In 1823, Jedediah Strong Smith, a beaver trapper born in New York State in 1799, led a dozen Mountain Men from Fort Kiowa to the Yellowstone, entering the Black Hills near here by the old bison trail through Buffalo Gap, becoming the first white man in the Black Hills. He had come west from Ohio in 1822 to join the Ashley expedition from St. Louis up the Missouri River. Later he found the South Pass, became the first white man to reach California by the overland route, and is also credited with extensive exploration of the West Coast north to Canada. A skillful hunter, successful fur trader, and pioneer explorer of the American West, he feared God, loved peace, and kept his Bible as his constant companion. His three driving ambitions were to serve God, to provide for his family, and to explore the unmapped American West, and he was successful in attaining all three goals. During his western explorations he survived many perilous experiences, including an encounter with a grizzly bear near this spot. In 1831, near the Cimarron River, he was killed by a Comanche lance, and his body was never found.