Before Kit Carson. Before Jedidiah Smith and before Jim Bridger trapped, hunted and explored, the example had been set for them. Men like Elisha Walden, William Blevins, Daniel Boone and Donald Warren left the safety and comfort of settled areas to hunt, trap and explore the land west of the Appalachian Mountains. These half-horse, half-alligator men braved nature and Indians and helped open up Kentucky and Tennessee for settlement.