EE SS, ET Cd Re - x mr et NÉ Le ee ge A = : ws 2 SE # Sie. en ET = = 2 Re pré a = 5 Nee FACE Ée eon STE re her at 2 < mont Lg d PR A SPA rer ne À a : Res x x « LU a fa X Es ee NL TS PN 3 ou UE re M ST MT ENS : Fee : ; 3: = SE ee | y 4 : = | 2 ato es ee KS Ste Ne yee “ TRE + RE CS : whe ve x oer Qe aa Ê : CAES D whee . » À 4 noe pres gs LE, Pad et sd De + -~ à ve y LT re Ê à a 2 x RES. Walnut-Tree, 93. Walnut-Trees, of Louifiara, and their Properties, 304. ” War, how the Savages fing the War- Song, 130. Of the God of War, r31. Of the Declaration of War, 131. Motives which engage the Savages tomake War, 136. The ae how a War is refolved on, 137. Preparations of the Chief, 137. ,. The Deliberation ‘oF the Council: The Meafures they take to get Prifoners, 138, Songs, Dances, and Feafts of the Wars tiors, 139. The Notion thefe Peo- ple have of Courage, 139, The Trial which they make of the: Warriors, 140. ‘The Precautions for the Wounded, 140. The Fare- well of the Warriors, 142. Of their Arms, offenfive and defenfive, 143. Of the Care they take to carry their Deities, 143. Circum- ftances of the March of the War- riors, 154, Of their Encamping : Of the Meeting of different Par- ties of War, 155 Of they Ena trance into an Enemy’s CODEN : Of their Approaches and Attacks, 256... Yheir Way or fighting’: Their Inftinét to know the Mark of their fhe a À a “4 oe 2. TE 1 «iv Er er Be ne TE VUE NE ae SIN Sen Deena ane SR AE EE LR D RS PS RTE Fees ES de EE: Ms 2 e ‘ their Enemies Steps, 157. Pre- cautions to fecure their Retreat, and to keep their Prifoners, 157. Of the Marks they leave of their Viétory, 158. Triumph of the Warriors, 160. Wax, of the Myrtle Wax, 342. - Whale, its Fight with the Sword-Fifh, - 6 Of the Whale Fifhery, 33. Wheat, why it has not fucceeded in Louifiana, 302. bed of Widowhood And fe- cond Marriages among the Savages, \ | 277 Wild Cherry-Tree of Canada, 93. Wild-Cats, of Louifiana, 304. Woods, of Canada, 92. wk PT vn 6 ey. 7 à an AT 33 é t4 A Prot eg Se : A f à Le L: Wolves, or wild Cats, of Canada, 70, Woman, Tradition, of the Sin of the firtt Woman, among the Savages, 297. Woman Chief of the Nat- chez, 315. | Women, their Power in fome Savage Nations, 183. Advantages of the Mothers over the Fathers, 199, Of their Lying-in, and its Confe- quences, 199. The Care they take of their Children, 200, . Y Yafous, a Savage Nation: River of the Yafous, 308, Fort of the Ya- fous, 309. By the Tranflator’s being at a Diftance from the Prefs, the a following Errata have happened. he Page ro line 19 read Ray inftead of Race. Page 18 line 9 Breton inftead ef Britain, Page 20 line 4 des inftead of de. Page 24 line 41 Chaplain inftead of Mlmoner. Page 36 (the Note) 4 Livre is 10d. Halfpenny inftead of A Livre is is. 8d, Page 40 line 33 broad inftead of round. Page 60 line 19 Chaudierein- _ ftead of Chandiere. Page 61 the laft line Plane inftead of Plain. Page 64laft line Shamois inftead of Shamios. Page 68 line 44 againft the Wind inftead of | with the Wind. Page 70 line 31 after the Word Kind read of. Page 74 laft line read /a before Fleche. Page 81 line 38 Bete for Beer. Page 85 line 28 turning for burning, Page 95 line 11 Soleil for Soliel. Page 97 line 40 read no after the © Word Time, Page gg line 4 read it before is. Page 103 line 23 fruitful inftead — of faithful, Page 111 line 32 Scandinavia inftead of Scandinaria, Page 115 line 9 ot inftead of no. Page 136 line 16 read 100 Poles for 70 Yards. Page 175 line 16 read Grandmother inftead of Great Grandmother. Page 183 line — 21 Grandmsther inftead of Great Grandmother. Page 190 line 27, 100 Poles in-. fiead of 70 Yards. Page 204 line 44 Chaplains inftead of Almoners. Page 205 line 12 Chaplain inftead of Almoner, Page 232 read Letter XXII, inftead of — XXVI. Page 238 line 45 Maiz inftead of Wheat. Page 239 line 14 read Mafs inftead of Mes. Page 269 line 36 Wood of White Fir inftead of Wood — of Epinette. Page 283 line 8 is inftead of his, Page 284 line 8 Stragglers in ftead of Sragglers. Page 325 line 5 read Seine for Sienc. Page 338 read Great — Gainers by inftead of Great by Gainers. In feveral Places from Page 345 read Biloxi inftead of the Biloxi. Page 373 line 18 read in inftead of the. Page 376 : _ dine. 25 reckoned inftead of reckened, Page 379 line 3 by Ezf inftead of dy — North Eaft, Dane an rece Maw 7 of the TRANSLATOR. - Lthough thefe Letters were ‘begun to be written in the » Year | 1720; yet the Writer has, by Notes, taken Noticn va | Doubt, the mot perfe&t Account of Canada het is extant, And i it 1s faid that it was from this Work in particular. that our M i nier formed their Notions of the fmpertance “ Canada wi > —__ Ua BESS ESS RS ER ER Te Ds ASS a he ee ee oO OS ARRESTS eA AACR CS OL OSLO OGL DOS 2222222 F muni mm mm mme mm nn mm es ee ee ee ss. B + vo ee i a ï \ = “ 7%, - 1 | 7 = à { | 4 1 À } a > Xt, ‘ 4 : . ~ Al | f >) : 5 2 1 = = 1 ae ua F k 1 i 4 AUS ; . # | Ss ie a + i } Fe : A : + = j , 1 , k * ae | f ‘ ‘ ie À | = 4 i À # 4 ia ae eee HISTORICAL JOURNAL TRAVELS in North America Undertaken er / 2 cs 6e LE 12 By Order of the King of FRANCE. ts Léo Cas Voyage, the Great Bank of NEWFOUNDLAND, aad the River S LAURENCE. | ve _ Mapam, QUEBEC, Sepf. 24. (>See Arrived in this City after a tedious and trouble. : ‘vq fome Paffage of 83 Days : We had however but 1000 Leagues to make, fo that you fee we don’t > always go Poft at Sea, as M. the Abbot de Chay — (SW a ufed to fay. I made no Journal of this Voyage, w WEN becaufe I fuffered greatly by the Sea Sicknefs a- ve a Month. I flattered myfelf that I fhould have been free from it, becaufe I had fuffered it twice before; but there are fome Conftitutions which cannot fympathize with this Element, and -fuchis mine. And in the Condition we find ourfelves under this Sicknefs, it is not poffible to attend to what paffes in the Ship: On the other Hand, nothing is more barren than a Voyage like — this ; for the chief Obfervation to be made, is, whence the Wind blows, how much the Ship gets forward, and if it keeps 1 _ wight Courfe ; for during two thirds of the Way there is nc . to be feen but Sky and Water. However, I fhall procee 4 : form you of what I can remember, thatis moft likely tos Ce ‘ LA as ‘ ow 1 Ne A re LUE ae Sa : AT te Jr mr An Hificrical Journal of fome Minutes Amufement ; to keep, as well as I can, the Promife I made you. | We ftaid in the Road of #x the 1ft of July, and the 2d we got under Sail by Favour of a {mall Breeze from the North-Eaft. The three firft Days we had fcarce any Wind, but yet it was in our Fa- vour, and we comforted ourfelves, becaufe this made the Sea very pleafant. It looked as if it wanted to flatter us, before it fhewed itfelf in it’s worft Humour. The ath or the 5th the Wind changed, and came direétly againft us, the Sea ran high, and for near fix Weeks we were tofled in a very extraordinary Manner ; the Winds changed continually, but they were oftner againft than for us, and we were almoft always obliged to fail as near the Wind as poflible. | The oth of Auguft our Pilots thought themfelves upon the A Great Bank of Newfoundland, and they ee oats Sade Fe were not mic ie But from the. | 1 oth to the 16th we made fcarceany Way. What they call the Grear Bank of Newfoundland, is properly a Mountain hid under Water, about 600 Leagues from Franc the Weft. The Sieur Denys, who has given us a very Work of North America, and a very inftructive Treatife on th Cod Fifhery, makes this Mountain extend 150 Leagues from North to South ; but according to the moft exa& Sea Charts, it begins on the South Side, in 41 Degrees North Latitude, and it’s Northern End is in 49 Degrees 25 Minutes. The Truth is, it’s two extremities grow fo narrow, that it is difficult to mark it’s Bounds. It’s greateft Width from Eaft to Weft, is about go French and Englifh Sea Leagues; between 40 and 49 Degrees of Longitude. Ihave heard fome Seamen fay, that they have cait — . Anchor in five Fathom Water, which is againft the Sieur Denys, ~ who fays, that he never found lefs than 25 on the Bank; it is €ertain that in many Places there are above 60. About the Mid- dle of it’s Length on the Side of Europe, it forms a kind of Bay, © which they call the Pi; and this is the Reafon, that of two Ships _. which are upon the fame Line, and in Sight of each other, one … fhall find Ground, and the other none. Be er) Before we arrive at the Great Bank we meet with a fmaller one, . which is called the Facguet Bank: Some fay there is another be- . fore this, which is of a conical Figuré; but I have feen fome Pilots who of the three make but one, and they anfwer the Objections which are made to this, by faying that there are Hol- lows in the Great Bank, the Depth of which has deceived thofe whe make three of it, becaufe they did not let out Line fufncient. Whatever may be the Figure and Extent of this Mountam, | . which it is impoffible to know exaëtly, they find here a proc i- a ; "gious Quantity of Shells, and many kinds of Fifh of aire ; a ae Ge COR EEE et eg me er TE je A y hb i ÿ * a , £, LATE CREER Pavel in: North América: 4 Feet long, and at leaft two Feet broad, and a Foot thick; it has a large Head : Every Part of it is extremely good and tender; they get a Juice out of the Bones, which is better than the fineit Marrow. ‘The Eyes and the Edges of the two Sides, which they call Relingwes, are very delicate Bits. ‘They throw the whole Body into the Sea to fatten the Cod, whofe moft dangerous E- nemy is the Flettan, who will eat three of them at a Meal. —I fhall fay nothing of the various Kinds of Birds which live upon thefe Seas, and fubfift only by Fifhing ; for here all are Fifhers. Many Travellers have defcribed them, and have faid nothing on this Head that deferves to be repeated. ; The 18th, the Wind fair, wethink the Winds have carried us a little too.much to the South, and we fteer Weft North Weft, to get into our Latitude. ‘The Reafon is, we have not feen the Sun thefe ten or twelve Days, and therefore could not obferve our Latitude. This frequently happens, and is what caufesthe __ greateft Danger of this Voyage. About eight in the Morning we faw a {mall Veffel, which feemed to make towards us; we et it, and when we were near we enquired in what Latitude we ® were: It was an Lngl/ Ship, and the Captain anfwered in his ~~ own Language: We thought we underftood him that we were in 45 Degrees ; we could not greatly truft to this Account, for ~ he might be under the fame Miftake as ourfelves : However, we took Courage, and as the Wind continued fair, we flattered our- felves, if it did not change, we fhould have pañled the Gulph in two Days. : | DRE «About four in the Afternoon the Wind fell, which Was 4 0 x 1s ; however, this faved us. "At ~ Error of the Pi- Concern to us ; however, this faved us. “At ~~ eleven at Night the Horizon appeared very dark before us, tho’ every where elfe the ei. Confequences Sky was very ferene: The Sailors of the, — RES Watch * made nofcruple to fayit was Land; | the Officer made a Jeft of it, but when he found they perfifted … in the fame Opinion, he began to think they might be inthe . right. By good Fortune there was very little Wind; fo that we hoped Day would appear, before we fhould come too near the > Land. At Midnight the Watch changed; the Sailors who fucceeded the firft, were direétly of their Opinion ; but their : Officer undertook to prove by good Reafons, that the Land ‘could not be there, and what they faw was only a Fos, which would difperfe in the Morning ; he could not make them think fo, and they continued poñtive in their Opinion, that the Sky =, Lots, and the dan- “5 * A Ship’s Company is divided into four Bands, each of which are on Duty — + ne _ four Hours; each Band is commanded by an Officer, Fe) ee 8 An Eitfiorical Fournal of | was too clear to have any Fog on that Side, if there was no Land. At Day-break they all cried out that they faw Land, the Offi- cer would not vauchfafe fo much as to look that Way, but fhrugged up his Shoulders, and four o’Clock ftrikins, he goes to Bed, afirming that when he waked, they would fi: se this pre- tended Land melted away. The Officer that fucceeded, who was the Count. de Vaudreuil, being more wary, began furling fome Sails, and foon faw this Precaution was neceflary. As foon as it was Day-light they faw the Horizon almoft all bordered with Land; and they difcovered a fmall Eygujb Veffel at Anchor, about. ‘the Diftance of two Cannon Shot from us.” M. de Voutron, who was informed of it, immediately fent for the incredulous | Officer, who came out of his Cabin with much Reluétance, where he full perfifted that we could not be fo near Land; he came, -however, after two or three Summonfes, and at Sight ar the Dan- ger we had been expofed to by his Obftinacy, he ftood afto- nifhed, He is, notwithftanding, the moft fkilful Man in F rance — to navigate thefe Seas; but too ‘much Skill fometimes does Harm, when we rely too much upon it, Neverth eles, Madam, if the Wind had not failed the Day bes a: fore, at four in the Afternoon, we had certainly been loft in the Night; for we were running full Sail upon fome Breakers, from whence we could not have efcaped. ‘The Difficulty was to know whereabouts we were ; it was certain we were not in 45 Degrees ‘the Day before, but were we more to the South or North? On this we were divided-in our Opinions. One of our Officers affirmed, that the Land we faw before us was Acadia ; that he “hed as there before, and remembered it: Another afferted, that it was the Ifles of St. Peter: But what Probability is there that. we are fo far advanced ? It is but twenty-four Hours fince we were upon the Great Bank, and it is more than 100 Leaguesfrom — - the Great Bank to the Ifles of St. Peter. The -Pilot Chawiteau Maintained it was Cage Race: What a Miftake, fays he, is there an our Reckoning! there is no Doubt of it, and itisno Wonder, as itis impoñible t to make Allowances for Currents wedo not know, and which vary continually, as we have had no Obfervation to correct our Errors; but there is no Probability that we fhould be either on the Coafts of Acadia, or on the Ifles of a St. Peter. His Reafons appeared * good, yet we fhould have i # About 5 Years after, the fame Chaviteau miftook in his Reckoning ina Manner much more fatal ; he was ftill Mafter of the Camel, and pe feveral Days without an Obfervation, the Night of the 2 cth of Auguft, this “Ship was wrecked upon a Rock near Loxifbourg, in 1fle Royal,’ ‘and no r Perfon was faved. They found by the Journals of the Pilots, 1e ‘they eeckonsd themfelves 70 Leagues from that Place, { . been very glad if he had been miftaken; for we conceived how vexatious it would be to be Wind-bound under Cape Race. In this Uncertainty, we refolved to enquire of the Captain of the Englifh Ship, and Chaviteau had Orders to do it: At his Return he reported, that the £xgl/b were as much furprized as : we to find themfelves in this Bay, but with this Difference, that it was the Place they were bound to: That Cafe Race was before — . us, and Cape Brolle ten Leagues lower; that from the midit of thofe Breakers, upon which we had run a Rifk of being loft, there if- fued a River,*at the Entrance of which there was an Englifh Village, whither this little Veffel was carrying Provifions. About 15 Years fince, there happened to usin the fame . Place, a very fingular Adventure, which putus in as much Dan- gerasthat which I have juft now mentioned. It was in Auguf, and we had till then felt the Weather very hot: One Morning when we rofe, we were fo pierced with the Cold, that every Body put on their Winter Garments. We could not conceive from, — whence it could proceed, the Weather being fine, and no North Wind. In fhort, the third Day at four o’Clock in the Morn-. ing, a Sailorcried as loud as hecould, Luff; that is to fay, turnthe to the Windward ; he was obeyed, and the Moment after | direétly turned the Helm. I did not fee this Ice, for I was not yet up; but allwhowerethen upon Deck affured us, that it feemedas high as the Towers of No- tre Dame at Paris, and was for certainty much higher than the Mafts me . of the Ship. I have often heard it afirmed that fuch a Thing was impoffible, becaufe it muft have been prodigioufly deep torife fo high above the Sea; and that it was not poffible that a Piece of. Ice fhould acquire that Height : To this I anfwer in the firft ' Place, that to deny the Faét we muft give the Lie to many People, © for itis not the firft Time that fuch floating Rocks have been feenin the Sea. The Ship called the Mother of the Incarnation, making the fame Courfe as we did, ran the fame Danger in open ‘+ Day; the Rock of Ice which nearly occafioned its Lofs, for Want’ of Wind to fhun it, was feen by the whole Ship’s Company, and ™ judged to be much greater ftill, than that which we met. They add that the General Abfolution was given, as in Cafesof the greateft Datiger. vo “HS It is certain in the fecond Place, thatin Hud/on’s Bay thereare fome of thefe Rocks of Ice formed by the Fallof Torrents, which come from the Tops of the Mountains, and which break away ~~ _ with a vaft Noife during the Summer, and are afterwards driven i bout by the Currents. The Sieur Yeremy who lived many Years. .; Se, ae er oe Travels\in North, Amenities. : 7: gx a Hi + perceived avait floating Piece of Ice, which ran clofe by the iM Ship’s Side, and againit which we fhould have been wrecked, 1f the Sailor had not had good Eyes, and if the Steerfman had not: yee: overs in feveral Places fine Porphyry. On the Side of Mau 10 An Hiftorical Fourral of this Bay, fays he had the Curiofity to found at the Foot of one of thefe Rocks of Ice which was aground, and that they let out an hundred Fathoms of Line without reaching the Bottom, But I return to our Voyage. Cape Race Madam, is the South Eaft Point of the Mand of Neau- _ foundland; it is fituated in 46 Degrees, and Ly ope tae about 30 Minutes Norill Latitude . the Coaft runs from thence 100 Leagues to the Weft, making a little to About half Way is the great Bay of Placentia, which makes one ef the fineft Ports in America. Weft South Weft of this Bay, there is a high Land, which is feen at a great Diftance, and ferves to make it known : It is called X Chapeau rouge (the Red Hat) becaufe at a Diftance it appears in the Shape of a Hat, andisof a reddifh Colour. The 23d at Noon we were over againftit, and in the Evening we came up withthe Ifles of St. Peter, which were on our right Hand, They are three Iflands, the two firft of which are very high, olf aes 3 and from the Side on which we were, they. Pai a Sek appeared to be nothing but Mountain: | covered with Mofs. They fay that this N the North, and terminates at Cape Ray, which is in 47 Degrees. ag de. +7 fe _ foundland there are fome Lands which may be cultivated; and a pretty good Port, were we formerly had fome Habitations. The _ greateft and moft Weftern of the three, which is moft commonly called the Ifle Miquelon, is not fo high as the other two, and appears very level; it is about three quarters of a League Tong. The z4th at Day break, it was 5 or 6 Leagues behind ass bat after Midnight we had no Wind: About four o’Clock jn the Morning, there arofe a {mall Breeze from the South Eaft. Waiting till it was ftrong enough to fill our Sails, we amufed -ourfelves with Fifhing, and took a pretty large Quantity of Cod. » We ftopt two Hours longer than we fhould have done, for this _ Fifhery, andwe had foon Caufe enough to repent it: It was eight — © Clock when we got under Sail, and we run all the Day in ~ Hopes of difcovering Cape Ray, which was on our right, or the little Ifle of St. Paul, which we were to leave on the left, and ‘which is almoft over againft Cape Ray; but the Night came on before wecould difcover either. We heartily wifhed then, we had ‘made Ufe of the Time we had loft. What was the more vexatious we hadabout Midnight another Storm, much like that cn the Great Bank, and knowing that we were near one of thofe two Iflands which we were to pafs between, we did not dare to make Ufe of the Wind, which would have carried us on at a great Rate, So, | contrary to the Opinion of Cheviteau, who engaged to go for- ward without Danger, we lay by. | Be. oe At break of Day we difcovered Cafe Ray, upon which the — a4 ae io \ Travels in North America. ee Currents bore us, and to encreafe our Misfortuné, we had no Wind to keep us off : We were almoft upon it, when about’ half an Hour paft five in the Morning a {mall Breeze from the North Weft, came in very good Time to our Afiiftance. We loft nothing of it, and we got outof Danger. The North Weft after having done us this good Office, would ‘have obliged us extremely, if it had given Place to fome other Wind ; but it did not, and for two Days kept us at the Entrance of the Gulf i of St. Laurence. On the third Day we paffed between the Ifleof Sz. Paul, and Cape St. Laurence; which is the mok northerly Point of Ifle Royal ; this Paflage is very narrow, and we do not hazard ourfelves na init, when the Air isfoggy. The Paflage whichis between the Ifle of St. Paul and Cape Ray, is much wider; but our Sails were fet to take the other, and we made Ufe of it. | The Gulf of St. Laurence is 80 Leagues long, which we paffed with a good Wind in twenty-four Hours, by S ri he Ce a the help of the Currents. About half Way we ; x Bird lands ”™ meet with the Bird Hand, which we paffed confounded with thofe which Yawes Cartier difcovered near the 2 within Cannon Shot, and which muftnotbe AR SEE Ifland of Newfoundland. ‘Thefe I fpeak of, are two Rocks, _ : which appeared to me to rife perpendicular, about 60 Feet above —_ the Sea; the largeft of which is not above z or 300 Paces in Circumference : ‘They are very near each other, and I believe , there is not Water enough between them for 2 large Boat. Itis dificult to fay what Colour they are, for the Dung of the Birds entirely cover their Surface and Sides: Yet we difcovered in fome Places, Veins of a reddifh Colour. . They have been often _ vifited, and Boats have been entirely loaded here with Eggs of ne all Sorts: ‘They fay that the Stench is infupportable. They - add, that with the Perguins, which come from the neighbouring Lands, they find many other Birds which can’t fly. The mediately finds herown. We fired a Gun, which gave the Alarm above the two Iflands, a thick Cloud of thefe Birds, which was — at leaft two or three Leagues round. ‘ _~ Wonder is, that in fuch a Multitude of Nefts, every Birdim- thro’ all this flying Commonwealth, and there was formed gay pect sine The next Day, about the Dawn, the Wind dropt all at once. | 7 In two Hours more we could have doubled Cape Rofers, and | . 1 RS PE ge ‘We have entered the River S+. Laurence, which runs North Eaftand = South Weft, and the North Weft Wind which rofe foon after, would have ferved us; but we loft two Hours of the twenty-four: in Fifhing,and in Confequence, two Days at the Entrance of the Gulf; and we were obliged to wait here till the North Weft _ dropped, which was not in five Days, in which we made only five Leagues. | hed i : | Cz . Cape af Pets pe AN tm ee 3 2 : sy Pek ee RES eae te wee ONE ity Sin a ‘ $ 12 An Hiflorical “fournal of Cape Rofers is properly the Entrance of the River Sr. Laurence, and from hence we muft meafure the Width of its Mouth, which is about 30 Leagues. A little on this Side, more to the South, are the Bay and Point of Ga/pe, or Gachepe. 'Thofe who pre- tend that the River St. Laurence is 40 Leagues wide at its Mouth, meafure it probably from the Eaïtern Point of Ga/pe. Below the Bay we perceive a Kind of Ifland, which is only a fteep Rock, about 30 Fathoms long, 10 high, and 4 in Breadth: It looks like Part of an Old Wall, and they fay it joined formerly to Mount Joli, which is over againft it on the Continent. [his ~ Rock has in the midit of it an Opening like an Arch, under which a Boat of Sifcay may pafs with its Sail up, and this has givenitthe Name of the pierced land: Sailors know they are near-it, when they perceive a flat Mountain ftand above others, : and which is called Rowland’s Table. The Ifland of Bonaventure is ‘a League diftant from the pierced Ifland; about the fame Diftance is the Ifland Mz/cou, which is eight Leagues in Compafs, and has a very good Haven. Not far from this Ifland, there rifes out of : the Sea a Spring of Frefh Water, which bubbles up, and makes a Jet like a Fountain pretty high. , : All thefe Coafts are excellent for their Fifhery, and the An- chorage is good every where. It would be eafy alfo to eftablith Magazines here for the Ufe of Quebec. But we have loft a great deal of Time in purfuing the Fur Trade, which we fhould have employed in the Fifhery for Cod and many other Sorts of Fifh, - with which this Sea abounds, and in fortifying ourfelves in ‘ thofe Ports, the Importance of which we have difcovered too late. Pr "Se _ But to return to our Voyage: It was natural upon having near us fuch fafe and convenient Retreats, that we fhould have made Ufe of them, to wait for the Return of a fair Wind ; but they hoped “it would return every Minute, and they wanted te take Advantage of it immediately. KE 282 ant” … Atlength, on Thurfday the roth of September, the North Weit Wind dropt about Noon, when finding we could not ad- vance, or fcarcely work the Ship, we amufed ourfelves with fifhing, and this Amuefment was again hurtful tous; for the Stecrfman ,minding his fifhing more than his. Helm, let the | Wind come upon his Sails’: During the Calm, we had driven . much upon the Iile of 4zticofe, and this Neglect of the Steerf- man brought us fo near, becaufe the Currents carried us that Way, that we faw plainly all the Breakers with which the Ifland is bordered. To compleat ourMisfortune, the little Wind which _ Was jut rifen failed us in our Neceffity. ee _ Had this Calm continued but a fhort Time, we liad been loft. À Moment after our Sails fwelled a little, and we: endeavoured : ee € + to be out-of Danger; bg ff * PS LP ‘ Travels in North America. 12,0 to change our Courfe, but the Ship, contrary to whatis ufual, . would not come to the Wind, and this twice together: A certain Proof, that the Current by which it was carried was very. ftrong. We thought ourfelves loft without Refource, becaufe we: were very near the Rocks: To run the Ritk of turning about with the Wind in our Poop was extremely hazardous ; but after all, there was nothing elfeto be done; fo we fet ourfelves to work, ratherto have nothing to reproach onrfelves with, thenin Hopes of faving ourfelves; and in an Inftant we found by Experience, that Gop comes to the Affiftance of thofe that endeavour to help them. felves. The Wind changed to the North, it frefhened by Degrees, and aboutfeven o’Clock at Night we cleared the Point of dnii- — & cafe, which had put us in fo much Fear. This Ifland extends about 40 Leagues North Eaft, and South D ofertbiien fide Welt, about the Middle of the River Sz. Lan. ‘The of Anticotte, 7" but has little Breadth. . It was granted | “* to the Sieur Foliez, upon his Return from the Difcovery of the Mifefippi, but they made him no great Prefent., It is abfolutely eood for nothing: It is poorly wooded, its Soil is barren, andit has not a fingle Harbour where a Ship may be in Safety. There was. a Report fome Years ago, that there was a Mine of Silver difcovered in this Ifland ; and for Want of Mi. hers, they fent from Quebec (where I was at that Time) a Gold- _ {mith to make the Proof of it; but he did not go far. He foon | perceived by the Difcourfe of the Perfon who raifed the Re- port, that the Mine exifted only in his own whimfical Brain, = The Coaîts of this Ifland are pretty well ftored with Fifhs neverthelefs, I am perfuaded, that the Heirs of the Sieur Folier would willingly change their va Lordfhip, for the fmalleft Fief Of France. .. . 3 à | When we haye paffed this Ifland, we have the Pleafure to fee Land on both Sides, and to be aflured of the Way we make : but we muit fail with a great deal of Caution up the River, Tuesday the 3d, we left on the left Hand the Mountains of Notre Dame, and Mount Louis; it is a Chain of very high Moun- tains, between which there are fome Vallies, which were. formerly inhabited by Savages. ‘The Country round about Mount Louis has fome very good Land, and fome Frezch Habi- tations. They might make here a very good Settlement for the Fifhery, efpecially for Whales ; and it would be convenient | for Ships which come from France, to find Affiftance here, which they fometimes extremely want. The next Night the Wind, » is encreafed, and was very near playing us an ugly Trick. We, were not far from Trinity Point, which we were to leave upon | and the Steerfman thought us wide enough fromit, ight ; a but M. de Voutron ftarted up in a Fright, crying OES ey $4 ta CS Oe MIE FE. eT ein di pat 14 An Hiftorical Fournal f crying out to the Steerf{man to keep off the Shore. If this Order had been deferred a Quarter of an Hour, the Ship had run upon the Point, which appeared fome Moments after. ‘The / 4th at Night, we anchored for the firft Time, a little below what they call the Paps of Matane. ‘They are two Heads of the fame Mountain, which 1s about two Leagues within Land. I. do not think one can fee a wilder Country; there is nothing to be feen but poor Woods, Rocks, Sands, and not one Ineh of good Land; there are indeed fome fine Springs, and Plenty of good Wild-Fowl ; but it is impoflible for ‘any but Savages and Canadians to follow their Game in fuch a Place. On the gther Side of the River is the Shoal of Manicouagan, famous for Bore than one Ship-wreck, which advances two Leagues into the River. It takes its Name froma River which rifes in the Moun- . tains of Labrador, makes a pretty large Lake, which bears the fame Name, but more commonly that of S¢. Barnabas, and difcharges itfelf into the River S+. Laurence acrofs the Sand : Some of our Maps call it /a Riwure Noire (the Black River.) The 8th we fet Sail, but it was not worth our while for the ‘Way we made; but Variety of Amufement and Exercife is good © for Sailors. Inthe Nightof the roth we made 15 Leagues; andin half a League more we had cleared the moft difficult Paflage of the River. We alfo fhould have got into the ftrong ‘Tides, for to this Place they are hardly yet perceivable but atthe Shores: But the Wind changed fuddeniy tothe South Weft, and obliged us to feck for Shelter, which we found under Ifle Verte or Green Iland, where we remained five Days. We wanted nothing here, but at the End of this Time, we refolved to try if we could not find on the North Side, as we were made to hope, fome Land. Winds, which would carry us into the great Tides. Ret We went therefore, and anchored at MoulinBaude ( Baude Mill) pre os the Traverfe is five Leagues over. Upon ar- PARUS, siving here, I afked to fee the Mill, and they wag ine. Fert of fhewed mé fome Rocks; from. site Tadouffac. à ' nly a ftream of clear Water. ‘They might build a Water-Mill here,pbut it is not likely it will ever be done. There is not perhaps a Country in the World lefs habitable than this. The Saguenay is a little higher ; it is a River which the _ largeft Veffels may go up 25 Leagues ; at the Entrance we leave the Port of Yadouffac to the Right. The greateft Part of our. | Lt Pme have here placed a Town, but where there never | was but one French Houfe, and fome Huts of Savages who. came there in the Time ofthe Trade, and who carried away. their Huts or Booths, when they went away; and this was the _ whole Matter. It is true that this Port has been a long Time # Er / A DES the Refort of all the Savage Nations of the North and Eaft, and. Travels in North America. rn that the Frezch reforted hither as foomas the Navigation was free, both from France and Canada; thie?Miflionaries alfo made -Ufe of the Opportunity, and came to trade here for Heaven: _And when the ‘Trade was over, the Merchants returned to their Homes, the Savages took the Way to their Villages or Forefts, and the Gofpel Labourers followed the laft, to compleat their _Inftruétions. Yet fome Accounts, and fome Travellers, have fpoken much of Yadoufac; and the Geographers have fuppofed it was a Town; and fome Authors have given it a Jurifdiétion. Tadouffac in other Refpects, is a good Port, and they affured me that 25 Meñof War might lay here fheltered from all Winds; that the Anchorage is fafe, and Entrance eafy. Its Shape is al- .moft round, fome fteep Rocks of a prodigious Height furround it on all Sides, and a fmail Stream runs from them, which may fupply the Ships with Water. All the Country 2s full of Mar~ ble; but its greateft Riches would be the Whale Fifhery. In _ 1705, being at Anchor with the Herce in this Place, I faw four of thefe Fifth, which were between Head and Tail, almoft as long ‘ as our Ship. The Bi/caniers have followed this Fifhery formerly with Succefs, and there is {till upon a little Ifland of their Name, and which is little lower than [île Verte (Green Ifland) fome Re. ' mains of the Furnaces, and the Ribs of the Whales. . What a Differenceis there betwixt a fixt Fifhery, which they might fol- low quietly in a River, and that which they goto Greenland for with fo much Danger and Expence. The two following Days there was no Land Wind, and we greatly regretted our firit An- chorage, near which there were fome Frexch Habitations, whereas here we faw neither Man nor Beaft: In fhort, the 3d Day at . Noon we weighed Anchor, and we cleared the Paflage of L'Ile Rouge (Red Ifland) which is dificult. You muft firft bear upon the Iland as if you would land on it, this is to fhun the Poznte aux Allouetts (Lark Point) which is at the Entrance of Saguemay upon the Left, and which advances greatly into the River; hav- ‘ing done this, we change our Courfe. The Paflage on the South of L'Ile Rouge is much fafer, but to do this we muft have gone back, andthe Wind might have failed us. L’Z/le Rouge is only a Rocka little above Water, which appears red, and upon which more than one Ship has been loft. The next Day with little Wind and Tide, we came to an | - Anchor above the Ifland Coudres, which is 1 ee Leagues from Quebec and Tadïuflac ; and thee Pafiage is dangerous, when the Wind is not to our Defire; it is rapid, ftraight, and a Mile long. Formerly it was much fafer, butin 1663 an Earthquake Condres, and the Gwar. _ rooted up a Mountain, and threw it upon the Tile of Coudres; _ whichwas madeone half largerthan before, and inthe Place ofthe - Mountain Ê . 4 n PA 2, à Ae ee 16 An Hiftcrical Fournal of a _ Mountain there appeared a Gulf, which it is not fafe to approach. We might have pafied the South of the Ifland Coudres, and this Paflage would have been fafe and eafy ; it bears the Name of M. d’lberville, who tryed it with Succefs, but it is the Cuftom to pafs by the North, and Cuftom is an abfolute Law for the Ge-. nerality of Mankind. Above the Gulph I have juft mentioned is the Bay of S+. Paul, | pt where the Habitations begin on the North | eg Bay of Side ; and there are fome Woods of Pine- OR ahi t Trees, which are much valued : - Here are alfo forme red Pines of great Beauty. Méffrs. of the Seminary of Quebec are Lords of this * Bay. Six Leaoues higher, there is a very high Promontory, which terminates a Chain of Moun- . tains, which extend above 400 Leagues to the Weft: It is call- ed. Cape Torment, probably becaufe he that gave it this Name, fuffered here by a Guit of Wind. The Anchorage is good, and weare furrounded by Iflands of all Sizes, which afford a very good Shelter. ‘The moft.confiderable is the Ifle of Or- leans, the Fields of which being all cultivated, appear like an Amphitheatre, and terminate the Profpeét very pleañngly. This Iiland is about ‘14 Leagues in Compafs; and in 1676 it was _ made a Title of Honour, and firit gave Title of Count to Francis Berthelot, Secretary General of the Ordinance, by the Stile of . Count St. Laurence; who purchafed it of Francis de Laval, firtt Bithop of Quebec, It contained then four Villages, but it has now fix Parifhes pretty well peopled... Of the two Channels made by. this Ifland, that of the South only is navigable for Ships : Even Boats cannot pafs that of the North but at high Water : So that from Cape Yorment we muit traverfe the River to go to Quebec, and this 'Traverfe has its Difficulties ; we meet with fome moving Sands, on which there is not always Water enough for large Veffels, fo that this is never attempted but whilit the Tide flows. But this Difficulty might be fhunned by taking the Paflage of M. d’lberville. Cape Torment, from which we pafs to make the Traverfe, is 110 Leagues from the Sea, and yet the Water is a little brackifh: It is not fit todrink, but at the Entrance of the two Canals, which form the Iile of Orlean;. ‘This is a Phoenomenon pretty hard to explain, efpecially if we confider the great Rapidity of the River, notwithftanding its _ Breadth. The Tide flows here regularly 5 Hours, and ebbs feven. At Vadouffacit ebbs and flows fix Hours; and the higher "we go upthe River, the more the Flood diminifhes, and the Ebb - increafes. At twenty Leagues above Quebec it flows three Hours, end ebbs nine, Higher up the Tide is not perceivable. When itis * A very good Lead Mine has been found here lately, # "© : À 446 ‘ TA 4 ie ae HAE rae 773 "M + pe) e Bay + SE & 5 ve | 2 ALES à , z vi LKC \ | ‘ LE 2 ti, 1 nage ‘ Travels in North America. #7 half Flood in the Port of Yadouffac, and at the Entrance of So- guenay, itis but juft beginning to flow at Checcutimi, twenty-five Leagues higher up the River Saguenay; and yet it is high Water at the three Places at the fame Time: This happens no Doubt becaufe the Rapidity of the River Saguenay, greater than that of St. Laurence, running againft the Tide, makes an Equili- brium for fome Time between Checoutimi, and the Entrance of the Saguenay into the Great River. This Rapidity was not fo great but fince the Earthquake of 1663. This Earthquake overthrew a Mountain in the River, which ftraitened its Bed, and formed a Peninfula, which they call Checoutimi, above which the Stream is — fo ftrong, that Canoes can’t get up it. The Depth of Saguenay, fromits Mouth up to Checoutimi, is equal to its Rapidity : So that it would not be fafe to anchor in it, if they could not make faft their Veffels to the T'rees that cover the Banks of this River. Itis alfo found that in the Gulf of Sz. Laurence, at eight or ten Leagues from the Land, the Tides are different, according to the various Situations of the Land, or the Difference of the Seafons ; that in fome Places they follow the Winds, and in o- thers they run againft the Wind ; that at the Mouth of the River, at certain Months of the Year, the Currents always run to the - Sea, and in others always towards the Land ; and laftly, that in the River itfelf, till near the feven Iflands, that is to Jay, fixty Leagues, there is no Flux on the South Side, nor any Reflux on the North Side. It is not eafy to give any good Reafons for all this ; all that can be faid, with the greateft Probability, is, that there are fome Motions under. Water, which produce thefe Irregularities, or that there are fome Currents which come and go from the Surface to the Bottom, and from the Bottom to the Surface, in the Manner of Pumps. Another Obfervation to be _ made here is, that the Variation of the Compafs (which in fome - Orleans. Ports of France, is but two or three Degrees North Weft) con- tinues always decreafing till we come tothe Azores, where there is no longer any Variation; but from thence it increafesin fuch a Manner, that upon the Great Bank of Newfoundland it is twenty-two Degrees and more ; afterwards it begins to decreafe, but flowly, fince it is ftill fixteen Degrees at Quebec, and twelve in the Country of the Hurons, where the Sun fets thirty-three Minutes later than at Quebec. AE Sunday the twenty-fecond, we caft Anchor by oe Tile of Or- ig leans, where we went to take an Airing, DUR of till the Return of the ‘Tide. ‘Tee a Country fine, the Soil good, and the Inha- bitants pretty well at their Eafe. T hey have the Charaéter of oe being given to Witchcraft; and they are confulted, they fay,up- on future Events, and concerning what pafles in diftant Places. D SEB Geer SE Ne SF Le. M 4 da : | Le An Hiftorical aurnal of For Inftance : If the Ships of France do not arrive fo foon : as -ufual, they are confulted to hear News of them, and it is faid they have fometimes anfwered pretty true ; that is to fay, having _ gueffed right once or twice, and having out of Diverfion made People believe that they {poke from a certain Knowledge, Peo- pe fancied they had confulted the Devil. When ‘ames Cartier difcovered this Ifland, he found it full of Vice, and named it the Ifle of Bacchus. "This Navigator was a Bastais. After him there came fome Normans ; who plucked up the Vines, and fubftituted Pomona and Ceres in the Room of Bacchus. ‘In Fatt, it produces good Wheat and excellent Fruit. They alfo begin to cultivate Tobacco, and it is not bad.—At length, on Monday the 23d, the Camel anchored before Quebec, where I arrived two Hours before in a Canoe of Bark. [have a thoufand Leagues to travel in thefe brittle Vehicles : I muft ufe myfelf to them by Degrees. This is, Madam, all that I could recolle& of the Particulars of my Voyage.---I fhall have fomething of more Confequence to write hereafter. JT am, &c. I BE ee Roe A Defcription of QUEBEC, Gharader of the Inhabitants, and d the Manuer of Living in the FRENCH CoLony. ee, Mapam; QUEBEC; Of. 28, 1720 TJ Am going to fpeak of Quebec.---All the Defcriptions I have hitherto feen of it are fo different, that I thought it would : be a Pleafure to you to fee a true PiGure of this Capital of New France. It really deferves to be known, were it only for “sb, Me The Abenaquis, whole Eanguage is a Diale& < off the Singularity of its Situation ; for itis the only City.in the World that can boaft of a Port in frefh Water a hundred and twenty Leagues from the Sea, and capable of Containing one hundred Ships of the Line. It is alfo fituated on the moft navi- joes River in the World. ‘This River, up to the Ifle of OkLeais; that is to Tees one Whence the Nake hundred and ten, or one hundred and twelve — of Quebec és de- Leagues from the Sea, is never lefs than: four 6) or five Leagues wide ; “but above the Hand . re à it grows narrower all at once, fo that before Quebec itis but a Mile broad, which gave it the Name of Quex | 6eio,or Quebec; which, in the Lloonquin Language, fi gnifies G ie | Algom: tiny | da ce oc | * 2 ne UP: 4 Me _ Travels in North America. M — Algonquin, call it Quelibec, which fignifies fomething ut up ; be. caufe, at the Entrance of the little River Chaudiere, by which the Savages came to Quebec from the Neighbourhood of Acadia, the Point of Lew: which advances upon the Ifle of Orleans, en- tirely hides the South Channel, and the Ile of Orleans hides the — on North ; fo thatthe Port of Quebec appears only like a great Bay, The firft Thing that appears upon entering the Road, is a fine oi ‘ The Fall ; Sheet of Water, about thirty Feet wide, and us e Fall of forty Feet high. It is direétly at the En- han er trance of the little Channel of the Ifle cf Or- leans, and it is feen from a long Point of the South Coaft of the. River: which, as I faid before, feems to bend upon the Iile of Orleans. This Cafcade is called the Fall of Montmorenci, and the Point bears the Name of Levi; for New France had fuccef. fively for Viceroys, the Admiral Montmorenci, and the Duke de Ventadour his Nephew. Every Body would judge that fuch a large Fall of. Water, which runs continually, was the Difcharge of fome fine River, but it is only derived from an inconfiderable Current which in fome Places is not Ancle deep; but it runs continually, and has its Rife froma Lake about twelve Leagues from the Fall.” : The City is a League higher, and on the fame Side, in the Pte ere of very Place where the River is narroweft; but Quebec ' between the City and the Ifle of Orleans, f | there is a Bafon a full League in Extent every Way, into which the River St. Charles difcharges itfelf, which comes from the North-Weft. Quebec is between the Mouth of a this River and Diamond Cape, which advances a little into the River St. Laurence. ‘The Moorings are over-againit the City. - There is twenty-five Fathom Water, and good Anchorage; yet, _when the North-Eaft blows hard, Ships fometimes drive upon their Anchors, but without Danger. hee “When Samuel de Champlain founded this City in 1608, the Tide rofe fometimes .to the Foot of the ee 7 Rock, Since that ‘Time the Rives has re- Quebec. tired by Degrees, and left a great Space dry, where they have built the lower City, which is at prefent high enough above the Shore to fecure the Inhabitants againft the Inundations of the River. The firt Thing we find at landing, | is a pretty large Spot of an irregular Figure, which has in Front a Row of Houfes pretty well built, their Backfide clofe ta the Rock, fo that they have but littl Depth: They make a pretty long Street, which takes up the whole Bréadth of the _ Place, and extends from Right to Left to two Ways, which lead — to the upper City. The Place is bounded on the Left bya fmall Church, and on the Right by two Rows of Houfes builton QU il an i 2 sag | pe igh delat». À HAS REX ARE: ig Bae 8 {Rah ny ip hip An Hiftorical ournal of _-a Parallel. There is one Row on the other Side between the ‘Church and the Port ; and at the Turning of Cape Diamond, there is another pretty long Range of Houfes on the Side of a fmall Bay, which is called the ? An/e dgMeres, (Mother’s Bay.) This ‘Quarter may be reckoned a Kind of Suburb to the lower City. _ Between this Suburb and the great Street we afcend to the ‘upper City, bya Way fo fteep, that they have been obliged to make Steps, fo that we can only afcend on Foot: But taking the Right Hand Side, they have made a Way which is not 10 fteep, and which is bordered by Houfes: Tis at the Spot where the two Ways meet, that the upper City be- gins on the Side towards the River Sz. Laurence ; for there is : another lower City on the Side of the River St. Charles. The firft remarkable Building we find to the Right of the firft Side, is the Bifhop’s Palace: All the Left is bordered with Houfes. ‘Twenty Paces further, we arrive at two pretty large Squares, or Openings: "That on the Left is the Place of Arms, which is before the Fort, where the Governor-General refides. The Re- _ colleis are over-againft it, and fome pretty good Houfes are built on the other Side of the Square. | - In that on the Right Hand, we meet firft the Cathedral, which alfo ferves as a Parifh Church to all the City. The Seminary is on one Side, upon the Angle made by the River St. Laurence and the River Sz. Charles. Over-againift the Cathedral, is the 7e- Juits College, and between both there are pretty good Houfes. ‘From the Place of Arms, we enter two Streets, which are crofled by a third, which is entirely taken up by the Church and Con- vent of the Recollers. The fecond Opening has two Defcents . to the River Sz. Charles ; one very fteep on the Side of the Se- _minary, where there are few Houfes ; the other, by the Side of the Fefuits Inclofure, which winds very much, and has the Hotel Diex about the Mid-way, is bordered by fmall Houfes, and ends ‘at the Palace of the Intendant. On the other Side of the Fe- | fuits College, where the Church is, there is a pretty long Street, - in which are the Ur/ulines.---To conclude, all the upper City 1s built on a Foundation of Marble and Slate. fa) © This is, Madam, the Topography of Quebec ; which, as you _ . fee, has a pretty large Extent. Moft of the Houfes-are builtof ~ Stone ; and yet it is reckoned to contain but about feven thou- . fand Souls.—-But to give you a juft Idea of this City, I fhail de- _ fcribe its principal Buildings more particularly, and then I fhall givean Account of its Fortifications.---The Church of the lower City was built in Confequence of a Vow made during the Siege (a) This City is confiderably increafed within the laft twenty Years, | Travels in North America. yh et , OF Quebec, in 1690. It is dedicated to Our Lady of Vifory, and ferves the Inhabitants of the lower City. It is a yery plain Building : All its Ornament is a modeft Neatnefs. Some Sifters of a Congregation which I fhall mention hereafter, are lodged _ between this Church and the Port. There are but four or five, and keep a School. | | This Epifcopal Palace is finifhed, excepting the Chapel, -and half the Buildings of the Defign, which was intended to be along Square. If itis ever finifhed, it will be avery fine Build- ing. The Garden extends to the Brow of the Rock, and com- mands all the Road.—When the Capital of Nez France fhall be as flourifhing (a) as that of the O/d, (we muft defpair of nothing, Paris was a long Time much lefs than Quebec is now,) as far as the Eye can reach they will fee only Towns, Caitles, Country Houfes ; and all this is already fketched out : And the River Sz. Laurence, that majeftically rolls her Waters, and brings them from the Extremity of the North or the Weft, will be covered with Veflels. ‘The Ifle of Orleans, and the two Banks of thetwo : Rivers that form this Port, will difcover fine Meadows, rich | Hills, and fertile Fields; and nothing is wanting for this End, but to be more peopled. A Part of a charming Valley (which the River Sz. Charles winds pleafingly through) will, no Doubt, be joined tothe City, of which it will certainly make the fneft | Quarter : And when they have bordered ali the Road with no- ble Quays, and we fhall fee three or four hundred Ships loaded with Riches which hitherto we have not known how to value, . ~ and bringing back in Exchange thofe of the Old and New World, you will acknowledge, Madam, that this Terrafs will | afford a Profpeét that nothing can equal. | es, The Cathedral would not be a fine Parifh Church in one of , | the fmalleft T'owns in France. Judge, then, Dore if it deferves to be the Seat of - ‘only B1- : | fhoprick which is in all the French Empirein America, of greater Extent, than was ever that of the Romans. The Architecture, the Choir, the great Altar, the Chapelsof ? this Cathedral, appear only fit for a Country Church. The © moft tolerable Thing belonging to it, is a very high Tower or : Steeple, folidly built, and whichat a Diftance makes fome Ap- pearance. ‘The Seminary, which joins to the Church, isalarge : Square, the Buildings of which are not finifhed : What is built, (a) The Event of Things has fhewn, that this Author had not atruePro- _phetic Spirit. How muft the French be mortified, to find ail their fond Hopes - of raifing Quebec to fuch a Height of Magnificence, fruftrated by the Valour _. of the Englifh Arms ; and to fee that vaft Empire, which they flattered _ themfeives they fhould be able to eftablifhin North America, all transferred and - annexed tothe Imperial Crown of Britain ! - | oe and the Seminary. eee ene RSS ne = ia An Hiftoricat Journal of is well done, and with all the Conveniencies neceffary in this Country. This is the third ‘Time of- building this Houfe. It was burntentirely in 1703. Andin O4ober, 1705, when it was _ jut rebuilt, it was almoft totally deftroyed by Fire. From the Garden there is a Prof pect of the Road, and the River $y. avg fn as far as the Eye can reach, The Fort is a fine Building, which is to be flanked with two ee advanced Pavillions. There is but one Oe fiend built at prefent. They fay the other is to be ay * built very foon. fa) The Entrance is a large and reoular Court; but it has no Garden, becaufe the Fort is built upon the EF Edge of the Rock. A fine Gallery, with a Bal. cony that runs the whole Length of the Building, makes fome Amends for this Defe@. It commands the Road 3 to the Mid- dle of which one may eafily make onefelf heard with a {peaking ‘Trumpet; and the lower City is under your Feet. Coming out of the Fort, and pafling to the Left, we enter into a pretty large Efplanade ; aha; by a gentle Afceat, we arrive at the Top of Diamond Cape, which is a very fine Platform. Befides the Pleafare of the Profpe&, we breathe in this Place the pureft Air, we fee Numbers of Porpoifes, white as Snow, play on the ‘Surface of the Water, and fometimes pick up Stones which are ‘more beautiful than thofe of Alencon, or Brifiol. Thave feen fome orl formed as if they came out of the Hands of the beft Orkman, Formerly they were common, and this gave the Name tothe Cape. At prefent they are very fearce.------ The Defcent to the Count ry here is more gentle than on the Side of ‘the Efplenade. The Recollets have a large and fine Church, which would be an Di, apy: Honour to them at Ver/ailles. t is neatl on pects, roofed, ad dorned with a large Gallery ré thing heavy) of Wood, well wrought, which goes all round ; in which are made the Confeffionals. In fhort, it wants nothing ; but they fhould take away fome Pi@ures that Are very poorly painted. Father Luke has placed fome here that do no Credit to the Place. The Houfe is anfwerable to the Church : It is great, “folidly built, and convenient, accompa- nied with a large G arden well cul (Had The D | Nuns” have faffered twice by Fire, as well as the Seminary : And withal they have fuch a flender Provifion, and the Portions they receive with the Maids of this Country are fo fmall, that the firft, Time aad the Urfulines, ‘their Houfe was burnt, they had Thoughts of fending- them. back to France : However, they have made a Shift to re- eftabl: themielves both Times, and their Church is ares fi nifhe | cue f a) It-is now finithed. Se pe il rl in 4 Travels in North Amevica. 23 | They aré neatly and conveniently lodged : It isthe Fruit of the good Name they have acquired in the Colony by their Piety, Œconomy, Sobriety, and Labour: They gild and embroider. All are ufefully employed ; and whatever comes from their Hands, is generally of a good 'Tafte. ? % DLL You have feen, without Doubt, Madam, in fome of the Rela- Ce tions, that the College of the Fe/uits is.a very L 1 be Jefuits Col- fine Building. It is certain, that when this iit City was a rude Heap of French Barracks, and Savage Cabins, this Houfe (the only one with the Fort that was built of Stone) made fome Figure. The firft Travele lers, who judged by Comparifon, have reprefented it as a very fine Building. ‘Thofe who followed them, and who, according to Cuftom, copied after them, fpoke the fame Language: But the Cabins have difappeared, and the Barracks are changed to Houfes, moft of them well built ; fo that the College is now a Difgrace to the City, and is in a very ruinous Condition. (a) The Situation is bad: It is deprived of the greateft Advan= tage it could have, which is the Profpeét. It had at firfi the View of the Road, and its Founders were good enough to fancy that they would be allowed to enjoy it, but they were deceived: » The Cathedral and the Seminary make a Mafk thatleaves them | nothing but the View of the Square, which has nothingte © \ make Amends for what they have loft. The Court of the Col © lege is {mall and dirty; nothing refembles more a Farm Vard | he Garden is large and well kept, and is bounded by a little Wood, a precious Remain of the antient Foreft that formerly cos vered this whole Mountain. The Church has nothing fine on the Outfide, but a pretty Sort | of a Steeple : It is entirely covered with Slate, and is the only _ ‘one of Canada that has this Advantage, for every Thing here is = | ‘covered with Shingles. The Infide is well adorned: It has a À fine Gallery, bordered with an Iron Baluftrade, painted, gilt»and well contrived ; a Pulpit entirely gilt, and well wrought in Wood and Iron ; three handfome Altars ; fome good Pictures 5. the Roof not arched, but flat, and pretty well ornamented ; no Pavement, but a good Floor, which makes this Church more fupportable in Winter, whilft People are frozen with Cold in the others, I do not mention she four great cylindric maffiue Columusy made of one Block of a certain Porphyry black as Fet, without Spots ‘or Veins, with which it pleafed the Baron de Ja Hontan to enrich the grand Altar. They would certainly be much better than thofé | they have, which are hollow, and - coarfely covered with Mar. ble, But this Author might eafily obtain Pardon, if he had ae we x … difguifed the Truth, only to adornthe Churches. _ (4) The College is fince rebuilt, and is now very fine, 24, | An Hiftorical Fournal of . The Hofpital has two large Halls, one for the Men and the other for the Women; the Beds are well The Hofpital. | kept, the Sick are well attended, and every — Thing is convenient, and very neat. The Church is behind the Woman’s Hall, and has nothing remarka- _ble but the great Altar, the Altar-piece of which is very fine. This Houfe is ferved by fome Nuns of St. Auffin, the firft of which came from Dieppe. They have begun a good Houfe here, but itis very likely they will not foon finifh it for Want of a Fund. As their Houfe is fituated on the Midway of a Hill, on a Spot that advances a little upon the River Sz. Charles, they have a very pretty Profpect. ap The Houfe of the Intendant is called the Palace, becaufe the Chief Council meets there. It is a Grand Pavillion, the Ends of which project fome Feet, to which we afcend by a double Flight of Steps. ‘The Front towards the Garden is much plea- fanter than that of the Entrance, having a View of the little River. The Royal Magazines are on the right Side of the Court, and the Prifon is behind. ‘The Gate at the Entrance is , mafked by the Mountain, on which the upper City ftands, and which prefents in this Place only a fteep Rock, very difagreea- ble tothe Sight. It was much worfe before the Fire, which fome Years ago entirely deftroyed this (a) Palace, for it had no ‘Court in Front, and the Buildings ftood upon the Street, which is very narrow. Going down this Street, or more properly fpeaking, this Way, we come into the Country, and about half a Mile diftant ftands the General Hofpital. It is the fineft Ets es ie General Ho/- Houfe in Canada, and would be no Difgrace _ dat to our greateft Cities of France, ‘The Re- “aaa collets formerly poffefled this Place: M. de Sr. Fallier, Bifhop of Quebec, removed them into the City, bought the Ground, and fpent 100,000 Crowns in Buildings, Furni- ture, and a Fund for its Support. The only Defe& of this Hof- pital is, its being built in a Matth; however, they hope to remedy it by draining the Marfh ; but the River Sr. Charles makes an Elbow in this Place, and the Waters do not eafily run off, and. this can never be well mended. “habe The Prelate, who is the Founder, has his Apartment in the — Houfe, and makes it his ordinary , Refidence ; he lets out his _ own Palace, which is alfo his own Work, ips LY benefit of the Poor. He did not difdain to ferve as se 10 the Hofpital, _ as well as to the Nuns, and he performed the Duty of this Office with a Zeal and Affiduity, which would be admired in a com- mon Prieft, who was to live by this Employment. Artifts or | he ee (a) This Palace was again entirely burat down, ere is a ¢ RE + Cor PEN a de Travels in North America. 22 thers, whom great Age or Infirmities have deprived of getting their living, are received into this Hofpital, to acertain Number of Beds that are appropiated for this Purpofe, and thirty Nuns are employed to attend them. It is a Copy of the Hotel Dieu of Quebec, but to diftinguifh the Nuns, the Bifhop has given them fome particular Regulations, and makes them wear a Silver Crofs upon their Breafts. ‘The greateft Part of them are of good Families, and as they are not of the richeft of the Country, the Bifhop has given Portions to many. __ à | Quebec is not regularly fortified, but they have been long Citak Fue employed in making it a defenfible Place : ae La Ths City is not eafy to be taken in its pre- fent Condition. ‘The Port is flanked by two Baftions, which at the high. T'ides, are almoft level with the Water, that is to fay; about twenty-five Feet high, for the Equi- noctial Tides rife fo high. A little above the Baftion on the right, they have made a half Baftion in the Rock, and higher up, by the Side of the Gallery of the Fort, there is a Battery of twenty-five Pieces of Cannon. There is alittle fquare Fort called the Citadel ftill above this ; and the Ways to go from one Forti- . fication to another are very fteep. ‘To the left of the Port, all along the Road up to the River St; Charles, there are good Bat- — - teries of Cannon, and fome Mortars. | Re |. From the Angle of the Citadel, which looks towards the City, _ they have made an Oreille of a Baftion, from whence they have made a Curtain at right Angles, which runs to join avery high Cavalier, upon which thereis a Mill fortified. Defcending from this Cavalier, we meet, at about the Diftance of Mufket Shot, a firft Tower with Baftions, and at the fame Diftance from thisa fecond. ‘The Defign was to cover all this with a Stone facing, which was to have the fame Angles as the Baftions, and which was to terminate at the End of the Rock over againftthe Palace, where there is a little Redoubt, as well as on the Diamond Cape. actions. muft fay a Word ortwo of its Inhabitants; thisis its Beauty. And . if upon confidering only its Houfes, Squares, Streets, and public _ Buildings, we may reduce it to the Rank of the fmalleft Cities of France, the Worth of thofe who inhabit it, fecures it the Title _ of Capital. ae I know not why this has not been executed. Such was, Madam, __ _ pretty near the State of the Place in 1711, when the Engl _ fitted out a great Fleet for the Conqueft of Canada, which ae failed of Succefs through the Rafhnefs of the Commander, who, contrary to the Advice of his Pilot, came too near the feven Ifles, and loft all his largeft Ships, and three thoufand Men of his beft Trobps… | ns à 5 After having mentioned what is moft material in our Capital, I ut Og 6 An Hifforical journal of I have already faid that they reckon fcarcely at Quebec fever OF the Inbo hij thoufand Souls ; but we find here a little chofen World, which wants nothing to make . an agreeable Society. A Governor Ge- neral (2) with his Attendants, Nobility, Officers of the Army, and Troops: An Intendant (4) with an upper Council, and the inferior Jurifdidions: A Commiffary of the Marine (c): A Grand Provoft (2): AGrand Surveyor of Highways, and a Grand Mafter of the Waters and Forefts (:) whofe Jurifdition is cer- tainly the moftextenfive in the World: Rich Merchants, or who live as if they were fuch: A Bifhop and a numerous Seminary : | Recollets and Fefuits : "Three Societies of Maidens, well compofed : Circles as brilliant as in any other Place, at the Governor’s, and the Intendant’s Ladies. Here feems to me to be every Thing for all Sorts of People to pafs their Time very agreeably. And fo they doin Reality, and every one endeavours to con- tribute what they can towards it. They play, they make Parties of Pleafure, in Summer, in Chariots, or Cances ; in Winter, in Sledges on the Snow, or fkeating on the Ice. Shooting is much followed ; Gentlemen find this their only Refource to live pientifully. The News current is but little, becaufe the . Country furnifhes fcarce any, and the 'News from Europe comes _ all. together; but this affords Converfation for great Part of _ ‘the Year: They make political Remarks on Things paf, and raife Conje€tures on future Events: The Sciences and the fine Arts have their Turn, and Converfation never grows dull, "The Canapians, that is to fay, the Creoles of Canada, breath at “their Birth an Air of Liberty, which makes them very agreeable Lin the Commerce of Life; and our Language is no where fpoken with greater Purity. | Ce ee RTS S _ ‘Thereis nobody ri EUR = See ÉCHES. à ch here, and ’tis Pity, for they love to live * generoufly, and no one thinks of laying up Riches. ‘They keep * good Tables, if their Fortunes will afford it, as welF as to drefs handfomely ; if not, they retrench the Expence of their Table to beftow it on Drefs ; and indeed we muft allow that our Creoles become their Drefs. They are all of good Stature, and the beft Complexion in the World in both Sexes. A plea- - fant Humour, and agreeable and polite Manners are common to — all; and Clownifhnefs, either in Language or Behaviour, is not . known among them. . + LORS eke 1 (a) The Marquis de Vaudreuil. (b) M. Begon. (c) M. Chrambaut d'Aïgt monte (d) M, Denys de Se, Simon, (e) M, le Baron de Békançourt. À … Marfilles lies here ftill, and has found Means to be under Shel- . ma Bar ‘labours for his Heirs; the other leaves them in the Neceffity in Iwas miftaken at the End off my laft Letter, when I faid the | … Secret which may be of fome Ufe. It is good to have fome Re-. thi de ona Anchor the 22d in the Evening, and alter yo | q: revels in North ees | 26m it is not fo, as they fay, with the Englifh our Neighbours, je. and they who know the two Colonies only Mer À ae by the Manner of living, acting and {peaking say ee 2 Io of the Inhabitants, would certainly judge petty ~ ours to be the moft flourifhine. In New Eng- | ene land, and the other Provinces of the Conti- nent of America, fubje&t to the Briri/h Empire, there prevails an Opulence, of which they feem not to know how to take the Be- | nefit; and in New France, a Poverty difguifed by an Air of Eafe, AIS does not feem conftrained. Commerce, and the Culture of Plantations, ftrengthen the former; the Induftry of the In- habitants fupports the | latter, and the Tafte of the Nation diffufesan unbounded Agreeablenefs. The Exgli/b Colonift gathers Wealth, - and never runs into any fuperfluous Expernce: The Freuch enjoys what he has, and often makes a Shew of what he has not. One which he found himfelf, to fhift as well as they can. The Eng~ lif Americans are entirely averfe to War, becaufe they have much to lofe ; they do not regard the Savages, becaufe they think they have no Occafion for them. The Youth of the French, forthe \ contrary Reafons, hate Peace, and live well with the Savages, | whofe Éfteem they gain during a War, and have their F riendthip atall Times. Icould carry the Parallel further, bat I muft finifh:. The King’s Ship is ready, to fail, and the Merchant Ships are preparing to follow it; and perhaps i in three Days there will not be a fingle Ship in our Road. | L'an, &e. on nt Peek TERRE Of the eae? jt VittaceE: What has hindered the Progrefs ‘of th né vy Frenca Coconx of Canana: Of the Money current there. ve im Mapam, Querec, Repo 15. af Am returned from a little Journey of Devotion, of which as ug I fhall give you an Account, but I mutt firft acquaint you, that Road of Quebec would be empty in three Days. A Ship Es: À q ter of the Ice, with which this River is covered. This is a | pare againft any Accident that m ay iy eke The Captain ob E 2 ae An Hifiorical. ‘fournal of had made about a League, he anchored again to wait for fome of his Paffengers, who embarked in the Middle of the Night: He then gave Orders to prepare for failing as foon as the Tide. fhould begin to fall, and went to Bed in pretty good Time. About Midnight they waked him, to let him know that the Veffel was fiiling with Water: ‘They pumped, but to no Pur- pofe: The Water increafed continually, inftead of diminifh- ing. In fhort, every one began to think of faving himfelf, and it was Time. ‘The laft were not yet afhore when the Ship dif- appeared. A Bark loaded with Merchandize from Montreal met with the fame Fate at the Lake Sz. Pierre, (St. Peter,) but they hope to get them both up again, when the fine Weather returns ; and they flatter themfelves that the greateft Part of the Loading of thefe two Veffels will not be loft, The Affair of _ the Ship of Marfeilles may have fome Confequences ; for the Captain fufpeéts that fome Body play’d him a Trick. , I now come to my Pilgrimage. ‘Three Leagues from hence, Mi Delorivicen of to the North-Eaft, there is a little Village of tte Chriftian Hurons, whofe Chapel is built after ; the Model, and with alithe Dimenfons, of the Santa Cafa of Italy, or the Houfe of Loretto ; from whence they fent to our new Converts an Image of the Virgin, like that which is in that celebrated Place. They could not well have chofen a wilder Place for this Miffion : Neverthelefs, the Concourfe here is very great ; and whether it be Fancy, Devotion, or Prejudice, or what you pleafe, many Perfons have affured me that they were feized upon their Arrival here with a fecret and holy Hor- ror, which they could not refift: But what makes a full . greater Impreffion, is the folid Piety of the Inhabitants of this Defart. | eg _ They are Savages, but they retain nothing + their Birth and : Original but what is valuable 5 shar zs to fay, aie ese feel the Simafieiky and Freedom of the firft Aa ey Si the World, with the Addition of Grace ; the Faith of the Patriarchs, a fincere Piety, that Reétitude and Do- -cility of Heart, which is the Character of Saints, an incredi- _ble Innocence of Manners, a pure Chriftianity, on which the World has never breathed the contagious Air that corrupts it, . and-often Actions of the moft heroic Virtue. Nothing is more … _ affeting than to hear them fing in two Choirs, the Men on one ~ … Side, and the Women on the other, the Prayers of the Church, and Hymns in their own Language. Nothing is comparable to the Fervour and Modefty which they make appear in all thei _ Exercifes of Religion. I never faw any Perfon who was no touched with it to the Bottom of his Soul. hes, -This Village was formerly more populous ; but Difeafe. fomething, I know not what, that reduces infenfibly to nc O ie Pa ied, ee # SY, 44 f Travels in North America. 29 _ all the Nations of this Continent, have greatly diminifhed the Number of Inhabitants. The Age and Infirmities of fome of their antient Paftors had alfo made fome Breaches in their firft Fervour ; but it was not difficult to recover them ; and he that governs them at prefent, has nothing to do but tokeep Things upon the Footing he found them. It is true, that they take ail Manner of Precautions to hinder their falling off again. Strong Liquors, the moft common, and almoft the only Stumbling- Block, which makes the Savages fall, are forbid by a folemn Vow, the Tranfgreffion of which is punifhed with publick Pe- nance, as well as every other Fault which caufes Scandal ; and the fecond Offence generally fufices to banifh the Gutity, with- out Hope of Return, from a Place which ought to be the impene- trable Afylum of Piety and Innocence. Peace and Subordina- tion reign here intirely ; and the whole Village feems to make but one Family, regulated upon the pureft Maxims of the Gofpel. This always furprizes every one who knows how far _ thefe People (and the Hurons efpecially) do naturally carry Pride _ and the Spirit of Independence. The greateft, and perhaps the only Trouble of a Miffionary here, is to find Provifion for his Flock. The Diftriét they poffefs, ‘cannot fufficiently fupply them; and there are. good Reafons Basch why they do not permit them to abandon it.—Monfieur and . Madam Begon were of our Pilgrimage, and were received by thefe good People with a Refpeét due to Perfons of their Rank, and who never let them want Neceflaries. After a Reception ~~ entirely military on the Part of the Warriors, and the Shouts of the Multitude, they began the Exercifes of Piety, which was mutually edifying : They were followed by a general Feaft, at _ the Expence of Madam Began, who received all the Honours of it. The Men, according to Cuftom, eat in one Houfe, and the Women and Children in another : I fay Houfe, and not Cabin ; for thefe Savages are lately lodged after the French Manner. The Women on thefe Occafions ufed only to fhew their Gratitude by van their Silence and Modefty ; but becaufe it wasa Lady of the 4 firft Rank that was then in the Colony, who treated thewhole Village, they granted the Huroz Women an Orator, by whom they difplayed to their illuftrious Benefactrefs all the Sentiments _ of their Hearts.’ As forthe Men, after the Chief had madea Speech to the Intendant, they danced and fung as long as we ae pleafed. Nothing, Madam, is lefs diverting, than thefe Songs —__ and Dances: Firft, all are feated upon the Earth like Apes, fee without any Order. From Time to Time a Man rifes up and _ comes forward flowly into the Midft of the Place, always __ keeping Time, as they fay, he turns his Head from Side to Side, bi i NN a TOs as ig + An Hificrical lou ig anes an Air, which is far from being melodious to any one but a Savage born, and pronounces fome Words which have no-preat Meaning. - Sometimes it is a Song of War, fometimes a Song of Death, fometimes an Attack or a Surprize ; for as thefe People drink nothing but Water, ‘they have no drinking Songs, andthey have not yet thought of finging their Amours, Whilt they 4 fing, all the Company never ceafe to beat Time by drawing _ | e he hes ear oe a es + 2 TT PT OR RE Eee on the Bottom of their Breaft an He, which never varies. The Connoiffeurs fay they always keep "Time exatly. I referit to them. When one hasended, another takes his Place: And this conti- nues till the Affembly returns them ‘Thanks ; which would foon happen, without alittle Complaifance, which it is good to have for this People. Itis in Fact a very tirefome and difagreeable - Mufick, at leaft to judge by what I have heard. Throats of Tron, always i in one Tone ; Airs which have always fomething fierce, or mournful. But their Voice is quite different when they fing at Church. As for the Women, their Voices have a farprizing Sweetnefs; they have alfo a good deal of T'afte and Inclination for Mufick. Upon thefe Occafions, the Speech i is the beft Thing. They explain : in few Words, and generally very ingenioufly, the Occa- fion of the Feaft-; to which they never fail to give fome high Motives. The Praifes of the Founder are never forgotten ; and they take the Opportunity of the Prefence of fome Perfons (efpecially when they fpeak before the Governor-General or the Intendant) to afk fome Favour, or to make fome Reprefentation. The Orator of the Hurozs, en that Day, faid fuch witty Things, that we fufpeéted that the Interpreter (who was the Miffionary — himfelf) had lent him his Wit and Politenefs with his Voice; but he protefted that he had added nothing of his own; and we believed him, becaufe he is known to be one of the mo open and fincere Men in the World. (a) | Before I had taken this little Journey, I had made vere Ex- curfons about this City ; but as the Earth was every where co- vered with Snow, five or fix Feet deep, I could thereby learn nothing of the Nature of the Soil ; but I have been over it formerly in all Seafons, and I can affure you that it 1s ve rare to fee Lands more fruitful, or of a better Quality. I applied myfelf very diligently this Winter, to inform myfelf é ae Ad- | vantages which might be made of this Colony, and I will com- ' municate to you the Fruit of my Labours. Canada does not enrich France ;. this is a Complaint as old as the Conan and © it is not without Foundation. It has no rich Inhabitants: This is alfo true. Isthis the Fault of the Country, or is it not o alfo to the firft Settlers? I fhall endeavour to make you decide this Point. ot (a) Father Peter-Dan, Ricker, * Travils in North Ameritas re 0 The firft Source of the ill Fortune of this Country, which is +) The fn Ve No ° honoured with the Name of New France, was FRS i Jehu of the Report which was at firft fpread through Cond the Kingdom, that it had no Mines ; and. wikis they did not enough confider that-the greateft Advantage that can be drawh fronf’ a Colony, is the Increafe of Trade : And to accomplifh this, it requires People; and thefe Peoplings muft be made by Degrees, io that it will not appear in fuch a Kingdom as France: And that the two only Obje@s. _ which prefented themfelves firft in Canada and Acadia, (I meah the Furs and the Fifhery,) required that thefe Countries fhould be peopled: If they had been fo, they had perhaps given, greater Returns to France, than Spain has drawn from the richef — Provinces of the New World; efpecially if they had added Ship-building : But the Luftre of the Gold and Silver which came from Mexico and Peru fo dazled the Eyes of all £Ewroge, that à a Country which did not produce thefe precious Metals, was looked upon as a bad Country. Let us hear upon this Subje&ta fenfible Author, who had been in thefe Places. ir 100 ‘ The common Queftions they make (fays Mark’Lefcarbot} ‘€ are thefe : Is there any Gold or Silver? And no Body afks, ‘ Are thefe People inclined to hear the Chriffian Doétrine? ‘ And as to the Mines, there are fome indeed, but ‘they muft be ‘ wrought with Induftry, Labour, and Patience. ‘The fines | * Mine that I know of, is that of Corn and Wine, and the. ~** breeding of Cattle. They who have this, have Money ; and =~ ‘ we do not live upon Mines. ‘The Sailors who go from all — “<' Parts of Europe to get Fifh at Newfoundland and beyond, eight Fo ‘< or nine hundred Leagues diftant from their Country, find there “€ good Mines, without breaking the Rocks, digging intothe | ‘€ Bowels of the Earth, and living in the Darknefs of Hell. — | ‘ They find, I fay, good Mines at the Bottom of the Waters, = - * and in the Trade of Fur and Skins, of which they make good | ry Money.” | Jeu ‘4 - They not only gave New France a very bad Name without knowing it; but thofe who thought toget | Mifiakes that fome Profit by it, took no Meafures for is ‘ie auere made at the P Sh PA abr ean ue léno ieee FR dent. urpofe. Firft, they were a long ‘Time be. | - fore they fettled upon a Place: They cleared the Land without having ‘firft well examined it: They fowed it, and raifed Buildings upon it ; and then, without knowing why, they often abandoned it, and went to fome other Place. This . Inconflancy was the great Caufe of our lofing Acadia, and hin- ~ dering us from making any Thing of it, whilft we werein Pof feflion of that fine Country.— The Author I have already cited, md who was a Witnefs of our Want of Refolution, was not 22 An. Hiftorical Fournal cf afraid to blame thofe who were moft guilty inthis Affair. ‘ [¢ ‘6 is thus (fays he) that at all Times we, make much ado about € nothing, that we purfue new Enterprizes with great Heat, and ‘ that we project fine Beginnings, and then quit every Thing. ‘€ In Reality; for fuch Undertakings there muft be a Subfiftence ‘ and Support ; but we muft alfo have Men of Refolution, who «< will not foon be difheartened, and have this Point of Honour in View, Vi&ory or Death, that Death being great and glorious ‘© which happens in executing a great Defign ; fuch as laying «‘ the Foundation of a New Kingdom, and eftablifhing the 6 Chriffian Faith among People where GOD is not known.” I come now to Trade.