Let us recall how Jacques Quartier lost almost all his people, the first winter he passed in this country; and also how sieur de Monts lost about half of his the first winter at Ste. Croix, and the following one, which was the first at port Royal, he also experienced great [14] loss, but not so much, and the third year still less. Likewise at Kebec, afterwards, several died the first year, and not so many the second. This collection of incidents will serve to show us the causes of sickness and of health, which we have experienced so differently. The common disease was Scurvy, which is called land disease. The limbs, thighs, and face swell; the lips decay, and great sores come out upon them; the breath is short, and is burdened with an irritating cough; the arms are discolored, and the skin covered with blotches; the whole body sinks under exhaustion and languor, and nothing can be swallowed except a little liquid. Sieur de Champlain, philosophizing upon this, attributes the cause of these diseases to the dampness [15] inhaled by those who plow, spade, and first live upon this ground, which has never been exposed to the sun. His statements are plausible and not without examples; but they may be confronted by the fact that sailors, who only go to the coast to fish, and do not clear the land at all, nor live upon it, often fall ill of this malady, and especially the Bretons, for it seems to pick them out from all the others. Also, that we, who were well as I have said, worked a great deal in the soil and out in the open air, yet we scarcely knew what this evil was, except I myself, to a slight degree, during the second winter, when I became very much bloated from fever and extreme weakness; but my gums and lips were not affected, and [16] my illness passed off in ten or twelve days. I believe it was a great benefit to us that our dwelling was not new, and that, the space around the settlement having been cleared for a long time, we had a free and pure circulation of air. And I believe that this is principally what Champlain meant.