The following passages are taken at random from the voyages of 1604-10, as illustrative of Champlain's style in general:
1. Explorations in the Bay of Fundy, Voyage of 1604-8. "De la riuiere sainct Iean nous fusmes à quatre isles, en l'vne desquelles nous mismes pied à terre, & y trouuasmes grande quantité d'oiseaux appeliez Margos, don't nous prismes force petits, qui sont aussi bons que pigeonneaux. Le sieur de Poitrincourt s'y pensa esgarer: Mais en fin il reuint à nostre barque comme nous l'allions cerchant autour de isle, qui est esloignee de la terre ferme trois lieues." Chap iii.
2. Explorations in the Vineyard Sound. Voyage of 1604-8. "Comme nous eusmes fait quelques six ou sept lieues nous eusmes cognoissance d'vne isle que nous nommasmes la soupçonneuse, pour auoir eu plusieurs fois croyance de loing que ce fut autre chose qu'vne isle, puis le vent nous vint contraire, qui nous fit relascher au lieu d'où nous estions partis, auquel nous fusmes deux on trois jours sans que durant ce temps il vint aucun sauuage se presenter à nous." Chap. xv.
3. Fight with the Indians on the Richelieu. Voyage of 1610.
"Les Yroquois s'estonnoient du bruit de nos arquebuses, & principalement de ce que les balles persoient mieux que leurs flesches; & eurent tellement l'espouuante de l'effet qu'elles faisoient, voyant plusieurs de leurs compaignons tombez morts, & blessez, que de crainte qu'ils auoient, croyans ces coups estre sans remede ils se iettoient par terre, quand ils entendoient le bruit: aussi ne tirions gueres à faute, & deux ou trois balles à chacun coup, & auios la pluspart du temps nos arquebuses appuyees sur le bord de leur barricade." Chap. ii.
The following words, found in the writings of Champlain, are to be noted as used by him in a sense different from the ordinary one, or as not found in the dictionaries. They occur in the voyages of 1603 and 1604-11. The numbers refer to the continuous pagination in the Quebec edition:
appoil, 159. A species of duck. (?)
catalougue, 266. A cloth used for wrapping up a dead body. Cf. Spanish catalogo.
déserter, 211, et passim. In the sense of to clear up a new country by removing the trees, &c.
esplan, 166. A small fish, like the équille of Normandy.
estaire, 250. A kind of mat. Cf. Spanish estera.
fleurir, 247. To break or foam, spoken of the waves of the sea.
legueux, 190. Watery.(?) Or for ligneux, fibrous.(?)
marmette, 159. A kind of sea-bird.
Matachias, 75, et passim. Indian word for strings of beads, used to ornament the person.
papesi, 381. Name of one of the sails of a vessel.
petunoir, 79. Pipe for smoking.
Pilotua, 82, et passim. Word used by the Indians for soothsayer or medicine-man.
souler, 252. In sense of, to be wont, accustomed.
truitière, 264. Trout-brook.
The first and main aim of the translator has been to give the exact sense of the original, and he has endeavored also to reproduce as far as possible the spirit and tone of Champlain's narrative. The important requisite in a translation, that it should be pure and idiomatic English, without any transfer of the mode of expression peculiar to the foreign language, has not, it is hoped, been violated, at least to any great extent. If, perchance, a French term or usage has been transferred to the translation, it is because it has seemed that the sense or spirit would be better conveyed in this way. At best, a translation comes short of the original, and it is perhaps pardonable at times to admit a foreign term, if by this means the sense or style seems to be better preserved. It is hoped that the present work has been done so as to satisfy the demands of the historian, who may find it convenient to use it in his investigations.
C. P. O.
BOSTON, June 17, 1880
THE SAVAGES
OR VOYAGE OF
SAMUEL DE CHAMPLAIN
OF BROUAGE,
Made in New France in the year 1603.
DESCRIBING,
The customs, mode of life, marriages, wars, and dwellings of the Savages of Canada. Discoveries for more than four hundred and fifty leagues in the country. The tribes, animals, rivers, lakes, islands, lands, trees, and fruits found there. Discoveries on the coast of La Cadie, and numerous mines existing there according to the report of the Savages.
PARIS.
Claude de Monstr'oeil, having his store in the Court of the Palace, under the name of Jesus.
WITH AUTHORITY OF THE KING.
DEDICATION.
To the very noble, high and powerful Lord Charles De Montmorency, Chevalier of the Orders of the King, Lord of Ampuille and of Meru, Count of Secondigny, Viscount of Melun, Baron of Chateauneuf and of Gonnort, Admiral of France and of Brittany.
_My Lord,
Although many have written about the country of Canada, I have nevertheless been unwilling to rest satisfied with their report, and have visited these regions expressly in order to be able to render a faithful testimony to the truth, which you will see, if it be your pleasure, in the brief narrative which I address to you, and which I beg you may find agreeable, and I pray God for your ever increasing greatness and prosperity, my Lord, and shall remain all my life,
Your most humble
and obedient servant,
S. CHAMPLAIN_.
EXTRACT FROM THE LICENSE
By license of the King, given at Paris on the 15th of November, 1603, signed Brigard.
Permission is given to Sieur de Champlain to have printed by such printer as may seem good to him, a book which he has composed, entitled, "The Savages, or Voyage of Sieur de Champlain, made in the Year 1603;" and all book-sellers and printers of this kingdom are forbidden to print, sell, or distribute said book, except with the consent of him whom he shall name and choose, on penalty of a fine of fifty crowns, of confiscation, and all expenses, as is more fully stated in the license.
Said Sieur de Champlain, in accordance with his license, has chosen and given permission to Claude de Monstr'oeil, book-seller to the University of Paris, to print said book, and he has ceded and transferred to him his license, so that no other person can print or have printed, sell, or distribute it, during the time of five years, except with the consent of said Monstr'oeil, on the penalties contained in the said license.
THE SAVAGES,
VOYAGE OF SIEUR DE CHAMPLAIN
MADE IN THE YEAR 1603.
CHAPTER I.
BRIEF NARRATIVE OF THE VOYAGE FROM HONFLEUR IN NORMANDY TO THE PORT OF TADOUSSAC IN CANADA
We set out from Honfleur on the 15th of March, 1603. On the same day we put back to the roadstead of Havre de Grâce, the wind not being favorable. On Sunday following, the 16th, we set sail on our route. On the 17th, we sighted d'Orgny and Grenesey, [121] islands between the coast of Normandy and England. On the 18th of the same month, we saw the coast of Brittany. On the 19th, at 7 o'clock in the evening we reckoned that we were off Ouessant. [122] On the 21st, at 7 o'clock in the morning, we met seven Flemish vessels, coming, as we thought from the Indies. On Easter day, the 30th of the same month, we encountered a great tempest, which seemed to be more lightning than wind, and which lasted for seventeen days, though not continuing so severe as it was on the first two days. During this time, we lost more than we gained. On the 16th of April, to the delight of all, the weather began to be more favorable, and the sea calmer than it had been, so that we continued our course until the 18th, when we fell in with a very lofty iceberg. The next day we sighted a bank of ice more than eight leagues long, accompanied by an infinite number of smaller banks, which prevented us from going on. In the opinion of the pilot, these masses of ice were about a hundred or a hundred and twenty leagues from Canada. We were in latitude 45 deg. 40', and continued our course in 44 deg..
