Voyages of Samuel De Champlain — Volume 02
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Title: Voyages of Samuel De Champlain — Volume 02
Author: Samuel de Champlain
Translator: Charles P. Otis
Release date: October 1, 2004 [eBook #6749]
Most recently updated: December 23, 2015
Language: English
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/6749
Credits: Produced by Karl Hagen, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. Images provided courtesy of www.canadiana.org
*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK VOYAGES OF SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN — VOLUME 02 ***
Produced by Karl Hagen, Juliet Sutherland, Charles Franks,
and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team. Images
provided courtesy of www.canadiana.org.
Transcriber's Notes:
The original text of this edition used tall-s. These have been replaced
with ordinary 's'. The original footnotes have been converted to endnotes
and placed at the end of each chapter. The original numbering has been
retained. The number 176-1/2 and presence of two notes numbered [283] are
both original.
THE
PUBLICATIONS OF THE PRINCE SOCIETY
Established May 25th, 1858.
CHAMPLAIN'S VOYAGES.
VOYAGES
OF
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN.
TRANSLATED FROM THE FRENCH
BY CHARLES POMEROY OTIS, PH.D.
WITH HISTORICAL ILLUSTRATIONS,
AND A
MEMOIR
BY THE REV. EDMUND F. SLAFTER, A.M.
VOL. II.
1604-1610.
HELIOTYPE COPIES OF TWENTY LOCAL MAPS.
Editor:
THE REV. EDMUND F. SLAFTER, A.M.
PREFACE.
Champlain's edition of 1613 contains, in connection with the preliminary
matter, two pieces of poetry, one signed L'ANGE, Paris, the other MOTIN.
They were contributed doubtless by some friend, intended to be
complimentary to the author, to embellish the volume and to give it a
favorable introduction to the reader. This was in conformity to a
prevailing custom of that period. They contain no intrinsic historical
interest or value whatever, and, if introduced, would not serve their
original purpose, but would rather be an incumbrance, and they have
consequently been omitted in the present work.
Champlain also included a summary of chapters, identical with the headings
of chapters in this translation, evidently intended to take the place of an
index, which he did not supply. To repeat these headings would be
superfluous, particularly as this work is furnished with a copious index.
The edition of 1613 was divided into two books. This division has been
omitted here, both as superfluous and confusing.
The maps referred to on Champlain's title-page may be found in Vol. III. of
this work. In France, the needle deflects to the east; and the dial-plate,
as figured on the larger map, that of 1612, is constructed accordingly. On
it the line marked _nornordest_ represents the true north, while the index
is carried round to the left, and points out the variation of the needle to
the west. The map is oriented by the needle without reference to its
variation, but the true meridian is laid down by a strong line on which the
degrees of latitude are numbered. From this the points of the compass
between any two places may be readily obtained.
A Note, relating to Hudson's discoveries in 1612, as delineated on
Champlain's small map, introduced by him in the prefatory matter,
apparently after the text had been struck off, will appear in connection
with the map itself, where it more properly belongs.
E. F. S.
BOSTON, 11 BEACON STREET,
October 21, 1878.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE
CHAMPLAIN'S DEDICATION OF HIS WORK TO THE KING
ADDRESS TO THE QUEEN REGENT
EXTRACT FROM THE LICENSE
VOYAGE 1604 TO 1608
FIRST VOYAGE AS LIEUTENANT, 1608 TO 1610
SECOND VOYAGE AS LIEUTENANT, 1610
LOCAL MAPS:
Port de la Hève
Port du Roissignol
Port du Mouton
Port Royal
Port des Mines
Rivière St. Jehan
Isle de Sainte Croix
Habitation de L'Isle Ste. Croix
Quinibequy
Chouacoit R.
Port St. Louis
Malle Barre
L'Abitation du Port Royal
Le Beau Port
Port Fortuné
The Attack at Port Fortuné
Port de Tadoucac
Quebec
Abitation de Quebecq
Defeat of the Iroquois at Lake Champlain
INDEX
THE VOYAGES
OF SIEUR DE CHAMPLAIN,
Of Saintonge, Captain in ordinary to the
King in the Marine.
OR,
_A MOST FAITHFUL JOURNAL OF OBSERVATIONS
made in the exploration of New France, describing not only the countries,
coasts, rivers, ports, and harbors, with their latitudes and the various
deflections of the Magnetic Needle, but likewise the religious belief of
the inhabitants, their superstitions, mode of life and warfare; furnished
with numerous illustrations_.
Together with two geographical maps: the first for the purposes of
navigation, adapted to the compass as used by mariners, which deflects to
the north-east; the other in its true meridian, with longitudes and
latitudes, to which is added the Voyage to the Strait north of Labrador,
from the 53d to the 63d degree of latitude, discovered in 1612 by the
English when they were searching for a northerly course to China.
PARIS.
JEAN BERJON,
Rue St. Jean de Beauvais, at the Flying Horse,
and at his store in the Palace,
at the gallery of the Prisoners.
MDCXIII.
_WITH AUTHORITY OF THE KING_.
TO THE KING.
_Sire,
Your Majesty has doubtless full knowledge of the discoveries made in your
service in New France, called Canada, through the descriptions, given by
certain Captains and Pilots, of the voyages and discoveries made there
during the past eighty years. These, however, present nothing so honorable
to your Kingdom, or so profitable to the service of your Majesty and your
subjects, as will, I doubt not, the maps of the coasts, harbors, rivers,
and the situation of the places described in this little treatise, which I
make bold to address to your Majesty, and which is entitled a Journal of
Voyages and Discoveries, which I have made in connection with Sieur de
Monts, your Lieutenant in New France. This I do, feeling myself urged by a
just sense of the honor I have received during the last ten years in
commissions, not only, Sire, from your Majesty, but also from the late
king, Henry the Great, of happy memory, who commissioned me to make the
most exact researches and explorations in my power. This I have done, and
added, moreover, the maps contained in this little book, where I have set
forth in particular the dangers to which one would be liable. The subjects
of your Majesty, whom you may be pleased hereafter to employ for the
preservation of what has been discovered, will be able to avoid those
dangers through the knowledge afforded by the maps contained in this
treatise, which will serve as an example in your kingdom for increasing the
glory of your Majesty, the welfare of your subjects, and for the honor of
the very humble service, for which, to the happy prolongation of your days,
is indebted,
SIRE,
Your most humble, most obedient,
and most faithful servant and subject,
CHAMPLAIN_.
TO THE QUEEN REGENT,
MOTHER OF THE KING.
MADAME,
Of all the most useful and excellent arts, that of navigation has always
seemed to me to occupy the first place. For the more hazardous it is, and
the more numerous the perils and losses by which it is attended, so much
the more is it esteemed and exalted above all others, being wholly unsuited
to the timid and irresolute. By this art we obtain knowledge of different
countries, regions, and realms. By it we attract and bring to our own land
all kinds of riches, by it the idolatry of paganism is overthrown and
Christianity proclaimed throughout all the regions of the earth. This is
the art which from my early age has won my love, and induced me to expose
myself almost all my life to the impetuous waves of the ocean, and led me
to explore the coasts of a part of America, especially of New France, where
I have always desired to see the Lily flourish, and also the only religion,
catholic, apostolic, and Roman. This I trust now to accomplish with the
help of God, assisted by the favor of your Majesty, whom I most humbly
entreat to continue to sustain us, in order that all may succeed to the
honor of God, the welfare of France, and the splendor of your reign, for
the grandeur and prosperity of which I will pray God to attend you always
with a thousand blessings, and will remain,
MADAME,
Your most humble, most obedient,
and most faithful servant and subject,
CHAMPLAIN.
EXTRACT FROM THE LICENSE.
By letters patent of the KING, given at Paris the ninth of January, 1613,
and in the third year of our reign, by the King in his Council, PERREAU,
and sealed with the simple yellow seal, it is permitted to JEAN BERJON,
printer and bookseller in this city of Paris, to print, or have printed by
whomsoever it may seem good to him, a book entitled _The Voyages of Samuel
de Champlain of Saintonge, Captain in ordinary for the King in the Marine,
&c._, for the time and limit of six entire consecutive years, from the day
when this book shall have been printed up to the said time of six years. By
the same letters, in like manner all printers, merchant booksellers, and
any others whatever, are forbidden to print or have printed, to sell or
distribute said book during the aforesaid time, without the special consent
of said BERJON, or of him to whom he shall give permission, on pain of
confiscation of so many of said books as shall be found, and a
discretionary fine, as is more fully set forth in the aforesaid letters.
VOYAGES
OF
SIEUR DE CHAMPLAIN.
VOYAGE IN THE YEAR 1604.
CHAPTER I.
THE BENEFITS OF COMMERCE HAVE INDUCED SEVERAL PRINCES TO SEEK AN EASIER
ROUTE FOR TRAFFIC WITH THE PEOPLE OF THE EAST.--SEVERAL UNSUCCESSFUL
VOYAGES.--DETERMINATION OF THE FRENCH FOR THIS PURPOSE.--UNDERTAKING OF
SIEUR DE MONTS: HIS COMMISSION AND ITS REVOCATION.--NEW COMMISSION TO SIEUR
DE MONTS TO ENABLE HIM TO CONTINUE HIS UNDERTAKING.
The inclinations of men differ according to their varied dispositions; and
each one in his calling has his particular end in view. Some aim at gain,
some at glory, some at the public weal. The greater number are engaged in
trade, and especially that which is transacted on the sea. Hence arise the
principal support of the people, the opulence and honor of states. This is
what raised ancient Rome to the sovereignty and mastery over the entire
world, and the Venetians to a grandeur equal to that of powerful kings. It
has in all times caused maritime towns to abound in riches, among which
Alexandria and Tyre are distinguished, and numerous others, which fill up
the regions of the interior with the objects of beauty and rarity obtained
from foreign nations. For this reason, many princes have striven to find a
northerly route to China, in order to facilitate commerce with the
Orientals, in the belief that this route would be shorter and less
dangerous.
In the year 1496, the king of England commissioned John Cabot and his son
Sebastian to engage in this search. [1] About the same time, Don Emanuel,
king of Portugal, despatched on the same errand Gaspar Cortereal, who
returned without attaining his object. Resuming his journeys the year
after, he died in the undertaking; as did also his brother Michel, who was
prosecuting it perseveringly. [2] In the years 1534 and 1535, Jacques
Cartier received a like commission from King Francis I., but was arrested
in his course. [3] Six years after, Sieur de Roberval, having renewed it,
sent Jean Alfonse of Saintonge farther northward along the coast of
Labrador; [4] but he returned as wise as the others. In the years 1576,
1577, and 1578, Sir Martin Frobisher, an Englishman, made three voyages
along the northern coasts. Seven years later, Humphrey Gilbert, also an
Englishman, set out with five ships, but suffered shipwreck on Sable
Island, where three of his vessels were lost. In the same and two following
years, John Davis, an Englishman, made three voyages for the same object;
penetrating to the 72d degree, as far as a strait which is called at the
present day by his name. After him, Captain Georges made also a voyage in
1590, but in consequence of the ice was compelled to return without having
made any discovery. [5] The Hollanders, on their part, had no more precise
knowledge in the direction of Nova Zembla.
So many voyages and discoveries without result, 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, [6] 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. [7] These considerations had induced
the Marquis de la Roche, in 1598, to take a commission from the king for
making a settlement in the above region. With this object, he landed men
and supplies on Sable Island; [8] but, as the conditions which had been
accorded to him by his Majesty were not fulfilled, he was obliged to
abandon his undertaking, and leave his men there. A year after, Captain
Chauvin accepted another commission to transport Settlers to the same
region; [9] but, as this was shortly after revoked, he prosecuted the
matter no farther.
After the above, [10] notwithstanding all these accidents and
disappointments, Sieur de Monts desired to attempt what had been given up
in despair, and requested a commission for this purpose of his Majesty,
being satisfied that the previous enterprises had failed because the
undertakers of them had not received assistance, who had not succeeded, in
one nor even two years' time, in making the acquaintance of the regions and
people there, nor in finding harbors adapted for a settlement. He proposed
to his Majesty a means for covering these expenses, without drawing any
thing from the royal revenues; viz., by granting to him the monopoly of the
fur-trade in this land. This having been granted to him, he made great and
excessive outlays, and carried out with him a large number of men of
various vocations. Upon his arrival, he caused the necessary number of
habitations for his followers to be constructed. This expenditure he
continued for three consecutive years, after which, in consequence of the
jealousy and annoyance of certain Basque merchants, together with some from
Brittany, the monopoly which had been granted to him was revoked by the
Council to the great injury and loss of Sieur de Monts, who, in consequence
of this revocation, was compelled to abandon his entire undertaking,
sacrificing his labors and the outfit for his settlement.
But since a report had been made to the king on the fertility of the soil
by him, and by me on the feasibility of discovering the passage to China,
[11] without the inconveniences of the ice of the north or the heats of the
torrid zone, through which our sailors pass twice in going and twice in
returning, with inconceivable hardships and risks, his Majesty directed
Sieur de Monts to make a new outfit, and send men to continue what he had
commenced. This he did. And, in view of the uncertainty of his commission,
[12] he chose a new spot for his settlement, in order to deprive jealous
persons of any such distrust as they had previously conceived. He was also
influenced by the hope of greater advantages in case of settling in the
interior, where the people are civilized, and where it is easier to plant
the Christian faith and establish such order as is necessary for the
protection of a country, than along the sea-shore, where the savages
generally dwell. From this course, he believed the king would derive an
inestimable profit; for it is easy to suppose that Europeans will seek out
this advantage rather than those of a jealous and intractable disposition
to be found on the shores, and the barbarous tribes. [13]
ENDNOTES:
1. The first commission was granted by Henry VII. of England to John Cabot
and his three sons, Lewis, Sebastian, and Sancius, March 5, 1496.--
_Rymer's Foedera_, Vol. XII. p. 595. The first voyage, however, was made
in 1497. The second commission was granted to John Cabot alone, in
1498.--_Vide Hakluyt_, 1600, London, ed. 1810, Vol. III. pp. 25-31.
2. Cortereal made two voyages under the patronage of Emmanuel, King of
Portugal, the first in 1500, the second in 1501. In the latter year, he
sailed with two ships from Lisbon, and explored six hundred miles or
more on our northern coast. The vessel in which he sailed was lost; and
he perished, together with fifty natives whom he had captured. The other
vessel returned, and reported the incidents of the expedition. The next
year, Michael Cortereal, the brother of Gaspar, obtained a commission,
and went in search of his brother; but he did not return, and no tidings
were ever heard of him.
3. Jacques Cartier made three voyages in 1534, 1535, and 1540,
respectively, in which he effected very important discoveries; and
Charlevoix justly remarks that Cartier's Memoirs long served as a guide
to those who after him navigated the gulf and river of St. Lawrence. For
Cartier's commission, see _Hazard's State Papers_, Vol. I. p. 19.
4. Roberval's voyage was made in 1542, and is reported by Jean Alfonse.--
_Vide Hakluyt_, 1600, London, ed. 1810, Vol. III. p. 291. On an old map,
drawn about the middle of the sixteenth century, Roberval is represented
in a full-length portrait, clad in mail, with sword and spear, at the
head of a band of armed soldiers, penetrating into the wilds of Canada,
near the head-waters of the Saguenay. The name, "Monsr. de Roberual," is
inserted near his feet,--_Vide Monuments de la Géographie_, XIX., par
M. Jomard, Paris.
5. For the narrative of the voyages of Frobisher, Gilbert, and Davis, _vide
Hakluyt_, Vol. III. Of the fleet of five vessels commanded by Sir
Humphrey Gilbert, in 1583, the Ralegh put back to England, on account of
sickness on board; the Golden Hinde returned safely to port; the
_Swallow_ was left at Newfoundland, to bring home the sick; the
_Delight_ was lost near Sable Island; and the _Squirrel_ went down on
its way to England, some days after leaving Sable Island. Thus two only
were lost, while a third was left.
There must have been some error in regard to the voyage of Captain
Georges. There is no printed account of a voyage at that time by any one
of this name. There are two theories on which this statement may be
explained. There may have been a voyage by a Captain Georges, which, for
some unknown reason, was never reported; or, what is more likely,
Champlain may refer to the voyage of Captain George Weymouth, undertaken
in 1602 for the East Ind. Company, which was defeated by the icebergs
which he encountered, and the mutiny of his men. It was not uncommon to
omit part of a name at that period. Of Pont Gravé, the last name is
frequently omitted by Champlain and by Lescarbot. The report of
Weymouth's voyage was not printed till after Champlain wrote; and he
might easily have mistaken the date.
6. The name of New France, _Novus Francisca_, appears on a map in Ptolemy
published at Basle in 1530.
7. The controlling object of the numerous voyages to the north-east coast
of America had hitherto been to discover a shorter course to India. In
this respect, as Champlain states above, they had all proved
failures. He here intimates that the settlements of the French on this
coast were intended to facilitate this design. It is obvious that a
colonial establishment would offer great advantages as a base in
prosecuting searches for this desired passage to Cathay.
8. For some account of this disastrous expedition, see _Memoir_, Vol. I.
9. _Vide Memoir_, Vol. I.
10. It will be observed that Champlain does not mention the expedition sent
out by Commander de Chastes, probably because its object was
exploration, and not actual settlement.--_Vide_ an account of De
Chastes in the _Memoir_, Vol. I.
11. In Champlain's report of the voyage of 1603, after obtaining what
information he could from the natives relating to the St. Lawrence and
the chain of lakes, he says they informed him that the last lake in the
chain was salt, and he therefore believed it to be the South Sea. He
doubtless enlarged verbally before the king upon the feasibility of a
passage to China in this way.
12. The commission here referred to was doubtless the one renewed to him in
1608, after he had made his searches on the shores of New England and
Nova Scotia, and after the commission or charter of 1603 had been
revoked.
Champlain is here stating the advantages of a settlement in the
interior, on the shores of the St. Lawrence, rather than on the
Atlantic coast.
13. In this chapter, Champlain speaks of events stretching through several
years; but in the next he confines himself to the occurrences of 1603,
when De Monts obtained his charter.
CHAPTER II.
DESCRIPTION OF SABLE ISLAND; CAPE BRETON; LA HÈVE; PORT AU MOUTON; PORT
CAPE NEGRE; SABLE BAY AND CAPE; CORMORANT ISLAND; CAPE FOURCHU; LONG
ISLAND; BAY OF SAINT MARY; PORT SAINT MARGARET; AND OF ALL NOTEWORTHY
OBJECTS ALONG THIS COAST.
Sieur de Monts, by virtue of his commission [14] having published in all
the ports and harbors of this kingdom the prohibition against the violation
of the monopoly of the fur-trade accorded him by his Majesty, gathered
together about one hundred and twenty artisans, whom he embarked in two
vessels: one of a hundred and twenty tons, commanded by Sieur de Pont
Gravé; [15] another, of a hundred and fifty tons, in which he embarked
himself, [16] together with several noblemen.
We set out from Havre de Grâce April 7th, 1604, and Pont Gravé April 10th,
to rendezvous at Canseau, [17] twenty leagues from Cape Breton. [18] But
after we were in mid-ocean, Sieur de Monts changed his plan, and directed
his course towards Port Mouton, it being more southerly and also more
favorable for landing than Canseau.
On May 1st, we sighted Sable Island, where we ran a risk of being lost in
consequence of the error of our pilots, who were deceived in their
calculation, which they made forty leagues ahead of where we were.
This island is thirty leagues distant north and South from Cape Breton, and
in length is about fifteen leagues. It contains a small lake. The island is
very sandy, and there are no trees at all of considerable size, only copse
and herbage, which serve as pasturage for the bullocks and cows, which the
Portuguese carried there more than sixty years ago, and which were very
serviceable to the party of the Marquis de la Roche. The latter, during
their sojourn of several years there, captured a large number of very fine
black foxes, [19] whose skins they carefully preserved. There are many
sea-wolves [20] there, with the skins of which they clothed themselves
since they had exhausted their own stock of garments. By order of the
Parliamentary Court of Rouen, a vessel was sent there to recover them. [21]
The directors of the enterprise caught codfish near the island, the
neighborhood of which abounds in shoals.
On the 8th of the same month, we sighted Cap de la Hève, [22] to the east
of which is a bay, containing several islands covered with fir-trees. On
the main land are oaks, elms, and birches. It joins the coast of La Cadie
at the latitude of 44° 5', and at 16° 15' of the deflection of the magnetic
needle, distant east-north-east eighty-five leagues from Cape Breton, of
which we shall speak hereafter.
