The Bozeman Trail, 1863: The Final Trail West

GOLD! The age-old motivator and one that saw tens of thousands of Americans fueling westward expansion to the Pacific coast. In 1863, John Bozeman pioneered a route that connected Montana gold fields to the Oregon Trail. As the Civil War closed, the flow of emigrants turned into a flood, angering the Sioux over this intrusion into their nomadic lands. The Lakota chief Red Cloud declared war. The legendary Jim Bridger and the Fetterman Fight are just part of the adventure.