Contemporary descriptions of the mountain men that include the level of detail we would like to know are pretty scarce. The following description of Donald Sinclair was written by Issac Cowie in his book "The Company of Adventurers" about his service in the HBC at a buffalo provision post called "Le Belle Qu'Appelle.
Dennis Fisher
#612
Shortly after Mr. ‘McDonald had left for the plains, one afternoon Kennedy came in to report that a free trader’s man, named Donald ‘Sinclair, with liquor, was visiting the men’s quarters, which was strictly prohibited by the rules. I met the man just as he was going from one house to another, and he at once greeted me in good English and by name, although an utter stranger to me. He was a smart, good-looking, medium-sized fellow, and evidently self-satisfied as a dude of that day. He wore his black hair in long oily ringlets reaching his shoulders, under a low crowned, broad brimmed, soft black felt hat, adorned with a “black foxtail feather,” which was an article of trade at the time and resembled a small ostrich plume. He wore a new navy blue cloth capote, with double rows of flat gilt buttons in front; trousers of the same material, over which, of the same cloth, were leggings reaching half-way up the thigh, heavily decorated by broad
stripes of beadwork on the outer sides and fastened below the knee by broad garters completely covered with beaded patterns of flowers and leaves. Beautifully made, yellowish brown moose moccasins, topped with fine silkwork, embellished his finely formed feet. To support his trousers was a broad, vari-colored L’Assomption belt, under which was tucked a profusely ornamented firebag, in which flint and steel and tinder were always carried with the ubiquitous pipe and tobacco. Waistcoats were not usually worn, and he was strictly in the mode by exhibiting a fancy colored flannel shirt—of the “Crimean” variety of the time—with a big black silk handkerchief tied in a sailor’s knot round his neck. On his left hand was a finely silkworked buckskin glove, and in it he held its mate while greeting me with the right.
----- Original Message ----
From: Wynn <wheels@???>
To: David Scott <davmscot@???>; rjbublitz@???; Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2008 9:19:33 AM
Subject: Re: MtMan-List: Belt buckle
----- Original Message -----
From: David Scott
> Everyone says the Miller work is unquestionable but
to
> me the rifles always look more slender than they should
be
> and you never see any saddle bags/trap sacks on any of
the
> horses/mules.
I have never heard anyone claim Miller was
unquestionable. Even guys who are big Miller fans admit
his weaknesses.
>
> There's another mule book, I think the title is "The
> Superiority of Mules" by John Hauer. He claims the mule
> is smarter than the horse and won't blindly follow orders
> and that accounts for a stubborn reputation that doesn't
> really exist. For example a mule may freeze if danger is
> present until it figures out the best option is to run.
A
> mule wouldn't run itself to death or overeat/drink
itself
> to death. My grandfather had a great horse that
> unfortunately ate itself to death. Got into the oats.
I like it stubborn equals inteligient. I feel smarter
already. Have you guys ever heard that border collies are
the most inteligient dogs? The reason they get so much
press is they are highly trainable. By that definition mules
are really stupid. You can train a quarter horse to be so
light that you can not see the reins move and they will
cut and slide stop and spin on a dime. Maybe pitbulls are
really the smartest dogs because they have the most self
preservation instinct that makes them bite more people.
David, no offense, I am just having some fun with this.
These are just silly statements that are printed and
spoken so often that I wonder if anybody even thinks to
question them. What is the definition of inteligient and do
we use the same definition for dogs and horses or even
people?
I had a kidney stone last summer. I wanted to kill the
next person who compared it to the pain of giving birth.
Why don't they compare it to amputation or constipation?
I loved it when the fire service guys came down to help
get me out of the back country, not a single woman anywhere,
and some guy pipes off with the birth thing. Like any of
us know how painful giving birth is!
So on a practical side. Mules can be trained to trust
people and get themselves into trouble they would be
smart enough to avoid on their own. They can also be to
dumb to know that the mud puddle will not kill them. They
will shy from perceived danger, I near hit the ground
when a couple dogs came happily running up to me last
summer. They will also freeze when the Indians are
attacking as Joe Meek confirms.
They are a lot more lovable than a canoe but you can
still want to kill them.
Wynn
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