CARTIER AND ROBERVAL IN CANADA. I. 27 near the site of Quebec, built a fort for the security CHAP. of his party; but no considerable advances in geographical knowledge appear to have been made. 1541. The winter passed in sullenness and gloom. In June of the following year, he and his ships stole away and returned to France, just as Roberval 1542. arrived with a considerable reinforcement. Unsustained by Cartier, Roberval accomplished no more than a verification of previous discoveries. Remaining about a year in America, he abandoned his immense viceroyalty. Estates in Picardy were better than titles in Norimbega. His subjects must have been a sad company; during the winter, one was hanged for theft; several were put in irons; and "divers persons, as well women as men," were whipped. By these means quiet was preserved.2 Perhaps the expedition on its return entered the bay of Massachusetts; the French diplomatists always contended, that Boston was built within the original limits of New-France. The commission of Roberval was followed by no 1549. permanent results. It is confidently said, that, at a later date, he again embarked for his viceroyalty, accompanied by a numerous train of adventurers; and, as he was never more heard of, he may have perished at sea. Can it be a matter of surprise, that, for the next fifty years, no further discoveries were attempted by 1 Chalmers places this event in 1545, entirely without reason. Chalmers, p. 82. 2 Hakluyt, v. iii. p. 296. 3 See the narrative of the Pilot, in Hakluyt, v. iii. p. 294. "I have 4 Charlevoix, N. F. v. i. p. 22. 1550. to 1600 I. 1550. to CHAP. the government of a nation, which had become a prey to the fury of civil wars and the fiercest contests of vindictive fanaticism? There was, indeed, a plan 1562, matured among the protestants of France for a 1567. colony in what was then called Florida. The melancholy results of this effort of private enterprize will presently be recorded; a government, which 1572. could devise the massacre of St. Bartholomew, was Aug. neither worthy nor able to lay the foundation of new 24. states. At length, under the mild and tolerant reign of Henry IV., the star of France emerged from the clouds of blood, treachery and civil war, which had so long eclipsed her glory. The number and importance of the fishing stages had increased; in 1578 1578. there were one hundred and fifty French vessels at Newfoundland, and even regular trading voyages for 1581. the purpose of traffic with the natives, now began to be successfully made. At a later period, a French mariner is spoken of, who, before 1609, had made more than forty voyages to the fisheries on the American coast.3 The purpose of founding a permanent French empire in America was now vigor1598. ously renewed. A commission,1 not less ample than that which had been conceded to Roberval, was issued to the Marquis de la Roche, a nobleman of Brittany. Yet his enterprize entirely failed. He swept the prisons of France in search of emigrants; 1 Hakluyt, v. iii. p. 171. A let- 3 Purchas, v. iv. p. 1605; Les carbot, in Purchas, v. iv. p. 1640. 4 Charlevoix, N. F. v. i. p. 107. Haliburton's Hist. of N. Scotia, v. i. p. 10,11. Purchas, v. iv. p. 1807. TRADING VOYAGES. SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN. I. 29 those miserable men he established on the isle of CHAP. Sable; and the wretched exiles, terrified at their solitude and the barrenness of the soil, sighed for their 1598. dungeons. After some years, a few, who survived, were once more brought within the influence of civilized life. The miserable men were pardoned for their former crimes. A temporary exile to America was deemed a sufficient commutation for a long imprisonment. The prospect of gain prompted the next enterprize. A monopoly of the fur-trade, with an ample patent, was obtained by Chauvin; and Pontgravé, a 1600. merchant of St. Malo, shared the traffic. The 1601-2 voyage was repeated, for it was lucrative. The death of Chauvin prevented his settling a colony. A firmer hope of success was entertained, when a 1603. company of merchants of Rouen was formed by the governor of Dieppe; and Samuel Champlain,2 of Brouage, an officer of bravery, experience and skill, was appointed to direct the expedition. For Champlain by his natural disposition "delighted marvellously in these enterprizes," and became the father of the French settlements in Canada. He possessed a clear and penetrating understanding with a spirit of cautious inquiry; untiring perseverance with great mobility; indefatigable activity with the most fearless courage. The account of his first expedi- 1603. tion3 gives proof of sound judgment and accurate observation. It is full of careful remarks on the 1 Charlevoix, N. F. v. i. p. 110, 111. 