Flint and steels were vitally important in the mountains for starting fires (and lighting pipes).
Every trapper and Indian had one or more flint and steel sets on them, usually one in their shooting bag and one in their pip/tobacco pouch.
Flint and steel sets show up on every trading lost, and are often listed as items stolen when Indians raided camps and ports, or took trappers
prisoner.
Here, W.A. Ferris starts out on a short journey in the winter, taking very little equipment:
Next day the boys [Indian] continued on, in quest of some relations at the
Flatt-head house. - We told them to send up here one or two Indians to hunt for us, and they
should be well rewarded.
We waited until the 17th for the arrival of some, but none came, and I finally resolved to go down
and engage one or two myself. Taking my gun, blankets, a pair of extra moccasins, flint and steel,
a hatchet, and my snow shoes, I passed down the river about twelve miles, where I found a comfortable
bush cabin, and halted for the night
Here is a list of gifts given by Francois Antoine Laroque to a band of Indians:
Thursday 27th. Assembled the chiefs of the different Bands of the Rocky Mountains and made
them a present of
2 Large Axes
2 Small Axes
8 Ivory Combs
10 Wampum Shells
8 fire steels and Flint
4 cassetete
6 Masses B.C. Beads
4 f. Tobacco
8 (This word is unacceptable on Trapperman) feathers
16 large Knives
12 Small do
2 lbs. Vermillion
8 doz. Rings
4 papers co’d Glasses
4 Doz. Awls
11/ lb. Blue Beads
2 Doz. do
1000 balls & powder
And here, James Clyman and his partner are near freezing and have problems holding the flint and steel to even get a fire going:
But all our calculations failed for as soon our hands became
exposed to the air they became so numb that we could not hold thee flint and Steel
