Fur brigade
Encyclopedia
Trapping (Animal)
Animal trapping, or simply trapping, is the use of a device to remotely catch an animal. Animals may be trapped for a variety of purposes, including food, wildlife management, hunting, and pest control...
who traveled between their home trading post
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
s and a larger HBC
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
post in order to supply the inland post with goods and supply the HBC post with furs. Travel was usually done on the rivers by canoe or, in certain prairie situations, by horse. For example, they might travel to Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay , sometimes called Hudson's Bay, is a large body of saltwater in northeastern Canada. It drains a very large area, about , that includes parts of Ontario, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Alberta, most of Manitoba, southeastern Nunavut, as well as parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,...
or James Bay
James Bay
James Bay is a large body of water on the southern end of Hudson Bay in Canada. Both bodies of water extend from the Arctic Ocean. James Bay borders the provinces of Quebec and Ontario; islands within the bay are part of Nunavut...
from their inland home territories. This pattern was most prevalent during the early 19th century.
By canoes, which comprised the most common fur brigades, the trip from the home fort headed downstream in groups of four to six large thirty foot freighters with twenty-four to thirty-six voyageurs. These loads were relatively light, consisting mainly of furs. By contrast, the return voyage was upstream and involved much heavier bulkier loads, being the ammunition, traps and various other supplies needed for the next winters trapping season.
These brigades were an annual event, involving the most able and skilled men of the tribe. Depending upon distances traveled, a brigade could occupy much of July, all August and a successful return to the home fort in early September.