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Title: The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. III: Acadia, 1611-1616
Author: Various
Editor: Reuben Gold Thwaites
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THE JESUIT RELATIONS AND ALLIED DOCUMENTS
VOL. III
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents
TRAVELS AND EXPLORATIONS OF THE JESUIT MISSIONARIES IN NEW FRANCE
1610-1791
THE ORIGINAL FRENCH, LATIN, AND ITALIAN TEXTS, WITH ENGLISH
TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES; ILLUSTRATED BY PORTRAITS, MAPS, AND
FACSIMILES
EDITED BY
REUBEN GOLD THWAITES
Secretary of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Vol. III
ACADIA: 1611-1616
CLEVELAND: =The Burrows Brothers Company=, PUBLISHERS, M DCCC XCVII
COPYRIGHT, 1897
BY
THE BURROWS BROTHERS CO
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
_The Imperial Press, Cleveland_
EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor REUBEN GOLD THWAITES
Translator from the French JOHN CUTLER COVERT
Assistant Translator from the French MARY SIFTON PEPPER
Translator from the Latin WILLIAM FREDERIC GIESE
Translator from the Italian MARY SIFTON PEPPER
Assistant Editor EMMA HELEN BLAIR
CONTENTS OF VOL. III
PREFACE TO VOLUME III 1
DOCUMENTS:--
XIII. Epistola ad Reverendissimum Patrem Claudium Aquavivam,
Præpositum Generalem Societatis Jesu, Romæ. _Pierre Biard_;
Amiens, May 26, 1614. 3
XIV. Relation de la Novvelle France, de ses Terres, Natvrel du Pais,
& de ses Habitans. [Chapters i-xxv.] _Pierre Biard_; Paris, 1616 21
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA: VOLUME III 285
NOTES 291
[Illustration]
ILLUSTRATION TO VOL. III
Photographic facsimile of title-page, Biard's _Relation_ of 1616 24
PREFACE TO VOL. III
Following is a synopsis of the documents contained in the present
volume:
XIII. Biard writes from Amiens (May 26, 1614) to the general of the
order, reporting the planting of St. Sauveur mission, the attack by
Argall, the captivity of the Jesuit missionaries, and their safe return
to France.
XIV. Biard's _Relation_ of 1616 opens with an historical sketch of
French discoveries in New France. The climate of the country, its
forests, and its inhabitants, are described; the writer discourses
on the mode of life among the savages, their dwellings, tribal
organization, polity, women, marriage, medicine, practices of
witchcraft, burials, etc. As a basis for missionary work, he advocates
the establishment of a colony which shall be properly supported in
France, and to this end appeals to the sympathies of Catholics at home.
Much space is devoted to answering the attacks on the Jesuit missions
of New France, made by an anonymous pamphleteer, who has been supposed
to be Lescarbot himself. Continuing with a report of his own movements,
Biard describes the voyage made by himself and Biencourt as far as the
Kennebec River, and the privations and hardships of the colony during
the ensuing winter (1611-12). He again recounts the manner in which
Mme. de Guercheville obtained a grant of New France, and sent a colony
to St. Sauveur, on Mt. Desert Island; the disputes between Biencourt
and the Jesuits; the stay of Massé among the savages on St. John
River; his own trip to Chignectou, with Biencourt; and the hardships
endured by both, as also those of the entire colony, during the winter
of 1612-13. The Jesuits, during this winter, build a boat, and are
thus enabled to go fishing. La Saussaye arrives at Port Royal under
Mme. de Guercheville's auspices, and takes the Jesuits away with him
to St. Sauveur. The settlement there is well begun, when Argall comes
upon it, and takes the French captive. Owing to the great length of
this _Relation_, we have space in the present volume but for the first
twenty-five chapters; the remaining twelve will form the opening part
of Volume IV.
R. G. T.
MADISON, WIS., November, 1896.
XIII
BIARD'S EPISTOLA
ad Reverendissimum Patrem Claudium Aquavivam
(26 Maii, 1614)
SOURCE: We follow Father Martin's apograph (in the Archives of St.
Mary's College, at Montreal) of the original Latin MS. in the Archives
of the Gesù, at Rome.
Epistola Patris Petri Biardi ad Reverendissimum Patrem Claudium
Aquavivam, Præpositum Generalem Societatis Jesu, Romæ. (26 Maii, 1614.)
(_Transcripsit Pater Felix Martinus ex codice Latino qui Romæ in
Archivis Jesu conservatur._)
ADMODUM REVERENDE IN CHRISTO PATER,
Pax Christi.
Et affectus et debitum cogunt ut ego nunc recens et multis maximisque
periculis summo Dei beneficio et vestræ Paternitatis precibus ereptus,
eam salutem et quoad possum ejus genibus provolutus amplectar; grato
certe ao [animo] ac magno spiritu. Etenim velut aspicere me debeo ad
poenitentiam, ut spero, agendam et gratias exhibendas; tanti sunt ii
casus e quibus me nunc liberatum admiror. Sed quoniam nunc forte [2]
importunum foret longam rerum [=oi]um [omnium] historiam texere et
credibile est Vestram Paternitatem multa jam ex P. Enemundo Massæo
inaudivisse; omissis aliis hoc nunc solum explicabo, quonam modo post
nostram ab Anglis in Nova Francia oppressionem, circumducti simus
variis locis ac tandem huc in patriam restituti.
Letter of Father Pierre Biard, to the Very Reverend Father Claude
Aquaviva, General of the Society of Jesus, at Rome. (May 26, 1614.)
(_Copied by Father Felix Martin, from the original Latin preserved
in the Archives of the Gesù at Rome._)
VERY REVEREND FATHER IN CHRIST,
The peace of Christ be with you.
Both affection and duty urge me, fresh from such multiplied and
mighty perils, from which I have been rescued by the surpassing
favor of the Lord and by the prayers of your Paternity, to send
you my greetings; and, in so far as it is possible, I throw myself
at your knees and embrace you, assuredly with the utmost gratitude
and devotion. And, indeed, I am bound, as it were, to contemplate
myself, both to do penance, as I hope, and to express my gratitude;
so great are the perils out of which I now marvel to see myself
delivered. But, as it may at this time [2] be wearisome to weave
a long story of all these things, and as it is probable that Your
Paternity has already learned many of them from Father Enemond
Massé, I shall pass over all the rest, and confine myself for the
present to this one matter: in what manner, after our violent
capture by the English in New France, we were taken from place to
place, and at last restored to this our native land.
Eramus ut Vestra Paternitas scit in Nova Francia quatuor [3] omnino e
societate, anno superiore 1613. Et quidem tunc primum incipiebamus
novam moliri commodo loco habitationem, novam coloniam &c. Ecce subito
nescio quo casu (casus certe fuit non consilium) injecti nostrum
in littus Angli Virginenses, magno furore navem nostram invadunt,
[=oi]bus [omnibus] prope defensoribus in terra occupatis. Pugnatum
tamen est aliquandiu, sed necessario facta est non multo post deditio.
In certamine duo e gallis occisi, quatuor vulnerati et insuper frater
noster Gilbertus Duthet, vulneratus [4] ad mortem fuit. Is postridie
inter manus meas religiose expiravit.
There were, as Your Paternity knows, only four [3] of our
society in New France in the last year, 1613. Then, too, we first
began to build in a convenient place a new settlement, a new
colony, etc. But most unexpectedly, by some hazard or other (for a
hazard it certainly was, and not a premeditated plan), some English
from Virginia were driven upon our shores, who attacked our ship
with the utmost fury, at a time when nearly all its defenders were
occupied on land. Resistance was nevertheless made for a time,
but we were soon obliged to surrender. In the struggle, two of
the French were killed, four were wounded; and, in addition, our
brother Gilbert Duthet received [4] a mortal wound. He made a most
Christian end, the following day, under my ministration.
Capta navi et rebus [=oi]bus [omnibus] direptis; multum nobis fuit,
nobis inquam sacerdotibus et jesuitis, non occidi. Verum et hoc ipsum
non occidi, si solum fuisset, omni nace [_sc._ nece] atrocius erat. Nam
quid sane ageremus in locis omnino desertis et incultis rerum omnium
nudi et egentes? Sylvatici quidem ad nos clam et de nocte ventitabant,
infortunium nostrum complorabant, quæ poterant pollicebantur et magno
certe animo et fideli. [5] Verum ea erat locorum rerumque conditio ut
nusquam nisi mors, aut calamitosior morte miseria occurreret. Et eramus
omnino triginta in his angustiis. Una res molliores reddebat Anglos,
quod videlicet una e nostris scapha ipsis nequicquam obversantibus
evaserat; hanc quia foro [_sc._ fore] testem nostræ oppressionis non
dubitabant, vitæ nostræ parcere cogebantur. Timebant enim talionem et
regem nostrum. Ergo tandem (magnum scilicet beneficium) nobis triginta
qui supereramus unam aiunt [6] sese velle scapham relinquere quo per
eam circumeamus oram maritimam si quam forte navem gallicam reperiamus
quæ nos in patriam revehat. Demonstratum est in eam scapham plures quam
quindecim ingredi non posse. Verum aliud nihil obtineri potuit, nec de
nostris quidem navigiis. Ne morere [_sc._ morer] in hac difficultate
sibi quisque ut potuit consuluit: P. Enemundus Massæus in eam quam dixi
scapham ingressus est cum aliis quatuordecim; eique favit Deus uti jam
Vestra Paternitas cognovit. [7] Ego ducem anglum adii obtinuique pro me
et P. Jacobo Quentino socio meo, itemque pro Joanne Dixon qui admissus
erat in societatem et servo item uno ut deveheremur ad insulas vicinas
in quibus Angli piscari solent, inibique ut Angli[s] illis piscatoribus
commendaremur. Quo per eos in Angliam delati inde, quod facile est,
in Galliam rediremus. Obtinui hoc quidem inquam verbis, sed verbis
fides non fuit. Nos enim una cum reliquis gallis qui restabamus in
universum quindecim detulerunt [8] ipsi recta in suam Virginiam longe
ab eo loco in quo capti fueramus leucis facile ducentis quinquaginta.
At in Virginia novum periculum. Etenim qui ibi præest suspendi nos
omnes volebat, sed in primis jesuitas. Sed restitit is qui nos ceperat
capitaneus, fidemque datam opposuit. Et valuit tandem vel fides vel
regis timor.
Our ship having been captured and everything pillaged, it was a
great concession to us,--that is, to us priests and jesuits,--that
we were not killed. And yet this sparing of our lives, if
considered in itself only, would have been worse than any death.
For what were we to do in an absolutely desert and barren region,
despoiled and destitute of everything? The Savages, indeed, used
to come to us stealthily and by night; and, with great generosity
and devotion, commiserated our misfortune, and promised us whatever
they could. [5] Truly the condition of things was such that
either death itself, or a more calamitous misfortune, everywhere
threatened us. There were in all thirty of us, in these distressing
circumstances. One consideration rendered the English less severe,
namely, that one of our boats had escaped, in spite of their
watchfulness; and, as they had no doubt that it would bear witness
to the violence done us, they were obliged to spare our lives, for
they feared reprisals and dreaded our king. Therefore they finally
offered (a great favor, forsooth) to leave for our thirty survivors
[6] a single boat, in which we might coast along the seashore,
on the chance of finding some french vessel to take us back to
our own country. It was shown that this boat could not hold over
fifteen men; but nothing further could be obtained, even from among
our own boats. To be brief: in this perplexity each of us took
counsel as he could; Father Enemond Massé embarked with fourteen
companions in the boat I have mentioned, and the Lord favored him,
as Your Paternity has already learned. [7] I went to the english
captain and obtained a promise from him that I and Father Jacques
Quentin, my companion, and also John Dixon--who had been admitted
into the society--and one servant, should be transported to the
neighboring islands where the English usually fish, and that we
should there be recommended to these English fishermen; so that,
having been carried by them to England, we might easily return
thence into France. I obtained, as I say, a promise to this effect,
but there was no good faith in this promise. For they carried us
off, together with the frenchmen who remained, fifteen in all, [8]
straight to their own country, Virginia, distant from the place in
which we had been captured at least two hundred and fifty leagues.
In Virginia, however, a new peril arose; for the governor there
wished to hang us all, and especially the jesuits. But the captain
who had taken us resisted, alleging his promise to us. Finally this
promise, or their fear of our king, prevailed.
His peractis, datum est negotium ei capitaneo qui nos ceperat, ut
rediret in eam Novæ Franciæ partem ubi nos spoliaverat, ibique
quotquot reperiret naves francicas diriperet et omnes habitationes
domosque incenderet. [9] Restabant enim ibi duæ Gallorum habitationes,
una Sanctæ Crucis et altera Portus-regalis ubi per biennium
manseram. Hanc in expeditionem tres naves instructæ sunt, duæ quas
nobis ceperant, et tertia illa major et bellica, ut appellant, quæ
nos ceperat. Ita accepti sumus in has naves octo solum Galli si
qua forte opportunitas daretur emittendi nos in patriam. Hæ naves
redierunt primum in eum locum ubi capti fueramus crucesque quas
statueramus dejecerunt omnes. Sed ecce vindictam. Ibidem [10] antequam
discederamus unum e suis suspenderunt quem machinatum esse nescio quid
deprehenderant. Crux pro crucibus fuit.
After this episode, the captain who had taken us was commissioned
to return to that part of New France where he had plundered us, and
to plunder any French ships he might find, and burn all the houses
and settlements. [9] There remained two French settlements there,
that of Sainte Croix and that of Port Royal, where I had remained
for two years. Three ships were equipped for this expedition,--two
which they had taken from us, and a third and larger one, the
man-of-war, as they call it, which had taken us. So eight of us
Frenchmen were taken in this vessel, in view of any opportunity
that might arise of sending us back to our own country. These
vessels returned first to the place where we had been captured,
and all the crosses that we had set up they overthrew. But not
unavenged! On the same spot, [10] before our departure, they hanged
one of their number whom they had apprehended in some plot. Thus
one Cross took the place of many.
Hic quoque iterum nobis periculum. Volebant ire Angli, ut ante dictum
est, ad habitationem Sanctæ Crucis, etsi in ea nulli tunc habitatores
essent. Sed erat sal ibi relictum. Nemo præter me viam sciebat; atque
ibi me aliquando fuisse Angli norant. Rogant igitur ut eos deducam.
Ego qua possum tergiversari et evadere; sed [11] nihil proficio.
Vident aperte me nolle. Hic nimirum incenditur capitaneus, et eram
jam periculo propior; cum subito sine me ipsi locum reperiunt,
diripiunt et incendunt. Quin etiam per eam occasionem sylvaticum
quemdam comprehenderunt, cujus ductu ad Portum regalem perducti sunt.
Quæ me res periculo majore cum exemerit, aliunde tamen induxit in
majus. Namque direpto et incenso Portu regali (quem nescio quo casu
destitutum a suis repererunt) ecce nescio quis Gallus ex ipsis qui
portum [12] illum regalem deseruerant, accusationem mittit adversum
me; Me videlicet germanum ac naturalem Hispanum esse atque adeo ob
scelera quædam in Gallia commissa, eo redire non audere. Hic capitaneus
jam infensus, nimirum dato iracundiæ colore, proponit suis ecquid
sentiant. Æquumne videatur me in littus ejicere ibique deserere?
Valuit plurium opinio satius esse reducere me in Virginiam, atque ibi
me infelici arbori, quam evaseram ex æquo et legibus, redonare. [13]
Sic tunc evasi; sicque paulo post ad iter in Virginiam regressi sumus.
Sed ecce biduo post tam sæva tempestas accidit, ut distractis navibus
alii quid aliis acciderit nesciamus. Nostræ navis capitaneus postquam
per tres ipse hebdomadas tempestatem sustinuit, jamque sibi plurima
sed aquam maxime deesse vidit, nec esse spem Virginiæ diu repetendæ;
consilium cepit refugiendi ad insulas portugalensium quas terceras
appellant. Hoc capto consilio ego qui parato suspendio exemptus videbar
rursum incido in majus discrimen ac vere majus, quandoquidem socios
hic habebam discriminis. Angli sedecim cum ad insulas [14] illas
appropinquarent cogitare cæperunt actum esse de se si nos sacerdotes
et jesuitæ appareremus. Illico etenim a catholicis Lusitaniæ viris nos
in libertatem vindicaremur. Ipsi contra veluti piratæ ac vexatores
ecclesiasticorum poenas darent. Angebat eos hæc cura. Sed quid agerent?
Nos ne darent in præceps? An occulere nos sufficeret? In hoc æstu et
dubitatione vocat me capitaneus, remque proponit. Dico ei, mihi gravius
malum non esse mortem quam esse aliis occasionem [15] mali. Si placeat
ei nos occulere polliceor ei me latebras bona fide adjuturum. Quid
immisit Deus in ejus mentem ut mihi crederet? Nescio certe; hoc scio
quod si prævidisset pericula in quæ post incidit, non credidisset.
Ergo occuluit nos in fundo navis: tribus hebdomadis solem non vidimus;
sed ei tot difficultates in portu insulæ Faal inciderunt et toties
visitata fuit trium hebdomadarum tempore navis, ut mirum sit quomodo
non simus deprehensi. Sed hoc quoque providit Deus ad majorem laudam
[_sc._ laudem] Societatis: manifeste namque Angli [16] ipsi viderunt
quod si nos aperire ipsosque detegere voluissemus, in nostra id sæpe
manu fuisset. Ipsi met postea sæpe ac coram ministris nostram fidem
collaudarunt in Anglia ipsis admirantibus inimicis veritatis. His
defuncti periculis, Angli constituerunt in Angliam redire potius quam
in Virginiam quæ tanto distabat longius et ad quam repetendam deerant
necessaria omnia. Ita in Angliam tetendimus. Longa fuit navigatio et
varia: tandem caligine ac nubibus decepti recto [17] cursu decidimus
inque Walliam non longe ab Hybernia delati sumus. In Wallia capitaneus
noster cum ad urbem Pembrochium excendisset victus petendi causa
ad certa quædam indicia velut pirata captus est ac detentus. Ille
enim vero ut se liberaret negat se piratam; argumentumque innocentiæ
suæ profert Jesuitas duos quos in navi haberet, quosque si placeat
accersere ex ipsis cognosci posse veritatem. O artificium divinæ
Providentiæ! Erat tunc hyems adulta, et omnia in navi deerant. Ideoque
nisi nobis provisum fuisset et frigore ac malis peribamus. Quid multa?
[18] Extemplo accersuntur Jesuitæ et in urbem mirantibus omnibus
deducuntur. Jubemur pro testimonio dicere. Nos enim vero quæ vera
erant proferimus, capitaneum scilicet nostrum officiarium esse regium
non piratam, et quæ in nos fecisset parendi necessitate magis quam
voluntate fecisse: Ita capitaneus noster liberatus est et nos cum ipso
in urbe usquedum Londino responsum acciperetur perhumaniter retenti
sumus. Diu expectatum est responsum, at nos interea sæpe cum ministris
sæpius cum aliis disputavimus: licebat enim fere [19] omnibus adire
nos; etsi nobis exire domo non licebat. Verum cætera omnia humaniter
ut dixi tribuebant. Pembrochio denique jubemur Londinum navigare. Sed
iter fuit longum. Otiosissimæque intercesserunt moræ quas ne usque
percenseam hoc sufficiat dicere, anglici regis jussu nos ab itinere
abductos esse ad urbem Dueram atque inde Caletum in Galliam missos.
Caleti liberaliter accepti sumus a domino Gubernatore et decano urbis
ac per tres dies recreati; hinc venimus Ambianium ubi nunc sumus.
Here a new peril arose. The English, as I have previously
stated, wished to go to the settlement of Sainte Croix, although
it had at this time no inhabitants. Some salt, however, had been
left there. No one except myself knew the way; and the English
knew that I had been there formerly. They accordingly demand that
I lead them. I do all I can to evade and refuse this proposal;
but [11] it avails me nothing. They perceive clearly that I am
unwilling to obey. At this the captain grows very angry, and my
peril becomes imminent; when suddenly they find the place, without
my help, and plunder and burn it. They, moreover, on this occasion
captured a savage, who guided them to Port Royal. Although this had
delivered me from one great danger, it nevertheless involved me in
another greater one. For after they had plundered and burnt Port
Royal (which by some inexplicable chance they had found abandoned
by its inhabitants), some Frenchman, one of those very men who
had deserted port [12] royal, brought an accusation against me,
which was nothing less than this: that I was a genuine, native
Spaniard; and that, on account of certain crimes committed in
France, I dared not return there. Hereupon, the captain, already
incensed against me, having found a fine pretext for his wrath,
asked his followers whether they did not think it would be just to
cast me forth on the shore and abandon me there. The opinion of
the majority prevailed, who thought it better to take me back to
Virginia, and there to return me to that unlucky tree which, in
accordance with law and justice, I had escaped. [13] Thus I escaped
death for the moment: and so we soon after started on our return
voyage to Virginia. But, two days later, so fearful a tempest arose
that the ships were separated, and none of us knew what became of
the others. The captain of our ship, after he had endured the storm
for three weeks, and had begun to run short of various necessaries,
particularly of fresh water, concluding that there was no hope
of getting back to Virginia for a long time, decided to run to
the portuguese islands called terceras [Azores]. Through this
decision I, who appeared to have escaped from the death by hanging
that awaited me, again found myself in a greater peril; greater I
may truly call it, since I had here companions in my danger. The
sixteen Englishmen, on approaching [14] these islands, began to
reflect that they were lost if we priests and jesuits appeared;
for we would be set at liberty on the instant by these Portuguese
catholics, and they, on the contrary, would be punished as pirates
and persecutors of priests. This anxiety troubled them. But what
were they to do? Should they throw us overboard, or would it
suffice to conceal us? In this embarrassment and uncertainty, the
captain sent for me, and laid the matter before me. I said to him
that death itself was not a greater evil, in my estimation, than to
be the occasion [15] of misfortune to others. I promised, in case
he chose to conceal us, that I would lend myself to this scheme in
good faith. With what idea did God inspire him, to make him believe
me? I know not, truly; but this I do know--that, if he had foreseen
the dangers into which he subsequently fell, he would not have
trusted me. Accordingly he hid us in the hold of the vessel; during
three weeks we did not behold the sun; but the captain encountered
so many difficulties in the port of the island Faal, and the vessel
was visited so frequently during this space of three weeks, that
it seems marvelous that we escaped detection. But this also God
purposed for the greater glory of the Society; for the English [16]
clearly saw that if we had wished to show ourselves, and to expose
them, it would frequently have been in our power to do so. They
themselves afterwards, when in England, often eulogized our good
faith in the presence of their ministers, and to the admiration
even of the enemies of the truth. Escaping from these perils, our
captors decided to return to England rather than to Virginia, which
was so much farther distant, and which was to be reached only by a
long voyage, for which they lacked all the necessaries. Accordingly
we set sail for England. Our voyage was a long one, and was marked
by many vicissitudes: finally, losing our bearings in the fog and
the cloudy weather [17] we deviated from the right course and were
carried to Wales, not far from Ireland. In Wales our captain,
having landed near the town of Pembroke to lay in provisions, was
seized and detained as a pirate, because of certain appearances
pointing that way. He, however, to recover his liberty, denied
being a pirate; and, as a proof of his innocence, he adduced the
fact that he had in his vessel two Jesuits from whose own lips they
could learn the truth, if they pleased to summon them. Oh skillful
hand of divine Providence! Winter was then fully upon us, and in
the ship we were in want of everything. Thus, had we not been
provided for, we should have died of cold and hardships. But what
need of a long story? [18] The Jesuits are at once summoned, and,
gazed at by all, are led into the town. We are ordered to give our
evidence. We, of course, attest what was perfectly true,--that our
captain was a royal officer and not a pirate, and that what he had
done to us had been done in obedience to orders, rather than from
his own free will. Accordingly, our captain was set at liberty; and
in company with him we were detained in the town, and very well
used, while awaiting orders from London. These were long delayed;
and in the interval we frequently engaged in arguments with the
ministers, and more frequently still with others,--for nearly every
one was permitted [19] to have access to us, although we were not
allowed to go out. In every other respect, as I have said, we
were very kindly treated. Finally we received orders to sail from
Pembroke to London. But the voyage proved a long one. Protracted
delays intervened; to avoid a long enumeration of these, let it
suffice to say that by order of the english king we were landed
at Dover, and thence sent to Calais in France. At Calais we were
hospitably received by the Governor and the dean of the city, and
rested three days; thence we came to Amiens, where we now are.
Tenuit nos captivitas nostra [20] per novem menses et dimidium.
Semper in navi, nisi cum, uti dixi, excendimus ad Pembrochium. Tres
menses fuimus: cum nobis in die non darentur nisi circiter unciæ duæ
panis et non multum salsi piscis et aqua fere semper foetida; ideoque
miramur quomodo in morbum non inciderimus. Quod pauci Anglorum evadere
potuerunt, imo ejusdem etiam aliquot mortui sunt. Sed nimirum Deus
nos custodivit placatus Vestræ Paternitatis ac totius Societatis
precibus; faxit ipse pro sua bonitate ut id cedat ad majorem ipsius
gloriam emendationemque morum meorum ac salutem. Hoc spero per preces
ac [21] benedictionem Vestræ Paternitatis quam humillime et quanto
affectu possum nixus genibus flagito. Dm[(u]s [Dominus] Jesus Vestram
Paternitatem custodiat semper et Sanctissimis suis gratiis augeat,
Pater optime et suavissime.
Vestræ Paternitatis
filius obediens ac servus indignus
PETRUS BIARD
Ambiani, 26 Maii, 1614.
We remained in captivity [20] during nine months and a half. We
were in the ship all the time, except when we landed at Pembroke,
as related. There were three months during which we daily received
only about two ounces of bread, and a small quantity of salt fish,
with water that was nearly always fetid; so that we marvel at not
having fallen sick. Few of the English escaped illness, and some of
them even died as the result. But God doubtless watched over us in
answer to the prayers of Your Paternity and of all our Society; may
he grant in his goodness that it result to his own greater glory
and in my salvation and better life. This I hope for, through the
prayers and [21] the blessing of Your Paternity, which, with all
possible humility and affection, I solicit on my knees. May the
Lord Jesus ever watch over Your Paternity and may our Father with
utmost goodness and favor increasingly bestow upon you his Most
Holy grace.
Your Paternity's
obedient son and unworthy servant,
PIERRE BIARD.
Amiens, May 26, 1614.
XIV
Biard's Relation de la Nouvelle France
LYONS: LOUIS MUGUET, 1616
SOURCE: Text is reprinted from the original, in Lenox Library;
Title-page is photographic facsimile of original, in Bibliothèque
Nationale, Paris.
PECULIARITIES OF ORIGINAL: The text only, is paged. P. 191 is wrongly
numbered, 181; p. 256 to the last page (340), are wrongly numbered,
263 to 338. Chap. xi. is wrongly numbered xii.; succeeding chapters
are consecutively numbered therefrom, xiii., xiv., etc., except that
Chap. xix. in this arrangement, is wrongly numbered xxi.; but this
transposition of letters has not affected the numbering of subsequent
chapters.
Chaps. i.-xxv. (correct numbering) are given in the present volume; the
rest of this document will appear in Volume IV.
[Illustration:
RELATION DE LA NOVVELLE FRANCE, DE SES TERRES, NATVREL DV Païs, & de
ses Habitans,
_ITEM_,
Du voyage des Peres Iesuites ausdictes contrées, & de ce qu'ils y ont
faict iusques à leur prinse par les Anglois.
_FAICTE_
Par le P. PIERRE BIARD, Grenoblois de la Compagnie de IESVS.
_A LYON_,
Chez LOVYS MVGVET, en
ruë Merciere.
_M. DCXVI._
Auec Priuilege du Roy.]
RELATION OF NEW FRANCE, OF ITS LANDS, NATURE OF THE COUNTRY, and of its
Inhabitants,
_ALSO_,
Of the voyage of the Jesuit Fathers to said country, and of their work
there up to the time of their capture by the English.
_WRITTEN_
By Father PIERRE BIARD, of Grenoble, of the Society of JESUS.
_LYONS_,
LOVYS MVGVET, ruë Merciere.
1616.
By Royal License.
[iii] Av Roy.
_SIRE,_
_Si ie presente à vostre Majesté ces Discours de vostre nouuelle
France, la description du païs, & le recit des moeurs, & façons de
faire estrange, & sauuage des Canadins: Ie suis obligé par toutes
sortes de deuoir à ce faire. Son commandement expres, ioinct à celuy
de la Royne vostre tres-honnorée mere lors Regente, m'y a porté,
auec quelques miens Compagnons, plus fauorablement que le vent, & la
marée, vostre liberalité Royale m'y a entretenu quelques années, &
son authorité puissante m'a deliuré des mains de certains Corsaires
Anglois, qui ennemis de nostre saincte_ [iv] _foy (de laquelle nous
jettions quelque semence en ces Terres Neuues, auec esperance d'en
faire vne moisson plantureuse, seul motif de nostre voyage, & de vostre
iussion, SIRE,) nous ont faict quitter la place à nostre grand regret,
& nous ont tenu comme prisonniers quelques moys dans leur vaisseau,
& preparé cent fois la hart, & la potence pour nous faire perdre la
vie: le seul respect de V. Majesté les ayant empeschez d'executer
leurs mauuais desseings, particulierement sur ma personne, laquelle
possible la diuine prouidence a voulu reseruer par l'entremise vostre,
pour estre commandée derechef de faire voile aux mesmes contrées,
& continuer la culture de ce peuple sauuage. Eschappé donc de ce
danger, & tout mouïllé encores du naufrage sur le port de vostre
France; i'offre à vos pieds ce peu de cayers, comme vne table de
tres-humble recognoissance, que si i'escris, si ie vis, c'est (apres
Dieu) par vostre moyen, & faueur, SIRE. Et_ [v] _ceste obligation
signalée m'estant tousiours deuant les yeux, fera que ie prieray Dieu
continuellement, auec tous ceux de ma robbe, que V. Majesté croissant
d'aage, & de zele puisse vn iour arborer l'estendart de la Croix auec
ses fleurs de lys Royales, aux terres plus escartées des Infideles:
tandis que ce grand Roy des Roys luy prepare au Ciel vne couronne
tissuë d'honneur, & de gloire perpetuelle, que ie vous souhaitte, apres
auoir porté la vostre en terre longuement, & heureusement; de mesme
coeur, & affection que ie suis, De vostre Majesté,_
Tres-humble, & tres-obeïssant
subject, & seruiteur,
PIERRE BIARD.
[iii] To the King.
_SIRE,_
_If I present to your Majesty these Discourses upon your new
France, the description of the country, and the account of the
manners and strange and barbarous ways of the Canadians, I am bound
to do it by every consideration of duty. Your express command,
with that of the Queen, your highly esteemed mother, then Regent,
carried me and some of my Companions thither more propitiously
than wind and tide; your Royal generosity supported me there for
some years; and your mighty authority delivered me from the hands
of certain English Pirates, enemies of our holy_ [iv] _faith, (of
which we cast some seeds in this New World, with the hope of one
day having a plentiful harvest, sole object of our voyage and of
your royal command, SIRE,) they compelled us to leave the place,
to our great regret, and held us prisoners several months in their
ship, and a hundred times prepared the rope and the gallows for
our execution; respect for Your Majesty alone having prevented
them from carrying out their wicked designs, particularly upon my
person, which possibly divine providence has wished to preserve
through your agency, to be again ordered to sail away to the same
country, and to continue the education of this barbarous people.
Delivered now from this danger, and still wet from the shipwreck
in the port of your France, I lay at your feet this little book
as an evidence of very humble gratitude that, if I am living and
writing, it is due (after God) to your help and favor, SIRE. And_
[v] _this signal obligation, being always before my eyes, will
cause me to pray God continually, with all those of my order, that,
as Your Majesty's years and zeal increase, you may one day plant
the standard of the Cross with its Royal fleurs de lys upon the
most distant Infidel lands, while the great King of Kings prepares
for you in Heaven a crown of honor and of everlasting glory, which
I wish for you, after having worn your crown upon earth long and
happily, with the same love and devotion from which I am your
Majesty's_
Very humble and very obedient
subject and servant,
PIERRE BIARD.
[vi] Avant-Propos.
A GRANDE raison (amy Lecteur) vn des plus anci[~e]s Prophetes, nous
depeignant mystiquement soubs le sensible, & historial degast de la
Iudée, les horribles rauages, exterminations, & ruines, que Satan
opere, où sa fureur peut auoir le domaine, a dit emphatiquement; _Au
deuant de luy la terre est vn Paradis de delices, & derriere luy la
solitude d'vn desert._ Car certes, qui iettera ses yeux sur tout le
vaste contour de la terre, & y considerera les nations illuminées
du Soleil de Iustice, nostre Sauueur IESVS-CHRIST, arrousées de son
sang, & precieux Sacrement; nourries de sa grace & parole; viuifiées,
& resiouyes de son [vii] esprit; cultiuées, & regies de ses diuins
Offices, honnorées de son oracle, & presence réelle; Qui, dy-ie,
contemplera cecy, aura grãde occasion de s'escrier, _Qu'au deuant du
destructeur infernal_, Et, _où il ne peut atteindre; la terre est vn
Paradis de delices_, ou toutes benedictions, mesmement temporelles,
& seculiere felicité accompagn[~e]t les peuples; estant planté au
milieu d'eux, le vray arbre de vie, nostre Redempteur Iesus-Christ.
Mais au contraire, si lon destourne la veuë, & que lon regarde
derriere ce maudit tyran, Lucifer, & par où il a peu exercer ses
intolerables cruautez, on ne trouuera que destructions & solitudes,
cris & lamentations, que desolatiõ, & ombre de mort. Ores il n'est
ja besoin, que nous sortions hors de nostre hemisphere, pour voir à
l'oeil, & recognoistre [viii] ceste verité; La Grece, & la Palestine,
jadis vn bel Eden, auiourd'huy vn pitoyable desert nous sont deuant les
yeux. Que s'il vous plaist que nous nous regardions nous mesmes, pour,
touchãt à la main cela mesme, rendre loüange au liberal donateur de
nos biens: Ie vous prie suiuons ce Soleil corporel, qui nous esclaire,
& l'accompagnons en son couchant, pour sçauoir, à qui par droicte
ligne de nous, il va donner le bon iour au delà de nostre Ocean, nous
ayant icy recommandé au repos de la nuict. C'est la nouuelle France,
ceste nouuelle terre, dy-ie, descouuerte premierement au dernier
siecle, par nos François, terre iumelle auec la nostre, subiecte à
mesmes influences, rangée en mesme parallele, située en mesme climat;
terre vaste, & pour ainsi dire, infinie: [ix] terre que nous saluons,
regardans nostre Soleil en son vespre: terre cependant, de laquelle
vous pourrez meritoirement dire, si vous considerez Satan en front,
& venant de l'Occident pour nous abbatre: _Deuant luy est vn Paradis
de delices, & derriere luy la solitude d'vn desert_: Car en pure
verité toute ceste region, quoy que capable de mesme felicité que
nous, toutefois par malice de Satan, qui y regne, n'est qu'vn horrible
desert, nõ guiere moins calamiteux pour la malencontreuse disette
des biens corporels, que pour celle, qui absoluëment rend les hommes
miserables, l'extreme nudité des parements, & richesses de l'ame: &
ne faut ja en accuser le sol, ou malignité de la terre, l'air, ou les
eaux, les hommes, ou leurs humeurs: Nous sommes tous faicts, & releuons
de mesmes principes: [x] Nous respirons soubs mesme eleuation de pole,
mesmes constellations nous temperent: & ne croy point, que la terre,
laquelle produit là d'aussi hauts, & beaux arbres que les nostres,
ne produisist d'aussi belles moissons, si elle estoit cultiuée, D'où
vient donc vne si grande diuersité? d'où ce tant inegal partage de
bon, & mal heur? de jardin & desert? de Paradis, & d'Enfer? Que
m'interrogerez-vous? Interrogez celuy, qui du Ciel aduisoit son peuple,
de considerer ceste tant opposite diuision entre Esaü & Iacob, freres
iumeaux, & comme cestuy-là estoit logé en l'air auec les dragõs, &
bestes sauuages; & cestuy-cy en la moüelle, & mammelle de la terre auec
les Anges.
[vi] Preface.
VERY appropriately (dear Reader) one of the earlier Prophets,
depicting to us allegorically, under the visible and historical
downfall of Judah, the horrible ravages, exterminations, and ruin
wrought by Satan, where his fury can have full sway, has said
emphatically: _Before him the land is a Garden of pleasure, and
behind him a desolate wilderness._ For truly, whoever will cast
his eyes over all the vast circumference of the earth, and will
consider the nations thereof which are illuminated by the Sun
of Justice, our Savior JESUS CHRIST; bedewed with his blood and
precious Sacrament; nourished by his grace and word; animated and
gladdened by his [vii] spirit; enlightened and governed by his
divine Offices, honored by his utterances and actual presence;
whoever, I say, will contemplate this, will have great reason to
cry out, _Beyond the infernal destroyer_, and, _Where he does not
extend, the earth is a Garden of delight_, where all blessings,
even temporal and worldly happiness, follow the people, the real
tree of life, our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, being planted in their
midst. On the contrary, if we turn aside our gaze, and look behind
this cursed tyrant, Lucifer, and upon the places where he has
exercised his intolerable cruelties, we shall find only destruction
and solitude, cries and lamentations, only desolation and the
shadow of death. Now we need not go out from our own hemisphere to
see and recognize [viii] this truth; Greece and Palestine confront
us, formerly as beautiful as Eden, to-day a mournful desert; but if
you wish that we should look upon our own country, that, having a
striking proof thereof, we may render praise to the liberal giver
of our blessings; I pray you let us follow this corporal Sun, which
gives us light, and accompany it to its setting, to learn to whom,
in a direct line from us, it goes forth to give good day across our
Ocean, leaving us here to the stillness of the night. It is new
France, this new land, first discovered in the last century, by our
countrymen, a twin land with ours, subject to the same influences,
lying in the same latitude, and having the same climate; a vast
country, and so to speak, infinite; [ix] a country which we greet,
facing our Sun at eventide: a land moreover, of which you may well
say, if you consider Satan opposite and coming up from the West
to smite us; _A Garden of delight lies before him, behind him a
solitary wilderness._ For verily all this region, though capable
of the same prosperity as ours, nevertheless through Satan's
malevolence, which reigns there, is only a horrible wilderness,
scarcely less miserable on account of the scarcity of bodily
comforts than for that which renders man absolutely miserable, the
complete lack of the ornaments and riches of the soul; and neither
the sun, nor malice of the soil, neither the air nor the water,
neither men nor their caprices, are to be blamed for this. We are
all created by and dependent upon the same principles: [x] We
breathe under the same sky; the same constellations influence us;
and I do not believe that the land, which produces trees as tall
and beautiful as ours, will not produce as fine harvests, if it be
cultivated. Whence, then, comes such great diversity? Whence such
an unequal division of happiness and of misfortune? of garden and
of wilderness? of Heaven and of Hell? Why do you ask me? Ask him,
who from Heaven counsels his people, to consider the so opposite
division between Esau and Jacob, twin brothers, the former cast out
to dwell with dragons and wild beasts; the latter in the lap and
bosom of the earth with the Angels.
Ceste consideration de vray est puissante, & deuroit occuper
d'admiration tous nos sentimens, [xi] nous retenãt en vne pieuse
crainte, & affectiõnée volonté de communiquer charitablement ce
comble de bi[~e] du Christianisme; qui nous vient si gratuitement au
rencontre: Car autrement certes il est facile à nostre benin Pere de
croiser ses bras comme fit Iacob, & mettre sa dextre sur le puysné,
& sa gauche sur le plus grand. O mon Dieu! où est icy l'ambition des
Grands? où la contention des forts? où la monstre des riches? où
l'effort des vertueux? y a-il champ de Marathon, ou lices Olympiques
plus propres aux courageux? où est-ce que la gloire d'vn Chrestien le
peut esleuer plus heureusement, que où elle apporteroit la felicité
corporelle tout ensemble, & la spirituelle à ses consorts; & ou comme
grand outil de Dieu, il feroit d'vn desert vn Paradis? où [xii] il
dompteroit les Monstres infernaux, & introduiroit la police, & la
milice du ciel en terre? où les generations, & generations à milliers,
& iusques aux derniers siecles beniroyent son nom & memoire sans cesse,
& le ciel mesme (qui se peupleroit de ses bi[~e]faits) se resiouyroit
des graces, & benedictions, versées dessus luy?
This consideration is certainly powerful, and ought to inspire all
our sentiments with admiration, [xi] keeping us in pious fear, and
in loving desire to benevolently impart this highest of all the
blessings of Christianity, which comes to us so gratuitously and
of its own accord. For otherwise it is certainly easy for our kind
Father to cross his hands as did Jacob, and put his right upon the
younger, and his left upon the elder. Oh, my God! where is here the
ambition of the Great? where, the contention of the strong? where,
the display of the rich? where, the endeavor of the virtuous?
is there a field of Marathon, or are there Olympian games, more
fitting to the brave? Where can the glory of a Christian more
successfully ennoble him, than there where it brings both bodily
and spiritual happiness to his brethren; and where, as one of God's
great instruments, he would make a Garden out of the wilderness;
where [xii] he would subjugate satanic Monsters, and would
introduce the order and discipline of heaven upon earth; where
generations upon generations, by thousands and to the remotest
ages, would forever bless his name and memory, and heaven itself
(which would be peopled by his good deeds) would rejoice at the
thanksgivings and blessings bestowed upon him.
Or c'est (amy Lecteur) l'ardent desir, & zele de voir ceste nouuelle
France, que ie dy, cõquise à nostre Seigneur: qui m'a fait prendre la
plume en main pour vous depeindre briefuement, & en toute verité ce que
i'ay recogneu de ses cõtrées. Il y a quatre ans, que i'y fus enuoyé
pas mes Superieurs: &, Dieu punissant mes pechez, i'en ay esté despuis
enleué par les Anglois, ainsi que ie raconteray cy-apres.
Now (dear Reader) it is this my eagerness and ardent desire to
see this new France converted to our Lord, which has made me take
my pen in hand to describe to you briefly, and in all truth, what I
have found out about these lands. It is four years since I was sent
there by my Superiors; and, as God's punishment for my sins, I was
taken away from there by the English, as I shall relate hereafter.
Relation de la Novvelle France, et le Voyage des Peres Iesvites en
icelle.
CHAPITRE I.
[1] QUEL PAÏS EST LA NOUUELLE FRANCE, & CEUX QUI PREMIEREMENT L'ONT
VOULU HABITER.
NOVS appellons Nouuelle France; les terres, & païs de l'Amerique, ou
Indes Occidentales, qui sont à l'autre bord de l'Ocean de Guienne, vers
le Soleil couchant, opposites à nous, & droictement correspondantes
en mesme ligne de l'Orient à l'Occident. [2] On leur a imposé ce nom
de Nouuelle France, pour deux raisons principalement. La premiere,
d'autant que (comme i'ay dit) ces terres sont paralleles à nostre
France, n'y ayant rien entre la Guienne & ces dictes contrées, sinon
nostre mer d'Occident, large en son plus estroict, de huict cens
lieües & d'auantage; En son plus ample peu moins de mille lieües ou
enuiron. La seconde raison est d'autant que ce païs a esté premierement
descouuert par les François Bretons, l'an 1504. Il y ja cent & onze
ans; Et qui despuis n'ont cessé de la frequenter. Les Normans de mesme
ont contribué à ce trauail des premiers; entre lesquels nous lisons,
que le Capitaine Thomas Aubert, Dieppois y fit voile, l'an 1508. & en
ramena des Sauuages du païs, lesquels il fit voir auec admiration, [3]
& applaudissement à la France. Deux ans auant luy le Capitaine Ieã
Denys de Honfleur auoit fait la mesme descouuerte; Mais par ce qu'il
n'en auoit rapporté que des poissons, & des cartes Geographiques, son
renom en est demeuré plus obscur, que de Thomas Aubert. Depuis l'an
1523. Iean Verazan courut toute la coste, dés la Floride iusques au
Cap Breton, & en prit possession au nom de François I. son maistre.
Ie croy que ç'a esté ce Iean Verazan, qui a esté le Parrain de ceste
denomination de Nouuelle France: Parce que Canada, (duquel nom aussi
on l'appelle communement) n'est point à proprement parler toute ceste
tenuë de païs, qu'ores on nõme Nouuelle France; Ains est celle tant
seulement, laquelle s'estend au long des riuages du grand Fleuue
Canadas, & [4] le Gelfe de S. Laurens; qui n'est seulement, que la
partie la plus Septentrionale de la Nouuelle France; ainsi qu'il vous
appert par la carte Geographique, que nous vous apposons icy.
Relation of New France, and the Jesuit Fathers' Voyage to that
country.
CHAPTER I.
[1] ON THE LOCATION OF NEW FRANCE, AND THOSE WHO FIRST ATTEMPTED TO
SETTLE THERE.
WE call New France,[1] the lands and countries of America or
the West Indies, which are upon the other shore of the Ocean of
Guienne,[2] towards the setting Sun, opposite us and lying directly
in the same line from East to West. [2] They have given it this
name of New France principally for two reasons. The first, because
(as I have said) these lands are parallel to our France, nothing
lying between Guienne and said countries, except our Western sea,
in its narrowest part more than eight hundred leagues wide; in
its widest, a little less than a thousand leagues, or thereabout.
The second reason is that this country was first discovered by
French Bretons, in the year 1504, one hundred and eleven years
ago, and since then they have not ceased to visit it. The Normans
also assisted in these early discoveries; among whom we read that
Captain Thomas Aubert,[3] of Dieppe, sailed in the year 1508, and
brought back from there some of the Natives, whom he exhibited
to the wonder [3] and applause of France. Two years before him,
Captain Jean Denys,[4] of Honfleur, had made the same discovery;
but, as he brought back only some fish, and Geographical charts, he
has not become so renowned as Thomas Aubert. After the year 1523,
Jean Verazan[5] skirted all the coast from Florida to Cape Breton,
and took possession of it in the name of his master, Francis I.
I believe it was Jean Verazan who was Godfather to this title of
"New France;"[1] for Canada (a name by which they also frequently
call it) is not, properly speaking, all this extent of country
which they now call New France; but it is only that part, which
extends along the banks of the great River Canada, and [4] the Gulf
of St. Lawrence;[6] this being only the most Northern part of New
France, as will be seen from the Geographical chart which we insert
herein.[7]
A Canada touche l'Acadie, ou pays des Souriquoys plus bas vers le Sud:
Et plus bas encores au delà de la Baye Françoise est la Norambegue.
De ces deux mots de Norambegue & de Acadie, il n'en reste plus aucune
memoire sur le pays; ouy bien de Canada, laquelle fut principalement
descouuerte par Iacques Cartier, l'an 1524. & puis par vn second voyage
dix ans apres l'an 1534.
Acadie, or the Souriquoys country farther South, is next to
Canada, and still farther down, on the other side of French Bay,
is Norambegue. Of these two words, Norambegue and Acadie, there
no longer remains any remembrance in the country;[8] yet there is
of Canada, which was discovered principally by Jacques Cartier in
1524, and then in a second voyage ten years afterwards in 1534.
Or dés le commencement de ces descouuertes, les François ont beaucoup
traicté du cultiuage, & habitation de ces deserts. (Deserts sont-ce
voirement, tout le pays n'estant qu'vne forest infinie.) [5] Aucuns
particuliers en sont encores venus iusques aux tentatiues, comme
Roberual & le Marquis de la Roche, & autres. Mais l'entreprinse la plus
haute diuulguée, & recente pour cest effect, a esté celle du sieur de
Monts Pierre du Gas, qui s'en est acquis grande recommandation. Iceluy
ayant fait vn assez notable fonds d'argent; & à cest effect associé
auc[~u]s Marchands de Roüen, de sainct Malo, & de la Rochelle; receut
de feu d'heureuse memoire Henry le Grand, pleine puissance, & authorité
de Lieutenant de Roy sur ces dictes contrées dés le quarantiesme
degré d'eleuation, iusques au quarantesixiesme: car là aboutissoit la
puissance, qui luy estoit dõnée de disposer des terres; Ses priuileges
neantmoins de la traitte, & gouuernement s'estendoi[~e]t iusques au 54.
degré, ainsi qu'on [6] peut recognoistre par les lettres Royaux qui luy
en furent expediées. Par ainsi de ceste Commission du sieur de Monts,
il semble, qu'on aye prins occasion de retrecir les limites de la
Nouuelle Frãce; Car (comme nous auons dit) auparauãt elle s'estendoit
iusques à la Floride vers le Sud, là où maintenãt on la borne quasi
communement du trenteneufuiesme degré de latitude Australe, ainsi que
vous la voyez en nostre carte. Ses limites à l'Orient, sont nostre mer;
à l'Occident ce sera la mer de la Chine, si nous auons assez de valeur
& vertu: car autres bornes n'y a-il, qui soient certaines, le pays
estant infiny, & plus estendu dix & douze fois que n'est toute nostre
France.
Now ever since the first of these discoveries, the French have
been talking about cultivating and inhabiting these wildernesses.
(Wildernesses they certainly are, the whole country being but an
interminable forest.) [5] Certain individuals, such as Roberval and
the Marquis de la Roche, and others, have even attempted it.[9] But
the most widely known and latest voyage undertaken for this purpose
was that of sieur de Monts, Pierre du Gas, who has been very highly
commended for it. Having considerable money at his disposal, and
having associated with him for this object certain Merchants of
Roüen, of saint Malo and of la Rochelle, he received from the late
Henry the Great, of happy memory, full power and authority, as
Lieutenant of the King in these said countries, from the fortieth
to the forty-sixth parallel of latitude, for there ended the power
given him to dispose of lands. However, his rights of trade and
government extended to the 54th parallel, as [6] can be learned
from the Royal letters that were sent to him. Thus, by sieur de
Monts's Commission, it seems that they took occasion to narrow
down the boundaries of New France: for (as we have said) hitherto
it had extended as far South as Florida, while now it is generally
bounded on the South by the thirty-ninth parallel of latitude, as
you see by our chart. Its Eastern boundary is our sea; its Western,
will be the China sea, if we have force and courage enough; as to
other boundaries, it has none which are definite, the country being
unlimited, and ten or twelve times more extensive than our entire
France.
Or le sieur de Monts ayant l'authorité & puissance cy-deuant dicte, &
assez bien muny, & accompagné [7] partit de France l'an 1604. iustement
cent ans apres la premiere descouuerte de ces terres, il s'alla loger
en la Coste de la Nõrembegue entre les peuples Eteminquoys, en vne
petite Isle, qu'il appella de saincte Croix: Mais le malheur l'y
accueillit: car il perdit de maladie vne grande partie de ses gens.
Now sieur de Monts, having the authority and power mentioned, and
being well equipped and [7] accompanied, left France in the year
1604, just a hundred years after the discovery of this country, and
went to live upon the Coast of Norembegue among the Eteminquoys
people, upon a small Island, which he called sainte Croix. But
misfortune overtook him there, for he lost a great many of his
people by sickness.
Et partant l'année suyuante, cõtrainct par la necessité, il changea
de demeure à Port Royal vers l'Est Suest, à quelques vingt six lieües
de là, en l'Acadie au païs des Souriquoys, là où il ne demeura que
deux ans, d'autant que les Marchands associez, voyants que leur mise
surmontoit la recepte ne voulur[~e]t plus tenir coup: Ainsi fallust,
que tous reuinssent en Frãce, ne laissans pour monument de leur
exploict, sinon deux alogements tous vuides, celuy de saincte [8]
Croix, & celuy de Port Royal; Et n'en rapportant autre guieres plus
grand fruict, que les Topographies, & descriptiõs des Mers, Caps,
Costes, & Riuieres, qu'ils auoient parcouru. Voilà tous les principaux
actes de nos dilig[~e]ces, iusques aux années 1610. & 1611. desquelles
nous parlerons tantost, quãd il nous y faudra conduire les Iesuites.
Mais au preallable, selon nostre promesse, & comme l'exige la condition
de nostre dessein, nous monstrerons l'Horoscope, & Geniture de ces
terres: Ie veux dire les aspects du ciel, sur icelles, leurs temps,
saisons, temperature, & qualitez.
Leaving there the following year, forced by necessity, he
changed his dwelling place to Port Royal, towards the East
Southeast, some twenty-six leagues away, in Acadie or the
Souriquoys country. Here he remained only two years, for the
associated Merchants, seeing that their outlay exceeded their
receipts, no longer cared to continue the experiment. So they all
had to return to France, leaving nothing as a monument of their
adventure, except two dwellings entirely empty, that of sainte
[8] Croix, and that of Port Royal; and bringing no greater spoils
back with them, than the Topography and description of the Seas,
Capes, Coasts, and Rivers, which they had traversed. These are all
the chief results of our efforts up to the years 1610 and 1611, of
which we shall speak hereafter in conducting the Jesuits there.
But as a preliminary, according to our promise, and as the nature
of our purpose demands, we shall show the Horoscope and Geniture
of these lands, I mean their climate, their weather, seasons,
temperature, and conditions.
CHAPITRE II.
[9] DES TEMPS, SAISONS, & TEMPERATURE DE LA NOUUELLE FRANCE.
