Way Across the Wide Missouri: Western History, Memory, and the Lunatic Fringe

William W. Gwaltney

Considered by many Americans to be on society's fringe, historical reenactors actually serve to shed light on our collective identity. Some reenactors in the West have taken the form of the "buckskinner," imitating activities of nineteenth-century American fur traders. Living history can be useful both to educate the public and to practice historical thinking outside of the classroom.

Since the publication of Tony Horwitz's Confederates in the Attic (New York, 1998), there has been a surge of interest in the hobby of historical reenacting. It is no wonder. Americans find the spectacle of thoroughly modern fellow citizens wearing strange clothing on a hot day, carrying on with black-powder rifles and beaver traps to be almost as entertaining as Jerry Springer. Allegedly, the fastest growing pastime in the United States, reenacting in the West takes many forms. Enthusiasts of the American fur trade call themselves "buckskinners" and take to the woods on weekends to recreate and re-create.	1
It would be easy to poke fun at these costumed citizens who enjoy not only being on the lunatic fringe, but who, in buckskin garb also appear to be fringed lunatics. But there is more to reenactment than meets the eye, and my long association with reenactors and our shared interest in history makes it impossible for me to dismiss them out of hand. I believe that if we scholars and historians and the general populace have patience and learn to read the "sign language" of the buckskinner phenomenon, we can enhance our understanding of who Americans think we are and used to be.	2
Perhaps there is more than lunacy to the lunatic fringe. It would be easier to dismiss it all as ravings if not for people like Sam Arnold, a Yale trained historian who has made living history a major part of his very successful fur trade theme restaurant. T. Lindsay Baker is a history professor, museum curator, Bent's Old Fort event veteran, author, and long-time WHA member who has used living history as an effective teaching tool in many ways and in many venues. There are scores of others who, as Bernard DeVoto said of the original trappers, wander around the West like most men go to their garage. Thoughtful, inquisitive, and well-read, many of them could give most doctorates in history a run for their money. Be warned: under no circumstances should you play period card games with these individuals for money.	3
My interest in the American West started when I was growing up in Washington, DC. Aided and abetted by my grandfather, I began to visit the western collections of the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Archives. In high school, and later at the University of Maryland, I maintained my interest in the Old West. I made a set of buckskins and developed an exhibit and an interpretive program for local libraries and the University of Maryland library. Along the way, I acquired my first replica black powder rifle. At UM, I was fortunate and privileged to have as mentors Walter Rundell, former president of the Western History Association, and Anne Butler, then a teaching assistant, now a professor of history. When Rundell learned of my predilection for reenactment, he insisted that I come to his classes in period garb and share what I had learned buckskinning. He also insisted that the university pay me a small stipend for this.	. . .