John Colter (c. 1774-1812) was one of the expedition’s most capable woodsmen and hunters. His post-expedition adventures made him one of the most legendary figures of the American frontier.
On the return journey in August 1806, Colter asked to be discharged early to join two fur trappers heading back up the Missouri. The captains reluctantly agreed. This decision launched one of the great adventure stories of the American West.
In the winter of 1807-1808, working for Manuel Lisa’s Missouri Fur Company, Colter made a solo journey of approximately 500 miles through the Yellowstone region, becoming the first Euro-American to see the geysers and hot springs. His reports were so fantastic that people called the area “Colter’s Hell.”
In 1808, Colter was captured by Blackfeet warriors who stripped him naked and gave him a head start before chasing him across the prairie. In one of the frontier’s most famous escape stories, Colter outran his pursuers for six miles, dove into a river, and hid under a logjam until they gave up the search. He then walked 200 miles back to Fort Raymond, barefoot and naked, in eleven days.
Colter retired from the frontier in 1810 and settled near St. Louis, where he died of jaundice in 1812.
