In 1863 Leigh married a Shoshone woman, whom he would call Jenny. They immediately built a cabin in the Teton Basin on the west side of the Teton Range. Later that same year Leigh came across the isolated camp of a young Bannock family that went by the name of Tadpole. The wife of this couple happened to be in labor, and apparently was in need of some help. Leigh volunteered to act as a midwife. So grateful for his timely assistance the couple offered their newborn daughter, Susan, in marriage after she came of age. Leigh, already married at that point, declined the offer.
While serving as guide in the Jackson Hole area for the Hayden Geological Survey of 1872, expedition photographer William Henry Jackson took this photograph of Beaver Dick, Jenny and their four children in front of their tepee camp:
In December of 1876 Jenny gave birth to their sixth child. However, just a few days later, the wife of a trapper came into the Leigh home seeking food and shelter. The woman's husband had just died of smallpox. Unbeknownst to this woman she was also carrying the virus, and died a few days later. Before succumbing to the deadly disease she inadvertently spread it to the entire Leigh family. Within two weeks Jenny and their six children were dead, while Beaver Dick barely survived.
Three years later Leigh would remarry. At the age of 48 he serendipitously married Susan Tadpole, the baby girl who was promised to him 16 years earlier. The couple and their three children posed for this photograph sometime in the mid-1890s:
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Virtually no one went hiking before the 19th century. What occurred that inspired ordinary people to take a walk through the woods for pleasure? Ramble On explores the rich history of hiking, and how it evolved into one of the most popular pastimes in the world:
