George W. Bean, Early Mormon Explorer

Among the notable and great men who explored and colonized the Great Basin, the imposing figure of George W. Bean stands as a sometimesforgotten pioneer. Although he served with well-known army explorers— Stansbury, Steptoe, Simpson, and Wheeler—no true historical study has been made of this large, restless, one-armed traveler. Most of the material written by him was done in his later years and at a time when there was little interest in Utah pioneers; nevertheless, he recorded an extremely valuable account of exploration in early Utah. The following material, taken primarily from original writings, shows George W. Bean as a pioneer and explorer.