We have no record of Hochelaga till September 7-11, 1540. For this we
are again indebted to Cartier's account of his third voyage. Luckily
this has been partially preserved in Hakluyt's translation, which
is that of the "Bref Récit," the only version known. On Wednesday
(September 7, 1541) Cartier left the proposed French settlement,
Charlesbourg Royal, about four leagues beyond the harbour of St. Croix,
with two boats, to visit Hochelaga and the rapids above it. Following
Hakluyt we learn:
"How after the departure of the two ships which were sent back to
Brittany, and that the fort was begun to be builded, the captain
prepared two boats to go up the great river to discover the passage of
the three saults or falls of the river." While awaiting the arrival of
Roberval in command of the first colonizing party Cartier went up to
the sault from Charlesbourg Royal on September 7th, "and we sailed with
so prosperous a wind that we arrived the 11th day of the month at the
first sault of water, which is two leagues distant from the Town of
Tutonaguy."[19]
There is no further description of Tutonaguy, which we take to be the
site of Montreal. Cartier mentions that finding it impossible to get up
against the course of the sault he came on shore to a beaten path going
towards the first sault. "And on the way and soon after, we found an
habitation of people which made us great cheer and entertained us very
hospitably." Four young men conducted them to another hospitable people
who lived over against the second sault. We may perhaps conclude that
those of the first sault were islanders of Montreal and we are pleased
that their hospitality was forthcoming as is always that of our modern
city. But we regret that Jacques Cartier appears to have made no stay
at Tutonaguy.
With this we take leave of Cartier. Canadians have one grudge against
him, for there seems no doubt that his description of the severity of
our climate delayed colonization here, but his account of Montreal
is satisfactory to us. We are not writing his life, but Montreal can
rejoice in having been discovered by a worthy man. We are glad that
Francis I recognized his merits as we find him spoken of, in an act of
the Chapter of St. Malo, September 29, 1549, as Sieur de Limoilou, and
in another act, of February 5, 1550, as a "noble man." Unfortunately as
he did not leave any child by his wife, Catherine Desgranges, he did
not pass on his title of nobility to anyone. Jacques Cartier is worthy
of recognition as among the great men of his time, and Montreal is
proud of its discoverer and first historian.
ROBERVAL'S PROBABLE VISIT TO HOCHELAGA, 1542
The next French visit to Hochelaga can only be surmised. We have the
record as follows, which gives us an indication of such a possible
visit: It is found in Hakluyt's description of the
"COURSE OF JEAN ALPHONSE, CHIEF PILOT TO MONSIEUR ROBERVAL 1542.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account