Who were the Coureur deBois?

Answer 1

When the fur trade first began, First Nations and Inuit people brought the furs to the trading posts. They would arrive by canoe. The furs would be unloaded and traded for goods such as muskets, axes, knives, blankets, whiskey and pots. It was not long before some of the men at the trading posts decided they would go inland and get the fur themselves. These were the people known as the coureurs de bois. The courers de bois were illegal traders.

The coureurs de bois learned the ways of the woods from the First Nations. They were taught how to canoe, hunt and snowshoe. Canoes were made out of birch bark the way the Natives taught them. They dressed in the same kinds of clothes and ate the same food as the First Nation peoples. A typical meal consisted of pemmican, deer meat and dried corn and peas.

The silver birch tree was the most important resource for life in the woods. It was used to build and repair canoes on the journey. Shelters were built with the branches and the bark. The bark was also good for drawing maps on and for writing messages. The bark could even be eaten if there was no other food!

The coureurs de bois traveled long distances. They left their homes in the spring with their canoes loaded with supplies and goods for trading. They traveled down the Ottawa River to Lake Huron. From there it took another month of paddling more than 12 hours a day to reach their destination. Some of the coureurs de bois traveled as far as 2000 kilometers, or more, from home.

It was dangerous work, so the coureurs de bois sometimes traveled together in groups. They needed each other to help paddle, set up shelter and keep watch for enemies at night. They also had to catch their own food. They would hunt and fish for food along the way.

It was also hard work. The coureur de bois often had to portage their canoes. In the summer mosquitoes and other insects bothered them. They had to hang their food up high away from animals. In the winter they had to keep warm at night. They would dig holes in the snow and line them with cedar branches.