A Trapper’s Life
Trapping became a historical means of employment for men when Europeans first began settling the wildlife abundant Canadian landscape. Before the Hudson’s Bay Company and European fur traders, Aboriginal cultures had their own trapping techniques which were soon used and developed by Europeans into well-known trap lines and trade styles. A trapper led a busy and usually isolated life. He had to hunt for his own food in order to survive, while also trapping animals for their meat and pelts to trade. He typically lived in a very small log cabin that he built himself, near a water and lumber source. The main animals trapped in the Peace River area were beaver, muskrat, fox, coyote, and occasionally wolf and wolverine. Larger animals such as bears, deer, moose, elk, and caribou were also hunted. Fashion trends and wildlife supply dictated which animals were trapped and hunted most often.
In the early settlement of this area, many people depended on trapping as a source of income to help them survive life on the homestead. The huge demand for beaver felt hats and fashion merchandise made from Canadian furs made fur trading a fairly profitable venture. In their pursuit of furs, trappers became some of the first European people to discover much of Canada.