was, it is said, a Calvinist of Dieppe, the son of a Scotchman, who had
married there, and who had quitted France on account of the
persecutions against the Protestants. It appears that De Caen, enraged
at the privileges of the company of which he was the head being
annulled, and himself excluded from the new company formed under the
auspices of Cardinal Richelieu, betrayed the settlement, giving the
English a full and complete account of the vessels employed, the number
of men in the colony, its weak points, etc. Kerr had with him also a
certain Jacques Michel, a Frenchman, from Dieppe, and a former
associate of De Caen.[25]
[25] "Fauces illas, aditusque fluminis obsidebat jam aliquandiu
David Kersius, Anglus, ab navibus, militibusque Rupemontio
instructor ... praemonitus pridem ab exulceratis Cadomianis (De
Caen), qui exclusos sese ab Nova Francia, tanta vel ignominia,
vel rei familiaris jactura impotentissime ferebant, de navium
transmissarum numero, de Noyrotis actuario nominatim, de militum
robore, de commeatu, de omnibus denique, quae hostis incendere
cupiditatem, vel stimulare diligentiam, vel cautionem munire
posse videbantur."--De Creux, lib. i.
Some days afterwards a young man, of the name of Desdames, came to
Quebec with ten men, bringing news of the arrival at Gaspey of the
Sieur de Roquement, commanding the new company's ships, which were
bringing stores, provisions, and workmen and their families for the
colony. Champlain, whom the late surprise had rendered doubly cautious,
asked for letters from De Roquement, before giving credence to this
intelligence; surprised, moreover, that in such suspicious times, he
had not written by his messenger, to say how affairs were going on in
France, and tell him about this new company that had ousted De Caen and
his partners, and of which Champlain knew nothing.[26] Desdames told him
that he had left in such haste that De Roquement had not time to write,
but in proof of the truth of his intelligence, produced a few lines
from Father Lallemand, a Jesuit, who was on board De Roquement's
vessel, saying that, in a short time, Champlain would see them, if not
prevented by the English, who were stronger than they were. Desdames
also informed him that De Roquement intended to attack the English
squadron at Tadoussac, and that on his route he had heard cannon, which
made him think that the battle had commenced.
[26] Champlain, however, shortly after received a commission from
the king, Louis XIII, appointing him commandant in New France
under Cardinal Richelieu, ordering him also to take an inventory
of all goods and property of every kind belonging to De Caen, and
to have them valued; and also, to send without delay an account
of the state of the settlement, the number of acres of cleared
land, and plans of the fort and buildings, etc., for the
deliberation of the royal council.
Champlain severely blamed the conduct of De Roquement in attacking the
English, as, being sent for the sole purpose of succouring and
revictualling the fort and settlement which were in want of almost
every necessary, if he were beaten, he not only ruined himself but the
country, leaving nearly a hundred men, women, and children to die of
hunger, or abandon the fort and settlement to the first enemy that
should present himself. On the contrary, the English being stronger in
ships and men, he ought to have avoided them as much as possible. "The
merit of a good captain," he exclaims, "is not in his courage alone; it
ought to be accompanied by prudence, which causes him to be respected,
being accompanied by many cunning stratagems and inventions; many have
thus done much with little, and have rendered themselves glorious and
redoubtable."
While waiting with impatience for news of the combat, "Nous mangions
nos pois par compte," which short allowance greatly reduced the
strength of the people, most of the men becoming feeble, and hardly
able to work. "We were deprived of all," says Champlain; "even salt was
wanting." His ingenuity, however, provided a partial remedy for the
evil of eating the peas whole; he first had mortars made wherein the
peas might be pounded to a coarse flour; but the labour required being
considerable, he imagined that a hand-mill would be better, but there
were no mill-stones; however, as by dint of seeking most things are to
be found, his locksmith discovered stone fit for the purpose. "So
that," Champlain writes, "this necessity made us find that which for
twenty years had been deemed impossible." When the hand-mill was
finished, every one brought his little supply of peas, which they
received back in flour, and which, made into a kind of soup, "did us a
great deal of good, and set us up better than we had been for some
time." So with the addition of a small supply of eels, from time to
time, from the Indians, who, by the bye, sold them very dear, he
continued to rub on as best he might. The success of his hand-mill
encouraged him to have water-mills erected during the winter, which
would better relieve the people, and spare labour. He also sent out men
to hunt in the winter, "as the savages did, but," he adds, indignantly,
"they were not so honest as those people, as having taken a very large
elk, they amused themselves with devouring it like ravenous wolves,
without giving us any, save about twenty pounds; which made me reproach
them for their gluttony, as I never had any provisions without sharing
with them; but as they were men without honour or civility, so had they
acted, and I sent them no more, occupying them with other things."
Champlain's difficulties and anxieties became daily greater, as, with
the utmost possible economy, the few remaining provisions would hardly
last longer than the end of May, and if the annual ships with supplies
were lost or taken by the English, they must all perish with hunger; so
he resolved that, if the vessels did not arrive by the end of June, and
the English should return as they had promised, to make the best terms
he could and give up the fort, as the people could not otherwise
subsist; and if neither the English nor the ships should arrive, to
patch up, as well as he could, a little vessel of seven or eight tons,
which had been left at Quebec as being good for nothing, and go to
Gaspey, Miscou, and other places to the north, to try and get a passage
for the greater part of the settlers, in the vessels which went there
for the fishery, retaining in the settlement only such a number as
might subsist on the grain which would be gathered in the following
August from the lands of "Hebert" before mentioned, and of the
"Fathers," who seemed to have taken care of themselves in all this
necessity. "To exist till August," says he, "our resource would be to
seek for herbs and roots, and try and catch fish." If he found that the
little vessel could not be repaired, he determined to take with him as
many men as possible and make war on some of the savage tribes who had
aided the Iroquois; to force one of their villages and fortify it, so
as to pass the rest of the summer, the autumn, and winter, rather than
all die of hunger at the settlement, "hoping for better things in the
spring."
While in this extreme tribulation, an Indian chief, of a tribe some
eight days journey from Quebec, paid Champlain a visit for the purpose
of soliciting his aid against the old foe, the Iroquois. Considering it
an excellent opportunity for relieving the settlement of many surplus
mouths, he agreed to help them as well as he could in that year if the
vessels should not arrive, and, at any rate, in the next year he would
join them with as many men as possible; at least he and his people
would be fed, and if the English took possession of the settlement, his
alliance with the Indians would enable him in due time to drive them
out. With this promise the Indian chief departed highly pleased, and
Champlain sent a confidential man to reconnoitre the enemy's country,
giving his Indian friends instructions how to attack the Iroquois
villages or forts till he could join them. He then sent a small boat to
Gaspey to try and get some grain, and applied to "Father Joseph De la
Roche," (he does not say of which mission, Jesuit or Recollet,) to know
if he might hope for some supplies from their stock if the ships should
not arrive; the worthy Father Joseph replied that, if it depended upon
him, he would gladly consent, but that "Father Joseph Caron, the
guardian, must be first applied to." Whether the said supplies were
forthcoming does not appear; from the continuance, and even increase of
suffering, it should seem not.
On the 20th of May, twenty Indian warriors, coming from Tadoussac, on
their way to make war on the Iroquois, brought some account of the
battle which had been fought between the English and French ships. Some
men had been killed; the Sieur De Roquement wounded in the foot, and
the French vessels taken and carried into Gaspey; the crews had been
all put on board one of the ships to be sent to France, the officers
kept as prisoners of war, and the English, after burning a "cache" of
corn belonging to the Jesuits at Gaspey, had set sail for England.
About this time Champlain formed an alliance with an Indian chief named
"Chomina," who greatly relieved his anxieties about future subsistence
by promising to assist him, as much as possible, with provisions, and
in case of need, against the English. Desdames also arrived from
Gaspey, confirming the intelligence brought by the Indians of the total
defeat and capture of the French ships, and that eight English vessels
were cruising on the coast of Acadia.
On the 26th of June Champlain dispatched his brother-in-law, Boulle,
with all who wished to leave the settlement, to Gaspey, with orders to
seek a passage to France, by every possible means, charging him with
letters for the king, the cardinal, the council of state, and the
company, giving details of all that had passed, and of the strait to
which he was reduced. Du Pont Grave, who had remained at Quebec, was
also desirous of returning, but on Champlain's representations of the
difficulties and danger of life he would incur from his infirm state,
in so hazardous a journey, he remained at the settlement, so tormented
with the gout that he was almost constantly laid up.
When Boulle and his people had departed, Champlain employed those who
remained in preparing the ground and sowing turnips against the winter,
and, while awaiting the harvest, parties were sent every day to seek
for roots, which occasioned great fatigue, having to go seven or eight
leagues to find any, and even then hardly getting enough for bare
subsistence. Some tried fishing, but with little success, "nets, lines,
and hooks being wanting," and gunpowder so scarce, that he preferred
suffering rather than use for hunting the little he had left, which was
not more than thirty or forty pounds, and that very bad.
Every day also he was in expectation of the arrival of some Hurons with
twenty Frenchmen, who had gone with them some time before to relieve
the settlement a little--"pour nous soulager de nos pois"--as Champlain
expresses it; and these expected additions to the claims on the said
"pois" gave him no small anxiety, "as we had nothing whatever to give
them, unless they brought flour with them." He hoped that the Hurons
would take them with them again, or that he could distribute them among
other tribes near him; but that was very uncertain. His troubles were,
however, considerably relieved by his friend "Chomina offering to go to
the Huron country to seek for flour," and, still more, by the arrival
of one of his men whom he had sent to examine the country of the
"Abenaquoit"(?) Indians, who gave him a full report of the rapids and
other difficulties of the route thither, and, what was then better and
more to the purpose, that the said "Abenaquoits" were very friendly,
and had offered to take some of his people and keep them during the
winter, or till he should receive supplies by the arrival of the ships
or otherwise.
On the 17th of July, the Hurons and their French guests arrived, but
bringing hardly any provisions, so that they were obliged to do as
Champlain and his people did, "seek for roots that they might live." He
deliberated about sending them to the friendly "Abenaquoits" to reside
with them till the spring, "having no longer any hope," he touchingly
adds, "of seeing either friends or enemies, the season being, to all
appearance, past." The Hurons could only offer for sale two sacks of
flour, one of which was bought by the Recollet fathers, the other by Du
Pont Grave. "As for me," says Champlain, "it was quite out of my power
to have any, much or little, and they did not offer me even a plateful,
either our own people or others: however, I took patience, having
always good courage, waiting for the pea harvest, and some grain from
the clearing of the widow Herbert and her son-in-law, who had sown some
six or seven acres, not being able to apply elsewhere; and I can say
with truth, that I have assisted every one as much as is possible, but
they were little grateful." The Jesuits and Recollets had tolerable
supplies on hand, and ground cleared and sown besides; and they
_promised_ to assist him with any supplies they might have, "but there
were but few liberalities 'made.'"
At this critical time an Indian brought intelligence of the return of
the English squadron. "When this news arrived," writes Champlain, "I
was alone in the fort, part of my companions having gone fishing,
others to seek for roots, and my servant and the two little
'sauvagesses' (the Indian girls before mentioned) had gone also. About
ten o'clock some returned to the settlement, my servant bringing four
little bags of roots: he told me that he had seen the English ships
about a league from Quebec, behind Cape Levy." Champlain thereupon
called a council, and, considering that they were without provisions,
powder, match, or prospect of succour, and thus quite unable to hold
out, it was resolved that they would endeavour to make the best terms
they could, and see what the English would say; but determined, if they
would not grant good conditions, to make them feel on landing "what it
was to take away all hope."
Shortly after, the English sent a boat with a flag of truce, and a
gentleman bearing a letter from the two brothers of the "General Quer"
or Guer (sometimes the name is also spelt "Kertk"), who remained at
Tadoussac with his ships,--one, named Louis, was to command the fort;
the other, Thomas, was "vice-admiral" to his brother. The missive was
as follows:
"Monsieur,--In consequence of what our brother told you last year,
that sooner or later he would have Quebec, if not succoured, he has
charged us to assure you of his friendship as we do of ours; and
knowing very well the extreme need of every thing in which you are,
desires that you should surrender the fort and settlement to us;
assuring you of every kind of courtesy for you and yours, and also
of honourable and reasonable terms, such as you may wish. Waiting
your reply, we remain, Monsieur, your very affectionate servants,
"LOUIS AND THOMAS GUER.
"On board the Filbot, this 19th July, 1629."
To this courteous letter, Champlain replied, that it was true that
negligence or risks of the sea had prevented the expected aid from
arriving, and, consequently, deprived him of the power of opposing
their intentions; that, on the morrow, he would let them know the terms
on which he would give up the settlement, and begging them in the
meantime to withdraw out of cannon-shot and not to attempt a landing.
In the evening, Captain Louis Guer sent for the terms, which were:
"That Guer (Kerk) should show his commission from the king of
England, to prove that there really was 'legitimate war' between
England and France; also the powers of his brother, commanding the
fleet, to treat.
"That a vessel should be given for passage to France, for Champlain
and all his companions, with all who had been made prisoners; also
all the missionaries, both Jesuits and Recollets, and the two
'sauvagesses,' who had been given to Champlain two years before
(what became of the third girl is not stated).
"That all, the 'religious' and others, should be allowed to leave
with arms and baggage and all their furniture, and that a
sufficient supply of provisions for the passage to France should be
given, in exchange for peltry, etc.
"That all should have the most favourable treatment possible,
without violence to any.
"That the ship in which they were to embark for France, should be
ready in three days after their arrival at Tadoussac, and a vessel
provided for the transport of their goods, etc., to that place."
Soon after the reception of these conditions, the English captains sent
their ultimatum, which was:
"That Kerk's commission should be shewn, and his powers to his
brothers to treat. As to providing a vessel to take Champlain and
his people direct to France, that could not be done; but they would
give them passage to England and from thence to France, whereby
they would avoid being again taken by any English cruiser on their
route. For the 'sauvagesses'--that clause could not be granted, for
reasons which would be explained. As to leaving with arms and
baggage,--the officers might take with them their arms, clothes,
and peltries belonging to them, and the soldiers their clothes and
a beaver robe each. As for the holy fathers, they must be contented
with their robes and books."
All these articles accepted, were duly ratified by David "Kertk" (so
spelt this time) at Tadoussac on the 19th August, 1629 (new style).
On the following day the three English vessels cast anchor before
Quebec, namely, the "Flibot," of one hundred tons, and ten guns, and
two "pataches" (advice boats) of forty tons and six guns each, with
about a hundred and fifty men.
Champlain was very desirous to know why he would not be permitted to
take with him the two little Indian girls, whom he had taken care of
for two years past, "having had them taught needlework of various kinds
and other useful things"; so he went to Captain Louis Kerk, and so
persuaded him that he consented to their going, "at which the said
girls were very much rejoiced."
Then Captain Louis landed with a hundred and fifty men to take
possession of the settlement; the keys of the magazine of the company
being delivered to him--not by Du Pont Grave, but by deputy--the poor
man being, as usual, confined to his bed with the gout, and quite
unable to act. Kerk gave the keys to a certain Baillif, a Frenchman and
native of Amiens, whom he had taken as clerk, and who, with three other
Frenchmen, as great rascals as himself, had joined the English
voluntarily, "to serve them, and aid them to ruin us," says Champlain,
indignantly. He then took possession of the fort, treating Champlain
with every possible courtesy, but not allowing him to leave Quebec. He
permitted mass to be said at Champlain's request, and, "with all kind
of affection," gave him a certificate of all supplies and property that
were found in the fort and settlement, from which it appeared that all
the ammunition remaining consisted of forty pounds of powder and
fifty-one iron cannon balls.
Kerk took also many articles belonging to the reverend fathers, the
Jesuits and Recollets, of which he would not give any account, saying,
"If they be given back, (which I do not think they will be,) nothing
will be lost, so it is not worth while to mention them; and as for the
provisions we have found, we will not spoil paper and ink about them,
preferring rather to assist you with ours;" for which Champlain
heartily thanked him, "unless he should make him pay very dear for
them."
The next day the English flag was hoisted on the fort, the drums beat,
the cannon and musketry of the shipping and town fired in token of
rejoicing, and solemn possession taken of Quebec in the name of the
king of England.
The English conducted themselves with all honour, forbearance, and
honesty; not so the French renegades who had joined them, who seemed to
have lost no time in filling their pockets. On the very next night, the
before-named Frenchman, Baillif, took from the company's chief clerk
one hundred livres in gold and silver, a silver cup, "some silk
stockings, and other bagatelles," being moreover vehemently suspected
of purloining a silver gilt chalice from the chapel, worth a hundred
livres or more. Complaints were made to Louis Kerk, who instituted an
inquiry, but without effect. Baillif of course swore that he was
innocent; "but," says Champlain, "he was without faith or law, although
calling himself a Catholic, as did the three others, but who did not
scruple to eat flesh on the Friday and Saturday to please the English,
who, on the contrary, blamed them for it. I showed him all the evil and
reproaches he would one day feel, which did not trouble him much; every
wickedness that he could practise against the French he did. From the
English we received every kindness; from this wretch every evil. I
leave him for what he is worth, expecting that one day God will
chastise him for his impieties and blasphemies."
Since the English had taken possession of Quebec, "the days seemed
months" to Champlain, who begged Louis Kerk to allow him to go to
Tadoussac, and wait for the sailing of the ships, offering to remain
with the "general," his brother, which was kindly granted; so, leaving
some of his furniture for Louis Kerk's use, he embarked with the
remainder of his property and his two little "sauvagesses," poor gouty
Du Pont Grave remaining with the rest of the people, as did the
reverend fathers, the Jesuits, etc.
The widow Hebert and her son-in-law, who, with her deceased husband,
were the first settlers in Quebec, and who seem to have been the only
really industrious and provident residents in the colony, were greatly
afraid that their lands would be seized or ravaged by the English; but,
on the contrary, they were well treated, every assistance being
afforded them, and assurance given that they might remain in as great
security of person, property, and trade as before. "Louis Quer" (Kerk),
says Champlain, "was courteous, having something of the French nature
in him, and loving the nation. He was the son of a Scotchman who had
married at Dieppe; so he desired to oblige the French families,
preferring their conversation to that of the English, to whom his
humour was repugnant!"
The mass of the colonists, not knowing whether to go or to stay, asked
Champlain's advice. He told them that, as the exercise of their
religion would no longer be free, or even possible, having no more
priests, and as they would be deprived consequently of confession, and
those holy sacraments which would give their souls repose for ever,
they had better dispose of all their peltry, etc., getting as much
money as they could for it, and return to France in the way that the
English commander had offered; "for," he added, "you must care more for
the soul than the body, and having money with you in France, you can
keep above want." They thanked him for his counsel, which they promised
to follow, "hoping, nevertheless, to meet again next year, if it
pleased God."