People of the Fur Trade: On the backs of men, in the hands of women
Working the trade The North West Company operated in a complex system of managers, assistants and contract workers. At the top level were the Montreal agents. These wealthy men controlled the company. They ordered the trade goods from all over the world and shipped them to the supply depots. They sold the furs in European markets. And they worked with the government to create the laws governing the trade. On the next level were the partners. They were part owners in the company and lived year-round in the interior. Partners managed the trading activities in a region. They negotiated directly with the natives, supervised the traders in their districts and watched the activities of rival companies. North West Company Fur Post page 1 of 8
The clerks were the next level down. They managed small fur posts, directed and motivated the men and kept records of the actual daily trade. On the next level down were the guides and interpreters. Their special skills and long years in the interior made them very important to the company managers above them. The voyageurs were the bottom level of the company. These men agreed to work for a number of years in exchange for pay, equipment, clothing and “room and board.” Most voyageurs were hired because of their skill and strength as paddlers. Finally, there were the Native men, women and families. While not employed by the company, they nonetheless played important roles in the trade as interpreters and diplomats. And since the Nor’westers did not hunt for themselves, almost all their food was provided by Native men and women. Traders also depended on Native men and women for their traditional skills such as skinning animals and building canoes. Gentlemen traders Like company agents, partners were wealthy men. Partners were also gentlemen. They were well educated, could read and write, and demonstrated correct and proper behavior. According to company policy, no one could become a partner without serving time in the wilderness. It is established as a rule that every partner must take 2 years out of 3, to winter in the Northwest, managing a Post. The managing Partners of the Montreal House are the only persons excused; any other, when they are no longer inclined to serve this duty must resign. —Thomas Douglas, Fifth Earl of Selkirk, 1804
Each wintering partner was in charge of a huge area known as a district. Each district was divided into several departments. Each department included several wintering posts. An experienced trader with many years experience, John Sayer became a wintering partner of the North West Company in the 1790s. He managed the Fond du Lac and Folle Avoine Departments, which included the area south of Lake Superior and the northern reaches of the St. Croix River valley. In the region under his command, Sayer traveled widely and oversaw the operation of twelve smaller wintering posts. He built and operated a supply depot and warehouse at Fort St. Louis, on the shores of Lake Superior. Most importantly, Sayer was responsible for the actual trading in his department. Although he followed general company policies, he negotiated directly with the local natives. He gave gifts to encourage the natives to trade. He even altered the prices offered for furs. Sayer kept tight control of all his department’s operations. During the winter of 1804, he closely supervised the activities of two other traders. Joseph “La Prairie” Duchene North West Company Fur Post page 2 of 8
wintered along the Yellow River. Joseph Reaume wintered at Namai-Kowagon. Both were frequent visitors to Sayer’s post on the Snake River. Winter Quarters Thursday 14 Febr 1805. A Cold Day wind N. at 11 AM Mr Reaume with 3 Men came from La Prairies Quarters. it appears that the same extragance as usual has taken place notwithstanding my positive orders to La Prairie to avoid giving large Credits. —John Sayer, 1805
Since the XY Company was trading in the same area, Sayer also spent a lot of time watching his “enemy’s” activities. One method was to send his men en dérouine. These short trading expeditions were one way to keep a close watch on rival trader Ignace Chenier. At the same time, he could collect furs and trade for food with the natives. August 4th, Saturday. Today I am sending Bazinet to Ouisconsaint to try and get the Best skins from the Natives and also a small quantity of wild rice. He takes with him a small assortment of goods . . . —François Victor Malhiot, 1804
After the merger with the XY Company, the Nor’westers reduced the number of their trading posts. They trimmed the number of workers and cut wages. The cost of trade goods increased, fur values decreased and profits went down. In the middle of all this change, Sayer took his rotation to Montreal. For a couple of seasons, he traded for the company at Lac de Chats on the Ottawa River. Then, after over thirty years in the business, he retired from active partnership in 1808. According to company policy, Sayer received title to a large farm within the district of Montreal in exchange for one of his shares in the company. He also was allowed to keep his second share as a source of income during his retirement. After a few years as a gentleman farmer, Sayer sold both his second share and the farm. He then relocated to the village of St. Anne’s on the island of Montreal. While living there, Sayer married Elizabeth McPherson and was elected to the Beaver Club, an exclusive social club for Nor’westers living in Montreal. Sadly, Sayer did not enjoy a long and prosperous retirement. He died in 1818 at age 68. “Much Resolution in managing Men” Clerks were probably the most important men in the company. Because there were four times more wintering posts than wintering partners, clerks were assigned to supervise most wintering posts. They were in charge of the actual trading—ensuring the success of a wintering post became their responsibility. While some clerks saw a position with the company as a life of action and adventure, others joined as a way of making their fortune. Although partnerships were not always available, clerks were eligible for promotion at the end of their apprenticeship.
