Pea Soupers

                                             Voyageur canoe passing a waterfall (Ontario), 1869, by Frances Anne Hopkins.

Frenchmen in the Old Northwest country around the Great Lakes) had little opportunity to prepare a hot meal. Yet, men paddling very large birch-bark canoes with up to 3 tons of furs or merchandise from dawn to dusk needed at least one nutritious meal daily. Here is an early recipe for a hot, satisfying stew that was enjoyed by the voyageurs."The tin kettle in which we cooked our food" a trader wrote, "held eight to ten gallons. At the end of a long day paddling our canoes, the cook hung our kettle over the fire, nearly full of water. Nine quarts of dried peas- one quart per man, our daily allowance - was added to the heated water. When the peas had all burst, two or three pounds of salt pork, cut into strips, where added for seasoning, and the kettle was allowed to simmer all night. At daybreak, the cook added four biscuits, broken up,to the pot and invited all hands to breakfast.The swelling of the peas and biscuits filled the kettle to the brim and was so thick that a stick would stand upright in the stew. The hungry Voyageurs squatted in a circle around the kettle. Each man used his wooden spoon to ladle the hot meal from the kettle to his mouth, with lightning speed, and soon filled his belly."Pea Souper, a nickname for French-Canadians, originated because of this daily breakfast repast.

Old Northwest Trading Post

For nearly two centuries, felt hats and fur coats were high fashion in Europe. The felt was made from animal hair. . . with the best quality felt made from Beaver. The trapping of Beaver in Europe was so intense that the animal was nearly extinct. A rich, new source of Beaver and other animal furs was exploited by French voyageurs from eastern Canada (New France) who traveled far and wide in search of the valuable skins. The French didn’t trap and prepare the furs; the American Indians did. A quantity of preserved skins could be exchanged for an iron pot, metal hatchets, a gun and gunpowder, scissors, knives, cloth, needles and other items.This log cabin was built by Joseph Bailly in northwest Indiana in the 1820’s. Pottawatomie Indians brought furs to Bailly’s store each spring to trade for merchandise. Bailly would pack the furs he bought into 60 lb. bundles and ship them (by boat) to Mackinac For almost two centuries, felt hats were the fashion in Europe. The felt was made from animal hair. . . with the best quality felt made from Beaver.The French from eastern Canada (Quebec Province) ranged far and wide in pursuit of animal skins. The French didn’t actually trap and prepare the skins, the American Indians did and traded the preserved skins for iron pots, metal hatchets, guns and gunpowder, scissors, knives, cloth, needles and other items.This log cabin was built by Joseph Bailly in northwest Indiana in the 1820’s. Pottawatomie Indians brought furs to Bailly’s store each spring to trade for merchandise. Bailly would pack the furs he bought into 60 lb. bundles and ship them (by boat) to Mackinac at the top of Lake Michigan. At Mackinac, Bailly’s furs, along with furs from many other traders, were shipped (again by boat) to Montreal and on to Quebec. In Quebec, the furs were loaded onto large sailing ships and carried to Europe. In Europe, the hair was removed from the skin, processed into felt and fashioned into men’s and women’s hats. By 1830, the fur trading business had ended as over trapping nearly depleted the Beaver in North America and the felt hat was no longer in fashion.