With simplicity and charm, Grace Lee Nute tells the story of the Minnesota-Ontario border country west of the Boundary Waters--the region of the west-flowing Rainy River and the two lakes that it joins, Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods. In this companion volume to The Voyageur's Highway Nute draws on her broad and thorough knowledge of historical sources to describe the earliest people who passed through the region, the mound builders who followed, and the Indians who lived on or near the river. She brings to life the fascinating succession of traders, prospectors, lumbermen, settlers, and,...

Five Fur Traders of the Northwest captures the day-to-day life of the fur trader during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Long out of print and difficult to obtain, this useful book contains the authentic journals of five fur traders.

Peter Pond, a founding partner of the NorthWest Company, makes detailed observations of the region's native peoples. John Macdonell describes with care his first trip over the fur trade route through the Great Lakes and the Minnesota-Ontario border lakes to the region of Lake Winnipeg. Archibald N. McLeod's journal tells of wintering...