New France

. . . [T]hrough the present expedition undertaken at your royal command for the discovery of the lands in the west formerly unknown to you and to us, lying in the same climates and parallels as your territories and kingdom, you will learn and hear of their fertility and richness, of the immense number of peoples living there, of their kindness and peacefulness, and likewise of the richness of the great river [St. Lawrence River], which flows through and waters the midst of these lands of yours, which is without comparison the largest river that is known to have ever been seen. These things fill those who have seen them with the sure hope of the future increase of our most holy faith and of your possessions and most Christian name, as you may be pleased to see in this present booklet wherein is fully set forth everything worthy of note that we saw or that happened to us both in the course of the above voyage and also during our stay in those lands and territories of yours, as well as the routes, dangers, and situation of those lands.

This people has no belief in God that amounts to anything; for they believe in a god they call Cudouagny, and maintain that he often holds intercourse with them and tells them what the weather will be like. They also say that when he gets angry with them, he throws dust in their eyes. They believe furthermore that when they die they go to the stars and descend on the horizon like the stars. Next, that they go off to beautiful green fields covered with fine trees, flowers, and luscious fruits. After they had explained these things to us, we showed them their error and informed them that their Cudouagny was a wicked spirit who deceived them; and that there is but one God, Who is in Heaven, Who gives us everything we need and is the Creator of all things and that in Him alone we should believe. Also that one must receive baptism or perish in hell. Several other points concerning our faith were explained to them which they believed without trouble, and proceeded to call their Cudouagny, Agojuda [the evil one], to such an extent that several times they begged the Captain to cause them to be baptized...

These people live with almost everything in common, much like the Brazilians. They go clothed in beasts’ skins, and rather miserably. In winter they wear leggings and moccasins made of skins, and in summer they go barefoot. They maintain the order of marriage, except that the men take two or three wives. On the death of their husband the wives never marry again, but wear mourning all their lives by dyeing their faces black with brayed charcoal and grease as thick as the back of a knife-blade; and by this one knows they are widows. They have another very bad custom connected with their daughters, who as soon as they reach the age of puberty are all placed in a brothel open to every one, until the girls have made a match. We saw this with our own eyes; for we discovered houses as full of these girls as is a boys’ school with boys in France...

Furthermore, they have a plant, of which a large supply is collected in summer for the winter’s consumption. They hold it in high esteem, though the men alone make use of it in the following manner. After drying it in the sun, they carry it about their necks in a small skin pouch in lieu of a bag, together with a hollow bit of stone or wood. Then at frequent intervals they crumble this plant into powder, which they place in one of the openings of the hollow instrument, and, laying a live coal on top, suck at the other end to such an extent that they fill their bodies so full of smoke that it streams out of their mouths and nostrils as from a chimney. They say it keeps them warm and in good health, and never go about without these things. We made a trial of this smoke. When it is in one’s mouth, one would think one had taken powdered pepper, it is so hot. The women of this country work beyond comparison more than the men, both at fishing, which is much followed, as well as as tilling the ground and other tasks. Both the men, women, and children are more indifferent to the cold than beasts; for in the coldest weather we experienced, and it was extraordinary severe, they would come to our ships every day across the ice and snow, the majority of them almost stark naked, which seems incredible unless one has seen them. While the ice and snow last, they catch a great number of wild animals such as fawns, stags, and bears, hares, martens, foxes, otters, and others. Of these they brought us very few; for they are heavy eaters and are niggardly with their provisions. They eat their meat quite raw, merely smoking it, and the same with their fish. From what we have seen and been able to learn of these people, I am of opinion that they could easily be molded in the way one would wish.

...I went on shore with my companions and two of our savages who served as interpreters. I directed the men in our barque to approach near the savages, and hold their arms in readiness to do their duty in case they notice any movement of these people against us. Bessabez [the chief], seeing us on land, bade us sit down, and began to smoke with his companions.... They presented us with venison and game.

I directed our interpreter to say to our savages that...Sieur de Monts [Champlain's patron] had sent me to see them, and...that he desired to inhabit their country and show them how to cultivate it, in order that they might not continue to lead so miserable a life as they were doing....They expressed their great satisfaction, saying that no greater good could come to them than to have our friendship, and that they desired to live in peace with their enemies, and that we should dwell in their land, in order that they might in the future more than ever before engage in hunting beavers, and give us a part of them in return for our providing them with things which they wanted....

