“Throw aside your bone bodkins; these French awls will be much easier to use. These knives will be more useful to you in killing beavers and in cutting your meat than are the pieces of stone that you use.”
Nicholas Perrot, French trader, 1666


“The English have no sense; they give us twenty knives like this for one Beaver skin.”
Montagais Indian, 1634

In the 1600s the key to the rapid development of the fur trade from New France (Canada) was water travel. French traders coming from Canada in the 17th and 18th centuries used the Fox River as a primary highway into the interior. Early on, the river network put Native Americans living around Lake Winnebago in direct contact with traders. The marshes and waterways of the Lake Winnebago Region were rich in fur bearing mammals and other abundant natural resources, making the region a key part of the French trading network. French traders quickly learned that Native Americans had been trading with each other for thousands of years and had well-established trade routes and alliances that they could use.

Native Americans and European traders and trappers had very different views of nature and animals. Over thousands of years, Native Americans had adapted their lifestyles to the land and the seasons, often moving from place to place when local resources were exhausted. They killed animals for meat or clothing and harvested only enough food to see them through the long Wisconsin winters. Their daily tools made of bone, stone, antler, shell, wood and clay came from nature. They had a spiritual connection to the animals and to the land; overall, they had minimal impact on the environment. But European traders saw the land and animals as something to be exploited, changed or conquered.

The arrival of French traders and their European manufactured goods in the early 1600s changed everything. Tools such as iron arrowheads, steel knives, hatchets and needles were wonderful new tools. Guns enabled Native Americans to kill more game and were more effective weapons of war. In the heat of summer lightweight cotton shirts were far more comfortable than those made of deerskin. Brass kettles were more durable than clay pots. European trade goods made life easier for Native Americans.

To obtain these items, Native Americans traded in animal skins. These skins, called pelts, were of the highest quality. Trapped in the coldest part of the winter, the animal’s fur was long and dense. Beaver, mink, fox, ermine (weasel), muskrat, bear, bobcat and wolf were all killed for their pelts. Deer were killed for their hides, which were made into leather for trade. The land and waterways were hunted and trapped until animals were so scarce that the search led Native American bands onto lands claimed by other tribes. The intrusions often led to inter-tribal warfare.

The desire and need for manufactured goods changed the way Native Americans used and valued animals, and how they related to the land and its resources. In a very short time after the introduction of trade goods, Native Americans became dependent on traders. Animals and pelts were assigned a specific monetary value and could be traded for knives, gunpowder, lead balls and silver adornments. Maple syrup, dried venison, tallow and wild rice were no longer just food stored for winter; they also could be sold in return for beads, cloth or other goods. Rolls of birchbark, balls of hardened pine pitch and even hunting and paddling skills could all be bartered into the new wealth represented by beads and guns. For the European traders, the pelts were exceedingly valuable and the profits were enormous. The small price they paid for cheap knives or glass beads were returned many times over when the pelts were eventually sold to the nobility in Europe.

The centuries-old cycle of life changed to include the trader. Bands of Native Americans made several trips each year to trading posts, or established camps within easy traveling distance of posts. Major posts in Wisconsin were at Green Bay, Prairie du Chien and Bayfield. Smaller winter posts were established along the Fox River at Kaukauna and near Lake Butte des Morts. To retain valuable trading partners, Native Americans allied themselves militarily with the French. After Great Britain defeated France in 1763, they allied themselves with the British and after the War of 1812, with the Americans. Bands of Wisconsin Indians regularly fought
in the Ohio Valley and beyond with their French allies, and
after 1763, with their British allies.

Native Americans were fierce and clever woodland foes, but they were also skilled traders and negotiators who knew the value of their pelts and warriors. They often bargained for higher prices, or left the military alliance when it was advantageous to do so. The French maintained friendly relations with most tribes. However, the Mesquakie tribe was an exception. The Mesquakie, called the Renards (Fox) by the French, had a large village on the Fox River near where Highway 41 crosses Lake Butte des Morts, anther farther up river, and a third near present day Fond du Lac. The Mesquakie took control of the waterway. They became middlemen in the profitable trading empire and extracted heavy payments in goods from the French traders who passed the village on their way to the interior. This was intolerable to the French; their monopoly was threatened. A French officer, Monsieur Constant de Marchant de Lignery, wrote in 1726, “[There will be no pelts] as long as the war with the Foxes lasts.” In the early 1700s, this situation reached an impasse and compelled the French to mount military expeditions against the village to put an end to Mesquakie control. Read about the expeditions.

European and American traders also introduced diseases for which Native Americans had no immunity. These illnesses often resulted in the death of entire bands. In a relatively short period of time, the fur trade had completely changed the lifestyle of Native Americans. Intoxicants were also traded, especially by the British and Americans, often resulting in severe alcoholic addiction.

The fur trade as a distinct business in Wisconsin continued until about 1850. Changing fashion and the arrival of large numbers of settlers to the area ended the trade.

The museum’s collections contain artifacts from the fur trade era. We invite you to explore Wetlands & Waterways and other exhibits to discover these links to our past.

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