Hello Histarchers,

This is mainly a question for the Canadians on the list.  I am putting the finishing touches on a chapter dealing with the smoking habits of French Canadien voyageurs. One of the unique aspects of voyageur smoking habits was the method of reckoning distance along fur trade canoe routes using smoking pipes.  A "pipe" referred to both the distance covered between rest stops, when the voyageurs could take the time to fill and light a new pipe and to the rest stops themselves.  A "pipe" rest stop might last as much as ten minutes and according to archaeologist Douglas Birk the distance of a "pipe" could be anywhere from two to over six miles depending on variables such as the wind or current.  

Most of the primary references to this practice seem to come from British (or American) sources written during the post-Conquest period of the fur trade.  I am wondering if anyone knows of primary sources documenting this practice during the French Regime?

Secondarily,  if anyone knows of good archaeological contexts that relate to voyageur occupations of fur trade sites, I would be interested in knowing about those sources as well.

Best,
Rob

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Rob Mann, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
Department of Sociology and Anthropology
St. Cloud State University
252 Stewart Hall
720 4th Avenue South
St. Cloud, Minnesota 56301
phone: 320-308-4181