Lob trees were
prominent trees
Prominence in topography is a measure of the independence of a summit.
Prominence or Prominent may also refer to:
*Celebrity, fame and public attention accorded by the mass media to individuals or groups
*Prominence (phonetics), stress given to ...
used as guides or landmarks along
voyageur canoe routes. Branches were lopped (or lobbed) off the trees just below the top to make them more conspicuous. They were located at important places along canoe routes to indicate a
portage
Portage or portaging (Canada: ; ) is the practice of carrying water craft or cargo over land, either around an obstacle in a river, or between two bodies of water. A path where items are regularly carried between bodies of water is also called a ...
, trail, or direction to a fur
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
. Often the tree was named in recognition of a famous explorer, a
bourgeois
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. Th ...
(trading company official), or a voyageur who had performed bravely. Research has shown that this was adopted from earlier
First Nations
First Nations or first peoples may refer to:
* Indigenous peoples, for ethnic groups who are the earliest known inhabitants of an area.
Indigenous groups
*First Nations is commonly used to describe some Indigenous groups including:
** First Nat ...
tribes who practised this form of marking.
Most of the
indigenous lob trees were red pine, white pine and periodically white spruce. Though most of them have died, there are still a few that can be found in the
Quetico Provincial Park
Quetico Provincial Park is a large wilderness park in Northwestern Ontario, Canada, known for its excellent canoe camping, canoeing and fishing. The park shares its southern border with Minnesota's Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, which ...
. Voyageurs National Park also still has some as of 8/2019
See also
*
North American fur trade
The North American fur trade is the commercial trade in furs in North America. Various Indigenous peoples of the Americas traded furs with other tribes during the pre-Columbian era. Europeans started their participation in the North American fu ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lob Trees
Fur trade