A Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri

"The result of several decades of collaboration, A Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri merits cover-to cover reading. . . . Original manuscripts in French (and Spanish) are considered inaccessible by many students of the fur trade and of colonial St. Louis. For that reason, one important and potentially long-lasting benefit of this bilingual volume is that it can ease and even encourage further French-language study of various aspects of the fur trade, which is by no means yet fully explored."Sharon K. Person, Missouri Historical Review "This book is a chef d'uvre in ethnography, a work of love that spans nearly three generations of scholars. For anyone wanting to read a firsthand, in depth, intelligent account by a French fur trader whose two year long journal and his later conceived description of the upper Missouri about the Indians who lived there and their inter-tribal relations, this book is not to be missed."Michael McCafferty, Le Journal "One of the most complete, well-edited, and best ethnographic and geographical late eighteenth-century fur trading accounts to ever be published. . . . A must-read for First Nation people, historians, ethnologists, linguists, historical reenactors, and professional and laypersons alike and will continue to be the aller for historical reference work for the Upper Missouri River fur trade era for generations to come."Kenneth Carstens, Michigan Historical Review "This volume is remarkable in its scope and scholarship. It will be of great interest to scholars and students of the fur trade in the disciplines of history, geography, anthropology, historical linguistics, and Native American studies."Rob Bozell, Nebraska History "This is the first comprehensive critical edition of documents related to Truteau's two-year sojourn among Indian nations of the Upper Missouri a decade before Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery arrived at the Mandan villages. Superbly translated, edited, indexed, and annotated, the book eclipses previous efforts. Side-by-side French and English transcriptions offer easy access to Truteau's narrative, and an opportunity for readers to develop a feel for the early eighteenth-century French that fur traders spoke in the pays d'en haut, the "upriver country. . . . This superb book reflects the talents of top-flight scholars who gave Truteau's significant narrative the attention it merits. An impressive example of "best practices" in fur trade scholarship, it makes compelling reading and is highly recommended."Barton H. Barbour, Great Plains Quarterly "This excellent new volume of Truteau's writings is required reading for anyone with either a serious or passing interest in the history of the indigenous inhabitants of the Upper Missouri River or the fur trade that so dramatically changed their lives."Greg Olson, Journal of the Iowa Archeological Society "While it is fascinating enough to consider Truteau's journal as a primary source on the late-eighteenth-century fur trade, his journal not only provides a detailed description of the Upper Missouri but also an intriguing firsthand look into the culture, customs, traditions, beliefs, and ritualistic ceremonies of the region's Native Americans. . . . This book is a reference resource that will satisfy the needs of historians and linguists alike."Eileen M. Angelini, French Review "A Fur Trader on the Upper Missouri is a historically rich translated edition of crucial texts that explore and reflect on the cultures and environment along the Missouri River from Saint Louis to North Dakota. . . . Truteau's manuscripts are substantial, and the editor Douglas Parks's introductory essay is equally useful."Aaron Luedke, Pacific Northwest Quarterly "Raymond J. DeMallie, Douglas R. Parks and Robert Vzina have just published a remarkable con

Jean-Baptiste Truteau (17481827) was an explorer, trapper, fur trader, surveyor, and Canadian French teacher. Raymond J. DeMallie is Chancellors Professor of Anthropology, co-director of the American Indian Studies Research Institute, and curator of North American Ethnology at the Mathers Museum of World Cultures at Indiana University. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Lakota Belief and Ritual (Nebraska, 1991). Douglas R. Parks is a professor of anthropology and co-director of the American Indian Studies Research Institute at Indiana University. He is the author or editor of numerous books, including Traditional Narratives of the Arikara Indians, volumes 14 (Nebraska, 199092). Robert Vzina is a linguist specializing in North American French historical lexicology. He is currently the president and chief executive officer of the Office qubcois de la langue franaise (Quebec Office of the French Language). Mildred Mott Wedel (191295) was a pioneer in ethnohistory and recipient of multiple awards, including a Distinguished Service Award for lifetime achievement from the Plains Anthropological Society.

List of Illustrations Explanation of Editorial Method Acknowledgments Introduction Douglas R. Parks Extract from the Journals of the Voyage of Jean-Baptiste Truteau on the Upper Missouri From St. Louis to the Arikara Villages, June 7, 1794May 14, 1795 At the Arikara Villages, May 24July 20, 1795 From the Arikara Villages to St. Louis, July 22, 1795June 4, 1796 Abridged Description of the Upper Missouri First Notebook Second Notebook Third Notebook Instructions Given to Truteau by the Company of the Upper Missouri Account of the Indian Trade Jacques Clamorgan Appendix 1: The Language of Truteau Robert Vzina Appendix 2: A Glossary of Voyageur French Robert Vzina Notes Bibliography Index