by Nikki Rajala | Dec 16, 2017 | Voyageur
What are high wines anyway? Are they different from other wines? Why did voyageurs trade them, especially if they caused so many problems? (Kathy, adult; Mary, adult; Sullivan, 9) High wines is a fancy title for cheap, and probably high-proof, alcohol. High wines were...
by Nikki Rajala | Jun 16, 2017 | Voyageur
Why were the blades of voyageur paddles red? Was it to show them how deep they should paddle? (Darcy) Hmmm. After only a few hours of paddling, canoeists wouldn’t probably need a marker on their paddles — they would instinctively know how deep to paddle. I’ve...
by Nikki Rajala | May 21, 2017 | Voyageur
Can people, like, see voyageurs still? Where would you go to learn how to do the work they did, like canoeing, or outdoor skills? Quinn, 11 Yup, there are lots of ways to see and learn how to be a voyageur. It depends on what you want to do, where you live and...
by Nikki Rajala | Jun 25, 2016 | Voyageur
What was it like to paddle on a canoe brigade? Did voyageurs ever write about it? Did voyageurs keep journals? (Renner, 12; Carsyn, 13; Blake, 11) In 1793, John Macdonell left Lachine to begin serving as a North West Company clerk—and he kept a journal! This post...
by Nikki Rajala | Oct 18, 2015 | Voyageur
Voyageurs sang?? While they paddled? Why was that? What kind of songs did they sing? (Kacee, age 9) Yes, voyageurs, the French-Canadian canoemen of the fur trade, sang while they paddled their birch bark canoes over thousands of miles of rivers and lakes across the...
by Nikki Rajala | May 12, 2015 | Voyageur
How big was the canoe? How many voyageurs paddled it? (Christian, grade 4) There were different sizes of canoes. The first one that André paddled, from Montreal to Grand Portage, was the biggest. It was a Montreal canoe (also called the canot de maître or master’s...
