Winter Struggles of Port Royal, History of New France

Lescarbot, Marc

[Marc Lescarbot, author of the first history of Canada, History of New France (1610), describes the Winter of 1605–6 at Port Royal, one of the succession of sites of the first successful permanent settlement of the French in Canada:]

. . . M. de Monts worked away at his fort, which he had placed at the foot of the island opposite the end on which . . . he had lodged his cannon. This was well thought on, in order to control the whole river, both up stream and down. But the trouble was that the said fort faced the north and was without any shelter, save the trees along the shore of the islands which in the vicinity of the fort he had forbidden to be cut down . . . .

Having done the things of greatest urgency, and grey-bearded Father Winter being come, they needs must keep indoors, and live every man under his own roof-tree. During this time our friends had three special discomforts in this island, to wit, want of wood (for that on the said island had been used for the buildings, want of fresh water, and the night-watch for fear of a surprise from the Indians who were encamped at the foot of the island, or from some other enemy; for such is the evil disposition and fury of many Christians, that one must be more on one’s guard against them than against the infidel. This it grieveth me to say; would indeed that I were a liar herein, and that I had no cause to speak it. Thus when water or wood was required they were constrained to cross the river, which on either side is more than three times as broad as the Seine at Paris. This was both painful and tedious; so that very often one had to bespeak the boat a day in advance before being able to get the use of it. On top of this came cold and snow and frost so hard that the cider froze in the casks, and each man was given his portion by weight. As for wine, it was only given out on certain days of the week. Some lazy fellows drank melted snow without troubling to cross the river. In short, unknown diseases broke out, like those which Captain Jacques Cartier has already described for us, of which, for fear of vain repetition, I shall not give an account. No remedy could be found.