In 1542, JACQUES CARTIER, exploring northeastern North America for France, in his search for the mythical Native American land of SAGUENAY, found what he believed to be gold and precious stones near the St. Lawrence River of present-day Canada. When tested in France, the minerals turned out to be pyrite and quartz. In 1576, SIR MARTIN FROBISHER, exploring for England, brought a sample of pyrite back from Baffin Island in Frobisher Bay in what is now northern Canada, believing it to be gold. His rock was initially analyzed by two scientists, who reported it to be nothing more than worthless pyrite, but an Italian alchemist by the name of Aquello claimed he had found a speck of gold in the samples.