Chapter IV: Part 4

Champlain remained nearly five weeks in London, preparing a report for the king of all that had occurred; the capitulation with General Kerk, and a map of all the country taken by the English and claimed by the French in virtue of first discovery; and waiting for news from France, but none arriving, the ambassador allowed him to depart, giving him letters for the Cardinal (Richelieu), with the assurance that the English government had promised to give up the colony, and all property captured. He accordingly left London on the 30th December, for "Larie" (Rye), as being the nearest port to Dieppe, meeting on the road the elder De Caen, on his way to London, in the hope of recovering his peltries and other property.[27] Embarking the next day, he arrived safely at Dieppe.

[27] De Caen found means not only to disarm suspicion of his
treachery and collusion with Michel, but contrived to obtain a
sort of compensation for his exclusion from the company of the
"Cent Associes." On the 1st January, 1633, Cardinal Richelieu
gave permission to the Sieur Guillaume De Caen to establish
colonies on certain islands in the West Indies, with exclusive
privileges for a term of years, "provided the said islands were
not already inhabited by Christians, and that none but Roman
Catholics should be allowed to settle there." I cannot find any
further mention of De Caen and his enterprises.

After a few days repose at Dieppe and Rouen, Champlain proceeded to Paris, where he presented himself to the king, Cardinal Richelieu, and the "associates" of the company, giving a full account of his proceedings, etc. Letters were despatched from the French government, to London, to demand restitution of the fort and settlement of Quebec, and the other places captured in Canada, and on the coast of Acadia. Restitution of Quebec was promised by the king of England, but no mention made of Acadia. These promises were renewed from time to time, without any appearance even of performance, so that the company finding that "restitution" seemed as far off as ever, supplicated the king to send six ships of war, in company with four of their vessels, to the St. Lawrence, to resume possession of the colony according to agreement; and that if the English should not consent to give it up, that they "should be constrained by all just and legal methods," _i.e._, by force. The company proposed to pay the interest of the sum requisite for the equipment of the royal ships. This petition was granted, and the Chevalier de Rasilly was appointed commander of the fleet; and the vessels were prepared for sailing, when the English government, taking umbrage at this extraordinary armament, remonstrated; and the French king, fully occupied with his Italian wars, put off all interference till they should be over; so that the armament was countermanded, the voyage abandoned, and matters remained for the present _in statu quo_.

Champlain has not left any relation of his subsequent proceedings. The account of his Voyages in New France, which in fact is his autobiography for twenty-seven eventful years of the most interesting period of his life, terminates in 1629-30. He subsequently added a short notice of the events which occurred in the colony, of which he was justly styled the father, during the year 1631; and in 1632, he published the whole narrative, with the addition of a "Treatise on Navigation and of the Duties of a good Mariner,"[28] and an abridgement of the Christian doctrine in the French and Huron languages. He appears to have been fully occupied during his stay in France, from the end of 1629 to 1632, with the preparation and publication of his voyages and discoveries, and with pleading the cause of his favourite colony, his own creation, which was in danger of being abandoned, some considering it as not worth preserving, having cost large sums, without having returned any adequate profit. However, he gained his point, and Canada was restored to France by the treaty of St. Germain in 1632.

[28] "Traite de la Marine et du Devoir d'un bon Marinier."

In 1633 the "Company of New France" resumed all its rights; and Champlain was again named Governor of the Colony of Quebec and all its dependencies, where affairs had gone on but badly during the English occupation, and his absence. The worthy Father Francois Du Creux, or "Creuxius," of the Society of Jesus, thus notices Champlain's arrival at Quebec: "To the incredible delight both of the French and natives, Champlain returned. On the 11th of June, at sunrise, a great explosion of bombards was heard, which threw the settlement into great agitation, lest an English ship, whose arrival at Tadoussac had been announced three days before, should have turned out to be an enemy or a pirate; and what if the peace between England and France should be at an end? But persons sent to explore, brought back the news of Champlain's coming; then fear was changed to gratulation: all would now be well, and the proper administration of Canadian affairs would be restored to full activity by Champlain." The "father of the colony" brought with him ample supplies in men, arms, and munitions of all kinds, for the defence and support of the settlement; and, for its spiritual comfort, a reinforcement of Jesuits. He continued to govern the colony with his usual wisdom and goodness, endeavouring by all means in his power to promote Christianity among the Indians, and he succeeded in establishing a mission with the Hurons. Under his firm and equitable rule, the colony rapidly increased in numbers, wealth, and consequent importance; and at the time of his death some progress was made in the foundation of a college at Quebec.

Towards the end of the year 1635 Champlain died, after an illness of two months and a half, exhibiting during his malady the same firmness, piety, and solicitude for the colony, for which he had always been remarkable; "giving," says De Creux, "in the hour of death, such illustrious evidence of virtue and courage that everyone was astonished. His remains were followed to the grave by the whole population with unfeigned grief."

From this notice of his career, it will be seen that Champlain was no ordinary man. Unintimidated by the repeated failures of preceding attempts, he followed up his plans with as much resolution as sagacity. But for him Quebec would probably have never existed. Undeterred by the cabals and intrigues, lay and clerical, constantly going on in France; unmoved by the continual discords and quarrels of rival companies, he steered a straightforward course, avoiding giving umbrage to any, if not satisfying all. Trusting nothing to others that he could do himself, he penetrated, almost alone, to the unexplored countries of distant Indian tribes; exhibiting rare perseverance, energy, and courage, rebuking cruelty, encouraging the good, and omitting no opportunity of promulgating the truths of Christianity.

