Les Voyageurs A Song by Mike Ford

Click on the link to hear the song: Can you find it? Listen for these places in the song. Place them (or find them on your map) and trace the route of the voyageurs in the song. Montreal Ottawa (River) Mattawa (River) Nipissing (River) French (River) Georgian Bay Michimilimackinaw (Michimilimackinac) Sault Saint Marie Lake Superior

Listen to the song again: Did You Catch It? Answer these questions in your booklet. 1.How many men could fit into the voyageur’s canoe? 2.How long was the voyageur’s trip? 3.Where did the trip begin? 4.How much weight could a voyageur carry during a portage? 5.Which fur bearing animals are mentioned?

Do you know it? What is meant by the following expressions? 1.birch-bark station wagon 4. hard tack 2.tump-lined wannigan 5. skeeters 3.bug filled pemmican 6. rum kegger Try to translate these French phrases (try to figure out the intended meaning, not just the literal translation!): 1. Adieu adieu 2.la vie damnee des engages 3.L’oeil de la mort sur les hommes du nord

Listen one last time! Think a little deeper… 1.Why do you think tobacco was an important tool for the voyageurs? 2.What is the significance of fourteen white crosses on the shore? 3. Why do you think the writer of the song included various sounds such as belch and a fart and a spit and a slap? What image does this give you of les voyageurs? 3.Think of a modern day occupation that is similar to the voyageur’s job? What qualities does this job have that are similar to the voyageur’s job? Create a venn diagram to compare and contrast the two occupations.