Mountain man
Mountain Men were trappers, fur traders, explorers and adventurers who roamed the Rockies during the first half of the 19th century. Their main interest was in the hunt for beaver and selling the skins, although some were also interested in the exploration of the West.
History
In the years 1820-1840 lived and hunted about 3,000 men in the Rocky Mountains. This period was the high point of the beaver. Most mountain men were employees of various fur trading companies, especially the Rocky Mountain Fur Company and the American Fur Company, in the early period and the Missouri Fur Company. The life of the staff was organized to conform to military discipline.
In 1824, the " rendezvous system " was introduced: the fur trading company brought in the summer to specific locations inventories, there negotiated with the trappers and sent the furs in the autumn on the Missouri and the Mississippi River to the south. William Henry Ashley was the first who used this system with its Rocky Mountain Fur Company.
Beaver pelts were necessary for the production of beaver hats, a fashion which originally came from England, but disappeared in the 1840s. Simultaneously with the decline of the demand for beaver pelts, there was a decline in the beaver population due to excessive hunting. This, together with the better development of the West, for example, by the Oregon Trail and the Mormon Trail, spelled the end of the classic Mountain Men. From the mid- 1830s Bison skins were important and in 1850 it dominated the business.
Known Mountain Men
- James P. Beckwourth
- Jim Bridger
- Jacques La Ramee
- Thomas Fitzpatrick
- Etienne Provost
- Jedediah Smith
- William Sublette