 During the siege of Quebec , Hazen had met Gabriel Christie , then a deputy quartermaster . Christie owned some land in the Richelieu River valley south of Montreal , and wanted to expand his holdings . ( Christie later became one of the largest landowners in Quebec . ) After the war , Christie and Hazen jointly purchased the seigneuries of <unk> and Bleury , located on the east bank of the Richelieu near Fort Saint @-@ Jean . They also leased land on the west side of river from the Baron of Longueuil . These holdings gave them almost exclusive control over the land holdings around Saint @-@ Jean , which is the northernmost navigable point reachable from Lake Champlain . 
