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Title: The Founder of New France: A Chronicle of Champlain

Author: Charles W. Colby

Release Date: July, 2003  [Etext #4213]
[Yes, we are about one year ahead of schedule]
[The actual date this file first posted = December 11, 2001]

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CHRONICLES OF CANADA
Edited by George M. Wrong and H. H. Langton
In thirty-two volumes

Volume 3

THE FOUNDER OF NEW FRANCE
A Chronicle of Champlain

By CHARLES W. COLBY
TORONTO, 1915



CHAPTER I

CHAMPLAIN'S EARLY YEARS

Were there a 'Who's Who in History' its chronicle of
Champlain's life and deeds would run as follows:

Champlain, Samuel de. Explorer, geographer, and colonizer.
Born in 1567 at Brouage, a village on the Bay of Biscay.
Belonged by parentage to the lesser gentry of Saintonge.
In boyhood became imbued with a love of the sea, but also
served as a soldier in the Wars of the League. Though an
enthusiastic Catholic, was loyal to Henry of Navarre. On
the Peace of Vervins (1598) returned to the sea, visiting
the Spanish West Indies and Mexico. Between 1601 and 1603
wrote his first book--the Bref Discours. In 1603 made
his first voyage to the St Lawrence, which he ascended
as far as the Lachine Rapids. From 1604 to 1607 was
actively engaged in the attempt of De Monts to establish
a French colony in Acadia, at the same time exploring
the seaboard from Cape Breton to Martha's Vineyard.
Returned to the St Lawrence in 1608 and founded Quebec.
In 1609 discovered Lake Champlain, and fought his first
battle with the Iroquois. In 1613 ascended the Ottawa to
a point above Lac Coulange. In 1615 reached Georgian Bay
and was induced to accompany the Hurons, with their
allies, on an unsuccessful expedition into the country
of the Iroquois. From 1617 to 1629 occupied chiefly in
efforts to strengthen the colony at Quebec and promote
trade on the lower St Lawrence. Taken a captive to London
by Kirke in 1629 upon the surrender of Quebec, but after
its recession to France returned (1633) and remained in
Canada until his death, on Christmas Day 1635. Published
several important narratives describing his explorations
and adventures. An intrepid pioneer and the revered
founder of New France.

Into some such terms as these would the writer of a
biographical dictionary crowd his notice of Champlain's
career, so replete with danger and daring, with the
excitement of sailing among the uncharted islands of
Penobscot Bay, of watching the sun descend below the
waves of Lake Huron, of attacking the Iroquois in their
palisaded stronghold, of seeing English cannon levelled
upon the houses of Quebec. It is not from a biographical
dictionary that one can gain true knowledge of Champlain,
into whose experience were crowded so many novel sights
and whose soul was tested, year after year, by the
ever-varying perils of the wilderness. No life, it is
true, can be fitly sketched in a chronological abridgment,
but history abounds with lives which, while important,
do not exact from a biographer the kind of detail that
for the actions of Champlain becomes priceless. Kant and
Hegel were both great forces in human thought, yet
throughout eighty years Kant was tethered to the little
town of Konigsberg, and Hegel did not know what the French
were doing in Jena the day after there had been fought
just outside a battle which smote Prussia to her knees.
The deeds of such men are their thoughts, their books,
and these do not make a story. The life of Champlain is
all story. The part of it which belongs to the Wars of
the League is lost to us from want of records. But
fortunately we possess in his Voyages the plain, direct
narrative of his exploits in America--a source from which
all must draw who would know him well.

The method to be pursued in this book is not that of the
critical essay. Nor will these pages give an account of
Champlain's times with reference to ordinances regulating
the fur trade, or to the policy of French kings and their
ministers towards emigration. Such subjects must be
touched on, but here it will be only incidentally. What
may be taken to concern us is the spirited action of
Champlain's middle life--the period which lies between
his first voyage to the St Lawrence and his return from
the land of the Onondagas. Not that he had ended his work
in 1616. The unflagging efforts which he continued to
put forth on behalf of the starving colony at Quebec
demand all praise. But the years during which he was
incessantly engaged in exploration show him at the height
of his powers, with health still unimpaired by exposure
and with a soul that courted the unknown. Moreover, this
is the period for which we have his own narrative in
fullest detail.

Even were we seeking to set down every known fact regarding
Champlain's early life the task would not be long. Parkman,
in referring to his origin, styles him 'a Catholic
gentleman,' with not even a footnote regarding his
parentage. [Footnote: It is hard to define Champlain's
social status in a single word. Parkman, besides styling
him 'a Catholic gentleman,' speaks of him elsewhere as
being 'within the pale of the noblesse.' On the other
hand, the Biographie Saintongeoise says that he came from
a family of fishermen. The most important facts would
seem to be these. In Champlain's own marriage contract
his father is styled 'Antoine de Champlain, Capitaine de
la Marine.' The same document styles Champlain himself
'Samuel de Champlain.' A petition in which he asks for
a continuation of his pension (circ. 1630) styles him in
its opening words 'Le Sieur de Champlain' and afterwards
'le dit sieur Champlain' in two places, while in six
places it styles him 'le dit sieur de Champlain.' Le
Jeune calls him 'Monsieur de Champlain.' It is clear that
he was not a noble. It is also clear that he possessed
sufficient social standing to warrant the use of de. On
the title-page of all his books after 1604 he is styled
the 'Sieur de Champlain.'] Dionne, in a biography of
nearly three hundred pages, does indeed mention the names
of his father and mother, but dismisses his first twenty
years in twenty lines, which say little more than that
he learned letters and religion from the parish priest
and a love of the sea from his father. Nor is it easy to
enlarge these statements unless one chooses to make
guesses as to whether or not Champlain's parents were
Huguenots because he was called Samuel, a favourite name
with French Protestants. And this question is not worth
discussion, since no one has, or can, cast a doubt upon
the sincerity of his own devotion to the Catholic faith.

In short, Champlain by birth was neither a peasant nor
a noble, but issued from a middle-class family; and his
eyes turned towards the sea because his father was a
mariner dwelling in the small seaport of Brouage.

Thus when a boy Champlain doubtless had lessons in
navigation, but he did not become a sailor in the larger
sense until he had first been a soldier. His youth fell
in the midst of the Catholic Revival, when the Church of
Rome, having for fifty years been sore beset by Lutherans
and Calvinists, began to display a reserve strength which
enabled her to reclaim from them a large part of the
ground she had lost. But this result was not gained
without the bitterest and most envenomed struggle. If
doctrinal divergence had quickened human hatreds before
the Council of Trent, it drove them to fury during the
thirty years that followed. At the time of the Massacre
of St Bartholomew Champlain was five years old. He was
seventeen when William the Silent was assassinated; twenty
when Mary Stuart was executed at Fotheringay; twenty-one
when the Spanish Armada sailed against England and when
the Guises were murdered at Blois by order of Henry III;
twenty-two when Henry III himself fell under the dagger
of Jacques Clement. The bare enumeration of these events
shows that Champlain was nurtured in an age of blood and
iron rather than amid those humanitarian sentiments which
prevail in an age of religious toleration.

Finding his country a camp, or rather two camps, he became
a soldier, and fought for ten years in the wretched strife
to which both Leaguers and Huguenots so often sacrificed
their love of country. With Henry of Valois, Henry of
Navarre, and Henry of Guise as personal foes and political
rivals, it was hard to know where the right line of faith
and loyalty lay; but Champlain was both a Catholic and
a king's man, for whom all things issued well when Henry
of Navarre ceased to be a heretic, giving France peace
and a throne. It is unfortunate that the details of these
adventurous years in Champlain's early manhood should be
lost. Unassisted by wealth or rank, he served so well as
to win recognition from the king himself, but beyond the
names of his commanders (D'Aumont, St Luc, and Brissac)
there is little to show the nature of his exploits.
[Footnote: He served chiefly in Brittany against the
Spanish allies of the League, and reached the rank of
quartermaster.] In any case, these ten years of campaigning
were a good school for one who afterwards was to look
death in the face a thousand times amidst the icebergs
of the North Atlantic, and off the rocky coast of Acadia,
and in the forests of the Iroquois.

With such parentage and early experiences as have been
indicated Champlain entered upon his career in the New
World. It is characteristic that he did not leave the
army until his services were no longer needed. At the
age of thirty-one he was fortunate enough to be freed
from fighting against his own countrymen. In 1598 was
signed the Peace of Vervins by which the enemies of Henry
IV, both Leaguers and Spaniards, acknowledged their
defeat. To France the close of fratricidal strife came
as a happy release. To Champlain it meant also the dawn
of a career. Hastening to the coast, he began the long
series of voyages which was to occupy the remainder of
his life. Indeed, the sea and what lay beyond it were
henceforth to be his life.

The sea, however, did not at once lead Champlain to New
France. Provencal, his uncle, held high employment in
the Spanish fleet, and through his assistance Champlain
embarked at Blavet in Brittany for Cadiz, convoying
Spanish soldiers who had served with the League in France.
After three months at Seville he secured a Spanish
commission as captain of a ship sailing for the West
Indies. Under this appointment it was his duty to attend
Don Francisco Colombo, who with an armada of twenty
galleons sailed in January 1599 to protect Porto Rico
from the English. In the maritime strife of Spain and
England this expedition has no part that remains memorable.
For Champlain it meant a first command at sea and a first
glimpse of America.

The record of this voyage was an incident of no less
importance in Champlain's fortunes than the voyage itself.
His cruisings in the Spanish Main gave him material for
a little book, the Bref Discours; and the Bref Discours
in turn advanced his career. Apart from any effect which
it may have had in securing for him the title of Geographer
to the King, it shows his own aspiration to be a geographer.
Navigation can be regarded either as a science or a trade.
For Champlain it was plainly a science, demanding care
in observation and faithfulness of narrative. The Bref
Discours was written immediately upon his return from
the West Indies, while the events it describes were still
fresh in mind. Appearing at a time when colonial secrets
were carefully guarded, it gave France a glimpse of
Spanish America from French eyes. For us it preserves
Champlain's impressions of Mexico, Panama, and the
Antilles. For Champlain himself it was a profession of
faith, a statement that he had entered upon the honourable
occupation of navigator; in other words, that he was to
be classed neither with ship-captains nor with traders,
but with explorers and authors.

It was in March 1601 that Champlain reached France on
his return from the West Indies. The next two years he
spent at home, occupied partly with the composition of
his Bref Discours and partly with the quest of suitable
employment. His avowed preference for the sea and the
reputation which he had already gained as a navigator
left no doubt as to the sphere of his future activities,
but though eager to explore some portion of America on
behalf of the French crown, the question of ways and
means presented many difficulties. Chief among these was
the fickleness of the king. Henry IV had great political
intelligence, and moreover desired, in general, to befriend
those who had proved loyal during his doubtful days. His
political sagacity should have led him to see the value
of colonial expansion, and his willingness to advance
faithful followers should have brought Champlain something
better than his pension and the title of Geographer. But
the problems of France were intricate, and what most
appealed to the judgment of Henry was the need of domestic
reorganization after a generation of slaughter which had
left the land desolate. Hence, despite momentary impulses
to vie with Spain and England in oversea expansion, he
kept to the path of caution, avoiding any expenditure
for colonies which could be made a drain upon the treasury,
and leaving individual pioneers to bear the cost of
planting his flag in new lands. In friendship likewise
his good impulses were subject to the vagaries of a
mercurial temperament and a marked willingness to follow
the line of least resistance. In the circumstances it is
not strange that Champlain remained two years ashore.

The man to whom he owed most at this juncture was Aymar
de Chastes. Though Champlain had served the king faithfully,
his youth and birth prevented him from doing more than
belongs to the duty of a subaltern. But De Chastes, as
governor of Dieppe, at a time when the League seemed
everywhere triumphant, gave Henry aid which proved to be
the means of raising him from the dust. It was a critical
event for Champlain that early in 1603 De Chastes had
determined to fit out an expedition to Canada. Piety and
patriotism seem to have been his dominant motives, but
an opening for profit was also offered by a monopoly of
the Laurentian fur trade. During the civil wars Champlain's
strength of character had become known at first hand to
De Chastes, who both liked and admired him. Then, just
at the right moment, he reached Fontainebleau, with his
good record as a soldier and the added prestige which
had come to him from his successful voyage to the West
Indies. He and De Chastes concluded an agreement, the
king's assent was specially given, and in the early spring
of 1603 the founder of New France began his first voyage
to the St Lawrence.

Champlain was now definitely committed to the task of
gaining for France a foothold in North America. This was
to be his steady purpose, whether fortune frowned or
smiled. At times circumstances seemed favourable; at
other times they were most disheartening. Hence, if we
are to understand his life and character, we must consider,
however briefly, the conditions under which he worked.

It cannot be said that Champlain was born out of his
right time. His active years coincide with the most
important, most exciting period in the colonial movement.
At the outset Spain had gone beyond all rivals in the
race for the spoils of America. The first stage was marked
by unexampled and spectacular profits. The bullion which
flowed from Mexico and Peru was won by brutal cruelty to
native races, but Europe accepted it as wealth poured
forth in profusion from the mines. Thus the first conception
of a colony was that of a marvellous treasure-house where
gold and silver lay piled up awaiting the arrival of a
Cortez or a Pizarro.

Unhappily disillusion followed. Within two generations
from the time of Columbus it became clear that America
did not yield bonanza to every adventurer. Yet throughout
the sixteenth century there survived the dream of riches
to be quickly gained. Wherever the European landed in
America he looked first of all for mines, as Frobisher
did on the unpromising shores of Labrador. The precious
metals proving illusive, his next recourse was to trade.
Hawkins sought his profit from slaves. The French bought
furs from the Indians at Tadoussac. Gosnold brought back
from Cape Cod a mixed cargo of sassafras and cedar.

But wealth from the mines and profits from a coasting
trade were only a lure to the cupidity of Europe. Real
colonies, containing the germ of a nation, could not be
based on such foundations. Coligny saw this, and conceived
of America as a new home for the French race. Raleigh,
the most versatile of the Elizabethans, lavished his
wealth on the patriotic endeavour to make Virginia a
strong and self-supporting community. 'I shall yet live
to see it an English nation,' he wrote--at the very moment
when Champlain was first dreaming of the St Lawrence.
Coligny and Raleigh were both constructive statesmen.
The one was murdered before he could found such a colony
as his thought presaged: the other perished on the
scaffold, though not before he had sowed the seed of an
American empire. For Raleigh was the first to teach that
agriculture, not mines, is the true basis of a colony.
In itself his colony on Roanoke Island was a failure,
but the idea of Roanoke was Raleigh's greatest legacy to
the English race.

With the dawn of the seventeenth century events came
thick and fast. It was a time when the maritime states
of Western Europe were all keenly interested in America,
without having any clear idea of the problem. Raleigh,
the one man who had a grasp of the situation, entered
upon his tragic imprisonment in the same year that
Champlain made his first voyage to the St Lawrence. But
while thought was confused and policy unsettled, action
could no longer be postponed. The one fact which England,
France, and Holland could not neglect was that to the
north of Florida no European colony existed on the American
coast. Urging each of these states to establish settlements
in a tract so vast and untenanted was the double desire
to possess and to prevent one's neighbour from possessing.
On the other hand, caution raised doubts as to the balance
of cost and gain. The governments were ready to accept
the glory and advantage, if private persons were prepared
to take the risk. Individual speculators, very conscious
of the risk, demanded a monopoly of trade before agreeing
to plant a colony. But this caused new difficulty. The
moment a monopoly was granted, unlicensed traders raised
an outcry and upbraided the government for injustice.

Such were the problems upon the successful or unsuccessful
solution of which depended enormous national interests,
and each country faced them according to its institutions,
rulers, and racial genius. It only needs a table of events
to show how fully the English, the French, and the Dutch
realized that something must be done. In 1600 Pierre
Chauvin landed sixteen French colonists at Tadoussac. On
his return in 1601 he found that they had taken refuge
with the Indians. In 1602 Gosnold, sailing from Falmouth,
skirted the coast of Norumbega from Casco Bay to Cuttyhunk.
In 1603 the ships of De Chastes, with Champlain aboard,
spent the summer in the St Lawrence; while during the
same season Martin Pring took a cargo of sassafras in
Massachusetts Bay. From 1604. to 1607 the French under
De Monts, Poutrincourt, and Champlain were actively
engaged in the attempt to colonize Acadia. But they were
not alone in setting up claims to this region. In 1605
Waymouth, sailing from Dartmouth, explored the mouth of
the Kennebec and carried away five natives. In 1606 James
I granted patents to the London Company and the Plymouth
Company which, by their terms, ran athwart the grant of
Henry IV to De Monts. In the same year Sir Ferdinando
Gorges sent Pring once more to Norumbega. In 1607 Raleigh,
Gilbert, and George Popham made a small settlement at
the mouth of the Sagadhoc, where Popham died during the
winter. As a result of his death this colony on the coast
of Maine was abandoned, but 1607 also saw the memorable
founding of Jamestown in Virginia. Equally celebrated is
Champlain's founding of Quebec in 1608. In 1609 the Dutch
under an English captain, Henry Hudson, had their first
glimpse of Manhattan.

This catalogue of voyages shows that an impulse existed
which governments could not ignore. The colonial movement
was far from being a dominant interest with Henry IV or
James I, but when their subjects saw fit to embark upon
it privately, the crown was compelled to take cognizance
of their acts and frame regulations. 'Go, and let whatever
good may, come of it!' exclaimed Robert de Baudricourt
as Joan of Arc rode forth from Vaucouleurs to liberate
France. In much the same spirit Henry IV saw De Monts
set sail for Acadia. The king would contribute nothing
from the public purse or from his own. Sully, his prime
minister, vigorously opposed colonizing because he wished
to concentrate effort upon domestic improvements. He
believed, in the second place, that there was no hope of
creating a successful colony north of the fortieth
parallel. Thirdly, he was in the pay of the Dutch.

The most that Henry IV would do for French pioneers in
America was to give them a monopoly of trade in return
for an undertaking to transport and establish colonists.
In each case where a monopoly was granted the number of
colonists was specified. As for their quality, convicts
could be taken if more eligible candidates were not
forthcoming. The sixty unfortunates landed by La Roche
on Sable Island in 1598 were all convicts or sturdy
vagrants. Five years later only eleven were left alive.

For the story of Champlain it is not necessary to touch
upon the relations of the French government with traders
at a date earlier than 1599. Immediately following the
failure of La Roche's second expedition, Pierre Chauvin
of Honfleur secured a monopoly which covered the Laurentian
fur trade for ten years. The condition was that he should
convey to Canada fifty colonists a year throughout the
full period of his grant. So far from carrying out this
agreement either in spirit or letter, he shirked it
without compunction. After three years the monopoly was
withdrawn, less on the ground that he had failed to fulfil
his contract than from an outcry on the part of merchants
who desired their share of the trade. To adjudicate
between Chauvin and his rivals in St Malo and Rouen a
commission was appointed at the close of 1602. Its members
were De Chastes, governor of Dieppe, and the Sieur de la
Cour, first president of the Parlement of Normandy. On
their recommendation the terms of the monopoly were so
modified as to admit to a share in the privilege certain
leading merchants of Rouen and St Malo, who, however,
must pay their due share in the expenses of colonizing.
Before the ships sailed in 1603 Chauvin had died, and De
Chastes at once took his place as the central figure in
the group of those to whom a new monopoly had just been
conceded.

