[37] (p. [171]).—A small, narrow inlet (Ance, on Bellin's map, 1764), at the head of which is a portage to St. Mary's Bay.
[38] (p. [171]).—Haliburton, in his Nova Scotia (Halifax, 1829), p. 15, note, says it is the stream now known as the Allen River; but Lescarbot, in our text, and in his chart of Port Royal, identifies it with the larger river now called Annapolis. He says it was "named l'Equille, because the first fish taken therein was an équille." Its length is about 70 miles, 30 of which are navigable. Littré defines équille as "the name, on the coasts between Caen and Havre, of the fish called lançon at Granville and St. Malo, a kind of malacopterygian fish, living on sandy shores, and hiding in the sand at low tide."
[39] (p. [173]).—The legitimate children of the king himself, as distinguished from those of other branches of the royal family, the latter being only "princes and princesses of the blood."
[40] (p. [175]).—Du Chesne (or Duquesne), and Du Jardin; see Relation of 1616, post. Ferland says (Cours d'Histoire, vol. i., p. 80, note): "In the History of Dieppe, vol. ii., mention is made of Abraham Du Quesne, a Calvinist, who commanded a Dieppe vessel engaged in the American and Senegal trade. He was father of the celebrated admiral of the same name, born at Dieppe in 1610." Shea adds (Charlevoix, vol. i., p. 262, note), that he "was an ancestor of the Governor of Canada, whose name was once borne by Pittsburgh."
[41] (p. [175]).—These orders, except the Minimes, were Franciscan. The Capuchins (so named from the sharply-pointed capuce, or hood, of their robe) were organized in 1528, as a new division of the Fratres Minores of St. Francis of Assisi; and were received into France in 1573, at the request of Charles IX., and at the recommendation of Cardinal Lorraine. In 1632, they, were asked by Richelieu to take charge of the religious affairs of Canada; but, they declined this proposal, ostensibly through unwillingness to displace the Jesuits, and later went to Acadia. For an account of their work in Maine, see Historical Magazine, vol. viii., p. 301.
The Cordeliers, named from the knotted cord worn at the waist, have two branches,—the conventuals, who are allowed to possess real estate; and the observants, who may not own any property.
The Récollets, strictest of all the Franciscan orders, were thus termed because, devoting themselves to religious meditation (Fr. récollection), they asked from Pope Clement VII., in 1531, permission to retire into special convents, that they might more literally observe their founder's rule. For an account of their missionary work in Canada, see Editor's Introduction, vol. [i]. of this series. They carried on extensive missionary labors in Spanish America, where, in 1621, they had 500 convents, distributed in 22 provinces.—Ferland's Cours d'Histoire, vol. i., p. 169.
The Minimes were founded in 1453, by St. Francis de Paula, of Calabria. Their rule is especially austere, involving total abstinence from wine, flesh, and fish, and even from eggs, milk, or butter. Their founder named them Minimos Fratres, as a special indication of humility. He also instituted an order of Minimes for women, in 1493.
[42] (p. [177]).—Samuel de Champlain was born probably between 1567 and 1570 (the exact date is unknown); his parents lived at Brouage, a fortified town in Saintonge, where was a large manufacture of salt and the finest harbor on the French coast. Champlain became a navigator early in life, and was also a quartermaster in the royal army in Brittany, from 1592 to 1598.
His first voyage to America was in the service of the King of Spain; he spent the time from January, 1599, to March, 1601, in the West Indies and Mexico, and on the northern coast of South America. His valuable MS. report of this voyage, illustrated by his own sketches, was first printed in 1859 (but in an English translation), by the Hakluyt Society, at London; in it he suggests a ship canal across the isthmus of Panama. In 1603, he sailed, with Pontgravé to Canada, exploring the St. Lawrence as far as the Falls of St. Louis; and again, with De Monts, early in 1604, when they founded the St. Croix colony. Champlain remained in Canada three years, carefully exploring the Atlantic coast from Canso to Wood's Holl, and returned to France in October, 1607. The next summer, he explored the valley of the St. Lawrence, with the Saguenay and other tributaries, and founded the settlement of Quebec. October 15, 1612, he was formally appointed commandant in New France. Quebec was captured by the English, July 20, 1629; but was restored to the French by the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, March 29, 1632. Champlain, being again appointed governor of New France, returned to Quebec in May, 1633, where he died December 25, 1635.