Draft:Return Jackson Redden

Jackson Redden(September 26, 1817 - August 30, 1891), better known as Return Jackson Redden, was an American frontiersman, pioneer, faith leader, outlaw and eventual lawman. A major influence on the Wild West and early Westward expansion, Redden is documented as the first non-native person to lay eyes on the Great Salt Lake(July 21, 1847). Further West, he was the initial settler of Jack's Valley(now Carson Valley) near Lake Tahoe in 1850.

While a wanted man in the late 1830's, Redden became closely acquainted with Mormon? LDS? leaders Joseph Smith and Brigham Young. It wasn't long before he became a personal bodyguard to each of them. When Smith was assassinated in 1844, Redden became entangled in multiple local conflicts. He stood trial in the death of a Nauvoo deputy who allegedly killed Smith and was later indicted for the murder of one Ervine Hodges - who was allegedly attempting to assassinate church leader Brigham Young when he was stabbed to death within feet of the Young home in 1845.

With conflict and pressure surrounding the church and its leaders, Young began an exit plan to the barely explored western frontier. Redden was a prime candidate for this task as he had been West before and was now a fugitive on the run. In 1846, he was sent out on horseback to scout the trails with only his rifle and dog accompanying him. He would return later that year with a suggested path; one that stopped to resupply at the Redden family cabin in Iowa. Then passed through what is now Nebraska and Wyoming. Eventually cutting through the Rocky Mountains and into the desert valleys below.

Although Redden escaped custody or incarceration for the incidents in Nauvoo, he