By 1840, the price
of fur prices had dropped and bankrupted many trading firms, phased
out the Rendezvous, and sent the mountain men packing down their
back trails to places like the Santa Fe Trail, where gold and
pleasure awaited. Fine acoustic instruments accent these lively
ballads.
The
monumental thrust Westward in the early 1800’s with reports from the
Lewis and Clark Expedition, started trails by the beaver men, to the
Rocky Mountains and discovered Yellowstone & the Oregon Trail.
Beaver was “as thick as ticks on a hound’s ear”. Guitar, fiddle,
mandolin, autoharp, and banjo bring out the beauty of these mountain
ballads.
Trappers were drawn
from the East by the call of the unbroken trail, and a possible
fortune from the beaver fur. Many managed to live well from trades.
Many more however would never be seen again. Performed with a
traditional fiddle, guitar, and harmonica reminiscent of the rustic
sound of the times.
