Louis Marier Jr. Freighter across the Western Prairies and on the Saskatchewan River

 

Louis Marier Jr. 1835–1910 (our 4th cousin 4x removed), was a Métis freighter who played a vital role in the transportation networks of the Saskatchewan River and Edmonton during the late 19th century. He was the son of Louis LeMarié (Marier) 1790-1874, who had migrated west from La Prairie to Amherstburg, Ontario, and Isabelle (Elizabeth) Tourangeau 1796–1846 (Métis).

Historical Background

Identity: He was a Red River Métis.

Relocation: In the 1880s, he moved his family to Edmonton, Alberta.

Profession: He was a freighter, a critical job that involved moving supplies and trade goods across the prairies and along the Saskatchewan River.

Family: He was married to Sophie Collin in 1860. 

Around 1860, "freighting" on the Saskatchewan River relied primarily on Métis brigades using wooden Red River carts and York boats. Commercial steamships and barges had not yet dominated the river, meaning goods were moved over shallow water and rugged terrain to support the fur trade and early settlements. 

The primary methods and vessels used for freight transport during this era reflect this transitional frontier period:

1. York Boats (River & Lake Transport)

Before large steamboats took over, the York boat was the primary heavy freight vessel for the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). York boats carried up to six tons of cargo, three times that of a canoe, crucial for the massive volumes of fur and trade goods handled by the HBC in the Saskatchewan region.

Design: Built of wood with a flat bottom and pointed bow and stern, these rowed-and-sailed boats could haul up to three to four tons of cargo.

Navigation: They were much better suited than canoes for the rough waters and shallow sandbars of the Saskatchewan River system.

Portage: Crews of 6 to 8 men (usually Orkneymen and First Nations or Métis) could row or pull them through difficult rapids and shallows. 

2. Red River Carts (Overland Freighter Brigades)

Because certain sections of the river were too dangerous or shallow, freight was often moved by land through massive cart brigades. 

Design: These iconic, large, two-wheeled carts were made entirely of wood and rawhide.

Load Capacity: They could carry 500 to 800 pounds of goods, pulled by a single horse or ox.

Signature Sound: They were famous for their loud, screeching, ungreased wooden axles, which could be heard from miles away. 

3. The Steamboat Transition

The year 1860 falls directly at the dawn of steamboat freighting on the Canadian prairies.

Early steamboats, such as the Anson Northup (1859), operated on the nearby Red River, setting the stage for Saskatchewan River paddle-wheelers.

By the 1870s, shallow-draft, flat-bottomed steam freighters (like the SS Northcote) began carrying bulk cargo and supporting early settlement before the arrival of the transcontinental railway. 

Note:

The LeMarié (or Le Marié) was another prominent late 19th-century steamship that supported western expansion across the Canadian Prairies. Operating primarily as a vital logistical link, the vessel navigated the waters of the Saskatchewan River and its tributaries, hauling crucial freight and shuttling passengers to support frontier settlements. We don’t know for sure who owned it, but there is a very good chance it belonged to Louis Marier Jr. or one of his descendants.

Thank you to Gemini AI for research help. — Drifting Cowboy