Jackson . In 1830 he bought the Rocky Mountain Fur Company from Jedediah Smith with Jim Bridger and other associates. When the fur trade became unprofitable due to a lack of stocks and the Rocky Mountain Fur Company was dissolved in 1834, he accompanied emigrants as a scout through the wilderness of the American West.

Among them was one of the first emigration trains under John Bidwell on the California Trail in 1841 . In 1842 he led the first emigrants to Oregon on the Oregon Trail . In 1843 he accompanied John C. Frémont on his second expedition.

In the Mexican-American War of 1846/48 he was initially a scout for Stephen W. Kearny on his march to Santa Fe . Thomas Fitzpatrick was appointed Indian agent for the area between the Upper Platte River and Arkansas River in 1846 . He negotiated several contracts with the Indians. In 1851 he organized the Fort Laramie Agreement . He died on February 7, 1854.

literature

• Leroy R. Hafen: Broken Hand: "The Life of Thomas Fitzpatrick, Mountain Man, Guide and Indian Agent". University of Nebraska Press 1981, ISBN 0-8032-7208-1 .