Robert Silbernagel

“The Cadottes” promises “A Fur Trade Family On Lake Superior” but delivers much more. Author Robert Silbernagel begins with the Cadotte Family Tree to identify the dramatis personae followed by a timeline from the first arrival of the Ojibwe at the western end of Lake Superior and Madeline Island in 1395 to the opening of the Sault Locks in 1855. He then sets the scene with chapters on the geography, Lake Superior and Madeline Island, the demand for beaver hats that fueled its settlement and the snowshoes that facilitated movement in winter. He introduces the characters with narratives of the Cadottes and Ojibwe with whom they would be intertwined in commerce and marriage and the arrival of the French. The supporting props are supplied by people and items essential to the fur trade. Commerce would not have been possible without the French Forts on Madeline Island, the coureurs de bois and voyageurs who gathered the furs, canoes and that carried the trading goods west and the furs back to Montreal, or the Northwest and Hudson Bay Companies that managed the business. Life required the Indian women of the Superior region, the sugar bush that was tapped each spring, the wild rice which the Indians harvested for sustenance and endured the mosquitoes that brought the itch to summer.

The Cadotte family was at the heart of the fur trade during its hey day and remains in the area to the present. Over generations they immersed themselves in the evolving milieu merging French and Indians into Metis, competing French Catholics with American Protestants and successive treaties through which the Americans satiated their lust for land and resources at the Ojibwe’s expense.

This book is the result of multi-faceted research. Silverman visited the sites, tested the snowshoes, rode in the canoes, studied the accounts and poured over records. The text is supplemented by aged drawings and modern photos.

“The Cadotes” can be appreciated from many perspectives. From research I presume that I qualify as a Creole by heritage, if not by culture. I looked into this work for insights into the experiences of my ancestors and relatives and think that I found it. The interplay of French and Ojibwe presents a Wisconsin version of the Middle Ground (see my review of “The Middle Ground” by Richard White) in which the settlers adopted native ways and the Indians were dependent on European goods. The saga of government-Indian interaction is not all Trail of Tears and Wounded Knee. It was lived in the Upper Midwest also. Then there are the interesting facts, such that Lake Superior got its name, not because it is the largest, but because it was farthest upstream and that Duluth got its name from French agent Sieur du Lhut.

Pick your own historical interest: Indian, French and American settlers, mixing and clashes of cultures, treaties and resource exploitation. You will find it all in “The Cadottes”.

I did receive a free copy of this book without an obligation to post a review.… (más)

The early history of the Great Lakes depicts the interactions between Europeans hoping to exploit the natural wealth of the New World and the indigenous population. The first to establish permanent trading posts were the French Canadians. They took native wives in "the Indian way" to cement relationships and enhance trade. Later, the British replaced the French. When the Europeans returned to the East they broke off with the native wives.

But some traders' families remained intact and flourished. Silbernagel offers us the Cadottes whose family presence on Madeline Island in western Lake Superior were important figures for two hundred years.

The Cadottes: A Fur Trade Family on Lake Superior is an interesting family history that also illuminates the history and geography of the region, the Ojibwe culture, the life of the colorful voyageurs and early fur traders, and the rise of the lucrative fur trade that produced the first multimillionaire in America.

When Silbernagel viewed the gravestone of Michel Cadotte on Madeline Island he became motivated to learn more about his life and the history of the area. He spent fifteen years researching five generations of Cadottes fur traders and interpreters for business and political ventures.

I was particularly interested in learning more about the interactions between Europeans and the Ojibwe. My husband recently donated an heirloom bible to a museum; the book had been given to his second-great-grandmother by John Riley whose father was a New York State-born trader and his mother an Ojibwe chief's daughter. I was very interested to learn that the Cadotte children were sent East for their education since one oral tradition said Riley was educated in New York State.

I enjoyed learning more about wild rice and maple syrup. I was horrified to learn about the Sandy Lake Tragedy, the forced migration of Great Lakes natives that resulted in more deaths than the Sand Creek Massacre or Wounded Knee.

The Cadottes is more than a family history. It will appeal to a wide range of readers. Through the history of one family, readers gain a well-rounded and detailed understanding of the times, people, and culture of the Colonial Great Lakes.

The book's illustrations include maps; historical depictions of voyageurs, Ojibwe, and the settlements; photographs of places, events and personages; and even snowshoe styles and beaver hat styles by era.

I was given access to a free ebook by the publisher through Edelweiss in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.… (más)