ble; all that they possessed was
freely offered to the strangers. At a place called Hochelai, the chief
of the district visited the French, and showed much friendship and
confidence, presenting Jacques Cartier with a girl seven years of age,
one of his own children.

On the 29th, the expedition was stopped in Lake St. Pierre by the
shallows, not having hit upon the right channel. Jacques Cartier took
the resolution of leaving his larger vessels behind and proceeding with
his two boats; he met with no further interruption, and at length
reached Hochelaga on the 2d of October, accompanied by De Pontbriand, De
la Pommeraye, and De Gozelle, three of his volunteers. The natives
welcomed him with every demonstration of joy and hospitality; above a
thousand people, of all ages and sexes, come forth to meet the
strangers, greeting them with affectionate kindness. Jacques Cartier, in
return for their generous reception, bestowed presents of tin, beads,
and other bawbles upon all the women, and gave some knives to the men.
He returned to pass the night in the boats, while the savages made great
fires on the shore, and danced merrily all night long. The place where
the French first landed was probably about eleven miles from the city
of Hochelaga, below the rapid of St. Mary.

On the day after his arrival Jacques Cartier proceeded to the town; his
volunteers and some others of his followers accompanied him, arrayed in
full dress; three of the natives undertook to guide them on their way.
The road was well beaten, and bore evidence of having been much
frequented: the country through which it passed was exceedingly rich and
fertile. Hochelaga stood in the midst of great fields of Indian corn; it
was of a circular form, containing about fifty large huts, each fifty
paces long and from fourteen to fifteen wide, all built in the shape of
tunnels, formed of wood, and covered with birch bark; the dwellings were
divided into several rooms, surrounding an open court in the center,
where the fires burned. Three rows of palisades encircled the town, with
only one entrance; above the gate, and over the whole length of the
outer ring of defense, there was a gallery, approached by flights of
steps, and plentifully provided with stones and other missiles to resist
attack. This was a place of considerable importance, even in those
remote days, as the capital of a great extent of country, and as having
eight or ten villages subject to its sway.