[Footnote: The history of all the companies formed during
these years for trade in New France is the same. First
a monopoly is granted under circumstances ostensibly most
favourable to the Government and to the privileged
merchants; then follow the howls of the excluded traders,
the lack of good voluntary colonists, the transportation
to the colony of a few beggars, criminals, or unpromising
labourers; a drain on the company's funds in maintaining
these during the long winter; a steady decrease in the
number taken out; at length no attempt to fulfil this
condition of the monopoly; the anger of the Government
when made aware of the facts; and finally the sudden
repeal of the monopoly several years before its legal
termination.--H. P. Biggar, 'Early Trading Companies of
New France,' p. 49.]

We are now on the threshold of Champlain's career, but
only on the threshold. The voyage of 1603, while full of
prophecy and presenting features of much interest, lacks
the arduous and constructive quality which was to mark
his greater explorations. In 1603 the two boats equipped
by De Chastes were under the command of Pontgrave [Footnote:
Francois Grave, Sieur du Pont, whose name, strictly
speaking, is Dupont-Grave, one of the most active French
navigators of the seventeenth century. From 1600 to 1629
his voyages to the St Lawrence and Acadia were incessant.]
and Prevert, both mariners from St Malo. Champlain sailed
in Pontgrave's ship and was, in fact, a superior type of
supercargo. De Chastes desired that his expedition should
be self-supporting, and the purchase of furs was never
left out of sight. At the same time, his purpose was
undoubtedly wider than profit, and Champlain represented
the extra-commercial motive. While Pontgrave was trading
with the Indians, Champlain, as the geographer, was
collecting information about their character, their
customs, and their country. Their religious ideas interested
him much, and also their statements regarding the interior
of the continent. Such data as he could collect between
the end of May and the middle of August he embodied in
a book called Des Sauvages, which, true to its title,
deals chiefly with Indian life and is a valuable record,
although in many regards superseded by the more detailed
writings of the Jesuits.

The voyage of 1603 added nothing material to what had
been made known by Jacques Cartier and the fur traders
about Canada. Champlain ascended the St Lawrence to the
Sault St Louis [Footnote: Now called the Lachine Rapids.
An extremely important point in the history of New France,
since it marked the head of ship navigation on the St
Lawrence. Constantly mentioned in the writings of
Champlain's period.] and made two side excursions--one
taking him rather less than forty miles up the Saguenay
and the other up the Richelieu to the rapid at St Ours.
He also visited Gaspe, passed the Isle Percee, had his
first glimpse of the Baie des Chaleurs, and returned to
Havre with a good cargo of furs. On the whole, it was a
profitable and satisfactory voyage. Though it added little
to geographical knowledge, it confirmed the belief that
money could be made in the fur trade, and the word brought
back concerning the Great Lakes of the interior was more
distinct than had before been reported. The one misfortune
of the expedition was that its author, De Chastes, did
not live to see its success. He had died less than a
month before his ships reached Havre.



CHAPTER II

CHAMPLAIN IN ACADIA

[Footnote: This word (Acadia) has sometimes been traced
to the Micmac akade, which, appended to place-names,
signifies an abundance of something. More probably,
however, it is a corruption of Arcadia. The Acadia of De
Monts' grant in 1604 extended from the parallel of 40
degrees to that of 46 degrees north latitude, but in the
light of actual occupation the term can hardly be made
to embrace more than the coast from Cape Breton to
Penobscot Bay.]

The early settlements of the French in America were
divided into two zones by the Gulf of St Lawrence.
Considered from the standpoint of colonization, this
great body of water has a double aspect. In the main it
was a vestibule to the vast region which extended westward
from Gaspe to Lake Michigan and thence to the Mississippi.
But while a highway it was also a barrier, cutting off
Acadia from the main route that led to the heart of the
interior. Port Royal, on the Bay of Fundy, was one centre
and Quebec another. Between them stretched either an
impenetrable wilderness or an inland sea. Hence Acadia
remained separate from the Laurentian valley, which was
the heart of Canada--although Acadia and Canada combined
to form New France. Of these two sister districts Canada
was the more secure. The fate of Acadia shows how much
less vulnerable to English attack were Quebec, Three
Rivers, and Montreal than the seaboard settlements of
Port Royal, Grand Pre, and Louisbourg.

It is a striking fact that Champlain had helped to found
Port Royal before he founded Quebec. He was not the
pioneer of Acadian colonization: De Monts deserves the
praise of turning the first sod. But Champlain was a
leading figure in the hard fight at St Croix and Port
Royal; he it was who first charted in any detail the
Atlantic seaboard from Cape Breton to Cape Cod; and his
narrative joins with that of Lescarbot to preserve the
story of the episode.

Although unprosperous, the first attempt of the French
to colonize Acadia is among the bright deeds of their
colonial history. While the death of De Chastes was most
inopportune, the future of the French race in America
did not hinge upon any one man. In 1603 fishing on the
Grand Bank off Newfoundland was a well-established
occupation of Normans and Bretons, the fur trade held
out hope of great profit, and the spirit of national
emulation supplied a motive which was stronger still.
Hence it is not surprising that to De Chastes there at
once succeeds De Monts.

As regards position they belonged to much the same class.
Both were men of standing, with enough capital and
influence to organize an expedition. In respect, however,
of personality and circumstance there were differences.
By reason of advanced age De Chastes had been unable to
accompany his ships, whereas De Monts was in his prime
and had already made a voyage to the St Lawrence. Moreover,
De Monts was a Huguenot. A generation later no Huguenot
could have expected to receive a monopoly of the fur
trade and a royal commission authorizing him to establish
settlements, but Henry IV, who had once been a Protestant,
could hardly treat his old co-religionists as Richelieu
afterwards treated them. The heresy of its founder was
a source of weakness to the first French colony in Acadia,
yet through a Calvinist it came into being.

Like De Chastes, De Monts had associates who joined with
him to supply the necessary funds, though in 1604. the
investment was greater than on any previous occasion,
and a larger number were admitted to the benefits of the
monopoly. Not only did St Malo and Rouen secure recognition,
but La Rochelle and St Jean de Luz were given a chance
to participate. De Monts' company had a capital of 90,000
livres, divided in shares--of which two-fifths were
allotted to St Malo, two-fifths to La Rochelle and St
Jean de Luz conjointly, and the remainder to Rouen. The
personal investment of De Monts was somewhat more than
a tenth of the total, as he took a majority of the stock
which fell to Rouen. Apart from Sully's unfriendliness,
the chief initial difficulty arose over religion. The
Parlement of Normandy refused to register De Monts'
commission on the ground that the conversion of the
heathen could not fitly be left to a heretic. This
remonstrance was only withdrawn after the king had
undertaken to place the religious instruction of the
Indians in the charge of priests--a promise which did
not prevent the Protestant colonists from having their
own pastor. The monopoly contained wider privileges than
before, including both Acadia and the St Lawrence. At
the same time, the obligation to colonize became more
exacting, since the minimum number of new settlers per
annum was raised from fifty to a hundred.

Champlain's own statement regarding the motive of De
Monts' expedition is that it lay in the desire 'to find
a northerly route to China, in order to facilitate commerce
with the Orientals.' After reciting a list of explorations
which began with John Cabot and had continued at intervals
during the next century, he continues: 'So many voyages
and discoveries without results, and attended with so
much hardship and expense, have caused us French in late
years to attempt a permanent settlement in those lands
which we call New France, in the hope of thus realizing
more easily this object; since the voyage in search of
the desired passage commences on the other side of the
ocean and is made along the coast of this region.'

A comparison of the words just quoted with the text of
De Monts' commission will serve to illustrate the strength
of Champlain's geographical instinct. The commission
begins with a somewhat stereotyped reference to the
conversion of the heathen, after which it descants upon
commerce, colonies, and mines. The supplementary commission
to De Monts from Montmorency as Lord High Admiral adds
a further consideration, namely, that if Acadia is not
occupied by the French it will be seized upon by some
other nation. Not a word of the route to the East occurs
in either commission, and De Monts is limited in the
powers granted to a region extending along the American
seaboard from the fortieth parallel to the forty-sixth,
with as much of the interior 'as he is able to explore
and colonize.'

This shows that, while the objects of the expedition were
commercial and political, Champlain's imagination was
kindled by the prospect of finding the long-sought passage
to China. To his mind a French colony in America is a
stepping-stone, a base of operations for the great quest.
De Monts himself doubtless sought honour, adventure, and
profit--the profit which might arise from possessing
Acadia and controlling the fur trade in 'the river of
Canada.' Champlain remains the geographer, and his chief
contribution to the Acadian enterprise will be found in
that part of his Voyages which describes his study of
the coast-line southward from Cape Breton to Malabar.

But whether considered from the standpoint of exploration
or settlement, the first chapter of French annals in
Acadia is a fine incident. Champlain has left the greatest
fame, but he was not alone during these years of peril
and hardship. With him are grouped De Monts, Poutrincourt,
Lescarbot, Pontgrave, and Louis Hebert, all men of capacity
and enterprise, whose part in this valiant enterprise
lent it a dignity which it has never since lost. As yet
no English colony had been established in America. Under
his commission De Monts could have selected for the site
of his settlement either New York or Providence or Boston
or Portland. The efforts of the French in America from
1604. to 1607 are signalized by the character of their
leaders, the nature of their opportunity, and the special
causes which prevented them from taking possession of
Norumbega.

[Footnote: There appears in Verrazano's map of 1529 the
word Aranbega, as attached to a small district on the
Atlantic seaboard. Ten years later Norumbega has become
a region which takes in the whole coast from Cape Breton
to Florida. At intervals throughout the sixteenth century
fables were told in Europe of its extraordinary wealth,
and it was not till the time of Champlain that this myth
was exposed. Champlain himself identifies 'the great
river of Norumbega' with the Penobscot.]

De Monts lacked neither courage nor persistence. His
battle against heartbreaking disappointments shows him
to have been a pioneer of high order. And with him sailed
in 1604 Jean de Biencourt, Seigneur de Poutrincourt,
whose ancestors had been illustrious in Picardy for five
hundred years. Champlain made a third, joining the
expedition as geographer rather than shipmaster. Lescarbot
and Hebert came two years later.

The company left Havre in two ships--on March 7, 1604,
according to Champlain, or just a month later, according
to Lescarbot. Although De Monts' commission gave him the
usual privilege of impressing convicts, the personnel of
his band was far above the average. Champlain's statement
is that it comprised about one hundred and twenty artisans,
and there were also 'a large number of gentlemen, of whom
not a few were of noble birth.' Besides the excitement
provided by icebergs, the arguments of priest and pastor
diversified the voyage, even to the point of scandal.
After crossing the Grand Bank in safety they were nearly
wrecked off Sable Island, but succeeded in reaching the
Acadian coast on May 8. From their landfall at Cap de la
Heve they skirted the coast-line to Port Mouton,
confiscating en route a ship which was buying furs in
defiance of De Monts' monopoly.

Rabbits and other game were found in abundance at Port
Mouton, but the spot proved quite unfit for settlement,
and on May 19 De Monts charged Champlain with the task
of exploring the coast in search of harbours. Taking a
barque of eight tons and a crew of ten men (together with
Ralleau, De Monts' secretary), Champlain set out upon
this important reconnaissance. Fish, game, good soil,
good timber, minerals, and safe anchorage were all objects
of search. Skirting the south-western corner of Nova
Scotia, the little ship passed Cape Sable and the Tusquet
Islands, turned into the Bay of Fundy, and advanced to
a point somewhat beyond the north end of Long Island.
Champlain gives at considerable length the details of
his first excursion along the Acadian seaboard. In his
zeal for discovery he caused those left at Port Mouton
both inconvenience and anxiety. Lescarbot says, with a
touch of sharpness: 'Champlain was such a time away on
this expedition that when deliberating about their return
[to France] they thought of leaving him behind.' Champlain's
own statement is that at Port Mouton 'Sieur de Monts was
awaiting us from day to day, thinking only of our long
stay and whether some accident had not befallen us.'

De Monts' position at Port Mouton was indeed difficult.
By changing his course in mid-ocean he had missed rendezvous
with the larger of his two ships, which under the command
of Pontgrave looked for him in vain from Canseau to the
Bay of Islands. Meanwhile, at Port Mouton provisions were
running low, save for rabbits, which could not be expected
to last for ever. The more timid raised doubts and spoke
of France, but De Monts and Poutrincourt both said they
would rather die than go back. In this mood the party
continued to hunt rabbits, to search the coast
north-easterly for Pontgrave, and to await Champlain's
return. Their courage had its reward. Pontgrave's ship
was found, De Monts revictualled, Champlain reappeared,
and by the middle of June the little band of Colonists
was ready to proceed.

As De Monts heads south-west from Port Mouton it is
difficult to avoid thoughts regarding the ultimate destiny
of France in the New World. This was the predestined
moment. The Wars of Religion had ended in the reunion of
the realm under a strong and popular king. The French
nation was conscious of its greatness, and seemed ready
for any undertaking that promised honour or advantage.
The Huguenots were a sect whose members possessed
Calvinistic firmness of will, together with a special
motive for emigrating. And, besides, the whole eastern
coast of America, within the temperate zone, was still
to be had for the taking. With such a magnificent
opportunity, why was the result so meagre?

A complete answer to this query would lead us far afield,
but the whole history of New France bears witness to the
fact that the cause of failure is not to be found in the
individual French emigrant. There have never been more
valiant or tenacious colonists than the peasants of
Normandy who cleared away the Laurentian wilderness and
explored the recesses of North America. France in the
age of De Monts and Champlain possessed adequate resources,
if only her effort had been concentrated on America, or
if the Huguenots had not been prevented from founding
colonies, or if the crown had been less meddlesome, or
if the quest of beaver skins farther north had not diverted
attention from Chesapeake Bay and Manhattan Island. The
best chance the French ever had to effect a foothold in
the middle portion of the Atlantic coast came to them in
1604, when, before any rivals had established themselves,
De Monts was at hand for the express purpose of founding
a colony. It is quite probable that even if he had landed
on Manhattan Island, the European preoccupations of France
would have prevented Henry IV from supporting a colony
at that point with sufficient vigour to protect it from
the English. Yet the most striking aspect of De Monts'
attempt in Acadia is the failure to seize a chance which
never came again to the French race. In 1607 Champlain
sailed away from Port Royal and the English founded
Jamestown. In 1608 Champlain founded Quebec, and thenceforth
for over a century the efforts of France were concentrated
on the St Lawrence. When at length she founded Louisbourg
it was too late; by that time the English grasp upon the
coast could not be loosened.

Meanwhile De Monts, to whom the future was veiled, left
Port Mouton and, creeping from point to point, entered
the Bay of Fundy--or, as Champlain calls it, 'the great
Baye Francoise, so named by Sieur de Monts.' The month
was June, but no time could be lost, for at this juncture
the aim of exploration was the discovery of a suitable
site, and after the site had been fixed the colonists
needed what time remained before winter to build their
houses. Hence De Monts' first exploration of the Baye
Francoise was not exhaustive. He entered Annapolis Basin
and glanced at the spot which afterwards was to be Port
Royal. He tried in vain to find a copper-mine of which
he had heard from Prevert of St Malo. He coasted the Bay
of St John, and on June 25 reached St Croix Island. 'Not
finding any more suitable place than this island,' says
Champlain, the leaders of the colony decided that it
should be fortified: and thus was the French flag unfurled
in Acadia.

The arrangement of the settlement at St Croix was left
to Champlain, who gives us a drawing in explanation of
his plan. The selection of an island was mainly due to
distrust of the Indians, with whom, however, intercourse
was necessary. The island lay close to the mouth of a
river, now also called the St Croix. As the choice of
this spot proved most unfortunate, it is well to remember
the motives which prevailed at the time. 'Vessels could
pass up the river,' says Champlain, 'only at the mercy
of the cannon on this island, and we deemed the location
most advantageous, not only on account of its situation
and good soil, but also on account of the intercourse
which we proposed with the savages of these coasts and
of the interior, as we should be in the midst of them.
We hoped to pacify them in course of time and put an end
to the wars which they carry on with one another, so as
to derive service from them in future and convert them
to the Christian faith.'

De Monts' band was made up largely of artisans, who at
once began with vigour to erect dwellings. A mill and an
oven were built; gardens were laid out and many seeds
planted therein. The mosquitoes proved troublesome, but
in other respects the colonists had good cause to be
pleased with their first Acadian summer. So far had
construction work advanced by the beginning of autumn
that De Monts decided to send an exploration party farther
along the coast to the south-west. 'And,' says Champlain,
'he entrusted me with this work, which I found very
agreeable.'

The date of departure from St Croix was September 2, so
that no very ambitious programme of discovery could be
undertaken before bad weather began. In a boat of eighteen
tons, with twelve sailors and two Indian guides, Champlain
threaded the maze of islands which lies between
Passamaquoddy Bay and the mouth of the Penobscot. The
most striking part of the coast was Mount Desert, 'very
high and notched in places, so that there is the appearance
to one at sea as of seven or eight mountains extending
along near each other.' To this island and the Isle au
Haut Champlain gave the names they have since borne.
Thence advancing, with his hand ever on the lead, he
reached the mouth of the Penobscot, despite those 'islands,
rocks, shoals, banks, and breakers which are so numerous
on all sides that it is marvellous to behold.' Having
satisfied himself that the Penobscot was none other than
the great river Norumbega, referred to largely on hearsay
by earlier geographers, he followed it up almost to
Bangor. On regaining the sea he endeavoured to reach the
mouth of the Kennebec, but when within a few miles of it
was driven back to St Croix by want of food. In closing
the story of this voyage, which had occupied a month,
Champlain says with his usual directness: 'The above is
an exact statement of all I have observed respecting not
only the coasts and people, but also the river of Norumbega;
and there are none of the marvels there which some persons
have described. I am of opinion that this region is as
disagreeable in winter as that of our settlement, in
which we were greatly deceived.'

Champlain was now to undergo his first winter in Acadia,
and no part of his life could have been more wretched
than the ensuing eight months. On October 6 the snow
came. On December 3 cakes of ice began to appear along
the shore. The storehouse had no cellar, and all liquids
froze except sherry. 'Cider was served by the pound. We
were obliged to use very bad water and drink melted snow,
as there were no springs or brooks.' It was impossible
to keep warm or to sleep soundly. The food was salt meat
and vegetables, which impaired the strength of every one
and brought on scurvy. It is unnecessary to cite here
Champlain's detailed and graphic description of this
dreadful disease. The results are enough. Before the
spring came two-fifths of the colonists had died, and of
those who remained half were on the point of death. Not
unnaturally, 'all this produced discontent in Sieur de
Monts and others of the settlement.'

The survivors of the horrible winter at St Croix were
not freed from anxiety until June 15, 1605, when Pontgrave,
six weeks late, arrived with fresh stores. Had De Monts
been faint-hearted, he doubtless would have seized this
opportunity to return to France. As it was, he set out
in search of a place more suitable than St Croix for the
establishment of his colony, On June 18, with a party
which included twenty sailors and several gentlemen, he
and Champlain began a fresh voyage to the south-west.
Their destination was the country of the Armouchiquois,
an Algonquin tribe who then inhabited Massachusetts.

