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 Private John Colter - New Haven, MO Posted by:  YoSam.
N 38° 36.900 W 091° 12.779
15S E 655581 N 4275568
Since he died near here, and had a farm near here, this town hold John Colter dear. He was a soldier with an enlistment, the enlistments for the "Corps" was "duration".
Waymark Code: WMJX0W
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 01/09/2014
Views: 6
County of marker: Franklin County
Location of marker: Miller St. & Main St., on levee walk directly behind the Colter Shelter, New Haven
Marker erected by: New Haven Chamber of Commerce
Sign sponsored by Dr. Kim Colter and Elaine Menke
Image in background: Artist John Clymer depicts John Colter meeting the Indians in the Rocky Mountains
Image courtesy of Mrs. Doris Clymer
Marker Text:
Private John Colter
"Private John Colter was among the first members to be recruited by Captain Meriwether Lewis for the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Colter was a skillful hunter, scout, and translator and he quickly became a valuable member of the party.
"After almost three years of traveling with the Corps of Discovery, Private Colter was given permission to leave the expedition on August 18, 1806 near the Mandan Village (in present day North Dakota). He was the only member of the expedition allowed to leave early from his enlistment. Colter wished to return to the wilderness and the mountains. He is credited with being the first white man to explore the region which later would become Yellowstone National Park. In 1810, Colter returned to Missouri to settle near the mouth of Boeuf Creek, located about three miles east of here."
"Colter came to the boat...had killed one buffelow, one elk, 3 deer one wolf 5 turkies and goose one beaver also..." Sgt. John Ordway
September 6, 1804
Web link: [Web Link]
History of Mark:
"The sinewy, bearded man raced up the brushy hillside, blood streaming from his nose from the terrific exertion. He did not consider himself a fast runner, but on this occasion the terror of sudden and agonizing death lent wings to his feet."
"Somewhere not far behind, his pursuers, their lean bodies more accustomed than his to the severe terrain, were closing in, determined to avenge the death of one of their own. They carried weapons, though they were unlikely to grant their quarry a quick and easy death if they caught him."
"All of these thoughts coursed through frontiersman John Colter’s mind as he ran for his life. Although an able shot and capable fighter, Colter’s only assets at the moment were the muscles in his already-exhausted legs. His pursuers had taken his gun and knife, and had stripped him of every last stitch of clothing. The sagebrush and scrub oak tore at Colter’s thighs as he ran, and sharp stones gouged the soles of his feet, but he paid the pain no mind; any torment was preferable to what the Blackfoot warriors would inflict on him if they captured him again."
"In 1808, the year John Colter ran his race with the Blackfeet, Western Montana had been seen by only a handful of white men. The better-known era of the Old West, with its gunfighters, cattlemen, and mining towns, lay decades in the future. The frontier as most Americans then conceived it was many hundreds of miles further east, on the lower reaches of the Missouri and the Mississippi rivers. The High Plains, Rocky Mountains, Great Basin, and Pacific Coast ranges were still the domain of native tribes and a few doughty fur trappers."
The New American
Additional point: Not Listed
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