CES terres estant, comme nous auons dit, paralleles à nostre France,
c'est à dire, en mesme climat, & mesme eleuation, par reigle
d'Astrologie, elles doiuent auoir mesmes influ[~e]ces, mesmes
inclinations, & temperatures: car elles ne different en cela, que cõme
differ[~e]t entre nous par ex[~e]ple Grenoble, Vienne, & Bourdeaux,
Paris & Cornoaille, Marseille, & Bayõne, sçauoir est, [~q] seulem[~e]t
vn lieu est plus Ori[~e]tal, que l'autre; quant au reste, il a mesme
grandeur de iours, mesme aspect des estoilles, mesmes saisons, &
temperature. Vray est que la nouuelle France descend trois degrez [10]
plus bas vers le midy, que ne faict la nostre, laquelle s'arreste à
Fontarabie, c'est à dire, au 42. degré; là où la Nouuelle franchit
iusques au 39. pour le moins, & plus loin, s'il plaist à sa Majesté de
ne rien rabatre de ce que son predecesseur François I. auoit acquis.
CHAPTER II.
[9] ON THE WEATHER, SEASONS, AND TEMPERATURE OF NEW FRANCE.
THIS country being, as we have said, parallel to our France,
that is, in the same climate and latitude, by a principle of
Astrology it ought to have the same physical forces, deviations
and temperatures; for it does not vary in those particulars any
more than, for example, Grenoble, Vienne, and Bourdeaux, Paris and
Cornoaille,[10] Marseilles and Bayonne, vary among us; that is,
only as one place is farther to the East than the other; also, its
days are of the same length, its astral conditions the same, it
has the same seasons and temperature. It is true that new France
extends three degrees [10] farther south than ours does, which
stops at Fontarabie,[11] that is, at the 42nd parallel; while New
France extends at least to the 39th, and farther, if it pleases his
Majesty not to give up anything that his predecessor, Francis I.,
had acquired.
Neantmoins, quoy qu'en disent les Astrologues, si faut-il aduouër que
ce païs là (parlant vniuersellement, & cõme il est à ceste heure) est
plus froid que n'est nostre Frãce, & qu'il y a diuersité grande quant
aux temps & saisons de l'vn à l'autre: Dequoy les causes n'en estãs au
ciel, il les faut rechercher en terre. Ie tesmoignerai fidelem[~e]t
des effects lesquels i'ay experim[~e]té deux ans & demy continuels;
Ie dirois trois ans & demy, n'estoit que i'ay consumé presqu'vn an
à diuerses reprinses en nauigations faictes loin du Continent. Le
lieu [11] de ma plus longue demeure a esté Port Royal, presque à 45.
degrez de hauteur polaire. Là donc la neige nous arriuoit sur la fin
de Nouembre, & ne se fondoit iamais entierement dedans les bois, que
sur la fin de Feurier, s'il n'arriuoit, comme souuent, quelque grosse
pluye, ou quelque fort vent de Midy qui la fondist. Mais elle n'estoit
pas si tost fonduë qu'il en tomboit d'autre. Hors des bois, & au
descouuert elle n'y croupit guiere plus qu'en Frãce, mais il y nege
plus souuent que d'ordinaire en France: la plus haute nege, que i'y
aye veu ç'a esté d'vn pied & demy, encore non pas. Quand le Norouest
(qu'icy nous appellõs Galerne) se met en ses fougues, le froid y est
intolerable, mais cela ne dure que huict, ou dix iours pour le plus,
puis le temps s'adoucit pour vn espace, cõme en France; [12] & ne
seroit on non plus empesché de trauailler à quelque mestier, voire
d'aller & venir, qu'en France; si lon y estoit accommodé, comme en
France. Mais ce n'a esté qu'vne extreme pauureté de tout ce que i'y
ay veu. Des miserables cabanes ouuertes en plusieurs endroits: nostre
viure pois, & febues, encores bi[~e] escharsement; nostre boire l'eau
pure: les hardes, & habits de nos gens tous frippez; nos prouisions,
d'aller au bois du iour à la iournée, nos medicaments, vn verre de vin
aux bonnes festes; nos restaurans, quelque peu de chasse, ou de gibier
par bonnes auentures; le lieu inhabité, les chemins sans vestige aucun,
la chaussure du pied propre pour le foyer. Allez auec cela & dittes
qu'il ne fait point d'hyuer en Canada. Mais au moins ne dittes, que les
eaux n'y soyent fort [13] bonnes, & l'air fort salubre: car c'est de
vray chose merueilleuse comme nonobstant toutes ces miseres nous nous
sommes tousiours fort bien portés, estans tousiours pour le moins vingt
en nombre; Et si en trois ans n'en sont morts de maladie que deux tant
seulement, vn de S. Malo, & vn autre Breton: encores ce dernier mourut
plus à faute d'auoir vn peu de pain & de vin pour se restaurer, (tout
cela nous estant failly) que non pour atrocité de symptome; ou cruauté
de maladie.
Nevertheless, whatever the Astrologers may say, it must be
confessed that that country (generally speaking, and as it is at
present) is colder than our France, and that they differ greatly
from each other in regard to weather and seasons. The causes
thereof not being in the sky, we must seek them upon the earth.
I shall show accurately some experiments I made continuously for
two years and a half, I might say three years and a half, only I
consumed nearly a year at various times in voyages away from the
Mainland. The place [11] where I remained the longest was Port
Royal, almost on the 45th parallel of north latitude. Now at that
place the snow came towards the end of November, and it never
entirely thawed in the woods until about the last of February,
unless, as often happened, a heavy rain, or strong South wind
came to melt it. But no sooner did this snow melt than more fell.
Outside the woods, and in the open places, it did not last any
longer than it does in France, but it snows oftener there than
it usually does in France. The deepest snow I have seen in that
country was not quite a foot and a half. When the Northwest wind
(which we call here Galerne) lashes itself into a fury, the cold
there is insufferable, but it lasts only eight or ten days at the
most, then the weather becomes milder for a while, as it is in
France, [12] and people would no longer be prevented from going on
with their work, or even from going back and forth, as in France,
if they had the same accommodations we have here. But whatever I
saw here was extreme poverty. Some wretched cabins, open in many
places; our food, peas and beans, rather scarce in quantity; our
drink, pure water; the clothes of our people all in rags; our
supplies found in the woods from day to day; our medicine a glass
of wine on great holidays; our restoratives, perchance a trifle
from the chase of a little feathered game; the place uninhabited,
no footprints upon the paths, our shoes only fit for the fireside.
After this, go and say there is no winter in Canada. But at least
do not say that the water there is not [13] excellent, and the air
not healthful; for it is certainly wonderful that, notwithstanding
all these discomforts, we always kept our health, being never less
than twenty in number, and that in three years only two of us died
of disease, one a man from St. Malo and the other a Breton; yet the
latter died more for want of a little bread and wine to restore him
(there being a dearth of all those things) than from the gravity of
the symptoms or malignancy of the disease.
Que si nous nous souuenons comme Iacques Quartier perdit quasi toutes
ses gens, la fois qu'il hiuerna premierem[~e]t en ces pays; & comme de
mesme le sieur de Monts en perdit bien la moitié la premiere année de
S. Croix, & l'an suiuant, qui fut le premier de port Royal, encores
sentit-il grãd [14] dechet, moindre toutesfois, & puis moindre la
troisiesme année. De mesmes aussi que depuis à Kebec la premiere année
plusieurs fur[~e]t troussés, & non pas tant à la seconde. Cest amas
de mesmes accidents nous pourra seruir à recognoistre les causes des
maladies & de la santé, que tant diuersement nous auons senti. La
maladie commune a esté le Scorbut, qu'on appelle maladie de la terre,
les iambes, cuisses & face enflent; les leures se pourrissent, & leur
suruiennent de grandes excroissances, l'haleine est courbe, auec vne
fascheuse toux, les bras meurtris, & le cuir tacheté, toute la personne
languit auec grand ennuy, & douleur, sans rien pouuoir aualer, sinon
quelque peu de liquide. Le sieur Champlain philosophant sur cecy,
attribue la cause de ces maladies aux vapeurs [15] que ceux-là boiuent,
qui labourent, renuersent, & habitent premierement ces terres,
lesquelles n'ont iamais esté descouuertes du soleil. Son dire n'est
pas impertinent, ny sans exemples: neantmoins on peut opposer, que les
mariniers, qui ne vont qu'à la coste pour pescher, & ne defrichent
aucunes terres, ny ne les habitent: nonobstant souuent tombent en ce
mal, & sur tous les Bretõs. Car il semble que ce mal les va triant
d'entre tous les autres. Item, que nous, qui nous sommes bien portés,
comme i'ay dit, renuersions neantmoins prou de terres, & les euentions,
& si n'auons nous iamais sceu que c'estoit de ce mal, horsmis vn peu
moy, qui au secõd hyuer, que i'y ay passé deuins fort enfle auec vne
fieure, & alteratiõ incroyable: Mais i'eus tousiours les genciues, &
leures entieres, & [16] mon mal se perdit en dix, ou douze iours. Ie
croy bien, que cela y seruoit de beaucoup, que nostre logis n'estoit
point nouueau, & que tout estant essarté à l'entour de nostre habitatiõ
dés long t[~e]ps, nous auions l'air pur & libre. Et c'est à mon aduis
ce que Champlain a principalement voulu dire.
Let us recall how Jacques Quartier lost almost all his people,
the first winter he passed in this country; and also how sieur
de Monts lost about half of his the first winter at Ste. Croix,
and the following one, which was the first at port Royal, he also
experienced great [14] loss, but not so much, and the third year
still less. Likewise at Kebec, afterwards, several died the first
year, and not so many the second. This collection of incidents
will serve to show us the causes of sickness and of health, which
we have experienced so differently. The common disease was Scurvy,
which is called land disease. The limbs, thighs, and face swell;
the lips decay, and great sores come out upon them; the breath
is short, and is burdened with an irritating cough; the arms are
discolored, and the skin covered with blotches; the whole body
sinks under exhaustion and languor, and nothing can be swallowed
except a little liquid. Sieur de Champlain, philosophizing upon
this, attributes the cause of these diseases to the dampness
[15] inhaled by those who plow, spade, and first live upon this
ground, which has never been exposed to the sun. His statements
are plausible and not without examples; but they may be confronted
by the fact that sailors, who only go to the coast to fish, and
do not clear the land at all, nor live upon it, often fall ill of
this malady, and especially the Bretons, for it seems to pick them
out from all the others. Also, that we, who were well as I have
said, worked a great deal in the soil and out in the open air, yet
we scarcely knew what this evil was, except I myself, to a slight
degree, during the second winter, when I became very much bloated
from fever and extreme weakness; but my gums and lips were not
affected, and [16] my illness passed off in ten or twelve days. I
believe it was a great benefit to us that our dwelling was not new,
and that, the space around the settlement having been cleared for a
long time, we had a free and pure circulation of air. And I believe
that this is principally what Champlain meant.
I'en ay ouy d'autres, qui philosophoyent autrement, & non sans
Physique. Ceux-cy opinoyent, que le demeurer acroupy pendant vn long,
& sombre hyuer, tel qu'est celuy de Canada, auoit causé ce mal aux
nouueaux habitans. Que de toutes les gens du sieur de Monts, qui
premierement hyuernerent à Saincte Croix, onze seulement demeurerent
en santé. C'estoyent les chasseurs, qui en gaillards compagnons
aimoyent mieux la picorée, que l'air du foyer; [17] courir vn estang,
que de se renuerser paresseusement dans vn lict, de pestrir les
neiges en abbattant le gibier, que non pas de deuiser de Paris & de
ses rotisseurs aupres du feu. Aussi de vray quãd à nous autres, qui
auons tousiours esté sains à Port Royal; la disette, en laquelle auons
esté, nous a affranchi de deux grands maux; sçauoir d'excés au boire,
& au manger; & de faineantise. Car tousiours nous auions quelque bõ
exercice: nostre estomach d'autre part n'estoit point surchargé. Certes
ie croy que ceste oppiate nous a beaucoup serui.
I have heard of others, who argued differently, and not without
Logic. They believed that living inactive during a long and gloomy
winter, like that of Canada, had been the cause of this disease
among the new inhabitants. Of all sieur de Monts's people who
wintered first at Sainte Croix, only eleven remained well. These
were a jolly company of hunters, who preferred rabbit hunting, to
the air of the fireside; [17] skating on the ponds, to turning
over lazily in bed; making snowballs to bring down the game, to
sitting around the fire talking about Paris and its good cooks.
Also, as to us who were always well at Port Royal, our poverty
certainly relieved us of two great evils, that of excessive eating
and drinking, and of laziness. For we always had good exercise of
some kind, and on the other hand our stomachs were not overloaded.
I certainly believe that this medicine was of great benefit to us.
Reprenons nostre tasche des temps, & saisons. I'ay remarqué vne
fois les deux iours de Feurier 26. & 27. estre aussi beau, doux,
& printaniers qu'on en voye point en France enuiron ce temps-là;
neantmoins le troisiesme iour [18] suiuant il negea quelque peu,
& le froid reuint. En esté quelque fois le chaud y est autant, ou
plus intolerable qu'en France: mais il ne dure pas. Bien tost le
temps se broüille. Les arbres y fueill[~e]t plus tard qu'en France
pour l'ordinaire, & qu'ils n'ont fait ceste presente année 1614. Car
arriuant en Picardie sur la fin d'Auril, ie n'y ay pas trouué la
saison plus auancée. Encores me sembloit-il qu'en Canada tout poussoit
d'auantage. Et parlant vniuersellement, le temps, & saison de ce
pays-là, est du tout ressemblant à celuy que nous auons experimenté
ceste dicte année icy, à Paris, & en Picardie, horsmis quant aux brumes
& broüillars, ausquels ledit pays est plus subject. A Port Royal
nous n'en auions gueres l'Esté, sinon prés la coste de mer; mais aux
Etechemins & à Pentegoet ces [19] broüées tiennent souuent en Esté les
trois & quatre iours, c'est chose fort melancholique, & nous a donné
apprehension qu'elle ne permettroit point que nos moissons peussent
meurir; neantmoins nous auons trop d'arguments au contraire. Car à
Port Royal, qui est plus froid, & inegal, elles meurissent, & en ay
l'experience de trois ans. Item Champlain asseure qu'à S. Croix, qui
est en ceste mesme coste, (en vn endroit fort frilleux & nuageux)
toutesfois leurs bleds, & semailles vindrent à maturité.
Let us return to our discourse upon the weather and seasons.
I noticed once, that two February days, the 26th and 27th, were
as beautiful, mild, and spring-like as are those in France about
that time; nevertheless, the third day [18] after, it snowed a
little and the cold returned. Sometimes in summer the heat is as
intolerable, or more so than it is in France; but it does not last
long, and soon the sky begins to be overcast. The foliage appears
upon the trees later than it usually does in France, yet it has not
done so this year, 1614, for when I arrived in Picardie towards the
end of April, I did not find the season any more advanced there.
Indeed it seemed to me that in Canada everything sprouted sooner.
And, speaking in general, the weather and season over there are
just like what we have experienced here this year in Paris and
Picardie, except for the drizzling rains and fogs, which are more
common in that country. At Port Royal we had scarcely any during
the Summer, except near the coast. But among the Etechemins and
at Pentegoet, these [19] fogs often continue for three and four
days, a very discouraging thing, and we were afraid they would keep
our crops from ripening; nevertheless, we have too many arguments
to the contrary. For at Port Royal, which is colder, and more
changeable, they ripened, and I had a three years' experience
there. Also, Champlain asserts that at Ste. Croix, which is upon
this same coast (in a very chilly and cloudy location) their wheat
and other crops always ripened.
Voire, mais quelle peut estre la cause de ces frimas, & de ce plus
grand froid, que nous ne sentons d'ordinaire en France? Car il y a bien
à considerer, veu mesmes que la Norembegue, où estoit nostre habitation
de S. Sauueur, est autant Australe, que nos Prouinces, [20] qui le
sont le plus, la Gui[~e]ne, Languedoc, & Dauphiné. Si n'en faut-il
point assigner la cause aux montagnes. Car nous n'en voyons point là
de fort hautes, telles que sont nos Seuenes, Mesain, la Chartreuse,
& vne grande partie d'Auuergne, Velay, Dauphiné & Prouence, & seroit
hors de toute apparence que ce peu de haut pays, qu'on remarque en la
Norembegue, peust causer si grandes alterations en si vaste est[~e]duë
de Prouince; mesmes que le grand froid de ce pays là ne vient pas du
costé où plus y a de haut pays, qui est le Nordest, (ainsi que vous
pouués apperceuoir en la charte) ains du Noroüest, qui est tout plat.
But in truth what can be the cause of these hoar-frosts and
cold, so much greater than we usually have in France? For, it is
well to consider it, since even Norembegue, where our settlement
of St. Sauveur was located, is as far South, as our most Southern
Provinces, [20] Guienne, Languedoc, and Dauphiné. But we cannot
assign the cause to the mountains, for we have not seen any very
high ones there, such as our Sevenes, Mesain, Chartreuse, and a
large part of Auvergne, Velay, Dauphiné and Provence; and it would
be out of all question that so slight an elevation as is to be seen
in Norembegue, could cause so great a variation in such a vast
extent of country; also the great cold of that country does not
come from the coast, where the greatest elevations are to be found,
which is the Northeast (as you can see from the chart), but from
the Northwest, which is entirely flat.
Les defenseurs des influences tiennent icy bon dans leur Casematte, &
auancent leurs armes defensiues estre tout, sçauoir est, [21] leurs
causes incogneuës; disants qu'il y a ie ne sçay quoy au ciel, qui
cause cest effect en ces terres: & semblablement le Drach, passant
par la mer Occidentale de ces regions, à l'endroit de la nouuelle
Albion, au dessous du destroict d'Auian, à 40. 42. & 44. d'eleuation
Septentrionale, il y trouua si grand froid, qu'il fust contrainct de
rebrousser chemin. De mesmes qu'au pays de Counibas, qui est en mesme
latitude au dedans des terres, les Espagnols y ont trouué de grandes
mõtagnes, & si grand froid, qu'ils n'y ont peu durer. Que ces pays là
sont à nostre Oüest, d'où les plus horribles froidures procedent, & que
ceste pourroit bien estre la cause de ces gelées, & gry-temps par vne
continuation d'air. Mais pourquoy, & en la nouuelle Albion, & au pays
de Connibas y glace-il si fort? On [22] n'en peut pas bien sçauoir la
cause, disent-ils, & faut croire qu'il y a certaines influences, que
nous ne descouurons pas. C'est bien certes bailler de fortes aisles
au froid, le nous faire venir de quatre, ou cinq cens lieuës. Car
ie croy qu'il y en a bien autant, voire plus, iusques à la nouuelle
Albion: cependant nous voyõs que souuent vne seule lieuë de pays &
encores moins, donne changement notable de chaud, & de froid, de clair
& d'obscur, de sec & d'humide, & toutes autres telles variations ainsi
qu'il est notoire. De plus cela est ridicule, apres auoir fait cinq
cents lieuës pour trouuer le froid en son giste, & cauerne originaire,
ne rencontrer sinon ie ne sçay quelles influ[~e]ces, qu'on ne peut
nommer, & certaines impressions occultes. N'eussiez vous pas plustost
fait desloger [23] ces aspects, impressions, & causes anonymes, &
absconses que vous dites sur Canada mesme, ou dessous elle, ou dedans,
que de les aller chercher si loing en vn pays où vous ne fustes iamais?
Here the defenders of silent forces hold themselves well
intrenched in their Fortress and simply advance their defensive
weapons, i.e., [21] their unknown causes, saying that there is
an inexplicable something in the sky which causes this effect
upon these lands: and also Drake, traversing the sea West of this
country, in the region of New Albion, below the strait of Auian, at
40°, 42°, and 44° North latitude, encountered such severe cold that
he was forced to turn back.[12] Likewise that in the Counibas[13]
country, which is in the same latitude in the interior of the
continent, the Spaniards found high mountains, and such severe
cold, that they could not remain there; that those countries,
from which comes the most severe cold, are West of us, and that
this might well be the cause of these frosts and fogs, through a
continuous current of air. But why, both in new Albion and in the
Connibas country, does it become so cold? We [22] cannot know the
cause thereof, they say, and must believe that there are certain
influences, which we do not discover. They must give the cold
rather strong wings to make it come to us from four or five hundred
leagues. For I believe there are as many and more than that, up to
new Albion; however, we often notice that a single league and even
less makes a noticeable difference in the heat and cold, light and
darkness, dryness and humidity, and all such other variations, so
much so that it is remarkable. Moreover, it is ridiculous, after
having gone five hundred leagues to find the cold in its native
lair, not to encounter anything except inexplicable influences,
which cannot be named, and certain mysterious agencies. Would you
not rather seek out [23] these aspects, agencies, and unknown and
hidden causes which you talk about, in Canada itself, either below
or within it, rather than to look for them so far away in a country
where you have never been?
Quant à nous, apres auoir prou disputé, nous n'auons trouué que deux
causes de la disproportion qu'il y a entre ce pays là, & cestui-cy,
quant au temps & saisons: l'vne est, que Canada est plus Aquatique: &
l'autre quell'est inculte. Car premierement si vous regardez mesmes la
charte Geographique, vous verrez ceste region estre fort entrecoupée de
seins & bayes de mer, & ses terres eschancrées d'eau, ell'est outre
plus fort arrousée de riuieres, & occupée de plusieurs estangs, &
lacs, ce qui seroit vn grand ornement, & commodité du pays s'il estoit
habité, mais aussi tout cela cause du [24] froid, & des bruisnes,
mesmement aux bords de la mer, & riuieres. Or nous n'auons iamais
demeuré autre part. Car nous ne sommes point entrés dedans les terres,
sinon par les moyen de la mer & des riuieres. L'Acadie autrement ditte
les Souriquoys, où est Port Royal, est quasi peninsule: aussi est elle
plus frilleuse, & plus inegale, que n'est la Norambegue, laquelle sans
doute est meilleure, & en toutes façons plus habitable, & plantureuse.
As to us, after having sufficiently discussed the matter, we found
only two causes for the difference between the two countries, as
to weather and seasons; one is that Canada has more Water, and the
other that it is uncultivated. For, in the first place, if you
merely look at the chart, you will see that this region is very
much indented with gulfs and bays, and that its lands, hollowed out
by the waters, are much more intersected by rivers, and occupied
by a number of ponds and lakes, which would be a great ornament
and convenience to the country if it were inhabited; but all this
also causes the [24] cold and fogs, as well upon the borders of the
sea and rivers. Now we have never lived anywhere else, for we have
not penetrated into the country except through the sea and rivers.
Acadie, otherwise called the Souriquoys, where Port Royal is, is
almost a peninsula; also it is more chilly and more variable than
Norambegue, which without doubt is better and in every way more
habitable and fertile.
La seconde cause du froid est toute semblable, sçauoir est la sauuagine
& friche du pays: car ce n'est tout qu'vne forest infinie: Partant le
sol ne peut estre de lõg temps eschauffé par le soleil, soit pource
qu'il a la crouste dure, n'estant iamais labouré, soit à cause des
arbres, qui l'ombragent perpetuellement, soit parce que la nege, [25]
& les eaux y croupissent long temps, sans pouuoir estre consumées. Par
ainsi de ces terres ne se peuuent esleuer, que des vapeurs froides,
mornes & relentes: & ce sont les bruines lors que le vent cesse, ce
sont aussi nos gelées cuisantes, lors que l'agitation & le souffle les
met en cholere. Là où si la terre estoit habitée, & cultiuée, outre que
d'elle, & des logis des habitans monteroyent des exhalations, c'est à
dire, des fumées chaudes, & seches: le soleil de plus la trouueroit
disposée à sentir ses rayons, & dissipper le froid, & broüillars: ce
qui nous estoit fort oculaire, & sensible. Car en ce peu que nous
auions labouré, tousiours la nege s'y fondoit plustost qu'autre part, &
de là d'ordinaire les broüees commençoyent à se dissiper, & peu à peu
s'esuanouïr.
The second cause of the cold is very similar; namely, the wild
and primitive condition of the land; for this is only a boundless
forest, and so the soil cannot be readily warmed by the sun, either
because it has a hard crust, never having been ploughed, or on
account of the trees, which cast upon it a perpetual shade, or
because the snow [25] and water stagnate there for a long time with
no possibility of being consumed. Thus, from these lands nothing
can arise except cold, gloomy, and mouldy vapors; and these are
the fogs when the wind ceases, and our piercing cold when they are
put in motion and blown into a fury. Whereas, if the land were
inhabited and cultivated, from it and from the dwellings of the
inhabitants would arise exhalations, that is, warm and dry fumes;
furthermore, the sun would find it prepared to feel its rays, and
to scatter the cold and fogs; this was very evident to us from
actual observation. For upon the small part which we ploughed,
the snow always melted sooner than upon the other parts, and from
there, the fogs usually began to scatter, and little by little to
disappear.
CHAPITRE III.
[26] DES TERRES, DE LEURS PEUPLES, & DE CE QU'Y ABONDE.
LES terres, à mon aduis, principalement en la Norambegue, sont aussi
bonnes qu'en France: cela cognoissez-vous à leur couleur noire, aux
arbres hauts, puissants, & droicts, qu'elles nourrissent, aux herbes &
foin aussi haut souuent qu'vn homme, & choses semblables. A S. Sauueur,
nous auions semé à la my-Iuin des grains, des pepins, des poix, des
febues, & toutes sortes d'herbes de jardinage. Trois mois apres, c'est
à sçauoir, à la my-Sept[~e]bre, nous reuinsmes voir nostre labourage:
le froment n'apparoissoit point (aussi auoit-il esté semé hors de
saison,) l'orge estoit espié, mais non pas meur, les pois & faisoles
bonnes parfaictement, mais encores vertes, les febues [27] n'estoyent
qu'en fleur: tout le reste estoit admirablement bi[~e] venu, mesmement
les oignons, & ciboules, les pepins auoyent ietté, les aucuns d'vn pied
tout entier, les moindres d'vn demy pied.
CHAPTER III.
[26] ON THE SOIL, TRIBES AND VEGETATION.
THE soil, it seems to me, principally in Norambegue, is as good
as that of France; you know this by its black color, by the high
trees, strong and straight, which it nourishes, by the plants
and grasses, often as high as a man, and similar things. At St.
Sauveur, in the middle of June, we planted some grain, fruit
seeds, peas, beans, and all kinds of garden plants. Three months
afterwards, i.e., in the middle of September, we returned to see
the results of our husbandry; the wheat had not come up (it was not
sown in season) the barley was tufted, but not ripe, the peas and
phasels perfectly good, but still green, the beans [27] were only
in blossom; all the rest had come up admirably, even the onions
and scallions; the fruit seeds had shot up, some a whole foot, the
lowest ones a half a foot high.
Ie vous ay dit cy deuant, que tout le pays n'est qu'vne perpetuelle
forest: car il n'a rien d'ouuert sinon les marges de la mer, les lacs &
riuieres & où le flux de la mer, & des riuieres se desbordants causent
des prairies, il y a quelques tels endroits bien beaux, & vastes en
herbage, & pasturages, comme est la Baye de Chinictou, & la riuiere de
Port Royal, & autres. Mais icy faut esuiter vne illusion, de laquelle
plusieurs par mesgarde sont abusez. Car oyants parler ceux qui
viennent de pays loingtains, & qui en racõtent les biens, & fertilité
prou souuent auec amplification, (car [28] ainsi pensent-ils deuoir
faire pour estre plus attentiuem[~e]t escoutez.) Ils estim[~e]t que ce
qu'on leur magnifie de ces pays, se trouue tout par tout abondamment.
Comme par ex[~e]ple, qui parlant de la Frãce diroit, Qu'il y a veu les
bois & forests n'estre to^{9} que chastagniers, or[~e]giers & oliuiers,
que poiriers & pommiers, tous si charges qu'ils en rõpoi[~e]t: certes
celui-là diroit vray, car il est ainsi. L'estrangier neantmoins
escoutãt y seroit trõpé: parce qu'il s'imagineroit qu'[~e] tous les
quartiers de la Frãce, ou en la pluspart, tout cela se trouue: Et ne
cõsidereroit pas, que les chastagniers sont en Perigord, à cent lieuës
des orangiers, qui sont en Prouence: & les pommiers sont au pays de
Caux en Normãdie, à cent lieuës des chastagniers, & à deux cents des
oliuiers. Or quand le pays est bien peuplé, & habité ainsi qu'est la
France, ceste recommandation [29] monstre grand heur, parce qu'au
moyen du charroy & commerce, on se communique toutes ces opulences;
mais en vn pays inculte & non ciuilisé, comme est Canada, il n'y a
guiere plus de difference, que s'il n'y auoit qu'vne chose en vn lieu.
Ie dy cecy parce que ceste prudence importe de beaucoup à ceux qui
vont defricher nouuelles contrées, ainsi que nous autres François y
allons volontiers à yeux clos, & teste baissée: croyants par ex[~e]ple,
qu'estants en Canada, & ayants faim nous ne ferons qu'aller en vn'
Isle, & là escrimãts d'vn gros baston à dextre, & à senestre, autant de
coups, autant arresterons nous d'oiseaux, desquels chacun vaudra bien
vn canart. Voila qui est bien dit, & ainsi l'ont fait nos gens plus
que d'vne fois, & plus qu'en vn lieu. Cela va fort bien, si vous [30]
n'auiés iamais faim sinon au t[~e]ps que ces oiseaux se trouuent en ces
Isles, & si lors mesme vous estiez proches d'eux. Car si vous en estes
à cinquante, ou soixante lieuës, que ferez-vous?
I have said before that the whole country is simply an
interminable forest; for there are no open places except upon the
margins of the sea, lakes, and rivers, and where meadows have
been made by the overflows of the sea and rivers; there are many
such places which are very beautiful, immense fields of grass and
pasture, like those near Chinictou Bay, and the river of Port
Royal, and others. But here we must avoid an illusion by which many
have been inadvertently imposed upon. For hearing those who come
from foreign countries tell about their wealth and fertility, very
often with exaggeration (for [28] thus they think they will get
a better hearing), they suppose that the things boasted about in
these countries are found everywhere in abundance. As, for example,
if some one were speaking of France, he might say that he had seen
groves and forests of nothing but chestnut, orange, olive, pear,
and apple trees, so loaded that they were breaking down; indeed, he
could say this truthfully, for it is so. But the stranger hearing
this would be deceived by it; for he would suppose that in all
parts of France, or in nearly all, he would find this condition of
things; not taking into consideration the fact that the chestnuts
are in Perigord, a hundred leagues away from the oranges, which are
in Provence; and the apples are in the region of Caux in Normandy,
a hundred leagues from the chestnuts and two hundred from the
olives. Now when the country is well peopled and settled, as France
is, this favorable representation [29] may show great good fortune,
for, by means of transportation and trade, all these riches can be
interchanged; but in an uncultivated and uncivilized country, like
Canada, it makes no more difference than if they only had one thing
in a place. I say this because prudence is of great importance to
those who go to clear new lands, as we Frenchmen are so willing
to go there with our eyes shut and our heads down; believing, for
example, that in Canada, when we are hungry, all we will have to
do is to go to an Island, and there by the skillful use of a club,
right and left, we can bring down birds each as big as a duck, with
every blow. This is well said, as our people have done this more
than once and in more than one place. It is all very well, if you
[30] are never hungry except when these birds are on the Islands,
and if even then you happen to be near them. But if you are fifty
or sixty leagues away, what are you going to do?
Pour reuenir à mon propos, il n'y a point de difficulté de rencõtrer vn
bon endroit en vne chose. Vn bon & bel haure: des belles prairies, vn
sol bien fecond; vne colline de bel aspect, vne agreable riuiere, ou
ruisseau, &c. Mais lotir vne place, où toutes les qualitez desirables
vniment se r'assemblent, ce n'est pas la bonne fortune d'vn homme
prattiquant, dit tres bien Aristote; ains le project & idee d'vn
sagement enquerãt: car en fin en la practique, le bõ sort & perfection
d'vne place, cõme d'vn homme, ce n'est pas que rien ne manque, ains que
rien d'essentiel, & principal ne manque. [31] C'est ce qui m'a fait
dire, que le tout consideré, le prenant tant pour tant, i'estime que
les terres de là, vaudroyent celles d'icy, quand elles seroyent bien
cultiuees: mais nous voudrions, que là tout fust en vn petit destroit:
ce que mesmes nous ne trouuons pas icy en vn bien ample Royaume, apres
si long temps de cultiuage.
To return to my theme. There is no difficulty in finding a place
that is good for one thing--a good and beautiful harbor; fine
meadows and a very fertile soil; a picturesque hill, a pleasant
river, or brook, etc. But to choose a place where all desirable
qualities are united, is not the good fortune of an ordinary man,
as Aristotle truthfully says, but the purpose and idea of a wise
investigator: for, after all, the uses, success, and perfection of
a place, as of a man, is not really that it be complete, but that
there be no lack of what is essential and important. [31] That is
why I say that all things considered, and taking it upon the whole,
I believe that the country over there will be worth as much as this
one, after it is well cultivated; but we should prefer that there
everything be in a small space, which we ourselves do not find here
in our extensive Kingdom, after so long a period of cultivation.
En plusieurs endroits nous auons trouué de la vigne, & des lambruches
meures en leur t[~e]ps. Ce n'estoit point le meilleur terroir où nous
les trouuiõs: c'estoit quasi sable, & grauier, s[~e]blable à celuy de
Bourdeaux. Il y en a beaucoup à la riuiere S. Iean à 46. d'eleuation,
là void on aussi plusieurs noyers & coudriers, & si le fõds de terre
n'y est guiere bõ. On ne trouue point autre sorte d'arbres fruictiers
en tout ce païs, ouy bi[~e] toute espece de sauuageons, & forestiers,
comme [32] chesnes, hestres, charmes, peupliers, &c. Et des cedres, au
moins que les François appell[~e]t cedres.
In several places we found the grape, and wild vines which ripened
in their season. It was not the best ground where we found them,
being full of sand and gravel, like that of Bourdeaux. There are a
great many of these vines at St. John river, in 46° of latitude,
where are to be seen also many walnut and hazel trees, and yet the
under layer of soil is not good there. No other kinds of fruit
trees are found in all this country; but there is every species
of wild shrub and forest trees, such as [32] the oak, beech, elm,
poplar, etc., and some cedars, at least what the French call
cedars.[14]
Si le pays estoit habité, il pourroit approfiter ses mines: car il y
en a vne d'argent en la Baye S. Marie, au rapport du sieur Chãplain: &
deux de beau, & franc cuiure, l'vne à l'entrée de Port Royal, & l'autre
à la Baye des mines: vne de fer à la riuiere S. Iean, & d'autres autre
part. Le gré, l'ardoise, la taille, le charbon de terre, & toutes
sortes de pierres n'y manquent pas.
If the country were inhabited there might be some profit made
from its mines; for there is a silver one at the Baye Ste. Marie,
according to sieur Champlain; and two of beautiful and pure copper,
one at the entrance to Port Royal, and the other at the Bay of the
mines; one of iron at the river St. John, and others elsewhere.
Sandstone, slate, mica, coal, and all kinds of stone are not
lacking.[15]
Toute ceste nouuelle France est diuisée en diuers peuples, chasque
peuple a sa langue, & sa contrée à part. Ils s'assemblent l'Esté pour
trocquer auec nous, principalement en la grande riuiere. Là aussi
viennent de bien loing plusieurs autres peuples. Ils trocqu[~e]t
leurs peaux de castors, de loutres, [33] d'eslants, de martres, de
loups marins, &c. contre du pain, pois, febues, pruneaux, petun,
&c. chauderons, haches, fers de fleche, aleines, poinçons, capots,
couuertes, & toutes autres telles commoditez, que les Frãçois leur
apportent. Aucuns peuples ont maintenant implacable guerre contre nous.
Comme les Excomminquois, qui sont ceux qui habitent au costé Boreal
du grand Golfe S. Laurens, & nous font de grands maux. Ceste guerre a
cõmencé (comme lon dit) à l'occasion de certains Basques, qui voulurent
faire vn meschant rapt: mais ils payer[~e]t bi[~e] leur maudite
incontinence, & non seulement eux, ains à leur occasion & ceux de S.
Malo, & beaucoup d'autres ont paty, & patissent beaucoup tous les ans.
Car ces Sauuages sõt furieux, & s'abandonnent desesperém[~e]t [34] à la
mort, pourueu qu'ils ayent esperance de tuer, ou mesfaire. Il n'y a que
trois peuples qui nous soy[~e]t familiers, & bõs amis. Les Montaguets,
les Souriquois, & les Eteminquois. Pour les Etechemins, & Souriquois
i'en suis tesmoin, car i'ay demeuré parmy eux, pour les Montaguets i'en
ay ouy parler. Quant aux autres peuples, il n'y a point de fiance.
Aussi les François ne les hantent, que pour descouurir leurs riuages, &
encores s'en sont-ils mal trouués, horsmis Champlain en ses dernieres
descouuertes contremont la grãde riuiere, qui ne s'en plaint point.
All this new France is divided into different tribes, each one
having its own separate language and country. They assemble in the
Summer to trade with us, principally at the great river. To this
place come also several other tribes from afar off. They barter
their skins of beaver, otter, [33] deer, marten, seal, etc., for
bread, peas, beans, prunes, tobacco, etc.; kettles, hatchets, iron
arrow-points, awls, puncheons, cloaks, blankets, and all other
such commodities as the French bring them. Certain tribes are now
our implacable enemies, such as the Excomminquois, who inhabit
the Northern coast of the great Gulf of St. Lawrence and do us
a great deal of harm. This warfare was begun (as they say) when
certain Basques tried to commit a wicked outrage. However, they
paid well for their cursed incontinence, but not only they, for on
their account both the St. Malo people and many others suffered,
and still suffer a great deal every year. For these Savages are
passionate, and give themselves up [34] to death with desperation,
if they are in hopes of killing, or doing any one an injury. There
are only three tribes which are on good terms of friendship with
us, the Montaguets, the Souriquois, and the Eteminquois. I myself
can witness to the friendship of the Etechemins and Souriquois, for
I have lived among them, and for the Montaguets I have heard others
speak. As to other tribes, no confidence can be placed in them. The
French have nothing to do with them except to explore their coasts,
and even then they are badly treated, although Champlain does not
complain of these savages at all, in his latest explorations up the
great river.
Cest'amitié & fidelité desdits peuples enuers les François a paru
remarquablement apres nostre desroute faicte par les Anglois, ainsi
qu'ouyrez. Car eux l'ayants sceu s'en vindr[~e]t à nous, de nuict, [35]
& nous cõsoloy[~e]t au mieux qu'ils pouuoyent, nous presentãts leurs
cauots, & leur peine pour nous conduire où nous voudrions. Ils nous
offroyent encores, que s'il nous plaisoit de demeurer auec eux, ils
estoyent trois Capitaines Betsabes, Aguigueou & Asticou: desquels vn
chacun pr[~e]droit pour sa part dix de nostre troupe, (puis que nous
restions trente,) & nous nourriroit iusques à l'an suiuant, quand les
nauires Françoises arriueroyent à la coste, & qu'en ceste façon nous
pourrions repasser en nostre pays sans tõber aux mains de meschãts
Ingrés. Car ainsi appell[~e]t-ils pour dire les Anglois. Ce n'estoyent
point mines, ou pieges à nous surprendre: car vous entendrés cy apres
le bon traictement qu'ils firent au P. Enemond, & à sa troupe, & à
Port Royal durant trois hyuers, qu'on a eu bon [36] besoin d'eux, on
les a experimenté fideles & secourables. Que si leur dessein eust esté
de nous mesfaire, les belles & opportunes occasions ne leur ont pas
manqué.
This friendship and fidelity of the said tribes was especially
noticeable after our rout by the English, as you will hear. For,
as soon as they heard about it, they came to us at night, [35]
and consoled us as best they could, offering us their canoes and
their help to take us anywhere we wished to go. They also made the
proposition, that if we wanted to live with them, there were three
Captains--Betsabes, Aguigueou and Asticou,[16] each one of whom,
for his share, would take ten of our band (since there were thirty
of us left), and would take care of us until the following year,
when the French ships would arrive upon the coast; and that in
this way we should be able to go back to our own country without
falling into the hands of the wicked Ingrés, as they call the
English. These were not false pretenses nor snares to entrap us,
for you will hear farther on of the good treatment received from
them by Father Enemond and his band; and at Port Royal during three
winters, when we had great [36] need of them, how faithful and
reliable we found them,--although, if they had intended to do us
any harm, excellent and convenient opportunities for doing so were
not wanting.
CHAPITRE IV.
DU NATUREL DES SAUUAGES, DE LEURS HABITS, HABITATIONS, & VIURE.
LE naturel de nos Sauuages est de soy liberal, & point malitieux: ils
ont l'esprit assez gaillard & net, quant à l'estime, & iugement des
choses sensibles, & communes & deduisent fort gentiment leurs raisons,
les assaisonnant tousiours auec quelque iolie similitude. Ils ont fort
bonne memoire des choses corporelles, cõme de vous auoir veu, des
qualitez d'vne place, où ils auront esté, [37] de ce qui aura esté
fait devãt eux, despuis vingt & trente ans, &c. Mais d'apprendre par
coeur, là est l'escueil: il n'y a moyen de leur mettre dans la caboche
vne tirade rengée de paroles. Ils n'ont point de barbe, autant peu les
hõmes que les f[~e]mes, horsmis quelques vns plus robustes, & virils.
Souuent ils m'ont dit, [~q] nous leur semblions du commencem[~e]t fort
laids, auec nos cheueux, aussi bien sur la bouche que dessus la teste:
mais peu à peu ils s'accoustument, & nous commençons à ne plus leur
paroistre si difformes. Vous ne sçauriez recognoistre les ieunes garçõs
d'auec les ieunes filles, sinon à la façon de se ceindre. Parce que les
femmes se ceign[~e]t dessus & dessous le ventre, & sont plus couuertes
que les masles: elles sont aussi d'ordinaire plus parées de matachias:
c'est à dire, de [38] chaines, & affiquets, & semblables parures à leur
mode: à ce que vous sçachiez que par tout telle est la nature du sexe,
amoureuse d'embellissem[~e]t. Vniuersellem[~e]t parlant ils sont de
taille vn peu moindre que nous, principalem[~e]t quant à l'espaisseur:
Belle toutesfois & bien prinse, comme si nous demeurions en l'estat
qu'auons à l'age de vingt & cinq ans. Vous ne r[~e]cõtreriez point
entr'eux vn v[~e]tru, bossu, ny contre-fait: ladres, gouteux, pierreux,
insensés, ils ne sçauent que c'est: ceux d'entre nous qui sont tarez,
comme borgnes, lousches, camus, &c. sont aussi tost remarqués par eux,
& mocqués largement, specialem[~e]t par derriere, & quand ils sont
entr'eux: car ils sont bons compagnons, & ont le mot & sobriquet à
commandement, fort aises quand ils se pensent auoir occasion de [39]
nous mespriser. Et certes (à ce que ie vois) c'est vne contagion dont
personne n'est exempte que par la misericorde de Dieu: que de se trop
estimer soy-mesme. Vous verriez ces pauures barbares, nonobstant leurs
si grands manquements de police, de puissance, de lettres, d'arts &
de richesse: neãtmoins tenir si grãd compte d'eux, qu'ils nous en
dépris[~e]t beaucoup, se magnifiants par dessus nous.
CHAPTER IV.
ON THE CHARACTER, DRESS, DWELLINGS, AND FOOD OF THE SAVAGES.
THE nature of our Savages is in itself generous and not malicious.
They have rather a happy disposition, and a fair capacity for
judging and valuing material and common things; deducing their
reasons with great nicety, and always seasoning them with some
pretty comparison. They have a very good memory for material
things, such as having seen you before, of the peculiarities
of a place where they may have been, [37] of what took place
in their presence twenty or thirty years before, etc.; but to
learn anything by heart--there's the rock; there is no way of
getting a consecutive arrangement of words into their pates.
They have no beards, the men no more than the women, except some
of the more robust and virile. They have often told me that
at first we seemed to them very ugly with hair both upon our
mouths and head; but gradually they have become accustomed to
it, and now we are beginning to look less deformed. You could
not distinguish the young men from the girls, except in their
way of wearing their belts. For the women are girdled both above
and below the stomach, and are less nude than the men; also they
are usually more ornamented with matachias, that is, with [38]
chains, gewgaws, and such finery after their fashion; by which
you may know that such is the nature of the sex everywhere, fond
of adornment. Generally speaking, they are of lighter build than
we are; but handsome and well-shaped, just as we would be if we
continued in the same condition in which we were at the age of
twenty-five. You do not encounter a big-bellied, hunchbacked, or
deformed person among them: those who are leprous, gouty, affected
with gravel, or insane, are unknown to them. Any of our people
who have some defect, such as the one-eyed, squint-eyed, and
flat-nosed, are immediately noticed by them and greatly derided,
especially behind our backs and when they are by themselves.
For they are droll fellows, and have a word and a nickname very
readily at command, if they think they have any occasion to [39]
look down upon us. And certainly (judging from what I see) this
habit of self-aggrandizement is a contagion from which no one is
exempt, except through the grace of God. You will see these poor
barbarians, notwithstanding their great lack of government, power,
letters, art and riches, yet holding their heads so high that they
greatly underrate us, regarding themselves as our superiors.
Leurs habits sont chamarrés de peaux, que les femmes passent, &
conroyent du costé, qui n'est pas velu: elles conroyent souuent les
peaux d'elan de tous les deux costés, comme nostre buffetin, puis le
barricolent de peinture en forme de passements bien ioliment, & en
font des robes: de ces mesmes peaux elles leur font des souliers, &
des greues. Les masles ne portent point de hauts [40] de chausses,
parce que (disent-ils) cela les entraue trop, & met comme aux ceps, ils
portent seulem[~e]t vn linge an deuãt de leur nature, l'Esté ils vsent
fort de nos capots, & l'Hyuer de nos couuertes de licts, lesquelles
ils s'accommodent en chamarre les redoublants: ils s'aident aussi fort
volontiers de nos chapeaux, souliers, bonnets de laine, chemises, &
du linge, pour nettoyer leurs enfants de maillot, car on leur trocque
toutes ces denrees contre leurs peaux.
Their clothes are trimmed with leather lace, which the women
dress and curry on the side which is not hairy. They often curry
both sides of elk skin, like our buff skin, then variegate it very
prettily with paint put on in a lace-like pattern, and make gowns
of it; from the same leather they make their shoes and strings.
The men do not wear [40] trousers, because (they say) they hinder
them too much, and place them as it were, in chains; they wear
only a piece of cloth over their middle; in Summer they often wear
our capes, and in Winter our bed-blankets, which they improve with
trimming and wear double. They are also quite willing to make use
of our hats, shoes, caps, woolens and shirts, and of our linen to
clean their infants, for we trade them all these commodities for
their furs.
Quelque part qu'ils soyent arriués; la premiere chose c'est de faire
du feu, & se cabaner, ce qu'ils ont faict dans vn heure, ou deux:
souuent en demy heure. Les femmes vont au bois, & en apportent des
perches, lesquelles on dispose par en bas en rond à lentour du feu;
& par en haut on les enfourche entr'elles pyramidalement, [41] de
maniere qu'elles se reposent l'vne contre l'autre droit au dessus du
feu; car là est la cheminée. Sur les perches on iette des peaux, ou
bien des nattes, ou des escorces. Au pied des perches dessous les peaux
se mettent les sacs. Toute la place à l'entour du feu est ionchée de
fueilles de pin, à fin de ne sentir l'humidité de la terre: dessus les
fueilles de sapin ils iett[~e]t souu[~e]t des nattes ou des peaux de
loup marin aussi delicates que le velours; là dessus ils s'estendent à
l'entour du feu ayant la teste sur leurs sacs. Et ce qu'on ne croiroit
pas, ils sont tres-chaudement leans dedans à petit feu, voire aux plus
grandes rigueurs de l'Hiuer. Ils ne se caban[~e]t point, qu'aupres de
quelque bonne eau, & en lieu de plaisant aspect. En Esté leurs logis
changent de figure: car ils les font larges & longs, [42] à fin d'auoir
plus d'air; aussi les couurent-ils lors quasi d'escorces, ou de nattes,
faictes de roseaux tendres, & sont beaucoup plus minces & delicates
que les nostres de paille, si artistement tissuës, que quand elles
pend[~e]t, l'eau coule tout au long, sans point les percer.
Arrived at a certain place, the first thing they do is to build a
fire and arrange their camp, which they have finished in an hour
or two; often in half an hour. The women go to the woods and bring
back some poles which are stuck into the ground in a circle around
the fire, and at the top are interlaced, in the form of a pyramid,
[41] so that they come together directly over the fire, for there
is the chimney. Upon the poles they throw some skins, matting or
bark. At the foot of the poles, under the skins, they put their
baggage. All the space around the fire is strewn with leaves of
the fir tree, so they will not feel the dampness of the ground;
over these leaves are often thrown some mats, or sealskins as soft
as velvet; upon this they stretch themselves around the fire with
their heads resting upon their baggage; And, what no one would
believe, they are very warm in there around that little fire, even
in the greatest rigors of the Winter. They do not camp except near
some good water, and in an attractive location. In Summer the shape
of their houses is changed; for then they are broad and long, [42]
that they may have more air; then they nearly always cover them
with bark, or mats made of tender reeds, finer and more delicate
than ours made of straw, and so skillfully woven, that when they
are hung up the water runs along their surface without penetrating
them.
Leur viure est ce que la chasse, & la pesche leur donnent: car ils ne
labourent point: mais la prouidence paternelle de nostre bon Dieu,
laquelle n'abandonne pas les passereaux mesmes, n'a point laissé ces
pauures creatures, capables de luy, sans prouisiõ cõuenable, qui leur
est comme par estape, assignee à chasque lune, car ils cõtent par
Lunes, & en mett[~e]t treze en l'an: Par exemple donc, en Ianuier
ils ont la chasse des loups marins: car cest animal, quoy qu'il soit
aquatique, fraye neantmoins [43] sur certaines Isles enuiron ce
temps. La chair en est aussi bõne [~q] du veau; & de plus ils font de
sa graisse vn'huyle, qui leur sert de sausse toute l'annee, ils en
r[~e]plissent plusieurs vessies d'orignac, qui sont deux ou trois fois
plus amples & fortes que les nostres de porc; & voila leurs tonneaux
de reserue. En ce mesme mois de Feurier, & iusques à la my-Mars, est
la grande chasse des Castors, loutres, orignacs, ours (qui sont fort
bons) & des caribous, animal moitié asne, moitié cerf. Si le t[~e]ps
leur dit, ils viuent lors en grand' abondance, & sont aussi fiers que
Princes & Roys; mais s'il leur est contraire, c'est grãde pitié d'eux,
& souuent meurent de miserable faim. Le temps leur est contraire, quand
il pleut beaucoup, & ne gele pas; parce que lors ils ne peuuent chasser
ny aux eslans, ny aux [44] castors. Item: quand il nege beaucoup, &
ne gele pas là dessus, car ils ne peuuent pas mener leurs chiens à la
chasse, pource qu'ils enfonc[~e]t dedans, ce qu'ils ne font pas eux,
parce qu'ils s'attachent des raquettes aux pieds à l'aide desquelles
ils demeurent dessus: si ne peuuent-ils tant courir qu'il faudroit, la
nege estãt trop molle. Autres tels miserables accidents leur arriuent,
qui seroyent longs à raconter.
Their food is whatever they can get from the chase and from
fishing; for they do not till the soil at all; but the paternal
providence of our good God, which does not forsake even the
sparrow, has not left these poor creatures, worthy of his care,
without proper provision, which is to them like fixed rations
assigned to every moon; for they count by Moons, and put thirteen
of them in a year. Now, for example, in January they have the seal
hunting: for this animal, although it is aquatic, nevertheless
spawns [43] upon certain Islands about this time. Its flesh is
as good as veal; and furthermore they make of its fat an oil,
which serves them as sauce throughout the year; they fill several
moose-bladders with it, which are two or three times as large and
strong as our pig-bladders; and in these you see their reserve
casks. Likewise in the month of February and until the middle of
March, is the great hunt for Beavers, otters, moose, bears (which
are very good), and for the caribou,[17] an animal half ass and
half deer. If the weather then is favorable, they live in great
abundance, and are as haughty as Princes and Kings; but if it is
against them, they are greatly to be pitied, and often die of
starvation. The weather is against them if it rains a great deal,
and does not freeze; for then they can hunt neither deer nor [44]
beavers. Also, when it snows a great deal, and does not freeze
over, for then they cannot put their dogs upon the chase, because
they sink down; the savages themselves do not do this, for they
wear snowshoes on their feet which help them to stay on top: yet
they cannot run as fast as would be necessary, the snow being too
soft. They have other misfortunes of this kind which it would be
tedious to relate.
Sur la my Mars le poisson commence à frayer, & monter de la mer en haut
contre certains ruisseaux, souuent en si grand' abondance, que tout
en formille. A peine le croiroit, qui ne l'auroit veu. On ne sçauroit
mettre la main dans l'eau, qu'on ne rencõtre proye. Entre ces poissons
l'eplan est le premier: cest eplan est deux & trois fois plus grand
que [45] n'est le nostre de riuiere: apres l'eplan suit le harenc à la
fin d'Auril, & au mesme temps les outardes arriuent du Midy, qui sont
grosses cannes au double des nostres, & font volontiers leurs nids
aux Isles. Deux oeufs d'outarde en valent richement cinq de poule. A
mesme termoyement vient l'estourgeon, & le saumon, & la grande queste
des oeufs par les Isletes, car les oiseaux pescherets, qui sont là en
tre[=s] grande foison, pondent lors, & souuent couur[~e]t de leurs
nids ces Islettes. Dés le mois de May iusques à la my-Septembre, ils
sont hors de tout esmoy pour leur viure: car les mouluës sont à la
coste, toute sorte de poisson & coquillage; & les nauires François auec
lesquels ils trocquent; & sçauez vous s'ils entendent bien à se faire
courtiser. Ils tranchent des freres auecques [46] le Roy, & ne leur
faut rien rabattre de toute la piece. Il faut leur faire des presents,
& les bien harãguer auant qu'ils accordent la traicte; & icelle
faicte, faut encores les Tabagier, c'est à dire, les banqueter. Alors
ils danseront, harangueront & chanteront _Adesquidex, Adesquidex_,
Sçauoir est, qu'ils sont les bons amys, alliés, associés, confederés, &
comperes du Roy, & des François.