On the 12th of May, we entered another port, [23] five leagues
from Cap de la Hève, where we captured a vessel engaged
in the fur-trade in violation of the king's prohibition. The
master's name was Rossignol, whose name the port retained,
which is in latitude 44° 15'.
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
PORT DE LA HÈVE.
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. The place where vessels anchor.
_B_. A small river dry at low tide.
_C_. Places where the savages have their cabins.[Note: The letter C is
wanting, but the location of the cabins is obvious.]
_D_. Shoal at the entrance of the harbor. [Note: The letter D is also
wanting, but the figures sufficiently indicate the depth of the
water.]
_E_. A small island covered with wood. [Note: The letter E appears twice by
mistake.]
_F_. Cape de la Hève [Note: The letter F is likewise wanting. It has been
supposed to be represented by one of the E's on the small island, but
Cap de la Hève, to which it refers, was not on this island, but on the
main land. The F should have been, we think, on the west of the
harbor, where the elevation is indicated on the map. _Vide_ note 22.]
* * * * *
On the 13th of May, we arrived at a very fine harbor, where there are two
little streams, called Port au Mouton, [24] which is seven leagues distant
from that of Rossignol. The land is very stony, and covered with copse and
heath. There are a great many rabbits, and a quantity of game in
consequence of the ponds there.
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
PORT DU ROSSIGNOL.
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. A river extending twenty-five leagues inland.
_B_. The place where vessels anchor.
_C_. Place on the main land where the savages have their dwellings.
_D_. Roadstead where vessels anchor while waiting for the tide.
_E_. Place on the island where the savages have their cabins.
_F_. Channel dry at low tide.
_G_. Shore of the main land. The dotted places indicate the shoals.
NOTE. It would seem as if in the title Rossynol, on the map, the two dots
on the _y_ instead of the _n_ were placed there by mistake.
* * * * *
As Soon as we had disembarked, each one commenced making huts after his
fashion, on a point at the entrance of the harbor near two fresh-water
ponds. Sieur de Monts at the Same time despatched a shallop, in which he
sent one of us, with some savages as guides as bearers of letters, along
the coast of La Cadie, to search for Pont Gravé, who had a portion of the
necessary supplies for our winter sojourn. The latter was found at the Bay
of All-Isles, [25] very anxious about us (for he knew nothing of the change
of plan); and the letters were handed to him. As soon as be had read them,
he returned to his ship at Canseau, where he seized some Basque vessels
[26] engaged in the fur-trade, notwithstanding the prohibition of his
Majesty, and sent their masters to Sieur de Monts, who meanwhile charged me
to reconnoitre the coast and the harbors suitable for the secure reception
of our vessel.
With the purpose of carrying out his wishes, I set out from Port Mouton on
the 19th of May, in a barque of eight tons, accompanied by Sieur Ralleau,
his secretary, and ten men. Advancing along the coast, we entered a harbor
very convenient for vessels, at the end of which is a small river,
extending very far into the main land. This I called the Port of Cape
Negro, [27] from a rock whose distant view resembles a negro, which rises
out of the water near a cape passed by us the same day, four leagues off
and ten from Port Mouton. This cape is very dangerous, on account of the
rocks running out into the sea. The shores which I saw, up to that point,
are very low, and covered with such wood as that seen at the Cap de la
Hève; and the islands are all filled with game. Going farther on, we passed
the night at Sable Bay, [28] where vessels can anchor without any danger.
The next day we went to Cape Sable, [29] also very dangerous, in
consequence of certain rocks and reefs extending almost a league into the
sea. It is two leagues from Sable Bay, where we had spent the night before.
Thence we went to Cormorant Island, [30] a league distant, so called from
the infinite number of cormorants found there, of whose eggs we collected a
cask full. From this island, we sailed westerly about six leagues, crossing
a bay, which makes up to the north two or three leagues. Then we fell in
with several islands [31] distant two or three leagues from the main land;
and, as well as I could judge, some of them were two leagues in extent,
others three, and others were still smaller. Most of them are very
dangerous for large vessels to approach, on account of the tides and the
rocks on a level with the water. These islands are filled with pines, firs,
birches, and aspens. A little farther out, there are four more. In one, we
saw so great a quantity of birds, called penguins, [32] that we killed them
easily with sticks. On another, we found the shore completely covered with
sea-wolves, [33] of which we captured as many as we wished. At the two
others there is such an abundance of birds of different sorts that one
could not imagine it, if he had not seen them. There are cormorants, three
kinds of duck, geese, _marmettes?_, bustards, sea-parrots, snipe, vultures,
and other birds of prey; gulls, sea-larks of two or three kinds; herons,
large sea-gulls, curlews, sea-magpies, divers, ospreys, _appoils?_, ravens,
cranes, and other sorts which I am not acquainted with, and which also make
their nests here. [34] We named these Sea-Wolf Islands. They are in
latitude 43° 30', distant from four to five leagues from the main land, or
Cape Sable. After spending pleasantly some time there in hunting (and not
without capturing much game), we set out and reached a cape, [35] which we
christened Port Fourchu from its being fork-shaped, distant from five to
six leagues from the Sea-Wolf Islands. This harbor is very convenient for
vessels at its entrance; but its remoter part is entirely dry at low tide,
except the channel of a little stream, completely bordered by meadows,
which make this spot very pleasant. There is good codfishing near the
harbor. Departing from there, we sailed north ten or twelve leagues without
finding any harbor for our vessels, but a number of very fine inlets or
shores, where the soil seems to be well adapted for cultivation. The woods
are exceedingly fine here, but there are few pines and firs. This coast is
clear, without islands, rocks, or shoals; so that, in our judgment, vessels
can securely go there. Being distant quarter of a league from the coast, we
went to an island called Long Island, [36] lying north-north-east and
south-south-west, which makes an opening into the great Baye Françoise,
[37] so named by Sieur de Monts.
This island is six leagues long, and nearly a league broad in some places,
in others only quarter of a league. It is covered with an abundance of
wood, such as pines and birch. All the coast is bordered by very dangerous
rocks; and there is no place at all favorable for vessels, only little
inlets for shallops at the extremity of the island, and three or four small
rocky islands, where the savages capture many sea-wolves. There are strong
tides, especially at the little passage [38] of the island, which is very
dangerous for vessels running the risk of passing through it.
From Long Island passage, we sailed north-east two leagues, when we found a
cove [39] where vessels can anchor in safety, and which is quarter of a
league or thereabouts in circuit. The bottom is all mire, and the
surrounding land is bordered by very high rocks. In this place there is a
very good silver mine, according to the report of the miner, Master Simon,
who accompanied me. Some leagues farther on there is a little stream called
river Boulay [40] where the tide rises half a league into the land, at the
mouth of which vessels of a hundred tons can easily ride at anchor. Quarter
of a league from here there is a good harbor for vessels, where we found an
iron mine, which our miner estimated would yield fifty per cent [41]
Advancing three leagues farther on to the northeast [42] we saw another
very good iron mine, near which is a river surrounded by beautiful and
attractive meadows. The neighboring soil is red as blood. Some leagues
farther on there is still another river, [43] dry at low tide, except in
its very small channel, and which extends near to Port Royal. At the
extremity of this bay is a channel, also dry at low tide [44] surrounding
which are a number of pastures and good pieces of land for cultivation,
where there are nevertheless great numbers of fine trees of all the kinds
previously mentioned. The distance from Long Island to the end of this bay
may be some six leagues. The entire coast of the mines is very high,
intersected by capes, which appear round, extending out a short distance.
On the other side of the bay, on the south-east, the land is low and good,
where there is a very good harbor, having a bank at its entrance over which
it is necessary to pass. On this bar there is a fathom and a half of water
at low tide; but after passing it you find three, with good bottom. Between
the two points of the harbor there is a pebbly islet, covered at full
tide. This place extends half a league inland. The tide falls here three
fathoms, and there are many shell-fish, such as muscles, cockles, and
sea-snails. The soil is as good as any that I have seen. I named this
harbor Saint Margaret. [45] This entire south-east coast is much lower than
that of the mines, which is only a league and a half from the coast of
Saint Margaret, being Separated by the breadth of the bay, [46] which is
three leagues at its entrance. I took the altitude at this place, and found
the latitude 45° 30', and a little more,[47] the deflection of the magnetic
needle being 17° 16'.
After having explored as particularly as I could the coasts, ports, and
harbors, I returned, without advancing any farther, to Long Island passage,
whence I went back outside of all the islands in order to observe whether
there was any danger at all on the water side. But we found none whatever,
except there were some rocks about half a league from Sea-Wolf Islands,
which, however, can be easily avoided, since the sea breaks over them.
Continuing our voyage, we were overtaken by a violent wind, which obliged
us to run our barque ashore, where we were in danger of losing her, which
would have caused us extreme perplexity. The tempest having ceased, we
resumed the sea, and the next day reached Port Mouton, where Sieur de Monts
was awaiting us from day to day, thinking only of our long stay, [48] and
whether some accident had not befallen us. I made a report to him of our
voyage, and where our vessels might go in Safety. Meanwhile, I observed
very particularly that place which is in latitude 44°.
The next day Sieur de Monts gave orders to weigh anchor and proceed to the
Bay of Saint Mary, [49] a place which we had found to be Suitable for our
vessel to remain in, until we should be able to find one more advantageous.
Coasting along, we passed near Cape Sable and the Sea-Wolf Islands, whither
Sieur de Monts decided to go in a shallop, and see some islands of which we
had made a report to him, as also of the countless number of birds found
there. Accordingly, he set out, accompanied by Sieur de Poutrincourt, and
several other noblemen, with the intention of going to Penguin Island,
where we had previously killed with sticks a large number of these
birds. Being somewhat distant from our ship, it was beyond our power to
reach it, and still less to reach our vessel; for the tide was so strong
that we were compelled to put in at a little island to pass the night,
where there was much game. I killed there some river-birds, which were very
acceptable to us, especially as we had taken only a few biscuits, expecting
to return the same day. The next day we reached Cape Fourchu, distant half
a league from there. Coasting along, we found our vessel in the Bay of
Saint Mary. Our company were very anxious about us for two days, fearing
lest some misfortune had befallen us; but, when they saw us all safe, they
were much rejoiced.
Two or three days after our arrival, one of our priests, named Mesire Aubry
[50] from Paris, got lost so completely in the woods while going after his
sword, which he had forgotten, that he could not find the vessel. And he
was thus seventeen days without any thing to subsist upon except some sour
and bitter plants like the sorrel, and some small fruit of little substance
large as currants, which creep upon the ground. [51] Being at his wits'
end, without hope of ever seeing us again, weak and feeble, he found
himself on the shore of Baye Françoise, thus named by Sieur de Monts, near
Long Island, [52] where his strength gave out, when one of our shallops out
fishing discovered him. Not being able to shout to them, he made a sign
with a pole, on the end of which he had put his hat, that they should go
and get him. This they did at once, and brought him off. Sieur de Monts had
caused a search to be made not only by his own men, but also by the savages
of those parts, who scoured all the woods, but brought back no intelligence
of him. Believing him to be dead, they all saw him coming back in the
shallop to their great delight. A long time was needed to restore him to
his usual strength.
ENDNOTES:
14. _Vide Commission du Roy au Sieur de Monts, pour l'habitation és terres
de la Cadie, Canada, et autres endroits en la Nouvelle-France_,
Histoire de a Nouvelle-France, par Marc Lescarbot, Paris, 1612, Qvat.
Liv. p. 431. This charter may also be found in English in a _Collection
of Voyages and Travels compiled from the Library of the Earl of Oxford,
by Thomas Osborne_, London, 1745, Vol. II. pp. 796-798; also in
_Murdoch's History of Nova Scotia_, Halifax, 1865, Vol. I. pp. 21-24.
15. The second officer, or pilot, was, according to Lescarbot, Captain
Morel, of Honfleur.
16. This was under the direction of De Monts himself; and Captain Timothée,
of Havre de Grâce, was pilot, or the second officer.
17. Lescarbot writes this name Campseau; Champlain's orthography is
Canceau; the English often write Canso, but more correctly Canseau. It
has been derived from _Cansoke_, an Indian word, meaning _facing the
frowning cliffs_.
18. The Cape and Island of Cape Breton appear to have taken their name from
the fisherman of Brittany, who frequented that region as early as 1504
--_Vide Champlain's Voyages_, Paris 1632, p. 9.
Thévet sailed along the coast in 1556, and is quoted by Laverdière, as
follows: "In this land there is a province called Compestre de Berge,
extending towards the south-east: in the eastern part of the same is
the cape or promontory of Lorraine, called so by us; others have given
it the came of the Cape of the Bretons, since the Bretons, the
Bisayans, and Normans repair thither, and coast along on their way to
Newfoundland to fish for codfish."
An inscription, "_tera que soy descuberta per pertonnes_," on an Old
Portuguese map of 1520, declares it to be a country discovered by the
Bretons. It is undoubtedly the oldest French name on any part of North
America. On Gastaldo's map in Mattiolo's Italian translation of
Ptolemy, 1548, the name of Breton is applied both to Nova Scotia and to
the Island of Cape Breton.
19. Winthrop says that Mr. John Rose, who was cast away on Sable Island
about 1633, "saw about eight hundred cattle, small and great, all red,
and the largest he ever saw: and many foxes, wherof some perfect
black."--_Whinthrop's Hist. New Eng._, Boston, 1853, Vol. I. p. 193.
Champlain doubtless obtained his information in regard to the cattle
left upon Sable Island by the Portuguese from the from the report of
Edward Haies on the voyage of Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1583:
"Sablon lieth to the seaward of Cape Briton about twenty-five leagues,
whither we were determined to goe vpon intelligence we had of a
Portugal (during our abode in S. Johns) who was himselfe present, when
the Portugals (aboue thirty yeeres past) did put in the same Island
both Neat and Swine to breede, which were since exceedingly multiplied.
This seemed vnto vs very happy tidings, to haue in an Island lying so
neere vnto the maine, which we intended to plant vpon. Such store of
cattell, whereby we might at all times conueniently be relieued of
victuall, and serued of store for breed."--_Edward Haies in Hakluyt's
Voyages_, London, ed. 1810. Vol. III. p. 197.
20. "Loups marins," seals.
21. "The forty poor wretches whom he left on Sable Island found on the
seashore some wrecks of vessels, out of which they built barracks to
shield themselves from the severity of the weather. They were the
remains of Spanish vessels, which had sailed to settle Cape Breton.
From these same ships had come some sheep and cattle, which had
multiplied on Sable Island; and this was for some time a resource for
these poor exiles. Fish was their next food; and, when their clothes
were worn out, they made new ones of seal-skin. At last, after a lapse
of seven years, the king, having heard of their adventure, obliged
Chedotel, the pilot, to go for them; but he found only twelve, the rest
having died of their hardships. His majesty desired to see those, who
returned in the same guise as found by Chedotel, covered with
seal-skin, with their hair and beard of a length and disorder that made
them resemble the pretended river-gods, and so disfigured as to inspire
horror. The king gave them fifty crowns apiece, and sent them home
released from all process of law."--_Shea's Charlevoix_, New York,
1866, Vol. I. p. 244. See also _Sir William Alexander and American
Colonization_, Prince Society, 1873, p. 174; _Murdoch's Nova Scotia_,
Vol. I. p. 11; _Hakluyt_, Vol. II. pp. 679. 697.
22. This cape still bears the same name, and is the western point of the
bay at the mouth of a river, likewise of the same name, in the county
of Lunenberg, Nova Scotia. It is an abrupt cliff, rising up one hundred
and fifty feet above the level of the sea. It could therefore be seen
at a great distance, and appears to have been the first land sighted by
them on the coast of La Cadie. A little north of Havre de Grâce, in
Normandy, the port from which De Monts and Champlain had sailed, is to
be seen the high, commanding, rocky bluff, known as _Cap de la Hève_.
The place which they first sighted, similar at least in some respects,
they evidently named after this bold and striking headland, which may,
perhaps, have been the last object which they saw on leaving the shores
of France. The word _Hève_ seems to have had a local meaning, as may be
inferred from the following excerpt: "A name, in Lower Normandy, for
cliffs hollowed out below, and where fishermen search for crabs."--
_Littré_. The harbor delineated on Champlain's local map is now called
Palmerston Bay, and is at the mouth of Petit River. The latitude of
this harbor is about 44° 15'. De Laet's description is fuller than that
of Champlain or Lescarbot.--_Vide Novus Orbis_, 1633, p. 51.
23. Liverpool, which for a long time bore the name of Port Rossignol; the
lake at the head of the river, about ten miles long and two or three
wide, the largest in Nova Scotia, still bears that appellation. The
latitude is 44° 2' 30".
24. "Lequel ils appelèrent _Le Port du Mouton_, à l'occasion d'un mouton
qui s'estant nové revint à bord, et fut mangé de bonne guerre."--
_Histoire de la Nouvelle-France_, par Marc Lescarbot, Paris, 1612,
Qvat. Liv. p. 449. It still bears the name of Port Mouton, and an
island in the bay is called Mouton Island.
25. _Baye de Toutes-isles_. Lescarbot calls it "La Baye des Iles:" and
Charlevoix, "Baye de toutes les Isles." It was the bay, or rather the
waters, that stretch along the shores of Halifax County, between Owl's
Head and Liscomb River.
26. The confiscated provisions taken in the vessels of the Basque
fur-traders and in that of Rossignol were, according to Lescarbot,
found very useful. De Monts had given timely notice of his monopoly;
and, whether it had reached them or not, they were doubtless wrong in
law. Although De Monts treated them with gentleness, nevertheless it is
not unlikely that a compromise would have been better policy than an
entire confiscation of their property, as these Basques afterwards, on
their return to France, gave him serious inconvenience. They were
instrumental mainly in wresting from him his charter of La Cadie.
27. _Le Port du Cap Negré_. This port still bears the name of Negro
Harbor. It is situated at the mouth of the Clyde, the small river
referred to in the text.
28. Near Cape Sable Island, at what is now known as Barrington Harbor.
29. This is still called Cape Sable, and is the southern point of Sable
Island, or, more properly, the cluster of rock, and islets that
surround its southern extremity.
30. _Isle aux Cormorans_. It is difficult to distinguish with certainty the
island here referred to, but it was probably Hope Island, as this lies
directly in their way in crossing the bay, six leagues wide, which is
now known as Townsend Bay. The bird here mentioned was the common
cormorant. _Graculus carbo_, of a glossy greenish-black color, back and
wings bronzy-gray; about three feet in length, and is common on our
northern Atlantic coast: eminently gregarious, particularly in the
breeding season, congregating in vast flocks. At the present time, it
breeds in great numbers in Labrador and Newfoundland, and in the winter
migrates as far south as the Middle States. They feed principally upon
fish, lay commonly two eggs, of a pale greenish color, overlaid with a
white chalky substance.--_Vide Cones's Key to Nor. Am. Birds_. Boston,
1872. p. 302.
31. A cluster of islands now known as the Tousquet or Tusket Islands.
Further on, Champlain says they named them _Isles aux loups marins_.
Sea-Wolf Islands. About five leagues south of them is an island now
called Seal Island. The four more which he saw a little further on were
probably in Townsend Bay.
32. This is the Auk, family _Alcidae_, and must not be confounded with the
penguin of the southern hemisphere, although it is described by the
early navigators of the Northern Atlantic under that appellation. In
Anthony Parkhurst's letter to Hakluyt, 1578, he says: "These birds are
also called Penguins, and cannot flie, there is more meate in one of
these then in a goose: the Frenchmen that fish neere the grand baie, do
bring small store of flesh with them, but victuall themselves alwayes
with these birds."--_Hakluyt_, London, ed. 1810, Vol. III. p. 172.
Edward Haies, in his report of the voyage of Sir Humphrey Gilbert in
1583, say's: "We had sight of an Island named Penguin, of a foule there
breeding in abundance, almost incredible, which cannot flie, their
wings not able to carry their body, being very large (not much lesse
then a goose), and exceeding fat: which the Frenchmen use to take
without difficulty upon that Island, and to barrell them up with salt."
_Idem_, p. 191.
The Auk is confined to the northern hemisphere, where it represents the
penguins of the southern. Several species occur in the Northern
Atlantic in almost incredible numbers: they are all marine, feed on
fish and other animal substances exclusively, and lay from one to three
eggs on the bare rocks. Those seen by Champlain and other early
navigators were the Great Auk. _Alca impennis_, now nearly extinct. It
was formerly found on the coast of New England, as is proved not only
by the testimony of the primitive explorers, but by the remains found
in shell-heaps. The latest discovery was of one found dead near
St. Augustine, in Labrador, in 1870. A specimen of the Great Auk is
preserved in the Cambridge Museum.--_Vide Coues's Key to North Am.
