The fleet went to Ste. Croix River and de Monts chose Ste. Croix Island to build a settlement. We built a barricade that surrounded a canon so that we could defend ourselves from an attack from sea. We cleared trees and built houses, a storehouse, a chapel, a kitchen and a hand mill to grind grain. We cleared more land and made gardens. On Ste. Croix Island, there wasn’t much fresh water and the sandy soil on the island couldn’t grow crops very well. The island wasn’t protected from the winds in the winter, so it was very cold. We ate frozen salted meat and vegetables and drank melted snow. Due to our lack of vitamin C, almost half of the 79 men died of scurvy. Us who were still alive, decided to abandon Ste. Croix Island and go somewhere else. De Monts suggested that we should go back to Port Royal. This time, we constructed buildings very close to each other to conserve heat and built a big storehouse for grain and other supplies. We stayed in Port Royal until 1607 when the king cancelled de Mont’s fur trade monopoly. We could not continue to keep the settlement going from the fur trade. Therefore, de Mont, the others, and I returned to France.
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