Since this trek was in the winter and the task was to notify the
inhabitants that Manuel Lisa had established Fort Raymond ("Manuel's
Fort") during the fall of 1907 on the Yellowstone River at the mouth
of the Big Horn (Biddle, Lewis and Clark narrative), it's more likely
that he took samples of the merchandise of the firm. Edward Rose took
horses with goods to trade with the River Crows (who ultimately
snookered him). Colter went by foot (snowshoe most likely) through the
mountains to show the mountain tribes the merchandise.
Burton Harris in "John Colter: His Years in the Rockies" says " ...
considerable thought must have gone into the selection of trade goods
that were so essential. Awls, beads, vermillion and needles would not
take up much space, but other articles such as knives and tobacco had
to be included even though they were heavier and bulky. The goods
Colter took with him were not just samples of the wares available at
the trading post, but rather represented the currency with which he
made the traditional gifts to his Indian hosts and paid for his
supplies of food and clothing. Lead for bullets was another important
trading commodity, since some of the Indians had already obtained guns
from the British traders to the north; yet Colter could not possibly
have carried much more of that heavy metal than his own ammunition
requirements."
On Thu, Apr 17, 2008 at 3:39 PM, amm1585 <amm1585@???> wrote:
> Might he have been referring to a 30 lb pack of plews?
> Lanney Ratcliff
--
You know how dreams are--the day's thoughts seasoned with hope, fear,
and memory, cooked into an illogical stew and served in an upside-down
bowl.
--Roland Merullo, Breakfast with Buddha, a novel
