Your Life as a Fur Trapper: Personal Care Interpretation Sign Museum of the Mountain Man ~ Pinedale, Wyoming
Your transient lifestyle meant your belongings had to be easily carried by yourself or your horse. All items had to be both efficient & useful for multiple tasks.
Simple Shelter
A diamond fly tent made of canvas or a log & brush lean-to provided your primary means of shelter while you were out trapping. You slept on 1 or 2 epishemores (pieces of buffalo robe used while riding) & used your saddle as a pillow.
Sturdy Clothing
You dressed in a mix of Euro-American & Native American Styles. Cotton shirts & trousers wore out quickly when you were trekking through the wilderness, so you adopted buckskin clothing that lasted longer.
A Few Belonging
In order to pack light, you owned only a few personal belongings. Most items were necessary for daily survival in the wilderness, such as your gun, knives, traps, tools, blanket, & cooking utensils. If you had room, you might take books, writing supplies, or playing cards.
Travel on Horseback
Your horse was you primary means of conveyance, as well as a pack animal to carry your supplies & furs. Horse stealing was a common & honored practice among many tribes, so you guarded your stock carefully at all times. You & other trappers developed trails & routes this wilderness that were later used by pioneers making their way to Oregon, California, Utah, & the southwest.
Good Eats
Your hinting prowess generally provided the bulk of your food needs. Buffalo was the favorite, but elk, deer, antelope, mountain sheep, bear & beaver also sufficed. You gathered edible plants & berries & purchased not-perishable supplies at the annual rendezvous. When food was seriously scarce you resorted to eating anything edible, including crickets, ants, bark, & even leather moccasin soles.
Your Life as a Fur Trapper: Personal Care Interpretation Sign Museum of the Mountain Man ~ Pinedale, Wyoming
Your transient lifestyle meant your belongings had to be easily carried by yourself or your horse. All items had to be both efficient & useful for multiple tasks.
Simple Shelter
A diamond fly tent made of canvas or a log & brush lean-to provided your primary means of shelter while you were out trapping. You slept on 1 or 2 epishemores (pieces of buffalo robe used while riding) & used your saddle as a pillow.
Sturdy Clothing
You dressed in a mix of Euro-American & Native American Styles. Cotton shirts & trousers wore out quickly when you were trekking through the wilderness, so you adopted buckskin clothing that lasted longer.
A Few Belonging
In order to pack light, you owned only a few personal belongings. Most items were necessary for daily survival in the wilderness, such as your gun, knives, traps, tools, blanket, & cooking utensils. If you had room, you might take books, writing supplies, or playing cards.
Travel on Horseback
Your horse was you primary means of conveyance, as well as a pack animal to carry your supplies & furs. Horse stealing was a common & honored practice among many tribes, so you guarded your stock carefully at all times. You & other trappers developed trails & routes this wilderness that were later used by pioneers making their way to Oregon, California, Utah, & the southwest.
Good Eats
Your hinting prowess generally provided the bulk of your food needs. Buffalo was the favorite, but elk, deer, antelope, mountain sheep, bear & beaver also sufficed. You gathered edible plants & berries & purchased not-perishable supplies at the annual rendezvous. When food was seriously scarce you resorted to eating anything edible, including crickets, ants, bark, & even leather moccasin soles.