Note 62 — SAMUEL CHAMPLAIN. (continued 2)

The supporting and stimulating properties of chocolate were discovered very early, and were particularly valuable in a country where the animal food gave but little nourishment. Gage says, that "Three or four hours after a repast of three or four dishes of beef, kid, turkey, and other game, his and company's stomachs were overcome with weakness and ready to faint, so that they were obliged to support and fortify them with a glass of chocolate," etc. This "strangeness" was attributed to the little nourishment in the meats, although in appearance as fine as those of Europe, owing to the extreme dryness of the pasturage.