by Nikki Rajala | Feb 3, 2021 | Voyageur
Singing. Sea shanties, sung by sailors on long journeys, have had great press lately — so you can see the tradition of work songs lives on! But wait — there’s more. The technique worked with voyageurs as well. Voyageurs, those jaunty hearty French-Canadian...
by Nikki Rajala | Jan 19, 2021 | Voyageur
Did you like reading the story of the Flying Canoe? Here’s the backstory: In print, the tale of the Flying Canoe, La Chasse Galerie dates back to 1891 but it was an old tale then and told across Canada.Some sources date it to Europe, and other versions have...
by Nikki Rajala | Jan 12, 2021 | Voyageur
What’s better on a cold night than to get cozy and hear an old story? This is a popular French-Canadian tale — the tale of the Flying Canoe (also known as La Chasse Galerie, The Bewitched Canoe and The Wild Hunt.) It’s New Year’s Eve at a far-flung trading...
by Nikki Rajala | Oct 21, 2020 | Voyageur
As it’s coming on wintry weather, did you ever wonder — What were the voyageurs doing 200 years ago in this season? But of course you did. By October they’d returned to their posts with loads of new goods from the rendezvous, ready to start trading. What...
by Nikki Rajala | Sep 26, 2020 | Voyageur
Are you dying to know what the Ottawa River looked like 200+ years ago? I am. So this 1831 map from Montreal showing the route French-Canadian voyageurs followed on their way to the rendezvous is a real godsend. WOW! It helps me clarify what Andre needs to do at each...
by Nikki Rajala | Sep 3, 2020 | Voyageur
Are you drawn to the night sky? I’ve read that stars and humans contain most of the elements, that we’ve received those elements through supernovas, so we are truly “star people.” Star Bill and Star Nikki enjoyed this summer’s spectacular NEOWISE...
