Speaking the language of the fur trade

French, Ojibwe and English were the three languages of the fur trade in the Great Lakes region. To be successful it helped to know at least a little of each. To help you understand some of the terms you might hear at the fur post or read here, we have developed a little "dictionary" of the some words you might not know.

Go to the French Section.
Go to the Ojibwe Section.

French

Avant

Bowsman and lead voyageur of the canoe

Batard Canot

"Express canoe." 14-16 feet long. Often used as mail carriers. Manned by 2-4 voyageurs.

Bourgeois

Voyageur term for the Wintering Partners or Clerks. The word came from the French and described a "new middle class people" in Europe. Bourgeois were usually educated men of various nationalities. Many were Scottish, French or American. Clerks were almost always French until the end when more Americans and English held Clerk positions.

Brigade

Fleet of canoes.

Canot du Maitre

Montreal canoe. 30-40 feet long. Used to navigate the big waters of the Great Lakes. Manned by 8 -16 voyageurs.

Canot du Nord

North canoe. 18-22 feet long. Used on the smaller lakes and rivers to bring furs to Grand Portage or Fort William. Manned by 2-6 voyageurs.

Capote

Hooded blanket coat.

coureur de bois ("woods runner")

Traders, explorers, adventurers who lived in the North West before the trading companies or, later independent traders who lived with the Indians.

Engage'

Employee of the North West Company.

Gouvernail

Steersman and second ranking voyageur in the canoe.

Hivernant

An experienced voyageur. Older men with more experience than the "summer men". They were also called "Winterers" because they spent the winter months trading with various tribes.

Mangeur du Lard

A summer man, inexperienced. Also called "pork eaters" because of their daily allotment of pork fat (grease) mixed with pounded corn.

Metis

People of mixed French Canadian and Indian heritage.

Milieux

The middlemen voyageurs in the canoe.

Pay d'en haut

The Up Country, north and west of Lake Superior.

Piece

One pack of 90 pounds.

Porkeater

Montreal canoeman who never went beyond Rainy Lake.

Pose

A rest stop along the portage trail. Usually about ½ mile apart. Voyageurs would often be allowed a pipe at each pose. As a result, portages were often described by the number of poses or pipes allowed. Grand Portage was a 16 pipe or 16 pose portage since it was just over 8 miles long.

Rendezvous

Annual event in mid-summer at Grand Portage and later Fort William, where wintering traders exchanged their furs for trading goods and supplies brought from Montreal.

Voyageur

Traveler, but in the fur trade era it meant the people employed to paddle the canoes, carry the bundles and do most of the heavy work. Usually, but not always, French-Canadian.

Ojibwe

For more information on the Ojibwe language, visit the Native Languages of the Americas web site.

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