Black Fur Traders - Pierre Bonga With Alexander Henry when he was In charge of the Northwest Companys Red River brigade in August, 1800, was a Negro, Pierre Bonza or Bonga, Henrys servant. Pierre was the son of a Negro named Joas or Jean Bonga and of Marie Jeanne, both slaves of Daniel Robertson, British commandant at Michilimackinac from 1782 to 1787. The two Negroes were married in 1794, thus legitimatizing their children. Pierre married a Chippewa woman, and his wife was delivered of a daughter on March 12, 1801. Henry reposed such confidence in his servant that In the traders absence in January, 1803, Pierre was one of two men left in charge of the fort at the mouth of the Pembina River. A certain J. Duford threatened to kill Bonga during his masters absence, but did not escape without a sound beating. After having acted satisfactorily as personal servant and as joint castellan of a fur-trading fort, Pierre appeared in 1804 as an interpreter for the Northwest Company on the lower Red Rlver. In 1819 a Bonga, probably Pierre, was one of the principal traders among the Chippewa.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 05:20:38 +0000
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