AI Summary
5 min readThe Race That Made John Colter a Legend
On a misty morning along the Jefferson River in present-day Montana, John Colter and his trapping partner John Potts heard what sounded like a large herd of animals moving fast through the grass above the riverbanks. Potts dismissed Colter's warning that Indians were nearby, calling him a coward. Then several hundred Blackfoot warriors appeared on both sides of the river. What followed would become one of the most famous survival stories in American frontier history—Colter's Run.
Colter and Potts had been working the Jefferson River in the pattern every trapper in Blackfoot country knew was the only way to stay alive: set beaver traps at dusk, check them before dawn, and disappear during daylight hours. But on this morning, the system failed. When the warriors motioned the two men ashore, both dropped their traps into the shallow water to hide the evidence. Colter paddled to shore, where warriors seized him, stripped him naked, and disarmed him. Potts refused to come ashore, pushing his canoe back into the current. A warrior's arrow struck him in the hip, and when Potts sat up and shot one of the warriors dead, the response was a barrage of arrows. Colter later said Potts was "made a riddle of." The warriors pulled his body onto the riverbank and hacked it to pieces.
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What you'll learn
- 1 (01:11) **Setting the Stage: The Mystery of the Date** - The episode opens with the debate over whether John Colter's famous run happened in September 1808 or 1809, and outlines the incredible year that preceded it.
- 2 (02:52) **The Ambush on the Jefferson River** - Colter and Potts are checking their traps before dawn when they hear the sound of a large herd moving fast, which turns out to be a war party of several hundred Blackfoot warriors.
- 3 (05:36) **The Race Begins: "Go, Go Away"** - A chief orders Colter to run across the open prairie, and as he looks back, he realizes the young warriors are stripping down for a chase—the prize is his scalp.
- 4 (08:20) **The One-on-One Confrontation** - After three miles, Colter looks back to see a single Blackfoot runner closing the gap, carrying a spear and only twenty yards behind.
- 5 (09:54) **Desperate Search and the Beaver Lodge** - Colter reaches the Madison River and plunges in, searching for refuge as the furious warriors arrive on the bank.
- 6 (15:20) **Emerging into the Night** - After darkness falls and the sounds of his pursuers fade, Colter waits until he is certain, then swims out of the beaver lodge into the night.
- 7 (16:56) **The Long Walk: Avoiding the Obvious Route** - Colter travels all night, heading south and then east, deliberately avoiding the most direct route through Bozeman Pass, which he knows the Blackfoot would expect.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
In 1808 or 1809, John Colter faces an extreme test of endurance and resilience when he is captured by Blackfoot warriors on one of the three forks of the Missouri River in present-day Montana. Afterward, he makes one final journey to the Three Forks region before he decides the risks are not worth the rewards.
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