the ship. Cartier, by signs, endeavored to persuade the chief
that the cross had been erected as a beacon to mark the way into the
harbor; that he would revisit the place and bring hatchets, knives, and
other things made of iron, and that he desired the friendship of his
people. Food and drink were offered, of which they partook freely, when
Cartier made known to the chief his wish to take two of his sons away
with him for a time. The chief and his sons appear to have readily
assented. The young men at once put on colored garments, supplied by
Cartier, throwing out their old clothing to others near the ship. The
chief, with his brother and remaining son, were then dismissed with
presents. About midday, however, just as the ships were about to move
farther from shore, six canoes, full of Indians, came to them, bringing
presents of fish, and to enable the friends of the chief's sons to bid
them adieu. Cartier took occasion to enjoin upon the savages the
necessity of guarding the cross which had been erected, upon which the
Indians replied in unintelligible language. Next day, July 25th, the
vessels left the harbor with a fair wind, making sail northward to 50 deg.
latitude. It was intended to prosecute the voyage farther westward, if
possible; but adverse winds, and the appearance of the distant
headlands, discouraged Cartier's hopes so much that on Wednesday, August
5th, after taking counsel with his officers and pilots, he decided that
it was not safe to attempt more that season. The little squadron,
therefore, bore off toward the east and northeast, and made Blanc Sablon
on the 9th. Continuing thence their passage into the Atlantic, they
were favored with fair winds, which carried them to the middle of the
ocean, between Newfoundland and Bretagne. They then encountered storms
and adverse winds, respecting which Cartier piously remarks: "We
suffered and endured these with the aid of God, and after that we had
good weather and arrived at the harbor of St. Malo, whence we had set
out, on September 5, 1534." Thus ended Jacques Cartier's first voyage to
Canada. As a French-Canadian historian of Canada has observed, this
first expedition was not "sterile in results"; for, in addition to the
other notable incidents of the voyage, the two natives whom he carried
with him to France are understood to have been the first to inform him
of the existence of the great river St. Lawrence, which he was destined
to discover the following