Runner of wood

A runner of wood or runner of wood was, like the traveller, directly implied in the Traite furs with the Amerindian S. It operated during the 17th century in colonial North America, but, contrary to the traveller, it did not have a license of draft emitted by the King de France.

History

During the 17th century, the trade of the fur was very liberal for the News-France. The competition was wild and much of colonists ventured out of the territories colonized around Montreal towards the West and North to establish friendly bonds with the Amerindian to make trade.

The runners of wood were not perceived very favorably by the authorities of Montreal and the official royal ones. They did not appreciate the people leaving the development areas of the Agriculture to seek fortune in the trade. The French authorities preferred that the transport of the furs is managed by the Amerindian , rather than by independent tradesmen and not controlled which brought back as well furs as the market was saturated. The traffic of furs sapped also the role of Montreal as point central of the trade of the fur - where the traders exchanged the skins of beaver against goods of trade, such clothing, firearms and pots coppers some for the kitchen. Some of these clandestine traders posed also problems by exchanging alcohol against furs.

Some ordinance S royal and edict S was officialized in order to control the race of wood. Between 1674 and approximately 1690, it was formally interdict to trade in wood under penalty of fine for the first offense and of judgment to the galère S for the one second offense. In 1696, then as from 1729 until the end of the French mode, a system of leave of draft was founded with an aim of reducing the number of runners of wood engaged in the draft, but also to hold an official register of it. However, this vacation of draft was sold by the colonial government and was bought in block by the merchants, tradesmen and members of the leading class having interests in the draft of the Pelleterie S, which redistributed them among their “collaborators” without holding them with the register. This legitimation created the second generation of runners of wood: the traveller S.

Among the runners of wood known, let us quote: Etienne Flaring, Louis Joliet, Medard of the Currant bushes, Pierre-Spirit Radisson, Jean Nicolet, Guillaume Seam-Lacavalier, Jacques de Noyon, Jean Cadieux and Vérendrye.

In the literature

an album of cartoon the blue Tunics of Cauvin and Lambil, volume 26, the Gold of Quebec , gives a humorous vision of the runner of wood, under the features of a asthmatic traquor equipped with a direction of the orientation close to that to hen…

See too

Traveller
History of the trade of the fur in Quebec

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