Birds_, Boston, 1872. p. 338.
33. The sea-wolf or _loup marin_ of Champlain is the marine mammiferous
quadruped of the family Phocidae, known as the seal. Sea-wolf was a
name applied to it by the early navigators.--_Vide Purchas's Pilgrims_,
London, 1625. Vol. IV. p. 1385. Those here mentioned were the common
seal, _Phoca vitulina_, which are still found on the coasts of Nova
Scotia, vulgarly known as the harbor seal. They are thinly distributed
as far south as Long Island Sound, but are found in great numbers in
the waters of Labrador and Newfoundland, where they are taken for the
oil obtained from them, and for the skins, which are used for various
purposes in the arts.
34. The names given to these birds were such, doubtless, as were known to
belong to birds similar in color, size, and figure in Europe. Some of
them were probably misapplied. The name alone is not sufficient for
identification.
35. This cape, near the entrance to Yarmouth, still bears the same name,
from _fourchu_, forked. On a map of 1755, it is called Forked Cape, and
near it is Fork Ledge and Forked Harbor.--_Memorials of English and
French Commissaries_, London, 1755.
36. It still retains the name given to it by Champlain. It forms a part of
the western limit of St. Mary's Bay, and a line drawn from it to the
St. Croix, cutting the Grand Manan, would mark the entrance of the Bay
of Fundy.
37. The Bay of Fundy was thus first named "Baye Françoise" by De Monts, and
continued to be so called, as will appear by reference to the early
maps, as that of De Laet, 1633; Charlevoix, 1744; Rouge, 1778. It first
appears distinctly on the carte of Diego Homem of 1558, but without
name. On Cabot's Mappe-Monde, in "Monuments de la Géographie," we find
_rio fondo_, which may represent the Bay of Fundy, and may have
suggested the name adopted by the English, which it still retains. Sir
William Alexander's map, 1624, has Argal's Bay; Moll's map, 1712, has
Fundi Bay; that of the English and French Commissaries, 1755, has Bay
of Fundy, or Argal.
38. This strait, known by the name Petit Passage, separates Long Island
from Digby Neck.
39. A place called Little River, on Digby Neck.
40. Now known as Sandy Cove.
41. Lescarbot says of this iron mine, and of the silver mine above, that
they were proved not to be abundant.
42. This was probably near Rossway.
43. This was clearly Smith Creek or Smelt River, which rises near Annapolis
Basin, or the Port Royal Basin of the French.
44. He here doubtless refers to North Creek, at the north-eastern extremity
of St. Mary's Bay.
45. Now Weymouth Harbor, on the south-eastern shore of St. Mary's Bay, at
the mouth of Sissibou River, and directly opposite Sandy Cove, near the
iron mine mentioned above.
46. The distance across the bay at this point, as here stated, is nearly
accurate.
47. This is clearly a mistake; the true latitude at the Petit Passage is
44° 23'. It may here be remarked that Champlain's latitudes are very
inaccurate, often varying more than half a degree; doubtless owing to
the imperfection of the instruments which were employed in taking them.
48. They had been occupied in this exploration about three weeks, Lescarbot
says a month, but this is an overstatement. By a careful examination of
the text, it will appear that they departed from Port Mouton on the
19th of May, and that several days after their return, not less than
nine, they were again in St. Mary's Bay, on the 16th of June. They had
been absent, therefore, about twenty-one days. The latitude of Port
Mouton, stated a little below to be 44°, is in fact 43° 57'.
49. This bay, still retaining its ancient appellation, was so named by
Champlain on his first visit. "Ceste baye fut nommée la baye Saincte
Marie."--_Champlain's Voyages_, 1632, Quebec ed., Vol. V. p. 716.
50. Nicholas Aubry, a young Parisian of good family, "vn certain homme
d'Église," as Lescarbot says, probably not long in holy orders, had
undertaken this voyage with De Monts to gratify his desire to see the
New World, though quite against the wishes of his friends, who had sent
in vain to Honfleur to prevent his embarkation. After the search made
by De Monts, with the sounding of trumpets and the discharge of cannon,
they left St. Mary's Bay, having given up all expectation of his
recovery. Some two weeks afterward, an expedition was Sent out to
St. Mary's Bay, conducted by De Champdoré, an experienced pilot, with a
mineralogist, to search for silver and iron ore. While Some of the
party were on a fishing excursion, they rescued him, as stated in the
text. The safe return of the young and too venturesome ecclesiastic
gave great relief to De Monts, as Lescarbot says a Protestant was
charged to have killed him, because they quarrelled sometimes about
their religion.--_Vide Histoire de Nouvelle-France_, par Mare
Lescarbot, Paris, 1612, Qvat. Liv. p. 453.
51. The partridge-berry, Mitchella, a trailing evergreen, bearing scarlet
berries, edible but nearly tasteless, which remain through the winter.
It is peculiar to America, and this is probably the first time it was
noticed by any historical writer.
52. He was on the western side of Digby Neck, at its southern extremity,
near the Petit Passage on the shore of the Bay of Fundy.
CHAPTER III.
DESCRIPTION OF PORT ROYAL AND THE PECULIARITIES OF THE SAME.--ISLE HAUTE.--
PORT OF MINES.--BAYE FRANÇOISE.-THE RIVER ST. JOHN, AND WHAT WE OBSERVED
BETWEEN THE PORT OF MINES AND THE SAME.--THE ISLAND CALLED BY THE SAVAGES
MANTHANE.--THE RIVER OF THE ETECHEMINS, AND SEVERAL FINE ISLANDS THERE.--
ST. CROIX ISLAND, AND OTHER NOTEWORTHY OBJECTS ON THIS COAST.
Some days after, Sieur de Monts decided to go and examine the coasts of
Baye Françoise. For this purpose, he set out from the vessel on the 16th of
May,[53] and we went through the strait of Long Island.[54] Not having
found in St. Mary's Bay any place in which to fortify ourselves except at
the cost of much time, we accordingly resolved to see whether there might
not be a more favorable one in the other bay. Heading north-east six
leagues, there is a cove where vessels can anchor in four, five, six, and
seven fathoms of water. The bottom is sandy. This place is only a kind of
roadstead.[55] Continuing two leagues farther on in the same direction, we
entered one of the finest harbors I had seen along all these coasts, in
which two thousand vessels might lie in security. The entrance is eight
hundred paces broad; then you enter a harbor two leagues long and one
broad, which I have named Port Royal.[56] Three rivers empty into it, one
of which is very large, extending eastward, and called Rivière de
l'Équille,[57] from a little fish of the size of an _esplan?_, which is
caught there in large numbers, as is also the herring, and several other
kinds of fish found in abundance in their season. This river is nearly a
quarter of a league broad at its entrance, where there is an island [58]
perhaps half a league in circuit, and covered with wood like all the rest
of the country, as pines, firs, spruces, birches, aspens, and some oaks,
although the latter are found in small numbers in comparison with the other
kinds. There are two entrances to the above river, one on the north, the
other on the south side of the island. That on the north is the better, and
vessels can there anchor under shelter of the island in five, six, seven,
eight, and nine fathoms. But it is necessary to be on one's guard against
some shallows near the island on the one side, and the main land on the
other, very dangerous, if one does not know the channel.
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
PORT AU MOUTON.
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. Place where vessels lie.
_B_. Place where we made our camp.
_C_. A pond.
_D_. An island at the entrance to the harbor, covered with wood.
_E_. A river very shallow.
_F_. A pond.
_G_. A very large brook coming from the pond F.
_H_. Six little islands in the harbor.
_L_. Country, containing only copse and heath of very small size.
_M_. Sea-shore.
NOTE.--The wanting letter L should probably be placed where the trees are
represented as very small, between the letters B and the island F.
* * * * *
We ascended the river some fourteen or fifteen leagues, where the tide
rises, and it is not navigable much farther. It has there a breadth of
sixty paces, and about a fathom and a half of water. The country bordering
the river is filled with numerous oaks, ashes, and other trees. Between the
mouth of the river and the point to which we ascended there are many
meadows, which are flooded at the spring tides, many little streams
traversing them from one side to the other, through which shallops and
boats can go at full tide. This place was the most favorable and agreeable
for a settlement that we had seen. There is another island [59] within the
port, distant nearly two leagues from the former. At this point is another
little stream, extending a considerable distance inland, which we named
Rivière St. Antoine. [60] Its mouth is distant from the end of the Bay of
St. Mary some four leagues through the woods. The remaining river is only a
small stream filled with rocks, which cannot be ascended at all on account
of the small amount of water, and which has been named Rocky Brook. [61]
This place is in latitude [62] 45°; and 17° 8' of the deflection of the
magnetic needle.
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE MAP
PORT ROYAL
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. Our habitation. [Note: On the present site of Lower Granville.]
_B_. Garden of Sieur de Champlain.
_C_. Road through the woods that Sieur de Poutrincourt had made.
_D_. Island at the mouth of Équille River.
_E_. Entrance to Port Royal,
_F_. Shoals, dry at low tide.
_G_. River St. Antoine. [Note: The stream west of river St. Antoine is the
Jogging River.]
_H_. Place under cultivation for sowing wheat. [Note: The site of the
present town of Annapolis.]
_I_. Mill that Sieur de Poutrincourt had made.
_L_. Meadows overflowed at highest tides.
_M_. Équille River.
_N_. Seacoast of Port Royal.
_O_. Ranges of mountains.
_P_. Island near the river St. Antoine.
_Q_. Rocky Brook. [Footnote: Now called Deep Brook.]
_R_. Another brook. [Note: Morris River.]
_S_. Mill River. [Note: Allen River.]
_T_. Small lake.
_V_. Place where the savages catch herring in the season.
_X_. Trout brook. [Note: Trout Brook is now called Shäfer's Brook, and the
first on the west is Thorne's, and the second Scofield's Brook.]
_Y_. A lane that Sieur de Champlain had made.
* * * * *
After having explored this harbor, we set out to advance farther on in Baye
Françoise, and see whether we could not find the copper mine, [63] which
had been discovered the year before. Heading north-east, and sailing eight
or ten leagues along the coast of Port Royal,[64] we crossed a part of the
bay Some five or six leagues in extent, when we arrived at a place which we
called the Cape of Two Bays;[65] and we passed by an island a league
distant therefrom, a league also in circuit, rising up forty or forty-five
fathoms. [66] It is wholly surrounded by great rocks, except in one place
which is sloping, at the foot of which slope there is a pond of salt water,
coming from under a pebbly point, having the form of a spur. The surface of
the island is flat, covered with trees, and containing a fine spring of
water. In this place is a copper mine. Thence we proceeded to a harbor a
league and a half distant, where we supposed the copper mine was, which a
certain Prevert of St. Malo had discovered by aid of the savages of the
country. This port is in latitude 45° 40', and is dry at low tide. [67] In
order to enter it, it is necessary to place beacons, and mark out a
sand-bank at the entrance, which borders a channel that extends along the
main land. Then you enter a bay nearly a league in length, and half a
league in breadth. In some places, the bottom is oozy and sandy, where
vessels may get aground. The sea falls and rises there to the extent of
four or five fathoms. We landed to see whether we could find the mines
which Prevert had reported to us. Having gone about a quarter of a league
along certain mountains, we found none, nor did we recognize any
resemblance to the description of the harbor he had given us. Accordingly,
he had not himself been there, but probably two or three of his men had
been there, guided by some savages, partly by land and partly by little
streams, while he awaited them in his shallop at the mouth of a little
river in the Bay of St. Lawrence.[68] These men, upon their return,
brought him several small pieces of copper, which he showed us when he
returned from his voyage. Nevertheless, we found in this harbor two mines
of what seemed to be copper according to the report of our miner, who
considered it very good, although it was not native copper.
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE MAP.
PORT DES MINES.
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. A place where vessels are liable to run aground.
_B_. A Small river.
_C_. A tongue of land composed of Sand.
_D_. A point composed of large pebbles, which is like a mole.
_E_. Location of a copper mine, which is covered by the tide twice a day.
_F_. An island to the rear of the Cape of Mines. [Note: Now called
Spencer's Island. Champlain probably obtained his knowledge of this
island at a subsequent visit. There is a creek extending from near
Spencer's Island between the rocky elevations to Advocate's Harbor, or
nearly so, which Champlain does not appear to have seen, or at least
he does not represent it on his map. This point, thus made an island
by the creek, has an elevation of five hundred feet, at the base of
which was the copper mine which they discovered.--_Vide_ note 67.]
_G_. Roadstead where vessels anchor while waiting for the tide.
_H_. Isle Haute, which is a league and a half from Port of Mines.
_I_. Channel.
_L_. Little River.
_M_. Range of mountains along the coast of the Cape of Mines.
* * * * *
The head [69] of the Baye Françoise, which we crossed, is fifteen leagues
inland. All the land which we have seen in coasting along from the little
passage of Long Island is rocky, and there is no place except Port Royal
where vessels can lie in Safety. The land is covered with pines and
birches, and, in my opinion, is not very good.
On the 20th of May,[70] we set out from the Port of Mines to seek a place
adapted for a permanent stay, in order to lose no time, purposing
afterwards to return, and see if we could discover the mine of pure copper
which Prevert's men had found by aid of the savages. We sailed west two
leagues as far as the cape of the two bays, then north five or six leagues;
and we crossed the other bay,[71] where we thought the copper mine was, of
which we have already spoken: inasmuch as there are there two rivers, [72]
the one coming from the direction of Cape Breton, and the other from Gaspé
or Tregatté, near the great river St. Lawrence. Sailing west some six
leagues, we arrived at a little river,[73] at the mouth of which is rather
a low cape, extending out into the sea; and a short distance inland there
is a mountain,[74] having the shape of a Cardinal's hat. In this place we
found an iron mine. There is anchorage here only for shallops. Four leagues
west south-west is a rocky point [75] extending out a short distance into
the water, where there are strong tides which are very dangerous. Near the
point we saw a cove about half a league in extent, in which we found
another iron mine, also very good. Four leagues farther on is a fine bay
running up into the main land;[76] at the extremity of which there are
three islands and a rock; two of which are a league from the cape towards
the west, and the other is at the mouth of the largest and deepest river we
had yet seen, which we named the river St. John, because it was on this
saint's day that we arrived there.[77] By the savages it is called
Ouygoudy. This river is dangerous, if one does not observe carefully
certain points and rocks on the two sides. It is narrow at its entrance,
and then becomes broader. A certain point being passed, it becomes narrower
again, and forms a kind of fall between two large cliffs, where the water
runs so rapidly that a piece of wood thrown in is drawn under and not seen
again. But by waiting till high tide you can pass this fall very easily.
[78] Then it expands again to the extent of about a league in some places,
where there are three islands. We did not explore it farther up.[79] But
Ralleau, secretary of Sieur de Monts, went there some time after to see a
savage named Secondon, chief of this river, who reported that it was
beautiful, large, and extensive, with many meadows and fine trees, as oaks,
beeches, walnut-trees, and also wild grapevines. The inhabitants of the
country go by this river to Tadoussac, on the great river St. Lawrence,
making but a short portage on the journey. From the river St. John to
Tadoussac is sixty-five leagues.[80] At its mouth, which is in latitude
45° 40', there is an iron mine.[81]
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
RIVIÈRE ST. JEHAN.
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. Three islands above the falls. [Note: The islands are not close
together as here represented. One is very near the main land on one
shore, and two on the other.]
_B_. Mountains rising up from the main land, two leagues south of the
river.
_C_. The fall in the river.
_D_. Shoals where vessels, when the tide is out, are liable to run aground.
_E_. Cabin where the savages fortify themselves.
_F_. A pebbly point where there is a cross.
_G_. An island at the entrance of the river. [Note: Partridge Island.]
_H_. A Small brook coming from a little pond. [Note: Mill Pond.]
_I_. Arm of the sea dry at low tide. [Note: Marsh Creek, very shallow but
not entirely dry at low tide.]
_L_. Two little rocky islets. [Note: These islets are not now represented
on the charts, and are probably rocks near the shore from which the
soil may have been washed away since 1604.]
_M_. A small pond.
_N_. Two brooks.
_O_. Very dangerous shoals along the coast, which are dry at low tide.
_P_. Way by which the savages carry their canoes in passing the falls.
_Q_. Place for anchoring where the river runs with full current.
* * * * *
From the river St. John we went to four islands, on one of which we landed,
and found great numbers of birds called magpies,[82] of which we captured
many small ones, which are as good as pigeons. Sieur de Poutrincourt came
near getting lost here, but he came back to our barque at last, when we had
already gone to search for him about the island, which is three leagues
distant from the main land. Farther west are other islands; among them one
six leagues in length, called by the savages Manthane,[83] south of which
there are among the islands several good harbors for vessels. From the
Magpie Islands we proceeded to a river on the main land called the river of
the Etechemins,[84] a tribe of savages so called in their country. We
passed by so many islands that we could not ascertain their number, which
were very fine. Some were two leagues in extent, others three, others more
or less. All of these islands are in a bay,[85] having, in my estimation, a
circuit of more than fifteen leagues. There are many good places capable of
containing any number of vessels, and abounding in fish in the season, such
as codfish, salmon, bass, herring, halibut, and other kinds in great
numbers. Sailing west-north-west three leagues through the islands, we
entered a river almost half a league in breadth at its mouth, sailing up
which a league or two we found two islands: one very small near the western
bank; and the other in the middle, having a circumference of perhaps eight
or nine hundred paces, with rocky sides three or four fathoms high all
around, except in one small place, where there is a sandy point and clayey
earth adapted for making brick and other useful articles. There is another
place affording a shelter for vessels from eighty to a hundred tons, but it
is dry at low tide. The island is covered with firs, birches, maples, and
oaks. It is by nature very well situated, except in one place, where for
about forty paces it is lower than elsewhere: this, however, is easily
fortified, the banks of the main land being distant on both sides some nine
hundred to a thousand paces. Vessels could pass up the river only at the
mercy of the cannon on this island, and we deemed the location the most
advantageous, not only on account of its situation and good foil, 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 the 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. This place was named by Sieur de Monts
the Island of St. Croix. [86] Farther on, there is a great bay, in which
are two islands, one high and the other flat; also three rivers, two of
moderate size, one extending towards the east, the other towards the north,
and the third of large size, towards the west. The latter is that of the
Etechemins, of which we spoke before. Two leagues up this there is a
waterfall, around which the savages carry their canoes some five hundred
paces by land, and then re-enter the river. Passing afterwards from the
river a short distance overland, one reaches the rivers Norumbegue and
St. John. But the falls are impassable for vessels, as there are only rocks
and but four or five feet of water.[87] In May and June, so great a number
of herring and bass are caught there that vessels could be loaded with
them. The soil is of the finest sort, and there are fifteen or twenty acres
of cleared land, where Sieur de Monts had some wheat sown, which flourished
finely. The savages come here sometimes five or six weeks during the
fishing Season. All the rest of the country consists of very dense forests.
If the land were cleared up, grain would flourish excellently. This place
is in latitude 45° 20',[88] and 17° 32' of the deflection of the magnetic
needle.
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
ISLE DE SAINTE CROIX.
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. A plan of our habitation.
_B_. Gardens.
_C_. Little islet serving as a platform for cannon. [Note: This refers to
the southern end of the island, which was probably separated at high
tide, where a cannon may be seen in position.]
_D_. Platform where cannon were placed.
_E_. The Cemetery.
_F_. The Chapel.
_G_. Rocky shoals about the Island Sainte Croix.
_H_. A little islet. [Note: Little De Monts's Island, Sometimes called
Little Dochet's Island.]
_I_. Place where Sieur de Monts had a water-mill commenced.
_L_. Place where we made our coal.
_M_. Gardens on the western shore.
_N_. Other gardens on the eastern shore.
_O_. Very large and high mountain on the main land. [Note: This "mountain"
is now called Chamcook Hill. Its height is 627 feet. At the northern
end of the island on the right there is an extensive sandy shoal, dry
at low tide, of a triangular shape as formerly, and has apparently
changed very little since the days of Champlain.]
_P_. River of the Etechemins flowing about the Island of St. Croix.
* * * * *
ENDNOTES:
53. For May read June. It could not have been in May, since Champlain Set
out from Port Mouton on his exploring expedition on the 19th of May,
which must have been a month previous to this.
54. What is now called the Petit Passage, the narrow strait between Long
Island and Digby Neck.
