He had been a leading explorer and trader in the Lake Superior district and knew the fur traders' route as few others did.

His well-nigh thirty years of service made him a man of outstanding influence in the Company.
Moreover, he could be bland and jovial.

He had the Celtic adroitness.

He knew how to ingratiate himself with every class and possessed all the devices of an envoy.

His appearance and dress at Red River were notable.
Having had some rank as a U.E.Loyalist leader in the war of 1812, he came to the Forks dressed in a scarlet military coat with all the accoutrements of a Captain in the Army.