A book for young readers, Little Chief of the Gaspé is the story of eleven-year-old Jacques Cartier LeGrand and “Little Chief” which was given to one of Jacques ancestors by an Indigenous chief as a gift of friendship, passed on from father to son throughout the years. The figurine came to Jacques at a time when Jacques’ father had been lost in a storm at sea. Jacques and his mother felt that “Little Chief” looked after them, but on one sad day “Little Chief” was lost. This book follows Jacques thrilling adventure on the road to find him.
Ruth Hepburn Protheroe has an excellent feeling for the Gaspé country and its people; her characterizations give the young reader interesting factual information of the everyday activities in the fishermen’s village which forms the background for the story.
The author was the fourth child in a family of ten, born to parents who gave up stage life to raise a family. Her mother was an opera singer and her father had his own travelling company. Mrs. Protheroe chose to become a teacher because she loved to tell stories to her younger brothers and sisters and was fairly good at taking care of them. It wasn’t until she had her own little girl that she began to write for and about children professionally. Her first article was in Country Gentleman, and was followed by many articles and a few short stories published in eight magazines. Little Chief of the Gaspé was her first full-length book.
Little Chief of the Gaspé was published by Abelard-Schuman, Inc. Publishers, New York in 1955 and contains 115 pages with illustrations by Nils Hogner. It is available from second-hand book dealers or for consultation at the CASA office.