55. Gulliver's Hole, about two leagues south-west of Digby Strait.
56. Champlain here names the whole harbor or basin Port Royal, and not the
place of habitation afterward so called. The first settlement was on
the north side of the bay in the present hamlet of Lower Granville, not
as often alleged at Annapolis.--_Vide_ Champlain's engraving or map of
Port Royal.
57. "Équille." A name, on the coasts between Caen and Havre, of the fish
called lançon at Granville and St. Malo, a kind of malacopterygious
fish living on sandy shores and hiding in the sand at low tide.--
_Littré_. A species of sand eel. This stream is now known as the
Annapolis River. Lescarbot calls it Rivière du Dauphin.
58. This island is situated at the point where the Annapolis River flows
into the bay, or about nine miles from Digby, straight. Champlain on
his map gives it no name, but Lescarbot calls it Biencourville. It is
now called Goat Island.
59. Lescarbot calls it Claudiane. It is now known as Bear Island. It was
Sometimes called Ile d'Hébert, and likewise Imbert Island. Laverdière
suggests that the present name is derived from the French pronunciation
of the last syllable of Imbert.
60. At present known as Bear River; Lescarbot has it Hebert, and
Charlevoix, Imbert.
61. On modern maps called Moose River, and sometimes Deep Brook. It is a
few miles east of Bear River.
62. The latitude is here overstated: it should be 44° 39' 30".
63. On the preceding year, M. Prevert of St. Malo had made a glowing report
ostensively based on his own observations and information which he had
obtained from the Indians, in regard to certain mines alleged to exist
on the coast directly South of Northumberland Strait, and about the
head of the Bay of Fundy. It was this report of Prevert that induced
the present search.
64. Along the Bay of Fundy nearly parallel to the basin of Port Royal would
better express the author's meaning.
65. Cape Chignecto, the point where the Bay of Fundy is bifurcated; the
northern arm forming Chignecto Bay, and the southern, the Bay of Mines
or Minas Basin.
66. Isle Haute, or high island.--_Vide Charlevoix's Map_. On Some maps this
name has been strangely perverted into Isle Holt, Isle Har, &c. Its
height is 320 feet.
67. This was Advocate's Harbor. Its distance from Cape Chignecto is greater
than that stated in the text. Further on, Champlain calls it two
leagues, which is nearly correct. Its latitude is about 45° 20'. By
comparing the Admiralty charts and Champlain's map of this harbor, it
will be seen that important changes have taken place since 1604. The
tongue of land extending in a south-easterly direction, covered with
trees and shrubbery, which Champlain calls a sand-bank, has entirely
disappeared. The ordinary tides rise here from thirty-three to
thirty-nine feet, and on a sandy shore could hardly fail to produce
important changes.
68. According to the Abbé Laverdière, the lower part of the Gulf was
sometimes called the Bay of St. Lawrence.
69. They had just crossed the Bay of Mines. From the place where they
crossed it to its head it is not far from fifteen leagues, and it is
about the same distance to Port Royal, from which he may here estimate
the distance inland.
70. Read June.--_Vide antea_, note 53.
71. Chignecto Bay. Charlevoix has Chignitou _ou Beau Bassin_. On De Laet's
Map of 1633, on Jacob von Meur's of 1673, and Homenn's of 1729, we have
B. de Gennes. The Cape of Two Bays was Cape Chignecto.
72. The rivers are the Cumberland Basin with its tributaries coming from
the east, and the Petitcoudiac (_petit_ and _coude_, little elbow, from
the angle formed by the river at Moncton, called the Bend), which flows
into Shepody Bay coming from the north or the direction of Gaspé.
Champlain mentions all these particulars, probably as answering to the
description given to them by M. Prevert of the place where copper mines
could be found.
73. Quaco River, at the mouth of which the water is shallow: the low cape
extending out into the sea is that on which Quaco Light now stands,
which reaches out quarter of a mile, and is comparatively low. The
shore from Goose River, near where they made the coast, is very high,
measuring at different points 783, 735, 650, 400, 300, 500, and 380
feet, while the "low cape" is only 250 feet, and near it on the west is
an elevation of 400 feet. It would be properly represented as "rather a
low cape" in contradistinction to the neighboring coast. Iron and
manganese are found here, and the latter has been mined to some extent,
but is now discontinued, as the expense is too great for the present
times.
74. This mountain is an elevation, eight or ten miles inland from Quaco,
which may be seen by vessels coasting along from St. Martin's Head to
St. John: it is indicated on the charts as Mt. Theobald, and bears a
striking resemblance, as Champlain suggests, to the _chapeau de
Cardinal_.
75. McCoy's Head, four leagues west of Quaco: the "cove" may be that on the
east into which Gardner's Creek flows, or that on the west at the mouth
of Emmerson's Creek.
76. The Bay of St. John, which is four leagues south-west of McCoy's
Head. The islands mentioned are Partridge Island at the mouth of the
harbor, and two smaller ones farther west, one Meogenes, and the other
Shag rock or some unimportant islet in its vicinity. The rock mentioned
by Champlain is that on which Spit Beacon Light now stands.
77. The festival of St. John the Baptist occurs on the 24th of June; and,
arriving on that day, they gave the name of St. John to the river,
which has been appropriately given also to the city at its mouth, now
the metropolis of the province of New Brunswick.
78. Champlain was under a missapprehension about passing the fall at the
mouth of the St. John at high tide. It can in fact only be passed at
about half tide. The waters of the river at low tide are about twelve
feet higher than the waters of the sea. At high tide, the waters of the
sea are about five feet higher than the waters of the river.
Consequently, at low tide there is a fall outward, and at high tide
there is a fall inward, at neither of which times can the fall be
passed. The only time for passing the fall is when the waters of the
sea are on a level with the waters of the river. This occurs twice
every tide, at the level point at the flood and likewise at the ebb.
The period for passing lasts about fifteen or twenty minutes, and of
course occurs four times a day. Vessels assemble in considerable
numbers above and below to embrace the opportunity of passing at the
favoring moment. There are periods, however, when the river is swollen
by rains and melting snow, at which the tides do not rise as high as
the river, and consequently there is a constant fall outward, and
vessels cannot pass until the high water subsides.
79. They ascended the river only a short distance into the large bay just
above the falls, near which are the three islands mentioned in the
text.
80. The distance from the mouth of the river St. John to Tadoussac in a
direct line is about sixty-five leagues. But by the winding course of
the St. John it would be very much greater.
81. Champlain's latitude is inexact. St. John's Harbor is 45° 16'.
82. _Margos_, magpies. The four islands which Champlain named the Magpies
are now called the Wolves, and are near the mouth of Passamaquoddy
Bay. Charlevoix has _Oiseaux_, the Birds.
83. Manan. Known as the Grand Manan in contradistinction to the Petit
Manan, a small island still further west. It is about fourteen or
fifteen miles long, and about six in its greatest width. On the south
and eastern side are Long Island, Great Duck, Ross, Cheyne, and White
Head Islands, among which good harborage may be found. The name, as
appears in the text, is of Indian origin. It is Sometimes Spelled
Menarse, but that in the text prevails.
84. The St. Croix River, sometimes called the Scoudic.
85. Passsmaquoddy Bay. On Gastaldo's map of 1550 called Angoulesme. On
Rouge's "Atlas Ameriquain," 1778, it is written Passamacadie.
86. The Holy Cross, _Saincte Croix_, This name was suggested by the
circumstance that, a few miles above the island, two streams flow into
the main channel of the river at the same place, one from the east and
the other from the west, while a bay makes up between them, presenting
the appearance of a cross.
"Et d'autant qu'à deux lieues au dessus il y a des ruisseaux qui
viennent comme en croix de décharger dans ce large bras de mer, cette
île de la retraite des François fut appelée SAINCTE CROIX."--_His.
Nouvelle France_ par Lescarbot, Paris. 1612, Qvat Liv. pp. 461, 462.
It is now called De Monts's Island. It has been called Dochet's Island
and Neutral Island, but there is great appropriateness in calling it
after its first occupant and proprietor, and in honor of him it has
been so named with suitable ceremonies.--_Vide Godfrey's Centennial
Discourse_, Bangor, 1870, p. 20. The United States maintain a light
upon the island, which is seventy-one feet above the level of the sea,
and is visible twelve nautical miles. The island itself is moderately
high, and in the widest part is one hundred and eighty paces or about
five hundred and forty feet. The area is probably not more than six or
seven acres, although it has been estimated at twice that. It may have
been diminished in some slight degree since the time of Champlain by
the action of the waves, but probably very little. On the southern
extremity of the island where De Monts placed his cannon, about
twenty-five years ago a workman in excavating threw out five small
cannon-balls, one of which was obtained by Peter E. Vose, Esq., of
Dennysville, Me., who then resided near the island, and was conversant
with all the circumstances of the discovery. They were about a foot and
a half below the surface, and the workman was excavating for another
purpose, and knew nothing of the history of the island. At our
solicitation, the ball belonging to Mr. Vose has recently been
presented to the New England Historic Genealogical Society, of which he
is a member. It is iron, perfectly round, two and a quarter inches in
diameter, and weighs 22 oz. avoirdupois. There can be no reasonable
doubt that these balls are relics of the little French colony of 1604,
and probably the only memorial of the kind now in existence.
87. The description in the text of the environs of the Island of St. Croix
is entirely accurate. Some distance above, and in view from the island,
is the fork, or Divide, as it is called. Here is a meeting of the
waters of Warwig Creek from the east, Oak Bay from the north, and the
river of the Etechemins, now called the St. Croix, from the west. These
are the three rivers mentioned by Champlain, Oak Bay being considered
as one of them, in which may be seen the two islands mentioned in the
text, one high and the other low. A little above Calais is the
waterfall, around which the Indians carried their bark canoes, when on
their journey up the river through the Scoudic lakes, from which by
land they reached the river St. John on the east, or, on the west,
passing through the Mettawamkeag, they reached the Norumbegue, or
Penobscot River.
88. The latitude of the Island of St. Croix is 45° 7' 43".
CHAPTER IV.
SIEUR DE MONTS, FINDING NO OTHER PLACE BETTER ADAPTED FOR A PERMANENT
SETTLEMENT THAN THE ISLAND OF ST. CROIX, FORTIFIES IT AND BUILDS
DWELLINGS.--RETURN OF THE VESSELS TO FRANCE, AND OF RALLEAU, SECRETARY OF
SIEUR DE MONTS, FOR THE SAKE OF ARRANGING SOME BUSINESS AFFAIRS.
Not finding any more suitable place than this island, we commenced making a
barricade on a little islet a short distance from the main island, which
served as a station for placing our cannon. All worked so energetically
that in a little while it was put in a state of defence, although the
mosquitoes (which are little flies) annoyed us excessively in our work.
For there were several of our men whose faces were so swollen by their
bites that they could scarcely see. The barricade being finished, Sieur de
Monts sent his barque to notify the rest of our party, who were with our
vessel in the bay of St. Mary, to come to St. Croix. This was promptly
done, and while awaiting them we spent our time very pleasantly.
Some days after, our vessels having arrived and anchored, all disembarked.
Then, without losing time, Sieur de Monts proceeded to employ the workmen
in building houses for our abode, and allowed me to determine the
arrangement of our settlement. After Sieur de Monts had determined the
place for the storehouse, which is nine fathoms long, three wide, and
twelve feet high, he adopted the plan for his own house, which he had
promptly built by good workmen, and then assigned to each one his location.
Straightway, the men began to gather together by fives and sixes, each
according to his desire. Then all set to work to clear up the island, to go
to the woods, to make the frame work, to carry earth and other things
necessary for the buildings.
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
HABITATION DE L'ISLE STE. CROIX.
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. Dwelling of Sieur de Monts.
_B_. Public building where we spent our time when it rained.
_C_. The storehouse.
_D_. Dwelling of the guard.
_E_. The blacksmith shop.
_F_. Dwelling of the carpenters.
_G_. The well.
_H_. The oven where the bread was made.
_I_. Kitchen.
_L_. Gardens.
_M_. Other gardens.
_N_. Place in the centre where a tree stands.
_O_. Palisade.
_P_. Dwellings of the Sieurs d'Orville, Champlain, and Champdoré.
_Q_. Dwelling of Sieur Boulay, and other artisans.
_R_. Dwelling where the Sieurs de Genestou, Sourin, and other artisans
lived.
_T_. Dwelling of the Sieurs de Beaumont, la Motte Bourioli, and Fougeray.
_V_. Dwelling of our curate.
_X_. Other gardens.
_Y_. The river surrounding the island.
* * * * *
While we were building our houses, Sieur de Monts despatched Captain
Fouques in the vessel of Rossignol, [89] to find Pont Gravé at Canseau, in
order to obtain for our settlement what supplies remained.
Some time after he had set out, there arrived a small barque of eight tons,
in which was Du Glas of Honfleur, pilot of Pont Grave's vessel, bringing
the Basque ship-masters, who had been captured by the above Pont Gravé [90]
while engaged in the fur-trade, as we have stated. Sieur de Monts received
them civilly, and sent them back by the above Du Glas to Pont Gravé, with
orders for him to take the vessels he had captured to Rochelle, in order
that justice might be done. Meanwhile, work on the houses went on
vigorously and without cessation; the carpenters engaged on the storehouse
and dwelling of Sieur de Monts, and the others each on his own house, as I
was on mine, which I built with the assistance of some servants belonging
to Sieur d'Orville and myself. It was forthwith completed, and Sieur de
Monts lodged in it until his own was finished. An oven was also made, and a
handmill for grinding our wheat, the working of which involved much trouble
and labor to the most of us, since it was a toilsome operation. Some
gardens were afterwards laid out, on the main land as well as on the
island. Here many kinds of seeds were planted, which flourished very well
on the main land, but not on the island, since there was only sand here,
and the whole were burned up when the sun shone, although special pains
were taken to water them.
Some days after, Sieur de Monts determined to ascertain where the mine of
pure copper was which we had searched for so much. With this object in
view, he despatched me together with a savage named Messamoüet, who
asserted that he knew the place well. I set out in a small barque of five
or six tons, with nine sailors. Some eight leagues from the island, towards
the river St. John, we found a mine of copper which was not pure, yet good
according to the report of the miner, who said that it would yield eighteen
per cent. Farther on we found others inferior to this. When we reached the
place where we supposed that was which we were hunting for, the savage
could not find it, so that it was necessary to come back, leaving the
search for another time.
Upon my return from this trip. Sieur de Monts resolved to send his vessels
back to France, and also Sieur de Poutrincourt, who had come only for his
pleasure, and to explore countries and places suitable for a colony, which
he desired to found; for which reason he asked Sieur de Monts for Port
Royal, which he gave him in accordance with the power and directions he had
received from the king. [91] He sent back also Ralleau, his secretary, to
arrange some matters concerning the voyage. They set out from the Island of
St. Croix the last day of August, 1604.
ENDNOTES:
89. This was the vessel taken from Captain Rossignol and confiscated.--
_Vide antea_, pp. 10, 12; also note 26.
90. Champlain and others often write only Pont for Pont Gravé. Lescarbot
says Gravé was his surname.--_Vide Histoire de la Nou. Fran_., Paris,
1612, Qvat. Liv. p. 501. To prevent any confusion, we write it Pont
Gravé in all cases.
91. De Monts's charter provided for the distribution of lands to colonists.
This gift to De Poutrincourt was confirmed afterwards by the king. We
may here remark that there is the usual discrepancy in the orthography
of this name. Lescarbot, De Laet, and Charlevoix write Poutrincourt. In
his Latin epitaph, _vide Murdoch's Nova Scotia_, Vol. I. p. 59, it is
Potrincurtius, while Champlain has Poitrincourt. In Poutrincourt's
letter to the Roman Pontiff, Paul V., written in Latin, he says, _Ego
Johannes de Biencour, vulgo De Povtrincovr a vitae religionis amator et
attestor perpetuus_, etc. This must be conclusive for Poutrincourt as
the proper orthography.--_Vide His. Nov. Fra._, par Lescarbot, Paris,
1612, p. 612.
CHAPTER V.
OF THE COAST, INHABITANTS, AND RIVER OF NORUMBEGUE, AND OF ALL THAT
OCCURRED DURING THE EXPLORATION OF THE LATTER.
After the departure of the vessels, Sieur de Monts, without losing time,
decided to send persons to make discoveries along the coast of Norumbegue;
and he intrusted me with this work, which I found very agreeable.
In order to execute this commission, I set out from St. Croix on the 2d of
September with a patache of seventeen or eighteen tons, twelve sailors, and
two savages, to serve us as guides to the places with which they were
acquainted. The same day we found the vessels where Sieur de Poutrincourt
was, which were anchored at the mouth of the river St. Croix in consequence
of bad weather, which place we could not leave before the 5th of the month.
Having gone two or three leagues seaward, so dense a fog arose that we at
once lost sight of their vessels. Continuing our course along the coast, we
made the same day some twenty-five leagues, and passed by a large number of
islands, banks, reefs, and rocks, which in places extend more than four
leagues out to Sea. We called the islands the Ranges, most of which are
covered with pines, firs, and other trees of an inferior sort. Among these
islands are many fine harbors, but undesirable for a permanent settlement.
The same day we passed also near to an island about four or five leagues
long, in the neighborhood of which we just escaped being lost on a little
rock on a level with the water, which made an opening in our barque near
the keel. From this island to the main land on the north, the distance is
less than a hundred paces. It is 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. The summit of the most of them is
destitute of trees, as there are only rocks on them. The woods consist of
pines, firs, and birches only. I named it Isle des Monts Déserts.[92] The
latitude is 44° 30'.
The next day, the 6th of the month, we sailed two leagues, and perceived a
smoke in a cove at the foot of the mountains above mentioned. We saw two
canoes rowed by savages, which came within musket range to observe us. I
sent our two savages in a boat to assure them of our friendship. Their fear
of us made them turn back. On the morning of the next day, they came
alongside of our barque and talked with our savages. I ordered some
biscuit, tobacco, and other trifles to be given them. These savages had
come beaver-hunting and to catch fish, some of which they gave us. Having
made an alliance with them, they guided us to their river of Pentegoüet,
[93] so called by them, where they told us was their captain, named
Bessabez, chief of this river. I think this river is that which several
pilots and historians call Norumbegue, [94] and which most have described
as large and extensive, with very many islands, its mouth being in latitude
43°, 43° 30', according to others in 44°, more or less. With regard to the
deflection, I have neither read, nor heard any one say any thing. It is
related also that there is a large, thickly settled town of savages, who
are adroit and skillful, and who have cotton yarn. I am confident that most
of those who mention it have not seen it, and speak of it because they have
heard persons say so, who knew no more about it than they themselves. I am
ready to believe that some may have seen the mouth of it, because there are
in reality many islands, and it is, as they say, in latitude 44° at its
entrance. But that any one has ever entered it there is no evidence, for
then they would have described it in another manner, in order to relieve
the minds of many of this doubt.
I will accordingly relate truly what I explored and saw, from the beginning
as far as I went.
In the first place, there are at its entrance several islands distant ten
or twelve leagues from the main land, which are in latitude 44°, and 18°
40' of the deflection of the magnetic needle. The Isle des Monts Déserts
forms one of the extremities of the mouth, on the east; the other is low
land, called by the savages Bedabedec, [95] to the west of the former, the
two being distant from each other nine or ten leagues. Almost midway
between these, out in the ocean, there is another island very high and
conspicuous, which on this account I have named Isle Haute. [96] All around
there is a vast number of varying extent and breadth, but the largest is
that of the Monts Déserts. Fishing as also hunting are very good here; the
fish are of various kinds. Some two or three leagues from the point of
Bedabedec, as you coast northward along the main land which extends up this
river, there are very high elevations of land, which in fair weather are
seen twelve or fifteen leagues out at Sea. [97] Passing to the South of the
Isle Haute, and coasting along the same for a quarter of a league, where
there are some reefs out of water, and heading to the west until you open
all the mountains northward of this island, you can be sure that, by
keeping in sight the eight or nine peaks of the Monts Déserts and
Bedabedec, you will cross the river Norumbegue; and in order to enter it
you must keep to the north, that is, towards the highest mountains of
Bedabedec, where you will see no islands before you, and can enter, sure of
having water enough, although you see a great many breakers, islands, and
rocks to the east and west of you. For greater security, one should keep
the sounding lead in hand. And my observations lead me to conclude that one
cannot enter this river in any other place except in small vessels or
shallops. For, as I stated above, there are numerous islands, rocks,
shoals, banks, and breakers on all sides, so that it is marvellous to
behold.
