After the campaign, in the fall of 1823, Smith and several other of Ashley's men traveled downriver to Fort Kiowa. He and 10-16 men left from there to make their way overland to the Rocky Mountains.[27] While looking for the Crow tribe to obtain fresh horses and get westward directions, Jedediah was stalked and attacked by a large grizzly bear. The huge bear tackled Jedediah to the ground. Jedediah's ribs were broken and members of his party witnessed Smith fighting the bear, which ripped open his side with its claws and took his head in its mouth. The bear suddenly retreated and the men ran to help Smith. They found his scalp and ear nearly ripped off, but he convinced a friend, Jim Clyman, to sew it loosely back on, giving him directions. The trappers fetched water, bound up his broken ribs, and cleaned his wounds.[28] After recuperating from his bloody wounds and broken ribs, Jedediah wore his hair long to cover the large scar from his eyebrow to his ear.[29] …show more content…
In 1824 Smith launched an exploratory expedition to find an expedient route through the Rocky Mountains. Smith was able to retrieve information from Crow natives. When communicating with the Crows, one of Smith's men made a unique map (buffalo hide and sand), and the Crows were able to show Jedediah and his men the direction to the South Pass.[30] Jedediah and his men crossed through this pass from east to west[31] and encountered the Green River near the mouth of the Big Sandy River in what is now Wyoming.[32] The group broke into two parties; one led by Smith and the other by Thomas Fitzpatrick to trap upstream and downstream on the Green.[33] The two groups met in July on the Sweetwater River, and it was decided that Fitzpatrick and two others would take the furs and the news of the identification of a feasible highway route through the Rockies[g] to Ashley in St.