>> female announcer: MAJOR FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, INTRODUCING TRAVELERS TO THE LAKES TO LOCKS PASSAGE: THE GREAT NORTHEAST JOURNEY, AN ALL-AMERICAN ROAD IN THE COLLECTION OF AMERICA'S BYWAYS.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, THE NEW YORK STATE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND, AND THE NEW YORK STATE HUDSON-FULTON-CHAMPLAIN QUADRICENTENNIAL.

THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC: CELEBRATING 400 YEARS OF SHARED HISTORY AND VALUES WITH OUR AMERICAN NEIGHBORS.

[wind whistling] [birds chirping] >> [grunting] [dramatic music] â™â™ [groaning] [thunder booming] >> female narrator: THIS IS NOT HOW SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN HAD IMAGINED HIS LIFE WOULD END: WOUNDED AND PURSUED, WANDERING LOST IN THE FOREST.

[thunder booming] >> [shouting in French] >> narrator: BY 1615, CHAMPLAIN HAD EXPLORED AND MAPPED AREAS OF NORTH AMERICA WHERE NO EUROPEAN HAD DARED TO VENTURE.

[thunder booming] BUT NOW, WITHOUT A GUIDE OR A COMPASS TO AID HIM, HE MUST RELY ON HIS SENSES AND HIS KNOWLEDGE OF THE FOREST TO SHOW HIM THE WAY OR DIE TRYING.

[soft guitar music] â™â™ CHAMPLAIN FIRST ARRIVED IN NORTH AMERICA IN 1603 AT TADOUSSAC, ON THE BANKS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER, WHERE THE FRENCH HAD ESTABLISHED A TRADING POST, THEIR ONLY FOOTHOLD IN THIS LAND.

WE KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT CHAMPLAIN BEFORE HE ARRIVED AT TADOUSSAC.

HE MAY HAVE BEEN ABOUT 33 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME.

HE WAS A CARTOGRAPHER, PART OF A SCOUTING EXPEDITION LED BY FRANCOIS PONT-GRAVE, A VETERAN OF MANY VOYAGES TO THE ST. LAWRENCE.

CHAMPLAIN HAD ORDERS TO REPORT TO THE KING OF FRANCE ON WHAT HE SAW AND HEARD.

THE KING HAD PLANS FOR THIS LAND AND ITS PEOPLE, THE INNU, WHO THE FRENCH CALLED MONTAGNAIS.

>> WE LANDED ON ST. MATTHEW'S POINT, WHERE THE NATIVES HAD THEIR LODGES, ACCOMPANIED BY TWO NATIVES WHOM WE HAD BROUGHT BACK TO THEIR PEOPLE TO REPORT ON WHAT THEY HAD SEEN IN FRANCE AND OF THE GOOD RECEPTION THE KING, HENRI THE GREAT, HAD GIVEN THEM.

>> narrator: PONT-GRAVE AND CHAMPLAIN AND THE TWO YOUNG INNUS ARRIVED IN THE MIDST OF A GREAT VICTORY CELEBRATION, AND ANADABIJOU, THE INNU SAGAMO, WELCOMED THEM INTO THE COUNCIL OF ELDERS.

>> [chuckles] >> WE GIVE THANKS TO OUR NORMAN FRIENDS FOR BRINGING OUR SONS BACK TO US.

COME.

SIT BESIDE ME AND TELL US WHAT YOU HAVE SEEN IN THEIR LAND.

>> MY BROTHERS, WE HAVE SEEN HOW THE NORMANS LIVE IN FINE LODGES MADE FROM ROCK AND WOOD.

THEIR KING HAS SHOWN US KINDNESS AND SENDS US TO GIVE YOU A MESSAGE.

HIS PEOPLE DESIRE TO LIVE IN OUR LAND AND TO HELP US MAKE PEACE WITH THE IROQUOIS AND, IF THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE, TO SEND MEN TO HELP US VANQUISH THEM.

>> OUR SON HAS SPOKEN WELL.

THEIR KING WANTS TO BE OUR FRIEND.

DO NOT BE DECEIVED BY THESE MEN WITH EYES OF DOGS AND HAIRY FACES.

DO NOT LET THEIR STRANGE SMELL AND CURIOUS HABITS FOOL YOU.

THEY WILL HELP US TO FIGHT THE IROQUOIS.

>> [men chanting] EH, EH, EH.

>> WE ARE CONTENT THAT YOUR KING WANTS HIS PEOPLE TO LIVE IN OUR LAND AND MAKE WAR ON OUR ENEMIES.

THERE IS NO ONE IN THE WORLD WE WISH MORE GOOD THAN THE NORMANS.

>> narrator: WITH THESE WORDS AND THE CELEBRATION THAT FOLLOWED, ANADABIJOU SEALED AN ALLIANCE WITH THE KING OF FRANCE, AN ALLIANCE THAT WOULD ENDURE FOR 100 YEARS, ALLOWING BOTH PARTNERS TO PURSUE SEPARATE GOALS.

>> [coughs] >> THE INDIANS WANTED AN ALLY AGAINST THE IROQUOIS, THE FRENCH WANTED AMITY AND CONCORD IN THE VALLEY OF THE ST. LAWRENCE, AND EVERYBODY WANTED A FLOURISHING FUR TRADE.

THE FRENCH WANTED TRADING PARTNERS.

THEY WANTED FURS.

THEY WANTED THE BEAVER.

IN THE MIDST OF CHAMPLAIN'S CAREER, A REVOLUTION OCCURRED IN PARIS: HATS.

THERE WAS A HUGE APPETITE FOR BEAVER PELTS THROUGHOUT EUROPE, AND THAT WAS A GREAT DRIVER IN ALL OF THESE EVENTS.

AT THE SAME TIME, CHAMPLAIN WANTED SOMETHING MORE.

HE WANTED KNOWLEDGE FROM THE INDIANS.

>> HAVE YOU NOT SEEN OR HEARD YOUR ANCESTORS TELL THAT GOD HAD COME INTO THE WORLD?

>> IN OLDEN TIMES, THERE WERE FIVE MEN WHO WENT TOWARD THE SETTING SUN AND MET TSISHE MANITU, THE GREAT SPIRIT.

THE GREAT SPIRIT ASKED THEM, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

THE MEN SAID, "WE ARE SEEKING OUR LIFE."

THE GREAT SPIRIT ANSWERED THEM, "YOU SHALL FIND IT HERE."

THE WARRIORS CONTINUED ON, AND THE GREAT SPIRIT TOOK A STONE AND TOUCHED TWO OF THE AND THEY TURNED INTO STONES.

THE GREAT SPIRIT SAID AGAIN TO THE OTHER THREE, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

AND THEY ANSWERED AGAIN, "WE GO IN SEARCH OF OUR LIFE."

AND THE GREAT SPIRIT SAID TO THEM AGAIN, "GO NO FURTHER.

YOU SHALL FIND IT HERE."

AND THE MEN, SEEING THAT NOTHING HAPPENED TO THEM, WENT ON.

AND THE GREAT SPIRIT TOOK TWO STICKS AND TOUCHED TWO OF THE MEN, AND THEY TURNED INTO TREES.

THE FIFTH MAN HALTED AND WOULD GO NO FURTHER.

AND THE GREAT SPIRIT ASKED HIM AGAIN, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

THE LONE MAN REPLIED, "I AM SEARCHING FOR MY LIFE."

AND THE GREAT SPIRIT SAID, "STAY, AND YOU SHALL FIND IT."

[loon calls] [elk groans] THE MAN STAYED WITHOUT GOING ANY FURTHER, AND THE GREAT SPIRIT GAVE HIM MEAT, AND HE ATE IT.

