Emma

Hello, my name is Hyacinthe Fournier. I am a coureur de bois. I arrived in New France last week. I settled in, attempted at being an “honourable citizen” I gave farming a try, it was not appealing to me. I even paid a trip to view the filles de rois, but all of it was boring for me. I caught word of a group of men from New France who were going out on canoes and trading with the Natives. They were called coureurs de bois. They faced harsh weather, water, and other violent war driven Native Tribes. It sounded dangerous and exciting at the same time. I was immediately intrigued. Today I left on my first voyage. We had to wake up really early this morning so that we could get to land in time for nightfall. I’m in a canoe with one other person. We don’t talk that much. We just reached land in time for night. We’re all resting; we just finished a small supper consisting of eel pi and stale bread. Most of the coureurs de bois are wearing native clothing, I asked them how their relationship with the natives went. They said it depended on the tribe, the ones we don’t trade with are the ones we should watch out for. They said I would just have to wait to find out about the ones we trade with. There are only a few of us here Most are currently sleeping, there are three of us still awake, we’re gathered around the fire, I’m writing, the other two are just keeping warm, and exchanging stories of the perils they’ve faced. I’m getting a little tired, I’ve had a long day of rowing in my canoe, my limbs are tired, and I need to sleep and build up energy for the continuation of my long voyage tomorrow.

Today we continued on our travels, we're about a quarter of the way there now, it's a pretty short trip compared to what they usually face. We couldn't find proper land today, so we have to sleep in our canoes, I'm pretty shook up about that. My canoe partner said it's fine as long as you don't move around too much. I've been told lots of tales from the others about previous travels, and the hardships they encounter. Sometimes they run out of food and have to eat their moccasin shoes! And other stories of attacks and wars left me paranoid of every noise from the forest around us. I can hear someone from a nearby canoe telling a well known story and competing to see who can come up with the most interesting ending. I think I might join in to keep my mind off the other frightening stories I've heard today. I'll continue my writings tomorrow. Au revoir!