——'The Trade of Canada has been à long Time folely in the Fifhery and Skins. [he Cod Fifhery was carried on upon the Great Bank, and upon the Coatts of Newfoundland, a long "Time before they difcovered the River of Si. Laurence: ‘They bethought themfelves too late, of making a Settlement upon the Ifland ; and we had fuffered the Engli/b to be before-hand with us. At length we took Pof- feffion of the Port and Bay of Placentia. ‘Fhe Militia of Ca- nada have performed here many warlike Exploits; equal to thofe of the boldeft Buccaneers of St. Domingo. They have often de- ftroyed the Inhabitants, and ruined the Trade of the Englifb in this Ifland : But they who fuffered their ftrongeft Places to be | _ eañly taken from them, knew their Enemy too well to be dif- heartened. Accuftomed to fee the Canadian Fire break out -amidft the Northern Ice, and die away of itfelf in the Midit of what ought to have given it more Power, they behaved them- felves at the Approach of our Heroes like a fkilful Pilot upon the Approach of a Storm. ‘They prudently yielded to the La) La € n _: Tempeft, and afterwards repaired without any Hindrance the — . Damage which had been done to their Pofts ; and by this Con- -duét tho’ they were always beat in Newfoundland, either when they _ attacked or defended themfelves, they have always carried on a much greater Trade than their Conquerors, and have at laft re- | . mainec the fole Mafters and quiet Poffeffors of thisIfland. We _ have behaved ftill worfe in Acadia. This great and rich Province has been a long Time divided amongft divers private Perfons, none of which are grown rich, whilft the Exgljb have made an, - . immenfe Profit of the Fifhery upon the Coafts. _ “The Settlements which thefe Proprietors made here, not being . upon a folid Foundation, and wanting themfelves Judgment, and ruining one another, they left the Country, in much the fame | _ Condition they found it; and with fuch an ill Name, that it — - hever recovered till the Moment we loft it. But our Enemies have ~ made us know the Value of it. ra au Oe 184 La 4 !, @ OUEN à a | Refped to the Skin Travels in North America. — 23 KA à The Trade to which they confined : th ( long Time in Canada,’ was that of Skins or : mfelves folely for a © gl ened Furs. It is impofiible to relate the Faults which have been here committed. The Ge- nius of our Nation never, perhaps, was fhewn more than on this Occafion. When we difcovered this vaft Continent, it was full of Deer and other Beafts of the Chace : But a Handful of Frenchmen have within a fingle Age found Means to make them almoft entirely difappear, and there Trade. are fome Species of them entirely deftroyed. ‘Ihey killed the Orignals, or Elks, for the fole Pleafure of killing them, and to fhew they were good Markfmen. No Body thought of inter- pofing the King’s Authority to put a Stop to fuch an extrava- gant Diforder: But the greateft Evil proceeded from the infa- tiable Covetoufnefs of private Perfons, who applied themfelves folely to this Trade. ‘They came for the moft Part from France, like Simonipes ; ¢hat is to fay, poflefing only what they had upon their Backs; and they were impatient to appear in a bete _ ter Condition. At firft, this was eafy : The Savages did not know the Treafure their Woods contained, but by the Eager- nefs the French fhewed to get the Skins out of their Hands, they got from them a prodigious Quantity, by giving them Things which fome People would not pick up : And even fince — they have been better informed of the Value of this Merchan- dize, and expected to be fomething better paid for it, it was very eafy for along Time to fatisfy them at a {mall Expence: With a little Conduct, this Trade might have been continucd on upon a tolerably good Foundation. It would be difficult, however, to name a fingle Family, at this Time, that has been enriched by this Trade. We have feen fome Fortunes, as immenfe as fud- den, raifed and difappear almoft at the fame Time ; like thofe _ moving Mountains of Sand which fome Travellers fpeak of, and | sp which a Whirlwind raifes and levels again in the Plains of Jf. rica. Nothing 1s more common in this Country, than to fee People fuffer a languifhing old Age under Mifery and Contempt, : after having had it in their Power to have made a handfome Settlement for themfelves. | After all, Madam, thefe private Perfons who have miffed. making Fortunes which they did not deferve, would have been . unworthy of the Public Concern, if the Effects of it did not fall upon the Colony ; which foon found itfelf reduced to fuch a _ State, as to fee entirely dried up, or running in another Channel, _ a Spring fromwhence fo many Riches might flow intoits Bofom, Its Ruin begun byuts Plenty. By Means of heaping up Pea- . Skins, which were always the principal Objeét of this e, there was found fuch a vaft Quantity in the Magazines, “ie | that A 34 An Hiftorical Fournal of | ‘ that they could not be difpofed of : Whence it happened, that Bc the Dealers not being willing to take them, our Adventurers, « whom they call here Coureurs de Bois, (Foreft Rangers) carried _ them to the Engl/>, and many of them fettled in New York. Se: veral Attempts were made to hinder thefe People from deferting the Colony; but with little Succefs ; on the contrary, thofe who — went over to our Neighbours for the Sake of Intereft, were de- tained there by the Fear of Punifhment ; and fome Vagabonds, who had taken a Liking to Independency, and a wandering Life, remained among the Savages ; from whom they could not be diftinguifhed, but by their Vices. Recourfe was had feveral Times to the publifhing of Pardon to all that would return ; which at firft had little Effe& ; but at length this Method, ma- naged with Prudence, anfwered the expeéted End. _ They made Ufe of another Method, which was fill more ef- i Léreriee mu fectual. ‘This was, to allow a Number of Doi tlafie , Perfons, whom they thought they could con- anion ' fide in, to go and trade in the Countries of the Savages, and prohibit all other Perfons to go out of the Co- lony. ‘lhe Number of thefe Licences were limited, and they were difiributed to poor Widows and Orphans, who could fell them to the Traders for more or lefs, according to the Value of the Trade ; that is, according to the Places where the Licences permitted them to go; for they had taken the Precaution to mark out the Places, to hinder them from going all one Way. Befides thefe Licences, (the Number of which was fettled by the Court, and the Diftribution of which belongs to the Governor General) there are fome for the Commanders of Pofts, and for extraordinary Occafions ; and the Governor gives fome alfo by © Name of fmple Permifficns : So that a Partof the young Menare | continually roving the Woods ; and though they do not commit - any longer, or at leaft fo openly; the Diforders which have fo much difrraced this Profeffion, yetthey ftill contra& a loofe vagrant Habit, of which they are never entirely cured: They lofe at teaft an Inclination for Labour ; they wafte their Strength, and scome incapable of the leaft Reftraint ; and when they are no longer able to bear the Fatigues of thefe Journies, (which foon \ we happens, becaufe thefe Fatioues are very great) they remain w ES 3&cd, that much good Land lies fill uncultivated, and that tl the Savages, at leaf at certain Seafons of the ‘Yours | Means the Trade would be rendered more flourifhing. ~ wicoout any Refource, and are no longer fit for any Thing. ~ irom hence it proceeds, that Arts have been a long ‘Time neg- pe Country is not peopled. It has been often propofed to abo thefe pernicious Licences, and to.make fome French Settleme in fome chofen Places, and where it would be eafy to aift 9 a Travels in North America. — _ 146 oe . yaft Countries would be infenfibly peopled ; and this would _ perhaps be the only Means to execute _what the Court has had fo long at Heart, to frenchify thefe Savages. I believe I may at leaft affert, that if this Project had been followed, Carada would have been at this Time much more populous than it is ; that the Savages, attracted and retained by. the Help and kind Treatment they would have found in our Habitations, would have been lefs roving, lefs miferable, and in Confequence would have encreafed in Number, (inftead of which their Numbers are furprifingly diminifhed) and they would have been attached to us in fuch a Manner, that we might have made the like Ufe of them by this Time, as of the Subjects of the Crown ; and the more fo, as the Miflionaries would have found much lefs Difficulty in their Converfion.——-What we now fee at Loretgo, and in fome Meafure amongft the Zroguois, the Algonquins, and the Abenaquis, who live in the Colony, leaves no Room to doubt of the Truth of what I advance ; and there is no Perfon among thofe who have been moft converfant with the Savages, who does not agree that we can never depend on thefe People till they are Chriftians. I will cite no other Example than the Abenaquis ; who, though few in Number, were during the two laft Wars the principal Bulwark of New France again New England, He This Projet, which I have laid before you, Madam, is as old as the Colony, it was that of M. de Champlain its Founder, and it was the Defire of almoft all the Miffionaries whom I have a known, and whofe painful Labours in the Situation in which, _ Things have been a long*while, do not prodnce any great Fruit in the Miffions which are at any Diftance. It would be in Faët a very late to take up this Defign now with Refpeët to the Savages, who difappear in fuch a Manner, as is fcarce conceiva- ble. But what fhould hinder us from following it, with Refpe& ‘to the French, and to continue the Colony from one Neighbour- hood to another, till it can reach out a Hand to that of Lewifana, - to ftrengthen each other. By this Means the Engh/> in lefs. than an Age and a half have peopled above five hundred Leagues of Country, and have formed a Power on this Con- tinent, which we cannot help beholding without Fear when wé take a near View of it————-Canada may and does fome- - times carry on a pretty confiderable Trade with the Ifles of Ame- rica, in Flour, Planks, and other Wood fit for Buildings ; as there is not perhaps a Country in the World that has more Variety of - Wood, nor a better Sort: Judge what Riches this may one Day _ produce. It appears that few People underftand this Article ; Ida not underftand it enough myfelf toenter intoa more particularAc- … count: I have fomething more Knowledgeinthe Articleof Oils, of … which I fhallfoon take Notice. Being in Hañe to finifhmy Letter,E . have © Liu ua | Fe F 2 ee An Hiftorical Fournal of ‘ | have only Time to compleat what concerns the Tradeinge. neral. ; aa ae Nothing has more contributed to diftrefs the Trade than the fre- quent Changes which have been made in the Money ; this is the Hiftory of it in few Words. In 1670, the Weft-India Company, « to whom the King had given the Domain of the Iflands of the Continent of French America, had leave to fend to thefe Iflands a hundred thoufand Livres (a) in fmall Money, marked with a particular Legend, that was proper to it. The King’s Edit is dated in February, by which this Species was to be current only in the Iflands. But upon fome Difficulties which arofe, the Council made an Order November 18, 1672, that the faid Mo- “ney, and all other Species that was currentin France, fhould pafs alfo, not only in the French Iflands, but alfo on the Conti- nent of America fubjeë to the Crown, with an Augmentation of One fourth Part; that is to fay, the Pieces of fifteen Sous for twenty, and the reftin Proportion. ‘The fame Order decreed that all Contraéts, Notes, Accounts, Sales, and Payments, fhould be made according to the Rate of the Money, without making Ufe of Exchanges, or accounting in Sugar or other Merchandize, on the Penalty of making all fuch A&ts void. And for all paft it was ordered, that all Contraéts, Notes, Debts, Dues, Rents in Sugar, or other Merchandize, fhould be paidin Money, ac- cording to the Currency of the faid Species. In the Execution of this Order, Money encreafed one fourth in New France, which foon occafioned many Difficulties. In Faét, M. de Champigny Norey, who was made Indendant of Quebec in 1684, and who is now Intendant at Havre-de-Grace, found himfelf foon embarrafied, « both in the Payment of the Trocps, and other Expences of the © King in this Colony. Sines: 1 " Befdes this, the Funds which were fent from France, almoft always cametoo late; and by the firft of Faxuary the Officers and Soldiers were to be paid, and other Payments to be made, which were equally indifpenfabie. To fatisfy the moft prefling De- . mands, M. de Champigny made Notes to fupply the Place of Mo. . ney, obferving always the Augmentation. And by Order of the © Governor and the Intendant, they fet on every Piece of this Mo.” ney (which was a Card) the Treafurer’s Sign Manual, the Arms of — France, and the Seals of the Governor and Intendant in Wax; they — afterwards got them printed in France, on Pañteboard, with the | fame Marks as the current Money of the Kingdom ; and it was u ordered that they fhould be prefented every Year before th Arrival of the Ships from France, to add,a Mark, to prev Counterfeits. oes (oa Agta ee | : (a) A Livre is about mt. of “oury Money. eee ie 2 Various Changes in the Money. és f ! ety be Travels m North Ameria. °° ae _ This Pafteboard Money did not laft long, and they made Ufe again of Cards, on which they grayed new Devices. The Intendant figned all that were of four Livres Value and above, | and only made a Flourifh upon the others. In latter Times the Governor General figned all that were of fix Livres or more. In the Beginning of the Autumn, all the Cards were car- ried to the Treafurer, who gave for their Value Bills of Ex- change upon the Treafurer General of the Marines, or his Clerk at Rochfort, on the Account of the Expences for the next Year. Thofe which were damaged or defacedwere burnt, after they had taken a proper Accountof them. So long as thefe Bilisof Ex- change were faithfully paid, thefe Cards were preferred to Money; but when the Bills were not paid, the Cards were no longer carried to the Treafurer; fothatin 1702, M. de Champigny gave him- felf a great deal of Pains to no Purpofe, to call in thofehehad 7}. made. His Succeflors were obliged to make new ones every | Year to pay Officers, which multiplied them to fuch a Degree, that they fell to no Price, and nobody would receive them any longer. ‘Trade was hereby entirely ruined, and the Diforder — went fo far, that in 1713 the Inhabitants propofed to lofe half, a on Condition that the King would take them again and paythe | other half : This Propofal was accepted the Year following, but the Orders given in Confequence, were notentirely executed A till 1717. An Order was then made to abolifh the Money of |” Cards, and they begun to pay in Silver the Officers of the Co- lony. ‘The Augmentation of one fourth was alfo abolifhed at » © the fame Time : Experfence having made it appear that the Augmentation of the Species in a Colony, is not the Way to — keep it in it, which was the Thing propofed; and that Mo- ney can never circulate greatly in a Colony, but when they pay in Merchandize for all they have from the Mother Country. In | Fat, in this Cafe, the Colony keeps the Species, inflead of which, N if it has not Merchandize fufficient to-anfwer the whole Demands | upon it, it is obliged to pay the Surplus in Money, and how will it come back again? — wi à In fhort, Madam, you will be furprized to hear, that in 1706, © the Trade of the oldeft of our Colonies was carried on with a Fund of only fix hundredand fifty thoufand Livres, and Thingsare _ not much changed fince that Time. Now this Sum difperfed amongft thirty thoufand Inhabitants, cannot fet them at their Eafe, nor afford them Means to purchafe the Merchandize of France. So the greateft Part of them go naked, efpecially thofe « who are in the diftant Settlements. They do not evenfell the Surplus of their Merchandize to the Inhabitants of the Towns, … becaufe the latter are obliged for a Subfiftence to have Lands __in the Country, and to improve them themfelves. De | ñ When i » ‘ me ak a y ie ie at the End of this Letter. I do not know that any Autho was for Want ofobferving it attentively; perhaps alfo D An Hiftorical Fournal of 4 _When the King took Canada out of the Hands of the Compa- nies, his Majefty {pent much more for fome Years than he has done fince ; and the Colony, during this Time, fent to France’ near the Value of a Million of Livres in Beaver Skins every Year, tho’ it was lefs peopled than it is now: But it has always had more from France than it could pay, and acted like a private Perfon, who has thirty thoufand Livres a Year Eftate, and who fpends forty thoufand or more. By this Means its Credit is fallen, and in falling, has brought on the Ruin of its Trade; which, fince the Year 1706, has confifted in nothing more than fmali Peltry. All the Dealers fought for them, and this was their Ruin, becaufe they often bought them dearer of the Savages, than they fold them in France. is ; Lam, &c. > EERE PET Tee ay Of the BEAVERS of Canada, hor they differ fromthe Beavers of Europe: Of their Manner of Building: The Manner of bunting the Beavers: Of the Advantage to bémade of them. Of the Musk RAT, -Mapam, | QuEesec, March 1. # Was to go from hence a Day or two after I had clofed my laf À Letter, but I muft fill fop for Wamt of Carriage. The bet Ican do in the mean Time, is to entertain you with the Curiofi- ties of this Country; and I begin with what is moft fingular, that is, the Beaver. The Spoils of this. Animal has hitherto — farnifhed New France with the principal Object of its Trade. It js of itfelf one of the Wonders of Nature, and it may be toMan ~~ a great Example of Forefight, of Induftry, Skill, and Conflancy © in Labour. ; | ae The Beaver was not unknown in France before the Difcovery “Phe Difire. of America, and we find in fome ancient Writ- be Différence ings of the Hatters of Paris, fome Regula- of ee Beever OF sions for making Beaver Hats: The Beaver or anata, fromthat Caitor is entirely the fame Creature ;. but af debrope. either that the European Beaver is become éx-. ~—*treamly farce, or its Fur was not fo good as that of the Ameri~ ean Caftor, we hear little Mention now but. of the laft,-unlefs it be with Refpeët to Cafforeum, of which I fhall fay a few Wor -f{poken of this Animal as being any Thing curious; per fo that t é ‘@adtots or Beavers of Europe are like the Land Caftors, the Dif. Ference of which from the others I fhall prefently make you ‘underftand. | A However that ar be, gee = sa PA cine sa 2 an | amphibious Quadrupede, which cannot how: ed à the Fur of lees remain ci Time in the Water, and the Beaver. can dowithout being init, provided it has the . Opportunity of wafhing itfelf fometimes: ‘Whe largeft Beavers are fomething under four Feet long, about fifteen Inches from one Hip tothe other, and weigh about fixty Pounds. The Colour of this Animal is different, according to the dif. ferent Climates where it is found. Inthe moft diftant Parts of the North they are generally quite black, though fome- times they are found there white. In the more temperate Countries they are brown, and by Degrees, as they ad- “vance towards the South, their Colour grows more and more light. Amongft the Jos, they are almoft of a fallow Colour, | and fome have been found of a ftraw Colour. It it further ob- ferved, that the lefs black they are, the lefs they are furnifhed with Fur, and of Confequence their Skins are lefs valuable. ‘This is an Effeét of Providence, which defends them from the Cold, as they are the more expofed to it. heir Fur is of two Sorts all _ over the Body, except the Feet, where there is but one Sort very, _ fhort. The longeft Sort is about eight or ten Lines, or Parts of an Inch long, fuppofe an Inch to be divided into twelve Parts: It is even two Inches long on the Back, but diminifhes by ‘Degrees towards the Head and Tail. This For is fliff and gloffy, and is what gives the Colour to the Creature. Upon view- the cleareft, which proves that it is hollow; this Fur is of no Ufe. _ The other Fur is a very fine Down, very thick, and at moft not formerly called in Europz, Mu/cowy Wool. This is properly the and perhaps helps him in fwimming. They fay that the Beaver lives from fifteen to twenty Years; | Sie that the Female goes four Months wi ings Der. alc goes four Mot ths with Youngs Ht . and has commonly four Young ones; fome Defcription of this ryt We ty à 1 LA . FA Travellers makethe Number amount to eight, hd ; but I believe this feldom happens: She has four Dugs, two on the great Pectoral Mufcle, between the fecond and third Ribs, and two about four Inches higher, The Mufcles of this Animal are very ftrong, and bigger than feems even, have a very great Strength; each Jaw is furnifhed with ten eeeth, two cutting ones and eight Grinders. The upper cut Ru. | ting Zravels in North America. 29 ing it with a Microfcope, the middle Part of it is found to be ~ above an Inch long, and this is what is made Ufe of. It was. Cloathing of the Beaver; the firft ferves him only for Crnament, » neceffary to its Size. Its Inteftines on the contrary are very . ender; its Bones are very hard, its two Jaws, which are almoft — 40 An Hiforical. Fournal of "0 _ ting Teeth are two Inches and a half long, the lower are above _ three Inches, and follow the Bend of the Jaw, which gives them a Strength which is admirable in fuch little Animals. It is ob- ferved alfo, that the two Jaws do not meet exaétly, but that the upper reach over the lower, fo that they crofs like the Edges of a Pair of Sciffars ; and laftly, that the Length of all their Teeth is exactly the third Part of the Roots of them. The Head of a Beaver is nearly like the Head of a Field Rat, the Snont is — fomewhat long, the Eyes little, the Ears fhort and round, cover ~ ed with Down on the Outfide, and naked within; its Legs are ~ fhort, particularly thofe before, they are feldom above four or ~ five Inches long, and like thofe of a Badger ; its Nails are as it | were cut floping, and are hollow like a Quill. The hind Legs are quite different, they are flat, and furnifhed with a Mem- brane; fo that the Beaver goes but flowly on Land, but fwims as eafily as any other Water Animal: And on the other Hand, by its Tail, it 1s entirely a Fifh; and fo it has been declared by the College of Phyficians at Paris, and in Confequence of this Declaration, the Doors of Divinity have agreed, that the Flefh might be eaten on Faft Days. M. Lemery was miftaken, when he faid that this Decifion was only confined to the Tail of the Beaver. It is true that we can make but little Advantage of this Condefcenfion: The Beavers are fo far from our Habitations at prefent, itis rare to have any that are eatable. The Savages. who dwell amongftus, keep them after they have been dryed in the Smoak, and I aflure you, Madam, that I know of nothing more ordinary. We muft alfo, when the Beaver is frefh, put itin — + fome Brothto make it lofeawild and naufeous Tafte; butwith this Precaution there isno Meat lighter, more dainty, or wholfome: They fay that it is as nourifhing as Veal: Boiled it wants fomething to give ita Relifh, but roafted it it wants nothing. | What is ftill moft remarkable in the Shape of this Animal, is the Tail. It is near four Inches Seed at its Root, five in the midft, and three at the End, (I fpeak always of the large Beavers) itis an Inchthick, and a Foot long. Its Subftancess is a hard Fat, or a tender Sinew, which pretty much refembles the Flefh of a Porpoife, but which grows harder upon being kept along Time. It is covered with a fcaly Skin, the Scales — of which are hexagonal, half a Line thick, and three or four | Lines long, which Tay one upon another like thofe of a Fifh; — they lay upon a very tender Skin, and are fixtinfuch a Man- ner, that they may be eafily feparated after the Death of the — Animal. This is, Madam, in few Words, the Defcription cf — 4 « ey, © this curious amphibious Creature. i os the Caf: Ancients, probably, becaufe they are very ‘cram | given this Name to the Purfes or Bags of the Caftoreum, which are very different, and four jn Number, in the lower Belly of the Beaver. The two firft, which they call the upper, becaufe they are higher than the others, have the Shape — _ of a Pear, and communicate with each other like the two Pockets of a Wallet. The two others, which are called the — lower, are rounded at the Bottom, Thefe contain a refinous, foft, glewy Matter, mixt with fmall Fibres, of a greyifh Colour without, and a yellowifh within ; of a ftrong Smell, difagreea-_ ble and penetrating, and which is eafily infammable.: This is the true Caforeum: It grows hard in the Airin a Month’s ‘Time, and becomes brown, brittle, and friable. If we are ina hurry to harden it, it need only be hung in the Chimney. They fay that the Caffereum which comes from Dantzic, 1s better than that of Canada, I refer to the Druggifts ; it is cer- — tain that the Bags of the latter are fmaller, and that here alfo the largeft are elteemed. Befides their Bignefs, they fhould be | heavy, of a brown Colour, of a penetrating and ftrong Smell, full of a hard brittle and friable Matter, of the fame Colour, or yellow, interweaved with a thin Membrane, and of a fharp Faite. The Properties of Cafforeum, are to attenuate vifcous Matter, to ftrengthen the Brain, to remove Vapours, to provoke the Menfes, to hinder Corruption, and to evaporate had Humours by Tranf- piration ; it is ufed alfo with Succefs againft the Epilepfy, the — Palfy, the Apoplexy, and Deafnefs. The lower Bags contain an unctuous fat Liquor like Honey. Its Colour is a pale Yellow, its Odour fetid, little differing from that of Caffcreum, but fomething weaker and fainter. It thickens with | keeping, and takes the Confiftence of Tallow. This Liquor is yefolving, and ftrengthens the “Nerves; for this Purpofe, 1t need — only be applied to the Part affected. It isa Miftake to fay, as _fome Authors do fill, upon the Credit of the ancient Natura- lifts, that when the Beaver is purfyed, it bites off thefe pretended Tefticles, and leaves them to the Hunters to fave his Life. It is of his Fur which he ought rather to deprive himfelf, for in Compa- rifon of his Fleece, the reftis hardly of any Value, But how- ever, itis this Fable, which has given it the Name of Caftor, The Skin of this Animal, deprived of its Fur, is not to be neglected ; they make Gloves and Stockings of it; but as it is difficult ta get off all the Fur without cutting the Skin, they feldom ufe any but thofe of the Land Beaver. You have heard, perhaps, the ers = Travels in North America. 4 . ‘The true Tefticles of this Animal were not known to the fmall, and hid under the Groin. They had — adam, of the fat and dry Béaver Skins; the Difference isthis, — > dry Skin is the Skin of a Beaver that has never been ufed 3 - Ne a.) ie ‘Aorical Faurtal of «the fat Skin is what has been worn by the Savages, which, after = ‘they have been well {craped within, and rubbed with the Marrow “of certain Animals which I do not know, to make it more plia- ble, they few feveral together, and make a Kind of Mantle, which they call a Robe, with which they wrap. themfelves up -with the Fur inwards. They wear it continually in Winter, Day and Night; the long Hair foon falls off, and the Down re-, mains, and grows greafy : In this Condition it is much fitter for the Ufe of the Hatters; they cannot not even ufe the dry Sort, : without mixing fome of the other with it. ‘They fay that it muft be worn ‘fifteen or fixteen Months to be in Perfeétion. I leave you to judge, if at firft they were weak enough to let the Savages know, that their old Clothes were fucha precious Merchandize. But a Secret of this Nature, could not be long hid from them; it was trufted to Covetoufnefs, which is never long without LE. traying itfelf. :. . About three Years: ago one Guigues, who had the Farm of a LE de the Beaver Skins, finding himfelf burdened Bows with a prodigious Quantity of thefe Skins, à he PET NEC Hard to encreafe the Confumption, by hav- ing the Fur fpun and carded with Wool; and with this Compo- fition he made Cloths and Flannels, Ab wove Stockings, and fuch-like Works, but with little Succefs. It is evident by this Tryal, that the Beaver Fur is good for nothing but to make Hats. It is too fhort to be fpun alone, it muft be mixt with above half Wool; fo that there is but little - Profit to be made of thefe Works. There is, however, ‘fill one of thefe Manufactures in Holland, where they make Cloths and Druggets; but thefe Stuffs are deur: and do not wear well. The Beaver Fur feparates foon, and forms a Kind of Down upon the « » Surface, which takes off all their Beauty. The Stockings mes a were nde of it in France, had the fame Fault. ‘24 This is, Madam, all the Advantage this Colony can reccive M | frorat the Beavers, with Refpect to its Trade. Ht ay Nile The Indattry of the Bee D Forefight, | GCE AE BEG. ye Unity and Subordivaehin fo much admir- " ap ed inthem, their Attention to procure them- A felves Conveniencies, the a forts of which, we thought former: * _.dy Brutes were not feniible of, furnifh to: Man more “Inftrug 10% i than the Ant, to which the Holy Scriptures fend the Idle. The: are at leaft- amongft Quadrupedes, what the Bees are amo 9 flying Infeéts. I nçver heard that they had a King ora Q and itis not true that when they are at work together in. panies, that they havea Chief who commands and p the idle: But by Virtue of that Inftinét given to Animals, I whofe Providence governs them, every one knows WES. Supreme Intelligence, who makes Ufe of thefe. Beings, who want Reafon, the better to difplay his Wifdom and Power, and to makes us know that our Reafon itfelf is frequently, sy our Prefumption, the Caufe of our going aftray. The firft Thing that is done by thefe Creatures, when they want to make a Habitation, is, to aflemble themfelves : Shall I fay in» Tribes or Societies ? It thall be what you pleafe: But there are fometimes three or four hundred together, making a ‘Town, which might be called a little Venice. (a) At firft they chufe a Place were they may find Plenty of Provifions, and Materials for their build- ss ing: Above all, they muft have Water. If there is no Lake or Pond near, they fupply the Defect, by ftopping the Courfe : of fome Brook or Rivulet, by the Mare of a Dyke ; or, as they - call it here, a Caufey. For this End they go and cut down fome Trees above the Place where they intend to build : Three or four Beavers fet themfelves about a great Tree, and cut it down with their Teeth. This is not all: They take their Meafures! fo well, that it always falls on the Sidetowards the Water, that they may have the lefs Way to carry it when they have cut it to Pieces ; as they are fenfible their Materials are not fo eafily tranfported by Land as by Water. They have nothing to de: after, but to roll thefe Pieces into the Water, and guide them. to the Place where they are to be fixed. ‘Thefe Pieces are thicker or thinner, longer or fhorter, as the Nature and Situation of the Place require; for one would fay that thefe Architeéts conceive at once every Thing that relates to their Defign. Sometimes they employ large Trunks of ‘Trees, which they lay flat: Sometimes the Caufey is made only of Stakes; fome as thick as a Man’s — ‘Thigh, or lefs ; which they drive into the Earth very near each “other, and interweave with {mall Branches ; and every where the hollow Spaces are filled up with Clay fo well applied, that not a Drop of Water can pafs through. It is with their Paws that the Beavers prepare the Clay; and their Tail does not only: ferve them for a Trowel to build with, but for a Hod to carry this Mortar. ‘To place and fpread this Clay, they firft make Ufe of their Paws, then their Tail. The Foundation of the Dams are generally ten or twelve Feet thick; but they decreafe in Thicknefs upwards: So that a Dam which is twelve Feet. thick at the Bottom, is not above two atthe Top. All thisis | done in exaét Proportion, and, as one may fay, according to the {Bales of Art; forit is obferved, that the Side towards the Cur- ue The ney of Venice is built in the midit of Waters. wà G à rent 2s is in North America. My) eae to de. and every Thing is done without Confufion, and with fo much Order as can never befufiiciently admired. Perhaps, after all, we are fo much aftonifhed but for Want of looking up to that x. =n, DR ae aes 44 An Hiflorical Formal of rent of the Water is always floping, in order to break the Pref: _ fure of the Water, and the other Side perfettly perpendicular: Ina Word, it would be difficult for our beft Workmen to make any Thing more folid and regular. The Conftruétion of their Cabins is not lefs wonderful. They are generally made upon Piles in the midft of thefe little Lakes, which the Dykes have made : Sometimes by the Side of a River, or at the Extremity of a Point that advances into the Water. ‘Their Shape is round or oval; and the Roof is arched. The Walls are two Feet thick, built with the fame Materials as the Caufey, but lefs, and every where fo well plaiftered with Clay on the Infide, that the leaft Breath of Air cannot enter. ‘Two thirds of the Building is out of the Water, and in this Part every Beaver has a feparate Place, which he takes Care to ftrew with Leaves, or {mall Branches of Firs. It is always free from Ordure; and for this End, befides the common Door of the Cabin, and another Outlet by which thefe Creatures pafs to bathe themfelves, there are feveral Open- ings by which they can dung into the Water. The common Ca- bins lodge eight or ten Beavers, fome have been found which held thirty, but this is uncommon. ‘They are all near enough exch other, to have an eafy Communication. The Beavers are ae furprized by the Winter; all the ona - Works I mention, are finifhed by the End of — ee Fergie September, and then every one Brite his -§ Store for the Winter. Whilft they go backwards and forwards in the Woods or Fields, they live upon Fruits, the Bark and « Leaves of Trees; they alfo catch Cray-Fifh and other Fifth; w _ Then they have Variety of Food. But when they are to pro- w me forth their Young : The Males keep the Country till towar . Winter will prove longer or fhorter; and this is an Almanack à _ for the Savages, which never deceives them in Regard to the © Cold. ‘The Beavers before they eat the Wood, cut it in very « ing of the Snow is at its Height, as it never fails to caufe great © vide themfelves for the whole Seafon, that the Earth being co- ~ vered with Snow fupplies them with nothing, they content ~ themfelves with foft Woods, fuch as the Poplar and the Afpen, ~ and fuch-like. They "pile it up in fuch a Manner, that they © can always take thofe Pieces which are foaked in the Water. It w is always obferved, that thefe Piles are larger or fmaller, as the fall Pieces, and carry it into their feparate Lodges; for every Cabin has but one Magazine for all the Family: When the melt: Floods, the Beavers leave their Cabins, which are no longer — habitable, and every one takes which Way ‘he likes beft. ~ “he Females return as foon as the Waters are run off, and then bring the Monthi of Fuly, when they re-affemble to repair thé Breaches _ which thé Floods have made in their Cabins or Dykes, — If they @ # HA ‘4 m1 an à i LRU 2 UE ÿ: : Travels in North Americas 459 have been deftroyed by the Hunters, or if they are’ not worth i the Trouble of repairing, they make others: But many Rea- {ons oblige them to change their Abode. frequently, the moft common is the Want of Provifion ; they are alfo obliged to do ‘at by the Hunters, or Beafts of Prey, again which they have no other Defence than Flight. We might think it flrange, that the Author of Nature has given lefs Power of Defence to the greateft Part of ufeful Animals, than to thofe which are not ufe- ful; if this Circumftance did not the more difplay his Wifdom and Power, in that the former, notwithftanding their Weaknefs; multiply much more than the latter. foie There are fome Places which the Beavers feem to have taken fuch an Affection to, that they cannot leave them, though they. are continually difquieted. In the Way from Montreal to Lake Huron, by the great River, they never fail to find every Year in the fame Place, a Lodgment which thefe Animals build or repair every Summer. For the firft Thing Paffengers do who pafs this Way, isto break down the Cabin, and the Caufey which furnifhes - it with-Water. If this Caufey had not kept up the Water,they __ would not have enough to continue their Way, and they would =~ be obliged to make a Portage; fo that it looks as if thefe offi= cious Beavers pofted themfelves here folely for the Convenience of Paffengers. The fame Thing, as they fay, is to be feen near = Québec, where the Beavers labouring for themielves, fupply Was ter to a Mill for fawing Planks. 7 | ghee ee ek SI The Savages were formerly perfuaded, if we believe fome ~ Of the Land Relations, that the Beavers were a reafonablé ” Kind of Creatures, which had their Laws, theif Government, and their particular Language: : That this amphibious People chofe-;Commanders, who in their common Labours appointed to everyone his T'afk, placed Cens | tinels to give Notice of the Approach of an Enemy, and pu- —- nifhed or banifhed the idle. Thefe pretended Exiles are pro- _ bably thofe which they call the Land Beavers, which in Fatt “s live apart from the others, do not labour, and live under. « Ground, where their whole Care is to make themfelves a €O- ~ vered Way to go'to the Water. They are known by the little Fur they have upon their Backs, which proceeds'no doubt from their rubbing it conftantly againft the Earth; and withal they Beavers. = Ve DS are lean, the Effect of their Sloth: More of thefe are found in the South than in the North. I have already obferved, that _ our Beavers of Euyope are more like thefe, than the others. In Fatt, M. Lemery fays, they live in Holes and Cavities on the Banks of Rivers, efpecially in Poland. ‘There are fome alfo in _ ‘Germany upon the Elbe, and in France upon the Rhone, the. Libre and the Oxf, It is certain, that we do not find in the Faroge 2 | : | Beave j AO. oc: An Hiftorical “fournal of. Beavers thofe extraordinary Qualities which fo much diftinsuifh : À thofe of Canada. ’Tis a great Pity, Madam, that none of thefe . | wonderful Creatures were found in the Tyder, or in the T'errito- : | ries of Parnaffus, what fine Things would the Grez and Roman. Poets have faid on this Subject. 4 | a | It appears that the Savages of Canada did not difturb them greatly till our Arrival in their Country. The Skins of the | Beavers were not the moft ufed by thefe People for Garments, and the Flefh of Bears, Elks, and other wild Creatures was more approved by them. They hunted them, neverthelefs, and this Chace had its Seafon, and its peculiar Ceremonies ; but when they hunted only for what was merely neceflary for a pre- fent Supply, they made no great Ravages; and indeed when we came to Canada, we found a prodigious Number of thefe am- phibious Creatures in the Country. Pa ad : There is no Difficulty in hunting the Beaver, for this Animal Bah Se has not in any Degree the Strength to defend | OF ‘bunting:/the himfelf, ioe Ee Sill to fhun the Attacks of his Enemy, which it difcovers in providing for itfelf Lodging and Provifions. It is during Winter they make War againft him in Form; shat is to fay, from the Begin- ning of November till April. Then it has, like all other Ani- mals, more Fur, and the Skin is thinner; this hunting is per- formed four different Ways, with Nets, with the Gun, the Trench, and the Trap; the firft 1s generally joined to the third, and they feldom make Ufe of the fecond, becaufe the Eyes of this little Animal are fo piercing, and his Ears are fo quick, that it is difficult to approach near enough to fhoot him, before he gets into the Water, which he never goes far from. during this Seafon, and into which he immediately plunges. , They would lofe him alfo if he were wounded before he gets À into the Water, becaufe he never comes up again if he dies of “his Wound; itis therefore the Trench or the Trap that are ge- nerally ufed. | ; - Though the Beavers have made their Provifion for the Win- | ter, they ftill continue to make fome Excurfons intothe Woods 4 to find fome frefher and tenderer Food, and this Daintinefs cofts — many their Lives. The Savages fet up Traps in their Way, . _ made almoft like a Figure of 4, and for a Bait they put little ~~ Pieces of foft Food newly cut; as foon as the Beaver touches it, a great Log falls upon him and breaks his Back, and the Hun- | ter coming up makes an End of him without any Trouble. — The Trench requires more Caution, and they proceed in thik “Manner: When the Ice is but half a Foot thick, they cut _ Opening with an Ax, the Beavers come here to breathe freely; the Hunters wait for them, and perceive them CO PT € x * Beaver. Travels in North America.: = 4g 7 ‘at a good Diftance, becaufe in blowing they give a confiderable ‘Motion to the Water; fo that it is eafy to take their Meafures ‘to kill them.as foon as they appear above Water: But for the - greater Certainty, and not to be feen by the Beavers, they throw ‘upon the Hole which they make in the Ice fome broken Reeds or Stalks of Indian Wheat, and when they find that the Ani- --malds within Reach, they feize him by one of his Paws, and -~ throw him- upon the Ice, where they knock him on the Head ‘before he has recovered of his Surprize. | | " «If the Cabin is near fome Rivulet, they are taken with lefs Trouble, they make a Cut acrofs the Ice to let down their Nets, ‘then they go and break down the Cabin. The Beavers that are ‘in it never fail to run into the Rivulet, and are caught in the Net, ~ - but they muft not be left there long, for they would foon make : their Way out by gnawing it. Thofe which have their Cabins in the Lakes have, at three or four hundred Paces from the > - Shore, a Kind of Country-houfe, where they may breathe a bet- ter Air: Then the Hunters divide themfelves in two Parties, one goes to break down the Country Cabin, and the other Party _ | ‘falls upon that of the Lake ; the Beavers which are in the latter {and the Hunters take the ‘Time when they are all there) fly for ‘Refuge to the other; but they find nothing there but Duft, ‘which has been thown in on Purpofe, and which blinds them fo that they are eafily taken. Laftly, in fome Places, they make a Breach in the Caufey ; by this Means the Beavers foon find themfelves aground, and without Defence, or elfe they immediately run to remedy the Evil of which they do not know the Authors, and as they are well prepared to receive them, the Beavers feldom.efcape, or at leaft fome of them are taken. There are fome other Particularities of the Beavers which IPL S - J find in fome Memoirs, the Truth of which Some Particula- rities of this Crea- ture. I cannot warrant. ‘They pretend, that when thefe Animals have difcovered any Hunters, _ | | or any of thofe Beafts that prey upon them, they dive, ftriking the Water with their Tail, with fucha great LR : Noife, that they may be heard half a League off: Thisis pro _ ‘bably to give Notice to the reft to be.upon their Guard. “hey, : “fay alfo that they have the Senfe of fmelling fo exquifite,.that being in the Water they fmell a Canoe at a great Diftance. But they add, that they only fee Side-ways like a Hare, and that through this Defeé& they often fall into the Hands of the Hun- _ ter whom they feek to fhun. And laftly they affirm, that when a _ Beaver has loft his Mate, they never couple again with another, as they 14 7 _is reported of the Turtle Dove. The Savages take great Careto | hinder their Dogs from touching the Bones of the Beaver, becaufe Ahn te, <2 are fo hard they would fpoil their Teeth ; they fay the fame | D Thiag ore # eat TV Pe oP tee RE 48. An Hiftorical Journal of Thing of the Bones of the Porcupine. The Generality of the Savages give another Reafon for this; it is, they fay, not to enrage the Spirits of thefe Animals, which would hinder at an- other Time the Chace from being fuccefsful. For the reft, Ma- dam, I wonder they have not tried to tranfport fome of thefe wonderful Creatures into France ; we have Places enough where they might find Food enough, and Materials for building, and — I believe they would multiply there prefently. We have here alfo a little Animal much of the fame Nature | as the Beaver, which in many Refpeéts feems By ie ae to be a fmaller Species, sr is Tatas the Ces Mufe Rat. Ithas, in Fat, almoft all the Properties of the Beaver, the Shape of the Body, and efpecially © of the Head of both,.is fo alike, that one would take the Mufk Rat for a little Beaver, if his Tail was cut of, which is almoft like that of our Rats; and if its Tefticles were taken away, which contain a moft exquifite Mufk. This Animal, which weighs about four Pounds, 1s much like that which Mr. Ray defcribes under the Name of Mus Alpinus. It takes the Field in the Month of March, and its Food is then fome Bits of Wood, which it peals + before eating them. Afterthe Snows are melted, it lives upon the Roots of Nettles, then on the Stalks and Leaves of this . Plant. In Summer it feeds moftly on Rafberries and Straw- berries, and afterwards on other autumnal Fruits. During this Seafon, the Male is feldom feen without the Female: When Winter begins they feparate, ‘and each goes to find a Lodging in fome Hole, or the Hollow of a Tree, without any Provifions ; and the Savages affirm that as long as the Cold lafts they. eat They buildalfo Cabins, fomething like thofe of the Beavers, but very far from being fo well built. As to their Situation, it is always by the Water Side, fo they have no Occafion to make any Dams. They fay that the Fur of the Mufk Rat may be — mixt with that of the Beaver in making Hats, without any Prejudice to the Work. Its Flefh is not bad but in rutting ‘Time; then it is not poffible to deprive it of a Mufkinefs, which © is not fo pleafant to the T'afte as to the Smell. ———1 was very much inclined, Madam, to give you an Account of the other \ … Chaces of the Savages; and of the Animals that are peculiar to | _ this Country, but I muf defer it to another Opportunity. Jam — ‘ jut now informed that my Carriage is ready, and I am going | Age fet out, ae CE teil Be: sy) nit: HIER \ PALESTINE L Travels in North America. | 49 | manne prenais me EEnaer nn Cl LOT E KR V. A Fourney from QueEBeEc fo Trois Rivieres (the Three Rivers +) … How they go Poft upon the Snow. Of the Lordfhips or Manors of — New France. À Defcription of Beck ancourT. The Tradition in regard to the Name of the River PUANTE (the Stinking River.) A Defeription of Trois Rivieres. A Continuation of the feveral Huntings of the Savages. 3 MaDAM, | Trois Rivieres, March 6. ¥ Arrived Yefterday in this Town, after two Days Journey, and I though it is twenty-five Leagues diftant from Quebec, I could have performed the Journey in twelve Hours, becaufe I came in a Sledge, which the Snow and Ice makes a very eafy Way of travelling in this Country during the Winter, and which does not coft more than the common Carriages. The Sledge runs fo fmoothly, that a fingle Horfe fuffices to draw it, and always goes a Gallop. One finds at different Places frefh Horfes at à acheap Rate. In Cafe of Need one might travel this Way threefcore Leagues in twenty-four Hours, much more con: veniently than in the beft Poft-Chaifes. | I lay the the firft Night at Pointe aux Trembles, (Afpen Tree Point) feven Leagues from the Capital, which Ofthe LordPiPe x Jeff but one Hour before Night. This is Of Can. Oie of the good Parifhes of this Country. The Church is large and well built, and the Inhabitants in good Circumftances. In general, the old Inhabitants are richer here than the Lords of the Manors, and this is the Reafon : Canada was but a great Foreft when .the French firft fettled it. _Thofe who obtained Lordfhips, were not People to improve the — 7 Land themfelves ; they were Officers, Gentlemen, and Compas nies, who had not Funds fuflicient to eftablifh a proper Num- ber of Labourers for this Purpofe. They were therefore obliged _ to fettle Inhabitants; who, before they could get a Subfiftence; were obliged to labour much, and to advance all the Charges; fo that they paid their Lords but a very flender Rent; and all the ufual Pines of a Manor amount here but to a fmall Sum. A Lordfhip of two Leagues in Front, and of an unlimited Depth, _ brings in but a fmall Income ina Country fo thinly peopled, and : _ where there is fo little Trade in the inward+Parts. a 5x ; pees RS - ¢ x Æ aie ‘ e. ay? a . "NM HSE ae This nu LT pe We AO ; GABE hy Er» Eu * ~ V UE CPE a 8° An Hiftorical ‘journal of This was without Doubt, one of the Reafons that engaged | Sepa are Lewis the. XIV th to allow all Nobles and a a DEA a FT Dar Jettled in Canada, to trade both by Patr ae dés oe Sea and Land, without being lable to be troubled nis ste ss on this Account, or reputedto have derogated from anne . their Birth and Family. 'Thefe are the Terms * of tlie Order, which was made by the Council, the roth of March 168s. And further, there are no Lordfhips in this Country, even of thofe which ‘give Titles of Honour, to which the Right of Patronage belongs; for upon the Claim of fome Lords, founded upon their having built a Parifh Church, his Majefty being pre- fent in Council, declared the fame Year, 1685, that this Right- belonged only to.the Bifhop, as well becaufe he is more capa- “bié than any other of judging who are the fitteft Pérfons, as be- caufe, that the proper Allowance of the Curates, is paid out of © the Tythes:that belong to the Bifhop. The King in the fame Order declares, that the Right of Patronage is not to give any ‘Rank of Honour. ne | | St I departed from Pointe aux Trembles before Day,. with a one DE he “Si eyed Horfe, I changed him afterwards for Of eas 35 alameone, and then him fora broken winded ge A a ae Soy one. With thefe three Relays, I went feven- court. teen Leagues in feven or eight Hours, and I arrived early at the Baron de Beckancourt’s, chief Surveyor of the Highways of New France, who would by no Means « fuffer- me to go forward. This Gentleman has a Village of Vi Abenaquis, under the DireGtion of a Fefait in Matters of Re- « ligion, to whom I was very glad to pay my Refpeéts by the Way. The Baron lives atthe Entrance of a little River that comes from the South; which runs entirely through his Lordfhip, and « bears his Name. The Life which M. de Beckancourt leads in ‘ this Défert (for here are no other French Inhabitants as yet but ~ the Lord) naturally brings to Mind the antient. Patriarchs, if À, | who: did not difdain to divide with their Servants the Labours of © their Country, and lived almoft in as plain a Manner as they, | ‘The Advantage which he makes by the Trade with the Savages à + his Neighbours, by buying Skins of them at the firft Hand, is M more than the Profits he could make of Inhabitants, to whom 0 he fhould divide his Land. In Time, it will be his own Fault w if he hay no Vaflals, and he will make more advantageous Con- ditions when he has: cleared all his Land, The River Beckan-- court was-formerly called Riviere Puante, ox the Stank wer. I enquired the Caufe of this Name, for the W eared to me very fine, and they affured me that it is y ‘and that there is no bad Smell in all this Quarter. Y À _méit was fo called on Account of the bad Qualities 4 ee " 4 Travels in North América. #4 Waters: Others attributed it to the great Number of Mufk Rats . that are found in it, the Scent of which the Savages cannot bear ; buthere is a third Reafon, which they who have made the greateit _Refearches into the antient Hiftory of the Country fay, is the true one. | | | | sa * Some Ægonguins were at War with the Oxnontcharonnons, better known by the Name of the Jroguet Nation, which antiently dwelt in the Ifland of Monireal. The Name it bears proves, that it was of the Huron Language ; but they fay it was thefe Hurons who drove them from their antient Habitation, and who have in Part deftroyed them: However that may be, this Nation was at the Time I fpeak of, at War with the Algonguins, who, to make an End at once of the War, which they began to. bé ye, weary of, contrived a Stratagem, which fucceeded. They fet pur themfelves in Ambufh on the two Sides of a little River, which = is now called Beckancourt.. 'Then they detached. fome, Canoes, which made a Shew of Fifhing in the Great River. . ‘They knew that-their Enemies were not far off, and they made.no Doubt that they would foon fall upon thefe pretended Vifhermen; And — in Fact, they foon faw a Fleet of Canoes coming in Hafte ‘to attack them ;- they feemed to be afrighted, fled, and got up. the River, They.were followed very clofe by the Enemy, who thought to make a very eafy Congueft of this Handful of Men ; and to draw them on, they afeéted to be greatly terrified. This Feint fucceeded, the Purfuers fill kept advancing, and making ~ moft hideous Cries, according to: the Cuftom of thefe Bar- barians, they thought they were inftantly going to feize their e Peeyi te. Thenta Shower of Arrows from, behind the Bufhes which: bor: dered the River threw them into Confufion, which theygave them no Time to recover. A fecond Difcharge which followed - clofe npon the firft, entirely routed them... They ftrove to fy.in _ their Turn, but they could no longer ufe their Canoes, which were every where pierced with Arrows: They leaped into the Water, hoping to fave themfelves by fwimming, but befides . a that the greateft Part were wounded, they met at landing the — Death they fled from, and not one efcaped the Algonguins, who le no Quarter, and: did not even amufe themfelves with mas cing of Prifoners: The Jraguet Nation never recovered this fat tal Blow, and though fome of thefe Savages have been feen fince the Arrival of the French in Canada, at iprefent there are — none remaining. In the mean Time the Number of dead Bodies which remained in the Water and upon the Sides of the River … infected it in fuch a Manner, that it fill retainsthe Name of Riviere Puante, (the Stinking River.) : de | Ay star EU * . A ons UBL actu ie oe vla cooling 31 #60 Ve IR HA TR rs Ho) ue ae 2 An Hiftorical Fournal of The Abenagui Village of Beckancourt is not fo populous asit % Or the Abena 35 fome Years ago, yet they would be of — ni Vill _ great Affiftance to us in Cafe of a War. « iVillage of Bec Thefe S ne d sea lie bo efe Savages are always ready to make In- roads into New England, where their Name alone has often carried Terror even into Boffen. They would alfo : | ferve us as effeétually againft the Jrogucis, to whom they are no ways inferior in Valour: and are better difciplined. "They ate -. all Chriflians, and they have a pretty Chapel, where they prac- >. tife with much Edification all the Exercifes of the Chriffian Re- * ‘ligion. We muft, neverthelefs, acknowledge, that they are great- ly fallen from the Fervour which appeared in them the firft Years of their Eftablifhment amongft us. They carried them Brandy, which they took a great Liking to, and the Savages never - drink but to get drunk. We have learnt by fatal Experience, that in Proportion as thefe People depart from God, in the fame Mea- fure they pay lefs Refpeét to their Paftors, and grow more in the Intereit of the Exglifs. It is greatly to be feared that the Lord will permit them to become our Enemies, to punifh us for having contributed, fora fordid Intereft, to render them vicis ous, as it has already happened to fome other Nations. After having embraced the Miffionary of Beckancourt, (a) vi- ee fited his Village, and made with himfome for- rowful Refleétions which naturally arife from the Diforders I have mentioned, and for which he is often reduced to groan in the Sight of God, I crofied the River Sz. Laurence to come to this Situation of the Town of Trois Rivieres. Town. Nothing is more charming than its Situation. It is built upon a gentle Hill of Sand, which is only barren for the Space it may occupy, if it ever becomes a confiderable Town ; for at prefent it is but of little Confequence. It 1s fur- rounded by whatever can render a Town agreeable and wealthy. The River, whichis near half 4 League wide, runs | atthe Bottom. Beyond, we fee a cultivated fruitful Country, _ that is crowned with the fineft Forefts in the World. A little © = below, and on the fame Side as the Town, the Great River re- ceives another tolerably fine River, which before it mixesits | Water with the firft, receives at the fame Time two others, one _ to the right and the other to the left, which has given the Name … Cf Trois Rivieres (Three Rivers) to the Town. =. | Above, and at about the fame Diftance, 0. pe the Lake of | 4 St. Pierre, which is about three Leagues | | aa Poke ae wide, and feven long : So that ms % Paie ) * bounds the Sighton that Side, and the Sur ’ appears. to fet in the Waves. This - which is only an Enlargement of the River Sz. Laurence, (a) Father Euflache Le Sueur. fi Travels in North America. #9 4 Rivers. It appears probable, that it is thefe Rivers that in a Courfe of Years have eaten away the low and light Soil, through which they run. This is moft apparent in the River St. Frangois, the Mouth of which hath may little Iflands interfperfed in it, which probably were formerly joined to the Continent. And moreover, in all the Lake, unlefs in the midit of the Channel where the Strength of the Current of the Great River has pre- ~ferved its Depth, there is no pafling but in Canoes. There are _ alfo fome Places where great Canoes, if they are but lightly i - loaded, cannot eañly pafs. But it is every where full of Fifh, and the Fifh are excellent. | su | They reckon but about feven or eight hundred People in the Airis Town of Trors Rivieres, but it has in its LT P ay Neighbourhood wherewithal to enrich @ vs FT great City ; that is to fay, very good Iron Mines, which may be wrought with Profit at at any Time (a). Upon the whole, though this Town is but thinly peopled, its Situation renders it of great Confequence, and it is one of the oldeft Settlements in the Colony. From the firft, this Pott has had a Governor, he has a thoufand Crowns Salary, aadan Etat Major (a certain Number of General Officers of the Army under him.) Here is alfo a Convent of Recollets, a pretty good Parifh Church ferved by this Society, and a very fine Hofpital, jeined toa Nunnery of Ur/ulines, to the Number of forty; who are employed as Nurfes to the Hofpital. This is alfo a Foundas tion of M. de St. Vallier. From the Year 1650, the Senechal (whofe Office and Power was afterwards abolifhed and invefted in the Superior Council of Quebec, and the Intendant) had a Lieutenant at Trois Rivieres: At prefent, this ‘Town has a com= _ mon Court of Juftice, the Chief of which is a Lieutenant Ges, — neral. ‘ er It owes its Origin to the great Refort of Savages of different — gh C Nations tothis Place. At the Beginningof _ | 1 oft cae the Colony there came down many, efpecially _ Dés Efaohje- som the fartheit Parts of the North, by the ae sie iad : three Rivers, which have given the Name to _ this Town, and by which they go up a great Way. The Situas tion of the Place, joined to the great Trade that was carried on here, engaged fome French to fettle here ; and the Neighbours hood of the River de Sorel, then called the Iroquois River, (which ey I fhall mention foon) induced the Governor General to builda Fort here, where was maintained a good Garrifon, andwhich had from, the firft a Governor of itsown. This Poft was then looked — . (a) They are aétually wropght at this Time, and produce the beft ron as the World, nos : és ‘ae ® A: ie Wray de B4 An Hificrical journal of? upon, as one of the moft important in New France. After fome Years, the Savages being tired of being continually harraffed by the Ircquois, from whom the French themfelves had Trouble enough to defend themfelves, and having no longerthe Liberty of © the Paffes, where thefe proud Enemies laid wait: for them conti- nually, and not being fafe even in Sight of, and under the Can- non of our Fort, they forebore to bring hither their Peltry or Skins. ‘The Fe/uits with all their new Converts retired three Leagues lower, upon fome Lands that were given them by the Abbot de la Madeleine, one of the Members of the Society of the hundred Afociates, formed by the Cardinal de Richhiéu, from whence this Place took the Name of Case de la Madeleine, which’ it bears to this Day (a). : .. The Mifion which was tranfported hither, did not fübfift a "Un f Cape Ma- long Time. This was partly the Effect of detcine. the Confequence of the Wars and. Difeafes which have almoft entirely deftroyed this rifing Church. There are ftill in the Neighbourhood a Company of Algonguins, the greateft Part of whom were baptized in their Infancy, but have ae no regular Exercife of Religion. The Gentlemen of the eft-India Company, who have now the Beaver Trade, . have in vain endeavoured to draw them to Checoutime, where they have already re-united feveral Families of the fame Nation, and of the Nation of the Mountains, under the Direction of a Je/uit Mifionary. Others wanted to unite them with the Abenaquis of SF, François. All their Anfwer to thefe Invitations was, that .they could-not refolve to quit a Place where the Bones of their Fathers reit. But fome People believe, and not without Foun- dation, that this Refufal proceeds lefs from themfelves, than from fome People to whom their Neighbourhood is advantage- “ous; and who, without Doubt, do not fufficiently confider that _ they facrifice the Salvation of thefe Savages to a little Intereft. | “4 i have juft been informed, Madam, that in a few Days I fhall we an Opportunity of fending this Letter to Quebec, from whence it may go carly to France by the Ifle Royal. _ I fhall fill it up with what concerns the Huntings of the Savages.——The hunting of the Beaver, as I have before obferved, was not their- principal Concern, till they faw the Value which the French fet _ upon the Skin of this Animal. Before this, the hunting of the the Ficklenefs of the Savages, but principally | 18 Bear held the firft Place, and was performed with the greateft F « Superftition. This is what is obferved at this Day in this “is Chace, amongft thofe who are not Chriffiuns. 4 a) Befides the Iron Mines, which are very plentiful at Cape Ma 2 ; “iS here have been difcovered fome Years ago, feveral Springs of Mu Waters, : + SEMESTRE hey “y 4 it ey . \ Travels in North America. es It is always’ a War-Chief who fixes the Time, and has the 3 O% PIES A aa hae Care of inviting the Hunters. This Invita- pee runting ÎP6 sion which is made with great Ceremony, is he (laa 2: followed with a Faft of eight Days; during which they muft not drink even a Drop of Water. And I will tell you by the Way, Madam, that what the Savages call fafting,, is to take abfolutely nothing at all. Still more, in Spite of the _ extreme Weaknefs which fuch an Abftinence one may fuppofe cannot fail to caufe, they never ceafe finging all the ‘Time it are. As Ajax did not afk of Fupiter to give him the Victory over his Enemies, but only Day enough to make an End of his awake, itis natural that during their Sleep (which can’t be very _ fary that all, at leaft the greateft Number, fhould in their Sleep . _ obliged to eat up all : Though they have fafted fo long before … at, (and perhaps it is for this Reafon) they eat moderately. He _ who gives the Feaft, eats nothing ; and all his Employment, _ _ whilft the others are at Table, is to relate his former Atchieve- . ‘ments in hunting: Frefh Invocations of the Manes of dead … Jafts. They obferve this Faft, in order to induce the. Geni, or Spirits, to difcover the Places where they may find many Bears. Many even do much more to; deferve this Favour. Several have been feen to cut their Flefh in feveral Places of their Body, to render their Genii, or Spirits, more propitious. But it is proper # . to obferve, that they do not afk their Affiftance to conquer thefe furious Animals: Ît fuffices them to be informed where they Conquet. Decay 2 ae ae The Savages fupplicate alfo on the fame Account the Manes of the Beafts which they have killed in former Huntings; and | as their Thoughts. run wholly on the Matter whilft they are — , | found upon fuch empty Stomachs) they fhould often dreamof | Bears. But this is not enough to determine them: Itis necef. pi ¥ thus : Provided a fkilful Hunter has thought he has dreamt two © or three Times together of feeing Bears in a certain Place, ei- ther through Complaifance, or through continual talking of it, ~ theirchimerical Brain at laft takes the [mpreffion, and every Body ~~ prefently dreams the fame, or feignthat they have dreamt fo, and _ a Refolution is taken to go to that Place. The Faf being — over, andthe Place of the Hunt fettled, the Chief who is chofen for the Chace gives to all thofe who are to be of the Partya great Feaft ; but no Perfon dares be prefent, without having frft bathed ; that is to fay, without having plunged into the River, let the Weather be ever fo fevere, provided the River is not — 7 frozen. This Feaft is not like many others, in which they are __ ears, finifhes the Feaft. Then they begin their March, equipp’d [@] « Months without . . eating. ES at Unt An Hiftorical Journal of of that antient Genero as for War, and their Faces befmeared with Black, amidft' the: Acclamations of the whole Village ; for the Chace, among thefe People, is as noble as War. The Alliance of a good Hun- teris more fought after than that of a famous Warrior, becanfe the Chace provides the whole Family with Provifion and Cloath- ing, and the Savages defire nothing more: But a Manis not efteemed a great Hunter, till he has killed twelve great Beafts in one Day. — | | Thefe People have two great Advantages over us in this Ex- ercife ; for, in the firft Place, nothing ftops them, neither Bufhes, Ditches, ‘Torrents, Ponds, nor Rivers. They always go for- ward upon a ftrait Line. Inthefecond Place, there are few, or rather no Creatures, which they cannot overtake in running : They have been feen, as it is faid, entering a Village, leading Bears in a Wythe, {which they had tired by running down) as if they had been leading a Flock of Sheep ; and the nimblett - Deer is not fwifter than they are. Laftly, the chief Hunter muft make little Advantage himfelf of his Game :, He is oblig’d to be very liberal of it: If they even prevent his Gift, and take it away from him, he muft fuffer the Lofs without faying any Thing, and be contented with the Glory of having labour’d for the Public. Neverthelefs, it is not complained of, if in the Diftribution which he makes of the Game, he gives the firft _Part to his own Family. But we muft confefs, that thofe Sa- vages with whom we haye moft Commerce, have loft fomething — fey, and that wonderful Difintereftednefs which they were remarkable for.---Nothing is more contagious © than the Spirit of Intereft, and nothing more capable of alter- ing the Manners of a People. Winter is the Seafon for hunting the Bear : Then thefe Ani- The Bear is he mals are hid in hollow Trees ; or if they find | any blown down, they fhelter themfelves un- der the Roots of them, and ftop up the En- trance with Branches of Pine, fo thatthey . are perfe&ly {creened from the Rigour of the Seafon ; otherwife, they make a Hole in the Earth, and take great Care, when they _ _ arein, to ftop up the Opening. Some have been f found at the _ Bottom of a Cavern, hid in fuch a Manner as not to be per- | to his living all this Time by fucking his Paws, as fome A ceived, though looked very narrowly for. But in what Manner | foever the Bear is lodged, he never leaves his Retreat for the — whole Winter: This is no longer doubted of. Itis as certain that M he never makes any Provifion for the Winter, and of Confe- … quence, that during all that Time he never eats or drinks have affirmed, every one is allowed to believe what he. But this is certain, that they have been kept chained up du sy Travels in North America. es he Winter, without having any Thing given’ them to eat or to drink, and at the End of fix Months they were as fat as before. It is without Doubt furprizing that a Creature cloathed with fuch — “ 2 good Fur, and who has not the Appearance of being very ten- der, fhould take fuch Precautions againft the Cold, which no one elfe would think there was any Need of. This fhews we | muft not judge by Appearances : Every one beft knows his own Wants. fo Re There is no Need of running much to catch the Bear: | It is only neceffary to know the Places — Ge de Be Ÿ where the pis me Number is hid. As foon. hunting the Bear. the Hunters think they have found fuch a Place, they form a Circle of a Quarter of a League in Circum- ference, or more or lefs, according to the Number of Hunters : _ Then they advance, coming {till clofer and clofer together ; and every one looks before him, to find dut the Retreat of fome Bear ; fo that if there is any, it is difficult for one to efcape, for our Savages are excellent Ferrets. ‘The next Day the fame Mas nœuvre begins again at fome Diftance from thence, and all the Time of the Chace is employed in this Manner. bn | When a Bear is killed, the Hunter puts the End of his | lighted Pipe between his Teeth, blows into . A ridiculous Ce- the Bowl ; and thus filling the Mouth and Be ite — “ Throat of the Beaft with Smoak, he conjures OE RER 3t3 Spirit to bear no Malice for what he has _ juft done to the Body, and not to oppofe him in his future Huntings : But as the Spirit does not anfwer, the Hunter (to knowif his Prayer is granted) cuts the String under the Bear’s ‘Tongue, and keeps it till he returns to the Village : Then they all throw, with great Ceremony, and after many Invocations, | _thefe Strings intothe Fire: If they crackle, and fhrink up, as feldom fails tohappen, this is taken for a certain Sign that the | Spirit of the Bear is appeafed ; if not, they believe they are en- raged, and that the Chace of next Year will not be fuccefsful, unlefs they can find a Way to reconcile them ; for, in fhort, there _ 15 a Remedy for every Thing. 3 sl _ The Hunters make good Cheer, as long as the Chace lafts; © “Rs, ee ae,” and even if they have but little Succefs, they À ff with them enough to treat their _ ters are received at . rewind D a F ee + se ESRD riends, and feed their Families a long Time. ere” j This Flefh is in Reality no great Ragout he ‘10 1 “anty no g gout, | but every Thing is good to the Savages. “To fee how they are received, the Praifes they give them, the pleafed and felf-fufi- — Gent Airs they take upon themfelves, one would fay they were returning from fome grand Expedition, loaded with the Spoils of a whole Nation deftroyed. T A | of the Village fay, i : o c Wig \ À à \ $ nuft gy he € his Rt dy oy ad UP RARE ¥ Rav CENT ANA È 2 we See Mey Pr. = CR , Hé. din Hiftorical Fournal of, x" 1 -niuft be a Man (and the Hunters fay fo themfelves) to fight awitl and conquer Bears in this Manner.—Another Thing for which they receive no lefs Praife, and upon which they as much pride them- _ felves; is to leave nothing of the great Feaft which is given them at their Return from the Chace by the chief Hunter. The firft Service that is prefented, is thelargeft Bear they have taken; and they ferve it up whole, with all its Entrails: It is not even fkinned ; they only finge the Skin as one does that of a Hog for Bacon. This Feaft is performed to a certain Spirit, whofe An- ger they think they fhould incur if they did not eat all : ‘They muft not even leave any of the Broth in which the Meat was boiled, which is fearce any ‘Thing but Fat melted and re- duced to Oil: Nothing can be worfe; and it generally kills fome of them, and makes many of them very fick, © | The Bears are not:mifchievous in this Country, but when they are hungry, or when they are wounded ; however, People are on their Guard when -they approach them. ‘They feldom attack ; they even generally run away as foon as they fee any Perfon, : ‘and there needs only a Dog to make them {cour quite away. The Bear ruts in uly: He then grows fo iean, & his Fléfh is foinfipid and ill tafted, that even the Savages who often eat thofe ‘Things, the Sight of which would turn our Stomachs, can hardly touch it. Whowould believe that this Paffion fhould wafte an Animal ‘of this Kind and Shape more in one Month, than a total Abfti- « nence from Food for fix Months? It is lefs furprizing that he” fhould then be fo fierce and ill-natured, that it is not fafe to … meet him in his Way. ‘This is the Effect of his Jealoufy. This Seafon being over, the Bear grows fat again, and no- thing contributes more to it than the Fruits which he finds in the ‘Woods, of which he is very fond. Above all, he is fond of Grapes ; and as all the Foreits are fullof Vines, which grow tow _.the Tops of the higheft Trees, he makes no Difficulty to climb — ap them: Butif a Hunter finds himthere, his Daintinefs cofts — him his Life. When he has thus well fed upon Fruits, his. ‘Flefh has a very good Tafte, and keeps it till Spring : Ithas, ~meverthelefs, always a great Fault; it is too oily ; and if it is ‘not ufed with Moderation, it caufes the Bloody Flux: On the other Hand, a Bear’s Whelp is as good asa Lamb; =. i forgot, Madam, to tell you that the Savages always carry a great Number of Dogs with them when they Some Particula- rities of the Bear. the Des ile Younes they are the only Domeftic Creatures oe ae for which they bring up, and they bring GOES a up only for Hunting : ‘They all feen of the famé Species : Their, Ears fland upright ; thei Jong, like that of a Wolf; but they are very faithful. ; pene à oe Travels in North America. os ! tached to their Mafters; who, neverthelefs, feed them but _ poorly, and never fondle them : They break them betimes to that Kind of Chace they are intended for, and they are excel- _ lent Hunters. I have not Time to add any Thing more, for | _ they call me to depart. | I am, &c. L'ET TER: VE, A Defeription of the Country, and the Iflands of Richlieu and sel, Lu Francois. Of the Abenaqui Village. Of the antient Fort of Richlieu, and of thofe that have been built in each Parifh À brave AGion of two Canadian Ladies. Mapa, ; St. Francois, March 11. |] Departed on the goth from Trois Rivieres, and croffed the Lake of Sz. Peter, inclining a little to the South. J per- ~ formed this Journey in a Sledge, becaufe the Ice was ftill ftrong enough to bear all Sorts of Carriages ; and I arrived at Noon at St. François. 1 employed the Afternoon, and all Yefterday, - to vifit this Quarter ; and I fhall nov. give you an Account of — ï what I obferved here. At the Weft End of Lake Sr, Pierre, there is a vaft Number of _ Iflands of all Sizes, which they call the 3 SA if sine Iflands of Richlieu ; and turning to the Left, i Se Pie 7% when we come from Quebec, we find fix others, 3 fe Brangols. which border a pretty deep Bay, into which: a River difcharges itfelf, the Spring Head of which is in the Neighbourhood of New York. ‘The Ifiands, the River, and all. the Country it.waters, bear the Name of 85. Francois. Each of - thefe Iflands are about a Mile long; their Breadth is unequal:: The greateft Part of thofe of Richlieu are fmaller : They were i‘ . all formerly full of Stags, Deer, Goats, and Elks: Here was alfo a furprizing Plenty of wild Fowl, which is not now very fearce ; but the great Beafts have difappeared. _ _ We get alfo excellent Fith in the River of St. François, and at its Mouth. In Winter they make Holes in the Ice, and let _ di. down their Nets of five or fix Fathom long, and they feldom take them up empty. ‘The Fifh which they commonly-take, are the gilt Fith, Achigans, and particularly the Ma/quinongez, which are _ iu _ a Kind of Pike: It hath a Head larger than ours, and the. ~ Mouth under atiooked Snout, which gives them an edd Look. The Lands of St. François, if we may judge by the Trees that ae | grow x 60° An Hiftorical “fournal of grow here, and by that which is already cultivated, are very good. ‘The Inhabitants are, notwithftanding, poor. enough ; and many would be reduced to the greateft Indigence, if the ‘Trade with the Savages, their Neighbours, did not help them a little. But is it not this Trade that hinders them from mend- ‘ing their Circumftances, by making them lazy ? | _ The Savages I fpeak of, are the Abenaquis, amongft which OF Abe there are fome Algonquins, and alfo Sokokis and. PS no Mabingans, better known by the Name of the 4 ie Wolves. This Natiog was formerly fettled upon the River of Manbatte, in New York, and it appears that they were antient Inhabitants of that Country. The Abenaguis came to St. François from the Southern Parts of New France, which are neareft New England. Their firft Station, upon leav- ing their Country to come to live amongft us, was a little River that difcharges itfelf into the River Sz. Laurence, almoft over- againft SYLLERY ; that is to fay, about a League and a half above Quebec, on the South Side. "They feated themfelves in the Neighbourhood of a Fall, which was called the Fall de la Char diere, (the Kettle.) They are now fituated on the Bank of the River St. François, two Leagues from its Mouth, in the Lake Sv. Pierre. ‘The Place is very pleafant ; but the Misfortune is, that thefe People do not enjoy the Pleafures of a fine Situation, and the Cabins of the Savages, efpecially of the Abenaguis, do not adorn a Country. The Village is well peopled, and is inha- bited only by Chriffians. This Nation 1s docible, and were at all Times well affected to the French (a) ; but the Miffionary has no lefs Trouble on their Account, than his Brother of Beck. - ancourt, and for the fame Reafons. hi Sah ost 3 I was treated here with Maple Juice : This is the Seafon in Dyes Vis! which itis drawn. It is delicious, of won- — ef ae ae ral Coolnefs, and very wholefome. The Zi nk manner of drawing it is very eafy. When the Sap begins to rife, they make a Jag or Notch in the Trunk of the Maple, and by the Means of a bit of Wood which they — fix in it, the Water runs as by a Spout: This Water is received into a Vefiel, which they fet under it. ‘To’ make it run plenti- fully, there muft be much Snow upon the Ground, the Night — muft be frofty, the Sky clear, and the Wind not too cold. Our Maples would have perhaps the fame Virtue, if we had in France as much Snow as in Canada, and if it lafted as long. By Degrees, | as the Sap thickens, it runs lefs, and after fome Time it ftops en: tirely. It is eafy to. judge, that after fuch a Bleeding, the Tree … is not the more healthy : They affirm, howey that it can bear _ this many Years together. ‘They would do _ (a) Father Fofepb Aubery, NAT eo oy a Travels in North America. 