A Grand & Splendid Formation

This huge bluff above the prairie floor was named me-a-pa-te, “hill that is hard to go around,” and became a familiar sight to emigrant travelers bound for the California, Oregon, and Utah Territories. According to legend, in 1828 fur trapper Hirum Scott fell ill, was abandoned here by his companions, struggled back to the bluffs, and later died; although the story has many versions, his remains were found beneath the bluffs that now bear his name. In 1847 the vanguard Mormon Pioneer Company led by Brigham Young viewed Scotts Bluff from the north side of the Platte River for several days as they traveled west, where historian Merrill Mattes later observed the bluff presents its most magnificent front above the river badlands. That same year William Clayton called the view majestic and sublime, and pioneers Wilford Woodruff and Alexander Badlam explored Scotts Bluffs from top to bottom. To 19th-century emigrants unfamiliar with the geologic wonders of the American West, Scotts Bluff stood as a grand and splendid formation.

Nebraska · United States