Hitch-hiking in the Canadian north: Clair W. Dawson's 1916 journal and correspondence

Abstract

This thesis prepares a transcription of the 1916 letters and journal of Clair W. Dawson, an American fur merchant in the Canadian north from 1912 until 1922. Over the course of his journey, he traveled over 22,000 kilometres and purchased $25,000 worth of fur while interacting with notable historical figures of the period and many indigenous peoples of the area. Not only is the journey interesting, his ability to tell the story conforms to contemporary ideas of North. Established ideas of North are compared to Dawson's narrative, where we find striking similarities, including a picaresque hero, and an ability to sustain an oral narrative. This thesis claims that the similarities stem from the same source: the landscape. The landscape's influence asserts itself into Dawson's writing through his use of oral storytelling. He unconsciously asserts the authority and presence of an animate landscape.