Chapter M: DC XXXIV (8)

34 (p. 111).--Guillaume Guillemot, sieur Duplessis-Bochart (sometimes written Duplessis-Querbodo); the lieutenant of Emery de Caen, upon the latter's return in 1632, and afterwards admiral of the fleet, under Champlain. In 1634, he transported Robert Giffard's colony to Beauport; and, in the same year, he took an active part in the foundation of Three Rivers. He seems to have been a prominent and influential member of the Quebec colony, for nearly twenty years, though but few details of his life are known. In November, 1651, he was appointed governor of Three Rivers (his salary being 5,250 livres per annum), in which position he remained until Aug. 19, 1652, when he was slain by the Iroquois, while endeavoring to repel their attack upon his post. Charlevoix mentions him as "a good officer and a worthy man;" and Mother Mary of the Incarnation writes of him as "a very brave and honorable gentleman." See Sulte's account of him, _Chron. trifluv._, pp. 126, 136, 137; and _Can.-Français_, vol. ii., p. 45; also Ferland's _Cours d' Histoire_, vol. i., p. 406.

35 (p. 113).--Nicolas Marsolet (Marsollet), born at Rouen, 1587; he seems to have come to Canada with Champlain (about 1608, according to Sulte; but 1613, according to Tanguay), and was long an interpreter for the Montagnais and Algonkin tribes. Champlain says (Laverdière's ed., pp. 1229, 1249-1263) that, when Kirk captured Quebec, Marsolet, with several other Frenchmen, deserted to the English; and that it was through Marsolet's trickery that he himself was not allowed by Kirk to take with him to France the three Indian girls who had been presented to him some time before. Marsolet, however, afterwards asserted that the English forced him to remain with them. He married Marie La Barbide, probably about 1636; and their daughter Marie, born in the following year, is mentioned in the _Journal des Jésuites_, under date of 1647. In 1646-47, Marsolet figures as a leader of the _habitants_ in their quarrels with the Hundred Associates. April 16 of the latter year, he obtained from the company the fief of St. Aignan, with a half-league frontage on the St. Lawrence, and a depth of two leagues; but in 1669 he sold it to Michel Pelletier. In 1672, Marsolet obtained from Talon another grant, nearly as large as the former, on the Grande Rivière du Chêne, apparently in the present Lotbinière county; this fief was known as Prairies Marsolet. He died May 15, 1677.--Sulte's _Can.-Français_, vols. ii.-v.; and Ferland's _Cours d'Histoire_, vol. i., p. 234. Sulte calls him "the little king of Tadoussac;" during most of his life, he was engaged in trade at that port. Many of his descendants now live in the vicinity of Three Rivers.

36 (p. 115).--_Alien word_: Maurault, speaking of the alliance between the English and the Mohicans (1621), says of the latter that "many of them had learned to speak English passably." He adds: "All the savages of New England showed great aptitude for learning the English language, and gradually introduced many English words into their own. The Abenakis showed the same aptitude for that language. But it was not the same with the French; these savages knew only a few words of that language, which they pronounced almost unintelligibly, although a great many of them spoke English quite readily."--_Hist. Abenakis_, pp. vii.-ix., 39.

37 (p. 115).--_Sagamo_: cf. vol. i., _note_ 16. This word appears, in varying forms, in many Algonkin dialects. The Abenaki word, according to Kidder, is "s_o_gm_o_,"--_o_ being a nasal vowel; Vetromile writes it "saghem," or "sangman," and defines it as "over the whole world." Maillard gives the Micmac word as "cha_k_man." The Lenâpe word was "sakima;" the Algonkin is "okima," as given by Cuoq.

Schoolcraft relates (_Ind. Tribes_, vol. vi., p. 202) a legend current among the Ottawas, concerning "Sagima, a renowned personage, to whom they attribute the origin of their tribe."

38 (p. 117).--See Cuoq's "Grammaire de la langue algonquine," in _Canad. Roy. Soc. Proc._, vol. ix., sect. 1, p. 85; and vol. x., sect. 1, p. 41. Cf. Pilling's _Bibliog. Algon. Lang._, pp. 6-9.

39 (p. 127).--_Raquettes_: snowshoes. This word is very old; its earlier forms were _rachete_ or _rasquete_. It is derived by Littré (through Low Latin _racha_) from the Arabic _rāha_, "palm of the hand;" by Menage and others, from Latin _reticulata_, "netted." In either case, its present use is traceable to certain ball-games. The earliest of these was that called by the French "paume" (from Latin _palma_), in which the ball was struck with the palm of the hand; it was exceedingly popular in the countries of Western Europe, and was common at least as early as the thirteenth century, afterwards becoming known as "tennis" (a word of uncertain derivation). Of historic interest, in this connection, is the _serment du jeu paume_ (oath of the tennis court), a name given to that session of the Third Estate at Versailles, June 20, 1789, at which the deputies swore not to adjourn till they had given a constitution to France.

