History of Saskatchewan Waterways

Introduction

Any history is filled with strokes of genius, remarkable achievements, feats of courage, persistence and heroism; but as expected history is also full of surprise, risk, buffoonery and blunder. Canoeing history of Saskatchewan has not been short-changed in any of these respects.

Obviously, the lay of the land - or in more scientific terms, the geographical features of this central region of the continent - played a crucial role in how exploration and transportation of goods took place. Although numerous native groups had hunted, trapped and travelled the continental waterways for thousands of years, it was the coming of foreigners initially by means of canoes which began a process which eventually altered life for everyone in the region.

The geography of the prairie provinces, more commonly known as the "Northwest Territory" during the days of fur trade, has three principle water basins:

1. the Red River, draining the south and eastern portion;
2. the Athabasca Basin which drains the most northerly and western area; and
3. the Saskatchewan Rivers which drains water east of the Rockies all the way to Lake Winnipeg and finally to Hudson's Bay.

Before we become lost in this continental ocean, let's take a look at the watercraft which played such a central role in development of the West.

Origins of the Canoe

The early model canoes were made of readily available local materials: a light wooden frame or skeleton (often cedar) with a birch bark exterior or skin. The canoe was designed to travel the diverse waterways of the continent- from large lakes to fast and/or shallow, marshy rivers including the possibility of frequent portages. By necessity, therefore, the canoes had to be light-weight, yet rugged enough to withstand the often dangerous sections of interior waterways.

From the early birch-bark models - which some described like travelling on a dried leaf - to the more sophisticated and high-tech Kevlar, Royalex or still lighter graphite models, the experience of canoeing for the most part is still largely the same; and yet at the same time so very different.

As might be expected, there was reluctance on the part of the early North American settlers - both English and French - to accept the lifestyle and living methods of the aboriginal dwellers. After all, many of the Europeans immigrants shared the notion that part of their mission in this new country was to convert the pagan people; and could the way of "primitive savages" be superior to their own methods and culture?! Over time, and after repeated failure and frustration with their own methods, some of the settlers were willing to consider some of the aboriginal ways; including their methods of water travel. Granted, this light and fragile craft did not strike them as safe or particularly welcoming craft to the wary Europeans. However, after years of observation and demonstrated use by some of their own people, gradually some suspicion and misgiving gave way.

The Canoe: Presenting New Opportunities

Through use of their newly acquired survival skills Radisson and Groseilliers were able to pursue their own interests of exploration and fur trade. Using Indians as their guides Radisson and Groseilliers pushed back the frontier and established trading relations with other Indian groups. From their life among the Huron and Algonquin Indian of the Ottawa River valley they travelled as far as the upper Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and later the northerly flowing waterways to Hudson's Bay.

As a result of their travels, Radisson and Groseilliers gained a whole new understanding of the continent and it's seemingly unlimited potential. No longer was the unknown a forbidden barrier but rather an opportunity to be explored and developed for their own profit.

Aside from the extensive skills, travels and profits from fur trading , the most notable accomplishment of Radisson and Groseilliers may, in fact, be the confident, out-going and indomitable spirit which permeated their wilderness lifestyle. The challenge of wilderness life seemed to inspire a whole new outlook which provided motivation for the innumerable difficulties that confronted the settlers and even more so the wilderness travellers. Having learned the flexibility and the survival skills of the Natives, no longer did they feel compelled to apply familiar, Old World solutions in this strange, inhospitable environment. Rather than being overwhelmed by the severe conditions on this continent, they accepted life as it was in this unfamiliar country and the challenge of over-coming the adverse conditions seemed to inspire new bravado.

To the astonishment of French colonial elite increasing numbers of young men offered their services as paddlers for these restless river men. Among the colonists these free-wheeling explorers came to be known as "coureur de bois": "a brand of men who were familiar with wilderness.life, spoke the Indian languages and could handle and live upon the country." As knowledge of their achievements and successes spread among the habitants, so did the charm and mystique of their seemingly carefree wilderness existence.

