Chapter 7

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 CHAUDIERE 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 _debris_ 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 _role_ 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 _debris_ 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. Helene 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 deg. 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 deg. 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-oueescarini_ [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 deg. 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 deg. 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 ecrire, je puis venir a 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. _Laverdiere 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. Riviere 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_. Laverdiere makes, this the same as the Kinounchepirini 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 _Riviere 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. _Laverdiere_.

48. This passage is exceedingly obscure. Laverdiere 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. Laverdiere 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 Chaudiere 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 Chaudiere, 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 Chaudiere Falls is about 45 deg. 27'.

53. Chaudiere 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 Jesuites_, 1640, Quebec ed., p. 34.

60. Cypres, 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 deg. 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.

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 deg., 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.