A look back at voyageurs and other colorful characters of the fur trading days

Editor's Note: The Beltrami County Historical Society is partnering with the Pioneer on a series of monthly articles highlighting the history of the area. For more information about the Historical Society, visit www.beltramihistory.org.

Employment opportunity: Seasonal work — Job involves travel, outdoor adventure and camaraderie. Requirements: Must be able to lift and carry at least 180 pounds while trotting briskly across rough terrain for miles-long portages; survival skills mandatory; canoe paddling experience preferred; good singing voice optional but welcome.

Voyageurs of the 1700s to mid-1800s likely never saw a job description post like this but heard about the opportunities through word of mouth. Most were Frenchmen, but occasionally Germans, Scots and others — even Mexicans — joined the ranks.

Whatever their background, voyageurs put their shoulders, arms, legs and backs into the job: paddling, portaging, hauling two to four 90-pound packs — as much as double their own weight.

Most of us who hear and read about the days of fur trading don't think about the fur post agents, the "field men," (Northmen) or the traders; we are more fascinated by colorful stories of the voyageurs — the porters, the delivery men who risked life and limb daily to transport trade items and furs.

Each April — as soon as the ice was off rivers and lakes — voyageurs set out from Montreal on a dangerous two-month trip to Grand Portage (in what is now Minnesota), the gathering point for furs from the Northwest, with packs loaded with gear for the journey and trading items to exchange for furs.

Up at 3 a.m., these men made good time before sun-up and breakfast, their red paddles keeping time with their singing, propelling their 35- to 40-foot birchbark canoes (loaded with up to three tons of freight) through icy, treacherous rapids and wide, deep lakes.

The bowsman sat in front and guided the canoe. He made three times the pay of the middlemen. The steersman, another important job, stood in the rear of the canoe, watching for signals from the bowsman, steering and turning the canoe.

If the boat was swamped by high waves on a lake or crashed into a huge rock in raging rapids, goods were lost, boats might sink or be destroyed, and men could die. Where souls were lost, their bodies were buried ashore, wooden crosses marking their passing and cautioning others.

Paddling 16 to 18 hours per day at a stroke-per-second pace, voyageurs could cover 75 to 80 miles per day in good conditions. They stopped regularly for breaks, filling their pipes, smoking and eating just two meals a day — breakfast and supper. Meals were cooked over an open flame and the voyageurs ate directly from the pot — often soup made with dried peas or corn, maybe some pork or fish.

They loaded the canoes, placing poles in the bottom and spreading the packs on top, leaving room for the paddlers and sometimes passengers.

Unloading and reloading several times for portages on the journey, they carried upturned canoes on their shoulders or at least two 90-pound bales on their backs, held with portage collars, leather strips that strapped the packs to their foreheads.

Their portages were dangerous, often over steep, rocky terrain, through mud or deep sand, over downed trees, in heat and cold, with rain and mosquitoes. When they could, they took half-mile breaks ("poses" – pronounced poe-zays, meaning "to put something down.") On long rough portages, they might have three or four poses every mile.

When they finally reached Grand Portage, they met with traders and Northmen who had collected furs from northern posts for a rendezvous where as many as 2,000 people might gather. Trade goods went to warehouses and traders selected what they needed for their winter posts.

Furs were brought in from the 130-plus fur trading posts across the state, including posts on Leech Lake, Cedar Lake (Cass Lake), Lake LaBiche (Elk Lake/Lake Itasca), Red Lake, and Lake Traverse (Lake Bemidji) — the names used by French fur traders, which are often translations of Ojibwe names.

The rendezvous was not just work; it was also a respite from paddling and a celebration of dancing, drinking, joking and storytelling. After canoes were repaired, goods were exchanged, and furs were inspected and re-packed, the Northmen headed back to their posts for the winter and the voyageurs began the return trip to Montreal, laden with bales of furs for the European market.

A fascination with the life and times of voyageurs of the fur trading days has inspired various organizations — mainly black powder clubs — to host modern-day rendezvous events that take participants back in time 200 years or more. Bemidji's Hangfires’ Blackpowder Club is holding its 47th Annual Rendezvous June 9-11.

Frank Bera, current president of the Bemidji club, says club members plan the event throughout the year and are prepared for participants and visitors to partake in or just observe the activities this weekend at the rendezvous site south of Bemidji.

