Métis Mail Carriers: “gone six weeks”

Métis mail carriers demonstrated the significant personal sacrifices many Métis made in the Upper Great Lakes and throughout the wider Métis Homeland to serve their communities.

Having recently celebrated his 85th birthday, Charlie Davieaux “...sat smoking his pipe while reliving many of the adventures of the early days in Algoma…” with the Sault Star in 1948. These “adventures,” however, reflected the dangerous, sacrificial nature of being a Métis mail carrier in the early 1880s alongside his father, Hyacinthe, on Michipicoten Island.

On one particular mail run, Charlie found himself atop an iceberg on a partially frozen Lake Superior. Despite Charlie and his counterparts facing danger many times before and accepting the risks that came with their work, this time it felt as if there was no escape. In that terrifying moment, Charlie recognized the personal sacrifices he was making:

“Shivering there on the drifting iceberg, the three pondered their fate and Charlie thought briefly of his young and beautiful wife and a year-old son back home.” 

The trio persisted through the frozen waters and, after being away for six weeks, “were given a royal welcome by their relatives and friends who had given them up for lost.” Their unwavering dedication to their communities, despite personal sacrifices and dangerous conditions, is a testament to the legacy of Métis mail carriers.

See Our Sources

• “Escape from Death on Superior Ice Recalled by Charlie Davieaux, 85,” The Sault Star, November 8, 1948.

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