“den he freeze, mon Dieu!”

The annual spring thaw brought additional challenges and unpredictability for Métis mail carriers in the Upper Great Lakes, whose winter mail routes regularly traversed the frozen lakes and rivers. 

Quickly changing snow and ice conditions often led to difficult—sometimes life-or-death—decisions, especially when Métis mail carriers found themselves far from shore. The immensity of these decisions was further heightened when they found themselves accompanied by less experienced and knowledgeable travellers.

Retired Upper Great Lakes Métis mail carrier, Louis Miron, recounted one such fateful event, later in his life, about an early spring mail run on which he was transporting a young John Egan to Sault Ste. Marie after making a promise to John’s father, and found himself on thin slushy ice far from shore:

“We were crossing the lak den and der had been a heavy thaw, and altho’ it was now 40 degré below zero, yet under the snow the water was still unfroz’ and er’ tam you plant your snowshoe it go ‘way down and you see de slush underneath.”

Miron’s deep knowledge and experience on this mail route told him it was time to calmly turn back and seek safer conditions. The inexperienced Egan quickly panicked, however, creating a life-or-death situation for both men, as well as for a third traveller who quickly abandoned Miron and Egan to the elements:

“Well I turned and go back, and wad you tink I foun? Why dat faller John when he couldn’t kep up wid us had just taken off his snowshoes to run and of course ever’ step he took he went down deep into de slush and den he freeze, mon Dieu!” 

Despite the personal risks, Miron was committed to keeping the promise he made to Egan’s father and decided to stay with and care for him until they could finish their journey together:

“his feet were froze, his hand were froze, his face wus hard, he was all froze when I find him, an so I took him back to de islan’ we was just pass and light a big fire of pine and cedar and mak de big cup of tea and try to thaw him oud again.”

Thanks to Miron’s knowledge, compassion, perseverance, and calm decision-making, both men survived this harrowing early spring ordeal and eventually made it safely to their destination—just as Miron had promised.

See Our Sources

• The story of Baw-a-ting, being the annals of Sault Sainte Marie

• Upper Great Lakes Submission to the MNC Expert Panel

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