Chapter XII: Relatio Rerum Gestarum (1)

in Nova-Francica Missione, Annis 1613 & 1614

LYONS: CLAUDE CAYNE, 1618

SOURCE: We follow the general style of O'Callaghan's Reprint No. 6. The Title and Tabula Rerum are the work of that Editor. The Text is from the original volume of Annuæ Litteræ Societatis Iesu, Anni CIↃ IↃC XII, pp 562-605, in the Riggs Library, Georgetown, D. C. The bracketed pagination is that of the Annuæ; that in Roman, of O'Callaghan.

RELATIO

RERVM GESTARUM

IN

Novo-Francica Missione

ANNIS 1613 & 1614.

_Ex Annvis Litteris Societatis_ IESV _impressis_

LVGDVNI, APVD CLAVDIVM CAYNE, TYPOGRAPHVM.

CIↃ IↃC XIIX

A RELATION

OF OCCURRENCES

IN THE

Mission of New France

DURING THE YEARS 1613 AND 1614.

_From the Published Annual Letters of the
Society of_ JESUS

LYONS, CLAUDE CAYNE, PRINTER.

1618

[iii] Tabvla Rervm

Pag.

I _QUID sit Nova Francia_ 1

II _De climate_ 2

III _De moribus gentivm_ 4

IV _De prima exploratione Novæ Franciæ_ 4

V _De situ, flvviis et incolis_ 5

VI _De promontorijs, de quinqve Francorvm domicilijs_ 8

_De ortu domicilij Sancti Saluatoris ad ostivm amnis Pentegoetij_ 9

VII _Appvlvnt nostri ad Portvm Regalem_ 16

VIII _De laboribus nostrorvm_ 17

IX _De rebvs angvstis_ 25

X _Patres radices legvnt et pisces ad svstentvm domicilij_ [iv] 36

XI _Saussæus ex Francia solvit ad novas missionis sedes collocandas
et Sancti Saluatoris domicilivm inchoat_ 37

XII _De impetu Anglorum in missionem Sancti Saluatoris et de ruina
Sanctæ Crucis et Regii Portis arcium_ 41

XIII _Patres in Virginiam et inde in Angliam deportati_ 53

XIV _Svmma rervm in Novo-Francica missione gestarvm_ 59

[iii] Table of Contents.

Page.

I _WHAT New France is_ 1

II _Climate_ 2

III _Customs of the people_ 4

IV _First exploration of New France_ 4

V _Location, rivers, and inhabitants_ 5

VI _The capes; the five settlements of the French_ 8

_Origin of the settlement of St. Sauveur at the mouth of the
river Pentegoët_ 9

VII _Our fathers land at Port Royal_ 16

VIII _Labors of our fathers_ 17

IX _Their hardships_ 25

X _The Fathers gather roots and fish for the support of the
colony_ [iv] 36

XI _La Saussaye leaves France for the purpose of establishing new
missionary stations, and begins the settlement of St. Sauveur_ 37

XII _Attack of the English upon the mission of St. Sauveur, and
destruction of the forts of Ste. Croix and Port Royal_ 41

XIII _The Fathers are carried to Virginia and thence to England_ 53

XIV _Summary of occurrences, in the mission of New France_ 59

[562] In Novam Franciam, sev Canadiam Missio.

NOVA FRANCIA, Brasiliæ ac Peruuio continens ad Boream vastissima regio, Aquitanico Galliæ littori ad occasum obuersa, directas ab Occidente in Orientem, & contrà, lineas cum [563] nostra Francia communes habet; ab eaque non ita longo maris traiectu octingentarum, aut is vbi latissimus est, mille leucarum dirimitur interuallo. Ex huiusmodi oppositu & vicinitate nostratis Frãciæ, Nouam Franciam maiores eam appellarunt; cui nomenclationi & illa altera, rei maximè congruens, accessit ex euentu causa, quòd eam terrarum adhuc incognitam oram primi mortalium Franci nostrates deprehenderunt, crebrísque nauigationibus, centum eóque ampliùs abhinc annis, frequentarunt. Canadiæ verò nomen, quod vulgò vniuersam in eam regionem confertur, eius modò plagæ Septemtrionalis proprium est, quæ CANADÆ fluminis, & nobilis sinus, cui à Sancto Laurentio nomen est, copiosis aquis alluitur. Enimuerò vniuersæ Nouæ Franciæ amplitudo, nunc, ad Floridæ confinia, multò licet quam nuper contractior, vndequadragesimo tamen gradu, versùs Austrum, determinatur: vltráque nostratis Franciæ latitudinem non paucis leucis porrigitur: exinde autem ignotis adhuc finibus in Aquilonem, sicut & immẽsis tractibus in Sinicum mare ad Occidentem excurrit: quà denique Eurum spectat, nostro Aquitanico Oceano, Britannicóque, ipsi linearum parallelis obiecto, definitur.

[562] The Mission in New France, or Canada.

NEW FRANCE, an immense region adjoining Brazil and Peru on the
North, and opposite the coast of Aquitaine in a westerly direction,
is situated between the same parallels of latitude as [563] is our
France; and is separated from it by the very moderate voyage of
800 leagues, or, where the ocean is broadest, of 1,000 leagues.
Because it is thus opposite and near to our France, our ancestors
called it New France; and for this nomenclature another especially
appropriate reason occurred in the good fortune by which our
French fellow-countrymen were the first to take possession of this
hitherto unknown region, and visited it in frequent voyages more
than a hundred years ago. But the name of Canada, which is commonly
given to this entire country, belongs only to that Northern region
which is washed by the abundant waters of the river CANADA,[48]
and of the noble gulf which is called St. Lawrence. Indeed, the
whole territory of New France, although now much more confined
than formerly, towards the frontiers of Florida, is nevertheless
bounded on the South by the thirty-ninth parallel, and extends many
leagues beyond the breadth of our France. Moreover, it stretches
with yet unknown limits towards the North, and in vast expanses to
the Chinese sea on the West; finally it is bounded Eastward by our
Aquitanian and Breton Ocean, lying opposite and between the same
parallels.

CAELI eadem omnino, quæ nostri Gallici temperatio, ex ea ratione Climatis eiusdem, quam indicauimus, inesse illi regioni debet, vti reuera inest. Soli autem quin par quoque sit ratio, nihil prohiberet, si iugis adesset campestris terræ cultura: & perpetuarum ferè siluarum abesset densa opacitas. [564] Nam opima omnino vniuersi terreni viscera, facilè prodit ingens arborum amplitudo, atque proceritas: summam quoque glebam vbertate multa pinguem, tota planitie camporum, hilariter herbescens terræ viriditas ostendit.

