The Voyageurs and the O-daw-ban
By Craig Macdonald
Just a few generations ago the hand-pulled o-daw-ban served as the chief form of winter freight conveyance in the forested regions of Canada. Originating with the North American Indian, these sleighs predate the arrival of Europeans by untold centuries. Today as a commercial transport device, the o-daw-ban is virtually replaced by motor vehicles, aircraft and the snowmobile. Authentic examples have become nearly as rare as the large birch bark ra-bes-ka trade canoes which formed the basis for summer commerce and communication in the early days of our country.
Probably the most significant role for the o-daw-ban was its use for transport by native people who lived off the land by hunting and trapping. Before the advent of the snowmobile some form of this device was almost as necessary as snowshoes. The designs that were developed have subsequently been modified by the introduction of European technology, particularly nails, screws and wire. Likewise several changes came about as a result of the more widespread use of dog teams for hauling around the turn of the century. For the purpose of this discussion, we shall focus exclusively on the most common hand-drawn models in their aboriginal form.
In the winter on a lesser scale, the o-daw-ban played an equivalent role to the birch bark trade canoe. Once freeze-up came the voyageur and coureur de bois certainly did not hibernate. One important task was the visitation of outlying Indian camps to induce native trappers to come to the post and trade. These snowshoe trips often lasted several weeks requiring o-daw-ban to transport the necessary provisions.
In some areas when fur trade competition was keen, o-daw-ban were also used to carry trade goods directly to the Indian camps. Preoccupied by trapping and hunting, this convenient "door to door" service all but eliminated any incentive for native trappers to trade at opposition posts before spring break-up. Not only did the trappers benefit from trade goods brought by o-daw-ban at a time when they were most needed, but the voyageurs were often able to secure the bulk of the returns from the fall trapping, which accounted for most of the yearly fur production. The furs were usually transported to the post by o-daw-ban on the return trip.
Extreme competition greatly increased winter visitations and, in some instances, prompted trading companies to upgrade winter snowshoe trails for regular o-daw-ban freighting to Indian winter camps. These trails were known as bibon-o-meekina (bon-ka-nah in Temagami). Trail improvements on the most important routes included marking the optimal alignment, clearing this route of fallen timber and brushing slush holes with evergreen boughs. Small open creeks would be bridged and sometimes log and brush fill was used to smooth out the worst of the rough spots to permit the hauling of heavy loads. Bibon-o-meekina radiating from the former Hudson's Bay Company's (HBC) Bear Island Post on Lake Temagami, Ontario, upgraded by a colorful employee named Petrant in the 1800s, serve as an excellent example of what could be accomplished. Some of these still exist (e.g. the portage west of Cattle Is. between L. Temagami and Gull Lake, though damaged in the 1977 fire) providing evidence of the former days of o-daw-ban freighting by the Hudson's Bay Company. (These trails were upgraded by the HBC in the face of competition from other traders.)
Despite an inferior freight capacity compared to trade canoes, o-daw-ban were sometimes used to transport supplies along canoe routes to trading posts. A recent example was the provisioning of the HBC's Marten's Falls Post on the Albany River from Nakina, Ontario, shortly after the turn of the century. To save time and avoid being caught by freeze-up, the last canoe brigade for the season usually cached half its load on a long portage to be retrieved by a fleet of o-daw-ban in the winter.
PHOTO: Cree o-kad-o-daw-ban variation on Rupert River at
winter camp in 1966. Photo: Heb Evans
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