61 ‘let it ret a Year or two, that it might recover its Strength‘ But at laff, when, it is worn out, it ferves to cut down, and its — Wood, Roots, and Knots, are fit for many Things. This Tree ' muft be very plenty here, for they burn much of it. © SA The Water of the Maple is pretty clear, though a little: whitifh ; it is very cooling, and leaves in the Moutha Tafte like thatof Sugar, very agreeable. It is avery good Pectoral; and in what Quantity foever it is drank, though you are never fo much __ heated, it never does Harm; for it has not that Rawnefs which œaufes the Pleurify ; but on the contrary, a balfamick Virtue, which fweetens the Blood, and a certain Salt, which keeps up the Heat of it. ‘They add that it never congeals; but if they keep it a certain Time, it becomes an excellent Vinegar. I do not warrant this for Fa&, and I know that a Traveller ought not to take every Thing for ‘Truth which he hears. It is very probable that the Savages, who are well acquainted with the Virtues of all their Plants, have at all ‘Times made the fame Ufe of this Water, which they do at this Day; butit is certain they did not know how to make a Sugar of it, which we have fince taught them. ‘They were contented to let it boil a little, to thicken it fomething, and make a Sort of Syrup, which is pretty enough. What is further required to make Sugar of it, is to let : it boil till it takes a proper Confiftence, and it purifies itfelf without any foreign Mixture. ‘There needs only Care not to boil it too much, and to feum it well. ‘The greateft Fault in making it, is to let it harden too much in its Syrup, which makes it oily, and to keep a Tafte of Honey, which renders it lefs. palatable, unlefs it is refined. , This Sugar made with Care, and it requires much lefs than ours, is natural, pectoral, and does not burn the Stomach, : Befides, the making of itis very cheap. It is commonly thought that it is impofible to refine it, like that which is made from’ Canes; but Ido not fee the Reafon of this; and it is certain, — that as it comes out of the Hands of the Savages, it is purer and much better than the Sugar of the Iflands, which has undergone © no more Management. I gave fome to a Sugar Baker of Or- Jeans, whofound no other Defect in it, than that which I have already mentioned, and which he attributed folely to its not being ; fuficiently purified. He thought it alfo of a better Kind than the other, and made fome Lozenges of it, which I had the. Honour to prefent to you, Madam, and which you found fo ex- cellent. It will be objeGted, that if it was of fuch a good Quality, | _ it would havebecome an Obje& of Trade, but there is not enough — __ made for this Purpofe; but perhaps they are in the wrong in not trying what maybe done. There are many other Things be= _ fides this, that are neglected in this Country.---The Ble Tree, 62 An Hifiorical Fournal of the {mall Cherry, the Afh, and the Walnut-Trees of different Sorts, give alfo a Water that makes Sugar, but in lefs Quantity, and the Sugar is not fo gocd. Yet fome People give the Pre- ference to that which-is drawn from the Afh, but there is very little made. Could you have believed, Madam, that we fhould findin Canada, what Virgil fays in foretelling the Renewal of the golden Age, that Honey fhould flow from the Trees (a). All this Country has been a long Time the Theatre of many Oa cay Se bloody Scenes, becaufe during the War with FA NÉ the Jraguois, it was the moft expofed to the® 5 Excurfions of thofe Barbarians. ‘They came down upon the Colony, by a River that difcharges itfelf into the River St. Laurence, a little above Lake Sz. Pierre, on the fame Side as that of St. François ; and to which, for this Reafon, they at firft gave their Name. It has been fince for fome Time called — Richlieu, and is now called the River de Sorel. The Iflands -of ichlieu, which they came to firft, ferved them equally for their Ar bufhes, and for a Retreat; but when we had fhut up this a Paflage by a Fort, built at the Entrance of the River, they took ‘their Way by the Lands above and below, and threw themfelves efpecially on the Side of St. François, where they found the fame _ Advantages to exercife their Robberies, and where they have difperfe the Enemy, as to give Notice to the Inhabitants to be ae their Guard, and to inform when they wanted Succours. _. committed Cruelties which are horrible to relate. They fpread themfelves afterwards through the whole Colony, ; Mile à and they were obliged in order to defend À 7, y. themfelves from their Fury, to buildin every _ { ail the Parifhes. Parifh a Kind of Fort, where the Inhabitants may take Refuge on the firt Alarm. They kept in each Fort : one or two Centinels, who did Duty Nightand Day, and they had all fome Field-Pieces, or at leaft fome Pattereroes, as well to: x Ihefe Forts are only Inclofures, defended with Pallifadoes, with fome Redoubts: The Church and the Manor-Houfe are always in this Inclofure ; and there is itil! Room enough left, in cafe of ” need, to give Refuge to the Women and Children, and the Cat- tle. This has been found fufficient to preferve them from — a Infult; for I never heard the Jroguois took any of thefe « orts. 2 Un TA IT They very feldom block them up, and fcarce ever attack them to take them by Affault. One is too dangerous for Savages, who have no defenfive Arms, and do not lovea Victory ftained with their Blood: The other Way does not agree with their Manner of making War. Two attacks of the Fort de Vercheres, are nevers" M (a) Et dure Quercus fudabunt rofcida mel let 20 Sieg 13: ! # 4 2 Travels in North America. 63 | &helefs famous in the Annals of Canada; and it looks as if the Zroquois had attempted it twice, contrary to their Cuftom, only to difplay the Valour and Intrepidity of two Amazons. n 1690, thefe Savages being informed that Madam de Vercheres L was almoft alone in her Fort, approached it Gallant si without being feen, and attempted to fcale _ : dr Canadian {je Pallifadoes : Some Mufket Shot that were a+ Len fired to good Purpofe, upon the firft Noife ‘they made, difperfed them; but they foon returned, and they were again repulfed ; and what fuprifed them the more was, that they faw only a Woman, and her they faw every where. This | was Madam de Wercheres, who kept up as good a Countenance _ as if fhe had had a numerous Garrifon. The Hope whichthe Bes fiegers had conceived at firft, to take a Place eafily, which they oe knew was without Men, made them return feveral Times to the Charge; but the Lady with the Help of the Women with her, always beat them off. She fought in this Manner two Days,, _ with fuch Bravery and Prefence of Mind, as would have dome Honour to an old Warrior; and at laft fhe obliged the Enemy __ to retire, for Fear of having their Retreat cut off, greatly afhamed of being forced to fly before a Woman. = Two Years after another Party of the’ fame Nation, much - more numerous than the other, appeared in Sight of the fame Fort, whilft all the Inhabitants were abroad; and the greatet _ Part employed in the Fields. The Jroguois finding them thus _ difperfed, without any Sufpicion of an Enemy, feized them all one after another, then marched towards the Fort. The Daugh- _ ther of the Lord, who was at moft but fourteen Years old, was about two hundred Paces off the Fort. At the firft Cry fhe heard, fhe ran to get in: The Savages purfued her, and one of them came up with her juft as fhe got to the Door; but having feized her by a Handkerchief that was about her Neck, fhe let it flip from her, and fo got in, and fhut to the Gate. Ne There was nobody in the Fort but a young Soldier anda __ Company of Women ; who, at the Sight of their Hufbands whom the Savages were binding and carrying away Prifoners, fent ~— forth molt lamentable Cries. The young Lady loft neither her Judgment nor Courage. She began by pulling off her Cap, | fhe tied up her Hair, put on a Hat and a Jacket, and locked up all the Women, whofe Cries and Tears could but encourage: — the Enemy. ‘Then fhe fired a Cannon and fome Mutket Shot, * and fhewing herfelf with her Soldier fometimes in one Redoubt, and fometimes in another, changing frequently their Drefs, and _ fring to good Purpofe whenever the faw the Jroguois approach the |. Pallifade, the Savages fancied there were many People inthe _ _ Fort; and when the Chevalier de Cri/ay, upon hearing the firing, “ae ih > came A on off, y R ’ ARE à x + ys LR on A: PE: TE Lab “cd mi. An Hiftorical Fournal of came to fuccour the Place, the Enemy was already marched Let us now return to the Chafe. That of the Orignal would OF the Elk, or MOT have been lefs profitable to us at prefent, 0; 2. ] ; than that of the Beaver, if our Predeceffors eur in this Country had given more Attention to the Profits which might have-been made of it, and had not al- moft entirely deftroyed the Species, at leaftin thofe Places which are within our Reach. | What they call here the Orignal, is what in Germany, Poland, - ee on of and Mafcovy, they call the Elk or ‘Great Li Or : . Beaft. ‘This Animal here, is as big as a ave Urigna ~~ Horfe, or a Mule of Auvergne. The hind Quarters are large, the Tail but only an Inch long, the Hams very high, the Legs and Feet like thofe of a Hart; along Hair covers the Withers, the Neck, and the upper Part of the Hams: ‘The Head is above two Feet long, and he carries it out,} which gives him an ill Look: Its Muzzle is large, and leffens in the upper Part like that of a Camel, and‘its Noitrils are fo large one may eafly thruft in halfones Arm. Its Horns are not lefs long than thofe of a Hart, and much wider: They are fat and forked dike thofe of a Deer, and are renewed every Year; but I know ‘not if uponthe new Growth, they make an Increafe which de. notes the Age of the Animal. Vay They fay that the Orignal is fubje& to the Epilepfy, and : when the Fits feize him, he gets over them by fcratching his ar-with his left hind Foot till he draws Blood, which has made the Hoof of this Foot be efteemed a Specific againft the falling Sicknefs, It is applied to the Heart of the Patient, and they dothe ‘fame tocure the Palpitation of the Heart: They put it alfo into the left Hand of the Perfon who is difordered, and rub his Ear with at: But why fhould they not draw Blood from him alfo, as the Orignal does? This Hoof is alfo reckoned very good againft _ the Pleurify Cholick Pains, the Flux, the Vertigo, and the — À EN again. Mattreffes are made of it, and Saddles. Its Flefh is well » . i _ Purples, by reducing it to Powder, and giving it in Water. I have been told that the Æ/gorguins, who formerly made the Flefh _ of this Animal their common Food, were very much fubjeét to the Epilepfy, and never ufed this Remedy: Perhaps they had better. ‘The Hair of the Orignal is a Mixture of light grey and | à dark red. It grows hollow as the Beaft grows old, and never lofes its elaftic Power: Beat it ever fo long it fprings up tafted, light, and nourifhing ; it would be a Pity that it fhould caufe the Epilepfy; but our Hunters, who have lived upon it whole Winters, never found that it had any bad Quality. — Skin is ftrong, foft and fubftantial ; it is made into Shamios, an 5 ie EXC j excellent Buff, which is very light. The Savages look upon the Orignal as a Creature of good Omen, and believe that thofe | who dream frequently of it, may fatter themfelves with long Life: But they think quite the contrary with Regard to dream- -ing of the Bear, except in the: Time when they are difpofed to hunt thofe Creatures. ‘There is alfo current among thefe Bar- barians, "a comical ‘Tradition of a great Orignal, near which all the-reft appear but as Ants: They fay his Legs are fo long, that eight Feet Depth of Snow is no Hindrance to him ; that his Skin is Proof againft all Sorts of Arms, and that he has a Kind of Arm which grows out of his Shoulder, which he makes Ufe of as we do of our’s; that he never fails to have after him a great Number of Orignals, who form his Court, and who render him all the Services he requires of them. Thus the Antients had their Pheenix, and their Pegafus : And the Chinefe and the Fapanefe have their Kirin, their Foe, their Water Dragon, and their Bird of Paradife.—Zwvery Country bas its ridiculous Notions. | se . The Orignal loves cold Countries ; he feeds on Grafs in Sum- mer, and in Winter he gnaws the Trees. The properTime +. ; ey) | Wis ee. When the Snows arehigh, thefe Animals to bunt the Orig- hide dite fi COS 1: bag” troop together into fome Pine-Grove, to fhel- | ter themfelves under the Verdure from the bad Weather, and they continue there as long as they find — oe Food. ‘Then it is eafy to hunt them ; but eafier ftill, when the Sun begins to have Strength enough to melt the Snow ; for the — _ frofty Nights making a Sort of Cruft upon the Snow melted in _ the Day, the Orignal (which is an heavy Creature) breaks it _ with his cloven Foot, fleas his Legs, and has fome Trouble to get out of the Holes he makes. Without this, arid efpecially when there is but little Snow, they ¢annot approach him with out Trouble, nor without Danger ; becaufe, when he is wound- ed, he grows furious, turns faddenly upon the Hunter, and -tramples him under his Feet. ‘The Way to efcape this, is for the Hunter to throw him his Coat, upon which he difcharges all a long Time: But yet the Savages can out-run him. They fay that he kneels down to drink, to eat, and to reft himfelf, and ‘that there is in his Heart a little Bone, which being reduced to __ Powder, and taken in Broth, appeafes the Pains of Child-birth, _ “and facilitates Delivery. + The moft Northern Nations of Canada have a Way of per- Various Ways of Ces Travels in North America, | 6;; his Fury; whilft the Hunter, hid behind a Tree, can take his _ Meafures to kill him. The Orignal always goes a great Trot, . which is near equal to the Speed of the Buffaloe, and heholdsit .. forming this Hunt which is very eafy, and without Danger. The Hunters dividethem- felves into two Companies: One embarks in _ Be Canoes ; 66. An Hifiorical ‘fournal of Canoes; and thefe Canoes keeping at fome Diftance from each ~ other, form a large Semicircle, the two Ends of which touch the Shore : The other Company that remains on the Land, performs . much the fame Operation, and enclofe a large Space. Then thefe Hunters let go their Dogs, and rouze all the Orignals that are in that Space; and driving them forward, oblige them to run into the River, or the Lake. ‘They are no fooner in the Water, than they fire upon them from all the Canoes: Every Shot takes Place, and very feldom even a fingle Orignal efcapes. Champlain {peaks of another Manner of hunting not only the Orignals, but alfo Harts and Caribous, which is fomething like | this Way. ‘They inclofe (fays he) a Part of a Foreft with Stakes, interwoven with Branches of Trees, and leave but one narrow . Opening, where they lay Snares made of raw Skins. ‘This Space is triangular, and from the Angle of the Entrance they draw another ‘Triangle, much larger: So thefe two Inclofures communicate together by the two Angles: The two Sides of the fecond Triangle are alfo fhut up with Stakes, and the Hun- ters ranged upon a Line form the Bafe. Then they advance, without breaking the Line; and drawing nearer and nearer to each other, they make a great Shouting, and ftrike upon fome- thing that makes a great Noife. ‘The Beafts being driven for- ward, andnot able to efcape either to Right or Left, and being affrighted with the Noife, know not where to fly, but into the other Inclofure ; and many, as they enterit, are caught bythe w Horns or the Neck. ‘They ftruggle greatly to get loofe, and — fometimes they carry with them or break the Snares : Sometimes _alfo they ftrangle themfelves, or at leaft give the Hunters Time — to fhoot them at their Eafe. 'Thofe which efcape this, fare no better : They are inclofed in too fmall a Space to fhun the Ar- — rows which the Hunters let fly at them from all Sides. ü The Orignal has other Enemies than the Savages, and which " How the C make a no lefs rough War againfthim. The © aw te “eT. oft terrible of all is the Carcajou, or Quin- — cajou, a Sort of wild Cat; whofe Tail is fo © | long, that it can twift it feveral Times round « its Body : Its Hairis a reddifh brown. As foon as this Hunter L: can come up with an Orignal, he leaps upon him; and fixing ~ #pon his Neck, twifts its long Tail round it ; after which, it tears the Jugular Vein. The Orignal has but one Way to © efcape this Mistortune ; ¢hatzs, to get into the Water as foon as he is feized by this dangerous Enemy. The Carcajou, who can- © not bear the Water, lets go his Hold immediately. But if the ‘Water is too far off, it has Time to kill the Orignal befo can get intoit. Commonly this Hunter, whofe Smell is not the _ beft, brings three Foxes to the Chace, and fends them out upon 1 - a. | ad = PS nee ance = Se Ee — cajou, or wild Cat, hunts the Orignal. \ ’ : Travels in North America. OF » the Difcovery. As foon as they have fmelt out an Orignal, two 3 place themfelves at his Sides, and the third behind him, andthey = all three make fuch a fine Manœuvre, harrafling the Beaft, that they oblige him to go where they have left the Carcajou, with _ which they agree afterwards about dividing the Game.---Ano- _ ther Stratagem of the Carcajou, is to climb up a Tree: There ly- ing along upon an extended Branch, he waits for the pafling by of an Orignal, and leaps upon him as foon as he is within his Reach. rane | Many People have imagined, Madam, that the Relations of Canada give the Savages more Wit and Senfe than they have. They are, neverthelefs, Men: And under what Climate fhall we find Brutes that have an Inftinét more ingenious than the Beaver, the Carcajou, and the Fox? ee _ The Hart of Canadais abfolutely the fame as in F due per- | | >, haps commonly a litttle larger. It does not Ms bed appear that the Savages diftarb him much ; at leaft, I do not find that they make War — againft him in Form, and with any Preparations. It is not the fame with Regard to the Caribou fa). This is an Animal not fo high as the Orignal, which has more of the Afs than the Mule in its Shape, and which equals the Hartin Swiftnefs. Some Years ago, one appeared upon Cape Diamond, above Quebec: It : was, no Doubt, flying from the Hunters, but he perceived foon he was not in a Place of Safety, and he made almoft but one — the Caribou. Leap from thence into the River. A wild Goatof the ds could. va not have done more: Then he fwam very fwiftly acrofs the Ri- . ver ;. but it was all to no Purpofe: Some Cazadians, who were 1 going to make War, and who were encamped near the Point of Levi, having difcovered him, waited for his landing, and killed him. They greatly efteem the Tongue of this Animal, which | herds moft about Hud/on’s Bay. 'The Sieur Jeremy, who has pafled ja many Years in thefe Northern Parts, fays, that between the Dames River and Port Ne//fox, during the whole Summer, they fee prodi- gious Numbers of them; which being driven from the Woods by the Flies and Gnats, come to refrefh themfelves by the Sea = … Side ; and that for the Space of forty or fifty Leagues they meet | almoft continully with Herds of ten thoufand at leaft. : | It appears that the Caribou has never been in any great Num- bers in the moft frequented Places of Canada ; but the Orignals — abounded every where when we firft difcovered the Country ; andit might have made an Article of Trade, and a great Con- … venience of Life, if they had been careful to preferve the Breed: “th But this they have not done ; and, either becaufe they have a) It differs not fromthe Rain-Deer, but in its Colour; which is brown, little reddifh, ANA as FE Kz thinned nd ry, bi fs 4 ge! een . pie! i ee Salee. falls down upon his Eyes, and gives him a § aan { en | the hind Parts fmall, the Tail very fhoit, andone can fearce fee © aendfethe Wind. When he is wounded he is furidus, and turn 68. An Hifiorical journal of thinned the Species, by killing great Numbers, or that by: | frightening them they have been driven to fome other Country, | nothing is more fcarce at prefent. | | a fn the Southern and Weftern Parts of New France, on both SR te i ao on ee the se famous Hunt is Basia aat,of the Buta oe, which is performed in : | this Manner: The Hunters range themfelves on four Lines, which form a great Square, and begin by fetting Fire to the Grafs and Herbs, which are dry and very high: Then as the Fire gets forwards they advance, clofing their Lines: The Buffaloes, which are extremely afraid of Fire, keep flying from it, and at laft find themfelves fo crouded together, that they are generally every one killed. They fay that a Party feldom returns from hunting without killing Fifteen Hundred or Two Thoufand. But leit the different Companies fhould hinder each other, they all agree before they fet out about the Place where they intend to hunt. There are alfo fome Penalties appointed againft thofe who tranfgrefs this Rule, as well as — againft thofe who, quitting their Poft, give. way to the Beafts — to efcape. "Thefe Penalties confit in giving a Right to every — Perfon to ftrip thofe who are guilty, and to take away even their “ Arms, which is the greateft Affront that can be given to a Sa- vage; and to pull down their Cabins. The Chiefs are fubjec& to this Penalty, as well asthe others, and if any were to endea- vour to exempt them from this Law, it would raife a Civil War w amongit them, which would not end icon. a The Bull, or Buffalce, of Canada is bigger than ours; his w FRA VER - Horns are low, black, and fhort : hé has a 7 A LE i great Beard of Hair under his Muzic. and bise ee OF Bl great Tuft of Hair upon his Head, which ~ “™ hideous Look. He has a great Bump upon his Back, which” begins at his Hips, and goes increafing up to his Shoulders; ~ and this bump is covered with Hair, fomething reddifh, and.” very long; the reft of the Body is covered with black Wool, © which is much valued. They fay that the Skin of a Buffaloe © has eight Pounds of Wool on it. This Animal has a large Cheft, — Dae STE +24 PES any Neckithas, but its Head is bigger than that of the Europea: Bulls. He runs away generally at the Sight of any Perfon, a one Dog is enough to make a whole Herd take to a full Gallop The Buffaloe has a good Smell, and to approach him withou being perceived near enough to fhoot him, you muft go the Hunters. He is as furious when the Cows h calved. His Flefh is good, but they feldom eat any | is : © “a Travels in North America. ~ — 69 the Cows, becaufe the Buffaloes are too tough. As for his _ Skin, there are none better ; it is eafily drefled, and tho’ very … ftrong, it becomes fupple, like the beft Shamois. The Savages … make Shields of it, which are very light, and Mr a Mufket ” Bail will not eafily pierce. They find about Hzdjon’s Bay another Bull, whofe “Shia and Of the Mi uf W ool are the fame with fhiote I have already | Bull defcribed. This is what M. Jeremy fays of. | ny FAR een Leagues from the Dares River, «© is the River of Seals, fo called becaufe there are many in this <¢ Place. Between thefe two Rivers there is a Kind of Bulls which ‘ wecall the Mu/é Bulls; becaufe they have fo ftrong a Smell of «¢ Mufk, that at fome certain Times thereis no fuch Thing as. ‘* eating their Flefh. Thefe Animals havea very fine Wool, and ** itis longer than that of the Barbary Sheep. 1 “brought fome to 6 Francein 1708, of which I I Rad fome Stockings made, which. ‘6 were finer than thofe made of Silk. Thefe Bulls, though «© they are fmaller than our’s, have Horns much thicker and *< longer: ‘Their Roots join on the Crown of the Head, and «€ defcend by the Side of the Eyes almoft as low as the Throat $ ; << afterwards the End rifes up, and forms a Kind of Crefcent. | «¢ There are fome fo large, that I have feen of them, which be- “ ing feparated from the Skull, weighed both together fixty | * Pounds: Fheir: Less are very fhort, fo that their Wool ‘€ drags upon the Ground when they walk ; which makes them ‘€ fo deformed, that it is dificult ata little Diflance to know 6 which Way the Head flands. "There are not many of thefe ©: ‘€ Animals; fo that the Savages would foon deitroy them, if q \ | à a LE LPS ~ RES nee pian ‘€ they were to hunt them. Moreover, as their Legs are very ‘ fhort, when there is much Snow they kill them with Lances, : | as they are not able then to make any Speed.” ce . The moft common Quadrupede at this Time in Canada, is the ee Roe-Buck, which differs in nothin from or the Roc- our’s. Itis faid that it fheds Tears oa it is an run down by the Flunters. Whilft it is young Ur, der CAE, RE ES its Hair is firiped with many Colours lengthwife: Afterwards ; this Hair falls off, and another crows up of the Colour of the 014 common Roe-Buck. This Creature is not fierce ,and iseafily atta tamed, and feems naturally to have an Affection for Man. ‘The 4 F amas that is ufed tothe Houfe, retires into the Woods in rut- _ ting Time, and as foon as it has coupledwith the Male, returns — again to the Houfe of her Mafter. When La Time is come to — _. bring forth, the returns into the Woods, and remains there fome es Days with her Young; then fhe returns again to her Matter 5, si but continues to vifit her Young very afiduouflv: When they” » Wat nk asie ae: ve her and take her Young, and Me fs ae 3 Be a ¥ & 10 ; Hi 7: ne Yournal of ti brings them up in the Houfe. It is fomething frange he all 4 our Habitations have not whole Herds of FR The Mn ; hunt them but feldom. . : : There are alfo in the Woes of Une many. Wolves, or ra- _. ther wild Cats, for they ‘only refemble the Of the Wolves Wolves in a Kind of Howie In every 4 Thing elfe, fays Mr. Sarrafiny they are ex genere félins (of the Cat Kind. ) They.are true Hunters, which | live only on the Animals they catch, and which they purfue to — the Tops of the higheft Trees. Their Flefh is white and good — toeat.: Their Skins are well known in France ; it is one of the fine Furs of this Country, and one of the greateft Articles of its’ Frade. ‘There are a Sort of black Foxes in the northern Mbunition 2 whofe Skins are much valued, but re are very fcarce. There . are fome that are more common, the Hair of which is black or * grey, and others of a tawny red. They find fome going up the M;fiffippi that are very beautiful, the Fur of which is of a Silver Colour. We alfo.meet with here Tygers, and Wolves of a fmaller Kind than our’s. The Foxes here catch Water- Fowl in a very ingenious Manner. They go a little Way into’ the Water, and come out again, and make a thoufand Capers upon the Bank of the River... The Ducks, the Buftards, and the like Birds who are pleafed with this Sport, approach : the Fox : When he fees them within his Reach, he keeps himfelf very quiet at fr, not to fcare them ; ‘he only wags his Tail to draw . ! .. them nearer, and the filly Birds give into the Snare fo far as to pick his Tail. Then the Fox leaps upon them, and feldom -miffes his Aim. Some Dogs have been broke ta this Way with Succefs, an? thefe Dogs make a fharp War with the Foxes. Here 1 is a Kind Pole- Cat, which they call Ayfant de Diable or Ao DA phe he 7 Bete Puante (the Child of the Devil, or ftink- 4 ee PE d ing Beaft) becaufe when it is purfued, it is. ie A makes a Urine which ftinks the Air for half a . Mile round. It is in other Refpetts, a very pretty Animal. Itis é about as high as a fmall Cat, but bigger round, has bright Harr; 3 + gnclining to grey, with two white Lines, which form on the . / Back an oval Figure from its Head to the Tail. Its Tail is: ad bufhy like a Fox’s, and it carries it like a Squirrel. Its Fur is 4 ° like te of the Pekans, another, Kind of wi d Wat, about the — fame Bignefs of our’s.. Otters Skins, ‘common Pole-Cat’ Sy he | Pitois or Stote, the Field Rat the ape 85 the Mai and Foxes. Sn ee is 2 à le a Size of our Squisiél but fimetitine lon: r5 its . white, and it has a very long T'ail, the End of which is as No LAS ‘Je The Martens in Canada are not fo red : De the ae ‘ rie LA : % A ee , ‘ 1 NME ÿ Fu ‘ VAE me } à 4 ( % Travels in North America. ut … France, and havea finer Fur“ ‘They keep generallyinthe midt . of the Woods, out of which they never come but once in two of three Years; but they always come out in great ‘Troops. ‘The _ Savages believe that the Year when they fee them come out, will _ be good for Hunting; that is to./ay, that there will be a deep Snow. … The Martens Skins are actually fold here at a Crown a-piece, I mean the common ones, for thofe that are brown fetch up to twenty-four Livres, and more. The Pitoi or Stote differs no- thing from the Pole-Cat, but in that the Fur is blacker, longer, and thicker. ‘Thefe two Animals make War with the Birds, even with thelargeft, and make great Ravagesin Hen-Rooftsand Dove-Houfes. ‘The Field Rat is twice as big as ours, and has | an hairy Tail, and its Fur is of a very fine Silver grey. There re are fome which dre entirely white, and a very beautiful White. The Female has a Purfe under the Belly, which,opens and fhuts . when fhe will. She puts her young ones in it when the is purfued, #4 and faves them with herfelf. As to the Squirrels, they give me “them very little Difturbance here, fo that there are a prodigious : . Number in this Country. They diftinguifh them into three Sorts; the red, which does not differ from ours, the Sauf, which are a little fmaller, and are fo called becaufe their Fur is ftriped lengthwife with red, black, and white, much like the _ Swifs of the Pope’s Guard ; and the flying Squirrels, of much … the fame Sizeas the Swi/s, whofe Furis a dark grey. They call them flying, not becaufe they really fly, but becaufe they leap from one ‘Tree to another, the Diftance of forty Pacesat | * leaft. When they leap from a high Place to a lower, they leap ~twice as far. What enables them to make fuch Leaps, are two Skins which they have on their Sides, between the fore and hind … ) Feet, and which firetch to the Breadth of two Inches. They : ‘are very thin, and only covered with Down. This little Animal . foon grows familiar; it is very lively when it does not fleep; . but it often fleeps in any Place it can creep into, as a Pocket, _ Sleeve, or Muff. It foon grows fond of its Mafter, and will — find him out amongft twenty Perfons. The Porcupine of Canada’ is as thick as a middling Dog, but fhorter, and not fo high; its _ Quills are about four Inches long, about the Thicknefs of a {mall Straw, white, hollow, and very ftrong, particularly onthe- Back. Thefe are its Arms, both offenfive and defenfive. It : darts them direëtly at thofe who attemptits Lifé, and ifit enters __ _ ever fo little in the Flefh, it muft be drawn out inftantly, or elfe it finks in entirely. Its for this Reafon, that they are very _ careful to hinder their Dogs from approaching thefe Animals. Their Flefh is good eating. A roafted Porcupine, is as good fucking Pig. ‘The Hares and Rabbits here arelike thofeof pe, excepting that their hind Legs are longer. ‘Their Skins ied aaa : are thas’ 72 An Hiftorical Journal of | are of no great Ufe, becaufe they fhed their Fur continually ; which is a Pity, for their Fur is very fine, and would do no Da- mage in the Hat Manufaëture. In Winter thefe Animals turn rey, and feldom come out of their Holes, where they live upon the fmalleft Branches of the Birch Tree. In Summer, their Fur is of a yellowiih red. The Foxes make a fharp War with them in all Seafons, and the Savages take them in Winter in Gins, when they go out to feek for Food. ; L am, &c- } LE T'F ae ee A Defcription of the Country between Lake St. PierRrE,and Monv- REAL: lz what it differs from QuEBec. A Defcription of the Ifland and Townof MontReat, and its Environs. Of the Fifhery for Seals, the Sea Cow, Porpoife, and Whale. | Mapa, MonTreaL, March 20. Departed the 13th from St. François, and Ge dee thane if the next Day Faire in this Town. I of 1 had not in pafling here, which is abouttwenty « Leagues, the Pleafure I had formerly in coming this fame Route — ina Canoe, in the fineft Weather in’the World, to fee open be- _. fore me by Degrees as 1 advanced, Canals that reached out of _ Sight, between a prodigious Number of Iflands, which at a Di- « _ftance feemed to make one Land with the Continent, and flop © he) ‘the River in its Courfe, thofe pleafing Views, which changed © every Moment like the Decorations of a Theatre, and which M ‘one would think were contrived on Purpofe to recreate a 'Travel- — ler: But I had fome Reeompence in the Singularity of the © Sight of an Archipelago, that was become in fome Manner a Con- M tinent ; and by the Convenience of travelling in a Sledge, or à Kind of Calath, upon Canals between Iflands, which appeared — as if they had been plac’d by a Line like Orange Trees. As forthe Profpett, it is not fine in this Seafon. Nothing is. D Mie Lay -more melancholy than that White which co- ‘ L ie ‘vers every Thing, and which takes the Place PERE a ane Ki _ of that beautiful Variety of Colours which ms er No dé }, the greateft Ornament of the Country ; th ee, eae _ Trees, which appear planted in the Snow which prefent to our Sight only. hoary Heads, and Branch: loaded with Ificles. In other Refpe&ts, Madam, the Ba of Sr. Pierre is here what the River Loire is in France. LI \ Travels in North America. 73 Side of Quebec the Lands are good; but in general you fee no- | thing that can recreate the Sight. Moreover, the Climate is _ very fevere ; for the more we go down the River, and the more ___we advance towards the North, of Confequence the Cold is more piercing. Quebec is in 47. 56. Latitude. Trois Riwieresis in 46. and fome Minutes: And Montreal between 44. and 45. The River St. Laurence, above the Lake of 57. Pierre, making an El- bow to the South. It feems therefore, when we are paft the [lands of Richlieu, as if we were tranfported all at once into another Climate. ‘The Air is fofter, the Land more level, the River finer ; and its Banks havea Fe me Jcai quoi, more pleafing. ‘We meet from Time to Time with Iflands, fome of which are inhabited ; the others, in their natural State, offer to the Sight the fineft Landfcapes in the World. In a Word, it is Towraine and la Limagne of Auvergne, compared with Maine and Normandy. ‘Fhe Iflesof Montreal, which is as it were the Centre of this fine Country, is ten Leagues long from Eaft Defeription of | cb OT CUS to Weft, and near four Leagues over in its oe ¢ of Mon- greateft Breadth. The Mountain from which it takes its Name, and which has two Heads of unequal Height, is almoft in the Midft of the Length of the Ifland, but it is but half a League from the South Coaft,- upon which the Town is built. This Town was called Ville-Marie, by its Founders ; but this Name hath never been brought into common Ufe.: Itis only mentioned in public Writings, and amongft the Lords; who are very tenacious of it. Thefe Lords, who have the Domain not only of the Town, but alfo of the whole Ifland, are Miffionaries of the Seminary of St. Sulpice : And as all the Lands here are very good, and well culti- _wated ; and as the Town is.as well peopled as Quebec, we may affirm that this Lordfhip is worth half a Dozen of the beft in Canada. This is the Fruit of the Labour and good Condué of ‘the Lords of this Ifland ; and certainly twenty private Perfons, amongft whom this might have been.divided, would not have put it in the State we now feé it, nor have made the People fo happy. The Town of Montreal has a very chearful Afpedt : It _ is well fituated, open, and well built. The Agreeablenefs of its | Environs, andits Profpedts, infpires a certain Gaity, of which “every one feels the Effect. It is not fortified: A fingie Pallifade, which is.but poorly kept up, is all its Defence ; with a bad Re- doubt upon a little Eminence, which ferves for a Bulwark, and which terminates with a gentle Slope at a little Square. This is _ what we meet with at firft, in coming from Quebec. It is not … forty Years ago, fince the Town was quite open, and expofed to “be burnt by the Savages or the Exglifo. It was the Chevalier de “Callicres, Brother of. the Plenipotentiary of Rifwick, who en- DRE: : : L - clofed ee adored. Mr 74 An Hiftorical Fournal of clofed it whilft he was Governor. They have talked fome Years’ of furrounding it with Walls (a); but it will not be eafy toen- g78¢ the Inhabitants to contribute towards it: They are brave, and not rich ; and are hard to be perfuaded of the Neceflity of this Expence, being fully convinced that their Valour is more thaw fufficient to defend the Town againft any Enemy that fhould dare to attack it. ’ Our Canadians, on this Article, have alla — pretty good Opinion of themfelves, and we muft allow it is not ill founded ; but in Confequence of the Confidence which this Sia them, it is not fo dificult to furprize them, as to conquer them, 7 Montreal isa long Square, fituated on the Bank of the River 3 which rifing infenfibly, divides the Town in its Length into High and Low; butthe Afcent from one to the other is fcarcelÿ perceiveable. The Hotel Dieu, and the King’s Magazines, are in the Lower Town, and almoft all the Traders live there. The Seminary and the Parifh Church, the Recollets, the Fe/uits, thé Maids of the Congregation, the Governor, and greateft Part of the Officers, are in the Higher Town. Beyonda httle Rivulet, which comes from the North Weft, and bounds the Town on. that Side, there are fome Houfes and the Hofpital General ; and going to the Right, beyond the Recollets, whofe Convent is at the End of the Town, on the fame Side, there begins to be formed a Kind of Suburb, which in Time will make a very fine Quarter. The Fefuits here have but a very little Houfe ; but their Church, which is juft finifhed, is large and well built. The Convent of the Recollets is much larger, and the Society moré numerous. The Seminary isin the Centre of the Town: It appears that they fludied more to make it folid and convenient, than fine; but yet it has the Air of belonging to the Lords of the Place : It communicates with the Parifh Church, which has much more the Appearance of a Cathedral than that of Quebec. ‘The Service is performed here with a Modefty and Dignity | which infpires Refpeët for the Majefty of the God who is heré The Houfe of the Maids of the Congregation, though oné | of the largeft in the Town, is yet ftill too little tolodge fo nu-, merous a Society : Itis the Chief of an Order, and the Novici- ate of an Inftitution, which ought to be fo much dearer to New. #rance, and to this Town in particular, becaufe it took its Rife here, and becaufe all the Colony feels the Advantages of this” fine Foundation. The Hotel Dieu is ferved by Nuns, the firft of which were taken from Fieche in Anjou. a (a) This is now donc. q hs NA cies qui ‘ oy he Ta LA 4 | + (They are poor, yet their Poverty does not appear in theit Hall ; which is large, and well furnifhed with Beds and othe? à: a Travels in North America. 7 F Furniture; nor in their Church, which is fine and well adorn’d* nor in their Houfe, which is well built, neat and convenient’: -But they have but a poor Maintenance, though they are all inde- fatigably employed in the Inftruétion of Youth, and in the Care of the Sick. The Hofpital General owes its Foundation to a private Per- fon, named Charron, who aflociated himfelf with many pious Perfons, not only for this good Work, but alfo to furnifh the Country Parifhes with School-Mafters, who fhould inftruét the Boys, as the Sifters of the Congregation do the Girls: But the . Society was foon diffolved: Some left it for other Affairs, and fome through Ficklenefs; fo thatthe Sieur Charron was left- alone. However, he was not difcouraged ; he emptied his own Purfe, and found Means to open thofe of fome powerful ' Perfons : He built a Houfe, and procured a Number of School: Matters, and Perfons to attend the Hofpital. The Public took - a Pleafure to aflift and give Authority to a Man who fpared nei- ther his own Subftance, nor his Pains, and whom\nothing could difcourage, In fhort, before his Death, which happened in 1719, he had the Comfort to fee his Project out of all Danger of failing, at leaft with Refpet to the Hofpital General. The Houfe is fine, and the Church very pretty. The School- Matters are not yet well eftablifhed in the Parifhes ; and the Order they have received from Court, forbidding them to wear an uniform Habit, or to engage themfelves by Vows, may hin- der their Eftablithment. Between the Ifland of Montreal and the Continent on the , North Side, there, is ahother Ifland about | Jefe, pt SA eight Leagues long, and two Leagues over :. Sor doc Prato. it Was firft named the Ifland of Montmagay, ver des Prairies, . : 4 (of the Mead ows) from the Name of a Governor General OF : | | Canada: It was afterwards granted to the Fefuits, who called it the Ifland of Fe/us ; and it has preferved this laft Name, though it has paffed from the Hands of the Fe- Juits to Meflieurs of the Seminary of Quebec, who have begun +0 place fome Inhabitants here ; and as the Lands are good, there is Room to hope that the whole Ifland will foon be cleared. The Channel which feparates the two Iflands, is re the Ri- ., ver des Prairies, (Meadows) becaule it runs Hu _ hes: inthe Midft of fine Meadows. Its Courfe is # a impeded towards the Middle by a Torrent which they call the Recolet’s Fall, in Memory of one of that Or- der, who was drowned here. The Ecclefiaftics of the Seminary | 76. 7 Ne Hiftorical Journal if of Montreal, for along Time, had a Miffion of Savages near this Place, which they have fince removed to another Part. 40 The third Arm of the River is ftrewed as it were with fuch a Oe he Eel prodigious Number of Iflands, that there is À M ri 1. almoft as much Land as Water. This Chan- NOT PAPER SAR ACER Milles-illes, or River of St. Jean, (thoufand- Lilands, or St. John’s River.) At the Head of the ‘Ifland Je/us, is the little Ifland Bizard, {o called from the Name of a Swi/s Officer, to whom it belonged, and who died a Major at Montreal. A little higher towards the South, is the Ifland Perrot ; ‘thus called by Mr. Perrot, who was the firft Governor of ia Montreal, and the Father of Madam the Countefs a Ja Roche- Allard, and of Madam the Prefidentefs of Lubert. This Ifland is near two Leagues every Way, and the Lands are good, and they begin to clear them. ‘The Ifle Bixard terminates the Lake des deux Montagnes (of the two Mountains) and the Ifland Perrot {e- parates the fame Lake from that of Sz. Louis.’ The Lake of the two Mountains is -properly the Mouth of the Great River, otherwife called the River of the Oztaoua7s, into the River St. Laurence. It is two Leagues long, and near as wide, The Lake of 54. Louis is fome ething larger, but it isin Fat no- thing more than an Enlargement cf the River St. Lawrence. Till Jately, the French Colony extended no farther to the Weft; but they begin to make fome new Hiäbitations a little higher, and … the Lands are every where excellent. That which has been the be rar 4 of. Méitrial and its Envi- rons during the laft Wars, are two Villages . St Of the Fall 4 of Jroquois Chriftians and the Fort de Chambly. 4 The firit of the two Villages is that of the © Fall of Sr. Louis, fituated on the Continent on the South Side, three Leagues above the Town of Montreal. It is very popu- « “ous, and has always been efteemed one of our ftrongeft Barriers — againft the Reathen Troguois, and the Enghfh of New York. It has already been twice removed within the Space of two Leagues. # Its fecond Situation, where I faw it in 1708, was over- againit the : Fall of St. Louis ; and it keeps this Name, though it is now am good Diftance from it. It looks as if they had fixed it now ; for the Church, which is juft fnifhed, and the Houfe of the Min fionaries are, each in'its Kind, two of the fineft Buildings in, _ the Country. The Situation is charming : The River St. Laurence, which is very wide here, is alfo hereabouts fall of Iflands, which. & havea very fine Effect. The Ifland of Montreal, entirely peopled, — is a Perfpeétive on one Side; and the View has fcarce any Bounds _ ee on the other Side, on Account of the Lake Sz. Louis, re ber gins a little higher. 3 Travels in North America. | ri . Thefecond Village is called de la Montagne, (of the Mountain) F i: . becaufe it was a long Time on the Mountain - | Of tae roqnois which gave the Name to the Ifland. It has | of the Mountain. . fince been removed to the Reccllers Fall, as faid before. It is now on the Continent, over-againft the: Weft: . End of the Ifland. It is governed by the Ecclefiaftics of thé.Se--. minary of Montreal. Thefe two Villages have produced many ™ brave Men, and their Fervour in Religion was admirable before the Avarice of our Traders hadintroduced Drunkennefs, which has made ftill greater Ruin here than in the Miffions of Sz. Fran- — gois and Beckancourt. The Miffionaries have in vain employed all their Induftry and > Difird Vigilance to puta Stop to this Diforder. It : EN 6 Ha was to no Purpofe that they called in the. fioned ty theBranay nid of the Magiftrates, threatened the Trad e in thefe two Wrath of Heaven, and offered the mof per- Villages. fuafive Reafons : All fignified nothing, Even the moft fatal Accidents, in which the Hand of GOD evidently appeared heavy on the Authors of this Evil, have not been fufh- cient to open the Eyes. of fome Chriffians, whom a. Thirft af- ter fordid Gain hath blinded.’ One fees even in the Squares and Streets of Montreal, the moît frightful Spectacles, the certain . Confequences of the Drunkennefs of thefe Barbarians: Huf- bands and Wives, Fathers, Mothers and their Children ; - Brothers and Sifters, taking each other by the Throat, tearing off each other’s Kars, and biting one another like furious Wolves. The Air refounds inthe Night with Howlings, more horrible than thofe which the wild Beafts make in the Woods. Thofe who have moft to reproach themfelves with for thefe _ horrible Diforders, are the firft to afk, IF thefe People are Chrifs tians ? We may anfwerthem, Yes, they are Chriffians, and new. Converts, who know not what they do: But thefe who cooly, _ and knowing the certain Effet, bring them by their Avarice to this Condition, have they any Religion? They know thatthe Savages would give alkthey have for a Glafs of Brandy: This + isa'Temptation to the Traders ; againft which, neither the Cries of the Paftors, nor the Zeal and Authority of the Magiltrates, nor Refpeét of the Laws, nor the Severity of the Sovereign Ju- ~— rifdiétion nor the Fear of GOD’s Judgments, nor the Thoughts -of Hell, (a Reprefentation of which is feen in the Drunkennefs of _ thefe Savages) have been able to reftrain them. But let us turn away our Eyes from thefe difagreeable Objets. | The great Trade for Skins, after the Town of Trois Riwieres was no longer frequented by the Nations of the Northand Weft, | was carried on feveral Years at Montreal, whither the Savages re- __ forted at certain Seafons from all Parts of Carada. This was 4 a. 4 a Kin a 1 ~ Caan An Hiflerical “ournal of Kind of Fair, which brought many French to this Town. The Governor General, and the Intendant, came hither alfo,” and they took Advantage of this Occafion to accommodate the Dif- ference that might have happened between our Allies. But if you meet, Madam, by Chance, with the Book of La Hontan, where Mention is made of this Fair, I would have you take Care how you give Credit to what he fays of it: He does not. even preferve Probability. The Women of Montreal never gave any Foundation for what this Author reports of them, and there isno Fear that their Honour fhould ever fuffer any Blemifh from the Savages. There is no Example that any have ever taken- the leaft Liberty with the French Women, even when they were their Prifoners : They not even feem to have an Inclination * to it; and it were to be wifhed that the Frenchmen had the fame Diflike tothe Savage Women. La Hontan could not be ignorant ef what is fo publickly known in this Country; but he wanted to give a Gaiety to his Memoirs, and for this Purpofe he faid any Thing. We are always fure to pleafé certain Perfons, when we giveno Bounds to a Liberty of inventing Stories, and of flandering. | One fees now and then little Fleets of Savages arrive at Moz- real ; but nothing in Comparifon of former Times. It is the froquois War that has interrupted this great Concourfe of Na- tions in the Colony. ‘To make Amends for this Failure of the Savages coming to Montreal, they, have eftablifhed amongft the greateft Partof them Magazines and Forts, where there are always an Officer and Soldiers enough to fecure the Merchandize. The Savages will always have a Gunfmithin thefe Places; andinmany there are Miffionaries ; who would do more Good if there were no other French there. There is Reafon to believe it would be better to fet Things upon the antient Footing, fince Peace has _ been eftablifhed both within and without the Colony: This would be the Means to reftrain the Wood-Rangers, whofe Cove- . toufnefs (not to mention the Diforders caufed by their Licentiouf- nefs) makes them every Day guilty of mean Actions, which ren- der us defpicable in the Sight of the Savages, have lower’d eur Merchandizes, and raifed the Price of Skins. Befides, the Savages, naturally proud, are grown infolent, fince they find that we feek after them. À The Fifhery might much more enrich Carada than the Chace; Of a Sea , and this does not depend on the Savages : Fibers hé Two weighty Reafons for following it, which | per yet have not been fufficient to engage our Co- Jonifts to make it the principal Objet of their Trade.——I have nothing to add to what I have already faid on the Cod Fifhery, which alone would be worth more to us than Peru, if the F A à DM dr nr ri | ema ig Travels in North America. “9 _ ders of New France had taken proper Meafures to fecure th Poffeffion of it to ourfelves.---I begin with the Fifhery for Seals; Sea Cows, and Porpoifes, which may be carried on every where in the Gulph of St. Laurence, and a great Way up-the River. *. __ The Sea Wolf, or the Seal, takes its Name from its Cry, which ©. — nor any Land Animal that we know. Le/cardot aflerts, that he _ has heard fome cry like Screech-Owls ; but thefe might be only young ones, whofe Cry was not quite formed. They make no Hefitation here, Madam, to place it in the Rank of Fifhes 3 though it is not mute, though it is brought forth on the Land, and lives as much on it asin the Water, and is covered with Hair: In a Word, though it wants nothing to make it to be confidered as an amphibious Creature. But we are in a new World, and it muft not be required of us always to fpeak the Language of the Old; and Cuftom, againft which there is ne _ reafoning, is here in Poffeflion of allits Rights. So that the - War they make with the Seals, though it is often on Land; and with the Gun, is called a Fifhery; and that which they make with the Beavers in the Water, and with Nets, is called # Chace. | is a Sort of howling ; for in its Shape it refembles not the Wolf, . Ry The Head of a Seal is fomething like a Bull-Dog’s : He has ‘ a ue: four Legs, very fhort, efpecially thofe be- Pest Fe oF hind : fa FA other Refpett a is a Fifh. chimes go: _ It drags itfelf rather than walks upon its Feet. Its Legs before have Nails, thofe behind are like Fins : His Skin is hard; and covered with fhort Hair of divers €olours. There are fome Seals all white, and they are all fo at firft ; but fome, as they grow up, become black, others tawny : Many are of ali thefe Colours mixed together. | The Fifhermen diftinguifh feveral Species of Seals: The | Of the feveral Species of Seal: and they fay their Nofe is more pointed than the others. There are fome that only frifk largeft weigh up to two thoufand Pounds; about inthe Water : Gur Sailors call them Brafeurs, (Brewers.} - They have given the Name of Naw to another Sort ; for which I can give no Keafon, nor know the Meaning of the Word. Ano- ther Sort they call Grofes Tetes, (Great Heads.) There are fome | fmall ones that are very lively and fkilful in cutting the Nets they are taken in : They are of a Tyger Colour ; they are full of Play and Spirit, and as pretty as Creatures of this Shape can: be. ‘The Savages learn thefe to follow them like little Dogs, | and eat them notwithitanding. _ : # _. M. Denys {peaks of two Sorts of Seals that are found upon the | . Coafts of Acadia. One Sort (fays he). are fo big, that their … Young are larger than our largeft Porkers. He adds, that foom et om after _8o An Hiftorical Fournal of a after they are brought forth, the old ones carry them to the Wa- ter, and from Time to Time bring them afhore again to fuck : _ That the Time of fucking them is the Month of February ; when the young ones, which they aim chiefly to catch, go fcarce any more into the Water: ‘That at the firft Noife the old ones fly, making a great Noife to give Notice to the young ones to follow them ; which they never fail to do, if the Fifhermen do not make Hafte to give them 2° Blow on the Nofe with a Stick, which is enough to kill them.---The Number of thefe Animals mui{t be very great upon thefe Coafts, if it true, as the fame Au- | thor affirms, that in one Day they take fometimes eight hundred of the young ones. , | The fecond Species of thefe Seals, which M. Denys fpeaks of, is very fmall, and has little more Oil but what it has in its Blad- der. Thefe laft never go far from the Shore, and there is always ene that ftands Centinel : At the firft Signal he gives, they all throw themfelves into the Sea : After fome Time they approach the Land, and raife themfelves upon their hind Feet to fee if there is nothing to fear: But in Spite of all their Precautions, they furprize a great Number of them on Shore, and it is almoft rmpoflible to take them any other Way. ; It is agreed, that the Flefh of the Seal is not bad to eat, but : it is more profitable to make Oùl of it: pies ie This is not difficult, They melt the Fat on Boal the Fire, and it diflolvesinto an-Oil. Some- — ; times they only put the Fat of a great many Seals on Square Planks; and leave it to diflolve of itfelf, a Hole being made at the Bottom, for the Oil to runthrough. This Oil whilft it is new is very good for Kitchen Ufes ; but that of the : young: Seals foon grows rank, and the other dries too much, upon keeping any time: They then ufe it to burn, or to drefs Skins with. It keeps clear a Jong Time, has no Smell, and leaves no Lee, nor any Kind of Foulnefs at the Bottom of the. Merely. ©"! any ee : 3 _ At the firft fettling the Colony, they ufed a great Quantity of Seal Skins to make Mufis; but that is now out of Fafhion; and their chief Ufe now is to cover Trunks, &c. When they are tanned they have almoft the fame Grain as Mordcco Lea- ther: They are not fo fine, but they are ftronger, and wear w better. They make of them very good Shoes, and Boots; which will not take Water. They are alfo ufed to cover Seats of M Chairs, the Frames of which are fooner worn out than the Co; M vers. They tan thefe Skins here with the Bark of the Spruce Fir, and in the Tin@ure, they ufe to dye them black, they mix ~ a Powder, drawn from certain Stones they find upon the Banks! the Rivers ; which are called Thunder Stones, ox Marcafites. = | Travels in North America. Htc: ae te Fi. ‘The Seals couple upon the Rocks, and fometimes upon thé Ice, where alfo the Females bring forth their à Some Particula- } a “y.. Young. They have commonly two, and ‘4 cbr a dé ooo they fuckle them pretty often in the Water, | but oftener upon the Land. When they would ” accuftom them to fwim, they carry them, as they fay, on their Backs in the Water, and let them off from Time to Time into the Water, then take them again, and continue this Practice till the young ones can fwim alone. If this Fact 1s true, this is. a ftrange Fifh, which Nature has not taught what the greateft _ part of Land Animals are capable of almoft as foon as they co into the World. ‘The Seal has its Senfes very quick, and this is its fole Defence ; but this does not hinder them from being often furprized, as I have before remarked; but the moft com- mon Method of fifhing for them isthis : The Cuftom of this Animal, when it is in the Water, is to come with the Tide into - - the Creeks. When they have difcovered the Creeks, where a great Number come, they fhut them up with Stakes and Nets; they only leave a {mall Space open by which the Seals enter. When the Tide is up, they ftop this Opening, fo that after the Tide is out, thefe Fifh remain on the Shore, and they have only | the Trouble to knock them on the Head. They follow them alfo ina Canoe, in Places where there is Plenty of them, and ‘when they put their Heads out of the Water to breathe, they fhoot them. If they are only wounded, they eafily take them; ~ * but if they are fhot dead, they fink directly to the Bottom, like as the Beaversdo. But they have great Dogs, which are train’d to fetch them up at the Depth of feven or eight Fathom. Our Fifhermen take but few Sea-Cows on the Coafts of the Gulph of Sz. Laurence; 1 know not whether they have taken any in other Places. The Englifs formerly eftablifhed a Fifhery for them at the Iflé of Sable ; but they made no great Advantage of it. The Shape of this Animal is not very different from the Seals. What is peculiar toit, are two Teeth, of the Bignefs and Length of a Man’s Arm, a little bent back at Top, and which appear at a Diftance like Horns; this is probably the Rea- fon they are called Sea-Cows. Our Sailors Callthem more plainly _ la beet a la grande dent, (the great toothed Beaft) thefe Teeth are. of very fine Ivory, as well as all thofe which are inthe Jawof this Fifh, and which are four Inches long. ra on There are in the River St. Laurence Porpoifes of two Colours: | In the Salt Water ; #hat is to fay, till a little below the Ifle of Orleans, they do not differ better than that of aSheep, but not fo good as a Calf’s. : The Skins of both Sorts are tan’d like Mcrocco Leather. At ge pa firft it is foft like Fat, and is an Inch thick, Skin they fcrape ita long Time, and it becomes woe like a tranfparent Leather ; and how thin foever it is, even fo as to be fit for Waiitcoats and Breeches, it is always very ftrong and Proof againft a Mufket Ball. There are fome eighteen Feet long, and nine wide ; they fay that there is nothing better to cover the T'ops of Coaches. ‘They have lately eftablifhed two Fifheries below Quebec for Porpoifes, one in the Bay of Sz. Paul, and the other feven or eight Leagues lower, over-againft a Habitation called Camourafca, from the Name of certain Rocks that rife confiderably above the Water. ‘The Ex- pences are not great ; and the Profits would be confiderable, if | the Porpoifes were Animals fettled in a Place: But either through Inftin&, or Caprice, they often break the Meafures of the Fifhermen, and take another Route than that where they wait for them. Moreover, thefe Fifheries, which would only en- rich fome few Perfons, have occafioned an Inconvenience which made the common People complain ; which is, that they have greatly diminifhed the Eel Fifhery, which is a great Help to the poor Inhabitants. For the Porpoifes, finding themfelves dif- turbed below Quebec, are retired to fome other Place; and the » Eels, finding no longer thefe great Fifh in their Way, which © obliged them to return back, go down the River without any © Hindrance ; whence it happens, that between Quebec and TYrozs - Rivieres, where they took a prodigious Number every Year, they — now icarce take any. _ . e The Way of fithing for Porpoifes is much the fame as that T have been mentioning for Seals. When the Tide is out, they” fet Stakes in the Mud, or Sarid, pretty near one another, and they faften Nets to them in the Shape. of Funnels, the Opening « of which is pretty large, and made in fuch a Manner, that when once the Fifth has entered, he can’t find his Way out again. They take Care to put upon the Tops of the Stakes Branches of Greens. When the Tide rifes, thefe Fifh giving Ch 4 i Herrings, which always run to the Sides, and being allured by _ the Greens which they greatly love, are engaged in the Nets, . and find themfelves fhut up: As the Tide finks, it is pleafant to _ fee their Trouble, and their fruitlefs Attempts to efcape: At laft they remain on dry Land, and often one upon another in fuch . great Numbers, that one Blow with a Stick kills two or three of them. They fay that there have; been found fome among the white Sort,which weighed three thoufand Pounds. - | Every one knows the Nature of the Whale Fifhery, therefore one 1 he Whale I fhall fay nothing of it. It is faid here, that 9" the Bifcayners, who carried it on formerly in the River Sz. Laurence, difcontinued it only to apply themfelves entirely tothe Fur-'Trade, which required not fomuch Expence or | Labour, and the Profits of which were then more confiderable, and of a quicker Return. On the other Hand, they had not all the Conveniencies for this Fifhery, which may be had at prefent, now there are Habitations very near the Gulf. Some Years ago they ‘tried to re-eftablifh it, but without Succefs : The Undertakers - either had not a fufficient Fund to make the neceflary Advances, or expected their Charges to be reimburfed fooner than the Thing would allow, or elfe they wanted Perfeverance. It appears never- thelefs certain that this Fifhery might be a great Article in the Trade of this Colony fa), and might be: carried on with lefs Expence and Danger than on the Coafts of Greenland; and what fhould hinder to fix it here, as M. Denys propofed to do that of the Cod-Fifhery in Acadia. —— This is, Madam, all that con- gerns the Fifheries, that may enrich Canada. | L am, &c. NAN Ce en M abe A à à Of the Fort of CuamEiy: Of the Fifh; of the Birds: And of fome — Animals, peculiar to Canada. Of the Trees which are the fame with thofe of FRANCE; and of thofe which are peculiar ta this Country, | | ate Mapam, | CHAMELY, March 1. O NE ofthe chief Defences of Montreal againft the Iroquois and New York, is Fort Chambly : It is from this Fort I have the Honour to write to you. Icame hither to pay a Vifit > fa) It is to be hoped that we fhall now eftablifh a Whale Fifhery in thefe _. Parts; as there feems great Probability that a vaft Advantage may be reaped from it, - cape M 2 Mie Travels in North America. - 82 Ba...» An Hi TA a to the Commandant, who is M. de Sabrevois, of one of the beft Families of Beauce, my Friend, my Companion in the Voyage, D. ¥ AE rey à i re a 4 and a good Officer. I fhall defcribe this important Fort, and … the Situation of it, in a few Words. | In the firft Years of our Settlement in this Country, the Tro- ; guois, to make their Incurfions into the very Centre of our Ha- bitations, came down a River which difcharges itfelf into the River St. Laurence, a little above Lake St. Pierre, and which for this Reafon, was called firft the ZJroquois River. It has been . fince called the River of Richelieu, from a Fort which bore this — Name, and which was built at its Mouth. This Fort being in.a ruinous Condition, M. de Sorel, Captain in Carignan-Salieres Regi-’ ment, built another, whichhe called by hisown Name. This Name communicated itfelf to the River, and it is fill called fo, tho’ the Fort has not been ftanding for a long Time. When we have gone up the River about feventeen Leagues, going always towards the South, but a little to the South Weft, we find a ; Torrent or Water-fall, and over againft ita Kind of little Lake, formed by the River itfelf. It is by the Side of the Water-fall, _and over againft the Lake, that the Fortis fituated. It was firft built of Wood, by M. ae Chambly, at the fame ‘Time that M. d Sorel built his Fort, but it has been fince built of Stone, and. flanked with four Baftions, and there is always a pretty good ~ Garrifon kept in it. The Lands round it are very good, and they begin to eftablifh fome Habitations here, and many People think thatin Time, they will build a ‘Town in this Place. From Chambly to Lake Champlain, it is but eight Leagues. The River Sorel croffes the Lake; and there is perhaps no Part Of New France which is more fit to be peopled. ‘The Climate is milder than any other Part of the Colony, and the Inhabitants wili have the Jreguois for Neighbours, who at the Bottom are a good Sort of People, who will not feek to quarrel with us, when they fee us in a Condition not to be afraid of © ‘them, and who will find their Account J believe ftill better from — this Neighbourhood, than from that of New York. Many. other Reafons ought to engage us in this Settlement, but if I _ fhould write all, I fhould have nothing to fay when I have the Honour to fee you again. I fhall take Advantage of the Leifure Hours I have here, to continue to entertain you with the Par. ticularities of this Country. I have already given an Account of what the Gulf and the River of St. Laurence may fupply for the Trade of New France; it remains for meto fpeak of the” Refources which the Inhabitants may find here for the Supports of Life, Er De. ? na / nai eats Cape Torment to the Gulf, one may take al- dat Oth Gur moit all Fith that live in the Sea, as Sal- and Poe af St * mon, Tunny, Shad, Trout, Lamprey, Smelts, Fetes ~ ‘Conger Eels, Mackerel, Soals, Herrings, An- sisi chovies, Pilchards, Turbots, and many o- _ thers that are not known in Europe. They are all taken with a - Sein, or other Nets. In the Gulf they take Hallibuts, three Sorts of T'hornbacks, the common, the curled Sort, which they fay is better than in France, and another Sort that is not efteem- ed; Lencornets, a Kind of Cuttle Fifh, St. Pezer’s Fith, Requiems, Sea Dogs; a Kind of Reguzems much lefs mifchievous whilft alive, and beyond Comparifon better when dead, than the com- mon Sort. Ovyfters are very plenty in Winter on the Coatts of _ Aacida, and the Manner of fithing for them is fomething fingu- lar. ‘They make a Hole in the Ice, and they thruft in two Poles together in. fuch a Manner, that they have the Effect of a Pair _ of Pinchers, and they feldom draw them up without an Oyfter. The Lencornet is, as I have faid, a Kind of Cuttle Fifh, but how- ever, it is very different from the common Cuttle Fifh. It is quite round, or rather oval; at the End of its Tail is a Sort of Ledge, which makes him a Kind of Shield, and his Head 1s furrounded . with Barbs half a Foot long, which he makes Ufe of to catch … other Fifh. There are two Kinds, which differ only in Bignefs; _ ‘the fmaller Sort is about a Foot long. They take few but of the Jaft Sort, and thofe by the Light ofa Flambeau: ‘They love the Light much, they fhew it them on the Shore when the Tide is at Height, but juft upon burning, they approachit, and fo are left aground. The Lencornet roafted, boiled, or fricafleed, is very good eating, but makes the Sauce quite black. The St. Peter’s Fifh is like a fmall Cod, has the fame Tafte, — O Oe eee? and is dried alfo like that. It has two black F eS > sh ae _ Spots on the Sides of its Head, and the Sai- si th D. lors fay, this is the Fifh in which St. Perer te. found the Piece of Money to pay the Tri- bute to the Roman Emperor, for our Lord and himfelf ; and that its two Spots are the two Places by which he took hold of it: For this Reafon they call it St. Peter’s Fifh, The Sea Plaice is firmer and better than the River, Plaice. “They catch them as well as Lobfters with long Sticks armed — with a fharp Iron, which is notched to prevent the Efcape of the’ Fith. - In fhort, in many Places, efpecially to- … wards Acadia, the Ponds are full of Salmon Trouts, and Tur- * tles two Feet in Diameter, the Flefh of which is excellent, and the Top Shell ftreaked with white, red, and blue. ‘Travels in North America ae ~ ‘Wherever the Water of the River is falt, that és to Jay, from Among — 86 : An Hiflorical Journal of re 4 Among the Fifh with which the Lake Champlain, and the Ri= Of the Armed vers which flow into it, abound, M. -Cham- Fip plain obferved one pretty fingular, which he eeu calls Chacufarou, probably from the Name given it by the Savages. It is a particular Species of the Armed Fifh, which is found in many Places. ‘This has a Body nearly of the fame, Shape as a Pike, but it is covered with Scales that are Proof againit the Stab of a Dagger; Its Colour is a fiiver grey, and there grows under his Mouth a long bony Sub- © ftance, jagged atthe Edges, hollow, and with a Hole at the End of it; which gives Reafon tojudge, that it breaths by it: ‘The Skin that covers it is tender: The Length of it is proportioned to that of the Fifh, of which it makes a third Part. It is two Fingers in Breadth in the fmalleit, The Savages affured M. — . Champlain that fome of thefe Fifh were eight or ten Feet long, but the largeft he faw were but five Feet, and about as thick as a Man’s Thich. oe ) One may eafily conceive that fuch an Animal is a Ravager Rice: shin pages UE the Inhabitants of the Water, but one 3. -* would not imagine that it fhouid make War with the Inhabitants of the Air; which he does, however, with much Art, in this Manner: He hides him- felf in the Reeds in fuch a Manner, that only this Inftrument of his is to be feen, which he thrufts out of the Water in an up- right Pofition ; the Birds that want to reft themfelves take this for a dry Reed, or Piece of Wood, and perch upon it. ‘They are no fooner on it, than the Fifh opens his Mouth, and makes fuch a fudden Motion to feize his Prey, that it feldom efcapes him. ‘The Teeth which edge the Inftrument that he ufes to -fuch good Purpofe, are pretty long and very fharp. The Sa- vages fay, that they are a foverecign Remedy againit the Head. “Ach, and that pricking with one of thefe Teel where the Pain "45 fharpeft, takes it away inftantiy. 9 8 = -’Phefe People have a wonderful Skill in ftriking Fith in the he Mortaoe of Water, efpecially in the Torrents. They fish nes 4 Pk alfo with the Sein, and they have an odd Ce- noel aie remony before they ufe this Net. They many it to two young Maids, and during the Wedding Feaft they place it between the two Brides. They exhort it very ferioufly to take a great many Fifh, and they think to engage it to do fo by making great Prefents to its pretended Fathers-in-Law. | M The Sturgeon here is a Sea and a freth bie Fi: “ae pe a take it upon the Coafts of Canada, andinthe « St OF Î, ARE “a great ites which crofs the River pees im fe a rence. Many People think it is the real De phin of the Antients; if this is true, it was fitting ‘th: catches Birds. GORE Travels in North America. 1) Om _ King of Fifh fhould reign equally in the Ocean and the Rivers. - Be that as it may, we fee here Sturgeons of eight, ten, and twelve Feet long, and big in Proportion. ‘This Animal has on the Head a Sort of Crown raifed about an Inch, and it is co- véred with Scales of half a Foot Diameter, almoft oval, and fprinkled with fmall Figures which fomething refemble the Flower de Luce of the Arms of France. The Savages take them . in the Lakes in this Manner: Two Men are at the two Ends of a Canoe; he behind fteers, and the other ftands up, holding a * Dart in one Hand, to which a long Cord is faftened, the other End is tied to one of the Bars of the Canoe. As foon as he fees the Sturgeon in his Reach, he throws his Dart, and endea- vours to ftrike where there are no Scales; if the Fifh is wound-. ed it flies, and draws the Canoe alfo pretty fwiftly, but after having fwam about 150 Paces it dies, then they draw up the Cord and take it. There is a fmall Kind of Sturgeon, the Flefh of which is very tender and delicate. _ The River St. Laurence produces many Fifh which are not 4 diy, : known in France: The moft efteemed are the Fifh peculiar to ‘Canada Achigan, and the Poiffon-doré (the Gilt Fifh)3 the other Rivers of Canada, and efpecially . thofe of Acadia, are as well flocked as this River, which has perhaps the moft Fith of any in the World, and of the moft va- rious Kinds, and the beft of the Sorts. There are fome Seafons — when the Fifh alone might feed the whole Colony; but I know not what Credit may be given to what I have feen in the Ma- nufcript of an antient Miffionary, who affirms that he faw a Mer-man in the River de Sorel, three Leagues below Chambly. The Relation is written with much Judgment, but the better to ftate the Fa&t, and to fhew that the firt Appearance did not de- ceive him, the Author fhould have added to his Account a De- {cription of this Monfter. We are fometimes feized at the firit Glance with a Refemblance, which upon viewing more atten- tively immediately vanifhes. Furthermore, if this Fifh in hu- _ man Shape came from the Sea, it came a long Way to get fo near Chambly, and it is fomethins ftrange that it was not feen but in this Place. , ne _ .Our Forefts are not fo well ftocked with Birds as our Lakes 7 Ta ee, and Rivers are with Fifh; however, here are Tue Sorts Lime which have their Merit, and | Phases _. fome which have their Merit, and are pecu- noie … … Jiar to America. We fee here two Sorts of _ Eagles, the largeit has the Neck and Head almoft white; they: 18 prey upon the Hares and Rabbits, which they take in their _ Talons, and carry to their Magazines and their Nefts. The ne others are all grey, and are contented to make War with the Bards: And they are all pretty good Fifhers. The Falcon, the ee £ pare Ï La. EUR RK Ey ! 9 a Bh L = fe +. AU TR he, K # 2 " 88 An Hiftorical Fournal of a Gofs Hawk, andthe Taffel, are entirely the fame as in Frances but we have a fecond Sort of Falcons which live only on Fifh. | NPA Our Partridges are of three Kinds, grey, red, and black : the Three Saris of laft are the leaft efteemed, they have too much Pp me Tafte of the Grape, Juniper, and Fir; Their mie: Head and Eyes are like the Pheafant’s, and their Flefh is brown. ‘They all have a long Tail, and fpread it as a Fan, like the Turkey Cock: Thefe Tails are very fine, fome are mixed with red, brown, and grey; and others of a light and dark grey. I faid that the black Partridges were not moft eiteemed, but fome People prefer them to the red. They are all bigger than in Frazce, but fo filly, that they fuffer themfelves to be fhot, and even approached, without fcarce firring. | _ Beñdes the Snipes, which are excellent in this Country, and iti Bak the fmall Game of the Rivers, which is eve- “*. ry where plenty, they find fome Woodcocks about the Springs, bat in a imall Number. Amongft the Joss, _andin all the fouthern Parts of New France, they are more ‘common; M. Denys afferts, that the Crows of Canada are as good to eat as a Fowl. ,This may be true on the Side of Acadia, but I do not find in thefe Parts that they are much of this Opi- nion. They are bigger than in France, and fomething blacker, and have a different Cry. The Ofprey on the contrary is fmaller, and its Cry is not fo difagreeable. - The Screech-Owl of Canada differs from that of France only by a little white Ruff about the Neck, and a particular Cry: Its Flefh is good to eat, and many People prefer it toa Fowl. Its Provifion for the Winter is Field Mice; whofe Feet it breaks, and then nou- rifhes and fattens them with Care till it has Oceafion to feed upon them. The Bat is bigger here than in France. The Black- - birds and Swallows are here Birds of Paflage, as in Europe. ‘The firft are-not black, but inclining to red. We have three Sorts of Larks, the fmalleft of which are as big as a Sparrow. The Sparrow is but little different from our’s, and has the fame ‘Inclinations, but an ugly Sort of a Look. We fee in this Coun- try a prodigious Quantity of Ducks, they reckon twenty-two different Species. The moft beautiful, and thofe whofe Flefh is ‘moft delicate, are the Branch Ducks: They call them fo becaufe they perch on the Branches of Trees ; their Plumage is very much varied, and very brilliant. Swans, Turkies, Water-hens, — Cranes, Teal, Geefe, Buftards, and other great River Bir fwarm every where except in the Neighbourhood of the Habi- tations, which they never approach. We have Cranes ‘Colours, fome white, and others gridelin. All of the | Travels in North America. ag excellent Soup. Our Wood-Peckers are very beautiful; there are fome which are of ail Colours, others are black or a dark brown all over except the Head and the Neck, which are of a very fine red. | AUS QE The Nightingale of Canada, is much the fame as that of France for Shape, but ithas but half its Song: The Wren has robbed it of - the other Half. The Goldfinch has not fo fine a Head asin _ Europe, and all its Plumage is mixt with Yellow and Black. As — I never faw any of them in a Cage, I can fay nothing of their Song. All our Woods are full of a Sort of Birds, which are Yellow all over, about the Bignefs of a Linnet, which has a pretty Note, but-its Song is very fhort, and not varied. ‘It: has no other Name but that cf its Colour, being called the Yel- low Bird. A kind of Ortolan, whofe Plumage is of an Afh Colour on the Back, and White under the Belly, and which they call the White Bird, is the beft Songfter of all the Inhabitants of _ . our Woods : It is little inferior to the Nightingale of France, but it is the Male only that fings, the Female which is of a deeper Colour is filent even in a Cage. This little Bird hasa very té Plumage, and is well called an Ortolan for its Tafte. I now not where it retires during the Winter, but it As always the firft to proclaim to us the Return of Spring. As foon as the Snow is melted in fome Places, they come in great Flocks, and we take as many of them as we pleafe. | | | Itis feldom, but at a hundred Leagues from hence towards the ! Fe if 1 s “7e 4 EL Sou th, that we begin to {ee the Cardinal Bird. : l'here are fome at Paris, that were tranfported Bird. : ne AN from Louifiana, and I believe they will make their Fortune in France, if they can breed them there like the Canary-Birds.. The Sweetnefs of its Song, the Brilliancy of its: rane Plumage, which is of a fine Scarlet, a little Tuft of Feathers they have upon the Head, and which pretty well refembles the Crowns ' which Painters give to Indian Kings and Americans, feems to! confirm to them, the Empire of the Air. They have neverthelefs _ a Rival here who would have all the Votes for it, if it pleafed the Ear as much as it charms the Sight. This is what they call in this Country /’Oc/eau Mouche, (the Fly-Bird.) It is thus called {he for two Reafons : The firft, on Account its OftheFh=Bird, Smallnefs, for it is but little bigger than | with its Feathers. the common May-Bug, or Chaffer. The fecond, is on Account of a pretty loud _ Humming, which it makes with its Wings ; which is muchlike ~ that of a great Fly. Its Legs, which are about an Inch long, = are like two Needles, its Bill is the fame, and it puts out of ita pos ice, upon which it feeds, The Female has nothing brilliant, ae ne | ON © | fer _ little Trunk, which it thrufts into the Flowers, to draw out their go _ Travels in North America. i a pretty fine White under the Belly, and an Afh Colour on the reit of her Body, 1s all its Ornament ; but the Male is a perfect Beauty. Ithas on the Top of the Head, a little Tuft ofa beautiful Black, the Throat red, the Belly white, the Back, the Wings, and the Tail of a green like that of Rofe Leaves; a Lay of Gold fpread over all this Plumage gives it a great Brilliancy, and a little imperceptible Down, gives it the fineft Shades that can be feen. | Some Travellers have confounded it with the Humming-Bird, ay Fans of the Hands; and in Fatt it appears to bea Fu Ne Species of it; but that 1s a little bigger, its (RAT ay pe AS Plumage 1s notfo brilliant, and its Bill bent sd a little downward. I may however be deceiv’d in regard to the Brilliancy of the Humming-Bird’s Plumage, becaufe I have never feen any alive. Some have faid it has a very melodious Song, if this is true, it hasa great Advantage over our Fly-Bird, which Nobody has heard fing. ButI have heard myfelf a Female, which whiftled in a harfh and difagree- able Note. This Bird has a very ftrons Wing, and flies. with furprizing Swiftnefs ; you fee it upon a Flower, and in a Moment itrifes up to a great Meight in the Air, almoft perpendicular. It is an Enemy. to the Crow, anda dangerous one too. I heardone | fay, who.was worthy of Credit, that he has feen one fuddenly. quit a Flower it was fucking, rife up as fwiftas Lightning, and: go and thruft itfelf under the Wing of a Crow, that was float- — ing very high in the Air, with its Wings fpread out, and peirc- ing it with its Trunk, made it fall down dead ; either kill’d by the Fall, or the Wound. | | The Fly-Bird feeks Flowers, which have the ftrongeft Smell ; and itfücks them, keeping always upon the Fluttering: Butitreits infelf from Time to'l'ime ; and then one may view it perfe@tly : ‘They have been kept fome Time upon fagared Water, and Flow- ers; [kept one formerly for 24 Hours : It {uffered itfelf to be taken, and handled, and feigned itfelf dead; as foon as I let it go, it took its Flight, and kept fluttering about my Window : I made a Prefent of itto one of my Friends, who the next Morr- ing found it dead ; and that Night there had beena little Prof. | Thefe little Animals take Care to fhun the fir cold Weather, . itis very, probable, that they return towards Carolina 3, and it is affured that.they are not there but in the Winter. They make their » _ Nefts. in Canada, where-they hang them to a Branch of a Tree, and turn them in fuch Manner, that they are fheltered from all — the Injuries of the Weather. Nothing is fo neat as thefe. Nefis. The Bottom is made of very little Bits of Wood, platted like Bafket ; and: the Infide is lined’with I know not.what Sort Down, which appears like Silk. ‘The Eggs are about the E An Hiftorical Fournal of gt | nef of a Pea, and have yellow Spots upon a white Ground. | | immediately 3 but Providence has provided a Remedy. - They fay they have commonly three, and fometimes five Eggs. Amongft the Reptiles of this Country, I know of none but We the aS the Rattle-Snake that deferves any Attention. ‘Snake. There are fome of thefe as big as a Man’s ch Leg, and fometimes bigger, and they are long in Proportion: But there are fome, and I believe the .greateft Number, that are not bigger nor longer than our lärgeit _ Addérsin France: Their Shapeis pretty fingular. Upon à dat and very thick Neck they have but a fmali Head: Their Co- lours are lively, without being brilliant ; a pale Yellow predo- minates, with fome Clouds that are pretty enough. —s_— | But what is moft remarkable in this Animal, is its Tail, which is {caly like a Coat of Mail, a little fat; and they fay that ic grows every Year one Ring or Row of Scales, fo that they know its Age by its Tail, as we do that of a Horfe by his Teeth. En moving, it makes the fame Noife as a Cricket in fying : For you know, without Doubt, Madam, that the pretended Singing ~ of a Cricket is only the Noife of its Wings. And the Refem- blance I {peak of is fo alike, that I have often been deceived by it myfelf: Itis this Noife that has given this Serpent the Name ~ it bears. ! : The Bite of this Serpent is mortal, if a Remedy 1s not ane ie n all the Places where this dangerous Reptile is found, there grows a Plant which is called Rasttle-Snake Herb ; the Root of which is a cettain Antidote againit the Venom of this Serpent : It need only be pounded or chewed, and applied like a Poultice upon the Wound : It is a beautiful Plant, and eafily known: Its round Stalk, a little bigger than a Goofe’s Quill, rifes to the Height of three or four Feet, and ends in a yellow Flower of the Shape and Bignefs of a common Daifey: This Flower has a very fweet Smell. The Leaves of the Plant are oval, and are fupported’ “a | si together, like the Claw of a Turkey, by a Stalk of an Inch On. | en | la i Vi The Rattle-Snake feldom attacks the Paffenger that does not meddle with it. I have had one at my Feet, which was cer~ tainly more afraid than myfelf ; for I did not perceive it till it was running away : But if you tread upon it, you are immedi- ately flung ; and if you purfue it, if it has but a little Time to recover itfelf, it folds itfelf round with the Head in the Middle, — and then darts itfelf with great Violence and Fury againft its _ Purfuer : Neverthelefs, the Savages chace it, and find its Méfh very good. I have even heard fome Frenchmen, who had tafted it, fay, that it was not bad eating ; but they were Travellers, and ‘tach People think every Thing good, becaufe they ate often “FM UN 2 | co OT aya || 3 An Hiftorical ‘journal of hungry. But this is at leaf certain, that it does no Harm to PAIE that eat 11. 