Louis Louis, woh oh, he gotta go, to Wanipigow

A distant relative emailed me a while back, telling me a bit of family history.

It seems one of our ancestors -- Louis Simard -- was quite the adventurer in his time.

He was such a character that some of his exploits were written up in a newspaper feature many years ago. Now this I had to find more about.

From what I've pieced together over the years, there were three Louis Simards in our family tree -- Louis One, Louis Two and Louis Three. I wondered which Louis was the adventurer -- maybe it was One? I consulted my family tree and decided it just might be.

That would make him Louis Simard, my maternal great-great-great-grandfather.

After some help with the online archives search I sat at my computer and read an article from a 1965 Winnipeg Free Press. The headline said The Wanipigow Prospector.

Wanipigow refers to Hollow Water First Nation, a few hours northeast of Winnipeg.

Simard came from Quebec in the 1870s, in search of a lumbering job. He got a job at the sawmill by Manigotagan, near Hollow Water. This is where many of my relatives still live.

I had to laugh when I read Simard had a thick French accent and couldn't get English Canadians to pronounce his last name right.

Most people called him Seymour instead of Simard. The local aboriginal people nicknamed him "Paquaish," which means "the Frenchman." He called aboriginal people "Neechi," which means chum, or friend.

After a while, Simard grew bored with his job. He made friends with some "river-hogs" who earned the name by riding logs down the river. He decided to give the job a try.

At 6-foot-2 and sturdily built, he was hired right away. He worked on the Aurora steamer that towed logs to Selkirk. But the 16- to 20-hour shifts weren't to his liking, so he quit after one season.

In 1897 everyone got gold fever, including my great-great-great grandfather.

He set off for the Yukon but returned to the Manigotagan area a year later -- for good reason.

The article says Simard was married to "an Indian," who was Betsey Cochrane, and had a family.

He continued to search for gold for many years, but only came close to striking it rich once.

Simard wasn't the best prospector; he had only basic knowledge of geology. It must have stung when Duncan Twohearts found the gold deposit that would become the San Antonio Gold mine, in a spot of greenstone he'd overlooked.

That spot is on the edge of Rice Lake, in my hometown of Bissett, and I've stood there many times over the years. What an amazing thing to learn.

Simard paddled the rivers by canoe and picked wild rice with the local aboriginal people on Rice Lake. The wild rice was so thick back then that you couldn't see a patch of water when it was ready for harvest.

He was a loud voice alongside many aboriginal people who protested the use of rice-picking machines to "the authorities." The machines pulled out the roots of the plants and the wild rice never returned.

Simard was also an optimist and a lively personality. He was always the life of a party with good stories to tell. The article said he once had a few too many drinks with Arthur Quesnel and tried to pet a semi-domesticated moose.

The moose didn't like it, so he kicked Simard, who went flying but jumped to his feet in boxing mode. He decided the moose wanted to spar. Simard punched the moose and it fell to his haunches, looking surprised.

Good thing PETA wasn't around back then.

It sounds like he was quite the colourful character.

It's interesting what you can find out about your family history when you do some digging.

-- -- --

I have to send out a thank you to Margaret, who lives in West Kildonan. Margaret read my column a few weeks back that mentioned the William Whyte Residents Association had started a penny drive.

The funds raised go toward children's programming, so kids who might not otherwise get the chance can skate, play and have fun with their friends.

Margaret is a granny, so she knows kids need guidance and support to grow up strong and healthy.

Last week she personally took two big jars of change to the William Whyte office as a donation. Margaret told me she's a fan of mine, but now she's got a fan of her own -- me.

Colleen Simard is a Winnipeg writer.

colleen.simard@gmail.com

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition January 28, 2012 J6