Shoshone, Crow, Blackfeet, Gros Ventre, and other Native Americans hunted and picked berries in the valley in summer, but winter was unbearable. During the early 1800s, solitary mountain men trapped valley beaver, sometimes wintering through intense and deep snow. After the fur trade collapsed in 1840, occasional trappers and prospectors ventured into Jackson Hole. Well-known pioneers built temporary cabins. Jackson Hole was settled late in the frontier era, when limited technology, supply routes, and food storage made winter bearable. The first permanent settlers, John Holland and John Carnes, homesteaded north of the town of Jackson in 1884. Significant settlement came after 1900 as schools, post offices, and churches were built. Jackson, Wilson, Moran, and Kelly became the dominant communities. Getting supplies and mail into Jackson Hole was always difficult. Most supplies came from Idaho over rugged Teton Pass. Pack horses and supply wagons then faced the Snake River, often dangerous or impossible to cross. Menor’s Ferry, built at Moose in 1894 by William D. Menor, was a major crossing until replaced by a bridge in 1927. Ferries, and later bridges, at Wilson also improved valley transportation. Most valley homesteaders became cattle ranchers, grazing their herds on the public range and cultivating enough hay for winter feed. But the harsh climate and porous soils made ranching risky. When some ranchers recognized the value of scenery and wildlife, they began operating dude ranches and hunting lodges. In 1903, Ben Sheffield catered to wealthy hunters from his headquarters at Moran. In 1907, Louis Joy operated the first dude ranch in Jackson Hole, the JY. The age of tourism had begun. [Illustration: A rodeo at the Elbo Ranch, which was located near Cottonwood Creek.] [Illustration: _The Snake River cuts through moraines and exposes a vast rubble of glacial cobbles. An evening float trip offers an opportunity to view wildlife, a part of the river’s biotic richness._] The Snake River Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole have no corner on the Snake River, boasting as they do a mere 40 miles or so of the sinuous Snake’s more than 1,000 miles of progress from the Continental Divide near Yellowstone National Park to its confluence with the mighty Columbia River near Pasco, Washington.