In 1603, King Henry granted Pierre Degua (1558–1628), the Sieur de Monts, a monopoly on the fur trade in the New World and asked him to colonize l’Acadie, covering eastern Canada and the northeastern United States. The goal was to set up a settlement, from which furs could be obtained from the Indigenous peoples of New England.
Degua put together an expedition force of one hundred and twenty men in two vessels, one captained by Sieur de Pont Grave, and another which he captained himself. On board was Samuel de Champlain making his first voyage to North America as a cartographer and historian.
The expedition set sail from Le Havre in April and arrived at the coast of Acadia in May, in a very rapid crossing. After some exploration, they decided to build their settlement on a small island (now Muttoneguis Island) in the St. Croix River, which divides what is now Maine and New Brunswick.
While the artisans were busy building the settlement, Dugua sent Champlain with 12 sailors and 2 local guides on the first voyage along the coast of what is now Maine. They set out on September 2, 1604, and within a few days sighted Mount Desert Island, which Champlain named for its stone mountain peaks, that were bare of trees. Champlain described Mt. Desert Island as: “about four or five leagues in length, of which we were almost lost on a little rock, level with the surface of the water, which made a hole in our pinnace close to the keel. The distance from this island to the mainland on the north is not a hundred paces. It is very high and cleft in places, giving it the appearance of the sea of seven or eight mountains one alongside the other. The tops of them are bare of trees because there is nothing there but rocks. The woods consist only of pines, firs, and birches. I named it Mount Desert Island ” (Grant, 1907: 45).
Champlain also wrote about interactions with the Indigenous people along the shorelines. They came across two local Wabanaki rowing a canoe and, after some initial discourse and an exchange of trade items for fish, they led them further south to the mouth of the Penobscot River and up the river about 20 miles to the fall line at present-day Bangor, Maine. Champlain reported that along the riverbank were: “…neither town nor village, nor any traces that there ever had been any, but only one or two empty Indian wigwams…” He was told by his guides that ”they come there [to the river] and to the islands only for a few months in summer during the fishing and hunting season when the game is plentiful. They are a people of no fixed abode, from what I have discovered and learned from themselves; for they pass the winter sometimes in one place and sometimes in another, wheresoever they perceive the hunting of wild animals is the best” (Grant, 1907: pg. 48).
Near Bangor, Champlain and his party met on shore with another group of Wabanaki and two of their leaders, Bessabez and Cabhis. Each was accompanied by at least 30 followers. As Champlain describes the encounter: “I ordered the crew of our pinnace to draw near the Indians and to hold their weapons in readiness to do their duty in case they perceived any movement of these people against us. Bessabez, seeing us on shore, bade us sit down, and began with his companions to smoke, as they usually do before beginning their speeches. They made a present of venison and waterfowl “(Grant, 1907: 49).
The meeting went smoothly and strong interests were expressed for cooperation and alliance. Champlain conveys: “that the Sieur de Monts had sent me to them, and also their country; that he wished to remain friends with them, and reconcile them with their enemies, the Souriquois and Canadians; moreover, that he desired to settle in their country and show them how to cultivate it, in order that they might no longer lead so miserable an existence as they were doing; and several other remarks on the same subject…I made them presents of hatchets, rosaries, caps, knives, and other little knick-knacks; then we separated. The rest of this day and the following night they did nothing but dance, sing, and make merry, awaiting the dawn when we bartered a certain number of beaver skins.” (Grant, 1907: 50)
Thus, the two cultures made their first tentative steps to seek an arrangement that would reward them both. The meeting concluded; Champlain and his men sailed down the river the next day. They explored Penobscot Bay a bit more, and then returned to the St. Croix settlement, arriving there on 2 October.
Illustration: Champlain’s map of Saco Bay and the Saco River, 1605. McArthur Public Library
Bibliography:
Grant, W. L. (ed.) (1907) Voyages of Samuel de Champlain 1604 – 1618. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York.
McManamon F.P. (2022) The French Along the Northeast Coast—1604-1607, Saint Croix Island International Historic Site. National Park Service, Boston, MA.
Catalysts of trade and exploration 