| Document Number: |
AJ-108 |
| Author: |
La Vérendrye, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de, 1685-1749 |
| Title: |
Journal in the Form of a Letter Covering the Period from the 20th of July 1738, When I Left Michilimackinac, to May, 1739, Sent to the Marquis de Beauharnois |
| Source: |
Burpee, Lawrence J. (editor). Journals and Letters of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes de la La Vérendrye and His Sons, with Correspondence between the Governors of Canada and the French Court, Touching the Search for the Western Sea. (Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1927). Pages 290-361. |
| Pages/Illustrations: |
73 / 0 |
| Citable URL: |
www.americanjourneys.org/aj-108/ |
Author Note
La Vérendrye was the surname of a family of French fur traders
who traveled far into the West during the eighteenth century. The
father, Pierre Gaultier de Varennes de La Vérendrye, built the first
forts northwest of Lake Superior about 1732, including a trading
post near present-day Winnipeg, Manitoba. Searching for the Pacific
in the 1730s, he mounted several expeditions toward the northwest
and won the trade of the Cree and Assiniboin nations away from the
English at Hudson Bay. His sons François (1715-1794), and
Louis-Joseph (1717-1761) turned south instead, thinking the Missouri
River might reach the sea. They are believed by many to have been
the first Europeans to view the Rocky Mountains (see AJ-109).
Expedition of 1738-1739
Not finding clear evidence of a route to the Pacific through Saskatchewan,
the La Vérendryes struck south from their fort near Winnipeg on
October 18, 1738. They headed for the Missouri River where they
hoped that the Mandan Indians, with whom all the western tribes
traded each year, could inform them of a route to the Pacific. The
Mandans, an agricultural people then living in the vicinity of modern
Bismarck, North Dakota, were at the height of their power. The account
by the elder La Vérendrye is the first description of their culture
and lifestyle. After leaving two Frenchmen to stay with the Mandans
and learn their language, the La Vérendryes returned to Fort La
Reine near Winnipeg in February 1739. They arrived without any better
information about the Pacific, but with much more knowledge of the
nations southwest of them.
Document Note
The elder La Vérendrye sent this journal to Charles de la
Boische Beauharnois, the governor of New France who had
authorized him to search for a route to the Pacific. The
original manuscript is in the Public Archives of Canada. It was
first published in 1889, in French and English.
Other Internet and Reference Sources
The best discussion of the 1738-1739 expedition, including a new
English translation and a thorough examination of its route, is
in G. Hubert Smith's Explorations of the La Vérendryes in the
Northern Plains, 1738-43 (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press,
1980).
The Virtual Museum of New France contains background data,
images, and maps at
http://www.civilization.ca/vmnf/explor/laver_e2.html. |
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