Chapter 9: Always enjoy the robe season.
“The mountain man took each day as it came; if he were successful in his peltries, he enjoyed life while he had the means; if unsuccessful, he enjoyed life just the same. Free from responsibilities, unrestrained by conventions of society, with health and a few good companions, the mountain man was always ready for a new adventure, especially if there were prospects of beaver and fat buffalo.” pg.99- Old Bill Williams, Mountain Man, by Alpheus Hoyt Favour
The robe season, to the mountain man, was winter. This makes sense since winter was the time all those fur robes they collected and made the rest of the year really came in useful! The mountain man was prepared for winter with their warm blankets and looked forward to the chance to lay in warmth for a season. Often the mountain men would bunk together or stay with a Native American tribe. It offered them the chance to help one another, stay warm and fed, and share information and stories with each other.
Growing up in Illinois, the winters weren’t as long as the Rocky Mountains, but they were cold. The humidity made the cold bone-chilling. As a kid though, I sure don’t remember it being painfully cold. My memory is of putting bread bags on our feet before sticking them in our snow boots and heading out into the snow for a day of play with the neighborhood kids. We would get so sweaty sledding on our one hill in town that we’d have a pile of hats and scarves discarded at the bottom of the hill. By the time we walked home, our feet would be popsicles and our sweaty hair would be frozen to our heads, but it was worth it. All the playing in the snow would make the cocoa and hot bath that much more perfect. I’ve met very few kids who act as if the cold of winter makes playing outside impossible. If anything, it’s more of a challenge for them to bundle up and find ways to enjoy the great snowstorms. When in life does it become a burden to bundle up and play in the snow?
When we lived at 9,000 feet in elevation, we would get serious snow! One year, three days before summer vacation, we got over two feet of snow in one night and the kids had a snow day the following day. How many kids can say they had a snow day off from school right before summer vacation? It was wonderful! The kids and I played outside, built snow forts and snowmen, and sledded to our heart’s content. There is really nothing better, as a child or as an adult, as playing in the snow; some would say it brings out your inner child.
John Burroughs, a farmer, teacher and American Naturalist and essayist who studied nature extensively and traveled and camped with John Muir and Theodore Roosevelt, once wrote, “He who marvels at the beauty of the world in summer will find equal cause for wonder and admiration in winter.” Mr. Burroughs saw the beauty of summer as equal to the beauty of winter. The springs and summers of the mountains are stunning, with the clear blue skies and fields of intricate wildflowers. Winter is equally beautiful and magical with the sparkling fresh snow covering the ground and gracing the tops of trees and mountains. It is truly a wondrous gift of God to provide our colder regions of the world with beautiful refreshing and life-giving snow.
Knowing how to prepare for winter is essential to enjoying it. If your firewood isn’t cut and stacked, if your windows aren’t tightly sealed shut, or if you haven’t checked to make sure your winter gear is ready to go, it won’t be nearly as enjoyable. The mountain man would prepare for winter, gathering his supplies, deciding with other mountain men where to over-winter, and then he would enjoy the “robe”. I wonder if the mountain man ever threw a snowball or made a snow angel. I want to believe he did. As the quote from Old Bill Williams, Mountain Man suggested, the Mountain man would find a way to enjoy life regardless of his situation. Let us be like the mountain man, prepared for the winter, and ready to enjoy its glorious splendor.
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