On the 2nd of May we reached the Bank at 11 o'clock in the forenoon, in 44 deg. 40'. On the 6th of the same month we had approached so near to land that we heard the sea beating on the shore, which, however, we could not see on account of the dense fog, to which these coasts are subject. [123] For this reason we put out to sea again a few leagues, until the next morning, when the weather being clear, we sighted land, which was Cape St. Mary. [124]
On the 12th we were overtaken by a severe gale, lasting two days. On the 15th we sighted the islands of St. Peter. [125] On the 17th we fell in with an ice-bank near Cape Ray, six leagues in length, which led us to lower sail for the entire night that we might avoid the danger to which we were exposed. On the next day we set sail and sighted Cape Ray, [126] the islands of St. Paul, and Cape St. Lawrence. [127] The latter is on the mainland lying to the south, and the distance from it to Cape Ray is eighteen leagues, that being the breadth of the entrance to the great bay of Canada. [128] On the same day, about ten o'clock in the morning, we fell in with another bank of ice, more than eight leagues in length. On the 20th, we sighted an island some twenty-five or thirty leagues long, called Anticosty, [129] which marks the entrance to the river of Canada. The next day, we sighted Gaspé, [130] a very high land, and began to enter the river of Canada, coasting along the south side as far as Montanne, [131] distant sixty-five leagues from Gaspé. Proceeding on our course, we came in sight of the Bic, [132] twenty leagues from Mantanne and on the southern shore; continuing farther, we crossed the river to Tadoussac, fifteen leagues from the Bic. All this region is very high, barren, and unproductive.
On the 24th of the month, we came to anchor before Tadoussac, [133] and on the 26th entered this port, which has the form of a cove. It is at the mouth of the river Saguenay, where there is a current and tide of remarkable swiftness and a great depth of water, and where there are sometimes troublesome winds, [134] in consequence of the cold they bring. It is stated that it is some forty-five or fifty leagues up to the first fall in this river, and that it flows from the northwest. The harbor of Tadoussac is small, in which only ten or twelve vessels could lie; but there is water enough on the east, sheltered from the river Saguenay, and along a little mountain, which is almost cut off by the river. On the shore there are very high mountains, on which there is little earth, but only rocks and sand, which are covered, with pine, cypress and fir, [135] and a smallish species of trees. There is a small pond near the harbor, enclosed by wood-covered mountains. At the entrance to the harbor, there are two points: the one on the west side extending a league out into the river, and called St. Matthew's Point; [136] the other on the southeast side extending out a quarter of a league, and called All-Devils' Point. This harbor is exposed to the winds from the south, southeast, and south-southwest. The distance from St. Matthew's Point to All-Devils' Point is nearly a league; both points are dry at low tide.
ENDNOTES:
121. Alderney and Guernsey. French maps at the present day for Alderney
have d'Aurigny.
122. The islands lying off Finistère, on the western extremity of Brittany
in France.
123. The shore which they approached was probably Cape Pine, east of
Placentia Bay, Newfoundland.
124. In Placentia bay, on the southern coast of Newfoundland.
125. West of Placentia Bay.
126. Cape Ray is northwest of the islands of St. Peter.
127. Cape St. Lawrence, now called Cape North, is the northern extremity of the island of Cape Breton, and the island of St. Paul is a few miles north of it.
128. The Gulf or Bay of St. Lawrence. It was so named by Jacques Cartier on his second voyage, in 1535. Nous nommasmes la dicte baye la Sainct Laurens, Brief Recit, 1545, D'Avezac ed. p. 8. The northeastern part of it is called on De Laet's map, "Grand Baye."
129. "This island is about one hundred and forty miles long, thirty-five miles broad at its widest part, with an average breadth of twenty-seven and one-half miles."—Le Moine's Chronicles of the St. Lawrence, p.100. It was named by Cartier in 1535, the Island of the Assumption, having been discovered on the 15th of August, the festival of the Assumption. Nous auons nommes l'ysle de l'Assumption.—Brief Recit, 1545, D'Avenzac's ed. p. 9. Alfonse, in his report of his voyage of 1542, calls it the Isle de l'Ascension, probably by mistake. "The Isle of Ascension is a goodly isle and a goodly champion land, without any hills, standing all upon white rocks and Alabaster, all covered with wild beasts, as bears, Luserns, Porkespicks." Hakluyt, Vol. III. p. 292. Of this island De Laet says, "Elle est nommee el langage des Sauvages Natiscotec"—Hist. du Nouveau Monde, a Leyde, 1640, p.42. Vide also Wyet's Voyage in Hakluyt, Vol. III. p. 241. Laverdière says the Montagnais now call it Natascoueh, which signifies, where the bear is caught. He cites Thevet, who says it is called by the savages, Naticousti, by others Laisple. The use of the name Anticosty by Champlain, now spelled Anticosti, would imply that its corruption from the original, Natiscotec, took place at a very early date. Or it is possible that Champlain wrote it as he heard it pronounced by the natives, and his orthography may best represent the original.
130. Gachepé, so written in the text, subsequently written by the author Gaspey, but now generally Gaspé. It is supposed to have been derived from the Abnaquis word Katsepi8i, which means what is separated from the rest, and to have reference to a remarkable rock, three miles above Cape Gaspé, separated from the shore by the violence of the waves, the incident from which it takes its name.—Vide Voyages de Champlain, ed. 1632, p. 91; Chronicles of the St. Lawrence, by J. M. Le Moine, p. 9.
131. A river flowing into the St. Lawrence from the south in latitude 48 deg. 52' and in longitude west from Greenwich 67 deg. 32', now known as the Matane.
132. For Bic, Champlain has Pic, which is probably a typographical error. It seems probable that Bic is derived from the French word bicoque, which means a place of small consideration, a little paltry town. Near the site of the ancient Bic, we now have, on modern maps, Bicoque Rocks, Bicquette Light, Bic Island, Bic Channel, and Bic Anchorage. As suggested by Laverdière, this appears to be the identical harbor entered by Jacques Cartier, in 1535, who named if the Isles of Saint John, because he entered it on the day of the beheading of St. John, which was the 29th of August. Nous les nommasmes les Ysleaux sainct Jehan, parce que nous y entrasmes le jour de la decollation dudict sainct. Brief Récit, 1545, D'Avezac's ed. p. 11. Le Jeune speaks of the Isle du Bic in 1635. Vide Relation des Jésuites, p. 19.
