The Mountain Man Rendezvous

The Mountain Man Rendezvous

By: Peggy L Henderson

 

Mountain men and fur trappers blazed trails in the American West long before the wagon trains and settlers crossed the continent. Lewis and Clark traded furs and good with the Native Americans during their explorations in 1804-1805, and more and more adventurers braved the wild mountains west of the Missouri to find their fortune in animal furs.

The mountain man's life was dictated by the seasons and the climate. Most trapping occurred in fall and spring, when animal pelts were at their finest. When the season started, and how long it would go, was ruled by the weather. Spring furs were most desirable because the pelts were still thick from winter.  When the quality of the pelts declined, the season was over.

In order to trade in their furs and buy needed supplies for the fall trapping season, the mountain men had to make the long journey back to civilization, or to various remote trading posts. The typical fur trapper would haul his pelts all the way back to St. Louis, Missouri. There they would be traded for supplies for the coming trapping season

In 1822, two men from Missouri – businessmen, not trappers – advertised for “enterprising young men to ascend the river Missouri…” to trap for beaver. William Ashley and Andrew Henry formed the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, and employed trappers to work for them.

In order to supply their men and keep them in the mountains year-round, they brought teamster-driven supply trains to the trappers starting in the summer of 1825. After rendezvous, the fur-loaded pack trains headed back to Missouri. 

Having a few hundred men in the mountains who did nothing but kill beaver assured Ashley and Henry a steady supply of furs to sell. At the same time the trappers, because they didn’t have to make the long trip in from the mountains, were willing to pay high prices for the supplies the company delivered. So Ashley and Henry made money on both ends of the deal.

Each year, the location of the meeting places, or rendezvous, was different.

What started as a practical gathering to exchange pelts for supplies and reorganize the company’s trappers into units who strategized where to trap, evolved into a month long carnival in the middle of the wilderness.

The rendezvous brought not only the trappers who worked for the fur companies, but also free trappers, women and children, Indians, French Canadians, and travelers. Besides the trading, there was a lot of socializing to do. Traders, trappers, and their Indian customers, friends, and families, ate, drank, gambled, staged horse and foot races, quarreled, fought, and made love.

Mountain man James Beckworth described the festivities as a scene of "mirth, songs, dancing, shouting, trading, running, jumping, singing, racing, target-shooting, yarns, frolic, with all sorts of extravagances that white men or Indians could invent."

An easterner gave his view: "mountain companies are all assembled on this season and make as crazy a set of men I ever saw." There were horse races, running races, target shooting and gambling. Whiskey drinking accompanied all of them.

Rendezvous was over when the trappers had spent their year’s earnings on high-priced whiskey, clothing, and supplies needed to last another year in the mountains.

1840 was the last year that Rendezvous was held. Beaver had declined in number, and felt hats replaced beaver hats in popularity. The trappers found other ways to make a living — hunting buffalo for example — or guiding wagon trains.

Short excerpt from Yellowstone Homecoming

Laughter, loud voices, and gunshots reached them long before dozens of tents, lean-to’s and tipis came into view. Hundreds of trappers, Indians, and even several wagons with traders of all sorts of goods milled about the large open area. Matthew kept a look-out for his comrades. Men he hadn’t seen in years called out a greeting, others stared at him and Addy with interest.

“Stay close,” he said when he caught the look of astonishment on Addy’s face as they passed men who wrestled each other to the ground, knives drawn.

“Isn’t anyone going to stop them from killing each other?” she whispered.

“Most everyone here is drunk. I doubt anyone’s going to die. This is what goes on at these gatherings. Men drink, carouse, and trade their furs. No one would think to break up one of these fights.”

“Barbarians,” Addy hissed. She shot him a disapproving frown when he chuckled at her comment.

“Osborne! Matthew Osborne.”

Matthew’s head turned at the sound of the familiar voice. Jim Bridger rushed around a group of men inspecting a cache of furs. Matthew dismounted his horse, and held out his hand in greeting. The trapper shook it. He cocked his head to the side and looked at him suspiciously.

“It’s Matthew, ain’t it?” he asked, uncertainty in his voice.

Matthew laughed. “Yeah, Bridger, it’s Matthew.”

“I’ll be,” the woodsman said with a loud laugh, and slapped his hand against his thigh. “We thought you was dead.”

“No, just took me a little longer to get here.” He turned to look at Addy, who still sat on her horse.  “I brought Miss Witmer back. Where are my brother and her father?”

Bridger’s eyes widened in surprise. “Zach done told us ya was kilt by them Pawnee. He rode through here about a week ago. Said he was headin’ home to break the news to yer folks.” He glanced toward Addy. “Had us a skirmish with them bloodthirsty Injuns ourselves. Couple of the missionaries got kilt, and a few got hurt, but the rest of us kept our scalps.”

Addy gasped at Jim Bridger’s words.

“Not your father,” Bridger said quickly. He pointed toward the west of the large encampment. “He’s camped yonder with his wagons, past them tipis.”

Matthew mounted his horse. “Thanks for getting them here safe.” He nodded to Bridger.

