“The canoes, when they take their departure from La Chine, are loaded to within about six inches of the gunwales, or edge of the canoe. Instead of oars, they use paddles, which they handle with great dexterity. They strike off, singing a song peculiar to themselves, called the Voyaguer Song: one man takes the lead, and all the others join in a chorus. It is extremely pleasing to see people who are toiling hard, display such marks of good humour and contentment, although they know, that for a space of more than 2000 miles their exertions must be unremitting, and their living very poor; for, in the little space allowed in the canoe for provisions, you find none of the luxuries, and a very scanty supply of the necessaries of life. The song is of great use: they keep time with their paddles to its measured cadence, and, by uniting their force, increase its effect considerably.”
[Letters from Canada Written During a Residece in the Years 1806, 1807, and 1809, Gray, 1809]