Once And For All, Did The Mountain Men Wear ZZ Top Beards?

 October 18, 2021

   It has become somewhat of a tradition at True West magazine to do a mountain man on the December cover. In the past two decades we have run at least a half dozen and they are always quite popular and invariably a best seller. That's not to say we don't receive a little criticism. Last year's cover (below) got some blow-back because more than a few of our readers considered the cover boy to be too "clean" and not "authentically rough enough," which begs the question: did the mountain men all wear scruffy ZZ Top beards?

  In our upcoming December issue (it goes to press this Thursday) we answer that question and more. Hint: In-din women did not like "dog-faced" men and the mountain men wanted to be attractive to the only females available in the far West in the 1820s.

A sneak peek at the December 2021 cover

 

The Seekers

   If there's one thing we pride ourselves on at this magazine it's getting to the historical truth, warts and all. And for our cover artist we went to one of the very best in the historial accuracy business. Here's what he has to say about the process:

"I feel it's an historical artist's obligation to present and future generations to paint the subject with as much historical accuracy as possible.

—David Wright