René-Robert Cavalier de Champlain

“ Christmas day, 1635, was a dark day in the annals of New France. In a chamber of the fort, breathless and cold, lay the hardy frame which war, the wilderness, and the sea had buffeted so long in vain. After two months and a half of illness, Champlain, at the age of sixty-eight, was dead. His last cares were for his colony and the succor of its suffering families. Jesuits, officers, soldiers, traders, and the few settlers of Quebec followed his remains to the church; Le Jeune pronounced his eulogy, and the feeble community built a tomb to his honor. ”

“ Second only to Champlain among the heroes of Canadian history stands Robert Cavelier de la Salle—a man of iron if ever there was one—a man austere and cold in manner, and endowed with such indomitable pluck and perseverance as have never been surpassed in this world. ”

“ An influential protector was needed; and Champlain prevailed upon Charles de Bourbon, comte de Soissons, to interest himself to obtain from the king the appointment of lieutenant-general in New France. The comte de Soissons died almost immediately, and was succeeded in the office by Henri de Bourbon, prince de Condé, and he, like his predecessors and successors, retained Champlain as lieutenant-governor. “In Champlain alone was the life of New France. By instinct and temperament he was more impelled to the adventurous toils of exploration than to the duller task of building colonies. ”

“ At no point can his narrative be thought dull, compact as it is and always in touch with energetic action. But the details of fur trading at Tadoussac and the Sault St Louis, or even of voyaging along the Acadian seaboard, are far less absorbing than the tale of the canoe and the war party. Amid the depths of the interior Champlain reaped his richest experiences as an explorer. With the Indians for his allies and enemies he reached his fullest stature as a leader. ”

“ The author of the "Secret Life of Louis XV," says that New France owed its vigour to its first settlers; their families had multiplied and formed a people, healthy, strong, honourable, and attached to good principles. Father Le Clercq, a Récollet, the Venerable Mother de l'Incarnation, and many others, seem to take pleasure in praising the virtues of our first ancestors.
Champlain had begun his administration by establishing order everywhere, and chiefly among the soldiers, who easily understood military discipline, but the religious code with more difficulty. Fort St. ”

“ On his arrival in France, Champlain found the affairs of the new company in great disorder, from the detention of its chief protector, Monseigneur le Prince de Condé, who had been created Viceroy of Canada, "and this," says he, "made me judge that the envious would not delay to vomit their poison, and that they would now do that which before they dared not; for the head being sick, the members cannot be healthy." ”

“ It is not reasonable that one should capture the lamb and another go off with the fleece. If they had been willing to participate in our discoveries, use their means and risk their persons, they would have given evidence of their honour and nobleness, but, on the contrary, they show clearly that they are impelled by pure malice that they may enjoy the fruit of our labours equally with ourselves.' Against folk of this sort Champlain felt he had to protect the national interests which were so dear to him and De Monts. ”

“ In the year 1618 Champlain continued to urge the associates to greater activity and exertion, advising them to send out more men and materials than by their articles they were strictly bound to do, as the troubles which existed in France prevented the king from detaching any men for that service. The colony would otherwise languish, and the advantages they had already gained would be lost. The company objected, the unsettled and changeable state of affairs in France, and that which had happened to Mons. de Monts might well happen to them also ”

“ The brothers were François Charton and Gilbert Burel. Father Lalemant, formerly director of the college of Clermont, was appointed director of the mission. Champlain speaks of him as a very devoted and zealous man. Father Massé had been previously in Acadia, where he proved his devotedness to the Indians. Father de Brébeuf, the youngest of the three, was distinguished by reason of his mature judgment and great prudence. The number of the Récollets was increased by the arrival of Father Joseph de la Roche d'Aillon, a man of noble and exalted character. ”

“ 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.
{40} This passage at least shows that Champlain sought to be just to the savages of the Atlantic. Though he found them thieves, he is willing to conjecture that they would not steal if they had anything to trade.
The thieving habits of the Cape Cod Indians led to a fight between them and the French in which one Frenchman was killed, and Champlain narrowly escaped death through the explosion of his own musket. ”

“ Fortunately, the survivors were picked up by an English ship and carried to England.
In 1564 René de Laudonnière was sent to Florida by Admiral de Coligny. He sailed on the 22nd of April, and duly arrived at the Rivière de Mai, where he built a fort, which he named La Caroline, rechristened by the Spaniards "San Matteo." As in the case of Captain Albert, a conspiracy was formed against Laudonnière, his men mutinied, and threatened to kill him if he would not allow them to go to sea and pillage the Virgin Islands and the coast of St. Domingo: Laudonnière was forced to consent. ”

“ Naturalist, mariner, geographer, such was Samuel Champlain, and to a degree remarkable for the age in which he lived. It is, perhaps, unnecessary to dwell upon the morality of the virtuous founder. The testimony of the Hurons, who, twenty years after his death, still pointed to the life of Champlain as a model of all Christian virtues, is sufficient, and it is certain that no governor under the old régime presented a more brilliant example of faith, piety, uprightness, or soundness of judgment. ”

“ Having equipped his vessels, he gave the command of one of them to Du Pont Gravé, and proceeding to the river St. Lawrence, arrived in safety at Tadoussac, at the junction of the Saguenay with that river. One of the objects which they were bound mainly to follow was the propagation of the Roman Catholic religion among the savages. Chauvin's people were for the most part Catholics, but the chiefs were Calvinists, which was not precisely adapted for the fulfilment of the projected purpose, "but that," again says Champlain, "was what they thought of the least." ”

