IMAGE EVALUATION 
 TEST TARGET (MT-3) 
 
 1.0 
 
 M.I 
 
 If: K 
 
 Hi |40 
 
 2.5 
 
 M 
 1.8 
 
 
 1.25 1.4 
 
 ||||<> 
 
 
 ., 6" — 
 
 
 ► 
 
 <^ 
 
 p^. 
 
 
 
 Photographic 
 
 Sciences 
 Coipomtion 
 
 d 
 
 ^^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 ^ 
 
 23 WIST MAIN STRUT 
 
 WmSTIR.N.r MSSO 
 
 (716) 173-4)03 
 
 
 6^ 
 
&* Mi ^ ///// 
 
 
 
 ^% 
 
 CiHM 
 
 ICMH 
 
 ^ 
 
 Microfiche 
 
 Collection de 
 
 
 Series 
 
 microfiches 
 
 
 (Monographs) 
 
 (monographies) 
 
 L\ 
 
 Canadian Institute for Historical Microraproductions / Institut Canadian da microraproductions historiquas 
 
Technical and Bibliographic Notes / Notes techniques et bibliographiques 
 
 The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original 
 copy available for filming. Features of this copy which 
 may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any 
 of the images in the reproduction, or which may 
 significantly change the usual method of filming, are 
 checked below. 
 
 □ Coloui-ed cove 
 Couverture de 
 
 D 
 
 n 
 
 covers/ 
 
 couleur 
 
 Covers damaged/ 
 Couverture endommag^ 
 
 Covers restored and/or laminated/ 
 Couverture restaur^ et/ou pelliculie 
 
 Cover title missing/ 
 
 Le titre de couverture manque 
 
 Coloured maps/ 
 
 Cartes g^ographiques en couleur 
 
 L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'it 
 lui a eti possible de se procurer. Les details de cet 
 exemplaire qui sont peut-£tre uniques du point de vue 
 bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image 
 reproduite, cu qui peuvent exiger une modification 
 dans la mithode normale de f ilmage sont indiquis 
 ci-dessous. 
 
 □ Coloured pages/ 
 Pages de couleur 
 
 □ Pages damaged/ 
 Pages endommagees 
 
 □ Pages restored and/or laminated/ 
 Pages rcstaurtes et/ou pelliculies 
 
 □ Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ 
 Pages d4color6es, tacheties ou piquees 
 
 □ Pages detached/ 
 Pages ditachtes 
 
 □ Coloured ink (I.e. other than blue or black)/ 
 Encre de couleur (i.e. 
 
 n 
 n 
 
 autre que bleue ou noire) 
 
 Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ 
 Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur 
 
 Bound with other material/ 
 Relie avec d'autres documents 
 
 Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion 
 along interior margir' 
 
 La reliure serrte peut causer de I'ombre ou de la 
 distorsion le long de la marge interieure 
 
 □ Blank leaves added during restoration may appear 
 within the text. Whjnever possible, these have 
 been omitted from filming/ 
 It >e peut que certaines pages blanches ajouties 
 lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, 
 mais, lorsque cela itait possible, ces pages n'ont 
 pas M f ilmies. 
 
 □ Showthrough/ 
 Transparence 
 
 D 
 D 
 
 n 
 
 Quality of print varies/ 
 Qualite inigale de I'impression 
 
 Continuous pagination/ 
 Pagination continue 
 
 Includes index(es)/ 
 Comprend un (des) index 
 
 Title on header taken from:/ 
 Le titre de I'enttte provient: 
 
 itie page of issue/ 
 Page de titre de la livraison 
 
 □ Caption of issue/ 
 Titre de depart de la li 
 
 D 
 
 vraison 
 
 Masthead/ 
 
 Gen^rique (periodiques) de la livraison 
 
 y} Additional comments:/ 
 
 Commentaires lupplimentairas; 
 
 Page 21 is nlasfng. 
 
 This item it filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ 
 
 Ce document est film* au taux de rMuctlon indiqui ci-dessou». 
 
 10X 
 
 - - 
 
 
 ^^^ 
 
 ux 
 
 
 
 
 18X 
 
 
 
 
 3X 
 
 
 
 
 2<x 
 
 
 
 30X 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 L.™ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 12X 
 
 
 
 
 1IX 
 
 
 
 
 20X 
 
 
 
 
 24X 
 
 
 
 28X 
 
 
 
 
 22% 
 
The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks 
 to the generosity of: 
 
 National Libiary of Canada 
 
 L'exemplaire filmd fut reproduit grdce d la 
 gdn6roslt6 de: 
 
 BibliothdquB nationale du Canada 
 
 The images appearing here are the best quality 
 possible considering the condition and legibility 
 of the original copy and in keeping with the 
 filming contract specifications. 
 
 Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed 
 beginning with the front cover and ending on 
 the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, or the back cover when appropriate. All 
 other original copies are filmed beginning on the 
 first page with a printed or illustrated impres- 
 sion, and ending on the last page with a printed 
 or illustrated impression. 
 
 The last recorded frame on each microfiche 
 shall contain the symbol -^(meaning "CON- 
 TINUED"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), 
 whichever applies. 
 
 Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at 
 different reduction ratios. Those too large to be 
 entirely included in one exposure are filmed 
 beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to 
 right and top to bottom, as many frames as 
 required. The following diagrams illustrate the 
 method: 
 
 Les images suivantes ont 6t6 reproduites avec le 
 plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et 
 de la nettetd de l'exemplaire film6, et en 
 conformity avec les conditions du contrat de 
 filmage. 
 
 Les exempiaires originaux dont la couverture en 
 papier est imprim^e sont filmds en commenpant 
 par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la 
 dernidre page qui comporte une emprelnte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second 
 plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exempiaires 
 originaux sont filmds en commenpant par la 
 premidre page qui comporte une empreinte 
 d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par 
 la dernidre page qui comporte une telle 
 empreinte. 
 
 Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la 
 dernidre image de cheque microfiche, selon le 
 cas: le symbole -<^> signifie "A SUIVRE", le 
 symbole V signifie "FIN ". 
 
 Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent fttre 
 film^s d des taux de reduction diff6rents. 
 Lorsque le document est trop grand pour 6tre 
 reproduit en un seul cliche, il est film6 & partir 
 de Tangle sup6rieur gauche, de gauche h droite, 
 et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre 
 d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants 
 illustrent la mdthode. 
 
 32 X 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 1 
 
 2 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
? 
 
 SPECIMEN PAGES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 
 IN CANADA 
 
 TO BE PUBLISHED BY JOHN LOVELL, 
 *S'^ Nicholas Street, Montreal; and St. Ann Street, Quebec, 
 
 The Work will make 4 Volumes, Demy 8vo., of about 700 pages each, 
 and will be put to press as soon us a sufficient nuniber of Subscribers is 
 obtained to defray the cost of translation and publiahing. 
 
 Price, in paper covers, for the Kct $8.25 
 
 half calf 10.50 
 
P3I=L03I=»E30TXJS. 
 
 Labt year the Frenfh reading part of the Canadian people were edified ond delight- 
 ed by the publicatioi . of the original Narratives of the Jesuit Fathers, who were the 
 pioneers of religion and its attendant civilization in Canada. This work, important 
 as it ia to the French Canadian, is not less so to the English-speaking part of the 
 population of North America. All inhabitants of this great Continent, especially 
 all Canadians, will assign it an honored place on tlio shelves which bear the stirring 
 narratives of the first English and Dutch adventurers. 
 
