Nous doncques, ayans advancé dans le courant de cette riviere trois lieuës ou plus, rencontrasmes un autre beau fleuve appellé Chiboctous, qui du nord-est vient se jeter dans ce grand Pentegoët.
When we had advanced three leagues or more into the current of the river we encountered another beautiful river called Chiboctous, which comes from the northeast to discharge its waters into the great Pentegoët.
Sur le confluant des deux rivieres, y avoit la plus belle assemblée des Sauvages que j'aye point encore veue. Ils estoyent 80 canots et une chaloupe, 18 cabanes et bien environ 300 ames. Le plus apparent Sagamo s'appelloit Betsabés, homme discret et fort moderé; et, sans mentir, on recognoist souvent en ces Sauvages des vertus naturelles et politiques qui font rougir quiconque n'est eshonté, lorsqu'en comparaison ils regardent une bonne partie des Françoys qui viennent en ces quartiers.
At the confluence of these two rivers there was the finest assemblage of Savages that I have yet seen. There were 80 canoes and a boat, 18 wigwams and about 300 people6. The most prominent Sagamore was called Betsabés, a man of great discretion and prudence; and I confess we often see in these Savages natural and graceful qualities which will make anyone but a shameless person blush, when they compare them to the greater part of the French who come over here.
[73] Aprés qu'ils nous eurent recogneus, ils demenerent grande joye le soir à leur accoustumée, par danses, chansons et harangues. Et nous, bien ayses d'estre en païs d'asseurance; car entre les Etechemins, tels que sont ceux cy, et les Souriquois, tels que sont ceux de Port-Royal, nous ne nous tenons sur nos gardes non plus qu'entre nos propres domestiques, 50 et Dieu mercy nous ne nous en sommes pas encores mal trouvez.
[73] When they had recognized us they showed their great joy during the evening by their usual demonstrations; dancing, singing and making speeches. And as for us, we were very glad to be in a country of safety; for among the Etechemins, as these are, and the Souriquois, as are those of Port Royal, we are no more obliged to be on our guard than among our own servants, and, thank God, we have never yet been deceived in them.
Le jour suyvant, j'allay visiter les Sauvages, et y fis à mon accoustumé, ainsy qu j'ay dict de Kinibéqui. Cela y fut de plus, qu'eux m'ayans dict y avoir quelques malades, je les allay visiter, et comme prestre, ainsy qu'est porté dans le Rituaire, recitay sur eux les sainct Evangile et Oraisons, donnant à un chacun une croix pour se la pendre au col.
The next day I went to visit the Savages, and followed my usual custom, which I have described in speaking of Kinibéqui. But there was more to be done here, as they told me they had some sick; I went to visit them; and as priest, it being thus ordained in the Ritual, I recited over them the holy Gospel and Orisons, giving to each one a cross to wear around the neck.
Entre les autres j'en trouvay un à leur mode estendu auprés du feu, les yeux et visage fort estonnés, suant à grosse goutte de la seule teste, qui à peine pouvoit parler, en un grand acces. Il me dirent qu'il estoit malade dés quatre mois, et que comme il apparoissoit, il ne la feroit pas longue. Or ne sçay-je quelle estoit sa maladie; si elle venoit seulement par intervalles, ou non, je n'en sçay rien: tant y a que le 2. jour d'aprés, je le vis dans nostre barque sain et gaillard, ayant sa croix pendue au col, et me fit recognoissance d'un fort bon visage, [74] me prenant par la main. Je n'eus moyen de luy parler, d'autant que lors on faisoit la troque, et à cette cause le tillac estoit tout remply des gens, et tous les truchemens empeschez. De vray je fus fort ayse que la bonté de Dieu commençoit à faire sentir à ces pauvres et abandonnées nations n'y avoir que tout bien et que toute prosperité au signe de la saincte et salutaire Croix.
Among others I found one stretched out, after their fashion, before the fire, wonder expressed in his eyes and face, great drops standing out upon his forehead, scarcely able to speak, so severe was the attack. They told me that he had been sick for four months and, as it appeared, he could not last long. Now I do not know what his malady was; whether it only came intermittently or not I do not know; at all events, the second day after that I saw him in our barque, well and happy, with his cross around his neck. He showed his gratitude to me by a cheerful smile [74] and by taking my hand. I had no means of speaking to him, as the trading was then going on, and for this reason the deck was full of people and all the interpreters were busy. Truly I was very glad that the goodness of God was beginning to make these poor and abandoned people feel that in the sign of the holy and salutary Cross there was every good and every blessing.
