“What do we know of the manner of the laws
and customs of the white people?”
-Black Hawk
Sauk
The history of wilderness travel
represented a most enthrall-ling chapter in American history. From 1634 to 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 the 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.
Commercial fur
trade began with early contact between the indigenous population and the
European fishermen. While the fishermen netted cod in Newfoundland and Quebec,
Native Americans traded mink and other small animal pelts for knives, other
iron products and cloth with the fishermen. The trade, haphazard at best,
continued until around the middle to late sixteenth century when the wearing of
beaver hats became the new fashion trend for Europeans in Europe. The earliest
French explorer to work with Native Americans regarding fur trading was Jacques
Cartier in the 1530s. He traveled the St. Lawrence River and Gulf of St.
Lawrence areas. During the 1580s, French trading companies were set up in the
region of what was later referred to as New France. The demand for beaver furs
led to extensive trapping of the furry animals by Native Americans during the harshness
of northern winters when the fur was the thickest. From 1634 to 1850 the fur
trade was a prominent business and control of such trade started with the
French, British and Scotts. Many battles were fought over the fur-trading
business, especially when the animals sought became vastly depleted in specific
locations (Conlan, 1994).
Moving from a
bartering system to a market economy was difficult for the Native American
people. Many were confused about this concept. Bartering was something they
practiced and was a form of transaction in which goods or services were
exchanged for other goods or services without mediums of exchange such as
money. Native Americans believed in the concept of reciprocity.
The Indian
people demanded to trade for items such as guns and unfortunately rum and
brandy. Liquor became one of the main trade items used to numb the pain. The
European invasion caused a lot of stress ad anguish for the Native Americans.
Many of the fur traders were of a rough sort, drank plenty and defied the laws
of a civil society. Others delved into the wilderness to barter with the Indian
people, adopt their ways and marry Native American women. Many Europeans wanted
a piece of the lucrative market while fur trading ended up being the only
source of income for the Native Americans.
They did not at
first perceive trade as posing any danger to their independence and means of
self-sufficiency. However, they became reliant on trade with the Europeans. The
fur trade industry was also dependent on the labor provided by the Indian
people. Before the introduction of the fur trade, the Indian people used
approximately 30 beavers a year for food and robes. A vast amount of time was
spent hunting, and preparing pelts to be traded. The fur trade led to further
exploration of the Great Lakes region which enhanced animosity between France
and Britain (Johnston, 1971).
French
frontiersmen were referred to as coureurs
de bois or forest runners. Another name given to these brave men was voyageurs who were referred to as
canoeists or travelers. The reduction of the beaver population forced the coureurs de bois to go further into the
interior of Canada. These canoeists wore brightly woven sashes, deer-skin
leggings, and moccasins. On colder days they wore a capote or blanket coat.
They were readily recognizable and stood apart from other men. Voyageurs and
coureurs de bois were short and wiry, on average five-foot-six in height. Despite their smaller stature, they were
amazingly strong and had inexhaustible stamina. Trading partnerships with the native peoples
expanded and it became possible to stay through the winter. Owners of the fur
trade companies and their employees who lived in the interior of Canada all
year became known as “winterers.”
These rugged
individuals had to withstand the elements of harsh weather, and
life-threatening obstacles such as hostile Indians, competing fur-traders,
starvation and wild animals. Sometimes 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 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. Samuel
de Champlain relied on these durable men to help him with his fur trading
business ventures (Johnston, 1971).
Indigenous
warriors watched as Champlain and eight other men docked on Sunday, July 3,
1608 in Canada. They survived the first winter and a treaty between the North
American Indians and French provide unity. Champlain and his comrades joined
forces to defeat Iroquois intruders in a battle near Lake Champlain. A repeat
victory in 1610 sealed the relationship with allied tribes. The fur trade
between the French and Indians increased considerably. The fur trade took a
turn for the worse in 1611. France’s sponsorship of New France colony ceased.
