Métis Mail Carriers: Taking A Chance

Like many other Métis mail carriers across the Upper Great Lakes, Charlie Davieaux was accustomed to traveling long distances in hazardous conditions. The spring thaw was particularly hazardous, requiring mail carriers to depend on one another not only to fulfill their duties, but also to ensure their survival.

In a 1948 Sault Star article, Davieaux recounted a perilous spring-time journey “when the ice was too heavy to permit the use of a boat and too thin for safety with a sled.”

Davieaux was crossing Lake Superior with his father and another man when they narrowly escaped drowning by climbing onto an iceberg. As night approached, they needed to reach shore to avoid freezing. Just before sunset, Charlie spotted clear water, but his father doubted they could navigate through the broken ice:

“‘We’ll die out here before daylight,’ Charlie said, ‘so I’m going to take a chance. If the boat is punctured and sinks in the ice fields it will be quicker than freezing here on this berg.’” 

The group eventually agreed with Charlie’s suggestion to seek open water, trusting the seventeen-year-old’s reasoning and working as a team to “pike pole” through the “menacing ice,” ultimately reaching the north shore. 

On shore, their shared responsibility to care for each other persisted. When they were met with a six-day winter storm, “...the three men and the dog lived on a small piece of bannock and water.”

Due to Charlie's persistence and the trio's trust in one another's skills and knowledge of the land, the men survived to share their story, which surely left a lasting impression on young Charlie decades later.

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.