obtained a renewal of his charter for one year, he fitted out two vessels, and committed the expedition to the care of Champlain, appointing Dupont Gravé his lieutenant. This expedition sailed from Harleur on the 13th of April, 1608, and arrived at Tadousac on the 3d of June. Here Dupont Gravé remained to trade with the Indians, while Champlain pushed forward up the St. Lawrence, looking for a suitable place to make a settlement. He arrived at the site of the Indian village of Stadacona, on the 3d of July. Here, after scrutiny, his choice fell upon a bold promontory, covered by a luxuriant growth of vines, and shaded by large SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN. walnut trees, called by the natives, most of whom had now deserted the place, Kebec or Quebec. Near the place Cartier had erected a fort, and passed a winter, sixty-three years before. 17. At this place, on the 3d of July, 1608, Champlain laid the foundation of the present city of Quebec. First of all, rude buildings were erected on the elevation, to serve as a temporary protection to the colonists. "Nature herself would seem to have formed the table land, whose bases are bathed by the rivers St. Lawrence, Cape Rouge, and St. Charles, as the cradle, first, of the colony; next, the central point of an after empire. It was not to be wondered at, therefore, that the tact of Champlain led him at once to pitch upon this locality as the proper head-quarters of the projected establishment. Having fairly set his hands at work, Champlain soon saw rise before him a fort, of some extent and respectable strength, while several laborers were busied in clearing contiguous land for tillage, or in other useful and urgent works. The foundations of a town, yet to become one of the most famous cities of the New World, were now being laid in the presence of wondering red men of the woods." Garneau. When the temporary buildings were erected, an extensive embankment was formed securely above the reach of the highest tides, where Mountain street was afterwards located, on which the more permanent dwellings and fortifications were built. 18. It should be observed that the native population of Canada, in the neighborhood of Quebec and Mount Royal, was no longer what it was in the days of Cartier. The thrifty villages of Stadacona and Hochelaga had fallen into ruins. The brave, athlete warriors no longer darted with a nervous agility through the woodlands bordering the great river, but, in their places, a dwarf, shrunken, suffering, conquered race stalked moodily, in desultory bands. It was plain that, during the absence of the French, the furies of a barbarous warfare had raged in many quarters along this fertile valley. The Algonquins had been sorely defeated by their old enemies, the Iroquois, and were glad to find in Champlain a possible redress of their grievances. When closely pressed regarding the country to the south and west, and urged to act as guides to an exploring expedition to that region, they shrank with terror from entering a country in which they would be under the merciless weapons of their enemies. Champlain was not long in discovering that his Indian friends were living in mortal terror of the Five Nations, who inhabited the country to the south and west of Lake Ontario. Utterly unable to hold out against these fierce enemies, they sought the aid of the French colonists against them. Champlain, unaware of the strength of the Iroquois confederacy, and unacquainted with the possibilities of an Indian warfare, entered into an alliance with the Indians he found inhabiting the Lower St. Lawrence against their foes, perhaps the more readily since he hoped to be able thereby to establish a lasting peace with the native tribes nearest his colony. But in this the great pioneer committed a grave error, for which he is hardly to be censured. 19. The colonists passed the winter at Quebec, but happily without experiencing the hardships of their predecessors. But there were sufficient reasons for this difference. They had much better dwellings, warmer clothing, an abundance of good provisions, and perhaps a more enthusiastic commander. But little of importance occurred during the winter. Friendly relations were maintained between the whites and the natives, not only among the Algonquins, but even the distant Iroquois sent a deputation to the fort, soliciting the friendship of Champlain, and offering him in return all the aid within their power in exploring the country of the west. 20. Thus was Quebec established, in 1608. A rude fort was erected on that spot, which has since become famous in the