DCHP-1 Online
Man of the North Fur Trade 
1 Hist. a stock-holding partner in the Montreal-based fur companies, especially the North West Company, who represented the company the year round at the trading posts in the fur country.
See also: Northman (def. 1) North West Company winterer (def. 2a)
- 1868 [The voyageurs or boatmen were the rank and file in the service of the trader, and even the hardy "men of the north" . . . were fain to be paddled from point to point of their migrations.]
- 1952 (1954) ". . . Ye'll forgive my fellows, I hope, but we are 'Men o' th' North' an' somethin' inclined t' boast about it."
2 a man who has lived in and is familiar with the Northland, especially a trader or trapper.
- 1888 (1948) . . . even articles for washing [are] dispensed with by those who are desirous of being styled "men of the north."
- 1940 His eldest son, John, who succeeds to the title [Tweedsmuir], is also a man of the North.
- 1868 [The voyageurs or boatmen were the rank and file in the service of the trader, and even the hardy "men of the north" . . . were fain to be paddled from point to point of their migrations.]