Beaver Club

   Founded in Montreal in 1775 by the partners of the North West Company. It opened with nineteen members, and at one time the registry showed ninety-three members, with eleven honorary members. Among them were such famous fur traders and explorers as Alexander Mackenzie and his cousin Roderick, the three Frobishers, Alexander Henry and his nephew of the same name, Simon McTavish, James Finlay, Simon Fraser, John Stuart, and David Thompson. The motto of the club was "Fortitude in Difficulties." No one was admitted who had not made a journey to the North-West and wintered there. The club entertained many distinguished guests, including Sir John Franklin, Lord Selkirk, Washington Irving, and the Earl of Dalhousie. The club was disbanded in 1824 after the union of the North West and Hudson's Bay Companies. An effort to revive it in 1827 proved unsuccessful.

   Index: MS Founded by the partners of the North West Company, 139; lavish hospitality and boisterous banquets, 139. Bk Famous social club at Montreal, 99.

   Bib.: Hetherington, Canada's First Social Club, in Univ. Mag., April, 1910.