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Vol. I: Acadia, 1610-1613, by Various
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Title: The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. I: Acadia, 1610-1613
Author: Various
Editor: Reuben Gold Thwaites
Release Date: January 14, 2014 [EBook #44669]
Language: English
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THE JESUIT RELATIONS AND ALLIED DOCUMENTS
VOL. I.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents
TRAVELS AND EXPLORATIONS OF THE JESUIT MISSIONARIES IN NEW FRANCE
1610-1791.
THE ORIGINAL FRENCH, LATIN, AND ITALIAN TEXTS, WITH ENGLISH
TRANSLATIONS AND NOTES; ILLUSTRATED BY PORTRAITS, MAPS, AND FACSIMILES
EDITED BY
REUBEN GOLD THWAITES
Secretary of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin
Vol. I.
ACADIA: 1610-1613
CLEVELAND: =The Burrows Brothers Company=, PUBLISHERS, M DCCCXCVI
COPYRIGHT, 1896
BY
THE BURROWS BROTHERS CO
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
_The Imperial Press, Cleveland_
EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor REUBEN GOLD THWAITES
Translator from the French JOHN CUTLER COVERT
Assistant Translator from the French MARY SIFTON PEPPER
Translators from the Latin { WILLIAM FREDERIC GIESE
{ JOHN DORSEY WOLCOTT
Translator from the Italian MARY SIFTON PEPPER
Assistant Editor EMMA HELEN BLAIR
GENERAL PREFACE
The story of New France is also, in part, the story of much of New
England, and of States whose shores are washed by the Great Lakes and
the Mississippi River. It may truly be said that the history of every
one of our northern tier of commonwealths, from Maine to Minnesota,
has its roots in the French régime. It is not true, as Bancroft avers,
that the Jesuit was ever the pioneer of New France; we now know that in
this land, as elsewhere in all ages, the trader nearly always preceded
the priest. But the trader was not often a letter-writer or a diarist:
hence, we owe our intimate knowledge of New France, particularly in
the seventeenth century, chiefly to the wandering missionaries of the
Society of Jesus. Coming early to the shores of Nova Scotia (1611),
nearly a decade before the landing of the Plymouth Pilgrims, and
eventually spreading throughout the broad expanse of New France, ever
close upon the track of the adventurous coureur de bois, they met
the American savage before contact with civilization had seriously
affected him. With heroic fortitude, often with marvellous enterprise,
they pierced our wilderness while still there were but Indian trails
to connect far-distant villages of semi-naked aborigines. They saw
North America and the North Americans practically in the primitive
stage. Cultivated men, for the most part,--trained to see as well as to
think, and carefully to make record of their experiences,--they left
the most luxurious country in Europe to seek shelter in the foul and
unwelcome huts of one of the most wretched races of man. To win these
crude beings to the Christian Faith, it was necessary to know them
intimately, in their daily walks. No coureur de bois was more expert
in forest lore than were the Jesuit Fathers; and the records made by
these soldiers of the Cross,--explicit and detailed, while familiar
in tone,--are of the highest scientific value, often of considerable
literary interest. The body of contemporary, documentary material
which, in their _Relations_ and Letters, the Jesuits of New France
have bequeathed to the historian, the geographer, and the ethnologist,
entitles them to the enduring gratitude of American scholars. For forty
years, these documents have, in part, been more or less familiar to
Americanists as a rich storehouse of material. But, hitherto, they
have existed only in rare and costly forms, when in print at all,--as
original products of ancient French, Italian, and German presses, or
as reprints issued in sparse number for small circles of bibliophiles;
while many important papers, capable of throwing light upon certain
portions of Canadian history hitherto in shade, have as yet remained in
manuscript.
We cannot promise for this series the entire body of existing Jesuit
documents, either printed or in manuscript, which illustrate the
history of New France in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This
would carry us, even were they all obtainable, far beyond the necessary
limits of this series; for the fathers were profuse writers, and their
papers are in many archives. It is of necessity a matter of selection.
We shall, however, reissue all of the documents usually designated
as _Relations_,--the Cramoisys, the Quebec reissue, the Shea and
O'Callaghan reprints; and to these will be added a very considerable
collection of miscellaneous papers of importance, from printed sources
and from manuscripts, in order to fill the chronological gaps and
round out and complete the story. It is the purpose of the Editor to
present this mass of selected material in chronological order, so
far as proves practicable, and to furnish such scholarly helps as
will tend to render it more available than hitherto for daily use by
students of American history. To this end will be given an English
translation, side by side with the original text. While translations
of many of the briefest documents, and of portions of others, have
already appeared in one form of other, this is the first attempt to
translate the entire body of the _Relations_. In many cases, where
corruptions in text have crept in, we shall be enabled, by recourse to
original manuscripts, to restore correct renderings; this care has been
taken, wherever practicable, even to the examination of manuscripts in
European archives; but occasionally we shall be obliged to follow our
predecessors blindly in this regard, either from inability to discover
the whereabouts of the original, or to obtain access to it, when found.
In the case of each document, we shall invariably state the source
whence we obtained our copy, and shall give additional bibliographical
data as to other editions known to us. All maps and other illustrations
appearing in previous editions will be reproduced in this; and these
will be supplemented by other important contemporary aids of like
character. At the end of each volume will appear such Notes as seem
necessary to the elucidation of the text. The closing volume of the
series will contain--and probably will be wholly devoted to--an
exhaustive analytical Index, a feature without which the work would
lose much of its value. In short, no pains have been, or will be,
spared to render all possible service to scholars, in the present
work. But the field is wide, the difficulties are many, and the Editor
makes no claims to perfection. He will be grateful to any who, in the
course of publication,--promising to extend through several years yet
to come,--will offer helpful suggestions in any department of the
undertaking.
While seeking to reproduce the old texts as closely as practicable,
with their legitimate typographic and orthographic peculiarities, it
has been found advisable here and there to make a few minor changes.
The original printer was sometimes careless,--Cramoisy especially
so,--and his proof-reader negligent. The result was that certain
typographical errors crept into the original prints,--errors not of the
author's making, and therefore not illustrative of his methods. These
consist in the main, of: (1) turned letters; (2) transposed letters;
(3) slipped letters; and (4) mis-spacings. To these obvious errors may
be added such as, e.g., mistaking the verb _gratter_ for _grauer_,
evidently through a failure on the part of the writer to cross his
t's,--the context plainly showing what was written; the printing,
e.g., of _beau[(c]oup_ for _beaucoup_; or the repetition on the next
line of a syllable in a divided word, resulting in such a redundancy
as, _poupouuant_ for _pouuant_. Palpable blemishes like these, we
have deemed it advisable to correct without specific mention; in
some instances, however, the original error has been retained, and in
juxtaposition the correct rendering given within brackets.
Another and more annoying class of errors is, the wrong numbering of
chapters and pages in the old issues, chiefly the fruit of carelessness
in make-up. We indicate, throughout, the original pagination, by
inclosing within brackets the number of each page at its beginning,
e.g. [148]; in case of misnumbering, the correct figure is also given,
e.g. [150, i.e. 149]. A similar device is adopted as to chapter
misnumbering, e.g. Chapitre XXX. [i.e. XXIX.].
A difference in the typographic style of the documents presented in the
present series, will occasionally be noticed. In following originals of
the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, we have of course reproduced
their peculiarities, such as the long "s," and character diphthongs;
but where our sole copy has been a modern reprint, in a modern
typographic dress, we have followed its style, deeming it inadvisable,
for mere sake of uniformity, to masquerade the document in olden guise.
In the progress of the work, which has now been under way for some
sixteen months, many persons beside the present staff have tendered
helping hands. To them, the Editor returns, for the Publishers and
for himself, grateful acknowledgment. It is impracticable to name
them all in this place; but of a few from whom special favors have
been received, it is only just to speak: The Reverend Arthur E.
Jones, S. J., archivist of St. Mary's College, Montreal, from the
first opened his heart to this enterprise, and has not only given us
_carte blanche_ to ransack his priceless stores, but has contributed
invaluable suggestions and data, almost without number. To Wilberforce
Eames, librarian of Lenox Library, and his assistant, Victor H.
Paltsits, we owe much; for in their institution the greater part
of the transcription is being done, and their daily courtesies and
kindnesses materially lighten the task. Superintendent Robbins Little,
and Librarian Frederick Saunders, of Astor Library, have also been of
much assistance in the conduct of the work. To John Nicholas Brown,
of Providence, R. I., and to his librarian, George Parker Winship,
we are indebted for numerous courtesies and suggestions during the
copying and photographing of documents in the John Carter Brown Library
of Americana. Similar aid is being rendered by Dr. Justin Winsor, of
Harvard College Library, and his assistants, W. H. Tillinghast and T.
J. Kiernan; by the librarians of St. Francis Xavier College, New York,
and the Jesuit Colleges at Georgetown, D. C., and Woodstock, Md.; by L.
P. Sylvani, assistant librarian of the Library of Parliament, Ottawa;
and by C. H. Gould, librarian of McGill University Library, Montreal,
and his assistant, Henry Mott. Donald Guthrie McNab, of Montreal,
has kindly permitted us to photograph and reproduce his excellent
oil portraits of the early fathers; and, in this connection, we feel
under especial obligations to Messrs. Notman & Son, of Montreal, for
their intelligent advice and patience in photographing paintings and
manuscripts for the series. Marked privileges have been granted by
the officials of the Bibliothèque Nationale and the Bibliothèque de
l'Arsenal, of Paris. Numerous antiquarians have rendered generous aid,
notably Peter A. Porter, of Niagara Falls, N. Y.; W. M. Beauchamp,
of Baldwinsville, N. Y.; l'Abbé H. A. B. Verreau, of Montreal; Mgr.
T. E. Hamel, of Quebec; and A. F. Hunter, of Barrie, Ontario. Further
acknowledgment of assistance will be rendered in the several volumes,
as they appear.
R. G. T.
MADISON, WIS., August, 1896.
CONTENTS OF VOL. I
GENERAL PREFACE vii
HISTORICAL INTRODUCTION. _The Editor_ 1
PREFACE TO VOLUME I 45
DOCUMENTS:--
I. La Conversion des Savvages qui ont esté baptizés en la Novvelle
France, cette annee 1610. _Marc Lescarbot_ 49
II. Lettre Missive, tovchant la Conversion et baptesme du grand
Sagamos de la nouuelle Frãce. _M. Bertrand_; Port Royal,
June 28, 1610 115
III. Lettre au T.-R. P. Claude Aquaviva, Général de la Compagnie de
Jésus, à Rome. _Pierre Biard_; Dieppe, January 21, 1611 125
IV. Lettre au R. P. Christophe Baltazar, Provincial de France, à Paris.
_Pierre Biard_; Port Royal, June 10, 1611 138
V. Lettre au R. P. Provincial, à Paris. _Ennemond Massé_; Port
Royal, June 10, 1611 184
VI. Lettre au T.-R. P. Claude Aquaviva. _Pierre Biard_; Port
Royal, June 11, 1611 188
VII. Canadicæ Missionis Relatio ab anno 1611 usque ad annum 1613; cum
statu ejusdem Missionis, annis 1703 & 1710. _Joseph Jouvency_ 193
VIII. De Regione et Moribus Canadensium seu Barbarorum Novæ Franciæ.
_Joseph Jouvency_ 239
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA: Volume I 299
NOTES 305
[Decoration]
ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. I
I. Photographic facsimile of title-page, Lescarbot's _La Conversion
des Savvages_ 52
II. Photographic facsimile of title-page, Bertrand's _Lettre Missive_
118
III. Map of Port Royal (1609), from Lescarbot's _Histoire de la
Nouvelle France_ (Paris, 1612) _Facing_ 124
IV. Map of "La Terre Nevve, Grand Riviere de Canada, et côtes de
l'Ocean en la Novvelle France," from _Ibid_ _Facing_ 192
V. Historical map of New France, showing missions, forts,
portage-routes, tribes, etc. _At end of volume_
INTRODUCTION
BY REUBEN GOLD THWAITES
Doubtless Norse vikings, venturing far southward from outlying colonies
in Iceland and Greenland, first coasted New France, and beached their
sturdy ships on the shores of New England. But five centuries passed
without result, and we cannot properly call them pioneers of American
civilization. Columbus it was, who unlocked the eastern door of the
New World. Five years later, John Cabot, in behalf of England, was
sighting the gloomy headlands of Cape Breton. Cortereal appeared in
the neighborhood, in 1501, seeking lands for the Portuguese crown.
About this time, at intervals, there came to Newfoundland certain
Norman, Breton, and Basque fishers, who, erecting little huts and
drying-scaffolds along the rocky shore, sowed the first seed of that
polyglot settlement of French, Portuguese, Spanish, and English which
has come down to our day almost uninterruptedly. By 1511, these
fishermen appear to have known the mainland to the west; for on the
map of Sylvanus, in his edition of Ptolemy, that year, we find a
delineation of the "Square Gulf," which answers to the Gulf of St.
Lawrence. In 1520, Fagundus visited these waters for the Portuguese,
and four years later Verrazano was making for the French an exploration
of the coast between North Carolina and Newfoundland. Whether or not
Cartier (1535) was the first to sail up the St. Lawrence "until land
could be seen on either side," no man can now tell; apparently, he was
the first to leave a record of doing so. Progress up the river was
checked by Lachine Rapids, and he spent the winter on Montreal Island.
France and Spain were just then engaged in one of their periodical
quarrels, and adventurers were needed to fight battles at home, so
that it was six years before any attempts were made to colonize the
river-lands to which Cartier had led the way. In 1541, a Picard
seigneur named Roberval, enjoying the friendship of Francis I., was
commissioned as viceroy of the new country beyond the Atlantic, with
Cartier as his chief pilot and captain-general, and a choice selection
of jail-birds for colonists. Cartier started off before his chief,
built a fort at Quebec, and, after a long and miserable winter, picked
up a quantity of glittering stones which he took to be gold and
diamonds, and gladly set sail for home. Tradition has it that Roberval
met him near the mouth of the river, but was unable to induce him to
return to his cheerless task of founding a state in an inhospitable
wilderness, with convicts for citizens. Roberval, however, proceeded
to Quebec with his consignment of prison dregs, and throughout another
protracted winter the flag of France floated from the little intrenched
camp which Cartier had planted on the summit of the cliff. Roberval's
principal occupation appears to have been the disciplining of his
unruly followers, a work in which the gibbet and the lash were freely
employed. He also essayed explorations up the river; but the rude task
was not to his liking, and, with what remained of his battered band, he
followed Cartier to France.
It is commonly said that Canada was abandoned by the French between
the going of Roberval and the coming of Champlain. But, though little
was done toward colonizing on the St. Lawrence, Newfoundland was by
no means neglected. Its fishing industry grew apace. The rules of the
Church, prescribing a fish diet on certain holy days, led to a large
use of salted fish throughout Catholic Europe; and, by 1578, full a
hundred and fifty French vessels alone, chiefly Breton, were employed
in the Newfoundland fisheries, while a good trade with the mainland
Indians, as far south as the Potomac, had now sprung up. The island
colony proved valuable as a supply and repair station for traders and
explorers, and thus served as a nucleus of both French and English
settlement in America.
It is difficult for us of to-day to realize that, at any time in the
world's history, enlightened folk should have thought good colonists
could be made out of the sweepings of the jails and gutters of the Old
World. But in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries that delusion
was quite generally entertained by would-be founders of states across
sea; it required the lessons of more than a hundred years of disastrous
experiments to teach discerning men that only the best of the middle
class and the masses, can successfully plant a new community in
the wilderness. The experiences of Cartier and Roberval on the St.
Lawrence, and of Laudonnière in Florida (1564), were of no avail in
influencing governmental policy at Paris. In 1590, the Marquis de la
Roche was sent out with the usual dissolute crew to succeed Roberval as
the king's agent on the banks of the St. Lawrence. Leaving part of his
ill-favored gang on the desert Sable Isle, off Nova Scotia (where early
in the century Baron de Léry had vainly attempted to plant a colony),
La Roche set forth to explore the mainland for a site. A wild storm
blew his vessels to France, and the wretched skin-clad survivors of the
band which he had left behind were not rescued until thirteen years had
elapsed. Their tale of horror long rang in the ears of France.
In 1600-1603, Chauvin and Pontgravé made successful trading voyages
to the St. Lawrence. Samuel de Champlain was one of the party
which, in the latter year, followed in Cartier's track to Montreal.
The same season, a Calvinist, named De Monts, was given the
vice-royalty and fur-trade monopoly of Acadia, and in 1604 he landed
a strangely-assorted company of vagabonds and gentlemen on St. Croix
Island, near the present boundary between Maine and New Brunswick; but
in the spring following they settled at Port Royal, near where is now
Annapolis, Nova Scotia, thus planting the first French agricultural
settlement in America. Five years later, Champlain reared a permanent
post on the rock of Quebec, and New France was at last, after a century
of experiments, fairly under way.
Various motives influenced the men who sought to establish French
colonization in America. The ill-fated agricultural colony of the
Huguenots in Florida (1562-68), was avowedly an attempt of Admiral
Coligny to found an enduring asylum for French Protestants. The
enterprise of New France, on the other hand, was the outgrowth of
interests more or less conflicting. Doubtless the court had deepest
at heart the kingly passion for territorial aggrandizement; next
uppermost, was the pious wish to convert heathen nations to the
Catholic faith, explorers like Cartier being authorized to discover
new lands "in order the better to do what is pleasing to God, our
Creator and Redeemer, and what may be for the increase of his holy
and sacred name, and of our holy mother, the Church;" the desire for
pelf, through the agency of the fur trade, and the possibility of the
discovery of precious metals, gave commercial zest to the undertaking,
and to many was the _raison d'être_ of the colony; and lastly, was the
almost universal yearning for adventure, among a people who in the
seventeenth century were still imbued with that chivalric temper which
among Englishmen is assigned to the Middle Ages. The inner life of New
France, throughout its century and a half of existence, was largely a
warring between these several interests.
Missionaries came early upon the scene. With the Calvinist De Monts
were Huguenot ministers for the benefit of the settlers, and Catholic
priests to open a mission among the savages, for the court had
stipulated with him that the latter were to be instructed only in the
faith of Rome. But no missionary work was done, for the colony was
through several years on the verge of dissolution, and the priests
became victims of scurvy. Poutrincourt, who held under De Monts the
patent for Port Royal, did nothing to further the purposes of the
court in this regard, until 1610, when, admonished for his neglect,
he brought out with him a secular priest, Messire Jessé Fléché,
of Langres, who on June 24, "apparently in some haste," baptized
twenty-one Abenakis, including the district sagamore, or chief. The
account of this affair, which Poutrincourt sent in triumph to France,
is the initial document in the present series.
On the twelfth of June, 1611, there arrived at Port Royal, at the
instance of King Henry IV., two Jesuit fathers, Pierre Biard and
Ennemond Massé. They were, however, not favorably received by
Poutrincourt and his followers; they found great practical difficulties
in acquiring the Indian languages and made slight progress in the
herculean task to which they had been set. To them, came the following
year, a lay brother, Gilbert du Thet, who was soon dispatched to the
head of the order, in France, with an account of the situation. In the
spring of 1613, he returned, in company with Father Quentin. The little
band of missionaries had no sooner established themselves at the new
French colony on Mt. Desert Island, than the latter was attacked and
dispersed by the Virginian Argall. Du Thet was killed in the fight,
Massé was, with other colonists, set adrift in a boat, and Biard and
Quentin were taken to Virginia, to be eventually shipped to England,
and thence allowed to return into France. Several of the earlier
documents of our series have to do with this first and apparently
unfruitful mission of the Jesuits to Acadia.
In 1615, Champlain thought the time ripe for the institution of Indian
missions upon the St. Lawrence, a spiritual field hitherto neglected,
and introduced to Quebec four members of the fraternity of Récollets,
the most austere of the three orders of Franciscans; these were
Fathers Denis Jamay, Jean d'Olbeau, and Joseph le Caron, and a lay
brother, Pacifique du Plessis. To D'Olbeau was assigned the conversion
of the Montagnais of the Lower St. Lawrence; Le Caron went to the
Hurons, or Wyandots, in the vast stretch of forested wilderness west
of the Ottawa River, and before the coming of autumn had established
a bark chapel in their midst; Jamay and Du Plessis remained in the
neighborhood of Quebec, ministering to the colonists and the wandering
savages who came to the little settlement for purposes of trade or
sociability, or through fear of scalp-hunting Iroquois. For ten years
did these gray friars practice the rites of the church in the Canadian
woods, all the way from the fishing and trading outpost of Tadoussac
to the western Lake of the Nipissings. Barefooted, save for heavy
wooden sandals, coarsely clad in gown and hood, enduring in a rigorous
climate, to which they were unused, all manner of hardships by flood
and field, they were earnestly devoted to their laborious calling in a
time when elsewhere the air of New France was noisy with the strife of
self-seeking traders and politicians. Yet somehow their mission seemed
without important result. Even less successful was the enterprise of
some fellow Récollets, who, in 1619, began independent work among the
French fishermen and Micmacs of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Gaspé,
but were forced in 1624, after many disasters, to abandon their task,
three of them joining the party at Quebec.
The little band on the St. Lawrence, although thus reinforced, felt
impelled, in 1625, to invite the powerful aid of the Jesuits, who
in the face of great odds were just then holding most successful
missions in Asia, Africa, and South America. In response to the call,
three fathers of the black gown came to Quebec this year,--Massé, who
had been of the old Acadian mission, Charles Lalemant, and that giant
among them, in both stature and deeds, Jean de Brébeuf. Immediately
the work began to broaden, but the records of the dual mission do not
give evidence of many converts,--a few Huron youth taken to France, and
there instructed and baptized, being the chief gains. The wandering
habits of the Indians were not favorable to persistent instruction
of the young, and adults were unwilling to commit themselves to the
new doctrine, even when not openly opposed to its promulgation. The
summer months were usually spent by the missionaries at Tadoussac,
Quebec, and Three Rivers, where trading parties from the tribes were
wont to assemble; and, when the latter scattered for their winter
hunts, the missionaries accompanied them, sharing the toils, dangers,
and discomforts of the movable camps, and often suffering much from
positive abuse at the hands of their not over-willing hosts.
The settlements of Port Royal and Quebec were at this time wretched
little hamlets of a few dozen huts each, surrounded by a palisade, and
these fell an easy prey to small English naval forces (1628-29). With
their fall, ended the slender mission of the Récollets and Jesuits, who
were in triumph carried off to England. For a few months, France did
not hold one foot of ground in North America. But as peace had been
declared between France and England before this conquest, the former
received back all of its possessions, and the inevitable struggle for
the mastery of the continent was postponed for four generations longer.
With the release of Canada to France, in 1632, the Jesuits were by the
home authorities placed in sole charge of the spiritual interests of
both settlers and Indians, and the history of their greatest missions
begins at this time. On the fifth of July, there landed at Quebec,
Fathers Paul le Jeune and Anne de Nouë, and a lay brother named
Gilbert. Le Jeune was the superior, and at once devoted himself to
learning the language and customs of the savages, and so studying the
enormous field before him as intelligently to dispose of his meagre
forces.
THE INDIANS.
The existence of rival tribes among the Red Indians of North America,
was, perhaps, the most formidable obstacle in the path of the
missionaries. It has always been impossible to make any hard-and-fast
classification; yet the Indians presented a considerable variety
of types, ranging from the Southern Indians, some of whose tribes
were in a relatively high stage of material advancement and mental
calibre, down to the savage root-eaters of the Rocky Mountain region.
The migrations of some of the Indian tribes were frequent, and they
occupied overlapping territories, so that it is impossible to fix the
tribal boundaries with any degree of exactness. Again, the tribes
were so merged by intermarriage, by affiliation, by consolidation, by
the fact that there were numerous polyglot villages of renegades, by
similarities in manner, habits, and appearance, that it is difficult
even to separate the savages into families. It is only on philological
grounds that these divisions can be made at all. In a general way we
may say that between the Atlantic and the Rockies, Hudson Bay and the
Gulf of Mexico, there were four Indian languages in vogue, with great
varieties of local dialect:
I. The Algonkins were the most numerous, holding the greater portion of
the country from the unoccupied "debatable land" of Kentucky northward
to Hudson Bay, and from the Atlantic westward to the Mississippi. Among
their tribes were the Micmacs of Acadia, the Penobscots of Maine, the
Montagnais of the St. Lawrence, the ill-defined tribes of the country
round about Lake St. John, and the Ottawas, Chippewas, Mascoutens,
Sacs, Foxes, Pottawattomies, and Illinois of the Upper Lakes. These
savages were rude in life and manners, were intensely warlike, depended
for subsistence chiefly on hunting and fishing, lived in rude wigwams
covered with bark, skins, or matted reeds, practised agriculture in
a crude fashion, and were less stable in their habitations than the
Southern Indians. They have made a larger figure in our history than
any other family, because through their lands came the heaviest and
most aggressive movement of white population, French or English.
Estimates of early Indian populations necessarily differ, in the
absence of accurate knowledge; but it is now believed that the number
was never so great as was at first estimated by the Jesuit fathers and
the earliest English colonists. A careful modern estimate is, that the
Algonkins at no time numbered over 90,000 souls, and possibly not over
50,000.
II. In the heart of this Algonkin land was planted the ethnic group
called the Iroquois, with its several distinct branches, often at war
with each other. The craftiest, most daring, and most intelligent
of North American Indians, yet still in the savage hunter state, the
Iroquois were the terror of every native band east of the Mississippi,
before the coming of the whites, who in turn learned to dread their
ferocious power. The five principal tribes of this family--Mohawks,
Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas, all stationed in palisaded
villages south and east of lakes Erie and Ontario--formed a loose
confederacy styled by themselves and the French "The Long House," and
by the English "The Five Nations," which firmly held the waterways
connecting the Hudson and Ohio rivers and the Great Lakes. The
population of the entire group was not over 17,000--a remarkably small
number, considering the active part they played in American history,
and the control which they exercised through wide tracts of wilderness.
Related to, but generally at war with them, were the Hurons of Canada,
among whom the Jesuits planted their earliest missions. Champlain,
in an endeavor to cultivate the friendship of his Huron and Algonkin
neighbors, early made war on the Iroquois, and thus secured for New
France a heritage of savage enmity which contributed more than any
other one cause to cripple its energies and render it at last an easy
prey to the rival power of the English colonies.
III. The Southern Indians occupied the country between the Tennessee
River and the Gulf, the Appalachian Ranges and the Mississippi. Of
a milder disposition than their Northern cousins, the Cherokees,
Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles were rather in a barbarous
than in a savage state; by the time of the Revolution, they were not
far behind the white proprietors in industrial or domestic methods,
and numbered not above 50,000 persons. With them, this story of the
Jesuit missions has little to do; the Louisiana mission, an offshoot of
that of New France, did faithful work here, but the documentary result
was neither as interesting nor as prolific, and necessarily occupies
but small space in the present series.
IV. The Dakotah, or Sioux, family occupied for the most part the
country beyond the Mississippi. They were and are a fierce, high-strung
people, genuine nomads, and war appears to have been their chief
occupation. The Jesuits worked among them but in slight measure, on
the waters of the Upper Mississippi; they met this family, chiefly in
the persons of the Winnebagoes, one of their outlying bands, which at
the time of the French occupation was resident on and about Green Bay
of Lake Michigan, at peace and in confederacy with the Algonkins who
hedged them about.
The mission of the French Jesuits to these widely-scattered hordes of
savages forms one of the most thrilling chapters in human history. It
is impossible, in this brief Introduction, to attempt anything more
than the barest outline of the theme; Rochemonteix, Shea, and Parkman
have told the story in detail, from differing points of view, and with
these authorities the student of the following documents in the case
is presumed to be familiar. A rapid summary of results will, however,
be useful; and this we may best obtain, at the expense of occasional
repetition of narrative, by following the fortunes of the pioneers of
the Cross through the several district missions into which their work
was naturally divided.
I. THE ABENAKI MISSION.
This mission was chiefly in Maine and Acadia, and on Cape Breton
Island. The Abenakis (or Abnakis) were a strong but mild-mannered
Algonkin tribe, settled in villages or cantonments; but, like others
of their race, in the habit of taking long semi-annual journeys,--each
winter to hunt, and each summer to fish. We have seen that the
French Jesuits, Biard and Massé, were in the field as early as 1611,
soon after the establishment of Port Royal; their predecessor being
the secular French priest, Fléché, who had been introduced to the
country by Poutrincourt, the patentee. Biard and Massé met with
many discouragements, chiefly the opposition of Poutrincourt's son,
Biencourt (sometimes called Baron St. Just), who had been left in
charge of the colony. Nevertheless the missionaries learned the native
language, and made many long journeys of exploration, one of Biard's
trips extending as far as the mouth of the Kennebec. They were later
joined by a lay brother, Du Thet, and by Fathers Quentin and Lalemant.
Joining the new French colony on Mt. Desert Island, in the spring
of 1613, the establishment was almost immediately destroyed by the
Virginian Argall. In the skirmish, Du Thet was killed.
In 1619, a party of Récollets, from Aquitaine, began a mission on St.
John River, in Acadia, but five years later, as we have seen above,
abandoned the task, the survivors joining the Quebec mission of their
order. Other Récollets were in Acadia, however, between 1630 and 1633,
and later we have evidence of a small band of Capuchins ministering to
French settlers on the Penobscot and Kennebec; but it is probable that
they made no attempt to convert the natives.
A Jesuit mission was founded on Cape Breton in 1634, by Father Julian
Perrault; and a few years later, Father Charles Turgis was at Miscou.
Other missionaries soon came to minister to the Micmacs, but for many
years their efforts were without result; and sickness, resulting from
the hardships of the situation, caused most of the early black gowns to
retreat from the attempt. Finally, an enduring mission was established
among these people, and, until about 1670, was conducted with some
measure of success by Fathers Andrew Richard, Martin de Lyonne, and
James Fremin. About 1673, the Récollets took up the now abandoned work,
occasionally aided by secular priests from the Seminary of Quebec,
and Jesuits, until at last the Micmacs from Gaspé to Nova Scotia were
declared to be entirely converted to the Catholic faith.
Father Gabriel Druillettes, of the Jesuit mission at Sillery, near
Quebec, went to the Kennebec country in 1646, invited thither by
converted Abenakis who had been at Sillery, and during visits,
extending through a period of eleven years, was more than ordinarily
successful in the task of gaining Indian converts to Christianity. In
1650, he made a notable visit to the Puritans of Eastern Massachusetts,
during which was discussed the proposed union between New France
and New England, against the Iroquois. Upon the final departure of
Druillettes in 1657, the Abenakis were but spasmodically served with
missionaries; occasionally a Jesuit appeared among them, but the field
could not be persistently worked, owing to the demands upon the order
from other quarters. The fathers now sought to draw Abenaki converts
to Sillery, and later to St. Francis de Sales, at the falls of the
Chaudière, which soon became almost exclusively an Abenaki mission.
In 1688, Father Bigot, of this mission, again entered the field of
the Kennebec, at the same time that Rev. Peter Thury, a priest of the
Quebec Seminary, opened a mission on the Penobscot, and the Récollet
F. Simon gathered a flock at Medoktek, near the mouth of the St.
John. They were in time aided and succeeded by others: the Jesuits
being Julian Binneteau, Joseph Aubery, Peter de la Chasse, Stephen
Lauverjeat, Loyard, and Sebastian Rale; the death of Rale, the greatest
of them all, at the hands of New England partisans in the border
strife of 1724, is a familiar incident in American history. Jesuits
succeeded to the Penobscot mission in 1703, and with great zeal, but
amid continual hardships and discouragements, carried on the principal
work among the Abenakis until the downfall of New France in 1763. The
majority of the Kennebec converts, however, emigrated to the mission
of St. Francis de Sales, and from there frequently went forth upon
avenging expeditions against the New England borderers.
II. THE MONTAGNAIS MISSION.
This was centered at Tadoussac, and ministered to the Montagnais,
Bersiamites, Porcupines, Oumaniwek, Papinachois, and other tribes
of the Lower St. Lawrence and the Saguenay. Tadoussac had, from the
earliest historic times, been a favorite harbor and trading-station
for the French; for, being at the junction of two great rivers, it
was convenient as a place of assembly for the natives of the lower
country. The first priests in the district had said mass there; but it
was not until 1640 that a Jesuit mission was formed by Father Jean du
Quen, its sphere of influence soon reaching to the upper waters of the
Saguenay, Lake St. John, Hudson Bay, and the coast of Labrador. Du Quen
was actively assisted by Charles Meiachkwat, a Montagnais convert, who
erected the first chapel, became a catechist, and made extended tours
through the neighboring tribes. In time, there were associated with
Du Quen, Fathers Buteux and Druillettes. Protracted missionary tours
were made by them, with results which were considered satisfactory as
compared with other missions; although they had serious difficulties
to contend with, in the prevalent intemperance which the fur trade
introduced among the natives, the belief in dreams, the laxity of
morals, and the wiles of medicine-men, or sorcerers, as they were
called by the Jesuits.
For the first few years, the missionaries spent their winters in
Quebec, ministering to the colonists, and each spring went down to
Tadoussac to meet the summer trading parties; but greater persistency
of effort was deemed desirable, and thereafter, instead of returning
home in the autumn, they followed the Indians upon their winter hunts,
and in the course of these wanderings endured the usual privations and
hardships of traveling camps. Bailloquet, Nouvel, Beaulieu, Albanel,
De Crépieul, Dalmas, Boucher, Peter Michael Laure, and Jean Baptiste
Labrosse, are other names of Jesuit fathers who at different periods
were engaged upon this toilsome mission.
In 1670, Tadoussac was almost deserted, owing to Iroquois raids and the
ravages of smallpox; the Montagnais and kindred tribes were in hiding,
through the vast country between Lake St. John and Hudson Bay. They
were still followed by their devoted shepherds, whom no hardship could
discourage. The following year, Crépieul began a mission on Hudson Bay,
and here in 1694 his auxiliary Dalmas was killed. Laure (1720-37) left
us a monument of his labors in a Montagnais grammar and dictionary.
Labrosse, the last of his order at Tadoussac, instructed many of his
flock to read and write, and left a legacy of native education, which
has lasted unto the present day; he lived and taught long after his
order had been suppressed in New France, and died at Tadoussac in 1782.
III. THE QUEBEC AND MONTREAL MISSIONS.
These included the several missions at Quebec, Montreal, Three Rivers,
Sillery, Bécancourt, and St. Francis de Sales, which were designed for
the wandering Montagnais of the district, those Algonkins of the West
who could be induced to come and settle on the lower waters, and in
later years such Abenakis of Acadia and Maine as sought an asylum upon
distinctively French soil.
We have seen that Récollets were first at Quebec, ministering both to
colonists and Indians, and that, in 1625, they invited the Jesuits
to aid them. In 1629, the joint mission came to a close through the
surrender of Quebec to the English. When the mission was reopened in
1632, Jesuits alone were in charge, their operations being at first
confined to the neighboring Montagnais, although they soon spread
throughout the entire Canadian field. In 1658, Bishop Laval founded
the Seminary of Quebec, whereupon the Jesuits resigned their parishes
among the colonists, and thereafter confined themselves to their
college and the Indian missions. In addition to their parish work, the
priests of the seminary conducted missions in Acadia, Illinois, and on
the lower Mississippi.
The year following the return of the Jesuits to Canada, Father Buteux,
of that order, began his labors at Three Rivers, which was a convenient
gathering-place for the fur trade. The village was frequently raided
by Iroquois, but remained until the fall of New France one of the
prominent centers of missionary influence. The efforts of Buteux, which
lasted until his death at the hands of Iroquois in 1652, met with
considerable success. His custom, like that of the other missionaries,
was to be present at the French posts during the annual trading
"meets," and when the savages returned to the wilderness, to accompany
some selected band. In thus following the nomadic tribes, he made some
of the longest and most toilsome journeys recorded in the annals of the
Society of Jesus, and shared with his flock all the horrors of famine,
pestilence, and inter-tribal war.
It was soon realized by the missionaries that but meagre results could
be obtained until the Indians were induced to lead a sedentary life.
Their wandering habit nullified all attempts at permanent instruction
to the young; it engendered improvidence and laziness, bred famine and
disease; and the constant struggle to kill fur-bearing animals for
their pelts rapidly depleted the game, while the fur trade wrought
contamination in many forms. Missionary efforts were at first conducive
to the interests of the fur trade, by bringing far-distant tribes
within the sphere of French influence; but so soon as the Jesuit
sought to change the habits of the natives, to cause them to become
agriculturists instead of hunters, and to oppose the rum traffic
among them, then the grasping commercial monopoly which controlled
the fortunes of New France, and was merely "working" the colony for
financial gains, saw in the Jesuit an enemy, and often placed serious
obstacles in his path.
In pursuance of the sedentary policy, and also to protect the wretched
Montagnais from Iroquois war-parties, the Jesuits, in 1637, established
for them a palisaded mission four miles above Quebec, at first
giving it the name St. Joseph, but later that of Sillery, in honor
of Commander Noël Brulart de Sillery, of France, who had given ample
funds for the founding of this enterprise. Here were at first gathered
twenty of the Indians, who began cultivation of the soil, varied by
occasional hunting and fishing trips, which the missionaries could not
prevent. The little town slowly grew in importance, both Algonkins and
Montagnais being represented in its population. Three years later,
nuns opened a hospital at Sillery, for the reception of both French
and Indian patients, and thus greatly added to the popularity of
the mission. But in 1646 the nuns removed their hospital to Quebec;
a few years later, the church and mission house were destroyed by
fire; disease made sad havoc in the settlement; the thin soil became
exhausted through careless tillage; Iroquois preyed upon the converts,
until at last the Algonkins almost entirely disappeared; and although
their place was taken by Abenakis from Maine and Acadia, until the
attendance became almost solely Abenaki, the enterprise waned. In
1685, it was abandoned in favor of St. Francis de Sales, a new mission
established at the falls of the Chaudière River, not far from the St.
Lawrence. Beyond a monument of later days, to the memory of Fathers
Massé and De Nouë, whose names are prominently connected with this
work, nothing now remains to mark the site of the old Sillery mission.
From St. Francis, the mission work began to spread into Maine. Of
its character and extent there, mention has already been made. St.
Francis achieved a certain measure of prosperity, as Indian missions
go. It became in time a source of serious trouble to the New England
borderers, for many a French and Indian war-party was here fitted out
against the latter, during the series of bloody conflicts which marked
the three-quarters of a century previous to the fall of New France.
Finally, in September, 1759, Maj. Robert Rogers descended upon the
village with his famous rangers, and in retaliation pillaged and burned
the houses, and killed "at least two hundred Indians." New France
soon after fell into the hands of the English, and, the Jesuits being
suppressed, we hear little more of St. Francis de Sales.
In 1641, the missionary settlement of Montreal was founded by
Maisonneuve. The Jesuits were the first resident clergy, and soon began
mission work among the neighboring Indians and those who resorted
thither from the valleys of the Lower St. Lawrence and the Ottawa.
Soon, however, the Sulpitians, established in Paris by the Abbé Olier,
one of the Society of Montreal, took charge of the mission on Montreal
Island, which in after years was moved to the Sault au Récollet, and
thence to the Lake of the Two Mountains, where there was gathered a
polyglot village composed of Iroquois, Algonkins, and Nipissings. Upon
the opening of the English régime, the Jesuit and Récollet missions
were suppressed, but those of the Sulpitians were undisturbed, so that
this mission at the lake is the oldest now extant in Canada.
Among the Algonkins of the Ottawa River (or Grande Rivière), no
permanent missions were attempted by any of the orders. Long the chief
highway to the West, the river was familiar to travelling missionaries,
who frequently ministered to the tribesmen along its banks, either at
the native villages or during the annual trading councils at the French
posts of Montreal, Three Rivers, and Quebec.
IV. THE HURON MISSION.
At the time of the advent of the French, the Hurons (or Wyandots),
allied in origin and language to the Iroquois, numbered about 16,000
souls, and dwelt in several large villages in a narrow district on the
high ground between Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. Their
dwellings were bark cabins, clustered within stoutly-palisaded walls,
and near each fortified town were fields of corn, beans, pumpkins,
and tobacco. Agricultural in habit, keen traders, and in the main
sedentary, these semi-naked savages made short hunting and fishing
expeditions, and laid up stores for the winter. They were better
fighters than the Algonkins around them, yet were obliged gradually
to withdraw northward and westward from Iroquois persecution, and
during the period of the Jesuit missions were almost annihilated by
the latter. To the southwest, across a wide stretch of unpopulated
forest, were the allies and kindred of the Hurons, the Tionontates,
called also Petuns, or Tobacco Nation, a term having its origin in
their custom of cultivating large fields of tobacco, which commodity
they used in a wide-spread barter with other tribes. To the southeast
of the Petuns, west of Lake Ontario and on both sides of the gorge of
Niagara, were the peaceful Atiwandaronks, who, being friends alike of
Iroquois, Algonkins, and Hurons, were known as the Neutral Nation. To
the eastward of the Neutrals, strongly intrenched in the interlocking
basins of the Genesee and the Mohawk, lay the dread confederacy of the
Iroquois, who in time were to spread like a pestilence over the lands
of all their neighbors.
The intelligence and mobility of the Hurons rendered the early
prospects for missionary effort among them more promising than with
the rude and nomadic Algonkins. But while at first the missionaries
of New France were well received, the innate savagery of these people
in time asserted itself. Their medicine-men, as bitterly fanatical as
the howling dervishes of the Orient, plotted the destruction of the
messengers of the new faith; the introduction of European diseases
was attributed to the "black gowns;" the ravages of the Iroquois were
thought to be brought on by the presence of the strangers; the rites
of the church were looked upon as infernal incantations, and the lurid
pictures of the Judgment, which were displayed in the little forest
chapels, aroused unspeakable terror among this simple people; finally,
an irresistible wave of superstitious frenzy led to the blotting out of
the mission, accompanied by some of the most heart-rending scenes in
the history of Christian evangelization.
It will be remembered that in 1615 the Récollet friar, Joseph le
Caron, made his way into the far-away country of the Hurons, but
returned in the following year, having learned much of their language
and customs. Five years later, another of his order, William Poulin,
took up the weary task, being joined in 1623 by Fathers Le Caron and
Nicholas Viel, and the historian of the Récollet missions, Brother
Gabriel Sagard. All of them soon left the field, however, save Viel,
who alone, amid almost incredible hardships, attained some measure of
success; but in 1625, when descending the Ottawa to meet and arrange
for co-operation with the Jesuit Brébeuf, at Three Rivers, he was
willfully drowned by his Indian guide in the last rapid of Des Prairies
River, just back of Montreal. Such is the origin of the name of the
dread Sault au Récollet.
In 1626, the Jesuits Brébeuf and Anne de Nouë, having received some
linguistic instruction from Récollets who had been in the Huron field,
proceeded thither, with a Récollet friar, Joseph de la Roche Daillon,
to resume the work which the Récollets had abandoned. Daillon attempted
a mission to neighboring Neutrals, but, being roughly handled by
them, rejoined his Jesuit friends among the Hurons. Two years later,
he returned to Quebec, having been preceded by De Nouë, who found it
impossible to master the difficult language of their dusky flock.
Brébeuf, now left alone, labored gallantly among these people, and,
winning the hearts of many by his easy adoption of their manners,
gathered about him a little colony of those favorably inclined to his
views. He was recalled to Quebec in 1629, arriving there just in time
to fall into the hands of Louis Kirk, and be transported to England.
When Canada was restored to France, by the treaty of St. Germain, the
Jesuits were given sole charge of the Indian missions, but it was 1634
before the Huron mission could be reopened. In September, Brébeuf,
Antoine Daniel, and Davost returned to Brébeuf's old field, and
commenced, in the large town of Ihonatiria, the greatest Jesuit mission
in the history of New France. Others soon joined them. Additional
missions were opened in neighboring towns, some of the strongest of
these being each served by four fathers, who were assisted by laymen
donnés, or given men; while in the cultivation of the soil, and the
fashioning of implements and utensils both for the fathers and for the
Indians, numerous hired laborers, from the French colonies on the St.
Lawrence, were employed in and about the missions. Charles Garnier and
Isaac Jogues, with their attendants, made a tour of the Petun villages;
other Jesuits were sent among the Neutrals; and even the Algonkins as
far northwestward as Sault Ste. Marie were visited (1641) by Raymbault
and Jogues, and looked and listened with awe at the celebration of the
mass. In 1639, there was built, on the River Wye, the fortified mission
house of St. Mary's, to serve as a center for the wide-spread work, as
a place for ecclesiastical retreat for the fathers, and a refuge when
enemies pressed too closely upon them.
The story of the hardships and sufferings of the devoted missionaries,
as told us by Rochemonteix, Shea, and Parkman, and with rare modesty
recorded in the documents to be contained in this series, is one of
the most thrilling in the annals of humanity. Space forbids us here
to dwell upon the theme. No men have, in the zealous exercise of
their faith, performed hardier deeds than these Jesuits of the Huron
mission; yet, after three years of unremitting toil, they could (1640)
count but a hundred converts out of a population of 16,000, and these
were for the most part sick infants or aged persons, who had died
soon after baptism. The rugged braves scorned the approaches of the
fathers, and unmercifully tormented their converts; the medicine-men
waged continual warfare on their work; smallpox and the Iroquois were
decimating the people.
Jogues was (1642) sent down to the colonies for supplies for the
missions, but with his Huron companions was captured by an Iroquois
war-party, who led them to the Mohawk towns. There most of the Hurons
were killed, and Jogues and his donné, René Goupil, were tortured
and mutilated, and made to serve as slaves to their savage jailers.
Finally Goupil, a promising young physician, was killed, and Jogues,
being rescued by the Dutch allies of the Mohawks, was sent to Europe.
Supplies thus failing them, the Huron missionaries were in a sad plight
until finally (1644) relieved by an expedition to the lower country
undertaken at great hazards by Brébeuf, Garreau, and Noël Chabanel. The
same season, Francis Joseph Bressani, attempting to reach the Huron
missions, had been captured and tortured by Mohawks; like Jogues, he
was rescued through Dutch intercession and sent back to Europe, but
both of these zealots were soon back again facing the cruel dangers of
their chosen task.
A temporary peace followed, in 1645, and the hope of the Jesuits was
rekindled, for they now had five missions in as many Huron towns, and
another established for Algonkins who were resident in the Huron
district. But in July, 1648, the Iroquois attacked Teanaustayé, the
chief Huron village, and while encouraging the frenzied defense Father
Daniel lost his life at the hands of the enemy. He was thus the first
Jesuit martyr in the Huron mission, and the second in New France,--for
Jogues had been tortured to death in the Iroquois towns, two years
before. The spirit of the Hurons was crushed in this bloody foray;
large bands, deserting their towns, fled in terror to seek protection
of the Petuns, while others made their way to the Manitoulin Islands of
Lake Huron, and even as far west as the islands of Green Bay and the
matted pine forests of Northern Wisconsin. Here and there a town was
left, however, and one of the largest of these, called St. Ignatius
by the Jesuits, was stormed by a thousand Iroquois, March 16, 1649.
The three survivors fled through the woods to neighboring St. Louis,
where were Brébeuf, now grown old in his service of toil, and young
Gabriel Lalemant. Bravely did they aid in defending St. Louis, and
administering to wounded and dying; but at last were captured, and
being taken to the ruined town of St. Ignatius were most cruelly
tortured until relieved by death. Early in November, Fathers Garnier
and Chabanel met their death in the Petun country, the former at the
hands of Iroquois, the latter being killed by a Huron who imagined that
the presence of the Jesuits had brought curses upon his tribe.
The missions in the Huron country were now entirely abandoned. A
few of the surviving Jesuits followed their flocks to the islands
in Lake Huron; but in June, 1650, the enterprise was forsaken, and
the missionaries, with a number of their converts, retired to a
village, founded for them, on the Island of Orleans, near Quebec. This
settlement being in time ravaged by the Iroquois, a final stand was
made at Lorette, also in the outskirts of Quebec, which mission exists
to this day.
The great Huron mission, which had been conducted for thirty-five
years, had employed twenty-nine missionaries, of whom seven had lost
their lives in the work. This important field forsaken, many of the
missionaries had returned to Europe disheartened, and apparently
the future for Jesuit missions in New France looked gloomy enough.
The Iroquois had now practically destroyed the Montagnais between
Quebec and the Saguenay, the Algonkins of the Ottawa, and the Hurons,
Petuns, and Neutrals. The French colonies of Quebec, Three Rivers,
and Montreal, had suffered from repeated raids of the New York
confederates, and their forest trade was now almost wholly destroyed.
In this hour of darkness, light suddenly broke upon New France.
The politic Iroquois, attacked on either side by the Eries and the
Susquehannas, and fearing that while thus engaged their northern
victims might revive for combined vengeance, sent overtures of peace to
Quebec, and cordially invited to their cantonments the once detested
black gowns.
V. THE IROQUOIS MISSION.
Champlain had early made enemies of the Iroquois, by attacking them
as the allies of his Algonkin neighbors. This enmity extended to all
New France, and lasted, with brief intervals of peace, for over half
a century. We have seen that Jogues was the first of his order (1642)
to enter the Iroquois country, as a prisoner of the Mohawks, the
easternmost of the five tribes of the confederacy. Two years later,
Bressani, while on his way to the Huron missions, was also captured by
the Mohawks, passed through a similar experience of torture, was sold
to the Dutch, and transported back to France, and, again like Jogues
resumed his hazardous task of attempting to tame the American savage.
During the first peace (May, 1646), Jogues, now in civilian costume,
paid a brief visit to his former tormentors on the Mohawk, this time
conveying only expressions of good-will from the governor of New
France. His political errand accomplished, he returned to Quebec; but
in August was back again, with a young French attendant named Lalande,
intent on opening admission among the Iroquois. Meanwhile, there had
been a revulsion of sentiment on their part, and the two Frenchmen had
no sooner reached the Mohawk than they were tortured and killed.
During an Iroquois attack upon Quebec, seven years later (1653),
Father Joseph Anthony Poncet was taken prisoner by the marauders and
carried to the Mohawk, where he suffered in the same manner as his
predecessors; but his captors being now desirous of a renewal of
peace with the French, spared his life, and sent him back to Quebec
with overtures for a renewal of negotiations. Early in July, 1654,
Father Simon le Moyne was sent forth upon a tour of inspection, and
returned to Quebec in September, with glowing reports of the fervor
of his reception by both Mohawks and Onondagas. It was determined to
rear a mission among the latter, and thither (1655),--a four weeks'
voyage,--proceeded Claude Dablon and Peter Mary Joseph Chaumonot;
while, to appease the jealous Mohawks, Le Moyne at the same time
reopened a brief but unprosperous mission among that tribe.
At first, Dablon and Chaumonot had high hopes of their Onondaga
enterprise; but mistrust soon arose in the minds of the natives,
and Dablon found it necessary to proceed to Quebec and obtain fresh
evidences of the friendship of the French. He returned in the early
summer of 1656, accompanied by Fathers Francis Le Mercier, superior of
the Canadian mission, and René Ménard, two lay brothers, and a party
of French colonists under a militia captain, who designed founding
a settlement in the land of the Iroquois. By the close of the year,
the work was in a promising stage; a number of Christianized Hurons,
who had been adopted into the confederacy, formed a nucleus for
proselyting, several Iroquois converts had been made, and all five of
the tribes had been visited by the missionaries.
Fathers Paul Ragueneau and Joseph Imbert Dupéron, who had been sent
out from Quebec in July, 1657, to assist the Onondaga mission, reached
it only after many perils en route; for meanwhile, there had been
a fresh Iroquois uprising against the Hurons and Ottawas, in which
Father Leonard Garreau lost his life near Montreal, and the entire
confederacy was soon in an uproar against the white allies of its
ancient enemies. The intrepid Le Moyne joined the party in November,
and in the following March (1658), on learning that all of the French
had been condemned to death, the entire colony stole away in the night,
and reached Montreal only after a long and hazardous voyage. The great
Iroquois mission, which had promised so happily and cost so much in
blood and treasure, was now thought to be a thing of the past.
There was, however, still another chapter to the story. In the summer
of 1660, after two years of bloody forays against New France, a Cayuga
sachem, who had been converted at Onondaga, came to Montreal as a peace
messenger, asking for another black gown to minister to the native
converts and a number of French captives in the Iroquois towns. Once
more, Le Moyne cheerfully set out upon what seemed a path to death; but
he passed the winter without molestation, and in the spring following
was allowed to return to Canada with the French prisoners.
It was five years later (1665), before the government of New France
felt itself sufficiently strong to threaten chastisement of the raiding
Iroquois, who had long been making life a torment in the colonies on
the St. Lawrence. The Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, and Senecas sued
for peace; but the Mohawks were obstinate, and their villages were
wasted by fire until they too asked for mercy and the ministrations of
the Jesuits. Fathers James Fremin, James Bruyas, and John Pierron were
sent out in 1667; later, they were assisted by Julian Garnier, Stephen
de Carheil, Peter Milet, and Boniface, so that by the close of 1668 a
mission was in progress in each of the five cantonments. A few notable
converts were made, among them Catharine Tegakouita, known as the
"Iroquois saint;" Catharine Ganneaktena, an Erie captive who afterwards
founded a native mission village on the banks of the St. Lawrence;
the head-men Assendasé, Kryn, and Soenrese. But a great success
was never possible; here as elsewhere, the vices and superstitions
of the tribesmen were deep-rooted, and they had not yet reached
a stage of culture where the spiritual doctrines of Christianity
appealed strongly, save to a few emotional natures. The converts
were subjected to so many annoyances and dangers, that isolation
was thought essential, and there was established for them opposite
Montreal the palisaded mission of St. Francis Xavier; this settlement,
fostered by the French as a buffer against Iroquois attack on the
colonists, was subsequently removed to Sault St. Louis, and is known
in our day as Caughnawaga. This mission, and that of the Sulpitians on
Montreal Mountain--later removed to the neighboring Lake of the Two
Mountains,--and at Quinté Bay, were frequently recruited by Iroquois
Christians, who were carefully instructed by the missionaries in the
arts of agriculture and the rites of the church.
This depletion of the Iroquois population alarmed the sachems of the
confederacy. To please them, Governor Dongan of New York, himself a
Catholic, introduced to the Five Nations three English Jesuits, who
sought in vain to counteract the movement. The French did not abandon
the Iroquois mission-field until 1687, when the rising power of the
English obliged them to withdraw from the country. We have, however,
glimpses of occasional attempts thereafter to revive the work, Bruyas
being on the ground in 1701, joined the following year by James de
Lamberville, Garnier, and Le Valliant, and later by James d'Hue
and Peter de Marieul. The entire party were again driven from the
cantonments in 1708, De Marieul being the last of his order to remain
on duty.
Thereafter, the Jesuits were chiefly devoted to their mission at
Caughnawaga, whither many Iroquois retreated before the inroads of
Dutch and English settlers who were now crowding upon their lands. When
the black gowns were at last expelled from New France, secular priests
continued their work among the remnants of those New York Indians who
had sought protection by settling among the French colonists on the St.
Lawrence.
VI. THE OTTAWA MISSION.
This embraced the tribes beyond Lake Huron,--the Chippewas at Sault
Ste. Marie, the Beavers, the Crees, the Ottawas and refugee Hurons
on Lake Superior, the Menomonees, Pottawattomies, Sacs, Foxes,
Winnebagoes, Miamis, Illinois, and those of the Sioux who lived on or
near the banks of the Mississippi. The Ottawas were the first Indians
from the upper lakes to trade with the French, hence that vast district
became early known as the country of the Ottawas.
The Huron mission was the door to the Ottawa mission. Jogues and
Raimbault were with the Chippewas at Sault Ste. Marie in 1641; but it
was nineteen years after that (1660), before they were followed by
another Jesuit, the veteran Father Ménard, who accompanied an Ottawa
fleet up the great river of that name, through Lake Huron and the
Sault, and on to Keweenaw Bay, where he said the first mass heard
on the shores of the northern sea. After a wretched winter on that
inhospitable coast, spent in a shanty of fir boughs, with savage
neighbors who reviled his presence, he proceeded inland intent on
ministering to some Hurons who had fled from Iroquois persecution to
the gloomy pine forest about the upper waters of Black River, in what
is now Wisconsin. In August, 1661, he lost his life at a portage, thus
being the first martyr upon the Ottawa mission.
Four years later, Claude Alloüez set out for Lake Superior, and
reaching Chequamegon Bay in October (1665), built a little chapel of
bark upon the southwest shore of that rock-bound estuary,--the famous
mission of La Pointe. His flock was a medley, Hurons and Algonkins here
clustering in two villages, where they lived on fish, safe at last
from the raging Iroquois, although much pestered by the wild Sioux of
the West. For thirty years did Alloüez travel from tribe to tribe,
through the forests and over the prairies of the vast wilderness which
a century later came to be organized into the Northwest Territory, and
established missions at Green Bay, Sault Ste. Marie, on the Miami, and,
with Marquette, among the Illinois at Kaskaskia.
