Jedediah Smith was born January 6, 1799. In 1831 while he was traveling, some Commache Indians killed him. Jedediah was the first reported American to travel to California. One time while traveling to California it was so hot that he had to bury himself in dirt just so he could keep cool. He had a big family; he was the fourth of twelve children! He loved to travel. He was the first to travel across the Great Basin. He was a trailblazer, and was the first to travel across the Continental Divide. Jedediah Smith was one of the original Ashley men. He spent his very first winter on the Musselshell River. He loved to fur trap. He also was the first to traverse the Sierra Nevada Mountains. He wanted to be the first to see a country that no other