In the middle of March, fish begin to spawn, and to come up from
the sea into certain streams, often so abundantly that everything
swarms with them. Any one who has not seen it could scarcely
believe it. You cannot put your hand into the water, without
encountering them. Among these fish the smelt is the first; this
smelt is two and three times as large as [45] that in our rivers;
after the smelt comes the herring at the end of April; and at the
same time bustards, which are large ducks, double the size of ours,
come from the South and eagerly make their nests upon the Islands.
Two bustard eggs are fully equal to five hen's eggs. At the same
time come the sturgeon, and salmon, and the great search through
the Islets for eggs, as the waterfowl, which are there in great
numbers, lay their eggs then, and often cover the Islets with their
nests. From the month of May up to the middle of September, they
are free from all anxiety about their food; for the cod are upon
the coast, and all kinds of fish and shellfish; and the French
ships with which they traffic, and you may be sure they understand
how to make themselves courted. They set themselves up for brothers
of [46] the King, and it is not expected that they will withdraw
in the least from the whole farce. Gifts must be presented and
speeches made to them, before they condescend to trade; this done,
they must have the Tabagie, i.e. the banquet. Then they will dance,
make speeches and sing _Adesquidex, Adesquidex_, That is, that they
are good friends, allies, associates, confederates, and comrades of
the King and of the French.
Le gibier d'eau y abonde; celuy de terre non, sinon à certain temps les
oiseaux passagiers comme outardes & oyes grises & blãches. On y trouue
des perdrix grises, qui ont vne fort belle queuë, & sont deux fois
plus grosses que les nostres; on y voit force tourtes, qui viennent
manger les frãboises au mois de Iuillet. Plusieurs oiseaux de proye &
quelques lapins & leuraux.
Water game abounds there, but not forest game, except at certain
times birds of passage, like bustards and gray and white geese.
There are to be found there gray partridges, which have beautiful
long tails and are twice as large as ours; there are a great many
wild pigeons, which come to eat raspberries in the month of July,
also several birds of prey and some rabbits and hares.
[47] Or nos sauuages sur la my-Septembre se retirent de la mer, hors
la portée du flux, aux petites riuieres, où les anguilles frayent &
en font prouision, elles sont bõnes & grasses. En Octobre & Nouembre
est la seconde chasse des castors & des eslans: & puis en Decembre
(admirable prouidence de Dieu) vient vn poisson appellé d'eux _ponamo_,
qui fraye sous la glace; Item lors les tortues font leurs petits, &c.
Tels donc mais en bien plus grand nombre sont les reuenus, & censiues
de nos Sauuages, telle leur table & entreti[~e], le tout cotté &
assigné chasque chose en son endroit & quartier. Iamais Salomon n'eust
son hostel mieux ordonné & policé en viuandiers, que le sont ces
pensions & les voicturiers d'icelles. Aussi vn plus grand que Salomon
les a constitués. A luy soit gloire à tout'eternité.
[47] Now our savages in the middle of September withdraw from the
sea, beyond the reach of the tide, to the little rivers, where
the eels spawn, of which they lay in a supply; they are good and
fat. In October and November comes the second hunt for elks and
beavers; and then in December (wonderful providence of God) comes a
fish called by them _ponamo_,[18] which spawns under the ice. Also
then the turtles bear little ones, etc. These then, but in a still
greater number, are the revenues and incomes of our Savages; such,
their table and living, all prepared and assigned, everything to
its proper place and quarter. Never had Solomon his mansion better
regulated and provided with food, than are these homes and their
landlords. But then a greater one than Solomon has made them; to
him be the glory through all eternity.
[48] Pour bien iouyr de ce leur appanage; nos syluicoles s'en vont sur
les lieux d'iceluy auec le plaisir de peregrinatiõ & de proumenade,
à quoy facilement faire ils ont l'engin, & la grande commodité des
cauots qui sont petits esquifs faicts d'escorce de bouleau, estroits &
resserrés par les deux bouts, comme la creste d'vn morion; le corps est
en façon de berceau large, & ventru; Ils sont lõgs, de huict, ou dix
pieds; au reste si capables, que dans vn seul logera tout vn mesnage de
cinq, ou six personnes auec tous leurs chiens, sacs, peaux, chauderons
& autre bagage bien pesant. Et le bon est qu'il prennent terre, où
leur plaist, ce que nous ne pouuõs faire auec nos chaloupes ou bateaux
mariniers; parce que le cauot le plus chargé ne sçauroit cueillir demy
pied d'eau, & deschargé il est si [49] leger, que vous le souspeseriés
facilement, & transporteriez de la main gauche; si viste à l'auiron
qu'à vostre bel-aise de bon temps vous ferés en vn iour les trente, &
quarente lieuës: neantmoins on ne voit guieres ces Sauuages postilonner
ainsi: car leurs iournees ne sont tout que beau passetemps. Ils n'ont
iamais haste. Bien diuers de nous, qui ne sçaurions iamais rien faire
sans presse & oppresse; oppresse di je, parce que nostre desir nous
tyrannise & bannit la paix de nos actions.
[48] In order to thoroughly enjoy this, their lot, our foresters
start off to their different places with as much pleasure as if
they were going on a stroll or an excursion; they do this easily
through the skillful use and great convenience of canoes, which
are little skiffs made of birch-bark, narrow and closed at both
ends, like the crest of a morion; the body is like a large hollow
cradle; they are eight or ten feet long; moreover so capacious
that a single one of them will hold an entire household of five
or six persons, with all their dogs, sacks, skins, kettles, and
other heavy baggage. And the best part of it is that they can
land wherever they like, which we cannot do with our shallops or
sailing boats; for the most heavily-loaded canoe can draw only half
a foot of water, and unloaded it is so [49] light that you can
easily pick it up and carry it away with your left hand; so rapidly
sculled that, without any effort, in good weather you can make
thirty or forty leagues a day; nevertheless we scarcely see these
Savages posting along at this rate, for their days are all nothing
but pastime. They are never in a hurry. Quite different from us,
who can never do anything without hurry and worry; worry, I say,
because our desire tyrannizes over us and banishes peace from our
actions.
CHAPITRE V.
LA POLICE & GOUUERNEMENT DES SAUUAGES.
ON ne peut auoir plus de police, que de Communauté, [50] puis que
police n'est autre, que l'ordre & regime de la Communauté. Or ces
Sauuages n'ayants point grande Communauté ny en nõbre de personnes,
puis qu'ils sont rares, ny en biens, puis qu'ils sont pauures, ne
viuans qu'au iour à la iournee, ny en lien & conionction, puis qu'ils
sont espars, & vagabonds, ils ne peuuent auoir grande police. Si ne
peuuent-ils s'en passer, puis qu'ils sont hõmes & associés. Celle
donc qu'ils ont, est telle. Il y a le Sagamo, qui est l'aisné de
quelque puissante famille, qui par consequent aussi en est le chef &
conducteur. Tous les ieunes gents de la famille, sont à la table &
suitte d'iceluy; aussi est-ce à luy d'entretenir des chiens pour la
chasse, & des cauots pour les voituriers, & des prouisions, & reserues
pour le mauuais temps, & voyages. Les ieunes gens le [51] courtisent,
chassent, & font leur apprentissage sous luy, incapables de rien auoir
auant qu'estre mariés: car lors seulem[~e]t ils peuuent auoir chien &
sac: c'est à dire, auoir du propre, & faire pour soy, toutesfois ils
demeurent encores sous l'authorité du Sagamo, & le plus souuent en
sa compagnie, comm'aussi plusieurs autres, qui manquent de parents,
ou encores qui de leur propre gré se rangent sous sa protection, &
conduicte, pour estre foibles d'eux-mesmes, & sans suitte. Tout ce
donc que les garçons conquest[~e]t, appartient au Sagamo: mais les
mariés ne luy en donnent qu'vne partie, que si ces mariés se departant
d'auecques luy, cõm'il le faut souuent pour la commodité de la chasse,
& du viure, retournants apres ils payent leur recognoissance, &
hommage en peaux, & [52] semblables presents. A ceste cause il y a des
querelles, & des ialousies entr'eux aussi bien qu'entre nous, mais non
pas si atroces. Quand quelqu'vn par exemple commence à s'emanciper, &
faire le Sagamo, quand il ne r[~e]d point le tribut, quand ses gents
le quittent ou que d'autres les luy soustrayent; & comm'entre nous,
aussi entr'eux y a des reproches & mespris, cestuy-là n'est qu'vn demy
Sagamo, c'est vn nouuellement esclos, comm'vn poussin de trois iours,
la creste ne luy faict que de naistre: c'est vn Sagamochin, c'est à
dire, vn Aubereau de Sagamo, vn petit nain. Et à celle fin que vous
sçachiés que l'ambition a son regne encores dessous le chaume, & les
roseaux, aussi bien que dessous les toicts dorés: Et qu'il ne faut
point no^{9} tirer beaucoup l'aureille pour appr[~e]dre ces leçons.
CHAPTER V.
THE POLITY AND GOVERNMENT OF THE SAVAGES.
THERE can be no more polity than there is Commonwealth, [50] since
polity is nothing else than the regulation and government of the
Commonwealth. Now these Savages not having a great Commonwealth,
either in number of people, since they are few; nor in wealth,
since they are poor, only living from hand to mouth; nor in ties
and bonds of union, since they are scattered and wandering; cannot
have great polity. Yet they cannot do without it since they are men
and brethren. So what they have is this. There is the Sagamore, who
is the eldest son powerful family, and consequently also its chief
and leader. All the young people of the family are at his table and
in his retinue; it is also his duty to provide dogs for the chase,
canoes for transportation, provisions and reserves for bad weather
and expeditions. The young people [51] flatter him, hunt, and serve
their apprenticeship under him, not being allowed to have anything
before they are married, for then only can they have a dog and a
bag; that is, have something of their own, and do for themselves.
Nevertheless they continue to live under the authority of the
Sagamore, and very often in his company; as also do several others
who have no relations, or those who of their own free will place
themselves under his protection and guidance, being themselves weak
and without a following. Now all that the young men capture belongs
to the Sagamore; but the married ones give him only a part, and if
these leave him, as they often do for the sake of the chase and
supplies, returning afterwards, they pay their dues and homage in
skins and [52] like gifts. From this cause there are some quarrels
and jealousies among them as among us, but not so serious. When,
for example, some one begins to assert himself and to act the
Sagamore, when he does not render the tribute, when his people
leave him or when others get them away from him; then as among us,
also among them, there are reproaches and accusations, as that such
a one is only a half Sagamore, is newly hatched like a three-days'
chicken, that his crest is only beginning to appear; that he is
only a Sagamochin, that is, a Baby Sagamore, a little dwarf. And
thus you may know that ambition reigns beneath the thatched roofs,
as well as under the gilded, and our ears need not be pulled much
to learn these lessons.
[53] Ces Sagamies se partagent la region, & sont quasi distribuees par
bayes, ou riuieres. Par exemple, en la riuiere de Pentegoet vn Sagamo;
vn autre à celle de S. Croix; vn autre à celle de S. Iean, &c. Quand
ils se visitent c'est au recepuant de bien-veigner, & faire tabagie
à ses hostes, autant de iours qu'il peut; les hostes luy font des
presents: mais c'est à la charge que le visité reciproque, quand ce
vient au départ, si le visitant est Sagamo, autrement non.
[53] These Sagamies divide up the country and are nearly always
arranged according to bays or rivers. For example, for the
Pentegoet river there is one Sagamore; another for the Ste. Croix;
another for the St. John, etc. When they visit each other it is the
duty of the host to welcome and to banquet his guests, as many days
as he can, the guests making him some presents; but it is with the
expectation that the host will reciprocate, when the guest comes to
depart, if the guest is a Sagamore, otherwise not.
C'est l'Esté principalem[~e]t qu'ils font leurs visites, & tiennent
leurs Estats: ie veux dire, que plusieurs Sagamos s'assemblent, &
consultent par entr'eux de la paix, & de la guerre, des traictés
d'amitié, & du bien commun. Il n'y a que lesdits Sagamos, qui ayent
voix en chapitre, & qui harenguent, ne fussent quelques vieux, &
renommés [54] _Autmoins_, qui sont comme leurs Prestres, car ils les
honnorent fort, & leur donn[~e]t seance la mesme qu'aux Sagamos.
Il arriue quelque fois, qu'vn mesme est tout ensemble & _Autmoin_
& _Sagamo_, & lors il est grandement redouté. Tel a esté le renõmé
Membertou, qui se fit Chrestien, ainsi que vous ouyrez bien tost. En
ces assemblées donc, s'il y a quelques nouuelles d'importance, comme
que leurs voisins leurs veul[~e]t faire la guerre, ou qu'ils ayent tué
quelqu'vn, ou qu'il faille renouueller alliance, &c. Lors messagers
volent de toutes parts pour faire la plus generale assemblée, qu'ils
peuuent de tous les confederez qu'ils appellent _Ricmanen_, qui sont
quasi tous ceux de mesme langue. Neantmoins souuent la confederation
s'est[~e]d plus loin, que ne faict la langue, & contre [55] ceux de
mesme langue, s'esleuant quelquefois des guerres. En ces assemblees
ainsi vniuerselles se resout ou la paix, ou trefue, ou guerre, ou rien
du tout, ainsi qu'arriue souuent és deliberations, où y a plusieurs
testes sans ordre, & subordinatiõ, d'où lon se depart plus confus
souuent & des-vny qu'on n'y estoit venu.
It is principally in Summer that they pay visits and hold their
State Councils; I mean that several Sagamores come together
and consult among themselves about peace and war, treaties of
friendship and treaties for the common good. It is only these
Sagamores who have a voice in the discussion and who make the
speeches, unless there be some old and renowned [54] _Autmoins_,
who are like their Priests, for they respect them very much and
give them a hearing the same as to the Sagamores. It happens
sometimes that the same person is both _Autmoin_ and _Sagamore_,
and then he is greatly dreaded. Such was the renowned Membertou,
who became a Christian, as you will soon hear. Now in these
assemblies, if there is some news of importance, as that their
neighbors wish to make war upon them, or that they have killed some
one, or that they must renew the alliance, etc., then messengers
fly from all parts to make up the more general assembly, that
they may avail themselves of all the confederates, which they
call _Ricmanen_, who are generally those of the same language.
Nevertheless the confederation often extends farther than the
language does, and war sometimes arises against [55] those who have
the same language. In these assemblies so general, they resolve
upon peace, truce, war, or nothing at all, as often happens in
the councils where there are several chiefs, without order and
subordination, whence they frequently depart more confused and
disunited than when they came.
Leurs guerres ne se font quasi que de langue à langue, ou de pays à
pays, & tousiours par surprinse & trahison. Ils ont l'arc & le pauois,
ou targue, mais ils ne se mett[~e]t iamais en bataille rãgée, au moins
de ce que i'en ay peu apprendre. Et de vray ils sont de leur naturel
paoureux & coüards, quoi qu'ils ne cessent de se vanter, & facent
leur possible d'estre censés, & auoir le nom de Grand coeur. _Meskir
Kameramon_, Grand coeur chez eux, c'est toute vertu.
Their wars are nearly always between language and language, or
country and country, and always by deceit and treachery. They have
the bow and the shield, or buckler, but they never place themselves
in a line of battle, at least from what I have been able to learn.
And, in truth, they are by nature fearful and cowardly, although
they are always boasting, and do all they can to be renowned and to
have the name of "Great-heart." _Meskir Kameramon_, "Great-heart,"
among them is the crowning virtue.
[56] Si les offenses ne sont pas de peuple à peuple, ains entre
compatriotes, & combourgeois, lors ils se battent par entr'eux pour les
petites offenses, & leur façon de cõbat, est cõm'icy celle des femmes,
de se voler aux cheueux: saisis par là, ils se luitt[~e]t & secoüent
d'vne terrible façon, & s'ils sont fort esgaux, ils demeureront tout
vn iour voire deux sans se quitter iusques à ce qu'on les separe, & de
vray pour la force du corps, & bras, ils nous sont esgaux, le prenant
de pareil à pareil, & si sont plus adextres à la luicte, & plus agiles
à courir: mais ils n'entendent point à l'escrime des poings. I'ay veu
vn de nos petits garçons faire fuir deuant soy vn Sauuage plus grãd
que luy d'vn pied: quãd se mettant en posture de noble combattant,
il fermoit le pouce sur les doigs, luy disant, Approche: [57] mais
aussi, quand le Sauuage pouuoit le happer par le tronc du corps, il luy
faisoit crier mercy.
[56] If the offenses are not between tribes, but between
compatriots and fellow-citizens, then they fight among themselves
for slight offenses, and their way of fighting is like that of
women here, they fly for the hair; holding on to this, they
struggle and jerk in a terrible fashion, and if they are equally
matched, they keep it up one whole day, or even two, without
stopping until some one separates them; and certainly in strength
of body and arms they are equal to us, comparing like to like; but
if they are more skillful in wrestling and nimble running, they do
not understand boxing at all. I have seen one of our little boys
make a Savage, a foot taller than himself, fly before him; placing
himself in the posture of a noble warrior, he placed his thumb over
his fingers and said, "Come on!" [57] However, when the Savage was
able to catch him up by the waist, he made him cry for mercy.
Reueuant à mon propos les petites offenses querelles sont facilement
appaisees par les Sagamos & communs amis. Et certes ils ne s'offensent
guieres, qu'on sçache. Ie dy qu'on sçache. Car nous n'en auons rien
veu, ains tousiours vn grand respect, & amour entr'eux. Ce qui nous
donoit vn grãd creue-coeur lors que nous tournions les yeux sur nostre
misere. Car de voir vne assemblee de François sans reproches, mespris,
enuies, & noises de l'vn à l'autre, c'est autant difficile, que de voir
la mer sans ondes, ne fust dedans les Cloistres & Conuents, où la grace
predomine à la nature.
Returning to my subject. The little offenses and quarrels are
easily adjusted by the Sagamores and common friends. And in truth
they are hardly ever offended long, as far as we know. I say, as
far as we know, for we have never seen anything except always great
respect and love among them; which was a great grief to us when we
turned our eyes upon our own shortcomings. For to see an assembly
of French people without reproaches, slights, envy, and quarrels
with each other, is as difficult as to see the sea without waves,
except in Monasteries and Convents, where grace triumphs over
nature.
Les grandes offenses, comme si [58] quelqu'vn auoit tué vn autre, s'il
luy auoit desrobé sa femme, &c. C'est à l'offensé de les venger de sa
propre main: ou s'il est mort, c'est à ses plus proches parents, ce
qu'arriuant personne ne s'en remuë, ains tous demeurent contents sur ce
mot, _habenquedouïc_, il n'a pas commencé, il le luy a rendu: quittes
& bons amis. Que si le delinquant, repentant de sa faute desire faire
sa paix, il est receu d'ordinaire à satisfaction, moyennant presents &
autres reparatiõs conuenables.
The great offenses, as when [58] some one has killed another,
or stolen away his wife, etc., are to be avenged by the offended
person with his own hand; or if he is dead, it is the duty of the
nearest relatives; when this happens, no one shows any excitement
over it, but all dwell contentedly upon this word _habenquedouïc_,
"he did not begin it, he has paid him back: quits and good
friends." But if the guilty one, repenting of his fault, wishes
to make peace, he is usually received with satisfaction, offering
presents and other suitable atonement.
Ils ne sont nullement ingrats entr'eux, ils s'entredonnent tout. Nul
oseroit esconduire la priere d'vn autre, ny manger, sans luy faire
part de ce qu'il a. Vne fois que nous estions allés bien loin à la
pesche, passerent par là cinq ou six femmes, ou filles bien chargées &
lasses: nos gents par courtoisie, [59] leur donnerent de leur prinse,
ce qu'elles mirent cuire tout aussi tost dans vn chauderon, que nous
leur prestasmes, à peine le chauderon boüilloit, que voicy vn bruit,
que d'autres Sauuages estoyent là qui venoy[~e]t, alors nos pauures
femmes à s'enfuir viste dans les bois à tout leur chauderon demy cuit:
car elles auoyent bonne faim. La raison de la fuite estoit pour-autant
que si elles eussent esté veuës, il eust fallu par loy de ciuilité,
qu'elles eussent faict part aux suruenants de leur viande, qui n'estoit
point trop grande. L'on rit bien alors; & plus encores quand elles
apres auoir mangé, voyants lesdits Sauuages venus aupres de nostre feu,
firent semblant de n'y auoir pas touché, & de passer tout ainsi, que si
elles ne nous eussent point veu au parauant, elles dirent à nos gents
[60] tout bas où c'est qu'elles auoyent laissé le chauderon, & eux
comme bons compagnons, cognoissans le mystere sçeurent bien seruir aux
belles mines, & pour mieux aider au jeu, les pressoyent de s'arrester &
gouster vn peu de leur pesche, mais elles ne voulurent rien faire, tant
elles auoyent de haste, disants, _coupouba, coupouba_, grand mercy,
grand mercy. Nos g[~e]ts respondir[~e]t: Or allez de part Dieu, puis
qu'auez si grand haste.
They are in no wise ungrateful to each other, and share
everything. No one would dare to refuse the request of another, nor
to eat without giving him a part of what he has. Once when we had
gone a long way off to a fishing place, there passed by five or
six women or girls, heavily burdened and weary; our people through
courtesy [59] gave them some of our fish, which they immediately
put to cook in a kettle, that we loaned them. Scarcely had the
kettle begun to boil when a noise was heard, and other Savages
could be seen coming; then our poor women fled quickly into the
woods, with their kettle only half boiled, for they were very
hungry. The reason of their flight was that, if they had been seen,
they would have been obliged by a rule of politeness to share with
the newcomers their food, which was not too abundant. We had a good
laugh then; and were still more amused when they, after having
eaten, seeing the said Savages around our fire, acted as if they
had never been near there and were about to pass us all by as if
they had not seen us before, telling our people [60] in a whisper
where they had left the kettle; and they, like good fellows,
comprehending the situation, knew enough to look unconscious, and
to better carry out the joke, urged them to stop and taste a little
fish; but they did not wish to do anything of the kind, they were
in such a hurry, saying _coupouba, coupouba_, "many thanks, many
thanks." Our people answered: "Now may God be with you since you
are in such a hurry."
CHAPITRE VI.
DE LEURS MARIAGES & PETIT NOMBRE DE PEUPLE.
AV cõtraire de nous, ils font en leurs mariages, non que le pere
donne doüaire à sa fille pour la loger auec quelqu'vn; ains [61] que
le poursuiuant face de bons, & beaux presens au pere, à ce qu'il luy
donne sa fille pour espouse. Les presents seront proportionnément à la
qualité du pere, & beauté de la fille; des chiens, des castors, des
chauderons, & haches, &c. Mais la façon de courtiser, est bien sauuage:
car l'amoureux dés qu'il se professe pour tel, n'oseroit regarder la
fille, ny luy parler, ny demeurer aupres d'elle, sinon par occasion,
& lors il faut qu'il se commande de ne la point enuisager, ny donner
aucun signe de sa passion, autrement il seroit la mocquerie de tous,
& sa fauourie en rougiroit. Apres quelque temps, le père assemble la
par[~e]tée, pour auec eux deliberer de l'alliance. Si le recherchant
est de bon aage; s'il est bon, & dispos chasseur, sa race, son credit,
sa gaillardise; & s'il leur aggrée, ils luy [62] allongeront, ou
accourciront, ou conditionneront le temps, & façon de sa poursuitte,
ainsi qu'ils aduiseront, au bout duquel temps pour les nopces y aura
solemnelle Tabagie & festin, auec harangues, chants, & danses.
CHAPTER VI.
ON THEIR MARRIAGES, AND SPARSENESS OF POPULATION.
CONTRARY to our custom, in their marriages the father does not give
a dower to his daughter to establish her with some one, but [61]
the lover gives beautiful and suitable presents to the father, so
that he will allow him to marry his daughter. The presents will be
in proportion to the rank of the father and beauty of the daughter;
dogs, beavers, kettles, axes, etc. But they have a very rude way
of making love; for the suitor, as soon as he shows a preference
for a girl, does not dare look at her, nor speak to her, nor stay
near her, unless accidentally; and then he must force himself not
to look her in the face, nor to give any sign of his passion,
otherwise he would be the laughingstock of all, and his sweetheart
would blush for him. After a while, the father brings together the
relatives, to talk over the match with them,--whether the suitor is
of proper age, whether he is a good and nimble hunter, his family,
his reputation, his youthful adventures; and if he suits them, they
will [62] lengthen or shorten, or make stipulations as to the time
and manner of his courtship as they may think best; and at the end
of this time, for the nuptials there will be solemn Tabagie and
feasts with speeches, songs and dances.
Selon la coustume du païs, ils peuuent auoir plusieurs femmes,
neantmoins la pluspart de ceux que i'ay veu n'en ont qu'vne: plusieurs
des Sagamos pretendent ne se pouuoir passer de ceste pluralité, non ja
pour cause de luxure (car ceste nation n'est point fort incontinente,)
ains pour autres deux raisons, l'vne à fin de retenir leur authorité,
& puissance ayants plusieurs enfans; car en cela gist la force des
maisons, en multitude d'alliés, & consanguins: la seconde raison est
leur entretien & seruice, qui est grand, & penible, puis qu'ils ont
grande famille & [63] suitte, & partant requiert nombre de seruiteurs &
mesnagers: or n'ont ils autres seruiteurs, esclaues, ou artisants que
les femmes. Les pauurettes endurent toute la misere & fatigue de la
vie: elles font & dressent les maisons, ou cabannes, les fournissent
de feu, de bois & d'eau, apprestent les viandes, boucannent les
chairs & autres prouisions, c'est à dire les seichent à la fumée pour
les conseruer; vont querir la chasse ou ell' a esté tuée, cousent &
radoubent les cauots, accommodent & tendent les peaux, les conroyent
& en font des habits, & des souliers à toute la famille; vont à la
pesche, tirent à l'auiron: en fin subissent tout le trauail, hors celuy
seulement de la grande chasse: outre le soin & la tant oppressante
nourriture de leurs petits. Elles emmaillottent leurs enfans [64] sur
des petits ais, tels que sont ceux qui pend[~e]t aux espaules des
crocheteurs de Paris, les aisles en estãt ostees. Ces ais pend[~e]t à
vne large courroye attachée à leur front, & ainsi chargees de leurs
enfans s'en vont à l'eau, au bois, à la pesche. Si l'enfant crie elles
se mettent à dansotter & chanter, bersants ainsi leur petit, lequel
cessant de plourer, elles poursuiuent leur besongne.
According to the custom of the country, they can have several
wives, but the greater number of them that I have seen have only
one; some of the Sagamores pretend that they cannot do without
this plurality, not because of lust (for this nation is not very
unchaste) but for two other reasons. One is, in order to retain
their authority and power by having a number of children; for
in that lies the strength of the house, in the great number of
allies and connections; the second reason is their entertainment
and service, which is great and laborious, since they have large
families and [63] a great number of followers, and therefore
require a number of servants and housewives; now they have no other
servants, slaves, or mechanics but the women. These poor creatures
endure all the misfortunes and hardships of life; they prepare and
erect the houses, or cabins, furnishing them with fire, wood, and
water; prepare the food, preserve the meat and other provisions,
that is, dry them in the smoke to preserve them; go to bring the
game from the place where it has been killed; sew and repair the
canoes, mend and stretch the skins, curry them, and make clothes
and shoes of them for the whole family; they go fishing and do the
rowing; in short, undertake all the work except that alone of the
grand chase, besides having the care and so weakening nourishment
of their children. They bind their babies [64] upon little slats
like those which hang from the shoulders of street-porters in
Paris, with the wings taken away. These slats hang from a broad
strap fastened to their foreheads; thus burdened with their
children, they go to the water, to the woods, and to fish. If the
child cries they begin to dance and sing, thus rocking their little
one, and when it stops crying they go on with their work.
Pour ces raisons doncques aucuns Sauuages veulent defendre leur
Polygamie, allegans outre ce, qu'ils viendroyent autrement à
defaillance par extreme paucité; ignorants la benediction du mariage
Chrestien. Et partant est digne de plus grande loüange ce leur insigne
Membertou, qui quoi qu'il ait esté le plus grãd Sagamo, le plus suiuy,
& le plus redouté qu'ils ay[~e]t eu de plusieurs siecles, [65] si
n'a-il voulu auoir plus que d'vne femme à la fois, mesmes estant Payen,
iugeant par instinc naturel, que ceste pluralité estoit & infame, &
incommode à raison des riottes, qui en sourdent tousiours, tãt entre
les femmes, qu'entre les enfans de diuers licts.
So for these reasons some of the Savages try to defend their
Polygamy, further alleging that otherwise there would be an
extinction of the family for lack of descendants; ignoring the
blessings of Christian marriage. And therefore their renowned
Membertou is worthy of greater praise, because although he was the
greatest Sagamore, the most followed, and the most feared, that
they had had for several centuries, [65] yet he did not care to
have more than one wife at a time; although a Pagan, judging from
instinct that this plurality was both infamous and troublesome, on
account of the quarrels which always arose from it, as much among
the wives as among the children of different mothers.
Or les femmes, quoy qu'elles ayent tant de peine, comme i'ay dit, si
n'en sont elles pas plus cheries. Les maris les battent comme plastre,
& souuent pour bien leger subject. Vn iour certain François osa tancer
quelque Sauuage, à cest'occasion: le Sauuage luy repliqua en cholere.
Et quoy? Mais as-tu que voir dans ma maison, si ie bats mon chien? La
comparaison estoit mauuaise, la response estoit aiguë. Peu de diuorces
arriuent entr'eux, & (comme ie croy) peu d'adulteres. Si la femme
s'oublioit en cela, ie ne pense pas qu'il [66] y allast de moins que de
la vie de tous les deux adulterans. La faute des filles n'est pas tant
estimée, ny elles ne perdent point pour cela de trouuer party; c'est
tousiours honte neantmoins.
Now these women, although they have so much trouble, as I have
said, yet are not cherished any more for it. The husbands beat
them unmercifully, and often for a very slight cause. One day a
certain Frenchman undertook to rebuke a Savage for this; the Savage
answered angrily: "How now, have you nothing to do but to see into
my house, every time I strike my dog?" The comparison was bad, the
retort was keen. Few divorces occur among them, and (as I believe)
little adultery. If the wife should so far forget herself I do
not believe that it [66] would be less than a matter of life and
death to the two adulterers. The immorality of the girls is not
considered so important, nor do they fail for this reason to find
husbands; yet it is always a disgrace.
Quant à l'exterieur habit, port & facon, les femmes & filles sont
fort pudiques & honteuses, les hommes aussi ne sont point impudens,
& sont fort mal edifiés, quãd quelque fol François ose se iouër auec
leurs femmes. Certain esceruelé s'estant vne fois licentié en cela,
ils vindrent aduiser nostre Capitaine qu'il reprimast ses g[~e]ts,
l'aduertissant que celuy n'auroit pas beau jeu, qui le recommenceroit,
qu'on l'estendroit par terre. On dresse tousiours vne cabane à l'escart
pour les femmes, qui ont leurs mois, car ils les estim[~e]t estre alors
contagieuses.
As to their dress, demeanor, and manners, the women and girls are
very modest and bashful; the men also are not immodest, and are
very much insulted, when some foolish Frenchman dares to meddle
with their women. Once when a certain madcap took some liberties,
they came and told our Captain that he should look out for his men,
informing him that any one who attempted to do that again would not
stand much of a chance, that they would kill him on the spot. They
always put up a separate cabin for the women when they have their
menses, for then they believe them to be infectious.
Ils s'estonnent & se plaignent [67] souu[~e]t de ce que dés que les
Frãçois hantent & ont commerce auec eux, ils se meurent fort, & se
depeuplent. Car ils asseurent qu'auant ceste hantise, & frequentation,
toutes leurs terres estoyent fort populeuses, & historient par ordre
coste par coste, qu'à mesure qu'ils ont plus cõmencé à traffiquer
auecques nous, ils ont plus esté rauagez de maladies: adjoustans, que
la cause pourquoy les Armouchiquoys se maintiennent en leur nombrosité,
c'est à leur aduis, parce qu'ils ne sont point nonchalants. Là dessus
ils alambiquent souuent leur cerueau, & tantost ils opinent, que les
François les empoisonnent, ce qui est faux: tantost qu'ils donnent
du poison aux scelerats, & peruers de leur natiõ, pour s'en seruir à
l'exequution de leur malice. Ceste posterieure coniecture n'est pas
sans [68] exemple: car nous auons veu du reagal, & du sublimé entre
leurs mains, lequel ils disoyent auoir acheté de certains Chirurgiens
François, à fin de faire mourir tous ceux qu'il leur plairoit, & se
vantoyent l'auoir ja experimenté sur vn captif, lequel (disoyent-ils)
estoit mort vn iour apres la prinse. Autres se plaignent qu'on leur
desguise souuent, & sophistique les marchandises, & qu'on leur vend
des pois, febues, prunes, pain, & autres choses gastees? & que c'est
cela qui leur corromp le corps, & dont s'engendr[~e]t les dysenteries
& autres maladies, qui ont coustume de les saisir en Automne. Ceste
raison de mesme ne se propose pas sans productiõ d'exemples, dont ils
ont esté souuent sur le poinct de rompre auecques nous, & de nous
faire la guerre. Certes il y auroit bon besoin de [69] pouruoir à ces
meurtres execrables, par remedes conuenables si lon en pouuoit trouuer
aucun.
They are astonished and often complain [67] that, since the
French mingle with and carry on trade with them, they are dying
fast, and the population is thinning out. For they assert that,
before this association and intercourse, all their countries were
very populous, and they tell how one by one the different coasts,
according as they have begun to traffic with us, have been more
reduced by disease; adding, that the reason why the Armouchiquois
do not diminish in population is because they are not at all
careless. Thereupon they often puzzle their brains, and sometimes
think that the French poison them, which is not true; at other
times that they give poison to the wicked and vicious of their
nation to help them vent their spite upon some one. This last
supposition is not without [68] foundation; for we have seen them
have some arsenic and sublimate which they said they bought from
certain French Surgeons, in order to kill whomsoever they wished,
and boasted that they had already experimented upon a captive, who
(they said) died the day after taking it. Others complain that
the merchandise is often counterfeited and adulterated, and that
peas, beans, prunes, bread, and other things that are spoiled
are sold to them; and that it is that which corrupts the body
and gives rise to the dysentery and other diseases which always
attack them in Autumn. This theory likewise is not offered without
citing instances, for which they have often been upon the point of
breaking with us, and making war upon us. Indeed there would be
great need of [69] providing against these detestable murders by
some suitable remedy if one could be found.
Neantmoins la principale cause de toutes ces morts & maladies n'est
pas ce qu'ils disent: ains c'est à leur honte; que l'Esté nos nauires
venus ils ne cessent de plusieurs sepmaines s'engorger outre mesure
de plusieurs viandes non accoustumés auec oisiueté, d'yurongner, & au
vin adiouster encores l'eau de vie; dont n'est pas de merueille si
despuis l'Automne suiuant, il faut qu'ils endurent des trenchées de
ventre. Ceste nation est fort peu soucieuse de l'auenir, ainsi que tous
les autres Americains, qui iouyssent du present: & ne sont poussez au
trauail, que par la necessité presente. Tandis qu'ils ont dequoy, ils
font tabagie perpetuelle; chants, danses & harangues: & s'ils sont
[70] en troupe, n'attendez pas autre chose; il y a lors belles treues
par les bois. Parler de reserue s'ils ne sont en guerre, sont propos
de sedition. Ils auront faim l'Hyuer, leur dirés vous: _Endriex_,
vous respondront: c'est tout vn; nous l'endurons facilement: nous
passons les sept & huict iours, voire les dix aucunefois sans manger,
si n'en mourons point pour cela. Toutesfois s'ils sont à part, & où
leurs f[~e]mes puissent estre creuës (car les femmes sont par tout
plus mesnageres) ils feront aucunesfois des magasins pour l'Hyuer, où
ils se reserueront quelques chairs boucanées: quelques racines, du
gland espeluché en noyaux, quelques pois, ou febues, ou pruneaux de
la trocque, &c. La façon de ces magasins est telle. Ils mettent ces
prouisions dans des sacs qu'ils enueloppent dans des [71] grandes &
amples escorces; lesquelles ils suspendent en l'air aux branches de
deux ou trois arbres, liées par ensemble, à ce que les rats ny les
autres bestes, ny l'humidité de la terre, ne les endommage. Voila leurs
magasins. Qui les gardera? eux s'en allants: car s'ils demeuroyent,
leurs magasins iroyent bien tost par terre; ils s'en vont doncques
autre part iusques au temps de famine: Telles sont les gardes, qu'ils
y mettent. Aussi de vray ceste nation n'est point larronnesse. Pleust
à Dieu, que les Chrestiens, qui vont à eux ne dõnassent en cela point
de scandale. Mais auiourd'huy si on soupçonne aucun Sauuage d'auoir
desrobé, aussi tost il vous mettra deuant le nez ceste belle defense.
_Nous ne sommes point larrons, comme vous, Ilinen auio aciquoan guiro
derquir._
Nevertheless the principal cause of all these deaths and diseases
is not what they say it is, but it is something to their shame;
in the Summer time, when our ships come, they never stop gorging
themselves excessively during several weeks with various kinds
of food not suitable to the inactivity of their lives; they get
drunk, not only on wine but on brandy; so it is no wonder that they
are obliged to endure some gripes of the stomach in the following
Autumn. This nation takes little care for the future, but, like
all the other Americans, enjoys the present; they are not urged
on to work except by present necessity. As long as they have
anything, they are always celebrating feasts and having songs,
dances and speeches; if there is [70] a crowd of them you need
not expect anything else; there are then some fine truces in the
woods. To speak of restraint, when they are not at war, is equal
to proposing a riot. If you tell them that they will be hungry in
the Winter: _Endriex_, they will answer you, "It is all the same to
us, we shall stand it well enough: we spend seven and eight days,
even ten sometimes, without eating anything, yet we do not die."
Nevertheless, if they are by themselves and where they may safely
listen to their wives (for women are everywhere better managers),
they will sometimes make some storehouses for the Winter, where
they will keep smoked meat, roots, shelled acorns, peas, beans, or
prunes bought from us, etc. The storehouses are like this;--They
put these provisions in sacks, which they tie up in [71] big
pieces of bark; these they suspend from the interlacing branches
of two or three trees so that neither rats nor other animals,
nor the dampness of the ground, can injure them. These are their
storehouses. Who is to take care of them when they go away? for,
if they stay, their stores would soon be consumed; so they go
somewhere else until the time of famine. Such are the only guards
they leave. For in truth this is not a nation of thieves. Would to
God that the Christians who go among them would not set them a bad
example in this respect. But as it is now, if a certain Savage is
suspected of having stolen anything he will immediately throw this
fine defense in your teeth, _We are not thieves, like you, Ilinen
auio aciquoan guiro derquir_.
Reuenants à la paucité de ce [72] peuple, il y a encores des autres
raisons d'icelle, ceste-cy principalement: qu'en vne vie tant inegale,
si disetteuse, & tant laborieuse, le naturel luy peut durer, s'il
n'est bien fort; & le fort mesme y reçoit des accidents souuent, &
heurts irremediables. Leurs femmes aussi à cause du grand trauail ne
sont pas si fecondes: car c'est le plus, si elles enfantent de deux
en deux ans. Aussi ne pourroyent elles nourrir leur fruict, si elles
accouchoy[~e]t plus souuent; veu mesmes qu'elles alaictent leurs enfans
iusques à trois ans, si elles peuu[~e]t. Leur couche ne dure guieres,
deux heures: souuent en chemin elles se deliurent, & vn peu apres
reprendront leur trauail comme deuant.
Returning to the sparseness of the [72] population, there are still
some other reasons for it; this being the principal one, that
in a life so irregular, so necessitous and so painful, a man's
constitution cannot hold out unless it be very strong, and even
then he is liable to accidents and irremediable injuries. Their
wives, on account of their heavy work, are not very prolific, for
at most they do not have children oftener than every two years,
and they are not able to nourish their offspring if they have them
oftener, as they nurse them for three years if they can.[19] Their
confinement lasts hardly two hours; often the children are born on
the march, and a little while afterward the mothers will go on with
their work as before.
Ie me suis enquis souuent, combien grand pourroit estre le nombre de
ce peuple: I'ay trouué par [73] la Relation des Sauuages mesmes, que
dans l'enclos de la grande riuiere, dés les Terres Neufues iusques
à Chouacoët, on ne sçauroit trouuer plus de neuf ou dix mill'ames.
Regardez la carte, & ie vous en donneray le denombrement. Tous les
Souriquoys 3000. ou 3500. Les Eteminquois iusques à Pentegoët 2500.
Dés Pentegoët iusques à Kinibequi, & de Kinibequi iusques à Chouacoët
3000. Les Montaguets 1000. Voila enuiron dix mill'ames, & ie crois que
c'est pour le plus. Les autres peuples ne nous sõt pas cogneus. Aduisez
combien veritablement, & emphatiquement a parlé le S. Esprit par la
bouche d'Isaye de ces pauures Sauuages dispersez, soubs la metaphore
propre & conuenable d'vn grãd vergier, ou parterre sauuagin, &
forestier. _Il ne fait que florir encores, sur le temps de la recolte_,
[74] dit-il, _Il germe, quand il deuroit estre venu à maturité: Il
le faut lors émonder, & tailler; C'est pourquoy ses fruicts sont
delaissez aux oyseaux des montagnes & bestes de la terre: Les oyseaux
jucheront sur luy tout l'Esté; & toutes les bestes de terre hyuerneront
sur luy._ Car certainement, ce pauure peuple, comme vn grand plan de
sauuageons mal nez, & de mauuaise venuë, quand par le laps & experience
des siecles, il deuroit estre venu à quelque perfection des arts,
sciences, & raison: Qu'il en deuroit auoir produict fruict abondant
en philosophie, police, moeurs, & commoditez de la vie; qu'il deuroit
estre ja disposé à la maturité du S. Euangile, pour estre recueilly
en la maisõ de Dieu: voila qu'on ne le voit sinon chetif & rare,
donné la pasture des corbeaux, hiboux & cocus infernaux: & la curee
maudite des renards, [75] ours, sangliers, & dragons spirituels. O
Dieu de misericorde! n'aurez vous point pitié de ce desastre? Ne
ietterez-vous point vos yeux de douceur sur ce pauure desert? Benin,
& pieux laboureur, faictes que la prophetie, qui suit se verifie en
nous en nostre âge. _En ce t[~e]ps là present sera apporté au Seigneur
des Armées par le peuple rompu, & deschiré, par le peuple terrible,
apres qui n'en y a point d'autre; La nation attendãte, attendante,
& mesprisee, de qui les fleuues ont gasté la terre; au lieu où est
inuoqué le nom du Seigneur des Armées à la montagne de Sion._ Ainsi
soit-il.
I have often wondered how many of these people there are. I
have found from [73] the Accounts of the Savages themselves, that
in the region of the great river, from Newfoundland to Chouacoët,
there cannot be found more than nine or ten thousand people. Look
at the chart and I will give you the enumeration of them. The
Souriquoys, in all, 3000, or 3500. The Eteminquois to Pentegoët,
2500. From Pentegoët to Kinibequi and from Kinibequi to Chouacoët,
3000. The Montaguets, 1000. This is about ten thousand souls, and I
believe it is the highest number. The other tribes are not known to
us. Consider how truly and emphatically the Holy Spirit has spoken
through the mouth of Isaiah about these poor scattered Savages,
under the fitting and appropriate comparison of a great orchard
or garden, wild and uncultivated. He says: _At the time of the
harvest there are still nothing but buds,_ [74] _At the time of the
ripening, they are springing up: Then must he cut off the sprigs
with pruning hooks: Therefore the fruits are left to the fowls
of the mountain, and to the beasts of the earth; the fowls shall
Summer upon them, and all the beasts of the earth shall winter
upon them._ For in truth this people, who, through the progress
and experience of centuries, ought to have come to some perfection
in the arts, sciences and philosophy, is like a great field of
stunted and ill-begotten wild plants, a people which ought to have
produced abundant fruits in philosophy, government, customs, and
conveniences of life; which ought to be already prepared for the
completeness of the Holy Gospel, to be received in the house of
God. Yet behold it wretched and dispersed, given up to ravens,
owls, and infernal cuckoos, and to be the cursed prey of spiritual
foxes, [75] bears, boars, and dragons. O, God of mercy! wilt thou
not have pity upon this misery? Wilt thou not look upon this poor
wilderness with a favoring eye? Kind and pious husbandman, so
act that the prophecy which follows may be fulfilled upon us and
in our time. _In that time shall a present be brought unto the
Lord of Hosts from a people rent, and torn in pieces, a terrible
people, after which there hath been no other; A nation expecting,
expecting, and trodden under foot, whose land the rivers have
spoiled; to the place of the name of the Lord of Hosts, the mount
Sion._ Amen.
CHAPITRE VII.
[76] DE LA MEDECINE DES SAUUAGES.
IL est asseuré, que les disettes grandes suffoquent l'esprit, &
l'oppressent de leur importun & tyrannique seruice, en sorte qu'à
peine peut-il reuenir à soy iamais, ou se regaillardir en quelques
gentiles considerations: non pas mesme songer aux autres moindres
necessitez pour leur aller au deuant, ou les alleger; preoccupé
tousiours & violenté par les plus fortes. Nous voyons cecy en nos
pauures Sauuages, lesquels pour ne viure qu'au iour à la iournée, &
par consequent tousiours asseruis à la crainte de la faim, premiere, &
plus forte necessité de toutes, n'ont moyen de cultiuer leur esprit en
la recherche des [77] sciences; non pas mesme de se pouruoir des ars,
& industries pour l'aisance, & ameliorement de la vie, ny pour fournir
aux autres defauts, quoy que bien pressants. A ceste cause donc ils
manquent non seulement de toutes lettres & beaux artifices; ains aussi
(chose miserable) de medecine, soit pour l'entretenement de leur santé,
soit pour le secours de leurs maladies, sinon en ce peu que ie diray.
CHAPTER VII.
[76] ON THE MEDICINE OF THE SAVAGES.
IT is true that great poverty stifles the spirit, and overwhelms
it with its importunate and despotic sway, so that it can seldom
turn to itself, or revel in agreeable meditations, nor even dream
of something better to prevent or lighten it, being always absorbed
in and possessed by the greatest needs. We see this in our poor
Savages, who live only from hand to mouth, and hence are always
subject to the fear of hunger, first and strongest of all wants;
they have no opportunity of developing their minds in the pursuit
of [77] knowledge; not even of providing arts and trades for the
relief and amelioration of life, nor to satisfy other wants however
pressing. Now for this reason they not only lack all literature
and fine arts, but also (unfortunately) medicine, whether for the
preservation of their health, or for the cure of their diseases,
except the little that I shall describe.
Ils entretiennent leur santé (l'Esté principalement) par l'vsage des
estuuées & sueurs, & du baigner. Ils se seruent aussi de friction,
apres laquelle ils s'oignent tout le corps d'huyle de loup marin.
Ce qui les rend fort fascheusement puants à qui n'y est accoustumé.
Neantmoins ceste onction faict, que le chaud & le froid leur en sont
plus tolerables, que leurs [78] cheueux ne sõt prins par les bois,
ains glissent, que la pluye & mauuais temps ne leur nuit à la teste,
ains coule en bas & iusques aux pieds. Item, que les moucherons (qui
là sont cruels en Esté, & plus qu'on ne croiroit) ne les tourmentent
point tant és parties nuës, &c. Ils vsent aussi du petun, & en boiuent
la fumée, de la façon commune en France. Cela leur profite sans
doute, voire leur est du tout necessaire, veu les grandes extremitez
qu'ils endur[~e]t de froid & mauuais temps, de faim, & de repletion
ou saturité, mais aussi beaucoup de maux leur en aduiennent; à cause
de leur excés en cela, c'est tout leur deduit quãd ils en ont, & de
certains François aussi bien que d'eux, qui s'y accoquinent, tellement
que pour boire de ces fumées, ils vendroyent leur chemise. Tous leurs
deuis, [79] traictés, bien-veignements, & caresses se font auec ce
petun. Ils se mett[~e]t en rond à l'entour du feu, deuisants, & se
baillants le petunoir de main en main, & s'entretenants en ceste façon
plusieurs heures auec grand plaisir. Tel est leur goust, & coustume.
They keep themselves well (principally in Summer) by the use of
hot rooms and sweat boxes, and by the bath. They also use massage,
afterwards rubbing the whole body with seal oil, causing them to
emit an odor which is very disagreeable to those not accustomed to
it. Nevertheless, when this oiling process is over, they can stand
heat and cold better, and their [78] hair is not caught in the
branches, but is slippery, so that rain and tempest do not injure
the head, but glide over it to the feet; also that the mosquitoes
(which are very vicious there in Summer, and more annoying than
one would believe) do not sting so much in the bare parts, etc.
They also use tobacco, and inhale the smoke as is done in France.
This is without doubt a help to them, and upon the whole rather
necessary, considering the great extremes of cold and bad weather
and of hunger and overeating or satiety which they endure; but
also many ills arise from it, on account of its excessive use. It
is the sole delight of these people when they have some of it, and
also certain Frenchmen are so bewitched with it that, to inhale
its fumes, they would sell their shirts. All their talks, [79]
treaties, welcomes, and endearments are made under the fumes of
this tobacco. They gather around the fire, chatting and passing the
pipe from hand to hand, enjoying themselves in this way for several
hours. Such is their inclination and custom.
Or ceux qui professent entre eux la medecine, sont les mesmes, qui
maintiennent l'estat de la Religion, sçauoir est, les _Autmoins_, qui
en charge representeroyent nos Prestres d'icy, & nos Medecins. Mais
en verité, ils ne sont Prestres, ains vrais sorciers; ny Medecins,
ains Triacleurs mensongers, & trompeurs. Toute leur science est en la
cognoissance de quelque peu de simples laxatifs, ou astringents, chauds
ou froids, lenitifs, ou corrosifs, pour le foye, ou pour le roignon;
& le hasart de bonne fortune, voila tout. [80] Mais leurs malices,
& tromperies sont grandes, desquelles ie vous presenteray icy vn
eschantillon; vous asseurant n'y auoir rien de feint, ou controuué en
tout ce que ie vous en raconteray, quoy qu'il semble incroyable.
Now those among them who practice medicine, are identical with
those who are at the head of their Religion, i.e. _Autmoins_, whose
office is the same as that of our Priests and our Physicians.
But in truth they are not Priests, but genuine sorcerers; not
Physicians, but Jugglers, liars, and cheats. All their science
consists in a knowledge of a few simple laxatives, or astringents,
hot or cold applications, lenitives or irritants for the liver or
kidneys, leaving the rest to luck; nothing more. [80] But they are
well versed in tricks and impositions, of which I shall give you a
sample, assuring you that I have not misrepresented or fabricated
anything of all that I shall tell you, although it may seem
incredible.
Le Sauuage se sentant mal extraordinairement, se couche tout au long du
feu: lors on dit; _Ouëscouzy. Ouëscouzy._ Il est malade. En son temps
on luy donnera sa part de ce qu'on aura rousty, boüilly, ou trainé par
les cendres; tout ainsi qu'aux autres, car de luy chercher ou apprester
quelque chose de particulier, ils n'en ont point l'vsance. Si donc le
malade mange ce qu'on luy aura baillé, bon prou luy face; sinon, lon
dira, qu'il est bien malade. Et apres quelques iours (si lon peut) on
mandera querir l'_Autmoin_, que les Basques appellent _Pilotoys_, c'est
à dire, sorcier. [81] Or ce _Pilotoys_ ayant consideré son malade, le
souffle, & resouffle auec ie ne sçay quels enchantements; vous diriés
que ces vents pectoraux doiuent dissiper la cacochymie du patient.
Que s'il voit apres quelques iours, que pour tout son boursoufflement
le mal ne disparoit point, il en trouue bien la cause à son aduis,
c'est dit-il, pour-autant que le Diable est là, au dedans du malade,
le tourmentant, & empeschant la guerison. Mais qu'il faut l'auoir le
mauuais, l'enleuer de force, & le tuer. Lors tous se preparent à ceste
heroique action, que le tuer Belzebut: Et l'_Autmoin_ les aduertit
d'estre bien sur leurs gardes: car il se peut bi[~e] faire que cest
audacieux se voyant mal mené par luy, se ruë sur quelqu'vn de la
troupe, & l'estrangle là. Pour ceste cause il distribue à chascun son
acte de la [82] fable: mais elle seroit trop longue à raconter, car
elle dure bien trois heures.
A Savage, feeling very ill, stretches himself out near the fire:
then they say: _Ouëscouzy, Ouëscouzy_, "he is sick." When his
turn comes, they give him his share of whatever they have boiled,
roasted, or dragged over the coals, just the same as the others,
for they are not accustomed to seek or prepare any special food for
him. Now if the sick man eats what is given him, it is a good sign;
otherwise, they say that he is very sick, and after some days (if
they can) they will send for the _Autmoin_, whom the Basques call
_Pilotoys_; i.e., sorcerer.[20] [81] Now this _Pilotoys_, having
studied his patient, breathes and blows upon him some unknown
enchantments; you would say that these chest winds ought to dispel
the vitiated humors of the patient. If he sees after some days,
that notwithstanding all his blowing the evil does not disappear,
he finds the reason for it according to his own ideas, and says it
is because the Devil is there inside of the sick man, tormenting
and preventing him from getting well; but that he must have the
evil thing, get it out by force and kill it. Then all prepare for
that heroic action, the killing of Beelzebub. And the _Autmoin_
advises them to be upon their guard, for it can easily happen that
this insolent fellow, seeing himself badly treated by him, may hurl
himself upon someone of the crowd, and strangle him upon the spot.
