The first Euro-Americans entered North Park in search of beaver pelts for a European fashion craze in beaver hats, and by 1820 fur trappers were working along the mountain streams in and around the park. Within two decades, thousands of dollars worth of beaver pelts had been taken from North Park. Among the noted fur trappers who visited or trapped there were Kit Carson, Bill Williams, Jim Bridger, "Pegleg" Smith, and Milton Sublette. As settlement increased along the Front Range, North Park's abundant wildlife also drew market hunters who exploited the valley's game for sale in new communities such as Denver, Fort Collins, Greeley, and Boulder. In 1844, explorer and surveyor John C. Fremont passed through North Park and called it a "paradise to all grazing animals" in his journal.