“Come back and visit with Fitzpatrick an’ me fer a spell when you’re done with Witmer,” Bridger called.

“I will, but I’ll be heading out soon. I need to get home and let my folks know that I’m not dead.”

Bridger laughed. “Good idea. Ain’t every day a man comes back from gettin’ kilt.”

Peggy L Henderson

Western Historical and Time Travel Romance

“Where Adventure Awaits and Love is Timeless”

Award-Winning Author of:

Yellowstone Romance Series

Teton Romance Trilogy

Second Chances Time Travel Romance Series

Blemished Brides Western Historical Romance Series

               

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A Fur Trapper's Wife - by Peggy L Henderson

By: Peggy L Henderson

Life in the early 1800's was extremely difficult for both men and women. The life of a fur trader was even more difficult as he tried to survive in the uncharted wilderness to make a living as a trapper. Women of European descent were virtually unheard of in the fur trade. The very few women, usually wives of managers of fur companies such as the Hudson’s Bay Company or the Northwest Company, who accompanied husbands to remote outposts, were considered “tender exotics.”

Because of society’s class structure in those days, most of these women didn’t last longer than a year on these posts before suffering from mental health problems or returning to cities in the east. Wives of managers were expected to associate only with other wives of other managers, and in those remote posts, these were far and few between. The women were not allowed to associate with Indian women or half-breed women, even if they could communicate somehow. Servants (Indian women) were usually available to perform domestic duties, so there was nothing for a wife to do to even relieve her boredom. Her only duty was to her husband and family, and most of the time the husband wasn’t even at the post, traveling for months at a time.

 

Fur trappers in the Rocky Mountains often took Indian women as wives. An Indian woman’s primary responsibilities in her tribe was that of housekeeping, which included child rearing, butchering, cooking, the labor-intensive task of tanning hides, collecting firewood, preserving food for winter, setting up and maintaining camp, and sewing clothing.

A man who wanted to take a bride would have to provide the woman’s father (or oldest male relative if the father was dead) with certain trade goods such as horses, guns, blankets, etc., in exchange for the woman. The bride price was determined by the father based on the value he placed on his daughter’s loss of productivity around his lodge.

Many Indian women considered it an honor to be chosen as the wife of a fur trapper. It offered the woman a different way of life which was often easier physically and offered her more material things. An Indian woman married to a trapper either remained at her village, or moved to the fort or trading post with her husband. She might also accompany him on his wanderings. If a woman remained with her village, her life probably didn’t change much, except that she had access to many luxury items which were not available to the other women.  Items such as kettles, knives, awls and wool and cotton fabrics greatly eased the domestic burdens of the women.

Because there were no preachers or priests to perform wedding ceremonies, marriages were “after the customs of the country,” or a la facon du pays. This arrangement met both the needs of the Indian and the trapper. By making their women available to trappers and traders, the Indians were able to forge trade alliances and social bonds, and expected access to trading posts, provisions, and trade goods.

Trappers also realized the benefits of marriage to an Indian woman, especially the daughter of a chief or highly respected hunter. Such an arrangement provided the trapper with a translator and cultural liaison within the tribe. The domestic chores the wife performed freed the trapper to spend more time trapping and trading.

Marriages were easy to terminate by either the man or the woman. A man could simply “turn off” his wife by leaving her behind, and a woman who wanted a “divorce” would indicate this by leaving the man’s belongings outside their lodge. Statistically, most marriages lasted up to 15 years, and most ended with the death of one or the other spouse.

Anyone who has read any of my Yellowstone Romance Series books knows that I fudge with the  historical accuracy quite a bit. My mountain men heros live in the remote Yellowstone region year round, which most likely never happened, and even more far-fetched is it that they would marry a white woman and raise a family there. My Teton Romance Trilogy is set a little south of Yellowstone in the Teton/Jackson Hole region, and I introduce a new mountain man hero, and the woman who proves herself strong enough to endure all that the wilderness (and the people of the era) can throw at her. 

A Fur Trapper's Wife

By: Peggy L Henderson

Life in the early 1800's was extremely difficult for both men and women. The life of a fur trader was even more difficult as he tried to survive in the uncharted wilderness to make a living as a trapper. Women of European descent were virtually unheard of in the fur trade. The very few women, usually wives of managers of fur companies such as the Hudson’s Bay Company or the Northwest Company, who accompanied husbands to remote outposts, were considered “tender exotics.”

Because of society’s class structure in those days, most of these women didn’t last longer than a year on these posts before suffering from mental health problems or returning to cities in the east. Wives of managers were expected to associate only with other wives of other managers, and in those remote posts, these were far and few between. The women were not allowed to associate with Indian women or half-breed women, even if they could communicate somehow. Servants (Indian women) were usually available to perform domestic duties, so there was nothing for a wife to do to even relieve her boredom. Her only duty was to her husband and family, and most of the time the husband wasn’t even at the post, traveling for months at a time.