For this reason he allots to each one his part of the [82] farce;
but it would be tedious to describe, for it lasts fully three hours.
Le sommaire est, que le Iongleur enfoüit dans vn creux bien profond en
terre vne cheuille, à laquelle il attache vne corde. Puis ayant fait
diuers chants, danses & hurlements sur le trou, & sur le malade, qui
n'en est pas loin, tel qu'il y en auroit assez pour estourdir vn homme
bien sain; il prend vn' espee toute nuë, & s'endemene si furieusement
çà & là, qu'il en suë à grosses gouttes par tout le corps, & baue
comm'vn cheual. Sur quoy les spectateurs estant ja intimidés: luy d'vn
effroyable & vrayement energumenique ton, redouble ses denontiations,
& mugissements, qu'on se garde, il est en fougues le Satan, il y a du
grand danger. A ce cry les pauures abusez deuienn[~e]t pasles, [83]
à demy morts comme linge, & tremblent comme la fueille sur l'arbre.
En fin cest affronteur s'escrie d'vn autre accent plus gaillard.
_Il en a le maudit cornu: Ie le vois là tout estendu aux abois, &
pantelant dedans la fosse._ Mais courage; il le faut auoir du tout,
& l'exterminer entierement. Adonc le monde present bien-aise, & tous
les plus robustes de grande ioye se iettent à la corde pour enleuer
Satan, & tirent, tirent. Mais ils n'ont garde de l'auoir: l'Autmoin
ayãt trop bi[~e] fiché la cheuille. Ils tir[~e]t encore vn' autrefois
tant qu'il peuu[~e]t, mais pour neant. Tandis le Pilotoys de temps en
temps va descharger ses blasphemes dessus la fosse, & faisant semblant
de donner à l'ennemy d'enfer de grandes estocades, deschausse peu à
peu la cheuille, laquelle en fin à force de tirer s'arrache, apportant
[84] auec soy quelques badineries, que le charlatant auoit attachée au
bout, comme des ossements pourris de mouluë, de roigneures de peaux
chargées de fiente, &c. Alors ioye par tout; il a esté tué le meschant
Lucifer. _Nepq. Nepq._ Tenez, en voyez-vous les marques? O victoire!
vous guerirez, malade; Ayez bonne esperance, si le mal n'est point plus
fort que vous: ie veux dire, si le Diable ne vous a ja blessé à mort.
The sum and substance of it is that the Juggler hides a stick
in a deep hole in the ground, to which is attached a cord. Then,
after various chants, dances, and howls over the hole, and over the
sick man, who is not far away, of such kind that a well man would
have enough of it to deafen him, he takes a naked sword and slashes
it about so furiously that the sweat comes out in great drops all
over his body and he froths like a horse. Thereupon the spectators,
being already intimidated, he, with a frightful and truly demoniac
voice, redoubles his roars and threats that they must take care,
that Satan is furious and that there is great peril. At this cry
the poor dupes turn pale [83] as death, and tremble like the leaf
upon the tree. At last this impostor cries out in another and
more joyous tone: "_There is the accursed one with the horn: I
see him extended there at bay and panting within the ditch._ But
courage, we must have him all and exterminate him entirely." Now
the audience being relieved, all the strongest with great joy rush
for the cord to raise Satan, and pull and pull. But they are far
from getting him, as the Autmoin has fastened the stick too well.
They pull again as hard as they can, but without success, while the
Pilotoys goes, from time to time, to utter his blasphemies over the
hole; and, making as if to give great thrusts to the diabolical
enemy, little by little uncovers the stick which, at last, by hard
pulling, is torn out, bringing [84] with it some rubbish, which
the charlatan had fastened to the end, such as decayed and mouldy
bones, pieces of skin covered with dung, etc. Then they are all
overjoyed; wicked Lucifer has been killed. _Nepq. Nepq._ Stop, do
you see his tracks? Oh victory! You will get well, sick man; be of
good cheer, if the evil is not stronger than you, I mean, if the
Devil has not already given you your deathblow.
Car icy est la derniere Scene de la farce. L'Autmoin dit, que ja le
Diable estant tué, ou bien blessé, ou du moins dehors, ie ne sçay, ou
bien loin: Il reste à sçauoir s'il aura point laissé le malade blessé
à mort. Pour deuiner cela il faut qu'il songe: aussi a-il bon besoin
d'aller dormir: car il est fort trauaillé: cependant il gaigne temps
pour voir les crises de la maladie. [85] Ayant bien dormy, & songé, il
reuoit son malade, & selon les prognostiques, qu'il recognoit, il le
prononce deuoir, ou viure, ou mourir. Il n'est ja si sot de dire, qu'il
viura, s'il n'en a des prorretiques asseurez: Il dira doncques qu'il
mourra, par exemple dans trois iours. Or oyez maintenant vne belle
façon de verifier ses propheties. Premierement le malade dés qu'il est
ainsi iugé à mort ne mange point, & lon ne luy donne rien plus. Que si
le troisiesme iour venu il ne meurt point encores, ils disent, qu'il y
a ie ne sçay quoy du Diable, qui ne le permet pas expirer à son aise:
par ainsi on s'en court à l'ayde: Où? A l'eau. Quoy faire? En apporter
des pleins chauderons. Pourquoy? Pour la luy verser toute froide dessus
le v[~e]tre, & ainsi luy esteindre toute chaleur vitale si aucune [86]
luy reste. Il faut bien qu'il trespasse le troisiesme iour, puis que
s'il ne veut mourir de soy, on le tuë.
For this is the last Scene of the farce. The Autmoin says, that
the Devil being already killed, or seriously hurt, or at least gone
away, whether very far or not, I do not know, it remains to be
seen if he has given a death wound to the patient. To guess this
he will have to dream; indeed he is in great need of sleep, for he
has worked hard. Meanwhile he gains time to observe the crisis of
the disease. [85] Having slept well and dreamed he looks again at
his patient and, according to the symptoms which he observes, he
declares that he is either to live or to die. He is not so foolish
as to say that he will live, if the symptoms are not encouraging.
He will then say, for instance, that he will die in three days.
Hear now in what a fine fashion he verifies his prophecies. In the
first place the sick man, since he has been thus appointed to die,
does not eat, and they no longer offer him anything. But if he does
not die by the third day, they say that he has something of the
Devil in him, I know not what, which does not permit him to die
easily, so they rush to his aid. Where? To the water. What to do?
To bring kettles full of it. Why? To pour the cold water over his
navel, and thus extinguish all vital heat, if any [86] remain to
him. He is indeed obliged to die the third day, since if he is not
going to do it of himself, they kill him.
Le Pere Enemõd Massé se rencontra vne fois en vn tel badinage, & en
conuainquit manifestement la piperie, & fausseté. Mais on ne sçauroit
dire combien peut la coustume, & l'authorité ja preiugée, encores
mesmes contre les demonstratiõs oculaires. Car toutes vos raisons, &
apportez-en mille si vous voulez, sont biffées, par ce seul traict,
qui leur est en main. _Aoti Chabaya_, c'est (disent-ils) la façon de
faire des Sauuages. Vous vsez de la vostre, nous de la nostre. Chacun
prise ses merceries, mais en despit de ces malencontreuses predictions
Autmoinales nous en auons veu par la grace de Dieu, qui sont eschappez
& reuenus en santé, par le bon soin & [87] cure des François, comme
_Membertou_, que Monsieur de Potrincourt retira d'vne toute telle mort,
& despuis de nostre temps son fils _Actodin_. Ce qui a grandement
decredité ces desastrez Magiciens, & a ouuert les yeux à ceste pauure
Gentilité, à la grande gloire de nostre Sauueur, & consolation de ses
seruiteurs.
Father Enemond Massé once found himself in the midst of this kind
of foolery, and demonstrated to them plainly the trickery and
falsity of it. But it is impossible to tell to how great a degree
custom and influence can prejudice, even in the presence of ocular
proof. For all your arguments, and you can bring on a thousand of
them if you wish, are annihilated by this single shaft which they
always have at hand, _Aoti Chabaya_, (they say) "That is the Savage
way of doing it. You can have your way and we will have ours;
every one values his own wares." But in spite of these lugubrious
Autmoinal predictions, we have seen some who, by the grace of
God, have been saved and have recovered their health, through
the good care and [87] nursing of the French, as for instance
_Membertou_, whom Monsieur de Potrincourt delivered from just such
a death as this; and in our time his son, _Actodin_; which has
greatly discredited these baleful Magicians, and has opened the
eyes of these poor Heathen, to the great glory of our Savior, and
satisfaction of his servants.
Pour la cure des playes, les Autmoins n'y entendent guieres plus:
car ils ne sçauent que succer la blesseure & la charmer, y apposant
quelques simples au rencontre de la bonne auenture. Cependant la cõmune
opinion est, qu'il faut faire plusieurs & bons presents à l'Autmoin,
à celle fin qu'il aye meilleure main: car, disent-ils, cela y fait
beaucoup en toutes sortes de symptomes. Les mesmes Pilotoys ont aussi
ce priuilege, que de receuoir de tous, & de ne [88] dõner à personne;
Ainsi que s'en venta vn faux vieillard, audict P. Enemond Massé. C'est
vne belle exemption de taille, que ceste-là: Ne rien donner, & receuoir
tout.
In regard to the cure of sores, the Autmoins know no more; for all
they can do is to suck the wound and charm it, applying to it some
simple remedies at random. However, the general impression is, that
they must make many and valuable presents to the Autmoin, so that
he may have a more skillful hand: for they say that that counts a
great deal in all kinds of diseases. Likewise the Pilotoys have
also this privilege, that of receiving from all and [88] giving to
none, as a wicked old man boasted to Father Enemond Massé. This is
a fine exemption from taxes, indeed: Give nothing and take all.
CHAPITRE VIII.
DE LEUR TESTAMENT, LEURS OBSEQUES, & ENTERREMENT, & DE LEUR RELIGION.
LE malade ayant esté iugé à mort par l'Autmoin, ainsi que nous auons
dit: Toute la parentée, & les voysins s'assembl[~e]t, & luy, au plus
haut appareil qu'il peut, fait la harangue funebre: recite ses gestes,
donne des enseignements à sa famille, recommande ses amis: en fin, dit
à Dieu. Voyla tout leur testament: Car de dons, ils n'en font point,
ains tout au contraire de nous, les suruiuants [89] en font en mourant,
ainsi qu'ouyrez. Seulement faut excepter la Tabagie, parce qu'elle
est vne rubrique generale qu'il faut obseruer par tout, à fin que les
ceremonies soyent selon le droict.
CHAPTER VIII.
ON THEIR WILLS, FUNERAL RITES, AND BURIALS, AND ON THEIR RELIGION.
THE sick man having been appointed by the Autmoin to die, as we
have said, all the relations and neighbors assemble and, with the
greatest possibles solemnity, he delivers his funeral oration: he
recites his heroic deeds; gives some directions to his family,
recommends his friends: finally, says adieu. This is all there is
of their wills. As to gifts, they make none at all; but, quite
different from us, the survivors [89] give some to the dying man,
as you will hear. But we must except the Tabagie, for it is a
general injunction which must be observed everywhere, so that the
ceremonies may be according to law.
Doncques, si le mourãt a quelques prouisions, il faut qu'il en face
Tabagie à tous ses parents, & amis. Cependant qu'elle cuit, les
assistants luy font reciproquem[~e]t leurs presents en signe d'amitié,
des chiens; des peaux, de flesches, &c. On tue ces chiens pour les luy
enuoyer au deuãt en l'autre monde. Lesdits chiens encores seru[~e]t à
la Tabagie, car ils y trouuent du goust. Ayant banqueté, ils commencent
leurs harengues de commiseratiõ, & leurs Adieus pitoyables, que le
coeur leur pleure, & leur saigne de ce que leur bon amy les quitte,
& s'en va; mais qu'il s'en aille hardim[~e]t puis [90] qu'il laisse
de beaux enfans, qui seront bons chasseurs, & vaillants hommes: &
des bons amis, qui bien vengerõt les torts qu'on luy a faicts, &c.
Ce train dure iusques à ce que le trespassant expire, ce qu'arriuant
ils iett[~e]t des crys horribles, & est chose furieuse, que de
leurs Nænies, lesquelles ne cessent ny iour, ny nuict, quelque fois
dur[~e]t toute vne sepmaine; selon que le defunct est grand, & que les
complorants ont de prouision. Si la prouision defaut entierement, ils
ne font qu'enterrer le mort, & different ces obseques, & ceremonies à
vn autre temps, & lieu, au bon plaisir du ventre.
So if the dying man has some supplies on hand, he must make
Tabagie of them for all his relatives and friends. While it is
being prepared, those who are present exchange gifts with him in
token of friendship; dogs, skins, arrows, etc. They kill these
dogs in order to send them on before him into the other world. The
said dogs are afterwards served at the Tabagie, for they find them
palatable. Having banqueted they begin to express their sympathy
and sorrowful Farewells; their hearts weep and bleed because their
good friend is going to leave them and go away; but he may go
fearlessly, since [90] he leaves behind him beautiful children, who
are good hunters and brave men: and good friends, who will avenge
his wrongs, etc. They go on in this way until the dying man expires
and then they utter horrible cries; and a terrible thing are their
Nænias [funeral dirges] which continue day and night, sometimes
lasting a whole week, according to how great the deceased is, and
to the amount of provisions for the mourners. If there are none at
all, they only bury the dead man, and postpone the obsequies and
ceremonies until another time and place, at the good pleasure of
their stomachs.
Cependant tous les parents & amis se barboüillent la face de noir: &
prou souuent se peignent d'autres couleurs; mais c'est pour se faire
plus beaux & iolis; le noir leur est mar[~q] du dueil & tristesse.
Meanwhile all the relatives and friends daub their faces with
black, and very often paint themselves with other colors; but this
they do to appear more pleasing and beautiful. To them black is a
sign of grief and mourning.
[91] Ils enterrent leurs morts en ceste façon. Premierement ils
emmaillottent le corps, & le garrotent dans des peaux; non de son
long, ains les genoux contre le ventre, & la teste sur les genoux tout
ainsi que nous sommes dans le ventre de nostre mere. Apres, la fosse
estant faicte fort creuse, il l'y logent, non à la renuerse ou couché
comme nous: ains assis. Posture en laquelle ils s'aim[~e]t fort, & qui
entr'eux signifie reuerence. Car les enfans, & ieunes, s'assient ainsi
en presence de leurs peres & des vieux qu'ils respectent. Nous autres
nous en rions, & disons, que c'est s'asseoir en guenon, eux prisent
ceste façon & la trouuent commode. Depuis le corps logé, & n'arriuant
pas à fleur de terre pour la profondeur de la fosse; Ils voutent
laditte fosse auec des bastons, à celle [92] fin que la terre ne
retombe dedans, & ainsi couurent le tombeau au dessus. Si c'est quelqu'
illustre personnage, ils bastissent vne forme de Pyramide, ou monument
à tout des perches liées par ensemble: aussi cupides de gloire en
cela, que nous en nos marbres, & porphyres. Si c'est vn homme, ils y
mettent pour enseignes & marque son arc, ses flesches, & son pauois: Si
vne femme des cueilliers, des _matachias_, ou iouyaux, & parures, &c.
[91] They bury their dead in this manner: First they swathe the
body and tie it up in skins; not lengthwise, but with the knees
against the stomach and the head on the knees, as we are in our
mother's womb. Afterwards they put it in the grave, which has
been made very deep, not upon the back or lying down as we do,
but sitting. A posture which they like very much, and which among
them signifies reverence. For the children and the youths seat
themselves thus in the presence of their fathers, and of the old,
whom they respect. We laugh at them, and tell them that way of
sitting is the fashion with monkeys, but they like it and find it
convenient. When the body is placed, as it does not come up even
with the ground on account of the depth of the grave, they arch the
grave over with sticks, so [92] that the earth will not fall back
into it, and thus they cover up the tomb. If it is some illustrious
personage they build a Pyramid or monument of interlacing poles; as
eager in that for glory as we are in our marble and porphyry. If it
is a man, they place there as a sign and emblem, his bow, arrows,
and shield; if a woman, spoons, _matachias_ or jewels, ornaments,
etc.
I'ay pensé m'oublier du plus beau: c'est qu'ils inhument auec le
defunct tout ce qu'il a, comme son sac, ses fleches, ses peaux, &
toutes ses autres besongnes & bagage, & encores ses chiens, s'ils n'ont
esté mangés. Voire les viuants y adioustent encores plusieurs telles
offrandes pour amitié. Estimés par là, si ces bonnes [93] gens sont
loing de ceste maudite auarice, que nous voyons entre nous; laquelle
pour auoir les richesses des morts, desire & pourchasse la perte, &
trespas des viuants.
I have nearly forgotten the most beautiful part of all; it is that
they bury with the dead man all that he owns, such as his bag, his
arrows, his skins and all his other articles and baggage, even his
dogs if they have not been eaten. Moreover, the survivors add to
these a number of other such offerings, as tokens of friendship.
Judge from this whether these good [93] people are not far removed
from this cursed avarice which we see among us; who, to become
possessed of the riches of the dead, desire and seek eagerly for
the loss and departure of the living.
Ces obseques ainsi faictes, ils s'en fuyent du lieu, & hayssent deslors
toute la memoire du mort. S'il arriue, qu'il en faille parler, c'est
sous vn autre nom nouueau. Comme par exemple le Sagamo Schoudon, estant
mort, il fut appellé le Pere; Membertou nommé le grand Capitaine. Et
ainsi du reste.
These obsequies finished, they flee from the place, and, from that
time on, they hate all memory of the dead. If it happens that they
are obliged to speak of him sometimes, it is under another and a
new name. As for instance, the Sagamore Schoudon[21] being dead,
he was called "the Father" [Père.] Membertou was called "the great
Captain," and so on.
Or toute leur Religion, pour le dire en vn mot, n'est autre qu'és
sorceleries & charmes des Autmoins, tels que nous vous auons recité
cy deuant, parlants de leurs maladies. Ils ont beaucoup d'autres
semblables sacrifices faicts au Diable, pour auoir bonne fortune [94]
à la chasse, pour la victoire, pour le bon vent, &c. Ils croyent
aussi aux songes, à fin que nulle sorte de folie ne leur manque.
Aussi, dit-on, que souuent ces Necromantiens de Pilotoys prouoquent
des spectres, & illusions aux yeux de ceux qui les croyent, faisants
apparoistre des serpents & autres bestes, qui entrent & sortent de leur
bouche tandis qu'ils harenguent: & plusieurs autres semblables traicts
de Magicien. Mais ie ne me suis iamais rencontré en tels spectacles.
On nous donnoit aussi à entendre deuant qu'arriuer là, que le malin
esprit tourm[~e]toit sensiblem[~e]t le corps de ces pauures g[~e]ts
auãt le baptesme, & non apres; ie n'ay rien veu de tout cela, ny ouy
dire estant sur le lieu, quoy que ie m'en sois fort enquesté. Ce que
ie mets icy, à fin de rembarrer les [95] faux tesmoins de Dieu, comme
les appelle S. Paul: c'est à dire, ceux qui racontent des faux miracles
pour honnorer Dieu. Combien que l'escriuain du factum, qui a controuué
tel mensonge, n'auoit pas dessein d'honnorer Dieu, en auançãt ces
miracles: ains de charger les Iesuites cõm[~e]t que ce fust.
Now all their religion, to speak briefly, is nothing else than
the tricks and charms of the Autmoins, as we have related before
in speaking of their illnesses. They have many other similar
sacrifices which they make to the Devil, so they will have good
luck [94] in the chase, victory, favorable winds, etc. They believe
also in dreams, that no kind of nonsense may be wanting to them.
Furthermore, they say that the Magic of the Pilotoys often calls
forth spirits and optical illusions to those who believe them,
showing snakes and other beasts which go in and out of the mouth
while they are talking; and several other Magical deeds of the
same kind. But I never happened to be present at any of these
spectacles. We were given to understand before we went there, that
the evil spirit greatly tormented the bodies of these poor people
before baptism, but not afterwards; I saw nothing of all this,
nor heard of it while I was there, although I inquired into the
matter very carefully. I put this down here in order to confute
the [95] false witnesses of God, as St. Paul calls them; namely,
those who relate false miracles in order to glorify God; to show
that the writer of the memoir,[25] who has forged such a lie, does
not intend to glorify God in advancing these miracles so much as to
charge that they were manufactured by the Jesuits.
Les Sauuages m'ont bien souuent dit, que du temps de leurs Peres, &
auant la venuë des François, le Diable les mastinoit fort, mais qu'il
ne le faict plus maintenant, comm'il appert. Membertou aussi m'a
asseuré qu'estant encores Autmoin (car il l'auoit esté, & fort celebre)
le Diable s'estoit apparu souu[~e]tesfois à luy: mais qu'il l'auoit
quitté, ayant fort bien cogneu qu'il estoit meschant, parce qu'il ne
commandoit iamais que de mal faire. Voila tout ce que i'en ay peu
apprendre.
The Savages indeed have often told me that, in their Fathers' time,
and before the coming of the French, the Devil tormented them a
great deal, but that he does not do it any more, as it appears.
Membertou has assured me that when he was still Autmoin (for he
was one, and very celebrated too), the Devil appeared to him many
times; but that he had avoided him, knowing well that he was
wicked, because he never commanded him to do anything but evil. Now
this is all I have been able to learn on this subject.
[96] Ils croyent vn Dieu, ce disent-ils: mais ils ne sçauent le nommer
que du nom du Soleil _Niscaminou_, Ny ne sçauent aucunes prieres,
ny façon de l'adorer. Vn ieune Autmoin interrogé par moy sur cela,
respondit: Que quand ils estoyent en necessité il prenoit sa robe
sacrée, (car les Autmoins ont vne robe precieuse, exprés pour leurs
Orgies) & se tournant vers l'Orient disoit, _Niscaminou hignemoüy
ninem marcodam_: Nostre Soleil, ou nostre Dieu, donne nous à manger.
Qu'apres cela ils alloy[~e]t à la chasse, & volontiers auec bõheur:
autre chose ne me sceust il dire. Ils tiennent l'immortalité de l'ame,
& la recompense des bons & des mauuais, cõfusément & en general; mais
ils ne passent point plus auant en recherche ny soucy, comment cela
doit estre, occupés tousiours & preoccupés ou [97] des necessitez de la
vie, ou de leurs vs & coustumes. Voila briefuement le plus principal de
ce que i'ay peu apperceuoir de ces nations, & de leur vie.
[96] They believe in a God, so they say; but they cannot call
him by any name except that of the Sun, _Niscaminou_,[22] nor do
they know any prayers or manner of worshipping him. When I asked a
young Autmoin about this, he answered, that when they were in great
need he put on his sacred robe (for the Autmoins have a precious
robe, expressly for their Orgies) and turning toward the East said,
_Niscaminou, hignemoüy ninem marcodam_: "Our Sun, or our God, give
us something to eat;" that after that they went hunting cheerfully
and with good luck; he could not tell me anything more. They have
an incoherent and general idea of the immortality of the soul and
of future reward and punishment: but farther than this they do
not seek nor care for the causes of these things, occupied and
engrossed always either [97] in the material things of life, or in
their own ways and customs. Now these are briefly the principal
features of what I have been able to learn about these nations and
their life.
Mais si ores nous venons à sommer le tout, & apparier leurs bi[~e]s, &
leurs maux auec les nostres, ie ne sçay si en verité ils n'ont point
bonne raison de preferer (comm' ils font) leur felicité à la nostre,
au moins si nous parlons de la felicité temporelle, que les riches &
mondains cherchent en ceste vie. Car si bien ils n'ont pas toutes ces
delices, que les enfans de ce siecle recherchent, ils sont frãcs des
maux qui les suiuent, & ont du contentement, qui ne les accompagne pas.
Il est vray neantmoins, qu'ils sont purement, & absoluement miserables,
tant parce qu'ils n'ont aucune part en la felicité naturelle, qui est
en la contemplation [98] de Dieu, & cognoissance des choses grandes, &
perfectiõ des parties nobles de l'ame, comme principalem[~e]t parce que
ils sont hors la grace de nostre Seigneur IESVS-CHRIST, & le chemin du
salut Eternel.
But now if we come to sum up the whole and compare their good and
ill with ours, I do not know but that they, in truth, have some
reason to prefer (as they do) their own kind of happiness to ours,
at least if we speak of the temporal happiness, which the rich and
worldly seek in this life. For, if indeed they have not all those
pleasures which the children of this age are seeking after, they
are free from the evils which follow them, and have the contentment
which does not accompany them. It is true, nevertheless, that they
are purely and absolutely wretched, as much because they have no
part in the natural happiness which is in the contemplation [98] of
God, and in the knowledge of sublime things and in the perfection
of the nobler parts of the soul, but chiefly because they are
outside the grace of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, and the way of Eternal
salvation.
CHAPITRE IX.
QUEL MOYEN IL Y PEUT AUOIR D'AIDER CES NATIONS À LEUR SALUT ETERNEL.
VOVS auez ouy iusques icy, quel est le naturel des terres de la
nouuelle France, & les façons, arts, & coustumes principales des
habitans. Or maintenant le tout bien consideré, en fin, ie croy, que
le resultat de toutes les opinions, aduis, experiences, raisons, &
coniectures des Sages ne pourroit estre guieres que [99] cestui-cy,
sçauoir est, qu'il n'y a point d'apparence de iamais pouuoir cõuertir,
ny aider solidement à salut ces Natiõs, si lon ny fonde vne peuplade
Chrestienne, & Catholique, ayant suffisance de moyens pour viure, & de
laquelle toutes ces contrées dependent, mesmes quand aux prouisions, &
necessités temporel. Tel est le resultat, & conclusion des aduis.
CHAPTER IX.
ON THE MEANS AVAILABLE TO AID THESE NATIONS TO THEIR ETERNAL
SALVATION.
YOU have heard up to the present about the nature of the lands of
new France, and the more important habits, arts, and customs of the
inhabitants. Now, after considering the whole subject thoroughly,
the result of all these opinions, sentiments, experiments,
arguments, and conjectures of the wise can hardly be otherwise than
[99] this; namely, that there is no probability of ever being able
to convert or really help these Nations to salvation, if there
is not established there a Christian and Catholic colony, having
a sufficiency of means to maintain it, and upon which all the
countries depend, even as to provisions and temporal needs. Such is
the result and conclusion of our investigations.
Or comment est-ce que s'y pourroit dresser, fournir, & entretenir
ceste colonie, & peuplade? Ce n'est point icy le lieu d'en minuter,
& articuler les chefs. Seulement aduertiray-ie, que c'est vne grande
folie à des petits compagnons, que de s'imaginer des Baronnies, & ie
ne sçay quels grands fiefs, & tenements en ces terres, pour trois ou
quatre mille escus, par exemple, qu'ils auront à y foncer. Le pis
seroit, quand [100] ceste folle vanité arriueroit à gens qui fuyent la
ruine de leurs maisons en France: car à tels conuoiteux infailliblement
aduiendroit, non que, borgnes ils regneroient entre les aueugles,
ains qu'aueugles ils s'yroient precipiter en la fosse de misere, &
possible feroi[~e]t-ils au lieu d'vn chasteau Chresti[~e], vne cauerne
de larrons, vn nid de brigands, vn receptacle d'escumeurs, vn refuge
de pendarts, vn attelier de scandale, & toute meschanceté. Qui seroit
lors plus en peine à vostre aduis? ou des gens de bien & craignãts
Dieu, se trouuans enueloppés emmy telle compagnie, ou telle compagnie
se trouuant liée, & contrainte par des gens de bien entremeslez? Il y
auroit des secousses infailliblement des vns contre les autres, & Dieu
sçait, quelle en pourroit estre l'yssuë.
Now how can these colonists and emigrants be sheltered, provided
for, and kept together there? This is not the place to go into
details about it or even to enumerate the chief points. I shall
only suggest that it is great folly for small companies to go
there, who picture to themselves Baronies, and I know not what
great fiefs and demesnes for three or four thousand écus, for
example, which they will have to sink in that country. It would
be still worse if [100] this foolish idea would occur to people
who flee from the ruin of their families in France: for to such
covetous people it invariably happens, not that, being one-eyed,
they would be kings among the blind, but that, blind, they would go
to throw themselves into a wretched pit; and possibly instead of a
Christian stronghold, they would found a den of thieves, a nest of
brigands, a receptacle for parasites, a refuge for rogues, a hotbed
of scandal and all wickedness. Who would then be more afflicted,
do you think; the honest and God-fearing people finding themselves
surrounded by such company, or such company, finding itself hemmed
in and restrained by the presence of honest people? There would
undoubtedly be some friction among them, and God knows what would
be the result thereof.
[101] Aussi de l'autre costé; si ne faut-il point tant exaggerer les
despenses, difficultez, & inconueniens possibles, qu'on en desespere
les moyens, & bon euenement. Car à la verité, pourueu qu'il y eust
du mesnage & bonne conduitte; i'estime qu'il y a plusieurs maisons
particulieres dans Paris, & autre part, qui ont les moyens esgaux à
l'entreprinse, voire & sans grandement incommoder leurs affaires par
deçà; si Dieu leur en donnoit la volonté.
[101] Also, on the other hand, the expenses, difficulties, and
possible inconveniences ought not to be so greatly exaggerated that
the resources and success of the enterprise are despaired of. For
in truth, if it should be managed and conducted well, I believe
that there are several private houses in Paris, and elsewhere which
have the means necessary for such an undertaking, even without
greatly interfering with their affairs over here, if God would but
give them the desire to do it.
CHAPITRE X.
DE LA NECESSITÉ, QU'IL Y A DE BIEN CATECHISER CES PEUPLES AUANT QUE LES
BAPTISER.
C'EST contre nature en quelque espece que vous le [102] voudrez
prendre, que l'enfant aussi tost né, aussi tost se nourrisse, &
soustienne de soy-mesme: car en fin, ce n'est pas en vain que les
mammelles grossissent aux meres pour vn temps. Aussi est-ce contre
raison ce que quelques vns se sont imaginez iusques icy: qu'il n'est
point necessaire de faire autre despense apres ceste peuplade, que
nous establissons en la nouuelle France, sinon pour du commencement
y porter, & loger nos gens: estimans du reste qu'ils y trouueront
assés de quoy s'entretenir, soit par la trocque, soit autrement. Cela
est vouloir faire naistre des enfants auec les dents & la barbe; &
introduire des meres sans mammelles, & sans laict: ce que Dieu ne veut
pas. Il y faudra tousiours despenser les premiéres annees, iusques à ce
que la terre suffisamment cultiuée, [103] les artifices introduicts,
& les mesnages accommodés, le corps de la colonie ait prins vne iuste
accroissance, & fermeté: & à cela faut se resoudre. Or tout de mesme,
faut proceder pour le t[~e]porel; aussi conuient-il le faire, & à
semblable proportion pour le spirituel. Bien catechiser, instruire,
cultiuer, & accoustumer les Sauuages, & auec longue patience, &
n'attendre pas, que d'vn an, ny de deux ils deuiennent Chresti[~e]s,
qui n'ay[~e]t besoin ny de Curé, ny d'Euesque; Dieu n'a point faict
encores de tels Chrestiens, ny n'en fera, comme ie croy. Car nostre vie
spirituelle depend de la Doctrine, & des Sacrements, & par consequent
de ceux qui nous administrent l'vn & l'autre, selon son institution
saincte.
CHAPTER X.
ON THE NECESSITY OF THOROUGHLY CATECHIZING THESE PEOPLE BEFORE
BAPTIZING THEM.
IT is against nature, in whatever aspect you may [102] wish to take
it, that the child, as soon as it is born, is able to nourish and
sustain itself: for it is not in vain that the mother's breasts
become large for a time. So what some have imagined up to the
present is also unreasonable, that no other outlay is necessary
for this colony which we are establishing in new France, except
enough in the beginning to transport and locate our people yonder;
supposing that they will find enough to maintain them there, either
by trading or otherwise. That is like wishing to have children born
with teeth and beards, and introducing mothers without breasts or
milk, which God does not desire. Expenses will always be necessary
there during the first years, until the land is sufficiently
cultivated, [103] trades introduced, households arranged; and
until the main parts of the colony have shown a reasonable and
steady growth: and to that we must make up our minds. So, just as
we must proceed with the temporal, as it is convenient to do, so
in the same proportion with the spiritual; catechize, instruct,
educate, and train the Savages properly and with long patience,
and not expect that in one year, or in two, we can make Christians
of people who have not felt the need of either a Priest or a
Bishop. I am sure that God has never made any such Christians, and
that he never will make them. For our spiritual life depends upon
the Doctrine and the Sacraments, and consequently upon those who
administer them, according to his holy institution.
Mais si par tout il faut diligemment Catechiser les peuples auãt [104]
que les introduire dans l'Eglise; & leur communiquer le Sacrement de
regeneration; c'est en ces lieux, où sur tout il le faut. La raison
est, parce que ces Canadiens sont vagabonds (comme nous auons dit,)
& ayans leur vie çà & là sans arrest; & qui partant ne pourront
assister ordinairement ny à messes, ny à prieres ou offices publics, ny
frequ[~e]ter sermons, ny receuoir les sacrements, ny auoir des Prestres
auec eux: comment est ce donc que vous voulez qu'ils se puissent
entretenir en la foy & grace de Dieu, s'ils ne sõt bien instruits,
& au double des autres? Car nous, qui viuons entre les troupes des
Religieux, & sous la garde de tant de Pasteurs, & en l'affluence de
tant de bons liures, exemples, loix & police, à peine le pouuons
nous, qui sommes vieux, & pour le dire ainsi, [105] naturalisés
Chrestiens, comment le pourront-ils faire tous nouueaux qu'ils sont,
seuls, sans garde, sans lettres, sans institution, sans coustume? Or
de dire que c'est assés d'engendrer, sans penser cõment on donnera
l'entretien, c'est iustement dire, que c'est bien fait de donner vie,
pour l'oster auec cruauté, ce qui n'est pas acte de Pere, ains de pire
que meurtrier. Tout de mesme en est-il en la regeneration spirituelle,
laquelle se faict par le Baptesme. Car la donner, sans pouruoir à la
nourriture du regeneré, c'est faire ce qu'a dit nostre Sauueur; chasser
le Diable d'vne maison, à celle fin qu'icelle estant balliée, & parée,
l'ennemy dechassé y rentre de nouueau, non ja seul, ains accompagné de
sept autres, pires que luy, & par ainsi faire que le miserable regeneré
soit apres son Baptesme [106] en plus piteux estat de beaucoup, qu'il
n'estoit deuant qu'estre baptisé. D'auãtage la practique a des-ja
mõstré ceste necessité de bien catechiser auant le Baptesme en vn
païs où la g[~e]t n'estoit point Sauuage, ains ciuile; non coureuse,
mais arrestee; non abandonnee, ains sur-veillee de Pasteurs, sçauoir
est, au Peru & Mexique. Car au commencem[~e]t on y baptisa fort
facilem[~e]t. Qu'en aduint-il? On se trouua subitem[~e]t sur les bras,
plustost vne Synagogue de Samaritains, qu'vn' Eglise de fidelles. Car
ces tost Baptisez venoyent bien à l'Eglise, mais ils y marmotoyent
leurs anciennes idolatries. Ils chommoyent les festes commandées; mais
en faisant leurs anciens sacrifices, danses, & superstitions, ils
alloyent à la saincte Communion, si l'on vouloit, mais c'estoit sans
sçauoir ny _Credo_, [107] ny _Confiteor_. Et au sortir de là, s'en
alloyent enyurer, & chanter au Diable leurs sorceleries accoustumées.
Quel remede à ces malheurs? Quelle couuerture à ces infamies? O
qu'il a fallu que ceux-là ayent sué, qui sont suruenus depuis: là où
facilement, & en peu de temps cest'yuraye eust peu estre desracinée dés
le commencement, en bien labourãt le chãp auant que l'ensemencer. Ie
veux dire, en gardant l'ancien vsage de l'Eglise de donner le Baptesme
reseruément, ayant premierem[~e]nt des Postulans & Requerans, & puis
des Catechumenes, & à la parfin des Baptisés. Aussi le maistre de toute
Sapience à dit tressagement: _Que la terre fructifie premierement
l'herbe, puis l'espy, & en fin le plein froument en l'espy_. Ioseph
Acosta a tres bien remarqué la faute, que i'ay dite cy deuant, & elle
[108] n'est point excusable apres le iugem[~e]t formel & sentence de
l'Eglise. Voyez le Canon, _Ante baptismum. de consec. distinct._ 4. &
les suiuants.
But if it is necessary throughout the world to diligently
Catechize the people before [104] introducing them into the Church,
and to communicate to them the Sacrament of regeneration, it is
necessary above all to do it in these places; the reason being
that the Canadians are a wandering people (as we have said) and
pass their lives here and there without permanent settlements;
therefore they cannot ordinarily attend mass nor prayers nor public
services, nor hear sermons, nor receive the sacraments nor have
Priests with them. How then do you think that they can maintain
themselves in the faith and grace of God, if they do not receive
instruction, and twice as much of it as the others? For we who are
surrounded by the Religious, and are under the care of so many
Pastors, and have such an abundance of good books, examples, laws
and polity, can scarcely do it ourselves, who are old and, so to
speak, [105] naturalized Christians; then how can they do it, all
crude as they are, alone, without care, without letters, without
precepts, without practice? Now to say that it is enough to beget,
without thinking of how to maintain, is really saying that it
is good to give life in order to take it away cruelly, which is
not the act of a Father, but is worse than that of a murderer.
Nevertheless this is done in the spiritual regeneration which is
accomplished through Baptism. For to give it without providing for
the nourishment of the regenerated, is doing what our Savior has
said; driving the Devil out from a house so that when it is swept
and garnished the vanquished enemy may reenter, not alone but
accompanied by seven others, more wicked than himself; and thus
bring it about that the unhappy regenerated is after Baptism [106]
in a much more pitiable state than he was before being baptized.
Furthermore, experience has already shown this need of properly
catechizing before Baptizing, in a country where the people are not
Savage but civilized: not wandering, but stationary; not abandoned,
but under the watchful care of Pastors, namely in Peru and Mexico.
For at first they baptized them very readily. What happened then?
They unexpectedly found on their hands a Synagogue of Samaritans
rather than a Church of the faithful. For these who were too soon
Baptized willingly came to Church but it was to mutter there their
ancient idolatries. They observed the appointed saints' days, but
it was while carrying on their ancient sacrifices, dances, and
superstitions; they went to holy Communion, if it was desired,
but without knowing either the _Creed_ [107] or _Confession_,
and emerging from there, they went off to get drunk and to sing
to the Devil their usual sorceries. What remedy for these evils?
What cloak for these infamies? O how those who have come since,
have been obliged to toil there where these tares might quickly
and easily have been eradicated at first, if the field had been
well ploughed before sowing it. I mean by observing the ancient
practice of the Church in giving Baptism cautiously, first having
Postulants and Seekers, then Catechumens, and at last Baptism. For
the master of all Wisdom has said very wisely: _That the earth
first bringeth forth the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in
the ear_. Joseph Acosta[23] has very properly observed this fault,
which I have mentioned above, and it [108] is not excusable, after
the formal judgment and decree of the Church. See the Canon, _Ante
baptismum. de consec. distinct._ 4. and what follows.
Certes ie suis marry de le dire, & m'en tairois fort volontiers,
n'estoit la necessité, qui me contraint, à cause que, ou par malice,
ou bien par ignorance lourde, on accuse les Iesuites en chose, où
toutesfois ils ont paru estre vrayement sinceres, & cõstants seruiteurs
de Dieu. Car il est vray qu'iceux arriués en la nouuelle France, ils
trouuer[~e]t qu'on y auoit ja baptisé (à ce qu'on disoit) enuiron
quatre vingts personnes, mais ils n'[~e] peurent auoir la liste,
quoy qu'ils missent peine de la recouurer. Or r[~e]contrans aucuns
de ces nouueaux baptisez, ils tascherent à recognoistre leur portée,
& recogneurent pour tout, qu'ils ne sçauoyent [109] pas mesme faire
le signe de la Croix; aucuns ignoroyent leur nom de Baptesme, &
interrogés s'ils estoyent Chrestiens, ils faisoyent signe de n'auoir
iamais ouy ce mot. Ils ne sçauoyent point de prieres, ny de creance,
& ne monstroyent aucun changement du passé, retenoyent tousiours les
mesmes sorceleries anciennes, ne venãs encores à l'Eglise [~q] comme
les non baptisés, c'est à dire aucunefois, par cõpagnie, ou curiosité,
& assez indeuotem[~e]t. Voire quelques François nous rapportoyent, que
quand ils estoyent à part ils se mocquoy[~e]t insol[~e]ment de nos
ceremonies, & qu'au fonds, & à les bien sonder, ils n'auoyent prins
le Baptesme, que pour vne marque d'estre amis des Normans, car ainsi
nous appellent-ils. On exceptoit de ce nombre, le grand Membertou,
car de vray cestuy-là [110] estoit Chrestien de coeur, & ne desiroit
rien tant que de pouuoir estre bien instruict, pour instruire les
autres. Les Iesuites dõc apperceuants tout cecy, se resolurent de ne
point baptiser aucun adulte, sinõ apres que selon les Saincts Canons,
il auroit esté bien initié, & catechisé. Car le faire autrem[~e]t
ils recognoissoy[~e]t fort bien estre non seulement vne prophanation
du Christianisme, ains aussi vn'iniustice enuers les Sauuages. Car
puis que c'est iniustice d'induire quelqu'vn à signer vne promesse,
ou serment obligatoire sans luy donner à entendre les conditions
ausquelles il s'astraint: combien plus le sera-il de pousser vn hõme
de sens, & d'aage competent à faire profession solemnelle de la loy
de Dieu, (ce qui se faict par le Baptesme,) sans qu'il ait esté
iamais au parauãt nouice, ny qu'on [111] luy ait donné à entendre
les regles & deuoirs de saditte profession? Les Sauuages n'ont point
esté si hebetés, qu'ils n'ayent fort bien sceu nous reprocher cest'
iniustice, d'autant qu'apres ces baptesmes, que nous auons dit, comme
les Iesuites requeroyent, qu'ils quittassent la Polygamie, & vescussent
Chrestiennement, puis qu'ils s'y estoyent obligés; ils leur dirent,
que nous estions de meschantes gents, qui leur voulions faire accroire
qu'ils eussent cõtracté à des conditions, lesquelles ils n'auoyent
iamais entendu, ny peu entendre. A ces causes dõc les Iesuites
dilayants le Baptesme de ceux, qui le desiroyent, se mirent auec toute
dilig[~e]ce possible à traduire en Canadois l'oraison Dominicale, & la
salutation de l'Ange, le Symbole, & les Commandements de Dieu, & de
l'Eglise [112] auec vne petite explication des Sacremens, & quelques
oraisons, car c'estoit toute la Theologie, de laquelle ils auoyent
besoin. Si n'y eust-il moyen d'en venir à bout; nõ pas d'vn tiers, ou
quart de tout cela, ainsi que nous monstrerons tantost.
I am truly grieved to say it, and would willingly be silent
were it not necessity which constrains me, because, either through
malice or very gross ignorance, they accuse the Jesuits of things
in which nevertheless they have seemed truly sincere and faithful
servants of God. But it is true that when they arrived in new
France, they found that about eighty persons had already been
baptized there (as they said); but they could not get the list of
names, although they put themselves to some trouble to do so. Now,
encountering some of these new converts, they tried to find out the
extent of their knowledge, and for all found out that they did not
know [109] even how to make the sign of the Cross; some did not
know their Baptismal names, and when asked if they were Christians,
they made signs to show that they had never heard the word. They
did not know any prayers, nor articles of faith, and gave no
evidence of any change from the past, always retaining the same
old sorceries, coming to Church moreover, only as the unbaptized,
that is, occasionally, for company's sake, or through curiosity,
and not in a devotional spirit. Indeed some of our countrymen tell
us, that when they were by themselves, they insolently made sport
of our ceremonies, and that really, when they were well sounded,
it was learned that they had accepted Baptism solely as a sign of
friendship with the Normans, for thus they call us. An exception
to this number was the great Membertou, for truly he [110] was a
Christian at heart, and desired nothing better than to be able to
receive thorough instruction so he could teach the others. Now the
Jesuits, perceiving all these things, resolved not to baptize a
single adult, unless he had, according to the Holy Canons, been
well initiated and catechized. For they well understood that to
do otherwise would not only be a profanation of Christianity, but
also an injustice towards the Savages. For, inasmuch as it is
an injustice to induce any one to sign a promise, or compulsory
oath, without giving him to understand the conditions to which
he binds himself: how much worse is it to force a rational being
of competent age to make a solemn profession of the law of God
(which is done through Baptism), when he has never before been a
novice, nor [111] been made to understand the rules and duties of
this profession? The Savages were not so stupid but that they knew
enough to reproach us for this injustice, inasmuch as, after these
baptisms of which we have spoken, when the Jesuits requested that
they should give up Polygamy, and should live like Christians,
since they were in duty bound to do so; they told them that we were
wicked people, that we had tried to make them believe that they
should agree to conditions that they had never understood, nor been
able to understand. Now for these reasons the Jesuits, delaying
the Baptism of those who desired it, put themselves to work with
all possible diligence to translate into Canadian the Lord's
prayer, the Angelic salutation,[24] the Creed, and the Commandments
of God and of the Church, [112] with a brief explanation of the
Sacraments, and some prayers, for this was all the Theology they
needed. However, there was no way of accomplishing either a third
or fourth of all this, as we shall show by and by.
Cependant voicy vn grãd murmure, qui s'esleue entre nos François, de
ce qu'on ne baptisoit point. Car nous sommes en vn siecle, auquel, qui
sçait lire, est à son opinion, grand Theologien: & qui a le moindre
soin de son ame, est à son aduis le plus apte pour regir l'Eglise
de Dieu, & pour entreprendre sur les oingts du Sauueur. Cecy n'est
point tolerable (disoient-ils, ainsi que le _Factum_ le professe) ces
gens cy sont inutiles: Il en faut escrire en Frãce: & autres menaces,
lesquelles ils vindrent faire au P. Biard, [113] lequel tascha de les
appaiser, & entre autres choses leur dit: Mes amys, si les Iesuites
eussent esté conuoyteux de vaine gloire, vous leur monstrez la route,
qu'ils deuoyent tenir; de tost baptiser le plus de gens, qu'ils eussent
peu; parce qu'il y a bien à presumer, que ces conuersions estans sceües
en France, les Imprimeurs de Paris n'eussent pas esté plus negligents,
ny les Colporteurs plus enroüez à crier telles nouuelles par les rues
de la ville en leur recommandation. Mais à Dieu ne plaise, (disoit-il)
que nous voulions sembler Apostres, n'estans que miserables pecheurs;
ny que nous voulions acquerir le bruict de bons mesnagers, & diligens
seruiteurs, en dissipant l'heritage de nostre Maistre. On mesdira de
nous, nous le sentons prou; ne croyez pas que nous soyons si stupides.
[114] Mais il ne faut non plus laisser le bien pour l'infamie, que
l'entreprendre pour les loüanges. C'est à Dieu à qui nous seruons,
& à la maison de qui si nous deuons apporter aucun fruict, c'est en
patience, car ainsi l'a-il dit, _Il apportera fruict en patience_. Nous
baptisons les petits enfans, comme vous voyez de la volonté de leurs
parens, & soubs l'esperãce, que nous aurons moyen de les instruire,
quand ils viendront à l'vsage de raison. Les aagez, qui meurent, nous
les baptisõs aussi, les catechisants du mieux que nous pouuõs, & que
le temps le permet; Quant aux autres, qui sont hors le peril de mort,
nous les baptiserons aussi, quand par vostre ayde nous les pourrons
instruire en leur langage, & qu'eux nous sçaurõt respondre. Car il
faut que le baptisé adulte responde luy-mesme, & [115] non le parrain
pour luy. Aydez-nous, & priez pour cela selon vostre grand zele, &
ne vous tourmentez, pensants qu'ils periront, s'ils n'ont receu le
Baptesme: car aussi bien periront-ils, & pirem[~e]t, s'ils l'auoyent
receu sans bonne disposition: comme si apres le Baptesme, ils meurent
en peché mortel, ils perissent. Que si vous repliquez, qu'apres le
Baptesme leurs pechez leur seront pardonnez par la seule contrition,
en cas qu'ils n'ayent point de Prophetes pour se confesser; Aussi vous
dy-ie, que par la mesme detestation de leurs pechez, auec la volonté de
receuoir le Baptesme, ils seront sauuez, en cas qu'ils ne rencontr[~e]t
auc[~u] qui puisse le leur appliquer. Partant vouz voyez, que la
premiere chose, que nous taschons de leur apprendre, c'est la maniere
de se conuertir à Dieu de tout leur [116] coeur par vraye contrition,
& desir, de s'vnir, & incorporer auec nostre Sauueur IESVS-CHRIST.
Car c'est vne disposition pour receuoir le Baptesme mesme: Et elle
est telle, qu'elle suffit à salut, quand on ne peut receuoir le
Sacrement par effect. Il est vray, nous auons la jambe fort pesante
pour monter mesme ce premier degré; mais courage par vos prieres, Dieu
nous renforcera de son S. Esprit. Telles & autres semblables raisons
furent pour lors deduictes par ledit P. Biard, & ont esté souuent
repetées despuis, sans que iamais on s'en soit voulu contenter; marque
infaillible, que lon cherchoit quelque autre chose, que raison.
Meanwhile, many complaints arose among our French people
because no one was being baptized. For we live in an age in which
any one who knows how to read is, in his own opinion, a great
Theologian; and whoever has the least care for his own soul,
believes himself to be the most proper person to rule the Church
of God, and to infringe upon the duties of the Lord's anointed.
"This is not to be tolerated" (they were saying, according to the
_Factum_[25]); "these people are useless here; we must write to
France about them;" and other threats, which were made to Father
Biard, [113] who tried to pacify them, and among other things said:
"My friends, if the Jesuits were ambitious for mere glory, you
would show them the right way to attain it; i.e., to baptize, as
soon as possible, as many people as they can; for it is certainly
to be supposed that, these conversions being known in France,
the Printers of Paris would not have delayed to make the Hawkers
hoarse, crying and commending such news through the streets of the
city. But God forbid" (said he) "that we should wish to assume
the role of Apostles, being only miserable sinners; or that we
should try to acquire the reputation of good managers, and diligent
servants, while squandering our Master's inheritance. We shall be
slandered, we are well aware of it; do not believe that we are so
stupid. [114] But just as little must you desist from doing good
for fear of calumny as you must undertake it for love of praise.
It is God whom we serve, and if we are to bring any fruit to his
house it must be in patience, for thus he has said it, _He bringeth
forth fruit with patience_. We baptize the little children, as you
see, in accordance with their parents' wishes, and with the hope
that we shall have means of instructing them, when they come to a
reasonable age. The aged, who die, we also baptize, catechizing
them as well as we can, and as time permits. As to the others, who
are not in immediate danger of death, we shall baptize them also
when, with your help, we shall be able to instruct them in their
own language, and when they will know how to answer us. For the
adult who is baptized, must answer for himself, and [115] not the
godfather for him. Help us, and pray for this in proportion to
your own great zeal, and do not worry, thinking they will perish
if they have not received Baptism; for surely they will perish,
and in a worse manner, if they have received it in a bad spirit:
just as, after Baptism, if they die in mortal sin, they perish.
But if you reply that after Baptism their sins will be pardoned
through repentance alone, if they have no Prophets to receive their
confession; I say to you also that through the same detestation of
sin, with the wish to receive Baptism, they will be saved if they
do not find any one who will administer it to them. Therefore you
see that the first thing we try to teach them is, how to bring
themselves to God with their whole [116] hearts through true
repentance, and the desire to unite and incorporate themselves
with our Savior, JESUS CHRIST. For this is the proper spirit in
which to receive Baptism itself; and it is such, that it suffices
for salvation, when the Sacrament cannot actually be received. It
is true our legs drag in reaching this first step; but courage!
through your prayers, God will strengthen us by his Holy Spirit."
These, and other similar reasons, were at that time deduced by the
said Father Biard, and have often been repeated since, but they
have never carried conviction: an infallible sign, that something
else besides reason was sought for.
Or à l'occasion des Colonies, & de leur bon establissem[~e]t, duquel
nous parlions; nous sommes deualez sur le propos du Catechisme, [117]
& sur la defense des Iesuites: non sans necessité à mon aduis, ny sans
profit bien grand. Ores, puis que nous auons fait mention du _Factum_,
escrit contre lesdits Iesuites, & qu'il nous faudra d'ores-en-auant
coup sur coup, en conuaincre les mensonges: c'est icy à nous d'exposer,
quel est ce _Factum_, qui son Escriuain, & quelles causes il se dit
auoir eu de sortir au monde.
Now as to the Colonies, and their proper establishment, of which
we were speaking; we have stepped down from them to the subject of
the Catechism [117] and to the defense of the Jesuits, not without
necessity in my opinion, nor without great profit. For since we
have mentioned the _Factum_ written against the said Jesuits,
and as we must from now on expose, one by one, the lies therein
contained, it is for us here to explain what that _Factum_ is, who
was its Author, and what are said to have been the causes for its
being issued to the world.
CHAPITRE XII. [i.e., xi.]
A QUELLE OCCASION LES IESUITES ALLERENT EN LA NOUUELLE FRANCE, L'AN
1611. & CE QUE LES FRANÇOIS Y FIRENT DÉS L'AN 1608. IUSQUES À LEUR
VENUË.
