As a boy, Samuel de Champlain saw in St. Malo three Indians who had been captured in New France. "This way to the red men!" cried the merchant in the market square. "See them dance! Hear them sing!" And he prodded the red men with his sword. The crow laughed, but Champlain felt only sympathy for the proud savages, and an overwhelming desire to go to New France.

Champlain spent much of his boyhood cruising in his sailboat from Brouage, on the west coast of France, and making maps of the coastline. Later he captained his own ship in the service of Spain, on convoy duty to the rich islands of the Caribbean.

It was not until 1603, however, that he realized his dream of going to New France—as Royal Geographer to the King of France. From then until his death in Quebec he was constantly exploring, writing down his impressions and making maps and vivid sketches of the wonders he saw.

As a colonist and leader of men at St. Croix Island, Port Royal, and Quebec, he had to deal with all types of people: the Count de Monts, possessor of the King's grant to most of New France; Eustace Boulle, who joined Champlain at the age of fourteen; Daniel Haye, the faithful St. Malo sailor; Faith, Hope, and Charity, the three small Indian girls whom the Indians "gave" to Champlain to adopt.

This is a warmly personal junior biography of Champlain, written especially for the author's two sons. It is based on careful and scholarly research, but it is also an exciting adventure story about one of the great trail-blazers in the New World.

From the dust jacket