They were the first white men to penetrate the continent, and they soon lost their identity, becoming something completely new and different, a hybrid of Native and European, part civilized, part wild. Often from farms on the edge of the wilderness, which at the time might have been western Pennsylvania, they learned the hard way how to survive in the woods, plains, and mountains of the West. They were men like George Drouillard, who became a scout for Lewis and Clark, whose expedition might not have been possible without the first incursions of the mountain men. Drouillard ended up a victim of the Blackfeet, beheaded, eviscerated, and left in pieces. When not in conflict with the Native Americans, they faced grizzly bears, wolves, snakes, getting lost, other trappers, and the encroachment of civilization. They were hunting beaver and buffalo, learning from and teaching the Native Americans the art of catching game. They worked for men like John Jacob Astor, whose multinational corporation, The American Fur Company, more or less controlled every pelt that came east. His traders fanned out across the nation, and the mountain men became their trappers. It was one of the most exciting eras in the history of the United States, and the mountain men were some of the most fascinating players. Here are their stories.