 

Fur trappers in the Rocky Mountains often took Indian women as wives. An Indian woman’s primary responsibilities in her tribe was that of housekeeping, which included child rearing, butchering, cooking, the labor-intensive task of tanning hides, collecting firewood, preserving food for winter, setting up and maintaining camp, and sewing clothing.

A man who wanted to take a bride would have to provide the woman’s father (or oldest male relative if the father was dead) with certain trade goods such as horses, guns, blankets, etc., in exchange for the woman. The bride price was determined by the father based on the value he placed on his daughter’s loss of productivity around his lodge.

Many Indian women considered it an honor to be chosen as the wife of a fur trapper. It offered the woman a different way of life which was often easier physically and offered her more material things. An Indian woman married to a trapper either remained at her village, or moved to the fort or trading post with her husband. She might also accompany him on his wanderings. If a woman remained with her village, her life probably didn’t change much, except that she had access to many luxury items which were not available to the other women.  Items such as kettles, knives, awls and wool and cotton fabrics greatly eased the domestic burdens of the women.

Because there were no preachers or priests to perform wedding ceremonies, marriages were “after the customs of the country,” or a la facon du pays. This arrangement met both the needs of the Indian and the trapper. By making their women available to trappers and traders, the Indians were able to forge trade alliances and social bonds, and expected access to trading posts, provisions, and trade goods.

Trappers also realized the benefits of marriage to an Indian woman, especially the daughter of a chief or highly respected hunter. Such an arrangement provided the trapper with a translator and cultural liaison within the tribe. The domestic chores the wife performed freed the trapper to spend more time trapping and trading.

Marriages were easy to terminate by either the man or the woman. A man could simply “turn off” his wife by leaving her behind, and a woman who wanted a “divorce” would indicate this by leaving the man’s belongings outside their lodge. Statistically, most marriages lasted up to 15 years, and most ended with the death of one or the other spouse.

Anyone who has read any of my Yellowstone Romance Series books knows that I fudge with the  historical accuracy quite a bit. My mountain men heros live in the remote Yellowstone region year round, which most likely never happened, and even more far-fetched is it that they would marry a white woman and raise a family there. My new trilogy of books is set a little south of Yellowstone in the Teton/Jackson Hole region, and I introduce a new mountain man hero, and the woman who proves herself strong enough to endure all that the wilderness (and the people of the era) can throw at her. 

A Fur Trapper's Wife

By: Peggy L Henderson

Life in the early 1800's was extremely difficult for both men and women. The life of a fur trader was even more difficult as he tried to survive in the uncharted wilderness to make a living as a trapper. Women of European descent were virtually unheard of in the fur trade. The very few women, usually wives of managers of fur companies such as the Hudson’s Bay Company or the Northwest Company, who accompanied husbands to remote outposts, were considered “tender exotics.”

Because of society’s class structure in those days, most of these women didn’t last longer than a year on these posts before suffering from mental health problems or returning to cities in the east. Wives of managers were expected to associate only with other wives of other managers, and in those remote posts, these were far and few between. The women were not allowed to associate with Indian women or half-breed women, even if they could communicate somehow. Servants (Indian women) were usually available to perform domestic duties, so there was nothing for a wife to do to even relieve her boredom. Her only duty was to her husband and family, and most of the time the husband wasn’t even at the post, traveling for months at a time.

 

Fur trappers in the Rocky Mountains often took Indian women as wives. An Indian woman’s primary responsibilities in her tribe was that of housekeeping, which included child rearing, butchering, cooking, the labor-intensive task of tanning hides, collecting firewood, preserving food for winter, setting up and maintaining camp, and sewing clothing.

A man who wanted to take a bride would have to provide the woman’s father (or oldest male relative if the father was dead) with certain trade goods such as horses, guns, blankets, etc., in exchange for the woman. The bride price was determined by the father based on the value he placed on his daughter’s loss of productivity around his lodge.

Many Indian women considered it an honor to be chosen as the wife of a fur trapper. It offered the woman a different way of life which was often easier physically and offered her more material things. An Indian woman married to a trapper either remained at her village, or moved to the fort or trading post with her husband. She might also accompany him on his wanderings. If a woman remained with her village, her life probably didn’t change much, except that she had access to many luxury items which were not available to the other women.  Items such as kettles, knives, awls and wool and cotton fabrics greatly eased the domestic burdens of the women.

 

Because there were no preachers or priests to perform wedding ceremonies, marriages were “after the customs of the country,” or a la facon du pays. This arrangement met both the needs of the Indian and the trapper. By making their women available to trappers and traders, the Indians were able to forge trade alliances and social bonds, and expected access to trading posts, provisions, and trade goods.

Trappers also realized the benefits of marriage to an Indian woman, especially the daughter of a chief or highly respected hunter. Such an arrangement provided the trapper with a translator and cultural liaison within the tribe. The domestic chores the wife performed freed the trapper to spend more time trapping and trading.

Marriages were easy to terminate by either the man or the woman. A man could simply “turn off” his wife by leaving her behind, and a woman who wanted a “divorce” would indicate this by leaving the man’s belongings outside their lodge. Statistically, most marriages lasted up to 15 years, and most ended with the death of one or the other spouse.