Voyageur's Paddle By Kathy-jo Wargin. Voyageur is the French word for traveler, but in the Great Lakes region during the seventeenth century it described those men who made their living trading furs and goods along water routes. Traveling by canoe, these voyageurs helped to establish north woods trading posts and settlements, opeing up the West to future exploration. In this story, as Jaques awaits his voyageur father's return, he dreams of the day he will hold the canoe paddle and join the ranks of voyaguers.