FIRST VOYAGE OF CARTIER FOR FRANCE. I. 19 20. May 10. captain, in which he declares, he found in that one harbor CHAP. eleven sail of Normans and one Breton, engaged in the fishery. The French king, engrossed by the passionate 1527. and unsuccessful rivalry with Charles V., could hardly respect so humble an interest. But Chabot, admiral of France,1 a man of bravery and influence, acquainted by his office with the fishermen, on whose vessels he levied some small exactions for his private emolument, interested Francis in the design of exploring and colo- 1534. nizing the New World. James Cartier, a mariner of St. Malo, was selected to lead the expedition. His several voyages are of great moment; for they had a permanent effect in guiding the attention of France to the region of the St. Lawrence. It was in April, that April the mariner, with two ships, left the harbor of St. Malo; and prosperous weather brought him in twenty days upon the coasts of Newfoundland. Having almost circumnavigated the island, he turned to the south, and, crossing the gulf, entered the bay, which he called Des Chaleurs, from the intense heats of midsummer. Finding no passage to the west, he sailed along the July coast, as far as the smaller inlet of Gaspe. There, upon a point of land, at the entrance of the haven, a lofty cross was raised, bearing a shield, with the lilies of France and an appropriate inscription. Henceforth the soil was to be esteemed a part of the dominions of the French king. Leaving the Bay of Gaspe, Cartier dis- Aug. covered the great river of Canada, and sailed up its channel, till he could discern land on either side. As he was unprepared to remain during the winter, it then Aug. became necessary to return; the little fleet embarked 1 Charlevoix, Nouv. Fr. i. 8. 2 See Cartier's account in Hakluyt, iii. 250-262. Compare Char levoix, N. F. i. 8, 9; Purchas, i. 12. 9. 20 SECOND VOYAGE OF CARTIER FOR FRANCE. CHAP. for Europe, and, in less than thirty days,' entered the I. harbor of St. Malo in security. His native city and 1534. France were filled with the tidings of his discoveries. Sept. 5. The voyage had been easy and successful. Even at this day, the passage to and fro is not often made more rapidly or more safely. 2 Could a gallant nation, which was then ready to contend for power and honor with the united force of Austria and Spain, hesitate to pursue the career of dis1534. covery, so prosperously opened? The court listened. to the urgency of the friends of Cartier ; a new commission was issued; three well-furnished ships were provided by the king; and some of the young nobility of France volunteered to join the new expedition. Solemn preparations were made for departure; religion prepared a splendid pageant, previous to the embarkation; the whole company, repairing to the cathedral, 1535. received absolution and the bishop's blessing. The May adventurers were eager to cross the Atlantic; and the squadron sailed for the New World, full of hopes of discoveries and plans of colonization in the territory which now began to be known as New France.* It was after a stormy voyage, that they arrived within sight of Newfoundland. Passing to the west of that 1535. island on the day of St. Lawrence, they gave the Aug. name of that martyr to a portion of the noble gulf a name which has gradu 19. 10. which opened before them; 1 Holmes's Annals, i. 65. "He returned in April." Not so. Compare Hakluyt, iii. 261, or Belknap, i. 163. The excellent annalist rarely is in error, even in minute particulars. He merits the gratitude of every student of American history. Purchas, i. 931, edition of 1617, says, "Francis I. sent thither James Breton." This per son can be no other than James Cartier, a Breton. 2 Charlevoix, N. F. i. 9. 3 See the original account of the voyage in Hakluyt, iii. 262-285. Compare Charlevoix, N. F. i. 815; Belknap's Am. Biog. i. 164178. Purchas is less copious. 4 Hakluyt, iii. 285. CARTIER AT MONTREAL. 1. 