Great Idea JC, That should allow more Trappers to make it over to the Rendezvous and still get together on Sunday, as Family.
Jedediah Smith, a Trapper and Mountain Man in the 1820's is a good example for us, his love of Trapping came only after his love of God and Family.
Mountain men of that day were known as drinkers, gamblers, and fornicators. They were a rough and uneducated bunch, uncomfortable in civilized society.
This was not the case with Jedediah Smith. He was educated, modest, and temperate and his honesty and morals were unquestioned.
It was said he trusted both in his Rifle and his Bible. His fellow mountain men thought his religion strange, but his genuineness won them over.
He was in dozens of hand-to-hand fights with Indians; he was attacked three times by grizzly bears, once escaping by jumping in a river and once escaping as the bear hung on to the tail of his horse as his panicked beast sped away.
One time he did not escape and he was nearly killed only to be scarred for life.
The guiding principle of his life was his Christian faith learned at home from his parents. He died a brutal death but was assured of his salvation through his personal faith in Jesus Christ.
A Historical Marker dedicated to Jedediah says, “Jedediah Smith gained great fame in his short span of years as both frontiersman and explorer. Less emphasis is placed on his religious zeal though he was truly a missionary by example. His worth as an explorer, his resourcefulness as a leader, and his skill as a mountain man were only surpassed by his integrity and faith."
Doug
