La Chasse-Galerie

 Drunk men? A deal with a devil? A flying canoe? La Chasse-Galerie also known as "The Bewitched Canoe" or "The Flying Canoe'', is one of a kind of French Canadian Folklore. It is originally derived from the Oral tradition,  which is a combination of indigenous and French folktales. As bizarre as it sounds, this New Year Tale also comes with a lesson. 

 

The story takes place on New Year’s Eve where a group of lumberjacks is working at a camp far away from home. They were lonely and yearning for their wives that they left behind. It was impossible to head back home in time for New Year’s Eve, so they thought:

 

“Hey! Let’s make a deal with the devil so we can get home as fast as possible.”

 

“ What a great idea! what could go wrong." said one of the lumberjacks.

 

So indeed, they made a pact with the devil so their canoe can fly through the air in time to celebrate New Year with their wives. However, there is a catch. The travelers must not mention God’s name, swear or touch at any churches, or else the Devil will possess their soul. Once at the party, the lumberjacks are celebrating merrily and then head back to work with their flying canoe…except they’re drunk.  

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Drunk and canoeing in the sky? interesting combination...

 

Swerving through the air, the drunk navigator swears near a Church, causing the rest of the Lumberjack fear of losing their soul. 

 

So, they tied the navigator up, leading the flying canoe to crash into a tall pine tree knocking all of the lumberjacks unconscious. Later, they wake up in their beds. They were fine, but with slight bruises on their body...

 

Was it all a dream? Was the Devil merciful? We’ll never know. However, we do know now that one should never make a deal with a Devil or else misfortune will come upon you…