The Author
Nathaniel C. Hale graduated from the United States Military Academyat West Point in 1925. After serving in the Army, he resigned hiscommission to enter business, but joined the Army again on the outbreakof World War II. He was Commandant of an Officers Training School priorto overseas duty with the Signal Corps. Since the war, Colonel Hale hasbecome well known as an author and historian. In 1952 he received theannual award of the Society of Colonial Wars in New York for his book,VIRGINIA VENTURER, which was cited as the outstanding contribution ofthe year in the field of American colonial history. Colonel Hale andhis wife, both of Southern birth, make their home in the RittenhouseSquare section of Philadelphia and spend part of their summers at theircottage in Cape May, New Jersey.
PELTS and PALISADES
By the Same Author
VIRGINIA VENTURER
A Biography of William Claiborne
1600-1677
THE FUR TRADE FURNISHED THE MEANS OF CONTACT BETWEENWIDELY DIVERGENT CULTURES.
PELTS and PALISADES
THE STORY OF FUR
and the
Rivalry for Pelts in Early America
By
Nathaniel C. Hale
RICHMOND, VA.
THE DIETZ PRESS, INCORPORATED
Copyright by
NATHANIEL C. HALE
© 1959
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
[Pg vii]
To My Grandchildren
Preface
The story of fur is as old as the story of man. Some brief account ofancient man’s quest for fur is included in the beginning of this book.However, the main narrative is concerned with the rivalry for pelts inearly America.
The discoverers of our country came here looking for gold. They foundit in fur. After that the fur trade formed the pattern of exploration,trade and settlement. It sustained the colonies along the Atlanticseaboard until they could be rooted in agriculture and it was acontrolling factor in the westward movement of our population.
In the seventeenth century there was a seemingly insatiable demand inEurope for beaver pelts, inflated in no small degree by early lawsprohibiting the use of cheaper furs in hat making.