The Mariner of St. Malo : A chronicle of the voyages of Jacques Cartier
- Pages
- about 79
- Category
- History
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 87 min at 250 wpm
From the opening
It was on April 20, 1534, that Jacques Cartier sailed out of the port
of St Malo on his first voyage in the service of Francis I. Before
leaving their anchorage the commander, the sailing-masters, and the men
took an oath, administered by Charles de Mouy, vice-admiral of France,
that they would behave themselves truly and faithfully in the service
of the Most Christian King. The company were borne in two ships, each
of about sixty tons burden, and numbered in all sixty-one souls.
The passage across the ocean was pleasant. Fair winds, blowing fresh
and strong from the east, carried the clumsy caravels westward on the
foaming crests of the Atlantic surges. Within twenty days of their
departure the icebound shores of Newfoundland rose before their eyes.
Straight in front of them was Cape Bonavista, the 'Cape of Happy
Vision,' already known and named by the fishermen-explorers, who had
welcomed the sight of its projecting headlands after the weary leagues
of unbroken sea. But approach to the shore was impossible. The whole
coastline was blocked with the 'great store of ice' that lay against
it. The ships ran southward and took shelter in a little haven about
five leagues south of the cape, to which Cartier gave the name St
Catherine's Haven, either in fond remembrance of his wife, or, as is
more probable, in recognition of the help and guidance of St Catherine,
whose natal day, April 30, had fallen midway in his voyage. The
harbourage is known to-day as Catalina, and lies distant, as the crow
flies, about eighty miles north-westward of the present city of St
John's in Newfoundland. Here the mariners remained ten days, 'looking
for fair weather,' and engaged in mending and 'dressing' their boats.
At this time, it must be remembered, the coast of Newfoundland was, in
some degree, already known. Ships had frequently passed through the
narrow passage of Belle Isle that separates Newfoundland from the coast
of Labrador.
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