Chapter M: DC XXXIV (7)

The conclusion of the council was that Father Brebeuf told them, in
their language, that we were going with them to live and to die in
their country; that they would be our brothers, that hereafter we
would be of their people; and, that if our Fathers did not live in
each one of their villages, it would not be because they did not
love the whole tribe, but because they could not live in so many
places, being so few in number; that the time was not distant when
our brothers would come to aid us, and then one of us would live in
each one of their villages, and that we would teach them how to be
forever happy. Louys [179] Amantacha confirmed all this; and all
the Savages, according to their custom, evinced their satisfaction
by their profound aspiration: ho, ho, ho, ho! Then they surrounded
Father Brebeuf, each one wanting to carry him away in his boat.
Some came to me and touched my hand, saying to each other: "See
how much they look alike," speaking of the Father and of me, "they
are two brothers." In short, the people of the village where our
Fathers had lived, addressing Father Brebeuf, said to him: "Open
thy heart to us, conceal nothing; where dost thou wish to live
in our country? Dost thou wish to live in our Houses or have one
apart?" "I wish to have a separate one," said the Father. "Very
well," answered they, "we will all go and build our houses around
thee; we separated, and broke up our villages on the death of the
Frenchman who was killed in our country; [180] and every one went
away, some here and some there. As soon as thou shalt have chosen
thy place, we will return with thee, and thou wilt defend us; for
what would we do without thee?" This shows how our Fathers were
loved by these poor people. Oh, how I wish I could describe my
feelings on seeing these poor barbarians so lovingly caress those
whom they did not know! Oh, if they could only penetrate into our
purposes! God be forever blessed! I beseech him to open their
hearts. As for me, I hope that, if a single village is converted,
the fire will not be long in spreading to a great many others; and
that the neighboring tribes, which are very populous, will wish to
warm themselves with the Hurons at this divine flame.

Le dernier de Iuillet iour de feste de nostre S. Pere Ignace, le Sieur de Champlain & les capitaines des vaisseaux qui estoyent icy, estans venus [181] gagner les Indulgences en nostre petite Chapelle, quantité de Hurons nous venans voir, nous fusmes contraints de fermer nostre porte, & de leur dire qu'on faisoit festin, afin de les empescher d'entrer. C'est vne maxime entr'eux qui'ils ne mettront iamais le pied dans la cabane de celuy qui fait festin: il n'y a que les conuiez à qui cela soit loisible. Or neãtmoins comme ils desiroient de voir, l'vn d'eux ayant mis la teste à vne fenestre appella ses compagnons, & le sieur de Champlain prenant plaisir à les voir admirer, donna à l'vn d'eux vn morceau d'écorce de citron, il en gouste, & commence à s'escrier, ô que cela est bon! Il en depart a ceux qui estoient auec luy, qui furent saisis de la mesme admiration: ils demanderent ce que c'estoit, le sieur de Champlain leur dit en riant, que c'estoit de l'écorce des citroüilles de [182] France, les voila bien estonnés, & cōmencēt à se dire les vns aux autres, que nos citroüilles estoient admirables: là dessus ceux qui n'en auoient point gousté se mettent à la fenestre, & demandent au sieur de Chāplain si toutes les citrouilles estoient mangées, & qu'ils voudroient bien en taster, pour en porter les nouuelles en leur païs. Ie vous laisse à penser si tous ceux qui estoient dans la chambre se mirent à rire. On les fit entrer apres les Vespres dans la Chappelle qui estoit gentiment ornée selon nos petites richesses, ce nous est vn contentement bien sensible de voir que nostre Seigneur ait vne petite maison au milieu des grands bois que nous habitons: c'est icy qu'ils furent estonnés tout à fait: nous auions mis les Images de S. Ignace, & de S. Xauier sur nostre autel, ils les regardoient auec estonnement: ils croyoient que [183] ce fussent personnes viuantes, ils demandoient si c'estoient des Ondaqui: le mot _Oqui_ & au plurier _Ondaqui_ signifie entre eux quelque diuinité, en vn mot ce qu'ils recognoissent par dessus la nature humaine: ils demandoient encor si le tabernacle estoit leur maison, & si ces _Ondaqui_ s'habilloient des ornemens qu'ils voyoient à l'ẽtour de l'Autel. Le Pere Brebeuf leur aiant expliqué ce que representoient ces Images, ils mettoient la main à la bouche, & se la frappoient en signe d'estonnement; Il y auoit trois Images de la Vierge, en diuers endroits: ils demanderent successiuement de l'vne apres l'autre qui c'estoit: le Pere leur disant à toutes que c'estoit la mere de celuy qui a tout fait, ils se mirent à rire, demandans comment cela se pouuoit faire qu'vne seule persõne eut trois meres: car ils prenoient ces trois figures [184] pour la representation de trois personnes differentes, on leur fit entendre que ces trois images figuraient la mesme persõne. ô qu'il seroit bon d'auoir tous les mysteres de nostre foy bien figures! ces images aident grandement, & parlent desia d'elles mesmes.

On the last of July, the fête day of our Holy Father Ignace, Sieur
de Champlain and the captains of the vessels here, having come
[181] to receive Indulgences in our little Chapel, so many Hurons
came also that we were compelled to close our door, saying that
we were having a feast, in order to prevent them from entering.
It is a maxim among them that they will never put their feet in
the cabin of any one who is having a feast. It is only to the
invited that entrance is permitted. Now, notwithstanding this, as
they were very curious to see, one of them put his head in at a
window and called his comrades; sieur de Champlain, enjoying their
wonder, gave a piece of lemon peel to one of them, who, on tasting
it, cried out: "Oh, how good that is!" He divided it with those
who were with him, who were all seized with the same admiration.
They asked what it was; sieur de Champlain said to them, laughing,
that it was the rind of a French [182] pumpkin. This astonished
them very much, and they said to each other that our pumpkins
were wonderful. Thereupon, those who had not tasted appeared at
the window, and asked sieur de Champlain if all the pumpkins were
eaten, saying that they would like to taste them, so as to tell
about them in their country. You can judge for yourself how all in
the room began to laugh! After Vespers, they were allowed to enter
the Chapel, which was neatly decorated according to our limited
means. It is a source of infinite satisfaction to us to see that
our Lord has a little house in the midst of the great forests in
which we live. It was here that they were completely astonished.
We had placed Statues of St. Ignace and of St. Xavier upon our
altar; they looked upon them with awe, believing [183] them to be
living persons; they asked if they were Ondaqui. The word _Oqui_,
and its plural _Ondaqui_, signifies among them some divinity; in a
word, what they recognize as above human nature. They asked also
if the tabernacle was their house, and if those _Ondaqui_ dressed
themselves in the ornaments which they saw around the Altar. Father
Brebeuf having explained to them what these Images represented,
they put their hands on their mouths and struck them in sign of
astonishment. There were three Images of the Virgin in different
places. They asked successively about each one, who it was; the
Father explaining to them, that it was the mother of him who had
made everything. They began to laugh, asking how it could possibly
be that a single person had three mothers; for they took the three
figures [184] for the representation of three different persons.
They were made to understand that these three images represented
the same person. Oh, how fortunate it would be if all the mysteries
of our faith could be well represented! These images help a great
deal, and speak for themselves.

