steward and caterer of the day. At the dinner, the steward, with napkin on shoulder, staff of office in hand, and the collar of the order round his neck, led the van. The other guests in procession followed, each bearing a dish. After grace in the evening, he resigned the insignia to his successor, and they drank to each other in a cup of wine. It was the steward's duty, to look to supplies, and he would go hunt or fish a day or two before his turn came, and add some dainty to the ordinary fare. During the winter they had fowl and game in abundance, supplied by the Indians and by their own exertions. These feasts were often attended by Indians of all ages and both sexes, sometimes twenty or thirty being present. The Sagamore, or chief, Membertou, the greatest Sagamore of the land, and other chiefs, when there, were treated as guests and equals. Champlain's account of the Order: We spent this winter very joyously and of good times, due to the L'Odre de l Bon Temps that I established here, which each person finds useful for their health and more beneficial than any sort of medicine that we could have used. The Order was presented as a Chain of office that we placed with some small ceremony, at the neck of one of our people, charging him that day with going hunting; the next day we gave it to another and thus consequently: all who wished to try would do their best and bring the most beautiful hunt: We don't find it half bad , as well as the Indians who were with us. (Voyages of Champlain: 1613) Description of the order of Good Cheer: The first winters of the French in Acadie were very painful and cost the life of several men. One has to only think of the first winter in the Sainte-Croix Island in 1604-1605 when more than thirty men of the company the sieur de Mons perished by the scurvy. The winters in Port-Royal were less rigorous, but nonetheless long and dull. To brighten the atmosphere and foster the esprit de corps amongst the sieur de Poutrincourt, lord of Port-Royal's staff members, Samuel de Champlain had the idea to create "the order of Good-Cheer" during the winter 1606-1607. In turn, the members of the small elite of Port-Royal were to prepare a