This scene shows the extent to which Indians retained tools and goods predating the fur trade. Examples are the cradle-board, the canoe, leather garments and decorative styles in clothing and tools. At the same time the painting shows a number of items which commonly were obtained in trade. Firearms in the form of flintlock muskets were prized trade items used in hunting and in war. The metal kettle permitted a tremendous improvement in cooking techniques for the native, allowing preparation of a greater variety of foods than had been possible formerly when skin or wooden cooking containers were used. The pipes shown in the illustration are trade items although the production of native pipes continued. The various silver items shown (more common in the late eighteenth than in the seventeenth century) were luxury items similar to beads, brandy and certain items of clothing. The scene was painted by James Heriot (1766--1844), a colonial administrator who lived in Quebec from 1791 until his return to Great Britain in 1816.
Courtesy: Picture Division, Public Archives of Canada (C-12781)