 It is fit, therefore, to make its reverend authors speidc with au English tongue. 
 
 The early history of Cana<la is at this moment attracting much attention. The 
 French Government has made large and precious contributions of historical matter 
 to our Provincial Library, both manuscript and printed, relating chiefly to Canada, 
 its settlement and wars ; the Government of the United States has been evor zeal- 
 ous in collecting documents relating to the acta and sufl^erings of their hardy and 
 adventurous founders ; and the encouragement which our own Government could 
 afford in aid of enterprises of the same character, has always been promptly a.id 
 effectually granted. 
 
 The publication of authentic and interesting historical records has been favored 
 and promoted by all enlightened governments and literary bodies; because they 
 supplv either the best evidence of the truth of history, or the best materials for its 
 composition. It has even been asserted, that the chronicles and private memoirs 
 of cotemporaries are of higher value than the poUshed periods of Hume and 
 MC'zeray. 
 
 The Narratives now sought to bo presented to the public are of great value to 
 all classes To the religionist, whether Protestant or Roman Catholic, they afford 
 precious evidence of the zeal of those servants of his Holy Religion who devoted 
 themselves to its propagation among the heathen, and went forward through many 
 a fiery trial to find too often at last the crown of martyrdom. The ethnolofjist wiU 
 find in them faithful descriptions of a race now much degenerated and rapidly ap- 
 proaching to extinction, written amongst them as they lived and moved, hunted 
 and fouL'ht, married and died, received baptism or ferociously murdered the men 
 who sought to bestow it on them. Ordinary readers, fi cm the intelligent scholar to 
 the untaught peasant, will peruse with interest an account of men who trod the 
 soil on which tiiey now move,-who were the lords of the forest and the river, now 
 smiling with the rich harvest or glittering with the vessels of commerce,— and will 
 learn with some emotion that they live and slciop in security on the .^elf-samo spot 
 which has been often drenched with the blood shed in warfare or massacre. 
 
 The publication of so voluminous a work will depend entirely npon the support 
 received from the public. Th.' first volume has been translated by one of the best 
 translaWrs in the Province ; and it will be put to press as soon as a sulficieut num- 
 ber of suteoribera is obtained to defray the cost of translation and publishmg. 
 
 The work will make 4 Volumes, Demy 8vo.. of about lOO pixges each, in Long 
 Primer Type. Sut)seription Lists will be found at the Book-s' jres .11 Montreid, 
 Toronto Ouebee, Kingston, Ottawa, Hamilton, London, Ac, and at the Ofllcea of 
 the Publisher, iu St. Nicholaa street, Montreal ; also, at St. Ann street, Quebec. 
 
 Prico, iu paper covers, for the set, t8.26 
 
 ' if-oftif, " «iy.6o 
 
 JOILN LOVELL, Publii/ur. 
 
 I 
 
 Moutrcal, March, 1860. 
 
f 
 
 P 11 E F ACE. 
 
 With ritxlit ijrnnd vosison (fvioiully re:uU'r) did ouc of tlic most nnpiont of 
 tlio projilu-ts, in dcscriltin.tr mystically, under thu visible and liistoric 
 Hcmlilaufo of tlio di'Va^tation of Jadoa, tlio liorviblo rava;io.s and cxtcnni- 
 nulin^; ruin wronulit by Satan, wbcvevov lils fury rci^ins uncontrolled, 
 declare eninbiitically : Brf'irr hhn thr hi ml /x a l^orifdisv of (IJIghts, 
 Miiiid hhn Ihx II lioirViij vlhfn'iirss : truly, be wbo casts bis eyes over 
 tbe wide surface of tbe cartb, and contemplates tbe nations wbieli are 
 enli.ubtenod by tbe sun of Justice, Our Saviour Jesus CMirist, besprinkled 
 as tbey are Avitb Ids blood and precious sacriticf — fed by His grace and 
 Holy Word — vivitied a)id comforted by His spirit — taujrlit and p;uided by 
 His divine precejjts — bonored by His revelation of Himself and retd prc- 
 SLMiee — bo, I say, wbo tbinks on tliesc tbina's. must needs cry aloud that, 
 "before" tbe J)i.stroyer. and wlierc be cannot come, tbe e.a-th is a Para- 
 dise of deliirbts, wberein all blessings, even temporal and worldly li.-ippi- 
 ncss. attend His people, anndst wboni is planted tbe true tree of life, even 
 Our Uedeemer .Josus Cbrist; wbile casting- bis eyes on tbe otlier side, 
 and surveying' tbe reuions Itebind Lucifer — tbe bellidi tyrant — in wbicb bo 
 batb been perndtted to practise bis int<tlerable cruellies, be will beliold 
 nau^lit save di's1ructi(»n and a desert — howlinji' and lamentation — desola- 
 tion and tbe sbadow of deatli. Now it needs not tbat we set footbej-tnid 
 our own lienusjibcro to bebold wltli our eyes and acknowledge tbis tnith : 
 Greece and Palestine, boretofore very gardens of Eden, now lie outspread 
 bel'ore us a waste— lit objects of idty. Ami if it please you tbat we look 
 at liome, in order, by nearer exanunation, to learn what praises arc duo 
 to the liberal (liver of all good things, let us follow, I pray you, the mato- 
 rial sun which gives us light, attending bini to his setting-place, to .«cc to 
 what numner of [uMiple he bids good-da}, tb^re right over against us, 
 beyond our ocean, wln'ii he hath left us here to the sweet rist of night. 
 There lies New France, that new land lirst discovered in the last age by 
 our countryuKMi, ii twin 'creation to our own, subject to like influences, 
 situated in the same ,iarallel, and in the same dinnite — a vast, nay, bound- 
 less country, bo to speak — ii country which we hail, looking at our sun 
 when at his setting, yet n gmntry of which it may truly bo said, if you 
 luuk on Hatan lace to faee, connng front iho. west to destroy uh, Jhfnrr 
 him ia (1 Pntttdup of di fights^ hehliid him Ilea a hoviiiig wlfdcnma : for, 
 verily, all that region, although nuide cap-.ble of like felicity as our own, 
 yet, by tho uialico of Sutun, who there reigns paramount, is u frightful 
 
iv 
 
 TREFACE. 
 
 wilderness, hardly less to be pitied for its unhappy lack of corporal goods, 
 thi»n it is for that which maketh men most nuscrahlc — its utter destitute- 
 ness of the adornments and riches of the soul. Whereof we arc not to 
 Llanio the soil, or the evil nature of the land, the air or the water, the 
 men or their native dispositions : for we arc all made and derived from 
 the same elements— breathe, under a like elevation of the polo, an air 
 tonipered by the same cunsicHr.tions ; and I doubt not that the land, 
 whicli produces there as lofty and fair trees as our own, would yield as 
 bounteous harvests, if it were tilled with like care. Whence, then, this 
 groat ditTerence ? Whence this unequal division of the good and evil 
 things of life— of tlic garden and the wilderness— of heaven and hell ? 
 Why do you inquire of mc? Nay, inquire of Him who, from heaven, 
 called His people to look upon the unequal division of the inheritance to 
 Esau and Jacob, twin brethren— the one appointed to dwell in tents 
 nmid (h-agons and noisome boasts— the other fed on the fat and marrow 
 of the land in the company of angels. 
 