Notwithstanding a considerable dose of credulity,[29] he was endowed with rare penetration. His views were just, and no one knew better how to decide in difficulties, or to support them with more patience and constancy; no dangers daunted him, and he never lost sight of his object. His zeal for the interests of his country was ardent and disinterested. With a feeling heart he was always ready to succour the unfortunate, more careful of the welfare of others than of his own. A faithful narrator, an enterprising and active traveller; nothing escaped his attention and observation. He was a good geometrician and able navigator. The war to which he seems to have incited, or in which at least he joined, the Algonquins, Hurons, and other tribes against the Iroquois, can hardly be justified; but the result of his policy, if policy it was, proved favourable, in bringing to and confirming in his alliance the tribes more immediately surrounding the infant colony.

[29] In 1604 Champlain published a relation of his first voyage
to Canada; in it he mentions a strange and frightful monster
called "gougou," giving at the same time the names of his
authorities. This story, which, in a great measure, gave rise to
the accusation of credulity, was suppressed in the general
relation of his voyages in 1632. The "dragon," the two legs of
the camelion, and the no-legs of the bird of Paradise, the mode
of hatching the same, etc., described in the present manuscript,
show that, however he may have got over extreme credulity in
later years, in his first voyages he had a strong belief in the
marvellous--but that quality belonged in a degree to the age in
which he lived.

BRIEF NARRATIVE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE THINGS THAT SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN OF BROUAGE, OBSERVED IN THE WESTERN INDIES;

DURING THE VOYAGE WHICH HE MADE TO THE SAME, IN THE YEARS ONE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND NINETY-NINE TO ONE THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED AND TWO,--AS FOLLOWS.

Having been employed in the army of the king, which was in Brittany, under Messieurs the Marechal d'Aumont de St. Luc,[30] and the Marechal de Brissac,[31] during some years in the quality of marechal de logis,[32] until his majesty, in the year one thousand five hundred and ninety-eight, had reduced the said country of Brittany to obedience,[33] and dismissed his army; and finding myself by this means without any charge or employment, I resolved, in order not to remain idle, to find means of making a voyage to Spain, and, being there, to acquire and cultivate acquaintance, in order, by their favour and interposition, to arrange so as to be able to embark in one of the ships of the fleet, which the king of Spain sends every year to the western Indies; to the end, in so embarking, to be able at my return to make a true report to his majesty (Henry IV) of the particularities which could not be known to any Frenchman, for the reason that they have not free access there.

[30] Marechal d'Aumont. Jean d'Aumont, born in 1522, of an
ancient and noble family, entered the career of arms very early,
and distinguished himself by his bravery during the Piedmontese
war. Henry III created him Knight of the Saint Esprit in 1578,
and Marshal of France in the following year. D'Aumont signalized
himself at the battle of Ivry. He was named governor of Poitou by
Henry IV, and by his prudent conduct kept that province from
rising for the League. The king sent him to Brittany to oppose
the Duke de Mercoeur. He was killed by a musket-shot at the
siege of Camper, on the 19th of August, 1595, aged seventy-three
years.

[31] Marechal de Brissac. Charles, second Duke de Cosse Brissac,
peer and marshal of France. He gave up Paris, of which he was
governor, to Henry IV, on the 22nd March, 1594. He served in the
war in Brittany till its close, and died at Brissac, in Anjou, in
1621.

[32] "Marechal de logis"--quarter-master.

[33] Reduction of Brittany. The greater part of Brittany held out
for the League against the king (Henry IV), under the command of
the Duke de Mercoeur, aided by the Spaniards under the Archduke
Albert of Austria.

Philippe Emanuel de Lorraine, Duke de Mercoeur, was born at
Nomeny, in 1558. Attached to the Duke of Guise, he was about to
be arrested at the States of Blois in 1588, but the queen, Louise
de Lorraine, his sister, gave him timely warning, and he escaped.
He then openly embraced the party of the League, withdrew to his
government of Brittany, called in the aid of the Spaniards, and
gave them possession of the port of Blavet in 1591. He made his
submission to Henry IV in April, 1598, and was pardoned at the
intercession of Gabrielle d'Estrees, lately created Duchess of
Beaufort, who, however, previously stipulated that the duke
should give his daughter, Francoise, one of the richest heiresses
in France, in marriage to the son of Henry IV, Cesar, Duke de
Vendome. In 1601 the Emperor Rodolph offered De Mercoeur the
command of his army in Hungary against the Turks. He endeavoured
with only fifteen thousand men to raise the siege of Chanicha,
which Ibrahim Pacha had invested with sixty thousand. He was
forced to retire, but his retreat passed for one of the most
skilful then known. Obliged in the following year to return to
France, he died on the way, at Nuremberg, in 1602.

In order, then, to accomplish my design, I went to Blavet,[34] where at that time was a garrison of Spaniards, in which place I found an uncle of mine called "the Provencal captain," considered to be one of the good mariners of France, and who, in that year, had been engaged by the king of Spain as Pilot-General of his sea armies.

