Before the modern fashion industry, (and animal rights as a concept), fur trade was an integral part of the American economy.
Before the modern fashion industry, (and animal rights as a concept), fur trade was an integral part of the American economy. Especially in the early Wild West, Alberta Canada, and expansion through Native American territories.
Being a fur trapper was a respectable job, and a few earned themselves quite the reputation. It was a rugged life, but early 1900s men and women were up to the challenge.
Here are 23 vintage pics of early fur trappers.
1
California hunter and trapper Seth Kinman sitting in a chair made out of a grizzly bear that he gave to President Andrew Johnson in 1865.
2
"Kinman claimed to have shot a total of over 800 grizzly bears, and, in a single month, over 50 elk. He was also a musician who performed for President Lincoln on a fiddle made from the skull of a mule."
3
Cree trapper Isaiah Clark of Norway House, Manitoba.
4
Joe Louie, trapper, and saddle horse loaded with coyote pelts near Wainwright, Alberta, 1911.
5
Fur trapper in front of his cabin - Alaska, 1980's.
6
Old trappers’ cabin Circa 1900.
7
A trapper stands outside his cabin with a fine display of furs, 1932.
8
Spanish muskrat trapper hanging muskrats up to dry their fur before skinning. Delacroix Island, Saint Bernard Parish, Louisiana in 1941.
9
Shuswap First Nations drying beaver pelts on Shuswap Lake, British Columbia. Ca. 1883.
10
Portrait of Thomas McKean Finney, an Indian trader at Gray Horse, Osage Agency, Oklahoma Territory. circa 1874.
11
Hunter carrying a bear, 1900.
12
Trapper with handcar on railway tracks in northern Alberta, 1910.
13
Inuit Hunter looking cool with his shades that protected his eyes from snow-glare circa 1930s.
15
Trapper’s Cabin, Kananaskis area, Alberta, 1911.
16
Trapper with dog team at Islay, Alberta, 1929.
17
Trapper beside cabin, Alberta Coal Branch area, Alberta, 1920s.
18
Coyote skins at trapper’s cabin, Alberta Coal Branch area, Alberta.
19
“My 3rd great-grandparents on the Oregon Trail. He was a fur trapper. 1870s.”
20
Unidentified trappers with animal skins hung to dry on Sled Island, Alberta, 1924.
21
Trapper with beaver pelts at Swift’s Ranch, Jasper, Alberta.