HE RETURNED AMONG HIS FELLOW MEN AND TOLD THEM OF HIS STORY.

>> narrator: ANADABIJOU'S STORY MAY HAVE BEEN MEANT AS A GIFT FOR CHAMPLAIN TO GUIDE HIS JOURNEY IN SEARCH OF A LIFE IN THIS LAND.

[wood creaking] CHAMPLAIN'S MISSION WAS TO CHART THE ST. LAWRENCE.

LIKE EXPLORERS OF HIS TIME, HE DIDN'T ALWAYS KNOW HIS EXACT LOCATION.

HE RELIED ON WHAT WAS KNOWN AS DEAD RECKONING, MAKING CALCULATED GUESSES WITH CRUDE INSTRUMENTS, FINDING HIS WAY THROUGH THIS VAST LAND AND THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED HERE BY GUESS OR BY GOD.

>> AS WE BEGAN TO APPROACH THE RAPIDS, I ASSURE YOU, I NEVER SAW ANY TORRENT OF WATER POUR OVER WITH SUCH FORCE.

[gulls crying] [water whooshing] [wood creaking and crashing] >> HE WAS THE FIRST EUROPEAN TO SEE INSTANTLY: THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN EXPLORE CANADA, THE INTERIOR OF CANADA OUT OF THE ST. LAWRENCE, WAS WITH THE HELP OF THE NATIVES AND THEIR CANOES.

SO HE KNEW IT COULD NOT BE DONE WITH EUROPEAN SHIPS.

HE WAS WILLING TO JUNK PARTS OF EUROPEAN TECHNOLOGY, WHICH WAS A HUGE STEP FORWARD FOR A EUROPEAN.

HE SAW THAT ALMOST INSTANTLY.

WITHIN A DAY OR HOURS, HE'D FIGURED THAT OUT, AND NOBODY HAD BEFORE HIM.

>> narrator: THESE RAPIDS NEAR THE ISLAND THE FRENCH WOULD LATER CALL MONTREAL, HAD BEEN AN UNYIELDING BARRIER TO ALL THEIR PREVIOUS EFFORTS TO EXPLORE THE LAND WEST OF THE GREAT RIVER IN SEARCH OF A ROUTE TO ASIA.

>> NORTH AMERICA WAS AN OBSTACLE.

IT WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THERE.

WHAT CHAMPLAIN AND OTHER EXPLORERS WERE LOOKING FOR WAS A EASIER WATER ROUTE TO ASIA, ACCESS TO TRADE WITH THE ORIENT FOR SPICES, SILK, EXOTIC GOODS THAT HAD TO EITHER BE SHIPPED AROUND THE MEDITERRANEAN, AROUND AFRICA.

THIS WASNVISIONED AS A SHORTCUT.

>> WHEN WE SAW WE COULD DO NO MORE, WE RETURNED TO OUR SHIP, WHERE WE QUESTIONED THE NATIVES WE HAD WITH US ABOUT THE END OF THE RIVER, WHICH I MADE THEM DRAW BY HAND AND SHOW ITS SOURCE.

>> narrator: FROM THE MAPS DRAWN BY AN ALGONQUIN GUIDE, CHAMPLAIN LEARNED ABOUT THE LOCATION OF WHAT WILL BE KNOWN AS THE OTTAWA RIVER, NIAGARA FALLS, AND LAKE ONTARIO.

BUT IT WAS ANOTHER GREAT BODY OF WATER THAT CAPTURED HIS IMAGINATION.

>> THEY TOLD US THAT THE WATER IS SALTY LIKE THAT OF OUR SEA, WHICH MAKES ME BELIEVE THIS IS THE PACIFIC OCEAN.

>> HIS BEST WAY OF KNOWING WHERE HE WAS WAS TO ASK THE INDIANS.

THEY WERE ALWAYS HIS PRINCIPAL SOURCE.

THE REASON THAT HIS MAPS WERE MORE ACCURATE THAN HIS INSTRUMENTS WAS THAT THE INDIANS PUT HIM RIGHT AGAIN AND AGAIN.

>> narrator: CHAMPLAIN EXPLORED ACADIA AND NEW ENGLAND DURING THE YEARS 1604 TO 1607.

HIS EXPLORATIONS WERE PURSUED IN THE SERVICE OF THE KING, WHO PAID NOTHING FOR THESE VOYAGES.

>> [speaking French] >> narrator: THAT BURDEN FELL ON MEN LIKE PIERRE DU GUA DE MONTS.

>> [speaking French] >> THESE WERE PEOPLE WHO WERE ASKED TO FINANCE THIS.

AND WHAT THEY TRIED TO DO IS GET THE RETURNS FROM THE FUR TRADE, WHICH WAS THE ONLY REALLY MONEYMAKING, EARLY MONEYMAKING THING THAT THERE WAS THERE.

HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO GET ENOUGH--FURS WERE NOT UNLIMITED.

IN ORDER TO GET ENOUGH FURS, THEY NEEDED TO PAY FOR ALL OF THIS.

THEY NEEDED A MONOPOLY.

[wood creaking] >> narrator: CHAMPLAIN RETURNED TO THE ST. LAWRENCE IN THE SUMMER OF 1608 TO COMPLETE THE EXPLORATION OF THE GREAT RIVER.

BUT BEFORE HE COULD SEARCH FOR THE ELUSIVE ROUTE TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, HE FIRST NEEDED TO CHOOSE A SIGHT TO ESTABLISH A PERMANENT FRENCH SETTLEMENT.

A POINT OF LAND THAT THE MICMAC CALLED QUEBEC, "THE NARROWS," IMPRESSED CHAMPLAIN.

>> I SEARCHED FOR A PLACE SUITABLE FOR OUR SETTLEMENT, BUT I COULD FIND NONE MORE CONVENIENT OR BETTER SUITED THAN THE POINT OF QUEBEC, WHICH WAS COVERED WITH NUT TREES.

I AT ONCE EMPLOYED OUR WORKMEN IN CUTTING THE TREES DOWN, THAT WE MIGHT CONSTRUCT OUR HABITATION THERE.

>> narrator: THE HISTORY OF THE CREATION OF EUROPEAN SETTLEMENTS IN NORTH AMERICA IS A STORY OF STARVATION, DISEASE, AND DEATH.

BY THE TIME CHAMPLAIN ARRIVED IN QUEBEC, NO FRENCH SETTLEMENT HAD YET SURVIVED.

>> HE WAS DRIVING HIS MEN VERY HARD.

THEY WERE RACING THE SEASONS, DESPERATELY TRYING TO BUILD THE VITAL STRUCTURES OF THE COLONY.

THE FOOD WAS NOT GOOD.

THE HOURS WERE VERY LONG.

CHAMPLAIN WAS ASKING HIS MEN TO WORK AS HARD AS HE DID, AND HE HAD GREAT STAMINA.

A MAN NAMED JEAN DU VAL ORGANIZED A CONSPIRACY.

>> [speaking French] [both speaking French] [tankards clank] [stomping footsteps] [clattering] >> JEAN DU VAL'S PLAN WAS TO PUT ME TO DEATH AND, GETTING POSSESSION OF OUR FORT, TO PUT IT IN THE HANDS OF THE BASQUE OR SPANIARDS, BY WHICH HE HOPED TO MAKE HIS FORTUNE.

[speaking French] JEAN DU VAL WAS HANGED AT QUEBEC, AND HIS HEAD WAS PUT ON THE END OF A PIKE AND SET UP IN THE MOST CONSPICUOUS PLACE IN OUR FORT.

>> narrator: CHAMPLAIN PREVENTED HIS ASSASSINATION AND PRESERVED THE FRENCH SETTLEMENT FOR THE MOMENT.

BUT IN THIS LAND, WINTER WAS THE ULTIMATE TEST FOR ALL WHO LIVED HERE.