Champlain's story of his first voyage from Acadia to Cape
Cod is given with considerable fulness. The topography
of the seaboard and its natural history, the habits of
the Indians and his adventures with them, were all new
subjects at the time, and he treats them so that they
keep their freshness. He is at no pains to conceal his
low opinion of the coast savages. Concerning the Acadian
Micmacs he says little, but what he does say is chiefly
a comment upon the wretchedness of their life during the
winter. As he went farther south he found an improvement
in the food supply. At the mouth of the Saco he and De
Monts saw well-kept patches of Indian corn three feet
high, although it was not yet midsummer. Growing with
the corn were beans, pumpkins, and squashes, all in
flower; and the cultivation of tobacco is also noted.
Here the savages formed a permanent settlement and lived
within a palisade. Still farther south, in the neighbourhood
of Cape Cod, Champlain found maize five and a half feet
high, a considerable variety of squashes, tobacco, and
edible roots which tasted like artichokes.

But whether the coast Indians were Micmacs or Armouchiquois,
whether they were starving or well fed, Champlain tells
us little in their praise. Of the Armouchiquois he says:

   I cannot tell what government they have, but I think
   that in this respect they resemble their neighbours,
   who have none at all. They know not how to worship or
   pray; yet, like the other savages, they have some
   superstitions, which I shall describe in their place.
   As for weapons, they have only pikes, clubs, bows and
   arrows. It would seem from their appearance that they
   have a good disposition, better than those of the
   north, but they are all in fact of no great worth.
   Even a slight intercourse with them gives you at once
   a knowledge of them. They are great thieves, and if
   they cannot lay hold of any thing with their hands,
   they try to do so with their feet, as we have oftentimes
   learned by experience. I am of opinion that if they
   had any thing to exchange with us they would not give
   themselves to thieving. They bartered away to us their
   bows, arrows, and quivers for pins and buttons; and
   if they had had any thing else better they would have
   done the same with it. It is necessary to be on one's
   guard against this people and live in a state of
   distrust of them, yet without letting them perceive it.

This passage at least shows that Champlain sought to be
just to the savages of the Atlantic. Though he found them
thieves, he is willing to conjecture that they would not
steal if they had anything to trade.

The thieving habits of the Cape Cod Indians led to a
fight between them and the French in which one Frenchman
was killed, and Champlain narrowly escaped death through
the explosion of his own musket. At Cape Cod De Monts
turned back. Five of the six weeks allotted to the voyage
were over, and lack of food made it impossible to enter
Long Island Sound. Hence 'Sieur de Monts determined to
return to the Island of St Croix in order to find a place
more favourable for our settlement, as we had not been
able to do on any of the coasts which he had explored
during this voyage.'

We now approach the picturesque episode of Port Royal.
De Monts, having regained St Croix at the beginning of
August, lost no time in transporting his people to the
other side of the Bay of Fundy. The consideration which
weighed most with him in establishing his headquarters
was that of trade. Whatever his own preferences, he could
not forget that his partners in France expected a return
on their investment. Had he been in a position to found
an agricultural colony, the maize fields he had seen to
the south-west might have proved attractive. But he
depended largely upon trade, and, as Champlain points
out, the savages of Massachusetts had nothing to sell.
Hence it was unwise to go too far from the peltries of
the St Lawrence. To find a climate less severe than that
of Canada, without losing touch with the fur trade, was
De Monts' problem. No one could dream of wintering again
at St Croix, and in the absence of trade possibilities
to the south there seemed but one alternative--Port Royal.

In his notice of De Monts' cruise along the Bay of Fundy
in June 1604, Champlain says: 'Continuing two leagues
farther on in the same direction, we entered one of the
finest harbours I had seen all along these coasts, in
which two thousand vessels might lie in security. The
entrance is 800 paces broad; then you enter a harbour
two leagues long and one broad, which I have named Port
Royal.' Here Champlain is describing Annapolis Basin,
which clearly made a deep impression upon the minds of
the first Europeans who saw it. Most of all did it appeal
to the imagination of Poutrincourt, who had come to Acadia
for the purpose of discovering a spot where he could
found his own colony. At sight of Port Royal he had at
once asked De Monts for the grant, and on receiving it
had returned to France, at the end of August 1604, to
recruit colonists. Thus he had escaped the horrible winter
at St Croix, but on account of lawsuits it had proved
impossible for him to return to Acadia in the following
year. Hence the noble roadstead of Port Royal was still
unoccupied when De Monts, Champlain, and Pontgrave took
the people of St Croix thither in August 1605. Not only
did the people go. Even the framework of the houses was
shipped across the bay and set up in this haven of better
hope.

The spot chosen for the settlement lay on the north side
of the bay. It had a good supply of water, and there was
protection from the north-west wind which had tortured
the settlers at St Croix. 'After everything had been
arranged,' says Champlain, 'and the majority of the
dwellings built, Sieur de Monts determined to return to
France, in order to petition His Majesty to grant him
all that might be necessary for his undertaking.' Quite
apart from securing fresh advantages, De Monts at this
time was sore pressed to defend his title against the
traders who were clamouring for a repeal of the monopoly.
With him returned some of the colonists whose ambition
had been satisfied at St Croix. Champlain remained, in
the hope of making further explorations 'towards Florida.'
Pontgrave was left in command. The others numbered
forty-three.

During the autumn they began to make gardens. 'I also,'
says Champlain, 'for the sake of occupying my time made
one, which was surrounded with ditches full of water, in
which I placed some fine trout, and into which flowed
three brooks of very fine running water, from which the
greater part of our settlement was supplied. I made also
a little sluice-way towards the shore, in order to draw
off the water when I wished. This spot was entirely
surrounded by meadows, where I constructed a summer-house,
with some fine trees, as a resort for enjoying the fresh
air. I made there, also, a little reservoir for holding
salt-water fish, which we took out as we wanted them. I
took especial pleasure in it and planted there some seeds
which turned out well. But much work had to be laid out
in preparation. We resorted often to this place as a
pastime; and it seemed as if the little birds round took
pleasure in it, for they gathered there in large numbers,
warbling and chirping so pleasantly that I think I have
never heard the like.'

After a busy and cheerful autumn came a mild winter. The
snow did not fall till December 20, and there was much
rain. Scurvy still caused trouble; but though twelve
died, the mortality was not so high as at St Croix.
Everything considered, Port Royal enjoyed good
fortune--according to the colonial standards of the
period, when a winter death-rate of twenty-six per cent
was below the average.

At the beginning of March 1606 Pontgrave fitted out a
barque of eighteen tons in order to undertake 'a voyage
of discovery along the coast of Florida'; and on the 16th
of the month a start was made. Favoured by good weather,
he and Champlain would have reached the Hudson three
years before the Dutch. But, short of drowning, every
possible mischance happened. They had hardly set out when
a storm cast them ashore near Grand Manan. Having repaired
the damage they made for St Croix, where fog and contrary
winds held them back eight days. Then Pontgrave decided
to return to Port Royal 'to see in what condition our
companions were whom we had left there sick.' On their
arrival Pontgrave himself was taken ill, but soon
re-embarked, though still unwell. Their second start was
followed by immediate disaster. Leaving the mouth of the
harbour, two leagues distant from Port Royal, they were
carried out of the channel by the tide and went aground.
'At the first blow of our boat upon the rocks the rudder
broke, a part of the keel and three or four planks were
smashed and some ribs stove in, which frightened us, for
our barque filled immediately; and all that we could do
was to wait until the sea fell, so that we might get
ashore... Our barque, all shattered as she was, went to
pieces at the return of the tide. But we, most happy at
having saved our lives, returned to our settlement with
our poor savages; and we praised God for having rescued
us from this shipwreck, from which we had not expected
to escape so easily.'

This accident destroyed all hope of exploration to the
southward until word came from France. At the time of De
Monts' departure the outlook had been so doubtful that
a provisional arrangement was made for the return of the
colonists to France should no ship arrive at Port Royal
by the middle of July. In this event Pontgrave was to
take his people to Cape Breton or Gaspe, where they would
find trading ships homeward bound. As neither De Monts
nor Poutrincourt had arrived by the middle of June, a
new barque was built to replace the one which had been
lost on April 10. A month later Pontgrave carried out
his part of the programme by putting aboard all the
inhabitants of Port Royal save two, who were induced by
promise of extra pay to remain in charge of the stores.

Thus sorrowfully the remnant of the colonists bade farewell
to the beautiful harbour and their new home. Four days
later they were nearly lost through the breaking of their
rudder in the midst of a tempest. Having been saved from
wreck by the skill of their shipmaster, Champdore, they
reached Cape Sable on July 24. Here grief became rejoicing,
for to their complete surprise they encountered Ralleau,
De Monts' secretary, coasting along in a shallop. The
glad tidings he gave them was that Poutrincourt with a
ship of one hundred and twenty tons had arrived. From
Canseau the Jonas had taken an outer course to Port Royal,
while Ralleau was keeping close to the shore in the hope
of intercepting Pontgrave. 'All this intelligence,' says
Champlain, 'caused us to turn back; and we arrived at
Port Royal on the 25th of the month, where we found the
above-mentioned vessel and Sieur de Poutrincourt, and
were greatly delighted to see realized what we had given
up in despair.' Lescarbot, who arrived on board the Jonas,
adds the following detail: 'M. de Poutrincourt ordered
a tun of wine to be set upon end, one of those which had
been given him for his proper use, and gave leave to all
comers to drink freely as long as it lasted, so that
there were some who made gay dogs of themselves.'

Wine-bibbing, however, was not the chief activity of Port
Royal. Poutrincourt at once set men to work on the land,
and while they were sowing wheat, rye, and hemp he hastened
preparations for an autumn cruise 'along the coast of
Florida.' On September 5 all was ready for this voyage,
which was to be Champlain's last opportunity of reaching
the lands beyond Cape Cod. Once more disappointment
awaited him. 'It was decided,' he says, 'to continue the
voyage along the coast, which was not a very well considered
conclusion, since we lost much time in passing over again
the discoveries made by Sieur de Monts as far as the
harbour of Mallebarre. It would have been much better,
in my opinion, to cross from where we were directly to
Mallebarre, the route being already known, and then use
our time in exploring as far as the fortieth degree, or
still farther south, revisiting upon our homeward voyage
the entire coast at pleasure.'

In the interest of geographical research and French
colonization Champlain was doubtless right. Unfortunately,
Poutrincourt wished to see for himself what De Monts and
Champlain had already seen. It was the more unfortunate
that he held this view, as the boats were victualled for
over two months, and much could have been done by taking
a direct course to Cape Cod. Little time, however, was
spent at the Penobscot and Kennebec. Leaving St Croix on
September 12, Poutrincourt reached the Saco on the 21st.
Here and at points farther south he found ripe grapes,
together with maize, pumpkins, squashes, and artichokes.
Gloucester Harbour pleased Champlain greatly. 'In this
very pleasant place we saw two hundred savages, and there
are here a large number of very fine walnut trees,
cypresses, sassafras, oaks, ashes and beeches. ...There
are likewise fine meadows capable of supporting a large
number of cattle.' So much was he charmed with this
harbour and its surroundings that he called it Le Beauport.
After tarrying at Gloucester two or three days Poutrincourt
reached Cape Cod on October 2, and on the 20th he stood
off Martha's Vineyard, his farthest point.

Champlain's chronicle of this voyage contains more detail
regarding the Indians than will be found in any other
part of his Acadian narratives. Chief among Poutrincourt's
adventures was an encounter with the natives of Cape Cod.
Unlike the Micmacs, the Armouchiquois were 'not so much
hunters as good fishermen and tillers of the land.' Their
numbers also were greater; in fact, Champlain speaks of
seeing five or six hundred together. At first they did
not interfere with Poutrincourt's movements, even permitting
him to roam their land with a body of arquebusiers. After
a fortnight, however, their suspicions began to become
manifest, and on October 15 four hundred savages set upon
five Frenchmen who, contrary to orders, had remained
ashore. Four were killed, and although a rescue party
set out at once from the barque, the natives made their
escape.

   To pursue them was fruitless, for they are marvellously
   swift. All that we could do was to carry away the dead
   bodies and bury them near a cross which had been set
   up the day before, and then to go here and there to
   see if we could get sight of any of them. But it was
   time wasted, therefore we came back. Three hours
   afterwards they returned to us on the sea-shore. We
   discharged at them several shots from our little brass
   cannon, and when they heard the noise they crouched
   down on the ground to escape the fire. In mockery of
   us they pulled down the cross and disinterred the
   dead, which displeased us greatly and caused us to go
   for them a second time; but they fled, as they had
   done before. We set up again the cross and reinterred
   the dead, whom they had thrown here and there amid
   the heath, where they kindled a fire to burn them. We
   returned without any result, as we had done before,
   well aware that there was scarcely hope of avenging
   ourselves this time, and that we should have to renew
   the undertaking when it should please God.

With a desire for revenge was linked the practical
consideration that slaves would prove useful at Port
Royal. A week later the French returned to the same place,
'resolved to get possession of some savages and, taking
them to our settlement, put them to grinding corn at the
hand-mill, as punishment for the deadly assault which
they had committed on five or six of our company.' As
relations were strained, it became necessary to offer
beads and gewgaws, with every show of good faith. Champlain
describes the plan in full. The shallop was to leave the
barque for shore, taking

   the most robust and strong men we had, each one having
   a chain of beads and a fathom of match on his arm;
   and there, while pretending to smoke with them (each
   one having an end of his match lighted so as not to
   excite suspicion, it being customary to have fire at
   the end of a cord in order to light the tobacco), coax
   them with pleasing words so as to draw them into the
   shallop; and if they should be unwilling to enter,
   each one approaching should choose his man and, putting
   the beads round his neck, should at the same time put
   the rope on him to draw him by force. But if they
   should be too boisterous and it should not be possible
   to succeed, they should be stabbed, the rope being
   firmly held; and if by chance any of them should get
   away, there should be men on land to charge upon them
   with swords. Meanwhile, the little cannon on our barque
   was to be kept ready to fire upon their companions in
   case they should come to assist them, under cover of
   which firearms the shallop could withdraw in security.

This plot, though carefully planned, fell far short of
the success which was anticipated. To catch a redskin
with a noose required more skill than was available.
Accordingly, none were taken alive. Champlain says: 'We
retired to our barque after having done all we could.'
Lescarbot adds: 'Six or seven of the savages were hacked
and hewed in pieces, who could not run so lightly in the
water as on shore, and were caught as they came out by
those of our men who had landed.'

Having thus taken an eye for an eye, Poutrincourt began
his homeward voyage, and, after three or four escapes
from shipwreck, reached Port Royal on November 14.

Champlain was now about to spend his last winter in
Acadia. Mindful of former experiences, he determined to
fight scurvy by encouraging exercise among the colonists
and procuring for them an improved diet. A third desideratum
was cheerfulness. All these purposes he served through
founding the Ordre de Bon Temps, which proved to be in
every sense the life of the settlement. Champlain himself
briefly describes the procedure followed, but a far more
graphic account is given by Lescarbot, whose diffuse and
lively style is illustrated to perfection in the following
passage:

   To keep our table joyous and well provided, an order
   was established at the board of the said M. de
   Poutrincourt, which was called the Order of Good Cheer,
   originally proposed by Champlain. To this Order each
   man of the said table was appointed Chief Steward in
   his turn, which came round once a fortnight. Now, this
   person had the duty of taking care that we were all
   well and honourably provided for. This was so well
   carried out that though the epicures of Paris often
   tell us that we had no Rue aux Ours over there, as a
   rule we made as good cheer as we could have in this
   same Rue aux Ours, and at less cost. For there was no
   one who, two days before his turn came, failed to go
   hunting or fishing, and to bring back some delicacy
   in addition to our ordinary fare. So well was this
   carried out that never at breakfast did we lack some
   savoury meat of flesh or fish, and still less at our
   midday or evening meals; for that was our chief banquet,
   at which the ruler of the feast or chief butler, whom
   the savages called Atoctegic, having had everything
   prepared by the cook, marched in, napkin on shoulder,
   wand of office in hand, and around his neck the collar
   of the Order, which was worth more than four crowns;
   after him all the members of the Order carrying each
   a dish. The same was repeated at dessert, though not
   always with so much pomp. And at night, before giving
   thanks to God, he handed over to his successor in the
   charge the collar of the Order, with a cup of wine,
   and they drank to each other. I have already said that
   we had abundance of game, such as ducks, bustards,
   grey and white geese, partridges, larks, and other
   birds; moreover moose, caribou, beaver, otter, bear,
   rabbits, wild-cats, racoons, and other animals such
   as the savages caught, whereof we made dishes well
   worth those of the cook-shop in the Rue aux Ours, and
   far more; for of all our meats none is so tender as
   moose-meat (whereof we also made excellent pasties)
   and nothing so delicate as beaver's tail. Yea, sometimes
   we had half a dozen sturgeon at once, which the savages
   brought us, part of which we bought, and allowed them
   to sell the remainder publicly and to barter it for
   bread, of which our men had abundance. As for the
   ordinary rations brought from France, they were
   distributed equally to great and small alike; and, as
   we have said, the wine was served in like manner.

The results of this regime were most gratifying. The
deaths from scurvy dropped to seven, which represented
a great proportionate decrease. At the same time,
intercourse with the Indians was put on a good basis
thereby. 'At these proceedings,' says Lescarbot, 'we
always had twenty or thirty savages--men, women, girls,
and children--who looked on at our manner of service.
Bread was given them gratis, as one would do to the poor.
But as for the Sagamos Membertou, and other chiefs who
came from time to time, they sat at table eating and
drinking like ourselves. And we were glad to see them,
while, on the contrary, their absence saddened us.'

These citations bring into view the writer who has most
copiously recorded the early annals of Acadia--Marc
Lescarbot. He was a lawyer, and at this date about forty
years old. Having come to Port Royal less as a colonist
than as a guest of Poutrincourt, he had no investment at
stake. But contact with America kindled the enthusiasm
of which he had a large supply, and converted him into
the historian of New France. His story of the winter he
passed at Port Royal is quite unlike other narratives of
colonial experience at this period. Champlain was a
geographer and preoccupied with exploration. The Jesuits
were missionaries and preoccupied with the conversion of
the savages. Lescarbot had a literary education, which
Champlain lacked, and, unlike the Jesuits, he approached
life in America from the standpoint of a layman. His
prolixity often serves as a foil to the terseness of
Champlain, and suggests that he must have been a merciless
talker. Yet, though inclined to be garrulous, he was a
good observer and had many correct ideas--notably the
belief that corn, wine, and cattle are a better foundation
for a colony than gold or silver mines. In temperament
he and Champlain were very dissimilar, and evidence of
mutual coolness may be found in their writings. These we
shall consider at a later stage. For the present it is
enough to note that both men sat at Poutrincourt's table
and adorned the Order of Good Cheer.

