be self-supporting, and the purchase of furs was never
left out of sight. At the same time, his purpose was
undoubtedly wider than profit, and Champlain represented
the extra-commercial motive. While Pontgrave was trading
with the Indians, Champlain, as the geographer, was
collecting information about their character, their
customs, and their country. Their religious ideas interested
him much, and also their statements regarding the interior
of the continent. Such data as he could collect between
the end of May and the middle of August he embodied in
a book called Des Sauvages, which, true to its title,
deals chiefly with Indian life and is a valuable record,
although in many regards superseded by the more detailed
writings of the Jesuits.

The voyage of 1603 added nothing material to what had
been made known by Jacques Cartier and the fur traders
about Canada. Champlain ascended the St Lawrence to the
Sault St Louis [Footnote: Now called the Lachine Rapids.
An extremely important point in the history of New France,
since it marked the head of ship navigation on the St
Lawrence. Constantly mentioned in the writings of
Champlain's period.] and made two side excursions--one
taking him rather less than forty miles up the Saguenay
and the other up the Richelieu to the rapid at St Ours.
He also visited Gaspe, passed the Isle Percee, had his
first glimpse of the Baie des Chaleurs, and returned to
Havre with a good cargo of furs. On the whole, it was a
profitable and satisfactory voyage. Though it added little
to geographical knowledge, it confirmed the belief that