The Apex of this 250^th Year

William P Duncan

July 4^th is the high point of our semiquincentennial year.  In this month of July we will hear from Thomas Jefferson (of course), Charles Bent, General William Ashley, and Zenas Leonard.  Jefferson needs no introduction.  Charles Bent and his brothers owned and managed a number of trading posts in the southwest.  Charles was appointed as the first governor of New Mexico.  General William Ashley is not well known today, but was instrumental in the exploration of the west: he founded the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in the 1820s and hired 100 young adventurers to go across the West and collect furs.  Many of the more famous explorers of the West were part of “Ashley’s 100”.  Zenas Leonard spent 5 years on expeditions of exploration and fur trapping in the 1830s, and wrote up his journeys shortly after, providing a contemporaneous eyewitness record of the period. 

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was a central figure among the Founding Fathers.  Chief author of the Declaration of Independence, Third President of the United States, responsible for the Louisiana Purchase…   The number of his accomplishments is tremendous.  For the 4^th of July, we take the opening of the Declaration of Independence for our quotation. 

Thomas Jefferson

“When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,“

Today we must take a detour to recognize a different kind of exploration.  On July 4 we celebrate the anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, which set the stage for this American Experiment in self-government.  Although we ascribe this quote to the main author, Thomas Jefferson, the Declaration of Independence was produced by a committee – Jefferson of course, but also John Adams, Benjamin Franklin and the less well known Roger Sherman and Robert Livingston.  Then it was modified and approved by the entire Continental Congress.  This year (2026) we celebrate the 250^th anniversary of this Declaration.  These are the deep and profound truths and principles that our Nation is based on: Rights that come from God, not Man, and Governments that derive from the consent of the governed, not the will of the governors.  These principles have maintained our Nation for these two and a half centuries, and with our vigilance and the grace of God it may last some centuries longer.

Bent’s Fort

Charles Bent and his family are mostly remembered for Bent’s Fort, the restored trading post in Eastern Colorado.  But the Bent family was deeply involved in the early history of the Western United States- in trading, politics, and more. 

Charles Bent

“The real end of prayer is not so much to get this or that single desire granted, as to put human life into full and joyful conformity with the will of God. “

Charles Bent and his brother William partnered with Ceran St Vrain, trading along the Santa Fe trail.  Their trading route ran from St Louis to Taos, New Mexico with fortified outposts on three rivers: the South Platte (Fort St Vrain), Arkansas (Bent’s Fort), and Canadian (Fort Adobe).  Only Bent’s Fort survives today – it has been restored, and lies between La Junta and Las Animas, CO.  When the United States took over New Mexico after the Mexican-American War, Charles Bent was appointed governor.  The population of New Mexico was primarily Hispanic and Native American, and many resented the new American government.  The result was the Taos Revolt, where Hispanics and Pueblo tribe members attacked and killed many government leaders.  Charles Bent was tortured (scalped alive) and killed in front of his wife and family.  The revolt was put down by the United States Army.

Although his life ended violently, Charles Bent was not a violent man.  In Taos, he had married a local woman, Maria Ignacia Jaramilla, and fathered five children.  There is no record of violence in his history, and what comes down to us in his writings gives shape to a sober and devout man.  This quote from Bent on prayer recommends to us that prayer is not simply a “wish list” – us asking for our wants and needs to be met by God, but instead is a way for us to get in the habit of communing with God and learning His will.  In our time where faith and piety are often mocked, it is good to see the example of the faith and piety of our ancestors, to the end that we may return to those deep roots.

Ashley’s Ad for his “100”

William H. Ashley – War of 1812 General and businessman – and Andrew Henry founded the Rocky Mountain Fur Company in 1822.  Many of the famous “Mountain Men” of the early West were members of “Ashley’s 100”: Jim Bridger, Hugh Glass, Jedediah Smith.  Ashley sold the business to a group of the 100 in 1826, but continued as their supplier from his home in St. Louis.  He then served a few terms in Congress, and died in 1838.

General William Ashley

“My friends ! I am now about to leave you, to take up my abode in St. Louis.
Whenever any of you return thither, your first duty must be to call at my house, to talk
over the scenes of peril we have encountered, and partake of the best cheer my
table can afford you.“

This statement from Ashley was remembered by James Beckwourth – it is Ashley’s farewell to his “Hundred”.  Having shared the experience of exploration with these men, Ashley opened his home to them whenever they might pass through St Louis.  Ashley was a leader who generated great devotion among his men.  He had faith in them, and he shared the challenges and trials of the trail with them.  He did not stay home and send them out into the wild.  When we are in positions as leaders, this is a lesson for us.  Do not set yourself apart and enjoy yourself while your people toil, but join them in the battle.  This will be rewarded with loyalty.

Joseph Walker, leader of expedition with Zenas Leonard

Zenas Leonard left his home in Pennsylvania in 1831 to join a fur hunting expedition to the West.  After a year or two collecting furs, he became a member of Joseph Wlaker’s expedition to California.  This group crossed the Sierra, and experienced the wonders of California as the first Americans to go overland: Yosemite, redwood trees, and more.  Less than 20 years later, California would be an American state.

Zenas Leonard

“From the mountain out to the plain, a distance varying from 10 to 20 miles, the timber stands as thick as it could grow and the land is well watered by a number of small streams rising here and there along the mountain. In the last two days travelling we have found some trees of the Red-wood species, incredibly large — some of which would measure from 16 to 18 fathoms round the trunk at the height of a man’s head from the ground.”

California is home to some enormous trees – the Giant Sequoia of the western slopes of the Sierra and the Coast Redwood closer to the coast.  These trees grow to enormous heights (over 300 feet tall) and the breadth of the trunk is also unusually large.  The existence of such trees was not common knowledge when California was a remote and sparsely populated territory of Mexico, so Leonard and his companions were sure to have been astounded by the size of the trees.  In those days, logging had not impacted these trees and so they were seen in their pristine and native state.  Once again we are confronted with the spectacular wonders found in these United States.  California boasts the beauty of the Sierra Mountains (preserved in Kings Canyon and Yosemite National Parks) and the titanic trees (preserved in Redwoods National Park and Sequioa National Park and Forest), along with nine National Parks in total.  No matter where we go in the United States we come across wonders – preserved for these 250 years, let us continue to preserve it!