It was a long time ago... It’s New Year’s Eve, at a logging camp situated deep in the forest near the Gatineau River. The land is enveloped in another frigid winter, snow piled high up the sides of the logging shanties. The camp boss has passed out the customary small casks of potent rum, and Joe, the cook, has had too much and falls into a deep sleep. After midnight Joe is roughly shaken awake by Baptiste Durand, who outlines his plans to go to Lavaltrie to visit his sweetheart. It’s New Year’s Eve, after all, and he misses her. Baptiste assures Joe that they’d be back by morning and wouldn’t miss work. Joe is amazed. How did Baptiste propose to travel 300 miles through dark forest and deep snow, and then return in time for work?! “Why, in our canoe,” Baptiste replies with a wink.

Joe realises there is but one explanation. His friend Baptiste has made a pact with the Devil. He’s proposing they run the “chasse-galerie”. If they did, they had to carefully follow the conditions set down by the Devil: that they not mention the Lord’s name and make sure no one touched the crosses on any of the church steeples as they whisked by in their flying canoe. Just to be on the safe side, Baptiste tells Joe, he’s made the other eight men who are going with them swear not to touch another drop of rum. They needed clear heads when dealing with the Devil, otherwise he would trick them into selling their souls!


Joe and the rest of the crew barely take their places in the canoe when the ghostly form of the Devil appears to carry then through the dark and icy night. Far below Joe sees the frozen Gatineau River, many villages, shiny church steeples and then the lights of Montreal. Soon the devil craft nears its destination.


Moments later the witched canoe reaches Batisette Auge’s house where New Year’s Eve festivities are in raucous swing. Fiddles play madly, dancers laugh and smile and swing their partners round the room. No one wonders at the loggers’ sudden arrival. They were embraced with open arms and soon dancing and celebrating as merrily as everyone else.


It’s 4AM and the men must leave if they are to get back to the logging camp in time for work. Joe searches for Baptiste, and to his horror finds him drunk. This cannot be! Baptiste had to steer the canoe! As they fly through the moonless night Baptiste’s hand is dangerously unsteady. While passing over Montreal he almost steers them into a church steeple. They don’t get much further before Baptiste lands them in a deep snowdrift.


Terrified the Devil is about to steal their souls, the men agree to bind and gag Baptiste, then elect Joe to steer. All is well for a few miles. Suddenly Baptiste breaks his bonds and swears like a sailor! The men are again horrified. Their friend has broken another cardinal rule! Shaken and terrified, Joe steers the witched canoe right into a tall pine. The men spill out and it is here that fellow loggers find them the next morning, none the worse for wear, and thinking the eight men had staggered outside to sleep off the effects of too much rum. Thankful that the Devil had not collected his unholy payment, Joe and the others dare not tell their friends the truth...