Voyageurs

Common card · No. 236614

Voyageurs (French: [vwajaʒœʁ] ; lit. 'travellers') were 18th- and 19th-century French people and later French Canadians who transported furs by canoe at the peak of the North American fur trade. The emblematic meaning of the term applies to places (New France, including the Pays d'en Haut and the Pays des Illinois) and times where that transportation was over long distances, giving rise to folklore and music that celebrated voyageurs' strength and endurance. They traversed and explored many regions in what is now Canada and the United States. Despite their fame, their lives were arduous and not nearly as glamorous as folk tales made out. For example, they had to be able to carry two 90-pound (41 kg) bundles of fur over portages. Some carried four or five, and there is a report of a voyageur carrying seven bundles for half a mile. Hernias were common and frequently caused death. Most voyageurs started working in their early twenties and continued working until in their sixties. They never...

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