>> [coughing] >> [moaning] >> [speaking French] THE SCURVY BEGAN VERY LATE IN FEBRUARY.

18 WERE ATTACKED.

THEY WERE ALMOST WITHOUT STRENGTH AND SUFFERED INTOLERABLE PAINS.

THE MAJORITY OF THEM COULD NOT RISE NOR MOVE.

ALL OF THIS TROUBLED US VERY MUCH ON ACCOUNT OF THE DIFFICULTY WE HAD IN ATTENDING TO THE SICK.

>> SCURVY IS CAUSED BY VITAMIN C DEFICIENCY.

IF THAT DISEASE PROGRESSES, YOUR WHOLE BODY SYSTEM STARTS TO BREAK DOWN.

YOUR BLOOD VESSELS, YOUR LIVER, YOUR KIDNEYS, EVERYTHING STARTS TO BREAK DOWN, AND YOUR SINEWS CONTRACT, YOU GET TERRIBLE PAINS, YOU GO INSANE, AND EVENTUALLY IT KILLS YOU.

IT'S A TERRIBLE, TERRIBLE DEATH.

>> narrator: WHEN A SHIP ARRIVED FROM FRANCE TO RESUPPLY THE SETTLEMENT IN THE SPRING, ONLY 8 OF THE 28 MEN THAT HAD JOINED CHAMPLAIN ON THIS VOYAGE WERE ALIVE, AND HALF OF THESE WERE SICK.

>> CHAMPLAIN IN 1609 RECEIVED A LETTER INFORMING HIM THAT HE WOULD BE REPLACED AT THE END OF THE SEASON AS THE COMMANDANT IN QUEBEC.

AND THEN HIS INDIAN ALLIES TOLD HIM THAT THEY WERE HAVING A MAJOR PROBLEM WITH THE MOHAWK, THAT VIOLENCE WAS INCREASING, THAT THE STRIFE WAS GETTING OUT OF HAND.

SO CHAMPLAIN HAD TO FIND A SOLUTION AND A QUICK ONE, I THINK, TO ALL OF THESE PROBLEMS AT ONCE.

>> narrator: TO PRESERVE HIS SETTLEMENT IN QUEBEC AND TO EXPLORE BEYOND THE GREAT RIVER, CHAMPLAIN HAD TO CONVINCE THE ALGONQUIN CHIEF IROQUET AND OCHASTEGUIN, THE CHIEF OF THE WENDATS, WHOM THE FRENCH CALLED HURONS, THAT HE WOULD LIVE UP TO THE AGREEMENT THAT THE FRENCH HAD MADE IN 1603.

>> YOU HAVE GIVEN ME FINE BEAVER PELTS, FOR WHICH I AM GRATEFUL.

YOU SEE THAT I HAVE BROUGHT NOTHING TO BARTER FOR THESE PELTS.

I HAVE NO OTHER PURPOSE THAN TO GO TO WAR WITH YOU AGAINST YOUR ENEMIES.

>> MANY MEN COME AND PROMISE TO HELP US FIGHT OUR ENEMIES WHO HAVE COMMITTED CRUEL ACTS AGAINST US.

NOW THIS NORMAN, CHAMPLAIN, PROMISES TO HELP US WITH OUR WARS AGAINST THE IROQUOIS.

WHAT SAY YOU?

SHALL WE MAKE AN ALLIANCE WITH THIS MAN?

[all muttering indistinctly] WE HAVE ASSEMBLED ALL THE WARRIORS YOU SEE BEFORE YOU.

THEY ARE VERSED IN WAR AND FULL OF COURAGE AND ACQUAINTED WITH THE COUNTRY AND RIVERS IN THE LAND OF THE IROQUOIS.

AS A TOKEN OF FIRM FRIENDSHIP, I ASK YOU TO SHOW THEM YOUR POWER.

>> [speaking French] [gunshots] [men whooping] >> narrator: CHAMPLAIN AGREED TO HELP HIS ALLIES WITH THEIR WARS, AND IN EXCHANGE, THEY ALLOWED HIM TO EXPLORE AND SETTLE IN THEIR LANDS.

IT WAS A TRADE THAT HE HAD TO NEGOTIATE AGAIN AND AGAIN.

CHAMPLAIN AND A SMALL WAR PARTY PADDLED SOUTH ON THE RIVER OF THE IROQUOIS IN SEARCH OF THE MOHAWKS, ONE OF THE FIVE IROQUOIS NATIONS.

CHAMPLAIN WAS ENTERING INTO A CONFLICT THAT BEGAN LONG BEFORE HIS ARRIVAL IN NORTH AMERICA.

FOR HUNDREDS OF YEARS, THIS RIVER HAS BEEN THE ROUTE USED FOR TRADE AND WAR BY THE IROQUOIS NATIONS TO THE SOUTH AND THE INNU, ALGONQUIN, AND WENDAT NATIONS LIVING NORTH AND WEST OF THE ST. LAWRENCE RIVER.

>> I DON'T THINK HE HAD ANY IDEA WHAT HE WAS GOING TO ENCOUNTER.

WHO WERE THE IROQUOIS?

THEY MADE LIFE MISERABLE FOR THE MONTAGNAIS, BUT HE KNEW NOTHING MORE ABOUT THEM.

WHEN YOU READ HIS JOURNAL CAREFULLY FOR 1609, THE WHOLE THING IS WRITTEN LIKE AN EXPLORATORY JOURNAL.

HE WANTED TO EXPLORE SOUTHWARD, ANYWHERE INLAND.

THE INDIANS HAD ALWAYS PROMISED TO TAKE HIM ALONG, AND THEY CONTINUED TO DO SO, BUT THEY NEVER CAME THROUGH.

THIS WAS A CHANCE TO TRAVEL INLAND AWAY FROM THE ST. LAWRENCE AND EXPLORE THOSE COUNTRIES.

[water rushing] >> WE ENTERED THE LAKE, WHERE I SAW FOUR FINE ISLANDS WHICH WERE FORMERLY INHABITED BY THE NATIVES BUT THEY HAVE ABANDONED SINCE THE WARS.

>> narrator: THE ABENAKIS CALLED THIS LARGE BODY OF WATER BITAWBAGOK.

CHAMPLAIN NAMED IT FOR HIMSELF.

>> WHEN HE GOT TO THE--NEAR THE SOUTHERN END OF LAKE CHAMPLAIN, HE NOTICED THAT HIS COMPANIONS WERE INCREASINGLY NERVOUS.

BUT HE WANTED TO SHOW THAT THE FRENCH WERE UP TO THEIR PROMISES, SO HE USED A TRICK ON THEM.

HE PRETENDED TO HAVE A DREAM.

[men coughing and sputtering] >> THEY OFTEN ASKED ME IF I HAD DREAMS AND IF I HAD SEEN THEIR ENEMIES.

>> [speaking a native language] [laughter] >> AFTER I TOLD THEM MY DREAM, IT GAVE THEM SO MUCH CONFIDENCE THAT THEY DID NOT DOUBT ANY LONGER THAT GOOD WAS TO HAPPEN TO THEM.

[men whooping] >> DREAMS ARE A WAY TO FORETELL THE FUTURE OR TO RECEIVE TEACHINGS.

SO THE DREAM IS A VERY, VERY IMPORTANT, VERY CORE ELEMENT OF THE CULTURE AND OF THE WAY PEOPLE PERCEIVE KNOWLEDGE.

YEAH.

SO MAYBE AT SOME POINT, CHAMPLAIN UNDERSTOOD THAT AND USED THIS KNOWLEDGE TO MOTIVATE HIS PEOPLE.