Later, there arrived on the scene Fathers Louis Nicholas, James
Marquette, Dablon, Louis André, Druillettes, Albanel, and others. The
field of the Northwest seemed at first, as did the Huron mission,
highly promising. The missionaries were everywhere greeted by large
audiences, and much curiosity was displayed concerning the rites of
the church; but, as usual, the nomadic habits of the Indians rendered
instruction difficult. The fathers, with great toil and misery, and
subject to daily danger and insult, followed their people about upon
long hunting and fishing expeditions; and even when the bands had
returned to the squalid villages, life there was almost as comfortless
as upon the trail. Among the donnés and the Jesuit coadjutor brothers
were skillful workers in metal, who repaired the guns and utensils of
the natives, and taught them how best to obtain and reduce the ore from
lead and copper deposits. We have evidence that the copper region
of Lake Superior was at times resorted to by the lay followers and
their Indian attendants, to obtain material for crucifixes and for the
medals which the missionaries gave to converts; and in the lead mines
centering about where are now Dubuque, Iowa, and Galena, Ill., the
missionary attendants and Indians obtained lead for barter with French
fur-traders, who, like the soldiers of the Cross, were by this time
wandering all over the Northwest.
Marquette had succeeded Alloüez at La Pointe, in 1669; but it was
not long before the Hurons and Ottawas of Chequamegon Bay foolishly
incurred the fresh hostility of the Sioux, and the following year
were driven eastward like autumn leaves before a blast. Marquette
established them in a new mission, at Point St. Ignace, opposite
Mackinaw; and it was from here that, in 1673, he joined the party of
Louis Joliet, en route to the Mississippi River. The St. Ignace mission
became the largest and most successful in the Northwest, there being
encamped there, during Marquette's time, about 500 Hurons and 1,300
Ottawas. The interesting story of Marquette, a familiar chapter in
American history, will be fully developed in the documents of this
series; and we shall be able to present for the first time a facsimile
of the original MS. Journal of his final and fatal voyage (1674), which
is preserved among the many treasures of the Jesuit College of St.
Mary's, in Montreal.
After the suspension of the publication of the _Relations_, in 1673,
we obtain few glimpses of the Ottawa mission, save in the occasional
references of travelers. The several local missions in the district
were, in the main, probably more successful than those in any of the
other fields of endeavor. La Pointe, Green Bay; St. Ignace (later
Mackinac), Sault Ste. Marie, St. Joseph's, and Kaskaskia became the
most important of them all; and at some of these points Catholic
missions are still maintained by Franciscan friars and secular priests,
for resident French Creoles and Indians. The uprising of the Foxes
against French power, which lasted spasmodically from about 1700 to
1755, greatly hampered the work of the Jesuits; they did not, during
this period, entirely absent themselves from the broad country of the
Ottawas, but conversions were few and the records slight.
There was, for a time, governmental attempt to supplant the Western
Jesuits with Récollets. Several friars were with La Salle, who had
a great antipathy to the disciples of Loyola,--Father Hennepin's
adventures belong to this period of Récollet effort, his colleagues at
Fort Crèvecoeur being Brothers Ribourde and Membré; but their mission
closed with the Iroquois repulse of the French from Crèvecoeur, and
the consequent death of Ribourde. When La Salle retired from the
region, Alloüez resumed the Illinois mission of the Jesuits; and soon
after there arrived upon the ground Fathers Gravier, Marest, Mermet,
and Pinet, who, because of the more docile character of the tribes
collectively known as the Illinois,--Kaskaskias, Cahokias, Peorias,
and Tamaroas,--found here a relatively fruitful field. In time, French
settlements grew up around the palisaded missions, intermarriages
occurred, and the work flourished for many years. Black gowns visited
the prosperous Illinois towns as late as 1781, when the death of Father
Meurin closed the work of his order in the Northwest.
VII. THE LOUISIANA MISSION.
The Jesuit Marquette was in Louisiana in 1673, but established no
mission. Nine years later, Membré, of the Récollets, accompanied
La Salle into the region, and instructed natives as far down the
Mississippi as the mouth; and with La Salle at his death were
Anastasius Douay, of the Récollets, and the Sulpitian Cavalier. In
1698, Francis Jolliet de Montigny and Anthony Davion, priests of the
Seminary of Quebec, established missions on the Yazoo, among the
Natchez, and elsewhere in the neighborhood; to their aid, soon came
others of their house,--St. Côme, Gaulin, Fonçault, and Erborie, who
labored until about 1710, when, St. Côme and Fonçault being killed by
roving Indians, the survivors retired to the North. The Jesuit Du Rue
accompanied Iberville into the country in 1699-1700, followed by De
Limoges and Dongé, of his order, their work continuing until about 1704.
In 1721, Father Charlevoix reported that but two priests were then
in Louisiana, one at Yazoo and another in New Orleans; at the latter
post, a chaplain of some sort was established throughout the French
régime. Capuchins and Jesuits were both admitted to Louisiana, in
1722, the former to serve as priests to the French of the country,
chiefly at New Orleans and Natchez, while the Jesuits were restricted
to the Indian missions, although permitted to maintain a house in the
outskirts of New Orleans. It was not long before the Illinois mission
became attached to Louisiana, and missionaries for that field usually
entered upon their work by way of the New Orleans house. Missions were
maintained in the villages of the Arkansas, Yazoo, Choctaws, and
Alibamons; but the uprising of the Indians in the Natchez district, in
1727, led to the fall of these several missions, together with that
of French colonies above New Orleans. Father Du Poisson was killed
by savages at Natchez, where he was temporarily supplying the French
settlers in the absence of their Capuchin friar; Souel fell a victim
to the Yazoos, at whose hands Doutreleau narrowly escaped destruction.
However, the Jesuits did not despair, but soon returned to the Lower
Mississippi, where they continued their labors until about 1770,
although the order had in 1762 been suppressed in France.
The Louisiana mission of the Jesuits, while producing several martyrs,
and rich in striking examples of missionary zeal, has yielded but
meagre documentary results; few of the papers in the present series
touch upon its work, and indeed detailed knowledge thereof is not
easily obtainable. Severed from Canada by a long stretch of wilderness,
communication with the St. Lawrence basin was difficult and spasmodic,
and in the case of the Jesuits generally unnecessary; for, having their
own superior at New Orleans, his allegiance was to the general of the
order in France, not to his fellow-superiors in Quebec and Montreal.
The several missions of New France played a large part in American
history; that of Louisiana, although interesting, is of much less
importance.
THE RELATIONS.
A few explorers like Champlain, Radisson, and Perrot have left valuable
narratives behind them, which are of prime importance in the study
of the beginnings of French settlement in America; but it is to the
Jesuits that we owe the great body of our information concerning the
frontiers of New France in the seventeenth century. It was their
duty annually to transmit to their superior in Quebec, or Montreal,
a written journal of their doings; it was also their duty to pay
occasional visits to their superior, and to go into retreat at the
central house of the Canadian mission. Annually, between 1632 and 1673,
the superior made up a narrative, or _Relation_, of the most important
events which had occurred in the several missionary districts under
his charge, sometimes using the exact words of the missionaries, and
sometimes with considerable editorial skill summarizing the individual
journals in a general account, based in part upon the oral reports
of visiting fathers. This annual _Relation_, which in bibliographies
occasionally bears the name of the superior, and at other times of the
missionary chiefly contributing to it, was forwarded to the provincial
of the order in France, and, after careful scrutiny and re-editing,
published by him in a series of duodecimo volumes, known collectively
as _The Jesuit Relations_.
The authors of the journals which formed the basis of the _Relations_
were for the most part men of trained intellect, acute observers, and
practised in the art of keeping records of their experiences. They
had left the most highly civilized country of their times, to plunge
at once into the heart of the American wilderness, and attempt to win
to the Christian faith the fiercest savages known to history. To gain
these savages, it was first necessary to know them intimately,--their
speech, their habits, their manner of thought, their strong points and
their weak. These first students of the North American Indian were
not only amply fitted for their undertaking, but none have since had
better opportunity for its prosecution. They were explorers, as well
as priests. Bancroft was inexact when he said, in oft-quoted phrase,
"Not a cape was turned, not a river entered, but a Jesuit led the
way." The actual pioneers of New France were almost always coureurs de
bois, in the prosecution of the fur trade; but coureurs de bois, for
obvious reasons, seldom kept records, even when capable of doing so,
and as a rule we learn of their previous appearance on the scene only
through chance allusions in the _Relations_. The Jesuits performed
a great service to mankind in publishing their annals, which are,
for historian, geographer, and ethnologist, among our first and best
authorities.
Many of the _Relations_ were written in Indian camps, amid a chaos of
distractions. Insects innumerable tormented the journalists, they were
immersed in scenes of squalor and degradation, overcome by fatigue and
lack of proper sustenance, often suffering from wounds and disease,
maltreated in a hundred ways by hosts who, at times, might more
properly be called jailers; and not seldom had savage superstition
risen to such a height, that to be seen making a memorandum was certain
to arouse the ferocious enmity of the band. It is not surprising
that the composition of these journals of the Jesuits is sometimes
crude; the wonder is, that they could be written at all. Nearly always
the style is simple and direct. Never does the narrator descend to
self-glorification, or dwell unnecessarily upon the details of his
continual martyrdom; he never complains of his lot; but sets forth
his experience in phrases the most matter-of-fact. His meaning is
seldom obscure. We gain from his pages a vivid picture of life in the
primeval forest, as he lived it; we seem to see him upon his long canoe
journeys, squatted amidst his dusky fellows, working his passage at the
paddles, and carrying cargoes upon the portage trail; we see him the
butt and scorn of the savage camp, sometimes deserted in the heart of
the wilderness, and obliged to wait for another flotilla, or to make
his way alone as best he can. Arrived at last, at his journey's end,
we often find him vainly seeking for shelter in the squalid huts of
the natives, with every man's hand against him, but his own heart open
to them all. We find him, even when at last domiciled in some far-away
village, working against hope to save the unbaptized from eternal
damnation; we seem to see the rising storm of opposition, invoked
by native medicine-men,--who to his seventeenth-century imagination
seem devils indeed,--and at last the bursting climax of superstitious
frenzy which sweeps him and his before it. Not only do these devoted
missionaries,--never, in any field, has been witnessed greater personal
heroism than theirs,--live and breathe before us in the _Relations_;
but we have in them our first competent account of the Red Indian, at
a time when relatively uncontaminated by contact with Europeans. We
seem, in the _Relations_, to know this crafty savage, to measure him
intellectually as well as physically, his inmost thoughts as well as
open speech. The fathers did not understand him from an ethnological
point of view, as well as he is to-day understood; their minds were
tinctured with the scientific fallacies of their time. But, with what
is known to-day, the photographic reports in the _Relations_ help the
student to an accurate picture of the untamed aborigine, and much
that mystified the fathers, is now, by aid of their careful journals,
easily susceptible of explanation. Few periods of history are so well
illuminated as the French régime in North America. This we owe in large
measure to the existence of the Jesuit _Relations_.
What are generally known as the _Relations_ proper, addressed
to the superior and published in Paris, under direction of the
provincial, commence with Le Jeune's _Brieve Relation du Voyage de la
Nouvelle-France_ (1632); and thereafter a duodecimo volume, neatly
printed and bound in vellum, was issued annually from the press
of Sebastien Cramoisy, in Paris, until 1673, when the series was
discontinued, probably through the influence of Frontenac, to whom
the Jesuits were distasteful. The _Relations_ at once became popular
in the court circles of France; their regular appearance was always
awaited with the keenest interest, and assisted greatly in creating
and fostering the enthusiasm of pious philanthropists, who for many
years substantially maintained the missions of New France. In addition
to these forty volumes, which to collectors are technically known
as "Cramoisys," many similar publications found their way into the
hands of the public, the greater part of them bearing date after the
suppression of the Cramoisy series. Some were printed in Paris and
Lyons by independent publishers; others appeared in Latin and Italian
texts, at Rome, and other cities in Italy; while in such journals as
_Mercure François_ and _Annuæ Litteræ Societatis Jesu_, occasionally
were published letters from the missionaries, of the same nature as the
_Relations_, but briefer and more intimate in tone.
It does not appear, however, that popular interest in these
publications materially affected the secular literature of the period;
they were largely used in Jesuit histories of New France, but by others
were practically ignored. General literary interest in the _Relations_
was only created about a half century ago, when Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan,
editor of the _Documentary History of New York_, called attention to
their great value as storehouses of contemporary information. Dr.
John G. Shea, author of _History of the Catholic Missions among the
Indian Tribes of the United States_, and Father Felix Martin, S. J., of
Montreal, soon came forward, with fresh studies of the _Relations_.
Collectors at once commenced searching for Cramoisys, which were found
to be exceedingly scarce,--most of the originals having been literally
worn out in the hands of their devout seventeenth-century readers;
finally, the greatest collector of them all, James Lenox, of New York,
outstripped his competitors and laid the foundation, in the Lenox
Library, of what is to-day probably the only complete collection in
America. In 1858, the Canadian government reprinted the Cramoisys, with
a few additions, in three stout octavo volumes, carefully edited by
Abbés Làverdière, Plante, and Ferland. These, too, are now rare, copies
seldom being offered for sale.
The Quebec reprint was followed by two admirable series brought
out by Shea and O'Callaghan respectively. Shea's _Cramoisy Series_
(1857-1866), numbers twenty-five little volumes, the edition of
each of which was limited to a hundred copies, now difficult to
obtain; it contains for the most part entirely new matter, chiefly
_Relations_ prepared for publication by the superiors, after 1672,
and miscellaneously printed; among the volumes, however, are a few
reprints of particularly rare issues of the original Cramoisy press.
The O'Callaghan series, seven in number (the edition limited to
twenty-five copies), contains different material from Shea's, but of
the same character. A further addition to the mass of material was
made by Father Martin, in _Relations Inédites de la Nouvelle-France_,
1672-79 (2 vols., Paris, 1861); and by Father Carayon in _Première
Mission des Jésuites au Canada_ (Paris, 1864). In 1871, there was
published at Quebec, under the editorship of Abbés Laverdière and
Casgrain, _Le Journal des Jésuites_, from the original manuscript in
the archives of the Seminary of Quebec (now Laval University). The
memoranda contained in this volume,--a rarity, for the greater part
of the edition was accidentally destroyed by fire,--were not intended
for publication, being of the character of private records, covering
the operations of the Jesuits in New France between 1645 and 1668. The
_Journal_ is, however, an indispensable complement of the _Relations_.
It was reprinted by a Montreal publisher (J. M. Valois) in 1892, but
even this later edition is already exhausted. Many interesting epistles
are found in _Lettres Édifiantes et Curieuses, écrites des Missions
Étrangères_, which cover the Jesuit missions in many lands, between the
years 1702 and 1776; only a small portion of this publication (there
are several editions, ranging from 1702-1776 to 1875-77) is devoted to
the North American missions.
American historians, from Shea and Parkman down, have already made
liberal use of the _Relations_, and here and there antiquarians and
historical societies have published fragmentary translations. The
great body of the _Relations_ and their allied documents, however, has
never been Englished. The text is difficult, for their French is not
the French of the modern schools; hence these interesting papers have
been doubly inaccessible to the majority of our historical students.
The present edition, while faithfully reproducing the old French text,
even in most of its errors, offers to the public for the first time, an
English rendering side by side with the original.
In breadth of scope, also, this edition will, through the generous
enterprise of the publishers, readily be first in the field. Not only
will it embrace all of the original Cramoisy series, the Shea and
O'Callaghan series, those collected by Fathers Martin and Carayon, the
_Journal des Jésuites_, and such of the _Lettres Édifiantes_ as touch
upon the North American missions, but many other valuable documents
which have not previously been reprinted; it will contain, also,
considerable hitherto-unpublished material from the manuscripts in the
archives of St. Mary's College, Montreal, and other depositories. These
several documents will be illustrated by faithful reproductions of all
the maps and other engravings appearing in the old editions, besides
much new material obtained especially for this edition, a prominent
feature of which will be authentic portraits of many of the early
fathers, and photographic facsimiles of pages from their manuscript
letters.
In the Preface to each volume will be given such Bibliographical
Data concerning its contents, as seem necessary to the scholar. The
appended Notes consist of historical, biographical, archæological, and
miscellaneous comment, which it is hoped may tend to the elucidation of
the text. An exhaustive General Index to the English text will appear
in the final volume of the series.
PREFACE TO VOL. I
There is a dramatic unity in the Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents,
as they will be presented in this series. Commencing with a report of
the first conversion of savages in New France, in 1610, by a secular
priest, and soon drifting into the records of Jesuit missionary effort,
they touch upon practically every important enterprise of the Jesuits,
in Canada and Louisiana, from the coming of Fathers Biard and Massé, in
1611, to the death, in the closing decade of the eighteenth century, of
Father Well, "the last Jesuit of Montreal."
I. The series fitly opens with Lescarbot's _La Conversion des
Savvages_. Marc Lescarbot, a Paris lawyer, a Huguenot poet as well as
historian, and in many respects a picturesque character in the early
scenes of our drama, adroitly seeks in this document to convince the
Catholic Queen of France that his Huguenot patrons, De Monts and
Poutrincourt, are so wisely ordering affairs in their New World domain
that not only will the glory of France be enhanced, but the natives
be won to Christ through the medium of the Church; for it was part of
the agreement entered into with the Crown, by these adventurers, that
while their colonists should be permitted to have Huguenot ministers,
the aborigines must be converted only by Catholic priests. To this end,
Lescarbot describes with unction the sudden conversion by a secular
priest, Messire Jessé Fléché, of old Chief Membertou and twenty other
Micmacs, and their formal baptism on the beach at Port Royal. The
object is, of course, to ward off the threatened invasion of New France
by the Jesuits, by showing how thoroughly the work of proselyting is
being carried forward without their aid.
II. By the same ship which, in the hands of Poutrincourt's son,
Biencourt, carries to France this ingenious document, one Bertrand,
a Huguenot layman, sends a message to his friend, the Sieur de
la Tronchaie. In his _Lettre Missive_, M. Bertrand describes the
conversion of Membertou and his fellow savages, and speaks with
enthusiasm of the new country: as well he may, for in Volume II. we
shall find Lescarbot testifying that in Paris the worthy Bertrand was
"daily tormented by the gout," while at Port Royal he was "entirely
free" from it.
III. Lescarbot's fervid description of Father Fléché's conversions
did not succeed in keeping the Jesuits from New France. The present
document is a letter written at Dieppe, by Father Pierre Biard, of the
Society of Jesus, to his general at Rome, telling of the adventures
which had befallen Father Ennemond Massé and himself, since they,
the pioneers of their order in the New World, had been ordered from
France to Port Royal. Certain Huguenot merchants of Dieppe conspired to
prevent the passage of the Jesuits to America; but finally the queen
and other court ladies, favoring the missionaries, purchased control of
the Huguenots' ship and cargo, and the exultant fathers are now on the
eve of sailing.
IV. In this letter, written by Biard to his provincial, a few weeks
after the arrival at Port Royal, the missionary gives the details
of his voyage, describes the spiritual and material condition
of Poutrincourt's colony, and outlines plans for work among the
Indians--only Huguenot ministers being, as yet, allowed under the
charter to serve the spiritual needs of the colonists themselves.
V. In this letter, Biard notifies his general of the safe arrival of
Massé and himself.
VI. A like duty is here performed by Massé.
VII. Father Jouvency, one of the eighteenth-century historians of the
Society of Jesus, herein gives an historical account of the Canadian
missions of his order, in 1611-13; and, by way of comparison, tells of
the condition of the same missions in 1703, ending with a list of the
Jesuit missions in North America in the year 1710, the date of original
publication.
VIII. Herein, Jouvency gives a detailed account of the Indian tribes of
Canada,--their customs, characteristics, superstitions, etc. Although
not in strict chronological order, these chapters are given here as
being from the same work as the foregoing.
In the preparation of several of the Notes to Volume I., the Editor has
had some assistance from Mrs. Jane Marsh Parker, of Rochester, N. Y.
R. G. T.
MADISON, WIS., August, 1896.
I
LESCARBOT'S LA CONVERSION DES SAVVAGES
PARIS: JEAN MILLOT, 1610
SOURCE: Title-page and text, reprinted from original in Lenox Library,
New York; the Register of Baptisms from original in the John Carter
Brown Library, Providence, R. I.
PECULIARITIES IN ORIGINAL PAGINATION: P. 7, misnumbered 1; p. 16,
misnumbered 6; pp. 23, 24, are repeated, except the last sentence on p.
24; p. 46 numbered "[-4-6]."
LA
CONVERSION
DES SAVVAGES
QVI ONT ESTÉ BAPTIZÉS
EN LA NOVVELLE
France, cette annee 1610.
_AVEC VN BREF RECIT,
du voyage du Sieur_ DE
POVTRINCOVRT.
[Illustration]
A PARIS,
Chez IEAN MILLOT, tenant sa boutique sur
les degrez de la grand' Salle du Palais.
_Avec Priuilege du Roy._
THE CONVERSION
OF THE SAVAGES
WHO WERE BAPTIZED
IN NEW FRANCE
during this year, 1610.
_WITH A BRIEF NARRATIVE
of the voyage of Sieur_ DE
POUTRINCOURT.
PARIS,
JEAN MILLOT, keeping shop upon the steps of
the great Hall of the Palace.
_By Royal License._
[iii] A la Royne.
_MADAME_,
_Dieu m'ayant fait naitre amateur de ma nation & zelateur de
sa gloire, ie ne puis moins que de luy faire part de ce qui la
touche, & qui sans doute l'époinçonnera quand elle entendra que
le nom de Iesus-Christ est annoncé és terres d'outre mer qui
portent le nom de France. Mais particulierement cela regarde vôtre
Majesté, laquelle sur ces nouvelles a rendu vn temoignage du grand
contentement_ [iv] _qu'elle en avoit. La Chrétienté doit ceci au
courage & à la pieté du Sieur de Poutrincourt, qui ne peut viure
oisif parmi la trãquillité en laquelle nous vivons par le benefice
du feu Roy vôtre Epoux. Mais (MADAME) si vous desirez bien-tot
voir cet oeuvre avancé, il faut que vous y mettiez la main. Donnez
luy des ailes pour voler sur les eaux, & penetrer si avant dans
les terres de delà, que jusques a l'extremité où l'Occident se
joint à l'Orient, tout lieu retentisse du nom de la France. Ie
sçay qu'il ne manque de volonté & fidelité au service du Roy & de
vôtre Majesté, pour faire (apres ce qui est de Dieu) que vous soyés
obeis par tout le monde. Et pour mon regard en tout ce que i'ay
iamais travaillé, ie me suis efforcé de bien meriter du Roy & du
public, ausquels i'ay dedié mes labeurs._ [v] _S'il m'en arrive
quelque fruit, ie le dedieray volontiers, & tout ce que Dieu m'a
donné d'industrie, à l'accroissement de cette entreprise, & à ce
qui regardera le bien de vôtre service. Cependant ayez (MADAME)
agreable ce petit discours evangelique (c'est à dire portant bonnes
nouvelles) que publie à la France souz vôtre bon plaisir, MADAME,
de vôtre Majesté le tres-humble, tres-obeïssant, & tres-fidele
serviteur & sujet_,
_MARC LESCARBOT_.
[iii] To the Queen.[1]
_MADAME_,
_God having created me a lover of my country and zealous for its
glory, I cannot do less than impart to it whatever affects its
interests; and so doubtless it will be greatly encouraged by the
tidings that the name of Jesus Christ has been proclaimed in the
lands beyond the sea, which bear the name of France. But this news
is of especial interest to your Majesty, who, upon hearing it, gave
evidence of your great satisfaction_ [iv] _therein._
_The Christian World owes this event to the courage and piety
of Sieur de Poutrincourt,[2] who cannot lead a life of idleness
amid the peaceful prosperity in which we live through the favor
of the deceased King, your Husband. But (MADAME), if you wish to
see immediate advancement in this work, you must lend a helping
hand. Give it wings to fly over the seas, and to penetrate so far
into the lands beyond that, even to the uttermost parts where the
West unites with the East, every place may resound with the name
of France. I know that there is no lack of good-will and loyalty
in the service of the King and of your Majesty, to the end that
(after what is due to God) you may be obeyed by all mankind. And
as for me, in all that I have ever done, I have endeavored to
merit the esteem of the King and of the public, to whom I have
dedicated my labors._ [v] _If I gather any fruit therefrom, I shall
willingly consecrate it, and all the energy God has given me, to
the enlargement of this enterprise and to whatever may concern
the welfare of your service. Meanwhile, be pleased (MADAME) to
accept this little gospel narrative (gospel, because bringing good
tidings), which is published in France under your good pleasure,
MADAME, by your Majesty's very humble, very obedient and very
faithful servant and subject_,
_MARC LESCARBOT.[3]_
[vi] Extraict du Priuilege du Roy.
PAR grace & priuilege du Roy, il est permis à Iean Millot Marchant
Libraire en la ville de Paris, d'imprimer, ou faire imprimer,
vendre & distribuer par tout nostre Royaume tant de fois qu'il luy
plaira, en telle forme ou caractere que bon luy semblera, vn liure
intitulé LA CONVERSION DES SAVVAGES composé par MARC LESCARBOT
Advocat en la Cour de Parlement. Et ce jusques au temps & terme de
six ans finis & accomplis, à compter du jour que ledit livre sera
achevé d'imprimer. Pendant lequel temps defences sont faictes à
tous Imprimeurs, Libraires, & autres de quelque estat, qualité,
ou condition qu'ils soient, de non imprimer, vendre, contrefaire,
ou alterer ledit liure, ou aucune partie d'iceluy, sur peine de
confiscation des ex[~e]plaires, & de quinze cens livres d'amende
appliquable moitié à nous, & moitié aux pauvres de L'hostel Dieu
de cette ville de Paris, & despens dommages, & interests dudit
exposant: Nonobstant toute clameur de Haro, Chartre Normande,
Privileges, lettres ou autres appellations & oppositions formees à
ce contraires faictes ou a faire. Donné à Paris le neufiesme iour
de Septembre l'an de grace 1610. Et de nostre regne le premier.
Par le Roy en son Conseil.
Signé, BRIGARD.
[vi] Extract from the Royal License.
BY the grace and prerogative of the King, permission is granted
to Jean Millot, Bookseller in the city of Paris, to print or to
have printed, to sell and distribute throughout all our Kingdom,
as often as he may desire, in such form or character as he may see
fit, a book, entitled: THE CONVERSION OF THE SAVAGES, composed by
MARC LESCARBOT, Counsellor in the Court of Parliament. And this to
remain valid until the expiration of six complete years, counting
from the day on which the printing of said book shall be finished.
During said period of time all Printers, Booksellers, and other
persons of whatsoever rank, quality, or condition are prohibited
from publishing, selling, imitating, or changing said book or any
part thereof, under penalty of confiscation of the copies, and of
fifteen hundred livres fine, one-half of which is to be paid to
us, and one-half to the poor of the town hospital in this city
of Paris, together with the costs, damages, and interests of the
aforesaid petitioner: notwithstanding all cries of Haro, Norman
Charter,[4] Licenses, letters, or other appeals and counter-claims,
opposed to this now or in future. Given at Paris on the ninth day
of September, in the year of grace, 1610, and in the first of our
reign.
By the King in Council.
Signed, BRIGARD.
[7] La Conversion des Sauvages qui ont esté baptisez en la
Nouuelle-France, cette annee 1610.
[_Matth._ 24. _vers._ 14.]
LA parole immuable de nôtre Sauveur Iesus-Christ nous temoigne par
l'organe de sainct Matthieu que _l'Euangile du royaume des cieux sera
annoncé par tout le monde, pour estre en temoignage à toutes nations,
avant que la consommation vienne_. Nous scavons par les histoires que
la voix des Apôtres a eclaté par tout le monde de deça dés il y a
plusieurs siecles passez, quoy qu'aujourd'hui les royaumes Chrétiens
en soient la moindre partie. Mais quant au nouveau monde decouvert
depuis environ six-vingts ans, nous n'auons aucun vestige que la
parole de Dieu y ait onques [8] esté annoncée avant ces derniers
temps, si ce n'est que nous voulions adjouter quelque foy à ce que
Iehan de Leri rapporte, que comme il racontoit vn jour aux Bresiliens
les grandes merveilles de Dieu en la creation du monde, & mysteres
de nôtre redemption, vn vieillart lui dit qu'il auoit oui dire à son
grand pere qu'autrefois vn homme barbu (or les Bresiliens ne le sont
point) estoit venu vers eux, & leur avoit dit choses semblables: mais
qu'on ne le voulut point écouter, & depuis s'estoi[~e]t entre-tuez &
mangez les vns les autres. Quant aux autres nations de dela quelques
vns ont bien quelque sourde nouvelle du deluge, & de l'immortalité
des ames, ensemble dela beatitude des bi[~e]vivans apres cette vie,
mais ils peuvent avoir retenu cette obscure doctrine de main en main
par tradition depuis le cataclisme vniversel qui avint au temps de
Noé. Reste donc à deplorer la miserable condition de ces peuples
qui occupent vne terre si grande, que le monde de deça ne vient en
comparaison avec elle, si nous comprenons la terre qui est outre le
detroit de Magellan dite, [9] _Terra del fugo_, tant en son etenduë
vers la Chine, & le Iapan, que vers la Nouvelle Guinée: comme aussi
celle qui est outre la grande riviere de Canada, qui s'estend vers
l'Orient & est baignée de la grande mer Occidentale. Toutes lesquelles
contrees sont en vne miserable ignorance, & n'y a point d'apparence
qu'elles aient onques eu le v[~e]t de l'Evangile, sinon qu'en ce
dernier siecle l'Hespagnol parmi la cruauté & l'avarice y a apporté
quelque lumiere de la religion Chrétienne. Mais cela est si peu
de chose, qu'on n'en peut pas faire si grand estat qu'il pourroit
sembler, d'autant que par la confession méme de ceux qui en ont écrit
les histoires ils ont preque tué tous les naturels du païs, & en fait
nombre vn certain historien, de plus de vingt millions, dés il y a
soixante dix ans. L'Anglois depuis vingt-cinq ans a pris pié en vne
terre qui git entre la Floride, & le païs des Armouchiquois, laquelle
terre a esté appellée Virginie en l'honneur de la defuncte Royne
d'Angleterre. Mais cette nation fait ses affaires si secretement, que
peu de gens en sçauent de [10] nouvelles certaines. Peu apres que i'eu
publié mon Histoire de la Nouvelle France on fit vn embarquem[~e]t
de huit cens hommes pour y envoyer. Il n'est point mention qu'ils se
soient lavé les mains au sang de ces peuples. En quoy ils ne sont ni
à loüer, ni à blamer: car il n'y a aucune loy, ni aucun pretexte,
qui permette de tuer qui que ce soit, & méme ceux des biens desquelz
nous-nous emparons. Mais ils sont à priser s'ils montrent à ces
pauvres ignorans le chemin de salut par la vraye & non fardée doctrine
Evangelique. Quant à noz François ie me suis assez plaint en madite
Histoire de la poltronnerie du temps d'aujourd'huy, & du peu de zele
que nous avons soit à redresser ces pauvres errans, soit à faire que
le nom de Dieu soit coneu exalté & glorifié en ces terres d'outre mer,
où jamais il ne le fut. Et toutefois nous voulons que cela porte le
nom de France, nom tant auguste & venerable, que nous ne pouvons sans
honte nous glorifier d'vne France qui n'est point Chrétienne. Ie sçay
qu'il ne manque pas de gens de bõne volonté pour y aller. Mais pourquoy
[11] l'Eglise, qui possede tant de biens; mais pourquoy les Grands,
qui sont tant de depenses superflues, ne financent-ilz quelque chose
pour l'execution d'vn si sainct oeuvre? Deux Gentils-hommes pleins
de courage en ces derniers t[~e]ps se sont trouvez zelés à ceci, les
Sieurs de Monts, & de Poutrincourt, lesquels à leurs dépens se sont
enervés, & ont fait plus que leurs forces ne pouvoient porter. L'vn
& l'autre ont continué jusques à present leurs voyages. Mais l'vn a
esté deceu par deux fois, & est tombé en grand interest pour s'estre
rendu trop credule aux paroles de quelques vns. Or d'autant que les
dernieres nouvelles que nous avons de nôtre Nouvelle-France viennent
de la part du Sieur de Poutrincourt, nous dirons ici ce qui est de son
fait: & avons iuste sujet d'exalter son courage, entant que ne pouvant
viure parmi la tourbe des hommes oisifs, dont nous n'abondons que
trop; & voyant nôtre France comme languir au repos d'vn calme ennuieux
aux hõmes de travail: apres avoir en mille occasions fait preuve de
sa valeur depuis vingt quatre ans ença; il a voulu coroner [12] ses
labeurs vrayement Herculeens par la cause de Dieu, pour laquelle
il employe ses moyens & ses forces, & va hazardant sa vie, pour
accroitre le nombre des citoyens des cieux, & amener à la bergerie de
Iesus-Christ nôtre souverain Pasteur, les brebis egarées, lesquelles il
seroit bien-seant aux Prelats de l'Eglise d'aller recuillir (du moins
contribuer à cet effect) puis qu'ils en ont le moyen. Mais avec combien
de travaux s'est-il employé jusques ici à cela? Voici la troisieme
fois qu'il passe le grand Ocean pour parvenir à ce but. La premiere
année se passa avec le sieur de Monts à chercher vne demeure propre &
vn port asseuré pour la retraite des vaisseaux & des hommes. Ce qui
ne succeda pas bien. La seconde année fut employée à la mesme chose,
& lors il estoit en France. En la troisieme nous fimes epreuve de la
terre, laquelle nous rendit abondamment le fruict de nôtre culture:
Cette annee icy voyant par vne mauvaise experience que les hommes sont
trompeurs, il ne s'est plus voulu attendre à autre qu'à luy-méme, &
[s']est mis en mer le 26. Fevrier, ayant eu [13] temps fort contraire
en sa navigation, laquelle a esté la plus longue dont i'aye jamais ouï
parler. Certes la nôtre nous fut fort ennuieuse il y a trois ans, ayans
esté vagabons l'espace de deux mois & demi sur la mer avant qu'arriver
au Port Royal. Mais en cette-ci ils ont esté trois mois entiers. De
sorte qu'vn indiscret se seroit mutiné jusques à faire de mauvaises
conspirations: toutesfois la benignité dudit Sieur de Poutrincourt &
le respect du lieu où il demeuroit à Paris, lui ont serui de bouclier
pour luy garentir la vie. [_Terrir, c'est à dire decouvrir la terre._]
La premiere côte où territ iceluy Sieur de Poutrincourt fut au port au
Mouton. De là parmi les brouïllas qui sont fort frequens le long de
l'Eté en cette mer, il se trouva en quelques perils, principalement
vers le Cap de Sable, où son vaisseau pensa toucher sur les brisans.
[_Hist. de la Nouvelle-France liv._ 2. _chap._ 37. _p._ 527.] Depuis
voulant gaigner le Port Royal, il fut porté par la violence des vents
quarante lieuës par-dela, c'est à sçavoir à la riviere de Norombega
tant celebrée & fabuleusement décrite par les Geographes & Historiens,
ainsi que i'ay monstré en madite Histoire, là où se pourra voir cette
navigation par la Table geographique [14] que i'y ay mise. De-là il
vint à la riviere sainct Iehan qui est vis à vis du Port Royal pardela
la Baye Françoise, où il trouva vn navire de S. Malo, qui troquoit avec
les Sauvages du païs. Et là il eut plainte d'vn Capitaine Sauvage qu'vn
dudit navire lui auoit ravi sa femme, & en abusoit: dont ledit Sieur
fit informer, & print celui là prisonnier, & le navire aussi. Mais il
laissa aller ledit navire & les matelots se contentant de garder le
malfaiteur: lequel neantmoins s'evada dans vne chaloupe & se retira
avec les Sauvages, les detournant de l'amitié des François, comme nous
dirons ci-apres. En fin arriués audit Port Royal il ne se peut dire
avec combien de ioye ces pauvres peuples receurent ledit Sieur & sa
compagnie. Et de verité le sujet de cette ioye estoit d'autant plus
grand qu'ils n'avoient plus d'esperance de voir les François habiter
aupres d'eux, desquels ils auoient ressenti les courtoisies lors que
nous y estions, dont se voyans priués, aussi pleuroient ils à chaudes
larmes quand nous partimes de là il y a trois ans. En ce Port Royal est
la demeure [15] dudict sieur de Poutrincourt, le plus beau sejour que
Dieu ait formé sur la terre, remparé d'un rang de 12 ou 15. lieuës de
montagnes du côté du Nort, sur lesquelles bat le Soleil tout le iour: &
de cotaux au côte du Su, ou Midi: lequel au reste peut contenir vingt
milles vaisseaux en asseurance, ayant vingt brasses de profond à son
entrée, vne lieuë & demie de large, & quatre de long jusques à vne ile
qui a vne lieuë Françoise de circuit: dans lequel i'ay veu quelquefois
à l'aise noüer vne moyenne Baleine, qui venoit auec le flot à huict
heures au matin par chacun jour. Au reste dans ce port se peche en la
saison grande quantité de harens, d'eplans, (ou eperlans) sardines,
bars, moruës, loups-marins, & autre poissons: & quant aux coquillages,
on y recueille force houmars, crappes, palourdes, coques, moules,
escargots, & chatagines de mer. Mais qui voudra aller au dessus du
flot de la mer il pechera en la riviere force eturgeons & saumons, à
la dessaicte desquels il y a vn singulier plaisir. Or pour reprendre
nôstre fil, le Sieur de Poutrincourt arrivé [6 i.e. 16] là a trouvé
ses batimens tout entiers sans que les Sauvages (ainsi a-on appellé
ces peuples là iusques à maintenant) y eussent touché en aucune façon,
ny méme aux meubles qu'on y avoit laissé. Et soucieux de leurs vieux
amis ils demandoient comme vn chacun d'eux se portoit, les nommant
particulierement par leurs noms communs, & demandans pourquoy tels &
tels n'y estoient retournez. Ceci demontre vne grãde debõnaireté en
ce peuple, lequel aussi ayant en nous reconu toute humanité, ne nous
fuit point; comme il fait l'Hespagnol en tout ce grand monde nouveau.
Et consequemment par vne douceur & courtoisie, qui leur est aussi
familiere qu'à nous, il est aisé de les faire plier à tout ce que l'on
voudra, & particulierement pour ce qui touche le point de la Religion,
de laquelle nous leur avions baillé de bonnes impressiõs lors que nous
estions aupres d'eux, & ne desiroient pas mieux que de se ranger souz
la banniere de Iesus-Christ: à quoy ils eussent esté receuz dés lors,
si nous eussions eu vn pié ferme en la terre. Mais comme nous pensions
continuer, [17] avint que le sieur de Monts ne pouvant plus fournir à
la depense, & le Roy ne l'assistant point, il fut contraint de revoquer
tous ceux qui estoient pardelà, lesquels n'avoient porté les choses
necessaires à vne plus longue demeure. Ainsi c'eust esté temerité
& folie de conferer le baptéme à ceux qu'il eust fallu par apres
abandonner, & leur donner sujet de retourner à leur vomissement. Mais
maintenant que c'est à bon escient, & que ledit sieur de Poutrincourt
fait pardelà sa demeure actuelle, il est loisible de leur imprimer le
charactere Chrétien sur le front & en l'ame, apres les avoir instruit
és principaux articles de nôtre Foy. [_Aux Hebr._ 11. _vers._ 6.] Ce
qu'a eu soin de faire ledit Sieur, sachant ce que dit l'Apôtre, que
_celuy qui s'approche de Dieu doibt croire que Dieu est_: & apres cette
croyance, peu à peu on vient aux choses qui sont plus eloignées du sens
commun, comme de croire que d'vn rien Dieu ait fait toutes choses,
qu'il se soit fait homme, qu'il soit nay d'vne Vierge, qu'il ait voulu
mourir pour l'homme, &c. Et d'autant que les hommes Ecclesiastics qui
ont esté portés pardelà ne sont encore [18] instruits en la langue
de ces peuples, ledit Sieur a pris la peine de les instruire & les
faire instruire par l'organe de son fils ainé jeune Gentilhomme qui
entend & parle fort bien ladite langue, & qui s[~e]ble estre né pour
leur ouvrir le chemin des cieux. Les hommes qui sont au Port Royal, &
terres adjacentes tirant vers la Terre-neuve, s'appellent Souriquois,
& ont leur langue propre. Mais passée la Baye Françoise, qui a environ
40. lieuës de profond dans les terres, & 10. ou 12. lieuës de large,
les hommes de l'autre part s'appellent Etechemins, & plus loin sont
les Armouchiquois peuple distingué de langage de ceux-ci, & lequel
est heureux en quãtité de belles vignes & gros raisins, s'il sçavoit
conoitre l'vtilité de ce fruit, lequel (ainsi que nos vieux Gaullois)
il pense estre poison. [_Ammian Marcellin._] Il a aussi de la chãve
excellente que la nature lui donne, laquelle en beauté and bõté passe
de beaucoup la nôtre: & outre ce le Sassafras, force chenes, noyers,
pruniers, chataigniers, & autres fruits qui ne sont venus à nôtre
conoissance. Quant au Port Royal ie veux confesser qu'il n'y a pas
[19] tant de fruits: & neantmoins la terre y est plantureuse pour y
esperer tout ce que la France Gaulloise nous produit. Tous ces peuples
se gouvernent par Capitaines qu'ils appellent Sagamos, mot qui est
pris és Indes Orientales en méme signification, ainsi que i'ay leu
en l'histoire de Maffeus, & lequel i'estime venir du mot Hebrieu
_Sagan_, qui signifie Grand Prince, selon Rabbi David, & quelquefois
celui qui tient le second lieu apres le souverain Pontife. [_Esai._
41. _vers._ 25, _Ierem._ 51. _vers._ 23. _Santes Pagnin_, 9.] En
la version ordinaire de la Bible il est pris pour le Magistrat: &
neantmoins là méme les interpretes Hebrieux le tourn[~e]t Prince.
Et de fait nous lisons dans Berose que Noé fut appellé Saga tant
pour ce qu'il estoit grand Prince, que pour ce qu'il avoit enseigné
la Theologie, & les ceremonies du service divin, avec beaucoup de
secrets, des choses natureles, aux Scytes Armeniens, que les anciens
Cosmographes appellerent Sages du nom de Noé. Et paraventure pour
cette méme consideration ont esté appellés nos Tectosages, qui sont
les Tolosains. Car ce bon pere restaurateur du monde vint en Italie,
& envoya [20] repeupler les Gaulles apres le Deluge, donnant son nom
de Gaulois (car Xenophon dit qu'il fut aussi appellé de ce nom) à ceux
qu'il y envoya, par ce qu'il avoit esté echappé des eaux. Et n'est
pas inconvenient que lui-méme n'ait imposé le nom aux Tectosages.
Revenons à nôtre mot de Sagamos lequel est le tiltre d'honneur des
Capitaines en ces Terres neuves dont nous parlons. Au Port Royal le
Capitaine, ou Sagamos dudit lieu s'appelle en son nom Membertou. Il
est âgé de cent ans pour le moins, & peut naturellement vivre encore
plus de cinquante. Il a sous soy plusieurs familles, ausquelles il
commande, non point avec tant d'authorité que fait nôtre Roy sur ses
sujets, mais pour haranguer, donner conseil, marcher à la guerre, faire
raison à celui qui reçoit quelque injure, & choses s[~e]blables. Il
ne met point d'impost sur le peuple. Mais s'il y a de la chasse il
en a sa part sans qu'il soit tenu d'y aller. Vray est qu'on lui fait
quelquefois des presens de peaux de Castors, ou autre chose, quand il
est employé pour la guerison de quelque malade, ou pour interroger [21]
son dæmon (qu'il appelle _Aoutem_) afin d'auoir nouvelle de quelque
chose future, ou absente: car chaque village, ou compagnie de Sauvages,
ayant vn _Aoutmoin_, c'est à dire Devin, qui fait cet office, Membertou
est celui qui de grande ancienneté à prattiqué cela entre ceux parmi
lesquels il a conversé. Si bien qu'il est en credit pardessus tous les
autres Sagamos du païs, aiãt dés sa jeunesse esté grand Capitaine, &
parmi cela exercé l'office de Devin & de Medecin, qui sont les trois
choses plus efficaces à obliger les hommes, & à se rendre necessaire
en ceste vie humaine. Or ce Membertou aujourd'huy par la grace de Dieu
est Chrétien avec toute sa famille, aiant esté baptizé, & vingt autres
apres lui, le jour sainct Iehan dernier 24. Iuin. I'en ay lettres dudit
Sieur de Poutrincourt en datte du vnzieme jour de Iuillet ensuivant.
Ledit Membertou a esté nommé du nom de nôtre feu bon Roy HENRY IIII.
& son fils ainé du nom de Monseigneur le Dauphin aujourd'huy nôtre
Roy LOVIS XIII. que Dieu benie. Et ainsi consequemment la femme de
Membertou a [22] esté nommée MARIE du nom de la Royne Regente, & à sa
fille a esté imposé le nom de la Roine MARGVERITE. Le second fils de
Membertou dit Actaudin fut nommé PAVL du nom de nôtre sainct Pere le
Pape de Rome. La fille du susdit Louis eut nom CHRISTINE en l'honneur
de Madame la soeur ainee du Roy. Et consequemment à chacun fut imposé
le nom de quelque illustre, ou notable personnage de deça. Plusieurs
autres Sauvages estoient lors allez cabanner ailleurs (comme c'est
leur coutume de se disperser par bendes quand l'esté est venu) lors
de ces solennitez de regeneration Chrétienne, lesquels nous estimons
estre aujourd'huy enrollés en la famille de Dieu par le méme lavem[~e]t
du sainct bapteme. Mais le diable, qui iamais ne dort, en ceste
occurrence ici a témoigné la jalousie qu'il avoit du salut annoncé à
ce peuple, & de voir que le nom de Dieu fust glorifié en cette terre:
ayant suscité vn mauvais François, non François, mais Turc: non Turc,
mais Athée, pour detourner du sentier de salut plusieurs Sauvages qui
estoient Chrétiens en leur ame & de [23] volonté dés il y a trois ans:
& entre autres vn Sagamos nommé ChKoudun homme de grand credit, duquel
i'ay fait honorable m[~e]tion en mon Histoire de la Nouvelle-Frãce,
par ce que je l'ay veu sur tous autres aymer les François, & qu'il
admiroit nos inventions au pris de leur ignorance: mémes que s'estant
quelquefois trouvé aux remontrances Chrétiennes qui se faisoient par-de
là à noz Frãçois par chacun Dimanche, il s'y rendoit attentif, encores
qu'il n'y ent[~e]dist rien: & davantage avoit pendu devant sa poitrine
le signe de la Croix, lequel il faisoit aussi porter à ses domestics
& avoit à nôtre imitation planté vne grande Croix en la place de son
village dit _Oigoudi_, sur le port de la riuiere sainct Iehan, à dix
lieuës du port Royal. Or cet homme avec les autres, a esté détourné
d'estre Chrétien par l'avarice maudite de ce mauvais François que
i'ay touché ci-dessus, lequel ie ne veux nõmer pour cette heure pour
l'amour & reverence que ie porte à son pere, mais avec protestation de
l'eterniser s'il ne s'amende. Celui-là, di-ie, pour attraper quelques
Castors de ce Sagamos [24] ChKoudun, l'alla en Iuin dernier suborner,
apres s'estre euadé des mains dudit Sieur de Poutrincourt, disãt que
tout ce qu'icelui Poutrincourt leur disoit de Dieu n'estoit rien qui
vaille, qu'il ne le falloit point croire, & que c'estoit vn abuseur, &
qu'il les feroit mourir pour avoir leurs Castors. Ie laisse beaucoup
de mechans discours qu'il peut avoir adjouté à cela. S'il estoit de la
Religion de ceux qui se disent Reformez ie l'excuserois aucunement:
mais il mõtre bien qu'il n'est ni de l'vne, ny de l'autre. Si diray-ie
toutefois qu'il a sujet de remercier Dieu du dãger où il s'est veu en
nôtre voiage. Ce Sagamos pouvoit estant Chrétien en r[~e]dre bon nombre
semblables à lui, à son imitation. Mais ie veux esperer, ou plustot
croire pour certain qu'il ne demeurera plus gueres long t[~e]ps en cet
erreur, & que ledit Sieur aura trouvé moyen de l'attirer (avec beaucoup
d'autres) pres de soy, pour luy imprimer derechef les vives persuasions
dont il luy avoit autrefois touché l'ame en ma presence. Car l'esprit
de Dieu est puissant pour faire tõber sur ce champ vne nouvelle rousee,
qui fera regermer ce que la grele a desseché & abbatu. Dieu vueille par
sa grace conduire le tout en sorte que la chose reüssisse à sa gloire
& à l'edification de ce peuple, pour lequel tous Chrétiens doivent
faire continuelles prieres à sa divine bonté, à ce qu'il lui plaise
confirmer & avancer l'oeuvre qu'il lui a pleu susciter en ce temps pour
l'exaltation de son nom, & le salut de ses creatures.
FIN.
[25] Il y a pardela des hommes d'Eglise de bon sçavoir que le seul
zele de la Religion y a porté, lesquels ne manqueront de faire tout ce
que la pieté requerra en ce regard. Or quant à present il n'est pas
besoin de ces Docteurs sublimes, qui peuvent estre plus vtiles pardeça
à combattre les vices & les heresies. Ioint qu'il y a certaine sorte
de gens desquels on ne se peut pas bien asseurer faisans métier de
censurer tout ce qui ne vient à leurs maximes, & voulans commander par
tout. Il suffit d'estre veillé au dehors sans avoir de ces epilogueurs
qui considerent tous les mouvemens de vôtre corps & de vôtre coeur
pour en faire regitres, desquels les plus grands Rois mémes ne se
peuv[~e]t defendre. Et puis, que serviroi[~e]t pardela tãt de gens de
cette sorte, quãt à present, si ce n'est qu'ils voulussent s'addonner
à la culture de la terre? Car ce n'est pas tout que d'aller là. Il
faut considerer ce que l'on y fera y estant arrivé. Pour ce qui est
de la demeure du Sieur de Poutrincourt il s'est fourni au depart de
ce qui lui estoit necessaire. Mais s'il prenoit envie à quelques gens
de bien d'y [26] avancer l'Evangile, ie seroy d'avis qu'ils fissent
cinq ou six bandes, avec chacun vn navire bien equippé, & qu'ils
allassent planter des colonies en diverses places de ces quartiers
là, comme à Tadoussac, Gachepé, Campseau, la Héve, Oigoudi, Saincte
Croix, Pemptegoet, KinibeKi, & autres endroits où sont les assemblées
de Sauvages, lesquels il faut que le temps ameine à la Religion
Chrétienne: si ce n'est qu'vn grand Pere de famille tel que le Roy
en vueille avoir la gloire totale, & face habiter ces lieux. Car d'y
penser vivre à leur mode i'estime cela estre hors de nôtre pouvoir.
[_Façon de vivre des Souriquois & Ethechemins._] Et pour le montrer,
leur façon de vivre est telle, que depuis la premiere terre (qui est
la Terre-neuve) insques aux Armouchiquois, qui sont pres de trois cens
lieuës, les hommes vivent vagabons, sans labourage, n'estans iamais
plus de cinq ou six semaines en vn lieu. Pline à fait mention de
certains peuples dits Ichthyophages, c'est à dire Mangeurs de poissons,
viuans de cela. Ceux ci sont tout de méme les trois parts de l'année.
Car venant le Print[~e]ps ils se divisent par troupes sur les rives
de mer insques à [27] l'Hiver, lequel venãt, par ce que le poissõ se
retire au fond des grandes eaux salées, ilz cherchent les lacs & ombres
des bois, où ilz pechent les Castors, dont ilz viv[~e]t, & d'autres
chasses, comme Ellans, Caribous, Cerfs, & autres animaux moindres que
ceux-lá. Et neantmoins quelquefois, en Eté méme ilz ne laissent point
de chasser: & d'ailleurs ont infinie quantité d'oyseaux en certaines
iles és mois de May, Iuin, Iuillet, & Aoust. [_le coucher._] Quant à
leur coucher, vne peau etendue sur la terre leur sert de matelas. Et
en cela n'avons dequoy nous mocquer d'eux, par ce que noz vieux peres
Gaullois en faisoient de méme, & dinoi[~e]t aussi sur des peaux de
chiens & de loups, si Diodore & Strabon disent vray. [_Armouchiquois._]
Mais quant au pais des Armouchiquois & Iroquois, il y a plus grande
moisson à faure pour ceux qui sont poussez d'vn zele religieux, par
ce que le peuple y est beaucoup plus frequent, & cultive la terre,
de laquelle il retire vn grand soulagement de vie. Vray est qu'il
n'entent pas bien la façõ de faire le pain, n'ayant les inventiõs des
moulins, ni du levain, ni des fours; ains broye son blé en certaine
façon de [28] mortiers, & l'empâte au mieux qu'il peut pour le faire
cuire entre deux pierres echauffées au feu: ou bien rotit ledit blé en
epic sur la braise, ainsi que faisoient les vieux Romains, au dire de
Pline. [_Plin. liv._ 18. _chap._ 2. _&_ 10.] Depuis on trouva le moyen
de faire des gateaux souz la cendre: & depuis encore les boulengers
trouverent la façon des fours. Or ces peuples cultivans la terre sont
arretés, ce que les autres ne sont point, n'ayans rien de propre, tels
qu'estoient les Allemans au temps de Tacite, lequel a décrit leurs
anciennes façons de vivre. [_Iroquois._] Plus avant dans les terres
au dessus des Armouchiquois sont les Iroquois peuples aussi arretés,
par-ce qu'ilz cultivent la terre, d'où ils recueillent du blé mahis
(ou Sarazin) dés féves, des bõnes racines, & bref tout ce que nous
avons dit du pays desdits Armouchiquois, voire encore plus, car par
necessité ilz vivent de la terre, estans loin de la mer. Neantmoins ils
ont vn grand lac d'étendue merveilleuse, comme d'environ 60. lieuës,
à lentour duquel ils sont cabãnés. Dans ledit lac il y a des iles
belles & grandes, habitées desdits Iroquois, qui sont vn grand peuple,
& plus on va [29] avant dans les terres plus on les trouve habitées:
[_Nouveau Mexique._] si bien que (s'il en faut croire les Hespagnols)
au pays dit le Nouveau Mexique bien loin pardela lesdits Iroquois, en
tirant au Suroüest, il y a des villes baties, & des maisons à trois &
quatre etages: méme du bestial privé: d'où ils ont appellé vne certaine
riviere _Rio de las Vaccas_, La riviere des Vaches, pour y en avoir
veu en grand nombre paturer le lõg de la riviere. [_Grand lac outre
Canada._] Et est-ce pays directement au Nort à plus de cinq cens lieuës
du vieil Mexique, avoisinant, comme ie croy, l'extremité du grand lac
de la riviere de Canada, lequel (selon le rapport des Sauvages) a
trente journées de long. Ie croiroy que des hommes robustes & bien
composés pourroient vivre parmi ces peuples là, & faire grand fruit
à l'avancement de la Religion Chrétienne. Mais quant aux Souriquois,
& Etechemins, qui sont vagabons & divisés, il les faut assembler par
la culture de la terre, & obliger par ce moyen à demeurer en vn lieu.
Car quiconque a pris la peine de cultiver vne terre il ne la quitte
point aisement. Il cõbat pour la conserver de tout son courage. [30]
Mais ie trouve ce dessein de longue execution si nous n'y allons
d'autre zele, & si vn Roy ou riche Prince ne prent cette cause en main,
laquelle certes est digne d'vn royaume tres-Chrétien. [_Conquete de la
Palestine comparee à celle de la Nouvelle-France._] On a jadis fait
tant de depenses & pertes d'hommes à la reconqueste de la Palestine, à
quoy on a peu proufité: & aujourd'hui à peu de frais on pourroit faire
des merveilles, & acquerir infinis peuples à Dieu sans coup ferir: &
nous sommes touchés d'vne ie ne sçay quelle lethargie en ce qui est du
zele religieux qui bruloit noz peres anciennement. Si on n'esperoit
aucun fruit temporel en ceci ie pardonnerois à l'imbecillité humaine.