Meanwhile De Monts was in France, striving with all the
foes of the monopoly. Thanks to the fur trade, his company
had paid its way during the first two years, despite the
losses at St Croix. The third season had been much less
prosperous, and at the same moment when the Dutch and
the Basques [Footnote: Traders from the extreme south of
France, whose chief port was St Jean de Luz. Though living
on the confines of France and Spain, the Basques were of
different racial origin from both Spaniards and French.
While subject politically to France, their remoteness
from the main ports of Normandy and Brittany kept them
out of touch with the mariners of St Malo and Havre, save
as collision arose between them in the St Lawrence. Among
the Basques there were always interlopers, even when St
Jean de Luz had been given a share in the monopoly. They
are sometimes called Spaniards, from their close
neighbourhood to the Pyrenees.] were breaking the monopoly
by defiance, the hatters of Paris were demanding that it
should be withdrawn altogether. To this alliance of a
powerful guild with a majority of the traders, the company
of De Monts succumbed, and the news which Poutrincourt
received when the first ship came in 1607 was that the
colony must be abandoned. As the company itself was about
to be dissolved, this consequence was inevitable. Champlain
in his matter-of-fact way states that De Monts sent
letters to Poutrincourt, 'by which he directed him to
bring back his company to France.' Lescarbot is much more
outspoken. Referring to the merits and struggles of De
Monts, he exclaims:

   Yet I fear that in the end he may be forced to give
   it all up, to the great scandal and reproach of the
   French name, which by such conduct is made a
   laughing-stock and a byword among the nations. For as
   though their wish was to oppose the conversion of
   these poor Western peoples, and the glory of God and
   of the King, we find a set of men full of avarice and
   envy, who would not draw a sword in the service of
   the King, nor suffer the slightest ill in the world
   for the honour of God, but who yet put obstacles in
   the way of our drawing any profit from the province,
   even in order to furnish what is indispensable to the
   foundation of such an enterprise; men who prefer to
   see the English and Dutch win possession of it rather
   than the French, and would fain have the name of God
   remain unknown in those quarters. And it is such
   godless people who are listened to, who are believed,
   and who win their suits. O tempora, O mores!

On August 11, 1607, Port Royal was abandoned for the
second time, and its people, sailing by Cape Breton,
reached Roscou in Brittany at the end of September. The
subsequent attempt of Poutrincourt and his family to
re-establish the colony at Port Royal belongs to the
history of Acadia rather than to the story of Champlain.
But remembering the spirit in which he and De Monts
strove, one feels glad that Lescarbot spoke his mind
regarding the opponents who baffled their sincere and
persistent efforts.



CHAPTER III

CHAMPLAIN AT QUEBEC

   From the Island of Orleans to Quebec the distance is
   a league. I arrived there on the third of July, when
   I searched for a place suitable for our settlement,
   but I could find none more convenient or better than
   the point of Quebec, so called by the savages, which
   was covered with nut-trees. I at once employed a
   portion of our workmen in cutting them down, that we
   might construct our habitation there: one I set to
   sawing boards, another to making a cellar and digging
   ditches, another I sent to Tadoussac with the barque
   to get supplies. The first thing we made was the
   storehouse for keeping under cover our supplies, which
   was promptly accomplished through the zeal of all,
   and my attention to the work.

Thus opens Champlain's account of the place with which
his name is linked imperishably. He was the founder of
Quebec and its preserver. During his lifetime the results
seemed pitifully small, but the task once undertaken was
never abandoned. By steadfastness he prevailed, and at
his death had created a colony which became the New France
of Talon and Frontenac, of La Salle and D'Iberville, of
Brebeuf and Laval. If Venice from amid her lagoons could
exclaim, Esto perpetua, Quebec, firm based upon her cliff,
can say to the rest of Canada, Attendite ad petram unde
excisi estis--'Look unto the rock whence ye are hewn.'

Champlain's Quebec was very poor in everything but courage.
The fact that it was founded by the men who had just
failed in Acadia gives proof of this virtue. Immediately
upon his return from Port Royal to France, Champlain
showed De Monts a map and plan which embodied the result
of his explorations during the last three years. They
then took counsel regarding the future, and with Champlain's
encouragement De Monts 'resolved to continue his noble
and meritorious undertaking, notwithstanding the hardships
and labours of the past.' It is significant that once
more Champlain names exploration as the distinctive
purpose of De Monts.

To expect a subsidy from the crown was futile, but Henry
felt compunction for his abrupt recall of the monopoly.
The result was that De Monts, in recognition of his
losses, was given a further monopoly--for the season of
1608 only. At the same time, he was expressly relieved
from the obligation to take out colonists. On this basis
De Monts found partners among the merchants of Rouen,
and three ships were fitted out--one for Acadia, the
others for the St Lawrence. Champlain, as lieutenant,
was placed in charge of the Laurentian expedition. With
him went the experienced and invaluable Pontgrave.

Nearly seventy-five years had now passed since Jacques
Cartier first came to anchor at the foot of Cape Diamond.
During this period no one had challenged the title of
France to the shores of the St Lawrence; in fact, a
country so desolate made no appeal to the French themselves.
Roberval's tragic experience at Cap Rouge had proved a
warning. To the average Frenchman of the sixteenth century
Canada meant what it afterwards meant to Sully and
Voltaire. It was a tract of snow; a land of barbarians,
bears, and beavers.

The development of the fur trade into a staple industry
changed this point of view to a limited extent. The
government, as we have seen, considered it desirable that
colonists should be established in New France at the
expense of traders. For the St Lawrence, however, the
first and only fruits of this enlightened policy had been
Chauvin's sixteen derelicts at Tadoussac.

The founding of Quebec represents private enterprise,
and not an expenditure of money by Henry IV for the sake
of promoting colonization. De Monts and Champlain were
determined to give France a foothold in America. The
rights upon which the venture of 1608 was financed did
not run beyond the year. Thenceforth trade was to be
free. It follows that De Monts and his partners, in
building a station at Quebec, did not rely for their
expenses upon any special favours from the crown. They
placed their reliance upon themselves, feeling confident
of their power to hold a fair share of the trade against
all comers. For Champlain Quebec was a fixed point on
the way to the Orient. For De Monts it was a key to the
commerce of the great river. None of his rivals would
begin the season of 1609 with a permanent post in Canada.
Thus part of the anticipated profits for 1608 was invested
to secure an advantage in the approaching competition.
The whole success of the plan depended upon the mutual
confidence of De Monts and Champlain, both of whom
unselfishly sought the advancement of French interests
in America--De Monts, the courageous capitalist and
promoter; Champlain, the explorer whose discoveries were
sure to enlarge the area of trading operations.

Pontgrave sailed from Honfleur on April 5, 1608. Champlain
followed eight days later, reaching Tadoussac at the
beginning of June. Here trouble awaited him. The Basque
traders, who always defied the monopoly, had set upon
Pontgrave with cannon and muskets, killing one man and
severely wounding two others, besides himself. Going
ashore, Champlain found Pontgrave very ill and the Basques
in full possession. To fight was to run the risk of
ruining De Monts' whole enterprise, and as the Basques
were alarmed at what they had done, Darache, their captain,
signed an agreement that he would not molest Pontgrave
or do anything prejudicial to the rights of De Monts.
This basis of compromise makes it clear that Pontgrave
was in charge of the season's trade, while Champlain's
personal concern was to found the settlement.

An unpleasant dispute was thus adjusted, but the incident
had a still more unpleasant sequel. Leaving Tadoussac on
June 30, Champlain reached Quebec in four days, and at
once began to erect his storehouse. A few days later he
stood in grave peril of his life through conspiracy among
his own men.

The ringleader was a locksmith named Jean Duval, who had
been at Port Royal and narrowly escaped death from the
arrows of the Cape Cod Indians. Whether he framed his
plot in collusion with the Basques is not quite clear,
but it seems unlikely that he should have gone so far as
he did without some encouragement. His plan was simply
to kill Champlain and deliver Quebec to the Basques in
return for a rich reward, either promised or expected.
Some of the men he had no chance to corrupt, for they
were aboard the barques, guarding stores till a shelter
could be built. Working among the rest, Duval 'suborned
four of the worst characters, as he supposed, telling
them a thousand falsehoods and presenting to them prospects
of acquiring riches.' The evidence subsequently showed
that Champlain was either to be strangled when unarmed,
or shot at night as he answered to a false alarm. The
conspirators made a mutual promise not to betray each
other, on penalty that the first who opened his mouth
should be poniarded.

Out of this deadly danger Champlain escaped through the
confession of a vacillating spirit named Natel, who
regretted his share in the plot, but, once involved, had
fears of the poniard. Finally he confessed to Testu, the
pilot, who immediately informed Champlain. Questioned as
to the motive, Natel replied that 'nothing had impelled
them, except that they had imagined that by giving up
the place into the hands of the Basques or Spaniards they
might all become rich, and that they did not want to go
back to France.' Duval, with five others, was then seized
and taken to Tadoussac. Later in the summer Pontgrave
brought the prisoners back to Quebec, where evidence was
taken before a court-martial consisting of Champlain,
Pontgrave, a captain, a surgeon, a first mate, a second
mate, and some sailors. The sentence condemned four to
death, of whom three were afterwards sent to France and
put at the discretion of De Monts. Duval was 'strangled
and hung at Quebec, and his head was put on the end of
a pike, to be set in the most conspicuous place on our
fort, that he might serve as an example to those who
remained, leading them to deport themselves correctly in
future, in the discharge of their duty; and that the
Spaniards and Basques, of whom there were large numbers
in the country, might not glory in the event.'

It will be seen from the recital of Duval's conspiracy
that Champlain was fortunate to escape the fate of Hudson
and La Salle. While this cause celebre was running its
course to a tragic end, the still more famous habitation
grew day by day under the hands of busy workmen. As fruits
of a crowded and exciting summer Champlain could point
to a group of three two-storeyed buildings. 'Each one,'
he says, 'was three fathoms long and two and a half wide.
The storehouse was six fathoms long and three wide, with
a fine cellar six feet deep. I had a gallery made all
round our buildings, on the outside, at the second storey,
which proved very convenient. There were also ditches,
fifteen feet wide and six deep. On the outer side of the
ditches I constructed several spurs, which enclosed a
part of the dwelling, at the points where we placed our
cannon. Before the habitation there is a place four
fathoms wide and six or seven long, looking out upon the
river-bank. Surrounding the habitation are very good
gardens.'

Three dwellings of eighteen by fifteen feet each were a
sufficiently modest starting-point for continental
ambitions, even when supplemented by a storehouse of
thirty-six feet by eighteen. In calling the gardens very
good Champlain must have been speaking with relation to
the circumstances, or else they were very small, for
there is abundant witness to the sufferings which Quebec
in its first twenty years might have escaped with the
help of really abundant gardens. At St Croix and Port
Royal an attempt had been made to plant seeds, and at
Quebec Champlain doubtless renewed the effort, though
with small practical result. The point is important in
its bearing on the nature of the settlement. Quebec,
despite such gardens as surrounded the habitation, was
by origin an outpost of the fur trade, with a small,
floating, and precarious population. Louis Hebert, the
first real colonist, did not come till 1617.

Lacking vegetables, Quebec fed itself in part from the
river and the forest. But almost all the food was brought
from France. At times there was game, though less than
at Port Royal. The river supplied eels in abundance, but
when badly cooked they caused a fatal dysentery. The
first winter was a repetition of the horrors experienced
at St Croix, with even a higher death-rate. Scurvy began
in February and lasted till the end of April. Of the
eighteen whom it attacked, ten died. Dysentery claimed
others. On June 5, 1609, word came that Pontgrave had
arrived at Tadoussac. Champlain's comment is eloquent in
its brevity. 'This intelligence gave me much satisfaction,
as we entertained hopes of assistance from him. Out of
the twenty-eight at first forming our company only eight
remained, and half of these were ailing.'

The monopoly granted to De Monts had now reached its
close, and trade was open to all comers. From 1609 until
1613 this unrestricted competition ran its course, with
the result that a larger market was created for beaver
skins, while nothing was done to build up New France as
a colony. On the whole, the most notable feature of the
period is the establishment of close personal relations
between Champlain and the Indians. It was then that he
became the champion of the Algonquins and Hurons against
the Iroquois League or Five Nations, inaugurating a policy
which was destined to have profound consequences.

The considerations which governed Champlain in his dealings
with the Indians lay quite outside the rights and wrongs
of their tribal wars. His business was to explore the
continent on behalf of France, and accordingly he took
conditions as he found them. The Indians had souls to be
saved, but that was the business of the missionaries. In
the state of nature all savages were much like wild
animals, and alliance with one nation or another was a
question which naturally settled itself upon the basis
of drainage basins. Lands within the Laurentian watershed
were inhabited mainly by Algonquins and Hurons, whose
chief desire in life was to protect themselves from the
Iroquois and avenge past injuries. The Five Nations dwelt
far south from the Sault St Louis and did not send their
furs there for the annual barter. Champlain, ever in
quest of a route to the East, needed friends along the
great rivers of the wilderness. The way to secure them,
and at the same time to widen the trading area, was to
fight for the savages of the St Lawrence and the Ottawa
against those of the Mohawk.

And Champlain was a good ally, as he proved in the forest
wars of 1609 and 1615. With all their shortcomings, the
Indians knew how to take the measure of a man. The
difference between a warrior and a trader was especially
clear to their untutored minds, they themselves being
much better fighters than men of commerce. Champlain,
like others, suffered from their caprice, but they
respected his bravery and trusted his word.

In the next chapter we shall attempt to follow Champlain
through the wilderness, accompanied by its inhabitants,
who were his guides and friends. For the present we must
pursue the fortunes of Quebec, whose existence year by
year hung upon the risk that court intrigue would prevail
against the determination of two brave men.

From 1608 till 1611 De Monts had two partners, named
Collier and Legendre, both citizens of Rouen. It was with
the money of these three that the post at Quebec had been
built and equipped. Champlain was their lieutenant and
Pontgrave the commander of their trading ships. After
four years of experience Collier and Legendre found the
results unsatisfactory. 'They were unwilling,' says
Champlain, 'to continue in the association, as there was
no commission forbidding others from going to the new
discoveries and trading with the inhabitants of the
country. Sieur de Monts, seeing this, bargained with them
for what remained at the settlement at Quebec, in
consideration of a sum of money which he gave them for
their share.'

Thus the intrepid De Monts became sole proprietor of the
habitation, and whatever clustered round it, at the foot
of Cape Diamond. But the property was worthless if the
fur trade could not be put on a stable basis. Quebec
during its first three years had been a disappointment
because, contrary to expectation, it gave its founders
no advantage over their competitors which equalled the
cost of maintenance. De Monts was still ready to assist
Champlain in his explorations, but his resources, never
great, were steadily diminishing, and while trade continued
unprofitable there were no funds for exploration. Moreover,
the assassination of Henry IV in 1610 weakened De Monts
at court. Whatever Henry's shortcomings as a friend of
Huguenots and colonial pioneers, their chances had been
better with him than they now were with Marie de Medicis
[Footnote: The second and surviving wife of Henry IV--an
Italian by birth and in close sympathy with Spain. As
regent for her son, Louis XIII, she did much to reverse
the policy of Henry IV, both foreign and domestic.]
Champlain states that De Monts' engagements did not permit
him to prosecute his interests at court. Probably his
engagements would have been less pressing had he felt
more sure of favour. In any event, he made over to
Champlain the whole conduct of such negotiations as were
called for by the unsatisfactory state of affairs on the
St Lawrence.

Champlain went to France. What follows is an illuminating
comment upon the conditions that prevailed under the
Bourbon monarchy. As Champlain saw things, the merchants
who clamoured for freedom of trade were greedy pot-hunters.
'All they want,' he says, 'is that men should expose
themselves to a thousand dangers to discover peoples and
territories, that they themselves may have the profit
and others the hardship. It is not reasonable that one
should capture the lamb and another go off with the
fleece. If they had been willing to participate in our
discoveries, use their means and risk their persons, they
would have given evidence of their honour and nobleness,
but, on the contrary, they show clearly that they are
impelled by pure malice that they may enjoy the fruit of
our labours equally with ourselves.' Against folk of this
sort Champlain felt he had to protect the national
interests which were so dear to him and De Monts. As
things then went, there was only one way to secure
protection. At Fontainebleau a great noble was not
habituated to render help without receiving a consideration.
But protection could be bought by those who were able to
pay for it.

The patron selected by Champlain was the Comte de Soissons,
a Bourbon by lineage and first cousin of Henry IV. His
kinship to the boy-king gave him, among other privileges,
the power to exact from the regent gifts and offices as
the price of his support. Possessing this leverage,
Soissons caused himself to be appointed viceroy of Canada,
with a twelve-year monopoly of the fur trade above Quebec.
The monopoly thus re-established, its privileges could
be sublet, Soissons receiving cash for the rights he
conceded to the merchants, and they taking their chance
to turn a profit out of the transaction.

Such at least was the theory; but before Soissons could
turn his post into a source of revenue he died. Casting
about for a suitable successor, Champlain selected another
prince of the blood--Henri de Bourbon, Prince de Conde,
who duly became viceroy of Canada and holder of the
monopoly in succession to his uncle, the Comte de Soissons.

The part of Champlain in these transactions is very
conspicuous, and justly so. There was no advantage in
being viceroy of Canada unless the post produced a revenue,
and before the viceroy could receive a revenue some one
was needed to organize the chief Laurentian traders into
a company strong enough to pay Soissons or Conde a
substantial sum. Champlain was convinced that the stability
of trade (upon which, in turn, exploration depended)
could be secured only in this way. It was he who
memorialized President Jeannin; [Footnote: One of the
chief advisers of Marie de Medicis. In the early part of
his career he was President of the Parlement of Dijon
and an important member of the extreme Catholic party.
After the retirement of the Duc de Sully (1611) he was
placed in charge of the finances of France.] enlisted
the sympathy of the king's almoner, Beaulieu; appealed
to the royal council; proposed the office of viceroy to
Soissons; and began the endeavour to organize a new
trading company. Considering that early in 1612 he suffered
a serious fall from his horse, this record of activity
is sufficiently creditable for one twelve-month. Meanwhile
the Indians at Sault St Louis grieved at his absence,
and his enemies told them he was dead.

It was not until 1614 that the new programme in its
entirety could be carried out. This time the delay came,
not from the court, but from the merchants. Negotiations
were in progress when the ships sailed for the voyage of
1613, but Champlain could not remain to conclude them,
as he felt that he must keep faith with the Indians.
However, on his return to France that autumn, he resumed
the effort, and by the spring of 1614. the merchants of
Rouen, St Malo, and La Rochelle had been brought to terms
among themselves as participants in a monopoly which was
leased from the viceroy. Conde received a thousand crowns
a year, and the new company also agreed to take out six
families of colonists each season. In return it was
granted the monopoly for eleven years. De Monts was a
member of the company and Quebec became its headquarters
in Canada. But the moving spirit was Champlain, who was
appointed lieutenant to the viceroy with a salary and
the right to levy for his own purposes four men from each
ship trading in the river.

Once more disappointment followed. Save for De Monts,
Champlain's company was not inspired by Champlain's
patriotism. During the first three years of its existence
the obligation to colonize was wilfully disregarded,
while in the fourth year the treatment accorded Louis
Hebert shows that good faith counted for as little with
the fur traders when they acted in association as when
they were engaged in cut-throat competition.