Enfin, pour ne redire souvent le mesme, et en cet endroit et en tous les autres où nous avons pû converser avec ces pauvres gentils, nous avons tasché de leur imprimer quelques premieres conceptions de la grandeur et verité du Christianisme, autant que les 52 moyens s'en addonnoyent. Et pour le sommaire en un bloc, celuy a esté le fruict du voyage: nous avons commencé de cognoistre et estre cogneus; nous avons prins possession au nom de l'Eglise de Dieu de ces regions icy, y asseants le throsne royal de nostre Sauveur et Monarque Iesus Christ, son sainct autel; les Sauvages nous ont veu prier, celebrer, prescher par nos discours, les images et croix, la façon de vivre et choses semblables, (ils) ont receu les premieres apprehensions et semences de nostre saincte foy, lesquelles s'esclorront et germeront abondamment, s'il plaist à Dieu, quelque jour, y survenant un plus long est meilleur cultivage.
Finally, not to continue repeating the same story, both in this place and in all others, where we have been able to talk with these poor gentiles, we have attempted to impress upon them some of the simplest conceptions of the grandeur and truth of Christianity, in so far as our means would permit. And to sum it up in a word, this has been the result of our journey. We have begun to know and to be known, we have taken possession of these regions in the name of the Church of God, establishing here the royal throne of our Savior and King, Jesus Christ, his holy altar; the Savages have seen us pray, celebrate the mass, and preach; through our conversations, pictures, and crosses, our way of living, and other similar things, they have received the first faint ideas and germs of our holy faith, which will some day take root and grow abundantly, please God, if it is followed by a longer and better cultivation.
[75] De vray aussi, tel est quasi le principal fruict que nous faisions pour encores icy mesmes à Port-Royal, jusques à ce que nous ayons apris le langage. Cependant cela nous console de veoir ces petits Sauvageois, encores que non chrestiens, porter neantmoins volontiers, quand ils se trouvent icy, les cierges, les clochettes, l'eau benite et autre chose, marchans en bel ordre aux processions et enterremens que l'on faict. Ainsy s'accoustument-ils à estre chrestiens, pour en son temps le bien estre.
[75] And indeed such is about all we are accomplishing, even here at Port Royal, until we have learned the language. However, it comforts us to see these little Savages, though not yet christians, yet willingly, when they are here, carrying the candles, bells, holy water and other things, marching in good order in the processions and funerals which occur here. Thus they become accustomed to act as christians, to become so in reality in his time.
Il ne seroit besoin sinon que fussions meilleurs ouvriers de Nostre Seigneur, et n'empeschassions pas tant de graces d'iceluy sur nous et autruy, par tant de péchés et indignité. Quant à moy certes, j'ay grande occasion d'en battre bien rudement ma poictrine, et tous ceux qui ont le zele de charité en debvroyent bien estre touchés au cœur. Nostre Seigneur, par sa saincte misericorde et par les prieres de sa glorieuse mere et de toute son Eglise celeste et militante, en veuille estre fleschy à compassion!
No need is felt except that we ought to be better workers for Our Lord, and ought not to divert from ourselves and others so many of his blessings by our many sins and great unworthiness. As for me, truly I have good reason to severely reproach myself; and all those who are imbued with earnest charity ought to be deeply touched in their hearts. May Our Lord, by his sacred mercy, and by the prayers of his glorious mother and of all his Church; both heavenly and militant, be moved to compassion!
Particulierement je supplie Vostre Reverence et 54 tous nos RR. PP. et FF. de vouloir se ressouvenir, en vos meilleures devotions, et de nous, et de ces pauvres ames, esclaves miserablement soubs la tyrannie de Satan. Qu'il plaise à ce bening Sauveur [76] du monde, la grace duquel personne ne previent et de qui les liberalités sont tousjours par dessus nos merites, qui luy plaise, dy-je, regarder enfin d'un œil pitoyable ces pauvres nations, et les retirer tost dans sa famille, en l'heureuse franchise des fortunés enfans de Dieu. Ainsy soit-il.
Particularly I beg Your Reverence and all our Reverend Fathers and Brothers to be pleased to remember in your most earnest devotions both us and these poor souls, miserable slaves under the tyranny of Satan. May it please this benign Savior [76] of the world, whose grace is denied to no one, and whose bounty is ever beyond our merits, may it please him, I say, to look down with a pitying eye upon these poor tribes, and to gather them soon into his family, in the happy freedom of the favored children of God. Amen!
De Port-Royal, ce dernier de Ianvier 1612.
Cependant que j'escrivois ces lettres, le navire qu'on a envoyé pour nostre secours, est Dieu mercy arrivé sain et sauf, et dans iceluy nostre Frere Gilbert du Thet. Celuy pourra sçavoir l'aise qu'en avons receu et recevons, qui aura cogneu les dangers et necessités où nous estions. Dieu soit beny. Amen.
