Running through theVoyagesis the double interest of discovery and colonization, constantly blending and reacting upon each other, but still remaining matters of separate concern. It is obvious that in the mind of the narrator discovery is always the more engaging theme. Champlain is indeed the historian of St Croix, Port Royal, and Quebec, but only incidentally or from chance. By temper he was the explorer, that is, the man of action, willing to record the broad results, but without the instinct which led Lescarbot to set down the minutiae of life in a small, rough settlement. There is one side of Champlain's activity as a colonizer which we must lament that he has not described—namely, his efforts to interest the nobles and prelates of the French court in the upbuilding of Canada. A diary of his life at Paris and Fontainebleau would be among the choicest documents of the early colonial era. But Champlain was too blunt and loyal to set down the story of his relations with the great, and for this portion of his life we must rely upon letters, reports, and memoranda, which are so formal as to lack the atmosphere of that painful but valiant experience.
Excluding the brief notices of life at St Croix,Port Royal, and Quebec, Champlain'sVoyagespresent a story of discovery by sea and discovery by land. In other words, the four years of Acadian adventure relate to discoveries made along the seaboard, while the remaining narratives, including theDes Sauvagesof 1604, relate to the basin of the St Lawrence. Mariner though he was by early training, Champlain achieved his chief success as an explorer by land, in the region of the Great Lakes. Bad fortune prevented him from pursuing his course past Martha's Vineyard to the mouth of the Hudson and Chesapeake Bay. It was no small achievement to accomplish what he did on the coast of Norumbega, but his most distinctive discoveries were those which he made in the wilderness, leading up to his fine experience of 1615-16 among the Hurons.
To single out Champlain's chief literary triumph, it was he who introduced the Algonquin, the Huron, and the Iroquois to the delighted attention of France. Ever since the days of Cartier the French had known that savages inhabited the banks of the St Lawrence, but Champlain is the pioneer in that great body of literature on the North American Indian, which thenceforth continued without interruption in France to theRenéandAtalaof Chateaubriand. Above all other subjects, the Indians are Champlain's chief theme.
To some extent the account of Indian life which is given in theVoyagessuffers by comparison with theRelationsof the Jesuits. The Fathers, by reason of their long residence among the Indians, undoubtedly came to possess a more intimate knowledge of their character and customs than it was possible for Champlain to acquire during the time he spent among them. On the other hand, the Jesuits were so preoccupied with the progress of the mission that they tended to view the life of the savages too exclusively from one angle. Furthermore, the volume of their description is so great as to overwhelm all readers who are not specially interested in the mission or the details of Indian custom. Champlain wrote with sufficient knowledge to bring out salient traits in high relief, while his descriptive passages are sufficiently terse to come within the range of those who are not specialists. When we remember the perpetual interest which, for more than three hundred years, Europe has felt in the North American Indian, theVoyagesof Champlain are seen in their true perspective. For he, with fresh eyes, saw the red man in his wigwam, at his council, and onthe war-path; watched his stoic courage under torture and his inhuman cruelty in the hour of vengeance. Tales of the wilderness, the canoe, the portage, and the ambush have never ceased to fascinate the imagination of Europe. Champlain's narrative may be plain and unadorned, but, with such a groundwork, the imagination of every reader could supply details at will.
In all essential respects Champlain seems to have been a good observer and an accurate chronicler. It is true that his writings are not free from error involving facts of distance, altitude, and chronology. But such slips as have crept into his text do not constitute a serious blemish or tend to impugn the good faith of his statements on matters where there is no other source of information. Everything considered, his substantial accuracy is much more striking than his partial inaccuracy. In fact, no one of his high character and disinterested zeal could write with any other purpose than to describe truly what he had seen and done. The seal of probity is set upon Champlain's writings no less than upon the record of his dealings with his employers and the king. Unselfish as to money or fame, he sought to create New France.
In national progress much depends on the auspices under which the nation was founded and the tradition which it represents. Thus England, and all the English world, has an imperishable tradition in the deeds and character of Alfred the Great; thus Canada has had from the outset of the present stage in her development a great possession in the equal self-sacrifice of Montcalm and Wolfe. On the other hand, the nation is doomed to suffer which bases its traditions of greatness upon such acts as the seizure of Silesia by Frederick or Bismarck's manipulation of the Ems telegram.
For Canada Champlain is not alone a heroic explorer of the seventeenth century, but the founder of Quebec; and it is a rich part of our heritage that he founded New France in the spirit of unselfishness, of loyalty, and of faith.
