Chapter 6 Territory of New Mexico The early 1800s was a time of explorers and trappers called mountain men. They were self-sufficient people. They could take care of themselves and get what they needed from the land. This was also a time when the Mexican people were revolting against their Spanish conquerors and bandits were roaming the land. Standards’ Vocabulary mountain men Kit Carson Jim Beckwourth Jedediah Smith Miguel Hidalgo Hugh O’Connor Fray Tomas Garces Presidio of Tucson Manifest Destiny Mormon Battalion Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo Gadsden Purchase Bill Williams Who were the mountain men? “Every man wore a hat, and every hat was a beaver” was a common saying of the early 1800s. John Jacob Astor, President of the American Fur Company, recruited young men to go West to find the beaver pelt. These pelts were then used to make coats and hats for the men and women of eastern cities and Europe. An old newspaper once described the mountain men as, “A set of men who possessed warm hearts, had noble purposes, and as courageous spirits as could be found in any state or society.” Between 1824–1832, there were hundreds of these mountain men along the Verde, Salt, Gila, San Pedro, Colorado, and San Francisco Rivers. Who were these mountain men? September 1810 Father Miguel Hidalgo calls for Mexico’s independence from Spain. September 1821 Mexico wins its independence from Spain. 1800 1810 1820 Spring, 1824 Mountain men trap beaver along the Salt and Verde Rivers. 62  Chapter 6 • Territory of New Mexico