Mountain Men 1820-1840

Mountain men made their own clothing from deerskin, feathers and beads. They usually knew and sometimes lived with regional tribes.

Watercolor by Alfred Jacob Miller

At the peak of beaver fur’s popularity for fashion, there were an estimated 3,000 mountain men in the Rocky Mountains. These men were of diverse heritage, often of French ancestry. Traveling alone or in small groups in the mountains, they naturally became friends with bands of Utes and other tribes, and sometimes married Indigenous women.

Each spring, mountain men gathered for an annual event known by the French term ‘Rendezvous’, where they shared information, traded materials and weapons, and socialized.

Because of their firsthand knowledge of the land and area tribes, they served as guides and interpreters. Though there is historical documentation of mountain men in the San Luis Valley in the early 19^th century, details of their explorations here are scant. They would have walked near and probably on the Great Sand Dunes, but there are no records of their impressions.