"... Once in the open air I could see a throng of hunters, trappers, Indians, and voyageurs near the bank of the river, taking part in a free fight, and on the instant came the thought that Colin had, by trying to get possession of our canoe, started the war...."
James Otis Kaler (1848 — 1912) was an American journalist and author who in 1906 published the true life story titled "Among the Fur Traders."
Kaler writes of how he obtained the true account portrayed in this book:
"Ninety years ago this account of how the New Fur-Trading Company came into existence, was written by Louis Wills, the only nephew of old John Wills of the X. Y. Company. Imprisoned by the winter in one of his stockaded forts on the Missouri River he set about the task as a pleasant way in which to spend the hours until the waterways were free from ice in the spring. The story is not printed exactly as he wrote it; some of his language has been changed a little, and his many pages of statistics of the fur business have been omitted. To Louis Wills' granddaughter am I indebted for the time-worn manuscript which was found by Colin McKenzie among the papers left in Bob's Fort when the commandant set out for the Pacific coast, from which journey he never returned."
John Wills (?-1814) was a fur trader who became a partner of the XY Company around 1798. He was one of the 6 wintering partners of the Company who later became partners of the North West Company in 1804. Around 1804 he built Fort Gibraltar at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, and remained in charge of Red River District until 1806 when he was reassigned to Rat Portage.
As Kaler relates, the nephew Wills was highly dedicated to his life in the fur trade:
"As I sit here in Bob's Fort this day, bringing to a close the writing of our story, which has served to pass most agreeably many an hour that would have been most tedious since the snows of winter shut us in, the New Company is well and most favorably known in this country as well as England, and I dare venture to say that if we were so inclined, the five members of the company could retire from business with what might be called large fortunes.
"That we still continue to toil so far from others of our kind is due, I believe, to the fascination which the wilderness has for every man who lives within it any considerable length of time. A peaceful place it is, save when the scoundrelly redskins take it into their ugly heads to dig up the hatchet. A restful place, except when business interests demand that one make long journeys during the winter, and, take it all in all, the only portion of this wide world in which I could be content to dwell.
"Bob often writes that his partners might do better than toil, and freeze, and roast amid the savages when they can well afford to live in any city which strikes their fancy, and when I answered the last letter in which he made a similar remark, it was in these words:
"We have about decided to push our posts as far as the Pacific Ocean. Already Colin has visited the Nor'westers with a proposition to buy all their right and title to the settlement started by the Astor party, and it is more than probable the offer will be accepted. If the deal goes through, you had better come back and make the try with us; it is bound to be a hard task, but none worse than we have accomplished before, and it will do you solid good to have another taste of wilderness life —to live hard, lie hard, sleep hard, and eat dog."
Contents
I. "a Nor'wester"
II. STRANGERS
III. ST. LOUIS
IV. A DECLARATION OF WAR
V. CAPTIVES
VI. Chouteau's Post
VII. A DUEL
VIII. TROUBLE WITH THE INDIANS
IX. A BUFFALO HUNT
X. PRISONERS
XII. THE WAR-DANCE
XIII. MASTER STEWART
XIV. WINTER QUARTERS
XV. BESIEGED
XVI. A RUNNING FIGHT
XVII. A REAL BATTLE
XVIII. SNOWED IN
XIX. THE MANDAN VILLAGE
XX. THE NEW COMPANY
James Otis Kaler (1848 — 1912) was an American journalist and author who in 1906 published the true life story titled "Among the Fur Traders."
Kaler writes of how he obtained the true account portrayed in this book:
"Ninety years ago this account of how the New Fur-Trading Company came into existence, was written by Louis Wills, the only nephew of old John Wills of the X. Y. Company. Imprisoned by the winter in one of his stockaded forts on the Missouri River he set about the task as a pleasant way in which to spend the hours until the waterways were free from ice in the spring. The story is not printed exactly as he wrote it; some of his language has been changed a little, and his many pages of statistics of the fur business have been omitted. To Louis Wills' granddaughter am I indebted for the time-worn manuscript which was found by Colin McKenzie among the papers left in Bob's Fort when the commandant set out for the Pacific coast, from which journey he never returned."
John Wills (?-1814) was a fur trader who became a partner of the XY Company around 1798. He was one of the 6 wintering partners of the Company who later became partners of the North West Company in 1804. Around 1804 he built Fort Gibraltar at the junction of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, and remained in charge of Red River District until 1806 when he was reassigned to Rat Portage.
As Kaler relates, the nephew Wills was highly dedicated to his life in the fur trade:
"As I sit here in Bob's Fort this day, bringing to a close the writing of our story, which has served to pass most agreeably many an hour that would have been most tedious since the snows of winter shut us in, the New Company is well and most favorably known in this country as well as England, and I dare venture to say that if we were so inclined, the five members of the company could retire from business with what might be called large fortunes.
"That we still continue to toil so far from others of our kind is due, I believe, to the fascination which the wilderness has for every man who lives within it any considerable length of time. A peaceful place it is, save when the scoundrelly redskins take it into their ugly heads to dig up the hatchet. A restful place, except when business interests demand that one make long journeys during the winter, and, take it all in all, the only portion of this wide world in which I could be content to dwell.
"Bob often writes that his partners might do better than toil, and freeze, and roast amid the savages when they can well afford to live in any city which strikes their fancy, and when I answered the last letter in which he made a similar remark, it was in these words:
"We have about decided to push our posts as far as the Pacific Ocean. Already Colin has visited the Nor'westers with a proposition to buy all their right and title to the settlement started by the Astor party, and it is more than probable the offer will be accepted. If the deal goes through, you had better come back and make the try with us; it is bound to be a hard task, but none worse than we have accomplished before, and it will do you solid good to have another taste of wilderness life —to live hard, lie hard, sleep hard, and eat dog."
Contents
I. "a Nor'wester"
II. STRANGERS
III. ST. LOUIS
IV. A DECLARATION OF WAR
V. CAPTIVES
VI. Chouteau's Post
VII. A DUEL
VIII. TROUBLE WITH THE INDIANS
IX. A BUFFALO HUNT
X. PRISONERS
XII. THE WAR-DANCE
XIII. MASTER STEWART
XIV. WINTER QUARTERS
XV. BESIEGED
XVI. A RUNNING FIGHT
XVII. A REAL BATTLE
XVIII. SNOWED IN
XIX. THE MANDAN VILLAGE
XX. THE NEW COMPANY
