Mina Benson Hubbard: Ontario to Labrador, 1872-ca. 1960
A paddling widow found freedom and solace in the unknown Labrador on the trail of her husband who died in the interior. Mina Benson Hubbard raced her “Laddie’s” partner Dillon Wallace up the Naskapi and George Rivers, and beat him to Ungava Bay by six weeks.
(L.E. Noel © 1989)
I thought it only fitting
And my soul of adventure it touched
That my husband's name should reap the rewards
Of a journey that cost him so much
So I left my Ontario farmhouse
And set out for Ungava Bay
To paddle the unknown wilderness
And discover a woman's way.
And I've never found so much freedom
I've never felt so much at home
In the golden stillness of a northern sunset
Or the strength of the wild rapids' foam
Charting a course for my own canoe
Living from day to day
Paddling the unknown wilderness
To discover a woman's way.
Now the men didn't think it was fitting
How often they scolded and teased
And I wished to myself that I was a man
And could do anything that I pleased
But I had my share of adventures
I wrote down at the end of each day
As I paddled the unknown wilderness
To discover a woman's way.
And I've never found so much freedom
I've never felt so much at home
In the golden stillness of a northern sunset
Or the strength of the wild rapids' foam
Charting a course for my own canoe
Living from day to day
Paddling the unknown wilderness
To discover a woman's way.
Now some folks might think it's not fitting
For a woman to roam round the Pole
But that northern journey of sunsets and rapids
Brought stillness and strength to my soul
And here's what my story can tell you
If you're a young woman today
Go paddle your own unknown wilderness
And discover your own woman's way.
And you'll never find so much freedom
You'll never feel so much at home
In the golden stillness of a northern sunset
And the strength of the wild rapids' foam
Charting a course for your own canoe
Living from day to day
Paddling the unknown wilderness
To discover a woman's way.