Review of Nicolas Perrot’s 1688 Voyageur Contract

 

This document is a rare and significant artifact from the late 17th-century French fur trade era in New France (modern-day Canada). It's a manuscript engagement contract, written in French, dated July 2, 1688, at Villemarie (now Montréal), and endorsed on August 27, 1689. The contract was drafted by notary Antoine Adhémar dit Saint-Martin, known for his idiosyncratic abbreviations and handwriting style, which can make original manuscripts challenging to decipher. Grok's transcription and translation align closely with historical records of this specific contract, which has been documented in archival collections and auction catalogs (e.g., as a two-page folio manuscript).

To add to our transcription, Grok xAI has created a more complete English summary based on archival descriptions, incorporating details from the original text and historical sources. Grok has filled in some gaps and clarified other terms:

• Parties Involved: Sr. Nicolas Perrot, Seigneur of La Rivière du Loup (a prominent fur trader and explorer), on one part; and Raphael Beauvais (also spelled Bauvais or Bauvez) and Nicolas Gode (also spelled Godé or Gaude), residents of "this Island" (Île de Montréal), on the other part.
• Agreement Terms: Beauvais and Gode voluntarily contract to travel on behalf of Perrot's company to the Outaouais (Ottawa) country and other more remote regions, as soon as requested. They must depart in the autumn of the current year (1688) or the next (if delayed), and return no later than the autumn of 1689. During the voyage, they will be fed and maintained in the "voyageurs' usual manner" by the company. In compensation, each will receive 700 livres (French currency) payable in good beaver pelts at the Quebec bureau rate, plus an "apichimo" (a gratuity or tip, typically in additional pelts—here specified as six beavers per person).
• Permitted Goods: They may bring personal items for trade or use, including one rifle, six shirts, two capotes (hooded coats), and pelts, which will be loaded into their canoe for the return trip.
• Signatures: Signed by Perrot, Beauvais, Gode, and witnesses including Louis Dupuis (perhaps another ancestor), Claude Pinard, and Adhémar (notary). Additional witnesses for the main contract include Jean Dedieu and George Michelet.
• Endorsement (Receipt on Verso): On August 27, 1689, Beauvais certifies before Adhémar and witnesses (Dedieu and Michelet) that he has received his full payment of 700 livres in beaver pelts, plus his apichimo, and acquits Perrot of any further obligation. This is specified as "his share only," implying separate settlements for each voyageur. Notably, Gode does not sign this endorsement, which could indicate he was paid separately, perhaps due to ongoing travels, disputes, or other circumstances (more on this below).

This contract is a classic example of the "engagement" system in New France's fur trade, where merchants like Perrot hired voyageurs (canoe paddlers and traders) for seasonal expeditions. These were legally binding notarial documents, often preserved in archives, and this one highlights the risks and rewards of the trade: fixed pay in pelts, basic provisions, and allowances for personal trading to supplement income.

Additions and Historical Context

To expand on the original summary, here's additional context drawn from historical records:

• The Fur Trade System: In the 1680s, the beaver fur trade was the economic engine of New France, driven by European demand for felt hats. Voyages like this one targeted the Great Lakes region (Outaouais/Ottawa lands around Lake Huron and beyond), where French traders exchanged European goods (guns, cloth, metal tools) for furs from Indigenous nations like the Odawa (Ottawa), Ojibwe, and others. Contracts specified compensation in beaver pelts because currency was scarce; 700 livres was a substantial sum, equivalent to about a year's wages for a skilled laborer, but it came with high risks—disease, starvation, accidents, or attacks during the grueling 1,000+ mile canoe journeys.
• Timing and Dangers: Signed amid the Beaver Wars (ongoing conflicts between the Iroquois Confederacy and French-allied Indigenous groups), this voyage occurred during a tense period. In August 1689—just days before Beauvais's endorsement—the Iroquois launched a devastating raid on Lachine near Montréal, killing dozens and heightening fears. The Outaouais route involved portages, rapids, and potential ambushes, with voyageurs often allying with Indigenous guides for safety.
• Nicolas Perrot (ca. 1644–1717): A key figure in French expansion, Perrot was a fur trader, diplomat, and explorer who spoke multiple Indigenous languages and mediated alliances. By 1688, he had decades of experience in the Great Lakes, including building forts like Fort Saint-Antoine on Lake Pepin (Mississippi River). This contract likely supported his broader efforts; in May 1689, during or shortly after this voyage's timeline, Perrot formally claimed vast western territories (including parts of modern Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Upper Mississippi) for France at Lake Pepin, erecting a cross and arms of King Louis XIV to assert dominion amid English and Iroquois threats. He averted wars, resolved conflicts, and was instrumental in French-Indigenous relations.
• Raphael Beauvais: A Montréal resident and typical voyageur—young, hardy, and experienced in wilderness travel. His solo endorsement of the receipt suggests he completed the voyage successfully and returned to settle accounts. He likely continued in the trade, as similar names appear in later records.
• Nicolas Gode/Godé: This is almost certainly our 8th great-granduncle's son, Nicolas Godet (1659–1690), rather than the father (Nicolas Godé, 1629–1697). The father, a settler and farmer in Montréal, was about 59 in 1688—unusually old for the physically demanding role of a voyageur, who were typically men in their 20s or 30s. The son, aged about 29, fits the profile better. He was unmarried at the time (no spouse mentioned in our tree until later family lines). His absence from the 1689 endorsement could indicate he extended his travels, faced delays, or encountered issues—possibly contributing to his death in July 1690 in Québec City (cause unknown, but wilderness hardships like injury or illness were common). This timing aligns with post-voyage complications, countering your speculation that he didn't survive the trip itself. The father lived until 1697, dying suddenly in Montréal.