Four things make a Country desirable: good soil, strong and fortified localities, the character and number of inhabitants, and the government. As to the excellence of the land which forms the banks of the great River, I shall speak hereafter. As to strongholds, I shall simply tell what there are...Monsieur de Montmagny, our Governor, has traced the plan, as I have already said, of a fortress which is to be regularly built. Some are working at the lime, others at the brick, others are hauling stone, and others leveling the ground. They have drawn the plans of a city, in order that all building hereafter shall be done systematically. . . .

I say nothing about the houses of private persons, which have been built and are building every day, some here, some there, according to the inclination and convenience of each. Those who have not seen the Country in its poverty, perhaps do not admire these still quite small beginnings. As to me, I frankly confess that Kébec [Quebec] seems to me another Country, and no longer the little corner hidden away at the end of the world, where could be seen nothing but some dilapidated huts and a few Europeans. The courage of these Gentlemen is going much farther; they are thinking about a number of homes or settlements as far up as the great Sault de saint Louys, which will be some day perhaps as many Cities. Indeed, in the course of time they will even be able to secure the great river up as far as the fresh-water sea of the Hurons, which is a lake of more than five hundred leagues in extent. But we must unite and rally our forces in some permanent and well-protected places, before spreading out so far.

As to the inhabitants of New France, they have multiplied far beyond our hopes. When we entered the Country, we found here only a single family, who were seeking a passage back to France in order to live there under the laws of the true Religion. And now we see a great number of very honorable persons land here every year, who come to cast themselves into our great forests as if into the bosom of peace, to live here with more piety, more immunity, and more liberty....Exactions, deceits, thefts, rapes, assassinations, treachery, enmity, black malice, are seen here only once a year, in the letters and Gazettes which people bring from Old France...Would to God that souls enamored of peace could see how sweet is life remote from the gehenna [hell] of the tyranny of lawsuits, of the ravages of war, and of an infinite number of other savage beasts that we do not encounter in our forests.

. It remains to speak of our government, Ecclesiastical and Civil. . . . Everywhere there are libertine spirits who consider the mildest laws as chains; but their discontent is a disease of the mind, and does not arise from the severity of the laws, which are in no wise characterized by bitterness. Furthermore, those laws enacted here are also observed...The best laws in the world are of no value, if they are not observed.

[LeJeune now goes on to answer some questions asked by prospective immigrants to New France]

It is asked whether this country is beyond the incursions of the Spaniard . . . The Spaniard could only come to us by sea or by land. To come by land is impossibility itself, and he who has ever so little knowledge of the Country...across so many hundreds of leagues of woods, of forests, of rivers, of lakes, and of mountains. To come by water, he has a long voyage to make; for between him and us there is the whole of Florida, and perhaps several other countries beyond; all of Virginia, and all the other lands which belong to France, which are of vast extent...

The land being cleared and ploughed, will it produce enough for the inhabitants? I answer, yes; this is the opinion of those who understand the subject. Sieur Giffard, who has been clearing the land for only two years, and still leaving a great many stumps, hopes to harvest enough this year, if his wheat yields in proportion to present indications, to maintain twenty persons. . . .

How is the great saint Lawrence River formed? What kind of banks has it? How far up do the great Vessels go, and of what burden are those which go up as far as Kébec and the three Rivers? What is the condition of the fortifications that have been made for the safety of the Country? . . . This King of all Rivers is bordered sometimes by mountains, sometimes by a flat country, or by land but slightly elevated. I have often navigated it from Kébec up to the three Rivers. I have observed that some of the banks are rocky, others sandy; upon others one finds clay,—heavy soil, very good for making brick. The Country is beautiful and very attractive, intersected by rivers, brooks, and torrents issuing from the ground...

Notice what the country furnishes to sustain human life, the kinds of animals, etc. Game among river birds is abundant in season, that is, in the Spring and Autumn; but as it has been so greatly disturbed in the more inhabited localities, it is going farther and farther away. . . . There are Elks, Beavers, Porcupines, Hares, and some of the deer family—such as the common red Deer, and a kind of cow that appears to have some affinity with ours. This chase of the larger animals is as yet mainly indulged in by the Savages, who, by the pursuit of them, have driven these animals from our settlements; some of the French, however, have killed Elks, but not many. The time will come when they can be domesticated, and we shall make good use of them, having them drag over the snow the wood—and other things which we shall need . . . As to the fish, he is here, as it were, in his empire. There are a great many Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers, filled with them. The great river is full of Sturgeon, Salmon, Shad, Pike, Flounders, goldfish, whitefish, Carp of different kinds, Eels, etc.