 Truly, the thouglit of these things is powerful, and worthy to fill our 
 hearts with wonder, maintaining within us a pious dread, and a longing 
 desire to communicate, in all charity, of this overflow of Christian wellth 
 m graciously poured upon us from above. Failing in this, how easy were 
 it lor our gracious Father to cross His arms, as did Jacob, laying his 
 right hand on the head of the younger, and his left on that of the elder. 
 Oh, my God ! in this thing, where is the ambition of the great ?— the 
 contention of the strong?— the display of riches ?— or, the striving of the 
 g(,)dly ? D.De9 Marathon, do the Olympic lists offer to the brave a fitter 
 liold ?^ Wherein can the glory of a Christian find happier exaltation 
 than in that land in which he would bring to liis fellow-mortals both 
 bodily and spiritual comforts, and in which, becoming a mighty instru- 
 ment in God's hand, he would transform a wilderness into a paradise, 
 van.iuish the monster powers of hell, and implant order and heavenly 
 defences, in which thousands of generations, to the end of time, would 
 bless his name and his niomoiy without ceasing; and heaven itself, filled 
 through his beneficent labors, would iviokc to hear blessings and thanks- 
 givings poured upon him ? 
 
 ^ And now, friendly reader, it is my ardent desire and wish to sec this 
 New France, which I speak of, brought within the realm of Our Lord, 
 «ind that it is which inciteth me to take my pen in hand to narrate to 
 you, with all truth and brevity, what I myself saw in those regions. 
 I'our years since, I was commissioned thither by my superiors, and God, 
 m puninhmont of my tran.sgiussions, caused me to be taken ari borue 
 thence by the English, as I am minded hereinafter to relate. 
 
 I 
 
I 
 
 NARRATIVES 
 
 OP THE 
 
 JESUITS IN CANADA. 
 
 DEScrjPTiox OF NEW fraxce; the soil, the xatuee of 
 
 THE COUXTRY, AXD THE IXHAIJITAXTS THEREOF, AXD 
 THE TRAVELS OF THE JESL'IT FATHERS L\ THE SAME. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 WHAT KIND OF COUNTRY NEAV FRANCE IS, AND WHO FIRST ATTEMPTED 
 TO FORM A SETTLEMENT THERE. 
 
 Ve give the name of New Franco to the regions and parts -f America, 
 or the Western Indies, which Ho beyond the ocean of Guicr . towards 
 the setting sun, over against us, and answer diioctly to us in the same 
 lino from east to west. This name of Now Franco was Lnven to them for 
 two reasons chiefly. Tlic first reason wf.s that, na I said, those countries 
 are parallel to our France, and th(M-e is nothing between Guicnno and 
 them, save our western sea, of a breadth, in its narrowest, exceeding ciyht 
 Imndred leag-ues, at its widest, little k- , than a, thousand, or thereabouts. 
 The second reason is, that the said land was first discovered by French- 
 men of Brittany, in the ycfir 1504—111 years ago, who have, moreover, 
 never ceased to resort thither. Also tlie Normans did their part among 
 the foremost in this work, among wliom we read that Captain Thomas 
 Aubcrt of Dieppe sailed thither in the year 1508, and brought away with 
 hini some of the wild people of the country, whom he exhibited to the 
 admiratioti and npplau.so of all Fnmco. Two years before his voyage, 
 Jean Denys do Ilonfleur made the same discovery ; but, inasmuch as he 
 brought back with him nothing save fishes and maps of geograpliy, his fame 
 has not been so great as that of Thomas Aubort. After the year 1 523, Joan 
 a2 
 
6 
 
 NARRATIVES OF TIli3 
 
 Vcrazan made liis way throiiji-li the wliole l;;nd, bo<>inninfr at Florida, ap 
 far as Cape IJrctoii. and took possession thereof in llie name of l^'raneis I., 
 his master. This Jean Vcrazan it wiv.^, as I think, who stood godfither 
 to give it this name of New France ; for Canada (by which name also it 
 is commonly called) is not, propeviy speakin,!,', the wlu.lc tract of land 
 called New France, but that pan only which lies alonij the banks of the 
 great river Canada and the (lulf of Haint Lawrence, which is only the 
 most northerly part thereof, a, tlie same will appear by the gcograpliical 
 map which we append hereto. 
 
 Touching Canada, towards the south, is Acadia, the country of the 
 Souri(|uois, lying lower down ; an.i lower still, and beyond French Bay, 
 IS Norambugue (of these two Tiames, Norambegue and Acadia, tlierc is 
 no recollection in the country, or even of Canada). This Norambeuuo 
 was chiefly discovered by Jacciues Cartier in tlie year 1524, and in a 
 second voyage, ten years afterwards, in the year 1534. 
 
 Now, from the tirst of these discoveries, the French have always addicted 
 themselves to make settlements, aild to civilize the inhabitants of tlioso 
 deserts : deserts they are truly, the whole c(mritry being but one vast 
 forest. Some private persons, even, have mad(j the attempt, as Koberval 
 and the Ma^iuis de la Eoche, ard others; but the most famous and most 
 recent of these undertakings was that of the 8icur de Monts Pi<'rre du 
 Gas, who hath gained great credit thereby. That noblenum having got 
 together very considerable sums of money, and for the purpose joined i;im- 
 self to certain merchants of llouen, St. Malo, and llocholle, received fi-om 
 Henry the Great, of happy memory, full power and authority, as Lieu- 
 tenant of the King, over <liosc countries, from tlie 40th to the 4()th degree 
 of latitude, for so far did Iiis power of disposing of the lands extend. 
 Nevertheless, his privilege of trading and the jurisdiction of his govern- 
 ment reached to the 54th degree, as the same may be seen in the Koyal 
 letters granted to him. By this conmiission of the Sieur do Mouta, it 
 seems that 'iccasion was taken to reduce the extent of New France within 
 narrower bounds ; for, as wc said, it extended before time as iar as New 
 Florida, southwards, on which side it is now commonly bounded by tho 
 39th degree of latitude soutliwards, as you sec the same in our chart. 
 Tho eastern bounds are our own sea ; to the west it will be the sea of 
 China, if so be that wc have valour and virtue to atchiove the same : for 
 other boundaries arc none which arc assured, the country being without 
 limits, and ten or twelve times bigger than all Franco. 
 
 Now the Sicur de Monts, having authority and power as nforosuid. and 
 being well furnished and provided with good attendance, set forth from 
 France in the year 1604, being exactly 100 years after the discovery of 
 that land. He mado his settlement on the coast of Norambegue, between 
 
 ! 
 
' 
 
 JESUIT FATHERS. 7 
 
 the nations of the Etcniinquois antl a little i.slan^l named Ste. Croix; hut 
 ill-fortune hefell him, for lie lost a great numhor of his people hy s^iek- 
 ncss ; and in the followinp,' year, heiiig driven hy necessity, he changed 
 his dwelling-place to Port lloyal, about 20 leajzucs to the eastward, the 
 same being in Acadia, in the country of the Sourifjuois, where he did not 
 tarry longer than two years, forasmuch as the merchants, his co-partners, 
 finding that their outlay exceeded the receipts, refused to adventure fur- 
 ther. Acet/rdingly, all of them were forced to return to France, leaving, 
 as a monument of their explnit, their two vacant establishments — thav at 
 Ste. Croix, and the other at l^ort lloyal — and carrying with them no better 
 gains and fruit of their undertaking, than topographies and descriptions 
 of the seas, capes, coasts and rivers wliich they had visited. Thef-c are 
 the principal proceedings of the expeditions, undertaken beiore the j'ears 
 101.0 and 1011, concerning which we are now to speak, being about to 
 conduct the Jesuits to that country ; but we must, in the first place, be 
 heedful of our promise, and obedient to the conditions of our undertaking, 
 by shewing the horoscope of those lands — I mean the aspect of the heavens 
 above them, their times, seasons, temperature and climate. 
 
