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Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, Vol. 2 by Samuel de Champlain

S >> Samuel de Champlain >> Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, Vol. 2




Now, after hearing from the pilot all these things, I asked him why the
Basque had come on board of our vessel. He told me that he came in behalf
of their master, named Darache, and his companions, to obtain assurance
from me that I would do them no harm, when our vessel entered the harbor.

I replied that I could not give any until I had seen Pont Grave. The Basque
said that, if I had need of any thing in their power, they would assist me
accordingly. What led them to use this language was simply their
recognition of having done wrong, as they confessed, and the fear that they
would not be permitted to engage in the whale-fishery. After talking at
length, I went ashore to see Pont Grave, in order to deliberate as to what
was to be done. I found him very ill. He related to me in detail all that
had happened. We concluded that we could only enter the harbor by force,
and that the settlement must not be given up for this year, so that we
considered it best, in order not to make a bad cause out of a just one, and
thus work our ruin, to give them assurances on my part so long as I should
remain there, and that Pont Grave should undertake nothing against them,
but that justice should be done in France, and their differences should be
settled there.

Darache, master of the vessel, begged me to go on board, where he gave me a
cordial reception. After a long conference, I secured an agreement between
Pont Grave and him, and required him to promise that he would undertake
nothing against Pont Grave, or what would be prejudicial to the King and
Sieur de Monts; that, if he did the contrary, I should regard my promise as
null and void. This was agreed to, and signed by each.

In this place were a number of savages who had come for traffic in furs,
several of whom came to our vessel with their canoes, which are from eight
to nine paces long, and about a pace or pace and a half broad in the
middle, growing narrower towards the two ends. They are very apt to turn
over, in case one does not understand managing them, and are made of birch
bark, strengthened on the inside by little ribs of white cedar, very neatly
arranged; they are so light that a man can easily carry one. Each can carry
a weight equal to that of a pipe. When they want to go overland to a river
where they have business, they carry them with them. From Choueacoet along
the coast as far as the harbor of Tadoussac, they are all alike.


ENDNOTES:

283. Champlain arrived on the shores of America on the 8th of May, 1604,
and left on the 3rd of September, 1607. He had consequently been on
our coast three years, three months, and twenty-five days.

284. _The late King Henry the Great_. Henry IV. died in 1610, and this
introductory passage was obviously written after that event, probably
near the time of the publication of his voyages in 1613.

285. In the preliminary voyage of 1603, Champlain ascended the St. Lawrence
as far as the falls of St. Louis, above Montreal.

286. The contribution by Henry IV. did not probably extend beyond the
monopoly of the fur-trade granted by him in this commission.

287. This, we presume, was the act abrogating the charter of De Monts
granted in 1603.

288. This cape still retains its ancient name, and is situated between
St. Mary's Bay and Placentia Bay.

289. Cape St. Lawrence is the northernmost extremity of the Island of Cape
Breton, and the Island of St. Paul is twenty miles north-east of it.

290. The Isle Percee, or pierced island, is a short distance north of the
Island of Bonaventure, at the entrance of Mal Bay, near the village of
Percee, where there is a government light. Gaspe Bay is some miles
farther north. "Below the bay," says Charlevoix, "we perceive a kind
of island, which is only a steep rock about thirty fathoms long, ten
high, and four in breadth: it looks like part of an old wall, and they
say it joined formerly to _Mount Ioli_, which is over against it on
the continent. This rock has in the midst of it an opening like an
arch, under which a boat of Biscay may pass with its sail up, and this
has given it the name of the _pierced island_."--_Letters to the
Duchess of Lesdiguieres_, by Francis Xavier de Charlevoix, London,
1763, p. 12.

