MOUNTAIN MEN PRESENTATION by Mark Hodges
Mark Hodges was our speaker at the May 2003 JCGS meeting. He just completed 18 years as a Park Ranger for the St. Louis County Parks Department and will be start as an Interpretive Park Ranger for the National Parks Service at the Arch next week. He spoke on the Mountain Men, a rare breed of American men who explored, hunted, and trapped the U.S. frontier in the 1820s – 30s. He focused on the Rocky Mountain area and mountain men such as Kit Carson, John Coulter, Jedediah Smith, and Moses Black Harris. With his kind permission, the following notes are provided for our members who could not attend this meeting.
The Oregon Trail started as a pack train route for fur traders.
The mountain men were a very diverse group of people.
The mountain man ate mostly meat he caught himself. There wasn’t an opportunity to do much preparation or cooking out in the wild. He used every possible bit of the animal he killed. Mr. Hodges brought thread made from the muscle tissue (sinew) of an animal and a trimming knife such as would be used to make buttons from deer antler.
To become a mountain man, he would travel from, say St. Louis, up the Missouri River to the mountain man area—a trip of 5-6 months. A mountain man was considered old at 30. If he lived to 45, he would move onto another, safer occupation, such as guide or supply station owner.
Mr. Hodges brought a “possibles” bag such as mountain men carried. He carried in this bag all those things which made survival possible. Mr. Hodges brought flint and striking stones which were used to start fires.
John Coulter was a member of the Lewis & Clark Expedition, a skilled hunter and frontiersman. He was one of the first mountain men. Mr. Hodges told the Legend of Coulter’s Run. As the Lewis & Clark Expedition neared its conclusion, Coulter decided to stay behind in the mountains. In 1808, he and John Potts (also from the L&C Expedition) were deep in Blackfoot country, near Three Forks MT. The Blackfoot were extremely fierce and violent at this time, and this had limited exploration. Potts angered the Indians and was immediately killed.
Coulter would be spared if he could outrun the braves. He was stripped naked, given a head start and literally ran for his life. He outran all but one brave, and as Coulter approached the river, he dove in the cold water, and hid inside a beaver den. He escaped the Blackfoot, and then had an 11-day journey to Ft. Raymond and safety.
This didn’t stop Coulter from exploring and dealing with the Indians. He is credited with exploring Yellowstone. After another close call with Indians, Coulter made a deal with God. God got him out of danger, and Coulter returned to civilization, settled, down, and farmed. He lived in Franklin or Gasconade County, near Hermann, and is buried there. The book “Courageous Coulter” was written by a St. Louis author and has more adventures of Coulter.
The War of 1812 further delayed exploration of the Northwest part of the country. The Blackfoot had allied with the British, hoping to keep out the white tide of migration.
About 1822, Missouri politician William Ashley advertised for 100 enterprising men to go up the Missouri River. They would be paid $1 each. This resulted in a revival of trapping and the mountain man movement. Ashley is credited with beginning the Rendevous. Col. Andrew Henry ran this business for Ashley. Jim Bridger was 16 when he signed on with the Ashley Company. Bridger was very religious and carried his bible with him.
Rendevous started about 1823-24. The life of a mountain man was a very solitary life. Sometimes men would trap together in groups of two or three, but it was mostly a lonely life. Early in the 1800s, before whites were moving into the area in heavy numbers, the mountain man would live with the Indians for the winter. It was a business relationship, a benefit to both. He brought metal tools and knives to the Indians, which revolutionized their wood-based life. The mountain man also may have had an Indian wife or mistress.
After the layover of a harsh winter, it was time for Spring trapping, perhaps up the Missouri River near the Three Forks area. Then, with pelts and furs in-hand, he would travel to where he could trade or sell them. For 4-6 weeks in the summer, the mountain man would gather with other hunters to make his business transactions.
A beaver hide was worth about $6; however, there were few places to spend that money. He could purchase items at the Rendevous with the cash, or just use the “Hairy Banknotes”. The mountain man traded for any manufactured items or tools he couldn’t make himself, such as an axe, and any comfort items, such as a nice shirt.
The furs and pelts would leave the Rendevous and be taken to St. Louis. The last Rendevous was about 1838, its demise brought on by the beaver being trapped out and fashion changes.
Kit Carson explored the Southwest area of the U.S.
Joe Meeks was an Oregon trapper and explorer, who later became a politician. He worked for statehood for Oregon.
Jedediah Smith rediscovered old travel routes and thereby avoided troublesome Indian tribes. He did more exploring than trapping. He was later killed by Comanches in the mid-1820s.
Thousands migrated into the frontier, looking for a new life in California or Oregon. The pioneers needed guides and supply stations. As the need for mountain men faded, Jim Bridger and others found new lives leading pioneers to new lands or owning the supply stations.
Jim Bridger had opened up the Rockies near Utah and later opened a trading post. He was in business with Marcus Whitman, who was later killed with his family after the Indians thought Whitman or his God had brought a sickness to the tribe. Bridger would later buy a share of the Ashley Company after it merged with Smith and Sublette.
Mountain man Hugh Glass was mauled by a bear after being abandoned by Bridger and others. Glass crawled for weeks (some stories say months) and later took revenge on those who’d abandoned him.
At the height of the mountain man era, there were 200-300 men at most. Early in that era, they led solitary lives, but later they were formed into companies or “brigades” of 50 or so men. They trapped both in the Spring and Fall.
In the 1870s, there were bloody Indian wars, including the Battle of Pierre’s Hole. The Sioux were very troublesome. Not all tribes were violent—the Crow, Flathead and Utes were ones the mountain men would easily get along with.
The mountain men were the predecessors of the 1870-1880s cowboy.
Mr. Hodges suggested these two good mountain man journals, “My Journeys as a Trapper” by Osbourne Russell; there is also one by Thomas “Broken Hand” Fitzpatrick.
The St. Louis County Parks Department has an annual Rendevous re-enactment weekend, held at Ft. Bellefontaine each summer.
(Tom has some photos on his digital camera of the speaker and items he showed and I’ll have him e-mail them to you. Barbi)