Jim Bridger - The King of the Mountain Men

By John J. Law

Jim Bridger, also, known as the 'King of the Mountain Men' lay on his stomach on a wooden table, as the doctor cut up the skin on the top area of his back. His back was stained with his own blood, but the good doctor had cleaned the blood as it gushed out, keeping bleeding to a minimum. Bridger himself was enduring the procedure in a very stoic and affable manner. 
He had been lying on his back for almost an hour now but was not complaining in any way. 
The doctor had cut and scraped off his skin to get at the metal arrowhead that was lodged deep in his back, but the King of the Mountain Men did not complain or moan from the pain. Instead, he continued to enthrall young Jacob Hughes who sat at his side with his tales of high adventure on the mountains.
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.C. Hulsey Books
• Release date: Dec 18, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223800330

Book preview

Chapter One

More Tall Tales from the Mountain Man

Marcus Whitman squinted as he he continued his delicate procedure on Jim Bridger’s back. It was not an easy task, but the good doctor had gotten through half of it.

Bridger, also known as the ‘King of the Mountain Men’ lay on his stomach on a wooden table, as the doctor cut up the skin on the top area of Bridger’s back. Bridger’s back was stained with his own blood, but the good doctor had cleaned the blood as it gushed out, keeping bleeding to a minimum. Bridger himself was enduring the procedure in a very stoic and affable manner. He had been lying on his back for almost an hour now, but was not complaining in any way. The doctor had cut and scraped off his skin to get at the metal arrowhead that was lodged deep in his back, but the King of the Mountain Men did not complain or moan from the pain. Instead, he continued to enthrall young Jacob Hughes who sat at his side with his tales of high adventure on the mountains. The curious crowd that had gathered around them were all in awe at how Bridger could remain so stoically calm and even be in high spirits as the doctor cut up his back. It was an amazing display of fortitude in the face of searing pain and agony.

I must say I’ve traveled these lands far and wide to do my practice and spread the Good News of the Lord, but I’ve seen a man so stout in fortitude and of such strong will as Jim Bridger. This procedure would normally make most men scream in agony, or at the very least ask for a drink of liquid courage. Bridger asked for neither. Whitman thought to himself.

Whitman had worked as a doctor and a missionary and had drifted to the rendezvous camp hoping for work. He had gotten to work on the King of the Mountain Men. As a man of faith and a medical practitioner, Whitman was very knowledgeable and sensible. He had seen a lot of injured men suffer in agony with similar injuries, but this one did not seem to affect Bridger in the least. He had even kept the arrowhead lodged for three years before seeking treatment. That in itself was an unusual and extreme feat.

Silently Whitman nodded in gratitude at young Jacob’s presence. The procedure of extracting a metal arrowhead that had been lodged deep in a man’s back was not an easy one. He could not rush the procedure or he could risk re-infecting the wound. He had to move slowly and very painfully to get the arrowhead out. Other men would have been screaming in pain by now at such a long and agonizing process, but not Jim Bridger. No, he did not even seem to notice the painful cuts of Whitman’s scalpel as they scraped off his