[chuckles] >> narrator: AFTER WEEKS OF SEARCHING THE LAKE, CHAMPLAIN AND HIS ALLIES DISCOVERED A LARGE GROUP OF IROQUOIS DURING THE NIGHT.

THE NEXT MORNING, THE WAR PARTY WAS READY TO REVEAL THEIR SECRET WEAPON.

>> WHEN DAY CAME, MY COMPANIONS AND MYSELF CONTINUED UNDERCOVER FOR FEAR THAT THE ENEMY WOULD SEE US.

AFTER ARMING OURSELVES WITH LIGHT ARMOR, WE EACH TOOK AN HARQUEBUS AND MOVED INTO POSITION.

I SAW THE ENEMY COME OUT OF THEIR BARRICADE.

THEY CAME AT A SLOW PACE TOWARDS US WITH DIGNITY AND ASSURANCE, WHICH GREATLY IMPRESSED ME.

I WAS TOLD THAT THOSE WHO HAD THREE LARGE PLUMES WERE THE CHIEFS AND THAT I SHOULD DO WHAT I COULD TO KILL THEM.

I PROMISED TO DO ALL IN MY POWER TO SHOW THEM MY COURAGE.

THEY AT ONCE NOTICED ME AND, HALTING, GAZED AT ME, AS I DID ALSO AT THEM.

I HAD LOADED MY HARQUEBUS WITH FOUR BALLS.

[gunshot] WHEN OUR SIDE SAW THIS SHOT, THEY BEGAN TO RAISE SUCH LOUD CRIES THAT ONE COULD NOT HAVE HEARD IT THUNDER.

[men whooping] MEANWHILE, ARROWS FLEW ON BOTH SIDES.

[arrows zipping] [gunshot] [man screams] [men shouting] SEEING THEIR CHIEFS DEAD, THEY LOST COURAGE AND TOOK TO FLIGHT, FLEEING INTO THE WOODS, WHERE I PURSUED THEM, KILLING STILL MORE OF THEM.

[gunshot] >> CHAMPLAIN'S PURPOSE WAS CERTAINLY NOT TO FIGHT A WAR OF CONQUEST.

WHAT HE WAS DOING WAS WAGING WAR FOR THE SAKE OF PEACE.

HE WANTED TO USE A PUNITIVE EXPEDITION AS A WAY OF RESTORING PEACE TO THE ST. LAWRENCE VALLEY.

[fire crackling] >> narrator: SOON AFTER DEFEATING THE BAND OF IROQUOIS, CHAMPLAIN'S ALLIES DIVIDED UP THE CAPTIVES, WHO WERE PRIZED BY BOTH SIDES AS REPLACEMENTS FOR FALLEN WARRIORS.

BUT THEIR CAPTURE ALSO PROVIDED A CHANCE TO SETTLE OLD SCORES.

>> [groaning] [screams] >> THIS POOR WRETCH UTTERED TERRIBLE CRIES, AND IT EXCITED MY PITY TO SEE HIM TREATED IN THIS MANNER.

AND YET HE SHOWED SUCH FIRMNESS THAT ONE WOULD HAVE SAID AT TIMES THAT HE SUFFERED HARDLY ANY PAIN AT ALL.

>> [speaking a native language] [singing] â™â™ [grunts] >> YOU MUST STOP THIS TORTURE.

IT IS NOT HOW YOU SHOULD TREAT A CAPTURED SOLDIER.

I AM WILLING TO FIRE A MUSKET SHOT AT HIM AND END HIS LIFE.

>> IF YOU DO THAT, THEN HE WILL NOT SUFFER ANY PAIN, AS HE SHOULD FOR WHAT HE AND HIS PEOPLE HAVE DONE TO US.

>> [groaning] >> I WENT AWAY FROM THEM, PAINED TO SEE SUCH CRUELTIES AS THEY PRACTICED UPON HIS BODY.

>> HIS INTERVENTION THERE, I THINK, CAN BE READ AS, IN A SENSE, ALMOST A PATRIARCHAL MOMENT, WHERE HE WANTS TO SORT OF SITUATE HIMSELF AS THE AUTHORITY OR FATHER FIGURE TO KIND OF GET ALL THIS TO STOP BECAUSE HE FINDS IT DISGUSTING.

HE FINDS IT UNSEEMLY, UNBECOMING, AND HE WISHES IT WOULD STOP.

AND HE FEELS HE HAS THE IMPERATIVE TO GO AHEAD AND DO THIS.

>> [speaking a native language] >> WHEN THEY SAW THAT I WAS DISPLEASED, THEY CALLED ME.

[gunshot] >> narrator: BEFORE PARTING COMPANY, CHAMPLAIN AND HIS NEW ALLIES EXCHANGED GIFTS AND PROMISES OF FRIENDSHIP.

>> [speaking French] THEY WERE ALL WELL SATISFIED WITH THE RESULTS OF THE WAR AND THAT I HAD ACCOMPANIED THEM SO READILY, AND THEY ASKED ME WHETHER I WOULD NOT LIKE TO GO TO THEIR COUNTRY AND CONTINUE OUR FRIENDSHIP.

I PROMISED THAT I WOULD DO SO.

THE ACCOUNT OF MY VOYAGE AFFORDED HIS MAJESTY GREAT PLEASURE AND SATISFACTION.

[speaking French] [birds chirping] >> narrator: WHILE KING HENRI IV WAS PLEASED WITH CHAMPLAIN'S REPORT, HE SAID NOTHING ABOUT EXTENDING THE MONOPOLY OVER THE FUR TRADE FOR CHAMPLAIN'S EMPLOYER, PIERRE DU GUA DE MONTS.

>> HENRY IV WAS AMBIVALENT BECAUSE HE WAS GIVING MONOPOLIES TO INDIVIDUALS OR COMPANIES, YET AT THE SAME TIME, HE ALWAYS REVOKED THEM BEFORE TERM BECAUSE HE WAS PRESSED ON ALL PARTS BY INDIVIDUALS OR OTHER MERCHANTS OR TRADERS WHO WANTED TO BUILD THEIR OWN AFFAIRS IN THE NEW CONTINENT.

>> narrator: BY 1610, OTHER EUROPEAN POWERS WERE STARTING TO COMPETE WITH THE FRENCH IN NORTH AMERICA.

THE ENGLISH HAD ESTABLISHED A SETTLEMENT AT JAMESTOWN.

THE DUTCH CLAIMED WHAT IS NOW MANHATTAN AND LOWER NEW YORK STATE.

AND SPANISH AND BASQUE MERCHANTS WERE FIERCE RIVALS OF THE FRENCH FOR DOMINANCE OF THE LUCRATIVE FUR TRADE ON THE ST. LAWRENCE.

[gulls crying] IN APRIL 1610, CHAMPLAIN RETURNED TO TADOUSSAC, DETERMINED TO PURSUE HIS QUEST TO FIND THE ROUTE TO ASIA.

BUT TO DO THAT, HE NEEDED TO NEGOTIATE ACCESS TO THE INTERIOR WITH HIS ALLIES, THE INNUS.

>> HERE ARE NUMEROUS BASQUES AND NORMANS WHO SAY THEY WILL GO TO WAR WITH US.

WHAT DO YOU THINK OF IT?

DO THEY SPEAK THE TRUTH?

>> NO.

THEY ONLY MAKE SUCH PROMISES TO GET POSSESSION OF YOUR FURS.

>> YOU HAVE SPOKEN THE TRUTH.

THEY WANT TO MAKE WAR ONLY UPON OUR BEAVERS.

>> I ASSURE YOU THAT WE WILL GO WITH YOU TO WAR AS I PROMISED YOU.

YOU ALSO PROMISED ME THAT UPON OUR RETURN FROM THE WAR, YOU WOULD TAKE ME TO THE SEA SO LARGE THAT THE END OF IT CANNOT BE SEEN.