Sur le soir le Pere Brebeuf estant allé à Kebec ou au fort des François, où estoient les Hurons pour voir ceux auec lesquels nos Peres s'embarqueroient, le Capitaine de la Rochelle (c'est ainsi que nos François, ont appellé l'vn de leurs villages ou Bourgades) dõnans les noms des villes de France à ces pauures bicoques. Ce Capitaine donc aborde le Pere Brebeuf, & s'efforce de luy persuader qu'il aille demeurer en sa bourgade se presentant pour l'embarquer ou tout autre qu'il voudra, viẽs, disoit il, auec moy, tu seras assuré parmy nous, [185] on ne te dérobera point, ie soustiens tout le pays sur mes espaules, ie te protegeray, nous t'aimõs tous, tu ne manqueras de rien, nostre pays est le meilleur entre les Hurons. Le Pere s'arrestãt vn petit sãs respõdre. Ie voy bien, dit-il, que tu crains d'offenser ceux du village où tu as demeuré qui te veulent auoir, tu es maistre de tes actions, dy leur que tu veux venir auec nous, & ils ne te diront plus riẽ. Le pere prent delay pour y penser. Nous aiant communiqué cette emulation entre les villages qui vouloient tous auoir nos Peres, ie luy dy qu'il me sembloit qu'ils deuoient imiter S. Pierre & S. Paul, qui s'en allerent attaquer l'idolatrie dans la principale ville du monde, & ainsi que la Bourgade la plus renommée entre les Hurons deuoit estre le lieu de leur demeure: car celle-cy faisant ioug à la loy de Dieu, toutes les autres [186] s'y soubmettroient aisement. Le voila donc deliberé de demeurer dãs la Rochelle, cette bourgade estant l'vne des plus grandes, & des plus peuplées de cette nation, veu mesme que c'est là où les Conseils de tout le païs se concluent en dernier ressort: le mal estoit qu'il n'osoit declarer sa volõté, de peur d'ẽcourir la disgrace des autres Bourgades. Il s'aduisa de prier le sieur de Champlain de tesmoigner à tous les Capitaines que sa volonté estoit que tous les Francois allassent demeurer à la Rochelle, ce qu'il fit. ces Capitaines demanderent pourquoy les autres villages seroient priués de ce bien, & puis que six Frãçois alloient là, qu'il les falloit loger en six villages ou bourgades. Non pas, dit le sieur de Champlain, ie desire qu'ils soient tous ensemble, pour deux raisons (remarqués qu'il faut payer ces peuples de raison pour calmer [187] leur esprit) I'enuoye, ce dit-il, deux petits garçons & vn ieune hõme auec les Peres: s'ils sont separez, ils feront peut estre des querelles auec vos gens, car ils n'auront personne qui les gouuerne: de plus, si nos François sont dispersez, ils s'en iront où ils voudront, & si quelqu'vn des autres François ou de vous autres desire de luy parler, on ne sçaura où il est: mais s'ils demeurent tous ensemble, ceux qui demeureront à la maison scauront le lieu où se seront transportez ceux qui en sortiront. Ayez un peu de patience, & vous aurez tous des François en vos bourgades. Les voila donc tous contens, horsmis le capitaine du village où le Pere Brebeuf & le Pere de Nouë auoient demeuré; car il s'attendoit qu'on retourneroit là pour restablir ce village, qui s'est dispersé. Voila donc le lieu de la demeure de nos [188] Peres arrestée, reste à voir qui les embarquera. Pour euiter toute enuie, le Pere Brebeuf fit assembler les capitaines, & les plus âgez d'entr'eux en conseil. Ce capitaine mescontent ne s'y trouua point, ains reprocha au capitaine de la Rochelle qu'il estoit cause que les Frãçois n'alloyẽt point en son village. Celuy-cy se purge le mieux qu'il peut, disant que c'estoit le Sieur de Champlain qui auoit desiré cela: au reste, pour ne point choquer cet homme fasché, il s'excusa d'embarquer l'vn de nos Peres, disant qu'il n'auoit dans son canot que de la ieunesse qui n'estoit pas propre à ramer, mais que nous ne trouuerions que trop de personnes qui noꝰ porteroyent. Nos Peres auoyent bien desir d'estre embarquez dans les canots d'vn mesme village, mais il fut arresté dans leur conseil qu'il falloit donner ce contentement aux [189] autres villages, d'en passer quelqu'ũ iusques dans le pays & ainsi nos Peres deuoyent estre portez en diuers villages, pour se rassembler par apres dans la Rochelle.

