Picturesque Quebec, By James Macpherson Le Moine










































































































































 -  Coasting, says he, the said island
(Orleans) we found at the upper end of it an expanse of water very - Page 357
Picturesque Quebec, By James Macpherson Le Moine - Page 357 of 451 - First - Home

Enter page number    Previous Next

Number of Words to Display Per Page: 250 500 1000

"Coasting," Says He, "The Said Island (Orleans) We Found At The Upper End Of It An Expanse Of Water Very

Beautiful and pleasant, at which place there is a little river and bar harbor with two or three fathoms of

Water, which we found to be a place suitable for putting our vessels in safety. We called it Ste. Croix, because on that day, (14th September) we arrived there. Near this place there are natives, whose chief is Donnacona and who lives there, which place is called Stadacone," (now Quebec). Cartier observes in another part of his narrative that Sainte Croix was situate half a league from and to the north of Quebec. Again, speaking of the residence (Stadacone) of Donnacona, he says, "under which high land towards the north is the river and harbour Sainte Croix, at which place we remained from the 15th of September, to the 16th of May, 1536, where the vessels remained dry."

* * * * *

"We now translate from Le Canadien: - 'At the invitation of Mr. Jos. Hamel, City Surveyor, Hon. Wm. Sheppard, the President, and (G. B.) Faribault, Vice-President of the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec, went with him on Saturday, the 19th instant, (1843) to visit the place, and according to the position of the debris of the vessel, the nature of the wood it is composed of, and the character of the stones (ballast) they found at the bottom, they were satisfied that all the probabilities are in favor of Mr. Hamel's hypothesis.

"'On a report of this visit, the Council of the Literary and Historical Society assembled on Monday last, and resolved on laying open the debris, leaving it to Mr. Faribault, the Vice-President, to make, with Mr. Hamel, the necessary arrangements for the execution. The members of the Council having no funds at their disposal, that they can legally apply to this purpose, have so far carried it on at their own expense.

"'Some valuable evidences of the ancient existence of this vessel have been gathered. We shall speak of them in giving an account of the exhumation in progress, under the direction of Messrs. Faribault and Hamel. All those who can throw any light on the subject, either of their own knowledge or by what they may have learnt by tradition, are earnestly solicited to impart the same at the Office of Le Canadien.'

"Those gentlemen ought not to be allowed to carry on this work at their sole expense. The country, the world, are interested in it. This continent in 1535, from end to end one vast wilderness, the imagination can scarcely figure to itself a more awful solitude than that in which, during the winter of 1535-6 Cartier and his faithful followers, amidst savages in an unknown country, during a Canadian winter, at a thousand leagues from their native land, were buried in the dreary swamp (for it then must have been little better) of Sainte Croix now the beautiful valley of the St. Charles, covered with cheerful cottages and a redundant population. Look to-day from the Citadel of Stadacone in all directions north, south, east, west, than which under heaven, there is not a more splendid panorama, and think of what it was when Cartier and his comrades first looked upon it.

Enter page number   Previous Next
Page 357 of 451
Words from 187411 to 187960 of 236821


Previous 357 358 359 360 361 362 363 364 365 366 Next

More links: First 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
 110 120 130 140 150 160 170 180 190 200
 210 220 230 240 250 260 270 280 290 300
 310 320 330 340 350 360 370 380 390 400
 410 420 430 440 450 Last

Display Words Per Page: 250 500 1000

 
Africa (29)
Asia (27)
Europe (59)
North America (58)
Oceania (24)
South America (8)
 

List of Travel Books RSS Feeds

Africa Travel Books RSS Feed

Asia Travel Books RSS Feed

Europe Travel Books RSS Feed

North America Travel Books RSS Feed

Oceania Travel Books RSS Feed

South America Travel Books RSS Feed

Copyright © 2005 - 2022 Travel Books Online