NOVS auons cy-deuant discouru des terres, & peuples de la Nouuelle
France, & parlãts [118] du moyen de pouuoir ayder ces Nations: à
ceste occasion nous sommes tombez sur le _Factum_ escrit, & publié
contre les Iesuites. Or d'autant, que ce difamateur, & factieux
(ainsi le nommeray-ie d'ores-en-auant,) commençant dés l'embarquement
des Iesuites, les poursuit, comme à la trace en Canada par boys, &
riuieres, mer, & terres, de iour & de nuict, en tous leurs voyages &
demeures, espiant par tout de tirer sur eux à couuert & proditoirement
quelques impostures, & calomnies. A ceste cause il nous faut de
necessité reprendre mesmes erres pour defendre l'innocence, & rapporter
au vray ce qui est de leurs actions, & deportements: ainsi que i'ay
promis de faire en l'Auant-propos. Et jaçoit qu'à cest'occasion nous
serons contraincts souuent de particulariser plusieurs [119] petits
affaires, non guiere bien conuenables à la grauité d'vn' histoire, ny
à la dignité d'vn Lecteur honnorable; toutesfois i'estime que de ceste
mienne dilig[~e]ce on pourra tirer trois grands fruicts, outre la
recognoissance de la verité d'auec les fraudes, & bourdes, qui de soy
mesme seroit fort profitable.
CHAPTER XII. [i.e., xi.]
ON THE CAUSES WHICH LED THE JESUITS TO GO TO NEW FRANCE IN 1611,
AND WHAT HAD BEEN ACCOMPLISHED THERE BY THE FRENCH FROM THE YEAR
1608 UP TO THE TIME OF THEIR ARRIVAL.
WE have discoursed above upon the countries and people of New
France, and in speaking [118] of the means of aiding these Nations,
we stumbled upon the _Factum_, written and published against the
Jesuits. Now inasmuch as this slanderer and factionist (which I
shall call him hereafter), beginning with the embarkation of the
Jesuits, pursues them, dogging their footsteps in Canada through
woods and rivers, upon sea and land, day and night, in all their
travels and dwelling places,--everywhere spying them out, to
draw down upon them, covertly and treacherously, his impostures
and calumnies; for this reason we must of necessity go back upon
our route, to defend the innocent and to give a true account of
their actions and conduct, as I promised to do in the Preface.
And although on this account we shall often be obliged to go
into details about many [119] little things which are scarcely
in harmony with the gravity of a history or the dignity of an
honorable Reader; nevertheless I believe that if I give heed to
these things three great results will be derived therefrom, besides
the discrimination of truth from falsehood and imposition, which in
itself would be very profitable.
Le premier emolument, que le sage Lecteur en tirera est, que de la
practique, actions, voyages, & accidents, que nous luy specifierons
l'vn apres l'autre, il recognoistra beaucoup mieux, ce qui est de ces
terres, de leur naturel, du moy[~e] de les aider, & les accid[~e]s de
telles expeditions & entreprinses.
The first advantage that the wise Reader will derive from this, is
that from the experiences, actions, journeys, and accidents which
we shall relate to him, one after the other, he will understand
much better what these countries are, their nature, the means
of helping them, and the vicissitudes of such expeditions and
enterprises.
Le second qu'il rencontrera tãt d'euenements, & si diuers, tant de
fortunes, & incidents auec leurs moments & articles, que sa prud[~e]ce
pourra beaucoup s'y former. [120] Car en verité, c'est tout autre chose
de philosopher en these, & de practiquer en hypothese: de mouler ses
idees en chambre, & d'esclorre ses actions entre les hõmes: de faire
son compte sur la liberté du genre, & se trouuer puis apres asseruy au
lieu, temps, personnes, & mille petits incidents, mais qui estreignent
bien fort; de nul prix, mais qui souuent neantmoins font changer de
resolutiõ, & de fortune. Or c'est en l'exercice de ces particulieres
circõstãces, & practique, qu'on acquiert la prudence; non en vne veuë,
& recognoissance sommaire, & vniuerselle.
The second is that he will encounter so many and so different
events, so many fortunes and incidents with their opportunities and
details, that his discretion will be thus greatly strengthened.
[120] For in truth, it is a very different thing for a man to
philosophize in thesis, and to practice by hypothesis: to mould
his ideas in his chamber, and to give form to his deeds among men:
to count upon the liberty of the race, and then to find himself
enslaved by place, time, people, and a thousand incidents which are
trifling, but which very effectually bind him; of no value, yet
they often change his purpose and his destiny. Now it is through
experience with these particular circumstances and practices, that
prudence is acquired; not in a comprehensive and general survey and
examination.
Le tiers fruict sera de recognoistre vne vrayement paternelle, douce
& admirable prouidence de Dieu sur ceux, qui l'inuoquent, & se fient
en luy parmy les hazards, & varietés de ceste [121] vie, tels qu'on
en verra icy beaucoup. Ces trois profits, à mon aduis, pourront bien
contre-balancer la lõgueur du temps, qui s'employera en ceste lecture.
The third fruit will be in the recognition of a truly paternal,
gentle, and admirable providence of God over those who invoke it,
and trust themselves to him among the dangers and changes of this
[121] life, such as will be often seen here. These three benefits,
it seems to me, will certainly offset the tediousness of the time
which will be employed in this reading.
Mais à celle fin, que le tout s'entende mieux, il nous conuient
retourner à ceux, qu'auons ja dés si long temps laissés: sçauoir est,
aux François, qui retournerent de Canada en leur pays, l'an 1607.
But to the end that all may be better understood, it is well for us
to return to those whom we have left for so long a time, namely, to
the French, who returned to their own country from Canada, in 1607.
Il vous a esté raconté, comme sur la fin de ladicte année 1607. tout
le train du sieur de Monts s'en reuint en France, & fut lors ceste
nouuelle France entierem[~e]t abandonnée des François. Neantmoins
l'an suiuant 1608. le sieur de Monts constitua son Lieutenãt le sieur
Champlain, & le manda descouurir au long de la grande riuiere S.
Laurens; Champlain y fit vaillamment, & fonda l'habitation de Kebec.
Mais quant aux [122] faicts, voyages, & descouuertures dudit Champlain,
il n'est ja besoin, que ie les vous crayonne, puis que luy mesme les a
si bien, & si au long depeint en ses liures.
You have been told how, towards the end of the year 1607, sieur
de Monts's entire company returned to France, and this new France
was then entirely deserted by our countrymen. However, in the
following year, 1608, sieur de Monts chose as his Lieutenant sieur
de Champlain, and sent him on a tour of discovery along the great
St. Lawrence river; Champlain did admirably there, establishing the
settlement of Kebec.[26] But as to the [122] deeds, journeys, and
discoveries of the said Champlain, there is no need of my outlining
them to you, as he himself has given such long and excellent
descriptions of them in his books.
Or le sieur Iean de Biencourt, appellé de Potrincourt auant que le
sieur de Monts partist de la nouuelle France, luy demanda en don Port
Royal. Le sieur de Monts le luy accorda, moyennant, que dans les deux
ans prochains ledit de Potrincourt s'y transportast auec plusieurs
autres familles pour le cultiuer, & habiter ainsi qu'il promettoit de
faire. Doncques l'an 1607. tous les François estants reuenus (ainsi
qu'a esté dict,) le sieur de Potrincourt presenta à feu d'immortelle
memoire Henry le Grand la donnation à luy faicte par le sieur de Monts,
requerant humblem[~e]t sa Majesté de la ratifier. Le Roy [123] eust
pour agreable ladicte Requeste, & proiettant en soy de puissamment
remettre sus ceste Françoise peuplade, dit au P. Coton, qu'il vouloit
se seruir de leur Compagnie en la conuersion des Sauuages. Qu'il en
escriuit au P. General: & qu'on designast aucuns, qui se disposassent
à ces voyages. Qu'il les appelleroit au premier temps; promettant dés
lors deux mille liures pour leur entretien.
Now sieur Jean de Biencourt, called de Potrincourt, before sieur
de Monts left new France, asked from him the gift of Port Royal.
Sieur de Monts granted it to him, stipulating that within the two
succeeding years sieur de Potrincourt should go there with several
other families to cultivate and inhabit it, which he promised to
do. Now in 1607, all the French having returned (as has been said),
sieur de Potrincourt presented to the late Henry the Great, of
immortal memory, the deed of gift made to him by sieur de Monts,
humbly requesting his Majesty to ratify it.[27] The King [123]
favored the Request, and, contriving some way by which he could
give effective aid to this French colony, told Father Coton that
he would like to make use of his Society for the conversion of
the Savages; that he should write to the Father-General about it;
and that they should designate some persons who should prepare to
undertake these voyages; that he would summon them at the first
opportunity; promising henceforward two thousand livres for their
support.
Le Pere Coton obeït à sa Majesté, & bien tost par tous les Colleges
de la France fut entendu, qu'on en deuoit choisir quelques vns pour
ceste mission. Plusieurs se presenterent pour estre de la partie,
comme est la coustume en telles expeditions beaucoup penibles, & peu
honorables; & entre autres se presenta le P. Pierre Biard, enseignant
[124] pour lors la Theologie à Lyon, Dieu voulust que ledit Pere fut
choisi, & enuoyé à Bourdeaux sur la fin de l'an 1608. Parce qu'on
pensoit à Lyon, que le project d'vn Prince tant efficace, ayant esté
signifié dés tant de mois, l'execution n'en pouuoit estre que bien
proche. Mais le P. Biard fut autant deceu du lieu, que du temps. Car à
Bourdeaux on fut estonné, quand on ouyt ce pourquoy il y venoit. Nulle
nouuelle d'embarquement pour Canada, ouy bien du debris, & desroute
passée, de laquelle chacun philosophoit à sa façon. Nul apprest, nul
bruit ou nouuelle.
Father Coton obeyed his Majesty, and soon through all the colleges
of France it was understood that persons were to be chosen for this
mission. Many offered themselves to take part in the work, as is
usual in such expeditions, in which there is a great deal of work
and very little honor; and among others who presented themselves
was Father Pierre Biard, then teaching [124] Theology at Lyons; God
willed that the said Father should be chosen and sent to Bourdeaux
towards the end of the year 1608. For they thought at Lyons that
the project of so powerful a Prince, having been known so many
months before, could not be otherwise than speedily executed. But
Father Biard was as much deceived in regard to the place, as the
time. For at Bourdeaux they were very much surprised when they
heard why he had come there. There was no news of any embarkation
for Canada, but there was of the former wreck and ruin, upon which
each one philosophized in his own fashion. No preparation, no
reports or tidings.
Sur la fin de l'an suiuant 1609. Le sieur de Potrincourt vint à Paris,
où sa Majesté ayant sceu, que contre son opinion ledit sieur n'auoit
bougé de France (car le Roy le croyoit auoir passé la mer aussi [125]
tost apres auoir obtenu la confirmation de Port Royal.) Il se fascha
cõtre luy. Dequoy ledit sieur fort touché, respondit, que puis que
sa Majesté auoit cest affaire tant à coeur deslors il prenoit congé
d'elle, & que de ce pas il s'en alloit mettre ordre à s'equipper pour
son voyage. Or le P. Coton, qui estoit en peine pour le Pere Biard, &
pour la grande semonce, qu'il auoit faict au nom du Roy, ayant sceu
le congé prins du sieur de Potrincourt, l'alla trouuer, & luy offrit
compagnie d'aucuns de son Ordre. Il receut response que mieux seroit
d'attendre l'an suiuant; qu'aussi tost estãt arriué à Port Royal
il renuoyeroit son fils en France; & qu'auec iceluy toutes choses
estant mieux disposées, ceux-là viendroy[~e]t, qu'il plairoit au Roy
d'enuoyer. Sur ce il partit de Paris, & consuma tout [126] l'Hyuer à se
preparer.
Towards the end of the year 1609, sieur de Potrincourt came to
Paris, where his Majesty, having learned that, contrary to his
belief, the said sieur had not stirred from France, (for the King
supposed that he had crossed the sea immediately [125] after having
obtained confirmation of the Port Royal grant), was angry with him.
Whereupon the said sieur, very much aggrieved, answered that, since
his Majesty had this affair so much at heart, he would take leave
of him at once, to go directly and look after the equipment for his
voyage. Now Father Coton, who was troubled about Father Biard, and
about the great invitation he had given him in the King's name,
having heard of the farewell of sieur de Potrincourt, went to see
him and offered him the company of some of his Order. He received
the answer that it would be better to wait until the following
year; that as soon as he arrived at Port Royal he would send his
son back to France, and that with him, all things being better
arranged, such persons should come as it might please the King to
send. Thereupon he left Paris, and consumed the entire [126] Winter
in making preparations.
L'an suiuant 1610. il s'embarqua sur la fin de Feurier, & n'arriua
que bien tard à Port Royal, sçauoir est sur le commencement de Iuin,
où ayant assemblé le plus de Sauuages qu'il peut, il en fit baptiser
enuiron 24. ou 25. le iour de la sainct Iean, par vn Prestre appellé
Messire Iossé Flesche, surnommé le Patriarche. Peu apres, il renuoya
en France le sieur de Biencourt son fils, aagé d'enuiron 19. ans, pour
apporter ces nouuelles du baptesme des Sauuages; & rapporter bien tost
secours: car on estoit assez mal pourueu, pour passer l'Hyuer contre la
faim.
The following year, 1610, he embarked towards the end of February,
but arrived very late at Port Royal, to wit, about the beginning of
June: here, having assembled as many Savages as he could, he had
about 24 or 25 of them baptized on saint John's day, by a Priest
named Messire Jossé Flesche,[28] surnamed "the Patriarch." A little
while afterwards, he sent back to France sieur de Biencourt, his
son, about nineteen years old, to take this news of the baptism of
the Savages, and to speedily bring back relief: for they were very
poorly provided against hunger for the coming Winter.
Le moyen de pouuoir trouuer secours estoit vne association, qu'il auoit
contractée auec le S^{r}. Thomas Robin, dit de Coloignes, fils de
famille, & en puissance de pere; par laquelle association il conuenoit
[127] entre eux, que ledict de Coloignes fourniroit l'habitation de
Port Royal durant cinq ans, de toutes choses necessaires, & sonseroit
abondamment pour pouuoir trocquer auec les Sauuages; & que moyennant
ce, il auroit les emoluments, qu'il seroit icy trop ennuyeux de
raconter.
He was able to find assistance through an association which he had
formed with S^{r}. Thomas Robin, called de Coloignes,[29] belonging
to a good family, and under the authority of his father; through
this association it was [127] agreed that the said de Coloignes
should provide the settlement of Port Royal for five years, with
all necessary things, and that he should furnish abundant means
for traffic with the Savages; and in return for this he would have
emoluments which it would be too tedious here to enumerate.
Lesdicts de Coloignes, & Biencourt arriuerent à Paris le moys d'Aoust
suiuãt, & par eux on sceut en Court ces Baptesmes, & nouuelles
conuersiõs que nous auons dit. Tous en furent bien-aises; mais le mal
fut, que ceste feste ne se trouua pas estre celle des estreines.
De Coloignes and Biencourt arrived at Paris the following August,
and through them the Court learned of these Baptisms, and new
conversions which we have mentioned. All were very much pleased
about it, but unfortunately this holiday was not the one of gifts.
Or Madame la Marquise de Guercheuille, comme entre ses autres rares &
singulieres vertus, elle est ardamment zelée à la gloire de Dieu, &
conuersion des ames: voyant vne si belle occasion, [128] demanda au
Pere Coton si à celle foys aucuns de leur compagnie ne s'en iroyent
point à la nouuelle France. Le Pere Coton respondit, qu'il s'estonnoit
fort du sieur de Potrincourt, qui luy auoit promis, que renuoyant
son fils il appelleroit ceux de son ordre, qui auoyent esté destinés
par le Roy; & ce nonobstant il ne faisoit aucune mention d'eux, ny
par ses lettres, ny par ses commissions. Madame la Marquise voulut
sçauoir comm'alloit tout cet affaire, & s'en enquit du sieur Robin:
qui respondit, que toute la charge de l'embarquement luy auoit esté
baillée, mais qu'il n'auoit point de commission particuliere pour les
Iesuites; neantmoins qu'il sçauoit assez, que le sieur de Potrincourt
se sentiroit fort honoré de les auoir aupres de soy, que pour leur
entretenement luy [129] mesme s'en chargeroit, comme il faisoit aussi
du reste de toute la despense: vous n'en serés point chargé respõdit
madame la Marquise, parce que le Roy les defraye. Et auec tel propos
enuoya ledit de Coloignes au P. Christofle Baltasar Prouincial.
Lequel sur ces promesses manda au P. Pierre Biard, (qui lors estoit
à Poictiers,) de venir à Paris, & luy fut donné pour compagnon le P.
Enemond Massé, Lyonnois. Eux deux ainsi destinés à ce voyage de Canada,
s'abboucher[~e]t auec les sieurs Robin & Biencourt, & partie faicte le
rendez-vous fut assigné à Dieppe au 24. d'Octobre de la mesme année
1610. Car en ce temps là disoyent-ils, tout sera prest, si le vent, &
la marée le sont.
Now Madame la Marquise de Guercheville, among her other rare and
extraordinary virtues, is ardently zealous for the glory of God
and the conversion of souls: seeing such an excellent opportunity,
[128] she asked Father Coton if some of his order were not going
to new France this time. Father Coton replied that he was very
much surprised at sieur de Potrincourt, who had promised him that,
when his son returned, he would summon those of his order who had
been chosen by the King; but, in spite of this, he made no mention
of them either in his letters, or in his commissions. Madame la
Marquise, wishing to know all about the matter, made inquiries of
sieur Robin: he answered that all the responsibility of embarkation
had been delegated to him, but he had no especial commission for
the Jesuits; that nevertheless he knew very well that sieur de
Potrincourt would feel very highly honored to have them with him;
and, as to their maintenance, he [129] himself would take charge of
that, as he was doing in regard to all the rest of the expenses.
"You will not be burdened with them," answered madame la Marquise,
"because the King defrays their expenses." And with these words
she sent de Coloignes to Father Christofle Baltasar, Provincial.
He, upon hearing these promises, summoned Father Pierre Biard (who
was then at Poictiers) to come to Paris, and to him was given,
as a companion, Father Enemond Massé, of Lyons. These two, thus
destined for the voyage to Canada, conferred with sieurs Robin and
Biencourt, and having perfected arrangements, the meeting-place was
appointed at Dieppe on the 24th of October of the same year, 1610.
"For by that time," they said, "everything will be ready, if the
wind and the tide are favorable."
Ainsi les Iesuites furent bientost en conche. Car la Royne leur fit
deliurer cinq cents escus promis [130] par le feu Roy, & adiousta
vne fort honnorable recommandatiõ de bouche. Madame la Marquise de
Vernueil les meubla richem[~e]t d'vtensiles & habits sacrés pour dire
Messe; Madame de Sourdis les fournit liberalement de linge, & Madame de
Guercheuille leur aumosna vn bien honneste viatique. Ainsi garnis ils
se rendirent à Dieppe au temps assigné.
So the Jesuits were soon in a state of preparation. For the
Queen had sent to them the five hundred écus promised [130] by
the late King, and had added a very favorable recommendation by
word of mouth. Madame la Marquise de Vernueil furnished them amply
with sacred vessels and robes for saying Mass; Madame de Sourdis
furnished them liberally with linen, and Madame de Guercheville
granted them a very fair viaticum.[30] Thus provided for, they
reached Dieppe at the time appointed.
CHAPITRE XIII. [i.e., xii.]
LES CONTRADICTIONS, & DIFFICULTÉS, QUI S'ESLEUERENT À DIEPPE: ET
COMMENT ELLES FURENT ROMPUËS.
LA persecutée, & triomphãte Dame, que S. Iean vit en son Apocalypse,
sçauoir est, l'Eglise de Dieu, ou encores mystiquement toute ame
esleuë, _Cruciatur_ [131] _vt pariat_; endure beaucoup de conuulsions,
& tranchées, à pouuoir enfanter. Aussi la conception, & le proiect de
toute bonne oeuure a besoin de grace. Car en fin sans ceste semence,
& germe celeste nos coeurs ne peuuent rien concepuoir, ny former
d'organique, fecond & viuant. Mais quand ce vient à esclorre le bon
oeuure, ie veux dire quand le terme de ce pieux enfantement de vertu
approche, lors il semble que tout conspire à la suffocation de ceste
diuine creature, lors faut-il sentir des douleurs, & trãses, que Satan
suscite, & craindre plustost d'vn auortem[~e]t infructueux, qu'auoir
esperance d'vn heureux accouchement. Les Iesuites ont experimenté
cecy par tout, & nommém[~e]t aux effets salutaires, qu'ils ont desiré
produire à la conuersion de la nouuelle France. Nous [132] auons dit
cy deuant, que l'assignatiõ leur auoit esté baillée à Dieppe au 24.
d'Octobre, qu'en ce temps-là le nauire deuoit estre cõme l'oiseau sur
la branche n'attendant rien plus, que de voler. Mais bien loin de
conte: Ils trouuerent à Dieppe, que le nauire n'estoit pas seulement
radoubé. De plus, à leur arriuee grãd bruit parmy la Reforme. Car le
sieur Robin, qui (comme nous auons dit) soustenoit, toute la charge de
l'embarquement, auoit donné cõmission à deux marchands de la Pretenduë,
appellés du Chesne, & du Iardin, de vacquer au radoub & cargaison du
nauire soubs promesse de satis-faire à leurs vacations, & parties, &
ensemble de les associer à quelque part du profit, qui reuiendroit de
la traicte de pelleterie, & de la pesche des molues. Or les Marchands
n'auoyent [133] guieres auancé de la besongne iusques à lors, ie ne
sçay pourquoy: & dés lors mesme ils commencerent encores à reculer.
Car ils s'opiniastrerent, iurants par leur plus haut iuron, que si
les Iesuites deuoyent entrer dans ce nauire, ils n'auoyent que faire
d'y rien mettre. Qu'ils ne refusoyent point tous autres Prestres, ou
Ecclesiastiques, voire qu'ils s'offroi[~e]t à les nourrir; mais que
pour des Iesuites: insociable antipathie.
CHAPTER XIII. [i.e., xii.]
THE OPPOSITIONS, AND DIFFICULTIES, WHICH AROSE AT DIEPPE: AND HOW
THEY WERE OVERCOME.
THE persecuted and triumphant Woman, whom St. John saw in his
Revelation, namely, the Church of God, or more mystically,
any heroic soul, _Cruciatur_ [131] _ut pariat_; endures many
convulsions and pains, in order that it may bear fruit. So the
conception and development of every good work requires grace. For,
in fine, without this celestial seed and germ, our hearts could
not conceive nor fashion a living and fruitful organism. But when
it comes time for the good work to ripen, I mean when the time
of this pious birth of virtue approaches, then it seems that all
conspire for the suffocation of this divine creature, then it seems
necessary to experience the pains and torments which Satan arouses,
and to fear a fruitless abortion, rather than to hope for a happy
deliverance. The Jesuits have experienced this everywhere, and
especially in regard to the beneficial results which they wished
to obtain by the conversion of new France. We [132] have said
before that the rendezvous had been appointed for them at Dieppe
the 24th of October, for at that time the ship would be like the
bird upon the branch, only waiting to fly. But very far from this;
they found at Dieppe that the ship had not even been repaired.
Furthermore, at their arrival there was great excitement among
those of the Reformed Religion. For sieur Robin, who (as we have
said) took entire charge of the shipping, had given a commission
to two merchants of the Pretended[31] Faith, called du Chesne and
du Jardin, to attend to the repairing and loading of the ship,
under promise to remunerate them for their time and expense, and
to form a partnership with them to divide the profits which would
be derived from the trade in skins, and from the cod fisheries.
Now the Merchants had, [133] up to that time, advanced but little
in the work, I know not why: and from then on they began to delay
more than ever. For they were very obstinate, swearing with their
loudest oaths, that, if the Jesuits had to enter the ship, they
would simply put nothing in it; that they would not refuse all
other Priests or Ecclesiastics, and would even support them, but as
to the Jesuits, they would not abide them.
On escriuit de cecy en Cour: & la Royne mãda au sieur de Cigoigne,
Gouuerneur de Dieppe, qu'il fit sçauoir aux surintendans Consistoriaux
estre de sa volonté, ce que son feu Seigneur, & mary auoit projetté de
son viuant, sçauoir est, que les Iesuites allass[~e]t en ses terres
de la nouuelle France, & partant, que s'ils s'opposoyent à ce voyage,
ils se bandoyent contre [134] son intention, & bon plaisir. Mais
pauure esperon. Nos Marchands n'en auãcerent point d'vn pas, & à faute
d'argent les sieurs Biencourt, & Robin estoyent cõtraincts de passer
sous leur barre: qui à ceste cause leur promirent, & iurerent, que
iamais les Iesuites n'entreroyent dans leur nauire. Sous ceste promesse
les Marchãds se mirent à equipper, veu mesmement, que les Iesuites
n'estoyent plus deuant leurs yeux, car ils s'estoyent retirez à leur
College d'Eu.
The Court was informed of this, and the Queen ordered sieur de
Cigoigne, Governor of Dieppe, to signify to the superintendents
of the Consistory,[32] that she desired what her deceased Lord
and husband had planned in his lifetime, namely, that the Jesuits
should go to the countries of new France; and therefore, if they
opposed this voyage, they were opposing [134] her purpose and good
pleasure. But this was a poor spur to action. Our Merchants would
not advance one step, and for lack of money sieurs Biencourt and
Robin were obliged to pass under their rod; and for this reason
they promised and swore to them, that the Jesuits should never
enter their ship. Under this promise, the Merchants set to work
to equip it, especially as the Jesuits were no longer under their
eyes, having retired to their College at Eu.
Or madame la Marquise de Guercheuille ayant ouy ce mespris formel des
volontés de la Royne, comme ell'est d'vn coeur genereux, s'indigna que
des petits mercadants fussent esté si outrecuidés; & partant estima
qu'il les falloit punir iustement en ce qu'ils ont de plus sensible,
c'est [135] qu'on se passast d'eux. Ayant dõscques sceu, que tout ce
que lesdits Marchands pourroy[~e]t auoir fourni n'eust sceu monter plus
haut de quatre mille liures, elle ne se desdaigna point (à fin que
plusieurs eussent part à la bonne oeuure) de faire vne queste par tous
les plus grands Princes, & Seigneurs de la Cour; moyennant laquelle
ceste dicte somme de quatre mille liures fut bien-tost cueillie.
Now madame la Marquise de Guercheville, having heard about
this open contempt for the wishes of the Queen, as she is a
generous-hearted woman, was indignant at seeing some insignificant
peddlers so overbearing: and so she decided justly that they ought
to be punished in a way that would hurt them most; namely, [135]
that they should be set aside. Now having learned that all the
Merchants could have furnished, would not amount to more than four
thousand livres, she did not disdain (to the end that many might
participate in the good work) to ask a contribution from all the
greatest Princes and Grandees of the Court; in this way, the sum of
four thousand livres was soon collected.
Or ladicte Dame s'auisa, comm'ell'est fort prudente, que ceste-dicte
somme en payant les Marchands, qui auoyent faict la carguaison, & les
deboutant de toute association, pourroit encores faire deux grands
biens pour la nouuelle France. Le premier que ce seroit vn bon fonds
pour y perpetuellem[~e]t entretenir les Iesuites, sans qu'ils fussent
à charge au sieur de Potrincourt, ou autre [136] quelconque, où qu'il
fallust tous les ans retourner pour eux à la queste. Le second que par
ainsi le profit des pelleteries, & pesche, que ce nauire rapporteroit,
ne reuiendroit point en France pour se perdre entre les mains des
Marchands, ains redonderoit sur Canada, & là veu qu'il demeuroit en la
possessiõ, & puissance des sieurs Robin, & Potrincourt, & s'employeroit
à l'entretien de Port Royal, & des François y residants. A ceste cause
fut conclud, que cest argent ayant esté mis, & employé au profit de
Canada, les Iesuites auroyent part, & associatiõ auec les sieurs
Robin, & Bi[~e]court, & partageroyent auec eux les emolum[~e]ts, qui
en prouiendroy[~e]t; le gouuernement & debite desdictes marchandises
demeurant riere lesdits Robin, & Biencourt, ou leurs Agents. Voila
le contract [137] d'associatiõ, duquel l'on a tãt crié iusques à
l'enrouëment, si auec cause, on le peut voir. Dieu face, qu'on ne crie
iamais contre nous auec plus de raison.
Now this Lady, being very discreet, considered that this sum, in
paying the Merchants who had furnished the cargo, and in dismissing
them from all association, would also accomplish two great benefits
for new France. The first was, that this would always be a good
fund with which to maintain the Jesuits there, so that they would
not be a burden to sieur de Potrincourt, or any [136] one else,
nor would it be necessary to repeat every year the taking up of
collections for them. The second was, that by this arrangement
the profit from peltries and fish, which this ship would bring
back, would not return to France to be lost in the hands of the
Merchants, but would redound to the interests of Canada, and there
would remain in the possession and power of sieurs Robin and
Potrincourt, and would be used for the maintenance of Port Royal
and the French residing there. For this reason, it was concluded
that this money, having been applied and used for the benefit of
Canada, the Jesuits should participate in the business with sieurs
Robin, and Biencourt, and should share with them the profits
which would be derived therefrom; the management and sales of
said merchandise to remain with said Robin and Biencourt or their
Agents. This was the contract [137] of partnership,[33] over which
they have cried until they are hoarse, whether or not with reason,
may be seen. God grant, that they never have greater cause to rail
at us.
CHAPITRE XIV. [i.e., xiii.]
LE VOYAGE, & L'ARRIUÉE À PORT ROYAL.
IAMAIS forte marée n'arriua plus à propos à nauire assablé pour le
degager des basses eaux, & le remettre en haute mer pour gaigner païs,
que l'associatiõ des Iesuites se rencontra propice au sieur Robin, pour
auoir cõmodité de fournir sõ vaisseau de Canada, & le deliurer des
barres, entre lesquelles il se trouuoit arresté. Car il estoit fils de
famille, & partant vous pouuez estimer qu'il n'auoit pas les millions
à commãdement; [138] son pere aussi n'auoit que faire d'entendre aux
nauigations d'outre-mer, ayãt tout fraischement entrepris le grand
party du sel, qui requiert vn fonds, & vne occupatiõ si grande, que
chacun sçait. Ie dis cecy, parce que le factieux escriuain, iugeãt mal
des benefices de Dieu, impute aux Iesuites, que le sieur de Bi[~e]court
ne partit plustost de Dieppe pour la nouuelle France, estãt neatmoins
le contraire: car à leur occasion lon trouua de l'arg[~e]t pour mettre
viste la voile au vent: ce qu'on ne pouuoit faire sans cela. On desmare
donques le vingt sixieme de Ianuier l'an 1611, auec d'autãt plus de
reiouissance, que les disputes & l'attente auoyent causé d'ennuy.
Encores partit-on trop tost, pour arriuer si tard: car on cõsuma quatre
moys en la nauigation; & alla on surgir premierement [139] à Campseau,
à cause de quoy on fut contraint puis apres de costoyer la terre auec
surseance en plusieurs endroits. Ceste coste iusques à Port Royal est
d'enuiron six vingts lieües.
CHAPTER XIV. [i.e., xiii.]
THE VOYAGE, AND ARRIVAL AT PORT ROYAL.
NEVER was the coming of the high tide more opportune to a stranded
ship to free it from the shallow waters, and place it again upon
the high sea with its prow turned toward home, than was the meeting
of the Jesuit partners with sieur Robin, to arrange for the
equipment of his vessel for Canada, and to deliver it from the bars
among which it was entangled. For he was the son of a gentleman and
you may judge that he did not have millions at command; [138] his
father also did not want to hear about the voyages beyond the sea,
having quite recently undertaken the great salt enterprise, which
required so great a capital and investment, as every one knows. I
say this because the factionist writer, misjudging the blessings
of God, lays it at the door of the Jesuits that sieur de Biencourt
did not depart sooner from Dieppe to new France; it was, however,
just the contrary, since it was for their sake that money was
found to unfurl the sails to the wind, which could not have been
done without it. So they left their moorings the twenty-sixth of
January, 1611, with all the more joy since the disputes and delays
had caused so much vexation. Yet they departed too soon for such
a late arrival, for four months were consumed in the voyage; and
first they went to land [139] at Campseau, on account of which
they were compelled thereafter to keep near the shore, with stops
at several places. Along this coast to Port Royal, it is about one
hundred and twenty leagues.
En nostre route nous eusmes le rencontre du sieur Champlain, qui
tiroit à Kebec parmy les glaces sur la fin du moys d'Auril. Ces
glaces estoyent monstrueuses, car en aucuns endroits la mer en estoit
toute couuerte, autant qu'on pouuoit estendre la veuë. Et pour passer
à trauers, falloit les rompre auec barres & leuiers apposez aux
escobilles, ou bec du nauire; elles estoyent d'eau douce & auoyent
esté charriées plus de cent lieuës auant en haute, & pleine mer par la
grande riuiere S. Laurens. En aucuns endroits apparoissoyent des hauts,
& prodigieux glaçons nageants, & flottans, esleuez de [140] trente
& quarante brasses, gros, & larges cõme si vous ioigniez plusiears
chasteaux ensemble, & comme vous diriés, si l'Eglise nostre Dame de
Paris auec vne partie de son Isle, maisons, & palais alloit flottant
dessus l'eau. Les Holãdois en ont bien veu de plus enormes & prodigieux
à Spitbergen, & au destroit de Vbaïgats, si ce qu'ils en ont publié
est veritable. Nous arriuasmes à port Royal le 22. de Iuin de la mesme
annee 1611. le S. iour de la Pentecoste.
On our way, towards the last of April, we had seen sieur Champlain,
who was making his way through the icebergs to Kebec. These masses
of ice were enormous, for the sea was in some places covered with
them as far as the eye could reach. And, to cross them, they had to
be broken with bars and pointed irons inserted in the escobilles or
beak of the ship; it was fresh-water ice, and had drifted down more
than a hundred leagues to the deep and open sea through the great
St. Lawrence river. In some places there appeared vast and lofty
pieces of floating and wavering ice, [140] thirty and forty fathoms
out of the water, as big and broad as if several castles were
joined together, or, as you might say, as if the Church of notre
Dame de Paris, with part of its Island, houses, and palaces should
go floating out upon the water. The Hollanders have seen still more
enormous and wonderful ones at Spit[z]bergen, and in the strait of
Ubaïgats,[34] if what they have published about them is true. We
arrived at port Royal the 22nd of June of the same year, 1611, the
Holy day of Pentecost.[35]
Mais auant que mettre pied à terre disons vn mot touchant l'estat
auquel les Iesuites ont vescu pendant le voyage. Car quoy que ce soyent
choses de peu de consequence elles sont toutesfois necessaires pour
fermer la bouche au mensonge. La verité doncques est, Premierement,
qu'il n'eurent aucun seruiteur en tout ce voyage, [141] sinõ leur
propres pieds, & bras: s'il falloit lauer leur linge, si nettoyer
leur habits, si les rapiecer, si pouruoir à aultres necessités ils
auoyent priuilege de le faire eux mesmes aussi bi[~e] que le moindre.
Secondement ils ne se mesloyent d'aucun gouuernement, ny ne faisoyent
aucun semblant d'auoir point de droict ou puissance dans le nauire;
le sieur de Biencourt faisoit tout, seul maistre, & absolu: laquelle
forme d'humilité ils ont tousiours cõtinuée despuis à port Royal.
Leurs ordinaires exercices estoyent de chanter le seruice diuin les
Dimanches, & festes, auec vne petite exhortation ou sermõ: tous
les iours le matin, & soir ils assembloy[~e]t toute la troupe pour
la priere, & le Caresme par l'hexhortation, trois fois seulem[~e]t
la semaine. Leur conuersation estoit telle, que le capitaine Iean
d'Aune [142] & le pilote Dauid de Bruges, tous deux de la Pretenduë
en r[~e]dirent tesmoignage auec grande approbation au sieur de
Potrincourt, & ont deposé souuent depuis dans Dieppe, & autre part,
qu'ils auoyent cogneu lors les Iesuites pour tout autres, qu'on ne
les leur auoit figuré auparauant, sçauoir est pour gens honnestes,
courtois, & de bonne conuention & conscience.
But before going ashore, let us say a word about the way in
which the Jesuits lived during the voyage. For although these are
things of little consequence, they are, nevertheless, necessary to
close the mouth of falsehood. The truth then is this: First, that
they had no servant during the entire voyage, [141] except their
own hands and feet: if their linen was to be washed, their clothes
cleaned and patched, if other needs had to be provided for, they
had the privilege of doing it themselves, as well as the least.
Secondly, they did not meddle with any one's authority, or make
any pretense of having control or rights over the ship: sieur de
Biencourt was in everything, sole and absolute master: and this
kind of submissiveness they always continued afterward at port
Royal. Their usual exercises were singing divine service Sundays
and holidays, with a little exhortation or sermon: every morning
and evening, they assembled the whole crew for prayer, and during
Lent for exhortation, only three times a week. Their conversation
was such, that captain Jean d'Aune [142] and the pilot, David de
Bruges, both of the Pretended Religion,[31] have often expressed
their approval of it to sieur de Potrincourt; and frequently since
then, in Dieppe and other places, have affirmed that they then
found the Jesuits quite different from what they had previously
been pictured to them, namely, honest and courteous men, of good
conduct and pure consciences.
CHAPITRE XV. [i.e., xiv.]
L'ESTAT, AUQUEL ESTOIT LE SIEUR DE POTRINCOURT LORS DE CEST'ARRIUÉE, &
SON VOYAGE AUX ETECHEMINS.
LA ioye de l'arriuée fut grãde d'vn costé, & d'autre. Grande aux
arriuants à cause de leur desir, & de l'ennuy supporté en vne si longue
nauigation: [143] mais bien plus redoublée au sieur de Potrincourt,
qui auoit esté en de grandes peines, & apprehensions durant tout
l'Hyuer. Car ayant eu auec soy vingt & trois personnes, sans prouisions
suffisantes pour les nourrir, il auoit esté contrainct d'en cõgedier
aucuns pour s'en aller auec les Sauuages, viure auec eux: aux autres le
pain auoit manqué six, ou sept sepmaines durant, & sans l'assistance
des mesmes Sauuages, ie ne sçay si tout ne leur eust miserablement
failly. Or le secours, que nous leur apportions n'estoit quasi que,
comme l'on dit, vn verre d'eau à vn bien alteré. Premierement parce
que nous estions trente-six, en nostre equipage, lesquels adioustez à
23. hõmes, qu'il y auoit, cinquãte neuf bouches se retrouuoyent tous
les iours à sa table. Et Membertou le Sauuage [144] par dessus, auec
sa fille, & sa sequelle. En apres nous auions demeuré quatre mois sur
mer: & par ainsi nos prouisions estoyent fort diminuées, veu mesmement,
que nostre vaisseau estoit fort petit, sçauoir est de cinquante, ou
soixante tonneaux, & plus prouisionné pour la pesche, que pour autre
chose. A cest'occasion donc ce fut à Monsieur de Potrincourt de penser
plustost comm'il renuoyeroit promptement ceste si grande famille, de
peur qu'elle ne consumast tout, que non pas de procurer la trocque, &
la pesche, esquelles neantmoins gisoit tout l'espoir de ressource pour
vn secõd voyage. Si ne pouuoit-il s'empescher totalement de trocquer;
car il falloit faire de l'argent, & pour payer les gages de ses
seruiteurs, & pour estant en France, aller, & venir.
CHAPTER XV. [i.e., xiv.]
SIEUR DE POTRINCOURT'S CONDITION AT THE TIME OF THEIR ARRIVAL, AND
HIS JOURNEY TO THE ETECHEMINS.
OUR arrival caused great joy on both sides--great on the part of
those arriving, because of their longings, and the tediousness of
so long a voyage; [143] but more than double was that of sieur de
Potrincourt, who had been in great distress and apprehension during
the entire Winter. For having had with him twenty-three people,
without sufficient food to nourish them, he had been obliged to
send some off among the Savages, to live with them: the others had
had no bread for six or seven weeks, and without the assistance
of these same Savages, I do not know but that they would all have
perished miserably. Now the succor that we brought them, was little
else, as the saying is, than a glass of water to a very thirsty
man. First, because there were thirty-six of us in our company,
and these, added to the 23 men that he had, made fifty-nine mouths
every day at his table; and Membertou the Savage [144] beside, with
his daughter and crew. After living four months upon the sea, our
provisions were very much diminished, especially as our vessel was
quite small, being only fifty or sixty tons burden, and provisioned
more for fishing than anything else. For this reason, then, it was
left to Monsieur de Potrincourt to think how he could promptly
send back such a large family, lest everything should be consumed,
rather than to secure traffic and fish, in which, however, lay all
hope of resources for a second voyage. But he could not entirely
refrain from doing some trading; for he had to make money, both to
pay the wages of his servants, and for journeys here and there when
in France.
[145] A ces fins doncques il partit dans ce sien nauire, quelque iours
apres auec quasi toutes ses gens, pour aller en vn port des Etechemins,
appellé la Pierre Blanche, à 22. lieuës de Port Royal droict à
l'Oüest. Il esperoit de trouuer là quelque secours de viures au moyen
des nauires François qu'il sçauoit y trafiquer. Le P. Biard l'y
voulut accompagner, à fin de recognoistre le pays, & disposition des
Nationaires, ce qui luy fut accordé. Ils y trouuerent quatre vaisseaux
François, vn appartenãt au sieur de Monts, vn Rochelois, vn Maloüin,
ou de S. Malo, de du Pont Graué, auquel commandoit vn sien parent
appellé Capitaine la Salle, duquel nous parlerons tãtost; & vne barque
aussi Maloüine, il se faut souuenir de ces quatre vaisseaux pour bien
entendre ce qui suit.
[145] For these purposes then, he departed some days afterward in
his ship, with nearly all his crew, to go to one of the Etechemins'
ports, called Pierre Blanche, 22 leagues from Port Royal, directly
to the West. He hoped to find there some help in food supplies from
the French ships which he knew were in the habit of trading in that
place. Father Biard wished to accompany him, to study the country
and character of the Natives, and his wish was granted. They found
there four French ships, one belonging to sieur de Monts, one
from La Rochelle, one Maloüin or St. Malo ship, belonging to Pont
Gravé, commanded by a relation of his named Captain la Salle, of
whom we shall speak by and by, and also a Maloüine barque; these
four vessels must be well remembered, in order to understand what
follows.
[146] Le sieur de Potrincourt appellant vn chacun de ces quatre l'vn
apres l'autre leur fit recognoistre son fils pour vice-Admiral: puis
leur demanda aide, remonstrant les necessités, ausquelles il auoit esté
reduit l'Hyuer passé, promettant de les rembourser en France, chacun
contribua. Mais Dieu pardoint aux Rochelois, car ils tromperent la
Gabelle, donnant des barils de pain gasté pour du bon.
[146] Sieur de Potrincourt, calling up each one of these four
vessels in succession, made them recognize his son as vice-Admiral:
then he asked them for help, dwelling upon the dire necessity to
which he had been reduced during the past Winter, and promising to
reimburse them in France. Each one contributed. But God pardon the
Rochelois, for they defrauded the Excise, giving spoiled bread for
good.
Cependant que tout cecy se traffiquoit, le P. Biard ouyt, que le ieune
du Pont estoit à terre auec les Sauuages, que l'année prochainement
passée il auoit esté faict prisonnier par le sieur de Potrincourt,
d'où s'estant euadé subtilement, il auoit esté contrainct courir les
bois en grande misere, & lors mesme il n'osoit aller à son nauire,
de peur qu'il n'y fust saisi. Le P. Biard ouyant tous ces accidents,
[147] supplia le sieur de Potrincourt d'auoir esgard aux grands merites
du sieur du Pont le pere, & aux belles esperances qu'il y auoit du
fils; adioustant que vrayement c'estoit bien estre malheureux, si
les François courants au bout du monde pour conuertir les Sauuages,
y venoyent perdre leurs propres concitoyens. Le sieur de Potrincourt
se flechist à ces remonstrances, & permit audit P. Biard d'aller
chercher le ieune homme auec promesse, que s'il pouuoit l'induire à
venir librement, pour faire la reuerence audit sieur de Potrincourt,
aucun mal ne luy seroit faict, & tout le passé seroit mis sous les
pieds, & enseuely. Le Pere y alla, & fut heureux en sõ effort, car il
amena ledit du Pont au sieur de Potrincourt, & paix, & reconciliation
faicte, on tira le canon. Du Pont [148] en action de graces, & pour
l'edification des François, & des Sauuages voulut se confesser le iour
suiuant, & faire ses Pasques, car il ne les auoit point faictes de
cest'année là. Aussi les fit-il auec fort bon exemple de tous, au bord
de la mer, où se chantoit le seruice. Ses deuotions acheuées il supplia
le sieur de Potrincourt de permettre que le P. Biard vinst disner à
son nauire, ce qui luy fut accordé. Mais le pauure inuitãt ne sçauoit
pas quelle desserte l'att[~e]doit. Car ie ne sçay cõment son nauire
luy fut saisi, & emmené. Lequel pour le faire court, luy fut rendu à
la sollicitation instante dudit P. Biard, qui en auoit le coeur tout
transi. En quoy le sieur de Potrincourt se mõstra fort equitable. Et
voulut obliger ledit Père, qui luy en sçaura gré à iamais.
While this business was going on, Father Biard learned that
young du Pont was on shore, among the Savages; that the year before
he had been made a prisoner by sieur de Potrincourt, and, having
made his escape from him, he had been forced to roam the woods in
great distress, and even then did not dare go to his ship, lest he
should be caught. Father Biard, hearing all these things, [147]
begged sieur de Potrincourt to have some consideration for the
great merits of sieur du Pont, the father, and to think of the high
hopes he had entertained for his son: adding that it would indeed
be a great misfortune, if the French, in running to the ends of
the earth to convert the Savages, should happen to lose their own
citizens there. Sieur de Potrincourt yielded to his remonstrances,
and permitted Father Biard to go in search of this young man,
with the promise that, if he could induce him to come freely and
acknowledge the authority of the said sieur de Potrincourt, no harm
would be done to him, and all the past would be put under foot and
buried. The Father departed, and was successful in his efforts, for
he brought du Pont to sieur de Potrincourt, and after peace and
reconciliation were effected, they fired off the cannon. Du Pont,
[148] as an act of thanksgiving, and for the edification of the
French and Savages, wished to confess on the following day, and to
receive his Easter Sacrament, for he had not done so that year.
Accordingly, he performed these duties, to the great edification
of all, on the shore of the sea, where the service was sung. His
devotions finished, he begged sieur de Potrincourt to allow Father
Biard to come and dine with him upon his ship, and his request was
granted. But the poor host did not know what dessert was awaiting
him, for somehow his ship had been seized and taken away; and,
to make the story short, it was given back to him at the earnest
solicitation of Father Biard, whose heart was very heavy over this
mishap. At this time sieur de Potrincourt showed how very just
he was, by trying to oblige the said Father, who will always be
grateful to him for it.
[149] CHAPITRE XVI. [i.e., xv.]
LE RETOUR DU SIEUR DE POTRINCOURT EN FRANCE, & LA DIFFICULTÉ
D'APPRENDRE LA LANGUE DES SAUUAGES.
NOVS auons expliqué cy deuant la necessité, laquelle pressoit le sieur
de Potrincourt de renuoyer tost ses g[~e]s en Frãce. Or ie voulut les
reconduire luy mesme en personne, à fin de plus efficacement donner
ordre à toutes choses, & principalement à vn prochain rauitaillement:
car sans iceluy ceux, qu'il delaissoit à Port Royal, estoyent sans
moyen de passer l'Hyuer, en manifeste danger d'estre troussés par
la famine. Pour ceste cause donc il partit enuiron la my-Iuillet de
la mesme annee 1611. & arriua en France sur la fin du mois d'Auost
prochain [150] suiuãt: il laissa son fils en sa place, le sieur de
Biencourt auec vingt & deux personnes, en contant les deux Iesuites,
lesquels voyants que pour la conuersion de Payens la langue du païs
leur estoit totalement necessaire, se resolurent d'y vaquer en toute
diligence. Mais on ne sçauroit croire les grandes difficulés, qu'ils
y rencontrerent: parce principalement, qu'ils n'auoyent aucuns
interpretes, ni maistres. Le sieur de Bi[~e]court, & quelques autres
y sçauoy[~e]t bien quelque peu, & assez pour la trocque, & affaires
communes; mais quand il estoit questiõ de parler de Dieu, & des
affaires de religion; là estoit le saut, là le cap-nõ. Partant ils
estoyent contraints d'apprendre le lãgage d'eux mesmes, s'enquestãts
des sauuages comme il appelloy[~e]t chasque chose. Et la besongne
n'[~e] estoit point fort penible, tandis [151] que ce qu'on demandoit
se pouuoit toucher ou monstrer à l'oeil; vne pierre, vne riuiere, vne
maison; frapper, sauter, rire, s'asseoir. Mais aux actions interieures,
& spirituelles, qui ne peuuent se demonstrer aux sens, & aux mots,
qu'on appelle abstracts, & vniuersels; comme croire, douter, esperer,
discourir, apprehender, vn animal, vn corps, vne substance, vn
esprit, vertu, vice, peché, raison, iustice, &c. En cela il falloit
ahanner, & suer, là estoyent les tranchées de leur enfantem[~e]t. Ils
ne sçauoyent par quel endroit le prendre, & si en tentoyent plus de
cent; il n'y auoit geste, qui exprimast suffisamment leur conception,
& si ils en employoyent dix mille. Cependant nos messers de Sauuages
à fin de se donner du passetemps, se mocquoyent liberalement d'eux;
tousiours quelque [152] sornette. Et à fin que la mocquerie fust
encores profitable, si vous auiés vostre papier, & plume pour escrire,
il falloit qu'ils eussent deuant eux le plat remply, & la seruiette
dessous. Car a tel trepier se rendent les bons oracles: hors de là, &
Apollon & Mercure leur defaillent: encores se faschoyent-ils, & s'en
alloyent quãd on les vouloit retenir vn peu long temps. Qu'eussiez vous
faict là dessus? Car de vray ce trauail ne peut estre apprehendé, que
par ceux, qui l'experimentent. En apres comme ces Sauuages n'ont ny
Religion formée, ny police, ny villes, ny artifices, les mots aussi, &
les paroles propres à tout cela leur manquent; Sainct, Bien-heureux,
Ange, Grace, Mystere, Sacrement, Tentation, Foy, Loy, Prudence,
Subiection, Gouuernement, &c. D'où recouurerés [153] vous tout cela
qui leur manque? Ou cõme vous en passerez vous? O Dieu que nous
deuisons bien à nostr'aise en France. Et le beau estoit, qu'après qu'on
s'estoit rompu le cerueau à force de demandes, & recherches, comme
lon se pensoit en fin d'auoir bien rencõtré la pierre philosophale;
on trouuoit neantmoins puis apres, que lon auoit pris le phantosme
pour le corps, & l'ombre pour le solide: & que tout ce precieux Elixir
s'en alloit en fumée. Souuent on s'estoit mocqué de nous au lieu
de nous enseigner, & aucunesfois on nous auoit supposé des paroles
des-honnestes, que nous allions innocemment preschotãt pour belles
sentences de l'Euangile. Dieu sçait, qui estoyent les suggesteurs de
tels sacrileges.
[149] CHAPTER XVI. [i.e., xv.]
SIEUR DE POTRINCOURT'S RETURN TO FRANCE, AND THE DIFFICULTY OF
LEARNING THE LANGUAGE OF THE SAVAGES.
WE have heretofore explained the necessity which was urging sieur
de Potrincourt to send his people back to France without delay.
Now he wished to take them there himself, to more efficiently
arrange all the affairs and especially to procure an immediate
supply of provisions: for unless he did this, those whom he was
leaving at Port Royal would be without means of passing the Winter,
in evident danger of being carried off by famine. For this reason
then, he departed about the middle of July of the same year,
1611, and arrived in France at the end of the following month
of [150] August; he left his son, sieur de Biencourt, in his
place, with twenty-two persons, counting the two Jesuits, who,
seeing that for the conversion of the Pagans the language of the
country was absolutely necessary, resolved to apply themselves
to it with all diligence. But it would be hard to understand the
great difficulties which they here encountered: the principal one
being, that they had neither interpreter nor teacher. To be sure
sieur de Biencourt, and some of the others, knew a little of it
very well, enough for trade and ordinary affairs; but when there
was a question of speaking about God and religious matters, there
was the difficulty, there, the "not understand." Therefore, they
were obliged to learn the language by themselves, inquiring of the
savages how they called each thing. And the task was not so very
wearisome as long [151] as what was asked about could be touched
or seen: a stone, a river, a house; to strike, to jump, to laugh,
to sit down. But when it came to internal and spiritual acts,
which cannot be demonstrated to the senses, and in regard to words
which are called abstract and universal, such as, to believe, to
doubt, to hope, to discourse, to apprehend, an animal, a body, a
substance, a spirit, virtue, vice, sin, reason, justice, etc.,--for
these things they had to labor and sweat; in these were the
pains of travail. They did not know by what route to reach them,
although they tried more than a hundred; there were no gestures
which would sufficiently express their ideas, not if they would
use ten thousand of them. Meanwhile our gentlemen Savages, to
pass away the time, made abundant sport of their pupils, always
telling them a lot of [152] nonsense. And yet if you wanted to
take advantage of this fun, if you had your paper and pencil ready
to write, you had to set before them a full plate with a napkin
underneath. For to such tripods do good oracles yield; without this
incentive, both Apollo and Mercury would fail them; as it was,
they even became angry and went away, if we wished to detain them
a little. What would you have done under the circumstances? For
in truth, this work cannot be understood except by those who have
tried it. Besides, as these Savages have no formulated Religion,
government, towns, nor trades, so the words and proper phrases for
all those things are lacking; Holy, Blessed, Angel, Grace, Mystery,
Sacrament, Temptation, Faith, Law, Prudence, Subjection, Authority,
etc. Where will [153] you get all these things that they lack?
