[Illustration: MANOR HOUSE OF CARTIER AT LIMOILOU NEAR ST. MALO
We know only imperfectly of his wanderings on the sea after this. He seems to have gone to Brazil. But he probably joined the band of those Norman ships going to Newfoundland on their fishing expeditions, and became well acquainted with the waters thereabout, and able to pilot them to some good purpose.
How Cartier became interested in discovering the passage to the Northwest we do not know; though it was the dream of so many navigators at that time to find a way to China and the east ports of India. To the man who should find it there would be undying fame, and many there were who strove for it. Probably Cartier believed that he should find the long expected route to India through one of the openings in the coast in the vicinity of Newfoundland, then thought to be but a projection of the eastern coast of Asia! At any rate, in 1533, we find him being introduced to Francis I of France by the high admiral of France, Phillipe Chabot, Sieur de Brion, to endeavour to persuade the king to allow him the means to secure the western passage for his royal master and the flag of France. The permission was granted, the vice admiral, the Sieur de Meilleraye personally undertaking to supervise the equipment of the vessels, and Cartier now is to be ranked among those others whose names have come down to us as leaders of expeditions.
[Illustration: This wooden medallion, 20 inches in diameter, bears on the back the deeply carved date 1704 and the initials J. C. It was found between outer and inner "skins" of an ancient house in the French fishing village of Cape des Roziers at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, November, 1908, and was the stern shield of some French vessel wrecked on that coast. The face is alleged to be that of Jacques Cartier, the discoverer of Canada, and is the oldest known portrait of him. The claim is made by Dr. John M. Clarke of Albany, state geologist of New York.]
We next find him armed with the Royal Commission, preparing to fit his vessels, and seeking for St. Malo men to man them in the service of the king. He had his difficulties in meeting the obstructions and jealousies that stood in his way. But on the 20th of April, 1534, he sailed with pilots, masters and seamen to the number of sixty, who were solemnly sworn by the vice admiral, Sieur de Meilleraye. It is not the purpose of this book to describe the discovery of Canada which Cartier made on this first voyage although the task is a fascinating one, since we have his own recital to follow. On July 24th, having planted on the coast of Gaspé a cross of the length of thirty feet bearing a shield adorned with the _fleur-de-lys_ and inscribed "Vive le Roi de France," he made preparations for the return home, reaching St. Malo on September 5th.