DO YOU STILL INTEND TO DO THIS?

>> YES, WE WILL.

BUT IT CANNOT BE CARRIED OUT BEFORE YOU RETURN TO FRANCE.

WE MUST DEPART NOW TO GO TO THE RIVER OF THE IROQUOIS, WHERE WE WILL FIND OUR ENEMY.

>> UNFETTERED MOBILITY WAS CRITICAL TO WHAT HE WANTED TO DO, AND THEY WERE NOT ALLOWING THAT, AND THAT FRUSTRATED HIM.

BUT NATIVE PEOPLE WERE ALWAYS VERY CAREFUL TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE WERE CLOSE TABS KEPT ON CHAMPLAIN AND THERE WERE LIMITS TO WHAT HE WAS ALLOWED TO DO.

POWER--KNOWLEDGE WAS POWER.

AND IF THEY GAVE AWAY THE STORE, CHAMPLAIN, THEY FEARED-- AND, I THINK, QUITE RIGHTLY-- WOULD HAVE NO MORE USE FOR THEM.

SO IT WAS A GAME BACK AND FORTH.

>> narrator: THE SECOND TIME CHAMPLAIN FOUGHT AGAINST THE IROQUOIS MAY HAVE BEEN PART OF AN ELABORATE GAME WITH HIS ALLIES, BUT IT TURNED DEADLY VERY QUICKLY.

[men groaning] >> SOME OF THE BEST MEN OF THE MONTAGNAIS HAD BEEN KILLED AND SEVERAL WOUNDED.

[man groaning] THE END OF THE ARROW WAS ARMED WITH A VERY SHARP STONE, YET MY WOUND DID NOT PREVENT ME FROM DOING MY DUTY.

>> narrator: CHAMPLAIN BARELY SURVIVED ANOTHER BATTLE.

HE HAD FULFILLED HIS PROMISE TO STOP THE RAIDS BY THE MOHAWKS, BUT HE WAS NO CLOSER TO EXPLORING THE LAND BEYOND THE RAPIDS.

AND EVENTS IN FRANCE SOON HALTED ALL EFFORTS BY CHAMPLAIN TO PURSUE HIS SEARCH FOR A PASSAGE TO ASIA.

ON MAY 4, 1610, HENRI IV WAS ASSASSINATED WHILE RIDING IN HIS CARRIAGE THROUGH THE STREETS OF PARIS.

THE EXECUTION OF THE KING'S ASSASSIN WAS AS GRUESOME AS ANY TORTURE THE INNUS OR ALGONQUINS INFLICTED UPON THEIR CAPTIVES.

THE SUDDEN DEATH OF HENRI IV WAS A GREAT SETBACK FOR CHAMPLAIN AND ALL WHO WORKED TO SUSTAIN FRANCE'S PRESENCE IN NORTH AMERICA, FOR THE NEW KING, LOUIS XIII, WAS ONLY NINE YEARS OLD, AND HIS MOTHER, MARIE DE MEDICI, WAS NOW THE REGENT, AND SHE HAD NO INTEREST IN NEW FRANCE.

>> SO CHAMPLAIN DIDN'T REALLY KNOW WHO WAS GOING TO BE HIS NEXT SUPERIOR.

HE DIDN'T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT COMPANY OR COMPANIES WERE GOING TO BE GRANTED MONOPOLIES, ET CETERA.

SO HE WASN'T EVEN SURE IF HE WAS GOING TO COME BACK IN 1611.

SO IT REALLY MUST HAVE BEEN A TRAUMATIC EXPERIENCE FOR HIM TO REACH EUROPE AND TO LEARN THAT THE KING OF FRANCE HAD BEEN ASSASSINATED.

>> narrator: WITHIN MONTHS OF THE KING'S ASSASSINATION, CHAMPLAIN MARRIED HELENE BOULLE, THE 12-YEAR-OLD DAUGHTER OF A HIGH OFFICIAL IN THE COURT OF THE YOUNG KING.

AS PART OF THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT, CHAMPLAIN RECEIVED A VERY LARGE DOWRY.

MORE IMPORTANTLY, HE SECURED THE SUPPORT OF A POWERFUL ALLY AT COURT.

>> THE WEDDING ITSELF HAD BEEN A GREAT SUCCESS.

THE MARRIAGE WAS A DISASTER.

WE KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT THE INNER LIFE OF THIS MARRIAGE, BUT IT SEEMED TO ALWAYS TO HAVE A KIND OF TRAGIC AIR TO IT, EVEN IN THE PERIOD WHEN IT WENT WELL.

AND THEN LATER, IT FELL APART AGAIN.

AND SHE ANNOUNCED THAT SHE WANTED TO GO INTO A NUNNERY.

CHAMPLAIN REFUSED HIS PERMISSION.

AND THEY HAD A KIND OF SEPARATION OF GOODS AS AN AGREEMENT.

AND THEN AFTER HIS DEATH, SHE WENT INTO A CONVENT.

>> narrator: THROUGH HIS NEW CONNECTIONS IN COURT, CHAMPLAIN WAS PUT IN CHARGE OF NEW FRANCE.

HIS JUDGMENT WAS SOON TESTED BY A YOUNG FRENCHMAN WHOM HE HAD SENT THE YEAR BEFORE TO LIVE WITH THE ALGONQUINS.

>> MONSIEUR DE CHAMPLAIN... [speaking French] >> NICOLAS DE VIGNAU REPORTED TO ME ON HIS RETURN TO PARIS IN 1612 THAT HE HAD SEEN THE NORTH SEA... >> [speaking French] >> AND THAT IN 17 DAYS, ONE COULD GO FROM THE RAPIDS TO THIS SEA AND BACK AGAIN.

>> AND THERE IS MORE, MONSIEUR DE CHAMPLAIN.

I SAW A WRECK, THE DEBRIS OF AN ENGLISH SHIP, ON THE SHORES OF THIS GREAT SALT SEA.

THE NATIVES SHOWED ME THE SCALPS OF THE 80 CREWMEN WHO THEY KILLED FOR STEALING MAIZE FROM THEM.

AND THEY SHOWED ME A YOUNG ENGLISH BOY WHOM THEY KEPT AS A PRISONER AND WOULD SURELY GIVE YOU IF YOU SHOULD COME TO THEIR COUNTRY.

>> YOUR REPORT PLEASES ME GREATLY, FOR YOU HAVE FOUND WHAT I HAVE FOR A LONG TIME BEEN SEARCHING.

BUT YOU MUST TELL ME THE TRUTH SO THAT I MIGHT INFORM HIS MAJESTY.

IF YOU LIE, YOU WILL BE PUTTING A ROPE ABOUT YOUR NECK.

BUT IF YOUR NARRATIVE BE TRUE, YOU WILL BE REWARDED.

>> [speaking French] >> narrator: VIGNAU MAY HAVE BEEN SPEAKING OF THE ENGLISH EXPLORER HENRY HUDSON, WHO THOUGHT HE HAD FOUND A NORTHERN ROUTE TO ASIA.

BUT INSTEAD, HUDSON DISCOVERED A GIANT INLET WHERE HE BECAME STRANDED.

HIS CREW REVOLTED AND SET HIM ADRIFT IN A SMALL BOAT, NEVER TO BE HEARD FROM AGAIN.

REPORTS OF THE MUTINY IN WHAT IS NOW CALLED HUDSON BAY REACHED CHAMPLAIN IN FRANCE BY 1612.

CHAMPLAIN RETURNED TO NORTH AMERICA IN 1613 TO VERIFY VIGNAU'S STORY.

