What
is a Pre-1840 Rendezvous?
A Rendezvous was a pre-determined place and time set for Fur Trappers to meet up with Fur Traders. This kept the Fur Trapper from having to come all the way back to civilization to cash in their Beaver Plews and other furs they had collected.
Usually the Trappers or Mountain Men would spend 11 months of the year in the mountains trapping beaver. Beaver was in great demand because its fur. The fur was made into the felt for the Top Hats that became popular in the 1790's.
Beaver fur was most desirable in the winter. So the Trapper would struggle through the Rocky Mountain Winter in order to trap them. With winter's cold the Trapper faced the possibility of frostbite, bone numbing cold, running into Ol' Ephraim, or Bug's Boys, or illness. It was a fact that not many Greenhorns made it through the first year.
To the Fur Trapper, rendezvous was like our present day state fairs. It was a great time to socialize with other Trappers and to find out what is going on back home. It was also Pay Day! They would bring their furs and trade them for necessities they would need for the upcoming year.
Some of the things a Trapper would need are: coffee, sugar, whiskey, pemmican, jerky, lead, blackpowder, traps, clothing, blankets, horses, mules, and Foofuraw.
When the
trading was over it was time for fun. There was singing, dancing, horse
races, foot races, target shooting, knife throwing, gambling, whiskey drinking
and yarn telling.
For more information on Mountain Men and Rendezvous follow these links.
Mountain Men and the Fur Trade
