History of the Fur Trade in
Minnesota
In the 1600s as fur resources in eastern North America were
becoming depleted, the explorer-traders advanced westward through
the Great Lakes, and northward up the Mississippi River. The first
white men known to travel into what is now Minnesota were the
French fur traders Pierre Radisson and Sieur de Groselliers who
came from Quebec in 1655 to explore and trade. When they returned
to Montreal, they told of the riches in fur to be found in the
Minnesota country. Early French trappers and traders followed the
explorers and at first were independents, not working for any
company. They were known as couriers de bois, or "bush rangers,"
and would spend their winters in Minnesota and Wisconsin trapping
and trading with the Indians. In the spring, most of the trappers
returned to the Indian village of Mackinac on the narrow strait
between Lakes Huron and Michigan, where they traded their furs for
needed supplies and trade goods.
There was a small group of locally renowned Trappers, though,
that were geographically challenged (it was in the days before the
existence of Global Positioning Satellites) and returned year after
year to a Trading Post located near the modern town of
“D’Luth”. This Trading Post was run by an
unscrupulous merchant, Moe “Le Louche” and his
mathematically adroit assistants “D’Atslafp”,
“D’ Ilkap” and “D’ Gauss”. They
employed all sorts of “tricks” to put the Trappers at a serious
disadvantage when it came time to Trading. To enter the Trading
Post, for example, the Trappers would have to bend over almost
completely at the waist in order to pass through the doorway. Upon
entering, they would have to stop and wait several minutes for
their eyes to adjust to the dim light so that they would be able to
move without stumbling over something. Once their eyes adjusted to
the conditions they were able to discern where the trading counter
was and even notice that there was a sign posted on the back wall
supposedly showing Furs Bought and Prices Paid(?).
The sign was extremely grimy and almost illegible to read. In fact,
while there seemed to be something written in the column showing
Prices Paid, there were no prices actually shown. If the
lighting was better and the sign was cleaned up this is what they
would see…
Since this Trading Post was so isolated Moe “Le
Louche” was free to set his own prices for what he paid for
furs and for what he sold supplies and trade goods. To compound
matters, he didn’t have a very good idea of the worth of furs or
trade goods and prices were set somewhat haphazardly. What he did
was assign several furs to a single Group and pay the same price
for any fur from that Group.
This group of Trappers weren’t very happy with the situation so
they got together and by comparing the amount each one was paid,
they were able to figure out what the various prices were. They
also decided that in order to “protect” their money that they
received from the sale of the furs, they would store it in a
“cache” located in the midst of the wilderness. Only they knew
where the cache was located.
To find where their cache is located, you will have to figure
out what prices Moe “Le Louche” paid for different
furs. All of the information you need to figure out the prices is
contained in the Journal entries for the various Trappers that
traded with Moe “Le Louche”. The final coordinates
are:
North 44 degrees AB.CDE minutes
West 93 degrees PQ.RST minutes
A word of caution: all of the Prices Paid may not be
unique. In other words C and R might both be equal to 4. In
addition, one of the prices may be 10. If so, make sure you carry
the 1.
Journale of Moe “Le Louche”
"Stinky" Sublette: For 46 Pelts of Skunk,
23 Pelts of Muskrat, 21 Pelts of Coyote, 20 Pelts of Squirrel, 17
Pelts of Common Otter, 12 Pelts of Common Fisher, 10 Pelts of
Beaver, 9 Pelts of Prime Otter, 9 Pelts of Prime Marten, 8 Pelts of
Grizzled Fox, 7 Pelts of Badger, 6 Pelts of Rabbit, 6 Pelts of
Large Bear, 6 Pelts of Middling Bear, 5 Pelts of Large Fisher, 4
Pelts of Wolverine, 4 Pelts of Cross Fox, 2 Pelts of Wolf, 2 Pelts
of Mink, 2 Pelts of Deer, 2 Pelts of Raccoon, 1 Pelt of Moose, 1
Pelt of Red Fox, 1 Pelt of Castorum, “Stinky” Sublette has received
a total of 959 Gold Coins
The "One-Eyed" Cook: For 31 Pelts of
Castorum, 24 Pelts of Prime Otter, 21 Pelts of Badger, 20 Pelts of
Common Fisher, 18 Pelts of Wolverine, 17 Pelts of Large Fisher, 17
Pelts of Mink, 16 Pelts of squirrel, 11 Pelts of Large Bear, 11
