Joe Meek was a teenage runaway who had joined Capt. William Sublette’s Rocky Mountain Fur Co. as a hired hunter and trapper in the spring of 1829.
As the Christmas season came upon them, the tall Virginian had already been attacked by Indians, became lost in the wilderness, and had come close to starvation.
Years later, Meek shared his story with Frances Victor, author of his biography “The River of the West.” about how as a greenhorn he had been lost along the Yellowstone River in the middle of winter.
It had happened when Blackfeet Indians attacked the camp while Meeks was out hunting.
The 19-year-old had returned just in time to see Sublette and his men fleeing from the attack.
It was bitter cold and Meek was suddenly alone with only his mule for company.
“The ground was covered with snow, blotting out the trails,” author Stanley Vestal said in his book “The Merry Mountain Man.”
“Joe didn’t know straight up about that tangled country,” he wrote.
The teenager had no food with him and had not seen any sign of game all morning.
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