THE MAGDALENE ISLANDS — PATTERSON, 37 



made available to avert such disasters, I cannot undertake to 

 determine. 



These islands were first discovered by Jacque Cartier on his 

 first voyage in 1534. On the 24th June, leaving a cape in New- 

 foundland, which he had named Cape St. John, but now known 

 as Cape Anguille, he sailed north-westwardly, and the next 

 day came to two small islands, from the description the Bird 

 Rocks of to-day. Five leagues farther to the west he found 

 another island five leagues in length, by half as much in breadth, 

 which he named Bryon Island, a name which it still retains, 

 though sometimes written Byron Island. He continued his course 

 south-westwardly among the islands, and was much pleased with 

 their fertility. He describes them as full of beautiful trees, 

 woods, pleasant meadows covered with spring flowers, and hav- 

 ing large fertile tracts of lands interspersed with great swamps. 

 This description would almost seem to indicate that there had 

 lieen already cultivation. He says that along the shores were 

 many sea monsters, with two large tusks in the mouth, like ele- 

 phants. This would seem to show that up to this time he was 

 unacquainted with the walrus. 



Xo mention is made of inhabitants, and none of the Indian 

 trjbes seemed to have permanently occupied them, though the 

 Micmacs had a name for them, showing their acquaintance with 

 them, and that they probably sometimes visited them in summer. 

 Probably, however, even before this, and certainly from that time 

 forward, they were visited by the hardy Breton and Basque 

 fishermen in the prosecution of their industry. But we find no 

 particular mention of them in the narratives of the time, and 

 there seems to have been no attempt at settlement upon them 

 till the year 1663, when the company of New France granted the 

 islands to Sieur Francois Doublet, a ship captain of Honfleur. 

 In the following years he associated with him. for the purpose of 

 carrying on a fishing and trading speculation, Francois Gon de 

 Quimee and Claude de Landemare, to whom he transferred one- 

 fourth of his rights. But still there does not seem to have been 

 any attempt at settlement. Fishermen came from France in 

 spring, and after spending the summer in the prosecution of their 