291. The position in the roadstead was south-east of the harbor, so that
the harbor was seen on the north-west. Charlevoix calls it Moulin
Baude. The reader will find the position indicated by the letter M on
Champlain's map of the Port of Tadoussac. Baude Moulin (Baude Mill),
directly north of it, was probably a mill _privilege_. Charlevoix, in
1720, anchored there, and asked them to show him the mill; and they
showed him some rocks, from which issued a stream of clear water. He
adds, they might build a water-mill here, but probably it will never
be done.

292. _Pointe de tous les Diables_. Now known as Pointe aux Vaches, _cows_.
The point on the other side of the river is still called Pointe aux
Alouettes, or Lark Point.




CHAPTER II.

OF THE RIVER SAGUENAY, AND THE SAVAGES WHO VISITED US THERE.--OF THE ISLAND
OF ORLEANS, AND ALL THAT WE OBSERVED THERE WORTHY OF NOTE.

After this agreement, I had some carpenters set to work to fit up a little
barque of twelve or fourteen tons, for carrying all that was needed for our
settlement, which, however, could not be got ready before the last of June.

Meanwhile, I managed to visit some parts of the river Saguenay, a fine
river, which has the incredible depth of some one hundred and fifty to two
hundred fathoms. [293] About fifty leagues from the mouth of the harbor,
there is, as is said, a great waterfall, descending from a very high
elevation with great impetuosity. There are some islands in this river,
very barren, being only rocks covered with small firs and heathers. It is
half a league broad in places, and a quarter of a league at its mouth,
where the current is so strong that at three-quarters flood-tide in the
river it is still running out. All the land that I have seen consists only
of mountains and rocky promontories, for the most part covered with fir and
birch, a very unattractive country on both sides of the river. In a word,
it is mere wastes, uninhabited by either animals or birds; for, going out
hunting in places which seemed to me the most pleasant, I found only some
very small birds, such as swallows and river birds, which go there in
summer. At other times, there are none whatever, in consequence of the
excessive cold. This river flows from the north-west.

The savages told me that, after passing the first fall, they meet with
eight others, when they go a day's journey without finding any. Then they
pass ten others, and enter a lake, [294] which they are three days in
crossing, and they are easily able to make ten leagues a day up stream. At
the end of the lake there dwells a migratory people. Of the three rivers
which flow into this lake, one comes from the north, very near the sea,
where they consider it much colder than in their own country; and the other
two from other directions in the interior, [295] where are migratory
savages, living only from hunting, and where our savages carry the
merchandise we give them for their furs, such as beaver, marten, lynx, and
otter, which are found there in large numbers, and which they then carry to
our vessels. These people of the north report to our savages that they see
the salt sea; and, if that is true, as I think it certainly is, it can be
nothing but a gulf entering the interior on the north. [296] The savages
say that the distance from the north sea to the port of Tadoussac is
perhaps forty-five or fifty days' journey, in consequence of the
difficulties presented by the roads, rivers, and country, which is very
mountainous, and where there is snow for the most part of the year. This is
what I have definitely ascertained in regard to this river. I have often
wished to explore it, but could not do so without the savages, who were
unwilling that I or any of our party should accompany them. Nevertheless,
they have promised that I shall do so. This exploration would be desirable,
in order to remove the doubts of many persons in regard to the existence of
this sea on the north, where it is maintained that the English have gone in
these latter years to find a way to China. [297]

* * * * *

CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.

PORT DE TADOUCAC.

_The figures indicate the fathoms of water_.

_A_. A round mountain on the bank of the river Saguenay.
_B_. The harbor of Tadoussac.
_C_. A small fresh-water brook.
_D_. The encampment of the savages when they come to traffic.
_E_. A peninsula partly enclosing the port of the river Saguenay.
_F_. Point of All Devils.
_G_. The river Saguenay.
_H_. Point aux Alouettes.
_I_. Very rough mountains covered with firs and beeches.
_L_. The mill Bode.
_M_. The roadstead where vessels anchor while waiting for wind and tide.
_N_. A little pond near the harbor.
_O_. A small brook coming from the pond and flowing into the Saguenay.
_P_. Place without trees near the point where there is a quantity of grass.

