HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-10-05, Page 5Wednesday, October 5, 2016 • Huron Expositor 5
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Enterprising explorer rapped for what he missed
Tom Villemaire
pierre Gaultier de
Varennes et de la
Verendrye, or, as I
like to call him, La Ver-
endrye, opened up
much of central Canada
to European business
but was still considered
a failure by his employer.
He was working for the
French, but the English
and Spanish were soon
following in his
footsteps.
He had already tried
his hand in the military
in New France and in
old France prior to set-
ting up in Quebec at Ile
aux Vaches. He had a
wife and six children
and 38 acres of cleared
farmland. And yet, he
wanted more.
He was born in
November 1685, so he
was no spring chicken
by the 1720s.
But in 1726, he
hooked up in a partner-
ship with his brother,
Jacques -Rene. His
brother was in charge
of a series of French
outposts along the
north of Lake Superior.
Kaministiquia, where
Thunder Bay is today,
was the central post
with auxiliaries near
the mouth of the
Nipigon River and
Michipicoten, just
north of Sault Ste.
Marie. By 1728 La Ver-
endrye was second in
command.
After hearing
rumours of large waters
to the west, and of river
highways connecting
into a network that
could take you there,
La Verendrye formed a
theory about North
America's geography.
The French had
explored the Gulf of
Mexico and travelled
along the shores of
Hudson Bay as well as
many of the rivers that
flowed from both these
massive indentations in
the continent. They had
also heard the Gulf of
California connected to
the Pacific. It looked
like Hudson Bay, the
Gulf of Mexico, and the
western Californian
Gulf were all part of a
formation of large
ocean bodies piercing
the North American
continent. Clearly, that
meant there was one to
the northwest.
The alternative
theory was that there
was a height of land to
the west and once
climbed, west -flowing
streams would run to
the Pacific. Either way,
the answer was to the
west.
Earlier information
obtained by the French
put the western sea in
the area of Lake Winni-
peg. The watershed for
this body of water was
in the area of Lake of
the Woods, with a west -
flowing stream. After
interviewing First
Nations traders, La Ver-
endrye placed the
ocean west of the Man-
itoba great lakes.
La Verendrye was
methodical in his
search, which had the
backing of the French
Crown. He established a
series of linked outposts,
thinking this would not
only create a methodical
and scientific search for
the ocean to the west,
but would also create a
series of business
opportunities. Each post
would allow the French
to trade with local First
Nations, a strategy that
would lure more busi-
ness away from the Eng-
lish to the north and the
Spanish to the south.
He never found the
ocean, but he did expand
the French holdings
across Ontario's north
into Manitoba. Connec-
tions were made with
First Nations, developing
a new trade network that
redirected pelts from Brit-
ish and Spanish traders to
those in New France,
which included Ontario
Elvis arrives at the Seaforth legion
Shaun Gregory
John Cigan is pictured here dressed like the late Elvis Presley October 1. Performing numerous number one hits, he sounded and danced just like the
King himself for a packed house. Ian Roy also joined the festivities as Roy Orbison.
at the time. New forts
were established from
Lake Superior to Rainy
Lake and Lake of the
Woods and right into
Manitoba.
La Verendrye's search
cost him money and his
reputation and while he
was away, establishing
forts and exploring, his
wife died and was buried
in Quebec.
And even though he
kept uncovering new
land, including a lot of
northwestern Ontario,
new trade connections
and new lakes and rivers,
he was considered a fail-
ure by the French Crown,
because he couldn't find
the western ocean.
Tom Villemaire is a
writer based in Toronto
and the Bruce
Peninsula.
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