8 
 
 NARRATIVES OP THE 
 
 CIIArTI<]R II. 
 
 OF THE TIMES, SEASONS AM) TEMPERATURE OP NEW FRANCE. 
 
 Tii(»SE lands being, as we have said, parallel with our land of Franco, 
 that is to say, under the same climate, and the same polar elevation, 
 ought, by the rules of astronomy, to have the same influences, inclina- 
 tions and temperature ; for in these respects they differ only, as among 
 us, Grenoble, Adeline and Bordeaux, Paris and Cornwall, Marseille and 
 Bayonne differ from each other, that is to say, one place is merely 
 more easterly than another ; in all else, in the length of the days, the 
 aspect of the stars, the seasons and the temperature, they are alike. 
 Truly New France extends three degrees lower down towards the south 
 than does our own country, for ours goes no further than Foutarabia, 
 tliat is to the 42nd degree, while New France pushes on as far as the 
 39th at least, and further still, if it please his Majesty tf give up nothing 
 that his predecessor Francis I. had gained. 
 
 Nevertheless, and whatever astrologers m;iy saj", we must admit that 
 that country (speaking of it generally, and and as it now is) is colder than 
 our France, and tliat there is a great difference in rcnpect of times and 
 seasons between the two : the causes whereof as they arc not in the 
 heavens, must be sought for on the earth. I shall faithfully testify to 
 the effects which I myself experienced through two years and a half in 
 succession ; I might say tliree years and a half, but tliat I passed nearly 
 one yeav, at various times, in voyages at a distance from the mainland. 
 The place of my longest sojourn was Port Iloyal, which lieth nearly 
 in 45 degrees of north latitude. There the snow fell about the end of 
 November, and i-over melted away entirely in the woods till towards the 
 end of February, unless there happened, as oft-times did, some heavy rain 
 or strong south wind which melted it. But it was no sooner thawed 
 than more fell. Outside of the Avoods, in the open, it lies scarcely longer 
 than in France, but it falls more frequently than is wont with us : the 
 gi-eatcst depth I ever saw there was a foot and a half, and even that 
 not often. When the North- West wind ( which we here call Galerne ) 
 blows with great violence, the cold becomes intolerable, but that lasts 
 at most not more than eight or ten days, after which time, the weather 
 becomes milder, for a while, as it happens in France ; neither would people 
 bo prevented from working at any handicraft, or from going and coming 
 more than they are in France, if they were equipped as they are with us. 
 But all that I saw there denoted extreme poverty : miserable huts open 
 
 
JESUIT FATHERS. 
 
 9 
 
 in many places, tlic food peas and beans, and even of that a scanty 
 allowauce, the drink plain -water, tlie clothes and dress of our people all 
 rags ; our supplies drawn frnni the ■v\'nnds day l»y da^^ our remedies a 
 glass of wine on higli days, our reiVeshnients some hit of icanio obtained 
 by good luck ; the country uninhabited, the roads unmarked by a f lotsiep, 
 and the feet shod only sulTiciently for indoor life, do, after that, and 
 say there is no •wintoi- in Canada ; bu*^ do not aver, that the Avcather is not 
 good, nor the air hcaUhful : for verily it is marvellous what good health 
 we always had, notwitlistanding all these miseries and privation, being 
 constantly at least twenty persons, whereof in the space of three years, 
 there died by sickness no more than two only, one a native of St, Malo, 
 the other a Bret(Mi ; and the latter, more for want of a little wine and a 
 crust of bread to revive him, ( the whole of ours being spent ) than by 
 reason of the violence of his malady. 
 
 If we call to mind that Jac([ues Carticr lost nearly all his people the 
 first time he wintered in those countries, and also the Sieur do Monls one- 
 half of his, in his first year at Ste. Croix, and in his second, the year 
 ensuing, being his first at Port lioj-al, likewise experienced a consideruble 
 loss, though less than the first, and still less the third ; and liow at 
 Kebcc, during the first year, many were buried, and not so many the 
 second ; the fre(iuent occurrence of the same mortality may serve to 
 enlighten us on the causes of health .ind disease which havu affected us 
 so variously. The most connnon disease was t!ie scurvy, whicli is called 
 the land-sickness. The legs, thighs, and face swell, the lips become 
 putrid, and shoot out in great excrescencics, the brea tiling short with a 
 tormenting cough, tiie arms black and blue as if bruised, the skin covered 
 with spots, and the frame languid with great depression and grief, the 
 patient being itnable to swallow aught save li([uids, and e';cn those in 
 small quantities. The Sieur L'hamplain, reasoning on this matter, 
 ascribes the cause of this disease to the vapours inhaled by those persons 
 who are the first to move, cultivate and inhabit the new lands which have 
 never been laid open to the sun. His opinion is not extravagant, nor 
 unsupported by examples ; it may nevertheless be urged in contradiction 
 thereto, that mariners ap]Toach the land (mly near enough to fish, and 
 clear no ground, nor dwed thereon, yet are they often assailed by th's 
 sickness, particularly the Bretons, who seem to me to be picked out by 
 it among many others ; also, that wo who enjoyed good health as I before 
 said, did nevertheless turn over much gnmnd, and gave it air, and yet 
 knew not tiiis disorder, save myself, a little, it! the f^cci-nd winter of 
 my sojourn, at which time I became greatly swelled with fever and 
 ijicredible thirst ; but my lips and gums remained whole, and in ten 
 or twelve days, my disorder was at an end, I can well believe that this 
 
10 
 
 NARRATIVES OF THE 
 
 may have been of some effect : namely that our house was not new, and 
 that, all aroaiid our tlwcllin-' beino' cleared long before; wc enjoyed a pure 
 .aid free air. and this is in my opinion what Champlain really meant to say. 
 
 Othei-s I have hoard di.sc(iur.-e hereon, who reasoned di,ferently and not 
 indeed without solid arguments. These would have it, that sitting still 
 througliout a long gloomy winter, such as winter is in Canada^ had 
 bred this distemper among the new settlers ; tliut of all the t«icur do 
 3Joiits' people who wintered first at 8te. Croi;c, cloven only continued in 
 Bound heuUli, and t'.iose were hunters, who like merry iullows, wore fonder 
 of foraging than of the fireside, who loved to skim over u lake hotter than 
 to loll idly on a, bod ; vo ti'amp through the snow, bi'inging down a head 
 of game, than to gossip about T'aris and its flesh-pots, while sitting by 
 the ehinmey; and truly W3 oursoUes, wlio thus continued at all times in 
 good health at J'ort IJoyal, were saved by the sliortness of our commons, 
 from two great evils : that is to say, from excess in driiddng and eatinu', 
 and Irom idleness. For wi! had evermore some good cause to exercise 
 ourselves, and our stomachs were never overloaded with food. A'erily, I 
 am of opinion that this prophylactic stood us in good stead. 
 