* * * * *

I set out from Tadoussac the last day of the month to go to Quebec. [298]
We passed near an island called Hare Island, [299] distant six leagues from
the above-named port: it is two leagues from the northern, and nearly four
leagues from the southern shore. From Hare Island we proceeded to a little
river, dry at low tide, up which some seven hundred or eight hundred paces
there are two falls. We named it Salmon River, [300] since we caught some
of these fish in it. Coasting along the north shore, we came to a point
extending into the river, which we called Cap Dauphin, [301] distant three
leagues from Salmon River. Thence we proceeded to another, which we named
Eagle Cape, [302] distant eight leagues from Cap Dauphin. Between the two
there is a large bay, [303] at the extremity of which is a little river dry
at low tide. From Eagle Cape, we proceeded to Isle aux Coudres, [304] a
good league distant, which is about a league and a half long. It is nearly
level, and grows narrower towards the two ends. On the western end there
are meadows, and rocky points extending some distance out into the river.
On the south-west side it is very reefy, yet very pleasant in consequence
of the woods surrounding it. It is distant about half a league from the
northern shore, where is a little river extending some distance into the
interior. We named it Riviere du Gouffre, [305] since abreast of it the
tide runs with extraordinary rapidity; and, although it has a calm
appearance, it is always much agitated, the depth there being great: but
the river itself is shallow, and there are many rocks at and about its
mouth. Coasting along from Isle aux Coudres, we reached a cape which we
named Cap de Tourmente, [306] five leagues distant; and we gave it this
name because, however little wind there may be, the water rises there as if
it were full tide. At this point, the water begins to be fresh. Thence we
proceeded to the Island of Orleans, [307] a distance of two leagues, on the
south side of which are numerous islands, low, covered with trees and very
pleasant, with large meadows, having plenty of game, some being, so far as
I could judge, two leagues in length, others a trifle more or less. About
these islands are many rocks, also very dangerous shallows, some two
leagues distant from the main land on the South. All this shore, both north
and South, from Tadoussac to the Island of Orleans, is mountainous, and the
soil very poor. The wood is pine, fir, and birch only, with very ugly
rocks, so that in most places one could not make his way.

Now we passed along south of the Island of Orleans, which is a league and a
half distant from the main land and half a league on the north side, being
six leagues in length, and one in breadth, or in some places a league and a
half. On the north side, it is very pleasant, on account of the great
extent of woods and meadows there; but it is very dangerous sailing, in
consequence of the numerous points and rocks between the main land and
island, on which are numerous fine oaks and in some places nut-trees, and
on the borders of the woods vines and other trees such as we have in
France. This place is the commencement of the fine and fertile country of
the great river, and is distant one hundred and twenty leagues from its
mouth. Off the end of the island is a torrent of water on the north shore,
proceeding from a lake ten leagues in the interior: [308] it comes down
from a height of nearly twenty-five fathoms, above which the land is level
and pleasant, although farther inland are seen high mountains appearing to
be from fifteen to twenty leagues distant.


ENDNOTES:

293. The deepest sounding as laid down on Laurie's Chart is one hundred and
forty-six fathoms. The same authority says the banks of the river
throughout its course are very rocky, and vary in height from one
hundred and seventy to three hundred and forty yards above the stream.
Its current is broad, deep, and uncommonly vehement: in some places,
where precipices intervene, are falls from fifty to sixty feet in
height, down which the whole volume of water rushes with tremendous
fury and noise. The general breadth of the river is about two and a
half miles, but at its mouth its width is contracted to three-quarters
of a mile. The tide runs upward about sixty-five miles from its mouth.

