1. and why were they important?
Who were mountain men
and why were they important?
What does
this source
tell you
about the
way of life
of the
Mountain
Men?

2. Lesson Aims
*To identify the key features of the mountain man’s way of life (how they lived) in the west in the 1820 and 1830s
*To identify the role the mountain man played in encouraging people from the East to settle in the west

3. “Cut off by a snow storm on another journey,
“A mountain man named Phil went of into the mountains with an Indian on a hunting trip. The weather was terrible, with howling winds sweeping the countryside. He eventually returned, alone. As he unpacked his mule he pulled out a shriveled human leg, threw it to the ground and said ‘there, damn you, I won’t have to gnaw on you any more.’”
“Cut off by a snow storm on another journey,
Phil survived by eating his Indian wife”
There’s a thought!

4. Why did the way of life of the mountain man end?
Your Task
Start by filling in the mountain man worksheet using the information on pages for all the boxes except the one on the top right. For this box you need to read the first full two paragraphs on page 30 of the green book.
If you finish this read page 57 of the white book and write two paragraphs on the back side of the mountain man sheet wit the following titles.
Why did the way of life of the mountain man end?
How important was the mountain man to the settlement of the west?

5. Describe the way of life of the Mountain Men (4marks)
Level 1 – Simple understanding of the topic
1 – 2 marks
Level 2 – Developed understanding including knowledge of key terms
3 – 4 marks
Good Technique = 2 Paragraphs – 2 killer points, 2 back up points, 9 minutes
DETAIL DETAIL DETAIL!

6. The way of life of the mountain men was often very dangerous
The way of life of the mountain men was often very dangerous. They had to cope with extreme weather conditions in the mountains. In the winter it would be freezing cold and the mountain men could die from exposure to icy rivers and deep snow. To over come this, some married Indian women so that they had a base in the harsh winter months. Cannibal Phil ate his Indian wife, showing that sometimes they became desperate. Often the lifestyle of mountain men was very lonely too. They worked alone trapping fur and only met once a year at the Rendez-Vous where they sold their fur and bought more supplies such as gun powder. This tended to be quite a rowdy event as they also drank lots of alcohol and gambled. Later their lifestyle became less isolated as they worked as guides for travellers and made maps.