Special history: The environment and the fur trade experience in Voyageurs National Park, 1730-1870
Catton T and Montgomery M. 2000. Special history: The environment and the fur trade experience in Voyageurs National Park, 1730-1870. NPS Special History Study. Historical Research Associates, Inc.. Missoula, Montana
As the fur trade spread northwestward from the Great Lakes and Hudson Bay in the eighteenth century, an organized system of transportation and supply formed over a 3000-mile canoe route between Montreal and Fort Chipewyan on the shores of remote Lake Athabaska. The “Voyageur’s Highway” that threaded this vast northern wilderness included some 120 exhausting portages, 200 treacherous rapids, and 50 lakes large enough that stormy weather could imperil even the big “Montreal” canoes. At Rainy Lake, on the present boundary between Minnesota and Ontario, voyageurs on the eastward journey from the interior met crews on the westward journey from Montreal, exchanged cargoes, and turned around. This epic journey was repeated annually over a span of decades. Traversing the border lakes country in what is now Voyageurs National Park, the French-Canadian voyageurs paddled up to 16 hours a day, made encampments, traded with Indians, and sometimes met death and a lonely burial. The purpose of this study is to investigate written records of the fur trade and glean information that will be of use to those who manage and interpret Voyageurs National Park. The fur covered a vast territory, but it left behind few lasting physical traces. The infrastructure for this sprawling international commerce consisted of no more than a few wilderness outputs and a far-flung system of waterborne transportation. Most of what we know about the fur trade experience comes from the traders’ own written accounts-translated, edited, and interpreted by fur trade historians who have sifted diligently through these materials over the past one hundred years and more. This report is based on a review of the historical literature and a selective reading of most of the extant primary source material for information specific to the Rainy Lake Region.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Catton, Ted; Montgomery, Marcia
- Date of Issue
- 2000-07
- Publisher
- Historical Research Associates, Inc.
- Units
- HIST , VOYA
- Keywords
- Cultural Resources, Cultural Resources, ehistory, Fur Trade, Geography, History, Hudson's Bay Company, natural environment, Natural Resources, Rainy Lake, Transportation, Voyageurs National Park