133. Tadoussac, or Tadouchac, is derived from the word totouchac, which in Montagnais means breasts, and Saguenay signifies water which springs forth, from the Montagnais word saki-nip.—Vide Laverdière in loco. Tadoussac, or the breasts from which water springs forth, is naturally suggested by the rocky elevations at the base of which the Saguenay flows.
134. Impetueux, plainly intended to mean troublesome, as may be seen from the context.
135. Pine, pins. The white pine, Pinus strobus, or Strobus Americanus, grows as far north as Newfoundland, and as far south as Georgia. It was observed by Captain George Weymouth on the Kennebec, and hence deals afterward imported into England were called Weymouth pine—Vide Chronological History of Plants, by Charles Picketing, M.D., Boston, 1879, p. 809. This is probably the species here referred to by Champlain. Cypress, Cyprez. This was probably the American arbor vitæ. Thuja occidentalis, a species which, according to the Abbé Laverdière, is found in the neighborhood of the Saguenay. Champlain employed the same word to designate the American savin, or red cedar. Juniperus Virginiana, which he found on Cape Cod—Vide Vol. II. p. 82. Note 168.
Fir, sapins. The fir may have been the white spruce, Abies alba, or the black spruce, Abies nigra, or the balsam fir or Canada balsam, Abies balsamea, or yet the hemlock spruce, Abies Canadaisis.
136. St. Matthew's Point, now known as Point aux Allouettes, or Lack Point.—Vide Vol. II. p 165, note 292. All-Devils' Point, now called Pointe aux Vaches. Both of these points had changed their names before the publication of Champlain's ed., 1632.—Vide p. 119 of that edition. The last mentioned was called by Champlain, in 1632, pointe aux roches. Laverdière thinks _ro_ches was a typographical error, as Sagard, about the same time, writes vaches.—Vide Sagard. Histoire du Canada, 1636, Stross. ed., Vol I p. 150.
We naturally ask why it was called pointe aux vaches, or point of cows. An old French apothegm reads Le diable est aux vaches, the devil is in the cows, for which in English we say, "the devil is to pay." May not this proverb have suggested vaches as a synonyme of diables?
CHAPTER II.
FAVORABLE RECEPTION GIVEN TO THE FRENCH BY THE GRAND SAGAMORE OF THE SAVAGES OF CANADA—THE BANQUETS AND DANCES OF THE LATTER—THEIR WAR WITH THE IROQUOIS.—THE MATERIAL OF WHICH THEIR CANOES AND CABINS ARE MADE, AND THEIR MODE OF CONSTRUCTION—INCLUDING ALSO A DESCRIPTION OF ST MATTHEW'S POINT.
On the 27th, we went to visit the savages at St. Matthew's point, distant a league from Tadoussac, accompanied by the two savages whom Sieur du Pont Gravé took to make a report of what they had seen in France, and of the friendly reception the king had given them. Having landed, we proceeded to the cabin of their grand Sagamore [137] named Anadabijou, whom we found with some eighty or a hundred of his companions celebrating a tabagie, that is a banquet. He received us very cordially, and according to the custom of his country, seating us near himself, with all the savages arranged in rows on both sides of the cabin. One of the savages whom we had taken with us began to make an address, speaking of the cordial reception the king had given them, and the good treatment they had received in France, and saying they were assured that his Majesty was favorably disposed towards them, and was desirous of peopling their country, and of making peace with their enemies, the Iroquois, or of sending forces to conquer them. He also told them of the handsome manors, palaces, and houses they had seen, and of the inhabitants and our mode of living. He was listened to with the greatest possible silence. Now, after he had finished his address, the grand Sagamore, Anadabijou, who had listened to it attentively, proceeded to take some tobacco, and give it to Sieur du Pont Gravé of St. Malo, myself, and some other Sagamores, who were near him. After a long smoke, he began to make his address to all, speaking with gravity, stopping at times a little, and then resuming and saying, that they truly ought to be very glad in having his Majesty for a great friend. They all answered with one voice, Ho, ho, ho, that is to say yes, yes. He continuing his address said that he should be very glad to have his Majesty people their land, and make war upon their enemies; that there was no nation upon earth to which they were more kindly disposed than to the French. finally he gave them all to understand the advantage and profit they could receive from his Majesty. After he had finished his address, we went out of his cabin, and they began to celebrate their tabagie or banquet, at which they have elk's meat, which is similar to beef, also that of the bear, seal and beaver, these being their ordinary meats, including also quantities of fowl. They had eight or ten boilers full of meats, in the middle of this cabin, separated some six feet from each other, each one having its own fire. They were seated on both sides, as I stated before, each one having his porringer made of bark. When the meat is cooked, some one distributes to each his portion in his porringer, when they eat in a very filthy manner. For when their hands are covered with fat, they rub them on their heads or on the hair of their dogs of which they have large numbers for hunting. Before their meat was cooked, one of them arose, took a dog and hopped around these boilers from one end of the cabin to the other. Arriving in front of the great Sagamore, he threw his dog violently to the ground, when all with one voice exclaimed, Ho, ho, ho, after which he went back to his place. Instantly another arose and did the same, which performance was continued until the meat was cooked. Now after they had finished their tabagie, they began to dance, taking the heads of their enemies, which were slung on their backs, as a sign of joy. One or two of them sing, keeping time with their hands, which they strike on their knees: sometimes they stop, exclaiming, Ho, ho, ho, when they begin dancing again, puffing like a man out of breath. They were having this celebration in honor of the victory they had obtained over the Iroquois, several hundred of whom they had killed, whose heads they had cut off and had with them to contribute to the pomp of their festivity. Three nations had engaged in the war, the Etechemins, Algonquins, and Montagnais. [138] These, to the number of a thousand, proceeded to make war upon the Iroquois, whom they encountered at the mouth of the river of the Iroquois, and of whom they killed a hundred. They carry on war only by surprising their enemies; for they would not dare to do so otherwise, and fear too much the Iroquois, who are more numerous than the Montagnais, Etechemins, and Algonquins.
On the 28th of this month they came and erected cabins at the harbor of Tadoussac, where our vessel was. At daybreak their grand Sagamore came out from his cabin and went about all the others, crying out to them in a loud voice to break camp to go to Tadoussac, where their good friends were. Each one immediately took down his cabin in an incredibly short time, and the great captain was the first to take his canoe and carry it to the water, where he embarked his wife and children and a quantity of furs. Thus were launched nearly two hundred canoes, which go wonderfully fast; for, although our shallop was well manned, yet they went faster than ourselves. Two only do the work of propelling the boat, a man and a woman. Their canoes are some eight or nine feet long, and a foot or a foot and a half broad in the middle, growing narrower towards the two ends. They are very liable to turn over, if one does not understand how to manage them, for they are made of the bark of trees called bouille, [139] strengthened on the inside by little ribs of wood strongly and neatly made. They are so light that a man can easily carry one, and each canoe can carry the weight of a pipe. When they wish to go overland to some river where they have business, they carry their canoes with them.