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Clerks generally served an apprenticeship of five to seven years. Their starting wages were about 20 £s per year, or $150 in US dollars. The company also provided them with provisions, clothing and traveling equipment. As they advanced to more senior positions, their salary was raised. Tuesday. La Chine. I Yesterday in the company with several other clerks left Montreal, for this place and am thus far on my way to the Indian Countries, there to remain at least Seven Years, as for that space of time I am under an engagement to the North West Co. ——Daniel Harmon, 1800
Clerks usually “kept the books.” They maintained the “Indian shop” and recorded information about customers, credits and debts. They also supervised the hired men and gave them jobs to do. Apprentice clerks were often younger than the men they supervised. Many clerks found that managing the men was their most difficult job. Sometimes the men were not interested in cooperating. I admit here that I have Never taken charge under Such circumstances, and that I did not Imagine before this Winter encampment how important it is to have much Resolution in managing Men, Particularly in all things that concern their Duties. —Michel Curot, 1803
During the winter of 1804, Seraphin Lamare was John Sayer’s chief assistant at the Snake River wintering post. Although he worked for Sayer for many years, his position was clearly inferior. Sayer never once referred to him by his full name. Lamare remained with the company after Sayer’s retirement. He apparently never became a partner. In 1815, he was listed by the company as simply “clerk, not yet classed for promotion.” Servants of the company In the early years of the 1800s, nearly three thousand men worked in the fur trade. Most were voyageurs, providing the power to move the canoes forward. Paddling at a rate of 60 strokes per minute, they transported the trade deep into the wilderness. Exclusive of the . . . number of Partners, regular Clerks, and Servants who winter, there are 80 to 100 Canadians and Iroquois hunters with whom the North West Company has contract, but who are not considered Servants of the Company, ranging free over the country wherever they find it convenient to hunt. There are yearly employed by the Company in canoes . . . 540 men, 400 of which go to the place of rendezvous on Lac Superior, where they pass from 6 to eight weeks, and then return to Montreal with the furs. —Simon McTavish, 1802
Voyageurs were hardworking, tough and brave. Most spoke French but generally could not read or write. Sometimes being a voyageur was a family tradition.
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Voyageurs were almost human paddling machines. They could paddle at speeds of 6 miles per hour for 12 to 15 hours a day. They sang to maintain the momentum and break the monotony of paddling for hours on end. Colorful and lively characters, they were also carried all the cargo and canoes along the portage. They built the wintering posts. They cut firewood to keep everyone warm during the long winter months. They planted gardens and traveled back and forth carrying mail, information, food and furs. My people have not had a day’s rest since my arrival here last autumn. Of all the men who may be in the upper county I do not think there are any who worked as hard as mine: a house twenty feet square, of logs placed one on the other made by four men; 70 cords of fire-wood chopped; pickets sawn for a fort; a bastion covered; a clearing made for sowing 8 kegs of potatoes; and all the journeys made here and there!!! —François Victor Malhiot, 1805
There were two classes of voyageurs: mangeur de lard, or “pork eaters,” and hivernants, or “winterers.” Each summer, the company hired unskilled young men as “pork eaters.” The majority came from the parishes around Montreal and Québec City. Paddling large freight canoes to the inland headquarters, these hard-paddling voyageurs earned their name from their daily diet of salt pork and dried peas. Hivernants were the wintering men. These seasoned voyageurs paddled the bourgeois, clerks and the trade goods into the interior, then spent the winter helping with the trading. In the spring, they paddled canoes and bourgeois back to the inland headquarters for rendezvous. Wintering men not only received clothing and blankets as part of their contract, they were issued credit in the “company store.” They were also given goods they could trade with the natives directly. John Sayer—and four-and-one-half tons of European-made goods—were paddled up the Snake River in October 1804 by eight voyageurs. He takes an inventory of the goods he brings, but nowhere does he list his men by their given names. Two of the men mentioned by name in his journal—Joseph Girard and Louis Bellair— are listed in company records as “voyageur.” Another, Francois Bouché, was an interpreter. Others, like Mallet, Le Blanc and Deserve, are mentioned only by their nicknames. The others are simply called “men.” Sunday 22nd [January]. A Mild Cloudy Day. Men employed makeing Sledges. took up 12 Bags of Oats from the Cache. nothing else Material Occurred. 2 Men went back to the Hunters. —John Sayer, 1805
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Men of skill and experience Brigades were usually made up of three to six canoes. Crews manning larger lake canoes usually consisted of a guide, steersman and eight paddlers. A large canoe could carry up to fourteen men. It could also be paddled with as few as five paddlers when the cargo was bulky or when labor was in short supply. The most experienced and skilled were interpreters and guides. These men were paid between two and four times as much. Nicolas Landry agrees, and by the present binds himself to Charles McKenzie & Co, here present and accepting for the said company, to winter for two years in the region of Lake Winnipeg in the capacity of interpreter, with exemption from building chopping paddling canoes and portaging Obligation to go en dérouine. —contract signed at Fort William, 1803
Guides held the highest position of authority in a brigade during a voyage. They were responsible for steering, guiding and tending the canoes. They made the decisions during the trip and chose the route. They also acted as “foreman” and directed the work of the voyageurs. They were responsible for the safety and well-being of all of the canoes and cargo. They insured that nothing was lost due to mishandling by the voyageurs. If any losses occurred, the guide could have the value of the goods lost deducted from the men’s wages. June 6th. Started from Ducharge du Fort. Made the portage. In these channels the water is sometimes swift and narrow and the course winds for we have gone sometimes North and at others due South. It would be difficult to find the rout at all without an experienced guide for setting aside the intricacy of these turns and windings the guide must have a competent judgment to choose the proper channel . . .
