PLACE OF JOHN COLTER’S DEATH By Stephen Gough
As stated in most, if not all, historical accounts of where John Colter died, one would read Dundee, MO which is just a few miles east of where he lived. JC mustered with Nathan Boone’s Rangers for a three month stint – March/1812 to June/1812. But our JC did not make it that long. Shirley Winkelhoch, a Colter direct descendant and a long time researcher, uncovered documentation that proved he was dismissed from Nathan Boone’s rangers on May 6, 1812 and died the very next day on May 7th, 1812. This was significant, because up to that point, all historical accounts had him dying in 1813.
After personally researching into the construction of Missouri forts and blockhouses used for protection against Indian raids and the defenses against the British, I discovered that Nathan Boone’s group of rangers were in the business of constructing Fort Mason in April/June near present day, Saverton, Missouri in Ralls County – about 100 miles north of his home, near the Salt and Mississippi Rivers north of St. Louis. A very long way from John’s home; a very long way from Dundee.
On page 129, from the book, “My Father, Daniel Boone”, taken from the Draper Interviews with Nathan Boone, Nathan states,” Shortly after I raised a company, we marched up the Mississippi accompanied by General Benjamin Howard and established FORT MASON, located about 15 miles above the mouth of the Salt River on the west bank of the Mississippi.” Fort Mason was completed sometime in mid to late May of 1812. So we knew that John Colter died on May 7th and now we know where and what they were doing – constructing Fort Mason, one of the many skills that he undoubtedly became quite accomplished at in his life. And, our John Colter probably succumbed from a very acute bile/liver duct blockage, hence the jaundice color of his skin that has been repeated many times of what he died from.
But as we know now, jaundice is just one of the visible symptoms of such a blockage. Jaundice is also consistent with an acute onset of yellow fever, which was quite prevalent in his day. Knowing now where John Colter was when he died, creates a cloud of doubt regarding where was he buried. Factoring in the distance from home, and the sight of his jaundiced body, in my opinion, slightly tips the scale for a burial on site near Fort Mason, or somewhere in route down the Mississippi.
If true, this might account for the never adequately explained EIGHTEEN MONTH gap between the time JC died, and the time his personal estate was opened. There may have been a Territory of Missouri by-laws governing a waiting period before opening up an estate, if a physical body is not produced. That being said, if ever there was a man that would have done his very best to return home the body of his trusted and respected friend, that man would have been Nathan Boone. And as a final tribute to his comrade-in-arms, Nathan named one of his sons, John Colter Boone. Thus, this story ends for now, but the research continues. More importantly, now it’s time to bring the harrowing adventures and breathtaking narrow escapes of “the ol’ curly wolf of the high plains and the western prairies, the cock of the walk of the Yellowstone, and the king of the Shining mountains” to life! (Quote is from Stephen T. Gough’s book ” Colter’s Run”).