Now to resume our course: as one enters the river, there are beautiful
islands, which are very pleasant and contain fine meadows. We proceeded to
a place to which the savages guided us, where the river is not more than an
eighth of a league broad, and at a distance of some two hundred paces from
the western shore there is a rock on a level with the water, of a dangerous
character.[98] From here to the Isle Haute, it is fifteen leagues. From
this narrow place, where there is the least breadth that we had found,
after sailing some seven or eight leagues, we came to a little river near
which it was necessary to anchor, as we saw before us a great many rocks
which are uncovered at low tide, and since also, if we had desired to sail
farther, we could have gone scarcely half a league, in consequence of a
fall of water there coming down a slope of seven or eight feet, which I saw
as I went there in a canoe with our savages; and we found only water enough
for a canoe. But excepting the fall, which is some two hundred paces broad,
the river is beautiful, and unobstructed up to the place where we had
anchored. I landed to view the country, and, going on a-hunting excursion,
found it very pleasant so far as I went. The oaks here appear as if they
were planted for ornament. I saw only a few firs, but numerous pines on one
side of the river; on the other only oaks, and some copse wood which
extends far into the interior.[99] And I will state that from the entrance
to where we went, about twenty-five leagues, we saw no town, nor village,
nor the appearance of there having been one, but one or two cabins of the
savages without inhabitants. These were made in the same way as those of
the Souriquois, being covered with the bark of trees. So far as we could
judge, the savages on this river are few in number, and are called
Etechemins. Moreover, they only come to the islands, and that only during
some months in summer for fish and game, of which there is a great
quantity. They are a people who have no fixed abode, so far as I could
observe and learn from them. For they spend the winter now in one place and
now in another, according as they find the best hunting, by which they live
when urged by their daily needs, without laying up any thing for times of
scarcity, which are sometimes severe.
Now this river must of necessity be the Norumbegue; for, having coasted
along past it as far as the 41° of latitude, we have found no other on the
parallel above mentioned, except that of the Quinibequy, which is almost in
the same latitude, but not of great extent. Moreover, there cannot be in
any other place a river extending far into the interior of the country,
since the great river St. Lawrence washes the coast of La Cadie and
Norumbegue, and the distance from one to the other by land is not more than
forty-five leagues, or sixty at the widest point, as can be seen on my
geographical map.
Now I will drop this discussion to return to the savages who had conducted
me to the falls of the river Norumbegue, who went to notify Bessabez, their
chief, and other savages, who in turn proceeded to another little river to
inform their own, named Cabahis, and give him notice of our arrival.
The 16th of the month there came to us some thirty savages on assurances
given them by those who had served us as guides. There came also to us the
same day the above named Bessabez with six canoes. As soon as the savages
who were on land saw him coming, they all began to sing, dance, and jump,
until he had landed. Afterwards, they all seated themselves in a circle on
the ground, as is their custom, when they wish to celebrate a festivity, or
an harangue is to be made. Cabahis, the other chief, arrived also a little
later with twenty or thirty of his companions, who withdrew one side and
enjoyed greatly seeing us, as it was the first time they had seen
Christians. A little while after, I went on shore with two of my companions
and two of our savages who served as interpreters. I directed the men in
our barque to approach near the savages, and hold their arms in readiness
to do their duty in case they noticed any movement of these people against
us. Bessabez, seeing us on land, bade us sit down, and began to smoke with
his companions, as they usually do before an address. They presented us
with venison and game.
I directed our interpreter to say to our savages that they should cause
Bessabez, Cabahis, and their companions to understand that Sieur de Monts
had sent me to them to see them, and also their country, and that he
desired to preserve friendship with them and to reconcile them with their
enemies, the Souriquois and Canadians, and moreover that he desired to
inhabit their country and show them how to cultivate it, in order that they
might not continue to lead so miserable a life as they were doing, and some
other words on the same subject. This our savages interpreted to them, at
which they signified their great satisfaction, saying that no greater good
could come to them than to have our friendship, and that they desired to
live in peace with their enemies, and that we should dwell in their land,
in order that they might in future more than ever before engage in hunting
beavers, and give us a part of them in return for our providing them with
things which they wanted. After he had finished his discourse, I presented
them with hatchets, paternosters, caps, knives, and other little
knick-knacks, when we separated from each other. All the rest of this day
and the following night, until break of day, they did nothing but dance,
sing, and make merry, after which we traded for a certain number of
beavers. Then each party returned, Bessabez with his companions on the one
side, and we on the other, highly pleased at having made the acquaintance
of this people.
The 17th of the month I took the altitude, [100] and found the latitude 45°
25'. This done, we set out for another river called Quinibequy, distant
from this place thirty-five leagues, and nearly twenty from Bedabedec. This
nation of savages of Quinibequy are called Etechemins, as well as those of
Norumbegue.
The 18th of the month we passed near a small river where Cabahis was, who
came with us in our barque some twelve leagues; and having asked him whence
came the river Norumbegue, he told me that it passes the fall which I
mentioned above, and that one journeying some distance on it enters a lake
by way of which they come to the river of St. Croix, by going some distance
over land, and then entering the river of the Etechemins. Moreover, another
river enters the lake, along which they proceed some days, and afterwards
enter another lake and pass through the midst of it. Reaching the end of
it, they make again a land journey of some distance, and then enter another
little river, which has its mouth a league from Quebec, which is on the
great river St. Lawrence. [101] All these people of Norumbegue are very
swarthy, dressed in beaver-skins and other furs, like the Canadian and
Souriquois savages, and they have the same mode of life.
The 20th of the month we sailed along the western coast, and passed the
mountains of Bedabedec, [102] when we anchored. The same day we explored
the entrance to the river, where large vessels can approach; but there are
inside some reefs, to avoid which one must advance with sounding lead in
hand. Our savages left us, as they did not wish to go to Quinibequy, for
the savages of that place are great enemies to them. We sailed some eight
leagues along the western coast to an island [103] ten leagues distant from
Quinibequy, where we were obliged to put in on account of bad weather and
contrary wind. At one point in our course, we passed a large number of
islands and breakers extending some leagues out to sea, and very dangerous.
And in view of the bad weather, which was so unfavorable to us, we did not
sail more than three or four leagues farther. All these islands and coasts
are covered with extensive woods, of the same sort as that which I have
reported above as existing on the other coasts. And in consideration of the
small quantity of provisions which we had, we resolved to return to our
settlement and wait until the following year, when we hoped to return and
explore more extensively. We accordingly set out on our return on the 23d
of September, and arrived at our settlement on the 2d of October following.
The above is an exact statement of all that I have observed respecting not
only the coasts and people, but also the river of Norumbegue; 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. [104]
ENDNOTES:
92. The natives called this island Pemetiq. _Isle que les Saunages
appellent Pemetiq.--Vide Relation de la Nouvelle-France_, par F. Biard.
1616. Relations des Jésuites, Quebec ed. 1858. p. 44. When the attempt
was made in 1613 to plant a colony there by the Marchioness de
Guercheville, the settlement was named St. Sauveur. This island was
also by the English called Mount Mansell. But the name given to it by
Champlain has prevailed, and still adheres to it.
The description here given of the barrenness of the island clearly
suggests the origin of the name. Desert should therefore be pronounced
with the accent on the first syllable. The latitude of the most
northern limit of the island is 44° 24'.
93. Penobscot. The name of this river has been variously written Pentagoet,
Pentagwet, Pemptegoet, Pentagovett, Penobskeag, Penaubsket, and in
various other ways. The English began early to write it Penobscot. It
is a word of Indian origin, and different meanings have been assigned
to it by those who have undertaken to interpret the language from which
it is derived.
94. The Abbé Laverdière is of the opinion that the river Norumbegue was
identical with the Bay of Fundy. His only authority is Jean Alfonse,
the chief pilot of Roberval in 1541-42. Alfonse says; "Beyond the cape
of Noroveregue descends the river of the said Noroveregue, which is
about twenty-five leagues from the cape. The said river is more than
forty leagues broad at its mouth, and extends this width inward well
thirty or forty leagues, and is all full of islands which enter ten or
twelve leagues into the sea, and it is very dangerous with rocks and
reefs." If the cape of Norumbegue is the present Cape Sable, as it is
supposed to be, by coasting along the shores of Nova Scotia from that
cape in a north-westerly direction a little more than twenty leagues,
we shall reach St. Mary's Bay, which may be regarded as the beginning
of the Bay of Fundy, and from that point in a straight line to the
mouth of the Penobscot the distance is more than forty leagues, which
was the breadth of the Norumbegue at its mouth, according to the
statement of Alfonse. The Abbé Laverdière is not quite correct in
saying that the river Norumbegue is the same as the Bay of Fundy. It
includes, according to Alfonse, who is not altogether consistent with
himself, not only the Bay of Fundy, but likewise the Penobscot River
and the bay of the same name, with its numerous islands. Alfonse left a
drawing or map of this region in his Cosmography, which Laverdière had
not probably seen, on which the Bay of Fundy and the Penobscot are
correctly laid down, and the latter is designated the "_Rivière de
Norvebergue_." It is therefore obvious, if this map can be relied upon,
that the river of Norumbegue was identical, not with the Bay of Fundy,
but with the Penobscot, in the opinion of Alfonse, in common with the
"plusieurs pilottes et historiens" referred to by Champlain.--_Vide
copy of the Chart from the MS. Cosmography of Juan Alfonse_ in
Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, in Mr. Murphy's Voyage of Verrazzano,
New York, 1875.
95. An indefinite region about Rockland and Camden, on the western bank of
the Penobscot near its mouth, appears to have been the domain of the
Indian chief, Bessabez, and was denominated Bedabedec. The Camden Hills
were called the mountains of Bedabedec, and Owl's Head was called
Bedabedec Point.
96. Isle Haute, _high island_, which name it still retains. Champlain wrote
it on his map, 1632, "Isle Haulte." It has been anglicized by some into
Isle Holt. It is nearly six miles long, and has an average width of
over two miles, and is the highest land in its vicinity, reaching at
its highest point four hundred feet above the level of the sea.
97. Camden Hills or Mountains. They are five or six in number, from 900 to
1,500 feet high, and maybe seen, it is said, twenty leagues at sea. The
more prominent are Mt. Batty, Mt. Pleasant, and Mt. Hosmer, or Ragged
Mountain. They are Sometimes called the Megunticook Range. Colonel
Benjamin Church denominates them "Mathebestuck's Hills,"--_Vide
Church's History of King Philip's War_, Newport, 1772, p. 143. Captain
John Smith calls them the mountains of Penobscot, "against whose feet
doth beat the sea." which, he adds, "you may well see sixteen or
eighteen leagues from their situation."
98. This narrow place in the river is just above Castine, where Cape
Jellison stretches out towards the east, at the head of the bay, and at
the mouth of the river. At the extremity of the cape is Fort Point, so
called from Fort Pownall, erected there in 1759, a step rocky elevation
of about eighty feet in height. Before the erection of the fort by
Governor Pownall, it was called Wafaumkeag Point.--_Vide Pownall's
Journal_, Col. Me. His. Soc., Vol. V. p. 385. The "rock" alluded to by
Champlain is Fort Point Ledge, bare at half tide, south-east by east
from the Point, and distant over half a mile. Champlain's distances
here are somewhat overestimated.
99. The terminus of this exploration of the Penobscot was near the present
site of the city of Bangor. The small river near the mouth of which
they anchored was the Kenduskeag. The falls which Champlain visited
with the Indians in a canoe are those a short distance above the
city. The sentence, a few lines back, beginning "But excepting this
fall" is complicated, and not quite logical, but the author evidently
means to describe the river from its mouth to the place of their
anchorage at Bangor.
100. The interview with the Indians on the 16th, and the taking of the
altitude on the 17th, must have occurred before the party left their
anchorage at Bangor with the purpose, but which they did not
accomplish that year, of visiting the Kennebec. This may be inferred
from Champlain's statement that the Kennebec was thirty-five leagues
distant from the place where they then were, and nearly twenty leagues
distant from Bedabedec. Consequently, they were fifteen leagues above
Bedabedec, which was situated near the mouth of the river. The
latitude, which they obtained from their observations, was far from
correct: it should be 44° 46'.
101. The Indian chief Cabahis here points out two trails, the one leading
to the French habitation just established on the Island of St. Croix,
the other to Quebec; by the former, passing up the Penobscot from the
present site of Bangor, entering the Matawamkeag, keeping to the east
in their light bark canoes to Lake Boscanhegan, and from there passing
by land to the stream then known as the river of the Etechemins, now
called the Scoudic or St. Croix. The expression "by which they come to
the river of St. Croix" is explanatory: it has no reference to the
name of the river, but means simply that the trail leads to the river
in which was the island of St. Croix. This river had not then been
named St. Croix, but had been called by them the river of the
Etechemins.--_Vide antea_, p. 31.
The other trail led up the north branch of the Penobscot, passing
through Lake Pemadumcook, and then on through Lake Chefuncook, finally
reaching the source of this stream which is near that of the
Chaudière, which latter flows into the St. Lawrence, near Quebec. It
would seem from the text that Champlain supposed that the Penobscot
flowed from a lake into which streams flowed from both the objective
points, viz. St. Croix and Quebec: but this was a mistake not at all
unnatural, as he had never been over the ground, and obtained his
information from the Indians, whose language he imperfectly
understood.
102. Bedabedec is an Indian word, signifying cape of the waters, and was
plainly the point known as Owl's Head. It gave name to the Camden
Mountains also. _Vide antea_, note 95.
103. Mosquito and Metinic Islands are each about ten leagues east of the
Kennebec. As the party went but four leagues further, the voyage must
have terminated in Muscongus Bay.
104. An idle story had been circulated, and even found a place on the pages
of sober history, that on the Penobscot, or Norumbegue, as it was then
called, there existed a fair town, a populous city, with the
accessories of luxury and wealth. Champlain here takes pains to show,
in the fullest manner, that this story was a baseless dream of fancy,
and utterly without foundation. Of it Lescarbot naïvely says, "If this
beautiful town hath ever existed in nature, I would fain know who hath
pulled it down, for there are now only a few scattered wigwams made of
poles covered with the bark of trees and the skins of wild beasts."
There is no evidence, and no probability, that this river had been
navigated by Europeans anterior to this exploration of Champlain. The
existence of the bay and the river had been noted long before. They
are indicated on the map of Ribero in 1529. Rio de Gamas and Rio
Grande appear on early maps as names of this river, but are soon
displaced for Norumbega, a name which was sometimes extended to a wide
range of territory on both sides of the Penobscot. On the Mappe-Monde
of 1543-47, issued by the late M. Jomard, it is denominated
Auorobagra, evidently intended for Norumbega. Thevet, who visited it,
or sailed along its mouth in 1556, speaks of it as Norumbegue. It is
alleged that the aborigines called it Agguncia. According to Jean
Alfonse, it was discovered by the Portuguese and Spaniards.--_Vide
His. de la N. France_, par M. Lescarbot, Paris, 1612, Qvat. Liv.
p. 495. The orthography of this name is various among early writers,
but Norumbegue is adopted by the most approved modern authors.
CHAPTER VI.
OF THE MAL DE LA TERRE, A VERY DESPERATE MALADY.--HOW THE SAVAGES, MEN AND
WOMEN, SPEND THEIR TIME IN WINTER.--AND ALL THAT OCCURRED AT THE SETTLEMENT
WHILE WE WERE PASSING THE WINTER.
When we arrived at the Island of St. Croix, each one had finished his place
of abode. Winter came upon us sooner than we expected, and prevented us
from doing many things which we had proposed. Nevertheless, Sieur de Monts
did not fail to have some gardens made on the island. Many began to clear
up the ground, each his own. I also did so with mine, which was very large,
where I planted a quantity of foods, as also did the others who had any,
and they came up very well. But since the island was all sandy, every thing
dried up almost as soon as the Sun shone upon it, and we had no water for
irrigation except from the rain, which was infrequent.
Sieur de Monts caused also clearings to be made on the main land for making
gardens, and at the falls three leagues from our Settlement he had work
done and some wheat sown, which came up very well and ripened. Around our
habitation there is, at low tide, a large number of shell-fish, such as
cockles, muscles, sea-urchins, and Sea-snails, which were very acceptable
to all.
The snows began on the 6th of October. On the 3d of December, we saw ice
pass which came from some frozen river. The cold was sharp, more severe
than in France, and of much longer duration; and it scarcely rained at all
the entire winter. I suppose that is owing to the north and north-west
winds passing over high mountains always covered with snow. The latter was
from three to four feet deep up to the end of the month of April; lasting
much longer, I suppose, than it would if the country were cultivated.
During the winter, many of our company were attacked by a certain malady
called the _mal de la terre_; otherwise scurvy, as I have since heard from
learned men. There were produced, in the mouths of those who had it, great
pieces of superfluous and drivelling flesh (causing extensive
putrefaction), which got the upper hand to such an extent that scarcely
anything but liquid could be taken. Their teeth became very loose, and
could be pulled out with the fingers without its causing them pain. The
superfluous flesh was often cut out, which caused them to eject much blood
through the mouth. Afterwards, a violent pain seized their arms and legs,
which remained swollen and very hard, all spotted as if with flea-bites;
and they could not walk on account of the contraction of the muscles, so
that they were almost without strength, and suffered intolerable pains.
They experienced pain also in the loins, stomach, and bowels, had a very
bad cough, and short breath. In a word, they were in such a condition that
the majority of them could not rise nor move, and could not even be raised
up on their feet without falling down in a swoon. So that out of
seventy-nine, who composed our party, thirty-five died, and more than
twenty were on the point of death. The majority of those who remained well
also complained of slight pains and short breath. We were unable to find
any remedy for these maladies. A _post mortem_ examination of several was
made to investigate the cause of their disease.
In the case of many, the interior parts were found mortified such as the
lungs, which were so changed that no natural fluid could be perceived in
them. The spleen was serous and swollen. The liver was _legueux?_ and
spotted, without its natural color. The _vena cava_, superior and inferior,
was filled with thick coagulated and black blood. The gall was tainted.
Nevertheless, many arteries, in the middle as well as lower bowels, were
found in very good condition. In the case of some, incisions with a razor
were made on the thighs where they had purple spots, whence there issued a
very black clotted blood. This is what was observed on the bodies of those
infected with this malady.[105]
Our surgeons could not help suffering themselves in the same manner as the
rest. Those who continued sick were healed by spring, which commences in
this country in May.[106] That led us to believe that the change of season
restored their health rather than the remedies prescribed.
During this winter, all our liquors froze, except the Spanish wine. Cider
was dispensed by the pound. The cause of this loss was that there were no
cellars to our storehouse, and that the air which entered by the cracks was
sharper than that outside. We were obliged to use very bad water, and drink
melted snow, as there were no springs nor brooks; for it was not possible
to go to the main land in consequence of the great pieces of ice drifted by
the tide, which varies three fathoms between low and high water. Work on
the hand-mill was very fatiguing, since the most of us, having slept
poorly, and suffering from insufficiency of fuel, which we could not obtain
on account of the ice, had scarcely any strength, and also because we ate
only salt meat and vegetables during the winter, which produce bad blood.
The latter circumstance was, in my opinion, a partial cause of these
dreadful maladies. All this produced discontent in Sieur de Monts and
others of the settlement.
It would be very difficult to ascertain the character of this region
without spending a winter in it; for, on arriving here in summer, every
thing is very agreeable, in consequence of the woods, fine country, and the
many varieties of good fish which are found there. There are six months of
winter in this country.
The savages who dwell here are few in number. During the winter, in the
deepest snows, they hunt elks and other animals, on which they live most of
the time. And, unless the snow is deep, they scarcely get rewarded for
their pains, since they cannot capture any thing except by a very great
effort, which is the reason for their enduring and suffering much. When
they do not hunt, they live on a shell-fish, called the cockle. They clothe
themselves in winter with good furs of beaver and elk. The women make all
the garments, but not so exactly but that you can see the flesh under the
arm-pits, because they have not ingenuity enough to fit them better. When
they go a-hunting, they use a kind of show-shoe twice as large as those
hereabouts, which they attach to the soles of their feet, and walk thus
over the snow without sinking in, the women and children as well as the
men. They search for the track of animals, which, having found, they
follow until they get sight of the creature, when they shoot at it with
their bows, or kill it by means of daggers attached to the end of a short
pike, which is very easily done, as the animals cannot walk on the snow
without sinking in. Then the women and children come up, erect a hut, and
they give themselves to feasting. Afterwards, they return in search of
other animals, and thus they pass the winter. In the month of March
following, some savages came and gave us a portion of their game in
exchange for bread and other things which we gave them. This is the mode of
life in winter of these people, which seems to me a very miserable one.
