Métis Mail Carriers: Icebergs & Ingenuity

During harsh winters across the Upper Great Lakes, land-based knowledge and ingenuity could be the difference between life and death for Métis mail carriers. 

In a 1948 Sault Star article, Charlie Davieaux reflected on a particularly dangerous trip across Lake Superior in the early 1880’s.

Charlie, his father, Hyacinthe, and a third man had found themselves trapped in the narrow end of open water, completely surrounded by “fields of thickly packed ice cakes.” The trio used their extensive land-based knowledge to navigate toward a large iceberg, employing pike poles to push, pull, and maneuver the boat through the ice. At just seventeen years old, Charlie climbed to the top of the ice berg, which offered the vantage point to “search the frozen waste for open water.” 

After narrowly escaping drowning, the men set up camp at Red Sucker Creek, where they endured a six-day winter storm that washed away their boat, all their food, and supplies. Hyacinthe Davieaux, however, was a seasoned and resourceful man of the land: 

“The senior Davieaux recalled having left a birch bark canoe in the bush nearby on a previous trip and this dubious craft was dragged from its hiding place to be gummed and made fit for a trip along the open water of the shore.”  

Despite facing incredibly dangerous conditions and losing all their supplies, the men survived by using their shared knowledge and ingenuity, just as many Métis mail carriers had done across the Homeland.

See Our Sources

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

Mini Word Search

Have fun with the facts by completing today's mini word search.