1906-7. TRANSACTIONS. 93 



he reached James Bay overland from Lake Superior. At any 

 rate, upon the return of Radisson and Chouart from their fourth 

 journey, having failed to interest the French authorities in their 

 plans for cornering the western fur-trade, they tried New Eng- 

 land, and failing there also, they sailed for England, where King 

 Charles listened with interest to the romantic tales of these 

 picturesque adventurers. 



Radisson laid before him an ambitious scheme for an ex- 

 pedition to Hudson's Bay, with the promise of a rich harvest of 

 peltries. King Charles liked the idea, but he had been drawing 

 pretty heavily upon both the public and privy purse about that 

 time, and there was nothing left for Radisson. He p (t for his 

 cousin Rupert, however, and between them they haged to 

 secure enough from the London merchants to ec a couple 



of small ships," the Nonsuch and the Eaglet. I ine, 1668, 

 the two vessels sailed out of the Thames for K, ^on's Bay, 

 discovered about half a century before by Hudson. Radisson 

 sailed in the Eaglet, and Chouart in the Nonsuch. The Eaglet 

 was driven back by rough weather, but Chouart, with Captain 

 Gillam, weathered the storm, and reached the bottom of James 

 Bay about the end of September. They landed, not far from 

 the spot where the ill-fated Hudson had wintered in 1610, and 

 built a rough log house at. the mouth of a river which they named 

 after their patron. Prince Rupert. The fort — the first trading 

 establishment on the bay — was named after King Charles. Here 

 tl^ey spent the winter, trading with the natives, and the following 

 year returned with a very fair cargo of furs.^ Out of this small 

 venture grew the mighty Hudson's Bay Company, for Rupert 

 and his associates were so delighted with the results of the voyage 

 that they persuaded King Charles to grant them a royal charter, 

 incorporating them as ''The Governor and Company of Adven- 

 turers of England trading into Hudson's Bay." Dr. Bryce 

 speaks of the "unrestrained heartiness" of King Charles in the 

 opening phrases of the charter. King Charles' "unrestrained 

 heartiness" runs all through this remarkable document. There 

 was very little in heaven and earth that the good king did not 

 bestow thereby upon "our dear entirely bfeloved Prince Rupert," 

 and the rest of the Gentleman Adventurers. 



There was but one implied obligation in the charter, and 

 that was that the Company was to continue the search, begun 

 by Hudson and continued by Button, Foxe, James and other 



