Traveling and Exploring Where We Live --- 300 Years Ago.

The trade in the furs of wild animals between the native Indian people and the first European colonists was the single most important means of contact between two widely different cultures.

This trade in furs became the economic life blood of the Dutch, English, French and Swedish colonies in North America. Seeking to obtain furs formed the pattern o

Look here to see a fur trade map that outlines the extent of fur trade historically in the region.

f exploration, then trade, then settlement in the Northeast. Many of the cities and towns in the Northeast today owe their origins as fur trading posts.Exploration of the region by Europeans was not conducted by colonists walking afoot or by riding a horse overland. The Northeast was explored by colonists traveling from the Atlantic ocean up along the many river systems. Moving upstream explorers and fur traders established trading posts or forts on or near the rivers.

The purpose of these locations were to trade in furs with the native Indian people in the area. The accompanying map shows a sampling of many of today's cities and towns that were first established as fur trading centers were native people sold and

Have you ever wondered how much a beaver pelt is worth? Look here to find out more about bartering with pelts.

bartered fur pelts (including beaver, river otter, white-tailed deer, black bear and moose) with early colonists. These interactions were important and valued by both colonists and natives. The exploration of the region and interaction of trading of furs with the native tribes that already lived here did not create hostility or wars. However, the settlement patterns and issues that later followed caused problems and armed clashes with the Native peoples. Later still, much of the antagonism between European countries in the new world related to their efforts to monopolize as large a portion of the fur trade as possible with the Indians. This also eventually lead to armed fighting.

While the colonists sought the furs of many wild animals they did not trap them themselves, the actual harvest of the wildlife was conducted by the Indians who were very skilled in capturing wild animals. Many of the animals taken by the Natives were not caught in traps. Digging beaver from there lodges during the winter beaver hunt was a predominant way to catch beaver. These hunts often involved the entire tribe and were closely synchronized to ensure successfully catching beaver. Blocking entrance ways to beaver lodges and then digging into the lodge using stone spears and axes to dispatch the beaver inside was an important method used to capture beaver. Beaver were used by native Indians people for their pelts, meat, glands, bones and for religious ceremonies as well.