TRADERS IN CANOES: . THE GREAT LAKES FUR TRADE - — o , IN. THE 18th CENTURY CONCEPTS or DEGIACIATION’ IN SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND ....... Two Research Papers for the Degree of M. A. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY MARK C. SULLIVAN .1972 TTTTT - ‘OZVJUHUVT TIINTTINATITTIITI E [Fifi-j Univctsi: m TRADERS IN CANOES: THE GREAT LAKES FUR TRADE IN THE 18th CENTURY By Mark C. Sullivan A RESEARCH PAPER Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Geography 1972 Approved There are two reasons why the Europeans came to the new world: to convert the "heathen" and to search for wealth. To the individual coun- tries the latter was the most important, as a means of financing this exploration and increasing their treasuries. Their efforts inthe acquisi- tion of wealth can be contrasted between the French and the Spanish. The Spanish looking for gold, sacked the Aztec cities and chased after mythical golden cities in the southwest. The French, however, found that the wealth of the new world was fur. As early as 1534 Cartier was trading with the Indians for furs, and it is believed that some trading occurred even earlier (Sauer, l97l). This trade increased to become a major source of wealth for the countries involved (principally France and England) which lead to exploration, settlement, and war. There are basically three areas or regions of fur-trade in North America. The Rocky Mountains, particularly in the United States; the areas adjacent to Hudson Bay; and the Great Lakes region. This paper will focus on the latter area, and will be directed toward the fur-trader and the ef- fects of the fur-trade on the region. The importance of the fur-trade cannot be overemphasized. As stated by Vandiveer (1929): The story of the fur-trade is very largely the story of pioneer America (sic). The fur-trade was the agency through which all the vast interior of the continent was explored and made known to the world. The trappers and the traders were the real pion- eers and trail blazers, while the rude trading posts they es- tablished at various strategic points were the genesis of many of our modern cities. The fur-trade, however, had very humble beginnings. It started with the l -2- early French explorers doing a little trading with the Indians while they were exploring the rivers and bays. Later, in the 16th Century, permanent settlements were established. These became centers for fur-trading, be- cause of the Indians who would bring their furs to the settlements to trade for metal and cloth goods. The Huron Indians developed into traders acting as middlemen for the more westerly tribes. They traveled the waterways to settlements such as Montreal, to trade. By the l7th Century certain Indian problems occurred, which dras- tically altered the Canadian fur-trade in the Great Lakes. The Huron's generally used the Ottawa River to travel to Montreal. This area, however, was controlled by their enemies the Iroquois. Hence, the fur-trade was periodically stopped by the Iroquois, who traded with the English. The second problem was that in I609, Champlain and the French earned the hatred of the Iroquois after a short battle with them at the site where Fort Ticon- deroga would be built (Vandiveer, l929). This increased the hostilities with the Algonquin tribes, who made an alliance with the French against the Iroquois. These factors tended to create a very unsteady supply of furs coming to Montreal. Toward the close of the l7th Century a class of pe0ple grew up in Canada known as coureurs de bois, rangers of the woods, or voyaguers into the unknown. These voyaguers, as thev were called, learned the Indian ways. They were skilled with the birch bark canoe, woolcraft, and survival in the woods. Many of the voyaguers married Indian women and had families. They were hardy and wild, and upon these men the fur-trade developed. With the development of the Indian problems, a few traders would travel into Indian country to trade with the Indians. These men would be gone for one or two years, return to sell their furs, buy supplies, and -3- generally raise hell. They were a wild and unruly lot, who ignored most of the rules of society they did not like. To control these men, as well as to increase and control the fur-trade, the French government issued licenses to traders to go into the Indian country. Since the licenses were expensive and hard to obtain, a trader would hire a number of voyag- uers who had no licenses to carry supplies and help in the trading. The trader bartered knives, beads, wampum, blankets, and other trinkets for furs worth many times