Champlain did not give up. He persuaded Louis XIII to become involved and as a
result the king made Champlain the commandant of New France.
Champlain
embarked to the Ottawa River to restore the fur trade and then he traveled to
Lake Huron where the Indian chiefs convinced him to lead a war party against a
village south of Lake Ontario. He ended up suffering from serious wounds and
spent the winter at the Huron-Algonquin warriors’ encampment. Champlain’s
authority over New France was reaffirmed in 1620, but the king did not want him
to conduct further exploration. He was to stay put and handle administrative
tasks (Ritchie, N.D.).
Money
was to be made in the fur trade. Adult beavers averaged about 50 pounds, were
plentiful (about 60 million) and somewhat easy to catch. The fabric produced by
the beaver pelts provided warmth and beauty and was in great demand by European
men and women of the upper classes. Fur coats, muffs, wraps, gloves,
fur-trimmed garments and beaver hats (most prominent item) served the fashion
sense of the time. Europeans wanted beaver hats and such while tribal people
wanted iron pots and tools. These demands fostered the fur trade.
The
fur trade between Native Americans and Euro-peans thrived, especially
concerning beaver. Beaver fur served as the most important animal fur in
Canadian history because it consisted of long barbs at the tip of each strand
of fur in the soft underside which made it ideal for felt. The making of felt
transferred the animal fur into a soft, pliable, water-resistant material which
was sought after to wear in cold and wet weather by the well to do Europeans
(Wilson, 2013).
Battles
between many of the Northern Indians and Iroquois continued. The weapons of the
Indians consisted of clubs, stone axes and bows and arrows before the arrival
of the European. Tomahawks came later after contact with the Europeans. Some of
the warriors wore wicker and slat armor covered rawhide to protect themselves
from bone and stone pointed arrows which did not work well to shield from
bullets and balls from muzzle-loading guns.
Neither
the European or Native American sides had efficient military strategies and
organization. Uncooperating warriors and soldiers fled from conflict whenever
they felt compelled to leave battles. No penalty transpired as a result of
their insolence. They only lost some public prestige. Defense of their
encampments was considered loose to non-existent. Close contests may have
continued indefinitely if the Iroquois had not received more firearms and
ammunition from the British and Dutch than the Hurons received from the French
fur traders near the lower St. Lawrence River.
If
the two parties (Europeans and Native Americans) wanted furs, they discovered
they had to fight. The Iroquois did not have kind regard for any white people
including the British but decided to pick sides with the British when the
French and English fought, as they frequently did (Wilson, 2013). “The
main cause of the rising beaver pelt prices in England and France was the
increasing demand for hats made from beaver pelts, which included hats made ex-clusively
with beaver wool and referred to as ‘beaver hat,’ and those hats containing a
combination of beaver and a lower cost wool, such as rabbit. These were called
the ‘felt hat.’ Unfortunately, aggregate consumption series for the eighteenth
century for Europe are not available. We do, however, have Gregory King’s
contemporary work for England which provides a good starting point… King
calculated that consumption of all types of hats was 3.3 million, or nearly one
hat per person. King also included a second category, caps of all sorts, for
which he estimated consumption at 1.6 million” (Harte, 1991, pg. 293). The
potential market as early as 1700 for England alone was nearly 5 million per
year which was dependent on population growth (Carlos and Lewis, 2008).
To get an idea of
how much beaver pelts were worth at the trading posts, in 1784 the Hudson Bay
Company (HBC) prepared a “Table of Equivalents” which listed the number of
beavers required to trade for various items. Throughout history prices have
gone up, not down, for items purchased in stores. It would be safe to note that
it would have taken many more beavers to get the same wares during the early
1800s. In 1784, the following table was used to place a value on specific
items, a concept that was foreign to the Indian people.