294. If the Indians were three days in crossing Lake St. John here referred
to, whose length is variously stated to be from twenty-five to forty
miles, it could hardly have been the shortest time in which it were
possible to pass it. It may have been the usual time, some of which
they gave to fishing or hunting. "In 1647, Father Jean Duquen,
missionary at Tadoussac, ascending the Saguenay, discovered the Lake
St. John, and noted its Indian name, Picouagami, or Flat Lake. He was
the first European who beheld that magnificent expanse of inland
water."--_Vide Transactions, Lit. and His. Soc. of Quebec_, 1867-68,
p. 5.

295. The first of these three rivers, which the traveller will meet as he
passes up the northern shore of the lake, is the Peribonca flowing
from the north-east. The second is the Mistassina, represented by the
Indians as coming from the salt sea. The third is the Chomouchonan,
flowing from the north-west.

296. There was doubtless an Indian trail from the head-waters of the
Mistassina to Mistassin Lake, and from thence to Rupert River, which
flows into the lower part of Hudson's Bay.

297. The salt sea referred to by the Indians was undoubtedly Hudson's Bay.
The discoverer of this bay, Henry Hudson, in the years 1607, 1608, and
1609, was in the northern ocean searching for a passage to Cathay. In
1610, he discovered the strait and bay which now bear his name. He
passed the winter in the southern part of the bay; and the next year,
1611, his sailors in a mutiny forced him and his officers into a
shallop and abandoned them to perish. Nothing was heard of them
afterward. The fame of Hudson's discovery had reached Champlain
before the publication of this volume in 1613. This will be apparent
by comparing Champlain's small map with the TABULA NAUTICA of Hudson,
published in 1612. It will be seen that the whole of the Carte
Geographique de la Nouvelle France of Champlain, on the west of
Lumley's Inlet, including Hudson's Strait and Bay, is a copy from the
Tabula Nautica. Even the names are in English, a few characteristic
ones being omitted, such as Prince Henry, the King's Forlant, and Cape
Charles.--_Vide Henry Hudson the Navigator_, by G. M. Asher, LL.D.,
Hakluyt Society, 1860, p. xliv.

298. This was June 30, 1608.

299. _Isle aux Lievres_, or hares. This name was given by Jacques Cartier,
and it is still called Hare Island. It is about ten geographical miles
long, and generally about half or three-quarters of a mile wide.

300. _Riviere aux Saulmons_. "From all appearances," says Laverdiere, "this
Salmon River is that which empties into the 'Port a l'Equilles,' eel
harbor, also called 'Port aux Quilles,' Skittles Port. Its mouth is
two leagues from Cape Salmon, with which it must not be confounded."
It is now known as Black River.

301. _Cap Dauphin_, now called Cape Salmon, which is about three leagues
from Black River.

302. _Cap a l'Aigle_, now known as Cap aux Oies, or Goose Cape. The Eagle
Cape of to-day is little more than two leagues from Cape Salmon, while
Goose Cape is about eight leagues, as stated in the text.

303. The bay stretching between Cape Salmon and Goose Cape is called Mal
Bay, within which are Cape Eagle, Murray Bay, Point au Ries, White
Cape, Red Cape, Black Cape, Point Pere, Point Corneille, and Little
Mal Bay. In the rear of Goose Cape are Les Eboulemens Mountains, 2,547
feet in height. On the opposite side of the river is Point Ouelle, and
the river of the same name.

304. _Isle aux Coudres_, Hazel Island, so named by Jacques Cartier, still
retains its ancient appellation. Its distance from Goose Cape is about
two leagues. The description of it in the text is very accurate.

305. _Riviere du Gouffre_. This river still retains this name, signifying
whirlpool, and is the same that empties into St. Paul's Bay, opposite
Isle-aux Coudres.

306. _Cap de Tourmente_, cape of the tempest, is eight leagues from Isle
aux Coudres, but about two from the Isle of Orleans, as stated in the
text, which sufficiently identifies it.