Champlain excepted, Hebert was the most admirable of
those who risked death in the attempt to found a settlement
at Quebec. He was not a Norman peasant, but a Parisian
apothecary. We have already seen that he took part in
the Acadian venture of De Monts and Poutrincourt. After
the capture of Port Royal by the English he returned to
France (1613) and reopened his shop. Three years later
Champlain was authorized by the company to offer him and
his family favourable terms if they would emigrate to
Quebec, the consideration being two hundred crowns a year
for three years, besides maintenance. On this understanding
Hebert sold his house and shop, bought an equipment for
the new home, and set off with his family to embark at
Honfleur. Here he found that Champlain's shareholders
were not prepared to stand by their agreement. The company
first beat him down from two hundred to one hundred crowns
a year, and then stipulated that he, his wife, his
children, and his domestic should serve it for the three
years during which the grant was payable. Even at the
end of three years, when he found himself at liberty to
till the soil, he was bound to sell produce to the company
at the prices prevalent in France. The company was to
have his perpetual service as a chemist for nothing, and
he must promise in writing to take no part in the fur
trade. Hebert had cut off his retreat and was forced to
accept these hard terms, but it is not strange that under
such conditions colonists should have been few. Sagard,
the Recollet missionary, says the company treated Hebert
so badly because it wished to discourage colonization.
What it wanted was the benefit of the monopoly, without
the obligation of finding settlers who had to be brought
over for nothing.

A man of honour like Champlain could not have tricked
Hebert into the bad bargain he made, and their friendship
survived the incident. But a company which transacted
its business in this fashion was not likely to enjoy long
life. Its chief asset was Champlain's friendship with
the Indians, especially after his long sojourn with them
in 1615 and 1616. Some years, particularly 1617, showed
a large profit, but as time went on friction arose between
the Huguenots of La Rochelle and the Catholics of Rouen.
Then there were interlopers to be prosecuted, and the
quarrels of Conde with the government brought with them
trouble to the merchants whose monopoly depended on his
grant. For three years (1616-19) the viceroy of Canada
languished in the Bastille. Shortly after his release he
sold his viceregal rights to the Duke of Montmorency,
Admiral of France. The price was 11,000 crowns.

In 1619 Champlain's company ventured to disagree with
its founder, and, as a consequence, another crisis arose
in the affairs of New France. The cause of dispute was
the company's unwillingness to keep its promises regarding
colonization. Champlain protested. The company replied
that Pontgrave should be put in charge at Quebec. Champlain
then said that Pontgrave was his old friend, and he hoped
they would always be friends, but that he was at Quebec
as the viceroy's representative, charged with the duty
of defending his interests. The leader of Champlain's
opponents among the shareholders was Boyer, a trader who
had formerly given much trouble to De Monts, but was now
one of the associates. When in the spring of 1619 Champlain
attempted to sail for Quebec as usual, Boyer prevented
him from going aboard. There followed an appeal to the
crown, in which Champlain was fully sustained, and Boyer
did penance by offering a public apology before the
Exchange at Rouen.

It was shortly after this incident that Conde abdicated
in favour of Montmorency. The admiral, like his predecessor,
accepted a thousand crowns a year and named Champlain as
his lieutenant. He also instituted an inquiry regarding
the alleged neglect of the company to maintain the post
at Quebec. The investigation showed that abundant cause
existed for depriving the company of its monopoly, and
in consequence the grant was transferred, on similar
terms, to William and Emery de Caen. Here complications
at once ensued. The De Caens, who were natives of Rouen,
were also Huguenots, a fact that intensified the ill-feeling
which had already arisen on the St Lawrence between
Catholic and heretic. The dispute between the new
beneficiaries and the company founded by Champlain involved
no change in the policy of the crown towards trade and
colonization. It was a quarrel of persons, which eventually
reached a settlement in 1622. The De Caens then compromised
by reorganizing the company and giving their predecessors
five-twelfths of the shares.

The recital of these intricate events will at least
illustrate the difficulties which beset Champlain in his
endeavour to build up New France. There were problems
enough even had he received loyal support from the crown
and the company. With the English and Dutch in full
rivalry, he saw that an aggressive policy of expansion
and settlement became each year more imperative. Instead,
he was called on to withstand the cabals of self-seeking
traders who shirked their obligations, and to endure the
apathy of a government which was preoccupied with palace
intrigues.

At Quebec itself the two bright spots were the convent
of the Recollets [Footnote: The Recollets were a branch
of the Franciscan order, noted for the austerity of their
rule.] and the little farm of Louis Hebert. The Recollets
first came to New France in 1615, and began at once by
language study to prepare for their work among the
Montagnais and Hurons. It was a stipulation of the viceroy
that six of them should be supported by the company, and
in the absence of parish priests they ministered to the
ungodly hangers-on of the fur trade as well as to the
Indians. Louis Hebert and his admirable family were very
dear to the Fathers. In 1617 all the buildings which had
been erected at Quebec lay by the water's edge. Hebert
was the first to make a clearing on the heights. His
first domain covered less than ten acres, but it was well
tilled. He built a stone house, which was thirty-eight
feet by nineteen. Besides making a garden, he planted
apple-trees and vines. He also managed to support some
cattle. When one considers what all this means in terms
of food and comfort, it may be guessed that the fur
traders, wintering down below on salt pork and smoked
eels, must have felt much respect for the farmer in his
stone mansion on the cliff.

We have from Champlain's own lips a valuable statement
as to the condition of things at Quebec in 1627, the year
when Louis Hebert died. 'We were in all,' he says,
'sixty-five souls, including men, women, and children.'
Of the sixty-five only eighteen were adult males fit for
hard work, and this small number must be reduced to two
or three if we include only the tillers of the soil.
Besides these, a few adventurous spirits were away in
the woods with the Indians, learning their language and
endeavouring to exploit the beaver trade; but twenty
years after the founding of Quebec the French in Canada,
all told, numbered less than one hundred.

Contrast with this the state of Virginia fifteen years
after the settlement of Jamestown. 'By 1622,' says John
Fiske, 'the population of Virginia was at least 4000,
the tobacco fields were flourishing and lucrative, durable
houses had been built and made comfortable with furniture
brought from England, and the old squalor was everywhere
giving way to thrift. The area of colonization was pushed
up the James River as far as Richmond.'

This contrast is not to be interpreted to the personal
disadvantage of Champlain. The slow growth and poverty
of Quebec were due to no fault of his. It is rather the
measure of his greatness that he was undaunted by
disappointment and unembittered by the pettiness of spirit
which met him at every turn. A memorial which he presented
in 1618 to the Chamber of Commerce at Paris discloses
his dream of what might be: a city at Quebec named
Ludovica, a city equal in size to St Denis and filled
with noble buildings grouped round the Church of the
Redeemer. Tributary to this capital was a vast region
watered by the St Lawrence and abounding 'in rolling
plains, beautiful forests, and rivers full of fish.' From
Ludovica the heathen were to be converted and a passage
discovered to the East. So important a trade route would
be developed, that from the tolls alone there would be
revenue to construct great public works. Rich mines and
fat cornfields fill the background.

Such was the Quebec of Champlain's vision--if only France
would see it so! But in the Quebec of reality a few
survivors saw the hunger of winter yield to the starvation
of spring. They lived on eels and roots till June should
bring the ships and food from home.



CHAPTER IV

CHAMPLAIN IN THE WILDERNESS

Champlain's journeyings with the Indians were the holiday
of his life, for at no other time was he so free to follow
the bent of his genius. First among the incentives which
drew him to the wilderness was his ambition to discover
the pathway to China. In 1608 the St Lawrence had not
been explored beyond the Lachine Rapids, nor the Richelieu
beyond Chambly--while the Ottawa was known only by report.
Beyond Lake St Louis stretched a mysterious world, through
the midst of which flowed the Great River. For an explorer
and a patriot the opportunity was priceless. The acquisition
of vast territory for the French crown, the enlargement
of the trade zone, the discovery of a route to Cathay,
the prospect of Arcadian joys and exciting
adventures--beside such promptings hardship and danger
became negligible. And when exploring the wilderness
Champlain was in full command. Off the coast of Norumbega
his wishes, as geographer, had been subject to the special
projects of De Monts and Poutrincourt. At Fontainebleau
he waited for weeks and months in the antechambers of
prelates or nobles. But when conducting an expedition
through the forest he was lord and master, a chieftain
from whose arquebus flew winged death.

The story of Champlain's expeditions along these great
secluded waterways, and across the portages of the forest,
makes the most agreeable page of his life both for writer
and reader, since it is here that he himself is most
clearly in the foreground. At no point can his narrative
be thought dull, compact as it is and always in touch
with energetic action. But the details of fur trading at
Tadoussac and the Sault St Louis, or even of voyaging
along the Acadian seaboard, are far less absorbing than
the tale of the canoe and the war party. Amid the depths
of the interior Champlain reaped his richest experiences
as an explorer. With the Indians for his allies and
enemies he reached his fullest stature as a leader.

It is not important to dwell upon the minor excursions
which Champlain made from his headquarters at Quebec into
the country of the Montagnais. [Footnote: An Algonquin
tribe dwelling to the north of the St Lawrence, for the
most part between the Saguenay and the St Maurice.] He
saw little of the rocky northland which, with its myriad
lakes and splendid streams, sweeps from the St Lawrence
to Hudson Bay. Southward and westward lay his course to
the cantons of the Iroquois south of Lake Ontario and
the villages of the Hurons north of Lake Simcoe. Above
all, the expeditions of 1609, 1613, and 1615 are the
central episodes of his work as an explorer, each marked
by a distinct motive and abounding with adventures. In
1609 he discovered Lake Champlain and fought his first
battle with the Iroquois. In 1613 he was decoyed by a
lying guide into a fruitless search for the North-West
Passage by the route of the Ottawa. In 1615 he discovered
Lake Huron, traversed what is now Central Ontario, and
attacked the Iroquois in the heart of their own country.
These three journeys make the sum of Champlain's
achievements as a pioneer of the interior. For all three,
likewise, we have his own story, upon which all other
versions are based and from which they draw their most
striking details.

The discovery of Lake Champlain had its root in Champlain's
promise to the Algonquins that he would aid them in their
strife with the Iroquois. In turn this promise was based
upon the policy of conciliating those savage tribes from
whom the French derived their supply of furs, and with
whom throughout the St Lawrence basin they most constantly
came in contact.

It was the year which followed the founding of Quebec.
Of the twenty-eight who entered upon the first winter
eight only had survived, and half of these were ailing.
On June 5 relief came in the person of Des Marais, who
announced that his father-in-law, Pontgrave, was already
at Tadoussac. Champlain at once set out to meet him, and
it was arranged that Pontgrave should take charge of the
settlement for the coming year, while Champlain fulfilled
his promise to aid the Algonquins in their war with the
Iroquois. The full plan required that Pontgrave should
spend the winter in Canada, while Champlain, after his
summer campaign, was to return to France with a report
of his explorations.

The Indians had stated that the route to the land of the
Iroquois was easy, and Champlain's original design was
to proceed in a shallop capable of carrying twenty
Frenchmen. Early in July he reached the mouth of the
Richelieu, but on arriving at Chambly he found it quite
impossible to pass the falls with his shallop. Either
the expedition must be abandoned or the plan be radically
changed, with the consequence of incurring much greater
risks. To advance meant sending back the shallop with
its crew and stores, embarking in a canoe, and trusting
wholly to the good faith of the savages. The decision
was not easy. 'I was much troubled,' says Champlain. 'And
it gave me especial dissatisfaction to go back without
seeing a very large lake, filled with handsome islands
and with large tracts of fine land bordering on the lake,
where their enemies lived, according to their
representations. After duly thinking over the matter I
determined to go and fulfil my promise and carry out my
desire. Accordingly I embarked with the savages in their
canoes, taking with me two men, who went cheerfully.
After making known my plan to Des Marais and others in
the shallop, I requested the former to return to our
settlement with the rest of our company, giving them the
assurance that in a short time, by God's grace, I would
return to them.'

Having convinced himself, Champlain was next forced to
convince the Indians, whose first impulse was to abandon
the campaign when they found that they would be accompanied
by only three of the Frenchmen. Champlain's firmness,
however, communicated itself to them, and on July 12 they
set out from Chambly Basin to commence the portage. At
the top of the rapid a review of forces was held, and it
proved that the Indians numbered sixty men, equipped with
twenty-four canoes. Advancing through a beautifully wooded
country, the little war-party encamped at a point not
far below the outlet of Lake Champlain, taking the
precaution to protect themselves by a rough fortification
of tree trunks.

At this point Champlain introduces a graphic statement
regarding the methods which the Indians employ to guard
against surprise. On three sides they protect the camp
by fallen trees, leaving the river-bank without a barricade
in order that they may take quickly to their canoes.
Then, as soon as the camp has been fortified, they send
out nine picked men in three canoes to reconnoitre for
a distance of two or three leagues. But before nightfall
these scouts return, and then all lie down to sleep,
without leaving any pickets or sentries on duty. When
Champlain remonstrated with them for such gross
carelessness, they replied that they worked hard enough
during the daytime. The normal formation of an Indian
war-party embraced three divisions--the scouts, the main
body, and the hunters, the last always remaining in the
rear and chasing their game in a direction from which
they did not anticipate the appearance of the enemy.
Having arrived at a distance of two or three days' march
from their enemies, they united in a single party (save
for the scouts) and advanced stealthily by night. At this
juncture their food became baked Indian meal soaked in
water. They hid by day and made no fire, save that required
to smoke their tobacco.

Thus does Champlain describe the savage as he is about
to fall upon his foe. He gives special prominence to the
soothsayer, who on the eve of battle enters into elaborate
intercourse with the devil. Inside a wooden hut the
necromancer lies prostrate on the ground, motionless.
Then he springs to his feet and begins to torment himself,
counterfeiting strange tones to represent the speech of
the devil, and carrying on violent antics which leave
him in a stream of perspiration. Outside the hut the
Indians sit round on their haunches like apes and fancy
that they can see fire proceeding from the roof, although
the devil appears to the soothsayer in the form of a
stone. Finally, the chiefs, when they have by these means
learned that they will meet their enemy and kill a
sufficient number, arrange the order of battle. Sticks
a foot long are taken, one for each warrior, and these
are laid out on a level place five or six feet square.
The leader then explains the order of battle, after which
the warriors substitute themselves for the sticks and go
through the manoeuvres till they can do them without
confusion.

From this description of tactics we pass speedily to a
story of real war. Reaching Lake Champlain, the party
skirted the western shore, with fine views of the Green
Mountains, on the summit of which Champlain mistook white
limestone for snow. On July 29, at Crown Point, the
Iroquois were encountered at about ten o'clock in the
evening. Thus the first real battle of French and Indians
took place near that remarkable spot where Lake Champlain
and Lake George draw close together--the Ticonderoga of
Howe, the Carillon of Montcalm.

The Algonquins were in good courage, for, besides the
muskets of the three Frenchmen, they were inspired by a
dream of Champlain that he had seen the Iroquois drowning
in a lake. As soon as the enemies saw each other, both
began to utter loud cries and make ready their weapons.
The Algonquins kept out on the water; the Iroquois went
ashore and built a barricade. When the Algonquins had
made ready for battle

   they dispatched two canoes to the enemy to inquire if
   they wished to fight, to which the latter replied that
   they wished nothing else; but they said that at present
   there was not much light, and that it would be necessary
   to wait for day so as to be able to recognize each
   other; and that as soon as the sun rose they would
   offer us battle. This was agreed to by our side.
   Meanwhile the entire night was spent in dancing and
   singing, on both sides, with endless insults and other
   talk; as how little courage we had, how feeble a
   resistance we should make against their arms, and that
   when day came we should realize it to our ruin. Ours
   also were not slow in retorting, telling them that
   they would see such execution of arms as never before,
   together with an abundance of such talk as is not
   unusual in the siege of a town.

Care had been taken by the Algonquins that the presence
of Champlain and his two companions should come to the
Iroquois as a complete surprise. Each of the Frenchmen
was in a separate canoe, convoyed by the Montagnais. At
daylight each put on light armour and, armed with an
arquebus, went ashore. Champlain was near enough the
barricade to see nearly two hundred Iroquois, 'stout and
rugged in appearance. They came at a slow pace towards
us, with a dignity and assurance which greatly impressed
me, having three chiefs at their head.' Champlain, when
urged by his allies to make sure of killing the three
chiefs, replied that he would do his best, and that in
any case he would show them his courage and goodwill.

Then began the fight, which must be described in Champlain's
own words, for in all his writings there is no more famous
passage.

   As soon as we had landed, they began to run for some
   two hundred paces towards their enemies, who stood
   firmly, not having as yet noticed my companions, who
   went into the woods with some savages. Our men began
   to call me with loud cries; and in order to give me
   a passage way they opened in two parts and put me at
   their head, where I marched some twenty paces in
   advance of the rest, until I was within about twenty
   paces of the enemy, who at once noticed me and, halting,
   gazed at me, as I did also at them. When I saw them
   make a move to fire at us, I rested my musket against
   my cheek and aimed directly at one of the three chiefs.
   With the same shot two fell to the ground; and one of
   their men was so wounded that he died some time after.
   I had loaded my musket with four balls. When our side
   saw this shot so favourable for them, they began to
   raise such loud cries that one could not have heard
   it thunder. Meanwhile the arrows flew on both sides.
   The Iroquois were greatly astonished that two men had
   been so quickly killed, although they were equipped
   with armour woven from cotton thread and with wood
   which was proof against their arrows. This caused
   great alarm among them. As I was loading again, one
   of my companions fired a shot from the woods, which
   astonished them anew to such a degree that, seeing
   their chiefs dead, they lost courage and took to
   flight, abandoning their camp and fort and fleeing
   into the woods, whither I pursued them, killing still
   more of them. Our savages also killed several of them
   and took ten or twelve prisoners. The remainder escaped
   with the wounded. Fifteen or sixteen were wounded on
   our side with arrow shots, but they were soon healed.

The spoils of victory included a large quantity of Indian
corn, together with a certain amount of meal, and also
some of the native armour which the Iroquois had thrown
away in order to effect their escape. Then followed a
feast and the torture of one of the prisoners, whose
sufferings were mercifully concluded by a ball from
Champlain's musket, delivered in such wise that the
unfortunate did not see the shot. Like Montcalm and other
French commanders of a later date, Champlain found it
impossible to curb wholly the passions of his savage
allies. In this case his remonstrances had the effect of
gaining for the victim a coup de grace--which may be
taken as a measure of Champlain's prestige. The atrocious
savagery practised before and after death is described
in full detail. Champlain concludes the lurid picture as
follows: 'This is the manner in which these people behave
towards those whom they capture in war, for whom it would
be better to die fighting or to kill themselves on the
spur of the moment, as many do rather than fall into the
hands of their enemies.'

