French Style Log Cabin

Attending a Rendezvous at Fort De Chartres, in southwestern IL, I saw a small log cabin constructed in the New France style. Instead of stacking square-hewn logs in a horizontal fashion with inter-locking corners, the French set these logs upright. The logs were pegged on the bottom to a horizontal footer and pegged on the a top with a horizontal header. The gaps between the logs were filled with stones and a chinking mixture of mud or clay mixed with straw, horsehair or cat-tails.

The back half of this particular shed is being used as a chicken coop. I suspect the front half is used to store tools or seeds or grain. The original church (St Francois-Xavier) in my grandparent's Charlevoix village, in Quebec, was built by this same vertical log walls technique.
American history, log cabin, pioneers, Quebec history, tourism

New France Riches

Before the first explorers came to Canadian waters with the hope of finding a direct route to China. . . fishermen came for the Cod. The Grand Banks had an abundance of various fish that would be caught, cleaned, salted, sun dried or smoked and sold in France, Portugal, Spain and other European countries. This was the major export of New France! On his first voyages, Champlain like Cartier, searched for a passage to China. A little later Champlain brought men to the lands around the mouth of the St Lawrence and a little later to Quebec to experiment in settlement. He respected the Amerinds and befriend many Native American tribes over time, build a network of outposts that spread Christianity and developed a trading monopoly, exchanging French manufactured goods for furs. At one time, French forts dotted the Great Lakes at Detroit, Duluth, Niagara and Mackinaw while the English and Dutch where bottled up by the Appalachian mountains. French men traveled as far as the Rockies, naming the Grand Tetons, through the Great Lakes, to the sources of the St Lawrence, Ottawa and many other river systems. These were the French men's highways. Brigades of these hardy voyageurs paddled large birch-bark canoes up to seventy miles a day, delivering trade goods to outposts, returning with up to 4 tons of wild animal furs to Quebec and on to France. The economy of New France depended on these furs. In France, most of these furs were processed into felt and made into stylish hats.

Wind Mill

During the seventeenth century, military officers, gentlemen of means or a Catholic order would request a large parcel of land in New France. Soldiers, men who had served as contract labor and others might, in turn, ask for a small section of this land. This section would usually be a long narrow ribbon of land with the front edge bordering on a river. As there were few roads in New France, freight and people moved by boat during the warmer months. In the winter, horse drawn sleighs used the rivers as frozen highways.

The habitants (farmers) would clear the land closest to the river and grow wheat and other grain crops. The habitants would pay a few coins rent as well as a share of their crops and a portion of livestock to the owner of the land.

The owner, in turn, was expected to pay for the construction of a wind mill. The wind mill was used to grind the habitants' wheat and rye into flour. A portion of the flour was paid to the miller for his services.


This windmill dates back to the days of New France and is located on Ile aux

Champlain and the New World (part 3)

Samuel Champlain returned home from New Spain and reported to his king, Henri IV, in the winter of 1602. The king, impressed with the detailed maps, drawings and writings, awarded Samuel a pension and job as one of his royal geographers. At this point in his young life, Champlain was comfortable. He owned property and had an annual income, compliments of the king. If he wished, Sam could settle down in a seaport town on the coast of France, marry, raise a family, dabble in trade and commerce.

Instead, Champlain shared a dream with Henri IV . . . to establish a French colony in the New World. Many years earlier, Francois I had financed three explorations by Jacques Cartier. The quest was to discover a watery passage to China. Cartier penetrated the St Lawrence river as far as Ile d'Orleans and beyond. Because of Cartier's voyages, France claimed the Atlantic coast of North America and the interior to the fortieth parallel as "Nova Francia". This claim was respected by several European nations. By 1504, dozens of Breton and Normand fishing boats were catching cod off the Grand Banks each summer. Some boat crews were also trading European products for valuable furs. It was time to further explore, experiment and eventually establish a permanent settlement.

Samuel Champlain (Part 2)

Samuel Champlain sailed on his uncle's ship to Spain. They were hauling Spanish soldiers and war equipment home to Spain at the conclusion of the French Religious Wars. Sam's uncle was an interesting character, part sailor, part merchant, part pirate, part spy. Among the Spanish who safely arrived in Spain was a high ranking officer who had befriended Samuel. Shortly after arriving in Spain, Sam's uncle leased his ship to the Spanish yet again. . . this time to cary merchandise to New Spain and Samuel Champlain was to go along to protect his uncle's interests.

Champlain saw much of the Spainish possessions in the New World. . . and was very taken by the beautiful islands, the exotic plants and animals and the several indian cultures he saw. Many of the indians were enslaved by the Spanish and worked to death. There were also many African slaves . . . also worked to death. The Spanish, did not consider these people to be human beings. Champlain, on the other hand, saw the indigenous people as possessing a highly-developed cultures, some of whom had mastered sciences like astronomy, archetecture, mathematics, writing and government.

Champlain saw Panama, Mexico city, Havana and other cities. He observed and drew detailed maps of harbors, defenses, shoals, channel depths and whatever else he could. Because of his training as a cartagrapher, navagator and artist, his maps were very accurate for his time. Sam was very cautious about recording this sensitive information. If the Spanish discovered his writings and maps, Champlain would be condemned as a spy, possibly torured and surely hanged.

Samuel Champlain

Samuel Champlain, founder of New France, was a very interesting guy. He and his men built and occupied the first permanent European settlement in Quebec in 1608.

Some speculate Sam was one of several illegitimate sons of Henry IV, King of France. It is surmised that he was baptized in the Huguenot faith as the given name Samuel was very popular among Protestants at the time.

Sam grew up in a family of successful merchant sea captains on the Atlantic coast of France. Champlain was well educated for the times and trained in art, navigation, map making and music. Sam also had a keen interest in nature as well as human cultures. He also had easy access to his king.

Champlain and his family lived and fought for Henry during the French Religious Wars. The Catholics and French Protestants (called Huguenots) were involved in bloody battles and brutal atrocities. . .all in the name of Christianity. This bloody conflict would blaze for a few years, settled down then flared up again. At one point, foreign powers were invited by the Catholics and the Huguenots to send armies to strengthen their forces. The Spanish (a Catholic country) and the English (a Protestant country) were most eager to help.

Finally, after many battles and sieges, Henry switched his religious affiliation for the third and final time from Catholic to Huguenot to Catholic (which was the largest religious affiliation in France).

The war ceased and the foreign armies were asked to leave or would be driven out. By royal decree, Henry IV created a realm that was officially Catholic . . but tolerant of other faiths. This was a big idea in the late 1500s!

The Spanish decided to remove their army by sea but did not have enough ships to bring their men and supplies home. Most Spanish ships were occupied in transporting the gold, silver and other treasures home from their New World empire.

Champlain’s uncle owned a large cargo ship that he leased to the Spanish. Champlain hoped that by joining his uncle on a sea voyage to Spain, he might find a way of getting passage to Cuba or Mexico. Champlain met with his king to ask permission. Henry IV agreed to the scheme and ordered Champlain to report to him upon his return.

Daughters of the King

In the early days of New France, the vast majority of immigrants to the colony were men. Population growth was very slow in Quebec, as you might imagine. Most of the men returned to France after they had fulfilled their employment contract. The French people knew quite a bit about their wilderness colony as the Jesuits published a "best seller"each year called, "Jesuit Relations" which was based on written reports from their missionary priests. To be sure, passages in the books were genuine "hair raisers"! Nevertheless, a trickle of Frenchmen migrated because of the lucrative fur trade and the vast, unclaimed land waiting to be claimed and cleared. The French king, Louis IVX, wanted to greatly increase immigration of his Roman Catholic subjects rather than just dumping convicts, Huguenots and undesirables on the Quebec waterfront. The obvious solution to population growth was to encourage more French women to start a new life in Quebec. King Louis came up with a proposition. All young, single, unmarried women who were willing to immigrate to New France would be given a dowry of money, sewing and household items and other goods a new wife needed to start a home . . . and of course a one way ocean passage. These young ladies were soon referred to as the "Daughters of the King". Early on, the streets of Paris and other towns were swept clean of homeless women, female criminals, prostitutes, etc. and all were encouraged to make the trip. Soon, the King realized that it would be better to recruit women who grew-up on farms as they would already be accustomed to the rigors of a pioneer wife. When the ships carrying "Daughters of the King" docked at Quebec each year, a gaggle of bachelor Frenchmen would be waiting. The men would rush aboard to meet the women, hoping to find a "keeper". Choosing was not the exclusive right of the men. The young women could reject a suitor as well. Those who agreed to wed were immediately married by Jesuit priests waiting on the pier.

As you might imagine, the most desirable ladies among the Daughters of the King were big and muscular and able to work side-by-side with their husband clearing land, tending livestock as well as keeping house and birthing babies. However, these pioneer ladies of New France liked to "doll-up" too. If they could, they'd buy the latest Paris fashions and show off at church to such an extent that the priests were constantly complaining.