78 F. C. WURTELE ON 
Colbert for new mining explorations, and Sieur de la Potardière was sent to Canada 
for that purpose. On his arrival at Quebec he was shown specimens of iron ore brought 
from Champlain and Cap de la Madelaine, by order of Daniel de Remi, Seignieur de Cour- 
celles. One sample was mixed with sand and the other was massive. La Potardière 
visited the mines near Trois Rivières, and strange to say, reported that they offered 
nothing advantageous, either in quality or quantity. The result of this unfavorable 
report was that nothing was attempted towards their development for many years. 
Dr. Michel Sarrasin, in his “ Mémoires,’ makes the following reference to these 
mines :—“*The discovery of the mineral on the banks of the St. Maurice dated from 1667, 
but the establishment was not conducted with skill or judgment until 1736.” And in 
another paragraph says : “The establishment made about the year 1733, by order of the 
King, for working the iron mines on the St. Maurice, about nine miles above Cap de la 
Madelaine, was always called ‘ Les Forges’ or ‘ Le Village des Forges.’ ” 
Baron Maseres, in a book published in London, in 1772, says, that the first deed which 
appears in connection with the Forges, is the original concession of the seigniory of St. 
Maurice to Dame Jeanne Jalope (Jallaut, according to Abbé Tanguay), widow of Maurice 
Poulin, Sieur de la Fontaine, king’s attorney for Trois Riviéres. The seigniory was given 
to her and her children and their heirs in consideration of a letter from Talon, the intendant, 
that in which he promised, if Poulin would do certain things, he would give him a deed. 
The date of the concession is August 14th, 1676, and is signed at Trois Riviéres, by 
Ducheneau, the lieutenant-governor. It states that she is to have the right to work all 
mines, etc., and it appears that she could not sign her name. 
Louis de Buade, Comte de Frontenac, succeeded de Courcelles as governor of New 
France, in 1672. In referring to the original manuscripts relating to his administration, 
some allusion to the St. Maurice iron mines is occasionally found, showing that they were 
then considered valuable. The following is an extract from a letter of Comte de Frontenac 
to the French government, dated November 2nd, 1672 :—‘ The iron mine, of which I have 
already spoken, is of great consequence. I have visited it myself, in order that I may be 
enabled to give a more accurate account of its nature. I am gratified to learn that another 
mine has been discovered in Champlain, which is much richer than the Cap de la Madelaine 
mine, and the ore is in greater abundance. I apprehend that it will be next to impossible 
to exhaust this mine, as there is an extent of country of four leagues in length, from Cap 
de la Madelaine to Champlain, which is covered with iron ore; all the streams indicate its 
existence. I had the curiosity to taste the water, and I found it all strongly impregnated 
with rust and iron ore, but the miners whom I sent there establish the fact beyond doubt. 
They are now working there, and if you have any intention of establishing forges and a 
foundry, you may be certain that the material will not be wanting. There are six piles 
of ore now lying at Cap de la Madelaine, which, according to the annexed report of the 
miner, would last for two castings a day for four months. The important question is the 
placing of the forges. For my part, I should prefer building them on Ruisseau Pepin, 
which is in Champlain, rather than at the Cape, where the Jesuit Fathers have a mill 
already in operation. By thus placing the forges, they would be between the two mines, 
and the material could be more easily conveyed from both to the central establishment. 
When you have decided upon establishing the said forges, as the workmen you will send 
out will be competent men, they, perhaps, can decide better whether there is enough water 
