ash. His grant was in the form of uncleared land, which he could only
make valuable through the labours of his tenants or _censitaires_. The
difficulty of finding good colonists made it important to give them
favourable terms. The habitant had a hard life, but his obligations
towards his seigneur were not onerous. The man who lived in a log-hut
among the stumps and could hunt at will through the {12} forest was not
a serf. Though the conditions of life kept him close to his home,
Canada meant for him a new freedom.

Freest of all were the coureurs de bois, those dare-devils of the
wilderness who fill such a large place in the history of the fur trade
and of exploration. The Frenchman in all ages has proved abundantly
his love of danger and adventure. Along the St Lawrence from Tadoussac
to the Sault St Louis seigneuries fringed the great river, as they
fringed the banks of its tributary, the Richelieu. This was the zone
of cultivation, in which log-houses yielded, after a time, to
white-washed cottages. But above the Sault St Louis all was
wilderness, whether one ascended the St Lawrence or turned at Ile
Perrot into the Lake of Two Mountains and the Ottawa. For young and
daring souls the forest meant the excitement of discovery, the licence
of life among the Indians, and the hope of making more than could be
gained by the habitant from his farm. Large profits meant large risks,
and the coureur de bois took his life in his hand. Even if he escaped
the rapid and the tomahawk, there was an even chance that he would
become a reprobate.

{13}

But if his character were of tough fibre, there was also a chance that
he might render service to his king. At times of danger the government
was glad to call on him for aid. When Tracy or Denonville or Frontenac
led an expedition against the Iroquois, it was fortunate that Canada
could muster a cohort of men who knew woodcraft as well as the Indians.
In days of peace the coureur de bois was looked on with less favour.
The king liked to know where his subjects were at every hour of the day
and night. A Frenchman at Michilimackinac,[4] unless he were a
missionary or a government agent, incurred severe displeasure, and many
were the edicts which sought to prevent the colonists from taking to
the woods. But, whatever the laws might say, the coureur de bois could
not be put down. From time to time he was placed under restraint, but
only for a moment. The intendant migh