Heathcote, in _Tennis_ (London, 1890), says: "It is probable that the Italians, when playing _la paume_, found that a glove was a useful protection to the hand; and, when balls were made harder and heavier, that a thicker glove was required. The transition from the thick glove to a network of strings, and the adoption of the leverage afforded by the use of a handle, may have suggested to an ingenious inventor the prototype of the implement we now use." The racket was introduced into France, probably in the fourteenth century.

To apply the name of this instrument to the snowshoe, so similar in shape to the former, was an obvious and easy transition. The use of netted snowshoes was universal among the North American tribes, from whom it has been adopted by the white inhabitants of Canada and the mountainous regions of the United States. Lafitau describes snowshoes and their use, in his _Mœurs des Sauvages_, tome ii., pp. 220-223; as does Schoolcraft, in _Ind. Tribes_, vol. iii., p. 68,--several illustrations being given, of specimens from Minnesota, Utah, and Oregon. Among the different tribes, they are of various sizes and shapes; their length varies from fifteen inches to six feet, and the width from thirteen to twenty inches; those used by the Western tribes turn upward at the front end. The snowshoes worn by the women are shorter, often painted and otherwise ornamented.

40 (p. 133).--Concerning the division of labor between men and women, see vol. ii., _note_ 33. Cf. the references given by Carr, in _Mounds of Mississippi Valley_; this paper has also been published separately (Cincinnati, 1883); see pp. 7-35, in that edition. Cf. also Tailhan's _Perrot_, pp. 29, 30, 181.

41 (p. 157).--The aborigines of North America had but vague and uncertain ideas of a Supreme Being or Creator. They believed in certain supernatural Beings, called Manitous (Algonkin), or Okis (Huron-Iroquois), which they conceived under the forms of beasts, birds, or reptiles,--occasionally in human form, or even that of stones. Another class of beings embodied the polytheistic tendencies of the savage mind,--the manitous of the sun and the moon, of the water, of the winds, etc.; and the progenitors or "Kings" of various animals,--of which Michabou, Messou, or Manabozho ("the Great Hare") was the chief. The Huron deity Jouskeha and the Huron-Iroquois Areskoui are apparently personifications of the Sun. Sometimes, too, are found deifications of heroes, as the Iroquois Taounyawatha, or Hiawatha, the Northern counterpart of the Peruvian Viracocha, the Carib Tamu, or the Aztec Quetzalcoatl,--all suggestive, in personal characteristics, and in their influence upon their respective peoples, of the Greek Prometheus.

Charlevoix, in _Journal Historique_ (Paris, 1744), pp. 344-347, gives an account of Michabou, Areskoui, and other deities, and of the tutelary genius that each Indian adopts. Lafitau (_Mœurs des Sauvages_, tome i., pp. 126, 127, 145) says that Areskoui is the Supreme Being, in the belief of the Hurons; and he cites the saying of a Huron convert that Areskoui was such as the missionaries described their God to be. Lafitau tries to prove, by arguments more ingenious than convincing, that Areskoui was the same as the Ares (or Mars) of the Thracians. Perrot relates the legends of the Great Hare, in his _Mémoire_ (Tailhan's ed.), pp. 3-7. Many legends of Manabozho and Manitou are collected by Schoolcraft in his _Algic Researches_ (N. Y., 1839); cf. _Ind. Tribes_, vol. i, p. 317. Parkman (_Jesuits_, pp. lxxii.-lxxv.) outlines the whole subject as connectedly as is possible, giving many references to other authors. Brinton has just issued (1896) a third and revised edition of his _Myths of the New World_, which fully treats these legends; he regards Manabozho as an impersonation of Light, and belonging to the world-wide cycle of Sun-myths. Cf. A. F. Chamberlain's "Nanibozhu among the Algonkian Tribes," in _Jour. Am. Folk-Lore_, vol. iv. (1891), pp. 193-213.

