Duck Bay, Manitoba
Encyclopedia
Duck Bay is a community located in the Canadian province of Manitoba
, along the western shores of Lake Winnipegosis
. Duck Bay was established at the turn of the century as a Hudson's Bay Company
trading post, and is named after the bay on which it is situated. A gravel road to Camperville, Manitoba
was completed in 1952.
The primary industry of the community is fishing, trapping and some agriculture. The Duck Bay wharf provides berthing for 15–20 skiff
s and 3–5 whitefish vessels.
The inhabitants of the community are mostly Métis
of Ojibwa
y and French
ancestry.
In 1842, Father Darveau, travelling with the fur brigades, began his missionary work among the natives in the Duck Bay and Pine Creek area. This young priest travelled extensively, north to The Pas, and as far west as Fort Pelly. On a journey back from The Pas, in June of 1844, Father Darveau died. Alexander Ross in his book, The Red River Settlement: its Rise, Progress and Present State, says Father Darveau was drowned "in a rather mysterious manner." Archbishop Taché, in his "Esquise sur le Nord-Ouest de l'Amérique" is of the opinion that Father Darveau was drowned when his canoe struck a reef. However, two men who have spent many years at the Camperville mission, Fathers Joseph Brachet and Maurice de Bretagne, say they have no doubt that the young priest was murdered — a victim of the misconceptions of Muskegon sorcerers (medicine men) who were afraid that they would lose their influence over their people as a result of the new religion of the white men.
Descendants of native families living in the Swan River area give this account of Father Darveau's death. It would seem that Father Darveau, with a Métis guide named J. Baptiste Boyer and a small boy, probably a son or relative of the guide, were travelling from The Pas to Lake Winnipegosis. Their bodies and canoe were found washed ashore on a bay seven and a half miles northwest of Duck Bay. News of the tragedy spread quickly, as the bodies were found near a camp of Métis. Burial of all three took place at this site, but later Archbishop Langevin had the priest's body disinterred and sent by boat to St. Boniface, where it was placed in a crypt in the cathedral. A wooden cross was erected to mark the burial spot on the lake shore.
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Canadian prairie province with an area of . The province has over 110,000 lakes and has a largely continental climate because of its flat topography. Agriculture, mostly concentrated in the fertile southern and western parts of the province, is vital to the province's economy; other...
, along the western shores of Lake Winnipegosis
Lake Winnipegosis
Lake Winnipegosis is a large lake in central North America, in Manitoba, Canada, some 300 km northwest of Winnipeg. It is Canada's eleventh-largest lake...
. Duck Bay was established at the turn of the century as a Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
trading post, and is named after the bay on which it is situated. A gravel road to Camperville, Manitoba
Camperville, Manitoba
Camperville is an unincorporated community in the Canadian province of Manitoba. Many Métis people live in this community. It is situated on Lake Winnipegosis....
was completed in 1952.
The primary industry of the community is fishing, trapping and some agriculture. The Duck Bay wharf provides berthing for 15–20 skiff
Skiff
The term skiff is used for a number of essentially unrelated styles of small boat. The word is related to ship and has a complicated etymology: "skiff" comes from the Middle English skif, which derives from the Old French esquif, which in turn derives from the Old Italian schifo, which is itself of...
s and 3–5 whitefish vessels.
The inhabitants of the community are mostly Métis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
of Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
y and French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
ancestry.
In 1842, Father Darveau, travelling with the fur brigades, began his missionary work among the natives in the Duck Bay and Pine Creek area. This young priest travelled extensively, north to The Pas, and as far west as Fort Pelly. On a journey back from The Pas, in June of 1844, Father Darveau died. Alexander Ross in his book, The Red River Settlement: its Rise, Progress and Present State, says Father Darveau was drowned "in a rather mysterious manner." Archbishop Taché, in his "Esquise sur le Nord-Ouest de l'Amérique" is of the opinion that Father Darveau was drowned when his canoe struck a reef. However, two men who have spent many years at the Camperville mission, Fathers Joseph Brachet and Maurice de Bretagne, say they have no doubt that the young priest was murdered — a victim of the misconceptions of Muskegon sorcerers (medicine men) who were afraid that they would lose their influence over their people as a result of the new religion of the white men.
Descendants of native families living in the Swan River area give this account of Father Darveau's death. It would seem that Father Darveau, with a Métis guide named J. Baptiste Boyer and a small boy, probably a son or relative of the guide, were travelling from The Pas to Lake Winnipegosis. Their bodies and canoe were found washed ashore on a bay seven and a half miles northwest of Duck Bay. News of the tragedy spread quickly, as the bodies were found near a camp of Métis. Burial of all three took place at this site, but later Archbishop Langevin had the priest's body disinterred and sent by boat to St. Boniface, where it was placed in a crypt in the cathedral. A wooden cross was erected to mark the burial spot on the lake shore.