Or, how will you do without them? O God, with what ease we make
our plans in France! And the beauty of it is, that, after having
racked our brains by dint of questions and researches, and after
thinking that we have at last found the philosopher's stone, we
find only that a ghost has been taken for a body, a shadow for a
substance, and that all this precious Elixir has gone up in smoke!
They often ridiculed, instead of teaching us, and sometimes palmed
off on us indecent words, which we went about innocently preaching
for beautiful sentences from the Gospels. God knows who were the
instigators of such sacrileges.
Vn expedient se presenta aux Iesuites pour se depestrer heureusement
[154] de ces embroüillements, & entraues. C'estoit d'aller trouuer
le ieune du Pont duquel on apportoit nouuelle, qu'il s'estoit resolu
d'hyuerner à la riuiere S. Ieã, à quelques dix-huict, où vingt lieuës
de Port Royal. Car d'autãt que ledit du Pont auoit ja long temps vescu
au pays, & mesmes à la Syluatique parmy les Originaires, on disoit de
luy, qu'il entendoit fort bi[~e] la lãgue. Et ne falloit point douter,
qu'au moins il sçauroit proprem[~e]t expliquer les demandes pour tirer
des sauuages la response à propos: ce qui estoit necessaire pour
coucher par escrit vn petit Catechisme, & instruction Chrestienne. Le
P. Biard donc se resolut d'aller chercher ledit du Pont, se determinant
de plustost passer la Baye Françoise dans vn cauot, deuant que de ne
se seruir de ceste occasion de bien faire. [155] Mais le sieur de
Biencourt s'opposa fort à ceste deliberation, entrant à ceste occasion
en de grãds ombrages, ausquels il fallut ceder, pour auoir paix.
An expedient presented itself to the Jesuits, by which they
could extricate themselves happily [154] from these perplexities
and obstacles. It was to go and find young du Pont, who, we had
heard, had made up his mind to pass the winter on the St. John
river, some eighteen or twenty leagues from Port Royal. For since
this du Pont had already lived a long time in the country, even
leading the life of a Sylvan among the Natives, it was said of him
that he understood the language very well, and there was no doubt
that he could at least properly explain the questions so as to get
from the savages suitable answers; these were necessary in order
to write down a little Catechism, and some Christian instruction.
Father Biard then decided to go and look for du Pont, deciding to
cross French Bay in a canoe, rather than not to avail himself of
this opportunity of doing good. [155] But sieur de Biencourt was
very much opposed to this decision, taking great offense at it; and
we had to yield to him, to have peace.
CHAPITRE XVII. [i.e., xvi.]
VN VOYAGE FAICT À LA RIUIERE DE S. CROIX, & LA MORT DU SAGAMO MEMBERTOU.
SVR la fin du moys d'Aoust de la mesme année 1611. le sieur de
Biencourt ayant eu nouuelles, que le nauire du Capitaine Plastrier
de la ville de Honfleur faisoit pescherie au Port aux Coquilles,
à vingt vne lieuë de Port Royal vers l'Ouest: il se delibera de
l'aller trouuer, à celle fin de luy recommander vn de ses gens, qu'il
renuoyoit en France auec lettres, [156] pour presser le secours
attendu, & representer l'estat pitoyable auquel on estoit. Le P. Biard
l'accompagna; & ils rencontrerent ce nauire tant à propos, que s'ils
eussent tardé d'vn demy quart d'heure, la commodité en estoit perduë:
car ja il faisoit voyle pour reuenir en France. Estans dedans, nous
apprinsmes que le Capitaine Platrier s'estoit resolu de passer l'Hyuer
en l'Isle saincte Croix, & qu'il y estoit resté luy cinquiesme. Ceste
nouuelle fit prendre resolution au sieur de Biencourt d'aller à Saincte
Croix de ceste mesme tirade, auant que le Capitaine Platrier eust
moy[~e] de se fortifier: car il vouloit tirer de luy le Quint de toutes
ses marchandises, & traicte, parce qu'il hyuernoit sur le pays. L'Isle
Saincte Croix est à six lieües du Port aux Coquilles, au milieu d'vne
riuiere.
CHAPTER XVII. [i.e., xvi.]
A VOYAGE MADE TO THE STE. CROIX RIVER, AND THE DEATH OF THE
SAGAMORE, MEMBERTOU.
TOWARD the end of the month of August of the same year, 1611, sieur
de Biencourt having heard that the ship of Captain Plastrier,
from the town of Honfleur, was engaged in fishing at the Port
aux Coquilles,[36] twenty-one leagues Westward from Port Royal,
decided to go and find him, to recommend to him one of his men,
whom he wished to send back to France with letters, [156] to urge
the expected help, and to represent their pitiable condition.
Father Biard accompanied him, and they encountered this ship so
opportunely, that if they had been eight minutes later, their
chance would have been lost; for already it was unfurling its
sails to return to France. When we had boarded it, we learned that
Captain Platrier had decided to pass the Winter on the Island
of sainte Croix, and that he [Sieur de Biencourt] would get his
fifth therefrom. This news made sieur de Biencourt resolve to go
to Sainte Croix at once, before Captain Platrier had means of
fortifying himself: for he wished to collect from him the Fifth of
all his merchandise and trade, for wintering in the country. The
Island of Sainte Croix is six leagues from Port aux Coquilles, in
the middle of a river.
[157] Doncques le sieur de Biencourt y vint, accompagné de huict
personnes, & y entra en armes, ayant laissé le P. Biard en vn bout
de l'Isle, sur des roches attendant l'euenement, parce que ledict
Pere auoit conuenu auec ledict sieur, qu'en cas d'aucune inuasion, ou
actes de guerre, ou force contre les François, il seroit delaissé en
quelque lieu à l'escart, en telle façon, qu'vn chacun peust sçauoir,
qu'il estoit amy de tous les deux partys, & qu'il s'entremettroit fort
volontiers pour accorder les differents, mais nullement pour estre
partialiste.
[157] Accordingly sieur de Biencourt went to this place,
accompanied by eight people, and, well-armed, marched into the
place, having left Father Biard in one end of the Island upon the
rocks, awaiting the outcome; because the Father had arranged with
the sieur, that in case of any invasion, or warlike act or force
against the French, he should be left in some place apart, so that
every one might know that he was a friend of both parties, and
that he would very willingly interpose to make peace between those
at variance, but under no circumstances would he take sides with
either.
Dieu mercy, tout passa heureusement: Platrier nous traicta le mieux
qu'il peut: Et à son ayde le sieur de Biencourt recouura vne barque,
laquelle estoit à Port aux Coquilles, auec laquelle il s'en retourna à
Port Royal, où [158] on trouua nouuelle besongne: car Henry Membertou,
le Sagamo de Sauuages, qui premier d'iceux auoit receu le S. Baptesme,
estoit venu de la Baye saincte Marie, pour se faire penser d'vne
maladie, qui l'auoit surprins. Le pere Enemond Massé l'auoit logé dans
sa petite Cabane, au lict mesme du P. Biard, & là le seruoit comme
vn sien pere & domestique. Le P. Biard trouuant ce malade dans son
lict, fut bien ayse de l'occasion de charité, que Dieu luy enuoyoit:
Et tous deux se mirent à le seruit de iour, & de nuict, sans qu'autre
quelconque les y soulageast, hors l'Apoticaire Hebert, qui apportoit
des medecines, & viandes qu'il luy falloit dõner. Vne de leurs plus
grandes peines estoit de tãt couper & aporter de bois qu'il en falloit
pour le iour, & la nuict: Car la nuict commençoit à estre [159] bien
frilleuse, & tousiours il falloit bon feu, à cause de la mauuaise
senteur, d'autant que c'estoit la dysenterie. Au bout de cinq, ou six
iours de tel seruice, la femme, & la fille dudict Membertou vindrent à
luy, à cause dequoy le P. Biard pria le sieur de Biencourt de faire
changer le malade en quelque autre des cabanes de l'habitation, puis
qu'il y en auoit deux ou trois vuides; parce qu'il n'estoit ny beau, ny
bien seant que des femmes fussent iour, & nuict en leur cabane: & moins
encores qu'elles n'y fussent, estans la femme, & la fille du malade.
D'autre part, la cabane estoit si petite, que quand on y estoit quatre
assemblez, lon ne s'y pouuoit tourner.
Thank God, all passed off happily: Platrier treated us as well
as he could: and with his aid, sieur de Biencourt recovered a
barque, which was at Port aux Coquilles, with which he returned
to Port Royal, where [158] a new duty awaited them: for Henry
Membertou, the Sagamore of the Savages who was the first to receive
Holy Baptism, had come from the Baye sainte Marie to have himself
treated for a disease which had overtaken him. Father Enemond
Massé had put him in his little Cabin, even in Father Biard's
bed, and was there taking care of him like a father and servant.
Father Biard, finding the patient in his bed, was very glad of
this opportunity for charity, which God had sent him; and both
set to work to attend him day and night, without any one else to
relieve them in the work, except the Apothecary Hebert,[37] who
brought medicines and food which were to be given him. One of
their greatest hardships was to cut and carry all the wood that
was needed day and night: for the nights began to be [159] quite
chilly, and there always had to be a good fire on account of the
bad odor, for the disease was dysentery. At the end of five or
six days of such service, the wife and daughter of Membertou came
to stay with him, and so Father Biard begged sieur de Biencourt
to have the invalid moved to some of the other cabins of the
settlement, since there were two or three of them empty; for it was
neither good nor quite seemly that there should be women in the
cabin day and night; and still less that they should not be there,
being the wife and daughter of the sick man. On the other hand, the
cabin was so small, that when four persons were in it; they could
not turn around.
Ces raisons estoient par trop euidentes, mais ledict sieur ne fut
pas d'aduis, qu'on remuast le malade en aucune des cabanes de [160]
l'habitation, ains luy en fit dresser vne au dehors, où le malade
fut transporté. Ce changement ne luy profita point: car il deteriora
déslors manifestement, & mourut quatre ou cinq iours apres. Ce
neantmoins les Iesuites ne mãquer[~e]t iamais de l'aider, & assister,
luy fournissants toutes choses à leur possible: & le seruants iusques
à sa mort. Ce bon Sauuage s'estant confessé, & receu l'extreme-onction
dit au sieur de Biencourt, qu'il vouloit estre enterré auec ses
peres & progeniteurs. Le P. Biard resista fort à ceste proposition,
l'admonestant ne luy estre loisible estant Chrestien de vouloir
estre enterré auec des Pay[~e]s damnés; veu mesmes qu'en cela il
bailleroit vn grand scandale, d'autant que les Sauuages oyants, &
voyants qu'il n'auroit voulu estre enterré auecques nous; facilem[~e]t
[161] entreroyent en soupçon qu'il n'auroit esté Chrestien, que par
apparence. En tout cas, que tout cela sembleroit tousiours vn mespris
de la sepulture Chrestienne, &c. Le sieur de Biencourt repliqua pour
Membertou qu'on feroit benir le lieu, & qu'on l'auoit ainsi promis
audit Membertou. Le P. Biard respondit, que cela ne se pouuoit faire:
d'autant que pour benir ledit lieu il faudroit deterrer les Payens y
enseuelis, ce qui seroit pour se faire abominer de tous les Sauuages, &
sentiroit par trop son impieté. Les raisons ne seruoyent de rien, parce
que le malade estimant que le sieur de Biencourt fust de son costé,
persistoit en sa deliberation. Le P. Biard pour leur donner à entendre
que cest affaire estoit plus important, qu'ils ne pensoyent, leur
denonça, que cest enterrement se feroit [162] sans luy, & qu'il le leur
donnoit à entendre dés lors, protestant qu'il renonçoit à tous tels
conseils, & resolutions, & sur ce s'en alla. Toutesfois, à ce que le
malade ne pensast, que ce qu'estoit deuoir & charité ne fust cholere;
il reuint en moins d'vn' heure apres, & retourna seruir le malade comm'
au parauant. Dieu fauorisa son bon dessein, car le matin suiuant le
Sauuage de soy mesme changea d'aduis, & dit vouloir estre enterré au
commun cemetiere des Chrestiens, à fin de tesmoigner à tous sa foy,
& pouuoir estre participãt des prieres, qu'il y auoit veu faire. Il
mourut en fort bõ Chrestien, & son decés contrista fort les Iesuites,
car ils l'aimoyent, & estoyent aimés de luy reciproquement. Souuent
il leur disoit: Apprenés tost nostre langage: car quand vous l'aurés
apprins vous [163] m'enseignerez, & moy enseigné deuiendray prescheur
cõme vous autres, nous conuertirons tout le pays. Les Sauuages n'ont
pas memoire d'auoir eu iamais vn plus grand Sagamo ny plus autorisé.
Il estoit barbu comm'vn François. Et pleust à Dieu, que tous les
Frãçois fussent autãt auisés & discrets comm'il estoit. Tel est le
recit veritable de la maladie, & mort de Membertou. Sur lequel ie ne
m'amuseray pas plus long temps à refuter les calomnies du factieux;
estant assez & icy, & par tout conuaincu. Parquoy ie raconte la verité
du faict sans perdre le temps à combattre les larues.
These considerations were only too evident, but the sieur
was not inclined to have the patient removed to any of the cabins
of [160] the settlement; but he had one put up outside, where the
invalid was taken. This change did not do him any good, for he
became evidently worse from that time on, and died four or five
days later. Nevertheless, the Jesuits never failed to aid and
attend him, furnishing everything they could, and waiting on him up
to the time of his death. This good Savage, having confessed and
received extreme unction, told sieur de Biencourt that he wished
to be buried with his fathers and ancestors. Father Biard was very
much opposed to this proposition, admonishing him that it was not
lawful for him, a Christian, to wish to be buried with Heathen
whose souls were to be lost; especially as in doing so he would
cause great scandal, inasmuch as, when the Savages heard and saw
that he had not wanted to be buried with us, they would readily
[161] entertain the suspicion that he had been a Christian only
in appearance. In any case, that all this would always seem like
contempt for Christian burial, etc. Sieur de Biencourt replied for
Membertou that they would have the burial place blessed, and that
such a promise had been made to Membertou. Father Biard answered
that that would not do; for, in order to bless the said place, they
would have to disinter the Pagans who were buried there, which
would cause them to be abominated by all the Savages, and would
savor too much of impiety. These reasons did not avail, because
the sick man, believing that sieur de Biencourt was on his side,
persisted in his determination. In order to make them understand
that this affair was of greater importance than they thought,
Father Biard informed them that the interment would take place
[162] without him, and he wanted them to understand it from that
time on, protesting that he would have nothing to do with any such
counsels and decisions, and thereupon he departed. However, so the
sick man would not think that what was mere duty and charity was
anger, he returned less than an hour afterwards, and began again to
wait upon him as before. God looked kindly upon his good intention,
for the next morning the Savage, of his own free will, changed his
mind, and said that he wanted to be buried in the common burying
ground of the Christians, to prove his faith to all, and to be able
to participate in the prayers which he had there seen offered. He
died a very good Christian, and his death greatly saddened the
Jesuits, for they loved him, and were loved by him in return. He
often said to them; "Learn our language quickly, for when you have
learned it, you [163] will teach me; and when I am taught I will
become a preacher like you, and we will convert the whole country."
The Savages have no recollection of ever having had a greater or
more powerful Sagamore. He was bearded like a Frenchman; and would
to God that all the French were as circumspect and prudent as he
was. Such is the true story of the sickness and death of Membertou.
With it I shall no longer waste time in refuting the calumnies
of the factionist, he being sufficiently convicted both here and
elsewhere. Therefore I tell the truth of the thing, without losing
time in fighting larvæ.[38]
CHAPITRE XVIII. [i.e., xvii.]
[164] LE VOYAGE À LA RIUIERE S. IEAN: & LA QUERELLE QUI Y SURUINT.
I'AY dict cy deuant que le sieur de Biencourt auoit amené vne barque
du Port aux Coquilles, à fin qu'auec icelle il peust faire vn voyage
iusques aux Armouchiquois. Ainsi lon appelle les peuples, qui sont
dés le quarentetroisiesme degré en bas vers le Sur-oüest. Leur
commencem[~e]t est dés Chouacoët, & à ce qu'on dit, ils sont en grand
nombre. La disette pressoit le sieur de Biencourt à ce voyage; parce
que ces peuples labourãts, & faisants prouision de grains, il esperoit
par le moyen de la trocque, ou autrement tirer d'eux quelque secours
pour se munir contre la famine [165] qui nous attendoit au pas de
l'Hiuer. Sa barque fut trop tard equippée pour vne si longue traicte:
car nous ne fusmes prests qu'au troisiesme d'Octobre; & encores
voulust-il aller à la riuiere Sainct Iean auant que de pr[~e]dre ceste
route.
CHAPTER XVIII. [i.e., xvii.]
[164] THE VOYAGE TO THE ST. JOHN RIVER: AND THE QUARREL WHICH
OCCURRED THERE.
I SAID above that sieur de Biencourt took a barque away from Port
aux Coquilles, that he might make a journey therewith to the
Armouchiquois.[39] This is the name of the people who live below
the forty-third parallel, toward the Southwest. They begin at
Chouacoët, and are said to be very numerous. Lack of provisions
urged sieur de Biencourt to make this voyage, because, as these
people till the soil and put away stores of grain, he hoped, by
means of trade or in some other way, to get help from them to
provide against the famine [165] which awaited us in the course
of the Winter. His barque was equipped too late for such a long
journey, for we were not ready until the third of October, and
he still wanted to go to the Saint John river before making this
voyage.
La riuiere de sainct Iean est au Noroüest de Port Royal, y ayant
entre-deux la Baye Françoise, large de 14. lieuës. L'entrée de ceste
riuiere est fort estroicte, & tres-dangereuse: car il faut passer au
milieu de deux roches, desquelles l'vne iette sur l'autre le courant
de la marée, estãt entre deux aussi viste qu'vn traict. Apres les
roches suit vn affreux, & horrible precipice, lequel si vous ne passez
à propos, & quand il est comblé doucem[~e]t, de cent mille barques vn
poil n'eschapperoit pas, que corps & biens tout ne perist.
The river saint John is to the Northwest of Port Royal, the
intermediate space being occupied by French Bay, 14 leagues wide.
The entrance to this river is very narrow and very dangerous: for
the ship has to pass between two rocks where the current of the
tide is tossed from one to the other, flashing between them as
swift as an arrow. Beyond these rocks lies a frightful and horrible
precipice, and if you do not pass over it at the proper moment, and
when the water is smoothly heaped up, of a hundred thousand barques
not an atom would escape, but men and goods would all perish.
Le ieune du Pont & le Capitaine [166] Merueille s'estoyent allé loger
à quelques six lieuës auant dedans ceste riuiere S. Iean, n'estants en
tout que sept ou huict, tous Maloüins. Le sieur de Biencourt vouloit
exiger d'eux le Quint de toutes leurs marchandises, pource qu'ils
residoyent dans le pays, cõme il a esté dict, à ceste cause il auoit
entreprins ce voyage. Nous estions en tout seize François & deux
Sauuages, qui nous conduisoyent.
Young du Pont and Captain [166] Merveille had gone to stay some six
leagues up this river St. John, with a company of not more than
seven or eight, all Maloüins. Sieur de Biencourt wished to exact
from them the Fifth of all their merchandise, because they were
residents of the country, as has been said; it was for this purpose
he undertook this voyage. We were in all sixteen Frenchmen, and two
Savages, who conducted us.
Or comme nous nauigions cõtremont, estants ja presque à vne lieuë &
demy de l'habitation des Maloüins sur le commencement de la nuict;
vn signacle nous apparut, qui nous espouuanta. Car le ciel rougist
extraordinairement à costé de l'habitation desdits Maloüins, & puis la
rougeur se decoupant en longs fuseaux, & lances s'en alla fondre droit
dessus ceste [167] maison. Cela se fit par deux fois. Nos Sauuages
voyants ce prodige crier[~e]t en leur langage. _Gara gara: Maredo._
Nous aurons guerre, il y aura du sang. Les Frãçois faisoy[~e]t aussi
des Almanachs là dessus chacun selon son sens. Nous arriuasmes au
deuant de leur habitation ja la nuict toute close, & ny eust autre
chose pour lors, sinon que nous les saluames d'vn coup de fauconneau, &
ils nous respondirent d'vn coup de pierrier.
Now as we were sailing up the river, being already about a league
and a half from the Maloüin settlement, towards nightfall a
phenomenon appeared to us, which filled us with terror. For the
heavens became wonderfully red over the Maloüin habitation, and
then the glow, separating into long rays and flashes of light,
moved on and melted away over this [167] settlement. This appeared
twice. Our Savages, when they saw this wonder, cried out in their
language: _Gara gara: Maredo._ "We shall have war, there will
be blood." The French also made some Prophecies thereupon, each
according to his own idea. We arrived opposite their settlement
when the night had already closed in, and there was nothing we
could do then, except to fire a salute from the falconet, which
they answered with one from the swivel gun.
Le matin venu, & les prieres accoustumées faictes, deux Maloüins se
presenterent à la riue, & nous signifierent, qu'on pouuoit aborder
pacifiquement; ce qu'on fit. On sceut d'eux que leurs Capitaines n'y
estoyent point, ains s'en estoyent allez bien haut contre la riuiere,
despuis trois iours, & qu'on ne sçauoit quand ils reuiendroyent.
Cependant le P. Biard [168] s'en alla preparer son Autel, & celebra la
saincte Messe.
When morning came, and the usual prayers were said, two
Maloüins presented themselves upon the bank, and signified to us
that we could disembark without being molested, which we did. It
was learned from them that their Captains were not there, but had
gone away up the river three days before, and no one knew when they
would return. Meanwhile Father Biard [168] went away to prepare his
Altar, and celebrated holy Mass.
Apres la Messe le sieur de Bi[~e]court posa vn corps de garde à
la porte de l'habitation, & des sentinelles tout à l'entour. Les
Maloüins furent bien estonnés de ceste façon de faire. Les plus
timides s'estimoyent estre perdus, les plus courageux en escumoyent &
despitoyent.
After Mass sieur de Biencourt placed a bodyguard at the door of
the habitation, and sentinels all around it. The Maloüins were
very much astonished at this way of doing things. The more timid
considered themselves lost, the more courageous stormed, and fumed,
and defied them.
La nuict venuë, & ja close, le Capitaine Merueille s'en reuint à son
logis, ne sçachant rien de ses hostes. La sentinelle l'oyant approcher
cria son _qui voila?_ Le Maloüin, qui p[~e]soit que ce fust quelqu'vn
des siens, respondit se mocquant, mais qui voila timesme? Et tousiours
poursuiuoit auançant. La sentinelle tout de bon luy delascha son
mousquet contre. Et bien merueille fut que Merueille ne fut ny tué
ny blessé. Mais il fut [169] bien estonné, & plus encores voyant
aussi tost des gensd'armes sur soy l'espée nuë, qui le saisirent &
emmener[~e]t dans la maison, comme vous pouuez penser en tel accident,
que font gens de pouldre & de corde; leurs crys, leurs menaces, & leurs
faicts. Le pauure homme ne se trouuoit point bien de sa personne ja dés
plusieurs iours, & lors il estoit tout harassé du chemin. Plusieurs
inconueni[~e]s de perte, & de maladie luy estoi[~e]t arriuez ceste
année là, comme pour l'accabler; Partant se voyant ainsi tombé comme
dans vn abysme subitement, il ne sçauoit où il estoit. Il se coucha
aupres du feu tout de son long, se lamentãt: les gardes estoient tout
à l'entour de luy. Le P. Biard voyant la confusion en laquelle estoit
toute la maison, & n'y pouuant donner ordre se mit à prier Dieu au
pied [170] d'vn banc, qui estoit contre vu des licts assez loin du
feu. Merueille, ayant eu quelque respit pour sentir ses miseres, &
se recognoistre, & ayant apperceu le P. Biard qui prioit, se leuant
subitement en sursaut, tout troublé, & à coup s'alla ietter à genoux
aupres dudit Pere, à qui neantmoins il n'auoit iamais parlé auparauant,
& luy dit: Mon Pere, ie vous prie confessez-moy, ie suis mort. Le
P. Biard se leua pour le consoler, s'apperceuant bien, qu'il estoit
troublé; Tout le corps-de-garde tourna les yeux de mesme sur eux, &
chacun aduisoit autour de soy s'il y auoit rien à craindre. De fortune,
ou à dessein, comme que ce soit, ie n'en sçay rien, vn certain eceruelé
va trouuer à deux bons pas de Merueille vn poictrinal tout chargé,
amorcé, le chien abatu, & s'escria: O le traistre! il auoit enuie
[171] de se saisir de ce poytrinal, & faire quelque coup. Le Malouïn
respondit, que cela ne pouuoit estre, parce que dés sa venuë il auoit
tousiours esté en leurs mains; & partant il estoit impossible, qu'il
eust preparé, ny mesmes veu ce poytrinal, & que quand mesmes il l'eust
veu, qu'il en estoit trop loin pour s'en saisir sans estre preuenu.
Mais nonobstant tout son dire, il fut garrotté, luy, & trois de ses
gens, qui sembloyent estre les plus mauuais.
When night came on and it was already quite dark, Captain
Merveille returned to his lodgings, knowing nothing of his guests.
The sentinel, hearing him approach, uttered his, "_Who goes
there?_" The Maloüin, thinking this was one of his own people,
answered mockingly, "But who goes there thyself?" and continued
upon his way. The sentinel fired off his musket at him in earnest,
and it was a great wonder [Fr. _merveille_] that Merveille was not
killed or wounded. But he was [169] very much astonished, and still
more so when he saw some soldiers upon him with naked swords, who
seized him and took him into the house; you may imagine how men
of powder and of rope act at such times, with their cries, their
threats, and their gesticulations. The poor man had not been well
for several days, and just then was very much wearied from his
journey. He had had several discouraging losses and sicknesses that
year, enough to break him down. So, seeing himself thus, as it
were, suddenly fallen into an abyss, he knew not where he was. He
lay down at full length before the fire, and began to lament: the
guards were all around him. Father Biard, seeing the confusion of
the whole house, and not being able to restore order, began to pray
to God, kneeling at the foot [170] of a bench which was against one
of the beds, some distance from the fire. Merveille, having had
some chance to realize his unfortunate condition and to collect
himself, and, having perceived Father Biard praying, started up in
great agitation, and ran, and threw himself on his knees before the
said Father; and, although he had never before spoken to him, said:
"My Father, I pray you to confess me, I am a dead man." Father
Biard got up to console him, seeing clearly that he was troubled;
the whole bodyguard likewise turned their eyes upon them, and each
one looked about him to see if there was anything to fear. By
chance or design, whichever it was, I know not, a certain madcap
stepped forward and picked up, at two good paces from Merveille, a
carbine, all loaded and primed, with the trigger down; and cried:
"Oh, the traitor! He wanted [171] to get hold of this carbine and
have a few shots from it." The Malouïn answered that that could not
be, because since his arrival he had always been in their hands;
and so it was impossible for him to have prepared or even seen this
carbine; and, if he had seen it, he was too far away to get hold of
it without being prevented. But in spite of all he said, he, and
three others of his men, who seemed to be the worst, were bound.
Merueille estoit garrotté les mains derriere le dos, & si estroictement
que ne pouuant prendre aucun repos, il se lamentoit fort pitoyablement.
Le P. Biard en ayant compassion pria le sieur de Biencourt de faire
deslier cest affligé, lequel il plegeoit corps pour corps, alleguant
que si on se craignoit dudit Merueille, qu'on l'enserrast [172] dans
vn des licts faicts à la Chartreuse, & qu'il se tiendroit à la porte,
à fin de luy empescher la sortie: Que si on entendoit du remuem[~e]t,
qu'on frappast sur luy aussi tost que sur l'autre. Le sieur de
Biencourt accorda au P. Biard sa demande, & Merueille fut deslié &
confiné dans vn des licts, le P. Biard estant à la porte.
Merveille had his hands bound behind his back so tightly, that
he could not rest, and he began to complain very pitifully. Father
Biard taking pity on him, begged sieur de Biencourt to have the
sufferer untied, whom he pledged man for man, alleging that, if
they had any fears about the said Merveille, they might enclose him
[172] in one of the Carthusian beds,[40] and that he would stay at
the door to prevent his going out: that if any noise were heard the
punishment therefor should fall upon him as well as upon the other.
Sieur de Biencourt granted Father Biard's request, and Merveille
was untied and confined in one of these beds, Father Biard being at
the door.
Or quelle fut ceste nuict, ie ne vous le sçaurois expliquer: car elle
passa toute en alarmes, en escopeterie & impetuositez de quelques vns,
telles, qu'à bon droict pouuoit-on craindre que les prognostiques veus
au ciel la nuict precedente n'eussent lors leurs effects sanguinaires
en terre. Le P. Biard fit promesse de ramenteuoir ce benefice toute sa
vie, s'il plaisoit à Dieu de brider ces esprits mutins, & meurtriers,
qui sembloi[~e]t d'estre estachés & voler par [173] dessus la maison
attendans leur curée. Dieu par sa bonté l'exauça, & les feruentes
prieres du Capitaine Merueille, car certes il mõstra vn coeur vrayement
Chresti[~e] dés qu'il fut à part deslié, ne cessant quasi toute la
nuict de louër, & benir son Createur, nonobstant toutes les algarades,
qui luy fur[~e]t faictes. Et le matin venu il se confessa, & fit
son bon-jour luy & trois de ses gents auec vne grande tranquillité
d'esprit. De vray c'est vn exemple bien rare, & bien excell[~e]t à qui
sçait estimer la vertu.
Now I could not describe to you what a night this was: for it
passed in continual alarms, gunshots and rash acts on the part of
some of the men; so that it was feared with good reason that the
prognostications seen in the heavens the night before would have
their bloody fulfillment upon earth. Father Biard promised to
keep this favor in mind as long as he lived, if it pleased God to
restrain these mutinous and murderous spirits which seemed to be
in ecstasy and to fly [173] over the house waiting for their prey.
God in his goodness hearkened to him, and to the sincere prayers
of Captain Merveille, for he certainly showed a truly Christian
spirit, as soon as he was partially released, never ceasing, nearly
all night, to praise and bless his Creator, notwithstanding all
the insults that had been heaped upon him. And when morning came
he confessed, and, together with three of his men, received the
sacrament, in great tranquillity of mind. In truth it was a very
rare and very excellent example to those who know how to esteem
virtue.
L'aprés-disnee le P. Biard demanda congé d'aller trouuer du Pont, sous
promesse du sieur de Biencourt, que tout bon traictement luy seroit
faict. Mais comme ledit Pere fut à vn quart de lieüe; de soy-mesme
ledit du Pont arriua, & toutes esmotions furent accoisées. Le sieur de
Biencourt emprunta [174] la barque de Merueille, & l'emmena auec soy, &
vn des Maloüins, qui despuis mourut de maladie à Port Royal.
In the afternoon Father Biard asked leave to go and find du
Pont, with sieur de Biencourt's promise that he would receive
nothing but good treatment. But when the said Father had gone a
quarter of a league, the said du Pont came up of his own accord,
and all disturbances were quieted. Sieur de Biencourt borrowed
[174] Merveille's barque, and took it away with him, together with
one of the Maloüins, who afterwards died at Port Royal.
CHAPITRE XXI. [i.e., xviii.]
LE VOYAGE DE QUINIBEQUI, & LE RETOUR À PORT ROYAL.
NOVS auons remarqué peu au parauant, que ce voyage à la riuiere S.
Iean, n'estoit qu'vn destour du plus grand entreprins aux Armouchiquois
pour auoir du bled. Comme donc nous eussions ainsi transigé auec
les Maloüins, nous mismes la voile au vent, prenants la route des
Armouchiquois. Auant que partir, le sieur du Pont & Merueille prierent
le P. Biard de vouloir demeurer auec eux; mais il leur respondit,
[175] que pour lors il ne le pouuoit faire, d'autant que ce ne luy
seroit point beau de quitter le sieur de Biencourt en vn voyage tant
perilleux: Et qu'il importoit à sa charge de recognoistre les gens, &
disposition des lieux; & peu à peu domestiquer le sens des Sauuages à
la veuë, vs, & façon du Christianisme, les visitant, & leur en donnant
quelq; goust de pieté, bien que ce ne fust qu'en passant. Mais qu'il
esperoit auec la benediction de Dieu, le voyage accomply de venir
passer l'Hyuer auec eux: & auec leur ayde composer son Catechisme. A
quoy il pria le sieur du Pont de se preparer, s'enquerant des Sauuages
de la proprieté des mots, qui peuuent correspõdre à ceux de nostre
langue, & Religion. Et à fin qu'il le peust faire commodément, il luy
laissa vne explication bien ample des [176] principaux articles de
nostre saincte Foy.
CHAPTER XXI. [i.e., xviii.]
THE VOYAGE TO QUINIBEQUI, AND THE RETURN TO PORT ROYAL.
WE remarked a little while ago that this visit to St. John
river was only a diversion from the greater expedition to the
Armouchiquois to get some corn. Now when we had thus come to terms
with the Maloüins, we unfurled our sails to the wind and turned
towards the land of the Armouchiquois. Before departing, sieur du
Pont and Merveille begged Father Biard to consent to remain with
them; but he answered [175] that for the present he could not do
it, as it would not be right to leave sieur de Biencourt in such a
dangerous voyage; and that it was important to him in his mission
to study the people and location of the places, and, little by
little, to familiarize the minds of the Savages with the sight,
uses, and ways of Christianity, visiting them and giving them some
taste of piety, although it might be only in passing by. But that
he hoped, with God's blessing, when this journey was over, to come
and pass the Winter with them, and with their aid to compose his
Catechism. For this he begged sieur du Pont to prepare himself,
questioning the Savages about the fitness of words which might
correspond to those of our language and Religion. And in order that
he might be able to do it properly, he left him quite an ample
explanation of the [176] principal articles of our holy Faith.
Nous arriuasmes à Kinibequi sur la fin d'Octobre. Kinibequi est vne
riuiere proche des Armouchiquoys à quarante trois degrez, & deux tiers
d'eleuation, & au Suroüest de Port Royal, à soixante dix lieües, ou
enuiron. Elle a deux emboucheures bien grandes, distantes l'vne de
l'autre au moins deux lieües, elle a aussi plusieurs bras, & Isles,
qui la decoupent. Au reste, belle & grande riuiere, mais nous n'y
vismes point de bonnes terres, non plus qu'à la riuiere S. Iean. On dit
toutesfois qu'en haut, loin de la mer, elles y sont fort belles, & le
sejour aggreable, & que les peuples y labourent. Nous ne montasmes pas
plus auant de trois lieües, nous tournoyames par tant de vireuoltes, &
sautames tant de precipices, [177] que grand miracle de Dieu fut que
ne perismes plusieurs fois. Aucuns de nos gens s'escrierent par deux
diuerses fois, que nous estions perdus; mais ils crierent auant le
temps; Nostre Seigneur en soit beny. Les Sauuages nous emmielloyent de
l'esperance d'auoir du bled; puis ils changerent la promesse du bled en
trocque de castors.
We arrived at Kinibequi[41] towards the end of October. Kinibequi
is a river near the Armouchiquois, in latitude forty-three and
two-thirds degrees, and Southwest of Port Royal about seventy
leagues or thereabouts. It has two quite large mouths, one distant
from the other at least two leagues; it is also cut up by numerous
arms and branches. Besides, it is a great and beautiful river; but
we did not see good soil there any more than at the St. John river.
They say, however, that farther up, away from the sea, the country
is very fine and life there agreeable, and that the people till
the soil. We did not go farther up than three leagues; we whirled
about through so many eddies, and shot over so many precipices,
[177] that several times it was a great miracle of God that we did
not perish. Some of our crew cried out at two different times that
we were lost: but they cried too soon, blessed be Our Lord. The
Savages cajoled us with the hope of getting corn; then they changed
their promise of corn to that of trade in beaver skins.
Or pendant qu'on faisoit ceste trocque, le P. Biard s'en estoit allé
en vne Isle proche, auec vn garçõ pour celebrer la saincte Messe. Les
Sauuages à l'occasion de la traicte qui se deuoit faire, se ietterent
fort auidement, & à la foule dans nostre barque; de curiosité (comme
i'estime) pource qu'ils ne voyent pas souu[~e]t tels spectacles.
Nos gens auoient peur, que ce ne fust malice, & que soubs couleur
de trocque, ils ne se voulussent [178] saisir de la barque: aussi
s'estoyent ils armez, & barricadez, à fin de n'estre surprins voyant
donc, que nonobstant leurs menaces, & crieries, ils ne cessoyent
d'entrer à la file, & que ja ils estoyent bien trente sur le tillac,
ils cuiderent que tout à faict c'estoit à bon jeu, qu'on les vouloit
surprendre: & ja couchoi[~e]t en iouë pour tirer. Mõsieur de Biencourt
a souuent dit, & souuent repeté despuis, qu'il eut plusieurs fois sur
la langue de crier, tuë, tuë: Mais que ceste consideration le retint,
que le Pere Biard estoit à terre, qui ne falliroit d'estre massacré
si lon meffaisoit à aucun Sauuage. Ceste consideration obligea le P.
Biard, & nous sauua trestous: car si lon eust comm[~e]cé la charge, il
n'est pas croyable, qu'on eust iamais peu eschapper la chaude chole &
furieuse poursuite des Sauuages dedãs vne [179] riuiere, qui a tant
de tours, & retours, & souuent bien estroicts, & perilleux: outre
que de cent ans après ceste coste n'eust peu estre reconciliable, ny
hospitaliere aux François, tant les Sauuages euss[~e]t eu ceste offense
dessus le coeur. Dieu doncques nous sauua par ceste consideration. Et
de là tous Capitaines retiendront de n'estre point trop subits aux
executions de perilleuse suite. Or les Sagamos s'apperceuans d'eux
mesmes de la iuste apprehension, où leurs gens poussoient nos François,
se prindrent à les retirer hastiuement, & mirent ordre à la confusion.
Now, while this trading was going on, Father Biard had gone,
with a boy to an Island near by, to celebrate holy Mass. The
Savages, on account of the trading to take place, crowded very
eagerly into our barque; from curiosity (I think) because they did
not often see such sights. Our people were afraid that this was
only a trick, and that under the pretense of trading they wanted
[178] to get possession of the barque; therefore they armed and
barricaded themselves not to be taken unawares. Seeing then that,
notwithstanding their threats and cries, they continued to file in,
and there were already about thirty of them upon the deck, they
decided that it was all in good earnest and that they were trying
to take them by surprise, so they had already taken aim to shoot.
Monsieur de Biencourt has often said, and often repeated since
then, that several times he had at his tongue's end the words,
"Kill, kill." But that he was restrained by the consideration
that Father Biard was on shore, and that he would not escape
being massacred if harm were done to any of the Savages. This
consideration was a blessing to Father Biard, and saved us all: for
if the attack had been begun it is not to be supposed that they
could ever have escaped the passionate wrath and furious pursuit of
the Savages, in a [179] river which has so many turns and windings,
and which is often very narrow and dangerous; besides, this coast
could not have become hospitable or reconciled towards the French
for a hundred years afterwards, so much would the Savages have
taken the offense to heart. So on this account God saved us; hence,
all Captains should restrain themselves from rash and perilous
conduct. Now the Sagamores, themselves perceiving to what a state
of just apprehension their people had driven the French, began to
draw them off hastily and to bring order out of the confusion.
Ce peuple ne monstre point d'estre meschant, quoy qu'il aye deffaict
les Anglois, qui vouloient habiter parmy eux l'an 1608. & 1609. ils
s'excusoient à nous de ce faict, & nous racontoient les outrages, [180]
qu'ils auoyent receu desdicts Anglois, & nous flattoient: disans qu'ils
nous aymoient bien, parce qu'ils sçauoient, que nous ne fermions point
nos portes aux Sauuages comme les Anglois & que nous ne les chassions
pas de nostre table à coups de baston, ny ne les faisions point mordre
à nos chiens. Ils ne sont point larrons comme les Armouchiquoys, &
sont les plus grands harangueurs du monde. Ils ne font rien sans cela.
Le P. Biard les alla voir par deux fois: & (ce qu'il faisoit par tout)
pria Dieu en leur presence, & leur mõstra des images, & marques de
nostre creance, lesquelles ils baisoient volontiers, faisants faire
le signe de la saincte Croix à leurs enfans, qu'ils luy offroyent, à
fin qu'il les benist: & oyoient auec attention grande, & respect ce
qu'on leur annonçoit. Le mal [181] estoit, qu'ils ont vne langue toute
diuerse, & falloit qu'vn Sauuage seruist de truchemant, lequel sçachant
bien peu de la Religion Chresti[~e]ne, se bailloit neantmoins du
credit enuers les autres Sauuages: & à voir sa contenance, & ouyr son
long parler, il faisoit grãdement du Docteur: si bien ou mal, ie m'en
rapporte.
These people do not seem to be bad, although they drove away the
English who wished to settle among them in 1608 and 1609.[41] They
made excuses to us for this act, and recounted the outrages [180]
that they had experienced from these English; and they flattered
us, saying that they loved us very much, because they knew we
would not close our doors to the Savages as the English did, and
that we would not drive them from our table with blows from a
club, nor set our dogs upon them. They are not thieves like the
Armouchiquoys, and are the greatest speech-makers on earth. Nothing
is done without speeches. Father Biard went to see them twice, and
(as he did everywhere) prayed God in their presence, and showed
them some pictures and tokens of our faith which they willingly
kissed, having their children make the sign of the holy Cross, and
presenting them to him for his blessing: they listened with great
attention and respect to what was told them. The trouble [181] was,
that they have an altogether different language, and a Savage had
to serve as interpreter, who, knowing very little of the Christian
Religion, nevertheless acquitted himself with credit in the eyes
of the other Savages; and to look at his face and hear his talk,
he played the Doctor very grandly; whether successfully or not, I
cannot tell.
Nous fusmes à Kinibequi iusques au quatre, ou cinquiesme de Nouembre,
saison ja trop auancée pour passer outre selon nostre premier dessein:
c'est pourquoy le sieur de Biencourt se mit au retour d'autant qu'il
pensoit estre moindre mal de souffrir l'Hyuer, & la disette à Port
Royal, y estans bien logés, & chauffés, & attendãts la misericorde
de Dieu; que non pas de risquer sur mer en vn temps de tempestes,
parmy des Barbares & ennemis, ayants [182] encores de plus la faim à
craindre; car nos prouisions commençoy[~e]t fort à faillir: ainsi donc
nous adressasmes à P[~e]tegoet pour nous en retourner à Port Royal.
We were at Kinibequi until the fourth or fifth of November, a
season already too advanced to go on any farther, according to our
first intention; hence sieur de Biencourt set out upon his return,
thinking it the lesser evil to endure Winter and want at Port
Royal, comfortably lodged and warm, awaiting God's mercy, than to
risk passage upon the sea in this stormy season, being now among
Barbarians and enemies, with [182] famine to fear besides; for our
provisions began to be very scarce: therefore we turned towards
Pentegoet, on our way back to Port Royal.
A Pentegoet nous trouuasmes vn'assemblee de quatre vingts cauots
Sauuages, & vne chaloupe. C'estoit en tout enuiron trois cents ames.
De là nous repassasmes à l'Isle S. Croix, où Platrier nous donna deux
barils de pois, ou de febues: l'vn & l'autre nous fut vn bien grand
present.
At Pentegoet we found an assemblage of eighty canoes of Savages,
and a boat, in all about three hundred souls. Thence we passed on
to the Island of Ste. Croix, where Platrier gave us two barrels of
peas or beans; they both proved a very great boon to us.
Icy le P. Biard supplia le sieur de Biencour de le faire passer à la
riuiere S. Ieã à ce qu'il peust aller trouuer du Pont & trauailler au
Catechisme, ainsi qu'ils auoyent conuenu au depart. Mais ledit sieur
ne luy voulust point accorder sa requeste, sinon aux conditions, qu'il
entretinst & nourrist auec soy les matelots, qui le conduiroyent [183]
iusques au Printemps suiuant; Condition totalement impossible. Ainsi
fallust qu'il laissast son Catechisme, & s'en reuinst auec les autres à
Port Royal à son grand regret.
Here Father Biard begged sieur de Biencour to let him go on to the
river St. John so that he could find du Pont and go to work on
the Catechism, as they had agreed at his departure. But the said
sieur was not willing to grant his request, unless on the condition
that he would feed and keep with him, [183] until the following
Spring, the sailors who would take him there; a Condition totally
impossible. Therefore he had to give up his Catechism, and return
with the others to Port Royal, much to his regret.
Tandis que nous estions en voyage aucun n'estoit resté dãs l'habitation
de Port Royal, sinon le P. Enemond Massé, & vn ieune Parisien, appellé
Valentin Pageau. Ledit Pere viuoit en Hermite bien austere, ne voyant
aucun, sinon quelque fois deux, ou trois François qui labouroyent à
deux lieuës de là: & si par fortune, quelque Sauuage passoit. Le P.
Biard tomba peu apres son retour en vne legere maladie, mais lente, &
chronique, qui donna subiect de charité audit Pere Enemond.
While we were away, no one had remained at the settlement of Port
Royal except Father Enemond Massé and a young Parisian, called
Valentin Pageau. The Father lived very austerely, in the manner of
a Hermit, seeing no one, except occasionally two or three Frenchmen
who were cultivating the land two leagues away, and perchance some
Savage who was passing by. Shortly after his return, Father Biard
fell ill of a light but slow and chronic malady, which gave to
Father Enemond an occasion for charity.
On leur auoit assigné vn garçon pour les aider en leurs necessités;
[184] & ils l'auoyent accommodé bien honnestement: mais il les quitta
au gros des neges, & au coeur de l'Hyuer.
They had been given a boy to help them in their needs, [184] whom
they had treated very kindly; but he left them in the depths of the
snow and in the heart of Winter.
Les neges commencerent le 26. de Nouembre, & auec elles (ce qui
faschoit le plus) le retranchement des viures. On ne donnoit à chaque
personne pour toute la sepmaine, qu'enuiron dix onces de pain, demy
liure de lard, trois escuelées de pois, ou de febues, & vne de
pruneaux. Les Iesuites n'en eurent iamais plus, ny autrement qu'vn
chacun de la troupe. Et est mensonge très-impudente ce que le Factieux
allegue du contraire.
The snow began on the 26th of November, and with it (what grieved
them the most) the cutting down of their rations. There was given
to each individual for the entire week only about ten ounces of
bread, half a pound of lard, three bowls of peas or beans, and one
of prunes. The Jesuits never had more nor different things than the
other members of the company and it is a very impudent lie which
the Factionist alleges to the contrary.
Pendant tout ce temps les Sauuages ne nous venoy[~e]t point voir, sinon
rarement quelques vns de la maison de Membertou, pour nous apporter
quelque present de leur chasse. C'estoit lors bonne [185] feste, &
jouine: nos gens en reprenoient vn peu de courage. Ce qui faschoit le
plus, estoit l'apprehension du temps, quand on consideroit l'estenduë
lõgue des mauuais moys, qu'on auoit à passer.
During all this time the Savages did not come to see us, except
rarely some of Membertou's family, to bring us some offering from
the chase. Then there was great [185] feasting and hilarity, and
our people would begin to feel a little encouraged. The most
grievous thing was their dread of the season, when they considered
the long duration of disagreeable months to be endured.
Les Iesuites taschoient, & en priué, & en public de consoler tous, &
vn chacun parmy ceste misere. Et aduint, que le troisiesme Dim[~e]che
apres Noël, auquel on lit l'Euangile _Vinum non habent_: Le P.
Biard exhorta la Compagnie à bien esperer, & prendre la glorieuse
vierge Marie pour aduocare enuers son misericordieux Fils, en toutes
necessitez, & spirituelles, & corporelles, estant ainsi, que par son
intercession iamais le vin de consolation ne manque à ceux qui l'ont
pour hostesse & pour mere. Le seruice finy, le P. Biard s'addressant au
sieur de Bi[~e]court, & luy monstrant les compagnõs, [186] luy dit en
riant: _Vinum non habent_. Le priant de leur en donner de ce peu qui
restoit, adioustant, que le coeur luy disoit qu'on auroit bien tost
secours, & au plus long, dans le moys qui couroit, sçauoir est, dans
Ianuier: & que peut estre verroit-on, qu'il deuineroit sans y penser.
Les Compagnons furent bien-aises, & se gaudissants apres auoir beu,
disoyent: Or bien, nous voy-cy de bon courage, pour attendre si le Pere
sera point Prophete. Et certes il le fut de bonne aduenture: car vn
nauire nous arriua iustement huict iours apres, lequel il nous fallut
aller querir assez loin.
The Jesuits tried, both privately and in public, to comfort all
and every one during this season of misery. And it happened that
on the third Sunday after Christmas, when the Gospel _Vinum non
habent_ is read, Father Biard exhorted the Company to be of good
cheer, and to take the glorious virgin Mary for an advocate with
her compassionate son in every need, spiritual and corporal, as
through her intercession the wine of consolation would never be
wanting to those who have her as a guest and a mother. The service
ended, Father Biard addressed himself to sieur de Biencourt,
and, pointing to his companions, [186] said laughingly, _Vinum
non habent_: begging him to give them the little that remained,
adding that his heart told him they would soon have succor,--at
the farthest, during the present month, namely, in January; and
perhaps it would be seen that he had unwittingly prophesied. His
Companions were delighted, and, in their joy after drinking, said,
"Now, truly, we have the courage to wait and see if the Father is a
Prophet." And certainly he made a lucky hit, for a ship reached us
just one week afterward, which we had to go a long way out to seek.
CHAPITRE XX. [i.e., xix.]
COMME MADAME LA MARQUISE DE GUERCHEUILLE OBTINT DU ROY LES TERRES DE LA
[187] NOUUELLE FRANCE, & LE SECOURS QU'ELLE Y MOYENNA.
LE sieur du Potrincourt estãt reuenu en France au mois d'Aoust de
l'an 1611. ainsi qu'a esté dit cy deuant, esuentoit de tous costés la
trace, & le moyen de pouuoir secourir ses g[~e]ts, lesquels il sçauoit
ne pouuoir long temps durer sans renfort, & rauitaillement nouueau.
La peine estoit de trouuer quelque bon Æole, Roy des Autans Bursins,
qui les voulust donner, non comme ils le furent à Vlysses, liés dans
le cuir pour ne souffler pas, ains deliés, & de bon cours pour bouffer
dans les voiles, car sans cela point de nauire ne sçauroit auancer.
Or considerant que Madame la Marquise de Guercheuille affectionnoit
extremement la conuersion des Sauuages; qu'ell'auoit [188] ja procuré
des aumosnes aux Iesuites, à laquelle ils faisoit fort bõ accueil, &
voyãt que plusieurs rares vertus brilloyent en elle, il cuida qu'elle
pourroit bien encliner à ceste bonn'oeuure. Il luy en parla, & ladicte
Dame respondit, que volontiers ell'entreroit en l'association que le
sieur Robin, & les Iesuites auoyent auecques luy pour le secours de
Canada, moyennant que ce fust de la bonne volonté des associés, &
qu'elle les aideroit trestous de bonn'affectiõ. Vous pouuez estimer
si les Iesuites deuoyent resister à ceste proposition, ou si le
sieur Robin en estoit malcontent, à qui ja Canada ne pesoit que trop.
Ainsi donc contract fut passé d'association. Ladicte Dame estant à ce
autorisee par le sieur de Liencourt premier Escuyer de sa Majesté, &
Gouuerneur de Paris son honnoré, [189] & digne mary. Par ce contract
estoit arresté qu'icelle Dame dõneroit presentement mille escus pour
la cargaison d'vn nauire, & moyennant ce ell'entreroit en part, &
des profits que ledit nauire rapporteroit du pays, & des terres que
sa Majesté auoit donné audit sieur de Potrincourt, ainsi qu'il est
amplement porté dans la minute. En ce contract, le sieur de Potrincourt
se reserue Port Royal & ses terres, & dit n'entendre point, qu'il
entre en diuision, ny communication des autres Seigneuries, Caps,
Haures, & Prouinces, qu'il donne à entendre d'auoir audit pays, outre
Port Royal. Or Madame la Marquise somma ledit sieur de Potrincourt
de produire les papiers & instruments, par lesquels il constast de
ces siennes appartenances & domaine si grand; il s'excusa, disant,
[190] qu'il les auoit laissé en la nouuelle France. Ceste response fit
soupçõner ladicte Dame & comme ell'est prudente, engin ne luy manqua
pas pour se garder d'estre surprise: car elle fit auec le sieur Pierre
du Gua, dit de Monts, qu'il luy retrocedast tous les droicts, actiõs,
& pretensions qu'il auoit, & auoit oncques eu, en la nouuelle France
à cause de la donation à luy faicte par feu Henry le Grand. Item
d'autre part, elle impetra lettres de sa Majesté à present regnant, par
lesquelles donation luy est faicte de nouueau de toutes les terres,
portes & haures de la nouuelle France dés la grande riuiere, iusques
à la Floride, horsmis seulement Port Royal. Et en ceste façon celuy
qu'on eust pensé estre le plus fin se retrouua contre son opinion serré
& confiné comm'en prison dedans son Port [181 i.e., 191] Royal, parce
qu'en verité, il n'a, ny n'a iamais eu autres terres, Caps, ny aures,
Isles, ny continent, sinon Port Royal, & sa coste: Là où maintenant la
dicte Dame tient tout le reste par double tiltre, sçauoir est, & de
donation ou cession du sieur de Monts, & de donation nouuelle faicte
par sa Majesté à present regnant.