[34] Blavet, the last town held by the Spaniards in Brittany,
was, together with all the places they possessed in Picardy,
given up by the treaty of Vervins, in June 1598, and thus the
whole province was submitted to the king's authority.

Blavet, or Port Louis, a fortified town with citadel and harbour
in Brittany, department of the Morbihan, at the embouchure of the
river Blavet; the town being ruined during the wars of the
League, Louis XIII rebuilt it from the former materials, erected
a fort, and gave it his name.

My said uncle having received the commands of Monsieur le Marechal de Brissac, to conduct the ships in which the Spaniards of the garrison of Blavet were embarked, in order to repass them to Spain, as it had been promised, I embarked with him, in a great ship of five hundred tons, named the "Saint Julian," which had been taken, and engaged for the said voyage; and having quitted Blavet in the beginning of the month of August, we arrived ten days afterwards near to Cape Finisterre, which we could not perceive on account of a great fog which arose from the sea, in consequence of which all our vessels were separated, and even our vessel-admiral (admirande), of the fleet was nearly lost, having touched upon a rock, and taken in much water, in which ship (and over the whole fleet) the General Soubriago commanded, having been sent by the king of Spain to Blavet for that purpose.

On the following day, the weather having cleared up, all our vessels rejoined, and we proceeded to the Isles of Bayona, in Galicia, in order to refit the admiral's ship which was much injured.

Having sojourned six days at these islands, we made sail, and three days after came in sight of Cape St. Vincent; having doubled the said cape, we proceeded to the port of Callix (Cadiz), which, having entered, the soldiers were disembarked; and after the landing, the French ships that had been engaged for the voyage, were dismissed, and sent back, each one to its port, excepting the said ship, the St. Julian, which, having been observed by the General Soubriago to be a strong vessel, and a good sailer, was engaged by him for the service of the king of Spain: and thus the "Provencal captain," my uncle, remained still in it; and we sojourned at the port of Callix an entire month, during which I had the opportunity of examining that city.

Departing from the said Callix, we continued to St. Lucar de Barameda, which is at the entry of the river of Seville, where we remained three months, during which time I went to Seville, and took drawings of it, and of the other (St. Lucar de Barameda), which I have judged fitting to represent in the best manner that I could in the following.

During the three months that we remained at St. Lucar de Barameda, there arrived a patache,[35] coming from Porto-rico, to inform the king of Spain that the army of England was at sea, with the design of taking the said Porto-rico: upon which advice, the said king of Spain, in order to succour it, had an armament prepared, of the number of twenty ships, and of two thousand men, soldiers, and mariners; among which ships, that named the St. Julian was retained, and my uncle was commanded to make the voyage in it, by which I received extreme joy, promising myself by this means to satisfy my desire: and for that purpose I readily resolved to go with him; but whatever diligence could be made to repair, victual, and equip the said ships, to enable them to put to sea, when at the point of departure, there arrived news by another patache, that it had been taken by the English; in consequence of which, the said voyage was broken off, to my great regret, to find myself thus frustrated in my hope.

[35] "Patache"--advice-boat.

Now, at the same time, the armament of the king of Spain, which was accustomed to go every year to the Indies, was getting ready at the said St. Lucar, where there arrived, by command of the king, a noble named Don Francisque Colombe, a knight of Malta, to be general of the said armament, who, seeing our vessel prepared and ready for service, and knowing, by the report which had been made to him, that it was strong and very good under sail for its burthen, resolved to make use of it, and take it at the ordinary freight, which is one crown per ton per month; so that I had occasion to rejoice seeing my hopes revive, and the more so that the Provencal captain, my uncle, having been retained by General Soubriago to serve elsewhere, and thus not able to make the voyage, committed to me the charge of the said ship, to have the care of it, which I accepted very willingly: and upon that we sought the said Seigneur, General Colombe, to know if he would have it for agreeable that I should make the voyage, which he freely granted, with evidence of being well pleased, promising me his favour and assistance, which he has not since denied me upon occasion.

The said armament set sail in the beginning of the month of January, in the year 1599, and the wind blowing always very fresh, in six days after we arrived in sight of the Canary Isles.

Leaving the said Canary Islands, we passed by the Gulf of Las Damas, having the wind astern, so that in two months and six days after our departure from St. Lucar, we got sight of an island named La Deseade, which is the first island that pilots must necessarily recognise in going to all the other islands and ports of the Indies.

This island is round and tolerably high from the sea, and is seven leagues in circumference, full of wood and uninhabited, but there is good anchorage on the eastern side.

From the said isle we passed to another island, called Guadaloupe, which is very mountainous and inhabited by savages;[36] in it there are numbers of good ports, in one of which, named Macou, we took in water, and as we landed we saw more than three hundred savages, who fled into the mountains at our approach, without it being in our power to overtake them, any one of them being more quick in running than any of our men who tried to follow them; seeing which, we returned to our ships after having taken in some water and refreshments, such as cabbages and fruits of pleasant taste.

[36] Guadaloupe. The first settlement in Guadaloupe was
established by the French in 1635, by Messrs. Du Plissis and
Olive.

This island is about twenty leagues in length and twelve in breadth, and its form is shown in the following figure.