·
1 Beaver = 9 Arrow Heads
·
1 Beaver = 1 yard of cloth
·
4 Beavers = 1 gallon of brandy
·
11 Beavers = 1 gun
·
1 Beaver = ¾ pounds of beads
(Brazer, 1993)
Traders
waited for the Indian trappers and their middlemen to bring them furs which
were exchanged for goods. The furs were then transferred to Europe. The middle
men, who collected the furs from the Native Americans and brought them to the
European traders, were linked to the spread of deadly diseases because of their
connection to the European settlers. Europeans introduced an advanced spread of
diseases such as smallpox and tuberculosis. Native Americans did not immunity
to the various diseases. Disease, the politics of starvation (overhunting of
game and other attempts), and the loss of traditional Native American cultures
led to the demise of almost entirely to entirely decimated communities. For
example, in Saskatchewan disease annihilated the people of Basquia and
Pegogamaw Cree. Elders, who held important positions of carrying on the
traditional knowledge were especially susceptible to diseases (Daschuk, 2013).
During the
middle of June in 1671 a Pageant was held in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan by French
dignitaries. Simon Francois Daumont, Sieur de St. Lusson, coordinated the
expedition to the Jesuit mission. Nicolas Perrot from Wisconsin and Louis
Jolliet served instrumentally in the undertaking of the event. Northern tribes
of the upper Great Lakes attended: Menominee, Potawotami, and Sauk Indians.
Sieur de Lusson declared the annexation of the region and all lands not
discovered in the name of the “Most High, Most Mighty and Most Redoubtable
Monarch Louis the XIV of the Name, Most Christian King of France and Navarre”
(Kellogg, 1917, para. 3). The French King and his contemporaries felt urged to
come forward and claim the vast continent in the name of France after hearing
about the British efforts concerning the fur trading business. Annexation papers
were completed and signed by all the white men in attendance. (Kellogg,
1917).
John
Jacob Astor established the American Fur Company in 1808 and sought to achieve
dominance over the Fur trade of the northern United States. He saw the
competition grow between the Canadian monopolies. The aforementioned companies
encouraged traders from the St. Lawrence River to expand their business to
encompass their territory below the Canadian border.
During
Lewis and Clark exploration between 1805 and 1806, they discovered a portage
from the upper Missouri to the waters of the Columbia. Lewis informed President
Jefferson about the upper Missouri area which “is richer in Beaver and otter
than any other country on earth” (Lavender 1966, para. 4). Jefferson commended Astor concerning his
business plans but Astor felt he would not receive federal support. National
sovereignty had not been achieved for Oregon. Astor worried about the murderous
competition of the North West Company when he witnessed their ruthlessness
beyond the Rockies against other fur com-panies.
The
Napoleonic Wars reduced the price of deer, muskrat, and raccoon pelts while the
cost of shipping necessary trade items rose substantially. The American
government tried to undermine the friendship between the British fur traders
with the Indians. Canadian traders supplied more alcohol to the Native
Americans to increase the amount of fur skins obtained from them which included
furs promised to other winterers. At the same time, Tecumseh’s confederation
kept many Native American hunters from their hunting grounds. Many
circumstances were getting in the way of Astor accomplishing his goal of
starting a successful fur company (Lavender, 1966).
In
1810 Astor established the Pacific Fur Company as a secondary company to profit
from the fur trade with China. The Astoria post, located at the mouth of the
Columbia River in the Oregon Territory, was vanquished during the war of 1812
which ended the Pacific Northwest company (The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica,
2020.). Astor, forced to sell the fur company to the British, established the
Southwest Fur Company which joined business ventures with his American Fur
Company. The Southwest Fur Company, American Fur Company and the
Michilimackinac Company (a north Michigan company) served as partners and joint
stockholders.
Astor
attempted to buy into the Missouri Fur Company of Manuel Lisa. The war
interfered with the transaction but this worked to Astor’s advantage. By 1817,
Astor bought out his partners and mastered control of the Mississippi Valley
posts. The Southwest Fur Company served as the Northern Department of the
American Fur Company. The American Fur Company took over the Rocky Mountain Fur
Company. The introduction of the steamboats significantly increased the trade traffic.