THERE ought to be in that region the same sort of Climate in every
respect as that of our France, from the fact, as we pointed out,
of its similar situation, and this is actually the case. Moreover,
there is no reason why the soil should not be equally fertile, if
the cultivation of the plains were long continued upon the uplands,
and if it were not for the dense shades of the almost unbroken
forests. [564] For the subsoil of the whole country is very rich,
as trees of immense size and height readily demonstrate. That the
surface-soil is also endued with great fertility is shown by the
pleasing luxuriance of the vegetation over all the plains.

GENS ea distinctis lingua & sede multis populis continetur, nulla vsquam consiliorum aut fortunarum communione deuinctis: nulla nec lege, nec arte; nullo nisi piscatus, & venatus vitæ subsidio instructis: vix vlla Numinis cogitatione, aut salutis cura informatis: ad omne opus ignauis: stupidis ad artes, quæ ingenio aut memoria nitantur: in summa, belluinis pænè hominibus constat ea natio. Populus cum longinquo propinquóve populo vix habet commercium, nisi quod bello inferendo, aut defendendo potest interuenire. Immo, neque idem populus, eadem loci regione, ac tugurioram vicinitate iunctus, fermè vnquam coire solet, nisi vt de armis, aduersùm communes hostes capita conferat. Exterarum verò nationum Francicam vnam ferè suos in portus admittunt, Fibrinis, atque huiusmodi pellibus suis distrahendis, necessariáque veste, ac supellectile permutandis.

THE people comprise many tribes diverse in language and situation,
united by no mutual purposes or interests; possessing neither laws
nor arts, and knowing no other means of gaining a livelihood than
by fishing and hunting; having almost no conception of Deity or
concern for salvation; indolent in every occupation, and dull in
those pursuits which depend upon talent or memory. On the whole,
the race consists of men who are hardly above the beasts. One
tribe hardly ever has intercourse with another, either distant or
near, except such as may arise in the prosecution of offensive or
defensive warfare. Even the members of the same tribe, united by
a common location and the vicinity of their dwellings, are seldom
accustomed to meet together, except to take measures concerning war
against a common enemy. Of foreign nations, the French are almost
the only people whom they admit to their harbors, for the sake of
disposing of their Beaver skins and other peltries, in exchange for
necessary clothing and utensils.

HANC noui orbis partem ex Francis nauarchis primi explorarunt Britones, anno quarto post millesimum quingentesimum; de qua vbi renunciauerant, eius repetendæ nauigationis, vel comites, vel æmulatores habuerunt deinceps frequentissimè, tum Normannos, turn cæteros Gallici Oceani accolas. Vndeuicesimo pòst anno, Ioannes Verazanus [565] Florentinus, vicesimo item, ac tricesimo quarto Iacobus Quartierus Gallus, Brito, cum imperio missi ab Francisco Primo, Gallorum Rege, ipsius auspiciis occupatam regionem illam, eius posterorumque Regum iurisdictioni vindicarunt, cuius possessionem, per interualla sussectæ aliæ atque aliæ Francorum expeditiones, in hanc vsque diem Gallorum Regibus asserere perseuerarunt. De nostris verò missi quoque sunt anno superiore, qui Henrici Quarti auctoritate populos, Francico nomini amicitia & Societate iunctos, ac reliquos etiam Canadios, Euangelij tanto sanctiore fœdere, Christo regum regi deuincirent. Quo de negotio antè quàm instituamus dicere, præter ea quæ generatim complexi sumus, necesse est de loco ac gente sigillatim quædam capita enucleatiùs explicemus.

AMONG French navigators, the Bretons first explored this part of
the new world in 1504;[49] and after they brought back reports
of it, they had in subsequent voyages thither, many companions
or rivals,--not only the Normans, but also other dwellers on the
Sea-coast of France. In the nineteenth and also in the twentieth
year thereafter, John Verazano, [565] a Florentine; and, in the
thirty-fourth year thereafter, Jacques Quartier, a Frenchman of
Brittany, were sent as commanders by Francis I., King of France;
and, by the occupation of this region under his authority, brought
it under the jurisdiction of that King, and also of his successors.
Various French expeditions, sent out at intervals, continue to this
day to maintain that possession for the Kings of France. Some of
our brethren were also sent last year in order, by the authority of
Henry IV., to unite the tribes joined in friendship and Alliance
with the French, and also the remaining Canadians, by the far
holier tie of the Gospel, to Christ, the king of kings. Before we
begin to speak concerning this undertaking, we must, in addition to
our general description, explain more fully some matters concerning
the country and people.

NOVA Francia Gallis adeuntibus gemino littore patet; altero, quod angusta fronte Oceano nostro, & Orienti obtenditur: altero, quod productiore tractu ad Floridæ vsque confinia Austro obiacet. Istud latus portubus, atque ostiis fluminum frequens est, quibus commodè penetrari possit in regionis mediterranea, & hàc ferè Galli terras illas ineunt: illud verò, Franciæ nostræ obiectum littus, quoniam oppositu ingentis insulæ, quam Nouam Terram appellant, importuosum pænè est, ea regione nostrates non subeunt. Eius orbis vastissimã planitiem ingentissimi aluei, aquis copiosissimum flumen irrigat, directo limite ab vltimo pænè occasu ad ortum, quoad angusto freto ad insulam Terræ [566] Nouæ, ipsiúsque insulæ oppositu, eius ostia in Austrinum littus inflectantur. Ei fluuio gentile nomen est _Sacqué_, Sanctum Laurentium Galli appellarunt; cuius caput ampliùs quingentis inde leucis indigenæ ab lacu in trecentas patente leucas repetunt. In hunc amnium principem alij amnes nobiles ab Aquilone influunt, nempe Saguenaiüm, Tergeminus amnis, seu tres amnes, simul coëuntes, Algomequium, & cæteri non pauci. Saguenaij quingentarum, Tergemini quadringentarum leucarum nauigatio longè porrigitur in Boream. E montibus, ad ripam Austrinam Saquéi amnis, transuersi feruntur in Meridianum Oceani littus alij quoque fluuij celebres; vnde populis, atque illius tractus regionibus plerisque gentilia ducta sunt nomina; sed eorum nonnullis sui moris appellationes Franci posteà indiderunt. Fluuij autem sunt hi ad Austrum conuersi, Sanctus Ioannes, Pentegoëtius, Quinibequius, Choüacoetius, Norembega, quem postremum amnem Champlænius eumdem ac Pentegoetium esse contendit. Populi trans Saquéum, Sanctúmve-Laurentium, versùs Aquilonem, non procul illius ostiis, sunt Canadij & Excomminquij: longè verò ab his, eadem Boreali ripa, versùs occasum, è regione Floridæ, incolunt Algomeguij, atque Ochasteguij. Cis Sanctum-Laurentium, in Australi ora degunt item Canadij, ad ipsum magni amnis flexum, ab Euro in Austrum declinãtis. Post eos ad Occasum vergũt Souriquij, Acadiæ regionis incolæ: deinde ad Pentegoetium, seu Norembegam fluuium, Pentegoetij: [567] ad horum dextram, Occasum spectantium, circa _Quebecum_ arcem, Montagnetij: post Pentegoetios recto tractu Eteminquij, ad amnem Quinibequium: inde Almochiquij ad flumen Choüacoetium, latissimis campis diffusi: denique inter Floridam, & Sacquéum magnum amnem, Iroquij campestribus, montosisque locis latissimè habitant. Reliquos Nouæ Franciæ populos multos, præsertim trans magnum Sacquéum amnem, Aquilonares, Galli nostrates non nisi ex auditione norunt. Ex notis autem, amicos, ac pæne Socios habent Souriquios, Eteminquios, Montagnetios, Almochiquios, Algomequios, & Ochasteguios: istis capitales hostes Iroquios, hostili quoque in se animo experiuntur, eo maximè nomine, quòd Iroquiis Galli cum ipsorum hostibus bellum intulerint. Horum quidem populorum soli agriculturam, inscienter tamen, exercent Almochiquij, Iroquij, & Ochasteguij, miliumque Indicum, & fabam Brasilicam ferunt.