Their cabins are low and made like tents, being covered with the same kind of bark as that before mentioned. The whole top for the space of about a foot they leave uncovered, whence the light enters; and they make a number of fires directly in the middle of the cabin, in which there are sometimes ten families at once. They sleep on skins, all together, and their dogs with them. [140]
They were in number a thousand persons, men, women and children. The place at St. Matthew's Point, where they were first encamped, is very pleasant. They were at the foot of a small slope covered with trees, firs and cypresses. At St. Matthew's Point there is a small level place, which is seen at a great distance. On the top of this hill there is a level tract of land, a league long, half a league broad, covered with trees. The soil is very sandy, and contains good pasturage. Elsewhere there are only rocky mountains, which are very barren. The tide rises about this slope, but at low water leaves it dry for a full half league out.
ENDNOTES:
137. Sagamo, thus written in the French According to Laflèche, as cited by Laverdière, this word, in the Montagnais language, is derived from tchi, great and okimau, chief, and consequently signifies the Great Chief.
138. The Etechemins, may be said in general terms to have occupied the territory from St. John, N. B., to Mount Desert Island, in Maine, and perhaps still further west, but not south of Saco. The Algonquins here referred to were those who dwelt on the Ottawa River. The Montagnais occupied the region on both sides of the Saguenay, having their trading centre at Tadoussac. War had been carried on for a period we know not how long, perhaps for several centuries, between these allied tribes and the Iroquois.
139. Bouille for bouleau, the birch-tree. Betula papyracea, popularly known as the paper or canoe birch. It is a large tree, the bark white, and splitting into thin layers. It is common in New England, and far to the north The white birch, Betula alba, of Europe and Northern Asia, is used for boat-building at the present day.—Vide Chronological History of Plants, by Charles Pickering, M.D., Boston, 1879, p. 134.
140. The dog was the only domestic animal found among the aborigines of this country. "The Australians," says Dr. Pickering, "appear to be the only considerable portion of mankind destitute of the companionship of the dog. The American tribes, from the Arctic Sea to Cape Horn, had the companionship of the dog, and certain remarkable breeds had been developed before the visit of Columbus" (F. Columbus 25); further, according to Coues, the cross between the coyote and female dog is regularly procured by our northwestern tribes, and, according to Gabb, "dogs one-fourth coyote are pointed out; the fact therefore seems established that the coyote or American barking wolfe, Canis latrans, is the dog in its original wild state."—Vide Chronological History of Plants, etc., by Charles Pickering, M.D., Boston, 1879, p. 20.
"It was believed by some for a length of time that the wild dog was of recent introduction to Australia: this is not so."—Vide Aborigines of Victoria, by R. Brough Smyth, London, 1878, Vol. 1. p. 149. The bones of the wild dog have recently been discovered in Australia, at a depth of excavation, and in circumstances, which prove that his existence there antedates the introduction of any species of the dog by Europeans. The Australians appear, therefore, to be no exception to the universal companionship of the dog with man.
CHAPTER III.
THE REJOICINGS OF THE INDIANS AFTER OBTAINING A VICTORY OVER THEIR ENEMIES—THEIR DISPOSITION, ENDURANCE OF HUNGER, AND MALICIOUSNESS.—THEIR BELIEFS AND FALSE OPINIONS, COMMUNICATION WITH EVIL SPIRITS—THEIR GARMENTS, AND HOW THEY WALK ON THE SNOW—THEIR MANNER OF MARRIAGE, AND THE INTERMENT OF THEIR DEAD.
On the 9th of June the savages proceeded to have a rejoicing all together, and to celebrate their tabagie, which I have before described, and to dance, in honor of their victory over their enemies. Now, after they had feasted well, the Algonquins, one of the three nations, left their cabins and went by themselves to a public place. Here they arranged all their wives and daughters by the side of each other, and took position themselves behind them, all singing in the manner I have described before. Suddenly all the wives and daughters proceeded to throw off their robes of skins, presenting themselves stark naked, and exposing their sexual parts. But they were adorned with matachiats, that is beads and braided strings, made of porcupine quills, which they dye in various colors. After finishing their songs, they all said together, Ho, ho, ho: at the same instant all the wives and daughters covered themselves with their robes, which were at their feet. Then, after stopping a short time, all suddenly beginning to sing throw off their robes as before. They do not stir from their position while dancing, and make various gestures and movements of the body, lifting one foot and then the other, at the same time striking upon the ground. Now, during the performance of this dance, the Sagamore of the Algonquins, named Besouat, was seated before these wives and daughters, between two sticks, on which were hung the heads of their enemies. Sometimes he arose and went haranguing, and saying to the Montagnais and Etechemins: "Look! how we rejoice in the victory that we have obtained over our enemies; you must do the same, so that we may be satisfied." Then all said together, Ho, ho, ho. After returning to his position, the grand Sagamore together with all his companions removed their robes, making themselves stark naked except their sexual parts, which are covered with a small piece of skin. Each one took what seemed good to him, as matachiats, hatchets, swords, kettles, fat, elk flesh, seal, in a word each one had a present, which they proceeded to give to the Algonquins. After all these ceremonies, the dance ceased, and the Algonquins, men and women, carried their presents into their cabins. Then two of the most agile men of each nation were taken, whom they caused to run, and he who was the fastest in the race, received a present.
All these people have a very cheerful disposition, laughing often; yet at the same time they are somewhat phlegmatic. They talk very deliberately, as if desiring to make themselves well understood, and stopping suddenly, they reflect for a long time, when they resume their discourse. This is their usual manner at their harangues in council, where only the leading men, the elders, are present, the women and children not attending at all.
All these people suffer so much sometimes from hunger, on account of the severe cold and snow, when the animals and fowl on which they live go away to warmer countries, that they are almost constrained to eat one another. I am of opinion that if one were to teach them how to live, and instruct them in the cultivation of the soil and in other respects, they would learn very easily, for I can testify that many of them have good judgment and respond very appropriately to whatever question may be put to them. [141] They have the vices of taking revenge and of lying badly, and are people in whom it is not well to put much confidence, except with caution and with force at hand. They promise well, but keep their word badly.
