Mountain Men
Storyboard Text
- Clothing and supplies
- Trapping
- Rendezvous
- I'll take it!
- I've got a beaver fur jacket for $5!!!
- A mountain man's uniform consisted of a flannel or cotton shirt, leather pants with smoked buffalo skin, leggings, a coat made from buffalo robe, a cap made of wool, and Moccasins for shoes. For their supplies they acquired a horse with a saddle, 6 beaver traps and a blanket, an extra pair of Moccasins, his powder horn and bullet pouch, a belt which was attached to a butcher knife, a wooden box containing bait for beaver and tobacco with a pipe, fire supplies, and a hatchet.
- Challenges of the seasons
- For the mountain men, trapping would mostly happen during the fall and spring. They were most profitable in the spring because of the animals coming out of hibernation. They normally traveled in brigades of 40-60 but would then fan out and travel in groups of 2-3. They were very vulnerable to native Indians. About 1,000 trappers roamed from 1820-1830 in the American West, the heyday of of Rocky Mountain Fur trade. There was a great demand for animal fur at the time.
- The mountain men would all gather in July for a one month long rendezvous. They would buy and sell fur, supplies, and delegate to new hunting grounds. They held horse and running races where the men could gamble. Beaver fur was the most profitable at the time and was very high in demand. It was started in 1825 by the Rocky Mountain Fur Company. Fur could be sold for $2 there but $7.50 in town. Jim Bridget was known for trading the most beaver fur.
- In November the streams froze. All the animals went into hibernation in the winter so it was a major leisurely time for the Mountain Men. They would continue to trap if the fall had been poor. To pass the time until spring they would play cards, checkers, dominoes, tell stories, sing songs, and read. They constantly faced starvation and freezing in the winter. In the summer they faced dehydration and heat. When the weather warmed up, they would finally go out and trap again.
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