Edith Fowke and Alan Mills in their book "Singing Our History, Canada's Story In Song" (1960, 1984)include several songs from that era in history.

"Al la claire fontaine (By the clear fountain)" is a love song that they say has sung since the days of Champlain in the early 1600's.

"Vive les matelots! (Hurray for the sailors)" is a lively sailor's song that was a good rhythmic canoing song.

"En roulant ma boule (While rolling my ball)" was another good canoing song. The verses contain the story of a young prince who goes out to shoot a duck. The same story line and verses appear in another song called "Le canard blanc (The white duck)". Yet another version of "Le canard blanc" is better known by the extended chorus that has been combined with the duck shooting verses. The chorus begins with "V'la l'bon vent", a rendition of which was recorded years back by Ian & Sylvia.

"Tenaouich' Tenaga, Ouich'ka! (There came an ancient huron)" which is a mock tragic song about a voyageur who meets an old Indian who tells him his friend has died and the Indians gave him a proper burial. The words in the title may be French attempts to do Huron dialect.

"Petit Rocher (Oh little rock)" is a lament of a dying trapper that appears to date from the early 1700's. The legend on which the story line is based is fairly detailed. A trapper and his family are surrounded by Iroquois. He loads his family in a canoe and sends them down the rapids to a French post. He doesn't make it. A search party passes near by but he is too weak to summon them. A few days later his body is found in a shallow grave he dug himself and also left his lament written in blood on a piece of birchbark on his chest.

rich r