Most of them have no law, so far as I have been able to observe or learn from the great Sagamore, who told me that they really believed there was a God, who created all things. Whereupon I said to him: that, "Since they believed in one sole God, how had he placed them in the world, and whence was their origin." He replied: that, "After God had made all things, he took a large number of arrows, and put them in the ground; whence sprang men and women, who had been multiplying in the world up to the present time, and that this was their origin." I answered that what he said was false, but that there really was one only God, who had created all things upon earth and in the heavens. Seeing all these things so perfect, but that there was no one to govern here on earth, he took clay from the ground, out of which he created Adam our first father. While Adam was sleeping, God took a rib from his side, from which he formed Eve, whom he gave to him as a companion, and, I told him, that it was true that they and ourselves had our origin in this manner, and not from arrows, as they suppose. He said nothing, except that he acknowledged what I said, rather than what he had asserted. I asked him also if he did not believe that there was more than one only God. He told me their belief was that there was a God, a Son, a Mother, and the Sun, making four; that God, however, was above all, that the Son and the Sun were good, since they received good things from them; but the Mother, he said, was worthless, and ate them up; and the Father not very good. I remonstrated with him on his error, and contrasted it with our faith, in which he put some little confidence. I asked him if they had never seen God, nor heard from their ancestors that God had come into the world. He said that they had never seen him; but that formerly there were five men who went towards the setting sun, who met God, who asked them: "Where are you going?" they answered: "We are going in search of our living." God replied to them: "You will find it here." They went on, without paying attention to what God had said to them, when he took a stone and touched two of them with it, whereupon they were changed to stones; and he said again to the three others: "Where are you going?" They answered as before, and God said to them again: "Go no farther, you will find it here." And seeing that nothing came to them, they went on; when God took two sticks, with which he touched the two first, whereupon they were transformed into sticks, when the fifth one stopped, not wishing to go farther. And God asked him again: "Where are you going?" "I am going in search of my living." "Stay and thou shalt find it." He staid without advancing farther, and God gave him some meat, which he ate. After making good cheer, he returned to the other savages, and related to them all the above.
He told me also that another time there was a man who had a large quantity of tobacco (a plant from which they obtain what they smoke), and that God came to this man, and asked him where his pipe was. The man took his pipe, and gave it to God, who smoked much. After smoking to his satisfaction, God broke the pipe into many pieces, and the man asked: "Why hast thou broken my pipe? thou seest in truth that I have not another." Then God took one that he had, and gave it to him, saying: "Here is one that I will give you, take it to your great Sagamore; let him keep it, and if he keep it well, he will not want for any thing whatever, neither he nor all his companions." The man took the pipe, and gave it to his great Sagamore; and while he kept it, the savages were in want of nothing whatever: but he said that afterwards the grand Sagamore lost this pipe, which was the cause of the severe famines they sometimes have. I asked him if he believed all that; he said yes, and that it was the truth. Now I think that this is the reason why they say that God is not very good. But I replied, "that God was in all respects good, and that it was doubtless the Devil who had manifested himself to those men, and that if they would believe as we did in God they would not want for what they had need of; that the sun which they saw, the moon and the stars, had been created by this great God, who made heaven and earth, but that they have no power except that which God has given them; that we believe in this great God, who by His goodness had sent us His dear Son who, being conceived of the Holy Spirit, was clothed with human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, lived thirty years on earth, doing an infinitude of miracles, raising the dead, healing the sick, driving out devils, giving sight to the blind, teaching men the will of God his Father, that they might serve, honor and worship Him, shed his blood, suffered and died for us, and our sins, and ransomed the human race, that, being buried, he rose again, descended into hell, and ascended into heaven, where he is seated on the right hand of God his Father." [142] I told him that this was the faith of all Christians who believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that these, nevertheless, are not three Gods, but one the same and only God, and a trinity in which there is no before nor after, no greater nor smaller; that the Virgin Mary, mother of the Son of God, and all the men and women who have lived in this world doing the commandments of God, and enduring martyrdom for his name, and who by the permission of God have done miracles, and are saints in heaven in his paradise, are all of them praying this Great Divine Majesty to pardon us our errors and sins which we commit against His law and commandments. And thus, by the prayers of the saints in heaven and by our own prayers to his Divine Majesty, He gives what we have need of, and the devil has no power over us and can do us no harm. I told them that if they had this belief, they would be like us, and that the devil could no longer do them any harm, and that they would not lack what they had need of.
Then this Sagamore replied to me that he acknowledged what I said. I asked him what ceremonies they were accustomed to in praying to their God. He told me that they were not accustomed to any ceremonies, but that each prayed in his heart as he desired. This is why I believe that they have no law, not knowing what it is to worship and pray to God, and living, the most of them, like brute beasts. But I think that they would speedily become good Christians, if people were to colonize their country, of which most of them were desirous.
There are some savages among them whom they call Pilotoua, [143] who have personal communications with the devil. Such an one tells them what they are to do, not only in regard to war, but other things; and if he should command them to execute any undertaking, as to kill a Frenchman or one of their own nation, they would obey his command at once.
They believe, also, that all dreams which they have are real; and many of them, indeed, say that they have seen in dreams things which come to pass or will come to pass. But, to tell the truth in the matter, these are visions of the devil, who deceives and misleads them. This is all that I have been able to learn from them in regard to their matters of belief, which is of a low, animal nature.
All these people are well proportioned in body, without any deformity, and are also agile. The women are well-shaped, full and plump, and of a swarthy complexion, on account of the large amount of a certain pigment with which they rub themselves, and which gives them an olive color. They are clothed in skins, one part of their body being covered and the other left uncovered. In winter they provide for their whole body, for they are dressed in good furs, as those of the elk, otter, beaver, seal, stag, and hind, which they have in large quantities. In winter, when the snows are heavy, they make a sort of raquette [144] two or three times as large as those in France. These they attach to their feet, and thus walk upon the snow without sinking in; for without them, they could not hunt or make their way in many places.
Their manner of marriage is as follows: When a girl attains the age of fourteen or fifteen years, she may have several suitors and friends, and keep company with such as she pleases. At the end of some five or six years she may choose that one to whom her fancy inclines as her husband, and they will live together until the end of their life, unless, after living together a certain period, they fail to have children, when the husband is at liberty to divorce himself and take another wife, on the ground that his own is of no worth. Accordingly, the girls are more free than the wives; yet as soon as they are married they are chaste, and their husbands are for the most part jealous, and give presents to the father or relatives of the girl whom they marry. This is the manner of marriage, and conduct in the same.
In regard to their interments, when a man or woman dies, they make a trench, in which they put all their property, as kettles, furs, axes, bows and arrows, robes, and other things. Then they put the body in the trench, and cover it with earth, laying on top many large pieces of wood, and erecting over all a piece of wood painted red on the upper part. They believe in the immortality of the soul, and say that when they die themselves, they shall go to rejoice with their relatives and friends in other lands.
ENDNOTES:
141. Vide Vol. II of this work, p 190.
142. This summary of the Christian faith is nearly in the words of the Apostles Creed.
143. On Pilotoua or Pilotois, vide Vol. II. note 341.
144. Une manière de raquette. The snow-shoe, which much resembles the racket or battledore, an instrument used for striking the ball in the game of tennis. This name was given for the want of one more specific.
CHAPTER IV.
THE RIVER SAGUENAY AND ITS SOURCE.
