What did the French voyageurs eat?

What did the French voyageurs eat?

The voyageurs ate a mid-day snack of pemmican and biscuit around 2:00 p.m., while paddling. At night, they settled by the firelight to enjoy a meal of pemmican, dried peas, or cornmeal. Cornmeal was made into hominy, a type of thick white porridge combined with bacon fat or bear grease for added taste.

What did voyageurs transport?

Voyageurs were the canoe transportation workers in organized, licensed long-distance transportation of furs and trade goods in the interior of the continent. Coureurs des bois were entrepreneur woodsman engaged in all aspects of fur trading rather than being focused on just the transportation of fur trade goods.

What did French fur traders wear?

Voyageurs and engagés in the fur trade wore a variety of clothes over the centuries. From the early days of New France, they wore a mixture of European clothing, Indigenous garb and colonial adaptations. In the 19th century, men no longer wore the Indigenous breechcloth, which had replaced French breeches.

What did New France do for fun?

Dance performances, song recitals and concerts, improvised or organized, were equally well received by the people of New France. Reading was also a favourite pastime among the members of the population who could read and preferred to relax at home.

What did the Voyageurs do for the colonist?

Voyageurs were young men hired to transport goods to trading posts. They were forbidden to do any trading of their own. Until 1705, roughly 60 young men travelled on behalf of the Compagnie de la Colonie as far as the post of Detroit (founded in 1701).

What was a major influence on the life of a voyageur?

Three major influences molded the lives of voyageurs. First, their background of French-Canadian heritage as farmers featured prominently in their jobs as voyageurs. Working as a voyageur was seen as a temporary means of earning additional income to support their families and expand their farms.

How often did the Voyageurs jump in the water?

They are compelled, almost every hour, when actually melting with heat and fainting through fatigue, to jump into the water, frequently up to their arm-pits, and to remain in it towing the boast, until they are completely chilled.

What did you have to have to be a voyageur?

Years of experience and good credit were required to become voyageurs. The company or merchant that hired a voyageur occasionally permitted him to trade for himself, which engagés normally were not allowed to do.