307. _Isle d'Orleans_. Cartier discovered this island in 1635, and named it
the Island of Bacchus, because he saw vines growing there, which he
had not before seen in that region. He says, "Et pareillement y
trouuasmes force vignes, ce que n'auyons veu par cy deuant a toute la
terre, & par ce la nommasmes l'ysle de Bacchus."--_Brief Recit de la
Navigation Faite en MDXXXV._, par Jacques Cartier, D'Avezac ed.,
Paris, 1863, pp. 14, 15. The grape found here was probably the Frost
Grape, _Vitis cordifolia_. The "Island of Orleans" soon became the
fixed name of this island, which it still retains. Its Indian name is
said to have been _Minigo_.--_Vide_ Laverdiere's interesting note,
_Oeuvres de Champlain_, Tome II, p. 24. Champlain's estimate of the
size of the island is nearly accurate. It is, according to the
Admiralty charts, seventeen marine miles in length, and four in its
greatest width.

308. This was the river Montmorency, which rises in Snow Lake, some fifty
miles in the interior.--_Vide_ Champlain's reference on his map of
Quebec and its environs. He gave this name to the river, which it
still retains, in honor of the Admiral Montmorency, to whom he
dedicated his notes on the voyage of 1603.--_Vide Laverdiere_, in
loco; also _Champlain_, ed. 1632; _Chiarlevoix's Letters_, London,
1763, p. 19. The following is Jean Alfonse's description of the fall
of Montmorency: "When thou art come to the end of the Isle, thou shall
see a great River, which falleth fifteene or twenty fathoms downe from
a rocke, and maketh a terrible noyse."--_Hakluyt, Vol. III. p. 293.
The perpendicular descent of the Montmorency at the falls is 240 feet.




CHAPTER III.

ARRIVAL AT QUEBEC, WHERE WE CONSTRUCTED OUR PLACE OF ABODE; ITS SITUATION.
--CONSPIRACY AGAINST THE SERVICE OF THE KING AND MY LIFE. BY SOME OF OUR
MEN--PUNISHMENT OF THEM, AND ALL THAT TRANSPIRED OF THE AFFAIR.


From the Island of Orleans to Quebec the distance is a league. I arrived
there on the 3d of July, when I searched for a place suitable for our
settlement, but I could find none more convenient or better situated than
the point of Quebec, so called by the savages, [309] which was covered with
nut-trees. I at once employed a portion of our workmen in cutting them
down, that we might construct our habitation there: one I set to sawing
boards, another to making a cellar and digging ditches, another I sent to
Tadoussac with the barque to get supplies. The first thing we made was the
storehouse for keeping under cover our supplies, which was promptly
accomplished through the zeal of all, and my attention to the work.

* * * * *

CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.

QUEBEC.

_The figures indicate the fathoms of water_.

_A_. The site where our habitation is built. [Note 1]
_B_. Cleared land where we sow wheat and other grain. [Note 2]
_C_. The gardens.[Note 3]
_D_. small brook coming from marshes. [Note 4]
_E_. River where Jacques Cartier passed the winter, which in his time he
called St. Croix, and which name has been transferred to a place
fifteen leagues above Quebec. [Note 5]
_F_. River of the marshes. [Note 6]
_G_. Place where was collected the grass for the animals brought here.
[Note 7]
_H_. The grand fall of Montmorency, which descends from a height of more
than twenty-five fathoms into the river. [Note 8]
_I_. The end of the Island of Orleans.
_L_. A very narrow point on the shore east of Quebec. [Note 9]
_M_. Roaring river which extends to the Etechemins.
_N_. The great river of St. Lawrence.
_O_. Lake in the roaring river.
_P_. Mountains in the interior; bay which I named New Biscay,
_q_. Lake of the great fall of Montmorency. [Note 10]
_R_. Bear Brook. [Note 11]
_S_. Brook du Gendre. [Note 12]
_T_. Meadows overflowed at every tide.
_V_. Mont du Gas, very high, situated on the bank of the river. [Note 13]
_X_. Swift brook, adapted to all kinds of mills.
_Y_. Gravelly shore where a quantity of diamonds are found somewhat better
than those of Alanson.
_Z_. The Point of Diamonds.
_9_. Places where the savages often build their cabins. [Note 14]

NOTES. The following notes on Champlain's explanation of his map of Quebec
are by the Abbe Laverdiere, whose accurate knowledge of that city and its
environs renders them especially valuable. They are given entire, with only
slight modifications.

