d itself out on either side of the ships as far as the eye
could reach, and found signs of a village; the place was called
Canada by the natives, the meaning of the word in the native
language being "The Town". This village was the seat of
"government", and was occupied by an Indian chief called Donnacona;
it was situate right on the shore of the bay formed by the junction
of the rivers St. Charles and St. Lawrence. The village seemed to
consist of huts built irregularly on the steep sides of a mountain,
the spot later being the position of the southerly and easterly
quarters of Quebec.

[Illustration]

The historical moment of the arrival of Cartier's brave little "fleet"
is interestingly depicted on the 20c value of the tercentenary series.
Samuel de Champlain, whose portrait is also shown on the 1c
denomination, was born in 1570 and died in 1635. Again we are indebted
to the article in _Gibbons' Stamp Weekly_ for the following
particulars:--

In 1603 he was commissioned by King Henry IV of France to found a
settlement in Canada. On his first voyage he sailed up the St.
Lawrence, and established friendly relations with the various
native chiefs of the tribes inhabiting the country through which
the river flowed. On his second voyage he was accompanied by only
thirty people, and on July 3rd, 1608, he landed at the village of
Canada, which was mentioned above. His first thought was to find a
site suitable for the erection of an "_abitation_" where he might
pass the winter that was coming on. "I could find no more
comfortable or better spot than the land around Quebec, where
countless nut trees were to be seen," wrote Champlain. That was
exactly the same place where Cartier had built his fort sixty years
before.

Thanks to extreme industry, winter quarters were rapidly erected.
The habitation consisted of three principal buildings, each two
stories high. Two of these buildings measured 18 ft. long by 9 ft.
wide, and the third, used as a storehouse, was 36 ft. long by 18
ft. wide and had a large cellar. In the first building Champlain
lived with a few of the workmen in the lower story; in the other
the remaining workpeople lived, and had with them the arms and
ammunition of the whole party. An annexe was attached to one of the
buildings, and it was used as a smithy