Pelts of Wolf, 6 Pelts of Red Fox, 5 Pelts of Deer, 5 Pelts of
Moose, 5 Pelts of Lynx, 5 Pelts of Prime Marten, 4 Pelts of
Muskrat, 3 Pelts of Common Marten, 2 Pelts of Grizzled Fox, 1 Pelt
of Coyote, 1 Pelt of Common Otter, 1 Pelt of Rabbit, 1 Pelt of
Skunk, 1 Pelt of Raccoon, 1 Pelt of Beaver, The “One-Eyed” Cook has
received a total of 915 Gold Coins
"Curly" Bar…t: For 28 Pelts of Deer, 26
Pelts of Beaver, 17 Pelts of Prime Otter, 16 Pelts of Common
Marten, 12 Pelts of Raccoon, 11 Pelts of Mink, 8 Pelts of Castorum,
8 Pelts of Large Fisher, 7 Pelts of Muskrat, 5 Pelts of Red Fox, 5
Pelts of Rabbit, 4 Pelts of squirrel, 3 Pelts of Cross Fox, 3 Pelts
of Lynx, 3 Pelts of Wolf, 3 Pelts of Wolverine, 3 Pelts of Grizzled
Fox, 2 Pelts of Moose, 2 Pelts of Skunk, 2 Pelts of Common Fisher,
2 Pelts of Middling Bear, 2 Pelts of Coyote, 1 Pelt of Large Bear,
"Curly" Bar…t has received a total of 846 Gold Coins
"Iron Arms" Dan: For 50 Pelts of Beaver,
29 Pelts of Rabbit, 23 Pelts of Raccoon, 19 Pelts of Castorum, 17
Pelts of Coyote, 15 Pelts of squirrel, 13 Pelts of Muskrat, 11
Pelts of Skunk, 9 Pelts of Mink, 9 Pelts of Deer, 6 Pelts of Prime
Marten, 5 Pelts of Cross Fox, 4 Pelts of Wolverine, 4 Pelts of
Wolf, 4 Pelts of Large Fisher, 3 Pelts of Moose, 3 Pelts of Lynx, 3
Pelts of Red Fox, 2 Pelts of Middling Bear, 2 Pelts of Badger, 2
Pelts of Prime Otter, 2 Pelts of Common Otter, 1 Pelt of Common
Fisher, “Iron Arms” Dan has received a total of 1131 Gold Coins
Captain McKenzie: For 24 Pelts of Common
Otter, 23 Pelts of Rabbit, 18 Pelts of Coyote, 18 Pelts of
Wolverine, 17 Pelts of Middling Bear, 16 Pelts of Cross Fox, 15
Pelts of Prime Marten, 14 Pelts of Castorum, 14 Pelts of Mink, 13
Pelts of Raccoon, 13 Pelts of Deer, 12 Pelts of Moose, 12 Pelts of
Red Fox, 12 Pelts of Lynx, 11 Pelts of Beaver, 10 Pelts of
squirrel, 8 Pelts of Wolf, 8 Pelts of Large Fisher, 4 Pelts of
Common Fisher, 3 Pelts of Large Bear, 2 Pelts of Muskrat, 2 Pelts
of Grizzled Fox, 1 Pelt of Common Marten, 1 Pelt of Badger, 1 Pelt
of Skunk, Captain McKenzie has received a total of 1301 Gold
Coins
"Slippery" Pepe: For 50 Pelts of Muskrat,
30 Pelts of Wolverine, 30 Pelts of Prime Marten, 25 Pelts of Common
Otter, 20 Pelts of Beaver, 18 Pelts of Rabbit, 17 Pelts of Cross
Fox, 17 Pelts of Skunk, 10 Pelts of Prime Otter, 9 Pelts of Red
Fox, 9 Pelts of Common Marten, 7 Pelts of Common Fisher, 7 Pelts of
Raccoon, 6 Pelts of Large Fisher, 5 Pelts of Middling Bear, 4 Pelts
of Badger, 3 Pelts of Large Bear, 3 Pelts of Mink, 2 Pelts of
Coyote, “Slippery” Pepe has received a total of 1413 Gold Coins
"Three-Fingers": For 41 Pelts of Wolf, 30
Pelts of Large Bear, 20 Pelts of Prime Marten, 23 Pelts of Cross
Fox, 19 Pelts of Raccoon, 19 Pelts of Moose, 15 Pelts of Rabbit, 9
Pelts of Deer, 8 Pelts of Badger, 5 Pelts of Common Fisher, 4 Pelts
of Middling Bear, 3 Pelts of Red Fox, 3 Pelts of Skunk, 3 Pelts of
Large Fisher, 2 Pelts of Mink, 2 Pelts of Common Otter, 3 Pelts of
Lynx, 1 Pelt of Wolverine, 1 Pelt of Prime Otter, 1 Pelt of
Grizzled Fox, 1 Pelt of Common Marten, “Three-Fingers” has received
a total of 821 Gold Coins
"The Yankee": For 31 Pelts of Beaver, 29
Pelts of Large Fisher, 22 Pelts of Prime Marten, 20 Pelts of Large
Bear, 18 Pelts of Common Fisher, 17 Pelts of Mink, 15 Pelts of
Muskrat, 13 Pelts of Badger, 12 Pelts of Grizzled Fox, 11 Pelts of
Lynx, 9 Pelts of Wolf, 7 Pelts of Moose, 7 Pelts of Cross Fox, 7
Pelts of Rabbit, 6 Pelts of Middling Bear, 6 Pelts of Red Fox, 5
Pelts of Prime Otter, 5 Pelts of Raccoon, 5 Pelts of Wolverine, 3
Pelts of Skunk, 2 Pelts of Coyote, “The Yankee” has received a
total of 1101 Gold Coins
Roi Borealis: For 53 Pelts of Cross Fox,
43 Pelts of Raccoon, 37 Pelts of Common Otter, 31 Pelts of
Castorum, 23 Pelts of Badger, 19 Pelts of Red Fox, 13 Pelts of
squirrel, 11 Pelts of Wolf, 3 Pelts of Grizzled Fox, 2 Pelts of
Coyote, Roi Borealis has received a total of 977 Gold Coins
"Silent" Robertt: For 57 Pelts of Beaver,
36 Pelts of Common Otter, 22 Pelts of Large Bear, 18 Pelts of
Common Marten, 17 Pelts of squirrel, 15 Pelts of Middling Bear, 15
Pelts of Prime Marten, 12 Pelts of Coyote, 12 Pelts of Prime Otter,
7 Pelts of Castorum, 6 Pelts of Mink, 6 Pelts of Deer, 5 Pelts of
Rabbit, 4 Pelts of Badger, 3 Pelts of Common Fisher, 2 Pelts of
Cross Fox, 2 Pelts of Red Fox, 2 Pelts of Wolf, 2 Pelts of
Wolverine, 1 Pelt of Skunk, 1 Pelt of Muskrat, 1 Pelt of Moose,
“Silent” Robertt has receive a total of 1355 Gold Coins
Cache contains an 1892 quarter for the FTF.