preview

Mountain Men from the North American Rock Mountains

Decent Essays

Mountain men were most common in the North American Rocky Mountains from about 1810 through the 1880s (with a peak population in the early 1840s). Approximately 3,000 mountain men ranged the mountains between 1820 and 1840, the peak beaver-harvesting period. While there were many free trappers, most mountain men were employed by major fur companies. The life of a company man was almost militarized. The men had mess groups, hunted and trapped inbrigades and always reported to the head of the trapping party. This man was called a "boosway", a bastardization of the French term bourgeoisie. He was the leader of the brigade and the head trader.
Donald Mackenzie, representing the North West Company, held a Rendezvous in the Boise RiverValley in 1819.[2] The rendezvous system was later implemented by William Henry Ashley of theRocky Mountain Fur Company, whose company representatives would haul supplies to specific mountain locations in the spring, engage in trading with trappers, and bring pelts back to communities on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers in the fall. Ashley sold his business to the outfit of Jackson and Sublette. He continued to earn revenue by selling that firm their supplies. This system of rendezvous with trappers continued when other firms, particularly the American Fur Company owned by John Jacob Astor, entered the field.
The annual rendezvous was often held at Horse Creek on the Green River, now called the Upper Green River Rendezvous Site, near present-day

Get Access