Pushing Back the Frontier

By 1717, French explorer, Pierre Gualtier de Varennes de LaVerandrye, enticed by Indian reports of a large body of water to the west, reached Lake Winnipeg. By so doing he had moved from the St Lawrence water basin to the Hudson Bay water basin via an inland water route establishing a string of posts both for security as well as trading purposes. It was this route which for the next century-and-a-half would become the main link between Montreal and "the Northwest Territory" (as the region West of the Great Lakes was known during the days of the fur trade). The East-West link established by the explorers and traders tied the central part of the continent to its eastern St Lawrence base, eventually becoming the country of Canada.

Although LaVerandrye reached the Lake Winnipeg water basin, it was his sons who, in 1748, came upon the Saskatchewan River and established Fort Bourbon and Fort Pascoyac, near present day The Pas.

The Canoe: Economic, Political, and Social Effects

It should be remembered that the aboriginal inhabitants of this continent had used the canoe for travel and trade long before foreign settlers arrived. During the early part of the fur trade from Hudson's Bay - from about the 1650's and for the next 120 years - the British traders relied on Native traders bringing their furs to the posts at the Bay; i.e.. relying on Native traders and paddlers who were familiar with the interior waterways and with inland navigation techniques. For the British Company men this method simplified trade immensely.

Although the French explorers were able to divert some of the furs bound for the Bay from their forts near the mouth of the Saskatchewan River, other independent traders (French but also British and American, - since after 1763 the British controlled the colony of New France) recognised the potential for profits in this vast unharvested region of the north-west and quickly moved in to stake their claim.

While furs were the economic motivation for this intrusion, the waterways became the economic and political battlefield for control. Forts were established and goods brought in by canoes to entice trade.

The intrusion of fur traders into the former domain of the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) forced the Company men to change their "wait-at-the-Bay" approach. They too, needed to move inland, establish trading posts and renew trading relations with their former Native fur suppliers. While this simplified trade for the Native groups, it also intensified the competition and brought a flurry of activity into the interior which eventually brought trading posts along almost every waterway in the Northwest.

As the number of traders increased and competition for furs intensified, it became increasingly difficult to compete with other independent traders as well as their main rival at the Bay. By the 1770's alliances were formed between groups of traders in order to pool their resources and co-operate in bringing the supplies the long distance from Montreal to the ever more distant forts along the Northwest river system. Canoe brigades - from 5 to 20 canoes - were organised to travel together the vast distances, both for security as well as increasing the capacity for goods, supplies and provisions en route.

Gateway to the Interior

The Saskatchewan River with its ease of access and navigation from Lake Winnipeg became the primary gateway to the rich fur-bearing regions beyond. In addition, the Saskatchewan River provided access to other important navigable rivers in northern Saskatchewan; i.e., the Churchill River system as well as the Clearwater River which provided access to the Lake Athabasca basin.

Within the span of a little more than a decade numerous forts had been established on the principle trade routes and traders were travelling on virtually all of Saskatchewan's rivers.

The Role of the Indians

As exploration and trading entered their territory, some Indian people found service as advisors and guides for the strangers. Foreign explorers and traders seemed to have an insatiable desire to know about water routes, possible areas of wild game and furs, and some distant body of salt water with tides. Natives with their knowledge of the land and its waterways became invaluable guides for the ever inquisitive foreigners. Not only did Natives have a knowledge of the local language but they also had the necessary canoeing and survival skills so essential for wilderness exploration.

In most historical literature, traders and explorers are honoured as independent and individual heroes whereas in reality much of their success was due to the co-operation and assistance of Native people - especially the often overlooked role of Native women. While close relations with indigenous people were discouraged and forbidden by European society and explicitly so by HBC policy, it was fairly common practice for men to take "temporary wives" from among the Native people with whom they interacted daily.

"It was customary for all Gentlemen who come to this country to remain any length of time to have a fair Partner with whom they can pass away their time . . .more agreeable then to live a lonely, solitary life as they must do single."

In fact, men as young as age 14, like David Thompson, who were being groomed for service in the interior were often placed among Indian settlements for several years in order to learn their language and ways of life. Small wonder then that European rules and values seemed to have ever diminishing relevance for the men in the Northwest. David Thompson wrote that he considered the Indian to be fully equal to those of this class in Europe. Alexander Mackenzie noted that he thought Cree women were most comely and beguiling of all people on the continent, which he was convinced European people would recognise as well:

"Their figure is generally well proportioned and the regularity of their features would be acknowledged by more civilised people of European . Their complexion has less of that dark tinge which is common to their savages who have less cleanly habits."