 Now let us back to our task about tlie ihncA and seasons. I nnce re- 
 marked two days, being 2i;. and 27. of February, to be as line, mild, and 
 Hpringlike as we ever see in France idxmt tliat time, and yet on the tliird, 
 it snowed a little, and ihe cold returned. Sometimes in summer, iho 
 heat is as great as iu France, and oven hanhir to bear, but it dood 
 not last : the weather is soon overcast. . The trees put out later 
 than in Franco generally, later even than in this present year, ICU. 
 And yet it seemed to mc, that every thing grew faster. Speaking gene- 
 rally, tlie weather and the scason'-i' of that country are in all respects like 
 what we Imvc experienced this very year ut Paris and in Picardy, ex- 
 cepting fogs and mists, to which that country is mon^ lialile. At Tort 
 lloyal, we soklom had them in the sunnncrtime, unless near tlie coast; 
 but ut Etchemins and I'entegoet, the fogs held sometimes in summer 
 tlirco or four days together. It is a gloomy time, and made us ajipreliend 
 that it would pr-vent our cr ips from ri]»ening, but we had plenty of proof (n 
 the contrary ; for at Fort Royal wliieh is (older and lias a more uncertain 
 olimatc. they ripen, of the which I had cxi,eri(>iico fa- three years. 
 Jakowise ("mnipliiin assures us, that at Ste. Croix, on the same coast, in 
 a very bleak situation where the weather is gonorally cloudy, tho whcut 
 nnd other grain jamo to nniturity. 
 
 N.ty, x\y ymi, but wliat can bo the c.uiso of tliOso fogs, and this sur- 
 passing colli, Huoh as we are not w(<nt to f 'cl in France ? Tlu re is miod 
 reason to ask this question itiasnuicli m Norambrgue, iu which country 
 
 • The spring !—[7V.] 
 
JESUIT FATHERS. 
 
 11 
 
 was our settlement of St. Sauvcur, lies as far to the f^oiith as our most 
 soutlieru provinces, G'liennc, Langucdoc ami Dau]ihiiiy. Neither must 
 we ascribe the mountains as the cause; for tlu^'c ure noncofi^reat height 
 like our own Soveiie?. 3Iesain, La Cliartreuse and trroat part of Au- 
 V("'i;iie, Velay, Dauphiny, and Provence ; and it is unliively that the little 
 liiL-'Ii land which we see in Norambeiruc could ever produce such great 
 eifeets over so vast a tract of country, particularly as the jiTeiit cold of 
 tliat region does not pi-occed from that side wherein the highest land is 
 found, wliidi is the Xoilh-East (as yiiu m:'.y see on the Ch>;rt) but rather 
 from the Nijrlii-W'cst, which is a level chaiiipai,un countiy. 
 
 The defc'uders of influences keep their j^round hero in tlielr cahiniated 
 position, and take to their del'fusive weapons, that is to say, their un- 
 known causes, saying that there is, I know not what, in the sky which 
 pnulnces this efllet in tliose hiud' thus Le Drach, p-issiiit;' t!ie sea. wt;st- 
 v»'ard fnr.u those re;^ions, in tliat j, . of Xtw Allilon \>hich lies below the 
 straits of Avian, in 40, 42 and 44 deji'rces north, found the cold so p-eat 
 that he was compelled to put back; likewi.-e in the country of the 
 Cainiibas, lyin^■ in the same latitude, but inland, the J^paniards found 
 lotty mountains, and so j^reat a cold that tliey could not endure it ; 
 that those parts are all west from us, from wliicli <piarti!r we have the 
 most h(»rrible cold, and that this may be, by infection, the cause of 
 the frosts and fojis of Canada. But why does it freeze so hard in New 
 Albinn and in the cnuntry of the (.^innibas ? Of this we cannot very 
 well tell the cause, they say. we must believe that there are certain 
 inlbiences which we cannot find out. Truly thoy furnish the c(tld with 
 good winus. wh<» fetch it to us from a distance of four or live hundred 
 lea;4nes. for so far distint. 1 think, nay evt n further, is New Albion ; yet 
 Wc lind that oft-timos a sinjile league of uountry, or even less, <iives a dis- 
 cernible change from cold to heat, from dark to l)ri!j;ht weather, from dry 
 to wet, and such other variations s we all know of. Jloreover, it is ab- 
 surd, that alter iiaving travelled live hundred leagues to find out the cold 
 in its cavern and secret abode, they discover nothing there, save I know not 
 wliat iiiHuenc's Avhich cannot he named, aud certain occult impressions. 
 Would you not have done better to unearth these aspects, impressictns. 
 inid nanu'less and hidden-causes which you talk of, in Canada itself, or 
 under it, or within its bosom, than to go so far in (pust o| then, tj) u 
 country, where you never sot foot? 
 
 W'v (Hirsolvci», after long argumentation, could find only two causes of 
 the difference between this country and tliat, in res]K;ct of the weather 
 nnil tiie seasons. One is, tliat Canada abounds in rivers and lakes; the 
 other, that it is uncultivated. For the fornii'r, if you e.xamine the map you 
 vill puiccivo that it is all over indented with gulfs and inlets of the wjn, 
 
12 
 
 NARRATIVES OP THE 
 
 and cut up by the water. It is moreover copiously irrigated by rivers, 
 and full of lakes and pools, wliicb would be a preat ornament and con- 
 venience to the country, if it were inhabited ; but all tins prodiiccs the 
 cold and f(i;is, especially o!i the sea shore iind near rivers. Now we never 
 lived any wliere else : for \;e did not r.dvaucc far inland, save by the sea 
 and up the rivers. Acadia, formerly the country of the Souriquoisju which 
 is Tort Iloyal, is almost a peninsula ; and accordingly it is colder, and 
 mo: • liable to sudden changes than Norambcgue, the latter being beyond 
 question blotter every wny, and more habitable and productive. The se- 
 cond cause of the cold is similar : that is to say, the vildness and uncul- 
 tivated state 01 the com. try, for it is all one endless forest. In no part citii 
 the soil be long warmed by the sun, either because the crust is too hard, 
 being never tilled and moved, or by reason of the trees perpetusilly shading 
 it, or lastly because the snow and the water He too long, without being 
 absorbed or dried up. Consefjuently from sucli lands, no vapours ^an be 
 exhaled, but what are cold, heavy and stagnant, taking the form of a 
 drizzling mist in calm weather, and of biting frost when agitated by the 
 wind ; whereas, if the land were settled and tilled, the sun would find it 
 prepared to admit his rays, and would scatter the cold and moist vajKtrs, 
 and the air would be tempered by the exhalations smoking dry and warm 
 from the ground itself, and iVom the dwc-llings of the inhal/itants. This 
 we especially noted, for the snow always melted sooner on the small patrh 
 which we h:id tilled than it did elsewhere, and there too the fogs first 
 cleared away and gradually vanished. 
 
JESUIT FATHERS. 
 
 13 
 
 I' 
 
 CHAPTER TIL 
 
 THE SOIL, — THE INHABITANTS, — AND THE PAOPUCTIONS. 
 
 The soil k, in my opinion, as good as in Franco, princijially in Noram- 
 ).ie,i;uo ; this you perceive by its black colour, and by the Itii'ty, well-iirowu 
 and straiuht timber, and by the lirass, f're(iucntly as hiiih as a man, and 
 other f-uch .si,uns. At St. Sauveur, in the middle of June, we sowed 
 seeds, pips, peas, beans, and all sorts of j.'arden-stuff. Tlu'eo months 
 afterwards — that is to say, in the middle of September — wi> returned to 
 see after our gardening: the wheat had not made its appearance — to bo 
 Hure it had been sown at a wrong season of the year ; the barley was in 
 ear, Init not ripe ; the peas and harricots wine perl'eetly good, Init still green ; 
 tlie beans were just in flower; all else had succeeded admirably well, in- 
 cluding the onions and the chives. The pips had germinated, and soma 
 of the plants grown a foot high — the smallest, six inches. 
 