HE BEGAN A JOURNEY THAT FINALLY ALLOWED HIM TO EXPLORE THE LAND OF THE ALGONQUINS AND TO SEARCH FOR A NORTHWEST PASSAGE TO ASIA.

>> GREAT SKILL IS REQUIRED IN PASSING THESE RAPIDS.

BUT THE NATIVES DO THIS WITH THE GREATEST POSSIBLE DEXTERITY, WINDING ABOUT AND GOING BY THE EASIEST PLACES, WHICH THEY RECOGNIZE AT A GLANCE.

>> narrator: FOR THE FIRST TIME SINCE ARRIVING IN NORTH AMERICA TEN YEARS EARLIER, CHAMPLAIN WAS ABLE TO EXPLORE BEYOND THE RAPIDS THAT HAD BLOCKED EUROPEANS FROM PENETRATING THE INTERIOR OF THIS GREAT LAND.

>> I THINK IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO APPRECIATE THE PHYSICAL HARDSHIP AND ENDURANCE THAT MUCH OF THIS OVERLAND TRIAL REQUIRED OF PEOPLE DURING THE 17TH CENTURY.

CHAMPLAIN WAS ONE OF THE FEW EUROPEANS WHO APPEARS TO HAVE APPROACHED IT, AT LEAST IN HIS EARLY YEARS, WITH SOME ZEAL, SOME ENTHUSIASM.

HE RELISHED IT.

HE APPEARS TO HAVE ENJOYED IT.

NOT MANY DID.

>> narrator: AFTER MONTHS OF TRAVELING OVER RUGGED LANDS AND DANGEROUS RAPIDS, CHAMPLAIN AND HIS PARTY ARRIVED AT AN ALGONQUIN VILLAGE, THE VERY SAME VILLAGE WHERE HIS GUIDE, NICOLAS DE VIGNAU, HAD LIVED THE YEAR BEFORE.

CHAMPLAIN NEEDED TO CONVINCE THE ALGONQUIN CHIEF, TESSOUAT, TO HELP HIM VERIFY VIGNAU'S STORY OF THE EXISTENCE OF THE NORTH SEA IN THE LAND OF THE NIPISSINGS.

>> I KNOW THIS MAN.

HE IS CHAMPLAIN.

HE HAS THE MARKS FROM THE WAR WITH THE IROQUOIS.

BUT I CANNOT BELIEVE MY EYES.

YOU MUST HAVE FALLEN FROM THE CLOUDS TO BE HERE WITH US, FOR WE WHO LIVE IN THESE LANDS HAVE MUCH TROUBLE PASSING THE RAPIDS AND BAD PATHS BETWEEN THE LAKES.

WE MUST HAVE A TABAGIE IN YOUR HONOR AND HEAR OF YOUR DEEDS.

>> I DESIRE TO SEE A TRIBE DISTANT SIX DAYS' JOURNEY FROM YOU CALLED THE NIPISSING.

[all muttering indistinctly] I ASK YOU TO ASSIST ME AND GIVE ME FOUR CANOE WITH EIGHT MEN TO GUIDE ME TO THESE LANDS.

>> WE HAVE FEELINGS FOR YOU AS WE DO FOR OUR CHILDREN, AND THAT IS WHY WE BEG YOU NOT TO GO TO THE NIPISSINGS, FOR YOU WILL ENDURE MANY HARDSHIPS ON THE JOURNEY.

AND THEY ARE SORCERERS WHO HAVE CAUSED THE DEATH OF MANY OF OUR PEOPLE BY CHARMS AND POISONING.

>> THE NIPISSING WITCHCRAFT WILL HAVE NO POWER TO HARM ME, AS MY GOD WILL PRESERVE ME FROM THEM.

I HAVE A YOUNG MAN WHO HAS BEEN IN THEIR COUNTRY AND HAD NOT FOUND THE PEOPLE SO BAD AS YOU ASSERT.

>> [speaking a native language] >> [speaking a native language] >> YOU ARE A LIAR.

YOU KNOW WELL THAT YOU SLEPT AT MY SIDE EVERY NIGHT ALONG WITH MY CHILDREN, WHERE YOU AROSE EVERY MORNING.

IF YOU WERE AMONG THE NIPISSINGS, IT WAS WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING.

HOW COULD YOU BE SO BOLD AS TO LEAD YOUR CHIEF TO BELIEVE LIES AND SO WICKED AS TO BE WILLING TO EXPOSE HIS LIFE TO SO MANY DANGERS?

YOU ARE WORTHLESS.

CHAMPLAIN, YOU HAVE DONE US A GREAT WRONG TO TRUST THIS LIAR MORE THAN WE, WHO ARE YOUR FRIENDS.

>> I MUST SPEAK WITH THIS MAN ALONE.

WE MUST KNOW THE TRUTH.

YOU MUST TELL US IF YOU HAVE SEEN THE THINGS YOU HAVE SAID OR NOT.

IF YOU DO NOT TELL ME THE TRUTH, I WILL HAVE YOU HANGED AS YOUR REWARD.

>> PLEASE, PARDON ME.

EVERYTHING I HAVE SAID HERE AND IN FRANCE WAS FALSE.

I HAVE NEVER SEEN THE SEA.

I HAVE NEVER GONE FARTHER THAN THIS VILLAGE.

I DID NOT THINK THAT YOU WOULD UNDERTAKE THE JOURNEY.

I SAID THESE THINGS TO RETURN TO THIS LAND.

BUT IF YOU WILL LEAVE ME HERE, I WILL FIND THE SEA, EVEN IF I SHOULD DIE IN THE ATTEMPT.

>> REMOVE THIS MAN FROM MY SIGHT.

HAVING MY JOURNEY TERMINATED IN THIS MANNER AND WITHOUT ANY HOPE OF SEEING THE SEA EXCEPT IN MY IMAGINATION, I REGRET THAT I SHOULD HAVE EMPLOYED MY TIME BETTER.

>> narrator: DESPITE FAILING TO FIND THE NORTH SEA, CHAMPLAIN SECURED NEW BACKERS AND, IN JUNE 1615, BEGAN WHAT WOULD BE HIS LONGEST JOURNEY WITHIN THE INTERIOR OF NORTH AMERICA.

HE TRAVELED 500 MILES PAST THE RAPIDS THAT HAD ONCE BEEN A BARRIER, BEYOND WHERE HE DISCOVERED VIGNAU'S TREACHERY, TO THE LAND OF THE NIPISSINGS, WHOM THE ALGONQUINS CALLED SORCERERS BUT WHO PROVED TO BE FRIENDLY TO HIM.

FINALLY, ON AUGUST THE 1ST, CHAMPLAIN ENTERED A LARGE BODY OF WATER THAT HE HAD BEEN TOLD FOR YEARS WAS AS VAST AS THE SEA AND CONSISTED OF SALT WATER.

[water rushing] >> [slurping] >> THAT REALIZATION THAT THE WATER AT LAKE HURON WAS NOT SALT WATER PROBABLY WAS A DEVASTATING MOMENT FOR CHAMPLAIN, BECAUSE IT MEANT THAT THIS WASN'T THE WAY WE WERE GONNA GET TO ASIA.

IT COULD HAVE MEANT HE WAS HEADING IN THE WRONG DIRECTION COMPLETELY.

IT MEANT THAT HE HAD TO SORT OF RECALIBRATE THE KINDS OF INFORMATION HE GOT FROM NATIVE PEOPLE THEREAFTER.

SO, YEAH, I'M SURE IT WAS A TOUGH MOMENT FOR HIM.

[bell jingling] >> [speaking Latin] >> narrator: CHAMPLAIN'S SPIRIT WAS FORTIFIED BY A NEW PASSION TO BRING HIS CHRISTIAN GOD TO THE PEOPLE WHO LIVED IN THE VAST INTERIORS OF THIS WILD LAND.