After having remained two days in the aforesaid port of Macou, on the third we again put to sea, and passed between islands called Las Virgines, which are in such quantity, that their number cannot be told for certain; but although there are more than eight hundred discovered, they are all desert and uninhabited; the land very high and full of wood, both of palms and ramasques,[37] which are common, like oaks or elms. There are a number of good ports and havens in the said isles.

[37] "Ramasques"--wide-spreading, branching, and bushy trees.

From these isles we sailed to the island of La Marguerite, where pearls are fished. In this island there is a good town, which is called by the same name, La Marguerite. The isle is very fertile in corn and fruits; every day more than three hundred canoes leave the harbour of the said town, which go about a league to sea to fish for pearls, in ten or twelve fathoms water. The said fishing is done by negroes, slaves of the king of Spain, who take a little basket under their arm, and with it plunge to the bottom of the sea, and fill it with ostrormes, which resemble oysters; then go up again into their canoes, and return to the port to discharge them, in a spot destined for that purpose, when the officers of the king of Spain receive them.

From this island we went to St. Juan de Porto-rico, which we found very desolate; both the town, as well as the castle or fortress, which is very strong; and the port also is very good, and sheltered from all winds, saving the north-east, which blows strait into the harbour.

The town is very mercantile; it had been, shortly before, pillaged by the English, who had left marks of their visit; most of the houses had been burnt, and there were not four persons to be found there, except some negroes, who told us that the merchants of the place had been for the greater part carried off prisoners by the English, and the others, who had been able to escape, had fled into the mountains, from whence they had not yet dared to come back, on account of the apprehension they had of the return of the English, who had loaded all the twelve ships, of which their armament was composed, with sugar, hides, gold, and silver: for we found still in the town quantities of sugar, hides, canifiste,[38] honey of cane,[39] and preserves of ginger, which the English could not take away. They carried off also fifty pieces of artillery of cast iron, which they took in the fortress, into which we went, and found all ruined, and the ramparts thrown down. There were some Indians who had retired there, and had begun to reconstruct the ramparts; the General inquired of them, how the place had been taken in so short a time? One of them, who spoke tolerably good Spanish, said, that neither the governor of the castle, nor the oldest men of the country thought that within two leagues there was any place of landing, according to the report which had been made by the pilots of the place, who had even assured them, that for more than six leagues from the said castle, there was no spot where an enemy could make a descent, which was the cause that the governor kept less on his guard, and in which he was much deceived, for at half a league from the castle, on the eastern side, there was a place where the English landed very conveniently, leaving their ships, which were of the burthen of two hundred, one hundred and fifty, and one hundred tons, in the offing, near the said spot, and took their time so well, that they arrived at night in the roads without being perceived, no one apprehending such a thing. They landed six hundred men, with the design of pillaging the town only, not thinking of making any greater effect, considering the castle to be stronger and better guarded. They brought with them three culverins, to batter the defences of the town, and found themselves at the point of daylight at the distance of a musket shot from it, to the great astonishment of the inhabitants.

[38] Canifiste, from "Caneficier," the name given in the Antilles
to the cassia tree. Cassia fistula (Linn.)--the keleti of the
Caribs, producing the cassia Nigra of commerce.

[39] Honey of canes--molasses?

The said English placed two hundred men at the passage of a little river, which is between the town and the castle, to prevent (as they did) the soldiers of the guard of the castle, who were lodged in the town, as well as the inhabitants who might endeavour to escape, from entering the fortress; and the other four hundred men attacked the town, where they found no resistance, so that in less than two hours they were masters of it; and having learned that there were no soldiers in the castle, nor any supply of provisions, on account of the governor having, by order of the king of Spain, sent all that had been there to Cartagena, where they thought that the enemy would make a descent, hoping to receive other supplies from Spain, being the nearest port to which their vessels came.

The English summoned the governor, and offered him good terms if he would surrender; if not, that they would make him suffer all the rigor of war; fearing which, the said governor surrendered, on condition that his life should be safe, and embarked with the English, not daring to return to Spain. It was only fifteen days since the English had departed from the town, where they had remained a month.

After their departure, the aforesaid Indians had returned, and endeavoured to repair the fortress, expecting the army of our general, who caused a report to be made of the recital of those Indians, which he sent to the king of Spain, and commanded the Indian who had first spoken, to go and seek those who had fled into the mountains, who, on his word, returned to their houses, receiving such contentment at seeing the general and being delivered from the English, that they forgot their past losses.

The said Island of Porto-rico is pretty agreeable, although it is a little mountainous, as the following figure shows.[40]--It is filled with quantities of fine trees, such as cedars, palms, firs, palmettoes, and another kind of tree which is called sombrade,[41] from which, as it grows, the tops of its branches, falling to the earth, take root immediately, and produce other branches which fall and take root in the same way. And I have seen these trees of such extent that they covered more than a league and a quarter. It bears no fruit, but is very agreeable, having a leaf like that of a laurel and a little more tender.

