Latest by Nikki Rajala
Uncharted Waters
The Chronicles of an Unlikely Voyager – Book 3
It’s 1805 and André, now 16, desperately wants to paddle with French-Canadian canoe brigades-maybe his last chance. But choosing to tend to his ailing foster parents, he relinquishes his clerk’s position at a fur trade post in the vast Canadian wilderness.
Author
Nikki Rajala
Other Books by Nikki Rajala
– Wayne Backman
Nikki Rajala’s Official Voyager’s Blog
Follow Along
Gift-giving greased the wheels in the fur trade
Instead of trading right off the bat, French-Canadian fur traders gave gifts to their Native hosts at the start of trading, which made them much more successful in the long run.
How point blankets morphed …
Coats made from point blankets —capotes — were used by the British in the War of 1812, and then morphed into Mackinaw jackets, winter wear now preferred by outdoorsmen.
A short course on point blankets
Those Hudson’s Bay blankets (point blankets, with threads sewn in from selvage to indicate size) have a rich history, dating to before the fur trade.