309. Champlain here plainly means to say that the Indians call the narrow place in the river _Quebec_. For this meaning of the word, viz., narrowing of waters, in the Algonquin language, the authority is abundant. Laverdière quotes, as agreeing with him in this view, Bellenger, Ferland, and Lescarbot. "The narrowing of the river," says Charlevoix, "gave it the name of _Quebeio_ or _Quebec_, which in the _Algonquin_ language signifies _contraction_. The Abenaquis, whose language is a dialect of the Algonquin, call it Quelibec, which signifies something shut up."--_Charlevoix's Letters_, pp. 18, 19. Alfred Hawkins, in his "Historical Recollections of Quebec," regards the word of Norman origin, which he finds on a seal of the Duke of Suffolk, as early as 1420. The theory is ingenious: but it requires some other characteristic historical facts to challenge our belief. When Cartier visited Quebec, it was called by the natives Stadacone. --_Vide Cartier's Brief Récit_, 1545, D'Avezac ed., Paris, 1863, p. 14. CHAPTER IV. RETURN OF PONT GRAVÉ TO FRANCE.--DESCRIPTION OF OUR QUARTERS AND THE PLACE WHERE JACQUES CARTIER STAYED IN 1535. After all these occurrences, Pont Gravé set out from Quebec, on the 18th of September, to return to France with the three prisoners. After he had gone, all who remained conducted themselves correctly in the discharge of their duty. I had the work on our quarters continued, which was composed of three buildings of two stories. Each one was three fathoms long, and two and a half wide. The storehouse was six fathoms long and three wide, with a fine cellar six feet deep. I had a gallery made all around our buildings, on the outside, at the second story, which proved very convenient. There were also ditches, fifteen feet wide and six deep. On the outer side of the ditches, I constructed several spurs, which enclosed a part of the dwelling, at the points where we placed our cannon. Before the habitation there is a place four fathoms wide and six or seven long, looking out upon the river-bank. Surrounding the habitation are very good gardens, and a place on the north side some hundred or hundred and twenty paces long and fifty or sixty wide. Moreover, near Quebec, there is a little river, coming from a lake in the interior, [310] distant six or seven leagues from our settlement. I am of opinion that this river, which is north a quarter north-west from our settlement, is the place where Jacques Cartier wintered, [311] since there are still, a league up the river, remains of what seems to have been a chimney, the foundation of which has been found, and indications of there having been ditches surrounding their dwelling, which was small. We found, also, large pieces of hewn, worm-eaten timber, and some three or four cannon-balls. All these things show clearly that there was a settlement there founded by Christians; and what leads me to