We looked for our vessels at the end of April; but, as this passed without
their arriving, all began to have an ill-boding, fearing that some accident
had befallen them. For this reason, on the 15th of May, Sieur de Monts
decided to have a barque of fifteen tons and another of seven fitted up, so
that we might go at the end of the month of June to Gaspé in quest of
vessels in which to return to France, in case our own should not meanwhile
arrive. But God helped us better than we hoped; for, on the 15th of June
ensuing, while on guard about 11 o'clock at night, Pont Gravé, captain of
one of the vessels of Sieur de Monts, arriving in a shallop, informed us
that his ship was anchored six leagues from our settlement, and he was
welcomed amid the great joy of all.
The next day the vessel arrived, and anchored near our habitation. Pont
Gravé informed us that a vessel from St. Malo, called the St. Estienne,
was following him, bringing us provisions and supplies.
On the 17th of the month, Sieur de Monts decided to go in quest of a place
better adapted for an abode, and with a better temperature than our own.
With this view, he had the barque made ready, in which he had purposed to
go to Gaspé.
ENDNOTES:
105. _Mal de la terre_. Champlain had bitter experiences of this disease in
Quebec during the winter of 1608-9, when he was still ignorant of its
character; and it was not till several years later that he learned
that it was the old malady called _scurbut_, from the Sclavonic
_scorb_. Latinized into _scorbuticus_. Lescarbot speaks of this
disease as little understood in his time, but as known to Hippocrates.
He quotes Olaus Magnus, who describes it as it appeared among the
nations of the north, who called it _sorbet_, [Greek: kachexia], from
[Greek: kakos], bad, and [Greek: exis], a habit. This undoubtedly
expresses the true cause of this disease, now familiarly known as the
scurvy. It follows exposure to damp, cold, and impure atmosphere,
accompanied by the long-continued use of the same kind of food,
particularly of salt meats, with bad water. All of these conditions
existed at the Island of St. Croix. Champlain's description of the
disease is remarkably accurate.
106. This passage might be read, "which is in this country in May:" _lequel
commence en ces pays là est en May_. As Laverdière suggests, it looks
as if Champlain wrote it first _commence_, and then, thinking that the
winter he had experienced might have been exceptional, substituted
_est_, omitting to erase _commence_, so that the sentence, as it
stands, is faulty, containing two verbs instead of one, and being
susceptible of a double sense.
CHAPTER VII.
DISCOVERY OF THE COAST OF THE ALMOUCHIQUOIS AS FAR AS THE FORTY-SECOND
DEGREE OF LATITUDE, AND DETAILS OF THIS VOYAGE.
On the 18th of June, 1605, Sieur de Monts set out from the Island of
St. Croix with some gentlemen, twenty sailors, and a savage named
Panounias, together with his wife, whom he was unwilling to leave behind.
These we took, in order to serve us as guides to the country of the
Almouchiquois, in the hope of exploring and learning more particularly by
their aid what the character of this country was, especially since she was
a native of it.
Coasting, along inside of Manan, an island three leagues from the main
land, we came to the Ranges on the seaward side, at one of which we
anchored, where there was a large number of crows, of which our men
captured a great many, and we called it the Isle aux Corneilles. Thence we
went to the Island of Monts Déserts, at the entrance of the river
Norumbegue, as I have before stated, and sailed five or six leagues among
many islands. Here there came to us three savages in a canoe from Bedabedec
Point, where their captain was; and, after we had had some conversation
with them, they returned the same day.
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
QUINIBEQUY.
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. The course of the river.
_B_. Two islands at the entrance of the river.
_C_. Two very dangerous rocks in the river.
_D_. Islets and rocks along the coast.
_E_. Shoals where at full tide vessels of sixty tons' burden may run
aground.
_F_. Place where the savages encamp when they come to fish.
_G_. Sandy shoals along the coast.
_H_. Pond of fresh water.
_I_. Brook where shallops can enter at half tide.
_L_. Islands to the number of four just within the mouth of the river.
* * * * *
On Friday, the 1st of July, we set out from one of the islands at the mouth
of the river, where there is a very good harbor for vessels of a hundred or
a hundred and fifty tons. This day we made some twenty-five leagues between
Bedabedec Point and many islands and rocks, which we observed as far as the
river Quinibequy, at the mouth of which is a very high island, which we
called the Tortoise. [107] Between the latter and the main land there are
some scattering rocks, which are covered at full tide, although the sea is
then seen to break over them. [108] Tortoise Island and the river lie
south-south-east and north-north-west. As you enter, there are two
medium-sized islands forming the entrance, one on one side, the other on
the other; [109] and some three hundred paces farther in are two rocks,
where there is no wood, but some little grass. We anchored three hundred
paces from the entrance in five and six fathoms of water. While in this
place, we were overtaken by fogs, on account of which we resolved to enter,
in order to see the upper part of the river and the savages who live there;
and we set out for this purpose on the 5th of the month. Having made some
leagues, our barque came near being lost on a rock which we grazed in
passing. [110] Further on, we met two canoes which had come to hunt birds,
which for the most part are moulting at this season, and cannot fly. We
addressed these savages by aid of our own, who went to them with his wife,
who made them understand the reason of our coming. We made friends with
them and with the savages of this river, who served us as guides.
Proceeding farther, in order to see their captain, named Manthoumermer, we
passed, after we had gone seven or eight leagues, by some islands, straits,
and brooks, which extend along the river, where we saw some fine
meadows. After we had coasted along an island [111] some four leagues in
length, they conducted us to where their chief was [112] with twenty-five
or thirty savages, who, as soon as we had anchored, came to us in a canoe,
separated a short distance from ten others, in which were those who
accompanied him. Coming near our barque, he made an harangue, in which he
expressed the pleasure it gave him to see us, and said that he desired to
form an alliance with us and to make peace with his enemies through our
mediation. He said that, on the next day, he would send to two other
captains of savages, who were in the interior, one called Marchin, and the
other Sasinou, chief of the river Quinibequy. Sieur de Monts gave them some
cakes and peas, with which they were greatly pleased. The next day they
guided us down the river another way than that by which we had come, in
order to go to a lake; and, passing by some islands, they left, each one of
them, an arrow near a cape [113] where all the savages pass, and they
believe that if they should not do this some misfortune would befall them,
according to the persuasions of the devil. They live in such superstitions,
and practise many others of the same sort. Beyond this cape we passed a
very narrow waterfall, but only with great difficulty; for, although we had
a favorable and fresh wind, and trimmed our sails to receive it as well as
possible, in order to see whether we could not pass it in that way, we were
obliged to attach a hawser to some trees on shore and all pull on it. In
this way, by means of our arms together with the help of the wind, which
was favorable to us, we succeeded in passing it. The savages accompanying
us carried their canoes by land, being unable to row them. After going over
this fall, we saw some fine meadows. I was greatly surprised by this fall,
since as we descended with the tide we found it in our favor, but contrary
to us when we came to the fall. But, after we had passed it, it descended
as before, which gave us great Satisfaction. [114] Pursuing our route, we
came to the lake, [115] which is from three to four leagues in length. Here
are some islands, and two rivers enter it, the Quinibequy coming from the
north north-east, and the other from the north-west, whence were to come
Marchin and Sasinou. Having awaited them all this day, and as they did not
come, we resolved to improve our time. We weighed anchor accordingly, and
there accompanied us two savages from this lake to serve as guides. The
same day we anchored at the mouth of the river, where we caught a large
number of excellent fish of various sorts. Meanwhile, our savages went
hunting, but did not return. The route by which we descended this river is
much safer and better than that by which we had gone. Tortoise Island
before the mouth of this river is in latitude [116] 44°; and 19° 12' of the
deflection of the magnetic needle. They go by this river across the country
to Quebec some fifty leagues, making only one portage of two leagues. After
the portage, you enter another little stream which flows into the great
river St. Lawrence [117]. This river Quinibequy is very dangerous for
vessels half a league from its mouth, on account of the small amount of
water, great tides, rocks and shoals outside as well as within. But it has
a good channel, if it were well marked out. The land, so far as I have seen
it along the shores of the river, is very poor, for there are only rocks on
all sides. There are a great many small oaks, and very little arable land.
Fish abound here, as in the other rivers which I have mentioned. The people
live like those in the neighborhood of our settlement; and they told us
that the savages, who plant the Indian corn, dwelt very far in the
interior, and that they had given up planting it on the coasts on account
of the war they had with others, who came and took it away. This is what I
have been able to learn about this region, which I think is no better than
the others.
On the 8th of the month, we set out from the mouth of this river, not being
able to do so sooner on account of the fogs. We made that day some four
leagues, and passed a bay [118], where there are a great many islands. From
here large mountains [119] are seen to the west, in which is the
dwelling-place of a savage captain called Aneda, who encamps near the river
Quinibequy. I was satisfied from this name that it was one of his tribe
that had discovered the plant called Aneda, [120] which Jacques Cartier
said was so powerful against the malady called scurvy, of which we have
already spoken, which harassed his company as well as our own, when they
wintered in Canada. The savages have no knowledge at all of this plant, and
are not aware of its existence, although the above-mentioned savage has the
same name. The following day we made eight leagues. [121] As we passed
along the coast, we perceived two columns of smoke which some savages made
to attract our attention. We went and anchored in the direction of them
behind a small island near the main land, [122] where we saw more than
eighty savages running along the shore to see us, dancing and giving
expression to their joy. Sieur de Monts sent two men together with our
savage to visit them. After they had spoken some time with them, and
assured them of our friendship, we left with them one of our number, and
they delivered to us one of their companions as a hostage. Meanwhile, Sieur
de Monts visited an island, which is very beautiful in view of what it
produces; for it has fine oaks and nut-trees, the soil cleared up, and many
vineyards bearing beautiful grapes in their season, which were the first we
had seen on all these coasts from the Cap de la Hève. We named it Isle de
Bacchus [123]. It being full tide, we weighed anchor and entered a little
river, which we could not sooner do; for there is a bar, there being at low
tide only half a fathom of water, at full tide a fathom and a half, and at
the highest water two fathoms. On the other side of the bar there are
three, four, five, and six fathoms. When we had anchored, a large number of
savages came to the bank of the river, and began to dance. Their captain at
the time, whom they called Honemechin [124], was not with them. He arrived
about two or three hours later with two canoes, when he came sweeping
entirely round our barque. Our savage could understand only a few words, as
the language of the Almouchiquois [125] (for that is the name of this
nation) differs entirely from that of the Souriquois and Etechemins. These
people gave signs of being greatly pleased. Their chief had a good figure,
was young and agile. We sent some articles of merchandise on shore to
barter with them; but they had nothing but their robes to give in exchange,
for they preserve only such furs as they need for their garments. Sieur de
Monts ordered some provisions to be given to their chief, with which he was
greatly pleased, and came several times to the side of our boat to see us.
These savages shave off the hair far up on the head, and wear what remains
very long, which they comb and twist behind in various ways very neatly,
intertwined with feathers which they attach to the head. They paint their
faces black and red, like the other savages which we have seen. They are an
agile people, with well-formed bodies. Their weapons are pikes, clubs, bows
and arrows, at the end of which some attach the tail of a fish called the
signoc, others bones, while the arrows of others are entirely of wood. They
till and cultivate the soil, something which we have not hitherto
observed. In the place of ploughs, they use an instrument of very hard
wood, shaped like a spade. This river is called by the inhabitants of the
country Choüacoet. [126]
The next day Sieur de Monts and I landed to observe their tillage on the
bank of the river. We saw their Indian corn, which they raise in gardens.
Planting three or four kernels in one place, they then heap up about it a
quantity of earth with shells of the signoc before mentioned. Then three
feet distant they plant as much more, and thus in succession. With this
corn they put in each hill three or four Brazilian beans, [127] which are
of different colors. When they grow up, they interlace with the corn, which
reaches to the height of from five to six feet; and they keep the ground
very free from weeds. We saw there many squashes,[128] and pumpkins, [129]
and tobacco, which they likewise cultivate. [130]
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
CHOUACOIT R.
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. The river.
_B_. Place where they have their fortress.
_C_. Cabins in the open fields, near which they cultivate the land and
plant Indian corn.
_D_. Extensive tract of land which is sandy, but covered with grass.
_E_. Another place where they have their dwellings all together after they
have planted their corn.
_F_. Marshes with good pasturage.
_G_. Spring of fresh water.
_H_. A large point of land all cleared up except some fruit trees and wild
vines.
_I_. Little island at the entrance of the river.
_L_. Another islet.
_M_. Two islands under shelter of which vessels can anchor with good
bottom.
_N_. A point of land cleared up where Marchin came to us.
_O_. Four islands.
_P_. Little brook dry at low tide.
_Q_. Shoals along the coast.
_R_. Roadsted where vessels can anchor while waiting for the tide.
NOTES. Of the two islands in the northern part of the bay, the larger,
marked _M_, is Stratton Island, nearly half a mile long, and a mile and a
half from Prout's Neck, which lies north of it. A quarter of a mile from
Stratton is Bluff Island, a small island north-west of it. Of the four
islands at the southern end of the bay, the most eastern is Wood Island, on
which the United States maintain a light. The next on the west, two hundred
and fifty yards distant, is Negro Island. The third still further west is
Stage Island. The fourth, quarter of a mile west of the last named, is
Basket Island. The neck or peninsula, south-west of the islands, is now
called the POOL, much resorted to as a watering-place in the summer. The
island near the mouth of the river is Ram Island, and that directly north
of it is Eagle Island. From the mouth of the River to Prout's Neck, marked,
is one of the finest beaches in New England, extending about six nautical
miles. Its Southern extremity is known as Ferry, the northern Scarborough,
and midway between them is Old Orchard Beach, the latter a popular resort
in the summer months of persons from distant parts of the United States and
Canada.
* * * * *
The Indian corn which we saw was at that time about two feet high, some of
it as high as three. The beans were beginning to flower, as also the
pumpkins and squashes. They plant their corn in May, and gather it in
September. We saw also a great many nuts, which are small and have several
divisions. There were as yet none on the trees, but we found plenty under
them, from the preceding year. We saw also many grape-vines, on which there
was a remarkably fine berry, from which we made some very good verjuice.
We had heretofore seen grapes only on the Island of Bacchus, distant nearly
two leagues from this river. Their permanent abode, the tillage, and the
fine trees led us to conclude that the air here is milder and better than
that where we passed the winter, and at the other places we visited on the
coast. But I cannot believe that there is not here a considerable degree
of cold, although it is in latitude 43° 45'. [131] The forests in the
interior are very thin, although abounding in oaks, beeches, ashes, and
elms; in wet places there are many willows. The savages dwell permanently
in this place, and have a large cabin surrounded by palisades made of
rather large trees placed by the side of each other, in which they take
refuge when their enemies make war upon them. [132] They cover their cabins
with oak bark. This place is very pleasant, and as agreeable as any to be
seen. The river is very abundant in fish, and is bordered by meadows. At
the mouth there is a small island adapted for the construction of a good
fortress, where one could be in security.
On Sunday, [133] the 12th of the month, we set out from the river
Choüacoet. After coasting along some six or seven leagues, a contrary wind
arose, which obliged us to anchor and go ashore, [134] where we saw two
meadows, each a league in length and half a league in breadth. We saw there
two savages, whom at first we took to be the great birds called bustards,
to be found in this country; who, as soon as they caught sight of us, took
flight into the woods, and were not seen again. From Choüacoet to this
place, where we saw some little birds, which sing like blackbirds, and are
black excepting the ends of the wings, which are orange-colored, [135]
there is a large number of grape-vines and nut-trees. This coast is sandy,
for the most part, all the way from Quinibequy. This day we returned two
or three leagues towards Choüacoet, as far as a cape which we called Island
Harbor, [136] favorable for vessels of a hundred tons, about which are
three islands. Heading north-east a quarter north, one can enter another
harbor [137] near this place, to which there is no approach, although there
are islands, except the one where you enter. At the entrance there are some
dangerous reefs. There are in these islands so many red currants that one
sees for the most part nothing else, [138] and an infinite number of
pigeons, [139] of which we took a great quantity. This Island Harbor [140]
is in latitude 43° 25'.
On the 15th of the month we made twelve leagues. Coasting along, we
perceived a smoke on the shore, which we approached as near as possible,
but saw no savage, which led us to believe that they had fled. The sun set,
and we could find no harbor for that night, since the coast was flat and
sandy. Keeping off, and heading south, in order to find an anchorage, after
proceeding about two leagues, we observed a cape [141] on the main land
south a quarter south-east of us, some six leagues distant. Two leagues to
the east we saw three or four rather high islands, [142] and on the west a
large bay. The coast of this bay, reaching as far as the cape, extends
inland from where we were perhaps four leagues. It has a breadth of two
leagues from north to south, and three at its entrance. [143] Not observing
any place favorable for putting in, [144] we resolved to go to the cape
above mentioned with short sail, which occupied a portion of the night.
Approaching to where there were sixteen fathoms of water, we anchored until
daybreak.
On the next day we went to the above-mentioned cape, where there are three
islands [145] near the main land, full of wood of different kinds, as at
Choüacoet and all along the coast; and still another flat one, where there
are breakers, and which extends a little farther out to Sea than the
others, on which there is no wood at all. We named this place Island Cape,
[146] near which we saw a canoe containing five or six savages, who came
out near our barque, and then went back and danced on the beach. Sieur de
Monts sent me on shore to observe them, and to give each one of them a
knife and some biscuit, which caused them to dance again better than
before. This over, I made them understand, as well as I could, that I
desired them to show me the course of the shore. After I had drawn with a
crayon the bay, [147] and the Island Cape, where we were, with the same
crayon they drew the outline of another bay, [148] which they represented
as very large; here they placed six pebbles at equal distances apart,
giving me to understand by this that these signs represented as many chiefs
and tribes. [149] Then they drew within the first mentioned bay a river
which we had passed, which has shoals and is very long. [150] We found in
this place a great many vines, the green grapes on which were a little
larger than peas, also many nut-trees, the nuts on which were no larger
than musket-balls. The savages told us that all those inhabiting this
country cultivated the land and sowed seeds like the others, whom we had
before seen. The latitude of this place is 43° and some minutes. [151]
Sailing half a league farther, we observed several savages on a rocky
point, [152] who ran along the shore, dancing as they went, to their
companions to inform them of our coming. After pointing out to us the
direction of their abode, they made a signal with smoke to show us the
place of their settlement. We anchored near a little island, [153] and sent
our canoe with knives and cakes for the savages. From the large number of
those we saw, we concluded that these places were better inhabited than the
others we had seen.
After a stay of some two hours for the sake of observing those people,
whose canoes are made of birch bark, like those of the Canadians,
Souriquois, and Etechemins, we weighed anchor and set sail with a promise
of fine weather. Continuing our course to the west-south-west we saw
numerous islands on one side and the other. Having sailed seven or eight
leagues, we anchored near an island, [154] whence we observed many smokes
along the shore, and many savages running up to see us. Sieur de Monts sent
two or three men in a canoe to them, to whom he gave some knives and
paternosters to present to them; with which they were greatly pleased, and
danced several times in acknowledgment. We could not ascertain the name of
their chief, as we did not know their language. All along the shore there
is a great deal of land cleared up and planted with Indian corn. The
country is very pleasant and agreeable, and there is no lack of fine trees.
The canoes of those who live there are made of a single piece, and are very
liable to turn over if one is not skilful in managing them. We had not
before seen any of this kind. They are made in the following manner. After
cutting down, at a cost of much labor and time, the largest and tallest
tree they can find, by means of stone hatchets (for they have no others
except some few which they received from the savages on the coasts of La
Cadie, [155] them in exchange for furs), they remove the bark, and round
off the tree except on one side, where they apply fire gradually along its
entire length; and sometimes they put red-hot pebble-stones on top. When
the fire is too fierce, they extinguish it with a little water, not
entirely, but so that the edge of the boat may not be burnt. It being
hollowed out as much as they wish, they scrape it all over with stones,
which they use instead of knives. These stones resemble our musket flints.
