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On the Tracks of the Voyageurs - A Poem
A Poem by Deborah Stuart
(EDITOR'S NOTE: One of the great advantages in northern train travel comes in meeting fellow travellers and sharing stories.
The Winisk to The Bay trip had two 24 hour train rides from to and from Toronto.
Aboard VIA Rail's transcontinental train The Canadian, we chatted with many folks about what they where up to.
Many were curious about the strange men with stranger machines who were spread about the train. One of those
people was Deborah Stuart, an Australian travelling the world whom we educated on the Voyageurs and
canoe history in general which was speeding by the window. She responded after the trip with this lovely poem,
e-mailed to the HACC.)
SALUTE THE FRENCH RIVER
Millions of years ago, when frozen wastes stretched to the imagination's edge
Great glaciers groaned and gouged the granite bedrock that we now call Canada.
In those pockets now lies trapped most of the fresh waters of the world
Rivers, ice needle sharp waters, tumble from the ancient rock
Carving the valleys deeper and the chasms that cross the land
White water, whirling. Water pouring, boring through the rocks
Until it reaches the limestone archipelago that leads into the sea.
Thus, and from that sea, the Voyageurs - openers of secrets, came into the land we now call Canada.
Using the waterways like pointing fingers, using like highways the rushing water
Shifting their stores inwards, the animal furs outwards, they traversed the land
Unlocking the secrets of an ancient people, trapping the animals for their trade in fur.
So the engineers tore forcefully through the land, laying the tracks we travel on
Crossing these chasms with spiderlike bridges enormously dwarfed by the streams below
So we salute them in our own way, salute the French River for its part
Salute the courage of the beginnings and the heroes of today.
Follow the fingers where they lead us, travel to learn the ancient wisdom
From a world which we can only hope that we have not destroyed already.
-- Deborah Stuart
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