John “Liver-Eating” Johnson was a mountain man of the American Old West. Legend has it that he would cut out and eat the liver of each man he killed. Johnson served in the Mexican-American War and then set out to strike gold in Montana Territory. The story goes that in 1847, a Crow brave and … Continue reading Liver Eating Johnson →

Typical trade knives used by the trappers were inexpensive to buy and were made with some of the best steel of the day, namely from the Sheffield area of England. Trappers used knives for everything from skinning a beaver or buffalo, to eating, to cutting hides for clothing and even doing some surgery on a … Continue reading Trapper Knives →

The Tools of a Mountain Man – Priming horns, a J. J. Henry pistol and more atop a beaver pelt and a Hudson Bay blanket. The Hudson Bay Company issued blankets to their fur traders who used them for trading with the various tribes. Most commonly they were white with colorful stripes. Red blankets were … Continue reading Horns & Guns →

J. J. Henry pistols were a favorite among the American mountain men. J. J. Henry was a well-known Pennsylvania gun maker who supplied rifles and pistols to the American Fur Company. Learn more about the Rocky Mountain Fur Traders and the J. J. Henry pistol.  

The insignia on Jim Bridger’s rifle, which is on display at the Museum of the Mountain Man Museum in Pinedale, Wyoming.  Jim Bridger (James Felix Bridger) was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped in the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850. He also helped mediate between … Continue reading Jim Bridger Rifle Plaque →

Jim Bridger (James Felix Bridger) was among the foremost mountain men, trappers, scouts and guides who explored and trapped in the Western United States during the decades of 1820-1850. He also helped mediate between native tribes and encroaching white settlers. What is now known as Fort Bridger State Historic Site in Fort Bridger, Wyoming was … Continue reading Jim Bridger Rifle →

Artist Alfred Jacob Miller’s watercolor titled “Breakfast at Sunrise” captured this image during the annual fur trader’s rendezvous  held in the Green River Valley in Western Wyoming in 1837. “At four o’clock in the morning, it is the duty of the last men on guard to loosen the horses from their pickets, in order to range … Continue reading Alfred Jacob Miller’s “Breakfast at Sunrise” →

Hats made of beaver pelts became so fashionable in Europe 1550-1850 they created the profitable enterprise that led to the development of the American mountain man. The Rocky Mountain Fur Company, originally known as Ashley’s Hundred, was organized in St. Louis, Missouri in 1822 by William Henry Ashley and Andrew Henry. Among the original employees … Continue reading White Beaver Hat →

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were American explorers who led the Lewis and Clark Expedition through the uncharted American interior to the Pacific Northwest in 1804–06. Known as the “Corps of Discovery,” the Lewis and Clark Expedition spanned 8,000 miles and three years, travelling down the Ohio River, up the Missouri River, across the Continental Divide, … Continue reading Lewis & Clark →

A mountain man’s “possibles” bag and two powder horns. In the days of the mountain man, a “possibles bag”  held everything that could possibly be needed for the day: black powder, powder measurer, flint and steel, lead balls and patch, a patch knife, and a skinning knife, as well as other personal items. The horn on … Continue reading Possibles Bag →