Adventures in the New World: The Saga of the Coureurs des Bois

Gratien Allaire is a professor of history at Laurentian University in
Sudbury, Ontario.

To Georges-Hébert Germain, the men who built and ran the fur trade in
the northern half of North America and made it into its most important
economic activity from the 16th to the 19th centuries were “coureurs
des bois,” “voyageurs,” “pork eaters,” “white Indians,”
and “trappers.” It is not always easy for the reader to understand
the role, time, and place of each since the author pays little attention
to chronology and shows limited historical perspective.

Germain’s “saga” is a beautifully illustrated mixed bag of
two-page stories: biographies of historical figures (Йtienne Brыlé,
Marie-Anne Gaboury), descriptions of means of transportation (Montreal
canoe, Red River cart, dogsled), depictions of categories of men or
women (interpreters, donnés, country wife), narrations of events and
legends (“The Walking Dead,” “When America Was French”), and
analysis of the role of Montreal (“An Outpost of Intercontinental
Trade,” “Capital of the Fur Country”).

Adventures in the New World is divided into five “Odysseys.”
Occupying almost half of the book is “Odyssey into the Indian
Country,” which describes the early years of the trade, as well as
basic items like the beaver and the birchbark canoe. “Odyssey to the
Pays d’en Haut” presents the voyageurs, the outfitters, and their
way of life. “Odyssey to the Cold Country” is devoted to the
winterers and the fur trade companies and posts. “Odyssey beyond the
Mountains” deals with the “white Indians,” a term coined by
Philippe Jacquin to describe the trappers of the Rocky Mountains.
Finally, “Odyssey into the Far West” portrays the Métis nation,
with an epilogue entitled “The Rebels.”

Printed on glossy paper, the book is generously illustrated with
pictures of artifacts from various museums and libraries in Canada, the
United States, and Europe; reproductions of paintings and published
illustrations; and original illustrations by Francis Back.

Germain provides a very traditional interpretation of the fur trade,
describing coureurs des bois as “libertines and debauchees,” the New
World as “a world of freedom,” and Native women with “free and
easy manners.” The reader will find this book useful for its pictorial
information, but should approach its interpretation and historical
analysis with caution.