Firearms, traps & tools of the mountain men

911 Pages·1977·9.02 MB·English

by  Carl Parcher Russell

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Page iii
Firearms, Traps, &Tools of the Mountain Men
Carl P. Russell
UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO PRESS
Albuquerque
Page iv
© 1967 by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.All rights reserved.
University of New Mexico Press paperback edition
reprinted 1977 by arrangement withAlfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Manufactured in the United States of America.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 7781984.
International Standard Book Number 0826304656.
Tenth printing, University of New Mexico Press, 1998
Page v
To Betty
whose contributions were most important
and never-failing
Page vii
Preface
S years have done much to
EVERAL MOST EXCELLENT WORKS PUBLISHED IN RECENT
improve the popular image of the historic beaver hunter. They
accurately detail the magnitude of trader-trapper accomplishments in
shaping our national life and in making our country one nation, they
remind us that enduring good reputations were made in the Western
fur fields, and they prove rather conclusively the authenticity of
heroism among trappers in the wilderness. Regarding the mountain
men: "Their very names now sound like the blast of trumpets and the
tuck of drums."
The role of the mountain man in our westward expansion was a brief
one; his era began with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 18036, and
ended rather abruptly with the beginnings of westward emigration in
the early 1840's. There was no repeat performance. As a type, the
mountain man was distinct, yet one cannot say that either his
possessions or his methods were unique. Everything that he brought
into the West and much of his modus operandi were inherited from his
predecessors in the Indian trade. Almost everything that transpired on
the Yellowstone or on the Green rivers during the early decades of the
nineteenth century was largely an adaptation of trapper-trader
procedures on the Cumberland, on the upper Ohio, or on the Maumee
during the 1700's.
Probably the most distinctive characteristics of the Western beaver
business relate to the horse Indians who inhabited the Western realm,
and to the vast, seemingly limitless wilderness in

Page viii
which the drama was enacted. In almost every part of his range, the
mountain man was constantly subject to Indian raids. Deprived of
horses, he was doomed or, at best, reduced to an ineffective existence,
often given to dodging enemies while he sought the most direct route
to safe haven and more horses. Even the direct route usually involved
long, painful travel, and the trapper on foot sometimes elected to
recover his own animals or steal others. In any case, he resorted to
Indian stealth and strategy. The Rocky Mountain cliché "Wal, now, I
took ya fer an Injun" was not altogether inept; the successful beaver
trapper tended to think like an Indian, look like an Indian, and behave
like one, too. Generally his paraphernalia did not differ greatly from
that of the Indian; in the mountain man's time the plains and mountain
tribes had obtained and adopted as their own much of the white man's
equipment. Especially did they take unto themselves the ironwork of
the trader-trapper.
The present book pertains to this ironwork. Since the ironmongery of
the Plains and the Rockies was derived from its earlier counterparts in
Canada, Iroquoia, and the Old Northwest, attention is given to the
progenitors. Perhaps the most striking eduction herein is the
persistence of seventeenth-century matériel in the nineteenth-century
scene so far removed from the St. Lawrence and the Hudson.
Appropriately, I think, the core of this story is the threedimensional
object itself. Some two hundred collections of historic fur-trade
artifacts were drawn upon in making the selection presented. With few
exceptions the individual specimens were examined, and measured
sketches or photographs were made by me. In some instances
photographs were supplied by museum curators, and in all cases
museum officials or owners of private collections were cooperative in
giving written permission to publicize these specific items among
their holdings. Sixty of the plates of finished drawings here
reproduced were made by National Park Service artists at the
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis, in accordance with
specifications provided by me. Most of these plates are the work of
William Macy; some the work of James Mulcahy. The drawings are
used here by the kind permission of the Superintendent and the Chief
of Museums, National Park Service. Thirtytwo drawings by Glen
Dines were created especially for this work.
Page ix
The illustrations, of course, are vital to the interpretation as presented,
and I acknowledge, gratefully, the important contribution of the artists
to this work.
Numerous librarians, historians, historian-archeologists, museum
curators (including the nationwide staff of the National Park Service),
private collectors, manufacturers of tools, and officials of historical
societies and related organizations have collaborated in assembling
my materials and in the interpretation of findings. The work has been
in progress for thirty-five years and has extended over much of the
United States and into Canada. My indebtedness in this connection is
great, and to some degree I express my thanks more specifically in the
acknowledgments section. So far as possible, the footnotes and the
bibliography also identify some unusual documentary sources that I
drew upon.
Alfred A. Knopf over a long period of years has encouraged me in the
pursuit of my goal, and his very constructive advice has been
important to the completion of the work. I have been fortunate in
getting the guidance of an "old beaver hunter," Angus Cameron, editor
at Knopf, who has been direct, discerning, and entirely helpful and
understanding in meeting the problems broached by my presentations.
Also at Knopf are Mrs. Ellen Fertig and Mrs. Judith Pomerantz who
collaborated in shaping the final format. Mrs. Pomerantz, copy editor,
did yeoman service in combing out inconsistencies and in readying
the manuscript for the printer. Finally, I acknowledge a very big debt
owed to my wife, Betty Westphal Russell, for consistent help given
through almost a lifetime as she stood up under the peculiar assaults
related to a museum conscience. She has given patient encouragement
and expert secretarial support, which have been all-important to the
consummation of my studies and writing.
CARL P. RUSSELL
AUGUST 1966
ORINDA, CALIFORNIA