NEW France presents to the French, as they approach it, two
coasts, one which borders with a narrow frontage upon our Ocean
to the East; and another far longer, which extends Southward to
the confines of Florida. The former side abounds in bays and
estuaries, by which one may readily penetrate into the interior;
by these routes the French usually enter these regions; but, since
the other coast, lying opposite our France, is rendered almost
inaccessible by the intervention of a great island which they call
Newfoundland, our people do not approach in that direction. The
immense plain in that quarter is watered by a river of vast size
and mighty volume, its course directly eastward from almost the
farthest west, until, by reason of the narrow strait at the island
of Newfoundland [566] and the opposition of the island itself, its
mouth is broadly curved towards the Southern coast. The native
name of that river is _Sacqué_;[50] the French have called it
St. Lawrence; its source the natives seek more than 500 leagues
distant, in a lake 300 leagues in width. Into this main stream
other noble rivers flow from the North, such as the Saguenay,[51]
the Three Rivers,[52]--or three rivers flowing together,--the
Algomequi,[53] and many others. These rivers are open for
navigation far Northward--the Saguenay five hundred leagues, the
Three Rivers four hundred leagues, From the mountains[54] upon the
Southern bank of the Sacqué River other notable streams flow across
to the Southern coast of the Ocean, and from these the native names
for most of the tribes and districts of that region are derived;
but upon some of them the French afterward conferred names after
their own fashion. The rivers flowing Southward are the St. John,
Pentegoët, Quinibequi, Choüacoet,[11] and Norembega, which last
stream Champlain[55] asserts to be the same as the Pentegoët. The
tribes across the Sacqué or St. Lawrence, towards the North, not
far from its mouth, are the Canadis[56] and Excomminquis;[10] but
at a distance from these, on the same Northern shore, toward the
west, in the direction of Florida, dwell the Algomeguis[57] and the
Ochasteguis.[58] Across the St Lawrence, on the Southern bank, the
Canadi live also, directly at the bend of the great river, which
turns from the East towards the South.[59] Beyond them, toward the
West, lie the Souriquois, inhabitants of the country of Acadia;[60]
thence, toward the Pentegoët or Norembega River, the Pentegoëts;[6]
[567] to their right, looking Westward, about the fortress at
_Quebec_,[59] the Montagnais; beyond the Pentegoëts; directly
toward the Quinibequi River, the Eteminquis; then the Almochiquois,
at the Choüacoet River, scattered over a very extensive region;
finally, between Florida and the great Sacqué River, the Iroquois
inhabit enormous tracts of both level and mountainous country.
Many of the remaining tribes of New France, especially those of
the North, across the great Sacqué River, our French countrymen
know only from hearsay. Among those whom they know, however, they
have secured as friends, and almost as allies, the Souriquois,
Eteminquis, Montagnais, Almochiquois, Algomequois, and Ochasteguis.
The Iroquois, who are deadly enemies of these tribes, prove
hostile to the French also, mainly because the latter have waged
war against them, in company with their enemies. Certain of these
tribes--the Almochiquois, Iroquois, and Ochasteguis--practice
agriculture, though unskillfully, and plant Indian corn and the
Brazilian bean.[61]

PROMONTORIA celebria Franciam Nouam ineuntibus Meridiano littore occurrunt, Britonicum, ad ipsa ostia magni amnis, hoc est Sancti Laurentij; ab hoc deinde Heuæum, Arietinum, Sabulosum, Bifidum, Sanctus Ludouicus, Album, Sancta Helena. Eamdem oram à Promontorio Britonico legentibus obuij fiunt portus, Campsæus, Sesambræus, Regius, Pulcher. Mediterranea verò per Sacquéum amnem, & Canadiæ fines subire volentibus, præteruehenda sunt, Britonicum, ad ostia eiusdem fluuij; Sanctus-Laurentius; Episcopium, [568] Chatæum, & alia nonnulla promontoria: Tadoussacus denique portus ad Saguenaij fluminis ostia Sacqéum ineuntis.

NUMEROUS headlands meet those who approach New France by the
Southern coast: Breton, at the very mouth of the great river St.
Lawrence; next in order, La Hève, Mouton, Sable, Fourchu, St.
Louis, Blanc, Ste. Hélène.[62] Those who coast along the same shore
from Cape Breton meet the harbors called Campseau, Sesambre, Port
Royal, and Beaubassin.[63] But those who wish to journey inland,
beyond the borders of Canada, by way of the Sacqué river, must pass
Cape Breton, at the mouth of the St. Lawrence; Cap de l'Evêque,
[568] Cap Chat,[64] and some other headlands,--finally reaching
Tadoussac bay, at the mouth of the Saguenay river, where it enters
the Sacqué.

