[43] (p. [177]).—This chart was drawn by Lescarbot, and engraved by Jan Swelinck; it appears in his Nouv. France (Tross ed., Paris, 1866), facing page 208. It has been reproduced for the present series.
[44] (p. [179]).—Gougou, a frightful monster, in the superstitious belief of the savages, who supposed it to dwell on an island near the Bay of Chaleurs; to have the form of a woman, though of horrible aspect, and so tall that the masts of a ship would not reach to the monster's girdle; and to carry off and devour men. Champlain gives a full account of this belief, and regards Gougou as a demon who tormented the natives; see Laverdière's Champlain, pp. 125-126. Lescarbot, in his Nouv. France, pp. 397-403, gives the same description, and tries to prove, in a long discussion, that Gougou is a sort of personification of a tormenting conscience.
[45] (p. [179]).—Charter party. A document which states the terms of rent for the whole or part of a ship. The term is derived from an old usage; instead of making a duplicate of the contract, it was cut in two, each of the parties retaining one of the halves.—Littré's Dictionnaire de la langue française (Paris, 1878).
[46] (p. [185]).—This young priest had sailed with De Monts, desiring to see the New World. On the shores of St. Mary's Bay, he became lost in the woods; De Monts searched for him, but in vain, and left the bay. A fortnight later, an expedition sent to St. Mary's Bay, to search for silver and iron ore, accidentally encountered poor Aubry, almost dead with fatigue and hunger, and brought him back to Port Royal. This rescue was especially gratifying to De Monts, as the priest's disappearance had caused a Protestant, who had quarreled with him about religious questions, to be accused of murdering Aubry.—Champlain's Voyages (Prince Soc.), vol. ii., pp. 20, 21.
[47] (p. [189]). See vol. i., note [4].
[48] (p. [199]).—One of the numerous names given to the St. Lawrence by early explorers and writers; it thus appears on the map of Jean Allefonsce, given in his Cosmographie (Paris, ed., 1575), fol. 183A; and is so named by Champlain, in his Voyages. The origin of the name Canada is variously explained; but there are two leading theories: (1) That the word signifies, in Iroquois, "town," or "village." See Laverdière's Champlain, p. 89, note 4; Faillon's Col. Fr. vol. i., p. 14; Hist. Mag. vol. i., pp. 153, 217, 349; and Mag. Amer. Hist., vol. x., pp. 161, 162. (2) That it comes from another and similar Iroquois word, meaning "lake," being applied to the country as a region abounding in lakes. See Hist. Mag., vol. i., pp. 188, 315; cf. Winsor's N. and C. Hist. vol. iv., p. 67, note 1.—Cf. Ferland's Cours d'Histoire, vol. i., p. 25. The name was applied in the earlier maps (e.g., Zaltieri, 1566; Ortelius, 1570; Judæis, 1593) to a district lying along the St Lawrence, between the Saguenay and Isle aux Coudres, or thereabouts. Later, it was given to all, or nearly all, of the valley of the St. Lawrence. See also vol. i., note [6].
[49] (p. [201]).—This date is evidently obtained from the "Discorso d'un gran Capitano di Mare Francese," found in Ramusio's Raccolta (Venice, 1556), vol. iii., p. 423. The "Discorso" is supposed to have been written in 1539; the name of the author was unknown to Ramusio himself, but is said by Estancelin, in Recherches * * * des navigateurs Normands (Paris, 1832), to be Jean Parmentier, of Dieppe. See Winsor's N. and C. Hist., vol. iv., pp. 16, 63: cf. also Harrisse's Discovery of North America (London, 1892), p. 180. note 2, and D'Avezac's Introduction to Cartier's Brief Recit (Tross reprint, 1865), fol. vii.; both say that the "Discorso" was written by Pierre Crignon, an astronomer and pilot, and a companion of Parmentier in his voyages.
[50] (p. [205]).—Another name for the St. Lawrence River. The apparent etymology of this name would suggest that it was given on account of the powerful current of the river, and its discharge into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. See Trumbull's "Composition of Indian Geographical Names," in Conn. Histor. Soc. Colls., vol. ii., p. 30. Laverdière erroneously considers Sacqué as another form of Sagné, or Saguenay.
[51] (p. [205]).—One of the principal tributaries of the St. Lawrence, entering the latter 120 miles N. E. of Quebec. It is 100 miles in length, and remarkable for its wild and picturesque scenery; along the lower half of its course the banks vary in height from 500 to 1,500 feet, often overhanging the swift current below. Its ordinary depth varies from 100 to 1,000 feet, and even reaches over 3,000 feet near its month. It is the outlet of Lake St. John, and was for the French the chief avenue of approach to the Indian tribes around that lake, and even (by portages) to those of Hudson Bay region. This river was, throughout the French régime, the center of both trading and missionary activities for all Northeastern Canada. Tadoussac, at its month, from earliest times a favorite rendezvous of the Montagnais and other Eastern tribes, became under the French an important fur-trade center and Jesuit mission; and is, to-day, a notable watering-place.
The name is also spelled Sagnay, Sagné, Saghuny, etc. Thévet, in his Grande Insulaire (a MS. preserved in the Bibliothèque Nationale of Paris, and written before 1571: see Harrisse's notes sur la Nouvelle France, p. 278), declares that the savages then called this river Thadoyseau; while Lalemant (in Relation of 1646) says that they called Tadoussac Sadilege. Probably these names were indifferently applied, in that early time, alike to river and village. Laverdière derives Saguenay from the Montagnais saki-nip, "the rushing water." See his Champlain, pp. 68, 69; also Trumbull, in Conn. Hist. Colls., vol. ii., p. 31.