the lands, and the conversion of the natives, which implied the employment of many missionaries, the fur trade must be regarded as the one essential foundation and resource which originated the colony and sustained its growth, until, after an infancy of more than one hundred and fifty years, its permanence was assured. As will be gathered from the course of early Canadian history, almost every question of any importance that arose amongst the French colonists themselves, or between them and the Indians, or affecting their relations with the nearest European colonists, was connected directly or indirectly with that traffic.* In short, it supplied to the cupidity of companies and traders that sort of food, which, to the Spanish adventurers in Mexico and Peru, was presented in the form of the precious metals; and it was a chief cause which, in con

* Of the wild animals of New France here alluded to, the most useful were the beaver, moose, cariboo, the bear, the otter, the marten, wolf, fox, the puma, wild cat, ermine, musk-rat. Before Europeans came, the savages destroyed and made use of these creatures only according as their safety or their wants dictated. In the forests, therefore, and especially in the lake regions, and northward to Hudson's Bay, wild animals abounded, and may be supposed to have been on the increase. The peltry trade, into which not only the French entered, but also the English and Dutch traders, who established posts in New England, soon imparted to the Indians a higher estimate of the products of the chase, and, in course of time, was extended far inland, northward and westward, until all the wandering tribes participated. Then the multiplication of some of the more valuable species (especially the beaver) was greatly diminished, and, proportionally, the increased prices offered by the traders compensated for the comparative scarcity of animals.

M. Ferland, in reference to Tadoussac and the Saguenay, thus remarks upon the value of furs procurable in their vicinity 260 years ago :— "... His (M. du Monts') observations in the neighbourhood of Tadoussac, disgusted him with the country extending northward. The traders, on the contrary, made for those parts, because there they found their profit. The Saguenay, in truth, did not contain either gold mines or precious stones, as was at first supposed; but it furnished other sources of riches. These consisted in its valuable furs, which at that time bore a high price in Europe-the marten, the otter, the beaver, and above all the black fox (a good skin in the present day fetches 100 dol. on the coast of

junction with the pious aims of the zealous Catholic missionaries, extended discovery westward and southward into the very heart of the continent. In the earlier days of Canada, the spoils of the chase constituted her riches-her only products available for market abroad.

CHAPTER V.

M. PONTEGRAVÉ AND CAPTAIN CHAUVIN—M. DE CHATES— M. DE MONTS--CHAMPLAIN.

21. In the years 1599 and 1600, M. Pontegravé and M. A.D. 1599, Chauvin, who seem to have been skilled both in

1600. seamanship and in mercantile pursuits, were associated together in making voyages to the St Lawrence. They had procured a charter from King Henry IV., by which, in return for the exclusive right of trafficking in furs, they became bound to transport to New France five hundred colonists. The conditions seem to have been very imperfectly fulfilled. Those whom they took out under the name of colonists were simply factors and male servants of the associates. Many of them died from disease and hardship, aggravated by the tardy manner in which the necessary supplies from France were furnished. At the

Labrador, and 300 dol. in Russia), were highly esteemed on account of the value of their skins, which commanded a ready sale at high prices. This north side was therefore, in spite of the rigour of its climate and sterility of its soil, much frequented by merchants, who procured the richest furs in exchange for articles of little worth-such as hatchets, knives, fish-hooks, arrows, &c.”

same time the privileges conferred upon M. Pontegravé and Chauvin were not secured to them, nor respected by others, since private merchants belonging to Dieppe, St Malo, Rouen, and Rochelle continued to prosecute the fur trade on their own account.

It is not clear that they carried out any actual settlers or colonists. Chauvin appears to have been the more active partner; and being a Huguenot, as well as indifferent about matters not immediately conducive to profit, he certainly neglected the condition of the charter whereby he was bound to establish a system of religion to which he was opposed. His associate, Pontegravé, accompanied him up the St Lawrence, into Lake St Peter, where it was proposed to have a trading post at the locality since called Three Rivers. But Chauvin objected in favour of Tadoussac, at the mouth of the Saguenay, where a building was erected, and a party of sixteen men left to pass the winter. The partners then returned to France, accompanied by a French gentleman named De Monts, who had gone out with them to see the country. When Chauvin came back, in the ensuing spring, he found that most of those whom he had left at Tadoussac had perished through disease and famine. In the following year, he himself died on shipboard. The fur business had not, on the whole, been very profitable, chiefly by reason of the unlicensed traffic carried on by the traders and merchants already mentioned. But, after Chauvin's decease, measures were taken to put an end to that kind of opposition. Pontegravé allied himself with an influential and wealthy gentleman, named De Chates, the Commandant of Dieppe. Under his auspices a company was formed so as to include those merchants of Dieppe, Rouen, and other places, and thus make these partners instead of opponents. The head of the new company, De

A. D. 1601.

A.D. 1602.

Chates, was a judicious and honourable person, high in favour at the court of Henry IV. In addition to other advantages arising from his connection, he was the means of bringing forward the renowned Champlain.

22. Samuel de Champlain, who must be regarded as the real founder of the Canadian colony, was already a noted man when invited by De Chates to take part in the enterprise for colonising New France. He had served in the French marine at the Antilles, and also in the South of France against the Spaniards, and De Chates had met him at court. He was a man of noble and virtuous disposition, chivalrous, and inspired with a deep sense of religion, and at that time about thirty-six years of age. It will also be seen that Champlain was gifted with qualities which endeared him both to his own followers and to the native Indians of Canada. He was of good address-always able, when he desired it, to render himself acceptable to the highest personages in France, so as to secure a willing attention to his representations. Such was the man who, under the auspices of De Chates and of M. de Monts, first made his appearance in New France, in whose early annals he figured conspicuously upwards of thirty years. 23. In 1603, Champlain, in conjunction with Pontegravé, made his first voyage to the St LawA. D. 1603. rence. At Tadoussac they left their ships and ascended the river in boats, to the then farthest attainable point-the Sault St Louis, now known as "The Rapids," above the city of Montreal. The features of the country, so far as they could be examined from the river, were carefully observed. The Indian towns of Cartier's time, Stadacona and Hochelaga, were no longer in existence; but Champlain regarded with attention the scenery around their sites. Hochelaga is not even mentioned by him, although, acting as Cartier had done nearly seventy years

before, he ascended Mount-Royal in order to obtain a good view.

Returning to Tadoussac, where their three small vessels had been left, Champlain and Pontegravé, towards autumn, set sail for France.

De Chates had died during their absence, and the company formed by him was already almost broken up. Champlain, however, prepared a narrative, and a map to illustrate what he had seen, and submitted these for the information of King Henry, who expressed his willingness to countenance the resumption of plans for settling the country.

A.D. 1603.

24. Almost immediately afterwards the company was re-organised by M. de Monts, of whom mention has already been made. He also was a Huguenot, patriotic, of great abilities and experience, and possessing much influence at court, without which he could not have surmounted impediments that were purposely raised against his designs from the first. The King, unmoved by the objections to De Monts, appointed him Lieutenant-General of the North American territory between lat. 40° and 46° N., with instructions to establish colonists, cultivate the soil, search for mines of gold and silver, build forts and towns, and with power to confer grants of land, as well as the exclusive right of trading with the natives in furs and all kinds of merchandise. Although a Protestant, while De Monts and his friends were to enjoy the free exercise of their religion, he was bound by the charter to provide for the conversion of the natives, and their training, exclusively, in the principles and worship of the Church of Rome.

The King was the more willing to grant a charter on these terms, because De Monts and his company were to bear all the costs that might be incurred in their enter