Toward evening, Father Brebeuf having gone to Kebec, or to the
French fort, where the Hurons were, to see those with whom our
Fathers were to embark, the Captain of la Rochelle[60] (it is
thus our French people have named one of the Huron villages or
Settlements, having given the names of the French cities to these
poor straggling villages) accosts Father Brebeuf and tries to
persuade him to go and live in his village, offering to carry him
and as many more as he wished to have go. "Come with me," said he,
"thou wilt be safe with our people, [185] no one will steal from
thee; I hold the whole country upon my shoulders; I shall protect
thee; we all love thee, thou wilt want for nothing; our country is
the best among the Hurons." The Father, pausing a little before
answering, "I see clearly," continues he, "that thou hast fear
of offending those of the village where thou hast lived, and who
wish to have thee. Thou art master of thy actions, tell them that
thou wishest to come with us, and they will say nothing more to
thee." The father took time to think it over. Having told us of
this rivalry among the villages, each desiring to have our Fathers,
I said to him that it seemed to me they ought to imitate St. Peter
and St. Paul, who went forth to attack idolatry in the principal
city of the world, and in like manner the most renowned Village
of the Hurons ought to be their dwelling place; for, if that one
came under the yoke of the law of God, all the others [186] would
easily submit to it. So he decided to remain at la Rochelle, this
place being one of the largest and the most populous of this tribe;
and besides, it is there that all the Councils of this country are
held for final action. The trouble was that he dared not declare
his wish, for fear of offending the other Villages. He made up
his mind to ask sieur de Champlain to notify all the Captains
that it was his wish that all the French should go and live at la
Rochelle, which he did. These Captains asked why all of the other
villages should be deprived of this blessing, saying that, as six
Frenchmen were going, they ought to be lodged in six villages or
towns. "No," said sieur de Champlain, "I desire that they should
all live together, for two reasons" (notice that reasons must be
given to these people to pacify [187] them): "I send," said he,
"two little boys and a young man with the Fathers. If they are
separated, they will perhaps quarrel with your people, for they
will have no one to govern them; besides, if our Frenchmen are
separated, they will go where they please, and, if some of the
other Frenchmen or your people wish to talk to one of them, they
will not know where to find them. But, if they all live together,
those who remain at home will know where the absent ones can be
found. Have a little patience, and you will all have Frenchmen in
your villages." They were all then satisfied, except the captain
of the village where Father Brebeuf and Father de Nouë had lived,
for he expected that they would return to rebuild the village
which had been abandoned.[61] Thus, the place of habitation of our
[188] Fathers being fixed, it remained to be seen with whom they
would each embark. To avoid all jealousies, Father Brebeuf had
all the captains and the oldest among them assemble in council.
This discontented captain did not go there, but he reproached the
captain of la Rochelle with having been the cause of the French
not going to his village. The latter defended himself from the
charge as best he could, saying that such was the wish of Sieur
de Champlain. Finally, lest he should offend this angry man, he
excused himself from furnishing passage for one of the Fathers,
saying that his canoe was manned only by young people who were not
fit to paddle, and that we would find only too many other persons
who would be glad to convey us. Our Fathers were very anxious to
embark together in the canoes of one village, but it was decided
in the council that it was necessary to satisfy the [189] other
villages by allowing them to carry some of the Fathers up into
the country. And so it was that our Fathers were to be taken to
different villages, to meet afterward at la Rochelle.

Le premier iour d'Aoust les Hurõs venoyent voir nostre Chapelle en ayant ouy parler à ceux qui l'auoient veuë, & ie croy que s'ils faisoyẽt quelque seiour à Kebec qu'il n'y en a pas vn qui ne la vint visiter. Leur foire est bien tost faicte. Le premier iour qu'ils arriuent ils font leur cabane, le second ils tiennent leurs conseils, & font leurs presents; le troisiesme & quatriesme ils traittent, ils vendent, ils acheptent, ils troquent leurs pelleteries & leur petun contre des couuertures, des haches, des chaudieres, des capots, des fers de flêches, des petits canons de verre, des chemises, & choses semblables, C'est vn plaisir de les voir pẽdant cette traitte, laquelle [190] estant finie ils prennent encore vn iour pour leur dernier conseil, pour le festin qu'on leur fait ordinairemẽt, & pour danser, & puis le lendemain de grand matin ils passent comme vne volée d'oiseaux. Or ceux qui auoient debité leur marchandise de bonne heure venoyent voir nostre maison allechez par le recit qu'on leur faisoit de la beauté de nostre Chappelle. Le Pere Brebeuf les entretenoit: & comme il eut parlé du Paradis & de l'Enfer à l'vne de leurs bandes, l'vn d'eux l'arreste, & luy dict: Et que ferons nous, _Eschom_, (c'est le nom qu'ils donnẽt au Pere) afin que nous n'allions point dans ces grands tourmens? Le Pere leur ayant dit ce qu'il falloit faire; ils tesmoignerent qu'ils estoyent prests d'obeir. Il leur dit que cette Chapelle estoit le lieu où nous prions le grãd Dieu du ciel, & qu'ils se missent tous à genoux, & [191] qu'ils luy fissent leurs prieres en leur cœur. Ie les vey tous s'y mettre les vns apres les autres, ou plustost s'accroupir deuant l'Autel, car ils ne sçauent que c'est de s'agenouiller, ce n'est point l'vne de leurs postures. Leur oraison faicte, qui ne fut pas longue, le Pere demanda à l'vn d'eux ce qu'il auoit dit à ce grand Dieu: Il repart: Ie luy ay dict, Prens courage à nous aider & à nous secourir, & à nous donner vn bō voyage: Voila la priere de ce pauure barbare. Pendant que l'vn d'eux prioit, vn autre luy dit: Regarde bien en ton cœur ce que tu diras à ce grand Maistre. O que ne sçauons nous les langues de ces pauures Sauuages! Ce sera quand il plaira à Nostre Seigneur; Que son sainct nom soit beny pour vn iamais.