De V. R. filz et serviteur bien humble en Nostre Seigneur.
Pierre BIARD.
[I.] Vieux mot employé pour signifier exténué de travaux.
From Port Royal, this last day of January, 1612.
While I was writing these letters, the ship which was sent to our assistance has, thank God, arrived safe and sound, and in it our Brother Gilbert du Thet. He, who knows the dangers and necessities we were in, will appreciate the joy we felt and that we feel at its arrival. God be praised. Amen.
Of Your Reverence, the son and very humble servant in Our Lord.
Pierre BIARD.
[II.] An old word used to signify weakened by hard labor.—[Carayon.]
Reduced facsimile of General Map, drawn by Champlain in 1612, from Les Voyages du Sieur de Champlain (Paris, 1613).
Januarii 31, [1612]
Dillingen: MEYER'S PRESS, n. d.
Source: Reprinted from O'Callaghan's Reprint, No. 1.
Missio Canadensis
E P I S T O L A
ex
Portu-regali in Acadia
transmissa
Ad Praepositvm Generalem Societatis Iesv
A. R. Petro Biardo ejvsdem Societatis
Secundvm exemplar emissum in Annuis Litteris Anni CIↃ. IↃC. XI
Dilingæ.
Ex Typographéo Mayeriana,
apud Melchiorem
Algeyer.
Canadian Mission
L E T T E R
from
Port Royal in Acadia
sent
To the General of the Society of Jesus by
Reverend Pierre Biard of the same Society
According to the copy published in the Annuæ Litteræ of the year 1611
Dillingen.
From Meyer's Press,
at Melchior
Algeyer's.
POSTQUAM Patres Societatis Jesu malevolentiam inimicorum suorum vicerant et in Galliam reversierant, vocari videbantur aliò ad labores suos fructuosè collocandos.
AFTER the Fathers of the Society of Jesus had overcome the ill-will of their enemies and again been admitted into France,7 they felt themselves called to other fields for the fruitful employment of their labors.
Multa erat in Novâ Franciâ messis, ubi incolæ pene belluarum more sine Numinis cognitione vivebant.
A rich harvest was offered in New France, where the natives lived almost like animals, without any knowledge of God.
Illûc igitur missi fuerunt duo Societatis sacerdotes, Patres scilicet Petrus Biardus et Enemundus Massæus, qui in Acadiam pervenerunt 22 Maii, Anno Salutis 1611. Septem per menses ibi commoratus, [iv] P. Biardus hanc epistolam, Superiori suo transmisit.
To that country, accordingly, were sent two priests of the Society, Fathers Pierre Biard and Enemond Massé, who reached Acadia on the 22nd of May, 1611. After remaining there seven months, [iv] Father Biard sent this epistle to his Superior.
Quatuor velluti in capita hæc litera divisa est, & narrat:
1º. Quid sit Nova Francia, qualis regio, qui in eâ populi, quique mores.
2º. Quo modo, quibusve auxiliis aut successu, Societas missionem illá in regione consecuta sit.
3º. Quonam in statu rem Christianam his in locis offenderit Societas.
4º. Quid a missionariis hactenus effectum seu potius attentatum sit.
The letter is divided, as it were, under four heads, and relates:
1st. What New France is, the nature of the country, what tribes inhabit it, and their customs.
2nd. In what manner, with what help and with what success the Society secured a mission in that country.
3rd. In what condition the Society found the Christian religion in this region.
4th. What has been done by the missionaries thus far, or rather what has been attempted.
Licet epistola sub finem habeat: ultimo die Januarii CIↃ. IↃC. XI. ia quidem aut error in anno est, aut P. Biardus secundum stylum veterem scripsit, nam debit esse annus, CIↃ. IↃC. XII.
Although, the end of the letter reads: the last day of January, 1611,—either there is an error in the year, or Father Biard wrote according to the old style, for the year ought to be 1612.8
Reverende in Christo Pater,
Pax Christi.
Vocat Nos huius anni CIↃ.IↃC.XI. instans iam atqʒ vrgens exitus ad recognoscendum coram Paternitate vestra principium, quo primùm Societas in has nouæ Franciæ regiones delata est: multorum quoque beneficiorum cumulus, quo nos diuina largitas in his & auspicādis, & sospitādis initijs prosecuta est, hoc exigit, vt in hoc tanquam temporum anníque portu actionum nostrarū, & tanquam velificationis seriem relegētes, Chariss: Patres Fratrésqʒ nostros inuitemus, & ad gaudium pro ijs, quæ feliciter [6] in nobis diuina manus operata est, & scilicet ad gemitum pariter & orationem pro ijs, quæ in animorum salute procuranda, segniter ipsi nequitérque multa deliquimus. Quod enim diutius antè Societas multísqʒ conatibus intenderat, vt aliquam suis laboribus posset huic quoq; siluaticæ genti opem & lucem Euangelio inferendo affere, id hoc ipsa demum anno videtur, vt in tenui exiguóque principio satis feliciter, próque desiderio esse assecuta.