42 (p. 183).--The mountains here referred to are the Laurentian; they extend along the north shore of the St. Lawrence from Belle Isle Straits to Quebec, and thence N. W. to the Arctic Ocean,--a distance of about 3,500 miles. They form the watershed between the St. Lawrence and Hudson Bay, and also between that bay and the region of the Mackenzie River. The general elevation of the Laurentian range is 1,500 to 2,000 feet, although some peaks in the neighborhood of the Saguenay reach a height of 4,000 feet. The valleys are often worn into deep pits, containing ponds and lakes; and some of the streams are formed by a succession of these lakes, united by short outlets. These mountains are generally thickly wooded; the rocks are eozoic; and the region is rich in minerals,--graphite, asbestos, phosphates, mica, iron, etc.--See _Annual Reports_ of Canadian Geological Survey.

43 (p. 187).--_Consulter of Manitou_; diviner or soothsayer, often called "sorcerer" by the French; the _aoutmoin_ or _pilotois_ described by Lescarbot (_Nouv. France_, pp. 678-681, 683), Biard (vol. ii., of our series, pp. 75, 77), and Champlain (Laverdière's ed.), pp. 335. 336--See _note_ 41, _ante_; cf. Rochemonteix's _Jésuites_, vol. i., pp. 110, 111.

44 (p. 193).--_Eschom_: more correctly written _Echon_, since, according to Brébeuf (_Relation_ 1636, part 2, chap, iv.), the sound of _M_ is unknown in the Huron dialect. A name given to Brébeuf by the Hurons, during his first stay among them (see vol. iv., _note_ 30). After his death, they similarly named Chaumonot, in accordance with their custom of bestowing a dead man's name upon one of his relatives, or upon some person adopted by the tribe, who thus became the representative and successor of the deceased. The word _echon_ is the Huron name of a certain tree, valued by the natives for its medicinal properties,--according to _Suite de la vie du Chaumonot_ (1693), pp. 13, 14.

45 (p. 197).--This negro lad is mentioned by Le Jeune in the _Relation_ of 1632, p. 63, _ante_. Ker is one of the numerous variants of Kirk's name. "The estimable family living" at Quebec was that of Madame Hébert and her son-in-law, Guillaume Couillard (vol. ii., _note_ 80; vol. iv., _note_ 38); see _note_ 13, _ante_. For value of écu, see vol. i., _note_ 34.

Le Baillif, a native of Amiens, had come with De Caen, in 1622, as a clerk. Champlain says (Laverdière's ed., pp. 1228-1231) that this man was discharged by his employer, as being extremely vicious; that he deserted to the English, in 1629; that Kirk gave him the keys of the company's buildings; that Le Baillif availed himself of this opportunity to plunder the stores of all their contents, including 3,500 to 4,000 beaver skins belonging to De Caen; that his scandalous conduct displeased even the English; and that he illtreated the French who remained at Quebec. Le Clercq says that Le Baillif tried to induce the English to plunder the Jesuit residence.

46 (p. 201).--_Grand Chibou_: see vol. iv., _note_ 46.

47 (p. 201).--The remainder of this paragraph is not found in the Lenox copy (H. 56); see Bibliographical Data, _ante_, document xxi.

48 (p. 203).--An important variation in the text occurs at this point in the Lenox copy, for which see Bibliographical Data, _ante_, document xxi.

49 (p. 203).--_Oliver the interpreter_: Oliver Le Tardif, born at Honfleur, in 1601. He probably came over with Champlain, when a mere lad; his name first appears as one of the signers of a petition from the Quebec settlers to Louis XIII., dated Aug. 18, 1621, asking that the disputes between the rival commercial companies in Canada, and the disorders arising therefrom, might be settled by royal authority. This petition was sent to France by the Récollet Father George Le Baillif; it is given in full by Le Clercq (Shea's ed., vol. i., pp. 161-174). By Champlain we are told (Laverdière's ed., pp. 1042, 1113, 1228) that Le Tardif was serving as an interpreter in 1623; that he was proficient in the Montagnais, Algonkin, and Huron dialects; that he was, in 1626-29, a sub-agent for the Hundred Associates; and, at the capture of Quebec, he gave up the keys of the storehouse to Kirk. Returning at that time to France, he came back to Quebec with either De Caen or Champlain. Nov. 3, 1637, he married the eldest daughter of Guillaume Couillard, Louise, then less than thirteen years of age. Seven years later, his adopted daughter, Marie Manitouabewich, was married to Martin Prevost,--the first marriage in Canada of a Frenchman to an Indian woman. In 1642, he was general manager for the Hundred Associates; and, in 1650, the agent of a company (including Lauson Rosée, Cheffault, and others) to whom had been conceded the Isle of Orleans. Laverdière says that Le Tardif was at one time seignior over part of Beaupré. His death occurred Jan. 28, 1665.--Sulte's _Can.-Français_ vols. ii. and iii.

50 (p. 203).--_Assisted in their wars._ Champlain here refers to his expeditions, with the Ottawas and other tribes of the St. Lawrence valley, against the Iroquois, in 1609, 1610, and 1615. In the last of these, during an attack made by the allies on an Iroquois fort (Oct. 11), Champlain was wounded by arrows, as were also two Ottawa chiefs, Ochateguin and Orani (_Voyages_, Laverdière's ed., pp. 528, 532, 533, 919). Laverdière reproduces Champlain's illustration of the battle, and thinks this fort was near the foot of Lake Canandaigua, in Ontario county, N. Y.; but Slafter identifies it with one, the remains of which were discovered years ago, on the shore of Nichols's Pond, in Fenner township, Madison county, N. Y.--_Champlain_ (Prince Soc.), vol. i., pp. 130-132.

51 (p. 219).--_Sorcerers_: the Nipissiriniens, or Nipissings, around Lake Nipissing; Ferland says (_Cours d'Histoire_, vol. i., p. 92) that the term "Sorcerers" was given them "because more sorcerers [medicine men] were found among them than among other tribes." Charlevoix says of them (_Journ. Hist._, pp. 186, 187): "These are the true Algonquins, and they alone have retained the Algonquin Language without alteration."--See Hunter's account of their habitat, _note_ 19, _ante_.

In regard to Ste. Croix, see vol. ii., _note_ 66.

52 (p. 219).--Iroquet (also written Hiroquet, Hirocay, Iroquay, and Yroquet): the name of both the tribe and its chief, the latter being frequently mentioned by Champlain. He took part in two of the latter's expeditions against the Iroquois (1609 and 1615). In 1610, Champlain persuaded Iroquet to allow a French lad to spend the winter with his tribe, to learn their language and become acquainted with the country and its people; Laverdière thinks this boy was Étienne Brulé (see _note_ 58, _post_). After the Iroquois expedition of 1615, Iroquet and his men, as well as the French, spent the winter in the Huron country; and quarrels which then arose between the Iroquets and their hosts compelled Champlain reluctantly to abandon a journey of exploration northward from Lake Nipissing, which he had long desired to undertake. He states that Iroquet lived about 80 leagues from the Grand Sault (Sault St. Louis); Ferland (_Cours d'Histoire_, vol. i., p. 91) says the tribe "occupied, southwest of the Ottawa, the interior of a triangular territory of which Vaudreuil, Kingston, and Ottawa form the angles." Their Huron name was Onontchataronons (_Relation_ of 1646).

Charlevoix relates, in his _Histoire de la Nouvelle France_ (Paris, 1744), vol. i., p. 228, that in August, 1642, two old men of the Iroquets told Maisonneuve, at Montreal, that "their tribe formerly lived on this island; that they were driven out by the Hurons; and that they took refuge, some with the Abenakis, some among the Iroquois, and some with the conquering Hurons." He also describes (_Journ. Hist._, pp. 110, 111) a sanguinary conflict which had occurred, in former times, between the Iroquets and the other Algonkin tribes, in which the former were almost exterminated. This battle took place near the mouth of the Becancourt River, a little below Three Rivers. So many dead bodies remained in the stream and on its banks, that it was called, even till Charlevoix's time, "la Rivière Puante" (stinking river).

Sulte (_Can. Français_, vol. i., pp. 76-83) thus epitomizes the successive changes in tribal locations on the St. Lawrence: "The Algonquins dwelt along the Ottawa; the Iroquois, on the St. Lawrence. About the year 1500, the Algonquins drove the Iroquois from the shores of their river, and there established themselves. The Iroquois settled between Lake Champlain and Lake Ontario. Between 1500 and 1530, the Hurons (or some other Iroquois tribe) retook Montreal from the Iroquets, an Algonquin tribe; and most of the Iroquets passed into the ranks of the Iroquois by this conquest [adopted by the conquerors, according to the custom prevalent among most of the aboriginal tribes].... In 1535, Jacques Cartier visited, at Montreal, the Huron-Iroquois.... Towards 1560, the Algonquins massacred nearly all the Iroquet warriors at the Rivière Puante, and the rest of this tribe returned to the Algonquins. Between 1560 and 1600, the Iroquois tribe of Agniers [Mohawks] was the one chiefly at war with the Algonquins. From 1560 to 1600, the Algonquins gained the ascendency in every direction. The Iroquois tribe that held Montreal retired westward; this was, apparently, the Huron tribe that Champlain found, in 1615, near Lake Simcoe. It was about 1600 that the league of the Five Nations seems to have commenced, and it swept the shores of the river.... The Algonquins, crushed by the Iroquois, fell back upon the Ottawa. In 1609, Champlain was accompanied, in his expedition against the Iroquois, by bands of Hurons, Algonquins, Iroquets, and Montagnais; and the French alliance again attracted Algonquins to the St. Lawrence, who settled chiefly at Three Rivers.... About 1630, the Iroquois gained ascendency over the Algonquins, thanks to the firearms sold them by the Dutch. In 1647, Piescaret, an Algonquin chief, was assassinated; and, after that, his tribe, as well as the Hurons, was destroyed. Until 1665, the Iroquois reigned supreme in the greater part of Canada." See also Perrot's _Mémoire_, chap, iv., and Tailhan's notes thereon, pp. 165, 166.

53 (p. 221).--Antoine Daniel was born at Dieppe, May 27, 1601; and, at the age of twenty, entered the Jesuit novitiate at Rouen. This completed, he was an instructor there, during 1623-27; then for three years studied theology at Clermont. He was, after 1630, a teacher and preacher at the college of Eu, until his departure for Canada (1632), whither he went with his brother, Captain Charles Daniel (see vol. iv., _note_ 46). He endeavored, with Brébeuf and Davost, to go at once to the Huron country; but the savages refused to take them, and they were compelled to wait for a more favorable opportunity. This came a year later, when these three returned with the Hurons who had come down to Three Rivers for trade,--reaching their destination, after a journey full of hardships and suffering, in which Daniel was abandoned on the way by his savage guides. They established themselves at Ihonatiria (see _note_ 60, _post_), and Daniel remained there until his death,--except during the two years 1636-38, when he was at Quebec, attending to some Huron lads whom he had taken thither to instruct in religion and in the ways of civilization. In the summer of 1648, the Iroquois made a sudden raid, and, on July 4, surprised and utterly destroyed the town of Teanaustayé (called by the missionaries St. Joseph). Daniel, after doing all in his power to encourage and console his people, was murdered at his church door by the Iroquois; his body, riddled with arrows, was thrown into the flames that consumed the building. He was the second martyr among the Jesuits sent to New France. The Hurons called him "Antwen" (also written Antouennen), a corruption of his Christian name. He was distinguished for his humility, obedience, patience, and courage.--See Rochemonteix's _Jésuites_, vol. ii., p. 74.

54 (p. 221).--Ambroise Davost came (1632), with Charles and Antoine Daniel, to St. Anne's, Cape Breton Island (see vol. iv., _note_ 46); but in May, 1633, both missionaries went to Quebec with Champlain, who, on his way thither, had stopped at Cape Breton. In July, 1634, he was assigned to the Huron mission, where he tarried two years, returning to Quebec with Daniel in 1636. He seems to have remained there and at Montreal until 1643; then, with health broken by toil and hardship, he departed for France, but died while on the voyage.

55 (p. 221).--For sketch of Brébeuf, see vol. iv., _note_ 30.

56 (p. 223).--_Petite nation_: an Algonkin tribe, living east of the Ottawa River, which is "even to this day," says Laverdière, "called the river of the Petite Nation." Their name was also given to the falls of the Chaudière; and to a seigniory granted, in 1674, to Mgr. de Laval, and situated some fifteen leagues below the falls. Champlain mentions this tribe (1613) as the Ouescharini (their Algonkin appellation, written by Ferland Ouaouechkaïrini).

57 (p. 239).--The French called this tribe Nation de l'Isle, because their principal habitat was on Allumettes Island, in the Ottawa River. Their Algonkin name was Kichesipiirini; the Huron (used by Lalemant, in _Relation_ of 1639), Ehonkehronons. Around their island the river was obstructed by dangerous rapids, involving a portage of canoes and goods. They profited by this position to levy a toll on all travelers who passed them.

58 (p. 239).--Étienne Brulé, a native of Champigny, France, came to Quebec with Champlain, at an early age, probably as early as 1608. He was an interpreter for the Hurons during many years, and lived with various tribes,--spending thus eight years, according to Champlain. In 1615, he went with the latter to the Huron country, and was sent by his commander to the Carantouanais (allies of the Hurons, and probably the Andastes, living on the upper Susquehanna), to hasten the coming of their warriors on the expedition against the Iroquois. Champlain saw no more of him until three years later, when he came down to Quebec with the annual trading party of the Hurons. He told Champlain that he had been obliged to remain among the Carantouanais, and had explored the country southward to the sea (Slafter thinks, to Chesapeake Bay); had been captured by Iroquois, and narrowly escaped death by torture; but had finally succeeded in making his way back to the Hurons. After the capture of Quebec (1629), Brulé deserted to the English; but, soon afterward, he went with Amantacha to the Huron country, where (1633) he was murdered by the savages. Sagard says this was in revenge for some misdemeanor he had committed there, and that his flesh was eaten by his murderers. Champlain says that Brulé was licentious and otherwise depraved, thus setting a bad example to the savages, for which he should have been severely punished.--See _Voyages_ (Laverdière's ed.), pp. 523, 621, 629, 1065, 1249-51; also Sagard's _Canada_, pp. 465-467.

59 (p. 245).--This was Simon Le Maistre, a merchant of Rouen, and one of the Hundred Associates,--later, a member of the royal council and receiver-general of tithes in Normandy. He aided in fitting up the expedition sent by Madame de Guercheville to found St. Sauveur (see vol. iii., p. 261). Jan. 15, 1636, he obtained a seigniory on the Bruyante (Chaudière) river, extending three leagues on each side of the river, and six leagues in depth. Two weeks later, he transferred this concession to Jean de Lauson, for whom it was named Côte de Lauson.

60 (p. 259).--_La Rochelle._ Sagard mentions (_Canada_, p. 208) "Tequeunoikuaye, also named Quieuindohian; by the French called La Rochelle, and by us [the Récollets] the town of St. Gabriel ... the chief town of that region, and the guardian and rampart of all the towns of the Bear Nation, where they generally decide all affairs of great importance." This town was afterwards known as Ossossané; and the Jesuit mission established there was named for the Immaculate Conception.

A. F. Hunter supplies the following information regarding La Rochelle: "There is scarcely any doubt as to its location. It was on the frontier toward the Iroquois, near the pass between Cranberry Lake and Nottawasaga Bay. Du Creux's map places it (under the name of Conception) at a short distance from Nottawasaga Bay, in the S. W. part of the Huron territory; and there is, within and adjoining the sixth concession of Tiny township, a group of remains of village sites and ossuaries corresponding exactly with this position. All the references in Champlain, Sagard, and the _Relations_, seem to indicate the same locality. The identity is so evident, that this group has been regarded as Ossossané since the first discovery of remains there, several years ago. When first visited by Champlain, it was well palisaded, as it also was when, twelve years later, the Récollets conducted there the mission of St. Gabriel. Afterwards, its position was changed; and again, in 1636, five villages were consolidated into one. The 'feast of the dead,' witnessed by Brébeuf in that year, was held at this place. These data, and the discovery of ossuaries, indicate the existence of various village sites in one neighborhood. From the earliest visit of Champlain (1615) until the dispersion of the Hurons, it was the capital of their confederacy,--the place where the most important councils were held. Pijart founded the mission of the Conception there in 1637; and it was the headquarters of the entire Huron mission, after the destruction of Ihonatiria by a pestilence, in 1638, until the establishment of Ste. Marie-on-the-Wye. At a meeting of the Canadian Institute on March 19, 1887, the Reverend Father Laboreau, of Penetanguishene, presented to the Provincial Archæological Museum a brass finger-ring found in one of the ossuaries at Ossossané. On the seal of this ring are engraved the letters I. H. S., with a cross standing on the bar of the H."

(See Hunter's "Archæological Research in the Huron Country," at end of this volume.)

61 (p. 263).--This abandoned village was known among the Hurons as Toanché. As stated in _note_ 58, _ante_, Étienne Brulé was murdered there in 1633. The Indians, dreading lest the French should take revenge upon them for this deed, hastily abandoned Toanché, and fixed their dwellings at a spot two or three miles distant naming their new village Ihonatiria (see vol. iv., _note_ 30). A. F. Hunter writes, concerning the locality of these towns:

"The exact positions of these villages have not yet been established beyond question. Martin thinks the various data furnished by Sagard and Brébeuf 'seem to indicate the west entrance of what is now called Penetanguishene Bay' (_Life of Jogues_, appendix A.). But Taché thinks the borders of the small inlet called Thunder Bay, fully six miles farther west, the more probable location. This bay is a small natural harbor, where landing is easy. At the time of Taché's researches (1865), it was the nearest point to any village site then discovered, the remains of one having been traced at a place distant about a mile from its shore. Parkman and Laverdière adopted Taché's opinion,--the latter assuming that Toanché was identical with Otoüacha, where Champlain had landed. The evidence in favor of Thunder Bay as the landing place of Brébeuf, although scanty, is superior to that produced for any other locality. The exact site of Toanché, however, can not yet be determined, because, except in a few places, the original forest still covers the shores of the inlet, with those of Matchedash Bay adjoining it, and to some distance inland. Farther back in the country, the farms of the settlers are mostly cleared, and village sites have been exposed by plowing; but these are too far distant from the Bay to correspond with either of the villages in question. A large ossuary in this vicinity, discovered in 1846, at the distance of about two miles from Thunder Bay, is described by Martin in his edition of Bressani's _Relation_, p. 101; also more fully by Edward W. Bawtree (_Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal_, July, 1848), whose account is reprinted in Squier's _Antiquities of the State of New York_ (Buffalo, 1851), pp. 100-107. Bawtree there describes another bone-pit, found two miles farther west, and at about the same distance from the inlet. The present writer also examined, in July, 1887, another large ossuary, and a small one beside it, then in the woods, and distant about a mile from the southwest angle of Thunder Bay. Martin and Taché apparently agree in placing Ihonatiria west of Penetanguishene Bay; but no site has yet been found there which will entirely correspond with the statements made by early writers. As in the case of Toanché, Du Creux's map is silent as to its position. Rough estimates of its distances from other villages sometimes appear in the _Relations_; as, that it was two leagues from Aronté, or four leagues from Ossossané (La Conception). But, even when the positions of these others are known, such data, without the direction of the compass being given, are insufficient to determine its position, or distinguish it among the sites of any given neighborhood. It was the seat of the mission of St. Joseph, and for nearly four years (1634-38) the headquarters of the Huron missions, until the destruction and dispersion of the village by a pestilence."

ARCHÆOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN THE HURON COUNTRY.

BY ANDREW FREDERICK HUNTER, A.M.

Father Brébeuf and his associates planted the missions to the Hurons in what is now the extreme northern part of Simcoe County. Or, more exactly defined, they were included within the boundaries of the present townships of Medonte, Tay, and Tiny, which the Canadian Government surveyed and opened for settlement in the period between the years 1820 and 1828. An influx of European settlers began soon after the latter date, and, in the course of clearing the forest and cultivating the soil, they found numerous remains of the Hurons, with here and there traces of the Jesuits. Brief notices here follow of those students of history and archæology who have labored to identify the sites of the Huron missions, or to throw light upon the subject. Other references to their work will be made in the notes on the respective mission sites.

In 1835, Father Jean Baptiste Proulx came to St. Anne's church, Penetanguishene, as its first resident pastor. His attention was soon drawn to the Jesuit remains in that vicinity; and in June, 1845, he purchased, for the sum of £43. 15s., (old Canadian currency), the east half of lot no. 16 in the third concession of the Township of Tay (100 acres), on which are situated the ruins of Fort Ste. Marie-on-the-Wye. On account of its associations with the pioneers of their church in Canada, this property is still owned by the Jesuit Society.

Father Felix Martin, S. J., visited, in 1845, the ruins of Fort Ste. Marie-on-the-Wye, and the mission sites whose exact positions were then known with certainty. His descriptions of these appear in his edition of Bressani's _Relation_, and in his _Life of Jogues_. The former work contains a reproduction of Creuxius's map (1660), which includes his "Chorographia Regionis Huronum."

Rev. Geo. Hallen, an Episcopal clergyman resident at Penetanguishene after 1840, contributed tracings of the two mission forts (one on the Wye, the other on Christian Island), to Father Martin's _Bressani_.

During two years of service as staff assistant-surgeon at Penetanguishene (1846-48), Dr. Edward W. Bawtree examined six large Huron ossuaries, the first found in the district. He described these at some length in an article, "Indian Sepulchral Pits in Canada" (see reference to this article in _note_ 61, _ante_). Bawtree's collection of Huron relics is in the Museum of the Army Medical Department at Netley, Eng.

Within the first six years after his appointment to the chair of history, in Toronto University (1854-60), Sir Daniel Wilson made several visits to the Huron country, to examine village sites and ossuaries, and his publications concerning the Hurons were numerous, not only during this period but throughout the rest of his lifetime. His visits after 1860 appear to have been less frequent, probably because Taché's survey had covered the ground. Wilson made a special study of crania; and of his archæological memoirs his best known is "The Huron Race and its Head-form," in _Canadian Journal_, 2nd series, vol. xiii. (1871-73), pp. 113-134, in which he compares the Huron skull with that of the mound-builder.

While Dr. J. C. Taché held the chair of physiology in Laval University, Quebec (1860-64), he devoted his summer vacations to explorations in the Huron country, and attempted, by examination of the published records and maps, to identify the sites of the missions. In this period he carefully examined some fourteen village sites and sixteen ossuaries, his identifications of which are adopted by Parkman and Laverdière. Taché drafted a map of the Huron country, which, together with the records of his explorations, is in the Museum of Laval University, besides many Huron relics secured by him. With the exception of some extracts from letters to the historians just named, and to a few others, scarcely anything appeared from his pen on the subject.--See Hamel's sketch of Taché in _Annuaire de l'Université Laval_ (Quebec, 1894), pp. 98-103.

Prof. Henry Montgomery, of Trinity University, Toronto, visited, during 1876-78, twelve Huron ossuaries. He minutely examined one of these, as well as several village sites and earthworks, in the immediate neighborhood of St. Louis, at which town Brébeuf and Lalemant were captured in 1649. He gave a short account of his investigations in an article, "Indian Remains in Simcoe and Muskoka," (Toronto _Globe_, August 3, 1878); and he donated the principal part of his collection of Huron relics to the Toronto University museum, since destroyed by fire.

Charles A. Hirschfelder, Toronto, in a paper, "Anthropological Discoveries in Canada" (Toronto _Mail_, Dec. 2, 1882; also, _Proceedings_ of Brit. Assoc. for Adv. of Science, Montreal, 1884, pp. 915, 916), described the Huron ossuaries and other remains which he had examined. He made, in the Huron country and in other parts of Ontario, a collection of four thousand specimens, which are preserved in the museum of the Dominion Government at Ottawa. In the course of his work, he investigated the sites of the missions of St. Joseph, St. Ignace, and Ste. Marie, on Christian Island.

Rev. J. W. Annis, M. A., of the Methodist Episcopal church, while residing in the district (1884-87), made a collection of Huron relics, many of them from the sites of the mission towns. Since his death, this collection (400 specimens) has been placed in the Provincial Archæological Museum at Toronto. His investigations extended to the sites of St. Ignace, St. Louis, Ste. Marie-on-the-Wye, and Wenrio.

James Bain, Jr., librarian of the Toronto Public Library, has thrown some light on the subject of the Huron missions. A paper read by him before the Canadian Institute in April, 1885, on "The Present Condition of the old French Fort at St. Marie," of which an abstract appears in the _Proceedings_, 3rd series, vol. iii. (1886), pp. 278, 279, describes, from personal inspection at different times, the razing of these ruins during the previous thirty years.

Since Father Th. F. Laboreau became (1873) pastor of St. Anne's, Penetanguishene, he has devoted much time to the examination of mission sites. A paper, "Reminiscences of the Huron Missions," read before the Canadian Institute, Toronto, March 19, 1887, describes some of his investigations. Another paper read before the same body, Sept. 25, 1891, on "The Early History of the Mission of St. Anne's, Penetanguishene," reviews its history from the year of its foundation (1835) until the commencement of the memorial church in memory of the martyred Jesuits, Brébeuf and his companions, in the erection of which Father Laboreau himself has shown so much zeal. The corner stone of this edifice was laid Sept. 5, 1886; and by 1890 the work had advanced so far that the basement could be used for regular services.

David Boyle, curator of the Ontario Archæological Museum, Toronto, in the course of his scientific work has made numerous visits to the Huron country. More than a thousand relics in the museum have been taken from village sites of the Hurons and Tobacco Nation, including the mission towns in both. His nine _Annual Reports_, and a small work, _Primitive Man in Ontario_, which are the most valuable contributions to the archæology of Ontario yet published, abound in many references to the relics of these localities.

A. C. Osborne, a journalist, formerly of Penetanguishene, has written various articles on the Huron missions--"The Land of the Wyandots," "The Flight of the Hurons from Ste. Marie to Christian Island," etc.

An article by Joseph Wallace, Sr., Orillia, Ont, in _The Canadian Indian_ (Sault Ste. Marie, Ont.), Feb. 1891, p. 134, entitled "A Fishing Station of the Ancient Hurons Identified," describes the channel between Lakes Simcoe and Couchiching, staked across by the Hurons for catching fish, the stakes having been preserved under water to the present day. A series of eleven articles, "Scenes from the Past," in the Orillia _Packet_ (Feb.-June, 1896), relates the story of the Huron missions in a concise form.

Space is lacking to enumerate all those who have devoted their energies to this work, though in less degree than the foregoing. Notwithstanding all their efforts, however, the work cannot be regarded as complete.

Transcriber's Note.

Variable spelling and hyphenation have been retained. Minor punctuation inconsistencies have been silently repaired.

Corrections.

The first line indicates the original, the second the correction.

p. 129:

At the time of this occurence
At the time of this occurrence

Errata.

The first line indicates the original, the second how it should read.

p. 10:

à la charité de de monsieur le Curé du Haure
à la charité de monsieur le Curé du Haure