Ludovica the heathen were to be converted and a passage
discovered to the East. So important a trade route would
be developed, that from the tolls alone there would be
revenue to construct great public works. Rich mines and
fat cornfields fill the background.

Such was the Quebec of Champlain's vision--if only France
would see it so! But in the Quebec of reality a few
survivors saw the hunger of winter yield to the starvation
of spring. They lived on eels and roots till June should
bring the ships and food from home.



CHAPTER IV

CHAMPLAIN IN THE WILDERNESS

Champlain's journeyings with the Indians were the holiday
of his life, for at no other time was he so free to follow
the bent of his genius. First among the incentives which
drew him to the wilderness was his ambition to discover
the pathway to China. In 1608 the St Lawrence had not
been explored beyond the Lachine Rapids, nor the Richelieu
beyond Chambly--while the Ottawa was known only by report.
Beyond Lake St Louis stretched a mysterious world, through
the midst of which flowed the Great River. For an explorer
and a patriot the opportunity was priceless. The acquisition
of vast territory for the French crown, the enlargement
of the trade zone, the discovery of a route to Cathay,