CHAPTER VI
1642-1643
VILLE MARIE
FOUNDED BY PAUL DE CHOMEDEY DE MAISONNEUVE
THE DEPARTURE OF THE EXPEDITION FROM MONTREAL—THE ARRIVAL AT PLACE ROYALE—THE "VENI CREATOR SPIRITUS" AND MASS ON THE "COMMON"—VIMONT'S PROPHECY—ACTIVITIES OF ENCAMPMENT—THE FIRST REINFORCEMENT—THE FIRST QUASI-PAROCHIAL CHAPEL BUILT IN WOOD—ALGONQUINS VISIT THE CAMP—FLOODS AND THE PILGRIMAGE TO THE MOUNTAIN—PEACEFUL DAYS—PRIMITIVE FERVOUR AND SIMPLICITY—THE DREADED IROQUOIS AT LAST APPEAR—FIRST ATTACK—THE FIRST CEMETERY—"CASTLE DANGEROUS"—THE ARRIVAL OF THE SECOND REINFORCEMENT—Les Véritables Motifs. NOTES: THE HURONS, ALGONQUINS AND IROQUOIS.
During the months of February, March and April, the boat construction went busily on at Ste. Foy. At length when the ice-bound river broke up and the last floes had swept past to the gulf beyond, M. de Maisonneuve's flotilla, loaded with provisions, furniture and tools, besides little pieces of artillery and ammunition, set sail to Montreal on May 8th. It consisted of a pinnace, a little vessel with three masts, a gabarre or flat-bottomed transport barge with sails, and two barques or chaloupes. On one of these latter M. de Montmagny, the governor of Quebec, fittingly led the way with M. de Maisonneuve; with the expedition were several black-robed Jesuits, including Father Barthélemy Vimont, the superior of the Canadian mission, and Father Poncet, the first missionary for Ville Marie. There were also M. de Puiseaux, Madame de la Peltrie, and her maid, Charlotte Barré, Jeanne Mance, and the rest of the twenty-one colonists, six of whom belonged to the household of Nicholas Godé, the joiner.
On the 17th, as evening fell, they came in sight of Montreal and cantiques rent the air. On this day M. Montmagny again [44] put M. de Maisonneuve formally in possession of the island. Setting sail early next morning, before daybreak, the rising sun delighted their eyes with the beautiful meadows smiling with a profusion of flowers of variegated colours. At last they reached the islet at the mouth of the stream, which, so long ago, Champlain spoke of as a safe haven, until they reached hard by the spot named by him, La Place Royale. Within this watered mead, de Maisonneuve had decided to build his settlement and fort. As he put foot to the soil, inspired by the solemnity of the moment, lie fell on his knees in thanksgiving to God, and was quickly followed by all his party. They broke forth into heartfelt psalms or hymns of joyful gratitude. In the meadow, a spot was chosen for the mass of thanksgiving. Quickly the altar was arranged under the direction of Mademoiselle Mance and Madame de la Peltrie. When all were gathered round it in this open air temple,—the silence only broken by the twittering of the numerous birds, the flapping of wings of the wild fowl and their shrill cries as they winged their flight above the river to the south, the sighing of the trees; the swish of the meadow plants swaying in the morning breeze and the murmuring of the little haven-stream on which the chaloupes were tossing; the subdued, sonorous rush of the water on the mighty St. Lawrence at its mouth, where the pinnace and gabare were riding at anchor,—the superior of the missions of Canada, Father Vimont, intoned the grand old solemn chant of Christian ritual, the Veni Creator Spiritus, and the voices of all joined in with heartfelt unison. Then followed the Grand Mass, the first that had ever been celebrated at Villa Marie, [45] and all the while the growing sun shone full upon the slopes of Mount Royal, ever mounting upward and onward to its wooded peak.
THE COLONISTS' MEMORIAL