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This church and cemetery are at Bridgeton, Missouri, not far from Colter's farm at Charette.
No trace of the tombstone has yet been found.
While William Clark was putting finishing touches to his map of the Northwest to accompany
the long delayed publication of the Lewis and Clark journals, John Colter supplied many new
details gleaned from his travels into the Yellowstone, Wind River and other mountain areas
not known to Clark.
On May 28, 1811, Colter sought, but could not collect, $377.6o from the insolvent estate of
Meriwether Lewis, deceased. This amount was probably due Colter as extra pay for service
during the expedition. After Colter died, his household furnishings were auctioned on
December 10, 1813, and brought $124.441/2. Sallie, his wife, received an additional $69.00
on January 9, 1815. She had remarried, but died after 1822.
* While he died on May 7, 1812 one day after mustering out of the Rangers on May 6, 1812
his affairs were not settled until November 1813 leading some to believe this to be his
date of death.
John Colter
c. 1774 - May 7, 1812
Colter, John, mountain man (c. 1774-May 7, 1812). Born near Staunton, Virginia, he
enlisted October 15, 1803, as a private with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, becoming a
favored hunter. He was praised by Clark for his service, and was released on the return to
the Mandan Village to join Joseph Dickson (Dixon) and Forrest Hancock (Handcock) who
planned a Rocky Mountain trapping operation. Apparently they worked the upper country,
Colter leaving his partners and journeying down the Missouri in 1807. At the mouth of the
Platte he met Manuel Lisa bound upstream, and joined him, wintering on the Yellowstone
River at the mouth of the Big Horn. He made an "epic winter journey" to inform Indians of
Lisa's presence and willingness to trade; it is believed he went up the Yellowstone, crossed
over to Jackson's Hole, negotiated the Tetons to Teton Valley (Pierre's Hole), and rounded
the west side of Yellowstone Lake (some believe the journey to be somewhat smaller and
not including Jackson's Hole and Pierre's Hole), probably being the discoverer of the region
since embodied in Yellowstone National Park. In the summer of 1808 Colter was sent to the
Blackfeet, but was engaged in a battle against them on the side of Flatheads and Crows,
being wounded. In the fall of 1808 in the Three Forks region, his companion John Potts, was
killed and Colter captured by Blackfeet. He was stripped and led his pursuers on a wild fivemile race to the Madison River, killed his foremost assailant and plunged into the stream,
concealing himself beneath driftwood while Blackfeet searched diligently for him. In the
darkness he escaped, made his way 250 miles to Lisa's fort at the mouth of the Big Horn,
arriving after 11 days. In the winter of 1808-1809 he returned to the Three Forks to recover
his traps, escaped another brush with the Blackfeet. He went down the river in 1809, but
met and was persuaded to join a St. Louis Missouri Fur Trading Company expedition,
assisting them in building a fort in the Three Forks region, escaped a Blackfoot attack and
finally, having had enough, quitted the country April 22, 1810. He reached St. Louis in 30
days. Colter married, settled near the aging Daniel Boone, and died of jaundice. His grave
was destroyed by railroad construction. While he died on May 7, 1812 one day after
mustering out of the Rangers on May 6, 1812 his affairs were not settled until November
1813 leading some to believe this to be his date of death.