HE CONVINCED A LAY BROTHER FROM A FRANCISCAN ORDER TO ACCOMPANY HIM TO THE LAND OF THE WENDATS.

>> AMEN.

THE PEOPLE HERE WERE PERMANENTLY SETTLED AND WERE FOND OF CULTIVATION OF THE SOIL.

BUT THEY LIVED WITHOUT GOD AND RELIGION, LIKE BRUTE BEASTS.

I FELT THAT I SHOULD TAKE IT UPON MYSELF TO PLANT THERE THE FAITH.

>> narrator: LIKE SO MANY TIMES BEFORE, CHAMPLAIN STRUCK A BARGAIN WITH HIS NATIVE ALLIES.

IN EXCHANGE FOR BRINGING A PRIEST TO LIVE IN THEIR LAND, HE PROMISED TO HELP THE WENDATS FIGHT THEIR ENEMY, THE ONONDAGAS, ONE OF THE FIVE IROQUOIS NATIONS.

>> IT WAS VERY NECESSARY TO ASSIST THEM, NOT ONLY TO OBLIGE THEM TO LOVE US MORE BUT ALSO TO FACILITATE MY EXPLORATIONS, WHICH WOULD BE A PREPARATORY STEP TO THEIR CONVERSION TO CHRISTIANITY.

>> THEY WENT OFF THROUGH THE EASTERN END OF LAKE ONTARIO INTO WHAT IS NOW UPPER NEW YORK STATE, THEY STASHED THEIR CANOES, AND THEN THEY STARTED OVERLAND.

AND THAT'S WHERE YOU REALLY SORT OF LOSE TRACK OF WHERE HE WAS GOING.

HE DID CROSS THE RIVER THAT LEADS INTO LAKE ONEIDA, AND FROM THERE, HE MIGHT HAVE GONE SOUTH TOWARDS THE ONEIDA OR MORE SOUTHWEST TOWARDS THE ONONDAGA.

BUT THE ONONDAGA KNEW THEY WERE COMING.

THEY MUST HAVE KNOWN THEY WERE COMING.

I MEAN, THEY HAVE--THE FISHING PARTIES IN THE FALL WOULD HAVE COME BACK, SAY, "HEY, YOU KNOW, THERE'S A WHOLE BUNCH OF CANOES COMING WITH THE HURON AND SOME FUNNY-LOOKING PEOPLE IN IT."

AND THEY ALREADY WOULD HAVE HEARD ABOUT THE FRENCH YEARS BEFOREHAND.

SO THEY KNEW THEY WERE COMING.

THEY WERE ALL READY FOR THEM.

[men whooping] [gunfire] [men grunting] [men whooping] [gunshot] >> narrator: UNDER CHAMPLAIN'S DIRECTION, THE WENDATS AND ALGONQUINS BUILT A FIRING PLATFORM IN ONE NIGHT.

HIS PLAN WAS TO SHOOT AT THE ONONDAGAS FROM THE PLATFORM, ALLOWING HIS ALLIES TO SET FIRE TO THE FORT BELOW, A PLAN BASED ON HIS TRAINING IN SIEGE WARFARE IN EUROPE, NOT HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT IN NORTH AMERICA.

>> [speaking French] [man grunts] [arrows whistling] [man shouting] THE ENEMY SHOUTED AT US THAT WE SHOULD NOT INTERFERE IN THEIR COMBAT AND THAT OUR NATIVES HAD VERY LITTLE COURAGE TO REQUIRE US TO ASSIST THEM.

>> narrator: CHAMPLAIN SOON REALIZED THAT HE WAS NOT IN COMMAND OF THE WARRIORS FIGHTING BESIDE HIM.

>> THERE AROSE SUCH A DISORDER AMONG THEM THAT THEY BEGAN TO SCREAM AT THEIR ENEMIES, SHOOTING ARROWS INTO THE FORT, WHICH DID LITTLE HARM.

[speaking French] IN VAIN DID I SHOUT IN THEIR EARS AS TO THE DANGER TO WHICH THEY EXPOSED THEMSELVES.

BUT THEY HEARD NOTHING.

[speaking French] I DID NOTHING MORE BUT TO DO WHAT WE COULD AND FIRE UPON ANY ENEMY WE COULD SEE.

[men grunting] [grunts] >> narrator: THE ONONDAGA FORT PROVED TO BE MUCH MORE FORMIDABLE THAN THE TEMPORARY PALISADES THAT CHAMPLAIN AND HIS ALLIES HAD ATTACKED TWICE BEFORE.

>> CHAMPLAIN WAS DISGUSTED WITH THE CONDUCT OF HIS ALLIES, WHO REFUSED TO LISTEN TO WHAT HE TOLD THEM TO DO.

THEY WERE DISGUSTED WITH HIM FOR HIS KIND OF IDEAS ABOUT WHAT HE WANTED TO ACCOMPLISH IN THIS BATTLE.

AND EVERYONE WENT HOME DISAPPOINTED AND INJURED.

>> SINCE I COULD NOT STAND UP, THEY PROCEEDED TO MAKE A BASKET FOR CARRYING THE WOUNDED.

I HAVE NEVER FOUND MYSELF IN SUCH A PRISON AS DURING THIS TIME.

THE PAIN WHICH I SUFFERED IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE WOUND IN MY KNEE WAS NOTHING IN COMPARISON WITH THAT WHICH I ENDURED WHILE I WAS CARRIED ON THE BACK OF ONE OF OUR NATIVES.

>> narrator: WHEN THE WAR PARTY REACHED THE PLACE WHERE THEY HAD HIDDEN THEIR CANOES NEAR THE HEADWATERS OF THE ST. LAWRENCE, CHAMPLAIN WAS READY TO HEAD DOWNRIVER TO QUEBEC.

>> I AM NOT GOING WITH YOU.

YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD TAKE ME TO OUR SETTLEMENT BY CANOE ON THE GREAT RIVER THAT IS BORN NEAR HERE.

>> THAT IS NOT POSSIBLE.

WE HAVE NO CANOES THAT WE CAN GIVE YOU.

YOU WILL GO WITH US NOW BEFORE OUR ENEMIES COME.

>> THIS GREATLY ANNOYED ME, SINCE THEY HAD PROMISED TO GUIDE ME TO OUR SETTLEMENT AFTER THEIR WAR.

MOREOVER, I WAS POORLY PREPARED FOR SPENDING THE WINTER WITH THEM.

BUT NOT BEING ABLE TO DO ANYTHING, I RESIGNED MYSELF TO MY FATE.

>> TO HAVE GONE ALONG THE ST. LAWRENCE WITH THE RAPIDS AND SO ON, IT IS LIKELY THE IROQUOIS WOULD HAVE CAUGHT UP WITH THEM AND CHAMPLAIN WOULD HAVE BEEN KILLED.

AT LEAST THEY DID NOT WANT TO TAKE THE RISK, SO THEY DECIDED TO WATCH HIM VERY CLOSELY AND TAKE HIM BACK TO THE VILLAGE.

[sticks clacking] >> [howls] [men howling] >> narrator: ON THE WAY BACK TO THEIR VILLAGES, THE WENDAT WARRIORS INVITED CHAMPLAIN TO JOIN THEM IN A DEER HUNT.

THOUGH HE WAS NOT FULLY RECOVERED FROM HIS WOUNDS, HE AGREED.

>> WHEN I WENT OUT HUNTING, I SAW A BIRD THAT SEEMED TO ME PECULIAR.

IT HAD A BEAK LIKE THAT OF A PARROT AND WAS OF THE SIZE OF A HEN.

IT WAS ENTIRELY YELLOW, EXCEPT THE HEAD, WHICH WAS RED, AND THE WINGS, WHICH WERE BLUE.

