My 23 voyages to New France and my earlier voyage to the West Indies have made me a seasoned traveler at sea. These voyages were of varying length from the fastest in 18 days in 1610 to the slowest crossing at 74 days in 1611. While I took an interest in the art of shipboard navigation during these many trips, I practiced this art only along the coasts and inland waterways of New France. Travel in New France is much more difficult and yet in some ways easier than in France. Under King Henry roads and bridges were built and canals extended until our country is said to have the finest highway and water systems in all of Europe. Carriages and barges convey vast quantities of trade that would dwarf that in the New World. Granted in times of heavy rain, wagons move painfully forward with wheels sunk in the mud and barge traffic is often congested and slow. Yet one needs only to go beyond France to see how much better our system is to any other. I also miss the comfort of the recently introduced private coaches, or as some are calling them, chariots with springs that are no longer restricted only to the nobility. In New France the network of rivers offers a quick and efficient means of travel in the native canoes, although we can sometimes use our pinnaces and shallops on the bigger rivers.[shallow draft boats with one or two masts of between eight to 20 tons] I have collected many Indian accounts of canoe routes and included them in my maps. Most travels and trade are by means of this light and sturdy native watercraft. For example the almost 600 km trip from Lachine to Huronia I have managed in twenty days of travelling by canoe. However, these craft are useless for half of the year when the rivers and lakes are frozen. And while Native trails are adequate, they are not suitable for the transport of commerce in bulk. Many more colonizers will be required to settle here before a road can be constructed. Return to Other Ways of Seeing... |
