carefully; the dry merchandise in bales about eighty pounds weight, the rum, powder, and shot, in small kegs. The voyage from Trois Riviéres to La Chine is tedious and troublesome, as there is a strong current to combat; and without a fair wind, and occasionally a brisk gale to assist or relieve the constant use of the paddles, it would be impossible to make any way. Where the water is shallow, the canoes must be forced forward with long setting poles, while the men wade knee deep, and pull against the current with ropes; this is a labour and fatigue beyond what will be easily imagined. Custom has however made the Canadians very expert, and I must do them the justice to say they encounter these difficulties with uncommon chearfulness, though they sometimes exclaim, "C'est la misere, mon bourgeois."[1]
From La Chine to Michillimakinac, there are thirty six
portages; the distance by land and water is about nine
hundred miles: in favourable weather the journey is frequently
performed in about a month. Great care is
necessary to steer the canoes up the strong rapids; to
labour and care must also be added experience to keep
them upright, and prevent their striking or rubbing
against the stones, as they are very slight, and [40] easily
damaged. Whenever by accident they receive an injury,
as they frequently do, the hole is stopped with gum,
melted with a piece of charcoal; the gum by wetting immediately
becomes hard, and is capable of resisting the
impression of the water. When the hole is too large to be
stopped by gum only, the inner bark of the birch tree,
————
- ↑ The "bourgeois" was the chief trader, to whom the voyageurs were bound by engagements for service. The term was also often applied to the trader's agent or clerk, when the latter was in command of the expedition. See Turner, "Fur Trade in Wisconsin," Wisconsin Historical Society Proceedings, 1889, pp. 77-82.—Ed.