[40] The town of Porto-rico was founded in 1510. It was attacked
by Drake and Hawkins in 1595, but the Spaniards, being apprised
of their coming, had made such preparations, that Drake was
forced to retire, after burning the Spanish ships that were in
the harbour. In 1598 an expedition was fitted out by George
Clifford, Earl of Cumberland, to conquer the island. He
disembarked his men secretly and attacked the town, when,
according to the Spanish accounts, he met with vigorous
resistance from the inhabitants (Champlain's account from
eyewitnesses and sufferers is very different); but in a few days
the garrison of four hundred men surrendered, and the whole
island submitted to the English. The possession of the island
being deemed of great importance, the Earl adopted the harsh
measure of exiling the inhabitants to Cartagena, and in spite of
the protests and remonstrances of the unfortunate Spaniards, the
plan was put in execution; a few only escaped. However the
English soon found it impossible to keep the island; a grievous
malady carried off three-fourths of the troops. Cumberland,
deceived in his hopes, returned to England, leaving the command
to Sir John Berkeley. The mortality spreading daily more and
more, forced the English to evacuate the island, and the
Spaniards soon after resumed possession of their dwellings.

Champlain's account of the state of the island after the
departure of the English, and of the cowardice of the governor,
is curious; there is, however, some confusion in his dates, and
as to the time that the English occupation lasted.

[41] Sombrade--from "sombra," Span.--leafy shade. "Ficus americana
maxima," the "Clusea rosea" of St. Domingo, or "Figuier maudit
marron."

There are also, in the said island, quantities of good fruits, such as plantes,[42] oranges, lemons of strange size,[43] ground gourds, which are very good, algarobes,[44] pappittes,[45] and a fruit named coracon,[46] because it is in the form of a heart, of the size of the fist, and of a yellow and red colour; the skin very delicate, and when it is pressed, it gives out an odoriferous humour; and that which is good in this fruit is like thick milk, and has a taste like sugared cream.

[42] Plantes--"Plantano" of the Spaniards, a species of banana,
called in the Canaries "plantano."

[43] Lemons of strange size--Shaddock?

[44] Algarobe. See forward, page 25.

[45] Pappette--"Curica papaia" (Linn.)--papaw-tree.

[46] Coracon. Anona Muricata, or Corassol, from the Spanish
"Corazon,"--heart, so called from the shape of the fruit. Some
writers derived the name from Curacoa, supposing the seed to have
been brought by the Dutch from that island. The native name was
"memin."

There are many other fruits which are not much esteemed, although they are good; there is also a root called "cassave"[47] which the Indians eat instead of bread.

[47] Cassava--Jatropha Manihot.

There grows neither corn nor wine in all this island. In it there are a great quantity of cameleons which, it is said, live on air; this I cannot assure although I have seen them many times. It has the head rather pointed, the body somewhat long for its size, that is to say, of one foot and a half, and has only two legs, which are in front; the tail very pointed, the colours mingled grey and yellowish. The said cameleon is here represented.[48]

[48] See frontispiece.

The best merchandise in the island is sugar, ginger, canifiste, honey of canes, tobacco, quantity of hides of oxen, cows, and sheep. The air is very hot, and there are little birds which resemble parrots, called perriquitos, of the size of a sparrow, with a round tail, and which are taught to speak: there are a great number in that isle.

The said island is about seventy leagues in length and forty in breadth, surrounded by good ports and havens, and lies east and west.

We remained at Porto-rico about a month; the general left about three hundred soldiers, as garrison in the fortress, and caused forty-six pieces of brass cannon, which had been at Blavet, to be placed there.

On leaving Porto-rico our general divided our galleons into three squadrons. He retained four with him, and sent three to Porto-bello, and three to New Spain, of which number was the vessel in which I was; and each galleon had its patache. The said general went to Terra-Firma, and we coasted all the Island of St. Domingo on the north side, and went to a port of the said island, named Porto Platte, to inquire if there were any strange vessels on the coast, because no foreigners are permitted to traffic there, and those who do go there, run the risk of being hung or sent to the galleys, and their ships confiscated; and to keep them in greater fear of approaching the land, the king of Spain gives freedom to any negroes who may discover a foreign vessel and give notice to the general of the army, or to the governor; and there are negroes who would go a hundred and fifty leagues on foot, night and day, to give such notice and acquire their liberty.

We landed at Porto Platte, and went about a league inland without meeting any one, excepting a negro who was preparing to go and give notice, but meeting with us, he went no farther, and informed our "admiral" that there were two French ships at the port of Mancenilla; where the said admiral resolved to go, and for that purpose we left the said Porto Platte, which is a good port sheltered from all winds, and where there are three, four, and five fathoms water.

From the above Porto Platte we proceeded to the port of Mancenilla, at which port we learned that the aforesaid two vessels were at the port of Mosquittes, near La Tortue, which is a little island thus named, opposite the entrance of the said port, where, arriving the next day about three o'clock in the afternoon, we perceived the above two ships, which were putting to sea to avoid us, but too late; seeing which, and that there were no means of escape, the crew of one of the vessels, which was fully a league at sea, abandoned their ship, and having thrown themselves into their boat, escaped to land. The other ship ran aground and broke to pieces, at the same time the crew escaped to land like the other, and there only remained one mariner in it, who, being lame and somewhat ill, could not fly. He told us that the vessels which were lost were from Dieppe.

There is a very good entrance to the port of Mosquittes, of more than two thousand paces in width, and there is a hidden sand-bank, so that it is necessary to keep near to the land on the east side in entering the said port, in which there is good anchorage; there is an island inside where there is shelter from the north wind, which strikes directly into the harbour. This place is tolerably pleasant from the number of trees which grow there; the land is rather high; but there are such quantities of small flies, like chesans, or gnats, which sting in so strange a fashion, that if a man were to go to sleep and should be stung in the face, puffy swellings of a red colour, enough to disfigure him, would rise from the sting.

