Mountain men camped and trapped alone in the mountains throughout the winter, so they carried everything they needed with them to get them through to the following spring. They did most of their hunting during the winter, because beaver furs were thickest. Here are some of the important supplies that mountain men used in order to survive. Image: Gear spread

This specialized little hard leather bag added to the efficiency of loading and firing a rifle.  Lead balls could be located and loaded when needed

Castoreum, a substance from a gland near the base of the beaver’s tail, was used by the trapper as bait.  It was smeared on a willow switch that he placed by the trap, and although the scent in open air was not discernible to humans, it was recognizable by the beaver at a distance.

Full Title: Colorful Periods of Colorado History, American Fur Trapper, 1 color block: Beaver, Business of the Trapper

A stick smeared with beaver scent (castoreum) was planted over a trap set underwater the beaver stretching to smell the stick was caught and drowned. The trapper took the skin while cutting around the lips and eyes and peeling back over the body skinning out the feet. The tail was a choice morsel. A 'dainty' to be carefully packed into camp/ the skin hair side on was stretched over a bow of a willow branch. No wardrobe was complete without a beaver hat. The advent of the silk hat probably saved the beaver from extinction. A wedge for press used to bundle furs.

Woodcut Print, Colorful Periods of Colorado History, American Fur Trapper

History Colorado

Mountain men set beaver traps like this foothold trap underwater near where they knew beavers swam in and out of their dens. It was also important to set the trap underwater because the water would cover the trapper’s scent. The trap was chained or tied to a tree or a pole to anchor it so a trapped beaver couldn’t simply swim away with it. 


Beaver Pelt

Essential for hunting, defense, and survival, a mountain man was never without his flintlock rifle. These rifles were made by gunsmiths in St. Louis and Pennsylvania. Some types of flintlock rifles were made especially for trading with American Indians.

One of two rifles in the History Colorado holdings associated with Kit Carson. This one is a muzzle-loading percussion rifle with an octagonal barrel and half-stock. The stock is adorned with thirty-six brass tacks inserted around an elaborate engraved brass patch box. The forepiece is decorated with elaborate engraved brass inlay. The grip is checked and there is bean shaped brass inlay in the left side of the stock. The butt plate and forepiece tip ramrod guide are brass; no rod ferrules, but there is a wooden ramrod. Two inlaid narrow gold bands across top of breech.There is a maker's mark on engraved into the lockplate (lockplate manufacturer's, not gun's maker). The trigger guard has been replaced with a commercially tanned piece of leather that appears to be a more recent addition.

Rifle, Percussion Muzzle Loading Rifle

Hand-forged, iron ax heads were of great importance to Americans conquering the wilderness.  Essential for felling trees to use as firewood and shelter, as well as a valuable weapon, this was a heavily traded item. A blacksmith would make a trade ax by taking a single, elongated flat plate of iron and hammering out one end while hot.  He would then wrap the piece of iron around a pattern to form the eye of the ax for the wooden handle.  The blade was then ground to sharpness.


Small iron pipe tomahawk head (also known as a calumet) with a heart shape cutout design (11/16") on the cutting edge of the tomahawk head. This piece is a good example of the type of fancier tomahawks offered to important clients at fur trade forts across the west.

Iron Pipe, Tomahawk head

Tomahawk head

One of the trapper’s most essential tools, the knife helped him kill and skin animals for food and for their pelts. The logo of J. Russell and Co./Green River Works of Massachusetts, stamped on the blade of many a mountain man’s knife, became an icon of the western fur trade. There was something very personal about a trapper’s favorite knife, and he often named it or endowed it with a personality. An attachment like this makes sense when one considers the importance of such a tool in the wilderness.

Wilson added "Sheffield England" to their knives to conform to the McKinley act of 1891 which required all manufactured goods imported into the United States to be marked with the name of the country of origin. Before that they were marked with the Wilson name and various symbols. One resource for the date based on the I. Wilson hallmark is "The Museum of the Fur Trade Quarterly" volume 14 No. 3 Fall, 1978.

Fleshing Knife, Wilson "Green River style"

Not every trapper owned a pipe, but clay pipes such as this one were cheap and popular at the time. Traders transported hundreds of the fragile pipes to rendezvous in barrels packed with sawdust. Tobacco represented a small luxury in otherwise harsh conditions and was also a popular trade item with American Indians.

An unused white clay trade pipe dating to post 1893. The bowl and stem are molded together so the pipe is all one piece.The stem is long and straight. The stem shape is oblong (cross-section). There is a heel nub at the base of the bowl and end of the stem. The bowl curves up and tapers out from the stem. The mouthpiece has a rim. There are inscriptions on both sides on the bowl in gold ink.

Pipe, Colonial clay

Slung by a strap across his shoulder, the mountain man’s powder horn was another essential piece of his gear.  It was often made from a steer horn, but even more frequently of a smaller, black, bison horn.  The powder horn was a handy way to keep gunpowder dry, and the powder measure made sure that just the right amount was used.


Small powderhorn with rounded metal cap attatched to horn with wire nails.

Powder Horn

When trappers and traders met at a rendezvous to conduct business, they also played games and competed with each other. During long winters, card games, dominoes, and gambling were among their leisure time activities. 

This oval-shaped pouch has a red handle and quill wrapped in buckskin. The top edge is looped and there are red crosses and blue triangles set on a white background. It also has a cloth lining. In addition, fringe decorates the pouch, but the lower half skin is almost gone.

Pouch, Buckskin and Quill

Also known as “fire steels”, these objects were of prime importance in the American Indian trade. Although they were very inexpensive, they represented an important technological innovation over traditional fire-making techniques. Trappers working in the wilderness also found this tool to be extremely valuable. A slicing blow with the shaped steel against a small piece of flint caused sparks to fly and gave life to fire.

Standards for Mountain Man Gear

College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework