The Fur Trade in Colorado

The trading of animal skins has been a major activity throughout the known human occupation of Colorado. These skins—as hides, furs, or robes—provided protection from the elements as well as a valuable commodity traded for economic gain. Their trade strengthened and maintained political relationships. Preceded by many millennia by Native American exchange systems that included animal skins, the fur trade was the economic incentive that drove early European (and later European American) contact with Native Americans in the Colorado region.

The presence of bone needles, such as those found at the 13,000-year-old Lindenmeier Site, indicates the use of animal skins in tailored clothing since the earliest human habitation of Colorado. The prehistoric inhabitants of Colorado relied on animal skins and fur-bearing animals for protection and shelter. Trading animal skins or furs was undoubtedly an aspect of these early Native American lifeways. The presence of nonlocal goods at prehistoric archaeological sites confirms the early exchange systems of Native American groups. Dry caves and rock shelters in Colorado have yielded preserved items made from animal skins.

At Mantle’s Cave in Dinosaur National Monument, a deerskin pouch and a deer scalp headdress were found, along with a long-tailed weasel pelt and items made of rabbit fur. At Franktown Cave, on the Palmer Divide, clothing made of leather and rabbit hides—including robes, footwear, and leggings—was recovered. Snares and other artifacts found at both sites indicate finding small animals was an important subsistence activity. The items found at these two sites indicate that animal skins had a variety of uses, both utilitarian and ritualistic. The earliest European explorers encountered Native American groups that were skilled and knowledgeable in the art of bartering.

Initially, the abundance of fur-bearing animals in northern North America attracted Europeans who traded metal and glass for the skins of beavers, otters, bears, and other animals. This exchange certainly drove some of the earliest encounters in Colorado. The Spaniards witnessed indigenous trade fairs and exchange between Puebloan groups and neighboring hunter-gatherers that primarily involved agricultural goods being traded for animal products including skins.

Not long after the initial Spanish exploration of the American Southwest trapping and trading began. Based out of Spanish settlements such as Taos and Santa Fe, these entrepreneurs were trapping and trading in the Colorado Plateau and Western Slope region by the beginning of eighteenth century. Early contact with Ute Indian groups in the region often took place due to trade. In the eighteenth century, Spanish explorers such as Juan Antonio María de Rivera (1765) entered the Colorado Plateau. The friars Francisco Domínguez and Silvestre Escalante (1776), ventured through the region eleven years later, using Spanish trappers and their knowledge of the Colorado region.

By the late eighteenth century, trappers and traders from Spain, France, and England were obtaining fur-bearing animals in present-day Colorado and conducting trading fairs to get other animal products, including bison robes and meat. The French may have even had a post on the Upper Arkansas River prior to 1762. These trade fairs on the Arkansas River were based on earlier Native American trading systems, such as Comanche trade fairs, and were later the basis for European American trade networks. Small parties of trapper-traders continued to journey into Colorado to trap animals, particularly fur-bearers, into the early 1800s. The trappers were limited in number, though, largely due to restrictive Spanish policies that generally banned trapper-traders from other empires to take resources from Spanish territory.

Following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, American trappers and traders began to enter the region in greater numbers, particularly north of the Arkansas River, even though the Spanish viewed the region as their territory. St. Louis traders such as Jules DeMun and Auguste Chouteau learned this the hard way when they were captured in 1817 while trading along the Front Range. They were taken to Santa Fé, tried, imprisoned, and had their merchandise confiscated. Given this atmosphere, trapping and trading remained sporadic, or at least covert, in the Colorado region until the 1820s, when dramatic political and territorial changes altered the region’s trading patterns.

Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821 and the following expulsion of Spanish from the Southwest resulted in the opening of trade between the United States and Mexico, particularly with the establishment of the Santa Fé Trail and the beginning of open trapping and trading in Colorado. Companies began organizing trapping ventures. Begun in 1824 by William Ashley, annual trading rendezvous were held to exchange the pelts taken by both commercial and free trappers for goods and supplies. European American trappers and traders as well as Native Americans took part in these events. The rendezvous largely took place in the Green River Basin north of Colorado, but it involved the exchange of furs obtained from the Western Slope and Colorado Plateau.

The fur trade era in the region initiated direct contact between Native American groups and European Americans. By the late 1820s and early 1830s, following the trappers’ rendezvous, several permanent posts were constructed in Colorado. Generally situated along major waterways, these early posts provided permanent locations for trade in animal skins. They included Fort Uncompahgre (1828) on the Gunnison River, Bent’s Old Fort (1834) on the Arkansas River, Fort Vasquez (1835) on the South Platte River, and Fort Davy Crockett (1837) on the Green River. On the western Great Plains, the construction of these posts also came about with a shift in the late 1830s from trade in beaver pelts to trade in bison robes. As the market for beaver pelts largely crashed in the late 1830s, a strong market for bison robes developed. These market trends were primarily dictated by European fashion, where beaver felt hats fell out of style but bison robe blankets became popular.

As the beaver-based fur trade economy waned, trade in bison robes and other Native American–acquired goods became more dominant, particularly on the western Great Plains. At trading posts or temporary camps, Native Americans traded the robes to European Americans for gunpowder, rifles, flour, iron tools, cookware and other goods. The demand for bison robes resulted in a trade primarily catering to Native American groups; the location of posts, types of goods, and timing of this trade were all dictated by Native American preference.

Although the Southern Plains bison robe trade remained strong into the 1840s, elsewhere in Colorado the combination of overhunting and waning fur markets took its toll, and the fur trade diminished to a minimal level by the mid-1840s.

The exchange and use of animal skins—whether as clothing or shelter in prehistoric times or to supply foreign markets in the historic fur trade—together comprise an important theme throughout the human occupation of Colorado. Although basic uses and trading systems have varied through time, the value of this natural resource has always been recognized, and the use of animal skins for subsistence or economic benefit plays an essential role in Colorado history.

The trading of animal skins has been a major activity throughout the known human occupation of Colorado. These skins—as hides, furs, or robes—gave protection from the weather as well as valuable items traded for economic gain. Preceded by many thousands of years of Native American exchange systems, the fur trade was the economic reason that drove early European (and later European American) contact with Native Americans living in the Colorado region.

The presence of bone needles, such as those found at the 13,000-year-old Lindenmeier Site, shows that the earliest humans in Colorado used animal skins for clothing. Colorado’s prehistoric people relied on animal skins and fur-bearing animals for protection and shelter. The trading of animal skins or furs between Native American groups was a part of these early lifestyles. Dry caves and rock shelters in Colorado have yielded preserved items made from animal skins.

At Mantle’s Cave in Dinosaur National Monument, a deerskin pouch and a deer scalp headdress were found, along with a long-tailed weasel pelt and items made of rabbit fur. At Franktown Cave, on the Palmer Divide, clothing made of leather and rabbit hides—robes, footwear, and leggings—was recovered. Snares and other artifacts found at both sites indicate finding small animals was an important survival activity. The items found at these two sites suggest that animal skins were used for a variety of items, both practical and ceremonial.

Initially, the abundance of fur-bearing animals in northern North America attracted Europeans who traded metal and glass for the skins of beavers, otters, bears, and other animals. This exchange certainly drove some of the earliest encounters in Colorado. The Spaniards witnessed Native American trade fairs and exchange between Puebloan groups and neighboring hunter-gatherers that primarily involved agricultural goods being traded for animal products including skins.

At the beginning of the eighteenth century trapping and trading began in the Colorado Plateau and the Western Slope. Based out of Spanish settlements such as Taos and Santa Fe, these entrepreneurs were trapping and trading in the Colorado Plateau and Western Slope region. Early contact with Ute Indian groups in the region often took place through trade. In the eighteenth century, Spanish explorers such as Juan Antonio María de Rivera (1765), entered the Colorado Plateau, and the friars Francisco Domínguez and Silvestre Escalante (1776), ventured through the region eleven years later. They used Spanish trappers and/or their knowledge of the Colorado region.

By the late 1700s, trappers and traders from Spain, France, and England were getting fur-bearing animals in present-day Colorado and operating trading fairs to get other animal products, including bison robes and meat. The French may have even had a post on the upper Arkansas River before 1762. These trade fairs on the Arkansas River were based on earlier American Indian trading systems, such as Comanche trade fairs. Later they were the basis for European American trade networks. Small parties of trapper-traders continued to journey into Colorado to trap animals, particularly fur-bearers, into the early 1800s.

Following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, American trappers and traders began to enter the region in greater numbers, particularly north of the Arkansas River, even though the Spanish viewed the region as their territory. St. Louis traders such as Jules DeMun and Auguste Chouteau learned this the hard way when they were captured in 1817 while trading along the Front Range. They were taken to Santa Fé, tried, and imprisoned for their unlawful trading in Spanish territory. They also had their merchandise taken away. Given this environment, trapping and trading remained patchy, or at least hidden, in the Colorado region until the 1820s, when political and territorial changes changed the region’s trading patterns.

