In this social studies and English Language Arts high-school level lesson, students are introduced to the purpose of the "Mountain Men." They will write an advertisement for and a letter from a Mountain Man, and then perform a close-reading of an excerpt from one of four primary source documents from explorer William H. Ashley. More
Both men's (shown) and women's fashions in the early 1800s favored the use of beaver pelts for coat collars and hats. Mountain men, hired by trading companies located primarily in St. Louis, explored the Rocky Mountain region to either trap for themselves or to lead groups of trappers into these wilderness areas. More
For More Information
The Fur Trade PDF booklet from Western Michigan University
''In relation to the subsistence of men and horses, I will remark that nothing now is actually necessary for the support of men in the wilderness than a plentiful supply of good fresh meat. It is all that our mountaineers ever require or even seem to wish."
Letter from William H. Ashley to Gen. Henry Atkinson, Dec. 1, 1825.
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