The best edition of Champlain's own works, in the original text, is that of Laverdière—Oeuvres de Champlain, publiées sous le Patronage de l'Université Laval. Par l'Abbé C.-H. Laverdière, M.A. Seconde Edition. 6 tomes, 4to. Quebec: Imprimé au Séminaire par Geo. B. Desbarats, 1870.
The list of Champlain's writings includes:
1. TheBref Discours, describing his trip to the West Indies.
2. TheDes Sauvages, describing his first voyage to the St Lawrence.
3. TheVoyagesof 1613, covering the years 1604-13 inclusive.
4. TheVoyagesof 1619, covering the years 1615-18 inclusive.
5. TheVoyagesof 1632, which represent a re-editing of the early voyages from 1603 forward, and continue the narrative from 1618 to 1629.
6. A general treatise on the duties of the mariner.
1. TheBref Discours, in a translation by Alice Wilmere, was published by the Hakluyt Society in 1859.
2. TheDes Sauvages(1604) was translated inPurchas His Pilgrimes(1625).
3. TheVoyagesof 1604-18 inclusive were translated by C. P. Otis for the Prince Society of Boston, in three volumes, 1878-82, with the Rev. E. F. Slafter as editor. This is a fine work, but not easily accessible in its original form. Fortunately, Professor Otis's translation has been reprinted, with an introduction and notes by Professor W. L. Grant, in theOriginal Narratives of Early American History(Scribners, 1907). The passages quoted in the present volume are taken from Otis's translation, with occasional changes.
4. TheVoyagesof 1604-16 inclusive have also been well translated by Annie Nettleton Bourne, with an introduction and notes by Professor E. G. Bourne (A. S. Barnes and Co., 1906). This translation follows the edition of 1632, and also gives the translation ofDes Sauvageswhich appears in Purchas.
The career of Champlain is treated in many historical works, of which the following are afew: Parkman,Pioneers of France in the New World; Dionne,Samuel de Champlain(in the 'Makers of Canada' series); Biggar,Early Trading Companies of New France, Slafter,Champlain(in Winsor'sNarrative and Critical History of America, vol. iv, part i, chap. iii); Salone,La Colonisation de la Nouvelle-France; Suite,Histoire des Canadiens-Français; Ferland,Cours d'Histoire du Canada; Garneau,Histoire du Canada, fifth edition, edited by the author's grandson, Hector Garneau.
Unfortunately, there is no authentic portrait of Champlain. That ascribed to Moncornet is undoubtedly spurious, as has been proved by V. H. Paltsits inAcadiensis, vol. iv, pp. 306-11.
Acadia,22-3; the first French colony in,24,34-7,40-8,52-5; abandoned,56-8.
Alexander, Sir William, his interest in Acadia,127and note.
Algonquins, the,68-9,86-7,101-2,113-14; their expedition against the Iroquois,87-96.
America, early opinions regarding,13.
Armouchiquois, the,38,39-40,49-52.
Basques, the,56n.; defy French trading monopoly at Tadoussac,63,64.
Boyer, his public apology to Champlain,78-9.
Brulé, Étienne, explorer and interpreter,97-8.
Caën, Emery de, represents France in the restoration of Quebec,129.
Caën, William and Emery de, granted a monopoly in New France,79-80,117,119-20; deprived of their charter,122; monopoly restored,129-30.
Cartier, Jacques,61.
Champdoré, with Champlain at Port Royal,46.
Champlain, Samuel de, his birth and parentage,2-3; serves in the Wars of the League,6-8; his voyage to the West Indies and Mexico,8-10; his first voyage to the St Lawrence,11-12,16,19-21; with De Monts' expedition to Acadia,23,26-43; his work at Port Royal,43-6; with Poutrincourt's exploring expedition,47-52; founds the Order of Good Cheer at Port Royal,52-4; his second voyage to the St Lawrence and the founding of Quebec,59-68,81,82-3,123; a conspiracy to kill him,64-5; his habitation,66-7; his Indian policy,68-70,87,97,104-5; organizes a trading company in France and secures a monopoly, becoming lieutenant-general of New France,71-5; his difficulties with his company,77-80; his expedition with the Algonquins against the Iroquois,87-96,101-2; his marriage,117-18; is grossly deceived by Nicolas Vignau,98-104; wounded in expedition with the Hurons against the Onondagas,104-12; winters with the Hurons,112-15,146,148-50; his work as king's lieutenant in Quebec,116-17,119,134; captured and taken to London,124-6,127; his reception on his return to Quebec,130-1; his last years and death,133-6; his writings and character,84-5,137-51,152-3; a comparison with Lescarbot,55-7,140-3; his patriotism,12,62,78,84; his strong geographical instinct,9-10,20,26-7,29,55,139-40,148; his ambition to discover a westerly route to the East,26,62,69,84,97,103; his explorations,21,30,35-6,38-40,41,44,47-9,84-6,96,99-101,105-8.
