By favor and license of the KING, permission is given to CLAUDE COLLET, merchant bookseller in our city of Paris, to print, or have printed by such printer as shall seem good to him, a book entitled, _Voyages and Discoveries in New France, from the Year_ 1615 _to the End of the Year 1618. By Sieur de Champlain, Captain in Ordinary to the King in the Western Sea_. All booksellers and printers of our kingdom are forbidden to print or have printed, to sell wholesale or retail, said book, except with the consent of said Collet, for the time and term of six years, beginning with the day when said book is printed, on penalty of confiscation of the copies, and a fine of four hundred _livres_, a half to go to us and a half to said petitioner. It is our will, moreover, that this License should be placed at the commencement or end of said book. This is our pleasure. Given at Paris, the 18th day of May, 1619, and of our reign the tenth. By the Council, DE CESCAUD VOYAGE OF SIEUR DE CHAMPLAIN TO NEW FRANCE, MADE IN THE YEAR 1615. The strong love, which I have always cherished for the exploration of New France, has made me desirous of extending more and more my travels over the country, in order, by means of its numerous rivers, lakes, and streams, to obtain at last a complete knowledge of it, and also to become acquainted with the inhabitants, with the view of bringing them to the knowledge of God. To this end I have toiled constantly for the past fourteen or fifteen years, [78] yet have been able to advance my designs but little, because I have not received the assistance which was necessary for the success of such an undertaking. Nevertheless, without losing courage, I have not ceased to push on, and visit various nations of the savages; and, by associating familiarly with them, I have concluded, as well from their conversation as from the knowledge already attained, that there is no better way than, disregarding all storms and difficulties, to have patience until His Majesty shall give the requisite attention to the matter, and meanwhile, not only to continue the exploration of the country, but also to learn the language, and form relations and friendships with the leading men of the villages and tribes, in order to lay the foundations of a permanent edifice, as well for the glory of God as for the renown of the French. And His Majesty having transferred and intrusted the superintendence of this work to Monseigneur the Prince de Conde, the latter has, by his management, under the authority of His Majesty, sustained us against all forts of jealousies and obstacles concerted by evil wishers. This has, as it were, animated me and redoubled my courage for the continuation of my labors in the exploration of New France, and with increased effort I have pushed forward in my undertaking into the mainland, and farther on than I had previously been, as will be hereafter indicated in the course of this narrative.