Pierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye de Boumois (December 1, 1714 – September 13, 1755) was the second son of

Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye (17 November 1685 – 5 December 1749) was a French Canadian military officer, fur trader, and explorer. In the 1730s, he and his four sons explored the area west of Lake Superior and e ...

. An explorer and fur trader who served many years under the command of his father, he was born on Île aux Vaches, (Isle of Cows) near Sorel, New France. The young Pierre spent two years in the colonial regular troops as a cadet, doing garrison duty in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

. In 1731, when his father planned an expedition to expand the fur trade westward and at the same time search for a water route to the Western Sea, he accompanied his father and brothers

Jean Baptiste Jean-Baptiste is a male French name, originating with Saint John the Baptist, and sometimes shortened to Baptiste. The name may refer to any of the following: Persons * Charles XIV John of Sweden, born Jean-Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, was King ...

François François () is a French masculine given name and surname, equivalent to the English name Francis. People with the given name * Francis I of France, King of France (), known as "the Father and Restorer of Letters" * Francis II of France, Kin ...

, and Louis-Joseph as a member of the expedition. He spent the winter at

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 ...

while his older brother Jean Baptiste and his cousin and the second in command,

Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye 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 Vére ...

, carried on to

Rainy Lake Rainy Lake ( French: '; Ojibwe: ') is a freshwater lake with a surface area of that straddles the border between the United States and Canada. The Rainy River issues from the west side of the lake and is harnessed to make hydroelectricity for ...

and established

Fort St. Pierre Fort Saint Pierre on Rainy Lake was the first French fort built west of Lake Superior. It was the first of eight forts built during the elder Vérendrye's expansion of trade and exploration westward from the Great Lakes. History In 1688 Jacques ...

. In 1732 he accompanied his father to

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 ...

, where they built

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 ...

. In the spring of 1734, after his father had left for Montreal, Pierre briefly was left in command of Fort St. Charles until relieved by La Jemeraye. In February 1737 Pierre accompanied his father to

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 ...

, and in June the two men left the west for Montreal and Quebec. From August 1738 until November 1739, Pierre was entrusted with the command of

while his father explored into the

Mandan The Mandan are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains who have lived for centuries primarily in what is now North Dakota. They are enrolled in the Three Affiliated Tribes of the Fort Berthold Reservation. About half of the Mandan still res ...

country north of the Missouri River. Starting out from

Fort La Reine Fort La Reine was built in 1738 and is one of the forts of the western expansion directed by Pierre Gaultier de Varennes et de La Vérendrye, first military commander in the west of what is now known as Canada. Located on the Assiniboine River wh ...

on the Assiniboine River and accompanied by two Frenchmen, he travelled south in 1741 as far as two Spanish forts, probably in present-day Nebraska, before turning back. He returned from this expedition with two horses and some articles of Spanish make. These are the first two horses of historical record in what is now Manitoba. Later the same year when his father returned from the east in October Pierre was sent to build Fort Dauphin near present-day

Winnipegosis, Manitoba Winnipegosis is an unincorporated urban community in the Rural Municipality of Mossey River, Manitoba, Canada. It lies at the mouth of the Mossey River on Lake Winnipegosis The community was once categorized as a village, but this status was r ...

. His mission completed, Pierre invited the Crees and Assiniboins to bring their furs from then on to the new fort, then he returned to Fort La Reine where he spent the entire year of 1742. Pierre Gaultier de La Vérendrye was active as a fur-trader and explorer in the west even after his father was relieved of his command in 1744 up to 1749 when he finally returned east and re-entered the army. He was active at

Fort Beauséjour Fort Beauséjour (), renamed Fort Cumberland in 1755, is a large, five-bastioned fort on the Isthmus of Chignecto in eastern Canada, a neck of land connecting the present-day province of New Brunswick with that of Nova Scotia. The site was strateg ...

where he served until it was captured by the British in 1755. He died shortly after at Quebec. His death was in Montréal, specifically. His death was assassination, and many agree that the British wanted to kill such a valuable addition to the French.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:La Verendrye, Pierre Gaultier De Explorers of Canada Canadian explorers People of New France 1755 deaths Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) People from Sorel-Tracy 1714 births