On the 11th of June, I went some twelve or fifteen leagues up the Saguenay, which is a fine river, of remarkable depth. For I think, judging from what I have heard in regard to its source, that it comes from a very high place, whence a torrent of water descends with great impetuosity. But the water which proceeds thence is not capable of producing such a river as this, which, however, only extends from this torrent, where the first fall is, to the harbor Tadoussac, at the mouth of the Saguenay, a distance of some forty-five or fifty leagues, it being a good league and a half broad at the widest place, and a quarter of a league at the narrowest; for which reason there is a strong current. All the country, so far as I saw it, consisted only of rocky mountains, mostly covered with fir, cypress, and birch; a very unattractive region in which I did not find a level tract of land either on the one side or the other. There are some islands in the river, which are high and sandy. In a word, these are real deserts, uninhabitable for animals or birds. For I can testify that when I went hunting in places which seemed to me the most attractive, I found nothing whatever but little birds, like nightingales and swallows, which come only in summer, as I think, on account of the excessive cold there, this river coming from the northwest.
They told me that, after passing the first fall, whence this torrent comes, they pass eight other falls, when they go a day's journey without finding any; then they pass ten other falls and enter a lake [145] which it requires two days to cross, they being able to make easily from twelve to fifteen leagues a day. At the other extremity of the lake is found a people who live in cabins. Then you enter three other rivers, up each of which the distance is a journey of some three or four days. At the extremity of these rivers are two or three bodies of water, like lakes, in which the Saguenay has its source, from which to Tadoussac is a journey of ten days in their canoes. There is a large number of cabins on the border of these rivers, occupied by other tribes which come from the north to exchange with the Montagnais their beaver and marten skins for articles of merchandise, which the French vessels furnish to the Montagnais. These savages from the north say that they live within sight of a sea which is salt. If this is the case, I think that it is a gulf of that sea which flows from the north into the interior, and in fact it cannot be otherwise. [146] This is what I have learned in regard to the River Saguenay.
ENDNOTES:
145. This was Lake St John. This description is given nearly verbatim in Vol. II. p. 169.—Vide notes in the same volume, 294, 295. 146. Champlain appears to have obtained from the Indians a very correct idea not only of the existence but of the character of Hudson's Bay, although that bay was not discovered by Hudson till about seven years later than this.
CHAPTER V.
DEPARTURE FROM TADOUSSAC FOR THE FALL.—DESCRIPTION OF HARE ISLAND, ISLE DU COUDRE, ISLE D'ORLÉANS, AND SEVERAL OTHERS—OUR ARRIVAL AT QUEBEC
On Wednesday, the eighteenth day of June, we set out from Tadoussac for the Fall. [147] We passed near an island called Hare Island, [148] about two leagues, from the northern shore and some seven leagues from Tadoussac and five leagues from the southern shore. From Hare Island we proceeded along the northern coast about half a league, to a point extending out into the water, where one must keep out farther. This point is one league [149] from an island called Isle au Coudre, about two leagues wide, the distance from which to the northern shore is a league. This island has a pretty even surface, growing narrower towards the two ends. At the western end there are meadows and rocky points, which extend out some distance into the river. This island is very pleasant on account of the woods surrounding it. It has a great deal of slate-rock, and the soil is very gravelly; at its extremity there is a rock extending half a league out into the water. We went to the north of this island, [150] which is twelve leagues distant from Hare Island.
On the Thursday following, we set out from here and came to anchor in a dangerous cove on the northern shore, where there are some meadows and a little river, [151] and where the savages sometimes erect their cabins. The same day, continuing to coast along on the northern shore, we were obliged by contrary winds to put in at a place where there were many very dangerous rocks and localities. Here we stayed three days, waiting for fair weather. Both the northern and Southern shores here are very mountainous, resembling in general those of the Saguenay.
On Sunday, the twenty-second, we set out for the Island of Orleans, [152] in the neighborhood of which are many islands on the southern shore. These are low and covered with trees, Seem to be very pleasant, and, so far as I could judge, some of them are one or two leagues and others half a league in length. About these islands there are only rocks and shallows, so that the passage is very dangerous.
They are distant some two leagues from the mainland on the south. Thence we coasted along the Island of Orleans on the south. This is distant a league from the mainland on the north, is very pleasant and level, and eight leagues long. The coast on the south is low for some two leagues inland; the country begins to be low at this island which is perhaps two leagues distant from the southern shore. It is very dangerous passing on the northern shore, on account of the sand-banks and rocks between the island and mainland, and it is almost entirely dry here at low tide.
At the end of this island I saw a torrent of water [153] which descended from a high elevation on the River of Canada. Upon this elevation the land is uniform and pleasant, although in the interior high mountains are seen some twenty or twenty-five leagues distant, and near the first fall of the Saguenay.
We came to anchor at Quebec, a narrow passage in the River of Canada, which is here some three hundred paces broad. [154] There is, on the northern side of this passage, a very high elevation, which falls off on two sides. Elsewhere the country is uniform and fine, and there are good tracts full of trees, as oaks, cypresses, birches, firs, and aspens, also wild fruit-trees and vines which, if they were cultivated, would, in my opinion, be as good as our own. Along the shore of Quebec, there are diamonds in some slate-rocks, which are better than those of Alençon. From Quebec to Hare Island is a distance of twenty-nine leagues.
ENDNOTES:
147. Saut de St Louis, about three leagues above Montreal.
148. Isle au Lieure Hare Island, so named by Cartier from the great number of hares which he found there. Le soir feusmes à ladicte ysle, ou trouuasmes grand nombre de lieures, desquelz eusmes quantité: & par ce la nommasmes l'ysle es lieures.—Brief Récit, par Jacques Cartier, 1545, D'Avezac ed p. 45.
The distances are here overestimated. From Hare Island to the northern shore the distance is four nautical miles, and to the southern six.
149. The point nearest to Hare Island is Cape Salmon, which is about six geographical miles from the Isle au Coudres, and we should here correct the error by reading not one but two leagues. The author did not probably intend to be exact.
150. Isle au Coudre.—Vide Brief Récit, par Jacques Cartier, 1545, D'Avezac ed. p. 44; also Vol. II. of this work, p. 172. Charlevoix says, whether from tradition or on good authority we know not, that "in 1663 an earthquake rooted up a mountain, and threw it upon the Isle au Coudres, which made it one-half larger than before."— Letters to the Duchess of Lesdiguieres, London, 1763, p. 15.
151. This was probably about two leagues from the Isle aux Coudres, where is a small stream which still bears the name La Petite Rivière.
152. Isle d'Orléans.—Vide Vol. II. p. 173.
153. On Champlain's map of the harbor of Quebec he calls this "torrent" le grand saut de Montmorency, the grand fall of Montmorency. It was named by Champlain himself, and in honor of the "noble, high, and powerful Charles de Montmorency," to whom the journal of this voyage is dedicated. The stream is shallow, "in some places," Charlevoix says, "not more than ankle deep." The grandeur or impressiveness of the fall, if either of these qualities can be attributed to it, arises from its height and not from the volume of water—Vide ed. 1632, p. 123. On Bellm's Atlas Maritime, 1764, its height is put down at sixty-five feet. Bayfield's Chart more correctly says 251 feet above high water spring tides—Vide Vol. II of this work, note 308.
