During the 1600s, French-Canadian Voyageurs began striking inland from Lake Suprior to collect pelts they transported down the Great Lakes to Montreal. Some three hundred years later, the Port of Duluth-Superior remains one of the continents most important ports, handling millions of tons of iron ore pellets, coal, grain, and myriad other commodities during the ten months the Great Lakes are ice-free each year. Pride of the Inland Seas tells the extraordinary tale of Duluth-Superior's development during three centuries of political, economic, technological, and social changes. Along the way, it paints a vivid canvas of the port's history against a backdrop of key industries that helped build a young United States: forest products, iron and steel, grain, and coal. It also captures intriguing stories of entrepreneurs who built, loaded, and sailed the ships that have made the Twin Ports synonymous with Great Lakes maritime commerce. - Dust jacket.