The decades which follow may truly be referred to as "the Fur Era", for the Tetons became the center of remarkable activities on the part of fur trappers representing both British and American interests, the former by the Northwest and Hudson's Bay Companies, the latter by a succession of companies operating out of St. Louis, Mo. "It was the trio of peaks so distinctively presented from the west and southwest that made the Tetons famous as landmarks among the roving trappers who, guiding their courses by these easily recognized summits, singly or in groups passed over Teton Pass and through Pierres Hole in their seasonal migrations to and from their remote hunting grounds." Could these ancient monuments speak they would make known some of the most interesting events in the annals of the fur trade. For this was the paradise of the trapper. In every direction meandered the streams along which he pursued his trade, and nearby were the valleys where the rival companies gathered in annual conclave to fight the bloodless battles of their business. There is scarcely an acre of open country in sight of it that has not been the scene of forgotten struggles with the implacable Blackfeet, while far and near, in unknown graves, lie many obscure wanderers of whose lonely fate no record survives. Captain Bonneville, Father DeSmet, Rev. Samuel Parker, Jedediah Smith, Bridger, Kit Carson, David Jackson (after whom Jackson Hole and Jackson Lake were named), Sublette, Joe Meek--these are names to conjure with in western history. These and many others equally distinguished appear in the records of the Teton country, particularly in the third and fourth decades of the century. The 1832 rendezvous of the American trappers was held in Teton Basin, then known as "Pierre's Hole", at the west base of the Tetons. It was attended by many of the most famous trappers of the time, and furnished occasion for the Battle of Pierre's Hole, a notable engagement between the trappers and Gros Ventres. The picturesque name "Jackson Hole" dates back to 1829, in which year Capt. William Sublette so named it after his fellow trapper, David E. Jackson, who was especially partial to this beautiful valley. The term "hole" was used by the trappers of that period in much the same sense as is the word "basin" today, being applied to any mountain-girt valley.