James Bellenger St. Louis, Nouvelle Franais Missouri, U.S.

A May 28, 1728 Dear Papa, Greetings, how do you do? I have so much to tell you about my life as a voyageur which is hard but also is enjoyable. We begin our day by waking up at 2 a.m and then paddle for 6 hours, which is a great way to get my arms strong for heavy work when I come back home. I really miss mamas warm, home cooked meals. Here we always eat pemmican, pork or peas. I am getting paid well, but it is a lot of hard work, we trade furs over a route of five thousand kilometers and we work for 14-15 long hours a day. When we are not on the on the waters, we are carrying 2-3 bales that weigh 90 pounds filled with furs or other equipment, which feels light now a days. Speaking of furs, I never thought I would ever even get to touch a beaver pelt but I was so wrong. We go far inland to find beaver pelts because they are heavily trapped in the east coast . Then we trade the beaver pelt with the aboriginals. We also went to Lake Athabasca from Montreal, I was thinking about you so much because I know youve always wanted to see Lake Athabasca. Our journey was three thousand miles, it was broken down into two major parts where there was a trading post near Lake Superior as a meeting point. I must go, so take care of Mama and Marie, I will be home soon. Sincerely, Brock

Brock