Trails To The West

I've always been intrigued by the history of the American frontier. Although I was born too late to be a part of it, I hold the qualities of those that were there such as independence and self-reliance to be an important part of my life. From the first nomads crossing the Asian land bridge to the Alaskan gold rush. From the conquistador's explorations to the settling of California, Trails To The West is the story of America. When I wrote of the people who blazed the trails and those who followed, I told only of their accomplishments and will let others worry about any shortcomings some may have had. For all of them were important in building this great country. I've saddled a couple of horses so we can start down the trail together. Their tough ones and need to be, because this trail's a long one.

Tony M. Elliott

Book sample from Page 18: THE MOUNTAIN MEN

When the Lewis and Clark expedition was returning home, they met two trappers heading for the Rocky Mountains. Expedition member John Colter asked Lewis for permission to leave the corps and guide the two back into the mountains. Permission was reluctantly given, and the era of the mountain man was born
.
The two trappers soon had their fill of the mountains and returned to St Louis, but Colter stayed for a few more years. He traveled through the northern Rockies, trapping beaver and exploring the country. He was the first white man to see what has now become Yellowstone National Park, but no one would believe him when he told of the bubbling hot springs and geysers. As other trappers headed for the mountains, he guided them in. Finally, after a couple of hair-raising encounters with the Blackfeet Indians, he went back to civilization, never to return to the mountains.

Beaver was what drew the mountain men. At that time their pelts were worth about six dollars apiece. Their possessions were meager: from four to eight traps, a Hawken rifle, some powder and shot, a skinning knife, and a little salt. His clothes were made of buckskin. He wore a leather shirt and britches and moccasins on his feet. He survived on what the country had to offer— roots, fruit, nuts, and wild game.

He trapped through the fall until the streams froze and then wintered in a crude shelter. When the ice broke up, he trapped until late spring when the furs were no longer good.
In the summer the mountain men traveled to a pre-determined spot called the “rendezvous,” where he sold his pelts, bought supplies for the coming year, and celebrated until the rendezvous broke up.

Although the mountain men never thought of themselves as explorers, they were the first non-Indians to set foot in most of the western mountains.

By 1840 the fur trade was finished. Beaver pelts dropped to one dollar a piece and most mountain men went on to other endeavors. Jim Bridger opened a trading post on the Oregon Trail. Kit Carson gained fame as a scout and Indian fighter. Others took jobs as wagon train guides and Army scouts. But there were a few who stayed in the mountains trapping beaver, hoping that some day the price of furs would come back.