For Frank, a work injury led him to his first rendezvous 40-some years ago. He’d been injured on the job while working in the Albert Lea, Minn., area. The injury was serious enough to keep him out of work for a week, but not working made him restless.

His wife Linda checked the local paper and found out about a small gun club not far away in Iowa that was hosting a rendezvous shoot. They drove to the camp and Frank hobbled around the area on his crutches, checking out the events. As someone with flint knapping as a hobby, he always carried tools along, so he set up his own demonstration.

"I spent three hours sharpening gun flints," he says, "because I did flint knapping, which is making arrowheads."

He was set up not far from the shooting range and some of the guys he met appreciated his work and invited him to come back the next year.

"We’ll make sure you have a spot," they told him. "We'll even throw up a tarp if you don't have a tent or anything, so you can sit out here and demonstrate."

Linda had gotten involved in sewing scrap leather pieces into little pouches for around the neck or to attach to belts. Frank says, "Next thing you know, the next year we're out hitting a whole bunch of rendezvous."

Modern rendezvous events were started by gun clubs holding black powder events, Frank says. "Then they started having tents, getting dressed up in period clothing, putting on events and demonstrations, and selling and trading items — that's how things got going."

That first rendezvous inspired Frank to find others to attend in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin. About 30 years ago, he and Linda came to a Bemidji Hangfires’ Rendezvous that was held in the Solway area, but Frank says the location the club has used for the past 20-some years at Keith Johnson's property south of Bemidji works out much better. The club leases the property from Johnson and the setting works well for camping and for the events.

At the rendezvous, participants set up camps and spend the weekend living pre-1840s style. They set up rudimentary shelters — A-frames, pole tents, wall tents with canvas tarps and sleep on the ground or on a cot; they prepare food in cooking pits or braziers with coals. Three water spigots allow attendees to fill buckets and haul water to their campsites and ten pit toilets on the property serve the purpose as needed.

They participate in activities and competitions that are authentic to the time period. Some give demonstrations of period-related arts or skills; on opening night (Friday) they have a speaker. This year John Hayes will speak about slavery and indentured servants in the early days in northern Minnesota. Artisans and traders set up marquees or lay down blankets and sell their wares.

Participants dress in time-period clothing and take on the personas of pre-1840s characters that have been documented historically: voyageurs, woods runners (early "sales reps" for the different fur companies, whose job was to get traders and trappers to deal exclusively with one particular company or post), trade post agents, trappers, early settlers and guides. Authenticity is important; the persona must be based on historical records of northern Minnesota fur trade days.

Since moving to the Bemidji area in 2000, Frank has been actively involved in Hangfires’ annual rendezvous. Current membership to the club is about 33 people, including several couples and three families, and all club members contribute to planning and working the event.

Frank says Covid-19 put some crimps on rendezvous the past few years. Last year the High Plains Regional Rendezvous held their annual event in Bemidji the weekend after Hangfires’ at the same site, which allowed participants who attended Hangfires’ event to keep their campsites and get in on the second rendezvous — for another registration fee.

High Plains has five member states: South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, North Dakota and Minnesota. Their regional rendezvous are held in different states on a rotation that was disrupted by the pandemic, canceling the events in 2020 and 2021.

Frank says usually the regional event draws 350-400 camps; last year they had about 287 camps. Smaller local rendezvous, like Hangfires’, usually draw 40-70 camps. Registration is by campsite, not by individuals. Each campsite might have one or two people or an entire family.

Set for June 9-11, registration for Hangfires’ rendezvous is from 4 to 6 p.m. on Friday, June 9, and from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. on Saturday, June 10.

The rendezvous is booked as a family-friendly event and features a potluck and a musical jam session on Saturday. There are prizes, raffles, a silent auction and special activities for kids. Participants pay a fee of $25 which allows them to camp on-site and compete in any and all events.

Events include cartridge shoot, hawk and knife, primitive archery, flu flu, primitive shoot, shotgun shoot, trade gun shoot, kids’ games and women's games. Prizes are authentic too, including items crafted and donated by rendezvous participants or purchased at other rendezvous — anything from a scrimshawed powder horn to hunting pouches, beaded items, handmade knives, clothing items, wood carvings, and other items.

Visitors are welcome, Frank says. "It's free just to come and observe. Come out; spend the whole day if you want. We had one couple last year who came, set up their RV, and spent the whole time just walking around, talking to people."

For more information, check out Hangfires’ Facebook page at facebook.com/hangfiresrendezvous.