The winter of '40

I still remember the winter of '40. I spent the summer up high in the Rockies trapping beaver with Jim Colter, Jim Bridger and Preacher. Now Preacher wasn't really a minister of the Gospel he did carry a bible and could quote chapter and verse out of it but his real love was ol' Will Shakesphere. Along with the bible he had the complete works of Shahesphere. He was always quoting from either set of books.
Come fall were headed over to Jackson Hole for the Rendezvous to sell our furs. My gosh what a time that was. One big mountain man party, games of shooting skill, axe throwing and of course gambling and drinking. We all made some good money from our furs and at the end of the Rendezvous we packed up our gear and headed over to the Teton Range to our winter cabin. We got the cabin ready for the winter, plenty of fire wood and a good stock of hooch, a couple of Elk for meat, coffee, plenty of beaver tail. Now the tail of Bev is mighty tasty. As winter set in ol' Bridger and Preacher got to arguing over politics and dang near anything. Those two could talk and talk and the more they talked the louder they got. the good thing is the as they got louder and louder it got colder and colder. Pretty soon it was so cold that their words froze as soon as they came out of their mouths. It may have been cold that winter but it sure 'nuff was peaceful. Funny thing was that they never stopped arguing,
Come nigh onto spring I stepped out of the cabin on morning to fetch some watter for coffee and firewood when I spotted some Blackfeet sneaking up on us. Now them Blackfeet shore didn't like us trappers intruding in their terriorty. They was ready to kills us and take our scalps. But before I had a chance to shout a warning to the others all them words that the Jim and Preacher had been saying all winter started to thaw. Them thar Blackfeet musta thought that were were a whole army there and they just plain skeedaddled and never bothered us at all.
Yep, I do remember the winter of 1840.


P.S.
The photo is of me Taken at the battle of Manassas July 1861 just before I got killed.