Champlain, Madame,117-18.
Champlain's Company, its charter,74-5; its treatment of Louis Hébert and failure to encourage colonization,76-8; deprived of its monopoly,79.
Chastes, Aymar de,24; sends Champlain on his first voyage to the St Lawrence,11-12,16,19,20-1.
Chauvin, Pierre, secures monopoly of the fur trade in the St Lawrence,16,18-19,62.
Coligny, Admiral de, his interest in New France,14.
Colombo, Don Francisco, and Champlain,8.
Company of One Hundred Associates, founding of the,122-3,129; disaster befalls it,124,125.
Condé, Prince de, viceroy of Canada,73-4,75,78.
Duval, Jean, his plot to kill Champlain,64; suffers death,65.
France, and the Wars of the League,6-8; her colonization policy,10-11,15,17,18,25,28,61-2,117,121,132; and trading monopolies in New France,19and note,26-7,56-57,79,80; her magnificent opportunity of colonial expansion,31-3; the Huguenot revolt at La Rochelle,123-4; war with Britain,124-6; her rivalry with the House of Hapsburg,121,128and note; her colonial policy retarded by her ambitious foreign policy,127-9.
Georgian Bay, Champlain at,105-6.
Gosnold, Bartholomew, an English navigator,13,16.
Great Britain, her colonization policy,14-15; founds a colony in America,16-17,33,82; her capture of New France,124-7.
Hébert, Louis, in Acadia,28,29; scurvily treated by Champlain's Company,76-7; his farm in Quebec,67,80-1.
Henry IV,7,8; his interest in colonial expansion,10-11,17,18,24,25,60,121; assassinated,71.
Holland, her interest in America,14-16,17.
Hudson, Henry, explorer,17,66,95n.
Huguenots, the, forbidden to settle in New France,133.
Hurons, the,68-9,113-14; their expedition against the Onondagas,104-12; their welcome to Champlain on his return to Quebec,130-1.
Indians, their tactics when on a war expedition,89-92; when retreating,110-11; some customs of,95,102; missions to,132-3,134.
Iroquois, and Champlain,68-9; their battle with the Algonquins,91-5,97; with the Hurons,108-10.
James I, and colonization,16,17.
Jeannin, President, and Champlain,74.
Jesuits, established at Quebec,118-19,129,132,133,149.
Kirke, Jarvis or Gervase, and his sons, their expedition against New France,124-6,127.
Kirke, Lewis, his capture of Quebec,124-6; restores it to France,129.
Kirke, Thomas,124; with his brother represents England in the restoration of Quebec,129.
Lake Champlain, discovery of,86,91,96-7.
Lalemant, Father Charles, at Quebec,129,133,136.
La Roche, his colony on Sable Island,18.
La Rochelle, revolt of,123-4.
Le Caron, Father Joseph, among the Hurons,105.
Le Jeune, Father Paul, his arrival at Quebec,129,131,133; his appreciation of Champlain,135-6.
Lescarbot, Marc,28,29,55-6; quoted on De Monts' colony in Acadia,30,47,52,52-4,57-8; a comparison with Champlain,55,140-3.
Marais, Des, with Champlain in New France,87,88.
Marsolet, Nicolas, a guide and interpreter,97-8.
Micmacs, the,38.
Montagnais, the,86n.,93,96.
Montmorency, Duke of,26-7; viceroy of Canada,78,79,80.
Monts, Sieur de,16,24; his trading company and monopoly,22n.,25-7,28,29,56-7,60-1,68; his colonizing expedition to Acadia,23,28-43; equips Champlain's expedition to the St Lawrence,60-1,62-3,70-2; member of Champlain's Company,75.
New France,23; and the trading companies,19and note; explorations in,21,23,84; religious strife in,117; the Huguenots forbidden to settle in,117,123,133; surrendered to Britain,126; restored to France,127; progress in retarded by the Thirty Years' War,128-9.
Nicolet, Jean, an explorer and interpreter,98,135.
Norumbega, what it comprised,28n.,36.