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Show in the Oregon Territory, appointed Ogden as head of the project with orders to travel into the jointly claimed region and ruin the beaver supply as rapidly as possible, a kind of 'scorched stream' policy to discourage the American trappers. The scheme didn't work! A party of American settlers streamed into the territory and tipped the scales in favor of the United States. Peter Skene Ogden's huge brigade of 131 persons, 268 horses and 352 traps trapped its way to the Bear River, but found that the American trappers had beaten them to the punch and had reaped the best of the fur crop. Hudson's Bay trappers moved on to Cache Valley, then crossed the divide into present-day Ogden Valley. They described this Valley as a 'hole' because it was completely surrounded by mountains. Peter Skene Ogden next followed his trappers over the south mountains and established camp at the present site of Mountain Green, Morgan County. The clash here with American trappers turned the tide in favor of the Americans, whose men were never far from the British company. From the Americans, the British trappers learned that they would receive a much better price for their pelts than the British were paying. In fact, eight times the amount they had been receiving. Almost at once a plot was hatched for an attack on Ogden's Hudson Bay camp. The plan was to plunder the British camp and drive Hudson Bay out of the region. Peter Skene Ogden was not aware of the scheme until a rowdy crowd of flag- waving Americans rode up Weber Canyon and camped within 100 yards of his camp. The date was 23 May 1825. Johnson Gardner, leader of the Americans, informed the British fur officials that they were on American soil and if they didn't leave, they, the British, would be driven out. Ogden soon learned that 23 of his top trappers had deserted to the American side because of the offer of more money for their pelts. He was faced with virtual mutiny. For 48 hours the two groups were at loggerheads. Then Ogden decided to retr¬eat to the Snake River region rather than be involved in a gun battle. This inci¬- PETER SKENE OGDEN Utah Historical Society 36 |