Entertainment
The following was adopted from a book by Tim Borlase titled Labrador Settlers, Metis and Kablunangajuit.
So now my song is ended, the truth to tell you I tell: A trapper has a lonely life and that you all know well. I think I'll boil the kettle, cheery the bogie with a junk; I rhymed this into Apple Lake, stretched out upon my bunk. - Douglas Best, The Trapper's Song, in Tim Borlase, Songs of Labrador
Many trappers wrote their own songs, as a release from their long hours of loneliness and hardship. These songs were sung unaccompanied, and were often humorous stories about other trappers, made to rhyme and set to music.
A trapper would never hunt on a Sunday, but would entertain himself by reading his Bible or some other quiet activity.
Entertainment in the bush? Well, there wasn't much entertainment, because you spent your time, of course, tending to your furs and trapping. But there were arrangements made among trappers to meet at certain weekends, so that you knew that the trapper was all right, and you were all right, and there was nothing the matter with you. If you said you were gonna be there, you had to show up. You didn't say I'm gonna be there Sunday, and you wouldn't show up for a week. There was none of that, because the other man would be looking for you. So when you got together, you heard all the news about the fur, how much there was around, if there was a lot of mink, or a lot of fox. You heard all the news because the other man might have heard from other trappers around other areas. Course, if cakes were all cooked and all that, and if you knew this man knew a lot of songs, you might say, well, Ned, how's about singing us The Wild Colonial Boy or something like that? And so you'd lie back on the bunk with a good feed of meat cooking on the camp stove and you'd listen to Uncle Ned Michelin singing The Wild Colonial boy or some good old song like that. And that was the entertainment we had back there in the bush. - Issac Rich, Homecoming, Them Days, Vol. 1, No. 1.
Now that you have read a little bit about the lonely life of a trapper you probably have low expectations for entertainment but you may be surprised by some entertainment the night before the races and the night of the event when everyone has returned from the trapline.
It is important also to pay attention to Issac Rich's story. If you say your gonna be at the party, you have to be at the party!
You see when the trapper returned home. The entertainment picked up a notch. Read on:
Homecoming
By mid-December, trappers were anxious to get back to their homes and families. The men skinned, dried and stretched their furs in preparation for selling them. When they were ready to return home, they would turn the canvas bag they had used for food inside out, and fill it with furs. Pulling their catches behind on toboggans, it took trappers two or three weeks (or even longer, if the snow was soft and sticky) to make the homeward trek. Along the way, one man would leave a bit of food and firewood for another's use, in case of emergency. Before reaching home, a trapper would make a few flapjacks for his children.
The Time
Great excitement pulsed through the homes and community when the trappers returned. In North West River , a three-day celebration was held, as people arrived from Sebaskachu, Mulligan, Pearl River, Goose Bay and Mud Lake.
Second Trip
After the middle of February, trappers ventured off on their second trip, this time with dog teams. Although furs were not prime at this time of year, a man would still catch what he could while he brought out his canoe. After readying his traps for the next season, he would build a low, broad-runnered sled on which he placed canoe and furs for the journey home.
So now my song is ended, the truth to tell you I tell: A trapper has a lonely life and that you all know well. I think I'll boil the kettle, cheery the bogie with a junk; I rhymed this into Apple Lake, stretched out upon my bunk. - Douglas Best, The Trapper's Song, in Tim Borlase, Songs of Labrador
Many trappers wrote their own songs, as a release from their long hours of loneliness and hardship. These songs were sung unaccompanied, and were often humorous stories about other trappers, made to rhyme and set to music.
A trapper would never hunt on a Sunday, but would entertain himself by reading his Bible or some other quiet activity.
Entertainment in the bush? Well, there wasn't much entertainment, because you spent your time, of course, tending to your furs and trapping. But there were arrangements made among trappers to meet at certain weekends, so that you knew that the trapper was all right, and you were all right, and there was nothing the matter with you. If you said you were gonna be there, you had to show up. You didn't say I'm gonna be there Sunday, and you wouldn't show up for a week. There was none of that, because the other man would be looking for you. So when you got together, you heard all the news about the fur, how much there was around, if there was a lot of mink, or a lot of fox. You heard all the news because the other man might have heard from other trappers around other areas. Course, if cakes were all cooked and all that, and if you knew this man knew a lot of songs, you might say, well, Ned, how's about singing us The Wild Colonial Boy or something like that? And so you'd lie back on the bunk with a good feed of meat cooking on the camp stove and you'd listen to Uncle Ned Michelin singing The Wild Colonial boy or some good old song like that. And that was the entertainment we had back there in the bush. - Issac Rich, Homecoming, Them Days, Vol. 1, No. 1.
Now that you have read a little bit about the lonely life of a trapper you probably have low expectations for entertainment but you may be surprised by some entertainment the night before the races and the night of the event when everyone has returned from the trapline.
It is important also to pay attention to Issac Rich's story. If you say your gonna be at the party, you have to be at the party!
You see when the trapper returned home. The entertainment picked up a notch. Read on:
Homecoming
By mid-December, trappers were anxious to get back to their homes and families. The men skinned, dried and stretched their furs in preparation for selling them. When they were ready to return home, they would turn the canvas bag they had used for food inside out, and fill it with furs. Pulling their catches behind on toboggans, it took trappers two or three weeks (or even longer, if the snow was soft and sticky) to make the homeward trek. Along the way, one man would leave a bit of food and firewood for another's use, in case of emergency. Before reaching home, a trapper would make a few flapjacks for his children.
The Time
Great excitement pulsed through the homes and community when the trappers returned. In North West River , a three-day celebration was held, as people arrived from Sebaskachu, Mulligan, Pearl River, Goose Bay and Mud Lake.
Second Trip
After the middle of February, trappers ventured off on their second trip, this time with dog teams. Although furs were not prime at this time of year, a man would still catch what he could while he brought out his canoe. After readying his traps for the next season, he would build a low, broad-runnered sled on which he placed canoe and furs for the journey home.