A Fur Trader of tKe North 
By GEORGE BIRD GRINNELL 
T HERE recently came into my hands a 
curious old book, published in London 
in 1791, the journal of an Indian inter¬ 
preter and trader of the North country. 
In 1768 J. Long, while yet a very young man, 
engaged himself as an articled clerk to go to 
North America, and left Gravesend for Quebec 
and Montreal. Twenty-three years later, in 1791, 
his journal was published, telling of his adven¬ 
tures as Indian interpreter and trader among 
the Indians of the North. It contains a great 
deal of interesting information about the Indians 
and their intercourse with the traders, and is 
written in a curious old-fashioned style which 
lends it an additional interest. The book is 
scarce and valuable, and in these days hard to 
obtain. The copy before me is in beautiful con¬ 
dition, absolutely perfect and bound in the origi¬ 
nal boards. 
Long was, above all things, a trader, and it 
is the matter of his trading and of his inter¬ 
course with the savages which first of all in¬ 
terests him, and concerning which he especially 
writes. 
On his arrival at Montreal Long was put 
in charge of a merchant, to be instructed in the 
Indian trade, which was then the chief support 
of the town. That he possessed considerable 
linguistic ability is evident from the fact that 
he soon acquired in the Iroquois and French 
languages the names of all articles of commerce, 
and being interested in the savages from the 
first, he improved daily in their tongue. His 
advance was so rapid that his employer soon 
sent him to the village of Cocknawaga, situated 
about nine miles from Montreal, on the south 
side of the River St. Lawrence, where he lived 
in the family of an Indian chief until he had 
acquired something of the language, when he 
returned to his employer’s store to improve him¬ 
self in French, then the universal language of 
Canada. 
He tells us that the Indians of the Cock¬ 
nawaga village separated long since from the 
Mohawk Indians, and were then called in Mon¬ 
treal the praying Indians, from the circumstance 
of their chiefs wearing crucifixes, and going 
through the streets of Montreal with their beads, 
begging alms. They occupied a village of about 
200 houses, chiefly built of stone and its popu¬ 
lation amounted to about 800. They grew corn, 
and their hunting grounds were within the 
United States, about Fort George, Ticonderoga 
and Crown Point, where they killed beaver and 
deer. The skins of these were brought to 
Montreal and sold or bartered for money or 
goods. 
Many pages of the volume are devoted to an 
account of other tribes of Indians, and of the 
different trading posts which were situated along 
the River St. Lawrence and the Great Lakes. 
Some of these are familiar names to-day, as 
Oswegatche, Carleton Island, Fort Oswego, Fort 
Niagara, Detroit and Michillimakinac. 
After seven years’ residence with his employer, 
Long declined to renew his engagement and be¬ 
came the volunteer leader of a party of Indians 
fighting against the United States. His first 
battle was in 1775, when a party of about thirty 
of the Americans, commanded by Ethan Allen, 
of famous memory, appeared at Long Point, 
about two miles from Montreal, intending to 
plunder the town. The American forces, how¬ 
ever, were met by about forty British regulars 
and some volunteers, and after a battle in which 
several of the British were killed, and Long was 
wounded, the Americans surrendered. Long was 
engaged in other fightings along the border, and 
one of the stratagems which he details in this 
irregular warfare is interesting and has often 
been practiced by the Indians. They were march¬ 
ing, when a boat full of men was seen approach¬ 
ing, and landed on the river bank without seeing 
them. “The Indians instantly kindled a fire, and 
each man filled his blanket with rotten wood and 
leaves, till it was extended to the size of a man; 
then placing them near the fire, to appear like 
Indians asleep, they retired to a small distance 
to give the Americans an opportunity of coming 
up unmolested, not doubting but they would im¬ 
mediately fire at the blankets. The maneuver 
succeeded to our expectation, for the Americans 
discovering the smoke advanced toward the fire, 
and perceiving the blankets, discharged their 
muskets. The savages immediately rushed from 
their ambush, and setting up a war whoop, fell 
upon the enemy, scalped seven of them, and took 
five prisoners, whom we painted like ourselves.” 
Something of the hardships endured during 
this warfare, in which the white commanders 
lived precisely as did the Indians whom they led, 
is suggested by Long’s quaint remarks: “We 
were out six days and nights, with very little 
provision, living chiefly on the scrapings of the 
inner bark of trees and wild roots, particularly 
onions, which grow in great abundance and are 
not disagreeable to the palate. Hunger recon¬ 
ciles us to everything that will support nature, 
and makes the most indifferent food acceptable. 
From my own woeful experience I can assert 
that what at any other time would have been 
unpleasant, and even nauseous, under the pres¬ 
sure of hunger is not only greedily eaten, but 
relished as a luxury. Those who are acquainted 
with the nature of roving in the woods in time 
of war know the necessity of traveling light, and 
particularly on an Indian scout, as the savages 
seldom take anything except a small quantity 
of Indian corn and maple sugar which, after 
beating the corn between two stones, they mix 
with water, and on this they subsist. During 
this expedition, as the business was urgent, and 
the enemy near at hand, we depended on ad¬ 
ventitious food.” 
Another comment on this early warfare is of 
some interest. He says: “It may not be amiss 
to observe that the custom adopted by the Ameri¬ 
cans, and with so much success, of leveling their 
pieces at the officers, originated with the In¬ 
dians, who are possessed with an idea that the 
men will naturally be thrown into confusion 
when their leaders are dead.” 
In 1778 Long left Montreal as interpreter for 
a trading party. The salary offered him was 
good, and he expected from his new occupation 
at least profit if not pleasure. “But alas,” he 
i; ays, “I often had abundant reason to repent 
the pursuing the bent of my inclination.” Of 
the country he passed through on his way to 
Michdlimakinac he says: “The country every¬ 
where abounds with wild animals, particularly 
bears, moose and other deer, beavers, beaver 
eaters, lynx, foxes, squirrels, fishers, otters, mar¬ 
tens, minx, wood cats, raccoons, wolves, mus¬ 
quashes, etc. There are scarce any but savage 
inhabitants to be found, who rove from place 
to place for subsistence, feeding on the animals 
they kill, except the skunk or pole cat, which 
they never eat, unless pressed by the most ex¬ 
treme hunger.” It may be asked, what is a 
beaver eater? Perhaps the wolverine. 
Commenting on these animals, he remarks: 
“The beaver is a curious animal, but it has been 
described by so many authors that I shall only 
observe what I believe they have not yet men¬ 
tioned. It is seldom seen in the day time. After 
sunset it leaves its habitation and ventures abroad 
either to work or procure food. It also takes 
this opportunity to wash itself. But the most 
remarkable singularity of this animal is that it 
lies with its tail constantly in the water to pre¬ 
vent it getting stiff. The flesh of it is very good, 
either boiled or roasted, but the tail is the best 
part. While I am upon the subject of dainties, 
I may add that the snout of the moose is also 
highly esteemed. Not any of the animals in 
North America are to be dreaded, except the 
grizzled bear, which generally keeps in as warm 
a climate as possible. Wherever it comes it 
makes dreadful havoc, destroying men, and 
even frequently whole families.” 
Among the Chippeways of the north shore of 