CHAPTER XX. [i.e., xix.]
HOW MADAME LA MARQUISE DE GUERCHEVILLE OBTAINED FROM THE KING THE
LANDS OF [187] NEW FRANCE, AND THE HELP WHICH SHE SENT THERE.
SIEUR du Potrincourt having returned to France in the month of
August of the year 1611, as has been said above, searched on all
sides for ways and means of being able to help his people, who
he knew could not continue long without reinforcements and fresh
food. The trouble was to find some good Æolus, King of the South
and North winds, who would be willing to give them, not as they
were given to Ulysses, bound up in a leather bag so as not to
blow, but free and propitious to swell the sails, for without this
no ship could advance. Now considering that Madame la Marquise
de Guercheville had the conversion of the Savages very much at
heart; that she had [188] already procured some donations for the
Jesuits, which they received very gratefully; and seeing that many
rare virtues shone in her character, he thought that she might
readily favor this good work. He spoke to her about it, and the
Lady responded that she would willingly enter into the partnership
which sieur Robin and the Jesuits had formed with him for assisting
Canada, provided that this was the wish of the partners, and
that she would aid them all with affectionate interest. You may
judge whether the Jesuits ought to have refused this proposition,
or whether sieur Robin, upon whom Canada already weighed rather
heavily, was dissatisfied with it. Thus then the contract of
association[33] was entered into, the Lady being authorized to
do this by sieur de Liencourt, chief Equerry of his Majesty, and
Governor of Paris, her honored [189] and worthy husband.[42] By
this contract it was arranged that the Lady should give at once a
thousand écus for the lading of a ship, and in consideration of
this she would have a share both in the profits which said ship
would bring back from the country, and in the lands which his
Majesty had given to sieur de Potrincourt, as is amply set forth
in the minutes. In this contract, sieur de Potrincourt reserves
for himself Port Royal and its lands, and says that it is not to
be understood that he enters into partition or transference of
other Seigneuries, Capes, Harbors, and Provinces, which he gives
to understand he possesses in that country, outside of Port Royal.
Now Madame la Marquise summoned sieur de Potrincourt to produce the
papers and documents, by which he could prove these his so great
appurtenances and domains; he excused himself, saying [190] that he
had left them in new France. This answer made the Lady suspicious,
and, as she is prudent, means were not lacking to guard against
fraud; for she arranged with sieur Pierre du Gua, called de Monts,
that he should give up to her all rights, claims and pretensions
that he had, and ever had had, in new France, based upon the deed
of gift made to him by the late Henry the Great. Also on the other
hand she secured letters from his Majesty now reigning, by which
a deed of gift was newly granted her of all the lands, ports, and
harbors of new France from the great river to Florida, with the
sole exception of Port Royal. And in this way he, who was thought
to be so shrewd, found himself, against his choice, locked up and
confined as in a prison within his Port [181 i.e., 191] Royal;
because, in truth, he has not and never has had, other lands, Capes
or harbors, Islands or continent, except Port Royal and its coasts.
Whereas now this Lady holds all the rest by a double title; namely,
by donation or cession of sieur de Monts, and by a deed of gift
newly granted by his Majesty now reigning.
Or icelle craignant, que son argent ne fist naufrage auãt que de monter
sur mer, elle l'auoit confié entre les mains d'vn Iesuite coadiuteur,
qu'on enuoyoit à la nouuelle France, pour aider les Prestres qui ja
y estoyent. Le Iesuite deuoit consigner cest argent à Dieppe entre
les mains d'vn marchand, qui l'employast en l'achept de victuailles,
marchandises, & affretement; mais il fut trop à la bonne foy. Car à la
requisition du sieur de Potrincourt il s'en laissa [192] tirer quatre
c[~e]ts escus sans autre caution, que d'en retirer vne cedule. Ainsi il
n'y eust que six cents escus employez en tout cet affretement; Emplete
bien digne de Canada.
Now she, fearing her money might be wrecked before it had embarked
upon the sea, confided it to the hands of a Jesuit lay brother,[43]
who was being sent to new France to help the Priests who were
already there. The Jesuit was to deliver this money at Dieppe into
the hands of a merchant, that he might use it in the purchase of
food, merchandise, and freight; but he was too confiding. For at
the requisition of sieur de Potrincourt, he allowed [192] four
hundred écus to be drawn without other security than a note of
hand. Therefore he used only six hundred écus for this entire
cargo; an investment very worthy of Canada.
Ce n'est pas tout. Le sieur de Potrincourt cõmit à l'administratiõ du
nauire, & maniem[~e]t des affaires vn certain sien seruiteur, appellé
Simon Imbert, anciennement tauernier à Paris, & alors cherchant parmy
les bois de la nouuelle France de quoy payer ses creanciers. Le
nauire appartenoit à vn Capitaine, appellé Nicolas l'Abbé, de Dieppe,
honneste, & sage personne. Ce nauire donc ainsi equippé & freté partit
de Dieppe le 31. de Decembre au le plus fort de l'hyuer, & paruint
heureusement à Port Royal le 23. de Ianuier en l'an suiuant 1612.
n'ayant consumé que deux moys en chemin.
This is not all. Sieur de Potrincourt confided the
administration of the ship and the management of affairs, to a
certain servant of his called Simon Imbert, a former innkeeper
at Paris, and at that time seeking in the woods of new France
something with which to pay his creditors. The ship belonged
to a Captain, called Nicolas l'Abbé, of Dieppe, an honest and
prudent man. So this vessel, thus equipped and freighted, departed
from Dieppe the 31st of December in the very depth of winter,
and arrived happily at Port Royal on the 23rd of January in the
following year, 1612, having consumed only two months in the
journey.
CHAPITRE XXI. [i.e., xx.]
[193] LE COMMENCEMENT DES DISPUTES ENTRE LE SIEUR DE BIENCOURT, & LES
IESUITES & LES CAUSES D'ICELLES, L'ACCUSATION, QU'ON FIT DE GILBERT DU
THET, & SA DEFENSE.
LA ioye fut grande aux secourus de ceste arriuée de nauire pour
l'estroitte necessité où ils se retrouuoyent, & les frayeurs, qu'ils
auoyent conçeu de l'aduenir. Mais ceste resiouissance ne fut pas
longue, le sieur de Biencour n'estant point à son aise dés que Simon
Imbert, luy eust porté nouuelles de l'association faicte auec Madame
la Marquise de Guercheuille. Or parce que le Iesuite Gilbert du Thet,
estant dans le nauire, quoy qu'il ne se fust meslé des affaires,
toutesfois [194] n'auoit pas esté si borgne (comme l'on dit) qu'il ny
eust tousiours veu d'vn oeil; comme il en auoit charge, & commandement.
Iceluy doncques pour s'acquitter de son deuoir, & garder le droit,
s'en alla trouuer le sieur de Biencourt, en presence du P. Biard
luy dit, Qu'il s'esmerueilloit bien fort, que Simon Imbert ayant eu
l'administration de tout l'embarquement, ce neantmoins il n'auoit
apporté aucun roolle, ny charte-partie, ny memoires de ce qui auoit
esté embarqué, ny où, ny comment l'argent de Madame la Marquise
auoit esté employé. Qu'il deuoit bien l'auoir faict au moins pour
iustification de sa probité, & bonne foy mesmes, puis qu'il apportait
plusieurs marchandises qu'il asseuroit estre à luy en proprieté, &
desquelles on pourroit auoir soupçon, qu'il se fust accommodé [195]
au detriment de la dicte Dame, & d'eux. Qu'ils ne vouloyent point
l'accuser auant que de l'auoir trouué coulpable, neãtmoins qu'auant
aussi de le recognoistre non coulpable, il y auoit bien de quoy
s'enquerir en tout cela, & mesmes de ce qu'il auoit vendu à Dieppe du
bled, qui luy auoit esté dõné pour l'embarquement: chose qui tournoit
au grand preiudice de l'habitation, laquelle defailloit principalement
en victuailles. Item, qu'il comptoit sept barrils de Galette despensez
durant le voyage, & il ne disoit rien que de ces sept il y en auoit
deux, qu'vn certain Robert de Roüen auoit fourny pour sa part: car en
ceste façon il ne falloit pas compter sur la compagnie sept barrils,
ains cinq tant seulement. Qu'on supplioit ledit sieur de s'enquester
de tout l'affaire prudemment, [196] & s'y conduire tousiours comme
nous deuons par tout, auec charité, & retenuë. Telle fut la simple
remonstrance, que luy fit le Iesuite, & le sieur de Biencourt a
souuent depuis rendu tesmoignage, qu'on ne luy pouuoit indiquer ce
mesnage, auec plus de modestie que lon fit. Neantmoins au lieu de
faire ce dequoy on l'auoit requis, & à quoy il estoit tenu, il s'en
alla rapporter le tout audit Simon Imbert, adioustant que le Iesuite
coadiuteur l'auoit accusé.
CHAPTER XXI. [i.e., xx.]
[193] THE BEGINNING OF THE DISPUTES BETWEEN SIEUR DE BIENCOURT AND
THE JESUITS, AND THE CAUSES THEREOF; THE ACCUSATION MADE AGAINST
GILBERT DU THET, AND HIS DEFENSE.
GREAT was the rejoicing over the relief afforded by the arrival of
this ship, on account of the severe straits to which the colonists
had been reduced, and the dread which they felt for the future. But
this joy did not last long, sieur de Biencour being ill at ease on
account of the news brought by Simon Imbert about the partnership
formed with the Marquise de Guercheville. Now the Jesuit, Gilbert
du Thet, being in the ship, although he had not meddled with
affairs, nevertheless [194] had not been so blind of one eye (as
the saying is) that he had not always kept watch with the other,
as he had been charged and commanded to do. Now in order to acquit
himself of his duty, and to uphold the right, he went to see sieur
de Biencourt; and, in the presence of Father Biard, he said to
him: That he was very much surprised that, as Simon Imbert had had
the management of the entire embarkation, nevertheless he had not
brought any list of the ship's company, nor charter party,[44] nor
invoice of what had been shipped, nor statement of where or how
the money of Madame la Marquise de Guercheville had been spent.
That he ought to have done this at least for the vindication of
his own honesty and good faith, since he had brought a great deal
of merchandise which he claimed belonged to him, and which it
would be suspected he had appropriated [195] to the detriment of
the said Lady, and of themselves. That they did not wish to accuse
him before having found him guilty; nevertheless, before admitting
his innocence, there was a great deal to investigate in the whole
matter, and especially in regard to his having sold at Dieppe wheat
which had been given him to be shipped--an act which would prove
to be a great disadvantage to the settlement, which was in need of
provisions more than of anything else. Also, that he counted seven
barrels of Sea-biscuits dispensed during the voyage, and he did not
say that of these seven, two were furnished by a certain Robert de
Roüen as his share; so, for this reason, seven barrels should not
have been charged to the company, but only five. That the sieur
was entreated to investigate the whole affair prudently, [196] and
to conduct himself always in the matter as we ought to do in all
things, with charity and dignity. Such was the simple remonstrance
that was made to him by the Jesuit; and sieur de Biencourt has
often testified since then, that this matter could not have been
called to his attention with greater delicacy than it was. But,
instead of doing what he was requested, and what he was bound to
do, he went and reported the whole affair to Simon Imbert, adding
that the Jesuit lay brother had accused him.
Or quels conseils furent prins là dessus, & quelles menées, ou
pretensions, ie n'en sçay rien. Tant y a, que comme de petites
exhalaisons & vapeurs, qui au commencement ne sont rien, s'esleuent
d'espaisses nuees, vents furieux, & horribles tempestes qui à traict
de temps s'effarouchent & [197] gastent les cãpagnes & moissons: Ainsi
de ce peu de cause par l'agitation de l'esprit malin se grossit en vn
tourbillon malencontreux de discorde, qui a dissipé, & rauagé tous les
fruicts, & les esperances de ce premier essartem[~e]t. Car Imbert luy
depeignit l'association faicte auec la Dame Marquise de de Guercheuille
comm'vn moyen inuenté par les Iesuites, à fin de l'expulser hors de ses
amples Seigneuries de Canada.
Now what counsels were held thereupon, and what underhand
dealings or claims, I know not. However, as from little exhalations
and vapors, which at first amount to nothing, arise dense clouds,
furious winds, and horrible tempests, which suddenly sweep over
and [197] destroy fields and harvests; so from this slight cause,
through the agitation of the evil spirit, the trouble increased
to a mischievous whirlwind of discord, which has scattered and
ravaged all the fruits and hopes of this first clearing. For Imbert
represented to him that the partnership formed with Madame la
Marquise de Guercheville was a means invented by the Jesuits to
drive him out of his broad Seigneuries of Canada.
Or les Iesuites n'estants point aises de se voir loger en si ioly
predicament, par deux fois en presence du sieur de Biencourt, & de
toute l'habitation conuainquirent de fausseté ledit Imbert par les
tesmoins mesmes qu'il alleguoit; & en la secõde le presserent tellement
qu'il fut contrainct de dire qu'il auoit esté yure quand il auoit ainsi
parlé. Desquelles verités [198] & innocence, y a bons & authentiques
actes, & tesmoignages faicts & rendus iuridiquem[~e]t à Dieppe par
deuant le Magistrat, apres le retour du nauire.
Now the Jesuits, not pleased at seeing themselves placed in such a
pretty predicament, twice in the presence of sieur de Biencourt and
of the whole settlement, convicted the said Imbert of duplicity,
by the very same witnesses which he had put forward; and the
second time they pressed him so hard that he was compelled to say
he had been drunk when he had spoken thus. Of their truth [198]
and innocence in this, there are good and authentic records and
proofs, made and rendered according to law at Dieppe, before the
Magistrate, after the return of the ship.
CHAPITRE XXIII. [i.e., xxi.]
VN VOYAGE DU PERE ENEMOND MASSÉ & VN AUTRE DU P. BIARD.
LA reconciliation ayant esté faicte du depuis, & toutes choses
pacifiées, les Iesuites se r'adonnans à l'estude, & apprentissage du
langage Sauuaginois, estimerent vn bon moyen de s'y cõtraindre, &
d'apprendre mieux les vs, façons, & vie du pays, s'ils alloyent, &
demeuroyent auec les naturels, errants, & courants auec eux par monts
& vallées; & viuants à leur mode quant au ciuil, [199] & corporel.
Ils s'offrirent à Louys Membertou, pour en ceste façon demeurer auec
luy, s'il luy plaisoit l'agréer: ce qu'il accepta fort volontiers. Le
P. Enemond Massé, comm'il est courageux, voulut que cest'entreprinse
fust pour luy; aussi fut-il iugé plus propre à cela par la cõmune voix
de ceux de l'habitation, à cause de son industrie, & engin practic,
idoine de trouuer tous remedes à tous inconueniens. Il s'en alla dõc
auec Louys Membertou, & sa famille, au delà de la Baye Françoise à la
riuiere S. Iean, & commença son nouitiat de ceste vie Nomadique, bien
aspre de vray, & de fort essay.
CHAPTER XXIII. [i.e., xxi.]
A JOURNEY MADE BY FATHER ENEMOND MASSÉ, AND ANOTHER BY FATHER BIARD.
A RECONCILIATION was effected afterward, and everything calmed
down. The Jesuits, devoting themselves to the study and
apprenticeship of the Savage language, thought a good way to force
themselves to this, and to better learn the usages, habits and life
of the country, would be to go away and live with the natives,
wandering and roving about as they did through mountains and
valleys, and adopting their ways, civil [199] as well as physical.
They offered themselves to Louys Membertou, to live with him in
that way, if he were pleased to receive them: he agreed to do so
very willingly. Father Enemond Massé, as he was full of courage,
desired that this enterprise should fall to him; also he was judged
more suitable for it by the common voice of the settlement, on
account of his industry and practical ingenuity, ready to find
a remedy for every inconvenience. He went away then, with Louys
Membertou and his family, beyond French Bay to St. John river, and
began his novitiate in this Nomadic life, truly a very hard and
trying ordeal.
Ceste vie est sans ordre, & sans ordinaire, sans pain, sans sel, &
bien souuent auec rien; tousiours en courses, & changements, au vent,
à l'air, & mauuais temps; [200] pour toict, vne meschante cabane:
pour reposoir, la terre: pour repos les crys, & chants odieux: pour
remedes, la faim, & le trauail. C'estoit à la verité, vne regle
bien forte. Ledit P. Enemond à fin de garder par tout l'honnesteté
religieuse auoit amené auec soy vn ieune garçõ François bi[~e]
gaillard, qui l'aidoit, luy assistoit par tout, & luy seruoit à la
Messe. Mais & maistre & seruiteur tous deux se trouuerent bien tost
rudement examinés par vne diete si distemperée; tout leur en-bon-point
decheut; leurs forces, couleur, & gaillardise; les iambes leur
deuindrent grosses & pesantes, les esprits assopis, & succeda vne
fieure lente: laquelle toutesfois se passa bien tost: & depuis peu
à peu ils prindrent ply, & reuindrent aucunement à leur vigueur. Le
Pere Enemond y pensa perdre la veuë [201] sans aucun mal des yeux:
L'atrophie à mon aduis causoit ceste debilité de sens, & des esprits.
This life is without order and without daily fare, without
bread, without salt, and often without anything; always moving on
and changing, in the wind, in the air, and in bad weather; [200]
for roof, a wretched cabin; for couch, the earth; for rest and
quiet, odious cries and songs; for medicine, hunger, and hard work.
It was, in truth, a very painful mode of living. Father Enemond,
in order to everywhere preserve a religious propriety, had taken
with him a young and vigorous French boy, who helped him, attended
him wherever he went, and assisted him at the Mass. But both master
and servant soon found themselves in a bad condition through such
irregular diet: they became thin, and lost their strength, color,
and cheerfulness; their legs grew big and heavy, their minds were
dulled, and a low fever set in; however, this soon passed away, and
then little by little they regained their usual appearance, and
each was restored to his customary vigor. Father Enemond thought he
was going to lose his sight, [201] without any disease of the eyes;
atrophy, it seems to me, caused this debility of the senses and of
the mind.
Ce temps pendant, le P. Biard demeuroit à Port Royal, ayant pris auec
soy vn Sauuage, lequel il nourrissoit, & s'en seruoit comme de maistre
en langue Sauuagine. Il le nourrissoit, dis-je, de ce qu'il auoit peu
espargner de son ordinaire, & mesme le seruoit, parce que les Sauuages,
ou de paresse, ou plustost de hautaineté de courage ne se daigneroyent
faire aucuns seruice, comme d'aller à l'eau, au bois, à la cuisine, &c.
d'autant que, disent-ils, cela appartient aux femmes. Il entretint donc
ce Sauuage, & fut son appr[~e]tif au lãgage trois semaines durant, mais
il ne peut plus long temps, faute d'auoir dequoy le nourrir, ce qui luy
fut fort grief, parce que le Sauuage estoit de [202] bon naturel, &
demeuroit auec luy bien volontiers.
During this time, Father Biard remained at Port Royal, having with
him a Savage whom he fed and made use of as a master in the Savage
tongue. He fed him, I say, from what he had been able to save
from his own daily fare, and even waited on him; for the Savages,
either from laziness, or from lofty courage, do not deign to do
any work, such as going for water, for wood, to the kitchen, etc.,
for they say that belongs to the women. So he entertained this
Savage, and was his apprentice in the language for three weeks,
but he could keep it up no longer, for want of something to give
him to eat; this grieved him exceedingly, for the Savage was [202]
good-natured, and willing to live with him.
Or tandis que le P. Enemond estoit malade entre les Sauuages, arriua
vn plaisant rencontre. Ledit Pere s'estant cabané à part pour cause
de sa maladie, Loys Membertou le vint trouuer fort en peine (comm'il
monstroit,) & luy dit: Escoute Pere. Tu t'en vas mourir, ie le deuine.
Escry donc à Biencourt, & à ton frere, que tu es mort de maladie, & que
nous ne t'auons pas tué. Ie m'en garderay bien (dit le P. Enemond:) car
possible apres que i'aurois escrit la lettre, tu me tuerois, cependant
tu porterois ta lettre d'innocence, que tu ne m'aurois pas tué. Icy le
Sauuage reuint à soy, & se recogneut (car il n'est pas lourd:) & se
prenant à rire. Bien donc (dit-il,) prie Iesus que tu ne meure pas, à
fin qu'on ne nous accuse de t'auoir [203] faict mourir. Aussi fais-je,
dit le P. Enemond, n'aye peur, ie ne mourray pas.
Now while Father Enemond was sick among the Savages, an amusing
incident occurred. As the Father was in a cabin, apart from the
others on account of his illness, Loys Membertou, apparently in
great trouble came to see him, and said to him: "Listen, Father.
Thou art going to die; I predict it. Write now to Biencourt and
to thy brother, that thou hast died of disease, and that we did
not kill thee." "I shall take care not to do that" (said Father
Enemond), "for possibly after I had written this letter, thou
wouldst kill me, and then thou wouldst take there thy innocent
letter, saying thou hadst not killed me." Here the Savage, seeing
what was meant (for he is not dull) and recovering his equanimity
began to laugh. "Well then" (said he), "pray Jesus that thou mayest
not die, so they will not accuse us of having [203] killed thee."
"Indeed, I am doing so," said Father Enemond; "do not fear, I shall
not die."
Sur la fin d'Aoust d'icell'année 1612. le sieur de Biencourt voulut
aller à la Baye des Mines à 21. ou 22. lieuës de Port Royal: de vray
il y alloit bien mal en conche, dans vne pietre chaloupe, n'ayant que
pour huict iours de viures, & manquant de toutes autres prouisions. Le
P. Biard neantmoins s'offrit à l'accompagner, parce que ledit sieur
promettoit de s'enquester, & rechercher nouuelles du P. Enemond, duquel
ja dés deux mois nous n'auions rien ouy, & nous nous craignions fort,
qu'il ne fust tombé en quelque inconuenient, ou maladie.
Towards the end of August of this year, 1612, sieur de Biencourt
wished to go to the Bay of Mines, 21 or 22 leagues from Port Royal:
he was certainly ill-prepared to go there, in a wretched boat,
having food for only eight days, and lacking all other provisions.
Father Biard, however, offered to accompany him, because the sieur
promised to inquire about and seek news of Father Enemond, of whom
we had heard nothing for two months, and who, we greatly feared,
had fallen into some trouble or sickness.
Or quoy que si mal prouisionnés, toutesfois nous n'allasmes pas
seulement à la Baye des Mines: ains aussi à Chinictou; Champlain [204]
appelle ceste Baye, la Baye de Genes. A ce Chinictou y a de fort
belles, & grandes prairies à perte de veuë, plusieurs riuieres se
deschargent dans ladicte Baye, & par aucunes d'icelles on monte bien
haut pour aller à Gachepé. Les Sauuages de cest endroit peuuent monter
à soixante, ou quatre vingts ames, & ne sont point si vagabons, que
les autres, soit pource que le lieu est plus retiré, soit qu'il est
plus abondant en chasse, n'estant point de besoin d'en sortir pour
viure. Le pays est pour la pluspart agreable; & à mon aduis, de grande
fertilité s'il estoit cultiué. Il est dans le quarente six degré
d'eleuation polaire.
Now although so badly provisioned, nevertheless we went not
only to the Bay of Mines, but also to Chinictou; Champlain [204]
calls this Bay, the Baye de Genes. At this Chinictou there are many
large and beautiful meadows, extending farther than the eye can
reach; many rivers discharge their waters into it, through some of
which one can sail quite far up on the route to Gachepé.[45] The
Savages of this place may number sixty or eighty souls, and they
are not so nomadic as the others, either because the place is more
retired, or because game is more abundant, there being no need of
their going out to seek food. The country is, for the most part,
agreeable, and, in my opinion, would be very fertile if it were
cultivated. It is within the forty-sixth degree of north latitude.
A nostre retour de la dicte Baye Dieu nous preserua euidemment deux
fois emmy la tempeste. Et la troisiesme fut celle que [205] ie m'en
vais raconter. Nous n'auions apporté que pour huit iours de viures, &
ja y en auoit quinze de nostre despart. Le mauuais temps nous tenoit
au delà de la Baye des mines, du costé de la riuiere S. Iean, si le
contrastre ou contrarieté de vents eust duré, c'en estoit fait, il
falloit mourir de faim, car nous n'auions rien. La nuict venuë le P.
Biard persuada à la compagnie de faire vn voeu à nostre Seigneur, &
à sa benoiste Mere, que s'il leur plaisoit nous donner vent propice,
les quatre Sauuages qui estoyent auec nous se feroyent Chrestiens. Les
Sauuages en furent bien contans, & ainsi le voeu fut faict. Le matin
venu le vent fut esueillé tel qu'il le nous falloit, & à son ayde
nous trauersasmes la dicte Baye, qui est de huict lieües de large. Or
arriuez à terre du costé de Port Royal [206] le vent nous manqua. Et si
auions marée contre nous & quinze lieües iusques à Port Royal.
Upon our return from this Bay, God manifestly preserved us twice
in the midst of the tempest. And the third escape is that which
[205] I am going to describe. We had carried with us food for only
eight days and it had already been fifteen since our departure.
Bad weather kept us beyond the Bay of mines, on the St. John river
side; and, if the contrary or adverse winds had continued, it would
have been all over with us, as we would have had to die of hunger,
for we had nothing. When night came, Father Biard persuaded the
company to make a vow to our Lord, and to his blessed Mother, that
if it pleased them, to send propitious winds, the four Savages who
were with us would become Christians. The Savages were willing to
do this, and the vow was made. In the morning the wind arose, such
a one as we were in need of, and by its aid we crossed the Bay,
which is eight leagues wide. Now when we reached shore on the Port
Royal side, [206] the wind failed us; also we had the tide against
us, and we were fifteen leagues from Port Royal.
A ceste cause le sieur de Biencourt nous quitta, aymant mieux s'en
aller à pied auec les Sauuages: Mais il fut trompé, car aussi tost,
qu'il nous eust delaissez, le bon temps nous reuint a l'aide duquel,
& du bon courage des compagnons, nous arriuasmes ce mesme iour à Port
Royal; là où ledit sieur n'y reuint, que trois iours apres ayant prou
paty. Or les Sauuages estoyent prests à receuoir le S. Baptesme, mais
on n'auoit pas dequoy les nourrir quatre ou cinq iours, qu'il eust
fallu pour les Catechiser. Car tout nous manquoit. On les differa
iusques à ce que le nauire sut venu qu'on attendoit de iour à autre.
Mais l'attente fut vayne, ainsi qu'ouïrez. Et ainsi l'occasion de ce
bien se perdit à [207] nostre grand regret.
For this reason sieur de Biencourt left us, preferring to go on
foot with the Savages: but he made a mistake, for immediately
after his departure, good weather returned, by the aid of which,
and owing to the good courage of our companions, we arrived the
same day at Port Royal; whereas the sieur did not get there until
three days later, after much suffering. Now the Savages were
ready to receive Holy Baptism, but there was nothing for them to
eat during the four or five days in which they would have to be
Catechized. For we were in need of everything. It was put off until
the coming of the ship, which was expected from day to day; but the
expectation was vain, as you will hear. And thus the opportunity
for this good deed was lost, to [207] our great regret.
Or le P. Biard reuenu à la maison comme il estoit bien aise d'auoir si
merueilleusement euadé la mort, la faim & les orages; Aussi estoit-il
en tristesse fort grande pour n'auoir sceu nouuelles aucunes de son
cher Confrere le P. Enemond, qu'il aymoit vniquement. Mais Dieu le
resiouyt plenierement ce mesme iour. Car comme si le rendez-vous leur
eust esté donné à mesme assignation, il arriua ce mesme iour sur le
vespre, sain & sauue, & chargé de merites & bonnes oeuures: tant pour
auoir beaucoup paty, comme pour auoir mis au Paradis quelques ames, qui
estoyent passées aussi tost apres le S. Baptesme. De vray ils eurent
tous deux grande occasion de benir d'vn grand coeur leur bon Dieu, &
Seigneur, qui les cõsoloit si paternellement, [208] & si oculairement
les protegeoit en tout, & par tout.
Now Father Biard, being again at home, although he was very happy
at having so wonderfully escaped death, famine, and tempest;
nevertheless was exceedingly cast down at not having heard any news
of his dear Brother, Father Enemond, for whom he had a singular
attachment. But God completely relieved his fears that very day.
For, as if the rendezvous had been assigned them at this very
place, he arrived the same day, safe and sound, and loaded with
merit and good works: as much for having suffered so greatly, as
for having placed in Paradise some souls, which had passed away
immediately after Holy Baptism. In truth they both had reason to
bless with full hearts their good God and Lord, who comforted them
like a father, [208] and so visibly protected them in all things,
and everywhere.
CHAPITRE XXIV. [i.e., xxii.]
CE QU'ARRIUA L'HYUER, & LE PRINTEMPS SUIUANT, DE L'AN 1613.
LE sieur de Biencourt s'attendoit totalement de receuoir secours de
France auant l'Hyuer, voyre mesme on auoit dit qu'il y auoit trois, ou
quatre nauires en chemin, & ja recherchoit-on, où l'on pourroit loger
tant & tant de biens, qui venoyent en flotte. Sur ceste confiance le
sieur de Biencourt auoit trocqué quasi tout. Et partant se vit bien
esbahy, quand à la Toussaincts il se trouua hors de tout espoir de
secours pour ceste année là.
CHAPTER XXIV. [i.e., xxii.]
WHAT HAPPENED DURING THE WINTER AND SPRING FOLLOWING, OF THE YEAR
1613.
Sieur de Biencourt fully expected to receive help from France
before Winter, especially as it had been said that there were three
or four ships on the way, and already we were looking about to see
where we could store so many things as were coming in this fleet.
Trusting in this, sieur de Biencourt had traded almost everything.
He was therefore very much astonished, when on All Saints' day, he
found himself without hope of any relief that year.
[209] Or les Iesuites, qui n'auoyent point mis cuire (comme l'on dit)
sur ces imaginatiues attentes, auoyent reserué dans leur magasin cinq
grands poinçons de bled; quatre de pur froment, & vn d'orge qu'on
leur auoit enuoyé de France pour leur particulier. Tout cela faisoit
quatorze barils de bon grain. Eux donc voyants la necessité du sieur
de Biencourt, l'allerent trouuer, & luy offrirent leurs moyens de
bonne volonté, & qu'il prinst tout leur bled, hors seulement deux
barrils de froment, & vn d'orge, qu'ils se desiroyent reseruer pour
diuers accidents de necessitez, & maladies tant d'eux, que des autres.
Quant au reste, qu'on n'innoueroit rien, ains à leur accoustumée ils
receuroyent la distribution quotidienne à l'egal des autres. Le sieur
de Biencourt accepta l'offre, & les [210] conditiõs, & selon icelles on
commença de viure.
[209] Now the Jesuits, who had not built much (as the saying is)
upon these visionary expectations, had reserved in their storeroom
five large puncheons of grain, four of pure wheat and one of
barley, which had been sent from France for their own use. It made
in all fourteen barrels of good grain. Now, when they saw sieur
de Biencourt's necessity, they went to him and cheerfully offered
him their means, saying that he should take all their grain with
the sole exception of two barrels of wheat and one of barley,
which they wished to reserve for various emergencies of want and
sickness, both for themselves and the others. As to the remainder,
they would not touch it, except to receive as usual their daily
portion like the others. Sieur de Biencourt accepted the offer, and
its [210] conditions, and according to these we began to live.
Ce pendant les Iesuites ayants Dieu pour appuy, ne perdoyent point
courage, ains selon la lumiere, & l'engin, que leur estoit donné,
pouruoyoyent à l'aduenir. Partant ils s'auiserent de bastir vne
chaloupe, tandis que les autres demeuroyent au pres du feu à leur
aise sans trauailler. Car ils preuoyoyent, que sans bateau, il leur
conuiendroit mourir de faim apres deux mois que leur pourroit durer
leur orge, parce qu'ils ne pourroyent aller sans bateau ny au gland, ny
aux coques, ny aux racines, ny à la pesche, ny autre part, où seroit
quelque esperance de queste. Parce que les chemins de ce païs là sont
les riuieres, & la mer.
Meanwhile the Jesuits, with God as their support, did not lose
heart, but, according to the light and ingenuity given them,
provided for the future. Thus they decided to construct a boat
while the others were sitting around the fire doing nothing. For
they foresaw that, without this, they would surely die of hunger
after the two months in which their barley would last; and, having
no boat, they could not go for acorns, shells, roots, or fish, nor
to any place where there would be hope of finding something. For
the roads in that country are the rivers and the sea.
Au commencements de ceste leur entreprinse de bastir vne [211]
chaloupe, on se mocquoit deux: car le cõducteur de l'oeuure estoit
leur garçon, qui n'en sçauoit pas plus qu'vn apprentif: ses aides
estoyent deux Prestres, qui iamais n'auoyent faict tel mestier.
Neãtmoins (disoit-on) le P. Enemond sçait tout faire, & au besoin il se
trouuera bon Scieur d'ais, bon calfeutreur, & bõ Architecte. Mais le
P. Biard dequoy seruira-il à cela? Ne sçais-tu pas, (disoit l'autre,)
que quand la chaloupe sera faicte, il luy donnera la benediction.
Ainsi causoyent-ils, & en auoyent beau loisir, aupres du feu. Mais
les Iesuites ne perdoyent point de temps à scier planches, à raboter
ais, rechercher courbes, à faire estoupes des bouts de cordages
qu'ils recouuroyent, à courir les bois pour amasser de la resine. Que
voulez-vous? A la my-Mars leur gaillarde chaloupe fut [212] dans l'eau
equippée, parée, accommodée brauement auec l'admiration de ceux qui
s'en estoyent moquez: & tout au contraire, le sieur de Biencourt, qui
au commencement de l'Hyuer auoit eu trois bonnes chaloupes, à la fin
ne s'en trouua du tout point, & fut contraint du bris d'icelles faire
rauauder vn malotru bateau pour trois personnes au plus, qui n'eust
sceu faire trois lieües continuellement en mer, qu'il ne fust pery,
tant il faisoit d'eau.
When they began to carry out this plan of constructing a [211]
boat they were both laughed at; for the master of the work was
their servant, who knew nothing more about it than an apprentice;
his assistants were two Priests, who had never followed this trade.
"Nevertheless" (some one said) "Father Enemond can do anything; and
in case of need he will be found to be a good Sawyer of planks, a
good caulker, and a good Architect. But of what use will Father
Biard be in such work?" "Dost thou not know" (answered the other)
"that when the boat is done he will give it his blessing?" Thus
they chattered, and talked it over leisurely around the fire. But
the Jesuits lost no time in sawing planks, planing boards, seeking
bent wood, making oakum out of bits of rope which they found, and
tramping over the woods in search of resin. What came of it? In the
middle of March their jolly-boat was [212] upon the water equipped,
adorned and fitted up bravely, to the admiration of those who had
sneered at it: and on the other hand, sieur de Biencourt, who in
the beginning of Winter had had three good shallops, at the end
did not have any at all; and he was obliged, out of the wrecks of
these, to patch up a clumsy boat large enough for three people
at the most, which leaked so badly that it could not go three
continuous leagues upon the sea, without sinking.
Or la chaloupe estant preste, & appareillée, le P. Biard s'en alla
premierement en haut contre la riuiere auec leur seruiteur, & vn
tiers qui se ioignist à eux, appellé Iean Baptiste Charp[~e]tier.
Ils allerent à la queste du gland, & des racines. Ces racines sont
appellées en Sauuageois _Chiquebi_, & s'engendrent volontiers aupres
[213] des chesnes. Elles sont comme des truffes, mais meilleures, &
croissent sous terre enfilées l'vne à l'autre en forme de chapelet. Il
y en a beaucoup en certains endroits. Vray est qu'il est bien difficile
d'aller aucune part où les Sauuages n'ayent de ja foüillé, par ainsi
on n'en trouue guieres que des bien petites. Et encores faut-il bien
trauailler pour en viure vn iour.
Now the boat being ready and under sail, Father Biard, with the
servant and another who had joined them, named Jean Baptiste
Charpentier, first made a trip up the river. They went in search
of acorns and roots. These roots in the Savage language are called
_Chiquebi_,[46] and grow readily near [213] oak trees. They are
like truffles, but better, and grow under the ground strung to each
other like a rosary. There are many of them in certain places,
yet it is very difficult to find any place where the Savages have
not already been digging, and thus only very small ones are to be
found. Also we must work hard to get enough of them for a day's
food.
Apres auoir couru en haut contre la riuiere pour les glands, & racines,
il s'en alla à l'Eplan. Eplan ou Epelã est vn petit poisson cõme
les sardines de Roü[~e], qui venãt de la mer, fraye contre certains
ruisseaux sur le commencement d'Auril. Il y en a vn à quatre lieües de
l'habitation de Port Royal, qui aucunesfois en fourmille tout en ce
temps là. Pour ceste cause les Sauuages aussi s'y vont cabaner, & en
viuent.
After having gone to the upper part of the river for acorns and
roots, he went to get some Smelts. The Eplan or Epelan is a little
fish like the sardine of Roüen, which, coming from the sea, spawns
in certain brooks toward the beginning of April. There is one
of these brooks four leagues from Port Royal, which sometimes
completely swarms with them at that season. For this reason the
Savages also go there to camp and live.
[214] Apres l'Eplan succedent les Harencs, qui frayent de mesme en vn
autre riuiere. Le P. Enemond Massé entreprit ceste pesche des harencs,
& apres celle-cy celle de molües, ja le mois de May estant venu. En
ceste façon nous boutames le temps (comme l'on dit) auec les espaules;
ou plus tost auec les pieds & bras, trainants nostre miserable vie
iusques à ce que le nauire arriua. Le voyage, & route duquel il nous
faut reprendre de plus haut.
[214] After the Smelts come the Herrings, which in like manner
spawn in another river. Father Enemond Massé engaged in this
fishing for herring, and later for cod, until the coming of the
month of May. And thus we were butting against time (as the saying
is) with our shoulders, or rather with our hands and feet, dragging
on our miserable lives until the arrival of the ship, whose voyage
and route we must take up from farther back.
CHAPITRE XXV. [i.e., xxiii.]
L'ARRIUÉE DE LA SAUSSAYE À PORT ROYAL, & & DE LÀ, À S. SAUUEUR.
ON dressoit en France vn equipage pour retirer les Iesuites de Port
Royal, & fonder [215] vne nouuelle habitation de François en vn autre
lieu plus commode.
CHAPTER XXV. [i.e., xxiii.]
LA SAUSSAYE'S ARRIVAL AT PORT ROYAL, AND AFTERWARDS, AT ST. SAUVEUR.
THEY fitted up a ship in France to take the Jesuits away from
Port Royal, and to found [215] a new French settlement in a more
suitable place.
Le chef de cet equipage estoit le Capitaine la Saussaye ayant trente
personnes, qui deuoyent hyuerner sur le pays, en contant les deux
Iesuites, & leur seruiteur qu'il deuoit prendre à Port Royal. Il auoit
de plus auec soy deux autres Iesuites, le Pere Quantin, & Gilbert du
Thet qu'il conduisoit: mais ils deuoyent reuenir en France au cas que
les deux de Port Royal ne fussent pas morts, de quoy on se doutoit.
Tout l'equipage en contant les Matelots, montoit à 48. personnes. Le
maistre du nauire estoit Charles Flory de Habbe-ville, homme iudicieux,
hardy & paisible. La Royne de sa grace auoit cõtribué aux despenses
quatre tentes ou pauillons du Roy, & quelques munitions [216] de
guerres. Le sieur Simon le Maistre auoit vacqué serieusement à tout
l'affretement & auitaillement. Et Gilbert du Thet, Iesuite coadiuteur,
homme fort industrieux, ne s'y estoit point espargné, de maniere qu'on
estoit richement prouisionné de toutes choses pour plus d'vn an. Outre
les cheuaux, & cheures qu'on y conduisoit ja pour commencem[~e]t de
mesnage. Le nauire estoit de cent tonneaux.
The chief of this expedition was Captain la Saussaye, who was to
winter in the country with thirty persons, counting in the two
Jesuits and their servant, whom he was to take up at Port Royal.
He had with him, besides, two other Jesuits, Father Quantin and
Gilbert du Thet, whom he was to take there; but they were to return
to France in case the two at Port Royal were not dead, of which
there was some doubt. The entire company, counting the Sailors,
numbered 48 persons. The master of the ship was Charles Flory of
Habbe-ville, a discreet, hardy and peaceable man. The Queen in her
goodness had contributed four of the King's tents or pavilions, and
some munitions [216] of war. Sieur Simon le Maistre had devoted
himself earnestly to the freighting and provisioning, and Gilbert
du Thet, the Jesuit lay brother, a very industrious man, had not
spared himself; so they were amply provided with everything for
more than a year, besides the horses and goats which were being
taken over for domestic purposes. The ship was of a hundred tons
burthen.
Cest equipage ainsi ordonné partit de Honfleur le 12. de Mars, l'an
1613. & territ premierement au Cap de la Heue en la coste de l'Acadie,
le 16. de May ayant consumé en son traiect deux mois entiers. Au Cap
de la Heue ils dirent Messe, & dresser[~e]t vne Croix, y apposants
les armoiries de Madame la Marquise de Guercheuille, pour marque de
possession [217] prinse en son nom. De là se remettans en mer, ils
vindrent à Port Royal.
This expedition, thus fitted out, departed from Honfleur on the
12th of March, 1613, and landed first at Cap de la Heve on the
coast of Acadie, on the 16th of May, having consumed two entire
months in the passage. At Cap de la Heve Mass was said, and a
Cross erected, upon which was placed the coat of arms of Madame
la Marquise de Guercheville, as a sign of having taken [217]
possession of it in her name. Thence putting to sea again, they
came to Port Royal.
A Port Royal ils ne trouuerent que cinq personnes, sçauoir est, les
deux Iesuites, leur seruiteur, l'Apothicaire Herbert, & vn autre.
Le sieur de Bi[~e]court & ses autres gens estoyent tous bien loin,
qui çà, qui là. Or parce que Hebert tenoit la place dudit sieur: on
luy presenta les lettres de la Royne, par lesquelles iussion estoit
faicte de relacher les Iesuites, & leur permettre d'aller, où bon leur
s[~e]bleroit: ainsi les Iesuites retirerent leurs hardes en bonne paix.
Et tant ce iour-là, que le suiuant on fit la meilleur chere qu'on peut
à Hebert, & à son compagnon, à fin que ceste venuë ne leur fust point
triste. Au depart (quoy qu'ils ne fuss[~e]t point en disette:) on leur
laissa vn barril de pain, & quelques [218] flaccons de vin, à ce que
l'Adieu fust pareillement de bonne grace.
At Port Royal they only found five persons; namely, the two
Jesuits, their servant, the Apothecary Herbert[37], and another.
Sieur de Biencourt and the rest of his people were all quite far
away, some here, some there. Now because Hebert was taking the
place of the sieur, they presented to him the Queen's letters,
which contained the royal command to release the Jesuits and
to let them go wherever they pleased; so the Jesuits took away
their property in great peace. And on that day as well as on the
following, they made it as pleasant for Hebert and his company as
they could, so that this arrival would not be a cause of sadness
to them. At their departure, (although they were not in need of
anything) they left them a barrel of bread and some [218] bottles
of wine, that the Farewell might be received with equally good
grace.
La contrarieté des vents nous retint enuiron cinq iours à Port Royal,
d'où s'esleuant vn prospere Nordest, nous partimes, en intention
d'aller à la riuiere de Pentegoet, au lieu appellé _Kadesquit_, lieu
qu'on auoit destiné pour la nouuelle habitation, & ayant à tel effect
beaucoup de grãds auãtages. Mais Dieu en disposa autrement. Car comme
nous fusmes au Suest de l'Isle de Menauo, le temps se change, & suruint
en mer vne si espaisse brume, que nous n'y voyons non plus de iour
que de nuict. Nous apprehendions grandement ce danger, pourtãt qu'en
cest endroit y a beaucoup de brisants, & rochers, contre lesquels
nous craignions de donner parmy les tenebres; le vent ne nous [219]
permettant point de nous tirer hors, & nous mettre au large. Nous
demeurasmes en ceste façõ deux iours & deux nuicts, virants tantost
d'vn costé, tantost de l'autre comme Dieu nous inspiroit. L'affliction
nous esmeut de faire prieres & voeux à Dieu à ce qu'il luy pleust
nous deliurer du peril, & nous adresser à quelque bon lieu pour sa
gloire. De sa bonté il nous exauça, car au soir nous cõmençames à voir
des estoiles, & auec le matin les brouëes se dissiperent. Nous nous
recogneusmes estre au deuant des Monts deserts, Isle que les Sauuages
appellent _Pemetiq_. Le Pilote adressa au costé Oriental de l'Isle, où
il nous logea en vn beau, & grand port, & nous y rendismes nos voeus,
esleuants vne Croix, & chantans à Dieu ses loüanges auec le sacrifice
de la saincte Messe. Nous appellasmes [220] ce lieu & port Sainct
Sauueur.
Unfavorable winds kept us about five days at Port Royal, and
then a propitious Northeaster arising, we departed, intending to go
to the river Pentegoet, to the place called _Kadesquit_,[47] the
site destined for the new colony, and having many great advantages
for such a purpose. But God ordained otherwise. For when we were to
the Southeast of the Island of Menauo,[48] the weather changed, and
there came upon the sea such a dense fog that we could see no more
by day than by night. We had serious misgivings in this time of
danger, because in this place there are breakers and rocks, against
which we were afraid of striking in the darkness; the wind not
[219] permitting us to draw away and stand out to sea. We continued
thus two days and two nights, veering now to one side, now to the
other, as God inspired us. We were moved by our affliction to offer
prayers and vows to God, that he might be pleased to deliver us
from the danger, and direct us to some good place for his glory. In
his goodness he hearkened to us, for when evening came on we began
to see the stars, and by morning the fogs had all disappeared. We
recognized that we were opposite Mount desert, an Island, which the
Savages call _Pemetiq_.[49] The pilot turned to the Eastern shore
of the Island, and there located us in a large and beautiful port,
where we made our thanksgiving to God, raising a Cross and singing
to God his praises with the sacrifice of the holy Mass. We called
[220] this place and port Saint Sauveur.
CHAPITRE XXVI. [i.e., xxiv.]
A QUELLE OCCASION NOUS NOUS ARRESTAMES À SAINCT SAUUEUR, LA BONTÉ DU
LIEU.
OR en ce Port icy de S. Sauueur grande contention s'esleua entre
les Matelots, & nostre equipage ou nous autres passagers. La cause
en estoit, parce que la charte partie, & l'accord passé en France
portants, que lesdits Matelots seroyent tenus anchrer en vn Port de
l'Acadie, que nous leur nommerions; & là seiourner l'espace de trois
mois: Lesdits Matelots se maintenoy[~e]t estre arriués en vn Port de
l'Acadie, & que partant ledit terme de trois mois deuoit courir dés
cest'arriuée. On leur repliquoit [221] que le Port n'estoit point celuy
qu'on leur auoit nommé _Kadesquit_, & partant, que le temps ne courroit
point auant qu'ils y fussent. Le Pilote s'opiniastroit là cõtre,
maintenant, que iamais nauire n'estoit allé iusques à _Kadesquit_, &
qu'il ne vouloit point se faire vn descouureur de nouuelles routes:
il y auoit aussi faute, au nom de l'Acadie, pour dire la Norambegue,
ce qui augmentoit la dispute: raisons deçà, raisons delà. Rien que
plaidoyerie, mauuais augure de l'aduenir.
CHAPTER XXVI. [i.e., xxiv.]
WHY WE STAYED AT SAINT SAUVEUR; THE GOOD QUALITIES OF THE PLACE.
NOW here in this Port of St. Sauveur a great contention arose
between the Sailors and our company, or us other passengers,
because the charter party and contract, drawn up in France,
stipulated that the Sailors should be held at anchor in a Port of
Acadie, which we should name to them, and should remain there for
the space of three months; the sailors maintained that they had
arrived at a Port of Acadie, and that therefore the said term of
three months should begin to run from the time of this arrival. It
was explained to them [221] that the Port was not the one that had
been designated to them by the name of _Kadesquit_, and therefore
the time would not begin to be counted until they were there.
The Pilot obstinately opposed this, maintaining that a ship had
never gone as far as _Kadesquit_, and that he had no intention of
becoming a discoverer of new routes; there was also some mistake
about the name Acadie meaning Norambegue,[8] which strengthened the
dispute; reasons here, reasons there; nothing but argument, a bad
augury for the future.
Sur ces contestes, des Sauuages nous firent de la fumée. Ce signal veut
dire, qu'on les aille recognoistre, si on a besoin d'eux, ce qu'on
fit. Le Pilote par occasion leur dit, que les Peres de Port Royal
estoyent en son nauire. Les Sauuages repliquerent, qu'ils verroyent
bien volõtiers celuy qu'ils [222] auoyent cogneu y auoit deus ans,
à Pentegoet. Ce cogneu, estoit le P. Biard qui les alla incontinent
trouuer, & s'informãt d'eux touchant la route de _Kadesquit_, leur
signifia, qu'il s'y vouloit habituer. Mais (dirent-ils) si tu veux
te loger en ces quartiers, que ne demeures tu plustost icy auecques
nous, qui auons bien vne autant belle & bonne place que Kadesquit? Et
commencerent à luy raconter les loüanges de leur demeure, asseurants
qu'elle estoit si saine, & si agreable, que quand les Sauuages sont
malades autrepart, ils se font porter en ce lieu, & y guerissent.
Ces benedictions n'esmouuoyent pas beaucoup le P. Biard, parce qu'il
sçauoit assez que les Sauuages ne manquoy[~e]t point de ce en quoy
quasi tout chacun abonde; c'est de sçauoir priser ses denrées. Mais
ils sceur[~e]t [223] bi[~e] bander la machine pour l'enleuer. Car
(dirent-ils) il faut que tu viennes: d'autant que Asticou nostre Sagamo
est malade à la mort, & si tu ne viens il mourra sans baptesme, & n'ira
pas au ciel. Tu en seras la cause, car pour luy il voudroit bien estre
baptisé. Ceste raison ainsi naifuement deduicte, fit estonner le P.
Biard, & luy persuada totalement de s'y en aller, veu mesmes qu'il n'y
auoit que trois lieuës à faire: & que pour tout il n'y entreuenoit pas
plus grande perte de temps, que d'vne apres disnée; ainsi il se mit
dans vn de leurs cauots auec le sieur de la Mote Lieutenant, & Simon
l'interprete, & s'en allerent.
During these quarrels, the Savages signaled to us with smoke.
This means that we can go and find them if we need them, which we
did. The Pilot incidentally remarked to these Savages that the
Port Royal Fathers were in his ship. They answered that they would
like very much to see the one with whom they [222] had become
acquainted two years before at Pentegoet. This was Father Biard,
who went immediately to see them, and in asking about the route to
_Kadesquit_, said he wished to go there to live. "But" (said they)
"if thou wishest to stay in these regions, why dost thou not rather
remain here with us, who have truly as good and beautiful a place
as Kadesquit?" And they began to sing the praises of their home,
assuring him that it was so healthy, and so agreeable, that when
the Savages are sick in other parts, they have themselves brought
to this place and here recover. These blessings did not affect
Father Biard much, for he knew that the Savages did not lack that
with which almost every one is abundantly provided, namely, the
ability to praise their own wares. But they knew [223] well how to
use their machinations against him to carry him off. "For," (said
they) "it is necessary that thou comest, since Asticou,[16] our
Sagamore, is sick unto death; and if thou dost not come he will
die without baptism, and will not go to heaven. Thou wilt be the
cause of it, for he himself wishes very much to be baptized." This
argument, so naïvely deduced, astonished Father Biard, and fully
persuaded him to go there, especially as it was only three leagues
away, and in all there would result no greater loss of time than
one afternoon; so he got into one of their canoes with sieur de la
Mote, Lieutenant, and Simon the interpreter, and went off.
Arriués aux cabanes d'Asticou, nous le trouuames malade voirement;
mais non pas à mort, car ce n'estoit qu'vn rheume, qui le tourmentoit:
partant l'asseurance de [224] ses forces nous donna beau loisir
d'aller visiter ce lieu tant vanté, & meilleur que Kadesquit pour
vn'habitation Françoise. Et de vraye nous ne trouuasmes point, que les
Sauuages eussent eu mauuaise raison de le haut louër, car nous mesmes
nous en esmerueillions; & en ayants porté les nouuelles aux principaux
de nostre equipage: & eux encores l'estants venu recognoistre tous
vnanim[~e]t consentirent, qu'il falloit s'arrester là, & ne point
chercher mieux, veu mesmement, qu'il sembloit que Dieu le nous disoit
par les heureux rencontres, qui nous estoyent arriués, & par vn euident
miracle, qu'il fit en la guerison d'vn enfant, de laquelle nous
parlerons autre-part.
When we arrived at Asticou's cabins, we found him truly sick,
but not unto death, for it was only a cold that troubled him; so
having assured ourselves of [224] his good condition, we had plenty
of leisure to go and visit this place, so greatly boasted about and
so much better for a French settlement than Kadesquit. And in truth
we found that the Savages were not wrong in praising it so highly,
for we ourselves were wonderfully astonished; and having carried
the news to the chiefs of our company, and they having come to view
the place, all unanimously agreed that we ought to stay there and
not look for anything better, especially as it seemed as if God
told us to do so through the fortunate events which had happened
to us, and through an evident miracle which he performed in the
restoration of a child, of which we shall speak elsewhere.
