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Meet Marguerite de Roberval, Canada’s female Robinson Crusoe.
More than a century before the fictional Crusoe landed on his tropical island, Marguerite braved an entirely different landscape: the Lower North shore. How she survived remains a mystery: she failed to tell the tale. Bob Henderson does some digging.
Story by Bob Henderson
Spring 2005 Issue
The people of the Lower North Shore of the St. Lawrence are staunchly independent. They have to be. The geography of this long stretch of coastline, which runs from where the road ends at Natashquan to Blanc Sablon at the Quebec-Labrador border, is elegantly rugged. Some people might say, bleak. But the whales are active and the sea kayaking is grand.
The many island archipelagos and long channels, called rigolets, make the Lower North Shore coastline custom-made sea kayaking terrain (particularly between Harrington Harbour and Saint Augustine). The big views of the outer islands offer a dynamic ocean feel, while inland routes provide maximum shelter and the best fishing opportunities. The Lower North shore has plenty of paddling variety plus fine hiking, and fresh water is plentiful. Route options are numerous, thanks in part to the Nordik Express Ferry Service, and no matter where you go, few others are rushing for the same campsites — and that’s an understatement! Expéditions Agaguk at Havre-Saint-Pierre can help with kayak rentals, travel plans and guiding services.
Colour commentary from local folks
Since local folks often pass by, ‘rafting up’ is common. It’s a great way to get information about routes, fishing sites, life and politics. Rafted up, for example, I learned that in winter, village people use snow machines to transport whole hockey teams to neighbouring communities fifty kilometres away. The people of the North Shore are spread over than fifteen communities stretching from Havre-Saint-Pierre to Blanc Sablon. The villages, unlike most others in the expansive Duplessis political riding (including Baie Comeau and Shaefferville), are a mix of English, French and Innu, but predominantly English. Neglected politically, the small, mostly English enclaves have learned to ‘go it on their own’. They are, in part, a product of a once-vibrant fishery and their road-less, waterways geography. Although fishing today is not usually commercial, it remains a big topic since people fish for family bounty.
Despite the long coastline, the Lower North Shore felt like a quiet, friendly and special ‘pocket’ of this large country. We visited La Tabatière, St. Paul’s River, Harrington Harbour and La Romaine, travelling primarily by ferry and kayak. A car trip between Blanc Sablon to Old Fort to the west and Red Bay, Labrador to the east concluded our travels. And everywhere along this rugged, seemingly lonely coast, I found peopled places rich in story and craft.
The perils of Marguerite
A pre-eminent history story from this shore is the abandonment of Marguerite de Roberval in 1542. As the story goes (and there are many versions) Marguerite’s uncle, Jean-François de La Roque, Sieur de Roberval, was the ship’s captain and chief colonizer. Humiliated by her promiscuity with a new-found lover on the ship, he abandoned Marguerite on the “Island of Demons.” She was not alone. Her elderly nurse/maid, Damienne, was also marooned, and her lover followed suit. Some say he jumped off at the last minute to join the dismal scene while others say he was ‘encouraged’ to join her. Still others say the lover pulled a gun, forcing the captain and crew to let him off the ship.
Soon after, however, both the lover and nurse died, leaving the intrepid Marguerite to survive for a year or perhaps two. Was she rescued by Roberval himself out of guilt or by a French fishing vessel, as suggested by Elizabeth Boyer in her novel, A Colony of One — The History of a Brave Woman?
There are many details we do know. Marguerite did return to France, having defied her demons and the odds. Did I mention she had a child on the island, which didn’t survive? Other information is sketchy, and has been richly imagined by a variety of authors. In the novel, Elle, the 2003 Canadian Governor’s General book prize winner for fiction, author Douglas Glover explored the demon theme in earnest. In Glover’s book, the lover is a notch below a sixteenth century Homer Simpson!
True romance?
It doesn’t sound like much of a love story, does it? Yet historian Arthur Stabler notes it has been called “the most romantic true story of the sixteenth century”. Of course, generally speaking, Canada does not have a wealth of 1540s’ romances on record!
Let your imagination run wild for a moment ... Marguerite, et al, abandoned with some food and clothing, ammunition and a gun ... her lover, sometimes named Etienne, owned quite a prestigious one for the time. While the location of the Isle of Demons is not certain, we know she spent at least four seasons in a very challenging environment. What sort of shelter did the castaways construct or did they settle in a rock cave as the folks at Harrington Harbour suggest? How did they preserve their fire over time? Did hunting and fishing skills come naturally, or did Marguerite rely on native peoples? If so, why wouldn’t she openly acknowledge this? Or did she — only to have follow-up storytellers purposely negate this information?
There is much to ponder here, such as the debated location of Isle of Demons. Caribou Island near St. Paul’s River is one suggested site. Others include Fogo Island and Quirpon along the Newfoundland northern coast. Harrington Island seems the dominant choice, given the long local tradition of telling this story here.
Shameless passion?
Even the history of the story-telling is intriguing. The first known telling in print was released fifteen years after the event in 1558. The latest, Elle, is fun. (Somehow, as I read the fictionalized details, I am reminded of a broken telegraph. When you receive only a staccato version of the story, with gaps a-
plenty, there is a lot of room for artistic license.) The foundation of the story was laid in three literary versions in the sixteenth century. In the first, a true love story, Marguerite faithfully joins her exiled husband, and no one is discredited. (Hmmm. Remember it was written when many of the players were still alive.) Later, by 1575, the “shameless passion” and “libidinous union” receive more attention.
