| A Brief History of the Bozeman Trail
The Bozeman Trail began as a gold-rush trail--a
shortcut from the main trail on the North Platte River to the gold fields of Montana.The
several routes of the Trail overlaid earlier Indian, trader and exploration routes in
Wyoming and Montana. While only about 3,500 emigrants traversed the trail in 1864-66, its
most significant consequence was that it cut through the Powder River Basin, the last and
best hunting grounds of the Northern Plains Indians, and led to military occupation of the
region and ultimately resulted in the Indian wars on the Northern Plains. After emigrant
use ceased, the Trail served as a military road to the forts until it was abandoned in
1868 following the Fort Laramie Treaty. It was used again in 1876 by the forces of General
George C. Crook, and shortly after the Battle of the Little Bighorn, the route was opened
and used by settlers.
--Susan Badger Doyle |
