In 1727-28 Vérendrye was a prominent figure in the extension of
New France on its far frontiers and in the search for an
overland Northwest Passage to the Western Sea, serving as
commander of the trading posts on Lake Nipigon. In 1729 he
returned to Quebec and sought to secure official permission and
aid in an expedition to search for the Western Sea. Obtaining a
monopoly of the fur trade in the West, but no financial support,
he entered into partnership with some Montreal merchants and set
out in 1731 with three of his sons, Jean Baptiste, Pierre, and
François, and a nephew, La Jeremaye. The party founded a number
of posts—one on Rainy Lake; Fort St. Charles on the Lake of the
Woods; and Fort Maurepas, which was at first on Red River and
later on Lake Winnipeg. He returned to Quebec in 1734 but went
back to the West with still another son, Louis Joseph. In the
years that followed the Vérendryes continued to explore in the
hope of reaching the Western Sea. The eldest of the sons, Jean
Baptiste, was killed (17