
La Vérendrye built Fort la Reine (1738) on the river near present-day Portage la Prairie. Its route was well travelled by fur traders, and after 1850 settlement crept westward from the forks, where light, dry soil offered excellent farming prospects. The river is navigable for some 500 km, and before the railway came, 7 sternwheelers plied its course from Winnipeg to Fort Ellice. The name, meaning "those who cook by placing hot stones in water," was taken from the Assiniboine who inhabited the area.