As the chapel was at some distance from the chief buildings, its garret was used for the storage of powder for the safety of Ville Marie, there being no other magazine. M. de Denonville, governor general, writing on November 13, 1685, to the minister said: "At Montreal I have found the powder in the top of a chapel towards which the people have great devotion. The bishop has strongly urged me to take it away, but this I have not been able to do since I have found no other place where to put it without danger of fire." The church was burned down in 1754. [121]
To give the reader a comprehensive view of the outlook for Montreal at this period (1674-76) we may quote from Parkman's "Old Régime," where he imagines a journey up the river to inspect the lines of communication by the formation of settlements and villages resting under the newly established feudal system:
"As you approached Montreal, the fortified mill built by the Sulpicians at Pointe aux Trembles towered above the woods; and soon after the newly built chapel of the Infant Jesus more settlements followed, till at length the great fortified mill of Montreal rose in sight, then the long row of compact wooden houses, the Hôtel-Dieu and the rough masonry of the Seminary of St. Sulpice. Beyond the town the clearings continued at intervals till you reached Lake St. Louis, where young Cavelier de La Salle had laid out his seigniory of Lachine and abandoned it to begin his hard career of western exploration. Above the Island of Montreal the wilderness was broken only by a solitary trading station on the neighbouring Ile Pérot."—Parkman, "Old Régime," p. 241.
FOOTNOTES:
[109] A description of the first thoroughfares has already been given.
[110] This hill has been removed since to add to the extension of the Champ de Mars, and the site, once Dalhousie Square, is now covered by the southeastern portion of the Canadian Pacific Railway yardage at Place Viger Station.
[111] The widow of Lambert Closse, Elizabeth Moyen, was, on June 27th of this year (1672) given a new seigneurial fief.
[112] The early streets of Montreal, according to H. Beaugrand and P. L. Morin "Le Vieux Montreal":
The first pathway, 1645, was replaced by St. Paul Street in 1674; second pathway, 1655, was replaced by Jean Baptiste Street in 1684; third pathway, 1660, was replaced by St. Claude Street in 1690; fourth pathway, 1664, was replaced by Capitol Street in 1666; fifth pathway, 1668, was replaced by St. Vincent Street in 1689; first Place d'Armes was opened in 1650.
Notre Dame Street was opened in 1672; St. Joseph (St. Sulpice) in 1673; St. Peter Street in 1673; St. Paul Street in 1674; St. Charles Street in 1677; St. James Street in 1678; St. François Xavier Street in 1678; Dollard Street in 1679; St. Lambert Street in 1679; St. Gabriel Street in 1680; St. Victor Street in 1681; St. Jean Baptiste Street in 1684; St. Vincent Street in 1689; St. Thérèse Street in 1689; St. Eloi Street in 1690; St. Giles Street (Barracks) in 1691; St. Francis Street in 1691; Frippone Street in 1691; Hospital Street in 1702; St. John Street in 1711; St. Alexis Street in 1711; St. Denis Street (Vaudreuil) in 1711; St. Sacrement Street in 1711; St. Augustine Street (McGill) in 1722; St. Nicholas Street in 1739; St. Anne Street (Bonsecours) in 1758; Callières Street in 1758; Port Street in 1758. St. Helen, Récollets, Le Moine, St. William, Common, Commissioners and Gosford Streets were opened shortly after 1760. Some of the earliest lanes were: St. Dizier, Donnacona, Chonamigon and Capitale.