Mais il y a de si certaines esperances d'vne bõne vsure, qu'elles
ferment la bouche à tous les ennemis de ce pays là, lesquels le
decrient afin de ne perdre la traite des Castors & autres pelleteries
dont ils vivent, & sans cela mourroyent de faim, ou ne sçauroient à
quoy s'employer. [_Au Roy & à la Royne._] Que s'il plaisoit au Roy,
& à la Royne Regente sa mere, en laquelle Dieu a allume vn brasier
de pieté, prendre goust à ceci (cõme certes elle a faict au rapport
de la Conversiõ des Sauvages baptizés par le [31] soin du Sieur de
Poutrincourt) & laisser quelque memoire d'elle, ou plustot s'asseurer
de la beatitude des cieux par cette action qui est toute de Dieu, on ne
peut dire quelle gloire à l'avenir ce lui seroit d'estre la premiere
qui auroit planté l'Evangile en de si grandes terres, qui (par maniere
de dire) n'ont point de bornes. Si Helene mere de l'Empereur Cõstantin
eust trouvé tant de sujet de bien-faire, elle eust beaucoup mieux
aimé edifier à Dieu des temples vivans que tant d'edifices de marbre
dont elle a rempli la terre saincte. Et au bout l'esperance de la
remuneration temporelle n'en est po[~i]t vaine. Car d'une part le Sieur
de Poutrincourt demeure toujours serviteur du Roy en la terre que sa
Maiesté luy a octroyée: en laquelle il seroit le rendezvous & support
de tant de vaisseaux qui vont tous les ans aux Terres neuves, où ilz
reçoivent mille incommodités, & en perit grand nombre, comme nous
avons veu & oui dire. [_Moyens pour aller aux Molucques par le Ponant
& le Nort._] Dailleurs penetrant dans les terres, nous pourrions nous
rendre familier le chemin de la Chine, & des Molucques par vn climat
& parallele t[~e]peré, en faisant quelques statiõs ou [32] demeures
au Saut de la grande riviere de Canada, puis aux lacs qui sont plus
outre, le dernier desquels n'est pas loin de la grande mer Occidentale,
par laquelle les Hespagnols vont aujourd'hui en l'Orient: Ou bien on
pouroit faire la méme entreprise par la riviere de Saguenay, outre
laquelle les Sauvages rapportent qu'il y a vne mer dont ilz n'ont veu
le bout, qui est sans doute ce passage par le Nort, lequel en vain l'on
a tant recherché. [_Vtilités._] De sorte que nous aurions des epices,
& autres drogues sans les mendier desdits Hespagnols, & demeureroit
és mains du Roy le proufit qu'il tire de nous sur ces denrées:
Laissant à part l'vtilité des cuirs, paturages, pecheries, & autres
biens. Mais il faut semer avant que recuillir. Par ces exercices on
occuperoit beaucoup de ieunesse Françoise, dont vne partie languit ou
de pauvreté, ou d'oisiveté: ou vont aux provinces etrangeres enseigner
les metiers qui nous estoient iadis propres & particuliers, au moyen
dequoy la France estoit remplie de biens, au lieu qu'aujourd'hui vne
longue paix ne l'a encore peu remettre en son premier lustre, tant
[33] pour la raison que dessus, que pour le nombre de gens oisifs, &
mendians valides & volontaires que le public nourrit. [_Chiquanerie._]
Entre lesquelles incommodités on pourrait mettre encore le mal de
la chiquanerie qui mange nostre nation, dõt elle a esté blamée de
tout temps. A quoy [_Ammiã Marcellin._] seroit aucunement obvié par
les frequ[~e]tes navigations: estant ainsi qu'une partie de ceux qui
plaident auroient plustot fait de conquester nouvelle terre, demeurans
en l'obeissance du Roy, que de poursuivre ce qu'ilz debattent avec
tant de ruines, longueurs, solicitudes, & travaux. Et en ce ie repute
heureux tous ces pauvres peuples que ie deplore ici. [_Felicité des
Sauvages._] Car la blafarde Envie ne les amaigrit po[~i]t ilz ne
ressentent point les inhumanités d'vn qui sert Dieu en torticoli, pour
souz cette couleur tourmenter les hommes; ilz ne sont point sujets au
calcul de ceux qui manquans de vertu & de bonté s'affublent d'vn faux
pretexte de pieté pour nourrir leur ambition. S'ilz ne conoissent point
Dieu, au moins ne le blasphement ilz point, comme font la pluspart des
Chretiens. Ilz ne sçavent que c'est d'empoisonner, ni de corrompre la
[34] chasteté par artifice diabolique. Il n'y a point de pauvres, ny
de mendians entre eux. Tous sont riches, entant que tous travaillent
& vivent. Mais entre nous il va bien autrement. Car il y en a plus de
la moitié qui vit du labeur d'autrui, ne faisant aucun metier qui soit
necessaire à la vie humaine. Que si ce païs là estoit etabli, tel y a
qui n'ose faire ici ce qu'il feroit là. [_Pour ceux qui vont en la N.
France._] Il n'ose point ici estre bucheron, laboureur, vigneron, &c.
par ce que sõ pere est chiquaneur, barbier, apothicaire &c. Et là il
oublieroit toutes ces aprehensions de reproche, & prendroit plaisir à
cultiver sa terre, ayant beaucoup de compagnons d'aussi bonne maison
que lui. Et cultiver la terre c'est le metier le plus innocent, & plus
certain, exercice de ceux de qui nous sommes tous descendus, & de ces
braves Capitaines Romains qui sçavoient domter & ne point estre domtés.
Mais depuis que la pompe & la malice se sont introduits parmi les
hommes, ce qui estoit vertu a tourné en reproche, & les faineans sont
venus en estime. [_A la Royne._] Or laissons ces gens là, & revenons au
Sieur de Poutrincourt, ains plustot a vous, ô Royne Tres-Chretienne,
[35] la plus grande, & plus cherie des cieux que l'oeil du monde voye
en la rõde qu'il fait chaque iour alentour de cet vnivers. Vous qui
avés le maniement du plus noble Empire dici bas, Quoy souffrirez vous
de voir vn Gentil-hõme de si bonne volonté sans l'employer & sans le
secourir? Voulez vous qu'il emporte la premiere gloire du monde par
dessus vous, & que le triomphe de cet affaire luy demeure sans que
vous y participiés? Non, non, Madame, il faut que le tout vous en soit
rapporté, & que cõme les etoilles empruntent leur lumiere du soleil,
aussi que du Roy & de vous qui nous l'avés dõné toutes les belles
actiõs des François dep[~e]dent. Il faut donc prevenir cette gloire, &
ne la ceder à autre, tandis que vous avés vn Poutrincourt bon François,
& qui a servi le feu Roy de regretable memoire vôtre Epoux (que Dieu
absolve) en des affaires d'Estat dont les histoires ne font mention.:
En haine dequoy sa maison & ses biens ont passé par l'examen du feu. Il
ne passe point l'Ocean pour voir le païs, comme ont fait préque tous
les autres qui ont entrepris de semblables navigations [36] aux dépens
de noz Roys. Mais il mõtre par effect quelle est son intentiõ, si bien
qu'on n'en peut point douter, & ne hazarderez rien maintenant quand
vôtre Majesté l'employera à bon escient à l'amplificatiõ de la religion
Chrétienne és terres Occidentales d'outre mer. Vous reconoissez son
zele, le vôtre est incomparable, mais il faut aviser où se pourra
mieux faire vôtre emploite. Ie louë les Princesses & Dames qui depuis
quinze ans ont dõné de leurs biens pour le repos de ceux ou celles qui
se veulent sequestrer du monde. Mais i'estime (sauf correction) que
leur pieté seroit plus illustre si elle se montroit envers ces pauvres
peuples Occidentaux qui gemissent, & dont le defaut d'instruction crie
vengeance à Dieu contre ceux qui les peuvent ayder à estre Chrétiens,
& ne le font pas. Vne Royne de Castille a esté cause que la religion
Chrétienne a esté portée és terres que tient l'Hespagnol en Occident:
faites ô lumiere des Roynes du monde, que par vous bientot on oye
eclater le nom de Dieu par tout ce monde nouveau où il n'est point
encore coneu. Or reprenant le fil de mõ [37] Histoire, puisque nous
avons parlé du voyage dudit Sieur de Poutrincourt, il ne sera point
hors de propos si apres avoir touché les incommodités & longueurs de sa
navigation, qui l'ont reculé d'vn an, nous disons vn mot du retour de
son vaisseau. Ce qui sera bref, d'autant qu'ordinairement sont bréves
les navigations qui se font des terres Occidentales en deça hors le
Tropique du Cancre. [_Liv. 1. ch._ 24. & _li._ 2. _ch._ 41. & 42.]
I'ay rendu la raison de cela en mon Histoire de la Nouvelle-France,
où ie renvoye le Lecteur: comme aussi pour sçavoir la raison pourquoy
en Eté la mer y est remplie de brumes en telle sorte que pour vn jour
serein il y en a deux de broüillas: & deux fois m'y suis trouvé parmi
des brumes de huict jours entiers. [_Que c'est ce Banc Voy la dite
Histoire liv._ 2. _chap._ 24.] Ceci e esté cause que ledit Sieur de
Poutrincourt renvoyant son fils en France pour faire nouvelle charge,
il a demeuré aussi long temps à gaigner le grand Banc aux Moruës
depuis le Port Royal, comme à gaigner la France depuis ledit Banc: &
toutefois depuis icelui Banc jusques à la terre de France il y a huit
cens bonnes lieuës: & de là méme jusques audit Port Royal il n'y en
a gueres [38] plus de trois cens. C'est sur ledit Banc qu'on trouve
ordinairement tout l'Eté force navires qui font la Pecherie des Moruës
qu'on apporte pardeça, lesquelles on appelle Moruës de Terre-neuve.
Ainsi le fils dudit Sieur de Poutrincourt (dit le Baron de Sainct
Iust) arrivãt audit Banc fit provision de viande freche, & pecherie
de poisson. [_La maniere de cette pecherie, voy au lieu sus-dit._] En
quoy faisant il eut en rencontre vn navire Rochelois & vn autre du
Havre de Grace, d'où il eut nouvelles de la mort lamentable de nôtre
defunct bon Roy, sans sçavoir par qui, ni comment. Mais apres eut en
rencontre vn autre navire Anglois, d'où il entendit la méme chose,
accusans du parricide des gens que ie ne veux ici nõmer: car ils le
disoient par haine & envie, n'ayans plus grans adversaires qu'eux.
[_En_ 15. _jours du Banc en France._] En quinze jours donc ledit
Sieur de Sainct Iust fut rendu dudit Banc en France, ayant toujours
eu vent en poupe: navigation certes beaucoup plus agreable que celle
du vingtsixieme de Février mentionnée-ci-dessus. Les gens du Sieur de
Monts partirent du Havre de Grace neuf ou dix jours apres ledit jour
26. Février pour aller à Kebec, 40. lieuës pardela [39] la riviere de
Saguenay, où icelui Sieur de Monts s'est fortifié. Mais ilz furent
contraints de relacher pour les mauvais vents. Et là dessus courut
vn bruit que le Sieur de Poutrincourt estoit peri en mer, & tout son
equipage. A quoy ie n'adjoutay onques foy, croyant pour certain que
Dieu l'aidera, & le fera passer par-dessus toutes difficultez. [_Kebec
Fort du Sieur de Monts._] Nous n'avons encore nouvelles dudit Kebec, &
en attendons bien-tot. Mais ie puis dire pour la verité que si jamais
quelque chose de bon reüssit de la Nouvelle-France la posterité en
aura de l'obligatiõ audit Sieur de Monts autheur de ces choses, auquel
si on n'eust point oté le privilege qui lui avoit esté baillé pour la
traite de Castors & autres pelleteries, aujourd'hui nous aurions force
bestiaux, arbres fruictiers, peuples, & batim[~e]s en ladite province.
Car il a desiré ardamment de voir pardela les affaires etablies à
l'honneur de Dieu & de la France. Et jaçoit qu'on lui ait oté le sujet
de continuer, si ne s'est il point decouragé jusques à present de
faire ce qu'il a peu, ayant fait batir vn Fort audit Kebec, avec des
logemens fort beaux & commodes. En ce lieu de Kebec cette [40] grande &
immense riviere de Canada est reduite à l'étroit, & n'a que la portée
d'vn fauconneau de large, abõdante en poissons autant que riviere du
monde. Pour le pays il est beau à merveilles, & abondant en chasse.
Mais estant en pays plus froid que le port Royal, assavoir quatre
vingtz lieuës plus au Nort, aussi la pelleterie y est elle beaucoup
plus belle. Car (entre autres) les Renars y sont noirs, & d'vn poil si
beau, qu'il semble faire honte à la Martre. Les Sauvages du Port Royal
y peuvent aller en dix ou douze jours par le moyen des rivieres sur
lesquelles ils navigent préque jusques à la source, & de là portans
leurs petits canots d'écorce par quelque espace dans les bois, ils
gaignent vne autre riviere qui va tomber dans ledit fleuve de Canada,
& ainsi expedient bien-tot de lõgs voyages: ce que de nous-mémes ne
sçaurions faire en l'etat qu'est le païs. Et par mer audit Kebec il
y a dudit Port Royal plus de quatre cens lieuës en allant par le Cap
Breton. Ledit Sieur de Monts y auoit envoyé des vaches dés il y a deux
ans & demi, mais faute de quelque femme de village qui entendist le
[41] gouvernement d'icelles, on en a laissé mourir la pluspart en se
dechargeant de leurs veaux. [_Femmes combien necessaires._] En quoy
se reconoit combien vne femme est necessaire en vne maison, laquelle
ie ne sçay pourquoy tant de gens rejettent, & ne s'en peuvent passer.
Quant à moy ie seray toujours d'auis qu'en quelque habitation que ce
soit on ne fera jamais fruit sans la compagnie des femmes. Sans elles
la vie est triste, les maladies viennent, & meurt on sans secours.
C'est pourquoy ie me mocque de ces mysogames qui leur ont voulu tant
de mal, & particulierement i'en veux à ce fol qu'on a mis au nombre
des sept Sages, lequel disoit que la femme est vn mal necessaire, veu
qu'il n'y a bien au monde comparable à elle. [_Ecclesi._ 4 _vers._ 10.]
Aussi Dieu la il baillée _pour compagne à l'homme, afin de l aider
& consoler_: & le Sage dit que _Malheureux est l'hõme qui est seul,
car il n'a personne qui l echauffe, & s'il tombe en la fosse il n'a
personne pour le relever_. Que s'il y a des femmes folles, il faut
estimer que les hommes ne sont point sãs faute. De ce defaut de vaches
plusieurs se sont ressentis, car estant tombés malades ilz n'ont pas
eu toutes les douceurs [42] qu'autrement ils eussent euës, & s'en sont
allez promener aux champs Elisées. [_Conspiration chatiee._] Vn autre
qui auoit esté de nôtre voyage, n'eut point la patience d'attendre
cela, & voulut gaigner le ciel par escalade dés le commencement de
son arrivée, par vne conspiration contre le sieur Champlein son
Capitaine. Les complices furent condemnés aux galeres, & ramenés en
France. [_Voyage aux Iroquois._] L'Eté venu assavoir il y a vn an,
ledit Champlein desireux de voir le païs des Iroquois, afin qu'en
son absence les Sauvages ne se saisissent point de son Fort, il leur
persuada d'aller là faire la guerre, & partirent avec lui & deux autres
François, en nõbre de quatre-vingts ou cent, iusques au lac desdits
Iroquois, à deux c[~e]s lieües loin dudit Kebec. [_Peuples ennemis._]
De tout temps il y a eu guerre entre ces deux nations, comme entre les
Souriquois & Armouchiquois: & se sont quelquefois elevés les Iroquois
jusques au nõbre de huit mille hommes, pour guerroyer & exterminer
tous ceux qui habitoient la grande riviere de Canada: comme il est
à croire qu'ils ont fait, d'autant que là n'est plus aujourd'hui le
langage qui s'y parloit au [43] temps de Iacques Quartier, qui y fut
il y a quatre-vingts ans. [_Guerre._] Ledit Champlein avec ses troupes
arrivé là, ilz ne se peurent si bien cacher qu'ilz ne fussent apperceuz
de ces peuples, qui ont toujours des sentinelles sur les avenües de
leurs ennemis: & s'estans les vns & les autres bien remparés, il fut
convenu entre eux de ne point combattre pour ce jour là, mais de
remettre l'affaire au lendemain. Le temps lors estoit serein: si bien
que l'Aurore n'eut point plutot chassé les ombres de la nuit, que la
rumeur s'emeût par tout le camp. Quelque enfant perdu des Iroquois
ayant voulu sortir de ses rempars, fut transpercé non d'un trait
d'Apollon, ou de l'Archerot aux yeux bendés, mais d'un vray trait
materiel & bien poignant qui le mit à la renverse. Là dessus, la colere
monte au front des offensés & chacun se met en ordre pour attaquer &
se defendre. Comme la troupe des Iroquois s'avançoit, Champlein qui
avoit chargé son mousquet à deux balles, voyant deux Iroquois marcher
devant avec des panaches sur la tête, se douta que c'estoient deux
Capitaines, & voulut s'avancer [44] pour les mirer. Mais les Sauvages
de Kebec l'empecherent, disans: Il n'est pas bon qu'ilz te voyent,
car incontinent, n'ayans point accoutumé de voir telles gens, ilz
s'en fuiront. Mais retire toy derriere le premier rang des nôtres, &
puis quand nous serons prets, tu devanceras. Ce qu'il fit: & par ce
moyen furent les deux Capitaines tout ensemble emportés d'vn coup de
mousquet. [_Victorie._] Lors victoire gaignée. Car chacun se debende,
& ne restoit qu'à poursuivre. [_Tabagie, c'est fest[~i]._] Ce qui fut
fait avec peu de resistance, & emporterent environ cinquante têtes de
leurs ennemis, dont au retour ilz firent de merveilleuses fêtes en
Tabagies, danses, & chansons continuelles, selon leur coutume.
[7] The Conversion of the Savages who have been baptized in New France
during this year, 1610.
[_Matth. 24, verse 14._]
THE unchangeable word of our Savior Jesus Christ bears witness to us
through the lips of saint Matthew that _This Gospel of the kingdom,
shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations,
and then shall the consummation come_. History shows that the voice
of the Apostles has resounded for several centuries past throughout
all the old world, although to-day the Christian kingdoms form the
smallest part of it. But as to the new world, discovered some hundred
and twenty years ago, we have no proof that the word of God has ever
[8] been proclaimed there prior to these later times; unless we are to
believe the story of Jean de Lery,[5] who says that one day as he was
telling the Brazilians about the great miracles of God in the creation
of the world, and the mysteries of our redemption, an old man told
him that he had heard his grandfather say that, many years before, a
bearded man (Brazilians have no beards) had come among them and had
related something similar; but that they would not listen to him, and
since then had been killing and eating each other. As to the other
countries beyond the sea, some of them have indeed a certain vague
knowledge of the deluge, and of the immortality of the soul, together
with the future reward of those who live aright; but they might have
handed this obscure doctrine down, from generation to generation, since
the universal deluge which happened in the time of Noah. It remains
now to deplore the wretched condition of these people who occupy a
country so large that the old world bears no comparison with it, if we
include the land which lies beyond the straits of Magellan, called [9]
_Terra del fugo_, extending as far toward China and Japan as toward
New Guinea; and also the country beyond the great river of Canada,[6]
which stretches out to the East and is washed by the great Western
ocean. Dense ignorance prevails in all these countries, where there is
no evidence that they have ever felt the breath of the Gospel, except
in this last century when the Spaniard carried thither some light of
the Christian religion, together with his cruelty and avarice.[7] But
this was so little that it should not receive much consideration, since
by the very confession of those who have written their histories, they
have killed almost all the natives of the country, who, only seventy
years ago, according to a certain historian,[8] numbered more than
twenty millions. For more than twenty-five years, the English have
retained a foothold in a country called, in honor of the deceased
Queen of England, Virginia, which lies between Florida and the land
of the Armouchiquois.[9] But that country carries on its affairs with
so much secrecy, that very few persons know [10] anything definite
about it. Soon after I published my History of New France,[10] there
was an embarkation of eight hundred men to be sent there. It is not
reported that they bathed their hands in the blood of those people, for
which they are neither to be praised nor blamed: for there is no law
nor pretext which permits us to kill anyone, whosoever he may be, and
especially the persons whose property we have seized. But they are
to be commended if they show to these poor ignorant people the way of
salvation by the true and unvarnished doctrine of the Gospel. As to our
French people, I have complained enough in my History of the cowardice
of these later times, and of our lack of zeal either in reclaiming
these poor erring ones, or in making known, exalted, and glorified,
the name of God in the lands beyond the seas, where it never has been
proclaimed. And yet we wish that country to bear the name of France,
a name so august and venerable that we cannot, without a feeling of
shame, glory in an un-Christianized France. I know that there are any
number of people who are willing to go there. But why is it that [11]
the Church, which has so much wealth; why is it that the Nobility, who
expend so much needlessly, do not establish some fund for the execution
of so holy a work? Two courageous Gentlemen, Sieurs de Monts and de
Poutrincourt, have in these later times shown such great zeal in this
work, that they have weakened their resources by their outlays, and
have done more than their strength justified them in doing. Both have
continued their voyages up to the present time. But one of them has
been frustrated twice, and has had heavy losses through too great
confidence in the words of certain persons. Now, inasmuch as the latest
news of our New France comes from Sieur de Poutrincourt, we shall speak
here of what he has accomplished, and we have good reason to praise his
courage; for (not being able to live among the crowd of idle men, of
whom we have only too many, and seeing our France seeming to languish
in a monotonous calm that was wearisome to men of action), after having
given a thousand proofs of his valor, during the last twenty-four
years, he sought to crown [12] his truly Herculean labors in the cause
of God, for which he employs his means and strength, and endangers his
life, by increasing the number of celestial citizens, and leading to
the fold of Jesus Christ, our sovereign Shepherd, the wandering sheep,
whom it would be becoming to the Prelates of the Church to go out and
gather in (at least to contribute to this end) since they have the
means of doing so. But with what difficulty has he labored in this
cause up to the present time? Thrice has he crossed the great Ocean
to carry on his enterprises. The first year was passed with sieur de
Monts in seeking a suitable dwelling and a safe port for the withdrawal
of the ships and their crews. In this, they did not meet with much
success. The second year passed in the same way, and then he returned
to France. During the third year, we experimented with the soil, which
yielded abundantly to our cultivation. This present year, discovering
through an unfortunate experience that men are not always to be
trusted, he made up his mind to depend upon no one but himself, and put
to sea on the twenty-sixth of February; the [13] weather being very
unfavorable, he made the longest voyage of which I have ever heard;
certainly our own, three years ago, was tedious enough, when we drifted
about upon the sea for the space of two months and a half before
reaching Port Royal. But this one lasted three whole months, so that
one reckless man was about to mutiny, going so far as to form wicked
conspiracies; but Sieur de Poutrincourt's kindness, and respect for the
place where he lived in Paris, served as a shield to protect his life.
[_Terrir, meaning to discover the land._] The first coast which Sieur
de Poutrincourt discovered was port Mouton; there, among the fogs
which are very common in this sea during the Summer, he encountered
serious dangers, principally in the neighborhood of Cape Sable,
where his ship came near foundering. [_History of New France, book
2, chap. 37, p. 527._] Thence, in trying to reach Port Royal, he was
carried by violent winds forty leagues beyond, namely to the Norombega
river,[11] so celebrated and so fabulously described by Geographers and
Historians, as I have shown in my said History, where this voyage may
be seen in the geographical Chart [14] which I have inserted therein.
Thence he came to the river saint John, which is opposite Port Royal
beyond French Bay,[12] where he found a ship from St. Malo trading with
the Savages of the country. Here complaint was made to him by a Captain
of the Savages, that one of the crew of the said ship had stolen
away his wife and was abusing her: the Sieur informed himself about
the matter and then made a prisoner of the malefactor and seized the
ship.[13] But he released the ship and the sailors, contenting himself
by retaining the guilty one, who escaped, however, in a shallop, and
went off with the Savages, prejudicing them against the French, as we
shall relate hereafter. Arrived at last at Port Royal, it is impossible
to describe the joy with which these poor people received the Sieur and
his company. And, in truth, there was still greater reason for this
joy, since they had lost all hope of ever again seeing the French live
among them. They had had some experience of our kind treatment while we
were there, and, seeing themselves deprived of it, they wept bitterly
when we left them three years ago.
This Port Royal, the home [15] of sieur de Poutrincourt, is the most
beautiful earthly habitation that God has ever made. It is fortified
upon the North by a range of 12 or 15 leagues of mountains, upon
which the Sun beats all day, and by hills on the Southern or Meridian
shore, which forms a port that can securely harbor twenty thousand
ships, being twenty fathoms deep at its entrance, a league and a half
in width, and four leagues long, extending to an island which is a
French league in circumference: here I have sometimes seen swimming
at ease a medium-sized Whale, which came in with the tide at eight
o'clock every morning. Furthermore, there can be caught in this
port, in their season, great quantities of herring, smelt, sardines,
barbels, codfish, seals and other fish; and as to shell-fish, there
is an abundance of lobsters, crabs, palourdes,[14] cockles, mussels,
snails, and porpoises. But whoever is disposed to go beyond the tides
of the sea will find in the river quantities of sturgeon and salmon,
and will have plenty of sport in landing them. Now, to return to our
story; When Sieur de Poutrincourt arrived [6 i.e. 16] there, he found
his buildings entire, the Savages (as these people have been called up
to the present) not having touched them in any way, even the furniture
remaining as we had left it. Anxious about their old friends, they
asked how they were all getting along, calling each individual by his
name, and asking why such and such a one had not come back. This shows
the great amiability of these people, who, having seen in us only the
most humane qualities, never flee from us, as they do from the Spaniard
in this whole new world. And consequently by a certain gentleness and
courtesy, which are as well known to them as to us, it is easy to make
them pliant to all our wishes, and especially so in regard to Religion,
of which we left them some good impressions when we were there; and
they seemed to wish for nothing better than to enroll themselves under
the banner of Jesus Christ, where they would have been received at
once if we had had a firm foothold in the country. But just as we were
hoping to continue [17] the work, it happened that sieur de Monts,
being unable longer to meet the expenses, and not receiving any help
from the King, was obliged to recall all those who were over there, who
had not taken with them the means necessary to a longer sojourn. So it
would have been rash and unwise to administer baptism to people whom
it was necessary afterwards to abandon, and give them an opportunity
to return to their corruption. But now that the work is being carried
on in earnest, and as sieur de Poutrincourt has actually settled
there, it is lawful to impress upon their minds and souls the stamp of
Christianity, after having instructed them in the principal articles of
our Faith. [_Hebrews 11, vers. 6._] Sieur de Poutrincourt is careful
to do this, remembering what the Apostle said, _He that cometh to God,
must believe that he is_; and after believing this, one comes gradually
to ideas which are farther removed from mere sensual apprehension, such
as the belief that out of nothing God created all things, that he made
himself man, that he was born of a Virgin, that he consented to die for
man, etc. And inasmuch as the Ecclesiastics who have been taken over
there, are not [18] familiar with the language of these people, the
Sieur has taken the trouble to teach them and to have them taught by
his eldest son, a young Gentleman who understands and speaks the native
language very well, and who seems to have been destined to open up to
the Savages the way to heaven. The people who are at Port Royal, and
in the adjacent countries extending toward Newfoundland, are called
Souriquois[15] and have a language of their own. But beyond French Bay,
which extends into the land about forty leagues, and is ten or twelve
leagues wide, the people on the other side are called Etechemins; and
still farther away are the Armouchiquois, whose language is different
from that of the Etechemins, and who are fortunate in having an
abundance of vines and large grapes, if they only knew how to make use
of this fruit, which they believe (as did our ancient Gauls) to be
poisonous. [_Ammianus Marcellinus._] They also have excellent hemp,
which grows wild, and in quality and appearance is much superior to
ours. Besides this they have Sassafras, and a great abundance of oak,
walnut, plum and chestnut trees, and other fruits which are unknown to
us. As to Port Royal, I must confess that there is not [19] much fruit
there; and yet the land is productive enough to make us hope from it
all that Gallic France yields to us. All these tribes are governed by
Captains called Sagamores, a word used with the same signification in
the East Indies, as I have read in the History by Maffeus,[16] and
which I believe comes from the Hebrew word _Sagan_, which, according
to Rabbi David, means Great Prince, and sometimes means the one who
holds the second place after the sovereign Pontiff. [_Isaiah 41, vers.
25, Jerem. 51, vers. 23, Santes Pagnin, 9._] In the usual version of
the Bible it is defined "Magistrate," and yet even there the Hebrew
interpreters translate it by the word "Prince." And in fact we read
in Berosus[17] that Noah was called Saga, as much because he was a
great Prince as because he had taught Theology and the ceremonies
of divine service, and also many of the secrets of nature, to the
Armenian Scythians, whom the ancient Cosmographers called "Sages,"
after Noah. And perhaps for this very same reason our Tectosages,
who are the Tolosains,[18] are so called. For this good father, who
restored the world, came into Italy and sent [20] a new population
into Gaul after the Deluge, giving his name, Gauls (for Xenophon says
that he was also called by this name), to those whom he sent there,
because he had escaped from the waters. And it is not improbable that
he himself imposed this name upon the Tectosages. Let us return to
our word Sagamore, which is the title of honor given to the Captains
in these new Lands, of which we are speaking. At Port Royal, the name
of the Captain or Sagamore of the place is Membertou.[19] He is at
least a hundred years old, and may in the course of nature live more
than fifty years longer. He has under him a number of families whom he
rules, not with so much authority as does our King over his subjects,
but with sufficient power to harangue, advise, and lead them to war,
to render justice to one who has a grievance, and like matters. He
does not impose taxes upon the people, but if there are any profits
from the chase he has a share of them, without being obliged to take
part in it. It is true that they sometimes make him presents of Beaver
skins and other things, when he is occupied in curing the sick; or in
questioning [21] his demon (whom he calls _Aoutem_) to have news of
some future event or of the absent: for, as each village, or company
of Savages, has an _Aoutmoin_, or Prophet, who performs this office,
Membertou is the one who, from time immemorial, has practiced this art
among his followers. He has done it so well that his reputation is
far above that of all the other Sagamores of the country, he having
been since his youth a great Captain, and also having exercised the
offices of Soothsayer and Medicine-man, which are the three things
most efficacious to the well-being of man, and necessary to this human
life. Now this Membertou to-day, by the grace of God, is a Christian,
together with all his family, having been baptized, and twenty others
with him, on last saint John's day, the 24th of June. I have letters
from Sieur de Poutrincourt about it, dated the eleventh day of July
following. He said Membertou was named after our late good King HENRI
IV., and his eldest son after Monseigneur the Dauphin, to-day our King
LOUIS XIII., whom may God bless. And so, as a natural consequence, the
wife of Membertou [22] was named MARIE after the Queen Regent, and her
daughter received the name of the Queen, MARGUERITE. The second son of
Membertou, called Actaudin, was named PAUL after our holy Father, the
Pope of Rome. The daughter of the aforesaid Louis was named CHRISTINE
in honor of Madame, the eldest sister of the King. And thus to each
one was given the name of some illustrious or notable personage here
in France. A number of other Savages were about to camp elsewhere (as
it is their custom to scatter in bands when summer comes) at the time
of these ceremonies of Christian regeneration, whom we believe to be
to-day enrolled in the family of God by the same cleansing water of
holy baptism.[20] But the devil, who never sleeps, has shown the
jealousy which he felt at the salvation of these people, and at seeing
that the name of God was glorified in this land, by inciting a wicked
Frenchman, not a Frenchman but a Turk, not a Turk but an Atheist, to
divert from the path of righteousness several Savages who had been
Christians in their hearts and [23] souls for three years; and among
others a Sagamore named Chkoudun, a man of great influence, of whom
I have made honorable mention in my History of New France, because I
saw that he, more than all the others, loved the French, and that he
admired our civilization more than their ignorance: to such an extent,
that being present sometimes at the Christian admonitions, which were
given every Sunday to our French people, he listened attentively,
although he did not understand a word; and moreover wore the sign of
the Cross upon his bosom, which he also had his servants wear; and he
had in imitation of us, a great Cross erected in the public place of
his village, called _Oigoudi_, at the port of the river saint John,
ten leagues from Port Royal. Now this man, with others, was turned
away from Christianity, by the cursed avarice of this wicked Frenchman
to whom I have referred above, and whom I do not wish to name now on
account of the love and reverence I bear his father, but I protest that
I will immortalize him if he does not mend his ways. He, I say, in
order to defraud this Sagamore [24], Chkoudun, of a few Beavers, went
last June to bribe him, after having escaped from the hands of Sieur de
Poutrincourt, saying that all this Poutrincourt told them about God was
nonsense, that they need not believe it, that he was an impostor, that
he would kill them and get their Beavers. I omit a great many wicked
stories that he may have added to this. If he were of the religious
belief of those who call themselves Reformed, I might somewhat excuse
him. But he plainly shows that he is neither of the one nor the
other. But I will say, however, that he has reason to thank God for
his escape from imminent peril on our voyage. This Sagamore, being
a Christian, by his good example might have caused a great number of
others to become Christians. But I am willing to hope, or rather firmly
believe, that he will not remain much longer in this error, and that
the Sieur will have found some means of attracting him with many others
to himself, to impress upon him the vital truths with which he had
formerly, in my presence, touched his soul. For the spirit of God has
power to drop upon this field fresh dew, which will bring forth a new
germination where all has been laid waste and beaten down by the hail.
May God, by his grace, guide all in such a way that it will redound
to his glory and to the edification of this people, for whom all
Christians ought to make continual supplication to his divine goodness,
to the end that he may consent to confirm and advance the work, which
he has been pleased to begin at this time for the exaltation of his
name and for the salvation of his creatures.[21]
END.
[25] There are in that country some men of the Church, of good
scholarship, whom nothing but their religious zeal has taken there,
and who will not fail to do all that piety requires in this respect.
Now, for the present, there is no need of any learned Doctors who may
be more useful in combating vices and heresies at home. Besides, there
is a certain class of men in whom we cannot have complete confidence,
who are in the habit of censuring everything that is not in harmony
with their maxims, and wish to rule wherever they are. It is enough to
be watched from abroad without having these fault-finders, from whom
even the greatest Kings cannot defend themselves, come near enough to
record every movement of our hearts and souls. And then what would be
the use of so many such men over there at present, unless they wanted
to devote themselves to the cultivation of the soil? For going there
is not all. What they will do, when they get there, must be taken into
consideration. As to Sieur de Poutrincourt's residence, he provided
himself at his departure with everything that was necessary. But if
a few honest people were seized with a desire to [26] advance the
cause of the Gospel there, I would advise them to make up five or six
parties, each one having a well-equipped ship, and to go and establish
colonies in different parts of New France, as at Tadoussac, Gachepé,
Campseau, la Héve, Oigoudi, Ste. Croix, Pemptegoet, Kinibeki, and in
other places, where there are assemblages of Savages, whom time must
lead to the Christian Religion: unless the head of some great family,
like the King, wishes to have the sole glory of peopling these lands.
For to think of living as the Savages do seems to me out of all reason.
And to prove this, the following is an example of their way of living:
[_Manner of living of the Souriquois and Ethechemins._] From the first
land (which is Newfoundland) to the country of the Armouchiquois,
a distance of nearly three hundred leagues, the people are nomads,
without agriculture, never stopping longer than five or six weeks in
a place. Pliny mentions a certain people called Ichthyophagi, i.e.,
Fish-eaters, living in the same way. These Savages get their living in
this manner during three seasons of the year. For, when Spring comes,
they divide into bands upon the shores of the sea, until [27] Winter;
and then as the fish withdraw to the bottom of the great salt waters,
they seek the lakes and the shades of the forests, where they catch
Beavers, upon which they live, and other game, as Elk, Caribou, Deer,
and still smaller animals. And yet, sometimes even in Summer, they do
not give up hunting: besides, there are an infinite number of birds on
certain islands in the months of May, June, July and August. [_Their
beds._] As to their beds, a skin spread out upon the ground serves as
mattress. And in this we have nothing to jest about, for our old Gallic
ancestors did the same thing, and even dined from the skins of dogs
and wolves, if Diodorus and Strabo tell the truth. [_Armouchiquois._]
But as to the Armouchiquois and Iroquois countries, there is a greater
harvest to be gathered there by those who are inspired by religious
zeal, because they are not so sparsely populated, and the people
cultivate the soil, from which they derive some of the comforts of
life. It is true that they do not understand very well how to make
bread, not having mills, yeast, or ovens; so they pound their corn in
a kind of [28] mortar, and make a paste of it as best they can, and
bake it between two stones heated at the fire; or they roast this corn
on the ear upon the live coals, as did the old Romans, according to
Pliny. [_Pliny, book 18, chap. 2 and 10._] Afterwards people learned
to bake cakes under the embers; and still later bakers began to make
use of ovens. Now these people who cultivate the soil are stationary,
not like the others who have nothing of their own, just as the Germans
in the time of Tacitus, who has described their ancient way of living.
[_Iroquois._] Farther inland, and beyond the Armouchiquois, are the
Iroquois tribes, also stationary, because they till the soil, whence
they gather maize wheat (or Buckwheat), beans, edible roots, and in
short all that we have mentioned in describing the Armouchiquois, even
more, for from necessity they draw their sustenance from the earth,
as they are far from the sea. However, they have a great lake in their
country, of wonderful extent, perhaps about sixty leagues, around which
they encamp. [_New Mexico._] In this lake there are large and beautiful
islands inhabited by the Iroquois, who are a great people; the farther
[29] we penetrate into the country, the more we find it inhabited: so
much so that (if we can believe the Spaniards) in the country called
New Mexico, a long distance to the Southwest of these Iroquois, there
are regularly built cities and houses of three and four stories, and
even domesticated cattle, whence they have named a certain river, _Rio
de las Vaccas_, or Cow river, because they saw a large number of them
grazing on its banks. [_A great lake beyond Canada._] And this country
is more than five hundred leagues directly to the north of old Mexico,
being near, I believe, the end of the great lake of the river of Canada
which (according to the Savages) is a thirty days' journey in length.
I believe that robust and hardy men could live among these people, and
do great work for the advancement of the Christian Religion. But as to
the Souriquois and Etechemins, who are nomadic and divided, they must
be made sedentary by the cultivation of the land, thus obliging them to
remain in one place. For any one who has taken the trouble to cultivate
a piece of land does not readily abandon it, but struggles valiantly
to keep it. [30] But, I think, the execution of this plan will be very
slow unless we take hold of it with more zeal, and unless a King, or
some rich Prince, take this cause in hand, which is certainly worthy
a most Christian kingdom. [_Conquest of Palestine compared with that
of New France._] Great expense and loss of life were once incurred
in the re-conquest of Palestine, from which there was little profit;
and to-day at slight expense wonders could be accomplished, and an
infinite number of people won over to God, without striking a blow:
and yet we are touched by an inexplicable apathy in religious matters,
which is quite different from the fervid zeal, which of old burned in
the bosoms of our fathers. If we did not expect any temporal fruit
from these labors, I would pardon this human weakness. But there are
such well-founded hopes of good usury, that they close the mouths of
all the enemies of that country, who decry it in order not to lose the
traffic in Beaver and other furs from which they gain a livelihood, and
without which they would die of starvation or would not know what to
do. [_Appeal to the King and the Queen Regent._] But if the King and
the Queen Regent, his mother, in whom God has kindled a fire of piety,
should be pleased to take an interest in this (as she has certainly
done in the report of the Conversion of the Savages, baptized through
the [31] instrumentality of Sieur de Poutrincourt) and would leave some
memorial of herself, or rather would secure for herself the blessedness
of heaven by this most godly act, no one can tell how great would be
her future glory in being the first to establish the Gospel in such
vast territories, which (so to speak) have no bounds. If Helena, the
mother of the Emperor Constantine, had found such a field for good
work, she would have greatly preferred to glorify God with living
temples, instead of building so many marble edifices, with which she
has filled the holy land. And, after all, the hope of temporal profit
is not vain. For on one hand Sieur de Poutrincourt will continue to be
the servant of the King in the country which his Majesty has granted
him; where he would afford a rendezvous and give assistance to all the
vessels which go every year to the new World, where they encounter
a thousand hardships and, as we have seen and heard, great numbers of
them are lost. [_Means of reaching the Moluccas through the Northern
route._] On the other hand, penetrating into the country, we might
become familiar with the route to China and the Moluccas, through
a mild climate and latitude, establishing a few stations, or [32]
settlements, at the Falls of the great Canadian river, then at the
lakes which are beyond, the last of which is not far from the great
Western sea, through which the Spaniards to-day reach the Orient. Or,
indeed, the same enterprise could be carried on through the Saguenay
river, beyond which the Savages say there is a sea of which they have
never seen the end, which is without doubt that Northern passage that
has been so long sought in vain. [_Advantages._] So that we could have
spices and other drugs without begging them from the Spaniards, and
the profits derived from us upon these commodities would remain in
the hands of the King, not counting the advantages of having hides,
pasturage, fisheries, and other sources of wealth. But we must sow
before we can reap. In this work we could give employment to many of
the youth of France, a part of whom languish in poverty or in idleness:
while others go to foreign countries to teach the trades which in
former times belonged strictly and peculiarly to us, and by means of
which France was filled with prosperity; whereas, to-day, a long period
of peace has not yet been able to restore to her her former glory, as
much [33] for the reasons just given, as for the number of idle men,
and of able-bodied and voluntary mendicants, whom the public supports.
[_Chicanery._] Among these obstacles we may place also the evil of
chicanery, which preys upon our nation, and which has always been a
reproach to it. [_Ammianus Marcellinus._] This would be somewhat
obviated by frequent voyages; for a part of these pettifoggers would
sooner conquer some new land, remaining under the dominion of the King,
than follow up their cause here with so much loss, delay, anxiety, and
labor. [_Happiness of the Savages._] And, in this respect, I consider
all these poor savages, whom we commiserate, to be very happy; for pale
Envy doth not emaciate them, neither do they feel the inhumanity of
those who serve God hypocritically, harassing their fellow-creatures
under this mask; nor are they subject to the artifices of those who,
lacking virtue and goodness wrap themselves up in a mantle of false
piety to nourish their ambition. If they do not know God, at least they
do not blaspheme him, as the greater number of Christians do. Nor do
they understand the art of poisoning, or of corrupting [34] chastity by
devilish artifice. There are no poor nor beggars among them. All are
rich, because all labor and live. But among us it is very different,
for more than half of us live from the labors of the others, having
no trades which serve to the support of human life. [_Opportunities
for emigrants to New France._] If that country were settled, there are
men who would do there what they have not courage to do here. Here
they would not dare to be wood-cutters, husbandmen, vinedressers,
etc., because their fathers were pettifoggers, barber-surgeons, and
apothecaries. But over yonder they would forget their fear of being
ridiculed, and would take pleasure in cultivating their land, having a
great many companions of as good families as theirs. Cultivating the
soil is the most innocent of occupations and the most sure; it was
the occupation of those from whom we have all descended, and of those
brave Roman Captains who knew how to subjugate, but not how to be
subjugated. But now, since pomp and malice have been introduced among
men, what was virtue has been turned into reproach, and idlers have
risen into favor. [_To the Queen._] However, let us leave these people,
and return to Sieur de Poutrincourt, or rather to you, O most Christian
Queen, [35] the greatest and most cherished of heaven, whom the eye of
the world looks down upon in its daily round about this universe. You
who have the control of the most noble Empire here below, how can you
see a Gentleman so full of good will, without employing and helping
him? Will you let him carry off the greatest honor in the world when
it might have been yours, and will you let the triumph of this affair
remain with him and not share in it yourself? No, no, Madame, all must
proceed from you, and as the stars borrow their light from the sun, so
upon the King, and upon you who have given him to us, all the great
deeds of the French depend. We must then anticipate this glory, and not
yield it to another, while you have a Poutrincourt, a loyal Frenchman
who served the late lamented King, your Husband (may God give him
absolution), in affairs of State which are not recorded in history. In
revenge for which his house and property passed through the ordeal of
fire. He is not crossing the Ocean to see the country, as have nearly
all the others who have undertaken similar voyages [36] at the expense
of our Kings. But he shows so plainly what his intentions are, that we
cannot doubt them, and your Majesty will risk nothing by employing him
in earnest for the propagation of the Christian religion in the Western
lands beyond the sea. You recognize his zeal, your own is incomparable;
but you must take thought as to how you may best employ it. I commend
the Princesses and Ladies who for fifteen years have given of their
means for the repose of those men or women who wished to sequester
themselves from the world. But I believe (under correction) that their
piety would shine with greater luster if it were shown in behalf of
these poor Western nations, who are in a lamentable condition, and
whose lack of instruction cries to God for vengeance against those
who might help them to become Christians, and will not. A Queen of
Castille caused the Christian religion to be introduced into the lands
of the West which belong to Spain; so act, O light of the Queens of the
world, that through your instrumentality, the name of God may soon be
proclaimed throughout all this new world; where it is not yet known.
Now resuming the thread of our [37] History, as we have spoken of the
voyage of Sieur de Poutrincourt, it will not be out of place, if, after
having touched upon the hardships and tediousness of his journey,
which retarded him one year, we say a word about the return of his
ship, which will be brief, inasmuch as the voyages from the Western
world, this side of the Tropic of Cancer, are usually so. [_Book 1,
ch. 24, and book 2, ch. 41 and 42._] I have given the reason for this
in my History of New France, to which I refer the Reader, where he
will also learn why it is that in Summer the sea there is overhung
with fogs to such an extent that for one clear day there are two foggy
ones; and twice we were in fogs which lasted eight entire days. [_For
these Banks, see the said History, book 2, ch. 24._] This is why Sieur
de Poutrincourt's son, when he was sent back to France for fresh
supplies, was as long in reaching the great Codfish Banks from Port
Royal, as in getting to France from the said Banks; and yet from these
Banks to the coast of France there are eight hundred good leagues;
and thence to Port Royal there are hardly [38] more than three
hundred. It is upon these Banks that a great many ships are usually
found all the Summer, fishing for Cod, which are brought to France
and are called Newfoundland Codfish. [_For their manner of fishing,
see the above-mentioned place._] So Sieur de Poutrincourt's son (who
is called Baron de Sainct Just), on arriving at these Banks, laid in
a supply of fresh meat and fish. While doing this he met a ship from
Rochelle and another from Havre de Grace, whence he heard the news of
the lamentable death of our late good King, without knowing by whom or
how he was killed. But afterwards he met an English ship from which he
heard the same thing, certain persons being accused of this parricide
whom I will not here name; for they brought this accusation through
hatred and envy, being great enemies of those whom they accused. [_In
15 days from the Banks to France._] So in fifteen days Baron de Sainct
Just made the distance between the Banks and France, always sailing
before the wind; a voyage certainly much more agreeable than that of
the twenty-sixth day of February mentioned above. Sieur de Monts's
crew left Havre de Grace nine or ten days after this twenty-sixth
of February to go to Kebec, forty leagues beyond [39] the Saguenay
river, where Sieur de Monts has fortified himself. But contrary winds
compelled them to put into port. And thereupon a report was circulated
that Sieur de Poutrincourt was lost in the sea with all his crew. I
did not believe this for an instant, trusting that God would help him
and would enable him to surmount all difficulties. [_Kebec, Sieur de
Monts's fort._] We have as yet no news from Kebec, but expect to hear
from there soon. I can say truly that if ever any good comes out of New
France, posterity will be indebted for it to Sieur de Monts, author of
these enterprises: and if they had not taken away the license which
was granted him to trade in Beaver and other skins, to-day we should
have had a vast number of cattle, fruit-trees, people, and buildings
in the said province. For he earnestly desired to see everything
established there to the honor of God and of France. And, although he
has been deprived of the motive for continuing, yet up to the present
he does not seem discouraged in doing what he can; for he has had built
at Kebec a Fort and some very good and convenient dwellings. Here at
Kebec this [40] great and mighty river of Canada narrows down and is
only a falcon-shot wide; it has as great a supply of fish as any river
in the world. As to the country, it is wonderfully beautiful, and
abounds in game. But being in a colder region than port Royal, since it
is eighty leagues farther North, the fur there is all the finer. For
(among other animals) the Foxes are black and of such beautiful fur
that they seem to put the Martens to shame. The Savages of Port Royal
can go to Kebec in ten or twelve days by means of the rivers, which
they navigate almost up to their sources; and thence, carrying their
little bark canoes for some distance through the woods, they reach
another stream which flows into the river of Canada, and thus greatly
expedite their long voyages, which we ourselves could not do in the
present state of the country. And from Port Royal to Kebec by sea it
is more than four hundred leagues, going by way of Cape Breton. Sieur
de Monts sent some cows there two years and a half ago, but for want
of some village housewife who understood [41] taking care of them,
they let the greater part die in giving birth to their calves. [_The
need of women._] Which shows how necessary a woman is in a house,
and I cannot understand why so many people slight them, although they
cannot do without them. For my part, I shall always believe that, in
any settlement whatsoever, nothing will be accomplished without the
presence of women. Without them life is sad, sickness comes, and we die
uncared-for. Therefore I despise those woman-haters who have wished
them all sorts of evil, which I hope will overtake that lunatic in
particular, who has been placed among the number of the seven Sages,
who said that woman is a necessary evil, since there is no blessing
in the world to be compared to her. [_Ecclesiastes 4, verse 10._]
Therefore God gave her _as a companion to man, to aid and comfort him_:
and the Wise Man says:--_Woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth,
he hath none to lift him up. And if two lie together, they shall warm
one another_. If there are some worthless women, we must remember that
men are not faultless. Several suffered because of this lack of cows,
for, when they fell ill they did not have all the comforts [42] that
they would have had otherwise, and so they have departed to the Elysian
fields. [_A conspiracy punished._] Another, who had been with us on the
voyage, did not have the patience to wait for death, but must needs
go to heaven by scaling the walls, as soon as he arrived there, by a
conspiracy against sieur de Champlein, his Captain. His accomplices
were condemned to the galleys and sent back to France. [_Journey to the
land of the Iroquois._] When Summer came, that is a year ago, Champlein
wishing to see the country of the Iroquois, to prevent the Savages
from seizing his Fort in his absence, persuaded them to go and make
war against them; so they departed with him and two other Frenchmen,
to the number of eighty or a hundred, to the lake of the Iroquois,
two hundred leagues distant from Kebec. [_Hostile nations._] There has
always been war between these two nations, as there has been between
the Souriquois and Armouchiquois: and sometimes the Iroquois have
raised as many as eight thousand men to war against and exterminate all
those who live near the great river of Canada: and it seems that they
did this, as to-day the language which was spoken in the [43] time of
Jacques Quartier, who was there eighty years ago, is no longer heard
in that region.[22] [_War._] When Champlein arrived there with his
troops, they could not conceal themselves so well but that they were
perceived by the Iroquois, who always have sentinels upon the routes
of their enemies: and each side being well fortified, it was agreed
among them not to fight that day, but to postpone the affair until
the morrow. The weather then was very clear; so clear that scarcely
had Aurora chased away the shadows of the night, than a din was heard
throughout the camp. An Iroquois skirmisher having tried to issue from
the fortifications, was pierced through, not by one of the arrows of
Apollo, nor of the little Archer with the blindfolded eyes, but by a
genuine and very painful arrow, which stretched him out upon his back.
Thereupon the eyes of the offended were full of ire, and each one takes
his place in the line of attack and defense. As the band of Iroquois
advances, Champlein, who had charged his musket with two balls, seeing
two Iroquois, their heads adorned with feathers, marching on in front,
supposed they were two Captains, and wanted to advance [44] and aim at
them. But the Kebec Savages prevented him, saying:--"It is not well
that they should see thee, for, never having been accustomed to see
such people as thou art, they would immediately run away. But withdraw
behind our first rank, and when we are ready, thou shalt advance." He
did so, and in this way the two Captains were both slain by one musket
shot. [_Victory._] Victory ensued at once. For they all disbanded, and
it only remained to pursue them. [_Tabagie is celebrated._] This was
done with little opposition, and they carried off some fifty of their
enemies' heads, a triumph which, upon their return, they celebrated
with great festivities, consisting of continual Tabagies,[23] dances,
and chants, according to their custom.[24]
[45] Extrait dv Regitre de Bapteme de l'Eglise dv Port Royal en la
Nouvelle France. Le iovr Sainct Iehan Baptiste 24. de Iuin.
MEMBERTOV grand Sagamos âgé de plus de cent ans a esté baptizé par
Messire Iessé Fleche Pretre, & nommé HENRY par Monsieur de Poutrincourt
au nom du Roy.
2. MEMBERTOVCOICHIS (dit Iudas) fils ainé de Membertov âgé de plus de
60. ans, aussi baptizé, & nommé LOVIS par Monsieur de Biencour au nom
de Monsieur le Dauphin.
3. Le fils ainé de Membertoucoichis dit à present Louïs Membertou, âgé
de cinq ans, baptizé & tenu par Monsieur de Poutrincourt, qui l'a nomme
IEHAN de son nom.
4. La fille ainée dudit Louïs âgée de treze ans aussi baptizée, &
nommée CHRISTINE par ledit Sieur de Poutrincourt au nom de Madame la
fille ainée de France.
5. La seconde fille dudit Louïs âgée d'onze ans aussi baptizée, &
nommée ELIZABETH par ledit sieur de Poutrincourt au nom de Madame la
fille puisnée de France.
6. La troisieme fille dudit Louïs tenuë par ledit Sieur de Poutrincourt
au nom de Madame sa femme aussi baptizée, nommée CLAVDE.
7. La 4. fille dudit Louïs tenuë par Monsieur de Coullogne pour
Madamoiselle sa mere, a eu nom CATHERINE.
8. La 5. fille dudit Louïs a eu nom IEHANNE ainsi nõmée par ledit sieur
de Poutrincourt au nõ d'une de ses filles. [46]
9. La 6. fille dudit Louïs tenuë par René Maheu a esté nommée CHARLOTTE
du nom de sa mere.
10. ACTAVDINECH, troisieme fils dudit Henri Membertou a esté nommé PAVL
par ledit sieur de Poutrincourt au nom du Pape Paul.
11. La femme dudit Paul a esté nommée RENEE du nom de Madame
d'Ardanville.
12. La femme dudit Henri a esté tenuë par ledit sieur de Poutrincourt
au nom de la Royne, & nommée MARIE de son nom.
13. La fille dudit Henri tenuë par ledit sieur de Poutrincourt, &
nommée MARGVERITE au nom de la Royne Marguerite.
14. L'vne des femmes dudit Louïs tenuë par Monsieur de Iouï pour Madame
de Sigogne, nommée de son nom.
15. L'autre femme dudit Louïs tenuë par ledit sieur de Poutrincourt au
nom de Madame de Dampierre.
16. ARNEST cousin dudit Henri a esté tenu par ledit sieur de
Poutrincourt au nom de Monsieur le Nonce, & nommé ROBERT de son nom.
17. AGOVDEGOVEN aussi cousin dudit Henri a esté nommé NICOLAS par
ledit sieur de Poutrincourt au nom de Monsieur des Noyers Advocat au
Parlement de Paris.
18. La femme dudit Nicolas tenuë par ledit sieur de Poutrincourt au nom
de Monsieur son neveu, a eu nom PHILIPPE.
19. La fille ainée d'icelui Nicolas tenuë par le dit Sieur pour Madame
de Belloy sa niepce, & nommée LOVISE de son nom.
20. La puis-née dudit Nicolas tenuë par ledit sieur pour Iacques de
Salazar son fils, a esté nommée IACQVELINE.
21. Vne niepce dudit Henri tenuë par Monsieur de Coullongne au nom de
Madamoiselle de Grandmare, & nommée ANNE de son nom.
LOVÉ SOIT DIEV.
[45] Extract from the Register of Baptism in the Church of Port Royal,
New France. The day of Saint John the Baptist, June 24.
MEMBERTOU, a great Sagamore, over one hundred years old, has been
baptized by Messire Jessé Fleche,[25] a priest; and named HENRY, by
Monsieur de Poutrincourt, after the late king.
2. MEMBERTOUCOICHIS (called Judas), eldest son of Membertou, over sixty
years old, also baptized; and named LOUIS, by Monsieur de Biencour,
after Monsieur the Dauphin.
3. The eldest son of Membertoucoichis, now called Louis Membertou, aged
five years, baptized; Monsieur de Poutrincourt godfather, and named
JOHN, after himself.
4. The eldest daughter of said Louis, aged thirteen years, also
baptized; and named CHRISTINE by Sieur de Poutrincourt, after Madame
the eldest daughter of France.
5. The second daughter of the said Louis, eleven years old, also
baptized; and named ELIZABETH by sieur de Poutrincourt, after Madame,
the youngest daughter of France.
6. The third daughter of said Louis, Sieur de Poutrincourt godfather,
also baptized, and named CLAUDE, in honor of his wife.
7. The fourth daughter of said Louis, Monsieur de Coullogne godfather,
was named CATHERINE, after his mother.
8. The fifth daughter of said Louis was named JEANNE, thus named by
sieur de Poutrincourt, after one of his daughters. [46]
9. The sixth daughter of said Louis, René Maheu godfather, was named
CHARLOTTE, after his mother.
10. ACTAVDINECH, the third son of Henry Membertou, was named PAUL by
sieur de Poutrincourt, after Pope Paul.
11. The wife of said Paul was named RENÉE, after Madame d'Ardanville.
12. The wife of said Henry, sieur de Poutrincourt sponsor in the name
of the Queen, was named MARIE, after her.
13. The daughter of Henry, sieur de Poutrincourt godfather, was named
MARGUERITE, after Queen Marguerite.