Reverend Father in Christ,
The peace of Christ be with you.
The end of this year 1611, which is already so rapidly drawing near, invites me to write to your Reverence in acknowledgment of its beginning, in which our Society first penetrated into this territory of new France. The profusion of blessings and favors which the divine bounty has bestowed upon us while undertaking and sustaining this infant enterprise, requires that in this haven, as it were, of time and of the year we should, reviewing the course of our actions and the occurrences of our voyage, invite our dear Fathers and Brothers to share both in our rejoicing for those things which the hand of God has happily [6] effected through us, and, too, in our mourning and our prayers for our delinquencies and inefficiency in seeking the salvation of souls. The object sought by the Society for a long time previously and with many efforts, that it might in some degree impart help and light to this savage people also by its labors in bringing the Gospel among them, it seems at last to have attained in this year, with a small and slight beginning indeed, yet auspiciously and in accordance with its hopes.
Atque hoc scilicet mihi iam narrandum est, exponendúmqʒ vestræ Paternitati, quæ & quanta sit hæc messis animorum, quidvé à magno Patrefamilias datum nobis hactenus, quid etiam porrò dandum speretur. 64 Sed vt commodissimè tota mihi narratio decurrat, neq; decurrentem, vt fit, multa effugiant, in quatuor videtur velut capita rei totius expositio esse diuidenda. Exponā ergo primùm, quæ sit hæc noua Francia, quæ regio, qui populi morésque: tum deinde quomodo, quibusvé tandē auxilijs, aut successu Societas missionem in has regiones [7] obtinuerit. Tertiò quonam in statu rem Christianam in his terris offenderimus. Postremò quid à nobis effectum hactenus, seu potiùs quid attentatum sit ad diuinam gloriam. Hæc mihi videtur esse posse commodissima & sufficiens narrandorum omnium expositio.
This also I must narrate and explain to your Reverence, of what nature and how numerous is this harvest of souls, and what has hitherto been given to us by our Heavenly Father, and what further gifts we may hope for in the future. But to facilitate my whole narration, and to obviate the possible omission of many details in its course, I think it best to divide the whole matter under four heads. I shall therefore first describe new France, the country, the natives, and their customs; next, in what manner, and with what help, and with what result, our Society secured a mission to this country; [7] thirdly, in what condition we found the Christian religion in this region; and, finally, what has been accomplished by us thus far, or rather what has been attempted for the glory of God. This appears to me a very convenient and sufficient summary of all I am to tell.
Atque vt à capite ordiar explicémque primùm, quænam sit hæc Noua Francia, quod solum, quivé ritus gentis, credo non solùm Paternitati vestræ iucundum, sed nobis quoqʒ necessarium, regionem vniuersam accuratiùs describere. Nam cùm hic nobis ad laborandum campus assignatus, certum est, non posse nos à vestra paternitate dirigi pro occursuum varietate, nisi ea fines, adfractus viarum, viciniorum locorum distantiam, statum gentis & rerum, noverit.
And, in order that I may begin at the beginning and explain first what sort of a land New France is, the nature of the country and the customs of the natives, I think it will be not only a pleasure for your Reverence, but also a necessity for ourselves that the whole territory be rather accurately described. For, since this is the field assigned to us for our labors, it is certain that your reverence cannot direct us in accordance with our varied needs without a knowledge of the extent of the country, of the impediments to travel, of the distance of neighboring settlements, and of the condition of people and things.
Præterea tot video à Geographis antiquis errores tenebrásque in hanc cognitionem induci, vt nisi à nobis succurratur rerum non auditoribus sed spectatoribus, non possit non in nostris itineribus & vestigijs persequendis haud minùs à veritate, quàm à corpore cogitatio peregrinari. [8] Norumbegam illi nobis nescio quam, vrbésque & castella nominant, quorum hodie ne vmbra quidem aut ipsa vox extant.
Besides, I find this matter involved in so much error and darkness by the older Geographers, that unless we, who know these things not from hearsay only, but are eyewitnesses thereof, come to the rescue, it is impossible that the mind, in tracing our footsteps and our journeys, should not wander as far away from the truth as it has to do from the body. [8] They speak of a certain Norumbega and give the names of cities and strongholds of which to-day no trace or even report remains.
66 Verùm quod polliciti sumus exequamur. Noua Francia, vti nunc Galli vsurpant, regio illa est trans Oceanum Gallicum, quæ à quadragesimo primo gradu vsque ad quinquagesimum secundum latitudinis, aut etiam quinquagesimum tertium procurrit.