7” : | in I know not, Madam, rs I fhould undertake to fpeak to ou of the Woods of Canada. We are inthe its Of the Woods Midi of the greateft Forefts in the World. ‘of Canada. ne aie In all Appearance they are as old as the World itfelf, and were not planted by the Hands of Men. No- thing 1s more magnificent to the Sight; the Trees lofe them- : felves in the Clouds ; and there is fuch a prodigious Variety of : Species, that even among thofe Perfons who have taken moft Pains to know them, there is not one perhaps that knows half the Number. As to their Quality, and the Ufes to which they may be employed, the Sentiments are fo different in this Country, and in France, that I even defpair of ever being able to give you that Satisfaction which I could with upon this Article: © At leaft, for the prefent, I muft confine myfelf to fome Obferva- tions which I have made myfelf, and have had from other Peo- ple, who have more Skill and Experience in this Matter than myfelf. | | on | ‘What ftruck my Sight moft the firft Time I came into this AP A pe Country, were the Pines, the Firs, and the à P: wy “2 Cedars, which are of furprizing Height and gee fe ji al Bignéfs. ‘There are here two Sorts of Pines. They all produce a Rofin which is very fit to make Pitch and ‘Tar: The white Pines, at leaft fome of them, have at the very Tops of them a Kind of Mufhroom, which the Inhabitants call | Guarigue, and which the Savages make Ufe of with Succefs. againft Dif-rders of the Breaft and Bloody-Fluxes. The red Pines are fulleft of Gum, and the heavieft Wood, but they do not grow fo large. ‘The Lands which produce both Sorts, are not the beft to produce Grain ; they generally confit of Gravel, . Sand, and Clay. ms | There are four Species of Fir in Canada; the firt refembles w pur Co our’s : The other three Sorts are the White; Pour Species of the Red, and the Spruce : The fecond and Parse the fourth Sort grow very high, and are fit for Mafts, efpecially the White, which is alfo fit for Carpenters - Work : It grows generally in wet and black Lands ; but which being drained, may bear all Sorts of Grain : Its Bark is fmooth © and fhining ; and there grows upon it fome little Bladders, the _ Bignefs of a Kidney:Bean, which contain a Kind of Turpen- tine, moft excellent for Wounds, which it cures ina fhort Time; and even for Fraftures. They affirm, that it allays Fevers, and cures the Diforders of the Stomach and Lungs. ‘The Way to . ufe it, is to put two Drops of itinto Broth : It has alfo a parg- ang Quality. This is what they call at Paris, the White Balfam. F 2 Traveis in North America. 1194 . ‘The red Fir has fcarce any Refemblance with the white : Its _ Wood is heavy, and may be employed for Building. The A: Lands where it grows are only Gravel and Clay. The Spruce _ Firis gummy, bat does not throw out enough Gum to be made + Use of : Its Wood lafts a long Time in the Earth without rot- ting, which renders it very fit to make Inclofures : Its Bark is very fit for the Tanners; and the Savages make of it a Dye, which is pretty near a deep Blue. The greateft Part of the + Land where this Tree grows, is Clay. I have neverthelefs feen * fome very large in a fandy Soil, but perhaps under the Sand there might be Clay. The Cedars are of two Species, White and Red: The firft | cast abe ‘are the largeft : They make Pales of it; andy - C 7 SPECES OF this Wood is what they generally make UN dE Shingles with, becaufe of its Lightnefs. “There diftills from it a Kind of Incenfe, or Perfume: but it : bears no Fruit like that of Mount Lebanon. The red Cedar is {maller: The mof fenfible Difference between one and the other is, that the Smell of the firft is in its Leaves, and of the other in the Wood ; but the laft is by much the moft agreeable. The Cedar, at leaft the White, grows only in a very good Soil. There are every where in Canada two Species of Oaks, di- Of she Oaks ftinguifhed by the Names of White and Red. a hy Rae ‘The firt are often found in a low, wet, and ee ) x as fertile Soil, whichis fit to produce Grain and Wii he Pulfe. The Red, whole Wood is: lefs | TG a ees i oe - efteemed, grows in a dry and fandy Soil: Both Kinds bear Acorns.---The Maple is very common in Ca- ‘nada, and fome are very large, of which they make handfome Furniture : They grow on high Grounds, which are fitteft for Fruit-Trees. ‘They call the Female Maple here Rene, the Wood of which is wav’d, but paler than that of the Male: In other Refpeéts it has the fame Shape and Qualities ; but it requires a wet and fruitful Soil. The wild Cherry-Tree, which grows promifcuoufly with the Maple and the White Wood, makes very fine Furniture: It yields more Water or . Juice than the Maple ; but it is bitter, and the Sugar made of it never lofes its Bitternefs. The Savages make Ufe of itsBaik ~ in certain Diforders that happen to Women. à There are in Canada three Sorts of Ath; the True, the Mon- grel, and the Baftard : The firft Sort, which grows amongit the Maples, is fit for the Carpenters Ufe, and to make Cafks for _ dry Goods: The fecond has the fame Properties, and grows as the Baftard Kind does, only in a low and good Soil. _ _ They reckon alfo in this Country three Kinds of Walnuts ; _ the hard, the foft, anda third Kind which has a verythin Bark: ee | ; ‘The Lie 94 An Hiftorical Fournal afer or À TU The hard Kind bears very fmall Nuts, good to eat, but hard to | Æhell : Its Wood is good for nothing but to burn. The foft _. Kind bears long Nuts, as big as thofe of France, but the Shells ~ @re very hard : The Kernels are excellent. The Woods not — _fo fine as our’s; but to make Amends, it fcarce ever decays, e1- ther in Earth or in Water, and is with Difficulty confumed in the Fire. The third Sort bears Nuts of the Bignefs of the fir, but in a greater Quantity ; which are bitter, and inclofed in very foft Shells. They make very good Oil of thefe Nuts. This Tree yields fweeter Water than the Maple, but in a fmaller Quantity : It grows only, like the foft Walnut, in the beft Soils. Beach ‘Trees are very plentiful here. I havefeen fome on fandy Halls, and in very fruitful low Lands: ‘They bear much Matt, from which it would be eafy to extrac&t an Oil. The Bears make it their principal Food, as do alfo the Partridges. The Wood is very foft, and fit to make Oars for Boats ; but the Rud- ers of Canoes are made of Maple. The White Wood, which gtows amongft the Maple and the wild Cherry, 1s very plenty. Thefe Trees grow large and ftrait : They make Boards and Planks of them, and alfo Cafks for dry Goods : It isfoft, and _ eafy to work. The Savages peel of the Bark to cover their Cabins, ' Elms are very common through the whole Country. There | app Species gf Ate white and red. The Wood of the firft Es. PECES OF à hardeft to work, but lafts longeft. The 7r0- MT dut quois make their Canoes of the Bark of the sed Elm: There are fome of a fingle Piece, which will hold — #wenty Men. There are alfo fome hollow Elms, where the Bears ænd wild Cats retire from November to April. The Afpen-Tree commonly grows here by the Sides of Rivers and Marthes. They find in the thicket Woods a great Number of Plumb- Pan dont 2 TOO loaded with Fruit, but very four. The is os aay "419 Vinegar-Tree is a Shrub very pithy, which fe een yields Bunches of a fhatp Fruit, of an Ox- Blood Colour. By infufing them in Water they make a Kind of -- Vinegar. The Pemine is another Kind of Shrub which grows by the Side of Brooks, and Meadows. It bears a Bunch of Fruit of a lively red, which is aftringent. There are three Sorts of Goofberries that grow naturally in this Country. They are the fame as in France. The Sloe grows here as in France : This Fruit is wonderful for curing the Bloody-Flux in a very fhort Time. The Savages dry them as we do Cherries in France, ; | ae fa The 4ioca is a Fruit with Kernéls as big as à Cherry: This Pleat, which runs upon the Ground in the Marles, produces M LAS oie. ee + We ES . Travels in North America. 95 its Fruit in the Water. The Fruit is fharp, and they make _ Sweet-Meatsof it. The White-Thorn is found by the Sides. of > Rivers, and produces much Fruit with three Kernels, This is _ the Food of many wild Beatts. ‘They call here the Cotton- Tree a Plant which fhoots up like Afparagus, to the Height of about three Feet, at the Top of which grow many Tufts of Flowers. In the Morning, before the Dew is off, they fhake thefe Flowers, and there falls off with the Water a Lind of Honey, which is made into Sugar by boiling. The Seed grows in a Bladder, which contains a very fine Sort of Cotton. The Soliel (the Sun) is another Plant very common in the Fields of the Savages, and which grows feven or eight Feet high, Its Flower, which is very large, is in the Shape of a Marigold, and the Seed grows in the fame Manner. ‘The Savages by boiling it draw out an Oil, with which they greafe their Hair. The Plants which thefe People principally cultivate are Maiz, © Turkey Wheat, Kidney- Beans, Gourds, and Melons. They have a Kind of Gourd lefs than ours, which has a fweet _"Tafte. They boil them whole, or roaft them under the Athes, _ and eat them thus without any thing with them. The Savages before our Arrival here had the common Melons, and the Wa. ter Melons. The firft are as good as our’sin France, efpecially in this Ifland, where they are very plenty. Hops and Maiden- Hair are the natural Growth of this Country ; but the Maiden- Hair grows higher here, and is infinitely better than in France. ———Here is a Letter, Madam, in which you will eafily. diftinguifh a Traveller who ranges thro’ the Woods and Plains, of Canada, and who is, entertained with every thing that pre. fents.itfelf to his View. | lam, &c. gree ey *® ER ka LED TER e : 96. ca Hiftorical Pournal oF ove LETTER IX. Of ie Caufes of the Cold of Canavda. Of the prec ee VA have for Subfiftence. Of the Charaëter of the Frencu CanabDians. MaDaMmM, — Marveras: April 22. rT is furprifing that in France, where they io often fee Per. fons who have pañed a good Part of their Lives in Canada, ie fhould have fuch a wrong Idea of this Country. This pro- fe ceeds without Doubt from the Information becuse of thofe People who know it by its worft ARR OEE EAD Re LR The ated enerally begins before. but by its worft 8 y beg: re gen the Veffels fail for France, and it begins i in a ” Manner that aftonifhes thofe who are not ufedto it. The firft Froft fills the Rivers with Ice in a few Days, and the Earth is foon covered with Snow, which laits fix Months, and always rifes fix Feet high where the Wind has not Power. | There is indeed no Want of Wood to provide againft the LE ve Cold Cold, which foon becomes exceflive, and lafts ie RTE Ed Spring is pretty forward: But it is — very melancholy not to be able to ftir out without being frozen, or without being wrapt up in Furs like a Bear. Befides, What a Sight is the Stow: which dazzles one’s Eyes, and hides all the Beauties of Nature! There is no longer any Difference be-. tween the Rivers and the Fields, no more Variety, even the ‘Trees are covered with a Rime, and all their Branches are hung with Ificles, under which it is not fafe to fland. What can one think when we fee the Horfes have Beards of Ice-a Foot long? And how can one travel ina Country, where the Bears for fix Months dare not venture out of their Holes? And indeed, I never pafled a Winter in this Country, but I faw fome People who were carried to the Hofpital, to have their Legs and Arms cut off that were frozen. In Fa&, if the Sky is clear, there blows from the weftern Parts a Wind that cuts the Face. Ifthe — Wind turns to the South or the Eaft, the Weather grows a little _ milder, but there falls fuch a thick Sve. that you cannot fee | ten Paces at Noon Day. If there comes a thawing Air, adieu a to all the Capons, Quarters of Beef and Mutton, the. Fowls a | the Fifh, which had been laid up in the Store-Rooms: Sot Spight of the Rigour of the exceflive Cold, they are ftill liged to with for its Continuance. It is to no Purpof to ‘ “the Winters are not fo cold as they were eighty Years ago, that » ip all Appearance they will grow milder hereatter. The Misfor- we fufer. A Crecle of Martinico, who fhould have landed the firft Time in France during the great Froft in 1709, would he have been much relieved by hearing me fay, who came at that Time from Quebec, that the Cold was not fo fharp as in Canada? For though I fpoke the Truth, and had gdod Evidences of it, ss © Travels in North America. | 97 tune of thofe who came before us, and the good Fortune of thofe : who fhall come after us, is no Cure for the prefent Evil which | yet he might have anfwered me, that he did rot find the Cold | of France lefs piercing by hearing that it was fharper ftill in Canada. Neverthelefs, as foon as the Month of May is come, the Scene is foon changed, the Sweetnefs. of this End of the Spring is fo much the more pleafing, as it fucceeds a more ‘ri- \ gorous Seafon. The Heat of the Summer, which in lefs than four Months Time fhews us both Seed-Time and Harvett (a), the Serenity of the Autumn, in which we enjoy a Courfe of fine Days, which are feldom feen in moft of the Provinces of France: All this, added to the Liberty which they enjoy in this Country, is a Compenfation which makes many People think an Abode here, at leaft as agreeable as in the Kingdom where they were born; and it is certain, that our Canadians do» not fcruple to give it the Preference. iy After all, there. are in this exceflive and long Cold, fome In- The Inconwenitt~ medied : I fhall Place in the firft Rank, the cies Fe Bra! Dificulty of feeding Cattle, which during the whole Winter can find abfolutely nothing in the Fields, and of Confequence coft much to feed, and the conveniencies which can never be well re-. Fleth of which, after. £x Months dry Food, has fcarceany Tafte. The Fowls require alfo a great deal of Care, and much Corn, to preferve them during fo long and fevere a Winter. If we fave the Expence by killing at the End of O&cber, all the Animals we are to eat till May, one may eafily judge that fuch Meat is very infipid, and in the Manner that I have faid they take Fifh under the Ice, they cannot be very plenty; befides that, they. are immediately frozen. So that itis almoit impoffible to have them frefh inthe Seafon when it is moft difficult to do without. ; ‘tothe roth of May, they cut the Corn from the rsth of Auguft to the 2oth da QO ; P ney ; 98 | An Hifforical ‘ournal of yh Pulfe, and Roots, which they preferve in Store-Rooms as well a. as they can, but which has fcarce an we been kept there fome Months. Add to this, that excepting Apples, which are excellent here, and the fmall Summer Fruits which do not keep, the Fruits of France have not fucceeded in Canada. Thefe, Ma- dam, are the Difadvantages which are caufed by the great Cold. We are, notwithftanding, as near the Sun as they are in the - moft fouthern Provinces of France, and as we advance in the Colony, we come nearer ftill. From whence can this diferent Temperature of the Air proceed under the fame Parallels ? This is what, in my Opinion, no Perfon has yet well ex- lained. ae 3 | ‘The greateft Part of the Authors, who have treated on this a eee we Matter, have fatisfied themfelves with fay C ing, that thislong and fevere Cold proceeds aufes of the great pe Li HORS je Cola. rom the Snow’s laying fo long on the Ground, that it is impoffible that the Ground fhould be well warmed again. But this Anfwer makes the ' ‘Difficulty flill greater, for one may afk what is it that produces this great, Quantity of Snow, in Climates as hot as Languedoc, and Provence, and in Parts that are much more diftant from any Mountains. ‘The Sieur Denys, whom I have cited feveral Times before, afferts, that the Trees grow’ green before the Sun is high enough above the Horizon to melt the Snow, and to warm the Earth; that may be true in Acadia, and on all the Sea Coafts, but every where elfe it is certain that all the Snow is melted in the thicket Foreft before there is a Leaf upon the Trees. This Author feems not to have any better Authority for faying, that the Snow melts rather by tge Heat of the Barth, than that of the Air, and that itis always at the Bottom that it « ‘begins tomelt: For who can be perfuaded that the Earth, co- vered with a frozen Water, fhould have more Heat than the © Air, which receives immediately the Heat of the Rays of the © Sun. Befides, it does not Aniwer the Queftion, what 1s the ~ Caufe of this Deluge of Snow, which overflows vaft Countries in the midft of the temperate Zone ? Fhere is no Doubt but that, generally fpeaking, the Moun- “tains, Woods, and Lakes; contribute much to it; but it appears to me, that we muft full feek for other Caufes. Father Jofeph Brefjani, an Italian Fefuit, who pañt the beft Years of his Lite in Canada, has left usin his native Tongue; a Relation of New — France, in which he endeavours to clear up this Point of Phi- — icfophy. He cannot allow that we fhould attribute the Cold of which we feek the Caufe, to any of the Caufes 1 have ju mentioned, vz. the Mountains, Woods, and Lakes, with» iy y Virtue when they have PUP Ree ee ae A ty jo Travels in North America. | 09 - this Country abounds ; but he feems to go too far; for there is nothing to anfwer againft Experience, which makes us fenfible of the Abatement of the Cold, in Proporti: n as the Country is clear- ed of the Woods, altho’ is not in fo great a Proportion as it . ought tobe, if the Thicknefs of the Woods was the principal _ Caufe of it, What he allows himfelf, that it is common to fee a Froft in Summer after a very hot Day, appears to mea De- monftration againft him; for how can we explain this Phosno- menon otherwife, than by faying that the Sun having opened in the Day Time the Pores of the Earth, the Moifture that was inclofed in it, and the nitrous Particles which the Snow left in it in great Quantities, and the Heat which is continued after the fetting of the Sun, in an Air fo fubtil as that we breathe in this Country, form thefe little Froftsin the fame Manner as we make Ice on the Fire: Now the Moifture of the Air is evidently a great Part of the Caufe of the Cold; and from whence fhould this Moifture come in a Country where the Soil is generally mixt with much Sand, if it was not from the Lakes and the Rivers, from the Thicknefs of the Forefts, and from Mountains covered with Snow, which in melting water the Plains, and from Winds which carry the Exhalations every where. | : _ But if Father Brefani was miftaken, as I think, from exclud- # ing all thefe Things from the Caufes of the exceflive Cold of Canada, what he fubftitutes in Lieu thereof, feems to me to contribute greatly towards it. There are, fays he, in the hot- teft Climates, fome moift Lands, and there are fome very dry. in the coldeft Countries: But a certain Mixture of dry and moift makes Ice and Snow, the Quantity of which makes the Excefs | and Duration of the Cold. Now if one was to travel but very little in Canada, we fhould perceive this Mixture in avery re- markable Manner. It is without Contradiétion a Country where there is the moft Water of any Country in the World, and there are few, where the Soilis more mixt with Stones and Sand. Add to this, it feldom rains here, and the Air is ex- tremely pure and healthy; a certain Proof of the natural Dry- - nefs of the Earth. In Faét, Father Brefani afirms, that during fixteen Years that the Mifiion fubffted in the Country of the - ‘Hurons, there lived there at the fame Time fixty Frenchmen, many | of whom were of a tender Conftitution ; that they all faredvery hardly in Point of Diet, and fuffered in other Refpeéts beyond all Imagination, and that not one died. | Pre In Faët, this prodigious Multitude of Rivers and Lakes, which occupy as much Space in New France as half the Lands » n Europe, one would imagine fhould furnifh the Air with new mn Vapours; but, befides that the greateft Part of thefe Waters im Ua , are a * + sa 4% &: ee OO . An Hifiorical Journal of. > 4 3. ae are very clear, and on a fandy Bottom, their great and continual | Agitation blunt the Rays of the Sun, hinder it from raifing many. Vapours, or caufes them to fall again in the Fogs; for the Winds excite upon thefe frefh Water Seas as frequent and as violent Storms as upon the Ocean: And this alfa is the true Reafon why it feldom rains at Sea. oe The fecond Caufe of the exceflive Cold of Canada, according to Father Brefani, is the Neighbourhoodof the Northern Sea, covered with monftrous Heaps of Ice above eight Months in the Year. You may here recollect, Madam, what I faidin my firft Letter of the Cold we felt in the Dog Days, from the Neigh- bourhood of a floating Ifland of Ice, or rather from the Wind which blew upon us from the Side where it was, and which ceafed the Moment it was under the Wind. It’ is. moreover. certain, that is does not fnow here, but with a North Bait Wind, — which comes from the Quarter where the Ice of the North lies; M and though we do not feel fo great Cold while the Snow falls, there is no Doubt but it contributes greatly to render fo piercing the Weft and North Weft Winds, which come to us acrofs vaft Countries, and a great Chain of Mountains which are’ covered with Snow. met. - Laftly, if we take the Opinion of this Italian Mifiônary, the « — Height of the Land is not the leaft Caufe of the SuBtilty of the Air which we breathe in this Country, and confequeñtly of the Severity of the Cold. Father Brefani takes great Pâiffsto prove this Elevation by. the Depth .of the.Seä,. which inéreafes, fays he, in Proportion as we approach Gas#ada;. and by the Number and Height of the Falls of the Rivers. But it feems to me that the Depth of the Sea proves nothing at all, and that the Falls of the River S¢. Laurence, and of fome Rivers in New France, M prove no more than the Cataracts of the Nz. On the other ~ - Hand, we do not obferve that from Montreal, where the Falls begin, down to the Sea, that the River St. Laurence is much more rapid than fome of our Rivers in Europe. I think there- fore, we muft keep to the Neighbourhood of the Ice of the North, as the Caufe of the Cold, and that even in Spite of this : Neighboyrhood, if Canada was as free from Woods, and as well — peopled as France, the Winters here would not be fo long and — fo fevere. But they would be always more fo than in France, becaufe of the Sérenity and Purity of the Air: For it 1s certain that in Winter, all other Things being equal, the Froft is keener when the Sky is clear, and the Sun has rarified the Air. | ‘When the Winter is paft, Fifhing, Shooting, and Hunting, : se tes abundantly fupplies thofe with -Provifions 1 ) A ae Eel Fifh- who take the Pains for it: Béfides the ery. | and Wild Fowl, which I have already € tioned, the River Sr. Laurence and the Foreft, furnifh re Travels in North America ia _ «bitants with two Sorts of Manna, as we may call it, which are sete a great Support to them. From Quebec to Trois Rivieres, they take in the River qa prodigious Quantity of great Eels, which come down, as they fay, from Lake Onrario, where thèy _ are bred in fome Marfhes, on the Side of the Lake ; but as they :: -meet, as I before remarked, with white Porpoifes, which chafé?- them, the greateft Part flrive to return again, and this is the Reafon they take fuch a great Number. ‘They &fh for them in this Manner: Upon a Part of the Shore which is covered at high Water, and which is left dry whenthe Tide falls, they ‘place Boxes at certain Diftances, and fix them againft a Fence of Ozier” Hurdles, which leaves no Paflage open for the Eels. Large Nets; or Bafkets of the fame Matter, are fixed by the nar-- roweft End into thefe Boxes, and the other End, which is very wide, lies againft the Hurdles, upon which they place at Inter- zals fome Bunches of Greens. - When all is covered with the Tide, the Eels, which always run to the Side, and which are en- ticed by the Greens, come in great Numbers along this Fence, and enter into the Bafkets, which conduét them to the Prifons prepared for them. “And often in one Tide the Boxes are filled. D'UN AE Thefe Eels are-.bieger than ours, and yield a great deal of! Oil. have already obferved, that with whatfoever Sauce they are eaten, they always retain a rank ‘Fafte, to which we can- not reconcile ourfelves but with Difficulty: Perhaps thisis the — Fault of our Cooks. ‘Their Bones all terminate in a Pointa |. little bent, which Ido not remember to have feen in thofe of 9 France. The beft Method of drefling this Fifhis to hang it up in the Chimney, and there let it roaft flowly in its Skin: This Skin comes off of itfelf, and all the Oilruns out, As they pro- vide great Store of them during the three Months that the _ Fifhery lafts, they falt them, and put them in Barrels like Her- rings. ‘The other Manna I {poke of, is a Kind of Wood-Pi- geons, which come here in the Months of May and June, It is faid that-formerly they darkened the Air by their Multitudes, but it is not the fame now. Neverthelefs, there ftill comes into the Neighbourhood of the Towns a pretty large Number to reft upon the Trees. They commonly callthem Tourtes, and they — differ in Fact from Wood-Pigeons, Turtles, and the common _ Pigeons of Europe, enough to make a fourth Species. They ‘are fmaller than our largeft Pigeons of Europe; but have their _ Eyes, andthe like Clouds of their Neck. Their Plumage is of a | dark brown, except their Wings, where they have fome Feathers of a very fine blue. : | y One would think that thefe Birds fought to be killed, for if. . there is any dry Branch on a Tree, they chufe that to perch las | uponÿ _ hard to live. It would be harder with them full, if they were and Woods are full of Herbs of wonderful Virtue, and eo LA They have alfo found a Way to take many alive, and they. | wantage of this. net embracing a Profeflion, which the fole Corruption of Man- © Ficklenefs, and Averfion to diligent and regular se eal : 102 An Hiftorical Journal of = upon; and they range themfelves in fuch a Manner, tha wort Markfman may knock down fix at leaf with one them till the firft Froft ; then they kill them, and lay them up in ; their Store-Rooms, where they keep all the Winter. Move It follows from hence, Madam, that every one se a the Ne- _. ceffaries of Life: The pay little to the Kine; ins bos. pars the fnhabitant "nomen Le Land-Tax ai à | Axe f Gu tes eRe Money ; he has Bread cheap; Meat and | * Fifh are not dear; but Wine and Stuffs, and — every Thing they have from France, is very dear. ‘The moft to be pitied are the Gentlemen and Officers here, who have only | their Salaries, and are burthened with Families: The Women feldom bring any other Portions to their Hufbands than much = Wit, Love, Agreeablenefs, and Fruitfulnefs. But as God gives 4 to the Marriages of this Country the Bleffing which he gave to the Patriarchs, they ought alfo, in order to fubfift fuch numerous Families, to live like the Patriarchs; but thofe Times are paft. In New France there are more Gentlemen than in all the reft of our Colonies together. ‘The King maintains here twenty-eight M Companies of Marines, and three Etats Majors. Many Families have been enobled here, and there have remained here feveral Officers of the Regiment of Carignan-Salieres, which have peopled the Country with Gentlemen, the greatelt Part of which find it not allowed to trade, and if every one here had not a common Right to fith, fhoot, ‘and hunt. i After all, if they fuffer Want, they are a little à blame them- felves. The Land is good almoft every where, and Agriculture does not degradea =~ Gentleman. How many Gentlemen in all … the Provinces of France would envy the com- M mon Inhabitants of Gazada if they knew it; and thofe who — languith here in a fhameful Indigence, can they be exenfed for — Many know not bew 10 make Ad- mers and wee Maxims have degraded from its antient Ho- LA Pa > We do not know in the World a Country more healthy _ than this: There prevails here no particular Difeafe ; the Fields” Trees diftill moft excellent Balfams. Thefe Advantages ougl at leaft to keep thofe in this Country who are born here; b a Spirit of Independency, have driven ont a great Nu ber of young People, and have hindered the’ Cole ra 125, a | i D f © Qualities of the W 7 Travels in North America. | 103 di i : hefe, Madam, are the Failings of which they accufe, with the 4 iPS) Lal > 7.» ..; 2., moft Foundation, the French of Canada. The _ Good and bad Savages have alfo the fame ; one would think Gish af Cana- that the Air which they breathe in this vait gale 7" Continent contributes to it; but the Exam- pe x ple and Company of the natural Inhabitants, _ who place all their Happinefs in Liberty and Independence, are more than fufficient to form this Character. They accufe alfo our Creoles of being very greedy, and of heaping up Riches, and truly for this Purpofe, they perform Things one would not believe without feeing: The Journies they undertake, the Fa- tigués they endure, the Dangers they expofe themfelves to, the Ef- forts they make, exceed all Imagination. There are, notwithftand- ing, few Men lefs covetous, who diflipate more eafily what has _ coft them fo much Pains to acquire, and who fhew lefs Concern for having loftit. And there is no Room to. doubt, but that they generally undertake thefe painful and dangerous Journies through Inclination. ‘They love to breathe an open Air, they are accuftomed betimes to live a roving Life; it has Charms Ae for them that makes them forget the paft Dangers and Fatigues and they pride themfelves in braving them anew. ‘They have much Wit, (efpecially the Women, whofe Wit is brilliant and _eafy). They are faithful in Expedients, bold, and capable of conducting Affairs of the greateft Moment. You have known, Madam, more than one of this Character, and you have often — exprefled to me your Surprize at it. Ido aflure you, that . the greateft Part here are fuch; and they are the fame in all ~ Ranks. I know not whether I fhould place among the Failings of the Canadians, the good Opinion they have of themfelves. It is certain at leaft that it infpires them with a Confidence that Makes them undertake and execute what would feem impoffibie | to many others. We muft allow, on the other Hand, that they _ have excellent Qualities. ‘They are of a good Stature, and well | fhaped in Body. ‘Their Strength of Conftitution is not always -anfwerable thereto ; and if the Canadians live long, they are old end worn out betimes. ‘This is not entirely their own Fault, it is partly that of their Parents, who for the moft Part do not AS a4 Ce eg à: MEME, : Fe n / ways f Mine Ja SENTE 4 , a _ watch enough over their Children to hinder them from ruining «their Health in an Age, in which, when it is ruined, there is no - Refource. Their Agility and Dexterity are without equal ; the moft fkilful Savages do not guide their Canoes better in _ the moft dangerous Torrents, and are not better Markfmen. _ __ Many People are perfuaded that they are not fit for the ~ Sciences, which require much Application, and a Courfe of à Study. : [ cannot fay whether this Prejudice is well or ill re y founded, FO4 An Hiflorical Fournal of founded, for we have had no Canadian yet who has undertaken to confute it. Perhaps they are fo only from the loofe difipats ed Way they are brought up in. But every one muft acknow- ledge, that they have a wonderful Genius for Mechanics: They have fcarce any Need of Mafters to excel in them, and we fee every. Day fome who fucceed in all Trades. without having ferved an Apprenticefhip. Some charge them with Ingra- titude, yet they have appeared to me to have Hearts good enough, but their natural Levity often hinders them from con- fidering the Duties that Gratitude requires. It is faid they make bad Valets ; this is becaufe they are too high fpirited, and love their Liberty too much to fubmit to Servitude. On the other Hand, they are very good Mafters. ‘This is quite contrary to * what is faid of thofe from whom the greateft Part take their Origin. ‘They would be perfect Men, if with their own good Qualities, they had preferved thofe of their Anceftors. Some — have complained that they are inconftant Friends: This is far from being generally true, and in thofe who have given Room for this Complaint, this proceeds from their not being ufed to any Reftraint, even in their own Affairs. If they are not eafy to be difciplined, this comes from the fame Principle ; or be- caufe they have a Difcipline of their own, which they think the propereft to make War with the Savages, in which they are not altogetherin the wrong. Onthe other Hand, they feem not to be Mafters of a certain Impetuofity, which makes them fitter for a Coup de Main, or a fudden Expedition, than for the regular and fettled Operations of a Campaign. It has alfo been - f remarked, that amongft 2 great Number of brave Men, who have diftinguifhed themfelves in the late Wars, there have been few found who had Talents to command. ‘This was perhaps, becaufe they had not fufficiently learnt how to obey. Itistrue that when they are well headed, there is nothing they cannot accomplifh, either by Land or Sea; but for this End, they mutt. have a great Opinion of their Commander. The late M. a’ Iberville, who had all the good Qualities of his Country, without any of its Defects, would have led them to the End of the World. There is one Thing upon which it is not eafy to excufethem, which is, the little Regard they have for their Parents ; who on their Side, have a Tendernefs for them that is not juitifiable, The Savages fall into the fame Error, and it produces amongft them the fame Effects. But what above all Things thould i | us value our Creoles is, that they have a great deal of Piety and Religion, and that nothing is wanting in their Education on _ this Point. It is alfo true, that out of their own Country they retain fcarce any of their Faults. As with this, they are EX \ Travels in North America. on "tremely. brave and dexterous, they might be rendered very {ér- _ viceable for War, for the Sea, and forthe Arts ; and I believe it would be for the Good of the State to promote their Increafe more than has hitherto been done. -Men are the principal Riches of a Sovereign; and Canada, though it could be of no other Ufe to France, but for this Purpofe, would ftill be, if it was _ well peopled, one of the moft important of our Colonies. L am, &c. BET PORK. X. different People who inbabit CANADA. Of the Iroquors Village. Of the Fauu of St. Louts 3 andof the — MaDpam, Fazc or Sr. Louis, May 21. : sk HIS Village was at firft placed by St. Magdalen’s Mea- dow, about a League lower than the Fall of St. Louis, to- wards the South. ‘The Lands not being found fit for producing _ Maiz, it was removed over-againft the Fall itfelf, from whence it took the Name it ftill bears, though it has been removed again a few Years ago a League ftill higher. I have already faid that its Situation is charming, that the Church and the Houfe of the HSE | AE re RSR Miffionaries are two of the fineft Buildings in the Country s.. from which we may conclude, that effectual Meafures have been taken not to be obliged to make more Removals. I reckoned, when I came here, to go away immediately after the Zafer Ho- lidays ; but nothing is more fubjeét to Difappointments of all Kinds, than thefe Sort of Journies. JI am yet uncertain of the Day of my Departure; and as we muft make Advantage of every Thing, when we make fuch Excurfions as mine, I have endeavoured to make Ufe of this Delay: I have pafied the Time in converfing with fome antient Miffionaries, who have — lived a long Time with the Savages, and have had from them many Particulars concerning various People who inhabit this vaft Continent; which, Madam, I fhall now communicate to ou. : The firft Land of America that we meet with coming from France to Canada, 1s the Ifland of Newfound- land, one of the largeft that we know. It could never be known for Certainty, whe- ther it had any Native Inhabitants: Its Bar- Of the Inhabi- tants of New- foundland. hee _ rennefs, fuppofing it every where as real as it is thought to be, — 4 not a fuificient Proof that it has had no Native Inhabitants ; for 106 An Hifforical Journal of for Fifhing and Hunting is fufficient to maintain Savages. This — is certain, that here was never feen any but Effimaux, who are not Natives of this Country. ‘Their real Country is Labrador, or New Britain: It is there at leaft that they pafs the greateft Part of the Year ; for it would be prophaning the Name of Na- tive Country, to apply it to wandering Barbarians, who having no Affection for any Country, travel over a vaft Extent of Land. InFaé, befides the Coafts of Nezvfoundland, which the Effimaux range over in the Summer, in all the vaft Continent which is between the River St. Laurence and Canada, and the North Sea, there has never been feen any other People than the Ehimaux : They have been met with alfo a good Way up the River, Bourbon, which runs into Hud/on’s Bay, coming from the rs Weft. .¢ HN A Er, + toh à. ittle Foundation, efpecially if it is true, as I have been affured, that their Language is entirely different. For the ref, _ their Alliance would do no great Honour to any Nation ; for if there was no Country on the Face of the Earth lefs fit to be inha- bited by Men than Newfoundland and Labrador, there is perhaps ‘no People which deferve more to be confined here than the Efi- maux. For my Part, I am perfuaded they came originally from Greenland. | rh HA à Ma ie a 'Thele Savages “are covered in fuch 2 Manner, that you can hardly fee any Part of their Face, or the Ends of their Fingers, Upon a Kind of Shirt made of Bladders, or the Guts of Fith cut in Slips, and pretty well fewed together, they have a Coat Gea fear: Dect Skins, and fometimes of Birds Skins. A their Head ; on the Top of which there comes out a Tuft of Hair, which hangs over their Forehead: The Shirt comes no _ lower than their Wail: their Coat hangs behind down to their . Thighs, and terminates before in a Point fomething below the __ Wailt ; but the Women wear them both before and behind, to the Middle of the Leg, and bound with a Girdle, from whiéh. hang little Bones. ‘The Men have Breeches of Skins, with th Hair inwards, and which are covered on the Outfde with? Skins of Ermine, or fuch-like : They wear alfo Socks, withthe Hair inwards, and over this a Boot, furred in like Manner on the Infide ; then a fecond Sock and fecond Boots: And they fay © that thefe Coverings for the Feet are fometimes three or four fold ; which does not, however, hinder thefe Savages from be- ing very nimble. ‘Their Arrows, which are the only Arms they ule, fi artnec with Points made of the T'eeth of the Sea-Cow, and they fometimes make them of Iron, when they can get it. it appears that in Summer they keep in the open Air Night and Day, but in the Winter they lodge under Ground ina Sort of Cave, where they all lie one upon another. “NP We are little sean with the one People which are in dre 4 the Environs, and above Hudj/on’s Bay. Ina bites a Vb Y the Southern Part of this Bay, hey trade po swith the Mifaffins, the Monjonis, the Criftindux, and the 4ffniboils. Thefe laft came here from a great Diftance, fince they inhabit the Borders of a Lake which is to the North _ orthe North Weft of the Sioux, and their Language is aDialect / 3 OE TS te ee 108 An Fiftorical ‘fournal of of the Sioux. The other three ufe the Algonquin Language. The Crifinaux, or Killiftinons, come from the North of the upper © Lake. The Savages of the River Bourbon (a), and the River Sainte Therefe, have a Language entirely different from either : It is probable they are more acquainted with the E/Rimaux Lan- guage. It is obferved, that they are extremely fuperftitious, and offer fome Sort of Sacrifices. ‘Thofe who are the moft ac-. quainted with them affirm, that they have, like thofe of Canada, a Notion of a good and evil Spirit ; that the Sun is their great Deity ; and that when they deliberate on an important Affair, they make him as it were fmoke ; which they perform in this Manner: ‘They aflemble at Day-break in a Cabin of one of their Chiefs; who, after having lighted his Pipe, prefénts it three Times to the rifing Sun ; then he guides it with both ~ Hands from the Eaft to the Weft, praying the Sun to favour the Nation. This being done, all the Aflembly fmoke in the fame Pipe. All thefe Savages, though they are of five or fix different Nations, are known in the French Relations by the Name of the Savenois, becaufethe Country where they inhabit is low, marfhy, poorly wooded, and becaufe in Canada they call Savanes (4) thofe wet Lands which are good for nothing. i Going tothe North of the Bay, we find two Rivers ; the firft — of which is called the Dames River, and the fecond the River of Seals. There are fome Savages on the Sides of thefe Rivers, to + whom they have given (I know not why) the Name, or rather the Nick-Name, of the flat Sides of Dogs. ‘They are often at far again the Savanois, but neither one nor the other treat "their Prifoners with that Barbarity which is ufual amongft the Canadians ; they only keep them in Slavery. The Savanois are “often reduced by Want to ftrange Extremities : Either through Hdlenefs on their Part, or that their Land produces nothing at all, they find themfelves, when the Chace and the Fifhery fail, without any Provifions; and then itis faid, they make no Diff. culty to eat one another: The Weakeft, no Doubt, go firft. It is alfo faid, that itis a Cuftom amongft them, that when a Man as arrived to an Age in which he can be of no longer Service to his Family, buton thecontrary a Burden toit, he puts a Cord himfelf about his Neck, and prefents the two Ends of it to him of his Sons whom he is moft fond of, who ftrangles him as foon as ke can: Heeven thinks that in this he does a good Aétion, 3 ihe : + % _ {a) They fay that when they have gone one hundred Leagues up this Ri- _ ver, itis no longer navigable for fifty Leagues, and that afterwards it runs _ inthe midft of a very fine Country, and this lafts to the Lake of the mie bods, where it rifes, hom | mi : (è) The Erclifh call them Swamps. ‘ gi ie Travels in North America. =~ 104 not only becaufe he puts an End to the Sufferings of his Father, _ but alfo becaufe heis perfuaded he haftens his Happinefs ; for _ thefe Savages imagine that a Man who dies inold Age, is born againin the other World at the Age of a fucking Child; and , ‘that on the contrary, thofe who die young, are old when the come into the Country of Souls. The Daughters of thefe Peo. ‘ple never marry, but with the Confent of their Parents, and the ‘Son-in-Law is obliged to live with his Father-in-Law, and be - fubje& to him in every Thing, till he has Children. The Sons leave their Father’s Houfe early. Thefe Savages burn their ‘Dead, and wrap up their Afhes in the Bark of a Tree, per à they bury in the Earth : Then they raife over the Grave a Kind © of Monument with Poles, to which they faften Tobacco, that the Deceafed may have wherewith to fmoke in the other World. IF | he was a Hunter, they hang up alfo his Bow and Arrows. Tho? the Mothers weep for ss Children twenty Days, the Fathers receive Prefents, and in Return make a Feait, Waris much lefs honourable amongft them than the Chace; but to be © efteemed a good Hunter, they muft faft «three Days together without taking the leaft Nourifhment, having their Faces fmeared with Black all this Time. When tl te Faft is over, the Candidate facrifices to the Great Spirit a Piece of each of the Beafts he hath been wont to hunt ; this is commonly the Tongue and the Muzzle, which at other Times is the Hunter’s Share : fis Family or Relations don’t touch it; and they would eyem fooner die with Hunger than eat any of it, it being appropme ated to the Hunter to feaft his Friends and Strangers with... to the reft, they fay that thefe Savages are perfectly difinterelied, and are of moft inviolable Fidelity; that they cannot bé@ra Lye, and look upon all Deceit with Horror. » - Thisis, Madam, all that I could learn of thefe Northern Peas ple, with whom we never had a fettled Intercourfe, and whom . we never faw but ex paflant. Let us come to thofe we are better acquainted with.—One may divide them into three Claffes, diftinguifhed by their Language, and their particular Genius. In that Extent of Country which is commonly called 4 dut of France, which has no Bounds to the North, oly ak. : but on the Side of Hud/on’s Bay, which was ss dre difmembered from it by the Treaty of Urrecht, : y ) je VECRES | which has no other on the Eaft but the Sea, the Erghifb Colonies on the South, Louzfiana to the South-Haft, and the Sparifh Ter- - ritories to the Weft: In this Extent of Country, there are but three Mother Tongues, from which all the others are derived s Thefe are the Sioux, the Algonquin, and the Huron. We know ~ _ but little of the People that fpeak the firft of thefe Languages, _ and no Body knows how far it extends. We have hitherto had me à i na Wee € AT à : ‘5 _ 240 An Hifioriçal Fournal ao hin | no Commerce but with the Sioux and the Aff wiboils and this has | not been greatly followed. Ce Our Miffionaries have endeavonted ‘8 make a Settleme it among the Szoux; and I new one who greatly Of the Sioux. A that he had not fucceeded, oe i | ther, that had not remained longer among thefe People, who _ appeared to him docible. There are none perhaps from whom we | may gain more Information concerning all that is to the North Welt of the Mififippi, as they LAE an Intercourfe with all the Nations of thefe vat, ies. They dwell commonly in Meadows, under de a. ‘Skins, and well wrought : They ‘live on wild, s, which grow in Abundance in their Marfhes and Rivers, and by hunting, efpecially of the Buffa- does that are covered with Wool, and which are in Herds of ‘Thoufands in their Meadows : They have no fixed Abode, | but travel in great Companies like the Yartars, and never ftay in one Place any longer than the Chace detains them. Our Geographers diftinguith this Nation into wandering Si- oux, and Sioux of the Meadows, into Sioux of the Eaf, and Sioux of the Weft. ele Divifions don’t appear to me to be well ground- ed: AH ia Sioux live after the fame Manner ; whence it hap- pens that a Village which was laft Year on the Eaft Side of the Mififfippi, Shall next Year be on the Weft Side; and that thofe who were at one Time by the River Ss. Pierre, are perhaps now | enough from it in fome Meadow. The Name of Sioux, Wich we have given tothefe Savages, is entirely our own mak- or rathef is ‘the two laft Syllables of Nadoueffioux, as they are 1 by many Nations : Others call them Nadouefs. They he moft numerous People we know in Cazada: ‘They were peaceable Enough; and little ufed to War, before the Hurons and Oszacyais took Refuge in their Country, flying from the Fury of ’ . Jroquois. They derided their Simplicity, and made them ‘i she Sioux have fereral Wives, and they feverely punifh thofe at fail of Conjugal Fidelity. They cut off the End of their lofes, and cut a Circle in a Part of the Skin on the Top of their Pad, and pull it off. I have feen fome People who are per- faaded that thefe Savages had a Chinefe Accent: It would not De difficult to know the Truth of this, nor to know if their a Language has any Affinity with the Chine. | pa _ Thofe y who have been amongit the Affiniboils fay, that ee are Of the Afin;: tall, well made, ftrong, nimble, inured to the ai ‘4 _ Cold and all Manner of Fatigues ; that they in ; ‘prick themfelves all over the Body, and mark — E, out Fi igures of Serpents, or other Animals, and that they. under- take very long Jourmes. There is. nothing 1 in this that di aa Mae j ay ils OA “HR 4 dar A | Ë ost Travels in. North America. {11 ‘guifhes them much from the other Savages of this Continent, “whom we know; but what is particular in their Character is, that they have a great deal of Gravity ; at leaft they appear fo, ‘in Comparifon of the Crifinaux, with whom they have fome In- tercourfe. The Créfinaux-are in Fact of an extraordinary Vi- ~vacity ; they are always finging and dancing ; and: they {peak with fuch a Volubility and Precipitation, that has never been ‘obferved of any other Savages. oath The Native Country of the Afmidoils is about a Lake which fe) 5 ni bears their Name, and which ts little known. f the Lake of A Frenchman whom I have feen at Moztreal, the Afiniboils. affured me he had been there, but that he had feen it as they fee the Sea in a Port and ex paflant. The com- mon Opinion is, that this Lake is fix hundred Leagues in Com- paf, that we cannot go to it but by Ways which are almoft im. ‘paflable, that all the Borders of it are charming, that the Air here is very temperate, though they place it to the North Weft of the upper Lake, where the Cold is extreme, and, that it con- tains fuch a Number of Iflands, that they call itin thefe Parts ‘the Lake of Iflands. Some Savages call it Michinip?, which figni- fies the Great Water ; and it feems in Faët to be the Source of the greateft Rivers and all the great Lakes of North América = For by feveral Evidences, they make the River Bourbon to rife out of it, which runs into Hudjon’s Bay ; the River St. Laurence, which carries its Waters to the Ocean ; the Mi/e/itp7, which‘di ‘charges itfelf into the Gulph of Mexico; the Meffourt, whi mingles with the laft ; and which, to the Place where they join, is in no Refpeét inferior toit ; and a fifth which runs, as they. fay, to the Weft, and which of Courfe muft go into the South Sea It is a great Lofs that this Lake was not known tothe Learned, who have fought every where for the terreftial Paradife, _ It would have been at leaft as well placed here as in Scandinaria, But I do not warrant, Madam, all thefe Faéts for Truth, which ‘are only founded upon the Reports of Travellers; much lefs - ‘what fome Savages have reported, wiz. that about the Lake of ‘the Affniboils there are Men like the Europeans, and who are | fettled in a Country where Gold and Silver is fo plenty, that it ferves for the moft common Utes. "s a Gs Father Marquette, who difcovered the Mififipp: in 1673, fays in ‘his Relation, that fome Savages not only fpoke to him of the Ri- ver, which taking its Rife from this Lake, runs tothe Weft; but - Ey al pat A con ‘ AE" res aura 5 1 SES ie Pod adele ' \ d'ami x! , Fu MONTE ‘that they alfo added, that they had feen great Ships in its Mouth. Tt appears in the old Maps under the Name of Poualaks, and of . whom fome Relations’ fay that their Country isthe Bouridaty to à that of the Crfinèux, or Killiffinons. ee | Te 12 An Hifiorical Yournal of — The Aleonquin and Huron Languages have between them almoft Ake Beat all the Savage Nations of Canada that we J Al P ah are acquainted with. Whoever fhould well g ene LE BOT underftand both, might travel without an In- | , MANZUALE. terpreter above one thoufand five hundred Leagues of Country, and make himfelf underftood by one hun- dred different Nations, who have each their peculiar Tongue. "Phe Algonquin efpecially has a vaft Extent: It begins at Acadia and the Gulf of Sz. Laurence, and takes a Compafs of twelve hundred Leagues, twining from the South Eaft by the North to the South Weft. They fay alfo, that the Wolf Nation, or the Mabingans, and the greateit Part of the Indians of New England and Virginia, {peak Algonquin Diale&s. ates. 1 The Alronguins, or Canibas, who are Neighbours to New Eng- OF the Ab land, have for their neareft Neighbours the | Of bi apo Etechemins, or Malecites, about the River Pen- HR Ni sop ar tagoet ; and more to the Eaft are the Micmaks, be GREE RAISON Souriquois, whofe proper or Native Country A de is Acadia, the Continuance of the Coaft of the Gulf of Sr. Laurence, up to Gafpé, (from whence one Writer -ealls them Ga/pefans) and the neighbouring Iflands. In going up the River St. Laurence, we meet with at prefent no Savage _ Natton, till we come to Saguenay. Neverthelefs, when Canada _ . was firft difcovered, and many Years afterwards, they reckoned An this Space many Nations, which fpread themfelves in the Hand Anticofte, towards the Hills of Notre-dame, and along the = North Side of the River. Thofe which the antient Relations “peak mof of, are the Berfiamites, the Papinachois, and the Mon- tagnez. ‘They call them alfo (efpecially the laft) the /ower A1 gonguins, becaufe they inhabited the lower Part of the River _ with Refpe& to Quebec. But the greateft Part of the others are ~ reduced to fome Families, which we meet with fometimes in one Place, and fometimes in another. "There were fome Savages who came down into the Colony MOF the Savage from the North, fometimes by Saguenay, and | of cB eye 8" oftener by Trois Rivieres, of whom we have eee : heard nothing for along Time. There were amoneft others the Æéikameques : ‘Thefe Savages came from far, and their Country was furrounded by many other Nations, who extended themfelves about the Lake Sz. John, and to the Lakes of the Mifaffins and Nemifeau. ‘They have been almoft all de- firoyed by the Sword of the Irogucis, or by Diftempers that were __ the Confequence of the Sufferings to which the Fear of thefe __ Barbarians reduced them. This is a great Lofs: They had no Vices ; they were of a very mild Difpofition, eafily conve df and very affeCtionate to the French. = Travers in North America. UE à à : . Between Quebec and Mouitreal, towards Trois Riwieres, We meet … fillwith fome 4/eonquins, but who do not make a Village, and who … ¢rade with the French. At our firft Arrival here, this Nation oc- … ,cupied all the Northern Side of the River from Quebec (where … M: de Champlain found them fettled, and made an Alliance with them) up to the Lake Sr. Pierre. : We Eu From the Ifle of Montreal, going towards the bpd Bao i ne de with fome Villages of Nzpifiugs, of Témif- 4 Of a mr camings, Of Tetes = Boules, a Richel Heads) of Wake PE A ‘à Amikoues, and of Outaouais (a). The firtt are Mahe “AI ey the true Æ/vonquins, and who have alone pre- oe 4) ela tr ferved the Algonquin Language, without any dia Alteration: They have given their Name to a little Lake fituated between Lake Huron and the River of the Outaouais. The Temifcamings occupy the Borders of another little Lake, which bears their Name, and which appears to be the real Source of the River Ozraouais. The Round Heads are not far off : Their Name comes from the Shape of their Heads : They think a round Head to be a great Beauty ; and it is very probable that the Mothers give this Shape to the Heads of their Children in their Infancy. The Amikoues, which they call allo the Nation of the Beavers, are reduced almoft to nothing: The : Remains of them are found in the Ifland Manitoualin, which is in the Lake Huroz, towards the North. The Outaodais, for- merly very numerous, were fettled on the Borders of the great __ River which bears their Name, and of which they pretended to ~ be Lords. I know but of three Villages of this Nation, and thofe but thinly peopled, which I fhall {peak of hereafter, Between Lake Huron and the upper Lake in the Streightit- felf, by which the fecond flows into the firft, isa Torrent, or Fall, which is called Saulte Sainte Marie, (the Fall St. Mary.) Its En- irons were formerly inhabited by Savages who came from the South Side of the upper Lake, whom they call Sauieurs; THAT A a is TOSAY, thelibabitants of the Fall. They have probably given M them this Name, to fave the Trouble of pronouncing their true Nathe; which it is not pofiible to do, without taking Breath ~ two or three Times (4). ‘There is no Nation fettled (at leaft that I know of) on the Borders of the upper Lake; butin the Poits which we poffefs there, we trade with the Crifinaux, who come here from the North Eaft, and who belong to the Alponquin __ . Tongue, and with the A/fniboils, who are tothe North Weft. — (a) Many write and pronounce Oxtaouaks. 1 cof Ea (b) Pauoirigousioubai.. 114 An Hifotieal Journal af ss The Lake Michigan, which 1s ale DAMES with Lake Hye . ren, into which it difcharges itfelf, and which _ ey tee Tourer dE feparated from it bat ‘by a Penida D ms hundred Leagues long, which grows ‘Hage 0 rower continually towards the North, has few . Inhabitants on its Banks. I do not know ~ even that any Nation was ever fettled here, and itis without any" Foundation called in many Maps the Lake of the finois. In going up the River Sz. Fe/ep>, which runs into it, we find two Villages of different Nations, which came from other Parts not long fince. This Lake has on the Weft Side a great Bay, which extends BAR "2 Leagues to the South, and which is calléd the Bay des Puant¥or fimply, the Bay. Its Entrance is very wide, and fullof Iflands, fome of which are fifteen or twenty Leagues in Compafs. ‘They were formerly inhabited by the Poureonata-. mis, whofe Name they bear, excepting fome which we leave to the Right, where there are {till fome Savages called Noguets. The Pouteouatamis poflefs at prefent one of the {malleit of thefe Iflands ; and they have befides two other Villages, one in the River Sv. Fofeph, and another in the Streight. In the Bottom of the Bay _ there are fome Saks and Orchagras. Thefe laft are called Puans, (ftinking ), but for what Reafon I know not. Before we come to them, we leave upon the Right another little Nation, called Mal. bomines, Qr Folles Avoines, (wild Oats.) : RE 0 A little River, much ruffled with Torrents, difcharges itfel£f into the Bottom of the Bay: It is known by — | of ibe on al the Name of the River i Renards, ( of the | set the + arate Foxes). All this Country is very beautiful ;* tins, and the K1- and that is fil more fo, which extends from ere the South to the River of the Z/wois, It is notwithflanding only inhabited by two little Nations, which. are the Kicapeus and the Mafcoutins. Some of our Geographers” _have been pleafed to call the laft the Natéon of Fire, and their Country the Land of Fire. An equivocal Word gave Rifeto | this Name. | ne BUT | * _ Fifty Years ago, the Méamis were fettled at the South End of nr. + the Lake Michigan, in a Place called Chicageu;: Of ses which is alfo ig Name of a little Rivet and the mois. which runs into the Lake, the Spring of: which is not far from that of the /inois. ‘They are at prefent divided into three Villages, one of which is on the River 8. Fo- Jeph, the fecond on another River which bears their Name, and runs into Lake Erie, and the third upon the River Ouabache, which runs into the Mififippi. Thele laft are more known by — the Name of Oxyatanons.. There is fearce any Doubt but thatthis | tl Nation aad the J/iuois were, not long fince, one People, confic ouatamis, and other Savages of the Bay. ih ae 19 rae’ 1} É é » 4 F5 rh Etes LP "+ À rm in RE AR A EE Mas ù ,; d * Travels in North America, — ITs ing the Affinity of their Languages. I fhall be able to fpea k with more Certainty, when I have been among them. For the reft, the greateft Part of the A/gonquin Nations, excepting thofe which are more advanced towards the South, employ them- felves but little in cultivating the Lands, and live almoft wholly upon Hunting and Fifhing ; fo that they are not fixed to any _ Place. Some vf them allow Plurality of Wives; yet, far from …_ multiplying, they decreafe every Day. ‘There is not any one of —. thefe Nations that confits of fix thoufand Souls, and fome no of two thoufand. The Huren Language is not by far fo extenfive as the Algon « Of the Peop “ if quin :, Lhe Reafon‘of which is, without ne Doubt, that the People who fpeak it have pui À Lu is been lefs roving than the Algonguins : I fay Fat So the Huron Langyage, in Conformity to the common Opinion ; for fome maintain that the Zroguois is the . Mother Tongue. Let that be as it will, all the Savages which … are to the South of the River St. Laurence, from the River Sore! to the End gf the Lake Erie, and even pretty near Virginia, be- long to this Language : And whoever underftands the Huron, underftands them all. ‘The Dialeéts are indeed extremely mul- … _ tiplied, and there are almoft as many as there are Villages. The five Cantons which compofe the Jraguois Commonwealth, have each their own Language ; and all that was formerly called without any Diftinction the Huron, was not the fame Language. [cannot find out to what Language the Cherokees belong, a pretty numerous People, which inhabit the vaft Meadows which are between the Lake Erie and the Mifi/ippi. : But it is worth while to obferve, that as the greateft Part of the Savages of Canada have at all Times been converfant with each other, fometimes as Allies, and fometimes as Enemies, al though the three Mother ‘Tongues which I have fpoken pf, have no Manner of Affinity or Agreement with each other, thefe People have neverthelefs found Means to treat together without the Help of an Interpreter: [Either that long Cuftom makes it eafy to underftand each other by Signs, or that they have formed a Kind of common Jargon, which they. learn by Ufe.— I have juft received Notice that I muftembark : I fhall finifh this Article at my firft Leifure. | a elds = | Lam, &c. 116 An Hiftorical Yournal of — LETTER Oh Voyage to Cararocour. A Defcription of the Congr: and à 4 the Falls of the River St. Laurence. Defcription and Si tuation of the Fort Ca TAROCOUL. Of the Languages of Ca-. NADA, and of the People that /peak them. The Occafion of the | War between the IROQUO1S and the ALGONQUINS. Mapam, CaTarocour, May 14. Departed from the Fall St. Louis the Day after I had clofed . my laft Letter, and went to lie at the Weftern Point of the Ifle of Montrear, where I did not arrive till Midnight. ‘The next Day Iemployed all the Morning in vifiting the Country, which is very fine. In the Afternoon I croffed the Lake Sz. Louis to go to the Cafcades, where I found thofe of my People who went hither in a diré&t Way: I found them bufy in mending their Canoe, which they had let fall in carrying it on their Shoulders, and which was fplit from one End to the other. This is, Madam, the Convenience and Inconvenience of thefe little Car- riages : The leaft Thing breaks them, but the Remedy is ready and eafy. It fuffices to furnifh one’s felf with Bark, Gums, aid Roots ; and there are very few Places where one does not find Pi Gums and Roots fit to few the Bark:> ver St. Laurence. What they call rhe Cafcades, is a Water-fall fituated exaly _ ES sn pee above the Ifland Perrot, which makes the Se- Le Fall the Ri. paration of the Lake St. Louis, and the Lake d y des deux Montagnes, (of the two Mountains }, To avoid it, we goa little Way to the Right, and make the Canoes pafs empty ina Place they call 4 Trou, . (the Hele) : Then they draw them to Land, and make a Portage © of half a Quarter of a League ; that is to Jay, they carry the Canoe’ with all the Baggage on their Shoulders. This 16 to avoid a fecond Fall called k Buiffon, (the Bufo). This is a fine Sheet of Water, which falls from a flat Rock about half a Foot high. ‘They-might eafe themfelves of this Trouble, by deep- ening a little the Bed of a fmall River which runs into another ‘above the Cafcades ; The Expence would not be tage Lu # tite. yt à Fe } 4) : RAR SE à ee f u . a ASE OIL, *. ; LIU ead Poe © Re | x Speier NP 5 ARR LE TAN. iy * Naa ER à) * > Ves A Re TORRES me ATE Où Travels in North America 117 | Abovethe Buifeu, the River is a Mile wide, and the Lands on a ee ee both Sides are very good, and well wooded. cp x re M me They begin to rs thafe which are on the Fort -of Cataro- North Sid dice id: be Meee coui, and on the ” | 1. af bs in D bt ate ed Way they take to go maxe a Road from the Point, whick is over r. EE againit the Ifland Montreal, toa Bay which _ Ji they call /a Galette. They will fhun by this id _ forty Leagues of Navigation, which the Falls render almoftim- practicable, and very tedious. A Fort would be-much better fitus ~ ated and more neceflary at /a Galette than at Catarcconi, becaufe a ingle Canoe cannot pafs here without being feen, whereas at - Catarocow, they may flip behind the Iflands without being ob- ferved : Moreover, the Lands about Galette are very good, - and they. might in Confequence have always Previfions in plenty, which would fave many Charges. Befides this, a Bark might go in two Days with a good Wind to Niagara. One of — the Objects which they had in View in building the Fort Ca- - tarocoui, was the Trade with the Jrequois; but thefe Savages — _would come as willingly to /a Galette, as to Catarocoui. They would have indeed fomething further to go, but they would avoid a Paffage of eight or nine Leagues, which they muft make over the Lake Oxztario: In fhort, a Fort at 22 Galette would. cover the: whole Country, which is between the great River of the O- taouais, and the River Sz. Laurence; for they cannot come into this’ Country, on the Side of the River Sz. Laurence, becaufe of the: — Falls; and,nothing is more eafy than to guard the Banks of we she River of the Owraouais. Ihave thefe Remarks from a Com- .miflary of the Marine fa), who was fent by the King to vifit atbthe diftant Pofts of Canada. | AE bape . The fame Day, May the third, I went three Leagues, and are ee 4 = * eit. . . , PRS OE 4 + rivedat the Cedars; this is the third Fall; which has taken its ba _ tthe Savages, ule them. Lp tne Name from the Quantity of Cedars that grew in this Place ; but: they are now almoft ali cut down. On the fourth, I could go no © farther than the fourth Fall, which is called the Coteau du Lar, (the Hill of the Lake) tho’ it is but two Leagues and half from! . the other; becaufe one of the Canoes burft. You will not be. furprifed, Madam, at thefe frequent Wrecks, when you know © ! how thefe-Gondola’s are made. I believe that I have already told you that there are two Sorts of them, the one of Elm Bark,» which are wider and more clumfily built, but commonly bigger. I Know none but the Iroquois who have any of this Sort. The. others are of the Bark of Birch Trees, of a Width lefsin Pro- portion than their Length, and much better made: It is thefe … that lam going to defcribe, becaufe all the French, and almoft all # Do 4, 0 (à) M, de Clerambaut, d? Aigremont. j > 7 PA ne _— 118 An Hifionical: ‘Fourndl Gf 7 7 ae “They lay the Bark, which is very thick, on flat and very thin _ Det of Bark. ROSE e Length by fmall Crofs-Bars, | se which feparate the Seats of the Canoe ; two main Pieces of the fame Wood, to which thefe little Bars are few’d, ftrengthen the whole Machine. Between the Ribs , andthe Bark they thruft little Pieces of Cedar, which are thin- . ner fill than the Ribs, and which help to ftrengthen the Canoe, the two Ends of which rife by Degrees, and infenfbly end in fharp Points that turn inwards, 'Thefe two Ends are exactly alike; fo that to change their Courfe, and turn back, the Canoe-Men need only change Hands. He who is behind fteers with his _ Oar, working continually; and the greateft Occupation of him ~ who is forward, 1s to take Care that the Canoe touches nothing: to burft it. They fit or kneel on the Bottom, and their Oars are. Paddles of five or fix Feet long, commonly of Maple ; but when they go againft a Current that 1s pretty ftrong, they muft ufe a Pole, and ftand upright. One muft have a good deal of Praétice #0 preferve a Ballance in this Exercife, for nothing is lighter, and of Confequence eafier to overfet, than thefe Canoes; the great- eft of which, with their Loading, does not draw more than half a Foot Water. The Bark of which thefe Canoes are made, as well as the Ribs ” nd the Bars, are few’d with the Roots of Fir, which are more plia- ble, and dry much lefs thanthe Ozier. All the Seams are gum’d within and without, but they muft be viewed every Day, ta fee … that the Gum is not peeled off. The largeft Canoes carry twelve … Men, two upon a Seat; and 4000 / Weight. Of all the Sava- es, the moit fkilful Builders of Canoes are the Outaouais ; and am general the Algonguin Nations facceed herein better than the ans. Few French as yet can make them even tolerably; but to " guidé them, they are at leaftas fafe asthe Savagesof the Coun- _ try; and they pratife this Exercife from their Childhood. All _ the Canoes even the fmalleft carry a Sail, and with a good Wind _ çan make twenty Leagues in a Day. Without Sails they muft be good Canoe-Men to make twelve Leagues in a dead Water. Fromthe Hill of the Lake to Lake St. François, is but a good half League. This Lake which I paffed the AR ES e PAPE. géiisfeven Leagues long, and three Leagues # Fang ors. wide at the moftin its greateft Breadth. The Lands on both Sides are low, but they feem to be pretty good. © ‘Phe Courfe from Montreal to this Place is a little tothe South | Wet; and the Lakeof St. François runs Weft South Welt, and — ÆEaft North Eaft. I encamped juft above it, and in the Nig was wakened by fome piercing Cries, as of People complain. ang, J was frightened at firft, but foon recovered myfelf, | ‘ | | rat eds im North America, rg Bey. told me they were Huars, a kind.of Co: morants; they added. that thefe Cries were acertain Sign of Wind the next Day, wluièh proved ee. * The fixth I paited the Chefnaux du Ed, itd “aii thus fome Other Falls. : Canali, which form a great Number or ie Hilands, that almott cover the River in this Place. I never faw a Country more char: ming, and the Lands appear good. ‘The reft of the Day we employed in pafling the Falls, the moft confiderable of which they call the Mou/inet ; it 18 frightful to look at, and we had a great deal of ‘Trouble to get thro’ it. went however that Day near feven Leagues, and I. encamped at the Bottomof the Long Fall; this is aTVorrent halfa League long, which the Canoes cannot go up but with half their Loading ; we paffed it at feven in the Morning, then we failed till. three o’Clock in the Afternoon ; but then the Rain obliged as to encamp, and detained us all the next Day : There fell the ; eighth a little Snow, and at Night it froze asit does in France the Month of ‘an. we were neverthelefs under the fame Parai- lels as Languedoc. The ninth we pañled the Flat Fall, about feven Leagues diftant from the Long Fall, and five from | EME Galotis which is the laft of the Falls. La Galette is a League and a half farther, and we arrived there the tenth. I could not mp admire the Country which is between this Bay and es Galots, it is impoflible to fee finer Forefts, and I obferved efpecially fore | _ Oaks of an extraordinary Height. Five or fix Leagues from 5 Galette; Feces: is an Ifland calla 4 Lonivata, the Soil of which appears pretty Pe Me ano fertile, and which is about half a heaven Ne : a | know not why, a very fenfible Man, and well afe@ed te : ances obtained the Domain of it from the late Gount de _ Frontenac, and he fhewsthe Writing of this Grant to any one that | will fee it ; he has neverthelefs fold the Lordfhip, for four Pots of Brandy ; ; bat has referved to himfelf all other Profits of the Land, and has affembled here eighteen or twenty Families of his Nal cer, IT arrived the twelvth in his Ifland, and I paid him @ Vifit ; I found him working in his arden: which is not the Ci ban of the Savages ; but he affeëts all the Manners of the French : He received me very well, and would treat me, but the Finenefs of the Weather obliged me to go forward; I took iny Leave of him, and went to pafs the Night two Leagues further, “ ina very fine Place. I had fill thirteen Leagues to Cataracour à _ the Weather was: fine, the Night very Clear, and this engag’d us to abit at three in the Morning. We pañed thro’ the midit © | d of Archipelago, which they call Mille Ifles, (the Thoufand nd I peters there are above five hundred : When we are siege à long. An Iroguciss whom they call the 9322: ot Se #29 Ph: à Hiforical Fournal oy 4 _ pañled thefe we have a League and half to arrive at Cafarocouts the River 1s more open, and is at leaft half a League wide 5 à then we leave upon the Right three great Bays pretty déep, re] and the Fort is built in the third. This Fort is a Square with four Baftions built with Stone, and the Ground it occupies is a Quarter of League in Compafs, its Situation has really fomething very pleafant; the Sides of the River prefent every Way a Landfcape well varied, and it is the fame at the Entrance of Lake Oxzario, which is but a fmal! League diftant ; it is full of Iflands of different Sizes, all well A Défcription of Fort Catarocoui. wooded, and nothing bounds the Horizon on that Side: This _ Lake was fome Time called Sz. Louis, afterwards Frontenac, as well as the Fort of Cararocoui, of which the Count de Frontenac. . was the Founder; but infenfibly the Lake has gained its antrent * Name, which is Huror or Iroquois, and the Fort that of the a Place where it is built. The Soil from this Place to /a Galette appears fomething barren, but this is only on the Edges, it be- ing very good farther on. ‘There is over-againft the Fort a very pretty Ifland in the midft of the River; they put fome Swine into it, which have multiplied, and given it the Name Of Ife des Pores; There are two other Iflands fomewhat {maller, which are lower, and half a League diftant from each other; one is called the Le of Cedars, the other 1% aux Cerfs, (Harts [and). The Bay of Catarocoui is double, that is to fay, that al- moft in the midft of it there is a Point that runs out a great Way, under which there is good Anchorage for large Barks. M. de la Sale, fo famous for his Difcoveries and his Misfortunes, who was Lord of Cataracoui, and Governor of the Fort, had 4 _ two or three here, which were funk in this Place, and remai there ftill : Behind the Fort is a Marfh where there is great Plenty of Wild Fowl: This is a Benefit to, and Employ- ment for, the Garrifon. ‘There was formerly a great Trade here, efpecially with the Jroguois ; and it was to entice them to us, as well as to hinder their carrying their Skins to the Eng- life, and to keep thefe Savages in Awe, that the Fort was built: But this Trade did not laft long, and the Fort has not hindered the Barbarians from doing us a great deal of Mifchief. They have ftill fome Families here on the Outfides of the Place, and there are alfo fome Mifi/aguex, an Algonquin Nation, which fill have a Village on the Weft Side of Lake Ofrario, another at Niagara, and a third in the Streight. I find here, Madam, an Opportunity of fending my Letters to Quebec: I fhall take Advantage of fome leifure Hours to fi up this with what I have further to fay to you on the Differen of the Languages of Canada. ‘ Thofe who ‘have ftudied be “ à: | : | perte HAE? ON 0 Jravelsin North America. 