The first inhabitants of the plains were the Indians – Arapaho, Cheyenne, Crow, Blackfoot, Sioux, Kiowa and Pawnee. They survived and even thrived. The first non-Indians were French-Canadian trappers who passed through the area on their way to the beaver-rich foothills of the Rockies. They stayed only as long as there was a demand for the pelts and then moved on. Explorers such as Stephen H. Long passed through what is now Logan County on June 26, 1820. He referred to this area as “The Great American Desert.”