Homes, Trades and Games of Long Ago · Drawing 19 of 40
The log drive on the river
Long ago, in spring
In spring, the logs were thrown into the river and the current carried them to the mills. The log drivers walked on the floating logs with long poles to keep them from jamming.
Look together
What is the log driver standing on?
An idea to try
With adult supervision, float a few sticks in a small, shallow basin and push them gently with a straw. Watch what happens when they jam together.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Log driving used waterways to transport timber. Workers guided logs with hooked poles and cleared jams. On the Saint-Maurice River, this work continued until 1995.
It was dangerous work: the smiling figure does not show those risks. The suggested activity uses only small sticks in a shallow tub with adult supervision; it is not an invitation to climb on floating logs.
Sources and illustration notes (2)
Imaginary log driver on floating logs; simplified scene, no gesture to copy.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Radio-Canada — La drave, ce métier oublié qui a façonné le Québec (in French)Floating timber down the rivers for nearly 150 years; last log drive on the Saint-Maurice in 1995; banned the following year.
- The Saint-Maurice: Creative Source of the Mauricie — The BraveWork with the pike pole, dangers, log jams and the last log drive on the Saint-Maurice in 1995.
Page prepared on September 19, 2026. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.
This drawing is from the book Life in Old Québec to Colour
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