The vast American territories contained diverse
resources that were exploited as soon as they were discovered. So it was that
in 1807 a fur merchant named Manuel Lisa foresaw what could become a pelt
empire. He established the first trading post on the Yellowstone to handle all
of the skins in the region. In doing so, he blazed a trail that would stretch
beyond the Rocky Mountains. There was no lack of furry animals on the
continent, primarily beavers, but also gray, brown and black bears, as well as
the enormous grizzlies, raccoons, lynxes, wildcats, silver and red foxes,
wolves, coyotes, weasels, badgers, martens, otters, minks, ermines, polecats,
wolverines, muskrats, sable, marmots, and squirrels, as well as mountain goats,
mouflon sheep, moose, wapitis, and of course bison. Such a plethora of wildlife
and potential pelts could not escape the attention of the governments of the
various colonizing powers, England in particular. Two English trading companies
were established in Oregon, the North-West Company and the Hudson Bay Company,
whose goal was to collect as many pelts as possible and transport them back to
England by sea. The number of pelts handled by these companies in the years up
to 1840 was impressive. The famous “skin book” in which all transactions were
noted, is most edifying on this point.
More than two hundred forts were built to safeguard
transaction, which gives an idea of the extent of the operation that played an
important role in the development of the continent. This trade gave birth to a
new type of individual, the “mountain man,” a fearsome trapper who knew his
territory like the back of his hand. Living on his own in the wild for months
on end, after which time he would haul his pelts to the nearest fort either to
sell them or exchange them for supplies, which might run from whiskey to a
rifle and powder, a canoe, or a knife.
The Native Americans were also tempted to trade
their pelts, which is how they were able to procure either knives or simply
blades that they mounted on handles of their own manufacture. They were also
greatly interested in tools, which they used for working the land. They started
to make modifications to them after learning some of the secrets of the forge.
This is how knives with large blades appeared as well as metal spearheads.
Hatchets intended for shopping wood were turned into fearsome tomahawks and pipes
of peace.
The type of knife most representative of this
period of trade with the Hudson Bay Company is undoubtedly the “beaver tail”
knife.
At this time, the vast majority of knives in the
territories came from Sheffield, and certainly those traded by the company,
since it was English. The shapes and sizes that suited the pioneer requirements
the best were frequently developed and had nothing in common with the usual
production. Having received an order for rustic blades to trade with the Native
Americans, the English blade smiths opted for a “spearhead” model, sharpened on
both sides. One series was flat sole, while another was mounted on a tang with
two transversal fins. Nothing was simpler that fitting a handle to the flat
sole and the tang to a shaft to make a spear, the fins enabling a sturdy
ligature. But those two fins did not in any way prevent the blade from being
used as a knife. When the company eventually closed, the Native Americans
forged this kind of blade themselves from old files.
But in both Canada and America such models were
later produced by various manufactures, which explains why so many of them were
trades to tribes who had great difficulty in mastering the special technique
required to produce double edged blades. Numerous engravings from the period
show a brave or a chief carrying a beaver tail in a sheath slung around his
neck, stuck in his belt, or on the end of a spear shaft or even on a “gunstock”,
one of those sinister clubs that they wielded so artfully.
The beaver tail is certainly a fine
representative object of this legendary time in American history.
