Nathaniel Jarvis Wyeth Wyeth, Nathaniel Jarvis, 1802–56,
American explorer and trader in the far West, b. Cambridge,
Mass. A businessman in Boston, he was fired with a desire to go
to Oregon by the eloquence of Hall J. Kelley. When Kelley's
plans for an expedition were long delayed, Wyeth formed one of
his own and in 1832 crossed the continent, at the same time
sending a ship around Cape Horn. The vessel, carrying all the
supplies and some of his party, was never heard from, and after
spending the winter at Fort Vancouver Wyeth returned to Boston.
In 1834 he outfitted a new expedition, with grandiose plans for
establishing fur-trading posts, a salmon fishery, a colony, and
other developments. He founded Fort Hall (July, 1834) and built
Fort William on the Columbia River; although his ship reached
the Columbia and was used in trade, he was unsuccessful in
competition with Dr. John McLoughlin of the Hudson's Bay
Company. In 1836 he returned to the East, discouraged. His
journals and letters have been edited by