 He became associated with the fur trade and spent his early career specializing in trade with natives of the Illinois area.In 1757, during the French and Indian War, he went into the employ of Joseph-Michel Cadet, who was purveyor general with the French forces in New France, and spent a year at Fort St. Frédéric on Lake Champlain.After 1763 he made a successful foray into the west, visiting Fort La Reine (present day Portage la Prairie, Manitoba) and Fort Dauphin (near Winnipegosis, Manitoba), two original La Vérendrye forts.