“ This artist was born in Rouen about 1615, and died not earlier than 1670. He practised his art in Paris, where he kept a shop for the sale of prints. Though not eminently distinguished as a skilful artist, he nevertheless left many works, particularly a great number of portraits. As he had not arrived at the age of manhood when Champlain died, his engraving of him was probably executed about fifteen or twenty years after that event. At that time Madame Champlain, his widow, was still living, as likewise many of Champlaln's intimate friends. ”

“ His second act on the same morning was to visit an Indian wigwam, and stand sponsor for an invalid who desired baptism, the greatest honour and sweetest consolation, he said, which he could have desired at his arrival in New France. His great aim from the beginning was to walk in the steps of his predecessor, and thus develop and consolidate the work so happily commenced. He maintained the moral and religious tone of society, by following up Champlain's plan of excluding disreputable and vicious characters. ”

“ As representatives of the great French Republic, you are welcome to the nation that the old France sustained and befriended in the hour of its almost hopeless struggle for liberty. You are twice welcome in this particular spot; discovered and explored by the great Champlain, trodden by the intrepid foot of Montcalm, and sought out by the zealous heart of Jogues. It would be impossible to honor us more than to permit us to see and hear representatives of so many branches of French activities and learning, of men and institutions that have made for the progress and enlightenment of the world ”

“ Some American carriages, a little seat on four very light wheels; some wagons, twenty automobiles, are scattered on the grass, while around the lighthouse, on all the levels of the rock, are seated upon [105] benches or on the ground a mixed population, intimate, badly controlling the children who race around like young quail; listening, understanding—or pretending to understand—the speeches which glorify Champlain. The bronze medallion which represents France, the work of Rodin, brought by us, is already set in its niche in front. The wind blows ”

“ Champlain was as much at home in the brilliant court of France as in a wigwam on a Canadian lake, as patient and politic with a wild band of savages on Lake Huron as with a crowd of grasping traders in St. Malo or Dieppe. Always calm, always unselfish, always depending on God, in whom he believed and trusted, and thinking of France, which he loved, this single-hearted man resolutely followed the path of his duty under all circumstances ”

“ Champlain fixed on the site of Quebec and founded the first white settlement there in July 1608, giving it its present name. In the spring he joined a war party of Algonquins and Hurons, discovered the great lake that bears his name, and, near the present Ticonderoga, took with his arquebus an important part in the victory which his savage friends obtained over the Iroquois. The Iroquois naturally turned first to the Dutch and then to the English for allies. “Thus did new France rush into collision with the redoubted warriors of the Five Nations. ”

“ At the age of thirty-one he was fortunate enough to be freed from fighting against his own countrymen. In 1598 was signed the Peace of Vervins by which the enemies of Henry IV, both Leaguers and Spaniards, acknowledged their defeat. To France the close of fratricidal strife came as a happy release. To Champlain it meant also the dawn of a career. Hastening to the coast, he began the long series of voyages which was to occupy the remainder of his life. ”

“ There are lowlands enough for a population far exceeding that now occupying the United States. But this is a digression. Champlain's Missionaries set themselves vigorously to the work of christianizing the heathen, while Champlain himself industriously began to fight them. He extended the olive branch from his left hand, and stabbed vigorously with a sword in his right hand. The Missionaries established churches, or rather the cross, from the head waters of the Saguenay to Lake Nepissing. Champlain battled the Iroquois from Mont Royal to Nepissing. ”

“ Those whom he left behind have reason to be well satisfied with him; for although he died out of France, his name will not therefore be any less glorious to posterity."
Champlain left no posterity. His wife spent only four years in Canada, after which she resided continually in Paris. During her residence in New France, she studied the Algonquin language, and instructed the young Indians in catechism, and in this manner she won the friendship of the native tribes. ”

“ It is seldom that the deeds of the great men of past ages have been more fittingly remembered. Champlain, as we have previously remarked, possessed in an eminent degree all the qualities necessary for a founder, and his character is therefore exceptional, for over and above all the heroism he displayed, all his perseverance, his devotion to his country, we behold the working of a Christian mind, and the desire to propagate the faith of his fathers. ”

“ He and Brûlé asserted that they were compelled by Kirke to serve under the British flag. Champlain severely blamed their conduct, saying: "Remember that God will punish you if you do not amend your lives. You have lost your honour. Wherever you will go, men will point at you, saying: 'These are the men who have threatened their king and sold their country.' It would be preferable to die than to live on in this manner, as you will suffer the remorse of a bad conscience." To this they replied: "We well know that in France we should be hanged. ”

“ Shortly afterward, he had the consolation of beholding the faithful Louis Amantacha, a Christian Huron, arriving at Quebec, followed by the usual Indian flotilla of canoes. A council was held, sixty chiefs sat in a circle round the council-fire, and the noble Champlain, the intrepid Brébeuf, and the zealous Lallemant, stood in their midst. A treaty of friendship was concluded between the French and the Hurons, and, in confiding the missionaries to his new allies, Champlain thus addressed the latter: "These we consider as fathers, these are dearer to us than life. ”

“ On May 7th, 1621, three of the clerks of Guillaume de Caën left Tadousac and took up their quarters near the habitation. Father Le Baillif and Jean Baptiste Guers asked them to produce their papers. They declared that they had authority to trade from the old Company of Rouen, which still existed through articles agreed to by the Duke of Montmorency, and that a trial was at present pending between the two societies. On receiving this information from Father Le Baillif, Champlain decided to allow five clerks the necessary merchandise for trading ”