Beyond the point at which this battle was fought Champlain
did not go. At Ticonderoga he was within eighty miles of
the site of Albany. Had he continued, he would have
reached the Hudson from the north in the same summer the
Half Moon [Footnote: Henry Hudson, an English mariner
with a Dutch crew, entered the mouth of the Hudson in a
boat called the Half Moon on September 4, 1609. As named
by him, the river was called the 'Great North River of
New Netherland.'] entered it from the mouth. But the
Algonquins were content with their victory, though they
candidly stated that there was an easy route from the
south end of Lake George to 'a river flowing into the
sea on the Norumbega coast near that of Florida.' The
return to Quebec and Tadoussac was attended by no incident
of moment. The Montagnais, on parting with Champlain at
Tadoussac, generously gave him the head of an Iroquois
and a pair of arms, with the request that they be carried
to the king of France. The Algonquins had already taken
their departure at Chambly, where, says Champlain, 'we
separated with loud protestations of mutual friendship.
They asked me whether I would not like to go into their
country to assist them with continued fraternal relations;
and I promised that I would do so.'

As a contribution to geographical knowledge the
expedition of 1609 disclosed the existence of a noble
lake, to which Champlain fitly gave his own name. Its
dimensions he considerably over-estimated, but in all
essential respects its situation was correctly described,
while his comments on the flora and fauna are very
interesting. The garpike as he saw it, with
amplifications from the Indians as they had seen it, gave
him the subject for a good fish story. He was deeply
impressed, too, by the richness of the vegetation. His
attack on the Iroquois was not soon forgotten by that
relentless foe, and prepared a store of trouble for the
colony he founded. But the future was closed to his view,
and for the moment his was the glorious experience of
being the first to gaze with European eyes upon a lake
fairer and grander than his own France could show.

Four years elapsed before Champlain was enabled to plunge
once more into the depths of the forest--this time only
to meet with the severest disappointment of his life.
Much has been said already regarding his ambition to
discover a short route to Cathay. This was the great
prize for which he would have sacrificed everything save
loyalty to the king and duty to the church. For a moment
he seemed on the point of gaining it. Then the truth was
brutally disclosed, and he found that he had been wilfully
deceived by an impostor.

It was a feature of Champlain's policy that from time to
time French youths should spend the winter with the
Indians--hunting with them, living in their settlements,
exploring their country, and learning their language. Of
Frenchmen thus trained to woodcraft during Champlain's
lifetime the most notable were Etienne Brule, Nicolas
Vignau, Nicolas Marsolet, and Jean Nicolet. Unfortunately
the three first did not leave an unclouded record. Brule,
after becoming a most accomplished guide, turned traitor
and aided the English in 1629. Champlain accuses Marsolet
of a like disloyalty. [Footnote: Marsolet's defence was
that he acted under constraint.] Vignau, with more
imagination, stands on the roll of fame as a frank
impostor.

Champlain, as we have seen, spent the whole of 1612 in
France, and it was at this time that Vignau appeared in
Paris with a tale which could not but kindle excitement
in the heart of an explorer. The basis of fact was that
Vignau had undoubtedly passed the preceding winter with
the Algonquins on the Ottawa. The fable which was built
upon this fact can best be told in Champlain's own words.

   He reported to me, on his return to Paris in 1612,
   that he had seen the North Sea; that the river of the
   Algonquins [the Ottawa] came from a lake which emptied
   into it; and that in seventeen days one could go from
   the Falls of St Louis to this sea and back again; that
   he had seen the wreck and debris of an English ship
   that had been wrecked, on board of which were eighty
   men who had escaped to the shore, and whom the savages
   killed because the English endeavoured to take from
   them by force their Indian corn and other necessaries
   of life; and that he had seen the scalps which these
   savages had flayed off, according to their custom,
   which they would show me, and that they would likewise
   give me an English boy whom they had kept for me. This
   intelligence greatly pleased me, for I thought that
   I had almost found that for which I had for a long
   time been searching.

Champlain makes it clear that he did not credit Vignau's
tale with the simple credulity of a man who has never
been to sea. He caused Vignau to swear to its truth at
La Rochelle before two notaries. He stipulated that Vignau
should go with him over the whole route. Finally, as they
were on the point of sailing together for Canada in the
spring of 1613, he once more adjured Vignau in the presence
of distinguished witnesses, saying 'that if what he had
previously said was not true, he must not give me the
trouble to undertake the journey, which involved many
dangers. Again he affirmed all that he had said, on peril
of his life.'

After taking these multiplied precautions against deceit,
Champlain left the Sault St Louis on May 29, 1613, attended
by four Frenchmen and one Indian, with Vignau for guide.
Ascending the Ottawa, they encountered their first
difficulties at the Long Sault, where Dollard forty-seven
years later was to lose his life so gloriously. Here the
passage of the rapids was both fatiguing and dangerous.
Prevented by the density of the wood from making a portage,
they were forced to drag their canoes through the water.
In one of the eddies Champlain nearly lost his life, and
his hand was severely hurt by a sudden jerk of the rope.
Having mounted the rapids, he met with no very trying
obstacle until he had gone some distance past the Chaudiere
Falls. His reference to the course of the Gatineau makes
no sense, and Laverdiere has had recourse to the not
improbable conjecture that the printer dropped out a
whole line at this point. Champlain also over-estimates
considerably the height of the Rideau Falls and is not
very exact in his calculation of latitude.

The hardships of this journey were greatly and unnecessarily
increased by Vignau, whose only hope was to discourage
his leader. In. the end it proved that 'our liar' (as
Champlain repeatedly calls him) had hoped to secure a
reward for his alleged discovery, believing that no one
would follow him long, even if an attempt were made to
confirm the accuracy of his report. But Champlain,
undeterred by portages and mosquitoes, kept on. Some
savages who joined him said that Vignau was a liar, and
on their advice Champlain left the Ottawa a short distance
above the mouth of the Madawaska. Holding westward at
some distance from the south shore, he advanced past
Muskrat Lake, and after a hard march came out again on
the Ottawa at Lake Allumette.

This was the end of Champlain's route in 1613. From the
Algonquins on Allumette Island he learned that Vignau
had wintered with them at the time he swore he was
discovering salt seas. Finally, the impostor confessed
his fraud and, falling on his knees, asked for mercy.
The Indians would gladly have killed him outright, but
Champlain spared his life, though how deeply he was moved
can be seen from these words: 'Overcome with wrath I had
him removed, being unable to endure him any longer in my
presence.' After his confession there was nothing for it
but to return by the same route. An astrolabe found some
years ago near Muskrat Lake may have been dropped from
Champlain's luggage on the journey westward, though he
does not mention the loss.

Apart from disclosing the course of the Ottawa, the Voyage
of 1613 is chiefly notable for its account of Indian
customs--for example, the mode of sepulture, the tabagie
or feast, and the superstition which leads the Algonquins
to throw pieces of tobacco into the cauldron of the
Chaudiere Falls as a means of ensuring protection against
their enemies. Of the feast given him by Tessouat, an
Algonquin chief, Champlain says:

   The next day all the guests came, each with his
   porringer and wooden spoon. They seated themselves
   without order or ceremony on the ground in the cabin
   of Tessouat, who distributed to them a kind of broth
   made of maize crushed between two stones, together
   with meat and fish which was cut into little pieces,
   the whole being boiled together without salt. They
   also had meat roasted on the coals and fish boiled
   apart, which he also distributed. In respect to myself,
   as I did not wish any of their chowder, which they
   prepare in a very dirty manner, I asked them for some
   fish and meat, that I might prepare it my own way,
   which they gave me. For drink we had fine, clear water.
   Tessouat, who gave the tabagie, entertained us without
   eating himself, according to their custom.

   The tabagie being over, the young men, who are not
   present at the harangues and councils, and who during
   the tabagie remain at the door of the cabins, withdrew,
   when all who remained began to fill their pipes, one
   and another offering me one. We then spent a full
   half-hour in this occupation, not a word being spoken,
   as is their custom.

But for the dexterous arrangement by which Champlain
managed to cook his own food, the tabagie would have been
more dangerous to health than the portage. In any case,
it was an ordeal that could not be avoided, for feasting
meant friendly intercourse, and only through friendly
intercourse could Champlain gain knowledge of that vast
wilderness which he must pierce before reaching his
long-sought goal, the sea beyond which lay China.

As for Vignau, his punishment was to make full confession
before all the French who had assembled at the Sault St
Louis to traffic with the Indians. When Champlain reached
this rendezvous on June 17, he informed the traders of
all that had happened, including

   the malice of my liar, at which they were greatly
   amazed. I then begged them to assemble in order that
   in their presence, and that of the savages and his
   companions, he might make declaration of his
   maliciousness; which they gladly did. Being thus
   assembled, they summoned him and asked him why he had
   not shown me the sea of the north, as he had promised
   me at his departure. He replied that he had promised
   something impossible for him, since he had never seen
   the sea, and that the desire of making the journey
   had led him to say what he did, also that he did not
   suppose that I would undertake it; and he begged them
   to be pleased to pardon him, as he also begged me
   again, confessing that he had greatly offended, and
   if I would leave him in the country he would by his
   efforts repair the offence and see this sea, and bring
   back trustworthy intelligence concerning it the
   following year; and in view of certain considerations
   I pardoned him on this condition.

Vignau's public confession was followed by the annual
barter with the Indians, after which Champlain returned
to France.

We come now to the Voyage of 1615, which describes
Champlain's longest and most daring journey through the
forest--an expedition that occupied the whole period from
July 9, 1615, to the last days of June 1616. Thus for
the first time he passed a winter with the Indians,
enlarging greatly thereby his knowledge of their customs
and character. The central incident of the expedition
was an attack made by the Hurons and their allies upon
the stronghold of the Onondagas in the heart of the
Iroquois country. But while this war-party furnishes the
chief adventure, there is no page of Champlain's narrative
which lacks its tale of the marvellous. As a story of
life in the woods, the Voyage of 1615 stands first among
all Champlain's writings.

As in 1609, there was a mutuality of interest between
Champlain and the Indians who traded at the Sault. His
desire was to explore and theirs was to fight. By compromise
they disclosed to him the recesses of their country and
he aided them against the Iroquois. In 1615 the Hurons
not only reminded him of his repeated promises to aid
them, but stated flatly that without such aid they could
no longer attend the annual market, as their enemies were
making the route too unsafe. On their side they promised
a war-party of more than two thousand men. A further
proof of friendship was afforded by their willingness to
receive a missionary in their midst--the Recollet, Father
Joseph Le Caron.

Champlain's line of exploration in 1615-16 took the
following course. He first ascended the Ottawa to the
mouth of the Mattawa. Thence journeying overland by ponds
and portages he entered Lake Nipissing, which he skirted
to the outlet. French River next took him to Georgian
Bay, or, as he calls it for geographical definition, the
Lake of the Attigouautan [Hurons]. His own name for this
vast inland sea is the Mer Douce. That he did not explore
it with any degree of thoroughness is evident from the
terms of his narrative as well as from his statement that
its length, east and west, is four hundred leagues. What
he saw of Lake Huron was really the east shore of Georgian
Bay, from the mouth of French River to the bottom of
Matchedash Bay. Here he entered the country of the Hurons,
which pleased him greatly in comparison with the tract
before traversed. 'It was very fine, the largest part
being cleared, and many hills and several rivers rendering
the region agreeable. I went to see their Indian corn,
which was at that time [early in August] far advanced
for the season.'

Champlain's route through the district between Carmaron
and Cahaigue can best be followed in Father Jones's map
of Huronia. [Footnote: This map will be found in 'The
Jesuit Missions 'in this Series, and also in vol. xxxiv
of 'The Jesuit Relations,' ed. Thwaites.] The points
which Champlain names are there indicated, in each case
with as careful identification of the locality as we are
ever likely to get. For those who are not specialists in
the topography of Huronia it may suffice that Champlain
left Matchedash Bay not far from Penetanguishene, and
thence went to Carmaron at the very north of the peninsula.
Returning, he passed through some of the largest of the
Huron villages, and after sixteen days came out at
Cahaigue, which was situated close to Lake Simcoe and
almost on the site of the modern Hawkestone. It was here
that most of the Huron warriors assembled for the great
expedition against the Onondagas. Setting out on their
march, they first went a little to the northward, where
they were joined on the shores of Lake Couchiching by
another contingent. The party thus finally made up,
Champlain's line of advance first took him to Sturgeon
Lake. Afterwards it pursued that important waterway which
is represented by the Otonabee river, Rice Lake, and the
river Trent. Hence the warriors entered Lake Ontario by
the Bay of Quinte.

This country between Lake Simcoe and the Bay of Quinte
seems to have pleased Champlain greatly. He saw it in
September, when the temperature was agreeable and when
the vegetation of the forest could be enjoyed without
the torment inflicted by mosquitoes. 'It is certain,' he
says, 'that all this region is very fine and pleasant.
Along the banks it seems as if the trees had been set
out for ornament in most places, and that all these tracts
were in former times inhabited by savages who were
subsequently compelled to abandon them from fear of their
enemies. Vines and nut trees are here very numerous.
Grapes mature, yet there is always a very pungent tartness,
which is felt remaining in the throat when one eats them
in large quantities, arising from defect of cultivation.
These localities are very pleasant when cleared up.'

From the Bay of Quinte the war-party skirted the east
shore of Lake Ontario, crossing the head of the St
Lawrence, and thence following the southern shore about
fourteen leagues. At this point the Indians concealed
all their canoes and struck into the woods towards Lake
Oneida. Though made up chiefly of Hurons, the little army
embraced various allies, including a band of Algonquins.
Whether from over-confidence at having Champlain among
them or from their natural lack of discipline, the allies
managed their attack very badly. On a pond a few miles
south of Oneida Lake lay the objective point of the
expedition--a palisaded stronghold of the Onondagas. At
a short distance from this fort eleven of the enemy were
surprised and taken prisoners. What followed was much
less fortunate. Champlain does not state the number of
Frenchmen present, but as his drawing shows eleven
musketeers, we may infer that his own followers were
distinctly more numerous than at the battle on Lake
Champlain.

The height of the palisade was thirty feet, and a system
of gutters supplied abundant water for use in extinguishing
fire. Champlain's plan of attack was to employ a cavalier,
or protected scaffolding, which should overtop the palisade
and could be brought close against it. From the top of
this framework four or five musketeers were to deliver
a fusillade against the Iroquois within the fort, while
the Hurons kindled a fire at the foot of the palisade.
Champlain's drawing shows the rest of the musketeers
engaged in creating a diversion at other points.

But everything miscarried. Though the cavalier was
constructed, the allies threw aside the wooden shields
which Champlain had caused to be made as a defence against
the arrows of the Iroquois while the fire was being
kindled. Only a small supply of wood had been collected,
and even this was so placed that the flames blew away
from the palisade instead of towards it. On the failure
of this attempt to fire the fort all semblance of discipline
was thrown to the winds. 'There also rose such disorder
among them,' says Champlain, 'that one could not understand
another, which greatly troubled me. In vain did I shout
in their ears and remonstrate to my utmost with them as
to the danger to which they exposed themselves by their
bad behaviour, but on account of the great noise they
made they heard nothing. Seeing that shouting would only
burst my head and that my remonstrances were useless for
putting a stop to the disorder, I did nothing more, but
determined, together with my men, to do what we could
and fire upon such as we could see.'

The fight itself lasted only three hours, and the casualties
of the attacking party were inconsiderable, since but
two of their chiefs and fifteen warriors were wounded.
In addition to their repulse, the Hurons suffered a severe
disappointment through the failure to join them of five
hundred allies who had given their solemn promise. Although
Champlain had received two severe wounds, one in the leg
and another in the knee, he urged a second and more
concerted attack. But in vain. The most the Hurons would
promise was to wait four or five days for the expected
reinforcements. At the end of this time there was no sign
of the five hundred, and the return began. 'The only good
point,' says Champlain, 'that I have seen in their mode
of warfare is that they make their retreat very securely,
placing all the wounded and aged in their centre, being
well armed on the wings and in the rear, and continuing
this order without interruption until they reach a place
of security.'

Champlain himself suffered tortures during the retreat,
partly from his wounds, but even more from the mode of
transportation. The Indian method of removing the wounded
was first to bind and pinion them 'in such a manner that
it is as impossible for them to move as for an infant in
its swaddling-clothes.' They were then carried in a kind
of basket, 'crowded up in a heap.' Doubtless as a mark
of distinction, Champlain was carried separately on the
back of a savage. His wound was so severe that when the
retreat began he could not stand. But the transportation
proved worse than the wound. 'I never found myself in
such a gehenna as during this time, for the pain which
I suffered in consequence of the wound in my knee was
nothing in comparison with that which I endured while I
was carried bound and pinioned on the back of one of our
savages. So that I lost my patience, and as soon as I
could sustain myself got out of this prison, or rather
gehenna.'

The enemy made no pursuit, but forced marches were kept
up for twenty-five or thirty leagues. The weather now
grew cold, as it was past the middle of autumn. The fight
at the fort of the Onondagas had taken place on October
10, and eight days later there was a snowstorm, with hail
and a strong wind. But, apart from extreme discomfort,
the retreat was successfully accomplished, and on the
shore of Lake Ontario they found the canoes intact.

It had been Champlain's purpose to spend the winter at
Quebec, and when the Hurons were about to leave the east
end of Lake Ontario for their own country he asked them
for a canoe and an escort. Four Indians volunteered for
this service, but no canoe could be had, and in consequence
Champlain was forced reluctantly to accompany the Hurons.
With his usual patience he accepted the inevitable, which
in this case was only unpleasant because he was ill
prepared for spending a winter among the Indians. After
a few days he perceived that their plan was to keep him
and his companions, partly as security for themselves
and partly that he might assist at their councils in
planning better safeguards against their enemies.

This enforced residence of Champlain among the Hurons
during the winter of 1615-16 has given us an excellent
description of Indian customs. It was also the means of
composing a dangerous quarrel between the Hurons and the
Algonquins. Once committed to spending the winter among
the Indians, Champlain planned to make Huronia a point
of departure for still further explorations to the
westward. Early in 1616 there seemed to be a favourable
opportunity to push forward in the direction of Lake
Superior. Then came this wretched brawl of Hurons and
Algonquins, which threatened to beget bitter hatred and
war among tribes which hitherto had both been friendly
to the French. Accepting his duty, Champlain gave up his
journey to the far west and threw himself into the task
of restoring peace. But the measure of his disappointment
is found in these words:

   If ever there was one greatly disheartened, it was
   myself, since I had been waiting to see this year what
   during many preceding ones I had been seeking for with
   great toil and effort, through so many fatigues and
   risks of my life. But realizing that I could not help
   the matter, and that everything depended on the will
   of God, I comforted myself, resolving to see it in a
   short time. I had such sure information that I could
   not doubt the report of these people, who go to traffic
   with others dwelling in those northern regions, a
   great part of whom live in a place very abundant in
   the chase and where there are great numbers of large
   animals, the skins of several of which I saw, and
   which I concluded were buffaloes from their
   representation of their form. Fishing is also very
   abundant there. This journey requires forty days as
   well in returning as in going.

Thus Champlain almost had a chance to see the bison and
the great plains of the West. As it was, he did his
immediate duty and restored the peace of Huron and
Algonquin. In partial compensation for the alluring
journey he relinquished, he had a better opportunity to
study the Hurons in their settlements and to investigate
their relations with their neighbours--the Tobacco Nation,
the Neutral Nation, les Cheveux Releves, and the Race of
Fire. Hence the Voyage of 1615 not only describes the
physical aspects of Huronia, but contains intimate details
regarding the life of its people--their wigwams, their
food, their manner of cooking, their dress, their
decorations, their marriage customs, their medicine-men,
their burials, their assemblies, their agriculture, their
amusements, and their mode of fishing. It is Champlain's
most ambitious piece of description, far less detailed
than the subsequent narratives of the Jesuits, but in
comparison with them gaining impact from being less
diffuse.