Having learned from the lame mariner who was taken in the French vessel, that there were thirteen great ships, French, English, and Flemish, half armed for war, half with merchandise, our admiral resolved to go and take them at the port of St. Nicolas where they were, and for that purpose prepared three galleons of the burthen of five hundred tons each, and four pataches. We proceeded in the evening to cast anchor in a bay called Monte Christo, which is very good and sheltered from the south-east and from the west, and is remarkable for a mountain which is straight above the harbour, so high that it can be discerned from fifteen leagues at sea. The said mountain is very white and shining in the sun.

For two leagues round the said harbour the land is rather low, covered with a quantity of wood, and there is a very good fishery, and a good port under the mountain.

The following morning we proceeded to Cape St. Nicolas to seek the aforesaid ships, and about three o'clock arrived in the bay of the said Cape, and cast anchor as near as it was possible, the wind being adverse to our entering.

Having anchored, we perceived the vessels of the above mentioned merchants, at which our admiral rejoiced greatly, being assured of taking them. All the night we did all that was possible to endeavour to enter the harbour, and when morning came, the admiral took counsel of the captains and pilots as to what was to be done. They told him that the worst they had to think of was what the enemies might do to escape; that it was impossible for them to fly, saving under favour of the night, having the wind fair; that, in fact they would not hazard it in the day-time, seeing their seven armed ships; also that if they wished to make resistance, they would place their vessels at the entrance of the harbour, anchored stem and stern, with all their guns on one side, and their tops well fenced with cables and hides, and that if they saw that they were getting the worst, they would abandon their ships, and throw themselves on land. To prevent this, the admiral should advance his ships as near to the harbour as possible, batter the enemies with his cannon, and land one hundred of his best soldiers to prevent their so escaping. This plan was resolved on, but the enemies did not do as it had been expected; for they made their preparations during the night, and when the morning came they set sail and came straight towards our ships, by which they must of necessity pass, in order to get the wind of us. This resolution changed the courage of the Spaniards, and softened their rhodomontades. It was then for us to lift anchor, and with such promptitude, that in the admiral's ship they cut the cable at the hawse-hole, not having time to raise the anchor. So we also set sail, giving and receiving cannonades. At last they gained the wind on us, and we pursued them all day and the following night until the morning, when we saw them four leagues from us, which our admiral perceiving, he abandoned the pursuit to continue our route; but it is very certain that if he had wished he could have taken them, having better ships, more men and munitions of war. The foreign vessels were only preserved by default of courage of the Spaniards.

During this chase, there happened a laughable thing which deserves to be related. A patache of four or five tons was seen mingled with our ships. It was hailed frequently, as to whence it came, with orders to lower the sails, but there was no reply: and although some guns were fired at it, it continued to go before the wind, which moved our admiral to have it chased by two of our pataches, which, in less than two hours, overtook and approached it, calling out always for the sails to be lowered, without any answer; nor would the soldiers board it; although no one was seen at the helm, so that the commander of the pataches said that it was steered by a devil, and forced the soldiers, as many as twenty, by menaces, to go on board, who found nothing; they only brought away the sails, and left the hull to the mercy of the sea.

A report being made of this to the admiral, and of the fright that the soldiers had shewn, it gave matter for laughter to all.

Leaving the island of St. Domingo, we continued our route to New Spain.

The aforesaid island of St. Domingo is large, being one hundred and fifty leagues long, and sixty broad, very fertile in fruits, cattle, and good merchandise, such as sugar, canifiste, ginger, honey of canes, cotton, hides of oxen, and some furs. There are numerous good ports, and good anchorage, and only one town, named L'Espaignolle,[49] inhabited by Spaniards; the rest of the population is Indian, good-natured people, and who much like the French nation, with whom they traffic as often as they can, but this is without the knowledge of the Spaniards. It is also the place where the French trade the most in those quarters, and where they have most access, although with little freedom.

[49] Now San Domingo.

This country is rather hot, and particularly mountainous; there are no mines of gold or silver, but only of copper.

Leaving, then, this island, we coasted along the island of Cuba, on the south side, the land rather high, and proceeded to reconnoitre some small islands, which are called the Caymans, to the number of six or seven. In three of them there are three good harbours, but it is a dangerous passage, on account of the shallows and banks which are there, and it is not good to adventure in it unless the route is well known.

We anchored between the islands, and remained one day; I landed on two of them, and found a very fine and agreeable harbour. I walked about a league inland, through very thick woods, and caught some rabbits, which are in great quantities, some birds, and a lizard as large as my thigh, of a grey and dead-leaf[50] colour. The island is very flat and level, and all the others the same; we also landed on another, which was not so agreeable; but we brought away some very good fruits, and there were such quantities of birds, that at our landing there rose so great a number, that for more than two hours after the air was filled with them: and there were others, which could not fly, so that we took them pretty easily; these are of the size of a goose, the head very large, the beak very wide, low on their legs, the feet like those of a water hen. When these birds are plucked, there is not more flesh on them than on a dove, and it has a very bad taste. We raised the anchor the same day, towards evening, with a very fair wind, and the next day, about three o'clock in the afternoon, we arrived at a place called "La Sonde,"[51] a very dangerous place, as for more than five leagues there are only shallows, with the exception of ...[52] leagues in length, and three in width; when we were in the middle of the said channel, we lay to, and the sailors cast out their lines to catch fish, of which they took so large a quantity, that they could not find room enough for them on board the ships. This fish is of the size of a dorade,[53] of a red colour, and very good if eaten fresh, for it will not keep, or salt, but becomes putrid shortly. The lead must be always in hand in passing through this channel; on leaving which, one of our pataches was lost at sea, without our knowing the cause; the soldiers and mariners saved themselves by swimming, some on planks, others on oars, others as they best could, and returned from more than two ...[54] to our ship, which they met with very _a propos_, and we picked them up in our boats which were sent out for them.