Porrò in tam immenso terrarum ambitu, frequentibus expeditionibus, annis ampliùs centum, Franci domicilia omnino quinque constituerunt, quorum primum posuit Iacobus Quartierus posteriore sua nauigatione, non ad _Sanctæ Crucis_, quæ nunc est, importuosas angustias, & cautes: sed in iis pænè vestigiis vbi nunc est Quebecum, Sancta Cruce quindenis leucis citerius. Altertum Petrus du Gas, dominus de Monts, anno quarto supra millesimum sexcentesimum erexit, in angusta insula, inter Eteminquios, in Australi propemodum littore: cui domicilio ac insulæ nomen _Sancta Crux_ indidit. Idem eodem anno, in quasi peninsula, oræ Acadicæ, ad Regium Portum, eiusdem nominis exiguam arcem fossa & aggere munitam exstruxit. Portus Regius, & portui cognominis arx, sunt in ea, quam Franciam _Baïam_ vocant, centum quinquaginta leucis à Campsæo promontorio, leucas octo intra continentem. _Baïa_ scilicet Francis, sicut Hispanis, est amplior terræ sinus ad oram maris, aut fluminis maioris, angulato orbiculatóve recessu, influenti aquæ ad interiora continentis præbens aditum. In extremo Francico Sinu portus est octingentorum passuum ostio peruius, duas leucas longus, vnam latus, duûm millium capax maiorum nauium, cui ab nobilitate _Regius Portus_ nomen à Champlænio Franco est inditum. Tertiam sedem quarto pòst anno condidit dominus de [569] Monts ad Quebecium cornu, in Australi ripa Sacquéi amnis, è regione Aurelianæ insulæ, in Montagnetiorum solo; quam arcem Champlænius, qui operi præfuit, Quebecum à soli nomine appellauit, & eodem pænè loco Sanctam Crucem Iacobi Quartieri arcem olim conditam fuisse obseruauit. Quinti & vltimi Francici domicilij fundamenta Patres nostri iaciebant, ad ostium amnis Pentegoetij, cùm ab irrumpentibus Anglis opere prohibiti, atque in captiuitatem contra fas, & ius gentium abducti sunt. Iis ad hunc modum præmissis capitibus, quæ alioqui moratura erant institutam rerum narrationem, ad susceptam à Patribus nostris Canadicam expeditionem stylum conferamus.

Moreover, in this great extent of territory, by means of numerous
expeditions and in more than a century, the French have established
only five settlements;[65] the first of these was founded by
Jacques Quartier during his last voyage, not at the inaccessible
narrows and rocks of the place now called _Saincte Croix_,[66] but
in almost the very spot where now stands Quebec, fifteen leagues
on this side of Ste. Croix. Another was built by Pierre du Gas,
sieur de Monts, in the year 1604, upon a small island, among the
Eteminquis, close to their Southern shore, to which settlement and
island he gave the name of _Saincte Croix_. He also in the same
year, upon a sort of peninsula on the Acadian coast, near Port
Royal, erected a small fort of the same name, defended by a ditch
and a rampart. Port Royal, and the fort of the same name as the
harbor, are on what is called French _Bay_, one hundred and fifty
leagues from Cape Campseau, eight leagues from the sea. A _bay_
among the French, as among the Spanish, is a large indentation
in the land at the shore of the sea or of a great river, angular
or round in shape, giving the waters entrance to the interior
regions. At the head of French Bay is a harbor, reached by a
channel three-quarters of a mile long; it is two leagues long and
one wide, capable of receiving 2,000 large ships, and because of
its majestic appearance was named _Port Royal_ by the Frenchman
Champlain. A third settlement was founded by sieur de [569] Monts,
four years later, at the point of Quebec, on the Southern bank of
the Sacqué river, near the isle of Orleans,[67] in the territory of
the Montagnais; Champlain, who was in charge of the work, called
this fort Quebec, from the name of the district,[41] and observed
that in almost the same place Jacques Quartier's post of Ste.
Croix had in former days been built. Our Fathers were laying the
foundations of the fifth and last French settlement at the mouth of
the Pentegoët river, when they were prevented from prosecuting the
work by a descent of the English, and carried off into captivity,
contrary to justice and the law of nations. These details, which
otherwise would have delayed the orderly narrative of events,
having been thus first explained, let us devote our pen to the
Canadian expedition undertaken by our Fathers.

