DEPARTURE TO DISCOVER THE NORTH SEA, ON THE GROUND OF THE REPORT MADE ME IN
REGARD TO IT. DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL RIVERS, LAKES AND ISLANDS, THE FALLS
OF THE CHAUDIÈRE AND OTHER FALLS.
Now, as I had only two canoes, I could take with me but four men, among
whom was one named Nicholas de Vignau, the most impudent liar that has been
seen for a long time, as the sequel of this narrative will show. He had
formerly spent the winter with the savages, and I had sent him on
explorations the preceding years. He reported to me, on his return to Paris
in 1612, that he had seen the North Sea; that the river of the Algonquins
came from a lake which emptied into it; and that in seventeen days one
could go from the Falls of St. Louis to this sea and back again; that he
had seen the wreck and _débris_ of an English ship that had been wrecked,
on board of which were eighty men, who had escaped to the shore, and whom
the savages killed because the English endeavored to take from them by
force their Indian corn and other necessaries of life; and that he had seen
the scalps which these savages had flayed off, according to their custom,
which they would show me, and that they would likewise give me a young
English boy whom they had kept for me. This intelligence had greatly
pleased me, for I thought that I had almost found that for which I had for
a long time been searching. Accordingly I enjoined upon him to tell me the
truth, in order that I might inform the King, and warned him that if he
gave utterance to a lie he was putting the rope about his neck, assuring
him on the other hand that, if his narrative were true, he could be certain
of being well rewarded. He again assured me, with stronger oaths than ever;
and in order to play his _rôle_ better he gave me a description of the
country, which he said he had made as well as he was able. Accordingly the
confidence which I saw in him, his entire frankness as it seemed, the
description which he had prepared, the wreck and _débris_ of the ship, and
the things above mentioned, had an appearance of probability, in connection
with the voyage of the English to Labrador in 1612, where they found a
strait, in which they sailed as far as the 63d degree of latitude and the
290th of longitude, wintering at the 53d degree and losing some vessels, as
their report proves.[33] These circumstances inducing me to believe that
what he said was true, I made a report of the same to the Chancellor, [34]
which I showed to Marshal de Brissac,[35] President Jeannin, [36] and other
Seigneurs of the Court, who told me that I ought to visit the place in
person. For this reason I requested Sieur Georges, a merchant of La
Rochelle, to give him a passage in his ship, which he willingly did, and
during the voyage he questioned him as to his object in making it; and,
since it was not of any profit to him, he asked if he expected any pay, to
which the young man answered that he did not, that he did not expect
anything, from any one but the King, and that he undertook the voyage only
to show me the North Sea, which he had seen. He made an affidavit of this
at La Rochelle before two notaries.
Now as I took leave on Whitsuntide, [37] of all the principal men to whose
prayers I commended myself, and also to those of all others, I said to him
in their presence that if what he had previously said was not true he must
not give me the trouble to undertake the journey, which involved many
dangers. Again he affirmed all that he had said, on peril of his life.
Accordingly, our canoes being laden with some provisions, our arms, and a
few articles of merchandise for making presents to the savages, I set out
on Monday the 27th of May from Isle St. Hélène with four Frenchmen and one
savage, a parting salute being given me with some rounds from small
pieces. This day we went only to the Falls of St. Louis, a league up the
river, the bad weather not allowing us to go any farther.
On the 29th we passed the Falls, [38] partly by land, partly by water, it
being necessary for us to carry our canoes, clothes, victuals, and arms on
our shoulders, no small matter for persons not accustomed to it. After
going two leagues beyond the Falls, we entered a lake, [39] about twelve
leagues in circuit, into which three rivers empty; one coming from the
west, from the direction of the Ochateguins, distant from one hundred and
fifty to two hundred leagues from the great Falls; [40] another from the
south and the country of the Iroquois, a like distance off; [41] and the
other from the north and the country of the Algonquins and Nebicerini, also
about the same distance. [42] This river on the north, according to the
report of the savages, comes from a source more remote, and passes by
tribes unknown to them and about three hundred leagues distant.
This lake is filled with fine large islands, containing only pasturage
land, where there is fine hunting, deer and fowl being plenty. Fish are
abundant. The country bordering the lake is covered with extensive
forests. We proceeded to pass the night at the entrance to this lake,
making barricades against the Iroquois, who roam in these regions in order
to surprise their enemies; and I am sure that if they were to find us they
would give us as good a welcome as them, for which reason we kept a good
watch all night. On the next day I took the altitude of the place, and
found it in latitude 45° 18'. About three o'clock in the afternoon we
entered the river which comes from the north, and, passing a small fall
[43] by land so as to favor our canoes, we proceeded to a little island,
where we spent the remainder of the night.
On the last day of May we passed another lake, [44] seven or eight leagues
long and three broad, containing several islands. The neighboring country
is very level, except in some places, where there are pine-covered hills.
We passed a fall called by the inhabitants of the country Quenechouan,[45]
which is filled with stones and rocks, and where the water runs with great
velocity. We had to get into the water and drag our canoes along the shore
with a rope. Half a league from there we passed another little fall by
rowing, which makes one sweat. Great skill is required in passing these
falls, in order to avoid the eddies and surf, in which they abound; but the
savages do this with the greatest possible dexterity, winding about and
going by the easiest places, which they recognize at a glance.
On Saturday, the 1st of June, we passed two other falls; the first half a
league long, the second a league, in which we had much difficulty; for the
rapidity of the current is so great that it makes a frightful noise, and
produces, as it descends from stage to stage, so white a foam everywhere
that the water cannot be seen at all. This fall is strewn with rocks, and
contains some islands here and there covered with pines and white cedars.
This was the place where we had a hard time; for, not being able to carry
our canoes by land on account of the density of the wood, we had to drag
them in the water with ropes, and in drawing mine I came near losing my
life, as it crossed into one of the eddies, and if I had not had the good
fortune to fall between two rocks the canoe would have dragged me in,
inasmuch as I was unable to undo quickly enough the rope which was wound
around my hand, and which hurt me severely and came near cutting it off. In
this danger I cried to God and began to pull my canoe, which was returned
to me by the refluent water, such as occurs in these falls. Having thus
escaped I thanked God, begging Him to preserve us. Later our savage came to
help me, but I was out of danger. It is not strange that I was desirous of
preserving my canoe, for if it had been lost it would have been necessary
to remain, or wait until some savages came that way, a poor hope for those
who have nothing to dine on, and who are not accustomed to such
hardship. As for our Frenchmen, they did not have any better luck, and
several times came near losing their lives; but the Divine Goodness
preserved us all. During the remainder of the day we rested, having done
enough.
The next day we fell in with fifteen canoes of savages called
_Quenongebin_, [46] in a river, after we had passed a small lake, four
leagues long and two broad. They had been informed of my coming by those
who had passed the Falls of St. Louis, on their way from the war with the
Iroquois. I was very glad to meet them, as were they also to meet me, but
they were astonished to see me in this country with so few companions, and
with only one savage. Accordingly, after saluting each other after the
manner of the country, I desired them not to go any farther until I had
informed them of my plan. To this they assented, and we encamped on an
island.
The next day I explained to them that I was on my way to their country to
visit them, and fulfil the promise I had previously made them, and that if
they had determined to go to the war it would be very agreeable to me,
inasmuch as I had brought some companions with this view, at which they
were greatly pleased; and having told them that I wished to go farther in
order to notify the other tribes, they wanted to deter me, saying that the
way was bad, and that we had seen nothing up to this point. Wherefore I
asked them to give me one of their number to take charge of our second
canoe, and also to serve us as guide, since our conductors were not
acquainted any farther. This they did willingly, and in return I made them
a present and gave them one of our Frenchmen, the least indispensable, whom
I sent back to the Falls with a leaf of my note-book, on which for want of
paper I made a report of myself.
Thus we parted, and continuing our course up the river we found another
one, very fair and broad, which comes from a nation called _Ouescharini_,
[47] who live north of it, a distance of four days' journey from the
mouth. This river is very pleasant in consequence of the fine islands it
contains, and the fair and open woods with which its shores are
bordered. The land is very good for tillage.
On the fourth day we passed near another river coming from the north, where
tribes called _Algonquins_ live. This river falls into the great river
St. Lawrence, three leagues below the Falls of St. Louis, forming a large
island of nearly forty leagues. [48] This river is not broad, but filled
with a countless number of falls, very hard to pass. Sometimes these tribes
go by way of this river in order to avoid encounters with their enemies,
knowing that they will not try to find them in places so difficult of
access.
Where this river has its debouchure is another coming from the south, [49]
at the mouth of which is a marvellous fall. For it descends a height of
twenty or twenty-five fathoms [50] with such impetuosity that it makes an
arch nearly four hundred paces broad. The savages take pleasure in passing
under it, not wetting themselves, except from the spray that is thrown off.
There is an island in the middle of the river which, like all the country
round about, is covered with pines and white cedars. When the savages
desire to enter the river they ascend the mountain, carrying their canoes,
and go half a league by land. The neighboring country is filled with all
sorts of game, so that the savages often make a stop here. The Iroquois
also go there sometimes and surprise them while making the passage.
We passed a fall [51] a league from there, which is half a league broad,
and has a descent of six or seven fathoms. There are many little islands,
which are, however, nothing more than rough and dangerous rocks covered
with a poor sort of brushwood. The water falls in one place with such force
upon a rock that it has hollowed out in course of time a large and deep
basin, in which the water has a circular motion and forms large eddies in
the middle, so that the savages call it _Asticou_, which signifies boiler.
This cataract produces such a noise in this basin that it is heard for more
than two leagues. The savages when passing here observe a ceremony which we
shall speak of in its place. We had much trouble in ascending by rowing
against a strong current, in order to reach the foot of the fall. Here the
savages took their canoes, my Frenchmen and myself, our arms, provisions,
and other necessaries, and we passed over the rough rocks for the distance
of about a quarter of a league, the extent of the fall. Then we embarked,
being obliged afterwards to land a second time and go about three hundred
paces through copse-wood, after which we got into the water in order to get
our canoes over the sharp rocks, the trouble attending which may be
imagined. I took the altitude of this place, which I found to be in
latitude 45° 38'. [52]
In the afternoon we entered a lake, [53] five leagues long and two wide, in
which there are very fine islands covered with vines, nut-trees, and other
excellent kinds of trees. Ten or twelve leagues above we passed some
islands covered with pines. The land is sandy, and there is found here a
root which dyes a crimson color, with which the savages paint their faces,
as also little gewgaws after their manner. There is also a mountain range
along this river, and the surrounding country seems to be very
unpromising. The rest of the day we passed on a very pleasant island.
The next day we proceeded on our course to a great fall, nearly three
leagues broad, in which the water falls a height of ten or twelve fathoms
in a slope, making a marvellous noise. [54] It is filled with a vast number
of islands, covered with pines and cedars. In order to pass it we were
obliged to give up our maize or Indian corn, and some few other provisions
we had, together with our least necessary clothes, retaining only our arms
and lines, to afford us means of support from hunting and fishing as place
and luck might permit. Thus lightened we passed, sometimes rowing,
sometimes carrying our canoes and arms by land, the fall, which is a league
and a half long, [55] and in which our savages, who are indefatigable in
this work and accustomed to endure such hardships, aided us greatly.
Continuing our course, we passed two other falls, one by land, the other
with oar and poles standing up. Then we entered a lake, [56] six or seven
leagues long, into which flows a river coming from the south, [57] on which
at a distance of five days' journey from the other river [58] live a people
called _Matou-oüescarini_ [59] The lands about the before-mentioned lake
are sandy and covered with pines, which have been almost entirely burned
down by the savages. There are some islands, in one of which we rested
ourselves. Here we saw a number of fine red cypresses,[60] the first I had
seen in this country, out of which I made a cross, which I planted at one
end of the island, on an elevated and conspicuous spot, with the arms of
France, as I had done in other places where we had stopped. I called this
island _Sainte Croix_.
On the 6th we set out from this island of St. Croix, where the river is a
league and a half broad, and having made eight or ten leagues we passed a
small fall by oar, and a number of islands of various sizes. Here our
savages left the sacks containing their provisions and their less necessary
articles, in order to be lighter for going overland and avoiding several
falls which it was necessary to pass. There was a great dispute between our
savages and our impostor, who affirmed that there was no danger by way of
the falls, and that we ought to go that way. Our savages said to him, You
are tired of living, and to me, that I ought not to believe him, and that
he did not tell the truth. Accordingly, having several times observed that
he had no knowledge of the places, I followed the advice of the savages,
which was fortunate for me, for he fought for dangers in order to ruin me
or to disgust me with the undertaking, as he has since confessed, a
statement of which will be given hereafter. We crossed accordingly towards
the west the river, which extended northward. I took the altitude of this
place and found it in latitude 46° 40'.[61] We had much difficulty in going
this distance overland. I, for my part, was loaded only with three
arquebuses, as many oars, my cloak, and some small articles. I cheered on
our men, who were somewhat more heavily loaded, but more troubled by the
mosquitoes than by their loads. Thus after passing four small ponds and
having gone a distance of two and a half leagues, we were so wearied that
it was impossible to go farther, not having eaten for twenty-four hours
anything but a little broiled fish without seasoning, for we had left our
provisions behind, as I mentioned before. Accordingly we rested on the
border of a pond, which was very pleasant, and made a fire to drive away
the mosquitoes, which annoyed us greatly, whose persistency is so
marvellous that one cannot describe it. Here we cast our lines to catch
some fish.
The next day we passed this pond, which was perhaps a league long. Then we
went by land three leagues through a country worse than we had yet seen,
since the winds had blown down the pines on top of each other. This was no
slight inconvenience, as it was necessary to go now over, now under, these
trees. In this way we reached a lake, six leagues long and two wide, [62]
very abundant in fish, the neighboring people doing their fishing there.
Near this lake is a settlement of savages, who till the soil and gather
harvests of maize. Their chief is named _Nibachis_, who came to visit us
with his followers, astonished that we could have passed the falls and bad
roads in order to reach them. After offering us tobacco, according to their
custom, he began to address his companions, saying, that we must have
fallen from the clouds, for he knew not how we could have made the journey,
and that they who lived in the country had much trouble in traversing these
bad ways: and he gave them to understand that I accomplished all that I set
my mind upon; in short, that he believed respecting me all that the other
savages had told him. Aware that we were hungry, he gave us some fish,
which we ate, and after our meal I explained to him, through Thomas, our
interpreter, the pleasure I had in meeting them, that I had come to this
country to assist them in their wars, and that I desired to go still
farther to see some other chiefs for the same object, at which they were
glad and promised me assistance. They showed me their gardens and the
fields, where they had maize. Their soil is sandy, for which reason they
devote themselves more to hunting than to tillage, unlike the Ochateguins.
[63] When they wish to make a piece of land arable, they burn down the
trees, which is very easily done, as they are all pines, and filled with
rosin. The trees having been burned, they dig up the ground a little, and
plant their maize kernel by kernel, [64] like those in Florida. At the time
I was there it was only four fingers high.
ENDNOTES:
33. _Vide_ Vol. II. p. 171, note 297, for an account of Henry Hudson, to
whom this statement refers. De Vignau had undoubtedly heard rumors
concerning Hudson's expedition to the bay that bears his name in the
years 1610-11, out of which he fabricated the fine story of his
pretended discovery. Longitude at that time was reckoned from the
island of Ferro, one of the Canaries. Proceeding from west to east, the
290° would pass through Hudson's Bay, as may be seen by consulting any
early French map. _Vide_ Bellin's _Carte du Globe Terrestre_, 1764.
34. Nicholas Brulart de Sillery, who was born at Sillery, in France, in
1544, and died in the same place in 1624. He rendered signal service to
Henry IV. Among other public acts he negotiated the peace of Vervins
between France and Spain in 1598. He was appointed grand chancellor of
France in 1607. Henry IV. said of him, Avec mon chanclier qui ne fait
pas le latin et mon connetable (Henri de Montmorency), qui ne fait ni
lire ni écrire, je puis venir à bout des affairs les plus difficiles.
35. For some account of Marshal de Brissac, _vide_ Vol. I. p. 17, note 16.
36. _Vide_ Vol. I. p. 112, note 73. President Jeannin was a most suitable
person to consult on this subject, as he was deeply interested in the
discovery of a northwest passage to India. When minister at the Hague
he addressed a letter bearing date January 21st, 1609, to Henry IV. of
France, containing an account of his indirect negotiations with Henry
Hudson, for a voyage to discover a shorter passage to India. A copy of
this interesting letter, both in French and English, may be found in
_Henry Hudson the Navigator_, by G. M. Asher, LL.D., Hakluyt Society,
London, 1860, p. 244.
37. The festival of Whitsunday occurred on the 26th May. _Laverdière in
loco_.
38. The Falls of St Louis.
39. Lake St. Louis.
40. Champlain is here speaking of the river St. Lawrence, which flows into
Lake St. Louis slightly south of west.
41. Rivière de Loup, now known as the Chateauguay.
42. The River Ottawa or a branch of it flows into Lake St. Louis from the
north, although its course is rather from the west. It was often called
the River of the Algonquins. It approaches comparatively near to Lake
Nipissing, the home of the Nipissirini. The sources of the Ottawa are
northeast of Lake Nipissing, a distance of from one to three hundred
miles. The distances here given by Champlain are only general estimates
gathered from the Indians, and are necessarily inaccurate.
43. Rapide de Brussi, by which the river flows from the Lake of
Two Mountains into Lake St Louis.