[50] Feuille-morte, whence "phillemoti," brownish.

[51] A difficult channel, called by the Spaniards the "Sound of
Mexico," abounding in fish, especially Dorades.

"We pursued our route till we arrived at a place which the
Spaniards call the Sound of Mexico, for in that place we often
cast the sound.... During this time we took great diversion in
fishing, particularly dorades, on which we made great
cheer."--Gage's _Voyage to Mexico in 1625_, from French
translation by the Sieur de Beaulieu, Hues O'Neil: 2 vols.,
Paris, 1676.

[52] Hiatus in MS.

[53] Sparus aurata (Linn.), Brame de Mer--the Bahama dorade is
called "porgy."

[54] Hiatus in MS.

Eight days afterwards, we arrived at St. Jean de Luz,[55] which is the first port of New Spain, where the galleons of the king of Spain go every year to be laden with gold, silver, precious stones, and cochineal, to take to Spain.

[55] The fort or castle of San Juan d'Ulloa is evidently meant,
but whether it bore that name when Champlain was there, or
whether he confounded the St. Jean de Luz of Spain with San Juan
d'Ulloa, is a moot point. In Mercator and Hondius's maps,
Amsterdam, 10th edition, 1628, St. Juan d'_Uloa_ (Ulloa) is
placed on the twenty-sixth degree of north latitude, at the mouth
of the river "Lama" (Rio del Norte). The town of Villa Rica, is
laid down in the actual position of Vera Cruz, but no mention of
either St. Juan de Luz, or d'Ulloa; and in Gage's _Voyage with
the Spanish Fleet to the West Indies and Mexico_, 1625, it is
styled Sn Juan d'Ulhua, otherwise Vera Cruz.

"The proper name of the town is Sn Juan d'Ulhua, otherwise Vera
Cruz, from the old harbour of Vera Cruz, which is six leagues
from it. But the harbour of the old Vera Cruz being found too
dangerous for ships, on account of the violence of the north
wind, it was entirely abandoned by the Spaniards, who went to St.
Juan d'Ulhua, where their vessels found a safe anchorage by means
of a rock which serves as a strong defence against the winds; and
in order to perpetuate the memory of this happy adventure,
chancing on a Good Friday, to the name of St. Juan d'Ulhua they
added that of the True Cross, taken from the first harbour, which
was discovered on the Holy Friday of the year 1519."--Gage's
_Voyage to Mexico_, etc., 1625.

The said port of St. Jean de Luz is fully four hundred leagues from Porto-rico. On the island, there is a very good fortress, as well by its situation, as by its good ramparts, well furnished with all that is necessary; and there are two hundred soldiers in the garrison, which are enough for the place. This fortress comprises all the island, which is six hundred paces long, and two hundred and fifty paces wide; besides which fortress there are houses built on piles in the water; and for more than six leagues at sea, there are only shallows, which cause that ships cannot enter this port, if they do not well know the entrance of the channel, for which entrance you must steer to the south-west; but it is certainly the most dangerous port that can be found, and there is no shelter, excepting on the north side of the fortress; in the walls of the fort are numerous rings of bronze, where the vessels are moored, which are sometimes so crowded together, that when it blows from the north, which is very dangerous, the said vessels are much crushed, although they are moored fore and aft.[56]

[56] "The boats towed our ships, one after the other, through the
midst of the sunken rocks, which makes this port one of the most
dangerous that I have seen in all my voyages in the north or
south seas.... We cast our anchors in the haven, but as they were
not sufficient to assure our vessels in so dangerous a port, we
added the assistance of many cables, which were fastened to great
rings of iron, fixed expressly in the walls of the castle to
guarantee ships thereby from the violence of the north
wind."--Gage's _Voyage_.

The said port is only two hundred paces in width, and two hundred and fifty in length. The place is only kept for the convenience of the galleons which come, as it has been said, from Spain, to load with the merchandise, and gold and silver, which are drawn from New Spain.

On the other side of the castle, and about two thousand paces from it, on terra firma, there is a small, but very trading town, called Bouteron. At four leagues from the said Bouteron, there is also another town, named Vera-Crux, which is in a very fine situation, and two leagues from the sea.

Fifteen days after our arrival at the said St. Jean de Luz, I went, with the permission of our admiral, to "Mechique" (Mexico), distant from that place one hundred leagues, always going inland.

It is impossible to see or desire a more beautiful country than this kingdom of New Spain, which is three hundred leagues in length, and two hundred in breadth.