All those who desire to come and increase this Colony are either people of means, or poor people; I will speak to both. Let us begin with the poor. A poor man burdened with a wife and children should not come over here the first years with his family, if he is not hired by the Gentlemen of the Company, or by some one else who will bring them hither: otherwise he will suffer greatly, and will not make any headway. The Country is not yet in a condition to care for the poor who cannot work. But if there happen to be some worthy young men or able-bodied married men, who can handle the axe, the hoe, the spade, and the plough,—such people, if willing to work, could become rich in a little while in this Country, to which they could finally bring their families. . . .

As to people of wealth and rank, I would advise them before coming here to obtain from the Gentlemen of the Company a place to build a house in the town which has been laid out, and also a few arpents of land near the town, capable of sustaining their families. If this order is followed, when the women and children reach here they will all be comforted at finding a dwelling ready for them, a garden for their refreshment, and people at their service who will have a knowledge of the Country.

I beg those who shall come, to come with a desire to do good. New France will some day be a terrestrial Paradise if our Lord continues to bestow upon it his blessings, both material and spiritual...

Quebec is the Metropolitan of New-France, being most a league in circumference . . . Quebec is divided into the upper and the lower city. The merchants live in the latter, for the conveniency of the harbor; upon which they have built very fine houses, three story high, of a sort of stone that’s as hard as marble. The upper of high city is full as populous, and as well adorn’d as the lower. Both cities are commanded by a castle, that stands upon the highest ground. This castle is the residence of the governors, and affords them not only convenient apartments, but the noblest and most extensive prospect in the world. . . .

Those who live on the river side, in the lower city, are not half so much pinched with the cold, as the inhabitants of the upper; besides that the former have a peculiar conveniency of transporting in boats, corn, wood, and other necessaries, to the very doors of their houses; but as the latter are more exposed to the injuries of the cold, so they enjoy the benefit and pleasure of a cooler summer.

The way which leads from the one city to the other is pretty broad, and adorned with houses on each side; only ‘tis a little steep. Quebec stands upon a very uneven ground; and its houses are not uniform.. . . The intendant lives in a bottom, at some small distance from the side of a little river, which by joining the River of St. Laurence, coops up the city in a right angle. His house is the palace in which the Sovereign Council assembles four times a week; and on one side of which, we see great magazines of ammunitions and provisions. There are six churches in the high city: the Cathedral consists of a bishop, and twelve prebendaries (priests), who live in common in the chapter-house, the magnificence and architecture of which is truly wonderful. . . The second church is that of the Jesuits, which stands in the center of the city; it is a fair, stately and well lighted edifice. . . The third church is that of the Recollects (Franciscans) . . . The fourth church is that of the Ursulines [nuns], which has been burn’d down two or three times, and still rebuilt to the advantage. The fifth is that of the hospital-order [nuns], who take particular care of the sick . . .

The way of travelling in the winter, whether in town or country, is that of sledges drawn by horses; who are so insensible of the cold, that I have seen fifty or sixty of ‘em in January and February stand in the snow up to their breast, in the midst of a wood, without ever offering to go near their owner’s house. In the winter-time they travel from Quebec to Monreal upon the Ice, the river being then frozen over; and upon the occasion these sledges will run you fifteen leagues a day. As for their travelling in summer, I shall transmit you an account of it, when I come to be better informed.

It must be granted that there are no Nations in Europe that have such an Inclination for Colonies as the English and the Hollanders: The Genius of those People will not permit them to be idle at home. So the vast Countries of America which I have described, may be made the Soul of their Commerce. Private Persons who shall undertake it, without interesting [involving] their own Country, may bring it to a happy issue: They may easily contract Alliances with the Savages and civilize them. The Colonies which they shall establish there will quickly be peopled, and they may fortify themselves there at a very small Expense: They may content themselves at first with a moderate Gain, but in a short time it will be extremely considerable. . . . It’s certain . . . that the Trade of Furs in the North is of infinite Profit and Advantage. There are to be had Skins of Elks or Originals [moose], as they are called in Canada, of Bears, Beavers, of the white Wolf or Lynx, of black Foxes, which are wonderfully beautiful, which were sometimes valued at five or six hundred Francs; of common Foxes, Otters, Martins, wild Cats, wild Goats, Harts [stags], Porcupines; of Turkeys, which are of an extraordinary bigness, Bustards, and an infinity of other Animals, whose Names I know not.

