Trappers and Indians communicating by signs A J Miller Trappers were the first white Americans to live in what is now called Colorado. White trappers first came into contact with Indians west of the Mississippi River in the mid-1700s. In the early 1800s, their number increased. Still, the Indians of the western plains and Rocky Mountains far outnumbered the trappers. Relations between the trappers and Indians varied. Some tribes were friendly, others were hostile. Trappers and Indians had many obstacles to overcome. They remembered past encounters that were not always friendly. They spoke very different languages as the photo here indicates. They came from different cultures. Sometimes the trappers and Indians overcame these differences, sometimes not.