121 …. perfeftly, fay that thofe three of which I have fpoken have ail … the Charatters of primitive Languages; and it is certain that they have not the fame Origin ; which the Pronunciation alone is fufficient to prove. ‘The Sou whiftles in {peaking ; the Hu- ron has no labial Letter, which he cannot pronounce, he fpeaks in the Throat, and afperates almoft every Syllable ; the Algon- * quin pronounces with more Sweetnefs, and {peaks more natu- turally. I can learn nothing particular of the firft of thefe.. three Languages, but our antient Mifionaries have much ftu- ‘died the two laft, and their principal Diale&s: This is what I have heard from the inoft fkilful. | : _ The Huron Language has a Copioufnefs, an Energy, and a Sub: limity perhaps not to be found united in any of the fineft that we know; and thofe whofe native Tongue it 1s, tho’ they are now but a Handful of Men, have fuch an Elevation of Soul that agrees much better with the Majefty of their Language, than with the fad State to which they are reduced. Some have fancied they found in it fome Similitude with the Hebrews; others, and the greateft Number, have maintained it had the fame Origin as the Greek ; but nothing is more trifling than the Proofs they bring for it. We muft not depend efpecially upon the _ Vocabulary of Brother Gabriel Saghard, a Recollet who hath. been cited to fupport this Opinion ; much lefs on thofe of James Car. gonquin, which they ill retained, and which often fignified quite … different from what they thought. And how many Errors have ‘been occafioned by fuch Miftakes of many Travellers. | ee The Algonquin Language has not fo much Force as the Huron, ee: : but has more Sweetnefs and Elegance: Both St which aftonifh : But what is more furprifin 15, that among thefe Barbarians who never ftudy to fpeak well, _ and who never had the Ufe of Writing, there is not intro- duced a bad Word, an improper Term, or a vicious Conftrucs tion ; and even Children preferve all the Purity of the Lan- _ guage in their common Difcourfe. On the other Hand, the tier and the Baron de la Hontan. 'Thefe three Authors took at Random fome Terms, fome of which were Huron, others 47 ye CRE Ho ‘5 " toe j prise 7 nur PE ve à Richnefs of Expreffions, a Variety of Algonquin Lan- +. 7 AS oP | urns, a Propriety of Terms, a Regularity _ Manner in which they animate all they fay, leaves no Room to. = doubt of their comprehending all the Worth of their Expreffi- ons, and all the Beauty of their Language. The Dialects which the five froquois Cantons) pafs among the Savages to have a ar or rude Lancuage. : | ve APM LS ey ¢ are derived from both, have not preferved all their Beauties, — r the fame Force. The T/oxnonthouans, for Inftance (this is one ~ ~~ 002. . Am diorical Journey ge ae In the Huron all is conjugated; a certain Device which I vdayitios ph Cannot Well explain to you, diftinguifhes the 4 Particu ere Verbs, the Nouns, the Pronouns, the Ad- ee ee eee verbs, Jc. ‘The fimple Verbs have a double Soi ah Conjugation, one abfolute, and the other re- -ciprocal; the third Perfons have the two Genders, for there are but two in thefe Languages; that is to Jay, the noble and the ignoble Gender. As to the Numbers and ‘T'enfes, they have the fame Differences as in the Greek: For Inftance, to relate ‘Travels, they exprefs themfelves differently according as it was by Land, -or by Water. The Verbs active multiply as often as there are Things which fall under Aëtion; as the Verb which fignifies ¢o “eat varies as many Times as there are Things toeat. The Aion . is expreffed differently in Refpe& to any thing that has Life, and: an inanimate Thine ; thus to fee a Man, and to fee a Stone, are two Verbs; to make Ufe of a Thing that belongs to him that ufes it, or to him to whom we fpeak, are two different Verbs.” There is fomething of all this in the A/gonguin Language, tho’ not the fame, of which I am not able to give any Account. Notwithftanding, Madam, if ! from the little I have faid it follows, that the eee: | Richnefs and Variety of thefe Languages ren ders them extremely difficult to learn; their Poverty and Barren. . .nefs preduces no lefs Difficulty: For as thefe People, when we fir Particularities of the Algonquin Laz- © converfed with them, were ignorant of almoft every Thing they + did not ufe, or which did not fall under their Senfes, they wanted 1, + Terms to exprefs them, or they had let them fall into Oblivion: ‘Thus, having no regular Worfhip, and forming of the Deity, and of every Thing which relates to Religion, but confufed Ideas, not making fcarce any Reflexions but on the Objets of their Senfes, and on nothing which did not concern their own Affairs, which were confined within a fmall Compafs, and not being accuftomed to difcourfe on the Virtues, the Paffions, and many other Subjects of our common Converfation ; not cultivat- ing any Arts, but thofe which were neceffary for them, and which were reduced to a very {mall Number; nor any Science, only obferving what was within their Ability; and for Life, having — «nothing fuperfluous, nor any Refinement: When we wanted to fpeak to them of thefe Things, we found a great Vacuity in ‘their Languages, and we were obliged, in order to make our- felves underftood, to fill them up with Circumlocutions that were. troublefome to thefn as well as to us: So that after havine learnt of them their Language, we were obliged to teach them an compofed partly of their own Terms, and partly of ours tr. lated into Huren and Algcuguin, to make the. Pronuncia eafy to them. As to Characters they had none, and the » ey uses Fey geet + wah AA) SAR | me 0 rau i North Mmericas : . 122 - plied the Defe& by a Sort of Hieroglypnicxs. Nothing fur- _ prifed them more than to fee us exprefs ourfelves as eañly by. … writing as by fpeaking. AA AU _If it is afked how we know that the Stou, the Huron, and the Algonquin, are rather Mother Tongues than fome of thofe which we'look upon as their Diale&s, I anfwer, that it is not eafy to miftake in this, and I think there needs no other Proof than the Words of the Abbe Dudoft, which I have already cited; but in fhort, as we can judge here only by Comparifon, if from thefe Reflexions we may conclude that the Languages of ail the Savages of Canada are derived from thofe three which I have noted, I allow. it does not prove abfolutely that thefe are primitive, and of the firft Inftitu- tion of Languages. I add, that thefe People have in their Difcourfe fomething of the Afatic Genius, which gives, Things a Turn, and figurative Expretiions ; and this 1s, perhaps, what has perfuaded forme Perfons that they derive their Origin from 4fa, which feems probable enough. a The People of the Hurcu Language have always applied theme felves more than the others to cultivating the Land; they have’ alfo extended themfelves much lefs, which has produced two Effeéts : For in the frft Place, they are better fettled, better, lodged, and better fortified ; and there has always been amongtt. ‘them more Policy, and a more diftinguifhed Form of Gover- “ment. The Quality of Chief, at leaf among the true Huvons, . which are the ¥zennoutates, is Hereditary. In the fecond Place, till. the Zroguois Wars, of which we have been Witnefles, their Coun. try was more peopled, though they never. allowed Polygamy. ' _ Whey are alfo reputed more induftrious, more dexterousin their _ Affairs, and more prudent in their Refolutions; whichcannot be” attributed but to a Spirit of Societv, which they have preferved | … better thantheothers. This is remarked particularly of the Hlurons, that tho’ {carcely any longer a Nation, and reduced to two Villa- “ges not very large, and at a great Diftance one from the other 5 .yet they are the Soul of all the Councils, when they, confult on. any general Affairs. It is true, that in Spite of that Differ- ence which is not feen at the firft Glance, there is much Refem- blance in the Senfe, the Manners, and all the Cufoms of the Savages of Canzada; but this is the Confequence of the Inter. courfe which has been always between them for many Ages, _ This would be the Place to {peak to you concerning the Go- ‘Yernment of thefe People, of their Cuftoms, and of their Re- . ligion; but I fee nothing in this yet but a Chaos, which itis : impoffible for me to clear up. | ‘se | There are fome Travellers who make no Scruple to fill their burnals with whatever they hear faid, without troubling them. 7 ves about the Truthof any Thing. You would not, doubtlefs, - js ee ee Rz | Dies + 124 An Hifiorical “fournal of … have me follow their Example, and impofe upon you for Fruth — all the extravagant Things that have been placed to the Ac- count of our Savages, or that have been taken as they could from their Traditions. “Thefe Traditions, on the other Hand, are fo little to be relied on, and almoft always contradiét each other fo grofsly, that it 1s almoft impoffible to difcover any Thing from them that may be depended on. In Fat, how could fuch People, as we found thefe, tranfmit faithfully down to Poiterity what has pafled between them for fo many Ages, hav- ing nothing to help their Memory ? And can we conceive. that Men, who think fo little of Futurity, fhould ever bufy ther:- felves about what is paft, to make any faithful Records of it? So that after all the Enquiries that could be made, we are full. © at a Lofs to know what was the Situation of Canada when we made the firft Difcovery thereof, about the Middle of the fixth Century. — ; The only Point of their Hiftory, which is derived to us with Dre of she any Sort of Probability, is the Origin of the War he War, which M. de Champlain found very much ne ‘kindled between the /roguois on the one He Side, and the Hurons and Algonguins on the RS ave Other ; and in which he engaged himfelf maintained againfe much more than was agreeable {to our true the Trognous. Intereft.” [ cannot difcover the firft Beginning of this War, but I do not think it was very antient. What I fhall © fay about it, I give you Notice before Hand, Ido not war- : rant the Truth of, though I have it from pretty good Authority. The Z/ onquins, as 1 have already obferved, poffeffed all that. Extent of Country which is from Quedec, and perhaps alfo from © Tadoufac quite to the Lake of Nipiffing, following the North Shore of the River St. Laurence, and going up the great River, which runs into it above the Ifle of Montreal. By this we my judge that this Nation was then very numerous ; and it is certain, that for a long Time it made a very great Figure in this Part-of America, where the Hurons were alone in a Condition to difpute with them the Pre-eminence over all the reft. For the Chace they had no Equals, and for War they acknowledged no Supe- riors. ‘The few who remain to this Day, have not degenerated from the antient Merit of this Nation, and their Misfortunes _ have not yet leffened their Reputation. The Jroguois had made with them a Kind of Confederacy, very ufeful to both Sides ; but which in the Opinion of the Savages, amongft whom a great Hunter and a great Warrior are equally efteemed, gave the. r Algonquins a veal Superiority over the Iroquois. The latter, almoft wholly employed in the Culture of the Lands, had engaged to give Part of their Harvelt to the d/gonguins; who, on their Side, … were to divide with them the Fruit of the Chace, and to defend — them againft whoever fhould undertake to difturbthem. The — two Nations lived thus a long ‘Time in a good Underftanding 5 but an ill timed Haughtinefs on one Side, and a Refentment, which was not expected, on the other Side, broke this Union, and made a Quarrel between thefe two People that hath been never reconciled, — _ As Winter is the great Seafon for the Chace, and that the Earth, then covered with Snow, gives no Employment to them who cultivate it, the two Confederate Nations joined together to winter in the Woods; but the /roguois commonly left the Chace to the A/gonguins, and contented themfelves with fleaing the Beafts, … drying the Flefh, and taking Care of the Skins. ‘This is at prefent. every where the Werk of the Women, perhaps then it was not the Cuftom ; However, the froguoi3 made no Difficulty ofit. From Travels in North America. 12800 Time to Time, however, fome of them took a Fancy to try _ themfelves in the Chace, and the A/gonguins did not oppofe it, in. ‘ which they were bad Politicians. It happened one Winter, that a T'roop of both Nations ftopped in a Place where they expefted Plenty of Game, and fix young ‘Algonquins, accompanied with as many Iroquois of the fame Age, weré detached to begin the Chace. ‘They prefently difcovered fome Elks, and they all prepared themfelves directly to purfue them; but the Algonquins would not fuffer the Iroquois to fol- low them, and gave them to underftand that they would have enough to do to flea the Beafts they fhould kill. . Unfortunately. _ for thefe Boafters, three Days pafied without their being able to - bring down a fingle Orignal, though a great Number came in Sight. ‘This bad Succefs mortified them, and probably was no + _ Orignals. ‘There are no Men in the World who are more fuf-_ Difpleafure to the Zroguois, who earneftly defired to obtain Leave to go another Way, where they hoped to be more fuccefsful. "Their Propoial was received by the Algonguins, as-was formerly that by the Brothers of David, which the young Shepherd made to go and fight with the Giant Go/ab: They told them that the were very vain to pretend to have more Skill than the dlgon- ". quins ; it was their Bufinefs to dig the Earth, and that they fhould leave the Chace to thofe that were fit forit. "The Iroquois, en- raged at this Anfwer, made no Reply; but the next Night they departed privately for the Chace. ‘The d/gonguins were {urprifed in the Morning at not feeing them, but their Surprife was foon changed into extreme Vexation ; for in the Evening of the fame Day, they faw the Jroguois returning loaded with the Flefh of ceptible of Spite, and who carry the Effects of it further : The Refult of that of the A/gonquins was fudden: The . Iroquois … were no fooner afleep than they were all knocked on the Head, Such 1 cy ‘Aa iPorieal Foaenal of Nae Such an Affaffination could not be long a Secret ; and me 4 on the Bodies were buricd privately, the Nation was foon informed of it, At firft, they complained with Moderation, but infilted en having the Marderers punithed. They were too much def- _ pifed toobtain this Juftice: The Algonguins would not fubmit : “À make even the leaft Satisfaétion. à: The Lroguois in Defpair made a firm Refolution to be revenged Th, © for this fcornful Treatment, which irritated Vibe Sequel of PE A PR them more than the Afaffination of which t ey . complained. They fwore they would all die _ to the laft Man, or have SatisfaGion; but as they perceived — i themfelves not a a Condition te cope with the Algangquins, whofe ~ Mame alone kept almoft all the other Nations in Awe, they de- a Feats from them a great Diffance, to make a Proof of their Arms againit lefs formidable E: emies, which they did by Way of. Diverfion ; and when jh res themfelves fufliciently inured to War, they fell fuddenly. on the A/gox flag and began a ve of which we only faw ch 1€ Rad 2 ae which fet all Canada a Flame. It was continucd on the Side of the Trequois. with a ik le, | 5 it M vas the more deli- as i ry which hinders’. eover, Pus Savages’ do not’ 4 alge fo much ‘the more terr berate, and had nothing of that preci Meafures from be: ag well take | ‘ + miy reven be es td ha © e think t ec th irony ichly snd! but by the: utter Defiruc- tion of their Enemies, and this is’ ftill truer of the Jreguozs than OF the “ra ‘They fay commonly of them, that tl hey come like Boxes, they attack like Lions, and fly away like Birds. Thus Abies feldom fail in their Attempts; and.this Conduét has made them fo fucceisful, that had it not been for be ee there would pethaps be no Mention made at this Day of any ef the Nations 7 ta i who have dared to oppo! 3 >this Torrent. 'Thofe who fuffered” the moft were the han: , WhO were engap ed as Allies or Neigh- yn becaufe their Co cuntry lay 1 in the Way. bours of the Algougtsi ins, “ be i ‘between both. We have feen with Affonifhment, one of the mot aumerous Nations, and sa pois warlike of this Continent, and the moft eficemed of all for ir Wik ifdom and Underftand- “Ing, difappear almoft entirely Fe a LA Yeats. We may alfo fay, that there is not a Nation in this Part of America, which has not faffered greatly by th ie Jrogie uois be Bing chliged to take up Arms; and :I know of none. but the Ae enaquis in all Canada, whom they . have not dared to difturb in their own à Country For fince they have taken a peda for War, they cannot remain long quiet, like Bions, who by the Sight and Tate of Blood, increafe their in- fatiable Thirft ae it. Qne would hardly believe how far they . have travelled to feek Men to fight with. Neverthelefs, a being’ thus continually at War, as they have from Time to Til que with very. great. Checks, tliey, find themfelves Fine ae 4 Ny ac rag © 5 xl QE + Ser = “ ae ae n North America. : ep aide ‘and v we “of not for the Prifoners which they have — i: _ brought from all Parts, and the greateft Number of which they — have adopted, their Situation would not be much more happy than that ofthe Nations they have fubdued. What has happened in this Refpe& to the Jroguois, maybe faid _ with more Reafon of all the other Savages of this Country, and "it is not ftranee if, as I have already obferved, thefe Nations de- creafe every ‘Day in a very fenfible Manner. For though their - Wars do not appear at fir fo deftruétive as our’s, they are much more fo in Proportion. The moft numerous of thefe Nations has never had perhaps more than fixty thoufand Souls, and from Time to Time there is much Blood fpilt. A Surprize, ora Coup de Main, fometimes deftroys a whole Town; and often the Fear of ‘an Irruption drives a whole Canton to forfake their Country, and then thefe Fugitives, to avoid dying by the Sword of their Enemies, or by Torture, expofe themfelves to perifh by Hun- ger and Cold in the Woods or on the Mountains, becaufe they feldom have Leifure or Precaution to carry Provifions with them This has happened in the laft Age to a great Number of Al > gonquins and Huron, of whom we could never hear any Ac. count, Vi LC ‘ oe L ant, SC. e x + DLL TER CU, A Deferipsion of the Country up to the River of the Oxwontaguee : * OF de Ble ind Reflux in the great Lakes of CANADA. The : , Manner ‘how the Savages fing ti War-Song. Of the God of War _ among ft thefe People. Of the "De 2claration of Wr ar. Of the e Necklaces | af a of Shells: And of the Calumet: And of their Cuftoms of Peace and War. i ‘Mapa, Famine Bay, Mayi16, Have the Misfortune to be detained here by a contrary ‘Wind, ii à which i in all Appearance will laf a ve Time, and keep me in One of the’worit Places in the World. I hall amufe myfelf with writing to you. “Whole Armies of. -thofe Pigeons they call Tourtes pafs by here continually ; if one of them would carry my Letter, you would perhaps have News “of me before I leave this Place: Put the Savages never thought — … of bringing up Pigéons for this Purpofe, as they 7 the HT” am pany other Nations formerly did. © k ré ' 128 7 Hifforical Sachs of | | . ‘os Ph TER #e RES PRE ESS _ Tembarked the r4th, exaétly at the fame Hour I scien at Departure from Catarocoui the Evening before. I had bat fix Catarocoui: The Leagues to go to the File of Cer euils, (Roe- Rout form thence Aube: ) where there 1s a pretty Port that éan to Famine Bay: 4 receive large Barks; but my Canadians had Defeription of the not examined their Canoe, and the Sun had Country. melted the Gum of it in many Places; it oe took Water every where, and I was forced to lofe two whole Hours to repair it in one of the Iflands at. the Entrance of the Lake Ontario. After that we failed till Ten o’Clock at Night, without being able to reach the Ile of Chev- seuils, and we were obliged to paf "the reft of the Night : inthe 4 Corner of a Forett. This was the firft Time I per ceived fome Vines in the W met There were almoft as many as Trees.; to the Of ae Fines of Top of which they rife. [had not yet made _ Canada. this Remark, becaufe I had always till then flopped in open Places ; but they aflure me it is the fame every - where, quite to Mexico. The Stocks of thefe Vines are very large, “and they bear many Bunches of Grapes ; but the Grapes are {carcely fo big as a Pea; and this muft be fo, as the Vines are not cut nor caltivated. When they are ripe, it is a good Manna for the Bears, who feek for them at the Tops of the higheft Frees. They have, PDU EE but the Leavings of the Birds, . who have foon gathered the Vintage of whole Forefts. - (of Goats), in 43°. 33°. I re-embarked about Noon, and made a T fet out early next Morning, dnc at Eleven o’Clock I ftopped at the Ifle aux Gallots, | three Leagues beyond the Ifle ax Chevres, Traverfe of a League and a half, to gain the Point of the Tra- verfe. If to come hither from the Place where I pafled the “Night, I had been obliged to coaft the Continent, I fhould have had above forty Leagues to make ; and we mu do this, when the Lake is not very calm; for if it is the leaft agi- mm » ” tated, the Waves are as high as in the open Sea: It is not even poffible to fail under the Coaft, when the Wind blows hard from the Lake. From the Point of the Ifle aux Gallots, we fee to the Weft the River Chouguen, otherwife called the River d'Oz- _ nontagué, which is fourteen Leagues off. As the Lake was calm, and there was no Appearance of bad Weather, and we hada little Wind at Eaft, which was but juft enough to carry a Sail, T _refolved to make direétly for this River, that I might fave fifteen ~~ but, out of Complaifance, they yielded tomy Q © Beauty of the Country which I quitted on the fe or twenty Leagues i in going round, My Conductors, whd had more Experience than myfelf, judged it a_ dangerous Attempts : Opinion.— not-tempt me any more than the Saimon, and N | | Fi mn NE 4 ¢ Hand, cos Abers of other va ym $ Roe © Traveis in North America. 129 excellent Fifh, which they take in fix fine Rivers which are at two.or three Leagues Diftance one from the other (a) : We took then to the open Lake, and till Four o’Clock we had no Caufe . torepent of it; but then the Wind rofe fuddenly, and we would willingly have been nearer the Shore. We made towards the near- eft, from which we were then three Leagues off, and we had much Trouble tomake it. Atlength, at Seven at Night we landed at Famine Bay ; thus named, fince M. dela Barre, Governor Gene- ral of New France, had like to have loft all his Army here by Hunger and Diftempers, going to make War with the Lroquois. + It was Time for us to get to Land; forthe Wind blew ftrong, RAT _ andthe Wavesran fo high, that one would not Defiription of * Lave ventured to pafs the Seine at Paris, over- F Pe Bay. againtt the Louvre, in fuch Weather. As to the reft, this Place is very fitto deftroy an Army, which depends _ onthe Chace or the Fifhery for their Subfiftence, befides that ’ the Air appears to be very unhealthy here. But nothing is finer than the Woods that cover the Borders of the Lake; The white and red Oaks rife up here even to the Clouds. There js alfo here a Tree of the largeft Kind ; the Wood of whichis hard, - but brittle, and much refembles that of the Plane-Tree: The Leaf has five Points, isof a middle Size, a very fine Green on the Infide, and whitifh without. Itis called here the Cotton-Tree, © becaufe in a Shell nearly of the Bignefs of a Horfe Chefnut, it bears a Kind of Cotton; which appears, neverthelefs, of no Ufe.——-—-As I walked upon the Side of the Lake, I obferved — that it lofes Ground on this Side fenfibly: This is evident, | becaufe for the Space of half a League in Depth the Land is much lower and more fandy than it is beyond, I have obferved alfo in this Lake (and they affure me the fame happens in all the others) a Kind of Flux and Reflux almoft momentane- ous ; fome Rocks which are pretty near the Shore being covered and uncovered feveral Times within the Space of a Quarter of an Hour, although the Surface of the Lake was very calm, and — there was fcarce any Wind. After having confidered this fome Time, limagined it might proceed from Springs which are at the Bottom of the Lake, and from the Shocks of thofe Currents with thofe of the Rivers, which flow in from all Parts, and which produce thefe intermitting Motions. — (a) The River of the Affumption, a League from the Point of the Tra werfe ; that of Sables, three Leagues further ; that of Ja Planche, (the Plank) _ two Leagues further; that of 7 grande Famine, (the great Famine) two : _ Leagues more ; that of Ze petite Famine, (the little Famine) one League; that … of a groffe Ecorce, (the thick Bark) one League. — ‘ie 130 An Hiftorical Fournal of But would you believe, Madam, pe in this Seafon, and in. 43 Degrees Latitude, there is not yet a Leaf Why the Trees upon the'T'rees, though we have fometimes as : have no Leavesin . | great Heat as you have in the Month of Fuly. the Mouth of May. The Reafon of this is, without Doubt, be- caufe the Earth, which has been covered with Snow feveral Months, is not yet heated enough to open the Pores of the Roots, and to make the Sap rife. For the reft, the great and the. little Famine do not deferve the Name of Rivers ; they are but Brooks, efpecially the laft, but are pretty well ftocked with Fifh. There are here fome Eagles of a prodigious Bignefs. My Peo- ple have juft now taken down a Neft, which confifted of a Cart | Load of Wood, and two Eagles which were. not yet fledged, and 1 which were bigger than the largeft Hen Turkeys : They eat them, and found them very good. | I returned to Cafarocoui ; where, the Night that I ftaid there, I was Witnefs to a Scene that was fomething curious. About — T'en or Eleven o’Clock at Night, juft as I was going to Bed, I heard a Cry, which they told me was a War-Cry ; and a little after, I faw a Company of Miff/aguex enter the Fort finging. Some Years fince, thefe Savages engaged themfelves in the War which the Jroguots make with the Cherokees, a pretty nume- : rous People, who inhabit a fine Country to the South of Lake Erié, and fince that Time the young People are eager for War. Three or four of thefe Heroes, equipped as fora Mafquerade, their Faces painted in a horrible Manner, and followed by almoft all the Savages who live about the Fort, after having run thro’ all their Cabins finging their War-Song to the Sound of the Chichikoué (a), came to do the fame in all the Apartments of the _ Fort, in Honour to the Commandant and the Officers. I confefs to you, Madam, that there is fomething in this Ceremony which fills one with Horror the firft Time one fees it; and I found by it what I had not fo fenfibly perceived before, as I did then, wiz: that [was amoneft Barbarians: Their Singing has always fome- thing mournful and difmal ; but here I found in it fomething ter- fifying, caufed perhaps folely by the Darknefs of the Night, and the Preparation of the Feaft, for it is one for the Savages. This Invitation was addrefled to the Zroguois ; but they, who be- gin to be Lofers by the War with the Cherokees, or who were not in a Humour for it, demanded Time to deliberate, and every one returned to his own Home. | ¢ % (a) The Chickikoué is a Kind of Calibath, full of Pebbles, — ~~ JT ravels in North Marios. ‘EAU “Je appears, Madam, that in thefe Songs they invoke the at ne Goi of War, whom the Hurens call, frehoui ; Of PAP Ÿ the Troquois call him Agre oub. ST know ut "éd 2 what Name they give him in the Algonquin Language. But is it not fomething ftrange that in the Greek. Word ‘Ares, whois the Mars, or the God of War, in all the Countries where they have followed the Theology of Homer, we find the … Root from which feveral Terms of the Huron and Frog Lan- guage feem to have been derived, which relate to War ? Aregouen fignifies to make War, and is thus declined ; Garego, I make War ; Sarego, thou makeft War ; Arego, he makes War. For the reft, Arofkoui à is not only the Mars of thefe People ; he is alfo their chief God ; or, as they exprefs it, the Great Spirit, the Creator and Mafter of the World, the Genius who governs every Thing : But it is chiefly for Military Expeditions that they invoke him ; as if the Attribute which does him the moft Honour, was that of in the Height of the Engagement: Upon the March alfo they the God of Hoffs : His Name is the War-Cry before the Battle, and © often repeat it, by Way of Encouragement to each other, andto implore his Affiftance. | To take up the Hatchet, is to > declare War: Every private Of the Dec Hee, | Perfon has a Right to do it, without any one War. having a Power to hinder him; unlefs it be ne among the Hurons and the Troguais, with whom the Mothers of Families can declare or forbid War when they pleafe. We fhall fee, in its proper Place, how far their Authority extends in thefe Nations. But ifa Matron would engage one who has no Dependence on her, to make a Party of War, either to appeate the Manes of her Hufband, of her Son, or of a near Relation, or to get Prifoners to fapply the Places of thofe in her Cabin whom Death or Captivity have deprived her of, the is obliged to make him a Prefent of a Collaror Necklace of Shells;¥ and it is very feldom that fuch an Invitation is without Efe@..…… "When the Bulinéfsis to make a Warin all the Forms between two or more, Emit one, the Manner of expreffing it is, to hang the Kettle upon the Fire; and ithas its Origin, without Doubt, from the barbarous Cuftom of eating the Prifoners, and thofe that er ANG iv were killed, after they had boïled them. They fay alfo in dire& ie - Words, that they are goingtoeara Nation; tofignify, that they will * make a cruel War againit it ; and it feldom happens oth¢rwife. When they would engage an Ally in a Quarrel, they {end him a Porcelain ; that is to /ay, a great Shell, to invite him té drink the Blood, or (according to the Meaning of ithe Terins they ufe) the Broth of the Flefh of their Enenvies. Aftervall, this Cuftom — may be very antient ; but it does not follow from. hence, that | 1 People were always Man-Faters : It was pethaps, à in the S 2 primitive + rar penn er e 132 | An Hiftorical Fournal of primitive Times, only an allegorical Way of fpeaking, fuch as we often fied even in the Scripture. The Enemies of David did not, as appears, make it a Cuftom to eat the Flefh of their - Enemies, when he faid, Pf xxvii.v. 2. When the Wicked, even mine Enemies, came upon me 10 eat up my Flefb. In after Times, cer- tain Nations that were become favage and barbarous, fubftituted the Fact in the Room of the Figure. Thave faid that the Porcelain of thefe Countries are Shells : À Doris on They are found on the Coafts of Nea Eng- : sre land and Virginia: They are channel’d, the Porcelain, or aus Ma a | - pretty long, a little pointed, without Au- Venus Shell, 0) ; 1 te + Ne Lo ricles, and pretty thick. ‘The Fifh thatisin- clofed in thefe Shells, is not good to eat ; but - the Infide of the Shell is of fuch a fine Varnifh, and fuch lively Colours, that Art cannot come near it. When the Savages went quite naked, they applied them to the fame Ufe as our firft Pa- rents did the Fig Leaves, when they faw their Nakednefs, and were afhamed of it, They hung them alfo about their Necks, © as the moft precious Thing they had; and it is at this Day one of their greateft Treafures, and fineft Ornaments. In a Word, they have the fame Idea of them, as we have of Gold, Silver, and precious Stones ; being fo much the more reafonable in this, as they need only in a Manner ftoop to obtain Treafures as real as our’s, fince all depends upon Opinion. | James Cartier {peaks in his Memoirs of a Kind of Shell fome- thing like thefe, which he found in the Ifle of Montreal: He calls it E/urgni ; and afferts, that it had the Virtue to ftop bleed - ing atthe Nofe. Perhaps it is the fame with that we are fpeak- _ingof; but they find none about the Ifle of Montreal, and I never heard that thefe Shells had the Properties which Cartier mentions. They are of two Sorts, or of two Colours ; one White, the ~ Of the re a other Violet.: The firft is the mof common, PISTE and perhaps for this Reafon is lefs efteemed .. | ?, one The fecond appears to be fomething of a finer cue Grain when it is wrought. ‘The deeper the. Colour is, the more valuable it is. They make of both Sorts little cylindrical Beads: They pierce them, and firing them; and it is of this that they make Strings and Necklaces of Porcelain.* The Strings are nothing elfe but four or five Threads, or little Slips of Skin about a Foot long, on which the Beads are ftrung. The Necklaces are a Sort of Fillet, or Diadems formed of thefe . Strings ; which are confined by Threads, which make a Texture — of four, five, fix, or feven Rows of Beads, and of a propor- tionable Length : This depends on the Importance of the Af — fair they treat of, and on the Dignity of the Perfons to whom the — ‘Necklace is prefented. igh oo A ND an ees a è PU tert Ato f tt 2e POS A i a te F \ £ f Bae Fravels in North America, 123 « By the Mixture of Beads of different Colours they form _ What Figures and Characters they pleafe, which often ferve to exprefs the Affairs in Queftion. Sometimes alfo they paint the Beads; at leaft it is certain they often fend red Necklaces, ~ when it concerns War. ‘Thefe Necklaces are preferved with Care, and they not only make a Part of the public Treafure, but they are alfo as it were Records and Annals which are laid up in the Cabin of the Chief: When there are in one Village two Chiefs of equal Authority, they keep the Treafure and Records by Turns for a Night; but this Night at prefent is a whole Year. It is only Affairs of Confequence that are treated of by OF their Uh Necklaces; for thofe of lefs Importance bit LE. they ufe Strings of Porcelain, Skins, Cover- lets, Maiz, either in whole Grains or in Flour, and other fuch-like Things; for the public Treafure is a Receptacle for. all thefe. When they invite a Village or a Nation to enter into a League, fometimes initead of a Necklace they fend a Flag dipt in Blood ; but this Cuftom is modern, and it is very pro- bable that the Savages took the Notion from the Sight of the white Flags of the French, and the red Flags of the Engh/b. — itis faid alfo that we made Ufe of thefe firft with them, and that they took a Fancy to dye their Flags in Blood when they intended to declare War. | The Calumet is not lefs facred among thefe People than’the Or vb Calieonet Necklaces of Porcelain ; if you believe them, LÉ D HME", it is derived from Heaven, for they fay it is and its Ufe. a Prefent which was made them by the Sun. It is more in Ufe with the Nations of the South and Weñ, than - _ thofe of the North and Eaft, and it is oftener ufed for Peace than for War," Calumer is a Norman Wotd; which-fionifes Reed, team of the Savages is properly the Tube of a Pipe 3. but they comprehend under this Name the Pipe alfo, as well as its Tube. In the Calumet made for Ceremony, the Tube is very long, the Bowl of the Pipe is commonly made of a Kind | of reddifh Marble, very eafy to work, and which is found in © the Country of the jouez beyond the Miifppi: The Tube is of a light Wood painted of different Colours, and adorned with … the Heads,. Tails, and Feathers of the fineft Birds, which is in all Appearance merely for Ornament. The Cuftom is to fmoke in the Calumet when you accept it, and perhaps there is no In- ftance where the Agreement has been violated which was made _ by this Acceptation. The Savages are at leaft perfuaded, that the: Great Spirit would not leave fuch a Breach of Faith unpu-- _ nifhed: If in the midf of a Battle the Enemy prefents a Calu- : met it is allowable to refufe it, but if they receive it they mut _ Beet) à ‘inftantly 134 An Hiftorical Fournal of _ inftantly lay down their Arms: There are Calumets for every - Kind of Treaty. In Trade, when they have agreed upon the Exchange, they prefent a Calumet to confirm it, which renders it in fome Manner facred. When it concerns War, not only the Tube, but the Feathers alfo that adorn it, are red: Sometimes they are only fet on one Side; and they fay that according to the Manner in which the Feathers are difpofed, they immediate- ly know what Nation it is that prefents it, and whom they in- tend to attack. | RE There is fcarce any Room to doubt but that the Savages, in making thofe fmoke in the Calumet, with whom they would trade or treat, intend to take the Sun for Witnefs, and in fome Meafure for a Guarantee of their Treaties ; for they never - fail to blow the Smoke towards this Planet : But that from this Praétice, and the common Ufe of the Calumets, one fhould in- fer as fome have done, that this Pipe might well be in its Ori- gin, the Caduceus of Mercury, does not appear to me to be probable, becaufe this Caduceus had no Relation to the Sun ; and becaufe in the Traditions of the Savages, we have found nothing that gives any Room to judge, that they ever had any Know- ledge of the Greek Mythology. It would be in my Opinion, much more natural to think that thefe People, having found by Experience that the Smoke of their Tobacco draws Vapours from the Brain, makes the Head clearer, roufes the Spirits, and makes us fitter to treat of Affairs, have for thefe Reafons in- troduced the Ufe of it in their Councils, wherein Fa@ they have always the Pipe in their Mouths; and that after having gravely de- diberated and taken their Refolution, they thought they could ne- ver find a Symbol fitter to put a Sealto their Determinations, nor any Pledge more capable of confirming the Execution of them, than the Infrument which had fo much Share in their De- liberations. Perhaps it will appear to you more fimple, Ma- dam, to fay that thefe People could not find any Signs more natural to mark a ftri& Union, than to fmoke in the fame Pipe; efpecially if the Smoke they draw from it, is offered to a Deity who puts the Seal of Religion to it. To fmoke in the fame Pipe therefore in Token of Alliance, is the fame Thing as to drink in the fame Cup, as has been prattifed at all Times by many Na- tions. Thefe are Cuftoms which are too natural, to feek any Myf- ' tery in them. ‘The Largenefs, and the Ornaments of the Calumets, which are prefented to Perfons of Diftinétion, and on important Occa- fions, have nothing neither that fhould make us fearch far for the Motive of it. When Men become ever fo little acquainted, and. have a mutual Refpe@, they accuftom themfelves toa certain Re- gard for one another, chiefly on Occafions of a publick Eee 4 21e JON rl * et “a fi | } Hola. MP Tate the He ap i ' ex was L * HE f 8 he « dr. ki wages - is ? tirely employed in thefe Feafts, each Family. à zane 10 get Ti takes their Meafures to have its Share of they 7 Joners. Prifoners that fhall be made, in order to re- pair their Loffés, or to reven ge their Slain. With this they make Prefents to the Chief, who, on his Side, gi : Word and Pledges. In Cafe of Want of Prifoners they afk “ee . NP. oo =—S—sté—ssS Travelsin North America. 139 and this iseafier to obtain. In fome Places, as among the Jro- * quois, as {oon as a military Expedition is refolved upon, they fet on the Fire the Kettle of War, and they give Notice to their Allies to bring fomething for it; in doing which they declare’ that they approve the Undertaking, and will go Part init. All thofe who engage themfelves, give to the Chief, as 2 Sign of their Engagement, a Bit of Wood, with their Mark. Whoever, after this, fhould go back from his Word, would run a Rifque of his Life, at leaft he would be difgraced for ever. The Party being formed, the War Chief prepares a new Feaft, — to which all the Village muft be invited ; and before any Thing is touched, he fays, or an Orator for him, and in his Name, ‘‘ Bre- ‘€ thren, I know that I am not yet a Man, but you know, ne- ‘€ verthelefs, that I have feen the Enemy near enough. We have ‘ been flain, the Bones of fuch and fuch a one remain yet unco- «* vered, they cry out againft us, we muft fatisfy them: They were ‘€ Men; how could we forget them fo foon, and remain fo long ¢ quiet upon our Mats? In fhort, the Spirit that is interefted in ‘ my Glory has infpired me to revenge them. Young Men take ‘ Courage, drefs your Hair, paint your Faces, fill your Quivers; ‘€ and make our Forefts echo with your Songs of War; let us re- - . € lieve the Cares of our dead, and inform them that they are 66 going to be revenged oe After this Difcourfe, and the Applaufes that never fail to Giada dines follow it, the Chief advances into the midft ) the Feats © the Aflembly with his Fighting-Club or css ang the “OFS ¥ead-breaker in his Hand, and fings ; all his of the Warriors. MOLFARER IN DS Liane, BOM ie SR | Soldiers anfwer him finging, and fwear to fupport him well, or to die in the Attempt. All this is ac- companied with very expreflive Geftures, to make one underftand _that they will not fly from the Enemy. But itis to be remarked, that noSoldier drops any Expreffion that denotes the leaft De- pendence. They only promife to act with a great deal of Union and Harmony. On the other Hand, the Engagement they take, requires great Returns from the Chiefs. For Inftance, | every Time that in the public Dances, a Savage, firiking his Hatchet upon a Poft fet up on Purpofe, puts the Affembly in — Mind of his brave Actions, as it always happens, the Chief un- . der whofe Conduét he performed them, is obliged to make him a Prefent; at leaft this is the Cuftom among fome Na- a. Lat _ The Songs are followed by Dances: Sometimes it is only walk- Fhe Notion tho, ing With a proud Step, but keeping Time; Bg me at other Fae they File ptet LU Mo- oe, |, (ons, reprefenting the Operations of a Cam- ae paign, and always keeping Time. At length | Feaft puts an End te the Ceremony, ‘The War-Chiefisonly Le | + 2 . aspec- — +. | FAO DR Force! Foe a 4 Speftator of it, with a Pipe in his Mouth: It is the-fame Thing commonly in all their Feafts of Preparation, that he who gives them, touches nothing. The following Days, and till the Departure of the Warriors, there pafles many Things which are not worth Notice, and which are not conftantly prac- tifed, But I muft not forget a Cuftom which is fingular enough, and which the /roguois never difpenfe with: It appears to have been invented to difcover thofe who have Senfe, and know how to be Mafters of themfelves ; for thefe People whom we treat as Barbarians, cannot conceive that any Man can have true Courage if he is not Mafter of his Paffions, and if he cannot bear the higheft Provocations : This is their Way of pro- ceeding. | ae T he oldef of the Military Troop affront the young People in the moft injurious Manner they can think ant Bee s ai of, efpecially thofe who have never yet feen Precio: of their their Enemy : They throw hot Coals’ upon | their Heads, they make them the fharpeft Re- proaches, they load them with the moft injurious Expreffions, and carry this Game to the greateft Extremities. This muft be en- dured with a perfect Infenfibility: T'o fhew on thefe Occafions the leaft Sign of Impatience, would be enough to be judged unworthy of bearing Arms for ever. But when it is praétifed by People of the fame Age, as it often happens, the Aggreffor muft be well affured that he has nothing to account for himfelf, otherwife ‘when the Game is done, he would be obliged to make Amends for the Infult by a Prefent: I fay, when the Game is done ; for . all the Time it lafts, they muft fuffer every Thing without being angry, though the Joke 1s often carried fo far as to throw Fire- brands at their Heads, and to give them great Blows with a Cudgel. ta | aa As the Hope of being cured of their Wounds, uf they have the Van Rs Misfortune to receive any, does not contri- sa hs a bute a little to engage the braveft to expofe far Tae Tae Ree themfelves to the greateft Dangers, after what I have related, they prepare Drugs, about which their Jugglers are employed. I fhall tell you another Time what Sort ss. of People thefe Jugglers are. . All the Village being affembled,*® — _ one of thefe Quacks declares that he is going to communiéa to the Roots and Plants, of which he has made a good P#ôv fion, the Virtue of healing all Sorts of Wounds, and‘even 6f ftoring Life to the dead. Immediately he begins to fin ther Jugglers anfwer him; and they fuppofe th. Concert, which you may imagine/is; not very ha me which is accompanied with many Grimaces of the A comm ted to the Drugs. X 2 a healing Virtue istcommunaca eee a CE is | | 7 hh fete a. a {35 ME Ff é set ok > em gees, ican 0 mee se OR Travels in North America. 14f er proves them afterwards: He begins by making his Lips bleed, he applies his Remedy; the Blood, which the Impoftor takes Care to fuck in dexteroufly, ceafes to run, and they cry ‘outa Miracle! After this he takes a dead Animal, he gives the Company Time enough to be well affured that he is dead, ‘then by the Means of a Pipe which he has thruft under the Tail, he caufes it to move, in blowing fome Herbs intoits Mouth, and their Cries of Admiration areredoubled. Laftly, all the Troop “of Jugglers go round the Cabins finging the Virtue of their Me- dicines. ‘Thefe Artifices at the Bottom do not impofe on any x 3 butthey amufe the Multitude, and Cuftom mutt be fol- lowed. ! as & There is another Cuftom peculiar to the Mais, and perhaps to fome Nations in the Neighbourhood of Louifiana. had thefe Particulars from a French= ' man, Who was a Witnefs of them. After a heal folemn Feaft, they placed, faid he, on a Kind net TELE: : of Altar, fome Pagods made with Bear Skins, pi the Heads of which were painted green. All the Savages paffed this Altar bowing their Knees, and the Jug- glers lead the Van, holding in their Hands a Sack which cons tained all the Things which they ufe in their Conjurations. They all ftrove to exceed each other in their Contorfions, and as any one diftinguifhed himfelf in this Way, they applauded him with great Shouts. When they hadthus paid their firft — Homage to the Idol, all the People danced in much Confufion, ‘Some particular Cufloms of the Miamis to pre- ‘to the Sound of a Drum-and a Chichicoué ; and during this Time _ _ the Jugglers made a Shew of bewitching fome of the Savages, who . feemed ready to expire: Then putting a certain Powder upon - their Lips, they made them recover. When this Farce had Jafted fome Time, he who prefided ‘at the Feaft, having at his ‘Sides two Men and two Women, run through all the Cabins to give the Savages Notice that the Sacrifices were going to begin. ‘When he met any one in his Way, he put both his Hands on his'Head, and the Perfon met embraced his Knees. The Vics’ _. tims were to be Dogs, and one heard on every Side the Crieg _ of thefe Animals, whofe Throats they cut; and the Savages, «who howled with all their Strength, feemed to imitate their Criés, - ™As foon as the Flefh was dreffed, they offered it to the Idols; then they eat it, and burnt the Bones. All this while the Jagglers er ceafed raifing the pretended dead, and the whole ended by itribution that was made to thefe Quacks, of whatever was moft to their Liking in all the Village. : yah cmt ¢. pon fe + 1: Fran * 142 An Hiftorical Fournal of hain From the Time that the Refolution is taken to make War, .., till the Departure of the Warriors, they fing | CR ae ANT War, Mods every Night: The Fe SE A re pafled in making Preparations. ‘The avalking upon tbe 7 | Fanuc En : bu ‘th Wa Ÿ Snow; and of the oy AT a a Pas PA RE ché Allies, Sledges for carry- © hee Gi oir à Peis whey: oy 4 es ine the Baccase. “hom they engage beforehan by fecret Ne- 6 YESS gociations. If they are to go by Water, they build, or repair their Canoes: If it is Winter they furnifh them- felves with Snow Shoes and Sledges. The Raquets which they muft have to walk on the Snow are about three Feet long, and about fifteen or fixteen Inches in their greateft Breadth. Their Shape is oval, excepting the End behind, which terminates ina ~ Point; little Sticks placed acrofs at five or fix Inches from each End, ferve to ftrencthen them, and the Piece which is before is dn the Shapeof a Bow, where the Foot 1s fixed, and tied with Leather Thongs. ‘The Binding of the Raquet is made of Slips of Leather about a fixth Part of an Inch wide, and the Circumference : is of light Wood hardened by Fire. 'To walk well with thefe Ra- ii they muft turn their Knees a little inwards, and keep their eos wide afunder. It is fome Troubie to accuftom ones felf ¢o it, but when one is ufed to it, one walks with as much Eafe and as little Fatigue as if one had nothing on ones Feet, It is not poflible to ufe the Raquets with our common. Shees, we rmuft take thofe of the Savages, which are a Kind of Socks, rade _@f Skins dried in the Smoke, folded over atthe End of tie Foot, aud tied with Strings, The Sledges which ferve to carry the. Bagoace, and in Cafe of Need the fick and wounded, are two lit- - £le Boards, very thin, about half a Foot broad each Board, and fix or feven Feet long. The fore Part is a little bent upwards, and the Sides are bordered by little Bands, to which they faften Straps to bind what is upon the Sledge. However loaded thefe Car- : riazes may be, a Savage can draw them with Eafe by the Help ef along Band of Leather, which he puts over his Breaft, and which they call Collars. They draw Burdens this Way, and the Mothers ufe them to carry Children with their Cradles, but then it is over their Foreheads that the Band 1s fixed. : All Things being ready, and the Day of Departure being come, Pe Fabecuell of they take their Leave with great Demonftra- _ ppg. 7) | BOR of real Tendernefs. . Every Body de- ~ Mf the Warts. Gres fomething that has been ufed by the Warriors, and in Return give them fome Pledges of their Friend- __ Ship, and Affurances of a perpetual Remembrance. They fcarce enter any Cabin, but they take away their Robe to givethema better, at leaft oneas good. Laftly, they all meet at the C | of the Chief: They find him armed as he was the firft Da a ae | x } we D . Pravels in North America. 143 fpoke to them; and as he always appeared in publick from _ “hat Day. They then paint their Faces, every one according “to his own Fancy, and all of them in a very frightful Manner. “The Chief makes them a fhort Speech ; then he comes out of his Cabin, finging his Song of Death : They all follow himin a . Line, keeping a profound Silence, and they do the fame every Morning when they, renew their March. Here the Women go © before with the Provifions ; and when the Warriors come up with them, they give them their Clothes, and remain almoft naked, at leaft as much as the Seafon will permit. Be | Formerly the Arms of thefe People were Bows arid Arrows, a and a Kind of Javelin; which, as well as O tneiy ATP their Arrows, was armed with a Point of offenfiveand dtfen- Bone wrought in different Shapes. Befides five. | this; they had what they call the Head- breaker : This is a little Club of very hard Wood, the Head of which is round, and has-one Side with an Edge to cut. The greateft Part have no defenfive Arms; but when they attack an Intrenchment, they cover their whole Body with little light pet ¢ Some have a Sort of Cuirafs made of Rufhes, or {mall ~ jable Sticks, pretty well wrought: They had alfo Defences for their Arms and Thighs of the fame Matter. But as this Armour was not found to be Proof againft Fire Arms, they have left itoff, and ufe nothing in its Stead. The Weftern Savages always make Ufe of Bucklers of Bulls Hides, which are very ‘light, and which a Mufket-Ball will not pierce. It is fomething furprifing that the other Nations do not ufe them. | When they make Ufe of our Swords, which is very feldom, they ufe them like Spontoons ; but when they can get Guns, | and Powder, and Ball, they lay afide their Bows and Arrows, and fhoot very well. We have often had Reafon to repent of letting them have any Fire Arms; but it was not we who firft did it > The Iroquois having got fome of the Durch, then in Poffeffion of New York, we were under a Neceflity of giving the fame to our | Allies. Thefe Savages have a Kind of Enfigns to know one. _ -another, and to rally by: Thefe are little Pieces of Bark cut round, which they put on the Top of a Pole, and on which they have traced the Mark of their Nation, and of their Village. If © . thetParty is numerous, each Family or Tribe has its Enfign with À its diftinguifhing Mark : Their Arms are alfo diftinguifhed with different Figures, and fometimes with a particular Mark of the | rie: RUE * . But what the Savages would full lefs forget than their Arms, SE ay and which they have the oreateft Care about 4 eee à né thev are à of, are rires Manitons. YŸ | hy terete carry gail {peak of th laroely i a their Deities. peak of them more largely in another _ f Place: Itfutices to fay here, that they are the ‘ 4 Dit ‘a a yl is $44 An Hiftorical Fournal of * the Symbols under which every. one reprefents his familiar Spi. it. They put them into a Sack, painted of various Colours; and often, to do Honour to the Chief, they place this Sack in the fore Part of his Canoe. If there are too many Manitous to be contained in one Sack, they diftribute them into feveral, which are entrufted to the Keeping of the Lieutenant and the Elders of each Family: ‘They put with thefe the Prefents which have been made to have Prifoners, with the Tongues of all the Animals they have killed during the Campaign, and of which they muft make a Sacrifice to the Spirits at their Return. In their Marches by Land, the Chief carries his Sack himfelf, . which he calls his Mat; but he may eafe himfelf of this Bur- ‘then, by giving it to any one he chufes; and he need not fear that any Perfon fhould refufe to relieve him, becaufe this carries - with ita Mark of Diftinétion. This is, as it were, a Right of ‘Reverfion to the Command, in Cafe the Chief and his Lieute- nant fhould die during the Campaign. | | But whilf I am writing to you, Madam, I am arrived in the River of Niagara, where 1 am going to find good Company, and where I fhall tay fome Days. I departed from the River of Sa: — bles the 21ft, before Sun-rife ; but the Wind continuing againft | us, we were obliged at Ten o’Clock to enter the Bay of the Tfonnenthcuans. Half Way from the River of Sables to this Bay, there is alittle River, which I would not have failed to’ have vi: fited, if I had been fooner informed of its Singularity, and of what I have juf now learnt on my arriving here. | They call this River Caftonrhiagon: It is very narrow, and of Of the River little Depth at its Entrance into the Lake. PÉFS LIT A little higher, it1s one hundred and forty oor Yards wide, and they fay it is deep enough gon. for the largeft Veffels. Two Leagues from its Mouth, we are ftopped by a Fall which appears tobe fixty Feet high, and one hundred and forty Yards wide. A Mutket ~ Shot higher, we finda fecond of the fame Width, but not fo high by two thirds. Half a League further, a third, one hun- dred Feet high, good Meafure, and two hundred Yards wide. . After this, we meet with feveral Torrents; and after having failed fifty Leagues further, we perceive. a fourth’ Fall, every Way equélto the third. The Courfe of this River is one hun- dred Leagues; and when we have gone upit about fixty Leagues, — we have but ten to go by Land, taking to the Right, to arrive at — the Oz, called La belle Riviere : ‘The Place where we meet with it, is called Gaxos ; where an Officer worthy of Credit (a), and | (a) M. de Foncaire, at prefent a Captain in the-Troops of New. France. : [+ Travels in North oa 146 tthe fame from whom I learnt what I have juft now mentioned, _ affured me that he had feen a Fountain, the Water of which is. like Oil, and has the Tafte of Iron. He faid alfo, that a little further there is another Fountain exactly like it, and that the ph ie make Ufe of its Water to appeafe all Manner of Pains. The Bay of the T/snnonthouans is a charming Place: A pretty AIDE dti of River winds here between two fine Meadows, ge ai * j bordered with little Hills, between which we Tfounend el difcover Vallies which extend a great Way, * and the whole forms the fineft Profpeét in the World, bounded by a great Foreft of high Trees ; but the Soil appears to me to be fomething light and fandy. - We continued our Courfe at half an Hour paft One, and we — failed till Ten o’Clock at Night. We intended to go into à little River which they called La Riviere aux Baufs, (Ox River); but we found the Entrance fhut up by Sands, which often happens to the little Rivers which run into the Lakes, becaufe they bring down with them much Sand ; and when the Wind comes from the Lakes, thefe Sands are ftopped by the Waves, and form by Degrees a Bank fo high and fo firong, that thefe Rivers can- _not break through it, unlefs it be when their Waters are hee by the melting of the Snow. I was therefore obliged to pafs the reft of the Night i in ay Of the River Canoe, where I was forced to endure a pretty Niagara. fharp Froft. Indeed one could fcarcely here ë perceive the Shrubs begin to bud: All the Trees were as bare asin the Midft of Winter. We departed from thence at half an Hour paft Three in the Morning, the 22d, be- ing , Joncaire, a Lieutenant in our Troops, has alfo a Cabin here, to . ‘ which they give before-hand the Name of Fort (a); for they a fay that in Time it will be changed i into areal Fortrefs. (a) The Fort has been built fince at the Entrance of the River Magärb, aa the fame Side, and exaétly in the Place where M. de Denonville had built one, which did not fubfift a long Time. ‘There is alfo here the Beginnings va a gia Village. + U ae I found 146 | An Hrftorical fournal of | I found here feveral Officers, who muft return in a few Days. to Quebec, which obliges me to clofe this Letter, that I may fend it by this Opportunity. As for myfelf, I forefee I fhall have Time enough after their Departure to write you another ; and the Place itfelf will furnifh me with enough to fill it, with that which I fhall learn farther from the Officers I have mentioned. ~ A CAS ans cs: RES Ce Pk. GUESS LETTER XIV. What paffed between the Tfonnonthouans and the Englifh, onthe Oc- cafion of our Settlement at Niagara. The Fire-Dance : A Story on this Occafion. A Defcription of the Fall of Niagara. Mapam, | Fazz or NracarA, May 26. I Have already had the Honour to inform you that we have here a Project of a Settlement. ‘To underftand well the Oc- cañon of it, you muft know, that by Virtue of the Treaty of Utrecht, the Englifh pretend to have a Right to the Sovereignty of all the Country of the Iroquois, and of Confequence to have no Bounds on that Side but the Lake Oxtario. Neverthelefs, it. — was conceived that if their Pretenfions took Place, it would foon be in their Power to fettle themfelves ftrongly in the Cen- tre of. the French Colony, or at leaft to ruin their Trade entirely. It was therefore thought proper to guard againft this Inconveni- ence ; neverthelefs, without any Infringement of the Treaty : And there was no Method found better than to feat ourfelves in a Place which fhould fecure to us the free Communication of the Lakes, and where the Eng/i/h had no Power to oppofe our Set- tlemert. The Commiflion for this Purpofe was given to M. de Foncaire ; who having been a Prifoner in his Youth amongft the TJonnonthouans, gained. {o much the Favour of thefe Savages, that they adopted him: And even in the greateft Heat of the Wars which we have had againftthem, in which he ferved very honourably, he has always enjoyed the Privileges of his Adop- tion. ay " As foonas M. de Foncaire received his Orders for the Execu- _cution of the Proje& I have mentioned, he went to the Z/onnon- thouans, and affembled the Chiefs ; and after having affured them that he had no greater Pleafure in the World than to live among . his Brethren, he added alfo, that he would vifit them much LA oftener, if he had a Cabin among them, where he might retire — : when he wanted to enjoy his Liberty. Theyreplied, that they had \ never amt aq « SS == > ES = ‘Travis in North America. FA 7 | mever ceafed to look upon him as one of their Children ; that _' he might live in any Place, and that he might chufe the Place _ that he judged moft convenient. He required no more: He | came direétly here, fixed upon a Spot by the Side of the River that terminates the Canton of the Y/onnonthouans, and built a Ca- bin upon it. The News was foon carried to New York, and caufed there fo much the more Jealoufy, as the Exglif had never _ _ been able to obtain in any of the Jroguois Cantons what was now granted to the Sieur Foucaire. | : _ ‘They complained in a haughty Manner, and their Comprar ae ae, PR were fupported by Prefents, which brought ' huge oa ha the thas four lé into their Intereft : ‘qvithenut Bf 2 But this fignified nothing, becaufe the /ro- * guois Cantons are independent of each other, and very jealous of this Independence: It was therefore ne- ceflary to gain the 7/ornonthouans, and the £zgli/h left no Means untried for this Purpofe; but they foon perceived that they fhould never fucceed in diflodging M. de Foucaire from Niagara. Then they reduced their Terms to this Requeft, that at leaft they might be permitted to have a Cabin in the fame Place. ‘° Our #6 Land is in Peace, (faid the Y/onuonthauans to them) the French ‘#6 and you cannot live together without difiurbing it: Fur ‘€ thermore, (added they) it is of no Confequence that M. de Fon- ‘ caire dwells here; he is a Child of the Nation; he enjoys «¢ his Right, and we have no Right to deprive him of it.” We mufallow, Madam, that there is fcarce any Thing but a oi pi of Zeal for the public Good that can engage — he C crap Ni 2 Officer to live in a Country like this. It HOME. ie impofhble to fee one more favage and ho frightful. On one Side we fee under our Feet, and as it were in the Bottom of an Abyfs, a great River indeed ; bu&which, in this Place, refembles more a Torrent by its Rapidity, and by the Whirlpools which a thoufand Rocks make in it, through which it has much Difficulty to find a Paf- fage, and by the Foam with which it is always covered. On the other Side, the View is covered by three Mountains fet one upon another, the laft of which lofes itfelf in the Clouds ; and the Poets might well have faid, that it was in this Place the 73- sans would have fcaled Heaven. In fhort, which Way foever you turn your Eyes, you do not difcover any Thing but what in- fpires.afecret Horror. | : It is true that we need not go far to fee a great Change. Behind thefe wild and uninhabitable Mountains we fee a rich Soil, magnificent Forefts, pleafant and fruitful Hills: We … breathe a pure Air, and enjoy a temperate Climate, between two Pe et Uz 4 Lakes, - - as * oe Sage ees in xt > >: ~~ "7 = PS eae VE - 148 + An Hiftorical Fournal of Lakes, the leait (a) of which is two hundred and fifty Leagues A ‘in Compas, a) scan no da | It appears to me, that if we had had the Precaution to have ” fecured ourfelves early by a good Fortrefs, and by a moderate ~ peopling of a Poft of this Importance, all the Forces of the {roquois and the Engiifh joined together, would not be capable at this Time of driving us out of it, and that we fhould be our- > felvesin a Condition to give Laws to the firft, and to hinder the greateft Part of the Savages from carrying their Peltry to the - fecond, as they do with Impunity every Day. The Company which I found here with M. de Foncaire, was -compofed of the Baron de Longueil, the King’s Lieutenant at f Le ‘x pe u Ves F Montreal, and the Marquis de Cavagnal, Son of the Marquis de | Vaudreuil, the prefent Governor General of New France, and of M. de Senneville, Captain, andthe Steur de Ja Chauvignerie, En-- _ fign, and the King’s Interpreter for the Jroguois Language. Thefe — Gentlemen are going to negociate an Accommodation with the Canton of Oxzontagué, and had Orders to vifit the Settlement of M. de Foncaire, with which they were very well fatisfied. ‘The T /onnonthouans renewed to them the Promife they had made to fup- porthim. This was done in a Council ; where M. de Toncaire, . ‘as TI have been told, fpoke with all the Senfe of the moft fenfible Frenchman, and with the mot fublime Zroguois Eloquence. The Night before their Departure, that is to Jay, the 24th, a JE Mifffagué gave us an Entertainment which is A Dekriprion af. fomething fingular. He was quite naked when the Fire-Dance, it began ; and when we entered the Cabin of this Savage, we found a Fire lighted, near which a Man beat (fingingatthe fame Time) upon a Kind of Drum: Another fhook, without ceafing his Chichikoué, and fung alfo. This lafted two Hours, till we were quite tired of it; for they faid always the _ fame Thing, or rather they forméd Sounds that were but half articulate, without any Variation. We begged of the Mafter of the Cabin to put an End tothis Prelude, and it was with much Reluétance he gave us this Mark of his Complaifance. Then _ we faw appear five or fix Women: who placing themfelves Side by Side on the fame Line, as clofe as they could to each other, | with their Arms hanging down, fung and danced, that is to fay, ‘without breakiig the Line, they made fome Steps in Cadence, fometimes forward and fometimes backward. When they had continued this about a Quarter of an Hour, they put out the - Fire, which alone gave Light to the Cabin; and then we faw nothing but a Savage, who had in his Mouth a lighted Coal, and who danced. The Symphony of the Drum and the Chichi- | ; se HAN RE ES Ya) The Lake Ontario, The Lake Eriéis three hundred Leagues in Compafs: - PER + ¥ ad à FE Pe Me ee: ve x . Travels in North’ America. A | ‘Aoué fill continued. ‘The Women renewed from Time to Time _ their Dances and their Song. ‘The Savage danced all the Time; + butas he was only to be diftinguifhed by the faint Gloom of the lighted Coal which he had in his Mouth, he appeared like a Spectre, and made a horrible Sight. This Mixture of Dances, Songs, Inftruments, and the Fire of the Coal which ftill kept lighted, had fomething odd and favage, which amufed us for “half an Hour ; after which we went out of the Cabin, but the — Sport continued till Day-light. And this isall, Madam, that I have feen of the Fire-Dance. I could never learn what pafied the reft of the Night. The Mufick, which I heard ftill fome Time, was more tolerable at a Diftance than near. ‘The Con- traft of the Voices of.the Men and Women, at a certain Di- ftance, had an Effect that was pretty enough ; and one may fay, that if the Women Savages had a good Manner of finging, it would be a Pleafure to hear them fing. 3 I had a great Defire to know how a Man could hold a lighted - a Rin cms ehh Coal fo long in his Mouth, without burning arte 4 * it, and without its being extinguifhed ; but Subject. all that I could learn of it was, that the Sa- vages know a Plant which fecures the Part that is rubbed with _ it from being burnt, and that they would never communicate the Knowledge of it to the Europeavs. We know that Garlick and Onions will produce the fame Effe@, but then it is only fora fhort Time (a). On the other Hand, how could this Coal conti- nuefo long on Fire ? However this may be, I remember to have read in the Letters of one of our antient Miffionaries of Canada fomething like this, and which he had from another Miffionary — who was a Witnefs thereof. ‘This laft fhewed him one Day a Stone, which a Juggler had thrown into the Fire in his Prefence, and left it there till it was thoroughly heated; after which, growing, as it were furious, he took it between his Teeth, and carrying it all the Way thus, he went to fee a fick Perfon, whi- ther the Mifionary followed him. Upon entering the Cabin, he / threw the Stone upon the Ground; and the Miffionary having taken it up, he found printed in it the Marks of the ‘Teeth of | ~ the Savage, in whofe Mouth he perceived no Marks of Burning. _ The Miflionary does not fay what the Juggler did afterwards __ for the Relief of the fick Perfon.——"The following is a Fa&t of the fame Kind, which comes from the fame Source, andof which you may make what Judgment you pleafe. (a) They fay that the Leaf of the Plant of the Anemony of Canada, » ghoughof a cauftick Nature in itfelf, has this Virtue, “i 9 ral A Huron 1e f ee ey CON ey 160 An Hiftorical Fournal of ee À Huron Woman, after a Dream, real or imaginary, was taken Another remark-. with a fwimming of the Head, and almoft a able Story of a Cure. the Beginning of this Diftemper the never 3 _ flept without a great Number of Dreams, which troubled her much, fhe puces there was fome Myftery in it, and took itinto her Head that the fhauld be cured by Means of a Feaft; of which fhe regulated herfelf the Ceremonies, ac- cording to what fhe remembered, as fhe faid, of what the had feen praétifed before. She defired that they would carry her directly to the Village where fhe was born ; and the Elders whom fhe acquainted with her Defign, exhorted all the People toaccom- pany her. Ina Moment her Cabin was filled with People, who - came to offer their Services : She accepted them, and inftruéted - them what they were todo ; and immediately the flrongeft put her into a Bafket, and carried her by Turns, finging with all their _ Strength. When it was known fhe was near the Village, they aflembled a | great Council, and out of Refpect they invited. the Miffionaries to it, who in vain did every Thing in their Power to diffuade them from 2 Thing in which they had Reafon to fufpe& there . was as much Superftition as Folly. They liftened quietly to all they could fay on this Subjeét ; but when they had done fpeak- ine, one of the Chiefs of the Council undertook to refute their Difcourfe : He could not effect this; but fetting afide the Mif- fionaries, he exhorted all the People to acquit themfelves exactly of all that fhould be ordered, and to maintain the antient Cuf- toms. Whilft he was fpeaking, two Meffengers from the fick Perfon entered the Affembly,.and brought News that fhe would foon arrive ; and defired, at her Requeft, that they would fend to meet her two Boys and twa Girls, dreffed in Robesand Necklaces, with fuch Prefents as fhe named ; adding, that fhe woulddeclare her — Intentions to thefe four Perfons. All this was performed imme- diately ; anda little Time after, the four young Perfons return’d with their Hands empty, and almoft naked, the fick Woman having obliged them to give her every Thing, even to their Robes. In this Condition they entered into the Council, which was ftill affembled, and there explained the Demands of this Wo- man : They contained twenty-two Articles ; amongit which was. _ a blue Coverlet, which was to be fupplied by the Miffionaries ; a à and allthefe Things were tq be delivered immediately : They tried all Means to obtain the Coverlet, but were conftantly re- — _ fufed, and they were obliged to go withoutit. As foon as the … fick Woman had received the other Prefents, fhe entered the V il- _ lage, carriedin the Manner as before. In the Evening a public — _ Cryer gave Notice, by her Order, to keep Fires lighted in all the _ “seas general Contraction of the Sinews. As from Pe RQ a D en à | Travels in North America. Tex - « Cabins, becaufe fhe was to vifit them all ; which fhe did as foon ee VI — as the Sun was fet, fupported by two Men, and followed by all — | the Village. She paffed through the Midft of all the Fires, her Feet and her Legs being naked, and felt no Pain; whilft her | two Supporters, though they kept as far from the Fires as they poflibly could, fuffered much by them ; for they were to lead her thus through more than three hundred Fires. As for the fick Woman, they never heard her complain but of Cold ; and at the End of this Courfe, fhe declared that fhe found herfelf eafed. | The next Day, at Sun-rife, they began, by her Order fil}, a Sort of Bacchanal, which lafted three Days : The firft Day the People ran through all the Cabins, breaking and overfetting | every Thing ; and by Degrees, asthe Noife and Hurly-burly en- | creafed, the fick Woman affured them that her Pains diminifhed. The two next Days were ee v be in going over all the Hearths fhe had paffed before ; and in propofing her Defires in enigmatical Terms ; they were to find them out by Guefs, and accomplifh them dire€tly. There. were fome of them horribly obfcene. The fourth Day the fick Woman made a fecond Vifit to all the Cabins, but in a different Manner from the firft: She was ‘in the Midft of two Bands of Savages, who marched in a Row with afad and languifhing Air, and kept a profound Silence: They fuffered no Perfon to come in her Way ; and thofe who were at the Head of her Efcort, took Care to drive all thofe away that they met. As foon as the fick Woman was entered into a Cabin, they made her fit down, and they placed themfelves round her : She fighed, and gave an Account of her Suferings in a very af- feéting ‘Tone, and made them to underftand that her perfect Cure dependedon the Accomplifhmentof her Defire, which fhe did not explain, but they muft cuefs: Every one did the beft they could; but this Defire was very complicated: It contained many — _ Things : As they named any one, they were obliged to give it . her, and in general the never went out of a Cabin till the had gor every Thing in it. When fhe faw that they could not guefs right, fhe expreffed herfelf more plainly ; and when they had, _ gueffed all, fhe caufed every Thing to be reftored which fhe had. _ received. ‘Then they no longer doubted but that fhe was cured. _, They made a Feaft, which confifted in Cries, or rather frightful Howlings, and in all Sorts of extravagant Actions. Laftly, fhe returned Thanks ; and the better to fhewher Acknowledgment, _ fhe vifited a third Time all the Cabins, but without any Cere- ‘eu . ’ 5 i thorny. * | | ie ei … The Miffionary who was prefent at this ridiculous Scene fays,. _ that fhe was not entirely cured, but was much better than be- fore: Neverthelefs, a ftrong and healthy Perfon would have LAN | been killed by this Ceremony. This Father took Care to ob- _ ‘epee \ ferve ie Sg) reat a, < of el 4 QE DST y: à d va + 2% 182 | An Hifiorical Fournal of * ferve to them, that her pretended Genius had promiféd her a perfect Cure, and had not kept his Word. They replied, that in fuch a great Number of Things commanded, it was very . difficult not to have omitted one. He expected that they would have infifted principally on the Refufal of the Coverlet ; and in Fact they did juft mention it; but they added, that after this Refufal the Genius appeared to the fick*Woman, and aflured her that this Incident fhould not do her any Prejudice, be- caufe as the French were not the natural Inhabitants of the Country, the Genii had no Power over them. But to re- turn to my Journey. Nr “When our Officers went away, I afcended thofe frightful “LA bel Mountains I fpoke of, to go to the famous nca fs A Fall of EN A above whit I was to em- bark. ‘This Journey is three Leagues: It , was formerly five, becaufe they . paffed to the other Side of the River ; that zs to fay, to the Weft, and they _ did not re-embark but at two Leagues above the Fall : But they have found on the Left, about half a Mile from this Cataract, a Bay where the Current is not perceiveable, and of Confequence where one may embark without Danger, My firft Care, at my Ar- rival, was to vifit the fine Cafcade perhapsin the World; but I dire&ly found the Baron de la Hontan was miftaken, both as to its Height and its Form, in fuch a Manner as to make me think he had never feen it. It is certain that if we meafure its Height by the three Mountains which we muft firft pafs over, there is not much to bate of the fix hundred Feet which the Map of M. gara. Delifle gives it ; who, without Doubt, did not advance this Pa- radox, but on the Credit of Baron de la Hontan and Father Hen- nepin. But after I arrived at the Top of the third Mountain, I obferved that in the Space of the three Leagues, which I travelled afterwards to this Fall of Water, tho’ we muft fometimes afcend, we defcended ftill more ; and this is what thefe Travellers — _do not feem to have well confidered. As we cannot approach the Cafcade but by the Side, nor fee it but in Profile, it is not eafy to meafure it with Inftruments : We tried to do it with a long Cord faftened to a Pole ; and after we had often tried this Way, we found the Depth butone hundred and fifteen, or one hundred and twenty Feet: But we could not be fure that the Pole was not flopped by fome Rock which juts out; for although. it was always drawn up wet, as alfo the End of the Cord to which it was faftened, this proves nothing, becaufe the Water which falls from the Mountain rebounds very. high in a Foam. one may examine it mofteafly, | judged one could not give it # leis than one hundred and forty, or one hundred and Sty Passe 4 4 As for myfelf, after I had viewed it from all the Places where a | Travels in North America \ 163 As toits Shape, it is in the Form of a Horfe-fhoe, and about | _ four hundred Paces in Circumference ; but exaËtly im the Mid- dle it is divided into two by a very narrow Ifland about half a Mile long, which comes to a Point here. But thefe two Parts do foon unite again : That which was on my Side, and which is only feen in Profile, has feveral Points which jut out; but that which I faw in Front, appeared to me very fmooth. ‘The Baron de la Hontan adds to this a Torrent which comes from the Weft; but if this was not invented by the Author, we muft fay that in the Time of the Snow’s melting, the Waters come to difcharge themfelves here by fome Gutter. You may very well fuppofe, Madam, that below this Fall the River is for a long Way affected by this rude Shock, and indeed it is not navigable but at three Leagues Diftance, and exa@ly at the Place where M. de Foncaire is fituated. One would imagine it fhould not be lefs navigable higher up, fince the River falls — here perpendicularly in its whole Breadth. But befides this Ifle, which divides itin two, feveral Shelves fcattered here and there at the Sides of, and.above this Ifland, much abate the Rapidity of the Curren‘. It is neverthelefs fo ftrong, notwithftanding all this, that ten or twelve Oxraexais endeavouring one Day to crofs ~ the Ifland, to fhun fome Jreguozs who purfued them, were carried away with the Current down the Precipice, in Spite of what. _ ever Struggles they could make to avoid it. | tae» I have been told that the Fifh that are brought: into i iad ne this Current, are killed thereby, and that this Cahade the Savages fettled in thefe Parts make an : : Advantage of it; but I faw no fuch Thing. I have alfo been affured, that the Birds that attempted to fly over it, were fometimes drawn into the Vortex which was formed . inthe Air by the Violence of this Torrent; but I obferved quite the contrary. I {aw fome little Birds Aying about, dire@lly _ over the Fall, which came away without any Dificalty. This Sheet of Water is received upon a Rock; and two Reafons ce me that it has found here, or perhaps has made here by _ ength of Time, a Cavern which has fome Depth. The firftis, that the Noife it makes is very dead, and like Thunder at a Di- ftance. It is fcarcely to be heard at M. de Foncaire’s Cabin, and perhaps alfo what one hears there, is only the dafhing of the Water againft the Rocks, which fill the Bed of the River up to this Place : And the rather, becaufe above the Catara@ the _ Noifeis not heard near fo far. The fecond Reafon is, that no- _ thing has ever re-appeared (as they fay) of all that has fallen into it, not even the Wreck of the Canoe of the Ouraouais1 mentioned juft now. However this may be, Ow/d gives usa Defcription of fuch a Cataract, which he fays is in the deligh ~ CS a a x : | | files 6 aa ae à Nubila conducit, fummifque afpergine fylvas — 24 An Hiftorical Fournal of = ful Valley of Tempe. The Country about Niagara is far from being fo fine, but I think its Cataraétis much finer (a). For the reft, I perceived no Mift over it, but from behind. At a Diftance one would take it for Smoke; and it would deceive any Perfon that fhould come in Sight of the Ifland, without knowing before-hand that there’is fuch a furprifing Cataraét in this Place. ‘The Soil of the three Leagues which I travelled on Foot to come here, and which they call the Portage of Niagara, does not appear good : It is alfo badly wooded ; and one can- , not goten Steps without walking upon an Ant-Hill, or without i _ meeting with Rattle-Snakes.