Stephen Hall Meek spent decades travelling the West, trapping, guiding and trading all throughout the mountains.
In 1825, at 20 years old, he hired on with the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, under William Sublette, and that was the start of his Western career.
This excerpt details one year of his trapping journeys:

In the fall of 1831 I was again with Milton Sublette and trapped in
the Black Hills, near where Fort Larimie was afterwards built, on the head waters of the Platte.
The winter was spent on Powder river, and in the spring we went to Wind river and trapped on
that stream, the Yellowstone, Mussel Shell river, and back through Jackson’s Hole to Wind river,
the rendezvous being at the mouth of Tar, or Popyoisa, river, a tributary of that stream.

Meek's later travels took him to California, New Mexico and Oregon.
Stephen was an older brother to another famous mountain man, Joe Meek.

Stephen Meek, as a hunting guide, photographed later in his life.

Dog looks as tough as himself.

Bumped for the night crowd.

… you sure that ain’t Charlie Manson

is that rifle a rolling block? looks like some kind of breech loader

I don't know much about vintage guns but I'm certain that the picture was taken after 1860 and probably later than that while Meek resided in California and worked as a hunting guide and prospector.

Stephen Meek live to a ripe old age but almost didn't, as the wagon train that he guided across Meek's cutoff were all in favor of hanging him when the expected watering holes came up dry and over 50 pioneers and countless stock perished. It wasn't entirely Meek's fault either. When he had been through that country 10-15 years earlier (during wetter years) there had been adequate water along the route.

Dang ol' climate change!

Oregon has had the NTA Western a couple times in John Day Oregon, that country has a lot of history of this guy I believe.

wws

The pic was taken well after his "mountain man" days. I tried to find a date, but had no luck.

With your trapping and craft skills, I find it hard to believe you can’t find a date.
Seriously thanks for always brightening up Mondays!!!

I did find a similar photograph of Meek, dated 1885. He was born 1805 and passed in 1889. Lots of change in the West in his days.

BTW, thanks for sharing that pic of Stephen, it is one of my favorites.

It definitely is a rolling block

Really Cool

Yeah, a Remington rolling block. Custer used one too.

Also notice he's wearing some kind of boot with a high riding type heel. Seems odd to me to see an outdoorsman/mountain man dressed in leathers wearing boots with 1 1/2" heels. I'd think some kind of moccasin would be more appropriate.

cool little read thanks,

At that stage in his life, he was a hunting guide. Most likely a lot of saddle time, so boots of that type would make some sense. Custer wore boots and buckskins also.

Also keep in mind that photographs of this type were often staged in photo studios, so all sorts of odd props were used at time, to the the "look" right.

This

Even old one-eyed dogs?

One less eye to worry about blinking when they took the picture. Haha.

Hey K Snow, would you ever be open to a suggestion box on fur trade era subjects we would be interested in having you addressing?