44. _Lac de Soissons_, now called Lake of Two Mountains _Vide_ Vol. I.
p. 294.
45. This is the first of a series of falls now known as the Long Fall.
46. _Quenongebin_. Laverdière makes, this the same as the Kinounchepiríni
of Vimont. It was an Algonquin nation situated south of Allumette
Island. _Vide Jesuite Relations_, Quebec ed, 1640, p. 34.
47. _Ouescharini_. These people, called Ouaouechkairini by Vimont, appear
to have dwelt on the stream now known as the _Rivière de Petite
Nation_, rising in a system of lakes, among which are Lake Simon,
Whitefish Lake, Long Lake, and Lake Des Isles. _Vide Jesuite
Relations_, 1640, p. 34. The tribe here mentioned was subsequently
called the Little Nation of the Algonquins hence the name of the
river. _Laverdière_.
48. This passage is exceedingly obscure. Laverdière supposes that part of a
sentence was left out by the printer. If so it is remarkable that
Champlain did not correct it in his edition of 1632. Laverdière thinks
the river here spoken of is the Gatineau, and that the savages
following up this stream went by a portage to the St. Maurice, and
passing down reached the St. Lawrence _thirty_ leagues, and not
_three_, below the Falls of Saint Louis. The three rivers thus named
inclose or form an island of about the extent described in the
text. This explanation is plausible. The passage amended would read,
"This river _extends near another which_ falls into the great river
St. Lawrence thirty leagues below the falls of St. Louis." We know of
no other way in which the passage can be rationally explained.
49. Rideau, at the mouth of which is Green Island, referred to in the text
below.
50. The fall in the Rideau is thirty-four feet, according to the Edinburgh
Gazetteer of the World. The estimate of Champlain is so far out of the
way that it seems not unlikely that feet were intended instead of
fathoms. _Vide_ Vol. I. pp. 301, 302.
51. The Chaudière Falls, just above the present city of Ottawa, the
greatest height of which is about forty feet "Arrayed in every
imaginable variety of form, in vast dark masses, in graceful cascades,
or in tumbling spray, they have been well described as a hundred rivers
struggling for a passage. Not the least interesting feature they
present is the Lost Chaudière, where a large body of water is quietly
sucked down, and disappears underground" _Vide Canada_ by W. H Smith.
Vol. I. p. 120. Also Vol I. p, 120 of this work.
52. The latitude of the Chaudière Falls is about 45° 27'.
53. Chaudière Lake, which was only an expansion of the River Ottawa.
54. Rapide des Chats.
55. This probably refers to that part of the fall which was more difficult
to pass.
56. Lake des Chats. The name _des chats_ appears to have been given to this
Lake, the Rapids, and the _Nation des chats_, on account of the great
number of the _loup cervier_, or wild cats, _chats sauvages_, found in
this region. Cf. _Le Grande Voyage du Pays des Hurons_, par Sagard,
Paris, 1632, p. 307.
57. Madawaskca River, an affluent of the Ottawa, uniting with it at Fitz
Roy.
58. Probably an allusion to the River St. Lawrence.
59. This is the same tribe alluded to by Vimont under the name
_Mataouchkarmi_, as dwelling south of Allumette Island. _Vide Relations
des Jésuites_, 1640, Quebec ed., p. 34.
60. Cyprés, Red Cedar or Savin, _Juniperus Virginiana_. _Vide_ Vol. II.
note 168.
61. They were now, perhaps, two miles below Portage du Fort, at the point
on the Ottawa nearest to the system of lakes through which they were to
pass, and where, as stated in the text, the Ottawa, making an angle,
begins to flow directly from the north. The latitude, as here given, is
even more than usually incorrect, being too high by more than a degree.
The true latitude is about 43° 37'. _Vide Walker_ and _Miles's Atlas of
Dominion of Canada_. Note 62 will explain the cause of this
inexactness.
62. Muskrat Lake. On Champlain's map of 1632 will be seen laid down a
succession of lakes or ponds, together with the larger one, now known
as Muskrat Lake, on the borders of which are figured the dwellings of
the savages referred to in the text. The pond which they passed is the
last in the series before reaching Muskrat Lake. On the direct route
between this pond and the lake, known as the Muskrat Portage road, the
course undoubtedly traversed by Champlain, there was found in 1867, in
the township of Ross, an astrolabe, an instrument used in taking
latitudes, on which is the date, 1603. It is supposed to have been lost
by Champlain on his present expedition. The reasons for this
supposition have been stated in several brochures recently issued, one
by Mr. O. H. Marshall of Buffalo, entitled _Discovery of an Astrolabe
supposed to have been left by Champlain in 1613_, New York, 1879;
reprinted from the _Magazine of American History_ for March of that
year. Another, _Champlain's Astrolabe lost on the 7th of June, 1613,
and found in August, 1867_, by A. J Russell of Ottawa, Montreal,
1879. And a third entitled _The Astrolabe of Samuel Champlain and
Geoffrey Chaucer_, by Henry Scadding, D.D., of Toronto, 1880. All of
these writers agree in the opinion that the instrument was probably
lost by Champlain on his expedition up the Ottawa in 1613. For the
argument _in extenso_ the reader is referred to the brochures above
cited.
