Jos Montferrand, bûcheron légendaire, 8 septembre 1992, impression: Ashton-Potter Limited, graphisme : Ralph Tibbles (basé sur les illustrations de Deborah Drew-Brook et Allan Cormack), Bibliothèque et Archives Canada (Ottawa).
Courtoisie de la Société canadienne des postes.
Jos Montferrand, Legendary Logger, September 8, 1992, printing: Ashton- Potter Limited, design: Ralph Tibbles (based on the illustrations of Deborah Drew-Brook and Allan Cormack), Library and Archives Canada (Ottawa).
Courtesy of Canada Post Corporation.
Joseph Montferrand, dit Favre, mieux connu sous le nom de Jos Montferrand, demeure l’une des plus grandes figures légendaires du Canada français. En Amérique du Nord, le héros porte entre autres le nom de Montferan, Muffraw, Mouffreau, Mufferon, Maufree et Murphy. Bien qu’il soit étroitement lié à l’Outaouais, le bûcheron, draveur, contremaître, cageux et homme fort n’est pas originaire de la région. Il y passe toutefois la moitié de sa vie, attiré par l’industrie forestière qui s’avère le moteur du développement de l’Outaouais au XIXe siècle. C’est là qu’il entre dans la légende, puisque encore aujourd’hui, il s’avère impossible de savoir lesquels de ses exploits relèvent du folklore et de la réalité. […]
En analysant la culture des travailleurs forestiers de l’Outaouais de la première moitié du XIXe siècle, on comprend l’attrait de Montferrand pour ce mode de vie. En effet, notre héros baigne dans une culture masculine étroitement liée aux épreuves physiques, à la rudesse, aux défis, et souvent à la violence. Ces affrontements mettent en valeur la force, l’habilité et le courage. Or, ces trois «qualités» très valorisées dans son milieu de travail, Montferrand les possède plus que tout autre. C’est d’ailleurs ce qui lui confère son prestige.
En réalité, on ne compte plus les exploits réels ou imaginaires attribués à la force herculéenne et à l’agilité de Montferrand. Par exemple, il bat en 1828 à Québec, devant une foule considérable, un champion de la marine britannique alors qu’en 1832, lors d’une élection partielle à Montréal, il met en déroute une bande de fiers-à-bras qui s’attaquaient à son ami et homme fort, le député Antoine Voyer, surnommé le Grand Voyer. On dit que Montferrand levait à bout de bras et d’une seule main une charrue. Par ailleurs, à Bytown, Montferrand aurait laissé son emprunte de pied au plafond d’une taverne de la promenade Sussex. Ce geste répété dans plusieurs tavernes du Québec devient d’ailleurs sa marque de passage.
Après 1840, les exploits de Montferrand se font plus rares. Il ne parcourt plus les chantiers en hiver, mais continue à diriger, au printemps et à l’été, les cages de bois équarri qui descendent l’Outaouais et le Saint-Laurent jusqu’à Québec. Ce travail demeure tout de même exigeant puisque ces trains de bois peuvent atteindre 500 mètres et montés par un équipage de 80 cageux *. […]
Joseph Montferrand, dit Favre, better known as Jos Montferrand, is still considered one of the greatest figures of French Canadian legend. The hero is referred to by many different names across North America, including Montferan, Muffraw, Mouffreau, Mufferoin, Maufree and Murphy. While he is closely associated with the Ottawa Valley, this lumberjack, log driver, foreman, raftsman and strongman was not born and raised there. He did, however, spend half of his life in the region, drawn by the forest industry that proved to be the economic force of the Ottawa Valley in the 20th century. It was also in this region that he became a character of legend; today, there is no way to distinguish his real exploits from those that are purely folklore. […]
Jos Montferrand enjoyed his roaming life, travelling to lumber camps, ports and taverns, where the strongest ruled and where the most intrepid members of each ethnic group had to defend the honour of their race. As Gérard Goyer and Jean Hamelin put it so well: “Because he was the strongest and the quickest, Monferrand was king. But king though he was, he constantly had to defend his crown. On more than one occasion he had to take up a challenge or extricate himself from an ambush.”
Closer examination of the culture of lumber workers in the Ottawa Valley in the first half of the 19th century helps us to understand why Montferrand was drawn to this way of life. Our hero was surrounded by a male culture closely associated with physical trials, harsh conditions, challenges and often violence, all of which emphasized strength, agility and courage. Montferrand possessed these three “qualities”, so highly valued in his working environment, to a greater degree than any of his contemporaries.
The list of real and imaginary exploits attributed to Monferrand’s strength and agility is nearly endless. For example, in 1828, he defeated a British Army champion, before a large crowd in Quebec, while in 1832, during a by-election in Montreal, he routed a gang of ruffians who were attacking his friend and strongman, city councillor Antoine Voyer, nicknamed le Grand Voyer. Monferrand is said to have lifted a plough at arm’s length with one hand. In Bytown, he is reported to have left his footprint on the ceiling of a tavern on Sussex Drive. Montferrand performed this feat in many Quebec taverns and it became his hallmark.
The most spectacular of all our athlete’s feats was his 1829 fight on the Union Bridge, now the Chaudière Bridge. The only land link between Hull and Bytown, this bridge was the site of an ongoing conflict between Irish hooligans, the Shiners, and French-Canadians, the two groups fighting for control of jobs in the logging industry in the Ottawa Valley. Frequent skirmishes occurred between them and an atmosphere of violence reigned, especially near the Chaudière Falls, where Irish ruffians controlled the bridge. This is where the undisputed leader of the French-Canadians was ambushed and where he routed more than 150 Shiners. As historian Benjamin Sulte tells the story, it was a horrible scene. Many of the attackers found themselves in the water and blood was flowing from the parapet into the Ottawa River. Sulte describes how Montferrand was able to defeat so many enemies: “Montferrand took a few quick steps toward the attackers; the one who was the most exposed fell prey to the Canadien, who grabbed him by the feet and used him as a club to knock down everyone in the front rank, then picking them up like rag dolls and throwing them to the left and to the right into the white waters of the river.” [Translation] Other similar feats in Shiners War, including his victory over the seven MacDonald brothers who were trying to keep him from crossing the same bridge, led Robert Choquette to state that Montferrand proved to be “David slaying the Irish Goliath on the Ottawa River between 1829 and 1840”.
After 1840, the number of Montferrand exploits diminished. He no longer travelled to the lumber camps in winter but, in spring and summer, he continued to oversee the movement of rafts of square timber down the Ottawa River and the St. Lawrence all the way to Quebec. This was still demanding work since the rafts could reach lengths of 500 meters, with crews of 80 raftsmen *. […]
Encyclopédie du patrimoine culturel de l’Amérique française, 2007:
Extrait de l’article « Jos Montferrand, figure légendaire de l’Outaouais » par Michel Prévost
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* Pour plus d’informations sur les sources citées dans cet article / For more information about the sources cited in this article:
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