John Tanner (narrator) - Life As Guide

Life As Guide

In 1817, Lord Selkirk employed John Tanner as a guide and they set out to recapture Fort Douglas from the American fur trading North West Company. After their success, Lord Selkirk took an interest in Tanner. Using Tanner's vague memories of his childhood, Selkirk reunited him with his mother and sisters living in Kentucky and on the Mississippi. Tanner spent the years 1818-1822 in pursuit of his family, during which he re-acquired a good knowledge of English.

Tanner returned to the Canadian territories, where he worked for a time as a trader for the American Fur Company on Rainy Lake. Later, he returned to the Red River settlement and reunited with his wife and children. They were heading for Mackinac when he was shot and seriously injured. His wife and daughters left him while he was carried to Rainy Lake by two men. After a lengthy recovery, he went to Mackinac, where he worked as an interpreter.

In Mackinac, with assistance from Dr. Edwin James, Tanner wrote his Narrative, an account of 30 years with Indians. This document provided the first detailed descriptions of the Saulteaux and Cree peoples. It was one of a series of captivity narratives by people who had been held by Native Americans. Tanner traveled to New York City to promote publication of his Narrative.

On his return to the west, he worked as an interpreter in Sault Ste. Marie, a major fur trading post. He lived there until 1846, when he disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

A grandson of his, also named John Tanner, homesteaded on the Little Saskatchewan River where he ran a ferry. The settlement became known as "Tanner's Crossing". It is the present-day site of Minnedosa, Manitoba.