Ce lieu, est vne iolie colline esleuée doucement dessus la mer, &
baignée à ses costés de deux [225] fontaines; la terre y est essartée
à vingt, ou vingt & cinq arp[~e]s, herbuë en quelques endroits presque
à la hauteur d'vn homme. Son aspect est au Midy & Orient, quasi à
l'emboucheure de Pentegoet, & où se descharg[~e]t plusieurs agreables,
commodes, & poissonneuses riuieres, le terroir y est noir, gras, &
fertile; Le Port & Haure sont des plus beaux, qu'on puisse voir, & en
endroit propre pour commander à toute la coste; le Haure specialement
est asseuré comm'vn estang. Car outre qu'il est reparé de la grande
Isle des Mõts deserts, il l'est encores de certaines petites Islettes,
qui rompent les flots & les vents, & fortifient son entrée. Il n'y
a flotte, de laquelle il ne soit capable, ny si haut nauire, qui ne
puisse s'approcher de terre pour descharger, iusques à la longueur d'vn
chable. Sa situation [226] est à quarante quatre degrés, & vn tiers
d'eleuation; position moins encores boreale, que celle de Bourdeaux.
This place is a beautiful hill, rising gently from the sea, its
sides bathed by two [225] springs; the land is cleared for twenty
or twenty-five acres, and in some places is covered with grass
almost as high as a man. It faces the South and East, and is near
the mouth of the Pentegoet, where several broad and pleasant
rivers, which abound in fish, discharge their waters; its soil is
dark, rich and fertile; the Port and Harbor are as fine as can be
seen, and are in a position favorable to command the entire coast;
the Harbor especially is as safe as a pond. For, besides being
strengthened by the great Island of Mount desert, it is still more
protected by certain small Islands which break the currents and
the winds, and fortify the entrance. There is not a fleet which
it is not capable of sheltering, nor a ship so deep that could
not approach within a cable's length of the shore to unload. It
is situated [226] in latitude forty-four and one-third degrees, a
position still less northerly than that of Bourdeaux.
Or estants descendus en ce dit lieu, & y ayans planté la Croix, nous
commençames à trauailler, & auec le trauail commencerent aussi nos
contestations, second signal, & prodige de nos mal-heurs. La cause de
ces contestations estoit d'autãt que la Saussaye, nostre Capitaine,
s'amusoit trop à cultiuer la terre, & tous les principaux le pressoyent
de ne point distraire en cela les ouuriers, ains de vacquer sans respit
aux alogement & fortification, ce qu'il ne vouloit pas faire. De ceste
cõtention en sourdirent des autres iusques à ce que l'Anglois nous mit
trestous de bon accord, ainsi que vous ouyrez tout maintenant.
Now having landed at this place and planted here the Cross,
we began to work; and with the beginning of work also began the
quarrels, a second sign and augury of our ill luck. The cause of
these dissensions was principally that la Saussaye, our Captain,
amused himself too much in cultivating the land, while all the
chiefs of the enterprise were urging him not to employ the laborers
for that purpose, but to get to work without delay upon the houses
and fortifications, which he did not wish to do. From these
disputes sprang others, until the English brought us all to an
understanding with each other, as you will hear immediately.
CHAPITRE XXVII. [i.e., xxv.]
[227] NOSTRE PRINSE PAR LES ANGLOIS.
LA Virginie est le continent de terre, que les anciens appelloyent,
_Mocosa_, entre la Floride, & la nouuelle France sur les 36. 37. &
38. degrez d'eleuation. Ce païs auoit premierement esté descouuert, &
saisi par Iean Verazan au nom de François premier (ainsi que nous auons
dit cy deuant) mais les Anglois l'ayants recognu despuis, sçauoir est
l'an 1593. & 1594. en fin l'a sõt venus habiter, despuis seulement
sept, ou huict ans. Leur demeure principale, qu'ils appellent Ieutom,
est distante de S. Sauueur où nous nous estions logez d'enuiron 250.
lieües par droictes routes. Regardez [228] s'ils ont bien dequoy nous
quereller.
CHAPTER XXVII. [i.e. xxv.]
[227] OUR CAPTURE BY THE ENGLISH.
VIRGINIA is that continent which our forefathers called _Mocosa_,
between Florida and new France under the 36th, 37th, and 38th
parallels of north latitude. This country was first discovered
and taken possession of by Jean Verazan in the name of Francis
first (as we have said before); but the English, having explored
it since then; namely, in the years 1593 and 1594, finally came
there to inhabit it only seven or eight years ago. Their principal
settlement, which they call Jeutom [Jamestown] is distant from St.
Sauveur, where we were located, about 250 leagues in a direct line.
Judge [228] if they have any good reason for quarreling with us.
Or ces Anglois de la Virginie ont accoustumé tous les ans de venir
aux Isles de Peucoit, qui sont à 25. lieües de nostre S. Sauueur, à
celle fin de se pourueoir de mouluës pour leur hyuer. S'y acheminants
doncques selon ceste coustume en l'Esté de l'année de laquelle nous
parlons 1613. aduint qu'en mer ils furent surprins des brumes, &
broüillas, que nous auons dit cy deuant, s'espandre souuent l'Esté
sur ces terres & mer. Pendant qu'elles durerent quelques iours, la
marée les ietta insensiblement beaucoup plus loin au Nordest, qu'ils
n'eussent pensé. Car ils estoyent bien quatre vingts lieües plus auãt
dans la nouuelle France, qu'ils ne croyoyent, au pres de nostre port.
Mais ne se cognoissants point au lieu, à [229] la mal'heure quelques
Sauuages passerent par là, qui les allerent trouuer cuidants que ce
fussent François, qui nous cherchassent. Les Anglois n'entendoyent
rien en Sauuage: mais aux gestes, & façons de faire ils recogneurent
assez qu'on leur faisoit signe, qu'il y auoit vn vaisseau là auprès,
& qu'iceluy vaisseau estoit François, car ils entendoy[~e]t le mot
de Normandia, duquel il nous appellent: & aux ceremonies, que les
Sauuages faisoyent pour leur complaire, ils recognoissent, que
c'estoyent ceremonies de courtoisie, & ciuilité Françoise. Doncques
les Anglois, qui estoy[~e]t en necessité, & de viures, & de tout;
deschirez, demy-nuds & ne questans que proye; s'enquirent diligemment
combien grand estoit nostre vaisseau, combien nous auions de Canons,
combien de gens, &c. [230] Et ayants eu response suffisante, & qui
leur plaisoit, firent vn cry ioyeux demonstrants, que c'estoit bien ce
qu'ils cherchoyent, & qu'on les menast à nous: car ils ne desiroyent
autre. Aussi ne faisoyent-ils, mais ce n'estoit pas en la façon, que
les Sauuages l'entendoyent; car les Sauuages estimoyent que ce fussent
aucuns de nos bons amis, estants en grande peine de nous: & qui
d'amitié desirassent sur tout de nous voir. Par ainsi vn d'entre eux
demeura dans leur nauire pour les conduire à nous; ce qu'il fit le bon
vent venu. L'Anglois dés qu'il nous descouurit commença à se preparer
au combat, & ce fut lors que le bon homme de Sauuage recogneust, qu'il
auoit esté trompé, dont il se print à plourer & lamenter sa faute, &
maudire ceux qui l'auoyent ainsi deçeu. Souuent [231] despuis il a
plouré, & demandé pardon de ceste sienne desaduenture, & à nous & aux
autres Sauuages; parce que les autres Sauuages vouloyent venger nostre
mal'heur sur luy, pensants que de malice il en eust esté la cause.
Now these English of Virginia are accustomed every year to come
to the Peucoit Islands,[50] which are 25 leagues from our St.
Sauveur, to lay in a supply of codfish for the winter. They were
making for this place, as usual, in the Summer of the year of which
we are speaking, 1613, when they happened to be caught in the fogs
and drizzling rains which, as has been stated, often spread over
these lands and seas during the summer. In the few days that they
continued, the current imperceptibly cast them much farther to the
Northeast than they thought. For they were fully eighty leagues
nearer to new France than they supposed, being in the neighborhood
of our port. But not recognizing the place, [229] unfortunately
some Savages passed that way, who went to see them, supposing they
were French people looking for us. The English understood nothing
of the Savage language, but from their gestures and actions they
easily gathered that they were trying to make them understand
that a vessel was near by, and it was a French vessel, for they
heard the word "Normandia," the name by which we were called: and
the acts of courtesy which the Savages performed to please them,
they recognized as French ceremonies of civility and politeness.
Therefore the English, who were in need of food and all other
things, ragged and half-naked, seeking nothing but booty, inquired
diligently as to the size of our ship, how many Cannon we had, how
many men, etc. [230] Having received full and satisfactory answers,
they uttered a joyful shout, indicating that this was just what
they had been looking for, and that they might lead them to us,
for they desired nothing better. Nor were they pretending, but it
was not in this way that the Savages understood the matter; for
they thought that these were some good friends of ours, who were
in great anxiety about us, and who, through friendship, wished
to see us above all other things. Hence one of them remained in
their ship to conduct them thither; this he did, a favorable wind
having arisen. The English, when they discovered us, began to
prepare themselves for the fight, and it was then that the poor
simple Savage recognized that he had been imposed upon, when he
began to weep and to deplore his mistake, and to curse those who
had thus deceived him. Often [231] since then he has lamented and
begged forgiveness for his misadventure, both from us and from the
other Savages; for they wished to take revenge upon him for our
misfortune, thinking he had been the malicious cause of it.
Or nous, considerants ce nauire venir ainsi de loin à pleines voyles,
ne sçauions que penser, si c'estoyent amis, ou ennemis, François ou
estrangiers. A ceste cause le Pilote s'en alla au deuant dans vne
chaloupe pour les recognoistre, tandis que les autres s'armoyent.
La Saussaye demeura à terre & y retint la pluspart des hommes: la
Mote Lieutenant, Ronseré Enseigne, & Ioubert Sergent, & tous les
plus deliberez allerent au nauire. Aussi estoit-ce là où lon deuoit
recognoistre les gens de bien.
Now we, gazing upon this ship bearing down upon us thus from
afar off, with full sails, did not know what to think, whether
they were friends or foes, French or strangers. Whereupon the
Pilot went out in a boat on a tour of discovery, while the others
armed themselves. La Saussaye remained on shore and there kept
the greater part of the men: Lieutenant la Mote, Ensign Ronseré,
Sergeant Joubert, and all the more resolute men went to the ship.
For it was there that the good men ought to be found.
[232] Le nauire Anglois venoit plus viste qu'vn dard, ayant le vent
à souhait, tout pauis de rouge, les pauillons d'Angleterre flottans,
& trois t[r]ompettes & deux tambours faisants rage de sonner. Nostre
pilote, qui estoit allé descouurir ne reuint point à son nauire, parce
(dit-il) que les Anglois auoyent le vent sur luy, & partant pour ne
tomber en leurs mains, il s'en alla prendre le circuit d'vne Isle.
Tant y a qu'à ceste occasion le nauire se trouua destitué de la moitié
de ses Matelots, & n'auoit autres gens de defense que dix en tout,
encores n'y en auoit-il aucun de tous qui fust entendu aux combats de
mer, hors le Capitaine Flory, qui de vray ne manqua ny de conduicte
ny de courage. Mais il n'auoit ny assez de temps pour se preparer,
ny des gens, à cause dequoy il ne peut leuer l'anchre pour se [233]
desengager: ce qu'est toutesfois la premiere chose qu'on doit faire
és combats de la mer, combien qu'aussi en vain eust-on leué l'anchre,
consideré que les voyles estoyent empestrees. Car à cause que c'estoit
l'Esté, & qu'on seiournoit au port sans crainte, on les auoit tendues
en forme de berceau dés la Dunette iusques à la bite pour auoir ombre
sur le tillac, d'où lon ne pouuoit les deffaire en si peu de temps.
Mais ce malheur eust fort bonne chance: car à ceste occasion nos gents
demeurerent fort bien couuerts pendant le combat, de maniere que les
Anglois n'en pouuants choisir aucun durant leur escopeterie, moins de
gents furent ou tuez, ou blessez.
[232] The English ship came on swifter than an arrow, driven by a
propitious wind, all screened in pavesade[51] of red, the banners
of England flying, and three trumpets and two drums making a
horrible din. Our pilot, who had gone out reconnoitering, did not
return to his ship, because (said he) the English had the wind of
him, and therefore, not to fall into their hands, he started to go
round an Island. At all events the ship was now deprived of half
its Sailors, and had only ten men altogether to defend it; and of
these there were none who understood naval warfare except Captain
Flory, who certainly lacked neither courage nor the ability to
command. But he had not time enough to prepare, nor the men, hence
he could not heave the anchor to [233] free the boat; which is,
however, the first thing to be done in a battle at sea. But how
useless would it have been to heave anchor, when the sails were all
disarranged. For as it was Summer, and, as the vessel was lying in
port without apprehension of danger, they had stretched their sails
in the form of a cradle from Stern to bitts, to shade the deck,
hence they could not be undone in so short a time. But this proved
to be quite a lucky mischance: for in this way our people were well
shielded during the fight, so that the English were not able to
pick out any particular one for their musket shots, and fewer men
were killed or wounded.
A l'approche, comme c'est la coustume de sommer, à dire, qui l'on est:
Nos gens crierent à la [234] Marinesque leur O O. Mais l'Anglois ne
respondit en ce ton, ains d'vn autre plus furieux, à grands coups de
mosquet, & de canon. Il auoit quatorze pieces d'artillerie, & soixante
soldats mosquetaires duits au nauigage, &c. venants à la charge sur les
costez, sur le beau pré, à la dunette & où il falloit, à la file, & en
ordre, aussi bien que gens de pied font sur terre.
At their approach, as it is usual to call upon them to say who they
are, our people called out in [234] sailor-fashion their "O O."
But the English did not respond in this tone, but in another far
more violent--with loud volleys from musket and cannon. They had
fourteen pieces of artillery and sixty musketeers, trained to serve
on ships, etc., and came to attack us upon the flanks, in front,
behind, and wherever there was need, in regular order, as well as
foot soldiers do on land.
La première escopeterie fut terrible du costé de l'Anglois; tout
le nauire estoit en feu, & en fumée. De nostre part on respõdoit
froidement, & l'artillerie estoit du tout muette. Le Capitaine Flory
crioit bien lasche le canon, lasche; mais le Canonier n'y estoit pas.
Or Gilbert du Thet, qui de sa vie n'auoit esté paoureux, ny coüart,
ouyant ce cry, & ne voyant personne, qui obeist, print la mesche & nous
fit parler aussi haut que [235] l'ennemy. Le mal fut qu'il ne mira pas,
que s'il l'eust faict, peut-estre y eust-il eu quelque chose de pis,
que le bruit.
The first volley from the English was terrible, the whole ship
being enveloped in fire and smoke. On our side they responded
coldly, and the artillery was altogether silent. Captain Flory
cried, "Fire the cannon, fire," but the Cannoneer was not there.
Now Gilbert du Thet, who in all his life had never felt fear or
shown himself a coward, hearing this command and seeing no one obey
it, took a match and made us speak as loudly as [235] the enemy.
Unfortunately, he did not take aim; if he had, perhaps there might
have been something worse than mere noise.
L'Anglois apres ceste premiere, & furieuse escopeterie mit son nauire
de costé, & tenoit vn Anchre preparé pour accrocher nostre bite. Le
Capitaine Flory fila du chable fort à propos, ce qui arresta l'ennemy,
& luy fit tourner à costé: car il eust peur qu'en poursuiuant on ne le
voulust attirer sur des basses; despuis voyant nostre nauire à requoy,
& s'estant rasseuré, il recommença les approches auec escopeterie comme
deuant. Ce fut en ceste seconde charge, que Gilbert du Thet reçeut vn
coup de mosquet dans le corps & tomba estendu à l'enuers sur le tillac.
Le Capitaine Flory fut aussi blessé au pied, & autres trois autre part,
ce qui fit faire signe, & [236] crier qu'on se rendoit. Aussi certes
la partie n'estoit pas egale. A ce cry, l'Anglois se ietta dans son
bateau pour venir à nostre nauire. Nos gents aussi par mauuais conseil,
se ietterent dans le leur, pour faire à terre: car ils craignoyent
l'arriuée du victorieux. Le vainqueur fut plustost dans nostre
nauire, qu'eux ne furent loin, & partant il se print à leur crier,
qu'ils retournassent, & pour les y contraindre tiroit sur eux. Dequoy
espouuãtez deux de nos g[~e]s se ietterent dans l'eau pour à mõ aduis
gaigner terre à la nage, mais ils furent noyez, soit que ja ils eussent
esté blessez, soit (ce qui est plus vray semblable) qu'ils fussent
attaints, & percez dans l'eau. C'estoyent deux ieunes compagnons de
bonne expectation, l'vn de Dieppe, appellé le Moyne, l'autre dit
Nepueu, de la ville de [237] Beauuais: leurs corps ne comparurent que
neuf iours apres. On eust moyen de les prendre & religieusement les
enterrer: telle fut la prinse de nostre nauire.
The English, after this first and furious volley, came
alongside of us, and held an Anchor ready to grapple our bitts.
Captain Flory very opportunely paid out more cable, which stopped
the enemy and made them turn away, for they were afraid if they
pursued us we would draw them into shallow water; then seeing our
vessel fall back, and thus being reassured, they again began to
approach us, firing off the muskets as before. It was during this
second charge that Gilbert du Thet received a musket shot in his
body and fell stretched out across the deck. Captain Flory was
also wounded in the foot, and three others in other places, which
made them signal and [236] cry out that we surrendered, for it was
evidently a very unequal match. At this cry the English jumped into
their boat to come to our ship. Our men also, misled by bad advice,
jumped into theirs with the hope of gaining the shore, for they
feared the arrival of the victors. These, however, reached the ship
before our men could get away from it, and so they began to yell
to them to come back, and, to enforce the order, fired upon them.
Frightened at this, two of our men threw themselves into the sea,
in order, I believe, to swim to the shore; but they were drowned,
either because they were already wounded, or (what seems more
probable) because they were struck and wounded in the water. These
were two very promising young fellows, one from Dieppe, called le
Moyne, the other named Nepveu, of the town of [237] Beauvais; their
bodies did not appear until nine days later, when means were found
to recover them and they were given a religious burial. Such was
the capture of our ship.
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA: VOL. III
XIII
The original Latin MS. of Biard's letter to his general, dated at
Amiens, May 26, 1614, is in the archives of the Gesù, at Rome. In
1858, Father Martin there copied this document, with others of like
character; and in the present publication we follow his apograph, which
is now preserved in the archives of St. Mary's College, Montreal.
Martin's translation of the letter into French appears in Carayon's
_Première Mission_, pp. 106-116.
See Bibliographical Data in Volume I. of the present series, for
particulars of Carayon's collection. The originals of the letters in
Carayon, were written in three different languages: nos. 2, 5, 9,
12, 18, 25, 27-31, were in French; nos. 13, 14, 15, 16, in Italian;
and the others in Latin. Letters to the general in Rome were for the
most part in Italian or Latin, but those to the provincial in Paris
were in French. The Italian and Latin letters were translated for
Carayon, into French, in most cases by Martin, who had copied them for
that publication. In our series, we have followed the printed pages
of Carayon, for the French letters; but for the Italians and Latins
(except Documents III., V., and VI., in Volume I.), have reverted for
our copy to Martin's own apographs, at Montreal, and our translations
into English are made directly from these.
XIV
We reprint Biard's _Relation_ of 1616 directly from the printed
original in Lenox Library. The Lenox copy has no original title-page,
its place being supplied by a clever facsimile in pen-and-ink, said
to be by Pilinski. For the present edition, we supply a photographic
facsimile of the original title-page of the copy at the Bibliothèque
Nationale (formerly Bibliothèque Royale), Paris; the plate shows the
old library stamp, "Biblioteque Royale." The Paris copy is the only one
known to us, at this writing, which has an original title-page.
O'Callaghan issued a special reprint, "presque en facsimile," of this
_Relation_ (Albany, 1871), the edition being limited to 25 copies, at
$25 a copy.
The Lenox Catalogue (p. 4), says that O'Callaghan followed the copy
owned by Rufus King, of Jamaica, L. I. The whereabouts of this copy is
unknown to us. The late Charles H. Kalbfleisch, of New York, at one
time had a copy; but a letter to us from his son, Charles C., dated
May 11, 1896, states that he does not know its present location. In
the announcement of his facsimile, O'Callaghan said (see Murphy's Sale
Catalogue, 1884, p. 33):
"The owner of, we believe, the only copy in this country of the
original edition of this _Relation_, has obligingly loaned it to
me. In order to enable collectors who possess some of the Jesuit
Relations to place at least beside these an exact reprint of
this extremely rare volume, I have undertaken a small edition,
reproducing the original, page for page, line for line.
"The edition in the Collected Relations, published at Quebec, was
printed from a transcript made from the only other known copy
in the National Library at Paris. This transcript was to all
appearances hastily and carelessly executed. The consequence is,
that the Quebec edition abounds, as a minute collation proves, with
grave errors of omission and alteration.
"The present reprint will be limited to twenty-five copies, and
will be supplied, in sheets, to subscribers at $25 a copy."
The Lenox copy is marked on front fly leaf, "A very rare book,"
and it is understood that it cost 1,000 francs, notwithstanding its
pen-and-ink title-page. In the "Privilege," on the last page, the
syllable "pro" has been accidentally omitted. O'Callaghan's facsimile
reprint supplies this omission. In both, the "privilege" is in ten
lines, but the contents of the lines differ.
Harrisse says (no. 30), concerning Biard's _Relation_ of 1616: "Some
bibliographers cite, but without having seen, a relation published at
Lyons in 1612, and which was the first edition of the one we have just
described; but that is hardly possible, since the events described
in that relation extend up to the year 1614. As for the relations,
the titles of which are given in Latin, we think that they are the
letters addressed by Father Biard [given in Volumes I. and II. of this
series]. That of January 31, 1611 [1612], was published in the _Annuæ
Litteræ Societatis Jesu_, printed at Lyons by Claude Cayne, but not
till 1618. It is probably the same of which Jouvency gives the text in
his _Histoire de la Société de Jésus_. Sotwell also cites [_Bibliotheca
Script. Soc. Jesu_], a _Relatio Expeditionis Anglorum in Canadam_, of
Father Biard, which is probably the letter which Father Biard wrote to
Father Claude Aquaviva regarding the act of piracy committed upon him
by Argall. It is possible that there were, at that period, publications
of these letters both in Latin and French; but we have been able to
find only one instance of this." Brunet's _Supplément_ says the alleged
1612 edition of the _Nouvelle France_ is spurious. All of the foregoing
letters by Biard, cited by Harrisse, are given in Volumes I. and II. of
the present series.
See other references in Brown's _Genesis of the United States_
(Boston, 1890), vol. ii., p. 707; Leclerc, no. 2482; Sabin, vol. ii.,
no. 5136; Ternaux, no. 380; Lenox, p. 4; Winsor, p. 300; Brown, vol.
ii., no. 178; and the Barlow (no. 251) and Murphy (no. 244) sale
catalogues. Leclerc describes the Lenox copy; most of the others, the
O'Callaghan facsimile reprint.
_Title-page._ Photographic facsimile, from original in Bibliothèque
Nationale, Paris.
_Collation of Lenox copy._ Title, 1 p.; blank, reverse of title, 1 p.;
dedication "Av Roy," 3 unnumbered pp.; Avant-Propos, 7 unnumbered pp.;
text, pp. 1-338. Table, 34 unnumbered pp.; privilege, 1 p.
_Peculiarities._ Only the pages of the text are numbered; p. 191 is,
from typographical error, wrongly numbered 181. The numbering of the
chapters is erratic. From i. to x. they are correctly numbered, but
thereafter the variations are as follows:
CHAP. CHAP.
xi., incorrectly numbered xii.
xii., " " xiii.
xiii., " " xiv.
xiv., " " xv.
xv., " " xvi.
xvi., " " xvii.
xvii., " " xviii.
xviii., " " xxi.
xix., " " xx.
xx., " " xxi.
xxi., " " xxiii.
xxii., " " xxiv.
xxiii., " " xxv.
xxiv., " " xxvi.
xxv., " " xxvii.
xxvi., " " xxviii.
xxvii., " " xxix.
xxviii., " " xxx.
xxix., " " xxxii.
xxx., " " xxxi.
xxxi., " " xxxii.
xxxii., correctly " xxxii.
xxxiii., incorrectly " xxxiv.
xxxiv., " " xxxv.
xxxv., " " xxxvi.
xxxvi., " " xxxvii.
xxxvii., " " xxxviii.
The editor of the Quebec reprint overcame the difficulty without
explanation, by correcting the enumeration throughout. O'Callaghan,
without comment, corrects numbering of p. 191, in his facsimile, but
follows original in numbering the chapters.
Owing to the length of this document, we give only the first
twenty-five chapters thereof, in the present volume; the others will
appear in Volume IV.
NOTES TO VOL. III
(_Figures in parentheses, following number of note, refer to pages of
English text._)
1 (p. 39).--See vol. ii., _note_ 72.
2 (p. 39).--_Ocean of Guienne_: one of many names applied to the
Atlantic Ocean. The Catalan Mappemonde (1375) names it Mare Ochceanum;
Fra Mauro's "World" (1439), Oceanus Athlanticus; Ptolemy's map (ed.
1482), Oceanus Occidentalis; Hondius's (1595), Mar del Nort. Cf. H. H.
Bancroft's _Central America_, vol. i., p. 373.
3 (p. 39).--Ferland says (_Cours d'Histoire_, vol. i., pp. 11-13) of
Aubert that in 1508 "he visited the Gulf of St. Lawrence; if we may
believe the Dieppe chronicles, he ascended the river eighty leagues
above its mouth, and brought to France a Canadian savage."--Cf. vol.
i., _note_ 7. He also cites these Dieppe historians as declaring that
Verrazano was commander of one of the two ships with which Aubert made
the above voyage. The ship commanded by Aubert himself was named "La
Pensée," and belonged, according to the "Gran Capitano" (_Ramusio_,
iii., 359), to "Jean Ango, father of Captain Ango, and viscount of
Dieppe."
4 (p. 39).--Denys is said by many writers to have made a chart of the
St. Lawrence; but this is now seriously questioned. Dexter (in Winsor's
_N. and C. Hist._, vol. iv., p. 4) says: "What now passes for such a
chart is clearly of later origin." Harrisse says (_Jean et Sébastien
Cabot_, pp. 250, 251) that it could not be found at Paris; and that
the chart in the Library of Parliament at Ottawa, purporting to be a
copy of Denys's, is "utterly apocryphal;" he also states (_Discov.
N. Amer._, p. 181), that researches in the archives of Honfleur have
proved fruitless for any information as to the expedition of Denys.
Some information concerning his family is given by Bréard, cited by
Dionne (_Nouv. France_, p. 107, _note_ 3).
5 (p. 41).--Giovanni da Verrazano: probably born at Florence, Italy,
soon after 1480. He was apparently a corsair in French employ, by the
year 1521, harassing the commerce of Spain with the New World; while
thus engaged, he assumed the name of Juan Florin, or Florentin. Under
commission from Francis I. of France, he made a voyage during the first
half of the year 1524 (not 1523), "to discover a western passage to
Cathay." In the "Dauphine," with a crew of fifty men, he explored the
Atlantic coast from about 27° to 43° north latitude (that is, from
Florida to Maine); then sailed to "the country already discovered by
the Bretons," thence returning to France. His letter to the court,
announcing his safe arrival at Dieppe, was published by Ramusio, in
vol. iii. of his _Raccolta_ (1556). A translation of this letter (with
a note by Edwin D. Mead, the editor), is given in _Old South Leaflets_,
general series, no. 17. Little is known of Verrazano's subsequent
history; but it is generally supposed that he was hanged as a pirate,
at Cadiz, Spain, in November, 1527.--See Dexter, in Winsor's _N. and
C. Hist._, vol. iv., pp. 5-9; and Margry's _Navig. Fr._ pp. 194-196,
205-218. H. C. Murphy (_Voyages of Verrazano_, N. Y., 1875), and
others, have doubted whether Verrazano ever made this voyage; Harrisse
gives an exhaustive discussion of the whole matter in his _Discov. N.
Amer._, pp. 214-228, as does Winsor, in _N. and C. Hist._, vol. iv.,
pp. 16-27. The discoveries of Verrazano are shown on a mappa-mundi,
made in 1529 by his brother Hieronimo; this is fully described by
Winsor, in above citation.
6 (p. 41).--See vol. ii., _note_ 48.
7 (p. 41).--This chart is probably the one mentioned by Biard in doc.
x.; see vol. ii., _note_ 12.
8 (p. 41).--On Norembega, see vol. i., _note_ 11.--Cf. Dionne's
_Nouv. France_, pp. 257-263. Biard himself uses this term (_post_) to
designate the region wherein lay St. Sauveur.
The name Acadia (see vol. i., _note_ 2) was in general use up to the
downfall of the French régime (1763).
9 (p. 41).--The first of these attempts at colonization was inspired
by the explorations of Jacques Cartier (who, according to Harrisse,
was born at St. Malo, December 31, 1494; died September 1, 1557).
Having obtained letters patent from Francis I., he sailed to Canada in
April, 1534, with two ships, and explored the coasts of Newfoundland,
Labrador, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence, but did not enter the
great river. On his second voyage, however (1535), he explored the
St. Lawrence, Saguenay, and St. Charles, and ascended as far as
Hochelaga, on the island of Montreal. Building a fort near Quebec,
he spent the winter there, losing many of his men through sickness,
and returned to France in July, 1536. A list of the ship's company
on this voyage, taken from an old register of St. Malo, is given by
Ramé in his _Documents Inédits sur Jacques Cartier_ (Paris, 1865),
pp. 10-12. Cartier's third voyage was made in 1541, as master-pilot
of an expedition undertaken by Jean François de la Roque, Sieur de
Roberval (a town near Boulogne), whom the king had appointed lieutenant
and governor of Canada. (For the latter's commission, with other
documents concerning him, see Harrisse's _Notes_, pp. 243-247.) Cartier
sailed several months earlier than his patron, whose preparations were
not completed; again ascended the St. Lawrence, and again spent the
winter in that region,--this time about four leagues above Quebec.
Meanwhile, Roberval carried from France some 200 persons, including a
few adventurous gentlemen, but largely recruited from the condemned
criminals of Paris, Toulouse, and other cities, both men and women.
According to Gosselin (cited by Dionne, _Nouv. France_, p. 25, _note_
3), there were among them, also, fifty from St. Malo, convicted of
heresy and lèse-majesté. With this motley throng, he established a
residence at Cartier's abandoned fort, below Quebec, and spent the
ensuing winter there, many of the people dying from famine and scurvy.
It is uncertain whether Cartier was with him during any part of this
sojourn; but the former seems to have returned to France in 1542; some
writers claim that this action resulted from a quarrel between him
and Roberval. In 1543, however, Cartier went, by command of the king,
to rescue Roberval and what remained of his unfortunate colony.--See
Harrisse's _Notes_, pp. 1-5, 11, 12; Faillon's _Col. Fr._, vol. i., pp.
38-55, 496-523; Winsor's _N. and C. Hist._, vol. iv., pp. 56-59; and
Dionne's _Nouv. France_, pp. 9-54.
The next enterprise of this sort was attempted in 1598, by a nobleman,
Troïlus de Mesgouez, marquis de la Roche, etc.; governor of Morlaix
from 1568 to 1586, afterwards of St. Lô. Lescarbot gives, in his
_Nouv. France_ (1612), pp. 422-429, La Roche's commission from Henry
IV. Gathering from the prisons a shipload of convicts, as material
for a colony, and landing them temporarily on Sable Island (see
vol. ii., _note_ 20), he was driven thence by a storm, and forced
to return to France. Broken by misfortunes, he died in 1606.--See
Faillon's _Col. Fr._, vol. i., pp. 66-71; Dionne's _Nouv. France_, pp.
151-189, 299-310; and Harrisse's _Notes_, pp. 12-14. Ferland (_Cours
d'Histoire_, vol. i., pp. 60, 61) argues that La Roche's voyage was
made in 1578, or soon afterward.
No other colonial enterprises seem to have been actually undertaken
until those of Champlain.
10 (p. 47).--Now Cornouaille; a district, then a part of Lower
Brittany; also the name of a port near Quimper.
11 (p. 47).--Now Fuenterrabia, in the province of Guipuzcoa, Spain,
close to the French boundary-line; noted for its strong fortress (until
1494), and for Wellington's passage here of the Bidassoa (1813).
12 (p. 57).--Sir Francis Drake, one of England's most renowned
navigators and explorers; named "the Dragon" (by a play upon his
name), in Spanish annals of the time, on account of his fiery and
merciless attacks upon the commerce and colonies of Spain. He was a
native of Devonshire, England, probably born about 1540; and became
a sailor in his boyhood. After several voyages to foreign lands, he
commanded one of Sir John Hawkins's ships (the "Judith"), on a voyage
to the West Indies, in 1567-68; and from this time until his death was
actively engaged in navigation, in war, or in the public service. His
most famous voyage is that around the world (December, 1577-September,
1580), in which he discovered (March-July, 1579), the coasts of
California and Oregon, of which he took possession in the name of
England--a claim never advanced, however, by the English crown. To this
country he gave the name of New Albion, which for some time was applied
by cartographers to the present Oregon; it is shown on Lady Virginia
Ferrer's map (London, 1651). Another notable voyage was that to America
(September, 1585-July, 1586), in which Drake, under royal commission,
ravaged the Spanish main, taking many towns and much treasure. While on
a voyage with Hawkins, he died (January 28, 1596), and was buried at
sea.
The reference in the text is to a passage in the narration of Francis
Fletcher, Drake's chaplain, _The World Encompassed by Sir Francis
Drake_ (London, 1628): "_June_ 3, we came into 42 deg. of North
latitude, where in the night following we found such alteration of
heate, into extreame and nipping cold, that our men in generall did
grieuously complaine thereof, some of them feeling their healths much
impaired thereby; ... the next day ... the very roapes of our ship
were stiffe, and the raine which fell was an vnnatural congealed and
frozen substance.... In 38 deg. 30 min. we fell with a conuenient
and fit harborough, and _June_ 17 came to anchor therein, where we
continued till the 23 day of July following. During all which time,
notwithstanding it was in the height of summer, and so neere the sunne,
yet were wee continually visited with like nipping colds as we had felt
before." This was the experience of the English (according to Fletcher,
though his veracity is questioned by some writers), while sailing along
the western coast of North America, from the region of Cape Blanco to
Cape Mendocino.--See Hakluyt Society reprint of _The World Encompassed_
(London, 1854), pp. 113-118. Cf. H. H. Bancroft's _History of the
Northwest Coast_ (San Francisco, 1886), vol. i., pp. 139-145.
Drake's aim in this voyage was to find a northern passage from the
Pacific to the Atlantic. Such a passage was supposed to exist, and was
termed "the Straits of Anian;" Cortereal having found, as he imagined,
its eastern end in Hudson's Straits. This supposed passage across
the continent is shown on Zaltieri's map (1566), Mercator's (1569),
Porcacchi's (1572), Furlano's (1574), and others. For various theories
as to the origin of the name Anian, see Bancroft, _ut supra_, vol. i.,
pp. 53-56.
13 (p. 57).--On some early charts was shown an imaginary lake,
Conibas,--its waters flowing through a river or strait into the great
Northern sea, as in the Wytfleit-Ptolemy map (1597); or into the
mythical "Straits of Anian," as in Judæis's map (1593), and Löw's
(1598). On Wytfleit's map is shown, within the lake, an island and town
of the same name. See Bancroft's _N. W. Coast_, vol. i., pp. 84-85: and
Winsor's _N. and C. Hist._ vol. ii., p. 457. Bancroft thinks that the
notion of the lake was "probably owing to Canadian aboriginal rumors,"
doubtless of Hudson Bay.
14 (p. 67).--The white cedar (a name commonly given to the arbor-vitæ,
_Thuya occidentalis_) is found in abundance along the Atlantic slope.
The red cedar (_Juniperus Virginiana_) is abundant from Canada to the
Gulf of Mexico; its odor is offensive to most insects. It is probably
the tree thus referred to by Sagard (_Canada_, p. 783): "In the forests
[of the Huron country] are seen abundance of cedars; the odor of this
tree is disliked by serpents, and on this account its branches are used
by the savages for their beds, when on their journeys."
15 (p. 69).--Champlain's statement, here referred to, is in his
_Voyages_ (Prince Soc.), vol. ii., p. 16: "From Long Island passage we
sailed north-east two leagues, when we found a cove where vessels can
anchor with safety [Little River, on Digby Neck, St. Mary's Bay].... In
this place there is a very good silver mine, according to the report
of the miner, Master Simon, who accompanied me." He adds: "Quarter
of a league from here [the place now known as Sandy Cove] there is a
good harbor for vessels, where we found an iron mine, which our miner
estimated would yield fifty per cent. Advancing three leagues farther
on, to the north-east [probably near Rossway], we saw another very good
iron mine, near which is a river surrounded by beautiful meadows. The
neighboring soil is red as blood."
Nova Scotia is rich in minerals of many kinds, and is one of the chief
mining districts of the Dominion. Murdoch says (_Nova Scotia_, p. 3):
"The discovery of gold, along the whole Atlantic shore of the peninsula
of Nova Scotia, has taken place chiefly since I began this work in
1860; and it now gives steady remunerative employment to about 800 or
1,000 laborers, with every expectation of its expansion." In 1895,
there were in this province 37 mines, yielding 22,112 ounces of gold.
It is estimated that gold may be found in an area of from 5,000 to
7,000 square miles; but less than forty square miles have as yet been
worked. The industry supports 3,000 to 4,000 persons. From 1862 to
1895, the total yield was 602,268 ounces, the average value of the ores
during that time being $14.50 a ton.
Copper is mined to some extent. Gesner says, in _Industrial Resources
of Nova Scotia_ (Halifax, 1849), p. 289: "Thin seams of copper ore
are seen in the red sandstones of Minudie. At Tatmagouche, Carriboo,
and the rivers of Pictou, small deposits of the sulphuret and green
carbonate of copper have been found among the strata of the coal
series." An interesting statement on this subject is made in a "Memoir
upon Acadia," written in 1735, by one Duvivier, a descendant of Charles
de la Tour, and cited by Murdoch (_Nova Scotia_, vol. i., pp. 508-511):
"In the seigneurie of Mines, which is six leagues square (and belongs
to the family [of La Tour's descendants] with donations of mines,
etc.), a lead mine, a considerable silver mine, an especial mine of
red copper of a color like gold, and one of another metal, the value
of which is not known to the Sr. Duvivier or anybody.... The English
having obtained likewise the knowledge of a copper mine resembling
gold, at a place called Beaubassin, joining to Mines, have sent thirty
miners there, with an officer, according to the report of one Fougère.
They have formed a company for this undertaking, in which the Governor,
Lieutenant du Roi, and Major are secretly interested, to establish
there a so-called copper work."
Gesner says (_ut supra_, p. 264): "Narrow veins of galena occur in the
limestones of the Shubenacadie, Stewiacke, and Brookfield, and the ore
sometimes contains a small percentage of silver. No profitable veins
have so far been discovered."
The coal fields of Nova Scotia (including those of Cape Breton), cover
about 635 square miles, and are of great richness, the veins being 30
to 70 feet deep. It has been estimated that they contain 7,000,000,000
tons of coal. The present annual output is about 2,400,000 tons.
The _Statistical Year-Book_ for 1893 (p. 361) cites Sir William
Fairbairn as saying: "In Nova Scotia some of the richest ores yet
discovered occur in boundless abundance. The iron manufactured from
them is of the very best quality, and is equal to the finest Swedish
material." The ores are found through almost the entire length of the
province. The product of Nova Scotia for 1895 was 79,636 tons. Gesner
(_ut supra_, p. 255) says: "The most common variety of iron ore in the
oldest fossiliferous strata is brown hematite. At Clements, in the
county of Annapolis, and three miles from the mouth of Moose river,
it outcrops, and may be traced a mile on the surface, with an average
thickness of 9 feet 6 inches. It yields from 33 to 40 per cent. of cast
metal, and the quality of the iron is very superior."
Granite, sandstone, limestone, marble, gypsum, salt, and other valuable
materials, are found in great abundance and of excellent quality. For
an account of these and other mineral products, see Gesner, already
cited; also _Statistical Year-Book_, _Report of Minister of Mines_, and
other Government publications.
16 (p. 71).--_Betsabes_: written also Bessabes (Champlain); the
"sagamore of Kadesquit" (Biard); identical with the "Bashaba" of
Gorges. The most powerful sachem in New England, ruling over many
inferior sagamores in the country called Moasham (Gorges), or Mawooshen
(Hakluyt), corresponding to the southern part of Maine and New
Hampshire; Poor (in "Vindication of Gorges," _Popham Memorial_, p. 50)
thinks his authority extended to Narragansett Bay. His residence is
supposed to have been at Pemaquid, or the semi-mythical Arâmbec (see
vol. i., _note_ 11). Gorges says he was "killed by the Tarentines;"
Lescarbot, in _Nouv. France_, p. 561, avers that he was slain by the
English.--See Godfrey's "Bashaba and the Tarratines," _Maine Hist.
Colls._, vol. vii., pp. 93-102.
_Asticou_: Lescarbot calls this chief "sober, valiant, and feared, who
could at a moment's notice, gather a thousand Savages." He says that,
after the death of Bessabes, Asticou was successor to the former's
authority.--_Nouv. France_, p. 561. Champlain says (Laverdière's ed.,
p. 862) that the basin of the Falls of Chaudière, on the Ottawa River,
was called by the natives _Asticou_, meaning "a boiling kettle."
Maurault (_Hist. Abenakis_, p. 95, _note_ 2) says that _asticou_ is
an Algonkin word, meaning "caribou." He adds (p. 111), that the chief
of that name was probably an Algonkin who had migrated to the Abenaki
country. A post office on Mt. Desert Island is called Asticou.
17 (p. 79).--Caribou: the American woodland reindeer (_Cervus
tarandus_, or _Rangifer caribou_), inhabiting the northern regions as
far as the timber line. Specimens are still found in Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick; it is smaller than the moose or elk. Sagard (_Canada_,
p. 750) calls it "caribou, or wild ass."
18 (p. 83).--_Ponamo_: Shea (_Charlevoix_, vol. vi., p. 124) translates
this "dogfish," and cites J. H. Trumbull as authority for the statement
that the _ponamo_ is the "tom cod" (_Morrhua pruinosa_),--the
_apounanmesou_ of Rale, and the _paponaumsu_ of Roger Williams.
19 (p. 109).--See Garneau's statement, in _History of Canada_ (Bell's
ed., Montreal, 1866), vol. i., p. 132: "As soon as the young attained
nubile years, they were allowed all freedom,--'thought no harm of
it,' to use the words of Lescarbot. From this early and unrestrained
frequentation, we may deduce one cause of the limited fecundity of
the native women; as well as from their practice of suckling their
children for several years." Cf. Sagard's _Canada_, p. 324; in the same
place (and on p. 342), he also describes the easy accouchements of the
women.
20 (p. 119).--See vol. ii., _note_ 23.
21 (p. 131).--The sagamore of St. John's river; called Secondon by
Champlain; accompanied Poutrincourt on his expedition to Chouacoët,
and (according to Lescarbot, who calls him Chkoudun) offered to
oppose, single-handed, a hostile band of natives who attacked the
French.--_Nouv. France_, p. 575.
22 (p. 133).--Cartier gives the native Canadian word for "sun" as
_Ysnay_ or _Isnez_.--Tross ed. of _Discovrs dv Voyage par Iaques
Cartier_ (Paris, 1865), vol. i., pp. 13, 69. Lescarbot says it was
_achtek_.--_Nouv. France_, p. 691.
23 (p. 145).--Joseph de Acosta, born 1540, at Medina del Campo, near
Valladolid, Spain, entered the Jesuit order in his fourteenth year, and
devoted himself to the study of sacred and classical literature. In
1570, he sailed to the New World, with other Jesuit brethren, spending
thirteen years in Peru, and nearly four in Mexico, in missionary and
literary labors. In Peru, he resided partly at Lima, and partly at
Juli, near Lake Titicaca, then the principal seat of the Jesuits,
where a college was established, the native language studied, and a
printing-press erected; here was printed, in 1611, Bertonio's Aymara
dictionary. Acosta returned to Spain in 1587, and soon began the
publication of his manuscripts. The most important of these is the
_Historia natural y moral de las Indias_ (Seville, 1590); two books
of which were earlier published in Latin (Salamanca, 1588). This is
considered by modern historians a valuable and authoritative account
of the New World and of the Mexican and Peruvian nations. It was
translated into Dutch, by Van Linschoten (Enckhuysen, 1598); into
French, by Regnauld (Paris, 1597); into German, by De Bry (Frankfort,
1601); and into English, by Grimston (London, 1604).
Acosta was head of the Jesuits' college at Valladolid, and, later,
of that at Salamanca, where he died February 15, 1600. His brother
Bernardo also became a Jesuit; was a resident of the City of Mexico in
1586, dying there May 29, 1613. For a fuller account of the former's
life and works, see Introduction to Hakluyt Society's translation of
his _Historia natural y moral_ (London, 1880).
24 (p. 149).--_Angelic Salutation_: the salutation, "Ave Maria, gratia
plena, Dominus tecum," with which the archangel greeted the Virgin when
he announced to her that she was to become the mother of Christ.--See
Lee's _Glossary of Liturg. and Eccl. Terms_.
25 (p. 151).--The apparent omission of chap. xi., arising from a
typographical error, is explained in the "Bibliographical Data,"
_ante_. The _Factum_ alluded to was a controversial pamphlet "written
and published against the Jesuits." The only copy known to us is in
the Bibliothèque Nationale at Paris. It was reprinted in 1887, with
an introduction by G. Marcel, under the title, _Factum du procés
entre Jean de Biencourt et les Pères Biard et Massé, Jésuites_: pp.
xix-91. The publication was anonymous, but its authorship has been
ascribed by many to Lescarbot. The succeeding six chapters of the
present _Relation_ are devoted by Biard to answering the _Factum_.--See
Rochemonteix's _Jésuites_, vol. i., pp. 81-82.
26 (p. 161).--See vol. ii., _notes_ 42, 59.
27 (p. 161).--See vol. i., _note_ 2.
28 (p. 165).--See vol. i., _note_ 25.
29 (p. 165).--See vol. i., _notes_ 31, 37.
30 (p. 169).--See vol. i., _notes_ 35, 36.
31 (p. 173).--In the Edict of Nantes, the Huguenots are referred to as
followers of _la religion prétendue réformée_. Upon the significance of
this term, see _Atlantic Monthly_, vol. lxxvi., p. 414.
32 (p. 173).--The consistory was a council or assembly composed of the
ministers and elders of the Reformed churches.
33 (p. 177).--The _Contract d'association des Jésuites au Trafique du
Canada_, entered into before a notary of Dieppe, January 20, 1611 (see
vol. i., _note_ 31). It is given in Lescarbot's _Nouv. France_ (1618),
p. 665; and has been reprinted by Tross (on vellum, 12 copies only,
of which the Lenox and Brown libraries have each one). This contract
occasioned much hostile comment against the Jesuits, whom their enemies
accused of profiting by the Canadian trade.--See Champlain's _Voyages_
(1632), p. 101; Faillon's _Col. Fr._, vol. i., p. 104; Harrisse's
_Notes_, pp. 35-36; and Biard's _Relation_, _post_, chap. xix.
34 (p. 181).--This is now Kara Strait, between Nova Zembla and Siberia,
connecting the Kara and Archangel Seas; and the large island at its
eastern end is named Waigatz. Jenkenson's map (London, 1562), shows the
island as _Vaigatz_; Sanson's (1674), _Destroit du Vaigatz_; Schenck's
(1720, _ca._) _Fret. Weygatz al. Nassovicum_. Both the strait and the
island were discovered in 1594, by an expedition sent out by Count
Maurice of Nassau.
35 (p. 181).--By an oversight, Biard here says that they arrived June
22, instead of May 22 (as in his former letters). Whitsunday (on which
was celebrated the festival of Pentecost) fell on May 22, in 1611. A
similar discrepancy occurs on pp. 235-237, _post_, where Biard says
that Poutrincourt's ship left Dieppe on December 31, 1611, and arrived
at Port Royal January 23, 1612, after a voyage of two months. The
latter date is correct; so the departure from France was probably in
November, not December.
36 (p. 199).--Probably Head Harbor, near the N.E. point of Campobello
Island.
37 (p. 201).--See vol. ii., _note_ 80.
38 (p. 207).--_Larvæ_ or Lemures, the spirits of the dead, believed by
the Romans to return to the upper world, wandering about at night as
spectres, and tormenting the living.
39 (p. 209).--See vol. i., _note_ 9.
40 (p. 215).--The beds used in the Carthusian monasteries seem to
have been simply pallets of straw covered by skins; but the bed here
mentioned, as one into which a man could be shut, is evidently of the
kind still used by the peasants of Brittany--built into the wall, and
closed by sliding doors, to keep out dampness.
41 (p. 221).--See vol. ii., _notes_ 2, 5.
42 (p. 233).--Madame de Guercheville (see vol. i., note 33) married
(February, 1594), as her second husband, Charles du Plessis, seigneur
de Liancourt; but she would not use his name, because it had been borne
by Gabrielle d'Estrées, a favorite of the king.
43 (p. 235).--Robert du Thet (see _Relation_ of 1613-14, vol. ii., p.
233).
44 (p. 239).--See vol. ii., _note_ 45.
45 (p. 249).--Now called Gaspé, and sometimes Gaspesia; the peninsula
occupying the southeastern extremity of the province of Quebec,
extending from the St. Lawrence to the Bay of Chaleurs and Restigouche
River. Cartier, on his first voyage, landed on this coast, and took
possession of the country in the name of France. From 1636 to 1685, it
was governed by Nicholas Denys, Sieur de Fronsac (for whom the strait
of Canso was named; see vol. i., _note_ 40); for an account of him,
see Murdoch's _Nova Scotia_, vol. i., pp. 124-131. For descriptive
and statistical account of this region, see Langelier's _Sketch of
Gaspesia_ (Quebec, 1884).
Laverdière (_Champlain_, p. 68, _note_ 2) cites Abbé Maurault as
deriving the name Gaspé from the Abenaqui word _Katsepioui_, "that
which is separated," referring to Cape Forillon (known to Cartier as
Honguedo)--a remarkable mountainous headland, 700 feet high, extending
into the sea between Cape Rosier and the Bay of Gaspé; it is the most
eastern point in the Shickshock Mountains (described in vol. ii.,
_note_ 40).
The Récollet, Christian Le Clercq, was a missionary in Gaspé from
1675 to 1687, and wrote an account of his work there--_Relation de la
Gaspésie_ (Paris, 1691). He is noted as the inventor of a system of
hieroglyphics, by which he taught the Micmacs to read and write, and
which those tribes still use. In 1866, a volume of catechism, hymns,
prayers, etc., was printed in these characters, by the Leopold Society
of Vienna, Austria.
46 (p. 259).--See vol. ii., _notes_ 35, 77.
47] (p. 263).--See vol. ii., _note_ 81.
48 (p. 263).--_Menauo_; probably a misprint for Menano (as it appears
_post_): is now known as Grand Manan Island, a favorite summer resort.
49 (p. 265).--See vol. i., _note_ 61.
50 (p. 275).--See vol. ii., _note_ 85.
51 (p. 279).--_Pavesade_; a sort of screen made of canvas, extended
along the side of a vessel in a naval engagement, to prevent the enemy
from seeing what is done on board.
Transcriber's Note.
Variable spelling and hyphenation have been retained. Minor punctuation
inconsistencies have been silently repaired.
Corrections.
The first line indicates the original, the second the correction.
p. 54:
ceste oppiate nous à beaucoup serui.
ceste oppiate nous a beaucoup serui.
p. 146:
Acosta à tres bien remarqué la faute
Acosta a tres bien remarqué la faute
p. 186:
vn appartenãt au au sieur de Monts,
vn appartenãt au sieur de Monts,
p. 190:
a là sollicitation instante dudit P. Biard,
à la sollicitation instante dudit P. Biard,
p. 252:
qui estoyent passeés
qui estoyent passées
p. 256:
Parce que le chemins de ce païs là sont les riuieres
Parce que les chemins de ce païs là sont les riuieres
p. 274:
bien quatre vintgs lieües
bien quatre vingts lieües
p. 276:
Aussi ne saisoyent-ils
Aussi ne faisoyent-ils
Errata.
The first line indicates the original, the second how it should read.
p. 34:
d'où ce tant inegal partage de bon, & mal heur?
d'où ce tant inegal partage de bon, & mal'heur?
p. 36:
que i'y fus enuoyé pas mes Superieurs:
que i'y fus enuoyé par mes Superieurs:
p. 144:
Aussi le maistre de toute Sapience à dit
Aussi le maistre de toute Sapience a dit
p. 178:
estãt neanmoins le contraire:
estãt neantmoins le contraire:
p. 180:
si vous ioigniez plusiears
si vous ioigniez plusieurs
p. 192:
Or ie voulut les reconduire
Or il voulut les reconduire
Mais on ne sçauroit croire les grandes difficulés
Mais on ne sçauroit croire les grandes difficultés
p. 194:
comme il appelloy[~e]t chasque chose
comme ils appelloy[~e]t chasque chose
p. 260:
L'ARRIUÉE DE LA SAUSSAYE À PORT ROYAL, & & DE LÀ, À S. SAUUEUR.
L'ARRIUÉE DE LA SAUSSAYE À PORT ROYAL, & DE LÀ, À S. SAUUEUR.
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