Havre de Grace.

[Illustration: CHAMPLAIN]

In their absence the Sieur de Chastes had died; but De Monts, another
courtier at the Louvre, succeeded to the patent for colonising in the
New World. Exploration was not to rest, and Champlain and the Baron de
Poutrincourt accompanied the new Deputy in his Acadian expedition of
1604. Once more the Atlantic was crossed. Passing Cap la Heve the
explorers sought a suitable site for their colony along this coast,
and when they reached the beautiful basin of Annapolis, hemmed in by a
circle of wooded hills, the artistic Poutrincourt was charmed, and
forthwith obtained from De Monts a private grant of the surrounding
country. He established his demesne here, naming the place Port Royal,
while Champlain and De Monts, continuing their way around the Bay of
Fundy, came at length to the bleak island of St. Croix, where they
founded their colony.

There is no need to present fully the vicissitudes of the tiny
settlement. Scurvy and the rigours of the first winter carried off
thirty-five colonists out of a total of seventy-nine. The winter of
1606-1607 was happily much less severe; moreover, Champlain's "Ordre
de Bon-Temps," and Lescarbot's wit and gaiety contributed to cheer the
shivering exiles. In the spring, however, the first ship from St. Malo
brought bad news from France. The enemies of De Monts at home had
triumphed, and had persuaded the King to cancel the charter of the
Deputy. In a way this contretemps led to the founding of Quebec.

Although De Monts was no longer Lieutenant-General of Acadia, he was
yet unwilling to give up the scheme which appealed so strongly to his
adventurous nature. On his return to Paris, his influence had been
sufficient to secure for one year a monopoly of the new fur trade.
Champlain, cherishing the memory of the voyage of the previous year,
persuaded him that the valley of the St. Lawrence would serve his
purpose better even than Acadia, and between them they planned an
expedition in which profit and adventure were evenly mingled. Two
ships were fitted out--the one commanded by Champlain, the other by
the elder Pontgrave. The latter was to revive the old trading-station
of Tadousac, while Champlain was to establish, further inland, a
fortified post from which expeditions might set forth to find the
hoped-for passage to Cathay.

Pontgrave sailed from Honfleur on the 5th of April, 1608, Champlain
following on the 13th of the same month. His was