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Quiz about Fur Trade Words and Phrases
Quiz about Fur Trade Words and Phrases

Fur Trade Words and Phrases Trivia Quiz


The fur traders were the first Europeans on the Western Canadian Prairies, and they had a language all their own. This quiz is about words and phrases that were in common use among fur traders.

A multiple-choice quiz by Cymruambyth. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
Cymruambyth
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
220,506
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Difficult
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
1187
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: Guest 207 (5/10), Guest 187 (5/10), Guest 207 (5/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Every fur-trader knew what a tranche was. What was it? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. What did the fur-traders mean when they referred to 'orignals'? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. When the fur traders said that they had spent the day marching, they meant that they had travelled in this manner. Which? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Fur traders used the word 'crazy' to describe what? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. What was 'lace', to a fur trader? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. If a fur trader said he was 'knocked up', what did he mean? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. In the fur trader's vocabulary, what or who was his 'country wife'? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Every fur trader knew what a factor was. Do you? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. The fur traders called these 'kettles'. Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. What was 'milk' to a fur trader? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 26 2024 : Guest 207: 5/10
Mar 23 2024 : Guest 187: 5/10
Feb 05 2024 : Guest 207: 5/10
Feb 01 2024 : Guest 120: 4/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Every fur-trader knew what a tranche was. What was it?

Answer: An ice chisel

Every well-equipped fur trader carried a tranche in his kit. A tranche came in handy when they had to chip the ice off the canoe or the paddles during spring thaw or early winter freeze-up. Life wasn't easy for these folks!
2. What did the fur-traders mean when they referred to 'orignals'?

Answer: Moose

No one seems to know where the word orignal sprang from. It could be a misspelling/mispronunciation of original, and came to mean a moose because the first person to call it that had never seen one before. (Moose aren't exactly thick on the ground in the Orkneys, where many of the Hudson's Bay men came from, although the French Voyageurs from Quebec would have recognized them).
3. When the fur traders said that they had spent the day marching, they meant that they had travelled in this manner. Which?

Answer: All of these

When one reads the journals and reports of the fur traders, one is always amazed at the great distances they travelled, often over difficult terrain or along raging rivers. If they were travelling by canoe they had to carry the canoe - and its load - between navigable waters (they called this portaging, from the French 'porter' meaning 'to carry'). And they travelled in all sorts of weather conditions - lashing rain, mosquito-laden heat, freezing cold. An indomitable bunch, those fur traders!
4. Fur traders used the word 'crazy' to describe what?

Answer: Something that was cracked or patched

You've heard of crazy quilts, made up of bits and pieces of cloth? The fur traders' term usually applied to canoes or boats that had been repaired over and over again. It could also be a reference to patched footwear or clothing.
5. What was 'lace', to a fur trader?

Answer: Gold or silver braid decoration on military uniforms

The fur traders were not highly enamoured of the military officers they encountered. They thought them a bit sissy in their red coats and white pantaloons, and that gold or silver trimming on their hats and cuffs was a bit over the top as far as the traders were concerned.
6. If a fur trader said he was 'knocked up', what did he mean?

Answer: He was exhausted

After putting in a hard day hauling 100 lb bales over rough ground, or paddling for hours on end, or portaging a canoe from one water's edge to another, I would think that most of the fur traders would refer to themselves as knocked up.
7. In the fur trader's vocabulary, what or who was his 'country wife'?

Answer: The native woman to whom he was married

Most of the fur traders formed alliances with native women. The custom was called 'mariage au facon du pays', and they were what we call common law marriages because there were no clergy to perform church weddings until the Roman Catholic and Anglican missionaries arrived in the west in 1818 and 1820 respectively. Such alliances, as well as providing the fur traders with stable relationships, also made good economic sense - the trader had access to his wife's clan and the furs that the natives traded for goods. Anyone who can trace his or her family tree back to the late 18th/early 19th centuries in Western Canada is descended from a country wife and her fur trader husband. Once the missionaries arrived they were kept very busy marrying these couples, and baptizing their numerous offspring. (The clergy insisted that either the traders married their country wives in the church, or put them aside and make provision for their offspring. To their credit, the vast majority hied themselves off to church and went through the marriage ceremony.)
8. Every fur trader knew what a factor was. Do you?

Answer: The manager of a fur trading post

The factors in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company were important people in the fur trade. They ran the trading posts, provided trade goods, paid the traders, and established good relations with native people who did the actual fur trapping. The Hudson's Bay Company factors kept meticulous records, which are housed in the Manitoba Provincial Archives. They are fascinating to read.
9. The fur traders called these 'kettles'.

Answer: Cooking pots

A kettle was usually a round pot made of cast iron, with a handle by which it would hang over the cooking fire. On their nightly stopovers, the fur traders would make stews (rabbit, grouse, fish - whatever was available) for the major meal of the day. Most of the time, they subsisted on pemmican, a native staple made of dried buffalo meat, mixed with wild berries (usually saskatoons or blueberries) and suet, and packed into hide pouches.
10. What was 'milk' to a fur trader?

Answer: Rum

The fur traders were hard drinkers (they needed something to make the rigours of their lives easier to bear) and rum was the drink of choice.
Source: Author Cymruambyth

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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