Scott’s Bluffs

This sketch of Scott’s Bluff is based on the sketch at the Joslyn (CR# 100), although neither sketch is as recognizable a likeness of the landmark as are Miller’s sketches of the earlier signposts on the Oregon Trail, Courthouse Rock and Chimney Rock.

In Miller’s accompanying note, he tells the story of Hiram Scott, the unfortunate trapper for whom the bluff was named. Miller’s tale generally follows the versions recounted by Warren Ferris and Washington Irving: Scott, a trapper, became ill and was left by his party in the care of a comrade. Upon their return the following year, they found his bones and assumed that the man left in charge of him had abandoned him to his fate. According to the National Park Service, Smith was born in 1805 in Missouri and served as a clerk for the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in 1827. It is believed that he died returning from the 1828 rendezvous in Bear Lake, Utah, but no other documentation remains.

Lisa Strong