"L. Kirke.
"Thomas Kirke.
"The said articles granted to Champlain and Du Pont, I accept and ratify them, and I promise that they shall be executed from point to point. Done at Tadousac, August 19th (new style), 1629.
"David Kirke."
The clause forbidding the soldiers to take their arms, coats and peltry, excepting a castor robe, was a severe trial to them, as many of them had bought skins from the Hurons to the extent of seven to eight hundred francs, and preferred to fight rather than lose their fortune.
Champlain had agreed to capitulate without firing. Some openly reproached Champlain, saying that it was not the fear of death that actuated his course, but rather the loss of the thousand livres, which the English had agreed to give him if he abandoned Quebec without striking a blow.
Champlain was informed of all the murmurs and discontent which were expressed amongst his people by a young Greek, who was charged to inform him that they did not wish to surrender, and even if they lost their fort, they desired to prove to the English that they were full of courage. Champlain was annoyed at these exhibitions of insubordination, and he instructed the Greek to give the people this answer:—"You are badly advised and unwise. How can you desire resistance when we have no provisions, no ammunition, or any prospect of relief? Are you tired of living, or do you expect to be victorious under such circumstances? Obey those who desire your safety and who do nothing without prudence."
Brother Sagard makes these remarks upon the condition of affairs:—"It is true that there was a great scarcity of all things necessary for the habitation, but the enemy, too, were weak, as Father Joseph perceived after having examined the whole crew, which consisted of about two hundred soldiers, for the most part, men who had never touched a musket, and who could have been killed as ducks or who would have run away. Moreover they were in a wretched condition, and of a low order. The weather was favourable to the French, as the tide was low, and the wind from the south-east was driving the vessels towards France, so that there was no assurance for either the vessels or the barques. Champlain, however, deemed it more expedient to surrender than to run the risk of his own life or of being made a prisoner while defending a fort so badly armed."
If, as the veracious Brother Sagard says, the fort and the habitation were distressed, it is not proved that the English could be easily defeated. There were at Quebec only fifty men capable of bearing arms, and only a small quantity of gunpowder in store, while provisions were absolutely wanting. How was it possible to sustain a siege without ammunition, without bread and without soldiers?
On the enemy's side there were two vessels well equipped, and two hundred men. If the men were desperate or wretched, they would be the more dangerous. Even supposing that the two vessels had proved insufficient for a protracted siege, the four vessels at the disposal of David Kirke would have surely come to their assistance.
It would have been a foolish act to have resisted such a powerful enemy. Besides, Champlain had another foe to contend against, for Nicholas Marsolet, Étienne Brûlé, Pierre Reye, and others, had betrayed him, and were leagued with Kirke. Champlain understood the difficulties of his position, and his responsibilities, for he had in his hands the lives of one hundred persons.