However, let me fulfill my promise. New France, as the French now call it, is that territory across the French Ocean which extends from the forty-first to the fifty-second, or even fifty-third degree of latitude.
Scio ab alijs multò latiùs fines regionis porrigi, ab alijs coarctari angustiùs, sed ego hîc non disputo: id solùm expono, quod nunc vti dixi communiùs vsurpatur, vel quod hoc terrarum Gallorum nauigationibus ab aliquot iam annis maximè frequentatum & vindicatum est, vel quod illud idem ferè antiquæ Franciæ parallelū æqualiter eam ab occidente respicit.
I know that some extend the boundaries of this region much farther, while others restrict them more narrowly, but I am not arguing this point; I merely explain what is, as I have said, the prevailing interpretation of them, either because this part of the country has been for many years past particularly explored and claimed by the French, or because the parallels bounding this western region are almost the same as those of old France.
Hæc igitur Noua Francia oram habet sanè multifariam, sinubus marinis fluminibùsque exesam, an fractuosam & recurrentem. Sinus duo sunt maiores, [9] vastíque; alter is, qui S. Laurentij gurges; alter, qui Francius appellatur.
New France has an exceedingly varied sea-coast, indented by bays and rivers, broken and irregular. There are two principal bays [9] of vast size, one called the gulf of St. Lawrence, the other French bay.
Námque à quadragesimo septimo gradu, vsque ad quinquagesimum primum, tellus velut gremium aperit; siue ad accipiendum introrsus Oceanum, siue ad exonerandum magnum flumen Canadan. Atque hic gurges S. Laurentij dicitur, cuius in introitu ingens illa adiacet insula, quam terras nouas Galli, Barbari Praesentis appellant moluarum piscatu celeberrima; oram sinûs fluminísque tenent Aquilonem versùs Excomminqui, siue, vt vulgus indigetat, Excōmunicati. Fera gens est, & vt dicitur Anthropophaga, quanquam & hi olim satis diu pacificè cum Gallis agitârunt, nunc irreconciliabiles cum his inimicitias exercent. 68 Sequuntur interiùs, occidentem versùs Algonquini, pòst Montagnesij, intimi sunt ad capita ipsius magni fluminis Canadæ, Irocosij, qui etiam latè Austrum versus protenduntur.
Indeed, from the forty-seventh degree as far as to the fifty-first, the land opens its bosom, as it were, to receive the Ocean into it, or to facilitate the outflow of the great Canadian river. This gulf is known as the gulf of St. Lawrence, in the mouth of which lies that enormous island which the French call newfoundland, the Savages Præsentis [Plaisance];9 it is famous for its cod-fishery; the shores of the gulf and the rivers are occupied toward the North by the Excomminqui, or, as they are commonly called, the Excommunicated.10 This tribe is very savage, and, it is said, is addicted to Cannibalism; although once in very peaceful relations with the French for a considerable length of time, it is now on a footing of irreconcilable enmity. There follow, in the interior, toward the west, the Algonquins; then the Montagnais; those dwelling at the head-waters of this same great Canadian river are the Irocois, whose territory also extends far to the South.
Atque hi ferè Irocosij noti sunt Gallis duntaxat ob perpetua bella, quæ cum Montagnesijs, & Algonquinis fœderatis [10] & amicis populis geruntur. Iam verò Austrum versùs terra ab hoc S. Laurentij sinu paulatim vsque ad quadragesimum tertium gradum excurrit, vbi rursus altero sinu maximo inciditur, quem Francicum appellant. Hic gurges terras vastè exedens, seséque Aquilonem versùs & S. Laurentij sinum incuruans, velut Isthmum efficit; Isthmúmque adiuuat S. Ioannis longissimum flumē, quod orsum ab ipsa propemodum ora magni Canadæ in hūc sese Francicum gurgitem exonerat. Continet hic Isthmus leucas admodū quingentas circuitu suo, eúmque occupant Soriqui populi. In hoc Isthmo portus regalis est, vbi nunc degimus, ad gradum latitudinis quadragesimum quartum cum besse. Sed habet portus ostium suum (ne quis fallatur) non in Oceanum ad orientem obuersum, sed in sinum eum, quem dixi Francicum: ad Occidentem & septentrionem à fluuio Sancti Ioannis vsque ad fluuium Potugoët, atque adeò vsque ad flumen Rimbegui habitant Etheminquenses. Habet Rimbegui ostia sua sub gradu quadragesimo [11] tertio cum besse. Nec procul est Chouacoët, quod alterum est latus siue brachium terræ, quod sinum Frācicum excipit. Námque ad orientem est illud, quod 70 promontorium sabulosum nominamus: ad Occidentem Chouacoët; vtrumque ad quadragesimum tertium eleuationis gradum, cùm tamen inter hoc atque illud centum leucarum intercapedo sit: à fluuio Rimbegui[IV.] vsque ad quadragesimum gradum latè possident, qui Armouchiqui