Potrincourtius Regij Portus castellum à domino de Monts sibi dono datum, eo ipso tempore, quo condebatur, ab Henrico Quarto petiuerat, eo iure, quo optimo, sibi asseri, vindicarique? ac eius non modò vindicias, sed nexum etiam impetrauerat. Secundum quod ius arcis, & imperij prætereà certis finibus in Noua Francia Potrincourtio attributi, Rex Patri Cotono significat, velle se vti Sociorum opera in Barbaris illis ad Christum adiugendis; proinde scriberet ad Generalem Societatis Præpositum suo nomine, vti designarentur Patres in eam rem, quos primo quoque tempore illuc mittendos ipse Rex ad se accerseret, annuis duûm millium Librarum vectigalibus illi Missioni attributis. Annus huius sæculi octauus agebatur, cùm Rex ita de Canadicis rebus decerneret, cuius tamen cogitationes grauioribus negotiis aliò seuocantibus, [570] eius quoque interueniente obitu, sed eorum maximè negligentia, qui Regio nomine Canadicam prouinciam, administrabant, nostrorum profectio in tertium pòst annum est dilata. Siue autem casu quopiam, siue hominum consilio, eam proferri trienni toto contigit, cùm iam in procinctu nostri essent; obortæ tamen subitò sunt eæ difficultates, quibus planum fieret, Cacodæmoni esse inuisa nostrorum in ea profectione consilia. Regina quingentos aureos nummos, ex defuncti Regis decreto numerauerat: Domina _de Vernueil_, _de Sourdis_, _de Guercheuille_, alia sacrum aræ instrumentum, alia linteam vestem copiosam, alia peramplum viaticum munificè contribuerant: Pater Petrus Biardus, & Pater Enemundus Massæus eò destinati animis ingentibus se comparauerant, vela & ventos auidè præstolantes. Status condictus dies vela faciendi eis conuenerat cum Biencourtio Potrincourtij filio, & Thoma Robinio, expeditionis ducibus, ad octauum calendas Nouembris anni decimi supra sexcentesimum; sed cùm eo die adfuissent, nauigium sarciebatur, & oscitanter quidem, in continenti; tantum aberat, vt idoneo commeatu & nauigationis, & Canadicæ familiæ instructum esset. Instaurandæ naui suas operas, materiamque locauerant Caluiniani duo, & quia Biencourtio ac Robinio ad operarum mercedem deerant facultates, Caluiniani mercatores certam nautici fructus partem pacti sibi erant, eóque nomine, pro dominis in ea naue gerere posse sibi videbantur Iesuitis igitur locum in nauigio [571] non futurum palam, & asseueranter edicunt, aut si futurum sit, ab illius operis redemtura, & cætera omni pactione se iamiam discedere: qua de sententia nec ipsius Reginæ auctoritas, ab Domino _de Cicoigne_, Dieppensis vrbis regio Præside, grauiter, seuereque denunciata, Caluini asseclas non potuit dimouere. Desperata res planè videbatur, quòd hæc vna modò nauis in Nouam Franciam anno illo adornaretur; & non paterentur duo illi Caluiniani vlla se ratione demitigari: quæ nostra destitutio Dominam Guercheuillæam, religiosissimam, & ingentis animi feminam, acriter pupugit; sed ea qua est sollertia, confestim ad manum habuit rationem, qua non iam vt vectores nos, sed vt partiarios, exclusis inhumanis Hæreticis, in nauem induceret. Quattuor igitur millium Librarum stipem de principibus viris ac feminis ex Aula, paucis diebus, corrogat, quantum erat opus ad nauem instruendam; eaque collate summa, Caluinianos illos duos nautica societate deiicit, simulque idoneam fortem constituit, vnde Canadicæ negotiationis præfecti perpetuam quotannis pensionem nostræ Missioni penderent. Sublatis itaque, illius feminæ industria, quæ nos morabantur impedimentis, ternis serè mensibus adornandæ naui consumtis, huius tandem sæculi anno vndecimo, ante diem sextum calendas Februarias, è littore Dieppensi, Deo duce, soluimus, totóque quadrimestri nauigantes Campsæum in portum, Australis littoris Nouæ Franciæ appulsi sumus; inde centum viginti leucarum vel maritima, vel terrestri via Portum [572] Regium lætantes iniuimus. Quæ sollemnia sunt Societatis hominibus in eo nautico cursu pietatis, demissionis, humanitatis erga omne hominum genus, hæc, tantò minùs ab nostris omissa sunt, quòd ingentis momenti expeditio instituebatur, & præter Caluinianos nonnullos, iis præfectis vel sociis rei nauticæ vtebamur, quos, nostræ consuetudinis ratione, omnino oportebat de Societatis Instituto rectiùs, quàm imbuti accesserant, imbui. Appellentibus nobis ad illius orbis littora nauigium, factus est obuiam Champlænius, cum cætera virtute, tum septenni iam illius maris nauigatione clarus, quem summo nostro stupore spectauimus aduersum glaciatas aquæ moles, ingentibus terræ collibus magnitudine pares, maximis animis, ac singulari industria & arte decertantem, interque illa pericula fortiter enauigantem. De Sancto-Laurentio, amne Canadiensium maximo, scribit idem Camplænius in nauigationum commentariis, eius summas aquas tribus totis in imum vlnis conglaciari Ianuario, & insequentibus mensibus duobus ab ostio sursum versùs, centum leucarum itinere, nec vltrà procedere rigorem aquæ, cum tamen nulla pars fluminis, directo alueo ab occasu in ortum manantis, sit Aquilonibus altera propior, aut montibus ad apricationem tectior. Addit etiam, ineunte Aprili, soluta glaciei tanta vi, Sancti-Laurenti laxissimum ostium congelatis molibus pæne obstrui, quas ait in altum mare longiùs prouectas, duodenis diebus, quotannis ferè liquari.

Potrincourt had asked of Henry IV. the fort at Port Royal, because
it had been granted as a gift to him by sieur de Monts at the very
time of its establishment, which was perhaps the best reason he
could give for advancing and maintaining his pretensions, and had
obtained not merely a claim upon it, but its possession. Following
the grant of this fort, and also the government of a definite
territory in New France, to Potrincourt, the King informed Father
Coton[68] that he wished to employ the services of our Brethren in
bringing the Savages to Christ. He also desired him to write to
the General of the Society, in his own name, in order that Fathers
might be selected for this undertaking, whom the King himself would
take measures to send thither at the first available opportunity,
while an annuity of 2,000 livres was to be allowed the Mission. It
was during the eighth year of this century when the King made this
decision in regard to Canadian affairs; but, in spite of his plans,
by reason of more weighty business which called his attention
elsewhere, [570] and also the hindrance caused by his death, but
especially because of the negligence of those who were managing
the Canadian province for the Crown, the departure of our brethren
was delayed until the third year thereafter. Moreover, either by
some accident, or by the purpose of men, it came to be delayed the
entire space of three years, although our brethren were already
equipped. Such difficulties, also, suddenly arose as plainly showed
that our plans for this voyage were displeasing to the Evil Spirit.
The Queen had paid over 500 golden crowns, according to the decree
of the late King; Mesdames _de Vernueil_, _de Sourdis_, and _de
Guercheville_ had given generous contributions,--one, the sacred
furniture of the altar; another, an abundance of linen vestments;
the third, a very liberal allowance of money for the expenses
of the voyage. Father Pierre Biard and Father Enemund Massé had
been selected for the undertaking, and had prepared themselves
with great courage, eagerly awaiting their departure. The day
for sailing had been agreed upon by them with Biencourt, the son
of Potrincourt, and Thomas Robin, the leaders of the expedition,
for the 24th day of October, 1610; but, when they arrived upon
that day, the ship was undergoing repairs, and that, too, in a
negligent manner, upon the land; so far was it from being provided
with suitable equipment either for navigation or for the Canadian
colony. Two Calvinists had devoted their services and resources to
the repair of the ship, and, because Biencourt and Robin lacked
means to pay for the work, the Calvinist merchants had contracted
for a specified portion of the profits of the voyage. By this
right, as masters in the ship, they thought themselves able to
declare, in the presence of the Jesuits, that there would be no
place for them in the vessel; [571] and they emphatically asserted
that, if it should be otherwise, they would straightway forsake the
prosecution of the work, and all other business in their contract.
From this resolution, not even the authority of the Queen herself,
pronounced with dignity and severity by Sieur _de Cicoigne_, the
royal Governor of the city of Dieppe, could move these servants of
Calvin. The matter was apparently in a desperate condition, because
only this one ship was that year being fitted out for New France,
and the two Calvinists would not permit themselves to be moved
in any respect. This difficulty of ours deeply pained Madame de
Guercheville, a woman of extreme piety and great spirit; but her
ingenuity speedily devised a method by which she might place us
on the ship, not as passengers, but as partners, to the exclusion
of the churlish Heretics. She therefore collected in a few days,
from the leading men and women of the Court, 4,000 livres, as
much as was necessary for fitting out the ship; and by raising
that sum deprived the two Calvinists of a share in the vessel,
establishing at the same time a sufficient capital from which there
might each year be paid to the director of the Canadian undertaking
an allowance for our Mission. When, therefore, by the diligence
of this woman, the obstacles which delayed us had been removed,
although nearly three months had been spent in equipping the ship,
still, in the eleventh year of this century, on the 24th day of
January, we set sail under the leadership of God, from the shore at
Dieppe; and, after a voyage lasting in all four months, arrived at
Campseau harbor, on the Southern coast of New France; at a distance
thence of 120 leagues, either by sea or land, we joyfully entered
Port [572] Royal. The exercises of the members of the Society
in piety, humility, and kindness toward all manner of men, were
especially observed by our brethren during that sea-voyage, because
an expedition of great importance was being undertaken, and also
for the reason that, besides a few Calvinists, we were associated
with officers and seamen to whom it was absolutely necessary that
we should, on account of our frequent intercourse, give more
correct ideas concerning the Institutum[69] of the Society than
they had formerly received. When we brought the ship to the coast
of this region, Champlain[70] met us,--a man renowned not only for
his valor in other respects, but also for his voyages in this sea
for seven years past; whom, to our utter amazement, we have seen
battling against masses of ice, equal in size to great hills upon
land, with the greatest courage, and with remarkable activity and
skill, sailing forth bravely amid all these dangers. Concerning the
St. Lawrence, the greatest river of Canada, this same Champlain
writes, in his commentaries upon his voyages, that its surface
is frozen to the depth of three entire yards, during January and
the two following months, to the distance of a hundred leagues
upward from its mouth; and that the freezing of the water does
not extend farther, although no part of the river, since it flows
directly from west to east, is more Northerly than another, or more
protected by mountains, so as to be warmer. He adds also that in
the beginning of April, by the melting of so great a mass of ice,
the broad mouth of the St. Lawrence is almost blocked with frozen
masses, which, he says, are carried forth a long distance into the
sea, and usually melt within twelve days, each year.

