In keeping with their lives at the fringes of society, there was nothing conventional about the love lives of the men dedicated to the fur trade. While White wives are often left behind in the St. Lawrence Valley for a good part of the time, beautiful Amerindian women were easily available, for a night or for life, in keeping with rules that were nothing like those the Europeans were familiar with. Partners in pleasure as well as in business, all of these women were very useful to the coureurs des bois.

Several coureurs des bois and voyageurs planned to settle in the pays d’en bas as they called it, or the lower country, when it came time to retire and live off the money they had saved. They wanted to found a family. With that objective in mind, starting in their early 20s, many got married. Of course, the young wives were warned about the many temptations that awaited their husbands in the woods.  Despite that, they married these men. For the coureurs des bois, these White women generally represented the rest and comfort of home. They kept them in their thoughts when they were hard at work in the woods.

The White wives of the coureurs des bois had to be strong and enterprising since, from the early years of their marriage, they were alone at home for months and even years.  Few White women dared to venture into the distant woods. At home, they experienced pregnancy and delivered their babies on their own and handled all of the chores. Equipped with a proxy, some administered the family property and their husbands’ affairs, responsibilities European women did not usually excise. When they retired, as planned, their husbands generally returned to them.  But these men never forget the pays d’en haut. Often, they wanted to go back, despite the pain this caused their families and their pleading.

In the pays d’en haut, which were often referred to as places of perdition by the colonial authorities, the Amerindian peoples had practices that were very different from those of the White men when it came to relationships. The Europeans were accustomed to many constraints concerning their sexual lives whereas the Aboriginal people had few prohibitions concerning these pleasures, which they considered natural and legitimate. The Amerindian women offered themselves when and to whom they wished and couples formed and broke up with a simple oral declaration.  All children were welcome. Certain women were even offered as a sign of friendship during trade exchanges. This practice, which the missionaries considered revolting, was most acceptable to the Indigenous peoples. And instead of disrespect, the women who took part received a certain amount of prestige. Moreover, the Amerindian women generally held a choice position within their societies. Their work and their reproductive role were recognized as essential to the survival of the group and, as a result, women were respected and people listened to them.

In terms of the fur trade, the development of intimate relationships between Whites and the Amerindian people was an incomparable way in which to strengthen the ties between these business partners. Moreover, several Indigenous families would reserve one of their daughters for a coureur des bois. During the first contacts, the Europeans did not appear too attractive to the Amerindian women. Among other things, they found their hair disgusting. The first coureurs des bois had to work hard to win their hearts. They would give them many compliments and offer them gifts such as ribbons, clothing and jewelry. The Amerindian women appreciated this generosity, a quality that was among the most highly appreciated in their societies. In this way, the Whites came to be considered very attentive lovers. Whether they had a wife back home in the St. Lawrence valley or not, many coureurs des bois got married in the Amerindian tradition.

The voyageurs enjoyed the benefits of the good reputation earned by their predecessors and met young women in the northern countries who were more willing. Since they were only passing through, most of the voyageurs settled for brief love affairs that lasted only as long as their visit. Some of them developed relatively solid ties, which continued from one summer to the next, without these relationships being exclusive, for either party. Children could be born as a result of these relationships and they were naturally adopted by the tribe.

Certain Native women managed to keep their loved ones with them. These men became hivernants (winterers), and formed a lasting couple with their squaws. Sharing in the daily chores, the Amerindian wife was responsible for repairing clothing, snow shoes and fishing nets, cooking, agriculture, and raising the children. When it came time to retire, some of these Northern men settled down, as farmers, or became hunters.

Occasionally, soldiers, guides and voyageurs who were in debt chose to disappear into nature and settled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. These White men maintained few contacts with the settled areas and lived by hunting. They were referred to as free men, trappers, White Indians, and mountain men.  They married Amerindian women, who ensured they were no longer alone. Initially, these women served as guides and interpreters for the men.  Gradually, they introduced them to a vast social network and the men ended up adopting their culture and lifestyle.

White men and Amerindian women formed couples that sat astride two worlds.  In the unsettled areas, with their mixed blood children, they gave birth to a completely new, distinct nation.  To learn more about this nation, we invite you to return on April 28, 2009.


Sources

GERMAIN, Georges-Hébert. Les coureurs des bois: la saga des indiens blancs. Outremont, Libre expression; [Ottawa], Musée canadien des civilisations, 2003, 158 pages.

BROWN, Jennifer S. H., “Métis”, L’Encyclopédie canadienne, Fondation Historica, 2009, http://www.encyclopediecanadienne.ca (site consulted March 25, 2009).


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