line by line transcription, Nelson sometimes made additions or corrections increasing the number of words on a line of text. The length of the transcribed text line was increased to maintain the correspondence between the manuscript and the e-text.

The Nelson manuscript was made available courtesy of the Toronto Public Library. I would like to thank the staff of the Baldwin Room Manuscripts Collection at Toronto Reference Library for their assistance in making the material available for digitization. I would also like to express thanks to my wife, Susan O'Donovan, for the hours spent proofing text and clarifying many fine details of the language.

Larger Map

George Nelson's Postings and Employing Companies

1802/1803    Yellow River, Wisconsin, XY Company (XYC)
1803/1804    Lac du Flambeau, Chippewa River, Wisconsin, XYC
1804/1805    Lake Winnipeg / Red River area (no journal), Manitoba, XYC / North West Company (NWC)
1805/1806    Lac du Bonnet, Manitoba, NWC
1806/1811    Dauphin River, Manitoba, NWC
1811/1812    Tęte au Brochet (Jack Head), Manitoba, NWC
1813/1816    Long Lake, Ontario area, NWC
1818/1819    Tęte au Brochet, Manitoba, NWC
1819/1821    Moose Lake, Manitoba, NWC / Hudson's Bay Company (HBC)
1821/1822    Cumberland House, Saskatchewan, HBC
1822/1823    Lake la Ronge, Saskatchewan, HBC

Nelson's experiences and accounts come from his life and work with Ojibwa / Saulteau cultures around Lake Superior and Lake Winnipeg and contact in his later career with the Cree of Lake Winnipeg, the Saskatchewan Delta, Cumberland House and Lake la Ronge. He makes reference to the Beaver Indians (Dane-zaa) who, until the nineteenth century, lived as far east as the Slave and Clearwater Rivers bringing them and other Athabaskan cultures into contact with fur trading at Ile ŕ la Crosse, the administrative centre for Nelson's post at Lake la Ronge.

His journal of 1802/1803 was instrumental in leading to the rediscovery of the Folle Avoine posts of the XY Company and North West Company in 1969 by Harris and Frances Palmer with assistance of local residents. Subsequent archaeological work was undertaken and the forts were reconstructed and have been operated as the Forts Folle Avoine Historical Park by the Burnett County Historical Society since 1989. The Society provides tours, displays and programs on the fur trade and aboriginal culture of the area.

Nelson recalled accounts of Ojibwa practices in the Lake Superior area in his 1823 La Ronge journal.

public@vhost@g@gutenberg@html@files@42479@42479-h@images@MapLaRonge-600.gif" alt="Map of Lake La Ronge"