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Mar. 23rd, 2013 02:52 pmFrom Men in Eden: William Drummond Stewart and Same-Sex Desire in the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade:
Free trappers were known for their "bold and adventurous spirit," and their eccentric and flamboyant modus vivendi quickly became the stuff of legend. In 1902 Hiram Chittenden wrote of them: "Their leader could not always control them and they were prone to all sorts of excesses. Vain of their appearances, extravagantly fond of ornament for both themselves and their steeds, they rivaled the proud Indian himself in the profusion of gewgaws which decked out their attire." These sartorial displays were not intended to attract the Indian women whom the men occasionally encountered. As would be noted of the gold miners in the remote California camps of the 1950s, the free trappers "dressed up in order to look 'fascinating' for one another."
Free trappers were known for their "bold and adventurous spirit," and their eccentric and flamboyant modus vivendi quickly became the stuff of legend. In 1902 Hiram Chittenden wrote of them: "Their leader could not always control them and they were prone to all sorts of excesses. Vain of their appearances, extravagantly fond of ornament for both themselves and their steeds, they rivaled the proud Indian himself in the profusion of gewgaws which decked out their attire." These sartorial displays were not intended to attract the Indian women whom the men occasionally encountered. As would be noted of the gold miners in the remote California camps of the 1950s, the free trappers "dressed up in order to look 'fascinating' for one another."
