CHAPTER V.
The French in America.
Early French Explorations.
FRANCE was not slow to profit by the discoveries of Columbus. As early as 1504 the fishermen of Normandy and Brittany reached the banks of Newfoundland. A map of the Gulf of St. Lawrence was drawn by a Frenchman in the year 1506. Two years later some Indians were taken to France; and in 1518 the attention of Francis I. was turned to the New World. In 1523 John Verrazano, of Florence, was commissioned to conduct an expedition for the discovery of a northwest passage to the East Indies.
2. In January, 1524, Verrazano left the shores of Europe, with a single ship, called the Dolphin. After fifty days he discovered the mainland in the latitude of Wilmington. He sailed southward and northward along the coast and began a traffic with the natives. The Indians were found to be a timid race, unsuspicious and confiding. A half-drowned sailor, washed ashore by the surf, was treated with kindness, and permitted to return to the ship.
3. The voyage was continued toward the north. The coast of New Jersey was explored, and the hills marked as containing minerals. The harbor of New York was entered, and at Newport Verrazano anchored for fifteen days. Here the French sailors repaid the confidence of the natives by kidnapping a child and attempting to steal an Indian girl.
4. From Newport, Verrazano continued his explorations northward. The long line of the New England coast was traced with care. The Indians of the north would buy no toys, but were eager to purchase knives and weapons of iron. In the latter part of May, Verrazano reached Newfoundland. In July he returned to France and published an account of his great discoveries. The name of New France was given to the country.
Cartier on the St. Lawrence.
5. In 1534, James Cartier, a seaman of St. Malo, made a voyage to America. His two ships, after twenty days of sailing, anchored on the 10th day of May off the coast of Newfoundland. Cartier circumnavigated the island, crossed the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and ascended the estuary until the narrowing banks made him aware that he was in the mouth of a river. Cartier, thinking it impracticable to pass the winter in the New World, set sail for France, and in thirty days reached St. Malo.
Island of Montreal.