Character Analysis
The voyageurs are explorers of a different breed. While most frontiersmen are simply looking to make some quick cash, these fellows explore the frontier because they genuinely love the freedom, camaraderie, and adventure they can only experience out in the wild unknown.
We see this most embodied in the group's playful banter, which Glass sadly can't understand, since al these dudes speak French. Still, he can pick up enough to know that "the voyageurs approached each waking moment with an infallibly cloudless optimism" (2.16.15). That's a far cry from the tense mood that always seems to overwhelm the men of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company.
While Glass enjoys traveling with group, he doesn't get to know them too much as individuals. There's Antoine Langevin, the group's leader. There's the Professeur, a simple-minded, one-eyed Scotsman. And then, of course, there's Charbonneau, who might be the one exception to the group's good nature and cheer. Charbonneau later proves his worthlessness by abandoning the group after an Arikara ambush that leads to the deaths of everyone except Glass.
The only voyageurs we really get to know are Dominique and Louis "La Vierge"—the Cattoire brothers. Although these bros constantly argue and even get into fistfights, they clearly love each other more than they let on. This is confirmed in the most depressing way possible when Dominique refuses to abandon Louis after he's been shot by the Arikara. Dominique is also shot during the chaos, and the two brothers share a tender moment before being swept away by the river:
"Don't worry, little brother," [Dominique] whispered, leaning back into the current's welcoming arms. "It's all downstream from here." (2.17.58)
Although they're the coolest crew Glass rolls with, the voyageurs, Charbonneau aside, meet a fate shared by many a frontiersman: death by Arikara. It's a sad tale, but it's one that reveals the very real danger of life on the frontier.