History of the Discovery of the Northwest by John Nicolet in 1634: With a Sketch of his LifeButterfield, Consul Willshire
History
History of the Discovery of the Northwest by John Nicolet in 1634: With a Sketch of his Life
Butterfield, Consul Willshire
Nicollet, Jean, 1598-1642; Northwest, Old -- Discovery and exploration
Having sailed nearly around Newfoundland, Cartier turned to the south,
and, crossing the gulf, entered a bay, which he named Des Chaleurs,
because of the midsummer heats. A little farther north he landed and
took possession of the country in the name of the French king. His
vessels were now at anchor in the smaller inlet of Gaspé. Sailing still
further north, Cartier, in August, discovered the river St. Lawrence. He
moved up its channel until land was sighted on either side; then, being
unprepared to remain through the winter, he sailed back again to the
gulf, crossed the ocean, and moored his vessels in safety in St. Malo.
He made the return voyage in less than thirty days. This was, at that
period, an astonishing achievement. The success of the expedition filled
the whole of France with wonder. In less than five months, the Atlantic
had been crossed; a large river discovered; a new country added to the
dominions of France; and the ocean recrossed. All this had been
accomplished before it was generally known that an expedition had been
undertaken.
The remarkable pleasantness of this summer's voyage, the narratives of
Cartier and his companions, and the importance attached to their
discoveries, aroused the enthusiasm of the French; and, as might be
expected, a new expedition was planned. Three well-furnished ships were
provided by the king. Even some of the nobility volunteered for the
voyage. All were eager to cross the Atlantic. On the nineteenth of May,
1535, the squadron sailed. But Cartier had not, this time, a pleasant
summer cruise. Storms raged. The ships separated. For seven weeks they
buffeted the troubled ocean. Their rendezvous was the Straits of Belle
Isle, which they finally reached; but the omens were bad. The
adventurers had confidently looked for pleasant gales and a quick
voyage, and these expectations had all been blasted. Now, however, they
arrived within sight of Newfoundland, and their spirits rose. Carried to
the west of that island, on the day of Saint Lawrence, they gave the
name of that martyr to a portion of the gulf which opened before them.
The name was afterward given to the whole of that body of water and to
the river Cartier had previously discovered. Sailing to the north of
Anticosti, they ascended the St. Lawrence, reaching, in September, a
fine harbor in an island since called Orleans.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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