_Notes on Chapter VI._—Full details of Radisson’s life prior to his coming to England, when he was an active explorer of New France, are to be found in the previous volume, _Pathfinders of the West_. The data for that volume came almost exclusively from the Marine Archives of Paris. The facts of this chapter are drawn from the Archives of Hudson’s Bay House, London, England, which I personally searched with the result of almost three hundred foolscap folio pages of matter pertaining to Radisson, and from the Public Records Office of London, which I had searched, by a competent person, on the Stuart Period. It is extraordinary how the Archives of France and the Archives of England dove-tail and corroborate each other in every detail regarding Radisson. King Charles’ letter in his favor is to be found in the Public Records Office, State Papers, Domestic Series, Entry Book 26. The Admiralty Board Books, No. 15, contain the correspondence regarding the voyage. The instructions to the captains—five foolscap pages—are in the S. P. Dom. Carl. II. No. 180. The exact data regarding Radisson’s movements, given in this chapter, are from his Manuscript Journal in the Bodleian and from the two petitions which he filed, one to the Company, one to Parliament, copies of which are in Hudson’s Bay House, London. It is necessary to give the authorities somewhat explicitly because in the case of _Pathfinders of the West_, the _New York Evening Post_ begged readers to consult original sources regarding Radisson. As original sources are not open to the public, the advice was worth just exactly the spirit that animated it. However, transcripts of all data bearing on Radisson will be given to the public with his journals, in the near future. CHAPTER VII 1668-1674 THE ADVENTURES OF THE FIRST VOYAGE—RADISSON DRIVEN BACK ORGANIZES THE HUDSON’S BAY COMPANY AND WRITES HIS JOURNALS OF FOUR VOYAGES—THE CHARTER AND THE FIRST SHAREHOLDERS—ADVENTURES OF RADISSON ON THE BAY—THE COMING OF THE FRENCH AND THE QUARREL At last, then, five years from the time they had discovered the Sea of the North, after baffling disappointments, fruitless efforts and the despair known only to those who have stood face to face with the Grim Specter, Ruin, Radisson and Groseillers set sail for Hudson Bay from Gravesend on June 3, 1668. Radisson was on the big ship _Eaglet_ with Captain Stannard, Groseillers on _The Nonsuch_ of Boston, with Captain Gillam.