 I have observed before that the whole cimntry is one intermiMablo 
 forest. I'lure is no open place but the sea-shore, and tho.so Hals which, 
 being overflowed liy the rivers, become meadows. There are several of 
 great beauty, aflbrdiiig a vast extent of pabturagc, such us the bay of 
 Chcnietou, the river of Port Royal, and others. And here wo nnist take 
 care not to fall into an error, which has nnsled many ; ibr hearing jirrsons 
 who have visited distant countries, tell of theii advantages and fertilitj', 
 ol'len with a little exaggeration (for so they think they will liiid more 
 heedful listeners), they fancy that all the good things they hear of are to 
 be found in abundance every where : as, for cxamjile, says one, talkimj; 
 of France, I have seen the woods and forests altogvther of clu'slnnts, 
 orange and olive trees, juar and apple trees, and all so loaded with IVuit 
 that their branches were breaking under their weight ; and no doubt ho 
 would speak sooth, for so it is ; nevertheless, a stranger hearing )um 
 might fall into error, inasmuch as lie would think that in all parts of 
 Franco, or nearly all, these things are to be found, and not take lieed to 
 consider that the chesttnits are in Perigord. a Inmdred leagues from tho 
 orang*! trees, Avhieh grow in I'rovence; and tliat th> apjde trees are in tho 
 country of Oaux in Normaiuly, a hundred leagues from theeliestnuts, and 
 two liuiulred I'rom the olive trees. Now, wlu>n a country is well peopled 
 and inhabited as Franco is, this is u connnendation, beejnjse, by means 
 of transport and eonmii'ree, all these good things may be miide common to 
 all ; but in a wild, uncivilizi ^ - gion, such as Canada, it is hardly bettor 
 thuQ it would be if no uioiw than ouo thing grow in it, 1 say tljis, 
 
14 
 
 bec< 
 11 
 
 NARRATIVES OP THE 
 iiusc tlu! infovmiition is of vast importance to sucli as tro to settle in 
 
 lose new eountnos. 
 tin 
 
 IS Ave l^'reiichiiKMi go, licadloii- blindly and t 
 
 in-ly, thinking that once in Canada, and gcttini-hun-ry. we have notliin- 
 to do but betake ourselves to an island, and, striking right and left with 
 a great clul), knock down at every blow a bird as ono,i as a duck. This Ins 
 been told, and truly, for so liave our peo],lo done more than once and 
 m more than one place; and it w.ndd be all veiy well, if vou were never 
 to be hungry but at tlie time of the year when tho.e birds resort t,tho.e 
 i^'lands, and if, even then, you chanced to be near them ; i'or if vou were 
 fifty or sixty leagues o!F, what would you do ? 
 
 'I'o i;- turn to our subject, it is not iiard to lind a place which has some 
 one thing to recommend it— as a g<,od harbour, fine meadows, a fruitful 
 «oil a lair hill commanding a view, a ]4easant river, a rivulet, kc. ; but 
 to build one-s dwelling where all desirable qualities arc cond.ino.l. is not 
 tne good luck of any ordinary living man, as Aristotle hath it nor ,loth 
 It enter mto the sj-eculation of a wise one : for, after all, in realitv, the 
 best condition and perfect nature of a place, as of man liimself, iV not 
 that nothing Miould be wanting, but that nothing essential and of primary 
 nnportance should be wanting. This is why I say that, all things eon- 
 Mdored, taking it for all in all, I think tliat the lands there are as .-ood 
 as ours, if they wore duly brought under tillage, liut we expect to 'find 
 all things there in a narrow compass, which wo cannot yet even licre in 
 m this wide realm, after ages of culture. ' ' 
 
 lu many jtlac-s we found vines and wild grapes, ripe in their se.-son but 
 not 111 the best soil, it being a kind of sand or gravel, like that of i{or.l.aux 
 Ihey ab..und at the river St. Jean, in .JO deureos latitu.le. where we saw' 
 'dso, many nut and filbert trees ; n.nther there is the soil very -mod X,! 
 "^.'^■'•'<'"<l "firnit tree is found in all the country: but idl species of 
 wild forest trees, as the oak, the beech, the hornbeam, the poplar .U- 
 bcides the cedar— "o at least the French call it. ' ' 
 
 If the country were inhabited, the mines mitrht be ina.le profitablo • 
 "J"; ti.ere is of silver in Hi. Mary's Hay, so repo.tcl by the Sieur Cbam- 
 1- im. and two of rich and pure copper ore— one at the entrance ..f Port- 
 l{".yal. the odior at tbe Bay ..f .\Jinos ; also an iim, mine at the river St 
 ♦';''>'.. and others elsewhere. Sandstone and IVocstono, slate, and all other 
 kimis of stone, besides coal, are not w;niting. 
 
 _ The wliole of New France is divide.l among various nations, each hav- 
 ing itH own language and its own Hoparato country. They assemble in 
 the summer seas,.., to trailic xvitli us. m^t\y on the threat Kivcr. Thiilu.r 
 also come many other tribes from distant parts. Tliey barter their skins 
 of the beaver, the otter, the elk. the marten, the seal, "^c. for bread, i>eH. 
 bcaus, dried phims, tobacco, ,Vc., kettles, liatchet., iron points for arrows' 
 
JESUIT Px\TIIERS. 
 
 15 
 
 awls, bodkins, cloaks, blankets, and all other commodities, brouiilit for 
 them by the French. Some niitions carry on implaeable war a;:ain>t us, 
 as the Excomminiiuois, wlio dwell on the north shore of the threat "ulf of 
 St. Lawrence, and do us much harm. This war was commenced, as I am 
 told, by certain 13as(iues atteuiptinu' a shameful violatinn ; tliey indeed 
 paid the penalty of their sinfxd inediitinence, and not they only, fur tlio 
 men of .'••t. ^lalu. and many otliors, have sulFered, and uoi.tiU suffer for it 
 every year: for rli!)>v! sava-vs are furious, and will desperately I'ace death 
 itself, so they may, hope to kill or do mischief. Tluve nations only there 
 are who ;tTO fiiendly and deal with us on familiar terms : tlie Souri(|Uois 
 the ^lontaunais, and the Elemin(|Uois. As for the Eteehemins and .'••ouri- 
 quois, 1 am their witness, for I sojourned amonn' thom ; the 3I(intaunais 
 1 know only by reiH)rt. As to the other nations, thoy trust. us nut • 
 neither do our French i'rciiuent them, unless to discover their shores, and 
 even in that they came not off without damaL;e, except Cliamplain in Ids 
 l.:>t discoveries up the (Irand lliver, who compLru's not of them, 
 
 This I'riendshlp and uood faith of the above nations towards the French 
 ; ]ip^Mred iii a remarkable maimer, after our defeat liy the lOn^li^h, as you 
 t-li;dl hear: ior tlRV, Inviuu' knowledi;e thereol', came t(» us in the niuht 
 and con.-oled us as they best midit, offerin,i;' to us tluir canoes and their 
 services, to carry us whither we would. 'J'hey jiroposed, nioreovi-r, })eini'- 
 three hi number, to wit. Captains Betsabes, (,>;iui;zueou and Asticou, if 
 Ave thought lit to rem.dn with tiuni, to take each of them ten of our cf>ui- 
 pany for his share (we were thirty who remained), and to keep us until 
 the followin.Lj year, when the French shii)s would re-visit the coast; that 
 W) we mi^iht return to our own land, and not I'all into t!ie hands of the 
 wicked In.i;Tes fso they c.dl the i'hi,i;lish). Th w;is no snare to entrap 
 us : for you will hereafter le;irn the jiood treatment which Father Eiiemond 
 and hi.s coujpuny received at their liands ; and at Port Huyal wliere, durinjj; 
 three! winters we liad Liood need of them, we found them to be faithl'nl and 
 helpful, whereas, if tluy h;id been minded to do us mischief they had no 
 lack of }j;ood and lit opjiortunity. 
 
