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PaddlingInstructor.com - Canoe and Kayak News, Paddling News, Free Kayak and Canoe Teaching Resources
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Written by David H. Johnston
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Saturday, 10 May 2008 |
A Toronto man is pushing off on a voyage of discovery with 200 other
people to honour the explorer David Thompson and re-enact his epic 1808
canoe trek along the rivers of Western Canada to the Great Lakes.
EDMONTON - A Toronto man is pushing off on a voyage of discovery
with 200 other people to honour the explorer David Thompson and
re-enact his epic 1808 canoe trek along the rivers of Western Canada to
the Great Lakes.
Lavern Thompson has a personal stake in the
63-day, 3,600-kilometre journey in which a brigade of 16 replica fur
trade canoes will paddle from Rocky Mountain House in central Alberta
to Thunder Bay, Ont.
The 46-year-old apartment superintendent is
a direct descendant of the famous map-maker and his Metis wife,
Charlotte Small-Thompson. Ottawa has just recognized her officially as
a person of national historical significance.
"This is a
fantastic opportunity to rediscover stuff about my family and Canadian
history because I know more about American history than Canadian
history, I am ashamed to say," said Thompson.
He has been reading up on his distant relatives in preparation for the long canoe trip, which was to begin Saturday.
Thompson
said he is particularly interested in Small-Thompson, the daughter of a
North West Company trader and a Cree mother. Small-Thompson married
David Thompson when she was 13 years old and bore him 16 children -
seven sons and six daughters survived.
The couple travelled more
than 25,000 kilometres together on expeditions. Small-Thompson helped
the British explorer understand the languages and cultures of the
aboriginal people they encountered. She also supported him as he mapped
immense areas of what was to become Canada and the United States.
"My
lovely wife is of the blood of these (Cree) people, speaking their
language, and well-educated in the English language, which gives me a
great advantage," the explorer once wrote.
The present-day
Thompson said the gruelling 2008 Thompson Brigade expedition will help
him gain insight into his ancestors and help him appreciate the love
and devotion they had for each other.
"I find their relationship
extraordinary. She was so strong. He must have gotten a lot of
inspiration from her," Thompson said as he packed his gear at the home
of some friends in Edmonton.
"David Thompson embraced native ways and married a Metis woman. It was one of the reasons that he was so successful."
The
Canadian Press has learned that the federal government plans to unveil
a plaque in Small-Thompson's honour next year in Jasper National Park.
The
Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada recommended her in part
because "she is representative of the many aboriginal women who formed
significant partnerships with fur traders during the 18th-and
19th-centuries, contributing to trade and exploration through language
and survival skills as well as cultural liaison."
Canoe and
history enthusiasts from across Canada plan to paddle hard each day and
stop at small communities such as Elk Point, Alta., Cumberland House,
Sask., Pointe Du Bois, Man., and Fort Francis, Ont., along their route.
After stretching tired muscles, brigade members will dress up during
their visits in period clothing and hold living history lessons with
residents.
To keep their spirits up as they paddle their
eight-metre-long Canot du Nord, the crews plan to sing rousing
historical songs such as 'En roulant ma boule' and 'Vive la canadienne'
- just as the hardy voyageurs did 200 years ago.
Andy Korsos, a
professional cartographer, avid canoeist and David Thompson buff, is
the driving force behind the expedition, the final details of which
were hammered out with colleagues over pints of beer in an Edmonton pub
three years ago.
The lure of adventure attracted people from
across the country to sign up, he said. The group includes canoeheads,
university professors and others from all walks of life who share a
love of history. Some are taking two months off work to complete the
entire trek, while others will do one or two stages.
They are all
expecting plenty of aches and pains in the first few weeks until their
bodies get used to paddling up to 160 kilometres a day.
"Most of
the people who are going on this haven't paddled for a full season,"
Korsos said. "It is going to take them a week or two to get back into
the swing of things. We do have some rookies along, but they will be
mixed in with experienced people."
Participants have ponied up an
entry fee to finance the trek. There are also some sponsorships from
small businesses, Paddle Canada, the National Geographic Society and
the Alberta government.
Korsos and his brigade fellows can't wait
to cut the water of the historic rivers with their paddles and immerse
themselves in a bygone era.
"Rivers connect Canadians. We have
the Trans-Canada Highway today. In the 19th and 18th centuries it was
the North Saskatchewan River and rivers like it. The voyageur canoe
then was the semi-trailer of today.
"There is a sense of who we are through the rivers. This is an adventure. You can't get more Canadian than this."
http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hCSe-dfAAXwbp59hKyYOENzYOUig
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