Post (C) Doris McCraw
aka Angela Raines
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| Image (C) Doris McCraw |
"‘Rocky Mountain Jim,’ the frontiersman made famous by Isabella Bird in her 1879 travel classic A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains, remains one of Colorado’s most mysterious historical figures. Often remembered as a tragic figure, his true identity and life story have puzzled historians and readers alike for over a century. This article attempts to explore the facts that have been shared about Rocky Mountain Jim since the book’s publication.
Ancestry records indicate that James Author Nugent was born on July 4, 1836, in Pakenham, Lanark County, Ontario, Canada. An 1861 Canadian census lists a James Nugent in the same county of his birth, working as a laborer and identifying as a Roman Catholic. Additional records show James Nugent, son of Arthur Nugent and Ann McDermet Nugent, was baptized on January 6, 1837, in Perth, Ontario, Canada.
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| Image (C) Doris McCraw |
So far, the date of his arrival in the United States is tenuous. It may have been the late 1860s, as some records show he'd built a cabin near Estes Park around 1868.
It was here that Isabella Bird met Jim. He'd been guiding people through the Estes Park and what is now known as the Rocky Mountain National Park area. He also guided climbers to the summit of Long's Peak, of which Miss Bird was one.
It is through Isabella's writings that we have an idea of what Jim looked like. He was " a broad, thickset man, about the middle height, with an old cap on his head, and wearing a grey hunting-suit much the worse for weare...a revolver sticking our of the breaest-pocket fo his coat...Tawny hair in thin, uncared-for curls. fell from under his hunter's cap and over his collar. One eye was entirely gone, and the loss made one side of the face repulsive, while the other might have been modeled in marble,..Of his genius and chivalry to women, there does not appear to be any doubt; but he is a desperate character, and subject to 'ugly fits', when people think it best to avoid him."
The scarred face was the result of a grizzly attack that may have occurred sometime between 1869 and 1871.
He died on September 7, 1874, after being shot in the head with a shotgun. He survived long enough to name Griffith Evans, an old rival, as his attacker. He was taken to Fort Collins, where he died and is supposed to be buried in an unmarked grave in the cemetery there. Of Griff Evans, without a living witness, he was acquitted of murder. (Griff Evans is a story for another post.)
The Old West is full of stories and mysteries like "Rocky Mountain Jim's", and the joy of digging for the facts vs fiction is a major part of the reason I love history.
Below is a haiku I wrote when thinking of Jim:
Rain falls in the night
Wind, clouds vie for dominance's
A lone star shines bright
And yes, I have a book coming out in October where the characters of Isabella Bird and Mountain Jim play a part.
Until Next Time,
Doris
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