Canoe Significance
It is difficult to completely comprehend the historical significance of the canoe. Without it, it is unlikely that La Salle would ever have made his epic journey down the Mississippi to claim what was later termed the “Louisiana Purchase” for the King of France. It is unlikely that the La Verendrye brothers would have traveled to Lake Winnipeg to open the gateway to the west. And, of course, the canoe allowed Mackenzie to travel to the Arctic Ocean and later to the Pacific some years before Lewis and Clark made their epic journey overland.
Without the canoe, the fur trade would have been much more difficult. And there is no doubt that it was the furs - particularly the beaver - that created the commercial impetus for much of the European exploration on this continent, once the Europeans had concluded that this new land held no easy passage to China.
The men who paddled canoes during the early era were the greatest canoeists ever. We, modern voyageurs, pale beside them. We can never hope to match their spirit, savvy, or stamina. Yet one does not need to compete with the voyageurs of old to enjoy the freedom and bounty of the canoe. Many rivers still flow unfettered by dams; much wilderness is left untouched by farms, mines, settlements, or highways. And even where wilderness has been conquered, a canoeist can still find water in which to wet his paddle, as some modern-day voyageurs have discovered in their trips around the waterfronts of big cities or on man-made canals and lakes.
The modern voyageur who wants to feel his paddle bite the water and to send his canoe gliding will always find a place.
Vive loe voyageur!