It was on May 20, 1616, that Champlain left the Huron
country, never again to journey thither or to explore
the recesses of the forest. Forty days later he reached
the Sault St Louis, and saw once more his old friend
Pontgrave. Thenceforward his life belongs not to the
wilderness, but to Quebec.



CHAPTER V

CHAMPLAIN'S LAST YEARS

When Champlain reached the Sault St Louis on July 1,
1616, his career as an explorer had ended. The nineteen
years of life that still remained he gave to Quebec and
the duties of his lieutenancy.

By this time he had won the central position in his own
domain. Question might arise as to the terms upon which
a monopoly of trade should be granted, or as to the
persons who should be its recipients. But whatever company
might control the trade, Champlain was the king's
representative in New France. When Boyer affronted him,
the council had required that a public apology should be
offered. When Montmorency instituted the investigation
of 1620, it was Champlain's report which determined the
issue. Five years later, when the Duc de Ventadour became
viceroy in place of Montmorency, Champlain still remained
lieutenant-general of New France. Such were his character,
services, and knowledge that his tenure could not be
questioned.

Notwithstanding this source of satisfaction, the post
was difficult in the extreme. The government continued
to leave colonizing in the hands of the traders, and the
traders continued to shirk their obligations. The Company
of the De Caens did a large business, but suffered more
severely than any of its predecessors from the strife of
Catholic and Huguenot. Those of the reformed religion
even held their services in the presence of the Indians,
thus anticipating the scandals of Kikuyu. Though the Duc
de Ventadour gave orders that there should be no
psalm-singing after the outbound ships passed Newfoundland,
this provision seems not to have been effective. It was
a difficult problem for one like Champlain, who, while
a loyal Catholic, had been working all his life with
Huguenot associates.

The period of the De Caens was marked by the presence at
Quebec of Madame Champlain. The romance of Champlain's
life does not, however, revolve about his marriage. In
1610, at the age of forty-three, he espoused Helene
Boulle, whose father was secretary of the King's Chamber
to Henry IV. As the bride was only twelve years old,
the marriage contract provided that she should remain
two years longer with her parents. She brought a dowry
of six thousand livres, and simultaneously Champlain made
his will in her favour. Probably De Monts had some part
in arranging the marriage, for Nicholas Boulle was a
Huguenot and De Monts appears as a witness to the notarial
documents. Subsequently, Madame Champlain became an
enthusiastic Catholic and ended her days as a nun. She
had no children, and was only once in Canada, residing
continuously at Quebec from 1620 to 1624. No mention
whatever is made of her in Champlain's writings, but he
named St Helen's Island after her, and appears to have
been unwilling that she should enter a convent during
his lifetime.

One need feel little surprise that Madame Champlain should
not care to visit Canada a second time, for the buildings
at Quebec had fallen into disrepair, and more than once
the supply of food ran very low. During 1625 Champlain
remained in France with his wife, and therefore did not
witness the coming o the Jesuits to the colony. This
event, which is a landmark in the history of Quebec and
New France, followed upon the inability of the Recollets
to cover the mission field with any degree of completeness.
Conscious that their resources were unequal to the task,
they invoked the aid of the Jesuits, and in this appeal
were strongly supported by Champlain. Once more the
horizon seemed to brighten, for the Jesuits had greater
resources and influence than any other order in the Roman
Catholic Church, and their establishment at Quebec meant
much besides a mere increase in the population. The year
1626 saw Champlain again at his post, working hard to
complete a new factory which he had left unfinished,
while the buildings of the Jesuit establishment made good
progress under the hand of workmen specially brought from
France. What still remained imperfect was the fortification.
The English had destroyed the French settlements at Mount
Desert and Port Royal. What was to hinder them from
bombarding Quebec?

This danger soon clouded the mood of optimism that had
been inspired by the coming of the Jesuits. The De Caens
objected to any outlay on a fort, and would not give
Champlain the men he needed. In reply Champlain sent the
viceroy a report which was unfavourable to the company
and its methods. But even without this representation,
the monopoly of the De Caens was doomed by reason of
events which were taking place in France.

At the court of Louis XIII Richelieu had now gained an
eminence and power such as never before had been possessed
by a minister of the French crown. Gifted with imagination
and covetous of national greatness, he saw the most
desirable portions of other continents in the hands of
the Spaniards, the Portuguese, the English, and the Dutch.
The prospect was not pleasing, and he cast about for a
remedy.

For Hanotaux, [Footnote: Gabriel Hanotaux, member of the
French Academy, is the author of the most authoritative
work on the life and times of Richelieu.] Richelieu is
'the true founder of our colonial empire,' and La Ronciere
adds: 'Madagascar, Senegal, Guiana' the Antilles, Acadia,
and Canada--this, to be exact, was the colonial empire
for which we were indebted to Richelieu.' Regarding his
breadth of outlook there can be no doubt, and in his
Memoirs he left the oft-quoted phrase: 'No realm is so
well situated as France to be mistress of the seas or so
rich in all things needful.' Desiring to strengthen
maritime commerce and to hold distant possessions, he
became convinced that the English and the Dutch had
adopted the right policy. Strong trading companies--not
weak ones--were what France needed.

Henry IV could have given the French a fair start, or
even a lead, in the race for colonies. He missed this
great opportunity; partly because he was preoccupied with
the reorganization of France, and partly because Sully,
his minister, had no enthusiasm for colonial ventures.
Twenty years later the situation had changed. Richelieu,
who was a man of wide outlook, was also compelled by the
activity of England and Holland to give attention to the
problem of a New France. The spirit of colonization was
in the air, and Richelieu, with his genius for ideas,
could not fail to see its importance or what would befall
the laggards. His misfortune was that he lacked certain
definite qualifications which a greater founder of colonies
needed to possess. Marvellous in his grasp of diplomatic
situations and in his handling of men, he had no talent
whatever for the details of commerce. His fiscal regime,
particularly after France engaged in her duel with the
House of Hapsburg, was disorganized and intolerable. Nor
did he recognize that, for the French, the desire to
emigrate required even greater encouragement than the
commercial instinct. He compelled his company to transport
settlers, but the number was not large, and he kindled
no popular enthusiasm for the cause of colonization.
France had once led the crusade eastward. Under proper
guidance she might easily have contributed more than she
did to the exodus westward.

At any rate Richelieu, 'a man in the grand style, if ever
man was,' had decided that New France should no longer
languish, and the Company of One Hundred Associates was
the result. In 1627 he abolished the office of viceroy,
deprived the De Caens of their charter, and prepared to
make Canada a real colony. The basis of the plan was an
association of one hundred members, each subscribing
three thousand livres. Richelieu's own name heads the
list of members, followed by those of the minister of
finance and the minister of marine. Most of the members
resided in Paris, though the seaboard and the eastern
provinces were also represented. Nobles, wealthy merchants,
small traders, all figure in the list, and twelve titles
of nobility were distributed among the shareholders to
help in the enlistment of capital. The company received
a monopoly of trade for fifteen years, and promised to
take out three hundred colonists annually during the
whole period covered by the grant. It also received the
St Lawrence valley in full ownership. One notable provision
of the charter was that only Roman Catholics should be
sent to New France, and the company was placed under
special obligation to maintain three priests in each
settlement until the colony could support its own clergy.

Champlain was now sixty years of age, and he had suffered
much. Suddenly there burst forth this spontaneous enthusiasm
of Richelieu the all-powerful. Was Champlain's dream of
the great city of Ludovica to come true after all?

Alas, like previous visions, it faded before the glare
of harsh, uncompromising facts. The year in which Richelieu
founded his Company of New France was also the year of
a fierce Huguenot revolt. Calling on England for aid, La
Rochelle defied Paris, the king, and the cardinal.
Richelieu laid siege to the place. Guiton, the mayor,
sat at his council-board with a bare dagger before him
to warn the faint-hearted. The old Duchesse de Rohan
starved with the populace. Salbert, the most eloquent
of Huguenot pastors, preached that martyrdom was better
than surrender. Meanwhile, Richelieu built his mole across
the harbour, and Buckingham wasted the English troops to
which the citizens looked for their salvation. Then the
town yielded.

The fall of La Rochelle was a great personal triumph for
Richelieu, but the war with England brought disaster to
the Company of New France. At Dieppe there had lived for
many years an Englishman named Jarvis, or Gervase, Kirke,
who with his five sons--David, Lewis, Thomas, John, and
Jamesknew much at first hand about the French merchant
marine. Early in the spring of 1628 Kirke (who had shortly
before moved to London) secured letters of marque and
sent forth his sons to do what damage they could to the
French in the St Lawrence. Champlain had spent the winter
at Quebec and was, of course, expecting his usual supplies
with the opening of navigation. Instead came Lewis Kirke,
sent from Tadoussac by his brother David, to demand
surrender.

Champlain made a reply which, though courteous, was
sufficiently bold to convince the Kirkes that Quebec
could be best captured by starvation. They therefore
sailed down the St Lawrence to intercept the fleet from
France, confident that their better craft would overcome
these 'sardines of the sea.' The plan proved successful
even beyond expectation, for after a long cannonade they
captured without material loss the whole fleet which had
been sent out by the Company of New France. Ships,
colonists, annual supplies, building materials--all fell
into the hands of the enterprising Kirkes, who then sailed
for England with their booty. Alike to Champlain and to
the Hundred Associates it was a crippling blow.

Thus, but for the war with England, Quebec would have
seen its population trebled in 1628. As it was, the
situation became worse than ever. Lewis Kirke had been
careful to seize the cattle pastured at Cap Tourmente
and to destroy the crops. When winter came, there were
eighty mouths to feed on a scant diet of peas and maize,
imperfectly ground, with a reserve supply of twelve
hundred eels. Towards spring anything was welcome, and
the roots of Solomon's seal were esteemed a feast.
Champlain even gave serious thought to a raid upon the
Mohawks, three hundred miles away, in the hope that food
could be brought back from their granaries. Finally, on
the 19th of July 1629, Lewis Kirke returned with a second
summons to surrender. This time only one answer was
possible, for to the survivors at Quebec the English came
less in the guise of foes than as human beings who could
save them from starvation. Champlain and his people
received honourable treatment, and were promised a passage
to France. The family Hebert, however, decided to remain.

We need not dwell upon the emotions with which Champlain
saw the French flag pulled down at Quebec. Doubtless it
seemed the disastrous end of his life-work, but he was
a good soldier and enjoyed also the comforts of religion.
A further consolation was soon found in the discovery
that Quebec might yet be reclaimed. Ten weeks before
Champlain surrendered, the two countries were again at
peace, and the Treaty of Suza embodied a provision that
captures made after the treaty was signed should be
mutually restored. This intelligence reached Champlain
when he landed in England on the homeward voyage. It is
characteristic of the man, that before going on to France
he posted from Dover to London, and urged the French
ambassador that he should insistently claim Quebec.

As a result of the war Canada and Acadia were both in
the possession of England. On the other hand, the dowry
of Henrietta Maria was still, for the most part, in the
treasury of France. When one remembers that 1628 saw
Charles I driven by his necessities to concede the Petition
of Right, it will be readily seen that he desired the
payment of his wife's dowry. Hence Richelieu, whose
talents in diplomacy were above praise, had substantial
reason to expect that Canada and Acadia would be restored.
The negotiations dragged on for more than two years, and
were complicated by disputes growing out of the captures
made under letter of marque. When all was settled by the
Treaty of St Germain-en-Laye (March 1632) Quebec and Port
Royal became once more French--to the profound discontent
of the Kirkes and Sir William Alexander, [Footnote:
Alexander had received grants from the British crown in
1621 and 1625 which covered the whole coast from St Croix
Island to the St Lawrence.] but with such joy on the part
of Champlain as only patriots can know who have given a
lifelong service to their country.

Having regained Canada, Richelieu was forced to decide
what he would do with it. In certain important respects
the situation had changed since 1627, when he founded
the Company of New France. Then Gustavus Adolphus and
the Swedes were not a factor in the dire strife which
was convulsing Europe. [Footnote: At this period the
largest interest in European politics was the rivalry
between France and the House of Hapsburg, which held the
thrones of Spain and Austria. This rivalry led France to
take an active part in the Thirty Years' War, even though
her allies in that struggle were Protestants. Between
1627, when the Company of New France was founded, and
1632, when Canada was restored to France, the Swedes
under Gustavus Adolphus had won a series of brilliant
victories over the Catholic and Hapsburg forces in Germany,
After the death of Gustavus Adolphus in 1632, Richelieu
attacked the Emperor Ferdinand II in great force, thereby
conquering Alsace.] In 1632 the political problems of
Western and Central Europe had assumed an aspect quite
different from that which they had worn five years earlier.
More and more France was drawn into the actual conflict
of the Thirty Years' War, impelled by a sense of new and
unparalleled opportunity to weaken the House of Hapsburg.
This, in turn, meant the preoccupation of Richelieu with
European affairs, and a heavy drain upon the resources
of France in order to meet the cost of her more ambitious
foreign policy. Thus the duel with Austria, as it progressed
during the last decade of the cardinal's life, meant a
fresh check to those colonial prospects which seemed so
bright in 1627.

Richelieu's first step in resuming possession of Canada
was to compose matters between the De Caens and the
Company of New France. Emery de Caen and his associates
were given the trading rights for 1632 and 79,000 livres
as compensation for their losses through the revocation
of the monopoly. Dating from the spring of 1633, the
Company of New France was to be placed in full possession
of Canada, subject to specific obligations regarding
missions and colonists. Conformably with this programme,
Emery de Caen appeared at Quebec on July 5, 1632, with
credentials empowering him to receive possession from
Lewis and Thomas Kirke, the representatives of England.
With De Caen came Paul Le Jeune and two other Jesuits,
a vanguard of the missionary band which was to convert
the savages. 'We cast anchor,' says Le Jeune, 'in front
of the fort which the English held; we saw at the foot
of this fort the poor settlement of Quebec all in ashes.
The English, who came to this country to plunder and not
to build up, not only burned a greater part of the detached
buildings which Father Charles Lalemant had erected, but
also all of that poor settlement of which nothing is now
to be seen but the ruins of its stone walls.'

The season of 1632 thus belonged to De Caen, whose function
was merely to tie up loose ends and prepare for the
establishment of the new regime. The central incident of
the recession was the return of Champlain himself--an
old man who had said a last farewell to France and now
came, as the king's lieutenant, to end his days in the
land of his labours and his hopes. If ever the oft-quoted
last lines of Tennyson's Ulysses could fitly be claimed
by a writer on behalf of his hero, they apply to Champlain
as he sailed from the harbour of Dieppe on March 23,
1633.
 
   Come, my friends, 

   'Tis not too late to seek a newer world.
   Push off, and sitting well in order smite
   The sounding furrows; for my purpose holds
   To sail beyond the sunset, and the baths
   Of all the western stars until I die.

   Tho' much is taken, much abides; and tho'
   We are not now that strength which in old days
   Moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are;
   One equal temper of heroic hearts,
   Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
   To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

It was Champlain's reward that he saw Quebec once more
under the fleur-de-lis, and was welcomed by the Indians
with genuine emotion. The rhetorical gifts of the red
man were among his chief endowments, and all that eloquence
could lavish was poured forth in honour of Champlain at
the council of the Hurons, who had come to Quebec for
barter at the moment of his return. The description of
this council is one of the most graphic passages in Le
Jeune's Relations. A captain of the Hurons first arose
and explained the purpose of the gathering. 'When this
speech was finished all the Savages, as a sign of their
approval, drew from the depths of their stomachs this
aspiration, HO, HO, HO, raising the last syllable very
high.' Thereupon the captain began another speech of
friendship, alliance, and welcome to Champlain, followed
by gifts. Then the same captain made a third speech,
which was followed by Champlain's reply--a harangue well
adapted to the occasion. But the climax was reached in
the concluding orations of two more Huron chiefs. 'They
vied with each other in trying to honour Sieur de Champlain
and the French, and in testifying their affection for
us. One of them said that when the French were absent
the earth was no longer the earth, the river was no longer
the river, the sky was no longer the sky; but upon the
return of Sieur de Champlain everything was as before:
the earth was again the earth, the river was again the
river, and the sky was again the sky.'

Thus welcomed by the savages, Champlain resumed his
arduous task. He was establishing Quebec anew and under
conditions quite unlike those which had existed in 1608.
The most notable difference was that the Jesuits were
now at hand to aid in the upbuilding of Canada. The Quebec
of De Monts and De Caen had been a trading-post, despite
the efforts of the Recollets and Jesuits to render it
the headquarters of a mission. Undoubtedly there existed
from the outset a desire to convert the Indians, but as
a source of strength to the colony this disposition
effected little until the return of the Jesuits in 1632.

With the re-establishment of the Jesuit mission the last
days of Champlain are inseparably allied. A severe
experience had proved that the colonizing zeal of the
crown was fitful and uncertain. Private initiative was
needed to supplement the official programme, and of such
initiative the supply seemed scanty. The fur traders
notoriously shirked their obligations to enlarge the
colony, and after 1632 the Huguenots, who had a distinct
motive for emigrating, were forbidden by Richelieu to
settle in Canada. There remained the enthusiasm of the
Jesuits and the piety of those in France who supplied
the funds for their work among the Montagnais, the Hurons,
and the Iroquois. As the strongest order in the Roman
Catholic Church, the Jesuits possessed resources which
enabled them to maintain an active establishment in
Canada. Through them Quebec became religious, and their
influence permeated the whole colony as its population
increased and the zone of occupation grew wider. Le Jeune,
Lalemant, Brebeuf, and Jogues are among the outstanding
names of the restored New France.

During the last two years of his life Champlain lived
patriarchally at Quebec, administering the public affairs
of the colony and lending its religious impulses the
strength of his support and example. Always a man of
serious mind, his piety was confirmed by the reflections
of advancing age and his daily contact with the
missionaries. In his household there was a service of
prayer three times daily, together with reading at supper
from the lives of the saints. In pursuance of a vow, he
built a chapel named Notre Dame de la Recouvrance, which
records the gratitude he felt for the restoration of
Quebec to France. He was, in short, the ideal layman--
serving his king loyally in all business of state, and
demeaning himself as a pilgrim who is about to set forth
for the City of God.

It is not to be inferred from the prominence of Champlain's
religious interests that he neglected his public duties,
which continued to be many and exacting. One of his
problems was to prevent the English from trading in the
St Lawrence contrary to treaty; another was to discourage
the Hurons from selling their furs to the Dutch on the
Hudson. The success of the mission, which he had deeply
at heart, implied the maintenance of peace among the
Indians who were friendly to the French. He sought also
to police the region of the Great Lakes by a band of
French soldiers, and his last letter to Richelieu (dated
August 15, 1635) contains an earnest appeal for a hundred
and twenty men, to whom should be assigned the duty of
marshalling the Indian allies against the English and
Dutch, as well as of preserving order throughout the
forest. The erection of a fort at Three Rivers in 1634
was due to his desire that the annual barter should take
place at a point above Quebec. A commission which he
issued in the same year to Jean Nicolet to explore the
country of the Wisconsins, shows that his consuming zeal
for exploration remained with him to the end.