[Illustration of an astrolabe.]
Mr. Russell, who examined the astrolabe thus found with great care and
had it photographed, describes it as a circular plate having a diameter
of five inches and five eighths. "It is of place brass, very dark with
age, one eighth of an inch thick above, increasing to six sixteenths of
an inch below, to give it steadiness when suspended, which apparently
was intended to be increased by hanging a weight on the little
projecting ring at the bottom of it, in using it on ship-board. Its
suspending ring is attached by a double hinge of the nature of a
universal joint. Its circle is divided into single degrees, graduated
from its perpendicular of suspension. The double-bladed index, the
pivot of which passes through the centre of the astrolabe, has slits
and eyelets in the projecting fights that are on it."
We give on the preceding page an engraving of this astrolabe from a
photograph, which presents a sufficiently accurate outline of the
instrument. The plate was originally made to illustrate Mr. Marshall's
article in the Magazine of American History, and we are indebted to the
courtesy of the proprietors of the Magazine, Messrs. A. S. Barnes and
Company of New York, for its use for our present purpose.
The astrolabe, as an instrument for taking the altitude of the stars or
the sun, had long been in use. Thomas Blundevile, who wrote in 1622,
says he had seen three kinds, and that the astrolabe of Stofflerus had
then been in use a hundred years. It had been improved by Gemma
Frisius. Mr. Blagrave had likewise improved upon the last-mentioned,
and his instrument was at that time in general use in England. The
astrolabe continued to be employed in Great Britain in taking altitudes
for more than a century subsequent to this, certainly till Hadley's
Quadrant was invented, which was first announced in 1731.
The astrolabes which had the broadest disks were more exact, as they
were projected on a larger scale, but as they were easily jostled by
the wind or the movement of the ship at sea, they could with difficulty
be employed. But Mr. Blundevile informs us that "the Spaniards doe
commonly make their astrolabes narrow and weighty, which for the most
part are not much above five inches broad, and yet doe weigh at the
least foure pound, & to that end the lower part is made a great deale
thicker than the upper part towards the ring or handle." _Vide
M. Blendeale his Exercises_, London, 1622, pp. 595, 597. This Spanish
instrument, it will be observed, is very similar to that found on the
Old Portage road, and the latter may have been of Spanish make.
In order to take the latitude in Champlain's day, at least three
distinct steps or processes were necessary, and the following
directions might have been given.
I. Let the astrolabe be suspended so that it shall hang plumb. Direct
the index or diopter to the sun at noon, so that the same ray of light
may shine through both holes in the two tablets or pinules on the
diopter, and the diopter will point to the degree of the sun's meridian
altitude indicated on the outer rim of the astrolabe.
II. Ascertain the exact degree of the sun's declination for that day,
by a table calculated for that purpose, which accompanies the
astrolabe.
III. Subtract the declination, so found, if it be northerly, from the
meridian altitude; or if the declination be southerly, add the
declination to the meridian altitude, and the result, subtracted from
90°, will give the latitude.
In these several processes of taking the latitude there are numerous
possibilities of inexactness. It does not appear that any correction
was made for refraction of light, or the precession of the equinoxes.
But the most important source of inaccuracy was in the use of the
astrolabe whose disk was so small that its divisions could not be
carried beyond degrees, and consequently minutes were arrived at by
sheer estimation, and usually when the work was completed, the error
was not less than one fourth or one half of a degree, and it was often
much more.
This accounts fully for the inaccuracies of Champlain's latitudes from
first to last throughout his entire explorations, as tested by the very
exact instruments and tables now in use. No better method of
determining the latitude existed at that day, and consequently the
historian is warned not to rely upon the latitude alone as given by the
early navigators and explorers in identifying the exact localities
which they visited.
63. Subsequently called Hurons.
64. _Vide_ Vol. I. p. 49; Vol. II. note 219.