THE TORONTO CARRYING PLACE: TWO PATHS

Zephyr was feeling better today (yay) so our brief outing took us along the Rouge end of the Carrying Place Trail.

NOTE ON TRAILS: HUMBER-side
We already have walked the Humber Portage part of the Toronto Passage up to Major Mac. Along that section between the 1660's-1670's and the late 1680's a village called "Teiaiagon" (more in the next post) sat atop what is now Baby Point. Sometimes called "the shared path" the Humber portion of the Carrying Place was widely used by both French and English fur traders until Toronto started to be permanently settled in the late 18th, early 19th century.

A comprehensive list of trails along the Humber can be found in the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority's For the Living City
http://trca.on.ca/dotAsset/50127.pdf

NOTE ON TRAILS: ROUGE-side
Under a canopy of trees embracing the sky, the lack of sun making it hard but for the largest flora to flourish, shaded most of the way and much easy walking, the Little Rouge Trail is likely most similar of those I walked to the sort traveled by first nations peoples around the time they first encountered Europeans - though without the helpful signs and white paint path markers on trees! Trails back then were often through think brush!

For a complete list of Rouge Trails, see the Rouge Park Visitors Guide:
http://www.rougepark.com/explore/adventures/Rouge_Park_Visitor_Guide_web.pdf

Now dog and I are now following the east end of the Carrying Place trail along the Rouge to the Oak Ridges Moraine. I have signed up to canoe later from the mouth of the Rouge through the marsh and beach. Other Rouge Park paths will take you to the edge of the Toronto Zoo (dog's aren't allowed at the zoo so we'll have to bypass that). Miles of private property and commercial land are between there and the trail called "Nokiidaa" (Ojibwa for "walking Together") linking Aurora, Newmarket and East Gwillimbury along the East Holland River. http://www.ontariotrails.on.ca/trails-a-z/nokiidaa-trail-association/ (See "ETERNAL PEACE")

Ganatsekwyagon
In 1669-1671 "Sulpician Fathers under Francois d’Urfe" went on mission to "the Seneca village of Ganatswekwyagon" Father Claude Trouvé (1644-1704) also was invited by the Iroquois confederacy to instruct them in the Gospel.

Heritage Toronto says about Ganatsekwyagon: This post-contact Seneca village, which has been designated as a National Historic Site, was established in the late 1660s by the New York Iroquois. However it shows evidence of previous occupations between 9,000 to 4,000 years ago.
http://www.heritagetoronto.org/discover-toronto/map/archaeological/ganatsekwyagon. The village was abandoned by the Iroquois in 1687, after which it was occupied by the Mississaugas. Forming the entry point to the east branch of the Toronto Carrying Place, the village became a major trans-shipment point in the fur trade between the upper Great Lakes and Albany, New York. A Sulpician mission was established at the settlement between 1669 and 1671.

Where Ganatsekwyagon is exactly is debated. Some put it along the coast where two french canon balls (but nothing else) were found on a farm. Others suggest "Bead Hill", a site somewhere near the Rouge whose precise location is a carefully guarded secret. Others favour still other sites.

Wikipedia fills in the history:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Carrying-Place_Trail

Another good timeline can be found at Southwestern Ontario: The First 12,000 Years Historic: http://diggingontario.uwo.ca/Historic.html

A 1680 map showing the location of both villages can be viewed at
http://www.waterfrontoronto.ca/image_galleries/history_and_heritage


TWO BECOME ONE
Both trails merge north of Aurora at the Holland River. At Lake Simcoe the Carrying Place continues to the narrows at Couchiching. Says Wikipedia, "These straits, an important fishing area, gives rise to the name Toronto, from the Mohawk term toron-ten, as this is 'the place where the trees grow over the water'. The First Nations peoples had planted trees in the narrows between the lakes to act as a weir to catch fish." I have yet to figure out how to make that keg of the trip!

Toronto is a great place for fishing for people! Maybe I can catch a ride on a boat or something. Following the Severn River to Georgian Bay completes the Carrying Place Trail.

BACK ON THE ROUGE
Zephyr and I today met a young family from the UK hiking the Rouge and we shared a bit of the story of the trail. I prayed silently for them as was done by Sulpicians so long ago. They focused their teaching on the devotional life of the faithful, on a personal experience of the person of Jesus and on the quest for personal holiness. The Sulpician pursuit of holiness, as severe as the Canadian winter, was warmed by their love of his First Nations hosts and of Jesus. They prayed in Adoration (Jesus before my eyes), in Communion (Jesus drawn into my heart) and in Cooperation (Jesus in my hands).

As Jean Jacque Olier, founder of the order, had taught them to pray:

O Jesus…
Come and live in Thy servants,
In the spirit of Thy holiness,
In the fullness of Thy might,
In the truth of Thy virtues,
In the perfection of Thy ways,
In the communion of Thy mysteries.
Subdue every hostile power
In Thy spirit, for the glory of the Father. Amen.