By Ralph Smith; this article was originally printed in The Beaver Spring 1978, Vol. 57, No. 4, on pages 36-40, with accompanying maps and images.

The tiny island of St. Croix is now “little more than a navigational aid to boaters,” however it was once the chosen site for a colony. In 1604, Pierre Dugua de Mons and Samuel de Champlain selected this location for what they hoped would be the beginning of a permanent French settlement in North America. Arriving under the banner of Henry IV of France, Pierre Dugua de Mons was given full authority to the continent's fortieth to forty-sixth latitude and a ten-year exclusive fur trade contract. On his part, de Mons was expected to settle and cultivate the land, make friends with the native people, and locate precious metals.

Drawing on Champlain's well-documented journal, Les Voyages, Smith shares the trials and tribulations of the ill-fated settlers. Moving full-circle, we learn of archaeological digs that took place on the island providing further insight in to the lives, and deaths, of the colonists.