—John Macdonell, 1793 Because they knew the routes and could often speak several native languages, guides earned as much as many clerks. They also were issued special equipment such as a hat, winter coat, pair of trousers, 20 pounds each of biscuit and pork, 15 pounds of white sugar and 1 gallon of rum. As important as guides and interpreters to the safety of the canoe brigade, they were still inferior to the partners and clerks. During the voyage or at the wintering post, they were still “servants of the company.” This [tea, coffee and chocolate] is independent of the usual allowance carried off in Cases & Baskets but it is understood that neither Interpreters or Guides are entitled to any provision of this kind, they being generally fed at the table of their masters. —minutes, North West Company annual meeting, 1806
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Native hunters Traders relied on Native men to supply them with the animal pelts that would be sold and made into beaver hats and otter trimmed coats for the wealthy. Traders were also dependent on the hunters to provide them with important supplies, such as canoes and snowshoes, and essential provisions, such as food. Canoes were needed to transport both people, supplies and merchandise from warehouse to post, from Montreal deep into the wilderness. Native men skilled in canoe building were highly respected by their tribes and Europeans alike. It took years of experience to select and harvest the right materials. It required great skill to shape cedar wood, spruce gum and birch bark into a canoe. In early April 1805, John Sayer wrote in his journal that Native men and their families were gathering supplies to repair and build canoes. Later in the month, just before the long journey back to Fort William, Sayer reported that the men made the last of the repairs to the canoes. Sunday 21st[April]. A Stormy Cold Day with flying Showers. wind NW. Pierro & Shawcobai hower finishd repairing my last Canoe. —John Sayer, 1805
Native men hunted animals for pelts, as well as for meat. Meat was a welcome trade item at the isolated wintering posts since meat was the mainstay of the winter diet. Since traders rarely brought enough other food for everyone at the post, meat was a large percentage of the food that kept them alive through the winter. Pierro, the same man who repaired Sayer’s canoes, also hunted for Sayer that winter. Sayer also hired several other Native men to bring meat to the company men. Together, these Native men supplied John Sayer’s wintering post on the Snake River with over 13,000 pounds of deer, bear, beaver, duck and and goose meat.
Tuesday 2nd [October]. Cloudy Stormy Weather. . . . this forenoon, the Outarde brot me a Small Deer. Gave him 1 Gal. H Wines and engaged him as my Hunter for the Winter he being accounted the best of all the Indians of this Department. —John Sayer, 1804
Not all fur traders had the same experience. Many recorded instances of near starvation and told stories of men reduced to eating their moccasins to stay alive. Whether they built canoes or hunted for meat, Native men were paid for their work with trade goods. Work done and items supplied were as important as furs and treated much the same as pelts when brought to the fur traders.
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Country wives For many wintering partners, wives and families were the most important helpers they had in the interior. Fur trade marriages, known as a la façon du pays, or “in the custom of the country,” brought Native women and company men together. For the traders, marriage offered relief from the extreme isolation and loneliness. Wives were companions who could make moccasins, tend house and and cook. They shared their knowledge of native languages and customs. And they could help negotiate business with their Native families. . . . it is customary for all the Gentlemen who come in this Country to remain any length of time to have a fair partner, with whom they can pass their time at least more sociably if not more agreeably than to love a lonely, solitary life, as they must do if single. —Daniel Harmon, 1806
Native wives also made important contributions to the economics of the trade. Many necessary tasks, like butchering meat, skinning animals and preparing hides were the results of their labor. Despite their importance, country wives are rarely mentioned in trader’s journals or accounts. John Sayer spent the winter of 1804 with a woman he mentions only once in his journal. Obemau-unoqua was likely with Sayer when he settled at Fort St. Louis in 1793. The daughter of the important Ojibwe chief Ma-Mongazida, Obemau-unoqua gave Sayer social importance as well as political allies among the Ojibwe. With Sayer, she raised at least three sons, one of which later became a clerk with Hudson’s Bay Company. A mutually beneficial enterprise The fur trade was made-up of individuals of vastly different backgrounds and experiences—wealthy partners, hard-working clerks, colorful voyageurs and skilled Native men and women. Each had an important role in the operation of the business and was dependent on one another. Montreal agents made their profits from selling the hides native women cleaned. Voyageurs relied on the clerks to keep accurate account books to ensure they received the proper pay. All of these people struggled to navigate the complex economy of the fur trade. In the minds of businessmen, on the backs of working men and in the hands of native men and women the fur trade was built.
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