The
history of wilderness travel represents a most enthralling chapter in American
history. The trade was carried out from the time of some of the earliest
explorations until the white settlers finally took over the Native Americans’
hunting grounds. All sorts of people were interested in this type of trade for
over two centuries: French coureurs de
bois who came to the country from Canada during the earlier days; Dutch
settlers who lived upon the frontier in New York; wealthy merchants who had
their headquarters in Montreal, New York, Paris, and London; and entrepreneurs
such as John Jacob Astor who founded the American Fur Company. French, British,
and American traders took over the region of the Great Lakes.[i]
From 1634to 1850 the Michigan
fur trade was a prominent business and control of such trade started when the
French and the British decided to take part in this profitable business venture.
Many battles were fought between various Indian tribes, between the British and
the French, between the French and Indian tribes against the British and other
Indian tribes, over the fur-trading business. Everybody wanted a piece of the
lucrative market. At first the Indian people were duped into trading furs for
mere trinkets and such. Then they demanded to trade for items such as guns and
unfortunately rum and brandy, which became some of the main trade items. Many
of the fur traders were of a rough sort, drinking plenty, beating on one
another and the Indian people and defying all the laws of a civil society.
Others delved into the wilderness to barter with the Indian people, adopt their
ways and marry their daughters.
Different
classes existed amongst the fur-trading population. There were the unlicensed
trader, the coureurs de bois, the
lawless trader, and the licensed traders. The number of men in this field
increased considerably and the distinct classes of traders became more evident
and more categories were created: bourgeois, the voyageur, the
mangeurs-de-lard, the clerks, engages, hivernans or winterers. Many of them
were employed by the large fur-trading companies.
The black
robe priests, known as the Jesuits, followed the fur traders wherever they
went. Both were interested in working with the Indian people. The Jesuits
wanted the save the Indian people by converting them to Christianity and the
fur traders wanted to obtain furs from them at the smallest cost possible. The
fur traders were considered a bad influence on the naive tribal people.
The daily
life of a fur trader was somewhat monotonous and often filled with hardships.
Their food and dress, recreation, methods of trade, character, and
relationships with the Indian people has been a continuing point of interest.
They had to be of a rugged sort, people who could withstand the elements of
harsh weather, and life threatening obstacles such as hostile Indians,
competing fur-traders, starvation and wild animals. If they had to portage their
canoes, supplies, and packs of fur, they were expected to carry a pack of furs
that weighed up to 90 pounds sometimes for great distances. Their food, which
was not of variety, consisted of pemmican, pea soup, wild rice and lyed-corn.
To prepare the corn, the corn was boiled in strong lye, then husk was removed,
and the corn was washed and dried. It became soft and could be fried like rice.
Pemmican was a dried meat, usually from deer, elk or bison. Later on beef was
used to make pemmican also. Their daily routines consisted of paddling,
hauling, and portaging for approximately 16 hours and then they would collapse
from exhaustion. At night they slept by some small or large body of water with
a gun by their side. Their coverings would be a blanket and perhaps some brush
to add cushion to the hard surface of the ground. [ii]
What
enticed these foreboding individuals into these dangerous hunting exploits? Was
it the money, was it their relationship with the Indian people, or was it the
sheer danger of it all? Men who could paddle, hunt, trap, and speak parts of
the Indian tongue proved to be the heartiest of fur traders. These men were a
combination of civilization and savagery with the latter being the most
prominent.
The
stage is set for this chapter in a community currently referred to as Sault
Ste. Marie, Michigan nestled in the eastern northern part of the state. The
Sault is one of the oldest cities in the United States and it is the oldest
city in Michigan. Over 2,000 years ago, Native Americans began to gather at
this location due to its abundance of fish and fur bearing animals found along
the rushing waters of the river which is linked to the Great Lakes of Superior
and Huron. They called the area “Bahweting,” or “the place by the rapids.”
Bahweting was a meeting place because of the availability of food. The first
full-time residents lived in lodges framed of wood poles, covered with bark or
animal hides. In the 1600’s, more and more French missionaries and fur traders
began to venture into this beautiful part of the country. The traders began
calling the area Sault du Gastogne. In
1668, the legendary Jesuit missionary and explorer Fr. Jacques Marquette
renamed this settlement Sault Ste. Marie, in honor of the Virgin Mary as the
first city in the Great Lakes region.[iii]
