directions, turning now to the right hand and now to the left, doubling
almost numberless angles, here advancing and again retreating, often going
two leagues to make the distance of one, maintaining order in apparent
confusion, altogether presented to the distant observer the aspect of a
grand equestrian masquerade.

The extent of the works and the labor and capital invested in them were
doubtless large for that period. A contemporary of Champlain informs us
that the wood employed in the construction of the works, in the form of
gigantic sluices, bridges, beam-partitions, and sieves, was so vast in
quantity that, if it were destroyed, the forests of Guienne would not
suffice to replace it. He also adds that no one who had seen the salt works
of Saintonge would estimate the expense of forming them less than that of
building the city of Paris itself.

The port of Brouage was the busy mart from which the salt of Saintonge was
distributed not only along the coast of France, but in London and Antwerp,
and we know not what other markets on the continent of Europe. [9]

The early years of Champlain were of necessity intimately associated with
the stirring scenes thus presented in this prosperous little seaport. As we
know that he was a careful observer, endowed by nature with an active
temperament and an unusual degree of practical sense we are sure that no
event escaped his attention, and that no mystery was permitted to go
unsolved. The military and commercial enterprise of the place brought him
into daily contact with men of the highest character in their departments.
The salt-factors of Brouage were persons of experience and activity, who
knew their business, its methods, and the markets at home and abroad. The
fortress was commanded by distinguished officers of the French army, and
was a rendezvous of the young nobility; like other similar places, a