more. Particularly the beaver skins were sought. The beaver fur was in great demand in Europe. Due to the nature of the fur, particularly the beaver trapped in winter, it could be de- tached from the hide and pounded into a felt-like substance. This material was used in the manufacture of hats. Other furs were also of value, and in lesser numbers, other animals killed were: martin, muskrat, lynx, fox, otter, wolf, bear, etc. Neither the traders nor the trappers had much notion of ecology, so whole colonies of beaver were killed and dams broken. Other animals were hunted until the area could not even support the indigenous population. Vast numbers of animals were killed during the fur-trade years (Table I). And as the animals were eliminated, the fur-trade moved continually west, north, and then south. When the white man first came to the new world, he was impressed by the rugged nature of the topography. Travel, as was known in Europe, to say the least, was difficult. The terrain was full of streams, rivers, and lakes; which developed from the massive glaciation. To counteract this topography, the Indian invented the birch-bark canoe (the western Indians, having no birch trees, used pine bark and invented the Kootanay). The canoe was quickly adapted by the voyaguers and modified to suit their needs. As with the Indian, all of the materials needed for its construction came -4- from the forest. Planking was of cedar and covered with birch bark, tied with split roots and pitched with gum from pine trees. In a short period of time, the voyaguers surpassed the Indian in canoe making, becoming the undisputed leaders in river travel. TABLE I PELTS TAKEN IN 1798 BY NORTHWEST C0. Beaver l06,000 Deer l,950 Marten 32,000 Mink l,800 Muskrat l7,000 Fisher l,650 Lynx 6,000 Elk 700 Fox 5,500 Wolverine 600 Otter 4,600 Buffalo Robes 500 Wolf 3,800 Raccoon 100 Bear 2,lOO (Davidson, 1967, PC 2 70) Three types of canoes were used by the fur-traders. The largest was the Montreal canoe, 35—40 feet long and about six feet wide. This canoe Was used on the larger rivers as well as on the Great Lakes. It weighed about 300 pounds and could carry a load of five tons. The Montreal canoe carried a crew of ten men. The north canoe was about 25 feet long and carried three tons of cargo. This canoe was used in smaller streams, par- ticularly beyond Grand Portage, in the Northwest territories. The North canoe usually had a crew of four men. In between these two canoes was the Bastard canoe, with a crew of eight men. A 20-feet canoe, called a light -5- canoe, was sometimes used, but only by messengers of solitary traders (Nute, l93l). A licensee would hire numerous voyaguers and travel in Montreal canoes from Montreal to one of the major fur areas. The usual route was up the Ottawa River to Lake Nipissing, and then down the French River to Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. The lake was crossed hugging the coastline. Due to the very fragile nature of thecanoe, a storm on the lake would break up the canoe. Hence, a landing site had to be nearby at all times. From Lake Huron, the route would go down Lake Huron, North to Lake Super- ior, or West to Lake Michigan. An alternative route from Montreal was alone Lake Ontario, portaging Niagara Falls, and down Lake Erie. This route, however, was not as well used as the first (Map 1). Montreal with its outpost of Lachine, at the head of the rapids was a natural focus of water routes over which trade was circulated. Mackinac was some 700 miles away, a journey of a month or six weeks for experienced voyaguers. The fur-trade moved further and further west, and as it did the time it took to travel from Montreal to the fur-trading areas and to re— turn increased. At first, the traders would "winter" at the trading areas. They built a post (often just for one winters use) and traded all winter, returning in the spring. This, however, demanded a large supply of stores to be transported to the winter post. To overcome these difficulties, a number of licensees organized themselves into companies. These companies established a series of permanent posts through the Great Lakes region. The posts served two functions. First, they were collection points where the Indians could bring their furs to trade. Secondly, they were supply posts for the voyaguers. One group of voyaguers transported goods between MONTREAL TO MACINAC TRAVEL ROUTES L‘ke Superior ‘— OTTAWA RIVER ROUTE . ALTERNATE ROUTE SAULT STE. MARIE w k a .TT- 8 mamfw MONTREAL u.,' .1,“ JV 9 Va? DETROIT -7- Montreal and the posts; while a second group traded using the posts for a base of operations or supply points.