My First Years in the Fur Trade By George Nelson. Captivated by the tales of adventure in the wild northwest told by the voyageurs, fifeteen-year-old Nelson left his family in southern Canada in 1802 and headed out to the Northwest Territory to begin a five year contract working for Sir Alexander Mackenzie's XY Company, one of the major fur trade companies of the time. His growth from homesick lad to expirenced fur trader over the next two years forms the heart of this unique and fascinating journal.