154. Nous vinsmmes mouiller l'ancre à Quebec, qui est vn destroict de laditt riuiere de Canadas. These words very clearly define the meaning of Quebec, which is an Indian word, signifying a narrowing or a contraction.—Vide Vol. II. p. 175, note 309. The breadth of the river at this point is underestimated. It is not far from 1320 feet, or three-quarters of a mile.
CHAPTER VI.
OF THE POINT ST. CROIX AND THE RIVER BATISCAN.—OF THE RIVERS, ROCKS, ISLANDS, LANDS, TREES, FRUITS, VINES, AND FINE COUNTRY BETWEEN QUEBEC AND THE TROIS RIVIÈRES.
On Monday, the 23d of this month, we set out from Quebec, where the river begins to widen, sometimes to the extent of a league, then a league and a half or two leagues at most. The country grows finer and finer; it is everywhere low, without rocks for the most part. The northern shore is covered with rocks and sand-banks; it is necessary to go along the southern one about half a league from the shore. There are some small rivers, not navigable, except for the canoes of the savages, and in which there are a great many falls. We came to anchor at St. Croix, fifteen leagues distant from Quebec; a low point rising up on both sides. [155] The country is fine and level, the soil being the best that I had seen, with extensive woods, containing, however, but little fir and cypress. There are found there in large numbers vines, pears, hazel-nuts, cherries, red and green currants, and certain little radishes of the size of a small nut, resembling truffles in taste, which are very good when roasted or boiled. All this soil is black, without any rocks, excepting that there a large quantity of slate. The soil is very soft, and, if well cultivated, would be very productive.
On the north shore there is a river called Batiscan, [156] extending a great distance into the interior, along which the Algonquins sometimes come. On the same shore there is another river, [157] three leagues below St. Croix, which was as far as Jacques Cartier went up the river at the time of his explorations. [158] The above-mentioned river is pleasant, extending a considerable distance inland. All this northern shore is very even and pleasing.
On Wednesday, [159] the 24th, we set out from St. Croix, where we had stayed over a tide and a half in order to proceed the next day by daylight, for this is a peculiar place on account of the great number of rocks in the river, which is almost entirely dry at low tide; but at half-flood one can begin to advance without difficulty, although it is necessary to keep a good watch, lead in hand. The tide rises here nearly three fathoms and a half.
The farther we advanced, the finer the country became. After going some five leagues and a half, we came to anchor on the northern shore. On the Wednesday following, we set out from this place, where the country is flatter than the preceding and heavily wooded, as at St. Croix. We passed near a small island covered with vines, and came to anchor on the southern shore, near a little elevation, upon ascending which we found a level country. There is another small island three leagues from St. Croix, near the southern shore. [160] We set out on the following Thursday from this elevation, and passed by a little island near the northern shore. Here I landed at six or more small rivers, up two of which boats can go for a considerable distance. Another is some three hundred feet broad, with some islands at its mouth. It extends far into the interior, and is the deepest of all. [161] These rivers are very pleasant, their shores being covered with trees which resemble nut-trees, and have the same odor; but, as I saw no fruit, I am inclined to doubt. The savages told me that they bear fruit like our own.
Advancing still farther, we came to an island called St. Éloi; [162] also another little island very near the northern shore. We passed between this island and the northern shore, the distance from one to the other being some hundred and fifty feet; that from the same island to the southern shore, a league and a half. We passed also near a river large enough for canoes. All the northern shore is very good, and one can sail along there without obstruction; but he should keep the lead in hand in order to avoid certain points. All this shore along which we coasted consists of shifting sands, but a short distance in the interior the land is good.
The Friday following, we set out from this island, and continued to coast along the northern shore very near the land, which is low and abundant in trees of good quality as far as the Trois Rivières. Here the temperature begins to be somewhat different from that of St. Croix, since the trees are more forward here than in any other place that I had yet seen. From the Trois Rivières to St. Croix the distance is fifteen leagues. In this river [163] there are six islands, three of which are very small, the others being from five to six hundred feet long, very pleasant, and fertile so far as their small extent goes. There is one of these in the centre of the above-mentioned river, confronting the River of Canada, and commanding a view of the others, which are distant from the land from four to five hundred feet on both sides. It is high on the southern side, but lower somewhat on the northern. This would be, in my judgment, a favorable place in which to make a settlement, and it could be easily fortified, for its situation is strong of itself, and it is near a large lake which is only some four leagues distant. This river extends close to the River Saguenay, according to the report of the savages, who go nearly a hundred leagues northward, pass numerous falls, go overland some five or six leagues, enter a lake from which principally the Saguenay has its source, and thence go to Tadoussac. [164] I think, likewise, that the settlement of the Trois Rivières would be a boon for the freedom of some tribes, who dare not come this way in consequence of their enemies, the Iroquois, who occupy the entire borders of the River of Canada; but, if it were settled, these Iroquois and other savages could be made friendly, or, at least, under the protection of this settlement, these savages would come freely without fear or danger, the Trois Rivières being a place of passage. All the land that I saw on the northern shore is sandy. We ascended this river for about a league, not being able to proceed farther on account of the strong current. We continued on in a skiff, for the sake of observation, but had not gone more than a league when we encountered a very narrow fall, about twelve feet wide, on account of which we could not go farther. All the country that I saw on the borders of this river becomes constantly more mountainous, and contains a great many firs and cypresses, but few trees of other kinds.
ENDNOTES:
155. The Point of St. Croix, where they anchored, must have been what is now known as Point Platon. Champlain's distances are rough estimates, made under very unfavorable circumstances, and far from accurate. Point Platon is about thirty-five miles from Quebec.
156. Champlain does not mention the rivers precisely in their order. On his map of 1612, he has Contrée de Bassquan on the west of Trois Rivières. The river Batiscan empties into the St. Lawrence about four miles west of the St. Anne—Vide Atlas Maritime, by Bellin, 1764; Atlas of the Dominion of Canada, 1875.
157. River Jacques Cartier, which is in fact about five miles east of Point Platon.
158. Jacques Cartier did, in fact, ascend the St. Lawrence as far as Hochelaga, or Montreal. The Abbé Laverdière suggests that Champlain had not at this time seen the reports of Cartier. Had he seen them he would hardly have made this statement. Pont Gravé had been here several times, and may have been Champlain's incorrect informant. Vide Laverdière in loco.
159. Read Tuesday.
160. Richelieu Island, so called by the French, as early as 1635, nearly opposite Dechambeau Point.—Vide Laurie's Chart. It was called St Croix up to 1633. Laverdière in loco The Indians called it Ka ouapassiniskakhi.—Jésuit Relations, 1635, p. 13.
161. This river is now known as the Sainte Anne. Champlain says they named it Rivière Saincte Marie—Vide Quebec ed. Tome III. p. 175; Vol. II. p 201 of this work.