14. One of the wives of Louis, Monsieur de Jouï sponsor in the name of
Mme. de Sigogne, was named after her.
15. The other wife of Louis, sieur de Poutrincourt sponsor in the name
of Madame de Dampierre.
16. ARNEST, cousin of Henry, sieur de Poutrincourt godfather in the
name of Monsieur the Nuncio, was after him named ROBERT.
17. AGOVDEGOVEN, also cousin of Henry, was by sieur de Poutrincourt
named NICHOLAS, after Monsieur de Noyers, a Lawyer of the Parliament of
Paris.
18. The wife of said Nicholas, sieur de Poutrincourt godfather in the
name of his nephew, was named PHILIPPE.
19. The eldest daughter of Nicholas, the said Sieur sponsor in the name
of Madame de Belloy, his niece, was after her named LOUISE.
20. The younger daughter of Nicholas, the said sieur being godfather
for Jacques de Salazar, his son, was named JACQUELINE.
21. A niece of Henry, Monsieur de Coullongne sponsor in the name of
Mademoiselle de Grandmare, was after her named ANNE.
PRAISED BE GOD.
II
BERTRAND'S LETTRE MISSIVE
Touchant la Conversion et Baptesme du grand Sagamos
Paris: JEAN REGNOUL, 1610
SOURCE: Title-page and text reprinted from original in Lenox Library.
LETTRE MISSIVE,
TOVCHANT LA
CONVERSION ET BAPTESME
du grand Sagamos de
la nouuelle Frãce, qui en estoit
auparauant l'arriuée des François
le chef & souuerain.
_Contenant sa promesse d'amener ses subjets
à la mesme Conuersion, ou les y contraindre
par la force des armes._
Enuoyée du Port Royal de la nouuelle
France au S^{R} de la Tronchaie, dattée
du 28. Iuin 1610.
[Illustration]
A PARIS,
CHEZ IEAN REGNOVL, ruë du Foin,
pres sainct Yues.
1610.
_Auec permission._
A LETTER MISSIVE
IN REGARD TO THE
CONVERSION AND BAPTISM
of the grand Sagamore of New
France, who was, before the arrival
of the French, its chief
and sovereign.
_Containing his promise to secure the conversion
of his subjects also, even by
strength of arms._
Sent from Port Royal, in New France, to
Sieur de la Tronchaie, dated
June 28, 1610.
PARIS,
JEAN REGNOUL, Rue du Foin,
near Saint Ives.
1610.
_With permission_.
[3] Lettre Missive, Tovchant la Conversion et Baptesme du Grand
Sagamos de la nouuelle France, qui en estoit auparauant l'arriuée des
François chef & souuerain.
MONSIEVR & Frere, Ie n'ay voulu laisser partir le nauire sans vous
faire sçauoir des nouuelles de ce païs que ie croy aurez agreables,
d'autant que ie sçay, qu'estes bon Catholique, C'est que le Grand
Sagamos, qui se dit en nostre langue Grand Capitaine des Sauuages, & le
premier de tous, s'est fait baptiser le iour de la sainct Iean Baptiste
derniere, [4] auec sa femme, ses enfans, & enfans de ses enfans,
iusques au nombre de vingt: auec autant de ferueur, ardeur & zele à la
Religion que pourroit faire vn qui y auroit esté instruict depuis trois
ou quatre ans: Il promet faire baptizer les autres, autrement qu'il
leur fera la guerre: Monsieur de Poutrincourt & Monsieur son fils les
ont tenus au nom du Roy, & de Monseigneur le Dauphin. [_Les nouvelles
de la mort du Roy n'estoi[~e]t encores en ce pays là._] C'est desia vn
beau commencement, ie croy que cy apres ce sera encores mieux: Quant
au pays, iamais ie n'ay veu rien de si beau, meilleur ny plus fertile,
& vous dis auec verité, & sans mentir, que si i'auois trois ou quatre
Laboureurs maintenant auec moy, & [5] pour les nourrir vne année, &
du bled pour ensemencer le labourage qu'ils pourroient faire de leurs
bras seulement, du surplus qui me reuiendroit apres leur nourriture,
i'espererois faire trafiq tous les ans de sept ou huict mille liures
en Castors & Pelleterie: Ie suis bien marry auant que partir que ie ne
sçauois ce que ie sçay, i'eusse employé le verd & le sec ou i'en eusse
amené deux ou trois, & deux muids de bled qui est peu de chose: Vous
asseurant qu'il fait beau trafiquer par deçà & faire vn beau gain: Si
vous voulez y entendre, mandez moy vostre volonté par ce porteur qui
desire retourner & faire trafiq, suiuant ce qu'il a veu. Ie ne vous [6]
en diray dauantage, sinon que ie prieray Dieu Monsieur & frere vous
donner en parfaicte santé tres-longue vie. De la nouuelle France, du
Port Royal ce xxviij. Iuin, 1610.
_Vostre tres-affectionné Frere & seruiteur_
BERTRAND.
[3] A Letter Missive in regard to the Conversion and Baptism of the
Grand Sagamore of new France, who was, before the arrival of the
French, its chief and sovereign.
SIR and Brother, I did not wish the ship to depart without giving you
some news of this country which I believe will be acceptable, as I know
that you are a good Catholic. The Grand Sagamore, whom we call in our
language Grand Captain of the Savages, and chief of all, was baptized
on last saint John the Baptist's day; [4] with his wife, children, and
children's children, to the number of twenty; with as much enthusiasm,
fervor, and zeal for Religion as would have been evinced by a person
who had been instructed in it for three or four years. He promises to
have the others baptized, or else make war upon them. [_The news of the
King's death had not then reached Canada._] Monsieur de Poutrincourt
and his son acted as sponsors for them in the name of the King, and
of Monseigneur the Dauphin. We have already made this good beginning,
which I believe will become still better hereafter. As to the country,
I have never seen anything so beautiful, better, or more fertile;
and I can say to you, truly and honestly, that if I had three or
four Laborers with me now, and [5] the means of supporting them for
one year, and some wheat to sow in the ground tilled by their labor
alone, I should expect to have a yearly trade in Beaver and other
Skins amounting to seven or eight thousand livres, with the surplus
which would remain to me after their support. I am very sorry that I
did not know before my departure what I know now; if I had, I should
have left no stone unturned to bring with me two or three farmers,
and two hogsheads of wheat, which is a mere trifle. I assure you it
is delightful to engage in trade over here and to make such handsome
profits. If you wish to take a hand in it, let me know your intentions
by the bearer, who desires to return and traffic here in pursuance of
what he has seen. I [6] shall say no more, except to pray God to give
you, Sir and Brother, a long life and perfect health. From Port Royal,
New France, this 28th of June, 1610.
_Your very affectionate Brother and servant_,
BERTRAND.
[Illustration: FIGVRE DV PORT ROYAL EN LA NOVVELLE FRANCE. Par Marc
Lescarbot. 1609.
FROM LESCARBOT'S HISTOIRE DE LA NOVVELLE FRANCE; PARIS, 1612.
(Slightly reduced from original.)]
III-VI
Lettre du P. Pierre Biard, au T. R.-P. Claude
Aquaviva
Dieppe, Janvier 21, 1611
Lettre du P. Biard, au R.-P. Christophe Baltazar
Port Royal, Juin 10, 1611
Lettre du P. Ennemond Massé, au T. R.-P.
Aquaviva
Port Royal, Juin 10, 1611
Lettre du P. Biard, au T. R.-P. Aquaviva
Port Royal, Juin 11, 1611.
SOURCE: Reprinted from _Première Mission des Jésuites au Canada_, by
Auguste Carayon, S. J. Paris: L'Écureux, 1864.
[1] PREMIÈRE MISSION DES JÉSUITES AU CANADA.[I.]
Lettre du P. Pierre Biard, au T. R. P. Claude Aquaviva, Général de la
Compagnie de Jésus, à Rome.
(_Traduite sur l'original latin, conservé dans les Archives du Jésus, à
Rome_).
DIEPPE, 21 janvier 1611.
MON TRÈS-RÉVÉREND PÈRE,
Pax Christi.
Que je voudrais pouvoir vous raconter combien grandes et nombreuses ont
été, dans notre petite affaire, les miséricordes de Dieu et les fruits
de sa bénédiction et des prières; c'est-à-dire comment [2] nous sommes
sortis de difficultés graves et multipliées, et comment, délivrés de
toute entrave, nous partons pour la Nouvelle-France, lieu de notre [3]
destination, comme Votre Paternité le sait! Elle peut certainement s'en
réjouir avec une grande consolation dans le Seigneur.
[4] Mais voici déjà minuit sonné, et à la première lueur du jour, nous
mettons à la voile. Je vous donnerai seulement un précis des événements.
Quand les marchands hérétiques nous virent à Dieppe, au jour fixé pour
le départ, le 27 octobre de l'année dernière, 1610 (nous étions en
effet convenus qu'on partirait de Dieppe), ils imaginèrent un moyen
qu'ils crurent favorable pour nous nuire. Deux d'entre eux avaient fait
un contrat avec M. de Potrincourt pour charger et équiper son navire,
[5] sur lequel nous devions voyager. Ils déclarèrent aussitôt qu'ils ne
voulaient plus s'occuper du vaisseau, s'il devait porter des Jésuites.
C'était une insigne malice, et elle était facile à prouver, surtout
quand les catholiques leur ajoutaient que le devoir ne leur permettait
pas de refuser les Jésuites, puisque c'était l'ordre formel de la Reine.
On ne put cependant rien gagner sur eux. Il fallut avoir encore recours
à la Reine. Sa Majesté écrit au gouverneur de la ville, catholique
plein de zèle et de piété, et lui enjoint de signifier aux hérétiques
que c'est sa volonté que les Jésuites soient reçus dans le vaisseau qui
va partir pour la Nouvelle-France, et qu'on n'y mette aucun obstacle.
A la réception de ces lettres, le gouverneur assemble ce qu'on
appelle le consistoire, c'est-à-dire tous les fidèles disciples de
Calvin. Il donne lecture des lettres de la Reine, et les invite à
l'obéissance.--Quelques-uns, c'est-à-dire ceux qui étaient bons, disent
hautement qu'ils sont eux aussi du même avis, et ils engagent les
marchands à se soumettre; mais ils déclarent que pour eux ils ne sont
maîtres de rien. Tel était leur langage en public; mais en particulier,
un des marchands qui était chargé d'équiper le navire, protesta qu'il
n'y mettrait rien; que la Reine, si elle le voulait, pouvait lui [6]
ôter son droit, mais que pour lui, il ne le céderait pas autrement.
Que faire? Certainement tout était arrêté; car cette société n'avait
pas de contrat écrit, et ces sortes d'engagements entre gens nobles ne
se mettent pas ordinairement sur papier. On ne pouvait donc pas agir
contre ces hérétiques.
On s'adresse de nouveau à la Reine. A la vue d'une pareille
effronterie, elle dit en manière de proverbe: "Il ne faut s'abaisser à
prier des vilains"; et elle ajouta que les Pères partiraient une autre
fois.
Les catholiques consternés déclarent alors aux hérétiques que les
Jésuites ne monteront pas dans ce vaisseau, qu'ils peuvent en
conséquence le fréter, et que, dans tous les cas, si les Jésuites y
prenaient place, ils payeraient auparavant eux-mêmes le prix de la
cargaison.
Cette assurance une fois donnée, on vit à nu toute la malice des
calvinistes; car ils chargèrent aussitôt le navire complétement et de
marchandises et de toute espèce d'objets, ne pouvant s'imaginer que les
catholiques pussent jamais trouver de quoi payer le prix de tant de
choses.
A cette nouvelle, Madame la marquise de Guercheville, première dame
d'honneur de la Reine, [7] s'indigna de voir les efforts de l'enfer
prévaloir et la malice des hommes pervers détruire ces grandes
espérances que l'on avait de procurer la gloire de Dieu. C'est
pourquoi, afin que Satan ne demeurât pas le maître et ne renversât pas
l'espoir que l'on avait de fonder une église au Canada, elle sollicita
elle-même les aumônes des Grands, des Princes et de toute la Cour pour
soustraire les Jésuites à la méchanceté des hérétiques.
Qu'arriva-t-il? Le navire déjà chargé était prêt à prendre la mer,
quand cette dame envoya aux catholiques 4,000 livres avec d'autres
secours. Alors, pour ne pas agir par surprise, ils vont dire
adroitement aux hérétiques qu'ils veulent avoir avec eux les Jésuites,
que telle est la volonté de la Reine, et que, par conséquent, il faut
qu'ils les laissent monter dans le vaisseau, ou bien que les marchands
acceptent le prix de la cargaison et qu'ils se retirent. Ceux-ci
déclarent qu'ils veulent le prix de leurs marchandises (Je crois qu'ils
ne pensaient pas que les catholiques eussent assez d'argent, ou qu'ils
espéraient trouver quelque autre moyen de déjouer leurs projets). On
leur donne le prix demandé, et ce à quoi personne ne se serait attendu,
nous sommes si pleinement substitués à leur place, que la moitié du
bâtiment nous appartient, et que nous avons déjà ce qu'il faut pour
commencer [8] cette fondation que le Seigneur daignera bénir dans sa
générosité et dans sa bonté.
Ainsi donc, mon Très-Révérend et bon Père, Votre Paternité voit combien
la malice du démon et de ses suppôts a tourné à notre avantage. Nous
ne demandions d'abord qu'un petit coin dans ce vaisseau, et à prix
d'argent; maintenant nous y sommes les maîtres. Nous allions dans une
région déserte, sans grande espérance d'un secours de longue durée, et
nous recevons déjà le commencement de la fondation. Nous étions forcés
d'enrichir les hérétiques d'une partie de nos aumônes, et maintenant
ils renoncent d'eux-mêmes à profiter d'une occasion qui les devait
enrichir.
Mais je crois que le grand sujet de leur douleur, c'est précisément le
triomphe du Seigneur Jésus; et fasse le ciel qu'il triomphe toujours!
Ainsi soit-il!
Dieppe, le 21 janvier 1611.
De Votre Paternité
Le fils en Jésus-Christ et le serviteur indigne,
PIERRE BIARD S. J.
NOTES:
[I.] Nous ajouterons aux lettres de nos premiers missionnaires au
Canada un fragment d'un mémoire intitulé: _Monumenta Novæ Franciæ,
ab anno 1607, ad annum 1737.--Insulæ Martinicæ ab anno 1678.--Insulæ
Cayennensis ab anno 1668._
La traduction du chapitre II de ce manuscrit, conservé dans nos
archives de Rome, donnera un ensemble de faits sur la Nouvelle- [2]
France, qui ne se trouve pas dans les lettres que nous publions.
Parmi les gentilshommes qui s'offrirent à Henri-le-Grand, d'heureuse
mémoire, pour entreprendre la colonisation de la Nouvelle-France, était
le sieur de Potrincourt. Le roi lui accorda tout ce qu'il demandait,
mais en lui signifiant qu'il aurait à emmener avec lui des religieux
pris dans notre Compagnie pour les employer, selon ses ordres, à
procurer le salut des sauvages; que du reste la dépense de cette
mission ne serait nullement à sa charge, mais que le Trésor royal y
pourvoirait.
Le R. P. Pierre Coton, alors confesseur et prédicateur du roi, et qui
était fort estimé de Sa Majesté, comme on sait, fut chargé par lui de
choisir, dans sa Compagnie, des hommes capables, pour mener à bien
cette périlleuse et sainte entreprise.
Beaucoup de nos religieux s'offrirent pour cette mission lointaine.
Parmi eux on remarquait le P. Pierre Biard, homme dont la vertu égalait
le talent, et qui occupait alors la chaire de théologie à Lyon. Le
choix des supérieurs tomba sur lui et sur le P. Ennemond Masse, dont
nous aurons à parler plus loin.
Ils partirent tous les deux en 1608 pour Bordeaux, où ils devaient
s'embarquer, mais il fallut attendre trois ans. Car le gentilhomme,
dont nous avons déjà parlé, retarda son départ; puis ensuite il
prétexta la nécessité de faire un voyage d'essai, afin, disait-il, de
préparer une habitation convenable pour les Pères. Il fit en effet ce
voyage accompagné d'un prêtre séculier, lequel, se laissant aller à un
zèle peu réfléchi, baptisa une centaine de sauvages, sans les avoir
suffisamment instruits et éprouvés. Plus tard, on s'aperçut que ces
pauvres gens n'avaient pas même compris ce qu'ils avaient reçu.
Trois ans après, de retour de son voyage, le sieur de Potrincourt,
pressé par la reine-mère, se chargea de conduire nos Pères au [3]
Canada. Mais ce ne fut pas sans grandes difficultés et beaucoup de
souffrances que nos Pères arrivèrent au Port-Royal, sur les côtes de
l'Acadie.
L'année qui suivit leur arrivée, deux autres des Nôtres allèrent les
rejoindre: ce furent le P. Quentin et le Frère coadjuteur Gilbert
du Thet. Deux ans de séjour à Port-Royal démontrèrent à nos Pères
l'impossibilité de fixer là le centre de leur mission, soit à cause de
la difficulté d'y attirer un grand concours de sauvages, soit à cause
des tracasseries de ceux qui commandaient. Ils transportèrent le siége
de leur mission sur un autre point de la même côte, au 45e degré 30
minutes de latitude, et cela sur un décret du roi. Cette fondation prit
le nom de Saint-Sauveur. Ils y étaient établis depuis peu de temps,
lorsque les anglais, survenant à l'improviste, s'emparèrent du vaisseau
français, saisirent les lettres-patentes du commandant, et, par une
insigne fourberie, le traitèrent de pirate. Au moment de l'attaque,
plusieurs français furent tués, et parmi eux le frère Gilbert du Thet,
homme remarquable par son courage et sa piété.
Les anglais victorieux, après avoir pillé tout à leur aise,
abandonnèrent dans une mauvaise barque une partie de français, et
emmenèrent avec eux, en Virginie, les PP. Biard et Quentin. Nos deux
prisonniers s'attendaient à être condamnés à mort, surtout lorsque,
reconduits à Port-Royal, ils refusèrent de faire connaître la retraite
des français qui se tenaient cachés dans les environs. Dirigés une
seconde fois sur la Virginie, ils y auraient probablement trouvé la
mort, si la divine Providence n'eût rendu inutiles tous les efforts des
marins anglais pour y aborder. La violence de la tempête les rejeta
sur les îles Açores appartenant aux portugais, et où, malgré eux, ils
furent obligés de prendre terre.
Les anglais eux-mêmes furent forcés d'admirer la loyauté et la [4]
charité de nos Pères qui, en se montrant aux portugais, pouvaient
amener la saisie du navire et faire condamner les anglais, comme
pirates, au dernier supplice. Avant d'entrer dans le port, ils avaient
exigé de leurs prisonniers la promesse de ne pas les dénoncer et de
se tenir cachés durant tout leur séjour aux Açores. Pendant la visite
du vaisseau faite par les portugais, les Pères restèrent à fond de
cale, où ils échappèrent à tous les regards. Cette générosité et cette
fidélité à garder la parole donnée surprirent tellement les anglais,
qu'ils changèrent immédiatement de procédés envers leurs captifs et les
emmenèrent directement en Angleterre, où ils firent publiquement leur
éloge.
L'ambassadeur de France, à la nouvelle de leur arrivée, se hâta de les
réclamer et les fit reconduire honorablement dans leur patrie, au mois
de mai 1614.
Ce premier voyage de nos missionnaires, si stérile en apparence, eut
cependant d'heureux résultats. Outre l'expérience acquise et dont on
profita, le zèle des catholiques français, ranimé par les paroles des
Pères, créa de nouvelles ressources, et dès que la colonie française
fut délivrée des anglais, les Jésuites reprirent la route du Canada, où
ils fondèrent enfin une des plus belles missions de la Compagnie.
[1] FIRST MISSION OF THE JESUITS IN CANADA.[II.][26]
Letter from Father Pierre Biard,[27] to the Very Reverend Father Claude
Aquaviva,[28] General of the Society of Jesus, Rome.
(_Translated from the Latin original, preserved in the Archives of
Jesus, at Rome_.)
DIEPPE, January 21st, 1611.[29]
MY VERY REVEREND FATHER,
The peace of Christ be with you.
Would that I could recount how great and numerous have been the mercies
of God, the fruits of his blessing and, of our prayers in this our
little enterprise; that is to say, how [2] we have emerged from grave
and multiplied difficulties, and how, delivered from every obstacle,
we depart for New France, the place to which we [3] are bound, as Your
Reverence knows. For this you may rejoice with great consolation in the
name of the Lord.
[4] But it has already struck midnight, and we are to sail at break of
day, so I shall give you only a summary of the events which have taken
place.
When the heretic merchants saw us at Dieppe, upon the day fixed for
our departure, the 27th of October of last year, 1610 (we had, in
fact, agreed to sail from Dieppe), they contrived a plan which they
considered capable of injuring us. Two of them[31] had made a contract
with Monsieur de Potrincourt to load and equip his ship, [5] in which
we were to make the voyage. They straightway declared that they would
have nothing more to do with the vessel, if it were going to carry
any Jesuits. It was a remarkable exhibition of malice, as was easy to
prove, especially when the catholics informed them that they were in
duty bound not to reject the Jesuits, since it was the formal order of
the Queen.[32]
However, nothing could be gained from them, and the Catholics were
again obliged to have recourse to the Queen. Her Majesty writes to the
governor of the city, a zealous and pious catholic, and charges him to
inform the heretics that it is her will that the Jesuits be received in
the ship which is about to depart for New France, and that no obstacle
be put in their way.
When these letters are received, the governor assembles what is called
the consistory, namely, all faithful disciples of Calvin. He reads the
Queen's letters and urges them to be obedient. Some of them, namely,
those who were well disposed toward us, boldly declare that they also
are of the same opinion; and they try to induce the merchants to yield.
But they declare that for their part they are not the masters. At
least they say this in public; but in private one of the merchants who
was charged with fitting out the vessel, protested that he would put
nothing into it; that the Queen, if she wished, could deprive him [6]
of his right, but that he certainly would not yield it otherwise.
What was to be done? In truth, all proceedings were at a standstill;
for this society had no written contract, since agreements of this kind
among noblemen are not usually put upon paper. Therefore they could not
prosecute these heretics.
They address themselves anew to the Queen. In the presence of such
effrontery she quoted the words of the proverb: "Never stoop to entreat
a churl," and added that the Fathers should go another time.
The dismayed catholics then declare to the heretics that the Jesuits
will not embark upon their vessel, and that consequently they may go
on freighting it; and that, in any event, if the Jesuits did occupy a
place therein, they themselves would first pay the price of the cargo.
This assurance once given, the malice of these calvinists was exposed
in all its nakedness; for they immediately loaded every part of the
ship not only with merchandise, but with all kinds of goods, never
dreaming that the catholics would be able to find the means of paying
for all these things.
At this news, the marchioness de Guercheville, first lady of honor to
the Queen, [7] was indignant at seeing the forces of hell prevail, and
the malice of wicked men destroy one's strong hopes of securing the
glory of God.[33] Therefore, in order to prevent the triumph of Satan
and the overthrow of their hopes of founding a church in Canada, she
herself solicited alms from Nobles, Princes, and from all the Court, to
rescue the Jesuits from the malevolence of the heretics.
What happened? The ship, already loaded, was about to sail, when
this lady sent to the catholics 4,000 livres, with other means of
assistance. Then, not to be underhand, they go directly to the heretics
and say that they want the Jesuits to go with them, that such is the
will of the Queen; and so consequently they must allow them to embark,
or else the merchants must accept the price of the cargo and withdraw.
The latter declare that they want the value of their merchandise. (I
believe they did not think the catholics would have enough money, or
else they hoped to baffle them by some other means.) They give them
the price they asked; and, what no one could have expected, we so
completely take their place, that half the ship belongs to us, and we
have already means enough to begin [8] laying the foundation, which the
Lord, in his generosity and goodness, will condescend to bless.
So now, my Very Reverend and good Father, you see how entirely the
malice of the evil one and of his tools has been turned to our
advantage. At first we only asked a little corner in this vessel at
their price. Now we are masters of it. We were going into a dreary
wilderness, without much hope of permanent help; and we have already
received enough to begin laying the foundation. We were to enrich the
heretics by a portion of our alms; and now they, of their own accord,
refuse to profit by an occasion which was to benefit them.
But I believe that the great source of their grief, is nothing else
than the triumph of the Lord Jesus; and may heaven grant that he always
triumph! Amen!
Dieppe, January 21, 1611.
Of Your Reverence,
The son and unworthy servant in Jesus Christ,
PIERRE BIARD S. J.
FOOTNOTES:
[II.] We shall add to the letters of our first missionaries to Canada
a fragment of a memoir entitled: _Records of New France, from the year
1607 to the year 1737.--Of the Island of Martinique from the year
1678.--Of the Island of Cayenne from the year 1668._
The translation of chapter II. of this manuscript, preserved in our
archives at Rome, will give a collection of facts about New [2] France,
which are not found in the letters we publish.
Among the gentlemen who offered themselves to Henry the Great, of happy
memory, to undertake the colonization of New France, was sieur de
Potrincourt. The king granted him all that he asked, but at the same
time gave him to understand that he must take with him some religious
persons from our Society for the purpose of securing, according to his
orders, the salvation of the savages; furthermore, that the expense
of this mission would in no respect devolve upon him, but would be
provided for from the royal Treasury.
The Reverend Father Pierre Coton, then confessor and preacher to the
king, and who was very highly esteemed by His Majesty, as we know, was
commissioned by him to select, from his Society, some men capable of
conducting to a successful issue this perilous and holy enterprise.
Many of our religious offered themselves for this distant mission.
Among them was noticed Father Pierre Biard, a man whose integrity
equaled his talent and who then occupied the chair of theology at
Lyons. The choice of the superiors fell upon him and upon Father
Ennemond Masse, of whom we shall speak hereafter.
They both departed in 1608 for Bordeaux, where they intended to embark,
but they were obliged to wait three years. For the gentleman, of whom
we have already spoken, postponed his departure; then he offered as
an excuse the necessity of making a trial voyage, in order, said
he, to prepare a suitable dwelling for the Fathers. In fact he did
make this journey, accompanied by a secular priest, who, yielding
to a thoughtless zeal, baptized a hundred savages without having
sufficiently instructed and tested them. Later, it was discovered that
these poor people had not even understood what they had received.
Three years afterwards, on returning from his voyage, sieur de
Potrincourt, urged by the queen-mother, undertook to convey our Fathers
to [3] Canada. But it was not without great difficulty and much
suffering that they reached Port Royal, upon the coast of Acadia.
The year following their arrival, two others of our Society went
to join them, namely, Father Quentin and Gilbert du Thet, a
Brother-coadjutor.[30] A two years' sojourn in Port Royal demonstrated
to them the impossibility of making that the center of their mission,
either on account of the difficulty of attracting there a great
assemblage of savages, or because of the bickerings of those in
command. They transferred the seat of their mission to another point
upon the same coast, in latitude 45° 30', according to a decree of the
king. This settlement received the name of Saint Savior. They had been
established there but a short time, when the English, coming upon them
suddenly, took possession of the French ship, seized the letters-patent
of the commander, and, by a piece of outrageous rascality, treated him
as a pirate. At the moment of attack several Frenchmen were killed, and
among them brother Gilbert du Thet, a man remarkable for his courage
and piety.
The victorious English, after having pillaged as much as they liked,
abandoned part of the French in a miserable bark, and took with them
to Virginia Fathers Biard and Quentin. Our two prisoners expected
to be condemned to death, especially when, being taken back to Port
Royal they refused to make known the hiding-place of the French who
were concealed in the neighborhood. Turning their course a second time
toward Virginia, they would probably have met death there, had not
divine Providence frustrated all the efforts of the English sailors
to land. A violent storm cast them upon the Azores islands, which
belong to Portugal; and there, in spite of all their efforts, they were
obliged to disembark.
Even the English were forced to admire the loyalty and charity [4]
of our Fathers, who, by showing themselves to the Portuguese, might
have caused the seizure of the ship, and had the English condemned
and executed as pirates. Before entering port they exacted from their
prisoners the promise not to denounce them, and to keep themselves
concealed during their entire sojourn at the Azores. While the
Portuguese were visiting the ship, the Fathers remained in the bottom
of the hold, where they escaped observation. This generosity and
loyalty in keeping their word so surprised the English that they
immediately changed their treatment of their captives, and took them
directly to England, where they publicly eulogized them.
The French ambassador, on hearing of their arrival, hastened to reclaim
them, and had them taken back honorably into their own country, in the
month of May, 1614.
This first voyage of our missionaries, apparently so futile, had,
however, fortunate results. Beside the experience acquired, of which
good use was made, the zeal of French catholics, revived by the stories
of the Fathers, created new resources; and as soon as the French colony
was delivered from the English, the Jesuits resumed their voyages to
Canada, where they finally founded one of the finest missions of the
Society.--[Carayon.]
[9] Lettre du P. Biard, au R. P. Christophe Baltazar, Provincial de
France a Paris.
(_Copiée sur l'autographe conservé aux Archives du Jésus à Rome._)
MON REVEREND PERE,
Pax Christi.
Enfin, par la grace et faveur de Dieu, nous voicy arrivez à Port-Royal,
lieu tant désiré, et après avoir paty et surmonté, pendant l'espace de
sept mois, force contradictions et traverses, que nous susciterent à
Dieppe quelques-uns de la pretendue religion, et sur mer, les fatigues,
orages et tourmentes de l'hyver, des vents et des tempestes. Par la
misericorde de Dieu et par les prieres de Vostre Reverence et de nos
bons Peres et Freres, nous voicy au bout de nostre course, et au lieu
tant souhaité. Voicy aussi la premiere commodité qui se presente pour
escrire à Vostre Reverence, et lui faire sçavoir de nos nouvelles et de
l'estat auquel nous nous retrouvons. Je suis marry que le peu de temps
de nostre arrivée en ce pays ne me permette pas d'en discourir, et
comme je désirerois [10] plus amplement, et de l'estat de cette pauvre
nation; neantmoins je m'efforceray de vous descrire non-seulement
ce qui s'est passé en nostre voyage, mais aussy tout ce qu'avons
peu apprendre de ce peuple depuis que nous y sommes, selon que, je
pense, tous nos bons seigneurs et amis avec Vostre Reverence (doivent)
l'attendre et le desirer.
Et, pour commencer par le préparatif de nostre voyage, Vostre Reverence
aura sceu l'effort que firent deux marchants de Dieppe de la religion
pretendue, qui avoient charge de fretter le navire, pour empescher que
n'y fussions reçus. Il y avoit jà quelques années que ceux qui avoient
commencé et continué le voyage de Canada, avoient desiré quelques uns
de nostre Compagnie pour s'employer à la conversion de ce peuple là; et
le feu Roy d'heureuse memoire Henry le Grand avoit assigné cinq cents
escus pour le voyage des premiers qui y seroient envoyés, quand le R.
P. Enmond Masse et moy, deputés pour ce voyage, après avoir salué la
Reyne Regente, entendu de sa propre bouche le saint zele qu'elle avoit
de la conversion de ces peuples barbares, reçu les susdicts cinq cents
escus pour nostre viatique, aydés aussi de la pieuse libéralité de
Mesdames les Marquises de Guercheville, Verneuil et de Sourdis, partis
de Paris, arrivasmes à Dieppe au jour que nous avait assigné [11]
Monsieur de Biancourt, fils de Monsieur de Potrincourt, pour nous y
prendre, sçavoir le 27 d'Octobre 1610.
Les deux susdicts marchants, aussitost qu'ils ouïrent que deux Iesuites
debvoient aller au Canada, s'adresserent à Monsieur de Biancourt[III.]
et luy denoncerent que si lesdicts Iesuites entroient au navire, ils
n'y vouloient rien avoir. On leur respondit que la venuë des Iesuites
ne leur nuyroit en rien; que, Dieu mercy et la Reyne, ils avoient
moyen de payer leur pension sans grever aucunement leur fret. Ils
persistent toute fois en leur negative; et quoyque Monsieur de Sicoine,
gouverneur de la ville, fort zelé catholique, s'en entremeslast de
bonne affection, si ne pût-il rien obtenir d'eux. A cette cause,
Monsieur Robbin,[IV.] le fils, autrement de Coloigne, associé avec
Monsieur de Biancourt pour le voyage, se delibera d'aller en Cour et
déclarer à la Reyne cet accrochement; ce qu'il fit. La Reyne sur cela
donna lettres addressantes à Monsieur de Sicoigne, à ce qu'il eust à
declarer la volonté du Roy à present regnant, être telle, et avoir
pareillement [12] esté telle celle du feu Roy d'eternelle memoire,
que lesdicts Iesuites allent en Canada; et par ainsy entendissent les
contrariants sur ce fait, qu'ils se trouveroient en opposition contre
le bon plaisir de leur Prince. Les lettres estoient fort affectueuses;
et plût à Monsieur de Sicoigne de mander à soy tout le consistoire, et
leur en faire lecture. Si est-ce que pour tout cela, les marchants sus
mentionnés ne voulurent en rien démordre; seulement fut accordé que,
laissant à part la question des Iésuites, on chargeroit promptement
le vaisseau, de peur que cet embarras et dispute n'apportast du
retardement au secours qui promptement debvoit estre donné à Monsieur
de Potrincourt.
Lors je pensois bien quasi toutes nos attentes estre mises au rouët, et
ne sçavois quelle clef nous en pourroit assez desgager. Mais Monsieur
de Coloigne ne desespera point; ains, se montrant de sa grâce toujours
plus ardent à poursuivre pour nous, fit entendre en Cour, par un
second voyage qu'il fit, y avoir bien moyen de debouter les susdits
marchants, sçavoir est, en leur payant leur marchandise, et ainsi
les dédommageant. Madame de la Guercheville, dame de grande vertu,
recognoissant cet expédient, et jugeant n'estre convenable à la piété
de la cour que pour si peu un oeuvre de Dieu fust arresté, et satan en
eust ainsi le [13] dessus, se délibera de faire un queste pour mettre
ensemble la somme de deniers requise, et le fist avec telle diligence
et si heureusement, par la pieuse liberalité de plusieurs des Seigneurs
et Dames de la cour, qu'elle assembla bientost quatre mil livres, et
les envoya à Dieppe. Ainsy lesdits marchants furent exclus de tout le
droict qu'ils eussent pû avoir sur le vaisseau, sans rien perdre, et
nous y fusmes introduits.
Cet affaire et plusieurs autres qui survinrent dans l'aprest de nostre
voyage, furent cause que ne pusmes partir de Dieppe avant le 26
janvier 1611. Monsieur de Biancourt, jeune seigneur fort accomply et
expert en la maryne, estoit nostre conducteur, et chef du vaisseau.
Nous estions 36 personnes dans un navire appelé _la Grace de Dieu_,
d'environ soixante tonneaux. Nous n'eusmes que deux jours de bon vent;
au troisiesme, nous nous vismes subitement, par un vent et marées
contraires, emportés jusques à cent ou deux cents pas des esquillons
l'isle d'Wytht, en Angleterre; et bien nous en print que nous y
rencontrasmes bon ancrage; sans cela resoluement c'estoit faict de nous.
Eschappés de là, nous relaschasmes à Hyrmice et depuis à Niéport; en
quoy nous consumasmes 18 jours. Le 16 de février, premier jour de
caresme, [14] un bon norouest s'élevant, nous donna moyen de partir,
et nous accompagna jusques hors de la Manche. Ors ont accoustumé les
mariniers, venant à Port-Royal, de ne point prendre la droite route
des isles Ouessants jusqu'au Cap de Sable, ce qui abregeroit beaucoup
le chemin; car en cette façon, de Dieppe à Port-Royal, n'y auroit
qu'environ mil lieues; ains leur coustume est de descendre vers le Sud
jusqu'aux Açores, et de là tirer au grand banc, pour du grand banc,
selon que les vents se présentent, viser au Cap de Sable, ou bien à
Campseaux, ou bien autre part. Ils m'ont dict que pour trois raisons
ils descendent ainsi aux Açores: la première pour esviter la mer du
nort, qui est fort haute, disent-ils; la seconde, pour s'ayder des
vents du sud, qui volontiers reignent le plus; la troisiesme, pour
assurer leur estime: autrement il est difficile qu'ils se recognoissent
et dressent leur voyage sans erreur. Mais nulle de ces causes a eu
effet quant à nous, qui neantmoins avons suivy cette coustume: non la
premiere, parce que nous avons experimenté tant de tempestes et la mer
si rude, que je ne pense pas y avoir beaucoup de gain, nort ou sud,
sud ou nort; non la seconde, parce que souvent, quand nous voulions le
Sud, le Nort souffloit, et à retours; non enfin la troisiesme, d'autant
que nous ne pusmes point voir ces Açores, quoyque nous fussions [15]
descendus jusqu'à 39 degrés et demy. Ainsi toute l'estime de nos
conducteurs s'embrouilla, et nous n'estions pas encore aux Açores du
grand banc, quand quelques-uns opinoient que nous l'eussions desjà
passé.
Le grand banc aux molües n'est pas, comme j'estimois en France, quelque
banc de sablon ou terre qui apparoisse hors de la mer, ains est une
grande lisiere de terre soubs l'eau à 35, 40 et 45 brasses, large en
quelques endroits de 25 lieuës. On l'appelle banc, parce que c'est là
premierement où venant des abismes de l'ocean, l'on trouve terre avec
la sonde. Or, sur le bord de ce grand banc, les vagues sont d'ordinaire
fort furieuses trois ou quatre lieues durant, et ces trois ou quatre
lieues on appelle les Açores.
Nous estions environ ces Açores le mardy de Pasques, quand nous
voicy en prouë notre ennemy conjuré, l'Ouest, avec telle furie et
opiniastreté, que peu s'en fallut que nous ne perissions. De huict
jours entiers, il ne nous donna relasche, adjoustant à sa malice le
froid et souvent la pluie ou la neige.
Naviger en ce traject de la Nouvelle-France, si dangereux et si
aspre, principalement en petits vaisseaux et mal munitionnez, est un
sommaire de toutes les miseres de la vie. Nous n'avions repos ni [16]
jour ni nuict. Si nous pensions prendre nostre refection, nostre plat
subitement eschappoit contre la tête de quelqu'un; un autre tomboit
sour nous, et nous contre quelque coffre, et tourneboulions avec
d'autres pareillement renversez; nostre tasse se versoit sur nostre
lict, et le bidon dans nostre seing, ou bien un coup de mer mandoit
nostre plat.
Monsieur de Biancourt m'honoroit de tant, que je couchois dans sa
chambre. Une belle nuict ainsy qu'estant au lict nous pensions prendre
quelque repos, voicy qu'un gentil et hardy coup de mer qui faussa
les fermetures de la fenestre, la rompt et nous vient couvrir bien
hautement; autant en eusmes nous une autre fois de jour. En outre,
le froid estoit si violent, et l'a esté plus de six semaines durant,
qu'à peine nous sentions nous d'engourdissement et de gel. Le bon Père
Masse a pati beaucoup. Il a demeuré quelques quarante jours malade sans
manger que bien peu, et quasi sans bouger du lict; encore vouloit-il
jeusner avec tout cela. Après Pasque, il meliora tousjours, Dieu mercy
de plus en plus. Pour moy, j'estois gaillard, quand mesme plusieurs des
matelots se rendoient, et la Dieu grâce, je n'ay jamais tenu le lict
pour mal que j'eusse.
Eschappés des tourmentes, nous entrasmes dans les glaces sur les Açores
du banc, degrez du nort 46. Aucunes des glaces sembloient des isles,
autres [17] des petits bourgs, autres des grandes églises ou dômes bien
haults, ou superbes chasteaux: toutes flottoient. Pour les esviter,
nous prismes au sud; mais ce fut tomber, comme l'on dict, de Charybdis
en Sylla, car de ces haults rochers, nous tombasmes en un pavé de
basse glace, la mer en estant toute couverte autant que la vue pouvoit
porter. Nous ne savions en passer; et n'eust esté la hardiesse de M. de
Biancourt, nos mariniers demeuroient sans expedient; mais il fit passer
outre, non obstant le murmure de plusieurs, par où la glace estoit plus
rare, et Dieu, par sa bonté, nous assista.
Le 5 de may, nous descendismes à Campceau, et eusmes le moyen d'y
celebrer la sainte messe après tant de temps, et nous sustenter de
ce pain qui nourit sans deffaut, et console sans fin. Depuis, nous
costoyames terre jusqu'à Port-Royal, et y sommes arrivés à bons et
heureux auspices le saint jour de Pencoste de bon matin, sçavoir est
le 22 de may,[V.] jour auquel le soleil entre dans les Iumeaux. Nostre
voyage avoit duré quatre mois.
Il n'est possible d'exprimer l'ayse que reçurent de nostre arrivée
Monsieur de Potrincourt et les siens, lesquels, durant tout cet hyver,
se trouvèrent [18] en de très-grandes necessités, comme je vous vais
declarer.
Monsieur de Potrincourt avoit accompagné son fils revenant en France
sur la fin de juillet 1610, et y estoit venu jusques au port Saint
Iean,[VI.] autrement dict Chachippé, distant du Port-Royal 70 lieuës
est et sud. Revenant et ayant redoublé le Cap de Sable, se trouvant en
la baye courante, accablé de fatigues, il fut contraint de ceder le
gouvernail pour un peu dormir, donnant mandement à celuy qui succedoit
de suivre toujours terre, jusqu'au plus profond de la Baye. Ce
successeur, ne sçay pourquoy, ne suyvit pas le commandement, ains peu
de temps après changea, et abandonna terre.
Le Sauvage Membertou, qui suyvoit dans sa chaloupe, fut estonné
de cette route; néanmoins, n'en sçachant pas la cause, n'en imita
pas l'exemple, et si n'en dit rien. Aussi arriva-t-il bientost à
Port-Royal, là où M. de Potrincour erra par six semaines en danger de
se perdre; car le bon seigneur, s'estant esveillé, fut bien esbahy de
se veoir en pleine mer, à perte de terre, dans une chaloupe. Il avait
beau regarder son cadran, car ne sçachant [19] quelle route son gentil
gouverneur avoit tenué, il ne pouvoit deviner ni où il estoit, ni où
il convenoit addresser. Un autre mal, sa chaloupe ne pouvoit aller à
la boline,[VII.] ayant esté, ne scay comment, brisée par les flancs.
Ainsi, voulust-il ou non, il estoit necessité à prendre toujours vent
derriere.
Un tiers inconvenient et grief: ils n'avoient de vivres. Néantmoins,
c'est une homme qui ne se rend pas facilement, et bonheur l'accompagne.
Donc, en cette perplexité de route, il se determina heureusement de
prendre au nord, et Dieu lui envoya ce qu'il souhaitoit, un favorable
Sud. Contre le mal de la faim, sa prudence luy servit; car il avoit
chassé et gardé certain nombre de cormorans.[VIII.] Mais quel moyen
de les rôtir en une chaloupe, pour les manger et garder? De bonne
fortune, il se trouva avoir quelque planche, sur laquelle il dressa
un foyer, et ainsi rotit son gibier, à l'ayde duquel il arriva à
Pentegouët, anciennement la Norembegue, et de là aux Etechemins, puis à
l'embouscheure du Port-Royal, où, par desastre, il pensa faire naufrage.
Il faisoit obscur quand il se trouva en cette entrée, et ses gens
commencerent à lui, contredire, [20] niant assurément que ce fust
l'embouscheure du Port-Royal. Luy ouït volontiers les opinions de ses
gens, et malheur qu'encore les suyvit-il, et aynsi prenant en bas de la
Baye Françoise, il s'en alla roder bien loing à la mercy des vents et
des marées. Cependant ses gens estoient bien en peine au Port-Royal, et
jà quasi tenoient-ils pour tout assuré qu'il fust peri; à cela aydoit
le sauvage Membertou, qui affirmoit luy avoir veu prendre vers la mer à
perte de vuë; d'où l'on inferoit, comme l'on croit autant facilement ce
que l'on craint comme ce que l'on ayme, que puisque tels ou tels vents
avoient régné, il estoit impossible qu'avec une chaloupe, il eust peu
eschapper. Et jà traitoit-on du retour en France. Or bien esbahis, et
ensemble bien joyeux furent-ils, quand ils virent leur Thésée, revenu
de l'autre monde; ce fut six semaines après son depart, au même temps
que M. de Biancourt arrivoit en France, le retour duquel estoit attendu
à Port-Royal pour tout Novembre de la même annèe 1610. Mais on fut
bien estonné, quand non seulement on ne le vit pas à Noël, mais aussi
on perdit espérance, à cause de l'hiver, de le revoir avant la fin
d'apvril ensuivant.
Cette fut raison pour quoy on se retrancha de vivres; mais ce
retranchement profitoit peu, d'autant que le Sieur de Potrincourt ne
rabattoit rien [21] de ses libéralités vers les Sauvages, craingnant
les aliener de la foy chrestienne. C'est un seigneur vrayment liberal
et magnanime, mesprisant toute recompense des biens qu'il leur fait;
de maniere que les Sauvages, quand par fois on leur demande pourquoy
ils ne lui redonnent quelque chose pour tant de biens qu'il leur faict,
ont de coustumes de respondre malitieusement: _Endries ninan metaij
Sagamo_: c'est-à-dire, Monsieur ne se soucie point de nos peaux de
castor. Néantmoins ils envoyoient par fois quelques pieces d'orignac,
qui aydoyent à toujours gagner le temps. Or, bon moyen pour espargner,
voicy que, l'hyver venu, leur moulin se glace, et n'y avoit moyen de
faire farine. Bon pour eux, qu'ils trouverent provision de pois et
febves; cette fut leur manne et ambroisie sept semaines durant.
Là estoit venu Apvril, mais non pas le navire, et lors le moulin eut
beau se glacer, car aussi bien n'y avoit-il rien pour la tremye. Que
fera-on? la faim est un meschant mal. On se met à pescher sur eau, et
fouiller soubs terre: sur eau, on eut des esplans et du harang; soubs
terre, on trouva de fort bonnes racines, qu'on appelle _chiqueli_, et
abondent fort en de certains endroits.
Ainsi contentoit-on aucunement cet importun crediteur; je dis
aucunement parce que, le pain leur [22] manquant, toute autre chose
leur estoit peu, et jà faisoit-on estat que, si le navire ne venoit
pour tout le mois de may, que l'on se mettroit par la coste en
recherche de quelques navires, pour repasser au doux pays de froment et
vignoble. C'estoyent les gens de Monsieur de Potrincourt qui parloient
ainsi; car pour luy, il avoit le courage, et si sçavoit bien les moyens
de faire attendre jusques à la saint Iean. Il n'en fut pas de besoing,
Dieu mercy, car comme dict est, nous arrivasmes le 22 de may. Or si,
à cette venue, l'allegresse de Monsieur de Potrincourt et de ceux de
l'habitation fut grande, ceux là le pourront conjecturer, qui sçavent
ce que c'est de la faim, du desespoir, de la crainte, de patir, d'estre
pere, et veoir ses entreprises et travaux à volleau.
Nous pleurasmes tous au rencontre, et nous estimions quasi songer;
puis, quand nous fusmes un peu revenus et entrez en propos, cette
question fut mise en avant, sçavoir: mon (de vrai) qui estoit le plus
ayse des deux, ou M. de Potrincourt et les siens, ou M. de Biancourt
et nous. De vray, nous avions bien tous le coeur bien eslargy, et
Dieu, par sa misericorde, donna signe d'y prendre plaisir; car, après
la messe et le disner, comme ce ne fusse qu'allée et venue du navire
à l'habitation et de l'habitation au [23] navire, chacun voulant
caresser, et estre caressé de ses amis, comme après l'hyver on se
resjouït du beau temps, et après le siége de la liberté, il arriva que
deux de l'habitation prindrent un canot des sauvages pour aller au
navire. Ces canots sont tellement faits que, si on ne s'y tient pas
bien juste et à plomb, aussitost on vire; arriva donc que, voulant
retourner dans le mesme canot du navire à l'habitation ne sçay comment
ne charrierent pas droict, et eux dans l'eau.
Le bonheur porta que pour lors je me promenois avec M. de Potrincourt
à la rive. Nous voyons l'accident, et, à nostre pouvoir faisions
signe avec nos chapeaux à ceux du navire, de courir au secours; car
de crier, rien n'eust proffité, tant le navire estoit esloigné, et le
vent faisoit du bruit. Personne n'y prenoit garde du commencement; de
maniere que nostre recours fut à l'oraison, et de nous mettre à genou,
n'y voyant autre remede; et Dieu eut pitié de nous. L'un des deux se
saisit du canot renversé, et se jette dessus; l'autre, à la parfin,
fut secouru d'une chaloupe, et tous deux ainsi retirez et sauvez nous
comblerent de liesse, voyant comme la bonté divine, par sa toute
parternelle douceur, n'avoit point voulu permettre que le malin esprit
nous enviast et funestast un si bon jour. A elle soit gloire à tout
jamays. Ainsy soit-il.
[24] Or maintenant il est temps qu'arrivés par la grâce de Dieu en
santé nous jettions les yeux sur le pays, et y considerions un peu
l'estat de la chrestienté que nous y trouvons. Tout son fondement
consiste après Dieu en cette petite habitation d'une famille
d'environ vingt personnes. Messire Iessé Flesche, vulgairement dict
le Patriarche, en a eu la charge, et, dans un an qu'il y a demeuré, a
baptizé quelque cent ou tant des Sauvages. Le mal a esté qu'il ne les
a pu instruire comme il eust bien désiré, faute de sçavoir la langue,
et avoir de quoy les entretenir; car celui qui leur nourrit l'âme
faut quand et quand qu'il se delibere de sustenter leur corps. Ce bon
personnage nous a fait beaucoup d'amitié, et a remercié Dieu de nostre
venue; car il avoit jà de longtemps resolu de repasser en France à la
premiere commodité; ce qu'il est bien ayse de faire maintenant, sans le
regret d'abandonner une vigne qu'il auroit plantée.
On n'a pû jusques à maintenant traduire au langage du pays la croyance
commune ou symbole, l'oraison de nostre Seigneur, les commandemens de
Dieu, les Sacremens et autres chefs totalement necessaires à faire un
chrestien.
Estant dernièrement au port Saint-Iean, je fus adverty qu'entre les
autres Sauvages, il y en avoit cinq jà chrestiens. Ie prends de là
occasion de leur [25] donner des images, et planter une croix devant
leur cabane, chantant un _Salve Regina_. Ie leur fis faire le signe
de la croix; mais je me trouvois bien esbahy, car autant quasi y
entendoient les non-baptizés, que les chrestiens. Ie demandois à un
chacun son nom de baptesme; quelques-uns ne le sçavoient pas, et
ceux-là s'appeloient _Patriarches_; et la cause est parce que c'est le
Patriarche qui leur impose le nom; car ils concluënt ainsy, il faut
qu'ils s'appellent _Patriarches_, quand ils ont oublié leur vray nom.
Il y eut aussi pour rire, car lorsque je leur demandois s'ils estoient
chrestiens, ils ne m'entendoient pas; quand je leur demandois s'ils
estoient baptizés, ils me respondoient: _Hetaion enderquir Vortmandia
Patriarché_; c'est à-dire: "Oui, le Patriarche nous a fait semblables
aux Normans." Or, appellent-ils Normans tous les Françoys hormis les
Malouins, qu'ils appellent Samaricois, et les Basques qu'ils disent
Bascua.
Le _sagamo_, c'est-à-dire le seigneur du port Saint-Iean, est un
appelé Cacagous, fin et matois s'il n'y en a point en la coste; c'est
tout ce qu'il a rapporté de France (car il a esté en France), et me
disoit qu'il avoit esté baptizé à Bajonne, me racontant cela comme
qui raconteroit d'avoir esté par amitié conduit à un bal. Sur quoy,
voyant le mal, et [26] voulant esprouver si je luy esmouverois point
la conscience, je luy demandois combien il avoit de femmes. Il me
respondit qu'il en avoit huict; et de fait, il m'en compta sept, qu'il
avoit là presentes, me les désignant avec autant de gloire, tant s'en
faut qu'avec honte, comme si je luy eusse demandé combien il avoit de
fils legitimes.
Un autre, qui cherchoit plusieurs femmes, comme je luy dissuadasse,
luy alleguant qu'il estoit chrestien, me paya de cette response:
_Reroure quiro Nortmandia_: c'est à-dire Cela est bon pour vous
autres, Normans. Aussi ne voit-on gueres de changement en eux après le
baptesme. La mesme sauvagine et les mesmes moeurs demeurent, ou peu
s'en faut, mesmes coustumes, ceremonies, us, façons et vices, au moins
à ce qu'on en peut sçavoir, sans point observer aucune distinction de
temps, jours, offices, exercices, prieres, debvoirs, vertus ou remedes
spirituels.
Membertou, comme celuy qui hante le plus M. de Potrincourt dés long
temps, est aussi le plus zelé, et montre le plus de foy; mais encore
il se plaint de ne nous pas assez entendre, et desireroit d'estre
prescheur, dit-il, s'il estoit bien instruict. Ce fut luy qui me fit
l'autre jour une plaisante repartie; car, comme je luy enseignois son
_Pater_, selon la traduction que m'en a fait M. de Biancourt, sur ce
[27] que je lui faisois dire: _Nui en caraco nac iquem esmoi ciscou_;
c'est-à-dire, donne-nous aujourd'huy nostre pain quotidien. "Mais,
dit-il, si je ne luy demandois que du pain, je demeurerois sans orignac
ou poisson."
Le bon vieillard nous contoit avec grande affection comme Dieu
l'assiste depuis qu'il est chrestien, et nous disoit que ce printemps,
luy arriva de patir grande faim luy et les siens; que sur ce il luy
souvint qu'il estoit chrestien, et par ce il pria Dieu. Après sa
prière, allant veoir à la riviere, il trouva des esplans à suffisance.
Et puisque je suis sur ce vieux sagamo, premices de cette gentilité, je
vous diray encore ce qui luy est arrivé cet hyver.
Il a esté malade, et ce qui est plus, jugé à mort par les _aoutmoins_
ou sorciers du pays. Or est la coustume que dès aussitost que les
Aoutmoins ont sentencié la maladie ou plaie estre mortelle, dès lors
le patient ne mange plus; aussy ne luy donne-t-on rien. Ains, prenant
sa belle robe, il entonne luy-mesme le chant de sa mort; après lequel
cantique, s'il tarde trop à mourir, on luy jette force seaux d'eau
dessus, pour l'advancer, et quelquefois l'enterre-t-on à demy vif. Or
les enfants de Membertou, quoy que chrestien, se preparoient à user
de ce beau devoir de pieté envers leur père; jà ils ne luy donnoient
plus à manger, et luy ayant prins sa [28] belle robe de loutre, avoit,
comme un cygne, chanté et conclu sa Nænie ou chant funerail. Une chose
l'affligeoit encore, c'est qu'il ne sçavoit pas pomment il debvoit
bien mourir en chrestien, et qu'il ne disoit point adieu à M. de
Potrincourt. Ces choses entendues, M. de Potrincourt vint à luy, luy
remonstre et l'asseure qu'en despit de tous les Aoutmoins et Pilotois,
il vivroit et recouvreroit santé, s'il vouloit manger; ce qu'il estoit
tenu de faire, estant chrestien. Le bon homme crut, et fut sauvé;
aujourd'huy il raconte cecy avec grand contentement, et rememore bien à
propos comme Dieu a misericordieusement en cela fait entendre la malice
et mensonge de leurs aoutmoins.
Je raconteray icy un autre faict du mesme Sieur de Potrincourt, et
qui a beaucoup proffité à toute cette gentilité. Un sauvage chrestien
estoit mort, et (marque de sa constance) il avoit mandé icy à
l'habitation, pendant sa maladie, qu'il se recommandoit aux prieres.
Après sa mort, les autres Sauvages se preparoient de l'enterrer à leur
mode: leur mode est qu'ils prennent tout ce qui appartient au defunct,
peaux, arcs, utensiles, cabannes, etc. bruslent tout cela, hurlants,
brayants avec certains clameurs, sorceleries et invocations du malin
esprit. M. de Potrincourt delibera de vertueusement resister à ces
ceremonies. Il met donc en armes toutes ses gens, et [29] s'en va
aux Sauvages en main forte, obtient par ce moyen ce qu'il demandoit,
sçavoir est que le corps fust donné à M. le Patriarche, et ainsi
l'enterrement fut faict à la chrestienne. Cet acte, d'autant qu'il n'a
pû estre contrarié par les Sauvages, a esté loué par eux, et l'est
encores.
La chappelle qu'on a eue jusque à maintenant, est fort petite, pirement
accomodée, et en toutes façons incommode à tous exercices de religion.
Pour remede, M. de Potrincourt nous a donné tout un quartier de
son habitation, si nous pouvons le couvrir et accomoder. Seulement
j'adjousteray encore un mot, que plusieurs seront bien ayses et édifiés
d'ouïr.
