“Two or three miles past Lorette where the road turns toward the right (North) was the Hudson Bay’s “Compagnie de la Graisse”. In 1832, HBC built a shelter here to protect their 473 animals from the winter, the wind and the wolves. They hoped to establish a market for the hides and the fat of these animals (tallow for candles and hides for clothing). There was a blizzard on April 30, 1832. The animals were without shelter or feed for 15 days in the cold and 26 animals perished. The next winter, 32 heard died and 53 more were eaten by wolves. In the autumn of 1833 the stockholders divided the remainder of the animals between themselves. No trace is left of the “Compagnie de la Graisse”. (translation)
According to elder Eugène Desautels,
Lieux dits le long du chemin Dawson, 1939
Source: “Lieux-dits le long du Chemin Dawson” may have been the oral portion of the 1940 celebrations with the unveiling of the cairn in Ste. Anne for the Dawson Route’s national historic designation. It is unclear as we have only been able to collect hand written notes on this topic. It appears Eugène Desautels testimony was given in March 1939. In these handwritten notes there is a possible cross-reference made to the papers of l’abbé Dugas P. 50-52. Personal collection: Roger Godard. Print.
A farm along the Dawson Trail,1907. We were not able to locate an image of Elzéar Lagimodière’s property in Lorette, Manitoba, purchased off the HBC whose “Grease Company” went bankrupt. It was in that barn that animals were often sheltered from the cold winds of the prairie. We were, however, able to find an early photograph of this barn in Lorette which served as a forge owned by Mr. Landry. Source: SHSB9049. La forge Landry. Accueil / Au pays de Riel / Lieux / Lorette / Photos / Forge Landry . Retrieved June 4, 2020 from http://shsb.mb.ca/Lorette/La_forge_Landry_SHSB9049
“Sadly the business did not go so well.” Mr. Elzéar Lagimodière, future first Reeve of the R.M. of Taché and son of Jean-Baptiste Lagimodière and Marie-Anne Gaboury, bought the property of about 800 acres from the HBC. Heather, D. (1968). Prairie Grove 1872-1968 (P.172). Manitoba Local Histories. UM Archives. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/10719/3101128
Back to Prairie Grove Heritage Tour page | Top
Previous page: Women in the ‘New West’
Next page: Eagle Bus Lines