— I believe, Madam, that I told you that the Savages eat as a Dainty the Flefh of thefe Reptiles ; and, in general, Serpents do not caufe any Horror to thefe People : There is no Animal, the Form of which is oftener marked upon their Faces, and on other Parts of their Bodies, and they never hunt them but to eat. The Bones andthe Skins of Serpents are alfo much ufed by the Jugglers and Sorcerers, » to perform their Delufions, and they make themfelves Fillets and Girdles of their Skins. It is alfo true, that they have the Se- cret of enchanting them; or, to ie more properly, of be- “numbing them ; fo that they take them alive, handle them, and put them in their Bofoms, without receiving any Hurt ; _and this helps to confirm the high Opinion thefé People have of them. in + ; WU. FR | Iwas going to clofe this Letter, when I was informed that we Some Cireum. {ould not depart ‘To-morrow, as I expected. frances of the I muft bear it with Patience, and make good March of the Ufe of the Time. I fhall therefore proceed on arr: the Article of.the Wars of the Savages, arriors, oes which will not be foon finifhed.—As foon as — -all the Warriors are embarked, the Canoes at firft go a little _ Way, and range themfelves clofe together upon a Line : Then the Chief rifes up, and holding a Chichicoué in his Hand, he … thunders out his Song of War, and his Soldiers anfwer him bya — treble Hé, drawn with all their Strength from the Bottom of. their Breafts. The Elders and the Chiefs of the Council who ‘ remain upon the Shore, exhort the Warriors to behave well, — and efpecially not to fuffer themfelves to be furprifed. Of all _ the Advice that can be given to a Savage, this is the moft ne- ceflary, and that of which in general he makes the leaft Benefit. _ oo (a) Eftnemus Hæmoniæ prærupta quod undiq; claudit = Sylva, vocant Tempe, per que Penéus ab imo PAR Effufus Pindo fpumofis volvitur Undis. . is Dejectifque gravi tenues agitantia Fumos . Impluit, & fonitu plufquam vicina fatigat, Travels in North America. 144 ‘This Exhortation does not interrupt the Chief, who continues … finging. Laftly, the Warriors conjure their Relations and Friends ie notto forgetthem. Then fending forth all together hideous _ Howlings, they fet off dire&ly and row with fuch Speed that _ they are foon out of Sight. | QE. 6a he Hurons and the Iroquois do not ufe the Chichicoué, but they give them to their Prifoners: So that thefe Inftruments, — which amongft others is an Inftrument of War, feem amongit them to be.a Mark of Slavery. The Warriors feldom make any fhort Marches, efpecially when the Troop is numerous. But on the other Hand, they take Prefages from every Thing; and the Jugglers, whofe Bufnefs it is to explain them, haften or retard the Marches at their Pleafure. Whilft they are not in a fuf- pected Country, they take no Precaution, and frequently one {hall fcarce find two cr three Warriors together, each taking his own Way to hunt; but how far foever they ftray from the Route, they all return pun@ually to the Place, and at the Hour, ARR for their Rendezvous. | | hey encamp a long Time before Sun-fet, and commonly they leave before the Camp a large Space fur- Vex ge mcarP- rounded with Palifades, or rather a Sort of vs | Mr Lattice, on which they place their Mazztous, “turned towards the Place they are going to. They invoke them _ for an Hour, and they do the fame every Morning before they decamp. After this they think they have nothing to fear, they ~-fuppofe that the Spirits take upon them to be Centineis, and all the Army fleeps quietly under their fuppofed Safeguard. Expe- : a rience does not undeceive thefe Barbarians, nor bring them out = of their prefumptuous Confidence. It has its Source in an An er dolence and Lazinefs which nothing can conquer. Every one is an Enemy in the Way of the Warriots ; but ne- : “a = Of | the meeting verthelefs, if they meet any of their Allies, or any Parties nearly equal in Force of Peo- co es Av ple with whom they have no Quarrel, they of Ware . make Friendfhip with each other. If the Al- lies they meet are at War with the fame Enemy, the Chief of … _ the ftrongeft Party, or of that which took up Arms firft, gives _ fome Scalps to the other, which they are always provided with for thefe Occafions, and fays to him, “ You have done your Bufj nefs; that is to fay, you have fulfilled your Engagement, your Honour is fafe, you may return Home.” But this istobeun- = _ derftood when the Meeting is accidental, when they have not appointed them, and when they have no Occafion for a Re-- ‘inforcement. When they are juft entering upon an Ene- my’s Country, they ftop for a Ceremony which is fome- thing fingular. At Dis. they make a great Feaft, after — which they lay down to PENCHE PRES | ee AY poy X 2 eep: As foon as they are awake, thofe = Fa X / : WwW ba y 146 An Hiftorical Journal . who have had any Dreams go from Fire to Fire, finging their © Song of Death, with which they intermix their Dreamsinan enigmatical Manner. Every one racks his Brain to guefs them, __ and if nobody can do it, thofe who have dreamt are at Liberty to return Home. ‘This gives a fine Opportunity to Cowards. . Then they make new Invocations to the Spirits; they animate each other more than ever to do Wonders; they fwear to afit ~ each other, and then they renew their March: And if they came thither by Water, they quit their Canoes, which they hide very carefully, If every Thing was to be obferved that is prefcribed on thefe Occafions, it would be difficult to furprife : a Party of War that is entered into an Enemy’s Country. They ought to make no more Fires, no more Cries, nor hunt no more, nor even {peak to each other but by Signs: But thefe Laws are ill obferved. Every Savage is born prefumptuous, and _ incapable of the leaft Reftraint. ‘They feldom neglect, how- ever, to fend out every Evening fome Rangers, who employ two or three Hours in looking round.the Country: If they have feen nothing, they go to fleep quietly, and they leave the Guard ‘of the Camp again to the Manitous. AY As foon as they have difcovered the Enemy, they fend out a Of their Approaches Party to reconnoitre them, and on their Re- Ne Shainin ca port they hold a Council. The Attack is oy Raylene generally made at Day-break. They fup- >ofe the Enemy is at this Time in their deepeft Sleep, and all Night they lie on their Bellies, without fürring. The Ap- proaches are made in the fame Pofture, crawling on their Feet © and Hands till they come to the Place: Then all rife up, the Chief gives the Signal by a little Cry, to which all the Troop anfwers by real Howlings, and they make at the fame Time their fr Difcharge: Then without giving the Enemy any Time | to look about, they fall upon them with their Clubs. In latter ‘Times thefe People have fubftituted little Hatchets, in the flead . of thefe wooden Head-breakers, which they call by the fame Name; _ fince which their Engagements ave more bloody. When the Battle is over they take the Scalps of the dead and the dying; and they never think of making Prifoners till the Enemy makes no more Refifiance. em | | ki: _. If they find the Enemy on their Guard, or too well intrenched, they retire if they have: Time for it ; if not, they take the Refo- - lution to fight ftoutly, and there is fometimes much Blood fhed on both Sides. The Attack of a Camp is the Image of Fury At{:lf; the barbarous Fiercenefs of the Conquerors, and the De- | fpair of the Vanquifhed, who know what they muft expe if … they fall into the Hands of their Enemies, produce on either Side fuch Efforts as pafs all Defcription. The Appearance the Combatants all befmeared with black and red, \ | Travels in North America. § 187 | _:creafes the Horror of the Fight; and from this Pattern one might make a true Picture of Hell. When the Viétory isno © Jonger doubtful, they dire€tly difpatch all thofe whom it would be too troublefome to carry away, and feek only to tire out the | reft they intend to make Prifoners. _ | | The Savages are naturally intrepid, and notwithftanding their : -brutal Fiercenefs, they yet preferve in the midft of Action much ' Coolnefs. Neverthelefs they never fight in the Field but when they cannot avoid it. Their Reafon is, that a Victory marked with the Blood of the Conquerors, is not properly a Victory, and that the Glory of a Chief confifts principally in bringing back all his People fafe and found. I have been told, that when two — Enemies that are acquainted meet in the Fight, there fometim -paffes between them Dialogues much like that of Homer’s He- roes. I do not think this happensin the Height of the En- : gagement ; but it may happen that in little Rencounters, or per- haps before pafling a Brook, or forcing an Intrenchment, they fay fomething by Way of Defiance, or to call to Mind fome fuch former Rencounter. War iscommonly made by a Surprize, and it generally fuc- ceeds; for as the Savages very frequently ve z hag (43 te negleét the Precautions neceflary to fhun a | a af el ss of Surprife, fo are they active and fkilful in 2 ~ eir Enemies Steps. furprifing. On the other Hand, thefe Peo- (* _ ple have a wonderful Talent, I might fay an Inftin@, to know * if any Perfon has pañled through any Place. On the fhorteit Grafs, on the hardeft Groünd, even upon Stones, they difcover fome Traces, and by the Way they are turned, by the Shape of their Feet, by the Manner they are feparated from each other, they diftinguifh, as they fay, the Footiteps of different Nations, and thofe of Men from thofe of Women. I thought a long : ‘Time that there was fome Exaggeration inthis Matter, but the ‘| Reports of thofe who have lived among the Savages are fo una- . nimous herein, that I fee no Room to doubt of their Sincerity : Till the Conquerors are in a Country of Safety, they march. forward expeditioufly ; and left the Wound- _ ed fhould retard their Retreat, they carry them | “1 … byturns on Litters, or draw them in Sledpes sir tir id Winter. When they re-enter their Compe | ee they make their Prifoners fing, and they _prattife the fame Thing every Time they meet any Allies; an Honour which cofts them a Feaft who receive it, and the un- fortunate Captives fomething more than the Trouble of Sing- — ing: For they invite ‘the Allies to carefs them, and to cares a _, Prifoner is to do him all the Mifchief they can devife, ortomaim = him in fuch a Manner that he is lamed for ever. But fire are Try oie eet dome : + TR ~~ ~ a CT = : the Night under a very fineIfland, called [fe des Bois Blane (0 White Wood). From the Long Point to the Strait, the Courfe is near Weft; from the Entrance of the Strait to the Ifle Sz. Claire, which is-five or fix Leagues, and from thence to Lake Huron, it 15 a little Haft by South: So that all the Strait, which 1s thirty-two Leagues long, is between forty-two Degrees twelve or fifteen __ Minutes, and forty-three and half North Latitude. Above the Ne of Sr. Claire the Strait grows wider, and forms a Lake, which has received its Name from the Ifland, or has given its own vs it. (Iris about fix Leagues long, and-as many wide in fome Places. 3 ete | - They fay this is the fineft Part of Canada, and indeed to wih _ + judge of it by Appearances, Nature has + Se cae ÿ denied it a ian can render a Country — eee M beautiful : Hills, Meadows, Fields, fine Woods of Timber Trees, Brooks, Fountains, and Rivers, and all thefe of fuch a good Quality, and fo happily intermixed, that one could fcarce defire any Thing more. The Lands are not equally good for all Sorts of Grain; but the greateft Part are furprifingly fertile, and I have feen fome that have produced _ Wheat eight Years together without being manured. How- ever, they are all good for fomething. ‘The Ifles feem to have _ been placed on Purpofe to pleafe the Eye. The Rivers and the. 172 An Hifforical Fournal of the Lakes are full of Fifh; the Air pure, and the Climate tem- _ preate, and very healthy. Before we arrive at the firft Fort, which is on the left Hand, Orie Sateen a League below the [le of Sz. Claire, there ae ri are on the fame Side two pretty populous Fort. “. Villages, and which are very near each o- gf: ther. The firft is inhabited by fome Tioz- montatez Hurons, the fame, who, after having a long Time wan- dered from Place to Place, fixed themfelves firft at the Fall of St. Mary, and afterwards at Michillimakinac. 'Vhe fecond is in- habited by fome Pouteouatamis. On the Right, a little higher, there is a third Village of Outaouais, the infeparableCompanions ~ of the Hurous, fince the Iroquois obliged them both to abandon their Country. There are no Chriffians among them, andif there are any among the Pouteouatamis, they are few in Number. The Hurons are all Chriftians, but they have no Mifonaries : They fay that they chufe to have none; but this is only the Choice of fome of the Chiefs, who have not much Religion, and who hinder the others from being heard, who have along 'Time defired to have one. (a) | | _ Itis a long Time fince the Situation, fill more than the Beauty of the Strait, has made us wifh for a confiderable Settlement here : It was pretty well begun fifteen Years ago, but fome Reafons, which are kept fecret, have reduced it very low. Thofe who did not favour it faid, firft, that it brought the Peltry of the North too near the Erglfh, who felling their Mer- chandizes to the Savages cheaper than our’s, would draw: all the Trade to New York. Second, that the Lands of the Szrazt are not out going far from the Fort, I have feen fome in my Walks, which are no ways inferior to our fineft Forefts. , Fi REA (a) They have at length given them one for fome Years paf, roe," fy y fg 7 yy on As . ye 5 ae Travels in North America. 173 + As to what they fay, that in making a Settlement at the Streight, we fhould bring the Fur Trade of the North nearer te the Englifb ; there is no Perfon in Canada who does not own that we fhall-never fucceed in hindering the Savages from carrying their Merchandize to them, in whatfoever Place we make our Set- tlements, and whatever Precautions we take, if they do not find the fame Advantages with us as they find at New York.—I could fay many Things to you, Madam, on this Subjeët ; but thefe Difcuffions would carry me too far. We will talk of this fome Day at our Leifure. } | The 7th of Fune, which was the Day after my Arrival at the Mur vb Fort, M. & Ti onti, who is the Commandant, I Caer as affembled the Chiefs of the three Villages I ASE AU have before mentioned, to communicate to the Fort of Detroit Se he GE oe be had ‘feces PY; i (the Screight.. them the Orders he had juft received from the , Marquis de Vaudreuil. ‘They heard him pa- tiently, without interrupting him ; and when he had finifhed, the Huron Orator told him in few Words, that they were going to deliberate on what he had propofed to them, and they would return him an Anfwer ina fhort Time.—Itis the Cuftom of _ thefe People, never to give an Anfwer directly, when it concerns a Matter of fome Importance. ‘Two Days after, they re-af! fembled in a greater Number at the Commandant’s, who defired me to be prefent at this Council with the Officers of the Garri- fon. Saferatf, who is called by our french People, the King of the Hurons, and who is actually the hereditary Chief of the 93 ennontatez, who are the true Hurons, was prefent that Day: But as he is ill under Age, he only came for Form: His Uncle, who governs for him, and who is called the Regent, was Spokef- ' man, as being the Orator of the Nation: And the Honour of {peaking for all, is commonly given by Preference to the Hurons, when there are any in aCouncil. At the firft Sight of thefe Af femblies, one is apt to form a mean Idea of them.—Imagine _thatyou fee, Madam, a Dozen of Savages almoft naked, ther … Hair fet in as many different Forms, and all ridiculous ; fome .\) with lac’d Hats on, and every one a Pipe in his Mouth, and look- ing like People that have no Thought at all. It is much if any one drops a Word in a Quarter of an Hour, and if they anfwer _ @ him by fo much as a Monofyliable : Neither is there any Marks of . Diftinétion, nor Precedency in their Seats. But we are quite of _ another Opinion, when we fee the Refult of their Deliberations. += Two Points were confidered here, which the Governor had _ much at Heart. The frft was, to make the three Villages be ~ contented without any more Brandy, the Sale of which had been ee ntirely prohibited by the Council of the Marine. The fecond , Was, to engage all the Nations to unite with the French to de- mas roy. | The Conclufion was, that the French, if of An Hiftorical Fournal of itroy the Oxtagamis, commonty called es Refrards, (the Fores 11 whom they had pardoned fome Years before, and who were be- ginning to commit the fanmé Outrages as before. M. ae Toyk at firft repeated in few Words, by his Interpreter, what he had more fully explained in the firft Affembly; and the Huron Orator replied in the Name of the three Villages: He made no Intro- duction, but went directly to the Bufinefs in Hand : He {poke a fone Time, and leifurely, hopping atevery Article, to give the interpreter ‘Time to explain m French what he had before fpoken in his own Language. His Air, the Sound of his Voice, and his Action, though he made no Geftures, appeared to me to have fomething noble and ‘engaging ; and it is certain that what he _ faid, muft have been very eloquent ; fince from the Mouth of the Interpreter, who was an ordinary Perfon, deprived of all the Ornaments of the Language, we were all charmed withit. I muft own alfo, that if he had fpoken two Hours, I fhould not have been tired a Moment. Another Proof that the Beauties of his Difcourfe did not come from the Interpreter, is, that this: Man would never have dared to'have faid of himfelf all he faid tous. 1 was even a little furprifed that he had Courage to repeat fo faithfully, as he did, certain Matters which muft be dipleafing to the Commandant.——When the Huron had done fpeaking, Oranguicé the Chief and Orator of the Pouteouatamis, expreffed in few Words, and very ingenioufly, all.that the frft had explained more at Length, and ended inthe fame. Manner. The Ouraouars did not fpeak, and appeared to approve of what the others had fpoken. À ‘ refufe to fell any more Brandy to the Savages ; that they would have done very well if they had never fold them any ; and nothing could The Refult of the Council. _ be imagined more forcible than what the Huron Orator faid in expofing the Diforders occafioned by this Liquor, and the Injury LL SE eds done’to all the Savage Nations. ‘The-mof zealous Mif- fionary could not have faid more. ‘But he added, that they were now fo accuftomed'to it, that they could not live without it; from whence it was eafy to judge, that if they could not have it of the French, they would apply to the Ezglif. As to what having re-united them, to help them to extirpate the commen | concerned the War of the Outagamms, he declared, that nothing could be refolved on but in 2 general Council of all the Nations who acknowledge Oxonthio (a) for their Father; ‘that they would, without Doubt, acknowledge the Neceflity of this War, but they could hardly truft the French a fecond Time ; who _ (4a) This is the Name the Savages give the Governor-General. : they pleafed, might — me 0 ravels in NoMh Mnetica. 835 Enemy, had granted him Peace without confulting their Allies, who could never difcover the Reafons of fuch a Conduét. | ‘The next Day I went to vifit the two Savage Villages which D PEN Oe ee are near the Fort ; and I went firft to the ON a or Hurons. 1 found all the Matrons, among arf oh H ia whom was the Great Grandmother of Saferatf, frag te awe much afflided to fee themfelves fo long de- Sconey (the privedof Spiritual Helps. Many Things which NU, 5 I heard at the fame Time, confirmed me in the Opinion I had before entertained, that fome private Interefts were the only Obftacles to the Defires of thefe good Chriftians. It is to be hoped that the laft Orders of the Council of the Ma. rine will remove thefe Oppofitions, M. de Yonti aflured me that he was going to labour at it effectually (4/). Cay acl Thofe who conducted me to this Village aflured me, that without the Hwrons, the other Savages would be ftarved. ‘This is certainly not the Fault of the Land they poifefs : With very little Cultivation it would yield them Necefaries : Fifhing alone would fupply a good Part, and this requires little Labour. _ But fince they have got a Relifh for Brandy, they think of no. thing but heaping up Skins, that they may have wherewithal to get drunk. The Hurons, more laborious, of more Fore- °. fight, and more ufed to cultivate the Earth, act with greater : Prudence, and by their Labour are in a Condition not only to fubfift without any Help, but alfo to feed others ; but this indeed they will not do without fome Recompence; for amongft their good Qualities we muft not reckon Difintereftednefs, ; oy I was ftill better received by the Infidel Pouteouatamis, than by F4 MTS the Chriftian Hurons. T'hefe Savages are the à + i he 7 fineft Men of Canada: They are moreover ee OO of a very mild Difpofition, and were always rage our Friends. Their Chief, Ozangwicé, treated me with a Politenefs which gave me as good an Opinion of his. Underftanding, as the Speech which he made in the Council : He isreally a Man of Merit, and entirely in our Intereft. As Ireturned through a Quarter of the Huron Village, I faw a Company of thefe Savages, who appeared very eager at Play, ~ I drew near, and faw they were playing at the Game of the Dir, This is the Game of which thefe. People are fondeft. At this they fometimes lofe their Reft, and in fome Meafure. their Reafon. At this Game they hazard all they poffefs, and many _ do not leave off till they are almoft ftripped quite naked, and _ till they have loft all they have in their Cabins. Some have. ja + (4) The Hurons of the Streight have at lait obtained a Miffionary, who has rene evived ameng them their former Fervor. er been 176 An Hifforical Fournal. of been known to ftake their Liberty for a Time, which fully proves their Paflion for this Game ; for there are no Men in the World more jealous of their Liberty than the Savages... The Game of the Difh, which they alfo call the Game of she ey, little Bones, is only play’d by two Perfons : ee ae | Each has fix or eight little Bones, which at the Dith, or of fir 1 L'or Aen S ah ae El Rance EE took for Apricot Stones ; they are of that Shape and Bignefs: But upon viewing them clofely, I perceived that they had fix unequal Surfaces, the two principal of which are painted, one Black, and the other White, inclining to Yellow. ‘They make them jump up, by friking the Ground, or the Table, with a round and hollow Dish, — which contains them, and which they twirl round fir. When they have no Difh, they throw the Bones up in the Air with their Efands : If in falling they come all of one Colour, he who plays wins five : The Game is forty up, and they fubtraét the Num- * bers gained by the adverfe Party. Five Bones of the fame Co- Jour win but one for the firft Time, but the fecond Time they win the Game: A lefs Number wins nothing. | | He that wins the Game, continues playing : The Lofer gives his Place to another, who is named by the Markers of his Side ; . for they make Parties at firit, and often the whole Village is con- cern’dinthe Game: Oftentimes. alfo one Village plays againit — another. Each Party chufesa Marker; but he withdraws when he pleafes, which never happens, but when his Party lofes. At every Throw, efpecially if it happens to be decifive, they make _ great Shouts. ‘The Players appear like People pofieffed, and the Spectators are not more calm. They all make a thoufand Contortions, talk to the Bones, load the Spirits of the adverfe- Party with Imprecations, and the whole Village echoes with Howlings. If all this does not recover their Luck, the Lofers may put off the Party till next Day: It cofts them only a {mall Treat to the Company. SAR F Eachin- | Then they prepare to return to the Engagement. vokes his Genius, and throws fome T'obacco in the Fire to his. Honour. They afk him above ail Things for lucky Dreams. As foon as Day appears, they go again to Play; but if the. Lofers fancy that the Goods in their Cabins made them un- lucky, the firft Thing they dois to change them all. The great Parties commonly lait five or fix Days, and often continue: all Night. In the mean Time, as all the Perfons prefent, at leaft _ thofe who are concerned in the Game, are in an Agitation that deprives them of Reafon, as they quarrel and fight, which ne- ver happens among the Savages but on thefe Occafions, andin ©: Drunkennefs, one may judge, if when they have done playing __ they do not want Reft. x i EEE IS PS + Travels in North America. — en, ~ ft happens fometimes that thefe Parties of Play are made by, Sean Saat ry Order of the Phyfician, or at the Requeft of Mp _ Superflitious Ye the Sick. There needs no more for this of this ae 7 Purpofe than a Dream of one or the other. hy tbeCureof Diftem- rp his Dregjgm is.always taken for the Order of parte À, fome Spirit; and then they prepare them- oe ply coldly, ** You have your Gods, and we have our’s: ’Tis a Gos pat Misfortune for us that they are not fo powerful as your’s.” i felves for Play with a great deal of Care. ‘They affemble for feve- ‘yal Nights to try, and to fee who has the luckieft Hand. They confult their Genii, they faft, the married Perfons obferve Con- tinence; and all to obtain a favourable Dream. Every Morn- ' | ine they relate what Dréams they have had, and of all the - Things they have dreamt of, which they think lucky ; and they make a Colleétion of all, and put them into little Bags which they carry about with them ; and if any one has the Reputation of being lucky, shat is,in the Opinion of thefe People, of having a familiar Spirit more powerful, or more inclined to do Good, they never fail to make him keep near him who holds the Difh: They even go a great Way fometimes to fetch him; and if | through Age, or any Infirmity, he cannot walk, they will carry him on their Shoulders. | - © They have often preffed the Mifionaries to be prefent at hele, Games, as they believe their Guardian Genii are the mot powerful. It happened one Day in a Huron Village, thatafick , Perfon having fent for a Juggler, this Quack prefcribed the Game of the Dz/b, and appointed a Village at fome Diftance from the fick Perfon’s, to play at. She immediatelyfent to afk Leave of the Chief of the Village: It was granted: They played ; and when they had done playing, the fick Perfon gave _ a great many Thanks to the Players for having cured her, as fhe _ faid. Butthere was nothing of Truth in all this : On the con- trary, fhe was worfe ; but one muft always appear fatisfied, — even when there is the leaft Caufe to be fo. À The ill Humour of this Woman and her Relations fell upon | the Miffionaries, who had refufed to affift at the Game, notwith- ftanding all the Importunities they ufed to“engage them : And in their Anger for the little Complaifance they fhewed on this _ Occafion, they told them, by Way of Reproach, that fince their _ Arrival in this Country, the Genii of the Savages had loft their — Power. Thefe Fathers did not fail to take Advantage of this — in . Confeffion, to make thefe Infidels fenfible of the Weaknefs of their Deities, and of the Superiority of the God of the Chr _ fians. But befides that on thefe Occafions it is rare that they are well enough difpofed to hear Reafon, thefe Barbarians re. : Aa The 578 . An Hifiorical Journal fie The Strait is one of the Countries of Canada where a Bo — tanift might make the moft Difcoveries, I have already ob- ee ts Bs) ¥ ts ont, a ferved, that all Gazada produces a great many Simples which have great Virtues. ‘There is no Doubt that the Snow contri- butes greatly to it: But there is in this Place a Variety of Soil; which, joined to the Mildnefs of the Climaté, and the Liberty which the Sun kas to warm the Earth more than in other Places, becaufe the Country is more open, gives Room to believe that the Plants have more Virtue here than in any otherPlace:; One of my Canoe Men lately proved the Force of a Plant, | which we meet with every where, and the Es sige if Knowledge of which is very neceflary for - ‘felts à +” Travellers ; not for its good Qualities, for I He never yet heard it had any, but becaufe we cannot take too much Care to fhun it. They call it the Flea- Plant ; but this Name does not fufficiently exprefs the Effects it produces. Its Effects are more ot lefs fenfible, according to the Conftitution of thofe who touch it. There are fome Perfons on whom it has no Effect atall; but others, only by looking on it, are feized with a violent Fever, which lafts above fifteen Days, and which is accompanied with a very troublefome Itch on the Hands, and a great Itching all over the Body. It hasan Effect . onothers only when they touch it, and then the Patty affeéted ap: pres over like a Leper. Some have been known to have -. loft the Ufe of their Hands by it. We know no other Remedy for it as yet but Patience. After fome Time all the Symptoms difappear. | There grow alfo in the Strait Lemon-Trees in the natural ee a nee Soil, the Fruit of which have the Shape and of t ree Colour of thofe of Portugal, but they are | Cp imaller, and of a flat Tafte. ‘They are ex- cellent in Conferve. The Root of this Tree is a deadly and ' very fubtile Poifon, and at the fame Time a fovereign Antidote againit the Bite of Serpents. It muftbbe pounded, and applied : directly to the Wound. This Remedy takes Effect inftantly, and never fails. On both Sides the Strait the Country, as they fay, preferves all its Beauty for about ten Leagues within Land; after which they find fewer Fruit-'Trees, and not fo many Mea- dows. But at the End of five or fix Leagues, inclining towards the Lake Eriéto the South Weft, one fees vaft Meadows which | extend above a hundred Leagues every Way, and which feed a prodigious Number of thofe Cattle which Ihave already mention . ed feveral Times. Sot x A F Lf: Ati, BC ¢ UF . LAS. £7 wr, Ah ph è & wi ; 89 é ae t À LETTER 7, vast ; Bete | = € es FRET. PES ee Oo EEE Travels in North America. 179 - 4 Pains Sia eae LETTER XVI. | Various Remarks on the Charaéter, Cuftoms, and Government of the Savages. ~Mapam, | At Detroit (the STRAIT), une 14 A FTER I had clofed my laft Letter, and given it to 3 X Perfon who was going down to Quebec, I prepared myfelf to continue my Journey, and in Faét, I embarked the next Day, but I did not go far, and by the Want of Precaution in my Con- ductors, I am returned here to Fort Poxtchartrain, where I fear I fhall be obliged to flay yet feveral Days. ‘Thefe are Difappoint- - ments which we muft expect with the Canadian Travellers, they are never in Hafte, and are very negligent in taking their Mea- fures. But as we muft make the beft of every Thing, I fhall take Advantage of this Delay, to begin to entertain you with the - Government of the Savages, and of their Behaviour in public Af- fairs. By this Knowledge you will be better able to judge of — what I fhaH have Occafion to fay to you hereafter; but I fhall: … not fpeak very largely on this Subject: Firft, becaufe the Whole … ment enough to take Things in a right View, which requires a Jong Acquaintance with the Country, and the Inhabitants, Lit fhall fay nothing of my own on this Article, and this will pre # ey ‘It muft be acknowledged, Madam, that the nearer View we Lis not_very interefting : Secondly, becaufe I will write nothing ‘ to you but what is fupported by good Teftimony, and it is not ‘at, to find Perfons whofe Sincerity is entirely unfufpeéted, at leaft of Exaggeration; or who may not be fufpeéted of having given Credit too lightly to all they heard ; or who have Difcern- vent me from following a regular Series in what I fhall fay. But it will ‘not be difficult for you to collect and make a pretty res: gular Whole of the Remarks which I fhall interfperfe in my - Letters, according as I receive them. take of our Savages, the more we difcover in Dour them fome valuable Qualities. The chief er sé nd comver!= Yate their Conduét, the general Maxims by ed than the more ci- -wilized Nations. Part of the Principles by which they regu. i which they govern themfelves, and the Bot- tom of their Character, have nothing which spears barbarous. Furthermore, the Ideas, though quite con. | | fufed, which they have retained of a firft Being ; the Traces, tho © oft effaced, of 4 religious Worfhip, which they appear to ~ ne sn | Aa z | have ao ee Hiforical Soernal, F. have rendered Hrinerts to this Supreme Deity ; and the faint 1 Marks, which we obferve, even in their moft indifferent Aétions © of the antient Belief, and the primitive Religion, may bite | them more eafily than we think, into the Way of Truth, and _ make their Conyerfion.to Chrifianity to be more eafily effected è Figure is their Mark, or, as one may fay, their Coat of Arms. | of their Govern- than that of more civilized Nations. In Fad, we learn from Experience; that Policy, Knowledge, and Maxims of State, create in the laft an Attachment and a Prejudice for their falfe Belief, which all the Skill, and all the Zeal of the Labourers of the * Gofpel have much Pains to overcome. So that there is Need of -Grace acting more powerfully on enlightened Infidels, who are almoft always blinded by their Prefumption, than on thofe who have nothing te oppofe to it but a very limited basis ull | Jedce. À he greateft Part of the People of this Continent havea Wied af Gta) EN of Ariftocratic Government, which varies al- moft to Infinity. For altho’ each Village has its Chief, who is independent of all the o- thers of the fame Nation, and on whom his Subjeéts depend in very few Things; neverthelefs, no Affair of any Importance is concluded withant the Advice of the Elders. "Towards Acadia the Sachems were more abfolute, and it does not appear that they were obliged as the Chiefs are in almoft all other Places, to beftow Bounties on private Perfons. On the contrary, they received a Kind of Tribute from their Subjects, and by no Means thought it a Part of their Grandeur to referve nothing for themfelves. But there is Reafon to think that ment. the Difperfion of thefe Savages of Acadia, and perhaps alfo their : Intercourfe with the F bitch, have occafioned many Changes in their old Form of Government, concerning which Lefcarbot and | Champlain are the only Authors who, have given us any Parti- culars. Many Nations have each three Families, or principal ‘Tribes, The Div ions as antient, in all Probability, as their Ori- of the Nations in- gin. They are neverthelefs derived from thé * Ai Fribes. upon as the fr/?, which has a Sort of Pre- fame Stock, and there is one, who is looked eminence over the two others, who ftile thofe of this Tribe Bro- — thers, whereas between themfelves they ftile each other Coufins. Thefe Tribes dre mixed, without being, confounded, each has its diftin@ Chief in every Village; and in the Affairs which con- : cern the whole Nation, thefe Chiefs affemble to deliberate thereon. Each Tribe bears the Name of fome Animal, and the whole Nation has alfo one, whofe Name they take, and whofe _ They fign Treaties no otherwife than by tracing thefe. De i Fe iles Thus the à. #4 Nation. isthe Nation of the FAP rei … firft Tribe bears the Name of the Bear, orof the RoceBuck. Aus — oF thors differ about this. The two others have taken for their — Animals, the Wolf and the Tortoife. In fhort, each Village has alfo its own Animal ; and probably it is this Variety which has ‘ occafioned fo many Mittakes in the Authors of Relations. . Fur- thers which are founded upon fome Cuftom, or on fome ‘. thermore, it is proper to obferve, that befides thefe Difin@ions - of Nations, Tribes, and Villages, by Animals, there are. yet particular Event. For Inftance, the Yionnontatexz Hurons, who are of the Airft Tribe, commonly call themfelves the Nation of. Tobacco; and we have a Treaty, in which thefe Savages, who _ were then at Michillimakinac, have put for their Mark the Figure | of a Beaver. The Iroquois Nation have the fame Animals as the Huron, of Obfrwation on which it appears to be a Colony; yet with She Wastes of à this Difference, that the Family of the Tor- Chief. toife is divided into two, which they call the great and the Little Tortoife. The Chief of each Family bears the Name of it, and in public Tranfactions they never give him any other. It is the fame in Refpeët tothe | Chief of the: Nation, and of each Village. But befides this Name, which is, as I may fay, only a Reprefentation, they have another which diftinguifhes them more particularly, and which | ision of tbe ftallation confifts in Feafts, accompanied with is, as it were, a Title of Honour. Thus one is called the moft noble, another the moft antient, &c. Laftly, they have a third __. Name which is perfonal ; but Iam apt to think that this is only ufed among the Nations, where the Rank of Chief is hereditary. _ The conferring or giving thefe Titles, is always performed with great Ceremony. ‘The new Chief, or if he 1s too young, he who reprefents him, muft make a Feaft and give Prefents, {peak the Elogium of his Predeceffor, and fing his Song. But * there are fome perfonal Names fo famous, that no one dares to affume them ; or which, at leaft, remain along Time before they are re- affamed : When they do it, they call it, raifing from a the Dead the Perfon who formerly had that Name. ie In the North, and in all Places where the Algonquin Language OF the Sacs. prevails, the Dignity of Chief is elective 5 all the Ceremony of the Election and [In-. Ch + Dances and Songs. The Chief elected ees never fails to make the Panegyrick of him, ‘ __ whofe Place he takes, and to invoke his Genius. Amongft the f Hurons, where this. Dignity i is hereditary, the Succeflion is con. à tinued he gk nt oe tés fin Hifiorical Fournal of PR - Chief, it is not his Son that fucceeds him, but his Sifter’s Son ; © ~ of, in Cafe of Failure of fuch, the neareft Relation by the Fe. male Line. If a whole Branch happens to be extinét, the aobleft Matron of a Tribe chufes the Perfon the likes beft, and declares him Chief. » They mutt be of & Age fit to govern; and if the hereditary oe ief is not of Age, they chufe a Regent. _ Of their Power. who-has all the Asch but who. exer it in the Name of the Minor. In general, thefe Chiefs do not receive any great Marks of Refpect; and if they are always ebeyed, it is becaufe they know how: far their Commands will bave Force. It is true alfo, that they entreat or propofe, rather - than command, and that they never exceed the Bounds of the kittle Authority they have. Thus it is Reafon that governs; | and the Government is the more effectual, as the Obedience is ‘more voluntary, and that there is no Fear of its degenerating into Tyranny. : ‘ Befides this, every Family has a Right to chufe themfelves _ Bb vy a Counfellor, or an Afiiftant to the Chief, ade oie 7 who is ‘to watch. over their Interetts, aid Elles FF. 04m without whofe Advice the Chief can under: JAI, take nothing. ‘Thefe Counfellors, are. efpe- cially. obliged to. take Care of the public Treafure, and it belongs to them to direct how it is to be employed. The firft Reception of them into-this Office, is in a general Council ; but — they do not give Notice of this to their Allies, as they do in the. Ele@ion, or Inftallation of a Chief.—-In the Huron Nations, the Women name the Counfellors, and they often chufe Perfons of their own Sex.. ° ue ' This Body of ee or Affiftants, is the firft of all : | à The fecond 1s that of the Elders ; that zs ra py OG Body of Jay, of all who have attained the Age of ree EELS ~ Maturity. I could never learn exattly what isAgeis, The laft is that of the Warriors : It comprehends _ all that are able to bear Arms. This Body has often at its Head the Chief of the Nation, or of the Village ; but he muft have diftinguifhed himfelf firft by fome brave Action, otherwife. he is obliged to ferve as a Subaltern ; that’ is ta Jay, as a com- mon Soldier, for there is no: other Rank in the Armies of the ; | Savages. _ À great Party may indeed have feveral Chiefs, becaufe they : nt.) ive this Title to all thofe who have ever Of the War nes : but they are not the lefs fub. Gigi. jeët to the Commander of the Party,a Kind Qf General without Character, without real Authority, who can neither PSE AE ia Provele’ in North America. 185 ie. reward’ nor punith, whofe Soldiers may leave him whe, _ they pleafe, without his having a Right to fay any Thing te. _ them on that Account, and who neverthelefs is fcarce ever cor: trac ligted. So true is it, that amongft Mén who govern ther fer ves by Reafon, and are guided by Honour and a Zeal. for their Country, Indépendence does not defiroy Subordinationy and that a free and voluntary Obedience is generally the molt © be depénded on. For the ref, the Qualities required in à Wat Chief, are to be fortunate, brave, and difinterefted,. It is Hot - ftrange, that they fhould obey without Difficulty a Manin who there thrée Charaëters are known to be united. _ The Women have the principal Authority among all the Peo=. Pie Pour of ple of the Huron Language, if we except the the Women in for Lrogueis Canton of Onneyouth, where it 18 als “Nodicas ternate between the Sexes. But if this is ; their Law; their Practice is feldom conform: ‘able toit. In Reality, the Men acquaint the Women only with what they pleafe to let them know, and an important Affair 38 Yéldom communicated to them, though all is tranfaéted in theif + Name; and the Chiefs are only their “Lieutenants. - What I told you, — of the Great Grandmother of the hereditary Chief of the Hurons of the Strait, who could né= ver obtain a Miilionary for her Village, is a good Proof that the teal Authority of the Women is confined to very narrow: Liz. mits; yet I have béen affured, that they deliberate firft of - what is propofed in the Council, and afterwards they give the … Refult of their Deli beration a0 the Chiefs, who | of it to. the genéral Council, comp d of the El î feems very probable, that all this is done for For n, and: “Reftritions I have mentioned. The War riors confult Pas à _ amongthemfelves on every Thing in their Department, but they % Dance nothing of Importance; or that concerns the Nas ) tion or the Village. Every Thing muf be examined and dé: termined in the Counci lof the Elders, who give the final Dé: er Le uit be acknowledged that they proceed in thefe Affemblies | a he Wifom of with yo Prudence, Maturity, Ability; and theft Councils. à Areopagus of Athers, and the Senate of Rome, in the moft flot: uhing Times of thofe Republics. The Réafon is, that they ade fuch - Alterations in the Syftems of Policy, even amongft flans, have not yet prevailed in thefe Savages over the Pub: one idee? ae ms I will alfo fay, forthe moft Part, fuch Pros ; bity, as would have done Honour to the © oncluüde nothing haftily, and that the ftrons Paffions which. have. ood. he Parties concerned do not fail’ to employ fectek : » and fach mite itd to accomplifh their Defigns; that + 5 aa te iA es, Py ie ‘ ON WE +“ L ie 4 ATP eh “FE He | An Hifforical Fournal of. 04 one would fcarce believe could enter into the Thoughts of ‘fuck: hs Barbarians. It is alfo true, that they poffefs, inthe higheft De- gree, the great Art of concealing their Proceedings. “Forthe » moft Part, the Glory of the Nation, and the Motives of Ho- nour, are the chief Springs of all their Undertakings. What we cannot excufe in them, is, that generally they place all their — Honour in revenging themfelves, and give no Bounds to their — Revenge : A Fault which Chrifianity alone can throughly re- form, and which all our Politenefs and our Religion does not. always correct. | i ie D Each Tribe has its Orator in every Village, and there are few * OF abe Orators. but “shina Orators who have a Right to fpeak - | | | in the public Councils, and in the general Affemblies. They always fpeak well, and to the Purpofe. Be-. fides that natural Eloquence, which none of thofe who have been | acquainted with them will difpute, they have a perfe& Know- ledge of the Interefts of thofe who employ them, and a Dexte- rity in placing their Rights in the faireft Light, that nothing + can exceed. On fome Occafions, the Women have an Orator, | who {peaks in their Name, and as if he was folely their Interpre- - ter, . Ee ia One would think that People, who we may fay have no Pof- Of the Interefts fefions, either public or private, and who oben Pile have no Ambition to extend themfelves, - a ll ey fhould have very few Things to adjuft with eachother. But the Spirit of Man, naturally reftlefs, cannot remain without Action, and is ingenious in finding itfelf Em- ployment, Thi certai®y that our Savages negotiate continu- ally, and ‘have a ays fome Affair on the Carpet. ‘There are fome Treaties to conclude, or to renew, Offers of Service, mu- tual Civilities, Alliances they court, Invitations to join in making War, Condolences on the Death of a Chief, or of fome confiderable Perfon. All this is done with a Dignity, an Attention, I will even venture to fay with an Ability, worthy _ of the moft important Affairs : And they are fometimes more fo : than they feem tobe; for thofe they depute for thefe Purpofes, have almoft always fome fecret Inftructions, and the apparent Motive of their Deputation is only a Vail that hides another of . more Confequence. _ Jde | The froquois Nation has for the two laft Ages made the gréateft | Ve Polity of Figure in Canada. By their Succeffes in © ihe Gs jovi War they-have gained over the greateft Part An stip ae of the other Nations a Superiority, which ~ none of them at prefent are in a Condition to difpute; and — from a peaceable Nation, as they were formerly, they are be \ come very reftlefs andintriguing. But nothing has contributec oe 4 Ds: in North Le. | ats ae der them formidable, than the Advantage of their ation ; which they foon difcovered, and knew very well b, they foon conceived that both Nations would be obliged to ourt them ; and it is certain that the principal Attention of +. ppt, ‘Colonies, fince their Settlement, has been to gain them, or at leak to engage them to remain neuter: Being perfuaded on : ‘ their Part, that if one of thefe Nations fhould prevail over the _ other, they fhould foon be oppreffed, they have found the Se cret to balance their Succefles ; and if we confider that all their Forces joined together have never amounted to more than five | or fix thoufand fighting Men, and that long ago they were di- ‘ : ne of the Pie minifhed above half, one muft acknowledge that they could not, with fo {mali a Power, have fupported themfelves as they have done, but by great Skill and Addrefs. As to what relates to private Perfons, and the particular Con- : cerns of the Villages, ‘thefe are reduced to a esr the Govern- _very {mall Compafs, and are fcon decided. dages. ‘tend, or very rarely extends, fo far; and ge- nerally thofe who have any Reputation, are employed only for : the Public. A fingle Affair, however trifling it may be, isa Jone Time under Deliberation. Every ‘Thing is treated of with a great deals Circumfpeftion, and nothing is decided. _ till they have heard every one who defires it. If they have. . made a Prefent under Hand to an Elder, to fecure his Vote, » Kind ; but he does not take ‘it eafily, and hep both Hands. T The young People ente® early RCE the Government. _ they are fure to‘obtain it when the Prefent is accepted. It was fcarce ever heard that a Savage failed in an Engagement | of this never receives with into “th Ae Know- ledge of Bufinefs, which renders them ferious and mature in an Age in which we are yet Children: "This interefts them in the Public Good from their early Youth, and infpires them with an. Punifhment for Crimes among thefe es oo The. Defeëts of Indeed this Defe@ has not the fame Conk quences here, which it would have with us : A The great Spring of our Paffions, and the principal Source of . the Diforders which moft difturb civil Society, that is to Ses Self-Intereft, having fcarce any Power over People,who never hink of laying up Riches, and who take little Thought for the Morrow. | They | may alfo july be reproached with their Monnet of nging u up their aS: ales know not what it 1s to ie / B a tife to take Advantage of it. Placed between us and the Eng- The Authority of the Chiefs does not ex- : 74 | Emulation, which i is cherified with great Care, and from which i ett is Reafon to expect the greateft Things, CA The greateft Defect of this Government, is, that Here’ 18 im wy 186 Ain Hifiorical Fournal of tife them : Whilft they are little, they fay they have no Reafon ¢ _ and the Savages are not of the Opinion, that Punifhment pro. _ motes Underltanding. When they are old enough to reafon, * they fay that they are Mafters of their own Aétions, and that ! they are accountable to no Perfon forthem. They carry thefe | two Maxims fo far, as to fuffer themfelves to be ill ufed by drunken People, without defending themfelves, for Fear of © hurting them. If you endeavour to fhew them the Folly of this: Conduét, they fay, Why fhould we hurt them? They know not ewhat they do. cy apt: In a Word, thefe Americans are entirely convinced that Man is _ born free, that no Power on Earth has any Right to make any | Attempts againft his Liberty, and that nothing can make him Amends for its Lofs. We have even had much Pains to unde- ceive thofe converted to Chriftianity on this Head, and to make them underftand, thatin Confequence of the Corruption of our Nature, which is the Effect of Sin, an unreftrained Liberty of doing Evil differs little from a Sort of Neceflity of committing it, confidering the Strength of the Inclination, which carries us to it; and that the Law which reftrains us, brings us nearer to our firft Liberty, in feeming to deprive us of it. Happily for ‘them, Experience does not make them feel in many material _ Articles all the Force of this Bias, which produces in other Countries fo many Crimes. Their Knowledge being more con- | fined than our’s, their Defires are ftill more fo. Being ufed only to the fimple Neceffaries of Life, which Providesice has fuficiently provided for them, they have fcarce any Idea of Su- perfluity. a id | After all, this Toleration, and this Impunity, is a great Dif: order. There is alfo another, in the Defeét of Subordination, which appears in the Public, and ftill more fo in Domeftic Con- cerns, where every one does what he pleafes ; where the Father, Mother, and Children, often live like People met together by Chance, and who are bound by no Obligations to each other ; where the young People treat of the Affairs of the Family with- out communicating any Thing of it to their Parenfs, no more thanif they were Strangers ; where the Children are brought up in an entire Independence, and where they accuftom them: felves early not to hearken either to the Voiceof Nature, or the — moft indifpenfable Duties of Society. | ue, | If in the Nations that are moft prudently goverried, and which are reftrained by the Reins of a moft holy Religion, we ftill fee | fome of thofe Moniters which are a Difgrace to Human Nature, they at leaft create Horror, and the Laws fupprefs them: But » what is only the Crime of a private Perfon, when it is attended with Punifhment, becomes the Crime of the Nation that leaves ’ ‘Travels in North America. 187 at unpunifhed, as even Parricide itfelf is among the Savages, _ Were it ftill more uncommon than it is, this Impunity is a Blot _ which nothing can efface, and which appears entirely barba- yous. There are, however, in all this, fome Exceptions, which J fhall mention prefently ; but, in general, fuch is the Spirit + that prevails among our Savages. pre Oe . They are not only perfuaded that a Perfon who is not in his The Princishs light Senfes is not to be reprehended, or at hich th ifs leaft not to be punifhed ; but they imagine “nu ‘ 7 27 alfo, that it is unworthy of a Man to defend | Bed. 35 Fa himfelf againft a Woman or a Child; but it | 4 is always underftood, where there is no Dan- er of Life, or of being maimed; yet in this Cafe, if it is . poflible, they get away. But if a Savage kills another belong- ing to his Cabin, if he is drunk, (and they often counterfeit Drunkennefs when they intend to commit fuch Aétionsy all the Confequence is, that they pity and weep for the Dead. IJtisa Misfortune, (they fay) the Murderer knew not what he did. ‘If he-did itin cool Blood, they readily conclude that he had good Reafons fer coming to this Extremity: If itis plain he had none, it belongs to thofe of his Cabin, as the only Perfons ‘concerned, to punifh him: They may put him to Death, but they feldom do it ; and if they do, it is without any Form of Juftice ; fo that his Death has lefs the Appearance of a lawful Punifhment than the Revenge of a private Perfon. Sometimes a Chief will be glad of the Opportunity to get rid of a bad . Subje&t. Ina Word, the Crime is not punifhed ir a Manner _ ‘that fatisfies Juftice, and which eftablithes the public Peace _ and Safety. ne : _ An Affafination which affects feveral Cabins, would al- always have bad Confequences. Oftentimes there needs no more to fet a whole Village in a Flame, acer a whole Na- | tion : For which Reafon, on thefe Occafions, the Councilof the _ Elders negleét no Means to reconcile the Parties betimes ; and af they fucceed, it is commonly the Public who make the Pre- fents, and take all the Meafures to appeafe the Family offended. The fpeedy Punifhment of the Guilty, would at once putan End | to the Affair; and if the Relations of the Dead can get the Murderer.in their Power, they may punifh him as they pleafe ; _ but the People of his Cabin think it is not for their Honour to _ facrifice him ; and often the Village, or the Nation, does not _ think it proper to conftrain them to do it. sd pe I have read in a Letter of Father Brebezf, who lived amongft Hau th Hu rons’ tHe Hurons, that they ufed to punifh Murder | punifhed Murder. © this Manner. They laid the dead Body | DUO © © * ‘upon Poles, at the Top of a Cabin, and the’ ‘ “110 oft B bz ee Murderer NON 10 ‘188 © An Hiftorical Fournal of — a Murderer was obliged to remain feveral Days together, and to receive all that dropt from the Carcafe, not only on himfelf, but alfo on his Food, which they fet by him ; uñlefs by a confider- able Prefent to the Cabin of the Deceafed, he obtained the Fa: vour of having his Food freed from this Poifon; but the Mif | fionary does not fay, whether this was done by public Authori- ‘ty, or whether it was only done by Way of Reprifal by the Perfons concerned, when they could get the Murderer in their .. Power. However this may be, the moft common Means ufed by the Savages to make Amends to the Relations of a Perfon murdered, is to fupply his Place by a Prifoner of War; in this — Cafe the Captive is almoft always adopted: He takes Pofleflion of all the Rights of the Deceafed, and foon makes them forget — him whofe Place he fupplies. But there are fome odious Crimes which are immediately punifhed with Death, at leaft among fome Nations, amoneft which aré Sorceries. fi | Whoever is fufpeéted of Sorcery is fafe no wheré; they even Panifhmént of make them undergo a Sort of ‘Torture, to Mcwichans ) oblige them to difcover their Accomplices, oe à _ after which they are condemned to the Pu- _ nifhment of Prifoners of War; but the Confent of his Family is firft aiked, which they dare not refufe. Thofé who are leait culpable are knocked on the Head before they are burnt. They treat much ‘in the fame Manner thofe that difhonour their Families, and commonly it is the Family that executes the De- linquent. | | | Among the’ Aurons, who were much inclined to fteal, and One SAT for who did it fo dexteronfly, that our moft fkill- eee ese, ful Pick-pockets would think 1t an Honour as af aie iat to them, it was allowed when they found out the Thief, not only to take from him again what he had ftolen, but alfo to carry away every Thing that wasin his Cabin, and to ftrip him, his Wife, and Children, quite naked, without his having the Liberty to make the leaft Refiftance.. And to prevent all the Difputes which might arife on this Subjeét, they agreed on certain Points which they have always obferved. For Inftance, every Thing found, tho’ it had been loft but a Mo- ment, belonged to the Perfon that found it, provided the Lofer had not claimed it before. But if they difcovered the leait un- fair Dealing on the Part of the Finders, they were obliged to reftore it, which fometimes occafioned Difputes that were pretty eres to decide: The following is a fingular Inftañce of thie ‘ ind, ; : 9 ae ogy om hh = ee ad c. - A good ; od Old Woman, whofe whole Stock confifted in a Cotes à 4 : a, 4 2 Al ren ey 4 7... y OfPorcelain, or Shells, which was worth about i °° Mt Anvalar Tao ne : “RU ME erate hy hla pi oF a Thine ty Crowns, catried it always with her in a ce Yan ‘à Fu ral ai 4 little ay One Day as fhe was working in neh the Field, fhe hung her Bag upon a Tree ; … another Woman who perceived it, and who longed very much to fharp her out of her Collar, thought it a favourable Oppor- — tunity to get it without being accufed of Theft: She never loft Sight of it, and in an Hour or two, the old Woman being gone into the next Field, the ran to the Tree and began to cry out, fhe had made a good Find. The old Woman at this Cry turned her Head, and faid the Bag belonged to her ; that it was fhe who had hung it tothe Tree, that fhe had neither loft nor forgot it, and that fhe intended to take it again when fhe had done her Work. The other Party replied, that there was no judging of Inten- … Travels in North America. “ge tions, and that having quitted the Field without taking a- - gain her Bag, one might naturally conclude, fhe had for- got it. 2 ee on | After many Difputes between thefe two Women, between whom there pañled neverthelefs not the leaft difobliging Word, _ the Affair was carried before an Arbitrator, who was thé Chief _ of the Village, and this was his Decree: ‘ To judge fridly, ** fays he, the Bag belongs to her that found it; but the Cir- “-cumftances are fuch, that if this Woman will not be taxed. *¢ with Avarice, fhe muft reftore it to her that claims it, and ‘€ be contented with a fmall Prefent, which the other 1s indif- ‘ penfably obliged to make her:”? The two Parties fubmitted to this Decifion; and it is proper to obferve, that the Fear of -being noted for Avarice has as much Influence on the Mind of , a the Savages, as the Fear of Punifhment would have, and that in _ general thefe People are governed more by Principles of Ho- -mour than by any other Motive. What I have further to add, Madam, will give you another Proof of this: I have faid before that to hinder the Confequences of a Murder, the Public takes … upon itfelf to make the Submifiions for the Guilty, and to make Amends to the Parties concerned : Would you believe that even | . this has more Power to prevent thefe Diforders than the fevereft * Laws? But this is certainly true: For as thefe Submiffions are _ extremely mortifying to Men whofe Pride furpaffes ail Defcrip- _ tion, the Criminal is more affected by the Trouble which he — fees the Public fuffer on his Account, than he would be for _ himfelf; and a Zeal for the Honour of the Nation reftrains © thefe Barbarians much more powerfully, than the Fear of Death _ or Punifhments. : io Haas _ But it is very certain, that Impunity has not always prevailed _ @mongft them as it has done in thefe latter Times, ard our ey, Sree > al rt 1 + Mifiionaries hc Le We AT go _. An Hiftorical “Journal ge 0 ae Miffionaries have ftill found fome Traces of the antient Rigour with which they ufed to fupprefs Crimes. Theft in particular was | » looked upon as a Blot which difhonoured a Family, and every one had a Right to wafh away the Stain with the Blood of the © Delinquent. Father Brebeuf one Day faw a young Huron who … was killing a Woman with a Club, he ran to him to prevent it, and afked him why he committed fuch Violence, ‘ She is my — ec Sifter, replied the Savage, fhe is guilty of Theft, and IT « will expiate by her Death, the Difgace fhe has brought upon «¢ me and all my Family.” My Letter is juft now called for, and I conclude with my Affurances of being, Your's, &c. À I OP OTERO) (RESO (Ce CE I ES TY RE TIE ox © æ eR LETT ER. AVI. Voyage from Detroit (the Strait) to MicHiLLIMAKINAc Defeription of the Country. Of the MARRIAGES of the Sa- VAGES. | | MADAM, MICHILLIMAKINAC, June 30. _ T was the 18th of this Month that I at length departed in good Earneft from the Fort of Pontchartrain at Detroit, a lit- tle before Sun-fet. I had fcarce gone a League, when a Storm, nes rou accompanied with a Deluge of Rain, ob- | a hae à to go afhore very wet Detroit. ged me to go very wet, and we pañled the Night very unpleafantly. The next Day all that I could do was to crofs the Lake of Sr. Claire, — though this Paffage is but four Leagues. The Country ap- __ peared to me good on both Sides. At half Way we leave upon the Left Hand a River which is at leaft feventy Yards wide at its Mouth. They call it the Huron’s River, becaufe thefe Sa- vages took Refuge here during the War with the Iroguois. On the Right, and almoft oppofite, there is another, the Entrance of which is twice as wide, and which they go up eighty Leagues without meeting any Fall, which 1s rare in the Rivers of this © Country. I could not learn its Name. The Route to Fort Detroit, from the End of the Traverfe, is * Eaft North Eaft ; from thence we turn to the North by the Eaft, even to the South for four Leagues, at the End of which on the Right Hand we find a Village of Mifi/aguez, fituate on a fruitful 1e MOK Soil at the Entrance of fome very fine Meadows, and in t À } FN : © esi A Ad MS TAB ; ¥ \ A ÿ nl x bit F v 4 + Travels in North. America. ‘191 … égreeable Situation that can be feen. From thence to Lake a Huroe they reckon twelve Leagues, and the Country is all the . Way charming. It is a magnificent Canal as ftrait as a Line, _ bordered with lofty Woods, divided by fine Meadows, and _ prinkled with Iflands, fome of which are pretty large. We = fteer here North North Eaft, and at the Entrance of Lake Hu- "von, the Courfe is North for twelve Leagues further. _ if In croffing Lake St. Claire, [had in my Canoe a young Savage © ree teen whofe Arms I much depended, in granting: © & him the Paflage which he afked of me; but orn themfelves. he diverted me much, till a Storm which rofe over our Heads, began to make me uneafy. This young Man had been at his Toilet before he embarked, and he did not give three Strokes with his Oar, but he took his Looking Glafs to fee if the Mo- tion of his Arms had not difordered the drefling of his Hair; or if the Sweat had not altered the Figures he had drawn on his * Face with Red, and other Colours, with which he had painted hi mfelf, 1 i 8 oe : : I’ know not whether he did not hope to arrive at the Village of the Mifi/aguez before Night, to be prefent at fome Feaft, but we could not go fo far. The Storm began juit as we got to an [land at the End of the Traverfe of the Lake, and we were forced to ftay there. ‘The young Savage however did not appear to be much difconcerted at this Difappointment, for thefe People are eafily reconciled to every Accident : Perhaps alfo he only intend- ed to fhew himfelf to us in all his Finery ; but if this was his Defign he loft his Labour, I had feen him a few Days before in his natural Appearance, and liked him much better than with {trong and vigorous, and on the Strength of he gave me little Affiftance. In Recompence _ a this odd Mixture of Colours, whichhad coft him fo much Pains _ We fee few Women paint their Faces here, but the Men, and _ éfpecially the young ones, are very curious in this Ornament : ‘There are fome who employ half a Day in painting themfelves in this Manner only to go from Door to Door to belooked at; and who return mightily fatisfed with themfelves, tho’ Nobody has faid a Word to them. : Js) eee bie We entered Lake Huron the twentieth, about ten in the Morning. And we prefently had the Diverfion of fifhing for — Sturgeon. The next Day, in Spite of the Thunder, which , : grumbled all the Day, but which was fatisfied with threatening ts, I advanced hear twenty-five Leagues on the Lake, but the _. twenty-third a thick Fog, which hindered us from feeing four _ Paces before our Canoe, obliged us to go more flowly, becaufe we _ failed on a rocky Bottom, which in many Places is not covered with half a Foot Water: It extends a great Way into the 192 À oA Hiftericat Fournal of: and is ten Leagues long : Our Canadians call sei Pays Dini, - (the Flat Country.) The next Day we gained the Bay of Seguin: which i ig. five or : fix Leagues wide at the Mouth, and thirty x nce 7 = 2 7 Pr oe BS Hie Straation of deep: The Outaouais have a Village in the ERODES ‘Bottom of this Bay, which they fay is a very mie + fine Country. From thence to Michillimahinac we fee nothing fine, no more Vines, bad Woods, and very little Game. Ten Leagues above the Bay of Saguinam we fee two pret- ty large Rivers a League diftant from each other, and four or five Leagues farther the Bay of Yonnerre (Thunder Bay), which 48 three Leagues wideat its Entrance, and has but little Depth. — _ Michillimakinac (a) is 43° 30 Minutes North Latitude, and the — Courfe, which is a.100 Leagues from the Mouth of the Strait, coafting the Wet Side of Lake Huron, is almo& North. I arrived the twenty-eighth at this Poft, which is much declined fince M. de la Motte Cadillac drew to Detroit the greateft Part of the Savages who were fettled here, and efpecially the Hurons. Seve- ral Oviaouais have followed them, others have difperfed them- felves in the Ifles of Caffor ; there is only here a middling Vil-_ lage, where there is ftill a great Trade for Peltry, becaufe it is the Paffage or the Rendezvous of many of the Savage Na- tions. The Fort is preferved, and the Houfe of the Miffionaries, who are not much employed at prefent, having never found mach Docility among the Outaouais; but the Court thinks their Pre. fence neceflary, ina Place where one muft often treat with our Al- hes, to exercife their Miniftry among the French, who come hi- ther in great Numbers. I have been afiured, that fince the Set- tlement of Detroit, and the Difperfion of the Savages occafion- ed thereby, many Nations of the North who ufed to bring their | Peltries hither, have taken the Route of Hud/on’s Bay, by the River Bourbon, and go there to trade with the Æ#o%/ ; but A. de la Motte could by no Means forefee this Inconvenience, fince | \ we were then in Poflefon of Hxd/on’s Bay. The Situation of Michillimakiuac 1s very advantageous Son” Trade. ‘This Poft is between three great Lakes; Lake Mich without — F HOH hy which , gan, which is three Hundred Leagues in Compafs, “mentioning the great Bay that comes into it 5 Le Hur is three Hundred and fifty Leagues in: Circumference, and which is triangular ; and the Upper Lake, which is five Hundred Leagues. All three are navigable for the largett Barks, and the two te are only ren ated by.a-httle Strat, which has allo Ur + so pronounce it w iff ed iii deceived A. “an Barn, a ‘who has made it-two different Places. Water enough for fome Barks which may ftill fail without any -Obftacle through all che Lake Erzé till they come to Niagara. It is true there is no Communication between Lake Huron, and the … Upper Lake, but by a Canal of twenty-two Leagues, much en- ~ cumbered with Falls or Torrents ; but thefe Torrents do not hin- der the Canoes from coming to unload at Michillimakinac, every Thing that can be got from the Upper Lake. | This Lake is two Hundred Leagues long from Eaft to Weft, D LANCE and in many Places eighty wide from North the Upper Lake. to South, all the Coaft.is fandy, dnd pretty nothing is more neceflary when we fail ina Canoe on this Lake, … in which Travellers have obferved a pretty fingular Phoenome- non. They fay, that when there will be a Storm they have No- tice of it two Days before. At firft, they perceive a little Trem- bling on the Surface of the Water, and that lafts all the Day, without any manifeft Increafe ; the next Day the Lake is cover- -ed with pretty large Waves, but they do not break all the Day, fo that one may fail without Danger, and may alfo make a great deal of Way if the Wind is fair; but the third Day, when it is leaft expected, the Lake is all on Fire ; the Ocean , in its createft Afylum to fly to for Safety ; which we are fure to find on the cond Day encamp at a good Diftance from Shore. The Savages, by Way of Acknowledgement for the Quantity {trait ; it would be dangerous to be fur-- _ prifed here by a North Wind. ‘The North Side is more conve- nient for failing, becaufe it 1s all along lined with Rocks, which | form little Harbours, where it is very eafy to take Refuge ; and Travels in North America. 193 Fury, is not more agitated, and one muft have inftantly fomes — North Side, whereas on the South Coaft, one muft from the fe- _ Fable of the Sa of Fifhthis Lake affords them, and through the Refpect they are infpired with from its vaftExtent, have made it a Kind of Deity, and offer Sacrifices to it after their Manner. But } think that it is not tothe Lake itfelf, but to the Genius which vages of the Up per hake. : prefides over it, that they offer up their Prayers: If we believe | | … them, this Lake has a divine Origin: ’T'was Michabon, the God _ caufed by fome great Rocks ; our Mifionaries who once had here _ a very flourifhing Church called it the Fal of St. Mary. 'Thefe Great Lake. | of the Wagers who made it to take Beavers. In the Canal by which it di{charges itfelf into Lake Huron, there is a. Térrent: _ Rocks according to the Tradition of the Barbarians are the Re mains of a Caufey or Bank, which the God built to ftop the Waters _ of. the Rivers, and of the Lake Alimipegon, which have filled this Pe oy a ee aN ° ba : / 7 194 An Hifiorical Fournal of Lae On its Borders, in fome Places, and about certain Iflands, they Copper Mines. find great Pieces of Copper, which are alfo the Objet of the fuperititious Worthip of the Savages; they look upon them with Veneration, as a Prefent of the Gods who liveunder the Waters ; they gather the fmalleft Bits. of it, and preferve them with Care, but make no Ufe of them. They fay, that formerly there was a great Rock that flood high above the Water all of the fame Matter ; and as it does not appear at prefent, they fay that the Gods have carried it to another Place ; but it is very probable, that in Length of Time the Waves of the Lake have covered it with Sand and Mud; and it is certain, that there has been difcovered in many Places, a pretty large Quantity . of this Metal, without being obliged to dig deep for it. At my firft Journey into this Country, I knew one of our Brethren, who was a Goldfmith by Trade, and who, whilft he was in the Mifion «of St. Mary’s Fall, went thither to find Copper, and had made Candlefticks; Croffes, and Cenfers of it ; for this Copper is often almoft entirely pure. : wae . The Savages add, that when Michabou made the Upper Lake, Sequelof the Tra- he dwelt at Michillimakinac, where he was Ai ae if she’ S0- born ; this Name is properly that of a little ous Ifland, almoft round, and very high, fituate at ts the Extremity of Lake Huron, and by Cul- tom it has given its Name to all the neighbouring Country. The — Ifland may be about three or four Miles round, and oné may fee it at the Diftance of twelve Leagues. There are two Iflands to the South of it, the fartheft of which is five or fix Leagues long, the other is very {mall, and quite round. They are both well wood- ed, and the Lands are good ; whereas that of Michillimakinac is only a barren Rock, and fcarcely covered with a little Mofs and Herbs. It is neverthelefs one of the moft celebrated Places of | Canada, and was a long Time, according to the antient Tradi- _ tion of the Savages, the chief Abode of a Nation of the fame Name, and of which they reckoned thirty Villages. in the En- virons of the Ifland. They fay, that the Iroquois deftroyed them, but they do not fay at what Time, noron what Occafion. ‘This is certain, that there are no Marks of them remaining. I have fomewhere read, that our old Miffionaries have feen fome Remains of thefe People (a). | ein Hes The Michillimakinacs lived almoft only by Fifhing, and there is Lo +» ga berhaps no Place in the World where there is in ob, ed ch Plenty of Fifh. The moft common Fifh in the three Lakes, and in the Rivers that flow into them, are the Herring, the Carp, the Gilt Fifh, the . (a) The Word Michillimakinac fignifies a great Number of Tortoifes Bo but never heard they find more here at prefent than in other Places, Ais i Teen RE ie 7 * Pike, @ sé . ? » We.” 5 a) A / à PES El t “Travels in North Americal = t 98 all, the Trout. They take three Sorts of the laft, among which fome are of a monftrous Size, and in fuch Numbers, that a Sa- vage with his Spear will fometimes ftrike fifty in three Hours Time. But the moft famous of all is the White Fifh: It is about the Bignefs and Shape of a Mackerel; I know of no Kind of Fifh that is better eating. The Savages fay, that it was : Michabou who taught their Anceftors to fifh, that he invented Nets, and that he took the Notion of them from the Spiders Web. Thefe People, as you fee, Madam, do not give greater Honour to their God than he deferves, fince they are not afraid of fending him to School to a vile Infe&. Whatever Lands appear in Sight hereabout, do not give an Idea of a good Country ;, but there is no a, i wong Need of Ps far to find Soils fit for every Be an. Thing. We may fay the fame of the Ifles of pe tae rs TE Ou or, which we leave on the left Hand,* S508 be - a little after we enter into the Lake Michigan. The Outaouais, who are retired thither, fow here Maiz, and they have learnt this good Cuftom from the Hurons, with whom they have lived along Time in thefe Parts. The Amikoues formerly — .dwelt in thefe Iflands: This Nation is now reduced to a very © fmall Number of Families, which have paffed over to the Ifland Manitoualin, on the North Side of the Lake Huron. It is, neverthelefs, one of the moft noble of Cazada, according to the Savages, who believe it to be defcended from the Great Caffor, - which is, after Michabou or the Great Hare, their principal Deity, | and whofe Name it bears. It was He, as they fay further, that formed the Lake Nipifiing ; and all the Falls we meet with in the Great River of the Ozx- tacuais, which goes out of it, are the Remains of Banks he made to compafs his Defign. They add, that he died at the fame Place, and that he is buried on a Mountain, which is feen on the North Side of Lake Nipifixg. This Mountain reprefents naturally on one Side the Shape of a Beaver; and this is, no Doubt, what has given Rife to all thefe Stories: But the Savages maintain, that it was the . «Great Caffor who gave this Shape to the Mountain, after he had chofen it for his Burial-Place; and they never pafs by this Place — without paying their Homage to him, by offering him the Smoke _ . of their Tobacco. | This is, Madam, what I thought worthy of Note in this Poft, | _ which is fo famous in the Travels and Accounts of Canada.