board the vessel. On the arrival of the party at
Quebec some days after, they found that the inhabitants were nearly
starving, and that Father d'Olbeau was anxiously awaiting the news from
France.

Both Champlain and Father Le Caron were obliged to confess that their
mission had been unsuccessful. What, therefore, was to be done? To
return to Old France would have been contrary to the intentions of the
Recollets. They had been sent to Canada by their superiors, and they had
no order to act contrary to their instructions. After having studied the
situation they resolved that Father d'Olbeau should visit France, see
the king in person, and place before him the settlers' condition and
their own. During his absence Father Huet undertook the charge of the
mission at Tadousac, and Brother Pacifique du Plessis was appointed to
teach catechism to the Indians of Three Rivers.

It was at about this time that Father Le Caron performed the first
marriage ceremony in Canada, the contracting parties being Etienne
Jonquest of Normandy, and Anne Hebert, eldest daughter of Louis Hebert.

The condition of the Recollets at this time was unenviable. The agents
of the merchants were not better disposed towards them than the
interpreters. Some of these agents were demoralized, and the reproach
that they received from the fathers caused them to avoid their presence.
The conduct of some of these agents was so bad that even the Indians,
who were not strict in their morals, were scandalized. When we take into
consideration these circumstances, and the meagreness of the resources
of the order, and the difficulties they had in acquiring the language,
we can form a faint idea of the hardness of their lot, and it was not
without just cause that they decided to send Father d'Olbeau to France
with Champlain, in order that the true state of affairs might be urged
still further before the king.

Father Le Clercq says: "Meanwhile Monsieur de Champlain employed all his
address and prudence, and the intrigues of his friends to obtain what
was necessary for the establishment of his new colony. Father d'Olbeau,
on his side, spared nothing; both spoke frequently to the members of the
company, but in vain, for these people, who always had their ears open
to flattering tales of the great profit to be made in the Indian trade,
closed them to the requests and entreaties made them. They therefore
contented themselves with what they could get."

Father d'Olbe