Initially conceived in 1903, the Mountain Man was one of the first examples of Remington's work acquired by the Metropolitan Museum for its permanent collection. From 1903-1908, Remington made several changes to the model, primarily altering the shape of the horse's tail and the positioning of the man's right arm.

The present cast would be within the first six casts, before Remington changed the position of the rifle. The high quality of the chasing matches Shapiro's description of the early examples, "Remington's model of a mountain man on horseback, descending a treacherously steep path, was completed and cast in 1903. Like The Cheyenne, the first casts of The Mountain Man (fig. 68) have a sharpness of detail and a mixture of textures unmatched by the casts that follow. In these casts, the trapper reaches backward, firmly gripping the tail strap with his right hand as he guides his dirt-caked horse down the sloping trail. Because Remington wished to emphasize the high, steep slope of the mountain path, The Mountain Man is several inches higher than his other bronzes. Early casts of the sculpture are signed on the inclined lift edge of the path beneath the horse's forelegs" (p. 77).

According to the ledger records published in Cast and Recast only casts 2 and 5 in this early model have been accounted for. Therefore, the present example should be cast 1, 3, 4 or 6.