One of the displays in the San Bernardino County Museum in Redlands, California, looks at Mountain Men in California, 1826 to 1850. With regard to the mountain men and the Indians, the Museum display notes that the common myth is—
“Mountain men cheated Indians out of valuable furs by trading worthless trinkets.”
In reality, Indians were skilled traders and had been engaged in trading for thousands of years. The Indian generally had a higher standard of living than did the European settlers who were invading California in the early nineteenth century. For the Indians, furs were not particularly valuable.
In general, the mountain men were not loners, but they worked for fur companies and travelled in well-armed, well-organized brigades of 30 to 100 men. Many of the mountain men had Indian wives and their wives and families traveled with them.
In 1826, Hudson’s Bay Company fur trappers led by Pete Skene Ogden traveled into the upper Klamath River area of Northern California. They spent almost two months among the Klamath Indians. Historian Nathan Douthit, in article in the Oregon Historical Quarterly, reports:
“They visited Klamath villages and were well received by the Indians; the Indians, in turn, visited the camps of the white men, traded with them, and acted as guides.”
In 1827, Peter Skene Ogden’s Hudson’s Bay Company camp was visited by a group of about 20 Indians who would later be called the Pit River Indians. They warned the traders to avoid the paths along the stream as they would encounter pits which have been dug to trap the animals. In her book Ancient Tribes of the Klamath Country, Carrol Howe reports:
“Even with this advance warning, his men ran afoul of the cleverly concealed holes.”
In 1827, a party of ten Hudson’s Bay Company trappers under the leadership of Francois Payette traveled to the Yurok village of Weitchpec at the junction of the Trinity and Klamath Rivers. They found that the people in the village were using metal knives, axes, and kettles.
In 1828, a group of trappers under the leadership of Jedediah Strong Smith met with the Hupa to trade. In his book Uncertain Encounters: Indians and Whites at Peace and War in Southern Oregon, 1820s-1860s, Nathan Douthit writes:
“The Hupas were peaceful; they visited the expedition’s camp and traded skins, eels, and roots for awls and beads without incident.”
Leaving Hupa country, the trappers went west into Chilula territory where the Chilula shot arrows at their horses. In retaliation, the trappers killed at least one of them. The trapping party left the Trinity River area and followed the Klamath River into Yurok territory. The Yurok helped them cross the river and guided them a short distance downstream. Near present-day Crescent City, they had a friendly encounter with the Tolowa who traded clams, fish, and strawberries.
The mountain men traded with Indians and Indians generally considered beards the mark of a dog-faced barbarian. Hence, mountain men, contrary to the popular stereotype, were clean-shaven.
The mountain men tended to dress in Indian fashion, with garments made from tanned hides. The Museum display quoted George Ruxton’s 1847 Adventures in Mexico and the Rocky Mountains:
“The costume of the trapper is a hunting-shirt of dressed buckskin, ornamented with long fringes, pantaloons of the same material, and decorated with porcupine-quills and long fringes down the outside of the leg.”
According to the Museum display:
“Many mountain men had Indian wives and families. Nearly half of all mountain men marriages were with Indian or mixed-blood women. Marriage between mountain men and Indian women provided important cross-cultural connections in languages and customs.”
According to the Museum display:
“The very few European or American women in the early 19th century west were known as ‘Tender Exotics.’ Most were married to managers of fur companies and lived in forts and outposts. They were isolated and lonely. Many suffered mental health issues and most returned to the east coast or Europe.”
Indians 101
Indians 101 is a series exploring American Indian histories, cultures, biographies, arts, and current concerns. It is posted on Daily Kos on Tuesdays and Thursdays. More about the fur trade from this series:
Indians 101: The Fur Trade in 1816
Indians 101: Fur Trade in the Rockies, 1801 to 1806
Indians 101: Nor'westers and Indians in the Columbia Plateau
Indians 101: Blackfoot Fur Trade (Photo Diary)