marine. Early in the spring of 1628 Kirke (who had shortly
before moved to London) secured letters of marque and
sent forth his sons to do what damage they could to the
French in the St Lawrence. Champlain had spent the winter
at Quebec and was, of course, expecting his usual supplies
with the opening of navigation. Instead came Lewis Kirke,
sent from Tadoussac by his brother David, to demand
surrender.

Champlain made a reply which, though courteous, was
sufficiently bold to convince the Kirkes that Quebec
could be best captured by starvation. They therefore
sailed down the St Lawrence to intercept the fleet from
France, confident that their better craft would overcome
these 'sardines of the sea.' The plan proved successful
even beyond expectation, for after a long cannonade they
captured without material loss the whole fleet which had
been sent out by the Company of New France. Ships,
colonists, annual supplies, building materials--all fell
into the hands of the enterprising Kirkes, who then sailed
for England with their booty. Alike to Champlain and to
the Hundred Associates it was a crippling blow.

Thus, but for the war with England, Quebec would have
seen its population trebled in 1628. As it was, the
situation became worse than ever. Lewis Kirke had been
careful to seize the cattle pastured at Cap Tourmente
and to destroy the crops. When winter came, there were
eighty mouths to feed on a scant diet of peas and maize,
imperfectly ground, with a reserve supply of twelve