Article II. All slaves that shall be in our islands shall be baptized and instructed in the Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith. We enjoin the inhabitants who shall purchase newly-arrived Negroes to inform the Governor and Intendant of said islands of this fact within no more that eight days, or risk being fined an arbitrary amount. They shall give the necessary orders to have them instructed and baptized within a suitable amount of time.

Article III. We forbid any religion other than the Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith from being practiced in public. We forbid any gathering to that end, which we declare to be conventicle, illegal, and seditious, and subject to the same punishment as would be applicable to the masters who permit it or accept it from their slaves.

Article IV. No persons assigned to positions of authority over Negroes shall be other than a member of the Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith, and the master who assigned these persons shall risk having said Negroes confiscated, and arbitrary punishment levied against the persons who accepted said position of authority.

Article VI. We enjoin all our subjects, of whatever religion and social status they may be, to observe Sundays and the holidays that are observed by our subjects of the Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Faith. We forbid them to work, nor make their slaves work, on said days, from midnight until the following midnight.

Article VII. We forbid them also to hold slave markets or any other market on said days at the risk of similar punishments and of confiscation of the merchandise that shall be discovered at the market, and an arbitrary fine against the sellers

Article IX. Free men who shall have one or more children during concubinage with their slaves, together with their masters who accepted it, shall each be fined two thousand pounds of sugar. If they are the masters of the slave who produced said children, we desire, in addition to the fine, that the slave and the children be removed and that she and they be sent to work at the hospital, never to gain their freedom.

Article XI. We forbid priests from conducting weddings between slaves if it appears that they do not have their masters' permission.

Article XII. Children born from marriages between slaves shall be slaves, and if the husband and wife have different masters, they shall belong to the masters of the female slave

Article XIII. We desire that if a male slave has married a free woman, their children, either male or female, shall be free as is their mother, regardless of their father's condition of slavery. And if the father is free and the mother a slave, the children shall also be slaves

Article XV. We forbid slaves from carrying any offensive weapons or large sticks, at the risk of being whipped and having the weapons confiscated. The weapons shall then belong to he who confiscated them. The sole exception shall be made for those who have been sent by their masters to hunt

Article XVI. We also forbid slaves who belong to different masters from gathering, either during the day or at night, under the pretext of a wedding or other excuse, either at one of the master's houses or elsewhere, and especially not in major roads or isolated locations. They shall risk corporal punishment

Article XVIII. We forbid slaves from selling sugar cane, for whatever reason or occasion, even with the permission of their master, at the risk of a whipping for the slaves and a fine of ten pounds for the masters who gave them permission

Article XIX. We also forbid slaves from selling any type of commodities, even fruit, vegetables, firewood, herbs for cooking and animals either at the market, or at individual houses, without a letter or a known mark from their masters granting express permission.

Article XXVII. Slaves who are infirm due to age, sickness or other reason, whether the sickness is curable or not, shall be nourished and cared for by their masters. In the case that they be abandoned, said slaves shall be awarded to the hospital, to which their master shall be required to pay six sols per day for the care and feeding of each slave

Article XXXI. Slaves shall not be a party, either in court or in a civil matter, either as a litigant or as a defendant, or as a civil party in a criminal matter. And compensation shall be pursued in criminal matters for insults and excesses that have been committed against slaves. . . .

Article XXXIII. The slave who has struck his master in the face or has drawn blood, or has similarly struck the wife of his master, his mistress, or their children, shall be punished by death

Article XXXVIII. The fugitive slave who has been on the run for one month from the day his master reported him to the police, shall have his ears cut off and shall be branded with a fleur de lys [lily] on one shoulder. If he commits the same infraction for another month, again counting from the day he is reported, he shall have his hamstring cut

Article XXXIX. The masters of freed slaves who have given refuge to fugitive slaves in their homes shall be punished by a fine of three hundred pounds of sugar for each day of refuge.

Article LIX. We grant to freed slaves the same rights, privileges and immunities that are enjoyed by freeborn persons.

As for the mysteries of our faith [religion], although these are entirely new to their ears, they yet do not gainsay [oppose] them, or mock or scorn them; nay, rather they wonder, praise, and approve, though without keeping them long before their minds. They all have but one answer—“Such is not our custom; your world is different from ours; the God who created yours,” they say, “did not create ours.” In short, caught in Satan’s snares, their evil habits still hold them back. Many, it is true, gladly worship the God whom we preach; but when opportunity for their old superstitions again arises, they scarcely abstain [stop] therefrom. Among other things that move them, they are frightened by the torment of hell; and, enticed by the joys of paradise, they open their eyes to the light of truth. Since we came here, two years ago, we have baptized more than 60. Of this number, some, both adults and children, have already gone to heaven, as we believe, or at least hope. We believe that many others must be allured by the prayers and examples of these. For parents yet surviving say that they do not wish to be separated from their children, and that where these have gone, they too will go after death.

