Removed from the constraints of civilization there is a romantic lure of being a mountain man during the 1800’s. Pristine views, hunting in remote locations, and a life of adventure has the outdoorsman in me wishing I could travel back in time and see if I had the mettle to be a beaver trapper. The other part knows these men were tough, faced death on a regular basis, and lived an uncomfortable life.
If you have daydreamed about life during this age, I recommend reading Journal of a Trapper by Osborne Russel. Russell documented his nine years (1834 to 1843) in the Rocky Mountains. The record is one of the most important firsthand accounts of the Mountain Man era.
Chapter Titles which include Thieving Indians Steal Most of the Horses & Two Days Without Water paint a picture of life and the daily struggles these men faced. Below Russel’s words lie principles that can be applied today.
Different Perspectives
Russel and a counterpart (White) were resting and realized they were being surrounded by Blackfeet. Before the author could grab his powder horn and bullet pouch one of his foes had already snatched it. The two men were able to escape, but only after being struck by arrows. Once they were safe the reality of their situation sank in and the two shared opposite demeanors.
White said “Oh, dear, we shall die here; we shall never get out of these mountains.”
To which Russel replied, “If you persist in thinking so you will die, but I can crawl from this place on my hands and one knee and kill two or three elk and make shelter of the skins, dry the meat, until we are able to travel.”
Two men, both wounded, limited supplies, in the middle of nowhere and drastically different attitudes of the situation. During difficult times except the way things are. However, do not fall in the trap of spending your energy lamenting on the way things should be. Instead, take the cards you hold in your hand and make a play.
Don’t Play a Finite Game
Eventually the beavers were trapped out and Russel returned to common life. In the last entry of his journal he wrote “It would be natural for me to suppose that after escaping all the dangers attendant upon nearly nine years’ residence in a wild, inhospitable region like the Rocky Mountains, where I was daily and a great part of the time, hourly, anticipating danger from hostile savages and other sources, I should on arriving in a civilized and an enlightened community, live in comparative security, free from harassing intrigues of Dame Fortune’s eldest daughter, but found it was a delusion, for danger is not always the greatest when most important, as will appear in the sequel.”
Russel was referring to an incident in a mill where he lost an eye, but I ponder if the he was referring to being shackled by the routineness of the civilized world. Where comfort can be the death of your soul. I have found myself “down” after returning from a weeklong hunt in the mountains. The simplicity of only having to focus on shelter, water, and hunting frees the mind from the constant attack for our attention in a digitalized world. The return to the daily grind illuminates how easy most of us have it, and our problems are created in our minds.
The solution…don’t rest your laurels on one pursuit. Instead find a just cause that doesn’t have a finish line, but allows you to achieve new goals and evolve as a person.
Until next time…you are going to have to earn it.