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Alexander
Sinclair was
born about 1790, probably in Tennessee.
Little is known of his early life, except that he became a very
good shot with the rifle, and developed skills as an Indian fighter.
An injury resulting in the loss of his toes and part of his left
foot made travel afoot difficult for him.
In 1828 he was
found at Fort Smith, on the Arkansas River near its confluence with the
Canadian Fork. He was joined
here by George Nidever in a venture to raft cedar logs down the Canadian
Fork and Arkansas River, and thence on down to New Orleans where the logs
would be sold. Sinclair,
Nidever and some engaged men spent nearly a year cutting the logs and
constructing the raft, only to have it run aground and break up.
They then gave up on this venture. Sinclair and
Nidever decided to take to hunting and trapping and in May of 1830 they
joined a brigade of trappers forming just above Fort Smith.
This trapping venture was being promoted by John Rogers, a sutler
at Fort Smith. In August of
1829, John Rogers ran a notice in the Little Rock Gazette which was
strikingly similar to those run by Ashley and Henry in 1822
and 1823. The text of Rogers
notice is as follows: To
Young Men of The undersigned will start, on the 15th of Sept. next, from Fort Smith, on a trapping expedition to the Rocky Mountains. He wishes to raise about 100 men for the trip, to be absent for 2 years. The company will choose their own officers, and be subject to such regulations for their government as may be adopted by them. The articles of association are already drawn up and signed by a number of persons. The outfit will be furnished by me, (with the exception of the horses and guns) to such as may desire it. It is confidently believed, that this enterprise affords a prospect of great profit to all who may engage in it. John
Rogers The venture did
not develop as planned, but by the following spring there were forty-two
recruits, including Alexander Sinclair and his younger brother, Prewett.
Other members of the brigade included George Nidever, Job Dye,
Isaac Graham, Jacob Leese, and Henry Naile.
The brigade set
out from Fort Smith in early May, 1830.
It moved up the Canadian Fork, and after passing the Cross Timbers,
had a skirmish with Comanchee Indians. Afterwards,
some eight or ten men decided this was enough adventure for them and
returned home. The remaining
part of the brigade continued north to the Arkansas River, where it
skirmished again, this time with a band of Pawnees.
The brigade up to this point was under the leadership of “Colonel
Bean” an elderly gunsmith who was totally inexperienced in hunting,
trapping or Indian fighting. During
the skirmish with the Pawnees, Bean hid himself.
Afterwards he “was totally disregarded and hardly treated
civilly..”. By tacit
agreement, Alexander Sinclair became the defacto leader of the brigade.
The party continued up the Arkansas River and then northward into
South Park. Here they found
plenty of beaver, but hostile Indians as well.
After two men were killed, and winter snows began falling, they
decided to seek refuge in Taos, Mexico.
During the winter in Taos, a number of men deserted.
In March of 1831,
Sinclair and about fifteen men set out to trap in the Colorado region.
They spent most of the spring season on the North Platte drainage
and returned to Taos in July with about 120 beaver skins.
They set out again in September of 1831, again working the
headwater areas of the Arkansas and Platte Rivers, before crossing the
mountains to the Green River, where they went into winter quarters at
Brown’s Hole. In the spring
of 1832, they trapped in the Green River basin where they met a party lead
by Kit Carson. Trapping eastward
to the North Platte River, they ran into yet another band of trappers,
with whom they would join, headed to the 1832
Rendezvous at Pierre’s Hole. While
at rendezvous, the Fort Smith trappers were described by Washington Irving
as “a band of fifteen free
trappers commanded by a gallant leader from Arkansas named Sinclair, who
held their equipment a little apart from the rest.”
This rendezvous
would begin to break up around July 17th.
One of the parties under Milton
Sublette consisting of about 60 men were proceeding to the southwest
and made about 8 miles from the site of the rendezvous before setting up
camp. The following morning as
the men were raising camp, a caravan was seen proceeding over the pass and
down in to the valley. No
alarm was given, because this was expected to be the tardy supply train
under Lucien Fontennelle and Etienne Provost for the American Fur Company
men. As the caravan
approached, it became clear that it was a large party of Blackfoot
Indians. A disorganized day
long battle ensued, joined by additional mountain men from the rendezvous.
The Blackfoot Indians retired to a dense mass of trees in a swampy
area, where they constructed a crude fortification behind which to fight.
A disorganized offensive effort against this fortification was led
by William Sublette, Robert Campbell and Alexander Sinclair.
Again Washington Irving writes “They
took the lead by turns, each advancing about twenty yards at a time, and
now and then hallooing to their men to follow.
Some of the latter gradually entered the swamp and followed a
little distance in their rear. They
had now reached a more open part of the wood, and had glimpses of the rude
fortress from between the trees. It
was a mere breastwork, as we have said, of logs and branches, with
blankets, buffalo robes and the leathern covers of lodges, extended round
the top as a screen. The
movements of the leaders, as they groped their way, had been descried by
the sharp-sighted enemy. As
Sinclair, who was in the advance, was putting some branches aside, he was
shot through the body. He fell
on the spot. “Take me to my
Brother,” said he to Campbell. The
latter gave him in charge to some of the men, who conveyed him out of the
swamp.”
Sinclair's wounds would prove to be fatal. Alexander
Sinclair was about 42 years old. With
his death, the Fort Smith trappers scattered, some to remain in the
Northern Rocky Mountains, others for California.
Alexander’s younger brother, Prewett would continue trapping for
another decade. For more
information about Alexander Sinclair see: The
Mountain Men and the Fur Trade of the Far West, Volume IV; edited by
LeRoy R Hafen, published by The Arthur H Clark Company, Glendale,
California, 1966. Alexander
Sinclair Chapter by LeRoy R Hafen.
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