| My First Years in the Fur Trade: The Journals of 1802-1804 Contributor(s): Nelson, George (Author), Peers, Laura (Editor) |
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ISBN: 0873518381 ISBN-13: 9780873518383 Publisher: Minnesota Historical Society Press OUR PRICE: $22.46 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: June 2011 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - History | United States - State & Local - Midwest(ia,il,in,ks,mi,mn,mo,nd,ne,oh,sd,wi - Business & Economics | Commerce - History | United States - 19th Century |
| Dewey: 380.145 |
| Physical Information: 0.6" H x 6" W x 9" (0.80 lbs) 246 pages |
| Themes: - Chronological Period - 19th Century - Ethnic Orientation - Native American - Geographic Orientation - Wisconsin - Cultural Region - Midwest - Cultural Region - Upper Midwest |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Captivated by the tales of adventure in the wild northwest told by the voyageurs, fifteen-year-old George Nelson left his family in southern Canada in 1802 and headed out to the Northwest Territory to begin a five-year contract working for Sir Alexander Mackenzie's XY Company, one of the major fur trade companies of the time. His growth from homesick lad to experienced fur trader over the next two years forms the heart of this unique and fascinating journal. Nelson had been hired as a clerk but, because of the shortage of literate and experienced men, within a year he was promoted to manage a fur trade post on his own with, as he put it, "three men & an interpretor under me " With little training, at sixteen years of age, he was placed in charge of men who were as much as twice his age and much more experienced in the wilderness. Required to keep a daily journal of the post, Nelson quickly became a vital witness to all that went on around him, recording a vibrant, detailed chronicle that allows us today to glimpse something of this fascinating world. Long treasured by fur trade historians, the early journals of this extraordinary man are here published in their entirety for the first time. His journals offer both an unparalleled view of the fur trade and the story of one boy coming of age on the frontier. |
Contributor Bio(s): Peers, Laura: - Laura Peers is curator of the Pitt Rivers Museum and lecturer in the School of Anthropology, University of Oxford. She is the author of The Ojibwa of Western Canada, 1780 to 1870. |