2 Charlevoix, N. F. v. i. p. 111. 3 Purchas' Pilgrims, v. iv. p. 1605-1619. Compare Belknap's American Biog. v. i. p. 322, 323. CHAP. manners and character of the savage tribes, not less I. 1603. 1603. Nov. 8. 1604. Mar. 7. than of exact details on the geography of the country; and the position of Quebec, an Indian word which signifies a strait, was already selected as the appropriate site for a fort. Champlain returned to France just before an exclusive patent1 had been issued to De Monts. The sovereignty of Acadia, the country from the fortieth to the forty-sixth degree of latitude, that is, from Philadelphia to beyond Montreal, the special monopoly of the lucrative fur-trade, the exclusive right of granting the soil, admitting emigrants, controlling trade, and appropriating domains, were some of the privileges, which the charter conceded. The vagabonds,3 idlers, and men without a profession, as well in the towns as in the villages of France, and all banished men, were doomed to lend him aid. The certain profits of a lucrative monopoly were added to the honors of territorial jurisdiction. Wealth and glory were alike expected. An expedition1 was prepared without delay, and left the shores of France, not to return, till a permanent French settlement should be made in America. All New-France was now contained in two ships; 5 which followed the well-known path to Nova Scotia. 1 See the patent, in Purchas, v. iv. p. 1619, 1620, much abridged. It is entire in Hazard, v. i. p. 45— 48. Lescarbot, t. ii. p. 432–446. 2 Charlevoix, N. F. v. i. p. 111. 3 Prevaloir des vagabonds, personnes oiseuses et sans aveu, &c. Hazard, v. i. p. 47. 4 On this expedition the materials are ample. Lescarbot, l. iv. in Purchas, v. iv. p. 1620-1641. Compare Charlevoix, N. Fr. v. i. p. 111, and ff. Of American authors, Belknap's Am. Biog. v. i. p. 323, and ff.; Haliburton's Nova Scotia, v. i. p. 12, and ff.; Holmes' Annals, v. i. p. 121, 122; and Williamson's elaborate History of Maine, v. i. p. 188. 5 Les. in Purchas, v. iv. p. 1620. FRENCH SETTLEMENT AT PORT ROYAL. I. 31 The summer glided away, while the emigrants CHAP. trafficked with the natives and explored the coasts. The harbor, called Annapolis after the conquest 1604. of Acadia by Queen Ann, an excellent harbor, though difficult of access, possessing a small but navigable river, which abounded in fish and is bordered by beautiful meadows, so pleased the imagination of Poutrincourt,' a leader in the enterprize, that he sued for a grant of it from De Monts, and, naming it Port Royal, determined to reside there with his family. The company of De Monts made their first attempt at a settlement on the island of 1604. St. Croix, at the mouth of the river of the same name. That river subsequently was adopted as the boundary of the United States; and when a question was raised, which stream was the true St. Croix, the remains of the fortification3 of De Monts assisted to decide the question. Yet the island was so ill suited to the purposes of the colony, that, in the following spring, it was abandoned, and the whole company 1605. removed to Port Royal.* 2 The judgment of De Monts clearly saw, that, for an agricultural colony, a situation in a milder climate was more desirable; and, in the view of making a settlement at the south, he explored and claimed for 1605. France, the rivers, the coasts and the bays of New 1 Lescarbot, in Purchas, v. iv. p. 1621. Compare Haliburton's Nova Scotia, v. i. p. 15. 2 Lescarbot, in Purchas, v. iv. p. 1622; Charlevoix, N. F. v. i. p. 115, 116. 3 Webber's remark, in note in Holmes' Annals, v. i. p. 122. Com pare Belknap's Am. Biog. v. i. p. 4 Lescarbot, in Purchas, v. iv. |