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NEW BOOK RELEASE! TALES OF THE CANADIAN FUR TRADE

Book cover. An adaptation of a 1879 painting by Francis Anne Hopkins, entitled “Shooting the Rapids”.
This is the original painting that the cover art is based on. Francis Anne Hopkins, 1879.

NEW BOOK RELEASE

Finally! It only took about six years. I am happy to announce my new self-published book, available as an ebook and in print-on-demand. It should hit the market on May 31st, 2026. Below is a brief synopsis of the book’s contents.

BOOK SYNOPSIS

This book is a compilation of ten stories of historical fiction about the 18th and 19th-century fur trade era in western Canada. As a historical archaeologist who has excavated at Fort Edmonton, Vermilion, and Dunvegan (among others), I have walked in places that Peter Pond, David Thompson, Alexander Mackenzie, and Peter Fidler once frequented. I often found myself imagining the interesting lives they led. These men frequently had a more personal or lesser-known side to them. In the first two stories, Mr. Pond’s Finest Set of China, and Mr. Pond’s Most Magnificent Map, I explore how the American, Peter Pond, known for his unpredictable, violent temper, and his considerable skills in cartography, finally manages to control his moods (or does he?) when dealing with his Canadian adversaries in today’s northern Saskatchewan and Alberta. In We’ll Build Us a ‘Yole’ the Hudson’s Bay Company trader and mapmaker, Peter Fidler, tackles the daunting transportation logistics of the fur trade, becoming one of the first men to build the York Boat at Buckingham House on the North Saskatchewan River during the 1790s. Considered a calm, quiet, intelligent man, in my story, I ask and explore the question: What if Peter had a more calculating, aggressive side lurking within him?

I also write about the histories of the First Nations and Métis men and women who did not write down their stories and histories, and who, through their efforts, contributed considerably. In Better Days Ahead, Elizabeth, the Metis wife of Clerk Colin Campbell at Fort Vermilion, uses her Native knowledge to save the fort inhabitants from certain starvation. In Pick Your Poison: Louis’ Peculiar Tobacco Pipe, I explore the life of a French-Canadian voyageur, Louis, at Fort Vermilion, whose peculiar tobacco pipe is the envy of his comrades – until it isn’t. Beware Those Bearing Gifts describes the initial move by the major fur trade Companies up the Peace River into today’s northern Alberta in the 1780s. It tries to capture the turmoil, the violence and tension existing between the local Dunne-za and the first white traders entering the region. In the mid-19th century story, entitled, My Boy Twist, I chronicle the coming of the first missionaries to the central Peace River Region in northern Alberta, and the ensuing clash between traditional Native spiritualism and Christianity. The central character, named Twist, a young Metis interpreter, negotiates a path riddled with conflict between both worlds.

I have, for many years, through my writing and lectures, championed the idea that Canadian history contains objects (artifacts, food, buildings, etc.) that enable us to write about history. In my stories, there is one object, be it a tobacco pipe, cattail, or York Boat, which drives the narrative and plot. In The ‘Little Emperor’s’ Toothbrush, I conjecture that the Governor of the Hudson’s Bay Company, George Simpson, who, while visiting Fort Vermilion in 1822, carried with him a rare bone toothbrush like the one found at Fort Vermilion. In The Trader’s Private Stock, trader Angus Shaw, while at his North West Company post, Fort George (1792-1800) overlooking the North Saskatchewan River, runs short on alcohol. He becomes overly suspicious that some of his men might be pilfering it and makes plans to stop the thieving. In The Sampleman’s Gambit, a young German businessman (known as a sampleman) attempts to entice the women of Fort Edmonton to buy his glass beads during the late 1840s. While all three stories contain a bit of ‘tongue in cheek’, they bring out the excessive abuse of power by an elite fur trade officer class; excessive use of alcohol by the Companies to boost trade; and excessive and ruthless competition for furs using whatever means to encourage Indigenous populations to trade.

I hope you enjoy my stories and support my work.

POTENTIAL BOOK COVER ART

A book’s cover is important for book sales. It represents the first glimpse into what the book may contain. I have chosen the above cover for my book, but for quite some time, I wanted to use the cover art below. Remember, these covers come out as thumbnail images on ebooks. So, simplicity and clarity are imperative.

What do you think? Which one would you choose? This one or the one above?

This cover art is an adaptation from Carl W. Bertsch’s wood engraving of Canadian voyageurs in Grace Lee Nute’s book, The Voyageur.

WHY I CHOSE TO SELF-PUBLISH

Not to put it too bluntly, but I’m tired of the gatekeepers. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve published peer-reviewed articles in journals. Recently, the University of Alberta published one of our books, Cartographic Poetry… I’ve had my historical fiction books accepted by other publishers. But I have always stepped back from the latter publishers. They all do a remarkable and professional job. But they also control the show. Every part of it. And by the time you’re done, you will be lucky if you break even.

Let’s take this book, for example. I’ve listed it as an ebook at $6.46 US, which comes to about $8.93 CAN. A pretty reasonable price for a 392-page book. With Draft2Digital Self-publishing, I make a adequate royalty off the sales because I essentially did all the work. As soon as I send it out for print-on-demand, this same work as a book jumps to $18.00 US. And I receive less than $1.00 per sold copy. If I sold 40,000 copies, I wouldn’t be complaining. But that will never happen.

In short. The people who do all the creative work and writing – the authors – often benefit the least from getting their work out there. Somehow that just doesn’t seem right. Yes, publishers and printers must get paid. I get that. But so must we, the people who create all the stories. Fortunately, I don’t do this for the money. But I now understand why many artists (artists, musicians, writers) live on the edge of poverty.

The other issue I have is giving publishers sole power to reject or accept manuscripts. Let the reader decide. If my work stinks, I’ll soon know.

