Oxcart journey follows fur trade’s trail

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This article was published 30/05/2022 (703 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The dull creak of wooden axles, the slow crunch of cartwheels, and the methodical clip-clop of hooves could be heard on Rat River Road between Otterburne and St Pierre on Friday.

“We’re the first ox cart on this trail in 150 years,” said a man perched on a church pew fastened to a replica Red River cart being pulled by a two-year-old shorthorn ox named Zik.

“That’s pretty cool.”

Terry Doerksen isn’t the first Manitoban to plan a spring trip to St Paul, Minn., but he is the first in more than a century to do it at a pace of two miles per hour.

Doerksen, a Winnipeg electrician born in Steinbach and raised in Blumenort, plans to complete his 870-kilometre journey in eight weeks, retracing the cart trail that linked the Red River Colony to the Mississippi River in the early 19th century.

Doerksen set out last Tuesday, May 17 from Upper Fort Garry in downtown Winnipeg. At a departure ceremony, he presented a tobacco tie to two Anishinaabe elders and asked permission to cross their lands—something those who cut the trail two centuries ago neglected to do.

In an interview near Otterburne, where a local farmer had offered a grassy field for Zik’s midday siesta, Doerksen said he’s interested in “setting some wrongs right” and deepening his knowledge of local history.

His wife, Patty—whom he met a stone’s throw away at Providence College—is following behind in an RV where the couple sleeps. When the weather improves, she plans to ride alongside him on a scooter, doubling back for the RV at the end of each day.

Doerksen aims to cover 15 miles per day but said the poor weather last week caused him to fall short of that goal. On Friday, as he travelled down Rat River Road, northerly wind gusts of 60 km/h made the air feel colder than the meagre 3 C high and pushed a light rain sideways under his cart canopy.

“I’m counting on this being the worst weather we’re going to encounter,” he said over the wind.

The cart is outfitted with a water tank under the seat. Cookware and a traditional buffalo robe are bundled in the back. Doerksen plans to sleep under the robe when the weather improves.

His journey to St Paul follows a short test-drive last Thanksgiving through southeastern Manitoba that allowed him to get a feel for the cart, which was crafted by Phil Doerksen, a distant relative, with guidance from Metis master cartmaker Armand Jerome.

The Red River Trail that Doerksen is following played an integral role in the settlement and development of both Winnipeg and St Paul. ‘Trains’ of up to 1,500 carts would carry furs south and building materials and farm equipment north.

“A long, noisy, dusty affair” is how Doerksen, a self-described history buff, recounted the scene.

When the Doerksens arrive in St Paul in mid-July, they will carry on down the Mississippi by paddle-wheeler to St Louis, Mo. Zik will be trailered home and the cart will be donated to Mennonite Heritage Village in Steinbach.

Doerksen said he hadn’t had much time to reflect on his journey so far. Getting safely out of Winnipeg and keeping Zik and the cart in good condition consumed his attention those first few days on the road. After crossing the Perimeter Highway, he travelled down St Mary’s Road and had to be trailered around some local flooding.

He broke for lunch last Thursday at the new Shantz immigration sheds cairn south of Niverville, on the very site where his great-grandfather, Gerhard Doerksen, arrived as a boy in the 1870s along with other early Mennonite pioneers.

“They displaced the Anishinaabe who were living in this corner of Manitoba,” Doerksen said. “We want to express our gratitude and debt to them.”

Doerksen started planning his trip three years ago after two knee replacements gave him a new lease on life.

Doerksen said there are several reasons why he wanted to make the cart journey. The first is his interest in making history come alive.

“I’d often dreamed of doing an epic journey,” he said.

There are also spiritual reasons at play. Doerksen said for years he has walked, cycled, and canoed around Winnipeg and prayed for the city. He is continuing that practice on the road.

“We’re just seeking to honour God and bring light as we go,” he said.

His pastor, Ron MacLean of Gateway Church, stopped by the Otterburne farmyard to say hello.

Doerksen also sees his journey as an act of reconciliation. His interest in history has taught him about the historical injustices committed against the Indigenous peoples who first called the prairies home.

“My heart hurts for the oppressed,” Doerksen said. “There needs to be healing and encouragement and hope. If I can help with that, that’s great.”

Each day since Doerksen set out, people have come out to greet him along the trail. Doerksen said rubbing shoulders with all sorts of folks is part of reconciliation and a way to break down old divisions.

Doerksen plans to cross the U.S. border outside of a porty of entry, at a spot about 12 miles east of Emerson. Securing permission for the unorthodox crossing involved notifying numerous agencies and local governments, including the Canada Border Services Agency.

“There’s no precedent for this,” Doerksen said. “Getting Zik papered up was a whole big project.”

To follow along with Doerksen’s journey, search “By Oxcart Down the Red River Trail” on Facebook.