St. Louis, Missouri

Young John Johnston travels on the steamer Thames from St. Louis to St. Joseph where he begins his career as a fur trapper. St. Louis is also where Johnston joins the Union Army in later years.

St. Joseph, Missouri

As a strapping twenty-year-old, John Johnston begins his trapping career in St. Joseph, Missouri, where he teams up with veteran trapper John Hatcher.

Little Snake Valley

John Hatcher's cabin is in Little Snake Valley. He takes his young trapping partner, John Johnston, there on their first trip together. Little Snake Valley is located in what is now northwestern Colorado.

Musselshell, Montana

When trappings were scarce, Johnston operated a side-line in Musselshell in east central Montana. He cut cords of wood which he sold to steamboat operators on the Missouri River.

Bitter Root Mountains

Johnston's wife is a Flathead Indian. This tribe is located in the Bitter...