This is Jacques-Nicolas Bellin's famous 1743 map of
North America which incorporates La Vérendrye's
reports to French authorities in Quebec, where copies
were made before transmitting them to Paris. La Vérendrye
credited his western river to some birch bark and charcoal
maps that were prepared by Auchagah (or Ochagach), a
Cree who was described as a friend of the French nation.
Auchagah's map portrays, in an elongated fashion,
the lakes and rivers that connect Lake Superior with
Lake Winnipeg (Ouinipigon). A mythical river flows
from Lake Winnipeg directly west to the Rocky Mountains.
Since Auchagah's map passed through a number of hands
before it was finally incorporated into Bellin's map
of North America, it is difficult to say how much
of the mythical river was a result of Auchagah's knowledge
of the western landscape and how much was a result
of French determination to find a Northwest Passage.
La Vérendrye and his four sons spent a large
part of their lives searching in vain for this magical
route. Their quest eventually took them to within
sight of the Black Hills of Dakota. One would assume
that failure to find the mysterious western sea would
have dispelled the rumours of its existence. On the
contrary, French cartographers simply relocated it
further west until it was eventually placed on the
other side of the Rocky Mountains.