appellantur. Atque hæc ferè partitio est regionis: itáque si numeres, populi erunt septem, linguâ inter se ac studijs discrepantes; Excommunicati, Algonquini, Montagnesij, Irocosij, Soriqui, Etheminquenses, & Armouchiqui. Sed ex ijs nec Excommunicati, nec Irocosij, nec Armouchiqui multum Gallis noti sunt. Reliqui quatuor in firmam iam videntur cum ijs amicitiam & cōsuetudinem coaluisse. Pernoctant ipsi nobiscum, nos cum ipsis vagamur, venamur, viuimus sine armis, sine metu; & quod adhuc apparuerit, sine periculo. Caussa frequentandi piscatio fuit Moluarum, [12] quibus hoc mare abundat, & pellium permutatio. Nam cùm ære, ferro, cānabe, lanâ, frugibus, atqʒ omni ferè artificio Barbari careant, hæc à Gallis accipiunt. Ipsi contrà, qui vnicus thesaurus est, pelles retribuunt. Est autem regio tota magnam partem perfrigida. Caussæ sunt plures; vna quòd valde aquosa est; nam præterquam quòd vndique ferè mari alluitur, fluminibus præterea & stagnis lacubúsque maximis abundat. Insulæ ita frequentes sunt, vt ora tota ijs intercisa, & tanquam baccata sit. Hinc sequitur nimirum, vt pruinosa sit, & tamē ventosa, sed flatu non nisi ferè 72 algido. Altera est caussa frigoris, quòd inculta sit; nam cùm latè omnia silua vna contineat, nihil mirum est, si vix vnquam possit humus calefieri. Adde his, si placet, caussam tertiam, montes videlicet niuosos ac perpetuò rigentes, quibus dicimur ab Occidente ac Septentrione procul obuallari.
These Irocois are known to the French chiefly for the perpetual warfare which they maintain against the Montagnais and Algonquins, allied [10] and friendly tribes. To the South, however, the coast gradually advances up to the forty-third degree, where once more it is interrupted by a very large bay called French bay. This gulf, advancing far into the interior, and bending toward the North and the gulf of St. Lawrence, forms a sort of Isthmus; and this Isthmus is completed by the St. John, a very long river which, taking its rise almost at the very banks of the great Canadian river, empties into this French bay. This Isthmus has a circuit of fully five hundred leagues and is occupied by the Soriquois tribe. In this Isthmus is port royal, where we are now sojourning, lying on the parallel of 44° 40'. But this port (to obviate misunderstanding) is not on the Ocean lying eastward, but on that gulf which I have called French bay. To the West and north, from the river of St. John to the river Potugoët,3 and even to the river Rimbegui,2 live the Etheminqui. The mouth of this river is in latitude 43° 40'. [11] Not far distant is Chouacoët,11 which is the other shore or arm embracing French Bay. For to the east lies what we call cape sable, while Chouacoët lies toward the West; both are on the forty-third parallel, though they are separated by an interval of a hundred leagues. From the Rimbegui[III.] river to the fortieth parallel the whole country is in the possession of the tribe called the Armouchiquois. Such is the distribution of the territory. The tribes amount to seven in number, differing from each other in language and character: the Excommunicated, the Algonquins, the Montagnais, the Irocois, the Soriquois, the Etheminqui and the Armouchiquois. But of these neither the Excommunicated, nor the Irocois, nor the Armouchiquois are well known to the French. The remaining four tribes appear already to be united in firm friendship and intimacy with them. They stay over night among us; we rove about with them, and hunt with them and live among them without arms and without fear; and, as has thus far appeared, without danger. This intimacy arose partly from association while fishing for Cod, [12] which abound in these waters, and partly from trading in furs. For the Savages, who have neither copper, iron, hemp, wool, vegetables nor manufactured articles of any kind, resort to the French for them, giving in return the only thing of value they have, namely, furs. This whole region is for the most part very cold, owing to various causes. In the first place, the country is a very wet one; for, besides being washed on almost every side by the sea, it abounds in rivers and ponds and large lakes. Islands are so numerous that the whole shore is cut up by a confused procession of them, as it were. Moreover, though a land of frost, it is very windy, the wind being nearly always a cold one. Another cause of cold is the wildness of the country; for, being covered on every side by one continuous forest, it naturally follows that the soil hardly ever becomes really warmed through. A third cause is the mountains, covered with snow and perpetual frost, which are said to wall us in far away to the North and the West.
