I take this occasion to state for the information of the members of the Prince Society, that some important facts contained in the Memoir had not been received when the text and notes of the second volume were ready for the press, and, to prevent any delay in the completion of the whole work, Vol. II. was issued before Vol. I., as will appear by the dates on their respective title-pages. E. F. S. BOSTON, 14 ARLINGTON STREET, November 10, 1880. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE MEMOIR OF SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN ANNOTATIONES POSTSCRIPTAE PREFACE TO THE TRANSLATION DEDICATION TO THE ADMIRAL, CHARLES DE MONTMORENCY EXTRACT FROM THE LICENSE OF THE KING THE SAVAGES, OR VOYAGE OF SIEUR DE CHAMPLAIN, 1603 CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE CARTE DE LA NOVVELLE FRANCE, 1632 THE PRINCE SOCIETY, ITS CONSTITUTION AND MEMBERS ILLUSTRATIONS. ENGRAVED PORTRAIT OF CHAMPLAIN ON WOOD, AFTER THE ENGRAVING OF MONCORNET BY E. RONJAT, _heliotype_. MAP ILLUSTRATING THE EXPLORATIONS OF CHAMPLAIN, _heliotype_. ENGRAVED PORTRAIT OF CHAMPLAIN, AFTER A PAINTING BY TH. HAMEL FROM AN ENGRAVING OF MONCORNET, _steel_. ILLUMINATED TITLE-PAGE OF THE VOYAGE OF 1615 ET 1618, _heliotype_. CARTE DE LA NOVVELLE FRANCE, 1632, _heliotype_. INDEX MEMOIR OF SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN. CHAPTER I. PARENTAGE--BIRTH--HOME AT BROUAGE--ITS SITUATION--A MILITARY STATION--ITS SALT WORKS--HIS EDUCATION--EARLY LOVE OF THE SEA--QUARTER-MASTER IN BRITTANY--CATHOLICS AND HUGUENOTS--CATHERINE DE MEDICIS--THE LEAGUE--DUKE DE MERCOEUR--MARSHAL D'AUMONT--DE SAINT LUC--MARSHAL DE BRISSAC--PEACE OF VERVINS Champlain was descended from an ancestry whose names are not recorded among the renowned families of France. He was the son of Antoine de Champlain, a captain in the marine, and his wife Marguerite LeRoy. They lived in the little village of Brouage, in the ancient province of Saintonge. Of their son Samuel, no contemporaneous record is known to exist indicating either the day or year of his birth. The period at which we find him engaged in active and responsible duties, such as are usually assigned to mature manhood, leads to the conjecture that he was born about the year 1567. Of his youth little is known. The forces that contributed to the formation of his character are mostly to be inferred from the abode of his early years, the occupations of those by whom he was surrounded, and the temper and spirit of the times in which he lived.