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The Old Way North: Following the Oberholtzer-Magee Expedition
In the spring of 1912, Ojibwe guide Billy Magee received a letter from future conservationist Ernest Oberholtzer asking Magee to accompany him on a journey. Soon after, the two headed into the Canadian Barren Lands of upper Manitoba for a five-month canoe trip that would lead them to unmapped territory and test both their endurance and their friendship.
Tracing the route of the Oberholtzer-Magee expedition, The Old Way North transports readers through the history of this perilous wilderness and introduces them to the mapmakers, fur traders and trappers, missionaries, and native peoples who relied on this corridor for trade and travel. Through journals, historical records, personal interviews with Cree, Dene, and Inuit, and the account of a present-day canoeist, wilderness and conservation writer David Pelly reconstructs the many tales hidden in this land.
David Pelly has been traveling, living, and learning in the Arctic since the late 1970s. He is the author of several articles and books on wilderness expeditions and conservation.
Tracing the route of the Oberholtzer-Magee expedition, The Old Way North transports readers through the history of this perilous wilderness and introduces them to the mapmakers, fur traders and trappers, missionaries, and native peoples who relied on this corridor for trade and travel. Through journals, historical records, personal interviews with Cree, Dene, and Inuit, and the account of a present-day canoeist, wilderness and conservation writer David Pelly reconstructs the many tales hidden in this land.
David Pelly has been traveling, living, and learning in the Arctic since the late 1970s. He is the author of several articles and books on wilderness expeditions and conservation.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published June 15, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
May 18, 2024
I’m pretty biased because I love the landscape and the rivers, Overholzer and Magee traveled through. I’m very glad this book exists, because there aren’t many other accounts of travel through the land of little sticks.
September 6, 2012
Canadian history deep cut. Just so we get some facts on the table, this is the house imprint of the Minnesota Historical Society. Canoeing figures heavily.
This is an odd book, and the first half or so was mildly disappointing. Who is Ernest Oberholtzer?* As in, do we know any relevant biographical details of this guy, and if so, why aren't they in this book? Pretty much the entirety of his backstory through college graduation is covered in 91 words (I counted), and 31% of those covered his fascination with logs floating down the Mississippi.
By the end Old Way North, though, it was clear that this was no accident - Oberholtzer remains a cipher because the character profiled here is neither the man, nor the trip, but rather the travel corridor that connects Lake Winnipeg to Churchill/Hudson's Bay itself. And while this whole history-of-a-thing concept isn't exactly pathbreaking, I would actually say that Pelly is up to something pretty interesting here.
We're not beat over the head with inflated pronouncements of the importance of Oberholtzer to Canadian exploration, or paeans to the spirit of the north woods, etc. etc. -- the brief, matter-of-fact snapshots we get of the title expedition become the dog that didn't bark.
The story here is not what Oberholtzer's expedition was but what it wasn't>. He travels without Dene a guide. He encounters important Dene tribal leaders but doesn't speak the language and doesn't stick around. He makes it to the edge of Inuit territory, but doesn't manage to meaningfully connect with anyone. He traverses the totality of a fur trading/trapping network in its waning days, but never documents his experiences. Pelly's book becomes an exploration of the trip that didn't happen, but could have. Oberholtzer's journey is the narrative thread, but couldn't be less important to the story being told.
But like I said, deep cut. A reader whose formative years didn't prominently feature MN living history museums** would probably need a deep briefing about the Hudson's Bay Company, pemican, the concept of a portage, and birch bark canoes to make heads or tails of this one. But the LOC cataloging data (Manitoba -- Description and Travel. Canoes and canoeing -- Manitoba -- History -- 20th Century) does not disappoint. Pelly does a nice job drawing out the contours of the fur trading and trapping world of the central Canadian corridor, and makes some surprisingly adventurous decisions in the telling.
*Don't fret, you won't be dealing with a 350+ page address on liberty at the reveal. There is no reveal.
**Relative distances are described with Minneapolis as the point of reference! Guys, no one else in the world does this. Minneapolis to San Diego is not a particularly evocative yardstick for most people.
This is an odd book, and the first half or so was mildly disappointing. Who is Ernest Oberholtzer?* As in, do we know any relevant biographical details of this guy, and if so, why aren't they in this book? Pretty much the entirety of his backstory through college graduation is covered in 91 words (I counted), and 31% of those covered his fascination with logs floating down the Mississippi.
By the end Old Way North, though, it was clear that this was no accident - Oberholtzer remains a cipher because the character profiled here is neither the man, nor the trip, but rather the travel corridor that connects Lake Winnipeg to Churchill/Hudson's Bay itself. And while this whole history-of-a-thing concept isn't exactly pathbreaking, I would actually say that Pelly is up to something pretty interesting here.
We're not beat over the head with inflated pronouncements of the importance of Oberholtzer to Canadian exploration, or paeans to the spirit of the north woods, etc. etc. -- the brief, matter-of-fact snapshots we get of the title expedition become the dog that didn't bark.
The story here is not what Oberholtzer's expedition was but what it wasn't>. He travels without Dene a guide. He encounters important Dene tribal leaders but doesn't speak the language and doesn't stick around. He makes it to the edge of Inuit territory, but doesn't manage to meaningfully connect with anyone. He traverses the totality of a fur trading/trapping network in its waning days, but never documents his experiences. Pelly's book becomes an exploration of the trip that didn't happen, but could have. Oberholtzer's journey is the narrative thread, but couldn't be less important to the story being told.
But like I said, deep cut. A reader whose formative years didn't prominently feature MN living history museums** would probably need a deep briefing about the Hudson's Bay Company, pemican, the concept of a portage, and birch bark canoes to make heads or tails of this one. But the LOC cataloging data (Manitoba -- Description and Travel. Canoes and canoeing -- Manitoba -- History -- 20th Century) does not disappoint. Pelly does a nice job drawing out the contours of the fur trading and trapping world of the central Canadian corridor, and makes some surprisingly adventurous decisions in the telling.
*Don't fret, you won't be dealing with a 350+ page address on liberty at the reveal. There is no reveal.
**Relative distances are described with Minneapolis as the point of reference! Guys, no one else in the world does this. Minneapolis to San Diego is not a particularly evocative yardstick for most people.
September 14, 2013
A good companion piece with Bound for the Barrens, (the edited journal of Ernest Oberholtzer and Billy Magee’s historic 2,000 mile canoe trip into the Barren lands of Canada), this book supplements the journal by introducing us to some of the historic figures who inhabited this land before and after Oberholtzer’s 1912 adventure.
As the title of this book implies, the route taken by Oberholtzer and Magee was well known and well traveled by the indigenous people (Caribou-Eater Chipewyan and Inuit hunters). It was “the old way north” taken by caribou hunting natives and trappers as they sought migrating herds of caribou and highly prized white foxes. Add this to the list of books belonging on the shelves of the dedicated canoeist.
As the title of this book implies, the route taken by Oberholtzer and Magee was well known and well traveled by the indigenous people (Caribou-Eater Chipewyan and Inuit hunters). It was “the old way north” taken by caribou hunting natives and trappers as they sought migrating herds of caribou and highly prized white foxes. Add this to the list of books belonging on the shelves of the dedicated canoeist.
December 6, 2008
Pelly is a well-known writer in the Canadian north. He used the Oberholtzer-Magee expedition as guide for an exploration of the changes in the northern fur trade after the turn of the 20th century. Pelly combines journal notes from Oberholtzer with history drawn from contemporary accounts and modern interviews with Dene elders. Will be of interest to northern history buffs, and canoeing enthusiasts...
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews