Samuel de Champlain Before 1604 Des Sauvages and
Other Documents Related to the Period 1st Edition
Conrad Heidenreich instant download 2025
Get your copy at ebookgate.com
( 4.6/5.0 ★ | 131 downloads )
https://ebookgate.com/product/samuel-de-champlain-before-1604-des-
sauvages-and-other-documents-related-to-the-period-1st-edition-
conrad-heidenreich/
Samuel de Champlain Before 1604 Des Sauvages and Other
Documents Related to the Period 1st Edition Conrad
Heidenreich
EBOOK
Available Formats
■ PDF eBook Study Guide Ebook
EXCLUSIVE 2025 ACADEMIC EDITION – LIMITED RELEASE
Available Instantly Access Library
Instant digital products (PDF, ePub, MOBI) available
Download now and explore formats that suit you...
Before Bioethics A History of American Medical Ethics from
the Colonial Period to the Bioethics Revolution 1st
Edition Robert Baker
https://ebookgate.com/product/before-bioethics-a-history-of-american-
medical-ethics-from-the-colonial-period-to-the-bioethics-
revolution-1st-edition-robert-baker/
ebookgate.com
The Parasomnias and Other Sleep Related Movement Disorders
1st Edition Michael J. Thorpy Md
https://ebookgate.com/product/the-parasomnias-and-other-sleep-related-
movement-disorders-1st-edition-michael-j-thorpy-md/
ebookgate.com
The Useless Mouths and Other Literary Writings 1st Edition
Simone De Beauvoir
https://ebookgate.com/product/the-useless-mouths-and-other-literary-
writings-1st-edition-simone-de-beauvoir/
ebookgate.com
Robert De La Salle Great Explorers 1st Edition Samuel
Willard Crompton
https://ebookgate.com/product/robert-de-la-salle-great-explorers-1st-
edition-samuel-willard-crompton/
ebookgate.com
The Chrysantheme Papers The Pink Notebook of Madame
Chrysantheme and Other Documents of French Japonisme 1st
Edition Christopher Reed
https://ebookgate.com/product/the-chrysantheme-papers-the-pink-
notebook-of-madame-chrysantheme-and-other-documents-of-french-
japonisme-1st-edition-christopher-reed/
ebookgate.com
Champlain The Birth of French America 1st Edition Raymonde
Litalien
https://ebookgate.com/product/champlain-the-birth-of-french-
america-1st-edition-raymonde-litalien/
ebookgate.com
Energy Statistics of OECD Countries 2009 Statistiques de l
energie des pays de l OCDE 2009 1st Edition Oecd
https://ebookgate.com/product/energy-statistics-of-oecd-
countries-2009-statistiques-de-l-energie-des-pays-de-l-ocde-2009-1st-
edition-oecd/
ebookgate.com
Transatlantic Cooperation Surrounding Health Related
Information and Communication Technology 1st Edition
Georges J.E. De Moor
https://ebookgate.com/product/transatlantic-cooperation-surrounding-
health-related-information-and-communication-technology-1st-edition-
georges-j-e-de-moor/
ebookgate.com
Forum international des transports 2009 faits marquants
Des transports pour une e conomie mondialise e De fis et
perspectives face a la crise Oecd
https://ebookgate.com/product/forum-international-des-
transports-2009-faits-marquants-des-transports-pour-une-e-conomie-
mondialise-e-de-fis-et-perspectives-face-a-la-crise-oecd/
ebookgate.com
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN
BEFORE 1604
DES SAUVAGES AND OTHER DOCUMENTS
RELATED TO THE PERIOD
EDITED BY
CONRAD E. HEIDENREICH
AND K. JANET RITCH
TORONTO
THE CHAMPLAIN SOCIETY
2010
McGill-Queen’s University Press
Montreal & Kingston ∙ London ∙ Ithaca
THE PUBLICATIONS OF
THE CHAMPLAIN
SOCIETY
LXXI
GENERAL EDITOR
ROGER HALL
Seven hundred copies of this volume have been printed and
reserved for members of the Society and subscribing libraries.
This copy is No.
THE
PUBLICATIONS OF
THE CHAMPLAIN SOCIETY
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN
BEFORE 1604
DES SAUVAGES AND
OTHER DOCUMENTS RELATED
TO THE PERIOD
TORONTO
THE CHAMPLAIN SOCIETY
On 26 May 1603, Champlain first stepped ashore in Canada – at Tadoussac – and stayed at
the habitation built by Pierre Chauvin de Tonnetuit. At the time, this was the only European
building in Canada. Built in 1600 to house sixteen men, this cabin had a central hearth and
was 24 ft (7.3 m) by 18 ft (5.5 m), and 8 ft (2.5 m) high. Champlain was not impressed by its
size and construction, calling it une maison de plaisance (a country cottage). The important
tabagie on 27 May, presided over by Anadabijou and witnessed by Champlain and Gravé Du
Pont, was held at Pointe aux Alouettes (H on the map), shown here as an island at high tide.
Champlain’s survey of the harbour of Tadoussac, with Chauvin’s habitation on it, was prob-
ably made in 1608.
Source: Les Voyages dv Sievr de Champlain … (Paris: Jean Berjon, 1613), p. 172. Library of
Congress, Rare Books and Special Collections Division, F 1030.1.C 446. Digital ID : rbfr 0012,
http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/rbfr.0012.
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN
BEFORE 1604
DES SAUVAGES AND OTHER DOCUMENTS
RELATED TO THE PERIOD
EDITED BY
CONRAD E. HEIDENREICH
AND K. JANET RITCH
TORONTO
THE CHAMPLAIN SOCIETY
2010
McGill-Queen’s University Press
Montreal & Kingston ∙ London ∙ Ithaca
© The Champlain Society 2010
isbn 978-0-7735-3756-9
No. 71 in the General Series
Legal deposit fourth quarter 2010
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior
written permission of the publisher except by a reviewer who wishes to
quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion
in a magazine or newspaper or, in the case of photocopying or other
reprographic copying, a licence from
access (Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency)
1 Yonge St., Ste. 1900, Toronto, on m 5e 1e 5, fax 416-868-1621.
Libr ary and Archives Canada
Cataloguing in Publication
Samuel de Champlain before 1604 : Des Sauvages and other
documents related to the period / edited by Conrad E. Heidenreich and
K. Janet Ritch.
Co-published by: Champlain Society, Toronto, 2010.
Text in French and English translations.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-7735-3757-6 (mqup ed.).
isbn 978-0-7735-3756-9 (Champlain ed.)
1. Champlain, Samuel de, 1567–1635. 2. Canada – History – To 1663
(New France). 3. Indians of North America – Canada. 4. America –
Discovery and exploration – French. I. Champlain, Samuel de, 1567–1635
II. Heidenreich, Conrad E., 1936– III. Ritch, K. Janet (Katharine Janet),
1955– IV. Champlain Society
fc 332.s 19 2010 971.01’13 c 2010-904713-3
Set in 10.2/13 Adobe Minion Pro and 10.5/13 Adobe Garamond Pro
Book design & typesetting by Garet Markvoort, zijn digital
Samuel de Champlain before 1604
On 26 May 1603, Champlain first stepped ashore in Canada – at Tadoussac – and stayed
at the habitation built by Pierre Chauvin de Tonnetuit. At the time, this was the only
European building in Canada. Built in 1600 to house sixteen men, this cabin had a
central hearth and was 24 ft (7.3 m) by 18 ft (5.5 m), and 8 ft (2.5 m) high. Champlain was
not impressed by its size and construction, calling it une maison de plaisance (a country
cottage). The important tabagie on 27 May, presided over by Anadabijou and witnessed
by Champlain and Gravé Du Pont, was held at Pointe aux Alouettes (H on the map),
shown here as an island at high tide. Champlain’s survey of the harbour of Tadoussac,
with Chauvin’s habitation on it, was probably made in 1608.
Source: Les Voyages dv Sievr de Champlain … (Paris: Jean Berjon, 1613), p. 172. Library
of Congress, Rare Books and Special Collections Division, F 1030.1.C 446. Digital ID :
rbfr 0012, http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.rbc/rbfr.0012.
Samuel de Champlain before 1604
Des Sauvages and Other Documents
Related to the Period
edited by
conrad e. heidenreich
and k. janet ritch
The Champlain Society
Toronto
McGill-Queen’s University Press
Montreal & Kingston ∙ London ∙ Ithaca
© The Champlain Society 2010
isbn 978-0-7735-3757-6
Legal deposit fourth quarter 2010
Bibliothèque nationale du Québec
Printed in Canada on acid-free paper that is 100% ancient forest free
(100% post-consumer recycled), processed chlorine free
This book has been published with the help of a grant from the Canadian
Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to
Scholarly Publications Programme, using funds provided by the Social
Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
McGill-Queen’s University Press acknowledges the support of the Canada
Council for the Arts for our publishing program. We also acknowledge
the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada
Book Fund for our publishing activities.
Libr ary and Archives Canada
Cataloguing in Publication
Samuel de Champlain before 1604 : Des Sauvages and other
documents related to the period / edited by Conrad E. Heidenreich and
K. Janet Ritch.
Co-published by: Champlain Society, Toronto, 2010.
Text in French and English translations.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn 978-0-7735-3757-6 (mqup ed.).
isbn 978-0-7735-3756-9 (Champlain ed.)
1. Champlain, Samuel de, 1567–1635. 2. Canada – History – To 1663
(New France). 3. Indians of North America – Canada. 4. America –
Discovery and exploration – French. I. Champlain, Samuel de, 1567–1635
II. Heidenreich, Conrad E., 1936– III. Ritch, K. Janet (Katharine Janet),
1955– IV. Champlain Society
fc 332.s 19 2010 971.01’13 c 2010-904713-3
Set in 10.2/13 Adobe Minion Pro and 10.5/13 Adobe Garamond Pro
Book design & typesetting by Garet Markvoort, zijn digital
Contents
List of Maps and Tables ix
Figures xxiii–xxxi
pr eface
1 Introduction xi
2 Acknowledgments xx
3 Notes on Spelling and Usage xxi
pa rt on e: in troductory essays
A Champlain and His Times to 1604: An Interpretive Essay
1 France and Spain 3
2 La Nouvelle France, ou Canada 40
B Textual Introduction to Des Sauvages
1 Dealing with Champlain’s French 83
2 Printing History of Des Sauvages 96
3 Establishing the French Text 110
4 Editorial Principles and Procedures 121
pa rt two: documents
A Early Biographies of Champlain: Extracts / Anciennes Biographies
de Champlain: Extraits 129
B Personnel and Pay Records from the Garrisons in Brittany, 1595–1597 /
Paiement dans l’armée royale de Bretagne, 1595–1597 154
C Gift from Guillermo Elena to Samuel de Champlain / Donación de
Guillermo Elena a Samuel de Champlain 173
D Factum of the Merchants of Saint-Malo against Champlain, [January 1613] /
Factum des marchands de Saint-Malo contre Champlain, [1613] 193
viii contents
E Decrees and Commissions Preparatory to the Voyage of 1603 / Arrêts et
commissions pour le traffique du Canada, le 13 mars 1603 204
F Excerpts from Champlain’s Works Related to Events before 1604 / Extraits
des Œuvres de Champlain avant 1604 213
G Des Sauvages, or, Voyage of Samuel Champlain, [1603], 1604 /
Des Sauvages, ou, Voyage de Samuel Champlain, [1603], 1604 232
H Of the French Who Have Become Accustomed to Being in Canada.
Summary of Des Sauvages by Pierre-Victor Cayet, 1605 / Des François
qui se sont habituez en Canada. Sommaire de Des Sauvages par
Pierre-Victor Cayet, 1605 367
I The Voyage of Samvel Champlaine of Brouage, made unto Canada
in the yeere 1603 400
a ppen dices
1 Champlain’s Birthdate and Appearance 429
2 Champlain’s Signature and Titles 436
3 Chronology to 1604 447
4 French Measures of Distance, Weight, and Coinage 451
5 Champlain’s Des Sauvages and Edward Hayes’s Treatise 457
References 463
Index 483
maps and tables
m aps
1 Bretagne, 1595 22
2 The Lower St. Lawrence River: A Resource Survey 62–3
3 The Central St. Lawrence River: A Resource Survey 68–9
4 The Upper St. Lawrence River: Algonquin Reports of Rapids
and Distant Lakes 72–3
ta bles
1 Comparison of [n.d.] and 1604 printings 103
2 Des Sauvages, [n.d.] printing, library locations 104
3 Des Sauvages, 1604, library locations 104
4 Errors and corrections introduced into Des Sauvages, 1604 115
A 1 Linear measures used by Champlain 452
A 2 Additional measures Champlain may have used 452
This page intentionally left blank
PREFACE
1 In troduction
The first edition of Champlain’s Works by The Champlain Society
Early in October 1905, a few months after The Champlain Society was founded,
its president Byron Edmund Walker (Sir Edmund after 1910) appointed a pub-
lications committee, headed by Professor George Wrong, to draw up a list of
potential publications. Almost the first on the list was “Documents Relating to
Champlain,” to be edited by Dr. Henry Percival Biggar, chief archivist for Canada
in Europe, stationed in Paris and London. Champlain’s writings are of undeni-
able importance to Canadians. They are the first good geographical, carto-
graphic, and ethnographic descriptions of eastern Canada by the man who laid
the groundwork for its exploration and firmly established the French presence
in the country. The original plan was to have a work in four volumes, including
a printing for the general public, ready for the Champlain Tercentenary, which
was to be held in Quebec City in 1908. Owing to lack of funds, nothing happened
until Sir Edmund obtained a publishing grant of $5,000 through the good offices
of the prime minister, Sir Wilfrid Laurier. The grant came to The Champlain So-
ciety through the National Battlefields Commission – of which Sir Edmund was
a member – which was organizing the Champlain Tercentenary events.1
Soon after the translators and editors set to work, they realized that this was a
far more difficult project than expected. Although the translators thought they
had a workable French text in Charles-Honoré Laverdière’s 1870 edition of Cham-
plain’s Œuvres, which was supposed to have been compiled from the various edi-
tions and printings done during Champlain’s lifetime, this was far from the case.
Well into the project, The Champlain Society realized that it would have to hire
a specialist to collate the variations between the known copies. After several at-
tempts to find such a person, some ten years after the project had started, the
Society finally settled on Professor J. Home Cameron, a specialist in seventeenth-
century French at the University of Toronto. Since there were few original copies
1 Heidenreich, Champlain and The Champlain Society. This book is a treatment of the
founding of the Society and its involvement in editing and publishing the six Cham-
plain volumes and the portfolio of maps.
xii pr eface
of Champlain’s books in Canada, Cameron visited archives in the United States,
France, England, and Scotland, all on his own account. In retrospect, it was in
large measure because of him that the project was a success. Another problem,
all translators agreed, was that Champlain wrote poor French. Yet Champlain’s
French compares favourably with that of other explorers during this and earlier
periods. Apart from J. Home Cameron, the translators exhibited a bias against
the simpler, “undistinguished,” “disorderly,” and “formless” French of Cham-
plain, presumably in comparison with the classic French texts of the seventeenth
century which the professors would have taught. At the same time, they were
relatively inexperienced with exploration literature. But even to experienced
scholars such as Professor Cameron and native French speakers such as William
Ganong and William LeSueur, the texts presented formidable difficulties.
As the project advanced, so did the translators’ quarrels over translation, in-
terpretation, and style, especially with the chief editor, Henry Percival Biggar.
Rather than leaving Champlain’s ambiguities, an effort was made to guess what
he was trying to say, and rather than leaving his “laboured pedestrian style,” an
effort was made to make it more intelligible to a modern reader. Biggar, who had
the final decision on the text, was frequently accused of making Champlain “a
better writer than he actually was,” and it was sarcastically said that “Champlain
wrote better English than French.” Another accusation was Biggar’s “irritating
habit” of “correcting” his translators by occasionally substituting words which
they considered incorrect.
A third problem that developed was that the various translators were also ex-
pected to act as content editors. Some knew little about the history of the period,
and only the botanist, Professor William F. Ganong, knew anything about the
Native cultures and the natural environment that Champlain had observed. In
Ganong’s case, this was the east coast of Canada and its Mi’kmaq inhabitants.
Especially misleading was some translators’ habit of making assumptions about
Native cultures that led them to wrong translations. For example, no distinction
was made in English when Champlain wrote coupperant la teste [tête] (cutting off
the head) and coupperant la peau de la teste (cutting off the skin of the head, i.e.,
the scalp); both were interpreted as taking the scalp, on the incorrect assumption
that Natives only scalped. The word robbe (robe) was often translated as “beaver
robe,” on the faulty assumption that all Native robes were made of beaver skins.
The Iroquoian group that Champlain called the Antouoronons were translated
as the Onondaga, which they were not, and the French word salubre, used by
Champlain to describe the water in the Great Lakes from Algonquin accounts,
meaning “wholesome” or “fresh,” was translated as “brackish” and “salty,” fol-
lowing the translation by Richard Hakluyt, published by Samuel Purchas in 1625.
preface xiii
The Champlain Society edition finally appeared in six volumes between 1922
and 1936, a prodigious task that exhausted its participants and cost far more
money than had been allocated. Only 550 sets were printed, half for Champlain
Society members and half for subscribing libraries. The sets for sale to the gen-
eral public, which had been promised and which the Battlefields Commission
had subsidized, were never printed. Neither was the introduction to the six vol-
umes that was to contain a biography of Champlain, a discussion of Champlain’s
original texts, his writing abilities, and many other subjects. There have been no
new English editions since then.2
Although the original Champlain Society edition has stood the test of time re-
markably well, we felt it was time to present an updated edition of his first book,
Des Sauvages, and related documents for the 400th anniversary of the founding
of Quebec by Champlain, under instructions from Pierre Du Gua de Mons, with
an enabling monopoly granted by King Henri IV.
Des Sauvages and other documents related to the period before 1604
The purpose of this project is to publish a new edition of Champlain’s first book,
Des Sauvages, and the earliest documents pertaining to him, in celebration of
the 400th anniversary of the founding of Quebec. Where possible, each docu-
ment has been newly translated, incorporating the latest research on Champlain,
New France, and the Native societies he observed that has been done since the
original Champlain Society edition of 1922. Also included are newly discovered
documents and those not previously translated. Rather than providing a review
of what previous authors have written on Champlain, we base our observations
and explanations almost entirely on the primary documents and what they sug-
gest to us. Because of significant gaps in that record, it is inevitable that inter-
pretations differ among historians.
The organization of this volume follows previous Champlain Society volumes.
It is divided into two major parts. The first is an interpretive essay that deals with
Champlain, his family, his acquaintances, and his life, set in the milieu in which
he lived up to the end of 1603. This is followed by an analytical essay that per-
tains to Champlain’s French, the editorial procedures followed in this volume,
the problems relating to the establishment of a translatable text, and the printing
2 The original Champlain texts can be viewed at http://www.canadiana.org/eco/
index.html. The Champlain Society edition is available on
http://www.champlainsociety.ca/.
xiv pr eface
history of the two editions of Des Sauvages. Aspects of these essays are elabor-
ated, where helpful, in a series of five appendices.
The second part is devoted to the translated and edited documents pertaining
to Champlain. These are accompanied by the original French and Spanish texts,
supported by notations on the meaning and use of words and phrases.
We begin with a selection of brief statements from the earliest biographies of
Champlain preceded by a short introduction on the growing output of such ma-
terial, which became a veritable industry by the early twentieth century. Except
in a few biographies based on his actual writings, Champlain would not have
recognized himself in most of these.3 They exhibit the myth-making – or un-
making – tendencies to which Champlain’s life has been continually subjected.
The army pay records are the first documents that we currently have of Cham-
plain. In these records, kept by the paymaster of the army, Gabriel Hus, under
orders of maréchal Jean d’Aumont, he is already named Sieur Champlain and
Samuel de Champlain. His rank and function was that of a fourrier and aide du
sieur Jean Hardy maréchal des logis de l’armée du Roy. These records have been
translated for the first time.4
We do not include his Brief discours (Voyage to the West Indies)5 here because
it does not relate directly to Champlain’s later career in Canada; its authenticity
has been called into question, and some statements in the manuscript are con-
tentious in terms of verifiable facts. There is no reason to doubt that he took such
a voyage, but since Champlain’s presence on a Spanish ship was irregular enough
for a Frenchman recently at war with Spain, it seems unlikely that he would jeop-
ardize his own security by attempting to keep a private journal with maps. In
fact, some specialists on this topic are of the opinion that he was on board clan-
destinely, probably as a spy for Henri IV. Since there are many statements in the
manuscript that can be verified, it seems reasonable to assume that the founda-
tion of the Brief discours may have been laid by Champlain’s oral rapportage to
Henri IV upon his return from the West Indies and Spain, probably recorded
and fleshed out by a scribe.
Upon his return from the West Indies, Champlain visited and took care of his
sick oncle provençal, Guillermo Elena (Guillaume Allene), in Cádiz early in 1601.
Here he witnessed a gift from his uncle to him. The text of the gift (donación),
presented here, is the first complete critical edition and translation of this im-
3 Document A, “Early Biographies of Champlain”
4 Document B, “Personnel and Pay Records”
5 Biggar, The Works, 1:3–80. The original title of the manuscript is Brief discours des
choses plus remarquables que Sammuel Champlein de brouage a reconneues aux Indes
occidentalles … etc. Facsimile of first page in Biggar, ibid., facing p. 3.
preface xv
portant document, formerly misidentified as a “will,” and the subsequent power
of attorney (poder), which has come to light for the first time.6
Following his voyage to the West Indies and his interlude in Spain, Champlain
returned to France, where he became involved in the 1603 voyage to the St. Law-
rence. We include a translation of the enabling documents7 for this expedition,
as well as later complaints against Champlain by the merchants of Saint-Malo
regarding his presence on the voyage.8
The central part of this volume is a new collation and translation of the two
editions of Des Sauvages, Champlain’s first book.9 Des Sauvages follows closely
the orders that King Henri IV gave to the leader of the expedition, François
Gravé Du Pont, and to Aymar de Chaste, under whose auspices the expedition
took place. These orders were to conclude an agreement with the Montagnais
that would open the St. Lawrence Valley to peaceful French settlement; to con-
duct a resource survey of the St. Lawrence Valley and comment on its suitability
for settlement; and to question Natives about the possibility of finding a west-
ward route to the Orient across the Lachine Rapids. The latter two aims were
largely Champlain’s responsibility.
The first translation of the abbreviated version of Des Sauvages by Pierre-
Victor Cayet in 1605 has also been included here.10 In order to complete the texts
of Des Sauvages printed during Champlain’s lifetime, we have included the first
English translation of Des Sauvages, by Richard Hakluyt, published in 1625 by
Samuel Purchas.11
In his later writings Champlain made a number of retrospective statements
that shed some light on his life before 1604. These statements not only confirm
his earlier writings but often furnish the reader with deeper insight into Cham-
plain’s own perspective. We have brought these statements together, newly trans-
lated and edited.12
In these early documents Champlain comes to us as a shadowy figure who
reveals almost nothing about himself and those close to him. This lack of infor-
mation has led to much guesswork and mythologizing. At this point, we feel that
it is unlikely that additional documents still exist that could illuminate his early
life, but we have presented some hypotheses that may explain some of it.
6 Document C, “Gift from Guillermo Elena”
7 Document E, “Decrees and Commissions Preparatory to the Voyage of 1603”
8 Document D, “Factum of the Merchants of Saint-Malo against Champlain”
9 Document G, collated and translated text of Des Sauvages, [1603], 1604
10 Document H, “Of the French Who Have Become Accustomed to Being in Canada,”
1605
11 Document I, “The Voyage of Samvel Champlaine of Brouage, made unto Canada,” 1625
12 Document F, “Excerpts from Champlain’s Works Related to Events before 1604”
xvi pr eface
Champlain’s later career
After 1603, Champlain’s life and career firmed up into the path he would follow
for the rest of his life. From 1604 until late in 1607, he worked for Pierre Du Gua
de Mons,13 lieutenant général pour le roy in Acadia, doing the tasks of a surveyor
and geographer. These tasks, although similar to those he had performed in 1603,
were done much more rigorously and described in greater detail. On the Atlantic
coast, from Cape La Have to Nantucket Sound, he honed his training and talents
looking for potential harbours, resources, and places to settle. The most import-
ant sites were surveyed, latitude and magnetic declination were recorded, and
the entire coastline mapped.
In 1607 Du Gua de Mons lost his commission in Acadia. He was reappointed
on 7 January 1608 but decided to move his operations back to the St. Lawrence.
Champlain was chosen as his lieutenance [sic] pour le voyage, with the task of
erecting a settlement (Quebec) and engaging in exploration. Gravé Du Pont was
to further develop good Native relations and manage the fur trade. With the as-
sassination of Henri IV in 1610, the Canadian enterprise lost its major supporter.
Champlain returned to France, got married, and sought out influential members
of the new regime to continue the work that Henri IV, de Chaste, de Mons, the
trader Pierre Chauvin de Tonnetuit, and he had begun. On 13 November 1612
the new king, Louis XIII, appointed Henry II, prince de Condé, as his viceroy to
New France, and on 22 November Condé appointed Champlain as his lieutenant.
During his stay in France while these events were taking place, Champlain fin-
ished writing his second book, Les Voyages dv Sievr de Champlain Xaintongeois,
capitaine ordinaire pour le Roy, en la marine … bearing the date 1613.
Early in 1613, Champlain returned to Canada, no longer as the lieutenant of a
lieutenant general but as lieutenant to a viceroy with the de facto powers of a gov-
ernor. He now assumed much broader administrative responsibilities and was
also determined to push his exploration west and north. His first journey west
of the Lachine Rapids is recorded in the Quatriesme Voyage du Sr de Champlain
undertaken up the Ottawa River in 1613. The Quatriesme Voyage was written as
a separate book, with its own pagination and index, but was appended at the end
of Les Voyages (1613). The two books appeared in a single volume early in 1614.
In 1615 Champlain travelled to the Huron country and south across the east
end of Lake Ontario in the company of a Huron-Algonquin war party to attack
the Iroquois. Late in the year he returned to the Huron and stayed with them
over the winter, which permitted him to make the first ethnographic observa-
13 The name of Pierre Du Gua de Mons is often spelled “Monts.” We have chosen to use
“Mons” because Champlain consistently spelled the name that way.
Sometimes they can be best reached by trephining the frontal or
maxillary sinus and introducing a lever through the cavity
(Hendrickx). If the sinus has been involved it must be opened in any
case. Cadiot advises bandages impregnated with black pitch to fix the
bones in certain cases. Antiseptic washes (sublimate 1 ∶ 5000) and
antiseptic cotton packing are demanded for all wounds.
BRUISES AND WOUNDS OF THE ORBIT.
These may come from the same causes as fractures and though
less violent may occasion inflammation which involves the eye or
even the brain with fatal results. Thus in horses it has been a cause of
infective inflammation, with a fatal extension (Robellet); in cattle a
similar inflammation has extended to the cerebral meninges and
caused death (Leblanc), and in dogs an advance to the eyeball
threatens its destruction (Möller). Short of this necrosis is not
uncommon (Rey).
Treatment. This does not differ materially from that demanded by
penetrating wounds with fracture. A perfect cleansing and antisepsis
of the wound is the first demand. A solution of boric acid (4 per
cent.) or of mercuric chloride (1 ∶ 5000) liberally applied, and
maintained thereafter on soft pledgets of surgical cotton, will often
have the best results. All foreign bodies must be carefully removed,
lacerated flaps and shreds may require suturing, dead portions
excision, and finally abscesses or excessive exudate may require the
lance, but cooling, antiseptic lotions and an elevated position of the
head, are among the most prominent resorts.
RETRO-BULBAR ABSCESS.
Schindelka has observed this in the horse, in connection with
petechial fever. If connected with meningeal abscess it will be
necessarily fatal. In favorable cases evacuate the pus as soon as
detected and dress with pledgets of cotton saturated with a mercuric
chloride solution (1:2000) or other antiseptic.
PERIOSTITIS OF THE ORBIT.
This may be shown by the firm swelling of the bone and, in case a
wound has been formed, by the contact of the probe with the
denuded, hard, rough bone. When thus exposed or necrosed on the
surface, or when an exostosis has formed, the bone may be laid open
and scraped down to the healthy tissue, and then dressed with
antiseptic pledgets.
