d and trapped the beaver, the otter, and the fox. The
coureurs de bois were generally men of reckless courage, ready to face
danger and hardship. From long living among the savages they
themselves became in time half savage. Some of them took Indian wives
and were adopted into the tribes.

When one of these wood-runners had obtained a quantity of furs, he made
them up into packs, loaded them carefully in his canoe, and set out for
the distant settlements, Montreal, Three Rivers, or Quebec. He knew
the wild northern streams as well as any Indian; he could run his canoe
safely down a rapid where an inch one way or the other would dash it
against the rocks; and he could paddle all day with only an occasional
stop for a meal or a smoke. When he came to an impassable rapid or
waterfall, he beached his canoe and carried everything--canoe, packs,
gun, and {12} provisions--overland to the navigable water ahead. At
night he pulled his canoe ashore, built a campfire, and cooked over the
flames a partridge, a wild duck, or a venison steak. If he had not
been fortunate enough to meet with such game, he made a simple meal of
pemmican--dried venison mixed with fat--a supply of which he always
carried in a bag in case of need. Then he smoked his pipe, rolled
himself in his blanket, placed his gun within reach, and slept soundly
until the sun awakened him on the following morning. When he reached
the far-off towns on the St Lawrence, he traded part of his furs for
any goods which he needed, and was only too likely to get rid of the
rest in dissipation. As soon as his money was spent, he would turn his
back on civilization and live once more the wild life of the Indian
country.

From such men as these, who were constantly to be seen in the little
town of Three Rivers, Pierre de La Verendrye heard many stories of the
wonderful country that lay far towards the setting sun. They told him
of mighty rivers and great lakes. Some of these they had seen; others
they had heard of from the Indians. Always the young man heard rumours
of a great _Mer de l'Ouest_, or Western {13} Sea, which French
explorers had been seeking ardently ever since the days of Jacques
Cartier and Samuel Champlain. In the earlier days, when the French
first came to Canada, this Western Sea was supposed to be somewhere
above Montreal. Probably the Indians who first spoke of it to Jacques
Cartier meant nothing more than Lake Ontario. Then, in the days of
C