THE DIET OF THE MOUNTAIN MEN: A THREAD. In my book, I detailed how V. Gironda relied on historical and scientific writings for his pathbreaking diets. Here I will talk about a paper he may have read on the diets of the ultimate frontier KETO badasses: the mountain men. 
The mountain men lived in the American wilds, mainly in the Rocky Mountains, from the turn til about the end of the 19th century. Their wanderings were driven by the growth in the price of furs. They hunted and trapped for months on end before returning to civilisation to trade.
These men often lived side by side with the American Indians, sometimes amicably (they even took native wives), sometimes not. Regardless, in many respects they went native, eating and living in the manner of the Indians, much to the shock of their countrymen and women.
In 1963, William Holston wrote 'The Diet of the Mountain Men' for the California Historical Quarterly. It was at this time that Vince Gironda was also reading accounts by Arctic explorers on the diet of the Inuit. I will reproduce and comment on extracts below.
The mountain men ate almost exclusively meat, mainly bison and elk, but also small game. In times of dearth, they were reduced to eating gun grease and their own leather clothing. Portion control was not practised.
No meat went to waste from a buffalo. Not even the blood was wasted. Fetuses would be consumed. The brains were scooped out by hand.
The mountain men were raw and rare meat nationalists one and all.
The intestines and their contents were a particular delicacy, which would be eaten Lady and the Tramp style by the mountain men.
It took a lot to get a mountain man to eat insects. But when they did, they didn't hold back.
Cannibalism was also practised when in dire straits. A mountain man might eat his Indian wife or companions. Returning home, the mountain men would blow all their money in an orgy of drinking, fighting, gambling and womanising (not unlike in Blood Meridian).
Holsten's conclusions are noteworthy. A meat diet supplemented with lots of fat makes for a healthy life; one old trapper believed it was the key to immortality. Holsten echoes Stefansson, whose work Gironda had definitely.
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