Making this journey to "Mechique," I admired the fine forests, filled with the most beautiful trees that one could wish to see, such as palms, cedars, laurel, orange, and lemon trees. Palmistes, gouiave, accoiates,[57] good Bresil,[58] and Campesche wood, which are all trees common to the country, with an infinity of other kinds, that I cannot recite on account of their diversity, and which give such contentment to the sight, with the quantities of birds of divers plumage, which are seen in the forests, that it is not possible to feel more. Next are met large level plains as far as the eye can see, with immense flocks of cattle, such as horses, mules, oxen, cows, sheep, and goats, which have pastures always fresh in every season, there being no winter, but an air very temperate, neither hot nor cold. It only rains twice in the year, but the dews are so heavy at night that the plants are sufficiently watered and nourished. Besides that, the whole of the country is ornamented with very fine rivers and streams, which traverse almost the whole of the kingdom, and which, for the greater part, are navigable for boats.

[57] See forward, pages 28 and 29.

[58] Brazil, or Bresil wood--Caesalpinia. Two species of Brazil
wood are used in dyeing, Caes. Echinata (Lamarck), and Caes. Sappan
(Linn.) The first is the Brazil wood, or Bresillet, of
Pernambuco, a large tree growing naturally in South America, used
in commerce for red dye. The second is indigenous in India, where
it is used for the same purpose, and known in the trade as sappan
wood; in France, "Bresellet des Indes."

The origin of the name "Brazil," or "Bresil," for this wood, was
long a moot point, whether the country took its name from the
tree, or the tree from the country. Many early writers (and some
modern) have thought that it was derived from the country. The
Sieur de Rochefort, in his "_Histoire Naturelle et Morale des
Antilles d'Amerique_" (Rotterdam, 1658), says: "Le bois de Bresil
est ainsi nomme a cause que le premier qui a este veu en Europe,
avoit este apporte de la Province du Bresil, ou il croist en plus
grande abondance qu'en aucun endroit de l'Amerique"; and Savary,
in his _Dictionnaire du Commerce_, writes: "C'est un bois dont on
se sert pour teindre en rouge, et qui est ainsi nomme puisqu'il
est d'abord venu du Bresil, province de l'Amerique." I could cite
more modern authorities, written and oral, for within the last
month I heard the derivation of the country asserted by a
gentleman of no slight pretensions to learning.

Unfortunately for the above theory, the names "Bresil" and
"Bresillet" are mentioned in an "ordonnance" of John, king of
France, dated London, 16th September, 1358. "Nous avons entendu
plusieurs marchants, Lombards et autres, qui ont trait, ou faict
traire hors du dict Royaume,--guerdes, garances, '_Bresils_,
et autres teintures.'"

Again, in the _Reglements pour le Mestier de Draperie de la
Ville de Troyes_, 360: "Nous avons ordene, et ordenons que
dores-en-avant, aucune teintures ne puisse ou doie taindre draps
au laines en ycelle Ville de Troies, mais que de garde, de
garance, de _Bresil_, et d'autres meilleures taintures," etc.

Also in the _Statuts et Reglements pour les Drapiers de la Ville
de Rouen_, 4th December and 5th January, 1378, _Bresil_ is
mentioned, and it is to be found in _Ordonnances_ of the years
1368, 1398, and 1400. In the very ancient MS. statutes of the
town of Abbeville, _Bresil_ is named: "Que a Selle neuve, ne sait
mis en oeuvre basenne _Bresille_." Finally, Muratori, in his
_Antiq. Ital. Med. Aevi_, vol. ii, cites a charter of the year
1193, in which "Brazil" appears. "Scilicet de omnibus drappis de
batilicio, de lume zucarina, de _Brasile_," etc.

The antiquity of the name is thus clearly shown, the origin is
most probably "brasa," red, flame-colour, incandescent.

We have the quaint authority of Barros as to the origin of the
name of the country, Brazil. "This country had at first the name
of Santa Croce, Holy Cross, on account of that which was raised
there; but the demon, who loses by this standard of the cross the
empire which he had over us, and which had been taken from him by
the mediation of the merits of Jesus Christ, destroyed the cross,
and caused the country to be called Brazil, the name of a red
wood. This name has entered into the mouth of every one, and that
of Holy Cross is lost, as if it was more important that a name
should come from a wood used to dye clothes, rather than from
that wood which gives virtue to all the sacraments--means of our
salvation--because it was dyed with the blood of Jesus Christ
spilled upon it."

Thus it is evident that the name Brazils was given to the country
by the Portuguese, subsequently to Cabral's discovery, from the
quantity of the red wood abounding there.

The first known "Brasilium," or "Bresil," would be the Indian
variety (Caesalpinia Sappan), introduced into Europe, most
probably, by the Venetians or Genoese, and obtained by them from
the Levant, brought there by caravans, or by the Persian and
Arabian Gulfs.

"Campesche," or Campeachy wood, "Haematoxyllum Campechianum"
(Linn.)

The land is very fertile, producing corn twice in the year, and in as great abundance as can be desired, and, whatever season it may be, there are always very good and fresh fruits on the trees; for when one fruit arrives at maturity, others come, and thus succeed one to the other; and the trees are never devoid of fruit, and are always green.

If the king of Spain would permit vines to be planted in this kingdom, they would fructify like the corn; for I have seen grapes produced from a stock which some one had planted for pleasure, of which every grain was as large as a plum, as long as half the thumb, and much better than those of Spain.