On the next day, the 17th of the month, we weighed anchor to go to a cape
we had seen the day before, which seemed to lie on our south
south-west. This day we were able to make only five leagues, and we passed
by some islands [156] covered with wood. I observed in the bay all that the
savages had described to me at Island Cape. As we continued our course,
large numbers came to us in canoes from the islands and main land. We
anchored a league from a cape, which we named St. Louis, [157] where we
noticed smoke in several places. While in the act of going there, our
barque grounded on a rock, where we were in great danger, for, if we had
not speedily got it off, it would have overturned in the sea, since the
tide was falling all around, and there were five or six fathoms of
water. But God preserved us, and we anchored near the above-named cape,
when there come to us fifteen or sixteen canoes of savages. In some of them
there were fifteen or sixteen, who began to manifest great signs of joy,
and made various harangues, which we could not in the least understand.
Sieur de Monts sent three or four men on shore in our canoe, not only to
get water, but to see their chief, whose name was Honabetha. The latter had
a number of knives and other trifles, which Sieur de Monts gave him, when
he came alongside to see us, together with some of his companions, who were
present both along the shore and in their canoes. We received the chief
very cordially, and made him welcome; who, after remaining some time, went
back. Those whom we had sent to them brought us some little squashes as big
as the fist, which we ate as a salad, like cucumbers, and which we found
very good. They brought also some purslane, [158] which grows in large
quantities among the Indian corn, and of which they make no more account
than of weeds. We saw here a great many little houses, scattered over the
fields where they plant their Indian corn.
There is, moreover, in this bay a very broad river, which we named River du
Guast. [159] It stretches, as it seemed to me, towards the Iroquois, a
nation in open warfare with the Montagnais, who live on the great river
St. Lawrence.
ENDNOTES:
107. _Isle de la Tortue_, commonly known as Seguin Island, high and rocky,
with precipitous shores. It is nearly equidistant from Wood, Pond, and
Salter's Islands at the mouth of the Kennebec, and about one mile and
three quarters from each. The United States light upon it is 180 feet
above the level of the sea. It may be seen at the distance of twenty
miles.
108. Ellingwood Rock, Seguin Ledges, and White Ledge.
109. Pond Island on the west, and Stage Island on the east: the two rocks
referred to in the same sentence are now called the Sugar Loaves.
110. This was apparently in the upper part of Back River, where it is
exceedingly narrow. The minute and circumstantial description of the
mouth of the Kennebec, and the positive statement in the text that
they entered the river so described, and the conformity of the
description to that laid down on our Coast Survey Charts, as well as
on Champlain's local map, all render it certain that they entered the
mouth of the Kennebec proper; and having entered, they must have
passed on a flood-tide into and through Back River, which in some
places is so narrow that their little barque could hardly fall to be
grazed in passing. Having reached Hockomock Bay, they passed down
through the lower Hell Gate, rounded the southern point of West Port
or Jerremisquam Island, sailing up its eastern shore until they
reached the harbor of Wiscasset; then down the western side, turning
Hockomock Point, threading the narrow passage of the Sasanoa River
through the upper Hell Gate, entering the Sagadahoc, passing the
Chops, and finally through the Neck, into Merrymeeting Bay. The
narrowness of the channel and the want of water at low tide in Back
River would seem at first blush to throw a doubt over the possibility
of Champlain's passing through this tidal passage. But it has at least
seven feet of water at high tide. His little barque, of fifteen tons,
without any cargo, would not draw more than four feet at most, and
would pass through without any difficulty, incommoded only by the
narrowness of the channel to which Champlain refers. With the same
barque, they passed over the bar at Nauset, or Mallebarre, where
Champlain distinctly says there were only four feet of water.--_Vide
postea_, p. 81.
111. West Port, or Jerremisquam Island.
112. This was Wiscasset Harbor, as farther on it will be seen that from
this point they started down the river, taking another way than that
by which they had come.
113. Hockomock Point, a rocky precipitous bluff.
114. The movement of the waters about this "narrow waterfall" has been a
puzzle from the days of Champlain to the present time. The phenomena
have not changed. Having consulted the United States Coast Pilot and
likewise several persons who have navigated these waters and have a
personal knowledge of the "fall," the following is, we think, a
satisfactory explanation. The stream in which the fall occurs is
called the Sasanoa, and is a tidal current flowing from the Kennebec,
opposite the city of Bath, to the Sheepscot. It was up this tidal
passage that Champlain was sailing from the waters of the Sheepscot to
the Kennebec, and the "narrow waterfall" was what is now called the
upper Hell Gate, which is only fifty yards wide, hemmed in by walls of
rock on both sides. Above it the Sasanoa expands into a broad bay.
When the tide from the Kennebec has filled this bay, the water rushes
through this narrow gate with a velocity Sometimes of thirteen miles
an hour. There is properly no fall in the bed of the stream, but the
appearance of a fall is occasioned by the pent-up waters of the bay
above rushing through this narrow outlet, having accumulated faster
than they could be drained off. At half ebb, on a spring tide, a wall
of water from six inches to a foot stretches across the stream, and
the roar of the flood boiling over the rocks at the Gate can be heard
two miles below. The tide continues to flow up the Sasanoa from the
Sheepscot not only on the flood, but for some time on the ebb, as the
waters in the upper part of the Sheepscot and its bays, in returning,
naturally force themselves up this passage until they are sufficiently
drained off to turn the current in the Sasanoa in the other direction.
Champlain, sailing from the Sheepscot up the Sasanoa, arrived at the
Gate probably just as the tide was beginning to turn, and when there
was comparatively only a slight fall, but yet enough to make it
necessary to force their little barque up through the Gate by means of
hawsers as described in the text. After getting a short distance from
the narrows, he would be on the water ebbing back into the Kennebec,
and would be still moving with the tide, as he had been until he
reached the fall.
115. Merrymeeting Bay, so called from the meeting in this bay of the two
rivers mentioned in the text a little below, viz., the Kennebec and
the Androscoggin.
116. The latitude of Seguin, here called Tortoise Island, is 43° 42' 25".
117. The head-waters of the Kennebec, as well as those of the Penobscot,
approach very near to the Chaudière, which flows into the St.
Lawrence near Quebec.
118. Casco Bay, which stretches from Cape Small Point to Cape Elizabeth. It
has within it a hundred and thirty-six islands. They anchored and
passed the night somewhere within the limits of this bay, but did not
attempt its exploration.
119. These were the White Mountains in New Hampshire, towering above the
sea 6,225 feet. They are about sixty miles distant from Casco Bay, and
were observed by all the early voyagers as they sailed along the coast
of Maine. They are referred to on Ribero's Map of 1529 by the Spanish
word _montañas_, and were evidently seen by Estevan Gomez in 1525,
whose discoveries are delineated by this map. They will also be found
on the Mappe-Monde of about the middle of the sixteenth century, and
on Sebastian Cabot's map, 1544, both included in the "Monuments de la
Géographie" of Jomard, and they are also indicated on numerous other
early maps.
120. This conjecture is not sustained by any evidence beyond the similarity
of the names. There are numerous idle opinions as to the kind of plant
which was so efficacious a remedy for the scurvy, but they are utterly
without foundation. There does not appear to be any means of
determining what the healing plant was.
121. The four leagues of the previous day added to the eight of this bring
them from the Kennebec to Saco Bay.
122. The small island "proche de la grande terre" was Stratton Island: they
anchored on the northern side and nearly east of Bluff Island, which
is a quarter of a mile distant. The Indians came down to welcome them
from the promontory long known as Black Point, now called Prout's
Neck. Compare Champlain's local map and the United States Coast Survey
Charts.
123. Champlain's narrative, together with his sketch or drawing,
illustrating the mouth of the Saco and its environs, compared with the
United States Coast Survey Charts, renders it certain that this was
Richmond Island. Lescarbot describes it as a 'great island, about half
a league in compass, at the entrance of the bay of the said place of
Choüacoet It is about a mile long, and eight hundred yards in its
greatest width.--_Coast Pilot_. It received its present name at a very
early period. It was granted under the title of "a small island,
called Richmond," by the Council for New England to Walter Bagnall,
Dec. 2, 1631.--_Vide Calendar of Eng. State Papers_, Col. 1574-1660,
p. 137. Concerning the death of Bagnall on this island a short time
before the above grant was made, _vide Winthrop's Hist. New Eng._,
ed. 1853, Vol. I. pp. 75, 118.
124. Lescarbot calls him Olmechin.--_Histoire de la Nouvelle France_, par
M. Lescarbot, Paris, 1612, p. 558.
125. They had hoped that the wife of Panounias, their Indian guide, who was
said to have been born among the Almouchiquois, would be able to
interpret their language, but in this they appear to have been
disappointed.--_Vide antea_, p. 55.
126. From the Indian word, M'-foo-ah-koo-et, or, as the French pronounced
it, _Choüacoet_, which had been the name, applied by the aborigines to
this locality we know not how long, is derived the name Saco, now
given to the river and city in the same vicinity. The orthography
given to the original word is various, as Sawocotuck, Sowocatuck,
Sawakquatook, Sockhigones, and Choüacost. The variations in this, as
in other Indian words, may have arisen from a misapprehension of the
sound given by the aborigines, or from ignorance, on the part of
writers, of the proper method of representing sounds, joined to an
utter indifference to a matter which seemed to them of trifling
importance.
127. _Febues du Brésil_. This is the well-known trailing or bush-bean of
New England, _Phaseolus vulgaris_, called the "Brazilian bean" because
it resembled a bean known in France at that time under that name. It
is sometimes called the kidney-bean. It is indigenous to America.
128. _Citrouilles_, the common summer squash, _Cucurbita polymorpha_, as
may be seen by reference to Champlain's map of 1612, where its form is
delineated over the inscription, _la forme des sitroules_. It is
indigenous to America. Our word squash is derived from the Indian
_askutasquash_ or _isquoutersquash_. "In summer, when their corne is
spent, Isquoutersquashes is their best bread, a fruit like the young
Pumpion."--_Wood's New England Prospect_, 1634, Prince Society ed.,
p. 76. "_Askutasquash_, their Vine aples, which the _English_ from
them call _Squashes_, about the bignesse of Apples, of severall
colours, a sweet, light, wholesome refreshing."--_Roger Williams,
Key_, 1643, Narragansett Club ed., p. 125.
129. _Courges_, the pumpkin, _Cucurbita maxima_, indigenous to America. As
the pumpkin and likewise the squash were vegetables hitherto unknown
to Champlain, there was no French word by which he could accurately
identify them. The names given to them were such as he thought would
describe them to his countrymen more nearly than any others. Had he
been a botanist, he would probably have given them new names.
130. _Petum_. Tobacco, _Nicotiana rustica_, sometimes called wild tobacco.
It was a smaller and more hardy species than the _Nicotiana tabacum_,
now cultivated in warmer climates, but had the same qualities though
inferior in strength and aroma. It was found in cultivation by the
Indians all along our coast and in Canada. Cartier observed it growing
in Canada in 1535. Of it he says: "There groweth also a certain kind
of herbe, whereof in Sommer they make a great prouision for all the
yeere, making great account of it, and onely men vse of it, and first
they cause it to be dried in the Sunne, then weare it about their
neckes wrapped in a little beasts skinne made like a little bagge,
with a hollow peece of stone or wood like a pipe; then when they
please they make pouder of it, and then put it in one of the ends of
the said Cornet or pipe, and laying a cole of fire vpon it, at the
other ende sucke so long, that they fill their bodies full of smoke,
till that it commeth out of their mouth and nostrils, euen as out of
the Tonnell of a chimney. They say that this doth keepe them warme and
in health: they neuer goe without some of it about them. We ourselues
haue tryed the same smoke, and hauing put it in our mouthes, it seemed
almost as hot as Pepper."--_Jacques Cartier, 2 Voyage_, 1535;
_Hakluyt_, London, ed. 1810, Vol. III. p. 276.
We may here remark that the esculents found in cultivation at Saco,
beans, squashes, pumpkins, and corn, as well as the tobacco, are all
American tropical or subtropical plants, and must have been
transmitted from tribe to tribe, from more southern climates. The
Indian traditions would seem to indicate this. "They have a
tradition," says Roger Williams, "that the Crow brought them at first
an _Indian_ Graine of Corne in one Eare, and an _Indian_ or _French_
Beane in another, from the Great God _Kautantouwit's_ field in the
Southwest from whence they hold came all their Corne and Beanes."--
_Key to the Language of America_, London, 1643, Narragansett Club ed.,
p. 144.
Seventy years before Champlain, Jacques Cartier had found nearly the
same vegetables cultivated by the Indians in the valley of the
St. Lawrence. He says: "They digge their grounds with certaine peeces
of wood, as bigge as halfe a sword, on which ground groweth their
corne, which they call Ossici; it is as bigge as our small peason....
They haue also great store of Muske-milions. Pompions, Gourds,
Cucumbers, Peason, and Beanes of euery colour, yet differing from
ours."--_Hakluyt_, Vol. II. p. 276. For a full history of these
plants, the reader is referred to the History of Plants, a learned and
elaborate work now in press, by Charles Pickering, M.D. of Boston.
131. The latitude of Wood Island at the mouth of the Saco, where they were
at anchor, is 43° 27' 23".
132. The site of this Indian fortification was a rocky bluff on the western
side of the river, now owned by Mr. John Ward, where from time to time
Indian relics have been found. The island at the mouth of the river,
which Champlain speaks of as a suitable location for a fortress, is
Ram Island, and is low and rocky, and about a hundred and fifty yards
in length.
133. For Sunday read Tuesday.--_Vide Shurtless's Calendar_.
134. This landing was probably near Wells Neck, and the meadows which they
saw were the salt marshes of Wells.
135. The Red-wing Blackbird, _Ageloeus phoeniceus_, of lustrous black, with
the bend of the wing red. They are still abundant in the same
locality, and indeed across the whole continent to the Pacific
Ocean.--_Vide Cones's Key_, Boston, 1872, p. 156; _Baird's Report_,
Washington, 1858, Part II. p. 526.
136. _Le Port aux Isles_. This Island Harbor is the present Cape Porpoise
Harbor.
137. This harbor is Goose Fair Bay, from one to two miles north-east of
Cape Porpoise, in the middle of which are two large ledges, "the
dangerous reefs" to which Champlain refers.
138. This was the common red currant of the gardens, _Ribes rubrum_, which
is a native of America. The fetid currant, _Ribes prostratum_, is also
indigenous to this country. It has a pale red fruit, which gives forth
a very disagreeable odor. Josselyn refers to the currant both in his
Voyages and in his Rarities. Tuckerman found it growing wild in the
White Mountains.
139. The passenger pigeon, _Ectopistes migratorius_, formerly numerous in
New England. Commonly known as the wild pigeon. Wood says they fly in
flocks of millions of millions.--_New England Prospect_, 1634; Prince
Society ed., p. 31.
140. Champlain's latitude is less inaccurate than usual. It is not possible
to determine the exact point at which he took it. But the latitude of
Cape Porpoise, according to the Coast Survey Charts, is 43° 21' 43".
141. Cape Anne.
142. The point at which Champlain first saw Cape Anne, and "isles assez
hautes," the Isles of Shoals, was east of Little Boar's Head, and
three miles from the shore. Nine years afterward, Captain John Smith
visited these islands, and denominated them on his map of New England
Smith's Isles. They began at a very early date to be called the Isles
of Shoals. "Smith's Isles are a heape together, none neere them,
against Accominticus."--_Smith's Description of New England_. Rouge's
map, 1778, has Isles of Shoals, _ou des Ecoles_. For a full
description and history of these islands, the reader is referred to
"The Isles of Shoals," by John S. Jenness, New York, 1875.
143. Champlain has not been felicitous in his description of this bay. He
probably means to say that from the point where he then was, off
Little Boar's Head, to the point where it extends farthest into the
land, or to the west, it appeared to be about twelve miles, and that
the depth of the bay appeared to be six miles, and eight at the point
of greatest depth. As he did not explore the bay, it is obvious that
he intended to speak of it only as measured by the eye. No name has
been assigned to this expanse of water on our maps. It washes the
coast of Hampton, Salisbury, Newburyport, Ipswich, and Annisquam. It
might well be called Merrimac Bay, aster the name of the important
river that empties its waters into it, midway between its northern and
southern extremities.
144. It is to be observed that, starting from Cape Porpoise Harbor on the
morning of the 15th of July, they sailed twelve leagues before the
sail of the night commenced. This would bring them, allowing for the
sinuosities of the shore, to a point between Little Boar's Head and
the Isles of Shoals. In this distance, they had passed the sandy
shores of Wells Beach and York Beach in Maine, and Foss's Beach and
Rye Beach in New Hampshire, and still saw the white Sands of Hampton
and Salisbury Beaches stretching far into the bay on their right. The
excellent harbor of Portsmouth, land-locked by numerous islands, had
been passed unobserved. A sail of eighteen nautical miles brought them
to their anchorage at the extreme point of Cape Anne.
145. Straitsmouth, Thatcher, and Milk island. They were named by Captain
John Smith the "Three Turks' Heads," in memory of the three Turks'
heads cut off by him at the siege of Caniza, by which he acquired from
Sigismundus, prince of Transylvania, their effigies in his shield for
his arms.--_The true Travels, Adventures, and Observations of Captaine
John Smith_, London, 1629.
146. What Champlain here calls "le Cap aux Isles," Island Cape, is Cape
Anne, called Cape Tragabigzanda by Captain John Smith, the name of his
mistress, to whom he was given when a prisoner among the Turks. The
name was changed by Prince Charles, afterward Charles I., to Cape
Anne, in honor of his mother, who was Anne of Denmark.--_Vide
Description of New England_ by Capt. John Smith, London, 1616.
147. This was the bay west of a line drawn from Little Boar's Head to Cape
Anne, which may well be called Merrimac Bay.
148. Massachusetts Bay.
149. It is interesting to observe the agreement of the sign-writing of this
savage on the point of Cape Anne with the statement of the historian
Gookin, who in 1656 was superintendent of Indian affairs in
Massachusetts, and who wrote in 1674. He says: "Their chief sachem
held dominion over many other petty governours; as those of
Weechagaskas, Neponsitt, Punkapaog, Nonantam, Nashaway, and some of
the Nipmuck people, as far as Pokomtacuke, as the old men of
Massachusetts affirmed." Here we have the six tribes, represented by
the pebbles, recorded seventy years later as a tradition handed down
by the old men of the tribe. Champlain remarks further on, "I observed
in the bay all that the savages had described to me at Island Cape."
150. This was the Merrimac with its shoals at the mouth, which they had
passed without observing, having sailed from the offing near Little
Boar's Head directly to the head of Cape Anne, during the darkness of
the previous night.
151. The latitude of the Straitsmouth Island Light on the extreme point of
Cape Anne is 42° 39' 43". A little east of it, where they probably
anchored, there are now sixteen fathoms of water.
152. Emmerson's Point, forming the eastern extremity of Cape Anne, twenty
or twenty-five feet high, fringed with a wall of bare rocks on the
sea.
153. Thatcher's Island, near the point just mentioned. It is nearly half a
mile long and three hundred and fifty yards wide, and about fifty feet
high.
154. It is not possible to determine with absolute certainty the place of
this anchorage. But as Champlain describes, at the end of this
chapter, what must have been Charles River coming from the country of
the Iroquois or the west, most likely as seen from his anchorage,
there can be little doubt that he anchored in Boston Harbor, near the
western limit of Noddle's Island, now known as East Boston.
155. The fishermen and fur-traders had visited these coasts from a very
early period.--_Vide antea_, note 18. From them they obtained the axe,
a most important implement in their rude mode of life, and it was
occasionally found in use among tribes far in the interior.
