by Nikki Rajala | May 30, 2014 | Voyageur
What is a voyageur? (Avalyn, age 13) Think of the word “voyager” — a person taking a voyage or a trip. Voyageurs were canoemen who traveled about 1,200 miles, from near Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to Grand Portage (on the Minnesota side of Lake Superior) — and...
by Nikki Rajala | May 14, 2014 | Voyageur
In April, the fur companies in or near Montreal, Canada, were busy organizing the spring brigades — inspecting new canoes, repacking trade goods, selecting canoemen, signing contracts. In May, as soon as the fur companies received word that the ice was gone from the...
by Nikki Rajala | Mar 10, 2014 | Voyageur
This blog — A Voyageur’s Life — will feature snippets relating to Waters Like the Sky, a book about a boy, André, who canoes with an experienced fur brigade from French Canada to the wilds of Lake Superior country in the early 1800s. Waters Like the Sky will be...