Voyageurs

passed limiting who could participate in the fur trade The early European fur trade with Indigenous peoples was not limited to beaver pelts. Beavers were not particularly valued and people preferred "fancy fur" or "fur that is used with or on the pelt". The fur trade was viewed as secondary to fishing during this era. The earliest North American fur trading did not include long-distance transportation of the furs after they were obtained by trade with the First Nations; it started with trading near settlements or along the coast or waterways accessible by ship. As the trading process moved deeper into the wilderness, transportation of the furs (and the products to be traded for furs) became a larger part of the fur trading business process. The authorities began a process of issuing permits (). Those travellers associated with the canoe transportation part of the licensed endeavour became known as voyageurs, a term which literally means "traveller" in French. The fur trade was thus controlled by a small number of Montreal merchants. New France began a policy of expansion in an attempt to dominate the trade. French influence extended west, north, and south. Forts and trading posts were built with the help of explorers and traders. Treaties were negotiated with native groups, and fur trading became very profitable and organized. The system became complex, and the voyageurs, many of whom had been independent traders, slowly became hired laborers. By the late 17th century, a trade route through and beyond the Great Lakes had been opened. For the most part, voyageurs were the crews hired to man the canoes that carried trade goods and supplies to trading locations where they were exchanged for furs, and "rendezvous posts," such as Grand Portage at the western end of Lake Superior. Three major influences molded the lives of voyageurs. First, their background of French-Canadian heritage as farmers featured prominently in their jobs as voyageurs. Working as a voyageur was seen as a temporary means of earning additional income to support their families and expand their farms. Most voyageurs were born in New France. However, fur trading was not an everyday experience for most of the colonial population. Roughly two thirds of the population did not have any involvement in the fur trade. The second influence came from indigenous communities. Voyageurs learned from indigenous people how to survive in the regions they travelled and adopted many traditional methods and technologies. Voyageurs also brought Western materials and techniques that were valued by the communities they encountered. The final influence was the social structure of the voyageurs life. Since this group was limited to men , it was highly masculine. These men engaged in activities such as gambling, drinking, fighting; interests which were reserved for men of this trade. Another name sometimes given to voyageurs is , indicating a hired wage-earner. There were several types of voyageurs, depending on the job that they carried out. Because of their diet, which consisted largely of salt pork, voyageurs who travelled only between Montreal and Grand Portage were known as (pork eaters) a derogatory term. These men were seasonal workers employed mostly during the summer months to transport goods which could weigh as much as four tonnes by canoe. Up to ten men could be required to safely navigate with so much on board. They would travel to the western end of Lake Superior to drop off their goods. Those who overwintered were called (northern men) or (winterers). Those who were neither primarily traveled the interior (beyond Grand Portage) without wintering in it. They would pick up the goods from Lake Superior and transport them inland over large distances. Value to the fur trade industry historic site The voyageurs worked for trading companies such as the North West Company (NWC) and the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). They retrieved furs from all over North America but were especially important in the rugged Athabasca region. Athabasca was one of the most profitable fur-trade regions in the colonies because pelts from further north were thicker and of superior quality to those trapped further south. Originally the HBC was content to stay close to its trading posts along the shores of Hudson Bay and have indigenous trading partners bring the pelts to them. However, once the NWC began sending voyageurs into Athabasca it became easier for indigenous trappers to simply trade with them than to make the long trek to Hudson Bay. As a result, Colin Robertson sent a message to the HBC London Committee in 1810 suggesting that they begin hiring French Canadian voyageurs of their own: I would warmly recommend to your notice the Canadians; these people I believe, are the best voyageurs in the world; they are spirited, enterprising, & extremely fond of the Country; they are easily commanded; never will you have any difficulty in setting a place with them Men; however dismal the prospect is for subsistence, they follow their Master wherever he goes. By 1815, the HBC took his advice and began hiring substantial numbers of French-Canadian voyageurs for trading expeditions into Athabasca. Colin Robertson led the first of these HBC expeditions and claimed to have difficulty hiring voyageurs in Montreal because of NWC efforts to thwart him. The NWC realized how important the voyageurs were to their success and were unwilling to give them up easily. This competition for experienced labour between the HBC and the NWC created the largest demand for voyageurs in Montreal since before the merger of the XY Company and the NWC. James H. Baker was once told by an unnamed retired voyageur:I could carry, paddle, walk and sing with any man I ever saw. I have been twenty-four years a canoe man, and forty-one years in service; no portage was ever too long for me, fifty songs could I sing. I have saved the lives of ten voyageurs, have had twelve wives and six running dogs. I spent all of my money in pleasure. Were I young again, I would spend my life the same way over. There is no life so happy as a voyageur's life! Also, the volume of the North American fur trade declined, although it continues to this day. Fur animals became less plentiful, and demand for furs dropped. With the completion of the railway and the closure of Fort William as a rendezvous point, both occurring in 1892, that year is considered by some to mark the end of the voyageur era. The demand for the voyageurs, however, slowed down the British response, and ultimately the relief of Khartoum came two days too late. ==Travels==