Despite taboos against inter-racial relationships with the aboriginal people, pressures of long days and social isolation had a predictable effect on the all-male crews of the traders and explorers. Around company posts English, Scottish and Irish men with Indian wives, mostly Crees fathered a new people, the 'Metis'. Along inland water routes French-Cree, Ojibway and Saulteaux Metis dominated. Most of the children from these relationships were brought up in the fur trade.

Different Strokes for Different Folks

Although British explorers like Henry Kelsey (1690) and Samuel Hearne (1769) had travelled inland to reconnoitre the country, there was now new urgency to establish inland posts to compete with the independent traders like Peter Pond and Alexander Mackenzie and others. In 1774 Samuel Hearne, in consultation with local Native people established the Hudson's Bay first inland post at Cumberland House. This was a fortuitous choice since from this location canoes could branch off to link up with the Churchill River system.

Rather than discouraging the independent and Montreal traders, the British attempt to recoup their fur trade losses only increased the resolve of the competition, forcing the French traders further inland and up-stream. As a result, a whole series of competing forts were built along the inland rivers hoping to lure Native traders to trade their furs with them; each trader trying to ensure their domain - until, that is, the numbers of furs began to deplete due to over-hunting.

Boats vs. Canoes

The British boats proved a difficult and cumbersome craft for the varied waterways of the interior. They enviously watched the agility and success of the Voyageurs with their canoes so an attempt was made to get local Cree Indians around the posts to build canoes for them but with little success. There were several reasons for this: there was little co-operation, because the Native people realised that if the British had means to travel inland, then their role as middlemen near the British posts would become redundant; moreover, the supply of suitable raw materials for canoe building were not readily available among the scrub brush and barren lands around the Bay. As well, the less seasoned and trained Orkneymen did not adapt well to this more fragile craft and they refused to risk their lives on the rapids as the Voyageurs did.

Since the canoe was seen as too fragile a craft for the northern rivers, the British resolutely stuck to their heavier boats on the main routes, even though trader Henry Anthony conceded:

"Their Birch-rind canoes will carry as much as an Indian ship's long boat and draws little water; and is so light that two men can carry one several miles with ease; they are made of the same light material as the small ones; only a thin board runs along the bottom; and they can sail them before the wind, but not else."

"Voyageur", "Coureur de bois" or Orkneymen?

Voyageurs: Paddlers for the Montreal-based Traders

• paddle up to 18 hours per day,
• sleep on the ground virtually unprotected from the elements and the bugs,
• be able to portage with two or three 90 pound packs, often over steep hills or through marshy bogs.

In spite of the gruelling expectations, many men opted for the challenge of life with the brigades in the wilderness. Without their zeal, dedication and perseverance the Montreal based traders could not have competed with the British traders at the Hudson's Bay. The super-human achievements and success of the Voyageurs won the praise and admiration even of the seasoned trading veterans like Daniel Harmon; who noted in his report:

"The Canadian Voyageurs posses lively and fickle dispositions, and they are rarely subject to depression of spirits, of long continuance, even when in circumstances the most adverse. Although what they consider good eating and drinking constitutes their chief good, yet, when necessity compels them to it, they submit to great privation and hardship, not only without complaining, but even with cheerfulness and gaiety. They are very talkative, and extremely thoughtless, and make many resolutions, which are almost as soon broken as formed. They never think of providing for future wants. . . They are not brave; but when they apprehend little danger, they will often, as they say, 'play the man'. They are very deceitful, are exceedingly smooth and polite, and are even gross flatterers to the face of a person, whom they will basely slander, behind his back. . . A secret they cannot keep. They rarely feel gratitude, though they are often generous. They are obedient, but not faithful servants. By flattering their vanity, of which they have not a little, they may be persuaded to undertake the most difficult enterprises".

