Accounts of Peter Skene Ogden's 1824-25 Expedition into Utah

Introduction

In 1824-25, The Hudson's Bay Company conducted a trapping expedition in the "Snake Country", including the region now known as northern Utah. This expedition was led by one Peter Skene Ogden. Both Ogden and his chief clerk, William Kittson, kept daily journals of this fur brigade's travels. Both journals are important historical documents, for they constitute the earliest written descriptions of the area traversed - Cache, Ogden, and Weber valleys - and the daily operations of a large company of trappers plying their trade in the streams of the region. They are to northern Utah what Escalante's journal is to central and southern Utah - the earliest written account by eyewitnesses.

Both journals should be read in conjunction. Kittson's journal makes several important contributions omitted by Ogden's account. One of the most significant of these is in the field of geography. He not only kept a daily journal but also prepared a remarkably accurate map of the region traversed showing rivers, lakes and mountain ranges. On this map he marked the actual route and camp sites of the Ogden company.

Bibliographical Information

This web site provides links to two articles originally published in the Utah Historical Quarterly. These articles are made available on-line courtesy of the Utah State Historical Society.

Peter Skene Ogden's Journal of His Expeditions to Utah, 1825 David E. Miller, ed. volume 20, page 159

William Kittson's Journal Covering Peter Skene Ogden's 1824-1825 Snake Country Expedition David E. Miller, ed. volume 22, page 125

These article were, in turn, based on:
Peter Skene Ogden's Snake Country Journals, 1824-1825 and 1825-26. Edited by E. E. Rich. The Publications of the Hudson's Bay Record Society, XIII [London 1950].

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