APPVLSVS nostrorum ad Francicum Sinum, [573] Portumque Regium, in ante diem septimum calendas Quintiles, eumdemque Pentecostes sacrum felicissimo planè omine incidit. Nihil Potrincourtio accidere poterat allato commeatu opportunius, si tamen is amplus esset, vt quem rei angustiæ coegerant, Barbaris partem familiæ alendam diuidere. Vt ne autem instructiores à commeatu veniremus, fecerat tum nauigij, sexaginta dumtaxat doliorum, breuitas; tum plus instrumenti piscatorij, quàm cibariorum in nauem immissum; tum deniq; ab tricenis senis capitibus, quot vehebamur, grauior in nauticam penum illata solido quadrimestri labes. Quamobrem Potrincourtio sexaginta hominum contubernio, tenuissima re domestica, iam eum pæne ipsis initiis opprimente, maturè prouidendum fuit, ne Portus Regij penuaria cella in sequentem hiemem exhausta relinqueretur. Cuius procurationis, vt familiæ patrem decuit, sumto sibi onere, ipse in Galliam traiecturus, de Porturegiensi multitudine pæne quadragesimus medio Iulio soluit, exeuntéque Augusto Galliæ littori appulsus est, relicto Biencourtio filio, cum reliqua cohorte, qui Porturegiensi arci præsideret.

THE arrival of our brethren at French Bay [573] and Port Royal
occurred on the 26th day of June, and also,--certainly a most
auspicious omen,--the sacred feast of Pentecost. Nothing more
opportune could have happened to Potrincourt than the arrival of
supplies, if only these had been abundant, since his privations
had compelled him to place a portion of the colony to be supported
among the Savages. Moreover, the fact that we had not come
well-furnished with provisions was due, not only to the smallness
of the ship, which was of only sixty tons burden, but also to the
placing of more fishing tackle than provisions in the cargo; then,
finally, by thirty-six persons, the number which was on board,
there was a great consumption of the ship's stores during four
entire months. Wherefore, Potrincourt, almost overwhelmed, at the
outset, by the necessity of maintaining sixty men in this scarcity
of provisions, was forced to take early precautions lest the
meagerly furnished storehouse at Port Royal should be left bare for
the coming winter. As behooved the father of the colony, he took
upon himself the burden of managing this business, and resolved
that he himself would cross over to France. With about forty of the
people at Port Royal, leaving his son Biencourt in command of the
fort there, and the rest of the company, he set sail in the middle
of July; and, in the latter part of August, he reached the French
coast.

NOSTRIS interea, quod suarum partium esset, enixè satagentibus, cordi erat in primis popularis linguæ cognitio, quam Galli leuiter modò delibatam, si vnum exciperes, tradere præceptis, vsúve docere non poterant; vt vna dumtaxat reliqua esset ratio eius ab stupidis indigenis, non institutione, sed assidua consuetudine tandem exprimendæ. His itaque, muneribus, comitate, atque [574] omni officij genere conciliandis cùm nostri nihil non tentassent, parum aut nihil permouerunt. Enimuerò, præterquam quod minimè idoneis ad disciplinam magistris vtebantur, à quibus nihil expromeres, nisi affluẽter antè saginato aqualiculo, & quos moræ, vel non diuturnæ, impatientissimos idemtidem abs te abalienaret, auelleretque studiosa cuiusque rei percontatio: ipsa quoque linguæ conditio, idoneorum, ad res etiam vulgatissimas, vocabulorum indigentissimæ, nostrorum incensa studia destituit, & animos grauiter afflixit. Rerum scilicet, quæ sub aspectum, tactum, & reliquos sensus cadunt, ex Barbarorum responsis nomenclatio vtcumque deprehendebatur: sed earum quæ sensuum vim fugiunt, summa est apud eam gentem appellationum penuria, & alta quoque rerum ignoratio. Posterioris autem generis desperata disciplina, cum neque priorem Barbari aut possent, aut vellent tradere; vna reliqua spes erat in adolescente Gallo, vernaculæ linguæ bene perito, eximia humanitate, & comitate, quem etiam Pater Biardus non vulgari beneficio sibi demeruerat. Is erat Pontgrauæus, Pongrauæi filius, egregij viri superioribus annis cum Champlænio vices Domini de Monts in Francia Noua gerentis; quem adolescentem, decem & octo leucis Regio portu non longiùs, hiemare parantem, ad amnem Sancti Ioannis, summa ipsius voluntate, nullius incommodo, nostri eius institutione Canadicum idioma erudiẽdi adire cuperent. Verumtamen Biencourtius eius profectionis consultus, ac rogatus etiam à nostris, vt, eius bona venia, [575] proficere per Pontgrauæum in peregrino idiomate sibi liceret, cuius ignoratione, suæ nauigationis in Nouam Franciam fructu penitus exciderent: quòd ea communicatio cum Pontgrauæo nouarum rerum supicionem moueret Biencourtio, nihil impetrarunt. Tantisper ergo nostris has difficultates æquo animo tolerantibus, dum qua se aperiret via suo instituto conuenientior, Deus materiam non procul quæsitam subiecit, de grauiter ægroto. Henrico Membertouio, Sagamo, bene merendi; & corporis, & animi eius diligenter curanda salute. SAGAMO apud eam gentem cuiusque populi præses appellatur: Sagamon verò agebat inter Souriquios, in Acadia, Membertouius, ad Aquilonare latus Porturegiensis castelli, ad Sancti Ioannis flumen. Cùm tamen dysenteria cœpit tentari, degebat in _Baïa Mariana_, vt vocant, hoc est, in Mariano Sinu, Portum Regium inter, Meridianumque littus, vnde asportari se iusserat in arcem, vt medicorum nostrorum curatione vteretur. Angusta sua cellula eum nostri exceperunt, diebusque non paucis, absente ipsius coniuge, ac filia, diu noctuque, in grauissimo sordidi morbi fœtore, pro assiduissimis, & maximè sollicitis ministris ei libentissimè operam suam nauauere. Is vbi Confessione fuerat expiatus, Sacróque inunctus oleo, de sepultura sua egit cum Biencourtio, seque humari velle ait in maiorum suo sepulcro. Biencourtius, qui tanti rem esse non putaret, facilè assentiebatur; auditisque Patris Biardi contra suam sententiam rationibus, occurri posse incommodis censebat, si [576] sepulcrum illud ritu Christiano lustraretur; quæ Biencourtij opinio Membertouium tantò constantiorem in suo decreto cùm faceret, Pater Biardus neque id se illis assensurum confirmauit, & cur non assentiretur ostendit. Non dubium erat, quin si Sagamus in consilio perstaret, eiusque adstipulator fieri pergeret Biencourtius, offensionis atque turbarum inde quidpiam oriretur: sed huic malo Diuina occurrit prouidentia; postridie siquidem Membertouius sua sponte postulauit commune Christianorum cœmeterium, qua & in sententia mortem obiit; vti scilicet hoc suo facto fidem suam omnibus Christianis ac Barbaris testatam relinqueret, suffragiorumque Ecclesiæ fieret particeps. Magnus omnino vir fuit hic Sagamus, non suorum magis, quàm nostrorum iudicio, cuius eximiam indolem supra vulgare Canadiorum ingenium longè ideo extulisse visus est Deus optimus, vt hunc sibi iustas eius gentis primitias legeret. Ex octogenis ferè Nouo-Francis, quos ab ineunte Iunio anni sexcentesimi decimi, nulla planè imbutos catechesi, temere Baptismo impertierat Iossæus nescio quis, sui muneris parum intelligens sacerdos, vnus dumtaxat Membertouius, pro eo quantum suos omnes populares sagacitate & prudentia longo interuallo anteibat, sollerter dispexerat, quanti esset, Christianum non censeri quidem, sed reipsa idoneis eo nomine præditum moribus viuere. Et certè reliquis omnibus de illo octogenario belluinum à Baptismo viuendi morem perpetuò retinentibus, hic solus vt Christiano dignum erat, in [577] multa etiam ignorantia, priusquam eò nostri aduenissent, vitam cum laude traduxit. Primus omnium de Nouo-Francis salutaribus aspersus aquis, earum vim potentissimam ita scilicet visus est combibisse, vt ei nihil longius esset quã vt eos nãcisceretur magistros, quorum disciplina Christianis institutis eò vsque instrueretur, dum idoneus fieret, qui suos inter populares Apostolicum ageret doctorem. Ardentis huius desiderij locupletes testes nostri, has voces eius ex ore sæpenumerò exceperunt: Per Deum immortalem, date operam Patres, nostrum vt idioma breui perdiscatis, vti vobis doctoribus vsus, sicuti vos estis, ego quoque concionator, & docendi magister euadã, nostráque coniuncta opera Nouo-Francorũ gens vniuersa ad Christum traducatur. Hunc virum, vix quindecim mensibus, ex quo in Christianorum numerum venerat, superstitem, paucis diebus nostra institutione informatum, multæ tamen verè Christiani ac pij animi virtutes illustrem fecerant; quam scilicet tam vberem frugem singulares probæ indolis dotes in eo nuper, patriis etiam moribus viuente, præsagierant. Omnium prouincialium testimonio, quotquot multis antè sæculis floruerant, Sagamos hic vnus animi robore, muneris militaris scientia, clientelarum multitudine, frequentiáque, potentia, & gloriosi nominis claritudine inter suos, atque ipsos hostes facilè superauit. Quem celebritatis splendorem perpetuum non potuit, etiam inter Barbaros, nulla vllius rei doctrina imbutos, consequi, nisi ex certa fama, adeóque etiam notitia eximiæ in eo vigentis [578] æquitatis, atque temperantiæ. De temperantia quidem eius, vt prætereà nihil afferri possit, luculentum sanè fuit, sibi magnoperè moderantis hominis, documentum, perpetua in Membertouio monogamia, quo in genere solitarium verè phœnicem Nouo-Francia eum adhuc agnouit. Quod enim reliqui omnes indigenæ, sed Sagami præsertim, ex vxorum multitudine stirpis numerosam seriem expetunt summoperè, atque sperant, suæ vtique potentiæ singulare columen ac firmamentum; id vti more gentis vsurparet, adduci numquam potuit Membertouius, quòd altiore quadam, supra vulgus Sagamorum, sapientia perspiceret, grauiora inter discordes vxores, & earum liberos simultatum, sub eodem tecto, detrimenta existere, quàm emolumenta opum, & neutiquam consentientis potentiæ. Sollemne est illi genti, ex superstitioso ritu, quod genus omnes habent præcipuum, demortuorum neminem suo vnquam nomine appellare, sed aduentitium cuiuis, ex re nata, indere, quo cum perpetuo inter commemorandum denotent: quo ex more Henricum Membertouium ab virtutibus bellicis nuper clarissimum, congruenti eius laudibus nomenclatione, Magnum Imperatorem, suo idiomate, nuncuparunt.

MEANWHILE, the greatest desire of our brethren, zealously occupied
with the performance of their duties, was at the start to know the
language of the natives, which the Frenchmen--caring but little for
it, with one exception--could not impart by rules, or teach with
advantage; so only one method remained, to learn it from the stupid
natives, not by lessons, but by constant practice. Consequently,
after our associates had made various attempts to conciliate the
Savages, by gifts, by friendliness, and by [574] every sort of
service, they accomplished little or nothing. For, besides the fact
that they employed teachers not at all fitted for instruction,
from whom nothing could be obtained unless their stomachs were
first liberally crammed, and who, being very impatient of even a
short delay, would often be distracted and drawn away from one by
earnest inquiry about any subject: the very nature of the language,
also, so deficient in words suitable for the expression of even
the most common ideas, evaded the eager pursuit of our men, and
greatly disheartened them. Of those things, indeed, which fall
under sight, touch, and the other senses, the names were obtained
from the answers of the Savages in one way or another; but for
those things which elude the senses, there is the greatest scarcity
of names among that race, and also a profound ignorance of the
things themselves. The knowledge of the latter class was despaired
of, since the Savages either could not, or would not explain the
former; one hope remained, in a young Frenchman, fluent in the
native tongue, of remarkable kindness and affability, whom Father
Biard also had laid under obligations to himself by no ordinary
favors. This was Pontgravé, the son of Pontgravé,[71] an excellent
man, who in former years, together with Champlain, represented
Sieur de Monts in New France; and this youth, who was preparing to
pass the winter no farther than eighteen leagues from Port Royal,
at the river St. John, our brethren were anxious to meet, with his
own ready consent, and with inconvenience to no one, for the sake
of the aid of his instruction in acquiring the Canadian language.
Although Biencourt was consulted about this expedition, and also
requested by our comrades that they might be allowed by his kind
permission [575] to make progress through Pontgravé in the foreign
idiom, by their ignorance of which, they were losing all the fruits
of their voyage to New France,[72] they did not succeed; because
such intercourse with Pontgravé inspired suspicion in Biencourt.
While our brethren therefore patiently endured their troubles,
until some path more suitable to their plans should be revealed,
God placed within their reach the desired opportunity, for doing a
kindness to Henry Membertou, a Sagamore who was dangerously ill, by
caring diligently for the salvation of both his soul and his body.
Among this people the chief of each tribe is called a SAGAMORE,
and Membertou was Sagamore among the Souriquois, in Acadia, to the
St. John river, North of the fort at Port Royal. However, when
he began to be afflicted with dysentery, he was residing at _Bay
Ste. Marie_, as they call it, between Port Royal and the Southern
coast, whence he had ordered himself to be brought into the fort,
in order that he might profit by the care of our physicians. Our
fathers received him into their narrow cabin, and, for many days,
in the absence of his wife and daughter, by day, and night, amid
the noxious filth of a vile disease, freely bestowed upon him their
services, as most assiduous and exceedingly solicitous attendants.
When he had been absolved upon Confession, and anointed with the
Holy oil, he arranged with Biencourt about his burial, and said
that he wished to be interred in his own ancestral burial place.
Biencourt, who did not think the matter of much importance, readily
consented, and, upon hearing the objections of Father Biard to
his decision, believed that trouble might be prevented if [576]
that grave would be blessed according to the Christian rite. This
opinion of Biencourt rendered Membertou so much the more steadfast
in his resolution; Father Biard declared that he would not agree
with them in this, and explained why he would not consent. There
was no doubt that, if the Sagamore persisted in his purpose, and
Biencourt continued to support him, some offense and disturbance
would arise therefrom; but Divine providence prevented this evil.
The day thereafter, Membertou of his own accord requested the
usual Christian burial, in which resolution he died, evidently
purposing by this act to leave his faith attested to all Christians
and Savages, and to become a participant in the privileges of the
Church. This Sagamore was in every respect a great man, not only in
the opinion of his own people but in ours; and the good God seems
to have raised this man's excellent nature high above the ordinary
character of the Canadians, in order that he might gather him to
himself as the first fruits in righteousness of his race. Out of
some 80 natives of New France whom since the beginning of June of
the year 1610 a certain Josse,[73] a priest unfamiliar with his
duties, had heedlessly baptized, although they certainly had had no
religious instruction, Membertou alone, who greatly excelled all
his countrymen in acuteness and good sense, had wisely discerned
how important it is not merely to be considered a Christian, but
actually to live with a character agreeing to the name. And indeed,
although the entire remainder of that 80 had continued their brutal
mode of life ever since Baptism, this man alone deserved to be
called a Christian, and indeed led a praiseworthy life in [577] the
midst of dense ignorance, before our brethren had come thither.
As he, first of all the inhabitants of New France, was sprinkled
with the saving waters, it seems, beyond doubt, that he so imbibed
their most potent virtue, that nothing remained for him but to
secure those teachers, by whose instructions he would be trained in
Christian principles until he should become fit to introduce among
his countrymen an Apostolic teacher. Our brethren are competent
witnesses of this burning desire; they often heard from his lips
these words: "By the immortal God, Fathers, endeavor to quickly
learn our language, in order that, after having employed you as
teachers, I also, like you, may go forth as a public exhorter and
instructor; and by our united labors the entire population of New
France may be brought to Christ." This man, who survived hardly
fifteen months after becoming a Christian, and was accorded but a
few days of our training, was nevertheless rendered illustrious
by many virtues truly Christian and belonging to a pious spirit;
and, indeed, unique marks of an upright character had presaged in
him this fruit which was so rich, a short time previously, while
he was still living according to his ancestral customs. By the
testimony of all the inhabitants of the province, this one man, in
strength of mind, in knowledge of the military art, in the great
number of his followers, in power, and in the renown of a glorious
name among his countrymen, and even his enemies, easily surpassed
the Sagamores who had flourished during many preceding ages. This
universal honor and renown he could not have attained, even among
Savages utterly untaught, except from an established reputation,
the knowledge also of the exceptional justice of his [578]
character, and his temperance. Indeed, concerning this last virtue,
although nothing additional can be cited, there was certainly a
distinguished example of a man of great self-restraint in the
continual monogamy of Membertou, in which rank, thus far, New
France has recognized him alone as a phœnix indeed. For, though all
the rest of the natives, but especially the Sagamores, covet above
all else from a multitude of wives a numerous train of progeny,
and desire them as the especial support and foundation of their
power; Membertou could never be induced to conform to this custom
of the race, because, with a certain wisdom deeper than that of the
mass of Sagamores, he perceived that the evils arising among the
quarreling wives and among the children of these rivals, beneath
the same roof, more than balanced the increase of resources and of
power that might arise from a large family. It is an observance of
that race, from a superstitious rite which all especially revere,
to never mention by name any deceased person; but to give each,
according to circumstances, an additional appellation, by which
they always designate him whenever they mention him. In conformity
with this custom, they called Henry Membertou, because he had of
late been highly renowned in warlike virtues, by a name agreeing
with his reputation, meaning, in their language, Great Chief.