Mountain Man Rendezvous - Primary Sources
A mountain man rendezvous would have been one of the most unforgettable events on the American frontier.
There are several events in western history more than a few people would pay good money to travel back in time and see. Cattle drives come to mind. A herd of thousands of Texas longhorns strung out over several miles, dust rising in the air, and light glinting off their horns would have been quite a scene. Another event worth watching would have been a wagon train slowly proceed up the Oregon Trail. White canvas topped wagons, green grass all around, and blue sky above; it would have been a special thing. On the other hand, maybe you’d want to be an eagle flying overhead while horse-mounted Native American hunters ran down a group of buffalo to make meat for their camp. The West was full of epic scenes that probably would have actually lived up to the legend. One event that would have equaled any other in grandeur would have been the mountain man rendezvous.
Rendezvous 101
The mountain man rendezvous was first imagined by William Ashley in 1825. Basically, Ashley wanted his trappers to stay in the mountains and trap rather than spend their time going back and forth to St. Louis. You see, the beaver fur trapped by mountain men was sold in St. Louis. The geographical problem was the trappers operated in the present-day states of Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, and Colorado, and it’ a long ride from there to St. Louis.
So, the resource they were harvesting needed to go to market, but just as importantly the mountain men needed manufactured items to survive from year to year. Unlike Native Americans who had perfected the art of wilderness living over the generations, mountain men needed guns, powder, steel, and other items they couldn’t make. Ashley realized his trappers would trap far more beaver if they could stay in the mountains longer to trap but they needed to be resupplied. How could you solve this problem? A rendezvous.
Rendezvous simply means a meeting at a predetermined place and time. Basically, Ashly told his trappers to keep trapping beaver, stay the winter, and he’d meet them the next summer at a particular place to collect the fur and bring out new supplies. The system worked wonderfully on both ends. First off, the trappers were able to stay in the mountains longer, which they liked, and Ashley was able to collect more fur. It seemed like a win-win.
But a mountain man rendezvous was far more than a simple exchange of goods and economic event. It was a grand sporting event, carnival, a social gathering, all with an array of different cultures participating. It was a place where stories were told, fortunes were made, and spirits flew high. Although books have literally been written on the subject of rendezvous, perhaps the best way to learn about them might be from the men who actually experienced them.
If you are interested in the history of the mountain man rendezvous below are a sample of the primary sources describing them. The video below is an audio recording you might find helpful as well.
Teachers may find this free PDF useful when analyzing the source with their students.
James Beckwourth - 1825
“On arriving at the rendezvous, we found the main body of the Salt Lake party already there with the whole of their effects. The general would open none of his goods, except tobacco, until all had arrived, as he wished to make an equal distribution; for goods were then very scarce in the mountains, and hard to obtain.
“When all had come in, he opened his goods, and there was a general jubilee among all at the rendezvous. We constituted quite a little town, numbering at least eight hundred souls, of whom one half were women and children. There were some among us who had not seen any groceries, such as coffee, sugar &c., for several months. The whiskey went off as freely as water, even at the exorbitant price he sold it for. All kinds of sports were indulged in with a heartiness that would astonish more civilized societies.”
A few interesting things stand out here. First, “half of which were women and children.” What does that mean? Well, it means that rendezvous was well attended by Native American tribes. Although Native people had the ability to live off the land, the opportunity for sugar, a steel knife, a kettle, or other gear really made their lives better. Secondly, Beckwourth introduces us to a mainstay at rendezvous; whiskey. Whiskey was brought out by the barrel full and sold at tremendously high prices. It was used as a lubricant to get the trade going, in celebration, and led to more than one or two deaths and other violence.
Charles Larpenteur - 1833
“In a short time a tent was rigged up into a kind of saloon, and such drinking, yelling, and shooting as went on I, of course, never had heard before. Mr. Redman, among the rest, finally got so drunk that Mr. Fitzpatrick could do nothing with him, and there was not a sober man to be found in camp but myself. So Mr. Fitzpatrick asked me if I would try my hand at clerking. I remarked that I was willing to do my best, and at it I went. For several days nothing but whisky was sold, at $5 a pint. There were great quarrels and fights outside, but I must say the men were very civil to me….In the meantime sprees abated, and the trappers commenced to buy their little outfits, consisting of blankets, scarlet shirts, tobacco, and some few trinkets to trade with the Snake Indians, during which transactions I officiated as clerk.”
“Quarrels, fights, sprees, yelling;” these are all common things you’ll hear when you look at what a rendezvous was like.