It was permitted Champlain to die in harness. He remained
to the last lieutenant of the king in Canada. At the
beginning of October 1635 he was stricken with paralysis,
and passed away on Christmas Day of the same year. We do
not possess the oration which Father Paul Le Jeune
delivered at his funeral, but there remains from Le
Jeune's pen an appreciation of his character in terms
which to Champlain himself would have seemed the highest
praise.

   On the twenty-fifth of December, the day of the birth
   of our Saviour upon earth, Monsieur de Champlain, our
   Governor, was reborn in Heaven; at least we can say
   that his death was full of blessings. I am sure that
   God has shown him this favour in consideration of the
   benefits he has procured for New France, where we hope
   some day God will be loved and served by our French,
   and known and adored by our Savages. Truly he had led
   a life of great justice, equity, and perfect loyalty
   to his King and towards the Gentlemen of the Company.
   But at his death he crowned his virtues with sentiments
   of piety so lofty that he astonished us all. What
   tears he shed! how ardent became his zeal for the
   service of God! how great was his love for the families
   here!--saying that they must be vigorously assisted
   for the good of the Country, and made comfortable in
   every possible way in these early stages, and that he
   would do it if God gave him health. He was not taken
   unawares in the account which he had to render unto
   God, for he had long ago prepared a general Confession
   of his whole life, which he made with great contrition
   to Father Lalemant, whom he honoured with his friendship.
   The Father comforted him throughout his sickness,
   which lasted two months and a half, and did not leave
   him until his death. He had a very honourable burial,
   the funeral procession being farmed of the people,
   the soldiers, the captains, and the churchmen. Father
   Lalemant officiated at this burial, and I was charged
   with the funeral oration, for which I did not lack
   material. Those whom he left behind have reason to be
   well satisfied with him; for, though he died out of
   France, his name will not therefor be any less glorious
   to posterity.



CHAPTER VI

CHAMPLAIN'S WRITINGS AND CHARACTER

There are some things that speak for themselves. In
attempting to understand Champlain's character, we are
first met by the fact that he pursued unflinchingly his
appointed task. For thirty-two years he persevered, amid
every kind of hardship, danger, and discouragement, in
the effort to build up New France. He had personal
ambitions as an explorer, which were kept in strict
subordination to his duty to the king. He possessed
concentration of aim without fanaticism. His signal
unselfishness was adorned by a patience which equalled
that of Marlborough. Inspired by large ideals, he did
not scorn imperfect means.

Thus there are certain large aspects of Champlain's
character that stand forth in the high light of deed,
and do not depend for their effect either upon his own
words or those of others. But when once we have paid
tribute to the fine, positive qualities which are implied
by his accomplishment, we must hasten to recognize the
extraordinary value of his writings as an index to his
mind and soul. His narrative is not an epic of disaster.
It is a plain and even statement of great dangers calmly
met and treated as a matter of course. Largely it is a
record of achievement. At points where it is a record of
failure Champlain accepts the inevitable gracefully and
conforms his emotions to the will of God. The Voyages
reveal a strong man 'well four-squared to the blows of
fortune.' They also illustrate the virtue of muscular
Christianity.

At a time which, like ours, is becoming sated with
cleverness, it is a delight to read the unvarnished story
of Champlain. In saying that the adjective is ever the
enemy of the noun, Voltaire could not have levelled the
shaft at him, for few writers have been more sparing in
their use of adjectives or other glowing words. His love
of the sea and of the forest was profound, but he is
never emotional in his expressions. Yet with all his
soberness and steadiness he possessed imagination. In
its strength and depth his enthusiasm for colonization
proves this, even if we omit his picture of the fancied
Ludovica. But as a man of action rather than of letters
he instinctively omits verbiage. In some respects we
suffer from Champlain's directness of mind for on much
that he saw he could have lingered with profit. But very
special inducements are needed to draw him from his plain
tale into a digression. Such inducements occur at times
when he is writing of the Indians, for he recognized that
Europe was eager to hear in full detail of their traits
and customs. Thus set passages of description, inserted
with a sparing hand, seemed to him a proper element of
the text, but anything like conscious embellishment of
the narrative he avoids--probably more through mere
naturalness than conscious self-repression.

From Marco Polo to Scott's Journal the literature of
geographical discovery abounds with classics, and standards
of comparison suggest themselves in abundance to the
critic of Champlain's Voyages. Most naturally, of course,
one turns to the records of American exploration in the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries--to Ramusio, Oviedo,
Peter Martyr, Hakluyt, and Purchas. No age can show a
more wonderful galaxy of pioneers than that which extends
from Columbus to La Salle, and among the great explorers
of this era Champlain takes his place by virtue alike of
his deeds and writings. In fact, he belongs to the small
and distinguished class of those who have recorded their
own discoveries in a suitable and authentic narrative,
for in few cases have geographical results of equal moment
been described by the discoverer himself.

Among the many writings which are available for comparison
and contrast one turns, singularly yet inevitably, to
Lescarbot. The singularity of a comparison between
Champlain and Lescarbot is that Lescarbot was not a
geographer. At the same time, he is the only writer of
importance whose trail crosses that of Champlain, and
some light is thrown on Champlain's personality by a
juxtaposition of texts. That is to say, both were in
Acadia at the same time, sat together at Poutrincourt's
table, gazed on the same forests and clearings, met the
same Indians, and had a like opportunity of considering
the colonial problems which were thrust upon the French
in the reign of Henry IV.

It would be hard to find narratives more dissimilar,--and
the contrast is not wholly to the advantage of Champlain.
Or rather, there are times when his Doric simplicity of
style seems jejune beside the flowing periods and
picturesque details of Lescarbot. No better illustration
of this difference in style, arising from fundamental
difference in temperament, can be found than the description
which each gives of the Ordre de Bon Temps. To Champlain
belongs the credit of inventing this pleasant means of
promoting health and banishing ennui, but all he tells
of it is this: 'By the rules of the Order a chain was
put, with some little ceremony, on the neck of one of
our company, commissioning him for the day to go a-hunting.
The next day it was conferred upon another, and thus in
succession. All exerted themselves to the utmost to see
who would do the best and bring home the finest game. We
found this a very good arrangement, as did also the
savages who were with us.'

Such is the limit of the information which we receive
from Champlain regarding the Ordre de Bon Temps, his own
invention and the life of the company. It is reserved
for Lescarbot to give us the picture which no one can
forget--the Atoctegic, or ruler of the feast, leading
the procession to dinner 'napkin on shoulder, wand of
office in hand, and around his neck the collar of the
Order, which was worth more than four crowns; after him
all the members of the Order, carrying each a dish.'
Around stand the savages, twenty or thirty of them, 'men,
women, girls, and children,' all waiting for scraps of
food. At the table with the French themselves sits the
Sagamos Membertou and the other Indian chiefs, gladdening
the company by their presence. And the food!--'ducks,
bustards, grey and white geese, partridges, larks, and
other birds; moreover moose, caribou, beaver, otter,
bear, rabbits, wild-cats, racoons, and other animals,'
the whole culminating in the tenderness of moose meat
and the delicacy of beaver's tail. Such are the items
which Champlain omits and Lescarbot includes. So it is
throughout their respective narratives--Champlain ever
gaining force through compactness, and Lescarbot constantly
illuminating with his gaiety or shrewdness matters which
but for him would never have reached us.

This difference of temperament and outlook, which is so
plainly reflected on the printed page, also had its effect
upon the personal relations of the two men. It was not
that Lescarbot scandalized Champlain by his religious
views, for though liberal-minded, Lescarbot was not a
heretic, and Champlain knew how to live harmoniously even
with Huguenots. The cause of the coolness which came to
exist between them must be sought rather in fundamental
contrasts of character. To Champlain, Lescarbot doubtless
seemed a mere hanger-on or protege of Poutrincourt, with
undue levity of disposition and a needless flow of
conversation. To Lescarbot, Champlain may well have seemed
deficient in literary attainments, and so preoccupied
with the concerns of geography as to be an uncongenial
companion. To whatever cause conjecture may trace it,
they did not become friends, although such lack of sympathy
as existed shows itself only in an occasional pin-prick,
traceable particularly in the later editions of their
writings. For us it is the more needful to lay stress
upon the merits of Lescarbot, because he tends to be
eclipsed by the greater reputation of Champlain, and also
because his style is sometimes so diffuse as to create
prejudice. But at his best he is admirable, and without
him we should know much less than we do about that Acadian
experience which holds such a striking place in the career
of Champlain.

The popular estimate of French character dwells overmuch
upon the levity or gaiety which undoubtedly marks the
Gallic race. France could not have accomplished her
great work for the world without stability of purpose
and seriousness of mood. Nowhere in French biography are
these qualities more plainly illustrated than by the acts
of Champlain. The doggedness with which he clung to his
patriotic and unselfish task is the most conspicuous fact
in his life. Coupled therewith is his fortitude, both
physical and moral. In times of crisis the conscript sets
his teeth and dies without a murmur. But Champlain enlisted
as a volunteer for a campaign which was to go on unceasingly
till his last day. How incessant were its dangers can be
made out in full detail from the text of the Voyages. We
may omit the perils of the North Atlantic, though what
they were can be seen from Champlain's description of
his outward voyage in the spring of 1611. The remaining
dangers will suffice. Scurvy, which often claimed a
death-roll of from forty to eighty per cent in a single
winter; famine such as that which followed the failure
of ships from home to arrive at the opening of navigation;
the storms which drove the frail shallop on the rocks
and shoals of Norumbega; the risk of mutiny; the chances
of war, whether against the Indians or the English; the
rapids of the wilderness as they threatened the overloaded
canoe on its swift descent; the possible treachery of
Indian guides--such is a partial catalogue of the
death-snares which surrounded the pathway of an explorer
like Champlain. Every one of these dangers is brought
before us by his own narrative in a manner which does
credit to his modesty no less than to his fortitude.
Without embellishment or self-glorification, he recites
in a few lines hairbreadth escapes which a writer of less
steadfast soul would have amplified into a thrilling tale
of heroism. None the less, to the discriminating reader
Champlain's Voyages are an Odyssey.

Bound up with habitual fortitude is the motive from which
it springs. In Champlain's case patriotism and piety were
the groundwork of a conspicuous and long-tested courage.
The patriotism which exacted such sacrifices was not one
which sought to define itself even in the form of a
justifiable digression from the recital of events. But
we may be sure that Champlain at the time he left Port
Royal had made up his mind that the Spaniards, the English,
and the Dutch were not to parcel out the seaboard of
North America to the exclusion of the French. As for the
religious basis of his fortitude, we do not need Le
Jeune's story of his death-bed or the record of his
friendship with men of religion. His narrative abounds
throughout with simple and natural expressions of piety,
not the less impressive because they are free from trace
of the theological intolerance which envenomed French
life in his age. And not only did Champlain's trust in
the Lord fortify his soul against fear, but religion
imposed upon him a degree of self-restraint which was
not common among explorers of the seventeenth century.
It is far from fanciful to see in this one of the chief
causes of his hold upon the Indians. To them he was more
than a useful ally in war time. They respected his sense
of honour, and long after his death remembered the
temperance which marked his conduct when he lived in
their villages.

As a writer, Champlain enjoyed the advantage of possessing
a fresh, unhackneyed subject. The only exception to this
statement is furnished by his early book on the West
Indies and Mexico, where he was going over ground already
trodden by the Spaniards. His other writings relate to
a sphere of exploration and settlement which he made his
own, and of which he well merited to be the chronicler.

Running through the Voyages is the double interest of
discovery and colonization, constantly blending and
reacting upon each other, but still remaining matters of
separate concern. It is obvious that in the mind of the
narrator discovery is always the more engaging theme.
Champlain is indeed the historian of St Croix, Port Royal,
and Quebec, but only incidentally or from chance. By
temper he was the explorer, that is, the man of action,
willing to record the broad results, but without the
instinct which led Lescarbot to set down the minutiae of
life in a small, rough settlement. There is one side of
Champlain's activity as a colonizer which we must lament
that he has not described--namely, his efforts to interest
the nobles and prelates of the French court in the
upbuilding of Canada. A diary of his life at Paris and
Fontainebleau would be among the choicest documents of
the early colonial era. But Champlain was too blunt and
loyal to set down the story of his relations with the
great, and for this portion of his life we must rely upon
letters, reports, and memoranda, which are so formal as
to lack the atmosphere of that painful but valiant
experience.

Excluding the brief notices of life at St Croix, Port
Royal, and Quebec, Champlain's Voyages present a story
of discovery by sea and discovery by land. In other words,
the four years of Acadian adventure relate to discoveries
made along the seaboard, while the remaining narratives,
including the Des Sauvages of 1604, relate to the basin
of the St Lawrence. Mariner though he was by early
training, Champlain achieved his chief success as an
explorer by land, in the region of the Great Lakes. Bad
fortune prevented him from pursuing his course past
Martha's Vineyard to the mouth of the Hudson and Chesapeake
Bay. It was no small achievement to accomplish what he
did on the coast of Norumbega, but his most distinctive
discoveries were those which he made in the wilderness,
leading up to his fine experience of 1615-16 among the
Hurons.

To single out Champlain's chief literary triumph, it was
he who introduced the Algonquin, the Huron, and the
Iroquois to the delighted attention of France. Ever since
the days of Cartier the French had known that savages
inhabited the banks of the St Lawrence, but Champlain is
the pioneer in that great body of literature on the North
American Indian, which thenceforth continued without
interruption in France to the Rene and Atala of
Chateaubriand. Above all other subjects, the Indians are
Champlain's chief theme.

To some extent the account of Indian life which is given
in the Voyages suffers by comparison with the Relations
of the Jesuits. The Fathers, by reason of their long
residence among the Indians, undoubtedly came to possess
a more intimate knowledge of their character and customs
than it was possible for Champlain to acquire during the
time he spent among them. On the other hand, the Jesuits
were so preoccupied with the progress of the mission that
they tended to view the life of the savages too exclusively
from one angle. Furthermore, the volume of their description
is so great as to overwhelm all readers who are not
specially interested in the mission or the details of
Indian custom. Champlain wrote with sufficient knowledge
to bring out salient traits in high relief, while his
descriptive passages are sufficiently terse to come within
the range of those who are not specialists. When we
remember the perpetual interest which, for more than
three hundred years, Europe has felt in the North American
Indian, the Voyages of Champlain are seen in their true
perspective. For he, with fresh eyes, saw the red man in
his wigwam, at his council, and on the war-path; watched
his stoic courage under torture and his inhuman cruelty
in the hour of vengeance. Tales of the wilderness, the
canoe, the portage, and the ambush have never ceased to
fascinate the imagination of Europe. Champlain's narrative
may be plain and unadorned, but, with such a groundwork,
the imagination of every reader could supply details at
will.

In all essential respects Champlain seems to have been
a good observer and an accurate chronicler. It is true
that his writings are not free from error involving facts
of distance, altitude, and chronology. But such slips as
have crept into his text do not constitute a serious
blemish or tend to impugn the good faith of his statements
on matters where there is no other source of information.
Everything considered, his substantial accuracy is much
more striking than his partial inaccuracy. In fact, no
one of his high character and disinterested zeal could
write with any other purpose than to describe truly what
he had seen and done. The seal of probity is set upon
Champlain's writings no less than upon the record of his
dealings with his employers and the king. Unselfish as
to money or fame, he sought to create New France.

In national progress much depends on the auspices under
which the nation was founded and the tradition which it
represents. Thus England, and all the English world, has
an imperishable tradition in the deeds and character of
Alfred the Great; thus Canada has had from the outset of
the present stage in her development a great possession
in the equal self-sacrifice of Montcalm and Wolfe. On
the other hand, the nation is doomed to suffer which
bases its traditions of greatness upon such acts as the
seizure of Silesia by Frederick or Bismarck's manipulation
of the Ems telegram.

For Canada Champlain is not alone a heroic explorer of
the seventeenth century, but the founder of Quebec; and
it is a rich part of our heritage that he founded New
France in the spirit of unselfishness, of loyalty, and
of faith.




BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTE



Original Text

The best edition of Champlain's own works, in the
original text, is that of Laverdiere--'OEuvres de
Champlain, pabliees sous le Patronage de l'Universite
Laval. Par l'Abbe C.-H. Laverdiere, M.A. Seconde
Edition. 6 tomes, 4to. Quebec: Imprime au Seminaire par
Geo. E. Desbarats, 1870.'

The list of Champlain's writings includes:

1. The 'Bref Discours,' describing his trip to the West
   Indies.

2. The 'Des Sauvages,' describing his first voyage to
   the St Lawrence.

3. The 'Voyages' of 1613, covering the years 1604-13
   inclusive.

4. The 'Voyages' of 1619, covering the years 1615-18
   inclusive.

5. The 'Voyages' of 1632, which represent a re-editing
   of the early voyages from 1603 forward, and continue
   the narrative from 1618 to 1629.

6. A general treatise on the duties of the mariner.



English Translations

1. The 'Bref Discours,' in a translation by Alice Wilmere,
   was published by the Hakluyt Society in 1859.
 
2. The Des Sauvages (1604) was translated in 'Purchas
   His Pilgrimes' (1625).

3. The 'Voyages' of 1604-18 inclusive were translated by
   C. P. Otis for the Prince Society of Boston, in three
   volumes, 1878-82, with  the Rev. E. F. Slafter as
   editor. This is a fine work, but not easily accessible
   in  its original form.  Fortunately, Professor Otis's
   translation has been reprinted, with an introduction
   and notes by Professor W. L. Grant, in the 'Original
   Narratives of Early American History' (Scribners,
   1907). The passages quoted in the present volume are
   taken from Otis's translation, with occasional changes.

4. The 'Voyages' of 1604-16 inclusive have also been well
   translated by Annie Nettleton Bourne, with an
   introduction and notes by Professor E. G. Bourne
   (A. S. Barnes and Co., 1906). This translation follows
   the edition of 1632, and also gives the translation
   of 'Des Souvages' which appears in Purchas.



General Literature

The career of Champlain is treated in many historical
works, of which the following are a few: Parkman, 'Pioneers
of France in the New World'; Dionne, 'Samuel de Champlain'
(in the Makers of Canada' series); Biggar, 'Early Trading
Companies of New France'; Slafter, 'Champlain' (in Winsor's
'Narrative and Critical History of America,' vol. iv,
part i, chap. iii); Salone, 'La Colonisation de la Nouvelle
France'; Sulte, 'Histoire des Canadiens-Francais'; Ferland,
'Cours d'Histoire du Canada'; Garneau, 'Histoire du
Canada,' fifth edition edited by the author's grandson,
Hector Garneau.



Portrait

Unfortunately, there is no authentic portrait of Champlain.
That ascribed to Moncornet is undoubtedly spurious, as
has been proved by V. H. Paltsits in 'Acadiensis,' vol. iv,
pp. 306-11.



End of Project Gutenberg's The Founder of New France, by Charles W. Colby