History of Early Raftsmen

The logging industry had its beginnings in the early 1800s with the courageous Voyageurs called "Gageux" and I guess would be translated "Raftsmen". England needed large logs for its naval fleet. Since the Napoleon blockade in 1809 in the baltics, it could no longer purchase its logs from Russia and turned to Canada whose immense forest seemed inexhaustible. The gatheirng point was the Hull region and the logs came from the Ottawa and Gatineau tributary, Great Lakes and from the United States, by Ile Bizard, Riviere des Prairies, Caughnawaga along the St Lawrence river to Quebec City. Indians were hired to shoot the Lachine Rapids.

Large rafts were formed as shown in the photo were meals were cooked in large cast iron pots resting on a bed of burning sand and beans over a layer of lard were regularly served.

After the evening meal and stories told around a fire, the "Cageux" would retire over a bed of hay and would snore till early morning.

It was not an easy life. You had to see these men at work in the rapids. Crowds would gather  along the way and admire their courage, and would gather on sunday after mass, go aboard their rafts and sometimes share their meals.

 

 

The above story is from "Histoire Québec, Volume 11, Number 2 2005. Article written by Éliane Labastrou.

Translation by myself. Guy

P.N.

Since the rafts had to travel by Verdun, we can assume that many stopped on what is now Verdun territory for various reasons. I have old maps dating from ealy 1700s at the SHGV that shows 3  forts were built along the shores at that period.