Weber Canyon was the most important gateway into the Great Salt Lake Valley, and many notable figures in early Utah history passed through it, including trapper John Weber, who was supposed to have been killed by Indians in the winter of 1828-29; Etienne Provost, who in 1824 reported one of the first explorations of the river; and Osborne Russell, who reported exploration in 1841. In 1846 California emigrants took the first wagons down into Weber Canyon, encountering many hardships and suffering severe losses, including the James Hudspeth, Bryant Russell, Young, and Harlan parties. In this vicinity, the Donner-Reed party of 1846, which later met a tragic fate on the east slope of the Sierras in California, turned southwest and blazed a trail through the mountains to the Salt Lake Valley. This trail was followed by the Mormon pioneers in 1847, the California gold rush emigrants in 1849-50, the Mormon handcart pioneers and overland stage in 1856, and the Pony Express in 1860-61.