This is not what I originally thought. This is a 1712 notary copy of a much earlier document that sent Guillaume Couture to attempt to reach the North Sea by canoe.
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Gabriel Druillettes, S.J., Claude Dablon, S.J., Guillaume Couture, Denis Guyon, and François Pelletier attempted to travel to the Great Lakes via the Northern Sea (Hudson Bay):
11 May 1661 to 27 July 1661 – During the winter of 1660-1661, a Nipissing chief visited Québec and told the Jesuits about the Native American Tribes that lived around the Northern Sea (Hudson Bay) and of the general fair that they held each summer. The chief invited the Native Americans from Tadoussac and Québec to the fair. Based on this information, Gabriel Druillettes, S.J., decided to resume his voyage to the Great Lakes; however, he decided to go via Tadoussac, the Saguenay River, and the Northern Sea (Hudson Bay). Claude Dablon, S.J., Guillaume Couture, Denis Guyon, and François Pelletier accompanied Druillettes on the voyage. One of the Objectives of this trip was to determine if the Northern Sea (Hudson Bay) linked to the Western Sea (Pacific Ocean) and the Southern Sea (Gulf of Mexico). Druillettes planned to winter at a mission to the Cree (Kiristinons/Kilistinons), which Laval named St. François Xavier prior to their departure. Dablon intended to return to Québec to inform the Jesuits about their new discoveries, so that they could prepare for the mission. The group left for their voyage on 11 May, but were delayed in Tadoussac for three weeks due to a contagious disease. They left Tadoussac on 1 (or 2) June, accompanied by 40 canoes of Native Americans. The journey from Tadoussac to Nikabau/Nekauba (southeast of Chibougamu and Lac Mistassini, which are southeast of Hudson Bay’s southern shore) took 30 days and required 64 portages. Following Laval’s instructions, Druillettes and Dablon named the mission St. François Xavier. During the voyage, they learned that the Iroquois had defeated the “Squirrel” nation and had dispersed all the surrounding Tribes that the missionaries intended to meet. The Montagnais guides were apprehensive of an attack by the Iroquois and decided to turn back at the watershed near the lake. Dablon, Druillettes, Couture, Guyon, and Pelletier returned from their voyage on 27 July 1661.
Guillaume Couture led a second expedition that attempted to reach Hudson Bay:
May 1663 – Guillaume Couture agreed to lead a second expedition to the Northern Sea (Hudson Bay). He was accompanied by Pierre Duquet, Jean Langlois, who was a shipwright, and 44 canoes of Native Americans. They left Québec in mid May and headed north via the Saguenay River. The group reached Lake Mistassini on 26th of June where they were delayed by a storm that left a foot of snow. When they reached the Rupert River, the Native Americans refused to go any farther.
