"Of all the fur traders who wandered over the Northwest, Alexander Henry the Younger has left us the most complete record of the daily life of those who followed his occupation." - Paul Leland Haworth
For a period of about fifteen years, from 1799 to 1814, Alexander Henry the Younger kept a voluminous diary of his fur trading experiences, the scenes of which ranged from Lake Superior to the Pacific.
In 1921 historian Paul Leland Haworth published "Trailmakers of the Northwest," which included a 30-page chapter on Alexander Henry the Younger. It is this chapter that has been republished here for the the convenience of the interested reader.
Mr. Haworth's work owes its origin to his personal enthusiasm and to his keen interest in the achievements of the men who explored the Canadian Northwest. Hawthorn notes that "for many years I have been an eager reader of the literature of the subject, and repeatedly I have myself made expeditions to the dwindling regions that yet remain unexplored. The present book is the outcome of this reading and of these- first-hand experiences."
The author relies for his material almost entirely upon the journals of the explorer and he quotes very freely from these narratives. An effort has been made, not only to tell the story of the exploration of the Northwest, but also to picture conditions in the great region of ice and snow. Some of the most interesting portions describe methods of travel in the fur country, Indian life, and the "brotherhood of trappers and prospectors", and the author has drawn largely from his own wealth of experience for the descriptive material and anecdote which fill these pages.
This story is absorbingly interesting and leaves one with a vivid impression of the cold and hunger and privation endured by the Alexander Henry in his travels in the Northwest.
About the author:
Paul Leland Haworth (1876–1936) was an American author, educator, explorer and politician, born at West Newton, Indiana. He was a member of the faculties of several schools and colleges, including Columbia and Bryn Mawr. From 1918–1919 he was acting professor of history at Indiana University. Haworth was a member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1920–1921.
Haworth made exploratory trips to the Canadian Rockies and discovered new mountains and lakes in 1916 and 1919.
Haworth was a noted author and wrote such works as:
• The Hayes-Tilden Disputed Presidential Election of 1876 (1906)
• The Path of Glory (1911)
• America in Ferment (1915)
• George Washington, Farmer (1915)
• The United States in Our Own Times, 1865–1920
