Baker, James, scout and frontiersman, usually referred to as "Jim" Baker, was a native of Illinois. At the age of 18 years he was on the Great Plains as an employee of the American Fur company, and it is said that he was never again east of the Missouri river. Next to Kit Carson, he was Gen. Fremont's most trusted scout and guide. As a trapper he was exceedingly skillful, and in one season took over $9,000 worth of furs. After that he retired to the mountains, where he passed the remainder of his life. He married a Snake Indian woman and lived much of his time with that tribe, though in his earlier years he made his headquarters at Bent's fort on the Arkansas river. Gen. Marcy, who knew Baker well, says he was "a generous, noble-hearted specimen of the trapper type, who would peril his life for a friend at any time, or divide his last morsel of food."