and could hunt at will through the forest was not a serf.
Though the conditions of life kept him close to his home,
Canada meant for him a new freedom.

Freest of all were the coureurs de bois, those dare-devils
of the wilderness who fill such a large place in the
history of the fur trade and of exploration. The Frenchman
in all ages has proved abundantly his love of danger and
adventure. Along the St Lawrence from Tadoussac to the
Sault St Louis seigneuries fringed the great river, as
they fringed the banks of its tributary, the Richelieu.
This was the zone of cultivation, in which log-houses
yielded, after a time, to white-washed cottages. But
above the Sault St Louis all was wilderness, whether one
ascended the St Lawrence or turned at Ile Perrot into
the Lake of Two Mountains and the Ottawa. For young and
daring souls the forest meant the excitement of discovery,
the licence of life among the Indians, and the hope of
making more than could be gained by the habitant from
his farm. Large profits meant large risks, and the coureur
de bois took his life in his hand. Even if he escaped
the rapid and the tomahawk, there was an even chance that
he would become a reprobate.

But if his character were of tough fibre, there was also
a chance that he might render service to his king. At
times of danger the government was glad to call on him
for aid. When Tracy or Denonville or Frontenac led an
expedition against the Iroquois, it was fortunate that
Canada could muster a cohort of men who knew woodcraft