Orkneymen - The imported help of the HBC

"are healthy, hardy, well-shaped, subject to few Diseases, and capable of an abstemious and laborious life, at the same time; but for want of profitable Employment, slow at work and many of them maligned to Idleness. In sagacity and natural understanding, they are inferior to few of the Commons in Britain; sparing of Words, reserved in their Sentiments, . . .apt to aggravate or magnify their Losses, and studious to conceal or diminish their Gains...Honest in their dealings with one another, but not so scrupulous with respect to the Master of the Grounds . . .[yet] clannish Adherence and Subjugation to their Masters. . . .[regarding Violence or Resentments...(the corrupting influence of the Northwest): "Many of these men bring home with them all the vices without any of the virtues of the savages, indolence, dissipation, irreligion and at the same time a broken constitution." [about religion - most of them set aside their religion when they enter the Northwest."

Comparison of Orkneymen and Voyageurs

The hired men of the English, the Orkneymen, were described as: "cautious and careful" and somewhat trustworthy, whereas the Voyageurs were seen as volatile and "indifferent about themselves as with their master's property." They seemed to "delight in the dangers of running rapids and cataracts in their frail canoes, caring little about their lives or cargoes and with little thought of gain." The Hudson's Bay men marvelled at the skill, agility and daring of the Voyageurs but also noted that the Voyageurs seemed corrupt, and debase as savages.

Types of Watercraft Used in the Fur Trade

• the Lake Canoe (Canot de Maitre),
• the Northern Canoe (Canot du Nord) and
• the York Boat or versions of it.

Canot de Maitre

• 36'+ Length
• 6' Beam
• 3 ton Payload, plus personal baggage
• 6 to 12 Crew, but usually 8 to 10 men.

Canot du Nord

• 25' Length
• 4-4.5' Beam
• 1.5 ton Payload, i.e.. about one-half of the Canot de Maitre
• 4 to 8 Crew, usually 5 or 6 men.

Canoes: Made Where? By Whom, Of What?

In spite of the generally superb construction of these canoes, on average the birch-bark canoe would last about two years. Adverse conditions, big loads and heavy use took their toll and some canoes were damaged or lost en route and needed to be replaced in the interior. Using available materials, some canoes were built using poplar frames and stretched with buffalo hide; but these were too heavy and required constant wetting in order to keep them buoyant.

Records show that an excellent forest for canoe building was found near Fort George on the North Saskatchewan River and for a number of years Indians and traders built canoes there. Nonetheless, for the most part, traders continued to get their canoes in the east.

York Boats

• 24 to 28'Length
• 4' Width
• 18" deep
• 5 to 8 ton carrying capacity
• 6-9 usual crew size

Saskatchewan Waterways

The Saskatchewan Rivers

The location of the Saskatchewan River basically formed the southern limit of the Woodlands and the Precambrian Shield country - the prime fur bearing regions. Other more southerly rivers like the Assiniboine & Qu'appelle Rivers were explored and harvested for furs but did not have the reach nor the connections to other waterways like the Saskatchewan Rivers. As well, they were prone to seasonal fluctuations in water level and shifting sand bars. Other possible routes such as the Seal River or the easterly portion of the Churchill were much more hazardous to navigate. From the early explorers like Kelsey and La Verandrye's sons to the height of the fur trade, Mackenzie, Pond, Fidler, Thompson, Simpson, and countless others, the Saskatchewan River was the primary entry point to the interior.

The Sturgeon-Weir River

The Sturgeon-Weir River became the route of preference allowing paddlers to use the less difficult Saskatchewan & Nelson Rivers rather than the hazardous Burntwood, Lower Churchill or Seal River to get to the Bay. Tipping the balance in favour of the southern route was the reputation of hospitable replenishing posts like the one at Norway House

The Churchill River

Lake Athabasca region

Life on the River

"The voyageur's daily routine was a killing one: for the six- to-eight weeks he was on the road, he was roused as early as two or three am., and (provided that no rapids were just ahead) he set off without breakfast. Before eight o'clock a breakfast stop was made. A midday lunch was "served" - though often lunch was no more than an opportunity to hack off a piece of pemmican to chew on the way. However, fairly regularly, a stop was made for a few minutes each hour to allow the men to have a pipe. This event was so important that distances came to be measured in "pipes"; "trois pipes" might be 15 to 20 miles, depending on wind and current.

