he works, and the merchants still
maintained their opposition to the construction of the fort. "If we
fortify Quebec," they said, "the garrisons will be the masters of the
ground, and our trade will be over." Guillaume de Caen supported the
opposition by saying that the Spaniards would take possession of New
France, if a boast were made of its resources. The king, finally, had to
undertake the defence of the colony alone.

Before leaving for France in 1624, Champlain had ordered the workmen to
gather fascines for the completion of the fort, but upon his return to
Canada, two years later, he found that nothing had been done. Champlain
therefore decided to demolish the old fort, and to construct a more
spacious one with the old materials, composed of fascines, pieces of
wood and grass, after the Norman method. The fort was flanked with two
bastions of wood and grass, until such time as they could be covered
with stone. The fort was ready for habitation at the commencement of the
year 1629, and Champlain took up his residence there at this date, with
two young Indian girls whom he had adopted as his children. After the
capitulation of Quebec in 1629, Louis Kirke resided in the fort with a
part of his crew.[25]

Although Champlain was not satisfied with the conduct of the merchants
towards the French, he was nevertheless pleased with the Indian tribes.
This noble care and management of these poor natives constitute one of
the brightest pages of his life. If we wish to form an impartial
judgment of the heroic qualities of Champlain, we must study his daily
relations with the chiefs of the various tribes. It is here that his
true character is revealed to us, and we are forced to admire both the
patience and care which he bestowed upon these people, and also his
exercise of diplomacy which rendered him from the first the most beloved
and respected of the French. His word commanded passive obedience, and
to maintain his friendship they were willing to make any sacrifice which
he desired. In this respect Champlain was more successful than the
missionaries, nor is it a matter of surprise that his memory was
cherished among the Indians longer than that of Father Le Caron or of
Father de Brebeuf. In their appreciation of character, the Indians
recognized instinctively that the calling of the missionaries rendered
their lives more perfect than that of a man of the world, but the
special characteristics and virtues of each did not e