TUMORS OF THE ORBIT.
These may be of different kinds, as sarcoma, encephaloid,
osteoma and actinomycosis. They demand thorough surgical
treatment, except perhaps in the case of the latter, which may
recover under iodide of potassium. Emmerich records an extensive
sarcoma of the orbit in a cow, weighing six pounds and extending
into the nasal sinuses, and chambers, and implicating the cerebral
meninges. Möller records cases of sarcoma and carcinoma of the
orbit in horses and dogs, and Leblanc in cattle. Melanosarcoma is not
uncommon in the orbits of gray horses which are changing to white.
Exotoses are common around the orbits of cattle.
If such growths do not show on the surface they cause a more or
less unsightly protrusion of the eyeball, owing to the presence of the
neoplasm in the depth of the orbit, and the removal of the bulb
becomes a necessity.
DISEASE OF THE LACHRYMAL GLAND AND
DUCTS. DACRYO-ADENITIS.
Even in man these parts are remarkably free from disease, while in
the lower animals, we have literally no record of such conditions.
Inflammation of the gland (dacryo-adenitis) would be manifested by
a sensitive swelling under the outer part of the orbital process, and
upper eyelid and by lachrymation, and obstruction of the gland duct
and by a tense transparent rounded swelling inside the lid. A fistula
is possible from a penetrating wound of the lid in the same situation.
In both of the latter conditions an opening made through the
palpebral conjunctiva will allow the discharge of the tears in the
proper place, and healing of any external wound may be hastened by
suture or plaster.
OBSTRUCTION OF THE LACHRYMAL PUNCTA.
ATRESIA. INFLAMMATION.
Congenital atresia of these puncta has been recorded in foals, by
Hollmann and obstruction as the result of inflammation, by Lafosse,
Verjaus and Tyvaert, and of the entrance of the seeds of bromus by
Stockfleth.
Apart from congenital atresia and impaction of foreign bodies the
symptoms are those of conjunctivitis, with escape of tears over the
face (epiphora). Injection of aseptic water into the lower puncta and
its escape by the upper, and by the nasal orifice, will determine the
patency or otherwise of the various channels.
Treatment consists in astringent collyria to check the
inflammation, in the removal of any foreign body, in the dilation or
slitting of the lachrymal canaliculi, and in case of complete atresia, in
incising the lachrymal sac. Slitting of the canaliculi is accomplished
by a small probe pointed bistuory (canaliculus knife). The lid is
drawn away from the carnucle, and the probe point inserted at first
downward, then inward and backward, and when it is well inside the
sac the handle is brought to the vertical and the walls of the duct slit
open.
In case of atresia Leblanc recommends to seize the inner canthus
with rat tooth forceps so as to include the structures about the sac
and to plunge the bistuory directly into the sac. Then by the aid of a
whalebone staff he passes three silk threads through the duct and
fixes them in place by attaching them to a copper ring at each end.
This is retained in place and moved daily until the passage has been
definitely healed and its permanency assured.
WOUND AND FISTULA OF THE LACHRYMAL
SAC.
The lachrymal sac, which receives the tears from the canaliculi, is
situated in the infundibulum at the upper end of the lachrymal canal
and is in great measure protected against external injuries by the
prominent orbital edge of the lachrymal bone. Yet violent blows with
or without fracture, sometimes lead to rupture of the mucous walls
and the formation of a fistula. Wounds made with penetrating
bodies, more or less pointed are also liable to involve the sac. The
fistulous orifice may be through the skin at the inner canthus or
through the mucosa by the side of the carnucle. The cutaneous
opening may be a minute orifice from which tears and muco-
purulent matter escapes, to mat together the hairs on the side of the
face. Sometimes there is a reddish elevation, the size of a pin head,
and in fistula through the mucosa this is the rule, and the orifice is
elevated so that the tears flow out over the face. For the symptoms of
the attendant catarrh of the sac see below. In infected cases with
obstruction of the lachrymo-nasal duct, it has been known to extend
to the bone and even to open into the sinuses, or tooth follicles.
(Gerard, Leblanc).
The condition is found in horses, cattle and dogs.
Treatment. In fistula resulting from simple traumatism, nothing
more may be requisite than rest and soothing astringent
applications. Sutures are sometimes resorted to but are liable to
cause itching and do more harm than good. It is above all important
to keep the lachrymo-nasal duct patent, and for this purpose a lead
or silver stilet, or a thick catgut suture may be worn in the canal until
healing has ensued.
CATARRH OF THE LACHRYMAL SAC.
DACRYOCYSTITIS.
Connected above through the canaliculi with the conjunctiva, and
below through the lachrymal duct with the nasal chamber this cavity
is liable to be more or less implicated in all cases of nasal catarrh and
conjunctivitis, (strangles, canine distemper, influenza). If the
lachrymal duct is obstructed so that the tears accumulate in the sac,
the tendency to catarrh is further enhanced by the distension and
weakening of its walls, and by the propagation of bacteria which have
entered with the tears, and find in them a favorable and abundant
culture medium; the diameter of the sac in the horse being about
⅔rds. of an inch. The presence of foreign bodies is another cause.
Lesions. Symptoms. Swelling at the inner canthus, which raises
the carnucle above the normal level, and the escape of tears over the
lower lid are the most prominent symptoms. If the swelling is
pressed it subsides, the contents, clear or purulent, escaping through
the lachrymal duct, to the nose, or through the puncta and
accumulating in the inner canthus or flowing over the cheek. The
hair beneath the inner canthus is matted together, or drops off
leaving bare patches. Wolff found in one case, a distension of the sac
to over two inches in breadth, and 1⅔ inches long. To the swelling
there is soon added conjunctival inflammation, closure of the puncta
by swelling and the escape of all tears over the face. Suppuration
supervenes in the sac, and in the larger animals the pent up pus often
makes its way outward, causing destructive ulceration of the walls of
the canaliculi and puncta, or of the walls of the sac, the skin, or even
the subjacent bone. In this way fistula results. Caries of the bone and
penetration of the molar alveoli may ensue. (Girard, Leblanc).