Après mon arrivée icy à Port-Royal, j'ay esté avec M. de Potrincourt
jusque aux Etechemins. Là, Dieu voulut que je rencontrasse le jeune du
Pont de Sainct Malo, lequel ne sçays comment effarouché,[IX.] avoit
passé toute l'année avec les Sauvages, vivant de mesme qu'eux. C'est un
jeune homme d'une grande force d'esprit et de corps, n'y ayant sauvage
qui courre, agisse ou patisse ou parle mieux que luy. Il estoit en
grandes apprehensions de M. de [30] Potrincourt; mais Dieu me donna
tant de croyance envers luy, que sur ma parole il vint avec moy dans
nostre navire, et, après quelques submissions et debvoir rendu par
luy, la paix fut faite au grand contentement de tous. Au départir,
comme les canonades bruyèrent, il me pria de luy assigner heure pour
sa confession. Au lendemain matin, luy mesme prevint l'heure, tant il
estoit en ferveur, et se confessa en l'orée de la mer, en la présence
de tous les Sauvages, qui s'émerveilloient d'ainsy le voir à genoux
devant moy si long temps. Depuis, il communia avec grand exemple, et
puis dire que les larmes m'en vinrent aux yeux, et ne fus pas seul. Le
diable fut confus de cet acte: aussy pensa-il subitement tout troubler
l'aprés disnée suivante; mais Dieu mercy, par l'équité et bonté de M.
de Potrincourt, le tout a esté remis en son entier.
Voilà, mon Révérend Pere, le discours de nostre voyage et des choses
survenues tant en yceluy que devant celuy, et depuis nostre arrivée à
cette habitation. Reste maintenant à vous dire que la conversion de ce
pays à l'Evangile, et de ce peuple à la civilité, n'est pas petite, ni
sans beaucoup de difficultez; car en premier lieu, si nous considerons
le pays, ce n'est qu'une forest, sans autre commodité pour la vie
que celles qu'on apportera de France, et avec le temps on pourroit
retirer du terroir, après qu'on [31] l'aura cultivé. La nation est
sauvage, vagabonde, mal habituée, rare et d'assez peu de gens. Elle
est, dis-je, sauvage, courant les bois, sans lettres, sans police, sans
bonnes moeurs; elle est vagabonde, sans aucun arrest, ni des maisons
ni de parenté, ni des possessions ni de patrie; elle est mal habituée,
gens extremement paresseux, gourmans, irreligieux, traitres, cruels
en vengeance, et adonnés à toute luxure, hommes et femmes, les hommes
ayant plusieurs femmes et les abandonnant à autruy, et les femmes ne
leur servant que d'esclaves qu'ils battent et assomment de coups, sans
qu'elles osent se plaindre; et après avoir esté demy meurtries, s'il
plaist au meurtrier, il faut qu'elles rient et luy fassent caresses.
Avec tous ces maux, ils sont extrêmement glorieux: ils s'estiment
plus vaillans, que nous, meilleurs que nous, plus ingenieux que nous,
et, chose difficile à croire, plus riches que nous. Ils s'estiment,
dis-je, plus vaillants que nous, se vantant qu'ils ont tué des Basques
et Malouins, et fait beaucoup de mal aux navires, sans que jamays on
en ait tiré vengeance, voulant dire que ce a esté faute de coeur.
Ils s'estiment meilleurs: "Car, disent-ils, vous ne cessez de vous
entrebattre et quereller l'un l'autre; nous vivons en paix. Vous
estes envieux les uns des autres, et détractez les uns des autres
ordinairement; [32] vous estes larrons et trompeurs; vous estes
convoiteux, sans liberalité et misericorde: quant à nous, si nous avons
un morceau du pain, nous le partissons entre nous."
Telles et semblables choses disent-ils communement, voyant les
susdictes imperfections en quelques-uns de nos gens; et, se flattent
de ce que quelques-uns d'entre eux ne les ont si éminentes, ne
considerant (pas) qu'ils ont tous des vices beaucoup plus énormes, et
que la meilleure part des nostres n'ont pas mesmes les vices susdicts,
concluent universellement qu'ils vallent mieux que tous les chrestiens.
C'est l'amour propre qui les aveugle, et le malin esprit qui les
seduit, ne plus ne moins que vous voyez en nostre France les desvoyés
de la foy s'estimer et se vanter estre meilleurs que les catholiques,
d'autant qu'en quelques-uns ils voyent beaucoup de vices, ne regardants
ni les vertus des autres catholiques, ni leurs vices beaucoup plus
grands; ne voulant, comme Cyclopes, avoir, qu'un seul oeil, et celuy
fiché sur aucuns vices de quelques catholiques, et jamays sur les
vertus des autres, ni sur eux, sinon pour se tromper.
Ils s'estiment aussi plus ingenieux, d'autant qu'ils nous voyent
admirer aucunes de leurs manufactures, comme oeuvres de personnes si
rudes et grossieres, [33] et admirent peu ce que nous leur monstrons,
quoy que beaucoup plus digne d'estre admiré, faute d'esprit. De là
vient qu'ils s'estiment beaucoup plus riches que nous, quoy qu'ils
soyent extremement pauvres et souffreteux.
Cacagous, duquel j'ai cy-devant parlé, a bonne grace, quand il a un
peu haussé le ton; car pour monstrer sa bonne affection envers les
Françoys, il se vante de vouloir aller veoir le Roy, et luy porter un
present de cent castors, et fait estat, ce faisant, de le faire le plus
riche de tous ses predecesseurs. La cause aussy de ce jugement leur
vient de l'extreme et bruslante convoitise de leurs castors qu'ils
voyent regner en quelques-uns des nostres.
Non moins plaisant est le discours d'un certain Sagamo, qui ayant ouy
raconter de M. de Potrincourt, que le Roy estoit jeune et à marier:
"Peut-estre, dit-il, luy pourray-je donner ma fille pour femme; mais,
selon les us et coustumes du pays, il faudroit que le Roy lui fist de
grands presens: sçavoir, quatre ou cinq barriques de pain, trois de
pois ou de febves, un de petun, quatre ou cinq chapots de cent sols
pièce, avec quelques arcs, flesches, harpons, et semblables denrées."
Voylà les marques de l'esprit de cette nation, qui est fort peu
peuplée, principalement les Soriquois et Etechemins qui avoysinent
la mer, combien, que [34] Membertou assure qu'en sa jeunesse il a
veu _chimonuts_, c'est-à-dire des Sauvages aussi dru semés que les
cheveux de la teste. On tient qu'ils sont ainsi diminués depuis que
les François ont commencé à y hanter: car, depuis ce temps-là, ils ne
font tout l'esté que manger; d'où vient que, prenant une tout autre
habitude, et amassant de humeurs, l'automne et l'hyver ils payent
leurs intemperies par pleurésies, esquinances, flux de sang, qui les
font mourir. Seulement cette année, soixante en sont morts au Cap de
la Hève, qui est la plus grande partie de ce qu'ils y estoient; et
neantmoins personne du petit peuple de M. de Potrincourt n'a esté
seulement malade, nonobstant toute l'indigence qu'ils ont paty; ce qui
a faict apprehender les Sauvages que Dieu nous deffend et protége comme
son peuple particulier et bien-aymé.
Ce que je dis de cette rareté d'habitants de cette contrée, se doict
entendre de ceux qui paroissent en la coste de la mer; car, dans les
terres, principalement des Etechemins, il y a force peuple, à ce qu'on
dit. Toutes ces choses conjoinctes avec la difficulté du langage, le
temps qu'il y faudra consommer, les despends qu'il y faudra faire,
les grandes incommoditez et labeurs et disettes qu'il faudra endurer,
declarent assez la grandeur de cette entreprise, et les difficultés qui
la pourront traverser. Toutes [35] fois plusieurs choses m'encouragent
à la poursuite d'icelle.
Premierement l'esperance que j'ay en la bonté et providence de Dieu.
Esaïe nous assure que le royaume de nostre Redempteur doict estre
recognu par toute la terre, et qu'il ne doict avoir ni antres de
dragons, ni cavernes de basilisques, ni rochers inaccessibles, ni
abysmes tant profonds que son humanité n'adoucisse, son salut ne
guerisse, son abondance ne fertilise, son humilité ne surhausse,
et enfin que sa croix ne triomphe victorieusement. Et pour quoy
n'esperay-je que le temps est venu auquel cette prophetie doict estre
accomplie en ces quartiers? Que si cela est, qu'y a-t-il de tant
difficile que nostre Dieu ne puisse faciliter?
En second lieu, je mets la consideration du Roy nostre Sire. C'est
un Roy qui nous promet rien de moindre que le feu Roy son pere
l'incomparable Henri le Grand. Cet oeuvre a commencé avec son reigne,
et peut on dire que depuis cent années la France s'est approprié ce
pays, ou en a si veritablement pris possession, ny tant faict, que
depuis son reigne, que Dieu remplisse de toutes benedictions. Il ne
voudra permettre que son nom et ses armes paroissent en ces regions
avec le paganisme, son authorité avec la barbarie, sa renommée avec la
sauvagine, son pouvoir avec l'indigence, [36] sa foy avec manquement,
ses subjects sans ayde ni secours. Sa mère aussy, une autre Reyne
Blanche, visant à la gloire de Dieu, contemplera ces deserts et
nouveliers siens, où, au commencement de sa Regence, le coutre de
l'Evangile a par son moyen ouvert quelque esperance de moisson, et se
souviendra de ce que le feu Roy, grand de sagesse aussi bien que de
valeur, prononça au Sieur de Potrincourt venant en ce pays: "Allez,
dit-il, je trace l'édifice; mon fils le bastira." Ce que nous supplions
vostre Reverence de luy representer, et ensemble le bon oeuvre que
leurs Majestés peuvent faire en ces quartiers, si c'estoit leur bon
playsir de fonder et donner quelque honneste revenu à cette residence,
de laquelle se pourroit s'epandre par toute cette contrée ceux qui y
seroyent eslevés et entretenus.
Voylà le second fondement de nostre esperance, auquel j'adjousteray
la pieté et largesse que nous avons experimenté sur nostre depart
ès-seigneurs et dames de cette tres-noble et tres-chrestienne cour,
me promettant qu'ils ne voudront manquer de favoriser de leurs moyens
cette entreprise, pour ne perdre ce que desjà ils y ont employé, ce qui
leur sert d'ares de gloire et de felicité immortelle devant Dieu.
M. de Potrincourt, Seigneur doux et équitable, [37] vaillant, amé et
experimenté en ces quartiers, et M. de Biancourt son fils, imitateur
des vertus et belles qualitez de son pere, tous deux zelés au service
de Dieu, qui nous honorent et cherissent plus que nous ne meritons,
nous donnent aussi grand courage de nous employer en ceste ouvrage de
tout nostre pouvoir.
Finalement, l'assiete et condition de ce lieu, qui promet beaucoup pour
l'usage de la vie humaine, s'il est cultivé, et sa beauté, qui me fait
esmerveiller de ce qu'il a esté si peu recherché jusques à maintenant,
où est ce port où nous sommes, fort propre pour d'icy nous estendre
aux Armouchiquois, Iroquois et Montagnes, nos voisins, qui sont grands
peuples, et labourent les terres comme nous; ce lieu, dis-je, nous fait
esperer quelque chose à l'advenir. Que si nos Souriquois sont peu, ils
se peuvent peupler; s'ils sont sauvages, c'est pour les domestiquer
et civiliser qu'on vient icy; s'ils sont rudes; nous ne devons point
estre pour cela paresseux; s'ils ont jusqu'ici peu profité, ce n'est
merveille, ce seroit rigueur d'exiger si tost fruict d'un gref, et
demander sens et barbe d'un enfant.
Pour conclusion, nous esperons avec le temps les rendre susceptible de
la doctrine de la foy et religion chrestienne et catholique, et après,
passer [38] plus avant aux regions de deçà plus habitées et cultivées,
comme dict est; esperance que nous appuyons sur la bonté et misericorde
de Dieu, sur le zele et fervente charité de tous les gens de bien qui
affectueusement desirent le royaume de Dieu, particulierement sur les
sainctes prieres de Vostre Reverence et de nos RR. PP. et très-chers
FF. auxquels très-affectueusement nous nous recommandons.
Du Port-Royal en la Nouvelle-France, ce dixiesme juin mil six cents
onze.
PIERRE BIARD.
NOTES:
[III.] Charles de Biencourt, écuyer, sieur de Saint-Just et fils de
M. de Poutrincourt. Il était alors âgé de dix-neuf ou vingt ans.
(_Lescarbot_ et _Champlain_.)
[IV.] Thomas Robin, écuyer, sieur de Cologne, demeurant en la ville de
Paris. (_Lescarbot._)
[V.] Champlain et Charlevoix, qui l'a copié, mettent à tort le 12 de
juin.
[VI.] Lescarbot dit: «Son père le conduisit jusque au port de la Hève,
à cent lieues loin, ou environ du Port-Royal.» Ce qui donnerait à
entendre que Chachippè, Port Saint-Jean et la Hève sont une même chose.
[VII.] Aller à la bouline, c'est-à-dire tenir le plus près du vent.
[VIII.] Le _cormoran_ est un oiseau de mer, qui a le cou fort long, les
pattes très-hautes, et qui vit de poisson.
[IX.] «L'année prochainement passée, il avoit été fait prisonnier
par le Sieur de Potrincourt, d'où s'estant esvadé subtilement, il
avoit esté contraint courrir les bois en grande misere.» (_Relation
imprimée._)
[9] Letter from Father Biard to Reverend Father Christopher Baltazar,
Provincial of France, at Paris.
(_Copied from the autograph preserved in the Archives of Jesus, at
Rome_).
MY REVEREND FATHER,
The peace of Christ be with you.
At last by the grace and favor of God, here we are at Port-Royal, the
place so greatly desired, after having suffered and overcome, during
the space of seven months, a multitude of trials and difficulties
raised up against us at Dieppe by those belonging to the pretended
religion; and after having survived at sea the fatigues, storms, and
discomforts of winter, winds, and tempests. By the mercy of God,
and through the prayers of Your Reverence and of our good Fathers
and Brothers, here we are at the end of our journey and in the
long-wished-for place. And I am now taking the first opportunity which
presents itself to write to Your Reverence, and to communicate to you
news of ourselves and of our present situation. I am sorry that the
short time we have been in this country does not permit me to write
about it at length, as I was desirous [10] of doing, and about the
condition of these poor people; however, I will try to describe to you
not only what happened in our voyage, but also all that we have been
able to learn of these peoples since our arrival, as I believe all our
good noblemen and friends, as well as Your Reverence, expect and desire
me to do.
So, to begin with the preparations for our voyage, Your Reverence
must know about the effort put forth by two Dieppe merchants of the
pretended religion, who were charged with freighting the ship, to
prevent our being received upon it. For a number of years past, those
who began and continued to make voyages to Canada have wished some of
our Society to be employed for the conversion of the people of that
country; and Henry the Great, the late King, of happy memory, had set
aside five hundred écus[34] for the voyage of the first ones who should
be sent there: at this time Reverend Father Enmond Masse and I, chosen
for this mission, after having saluted the Queen Regent and learned
from her own utterances the holy zeal which she felt for the conversion
of this barbarous people, and having received the above-mentioned five
hundred écus for our viaticum,[35] aided also by the pious liberality
of the Marchionesses de Guercheville, Verneuil, and de Sourdis,[36]
left Paris and arrived at Dieppe upon the day which [11] Monsieur de
Biancourt, son of Monsieur de Potrincourt, had designated for our
departure, the 27th of October, 1610.
The two above-mentioned merchants, as soon as they heard that two
Jesuits were going to Canada, addressed themselves to Monsieur de
Biancourt[X.] and warned him that, if the said Jesuits intended to
embark upon the ship, they would have nothing to do with it: they were
told that the presence of the Jesuits would in no wise interfere with
them; that, thanks to God and the Queen, they had the money to pay
their passage without in the least disturbing their cargo. They still
persisted, however, in their refusal; and although Monsieur de Sicoine,
governor of the city, a very zealous catholic, kindly interposed, he
could gain nothing from them. For this reason, Monsieur Robbin,[XI.]
his son, otherwise called de Coloigne,[37] a partner of Monsieur de
Biancourt in this voyage, thought he would go to Court and make known
this difficulty to the Queen; he did so. The Queen, thereupon, sent
letters addressed to Monsieur de Sicoigne, telling him to announce that
the will of the present King, as well as [12] that of the late King of
eternal memory, was that these Jesuits should go to Canada; and that
those who were opposing their departure were doing so against the will
of their Prince. The letters were very kind: and Monsieur de Sicoigne
was pleased to assemble the consistory, and read them to that body.
Notwithstanding all this, the merchants would not yield in the least;
it was merely granted that, leaving the Jesuits out of the question,
they should promptly load their ship, lest these perplexities and
disputes should cause some delay in bringing the succor to Monsieur de
Potrincourt, which must be given promptly. Then I almost made up my
mind that all our hopes were doomed to disappointment, for I did not
see how we were to be extricated from these difficulties. Monsieur de
Coloigne did not despair; but, showing himself in his kindness always
more eager to pursue the case for us, by a second journey he convinced
the Court of an excellent plan for thwarting the merchants; namely, by
paying them for their cargo, and thus indemnifying them. Madame de
la Guercheville, a lady of great virtue, recognizing the expediency of
this plan, and deeming it inconsistent with real piety to allow a godly
work to be checked for such a trifle, and thus [13] that satan should
be permitted to triumph, determined to try and raise the sum of money
required; and she did so with such diligence and success, through the
pious generosity of several Noblemen and Ladies of the court, that she
soon collected four thousand livres and sent them to Dieppe. Thus the
merchants were deprived of all the rights which they might have had in
the vessel, without losing anything, and we were admitted into it.
This, and other incidents interfering with the preparations for our
voyage, were the reasons why we could not leave Dieppe before the 26th
of January, 1611. Monsieur de Biancourt, a very accomplished young
gentleman, and well versed in matters pertaining to the sea, was our
leader and commander. There were thirty-six of us in the ship, which
was called _la Grace de Dieu_, of about sixty tons burden. We had
only two days of favorable winds; on the third day we suddenly found
ourselves carried, by contrary winds and tides, to within a hundred or
two hundred paces of the breakers of the isle of Wight, in England;
and it was fortunate for us that we found good anchorage there, for
otherwise we certainly should have been lost.
Leaving this place we put into port at Hyrmice, and then at Newport; by
which we lost eighteen days. The 16th of February, first day of lent,
[14] a good northwester arising allowed us to depart, and accompanied
us out of the English Channel. Now mariners, in coming to Port Royal,
are not accustomed to take the direct route from the Ouessant islands
to Cape Sable, which would lessen the distance, for in this way, from
Dieppe to Port Royal, there would only be about one thousand leagues;
but they are in the habit of going South as far as the Azores, and from
there to the great bank, thence, according to the winds, to strike for
Cape Sable, or Campseaux, or elsewhere. They have told me that they go
by way of the Azores for three reasons: first, in order to avoid the
north sea, which is very stormy, they say; second, to make use of the
south winds, which usually prevail there; third, to be sure of their
reckonings; for otherwise it is difficult to take their bearings and
arrange their route without error. But none of these causes affected
us, although we followed this custom. Not the first, for we were so
tossed about by tempests and high seas, that I do not think we gained
much by going north or south, south or north; nor the second, because
often when we wanted the South, the North wind blew, and vice versa;
and certainly not the third, inasmuch as we could not even see the
Azores, although we went [15] down as far as 39° 30'. Thus all the
calculations of our leaders were confounded, and we had not yet reached
the Azores of the great bank when some of them thought we had passed
it.[38]
The great codfish bank is not, as I thought in France, a kind of sand
or mud-bank, appearing above the surface of the sea; but is a great
sub-marine plateau 35, 40 and 45 fathoms deep, and in some places
twenty-five leagues in extent. They call it bank, because, in coming
from the deep sea, it is the first place where bottom is found with the
sounding lead. Now upon the border of this great bank, for the space of
three or four leagues, the waves are generally very high, and these
three or four leagues are called the Azores.
We were near these Azores on Tuesday of Easter week, when suddenly we
became a prey to our sworn foe, the West wind, which was so violent and
obstinate that we very nearly perished. For eight entire days it gave
us no quarter, its vindictiveness being augmented by cold and sometimes
rain or snow.
In taking this route to New France, so rough and dangerous, especially
in small and badly-equipped boats, one experiences the sum total of all
the miseries of life. We could rest neither [16] day nor night. When we
wished to eat, a dish suddenly slipped from us and struck somebody's
head. We fell over each other and against the baggage, and thus found
ourselves mixed up with others who had been upset in the same way;
cups were spilled over our beds, and bowls in our laps, or a big wave
demanded our plates.
I was so highly honored by Monsieur de Biancourt as to share his cabin.
One fine night, as we were lying in bed, trying to get a little rest,
a neat and impudent wave bent our window fastenings, broke the window,
and covered us over completely; we had the same experience again,
during the day. Furthermore, the cold was so severe, and continued to
be for more than six weeks, that we lost nearly all sensation from
numbness and exposure. Good Father Masse suffered a great deal.[39] He
was ill about forty days, eating very little and seldom leaving his
bed; yet, notwithstanding all that, he wanted to fast. After Easter he
continued to improve, thank God, more and more. As for me, I was gay
and happy, and, by the grace of God, was never ill enough to stay in
bed even when several of the sailors had to give up.
After escaping from these trials, we entered the ice at the Azores
of the bank, 46 degrees north latitude. Some of these masses of ice
seemed like islands, others [17] little villages, others grand churches
or lofty domes, or magnificent castles: all were floating. To avoid
them we steered towards the south; but this was falling, as they say,
from Charybdis into Scylla, for from these high rocks we fell into a
level field of low ice, with which the sea was entirely covered, as
far as the eye could reach. We did not know how to steer through it;
and had it not been for the fearlessness of Monsieur de Biancourt, our
sailors would have been helpless; but he guided us out, notwithstanding
the protests of many of them, through a place where the ice was more
scattered, and God, in his goodness, assisted us.
On the 5th of May, we disembarked at Campceau,[40] and there had the
opportunity of celebrating holy mass after so long a time, and of
strengthening ourselves with that bread which never fails to nourish
and console. Then we coasted along until we reached Port Royal, where
we arrived under good and happy auspices early in the morning[41] of
the holy day of Pentecost, the 22nd of May,[XII.] the day upon which
the sun enters the constellation Gemini. Our voyage had lasted four
months.
The joy of Monsieur de Potrincourt and his followers, at our arrival,
is indescribable. They had been, during the entire winter, reduced [18]
to sore straits, as I am going to explain to you.
Monsieur de Potrincourt had accompanied his son a part of the way
upon the latter's return to France the last of July, 1610, and had
gone as far as port Saint John,[XIII.] otherwise called Chachippé,[42]
70 leagues east and south of Port Royal. When he was returning, as
he veered around Cape Sable, he found himself in a strong current;
weakened by hardships, he was obliged to yield the helm, in order to
take a little rest, commanding his successor to always keep near the
shore, even in the deepest part of the Bay. This pilot, I know not why,
did not follow his orders, but soon afterward changed his course and
left the shore.
The Savage, Membertou, who was following in his boat, was astonished
that Poutrincourt should take this route; but, not knowing why he did
so, neither followed him nor said anything about it. So he soon arrived
at Port Royal, while Monsieur de Potrincourt drifted about for six
weeks, in danger of being hopelessly lost; for this worthy gentleman,
when he awoke, was very much surprised at seeing himself in a small
boat in the open sea, out of sight of land. He looked at his dial in
vain, for not knowing [19] what route his amiable pilot had taken, he
could not guess where he was, nor in what direction to turn. Another
misfortune was that his boat would not sail on a bowline,[XIV.] having
been somehow damaged in the sides. So, whether he wished to do so or
not, he was always obliged to sail before the wind.
A third inconvenience and misfortune was a lack of food. However, he
is a man who does not easily give up, and good luck follows him. Now
in this perplexity about the route, he fortunately decided to turn to
the north, and God sent him what he desired, a favorable South wind.
His thrift served him against the misfortune of hunger, for he had
hunted and kept a certain number of cormorants.[XV.] But how could they
be roasted in a small boat, so as to be eaten and kept? Fortunately
he found he had a few planks, upon which he built a fire-place, and
thus roasted the game; by the aid of which he arrived at Pentegouët,
formerly Norembegue, and from there to the Etechemins, thence to the
harbor of Port Royal, where by a piece of ill luck, he was nearly
shipwrecked.
It was dark when he entered this harbor, and his crew began to oppose
him, stoutly denying [20] that they were in the harbor of Port Royal.
He was willing to listen to their objections, and unfortunately even
yielded to them; and so turning to the lower part of French Bay, he
went wandering away off at the mercy of the winds and waves. Meanwhile
the colonists of Port Royal were in great anxiety and had already
nearly made up their minds that he was lost; the savage, Membertou,
strengthened this fear by asserting that he had seen him sail out of
sight upon the sea; whence it was inferred, since people believe as
easily what they fear as what they favor, that as such and such a wind
had prevailed, it was impossible for them to escape in such a boat.
And they were already planning their return to France. Now they were
greatly astonished, and at the same time exceedingly happy when they
saw their Theseus return from another world; this was six weeks after
his departure, just when Monsieur de Biancourt arrived in France,
whose return was expected at Port Royal during the whole month of
November of the same year, 1610. But they were very much surprised
when they did not see him at Christmas; then they lost all hope, on
account of the winter weather, of seeing him again before the end of
the following April.
For this reason they cut down their rations; but such economy was
of little avail, since Sieur de Potrincourt did not lessen [21] his
liberality toward the Savages, fearing to alienate them from the
Christian faith. He is truly a liberal and magnanimous gentleman,
refusing all recompense for the good he does them; so when they are
occasionally asked why they do not give him something in return for so
many favors, they are accustomed to answer, cunningly: _Endries ninan
metaij Sagamo_, that is to say, "Monsieur does not care for our beaver
skins." Nevertheless, they have now and then sent him some pieces of
elk meat, which have helped him to gain time [i.e., to save his own
provisions]. But they, the French, had a good chance of economizing
when winter came, for their mill froze up, and they had no way of
making flour. Happily for them they found a store of peas and beans,
which proved to be their manna and ambrosia for seven weeks.
Then April came, but not the ship; now it was just as well that the
mill was frozen up, for they had nothing to put in the hopper. What
were they to do? Hunger is a bad complaint. Some began to fish, others
to dig. From their fishing they obtained some smelts and herrings; from
their digging some very good roots, called _chiqueli_, which are very
abundant in certain places.
Thus this importunate creditor was somewhat satisfied; I say somewhat,
because, when there was no bread, [22] everything else was of little
account; and they had already made up their minds that, if the ship did
not come during the month of May, they would resort to the coast, in
search of ships to take them back to the sweet land of wheat and vines.
It was Monsieur de Potrincourt's followers who talked this way; as for
him, he was full of courage and knew well how he could manage to hold
out until saint John's day [midsummer]. Thank God, there was no need of
this, for, as has been said, we arrived the 22nd of May. Those who know
what hunger, despair, fear and suffering are, what it is to be a leader
and see all one's enterprises and hard work come to nought, can imagine
what must have been the joy of Monsieur de Potrincourt and his colony
upon seeing us arrive.
We all wept at this meeting, which seemed almost like a dream; then
when we had recovered ourselves a little and had begun to talk, this
question (mine, in fact) was proposed, to wit: Which was the happier
of the two, Monsieur de Potrincourt and his people, or Monsieur de
Biancourt and his? Truly, our hearts swelled within us, and God, in his
mercy, showed that he took pleasure in our joy; for, after mass and
dinner, there was nothing but going and coming from the ship to the
settlement, and from the settlement to the [23] ship, each one wanting
to embrace and be embraced by his friends, just as, after the winter,
we rejoice in the beautiful spring, and after a siege, in our freedom.
It happened that two persons from the settlement took one of the canoes
of the savages to go to the ship. These canoes are so made that, if you
do not sit very straight and steady, they immediately tip over; now
it chanced that, wishing to come back in the same canoe from the ship
to the settlement, somehow they did not properly balance it, and both
fell into the water.
Fortunately, it occurred at a time when I happened to be walking upon
the shore with Monsieur de Potrincourt. Seeing the accident, we made
signs with our hats as best we could to those upon the ship to come to
their aid; for it would have been useless to call out, so far away was
the ship, and so loud the noise of the wind. At first no one paid any
attention to us, so we had recourse to prayer, and fell upon our knees,
this being our only alternative; and God had pity upon us. One of the
two caught hold of the canoe, which was turned upside down, and threw
himself upon it: the other was finally saved by a boat, and thus both
were rescued; so our cup of joy was full in seeing how God in his all
paternal love and gentleness, would not permit the evil one to trouble
us and to destroy our happiness upon this good day. To him be the glory
forever. Amen!
[24] But now that we have arrived in good health, by the grace of God,
it is time we were casting our eyes over the country, and were giving
some consideration to the condition in which we find christianity here.
Its whole foundation consists, after God, in this little settlement
of a family of about twenty persons. Messire Jessé Flesche, commonly
called the Patriarch, has had charge of it; and, in the year that he
has lived here, has baptized about one hundred Savages. The trouble is,
he has not been able to instruct them as he would have wished, because
he did not know the language, and had nothing with which to support
them; for he who would minister to their souls, must at the same
time resolve to nourish their bodies. This worthy man has shown great
friendliness toward us, and thanked God for our coming; for he had made
up his mind some time ago to return to France at the first opportunity,
which he is now quite free to do without regret at leaving a vine which
he has planted.
They have not yet succeeded in translating into the native language the
common creed or symbol, the Lord's prayer, the commandments of God, the
Sacraments, and other principles quite necessary to the making of a
christian.
Recently, when I was at port Saint John, I was informed that among the
other Savages there were five who were already christians. Thereupon
I took occasion to give them [25] some pictures, and to erect a cross
before their wigwams, singing a _Salve Regina_. I had them make the
sign of the cross; but I was very much astonished, for the unbaptized
understood almost as much about it as the christians. I asked each one
his baptismal name; some did not know theirs, so they called themselves
_Patriarchs_, because it is the Patriarch who gives them their names,
and thus they conclude that, when they have forgotten their own names,
they ought to be called _Patriarchs_.
It was also rather amusing that, when I asked them if they were
christians, they did not know what I meant; when I asked them if
they had been baptized, they answered: _Hetaion enderquir Vortmandia
Patriarché_, that is to say, "Yes, the Patriarch has made us like
the Normans." Now they call all the French "Normans," except the
Malouins,[43] whom they call Samaricois, and the Basques, Bascua.
The name of the _sagamore_, that is, the lord of port Saint John, is
Cacagous, a man who is shrewd and cunning as are no others upon the
coast; that is all that he brought back from France (for he has been in
France); he told me he had been baptized in Bayonne, relating his story
to me as one tells about going to a ball out of friendship. Whereupon,
seeing how wicked he was, and [26] wishing to try and arouse his
conscience, I asked him how many wives he had. He answered that he had
eight; and in fact he counted off seven to me who were there present,
pointing them out with as much pride, instead of an equal degree of
shame, as if I had asked him the number of his legitimate children.
Another, who was looking out for a number of wives, made the following
answer to my objections on the ground that he was a Christian: _Reroure
quiro Nortmandia_: which means, "That is all well enough for you
Normans." So there is scarcely any change in them after their baptism.
The same savagery and the same manners, or but little different, the
same customs, ceremonies, usages, fashions, and vices remain, at least
as far as can be learned; no attention being paid to any distinction of
time, days, offices, exercises, prayers, duties, virtues, or spiritual
remedies.
Membertou, as the one who has most associated with Monsieur de
Potrincourt for a long time, is also the most zealous and shows the
greatest faith, but even he complains of not understanding us well
enough; he would like to become a preacher, he says, if he were
properly taught. He gave me a witty answer the other day, as I was
teaching him his _Pater_, according to the translation made of it by M.
de Biancourt, when [27] I had him say: _Nui en caraco nac iquem esmoi
ciscou_; that is, "Give us this day our daily bread." "But," said he,
"if I did not ask him for anything but bread, I would be without
moose-meat or fish."
The good old man told us, with a great deal of feeling, how God is
helping him since he has become a Christian, saying that this spring
it happened that he and his family were suffering much from hunger;
then he remembered that he was a christian, and therefore prayed to
God. After his prayer, he went to the river and found all the smelts he
wanted. And while I am speaking of this old sagamore, the first fruit
of this heathen nation, I will tell you also what happened this winter.
He was sick, and what is more, had been given up to die by the native
_aoutmoins_, or sorcerers. Now it is the custom, when the Aoutmoins
have pronounced the malady or wound to be mortal, for the sick man to
cease eating from that time on, nor do they give him anything more.
But, donning his beautiful robe, he begins chanting his own death-song;
after this, if he lingers too long, a great many pails of water are
thrown over him to hasten his death, and sometimes he is buried half
alive. Now the children of Membertou, though christians, were prepared
to exercise this noble and pious duty toward their father; already
they had ceased giving him anything to eat and had taken away his [28]
beautiful otter robe, and he had, like the swan, finished his Nænie,
or funeral chant. One thing still troubled him, that he did not know
how to die like a christian, and he had not taken farewell of Monsieur
de Potrincourt. When M. de Potrincourt heard these things, he went to
see him, remonstrated with him, and assured him that, in spite of all
the Aoutmoins and Pilotois, he would live and recover his health if he
would eat something, which he was bound to do, being a christian. The
good man believed and was saved; to-day he tells this story with great
satisfaction, and very aptly points out how God has thereby mercifully
exposed the malice and deceit of their aoutmoins.
I shall here relate another act of the same Sieur de Potrincourt, which
has been of great benefit to all these heathen. A christian savage had
died, and (as a mark of his constancy) he had sent word here to the
settlement during his sickness, that he desired our prayers. After his
death the other Savages prepared to bury him in their way; they are
accustomed to take everything that belongs to the deceased, skins,
bows, utensils, wigwams, etc., and burn them all, howling and shouting
certain cries, sorceries, and invocations to the evil spirit. M. de
Potrincourt firmly resolved to oppose these ceremonies. So he armed all
his men, and [29] going to the Savages in force, by this means obtained
what he asked, namely, that the body should be given to the Patriarch,
and so the burial took place according to christian customs. This act,
inasmuch as it could not be prevented by the Savages, was and still is,
greatly praised by them.
The chapel they have been using until now is very small, badly
arranged, and in every way unsuited for religious services. To remedy
this, M. de Poutrincourt has given us an entire quarter of his
habitation, if we can roof it over and adapt it to our needs. But I
shall add one more word which will be pleasant and edifying news to
many.
After my arrival here at Port Royal, I went with M. de Potrincourt as
far as the Etechemins. There God willed that I should meet young du
Pont, of Sainct Malo,[44] who, having been for some reason frightened
away [from the settlement],[XVI.] had passed the entire year with the
Savages, living just as they did. He is a young man of great physical
and mental strength, excelled by none of the savages in the chase, in
alertness and endurance, and in his ability to speak their language.
He was very much afraid of M. de [30] Potrincourt: but God inspired me
with so much faith in him that, relying upon my word, Du Pont came with
me to our ship; and after making some apologies and promises, peace was
declared, to the great satisfaction of all. When he departed, as the
cannon were sounding, he begged me to appoint an hour to receive his
confession. The next morning, in his great eagerness, he anticipated
the hour, and made his confession upon the shores of the sea in the
presence of all the Savages, who were greatly astonished at thus
seeing him upon his knees so long before me. Then he took communion in
a most exemplary manner, at which I can say tears came into my eyes,
and not into mine alone. The devil was confounded at this act; so he
straightway planned trouble for us that very afternoon; but thank God,
through the justice and goodness of M. de Potrincourt, harmony was
everywhere restored.
And now you have had, my Reverend Father, an account of our voyage,
of what happened in it, and before it, and since our arrival at this
settlement. It now remains to tell you that the conversion of this
country to the Gospel, and of these people to civilization, is not a
small undertaking nor free from great difficulties; for, in the first
place, if we consider the country, it is only a forest, without other
conveniences of life than those which will be brought from France,
and what in time may be obtained from the soil after [31] it has been
cultivated. The nation is savage, wandering and full of bad habits; the
people few and isolated. They are, I say, savage, haunting the woods,
ignorant, lawless and rude: they are wanderers, with nothing to attach
them to a place, neither homes nor relationship, neither possessions
nor love of country; as a people they have bad habits, are extremely
lazy, gluttonous, profane, treacherous, cruel in their revenge, and
given up to all kinds of lewdness, men and women alike, the men having
several wives and abandoning them to others, and the women only serving
them as slaves, whom they strike and beat unmercifully, and who
dare not complain; and after being half killed, if it so please the
murderer, they must laugh and caress him.
With all these vices, they are exceedingly vainglorious: they think
they are better, more valiant and more ingenious than the French;
and, what is difficult to believe, richer than we are. They consider
themselves, I say, braver than we are, boasting that they have killed
Basques and Malouins, and that they do a great deal of harm to the
ships, and that no one has ever resented it, insinuating that it was
from a lack of courage. They consider themselves better than the
French; "For," they say, "you are always fighting and quarreling among
yourselves; we live peaceably. You are envious and are all the time
slandering each other; [32] you are thieves and deceivers; you are
covetous, and are neither generous nor kind; as for us, if we have a
morsel of bread we share it with our neighbor."
They are saying these and like things continually, seeing the
above-mentioned imperfections in some of us, and flattering themselves
that some of their own people do not have them so conspicuously, not
realizing that they all have much greater vices, and that the better
part of our people do not have even these defects, they conclude
generally that they are superior to all christians. It is self-love
that blinds them, and the evil one who leads them on, no more nor
less than in our France, we see those who have deviated from the
faith holding themselves higher and boasting of being better than the
catholics, because in some of them they see many faults; considering
neither the virtues of the other catholics, nor their own still greater
imperfections; wishing to have, like Cyclops, only a single eye, and to
fix that one upon the vices of a few catholics, never upon the virtues
of the others, nor upon themselves, unless it be for the purpose of
self-deception.
Also they [the savages] consider themselves more ingenious, inasmuch as
they see us admire some of their productions as the work of people so
rude and ignorant; [33] lacking intelligence, they bestow very little
admiration upon what we show them, although much more worthy of being
admired. Hence they regard themselves as much richer than we are,
although they are poor and wretched in the extreme.
Cacagous, of whom I have already spoken, is quite gracious when he is
a little elated about something; to show his kindly feelings toward
the French he boasts of his willingness to go and see the King, and to
take him a present of a hundred beaver skins, proudly suggesting that
in so doing he will make him richer than all his predecessors. They
get this idea from the extreme covetousness and eagerness which our
people display to obtain their beaver skins.
Not less amusing is the remark of a certain Sagamore, who, having
heard M. de Potrincourt say that the King was young and unmarried:
"Perhaps," said he, "I may let him marry my daughter; but according
to the usages and customs of the country, the King must make me some
handsome presents; namely, four or five barrels of bread, three of peas
or beans, one of tobacco, four or five cloaks worth one hundred sous
apiece, bows, arrows, harpoons, and other similar articles."
Such are the marks of intelligence in the people of these countries,
which are very sparsely populated, especially those of the Soriquois
and Etechemins, which are near the sea; although [34] Membertou assures
us that in his youth he has seen _chimonuts_, that is to say, Savages,
as thickly planted there as the hairs upon his head. It is maintained
that they have thus diminished since the French have began to frequent
their country; for, since then they do nothing all summer but eat;
and the result is that, adopting an entirely different custom and
thus breeding new diseases, they pay for their indulgence during the
autumn and winter by pleurisy, quinsy and dysentery, which kill them
off. During this year alone sixty have died at Cape de la Hève, which
is the greater part of those who lived there; yet not one of all M.
de Potrincourt's little colony has even been sick, notwithstanding
all the privations they have suffered; which has caused the Savages
to apprehend that God protects and defends us as his favorite and
well-beloved people.
What I say about the sparseness of the population of these countries
must be understood as referring to the people who live upon the coast;
for farther inland, principally among the Etechemins, there are, it is
said, a great many people. All these things, added to the difficulty of
acquiring the language, the time that must be consumed, the expenses
that must be incurred, the great distress, toil and poverty that must
be endured, fully proclaim the greatness of this enterprise and the
difficulties which beset it. Yet [35] many things encourage me to
continue in it.
First, my trust in the goodness and providence of God. Isaiah assures
us that the kingdom of our Redeemer shall be recognized throughout
the earth; and that there shall be neither caves of dragons nor dens
of cockatrices, nor inaccessible rocks, nor abysses so deep, that his
grace will not soften and his salvation cure, his abundance fertilize,
his humility raise up, and over which his cross will not at last
victoriously triumph. And why shall I not hope that the time has come
when this prophecy is to be fulfilled in these lands? If that be so,
what can there be so difficult that our Lord cannot make it easy?
In the second place, I rely upon the King, our Sire. He is a Sovereign
who promises us nothing less than the late King, his father, the
incomparable Henry the Great. This work began in the latter's reign,
and it may be said that in the century since France has appropriated
this country, or has so completely taken possession of it, there
has not been so much accomplished at any time as since our present
king became sovereign; may God fill his reign with all blessings. He
will not permit his name and arms to stand in these regions side by
side with paganism, his authority with barbarism, his renown with
savagery, his power with poverty, [36] his faith with lack of works,
nor leave his subjects without aid or succor. His mother also, another
Queen Blanche,[45] looking to the glory of God, will contemplate these
lately-acquired wildernesses, where in the beginning of her Regency the
Gospel plough has, through her instrumentality, created some hope of a
harvest; and will recall what the late King, great in wisdom as well as
in courage, said to Sieur de Potrincourt when he came to this country:
"Go," said he. "I plan the edifice; my son will build it." We beg your
Reverence to lay this matter before him, together with the work which
might be done by their Majesties in these lands, if it were their good
pleasure to endow and to give a fair revenue to this mission, from
which all those who would be educated and maintained here might go
forth through the whole country.
That is the second resource upon which our hopes are founded; to
which I will add the piety and liberality which we experienced upon
our departure from the lords and ladies of this most noble and most
christian court, who promised me that they would not fail to assist
this enterprise with their means, in order not to lose what they have
already invested in it, which serves them as monuments of glory and of
eternal happiness before God.
M. de Potrincourt, a mild and upright Gentleman, [37] brave, beloved
and well-known in these parts, and M. de Biancourt, his son, who
reflects the virtues and good qualities of his father, both zealous in
serving God, and who honor and cherish us more than we deserve, also
encourage us in devoting all our energy to this work.
Finally, we are encouraged by the situation and condition of this
place, which, if it is cultivated, promises to furnish a great deal
for the needs of human life; and its beauty causes me to wonder that
it has been so little sought up to the present time. From this port
where we now are, it is very convenient for us to spread out to the
Armouchiquois, Iroquois, and Montagnais, our neighbors, which are
populous nations and till the soil as we do; this situation, I say,
makes us hope something for the future. For, if our Souriquois are few,
they may become numerous; if they are savages, it is to domesticate
and civilize them that we have come here; if they are rude, that is no
reason that we should be idle; if they have until now profited little,
it is no wonder, for it would be too much to expect fruit from this
grafting, and to demand reason and maturity from a child.
In conclusion, we hope in time to make them susceptible of receiving
the doctrines of the faith and of the christian and catholic religion,
and later, to penetrate [38] farther into the regions beyond, which
they say are more populous and better cultivated. We base this hope
upon Divine goodness and mercy, upon the zeal and fervent charity of
all good people who earnestly desire the kingdom of God, particularly
upon the holy prayers of Your Reverence and of our Reverend Fathers and
very dear Brothers, to whom we most affectionately commend ourselves.
From Port Royal, New France, this tenth day of June, one thousand six
hundred and eleven.
PIERRE BIARD.
FOOTNOTES:
[X.] Charles de Biencourt, esquire, sieur de Saint-Just and son of
Monsieur de Poutrincourt. He was then nineteen or twenty years old.
(_Lescarbot_ and _Champlain_.)--[Carayon.]
[XI.] Thomas Robin, esquire, sieur de Cologne, living in the city of
Paris. (_Lescarbot._)--[Carayon.]
[XII.] Champlain and Charlevoix, who copied this, were wrong in saying
the 12th of June.--[Carayon.]
[XIII.] Lescarbot says: "His father accompanied him as far as port de
la Hève, a hundred leagues, more or less, from Port Royal." This makes
it appear that Chachippè, Port Saint John, and la Hève are one and the
same place.--[Carayon.]
[XIV.] To sail on a bowline means to sail close to the wind.--[Carayon.]
[XV.] The _cormorant_ is a long-necked, high-stepping sea-bird, which
lives upon fish.--[Carayon.]
[XVI.] "The year before he had been made a prisoner by Sieur
de Potrincourt; and having slyly escaped from him, he had been
obliged to wander about in the woods in great misery."--(_Printed
Relation._)--[Carayon.]
[39] Lettre du Père Ennemond Masse au R. P. Claude Aquaviva, Général
de la Compagnie de Jésus.
_(Traduite sur l'original latin._)
PORT-ROYAL, 10 juin 1611.
MON TRÈS-RÉVÉREND PÈRE,
Pax Christi.
Si Votre Paternité a vu avec plaisir ma lettre du 13 octobre, j'en ai
éprouvé bien davantage à recevoir la sienne du 7 décembre; d'autant
plus que je suis le premier de la Compagnie qui ait reçu la première
lettre que Votre Paternité ait jamais envoyée au Canada. Je prends ce
fait comme un heureux augure, et je l'accepte comme venant du ciel,
pour m'exciter _à courir avec ferveur dans la carrière_, afin de
mériter et de recevoir _le prix de cette vocation céleste_, et enfin
de me sacrifier moi-même plus promptement et plus complétement pour le
salut de ces peuples.
Je vous l'avoue; _j'ai dit alors_ franchement à Dieu: _Me voici: Si
vous choisissez ce qu'il y a de faible et de méprisable dans ce monde,
pour renverser_ [40] et _détruire ce qui est fort_, vous trouverez tout
cela dans Ennemond. _Me voici: envoyez-moi, et rendez ma langue_ et
_ma parole intelligible, afin que je ne sois pas barbare pour ceux qui
m'entendront._
Vos prières, j'en ai la confiance, ne seront pas sans succès, comme
semble le présager notre arrivée ici, le très-saint jour de la
Pentecôte. _Nous sommes faibles en Jésus-Christ, mais_, je l'espère,
_nous vivrons avec lui par la force de Dieu_. Que Votre Paternité,
je l'en conjure, obtienne par ses saintes prières et ses saints
sacrifices, que le Seigneur accomplisse toutes ces choses en nous.
Le fils indigne en Jésus-Christ de la Compagnie de Jésus.
ENNEMOND MASSE.
Port-Royal, dans la Nouvelle-France, le 10 juin 1611.
[39] Letter from Father Ennemond Masse to Reverend Father Claude
Aquaviva, General of the Society of Jesus.
(_Translated from the Latin original._)
PORT ROYAL, June 10, 1611.
MY VERY REVEREND FATHER,
The peace of Christ be with you
If Your Reverence read with pleasure my letter of October 13th, I felt
a great deal more in receiving yours of December 7th, especially as I
am the first of the Society to receive from Your Reverence the first
letter which you have ever sent to Canada. I take this event as a happy
omen, and accept it as coming from heaven, to incite me _to run with
ardor in the race_, in order to merit and receive _the reward of this
heavenly vocation_, and to sacrifice myself more promptly and more
completely for the salvation of these people.
I admit to you _that I said then_ freely to God: _Here I am; if you
choose what is weak and despicable in this world to overthrow_ [40]
_and destroy that which is strong_, you will find all this in Ennemond.
_Here I am; send me, and make my tongue and my words intelligible, so
that I may not be a barbarian to those who will hear me._
Your prayers, I am sure, will not be in vain, as our arrival here upon
the most holy day of Pentecost seems to presage. _We are weak in Jesus
Christ, but_, I hope, _we shall live with him by the power of God_.
It is my earnest entreaty that Your Reverence, by your prayers and
holy sacrifices, may prevail upon the Lord to accomplish all these
things in us.
The unworthy son in Jesus Christ, of the Society of Jesus,
ENNEMOND MASSE.
Port Royal, New France, June 10, 1611.
[41] Lettre du P. Pierre Biard, au T.-R. P. Claude Aquaviva, Général
de la Compagnie de Jésus.
(_Traduite sur l'original latin._)
PORT-ROYAL, 11 juin 1611.
MON TRÈS-RÉVÉREND PÈRE,
Pax Christi.
Après quatre mois d'une navigation vraiment trèspénible et
très-périlleuse, nous sommes enfin arrivés, grâce à la protection
de Dieu et aux prières de Votre Paternité, à Port-Royal, dans cette
Nouvelle-France, terme de notre voyage.
Nous avons en effet quitté Dieppe le 26 janvier de cette année 1611, et
nous sommes arrivés cette même année le 22 mai. Je donne en français
au R. P. Provincial la relation de toute notre entreprise et de l'état
où nous avons trouvé les choses ici. C'est ce qui me paraissait plus
urgent et plus utile, puisque j'étais dans l'impossibilité de le faire
en même temps en latin. Je ne me suis pas encore arrêté huit jours à
Port-Royal, et tout le temps est [42] absorbé par des interruptions
continuelles et par les nécessités de la vie. Au reste, le P. Masse et
moi, nous nous portons assez bien, grâce à Dieu: mais il nous a fallu
prendre un serviteur pour les travaux matériels. Nous ne pouvions nous
en passer sans un grand détriment pour l'esprit et pour le coeur.
M. de Potrincourt, qui commande ici au nom du Roi, nous aime et nous
estime en proportion de sa piété.
A la première occasion nous nous empresserons, avec la grâce de Dieu,
de dire quelles sont nos espérances de succès.
Le vaisseau s'est déjà éloigné. Je vais être obligé d'aller le
rejoindre en canot, pour qu'il ne parte sans mes lettres.
Je conjure Votre Paternité, par les mérites de Jésus-Christ, de se
souvenir de nous et de ces contrées très-solitaires, et de venir à
notre secours, autant qu'elle le pourra, non-seulement par le moyen
des prières très-ferventes de notre Compagnie, mais aussi par la
bénédiction et les faveurs de notre Saint-Père le Pape (comme je les ai
déjà demandées).
Assurément nous semons dans une grande pauvreté et dans les larmes;
daigne le Seigneur nous accorder de moissonner un jour dans la joie.
C'est ce qui arrivera, comme je l'espère et comme je l'ai [43] dit,
grâce aux prières et aux bénédictions de Votre Paternité, que je
sollicite humblement,
de Votre Paternité,
Le fils et serviteur indigne,
PIERRE BIARD, S. J.
A Port-Royal, dans la Nouvelle-France, ou Canada, le 11 de juin 1611.
[41] Letter from Father Pierre Biard, to the Very Reverend Father
Claude Aquaviva, General of the Society of Jesus.
(_Translated from the Latin original._)
PORT ROYAL, June 11, 1611.
MY VERY REVEREND FATHER,
The peace of Christ be with you.
After four months of very painful and perilous navigation, we have at
last arrived, thanks to the protection of God and to the prayers of
Your Reverence, at Port Royal, in New France, the end of our journey.
In truth we left Dieppe the 26th of January this year, 1611, and
arrived May 22nd of this same year. I am giving to the Reverend Father
Provincial the narrative in French of our whole undertaking, and of the
condition in which we found things here. This seemed to me the more
necessary and useful, as it was impossible for me to write it at the
same time in Latin. I have not yet been settled a week in Port Royal,
and all the time has [42] been taken up by continual interruptions and
in providing the necessities of life. As to ourselves, Father Masse
and I, we are feeling very well, thank God; but we have been obliged
to take a servant to do the drudgery. We could not dispense with one
without a great deal of anxiety and trouble.
M. de Potrincourt, who commands here in the name of the King, loves and
esteems us in proportion to his piety.
We shall take the first opportunity to impart to you what may be, by
the grace of God, our prospects of success in this country.
The ship has already gone. I shall be obliged to overtake it in a
canoe, that it may not leave without my letters.
I conjure Your Reverence, through the merits of Jesus Christ, to
remember us and these solitary lands, and to come to our aid in so far
as you are able, not only by the fervent prayers of our Society, but
also by the blessing and favor of our Holy Father the Pope (which I
have already invoked). Surely we sow in great poverty and in tears; may
the Lord grant that we some day reap in joy. Which will come to pass,
as I hope and have said, [43] through the prayers and blessings of Your
Reverence, which are humbly solicited by your
Unworthy son and servant,
PIERRE BIARD, S. J.
Port Royal, New France, or Canada, June 11, 1611.
[Illustration: FIGVRE DE LA TERRE NEVVE, GRANDE RIVIERE DE CANADA, ET
CÔTES DE L'OCEAN EN LA NOVVELLE FRANCE
_Ian Swelinc fecit I Millot excudit_ MARCVS: LESCARBOT _nunc primum
delin'auit publicauit donauit Avec privilege du Roy_
FROM LESCARBOT'S HISTOIRE DE LA NOVVELLE FRANCE; PARIS, 1612.
[Reduced to 2/3 the dimensions of original.]]
VII
JOUVENCY'S CANADICÆ MISSIONIS RELATIO
ROME: GIORGIO PLACKO, 1710
SOURCE: We follow the general style of O'Callaghan's Reprint No.
4. The Title-page, Eulogy of Biard, and Table of Contents, are the
work of that Editor. The Text, and List of Missions in 1710, he
reprinted from Jouvency's _Historia Societatis Jesu_ (Rome, 1710),
part v., pp. 321-325, 961, 962; the proof of these we have read
from a copy of that work, found in the library of the College of
St. Francis Xavier, New York. The bracketed pagination in Arabic
figures is that of Jouvency; that in Roman, of O'Callaghan.
CANADICÆ
MISSIONIS
RELATIO
_Ab anno 1611 usque ad annum 1613, cum statu ejusdem Missionis,
annis 1703 & 1710_,
Auctore JOSEPHO JUVENCIO, Societatis
Jesu, Sacerdote.
[Illustration]
Ex Historiæ Soc. Jesu. Lib. xv. Part. v, impressa
ROMÆ
Ex Typographia Georgii Plachi
M. D. CC. X.
AN ACCOUNT OF THE
CANADIAN
MISSION
_From the year 1611 until the year 1613, with the condition of the
same Mission in the years 1703 and 1710_,
By JOSEPH JOUVENCY, a Priest of the
Society of Jesus.
Printed from the History of the Society of Jesus, Book xv., Part v.
ROME
From the Press of Giorgio Placko
1710.
[i] P. Petri Biardi Eulogium ac Vita.
DE Patre Petro Biardo qui tantam in Missione Canadica inchoanda partem
gessit hæc scribit Pater Josephus Juvencius in sua Historiâ sub anno
1622.
"Ex omnibus qui hoc anno vivere in provincia Lugdunensi desierunt,
luctu maximo elatus est Avenione P. PETRUS BIARDUS Gratianopolitanus.
Religionis propagandæ studio navigaverat ad barbaros Canadenses,
fueratque inter primos ejus terræ cultores, ut in quinta parte narratum
est. Inde pulsus ab hæreticis Anglis, & redire in Galliam coactus,
totum se impendit [ii] juvandis popularibus suis, quorum ut saluti
consuleret, nihil sibi reliqui ad laborem diligentiamque faciebat.
Ejus tamen industriam experti maxime sunt Parodienses in præfectura
Carolitana, quam civitatem per usitata ordinis ministeria diu coluit.
Novissime regionis præfectus Marchio Ragnius, jussus a rege copias in
Campaniam ducere contra Ernestum Mansfeldium Galliæ finibus imminentem,
Biardum sibi adsciverat comitem expeditionis, & sacrorum ministrum.
Per eam occasionem nescias, utrum spectata magis sit apostolici viri
charitas, an patientia. Magna erat in castris inopia commeatuum. Diaria
militibus præbebantur adeo maligne, ut nonnulli fame perirent. Biardus
cibario, & demensum suum, ac siquid præterea pecuniolæ a ditioribus
emendicando corrogasset, inter egentissimos militum partiebatur, se
ipsum fraudans diurno victu, ut aliis benigne faceret. Avenionem
concesserat [iii] denique, ut attritas tot laboribus vires paucorum
dierum otio reficeret. Verum quasi divinans, instare sibi omnium
laborum & vitæ finem, totum illud tempus impendit excolendo piis
commentationibus animo inter tirones, seque ad primam tirocinii formam
senex emeritus ita composuit, ut nullam omitteret earum exercitationum,
quibus ad sui mundique contemptum erudiri solent novitii. His intentum,
nihilque jam præter cælestia cogitantem mors oppressit, xv. Cal.
Decembris."
