In June and July 1680, Daniel Greysolon Sieur Dulhut, a gentleman of the King’s Guard, soldier, explorer, trader, and governor, accompanied by four Frenchmen—LaMaitre, Bellegrade, Masson, and Pepin—traveled up the Brule River, crossed by portage to the St. Croix River, and then went down to the Mississippi. They were the first white men to use the Brule-St. Croix route, which was then fortified and afterward used by the French for many years. A contemporary said of Dulhut, “He feared not death, only cowardice and dishonor.”