Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1942-12-25
LITTLE ANIMAL
HURRIED GROWTH
OF NORTHWEST
FUR TRADE, WITH BEAVER DOM
INANr, BROUGHT MEN
INTO COUNTRY


NANT. BROUGHT MEN
INTO COUNTRY
Ignorant as the outside world was Of
this great northwest country at the
end of the eighteenth century, 1t
would have remained an unknown re-
gion much longer. had there not been
demand for furs, demand SO ur-
gent that men Of culture and refine
ment willingly renowned what civil
ization offered. to go into the wilder
ness and spend their lives with saw
ages in order to satisfy this whim OF
fashion.
The Hudson's Bay Co. was organ
lied to supply the fur market, and en-
listed in its services such men as DR..
Mclaughlin, David Thompson, Peter
Skene Ogden, Henry. and others from
the ranks Of the educated. and laid
them, unprotesting victims to be sure.
on the altar Of profit.
Beaver hats were the rage In Europe
then, as silk hats were later and many
beaver could be found in the new
world. These animals were plentiful
near the North Atlantic coast, until
killed, or like the Indians, driven
further west as the population in
creased. We are not told that beaver
was used for coats or fur trimming.
1t may have been that the enormous
hats of the day exhausted the supply,
for the market never seemed to be
overstocked.
Fur Fashions Tickle
Fashion in furs is tickle as in every
thing else. In the Middle Ages We do
not read of beaver furs. Ermine Is the
fur of kings, and miniver that Of those
of the commonalty able to indulge in
a luxury of this description, and mini
yer may have been a patchwork Of
furs of different kinds, although to-
day Siberian squirrel fur masquerades
under that name.
The Hudson's Bay company had
long done thriving business in bea-
yer fur before American companies
attempted to enter into competition
with it the earliest of these being the
Northwest Co. which was at length
forced to merge with the London
company, after a bitter fight and
much blood had been shed on both
sides.
The London Co. was not disposed to
do much in the exploring line, and
this was what caused them to lose to
the rival company, such adventurous
spirits as David Thompson, and others,
who were curious to learn more of this
western country. The Northwest COM
pany shared in this feeling, seeing a
chance to make greater profits in a
region which had not been exploited.
On entering new territory, a post
was established, generally surrounded
by a stockade, and other precautions
taken to enable it to Withstand at
tack by Indians. Here dwelt the fac
tor, or head clerk, and other en-
ployees, and from it went out parties
of fur hunters, later to return there
with their seasons catch. To the post
Indians were encouraged to bring in
furs, where they were stored, until
they could be sent east.
Had to Keep Moving
Beaver was the fur sought. and ar
ticles were bought and sold, with a
beaver skin the standard of exchange.
Continuous trapping in one vicinity
naturally exhausted the supply of
beaver, and it was then necessary to
move on; build another fort; and so
on to the end of the fur trading chap
ter of that period.
1t was Indians who supplied the
buffalo robes which were later sent to
market. These, being bulky, and DIFF
ficult of transportation from the In
terror, seemed to be of secondary I'M
portance in the eyes of the fur hunter.
His business was to trap beaver. In
his search for beaver, he overlooked
other fur bearing animals, now held
to be of greater value. One Of these
was the mink. Audubon was surprised
to learn from Richardson that traders
only took mink skins to accommo-
date Indians with whom they wished
to remain on good terms, and after
buying the skins, they did rot send
them to market, but burned them.
Earlier, there was some demand for
mink skins, when they sold for about
so cents each. But mink fur did not
appeal to the popular fancy for hats:
Therefore they were destroyed.
Audubon tells Of mink skin given
him by Charles Choteau: 1T was OF
a beautiful silver-gray color, the fur
of which is quite different, from the
ordinary coat of the animal" Because
of their rarity such skins could find
a market. six of them" continues
Audubon, when they were united,
will make a muff worth at least a
hundred dollars" and muffs were
larger then than they have ever been
since.
Even when the Hudson's Bay Co.
found another competitor In the
American Fur Co., and the famous
naturalist visited Fort Union, it did
not pay to send mink skins down the
river. Although the fur was said to