Blackflies, Sunburn, Cold, Wet Clothes
York U. Prof. Retraces Early Fur Trade Routes, Debunks Romanticism of Voyageurs in New Book, Superior Illusions

"...a good story, unconventionally told... filled with accurate, often gripping details..."
Ramsay Cook, Professor Emeritus, York University

TORONTO, Feb. 8, 1999 -- Call him the last of the coureurs de bois. York University Professor Richard Pope's new book Superior Illusions (Natural Heritage Books, 1998) recreates in vivid detail the path of Canada's early fur traders. But Pope did more than just write about the voyageurs -- during nine years of canoe trips and extensive historical research, he retraced the fur traders' routes.

A fictionalized epic story with memorable Scottish, French Canadian and aboriginal characters and rich imagery, Superior Illusions chronicles a voyageur route across what was then New France. Told in compulsively readable verse, it re-vitalizes an important period in Canadian history, giving it the epic stature and colour it deserves. Many of the descriptions are based on firsthand accounts from historical fur trade journals in English and French, and are interspersed with the lyrics of French Canadian songs such as ¿ la claire fontaine and En roulant ma boule roulant. You will also read such expressions used by the hearty voyageurs as mangeur de lard (meaning: pork eater or paddler of a canoe from Lachine to Grand Portage and back), vaurien (meaning: good-for-nothing), and pays d`en haut (meaning: the up country on the other side of the height of land beyond Superior).

The book also contains original, lavishly illustrated watercolours and black-and-white illustrations by artist Neil Broadfoot, as well as maps based on originals by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, a renowned early Canadian mapmaker.

Pope, who teaches Russian literature in York's Department of Languages, Literatures and Linguistics, said he wanted to de-mythologize the lives of the voyageurs.

"This book is different from many historical accounts because it does not romanticize their lives," he said. "The voyageurs you see in early Canadian paintings are wearing bright beautiful shirts, looking clean cut and shaven, as if they had just stepped out of a salon. Believe me, after 60 days in the great outdoors without even a tent for shelter, they didn't look that good. I know that from my own experience," he said.

Following the paddling routes of the fur traders gave Pope new respect for the voyageurs.

"The voyageurs were like hockey players," said Pope. "Once they hit their 30s, they were past their prime. It was a job for young men. The work was so arduous that their bodies could not handle it for too many years."

The voyageurs carried 180 pounds (81 kg) of weight on each trip. Each paddling trip lasted about 60 days. The men slept outside under their canoes, spent their days paddling shirtless, being baked by the summer sun and bitten by mosquitoes and blackflies at the height of the bug season.

"After paddling those routes myself, I have a real appreciation of the strength and endurance of those men and the crucial role they played in Canada's early history," he said.

Pope, who is available for interviews, can be reached at (416) 736-2100, ext. 88728, or at home: (416) 484-1878.

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For more information, please contact:

Sine MacKinnon
Senior Advisor for Media Relations
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22087

Ken Turriff
Media Relations Officer
York University
(416) 736-2100, ext. 22086
YU/006/99