literary annals of two great nations. From that early centre of civilization radiated afterwards, as we shall see, a large number of French settlements, embracing those in Newfoundland, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, Upper Canada, Michigan, and through the Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi valleys, as far south as Louisiana. Thus I have traced, briefly, a complete narrative. of the early explorations and settlements in America. These explorations had lasted during the fifteenth and sixteen centuries, and at the close of the sixteenth the only permanent settlements were those of the Spaniards at St. Augustine and Santa Fé. At the beginning of the seventeenth century permanent settlements multiplied. They were made by 21. Now, to recapitulate the whole subject, by way of chronology, so far as I have pursued it, we have the following valuable result: 1492. Columbus discovered the New World, October 12. 1497. The Cabots discovered Labrador, July 3. 1498. The Cabots explored the Atlantic Coast. South America was discovered by Columbus, Vasco de Gama sailed around the Cape of Good 1512. Ponce de Leon discovered Florida, April 6. 1513. Balboa saw the Pacific Ocean, September 29. 1519-21. Cortez conquered Mexico. 1520. Magellan discovered and sailed through the straits which bear his name, into the Pacific Ocean; and his vessel, returning home by the Cape of Good Hope, had made the first circumnavigation of the globe. 1524. Verrazani explored the coast of North America. 1528. Narvaez explored part of Florida. 1534-35. Cartier discovered Gulf of St. Lawrence and as cended the river to Montreal. 1539-41. De Soto rambled over the Southern States, and in 1541 discovered Mississippi river. 1540-42. Cabrillo explored California and sailed along the Pacific coast. 1541-42. Roberval attempted to plant a colony on the St. Lawrence, but failed. 1562. Ribaut attempted to plant a Huguenot colony at Port Royal, but failed. 1564. Laudonniere attempted to plant another Huguenot colony on St. John's river. It was destroyed by the Spaniards. 1565. Melendez founded a colony at St. Augustine, Florida; first permanent settlement in the United States. 1576-7. Frobisher tried to find a north-west passage; entered Baffin's Bay, and twice attempted to found a colony in Labrador, but failed. 1578-80. Drake sailed along Pacific coast to Oregon, wintered in San Francisco, and circumnavigated the globe. 1582. Espejo founded Santa Fé; second eldest town in the United States. 1583. 1583-7. 1602. 1605. 1607. 1608. Gilbert attempted to reach the continent, but was lost at sea. Raleigh twice attempted to plant a colony in Virginia, but failed. Gosnold discovered Cape Cod, May 14. De Monts established a colony at Port Royal, Nova The English settled Jamestown; first permanent 1609. Hudson discovered Hudson River. 1613. CHAPTER V. AMERICAN EXPLORATIONS. EXPLORATIONS BY THE SPANISH, ENGLISH, AND DUTCH - FIRST SETTLEMENTS — 1000 TO 1600. 1. MORE than a century had now clapsed since Columbus discovered America, yet in no part of the present Dominion of Canada had a permanent settlement been effected; but this was not the case with other portions of America. Hence we will turn for a moment and trace the current of events in those quarters, and in this short diversion we will return to the beginning of the sixteenth century. First, then, as to the operations of the Spaniards, who were foremost among the earliest western explorations. "America, at this time," says one writer, "was to the Spaniard a land of vague but magnificent promise, where the simple natives wore unconsciously the costliest gems, and the sands of the rivers sparkled with gold. Every returning ship brought fresh news to quicken the pulse of Spanish enthusiasm. Now, Cortez had taken Mexico, and revelled in the wealth of the Montezumas; now, Pizarro had conquered Peru, and captured the riches of the Incas; now, Magellan, sailing through the straits which bear his name, had crossed the Pacific, and his vessel, returning home by the Cape of Good Hope, had circumnavigated the globe. Men of the highest rank and culture, warriors, adventurers, all flocked to the New World. Soon Cuba, Hispaniola, Porto Rico, and Jamaica were settled, and ruled by Spanish governors. Among the Spanish explorers of the sixteenth century was, first, Ponce de Leon, a gallant soldier, but an old man, and in disgrace. He coveted the glory of conquest to restore his tarnished reputation, and, besides, he had heard of a magical fountain, in this fairy land, where one might bathe and be young again. He accordingly equipped an |