On the first day of August, the Hurons came to see our Chapel,
having heard it spoken of by those who had seen it; and I believe
that, if they had made a longer stay at Kebec, there would not
have been one who did not visit it. Their fair is soon over. The
day of their arrival they erect their huts; the second, they hold
their councils and make their presents; the third and fourth, they
trade, sell, buy, barter their furs and their tobacco for blankets,
hatchets, kettles, capes, iron arrow-points, little glass beads,
shirts, and many similar things. It is a pleasure to watch them
during this trading. When it [190] is over they take one day more
for their last council, for the feast which is generally made for
them, and the dance; and early the next morning they disappear
like a flock of birds. Now those who had sold their goods early
came to see our home, attracted thither by the description they
had heard of the beauty of our Chapel. Father Brebeuf entertained
them; and, after he had discoursed upon Paradise and Hell to one
of their companies, a man interrupted him, asking: "And what shall
we do, _Eschom_" (that is the name they give to the Father), "that
we may escape these great torments?" When the Father told them
what they must do, they assured him that they were ready to obey.
He said that this Chapel was the place in which we offered prayers
to the great God of the sky, that they must kneel down, and [191]
that they should pray to him in their hearts. I saw them all get
on their knees one beside the other, before the Altar, or rather
they squatted down, for they do not know what kneeling is, as it
is not one of their postures. Their prayer, which was not long,
having been made, the Father asked one of them what he had said to
the great God. He replied: "I said to him, 'Have courage to aid and
succor us, and to give us a good voyage.'" That was the prayer of
this poor barbarian. While one was praying, another said to him:
"Look well into thy heart for what thou wilt say to this great
Master." Oh, if we only knew the language of these poor Savages!
That will come when it pleases Our Lord. May his holy name be
forever blessed!

Le 3. du mesme mois d'Aoust le Sieur de Champlain festina tous les [192] Hurons. Les mets du festin furent de la sagamité cõposée de pois, de pain esmié ou de galette puluerisée, & de pruneaux, tout cela bouilly dans vne grande chaudiere dont on se sert pour faire de la biere, auec de l'eau sās sel, leur a semblé tres-excellente. Ie ne declareray point les particularitez de ce banquet, ny de leur chant & de leur danse: ce sera pour vn autre fois.

(_Continued in Vol. vi._)

On the 3rd of the same month of August, Sieur de Champlain made
a feast for all the [192] Hurons. The dishes of this feast were
sagamité, composed of peas, of bread-crumbs or powdered sea
biscuit, and of prunes; all this was boiled together in a great
kettle which is used for making beer, with water and no salt, and
they thought it very good indeed. I shall not go into details about
this banquet, nor about their songs and their dances. That will be
for another time.

(_Continued in Vol. vi._)

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA: VOL. V

XX

In reprinting Le Jeune's _Brief Relation_ (1632), commonly classed as the first _Relation_ of the regular series, we follow the original Cramoisy in Lenox Library. This is the copy marked "GB" in Winsor's list; it was formerly in the Bancroft collection, which was absorbed by the Lenox, being considered the chief jewel therein. Other copies are known to be in Brown Library, Providence; British Museum; and Bibliothèque Nationale and Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris. Winsor mentions a copy in the Murphy collection, but it was not included in the sale catalogue; the Kalbfleisch collection mentioned by Winsor had a copy, but that library is now dispersed.

Extracts from this _Relation_, for which "privilege" was issued Nov., 1632, appear in _Mercure François_, vol. xviii., pp. 56-72; the date of the "privilege" for this volume of _Mercure_ is March, 1633. The _Relation_ given in the Quebec Reprint (1858), is after the copy in the Bibliothèque Nationale.

Further references are in Sabin, vol. x., no. 39946, and vol. xvi., under caption "Relations;" Carayon, no. 1260; Winsor, p. 301; Brown, vol. ii., no. 381; Lenox, p. 4; and Harrisse, no. 49. Harrisse, in describing the title-page, misspells Barthelemy Iacquinot, "Bartelemy Iacquinet,"--an error in which Lenox and Sabin follow him; the Brown Catalogue gives the name correctly, and has a facsimile of the page.

_Title-page._ We present a photographic facsimile of the original at Lenox.

_Collation._ Title, 1 p.; blank, 1 p.; text, pp. 3-68; privilege, dated Nov., 1632, 1 unnumbered p.; blank, 1 p.

XXI

In our reissue of Le Jeune's _Relation_ of 1633 (No. 2 of the Cramoisy series), we follow the original in the Brown Library, at Providence, R. I. Harvard College Library possesses a copy which is evidently, in the main, from the same setting of type as the Brown copy, but with variations. It is apparently the Harvard copy which is described in Harrisse's _Notes_, no. 55, although, in the catalogues of these respective libraries, each example is entered as "H. 55." We shall for convenience designate them as "Brown H. 55," and "Harvard H. 55," respectively.

A word-for-word collation of these two examples of H. 55 convinces us that the original issue of the press is the one at Brown, making this, so far as we are aware, a unique copy. As the working of the edition progressed, some occasion arose for changing the phraseology of the text upon pp. 225, 226 (i.e., 125, 126, correct pagination) in signature H, these two pages being in part reset. The following sentences, which appear on p. 225 (i.e., 125) of the Brown copy, were expunged from the sheet, and do not appear in the Harvard and other examples of this _Relation_:

pour
toute sa Prouince, & pour tous ceux
qui cooperent au salut de tant de
pauures ames esgarées: Vne petite
gouttelette de ce diuin calice
nous enrichira tous: & puis que mes prieres
sont trop foibles pour obtenir
vn si grand bien, ie supplie V. R. d'interposer
les siennes, & celles encore
de tant d'ames sainctes qui sont dessous
sa charge: Mais passons outre.

There was also expunged from pp. 225, 226 (i.e., 125, 126) the following paragraph, which appears only in the Brown copy:

Ie remerciay le mieux qu'il me fut
possible Mõsieur de Champlain de
la charité qu'il auoit exercée enuers
nos Peres qui a esté tres-grande, cõme
me témoignoit le Pere Brebeuf.

To occupy the space, the following fifteen lines were substituted on pp. 225, 226 (i.e., 125, 126), and these appear in the Harvard and later issues of the document, but not in the Brown copy:

Il me vient quelquefois en pensée,
que ce Grand Homme, qui par
son admirable sagesse, & non-pareille
conduite ez affaires s'est tant acquis
de renommée sur la terre, se prepare
vne couronne de gloire tres-
esclatante dans le Ciel, pour le soing
qu'il tesmoigne auoir en la conuersion
de tant d'ames que l'infidelité
perd en ces pays sauuages: I'en prie
tous les iours affectueusement pour
luy, & nostre compagnie ayant par
son moyen occasion de glorifier
Dieu en cette si noble entreprise, luy
en aura vne obligation eternelle.

While form H was off the press, and the above alteration of text taking place, certain types appear to have dropped out or been moved in other pages of the same form, making a half-dozen verbal errors on pp. 115, 119. The form, with the text thus altered, was again sent to press, and apparently Harvard H. 55 is the result. Another peculiarity in the Harvard copy is,--and this is noted by Harrisse,--that the letter P in the word "Par," on the title-page, has been partially dropped: the Brown copy is perfect, in this respect.

In due course, a second issue of the _Relation_ became necessary,--but in what year it is now impossible to say; for, after the custom of Cramoisy, the dates of the original title-page and Privilege were reproduced in the new edition, which is the one known to bibliographers as "H. 56," having been described by Harrisse in his _Notes_, no. 56. This edition--we describe the example in Lenox Library--was printed from an entire resetting of type, the altered text of Harvard H. 55 having been selected for "copy," although the orthography was occasionally modernized. Harrisse, in giving the title-page of H. 56, accidentally omits two line-ending indicators; with these exceptions, his description applies to the copy of H. 56 in Lenox. But he errs in saying that H. 56 does not differ from H. 55 (he describes the Harvard copy), save in the arrangement of the title with its repetition of "de," in the substitution of a ram's head for a cupid in the vignette of p. 1, and a few errors in pagination. The differences are more numerous: in page-numberings, are many discrepancies; in the contents of lines, on several of the pages of each, there is considerable variance,--although both continue to end their pages uniformly, save that H. 56 is on p. 57 a line short; there are also frequent variations in spelling and capitalization.

An abridgment of the _Relation_ appears in _Mercure François_, vol. xix., pp. 771-802. The Privilege for this volume, which covers events in 1633, bears date March, 1636.

The Quebec reprint (1858) follows H. 56.

See further references in Carayon, no. 1261; Sabin, vol. x., nos. 39,947, 39,948. and vol. xvi., p. 536 (this bibliographer strictly follows Harrisse); Brown Catalogue, vol ii., nos. 118, 417; Pilling's _Bibliography of the Algonquian Languages_ (Washington, 1891), p. 307; O'Callaghan Sale Catalogue, no. 1212 (wherein the description follows Lenox H. 56); Barlow's _Rough List_ (N. Y., 1885), no. 338, p. 77; Barlow Sale Catalogue, no. 1273 (the copy therein mentioned sold for $120); Græsse, tome iv., livr. i., p. 154; Murphy Sale Catalogue, no. 1344; O'Callaghan's _Bibliography_ (1850), p. 36; Sommervogel, tome iv., p. 795, no. 2; Winsor, p. 301 (the Bancroft copy referred to is now in Lenox); and Dodd, Mead & Co.'s _Trade Catalogue_ (April, 1896), wherein a copy, with "the date cut from title," is priced at $200.

Examples of the _Relation_ of 1633 may be found in the following libraries: Harvard (H. 55), Brown (H. 55 and 56), Lenox (H. 56, two copies), and British Museum (ed. not specified).

_Title-page._ Given in photographic facsimile, from the copy of H. 55, in Brown Library, Providence.

_Collation of Brown H. 55._ Title, 1 p.; blank at back of title, 1 p.; text, pp. 3-216; Privilege, in small type, on p. 216.

NOTES TO VOL. V

(_Figures in parentheses, following number of note, refer to pages of English text_.)

1 (p. 11).--Paul le Jeune was born in July, 1591, at Chalons-sur-Marne, France. His parents were Huguenots; but, upon attaining his majority, he became a Catholic, and entered the Jesuit novitiate, at Rouen, Sept. 22, 1613. Pursuing his studies at La Flèche and Clermont, he became an instructor at Rennes and Bourges, and, later, professor of rhetoric at Nevers (1626-28) and at Caen (1629-30). He then spent two years as a preacher at Dieppe, and two years more as superior of the residence there. On the return of the French to Quebec, he came there with De Caen, as superior of the Canadian mission. His first year was spent in the French settlements; in the second, he wintered among the Montagnais, in order to learn their language. When the settlement of Three Rivers was founded (1634; see vol. iv., _note_ 24), he went there with Buteux, returning to Quebec before the death of Champlain, whose funeral sermon he preached. Le Jeune remained superior of the mission until 1639, and continued his labors in Canada during ten years more. In 1649, he returned to France, where he became procuror of foreign missions; and died there Aug. 7, 1664. Besides his _Relations_ of the missions, he wrote several religious works; one of these, _A Ten Days' Retreat_, was reprinted at Rennes in 1843. Rochemonteix says of Le Jeune: "He carried a will of steel in a heart of fire." Suite thus characterizes him: "He was a typical missionary--fervent, devoted, asking only to be directed towards sacrifice."

2 (p. 11).--This document is given in Martin's _Bressani_, pp. 295, 296. It states that Richelieu had already offered the Canadian mission to the Capuchins, but that they had declined to enter the field formerly occupied by the Jesuits.

3 (p. 11).--The order of Ursulines was founded Nov. 25, 1535, at Brescia, by, Angela Merici. To the three vows of Augustine, it added a fourth, requiring the instruction of girls. It became established in France by the end of the sixteenth century, thence spreading to Germany. The first Ursuline convent in America was established at Quebec, in 1639, by the efforts of Madame de la Peltrie.

4 (p. 11).--_Low Sunday_: the first Sunday after Easter, so called because Easter is High Sunday. It is also called White Sunday, because on that day the neophytes wear their white robes to the church; and Quasimodo Sunday, because the introit for this day begins with the words, "Quasi modo geniti infantes."

5 (p. 19).--See vol. i., _note_ 69.

6 (p. 19).--Cartier (_Brief Récit_, fol. 12) describes "a sort of fish as large as porpoises, but not like them; their bodies well-shaped, and heads like that of the greyhound; as white as snow, without any spot; in that river [Saguenay] there are a great number of them, living between the sea and the fresh water. The people of that country call them Adhothuys; and we were told that they are very good to eat." Packard, in _Labrador Coast_ (N. Y., 1891), p. 443, mentions the white whale (_Delplanapterus Catodon_, Linn.) as "not uncommonly seen passing in schools along the [Labrador] coast, in the summer time."

7 (p. 19).--_Gaspay bay_: on the coast of Gaspé, (see vol. iii., _note_ 45), south of Cape Rosière. This bay appears on De Fer's map (1705), as G. de Gas; its present name is Gaspé.

8 (p. 35).--_But one wife_: Cf. the accounts of Membertou's unique monogamy, given by Lescarbot and Biard,--vol. i., p. 215; and vol. ii., pp. 23, 227, 229.

9 (p. 35).--_Basque scaffold_: a point two leagues above Tadoussac; mentioned by Champlain, and shown on a map by Lotter (n. d.), as Cape Chafaut aux Basques; Bellin (1744) names it Echafaut aux Basques; obviously a place used by the Basque fishermen for drying fish.

Margry says (_Navig. Fr._, pp. 113, 114): "The Basques made their way at first to the ports on the eastern shore of the island [Newfoundland]. There they invented the process of drying codfish, that they might carry a greater quantity on their ships. This was done on scaffolds, which they called _pignalac_; and the "shipowners of St. Jean de Luz and Siboure sent out vessels expressly for this catching and drying fish, independently of those sent for the whale fishery."

10 (p. 37).--_St. Lawrence Island_: evidently another name for the Isle of Orleans.

11 (p. 41).--These were the sons of Gervase (or Jervis) Kirk (see vol. iv., _note_ 46), who was born in 1566, in Derbyshire, England, the eldest son of a gentleman's family; later, he became a merchant in London. In 1596, he married Elizabeth Gondon, of Dieppe, France, by whom he had seven children. His sons David, Lewis, and Thomas, were aged respectively 32, 30 and 26 years, at the time Quebec was taken. They were all prominent members of the Merchant Adventurers to Canada. Gervase died Dec. 17, 1629. David was knighted by Charles I., in 1633, as a reward for his services in taking Quebec; but (according to H. Kirke) neither he nor his heirs ever received any pecuniary recompense for the heavy losses he incurred in that enterprise, although, in the negotiations for the restitution of Canada, the French King had agreed to pay the sum of 82,700 livres to Kirk. Brymner (_Can. Archives_, 1894, pp. viii.-x.) gives a document (probably 1683) detailing the claims of the Kirks to the territories of Nova Scotia and Quebec.

A colony had been established in Newfoundland, in 1621, by George, Lord Baltimore, who received from James I. a large tract of land in the southeastern part, extending westward to Placentia Bay, which he named Avalon; but he abandoned it in 1629. A grant of the whole island was made by Charles I., Nov. 13, 1637, to the Duke of Hamilton, Sir David Kirk, and others; and Kirk, who after a few years became the sole owner of Newfoundland, continued as its ruler until his death (about 1653). He did much to develop the resources of the island,--encouraging immigration, opening the fisheries to other nations as well as to the English, and protecting the industry from pirates. As the Kirk family were devoted loyalists, they suffered many losses under the Commonwealth, and Sir David's property was for some time sequestrated as that of a malignant. Finally, in 1660, his heirs were obliged to yield possession of Newfoundland to Cecil, Lord Baltimore, who claimed it under the grant made to his father.--See Henry Kirke's _First English Conquest of Canada_ (London, 1871); Prowse's _Hist. N. F._, pp. 138-157; and Kingsford's _Canada_, vol. i., pp. 142, 143.

The name is also variously spelled Ker, Kerk, Kertk, Kirke, Kirtk, Kyrck, Quer, Querch, and Quercq.

A daughter of David Kirk became the second wife of Pierre Radisson, the Hudson Bay explorer.

12 (p. 41).--Laverdière gives (at end of _Champlain_, "Pièces justificatives," pp. 25, 26) the letters from Charles "to ye Canadian marchants and ye com̃anders under them for rendring Kebeck." The merchants claimed to have spent £60,000 in their Canadian expedition; and they were greatly incensed at the restitution of Canada to France, ignoring as it did the rights granted them by the crown. Their letter to Isaac Wake, the representative of England in the treaty of St. Germain, is also given by Laverdière (_ut supra_, pp. 27-31); they complain that the interests of English subjects were neglected in the treaty.

13 (p. 41).--The widow of Louis Hébert (see vol. ii., _note_ 80). Her name was Marie Rollet; her second husband was Guillaume Hubou, whom she married May 16, 1629; she died May 27, 1649, at Quebec.

14 (p. 53).--_Moustache_: a name applied, in olden times, to a long lock of hair hanging from one side of the head.

15 (p. 67).--Raymond de la Ralde has been already mentioned as De Caen's successor (see vol. iv., _note_ 27); he was a Catholic, but was unfriendly to the Jesuits, who complained of him as leagued with De Caen against them. He attacked the English fishing vessels in Newfoundland, in the summer of 1628, capturing several of them, but on one occasion losing 67 of his men as prisoners; an account of this affair is given in letters from Lord Baltimore to Charles I. and the Duke of Buckingham.--English _Colonial Papers_, vol. iv., nos. 56, 57.

16 (p. 69).--The phrase in the original is _trois brasses_; the brasse was a linear measure, of five old-French feet, or 1.62 metres, equivalent to 5.318 English feet.

17 (p. 71).--_Nation of the Bear_ (Attignaouantans).--The territory of this nation, the most westerly of the Huron confederacy, was sharply defined on all four sides. Portions of Georgian Bay formed two of these,--Nottawasaga Bay, on the west, and Matchedash Bay, on the north. Along their eastern side, the river Wye separated them from the other Huron tribes. Another natural boundary afforded them a partial protection on the south; this was Cranberry Lake and marsh, which extended up the Wye River to Orr Lake, twelve miles farther east, forming a wide, impassable marshy tract, which protected all of the Huron tribes along their southern frontier. This important water system is indicated by the name of Lake Anaouites on Ducreux's map. The country of the Bear clan nearly coincided with the boundaries of the present township of Tiny, in which have been found, up to the present year (1897), the remains of about thirty-five village sites and twenty ossuaries. The surface of Tiny is undulating, nowhere exceeding 500 feet above the level of Georgian Bay. At the north, the ground rises as it recedes from the shore, around which there still remains a fringe of the original forest. Along the southern half, there is a long reach of shore, with bleak sand-dunes, where a stunted vegetation barely exists,--a feature common to the southeastern shores of all the great lakes. Behind these, the soil of the interior is now occupied by agricultural settlers. It was also on the higher ground of these interior parts that the Attignaouantans, as their remains show, had their habitations when the Jesuits were among them. It should be observed that Champlain used the name Attignaouantans (Ochatequins; see vol. ii. of this series, _note_ 58) for the entire Huron confederacy. The generic name, Ouendat (Wyandot), including the Attignaouantans as one of the confederates, appears to have been brought into use at a later date (Lalemant's _Relation_, 1639). If the others were in the district at the time of Lalemant's visit, he overlooked their differences, as he makes so distinction in the case of the inhabitants of even the most easterly town of the district, Cahiagua. Yet we know that Arendarrhonons were at Cahiagua in his time, as these were said to cherish his memory twenty-two years afterward (Lalemant's _Relation_, 1640).--A. F. HUNTER.

18 (p. 71).--_Tobacco Nation_ (Khionontaterrhonons; also called, by the French, Nation de Petun).--The territory of this tribe coincided closely with the present township of Nottawasaga, Simcoe county, their villages having been situated on rising spurs along the eastern side of the Blue Mountains. This country is now covered by well-cultivated farms. Remains of the aborigines are abundant there, as many as thirty-two village sites and forty ossuaries having been found at various times. David Boyle, of the Provincial Archæological Museum, has devoted much time to a minute examination of several of these, and the museum contains many relics from this locality. Most frequently found, has been the tobacco-pipe, especially the trumpet-mouthed variety, which is found in great abundance and diversity of pattern, and of which many specimens are contained in the museum. This is a natural result of their extensive raising and marketing of tobacco, from which their name was derived. In a scholarly paper, "Historical Sketch of the Tionontates, or Dinondadies, now called Wyandots," (_Hist. Mag._, vol. v., p. 262), J. G. Shea traces the wanderings of the remnant of this tribe, after it was almost annihilated by the Iroquois in 1649-50, down to their settlement on the reserve in Anderdon township, near Amherstburg, Ont., where their descendants may be found to this day. James H. Coyne, B. A., of St. Thomas, Ont., points out, in a recent pamphlet, _The Country of the Neutrals_ (St. Thomas, 1895), p. 19, that some of the survivors of the Neutrals had united with this remnant of the Tobacco Nation while they were at Mackinac.--A. F. HUNTER.

19 (p. 71).--_Nation of the Sorcerers_ (Aoueatsionaenrrhonons; also named "Gens puants").--This was an Algonkin tribe of Nipissings, at the lake of that name. They were also called Bissiriniens; and their Huron name was sometimes spelled Askicouaneronons. Like other Northern Algonkin nations, they rendezvoused at the lake only in the winter season (Lalemant's _Relation_, 1641, chap. vii.). During the later wars between the Hurons and Iroquois, they withdrew toward Hudson Bay, to avoid the fury of the latter, and there mingled with other nations. In recent years, graves, and other remains of this tribe, have been found on Biscuiting Island, and at other points about Lake Nipissing.--A. F. HUNTER.

20 (p. 73).--_Fire Nation_: so named by the French--a translation of Assistaeronnons, the name applied to the tribe by the Hurons; also known as Mascoutins (with numerous variants in spelling). This was an Algonkin tribe, located in Southern Michigan, Northern Indiana and Illinois, and Central and Southeastern Wisconsin. Nicolet visited them (1634) on the upper Fox River of Wisconsin, probably near Berlin. Champlain mentions them as enemies of the Ottawas and Neutrals; they were probably driven by those tribes westward from the vicinity of Detroit. Shea thinks the Mascoutins "were probably at last confounded with the Kickapoos," of Western and Southwestern Wisconsin.

21 (p. 73).--_Amantacha_: also known among the French as Louis de Sainte-Foi; the Huron lad mentioned by Lalemant (vol. iv. of this series, p. 225), who in 1626 was sent to France by the missionaries, and baptized. Having been instructed there by the Jesuits, he returned to Canada before the capture of Quebec, after which event he entered into the service of the English; but, after the return of the French, he was very useful to the missionaries in their intercourse with the natives.

22 (p. 75).--Sebastien Cramoisy, a well-known publisher, was born at Paris in 1585, and died there in January, 1669. The Imprimerie Royale was established in 1640, by Louis XIII., who placed it in charge of Cramoisy. His brother Gabriel was his partner during 1644-58, and, beginning with 1663, Sebastien Mabre-Cramoisy (according to Harrisse, a son of another brother, Claude; but, according to Baillet, Sebastien's grandson). Upon Sebastien's death, he was succeeded by Mabre-Cramoisy, who retained the title of Printer to the King, until 1687. This family became widely known as the printers of the entire original series of the Jesuit _Relations_ (1632-73); but some of their other publications have been more famous as specimens of book-making,--for instance, their _Nicephori Callisti historiæ ecclesiasticæ_, lib. 18, etc. (1630).

Sebastien was an alderman, an administrator of the hospitals, and president of the Grande Navire, an association of the booksellers of Paris; his name also appears as a charter member of the Hundred Associates (1627).

23 (p. 83).--Otherwise known as the "Hundred Associates" (see vol. iv., _note_ 21).

24 (p. 87).--This "MS. dictionary" was probably the work of Massé or Brébeuf, while engaged upon the first Canadian mission (1625-29); some of their translations into Montagnais are mentioned in vol. iv., _note_ 30. In acquiring the native dialects, they were greatly aided by the Récollet missionaries. Le Clercq states that the latter had prepared Huron, Montagnais, and Algonkin dictionaries, and that he himself had seen fragments of these, in their hand-writing. He also says that copies of these dictionaries were presented to Louis XIII., in 1625; but Shea remarks that "no trace of these has ever been found."--Shea's _Le Clercq_, vol. i., pp. 248, 249.

Dictionaries and other MSS. in Algonkin, the work of Jesuit missionaries, are still extant, in the archives of the mission of Lac des Deux Montagnes (Oka), Quebec; one of these is dated 1661.--See Pilling's _Bibliog. Algon. Lang._, pp. 6, 7. Several MSS. of this character are also in the archives of St. Mary's College, Montreal.

25 (p. 87).--Hakluyt's account of Cartier's third voyage (1540) thus mentions the "diamonds" of this locality: "And vpon that high cliff wee found a faire fountaine very neere the sayd Fort: adioyning whereunto we found good store of stones, which we esteemed to be Diamants.... the most faire, pollished, and excellently cut that it is possible for a man to see, when the Sunne shineth vpon them, they glister as it were sparkles of fire." Afterwards, meeting Roberval at St. John's Bay, Cartier "tolde him that hee had brought certaine Diamonts, and a quantitie of Golde ore, which was found in the Countrey. Which ore the Sunday next ensuing was tryed in a Furnace, and found to be good."--Goldsmid's _Hakluyt_, vol. xiii., pp. 150, 151, 164. On p. 155 of the same volume is a letter from Jacques Noel, a grandnephew of Cartier, in which Noel declares that he has seen a map of Canada, drawn by his uncle, on which the latter had written these words: "By the people of Canada and Hochelaga it was said, That here is the land of Saguenay, which is rich and wealthy in precious stones."

Champlain says, in _Voyages_ (Prince ed.), vol. i., p. 253: "Along the shore of Quebec, there are diamonds in some slate rocks, which are better than those of Alençon." Kalm describes the black limeslate of this region, in his _Travels into North America_ (Forster's trans., London, 1772), vol. ii., p. 371, and adds: "The large cracks are almost filled up with transparent quartz crystals, of different sizes. One part of the mountain contains vast quantities of these crystals, from which the corner of the mountain which lies to the S. S. E. of the palace has got the name of Pointe de Diamante or Diamond Point."

26 (p. 93).--_La Nasse_: Champlain mentions this savage as warning the French of Kirk's approach to Quebec (1629). Le Jeune describes (_Relation_, 1634, _post_) the baptism of La Nasse, under the name of Joseph, and his pious death some months later.

27 (p. 95).--Cf. Jouvency's account of a similar occurrence (vol. i. of this series, p. 269).

28 (p. 97).--_Sagamité_: a word derived by Maurault (_Hist. Abenakis_, p. 13) from sôgmôipi, "the repast of chiefs." The most common form in which the Indians prepared maize as food; termed "samp," or "hominy," by the English. The corn, usually pounded into meal, was boiled in water, with the addition of meat, fish, or oil, when they had such, to enrich and flavor it. Various kinds of vegetables, in their season,--beans, peas, pumpkins,--were boiled with the corn, especially when the latter was still green: a survival of this usage remains in our modern "succotash," of corn and beans. Sagard describes, in _Grand Voyage_ (Tross ed., 1865), pp. 94-98, this and various other methods of cooking maize. Creuxius gives (_Hist. Canad._, p. 23), a picture of Indian women preparing corn; and Lafitau describes at length the cultivation of maize, its use as food, and the preparation of sagamite, in his _Mœurs des Sauvages Ameriquains_ (Paris, 1724), t. ii., pp. 63-89. Cf. Carr's _Food of Amer. Ind._, pp. 178-182.

29 (p. 103).--The bulbs were those of the yellow lily (_Lilium Canadense_), which have been, from the earliest historic times, used as food by the Indians.--Pickering's _Chronological History of Plants_ (Boston, 1879), p. 641; and Thoreau's _Maine Woods_, p. 194, 284, 326. Trumbull says (_Conn. Hist. Colls._, vol. ii., p. 26) that "_sheep'nak_ is the modern Abnaki name for the bulbous roots of the yellow lily,"--possibly the Micmac _sgabun_ or _shuben_ (see our vol. ii., _note_ 77). Cf. Josselyn's _New England's Rarities Discovered_ (London, 1672), reprinted, with introduction and valuable annotations by Tuckerman, in _Trans. Amer. Antiq. Soc._, vol. iv., (Boston, 1860), pp. 105-238; on p. 176, he says of the water lily (_Nuphar advena_): "The Indians eat the roots, which are long a-boiling. They tast like the liver of a sheep. The moose-deer feed much upon them; at which time the Indians kill them, when their heads are under water."

Cf. also Brunet's note on _Nelumbium luteum_, in Tailhan's ed. of Nicolas Perrot's _Memoire sur les Sauvages_ (Leipzig and Paris, 1864), p. 194. Nuttall says of the _Nelumbium_ (which he calls _Cyamus luteus_): "The Osages and other Western natives employ the roots of this plant for food, preparing them by boiling. When fully ripe, after a considerable boiling, they become as farinaceous, agreeable, and wholesome a diet as the potato. This species is everywhere made use of by the natives, who collect both the nuts and the roots."--"Flora of Arkansas Territory," in _Trans. of Am. Philos. Soc._, new series, vol. v. (Phila., 1837), p. 160.

30 (p. 103).--Cf. the legend of Gougon (vol. ii., _note_ 44).

31 (p. 105).--Cf. vol. i., p. 261; and Sagard's _Canada_, pp. 271-273, for descriptions of the vapor-bath as a therapeutic agent, among the North American aborigines.

32 (p. 105).--Maurault (_Hist. Abenakis_, p. 15) says that the Abenakis "were not wont to show their discontent or hatred by oaths or blasphemies. The same thing may still be noticed among them. They have the greatest horror of imprecations and blasphemies; and there are no words in their language to express these, so often uttered by Canadians." Cf. Schoolcraft (_Ind. Tribes_, vol. vi., p. 682): "The Algonquin language has no words for the expression of oaths; an Algonquin can neither swear nor blaspheme."

33 (p. 107).--Pierre Antoine, surnamed Pastedechouan (Patetchounon, or Atetkouanon); a young Montagnais or Canadian, who was taken to France (1620) by the Récollet missionaries, and there baptized and educated. Sagard says that "he became proficient in Latin and French; and, on his return to Quebec [1625], the missionaries were obliged to send him back to his relatives for a time, that he might regain his native language, which he had almost forgotten." Captured by Admiral Kirk in 1628, he refused to serve as an interpreter, and soon after escaped. See an account of this youth in Sagard's _Canada_, pp. 865, 936-938; cf. Creuxius's _Hist. Canad._, p. 110; Shea's _Le Clercq_, vol. i., pp. 235, 273, 294-296.