Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye facts for kids
Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye (born 1708, died 1736) was a brave explorer in early Canada. He was the nephew and a key helper of La Vérendrye, a famous French-Canadian explorer. La Jemeraye played a big part in exploring the lands west of Fort Kaministiquia in Ontario.
Contents
Exploring the Canadian West
In 1731, La Jemeraye joined La Vérendrye's team. They set out from Fort Kaministiquia, which is in present-day Ontario, Canada. Their goal was to explore the vast lands to the west.
Building Forts and Trading
In 1732, La Jemeraye and Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye, La Vérendrye's son, worked together. They built Fort St. Charles on the shores of Lake of the Woods. This fort became an important base for their explorations and fur trading.
The next spring, in 1733, La Jemeraye and Jean Baptiste continued their journey. They traveled down the Winnipeg River. Their plan was to set up a new trading post near Lake Winnipeg. However, thick ice stopped their progress. La Jemeraye had to return to Fort St. Charles. Meanwhile, his cousin Jean Baptiste built a small, temporary fort called La Barrière.
La Jemeraye remained a very important member of La Vérendrye's team. He helped with many explorations and fur trading activities. In 1735, he and Jean Baptiste de La Vérendrye built another fort. This was Fort Maurepas, located about six miles north of where Selkirk, Manitoba, is today.
A Journey's End
In 1736, La Jemeraye was traveling from Fort Maurepas back to Fort St. Charles. He was very ill during this journey. He passed away at the spot where the Red River meets the Roseau River. His death shows that he and one of La Vérendrye's sons had passed The Forks in 1736. The Forks is now the site of the city of Winnipeg.
Mapping the Western Lands
Christopher Dufrost de La Jemeraye made a very special contribution. He was a skilled mapmaker, also known as a cartographer. In 1733, he created the first French map of the western lands. This map was of excellent quality. Later, an engineer named Gaspard-Joseph Chaussegros de Léry made the final copy of La Jemeraye's map. This map helped future explorers understand the geography of the Canadian West.
