Montreal canoemen were hired to paddle to Grand Portage, where each man carried several ninety-pound bundles of trade goods and supplies up the Grand Portage to Fort Charlotte for repacking into canoe brigades bound for one hundred twenty interior posts. Northmen were hired to trade for furs and each summer brought them back to Grand Portage, where they received their wages and signed new contracts. Rather than paying Northmen in cash, the North West Company preferred to give them credits to buy things at the company store. While the Montrealers might remain at Grand Portage for several weeks, the Northmen stayed only a few days. The annual rendezvous was the liveliest time of year, filled with gambling, feasting, dancing, drinking, and fighting.