These statements are only partially true. When they weren't on the trail, they were known to goof off and kick up their heels a bit, because when they worked, they really worked. It was not an easy life. Most were away from home between May and August, and some longer still when they tracked the beaver to it's source.
A Jesuit priest who witnessed the hardships associated with this rough trade, said this of the Coureur des Bois, "they are not scared to paddle five or six hundred leagues in a canoe, live for a year or eigtheen months on corn and bear fat and sleep under shelters made of roots or branches".
While they may have been motivated by personal gain, adventure and independance, they played a very important role in the histoy of French Canada. They were the trail blazers, who opened up the interior of Canada, paving the way for future explorers. They resided with the Canadian people, learning their customs and languages, and acted as ambassadors for the French.
As for womanizing, many married into the communities where they conducted business, and many of those marriages lasted. In most Native cultures, the offering of a bride was considered an honour, since it meant that you were being welcomed into their family, and many of these matches were engineered by the women, hoping to win the man's loyalty as both a military ally and trading partner.
If one of these men got out of hand, and showed a woman disrespect by trying to force himself on her, justice would be harsh (as Etienne Brule found out), so if it looked like they were taking liberties, it was probably consentual. However, to the missionaries, who hoped to convert the Canadian people to their version of French morality, the conduct of these men was apalling.
As for the life of a Coureur Des Bois, despite the hardships, and there were many, it was a far cry from the life they would have had back home. Hunting and fishing were activities enjoyed only by the nobility, but in Canada at the time, there were no such restrictions, so long as you honoured establised hunting grounds and showed respect for your hosts.
