Rocky Mountain Rendezvous [Paperback]

Fred Gowans (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 2, 1988

5 1/2 X 8 1/2 In, 256 Pp, 20 Black and White Photographs, 50 Black & White Drawing and Maps This Is Both A Guide For Mountain-Man Enthusiasts and In Intriguing Exploration of The West For General Readers. Each of 16 Rendezvous Are Described From A Multi-Faceted Perspective By Firsthand Accounts and Through Careful Research. Maps Pinpoint The Location of Each Rendezvous, and Photos Depict The Site Today.

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Contents Maps Photographs Preface Introduction Randavouze Creek Rendezvous, 1825 Map Information Willow Valley Rendezvous, 1826 Sweet Lake Rendezvous, 1827, Sweet Lake Rendezvous, 1828 Popp Agie--Pierre's Hole Rendezvous, 1829, Wind River Rendezvous, 1830 Willow Valley Rendezvous, 1831 Pierre's Hole Rendezvous, 1832 Green River Rendezvous, 1833 Hams's Fork Rendezvous, 1834 Green River Rendezvous, 1835 Green River Rendezvous, 1836 Green River Rendezvous, 1837 Wind River Rendezvous, 1838 Green River Rendezvous, 1839 Green River Rendezvous, 1840 Appendix Footnotes Selected Bibliography Index

From the Back Cover

An all-new, redesigned, and retypeset edition of the original classic on the fur-trading rendezvous that took place from 1825-1840 in the Central Rockies. These rendezvous were originally commercial gatherings where furs were traded for necessities such as traps, guns, horses, and other supplies. But more and more they became rich social events at which all kinds of human emotion were on display. Carefully crafted and compiled from primary sources, Rocky Mountain Rendezvous includes fascinating text by Fred R. Gowans accompanied by firsthand accounts of the rendezvous from scientists, artists, military personnel, government explorers, and missionaries. The descriptions are illustrated with maps, photographs, and drawings. "For fur-trade scholars the book is important as a guide to rendezvous sites. For casual readers or newcomers to Western history, it serves as a fine introduction to a hard time in a hard country--a time that today is covered with a patina of romance." The American West.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Gibbs Smith, Publisher (July 2, 1988)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0879051930
• ISBN-13: 978-0879051938
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,016,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars See you next summer on the Popo Agie, November 30, 2005

By 

Bomojaz (South Central PA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rocky Mountain Rendezvous (Paperback)

This is a good resource book for anyone interested in the Fur Trade period of the old West (1825-1840). The Rocky Mountain rendezvous was a uniquely American creation whereby supplies were brought from St. Louis to the fur trappers working the streams in the Far West, thus eliminating their need to come down from the mountains to re-supply, wasting much valuable time. A site and time (usually early July) were prearranged and trappers, Indians, traders, and travelers made it a point to gather at the rendezvous.

Gowans describes each rendezvous that occurred, from the first in 1825 on Henry's Fork in southwest Wyoming to the last in 1840 at the often-selected Green River site near Daniel, Wyoming. Who was there, what business was conducted, impressions and incidents are all dealt with, many as revealed in journals and diaries of the participants. The famous Pierre's Hole fight with the Blackfeet as the 1832 rendezvous was breaking up is recounted in detail, as is the time Jim Bridger had an arrowhead removed from his back by Dr. Marcus Whitman at the 1835 gathering on the Green.

Gowans is particularly interested in locating the exact spot of each rendezvous as best as can be determined by contemporary accounts. For many of them he shows a map and photographs of what the site looks like today. The book also indexes all the names mentioned in the text, and contains a fairly detailed bibliography as well. The yearly rendezvous was fur trader and entrepreneur William Ashley's invention, a brilliant idea, and Gowans focuses on their actual locations and tells what went on at each one in this informative and entertaining book. Highly recommended.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Insightful of the fur trade era, October 16, 2002

By 

William J Higgins III (Laramie, Wyoming United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rocky Mountain Rendezvous (Paperback)

To the novice of the fur trade era, this is a wonderful book. For the more experienced reader of this time period, it is a good review of the many names and places which shaped the early American West. Along with timely excerpts from a multitude of diaries, journals, narratives and books, the author also includes numerous maps, drawings and art work replications from the famous western painter Alfred Jacob Miller to depict these annual gatherings. The book is in a chronological time order, beginning with the first rendezvous of 1825 and culminating with the last event of its kind in 1840. It was as much a pleasure to read as I'm sure it would have been to experience these yearly social occasions.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good review of the fur trade west of St. Louis, prior to 1840, May 5, 2008

By 

T. J. Hanson "Forest Ecologist" (Oregon) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Rocky Mountain Rendezvous: A History of The Fur Trade 1825 - 1840 (Mass Market Paperback)

This book presents a good review of the Rendezvous system of the fur trade in the far west. When reading, it would be helpful for the reader to develop a flowchart of the various companies and personnel associated with the fur trade -- and how and where they interact. This book provides a good supplement to the information available for students of the American fur trade era.