----1 _ return to the Manners and Cuftoms of the Savages; and ‘after having mentioned what concerned their Wars, ZT am going to ~ gtertain you concerning their Marriages. | : | Cs 2 | A ‘Pike, the Sturgeon, the Afikamegue, or white Fifh, and above : 166 An Hiflorical Journal of — _ A Plurality of Wives is eftablifhed in many Nations of the | 3 .,. Algonquin Language, and it is common enough pias pion to marry all the Sifters ; this Cuftom is. se | eq ed on the Notion they have, that Sifters will — : agree together better than Strangers. In this Cafe all the Wives are upon an equal Footing; but among the true © Algonguins they have two Sorts of Wives, andthe fecond are Slaves to the firft. Some Nations have Wives in all the Places where they ftay any confiderable Time for hunting; and I have been aflured that this Abufe has been introduced lately among © the People of the Huron Language, who in all former Times — were fatisfied with one Wife. But in the Zroquois Canton of Tfonnonthouan there prevails a much greater Diforder fill, which is a Plurality of Hufbands. As to what concerns the Degrees of Kindred, with Refpeët to OF ih Deness Marriage, the Hurons and the Zroguois are Dh dre & very fcrupulous in this Matter: Among them ch ; _ there muit be no Manner of Relation between the Parties to be married, and even Adoption is comprehended. in this Law. But the Hufband, if his Wife dies firft, muft marry her Sifter, or in Default of fuch, the Woman which his Wife’s Family fhall chufe for him : The Woman, on her. Side, is obliged to the fame Thing with Refpe& to. the Brothers, or the Relations of her Hufband, if he dies without Children, and fhe is ftill of an Ageto have any. ‘The Reafon they give for it, is. ‘the fame that is mentioned in the z5th Chapter of Deuteronomy, verfe 6. The Hufband who fhould refufe to marry the Sifter, or the Relation of the deceafed Wife, would expofe himfelf to the greateft Outrages that the Perfon rejeéted can. poflibly do him, and would be obliged to fuffer them without Complaint or Refifiance. When fer Want of any Relations, they permit a ‘Widow to provide herfelf another Way, they are obliged to make her Prefents: ‘This is as a Teftimony which they give of her good Condu@, and which fhe has a Right to demand, if fhe has really behaved well all the Time of her Marriage. There are in ail Nations fome confiderable Families, which Bib ate Laws Cannot marry but among. themfelves, -efpe- seein cially among the A/gonquens. In general, the TA Ag allel Te Stability of Marriages is facred in this Coun- try, and for the moft Part they confider as a great Diforder thofe Agreements which fome Perions-make to live together as long as they like, and to feparate when they are tired of each other. — A Hufband who fhould forfake his Wife without a lawful Caufe, muft expeét many Infults from her Relations; and a Woman — who fhould leave her Hufband without being forced to it by his }, + RE à 4 ie s ill Condu&t, would pafs her "Time fill worfe. - eT ¢ Mi in Norte America. | 197 ve 4 Amon de Miamis, the Hufband has a Right to cut off his Wife’s Nofe if the runs away from him; but among the Jreguois __ and the Hyrons they may part by Confent. This is done without - | Noife, and the Parties thus feparated may marry again. Thefe Savages cannot even conceive that there can be any Crime in this. ‘“ My Wife and I cannot agree together,” faid one of _ them to a Ai weanary. who endeavoured to make him compre- : hend the Indecency of fuch a Separation, ‘ my Neighbour’s 4 Cafe was the fame, we changed Wives, and we are all four happy: What could be more reafonable than to make us mutually happy, when it is fo cheaply done, without wrong- “€ ing any Body.” Nevertheleis, this Cuftom, as I have already ‘obferved, is looked upon as an Abufe, and is not antient, at leaft among the Jroguois. What moft commonly ache domeftic Peace among the People of Canada, is Jealoufy, which is a ual Fealouf-of the on oil Sides. The F aly boaît that Eire | are never troubled with it; but thofe who - are moft acquainted with them, affirm, that they are jealous to. | Excefs. When a Woman has difcovered that her Hufband has a Miftrefs, her Rival ought to be well on her Guard, inafmuch - as the unfaithful Hufband cannot defend her, nor in any Manner + take her Part. A. Man who fhould ufe his Wife ill on this Ac- count, would be difgraced. ‘Treaties of Marriage are entirely carried on by the Parents : We. ts The Parties interefted do not appear at all, Mu 5 ui and give themfelves up entirely to the Will " odie ale of thofe on whom they depend. But is it not : Matter of Surprife in the Whimficalnefs of thefe Savag ges, who do not make themfelves dependent on their Parents bat in that * Matter only, where there is the moft Reafon to ufe their own Choice. However, the Parents do not conclude any Thing without their Confent ; but this is only a Formälity. The firft Advances muft be made by the Matrons, but there are feldom any made on the © Woman’s Side: Not but ifany Girl was to continue too long without being fued for, her Family would aét under-hand to find q her a Suitor ; but this is done with a great deal of Precaution. In 4 fome Places the Women are not in Hafte to be married, be- caufe they are allowed to make what Frials of it they pleafe, and the Ceremony of Marriage only changes their Condition for , . : the worfe. . In general, there is obferved a great dea of Modefty in the _ Behaviour of the young People whilft they treat of their Mar- “riage ; ; and they fay that it was quite otherwife in the antient ES ime. But what is almoft incr Eat and which is me NE Le € 66 Lal Savages. eae" a An Hiftorical Journal of ried Couple are together a whole Year, living in a perfect Con: tinence: This is, they fay, to fhew that they married for Friend- fhip, and not to gratify a fenfual Paflion. A young Woman would even be pointed at that fhould happen to be with Child the firft Year of her Marriage. ne ae oe After this it will be eafter to believe what is faid of the young People’s Behaviour, during their Courtfhip in the Places where they are allowed to fee one another in private. For though Cuftom allows them to have very private Meetings, yet in the greateit Danger that Chaftity can be expofed to, and even un- der the Vail of Night, they fay, that nothing paffes againft the Rules of the ftriéteft Decorum, and that not even a Word is fpoken that can give the leaft Offence to Modefty. I make Ac. — count, Madam, that you will approve my not entering into a Detail on this Subjeët, which fome Authors have done; it would make the Thing appear ftill more improbable. TI find in all that has been written of the Preliminaries and Of Ceremonies of the Marriages of thefe Peo- : LR ete tom l ious Accounts, proceeding either from aies of Marriage. nn CURE RS Be the different Cuftoms of divers Nations, or from the little Care the Authors ‘of Relations took to be well informed: Furthermore, the whole appeared to me to be do little worthy. your Curiofity, that I thought it not worth my while to enquire a great deal about it. The Hufband that is to be, muft make Prefents, and in this, as in every Thing elfe, nothing can exceed the Difcretion with which he behaves, and the refpe&tful. Behaviour which he fhews to his future Spoufe. : In fome Places the young Man is contented to go and fit by the Side of the young Woman in her Cabin, and if the fuffers | it, and continues in her Place, it is taken for her Con- fent, and the Marriage is concluded. But in the midft of all this Deference and Refpe@, he gives fome Tokens that he will foon be Mafter, In Fact, among the Prefents fhe receives, there are fome which ought lefs to be regarded as Marks of Friend- thip, than as Symbois and Notices of the Slavery to which the is going to be reduced: Such are the Collar, (a) the Kettle, and a Billet, which are carried to her Cabin. ‘This is to let her know, that fhe is to"carry the Burdens, drefs the Provifions, and gét Wood for Firing. The Cuftom is alfo in fome Places for her to bring before-hand into the Cabin where fhe is to dwell after Marriage, all the Wood that will be wanted for the next Winter. And it is to be obferved, that in all I have juft aid, there is no Difference between the Nations, where the … (a) This Collar is that which I have mentioned before; that is tofay, ees ; long and broad Band of Leather which ferves to draw Burdens, pe mabe fomen have all the Authority, and thofe where they have no- ; to do with the Affairs of Government. Thefe fame Wo- en, who are in fome Degree the Miftreffes of the State, at . Jeaft for Form, and who make the principal Body of it, when i they have attained a certain Age, and have Children in a Con- … dition to make them refpected, are not at all refpected before this, and are in their domeftic Affairs the Slaves of the Huf- bands. ranges) fis | , In general there .are perhaps no People in the World who PER ee more defpife the Sex. ‘To call a Savage a ae Mothers eet W oman, is the greateft Affront that can be pa given him. Notwithftanding, the Children eke belong only to the Mother, and acknowledge her alone. The Father is always as a Stranger with Refpe& to them ; in fuch a Manner, however, that if he 1s not regarded as a Father, he is always refpected as the Mafter of the Cabin. I know not, however, if all this is univerfal amongft all the People of Canada that we are acquainted with ; no more than what I have found in fome good Memoirs, that the young Wives, befides: what their Hufbands have a Right to require of them for the Service.of the Cabin, are obliged to fupply all the Wants of their own Parents; which probably muft be under- . ftood of thofe who have no longer any Perfon to render them thefe Services, and who are not, by Reafon of their Age or In- firmities, in a Condition to help themfelves. _ | However this may be, the new married Man is not without Employment. Befides Hunting and, Fifhing, which he is ob- liged to follow all his Life, he muft at firft make a Mat for his Wife, build her a Cabin, or repair that they are to live in; and as iong as he lives- with his Wife’s Parents, he muft carry to . their Cabin all that he gets by Hunting and Fifhing. Among the Zroguois, the Woman never leaves her Cabin, becaufe fhe is _ judged the Miftrefs, or at leaft the Heirefs of it. Among other _ Nations, after a Year or two, fhe goes to live with her Mother- _ in-law. BS . | - The Savage Women in general are brought to Bed without mh ie heir Line any Pain, and without any Affiftance; but — : di à ê. i there are fome who are a long Time in La- ù 0 ONE ES OY Hour, and fuffer much. When this happens, mer Br st. they give Notice of it to the young People, . who all on a fudden, and when the Patient leaft expects it, come © and make great Noifes at the Door of the Cabin, the Surprife _ of which has fuch an Effet upon her; as inftantly to procure “her Delivery. The Women never lay-in in their own Cabins; "many are taken fuddenly, and bring forth their Childrenas they at Work, or on a Journey: For others, when er Bae Dee | taem~ hon Travels in North America. hg VX2. © PEL, F4 nn Ah L UE Bes ae ai + 200 An Hiftorical Fournal of themfelves near their Time, they make a little Hut without the Village, and they remain there forty Days after they are delivered. But I think I have heard fay that this is only done for the firft Child. | Has This Time being expired, they extinguifh all the Fires of the : Cabin to which fhe is to return; they fhake all the Clothes, : and at her Return they light a new Fire: They obferve pretty early the fame Formalities with Regard to all Perfons of the: Sex in the Time of their Terms, and not only whilft thefe lat, but alfo whilft a Woman is with Child, or gives Suck, (and they commonly fuckle their Children three Years) the Hufband never approaches them. Nothing would be more Praife-worthy _. than this Cuftom, if both Parties preferved the Fidelity they owe to each other; but there is often a Failure on one Side or other. Suchis the Corruption of the human Heart, that the wifeit Regulations often produce the greateft Diforders. It is even faid, that the Ufe of fome Simples, which have the Power to prevent the Confequences of the Women’s Infidelity, is pret- ty common in this Country. | Nothing can exceed the Care which the Mothers take of their The Care the Mo- Children while they are in the Cradle; but UDC Ÿ foon as they are out of it, they leave them paid om HA entirely to themfelves ; not through Want of the Tendernefs they have for them, but with their Lives; but becaufe they are perfuaded it is beft to leave Nature to herfelf, without any Reftraint. The Act which terminates the firft Stage of Infancy, is giving a Name, which among thefe People is an Affair of Importance. This Ceremony is performed in a Feaft, where no Perfons are ep ar RE prefent but of the fame Sex with the Child Of naming Er hat is to be named. While they are eating Children. the Child is upon the Knees of the Father or Mother, who continually recommend it to the Spirits, eipe- cially to that which is to be its Guardian Genius; for every Perfon has their own, but not at their Birth. They never make _ new Names, each Family has a certain Number, which they take by Turns. Sometimes alfo they change their Names as they grow up, and there are fome Names which they cannot go by after a certain Age; but I do not think this is the Cuftom every where: And as among fome People in taking a Name they take the Place of the Perfon that bore it laft, it fometimes : happens that a Child is called Grandfather, and treated as fuch N by one who might really be fo to the Child. | FE ee A oh : Affection or Indifference, for they never lofe wy aor $ MARS ew anh on Travels in North America. 201 x _ «., They never call a Man by his proper Name, when they talk Remarks on their us he has with Refpeët to the Perfon that fpeaks -to him; but when there is between them no Relation or Affini- ty, they ufe the Term of Brother, Uncle,‘ Nephew, or.Coufin, LA to him in common Difcourfe, this would be unpolite; they always give him the Quality according to each other’s Age, or according to the Value they have for the Perfon they addrefs. : | Further, it is not fo much to render Names immortal, if I may ufe the Exprefion, that they revive them, as to engage thofe to whom they are given either to imitate the brave Ac- tions of their Predeceffors, or to revenge them if they have been killed or burnt, or -laftly to comfort and help their Families. ‘Thus a Woman who has loft her Hufband, or her Son, and finds herfelf without the Support of any Perfon, delays as little as fhe can to transfer the Name of him fhe mourns for to fome Perfon capable of fupplying his Place. They change their Names on many other Occafions, to give the Particulars of which would take up too much Time: There needs no more for this Purpofe than a Dream, or the Order of a Phyfician, and give it him. or fome fuch trifling Caufe. But I have faid enough on this Head, and here is a Traveller waiting to know if I have.any Commiffion for him to Quebec. I fhall therefore clofe my Letter $y I am, gc, , L Be TT BIR EK. Poyage to the Bay. Defcription of the Route, and of the Bay. | Lrruption’ of the ‘SPANIARDS againft the Missouris, and their Defeat. The Dances of the SAVAGES. | à Mapam, à MicHitriMaxinAC, July 21. de writing my laft Letter, I have made a Voyage à | J to the Bay eighty Leagues diftant from this Poft. I took” À Advantage of the Opportunity of going with M. de Mon: tigny, Captain of a Company of the ‘Troops which the King. naintains in Canada, Knt. of St. Louis, and whofe Name is fa ous in the Annals of this Colony; but he is at leaft as valu- or his Probity and his Character full of Equity and Sin- y, as for his Courage and aa Exploits. ut | We LUN Ain Hiftorical Fournal of We embarked the Fem «3 July in + put we : | coafted for thirty Leagues a Cape which fepas | J ma a Bay rates Lake Michigan te the tl Lake; à is | eve Noquets. in fome Places only a few Leagues wide, and — it is fcarce poffible to fee a worfe Country; but it is terminated b a pretty River called the Maniftie, full of Fifh, and efpecially of | Sturgeons. A little further, going to the South Welt, we enter into a great Gulf, the Entrance of which is bordered with Iflands ; they call it the Gu/f, or the Bay of the Noquets. This is a very {mall Nation which came from the Borders of the Upper Lake, and of which there remains only a few Families difperfed here and there, without any fixed Abode. a The Bay of the Noquets is feparated from the Great Bay only The Les of the by the Ifles of the Pouteouatamis, and I have re hes I AL already obferved that they were the antient es : Abode of thefe Savages. The greateft Part of them are very well wooded; but the only one which is ftilf peopled is not the largeft nor the beft, there remains in it now only one indifferent Village, where we were obliged to pafs the Night, though very much againft our Inclinations : We could not refufe the prefling Intreaties of the Inhabitants ; atid indeed there is no Nation in Canada that hath always been more fins cerely attached to the French. D Po _ The 6th we were ftopped almoft the whole Day by contrary Winds ; but it proving calm at Night, we embarked a little af: ter Sun-fet by a fine Moon-light, and we kept going forwards twenty-four Hours together, making only a very fhort Stop to fay Mafs; and todine. The Sun fhone fo hot, and the Water of the Bay was fo warm, that the Gum of our Canoe melted in fe- veral Places. ‘To compleat our Misfortune, the Place where we ftopped toencamp, was fo full of Gnats and Mufketoes, that we could not clofe our Eyes, though we had not flept for two Days before ; and as the Weather was fine, and we had Moon-light, we embarked again on our Route at Three o’Clock in the Morn- ing. hak we had gone five or fix Leagues, we found ourfelves OF the Malho _ over-againft a little Hle, which is not far wf ety from the Welt Side of the Bay, and which FORO 470% hid from us the Entrance of a River, upon of wild Oats. which is the Village of the Malbomines, which - the French call folles Avoines, (wild Oats), probably becaufe they . make their common Food of this Grain. The whole Nation — confifts of no more than this Village, which is not very popu- … lous. This is to be regretted, for they are very fine Men, and the beft fhaped of all Cavada: They are even taller than the Pouteouatamis. Jam aflured that they have the fame Origi sd ihe dé from being wild enough, asit is to this Place, (ftinking) : it becomes the moft charming in the World. | pi Wi It has even fomething more fmiling than the Strait; but thoughit is every where covered with very fine Trees, it is much more fandy, and not fo fertile. The Orcha- gras, Who are commonly called the Puans, dwelt formerly on the Borders of the Bay, in avery delightful Situation. They were attacked here by the Z/rois, who killed a great Number of them : The Remainder took Refuge in the River of the Outa- gamis, which runs into the Bottom of the Bay. ‘They feated themfelves on the Borders of a Kind of Lake; and I judge it was there, that living on Fifh which they got inthe Lakein | great Plenty, they gave them the Name of Pxans ; becaufe all along the Shore where their Cabins were built, one faw nothing but ftinking Fifth, which infected the Air. It appears at leaft that this is the Origin of the Name which the other Savages had given them before us, and which has communicated itfelf tothe _ Bay, far from which they never removed. Some Time after they had quitted their antient Poft, they endeavoured to revenge _ the Blow they had received from the J//izozs ; but this Enterprize - _Caufed them a new Lofs, which they never recovered. Six hun- dred of their beft Men were embarked to go in Search of the _ Enemy; but as they were crofling Lake Michigan, they were fur- prifed by a violent Guft of Wind, which drowned them all. _ We have in the Bay nf ort which ftands on the Weft Side of igi : the River of the Oxtagamis, half a League Bs pent as from its Mouth; and Gefare we arrive ie tee Ogle Bay, * we leave on the Left Hand a Village of eae Sakis. The Otchagras have lately come and _feated themfelves near us, and have built their Cabins about the Fort. The Miffionary, who is lodged pretty near the Coms mandant, hopes, when ‘he has learnt their Language, to find _ them more docible than the Sakés, among whom he labours with _ very little Succefs. Both of them appear to be a good Sort of People, efpécially the firit ; whofe greateft Fault is, that they are: a little given to thieving. Their Language is very different all the others, which a SES believe that it is not ps | z from 204 An Hifiorical ‘fournal of from any of Canada; and indeed they have always had more | Intercourfe with the People of the Weft, than with thofe Weare acquainted with in this Country. hab gael re OR ONE CE The Sakis, though they are but a {mall Number, are divided « Gr Sakis, into two Faétions, one of which fide with … 2 the Outagamis, and the other with the Poute- : euatamis. 'Thofe who are fettled in this Poft, are for the moft Part of the laft Party, and of Confequence in our : Intereft. They received the new Commandant with great Demonftrations of Joy. As foon as they knew he was near ‘arriving, they ranged themfelves with their Arms on the Bank of.the River: and the Moment they faw him appear, they faluted him with a Difcharge of their Mufkets, which they accompanied with great - Shouts of Joy. Then four of the chief Men went into the Ri- ver, where they were foon up to their Waift ; but they waded quite to his Canoe, and took him up in a great Robe made of’ many Roe-Buck Skins, well fewed together, of which each of them held a Corner. They carried him thus to his Apartment, where they complimented him, and faid many Things to him which were extremely flattering. : : à The next Day the Chiefs of the two Nations paid me a Vifit, and one of the Orchagras fhewed me a Catalan Piftol, a Pair of Spani/h Shoes, and I know not what Drug, which feemed to be a Sort of Ointment. He had received thefe Things from an Ajouex, and they came into his Hands by the following Means. About two Years ago, fome Spaniards, who came {as they fay) from New Mexico, intending to get into the Country of the Z//inois, and drive the French from thence, whom they faw with extreme Jealoufy approach fo near the Mifourz, came down this River and attacked two Villages of the Oforatas, who are Allies of the Ajouez; from whom it is alfo faid they are derived. As thefe Savages had no Fire Arms, and were furprifed, the Spaxiards made an eafy Conqueft, and’ killed a great many of them. A third Village, which was not far off the other two, being informed of what had paffed, and not doubting but that thefe Conquerors would attack them, laid an: Ambufh, into which the Spaniards heedletsly fell. Others fay, : that the Savages having heard that the Enemy -were almof — all drunk, and faft afleep, fell upon them in the Night. How- | ever it was, it is certain that they killed the greateft Part of them. | Ke "} eae Le There was in this Party two A/moxers, one of whom was kill d directly, and the other got away to the Mifourites; who took him Prifoner, but he efcaped from them very dexteroufly : Hehada ~ very fine Horfe, and the Mifaurites took Pleafure to fee him Spaniards de- Seated by the Sa- wages of the Mif- fouri. Travels in North America. 206 reer ae All that they brought me, was of the Spoils of the Almoner that was killed ; and they took from him alfo a Book of Prayers, . which I did not fee : It was probably his Breviary. I bought the Piftol’: The Shoes were worth nothing ; and the Savage would not part with his Ointment, fancying that it was a Sove- reign Remedy for all Difeafes. I had the Curiofity to afk how he intended to ufeit ; he replied, it was fufficient to fwallow a little’; and with what Difeafe foever one was attacked, it effeéted an immediate Cure: But he did not tell me that he had as yet made a Trial of it, and I advifed him to the contrary. . : We begin here to find the Savages very ignorant ; they are far from being fo ingenious, or at leaft fo apt to learn, as thofe who are more converfant with us. The next Day feveral Satis came to the Mifionary, with whom A Chuncil of she I lodged, and invited me to come toa Kind ÿ J of Council, which they propofed to hold. 1 Sakis, andon what ps ‘ ; | “a is confented ; and when every one had taken Le ‘his Place, the Chief laid a Collar on: the Ground before me ; and the Orator beginning his Speech, prayed = me in the Name of all the reft to engage the King fa) to takes them under his Protection, and to purify the Air, which for fome Time they faid had been infeted, which appeared by the Number of fick Perfons then in their Villages, and to defend them from their Enemies. I replied, that the King was very powerful, and perhaps more fo than they imagined ; but that _ his Power did not extend over the Elements ; and that when Difeafes, and other like fatal Cafualties, afli@ted his Provinces, he addreffed himfelf, that an End might be put to them, to the Great Spirit that created Heaven and Earth, and who is alone the Sovereign Lord of Nature: That they fhould do the fame, and they would find the Benefit of it. But to prevail with him to hear their Prayers, they muft firit acknowledge him, and ren- tor. An Hiftorical JOPRE OR UAS der him the Worfhip and Homage which he has a Right to ex- pect from all reafonable Creatures : That they could do nothing better, nor more agreeable to the King, than to liften tothe Fa- _ ther (a) which his Majefty had fent them, and to be docible tohis Inftru€tions : That he wasa Man beloved by Heaven : That the Manner inwhichhelived among them, could not fail of making him very much efteemed ; and that his Charity towards the Sick, and all thofe who wanted his Affiftance, ought to have convinced them of the tender and fincere Affection he had for them ; and laftly, that I would not receive their Collar, till they had pro- mifed me to behave with Regard to this Miffionary, in quite another Manner than they had done hitherto, and to give him no Caule for the future to complain of their Untowardnefs. _ € As to the Protection of the King, which you afk, and the < Requeft you make me to engage him to defend you againft ‘€ your Enemies ; this great Prince has prevented your Wifhes, << he has given good Orders on this Head to Ononthie (6), who € is already inclined to execute them with the Zeal and A ffec- 66 tion of a Father fc). You can make no Doubt of this, if ‘€ you confider the Commandant he fends you. You muft cer- «¢ tainly know, and you feem in Fa@ to have been well inform’d, “¢ that among the French Captains there are few that equal him < in Valour, and you will foon love him more than you efteem *¢ him already.” | They feemed to be fatisfied with this Anfwer, and they pro- mifed me much more than they will perform, in all Probability : However, I took their Collar, and the Miffionary flattered him _ felf that this Aétion would have a good Effect. Heeb eS Im the Afternoon of the fame Day, the two Nations gave us one after the other, the Diverfion of the Dance of the Calumet in a great E/planade, which is before the Lodgings of the Com- -mandant. There was fome Difference in their Way of perform- ing this Dance ; but it was not confiderable. However, I learnt by it that thefe Feafts vary much ; fo that it is impoffible to give a Defcription that agrees with themall. The Ofchagras varied the Dance fomething more than the other, and fhewed an extra- ordinary Agility; they are alfo better made, and more aétive than the Sakis. +. | (a) Father Peter Chardon, a “fefuir, {b) This is the Name the Savages give the Governor-General. It means Great Mountain, and comes from the Chevalier de Montmagny, who was the fe-_ cond Governor of Canada. fc) They always call the Governors, and the Commandants, their Fathers. : 3 “1 from Time to Time all the Affembly fet up great Shouts to By: Travels in North America. 207 this Ceremony is properly a military Feaft. The Warriors | CR are the Actors, and one would fay, that ir é bi a x kd a was inftituted only to give them an Opportu- tis Dame. — nity of publifhing their great Atchievements in War. I am not the Author of this Opinion, which does not agree well with their’s, who have maintained that the Calumet took its Origin from the Caduceus of Mercury, and that in its Inftitution it was efteemed as a Symbol of Peace. All thofe KE faw dance, fing, fhake the Chichicoué, and beat the Drum, were young People equipped, as when they prepare for the March; they had painted their Faces with all Sorts of Colours, their Heads were adorned with Feathers, and they held fome in their Hands like Fans. The Calumet was alfo adorned with Fea- thers, and was fet up in the moft confpicuous Place. The Band of Mufic, and the Dancers were round about it, the Spectators divided here and there in little Companies, the Women fe- parate from the Men, all feated on the Ground, and drefled in their fineft Robes, whichat fome Diftance made a pretty Shew. : Between the Mufic and the Commandant, who fat before the Door of his Lodging, they had fet up a Poft, on which at the End of every Dance a Warrior came and gavea Stroke with — his Hatchet ; at this Signal therewasa great Silence, and this Man repeated with a loud Voice, fome of his great Feats ; and then received the Applaufes of the Spectators, and after went te to his Place, and the Sport began again. This lafted two Hours for each of the Nations; and I acknowledge to You, Madam, that I took no great Pleafure in it, not only on Account of the | fame Tone, and the Unpleafantnefs of the Mufic, but becaufe all the Dances confifted in Contorfions, which feemed. to me te. -exprefs nothing, and were no Way entertaining. te _ This Feaft was made in Honour of the new Commandant ;. yet they did him none of the Honours which.are mentioned in fome Relations. ‘They did not take him and place himona new Mat ; they made him no Present, at leaft that I know of ; they. did not pafs any Feathers over his Head ; I did not fee the Calu-. met prefented to him; and there were no Men quite naked, ~ painted all over their Bodies, adorned with Plumes of Feathers, aud Beads, and holding a Calumet in their Hands. Perhaps it is not the Cuftom of thefe People, or M; de Montigny had ex- _empted them from thefe Ceremonies. I obferved only, that _ applaud the Dancers, chiefly during the dancing of the Orchegras, who, in the Qpinion of the Frezch, bore away all the Honour of On ‘Tthould, 208 An Hiftorical Fournal of | _ ¥ fhould probably have had more Pleafure in feeing the — Bye Deane Dance of the Di/covery: It has more Aétion, | ‘e de Dion and exprefles better than the foregoing the : J _Subjeët it reprefents. Itis a natural Repre- fentation of all that paffes in an Expedition of War; and, as I have before obferved, that the Savages forthe greateft Part only endeavour to furprife their Enemies, this is no Doubt the Reafon why they have given this Dance the Name of the D: cowery. ; | mS | Tower! that may be, only one fingle Man performs this — Danc¢: At firft he advances flowly into the midft of the Place, wherg he remains for fome Time motionlefs, after which he re- prefgnts one after another, the Setting out of the Warriors, the March, the Encamping; he goes upon the Difcovery, he makes his Approach, he ftops as to take Breath, then all on a fudden _ he grows furious, and one would imagine he was going to kill every Body; then he appears more calm, and takes one of the Company as if he had made him a Prifoner of War; he makes a Shew of knocking another’s Brains out; he levels his Gun at another; and laftly, he fets up a running with all his Might; then he ftops and recovers himfelf: This is to reprefent a Re- treat, at firft precipitate, and afterwards lefs fo.. ‘Then he exprefles by different Cries the various Affections of his Mind during his laft Campaign, and finifhes by reciting all the brave | Actions he has performed in the War. Mie sal When the Dance of the Calumet is intended, as it generally | PME Sa is, to conclude a Peace, or a Treaty of Al- which aremade by ance againft a common Enemy, they grave VU é Le D 7 a Serpent on the Tube of the Pipe, and fet apes 1 eae En one Side of it a Board, on which is repre- ofthe Calumet. — fonted two Men of the two confederate Na. tions, with the Enemy under their Feet, diftinguifhed by the Mark of his Nation. Sometimes inftead of a Calumet, they fet. up a Fighting-Club. But if it concerns only a fingle Alliance, they reprefent two Men joining one Hand, and holding in the: other a Calumet of Peace, and having each at his Side the Mark of his Nation. In all thefe Treaties they give mutual Pledges, Necklaces, Calumets, Slaves ; fometimes Elks, and Deer Skins well dreffed, and ornamented with Figures made with Porcupines Hair; and then they reprefent on thefe Skins the Things I have © mentioned, either with Porcupines Hair, or plain Colours. == There are other Dances lefs compounded, the only Defign of — Other Dances, Which is to give the Warriors an Oppoy- | * tunity of relating all their brave Aëtio ag This is what the Savages are moft ready. to do, and they never tired of it. He that gives the Feaft invites all the > . 14 ‘4 Travels in North America: 209 lage by beating a Drum, and they meet in his Cabin, if it can contain all the Guefts, The Warriors dance one after another, _ then friking on a Poft, Silence is made: They fay what they pleafe, and they ftop from Time to Time to receive the Applaufes of the Auditors, who are not fparing of them. But if any one boafts falfely, any Perfon is allowed to take Dirt or Afhes and rub his Head with them, or play him any other Trick he thinks proper. Commonly they black his Face, faying, ‘ What I do is to hide your Shame, for the firft Time *¢ you fee the Enemy you will turn pale.” He who has thus orate the Bragadocio, takes his Place, and if he commits the fame Fault, the other never fails to return the Compliment. The greateft Chiefs have no Privilege in this Matter, and they muft not be affronted at it.----This Dance is always performed in the Night. _ In the weftern Parts there is another Dance ufed, which is de Dunés of called the Dance of the Bull. The Dancers Sr | form feveral Circles or Rings, and the Mu- og doghanegl fic, which is always the Drum and the CA. chicoué, is in the midft of the Place. They never feparate thofe of the fame Family: They do not join Hands, and every one carries in his Hand his Arms and his Buckler. All the Circles do not turn the fame Way; and tho’ they caper much, and very — high, they always keep ‘Time and Meafure. am - From Time to Time a Chief of a Family prefents his Shield : They all ftrike upon it, and at every Stroke he repeats fome of his Exploits. Then he goes and cuts a Piece of Tobacco at a Poft, where they have faftened a certain Quantity, and gives it . to one of his Friends. If any one can prove that he has dohe greater Exploits, or had a Share in thofe the other boatfts of, he has a Right to take the Piece of Tobacco that was prefented, and give it to another. This Dance is followed by a Feaft ; but I do not well fee from whence it derives:its Name, unlefs _ it be from the Shields, on which they ftrike, which are covered © with Bull’s Hides. | _ There are Dances prefcribed by their Phyficians for the Cure M D 7 of the Sick, but they are generally very ™ the Phy ficians lafcivious. ‘There are fome that are entirely oe 5 7 "for Diverfion, that have no Relation to any Thing. They are almoft always in Circles, to the Sound of the Drum and the Chichicoué, the Men apart from the Wo- men. The Men dance with their Arms in their Hands, and _ tho’ they never take hold of each other, they never break the rcle. As to what I faid before, that they are always in Time, no difficult Thing to believe, becaufe the Mufic of the Sa- has but two or three Notes, which are repeated continually. ah E € ‘This. - 210 | ‘An Hificrical Fournal of , à 0 This makes their Feafts very tirefome to an European after he | has feen them once, becaufe they laft a long Time, and you hear — always the fame Thing. FL Wed Ro As the Nations near the Bay, if we except the Pouttoutamis, are much more rude and ignorant than the others, they, are alfo more given to Superflition. The Sun and Thunder are their principal Deities, and they feem to be more ftrongly per- fuaded than thofe we are converfant with, that every Species of Animals has a Guardian Genius, who watches for its _ Prefervation. A Frenchman having one Day thrown away a Moufe he had juft catched, a little Girl took it up to eatit: The Father of the Child, who faw it, {natched it from her, and began - to make great Carefles to the dead Animal. The Frenchman afked him the Reafon, he replied, ‘ It és to appeafe the Genius “* of the Mice, that he may not torment my Daughter, after fhe has ‘€ eaten this.” After which he returned the Animal to the Child, who eat it. | | _ They have above all much Veneration for Bears: As foon as they have killed one, they have a Feaft, accompanied with fome odd Ceremonies. The Head of the Bear, painted with all Sorts of Colours, is placed during the Repaft on an elevated Place, and there receives the Homage of all the Gueñts, who _ celebrate by Songs the Praifes of the Animal, while they cut his Body in Pieces, and feaft upon it. ‘Thefe Savages have not only, like the reft, the Cuftom of preparing themfelves for their great Hunting Matches by Fafting, which the Outagamis extend even to ten Days together, but alfo, while the Hunters are in the Field, they often oblige their Children to faft. They obferve their Dreams while they faft, and draw from thence good and ill Prefages of the Succefs of the Chace. The In- tention of thefe Fafts is to appeafe the Guardian Genii of the Animals which they are to hunt; and they pretend that they in- form them by Dreams, whether they will hinder or favour the Hunters, : | } The Nation which for twenty Years laft has been the moft talked of in thefe weftern Parts, is the Ovragemis. The natu- ral Fiercenefs of thefe Savages, four’d by the ill Treatment they have feveral Times met with, fometimes without Caufe, and their Alliance with the Zroguois, who are always difpofed to create us new Enemies, have rendered them formidable. They have fince made a ftrict Alliance with the Szoux, a numerous — Nation, which has inured itfelf to War by Degrees; and this ~ Union has rendered all the Navigation of the upper Part of the. M:fifippi almoft impraëticable to us. It is not quite fafe to na- vigate the River of the unis, unlefs we are in a Condition to Ny oe : prevent Cm ies Gy i , A is Trâvels in North America. — 211 _ prevent a Surprife which is a great Injury to the Trade be- ~ tween the two.Colonies. hain “ae TPN | _ . Inmet in the Bay fome Sioux, of whom I made many Enqui- | Patins Nations TS about the Countries, which are to the to tho Noth and Wet and North Weft of Canada ; ‘and tho” ge Canada I know we muft not entirely depend on OFT MCE what the Savages fay; yet by compatins what I have heard from them, with that which I have hear from many others, I have great Reafon to believe that there are on this Continent fome Spaniards or other European Colo- nies, much more North than any we know of New Mexico and California, and that in going up the Mifouri as far as it is na- vigable, we come to a great River that runs to the Weft, and difcharges itfelf into the South Sea. Independent of fach Dif- covery, which I believe more eafy this Way than by the North, I can make no Doubt, on weighing the Information I have had from many-Places, and which agree pretty well together, that. by endeavouring to penetrate to the Source of the Mifou- vi, one fhould find wherewithal to make one Amends for the _ Charges and iFatigues of fuch an Enterprize. | D TUE wie ol à à tue L am, Bens, me ved as Dig Wd NGS am abe. Sa Departure from Micuitim akinac. Remarks on the Cufreñts of _ the Lake. Portrait of the SAVAGES of CANADA. Their good @nd bad Qualities. | ar ~Mapam, .——sdMLaas Micnican, Fuly 31, T Departed from Michillimakinac the Day before Yefterday at . Noon, and I am detained here in a little Ifland that. has no Name; a Canoe that came fromthe River'S+. Fo/ph, whither fam going, cannot go out, no more than our’s, though 'they have the Wind favourable for them; but they fay it is too flormy, _ andthe Take too rough, which ‘gives me -a.frefh Opportunity of writing ‘to you. #, ie ol MEA eas _ Though the Wind was againft me, when I embarked the Remarks on the le mag went eight good Leagues that Day, ah che, eh Protea Tan Grenier steve deities rents. JI ‘had already obferved the fame ee Thing upon entering the Bay, and was fur-. edatit. [It is certain that this:Bay, having no other Outlet, larges itfelf into Lake Michigan; and Lake Michigan, Ll : Tae: 2 i Re "fae è \ Channel, and produce Eddies or counter Currents, of which we g Shore, as they are oblige ea I went at firft five Leagues to the Weft, to get into Lake Mi Portrait of the Savages. but it is very uncommon to fee any that are — deformed, or that have any outward Blemifh. They are ro- buft, and of a healthy Conftitution: They would be very long lived, if they {pared themfelves a little more; but the greateit Part ruin their Conftitutions by forced. Marches, by defperate Faftings, and by great Exceffes in eating: Befides that, during — their Childhood, they have often their naked Feet in the Water, on the Snow and Ice. ‘The Brandy which the Europeans have fupplied them with, and for which they have fuch a ftrong In- clination that exceeds all that can be faid of it, and which they always drink till they are drunk, has compleated their Ruin, and‘has not a little contributed to the Deftruétion ef all thefe … Nations, which are at prefent reduced to lefs than the twentieth _ Part of what they were a hundred and fifty Yearsago. Ifthis continues they will become entirely extinét, | Their Bodies are not confined in their Infancy like our’s, and Their Strenots, BOthing is more proper to make their Joints PET OER” free, and. to give them that Supplenefs in all their Limbs, which we fo much admire in them, than this Li- berty, and the Exercifes to which the Children there are ac- cuftomed very early. The Mothers fuckle them a long Time, and there are fome that at fix or feven years old ftill take the Breaft. Neverthelefs, this does not hinder them from taking all Kinds of Food the firft Year: In fhort, the open Air to u = which they are expofed, the Fatigues they make them fuffer, | but by little and little, and in a Manner proportioned to. PRE ; CURE | : | Travels in North America. Os oe _ Age, withplain and natural Food; all this forms Bodies capable . ofperforming and of fuffering incredible Things ; the Excefs of which, as I have already obierved, deftroys many before they arrive at an Age of Maturity. We have feen fome, after their . Stomachs were fwelled four Inches, ftill continue eating as hear- _ tilyas if they had: juft begun : When they find themfelves over- charged they {moke, then they fleep, and when they wake the ~ Digeftion is generally perfeéted. Sometimes they take an Emetic, after which they begin to eat again. de i fe Inèthe Southern Countries they have but little Reftraint in 4 Their Vices the Article of Women; who, on their Side, | og dans © are, very: lafcivious. . From hence arifes the Corruption of Manners, which for fome Years paft has infected _the Northern Nations. The froguois in particular were chafte enough, till they were converfant with the [/imois, and other neighbouring People of Loufiana: They have gained nothing by their Acquaintance with them, but adopting their Vices. It as certain that Effeminacy and Luft were carried in thefe Parts to the greateft Excefs. There were amongft them fome Men who were not afhamed to drefs themfelves like Women, and to fub- mit to all the Employments that belonged to the Women ; from whence there followed a Corruption that cannot be expreffed. . Some have pretended, that this Cuftom came from I know not what Principle of Religion: But this Religion, like many others, has taken its Rife from the Depravation of the Heart ; .or1if this Cuftom took its Rife from the Spirit, it ended in the _Flefh. Thefe effeminate Perfons never marry, and abandon themfelves to the moft infamous Paffions ; they are alfo treated with the greateft Contempt. ve _ On the other Hand, though the Women are ftrong and lufty, eye so Counter they are unfruitful. Befides the Reafons À ii 7 ; L > have already mentioned, that is to fay, the Mth D 7 Time they take to fuckle their Children, their Cuftom of Continence all this Time, and the exceflive La- bours they are obliged to undergo, in whatfoever Condition they — find themfelves, this Barrennefs proceeds alfo from the Cuftom | 2 eftablifhed in many Places, which permits young Women to pro- — ftitute themfelves before they are married ; add to this, theex- | treme Neceflity to which thefe People are often reduced, and which takes away their Defire of having Children. _ For the reft, itis certain, that they have great Advantages over Phe Animes 3 and I confider, as the chief of all, the Chia bas ° Perfectnefs of their Senfes, either intérnal or (i ead : .” external, In Spite of the Snow, which dazzles their Eyes, and the Smoke, which almoft {mothers them _ _ for fix Months in the Year, their Sight never decays : Their ax 4% ” £ earing LE | ara An Hiftorical Fournal of — | Hearing is extremely. quick, and their Smelling fo exquifite, that — they fmell Fire a long Time before they can difcover it. On Account of the Exquifitenefs of their Smell, they can’t bear the Scent of Mufk, nor any ftrong Smell. They fay alfo, that they like no Odours, but thofe of Eatables. TONE tig Their Apprehenfion is very wonderful : It is enough for them to have been but once ina Place, to have an exaët Idea of it, which is never effaced. If a Foreft is ever fo large and path lefs, they crofs it without wandering, when they have well con- fidered certain Marks, by which they guide themfelves. Miu The Inhabitants of Acadia, and of the Environs of the Gulf of St. Laurence, intheir Canoes of Bark (to pafs over to Terre de Labrador (New Britain) to feek out the E/kimaux, with whom they were at War) would go thirty or forty Leagues on the - main Sea without Compafs, and make the Land exaétly at the Place they propofed. In the moft cloudy Weather they will follow the Sun many Days, without making any Miftake : The beft Clock cannot give us better Information of the Progrefs of the Sun, than they can, only by viewing the Sky; fo that do what you can to put them out of their Way, tis very rare that they lofe their Route. ‘They are born with this Talent: It is not the Fruit of their Obfervations, nor of long Cuftom: Youth, who never before went out of their Village, travel as fe- curely as thofe who have been moft ufed to range the Country. The Beauty of their Imagination is equal to its Vivacity, and Their Eloauence, is appears in all their Difcourfe. They are TR quick at Repartee, and their Speeches are full of fhining Paffages, that would have been applauded in the public Affemblies at Rome and Athens. Their Eloquence has fomething in it fo ftrong, fo natural, fo pathetic, that Art cannot attain, and which the Greeks admired in the Barbarians; And though it does not appear to be fupported by Action, though they make no Geftures, and do not raife their Voice, we feel that they are thoroughly affected with what they fay, and their Elo- quence is perfuafive. | ste It would be frange, that with fuch a fine Imagination, they fhould not have an excellent Memory. They yee sing en are deftitute of all the Helps we have in- 1 ead a vented to aft our’s, or to fupply its Defect. ii) Judgment. _Neverthelefs, itis fcarcely credible of how many Matters, with what particular Circumftances, and with how much Order, they treat in their Councils. On.fome Occa- fions, however, they ufe little Sticks, to recolleét the Articles they are to difcufs ; and by this they form a Sort of local Me- mory fo certain, that they will fpeak four or five Hours toge- ther, will difplay twenty Prefents, each of which requires anen- — p _ tire af" À only ready at Repartee, but alfo witty. | An Outaouais, named John le Blanc, a bad Chriflian, and a great Drunkard, being afked by Comte de Frontenac, what he thought Brandy was made of, which he loved fo well, faid it was an Extract of ‘Tongues and Hearts ; for (added he) when I have drank it, I fear nothing, and I talk to Admiration. di: The greateit Part of them have truly a Noblenefs and an Their Diner Equality of Soul, to which we feldem ar. F Soul “rive, with all the Helps we can obtain from ae Philofophy and Religion. Always Matters _ of themfelves, in the moft fudden Misiortunes, we can’t per. ceive the leaft Alteration in their Countenances. A Prifoner, who knows in what his Captivity willend, or, which is perhaps more furprifing, who is ftill uncertain of his Fate, does not lofe on this Account a Quarter of an Hour’s Sleep : Even the firft Emotions do not find them at a Fault. : ie _A Huron Captain was one Day infulted and ftruck by a young Man. ‘Thofe who were prefent, would have punifhed this Au dacioufnefs on the Spot. ‘* Let him alone, (faid the Captain) ** Did not you feel the Earth tremble ? He is fufficiently informed of eta. Folly! : - : ie ee _ Their Conftancy in fuffering Pain, is beyond all Expreffion. ee A young Woman fhall be a whole Day in Don Chefancy Cle “without making one Cry: If the i fhewed the leaft Weaknefs, they would efteem _ her unworthy to be a Mother ; becaufe, as they fay, the could à only to im Juffering Pain. 216 An Hiftorical Fournal of: enly breed Cowards. Nothing is more common, than to fee Perfons of all Ages, and of both Sexes, fuffer for many. Hours, and fometimes many Days together, the fharpeft Effects of Fire, © and all.that the moft induftrious Fury can invent to make it moft painful, without. letting a Sigh efcape. They are em- ployed for the moft Part, during their Sufferings, in encou- raging their Tormenters by the moft infulting Reproaches. - = An Outagami, who was burnt by the Z//aois-with the utmoit Cruelty, perceiving a Frenchmaa among the Spectators, begged of him that he would help his Enemies to torment him ; and upon his afking why he made this Requeft, he replied, ‘* Be- << caufe I foould have the Comfort of dying by the Hands of a Mans € My greatef? Grief (adds he) is, that I never killed @ Man.” ‘€ But (faid an ILLiNo1ïsS) you have killed fuch and Juch a Perfon.” — “€ As for te Ixrinoïs, (replied the Prifoner) J bave killed enough ‘6 of them, but they areno Men.” 3 | What I have obferved in another Place, Madam, to leffen the Aftonifhment which fuch an Infenfibility fills one with, does not hinder us from allowing that fuch a Behaviour fhews a great deal of Bravery. There muft always be, to elevate the Soul above the Senfe of Pain to fuch a Degree, an Effort which com- mon Souls are not capableof. ‘The Savages exercife themfelves — gn this a!l their Lives, and accuftom their Children to it from their tendereft Years, We have feen little Boys and Girls tie themfelves together by one Arm, and put a lighted Coal be- © tween them, to fee which would fhake it of firft. In fhort, we muftalfo allow, that according to Cicero’s Remark, an Habit of Labour makes us bear Pain more eafily (a). But there are perhaps no Men in the World who fatigue themfelves more than the Savages, either in their Huntings, or in their Journies. Laftly, what proves that this Kind of Infenfibility. is in thefe Barbarians the Effect of a true Courage, is, that 1t 1s not found in all of them. | | _Itis not furprifing that with this Greatnefs of Soul, and thefe elevated Sentiments, the Savages fhould be intrepid in Danger, and of a Courage, Proof againit every Thing. It is true, that in their Wars they expofe themfelves as little as may be, becaufe they make it their chief Glory never to buy the Victory ata dear Rate; and becaufe of their Nations not being numerous, they have made it a Maxim not to weaken them: But when they muft fight, they do it like Lions, and the Sight of their Blood does but encreafe their Strength and Courage. ‘They | have been in many Aë&tions with our brave Men, who have feen them perform Things almoft incredible. ; (a) Confuetudo enim laborum perpeffionem dolorum efficit faciliorem., 2 Tufee Se - ae à | d A Miffionary x ey, Travels in- North. America. 2 14 1% À Miffionary having accompanied fome Abenakis in an Expe- dition againft New England, and knowing that a great Party of © the Exglifh were purfuing them in their Retreat, endeavoured all he could to make them make Halte forward, but without Effect. _ All the Anfwer he received, was, that they were not afraid of _thofePeople. At laft all the Engli came in Sight, and they were _“atleaft twenty to one. The Savages, without feeming at all fur- . prifed, firft conduéted the Father to a Place of Safety, then _ went and waited boldly for the Enemy in a Place where there was only fome Stumps of Trees. The Engagement lafted al- moft the whole Day. The Abenakis did not lofe a Man, and put the Exglif> to Flight, after having covered the Field of Battle with the Dead. T had this Account from the Mif- fionary himfelf (a). ua But what furprifes infinitely in Sen whofe ba het à à Re as, . Appearance proclaims nothing but Barbarity, — 30 A er is a fee Met behave to each her with ote . : noid à Kindnefs and Regard, that are not to be found amongft the moft civilized Nations. Doubtlefs this pro. ceeds in fome Meafure from thé Words mine and THine being ~ as yet unknown to thefe Savages. Thofe cold Words, as St. Chryfoffom calls them, which extinguifhing in our Hearts the Fire of Charity, lights up that of Covetoufnefs. We are equally charmed with that natural and unaffected Gravity which reigns in all their Behaviour, in all their Ations, and in the . greateft Part of their Diverfions ; as likewife with the Civility and Deference they fhew to their Equals, and the Refpec of . young People to the Aged ; and laftdy, never to fee them quar- tel among themfelves with thofe indecent Expreflions, and the _ Oaths and Curfes, focommonamongit us. All which are Proofs of good Senfe, and a great Command of ‘Tempér. | T have already faid, that one of their Principles, and that of which they are the moft jealous, is, that one Man owes nothing © to another : But from this bad Maxim they draw a good Inf& © fence, that is to fay, that we muft never do an Injury to any Perfon, from whom we have received no Wrong. ‘There Is no- thing wanting to their Happinefs, but to behave between Na- tion and Nation, as they do between private Perfons, and nevei to attack any People of whom they have no Caufe to complain, and not to carry their Revenge fo far. L. | On the other Hand, we muft allow that what we moit admire 1. p:7 _, inthe Savages, is not always pure Virtue : a ad that Controle and Vanity have a great PE G8S* Share in it, and that their bef Qualities are ) Father Vincent Bigot: ——This feems to be Apocrypha, ; Rey F f parity tarnithed 218 An Hiftorical Fournal of tarnifhed by great Vices. Thefe Men,’ who at firft View ap. pear to us fo contemptible, of all Mankind have the greateft Contempt for all others, and the higheft Opinion of themfelves. ‘The proudeft of all were the Hurons, before Succeffes had lifted up the Hearts of the Jroguois, and grafted in them a Haughti- nefs, which nothing can yet fupprefs, on a fierce Rudenefs, which before was their diftinguifhing Charaéter. | _ On the other Side, thefe People, fo proud and jealous of their Liberty, are beyond all Imagination Slaves to Human Refpe& : They are accufed of being light and inconftant ; but they are fo, rather through a Spirit of Independence, than by Character, as I have obferved of the. Canadians. ‘They are diftruftful and fufpicious, efpecially towards us; treacherous, when their In- tereft is concerned ; Diffemblers, and revengeful to Excefs, Time does not abate inthem their Defire of Revenge: It is the moft precious Inheritance which they leave to their Children, and which is tranfmitted from Generation to Generation, till they find an Opportunity to execute it. ate a As to what we call more particularly the Qualities of the Dunlities of the Heart, the Savages do not value themfelves Ho much on them ; or, to fpeak more properly, date they are not Virtues in them. Friendfhip, Compafiion, Gratitude, Attachment, they have fomething of all . this, but it is not in the Heart ; and in them it is lefs the Efe _ of a good Difpofition, than of Reflexion, or [nftinét. The Care. _ they take of Orphans, Widows, and the Infirm, and the Hofpita~ ‘ lity they exercife in fuch an admirable Manner, are to them.only the Confequence of their Perfuafion, that all Things ought to. be in common among Men. Fathers and Mothers have a Fond- nefs for their Children, which rifes even to Weaknefs ; but which does notincline them to make them virtuous, and which appears to be purely Animal. Children, on their Side, have no natural Gratitude for their Parents, and they even treat them fometimes with Indignity, efpecially their Fathers, I have heard fome Examples of this Sort, that are horrible, and which _. eannot be related: But here follows one Inftance that was pub- lic. } | Be, An Zroguois, who ferved a long Time in our ‘Troops againft his re. ] hp Own Nation, and evenas an Officer, methis Example of the Dasher in an Engagement, and was going to little Affection of if] him. When he difcovered who he was, Children for their Le held his Hand, and faid to him, “« You Parents. “<< Lave once given me Life, and now I give it to “€ you. Let me meet with you no more; for Î have paid the Debt I ce gud you.’ Nothing can better prove the Neceflity of Edu- cation, and that Nature alone does not fuficiently inftru “EF ravelsin North America. 219 … @ur moft effential Duties. And what demonftrates more evi- … dently the Advantages of the Chrifiax Religion, is, that it has produced, in the Hearts of thefe Barbarians, in all thefe Re- ; ts, a Change which appears wonderful. — al _ But if the Savages know not how to 4 pores of Oe Se ee Friendfhip, they have at leaft difcovered its | ee Ufefulnets rein one amongft them has a et nga ie Friend nearly of his own Age, between ts se whom there is a mutual Engagement, which is indiffoluble. ‘Two Men thus united for their common In- teréft, are obliged to do every Thing, and to run all Hazards to affift and fuccour each other, Death itfelf, as they believe, fepa- rates them only for a Time : They depend on meeting again in the other World, never to part more, being perfuaded that they {hall fill want each other’s Affiftance. | di. I have heard it reported, on this Occafion, that a Chriftian Sa. vage, but one who did not purfue the Maxims of the Gofpel, _ being threatened with Hell by a Fe/uit, afked this Mifionary, if he thought his Friend, who was lately dead, was gone to that — Place of Punifhment ? The Father replied, that he had Reafon to judge that he had found Mercy with Gop. <‘* I wont go to ** Hell neither,”’ {aid the Savage ; and this Motive engaged him to doall we required, shat is to fay, that he was as willing to go _ to Hell as to Heaven, to meet with his Companion: But Gop © _ makes Ufe of all Means to fave his Ele. They add, that _ thefe Friends, when they are at a Diftance from each other, ufe mutual Invocations in any Dangers they meet with; which is to be underftood, without Doubt, of their Guardian Deities. Thefe Affociations are bound by Prefents, and ftrengthened by Intereft and Necefity. This is a Support on which they can almoft al- ‘ways depend. Some report, that there is fomething unnatural am thefe Affociations ; but L have Reafon to believe at leaft it is not general, 0 The Colourof the Savages does not prove a third Species be- The Cour of tWeenthe White and the Black, as fome People HAT: lave imagined. They are very fwarthy, and the Savages nas wares © x y; an FU: of a dirty dark Red, which appears more in Florida, of which Louifiana is a Part: But this is not their natu- ral Complexion. ‘The frequent Friétions they ufe, gives them _ this Red; and it is furprifing that they are not blacker, being continually expofed to the Smoke in Winter, to the great Heats of the Sun in Summer, and in all Seafons to all the Inclemen- . ies of the Air, F f 2 It 220 An Hiftorical Fournal of" | _. It is not fo eafy to give a Reafon why they have nota Hair on their whole Body, excepting the Hairs off their Head, which they have all very black, the Eye Lafhes, and Eyebrows, which fome … Why they have . no Beards. _ alfo pluck off ; and ’tis the fame Cafe with almoft all the Ame-- ricans. What makes it ill more furprifing, is, that their Chil- drenare born with a thin Hair, and pretty long, all over their Bo- dies, but which difappears after eight Days.. Theold Men have alfo fome Hairs on the Chin, as we fee fome old Women have with us. I have known fome who attribute this Singularity to the conftant Cuftom the Americans have of fmoking, and which is common to both Sexes. Others think it more natural to fay, that this proceeds from the Quality of their Blood ; which be- _ ang more pure, becaufe of the Plainnefs of their Aliments, pro- | fe ee a: TF7) Le RTE À duces lefs of thofe Superfluities, which our’s, being more grofs, fupplies fo plentifully ; or that having fewer Salts, it is lefs fit for theie Sort of Productions. There is no Doubt’ thatit is at leaf this Plainnefs of Food which renders the Savages fo fwift of © Foot. Ihave feen a Man who came from an Ifland not far from : Japan, who, before he had eat any Bread, aflured me that he could travel on Foot thirty Leagues a Day, commonly without Fatigue ; but fince he had been ufed to Bread, he could not tra- * vel with the fame Eafe. : | This is certain, thatour Savages think it a very great Beauty to have no Hair but on the Head; that if they have any ‘grow on their Chin, they pluck it off direétly ; that the Euro. peans, the firft Time they faw them, appeared frightful to them “with their long Beards, as was then the Fafhion ; that they do “not think our white Colour handfome ; and that they found the Flefh of the Englifo and French, when they eat it, of a bad ‘Tafte, becaufe it was fait. ae Thus, Madam, the Idea which we formerly had in Europe of Savages, which were reprefented as hairy Men, is mot only en- _tirely the Reverfe of the Americans, but it is exaétly that which they at firft had of us, becaufe they thought all our Bodies were © | like our Breafts and Chins, + 5 “hi de fy ; i am, &c. ie tes « nm ae | wigation of Lake “hay He i PAT Y > } { Travels im North America. | 22 RERUNS aus panes Bet one ee Re eu En ÉDITER XXL. a Journey to the River ST. four ta. Remarks on ihe Rivers 74 run into Lake Micuigan from the Eaft Of Father Mar- QUETTE’s River, aud the Origin of its Name. Two Games of the Savaces. Some Remarks on the Chara&er of i People. | Mai. | | | Sr. HE Angi 16. | I T is eight Days fince I arrived at this Pot, where we have a Miffion, and where there is a Coin tnt with a {mail | - Garrifon. The Houfe of the Commandant, which is a trifling Thing, is called the Fort, becaufe it is furrounded with a poor _ Palifade, and it is much the fame Thing in all other Places, . "-excepting the Forts of Chambly and Cataracoui, which are real . Fortreffes. There are however in all of them fome Pieces ofee "Cannon or Pattereroes, which, in Cafe of Need, are fuflicient ta prevent a Coup de Main, and to keep the Savages i in Awe. | We have here two Villages of Savages, one of Miamis and Danger of the Na- the other of Pouteouatamies, the: y are | oth for & the moft Part Chriflians, but they have been a long Time without Paftors, and the Mif Michigan. fionary that was lately fent hither will haye no little. Trouble to reftore the Exercife of Religion. The River St. -Fo/eph comes from the South Eaft to difcharge itfelf into the Bottom of Lake Michigan, the Eat Coatt of which we mutt range, which is a hundred Leagues long, before we enter. this River. Then we go up it two hundred Leagues to arrive at the Fort: This Navigation requires much Care, becaufe when the Wind comes from the open Lake, #haris, the Weft, -the Waves are the whole length of the Lake; and the Welt Winds are very common here. It is alfo very probable that the Number of Rivers, which run into the Lake on the Weft Side, contribute by the Shock of their Currents with the Waves, to - render the Navigation more dangerous: It is certain that there are few Places in Canada where there are more Wire a take up sy Journal again where I left off. : The 322 ‘An Hifiorical Fournal of | © The firft of Auguff, after having failed crofs a Bay that is thirty | Leagues deep, I left on the Right the Iiles of Caffor, which appeared to be very well wooded ; and fome Leagues further, on the Left, I perceived on an Eminence of Sand a Kind of Bufh, which, when we are over againft it has the Shape of an Animal lying down. The French call it L’ours qui dort (ihe fleeping Bear), and the Me is the Bear ling down. I went twenty Leagues that Day, and encamped in a little Ifland, 4° 30° North Latitude; this is nearly the Latitude of Mozereal. rom the Entrance of Lake Michigan to this Ifland, the Coaft is very fandy, but if we go a little Way into the Country it ap- pears to be very good, at leaft to judge of it by the fine Foreits with which it is covered. On the other Hand, it is well watered, — for we went not a League without difcovering either fome large Brook, or fome pretty River, and the farther we go South, the Remarks on the Rivers we meet awith in this Route. Rivers grow larger, and havea longer Courfe, the Penin/fula, _ which feparates Lake Michigan from Lake Huron, growing wider — as it advances to the South. Neverthelefs, the greateft Part of théfé Rivers are but narrow, and fhallow at their Mouths; but they have this Singularity, that they form Lakes near their En- trance of two, three, or four Leagues round. ‘This proceeds, fo Doubt, from the Quantity of Sand which they bring down: — Thefe Sands being driven back by the Waves of the Lake, whieh almoit always come from the Weft, gather at the Mouths of the Rivers, whofe Waters being ftopt by thefe Banks, which - they pafs over with Difficulty, have madethemfélves by Decrees — thefe Lakes, or Ponds, which prevent the Inundation of the — whole Country when the Snows melt. : On the third I entered Father Marguette’s River to examine if Fa Me Mix: what I had heard of it was true. It is at | D ne firit only a Brook, but fifteen Paces higher, QUEUES “ever. which is near two Leagues round, to make a Paflage for it into the Michigar, one would think they had dug away with Pickaxes, a great Hill, which we leave to the Left — at the Entrante, and on the Right the Coaft is very low for the - fength of a good Mufket-Shot; then all at once it rifes very , high. It had been thus réprefented to me; concerning which, this is the conftant Tradition of all our Travellers, and what I have heard from fome afitient Miffionaries. __ i a Father Fofeph Marquette, a Native of Laon in Picardy, where \ his Family fill holds a diftinguifhed Rank, was one of the moft illuftrious Miffionaries of New France; he travelled over almoft — all Parts of it, and made many Difcoveries; the laft of which was the Mififippi, which he entered with the Sieur oies in 1673. Two Years after this Difcovery, of which he publifhed — at CU i i Ll hia an 1 % an Account, as he was going from Chicagou, which is at the … Travels in North Americe. 222 Bottom of Lake Michigan, to Michillimakinac, he entered the Ri- _ ver I am fpeaking of; the Entrance of which was then at the _ Extremity of the low. Land, which I have faid we leave to the Right atentering it. He fet up his Altar here, and daid Mafs. Afterthis, he went a little Diftance to return Thanks, and prayed the two Men who managed his Canoe, to leave him alone for half an Hour. This Time being expired, they went to feek him, and were greatly furprifed to find him dead; but _ they recolleéted, that upon entering the River, he had faid thar “ the Author’s in the he fhould finifh his Journey there. Neverthelefs, as it was too far from thence to Michillimakinac, to carry his Bodythither, they buried him pretty near the Side of the River ; which from that Time has retired, as out of Refpect, to the Cape, at the Foot of which it now runs, and where it has made a new Paflage. The Year following, one of the two Men who had performed the laft Duties to this Servant of Gop, returned to the Place where he had buried him, took up his Remains, and carried them to Michillimakinac. Icould not learn, or] have forgot, what Name this River had ‘before; but at prefent the Savages always call i the River of the Black Gowz (a). ‘The French have given it the Name of Father Marquette; and never fail to invoke him, when they find themfelves in any Danger on the Lake Michigan. Many have affirmed, that they believe 1t was owing to his Inter- ceflion, that they have efcaped very great Dangers. | I went three Leagues further that Day, and encamped at the Of the red and of a pretty Lake, that is longer, but not fo the white Piues. pretty Lake, tha ger, Dut not fo | wide as the former. J found here a great Number of red and white Pines, the laft have the hardeft Bark, but the beft Wood, and fhed a Gum which is pretty fine;. the firit have the fofteft Bark, but the Wood is heavier. They draw from ‘thefe the ‘Tar of which the beft Pitch is made. failed thus pleafantly to the River St. ofeph, which J entered the 6th, very late, or the 7th very early in the Morning, for it was about Midnight when we arrived here, having refted ourfelves Entrance of the River St. Nicolas, on the Side two good Hours at the Side of the Lake of La Riaiere Noine (the Black River), which is eight Leagues diftant, and where. there isa great deal of Gin-/eng. | | . ! The River Sz. Fofeph is above a hundred Leagues long, ant | | __: … its Source is not far from Lake Æ722- T+ 4 An Aaventare.of ce is not far from Lake Erie: Tt as River St. Jofeph. vered with Trees of.a prodigious Height, under which «there ial (a) ‘Thus the Savages call the Jéfuits. They call the Priefts, the. White Capes; and the Recollets, the Grey Gowns, navigable eighty Leagues, and in the twenty 4 five Leagues which I went up to arrive at . the Fort, Ifaw none but good Lands,. co. Ne grows 224 An Hiftorical Fournal of | grows in fome Places very fine Capillaire, (Maiden Hair)« 1 -was two Days making this Way, but the Nightof the firft was very near putting an End to my Journey. I was taken fora Bear, and I was within a Hair’s Breadth of being killed under this De- — 1 nomination, by one of my Canoe Men in the following Manner. After Supper and Prayer, as it was very hot, I went to take a Walk, keeping always by the Side of the River. A Spaniel that followed me every where, took a Fancy to jump into the River, to fetch I know not what, which I had thrown in with- out Thought. My People, who thought I was gone to Ref, efpecially as it was late, and the Night dark, hearing the Noife this Creature made, thought it was a Roe-Buck that was crofling the River ; and two of them immediately fet out with their — Guns charged. Luckily for me, one of the two,- who was a blundering Fellow, was called back by the reft, for Fear he fhould occafion the Lofs of their Game ; otherwife it might have happened, that by his blundering I fhould have been thot. The other advancing flowly, perceived me about twenty _ Paces from him, and made no Doubt that it was a Bear ftanding upon his hind Feet, as thefe Animals always do when they hear a Noife. Atthis Sight he cocks his Gun, which he had loaded with three Balls ; and crouching down almof to the Ground, - made his Approaches as filently as poflible. He was going to fire, when on my Side I thought I faw fomething, without be- ing able to diftinguifh what it was ; but as I could not doubt but that it was one of my People, I thought proper to afk him if by Chance he did not take me for a Bear : He made me no An- fwer, and when I came up to him, I found him like one Thun- der-ftruck, and as it were ‘feized with Horror at the Blow he was juft going to give. It was his Comrades who told me what ad pañled. — ; . . : ‘Fhe River St. Fa/eph is: fo convenient for the Trade of alt Parts of Canada, that it is no Wonder it has always been much _ frequented by the Savages. Furthermore, it waters avery fertile — Country: But this is not what thefe People value moft. It is even a great Lofs to give them good Lands: Either they make no Ufe of them, or they foon make them poor by fowing theirMaiz. 2. ie ae ie | The Mafcoutins had, not long fince, a Settlement on this Ri- ver ; butthey are returned to their own Country, which 1s, as they fay, ftill finer. . The Pouteouatamies have fucceflively occu- _ pied here feveral Pofts, and remain: here ftill. Theér Village is on the fame Side as the Fort, a little lower, and on a very fine | SE The Village of the Miamiesis on the other Side of the River. - | Le he je Ts oe . Travels in North America. - 22¢ … ‘Thefe Savages who have at all Times applied themfelves more |. APTE than the others to Phyfc, fet a high Value ee ene on Gin-/eng, and he perfuaded that this 3 D rPaare. Plant has the Virtue to render Women fruit- ful. But I do not think that it was for this Reafon they called it Abefoutchenza, which means a Child: It owes this Name to the ‘Shape of its Root, at leaft among the Jroguois. You have feen without Doubt, Madam, what Father ZLafitau, who brought it firft to France, has wrote of it under the Name of Aurelia Cana- denfis: It is at leaft for Shape abfolutely the fame as that which comes to us from China, and which the er get from Corea and Yartary. The Name they give it, which fignifies she * Likenefs of a Man; the Virtues they attribute to it, and which _ have been experienced in Canada by thofe who have ufed it, and the Conformity of the Climate (a), are great Reafons to think, that if we took it as coming from China, it would be as much efteemed as that the Chine/e fell us; perhaps it is fo little ef- teemed by us, becaufe it grows in a Country that belongs to us, and that it has not the Recommendation of being entirely Foreign. | In going up the River Sr. Fo/eph, I obferved feveral Trees, OVE whe’ nn which I had not feen in any other Place. Ba ae Saf The moft remarkable, and which I took at Life 47 fit for an Ath by its Leaves, grows very afras. 1 db p ners, arge, and bears Beans which appear very good to the Eye; but the more they are boifed the harder they grow, fo that they could never be ufed. ‘The’Fields which fur- round the Fort are fo full of Saffafras, that it perfumes the Air; but it isnot a great Tree as in Carolina: They are little Shrubs which grow near the Ground; perhaps alfo they are but Shoots . of the Trees that were cut down to clear the Environs of the - _ Fort, and of the Savage Villages. _ There are here many Simples, which they fay the Savages ae make Ufe of a little at a Venture, without — se ré ÿ ‘hil any other Principle than a flight Experiment — US ee made by Chance, and which fometimes de- their Simples, manures ba ne ; | ey ce, the MG ceives them ;“tor the fame Remedies do not ie i nal % a& equally on ali Sorts of Subjects, attacked he hae dl with the fame Diftempers; but thefe People know not how to make all thefe Diftinétions. One Thing which much furprifes me, is the impenetrable Secrecy they keep con- © (a) The Black River (la Riviere Noire) is in 41 Deg. 50 Min. it is in “the fame Latitude they get the Gin-feng of Corea for the Emperor of China. eof our’s has been carried to China, and being prepared by the Chinefe, _ shave fold it as coming from Corea or Tartary, For the reft, this Prepa- à adds nothing to it, me GS cerning 226. An Hiftorical Fournal of. cerning their Simples, or the little Curiofity of the French to — get.the Knowledge of them. If the laft are not in Fault, no- thing makes it appear more, in my Opinion, that the Savages | _ are not pleafed to fee us in their Country: And we have other Proofs, which are as clear as this. It is very likely. alfo that a they are of the fame Opinion with Regard to their Simples, as « they are about their Mines ; #haf is to Jay, that they would foon — die, if they difcovered any of them to Strangers. a | NET Mar The Savages of thefe Parts are pau Thieves, ‘and think | 11. … all good Prizes that they can catch. It is OF the Miamis. the that if we foon difcover that we have loft any Thing, it is fufficient to inform the Chief of it, and we are fure to recover it; but we muft give the Chief more than. — the Value of the Thing, and he requires further fome Trifle for the Perfon that found it, and who is probably the Thief him felf: I happened to be in this Cafe the Day after my Arrival, and they fhewed me no Favour. Thefe Barbarians would fooner engage in a War than make the leaft Concefions on this oint. ‘ - Some Days after I paid a Vifit to the Chief of the Miamies, — _who had got the Start of me: He is a tall Man, well fhaped, à but much disfigured, for he has no Nofe : I was told that this | Misfortune happened to him in a drunken-bout. When he - heard I was coming to fee him, he went and placed himfelf at the Bottom of his Cabin, on a Sort of an Alcove, where I found him fitting with his Legs acrofs, after the Eaftern Mane ner. He faid very little to me, and feemed to aflume a proud Gravity, which he did not maintain well: This is the firft Sa- » vage Chief that Ifaw, who obferved this Ceremony ; but I was told beforehand that he mutt be treated in the fame Way, if you “would not be defpifed by kim. — | ON That Day the Pouteouatamis were come to play at the Game of FT of Straws with the Miamis: ‘They played in the “Ss: the Cabin of the Chief, and on an open Pe OWS Place before the Cabin. Thefe Straws are’ {mall Reeds about the Bignefs of a Wheat Straw, and about fix Inches long. ‘They take a Parcel, which are commonly two hundred and one, and always an odd Number. After having fhufled them well together, making a thoufand Contorfions, « and invoking the Geni, they feparate them with a Kind of an +” Awl, or a pointed Bone, into Parcels of ten each: Every one takes his own at a Venture, and he that happens to get the Par- cel with eleven, gains a certain Number of Points that are a- greed on. The whole Game 1s fixty or eighty. ee TEE There are other Ways of playing this Game, and they would: a have explained them to me, but I did not comprehend it, onl; A A TR AE ET Ps à MM pha Seta Travels in North America. 389 with Refpeét to their Manners. | | ~ As foon as it is Night, they fet up in the Middle of a great | RE ot feveral Pofts in a Ring, in the Midft. ave their Inftruments of Muñc: They place On each Poft a Packet of Down, and which muft be each of a different Colour. The young People of both Sexes, mingled together, dance round about thefe Pofts: The young Women have alfo Down of the Colour they like. From Time to Time a young Man fteps out of the Ring, and goes to take froma Poft fome Down of the Colour which he knows his Miftrefs dikes, and putting it upon his Head, he dances round her, and by a Sign appoints her a Place of Rendezvous. When the Dance is over, the Feaft begins, and lafts all Day: At Night every one retires, and the young Women manage Matters {6 well, that in Spite of the Vigilance of their Mothers, they go to the Place of Affignation. | AN The Miamis have two Games more, the firft of which ia called the Game of the Bat. They play at it with a Ball, and Sticks bent and ending in a Kind of Racket. They fet up two Pofts, which ferve for Bounds, and which are diitant frona each other according to the Number of Players. For Inftance, if they are eighty, there is half a League Diftance between the _ _ Pofts. The Players are divided into two Bands, which have each _ their Poft: Their Bufinefs is to ftrike the Ball to the Poft of the adverfe Party without letting it fall to the Ground, and without touching it with the Hand, for in either of thefe se | they lofe the Game, unlefs he who makes the Fault repairs by ftriking the Ball at one Blow to the Poft, which is often im poffible. Thefe Savages are fo dexterous at catching the Ball with their Bats, that fometimes one Game will laft many Days together. en ath : The fecond Game is much like the former, but is not f dan- gerous. They mark out two Bounds, as in the firft, and the Players occupy all the Space between. He that is to begin, throws a Ball up in the Air as perpendicularly as poñlible, that he may catch it the better, and throw it towards the Bounds. All the others have their Hands lifted up, and he that catches _ the Ball repeats the fame, or throws the Ball to one of his Band eval Gg 2 | that 228 ” An Hiftorical Fournal of that he judges more nimble and dexterous than himfelf 3; forte win the Game, the Ball muft never have been in the Hands of the adverfe Party before it comes to the Bound. The Women - alfo play at this Game, butit is but feldom: Their Bands confit of four or five, and the firft that lets the Ball fall, lofes the Game. 3 | ; The Poutcouatamis have here a Chief, and an Orator, who : are Perfons of Merit. The firft, named pt jae a Chief, Piremon, is a Man upwards of faxty, very fo- ¢ Crater ber and prudent: The fecond, named Ouila- Moon ind prudent: The fecond, named Ouila- _ mi eae mekyis younger: He is a Chrifian, and well : inftruéted, but he makes no Exercife of his Religion. One Day as I was making him fome Reproaches on - this Account, he left me fuddenly, went into the Chapel, and faid his Prayers aloud, fo that we heard him at the Miffionary’s — Lodging. It is difficult to find a Man that fpeaks better, and who has more Senfe. On the other Hand, he is of a very amiable Charaéter, and fincerely attached to the French. Piremon is not ‘inferior in any Refpeét, and I have heard them both in a Coun- cil at the Commandant’s, where they fpoke with a great deal of … Eloquence. Many Savages of the two Nations which are fettled on this River, are juft returned from the Engl Co- bibs ee is lonies, whither they went to fell their Peltry, | nef and from whence they have brought back a Soe great deal of Brandy. It has been divided according to Cuftom ; that is 10 fay, every Day they diftribute to a certain Number of Perfons as much as is neceflary for each to ~ get drunk, and the whole was drank in eight Days. They began to drink in the two Villages as foon as the Sun was fet, _ and every Night the Country refounded with frightful Cries and - Howlings. One would have faid that a Flight of Devils had efcaped from Hell, or that the two Villages were cutting one another’s Throats. ‘Two Men were lamed: I met one of them o broke his Arm with a Fall, and I faid to him, that certainly another Time he would be wifer: He replied, that this Accident was nothing, that he fhould foon be cured, and that he would _ begin to drink again as foon as he had got a frefh Stock of Brandy. i on aes Madam, what a Miffionary can doin the midftof fuch © a Diforder, and how greatly it muft affect an honeft Man, who. has quitted his own Country to gain Souls to God, to be obliged to bea Witnefs of it, without having it in his Power to remedy | it. Thefe Barbarians are fenfible that Drunkennefs ruins and _ deftroys them ; but when one ftrives to perfuade them that they fhould be the firftto afk that we fhould hinder them of a es : aie - De Travels in North America. ET LAON … that is attended with fuch fatal Confequences, they are fatisfied with replying, ‘‘ Itis you that have accüftomed us to it, we can _“ no longer do without it, and if you refufe to fupply us, we _ * will get it of the Exgli/Z. This Liquor ftrips us naked, and … kills us, it is true, but it is you who have done the Mifchief, © ‘ and there is now no Remedy.” Neverthelefs, they are in the wrong to blame us alone; had it not been for the Fugk/ 1 _ believe we could have put a Stop to this Trade in the Colony, or. _ reduced it within proper Bounds.