, would become the
king of commerce in New France, and therefore he had nothing to lose in
awaiting de Caen's arrival. He proceeded at once to Tadousac, but
instead of meeting de Caen, he found that Pont-Grave had arrived as the
representative of the old company, and that he had with him seventy-five
men and some clerks.

Champlain was much distressed on receiving these tidings, for he foresaw
a conflict which would possibly entail bloodshed. The clerks also were
despondent. In order to avoid a quarrel, Champlain deemed it advisable
to protect his men, and he therefore installed his brother-in-law,
Eustache Boulle, and Captain Dumay with sixteen men, in the small fort
which he had erected at Cape Diamond during the preceding year.
Champlain defended himself within the habitation, where he quartered all
the men he could dispose of. If the clerks were inclined to fight he
would defend his position, but he hoped that these precautionary
measures would prove the means of preventing bloodshed.

On May 7th, 1621, three of the clerks of Guillaume de Caen left Tadousac
and took up their quarters near the habitation. Father Le Baillif and
Jean Baptiste Guers asked them to produce their papers. They declared
that they had authority to trade from the old Company of Rouen, which
still existed through articles agreed to by the Duke of Montmorency, and
that a trial was at present pending between the two societies. On
receiving this information from Father Le Baillif, Champlain decided to
allow five clerks the necessary merchandise for trading; they were,
however, told that the old company had been dissolved, and that the new
company only was invested with authority to trade. The clerks were
satisfied with Champlain's decision, but they objected to the presence
of armed soldiers in the fort, which they claimed was not in accordance
with the king's commands. The clerks finally went to Three Rivers to
carry on their trade.

On June 13th, Pont-Grave arrived at Quebec. Here he was questioned as
to his authority, although he was treated with the respect and courtesy
due to his age and character. Pont-Grave assured Champlain that the
disputes between the two companies would be resolved in a friendly way,
and that he had received news to this effect before he sailed from
Honfleur. He then started for Three Rivers to join his clerks.

Some days after these events, a clerk named Rouvier, in the employ of de
Caen, arrived with letters from