CAETIER'S FIRST TOT AGE. 129 



St. Peter. The wind blew towards S.S.W. and they sailed ' without sighting land until 

 the evening, when they saw, about nine or ten leagues to the "W. S.W. of them, land 

 which seenaed to be two islands. They kept on all that night and until sunrise, traversing 

 in all, from the time of leaving the Magdalen Islands, about forty leagues. On the morn- 

 ing of June 30th, they saw that the land they had taken for two islands was really firm 

 land " lying S.S.E. and N.N.W. to a goodly cape of land" which they called Cape Orleans 

 {cap d'Orléans). The shore Cartier further describes as follows (Rel. orig.) : — "All this land 

 is low and the most beautiful it is possible to see, and full of beautiful trees and 

 meadows ; but in it we were not able to find a harbour, because it is a low land, very 

 shallow and all ranged with sands. We went ashore in several places in our boats, 

 and among others into a beautiful, but very shallow river, where we saw boats (barcques) 

 of savages, which were crossing this river, which, on this account, we named the River 

 of Boats " {ripuiere de Baroques.)" 



Although the " Relation originale " does not distinctly state that they sailed west- 

 ward after leaving the Magdalen Islands, the context clearly shews that they did so. 

 Making an allowance for magnetic variation, their course must have taken them to the 

 coast of Prince Edward Island, a considerable distance to the south of North Point. 

 While following this course they saw what they took to be two islands about nine or ten 

 leagues to the W. S.W. of them, which would place the two islands somewhere to the 

 south of the present Richmond Bay. In order to determine, if possible, what land Cartier 

 must have seen, the writer searched in works describing the island and found the follow- 

 ing passages : — " Probably the highest spot on the island does not rise above five hundred 

 feet above the level of the sea." " The highest land on the island is on the road between 

 Charlotte Town and Prince Town, stretching from the head of Harris Bay to the head of 

 Grenville Bay."^ Its position is indicated upon the accompanying map. We have not 

 found what appearance it presents from the sea, but as it extends for a considerable dis- 

 tance, it is quite probable that there are two parts of it higher than the rest which would 

 seem like two islands from Cartier's position. But this much is certain, that the laud 

 they sighted was in this region, and that this is the highest in the island, and hence that 

 first visible from the sea. 



But the next morning they saw that it was not two islands but firm land lying S.S.E. 

 and N.N.W. A glance at the map will shew that the only coast in all this region having 

 this direction is that of Prince Edward Island between the high land we have spoken of 

 and Cape Kildare, and that this has it very exactly. This alone should be enough to 

 establish the identity of this coast with that visited by Cartier, but it is placed beyond all 

 question by his further description of it. Any chart will shew how shallow and ranged 

 with sands it is, and many passages could be quoted from books describing the island, 

 substantiating the evidence of the charts as well as describing the fertility of the soil and 

 beauty of the region which so delighted the appreciative explorer. 



From the way in which Cartier speaks of the land " lying S. S. E. and N.N.W. to " Cape 

 Orleans, the latter would seem to be to the north of the land having this direction. This 

 would make it the present Cape Kildare, and we shall presently give an additional reason 



' " To the west " ed. 1598 ; Rel. orig. does not mention in what direction they sailed. 

 " All writers have considered this to be the Miramichi in New Brunswick. 

 ' The Progress and Prospects of Prince Edward'Island, by C. B. Bagster, 1861. 



Sec. ii, 1887. 17. 