Treatment. The first object must be to secure a free drainage into
the nose. The evacuation of the sac by compression having been
accomplished, an astringent solution may be injected through the
nasal opening of the lachrymal duct. If the canal is pervious the sac
will be re-filled and will swell out as before. The injection may be 0.5
per cent. sulphate of zinc, 1 per cent. acetate of lead, 0.3 per cent.
nitrate of silver, 1 per cent. tannic acid, 2 per cent. boric acid, or 0.02
per cent. corrosive sublimate. Cocaine may be added in the
proportion of 5 per cent. The injection may be repeated thrice a day
at first, then twice, and finally once as the catarrh subsides.
If the injection fails to reach the sac, thoroughly sterilized, flexible
probes may be used, increasing the size as they can be passed
without too great pressure.
Or the puncta and canaliculi may be injected as in the human
subject, the conjunctiva having been first anæsthetized by cocaine, or
general ether or chloroform anæsthesia having been induced. The
slitting of the puncta and canaliculi may be resorted to, as spoken of
under atresia.
The frequent passage of a sound is usually resorted to, and a stilet
may even be worn, but there is always danger of resulting thickening
and narrowing of the duct, and, if healing can be secured without this
measure, it is to be preferred.
STENOSIS OF THE LACHRYMO-NASAL DUCT.
Obliteration of the lachrymal duct may occur from stricture of the
canal, the result of wounds or other irritants: from pressure by the
inflamed mucosa in nasal catarrh or strangles: from polypus or
osseous tumor in the nose: from actinomycosis or other disease of
the bones.
The one manifest symptom is the escape of the tears on to the face.
To complete the diagnosis, injection of one punctum will cause
distension of the lachrymal sac.
Treatment. This may be attempted by bougies. In the horse a small
sound, metallic or whalebone bougie, thoroughly sterilized and
smeared with aseptic vaseline, or oil, is inserted from the nasal
opening and carefully passed on into the sac. In the dog the nasal
opening cannot be reached and the bougie must be passed by the
puncta and lachrymal sac. To secure the requisite dilation, it is
usually necessary to probe the passage daily, using a larger probe
when the first passes easily, until the canal has been sufficiently
dilated.
A second resort is to distend the canal by a liquid injection thrown
into the nasal opening. This will succeed when the obstruction is only
caused by concretions in the canal.
A somewhat similar resort is the insufflation of the duct by means
of a finely pointed tube inserted from below into the nasal orifice of
the duct.
Still another method is to make a new opening for the escape of
the tears into the nose. When the stenosis is at or near the nasal
opening of the duct, an artificial opening is easily made and usually
satisfactory. Under anæsthesia, a sterilized silver probe is passed
through the upper punctum, the sac and canal. When it meets
definite obstruction its position is ascertained inside the nose, and an
incision is made so as to allow its escape. The constant escape of
tears tends to prevent it from closing up again, but it is well to
examine into this until it has thoroughly healed. A silk thread worn
in the duct and held in place by a copper or aluminum ring on each
end may be resorted to.
Attempts have been made to establish a new outlet by boring
through the lachrymal bone into the nose, but without a permanent
success. It has also been advised to obliterate the lachrymal ducts
and sac, on the one hand and to excise the lachrymal gland on the
other, but the proposed cure is worse than the disease.
DISEASE OF THE LACHRYMAL CARUNCLE.
The caruncle is inflamed in conjunctivitis. When this inflammation
leads to hypertrophy it is known as encanthis. This is a common
condition in dogs and the caruncle may increase to the size of a pea
or acorn, and by compressing the canaliculi it leads to a profuse
overflow of tears on the cheek. At first there is the acute congestion
of conjunctivitis, but later there may be induration and pallor.
The treatment of this condition consists in astringent and sedative
collyria in the early inflammatory stages, and later in the ablation of
the hypertrophied mass. The caruncle is seized with a pair of rat-
tooth forceps and snipped off with curved scissors, the free bleeding
being afterward checked by cold water.
In cases that seem, by reason of excessive vascularity ill adapted to
this method, the hypertrophied mass may be tied at its base with a
stout silk thread so as to cut off the supply of blood, and cause it to
slough off. A collyria of boric acid (4 per cent.) or mercuric chloride
(0.02 per cent.) may be used to prevent infection.
Tumors of the Caruncle are met with, such as fibroma (Wörz),
Sarcoma and Melanosarcoma. For all alike the complete extirpation
of the neoplasm is demanded.
WOUNDS AND INFLAMMATION OF THE
MEMBRANA NICTITANS.
Like other parts of the ocular apparatus, the third eyelid and gland
of Harder are subject to accidental injuries of various kinds. What is
worse, ignorant persons seeing the cartilage and membrane
projected over the eye in ophthalmias and tetanus, have mistaken it
for a morbid product and deliberately cut it off in part. The condition
of the organ may be ascertained by parting the lids with the fingers
and pressing gently on the front of the eyeball, when the nictitating
membrane will be fully exposed.
If detached portions cannot be restored, but threaten to slough, or
cause distortions or unsightly and irritating neoplasms they should
be seized with forceps and snipped off with scissors. Otherwise the
treatment consists in soothing astringent and anodyne Collyria as in
conjunctivitis.
TUMORS AND HYPERTROPHY OF THE
MEMBRANA NICTITANS.
