Heritage Gateways
Official Sesquicentennial K-12 Education Project
sponsored by the Utah State Board of Education, the BYU-Public School Partnership and the Utah Education Network
Pioneer Student Work
Pioneer: Jim Bridger (Ben - 4th Grade)Jim Bridger was a famous mountain man. He came to the West in 1822 when he was 18 years old. He came to raise money from beaver pelts to send his little sister to school. He is a pioneer because he discovered the Great Salt Lake. He wanted to know what was at the end of the Bear River. He floated down it in a bull boat. Jim thought it went all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Jim went around it and found out it was a lake. I chose Jim Bridger because he showed adventure and courage. Once he got shot in the back with two arrows. One came out but the other one broke off. He carried the arrowhead in his back for three years until he met a doctor at the annual rendezvous who cut it out of Jim's back. I chose him because he showed not only courage and adventure but also sacrifice. I could be like him by showing these things. I probably won't get a chance to do the things he did, but I can show courage, adventure, and sacrifice in many other ways.
