Long Jakes, "The Rocky Mountain Man"
Long Jakes documents America’s first frontier hero, the fur trapper. The fur trade in the American West flourished in the 1830s and was one of the most financially successful industries in America during the first half of the 1800s. The image of the trapper was that of a fiercely independent traveler who led a solitary life. Trappers worked throughout the Rocky Mountains to gather beaver fur, a major commodity (beaver hats were very popular).