named the place the Port of St. Croix, in honor of the day on which he had first entered it; and here Donnacona, with a retinue of five hundred persons hastened to pay him another friendly visit, to welcome his arrival in the territory.

DESCRIPTION OF STADACONA, AND THE HARBOR OF ST. CROIX.

As this event forms one of the most important epochs in the ancient history of the country, we shall be more particular in our account of the proceedings of Jacques Cartier; and our sketch will now assume "a local habitation." familiar to all who at the present day are acquainted with the scene, and equally interesting, we trust, to the intelligent antiquarian. There can be no doubt, that the "goodly and pleasant sound," above mentioned, was the beautiful basin of Quebec; and that the place selected by Cartier for laying up his vessels, to which he gave the name of Port de St. Croix, and where he afterwards wintered was in the Little River St. Charles, to the north of the city-which name it afterwards received, according to La Potherie, in compliment to Charles des Boues, Grand Vicar of Pontoise, founder of the first mission of Recollets of New France. The old writers, and Charlevoix himself, as has been mentioned above, have unaccountably mistaken the locality of the harbor chosen by Cartier; and misled by the name, have asserted that it was at the entrance of the River now called Jacques Cartier, which flows into the St. Lawrence, about fifteen miles above Quebec. But it has been well observed, that although three centuries have elapsed since the incidents we are recording took place, the localities still remain un

changeable, and may be easily recognised. The port of St. Croix is thus described by Cartier himself: "There is a goodly, fair, and delectable bay, or creek, convenient and fit to harbor ships; hard by, there is in that river one place very narrow, deep, and swift running, but it is not the third part of a league, over against which there is a goodly high piece of land, with a town therein, ...... that is the place and abode of Donnacona: it is called Stadacona .... under which town towards the north, the river and port of the Holy Cross is, where we staid from the 15th September until the 6th May, 1536; and there our ships remained dry." There cannot be a more accurate description The "one place" in the River St. Lawrence, " deep and swift running," means of course that part immediately opposite the Lower Town; and, no doubt, it appeared by comparison " very narrow" to those, who had hitherto seen our noble river only in its grandest forms. The town of STADACONA, the residence of the Chief, stood on that part of QUEBEC which is now covered by the Suburbs of St. Roch, with part of those of St. John, looking towards the St. Charles. The area or ground adjoining is thus described, as it no doubt appeared to Cartier three centuries ago: "as goodly a plot of ground as possible may be seen, and therewithal very fruitful, full of goodly trees even as in France, such as oaks, elms, ashes, walnut trees, maple trees, vines, and white thorns, that bring forth fruit as big as any damsons, and many other sorts of trees, under which groweth as fine tall hemp as any in France, without any seed, or any man's work or labor at all." The exact spot in the River St. Charles where Cartier moored his vessels, and where the people passed the winter, is supposed on good authority to have been

the site of the old bridge, called Dorchester Bridge, where there is a ford at low water, close to the Marine Hospital. That it was on the east bank, not far from the residence of Charles Smith, Esquire, is evident from the river having been frequently crossed by the natives coming from Stadacona to visit their French guests. To all who witness the present state of Quebec-its buildings, population and trade, employing a thousand vessels-these early accounts handed down from the first European visitor must be full of interest, generally accurate as they are in description, but falling, how far, short of the natural beauty of the position!

DISCOVERY OF HOCHELAGA OR MONTREAL.

The relations between the French and Donnacona continued of the most friendly character, and not a day seems to have passed without some communication between them. But the object of Jacques Cartier was by no means attained, or his ambition satisfied with the knowledge of Stadacona-he had received from the interpreters information of the existence of a city of much greater importance, the capital of an extensive kingdom, as they described it, situate at a considerable distance up the River of Canada. Thither he determined to proceed at all hazards, considering his voyage limited only by the discovery of HOCHELAGA. Undeterred by the lateness of the season-deaf to the dissuasions of Donnacona and the interpreters, with one of whom he had every reason to be dissatisfied, he having refused to accompany him further-the Indians had recourse to a device, a kind of masquerade, or pantomimic representation, intended to produce fear in his mind as

to the result of his expedition, either from the hostility of the natives of Hochelaga, the dangers of the river, or the inclemency of the winter which was fast approaching. This ridiculous mummery was treated by Cartier with merited contempt. Charlevoix seems to think, that Donnacona was influenced by jealousy, lest he and his people should be deprived of the advantages of an uninterrupted communication with the white strangers, from whom the Indians had, doubtless, obtained several prcsents, some of utility, others gratifying to their personal vanity. It is by no means improbable, however, that the Indians, who had given Cartier no reason to suspect their good faith, were perfectly sincere. An amusing incident is thus told in Hakluyt :-" Donnacona desired our captain to cause a piece of artillery to be shot off, because Taignoagny and Domagaia made great brags of it, and had told them marvellous things; and also because they had never heard nor seen any before to whom our captain answered, that he was content, and by and by he commanded his men to shoot off twelve cannon charged with bullets, into the wood that was hard by those people and ships, at whose noise they were greatly astonished and amazed, for they thought that heaven had fallen upon them, and put themselves to flight, howling, crying and shrieking, so that it seemed hell had broken loose."

On the 19th September, Cartier commenced his voyage to Hochelaga with his pinnace, the Hermerillon, and two long boats, capable of holding thirtyfive persons with arms, ammunition and provisions; leaving his two larger vessels in the harbor of St. Croix, well protected by "poles and pikes driven into the water and set up"-but better by the stout

His ascent of the river

hearts of their gallant crews. was prosperous, and he speaks of the scenery on both sides as extremely rich and beautifully varied, the country being well covered with fine timber and abundance of vines. The natives, with whom he had frequent communication, are represented as kind and hospitable, every where supplying him with all they possessed, the taking of fish being their principal occupation and means of subsistence. At Hochelai, now the Richelieu, they received a visit from the chief of the district, who also attempted to dissuade them from proceeding further, and otherwise showed a friendly disposition: presenting Cartier with one of his own children, a girl of about seven years of age, whom he afterwards came to visit, together with his wife, during the wintering of the French at St. Croix. On the 28th they came to Lake St. Peter, where, owing to the shallowness of the water in one of the passages between the Islands, they thought it advisable to leave the pinnace. Here they met five hunters, who, says Cartier, " freely and familiarly came to our boats without any fear, as if we had ever been brought up together. Our boats being somewhat near the shore, one of them took our captain in his arms and carried him on shore, and lightly and easily as if he had been a child of five years old, so strong and sturdy was this fellow."

On the 2nd October they approached Hochelaga, and were received by the natives there with every demonstration of joy and hospitality. "There came to meet us," says the relation, "above one thousand persons, men, women and children; who afterward did as friendly and merrily entertain and receive us as any father would do his child, which he had not

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