Mexico's independence from Spain in 1821 and later expulsion of the Spanish from the Southwest resulted in the opening of trade between the United States and Mexico. With the establishment of the Santa Fé Trail and the beginning of open trapping and trading in Colorado, companies began organizing trapping projects. Begun in 1824 by William Ashley, annual trading rendezvous were held to exchange the pelts taken by both company and free trappers for goods and supplies. European American trappers and traders as well as Native Americans took part in these events. The rendezvous largely took place in the Green River Basin north of Colorado, but it involved the exchange of furs which came from the Western Slope and Colorado Plateau.

By the late 1820s and early 1830s, following the trappers’ rendezvous, several permanent posts were constructed in Colorado. Generally located along major waterways, these early posts provided permanent locations for trade in animal skins. They included Fort Uncompahgre (1828) on the Gunnison River, Bent’s Old Fort (1834) on the Arkansas River, Fort Vasquez (1835) on the South Platte River, and Fort Davy Crockett (1837) on the Green River. On the western Great Plains, the construction of these posts came at the same time as a shift in the late 1830s from trade in beaver pelts to trade in bison robes. As the market for beaver pelts largely crashed in the late 1830s, a strong market for bison robes developed. These market trends were primarily dictated by European fashion, where beaver felt hats fell out of style and bison robe blankets became popular.

As the beaver-based fur trade economy decreased, trade in bison robes and other goods from Native Americans became more popular, particularly on the western Great Plains. At trading posts or temporary camps, Native Americans traded the robes to European Americans for gunpowder, rifles, flour, iron tools, cookware and other goods. The demand for bison robes resulted in a trade primarily catering to Native American groups; the location of posts, types of goods, and timing of this trade were all dictated by Native American preference.

The exchange and use of animal skins—whether as clothing or shelter in prehistoric times or to supply foreign markets in the historic fur trade—together are an important theme throughout the human occupation of Colorado. Although basic uses and trading systems have varied through time, the value of this natural resource has always been recognized, and the use of animal skins for subsistence or economic benefit plays a key role in Colorado history.

The trading of animal skins has been a major activity for as long as people lived in Colorado. These skins—hides, furs, or robes—gave protection from the weather.  They were also a valuable trade item for economic gain. American Indians had traded skins for many years before European Americans came to the area.  Trading furs gave European Americans contact with Native Americans living in Colorado.

Bones used as needles were found at the Lindenmeier Site, which is 13,000 years old.  The needles were used to make clothing for the earliest people living in what would become Colorado. Items made from animal skins were found in dry caves and rock shelters in Colorado.

At Mantle’s Cave in Dinosaur National Monument, a deerskin pouch and things made from rabbit fur were found. Clothing made of leather and rabbit hides was found at Franktown Cave, on the Palmer Divide. The items found at these two sites show that animal skins had many uses.

At first, Colorado’s large numbers of furry animals attracted Europeans. They traded metal and glass for the skins of beavers, otters, bears, and other animals.

The Spanish explored the American Southwest and soon after trapping and trading began. Spanish explorer Juan María Antonio de Rivera (1765), was the first European to enter the Colorado Plateau. Friars Francisco Domínguez and Silvestre Escalante (1776) came through the area eleven years later. They hired Spanish trappers who knew a lot about the Colorado region.

By the late 1700s, trappers and traders from Spain, France, and England were catching animals with fur in the area that would become Colorado. They had trading fairs to get other animal products including bison robes and meat.

After the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, American trappers and traders began to enter the region in greater numbers. When Mexico got independence from Spain in 1821, the opening of trade between the United States and Mexico started.

With the creation of the Santa Fé Trail, open trapping and trading took place in Colorado. Fur companies began trapping in the area. In 1824 William Ashley, began yearly trading meetings to swap pelts for goods and supplies. European American trappers and traders as well as Native Americans took part in these gatherings.

The fur trade era caused direct contact between Native American groups and European Americans. By the late 1820s and early 1830s, several permanent posts were built in Colorado. These early posts were places to trade animal skins. They included Fort Uncompahgre (1828) on the Gunnison River, Bent’s Old Fort (1834) on the Arkansas River, Fort Vasquez (1835) on the South Platte River, and Fort Davy Crockett (1837) on the Green River. In the late 1830s the market for beaver pelts crashed. A strong market for bison robes began. One reason for this change was European fashion.  People no longer wanted beaver felt hats.  Instead, blankets made from bison robes became trendy. Along with bison robes, other Native American goods became more popular. Native Americans traded the robes for gunpowder, rifles, flour, iron tools and cookware.

The trade and use of animal skins together is an important theme throughout Colorado. The value of this natural resource has always been known, and the use of animal skins plays a key role in Colorado history.