MAY 15, 1792

MY JOURNEY BEGINS

And that is exactly where I was when the next brigade set off. Oui, c’est vrai! Yes, it’s true! I joined a crew of eight hearty voyageurs:

Jean Méchant

Jean Paul

Jean Luc

Jean Jacques

Jean Henri

Jean Claude

Jean Louis

Jean Gentille

Et moi, Jean Pierre Petit Le Rouge, the littlest voyageur.

The Jeans were not exactly aware that I had joined their team, but I planned to impress and delight them with my many talents.

As soon as I was in the canoe, I slipped out of the vest pocket where I had been hiding. I stashed myself among the kegs and barrels and oilcloths, and the many big, heavy canvas-wrapped bundles they call pièces.

But before the voyageurs departed, wives and sisters and mothers came down to the waterfront to say goodbye to their husbands, brothers, and sons. The clerks and gentlemen of the North West Company, the voyageurs’ employers, came to wave farewell, too. Speeches were made, cannons fired, flags waved, songs sung. Finally the canoes were launched, and we were in the water!

Oh! The exhilarating whoosh of the canoe surging along under the power of eight strong paddlers! The speed of it was astounding! If I’d had a red cap to hold on to, I would have been holding on tight.

The five canoes in our brigade launched all at the same time, and every one wanted to be the fastest. Forty-some paddles flashed in the sun. Who would be first?

Not us. We were, in fact, last.

Perhaps with my encouragement, our canoe would soon be number one!