April 20, 1534

Today I depart for the New World. It was not long ago that I addressed a letter to Philippe de Chabot, Sieur de Brion, the High Admiral of France himself, and proposed a new voyage of discovery. Alas, he has answered my request and today I prepare to sail. My goal is to continue the success made by Verrazano’s explorations and discover a Northwest Passage to the Far East. Although King Francis I will be commissioning my trip, he has other things in mind. Ever since the Spanish found remarkable treasures of gold and silver in the Americas, he intends to discover riches of his own. My intuition assures me I am correct about the King’s intentions. Just this morning the King charged me “to discover certain islands and lands where it is said that a great quantity of gold, and other precious things, are to be found.”

King Francis I has given me two ships and sixty-one well-appointed men to accompany me on my voyage. My ships are certainly not the same build of a yacht but fit enough to sustain the ruggedness of the ocean. Today a ceremony was conducted in honor of my launch and the men were sworn “to behave themselves truly and faithfully in the service of the most Christian King of France.” We departed under the light of a first quarter moon and sailed west.

July 16, 1534
The journey from St. Malo to Newfoundland took nearly two weeks. My crew and I remained in Newfoundland for ten days to mend and dress the boats. The fast ocean passage was rough on the sails, spars, and tackle. Last night my men and I feasted on polar bears. Their flesh was as good and delicate to eat as that of a two-year-old steer. We all sat around and enjoyed a delicious meal we could not have had back in France.
Since leaving Newfoundland we have been exploring the icy waters. While sailing up to the Chaleur Bay my men and I were greeted by Micmac Indians in canoes. As we approached we saw that they were holding up furs on sticks. At first I did not understand this strange gesture, but soon I realized that they wanted to trade. We swapped kettles and knives for their beaver skins. Later, we ventured into the Grande Riviere and encountered members of the Stadacona tribe, who had traveled down the river to retrieve fish for their evening meal. Initially my men and I got along well with the tribe members, but we got in a dispute after I erected a cross on the land that the tribe considered as their own. Before leaving the land and returning home, I kidnapped Taignoagny and Domagaya, the two sons of the Stadaconan’s leader, Donnacona. It is not usually my nature to hold captives, but they will serve as excellent interpreters on my next voyage.

August 9, 1535
It is hard to believe it has been just four months since I left from St. Malo with my three ships from King Francis I, the Grande Hermine, Petit Hermine and Emerillon. Each ship is wonderfully crafted although the Emerillon is quite smaller and only has 2 cannons, while the Grande Hermine has 12. Since I left France, my intentions for this voyage are to find the Northwestern passage to China and locate Sanguenay. It has been wonderful to travel back west towards the La Grande Riviere, but the ocean has been rough and has set us off coarse for nearly a month. Luckily, I have my two native Indians and an astrolabe with me to guide the ships as we enter the Sanguenay fjord to reach the La Grande Riviere. In return for their help, I am letting my two captives, Dom Agaya and Taignogny return home. It is almost winter and the friendly natives here have allowed us to dock the ships in the harbor I named St. Croix, near the Indian village of Stadacona. Although Chief Donnacona, the headman of Stadacona, does not wish for me to travel to explore the Indian village of Holchelaga, I do not want not obey his wishes and even though he has tried with multiple bribes to keep me to stay, I am preparing for the trip as we speak. The thought of new land for France is too great to give up! We may find riches in the village! I have prepared longboats to travel up the river, with 28 sailors and 2 shipmasters to accompany me. Since I have been told that the river has many narrow channels, I hope the longboats are ready to make the four-day trip up towards Hochelaga.

September 10, 1535
After marching to Hochelaga, where the village headman and other fellow Indians met us, I am sad to say that there was not much worth seeing near Hochelaga. We were greeted and treated kindly by the village, but the only land we were able to name was an adjacent mountain to the village, which we named Mont Royal. After the treacherous climb up the mountain I was greeted with a beautiful view, only to be able to see the western part of La Grande Riviere. Unfortunately, the rapids seem too rough for the longboats and I’m afraid that we will not be able to travel any farther west, and sadly not reach China. The village there was very civil though to my surprise and had not only strong shelter, but also crops. I have returned to Stadacona to prepare the boats for the long winter ahead. It seems though, that many of my shipmates are coming down with scurvy and I fear for my own health. Already ten have died and at least 15 more sailors have dark purple splotches on their skin and their teeth are becoming weak and rotting. The winter has only just begun and my ships are stuck in ice, so we have no choice but to rough it out. Although I do not trust the Indians, Donnacona visited to try and help us with the stubborn illness. If I had not seen him myself just a week ago with the same dark spots, I would not have believed he came with a cure. He gave me about a dozen branches from a tree and instructed me to boil the sap and juice into a drink; it will help to cure the scurvy. There is nothing else to do but to try to potion and hope it works and keeps my sailors healthy until spring.