1. That is properly the point of Quebec, including what is at present
enclosed by La Place, the street Notre Dame, and the river.

2. This first clearing must have been what was called later the Esplanade
du Fort, or Grande Place, or perhaps both. The Grande Place became, in
1658, the fort of the Hurons: it was the space included between the Cote
of the lower town and the Rue du Fort.

3. A little above the gardens, on the slope of the Cote du Saut au Matelot,
a cross is seen, which seems to indicate that at that time the cemetery
was where it is said to be when it is mentioned some years later for the
first time.

4. According to the old plans of Quebec, these marshes were represented to
be west of Mont Carmel, and at the foot of the glacis of the Citadel.
The brook pulled eastward of the grounds of the Ursulines and Jesuites,
followed for some distance the Rue de la Fabrique as far as the
enclosure of the Hotel Dieu, to the east of which it ran down the hill
towards the foot of the Cote de la Canoterie.

5. The river St. Charles. The letter E does not indicate precisely the
place where Jacques Quartier wintered, but only the mouth of the river.

6. Judging from the outlines of the shore, this brook, which came from the
south-west, flowed into the harbor of the Palais, towards the western
extremity of the Parc.

7. This is probably what was called later the barn of the Messieurs de la
Compagnie, or simply La Grange, and appears to have been somewhere on
the avenue of Mont Carmel.

8. The fall of Montmorency is forty fathoms or two hundred and forty French
feet, or even more.

9. Hence it is seen that in 1613 this point had as yet no name. In 1629,
Champlain calls it Cap de Levis: it can accordingly be concluded that
this point derives its name from that of the Duc de Ventadour, Henri de
Levis, and that it must have been so named between the years 1625 and
1627, the time when he was regent.

10. The Lake of the Snows is the source of the western branch of the
Riviere du Saut.

11. La Riviere de Beauport, which is called likewise La Distillerie.

12. Called later Ruisseau de la Cabaneaux Taupiers. Riviere Chalisour, and
finally Riviere des Fous, from the new insane asylum, by the site of
which it now passes.

13. Height where is now situated the bastion of the Roi a la Citadelle.
This name was given it, doubtless, in memory of M. de Monts, Pierre du
Guast.

14. This figure appears not only at the Point du Cap Diamant, but also
along the shore of Beauport, and at the end of the Island of Orleans.

Fidel and Che: a revolutionary friendship

After last week's fairly open theme, I thought I'd go with something a bit more structured this time. As I type this, I'm listening to Steeleye Span and thinking about the great ballad traditions of Britain and Ireland. What is a ballad? I suppose the most inclusive definition would be that it's a singable narrative poem: that covers a multitude but will do for the moment.

Ballads in English stretch back to the middle ages, with fine examples to be found among the Scottish border ballads and the English Robin Hood poems. These early ballads are among the best-known poems and stories in the language, and form part of the common heritage of English speakers everywhere. They gave rise to a tradition of ballad-making that endures down to the present day.

In fact, most poets since have tried their hand at the ballad at one time or another, and the result has been to deny any definition more specific than the one I ventured in my first paragraph. If you look around the internet, you'll come up with a wide selection of poems that are called ballads but have little in common formally. Stanza length varies from two to 10 or more lines, and all sorts of metrical and rhyming patterns are used. A good number will be singable in only the loosest possible sense, and at times the narrative tends to get lost in a mesh of more-or-less successful verbal embroidery.

