Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man: A Field Guide to Leadership in the Great Outdoors Chapter 23

This is the twenty-third of a weekly blog series that will focus on leadership in the outdoors and how to get the most from the least. Even though the title is called, “Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man”, it will hopefully cover topics that are useful to everyone.

Chapter 23: Work to become a free-trapper.

“Pensate Profunde” Latin for “Think Deep”

In the mountain man’s time of yesteryear, the highest professional standing and title a mountaineer could obtain was that of a free-trapper. On the societal and professional hierarchy, the free-trappers were admired and honored by the other trappers and traders in the mountain. Most mountain men of yesteryear were under contract and in the service of a particular company or trapping outfit. The companies that most mountain men worked for provided the men with tools, supplies and a plan for where and when to trap; the trade-off was that the men had to return all of their efforts and resources back to the company. The men that became free-trappers were able to do so because of the knowledge and experience they acquired during years of spending time in the Rockies. It could be a huge gamble for the mountain man to set out on his own as a free-trapper, but often the decision was made as the mountain man grew tired of the lack of independence. Once a mountain man was able to take on the title and professional responsibilities as a free-trapper they were able to decide where they wanted to trade and trap, who they wanted to travel with, which other people they would trade with, and to some extent set the price their furs would demand at the next rendezvous. No longer were these men bound to a certain company’s ideals or restrictions, they were, in a sense, set free to be their own men and achieve their greater purpose in the trapping and trading profession.

In the modern age of social and global media and communications, many people are reliant on what other people or social agenda pushers tell them to believe and think. This is not a new problem for society. Throughout history corporations, governments or organizations that were in a position of power and persuasion decided what message was delivered to the masses. This is no truer than in the example of education, especially concerning the theory of evolution, the beginnings of the universe or any of the natural sciences.

Around the mid-19th Century, there was a huge divergence in the way the origins of the natural world and mankind were interpreted, explained and taught. These thoughts found their roots in the highest levels of societies and universities, as any learned man during this time worth his salt began to study and teach ideals that ran counter to what the Bible clearly explains in regards to God’s creation. Some notable educators and scientists of the day even went as far as to openly say it was their end goal to completely remove God and the Bible from any of the natural sciences being taught in the universities. The famed geologist Lyell would be one of the headliners of this agenda, openly declaring his intention of disproving the Bible and removing God from the world. Many of Lyell’s theories are still being taught in all levels of education today, with the same purpose, removing any mention of God from His own creation. This theory would require great eons of time to make any part of the theory even remotely plausible. This was counter to what the Bible teaches, so the Biblical story of Creation needed to be discarded. Natural science theories such as Lyell’s were contemporary with the theories of human evolution that were being developed in the 19th Century by English gentlemen such as Darwin and Wallace, all of which require great eons of time to make any sense at all. All of these atheist ideologies quickly spread through the upper levels of society in that day and age, on to the universities and eventually, by the start of the 20th century, into all levels of education as these men and their agendas moved on to other professional pursuits. The educated people of most Western Civilizations have ceased to look to God for answers, but are instead looking to other men and their theories to become a god of sorts to rule everyday life.

We must go back to the original ideal that was and is viewed by the greatest minds that God ever created on earth and clearly stated by St. Thomas Aquinas, that God authored two books concerning His creation. One book being the Bible (God’s word) and the other book being the Universe itself (God’s works). Since God wrote both, they will be one-hundred percent complimentary. The written word (Bible) being an intelligent, comprehensible unerring recording of God using alphabets and the works of God (creation) having the language of mathematics, or in better words reproducible observations, thus science. Nature doesn’t need to prove the existence or presence of God any more than man does, but because the word of God is true we will see repeatable evidence of His creation in nature and in man.

You may ask yourself, what does this possibly have to do with working to become a free-trapper? Just like during the mountain man’s time period of old, some men during that time were content to keep their heads down and keep plowing on with the work in front of them in service to the company, never questioning the ideals, methods or agenda, maybe never wanting anything more for themselves or their fellow mountain man. As leaders, we must demand more of ourselves. Simply existing to serve a company is not enough, we must question and we must seek to make the world better for others.

