Etechemins, of which we spoke before. Two leagues up this there is a waterfall, around which the savages carry their canoes some five hundred paces by land, and then re-enter the river. Passing afterwards from the river a short distance overland, one reaches the rivers Norumbegue and St. John. But the falls are impassable for vessels, as there are only rocks and but four or five feet of water.[87] In May and June, so great a number of herring and bass are caught there that vessels could be loaded with them. The soil is of the finest sort, and there are fifteen or twenty acres of cleared land, where Sieur de Monts had some wheat sown, which flourished finely. The savages come here sometimes five or six weeks during the fishing Season. All the rest of the country consists of very dense forests. If the land were cleared up, grain would flourish excellently. This place is in latitude 45° 20',[88] and 17° 32' of the deflection of the magnetic needle. * * * * * CHAMPLAIN'S DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP. ISLE DE SAINTE CROIX. _The figures indicate fathoms of water_. _A_. A plan of our habitation. _B_. Gardens. _C_. Little islet serving as a platform for cannon. [Note: This refers to the southern end of the island, which was probably separated at high tide, where a cannon may be seen in position.] _D_. Platform where cannon were placed. _E_. The Cemetery. _F_. The Chapel. _G_. Rocky shoals about the Island Sainte Croix. _H_. A little islet. [Note: Little De Monts's Island, Sometimes called Little Dochet's Island.] _I_. Place where Sieur de Monts had a water-mill commenced. _L_. Place where we made our coal. _M_. Gardens on the western shore. _N_. Other gardens on the eastern shore. _O_. Very large and high mountain on the main land. [Note: This "mountain" is now called Chamcook Hill. Its height is 627 feet. At the northern end of the island on the right there is an extensive sandy shoal, dry at low tide, of a triangular shape as formerly, and has apparently changed very little since the days of Champlain.] _P_. River of the Etechemins flowing about the Island of St. Croix. * * * * * ENDNOTES: 53. For May read June. It could not have been in May, since Champlain Set out from Port Mouton on his exploring expedition on the 19th of May, which must have been a month previous to this. 54. What is now called the Petit Passage, the narrow strait between Long Island and Digby Neck. 55. Gulliver's Hole, about two leagues south-west of Digby Strait. 56. Champlain here names the whole harbor or basin Port Royal, and not the place of habitation afterward so called. The first settlement was on the north side of the bay in the present hamlet of Lower Granville, not as often alleged at Annapolis.--_Vide_ Champlain's engraving or map of Port Royal.