Death of a Trapper

Trapping in the West was a dangerous occupation. Starvation, natural disasters, grizzly bears and Indians all seemed bent on "rubbing out" trappers plying the streams and creeks for beaver. Here is an excerpt from William Ferris' Life in the Rocky Mountains, 1830 - 1835:

On the morning of the 19th several of our men returned from their traps, bearing the dead body
of Frasier, one of our best hunters, who went out the day previous to set his trap, and by his not
returning at night, excited some alarm for his safety. His body was found in the Jefferson, about
five miles below camp, near a trap, which it is supposed he was in the act of setting when fired
upon. He was shot in the thigh and through the neck, and twice stabbed in the breast. His body
was stripped, and left in the water, but unscalped. - In the afternoon we dug his grave with an
axe and frying pan, the only implements we had that could be employed to advantage in this
melancholy task, and prepared for the sad ceremony of committing to the earth the remains of
a comrade, who but yestermorn was among us in high health, gay, cheerful, thoughtless, and
dreaming of nothing but pleasure and content in the midst of relations and friends. Having no
coffin, nor the means to make one, we covered his body in a piece of new scarlet cloth, around
which a blanket and several buffalo robes were then wrapped and lashed firmly. The body thus
enveloped was carefully laid in the open grave, and a wooden cross in token of his catholic faith
placed upon his breast.

AJ Miller's "Free Trappers in Trouble"

Another interesting read Thank you for sharing

When we speak of the mortality of these hunters of beaver I recall reading somewhere that the average lifespan of a mountain man (once they reached the mountains) was three years.

Also, kind of confounding to me is how many trappers didn't know how to swim. In particular I find it strange that many of the french voyageurs (who spent their lives paddling canoes and pushing rafts) often drowned when their rafts or canoes overturned.

Good stuff Ksnow...keep at it! Am always anticipating what the next installation will bring.

thanks for posting,

Always makes me realize how soft and spoiled we are now. Most of us don’t stare death in the face every day…..willingly!

We modern folk tend to think in modern ways
Imagine paddling a canoe in cold water dressed in the garb of that time with all the things you had on you
When you hit the water with all that clothing absorbing water and the extra weight of your belongings you carry it's easy to see why so many drowned
They were also very lean because of their diet which makes one less buoyant in the water

Thanks again, always interesting.

Good points all. But you either do or don't know how to swim. There were so many drownings that we are lead to the forgone conclusion that many never learned.

BP, I never learned how to swim either, not even in survival training
I'm a rock