In eight months I have baptized only fifty-three persons, nearly all of whom have gone to heaven. If I have contributed to the salvation of even one soul, I should consider myself more than adequately recompensed for all my efforts, for Christ gave his blood for that soul.

I have made use of every device that God has suggested to me to make them give up their bad habits, for to convert these peoples, you must begin by touching their hearts before you can convince their minds. It is with this in mind that I painted some spiritual and devout pictures that have been powerful assistance in teaching them. I do the catechism twice a day, with all the success that could be expected of these poor Indians, though I often was surprised at the quite extraordinary impression that the word of God made on their souls.

I have attacked drunkenness and debauchery [excessive indulgence in sexual pleasures], which are, as it were, the divinities [god-like] of this country, for these people are madly attached to them. These vices I have combated by invoking fear of God’s judgment and, along with that, the dread of the armed might of a great king, whose name alone is enough to hold them to their duty. I have tried to win them over with the greatest possible gentleness and intimacy.

At first I had thought that, in order to establish Christianity on a solid basis among these peoples, it was necessary to make use of reading and writing, two things of which the Indians have no knowledge. Accordingly, I spent months teaching both to our Iroquois children and, as a result, some of them did learn to read and write fairly well. But I did not have a sufficient supply of the little rewards that one needs to keep children interested in this pursuit, and, moreover, I was left with too little time for the essential duties of my mission. And so I had to find some other expedient [method] which would be just as effective but would leave me more time for the responsibilities of my ministry.

Some days later, God inspired me with an idea that is much easier and which produces great results among these peoples. It is a game designed to capture our Indians by means of what they most love, for gaming [playing games] constitutes their principle activity when they are not at war. Thus, I hope to bring them to their salvation through the very thing that so often brought about their ruin.

… This game communicates its message through pictures and provides sound instruction by means of the emblems with which it is filled. Those who wish to amuse themselves with it have only to look at it to learn all that they have to do to live a Christian life. They will remember all that they have learned and never be able to forget it.

[The Ottawas and Hurons] come down every Year to the Colony in order to make a better Market than they can do in their own Country of Michilimackinac, which lies on the Banks of the Lake of Hurons, at the Mouth of the Lake of the Illinese [Lake Michigan]. Their way of Trading is as follows: Upon their first Arrival, they encamp at the distance of five or six hundred Paces from the Town. The next day is spent in [ar]ranging their Canoes, unloading their Goods and pitching their Tents, which are made of Birch Bark. The next day after, they demand Audience of the Governor General, which is granted ’em that same day in a public place. Upon this Occasion, each Nation makes a Ring for itself; the Savages sit upon the Ground with their Pipes in their Mouths, and the Governor is seated in an armed Chair; after which, there starts up an Orator or Speaker from one of these Nations, who makes an Harangue, importing,

"That his ‘Brethren are come to visit the Governor general, and to renew with him their wonted Friendship: That their chief View is to promote the Interest of the French, some of whom being unacquainted with the way of Traffic, and being too weak for the transporting of Goods from the [Great] Lakes, would be unable to deal in Beaver-skins, if his Brethren did not come in person to deal with ’em in their own Colonies: That they know very well how acceptable their Arrival is to the Inhabitants of Montreal, in regard of the Advantage they reap by it: That in regard the Beaver-skins are much valued in France, and the French Goods given in exchange are of an inconsiderable Value, they mean to give the French sufficient proof of their readiness to furnish ’em with what they desire so earnestly. That by way of preparation for another Year’s Cargo, they are come to take in Exchange, Fusees [muskets], Powder, and Ball, in order to hunt great numbers of beavers or to gall [harass] the Iroquois, in case they try to disturb the French Settlements...

This done, the Savages rise up, and return to their Huts to make suitable Preparations for the ensuing Truck [trade]. The next day the Savages make their Slaves carry the Skins to the Houses of the Merchants, who bargain with ’em for such Clothes as they want. All the Inhabitants of Montreal are allowed to traffic with ’em in any Commodity but Wine and Brandy; these two being excepted upon the account that when the Savages have got what they wanted, and have any Skins left, they drink to excess, and then kill their Slaves; for when they are in drink, they quarrel and fight...

