Lac La Biche - History - Aboriginal Descendants

Fosseneuve | Terror at the Mission | Trading Post | Pioneers

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FOSSENEUVE – Page 2

By the first decade of the 20th century, "Captain Shot," as he was now known, had become an institution unto himself. It has often been said that the mere mention of his name could hush a noisy crowd or stop a barroom brawl. He was certainly famous enough to attract the attention of Emily Murphy, the writer who became the first woman magistrate in the British Empire.

She met him in 1912 and published the account in Seeds of Pine under her pen name, Janey Canuck:
"Antoine presents me to Captain Shot, an Indian who has been on this river for forty-eight years. The captain is seventy-three* . ...I say that Antoine "presents me" and I say it advisedly, for the North levels people, by which is meant the primitive north where they live with nature. In this environment, the man who builds boats and supplies food or fuel, is the superior of the man or woman who writes, or pronounces theories. I may be able to hoodwink the people up south as to my importance in our community, but it is different here." Fosseneuve was later featured in the Saturday Evening Post.

*Murphy was mistaken about this, Fosseneuve was actually 71 years old.

Some writers have claimed that Louison Fosseneuve "dealt the death blow" to the Methy Portage when he shot the Grand Rapids on the Athabasca River in 1867. However, it was not until the mid-1880s, after the construction of the 161 km Athabasca Landing Trail, that the major transportation routes to the North shed and the Methy Portage was displaced. By the turn of the century almost all northbound traffic passed over the Athabasca Landing Trail and then down the Athabasca River, as the popular Hudson's Bay Company advertisement shown above illustrates. Although eclipsed by the development of railways, the old trail was used for the building of the Alaska Highway during World War II.

Although Captain Shot spent much of his time at Athabasca Landing after it became the main departure point for scows, he always returned to Lac La Biche. Then one day in the spring of 1914 he injured his foot - perhaps by stepping on a nail or some other sharp object. The next day he could not walk and the day after found him in hospital. He had contracted blood poisoning, a fatal disease in those days. His friends departed quickly to bring his wife, who was pregnant at the time, from Lac La Biche. On May 16, 1914, before she arrived, Captain Shot died.

His funeral was allegedly the largest ever held at Athabasca Landing. The procession was led by a squad of Mounted Police, the town band, and 150 fellow Métis followed by a line of well-wishers which stretched for a mile. Captain Shot may have had a fierce stare but behind it was a generous nature which could bring out the best in people and they loved him all the more for it.

Fosseneuve Remembered

"I can recall an incident that I witnessed myself as a boy of fifteen. A man by the name of David Caron had brought a binder into the country from Vegreville; where he lived. He was a bachelor and lived by himself. We borrowed his binder to cut our small acreage. Before we had had an opportunity to take it back he agreed to loan it to the Fosseneuves, who arrived at our place with wagon gear on which they had fastened two poles to the bunks. The old man and his two sons picked up the birder, lifted it with the bull wheel intact, and placed it on the poles on the wagon in a matter of seconds. I do not know what the exact weight of the binder was, but I am sure it weighed at least a thousand pounds." – Frank Bouvier

Photo
The Beaver
A typical crew from Lac La Biche and surrounding region. This photo was taken in about 1906 on Grand Rapids Island. The man kneeling in front with the pipe in his mouth is Julian Cardinal, the head guide.

Although Louis Fosseneuve will always be remembered as the first man to run the Grand Rapids in a scow, that was not his lasting legacy. Even a generous writer like J. G. MacGregor felt compelled to admit that Captain Shot was lucky. "His life ended at the close of his era," wrote MacGregor. "Even as they carried him to his grave the new railway was brushing out its right-of-way around the shore of his beloved Lac La Biche - the AGW which was eagerly reaching towards McMurray with the avowed purpose of doing away with the scows and scowmen of the middle Athabasca."

No, Louis Fosseneuve's legacy was not just running the Grand Rapids, but his ability to break down some of the social and racial barriers of the day. A hint is to be found in Emily Murphy's comments about Captain Shot and the levelling effect of the North. Murphy, who was not noted for her anti-racist beliefs, was right, though for the wrong reasons. It was not so much the North that levelled people as a person's worth and accomplishments were held to be more important than their social or racial background. As a Métis Louis Fosseneuve may not have been a regular guest in the homes of the elite of Northern society, but the turnout for his funeral was a telling demonstration of how the vast majority of Northern society judged him.

Photo
Provincial Archives of Alberta
Although scows could be guided through the Grand Rapids, it was very risky. Goods were often drenched and had to be unpacked and dried out before the voyage continued. In an effort to increase safety and reduce cargo loss, the HBC built a short tramway on a small island at the foot of the rapids. Goods were transported across the island at a rate of $2.50 a ton. It is estimated that the tramway netted about half a million dollars a year in profit. It remained in operation until the Alberta & Great Waterways Railway was constructed.

Photo courtesy of Millie Lansing
Louison Fosseneuve is seated at the far right. The man seated at the far left is Joseph Ladouceur. The others are unidentified.

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