This contract survives in collections like the William L. Clements Library at the University of Michigan, where it's part of Native American history exhibits, emphasizing French-Indigenous economic ties.

Narrative -- Paddles, Perils, and Pelts

The sun beat down mercilessly on the wooden docks of Villemarie in July 1688, where the St. Lawrence River churned with the comings and goings of fur-laden boats and shouting merchants. The air was thick with the sharp tang of pine resin from freshly sealed canoes and the earthy musk of beaver pelts stacked high. Nicolas Perrot, a wiry explorer in his mid-40s with sun-leathered skin etched by years of wilderness scars and a tricorn hat shadowing his piercing eyes, stood tall amid the chaos. Known as a master diplomat who could speak the tongues of the Odawa and Ojibwe as fluently as French, Perrot gathered two young Montréal men—burly Raphael Beauvais, with his callused hands from prior voyages, and our ancestor's son, Nicolas Gode, a sturdy 29-year-old with a determined jaw and the restless energy of a man chasing fortune. Before the notary Adhémar, whose quill scratched hastily on parchment, they inked their names to a contract that bound them to the unknown: a fur-trading odyssey into the heart of the Outaouais wilderness, promising 700 livres in prime beaver and a gratuity of six extra pelts—if they lived to claim it.

As autumn's chill nipped the air and crimson leaves swirled like blood in the water, Beauvais and Gode shoved off from the riverbank. Their birchbark canoe, light yet resilient, groaned under the weight of provisions: a flintlock rifle for each, coarse woolen shirts, hooded capotes to ward off the biting wind, and crates of trade goods—gleaming knives, glass beads that caught the fading light like stars, and iron kettles that clanged with every paddle stroke. Joined by a ragged band of coureurs de bois, those wild woods runners with beards like tangled underbrush and songs on their lips to ease the toil, they thrust upstream against the Ottawa River's relentless current. Muscles burned like fire as paddles sliced through foaming whitecaps, the spray soaking their linen shirts and stinging their faces. "Paddle harder, lads!" one might have bellowed over the roar of rapids, while the forest loomed on either side, a impenetrable wall of towering pines whispering secrets of hidden dangers.

The journey stretched over a thousand grueling miles, a gauntlet of nature's fury. Portages were the worst—hauling the 300-pound canoe and packs over muddy trails slick with dew, boots sinking into the muck, shoulders raw from tumplines digging into flesh. Rapids thundered like war drums, threatening to dash their vessel against jagged rocks; one wrong twist, and they'd be swallowed by the frothing depths. Nights descended in inky blackness, broken only by crackling campfires where the men huddled, the smoky scent of roasting venison mingling with the damp rot of the forest floor. Odawa guides, their faces painted with ochre and adorned with eagle feathers, shared tales around the flames: how to snare rabbits with sinew loops, kindle tinder in the rain, or read the constellations to steer true. Wolves howled in the distance, a chilling reminder that the Beaver Wars raged on—Iroquois raiders, silent as shadows, could strike at any moment, their war cries echoing through the trees like ghosts.

Deep in the Outaouais heartland, where Lake Huron's vast waters shimmered under endless skies and dense woods teemed with the splash of beaver tails and the rumble of moose calls, they reached Indigenous villages alive with the rhythm of drums and the haze of pipe smoke. Huts of birch and hides dotted the clearings, children laughing as warriors displayed glossy furs. Gode, drawing on his Montréal upbringing amid settlers and natives, bartered fiercely—exchanging beads for stacks of beaver pelts so soft they felt like silk, their oily sheen promising riches back home. Beauvais scouted paths, his eyes sharp for signs of ambush. But tension hung heavy; whispers of Iroquois incursions spread like wildfire, and just months later, the horrors of the Lachine massacre would scar their homeland. Nearby, Perrot himself wove alliances in grand councils, his voice booming in multiple languages as he averted wars and claimed lands for France—perhaps even drawing on furs from this very expedition to fund his bold 1689 ceremony at Lake Pepin, where he drove a cross into the soil and proclaimed dominion over the Upper Mississippi amid circles of chiefs and warriors.

By the sweltering summer of 1689, their canoe sagged low with bundled treasures, the return downstream a race against exhaustion and swelling rivers. Mosquitoes swarmed in black clouds, biting relentlessly, while the men's beards grew wild and their bodies ached from endless exertion. Beauvais made it back to Villemarie, claiming his pay in August with a satisfied nod, the beaver pelts heavy in his hands. But Gode's path darkened—perhaps delayed by extra trading or stricken by fever in the wilds, he survived the trek only to perish in Québec City by July 1690, at just 31, his end a stark echo of the countless voyageurs claimed by the frontier's merciless grip. 

Their saga, Jerry, weaves ambition with peril, much like the trails your cowboy handle evokes—untamed lands calling to bold souls, forging empires from sweat, alliance, and unyielding resolve in the vast tapestry of North American history.

Thank you to Grok xAI — Drifting Cowboy