Certè quidem ab ea parte non nisi gelu perflamur & niuibus. Alioqui sanè facies regionis est peramœna, pluribus [13] locis hospitem inuitans ac bene pollicens; & quod apparuit, si colatur, non infœcunda. Indigenæ rari sunt. Etheminquenses mille capita numerare non possent, nec multò plus Algonquini simul & Montanenses iuncti: Soriqui duo millia non conficerent: Itaque summùm quatuor capitum millibus tam vasti terrarum & littorum tractus non tenentur, sed percurruntur. Gens enim est vaga, siluestris, & sparsa, vt quæ venatu solo & piscatu viuat. Imberbes feré, & quidem statura cōmuni, vel paulò breuiore ac graciliore quàm nostri, at non degener tamen aut indecora; color non multùm fuscus, faciem vulgò pingunt, & in luctu atrant. Iuris amantes, ac vim latrociniùmque perosi. Quod sanè mirum est in hominibus, qui lege ac magistratu carent. Sui enim quisque dominus est ac vindex. Sagamos quidem habēt, hoc est bellorum ductores, sed quorum omnino precarium sit imperium, si tamen imperium appellandum est, vbi nulla est necessitas parendi. Sequuntur vel exemplo, vel vsu, vel affinitatis [14] aut generis conciliatione inducti, nonnunquam etiam certè cuiusdam 74 potentiæ auctoritate: bella populatim gerunt, ob illatas priuatis iniurias. Genus totum vindictæ auidum; & vt barbarum, in victoriâ insolens, captiuorum capita tanquam opima spolia & torques magno gaudio circumferunt.
We certainly get nothing from that quarter but piercing winds and snow-storms. Elsewhere, however, the appearance of the country is very pleasing, and in many [13] places inviting to the settler and quite promising; and, as experience has shown, it is not unfruitful if cultivated. The natives are not numerous. The Etheminqui number less than a thousand, the Algonquins and the Montagnais together would not amount to much more, the Soriquois would not amount to two thousand. Thus four thousand Indians at most roam through, rather than occupy, these vast stretches of inland territory and sea-shore. For they are a nomadic people, living in the forests and scattered over wide spaces, as is natural for those who live by hunting and fishing only. They are nearly all beardless and of average stature, or even a little shorter and more slender than we, but not degraded nor ill-favored in appearance; their color is not very swarthy; they commonly paint their faces, and, when in mourning, blacken them. They love justice and hate violence and robbery, a thing really remarkable in men who have neither laws nor magistrates; for, among them, each man is his own master and his own protector. They have Sagamores, that is, leaders in war; but their authority is most precarious, if, indeed, that may be called authority to which obedience is in no wise obligatory. The Indians follow them through the persuasion of example or of custom, [14] or of ties of kindred and alliance; sometimes even through a certain authority of power, no doubt. They wage war as a tribe on account of wrongs done to a private individual. The whole race is very revengeful and, after the fashion of savages, insolent in victory, carrying about the heads of their captives as trophies and spoils of victory.
Et quidem dicuntur humanis carnibus non abstinuisse, ídque etiamnum perhibentur & Excommunicati & Armonchiqui facere: verum ab ijs, quorum est cum Gallis consuetudo, tantum scelus procul abest.
They are even said to have been addicted to the eating of human flesh, and the Excommunicated and Armouchiquois tribes are said to have the same practice even now. Those, however, who are intimate with the French are far from being guilty of so great a crime.
Religio tota certis incantationibus, choreis, & veneficijs constat; nimirum vt aut necessaria vitæ conquirant, aut inimicos amoliantur; suos habent Autmoinos, hoc est veneficos, qui malū Dæmonem consulant de vita & morte, futurorúmque euentis; & quidem sese illis mala bellua præsentem sæpe sistit, vt ipsi asserunt, vindictam annuit, renuítque, mortem inimicorum suorumvé, venationem prosperam, & cetera eiusmodi ludibria, quorum vt ne quid desit, [15] etiam somnijs fidem habent: si fortè super placito & bene auspicante somnio euigilauerint, consurgunt, vel de nocte concubia, & omen cantu ac choreis sequuntur. Templa, ædesvé sacras, ritus, cæremonias, disciplinam nullam habent, vti nec leges aut artificia politiamvé vllam, præter certos mores & consuetudinem, quorū sunt retinentissimi. Si quem Veneficus respondit ad certā diem moriturum, is deseritur ab omnibus; quin ipse adeò miser, vtpote iam mortis certus, vltro sibi inediam atque omnium incuriam indicit, credo ne videatur contra fatum pugnare.
