Le Comte de Saint Pierre 43

touched at Louisburg where they secured pilots and went forward on the great adventure.* Although the island offered considerable choice as to harbors the respective merits of these were still unknown, which confirms the view that the various fishermen who had hitherto resorted there had made no charts and had been concerned only with suitable moorings for com- paratively small craft. But the enterprise of Comte de Saint Pierre was much more pretentious and now a harbor was to be selected suitable for the capital of a colony and capable of admitting ships of heavy burden.

While in Louisburg de Gotteville had requested St. Ovide de Brouillan, Governor of Ile Royale, to allow Denys de La Ronde, an officer of much experi- ence in the founding of such establishments, to ac- company him to Isle Saint Jean. The request was granted, although de La Ronde had been expected to report at Quebec, and together they proceeded to the island. Here they found the other ships which had preceded them already well advanced with the work of unloading supplies, having been conducted by the pilots to Port La Joye. Together they chose the site on which were erected the first official build- ings. Though later subject to much criticism because it was comparatively poor in natural resources, Port La Joye remained the capital throughout the entire French period, and under the English the city of Charlottetown was erected on the same harbor, not far from the original site so hastily selected by de

8 C11 IV, Vol. 5, p. 54.