July 21, 1536
It has been a joyous week! We returned home to France only five days ago into a crowd of people waiting to greet us. The drink from the Indians worked well and I was able to return with most of my crew, although about 25 were killed from scurvy. In addition to my crew, I was able to persuade Donnacona, and a few other natives to return with me to France. They did not know that they were my prisoners until we were already on the sea home, and it was easy to persuade them to come when I explained to them about Saguenay, a region I have heard has great riches. With these false promises, I was able to return with the Chief of Stadacona and make my return even more of a success. It has been a long voyage and my crew is tired and weak, and if I am to make a third voyage, I must prepare the tools and ships soon. I have only returned with two of my ships, the Grande Hermine and Emerillon because the third I left with the natives. Hopefully they will get good use out of it and use the ship for its iron. It is my idea to use Donnacona and the natives to help me navigate my next voyage back to Canada, and I hope that they will be able to help me to locate the Northwestern passage to China.

(August 27, 1541)
Just four days ago, my faithful ship, La Grande Hermine, pulled into these icy shores. I can now pursue my search for the grand riches of Sanguenay. My crew first glimpsed the horizon early in the morning, and I was ecstatic to learn that we had reached the New World. When we had disembarked onto the shore, we were met by several Stadacona. I could not avoid lying to them: I relayed that their beloved leader Donacona had perished in France, but with the other captives were well. In fact, only one original captive remains. I left the last, a young girl, back in France. I suspect Agona did not believe my story. I now think it would be best to move our camp, for I can tell there is tension between us. This is a dilemma, for I need their guidance if I am to claim the gold and diamonds of this place. My scouts tell me of an area around 9 miles from here, at the mouth of the Riviere de Cap-Rouge.
That cursed Jean Francois del la Roque! His incompetence has left me with little weapons and ammunition to defend myself if the Iroquois attack! He has not yet arrived- I regret that I could not lead this expedition! I will send two boats back to France and alert the king of Roverval’s absence. My logbook notes that the weather was fair crossing the Atlantic; what is taking him so long?

(September 30, 1542)
Our once firmly established settlement is experiencing much turbulence. Charlesbourg royal is the first French settlement here in the New World, but its existence is threatened. The natives tire of our presence, but we must fight to remain! Crops have been planted and a magnificent fort towers over the barren land. I have named Vicompte Beaupre to govern when I journey back to France, for he is an experienced leader.

A few months ago, I struck great fortune! Accompanied by a crew of several men, I left the Charlesbourg to go survey the rapids between Holchelaga and Sanguenay. I paused at an Indian village and exchanged gifts with them. They were delighted to receive tin basins, knives, and buttons. I felt I owed the chief a favor because he once gave me his young daughter. We left behind two young boys to teach French custom and language to the natives. When we resumed our journey, our crew was finally halted by perilous rapids. We continued on foot until another friendly group of natives led us to a site filled with gold and diamonds! But on our return to Charlesbourg, we learned the Iroqois had threatened our settlement. I have prepared all able bodied men to defend the colony for France!

(July 1, 1542)
Winter was once again a source of agony and uncertainty for the French cause. I had longed to return to Europe; far from these savages. Last winter, I lost thirty-five of my best men to the natives. And recently I and seventy men set out to explore more of the Sanguenay fjord. The thirty men left behind at the settlement were lucky- one our boats disappeared! I suspect foul play. In addition, fifty of our men died during this winter from the dreaded scurvy and starvation. Normally with the natives help we can avoid scurvy. But without the tea recipe made from the bark of evergreen trees, we are helpless. Mutiny attempts are high in the colony and I can barely stand to remain there.
During the spring, the three tall ships of Roberval finally arrived in Newfoundland. He had expressed a desire to continue our exploration. He did not seem to listen when I told him I had found treasure that would make France rich! He ordered me to return to St. Lawrence, but I refused, and stole away with my ships at night. The fast current of the Atlantic shall bring me swiftly to France! I know that the Commission will deem me correct in my decision.