Captivated by tales of adventure, fifteen-year-old George Nelson left his family in Quebec in 1802 and headed to the Northwest Territory to work for Sir Alexander Mackenzie's XY Company, one of the major fur trade companies of the time. Required to keep a daily log as a fur trade clerk, his growth from homesick lad to experienced fur trader forms the heart of this unique and fascinating journal. He recorded his feelings and thoughts, and was a vital witness to all that went on around him. Nelson's journals are particularly valuable for their candid observations on the customs and culture of the Ojibwa people and provide some of the most detailed descriptions available of Ojibwa spiritual practices. Long treasured by fur trade historians, the early journals of George Nelson are published here in their entirety for the first time. Careful editing and annotation by Laura Peers and Theresa Schenck explain references to people and Ojibwa culture and provide context on the North American fur trade.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references: p. 221-226
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 380.1/456753/092
- General Note
- Co-published by Minnesota Historical Society Press Includes index Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-us-wi
- ISBN
- 0773523782 9780773570290
- LCCN
- HD9944.U46
- LCCN Item number
- W66 2002eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (vii, 234 p.)
- Published in
- Canada
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)slc00204613 (OCoLC)243600679 (CaOOCEL)407551
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- My First Years in the Fur Trade 6
- Introduction 12
- First Winter in the Northwest, 1802–3 36
- Second Winter in the Interior, 1803–4 104
- Brief Biographies 212
- Appendix: George Nelson's Writings 228
- Bibliography 230
- Index 236
- A 236
- B 236
- C 236
- D 237
- E 237
- F 237
- G 238
- H 238
- I 238
- J 239
- K 239
- L 239
- M 240
- N 240
- O 241
- P 241
- R 241
- S 242
- T 242
- V 243
- W 243
- X 243
- Y 243
