The Mariner of St Malo | Page 7

be a great shortening as well of the time as of the way, if any
perfection could be found in it.' But it was just as well that he did not
seek further the opening into the Atlantic. By turning westward from
the 'heel' of Newfoundland he was led to discover the milder waters and
the more fortunate lands which awaited him on the further side of the
Gulf.
CHAPTER III
THE FIRST VOYAGE--THE GULF OF ST LAWRENCE
On June 25 Cartier turned his course away from Newfoundland and
sailed westward into what appeared to be open sea. But it was not long
before he came in sight of land again. About sixty miles from the
Newfoundland shore and thirty miles east from the Magdalen Islands,
two abrupt rocks rise side by side from the sea; through one of them the
beating surf has bored a passage, so that to Cartier's eye, as his ships
hove in sight of them, the rocks appeared as three. At the present time a
lighthouse of the Canadian government casts its rays from the top of
one of these rocky islets, across the tossing waters of the Gulf.
Innumerable sea-fowl encircled the isolated spot and built their nests so
densely upon the rocks as to cover the whole of the upper surface. At
the base of one of these Bird Rocks Cartier stopped his ships in their
westward course, and his men killed great numbers of the birds so
easily that he declared he could have filled thirty boats with them in an
hour.
The explorers continued on their way, and a sail of a few hours brought
them to an island like to none that they had yet seen. After the
rock-bound coast of the north it seemed, indeed, a veritable paradise.
Thick groves of splendid trees alternated with beautiful glades and
meadow-land, while the fertile soil of the island, through its entire

length of about six miles, was carpeted with bright flowers, blossoming
peas, and the soft colours of the wild rose. 'One acre of this land,' said
Cartier, 'is worth more than all the New Land.' The ships lay off the
shore of the island all night and replenished the stores of wood and
water. The land abounded with game; the men of St Malo saw bears
and foxes, and, to their surprise they saw also great beasts that basked
upon the shore, with 'two great teeth in their mouths like elephants.'
One of these walruses,--for such they doubtless were,--was chased by
the sailors, but cast itself into the sea and disappeared. We can imagine
how, through the long twilight of the June evening, the lovely scene
was loud with the voices of the exultant explorers. It was fitting that
Cartier should name this island of good omen after his patron, the
Seigneur de Brion, admiral of France. To this day the name Brion
Island,--corrupted sometimes to Byron Island,--recalls the landing of
Jacques Cartier.
From this temporary halting-place the ships sailed on down the west
coast of the Magdalen Islands. The night of June 28 found them at
anchor off Entry Island at the southern end of the group. From here a
course laid to the south-west brought the explorers into sight of Prince
Edward Island. This they supposed to be, of course, the mainland of the
great American continent. Turning towards the north-west, the ships
followed the outline of the coast. They sailed within easy sight of the
shore, and from their decks the explorer and his companions were able
to admire the luxuriant beauty of the scene. Here again was a land of
delight: 'It is the fairest land,' wrote Cartier, 'that may possibly be seen,
full of goodly meadows and trees.' All that it lacked was a suitable
harbour, which the explorers sought in vain. At one point a shallow
river ran rippling to the sea, and here they saw savages crossing the
stream in their canoes, but they found no place where the ships could
be brought to anchor.
July 1 found the vessels lying off the northern end of Prince Edward
Island. Here they lowered the boats, and searched the shore-line for a
suitable anchorage. As they rowed along a savage was seen running
upon the beach and making signs. The boats were turned towards him,
but, seized with a sudden panic, he ran away. Cartier landed a boat and

set up a little staff in the sand with a woollen girdle and a knife, as a
present for the fugitive and a mark of good-will.
It has been asserted that this landing on a point called
Cap-des-Sauvages by Cartier, in memory of the incident, took place on
the New Brunswick shore. But the weight of evidence is in favour of
considering that North Cape in Prince Edward