Between eight and ten in the evening, depending on the light, camp was made. Supper, which might have been pre-cooked the night before, was warmed up and served. The men then dropped down on turf, moss, or beach, with their heads under the overturned canoe (whose high end lent itself to this purpose). A tarpaulin would be stretched from the canoe to give shelter from rain and dew. There was no provision ordinarily made for protection against insects, except the voyageurs' own grease and dirt, assisted sometimes by a smudge, lit up-wind."

Songs of the Voyageurs

Provisions: Food Supply for the Voyageurs

The limited carrying capacity of the canoe, not to mention the strain of difficult portages, or the possibility of loss should some canoes be lost in rapids, added to the challenge of carrying sufficient supplies. Always it was a trade-off between cargo (trading goods or furs) or items of comfort and necessity - such as food or clothing or shelter.

The amount of provisions required varied, of course, with the number of paddlers and passengers, and the distance to be covered before fresh supplies could be restocked. Invariably, with a crew of 5 to 8 men per canoe and some brigades of up to 10 canoes there would be a need for a large food supply. ( During Frobishers journey in the northern tundra it was noted that hard-working men required up to 8 lbs of meat per day. And on an expedition of 20 people that amounted to a deer carcass per day. )

The types of food available depended in part on the region that the paddlers were going through: maize and cured pork meat in the east; wild rice and deer in the area west of Lake Superior, and buffalo and grain based pottage in the Northwest.

When food supplies became a problem for the traders, again it was the Native people (Assiniboine & Grassland Cree) who provided a solution: "pemmican". Various Indian groups became the providers of pemmican for the traders. Recipes of course differed among the Native suppliers and also from season to season; however, for the most part the meat is pounded into a powder, inter-larded with fat and occasionally supplemented with berries or fresh vegetables from the gardens near some forts and placed in raw-hide bags called "parfleches". The dried meat and fat would keep the food from spoiling - a precurser to modern de-hydrated and freeze-dried foods - and was of sufficient concentration to provide a high- energy food source. Voyageurs would need only 1.5 lbs per day.

On any canoe trip, but particularly those where portaging is required, weight is a critical factor. So in order to reduce the amount of food that the brigades needed to carry, certain posts were designated as supply posts, where Voyageurs could replenish food supplies en route and/or exchange their load for the furs which they carried on their return voyage. Major supply posts such as the one near the Red River, Cumberland House or Fort Chipewyan in the north were spaced so as to limit the amount of food supplies that the Voyageurs needed to carry

Saskatchewan: The storehouse of food supplies

Voyageurs diet

Their diet was also supplemented with ducks, geese and other fowls. For festive occasions there were more exotic delicacies such as moose nose, beaver tail, roast goose, prairie chicken, partridge or various types of sea food like roast seal, salmon or trout.

Small wonder that after weeks on the water, day after day with the same rations, that the voyageurs were ready to hunt or whoop-it-up when they arrived at a fort. The anticipation of these certain fort stops were so cherished that paddlers would refuse to co-operate if a brigade leader tried to get them to go an alternate route - and this would mean that they'd miss a stop at certain favourite supply posts.

For the modern palate reports of standard food fare sounds bleak and unimaginative. Pemmican, although a convenient travel ration, was not particularly appreciated by all Voyageurs either since it eventually became stale or mouldy when damp and was frequently "garnished with long human hairs and short hair of oxen". Nonetheless, it remained the Voyageurs primary food source.

In Rudy Wiebe's historical novel, Discovery of Strangers, a Native guide comments wryly on the excessive and absurd travelling styles of the white man:

"Each canoe has a crew of 6: a bowman, sternman and paddlers. Eating is their greatest and only diversion, together with drinking. They expect to devour 8 lbs of meat per day. When you add our translators and ourselves - 4 officers plus servants - we presently require almost a full ton of meat a week: i.e.. a minimum of 20 large dressed deer.!!"

Conclusion

It is remarkable indeed, that most of the waterways which the explorers and traders used remain in much the same state they were centuries ago. Evidence of their lives still remains: forts, portages, debris of spills, etc. Along many portages Saskatoon bushes flourish, planted by unknowing Voyageurs relieving themselves beside the trail.

These waterways, largely unchanged over the centuries, can still be travelled today. Increased historical awareness can only enhance one's own experience on these waterways and sharpen one's observation and perception. Enjoy your travels on Saskatchewan waterways.