188 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 
fell sick with the scurvy. ‘This soon got so far beyond the skill and 
control of the surgeons, that nearly half of the men died, and most of 
the remainder, all except a dozen of the most active persons, (probably 
the gentlemen of the party who kept up health by active games, and 
spirits by writing amusing pamphlets), were in various stages of ill- 
ness. The care of the sick wore upon the well, and it was only the 
return of spring which saved them from a lke illness and allowed 
the sick to recover. So great were their sufferings that all became 
utterly discontented with the place of settlement, and when the relief 
ship arrived in the middle of June, she was hailed with the greatest 
manifestations of joy, and it was resolved to abandon the place. The 
settlement was then removed to Port Royal in Nova Scotia. 
Before passing to the later history of the island, there are three 
subjects connected with the first settlement worth a brief discussion,— 
the exact date of the discovery of the island, the Indian traditions 
as to the settlement, and a current misconception as to certain early 
religious services on the island. 
The date of the discovery of St. Croix Island is, unfortunately, 
nowhere stated, nor is there any conclusive incidental evidence in the 
narratives bearing on the subject. De Monts with his party left St. 
Mary’s Bay on the 16th of June, and eight days later, on June 24th, 
after exploring around the head of the Bay of Fundy, discovered the St. 
John. They appear not to have remained long, and probably left on the 
25th. Allowing for their slow progress in a small open barque, enter- 
ing every harbour and promising place for a settlement, they could 
hardly have reached St. Croix Island in less than two days, that is, 
June 26th or 27th. ‘This is confirmed by certain other facts from the 
narratives. Putting together the narratives of Champlain and Lescarbot, 
we find that a barricade was immediately made on Isle St. Croix, after 
its discovery, and as soon as it was finished, a messenger, Champdoré, 
was sent in the barque to St. Mary’s Bay to bring up the vessels with 
the rest of the party. On reaching St. Mary’s Bay they discovered 
Nicolas Aubry, who had been lost in the woods for 16 or 17 days. 
Now, he had been lost four days before June 16, that is June 12; 
hence he must have been found on June 28 or 29. Now, as it must 
have taken Champdoré a day to cross to St. Mary’s Bay, and the party 
a day to erect the barricade, the island must have been discovered 
at least two days before June 28 or 29, that is, on June 26 or 27. 
We may imagine they left the St. John on the 25th, reached St. Croix 
Island on the evening of the 26th, spent the 27th in erecting the 
barricade, and sent Champdoré to St. Mary’s Bay on the 28th, on 
which day or the next he discovered Aubry. We may thus best 