[N]ow it remains only to give you an inventory of the Goods that are proper for the Savages:

• Short and light Fusees [muskets]

• Powder Ball and cut Lead

• Small-shot Knives with their Sheaths

• Sword-blades to make Darts of

• Kettles of all sizes

• Shoemakers’ Awls

• Fish-hooks, of all sizes

• Flint Stones

• Caps of blue

• Serge Shirts made of the common Brittany Linen

• Worsted Stockings, short and coarse

• Brazil Tobacco

• Coarse white Thread for Nets

• Sewing thread of several colors

• Pack-thread

• Vermillion Needles, both large and small

• Venice beads

• Some Iron Heads for Arrows, but few of ’em

• A small quantity of Soap

• A few Sabers or Cutlasses

• Brandy goes off incomparably well.

OUR REVERENCE WILL NOT this year find your usual satisfaction in the Relation; for the best part of it which is that concerning the Hurons, was taken by the Iroquois, together with our Fathers correspondence, in a defeat of 40 Hurons, which occurred on the 9th of last June, near Montreal. Father Isaac Jogues, now captive among the Barbarians, writes to us, on the last day of June, that it has fallen into his hands, along with sundry letters of our Fathers among the Hurons; I know not whether he can at all convey it to Your reverence by some way unknown to us. I doubt not that it is full of great consolation; for we have learned, in general, that the principal Hurons are beginning to relish the things of God in good earnest, and to dispose themselves to Baptism, so that about a hundred have been chosen this year to be received into the number of the children of God.

THE FRENCH COLONY is the chief means and only foundation for the conversion of all these tribes: there is no better or more efficacious way of procuring their salvation than by succoring [helping] this settlement, which, thanks be to God, increases little by little, and overcomes the great impediments it encounters,—as the remoteness of help from Europe, the scarcity of laborers, difficulties of trade, and the long Winter which covers the earth, five and even six months, with snow. Notwithstanding all these hindrances, nearly every French household now provides its little store of wheat, rye, peas, barley, and other grains necessary to the life of man,— some more, some less,—some making provision for haply six months; others, for only a part of that time. Now they begin to understand the nature of the place, and the right seasons for tilling the soil. The work is well started: it still has need of help; but, thanks be to God, it makes notable progress. Moreover, in every household you will see many children, comely and of good wit; and in them all you will find what is most important,-a warm desire for their own salvation, and a singular zeal for virtue. It would seem that the purpose of entire devotion to God is born with the thought of establishing oneself in New France.

I will now speak of the life and death of Monsieur Nicollet, Interpreter and Agent for the Gentlemen of the Company of New France. He died ten days after the Father [Raymbault], and had lived in this region twenty-five years. What I shall say of him will aid to a better understanding of the country. He came to New France in the year sixteen hundred and eighteen; and forasmuch as his nature and excellent memory inspired good hopes of him, he was sent to winter with the Island Algonquins, in order to learn their language. He tarried with them two years, alone of the French, and always joined the Barbarians in their excursions and journeys,—undergoing such fatigues as none but eyewitnesses can conceive; he often passed seven or eight days without food, and once, full seven weeks with no other nourishment than a little bark from the trees. He accompanied four hundred Algonquins, who went during that time to make peace with the Iroquois, which he successfully accomplished; and would to God that it had never been broken, for then we would not now be suffering the calamities which move us to groans, and which must be an extraordinary impediment in the way of converting these tribes. After this treaty of peace, he went to live eight or nine years with the Algonquin Nipissiriniens, where he passed for one of that nation, taking part in the very frequent councils of those tribes, having his own separate cabin and household, and fishing and trading for himself. He was finally recalled, and appointed Agent and Interpreter. While in the exercise of this office, he was delegated to make a journey to the nation called People of the sea [probably the Winnebago of Wisconsin], and arrange peace between them and the Hurons, from whom they are distant about three hundred leagues Westward.

He embarked in the Huron country, with seven Savages; and they passed by many small nations, both going and returning. When they arrived at their destination, they fastened two sticks in the earth, and hung gifts thereon, so as to relieve these tribes from the notion of mistaking them for enemies to be massacred. When he was two days' journey from that nation, he sent one of those Savages to bear tidings of the peace, which word was especially well received when they heard that it was a European who carried the message; they despatched several young men to meet the Manitouiriniou—that is to say, " the wonderful man. " They meet him; they escort him, and carry all his baggage. He wore a grand robe of China damask, all strewn with flowers and birds of many colours. No sooner did they perceive him than the women and children fled, at the sight of a man who carried thunder in both hands,—for thus they called the two pistols that he held. The news of his coming quickly spread to the places round about, and there assembled four or five thousand men. Each of the chief men made a feast for him, and at one of these banquets they served at least sixscore Beavers. The peace was concluded; he returned to the Hurons, and some time later to the three Rivers, where he continued his employment as Agent and Interpreter, to the great satisfaction of both the French and the Savages, by whom he was equally and singularly loved.

You are a Mighty Sachem & we but a Small People. When the English first came to New York to Virginia & Maryland, they were but a small People & we a large Nation; & we finding they were good People gave them Land & dealt Civilly by them; Now that you are grown Numerous & we decreased, you must Protect us against the French, which if you don’t we shall lose all our Hunting & Bevers. The French want all the Beavers & are angry that we bring any to the English.

The Spaniards from Mexico, having been informed of the incursion and of Mr . de la Salle’s plan for the French settlement in La Louisiane, resolved to thwart him; and to that end made three expeditions, even though they had to pass through an unknown and faraway land, according to what the said Talons reported having heard them say, where they had never been before. On the first expedition [1689], they were about 500 men on horseback, armed with muskets or small harquebuses, pistols, and swords and all wearing coats of [chain]mail or iron wire made like nets of very small links, which protected them from the consequences of the savages’ arrows. But, as it was already a long time after the massacre of the French when they arrived in the country [three to four months], they found only two of those who had scattered after the death of the said Sr. de la Salle and who were with the savage nations closer to the borders of Mexico than the ones who have been mentioned previously. One of these Frenchmen was a young man from Bayonne named Larchevesque [L´Archevêque], who appeared to be of noble birth and well educated, and the other a sailor named Groulé [Grollet]. The Spaniards seized them and took them with them to Mexico, where the said Talons saw them, as they will say later on.

On the second trip [1690] the Spaniards were no more than 200,11 having diminished their number because they had learned from the aforementioned L’archevesque and Groulé of the French disaster, and that there remained only a few who had escaped the various perils they had encountered and who were scattered among the savages. Finally, wanting absolutely to have in their power these wretched few who survived, they penetrated farther than they had on the first journey. Pierre Talon and Meunier, having learned from some savages that the Spaniards were looking for them and were drawing closer to them, wanted to evade them, fearing their cruelty. They believed they were fleeing from them, going farther into the territory from [Indian] nation to nation. But they [the Spaniards] met them on their way and captured them. They made the two Frenchmen take them to the Cenis village, to see if there were any others. Not finding any, they stayed there several days and, finding this nation more docile and, in some ways, more civil than the others, they left with them three Spanish Religious of the Order of St. Francis, with several soldiers as their guard, who built them a house in the village. They left them some clothes, some flour, and other provisions, which they did not lack [need], having more than 400 horses of which those not used by the horsemen were loaded with baggage and provisions.

Talon and Meunier served them as interpreters by means of the captain and lieutenant of this Spanish troop, who spoke good French. They heard them say many times that they wanted to live in this country, that it belonged to them and not to the French. They also heard them say this later to the viceroy of Mexico.

The Talons and their comrades, having been captured by the Spaniards as has been said, crossed with them — before arriving in New Spain — a big country very much like the one they had just left, and which they have previously described, also populated with savages separated into small nations, each one having its own particular name and language. . . . From there they continued on their road until they came to the one leading to Mexico [City], capital of the country, archbishopric, and place where the Spanish viceroy makes his residence. It appeared to them very large and beautiful, and they heard someone tell the Spaniard that it was as large as Madrid. The houses there are well built, all on a very high level and all with terraced roofs, so that one can go over them without difficulty, from one end of the street to the other. There are many coaches. . . . The town is heavily populated, but the majority are natives of the country; that is, descendants of the Indian peoples or savages, rather than of Spaniards. And it is not permitted to these natives to keep arms, which ensures that they do not know how to use them.

[The Franciscan missionaries on the 1690 expedition stayed in east Texas and founded the San Francisco de los Tejas mission to convert the Indians.]

From the year 1669 . . . the colony [of New France] had increased considerably, and by the census of this year 1688 it was found to be composed of eleven thousand two hundred and forty-nine persons. The English, indeed, as already remarked, from that time shared with the French in fur trade; and this was the chief motive of their fomenting war between us and the Iroquois, inasmuch as they could get no good furs, which come from the northern districts except by means of these Indians who could scarcely effect a reconciliation with us without precluding them from this precious mine. Not that the Iroquois were great hunters; but besides their often robbing our allies and voyageurs [licensed traders] of the furs they were bearing to Montreal, they induced several tribes, and often even our bushlopers [unlicensed fur traders], to trade with the English of New York, and the profit which they derived from this trade, of which their country became of course the center, retained them in the English interest. To these reasons was added the allurement of a better market, which made a great impression on all the Indians, so that the best part of the furs of Canada went to the English, without there being any possibility of bringing to reason those interested in this trade, the head men of which being in France, did not see matters as clearly as those who were in America. . . .

The sole resource of the province lay in our alliance with the Indians of those parts [eastern Canada], and especially of the Abénaquis, among whom Christianity had made great progress; but there was constant fear of our losing these allies, the most manageable and at the same time the bravest in all Canada. The English were incessantly making them presents and the most extravagant promises to detach them from our interest; and would certainly have succeeded but for the invincible attachment of these tribes to their religion and their missionaries.

If we remain on the defensive e, the ruin of this colony is inevitable; these Indians will continue their inroads, burn and pillage everything, without our being able to oppose them, were there even twice as many more troops in the country; but by taking New York, we compel them to ask peace on such conditions we choose to impose. This expedition may take place before or after harvest, and there are two ways of carrying it out. The surest is to attack Manhattan with six ships, carrying an army of 1200 men, while the Canadian troops attack Orange (Albany) by land. The other means is less expensive; it consists in sending to Canada 300 recruits, who, with a like number of old soldiers, will be stationed to guard the principal posts in the country, while a force of 1000 royal troops and 3 or 400 colonists are sent to lay siege to Orange. That town taken, a good garrison will be left there, and our forces will push on to attack Manhattan (New York)...The English and French are incompatible in that part of the continent of America; that the former regard our missionaries as their most dangerous enemies, and did not rest till they had driven them out of all the Iroquois cantons; that, even religion apart, it was very important to resort to every means to restore them there, and to have some among all the other Indians, over whom they have acquired a very great ascendancy; that the Iroquois have, in reality, more esteem and inclination for our nation than for the English; but that commercial interest, or rather the credit which trade give them, would always keep them in the English alliance...

One afternoon, about four o’clock, our braves arrived within two leagues of Schenectady; here the Great Mohawk, chief of the Iroquois of Sault St. Louis, harangued them with great eloquence, speaking with an authority acquired not only over the Indians, but even over the French, by his great services to the colony, actions of admirable conception and heroic valor, eminent virtue, and untiring zeal for religion. He exhorted them all to forget past hardships in the hope of avenging the evils suffered the last few years on the perfidious English, who were the main authors of all. They could not, he added, doubt of Heaven’s assistance against the enemies of God, and in so just a cause.

They had scarcely resumed their march when they fell in with four Indian women who gave them all the information required to approach the place securely. Giguière, a Canadian, was detached at once with nine Indians, on a scout, and discharged his duty perfectly. Unperceived, he reconnoitered Schenectady leisurely and returned to the force which was only a league distant. It was at first proposed to defer the attack till morning, but the excessive cold changed their plan. They resolved to march at once, and attack on arriving. The gate selected for assault was not only open, but totally unguarded; and, as it was night, the whole party entered, unperceived by any of the inhabitants.

Then a yell was raised in Indian style, and each one struck where he was. Mantet attacked a kind of fort, where he found the garrison in arms. Here the resistance was quite vigorous; but the door was at last forced, the English all put to the sword, and the fort reduced to ashes. Few houses in the town were defended...It was soon only massacre and pillage, but after two hours the leaders thought it necessary to place guards at all the avenues to prevent surprise, and the rest of the night was spent in refreshing themselves. Mantet had given orders to spare the minister, whom he wished to take prisoner; but he was killed without being recognized and all his papers were burned. Coudre, Mayor of the place, escaped across the river, and seemed preparing to entrench himself with his servants, some soldiers, and Indians, who had followed him...Life was granted to sixty, chiefly women, children, and old men, who had escaped the first fury of the assailants, as well as to thirty Iroquois, who were recognized; the object being, to show the cantons that the French struck only at the English, whose loss was estimated at 400,000 lives. Three Indians and sixteen Frenchmen were killed or taken; so that want of forecast [preparation] cost this party much more dearly than the attack on Schenectady, where they lost only one Frenchman and one Indian. . . .

This policy of two nations, too proud to esteem each other, and too restless to remain on a good understanding longer than their interest demanded, had ceased to be a mystery for those who had any share in the affairs of New France.