Snowshoe Thompson: The Death of a Legend

Sadness greets this day as one of the great pioneering legends of the Sierra Nevada passes away. Snowshoe Thompson will no longer be called upon to deliver the mail across the Sierra Nevada mountain range. This remarkable man may be gone, but he will not be forgotten.

Jon Torsteinson-Rue, or Jon Thompson as his name was changed to later in life, came to America from Norway in 1837, when he was only ten years old. He started American life with his family in Illinois, then moved to Missouri, Iowa and Wisconsin. The farming life was soon replaced in 1851 when gold was discovered in California. Mr. Thompson drove a herd of cattle to California, settling in Placerville to try his hand at mining. While living in the Sacramento valley, a newspaper ad in 1856 declaring "People Lost to the World: Uncle Sam Needs a Mail Carrier" caught his eye and he applied for the position, starting a career that would thrust him into the history books.

The mail route was to be in the winter, from Placerville to Mormon Station, which we now know as the town of Genoa in the state of Nevada. The treacherous journey across the Sierra Nevada in the middle of winter didn't faze Mr. Thompson as he was used to skiing and snow shoeing in his native country. Realizing the need for special equipment to get him through the deep snow and blizzards, Mr. Thompson, soon receiving the nickname of 'Snowshoe', constructed his own special snowshoes that were more like skis. These snowshoes were ten feet long, weighed about 25 pounds and were made of oak.

With skill, Snowshoe maneuvered himself through the mountain passes, delivering the mail in a short three days. Reports say that he traveled between 25- 40 miles a day in order to maintain his schedule. The weather conditions never bothered Snowshoe and he made the journey anywhere from two to four times a month during the winter. He cut an impressive figure at six feet tall with blonde hair and his trademark ten-foot snowshoes. The town's people came to rely on his arrival and waited at the base of Genoa Peak for their postal carrier to come, kicking up clouds of snow as he swept down the mountainside.

Keeping his burden light, Snowshoe carried only matches, some dried food and his bible. Even in the worst weather, Mr. Thompson would only stop for a short time before setting off again. He reported to the town's people once that during his trip he came upon a pack of wolves huddled around a fallen deer. Without a gun or knife in his possession, Snowshoe continued forward, right past the growling animals half expecting them to attack, but they didn't. Glancing back, he saw that they had ignored him and were tearing into the carcass.

He disclosed to friends and curious people that it wasn't at all difficult to navigate through the towering mountains because he quickly came to recognize streams, rock formations and trees. Travel by night was easier because he used the stars on clear nights to stay on his intended route.

Snowshoe's dedication wasn't only restricted to delivery of the mail. In fact, he was known for rescuing numerous miners caught in blizzards, carrying them out of danger on his long snowshoe-skis as they grasped him gratefully around the waist. In 1856, around Christmas time, he came upon a trapper named James Sisson who'd been stuck in a cabin for almost two weeks. Mr. Sisson's feet were frozen and he was starving as he had no fire and had run out of food. Snowshoe continued to Genoa for help, but not before cutting some firewood for Mr. Sisson. Obtaining help from several men, Snowshoe had to carve them their own sets of snowshoe-skis so they could travel in the snow. When Mr. Sisson was safe in Genoa, the doctor stated that his feet needed to be amputated, but he had no anesthetic. Mr. Thompson immediately made the trip back to Placerville for the needed medical supplies, allowing the humane amputation of Mr. Sisson's feet and saving his life.

His mail pack wasn't restricted to only letters and packages, but many times he carried medical supplies, utensils, books and even clothing. In 1859, Mr. Thompson was asked to take a bluish rock to Placerville for assay. It turned out that the ore was rich in silver and this discovery started the silver mining of the Comstock Lode of Nevada. With the gold diminishing in California, people began to relocate in Nevada and Snowshoe was asked to continue his mail route all year round, expanding the areas to include the new mining towns.

It was in 1866 that Mr. Thompson married his wife, Agnes Singleton, an English woman, and set up a homestead near Genoa. Desiring a settled life more conducive to married life, he grew wheat, oats and potatoes. Along with some cattle and horses of his own, he allowed friends and neighbors to board their animals in his pastures. For sport, Mr. Thompson would make snowshoe-skis similar to his own for friends and teach them how to ski down the mountain slopes.

With only one son left to carry on his name, Snowshoe Thompson developed appendicitis that turned to pneumonia and took his life on this day, May 15, 1876. Some legends are fleeting and soon forgotten, but Snowshoe Thompson will live on in our hearts and memories for a very long time.