He had much territory to occupy, and in the long march of on an average 85 days, he considered that they could be organized, equipped and drilled en route.
He had then just published his first work, an Essai sur les machines en general.
The essence of the tax denoted by these names was that the amount was fixed en bloc for a whole group of persons, and afterwards divided among them in various ways.
In a somewhat similar fashion, Lamennais (in the first stage of his speculations, represented by the Essai sur l'indiference en matiere religieuse, 1817-18 21) endeavoured to destroy all rational certitude in order to establish the principle of authority; and the same profound distrust of the power of the natural reason to-arrive at truth is exemplified (though the allegation has been denied by the author) in Cardinal Newman.
On his return he published an interesting and historically valuable little book, Des sauvages, ou voyage de Samuel Champlain de Brouage fait en la France Nouvelle.