21 ally extended to the whole gulf, and to the river. Sail- CHAP. ing to the north of Anticosti, they ascended the stream in September, as far as a pleasant harbor in the isle, 1535. since called Orleans. The natives, Indians of Algonquin descent, received them with unsuspecting hospitality. Leaving his ships safely moored, Cartier, in a boat, sailed up the majestic stream to the chief Indian settlement on the island of Hochelaga. The language of its inhabitants proves them to have been of the Huron family of tribes.1 The town lay at the foot of a hill, which he climbed. As he reached the summit, he was moved to admiration by the prospect before him of woods, and waters, and mountains. Imagination presented it as the future emporium of inland commerce, and the metropolis of a prosperous province; filled with bright anticipations, he called the hill Mont-Real,' and time, that has transferred the name to the island, is realizing his visions. Cartier also gathered of the Indians some indistinct account of the countries now contained in the north of Vermont and New York. joining his ships, the winter, rendered frightful by the ravages of the scurvy, was passed where they were ⚫ anchored. At the approach of spring, a cross was solemnly erected upon land, and on it a shield was suspended, which bore the arms of France, and an inscription, declaring Francis to be the rightful king of these new-found regions. Having thus claimed possession of the territory, the Breton mariner returned to 1536. Europe, and once more entered St. Malo in security. July The description which Cartier gave of the country 1536 bordering on the St. Lawrence, furnished arguments3 1540. against attempting a colony. The intense severity of 1 Charlevoix, i. 12. Cass, in N. A. Rev. XXIV. 421. 2 Hakluyt, iii. 272. 3 Charlevoix, N. F. i. 20. Re 6. to 22 VOYAGES OF CARTIER AND ROBERVAL TO CANADA. CHAP. the climate terrified even the inhabitants of the north I. of France; and no mines of silver and gold, no veins 1540. abounding in diamonds and precious stones, had been promised by the faithful narrative of the voyage. Three or four years, therefore, elapsed, before plans of colonization were renewed. Yet imagination did not fail to anticipate the establishment of a state upon the fertile banks of a river, which surpassed all the streams of Europe in grandeur, and flowed through a country situated between nearly the same parallels as France. Soon after a short peace had terminated the third desperate struggle between Francis I. and Charles V., attention to America was again awakened; there were not wanting men at court, who deemed it unworthy at gallant nation to abandon the enterprise; and a nobleman of Picardy, Francis de la Roque, lord of Roberval, a man of considerable provincial distinction, sought and 1540. obtained' a commission. It was easy to confer prov Jan inces and plant colonies upon parchment; Roberval 15. could congratulate himself on being the acknowledged lord of the unknown Norimbega, and viceroy, with full regal authority, over the immense territories and islands which lie near the gulf or along the river St. Lawrence. But the ambitious nobleman could not dispense with the services of the former naval commander, who possessed the confidence of the king; and Cartier also received a commission. Its terms merit consideration. He was appointed captain-general and chief pilot of Oct. the expedition; he was directed to take with him persons of every trade and art; to repair to the newlydiscovered territory; and to dwell there with the na 17. 1 Charlevoix, N. F. i. 20, 21. The account in Charlevoix needs to be corrected by the documents and original accounts in L'Escarbot and Hakluyt. CARTIER AND ROBERVAL IN CANADA. I. 23 tives. But where were the honest tradesmen and in- CHAP. dustrious mechanics to be found, who would repair to this New World? The commission gave Cartier full au- 1540. thority to ransack the prisons; to rescue the unfortunate and the criminal; and to make up the complement of his men from their number. Thieves or homicides, the spendthrift or the fraudulent bankrupt, the debtors to justice or its victims, prisoners rightfully or wrongfully detained, excepting only those arrested for treason or counterfeiting money, these were the people by whom the colony was, in part, to be established.' 23. The division of authority between Cartier and Ro- 1541. berval of itself defeated the enterprise. Roberval was ambitious of power; and Cartier desired the exclusive honor of discovery. They neither embarked in company, nor acted in concert. Cartier sailed3 from St. May Malo the next spring after the date of his commission ; he arrived at the scene of his former adventures, ascended the St. Lawrence, and, near the site of Quebec, built a fort for the security of his party; but no considerable advances in geographical knowledge appear to have been made. The winter passed in sullenness and gloom. In June of the following year, he and his 1542. ships stole away and returned to France, just as Roberval arrived with a considerable reinforcement. Unsustained by Cartier, Roberval accomplished no more than a verification of previous discoveries. Remaining about 4 year; and, further, it is undisputed, 4 Chalmers, 82, places this event |