 Voyages and Travels of an Indian Interpreter and Trader Written by John Long, 1791 Narrated by Nick Adams In 1768, John Long set out from Graves End in England, bound for Canada, and a position as an article clerk in the fur trade. Quickly developing an affection for the First Nations people he encountered, he determined to learn native languages and thereby make himself useful in the Indian trade, living first among Mohawks at Kawanaga, and later among Ojibwe and Kree people north of Lake Superior. Long's journal provides a thrilling depiction of the life of a fur trader in the late 18th century. It's a dangerous world where starvation, torture, murder, war, disease and misfortune are constant threats. Although clearly writing for a contemporary English readership, with all the attitudes and sensibilities that required, Long's affection for and comfort with the indigenous people with whom he lives and works comes through strongly. Indeed, even when offered comfortable accommodation within the officer's quarters at Michelin Mackenna, he prefers to continue to live outside the fort with his First Nations friends and partners. The stories he tells about life on the fur trade frontier and the hazards and dangers he encounters are described with frankness and humour. While Long's voyages and travels has been republished a number of times, it's still not well known. This is a tragedy, as few other works provide as clear and engaging a picture of life on the fur trade frontier. To Modney, as Long's terminology sounds harsh and racist, he constantly refers to savages and scores, words which, if used in the 21st century, are derogatory and racist. But this is an 18th century work from the colonial past, and uncomfortable or not, this was the kind of language used at the time. I think he should be judged more by the nature of his relationships and actions than his terminology. In the original volume, Long provided an extensive vocabulary of indigenous languages at the rear of the book. I've not attempted to provide it here, although it's readily available through various sources, including for free through the Gutenberg Project. The First Nations words Long uses in the text are written phonetically. I've attempted to reproduce them as faithfully in this work, but you can be the judge of how successful I've been. Some of the place names he uses may sound familiar, others a tongue twist as I struggled with. As for the French words, even though I listened to various pronunciations of key words before trying to duplicate them, sadly, I'm unilingually English and apologize for the many words and phrases I've massacred. While Long's writing is full of fascinating stories which come across as credible, raw and honest, his writing style is a complex amalgam of nested and subordinate clauses. Some of his sentences run on for a full page, complete with digressions and asides. Making sense of what he was actually saying sometimes took multiple readings before I had the sense of his intentions. Some of his terminology is unusual to modern ears. John Long frequently refers to changing his climate, meaning to die or be killed. Other familiar words are used in ways that are unfamiliar to modern ears. I discovered John Long's voyages and travels during the time I was working on archaeological excavations at the French Fort at Cataraqui, the modern-day Kingston, Ontario, a place with which Long was intimately familiar. His descriptions of his life and travels in late 18th century Canada and the United States really caught my attention and provided a first-person window into those exciting and dangerous times. I hope you enjoy it too. Chapter 1 Having engaged myself at an early period of life to go to North America, in the quality of an article clerk, I left Gravesend on the 10th of April 1768 on board the Canada, Captain Smith, bound for Quebec and Montreal. We had a pl- Sample complete. Ready to continue?