Why Rendezvous?

History Time

Rocky Mountain Rendezvous

Rocky Mountain Rendezvous (in trapper jargon) was an annual gathering (1825–1840) at various locations held by a fur trading company at which trappers and mountain men sold their furs and hides and replenished their supplies. The fur companies assembled teamster-driven mule trains which carried whiskey and supplies to a pre-announced location each Spring-Summer and set up a trading fair—the rendezvous—and at the season's end, packed furs out, normally the British Companies to Fort Vancouver in the Pacific Northwest, and to one of the northern Missouri River ports such as St. Joseph, Missouri, if an American overland fur trading company.

Rendezvous’ were known to be lively, joyous places, where all were allowed — fur trappers, Indians, native trapper wives and children, harlots, travelers and later tourists who would venture from as far as Europe to observe the festivities. James Beckwourth describes in his 1856 autobiography The Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth, Mountaineer, Scout, and Pioneer transcribed by Thomas D. Bonner: "Mirth, songs, dancing, shouting, trading, running, jumping, singing, racing, target-shooting, yarns, frolic, with all sorts of extravagances that white men or Indians could invent." Many things written about James Beckwourth have been challenged for accuracy, but the things he told about Rendezvous have been corroborated by multiple sources.

Rendezvous are still celebrated as gatherings of like-minded individuals. The fur trading rendezvous are celebrated by traditional black-powder rifle clubs in the US and Canada. These events range from small gatherings sponsored by local clubs to large gatherings like the Pacific Primitive Rendezvous, the Rocky Mountain National Rendezvous, and others.  They include many of the activities as the originals, centering on shooting muzzle-loaded rifles, trade guns and shotguns, throwing knives and tomahawks and primitive archery, as well as cooking, dancing, singing, the telling of tall tales and of past rendezvous. Personas taken on by participants include trappers, traders, housewives, Native Americans, frontiersmen, free-trappers and others, including soldiers.

‘Rocky Mountain Rendezvous’ (2020) Wikipedia. Available at:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_Rendezvous (Accessed: 29 September 2020). with additional edits for this site by Brett Aldrich.

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