Early white settlers were attracted to Maine because of the trees,
water, and land that the Native Americans were living on at the time.
The rivers and oceans offered fish and water for traveling to the
early settlers. But Maine has a very harsh climate and if you are not
prepared you can suffer the consequences.
In 1604 Pierre du Gaust Sieur de Montes, a nobleman from Huguenot,
France, was leader of an expedition to Maine. Samuel de Champlain, a
famous explorer was his navigator. Together these two founded a
settlement in the St. Croix River,on St. Croix Island which is in
northern Maine. The settlement was not a success. Even though the
French and English worked very hard to settle they were not prepared
for a really hard winter. The temperatures dropped to at least 25
degrees below 0! The settlers suffered very badly because they did
not have enough food or supplies to endure a harsh Maine winter. The
river around the island was very salty and didn’t freeze well
enough to travel across it. Supplies could not make it to the island.
The settlers were stranded!!
The settlers on the island came down with scurvy because they lacked
fresh fruit and veggies. More than 79 people died because of the
disease. Thirty-five of these deaths were men which was half of the
people that came to Maine. When Spring arrived many of the settlers
left the island and went to Nova Scotia.
Kristen-Courtney
3-19-03
4A
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