THE HUGUENOT COLONY IN CANADA 115 



and Rouianist were to be safe to follow their owu eon- 

 scieuces without molestation from the other. De Mouts 

 was well fitted for leadership. He was a valiant soldier, 

 who had won the entire confidence of his sovereign, and 

 was a man of highest integrity and patriotism, as well as 

 of exemplary piety. By the testimony of his contem- 

 poraries, he was thoroughly qualified by his courage, 

 energy, perseverance, tact and firmness, to found New 

 France in America, and represented the commanding 

 qualities of the Huguenot gentleman. 



With two ships he sailed from Havre in March, 1604, Pon Royai 

 taking about one hundred and twenty persons. High 

 and low birth, Protestants and Catholics, with a Protestant 

 minister and a Eoman Catholic priest to look after the 

 spiritual interests, made up the company, which was de- 

 cidedly superior in character to most of those that had 

 previously gone forth in search of adventure. Two of 

 de Monts' former comrades, gentlemen of fortune and 

 rank — Samuel de Champlain and Baron de Poutrincourt, 

 accompanied him. Proceeding to the Bay of Fundy, 

 passing through the narrow channel into the beautiful 

 basin now known as Annaj^olis Harboiu", de Mouts . 

 named the basin Port Royal, and here de Poutrincourt 

 decided to found a settlement and bring families from 

 France to develop his grant. No more favourable place 

 could have been found for the purpose. De Monts fixed 

 upon a small island at the mouth of the St. Croix for his 

 own colony — a site as poor as Port Eoyal was good ; and 

 after trying the hard experiences of a winter he saw his 

 mistake and decided to unite forces at Port Royal. Only 

 forty of seventy-nine of his company survived, owing to 

 sickness at St. Croix, and among those who died were the 

 priest and the minister, so that no religious teacher was 

 left. In this emergency. Marc Lescarbot, a Protestant 

 lawyer and writer, became teacher and preacher, ' ' in 

 order that we might not live like the beasts, " as he tells 

 us in his most interesting "History of New France," 