So, what should a ballad be? Well, "proper" ballad stanzas are quatrains in which the first and third lines have four stresses and the second and third have three. The lines will rhyme A-B-C-B or A-B-A-B. It's as simple, and as difficult, as that. Here's an example, from Robert Burns's extremely singable Comin Thro' the Rye:

Gin a body meet a body
          Comin thro' the rye,
Gin a body kiss a body –
          Need a body cry.

Burns wrote a good number of ballads, and his lead was followed by many 19th-century poets. Two examples that I particularly like are Robert Browning's Confessions and Christina Rossetti's Up-Hill, but you can find ballads by just about any Romantic or Victorian poet if you look for them.

There is a long, strong tradition of ballads and ballad singers in Ireland, too. It is hardly surprising, then, that the great appropriator of tradition, WB Yeats, tried his hand at the form. At least four of his poems have the word "ballad" in the title; the pick of the bunch, for my money, is The Ballad of Father Gilligan, which may have benefited from having been written with a specific tune in mind.

Ballads continued to be written in the 20th century; perhaps the most unexpected exponents were Ezra Pound, with his Ballad of the Goodly Fere, and WH Auden. In fact, the ballad The Quarry is probably my favourite Auden poem.

And so, this week I invite a chorus of balladeering. You may choose to go the whole hog and write in ballad stanzas or you might prefer to take a more liberal view of the formal requirements. Either way, sing up and – as they say at all the best Irish sessions when calling for a bit of hush for the singer – one voice please.

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Obituary: Donald Westlake

The disputed Holocaust memoir, written by Herman Rosenblat, which was dropped from Penguin Group's publication schedule at the end of December is now set to appear as a work of fiction.

Rosenblat's memoir - which Oprah Winfrey called "the single greatest love story" she had heard in two decades in television - recounted how as a teenage boy in a Nazi concentration camp, he was kept alive by the food which was thrown to him by a young girl, Roma Radzicky. Penguin's US imprint Berkley Books had planned to publish the story, which sees Rosenblat reunited with Radzicky on a blind date years later, as Angel at the Fence: the True Story of a Love That Survived, next month.

But a Holocaust historian said it would have been impossible to approach the fence in the Schlieben concentration camp to throw food over it, concluding that this part of the story was made-up. Berkley initially defended the book, saying it was a work of memory, but then decided to cancel its planned publication, and demanded the return of the advance it had made to Rosenblat. A $25m film based on the book, to be called The Flower of the Fence, is still going ahead, with production due to start this year.

Publisher York House Press based in White Plains, New York, has entered into a tentative agreement with the film production company to publish a novel based on the film script early this spring. It said the book would be "grounded in fact", and would rise "to the proper levels of artistic value, ethical conduct and social responsibility".

A spokesperson for York House Press condemned the attacks which were made on the 80-year-old Rosenblat after the veracity of his story was questioned, describing them as a "savage" response to what was otherwise "a credible, heart-wrenching, and verifiable account" of his time in the concentration camp.

"No deliberate untruth is permissible, but beneath any fabrication is motivation and intent. We believe Mr. Rosenblat's motivations were very human, understandable and forgivable," the spokesperson said. "It is beyond our expertise to know how Holocaust survivors cope with their trauma. Do they deny, try to forget, rationalise or fantasise and promote fiction along with truth? Perhaps the coping mechanisms are as individual as the survivors themselves."

The president of the company producing the film, Harris Salomon from Atlantic Overseas Productions, said the book, "regardless of its shortcomings", would "challenge, educate and enlighten" readers about the horrors of the Holocaust. "The documented fact, acknowledged by his critics, is that Herman is a survivor of concentration camps," he said.

But Rosenblat's agent, Andrea Hurst, said that neither she nor Rosenblat were involved with this version of his story. "Usually book rights from films come out after the movie is released," she told guardian.co.uk. "I think the timing on this is very insensitive."

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