Adhæc non inutile forsan videbitur adjicere quæ ab auctore antiquiore
Philippo scilicet Alegambe scripta sunt in Catalogo Scriptorum
Societatis Jesu, sub verbo Biard:
"PETRUS BIARDUS natione Gallus, patriâ Gratianopolitanus, operarius
magni zeli, atque adeò multarum palmarum, quas [iv] in horridis et
inuiis Canadensium Septentrionalis Americæ populorum siluis primus
legit. Extrema ibi omnia passus, nihil tamen inhumanum magis, quàm
Hæreticos, expertus est. Feritatis oblita gens barbara integerrimi
hominis innocentiam venerari discebat; cùm ecce tibi sanctitatis
inimica, Deumque nesciens Hæresis, cum Anglis Canadæ oras irrupit;
difficillimæ expeditionis ingens pretium fuit, exosum inde abducere
Jesuitam. Habitus est in vinculis aliquamdiu; & vix tandem in Galliam
nudus ab omni remissus. Intereà verò dum integrum illi esset ad noualia
Canadæ redire, damnum ab Hæreticis illatum sanctè vitus est: reliquo
vitæ tempore quæsiuit intentissimis studiis ad vitam illos, à quibus
ad necem adductus fuerat. Docuerat olim Theologiam Lugduni, non sine
laude. Reuersus è Missione Castrensi, cùm Auenionem diuertisset, &
opportunitate temporis vsus secessisset in Nouitiatum, in ipsis [v]
penè spiritualium Exercitiorum initiis, ad paradisi contemplationem, vt
credimus, euocatus est, die XIX. Nouembris, Anno MDCXXIJ.
Præter _Epistolam ad R. P. Præpositum Generalem è Portu Regali_, et
_Relationem Expeditionis Anglorum in Canadam_, P. Biardus scripsit
_Librum pro auctoritate Pontificis_, contra Martinettum Ministrum.
Gallicè etiam edidit seorsim _Relationem Novæ Franciæ & itineris Patrum
Societatis Jesu ad illam_. Lugduni apud L. Muguet, MDCXVI. in 12."
[i] Eulogy and Life of Father Peter Biard.
CONCERNING Father Peter Biard, who performed so great a part in the
establishment of the Canadian Mission, Father Joseph Juvency[46] writes
these things in his History, under the year 1622:
"Of all who during the present year have departed this life in
the province of Lyons, the most regretted was FATHER PETER BIARD,
of Grenoble, who, was taken away at Avignon. With the desire of
propagating religion, he had journeyed to the barbarous Canadians,
and had been among the first settlers of that country, as has been
narrated in the fifth part (of this volume). Upon being driven
thence by the heretical English, and compelled to return to France,
he entirely devoted himself [ii] to the service of his countrymen;
and, that he might provide for their salvation, in no respect showed
himself deficient either in labor or diligence. His industry, however,
was especially enjoyed by the Paray le Monial, in the prefecture
of Charolles, which community he long served with the customary
ministrations of the order. Finally, the prefect of the district,
Marchio Ragne, upon being ordered by the king to lead troops into
Campania against Ernest von Mansfeld,[47] who was threatening the
frontiers of France, had selected Biard as his companion during the
expedition, and as a minister of sacred rites. Upon that occasion one
would doubt whether the charity of the apostolic man, or his patience,
were the more remarkable. There was in the camp a great scarcity of
provisions. Rations were so poorly furnished to the soldiers that
some perished with hunger. Biard divided among the most needy of
them, both his own allowance and whatever small sums of money he had
collected by begging from the more wealthy, depriving himself of daily
sustenance, that he might do a kindness to others. He had retired to
Avignon, [iii] at last, that he might with a few days' leisure refresh
his energies, which had been worn out by so many toils. But divining,
as it were, that the end of all labors and of life was at hand, he
spent all that period in disciplining his spirit by pious meditations
among the novices; and, although an aged man who had served his time,
so adapted himself to the earliest form of the novitiate, that he
omitted none of those exercises by which beginners are educated to a
contempt of themselves and of the world. While intent upon these, and
already thinking of nothing but heavenly things, death seized him on
the 17th day of November."
To these things it will perhaps not seem useless to add what has been
written by an earlier author, namely, Philip Alegambe,[48] in the
Bibliography of the Authors of the Society of Jesus, under the word
Biard:
"PETER BIARD, a French citizen, born in Grenoble, a laborer of great
zeal, and of very many laurels which [iv] he first gathered in the
dreadful and pathless forests of the Canadian tribes of North America.
Although suffering there every extremity, he still experienced nothing
more brutal than the Heretics. The barbarous race, forgetting its
savageness, was learning to venerate the character of this most
righteous man; when, behold, Heresy, hostile to holiness and ignorant
of God, burst, together with the English, upon the shores of Canada.
The reward of a very laborious expedition was great,--to drive thence
the hated Jesuit. For some time he was kept in bonds; and at last,
stripped of everything, he was with difficulty restored to France. But
meanwhile, until it was safe to return to the wilds of Canada, he took
vengeance in a holy manner for the injury inflicted by the Heretics;
during the rest of his life he sought with the greatest enthusiasm to
win to life those by whom he had been devoted to death. He had formerly
taught Theology at Lyons, not without commendation. On his return from
the Military Mission, when he had turned aside to Avignon, and, making
use of his opportunity, had retired into the Novitiate, in [v] almost
the very beginning of his spiritual Exercises, he was called away
to the contemplation of paradise, as we believe, on the 19th day of
November, in the year 1622.
Besides a _Letter to R. P. General Commander from Port Royal_, and
_An Account of the Expedition of the English against Canada_, Father
Biard wrote _A Book Advocating the authority of the Pontiff_ against
Martinet, a minister. In French, also, he published separately _An
Account of New France and of the journey thither of the Fathers of the
Society of Jesus_. Lyons, by L. Muguet, 1616, in 12mo."--[O'CALLAGHAN.]
[vii] Tabvla Rervm.
Pag.
_SOCIETAS Jesu, in Canadam, seu Novam Franciam inducta_ 5
II _Initium Canadicæ Missionis, & primi fructus_ 7
III _Domicilia Societatis & Missiones in Nova Francia_ 18
IV _Missio Canadensis ab Anglis proturbata_ 25
V _Unus è Societate interficitur; alii Canada ejiciuntur_ 27
VI _Missiones Societatis Jesu in America septentrionali, Anno 1710_
37
[vii] Table of Contents.
[_The page numbers refer to O'Callaghan's Reprint._]
Page.
_THE Society of Jesus introduced into Canada or New France_ 5
II _Beginning and first fruits of the Canadian Mission_ 7
III _Settlements and Missions of the Society in New France_ 18
IV _The Canadian Mission driven out by the English_ 25
V _One of the members of the Society is killed; the others are expelled
from Canada_ 27
VI _Missions of the Society of Jesus in North America, in the year
1710_ 37
Missionis Canadicæ Relatio.
[321 §. II.] SOCIETAS JESU, IN CANADAM, SEU NOVAM FRANCIAM INDUCTA.
AMERICAM septentrionalem tres præcipuè nationes obtinent, Hispani,
Galli, & Angli. Mexicum, Floridæ pars & Californiæ, sunt Hispanæ
ditionis. Littora orienti foli opposita & ad Austrum devexa occuparunt
variis temporibus Angli, Sueci, & Hollandi. Quod inter illos &
Mexicanos versus septentriones & occasum campi jacet, Galli tenent, ac
Novam Franciam, sive Canadam, vulgo vocant. Nihil tetrius immaniusve
barbaris Canadensibus fingi poterat, prius quam inducta religione
mitescerent, ut patebit ex iis quæ Paragrapho decimo referentur. Nunc
barbaries, & foeda scelerum cohors, rationi ac virtuti locum dedit,
videturque huic oraculo [_Isai. c. 35._] veteri constare fides:
_Lætabitur deserta & invia, & exultabit solitudo, & florebit quasi
lilium._
An Account of the Canadian Mission.
[321 §. II.] THE SOCIETY OF JESUS INTRODUCED INTO CANADA, OR NEW FRANCE.
NORTH AMERICA is occupied principally by three nations--the Spanish,
the French, and the English. Mexico, a part of Florida and of
California, belongs to the Spanish dominions. The shores opposite to
the rising sun, and stretching Southward, have been occupied at various
times by the English, the Swedes, and the Dutch. The French possess the
territory which lies between these and the Mexicans, towards the north
and west, commonly called New France or Canada. Nothing fouler and more
hideous than the savage Canadians could have been imagined, before they
began to soften under the influence of religion, as will appear from
matters to be presented in the tenth Paragraph. Now, barbarism and the
vile array of sins have given place to reason and virtue, which seems
to confirm our faith in this ancient prophecy: [_Isaiah, c. 35._] _The
land that was desolate and impassable shall be glad, and the wilderness
shall rejoice, and shall flourish like the lily._
INITIUM CANADICÆ MISSIONIS, & PRIMI FRUCTUS.
AMERICÆ littora, Franciæ obversa, Galli jam inde ab anno MDXXIV.
identidem lustraverunt: sed obiter, & quasi prætereuntes. Demum
superiori seculo ineunte, regionem interiorem subiit Samuel Camplenius,
qui Canadensis coloniæ parens merito dici potest. Jamque negotiatio
bellissimè procedebat, cum Henricus IV. de religione magis, quàm de
commercio solicitus, in hanc Orbis novi partem inferre Christiana sacra
decrevit, anno MDCVIII. ac Societatis homines ad hanc Apostolicam
expeditionem postulavit. Certior de consilio Regis factus P. Petrus
Cotonus, regiæ conscientiæ moderator, jussusque strenuos quamprimum
designare sacerdotes, qui solida tanti operis jacerent fundamenta,
Societatis Præpositum admonuit. Ex omni, non juvenum modo, sed etiam
senum, numero, laboriosam Missionem flagitantium, delecti sunt P.
Petrus Biardus, Gratianopolitanus, theologiæ professor in collegio
Lugdunensi; & P. Enemundus Massæus, Lugdunensis. Moram consiliis
felicibus attulit Regis improvisa mors; & Societatis amicorum studia,
qui navem & reliqua itineri necessaria comparabant, debilitavit. Sed
invicta rebus adversis Cotoni pietas, Reginæ auctoritatem interposuit,
ut difficultates objectas profligaret. Ergo indicitur profectio:
Patres Deppam advolant, inde vela Novam in Franciam facturi. Ecce
autem repentè inexpectatus obex. Ea navis erat Potrincurtii, nobilis
Galli: duobus tamen mercatoribus Calvinianis obnoxia, utpote qui
sumptus non leves ad illam armamentis instruendam fecerant. Isti
simul atque imponendos in hanc homines Societatis audierunt, negant
enimvero se passuros ut è portu solvat. Opponitur imperium Reginæ,
mandata ingeminantur. Respondent per se non stare quin sacerdotes
alii quilibet admittantur; at sibi cum nostris hominibus nihil esse
rei velle. Ubi vidit Cotonus improborum pertinaciam frangi non posse,
alia rem aggressus est via. Erat matrona non pietate minus quàm
genere nobilis, Antonia Guerchevillæa. Hæc negotium Missionis haud
secus procurabat, ac suum: utque non vulgarem apud multos gratiam,
virtutis opinione collegerat, magnam subito pecuniæ vim corrogavit,
qua mercatoribus hæreticis summa rependeretur, ab iis in adornandam
navim contributa. Sic illis rejectis & invitis, Patres admissi
suerunt. At, quia interim extractum tempus fuerat, non ante VII.
Kalend. Februarias, cum hyemaret asperum æquor, vela sunt facta. Hinc
mensium quatuor cursus fuit, qui vulgo duorum est; ac morbis intus,
tempestatibus foris, infestus. Ingressi demum ostia Laurentiani fluvii
XI. Kal. Junias, ipso sacro Pentecostes die, vestigia Christianæ
religionis aliqua invenere, leviter ab iis quos è Gallia profectos in
hanc plagam diximus, impressa. Cum enim illis ignotus [322] gentis
sermo, nec certum constansque in humo barbara domicilium esset,
facultas non suppetebat erudiendi quos obiter baptizabant: quique
pristinos in mores revoluti, Christianum vix retinebant nomen,
illudque popularibus vitiis conspurcabant. Prima Patribus cura fuit
ut sacellum construerent, perdiscerent linguam vernaculam, excolerent
Gallos, qui è veteri Francia in novam navigaverant. Instituta est
solennis supplicatio; Christus sanctissimi Sacramenti velo tectus, &
quanto fieri potuit maximo apparatu circumvectus, in terræ felicis,
tot sanctis postea frequentandæ veluti possessionem auspicatò venit.
Proxima infantibus sacro lavandis fonte cura est data, quorum nonnulli,
post susceptum salutis sacramentum, ad terram viventium possidendam,
quasi gentis totius nomine, demigrarunt. Puellam annos natam novem,
oppressam gravi morbo, parentes abjecerant. Cum enim artis medicæ
prorsus ignara natio sit, ægrotos facile desperat, neque cibo, aut
curatione ulla, juvat. Depositam Patres à parentibus postularunt,
ut expiarent lympha salutari. Ultro illis permissa est, quippe quæ
instar mortui canis haberetur. Abductam in mapale separatum curavere
sedulo: edoctam, quantum erat necesse; baptizatam, ac nona post luce
mortuam, coelo intulerunt. Eadem Sociorum caritas lætiorem exitum in
juvene sortita est. Ejus pater Membertous, primus omnium, uti narrant,
barbarorum, cum è Gallia navigatum illuc fuit, in Christianorum numerum
venerat; homo strenuus, & omnium popularium testimonio, ceteris longè
præstans animi robore, belli scientia, clientelarum multitudine, &
gloriosi claritudine cognominis; quippe Magni Imperatoris titulum
publico suffragio consecutus. Hunc obtinebat locum Membertous inter
Souriquios, qui Acadiam, circa ostia Laurentiani amnis, incolunt.
Ejus filium difficili ægritudine conflictatum P. Biardus invisit.
Miratur nihil triste in tugurio; non planctum, non flebiles nænias:
imo epulum, choream, & duos tresve canes alligatos. Quærit quid hæc
sibi velint. Respondent juvenem brevi esse moriturum, amicos vocatos:
illis epulum parari: funebrem choream postea ducendam: canes, quos
videbat, interficiendos, placandis mortui Manibus. Exclamavit Pater
nequaquam ista Christianis hominibus convenire, & impias consuetudines
graviter increpuit. Senior, adolescentis parens, ignorantiam excusavit;
ceterum se ac filium in ipsius esse potestate; doceret, juberet,
imperata facturos. Sacerdos vetuit ne canes interficerentur: saltatores
importunos amandavit: epuli partem, quæ superstitionis habere
nihil videbatur, permisit: in primis autem, ne deponeretur penitus
ægroti cura prohibuit; imo suasit ut ad Gallorum domicilia, quamvis
longè disjuncta, deportaretur; sperare se, favente Deo, futurum ut
convalesceret. Benignè auditus est à Membertoo: delatus æger ad nos
fuit, ridentibus, ac bolum tantum tam subito è faucibus ereptum sibi
dolentibus veneficis, & circulatoribus, quorum sententiâ conclamatus
adolescens vivere posse negabatur. Ac sane agebat animam, cùm triduo
post ad Gallorum domicilia pervenit, fractus itinere ac morbo. Patrum
tamen arte ac studio, & scilicet Dei benignitate, recreatus est;
nec ipse tantum in fide catholica confirmatus, sed ejus capessendæ
desiderio complures inflammati.
Incidit aliquanto post in morbum pater adolescentis, & ad nos similiter
deferri voluit, ubi nostrum in tugurium, atque adeo in unius è Patribus
lectum acceptus, piè vitam clausit; quodque barbaris novum accidit ac
molestum, illatus est in commune Christianæ plebi sepulcrum: nam ipsi
a sepulcris majorum ægerrime divelluntur. Curatum funus illustri, ut
rerum ferebant angustiæ, pompa. Nec honore isto qualicumque indigna
barbari virtus erat, qui etiam ante quàm Christum nosset, non potuerat
adduci ut plures una duceret uxores: id naturæ ac rationi magis
consentaneum arbitratus. Post susceptam vero Christi Fidem ita vixerat,
ut barbaris admirationi esset, Christianis exemplo.
Hæc domi gesta. Egressi deinde quasi pomerio præcones Evangelici magnam
regionis partem lustravere. Divina res, ubicumque licuit, facta:
impositæ manus ægrotis, conciliati munusculis parentes ac liberi;
data Gallis, novas condentibus sedes, opera; necnon classiariis atque
vectoribus. Non defuit patientiæ læta seges, ac tanta interdum exstitit
annonæ penuria, ut singulis hebdomadis certum [323] unicuique demensum
daretur, quod vix sufficiebat in unum diem, videlicet panis unciæ
decem, selibra carnis sale maceratæ, & pisorum, fabarumve aliquantulum.
Adhæc, erat sibi quisque faber, sarcinator, pistor, coquus, lignator,
& aquator. Occurrebant interdum Patribus, in his ærumnis, voces
illorum, quibus Moses provinciam explorandæ Chananitidis dederat,
[_Num. c._ 13, 14.] _Terra hæc devorat habitatores suos; ibi vidimus
monstra quædam filiorum Enac, de genere Giganteo, quibus comparati,
quasi locustæ videbamur_. At simul veniebat in mentem oratio Josue,
& Calebi, plena divinæ fiduciæ: _Terra valde bona est. Si propitius
fuerit Dominus, inducet nos in eam. Neque timeatis populum terræ hujus,
Dominus nobiscum est._
BEGINNING AND FIRST FRUITS OF THE CANADIAN MISSION.
THE French had, since the year 1524, often visited the coasts of
America opposite to France, but cursorily, and, as it were, while
passing by. Finally, at the beginning of the last century, Samuel
Champlain, who well deserves to be called the parent of the Canadian
colony, entered the region of the interior. Already was the undertaking
progressing very favorably, when Henry IV., more solicitous for
religion than for commerce, resolved, in the year 1608, to introduce
Christian rites into this part of the new World, and asked members of
the Society to undertake this Apostolic enterprise. Upon being informed
of the plan of the King, and ordered to choose as soon as possible
energetic priests who would lay solidly the foundations of so great a
work, Father Coton, the confessor of the king, informed the Commander
of the Society. From the whole number, not only of youths but also
of old men, who sought this laborious Duty, there were chosen Father
Peter Biard, of Grenoble, a professor of theology in the college
of Lyons, and Father Enemond Massé, of Lyons. The unforeseen death
of the King delayed this auspicious enterprise, and diminished the
enthusiasm of the friends of the Society, who were providing a ship
and other necessaries for the voyage. But the pious Coton, unconquered
by adversity, brought in the authority of the Queen, in order that
he might overcome the difficulties in his way. As a result, the time
was set for their departure, and the Fathers hastened to Dieppe, in
order that they might sail thence for New France. But, lo! suddenly
an unexpected obstacle. Their ship belonged to Poutrincourt, a French
nobleman; it was, however, subject to the control of two Calvinistic
merchants, since they had incurred no light expense toward providing
her with equipments. As soon as they heard that members of the Society
were to be embarked upon her, they refused to allow her to leave
the port. The authority of the Queen was invoked; her commands were
reiterated. They answered that they would not refuse admission to any
other sort of priests, but that they were unwilling to have anything to
do with our men. When Coton saw that the stubbornness of the rascals
could not be overcome, he approached the matter by another way. There
was a lady distinguished not less for piety than for birth, Antoinette
de Guercheville. This woman was as solicitous for the interests of
the Mission as for her own; and since she had acquired an uncommon
influence among many, because of her reputation for integrity, she
quickly collected a large sum of money, by means of which the heretical
merchants were repaid the amount which they had spent in equipping the
ship. So, although the merchants were disappointed and unwilling, the
Fathers were admitted. But, because of the intervening delay, they
did not sail until the 26th of January, when the storms of winter
caused a raging sea. On this account the voyage was of four months'
duration, although ordinarily of two, and was terrible because of
disease within and tempests without. Having entered at last the mouth
of the St. Lawrence river on the 22nd day of May, on the holy day of
Pentecost, they came upon some traces of the Christian religion, which
had been superficially impressed by those whom we have mentioned as
having journeyed from France into this region. For, since the speech
of the people was unknown [322] to them, and they had no certain and
fixed residence in this savage land, there was no opportunity for
educating those whom they chanced to baptize, and who, plunging again
into their former habits, scarcely retained the Christian name, while
defiling it with their native vices. The first concern of the Fathers
was to build a chapel, to learn the language of the country, and to
instruct the Frenchmen who had emigrated from old to new France. A
solemn Thanksgiving was enjoined; the figure of Christ, covered with a
canopy, was carried about with the greatest possible ceremony; and he
came auspiciously into the possession, so to speak, of the happy land
afterwards to be frequented by so many holy men. Next, attention was
given to laving the infants in the sacred font, of whom some, after
receiving the sacrament of salvation, departed to their homes in the
land of the immortals, in the name, as it were, of the whole race.
A girl aged nine years, afflicted with a grievous disease, had been
abandoned by her parents. For, since the race is altogether ignorant
of the art of medicine, they readily despair of the sick, and neither
provide them with food nor care for them in any way. The Fathers asked
her parents to give them the forsaken child, in order that they might
sanctify her with the water of salvation. She was readily handed over
to them; and naturally, inasmuch as she was considered no better than
a dead dog. Taking her apart to their hut they gave her assiduous
care; she was baptized, and, dying on the ninth day afterward, they
introduced her into Heaven. The same charity of the Associates
resulted more fortunately in the case of a young boy. His father was
Membertou, who, they say, in the early days of navigation thither
from France, first of all the savages became a Christian; he was an
energetic man, and, according to the testimony of all his countrymen,
far excelled others in vigor of mind, in knowledge of war, in number of
dependents, and the distinction of a glorious name, for by public vote
he had acquired the title of "Great Chief." This position Membertou
held among the Souriquois, who inhabit Acadia about the mouth of the
St. Lawrence river. Father Biard visited Membertou's son, who was
suffering from a dangerous illness. He was surprised that there was no
grief in the wigwam; no lamentations, no tearful dirges; instead, a
feast, a dance, and two or three dogs fastened together. He asked what
these things meant. They answered that the youth would die in a short
time; that the friends had been invited, and for them the banquet was
being prepared; that afterwards a funeral dance was to be conducted;
and that the dogs which he saw were to be killed to appease the Spirit
of the dead boy. The Father exclaimed that these things were quite
unfitting for Christian men, and severely censured the impious custom.
The parent of the youth excused his ignorance; he said that henceforth
he and his son should be under the Father's direction; he begged him
to instruct and command them, and said that they would execute his
orders. The Priest forbade the killing of the dogs; he dismissed the
rude dancers; a part of the repast he allowed, as not devoted to
superstitious rites. He insisted that the patient should no longer be
neglected; still more, he persuaded them that the boy should be taken
to the dwellings of the French, although these were far distant, saying
that he hoped, by the favor of God, for his recovery. The priest was
favorably heard by Membertou; the patient was brought to us, although
the sorcerers and medicine-men, who declared that the unhappy youth
could not live, ridiculed this decision, and grieved that such a morsel
should be snatched suddenly from their jaws. And indeed he was at the
point of death, when, three days afterward, exhausted by the journey,
and by sickness, he arrived at the French settlement. Nevertheless, by
the skill and devotion of the Fathers, and by the kindness of God, he
was restored; nor was he alone established in the Catholic faith, but
many of his countrymen were inflamed with the desire of adopting it.
Some time afterward, the father of the young man fell sick, and wished
to be also brought to us, where, after being received into our hut
and even into the bed of one of the Fathers, he piously departed this
life; and, what was novel and displeasing to the savages, he was buried
among Christian people; for they themselves are very reluctant to be
separated from the tombs of their ancestors. His funeral was observed,
as far as the limitations of the case permitted, with marked ceremony.
Nor was this savage's virtue unworthy in any respect of that honor;
for, even before he had learned of Christ, he could not be induced
to marry more than one wife, considering this more in harmony with
nature and reason. But, after his acceptance of the Faith of Christ,
he so lived that he was to the savages an object of admiration, to the
Christians an example.
These things were accomplished at home. Then going forth, as it were,
from the city walls, the heralds of the Gospel traversed a great
part of the country. A godly act was performed whenever opportunity
allowed; hands were laid upon the sick; parents and children were
conciliated by means of little gifts; services were rendered to the
French who were establishing new homes; nor were the seamen and ships'
passengers neglected. There was not lacking a glad harvest for their
patience. Meanwhile, so great a scarcity of provisions existed, that
for each week [323] a ration was allotted, so scanty that it was hardly
sufficient for one day; namely, ten ounces of bread, half a pound of
salted meat, and a handful of peas or beans. In addition to this, each
man was his own mechanic, mender, miller, cook, hewer of wood, and
drawer of water. There occurred sometimes to the Fathers, in the midst
of the miseries, the words of those to whom Moses had given the task of
reconnoitering Canaan: [_Num. c. 13, 14._] _This land ... devoureth its
inhabitants; ... there we saw certain monsters of the sons of Enac of
the Giant-kind: in comparison of whom, we seemed like locusts._ But at
the same time there came into mind the speech of Joshua and of Caleb,
full of divine trust: _The land which we have gone round is very good.
If the Lord be favorable, he will bring us into it.... Fear ye not the
people of this land, ... the Lord is with us._
DOMICILIA SOCIETATIS & MISSIONES IN NOVA FRANCIA.
ET esse cum servis suis, ac militibus Dominum, exitus comprobavit.
Nam hoc anno MDCCIII. ineunte, cum hæc scribimus, præter Quebecense
collegium, numerantur in hac _terra deserta_ prius _& invia_ triginta
& amplius florentissimæ cultissimæque Missiones nostræ Societatis.
Prima in conspectu Quebeci, decimo ab urbe lapide, Lauretana dicitur.
Altera in pago Tadussaco sedet: ad ripam fluvii Laurentiani, leucis
infra Quebecum LX. versus ortum. Tres aliæ supra Quebecum ipsum,
longe procurrunt in Boream, circa lacum S. Joannis: una in eo loco,
qui à septem insulis nomen habet; altera, in pago Chigoutimino;
tertia, secus amnem Saguenæum. Excoluntur ibi Montagnæi, Papinachii,
Mistassini, & aliæ passim gentes errabundæ. Jam, si versus obeuntis
solis partes & fluminis Laurentiani fontem tendas, occurret in ejus
ripâ septentrionali pagus Trium fluminum dictus, quia ibi tria quædam
flumina confluunt: abest Quebeco septem octove dierum iter. Florebat
illic AlgonKinorum Missio longe pulcherrima, sed hanc vinum igne
vaporatum & stillatum, à mercatoribus Europæis, facilem inde quæstum
male captantibus invectum, vehementer labefactavit inducta ebrietate.
Pensat hæc damna virtus ac pietas AbnaKisorum. Triplex apud illos
statio collocata una Quebeco non procul, in XLVI. gradu latitudinis,
nomine S. Francisci Salesii & patrocinio insignita: aliæ duæ sunt
remotiores; loco nomen est NipisiKouit. Trans amnem Laurentianum ad
Meridiem funduntur Iroquæorum quinque nationes. Septem sunt apud illos
præconum Evangelii domicilia, per centum quinquaginta leucas sparsa. Ex
iis sex profligata fuerant bello Gallos inter & Iroquæos conflato circa
annum MDCLXXXII. Revocata cum religione pax anno MDCCII. omnia priorem
in statum restituit. In iis Iroquæorum Missionibus ea præcipuè floret,
quæ à S. Francisco Xaverio nomen habet, ad Montem-Regalem.
Supra Iroquæos, versus occasum & Aquilonem, intra quadragesimum
gradum & XLV. cernere est majores duos lacus angusto freto junctos:
alter, isque amplior, Ilinæorum; alter Huronum dicitur. Hos ingens
terræ lingua dividit, cujus in apice sedet Missio S. Ignatii, sive
MissilimaKinacana. Supra duos istos lacus tertius est, ambobus major,
quem superiorem lacum appellant. Hujus in aditu constituta est Missio
S. Mariæ à Saltu. Interjectum inter hunc, & binos inferiores lacus
spatium occupant OutaouaKi, apud quos plurima stativa Societas habet.
Ejusmodi arces religionis (sic enim appellare Missiones licet) unde
suos profert milites, & sacra explicat vexilla, tres circa lacum
Ilinæorum positæ sunt, prima inter Puteatamisos: Missio Sancti Josephi
nuncupatur: altera inter KiKarousos, MasKoutensos, & Outagamisos;
S. Francisci Xaverii nomen obtinet: tertia inter Oumiamisos, Angeli
Custodis. Infra memoratos lacus, supra ipsam Floridam, vastissimos
pererrant campos Ilinæi. Ibi amplissima statio, cui nomen ab immaculata
Virginis Matris conceptione impositum, tres in Missiones secatur, &
ad fluvium usque Missisipum procurrit. Insidet ejusdem fluminis ripis
missio Baiogulana, in trigesimo primo gradu latitudinis: demum ultima
protenditur secundum eundem amnem versus Mexicanum sinum. Hæc visum est
enucleare paulo distinctius, & quasi sub uno statim aspectu ponere, ut
intelligatur quò singula referenda sint, quæ postea de Nova Francia
narrabuntur.
Restat ignota Europæis adhuc pars Canadæ immensa, ultra Missisipum
fluvium, clementiori subjecta coelo, frequens incolis, armentis
frugibusque læta; vitæ veræ ac salutis expers. Hæc generosos Christi
milites vocat. Nec non altera [324] longe isti dissimilis, quæ
rigidis circa Hudsonium finum, à gradu LV. ad LX. aut LXX. subjecta
septentrionibus, nivibus ac pruinis demersa, tanto æquiùs implorat
opem, quanto gravioribus incommodis conflictatur. Hic Societas ante
annos paucos prima coepit figere vestigia. Illucescet illa, spero,
dies, cum obvallatum periculis ac laboribus iter eadem perrumpet. Non
sine magno molimine claustra Tartari, oppressas injusta servitute
animas retinentis, perfringuntur; neque illa ipsa, tot florens modo
coloniis, Missio Canadica statim suam est maturitatem adepta. Ægrè per
sexdecim annos tanquam in salebris hæsit, nec suam quandam nacta formam
est, nisi anno seculi superioris quinto & vigesimo, cùm se aliquando ex
illis angustiis explicuit, P. Petri Cotoni, cui sua debebat primordia,
beneficio, ut sexta Pars Historiæ fusius exponet.
Nunc ærumnarum ac periculorum plenos natales referimus laboriosæ
Missionis, quæ vix nata, in ipsis cunis per Anglos propemodùm extincta
est.
SETTLEMENTS AND MISSIONS OF THE SOCIETY IN NEW FRANCE.
AND that the Lord is with his servants and soldiers, the outcome has
proved. For, in the beginning of this year 1703, while we are writing
these things, there are numbered in this formerly _solitary and
unexplored country_ more than thirty very prosperous and well-equipped
Missions of our Society, besides the college of Quebec. The first of
these, in sight of Quebec, at the tenth mile-stone from the city, is
called Lorette. Another is situated in the district of Tadoussac, on
the shore of the river St. Lawrence, sixty leagues below Quebec toward
the east. Three others, above Quebec itself, extend far into the North
about lake St. John; one in that place which takes its name from the
seven islands;[49] another in the district of Chigoutimini;[50] the
third on the Saguenay river. There they minister to the Montagnais, the
Papinachois, the Mistassins, and other wandering tribes. Now, if you
journey towards the regions of the setting sun, and the source of the
St. Lawrence river, you will find upon its northern bank a district
called Three rivers, because there three rivers flow together: it is
distant from Quebec seven or eight days' journey. Here, there formerly
flourished the most successful Mission of the Algonquins; but it has
been much weakened through the drunkenness induced by brandy, brought
in by European merchants who thus wickedly derive an easy profit. But
these losses are compensated by the virtue and piety of the Abenakis.
Among them a mission of three stations has been established; one
located among them, not far from Quebec, on the forty-sixth parallel
of latitude, distinguished by the name and patronage of St. Francis de
Sales: the other two are more remote, at a place named Nipisikouit.
Across the St. Lawrence river, to the South, extend the five nations of
the Iroquois. There are among them seven stations of the Evangelists,
scattered through a hundred and fifty leagues. Of these, six were
destroyed in the war which arose between the French and Iroquois, about
the year 1682. Peace, together with the recall of the missionaries,
in the year 1702 restored all things to their previous condition.[51]
Among these Missions of the Iroquois, that one is especially
flourishing which is named for St. Francis Xavier, at Montreal.[52]
Above the Iroquois, toward the west and North, between the fortieth and
forty-fifth parallels, one may see two great lakes joined by a narrow
strait; the larger one is called the lake of the Ilinois,[53] the other
the lake of the Hurons.[54] These are separated by a large peninsula,
at the point of which is situated the Mission of St. Ignatius, or
Missilimakinac.[55] Above these two lakes there is a third, greater
than either, called lake superior. At the entrance of this lake has
been established the Mission of Ste. Marie at the Sault.[56] The space
between this and two smaller lakes is occupied by the Outaouaki, among
whom the Society has many stations. Three such citadels of religion
(for thus it is proper to call the Missions), whence she leads forth
her soldiers and unfurls her sacred standards, have been located about
the lake of the Ilinois: the first, among the Puteatamis, and called
the Mission of St. Joseph; another, among the Kikarous, Maskoutens,
and Outagamies, and possessing the name of St. Francis Xavier:[57] the
third, among the Oumiamis,[58] has the name of the Guardian Angel.
Below the lakes which have been mentioned, above Florida, the Ilinois
roam through most extensive territories. There, a very large station,
named from the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mother, is divided
into three Missions, and extends as far as the river Mississippi. Upon
the banks of the same river is situated the mission of Baiogula, at the
thirty-first parallel of latitude;[59] and it extends down that stream
towards the gulf of Mexico. It has seemed best to explain these matters
somewhat fully, because the individual facts here specified will be
referred to in what is to be hereafter narrated concerning New France.
There remains unknown to Europeans, up to the present time, an immense
portion of Canada, beyond the Mississippi river, situated beneath a
milder sky, well-inhabited, and abounding in animal and vegetable life;
the whole, deprived of true life and of salvation. This region calls to
the generous soldiers of Christ. So is it, likewise, [324] with another
region far dissimilar to that, around the frozen Hudson bay, from the
fifty-fifth parallel to the sixtieth or seventieth; lying at the north,
plunged in snows and frosts, it even more justly implores aid, as it
is afflicted by more weighty ills. Here the Society, a few years ago,
first began to plant its footsteps. That day will dawn, I hope, when
it shall break through the barriers of dangers and toils. Not without
great exertion are the gates of Tartarus, which hold burdened souls in
unmerited bondage, broken down; nor did the Canadian Mission itself,
now flourishing with so many settlements, all at once attain its full
development. Grievously, through sixteen years did it, so to speak,
stick in a rough road; indeed, it did not take shape until 1625, when
it was extricated from its perplexities by the aid of Father Peter
Coton, to whom it owed its origin, as the sixth Part of this History
will more fully explain.
Now we return to the natal days, full of hardships and dangers, of the
toilsome Mission, which, scarcely born, was almost exterminated in its
cradle by the English.
MISSIO CANADENSIS AB ANGLIS PROTURBATA.
SOCIIS illic degentibus venerant auxilio Idibus Maii anni MDCXIII.
Pater Quintinus, & Frater Gilbertus Thetus, regio diplomate instructi,
quo facultas ipsis dabatur novi domicilii commodo loco ædificandi.
Gallos reperiunt incumbentes in condendam urbem, & periculi, quod
instabat, ignaros. Angli paucis ante annis occupaverant Virginiam.
Hæc Americæ septentrionalis ad ortum portio maritima, inter Floridam
Novamque Franciam sita, tricesimo sexto, septimo, & octavo gradibus
substernitur. Eò cum tenderent Angli æstivis anni MDCXIII. mensibus, &
inscii locorum errarent, ob exortam caliginem, quæ huic mari densissima
solet per eos menses incubare, paulatim delapsi sunt ad littus, ubi
Galli consederant, haud procul portu Sancti Salvatoris. Postquam
cognoverunt Gallicas naves ibi consistere, arma expediunt, & in portum
invehuntur. Interea Galli ancipiti opinione suspensi, amicos an hostes
censerent, quos recta in suam stationem ventus inferebat, eventum
trepidi opperiebantur. Brevi, quinam essent patuit. Angli facto impetu
in Gallicum navigium, paucis instructum propugnatoribus, ceteris ad
condenda domicilia digressis, id nullo negotio expugnant.
THE CANADIAN MISSION DRIVEN OUT BY THE ENGLISH.
TO OUR COMRADES residing in that place there had come as a
reinforcement, on the 15th day of May, 1613, Father Quentin and Brother
Gilbert du Thet, provided with a royal commission, by which they were
empowered to establish a new settlement in a suitable location.[60]
They found the French intent upon founding a city, and unaware of the
danger which threatened. The English, a few years before, had occupied
Virginia. This eastern coast-region of North America, situated between
Florida and New France, is comprised between the thirty-sixth and
thirty-eighth parallels. While the English were sailing thither in the
summer months of the year 1613, and, having lost their bearings and
strayed from their course, on account of the fogs, which usually are
very heavy upon this sea in the summer, they were gradually borne to
the shore where the French had settled,[61] not far from the port of
St. Sauveur. When they learned that a French ship was stationed there,
they made ready their weapons and entered the harbor. Meanwhile the
French, uncertain whether they should consider as friends or foes those
whom the wind was bearing directly towards their position, tremblingly
awaited the outcome. Who they were was soon apparent. The English
attacked the French ship,[62] wherein few were drawn up in defense--for
the others had departed to work on the buildings--and with no trouble
captured her.
UNUS È SOCIETATE INTERFICITUR; ALII CANADA EJICIUNTUR.
PRIMO in conflictu Gilbertus Thetus, domesticæ rei adiutor è Societate,
confossus lethali plaga, postridie religiosa morte occubuit. Ceteri
Patres qui stabant in littore, in potestatem Argalli, prætoris Angli,
venerunt. Ille, dum Gallicæ navis prædam & supellectilem recenset,
subduxit clam è Saussæii, navis Gallicæ gubernatoris, qui huic
expeditioni præerat, scrinio regium diploma, cujus fide tota novæ
coloniæ ratio nitebatur. Mox ipsum Saussæium è littore subeuntem
adortus, quærit ex eo quo jure, cujus auctoritate, novas tam prope
Virginiam sedes moliatur. Laudavit Saussæius regium diploma, quod se
in capsis rite conscriptum habere dixit. Ad eas ubi ventum est, vidit
integras, & obseratas, suisque omnia digesta locis agnovit, diploma
nullum apparuit. Tum Argallus, vultu & voce ad severitatem compositis,
fugitivos & prædones conclamat, ac necem commeruisse pronunciat,
simulque navim suis diripiendam tradit. Illum interea Patres obsecrant
ut victis benignè consulat, quibus objici nihil noxæ possit aliud, quàm
quod in pacato solo fuerint nimium securi: auctoritatem Regis Galliæ
non dubiam ac voluntatem testantur. Prætor probè sibi conscius vera
narrari, comiter eos audivit, & omnibus potestatem in Galliam redeundi
fecit. Duas in naviculas infelix turba imponitur, quarum una cursum
in Galliam rectà dirigeret; altera cum aliquot Anglis solveret in
Virginiam, inde Franciam petitura. Hanc PP. Biardus & Quintinus, illam
P. Massæus, & Saussæius conscenderunt. Utriusque sors longè dispar
fuit. Quæ Saussæium & P. Massæum vehebat dum oram maritimam legit,
annonâ, nautis, armamentis destituta, incidit in geminas naves reditum
in Galliam adornantes. Jungit se illis læta, cumque suis vectoribus
Maclovium, Britanniæ Aremoricæ oppidum, paucis diebus tenuit.
Interim Argallus, classis Anglicæ præfectus, Patres Biardum & Quintinum
deducturus in Virginiam, ut constitutum fuerat, paululum iis præivit
cum sua navi prætoria. Virginiam obtinebat Anglus ferox, nomini
Gallico, ac Societati nostræ [325] perinfensus. Ubi adventare Jesuitas
audivit, vociferatur perdendos homines improbissimos, busta pietatis
ac religionis. Argallus contra nitebatur; seque vivo nihil molestiæ
damnive Patribus inferendum affirmabat: hanc enim ipsis dederat fidem;
& regium diploma, cujus auctoritate colonia Gallica in Novam Franciam
deducebatur, protulit. Hoc diplomate inflammatus homo furiosus,
exturbandos è Nova Francia Gallos clamat. In hanc sententiam Angli
proceres iverunt. Jubetur Argallus viam remetiri; Gallos, quicumque
superessent, ejicere, domicilia evertere, & æquare solo. Rediit: arces
in ora Canadensi extructas incendit, omnia delevit, ac naves duas in
Regio Portu deprehensas, invasit.
Dum hæc in Canada geruntur, naves Anglicæ, præeuntem Argallum secutæ,
aliæ procul à Virginia ventorum vi abreptæ; aliæ undis haustæ sunt.
Una, cui Turnellus Anglus præerat, & qua Patres Quintinus ac Biardus
vehebantur, continentibus sexdecim dierum procellis vexata, in Azores,
Lusitanorum ad Africæ littus insulas, celerrimè defertur. Hic vero
novum exoritur periculum. Turnellus poenam metuens, quòd Societatis
sacerdotes per summam immanitatem domicilio avulsos spoliatosque secum
traheret, indignisque habuisset modis, de illorum nece agitare consilia
coepit. Satius denique illi visum ad eorum clementiam & humanitatem,
quam in gravissimis injuriis perspexerat, confugere. Operam tamen
dedit, ne intraret portum; sed stante in ancoris navigio, necessariam
annonam immissâ scaphâ pararet. Contra quàm speraverat accidit. Secundo
enim vento impulsus, portum quamlibet invitus reluctansque subiit.
Nostri de illo, quamvis non ita merito, ne verbum quidem ullum, quo
accusaretur, interposuere: læti quod hostem ita servassent. Agnovit
beneficium gubernator Anglus; ac deinceps sæpenumero cum summa Patrum
laude prædicavit. Id vero multo fecit impensiùs, cùm tempestate ad
Angliæ urbem Penbrochium projectus, ejus oppidi magistratibus movit
suspicionem maritimi latronis, quòd & Francicâ veheretur navi, neque
scriptam auctoritatem proferret, qua suam navigationem tueretur.
Asseveranti se à prætore suo Argallo tempestate divulsum, fides non
habebatur. In tanto discrimine sacerdotes duos Societatis testes
citavit, quos haberet in navi, & quorum incorrupta fides nemini
venire posset in dubium. Cum Patres interrogati rem ita se habere
confirmassent, periculo liberatus est. Reddidit quam debebat illorum
humanitati vicem; utque ipsis non solum esset impune, sed etiam ut
à magistratu honor haberetur, curavit. Certior interim factus Regis
Christianissimi orator de Patrum navigatione difficili, & in Angliam
adventu, egit cum Angliæ Rege de remittendis illis in Galliam. Quo
annuente, Ambianum decimo, quàm fuerant capti, mense ad Socios læti
sospitesque pervenerunt.
ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY IS KILLED; THE OTHERS ARE EXPELLED
FROM CANADA.
IN THE FIRST onset, Gilbert du Thet, a household assistant of the
Society, was stricken with a mortal wound, and on the following day
piously departed this life. The rest of the Fathers, who were standing
on the shore, were captured by Argall, the English commander.[63] This
man, while he was taking an inventory of the plunder and equipment of
the French ship, surreptitiously removed from the trunk of Saussaye,
the captain of the French vessel, and commander of the expedition,
the royal commission upon whose authority all the proceedings of the
new colony were based. Soon meeting Saussaye himself, returning from
the shore, Argall asked him by what right, by whose authority, he
was founding a new colony so near Virginia. Saussaye cited the royal
commission, which he asserted that he had, duly drawn up, in one of his
trunks. When they came to these, he saw them untouched and locked, and
all things disposed in their proper places; but no commission appeared.
Thereupon Argall, changing his countenance and voice to severity,
pronounced them runaways and pirates, and declared that they deserved
death; while at the same time he delivered over the ship to his men to
be plundered. Meanwhile the Fathers besought him to adopt mild measures
toward the vanquished, against whom no other fault could be charged
than that, in a peaceful situation, they had been too careless; they
testified that the authority and favor of the King of France had
certainly been given to the colony. The captain, who was thoroughly
conscious of the truth of their statements, listened to them kindly,
and gave to all the opportunity of returning to France. The unhappy
crowd was placed upon two small ships, one of which directed its
course straight towards France; the other, with some of the English,
sailed for Virginia, thence to depart for France. Fathers Biard and
Quentin embarked upon the latter; Father Massé and Saussaye upon the
former. The fortunes of these ships were widely diverse. While that
which carried Saussaye and Father Massé was coasting along the shore,
destitute of provisions, of seamen, and of equipment, she fell upon
two ships preparing to return to France. She gladly joined herself to
these, and, with her passengers, arrived in a few days at St. Malo, a
town of Brittany.
Meanwhile Argall, the commander of the English fleet, in order that
he might conduct Fathers Biard and Quentin to Virginia, as had been
resolved upon, preceded them a little with his flag-ship. Virginia was
then ruled by a ferocious Englishman,[64] who was extremely hostile
to the French name and to our Society. [325] When he heard that
Jesuits had arrived, he exclaimed that such extremely wicked men, the
sepulchers of piety and religion, ought to be destroyed. Argall strove
against him, and declared that, while he lived, no annoyance or injury
should be offered to the Fathers, for he had given them this assurance;
and he produced the royal commission, by authority of which the French
colony was brought to New France. Incensed by this commission, the man
declared in a rage that the French must be driven from New France. In
this decision the English councilors agreed. Argall was ordered to
retrace his path; to expel those of the French who remained; to destroy
their buildings, and level them with the ground. He returned, burned
the forts built upon the Canadian coast, destroyed everything, and
seized two ships which he found at Port Royal.[65]
While these things were taking place in Canada, of the English ships
which were following the lead of Argall some were driven far from
Virginia by the violence of the wind; others were swamped by the waves.
One, which the Englishman Turnell[66] commanded, and in which Fathers
Quentin and Biard were being conveyed, after being driven continuously
for sixteen days by tempests, was quickly borne to the Azores, islands
on the coast of Africa belonging to the Portuguese. But here a new
danger arose. Turnell, fearing punishment because he was carrying with
him and was holding under unjust conditions priests of the Society, who
had been torn from their homes and robbed with the greatest brutality,
began to consider plans for making way with them. Finally it seemed
better to him to take refuge in their clemency and mildness, which he
had observed amid the most grievous injuries. Nevertheless, he took
measures that they should not enter the port, thinking that while the
ship stood at anchor he might procure the necessary provisions by
sending in a small boat. The contrary to what he had expected happened.
For, impelled by an inshore breeze, he entered the harbor, although
unwillingly and reluctantly. Our friends, contrary to his deserts,
interposed not even a word by which he might be accused, rejoicing
because they had, in this manner, saved an enemy. The English captain
recognized their kindness, and afterwards often spoke with great
praise of the Fathers. But this he did much more unreservedly when,
borne by a storm to Pembroke, a city of England, he was suspected by
the officials of that town of piracy on the high seas, because he was
sailing in a French ship and produced no written authority by which he
might justify his voyage. When he asserted that he had been separated
by a storm from his commander, Argall, no credence was given to him. In
this crisis he mentioned as witnesses the two priests of the Society
whom he had in the ship, and whose uncorrupted integrity could be
doubted by no one. When the Fathers, on being questioned, had given
assurance that the affair was thus, he was released from danger. He
made the requital which was due to their kindness, and took care that
they should not only suffer no harm, but even that they should be shown
honor by the officials. Meantime the ambassador of the Most Christian
King, upon being informed of the toilsome voyage of the Fathers,
carried on negotiations with the King of England concerning their
restoration to France. With his consent, they arrived, in the tenth
month after their capture, joyfully and safely among their Brethren at
Amiens.
APPENDIX.
Missiones Societatis Iesv in America Septentrionali Anno M.DCC.X. [961]
APUD Abnaquæos missiones. _Aux Abnaquis._
S. Angeli Custodis missio. _De l'Ange Gardien._
Baiogulana miss. _Baiogula._
Chigutiminiana miss. _Chigoutimini._
S. Francisci Salesii miss. _De S. François de Sales._
S. Francisci Xaverii miss. _De S. François Xavier._
Huronica res. _Aux Hurons._
S. Ignatii miss. _De S. Ignace._
Immaculatæ Conceptionis miss. _De l'Immaculée Conception._
Ad septem Insulas miss. _Aux Sept Isles._
S. Josephi miss. _De S. Joseph._
Apud Ilinæos missiones. _Aux Ilinois._
Apud Iroquæos missiones. _Aux Iroquois._
Lauretana missio. _De Lorette._
Ad ripas, & ostium fluvii Mississipi missiones. _Aux bords, & a
l'embouchure du Mississipi._
[962] Montis regalis res. _Mon[t]-real._
Nipisikouitana missio. _Nipisikovit._
Apud Outakouacos missiones _Aux Outakovacs._
Saguenæa missio. _Du Saguenai._
Saltensis missio. _Du Sault de Sainte Marie._
In silvis missiones. _Dans les forests._
Tadussacensis miss. _De Tadoussak._
Trifluviana miss. _Aux trois Rivieres._
_Numerantur Socii_ 42.
APPENDIX.
Missions of the Society of Jesus in North America in the Year 1710.
[961]
MISSIONS among the Abenakis.
Mission of the Holy Guardian Angel.
Baiogula mission.
Chigoutimini mission.
Mission of St. Francis de Sales.
Mission of St. Francis Xavier.
Huron residence.
Mission of St. Ignatius.
Mission of the Immaculate Conception.
Mission at the seven Islands.
Mission of St. Joseph.
Missions among the Ilinois.
Missions among the Iroquois.
Mission of Lorette.
Missions on the banks and at the mouth of the Mississippi river.
[962] Residence of Montreal.
Nipisikouit mission.
Missions among the Outakouacs.
Saguenay mission.
Mission of Sault de Sainte Marie.
Forest missions.
Tadoussac mission.
Mission at Three Rivers.
_Number of brethren_ 42
VIII
JOUVENCY'S
De Regione ac Moribus Canadensium
ROME: GIORGIO PLACKO, 1710
SOURCE: We follow the general style of O'Callaghan's Reprint No. 5.
The Title-page, Tabula Rerum, and Rerum Insigniorum Indiculus,
are the work of that Editor. The Text, he reprinted from
Jouvency's _Historia Societatis Jesu_ (Rome, 1710), part v., pp.
344-347; we have read the proof thereof, from a copy of that work
found in the library of the College of St. Francis Xavier, New
York. The bracketed pagination is that of Jouvency; except in the
Tabula Rerum and Rerum Insigniorum Indiculus, which is that of
O'Callaghan.
DE
REGIONE ET MORIBUS
CANADENSIUM
SEU BARBARORUM
NOVÆ FRANCIÆ
Auctore JOSEPHO JUVENCIO, Societatis
Jesu, Sacerdote.
[Illustration]
Ex Historiæ Soc. Jesu. Lib. xv. Parte v, impressa
ROMÆ:
Ex Typographia Georgii Plachi
M. D. CC. X.
CONCERNING THE
COUNTRY AND MANNERS
OF THE CANADIANS,
OR THE SAVAGES OF
NEW FRANCE
By JOSEPH JOUVENCY, a Priest of the
Society of Jesus.
Printed from the History of the Society of Jesus, Book
xv., Part v.
ROME:
Printing House of Giorgio Placko
1710.
[3] Tabula Rerum
Pag.
I _FLUMINA Novæ Franciæ; soli natura; feræ, pisces, aves, &c._ 5
II _Canadensium domus & res familiaris; morbi; ægrorum cura &
mortuorum_ 16
III _Belli gerendi ratio; arma; crudelitas in captivos_ 27
IV _Indoles animi: corporis cultus; cibi, convivia; supellex;
religio, & superstitiones_ 33
[3] Table of Contents.
[_The page numbers refer to O'Callaghan's Reprint._]
Page.
I _RIVERS of New France; nature of the soil; wild beasts, fish,
birds, etc._ 5
II _Homes and household economy of the Canadians; diseases;
treatment of the sick and of the dead_ 16
III _Mode of warfare; weapons; cruelty to prisoners_ 27
IV _Mental characteristics; care of the body; food: feasts;
household utensils; religion and superstitions_ 33
[344 §. x.] De regione ac moribus Canadensium, seu barbarorum Novæ
Franciæ.
FLUMINA NOVÆ FRANCIÆ; SOLI NATURA; FERÆ, PISCES, AVES, &C.
DUO sunt in Nova Francia majores fluvii. Unus ab indigenis Canada
nominatus, & à quo tota regio nomen traxit, nunc fluvius Sancti
Laurentii dicitur, & ab occasu in ortum amplissimo fluit alveo. Alter,
cui nomen Missisipus, per vasta, & ignota magnam adhuc partem, terrarum
spatia fertur à Septentrione in Meridiem. Habent hoc singulare hujus
regionis fluvii, quòd certis in locis ex editiore solo præcipitant
in humiliorem planitiem ingenti cum strepitu. Ea loca saltus vocant
Franci. Catadupa recte dixeris, qualia in Nilo celebrantur. Aqua tota
fluminis, in morem arcuati fornicis, ita sæpe cadit, ut infra suspensum
altè amnem sicco vestigio transire liceat. Barbari, cum huc ventum
est, suas naviculas, è levi compactas cortice, imponunt humeris, & in
placidam fluminis, alveo depressiore fluentis, partem eas deportant,
cum sarcinulis. Urbs novæ Franciæ primaria Kebecum nuncupatur, S.
Laurentii fluvio imposita. Coelo salubri tota regio utitur; at hyeme
frigida, & diuturna vexatur. Hanc efficit partim fluminum & lacuum
crebritas; partim opacitas & amplitudo nemorum, quæ vim solis calidam
infringunt; denique nivium copia, quibus terra tres quatuorve menses,
in iis locis quæ ab Boream propius accedunt, & eidem ac vetus Gallia
parallelo subjacent, continenter inhorrescit. Humus omnium arborum
plantarumque feracissima, præsertim ubi excisæ silvæ locum culturæ
majorem præbuerunt. Quadrupedes eædem, quæ in Europa: nonnullæ regionis
propriæ sunt, ut alces. Magnam belluam indigenæ appellant. Id nominis
invenit à mole corporis: bovem enim æquat magnitudine. Mulum capite
refert; cervum cornibus, pedibus, & cauda. Eam canibus immissis barbari
agitant; defatigatam conficiunt jaculis & missilibus. Si desunt
venatici canes, ipsi vicem illorum obeunt. Per medias quippe nives
incredibili celeritate gradiuntur, ac ne corporis pondus vestigia pedum
altius in nivem deprimat, substernunt plantis, inseruntque pedibus,
lata reticula, illis simillima, quibus pilam lusores vulgò pulsant. Hæc
reticula, spatium nivis ac soli satis magnum amplexa, currentes facile
sustinent. Alces vero crura exilia defigens alte in nivem, ægrè se
expedit. Illius carnibus vescuntur, teguntur pelle, ungula posterioris
sinistri pedis sanantur. Huic ungulæ mira quædam & multiplex virtus
inest, medicorum celeberrimorum testimonio commendata. Valet in primis
adversus morbum comitialem, sive admoveatur pectori, qua parte cor
micat; sive indatur palæ annuli, quem digitus lævæ minimo proximus
gestet; sive demum teneatur in ejusdem sinistræ vola, in pugnum
contracta. Nec minorem vim habet ad sanandam pleuritidem, capitis
vertigines, & sexcentos alios, si credimus expertis, morbos.
Alterum animantis genus illic notissimum & frequentissimum est fiber,
cujus pelle, cum Europæis mercibus mutanda, commercii Canadensis ratio
fere tota constat. Color castaneæ colorem imitatur; modus cor[po]ris
idem, qui exigui vervecis: curti pedes & ad natandum compositi, nam
in aquis perinde ac in terra degit; cauda glabra, crassa & plana,
quæ natanti pro gubernaculo sit: dentes duo, majores ceteris, ex ore
utrimque prominent: iis tanquam gladio & serra utuntur fibri ad arbores
exscindendas, cum domos extruunt; in iis enim fabricandis mira pollent
industria. Eas ponunt ad lacuum fluviorumve ripas: muros è stipitibus
componunt, interjecto cespite uliginoso ac tenaci, calcis instar; vix
ut multa vi effringi opus & convelli possit. Tota casæ fabrica variis
contignationibus distinguitur: infima è transversis lignis crassioribus
constat, instratis desuper ramis, ac relicto foramine & ostiolo,
per quod in fluvium subire, cum videtur, possint: Hæc modice supra
fluminis aquam exstat, aliæ assurgunt altius, in easque, si fluvius
intumescens imum tabulatum vicerit, se receptant. In una è superioribus
contignationibus cubant; præbet molle stratum alga siccior, & arborum
muscus, quo se tutantur a frigore; in altera penum habent, & provisa
in hyemem cibaria. Ædificium fornicato tecto clauditur. Sic hyemem
exigunt: nam æstate, opacum in ripis frigus captant, aut undis immersi
calores æstivos fugiunt. In una sæpe domo ingens, & multorum capitum
familia stabulatur. Quod si loci premuntur angustiis, discedunt
juniores ultro, & sua sibi domicilia moliuntur. In eam curam incumbunt
sub prima autumni frigora, & mutuas sibi invicem operas commodant,
tum ad secanda ligna, tum ad comportanda, ita ut plures uni eidemque
succedant oneri, & ingentia ramalia, nemorisque stragem, devehant. Si
quem fluvium nanciscuntur ad suos accommodatum usus, non tamen satis
alto gurgite, struunt aggerem coercendis aquis, donec ad idoneam
altitudinem assurgant. Ac primo quidem arbores grandiores arrodendo
dejiciunt: deinde transversas ab una ripa ducunt ad alteram. Duplicem
versum & ordinem arborum faciunt; relicto inter illas obliquè sic
positas spatio sex fere pedum, quod referciunt cæmentis, argilla,
ramis, tam solerter, nihil ut perfectius à summo architecto expectes.
