Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye (also known as Christophe Dufrost de La Jemerais with various variations on the last name),(b. December 6, 1708 – d. May 10, 1736), was the lieutenant and nephew of

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

in the exploratory party that headed west from

Fort Kaministiquia Fort Kaministiquia (former spellings include Fort Camanistigoyan, Fort Kanastigoya, Fort Kamanastigoya and others), was a French fort in North America. It was located on the north shore of Lake Superior at the mouth of the Kaministiquia River, in ...

, Ontario, Canada, in 1731. He and

Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye Jean-Baptiste Gaultier de la Vérendrye (September 3, 1713 – June 6, 1736) was the eldest son of Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye and Marie-Anne Dandonneau Du Sablé. He was born on Île Dupas near Sorel, New France Jean Baptist ...

established

Fort St. Charles Fort Saint Charles (1732) on Lake of the Woods was the second post built by La Vérendrye during his expansion of trade and exploration west of Lake Superior. It was located on Magnuson's Island on the Northwest Angle of Minnesota, 3.5 miles ea ...

Lake of the Woods Lake of the Woods (french: Lac des Bois, oj, Pikwedina Sagainan) is a lake occupying parts of the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Manitoba and the U.S. state of Minnesota. Lake of the Woods is over long and wide, containing more than 14,55 ...

in 1732. In the spring of 1733, he and Jean Baptiste headed down the

Winnipeg River The Winnipeg River is a Canadian river that flows roughly northwest from Lake of the Woods in the province of Ontario to Lake Winnipeg in Manitoba. This river is long from the Norman Dam in Kenora to its mouth at Lake Winnipeg. Its watershed ...

to set up a post in the

Lake Winnipeg Lake Winnipeg (french: Lac Winnipeg, oj, ᐑᓂᐸᑲᒥᐠᓴᑯ˙ᑯᐣ, italics=no, Weenipagamiksaguygun) is a very large, relatively shallow lake in North America, in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Manitoba, Canada. I ...

area. Ice stopped them and La Jemeraye returned to Fort St. Charles while his cousin established a small temporary fort named La Barrière. La Jemeraye continued as an important participant in

La Vérendrye La Vérendrye, La Verendrye or Verendrye may refer to: People *Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (1685–1749), French Canadian military officer, fur trader and explorer, often called simply "La Vérendrye". His sons were: **Jean ...

's exploration and fur trading activities. He and Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye built

Fort Maurepas Fort Maurepas, later known as Old Biloxi, "Pierre Le Moyne, Sieur d'Iberville" (biography), ''Catholic Encyclopedia'', 1907, webpage: gives dates: 13 Feb. 1699, went to the mainland Biloxi, with fort completion May 1, 1699; sailed f ...

about six miles north of present-day Selkirk, Manitoba in 1735. Traveling from there to Fort St. Charles via the Red River/Savanne Portage route, La Jemeraye, who was very ill, died at the junction of the Red and

Roseau Roseau (Dominican Creole: ''Wozo'') is the capital and largest city of Dominica, with a population of 14,725 as of 2011. It is a small and compact urban settlement, in the Saint George parish and surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, the Roseau Ri ...

rivers. The date of his death gives us proves that, in 1736, La Jemeraye and one of La Vérendrye's sons passed The Forks. The Forks is the site of present-day

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

. An interesting and important contribution of Christopher Dufrost relates to his skill as a cartographer. He produced the first French map of the west in 1733. It was of high quality and the final copy was produced, at a later date, by the engineer, Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dufrost de La Jemeraye, Christopher Explorers of Canada Explorers of the United States Explorers of North America 1708 births 1736 deaths Canadian cartographers 18th-century explorers People of New France