THE DESIRE TO KILL IT LED ME TO PURSUE IT FROM TREE TO TREE FOR A VERY LONG TIME.

[wings flapping] [bird squawking] [wings flapping] [bird squawking] [grunting] [thunder booming] I FOUND MYSELF LOST IN THE WOODS, HAVING FORGOTTEN TO BRING WITH ME A SMALL COMPASS.

[thunder booming] [shouting in French] [crow cawing] TIRED AND EXHAUSTED, I BEGAN TO CONSIDER WHAT I SHOULD DO... [thunder booming] AND TO PRAY TO GOD THAT HE GIVE ME THE COURAGE TO PATIENTLY ENDURE MY MISFORTUNE SHOULD I REMAIN ABANDONED IN THIS WILDERNESS.

>> HE MAY HAVE FELT HIS OWN IGNORANCE.

HE MAY HAVE FELT HOW ALONE HE IS ON THIS LAND IF HE DOESN'T LISTEN TO THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN LIVING HERE.

HE MAY HAVE UNDERSTOOD THAT HE IS NOT FROM THIS WORLD.

>> WHERE ARE YOU GOING?

>> I AM SEARCHING FOR MY LIFE.

>> STAY, AND YOU SHALL FIND IT.

[geese honking] [gunshot] >> SINCE I HAD HAD NOTHING TO EAT, I GATHERED UP RENEWED COURAGE.

BUT I WAS OBLIGED TO PASS HERE THIS NIGHT ALSO.

>> THE WISDOM OF THIS STORY, IT'S ALSO THAT YOU REALLY HAVE TO LISTEN TO THE-- TO WHAT COMES TO YOU WHEN YOU ARE IN THIS LAND, BECAUSE THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE HERE, THEY KNOW MUCH MORE THAN YOU THINK WHAT IS GOING ON AND WHAT IT NEEDS TO LIVE AND TO SURVIVE ON THIS LAND, YOU KNOW?

AND IF YOU LISTEN AND IF YOU RESPECT PEOPLE WHO ARE HERE, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO FIND WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR.

>> I ARRIVED IN THE CAMP OF THE HUNTERS TO THE GREAT PLEASURE NOT ONLY OF MYSELF BUT OF THEM, WHO WERE STILL SEARCHING FOR ME BUT HAD ALMOST GIVEN UP ALL HOPES OF SEEING ME AGAIN.

[speaking French] THEY BEGGED ME NOT TO STRAY OFF FROM THEM ANYMORE OR TO FORGET TO CARRY MY COMPASS.

>> CHAMPLAIN WAS A DREAMER.

HE DREAMED OF THAT PASSAGE TO CHINA.

BUT I THINK HIS LARGER DREAM WAS ABOUT THIS NEW PLACE CALLED NEW FRANCE IN NORTH AMERICA.

IT WAS A DREAM OF PEOPLE WHO COULD LIVE WITH OTHER PEOPLE UNLIKE THEMSELVES IN AMITY AND CONCORD.

>> narrator: LIKE THE WARRIOR IN ANADABIJOU'S STORY, CHAMPLAIN ENDED HIS SEARCH.

>> [speaking French] >> narrator: AFTER HE RETURNED TO QUEBEC IN THE SUMMER OF 1616, HE NEVER AGAIN SEARCHED FOR A PASSAGE TO ASIA NOR JOINED HIS ALLIES IN COMBAT.

HE DEVOTED THE NEXT 19 YEARS OF HIS LIFE TIRELESSLY WORKING TO CREATE PERMANENT FRENCH SETTLEMENTS, AT PEACE WITH A PEOPLE WHO HAD SHOWN HIM HOW TO LIVE IN THIS RICH, WILD LAND.

Captioning by CaptionMax www.captionmax.com [steady drum music] â™â™ [man vocalizing] â™â™ [ethereal flute music] â™â™ >> HELLO.

I'M THOM HALLOCK ALONG WITH FRANK CHRISTOPHER, AN AWARD-WINNING FILMMAKER AND PRODUCER OF A NEW DOCUMENTARY CALLED DEAD RECKONING: CHAMPLAIN IN AMERICA.

AND, FRANK, WHY USE ANIMATION?

>> YOU KNOW I'VE DONE MANY FILMS, DOCUMENTARIES, SOME HISTORICAL, SOME NOT, AND THIS FILM REALLY GAVE US AN OPPORTUNITY TO RE-CREATE A WORLD THAT IN SOME WAYS IS NOT THERE.

THE SCENE THAT YOU SAW IN THE OPENING OF THIS PIECE, IT OPENS WITH A PARROT.

ACTUALLY, IT'S CALLED A CAROLINA PARAKEET.

THAT BIRD IS EXTINCT, AND YET TO ME, THAT WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE STORY.

NOW, PEOPLE FOR 400 YEARS THOUGHT THIS WAS A FANTASY BIRD OR A HALLUCINATION, BUT IT WAS REAL TO CHAMPLAIN, ENOUGH SO THAT HE WAS DISTRACTED FROM HIS HUNTING WITH HIS WENDAT ALLIES AND BECAME LOST IN THE FOREST FOR THREE DAYS.

HE CHASED THIS BIRD AND NEVER COULD CAPTURE IT, AND THAT FASCINATED ME.

HE WAS LOOKING FOR THIS ELUSIVE ROUTE TO CHINA.

IN A SENSE, THIS WAS KIND OF, FOR ME, A METAPHOR OF THAT QUEST.

AND YET THAT BIRD HAS NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED UNTIL THIS PROJECT.

WE WERE ABLE TO SEND A DESCRIPTION TO THE ORNITHOLOGY LAB AT CORNELL, AND THROUGH THEIR GOOD WORK, WE DISCOVERED THAT IT MOST LIKELY WAS A CAROLINA PARAKEET.

AND ONE OF MY ADVISORS SENT ME A REPLICA OF A CLAY PIPE THE WENDAT--THE HURON, AS THE FRENCH WOULD CALL THEM--HAD BUILT WITH THE HEAD OF THAT BIRD.

SO WE THINK THAT CHAMPLAIN ACTUALLY SAW THIS BIRD, AND THAT HELPS US IN A COUPLE OF WAYS.

IT VERIFIES THAT HIS WRITINGS WERE CONCRETE.

THEY WERE MATERIAL.

THEY WEREN'T JUST FANTASY.

AND IT, FOR ME, GIVES US A WONDERFUL OPENING BECAUSE IT'S SOMETHING THAT DOESN'T EXIST, AND YET WE'RE ABLE TO REDISCOVER IT.

>> FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MAKING OF DEAD RECKONING: CHAMPLAIN IN AMERICA AND EDUCATIONAL LESSON PLANS, VISIT OUR PROGRAM WEBSITE AT: OR YOU CAN PURCHASE A DVD OF THE PROGRAM WITH BONUS BEHIND-THE-SCENES MATERIAL BY SENDING $19.95 PLUS SHIPPING AND HANDLING OR CALLING THE NUMBER ON YOUR SCREEN.

>> announcer: MAJOR FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, INTRODUCING TRAVELERS TO THE LAKES TO LOCKS PASSAGE: THE GREAT NORTHEAST JOURNEY, AN ALL-AMERICAN ROAD IN THE COLLECTION OF AMERICA'S BYWAYS.

ADDITIONAL FUNDING PROVIDED BY THE NEW YORK STATE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION, THE NEW YORK STATE ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION FUND, AND THE NEW YORK STATE HUDSON-FULTON-CHAMPLAIN QUADRICENTENNIAL.

THE PROVINCE OF QUEBEC: CELEBRATING 400 YEARS OF SHARED HISTORY AND VALUES WITH OUR AMERICAN NEIGHBORS.