Their whole religion consists of certain incantations, dances and sorcery, which they have recourse to, it seems, either to procure the necessaries of life or to get rid of their enemies; they have Autmoinos, that is, medicine-men, who consult the evil Spirit regarding life and death and future events; and the evil spirit [great beast] often presents himself before them, as they themselves assert, approves or disapproves their schemes of vengeance, promises them the death of their enemies or friends, or prosperity in the chase, and other mockeries of the same sort. To make these complete they [15] even have faith in dreams; if they happen to awake from a pleasing and auspicious dream, they rise even in the middle of the night and hail the omen with songs and dances. They have no temples, sacred edifices, rites, ceremonies or religious teaching, just as they have no laws, arts or government, save certain customs and traditions of which they are very tenacious. If the Medicine-man predicts that a certain person will die before a fixed date, this man is deserted by all; and, in his misery, feeling certain of impending death, he voluntarily condemns himself to suffer hunger and complete neglect, apparently that he may not seem to contend against fate.
76 Quin etiam si fortè ad præstitutam diem, vt sæpe fit, moribundus non videatur, pro se quisqʒ proximi vrceis frigidæ in ventrem miseri inuergendis celerant mortem. Hæc pietas est Sathanæ mancipijs: ita quoque nimirùm, quia semper fallax est, diuinus nunquam fallit; quāquam natio ista deceptrix aruspicum multum iam de auctoritate suá ab aduētu Gallorum amisit; passimque nunc quiritantur suos iam Diabolos viribus exidisse, [16] præut quidam ferūt Patrum suorum fuisse temporibus. Mortuorum ita cum corpore sepeliunt memoriam, vt ne nomen quidem deinceps audire sustineant. Dei quidem vnius supremi tenuem quandam habent cognitionem, verumtamen affectibus & vsu deprauati nihilo seciùs, vt dixi, Cacodæmonem etiam colunt; ob vitæ commoda, algoris & inediæ patientes sunt supra modum. Octo, decem dies, si fors ita exigat, feram ieiuni persequūtur, summis niuibus frigoribúsqʒ tum maximè ardet venatio. Et tamen hi ipsi Boreâ, vt sic dicam, & crystallo nati, vbi semel sub suis tugurijs cum præda consederunt, inertes illico, & cuiusuis laboris impatientes fiunt: feminis mandant omnia: hæ præter onerosam liberorum educationē, gestationémque, insuper feram ex eo loco vbi ceciderit, aduehunt: hæ lignatum & aquatum eunt hæ supellectilem conficiunt, curántque: cibos apparant, feras excoriant, pelles fullonis arte conficiunt, vestimenta consuunt, piscantur & conchas maximè ad cibum legunt, sæpe [17] etiam venantur: hæ canoas, hoc est cymbulas miræ celeritatis è cortice 78 compingunt, tuguriola, vbi & quando pernoctandum est, ædificant: denique præter laboriosiorem venationem & bella nihil aliud quidquam viris est pensi. Hac de caussa plures ferè vxores quisque habet, Sagami maximè, vt qui potentiam suam & concursum pluriū tanquam clientium tueri nequeant, non solùm sine pluribus liberis, qui valeant ad terrorem & gratiam, sed etiam sine pluribus mancipijs, quæ necessaria vitæ officia & exequantur & tolerent. Nam feminas mancipiorum loco habent, tractántqʒ. Inter se mirificè liberales sūt, nihil quisquam aut fortunarum, aut sibi habere sustineat, quin partem maximā astantibus eroget, quin etiam qui Tabagiam agit, vt loquūtur, hoc est qui conuiuio alios excipit, non accumbit ipse cum reliquis, sed ministrat, neqʒ partem aliquam dapis residuam sibi facit, sed distribuit omnia, ita vt famem cogatur eo die conuiuator pati, nisi quis inuitatorū, ex eo quod sibi superfuerit, miseratus ei [18] retribuat. Et similis apparuit sæpe liberalitas in Gallos aliquo casu oppressos. Nam erga reliquos, aut hîc aut in nauibus agentes didicerunt à nobis non facilè quicquā gratis dare. Pedunculos capitis quæsitant, & in delicijs habent. In mendicando & postulando importunissimi sunt, & qui esse solent mendicorū & inopū mores, falsi, obloquutores, assētatores, vani. Gallos quidē atqʒ omnes gentes cùm semel saturi sunt, longè despiciunt, irridéntqʒ clanculum omnia; etiam religionē, quam susceperint. Tuguriola sua vbiuis facilè ac raptim sudibus ramificè ædificant, & 80 aut cortice aut pellibus aut etiā tegete cōtegunt. Ignis in medio extruitur. Sed hæc iam satis supérque de regione & hominibus, maximè cùm accuratam regionis Chorographiam mittam; ex quo vno intuitu, quidquid de terrarum & maris situ dixi, liquidò apparebit.