ourt, and were greatly delighted to see realized what we had
given up in despair.' Lescarbot, who arrived on board the _Jonas_,
adds the following detail: 'M. de Poutrincourt ordered a tun of wine to
be set upon end, one of those which had been given him for his proper
use, and gave leave to all comers to drink freely as long as it lasted,
so that there were some who made gay dogs of themselves.'

Wine-bibbing, however, was not the chief activity of Port Royal.
Poutrincourt at once set men to work on the land, and while they were
sowing wheat, rye, and hemp he hastened preparations for an autumn
cruise 'along the coast of Florida.' On September 5 all was ready for
this voyage, which was to be Champlain's last opportunity of reaching
the lands beyond Cape Cod. Once more disappointment awaited him. 'It
was decided,' he says, 'to continue the voyage along the coast, which
was not a very well considered conclusion, since we lost much time in
passing over again the discoveries made by Sieur de Monts as far as the
harbour of Mallebarre. It would have been much better, in my opinion,
{48} to cross from where we were directly to Mallebarre, the route
being already known, and then use our time in exploring as far as the
fortieth degree, or still farther south, revisiting upon our homeward
voyage the entire coast at pleasure.'

In the interest of geographical research and French colonization
Champlain was doubtless right. Unfortunately, Poutrincourt wished to
see for himself what De Monts and Champlain had already seen. It was
the more unfortunate that he held this view, as the boats were
victualled for over two months, and much could have been done by taking
a direct course to Cape Cod. Little time, however, was spent at the
Penobscot and Kennebec. Leaving St Croix on September 12, Poutrincourt
reached the Saco on the 21st. Here and at points farther south he
found ripe grapes, together with maize, pumpkins, squashes, and
artichokes. Gloucester Harbour pleased Champlain greatly. 'In this
very pleasant place we saw two hundred savages, and there are here a
large number of very fine walnut trees, cypresses, sassafras, oaks,
ashes and beeches.... There are likewise fine meadows capable of
supporting a large number of cattle.' So much was he charmed with this
harbour and {49} its surroundings that he called it Le Beauport. After
tarrying at Gloucester two or three days Poutrincourt reached Cape Cod
on October 2, and