The voyageur's routes were longer distance fur trade water routes that ships and large boats could not reach or could not travel. The canoes travelled along well-established routes. These routes were explored and used by Europeans early in the history of the settlement of the continent. Most led to Montreal. Later many led to Hudson Bay. Hudson Bay and Montreal routes joined in the interior, particularly at Lake Winnipeg. The 1821 merger of the NWC and HBC resulted in a shift towards using the route with direct access to the ocean, the Hudson's Bay route, away from the Great Lakes route. Routes Both shores of Lake Superior had been explored by the 1660s. By the late 17th century Europeans had wintered on Rainy Lake west of Lake Superior, and by the 1730s regular routes led west from Lake Superior. Montreal was a main origination point for voyageur routes into the interior. From Montreal the route divided in two routes. The main trade route from Montreal went up the Ottawa River, then through rivers and smaller lakes to Lake Huron. The other followed the Saint Lawrence River and Lake Erie to Lake Huron. Grand Portage on the northwest shore of Lake Superior was the jumping-off point into the interior of the continent. It was reached with a very long portage, (nine miles) hence its name. By 1803, the NWC had moved its rendezvous point from Grand Portage slightly farther east to Fort William. In the late 18th century, Fort William supplanted Grand Portage. The trunk from Grand Portage followed what is now the U.S./Canada border, and in fact the border was largely defined by that route. The route from Fort William was slightly farther north. The two routes led to and joined at Lac La Croix. Each was a rendezvous point of sorts for the routes that reached into the interior. The other main route started at York Factory where the Hayes River empties into Hudson Bay. It led to Norway House on Lake Winnipeg. Later, the downstream portion of this route was traversed by York boats rather than canoes. A significant route led from Lake Winnipeg west to Cumberland House on Cumberland Lake, a hub with routes leading in four different directions. Most routes ended at the limits of what could be travelled in a round trip from a major transfer point (such as Grand Portage) in one season. Canoes Voyageur canoes typically were made from the bark of large paper birch trees, stretched over a frame of white cedar. The Maître canoe, or (master's canoe), was used on the Great Lakes and the Ottawa River. It was about long and wide, weighed about and carried three tons of cargo or 65 standard packs called . Their crew was 6–12; 8–10 was average. On a portage they were usually carried inverted by four men, two in front and two in the rear, using shoulder pads. When running rapids they were steered by the standing in front and the standing in the rear. The northern canoe or was used west of Lake Superior. It was about long and wide with about of draft when fully loaded, and weighed about . Its cargo was half or less of that of a Maître canoe, about 25–30 , and its crew was 4–8, with 5–6 being average. It was carried upright by two men. The (hybrid canoe) was between the Maître canoe and north canoe in size. The canoes used by Native Americans were generally smaller than the freight canoes used by the voyageurs, but could penetrate smaller streams. The express canoe was not a physical type, but a canoe used to rapidly carry messages and passengers. They had extra crew and carried no freight. ==Culture and daily life==

Voyageurs often rose as early as 2 am or 3 am. Provided that there were no rapids (requiring daylight for navigation) early in the day, they set off very early. They would stop for a few minutes each hour to smoke a pipe. Distance was often measured by "pipes", the interval between these stops. Between eight and ten in the evening, travel stopped and camp was made. Few could swim. Many drowned in rapids or in storms while crossing lakes. Portages and routes were often indicated by lob trees, or trees that had their branches cut off just below the top of the tree. Canoe travel included paddling on the water with all personnel and cargo, carrying the canoes and contents over land (this is called portaging). In shallow water where limited water depth prevented paddling with the cargo in the canoe but allowed canoes to be floated, methods that combined these were used, such as pulling by hand, poling, or lining with ropes. Circumstances where only an empty canoe could be floated were called a . Those where the cargo could be floated in the canoe if split into two trips were called a . One fur trader, Edward Ermatinger, had the forethought to record some of these songs. This is how eleven voyageur's songs came to be known today. Ermatinger travelled for the HBC from 1818 to 1828 as a clerk and learned these songs firsthand. These came to light only in 1943 when the Ermatinger family archives gave them to the Public Archives of Canada so that they may be copied. Lore The , also known as "The Bewitched Canoe" or "The Flying Canoe," is a popular French-Canadian tale of voyageurs who made a deal with the devil in order to visit their sweethearts during the night, who are located a long distance away. It is a variant of the Wild Hunt. Its most famous version was written by Honoré Beaugrand, and was published in The Century Magazine in August 1892. Rendezvous For voyageur-based fur trade, that main route was divided into two (occasionally three) segments, each traversed by a different set of voyageurs. Once or twice a year a larger gathering took place to transfer furs and trade goods among these groups of voyageurs. The largest gatherings occurred at transfer points on the shore of Lake Superior at Grand Portage or Fort William. A rendezvous was also a time for rest and revelry. Marriage Since most voyageurs began their careers in their early 20s, the majority of them were not married while they were working. Those who did marry continued to work while leaving their family behind in Montreal. Few voyageurs are recorded as having married later in their lives in New France. There are a variety of explanations possible for this (including the higher than normal death rates for voyageurs and the opportunity to marry native and Métis women at the rendezvous through local custom weddings). However, it is likely that many voyageurs left for Mississippi or settled in the Canadian West. ==Francophone communities across Canada==

As French-Canadian voyageurs engaged and brought the fur-trade West, they established multiple settlements in the North-West Territories, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, British Columbia, and Yukon. These French/Francophone settlements and communities still exist and thrive today. The Métis Nation (Indigenous/Michif), Franco-Manitobans, Fransaskois, Franco-Albertans, Franco-Columbians, Franco-Ténois and Franco-Yukonais all have origins heavily linked to voyageurs. Franco-Manitobans celebrate their history and heritage with the Festival du Voyageur, and Franco-Albertans celebrate with the Festival du Canoe Volant. Additionally, French and Francophone communities across Canada wear the as part of their traditional clothing and cultures. The or "arrowed sash" was an important part of the voyageur uniform. ==See also==