rtier's plan was soon made. The river was now open and all was ready
for departure. Rather than allow himself and his men to be overwhelmed
by an attack of the great concourse of warriors who surrounded the
settlement of Stadacona, he determined to take his leave in his own way
and at his own time, and to carry off with him the leaders of the
savages themselves. Following the custom of his age, he did not wish to
return without the visible signs of his achievements. Donnacona had
freely boasted to him of the wonders of the great country far up beyond
Hochelaga, of lands where gold and silver existed in abundance, where
the people dressed like the French in woollen clothes, and of even
greater wonders still,--of men with no stomachs, and of a race of
beings with only one leg. These things were of such import, Cartier
thought, that they merited narration to the king of France himself. If
Donnacona had actually seen them, it was fitting that he should
describe them in the august presence of Francis I.

The result was a plot which succeeded. The two ships, the Grande
Hermine and the Emerillon, lay at anchor ready to sail. Owing to the
diminished numbers of his company, Cartier had decided to abandon the
third ship. He announced a final ceremony to signalize the approaching
departure. On May 3, 1536, a tall cross, thirty-five feet high was
planted on the river bank. Beneath the cross-bar it carried the arms of
France, and on the upper part a scroll in ancient lettering that read,
'FRANCISCUS PRIMUS DEI GRATIA FRANCORUM REX REGNAT' Which means, freely
translated, 'Francis I, by the grace of God King of the French, is
sovereign.' Donnacona, Taignoagny, Domagaya and a few others, who had
been invited to come on board the ships, found themselves the prisoners
of the French. At first rage and consternation seized upon the savages,
deprived by this stratagem of their chief. They gathered in great
numbers on the bank, and their terrifying howls and war-cries resounded
throughout the night. But Donnacona, whether from simplicity or craft,
let himself be pacified with new presents and with the promise of a
speedy return in the year following. He showed himself on the deck of
the captain's ship, and his delighted followers gathered about in their
canoes and swore renewed friendship with the white men, whom they had,
in all likelihood, plotted to betray. Gifts were exchanged, and the
French bestowed a last shower of presents on the ass