Mountain Men and the Fur Trade: The First Boom Years in Wyoming

“I defy the annals of chivalry to furnish the record of a life more wild and perilous than those of a Rocky Mountain trapper.” –Francis Parkman.

I. The Legacy of Colter and the Astorians

                a. fur trapper as "expectant capitalist"

                b. as illiterate ruffian in a buckskin suit

                b. the "colonial economy" of the fur trade

II. The "Invention" of the Rendezvous System

      a. answering Ashley's job opening ad: Jedidiah Smith, Jim Bridger, Thomas Fitzpatrick, James Clyman, Hiram Scott, William Sublette, David E. Jackson

                b. first rendezvous, July 1, 1825, on Henry’s Fork on the Green River--two years after Ashley’s first expedition to the Rockies; 120 men present

                c. first rendezvous furs taken by pack train to the Big Horns near present Thermopolis, by bullboat down the Big Horn and the Yellowstone, keel boat down Missouri to St. Louis

                d. the economy of the rendezvous—some price examples

                e. social and cultural interactions at rendezvous

                f. trappers as explorers: Smith  “rediscovers” Jackson Hole; Sublette and Bridger “rediscover” Salt Lake

      g. Bridger and Fitzpatrick become first to successfully trap in Jackson Hole (1825)

III. Highlights at Various Rendezvous Locations: Wyoming, Utah, Idaho

                a. 1826 rendezvous: Willow Valley, border of Utah and Idaho—supply train up North Platte to Sweetwater River to Green River and south; Ashley sells out to Smith, Jackson, Sublette

                b. 1827 rendezvous: near Bear Lake— cannon, first wheeled vehicle over South Pass; Smith took furs to San      Francisco to sell; Hiram Scott abandoned and dies at Scotts Bluff

                c. 1828 rendezvous: on Bear Lake—battle with Blackfeet

                d. 1829 rendezvous: Popo Agie and Pierre’s Hole. Smith, thought dead, reappears.

                e. 1830 rendezvous: Wind River (present Riverton)—Smith, Jackson, Sublette sell company to Bridger et al

                f. 1831 rendezvous: Willow Valley, supplied from Santa Fe, but competing companies showed up

                g. 1832 rendezvous: Pierre’s Hole, at least four companies present and Bonneville in area. 1,000 attended; afterward, fight with Indians left Sublette wounded and Bridger with arrow in back. Later, Sublette sold furs for $4.25 per lb. in St. Louis.

                h. 1833 rendezvous: Green River (spread out for ten miles), Campbell brought William Drummond Stewart, son of  Preident Harrison, others; Bonneville present; group attacked by rabid wolves; Bonneville sent Walker party to Calif.

                i. 1834 rendezvous: Ham’s Fork, race between Wyeth’s company and the Sublette-Campbell company; Fort Laramie set up as supply base. Sublette won race; later Wyeth founded Fort Hall, Idaho. Later in year, Sublette and Campbell sold their interests in Fort William (Laramie).

                j. 1835 rendezvous: Green River, Whitman and Parker with Fontenelle; Whitman removed arrowhead from Bridger’s back (first "surgery" in Wyoming)

                k. 1836 rendezvous:Green River, Whitman and wife Narcissa; Henry Spaulding and wife Eliza present; market starting to decline as silk hat gained popularity.

                l. 1837 rendezvous: Green River, company train under Fitzpatrick; Stewart brought Alfred Jacob Miller.

                m. 1838 rendezvous: Wind River, missionaries and Stewart on last trip; 125 trapppers and 2,000 pelts, smallest.

                n. 1839 rendezvous: Green River, missionaries present but small turnout

                o. 1840 rendezvous: Green River, last rendezvous. Father DeSmet’s first mass; large crowd.               

 IV.  The Adventures of Captain B. L. E. Bonneville: Popularizing the Fur Trade

                a. Bonneville, born in France and a West Point graduate, takes leave in 1832

                b. remains in the West until 1835, long overstaying his leave

                c. returns; restored to army service by Jackson; encounters Washington Irving

                d. popularity of Irving’s account: The Adventures of Captain Bonneville

V. The Paintings of Alfred Jacob Miller: Illustrating the Rendezvous and Wyoming

                a. sketches made on the trail

                b. murals painted at Murthley Castle, Scotland

VI. The End of the Rendezvous

VII. Mountain Men as Guides and Settlers

        a. Fort Laramie (1834): Wyoming's first permanent settlement as fur trade product

                b. Fort Bridger (1841 or 1842): Jim Bridger and Louis Vasquez

                c. "Portugese houses" near present Kaycee: Antonio Montero (Mateo)

VII.  The Legacy of the Rendezvous

Names, Terms

William Ashley                     American Fur Company            William Drummond Stewart            Louis Vasquez 

Jim Bridger                            "free trappers"                        Alfred Jacob Miller                         Washington Irving

James Beckwourth                  Dr. Marcus Whitman              Jedediah Smith                               B. L. E. Bonneville

James Clyman                       William Sublette                    Robert Campbell                            David E. Jackson

Thomas Fitzpatrick                Robert Campbell                    Jacques LaRamee                            Antonio Montero (Mateo) 

Return to History of Wyoming syllabus