Alexander Henry canoed and snowshoed, fought, hunted, starved, and traded, in the Great Lakes region from 1760-1776. In the aftermath of the French and Indian War, Henry risked death among the Algonquin (who were hostile to the English), lived with Indian tribes as a prisoner and then as a brother, and eventually, became a successful fur trader.
His book "Travels and Adventures
in Canada and the Indian Territories" is a masterpiece of travel writing. Henry's
style is wry and humorous in the midst of the horrors of war and deprivation, and
his eye for detail amazes, as he describes how to make a canoe out of bark, a
soup out of lichen, or an Algonquin out of an Englishman.
"As soon as we reached the lodge the bear's head was adorned with all the trinkets in the possession of the family, such as silver arm bands and wrist bands, and belts of wampum; and then laid upon a scaffold, set up for its reception within the lodge. Near the nose was placed a large quantity of tobacco."
-- Chapter 17, A Bear Hunt