16 
 
 NAURATIVES OP THE 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OP THE NATURAL DTSPOSfTlOX OF THE INDIANS-TnEIR DRE^S 
 inVEIJJNas AND FOOD. ' 
 
 The natural disposition of our Indians is liberal, and not at all malicious 
 In their judnnicut and appreciation of visible and common objects tliev 
 arc <iuick and correct, and assign clear and plausible reaso,.s tlu'refo, 
 overseasomng them with some pretty ima^e or metaphor. lu matters 
 physical they shew an excellent memory; as, of having seen us, of the 
 <|uah.u.s of a place where they have been-of things done twenty or thirty 
 years betore their time; but learning by rote is their stun-bling-block- 
 no efforts can fix a series of M'ords iu their heads. They have no beards 
 the men jks little as the women, except some few who are more robust or 
 manly. 1 hey have often told us, that wo seemed to them at first very ill- 
 iavoured, with as much hair about our mouths as on our heads; but by 
 degrees tliey grew used to us, and we began to appear somewhat less 
 oathsonic m their sight. You could not distinguish the young lads from 
 the girls, mjo by their manner of wearing tlie girdle, because the women 
 gird themselves above and below the belly, and wear more coverin.^ than 
 the men. They are also more largely decked with matachias, that is to 
 say, chains, trinkets, and such like ornaments of their fashion, by which 
 you may know that here, as elsewhere, it is tlie nature of the fair sex to 
 bo fond of finery. Generally speaking, they arc of smaller stature than 
 we are-particularly their bulk is less tlian ours; nevertheless they are 
 well-favoured and well-set, much like men of twenty-five years old with 
 u«. ^ ou will fail to find among tliem a pot-bellied, hump-backed, or 
 deformed person, a leper, a gouty man, a madman, or one afflicted with 
 tno gravel : tliey arc <,uite unacciuainted with such diseases. Those of 
 our nation who arc marked by some blomi.sh, as one-eyed, squintin- or 
 Hiub-nosed, kc, arc also soon noticed by them and turned into unsparin.r 
 ridicule, especially beliind their backs, or when the Indians are anionic 
 tliemselves: for (hey are cheerful companions, and have the jest and the 
 nickname over ready at hand ; right glad arc they when they find an op- 
 portunity to disparage us; and truly it is, as I think, only by Cod's 
 luerey tliat any are exempt fn)m this same disposition of ovcr-ratin- them- 
 selves \ou shall see these poor barbarians, notwithstanding theh- utter 
 lack vi poury, p^wer, iettei-R, arts and riches, nevertheless hold such <aeat 
 account of themselves, that they look upon us as much below then.,"and 
 comport tliemselves as our superiors. 
 
JESUIT FATHERS. 
 
 17 
 
 Their clothes nro trimmed with skin, which the women tan and dress 
 on the smooth side. The elk-skins they frequently dre.s on Loth sides, 
 hke our huff-K-nther, ornament them with stripes resemblino- lace, ver-' 
 prettily iiulccd, an<l convert them into robes. Of these skin'^s, too' they 
 make slmes and K-rin-s. Tlie men wear no brecc],cs, because^ say' they 
 that .lianiient eonlincs thorn too much, and is to them the same as ayves 
 or fctlors. They wear only a piece of linen for decency. I,, the ^sum- 
 mer, they make nnuh use of our cloaks, and in the winter of our blanket, 
 which they ti'im and line for themselves. They likewise willin-ly make 
 use of our hats, shoes, woollen-caps, shirts and linen, the latter to clean 
 their children m tlie cradle. All these articles we barter with them for 
 tlieir skins. 
 
 In whatever place they come to, tluy first make a fire and construct a 
 hut, which matters employ them an hour or two, often not more than half 
 «n lionr. The won.en p. i„t„ the wood fur poles, the lower onds of which 
 tliey stick into the oronnd around the fire, the other ends thiy brin- to- 
 p-ether in form of a pyramid, so that they lean one a-.inst the other rio-ht 
 over the firo, that being the chimney. Over these poles they throw skins 
 or perhaps mats or pieces of bark ; and at tlie foot, beneath the skins' 
 they lay their ba-s. The whole space round the fire is spread over with 
 pine-bnughH, in onler that no dampness may be felt, and over these they 
 often lay mats or seal-skins, which are as soft as velvet. Upon these 
 they ho alon- round the fire with their heads on the baus ; and, what we 
 6h.iuh scarcely believe, arc very comfortable before their small fire btin.v 
 60 sheltered, vnm in the severest cold of winter. They always canip near 
 good water, and in a spot which has a pleasant prospect. In summer 
 tlieir lodges arc of a dilVerent form, being wide and long, for the sake of 
 air; and then, too, they cover them in with bark, or with mattim-. made 
 of soft rushes, much thinner and more delicate than ours made of straw 
 «nd so finely wrought that, when it hangs down, the water runs off without 
 penetrating it. 
 
 Their food is wliatever they obtain by hunting or fishlnr- for tliey 
 practise no tillage ; but the fatherly providence of (Jod, which suifereth 
 not the sparrows to lack their ibod, hath not left these poor creatures, born 
 vith capacity to know Him. without a suitablo provision, which is ap- 
 pointed for them as a portion every moon : for by moons they reckon 
 counting_ thirteen in the year. Thus, then, in January, they have the 
 seal-hunting ; for this animal, although living in the water, brings iorth on 
 certain islands about that period. Its f!..sh in as good iis veal, and they 
 moreover make of the fat an oil which serves them for sauce the wholo 
 .year. W ith this they fill many bladders of the elk, which are twice or 
 three tunes as largo as those of the pig with us, and arc their vessels for 
 
