Fur Trade In Minnesota

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Fur Trade In Minnesota

• Review of Mr. Beckmans Voyageur Presentation

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Fur Trade time period 1770-1840

• The fur trade began because of mens fashions in
  Europe. Men were wearing top hats made of beaver
  fur. These hats cost the average worker 6 months
  of their wages, so only the rich purchased new
  beaver top hats.
• The main company in Minnesota was the Northwest
  company with its headquarters in Montreal.
  Grand Portage Minnesota was the meeting place
  each July.

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Trade Routes
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Trade routes

• Because Minnesota has only 5 months of ice free
  water it was necessary to use a two voyageur
  system. Each April canoe men leave Montreal with
  canoes of trade goods and the North men leave
  their post in the interior with their canoes of
  furs. They each paddle and portage until they
  reach Grand Portage around July to exchange goods
  and furs for another year of trading.

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The Upper Class

• The fur trader was the man in charge. He was
  called the Bourgeois by his workers. He risked
  his money in hopes of turning a large profit. He
  hired all the workers, bore the responsibility of
  the business by doing the actual trading. He
  needed to balance his gifts to the Native
  Americans with the goods used to barter for the
  furs. He also served as a doctor even though
  traders rarely had any medical skill. His
  assistant was known as a commis or clerk. The
  trader would have a clerk at each of his posts to
  keep accounts and carry on the trade there.

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Working Class

• The North man is the experienced voyageur. He is
  an expert woodsman and canoeist. He is a laborer
  as well, building the fur post, carrying
  messages, delivering goods, encouraging the
  Native Americans to hunt, fixing canoes, and
  maintaining the post. He sees himself as superior
  to the canoe men. A capote is the type of coat
  he wears, made from a blanket. His hat is called
  a toque. After crossing into the Northwest
  he is allowed to wear a red feather in his hat
  and was refered to as a Norwesterfrom then on.

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Working Class

• The canoe mens job is to paddle the canoes of
  goods from Montreal to Grand Portage and back.
  Where the river is too dangerous he must
  portage or carry the goods and canoes to safe
  water. To support his back and stomach muscles
  he wears a sash, a symbol of the voyageur. He
  paddles 16 to 18 hours a day and survives on 2
  meals a day usually of peas and pork fat, hence
  the nick name,Pork Eater.

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Native American Man

• The Native American mans main job is to hunt and
  gather the furs. His trapping skills and
  knowledge of the forest make him the best person
  for the job. He may also be the hunter for a fur
  post. This means he supplies the post with meat.
  Since there is not much in the way of preserving
  meat he needs to supply the post with fresh meat
  daily. He also may serve as a guide or
  interpreter.

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Native American Woman

• The Native American woman has a very important
  role. She cleans and prepares the pelts. If she
  doesnt do a good job the fur is worthless. She
  also may be a guide, interpreter, cook,
  seamstress or canoe builder. She may marry a fur
  trader or clerk and become a more respected
  member of the community and have a better
  selection of goods. This also means everyone in
  her village will bring all the furs to her
  husbands post.

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Native American Trade Goods

• The Native Americans brought furs of many kinds
  to trade, beaver being the most valuable. All
  other furs and goods were valued in beaver skins.
  Other furs brought in were fisher, otter, mink,
  bear, deer, fox, muskrat, badger, raccoon, rabbit
  and even skunk! Other items the Native American
  brought to trade were the meat from the animals,
  wild rice, gum gum and spruce roots for canoe
  repair, snow shoes, leather goods and canoes.

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European Trade Goods

• European traders brought many things the Native
  Americans desired. Things such as, metal
  cookware, wool blankets, traps, metal axes,
  files, knives, silver jewelry, glass beads,
  cotton calico cloth, flint and steel, muskets,
  shot and powder. Some of the trade goods caused
  problems for the Native Americans such as,
  tobacco, and alcohol. Rum or high wines became
  as the expected way to seal the deal.

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Types of Canoes

• There were 3 main sizes of canoes used in the fur
  trade. The smallest was called the Ojibway
  canoe. It was 10 to 12 feet long, paddled by 1
  or 2 people and used on small lakes and rivers.
• The most common canoe was the North Canoe. It
  was 24 to 36 feet long and was used on larger
  lakes and rivers, had between 6 to 10 paddlers
  and could handle 3000 lbs. of cargo. The
  Montreal canoe was used on the Great Lakes. It
  was 36 to 48 ft long, carried 5000 lbs. of cargo.
  If empty it could have up to 20 people on board.

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Paddles

• 3 sizes of paddles were used in fur trade canoes.
  All types were made from cedar. The bowman or
  avant was in charge of the canoe. He used a
  long paddle on average about 5 ft. In the back of
  the canoe was the steersman or governail who
  used a 7 ft. long paddle to steer the canoe. In
  the middle were the middle men ormilieux they
  used paddles as short as 3 ft. with 3 inch wide
  blades and took almost a stroke a second. The
  paddles were light weight and prized possessions.

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The End of the Fur Trade

• By 1840 there were several factors that lead to
  end of the fur trade. Settlers were moving into
  Minnesota and forcing out the fur gathering
  Native Americans. Secondly there was some
  depletion in the number of fur bearing animals.
  Finally there was a change in fashion. Mens top
  hats were now being made of silk. Fur trading
  still continues today but not on the scale of the
  past.

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