—But we fhall perhaps be foon obliged to give Permiffion to fupply them with it from France, taking Meafures to prevent its Abufe, inafmuch as the Exghfp Brandy is more hurtful than our’s. 3 _ A Diforder that corrupts the Manners of a People never comes alone ; it is always the Principle, or the Rife of many others. The Savages, before they fell into this I am fpeaking of, excepting War, which they always made in a barbarous and — inhoman Manner, had nothing to difturb their Happinefs: Drunkennefs hath rendered them interefted, and has difturbed . the Peace they enjoyed in their Families, and in the Commerce of Life. Notwithftanding, as they are only ftruck with the pre- fent Object, the Evils, which this Paffion has caufed them, have not yet become a Habit: They are Storms which pafs over, and _ which they almoft forget when they are paft, thro’ the Goodnefs | of their Character, and the great Fund of Calmnefs of Soul, which they have received from Nature. ee We muft acknowledge that at firft Sight, the Life they lead | appears very hard; but befides that in this D 4 P duels of the cog eps Uneafinefs but by Comparifon, _ . Savages. and that Cuftom is a fecond Nature, the Li berty they enjoy, fuficiently compenfates the Lofs of thofe : Conveniencies they are deprived of. What we fee every Day in © fome Beggars by Profeffion, and in feveral Perfons in the Coun- try, gives us a fenfible Proof that we may be happy in the midft of Indigence. But the Savages are ftill moreshappy: Firft, be caufe they think themfelves fo: Secondly, becaufe they are in the ~ peaceable Pofleffion of the moft precious of all the Gifts of Na- ture: And laftly, becaufe they are entirely ignorant of, and have not even a Defire to know thofe falfe Advantages which we fo much efteem, and which we purchafe at the Expence of reak _ Good ; and of which we have fo little Enjoyment. ae …. In Fa@, what they are moft valuable for, and for which they __ ought to be looked upon as true Philofophers, is, that the Sight _ Of our Conveniencies, our Riches, our Magnificence, have little © _ moved them, and that they are pleafed with themfelves that they can do without them. Some /roguois, who went to Paris in 1666, — nd who were fhe ved all the Royal Houfes, and all the Beauties vos igh ge entr TOME D An Hiftorical Fournal of of that great City, admired nothing in it, and would have pre ferred their Villages to the Capital of the moft flourifhing King- — dom of Europe, if they had not feen the Street of la Huchetie, where the Shops of the roafting Cooks, which they always found furnithed with all Kinds of Meat, charmed them greatly, __ We cannot even fay that they are fo bight eae eae The Contempt their Way “ the ig ia a 957 are they have for our not acquainted witn the oweetnels of ours. Mr Matec A good Number of the French have lived Ss &° like them, and have been fo well pleafed with it, that many Perfons could never prevail with them to re- turn, though they might have been very much at their Eafe in the Colony. On the contrary, it was never poffible for a fingle Savage to conform to our Way of living. We have taken Chil- dren from the Cradle, and brought them up with much Care, and omitted nothing to hinder their knowing any Thing of what pañed amongft their Parents. All thefe Precautions were ufelefs : The Force of Blood prevailed over Education. As foon as they found themfelves at Liberty, they have torn their Garments to Pieces, and went through the Woods to feek their Countrymen, whofe Way of Life appeared to them more pleating than that they led with us. aie hi . . An Jroquois, named /a Plaque, lived many Years with the French; the fame who, as I have told you, Madam, in faving his Father’s Life in an Engagement, thought he had fully fatisfied all the Debt he owed him: He was alio made a Lieutenant in our ‘Troops to fix him, becaufe he was a very brave Man; but he could not continue in our Way of living: He returned to his Nation, only carrying from us our Vices, without correcting any _ of thofe he brought with him. He loved Women to Excefs : He was well fhaped: His Valour and his brave Aétions gave him a great Reputation: He had a great deal of Wit, and very amiable Manners: He had many Intrigues with other Men’s “Wives; and his Diforders went fo far, that it was debated in the . Council of his Canton, whether they fhould not take him off. It was however concluded, by the Majority of Votes, to fpare his Life ; becaufe, as he was extremely courageous, he would people _. the Country with good Warriors. _ | #3 Big? The Care which.the Mothers take of their Children, whilft — The Care whicl they are yet in the Cradle, is beyond all Ex- 3 bed , re Pen se preffion, and proves very clearly that weoften Sci i ae PR {poil all, when we exceed the Limits which ~ _ Gf ther Cbidren’ Kiiure, has taught us. They never leave . them: They carry them every where with them; and whenthey feem ready to fink under the Burdens they load themfelves with, __ the Cradle of their Child is reckoned as nothing. One would . by A = A qi # ie (4 1 HA RAT sh Ç Mauels in North America. 234° even fay, that this additional Weight is an Eafement that renders the reft lighter. _ Nothing can be neater than thefe Cradles: The Child lies very conveniently, and very eafy in them ; butit 1s bound only as high as the Waift ; fo that when the Cradle is upright, thefe little Creatures have their Heads and half their Bodies hanging down. In Europe they would fancy that a Child that was left in this Condition, would grow quite deformed ; but it happens di- rectly contrary : ‘This renders their Bodies fupple ; and they are all, in Faét, of a Stature and Port, that the beft fhaped among us would envy. What can we fay againft fuch a general Expe- | rience ? But what I am going to mention, cannot be {oeafily juftified. 3 agi _ There are on this Continent fome Nations which they call The vidiculony Pet Heads, which have in Fact their Foreheads SR ALL very flat, andthe Top of their Heads fome- sei rs ; Fr thing lengthened. ‘This Shape 1s not the EI Work of Nature; it is the Mothers who ages a _ give it their Children as foon as they are born. For this End, they apply to their Foreheads, and the back Part of their Heads, two Mafles of Clay, or of fome other - heavy Matter, which they bind by little and little, till the Skull has taken the Shape they defire to give it. Itappears that this — Operation is very painful to the Children, whoie Noftrils thed a whitifh Matter, pretty thick. But neither this Circumftance, nor the Cries of thefe little Innocents, alarm their Mothers, jea- lous of procuring them ahandfome Appearance, without which they can’t conceive how others can be fatisfied. It is quite the .reverfe with certain A/gonquins amongft us, named Round Hd, or Bowl Heads, whom I have mentioned before; for they-mtake their Beauty confift in having their Heads perfectly round, and Mothers take Care alfo very early to give them this Shape. I would willingly, Madam, take Advantage of the Leifure 1 _ have in this Place, and which perhaps willbe longer thanI dee fire, to finish what I have to fay to you on this Subje& ; bur fome Troubles which have happened to me, and the approaching: ~ Departure of à Trayeller, who is returning to the Colony, oblige — me to interrupt this Recital, which I fhall refume the fir Oppor- _ tunity. aval age -_ I am, Ke. onan fon, LETTER | DL BEE Re ee — Sequel of the CharaGer of the Savages, and their Way of living. MabDam, -ST. Josepx’s River, Auguft 8. Refume the Courfe of my Memoirs, where I broke it off. 2 You will think, perhaps, that I do not obferve a fufficient Regularity : But we excufe, at leaftin a Relation, what we ad- mire in an Ode : Whatin a Lyrick Poet is an Effect of Art, is a Matter of Neceflity in a Traveller, who cannot relate Things but as he gets Information, and who is obliged to write what he fees, for Fear of forgetting it. | The Children of the Savages, when they leave the Cradle, are — What it i not confined in any Manner ; and as foon as atitis that .; pea | : hens the Sa. ty can crawl upon their Hands and Feet, frenginens tt 8a- +yev tet them go where they will quite naked wages, and makes - Y &¢ ’ Ree as | Rory? Mini Ne pd into the Water, into the Woods, into the Dirt, | : P4 and into the Snow, which makes their Bodies frong, their Limbs very fupple, and hardens them againft the Injuries of the Air ; but alfo, as I obferved before, it makes -: them fubjeét to Diftempers of the Stomach and Lungs, which © deftroys them early. In Summer they run, as foon as they are © _ up, to the River, or intothe Lakes, and continue there a Part of the Day, playing like Fifh when it is fine Weather at the Sur- face of the Water (a). It is certain that nothing is better than this Exercife to make their Joints free, and to render them nim- _. They puta Bow and Arrows into their Hands betimes, and to a aay py oer excite in them that Emulation, which is the ae Abie Jr beft Teacher of the Arts, there is no Need 4 bee bus | to fet their Breakfaft on the Top of a Tree, ati as they did by the young Lacædemonians: They are all born with that Paffion for Glory, that has no Need of a Spur ; and indeed they fhoot with a furprizing Exaétnefs, and _ witha little Praétice, they acquire the fame Dexterity in the Ufe of our Fire Arms. They make them alfo wreftle, and they pur- fue this Exercife fo eagerly, that they would often kill one ano- _ _ ther, if they were not parted: Thofe who are worfted are fo en- (a) Itis very probable that this isthe Reafon why the Small-Pox is fo fa- tal among the Savages. Much Bathing hardens the Skin, and prevents the — Eruption of the Puftules, ‘pane i Travel in North America. ‘240 raged at it, ra they do not take the leaft Repofe, till they have _ _ their Revengé. : In general one may fay, that the Fathers and Mothers neglect he Gba je, nothing to: infpire their Children with cer- M. tain Principles of Honour, which they pre- | HPs ferve all their Lives, but of which they'often | make a bad Application; and in this their whole Education con- fifts. When they give them Inftruétions on this Head, it is al- ways in an indirect Way ; the moft common is to relate to them the brave Actions of their Anceftors, or of their Countrymen. Thefe young People are fired at thefe Stories, and are never care , .. till they find an Opportunity of imitating the Examples they have made them admire. Sometimes, to correét them for their _ Faults, they ufe Prayers and Tears, but never Menaces. They | would make no Impreflion on Spirits, prepofleffed with an Opi- nion that no Perfon has a Right to ufe Compulfion. 5 A Mother, who fees her Daughter behave ill, falls a crying:On the Daughter’s afking the Caufe, the is fatisfied with faying, You diferace me. \tf{eldom happens that this Way of reproving is not effectual: Neverthelefs, fince they have converfed more with the French, {ome of them begin to.chaftife their Children ; but this is fcarcely amongft any but the C4ri/ians, or thofe that are fettled in the Colony. Generally the greateft Punifhment they ufe to - correct their Children, is to throw a little Water in their Faces, - The Children are much affected by it, and by every Thing that favours of Reproof ; the Caufe of which is, that Refentment is their ftrongeft Paffion, even at that Age. ~ , We have known fgme Girls hang themfelves, for having only | _ feceived a flight Reprimand from their Mo. - PS Fr thers, or a "few Drops of Water in their | Er : Faces ; and who have given Notice of it, by. faying, You fhall lofe your Daughter. ‘The greateft Misfortune is, | that itis not to Virtue that they exhort thefe young People ; or, — pe is the fame Thing, that they do not always givethem rue Notions of Virtue. In Reality, they recommend nothing. to them fo much as Revenge, and ’tis Tmis of which they thew _ them the moft frequent Examples. | ns One would expect, Madam, that a Childhood fo badly difci- plined, fhould be followed by a Youth of Turbulence and Cor- — ruption « But on one Hand, the Savages are naturally calm, and early Matters of themfelves; Reafon älfo guides them rather _ more than other Men: And onthe other Hand, their Conftitu. _ tion, efpecially in the Northern Countries, does not incline them so Debauchery ; yet we find fome Cuftoms among them, in Ww ich Chattity is entirely difregarded ; butit appears that this Gy eR ES | H h | ’ proceeds | A 1 Salat ae An Hifiorical Fournal of a : pes more from Superflition, than the Depravation of the 4 Heart. , it) ‘| ae _ The Hurons, when we firft began to converfe with them, were _ more lafcivious, and very brutal in their Pleafures. Theyoung . Perfons of both Sexes abandoned: themfelves without Shame to all Manner of Diffolutenefs ; and it was chiefly. among them, | thatit was not efteemed a Crime for a Girl to proftitute herfelf.- Their Parents were the firftto engage them in this Way, and many did the fame by their Wives, for a bafe Intereft. Many never married, but took young Women to ferve them, as they faid, for Companions; and all the Difference they made between thefe Concubines and their lawful Wives, was, that with the firft there was no Agreement made: For thereft, their Children were = on the fame Foot as the others ; which produced. no Inconveni- ence, in a Country where there are no Eftates to inherit. One does not diftinguifh Nations here by their Drefs. ‘The Men, when it 1s hot, have often only fomething of an Apron to cover their Nakednefs. In Winter they clothe themfelves more or lefs, according to theClimate. They wear on their Feet a Sort of Sandals, made of Roe-Buck Skins fmoked: Their Stockings: are alfo Skins, or Bits of Stuffs, which they wrap round their Legs. A Waiftcoat, made of Skin, covers them to the Waift, and they wear over that a Rug or Blanket, when they can hayeit; if not, they make themfelves a Robe with a Bear’s Skin, or of feveral Beaver or other like Skins, or Furs, with the Hair inwards. The Women’s Waiftcoats reach juft below . their Knees; and when it is very cold, or when they travel, they cover their Heads with their Blanket, or their Robe. IT have feen feveral who had little Caps, like Skull Caps; others have a Sort of Capuchin, faftened to their Waiftcoats ; and they "have befides a Piece of Stuff which ferves them for a Petticoat, which covers them from the/Waift down to the Middle of the Leg. "They are all very defirous of having Shirts and Shifts; but they never put them under their Waiftcoats, but till they are dirty, and then they wear them till they drop to Pieces, for they never take the Trouble to wafh them. ‘Their Waiftcoats are generally dreffed in the Smoke, like their Sandals; that is to Jar % after they have hung a proper Time in it, they rub them a lit-__ tle, and then they may be wafhed like Linen: They prepare — them alfo by foaking them in Water, then rubbing them with — their Hands till they are dry and pliable ; but the Savages think. _ our Stuffs and Blankets are much more convenient. tay a » Many make various Figures all over their Bodies by pricking’ — Hony they sie themfelves, others only in fome Parts. They … oe don’t dothis merely for Ornament: They _ them/felves all over fi d if 1e Lo 4 id M Ad zx sb / the Body. n allio, as it is laid, great vantages y ) this Cuftom. It ferves greatly to ue ae pr: À À ca hy ‘nd B juries. of the Air, and frees them from the Perfecution of the Gnats. But it is only in the Countries poñieffed by the Englif, efpecially in Virginia, that the Cuftom of pricking themfelves all over the Body is very common. In New France the greateft Part are fatisfied with fome Figures of Birds, Serpents, or other ‘Animals, and even of Leaves, and fuch-like Figures, without Order or Symmetry, but according to every one’s Fancy, often in the Face, and fometimeseven on the Eye-lids. Many Wo- men are marked in the Parts of the Face that anfwer to the Jaw + Bones, to prevent the Tooth-ach. This Operation is not painful in itfelf. It is performed in © this Manner: They begin by tracing on the Skin, drawn very . tight, the Figure they intend to make ; then they prick little Holes clofe together with the Fins of a Fifh, or with Needles, all over thefe T'races, {o as to draw Blood : Then they rub them over with Charcoal Duft, and other Colours well ground and powdered. ‘Thefe Powders finkintothe Skin, and the Colours are never effaced : But foon after the Skin fwells, and forms a _ Kind of Scab, accompanied with Inflammation. It commonly excites a Fever ; and if the Weather is too hot, or the Opera- _ tion has been carried too far, there is Hazard of Life. The Colours with which they paint their Faces, and the Greafe they rub themfelves with all over their Bodies, produce the fame -Advantages, and, as thefe People fancy, give the fame How, and why they paint ther Faces. their Enemies, perhaps alfo to hide their Fear ; for we muft not think they are all exempt from it. The young People do it ta conceal an Air of Youth, which would make them lefs taken for old Soldiers, or a Palenefs remaining after fome Diftemper, and which they are apprehenfive might be taken for the Effect of Want of Courage: ‘They do it alfo to make them look handfome ; but then the Colours are more lively, and more varied. They. paint the Prifoners that are going to die; but I don’t know why: Perhaps it is to adorn the Victim, who is to be facrificed to the God of War. Laftly, they paint the Dead, to expofe them drefled in their fineft Robes; and this is, without Doubt, * to hide the Palenefs of Death, which disfigures them. of the Men. The Colours they ufe on thefe Occafions are the fame they em- bean - ploy to dye Skins, and they make them from The Ornaments certain Earths, and the Bark of fome Trees. - They are not very lively, but they do not j | very eafily wear out. ‘I‘he Men add to this Ornament the Down ef Swans or other Birds, woe 1. ftrew upon their Hair after it | pi à has = SAS RES good Appearance, as pricking. The War- _ +. riors paint themfelves, when they take the Field, to intimidate 236 An Hiftorical Fournal of == has been greafed, like Powder. They add to this Feathers of all Colours, and Bunches of the Hair of divers Animals, all placed in an odd Manner. The Placing of their Hair, fometimes ftand- ing up like Briftles on one Side, and flatted on the other, or - dreffed in a thoufand different Fafhions, Pendants in their Ears, and fometimes in their Noftrils, a great Shell of Porcelain hang- _ ing about their Neck, or on their Breaft, fome Crowns made of __ the Plumage of fcarce Birds, the Claws, Feet, or Heads of . Birds of Prey, little Horns of Roe-Bucks, all thefe Things _ make up their Finery. But whatever they have moft precious is always employed to adorn the Captives when thefe Wretches make their firft Entry into the Village of their Conquerors. __ It 15'obfervable that the Men take very little Pains to adorn : any Part but their Heads. It is juft the Re- Pee er ot with the Women: They ns fcarcely of the Women. | à 1 | ‘ # any Thing on it, they are only fond of their Hair, and they would think themfelves difgraced if it was cut off ; therefore, when at the Death of a Relation they cut off Part of it, they pretend by this to fhew the -greateft Grief for their Lofs. To preferve their Hair they greafe it often, and powder it with the Duft of Spruce Bark, and fometimes with Vermilion, then they wrap it up in the Skin of an Eel or a Serpent, in the Fafhion of Whifkers, which hang downto ~ their Waift, As to their Faces, they are fatisfied with tracing, fome Lines on them with Vermilion, or other Colours. | Their Noftrils are never bored, and it is only among fome Na- ” tions that they bore their Ears; then they wear in them Pendants, , as do alfo the Men, made of Beads of Porcelain. When they are _ drefled in their greateft Finery, they have Robes painted with all Sorts of Figures, with little Collars of Porcelain fet on them without much Order or Symmetry, with a Kind of Border tole- rably worked with Porcupine’s Hair, which they paint alfo of various Colours. They adorn in the fame Manner the Cradles of their Children, and they load them with ali Sorts of Trin- kets. Thefe Cradles are made of light Wood, and have at the upper End one or two Semicircles of Cedar, that they may co- > ? ver them without touching the Head ofthe Child. 3 _ Befides the Houfhold Work, and providing Wood for Fuel, the Women have almoft always the fole Trouble of cultivating the Lands: ‘As foon as the Snow is melted, and the Waters fufficiently drained, they begin to prepare the Earth, which confifts in ftirring it lightly-with a Piece of Wood bent, the — _ Handle of which is very long, having firft fet Fire to the dry ‘Stalks of the Maiz and other Herbs that remained after the lait _ Harvef. Befides that the Grain thefe People make Ufe of is — it Pen MMS ask MOLT (ON AO “Summer yr / Se + y . | : Travels in North America. 9249 | Summer Grain, they pretend that the Nature of the Soil of this + Country will not allow of fowing any Thing before Winter. … But I believe the true Reafon why Seeds would not grow if _ they were fowed in Autumn is, that they would be deftroyed by _ the Winter, or rot at the melting of the Snow. It may alfo be, and this is the Opinion of many Perfons, that the _. Wheat they cultivate in Canada, though originally brought from France, has in Procefs of Time contracted the Property of Summer Seeds, which have not Strength enough to fhoot fe- veral Times, as thofe do which we fow in September and Oc- tober. | | Beans, or rather Kidney-Beans, are fowed along with the Of their Sow. Mai? the Stalks of which ferve to fupport ~ them: I think I have heard that the Sa- vages received this Seed from us, on which they fet a high Value, and it differs nothing from ours. But I was furprifed that they make little or no Ufe of our Peas, which have acquired in the Soil of Canada, a Degree of Good- nefs much fuperior to what they have in Lurofe. . Sun- Flowers, Water-Melons, and Pomkins are fet by themfelves ; ing and Harveft. and before they fow the Seed, they make it fhoot in Smoke, in light and black Earth. For the moft Part the Women help one another in the Work of the Field, and when it is Time to gather the Harveft, they have fometimes Recourfe to the Men, who do not difdain to affift init. It ends in a Feftival and Feaft, which is made in the Night: Grain, and other Fruits of the Earth, are kept in Holes, which they dig in the Earth, and which are lined with large Pieces of Bark. Many leave the Maiz in the Ear as it grows, made up in Ropes as we do Onions, and fpread them on great Poles over the Entrance of the Cabins, Others get out the Grain, and fill great Bafkets with it made of Bark, full of Holes to hinder it from heating. But when they are obliged _ to be abfent fome Time, or are afraid of fome Irruption of aa . Enemy, they make great Holes in the Earth to hide it, where * this Grain keeps very well. | In the northern Parts they fow little, and in many Places Of the Maix none at all; but they purchafe the Maiz by Æxchange. This Grain is very wholefome, # i itis nourifhing, ‘and light of Digeftion. The mof common . Way of preparing it among our French Travellers is by Lixie vating, that is to fay, by boiling it fome Time ina Sort of Lie. on This Way keeps it a long Time; they make Provifion of it for | long Journeys, and as they want it, they boil it again in Water, — orin Broth, if they have any Thing to make it of, and they put a hitle Salt toit. APS i LEARN id | Le dians call it Bled groule, ‘There is a particular Sort that opens | 4% the Sagamit- ie Purpofe they begin by broiling it, then they make a Sort of Broth with it, which is infipid enough when they have no Meat, or Prunes to give ita Relifh. They fometimes reduce it to Flour, which they call here Farine froide (cold Flour), and this 1s the beft Provifion that can be made for _ Travellers. Thofe who travel on Foot cannot carry any other. They alfo boil the Maiz in the Ear, while it is fill foft, then _ they broil it a little, they get out the Grain, and dry it in the Sun; this they keep a long Time, and the Sagamitty they make of it has avery good Tafte. : | | You will perceive, Madam, by the Detail of thefe Meffes, — that the Savages are not nice in their eating. We fhould think that they have a very depraved Tafte, if it was poffible to make a _ fixed Rule for Tafte. They love Greafe, and it predominates in all their Difhes, if they can get it. A few Pounds of Candles — in a Kettle of Sagamitty makes them think it excellent: They ‘even fometimes put Things into it which cannot be mentioned, -andvthey are furprifed to fee our Stomachs turn at them. : Eu ihe Nations of the South had only Veffels of baked Earth to _ drefs their Meat. Inthe North they ufed Kettles of Wood, and they made the Water boil by throwing in Flints made red hot. "They found our Iron and’fin Kettles much more convenient, and this is the Merchandize which we are fure to find a Vend for when we trade with them. In the Nations of the Weft, the wild'Oats fupply the Want of Maiz: It is quite as wholefome, and if it is not fo nourifhing, the Flefh of the Buffalo, sich abounds in thefe Parts, makes Amends for it. . | - | Among the wandering Savages, who never cultivate the VA he Boek Earth, when the Chace and the Fifhery fail, a yu their only Refource is a Kind of Mofs, which tag 68: OR TORRE grows on certain Rocks, and which our — Wr eeat. * French People call Yripe of the Rocks. Now 4 thing is more infipid than this Mofs, which has but little Sub- oe mane aa o- ee Travels in North America. - 4239 fiance: This is being reduced to what is juft fufficient to keep - them from ftarving. I ftill find it harder to conceive, which yet _ Lhave heard. affirmed by Perfons of Credit, that fome Savages ny eat by Way of Dainty a Sort of Maiz, which they leave to rot in a ftanding Water, as we do Hemp, and they take it out all black and ftinking. They add alfo, that thofe who have a Liking to fuch a ftrange Mefs as this is, will not lofe any of the Water, or rather Mud, that drops from it, the Smell of which alone would make the Heart heave of any other People. It was probably _ Neceffity that difcovered this Secret, and if this does not give it all its Relifh, nothing proves more clearly that there is no _ difputing about Taftes. sila | | The Savage Women make Bread of Maiz, and tho’ it is only Of the Bread of a Mefs of Pafte ill wrought, without Leaven, D PA and baked under the Afhes, thefe People et ide. find it very good, and treat their Friends with it; but it muft not be eaten hot: It is never kept when it is cold. Sometimes they mix with it Beans, various Fruits, Oil, and Greafe. They muft have good Stomachs that can digéft fuch Hotch-potch. usa The Sun-Flowers only ferve the Savages for an Oil, which Pi a ies they rub themfelves with.. They get it more à 5 A fon oT > commonly from the Seed than from the mé Je. Root of this Plant. This Root differs but little from a Sort of Potatoes, which we call in France Topi- nambours. ‘The Potatoes which are fo common in the We/?-Indian Iflands, and in the Continent of South America, have been planted with Succefs in Lowfana. ‘The continual Ufe which all the Nations of Canada made of a Sort of Petun, or wild To- — rs bacco, which grows every where in this Country, have made … fome Travellers fay that they fwallowed the Smoke, and that it ferved them for Food ; but this is not found true, and Was . founded only on obferving them often remain a long Time with- — out eating. Since they have tafted our Tobacco, they can fcarcely bear their Peur, and it is very eafy.to fatisfy them on — this Head, for Tobacco grows very well here ; and they fay alfo, that by chufing proper Soils, we might have a moftexcellent Ss ae | | a The little Works of the Women, and which are their common rr. à» ap, Employment in ‘the Cabins, are to make whee Bad Thread of the inner Membranes of the Bark Roue of a Tree, which they call the white Wood, and they work it pretty nearly as we do Hemp. The Women — … alfo dye every Thing: They make alfo feveral Works with “ Bark, on which they work {mall Figures with Porcupines Hair: They make little Cups, or other Utenfils of Wood; they paint * ÿ "+ wea yy 240 An Hificrical Fournal of | and embroider Roe-Buck Skins ; they knit Girdles and Garters with the Wool of the Buffaloes. [pn As for the Men, mat aye their Idlenefs, and in Reality | they pafs above half their Lives in doing no- dal À thing, in the Perfuafion that dail bé Men. ris À ; y | ve difgraces a Man, and is only the Duty of the Women. Man, they fay, is only made for War, Hunting, and Fifhing. Neverthelefs, it belongs to them to makeall Things neceflary for thefe three Exercifes: Therefore, making Arms, Nets, and all the Equipage of the Hunters and Fifhers, chiefly belong to them, as well as the. Canoes, and their Rigging, the Raquets, or Snow Shoes, the building and repairing the Cabins, but they often oblige the Women to affift them. The- _ Chriftians employ themfelves fomething more, but they only do it by Way of Penance. | Thefe People, before we had furnifhed them with Hatchets, : and other Tools, were greatly embarraffed Their Tools. to cut down their Ties: oi fit them for Ufe. They burnt them atthe Foot, and to fplit and cut them, they ufed Hatchets made of Flints, which did not break, but took up a great deal of Time to fharpen. To fix them in the Handle, they cut off the Head of a young Tree, and as if they would have grafted it, they made a Notchin it, in which they thruft the Head of the Hatchet. After fome Time, the Tree, by growing together, kept the Hatchet fo fixed that it could not come out; then they cut the Tree to fuch a Length as, they would have the Handle. | Dés RE À LA Their Villages have generally no regular Form. The greateft a Ene of the. Part of our antient Relations reprefent them 7 ii of a round Form, and perhaps their Authors D | had not feen but of this Sort. For the ref, ‘imagine you fee, Madam, a Heap of Cabins without Order, | or being fet on a Line: Some like Cart-Houfes, others like Tunnels built of Bark, fupported by fome Pofts, fometimes plaiftered on the Outfide with Mud, in a coarfe Manner: Ina ‘Word, built with lefs Art, Neatnefs, and Solidity, than the Cabins of the Beavers. 'Thefe Cabins are about fifteen or twenty Feet in Breadth, and fometimes a hundred in Length : Then they contain feveral Fires, for a Fire never takes up more than 30 Feet, When the Floor is not fufficient for all the Inhabitants to fleep on, the young People lay on a wide Bench, or a Kind of — Stage, about five or fix Feet high, that runs the whole Length of the Cabin. The Furniture and the Provifions are over this, placed on Pieces of Wood put acrofs under the Roof. For the. moft Part, there is before the Door a Sort of Porch, where the young People fleep in the Summer, and which ferves for a Wood-Houfe in the Winter. ‘The Doors are nothi Travels in North America. 2At Bark, fixed up like the Umbrello of a Window, and they never _ fhutclofe. Thefe Cabins have neither Chimnies nor Windows, _… but they leave an Opening in the Middle of the Roof; by which Part of the Smoke goes out, which they are obliged to fhut when > it rains-or fnows ; and then they muft put out the Fire, if they will not be blinded with the Smoke. : : The Savages fortify themfelves better than they lodge: We The Moke of: fee fome Villages pretty well paliffadoed with 8 VER) Saat Neale Redoubts, where they always take Care to Sortifying, ttm wake a good Provifion of Water and sneer ee Stones. The Paliffadoes are even double, and fometimes treble, and have commonly Battlements at the laft Enclofure. The Pofts they are compoied of are interwoven with Branches of Trees, that leave no Place open. ‘This was fufficient to fupport a long Siege, before thefe People knew the. -Ufe of Fire Arms. Every Village has a pretty large open Place, _- but itis feldom of a regular Figure. | Formerly the Jroguois built their Cabins much better than the other Nations, and than they do themfelves at prefent: They _ fometimes wrought Figures in Relievo on their Cabins, tho’ the Work was very rude; but fince in feveral Incurfions their Ene- mies have burnt almoft all their Villages, they have not taken the Pains to re-eftablifh them in their firft State. But if thefe People take fo little Pains to procure the Conveniencies of Life in the Places of - their ordinary Refidence, wnat can we think of their Encamp- ings in their Travels, and their Winter Quarters. An antient Mifionary (a), who-to lay himfelf under a Neceffity of learn- ‘ing the Language of the Montagnais, would accompany them ~ . in their Hunting during the Winter, has given us an Account of it, which I fhall tranfcribe almoft Word for Word. a ‘Thefe Savages inhabit a Country very wild and uncultivated, OF these Winter Bt not fo much as rHAT which they chufe for CG Hass . their Hunting. You muft march a long Time pO an before you come to it, and you muft carry on | your Back all you want for five or fix Months, through Ways fometimes fo frightful, that one can’t conceive how the wild Creatures can come here. If they had not the Precaution to fur- _ nifh themfelves with the Bark of Trees, they would ‘have no- _ thing to defend them from the Snow and Rain during the Jour- _ ney. As foon as théy arrive at the Place propofcd, they accom: modate themfelves a little better ; but this} confifts onlÿsin not - being expofed continually to ail the Injuries of the Air. — - « Every Body is employed for this End; and the Miffionaries, who at firft had no Body to ferve them, and for whom 5 ART + + a eu FAT "# (a) Father Paul le Jeune, A ae | 1. Fee oa An Hiftorical Fournal of |. the Savages had no Regard, were not fpared any more than the reft ; they did not even allow them a feparate Cabin, and they were obliged to lodge in the firft that would receive them. Thefe Cabins, among the greateft Part of the Algonquin Nations, are much in the Shape of our Ice-Houfes, round, and ending ina Cone: They have no other Support but Poles, fixedin the Snow, tied together at the Ends, and covered with Pieces of Bark ill joined together, and not well faftened to the Poles ; fo that the Wind comes through on every Side. The fetting up thefe Cabins is but the Work of half an Hour at moft. Some Branchesof Pine ferve for Mats, and there are no other Beds. Theonly Convenience attending thisis, that theymay - be changed every Day. ‘The Snow, which is heaped up round about them, forms a Sort of a Parapet, which has its Ufe, for the . Winds do not pierce through it. ; By the Side, and under the — Shelter of this Parapet, they fleep as quietly on thefe Branches, covered with a poor Skin, as on the fofteft Bed. The Mifliona- ries have fome Difficulty to accuftom themfelves to this Lodg- ing, but Fatigue and Neceflity foon reconcile them to it. They cannot fo well reconcile themfelves to the Smoke, which almoft always fills the Top of the Cabin in fuch a Manner, that one cannot ftand upright in them without having one’s Head in a Sortof ‘aCloud. This is no Trouble to the Savages, accuftomed from their Childhood to fit or lie on the Ground all the ‘Time they are in their Cabins : But it is a great Punifhment to the French, who can’t reconcile themfelves to this Inaction. ss On the other Hand, the Wind, which enters as I before ob- _ ferved, on all Sides, blows ina Cold that chills one Part, whilft one is {mothered and broil’d on the other. Often one cannot dif- _mnguifh any Thing at two or three Feet Diftance; and our Eyes water fo, that we are blinded: Sometimes, to get a _ dittle Breath, we are forced to lie on our Bellies, with our - Mouths almoft clofe to the Ground. The fhorteft Way would be to go out ; but the greateft Part of the Time this is not to be done ; fometimes becaufe of a Snow fo thick, thatit darkens the Day, and fometimes becaufe there blows a dry Wind, thatcuts © the Face, and even fhivers the Trees in the Forefts. Neverthe- lefs, a Miffionary is obliged to fay his Office, to. fing Mafs, and to perform all the other Duties of his Miniftry. Os To all thefe Inconveniencies we muft add another, which at firft will feem a Trifle to you, but which is really very confidera- ble ; it is the Troublefomenefs of the Dogs. ‘The Savages have always a great Number that follow them every where, and. which are very much attached to them; they are not fawning, ‘| becaufe they are never fondled, but they are bold and fkilful Hunters. TEE wee * get ta Pr , i 4 + ae yi ges a pl aE UNE i Sis, NA aay A A Ac a Algae "A RS teat |) VAL: Travels in North America. 243 …. I have already faid that the Savages break their Dogs very _ early to that Sort of Hunting they are intended for; I add, that | every Man muft have many, becaufe a great Number are de- _ ftroyed by the Teeth or the Horns of the wild Creatures, which © … they attack with a Courage that nothing can daunt. Their _ Matters take little Care to feed them : They live by what they. ean catch, and this is not much, fo they are always very lean : On the other Hand, they have little Hair, which makes them very fenfible of the Cold. To keep themfelves warm, if they can’t come to the Fire, where it would be difficult for them all to find Room, though there fhould be no Perfon in the Cabin, they o.and lie down on the firft they meet with ; and often one wakes in the Night in a Surprize, almoft filed by two or three Dogs. If they were a little more difcreet in placing themfelves, their Company would not be very troublefome ; one could put up with it well enough; but they lie where they can: Drive them away as often as you pleafe, they return directly. ’Tis much worfe in the Day-time ; as foon as any Meat appears, you are incommoded with the Buîtle they make to have their Share. ~..A poor Miffionary is lying on the Ground leaning on his El- bow near the Fire, to fay his Breviary, or toread a Book, ftriving as well as he can to endure the Smoke; and he muft alfo bear the Perfecution of a Dozen Dogs, which do nothing but run over him backwards and forwards after a Piece of Meat they have - difcovered. If he has Need of a little Reft, it is hard for him to find a little Nook, where he may be free from this Vexation, if they bring him any Thing to eat, the Dogs get their Nofes in his Dith before he can have his Hand in it; and often while | he is employed in defending his Portion againft thofe that attack _ him in Front, there comes one behind that carries off half of it, or by running againft him, beats the Difh out of his Hands, and {pills the Sagamitty in the Afhes. 4. M _ Oftentimes the Evils I have mentioned, are effaced by an greater ; in Comparifon of which the others are nothing, uz. | Hunger. The Provifions they carry with them do not lat long: They depend on the Chace, and that fails fometimes. It is true, that the Savages can bear Hunger with as much Patience as they take little Precaution to prevent it; but they are fome- times reduced to fuch Extremity, that they fink under it. _ me The Miffionary, from whom I took this Account, was obliged, in his firft Winter encamping, to eat the Eel Skins and Elk Skins, with which he had patched his Caflock ; after which he was _ forced to eat young Branches, and the fofteft Bark of Tréés, _ Neverthelefs, he ftood this Trial, without lofing his Health ; © _ but all Perfons have not his Strength, — : aie ei NU Fa 3 NT be 244 An Hiftorical Fournal of ~ The Naftinefs alone + the pa ee and the Stench which na- - 4. ,_, turally arifes from it, is areal Punifhment to i eh veg “i any Sal but a Savage. It is eafy to fadge Fe how far both muft go among People who never change their Linen or Clothes but when they drop to Pieces, and who take no Care to wath them. In Summer they bathe every Day ; but they rub themfelves direétly with Oil or Greafe of a ftrong Scent. In Winter they continue in their Filth, and in all Seafons one cannot enter into their Cabins with- Qut being almoft poifoned. ti" | : All they eat is not only without any Seafoning, and commonly - very infipid, but there reigns in their Meals a Slovenlinefs which exceeds all Defcription. What I have feen, and what I have heard, would frighten you. ‘There are few Animals who do not feed cleaner. And after we have feen what pafles among thefe People inthis Article, one can no longer doubt that Fancy has a great Sharein our Antipathies ; and that many Meffes, which — really hurt our Health, do not produce this Effect but by the: Power of thefe Antipathies, and by the little Courage we have to conquer them. | _ We muft neverthelefs acknowledge, that Things are a little changed in all thefe Articles fince our Arrival in this Country. T have feen fome who have endeavoured to procure themfelves fome Conveniencies, which perhaps they will foon find it hard to be deprived of, : Some begin alfo to take a little more Precau- tion not to find themfelves unprovided, when the Chace fails ; and among thofe who dwell'in the Colony, there is little to add to make them arrive at the Point of having tolerable Necefla- ries : But itis to be feared, when they are got fo far, they will _ foon go further, and feek for Superfluities, which will make _ them more-unhappy ftill, than they are at prefent in the midft of the greateft Indigence. one ane ; di _. However, it will not be the Miffionaries who will expofe them to this Danger. Being perfuaded that it is morally 1mpoflible to : take the exa€t Medium, and keep within it, they much rather chufe to partake with thefe People of what is moft troublefeme | in their Way of living, than to open their Eyes on the Means of finding out Conveniencies: And indeed thofe who are Wit- _ neffes of their Sufferings, can hardly conceive how they can fup- port them; and the rather, becaufe they have no Relaxation, — and that all the Seafons have their particular Inconveniencies. As their Villages are always fituated’ near Woods, cr on the . Side of fome Water, and often between both. ° fee tncemtine: As foon as the Air begins to grow warm, the rn Mo ee Mufketoes, and an infinite Number of other vay & ae ne: Se fmall Flies, begin a Perfecution more grievous __ os than the Smoke, which we are often obliged | 4 * PR ee ne EE DL D a Travels in North America. | 248 “ to.call to our Affiftance ; for there is fcarce any other Remedy | “ againft the Stings of thefe little Infeëts, which fet all Parts of’ _ the Body in a Flame, and do not fuffer you to fleep in Quiet. _ Add to: this, the frequent forced Marches, and always very fatiguing ones, which one muft make to follow thefe Barbarians ; _. fometimes in Water up to the Waitt, ah pa in Mud up to the Knees ; in the Woods, thro’ Brambles and Thorns, in Dan- ger of being blinded ; in the open Country, where there is no Shelter from the Heat of the Sun, which is as violent in Summer as the Wind is piercing in Winter. DT LR If one travels in Canoes, the confined Pofture which one muft keep, and the Apprehenfions we are under at firft from. the extreme Weaknefs of thefe Vehicles, the InaQion which can’t be avoided, the flow Progrefs they make, which is retarded | by the leaft Rain, or a little too much Wind, the little Society one can have with People who know nothing, and who never {peak when they are about any Thing, who offend you with their ill _ | Smell, and who fill you with Filth and Vermin; the Caprices and rough Behaviour which muft be borne with from thefe People ;' the Affronts to which one is expofed froma Drunkard, ora Man who is put out of Humour by an unforefeen Accident, a Dream, or the Remembrance of fome Misfortune ; the Covet- . ing, which is eafily produced in the Hearts of thefe Barbarians, | at the Sight of an Obje& capable of tempting them, and which has coft the Lives of feveral Mifionaries; and if War is de- clared between the Nations where they happen to be, the conti- nual Danger they run, of being fuddenly reduced either to the hardeft Servitude, or to perifh in the moft horrible Torments : _ ‘This is, Madam, the Life which the Mifionaries (efpecially the firft) have led. _ If for fome Time paft it has been lefs feverein - fome Refpects, it has had for the Labourers of the Gofpel other inward "Troubles, and of Confequence more grievous ; which, © far from being leffened, by Time, encreafe in the fame Meafure » as the Colony encreafes, and as the natural Inhabitants of the * Country have more Communication with all Sorts of People. » In fhort, to makea brief Portrait of thefe People: With afa- — __vage Appearance, and Manners and Cuftoms “ fe hie se bn a mi entirely barbarous, there is ob- moat ~~ fervable among them a focial Kindnefs, © wage free. from almoft all ‘the ImperfeQions which fo often difturb ‘the Peace of Society among us. They appear to be without Paflion ; but they do that in cold Blood, : and fometimes through Principle, which the moft violent and . unbridled Paffion produces in thofe who give no Ear to Reafon. … They feem to lead the moft wretched Life in the World; and _ they were perhaps the only happy People on Earth, beforethe; . 246 An Hiftorical Fournal of ‘i: Knowledge of the Objeëts, which fo much work upon and feduce us, had excited in them Defires which Ignorance kept in Supine- nefs; and which have not as yet made any great Ravages among them. Wedifcover in them a Mixture of the fierceft and the moft -entle Manners, the Imperfections of wild Beafts, and Virtues and Gustices of the Heart and Mind, which do the greateft Honour to Human Nature. One would think at firft that they have no Form of Government, that they acknowledge neither Laws nor Subordination ; and that living in an entire Independence, they fuffer themfelves to be folely guided by Change, and the wilde Caprice: Neverthelefs, they enjoy almaft all the Advantages that a well regulated Authority can procure for the beft go- verned Nations. Born free and independent, they look with | Horror even on the Shadow of a defpotic Power; but they fel- dom depart from certain Principles and Cuttoms, founded on good Senfe, which are to them inftead of Laws, and which in fome Meafure fupply the Place of a lawful Authority. They will not bear the leaft Reftraint ; but Reafon alone keeps them in a Kind of Subordination ; which, for being voluntary, is not the lefs effectual to obtain the End intended. A Man who fhould be highly efteemed by them, would find them docible enough, and would make them do almoft what he pleafed ; but it is not eafy to obtain their Efteem to fuch a De- gree: They never give it but to Merit, and to fuperior Merit ; of which they are as good, Judges as thofe amongft us, who — think they have the moft Difcernment. ‘+ They rely much on Phyfiognomy, and perhaps there are no Men in the World who are better Judges of it. The Reafonis, that they have none of that Refpect for any Perfon whatfoever, which feduges us : And ftudying only pure Nature, they have a perfect Knowledge of it. As they are not Slaves to Ambition and Intereft, and that there is fcarce any Thing but thefe two Paflions which has weakened in us that Senfeof Humanity which the Author of Nature had graved in our Hearts, the Inequality of Conditions is no Way neceflary to them for the Support of Society. Therefore, Madam, we do not fee here, at leaft we feldom meet with thofe haughty Spirits, who, ful! of their own Grandeur, or their Merit, almoft fancy they are a different Species, difdaining the reftof Mankind, by whom of Confequence they are never trufted nor beloved ; who think none like themfelves, becaufe the Jealoufy which reigns among the Great, does not permit them to fee each other near enough ; who do not know them- felves, becaufe they never fludy their own Hearts, but always flatter themfelves ; who do not confider that to win the Hearts of. Men, we muft in fome Meafure make ourfelves their Equals: — So that with this pretended Superiority of Knowledge, which — di Ji a BAL \ ÿ 1}: ? 11 Travels in North America. 247 they look upon as the effential Property of the eminent Rank ‘they poflefs, the greateft Part of them live in a proud and incu- rable Ignorance of what concerns them the moft to know, and never enjoy the true Pleafures of Life. In this Country all Men think themfelves equally Men ; and in “es what they efteem moft, isthe Man. Here is no Di. ftinétion of Birth; no Prerogative allowed to Rank, which hurts the Rights of private Perfons ; no Preheminence given to Me- rit, that infpires Pride, and which makes other People feel too much their Inferiority. ‘There is perhaps lefs Delicacy of Sen- timents than among us, but more Juftnefs ; lefs of Ceremonies, and of what may render them equivocal ; lefs of Confderation to ourfelves. Ho bed gs. Religion alone can bring to Perfection the good Qualities of thefe People, and correct their evil ones ; this is common to them with others, but what is peculiar in them is, that they ftart fewer Obftacles when they begin to believe, which can only be _the Work of fpecial Grace. It is alfo true, that to eftablifh perfeét- ly the Empire of Religion over them, they ought to fee it praétifed in all its Purity by thofe who profefs it ; they are very apt to be fcandalized at the Behaviour of bad Chri/tians, as all thofe are, ‘who are inftruéted for the firft Time in the Principles of the Gofpel Morality. | You will afk me, Madam, if they have any Religion? to this I reply, that we cannot fay they have none, but that it is pretty hard to define what they have. I will entertain you more fully on this Article, at my firft Leifure ; for though I am not much employed here, I am fo often interrupted, that I fcarce get two Hours in the Day to myfelf. This Letter, as well as _ moft of the preceeding, will inform you, that I do not writé re gularly. I content myfelf at prefent. with adding, to finifh the ortrait of the Savages, that even in the moft indifferent Ac- tions, we find fome Traces of the primitive Religion, but which efcape the Obfervation of thofe, who do not confider them with | Attention, becaufe they are ftill more effaced through the Want. —. of Inftruétion, than altered by the Mixture of a fuperfitiogs it À * Worthip, or,fabulous Traditions. — “api T om, Be. LETTER 248 An Hiftorical Fournal of LET TE Rik Of the Traditions, and of the Religion of the SAVAGE of — CANADA. ~ Mavam, At the Fort of the River Sv. Josepx, Sept. 8. fe es IS Letter will be very long, if fome unforefeen Acci- dent does not oblige me to put off to another Opportuni- _ ty, what I have to entertain you with concerning the Belief, the. . Fraditions, and the Religion of our Savages. ee Nothing is more certain, than that the Savages of this Conti- : Poe Non of nent have an Idea of a firft Being, but at the | fame ‘Time nothing is more obfcure. They the Savages of the rec in general, in making him the fir Spr Origin of Man. br 5 ; “3 ea rit, the Lord and Creator of the World ; but when we prefs them a little on this Article, to know what they mean by the First Spitrr, we find nothing but odd Fancies. Fa- bles fo ill conceived, Syftems fo little digefted, and fo little Uni- formity, that one can fay nothing regular on this Subject. They fay that the Sioux come much nearer than the reft to what we ought to think of this firft Principle. But the little Intercourfe we have had with them hitherto, has not afforded me an Oppor- tunity of learning their Traditions, as far as I could have wifhed, to fpeak of them with any Certainty. ae | Almoft all the Algonquin Nations have given the Name of the Great Hare to the firft Spirit; fome call him Michabox, others Atahocan. The greateft Part fay, that being: fupported on the | Waters with all his Court, all compofed of four-footed Creatures — like himfelf, he formed the Earth out of a Grain of Sand, taken from the Bottom of the Ocean ; and created Men of the dead _ Bodies of Animals. There are fome.alfo that fpeak of a God of. the Waters who oppofed the Defign of the Great Hare, or at” leaft refufed to favour it. This God is, according to fome, the great Tiger, but it is to be cbferved, that there are no true Tigers in Canada; therefore this Tradition might probably be derived from fome other Country. Laftly, they have a third God named Matcemek, whom they invoke during the Winter, and of whom I could learn nothing particular. | REA The Arefeoui of the Hurons, and the Agrefkoué of the Lroguois, is in the Opinion of thefe People the Supreme Being, andtheGod __ of War. Thefe People do not give the fame Origin to Men as the _ Algenguins, and they do not go fo far back as the Creationofthe — | Ware: à FRE Travels in North America. | AA 249 World. They fay there were fix Menin ‘the ‘World at fir; and when we afk them who placed them there, they anfwer, that they know not. They add, that one of thefe Men went up into Heaven, to feek a Woman there named Atahentfic, with whom he _ lived, and who foon appeared to be with Child ; that the Lord of Heaven perceiving it, threw her down from the higheft Part of Heaven, and fhe was received on the Back of a Tor-, toife. That fhe brought forth two Children, one of which | killed the other. They have no Tradition after hs either of the other five Men à or even of the Hufband of Mabehifi c, who according to fome had but one Daughter, who was Mother of 7, bavuifardn, and of Foufkeka. The latter who was the Eldeft killed his Brother, and foon after his Grandmother left the Care of governing the World to him. They fay farther, that Atabentfie c is the Moon, and Foufeeka is the Sun. There is, as you fee, Madam, nothing re- gular : in all this ; for the Sun is often taken for Arefhoui, as bes inga great Spirit : But is there lefs Contradi€tion in the Theo- logy of the Egyptians and the Greeks, who are the firft Sages of the Pagan Antiquity ? Itisthe Nature of Falfehood to contradict itfelf, and to have no Principle. The Gods of the Savages have, according to their Notion, Their a ae of Bodies, sand live much in the fame Manner as sir we do, but without any of the Inconvenien- pitt, cies which we are fubjeët to. The Term Sps- rit fignifies among them only a Being of a more excellent Nature than the reft. They have no T erms to exprefs what exceeds the © ‘Limits of their Underftanding, which is extremely confined 1 in every Thing that is not the Object of their Senfes, or in com- mon Ufe: But they give neverthelefs to their pretended Spirits a Kind of Immenfity, which renders them prefent in all Places ; for wherever they happen to be, they invoke them, they fpeak to them, and they fuppofe that the Spirits hear what they fay to. them, and that they att in Confequence thereof. To all the Quef- tions we afk thefe Barbarians, to know more, they anfwer this HAN all they have been taught; and it is only fome old Men who have been initiated in their Myfteries who know fo much. Vous _. According to the Zroguois, the Pofterity of Foufkeka went no ‘farther than the third Generation; there came then a Deluge, from which no Perfon efcaped, and to re- people the Earth Beañts “were changed to Men. For the refit, Madam, the Notion: of a univerfal Deluge is generally received among the Ame- ‘ricans but one can fcarce doubt ; but that there has been one of a much frefher Date, which was conne to America. I fhould ne-, make an End; was I to mentionall the Stories the e Savages } about their principal — and the Origin of the World : Mey | ns | But 260 An Hificrical Fournal of — - oa But befides the firft Being, or the Great Spirit, and the other Gods which are confounded with him, they have an infinite « Number of Genii, or Subaltern Spirits, good and evil, which À have their particular Worfhip. a ce The Iroquois place ane on rs Head of the evil Spirits, _, and make ‘Joufeeka the Chief of the Good. « We oe They even confound him fometimes with pur the God who expelled his Grandmother from Heaven, for fuffering herfelf to be feduced by a Man. They addrefs themfelves to the evil Genii, only to beg that they ~ would do them no Harm; but they fuppofe that the others watch — over Men for their Good, and that every Man has his own Genius. In the Huron Language they call them Oxxis, and in the Algon—-— uing Manirous. ‘hey have Recourfe to them when they are — in any Danger, when they go on any Enterprize, and when they would obtain fome extraordinary Favour. ‘They think they may afk any Thing of them, however unreafonable it may be, or however contrary even to good Behaviour and Honefty. But Children, they fuppofe are not born under their Proteétion. They muft firft know how to handle a Bow and Arrows, to merit this Favour. ‘There muft alfo be fome Preparations to receive it. \ This is the moft important Affair of Life. ‘Thefe are its prin- cipal Ceremonies : | | | They begin by blacking the Face of the Child; then it muft Tbe héeefar faft for eight Days, without having the edité Ce i leaft Nourifhment ; and during this Time his eg annie at _ future Guardian Genius muft ‘appear to him sea ,% TER in his Dreams. The empty Brain of a poor tes: Child, juft entering on the firft Stage of Youth, can’t fail of furnifhing him with Dreams; and every Morning they take great Care to make him relate them. However, the Fafting often ends before the Time appointed, as few Children © have Strength to bear it fo long ; but that creates no Difficulty. They are acquainted here, as in other Places, with the conveni- ent Ufeof Difpenfations. The Thing which the Child dreams of moft frequently, is fuppofed to be his Genius ; but no doubt _ this Thing was confidered at firft only as a Symbol, or Shape under which the Spirit manifefts himfelf: But the fame has hap-. pened to thefe People, as to all thofe who have erred from the primitive Religion : They have attached themfelves to the Re- prefentation, and have loft Sight of the Reality. ae _Neverthelefs, thefe Symbols fignify nothing of themfelves: Sometimes it is the Head of a Bird, fometimes the Foot of an Animal, or a Piece of Wood: In a Word, the moft ordinary Things, and the leaft valued. ‘They preferve them, however, — with a; much Care asthe Antients did their Penates. There 15, i. à Me, — = “Travels in North America. nn à even nothing in Nature that hath notits Spirit, if we believe the _ Savages; but they are of all Degrees, and have not the fame Power. When they do not comprehend a Thing, they affign _ toit a fuperior Genius, and their Way of Expreffion in this Cafe | is to fay, Jtisa Spirit. Itis the fame for ftronger Reafons with Refpe& to Men, thofe who have fingular Talents, or who do ex- traordinary Things, they fay are Spirits ; that zs to fay, they _ have a Guardian Genius of a more exalted Degree than Men “an general. | ome, efpecially the Jugglers, edit to perfuade the Multitude that they are fometimes in a Trance, This. Madnefs has exifted at all Times, and among all Nations, and has given Birth to all the falfe Religions. The Vanity, which is fo natural to Mankind, has never imagined a more effectual Method to rule over the Weak: The Multitude at laft draw after them thofe who pride themfelves moft in their Wifdom. The Ameri- can Impoftors are not behind-hand with any in this Point, and they know how to obtain all the Advantages from it which they . propofe. The Jugglers never fail to publifh, that during their acai Extacies, their Genii give them great Informations of hings done at the greateft Diftance, and of future Events; and as by Chance, if we will not allow the Devil any Share in it, © they fometimes happen to divine or guefs pretty right, they acquire by this a great Reputation: They are reckoned Genii of the firft Order. As foon as they have declared toa Child what he muft for Sometimes they tie Time to comeJook upon as his Guardian — ee ry Genius, thèy-ifftruct him carefully of the change their Genii ÉEME ( ge their Genii, Obligation he is under to honour him, to ee fallow the Council he {hall receive fram io in his Sleep, to merit his Favours, to put all his T'ruft in him, ‘and to dread the Effeëts of his Anger if he neglects his Duty towards him. The Feftival terminates ina Feaft, and the Cuf- tom is alfo to prick on the Body of the Child, the Figure of his Oki, or his Manitou. One would imagine that fuch a folemn Engagement, the Mark of which can never be effaced, fhould he inviolable; neverthelefs, there needs only a Trifle to break M aa at. _ The Savages do not eafily acknowledge themfelves in the Wrong, even with their Gods, and make no Difficulty to juftify themfelves at their Expence: Therefore, the firft Time they have _ Occafion to condemn themfelves, or to lay the Blame on their Guardian Genius, the Fault always falls on the latter. They _ feek another without any Ceremony, and this is done with the _ fame Precautions as at firft. The Women have alfo their Maar- A tous, Or their Oki, but they do not fo much regard them as the Kk 2 | Men ; 262 _. An Hiftorical Fournal of LU Men; perhaps, becaufe they do not find them fo much Employ- eh : | rc ett aly | They maketoall thefe Spirits different ip of Offerings; which re es ou may call, if you pleafe, Sacrifices. ‘The Sacrifices, of tbe Er as the Ride and the Lakes Pie Tobacco, or Birds that have had their Throats cut, to render the God of the Waters propitious to them. In Honour of the Sun, and fometimes alfo of the inferior Spirits, they throw into the Fire Part of every Thing they ufe, and which they acknowledge to hold from them. It is fometimes out of Gratitude, but oftener through Intereft: Their Acknowledgment alfo is in- terefted ; for thefe People have no Sentiments of the Heart towards their Deities. We have obferved alfo on fome Occafions a Kind of Lib2tions, and all this is accompanied with’ Invocations in _myfterious Terms, which the Savages could never explain to the Europeans, either that in Faét they have no Meaning, or that the Senfe of them has not been tranfmitted by ‘Tradition with the Words; perhaps alfo they keep it as a Secret from 8 ut Ss avages. We find alfo Collars of Porcelain, Tobacco, Ears of Maiz, Skins, and whole Animals, efpecially Dogs, on the Sides of dificult and dangerous Ways, on Rocks, or by the Side of the Falls ; and thefe are fo many Offerings made to the Spirits which prefide in thefe Places. I have already faid that a Dog is the mof common Viétim that they facrifice to them : Sometimes they hang him up alive on a Tree by the hind Feet, and let him die there raving mad. The War Feaft, which is. always of © Dogs, may very well alfo pafs for a Sacrifice. In fhort, they render much the fame Honours to the mifchievous Spirits, as to, thofe that are benefcent, when they have any Thing to fear from their Malice. - Thus, Madam, among thefe People, whom fome have repre- Of the Fes = fented as having no Idea of Religion, or a ee. ahs Deity, almoft every Thing appears to be the Obje& of a Religious Worfhip, or at leaft to have fome Relation to it. Some have fancied that their Fafts were only intended to ac- cuftom them to bear Hunger, and I agree that they may be partly. defigned for this End; but all the Circumftances which accompany” them, leave no Room to doubt that Religion is the principal Motive; was it only their Attention, which I have fpoken of, to. obferve their Dreams during that Time; for it is certain that thefe Dreams are efteemed as real Oracles, and Notices from Heaven. — There is fill lefs Room to doubt that Vows are among thefe Or V, = People pure A&s of Religion, and the Cuftom is of them is abfolutely the fame as withus. For, Inftance, when they are out of Provifions, as it often re inf a | | gi — their . | Travels in North America. : 25% _ their Journies and in their Huntings, they promife their Genii to give in Honour of them, a Portion of the firft Beaft they fhall _ kill to one of their Chiefs, and not to eat till they have perform- ed their Promife. Ifthe Thing becomes impoflible, becaufe the _ Chief is at a great Diftance, they burn what was defigned for him, and make a Sort of Sacrifice. | _ Formerly the Savages in the Neighbourhood of Acadia had in their Country, on the Side of the Sea, a very old Tree, of which they ufed to tell many wonderful Stories, and . which was always loaded with Offerings. - The Sea having laid ‘all its Roots bare, it fupported itfelf fill a long Time againft the Violence of the Winds and Waves, which confirmed the Savages in their Notion, that it was the Seat of fome great Spirit: Its Fall was not even capable of undeceiving them, and as long as there appeared fome Ends of the Branches out of the’ Water, they paid it the fame Honours as the whole Tree had re- ceived while it was ftanding. | The greateft Part of their Feañts, their Songs, and their Dances be Afaity of appear to me to have had their Rife from Pe PE a ‘4 i, Religion, and ftill to preferve fome Traces ry gowns of it; but one mutt have good Eyes, or ra- chi de ther avery lively Imagination, to perceive in them all that fome Travellers have pretended to difcover. I have met with fome who could not help thinking that our Sa- vages were defcended from the ews, and found in every Thing fome Affinity between thefe Barbarians and the People of God. There is indeed a Refemblance in fome Things, as not to ufe Knives in certain Meals, & not to break the Bones of the Beaft they eat at thofe ‘Times, and the Separation of the Women during the Time of their ufual Infirmities. Some Perfons, they fay, have heard them, or thought they heard them, pronounce the Word Hallelujah in their Songs: But who can believe, that when they pierce their Ears and Nofes, they doit in Purfuance of the Law of Circumcifion ? On the other Hand, don’t we know that _ the Cuftom of Circumcifion is more antient than the Law that was given to Abraham and his Pofterity ? The Feaft they make at the Return of the Hunters, and of which they muft leave no- thing, has alfo been taken fora Kind of Burn{- Offering, or for a. Remain of the Paffover of the I/raclites; and the rather, they. fay, becaufe when any one cannot compas his Portion, he ma: get the Affiftance of his Neighbours, as was praétifed by the _ People of God, when a Family was not fufficient to eatthe whole : Pafchal Lamb. An antient Miffionary (a), who lived a long Time with the Ou- i. aoe Pri offs _ taouais, has written, that among thefe Savages a 7" an old Man performs the Office of a Prieft at à 4 . _: (a) Father Claude Allouex, a Fefuit. 740 | the | ‘gear An Hiftorical Yournal of Hi a the Feafts, which I have juft mentioned ; that they begin by 2 giving Thanks to the Spirits for the Succefs of the Chace ; af- — terwards another takes a Loaf of Petun, breaks it in two, and throws it into the Fire. This is certain, that thofe who have men- © tioned them as a Proof of the Poflibility of Arhei/m, properly fo Point has always been the greateft Obftacle we have met with in converting them to Chrifianity. But however little ae dif- courfe about it, we fhould do wrong to conclude from thence that they have no Idea of Gop. : : Indolence 1s their prevailing Character : It appears even in the Affairs which concern them moit: But in Spite of this Fault, Ri i #à called, are not acquainted with them. It’s true that they never « difcourfe about Religion, and that theirextreme Indolence on this | in Spite even of that Spirit of Independence in which they are. bred, no People in the World have a greater Dependence on the confufed Ideas they have preferved of the Deity ; even to that De- gree, that they attribute nothing to Chance, and that they draw “Omens from every Thing ; which they believe, as I have faid before, are Notices from Heaven. a ; I have read in fome Memoirs, that many Nations of this Con tinent have formerly had young Maids, who - Tih yee SN never had any Converfation with Man, and sale citi. Spat never married. I can neither warrant, nor contradict this Fact. Virginity is of itfelf a State fo perfe&, that it is no Wonder it has been refpeéted in all the Countries of the World: But our oldeft Miffionaries have faid nothing, . that I know of, of thefe Veftals ; though many agree concern- | ing the Efteem they had for Celibacy in fome Countries. I find alfo, that among the Alurons and the Jroguois there were, not long fince, a Kind of Hermits, who obferved Continence ; and they fhew us fome very falutary Plants, which the Savages fay have no Virtue, if they are not adminiftered by Virgin Hands, - The Belief the beft eftablifhed amongft our Americans, is that Their Thonobts of the Immortality of the Soul. Neverthe- i, hon bi jy, iets, they do not believe it purely fpiritual, CA be Su] 7 no more than their Genii ; and to fpeak the goa Truth, they cannot well define either one or the other. When we afk what they think of their Souls, they anfwer, they are as it were the Shadows, and the animated _ Images of the Body: And ’tis in Confequence of this Princi- ple, that they believe every Thing is animated in the Univerfe, Therefore it is entirely by Tradition that they hold that our Souls do not die. In the different Expreffions they ufe to ex- plain themfelves on this Subject, they often confound the Soul … _ With its Faculties, and the Faculties with their Operations, — k # t J ug " Py Ly eT 4. as x ern, Sak aoe : me : ; Te A a x 14 5 ta x ‘ ‘a ee RCE a As ah * Aa Mare Travels in North America. ea aa | __ though they know very well how to make the DiftinGion, when they chufe to fpeak correttly. at 3 They fay alfo that the Soul, feparated from the Body, has ftill ‘The » Noti the fame Inclinations it had before ; and this Deir Notion i, the Reafon why at bury with the Dead every Thing they ufed when living. The th £ sf pred are Mo ee ee that the Soul ct, à cd si ie FTE ME: tee Corpfe till the Feftival of the Dead, vu à which I fhall prefently mention ; that after- wards it goes into the Country of Souls, where, according ta fome, it is transformed into a Dove. : _ Others think there are two Souls in every Man: They attri- hep to one all I have juft mentioned : hey fay that the other never leaves the Body, isla to the but a a into another; which MENT 2 2 er er feidom happens, they fay, but to the Souls of Children ; which having little enjoyed Life, are allowed to be- gin a new one. For this Reafon, they bury Children by the Sides of Highways, that the Women, as they pafs by, may ga- ther their Souls. Now thefe Souls, which fo faithfully keep Company with their Bodies, muft be fed ; and-it is to fulfil this Duty, that they carry Provifions to the Tombs: But this does not laft long, and thefe Souls muft accuftom themfelves in Time to faft. Itis hard enough fometimes to get a Subfiftence for the Living, without burthening themfelves farther with providing Food for the Dead. | Butone Thing which thefe People never fail to perform, in CN eden a whatfoever Extremity they find themfelves, agi? bag = is, that as among us the Spoils of the Dead mane tote Meee enrich the Living, among them they not _ only carry to the Grave all that the Deceafed poffefied, but alfo Prefents from their Friends and Relations. -They were highly provoked, when they faw fome French open the Graves, to get the Gowns of Beaver Skins in which the Dead - were buried. ‘The Graves are fo facred in this Country, that to profane them is the greateft Hoftility that can be committed againfta Nation, and the oreateft Sign that they will come to no Terms with them. | | _ [have mentioned that the Souls, when the Time is come that they OF the Country 2° t Part for ever from their Bodies, go toa . of 2 ai J . Region which isappointed to be their everlait- .- ; ing Abode. This Country, es ae Savages, _ is very far to the Weft, and the Souls are feveral Months travel- fing thither. They have alfo great Difficulties to furmount, and they run through: great Dangers before they arrive there. ‘They {peak efpecially of a River they have to pafs, where many have D Qu | 9 been ‘avhat becomes of i Why they carry he ee te LM. 266 An Hiftorical Fournal f been wrecked ; of a Dog, from which they, find it hard to de- fend themfelves ; of a Place of Torment, where they expiate their Faults ; of another, where the Souls are tormented of the - Prifoners of War that have been burnt. EN due This Notion is the Reafon why, after the Death of thefe Wretches, for Fear their Souls fhould ftay about the Cabins, to revenge their Sufferings, they very carefully vifit all Places, ftriking continually witha Stick, and fending forth hideous Cries, to drive away thefe Souls. The Iroquois fay, that ATaAHENTsIc makes her ordinary Re- fidence in this Tartarus, and that fhe is folely employed in de- ceiving Souls, to deftroy them. But JousxeKa omits nothing to defend them againft the evil Defigns of: his Grandmother. — Among the fabulous Stories which they tell of what paffes in this Hell, which fo much refembles thofe of Homer and Virgil, there is one that feems to be copied from the Adventure of Or- pheus and Eurydice. ‘There is fcarce any Thing in it to change but the Names. | op For the feft, Madam, the Happinefs which the Savages hope to enjoy in their fancied ÆEZ/fum, they do not regard precifely as the Reward of. Vir- tue. ‘To have been a good Hunter, a gal- lant Warrior, fortunate in all his Enter- How they pre- tend to merit eter- nal Happinefs. prizes, to have killed and burnt a great Number of Enemies ; thefe are the only Titles which give them a Right to their Pa- radife : All the Happinefs of which confifts in.finding a hunt- ing and fifhing Place that never fails, an eternal.Spring, great Plenty of all Things, without being obliged to labour, and all the Pleafures of Senfe : And this is all they afk of their Gods in their Life. All their Songs, which are originally their Prayers, run only on the prefent Good. There is no Mention made, no more than in their Vows, of a future Life. They think themfelves fure of being happy in the other World, in Propor- tion to what they have been in this. air | The Souls of Beafts have alfo their Place in the Country of Souls ; for, according to the Savages, they Bea ee Sentet’ LE aa hele Paire our’s. They alfo i allow them a Sort of Reafon ; and not only each Species, but alfo each Animal, if we may believe them, has . alfo its Guardian Genius. In a Word, they make no Difference between us and Brutes, but that our Souls are fomething of a better Sort. Man, they fay, is the King of Animals, which have all the fame Attributes; but Man poñleffes them in a much higher Degree. ‘They believe alfo that in the other World there are Models of all Sorts of Souls; but they don’t trouble them; “ih : felves | 4 * Travels.in North America. “2485 .felves much to explain the Idea ; and in general they are little _ concerned about tirole that are purely fpeculative. Andhavethe _ .wifeftPhilofophers of Pagan Antiquity, who have taken fuch im- menfe Pains to explain them, have they made a much ereater Progrefs than the Savages ? We muft always lofe AN pr in _thefe dark Ways, unlefs we are guided by the Light of Faith. — .. Thereis nothing in which the Savages have fhewn more Su- pitas Maaae: : of _perftition and Extravagance, than in what Dreams. accordine egards their Dreams ; but they differ much : $ in the Manner of explaining their Thoughts ‘tothe Savages. ' ap à : des: P if 5. Vs aa LE | on this Matter. Sometimes it is the reafon- able Soul that wanders out, while the fenfitive Soul continues to animate the Body. Sometimes it is the familiar Genius that © gives good Advice about future Events. Sometimes it is a Vifit. they receive from the Soul of the Object they dream of. But in whatfoever Manner they conceive of a Dream, “it is always -tegarded as a facred Thing, and as the Means which the Gods _ .moitt ufually employ to declare their Will to Men, © | _. Prepoffeffed with this Idea, they can’t conceive that we fhould take no Notice of them. For the moft Part they look upon them as Defires of the Soul, infpired by fome Spirit, or an Order from ait. And in Confequence of this Principle, they make ita Duty of Religion to obey thefe Commands.--------A Savage having .dreamt that his Finger was cut off, really had it cut off when he awoke, after he had prepared himfelf for this important Action by a Feaft. Another dreaming that he was a Prifoner in the Hands of his Enemies, was greatly embarraffed. He confulted the Jugglers, and by their Advice he got himfelf tied to a Pof, | ane ureb andevyeral Parts of the Body, "7" Tr There are fome Dreams lucky, and fome unfortunate : For _Inftance, to dream they fee many Elks, is, they fay, a Sign of - Life: To dream of Bears, is a Sign they will die foon. I have ob- ferved before, that we muft except thofe Times when they prepare for hunting thofe Animals. But to let you fee, Madam, to what an Extravagance thefe Savages carry this Matter of Dreams, I will relate to you a Fa& attefted by two undeniable Witnefles, who faw the Thing withtheirown Eyes. = 0 8 2 2° — _ Two Mifhonaries were travelling with fome.Savages ; and Dias Biss