_La Cadie_. Carelessness or indifference in regard to the orthography
of names was general in the time of Champlain. The volumes written in
the vain attempt to settle the proper method of spelling the name of
Shakespeare, are the fruit of this indifference. La Cadie did not
escape this treatment. Champlain writes it Arcadie, Accadie, La Cadie,
Acadie, and L'Acadie; while Lescarbot uniformly, as far as we have
observed, La Cadie. We have also seen it written L'Arcadie and
L'Accadie, and in some, if not in all the preceding forms, with a
Latin termination in _ia_. It is deemed important to secure
uniformity, and to follow the French form in the translation of a
French work rather than the Latin. In this work, it is rendered LA
CADIE in all cases except in quotations. The history of the name
favors this form rather than any other. The commission or charter
given to De Monts by Henry IV. in 1603, a state paper or legal
document, drawn, we may suppose, with more than usual care, has La
Cadie, and repeats it four times without variation. It is a name of
Indian origin, as may be inferred by its appearing in composition in
such words as Passamacadie, Subenacadie, and Tracadie, plainly derived
from the language spoken by the Souriquois and Etechemins. Fifty-five
years before it was introduced into De Monts's commission, it appeared
written _Larcadia_ in Gastaldo's map of "Terra Nova del Bacalaos," in
the Italian translation of Ptolemy's Geography, by Pietro Andrea
Mattiolo, printed at Venice in 1548. The colophon bears date October,
1547. This rare work is in the possession of Henry C. Murphy, LL.D.,
to whom we are indebted for a very beautiful copy of the map. It
appeared again in 1561 on the map of Ruscelli, which was borrowed, as
well as the whole map, from the above work.--_Vide Ruscelli's map in
Dr. Kohl's Documentary History of Maine_, Maine Hist. Soc., Portland,
1869, p. 233. On this map, Larcadia stands on the coast of Maine, in
the midst of the vast territory included in De Monts's grant, between
the degrees of forty and forty-six north latitude. It will be
observed, if we take away the Latin termination, that the
pronunciation of this word as it first appeared in 1547, would not
differ in _sound_ from La Cadie. It seems, therefore, very clear that
the name of the territory stretching along the coast of Maine, we know
not how far north or south, as it was caught from the lips of the
natives at some time anterior 1547, was best represented by La Cadie,
as pronounced by the French. Whether De Monts had obtained the name of
his American domain from those who had recently visited the coast and
had caught its sound from the natives, or whether he had taken it from
this ancient map, we must remain uninformed. Several writers have
ventured to interpret the word, and give us its original meaning. The
following definitions have been offered: 1. The land of dogs; 2. Our
village; 3. The fish called pollock; 4. Place; 5. Abundance. We do not
undertake to decide between the disagreeing doctors. But it is obvious
to remark that a rich field lies open ready for a noble harvest for
any young scholar who has a genius for philology, and who is prepared
to make a life work of the study and elucidation of the original
languages of North America. The laurels in this field are still to be
gathered.
156. The islands in Boston Bay.
157. This attempt to land was in Marshfield near the mouth of South River.
Not succeeding, they sailed forward a league, and anchored at Brant
Point, which they named the Cape of St. Louis.
158. This purslane, _Portulaca oleracea_, still grows vigorously among the
Indian corn in New England, and is regarded with no more interest now
than in 1605. It is a tropical plant, and was introduced by the
Indians probably by accident with the seeds of tobacco or other
plants.
159. Here at the end of the chapter Champlain seems to be reminded that he
had omitted to mention the river of which he had learned, and had
probably seen in the bay. This was Charles River. From the western
side of Noddle's Island, or East Boston, where they were probably at
anchor, it appeared at its confluence with the Mystic River to come
from the west, or the country of the Iroquois. By reference to
Champlain's large map of 1612, this river will be clearly identified
as Charles River, in connection with Boston Bay and its numerous
islands. On that map it is represented as a long river flowing from
the west. This description of the river by Champlain was probably from
personal observation. Had he obtained his information from the
Indians, they would not have told him that it was broad or that it
came from the west, for such are not the facts; but they would have
represented to him that it was small, winding in its course, and that
it came from the south. We infer, therefore, that he not only saw it
himself, but probably from the deck of the little French barque, as it
was riding at anchor in our harbor near East Boston, where Charles
River, augmented by the tide, flows into the harbor from the west, in
a strong, broad, deep current. They named it in honor of Pierre du
Guast, Sieur de Monts, the commander of this expedition. Champlain
writes the name "du Gas;" De Laet has "de Gua;" while Charlevoix
writes "du Guast." This latter orthography generally prevails.
CHAPTER VIII.
CONTINUATION OF THE DISCOVERIES ALONG THE COAST OF THE ALMOUCHIQUOIS, AND
WHAT WE OBSERVED IN DETAIL.
The next day we doubled Cap St. Louis, [160] so named by Sieur de Monts, a
land rather low, and in latitude 42° 45'. [161] The same day we sailed two
leagues along a sandy coast, as we passed along which we saw a great many
cabins and gardens. The wind being contrary, we entered a little bay to
await a time favorable for proceeding. There came to us two or three
canoes, which had just been fishing for cod and other fish, which are found
there in large numbers. These they catch with hooks made of a piece of
wood, to which they attach a bone in the shape of a spear, and fasten it
very securely. The whole has a fang-shape, and the line attached to it is
made out of the bark of a tree. They gave me one of their hooks, which I
took as a curiosity. In it the bone was fastened on by hemp, like that in
France, as it seemed to me, and they told me that they gathered this plant
without being obliged to cultivate it; and indicated that it grew to the
height of four or five feet. [162] This canoe went back on shore to give
notice to their fellow inhabitants, who caused columns of smoke to arise on
our account. We saw eighteen or twenty savages, who came to the shore and
began to dance. Our canoe landed in order to give them some bagatelles, at
which they were greatly pleased. Some of them came to us and begged us to
go to their river. We weighed anchor to do so, but were unable to enter on
account of the small amount of water, it being low tide, and were
accordingly obliged to anchor at the mouth. I went ashore, where I saw many
others, who received us very cordially. I made also an examination of the
river, but saw only an arm of water extending a short distance inland,
where the land is only in part cleared up. Running into this is merely a
brook not deep enough for boats except at full tide. The circuit of the bay
is about a league. On one side of the entrance to this bay there is a point
which is almost an island, covered with wood, principally pines, and
adjoins sand-banks, which are very extensive. On the other side, the land
is high. There are two islets in this bay, which are not seen until one
has entered, and around which it is almost entirely dry at low tide. This
place is very conspicuous from the sea, for the coast is very low,
excepting the cape at the entrance to the bay. We named it the Port du Cap
St. Louis, [163] distant two leagues from the above cape, and ten from the
Island Cape. It is in about the same latitude as Cap St. Louis.
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
PORT ST. LOUIS.
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. Indicates the place where vessels lie.
_B_. The channel.
_C_. Two islands. [Note: Clark's Island is now the sole representative of
the two figured by Champlain in 1605. The action of the waves has
either united the two, or swept one of them away. It was named after
Clark, the master's mate of the "May Flower," who was the first to
step on shore, when the party of Pilgrims, sent out from Cape Cod
Harbor to Select a habitation, landed on this island, and passed the
night of the 9th of December, O. S. 1620. _Vide_ Morton's Memorial,
1669, Plymouth Ed. 1826. p. 35: Young's Chronicles, p. 160; Bradford's
His. Plym. Plantation, p. 87. This delineation removes all doubt as to
the missing island in Plymouth Harbor, and shows the incorrectness of
the theory as to its being Saquish Head, suggested in a note in
Young's Chronicles, p. 64. _Vide_ also Mourt's Relation, Dexter's ed.,
note 197.]
_D_. Sandy downs. [Note: Saquish Neck]
_E_. Shoals.
_F_. Cabins where the savages till the ground.
_G_. Place where we beached our barque.
_H_. Land having the appearance of an island, covered with wood and
adjoining the sandy downs. [Note: Saquish Head, which seems to have
been somewhat changed since the time of Champlain. Compare Coast
Survey Chart of Plymouth Harbor, 1857.]
_I_. A high promontory which may be seen four or five leagues at
sea. [Note: Manomet Bluff.]
* * * * *
On the 19th of the month, we set out from this place. Coasting along in a
southerly direction, we sailed four or five leagues, and passed near a rock
on a level with the surface of the water. As we continued our course, we
saw some land which seemed to us to be islands, but as we came nearer we
found it to be the main land, lying to the north-north-west of us, and that
it was the cape of a large bay, [164] containing more than eighteen or
nineteen leagues in circuit, into which we had run so far that we had to
wear off on the other tack in order to double the cape which we had
seen. The latter we named Cap Blanc, [165] since it contained sands and
downs which had a white appearance. A favorable wind was of great
assistance to us here, for otherwise we should have been in danger of being
driven upon the coast. This bay is very safe, provided the land be not
approached nearer than a good league, there being no islands nor rocks
except that just mentioned, which is near a river that extends some
distance inland, which we named St. Suzanne du Cap Blanc, [166] whence
across to Cap St. Louis the distance is ten leagues. Cap Blanc is a point
of sand, which bends around towards the south some six leagues. This coast
is rather high, and consists of sand, which is very conspicuous as one
comes from the Sea. At a distance of some fifteen or eighteen leagues from
land, the depth of the water is thirty, forty, and fifty fathoms, but only
ten on nearing the shore, which is unobstructed. There is a large extent
of open country along the shore before reaching the woods, which are very
attractive and beautiful. We anchored off the coast, and saw some savages,
towards whom four of our company proceeded. Making their way upon a
sand-bank, they observed something like a bay, and cabins bordering it on
all sides. When they were about a league and a half from us, there came to
them a savage dancing all over, as they expressed it. He had come down from
the high shore, but turned about shortly after to inform his fellow
inhabitants of our arrival.
The next day, the 20th of the month, we went to the place which our men had
seen, and which we found a very dangerous harbor in consequence of the
shoals and banks, where we saw breakers in all directions. It was almost
low tide when we entered, and there were only four feet of water in the
northern passage; at high tide, there are two fathoms. After we had
entered, we found the place very spacious, being perhaps three or four
leagues in circuit, entirely surrounded by little houses, around each one
of which there was as much land as the occupant needed for his support. A
small river enters here, which is very pretty, and in which at low tide
there are some three and a half feet of water. There are also two or three
brooks bordered by meadows. It would be a very fine place, if the harbor
were good. I took the altitude, and found the latitude 42°, and the
deflection of the magnetic needle 18° 40'. Many savages, men and women,
visited us, and ran up on all sides dancing. We named this place Port de
Mallebarre. [167]
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
MALLEBARRE.
_The figures indicate fathoms of water_.
_A_. The two entrances to the harbor.
_B_. Sandy downs where the savages killed a sailor belonging to the barque
of Sieur de Monts.
_C_. Places in the harbor where the barque of Sieur de Monts was.
_D_. Spring on the shore of the harbor.
_E_. A river flowing into the harbor.
_F_. A brook.
_G_. A small river where quantities of fish are caught.
_H_. Sandy downs with low shrubs and many vines.
_I_. Island at the point of the downs.
_L_. Houses and dwelling-places of the savages that till the land.
_M_. Shoals and sand-banks at the entrance and inside of the harbor.
_O_. Sandy downs.
_P_. Sea-coast,
_q_. Barque of Sieur de Poutrincourt when he visited the place two years
after Sieur de Monts.
_R_. Landing of the party of Sieur de Poutrincourt.
NOTES. A comparison of this map with the Coast Survey Charts will show very
great changes in this harbor since the days of Champlain. Not only has the
mouth of the bay receded towards the south, but this recession appears to
have left entirely dry much of the area which was flooded in 1605. Under
reference _q_, on the above map, it is intimated that De Poutrincourt's
visit was two years after that of De Monts. It was more than one, and was
the second year after, but not, strictly speaking, "two years after."
* * * * *
The next day, the 21st of the month, Sieur de Monts determined to go and
see their habitation. Nine or ten of us accompanied him with our arms; the
rest remained to guard the barque. We went about a league along the coast.
Before reaching their cabins, we entered a field planted with Indian corn
in the manner before described. The corn was in flower, and five and a half
feet high. There was some less advanced, which they plant later. We saw
many Brazilian beans, and many squashes of various sizes, very good for
eating; some tobacco, and roots which they cultivate, the latter having the
taste of an artichoke. The woods are filled with oaks, nut-trees, and
beautiful cypresses, [168] which are of a reddish color and have a very
pleasant odor. There were also several fields entirely uncultivated, the
land being allowed to remain fallow. When they wish to plant it, they set
fire to the weeds, and then work it over with their wooden spades. Their
cabins are round, and covered with heavy thatch made of reeds. In the roof
there is an opening of about a foot and a half, whence the smoke from the
fire passes out. We asked them if they had their permanent abode in this
place, and whether there was much snow. But we were unable to ascertain
this fully from them, not understanding their language, although they made
an attempt to inform us by signs, by taking some sand in their hands.
Spreading it out over the ground, and indicating that it was of the color
of our collars, and that it reached the depth of a foot. Others made signs
that there was less, and gave us to understand also that the harbor never
froze; but we were unable to ascertain whether the snow lasted long. I
conclude, however, that this region is of moderate temperature, and the
winter not severe. While we were there, there was a north-cast storm, which
lasted four days; the sky being so overcast that the sun hardly shone at
all. It was very cold, and we were obliged to put on our great-coats, which
we had entirely left off. Yet I think the cold was accidental, as it is
often experienced elsewhere out of season.
On the 23d of July, four or five seamen having gone on shore with some
kettles to get fresh water, which was to be found in one of the sand-banks
a short distance from our barque, some of the savages, coveting them,
watched the time when our men went to the spring, and then seized one out
of the hands of a sailor, who was the first to dip, and who had no
weapons. One of his companions, starting to run after him, soon returned,
as he could not catch him, since he ran much faster than himself. The other
savages, of whom there were a large number, seeing our sailors running to
our barque, and at the same time shouting to us to fire at them, took to
flight. At the time there were some of them in our barque, who threw
themselves into the sea, only one of whom we were able to seize. Those on
the land who had taken to flight, seeing them swimming, returned straight
to the sailor from whom they had taken away the kettle, hurled several
arrows at him from behind, and brought him down. Seeing this, they ran at
once to him, and despatched him with their knives. Meanwhile, haste was
made to go on shore, and muskets were fired from our barque: mine, bursting
in my hands, came near killing me. The savages, hearing this discharge of
fire-arms, took to flight, and with redoubled speed when they saw that we
had landed, for they were afraid when they saw us running after them. There
was no likelihood of our catching them, for they are as swift as horses.
We brought in the murdered man, and he was buried some hours later.
Meanwhile, we kept the prisoner bound by the feet and hands on board of our
barque, fearing that he might escape. But Sieur de Monts resolved to let
him go, being persuaded that he was not to blame, and that he had no
previous knowledge of what had transpired, as also those who, at the time,
were in and about our barque. Some hours later there came some savages to
us, to excuse themselves, indicating by signs and demonstrations that it
was not they who had committed this malicious act, but others farther off
in the interior. We did not wish to harm them, although it was in our power
to avenge ourselves.
All these savages from the Island Cape wear neither robes nor furs, except
very rarely: moreover, their robes are made of grasses and hemp, scarcely
covering the body, and coming down only to their thighs. They have only the
sexual parts concealed with a small piece of leather; so likewise the
women, with whom it comes down a little lower behind than with the men, all
the rest of the body being naked. Whenever the women came to see us, they
wore robes which were open in front. The men cut off the hair on the top of
the head like those at the river Choüacoet. I saw, among other things, a
girl with her hair very neatly dressed, with a skin colored red, and
bordered on the upper part with little shell-beads. A part of her hair
hung down behind, the rest being braided in various ways. These people
paint the face red, black, and yellow. They have scarcely any beard, and
tear it out as fast as it grows. Their bodies are well-proportioned. I
cannot tell what government they have, but I think that in this respect
they resemble their neighbors, 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. They gave us a large quantity of tobacco, which they dry and
then reduce to powder. [169] When they eat Indian corn, they boil it in
earthen pots, which they make in a way different from ours. [170]. They
bray it also in wooden mortars and reduce it to flour, of which they then
make cakes, like the Indians of Peru.
In this place and along the whole coast from Quinibequy, there are a great
many _siguenocs_, [171] which is a fish with a shell on its back like the
tortoise, yet different, there being in the middle a row of little
prickles, of the color of a dead leaf, like the rest of the fish. At the
end of this shell, there is another still smaller, bordered by very sharp
points. The length of the tail-varies according to their size. With the end
of it, these people point their arrows, and it contains also a row of
prickles like the large shell in which are the eyes. There are eight small
feet like those of the crab, and two behind longer and flatter, which they
use in swimming. There are also in front two other very small ones with
which they eat. When walking, all the feet are concealed excepting the two
hindermost which are slightly visible. Under the small shell there are
membranes which swell up, and beat like the throat of a frog, and rest upon
each other like the folds of a waistcoat. The largest specimen of this fish
that I saw was a foot broad, and a foot and a half long.
We saw also a sea-bird [172] with a black beak, the upper part slightly
aquiline, four inches long and in the form of a lancet; namely, the lower
part representing the handle and the upper the blade, which is thin, sharp
on both sides, and shorter by a third than the other, which circumference
is a matter of astonishment to many persons, who cannot comprehend how it
is possible for this bird to eat with such a beak. It is of the size of a
pigeon, the wings being very long in proportion to the body, the tail
short, as also the legs, which are red; the feet being small and flat. The
plumage on the upper part is gray-brown, and on the under part pure white.
They go always in flocks along the sea-shore, like the pigeons with us.
The savages, along all these coasts where we have been, say that other
birds, which are very large, come along when their corn is ripe. They
imitated for us their cry, which resembles that of the turkey. They showed
us their feathers in several places, with which they feather their arrows,
and which they put on their heads for decoration; and also a kind of hair
which they have under the throat like those we have in France, and they say
that a red crest falls over upon the beak. According to their description,
they are as large as a bustard, which is a kind of goose, having the neck
longer and twice as large as those with us. All these indications led us to
conclude that they were turkeys. [173] We should have been very glad to
see some of these birds, as well as their feathers, for the sake of greater
certainty. Before seeing their feathers, and the little bunch of hair which
they have under the throat, and hearing their cry imitated, I should have
thought that they were certain birds like turkeys, which are found in some
places in Peru, along the sea-shore, eating carrion and other dead things
like crows. But these are not so large; nor do they have so long a bill, or
a cry like that of real turkeys; nor are they good to eat like those which
the Indians say come in flocks in summer, and at the beginning of winter go
away to warmer countries, their natural dwelling-place.
ENDNOTES:
160. It will be observed that, after doubling this cape, they sailed two
leagues, and then entered Plymouth Harbor, and consequently this cape
must have been what is now known as Brant Point.
161. The latitude is 42° 5'.
162. This was plainly our Indian hemp, _Asclepias incarnata_. "The fibres
of the bark are strong, and capable of being wrought into a fine soft
thread; but it is very difficult to separate the bark from the stalk.
It is said to have been used by the Indians for bow-strings."--_Vide
Cutler in Memoirs of the American Academy_, Vol. I. p. 424. It is the
Swamp Milkweed of Gray, and grows in wet grounds. One variety is
common in New England. The Pilgrims found at Plymouth "an excellent
strong kind of Flaxe and Hempe"--_Vide Mourt's Relation_, Dexter's
ed. p. 62.
163. _Port du Cap St. Louis_. From the plain, the map in his edition of
1613, drawing of this Harbor left by Champlain, and also that of the
edition of 1632, it is plain that the "Port du Cap St. Louis" is
Plymouth Harbor, where anchored the "Mayflower" a little more than
fifteen years later than this, freighted with the first permanent
English colony established in New England, commonly known as the
Pilgrims. The Indian name of the harbor, according to Captain John
Smith, who visited it in 1614. was Accomack. He gave it, by direction
of Prince Charles, the name of Plymouth. More recent investigations
point to this harbor as the one visited by Martin Pring in 1603.--
_Vide Paper by the Rev Benj. F. De Costa, before the New England
His. Gen. Society_, Nov. 7, 1877, New England His. and Gen. Register,
Vol. XXXII. p. 79.
The interview of the French with the natives was brief, but courteous
and friendly on both sides. The English visits were interrupted by
more or less hostility. "When Pring was about ready to leave, the
Indians became hostile and set the woods on fire, and he saw it burn
'for a mile space.'"--_De Costa_. A skirmish of some seriousness
occurred with Smith's party. "After much kindnesse upon a small
occasion, wee fought also with fortie or fiftie of those: though some
were hurt, and some slaine, yet within an hour after they became
friends."--_Smith's New England_, Boston, ed. 1865, p. 45.
164. Cape Cod Bay.
165. They named it "le Cap Blanc," the White Cape, from its white
appearance, while Bartholomew Gosnold, three years before, had named
it Cape Cod from the multitude of codfish near its shores. Captain
John Smith called it Cape James. All the early navigators who passed
along our Atlantic coast seem to have seen the headland of Cape
Cod. It is well defined on Juan de la Cosa's map of 1500, although no
name is given to it. On Ribero's map of 1529 it is called _C. de
arenas_. On the map of Nic. Vallard de Dieppe of 1543, it is called
_C. de Croix_.
166. Wellfleet Harbor. It may be observed that a little farther back
Champlain says that, having sailed along in a southerly direction four
or five leagues, they were at a place where there was a "rock on a
level with the surface of the water," and that they saw lying
north-north-west of them Cap Blanc, that is, Cape Cod; he now says
that the "rock" is near a river, which they named St. Suzanne du Cap
Blanc, and tha
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