The Voyageurs

Voyageur is a French word meaning “traveler”. During the fur trade era, crews of men, called voyageurs, paddled 35-40 foot birch-bark canoes, filled with manufactured goods, from Montreal to “rendezvous” in the back country. During these rendezvous, the manufactured goods were traded for furs which were brought from deeper in the wilderness. The furs were transported, by canoe, back to Montreal and on to Quebec where they were shipped to France.

The majority of voyageurs were either French, French Canadian or Native American. The strength and endurance of these men is legendary. They could work a 14 hour day, paddling 55 strokes per minute and carry their merchandise and canoes when they crossed (portaged) the dry land that separated the lakes and rivers they traveled.

Few voyagers could swim. Many drowned in rapids or washed overboard in sudden storms while crossing the Great lakes. A bundle of furs weighed about 80 lbs. A bundle of trade goods weighed the same. A typical portage meant the voyageurs must unload, carry the canoe and up to a ton and a half of merchandise and furs packed in 80 lb. bundles across rugged, sometimes muddy trails. Every ½ mile or so the voyageurs dropped their bundles and ran back for 2 more.

There were two types of voyageurs: the pork eaters (mangeurs de lard)) and the winterers (hivernants). The men who paddled from Montreal to the rendezvous at Grand Portage lived on a diet of salt pork. . . so were called pork eaters. The "Hivernants" transported trade goods deep into the wilderness, might winter at a log cabin outpost and lived “off the land”. Winterers traded merchandise for prime furs trapped and prepared by Native Americans. In the spring the hivernants transported the furs from their forest outposts to a rendezvous site.

Daughters of the King

In the early days of New France, the vast majority of immigrants were men. Population growth was very slow in Quebec as most men returned to France after they had fulfilled their employment contract. The French people knew a lot about their wilderness colony as the Jesuits published a "best seller"each year called, "Jesuit Relations" which was based on written reports from their missionary priests. To be sure, some passages in the books were genuine "hair raisers"! Nevertheless, a trickle of Frenchmen migrated to New France because of the lucrative fur trade and the vast lands waiting to be claimed and cleared. The French king, Louis IVX, wanted to increase the flow of his Roman Catholic subjects to New France rather than just dumping convicts and undesirables on the Quebec waterfront. The obvious solution to population growth was to encourage French women to start a new life in Quebec. King Louis came up with a proposition. All young, single, unmarried women who were willing to immigrate to New France would be given a dowry of money, sewing and household items and other goods a new wife needed to start a home . . . and of course a one way ocean passage. These young ladies were soon referred to as the "Daughters of the King". Early on, the streets of Paris and other towns were swept clean of homeless women, female criminals, prostitutes, etc. and all were encouraged to make the trip. Soon, the King realized that it would be better to recruit women who grew-up on farms as they would already be accustomed to the rigors of a pioneer wife. When the ships carrying "Daughters of the King" docked at Quebec each year, a gaggle of bachelor Frenchmen would be waiting. The men would rush aboard to meet the women, hoping to find a "keeper". Choosing was not the exclusive right of the men. The young women could reject a suitor as well. Those who agreed to wed were immediately married by Jesuit priests waiting on the dock. As you might imagine, the most desirable ladies were big and muscular and able to work side-by-side with their husband clearing land, building a log cabin home, tending livestock as well as keeping house and birthing babies. However, these pioneer ladies of New France liked to "doll-up" too. If they could, they'd buy the latest Paris fashions and show off at church to such an extent that the priests were constantly complaining.