IH 
 
 NARRATIVES OP THE 
 
 Ivooitiii;;' ll. From tlic inontli of Fcbruiiry to the middle of May, in ttu'ir 
 fi'VCMt soiisoii fiiv liuiitiii^r beavers, otters, elks, bears, Avliieh are very ^r'nid, 
 liml cariboos. This animal is hall' ass. half sta'j:. If the season is favour- 
 
 able, tliev live at that ti 
 
 th 
 
 d 
 
 able, tliey live at tiiat time iii the nddst of ])leiity, and are as prfU't us 
 priiii'cs and I<ii)!:'s; but if it is unpropitiou^, tlieir case is bad, and tr.ey 
 ol'ton jicrish witli huupn'. The weather is unfavorable for tln'ir pursuit 
 ■\vlnMi it r.iins mueh. witlmnt froezinp:, as tliey can then hunt neither i-lk 
 nor beaver : the s;ime hiippens vhcn mueh snov; falls and does not freeze, 
 for llioy canniit then take tlieir d(^i:s. because they would sink at every 
 stc]) ; tiiis tlii'v avolil themselves, by wettrinir snow-slioes, which enable 
 (lieiii (o walk (in the surface. They cannot, however, move with as much 
 siu'i'd as they re(|uire. the snow beiiii;' fio siii't. Other hindrances occur 
 ol' tliu like kind, too Ion;;' to describe. About tlie middle of March, the 
 iish be.L'in to spawn, and to asK-end the streams from tlie sea, and this in 
 HU'h nmltitudes. that they may be said to swarm. Hardly would any 
 one believe, without seeinjr it: the hautl could \'oi ful to calch ii fsli. if 
 pul iiild the water. Anion;.'; these il-li. the smelt is the lirst. Tlsis is 
 twice or three times as lame as our river-smult. After the smelt comes 
 tlie herrliij:', about the end (.f April ; and at tiio same peried the wild I'eese 
 arrive from the south, which are double the size of ours, and make tlieir 
 nests ill the islands. Two of their eirjis are fully eijual to live of liie 
 common hen. At the same time the sturneon and the s:ilmou arrive; 
 and the ureat j^alherinii' of cltus commences in the small islands: for the 
 sea-ftiwl, wliieli resort thither in p'eat numbers, lay there, and often cover 
 the ji'round with their nests. From May to the middle nf Se))tember, 
 they iiave im care about their f )od : for the muscles and other sh.ell-fish 
 art! en the coast, and the French ships arrive with which they trade. 
 And bo sure they kiunv very well how to exact respect and observ.ince ; 
 assiimin,!.:; to be hail-fellow with the Kim:', and it is necessary to pay them 
 nil the respect they claim. They must have presents, and lou"' speeches, 
 until they have airreed to trade ; and when that is settled, they are to be 
 feasted, which done, they will dance, make speeches, and sinu' Aih'ftquiiJr;:, 
 .■bAsi//n'(A,v, which nujans that they are the jiood friends, allies, associates, 
 conrcderates and brothers ol the K'uv^ and the French people. Water- 
 fowl «b(Uind; not so the land-birds, except at certain times birds of pas- 
 Raue, such as wild Canadian jjcesc, and the white and ,t;rey common wild 
 gct'so. («rcy partridges arc mot Avith, which have a very fine tail, and are 
 twice the i-ize of ours. Multitudes of wild piLreons arc seen, which arrive 
 to v;\{ \ht\ r;r-p-berries in the month of July ; likewise 5ome birds of prey," 
 rabbits and hares. 
 
 Our Indians ((uit the sca-aido and the tido-water about the middle of 
 September, and betake themselves to the smaller rivers, where the eels 
 
JESUIT FATHERS. 
 
 19 
 
 spawn, and lay in a provision of thcni, they being ^ood and fat at tliat 
 time. October and November are the second season for hunting the elk 
 und the beaver; and in December (an admirable provi.sion of Divine 
 Providence !) a fish appears, culled by them puiinnio, which spawns beneath 
 the ice. At that time, also, the turtle brinii; forth, i\:c. iSuch, and oven 
 greater and more numerous, arc the niiinors and revenues of our Indians ; 
 such is their table and their food : the whole beinjj; meted and parceled 
 out, each thing in its due and needful season. Solomon himself never 
 had his store-rooms better ordered and regulated than are these supplies, 
 and those who furnish them. And, truly, a greater than Solomon hath 
 appointed them. To Him be glory for ever I 
 
 For the more entire enjoyment of their inheritance, our denizens of the 
 woods move cheerfully to the various abodes of plenty, with all the plea 
 sures of the traveller who seeks his diversion ; and for their great help and 
 easement in so doing, tliey have the greatest convenience in the world, 
 which is the canoe. These vessels are small skiffs, made of the bark of 
 the white birch, very narrow, and pointed at the two ends, turning up 
 like the crest of a helmet ; the body is like a large cradle, bellying out ; 
 they are eight or ten feet long, and capacious enough to hold, in a single 
 one, a family of five or six persons, witli all their dogs, packs, skins, ket- 
 tles, and other lieavy baggage ; and their best (juality is, that they can 
 land any where, which our skiffs or ships' boats cannot do : for the most 
 deeply laden canoe does not draw half a foot of water ; and when unloaded 
 is so light that you would lift and carry it in your left liand, while it is 
 so swift, when impelled by the paddle, that, without exertion, you could 
 in fine weatlier make thirty ttr forty leagues a day. Nevertheless, we 
 rarely see these savages post along in that manner, for their day's journeys 
 are all pleasant pasthue, and they are never in a hurry. Far different 
 are our movements, who can do nothing, but we must whip and spur, be- 
 cause we are ever urged forward by u fervid nature, which knoweth not 
 peuc- 
 
20 
 
 NARRATIVES OP THE 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 POLITY AND GOVERNMENT OP THE INDIANS. 
 
 The polity cannot have greater bounds than the commonwealth, for it ic 
 simply the ordering and government of the commonwealth. Now, the 
 savages, having no extensive community, either in number of persons, for 
 they arc few, nor in possessions, for they are poor, and live only from 
 hand to mouth; neither by alliance and social bonds, for that they are 
 scattered and wanderers, cannot have a polity of much account. Neither 
 indeed, can they do without any— being men and consorted to-ethcr' 
 What they have, then, is after this sort : the Sagamo, who is the^ldest 
 member of some powerful family, is, in virtue of his age, the chief and 
 leader thereof All the younger branches of the family belong to his train 
 and hvc with him ; he therefore provides the dogs for the chase, and canoes 
 tor their migrations ; and lays up a store of food against bad weather and 
 the season of travelling. The young men pay deference to him ; under 
 him they servo their apprenticeship in war and the hunt, being incapable 
 of holding property, until they are married. Then only they become 
 qualified to own dog and pack, that is to say, to acquire and hold private 
 property ; while they still continue subject to the authority of the Sa"-amo 
 and generally members of his band ; as do likewise oth . who arc destitut^ 
 of relations, or who, having no adherents of their ovu, and no resources 
 to live singly, at their own free will, place themselves under his guidance 
 and protection. Accordingly, every thing acquired by the young men 
 belongs to the Sagamo, while the married men give him only a part of 
 their aciuisitions ; and, if the latter separate themselves from him, as 
 must often happen, for the convenience of hu iting and living, when they 
 return, they acknowledge his rights, ;md do him homage by presents of 
 skins and like articles. From these circumstances arise quarrels and 
 jealousies among them, as they do among us, but by no means so violent 
 in their nature : when, for example, oae among them begins to act inde- 
 pendently and sot up for a Sagamo, no longer paying his tribute, should 
 his followers desert him, or be enticed away by others, just as among our- 
 selves, so do they bandy reproaches and scornful words. The new man 
 is only a half Sagamo, as, being newly hatched, like a chicken three days 
 old, liis eoiiib i« not grown ; he is a Sagamozette, that is, a sucking 
 Sagamo— a dwarf Thus you may perceive that ambition bears sway 
 beneath the thatch of rushes as well as beneath the gilded roof-tree of the 
 palace, and that its lessons are not hard to learn. The country is par.'eled 
 
 re 3/7 ^C> /%c ^^eat