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The Beaver Club was a gentleman's dining club founded in 1785 by the mostly English speaking fur-trading 'barons' of Montreal. According to the club's rules, the object of their meeting was "to bring together, at stated periods during the winter season, a set of men highly respectable in society, who had passed their best days in a savage country and had encountered the difficulties and dangers incident to a pursuit of the fur trade of Canada".〔The Beaver Club Jewels, by Larry Gingras, 1972〕 Only fragmentary records remain of their meetings, but from these it is clear that the Beaver Club was "an animated expression of the ''esprit de corps'' of the North West Company".〔"The Honorable Company, A History of the Hudson's Bay Company" By Douglas Mackay, Bobbs-Merrill Co., N.Y., 1936〕 The men of the Beaver Club were the predecessors of Montreal's Square Milers. ==Origins== In 18th century North America, the fur 'barons' of Montreal might only have been compared to the tobacco 'lords' of Virginia for their wealth and grand style of living.〔"Montreal 1535-1914" By William Henry Atherton, S.J.Clarke Publishing Co., Montreal, 1914〕 The members of the Beaver Club were ''bon viveurs'', renowned for the Scottish Highland hospitality they offered to their guests and for the jovial, rollicking behaviour that carried on at their meetings.〔"Lords of the North" by Agnes Christina Laut. Published by W. Briggs, Toronto c.1900〕 In his entertaining book ''The Shoe and Canoe'', the English geologist, John Bigsby, relates the character of these Montreal fur traders in their early days: ''A number of young men, chiefly of good Scotch families, able, daring, and somewhat reckless perhaps (a typical example being John MacDonald of Garth), formed themselves into a company (the North West Company) in order to traffic in the forbidden land (owned by the Hudson's Bay Company) despite of the character.'' ''A first-rate Indian trader is no ordinary man. He is a soldier-merchant, and unites the gallantry of the one with the shrewdness of the other. Montreal was then the best place for seeing this class of persons.. They spend fast, play all the freaks, pranks, and street-fooleries, and originate all the current whimsicalities: but this is their brief holiday: when they turn their faces westward, up stream, their manners change.'' ''The Indian Trader is a bold, square-chested, gaunt man, sun-burnt, with extraordinary long hair as a defence against mosquitoes. He is equally at home on horseback or in the canoe - indefatigable when needful, careless of heat and cold, and brave as steel, as though he bore a charmed life, in countries where the Queen's writ scarcely runs, where the law only of personal authority takes effect. Often he has not only to contend with the Indians, and to right himself on the spot with other traders, but he has to fight his own men hand to hand. Kindness, vigour, and sagacity, usually render but one such affair necessary.''〔(The Shoe and Canoe (1850) by John Jeremiah Bigsby )〕 In 1786, controlled by Simon McTavish and the Frobishers, there were 23 chief partners of the North West Company and their business was conducted by an army of about 2,000 men, not including the native Indians.〔(Masters of the Wilderness (1914), by Charles Bert Reed )〕 That year they exported furs to the value of £203,378: 116,623 beaver skins and 473,534 other pelts.〔Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society for the year 1786 - Province of Quebec〕 As profits continued to soar, the chief partners of the North West Company retired from their expeditions into the wilderness to conduct their business with London and Paris from Montreal. Conducting themselves in suitable style, two or three of the chief partners would venture forth from Montreal to the annual meeting with the 'wintering (junior) partners' on the ground at Grand Portage (in what is now Minnesota) and Fort William (in what is now Ontario). At Lachine, the Montreal partners boarded their immense canoes manned by voyageurs and hunters in Buckskins with bright silk bands around their heads and neck. The voyageurs were the most experienced canoe-men and wilderness travelers in the world, and the partners took a high pride in the skill of their hardy henchmen, giving each on their arrival a ''régale'', which meant a gallon of rum. The partners took their seats conspicuously dressed in ruffles and gold braid, with brass-handled pistols and daggers at their belts. In 1894, Brian Hughes recalled his grandfather (James Hughes, admitted a member of the club in 1813) recounting his memories of these partners journeying into the wilds: ''They traversed the rivers in great state, like sovereigns making a progress. They were wrapped in rich furs, their huge canoes freighted with every convenience and luxury and manned by Canadian voyageurs as loyal and as obedient as their own ancestral clansmen. They carried with them cooks and bakers, together with delicacies of every kind, and an abundance of choice wine for the banquets.''〔(Masters of the Wilderness (1914), by Charles Bert Reed )〕 The men of the Beaver Club had a great reputation for hospitality and generosity, which led to many of them frittering away their fortunes. One such example was The Hon. Nicholas Montour, who retired as a partner of the North West Company in 1792 with a fortune of £20,000. He purchased a seigneury, that ought to have furthered his fortune, but not before too long his style of living coupled with a free and generous disposition to his guests left him with nothing other than his manor house. In 1808, John Lambert recalled in reference to Montour: ''This too often happens with the gentlemen of the North-west company who retire from the concern. They emerge suddenly into civilized life after a banishment of many years in dreary forests and among a race of savages; and are apt to be dazzled by the glare of refinement and luxury, whose temptations are too powerful to be resisted. Hence they are frequently led into error and extravagance, which ultimately despoil them of their hard-earned property.''〔Travels through Canada and the United States of North America - John Lambert, 1806-08〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Beaver Club」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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