Old West: Rendezvous

[jason taylor]

Is there some way one can use a fur rendezvous in an Old West adventure?

for instance:

Horseplay: taletelling; boozing; brawling; athletics like wrassling(not "wrestling" but "wrassling"), racing, tomahawk throwing, etc

Espionage: different corporations, states, tribes, thises, and thats might have representatives here.

Diplomacy: Related to above.

Exploration: a cartographer or scientist dude visits to question the rendezvous members.

Trade: Normal bargaining for beaver pelts, powder, Jakes Super Snake Oil, Two hundred percent proof Firewater, etc.

[sjard]

Based on my understanding of them, (and they are pretty heavily covered in schools here being a local tradition and history), any and all of those can work at a Rendezvous.

They were a combination big party, trade show, news exchange, anything and everything else you could think of.

Some were so regular and large that towns eventually were started in the location.

As for espionage, one thing that was common was to try and hide your own current best trapping areas, while trying at the same time to get their "friends" drunk enough, or otherwise find out their best areas to possibly trap them out as well.

It's one of the reasons the areas around the Great Salt Lake got a reputation as having been a lunar scape wasteland before being settled. Jim Bridger was partially responsible for that as the northern part of the state is quite nice and green with lots of wild animals even today.

Games, drinking, competitions were all common. Probably much like any other large gathering of people for business purposes.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by sjard

Games, drinking, competitions were all common. Probably much like any other large gathering of people for business purposes.

Oh true. But it's the details that make the difference and describing them is different for a Texas oil man's convention, European diplomatic conference, Medieval Scandinavian Thing, or Fur Rendezvous.

[sjard]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

Oh true. But it's the details that make the difference and describing them is different for a Texas oil man's convention, European diplomatic conference, Medieval Scandinavian Thing, or Fur Rendezvous.

Well, if the modern reenactor rendezvous are anything to go by, there were the usual ax throwing contests, shooting contests, etc. I've heard and read that there would also be contests of speed involving skinning, hide stretching, etc.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by sjard

Well, if the modern reenactor rendezvous are anything to go by, there were the usual ax throwing contests, shooting contests, etc. I've heard and read that there would also be contests of speed involving skinning, hide stretching, etc.

Sounds cool.

The only reenactment fairs I ever went to were the Highland Games, and the Renaissance Faire.

[jason taylor]

By the way, "wrassling" really is different from wrestling. It is a blood sport not simply a martial sport and descriptions I read make it sound rather like pancration. It would never be tolerated in a reenactment, but it might well have a place in an rpg.

[ULFGARD]

All of these would work quite well historically, and for "in genre" conventions. I've both read and seen a rendezvous used in fiction for these purposes. Wish I could recall the references offhand. A rendezvous could also be sponsored by a specific company (often were, especially later in the period), and were sources of information. There'd be booze, violence, and womanizing as well as small fortunes in goods trading hands. And as far as map making went, the fur traders had been all over the continent and back well ahead of the "explorers".

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by ULFGARD

All of these would work quite well historically, and for "in genre" conventions. I've both read and seen a rendezvous used in fiction for these purposes. Wish I could recall the references offhand. A rendezvous could also be sponsored by a specific company (often were, especially later in the period), and were sources of information. There'd be booze, violence, and womanizing as well as small fortunes in goods trading hands. And as far as map making went, the fur traders had been all over the continent and back well ahead of the "explorers".

I don't know about the womanizing. That can be hyped up because people in adventurous occupations have a randy reputation. The reputation is true of course(I suppose being alone for months gets one that way); the problem is getting the supply to meet the demand as the pay for the Oldest Profession isn't necessarily worth the hardship of travelling so far when more convenient customers are to be had.

As I understand, frontiersmen tended to take Indian wives and mistresses(including the lawman Joe Meek who married a Shoshone, and Mclaughlin himself). Those would have attended and probably had their own celebrations if they didn't take part beside their husbands. Undoubtably the men would have had a great deal of fun with the womenfolk as part of the celebration as well, but it is not clear they had the resources for womanizing at least in the Saturnalian sense the word implies, unless they were camped near a large town.

[ULFGARD]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

I don't know about the womanizing.

From what I have read, there were women. Usually they were Indian women sold or traded probably as "wives", then ill used by the unscrupulous. Though there were also some who believed that by having their wives have sex with white men and then having sex with their wives they could steal some of the white man's power. That much came from Lewis and Clark books I read probably 20+ years ago, though.

Undoubtably the men would have had a great deal of fun with the womenfolk as part of the celebration as well, but it is not clear they had the resources for womanizing at least in the Saturnalian sense the word implies, unless they were camped near a large town.

No, not a Saturnalian sense -- more of a brothel sense, and even then the services were likely in short supply. Nonetheless, there would have been women present whose companionship was negotiable.

[jason taylor]

I suppose that is a bit easier to believe.