by Nikki Rajala | Mar 24, 2020 | Voyageur
Here I thought my character Andre was too young to travel with a brigade of experienced canoemen (though he was taller than the usual 5’6” for voyageurs). But Margi Preus has envisioned a super-tiny one — a squirrel who longs to see what all the excitement is...
by Nikki Rajala | May 5, 2019 | Voyageur
When I needed info on pensions for infirm canoemen, where could I find it? Luckily, a book by Carolyn Podruchny had just enough online to answer my question — and more. Her “Making the Voyageur World: Travelers and Traders in the North American Fur Trade” had much to...
by Nikki Rajala | Apr 21, 2019 | Featured
Imagine the array of specialty goods from 1800 — lace handkerchiefs, fragrant tea, violin strings, glass beads, printed calico, nutmegs, lacquered boxes, powdered vermilion, shiny knives and kettles — and feast your senses. Their uniqueness, their usefulness draws...
by Nikki Rajala | Feb 17, 2019 | Voyageur
The John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon just ended. The Iditarod is coming soon. And I’m hooked. Those pictures of dogsleds careening around sharp snowy turns get me itching to try it. But jaw-dropping scared as well. How in the world do they handle those dogs?...
by Nikki Rajala | Feb 4, 2019 | Voyageur
What’s a “voyageur”? Is it like a “voyager”? Voyageurs needed! Hardy men to paddle birch bark canoes from sunrise to sunset and haul heavy packs of trade goods or fur pelts over miserable portages. Even so, French-Canadian voyageurs were known for their...