Astor managed to reach conglomerate status with the fur trade in the United
States which included Michigan.
A distinctive
characteristic of fur trading companies was their demonstration of lawlessness,
a lack of moral codes which included arrogance that led to ignoring regulations
because they were considered inconvenient. Company administrative managers did
not know about the misconduct of their traders and winterers. They did not pay
attention to prohibitions against trapping on Indian lands. The employment of
foreign boatmen, permitted by law, gave Astor and Stone (another fur trading
company owner) a loophole in employing foreign winterers and on their financial
records they were referred to as boatmen. Another infraction involved liquor.
More furs were obtained from the Indian men by the use of liquor.
The company
management did not authorize the use of liquor but again the administration,
quite unaware of the misconduct, did not catch the infractions. However, their
employees, ordered to use sharp trading techniques to obtain the product and
profits, utilized whatever methods that would give them the highest return.
Native Americans paid dearly as a result of their business practices.
The
days of the booming fur trade were coming to an end. Astor sold the American
Fur Company at a time when he made profits and dividends of over $1 million. He
was the first millionaire in the United States. Crooks and his associates
centered the company’s operations to the area of Detroit, the Ohio River, and
the Red River of the North. They operated vessels on the Great Lakes and
fisheries were established. The American Fur Trading Company failed in 1842 and
was completely dissolved in 1845 (Berry, 1961). They also tapped into the
indigenous fish supply.
The fur-trading
business ended up being catastrophic for the Indian people. Not only was the
beaver population depleted, the population of the native people was decreased
considerably by the ravages of traders’ diseases to which they had no immunity.
Smallpox was the number one killer, with measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria,
typhus, whooping cough, and influenza following suit. The introduction of
alcohol as a bargaining tool was devastating to the tribal communities. To make
matters and even more confusing, European men married Indian women, which
created a large number of “mixed-bloods” or “half-breeds.” These individuals
did not belong fully in any distinct camp, European or Native American. Also,
the fur trade created an upheaval of tribal communities as they fought one
another and joined forces with European allies to gain control of land bases
and its resources (Johnson, 1971). They
became de-pendent on fur trading to support their communities. Fur trading
greatly altered the lives of the Native Americans as a result of the onslaught
of a multitude of Europeans invading their land to satisfy the whims of the
Europeans.
The stories of the
Native American people, who turned their lives over to enterprises such as the
American Fur Company were filled with financial loss and other hardships. Governmental
officials joined in the effort of eradicating the “Indian Problem.” To appease
the Ameri-cans, Jefferson decided to set up the Indian people to turn over
their land holdings by using a market economy. More and more white settlers
were moving to this country and used more of the land’s rich resources. Trading
posts were put up in various locations which enticed the Indian people to get
their needs met and at the same time accumulate debt of which they had no means
of paying back. They ended up giving up large portions of the land they lived
on. The Native Americans faced the likelihood of starving if they did not
depend on the trading posts for food because they were either depressed, saddled
with alcoholism and/or the wild game they relied on for food was over hunted by
the white settlers. They were in a dire situation due to the onslaught of Anglo-invaders
(Ambrose, 1996).
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
served as 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.
Eagle
and Coyote explore life at the settlement of Bawating during the winter of
1659-1660. They infiltrate the settlement as Ojibwe people. Eagle shape shifted
into a young maiden named Red Bird and Coyote shape shifted into a young man named
Running Bear. They work with the French fur traders to help them get through
the winter. Medard Chouart, and Sieur de Groseilliers (French explorers and fur
traders) spent the entire winter at the Bahwating settlement. This is the first
time they visited the area. They stay with the native population, the Ojibwe
Indians. They learn about the camaraderie of the Indian people as they survive
the harsh conditions in Upper Michigan.
