What was the job of a voyageur?
What was the job of a voyageur?
Voyageurs were independent contractors, workers or minor partners in companies involved in the fur trade. They were licensed to transport goods to trading posts and were usually forbidden to do any trading of their own. The fur trade changed over the years, as did the groups of men working in it.
How did fur traders travel?
In the fur trade period, there were few roads in what is now Canada. The highways were the waterways and the vehicle was the canoe, designed and perfected by First Nations peoples. The voyageurs made these long and difficult journeys to deliver the cargoes to the posts and to return with vessels laden with furs.
How much weight did voyageurs carry?
The standard load for a voyageur on a portage was two bundles, or 180 lb. Some carried more; there are reports of some voyageurs carrying five or more bundles and legends of them carrying eight.
What was used for fur trapping?
Each year, millions of wild animals are caught and killed for their fur using wire snares and body gripping, foothold, and leghold traps. Animals commonly trapped in the wild include coyotes, bobcats, lynxes, foxes, beavers, raccoons, muskrats, and martens.
What did voyageurs do in a day?
That’s 6.5 miles/hr (11km/hr)! At that rate, a crew covered up to about 100 miles a day (160 km). To keep a rhythm for their paddling, voyageurs sang a variety of songs. Every hour there was a scheduled rest stop when the men could smoke a pipe.
How do I become a voyageur?
When a youth had developed his arm and back strength, he could become a voyageur, about age 16, but some started as early as age 11. Voyageurs had to carry two 90-pound bundles of fur or trade goods over portages (and some carried more — they liked proving themselves). This job was at the lowest level in the fur trade.
How did fur traders travel within North America?
In the 18th century, Cree and Ojibwe men could and did travel hundreds of miles to HBC posts on Hudson’s Bay via canoe to sell fur and bring back European goods, and in the interim, their women were in largely in charge of their communities.
What is a canoe brigade?
Fur brigades were convoys of canoes and boats used to transport supplies, trading goods and furs in the North American fur trade industry.
What did the voyageurs eat for breakfast?
As they paddled through Georgian Bay, the men saw hardly anyone for weeks, and they set off at first light, paddling for several hours before stopping for a breakfast of oatmeal, cornmeal, or beans.
How many voyageurs are in a canoe?
Voyageur canoes are 36 feet (12 metres) long, 5 feet (1.5 metres) wide and carry 12 to 14 paddlers (and their camping and cooking gear and food) on multi-day trips.
How did fur trappers trap?
Trappers had to frequently wade thigh-deep into frigid water near beaver dams. They set their traps under water, anchoring the trap’s short chain in place with a stake long enough to be seen above the water line.
How did fur trappers survive?
Trappers did live close to nature. They hunted wild game for food and wore clothing made of animal skins. Some trappers did work alone. However, most worked for fur companies that sent trappers out in small groups.