The native land
The tale is also told in a long poem (1887), a drama (1888), and two other novels written in 1899 and 1953 — and this is far from a complete list. Why did such a sparsely detailed story receive such attention? Perhaps, in part, because of the few details: we are free to dream up our own, and construct our own dream story. True, there are universal themes here which are always compelling. But primarily I credit this rugged terrain and the improbability of surviving here with next to nothing in materials and even less in knowledge. Surely this is a story to ponder on a foggy, chilly paddling cruise along this coast. Watch out for demons, though. Or better yet, think of the words of another Canadian writer, Isabel Mackay, who talks not of demons but of the soul and the power of this land.
Bob Henderson is KANAWA’s heritage specialist, Email him at bhender@mcmaster.ca.
The Wild Coast
Adrienne Blattel takes you on a tour of the hard — but magnificent — landscape surrounding Marguerite’s island camp. Try the bottled moose!
The Coast (as the locals call it) is almost as wild a place today as it was in Marguerite’s day. In calm weather,
the best way to catch a glimpse of the hidden villages along the Coast is to book a trip on the Nordik Express. But from January to March, the harbours are iced over and the ferry, loaded with supplies and groceries, doesn’t run. Everything comes in by plane and costs a fortune.
A $12 high flight
You, too, can get there by plane any time of year – and it’s worth the price. (Thankfully, gone are the days when doctors travelled hundreds of kilometres by boat or by dog team to treat patients.) To get to Harrington Harbour, for example, just fly to nearby Chevery and then take an unforgettable 15-minute helicopter ride over breathtaking waterfalls, rugged beaches and scattered islands. The helicopter trip costs just $12.
Swooping up and over the top of Harrington Island reveals just how tiny it is. The village is huddled in a compact harbour at front and centre, as if bracing itself against the wind. On the ground, there are sites to visit: Margaret’s Cave (where locals believe Marguerite holed up), a cairn dedicated to Jacques Cartier and — soon — an interpretation centre. But the place itself is the true attraction. It is thrilling just to walk along Harrington’s old wooden boardwalks, admiring the maritime-style wooden houses and dodging the occasional ATV. Harrington is one of Quebec’s most beautiful villages.
Early morning on water
The views are, if anything, even better from the water. Locals love the two-hour loop around Harrington Island in early morning: the sunrise over nearby Mecatina can be spectacular. A paddle around the Point of the Island will bring you out through the Reach. (That choppy section needs to be approached with care.) In just four hours, paddlers can reach the magical coves, sandy beaches and high cliffs at Otter Brook. (Most of the route is protected, but tides are still a concern.) And kayakers craving solitude — punctuated only by whales, dolphins and the occasional fishing boat — should try the outer islands, like Garden, Shag, Schooner, Gull Cliff and Fox Island.
The lure of isolation
The isolation of the villages and the surprise of finding English speakers on the far-eastern edge of Quebec make for a quirky, charming mix. Strangely, even the villages accessible by road feel isolated. The Nordik Express docks at Blanc Sablon on the Labrador border, where Route 138 stretches to Old Fort in the west and Red Bay in the east. Its long white beaches inspired Jacques Cartier to give the place its name, which means “white sands”, but it is better known locally for the giant bonfires lit in honour of St. Jean-Baptiste on June 24. In neighbouring Lourdes-de-Blanc-Sablon, as its name suggests, an elaborate shrine to Our Lady of Lourdes overlooks the village.
Along this coast, kayaking tourists are richly blessed. (Boat tours are available, too.) Greenly Island off Blanc Sablon is a former fishing community and crash site of the German plane Bremen, famous for having attempted the world’s first trans-Atlantic flight. Perroquet Island near Lourdes boasts Quebec’s largest puffin sanctuary. And it seems the endless islands near St. Paul’s River each have a story best told by a local boat tour operator: legends, ruins, hidden cemeteries, remains of the historic cod fishery.
Back on land, it’s fun to drive to the end of the road from Blanc Sablon. The views over the village of St. Paul’s River are worth the drive: St. Paul’s River is a world-class salmon river. And the road meanders through lonely lichen-covered granite outcrops along the way.
Travel along the Lower North Shore remains a thrilling secret. The region is off the radar for most Canadians. Neighbouring Labrador Straits hit the jackpot with the discovery of a major 16th century Basque whaling site at Red Bay. It’s now a Parks Canada National Historic Site visited by tens of thousands of visitors. No such luck yet for the Lower North Shore, but the villagers, hit hard by the fishery crisis, are working to build the tourism industry at home.
In summer Quebec employs some to build trail boardwalks, for example, and local groups work with organizations like the Quebec-Labrador Foundation (QLF) to create interpretation panels and museums. Fostering the craft industry is a priority, as it has been since the late 19th century when the Grenfell Mission, almost as concerned with social welfare as with health, established craft co-ops. The region is still famous for its hooked mats, and in September crafters head for the two-day Craft and Agriculture Fair in neighbouring L’Anse au Loup. The fair features local wild food, including bottled moose, caribou and seal meat too. Try it!
Adrienne Blattel works with the non-profit Quebec-Labrador Foundation, and has a keen interest in both the Lower North Shore and the French Shore of Newfoundland-Labrador’s northern peninsula.
Email: ablattel@qlf.org |
Suggested Reading and Resources
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