Operis longitudo major minorve est, pro fluvii, quem coercere volunt,
modo. Ducenûm aliquando passuum ejusmodi aggeres reperti. At, si amnis
plus justo intumescit, diffringunt aliquam molis partem, ac tantum
emittunt aquæ, quantum satis videtur.
Ut feris silvæ, sic piscibus abundant flumina. Unus est in Iroquæorum
lacu, de quo nihil à priscis legitur proditum scriptoribus. Causarus
ab indigenis vocatur: octo pedes longus, aliquando decem. Crassitudo,
humani femoris; color leucophæus, candido tamen propior; squamis
totus horret tam duris, tamque validè consertis, ut aciem pugionis, &
hastilium, excludant. Caput amplum, & cranio præduro, tanquam casside,
munitum. Hinc piscis armati nomen illi à Gallis inditum. Et vero
perpetua cum aliis piscibus bella gerit, quorum exitio pascitur. Pro
telo rostrum immane gerit, humani brachii longitudine, gemino dentium
ordine instructum. Hoc venabulo non solum reliquos mactat pisces,
verum etiam avibus, cum mutare dapes cupit, insidiatur & illudit. Eam
ob rem occultat se inter carecta: rostrum exertat aquis, ac paulisper
diducit. Sic perstat immotus donec accedant volucres, & incautæ rostro
insideant, arundinem aut virgultum ratæ: continuo perfidus insidiator,
misellarum pedes contracto rostro stringit, & in gurgitem demersas
vorat.
Non minor volucrum est copia, quàm piscium. Certis mensibus palumbes è
silvis prorumpunt in agros tanto numero, ut arborum ramos prægravent;
quibus postquam infederunt noctu, facile capiuntur, & barbaras mensas
regali ferculo cumulant. Præterea in vastissimo sinu, in quem evolvit
se flumen sancti Laurentii, cernitur exigua insula, seu potius
biceps scopulus: insulam volucrum dicunt. Tot enim eò convolant è
finitimo pelago, ut inire numerum nequeas. Indigenæ fustibus prædam
non difficilem comminuunt, aut pedibus conculcant; cymbasque lautis
dapibus, & inemptis [345] plenas referunt. Ludunt in aquis passim
anseres, anates, ardeæ, grues, olores, fulicæ; & aves aliæ, victum ex
undis petere solitæ. Peculiare quiddam habet una, gallinæ similis, si
molem spectes; pennis in tergo nigricantibus, sub alvo candidis. Pedum
alter unguibus aduncis armatur; alter digitos levi & continua pelle
junctos habet, qualis est anatum; hoc natat; illo pisces trahit &
eviscerat.
[344 § x.] Concerning the country and manners of the Savages of New
France.
RIVERS OF NEW FRANCE; NATURE OF THE SOIL; WILD BEASTS, FISH, BIRDS, ETC.
THERE are two great rivers in New France. One, called by the natives
Canada, a name thence extended to the whole country, is now called the
river St. Lawrence, and flows in a very broad channel from west to
east. The other, named Mississippi, flows from North to South, through
vast regions, for the most part still unknown. The rivers of this
land are remarkable because in certain places they are precipitated
with a great uproar from the higher to the lower levels. The French
call those places water-falls. You might justly call them cataracts,
such as are famous in the case of the Nile. The water of an entire
river often falls in the form of an arch, in such fashion that it is
possible to walk dry-shod beneath the stream which rushes overhead. The
savages, when they come to such a spot, shoulder their boats, which are
constructed of light bark, and carry them, together with the baggage,
to the calm portion of the river flowing below. The chief city of new
France is called Kebec, and is situated on the St. Lawrence river. The
whole country possesses a healthful climate, but is harassed by a cold
and long winter. This is caused partly by the frequency of the rivers
and lakes; partly by the thickness and great extent of the forests,
which diminish the force of the sun's heat; finally, by the abundance
of snow with which the land, in its most Northern regions, which lie
upon the same parallel as old France, is continually desolated for
three or four months. The soil is extremely productive of all sorts
of trees and plants, especially where the clearing of the forest has
furnished additional space for cultivation. The same quadrupeds are
found as in Europe; some, as the moose, are peculiar to the country.
The natives call it the "great beast." This name it receives because
of the huge size of its body, for it is as large as an ox. Its head
resembles that of a mule; its horns, hoofs, and tail, those of a stag.
The savages hunt this animal with the aid of dogs; when it is worn
out they dispatch it with spears and missiles. If hunting-dogs are
lacking, they themselves go in place of them. Indeed, they proceed
through the midst of the snow with incredible swiftness; and, in order
that the weight of the body may not sink their feet too deeply into the
snow, they place beneath their soles, and fasten to their feet, broad
pieces of net-work, very similar to those with which players commonly
strike the ball. These pieces of net-work, which cover a sufficiently
large portion of the surface of the snow, readily support them while
running. But the moose, planting their slender legs deeply into the
snow, with difficulty extricate themselves. The savages eat its flesh,
are clothed with its skin, and are cured by the hoof of its left hind
leg. In this hoof there is a certain marvelous and manifold virtue, as
is affirmed by the testimony of the most famous physicians. It avails
especially against the epilepsy, whether it be applied to the breast,
where the heart is throbbing, or whether it be placed in the bezel of
a ring, which is worn upon the finger next to the little finger of the
left hand; or, finally, if it be also held in the hollow of the left
hand, clenched in the fist. Nor does it have less power in the cure of
pleurisy, dizziness, and, if we may believe those familiar with it, six
hundred other diseases.
Another well-known and common sort of animal there, is the beaver; its
skins, which are exchanged for European merchandise, being the basis
of almost the entire system of Canadian commerce. Its color resembles
that of the chestnut; the shape of its body is like that of a small
wether; its legs are short and formed for swimming; its tail, which
it uses as a rudder while swimming, is smooth, thick and flat; two
teeth, larger than the others, project from its mouth on each side;
these, the beavers use like a sword and a saw in cutting down trees
when they build their houses, for in the construction of these they
exhibit wonderful industry. They locate them on the banks of lakes
or rivers; they build walls of logs, placing between them wet and
sticky sods in the place of mortar, so that the work can, even with
great violence, scarcely be torn apart and destroyed. The entire house
is divided into several stories; the lowest is composed of thicker
cross-beams, with branches strewn upon them, and provided with a hole
or small door through which they can pass into the river whenever they
wish; this story extends somewhat above the water of the river, while
the others rise higher, into which they retire if the swelling stream
submerges the lowest floor. They sleep in one of the upper stories; a
soft bed is furnished by dry seaweed and tree moss, with which they
protect themselves from the cold; on another floor they have their
store-room, and food provided for winter. The building is covered with
a dome-shaped roof. Thus they pass the winter, for in summer they
enjoy the shady coolness upon the shores, or escape the summer heat
by plunging into the water. Often a great colony of many members is
lodged in one house. But, if they be incommoded by the narrowness of
the place, the younger ones depart of their own accord and construct
homes for themselves. Upon the advent of cool weather in autumn, they
devote themselves to this task, and lend mutual services in turn, both
in cutting and carrying logs, so that many assist at one and the same
burden, and thus carry down great branches and logs of forest trees.
If they find any river suitable for their purposes, except in having
sufficient depth, they build a dam to keep back the water until it
rises to the required height. And first, by gnawing them, they fell
trees of large size; then they lay them across, from one shore to the
other. They construct a double barrier and rampart of logs, obliquely
placed, leaving between them a space of about six feet, which they so
ingeniously fill in with stones, clay, and branches that one would
expect nothing better from the most skillful architect. The length of
the structure is greater or less, according to the size of the stream
which they wish to restrain. Dams of this kind a fifth of a mile long
are sometimes found. But, if the river swell more than is safe, they
break open some part of the structure, and let through as much water as
seems sufficient.
As the forests abound in wild beasts, so the rivers teem with fish.
There is one in the lake of the Iroquois,[67] which is not mentioned
by early authors. It is called by the natives "Causar," and is eight
feet long, sometimes ten. It is as thick as the human thigh; it is
dun-colored, approaching white; it bristles all over with scales,
so hard and so firmly set together that they turn the edge of a
knife or the point of a spear. The head is large, and protected by an
exceedingly hard skull, like a helmet. Hence, the name of "armored
fish" has been given it by the French. It carries on perpetual war
with, and feeds upon, other fishes. For a weapon it carries an immense
beak, of the length of a man's arm and furnished with a double row
of teeth. With this hunting-spear it not only devours other fishes,
but also, whenever it wishes to vary its diet, deceives and ensnares
birds. For this latter purpose it hides itself among the sedge; it
projects its beak from the water and opens it slightly. It thus remains
motionless until the birds approach and thoughtlessly perch upon the
beak, deeming it a reed or a bush; then the treacherous ensnarer seizes
the feet of the unfortunate birds by closing its beak, and, dragging
them into the water, devours them.[68]
The birds are fully as abundant as the fishes. During certain months
of the year the pigeons sally forth from the woods into the open
country in such great numbers that they overload the branches of the
trees. When they have settled upon the trees at night they are easily
captured, and the savages heap their tables with royal abundance.
Besides this, in the huge gulf into which the river saint Lawrence
flows may be seen a small island, or rather a double rock; they call
it the isle of birds.[69] For so many congregate there from the
neighboring ocean that it is impossible to count their numbers. The
natives make an easy prey of them with clubs, or by trampling them
under foot, and bring back their canoes filled with sumptuous food
acquired without price. [345] Everywhere may be seen, sporting in the
water, geese, ducks, herons, cranes, swans, coots and other birds
whose habit it is to seek their living from the waves. A certain
peculiarity attaches to one, which is about the size of a cock; its
wings are black on the outside and white beneath. One of its feet
is armed with hooked claws, the other has webbed toes, like those
of a duck; with the latter it swims, with the former it seizes and
disembowels fishes.
CANADENSIUM DOMUS & RES FAMILIARIS; MORBI; ÆGRORUM CURA & MORTUORUM.
JAM, si mores & indolem gentis requiras, partim vagi degunt, in silvis
per hyemem, quò venationis uberioris vocat spes; æstate, ad amnium
ripas, ubi præbet facilem annonam piscatus: aliqui pagos incolunt.
Casas fabricantur infixis humi perticis: latera corticibus intexunt;
pellibus, musco, ramis operiunt fastigia. In media casa focus: in summo
tecto foramen, emissarium fumi. Is ægre eluctatus totam, ut plurimum,
casam sic opplet, ut coactis habitare in hoc fumo advenis sæpe oculorum
acies obtundatur, & hebescat: barbari, durum genus & his assuetum
incommodis, rident. Domesticæ rei cura, & quidquid in familia laboris
est, imponitur feminis. Illæ domos figunt, ac refigunt; aquam, & ligna
devehunt, cibos apparant: vicem & locum mancipiorum, opificum, &
jumentorum, implent. Venationis & belli cura, virorum est. Hinc gentis
solitudo, & paucitas. Mulieres enim, ceteroquin haud infecundæ, his
districtæ laboribus, neque maturos edere queunt fetus, neque alere jam
editos: itaque aut abortum patiuntur, aut partus recentes destituunt,
aquationi, lignationi, ceterisque operibus intentæ; vix ut trigesimus
quisque infans adolescat. Accedit rei medicæ inscitia, cujus ignoratio
facit ut è morbis paulo gravioribus raro emergant.
Duos maximè fontes morborum statuunt: unum ex ipsa ægrotantis mente
ortum, quæ desideret quidpiam, ac tandiu corpus ægrum vexet, dum
re desiderata potiatur. Putant enim inesse in hominum unoquoque
innata quædam desideria, sæpe ipsis ignota, quibus singulorum
felicitas contineatur. Ad ejusmodi desideria & innatas appetitiones
cognoscendas adhibent hariolos, quibus hanc divinitus concessam
facultatem arbitrantur, ut animorum intimos recessus pervideant. Illi,
quodcumque primum occurrit, aut ex quo fieri quæstum aliquem posse
suspicantur, ab ægro desiderari pronunciant. Nec dubitant parentes,
amici, & consanguinei ægrotantis, quidquid illud sit, quantivis
pretii, comparare ac largiri ægro, nunquam postea reposcendum. Ille
dono fruitur, & lucri partem hariolis aspergit; ac sæpe postridie
vita cedit. Vulgo tamen relevantur ægroti, quippe levibus tentati
morbis: nam in gravioribus timidiores sunt isti præstigiatores,
negantque inveniri posse quid ægrotus desideret: tunc eum depositum
conclamant, auctoresque sunt consanguineis ut hominem tollant è medio.
Ita longiore morbo vexatos necant, aut senio fessos; eamque caritatem
summam interpretantur, quia mors ærumnis languentium finem ponit.
Eandem benevolentiam adhibent erga pueros parentibus orbatos, quos
nullos esse malunt, quam miseros. Alterum fontem morborum esse censent
veneficorum occultas artes, & præstigias, quas ridiculis cærimoniis
conantur averruncare. Sæpe noxios humores ejiciunt sudando. Certum
casæ locum corticibus includunt, ac tegunt pellibus, ne qua possit aer
aspirare. Intro congerunt lapides deustos & igne multo saturos. Subeunt
nudi & brachia cantitantes jactant. Sed, quod mireris, ab his thermis
egressi & sudore diffluentes, hyeme perfrigida, in lacum aut amnem se
conjiciunt, de pleuritide securi.
Mortuorum cadavera nunquam efferunt per casæ januam, sed per eam
partem, in quam conversus eger exspiravit. Animam putant evolare per
camini spiraculum; ac ne moras trahat, casæ pristinæ desiderio, neu
puerulorum aliquem discedens afflet, hoc afflatu videlicet moriturum,
ut putant; crebro fuste tundunt parietes tugurii, ut eam citius
exire compellant. Immortalem esse arbitrantur. Ne porro emoriatur
fame, magnam vim ciborum infodiunt cum corpore; vestes, item, ollas,
variamque supellectilem, magno sumptu, & multorum annorum labore
conquisitam, ut iis utatur, inquiunt, ac decentius versetur in regno
mortuorum. Sepulcra nobilium exstant paulum ab humo: iis perticas in
morem pyramidis compactas imponunt: arcum addunt, sagittas, clypeum,
& alia militiæ decora: feminarum vero tumulis, torques & monilia.
Infantium corpora sepeliunt propter viam, ut eorum anima, quam ab
ipsorum corporibus abire longius non putant, illabatur in prætereuntis
alicujus feminæ sinum, & adhuc informem animare fetum possit. In luctu
vultum inficiunt fuligine. Moniti de funere affines, vicini, & amici
concurrunt in funestum tugurium. Unus aliquis, si mortui conditio
ferat, verba facit, neque rationem ullam ex iis prætermittit, quæ ad
leniendam ægritudinem à dicendi magistris afferri solent. Excurrit in
demortui laudes: hominem eum natum fuisse admonet, atque adeo morti
obnoxium: qui casus emendari nequeant, fieri patientia leviores; alia
id genus in eandem sententiam edisserit. Tertio die funus ducitur.
Epulum funebre apponitur toti pago, singulis suam symbolam, nec
malignè, conferentibus. Hujus epuli causas afferunt maximè tres:
primam, ut communem mærorem leniant: alteram, ut qui amici peregrè
ad funus veniunt, accipiantur honestius: tertiam, ut gratificentur
extincti Manibus, quem ea liberalitate delectari existimant, &
appositis etiam dapibus pasci. Peracto convivio præfectus funeris, quem
in singulis familiis clarioribus, certum atque insignem habent, adesse
tempus exequiarum proclamat. Omnes continuo lamentari, & ululare.
Effertur cadaver propinquorum humeris, intectum fibrinis pellibus, & in
feretro, è corticibus juncisve confecto compositum, collectis in glomum
artubus, ut eo modo terræ mandetur, inquiunt, quo in alvo materna olim
jacuit. Deponitur feretrum in constituto loco, munera quæ quisque
offert mortuo, præfiguntur perticis: & appellantur illorum auctores
à funeris præfecto: instauratur planctus; denique juvenes ludicro
certamine inter se dimicant.
Majori sepeliuntur apparatu & luctu, qui aquis obruti perierunt.
Nam eorum cadavera laniantur: carnium pars cum visceribus in ignem
projicitur. Id sacrificii quoddam genus est, quo placare coelum
contendunt. Iratum enim esse genti non dubitant, cum in undis
quispiam extinguitur: ac si quid rite atque ordine peractum in istis
funeribus non fuerit, huic piaculo calamitates omnes, quibus postea
conflictantur, acceptas ferunt. Indulgent luctui per annum integrum.
Primis diebus decem jacent humi, diu noctuque in ventrem proni: nefas
tunc vocem ullam, nisi quæ dolorem significet, mittere; aut accedere
ad ignem, aut conviviis interesse. Anno reliquo luctus continuatur; at
levius. Omittuntur omnia urbanitatis officia, colloquia cum vicinis,
congressus amicorum; ac si conjugem amiserint; coelibes, donec annus
fluxerit, perstant. Post octavum aut decimum quemque annum Hurones,
quæ natio latè patet, omnia cadavera certum in locum ex omnibus pagis
deportant, & in foveam prægrandem conjiciunt. Eum diem Mortuorum
vocant. Is ubi de procerum sententia constitutus est, eruunt corpora
sepulcris; alia jam consumpta, & ossibus vix hærentia; alia putri carne
leviter amicta: alia scatentia foedis vermibus, & graviter olentia.
Ossa, dissoluta in saccos abdunt: cadavera nondum dissuta componunt
in sarcophagis, & supplicantium ritu deferunt in destinatum locum,
alto silentio, & composito gradu procedentes, non sine suspiriis,
& lamentabili eiulatu. Ne vero memoria nobilium, & arte præsertim
bellica insignium, qui prole carent, intercidat, eligunt aliquem
ætate ac robore florentem, cui demortui nomen imponunt. Ille militum
statim delectum habet, ac bellum capessit, ut præclaro quopiam edito
facinore, probet se non tantum nominis, sed etiam virtutis ejus, cui
substituitur, heredem esse. Inferioris notæ nomina æterno silentio
damnant. Itaque simul ac in pago quispiam è vita cessit, ejus nomen
alta voce pronunciatur per omnes casas, ne quis illud temere usurpet.
Quod si mortuum tamen appellare necesse fuerit, utuntur verborum
circuitione, & præfantur quidpiam, quo mortis ominosa [346] memoria
leniatur. Idque si omittatur, accipiunt in gravem contumeliam: neque
atrociori maledicto vulnerari filium aut parentem posse putant, quam si
huic filius, illi parens, mortuus exprobretur.
HOMES AND HOUSEHOLD ECONOMY OF THE CANADIANS; DISEASES; TREATMENT OF
THE SICK AND OF THE DEAD.
NOW, if you inquire concerning the customs and character of this
people, I will reply that a part of them are nomads, wandering during
the winter in the woods, whither the hope of better hunting calls
them--in the summer, on the shores of the rivers, where they easily
obtain their food by fishing; while others inhabit villages. They
construct their huts by fixing poles in the ground; they cover the
sides with bark, the roofs with hides, moss and branches. In the
middle of the hut is the hearth, from which the smoke escapes through
an opening at the peak of the roof. As the smoke passes out with
difficulty, it usually fills the whole hut, so that strangers compelled
to live in these cabins suffer injury and weakening of the eyes; the
savages, a coarse race, and accustomed to these discomforts, ridicule
this. The care of household affairs, and whatever work there may be
in the family, are placed upon the women. They build and repair the
wigwams, carry water and wood, and prepare the food; their duties
and position are those of slaves, laborers and beasts of burden.
The pursuits of hunting and war belong to the men. Thence arise the
isolation and numerical weakness of the race. For the women, although
naturally prolific, cannot, on account of their occupation in these
labors, either bring forth fully-developed offspring, or properly
nourish them after they have been brought forth; therefore they either
suffer abortion, or forsake their new-born children, while engaged
in carrying water, procuring wood and other tasks, so that scarcely
one infant in thirty survives until youth. To this there is added
their ignorance of medicine, because of which they seldom recover from
illnesses which are at all severe.
They believe that there are two main sources of disease: one of these
is in the mind of the patient himself, which desires something,
and will vex the body of the sick man until it possesses the thing
required. For they think that there are in every man certain inborn
desires, often unknown to themselves, upon which the happiness of
individuals depends. For the purpose of ascertaining desires and innate
appetites of this character, they summon soothsayers, who, as they
think, have a divinely-imparted power to look into the inmost recesses
of the mind. These men declare that whatever first occurs to them, or
something from which they suspect some gain can be derived, is desired
by the sick person. Thereupon the parents, friends, and relatives of
the patient do not hesitate to procure and lavish upon him whatever it
may be, however expensive, a return of which is never thereafter to be
sought. The patient enjoys the gift, divides a portion of it among the
soothsayers, and often on the next day departs from life. Commonly,
however, the sick recover, plainly because their illnesses are slight;
for, in the case of more severe complaints, these soothsayers are more
cautious, and deny the possibility of ascertaining what the patient
desires; then they bewail him whom they have given up, and cause the
relatives to put him out of the way. Thus they kill those afflicted
with protracted illness, or exhausted by old age, and consider this the
greatest kindness, because death puts an end to the sufferings of
the sick. They display the same benevolence towards children deprived
of their parents, whom they prefer to see dead rather than to see them
miserable. They believe that another source of disease is the hidden
arts and the charms of sorcerers, which they seek to avert by means
of absurd ceremonies. Often they expel noxious humors by sweating.
They inclose a certain portion of the hut with pieces of bark and
cover it with hides, in order that no air may enter. Within they pile
stones heated to a high temperature. They enter naked and toss their
arms while singing. But, strange to say, they will leave this heat,
dripping with perspiration, and in the very coldest part of winter cast
themselves into a lake or river, careless of pleurisy.
They never bear out the corpses of the dead through the door of the
lodge, but through that part toward which the sick person turned when
he expired. They think that the soul flies out through the smoke-hole;
and, in order that it may not linger through longing for its old home,
nor while departing breathe upon any of the children, who by such an
act would be, as they think, doomed to death, they beat the walls of
the wigwam with frequent blows of a club, in order that they may compel
the soul to depart more quickly. They believe it to be immortal. That
it may not thereafter perish with hunger, they bury with the body
a large quantity of provisions; also, garments, pots, and various
utensils of great expense, and acquired by many years' labor, in order,
they say, that he may use them and pass his time more suitably in
the kingdom of the dead. The tombs of the chiefs are raised a little
from the ground; upon them they place poles joined in the form of
a pyramid; they add a bow, arrows, shield and other insignia of war;
but upon the tombs of the women they place necklaces and collars.
They bury the bodies of infants beside paths, in order that their
souls, which they think do not depart very far from the body, may slip
into the bosoms of women passing by, and animate the yet undeveloped
fetus. In mourning, they stain the face with soot. When informed of
a death, the relatives, neighbors, and friends assemble at the lodge
where the corpse lies. If the condition of the dead permit, one of
them makes a speech, in which he employs all those arguments that the
most eloquent speakers are wont to use for the solace of grief. He
rehearses the praises of the dead; he reminds them that the latter
was born a man, and therefore liable to death; that those misfortunes
which cannot be repaired are made lighter by patience; he sets forth
other things of that sort to the same effect. On the third day the
funeral is held. A funeral feast is provided for the whole village,
each individual liberally furnishing his share. For this feast they
advance three main reasons: first, that they may assuage the general
grief; secondly, that those friends who come from a distance to the
funeral may be more fittingly entertained; thirdly, that they may
please the spirit of the dead, which, they believe, is delighted by
this exhibition of liberality, and also partakes of the repast placed
for him. When the feast is completed the master of the funeral, who, in
each distinguished family, permanently holds this office and is greatly
honored, proclaims that the time for the burial has come. All give
utterance to continuous lamentations and wailings. The corpse, wrapped
in beaver skins, and placed upon a bier made of bark and rushes, with
his limbs bent and pressed tightly against his body in order that,
as they say, he may be committed to the earth in the same position in
which he once lay in his mother's womb, is borne out on the shoulders
of the relatives. The bier is set down at the appointed place, the
gifts which each one offers to the dead are fastened to poles, and the
donors are named by the master of the funeral. The mourning is renewed;
finally, boys vie with each other in a mock contest.
Those who have been drowned are buried with greater ceremony and
lamentation. For their bodies are cut open, and a portion of the flesh,
together with the viscera, thrown into the fire. This is a sort of
sacrifice, by means of which they seek to appease heaven. For they are
sure that heaven is enraged against the race whenever any one loses
his life by drowning. If any part of these funeral rites has not been
duly and regularly performed, they believe that all the calamities from
which they afterwards may suffer are a punishment for this neglect.
They indulge their grief throughout an entire year. For the first ten
days they lie upon the ground day and night, flat upon their bellies;
it is impious then to utter any sound unless significant of grief, or
to approach the fire, or to take part in feasts. During the remainder
of the year the mourning continues, but less vigorously. All the
duties of politeness, conversation with neighbors, and association
with friends, are neglected; and, if a man has lost a wife he remains
unmarried until the year has expired. Every eight or ten years the
Hurons, which nation is widely extended, convey all their corpses from
all the villages to a designated place and cast them into an immense
pit. They call it the day of the Dead. When this has been decreed
by resolution of the elders, they drag out the corpses from their
graves, some already decomposed, with flesh scarcely clinging to the
bones, others thinly covered with putrid flesh, others teeming with
vile worms and smelling fearfully. The loose bones they place in sacks,
the bodies not yet disintegrated they place in coffins, and bear them,
in the manner of suppliants, to the appointed place, proceeding amid
deep silence and with regular step, uttering sighs and mournful cries.
But, in order that the memory of chiefs and of those especially famous
in the art of war, who lack offspring, may not fail, they choose
some person in the flower of his age and strength, to whom they give
the name of the dead man. The namesake immediately makes a levy of
warriors and starts for battle, in order that by the achievement of
some glorious deed he may prove himself the heir not only of the name
but also of the valor of him whose place he has taken. Names of lesser
note are condemned to everlasting silence. Therefore, as soon as any
one in the village has departed this life his name is proclaimed in a
loud voice throughout all the lodges, in order that no one may rashly
use it. But if, nevertheless, it be necessary to name the dead man,
they use a circumlocution and preface something by which the unpleasant
[346] recollection of his death may be softened. If that be omitted
they consider it a deadly insult: nor do they think that son or parent
can be wounded by more savage abuse than when their dead relatives are
defamed before them.
BELLI GERENDI RATIO; ARMA; CRUDELITAS IN CAPTIVOS.
BELLA temere ac ferociter suscipiunt, nulla sæpe, aut perlevi de causa.
Duces communi suffragio legunt, eosque vel familiarum præcipuarum natu
maximos, vel quorum virtus bellica, aut etiam eloquentia perspecta
sit. Civili bello nunquam inter se concurrunt; arma in finitimos
tantum movent; neque imperii ac ditionis proferendæ causa, sed ferè ut
illatam sibi, vel foederatis, injuriam ulciscantur. Gladios, & gravidas
nitrato pulvere fistulas, à Batavis & Anglis accepere, quibus armis
freti, certiùs & audacius in hostium, atque adeò Europæorum perniciem
conspirant. Interdum bella singulari certamine finiunt. Agmina duo,
hinc Montanorum, quos vocant, inde Iroquæorum constiterant ante
aliquot annos, velut in procinctu. Duces antegressi jam designabant
locum ad aciem explicandam, cum unus alterum sic allocutus fertur:
Parcamus nostrorum sanguini, imo nostro: manibus nudis rem agamus. Uter
alterum dejecerit, is vincat. Placuit conditio. Manus ambo conferunt.
Montanus Iroquæum ita delassavit, dolum artemque virtuti miscens, ut
humi denique prostratum ligaverit, impositumque humeris ad suum agmen
victor detulerit. Clypeos conficiunt è ligno dolato, plerumque cedrino;
paulum ad oras incurvos: leves, prælongos & peramplos, ita ut totum
corpus protegant. Jam, ne jaculis, aut securibus perrumpantur omnino ac
dissiliant, eos intus consuunt restibus ex animalium corio contextis,
quæ totam clypei molem continent connectuntque. Non gestant è brachio
suspensos, sed funem ex quo pendent, rejiciunt in humerum dextrum:
adeo ut latus corporis sinistrum clypeo protegatur; mox ubi jaculum
emiserunt, aut ferream disploserunt fistulam, paulum retrahunt dextrum
latus, ac sinistrum clypeo tectum obvertunt hosti.
In prælio id maximè student, vivos ut hostes capiant. Captis & in suos
abductis pagos primum vestes detrahunt; deinde ungues crudis dentibus
singillatim avellunt: tum palo alligatos verberant ad satietatem. Mox
vinculis solutos cogunt ire, ac redire, geminum inter ordinem armatorum
spinis, fustibus & ferramentis. Denique, accenso circum foco, lentis
ignibus miseros torrent. Interim torosas carnes fodicant candentibus
laminis, & verubus, aut recisas ac semiustulatas, sanie fluentes &
sanguine, vorant. Nunc tædis ardentibus totum corpus, ac præsertim
hiatus vulnerum, pertentant: nunc detracta capitis cute inspergunt
nudæ calvæ favillam, & fervidos cineres: nunc brachiorum nervos ac
pedum vellunt, lancinant, aut hebeti secant lente ferro, derepta
parumper cute, in pedis malleolo, & manus carpo. Sæpe cogunt captivum
infelicem ingredi per subjectos ignes: aut frusta suæ carnis mandere,
ac vivo sepulcro condere. Hujusmodi carnificinam non pauci è Patribus
Societatis pertulere. Hanc porro extrahunt in multos dies; utque novis
cruciatibus tristis victima suppetat, intermittunt eosdem aliquandiu,
donec ad extremum fatiscant corpora, & concidant. Tunc è pectore cor
avellunt, torrent subjectis prunis; & cruore condîtum juvenibus avidè
comedendum objiciunt, si captivus suppliciorum acerbitatem generosè
fuerit perpessus: ut viri fortis, inquiunt, masculum robur juventus
bellatrix combibat. Laudatur qui rogum, cultros, vulnera, irretorto
vultu aspexerit, & exceperit: qui non ingemuerit, qui risu cantuque
tortoribus illuserit: nam canere tot inter mortes, amplum ac magnificum
esse putant. Itaque cantilenas ipsi multo ante componunt, quas capti,
si sors ferat, recitent. Reliqua multitudo cadaver absumit in ferali
convivio. Dux reservat sibi verticis pellem cum coma, monumentum
victoriæ, trophæum crudelitatis.
METHODS OF WARFARE; WEAPONS; CRUELTY TO PRISONERS.
THEY engage in war rashly and savagely, often with no cause, or upon a
very slight pretext. They choose as leaders, by general vote, either
the eldest members of illustrious families or those whose warlike
valor, or even eloquence, has been approved. In civil war they never
engage; they carry arms only against their neighbors, and not for the
sake of extending their dominion and sway, but usually, in order that
they may avenge an injury inflicted upon themselves or their allies.
They have obtained swords and guns from the Dutch and English, and,
relying upon these weapons, they plan with greater determination and
boldness the destruction of their enemies, and even of the Europeans.
Sometimes they decide their wars by single combat. Two bands, one of
the so-called Montagnais,[70] the other of Iroquois, had met a few
years ago in readiness for battle. The leaders had advanced and were
already designating the positions for the formation of the lines of
attack, when it is said that one thus addressed the other: "Let us
spare the blood of our followers; nay, rather let us spare our own.
Let us settle the matter with our bare hands, and he who overcomes the
other shall be the victor." The proposition was accepted, and the two
joined battle. The Montagnais, by means of a combination of strategy
and skill with courage, so wearied the Iroquois that he finally hurled
the latter to the ground, bound him, and triumphantly carried him off
upon his shoulders to his own band. They make their shields of hewn
wood, principally cedar, with slightly-curving edges, light, very long
and very large, so that they cover the entire body. Next, in order
that they may not be penetrated and split by spears or tomahawks, they
overlace them on the inner side with thongs made from the skins of
animals, which hold together and connect the whole mass of the shield.
They do not carry the shield suspended from the arm, but cast by a cord
over the right shoulder, so that it protects the left side of the body;
when they have cast their spears or fired their guns they slightly
retire the right side and turn toward the enemy the left side, which is
protected by the shield.
In battle they strive especially to capture their enemies alive.
Those who have been captured and led off to their villages are first
stripped of their clothing; then they savagely tear off their nails
one by one with their teeth; then they bind them to stakes and beat
them as long as they please. Next they release them from their bonds,
and compel them to pass back and forth between a double row of men
armed with thorns, clubs and instruments of iron. Finally, they kindle
a fire about them, and roast the miserable creatures with slow heat.
Sometimes they pierce the flesh of the muscles with red-hot plates and
with spits, or cut it off and devour it, half-burned and dripping with
gore and blood. Next, they plant blazing torches all over the body, and
especially in the gaping wounds; then, after scalping him they scatter
ashes and live coals upon his naked head; then they tear the tendons of
the arms and legs, lacerate them, or, after removing a little of the
skin, leisurely cut them with a knife at the ankle and wrist. Often
they compel the unhappy prisoner to walk through fire, or to eat, and
thus entomb in a living sepulchre, pieces of his own flesh. Torture of
this sort has been borne by not a few of the Fathers of the Society.
Moreover, they prolong this torment throughout many days, and, in order
that the poor victim may undergo fresh trials, intermit it for some
time, until his vitality is entirely exhausted and he perishes. Then
they tear the heart from the breast, roast it upon the coals, and, if
the prisoner has bravely borne the bitterness of the torture, give
it, seasoned with blood, to the boys, to be greedily eaten, in order,
as they say, that the warlike youth may imbibe the heroic strength of
the valiant man. The prisoner who has beheld and endured stake, knives
and wounds with an unchanging countenance, who has not groaned, who
with laughter and song has ridiculed his tormentors, is praised; for
they think that to sing amid so many deaths is great and noble. So
they themselves compose songs long beforehand, in order that they may
repeat them if they should by chance be captured. The rest of the crowd
consume the corpse in a brutal feast. The chief reserves for himself
the scalp as a sign of victory, a trophy of cruelty.
INDOLES ANIMI: CORPORIS CULTUS: CIBI, CONVIVIA; SUPELLEX: RELIGIO, &
SUPERSTITIONES.
SIC hostes accipiunt: at domi colunt pacem, rixasque diligenter cavent,
nisi quas ebrietatis impotentia excitavit. Fortunati, si nunquam
illis hanc pestem Europa importasset! Irasci ne norunt quidem, ac
vehementer initio mirabantur, cum inveherentur Patres in vitia pro
concione, eosque furere existimabant, qui pacatos inter auditores, &
amicos, tanta contentione se jactarent. Liberalitatis & munificentiæ
famam aucupantur: sua largiuntur ultro; ablata vix repetunt: nec fures
aliter, quam risu & sannis ulciscuntur. Si quem, oborta simultate
nefarie aliquid moliri suspicantur, non minis deterrent hominem, sed
donis. Ex eodem concordiæ studio fit ut assentiantur ultro, quidquid
doceas; nihilo tamen secius tenent mordicus insitam opinionem aut
superstitionem: eoque difficilius erudiuntur. Quid enim agas cum
annuentibus verbo & concedentibus omnia; re nihil præstantibus?
Miserorum egestatem benignè sublevant; viduarum ac senum sustentant
orbitatem, nisi cum senio ætas vieta marcet, vel morbus gravior
incidit: tunc enim abrumpere infelicem vitam satius arbitrantur, quàm
alere ac producere. Quæcumque calamitas ingruat, nunquam se dimoveri de
animi tranquillitate patiuntur, qua felicitatem potissimum definiunt.
Inediam multorum dierum, morbos, & ærumnas lenissime & constantissimè
perferunt. Ipsos partus dolores, licet acerbissimos, ita dissimulant
feminæ vel superant, ut ne ingemiscant quidem: ac si cui lacryma vel
gemitus excideret, æterna flagraret ignominia, neque virum, à quo
duceretur, præterea inveniret, Nihil unquam amicus cum amico, uxor
cum viro, cum uxore vir, queritur & expostulat. Liberos mira caritate
complectuntur: sed modum non tenent; in eos enim neque animadvertunt
ipsi, neque ab aliis animadverti sinunt. Hinc petulantia puerorum
& ferocitas, quæ, postquàm se corroboravit ætate, in omne scelus
erumpit. Quam autem erga liberos & familiares comitatem præ se ferunt,
eandem cum ceteris civibus suis, ac popularibus, usurpant. Si quis
amariore joco quempiam momordit, (nam dicaces vulgo sunt, & in jocos
effusi) belle dissimulant, aut vicem reponunt, & absentes remordent;
nam præsentes cavillari, aut coram dictis incessere, religio est. Non
aliud libentiùs convicium regerunt lacessiti, quàm si hominem ingenio
carere dicant. Scilicet ingenii laudem vindicant sibi; nec temere.
Nemo inter illos hebes, ac tardus; quod nativa illorum in deliberando
prudentia, & in dicendo facundia, declarat. Auditi quidem sæpe sunt tam
appositè ad persuadendum perorare, idque ex tempore, ut admirationem
exercitatissimis in dicendi palæstra moverent.
Respondet ingenio corpus, aptum membris, proceritate formosum, robore
validum. Idem, qui Gallis, color; tametsi corrumpunt illum unguine,
& oleo putri, quo se perungunt; necnon pigmentis variis, quibus sibi
pulcri, nobis ridiculi, videntur. Alios cernas naso cæruleo, genis
vero & superciliis atratis: alii frontem, nasum, & genas, lineis
versicoloribus discriminant: totidem larvas intueri te putes. Ejusmodi
coloribus credunt se hostibus esse terribiles; suum pariter in acie
metum, quasi velo, tegi: demum pellem ipsam corporis indurari, ad
vim hiberni frigoris facilius tolerandam. Præter istos colores
induci pro cujusque libidine ac deleri solitos, non pauci stabiles
ac perpetuas avium aut animalium, putà serpentis, aquilæ, bufonis,
imagines imprimunt cuti, hunc in modum. Subulis, cuspidibus, aut
spinis collum, pectus, genasve ita pungunt, ut rudia rerum istarum
lineamenta effingant: mox in punctam & cruentam cutem immittunt atrum
è carbone comminuto pulverem, qui cum sanguine concretus impressas
effigies ita inurit vivæ carni, ut eas nulla temporis diuturnitas
expungat. Totæ quædam nationes, ea præsertim quæ a Tabaco nomen habet,
itemque alia quæ Neutra dicitur, id constanti more ac lege usurpat,
nec sine periculo interdum; maxime si est tempestas frigidior, aut
debilior [347] corporis constitutio. Tunc enim dolore victi, licet eum
ne gemitu quidem significent, linquuntur animo, & exanimes aliquando
concidunt. Laudant oculos exiles, labra repanda & prominentia: pars
radunt comam, pars alunt: his nudum sinciput, illis occiput: aliis coma
tota surrigitur in vertice, aliis parcè ad tempora utrimque propendet.
Barbam, instar monstri, execrantur; ac si quis in mento succrescat
pilus, statim vellunt. Viri æque ac feminæ imas auriculas pertundunt:
& iis inaures è vitro, testisve piscium, inferunt. Quo foramen amplius
est, eo censent formosius. Nunquam ungues resecant. Europæos rident,
qui defluentem è naribus humorem candidis sudariis excipiant, &, Quo,
inquiunt, rem adeo sordidam reservant isti? Saltantes curvant arcuatim
corpus prono capite, & brachia sic agitant, ut qui farinam manibus
subigunt, raucùm identidem grunnientes. Alvum infimam succingunt lato
cortice, vel animantis pelle, aut versicolore panno, cetera nudi.
Feminæ pelles ex humeris & collo promittunt ad genua. Zonas atque
armillas, è concha veneria, quam vulgo porcellanam appellamus, aut
seta hystricis non inscite contextas, gestant: torques hunc in modum
confectos magno habent in pretio. Storeas è marisco (junci marini
genus est) satis eleganter elaborant: iis pavimentum sternunt, in
iisdem carpunt somnos, aut in vitulorom marinorum, fibrorumve mollibus
exuviis. Dormiunt circa focum in mapali medio semper ardentem, si
frigus est: sub dio, si æstas.
Mensam, aut cathedram, in casa tota videas nullam; in clunes subsidunt,
simiarum instar: is vescentium, is deliberantium, & confabulantium
habitus est. Adeuntes amicos salutant inepto risu; sæpius ho, hho,
hhho, conclamantes. Cum vescuntur, potum dapibus non intermiscent,
neque identidem bibunt; sed semel tantùm, sumpto cibo. Qui amicos
convivio accipit, cum iis neque accumbit, nec ciborum partem ullam
attingit, sed epulantibus dividit: aut, si quem adhibet structorem,
sedet seorsum jejunus, & spectat. Inter edendum silent: salem
aversantur, & condimenta: ossa canibus projicere piaculum arbitrantur:
igni cremant, vel terræ infodiunt. Si enim, inquiunt, ursi, fibri,
& aliæ, quas venando captamus, feræ, ossa sua permitti canibus, &
comminui, rescirent; non tam facile capi se paterentur. Adipem è
pinguibus collectum cibis, abstergunt coma; genis interdum brachiisve
allinunt, elegantiæ, ut aiunt, causa, & valetudinis: nam adipe non
solum nitere cutem, sed corroborari membra existimant. Non alio cibo
vescuntur libentius quàm Sagamita. Pulmentum est è farina, præsertim
Indici tritici, confectum: admisto, quod illis condimentum præcipuè
sapit, oleo. Itaque in conviviis pars dapum prima oleum, aut adeps,
in quem concretum & spissum ita dentes infigunt, ut nos in panem aut
pomum. Antequam illis lebetes, cortinæ, aliaque id genus vasa ærea
deferrentur è Gallia, utebantur cacabis è cortice compactis; verùm quia
imponi flammis non poterant impunè, hanc ad coquendas carnes artem
excogitaverant. Silices plurimos conjiciebant in focum, donec penitus
ignem combibissent. Candentes in ollam frigida plenam & carnibus alios
atque alios subinde immittebant. Ad hunc modum aqua calefacta carnes
citius opinione faciliusque percoquit. Ad tergendas manus utuntur
piloso canum tergo, cui illas affricant; item scobe ligni putris. Hæc
matribus vice panniculorum est, ad purgandas infantium sordes; hæc
instar culcitæ languidis corporibus substernitur. Vasa coquinaria, non
extergunt. Quo sunt crasso pingui magis oblita, eo melius, illorum
judicio, nitent. Turpe ducunt & superbum inambulare inter colloquendum.
Odorem mosci graviter ferunt, & meram esse mephitim putant, præ carnis
rancidæ, aut adipis mucidi frusto.
Sexcenta sunt ejus generis, in quibus longissimè recedunt ab Europæorum
institutis: sed ab illorum vitiis propius absunt, eaque vel æquant, vel
superant. Gulæ irritamenta, & inimicas bonæ ac sanæ menti potiones, ab
Europæis mercatoribus acceperunt, quibus lucri bonus est odor, etiam
ex flagitio, & scelerata nundinatione. Tandiu esse pergunt, dum adest
quod edant: nihil in crastinum, aut hyemem, reponunt: nec famem valde
reformidant, quia se ferre diuturnam posse confidunt. Conviviis ea lex
posita consensu moribusque gentis est, ut omnia fercula consumantur.
Si quis edit parciùs, & excusat valetudinem, plectitur, aut ejicitur,
ut insulsus, quasi qui vivendi artem nesciat. Primaria supellectilis
domesticæ pars, olla est, sive ahenum, in quo carnes coquuntur. Opes
lebetum numero metiuntur: nec regem Galliæ aliam ob causam initio magni
æstimabant; quàm quòd plures habere ollas dicebatur. Quanta sit apud
exleges, & omni freno solutos, intemperantiæ impunitas & licentia,
præsertim in adolescentibus, promptum est intelligere: nam grandiores
natu libidinem certis finibus circumscribunt, cùm æstus cupiditatum
deferbuit: nec impune est peccanti feminæ.
Religionis apud illos neque lex ulla, neque cura. Nullo stato & certo
cultu Numen prosequuntur. Esse tamen aliquod, velut in sublustri
nocte, vident. Quod quisque puer aspicit in somnis, cum lucescere
ratio incipit, hoc illi deinceps numen est, canis, ursus, avis.
Vivendi normam & agendi plerumque ducunt è somniis; ut si quem
interficiendum, exempli causa, somniaverint, non conquiescant donec
hominem insidiis exceptum necaverint. Piget fabulas referre, quas de
mundi opificio comminiscuntur. His implent otiosas & avidas plebis
aures harioli, & circulatores nequissimi, impietate quæstuosa.
Malorum auctorem genium nescio quem vocant Manitoù, ac vehementissime
perhorrescunt. Hostem procul dubio generis humani, qui à nonnullis
divinos honores & sacrificia quædam extorquet. Circa naturam animarum
non levius delirant. Simulacra fingunt corporea, cibi & potionis
egentia. Destinatum animabus versus occidentem solem, pagum credunt,
in quem obita morte se recipiant: & ubi epulis, venationi, & choreis
indulgeant. Hæc enim apud illos summa.
Cum primum de sempiternis ignibus, & incendiis sceleri destinatis
audierunt, immane quantum obstupuere: fidem tamen pertinaciter
abrogabant, quòd dicerent ibi esse ignem non posse, ubi nihil ligni
sit: tum, quænam silvæ alere tot ignes, tam diuturnos, possent? Hæc
ratio ineptissima tantam vim apud barbaras mentes habebat, ut iis
persuaderi veritas evangelica non posset. Quippe in homine carnali, ut
ait è SS. PP. nonnemo, tota ratio intelligendi est consuetudo cernendi.
Expugnavit nihilominus pertinaciam sacerdos acer & ingeniosus. Fidenter
affirmavit inferorum terram vices obire ligni, & ipsam ardere per sese.
Risu barbaræ multitudinis exceptus est. Imo, inquit, hujus Avernalis
terræ frustum proferam vobis, ut, quoniam verbis divinis non creditis,
vestris ipsi oculis credatis. Accendit curiositatem promissi novitas &
fiducia. Convenerunt è tota regione ad diem constitutum, & in ingenti
planitie, collibus instar amphitheatri cincta, consederunt. Primores
gentis duodecim lecti fuere, viri graves & cordati, qui sacerdotem
observarent, numquid fraudis ac præstigiarum lateret. Ille sulphuris
glebam depromit, dat istis arbitris & cognitoribus tractandam: hanc
oculis, naso, manu scrutati, haud dubie terram esse confessi sunt.
Aderat olla cum prunis candentibus. Tunc sacerdos populo procul
spectante; inhiantibus, demisso in prunas naso, judicibus, excussit in
carbones è sulphurea gleba particulas aliquot, quæ subito conceperunt
ignem & odore fetido nares curiosas impleverunt. Hoc iterum, ac tertiò
cum esset factum, assurrexit multitudo attonita, manum planam imponens
ori, quo gestu summam admirationem testantur; & inferos esse dicenti
Deo credidit.
MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS; CARE OF THE BODY; FOOD; FEASTS; HOUSEHOLD
UTENSILS; RELIGION AND SUPERSTITIONS.
THUS they treat their enemies; but at home they cultivate peace and
carefully avoid quarrels, except those which the fury of drunkenness
has aroused. Fortunate would they be if Europe had never introduced
this scourge among them! They know nothing of anger, and at first
were greatly surprised when the Fathers censured their faults before
the assembly; they thought that the Fathers were madmen, because
among peaceful hearers and friends they displayed such vehemence.
These people seek a reputation for liberality and generosity; they
give away their property freely and very seldom ask any return; nor
do they punish thieves otherwise than with ridicule and derision. If
they suspect that any one seeks to accomplish an evil deed by means of
false pretences, they do not restrain him with threats, but with gifts.
From the same desire for harmony comes their ready assent to whatever
one teaches them; nevertheless they hold tenaciously to their native
belief or superstition, and on that account are the more difficult to
instruct. For what can one do with those who in word give agreement and
assent to everything, but in reality give none? They kindly relieve
the poverty of the unfortunate; they provide sustenance for widows
and old men in their bereavement, except when, with old age, vitality
is withering away, or some grievous disease arises; for then they
think it better to cut short an unhappy existence than to support and
prolong it. Whatever misfortune may befall them, they never allow
themselves to lose their calm composure of mind, in which they think
that happiness especially consists. They endure many days' fasting,
also diseases and trials, with the greatest cheerfulness and patience.
Even the pangs of childbirth, although most bitter, are so concealed
or conquered by the women that they do not even groan; and if a tear
or a groan should escape any one of them, she would be stigmatized by
everlasting disgrace, nor could she find a man thereafter who would
marry her. Friends never indulge in complaint or expostulation to
friends, wives to their husbands, or husbands to their wives. They
treat their children with wonderful affection, but they preserve no
discipline, for they neither themselves correct them nor allow others
to do so. Hence the impudence and savageness of the boys, which,
after they have reached a vigorous age, breaks forth in all sorts
of wickedness. Moreover, they exercise the same mildness which they
exhibit toward their children and relatives, toward the remainder of
their tribe and their countrymen. If any person has injured another by
means of a rude jest (for they are commonly very talkative, and are
ready jesters), the latter carefully conceals it, or lays it up, and
in retaliation injures his detractor behind his back; for to jest in
the victim's presence, or to make a verbal attack, face to face, is
characteristic of religion. There is nothing which they are more prone
to use as a counter-allegation, when provoked, than to charge a man
with a lack of intelligence. For they claim praise because of their
intelligence, and not without good reason. No one among them is stupid
or sluggish, a fact which is evident in their inborn foresight in
deliberation and their fluency in speaking. Indeed, they have often
been heard to make a peroration so well calculated for persuasion,
and that off-hand, that they would excite the admiration of the most
experienced in the arena of eloquence.
Their bodies, well proportioned, handsome because of their height,
vigorous in strength, correspond to their minds. They have the same
complexion as the French, although they disfigure it with fat and
rancid oil, with which they grease themselves; nor do they neglect
paints of various colors, by means of which they appear beautiful to
themselves, but to us ridiculous. Some may be seen with blue noses,
but with cheeks and eyebrows black; others mark forehead, nose and
cheeks with lines of various colors; one would think he beheld so many
hobgoblins. They believe that in colors of this description they are
dreadful to their enemies, and that likewise their own fear in line of
battle will be concealed as by a veil; finally, that it hardens the
skin of the body, so that the cold of winter is more easily borne.
Besides these colors, which are usually applied or removed according
to the pleasure of each person, many impress upon the skin fixed and
permanent representations of birds or animals, such as a snake, an
eagle, or a toad, in the following manner: With awls, spear-points,
or thorns they so puncture the neck, breast or cheeks as to trace
rude outlines of those objects; next, they insert into the pierced
and bleeding skin a black powder made from pulverized charcoal, which
unites with the blood and so fixes upon the living flesh the pictures
which have been drawn that no length of time can efface them. Some
entire tribes--that especially which is called the Tobacco nation,
and also another, which is called the Neutral nation--practice it as
a continuous custom and usage; sometimes it is not without danger,
especially if the season be somewhat cold or the physical constitution
rather weak. [347] For then, overcome by suffering, although they do
not betray it by even a groan, they swoon away and sometimes drop dead.
They praise small eyes and turned-up and projecting lips. Some shave
their hair, others cultivate it; some have half the head bare, others
the back of the head; the hair of some is raised upon their heads, that
of others hangs down scantily upon each temple. They detest a beard as
a monstrosity, and straightway pull out whatever hair grows upon their
chins. The men as well as the women pierce the lobes of their ears, and
place in them earrings made of glass or shells. The larger the hole,
the more beautiful they consider it. They never cut their nails. They
ridicule the Europeans, because the latter wipe off the mucus flowing
from the nose with white handkerchiefs, and say: "For what purpose do
they preserve such a vile thing?" In dancing, they bend the body, with
the head lowered, in the form of a bow, and move their arms like those
who knead dough, at the same time emitting hoarse grunts. They gird
the lower portion of the belly with a broad piece of bark or hide or a
parti-colored cloth, and leave the rest of the body naked. The women
wear skins hanging from the shoulders and neck to the knees. They wear
belts and bracelets ingeniously manufactured from Venus shells,[71]
which we commonly call porcelain, or from porcupine quills; and
necklaces made in this fashion they value highly. They make very neat
mats from marisco (a variety of marine rush); with these they cover
their floors, and also take their rest upon them, or upon the soft
furs of the seal or the beaver. In winter they sleep about a fire
constantly burning in the middle of the lodge, in summer under the open
sky.
Neither table nor chair can be seen in the hut. They squat upon their
haunches like monkeys; this is their custom while eating, deliberating
or conversing. They greet approaching friends with silly laughter,
more often exclaiming, ho, hho, hhho. When they eat they do not take
beverages with their food, nor do they drink often, but only once
after eating. Whoever entertains his friends at a feast neither sits
with them nor touches any part of the food, but divides it among the
feasters; or, if he has some one act as carver, sits apart fasting
and looks on. While eating they keep silence; they reject salt and
condiments; they consider it a sin to throw the bones to the dogs; they
either burn them in the fire or bury them in the ground. For, they
say, if the bears, beaver, and other wild animals which we capture in
hunting should know that their bones were given to dogs and broken to
pieces, they would not suffer themselves to be taken so easily. They
wipe off upon their hair the grease which is collected from fatty
foods; sometimes they smear their cheeks or arms for the sake, as they
say, of elegance and health; for they think that not only is the skin
made resplendent with grease, but that the limbs are thus strengthened.
For no other food do they have such fondness as for Sagamita. It is a
relish made from flour, especially that of Indian corn, mixed with oil,
which as a flavor is held in especial esteem among them. Therefore, in
feasts the first course consists of oil or fat, in hard and compact
lumps, into which they bite as we do into a piece of bread or an apple.
Before pots, kettles and other vessels of the sort were brought to
them from France, they used receptacles of closely joined bark; but,
because they could not place them with safety over the flames, they
devised the following way of cooking meat: They cast a large number of
flint stones into the fire until they had become red-hot. Then they
would drop these hot stones one after another into a vessel full of
cold water and meat. In this manner the water was heated and the meat
cooked more quickly and more easily than one would suppose. For wiping
their hands they use the shaggy back of a dog, also powder of rotten
wood. The last-named is used by mothers, in the place of wash-cloths,
to clean the dirt from their infants; it is also used as a mattress to
support the weary body. They do not cleanse their cooking utensils.
The more they are covered with thick grease, so much the better are
they, in their judgment. They consider it disgraceful and arrogant to
walk while conversing. They dislike the odor of musk, and consider it a
downright pest in comparison with a piece of rancid meat or moldy fat.
There, are six hundred matters of this sort in which their customs
differ very widely from those of Europeans; but they are less removed
from the faults of the latter, and either equal or excel them. They
have received stimulants of the appetite, and drinks hostile to a good
and sound mind, from European traders, who think much of profit, even
when tainted with the disgrace of a wicked traffic. They continue to
exist so long as they have anything to eat; they store up nothing for
to-morrow, or for the winter; nor do they greatly dread famine, because
they are confident of their ability to bear it for a long time. In
feasts it is the rule, by general consent and custom of the race, that
all the food shall be consumed. If any one eats sparingly and urges
his poor health as an excuse, he is beaten or ejected as ill-bred, just
as if he were ignorant of the art of living. The principal article
of their household utensils is the pot or kettle in which the meat
is cooked. They measure property by the number of kettles, and in
the beginning conceived a high opinion of the king of France, for no
other reason than because he was said to possess a good many kettles.
How great is the impunity and wantonness of licentiousness among men
uncivilized and free from all restraint, especially among the youth,
maybe readily observed; for the elder men confine their lust within
fixed limits, after the violence of their passions has subsided, and an
erring woman does not go unpunished.
There is among them no system of religion, or care for it. They honor
a Deity who has no definite character or regular code of worship. They
perceive, however, through the twilight, as it were, that some deity
does exist. What each boy sees in his dreams, when his reason begins
to develop, is to him thereafter a deity, whether it be a dog, a bear,
or a bird. They often derive their principles of life and action from
dreams; as, for example, if they dream that any person ought to be
killed, they do not rest until they have caught the man by stealth
and slain him. It is wearisome to recount the tales which they invent
concerning the creation of the world. Soothsayers and worthless quacks
fill with these the idle and greedy ears of the people in order that
they may acquire an impious gain. They call some divinity, who is the
author of evil, "Manitou," and fear him exceedingly. Beyond doubt it
is the enemy of the human race, who extorts from some people divine
honors and sacrifices. Concerning the nature of spirits, they go none
the less astray. They make them corporeal images which require food
and drink. They believe that the appointed place, for souls, to which
after death they are to retire, is in the direction of the setting sun,
and there they are to enjoy feasting, hunting, and dancing; for these
pleasures are held in the highest repute among them.
