Mountain Men Kit Carson was the most famous of all the mountain men who explored the rivers of the southwest. He was a scout for the United States Army during the Navajo campaign that resulted in the Navajo Long Walk. Jim Beckwourth was born the son of a Virginia slave. He narrated a book in 1856 that told of his life as a mountain man in the American Southwest. Jedediah Smith trapped in the area of northwestern Arizona. He became close friends with the Mohave Indians. He is credited with exploring more of the American West than any other mountain man. Bill Williams was one. Kit Carson was another. So too were Ewing Young, Jim Beckwourth, and Jedediah Smith. James O. and Sylvestre Pattie were two more. Their lifestyle, or way of living, was very hard. They had to fight bears, mountain lions, and Indians. They had to survive freezing winters. Their lives depended on how self-sufficient they were. March 1836 Texas wins its independence from Mexico. April 1846 United States declares war on Mexico. February 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo signed ending the war between Mexico and the United States. 1830 1840 December 1846 Mormon Battalion enters Tucson. 1850 June 1854 Gadsden Purchase agreed to by both Mexico and the United States. Chapter 6 • Territory of New Mexico  63