Voyages of Samuel De Champlain — Volume 02Champlain, Samuel de
History
Voyages of Samuel De Champlain — Volume 02
Champlain, Samuel de
America -- Discovery and exploration -- French; Indians of North America -- Canada; New France -- Discovery and exploration
On the 3d of June, we arrived before Tadoussac, distant from Gaspé from
eighty to ninety leagues; and we anchored in the roadstead of
Tadoussac,[291] a league distant from the harbor, which latter is a kind of
cove at the mouth of the river Saguenay, where the tide is very remarkable
on account of its rapidity, and where there are sometimes violent winds,
bringing severe cold. It is maintained that from the harbor of Tadoussac it
is some forty-five or fifty leagues to the first fall on this river, which
comes from the north-north-west. The harbor is small, and can accommodate
only about twenty vessels. It has water enough, and is under shelter of the
river Saguenay and a little rocky island; which is almost cut by the river;
elsewhere there are very high mountains with little soil and only rocks and
sand, thickly covered with such wood as fir and birch. There is a small
pond near the harbor, shut in by mountains covered with wood. There are two
points at the mouth: one on the south-west side, extending out nearly a
league into the sea, called Point St. Matthew, or otherwise Point aux
Allouettes; and another on the north-west side, extending out one-eighth of
a league, and called Point of all Devils.[292] from the dangerous nature of
the place. The winds from the south-south-east strike the harbor, which are
not to be feared; but those, however, from the Saguenay are. The two points
above mentioned are dry at low tide: our vessel was unable to enter the
harbor, as the wind and tide were unfavorable. I at once had the boat
lowered, in order to go to the port and ascertain whether Pont Gravé had
arrived. While on the way, I met a shallop with the pilot of Pont Gravé and
a Basque, who came to inform me of what had happened to them because they
attempted to hinder the Basque vessels from trading, according to the
commission obtained by Sieur de Monts from his Majesty, that no vessels
should trade without permission of Sieur de Monts, as was expressed in it;
and that, notwithstanding the notifications which Pont Gravé made in behalf
of his Majesty, they did not desist from forcibly carrying on their
traffic; and that they had used their arms and maintained themselves so
well in their vessel that, discharging all their cannon upon that of Pont
Gravé, and letting off many musket-shots, he was severely wounded, together
with three of his men, one of whom died, Pont Gravé meanwhile making no
resistance; for at the first shower of musketry he was struck down. The
Basques came on board of the vessel and took away all the cannon and arms,
declaring that they would trade, notwithstanding the prohibition of the
King, and that when they were ready to set out for France they would
restore to him his cannon and ammunition, and that they were keeping them
in order to be in a state of security. Upon hearing all these particulars,
I was greatly annoyed at such a beginning, which we might have easily
avoided.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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