I saw a perfect example of this sentiment in the recent past as I took a small group of students to visit a very well-known and prominent Natural History Museum. As our group traveled from area-to-area and display-to-display, they had one common denominator, a dedicated group of volunteer men and women awaiting our arrival. I would guess most of the volunteers had retired from other professions and were in the age range of mid-60’s to late 70’s. Each volunteer would give us a similar canned speech about the artifact or relic in front of them, oftentimes without prompting by us or other visitors. It became very clear to each of us that the speech and presentations they gave were taught by the professional staff at the museum and the extent of their knowledge was limited to whatever area they were currently stationed. As we listened intently to each rehearsed speech and supposed fact, the timelines were all the same, being measured in millions, and in some cases hundreds of millions of years. One of the students tried asking where and how they came about this timeline, and the response was the same, “that is just what we know.” All of the timelines given to us during our visit to the museum were complementary to every other display and section of the museum. A veritable house of cards when it comes to information.

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, most of these timelines and theories were devised and taught at universities during the 19th Century. This atheist timetable and these “facts” about the natural world began to become proliferated across the globe, with any questioning of these pieces of information being seen as a lack of intelligence or poor education. In the mid-19th Century, the Bible would no longer be taught as the greatest history book ever written, but used only to provide some good ideals or life lessons by educated people outside of the church. By the mid-20th Century, the efforts of the “learned” men of the 19th Century would come to full fruition and the Bible was completely removed from public education altogether. This was and is no mistake, science wants to be seen as a god and doesn’t want the real God to interfere with the desires and ambitions of men. Education and mankind in general, are content with simply being a part of this “company” from an intellectual viewpoint, no longer seeking to set out on our own intellectual journeys through experience and personally gained knowledge. Most men are not prepared to take the risk to set out on their own and become an intellectual “free-trapper.” Christians, especially Christian leaders must make this our life’s goal, no longer content to be restrained to serve the company ideal, but rather set our own terms and conditions to educate the next generation. Good enough, is no longer good enough.

I am very stuck in my ways, as I am sure Mrs. Modern-day Mountain Woman would tell you. I am very resistant to change about most things. I believe this to be the case for most middle-aged people, and especially true for the older generations. I know going into a place like a Natural History Museum and having an intellectual argument about the origins of life would fall on deaf ears. If the older volunteers didn’t already believe the information they were espousing they wouldn’t choose to do it in their free time as a museum volunteer. No matter what facts, figures or even evidence I show them, they will not be swayed, nor do they want to be. They are content being part of the “company.” This is why it is vitally important that we change the narrative concerning education and creation with young minds, so they can spend their life in a quest for knowledge to get to the Truth.

A Chapter in the Book of God's Work of Creation.

To adhere to the Socratic method of following the argument where it leads should be the goal of every modern-day mountain man. Simply accepting the Status Quo of viewing God’s creation as some astronomically numbered instance of chance and being shaped and defined only by natural forces with no input or design from a Creator makes both books (Bible and Creation of the Universe) irrelevant. This would undermine the very need for Christ, and we cannot allow this to happen. Everyone in mankind is given, from God, the same book of creation to read, observe and interpret, but only through our work to become a Christian “free-trapper” can we break free of the constraints of untruth that are being repeated in every place. We must use the Bible as our guide while in the field to help us see the true love and meaning of creation by our Creator. This is why all of the great and profound thinkers that have ever walked the earth ended their time on earth with a belief in God. They followed the argument where it led, and it always led to a Creator. Not all of these men started out with a belief in God. Because they were free to think, make explorations on their own, and because they took the time to read the books of God, this could only lead them to one logical conclusion.

In conclusion, to go against the modern scientific viewpoints and theories, the modern-day mountain man must be prepared through experiences and knowledge to set out on his own. We must work diligently to get all of the pieces in place to set out as a “free-trapper,” no longer confined to the company’s expectations or ideals. This venture can come with much risk and ridicule, but the prize at the end of the adventure is worth any price that must be paid. Freedom is at stake.