K\s\or'\ca\ and Beam-let“): 
     
    
   
   
    
     Isles, regions and provinces of the heathen and infidels,” 
     
     is generally accorded the distinction of first viewing this 
     
     Island—June 24th, 1497—and naming it Saint John in 
     
     honor of the day—Saint John‘s Day. Some authorities 
     
     maintain that Cabot’s son Sebastian discovered it in 1493; 
     
     while others contend that it was Champlain who in 1603, 
     
     named the Island “Isle St. Jean" and planted upon its 
     
     ruddy soil the F/mr-de-lz's. Unfortunately, no details of the 
     
     earliest voyages have been preserved. 
     
    
   
   
    
     In 153/, Jacques Cartier, the intrepid mariner of St. 
     
     Malo, made his initial voyage to the new world. He sighted 
     
     Cape Bonavista, Newfoundland, touched at various points 
     
     on the coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador, and first 
     
     trod Canadian soil at Brest, on the coast of Quebec. 
     
     Thence he called at the Magdalen Islands, and afterwards 
     
     reached St. John‘s shore. That this Island was 
     
     beautiful even before it received the charm which 
     
     cultivation has since imparted, is evident from the 
     
     quaint descriptions of the land as Cartier saw it, from one 
     
     of which—the “ Relation Originale ”—we quote as follows : 
     
    
   
   
    
     “All this land is low and the most beautiful it is possible to see, 
     
     and full of beautiful trees and meadows ; but in it we were not able to 
     
     find a harbor, because it is a low land, very shallow and all ranged 
     
     with sands. \Ve went ashore in several places in our boats, and 
     
     among others into a beautiful but very shallow river, where we saw 
     
     boats of savages, which were crossing this river, which on this ac— 
     
     count, we named the River of Boats. 
     
    
   
   
    
     That (lay we coasted along the said land nine or ten leagues, trying 
     
     to find some harbor, which we could not ; for as I have said before, it 
     
     is a land low and shallow. \Ve went ashore in four places to see 
     
     the trees, which are ofthe very finest and sweet smelling, and found that 
     
     there were cedars, pines, white ehns, ashes, willows and many others to us 
     
     unknown. The lands where there are no woods are very beautiful, and all 
     
     full of peason, white and red gooseberries, strawberries, blackberries, 
     
     and wild grain like rye; it seems there to have been sown and 
     
     ploughed. This is a land of the best temperature which it is pos— 
     
     sible to see, and of great heat, and there are many doves and 
     
     thrushes and other birds; it only wants harbors.“ 
     
    
   
   
    
     [4]