John Fremont
John Charles Fremont had a great influence in the development of the west. He led his first expedition west when he was 29 years old. Traveling with him was Kit Carson, who became his lifelong friend. Fremont's job was to map and describe the land.
In 1848 he led a railroad charting expedition in the dead of winter. He was trapped in the San Juan Mountains for several weeks and many of his men froze and starved to death.
Later he went to California. When gold was discovered on land he had bought, he became rich. He made bad business deals and lost all of his money. He died in 1890 in a dreary Manhattan boarding house far from the hero who had traveled through the west with Kit Carson at his side.
Questions:
Why did John Fremont come to the west?
Who was John Fremont's good friend?