ARCHIBALD NORMAN McLEOD - DOCUMENT SIGNED 10/20/1820 - HFSID 350575

ARCHIBALD McLEOD and OTHERS.
McLeod signs a document detailing the expenses and commitments required of a guide on an upcoming fur trapping trip.
Partly Printed DS: "A.N. McLeod", 1p, 6½ x 11¾. Montreal, Canada, 1820 October 20. In French, translated. In full: "BEFORE THE NOTARIES of the Province of Lower-Canada in Montreal, residing there, undersigned: was present Joseph Alexis Jeussaume de Rigaute Who has voluntarily committed himself and commits himself by these presents to Messrs. William McGillivray, Simon McGillivray, Archibald Norman McLeod, Thomas Thain, and Henry Mackenzie, of Montreal, Merchants and associates, under the name of McTAVISH, McGILLIVRAYS & Co. & PIERRE DE ROCHEBLAVE, A N McLeod Esquire here present and accepting, upon their first requisition, to depart from Montreal in the capacity of Bowman in one of their canoes, to make the voyage, and to winter during three years in the dependencies of the North-West in the Upper-Canada, (will not be free of the present commitment until his return to Montreal, at the end of his winter stay) to pass through Michilimakinac, if it is required, to give six days of forced labor, to make two voyages from Fort William to Mountain Portage, or instead of the latter to give six days of time to other works at the option of the said Gentlemen, to help carry the three-man canoes overland, and to take good and due care on the way, and upon returning to the said places of the merchandises, supplied, furs, tools, and all the things necessary for the voyage; to serve, to obey, and to execute faithfully, all that the said Bourgeois Gentlemen or all others representing their persons, to whom they may transfer the present commitment, will command him lawfully and honestly; to work for their profit, to avoid damage to them, to notify them if it comes to his knowledge; and generally all that a good committed debtor ought and is obliged to do without being able to make any private trade, absenting himself nor leaving the said service, under penalties provided by the laws and ordinances of this Province, and of losing his wages. This commitment thus made, for and on condition of the sum of Nine -pounds or shillings, ancient currency of this Province, which they promise and obligate themselves to deliver and to pay to the said committed debtor one month after his return to Montreal; and to have for equipment one covering of three points, one covering of two and one-half points, six ells of cotton, one pair of shoes of cowhide and a necklace, for the first year and the Wages and conditions of the post where he will winter for the others recognizes having received on account in advance Fifty piastres will receive twenty next spring obligates himself to contribute one per cent of his wages for the Funds of the Voyagers. Because as such, &c. promising, &c. obliging, &c. renouncing, &c. Made and passed at Montreal, in the study of the Notary undersigned in the year eighteen hundred twenty the Twenty of October and have signed, with the exception of the said committed debtor who, having declared that he does not know how, of this enquired, has made his usual mark after the reading ended." Also signed by Joseph Alexis.

Archibald Norman McLeod was a Montreal merchant and fur trader who started as a clerk with the powerful Scottish trading conglomerate, North West Company, in 1791. By 1799, he was an associate with the firm, and he became associated with McTavish, McGillivrays & Co. in 1808. Three years earlier, McLeod had supervised the building of Fort Dunvegan (1805-1806) for the North West Company on the Peace River and his name was given to another of the company's outposts, Fort McLeod, on McLeod Lake in British Columbia. In 1821, the year after this document was signed, North West Company, which had been formed in 1779, merged with Hudson's Bay Company under the HBC banner, creating a fur monopoly covering over one-quarter of the North American continent. McLeod, who had fought against the merger, left the fur business and returned to Scotland. Today, North West Company, the oldest retailer on the North American continent, operates 181 retail outlets across Canada and 24 stores in Alaska. Slightly soiled. Fine condition. Framed to an overall size of 44 x 24½.