Neoplasms of this organ may occur in any quadruped or bird and
may be recognized by the swelling of more or less of its substance, by
the unevenness of its free margin, or by distinct outgrowths from its
surface. They are especially common in dogs and pigs and may be
fibrous, epithelial or otherwise. The treatment is purely surgical and
in case of a malignant neoplasm should demand the removal of the
entire organ.
ADENOMA OF THE GLAND OF HARDER.
Cases in dogs have been recorded by Fröhner and Schimmel, and it
might be expected in other carnivora, ruminants, pigs, rabbits and
birds. The treatment is by excision with forceps and scissors, and
subsequent treatment with an antiseptic zinc lotion.
FOREIGN BODIES IN THE CONJUNCTIVAL SAC.
Frequency: seeds, glumes, awns, dust, sand, wood, metal; exudate; in
conjunctival pouch, under nictitans, in puncta. Filaria lachrymalis. Symptoms:
closure of lids, epiphora, congestion, inflammation, infection. Treatment: local
anæsthesia, forceps, lead pencil, pin’s head, collyria.
So common are foreign bodies in the conjunctival sac of the
domestic herbivora, that in any case of epiphora, hyperæmia or
inflammation of the mucosa, the first care should be given to see that
the condition is not caused by the presence of such an irritant. In
animals fed from high racks, seeds and glumes of the gramineæ,
awns of barley, and dust of various kinds often get into the eye and
stick fast. Under other conditions, insects, particles of sand, dust,
wood, metal, etc., prove equally injurious by their presence. Awns
and chaff are particularly liable to adhere to the mucosa and even to
become covered by an exudate, which renders them more firmly
adherent. Other objects lodge under the eyelids, or membrana
nictitans, or in folds of the mucosa. Their entrance into the lachrymal
puncta has already been referred to. The larger and more rounded
bodies are likely to be washed off by the excessive flow of tears,
assisted by the movements of the nictitating cartilage, but flat
glumes, or awns stick too closely to the surface, while the smaller
objects become entangled beneath the lids, or hair, or in the folds of
the mucous membrane. The filaria lachrymalis may be the cause of
trouble.
Symptoms. There is closure or semi-closure of the lids, the escape
of a profusion of tears over the cheek, and active congestion or
hyperæmia. A careful examination with everted lids, or even with
raised nictitans will usually reveal the foreign body. If overlooked or
neglected the hyperæmia rapidly advances to active inflammation,
with or without an infective complication. Foreign bodies blown into
the eye, as a rule carry with them more or less bacteria, and, if these
have any tendency to pathogenesis, the irritation of the mucosa
easily paves the way for their colonization. Thus, any grade or form
of conjunctivitis may supervene upon the introduction of a foreign
irritant.
Treatment. Nearly all such bodies are most easily and certainly
removed by a pair of fine forceps. It may be necessary to first
anæsthetize the eye with a 5 per cent. solution of cocaine. The clean
tip of the finger passed under the lid and nictitating membrane is a
safe and effective method. Less effective methods are to pick up the
offending body on the point of a lead pencil, or a small, blunt
metallic spud, or with a pin’s head covered with a clean pocket
handkerchief. This may be followed by an antiseptic (boric acid)
collyria, with or without cocaine or morphia.
WOUNDS OF THE CONJUNCTIVA.
These occur in all domestic animals, but are especially frequent in
dogs and cats from scratching with the claws. In clumsy handling of
the eyelids, the mucosa is wounded by ragged and uneven nails.
Injuries and stings by insects which are attracted by the reflection
from the eye constitute a specially grave lesion, often proportionate
to the nature of the poison instilled.
Symptoms. There are usually closure of the eyelids, with exudation
and thickening of the conjunctiva especially in the vicinity of the
wound, a free flow of tears, mingled it may be with blood, and the
visible evidence of the lesion on the exposure of the injured part. If
the cornea is implicated, even the pupil is contracted, showing
photophobia.
Treatment. Slight noninfected wounds will heal readily under
simple astringent collyria, following upon the removal of any cause
of mechanical irritation. A solution of corrosive sublimate, 1:5000, or
of boric acid, 4 per cent. may be used. If photophobia exists ½ per
cent. of atropia sulphate or 1 per cent. of cocaine hydrochlorate will
usually give relief. Extensive wounds may require sutures, and
sloughing tissue may be excised with fine curved scissors. Excessive
granulations may be removed in the same way. For stings use a
potassium permanganate solution (2 grs. to 1 oz). Violent
inflammation may be met by a laxative and by leeching the
periorbital region.
BURNS OF THE CONJUNCTIVA.
Burns may occur in all domestic animals from acids, alkalies,
quicklime, carbolic acid, boiling liquids, etc. The cornea usually
suffers, being the part most exposed. The caustics cause swelling,
blanching and finally exfoliation of the epithelium, or even of the
superficial layers of the cornea. In burns by hot liquids vesication
may be present. If the destruction extends deeply into the cornea
there may be escape of the aqueous humor and destruction of vision.
If less penetrating, there may still develop vascularity, and
permanent opacity by reason of the formation of a cicatrix or a
change of structure in the layers of the cornea, or, in dogs especially,
adhesion of the cornea to the eyelids (symblepharon). In the early
stages there is closure of the eyelids, with swelling, profuse
lachrymation, and photophobia.
Treatment. The first object is to remove or neutralize the offending
body. Thus sulphuric or other mineral acid would demand a free
irrigation with a 1 per cent. solution of carbonate of soda or potash.
For alkalies, carbonated water, or a 4 per cent. solution of boric acid
may be employed. For lime, Gosselin recommends free irrigation
with saccharated water. The first step, however, should be to wipe
out the particles of lime with a soft rag soaked in oil.
The pain may be met by a solution of cocaine (1 per cent.), or
atropia ½ per cent. In addition, we may irrigate with cold water or
apply weak antiseptic collyria, and employ derivation by the bowels
or the skin.