Osborne Russell - 1837
“Here presented what might be termed a mixed multitude The whites were chiefly Americans and Canadian French with some Dutch, Scotch, Irish, English, halfbreed, and full blood Indians, of nearly every tribe in the Rocky Mountains. Some were gambling at Cards some playing the Indian game of hand and others horse racing while here and there could be seen small groups collected under shady trees relating the events of the past year… They have not the misfortune to get any of the luxuries from the civilized world but once a year and then in such small quantities that they last but a few days. We had not remained in this quiet manner long before something new arose for our amusement…”
As you can see from this Russell entry, rendezvous would have been a place where lots of cultures came and mingled. They also spent time playing cards, gambling, and horse racing. It’s also interesting to note that contrary to previous entries Russell says some men just laid under “shady trees” trading stories. Maybe it wasn’t all blood and guts like some would have you believe.
F.A. Wislizenus - 1839
“…the agents of the different trading companies and a quantity of trappers had found their way here, visiting this fair of the wilderness to buy and to sell, to renew old contracts and to make new ones, to make arrangements for future meetings, to meet old friends, to tell of adventures they had been through, and to spend for once a jolly day… In place of money, they use beaver skins, for which they can satisfy all their needs at the forts by way of trade. A pound of beaver skins is usually paid for with four dollars worth of goods; but the goods themselves are sold at enormous prices, so-called mountain prices. A pint of meal, for instance, costs from half a dollar to a dollar; a pint of coffee-beans, cocoa beans or sugar, two dollars each; a pint of diluted alcohol (the only spiritous liquor to be had), four dollars; a piece of chewing tobacco of the commonest sort, which is usually smoked, Indian fashion, mixed with herbs, one to two dollars. Guns and ammunition, bear traps, blankets, kerchiefs, and gaudy finery for the squaws, are also sold at enormous profit. At the yearly rendezvous the trappers seek to indemnify themselves for the sufferings and privations of a year spent in the wilderness. With their hairy bank notes, the beaver skins, they can obtain all the luxuries of the mountains, and live for a few days like lords. Coffee and chocolate is cooked; the pipe is kept aglow day and night; the spirits circulate; and whatever is not spent in such ways the squaws coax out of them, or else it is squandered at cards. Formerly single trappers on such occasions have often wasted a thousand dollars…The rendezvous usually lasts a week.”
As Wislizenus tells us, almost all the trade was done with “hairy bank notes.” He also touches on “gaudy finery for the squaws.” This unveils a few different things. One, trappers often took Indians wives. Two, they often spent their last dollar to dress up the woman in whatever she wanted. Hawks bells, vermillion, ribbon, cloth; whatever she wanted she got. Finally, he notes that trappers wasted “a thousand dollars.” Although these values are not certain, this website calculates that $1,000 in 1830 is roughly equivalent to $27,868.37 today.
Captain Bonneville - 1833
“The leaders of the different companies, therefore, mingled on terms of perfect good fellowship; interchanging visits, and regaling each other in the best style their respective camps afforded. But the rich treat of the worthy captain was to see the “chivalry” of the various encampments, engaged in contests of skill at running, jumping, wrestling, shooting with the rifle, and running horses. And then their rough hunters’ feastings and carousals. They drank together, they sang, they laughed, they whooped; they tried to out-brag and out-lie each other in stories of their adventures and achievements…Now and then familiarity was pushed too far, and would effervesce into a brawl, and a “rough and tumble” fight; but it all ended in cordial reconciliation and maudlin endearment. “
Captain Bonneville highlights the fact that trappers often participated in feats of strength and speed. He also mentions how “cordial” the trappers were to each other despite the fact brawls were frequent.
Alfred Jacob Miller - 1837
Another set of great primary sources to learn about the mountain man rendezvous are the paintings of Alfred Jacob Miller. You can learn more about Miller’s life by opening this link. For now, take a few minutes to look over these paintings he made while at the rendezvous of 1837.
Rendezvous by Alfred Jacob Miller - 1837 via wikicommons.
The above painting is titled “Rendezvous” and shows what Miller apparently saw in 1837. You can see numerous lodges spread across the plain, horses, people running, campfires burning, and what looks like a general celebration.
Cavalcade by Alfred Jacob Miller - 1837 via wikicommons.
Cavalcade was painted by Miller and shows the Snake Indians coming to rendezvous. It shows hundred, or maybe over a thousand, Snake Indians coming to do their trading and join in the festivities. Again, this painting does help reveal what a rendezvous would have looked like.
There you have six different primary sources from people who actually attended a mountain man rendezvous. As you can tell, a rendezvous certainly wasn’t a place for the faint of heart and would have been an exciting place to be on the American frontier. As much fun as they would have been, it’s likely that between the killings, debts, and headaches, many trappers were actually worse off after rendezvous than when they had shown up. Still, a rendezvous was something that all the trappers looked forward to each and every year.
