We Go A Long Way Back
Rendezvous Produced More Than Just Profits And Merriment
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Alfred Jacob Miller’s 1837 Trip to Rendezvous
From Fur Traders and Rendezvous – The Alfred Jacob Miller Online Catalog
When Alfred Jacob Miller agreed to accompany William Drummond Stewart on a trek to the Rocky Mountain West, it is likely he had no idea what he was in for. Raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and trained as an artist in the finest cities of Europe, Miller was undoubtedly far more accustomed to civilized life. The idea of joining this Scottish nobleman who wanted him to sketch the remarkable scenery and incidents of such a trip into the wilderness must have seemed like the adventure of a lifetime.
The two men had met while in New Orleans, Louisiana, in early 1837. Stewart, who would soon ascend to become laird of Murthly Castle in Dunkeld, Scotland, was impressed with Miller’s art and arranged to have the artist go west with him. They reunited in St. Louis in early April where they joined an American Fur Company (AFC) caravan taking goods and equipment to the trappers’ rendezvous on Green River. More than a thousand miles across the continent, it would be Stewart’s fifth such visit to the annual gathering. Led by experienced mountaineer Tom Fitzpatrick, the supply train included thirty wagons and a couple of two-wheeled Charette carts. Stewart had a pair of wagons of his own, filled with personal gear and specialty items such as gifts, fine wines and exotic delicacies that he was taking to the rendezvous.
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