The publishing business kinda reminds me of the farming model of economics!

ABOUT THE BOOK’S ARTWORK

All the original artwork for the print-on-demand book has been changed to greyscale. To print the images in colour would make the printed book even costlier. For those of you who might buy a printed copy of my book, below are the original versions of the book’s artwork. For those of you thinking of purchasing my book, here is a glimpse of what’s inside, chapter by chapter.

Chapter 1. Mr. Pond’s Finest Set of China

American explorer and fur trader, Peter Fidler, drew this crude map of Lake Athabasca, Alberta, Canada in 1785. This segment of his map shows a long, narrow lake at the bottom of this image, which is Ile-a-la-Crosse. The orange writing is mine.

Part of the Churchill River canoe route, through Ile-a-la-Crosse, up the Churchill River into Churchill Lake and Peter Pond Lake, northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The yellow line marks the routes Pond and Paul Black took, searching for a way into the Athabasca drainage.

Chapter 2. Mr. Pond’s Most Magnificent Map

Peter Pond’s map of parts of North America, including the Saskatchewan, Athabasca and Peace River basins, 1785. Remarks by Saint-Jean de Crèvecoeur on Peter Pond’s map were incredibly positive: “Copy of a Map presented to the Congress by Peter Pond, a native of Milford in the State of Connecticut. This extraordinary man has resided 17 years in those countries & from his own Discoveries as well as from the reports of Indians, he assures himself of having at last Discovered a passage to the N.O. Sea; his gone again to ascertain some important observations. New York 1st March 1785.

The original Map being incumbered with great deal of writing, I have thought it best to transcribe it separately with the references marked, by the numbers. – Copied by St. John de Crevecoeur for his Grace of La Rochefoucault.” (National Archives of Canada/ MG 21, Add.Mss. 15332, Vol. 9, p. 5)

Chapter 3. Beware of the Gifts You Give, the Gifts You Receive

Often referred to as a Hand Dag in the fur trade, this metal trade knife was hafted to a bone or wooden handle and occasionally also used as a spear point by First Nations Peoples during the 18th and 19th centuries in western Canada.

Chapter 4. ‘Pick Your Poison’: Louis’ Unusual Tobacco Pipe

Eighteenth century French-Canadian Habitant smoking his clay tobacco pipe readapted (from the original by Carl W. Bertsch, first printed in Grace Lee Nute’s, The Voyageurs).
This the original artwork that the above image is based on.
This story is based on a tobacco pipe base, missing the bowl, found during our archaeological investigations at the North West Company/Hudson’s Bay Company Fort Vermilion I site (c.1798-1830) by our crew from the University of Lethbridge in 2016. The style resembles the stone platform tobacco pipes used by the Iroquois along the St. Lawrence River in Canada. The material, method of manufacture, and use of this tobacco pipe are shrouded in mystery. The material could be lead or a lead alloy (zinc?); we have not conducted chemical tests on the metal. The pipe could have been carved/filed from a single piece of metal and holes were drilled for the stem and bowl. Or it was cast from a mould. The pipe looks used based on the blackening near the pipe stem insert. However, consider these facts: 1) Temperatures inside a tobacco pipe range from 380C – 6200C; 2) Lead melts at 327.500C and gives off fumes at 482.200C.; 3) A lead/zinc alloy melts at 419.500C. These facts raise the possibility that the smoker was slowly being poisoned when using this pipe. However, more analysis of this artifact is required before definitive answers can be provided.

Chapter 5. The Little Emperor’s Toothbrush

Dog sled teams were an essential part of transportation in the winter in the Canadian West, especially in the northern boreal forest. This image, readapted from an image by painter, Paul Kane, shows a dog team and musher leaving Fort Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Bone or ivory toothbrush found at NWC/HBC Fort Vermilion I (c.1798-1830). Currently this is the oldest toothbrush found in Alberta.

Chapter 6. Better Days Ahead

Canada’s northern lakes and marshes abound with life. Most of the plants and animals are edible.  Indigenous people relied on beaver and muskrats, multitudes of waterfowl and an assortment of edible, nutritious plants for their sustenance.

Chapter 7. The Trader’s Private Stock

The layout of the North West Company Fort George (c.1792-1800) built on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River near today’s Saskatchewan-Alberta border. This fort plan is based on extensive archaeological excavations undertaken at the site. Historic documents do not describe the fort’s construction or layout in any detail. What could the presence of the passageway found by archaeologists between the Big House and storage cellar mean?

Chapter 8. We’ll Build Us a Yole

The York Boat, eventually replacing the birchbark freight canoe, was specifically designed for the Canadian inland fur trade to haul large loads of supplies inland and furs along Canada’s lakes and rivers. This image was readapted from a woodcutting by W. J. Phillips.
This is the original wood cutting by W. J. Phillips, created in 1930.

Chapter 9. The Sampleman’s Gambit

Glass trade beads came in considerable colours, shapes, and sizes. They were an integral part of the fur trade and either gifted or sold in the thousands. The glass manufacturers in Venice, Italy dominated the glass bead industry. Their monopoly was challenged in the mid-19th century by Bohemian bead makers in today’s Czech Republic. Multi-faceted beads were one of the popular types of beads produced in Bohemia. The image above is readapted from of multi-faceted Bohemian glass trade beads.

Chapter 10. My Boy, Twist

And there you have it. Warts and all. The great thing about having a publisher is that many people look over your work. Self-publishing is a little scary. Fortunately, my wife, Gabriella, has done a lot of editing and proofreading. If you purchase a copy and see any major errors, don’t hesitate to get in touch with me. The beauty of this publishing format is I can make revisions immediately.

Cheers,

Heinz W. Pyszczyk

CanEHdianstories.com