When they first heard of the eternal fire and the burning decreed as
a punishment for sin, they were marvelously impressed; still, they
obstinately withheld their belief because, as they said, there could
be no fire where there was no wood; then, what forests could sustain
so many fires through such a long space of time? This absurd reasoning
had so much influence over the minds of the savages, that they could
not be persuaded of the truth of the gospel. For, plainly, in the
physical man, as some one from Sts. Peter and Paul says, the entire
system of knowledge is based on vision. Nevertheless, a clever and
ingenious priest overcame their obstinacy. He confidently declared that
the lower world possessed no wood, and that it burned by itself. He
was greeted by the laughter of the crowd of savages. "But," said he,
"I will exhibit to you a piece of this land of Avernus, in order that,
since you do not believe the words of God, you may trust the evidence
of your own eyes." The novelty and boldness of the promise aroused
their curiosity. Upon the appointed day they assembled from the whole
neighborhood, and sat down together in an immense plain, surrounded by
hills like an amphitheater. Twelve leading men of the tribe, persons
of dignity and sagacity, were chosen to watch the priest, in order
that neither fraud nor sorcery might be concealed. He produced a lump
of sulphur and gave it to the judges and inspectors to be handled;
after examining it with eyes, nose, and hand, they admitted that it
was certainly earth. There stood near by a kettle containing live
coals. Then the priest, under the eyes of the people at a distance,
while the judges were gaping with their noses thrust down toward the
coals, shook some grains from the lump of sulphur upon the coals, which
suddenly took fire and filled the curious noses with a stifling odor.
When this had been done a second and a third time, the crowd arose in
astonishment, placing their hands flat over their mouths, by which
gesture they signify great surprise; and believed in the word of God
that there is a lower world.
[51] Rerum Insigniorum Indiculus.
_ALCES consideratio_, 7
_virtus mira ungulæ ejus_, 8
_Angli barbaris gladios et gravidas nitrato
pulvere fistulas suppeditant_, 27
_Animarum de natura delirant Canadenses_, 20, 46
_Aves Novæ Franciæ_, 14
_Avis prædatrix_, 15
_Batavi barbaris arma vendunt_, 27
_Canada fluvius_, 5
_Canadensium domus_, 16
_mulierum labores_, 17
_morbi et ægrorum cura_, 18
_funera_, 20
_bella_, 27
_arma_, 28
_crudelitas in captivos_, 29
_indoles_, 33
_corporis cultus_, 37
_cibi_, 42
_convivia_, 44
[52] _Canadensium supellex_, 44
_religio et superstitiones_, 45
_Captivorum crudelis sors_, 29
_Casæ Canadensium_, 16
_cadavera perjanuam nunquam esseruntur_, 20
_Casæ fibrorum_, 10
_Causarus seu Piscis armatus_, 12
_Clypei barbarorum_, 28
_Coquendi ratio in cacabis è cortice confectis_, 42
_Ebrietas ab Europæis discitur_, 44
_Exequiarum ritus_, 20
_Feminis imponitur quidquid laboris est_, 17
_Fibri consideratio_, 9
_Fluvii quid habent singulare_, 6
_Franciæ Novæ descriptio, flumina_, 5
_coelum_, 6
_soli natura_, 7
_feræ_, 7
_Galliæ rex cur magni æstimabatur_, 45
_Hurones diem Mortuorum celebrant_, 25
_Infantium mira mortalitas_, 17
_cur corpora propter viam sepeliunt_, 21
_Infernales ignes esse probat sacerdos_, 48
[53] _Iroquæi bellum cum Montanis singulari certamine finiunt_, 28
_Iroquæorum lacus_, 12
_Kebecum, urbs primaria Novæ Franciæ_, 6
_Magna Bellua, quid_, 7
_Manitoù, genius malorum_, 46
_Missisipus fluvius_, 6
_Montani bellum singulari certamine finiunt_, 28
_Morborum fontes duo_, 18
_Mortuorum festa celebritas apud Hurones_, 25
_Mos Canadensis mortuos suscitandi_, 25
_Naviculæ barbarorum_, 6
_Neutra Natio_, 38
_Numen nullo certo cultu prosequuntur_, 44
_Palumbes absque numero_, 14
_Pisces armatus_, 13
_Patres non pauci Societatis Jesu dire torquentur_, 31
_Religio Canadensium_, 45
_Reticula pedibus substrata ut super nives de ambulent_, 8
_S. Laurentii fluvius_, 5, 6
_Sagamita quid_, 42
[54] _Saltus seu catadupæ in fluviis_, 6
_Sinus Sancti Laurentii_, 14
_Somniorum vanitas_, 46
_Sudando noxios humores ejiciunt_, 19
_Tabacum, natio ejus nominis_, 38
_Trophæus_, 32
_Volucrum insula_, 14
[51] Index of Prominent Topics.
[_The page numbers refer to O'Callaghan's Reprint._]
_ELK: description_, 7
_wonderful efficacy of its hoof_, 8
_The English supply swords, guns and ammunition to the savages_, 27
_Absurd ideas of Canadians concerning the soul_, 20, 46
_Birds of New France_, 14
_A bird of prey_, 15
_The Dutch sell arms to the savages_, 27
_The river Canada_, 5
_Homes of the Canadians_, 16
_tasks of the women_, 17
_diseases and treatment of the sick_, 18
_funerals_, 20
_wars_, 27
_weapons_, 28
_cruelty to prisoners_, 29
_character_, 33
_care of the body_, 37
_food_, 42
_feasts_, 44
[52] _Implements of the Canadians_, 44
_religion and superstitions_, 45
_Cruel fate of prisoners_, 29
_Houses of the Canadians_, 16
_corpses are never carried out through the door_, 20
_Houses of the beavers_, 10
_The Causar or armored Fish_, 12
_Shields of the savages_, 28
_Manner of cooking in vessels made from bark_, 42
_Drunkenness is learned from the Europeans_, 44
_Rites of sepulture_, 20
_Whatever work there is, is placed upon the women_, 17
_Description of the beaver_, 9
_Peculiarities of the rivers_, 6
_Description of New France, rivers_, 5
_climate_, 6
_nature of the soil_, 7
_wild animals_, 7
_Why the king of France was greatly respected_, 45
_The Hurons celebrate the day of the Dead_, 25
_Remarkable mortality among infants_, 17
_why they bury the bodies near the road_, 21
_A priest proves that there is hell fire_, 48
[53] _The Iroquois conclude a war with the Montagnais by single
combat_, 28
_Lake of the Iroquois_, 12
_Kebec, the chief city of New France_, 6
_The Great Beast, what it is_, 7
_Manitou, the spirit of evil_, 46
_Mississippi river_, 6
_The Montaignais conclude a war by single combat_, 28
_Two sources of disease_, 18
_Festival of the Dead among the Hurons_, 25
_Canadian manner of honoring the dead_, 25
_Boats of the savages_, 6
_The Neutral Nation_, 38
_They revere a deity with no fixed form of worship_, 44
_Innumerable pigeons_, 14
_The armored fish_, 13
_Fathers of the Society of Jesus are cruelly tortured_, 31
_Religion of the Canadians_, 45
_Network bound under the feet, to walk over the snow_, 8
_St. Lawrence river_, 5, 6
_Sagamita, what it is_, 42
[54] _Water-falls, or cataracts, in the rivers_, 6
_Gulf of St. Lawrence_, 14
_Ignorant belief in dreams_, 46
_They expel noxious humors by sweating_, 19
_Tobacco, the nation of that name_, 38
_The trophy_, 32
_Isle of Birds_, 14
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA: VOL. I
I
Our text of Lescarbot's _La Conversion_ follows, to the close of p.
44 (original pagination), the copy at Lenox Library: pp. 45, 46, the
"Regitre de Bapteme," follow the copy at John Carter Brown Library,
Providence, R. I., as the Lenox copy does not have these two pages.
It is a rare book; the two copies above cited are the only ones known
to us, in America. Leclerc, in _Bibliotheca Americana_ (Paris, 1867),
p. 206, says: "Cette pièce est plus rare que l'Histoire de la Nouvelle
France," referring to Lescarbot's better-known work. Sabin speaks of it
(vol. x., no. 40167), as "probably the rarest of Lescarbot's works."
See further references in the John Carter Brown Catalogue (Bartlett's
_Bibliotheca Americana_, Providence, 1882), vol. ii., no. 99: Graesse's
_Trésor de Livres Rares et Précieux_ (Dresden, 1863), vol. iv., p.
175; Harrisse's _Notes sur la Nouvelle France_ (Paris, 1872), no. 21;
Ternaux's _Bibliothèque Américaine_ (Paris, 1837), no. 330; Winsor's
_Narrative and Critical History of America_, vol. iv., p. 299; and
Lenox _Catalogue of Jesuit Relations_ (N. Y., 1879), p. 3.[XVII.]
_Title-page._ This is given in photographic facsimile, in this
reissue. The Lenox and Brown copies are alike, in this. It will be
noticed that there is no date of publication, this being established
from the Privilege.
_Collation._ Title, 1 p.; blank at back of title, 1 p.; dedication
"A LA ROYNE," 3 pp., signed "MARC LESCARBOT;" privilege, 1 p., dated
"Paris, 9 Sep., 1610," and signed "Brigard;" text, pp. 7-44. Page 7 is
misnumbered 1. (The Brown Catalogue says: Page 1 is misnumbered 7."
This is a misprint in the Catalogue.) "FIN," at end of p. 24; then
pp. 23 and 24 are reprinted, all except the last sentence on p. 24:
"Dieu vueille par sa | grace conduire le tout en sorte que la chose |
reüssisse à sa gloire & à l'édification de ce peu-| ple, pour lequel
tous Chrétiens doivent faire | continuelles prieres à sa divine bonté,
à ce qu'il | lui plaise confirmer & avancer l'oeuvre qu'il | lui a pleu
susciter en ce temps pour l'exaltation | de son nom, & le salut de ses
creatures. | FIN."
It is evident that the intention was to have the first leaf (pp. 23,
24) cut out. This duplication of pp. 23, 24 is in both the Brown and
Lenox copies.
The "Extrait du Regitre de Bapteme" in the Brown copy (it is not in the
Lenox Copy) forms 2 pages at the end of text. The first page of this
"Regitre" is not numbered; the second is numbered "-4-6" (intended for
46), and this ends the book. The same "Regitre" appears in somewhat
different order in Lescarbot's _Nouvelle France_, (1612 ed.), pp.
638-640, chap. 5, book v.; also, according to Harrisse's _Notes_, in
chap. 3, book v., of the 1611 ed.
II
In Bertrand's _Lettre Missive_, we follow the original Paris edition,
in Lenox. It is a rare publication, the Lenox copy being apparently
the only one in the United States; Brown has a manuscript copy, made
from that at Lenox. Sabin (vol. x., no. 40682), says: "It is a piece of
unusual rarity." Sabin has a previous reference in vol. ii., no. 5025,
under caption "Bertrand," wherein a misprint makes him cite the date of
the letter as "28 June, 1618" (eight years later than the actual date);
a further misprint causes Sabin to record the pamphlet as having "48
pages or less," the actual number being 8. In his _Notes_, Harrisse
omits a line-ending after the second "nouuelle" in his description of
the title-page. See, for further references: Ternaux, no. 329; Winsor,
p. 299; Lenox Catalogue, p. 3; Brown Catalogue, vol. ii., no. 103.
_Title-page._ Given in photographic facsimile, in present volume.
_Collation._ Title, 1 p.; blank at back of title, 1 p.; text, pp. 3-6;
dated on p. 6, "Port Royal xxviij. Iuin, 1610," and signed "Bertrand."
Blank leaf at end, completing 4 leaves = 8 pp.
III-VI
In these four letters, by Biard and Massé, we follow Carayon's
_Première Mission des Jésuites au Canada_ (Paris, 1864). It is a
scarce book, and brought $8 at the Barlow Sale, in New York, 1890.
See references in Harrisse, p. 285; Sabin, no. 10792; Winsor, pp. 151,
292, 300; and Lenox Catalogue, p. 15. The origin of the letters in the
volume is found at the top of the first page of each letter; and these
data, with accompanying notes by Carayon, are reproduced in the present
series, which will, in strict chronological order, contain all of the
papers given by that editor; although in many cases we shall follow the
original issues of the letters, whenever found. Documents III., V., and
VI. were written in Latin; and Document IV. in French.
_Collation._ Blank, 2 pp.; bastard title, 1 p.; blank, 1 p.; title
proper, 1 p.; blank, 1 p. Preface begins on p. vii. (not numbered), and
ends on p. xvi. Preface acknowledges indebtedness to F. Felix Martin,
S. J., for copying and translating into French (from the Latin) most of
the letters in the volume. Text, pp. 1-302; Table at end, 2 pp.; the
last of these is numbered 304.
VII
We follow the style and make-up of Dr. E. B. O'Callaghan's Reprint
(Albany, N. Y., 1871) of the _Canadicæ Missionis_, in Jouvency's
_Hist. Soc. Jesu_, part v., commencing p. 321. In the Lenox Catalogue,
it is designated "O'Callaghan's Reprint, No. 4." This numbering of
O'Callaghan's reprints, is merely a device peculiar to the Lenox
Catalogue, for sake of easy reference, and has been followed by Winsor;
the reprints themselves bear no numbers.
The text of this document, however, we have compared with the original
folio edition of Jouvency's work, in the library of St. Francis Xavier
College, New York, and the pagination thereof is indicated instead of
that of the O'Callaghan Reprint. The list, "Missiones Societatis Jesu
in America Septentrionali Anno M. DCC. X.," which O'Callaghan reprints
as if a part of the original _Canadicæ Missionis_, is on pp. 961, 962
of the same volume of Jouvency in which the latter appears (part v.).
_Title-page._ The O'Callaghan Reprint is closely imitated.
_Collation of O'Callaghan Reprint._ Title, 1 p.; reverse of title,
with inscription: "Editio viginti quinque exemplaria. O'C.," 1 p.;
Biardi Eulogium ac Vita, pp. i-v.; blank, 1 p.; Tabula, 1 p.; blank,
1 p.; text, pp. 5-33; colophon: "Albaniae Excvdebat Joel Munsellius
| Mense Aprilis Anno | CI[C=]. I[C=]CCC. LXXI.," 1 p.; half-title,
"Appendix," 1 p.; blank, 1 p.; "Missiones Societatis Iesu | in America
Septentrionali |Anno M.DCC.X.," 2 pp., the last of which is numbered 38.
VIII
We follow the style and make-up of O'Callaghan's Reprint (Albany,
1871), which is numbered 5 in the Lenox Catalogue. The text and
pagination follow the original, in Jouvency's _Hist. Soc. Jesu_, part
v., commencing p. 344.
_Title-page._ The O'Callaghan Reprint is closely imitated.
_Collation of O'Callaghan Reprint._ Title, 1 p.; reverse of title,
with inscription: "Editio viginti quinque exemplaria. O'C.," 1 p.;
Tabula Rerum, 1 p.; blank, 1 p.; text, pp. 5-49; blank, 1 p.; Rerum
Insigniorum Indiculus, 4 pp.; colophon: "Albaniae Excvdebat Joel
Munsellius | Mense Qvintilis Anno | CI[C=]. I[C=]CCC. LXXI.," 1 p.
FOOTNOTES:
[XVII.] In order to save needless repetition of long titles,
bibliographical works, when once cited in full, will thereafter be
referred to by the usual cut-shorts: e.g., the John Carter Brown
Catalogue will be hereafter known in our Bibliographical Data as
"Brown Catalogue;" the list of Jesuitica in Winsor's _Narrative and
Critical History_ vol. iv., as "Winsor;" the Lenox _Catalogue of
Jesuit Relations_, as "Lenox Catalogue;" Harrisse's _Notes sur la
Nouvelle France_, as "Harrisse's _Notes_," or simply as "Harrisse;"
etc., etc. The student who is familiar, in a general way, with these
bibliographical sources,--and it is presumed that those are, for whom
this series of reprints is designed,--will not be confused by the
customary method of brief citation.
NOTES TO VOL. I
(_Figures in parentheses, following number of note, refer to pages of
English text._)
1. (p. 55)--Marie de Médicis, queen regent, widow of Henry of Navarre;
appointed regent by the king, the day before his assassination, May 14,
1610. She was accused of having been privy to his murder.
2. (p. 55)--The reports of Champlain, and the maps and charts with
which, upon returning from his voyage of 1603, he entertained
Henry IV., so interested the latter that he vowed to encourage the
colonization of New France. To carry on this work he commissioned,
as his lieutenant-general in Acadia, Pierre du Gua, Sieur de Monts,
governor of Pons, a Huguenot resident at court, and, according to
Champlain, "a gentleman of great respectability, zeal, and honesty." De
Monts' commission is given at length in Baird's _Huguenot Emigration
to America_, vol. i., p. 341; his charter of "La Cadie" embraced the
country between the 40th and 46th degrees of latitude, and he held
therein a monopoly of the fur trade. J. G. Bourinot, in _Canadian
Monthly_, vol. vii., pp. 291, 292, says the name Acadia (also written
Acadie, and La Cadie) "comes from àk[^a]de, which is an affix used
by the Souriquois or MIC Macs ... to signify a place where there is
an abundance of some particular thing."--See, also, Laverdière's
_Oeuvres de Champlain_ (Quebec, 1870), p. 115. In 1604, De Monts
sailed from France with a colony composed of Catholics and Huguenots,
served by "a priest and a minister." Champlain and Poutrincourt were
with the expedition, and Pontgravé commanded one of the two ships.
The cancelling of his monopoly (1607), deprived De Monts of the means
to carry on his colonization schemes. The title to Port Royal he had
already ceded to Poutrincourt. The king renewed De Monts' monopoly
for one year, upon his undertaking to found a colony in the interior.
Thereupon De Monts sent Champlain to the St. Lawrence (1608), as
his lieutenant. Upon the death of Henry IV. (1610), De Monts, now
financially ruined, surrendered his commission, selling his proprietary
rights to the Jesuits.
"Jean de Biencourt, Baron de Poutrincourt, a gentleman of Picardy,
a brave chevalier, had carried arms against Henry IV. in the ranks
of the Catholics, during the wars of the League. Lescarbot tells how
'The king, holding him besieged in his castle of Beaumont, wished
to give him the dukedom of this place in order to attach him to his
service.' Poutrincourt refused. But, when the king had abjured his
faith, he served this prince loyally and followed him to battle, where
he accumulated more honor than fortune. In 1603, he lived in retirement
with his wife, Jeanne de Salazar, and his children, in his barony of
Saint-Just, in Champagne, struggling painfully against the difficulties
of an embarrassed situation, and striving to improve the tillage and
crops of his little domain. It was here that De Monts, his former
companion in arms, found him. He knew his courage, his intelligence,
and his activity, and did not doubt that a voyage to Canada and an
agricultural colony in these distant lands, so fertile and primeval,
would appeal to his ardent soul. Poutrincourt, in fact, received with
enthusiasm the plan of his old friend; however, before binding himself
definitely, he wished to find out, on his own account, something
about the state of the country, and for this purpose to make a trial
voyage."--Rochemonteix's _Les Jésuites et la Nouvelle France_ (Paris,
1896), vol. i., p. 11.
Pleased with Annapolis harbor, Poutrincourt decided to settle there
with his family, and De Monts gave him a grant of the place. In 1606,
Poutrincourt made a second voyage to Port Royal, exploring the coast
with Champlain and Lescarbot. After the abandonment of the colony
(1607), he went to France, returning to Acadia in 1610, inspired with
zeal to convert the savages, but without the aid of the Jesuits. See
Parkman's _Pioneers of France in the New World_ (ed. 1885, which will
hereafter be cited, unless otherwise noted), pp. 244-322; also Shea's
ed. of Charlevoix's _History of New France_, vol. i., p. 260. By the
destruction of Port Royal in 1613, he was the heaviest loser--the
total loss to the French, according to Charlevoix, being a hundred
thousand crowns. In 1614, Poutrincourt visited the ruins of Port Royal
for the last time, thence returning to France to engage in the service
of the king. He was fatally wounded by a treacherous shot after the
taking of Méry (1615). Baird (_Hug. Emig._, vol. i., p. 94), says:
"This nobleman, if nominally a Roman Catholic, appears to have been in
full sympathy with his Huguenot associates, De Monts and Lescarbot.
His hatred of the Jesuits was undisguised." Lescarbot's account of
Poutrincourt's dispute with them differs essentially from that given by
Biard, _post_.
3. (p. 55)--Marc Lescarbot (or L'Escarbot), parliamentary advocate,
was born at Vervins, France, between 1570 and 1580. He was more given
to literature than to law, and appears to have been a man of judgment,
tact, and intelligence. He spent the winter of 1606-07 at Port Royal,
which Slafter (Prince Soc. ed. of _Voyages of Samuel Champlain_, vol.
ii., p. 22, _note_ 56) locates "on the north side of the bay [Annapolis
Basin] in the present town of Lower Granville; not, as often alleged,
at Annapolis." See Bourinot's "Some Old Forts by the Sea," in _Trans.
Royal Society of Canada_, sec. ii, pp. 72-74, for description of Port
Royal, which he places on the site of the present Annapolis. In the
spring of 1607, Lescarbot explored the coast between the harbor of St.
John, N. B., and the River St. Croix. On the abandonment of De Monts'
colony, the same year, he returned to France, where he wrote much
on Acadia and in praise of Poutrincourt. Larousse gives the date of
his death as 1630. Parkman's _Pioneers_, pp. 258 _et seq._, gives a
lively account of Lescarbot's winter at the colony. Abbé Faillon, in
_Histoire de la Colonie Française en Canada_ (Montreal, 1865), vol. i,
p. 91, says he has given us the best accounts extant (in the present
document, his _Histoire de la Nouvelle France_, 1609, and his _Les
Muses de la Nouvelle France_, 1618) of the enterprises of De Monts and
Poutrincourt; and that while a Catholic in name, he was a Huguenot at
heart.
4. (p. 57)--_Clameur de Haro, Chartre Normand_, an expression used in
all the privileges or licenses granted by the king to booksellers.
The latter phrase refers to a deed containing numerous privileges or
concessions, accorded to the inhabitants of Normandy by Louis X., Mar.
19, 1313, and repeatedly confirmed afterward. _Haro_ is supposed to be
derived from, _Ha Rou!_ or _Ha Rollo!_ Hence an appeal to Rollo, the
first Duke of Normandy.
5. (p. 59)--The first attempt of the Huguenots to establish a colony in
America was at Rio Janeiro, under Villegagnon (1555). A reinforcement
was sent thither in 1557, and among its Calvinist preachers was Jean de
Léri, the historian of the disastrous undertaking. See his _Historia
Navigationis in Brasiliam_ (1586), quoted in Parkman's _Pioneers_, p.
28.
6. (p. 61)--The St. Lawrence; so named by Cartier (1535), but
frequently called "The Great River," "The River of the Great Bay,"
etc., by early annalists. In the account of his second voyage, Cartier
styles it _le grand fleuve de Hochelaga_. See Winsor's _Narrative and
Critical History of America_, vol. iv., p. 163; also his _Cartier to
Frontenac_, p. 28.
7. (p. 61)--Concerning early European acquaintance with American
Indians:
"In the yeere 1153 ... it is written, that there came to Lubec, a
citie of Germanie, one Canoa with certaine Indians, like vnto a long
barge: which seemed to haue come from the coast of Baccalaos, which
standeth in the same latitude that Germanie doth." (Antoine Galvano,
in Goldsmid's ed. of _Hakluyt's Voyages_, vol. xvi., p. 293.)
Harrisse (_Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima_, no. 71) cites the
_Chronicon_ of Eusebius (Paris, 1512) as having, "under the date 1509,
a notice saying that there had been brought to Rouen seven Savages from
North America."
The Indians of Newfoundland, when first discovered by the French,
called codfish _bacalos_, which Lescarbot and other early French
writers say is identical with the Basque word for codfish. Many
evidences led Cartier, upon his first voyage (1534), to believe that
the natives had had previous intercourse with Europeans.
8. (p. 61)--Probably André Thevet. A translation of his description of
the Isles of Demons (now known as Belle Isle and Quirpon), is given
in Parkman's _Pioneers_, p. 191. Thevet's _Cosmographie Universelle_
(Paris, 1558), and _Singularitez de la France antarctique_ (Paris,
1558), must have been familiar to Lescarbot. De Costa gives a
translation of so much of the _Cosmographie_ as relates to New England,
in _Magazine of American History_, vol. viii., p. 130: "The production
of the mendacious monk, André Thevet." It seems clear that Thevet never
saw the American coast, that his imagination amplified the accounts of
navigators who had visited the region, particularly those of Cartier.
Priceless as are first editions of Thevet, he has a poor reputation for
veracity.
9. (p. 61)--The Armouchiquois (or Almouchiquois of Champlain)
were, according to Parkman (_Jesuits of N. America_, p. xxi.), the
Algonkin tribes of New England,--Mohicans, Pequots, Massachusetts,
Narragansetts, and others,--"in a chronic state of war with the tribes
of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia." Williamson, in _History of the
State of Maine_ (Hallowell, 1832, vol. i., p. 477), says they were an
Etchemin tribe, the Marechites of the St. John River; but Champlain,
who had, like Biard, visited the Armouchiquois country, says that it
lies beyond Choüacoet (Saco), and that the language is different from
those of the Souriquois and Etchemins. Laverdière affirms that "the
French called Almouchiquois several peoples or tribes that the English
included under the term Massachusetts;" and he conjectures that these
two names are etymologically allied.--See his _Champlain_, pp. 200,
205, 206.
10. (p. 61)--Lescarbot here refers to his _Histoire de la Nouvelle
France_. The first edition (Paris, 1609) is a rare prize to
collectors,--a London catalogue of 1878 pricing it at £45. The edition
of 1612 is followed in the Tross reprint (Paris, 1866); that of 1618
contains Lescarbot's assault upon the Jesuits. The fourth and sixth
books, only, were "translated out of the French into English" by P.
Erondelle, 1609. A German version of a brief summary of the work
appeared in 1613.
11. (p. 67)--The term Norembega, variously spelled, was applied
indifferently to the entire range of Acadian and New England coast;
but apparently the Penobscot is here meant. See Winsor's _N. and C.
Hist._, vol. iv., index; _Documentary History of State of Maine_, vol.
ii., pp. lii., liii.; Prince Society's ed. of _Champlain_, memoir and
index. The claim is made for Bangor, Me., that it is on the site of an
ancient town called Norumbega. Much information on this point is given
in _Maine Hist. Soc. Colls._, vols. ii., iv., v., vii., viii., and ix.
Sewall claims that the true form of Norumbegua is Arâmbec, and that it
was the name of a city of the savages, situated near the head-waters of
the Damariscotta, above Pemaquid.--_Ancient Dominions of Maine_, pp.
30-46. Horsford, in _Discovery of the Ancient City of Norembega_ and
_Defences of Norembega_ (Boston, 1890 and 1891), claims, on slender
evidence, that Watertown, Mass., occupies the site of an old town of
that name founded by Norse vikings in 1000 A. D.
12. (p. 67)--Bay of Fundy; first shown on map of Diego Homem (1558);
named by De Monts Grande Baye Française (shown on Lescarbot's chart of
Port Royal); appears as Argal's Bay, on Alexander's map (1624); Golfo
di S. Luize, on Dudley's (1647); Fundi Bay, on Moll's (1712); and Bay
of Fundy, or Argal, on that of the English and French Commissioners
(1755). Bourinot (_Canad. Mo._, vol. vii., p. 292) says that Fundy is
a corruption of _Fond de la Baie_, as the lower part of the bay was
called; he follows here Ferland's suggestion, in _Cours d'Histoire du
Canada_ (Quebec, 1861), vol. i., p. 65.
13. (p. 67)--The son of Pontgravé, who, according to Parkman
(_Pioneers_, p. 290) had exasperated the Indians by an outrage on one
of their women, and had fled to the woods.
14. (p. 69)--_Palourdes_ is Breton for a kind of shellfish.
15. (p. 73)--The Souriquois, or Micmacs, of Nova Scotia. Champlain's
map of 1632 places them east of Port Royal.
16. (p. 73)--Raphael Maffei, Maffeus Volaterranus, or Raffaello
Volterrano, savant and historian; born in Volterra 1451, died 1521 or
1522. Harrisse (_Bib. Amer. Vet._, p. 88) gives a catalogue of his
works, and says, "The _Commentary_ of Maffei has a peculiar interest
from the fact that it preceded the publication of Peter Martyr's
_Decades_" (1511-46).
Laverdière (_Champlain_, p. 70, _note_) says that _sagamo_ is a
Montagnais word; and he cites Laflèche as deriving it from _tchi_ and
_okimau_, meaning "great chief."
17. (p. 73)--Berosus (325-255 B. C., _circa_), a Chaldean priest,
astrologer, and historian. His best known work is the _Babylonica_,
a history of Babylonia; its remaining fragments have been reproduced
by several European writers, especially in Richter's _Berosi Chald.
Historiæ quae supersunt_ (Leipsic, 1825).
18. (p. 75)--The Tolosains were a tribe of the Volcæ of Gaul. Another
tribe of the Volcæ were the Tectosages--so called from their _sagum_
(frock or cloak).
19. (p. 75)--Membertou was chief of all the Micmac groups from Gaspé to
Cape Sable. Champlain writes, that he was "a friendly savage, although
he had the name of being the worst and most traitorous man of his
tribe." Lescarbot called him "the _chef d'oeuvre_ of Christian piety,"
and Biard had strong faith in him. He claimed to remember the first
visit of Cartier (1534).
20. (p. 77)--Biard, six years later, complains bitterly of this
overhaste in baptizing, declaring that these savages, when he went
among them in 1611, did not know the first principles of the Faith, and
had even forgotten their Christian names.
21. (p. 81)--In the original edition, pp. 25 and 26, apparently through
an error in make-up, are verbal repetitions of the two preceding pages.
This duplication has been omitted in the present edition.
22. (p. 105)--Marked changes occurred in the population of the St.
Lawrence valley, between the visits of Cartier (1535) and Champlain
(1603). Morgan, in _League of the Iroquois_ (Rochester, 1851), p. 5,
maintains the correctness of a tradition that the aborigines whom
Cartier found at Hochelaga were Iroquois, and that they then were
subject to the Algonkins, whom Champlain found in possession of the
valley. Cf. Parkman's _Pioneers_, p. 208, and Schoolcraft's _Hist.
of Indian Tribes of the U. S._, vol. vi., pp. 33, 188. For further
treatment of the migrations of the Iroquois, see Introduction to Hale's
_Iroquois Book of Rites_ (Phila., 1883), and Faillon's _Col. Fr._, vol.
i., pp. 524, _et seq._
23. (p. 107)--_Tabagie._ A feast described fully in one of the later
Relations.
24. (p. 107)--This easy victory of the French and Algonkins over the
Iroquois (July 29, 1609), on the western shores of Lake Champlain, cost
New France dearly, as it secured for the struggling colony the deadly
enmity of the most warlike savages on the continent, for nearly a
century and a half. It was impossible for New France to make permanent
headway when sapped by such an enemy. Slafter's exhaustive notes to
_Champlain's Voyages_ (Prince Soc.), vol. i., p. 91, and vol. ii.,
p. 223, make it clear that the site of this momentous skirmish was
Ticonderoga.
25. (p. 109)--Jessé Fléché, a secular priest from the diocese of
Langres, was invited by Poutrincourt to accompany the first colony to
Acadia. The papal nuncio gave him authority to absolve in all cases,
except those reserved to the pope.--Faillon's _Col. Fr._, vol. i., p.
99. Poutrincourt evidently meant to Christianize Acadia without the aid
of the Jesuits. The wholesale baptism of savages by Fléché, before the
arrival of Biard and Massé, was, according to Faillon (_Ibid._, vol.
i., p. 100), condemned as a profanation by good Catholics, "tous les
théologiens, and notamment la Sorbonne."--Cf. also note 19, _ante_,
and Sagard's _Histoire du Canada_, p. 97. He had been at Port Royal
nearly a year before the arrival of the Jesuits. The name is variously
spelled: Fleche, Fléche, Flèche, Fléché, Flesche, Fleuchy, and Fleuche;
see Sulte's _Poutrincourt en Acadie_, p. 38. See Bourinot's picturesque
description of the baptismal scene, in _Can. Royal Soc. Trans._, sec.
ii, p. 73. Fléché was much esteemed by the Micmacs; his nickname, "Le
Patriarch," is still current among them corrupted into "Patliasse,"
as the name for a priest.--See Ferland's _Cours d'Histoire_ (Quebec,
1861), vol. i, p. 80.
26. (p. 127)--The four letters here given (Biard, Jan. 21, June 10, and
June 11, 1611; and Massé, June 11, 1611) are from Carayon's _Première
Mission des Jésuites au Canada: Lettres et Documents Inédits_ (Paris,
1864). All of the documents in Carayon's collection will be published
in this series, in chronological order, with that Editor's valuable
footnotes.
Auguste Carayon, S. J., a leading authority upon the history of his
order in New France, was born in Saumur, France, 1813, and died in
Poitiers, 1874. His principal works were: _Bibliographie historique de
la Compagnie de Jésus; Catalogue des ouvrages relatifs à l'histoire
des Jésuites depuis leur origine jusqu'à nos jours_ (Paris, 1864);
_Documents inédits concernant la Compagnie de Jésus_ (Poitiers,
1863-1875, 18 vols.); _Première Mission des Jésuites au Canada_ (Paris,
1864); _Bannissement des Jésuites de la Louisiane_ (Paris, 1865);
_Établissement de la Compagnie de Jésus à Brest, par Louis XIV._
(1865); _Prisons du Marquis de Pombal, ministre du Portugal, journal
de 1759 à 1777_ (1865); _Notes historiques sur les parlements et les
Jésuites au dix-huitième siécle_ (1867). Carayon also edited numerous
important historical works, between 1864 and 1871.
27. (p. 127)--Pierre Biard, S. J., writer of several of the early
Acadian _Relations_, was born at Grenoble, France, 1567, and died at
Avignon, November 17, 1622. In 1608, he was called from a chair of
scholastic theology and Hebrew, in Lyons, by Father Coton, the King's
confessor and preacher, to take charge of the Jesuit mission in Acadia.
His several accounts of the colony, with the part taken by himself in
notable episodes, do not always agree with the version of Lescarbot.
See Parkman's _Pioneers_, part ii., chaps, v.-viii.; also, R. P. Felix
Martin's _Life of R. P. Pierre Biard,_ S. J. (Montreal, 1890).
28. (p. 127)--Claude Aquaviva, S. J., born 1544; elected general of the
Society of Jesus, 1581; died, 1615; a Neapolitan nobleman; chamberlain
of the Court of Rome; fifth general of the order, and ranked by some
historians as its ablest legislator and second founder. See Nicolini's
_History of the Jesuits_, pp. 210, 257.
29. (p. 127)--Fathers Biard and Massé sailed January 26.
30. (p. 129)--_Brother-coadjutor._ The six classes of the order
of Jesuits were: (1) novices, (2) lay-brothers, (3) scholars, (4)
coadjutors, (5) Jesuits of the Third Order, and (6) Jesuits of the
Fourth Order. See Thomas D'Arcy McGee's _Lecture on the Jesuits_.
31. (p. 133)--Biencourt and Robin de Coulogne, not having means to
equip and provision the vessel which was to convey Biard and Massé
to Port Royal, made an arrangement with Dujardin and Duquesne, two
merchants of Dieppe, by which the latter undertook to furnish the
equipment and supplies in consideration of being admitted as partners
in Poutrincourt's fur-trading and cod-fishing enterprise. Concerning
this _Contract d'Association des Jésuites au Trafique du Canada_,
made January 20, 1611, see Parkman's _Pioneers_, p. 288, _note_. Cf.
also, Rochemonteix's _Jésuites_, vol. i., p. 32. These partners, being
Huguenots, objected to the shipment of the Jesuits, but finally sold
their interests for 2,800 livres to Madame de Guercheville, whose
part in this expedition is related in note 33, _post_. See Biard's
succeeding letter, for fuller details of this adventure.
32. (p. 133)--_Formal order of the Queen._ October 7, 1610, the young
King, Louis XIII., wrote from Monceaux to Baron de Poutrincourt:
"Monsieur de Poutrincourt, as Father Pierre Biard and Father Ennemond
Massé, religious of the Society of Jesus, are being sent over to New
France to celebrate the divine services of the church and to preach the
Gospel to the people of that country, I wish to hereby recommend them
to you, that you may, upon all occasions, assist and protect them in
the exercise of their noble and holy calling, assuring you that I shall
consider it a great service."
The Queen Mother also wrote: "Monsieur de Poutrincourt, now that the
good Jesuit Fathers are about to try, under the authority of the King,
my son, to establish our faith over there, I hereby request you to
give them, for the success of this good work, all the courtesy and
assistance in your power, as a service very near our heart, and very
acceptable to us, praying God, Monsieur de Poutrincourt, to keep you
under his holy and watchful care."--David Asseline's _Antiquities and
Chronicles of the City of Dieppe_ (Dieppe, 1874; 2 vols.) The letters
are reproduced in Faillon's _Col. Fr._, vol. i., p. 102.
33. (p. 135)--Antoinette de Pons, Marquise de Guercheville, patroness
of Jesuit missions in New France, was lady of honor to Marie de
Médicis, and accounted one of the most beautiful and zealously
religions women of her time. Taking up the defence of the Jesuits
against Poutrincourt, she not only bought the ship in which to
transport them to America, but the cargo and the royal patent of
De Monts, thus succeeding the latter as proprietor of all Acadia,
excepting Port Royal, which still remained in Poutrincourt's
possession. Concerning her rupture with De Monts, see Shea's
_Charlevoix_, vol. i., p. 274. She resolved to plant a strictly
Catholic colony at Pentagoet (site of Bangor, Me.), and sent out,
under La Saussaye, some fifty settlers and three Jesuit missionaries
(1613). Upon reaching Port Royal, they were joined by Biard and Massé,
and thence proceeded to the eastern side of Mount Desert Island. For
the location of their mission, St. Sauveur, see Parkman's _Pioneers_,
p. 304, _note_. The descent of the English under Argall (1613), was
the end of Madame de Guercheville's mission. See _N. Y. Colonial
Documents_, vol. iii., pp. 1, 2, concerning reparation allowed her
by the government of Great Britain for the loss of her vessel. Cf.
Faillon's _Col. Fr._, vol. i., pp. 110-117; and Baird's _Hug. Emig._,
vol. i., p. 103. Upon the queen regent's high regard for the Jesuits,
see _Col. Fr._, vol. i., pp. 101, 102.
34. (p. 141)--Several of the old French coins were called écus. They
date from the period of Charles VII.,--_écus à la couronne_, or crowns
of gold, from the crown which formed the type of the reverse.--Prime's
_Coins, Medals, and Seals_, p. 150. The écu of Louis XIV. is first
given in Dye's _Coin Encyclopedia_, p. 621; value in United States
currency, $1.10S. The early écu was equal to three francs; later, to
about five.
35. (p. 141)--_Viaticum._ In Père de Ravignan's _On the Existence and
Institutions of the Jesuits_ (Paris, 1862), p. 190, _note_ ii., mention
is made of a custom in connection with the viaticum of missionaries,
which was frequently observed at this time. The founders or benefactors
of missions, in order to obtain with greater certainty and abundance
the money which they intended for missionary work in distant lands,
charged the merchants, who acted as agents, to sell the merchandise
which they consigned to them, and to remit the price of it to the
missionaries for their support. Thus Madame de Guercheville furnished
considerable money to Biencourt to invest in the fish and fur trade,
which he was about to undertake, with the sole condition that, for
her share, he should support the missionaries. See Rochemonteix's
_Jésuites_, vol. i., pp. 35-36, _note_.
36. (p. 141)--The Marchioness de Verneuil furnished their chapel,
Madame de Sourdis their vestments and linen, and Madame de Guercheville
provided other necessaries.--_Annuæ Litteræ S. J._, an. 1612, p. 570.
Madame de Verneuil founded a convent of Annunciades, and gave her
declining years to religion. She died at Paris, 1633, aged 54.
37. (p. 143)--In his _Relation_ of 1616, chap, xi., Biard says: "Thomas
Robin de Coulogne enjoyed a modest fortune; he had often heard about
New France from the Dieppe merchants, and had wished to mingle in this
colonization movement. What Baron de Poutrincourt told him about the
attempts made at Port Royal pleased him greatly, and he promised to
assist him."
The names of Monsieur de Coullogne (Coulogne) and of Madame de
Sigogne (Sicoine) appear in Fléché's list of baptisms, _ante_. Other
contemporary spellings of Coulogne are: Cologne, Coloigne, and Coloine.
38. (p. 147)--This is an interesting, and we believe a unique
statement of Biard, that the islands off the Gulf of St. Lawrence were
once called the "Azores of the Great Bank." The maps of many early
cartographers and navigators represent Newfoundland as a group of
islands, or a large island with a circlet of smaller ones, or "almost a
single island."--See Winsor's _N. and C. Hist._, vol. i., pp. 74, 77,
79, 93, 379. As Newfoundland was the first land sighted by voyagers in
New France, and as their last sight of land had been the Azores, the
naming of the islands on the Great Bank the Azores is in keeping with
their custom in this regard.
39. (p. 149)--Ennemond Massé, S. J., born at Lyons, 1574; died at
Sillery, Canada, 1646; admitted to the Society of Jesus at the age of
twenty, and assigned to a chair of theology in Lyons; in 1608, chosen
by Father Coton to accompany Biard to Acadia. He was again sent to
Canada in 1625, with Charles Lalemant, Jean de Brébeuf, and two lay
brothers. During the English occupation of Canada (1629-32), he was in
France, but returned with Brébeuf in 1633. Rochemonteix (_Jésuites_,
vol. i., p. 24). says of him: "Of an impetuous and violent nature, he
had all he could do to restrain it. But, by vigilance and perseverance,
he conquered it so well that he no longer seemed to have any strong
impulses or passions. Industrious, unwearying, of robust health, he
was prepared for the hardships of a distant mission by a life of
penitence and denial, frequently fasting, sleeping upon hard boards,
accustoming his taste to everything, and his body to extreme cold and
heat. Although innocent as a child, he led the life of a penitential
anchorite; in 1608, they made him an Associate to Father Coton, then
confessor and preacher to the king. But this austere apostle preferred
a life of privation and sacrifice to that of the court. He chose
Canada." Bressani's _Relatione_, to be given _post_, describes the
death of Massé, who was one of the most notable of the missionaries
of New France. A monument to his memory has been erected at Sillery.
There is a difference of usage in the matter of accenting his name:
Charlevoix, Winsor, and Parkman do not use the accent; but Champlain,
Biard, and Cretineau-Joly do, and Faillon (_Col. Fr._, vol. i., p. 101)
gives authorities for this usage, which we have preferred to adopt.
40. (p. 151)--Bourinot (_Canad. Mo._, vol. vii., p. 292) says _Canso_
is a Souriquois word meaning "facing the frowning cliff;" also, that
"the strait was long called after the Sieur de Fronsac, one of the
early gentlemen adventurers who held large estates in Acadia." It is
shown as _detroit de Fronsac_ on Chabert's map (1750); it is Camceau on
Champlain's map of 1632; it sometimes appears as Campceau on old French
documents; and is spelled both Canceaux and Canso in the official
correspondence between France and England in the eighteenth century. In
1779, the fisheries of Canso were worth £50,000 a year to England. See
Murdoch's _History of Nova Scotia_ (Halifax, 1865-67), vol. ii, p. 597.
41. (p. 151)--Lescarbot states that they arrived at night, three hours
after sunset.--_Relation dernière_ (Bans, 1612), to be given _post_.
42. (p. 153)--Cap de la Hève, now known as Cape La Have, is the
southern point of La Have Island, off New Dublin Bay, one of many
indentations of the coast of the township of New Dublin, Lunenburg
County, Nova Scotia. The cape is a picturesque cliff or bluff rising
107 feet above tide level, and visible a long distance out to sea.
When De Monts and Champlain left Havre de Grâce, France, in March,
1604, Cap de la Hève, in the suburb of St. Adresse, must have been the
last land seen by them; as this cliff off New Dublin was probably the
first sighted by them in La Cadie, it was natural that they should
name it after the famous French landmark. There are evidences on La
Have Island of an early French settlement, of which there appear to be
no records; although it is known that Saussaye planted a cross there,
May 16, 1613. De Laet, in describing Cadie (1633) says: "Near Cap de
la Hève lies a port of the same name, 44° 5' north latitude, with safe
anchorage."--See Des Brisay's _Hist. of Co. of Lunenburg, N. S._ (2d
ed., Toronto, 1895), pp. 166 _et seq._ The Editor is also indebted to
F. Blake Crofton, secretary of the Nova Scotia Historical Society, for
information under this head.
43. (p. 163)--People from St. Malo, France. Spelled also by Biard,
_post_, Malouines.
44. (p. 169)--Robert, the son of Pontgravé, who had escaped from
custody, and had been in hiding in the forest. See Parkman's
_Pioneers_, pp. 265, 290; also, Lescarbot's reference to him, _ante_.
45. (p. 181)--Referring to Queen Blanche of Castile (1187-1252), regent
after the death of her husband, Louis VIII., during the absence of her
son, Louis IX. (Saint Louis), in the Holy Land.
46. (p. 197)--Joseph Jouvency (also written Juvency, Jouvenci, and
Jouvancy), Jesuit historian, an eminent litterateur of his time. Born
in Paris, September 14, 1643; died at Rome, May 29, 1719. In 1659,
he was admitted to the Society of Jesus, for many years filling the
position of professor of rhetoric at La Flèche, and devoting much time
to historical and classical research. After taking his vows in 1677,
he was sent to Rome, as one of the staff of writers upon _Historia
Societatis Jesu_.
47. (p. 197)--Count Ernest von Mansfeld, soldier of fortune,
conspicuous in the Thirty Years War. Born, 1585; died, 1626, soon after
his defeat by Wallenstein at the bridge of Dessau. His great army of
mercenaries was, according to Motley (_John of Barneveld,_ vol. ii.,
p. 32), "the earliest type, perhaps, of the horrible military vermin
destined to feed so many years on the unfortunate dismembered carcass
of Germany." Cf. Kohlrausch's _History of Germany_ (Haas trans.), pp.
320, 326. Concerning the campaign of Louis XIII., against the Huguenots
(1622), and Count von Mansfeld's part therein, see Kitchin's _History
of France_, pp. 497, 498.
48. (p. 199)--Philip Alegambe, a Jesuit scholar (Flemish). Died in
1652, while superior of the house of his order at Rome. He was the
leading writer upon _Bibliotheca Scriptorum Societatis Jesu_ (1643).
49. (p. 219)--_Seven Islands._ A group at the mouth of the St. Lawrence
River, near the northerly shore of the gulf.
50. (p. 219)--Chicoutimi River, rising in numerous small lakes near
Lake St. John, pursues a picturesque course, frequently interrupted by
rapids, eastward and northeastward into the Saguenay. At the junction,
seventy-five miles above the mouth of the latter, is now the important
lumber-shipping port of Chicoutimi, at whose wharves ocean-going
vessels are laden. The old missionary district of that name included
the rugged country lying south and southwest of Lake St. John.
51. (p. 221)--The French Jesuits definitely abandoned the Iroquois
field in 1687, owing to the rising power of the English. In 1701,
Bruyas was again on the ground, being joined the year following by
De Lamberville, Garnier, and Le Valliant, and later by D'Hue and De
Marieul. The entire party was driven out in 1708, and many of their
Iroquois converts retired with them to the mission of Caughnawaga, near
Montreal.
52. (p. 221)--The Iroquois Mission of St. Francis Xavier was founded in
1669 by Iroquois Christians,--emigrants from the "castles" of the Five
Nations. The mission was finally removed to Sault St. Louis, on the St.
Lawrence, and called Caughnawaga, from the Indian village of that name
on the Mohawk, where had also been a Jesuit mission.
53. (p. 221)--Lake Michigan. Called Lac des Puants on Champlain's map
of 1632, in reference to the Winnebago tribe (Puants) on Green Bay; in
several of the _Relations_, and on Marquette's map (1674), it is styled
Lac des Illinois, from the Illinois Indians upon its southern coast;
Allouez calls it (1675) Lac St. Joseph, because of Fort and River St.
Josephs on the southeast coast; Coronelli's map (1688) honors the
Dauphin by calling the lake after him; Hennepin comes the nearest to
modern usage, in his name, Michigonong.
54. (p. 221)--Lake Huron, which has figured under many titles, in the
old maps and chronicles. This name has reference to the Indian family
upon its eastern shores. Champlain first named it La Mer Douce, ("The
Fresh Sea"), and later Lac des Attigouantan, after the chief tribe of
the Hurons; Sanson's map (1657) names it Karegnondi; Coronelli's map
(1688) christens it Lac d'Orleans; Colden in one place gives it as
Quatoghe, and in another as Caniatare. Lac des Hurons first appears in
the map accompanying the _Relation_ for 1670-71.
55. (p. 221)--The mission of St. Ignace was founded by Marquette, in
1670, on Point St. Ignace, on the mainland north of and opposite the
Island of Michillimackinac (now shortened to Mackinaw or Mackinac, as
fancy dictates). The term Michillimackinac, variously spelled, was
applied by the earliest French not only to the island and straits of
that name, but in general to the great peninsula lying north of the
straits.
56. (p. 221)--The mission of Sault Ste. Marie, at the outlet of Lake
Superior, was founded by Raimbault and Jogues in 1640. The place was
always an important rallying-point for the natives, and naturally
became the center of a wide-spreading fur trade, which lasted, under
French, English, and American dominations in turn, until about 1840.
57. (p. 221)--The Western mission of St. Francis Xavier was founded by
Allouez in 1669, at the first rapids in the Fox River (of Green Bay),
on the east side of the river, in what is now the city of Depere, Wis.
An important Indian village had from the earliest historic times been
located there.
58. (p. 223)--Outaouaki = Ottawas; Puteatamis = Pottawattomies;
Kikarous = Kickapoos; Outagamies = Foxes; Oumiamis = Miamis.
59. (p. 223)--Bayagoulas, one of the Louisiana missions, of which
Father Paul du Ru, S. J., was in charge in 1700. Shea's _Catholic
Missions_, p. 443.
60. (p. 227)--An anonymous writer in _The Catholic World_, (vol. xii.,
p. 629) makes the statement that Quentin and Du Thet were sent out to
replace Biard and Massé "if they had perished; otherwise to return to
France." Contemporary writers, however, speak of their coming as a
reinforcement.
61. (p. 227)--On what came to be known as Frenchman's Bay, on the east
side of the island of Mount Desert. Parkman says (_Pioneers_, ed. 1865,
p. 276, _note_): "Probably all of Frenchman's Bay was included under
the name of the Harbor of St. Sauveur. The landing-place so called
seems to have been near the entrance of the bay, certainly south of Bar
Harbor. The Indian name of the Island of Mount Desert was Penetic. Its
present name was given by Champlain."
62. (p. 227)--The "Jonas," conspicuous in the annals of Acadia from the
time in which Poutrincourt and Lescarbot sailed in her for Port Royal,
in 1606, to her capture by Argall in 1613. Parkman aptly calls her "the
'Mayflower' of the Jesuits."
63. (p. 229)--Samuel Argall, born in Bristol, England, 1572; died,
1639. See Cooke's _Virginia_ (Amer. Commonwealths ser.), pp. 111-113,
for a fair estimate of this tempestuous character. Folsom's "Expedition
of Captain Samuel Argal," to _N. Y. Hist. Colls._ (new ser.); vol. i.,
pp. 333-342, goes over that ground quite completely.
64. (p. 231)--Sir Thomas Dale, the predecessor of Argall as governor
of Virginia; he was in the service of the Low Countries, 1588-95, and
1606-10; in 1611, he entered the service of the Virginia Company, where
he remained five years as governor of the colony; and in 1619 he died
at Masulipatam, while in command of an expedition to the East Indies.
65. (p. 233)--The charge was freely made at the time, that Biard and
Massé, incensed at Biencourt, who had been unkind to them, piloted
Argall to Port Royal. Poutrincourt and Lescarbot, disliking the
Jesuits, naturally believed it, and the former addressed the French
admiralty court on the subject, under the date of July 18, 1614.--See
Lescarbot's _Nouv. France_, book v., chap. 14. Champlain discredited
the charge, saying that Argall compelled an Indian to serve as
pilot. Cf. Parkman's _Pioneers_, pp. 313 _et seq._, and Biard's
own statements, _post_ (Letter to T.-R. Général, May 6, 1614; and
_Relation_ of 1616).
66. (p. 233)--Argall's lieutenant, in command of the captured "Jonas."
According to Parkman (_Pioneers_, p. 318), he was "an officer of merit,
a scholar, and linguist," treating his prisoners with kindness.
67. (p. 251)--Reference is here made to Lake Champlain, the Mer des
Iroquois and Lacus Irocoisiensis of the early French cartographers.
Richelieu River was at first styled Rivière des Iroquois. In a letter
of John Winthrop to Lord Arlington, dated Boston, Oct. 25, 1666, Lake
Champlain is referred to as Lake Hiracoies.--_N. Y. Colon. Docs._,
iii., p. 138. See also, Palmer's _History of Lake Champlain_ (Albany,
1866), pp. 12, 13; and Blaeu's maps of 1662 and 1685, in Winsor's _N.
and C. Hist._, vol. iv., p. 391.
68. (p. 253)--The gar-pike (_Lepidosteus osseus_). A picture of this
"armored fish" is given in Creuxius's _Historia Canadensis_ (Paris,
1664), p. 50.
69. (p. 253)--Jouvency plainly refers to what is still known as Bird
Island, of Bird Rocks, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, N. W. of Cabot
Strait. Authorities disagree in locating the Bird Island of Cartier's
first voyage. See _Hakluyt's Voyages_ (Goldsmid ed.), vol. xiii.,
pt. i, p. 78; Shea's _Charlevoix_, vol. i., p. 112, _note;_ both
indicating that what is now called Funk Island, off the eastern coast
of Newfoundland, was the Bird Island of Cartier. Kingsford, in _History
of Canada_ (Toronto, 1887), vol. i., p. 3, identifies it, however, with
the present Bird Island of the Gulf. Champlain's map of 1613 has a Bird
Island near the mouth of the Bay of Fundy. Anspach, in _History of
Newfoundland_ (London, 1819), p. 317, says: "Fogo Island [N. W. of Cape
Freels] is described in the old maps by the name of Aves, or Birds'
Island."
70. (p. 269)--The Montagnais, a wretched tribe of nomads, were, at this
time, chiefly centered upon the banks of the Saguenay River.
71. (p. 281)--_Venus mercenaria_, the round clam, or quahaug.
[Illustration: MAP OF NEW FRANCE (PARTS OF UNITED STATES AND CANADA)
1610-1791.
To Illustrate THE JESUIT RELATIONS AND ALLIED DOCUMENTS.
THE BURROWS BROTHERS COMPANY, PUBLISHERS.]
Transcriber's Note.
Variable spelling and hyphenation have been retained. Minor punctuation
inconsistencies have been silently repaired.
Corrections.
The first line indicates the original, the second the correction.
p. 49:
except the last sentence on p. 24; p. 49 numbered "[-4-6]."
except the last sentence on p. 24; p. 46 numbered "[-4-6]."
p. 110:
8. La 5. fille dudit Louïs a eu nom IEHANNE ainsi nõmée par ledit sieur
de Poutrincourt au nõ d'une de ses filles. [-46-]
8. La 5. fille dudit Louïs a eu nom IEHANNE ainsi nõmée par ledit sieur
de Poutrincourt au nõ d'une de ses filles. [46]
p. 153:
while Monsieur de Potrincour soon arrived at Port Royal,
while Monsieur de Potrincourt soon arrived at Port Royal,
p. 196:
charitas, an patienta.
charitas, an patientia.
p. 198:
Deumque nesciens Hærisis
Deumque nesciens Hæresis
p. 200:
cùm Auenionem diuertissit
cùm Auenionem diuertisset
p. 224:
nisi anno seculi superioris quinto & vigemo
nisi anno seculi superioris quinto & vigesimo
p. 276:
præterea in veniret
præterea inveniret
p. 288:
Hæc ratio ineptissimat antam vim apud barbaras mentes habebat
Hæc ratio ineptissima tantam vim apud barbaras mentes habebat
p. 311:
Pierre Biard, S. J., writer of several of the early Acadian
_Relations_, was born at Grenoble, France, 1657
Pierre Biard, S. J., writer of several of the early Acadian
_Relations_, was born at Grenoble, France, 1567
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