Grueling work, long hours and months in the bush or paddling on rivers were realities of the voyageur existence. Perhaps French Canada’s most important contribution to the fur trade, these robust trappers and traders were the fathers of the Métis nation and the first group of Europeans to extensively explore the Canadian West. Called voyageurs due to the long distances they traveled, most came from farms along the St. Lawrence River, although some were from Montréal. All signed contracts, becoming contracted servants. Voyageurs were divided into classes depending on their experience and skill. Young men fresh to the trade were dubbed "mangeurs de lard" (pork eaters), while those who had survived at least one winter in the bush earned the title of “hivernant" (winterer). The voyageurs were loyal to their French heritage, but developed distinct customs that identified them as a group. Although incredibly strong, the average voyageur was short of stature, so as not to occupy too much valuable space in their fully-loaded birch canoes.
As the fur trade came to a close at the end of the nineteenth century, it was the voyageurs and their descendants who would adopt a nomadic/agricultural lifestyle and be the first to settle the western frontier.
![Courier du bois](javascript:opendetailed('voyageur_det.jpg','Courier du bois','Voyageur or "courier du bois" with rifle and axe, printed in 1891 in "Harpers New Weekly", March 1892. Sketch by Frederic Remington. ','Photo courtesy of Glenbow Archives', '#99CC33'))