162. An inconsiderable island near Batiscan, not laid down on the charts.
163. The St. Maurice, anciently known as Trois Rivièrs, because two islands in its mouth divide it into three channels. Its Indian name, according to Père Le Jeune, was Metaberoutin. It appears to be the same river mentioned by Cartier in his second voyage, which he explored and reported as shallow and of no importance. He found in it four small islands, which may afterward have been subdivided into six. He named it La Riuiere die Fouez.—Brief Récit, par Jacques Cartier, D'Avezac ed. p. 28. Vide Relations des Jésuites, 1635, p. 13.
164. An eastern branch of the St Maurice River rises in a small lake, from which Lake St. John, which is an affluent of the Saguenay, may be reached by a land portage of not more than five or six leagues.
CHAPTER VII.
LENGTH, BREADTH, AND DEPTH OF A LAKE—OF THE RIVERS THAT FLOW INTO IT, AND THE ISLANDS IT CONTAINS.—CHARACTER OF THE SURROUNDING COUNTRY.—OF THE RIVER OF THE IROQUOIS AND THE FORTRESS OF THE SAVAGES WHO MAKE WAR UPON THEM.
On the Saturday following, we set out from the Trois Rivières, and came to anchor at a lake four leagues distant. All this region from the Trois Rivières to the entrance to the lake is low and on a level with the water, though somewhat higher on the south side. The land is very good and the pleasantest yet seen by us. The woods are very open, so that one could easily make his way through them.
The next day, the 29th of June, [165] we entered the lake, which is some fifteen leagues long and seven or eight wide. [166] About a league from its entrance, and on the south side, is a river [167] of considerable size and extending into the interior some sixty or eighty leagues. Farther on, on the same side, there is another small river, extending about two leagues inland, and, far in, another little lake, which has a length of perhaps three or four leagues. [168] On the northern shore, where the land appears very high, you can see for some twenty leagues; but the mountains grow gradually smaller towards the west, which has the appearance of being a flat region. The savages say that on these mountains the land is for the most part poor. The lake above mentioned is some three fathoms deep where we passed, which was nearly in the middle. Its longitudinal direction is from east to west, and its lateral one from north to south. I think that it must contain good fish, and such varieties as we have at home. We passed through it this day, and came to anchor about two leagues up the river, which extends its course farther on, at the entrance to which there are thirty little islands. [169] From what I could observe, some are two leagues in extent, others a league and a half, and some less. They contain numerous nut-trees, which are but little different from our own, and, as I am inclined to think, the nuts are good in their season. I saw a great many of them under the trees, which were of two kinds, some small, and others an inch long; but they were decayed. There are also a great many vines on the shores of these islands, most of which, however, when the waters are high, are submerged. The country here is superior to any I have yet seen.
The last day of June, we set out from here and went to the entrance of the River of the Iroquois, [170] where the savages were encamped and fortified who were on their way to make war with the former. [171] Their fortress is made of a large number of stakes closely pressed against each other. It borders on one side on the shore of the great river, on the other on that of the River of the Iroquois. Their canoes are drawn up by the side of each other on the shore, so that they may be able to flee quickly in case of a surprise from the Iroquois; for their fortress is covered with oak bark, and serves only to give them time to take to their boats.
We went up the River of the Iroquois some five or six leagues, but, because of the strong current, could not proceed farther in our barque, which we were also unable to drag overland, on account of the large number of trees on the shore. Finding that we could not proceed farther, we took our skiff to see if the current were less strong above; but, on advancing some two leagues, we found it still stronger, and were unable to go any farther. [172] As we could do nothing else, we returned in our barque. This entire river is some three to four hundred paces broad, and very unobstructed. We saw there five islands, distant from each other a quarter or half a league, or at most a league, one of which, the nearest, is a league long, the others being very small. All this country is heavily wooded and low, like that which I had before seen; but there are more firs and cypresses than in other places. The soil is good, although a little sandy. The direction of this river is about southwest. [173]
The savages say that some fifteen leagues from where we had been there is a fall [174] of great length, around which they carry their canoes about a quarter of a league, when they enter a lake, at the entrance to which there are three islands, with others farther in. It may be some forty or fifty leagues long and some twenty-five wide, into which as many as ten rivers flow, up which canoes can go for a considerable distance. [175] Then, at the other end of this lake, there is another fall, when another lake is entered, of the same size as the former, [176] at the extremity of which the Iroquois are encamped. They say also that there is a river [177] extending to the coast of Florida, a distance of perhaps some hundred or hundred and forty leagues from the latter lake. All the country of the Iroquois is somewhat mountainous, but has a very good soil, the climate being moderate, without much winter.
ENDNOTES:
165. They entered the lake on St. Peter's day, the 29th of June, and, for this reason doubtless, it was subsequently named Lake St. Peter, which name it still retains. It was at first called Lake Angouleme—Vide marginal note in Hakluyt. Vol. III. p. 271. Laverdière cites Thévet to the same effect.
166. From the point at which the river flows into the lake to its exit, the distance is about twenty-seven miles and its width about seven miles. Champlain's distances, founded upon rough estimates made on a first voyage of difficult navigation, are exceedingly inaccurate, and, independent of other data, cannot be relied upon for the identification of localities.
167. The author appears to have confused the relative situations of the two rivers here mentioned. The smaller one should, we think, have been mentioned first. The larger one was plainly the St Francis, and the smaller one the Nicolette.
168. This would seem to be the Baie la Vallure, at the southwestern extremity of Lake St. Peter.
169. The author here refers to the islands at the western extremity of Lake St. Peter, which are very numerous. On Charlevoix's Carte de la Rivière de Richelieu they are called Isles de Richelieu. The more prominent are Monk Island, Isle de Grace, Bear Island. Isle St Ignace, and Isle du Pas. Champlain refers to these islands again in 1609, with perhaps a fuller description—Vide Vol. II. p. 206.
170. The Richelieu, flowing from Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence. For description of this river, see Vol. II. p. 210, note 337. In 1535 the Indians at Montreal pointed out this river as leading to Florida.— Vide Brief Récit, par Jacques Cartier, 1545, D'Avezac ed.
171. The Hurons, Algonquins, and Montagnais were at war with the Iroquois,
and the savages assembled here were composed of some or all of these
tribes.
172. The rapids in the river here were too strong for the French barque, or
even the skiff, but were not difficult to pass with the Indian canoe,
as was fully proved in 1609.—Vide Vol. II. p. 207 of this work.
173. The course of the Richelieu is nearly from the south to the north.
174. The rapids of Chambly.
175. Lake Champlain, discovered by him in 1609.—Vide Vol. II. ch. ix.
176. Lake George. Champlain either did not comprehend his Indian informants, or they greatly exaggerated the comparative size of this lake.
177. The Hudson River—Vide Vol. II. p. 218, note 347.