L I E) RARY OF THL U N I VERS ITY or ILLINOIS 9171 Ll3nE 1905 ILL HIST. SURVfcl LAHONTAN'S NEW VOYAGES TO NORTH-AMERICA EDITED BY REUBEN GOLD THWAITES, LL.D. Volume I Volumes in A. C. McCLURG & CO.'S series of LIBRARY REPRINTS OF AMERICANA THE EXPEDITION OF LEWIS AND CLARK Reprinted from the Edition of 1814. With Introduction and Index by James K. Hosmer, LL.D. In two vol- umes, with photogravure portraits and maps, $5.00 net. HENNEPIN'S "A NEW DISCOVERY" Exact Reprint of the Second Issue of 1698. With Intro- duction, Notes, and an analytical Index by Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D. In two volumes, with fac- similes of original title-pages and of the seven original full-page illustrations, and two large folding maps. $6.00 net. GASS'S JOURNAL OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION Reprinted from the Edition of 181 1. With an analyti- cal Index, and Introduction by James Kendall Hosmer, LL.D. In one volume, with facsimiles of the original title-page and of the five original illustrations, and a reproduction of a rare portrait of Gass. $3.50 net. LAHONTAN'S NEW VOYAGES TO NORTH AMERICA Exact Reprint of the English Edition of 1703. With Introduction, Notes, and an analytical Index by Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D. In two volumes, with fac- similes of the original title-pages, and of the twenty- four maps and illustrations. ^7-5° "''• NEW VOYAGES TO NORTH-AMERICA BY THE BARON DE LAHONTAN Reprinted from the English edition of ijo^^ with facsimiles of original title-pages^ maps, and illustrations, and the addition of Introduction, Notes, and Index By Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D. Editor of "The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents,^' Hennepin's "New Discovery " etc. 3n CttJo l^olumeis Volume I CHICAGO A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1905 Copyright A. C. McCLURG & CO. 1905 Published February 25, 1905 Composition by The Dial Press. Chicago. Press-work by The University Press, Cambridge. > b CONTENTS — VOLUME I PAGE Introduction — The Editor ix Lahonton Bibliography — Victor Hugo Paltsits . . li I 3 5 13 25 ^ Lahontan's "New Voyages to North-America" — -si Volume I. Title-page (facsimile of original) Dedication to the Duke of Devonshire Preface Contents of Letters, Memoirs, Discourses, Dialogue J etc., in both Volumes Letters I (November 8, 1683) -XXV (January 31 1694) Memoirs of North-America ; containing a Geograph- ical Defcription of that vaft Continent ; the Cuftoms _ and Commerce of the Inhabitants, &c. '^ Introductory Remarks 299 "^ A fhort Defcription of Canada .... 301 A Lift of the Savage Nations of Canada . . 339 A Lift of the Animals of Canada .... 343 A Defcription of fuch Animals or Beafts, as are not mention'd in the Letters .... 345 >5^ A Lift of the Fowl or Birds that frequent the South Countries of Canada ..... 350 -J The Birds of the North Countries of Canada . 351 vi Contents PAGE A Defcription of fuch Birds as are not accounted for in my Letters 353 A Defcription of the Infects of Canada . . 357 The Names of the Fifti in the River of St. Laurence, from its Mouth to the Lakes of Canada . 358 The Fifh that are found in the Lakes of Canada, and in the Rivers that fall into 'em . . . 359 The Fifh found in the River of Miffifipi . . 359 A Defcription of the Fifh that are not mention'd in the Letters 360 The Trees and Fruits of the South Countries of Canada 3^4 The Trees and Fruits of the North Countries of Canada 3^4 A Defcription of the above-mention'd Trees and Fruits 366 A Defcription of the Trees and Fruits of the Northern Countries 37® A General view of the Commerce of Canada . 373 The Names of the Skins given in exchange, with their Rates 379 An Account of the Government of Canada in General 3^^ A Difcourfe of the Interefl of the French, and of the Englifh, in North-America . . . 394 A Table explaining fome Terms made ufe of in both Volumes 401 ILLUSTRATIONS— VOLUME I (facsimiles of originals) PAGE A beaver; the hunting of buffaloes; savages drying their meat Frontispiece Map of the Great Lakes Facing i Map of the straits of Mackinac ... ,,36 "Canows made of Birch-bark " — sketches and plans ....•••• jj oo " M^ De la Barre's camp " . . . • ,,124 "A General Map of New France, Com. call'd Canada" . . . . • • • >» 15^ "The curiofity of the Rackets, and the way of hunting Elks" ..... o ,, 188 "The Hunting of divers Animals" . . . „ 220 " The Difcovery of an Ambufcade " . . . „ 254 "A Map of y^ Long River and of fome others that fall into that fmall part of y^ Great River of Miflifipi which is here laid down" — with sketch-plans of a house, a vessel, and a medal „ 284 " The Attack of Quebec " . . . . » 3^^ " The Great bay of Placentia " .... ,, 344 Map of Newfoundland . . . . . » 3^4 INTRODUCTION IN the frontier department of the Basse-Pyrenees, once a part of the ancient province of Beam, on gently-undulating hillsides which occupy middle ground between the broad- ViUageof stretching pastures and marshes of the Landes and Lahontan. ^j^g over-topping escarpments of the Pyrenees, lies the pleasant little village of Lahontan. A community of twelve hundred souls, it boasts of an interesting history, but is now almost unknown in its dreamy isolation, save that the scholar may remember that it was once the fief of the illus- trious Montaigne. About the middle of the seventeenth century, Lahontan was erected into a barony, of which Isaac de Lom, Sieur d'Arce, the father of our author, was the second baron. The Lahontan's Sieur d'Arce was famous as a civil engineer, having father. made the port of Bayonne navigable for sea-going vessels (1630-48). As a recompense for this and certain military services, Louis XIV granted to him and his heirs for- ever (1658) a monopoly of navigation and transportation in the harbor of Bayonne, and a pension of three thousand livres per annum for a dozen years ; in later years, he was made reformer-general of Beam, a councillor of the parlement of Navarre, a chevalier of St. Michel, and a bourgeois of Bayonne. His first wife (Jeanne Guerin), with whom he had lived for fifteen years, having died in 1663 without issue, he con- X Introduction tracted in his old age a second marriage, this time with Birth of Jeanne-Fran^oise le Fascheux de Couttes. To them our author, ^^g )^^^^ ^^ Lahontan, the ninth of June, 1666, Louis-Armand, whose book of adventurous travel in the heart of North America we are here reprinting. The infant was presented at the baptismal font by no less personages than the Comte de Guiche, then governor of Beam, and his sister, the Marquise de Lons, — a distinguished welcome to the stage of life, in strong contrast to the experiences incident to his departure. When young Louis was but eight years old, his father died at the age of eighty. Honors and wealth had accompanied Baron Isaac until about the time of his son's birth; there- A shattered after, he became involved in the toils of obligations estate. incurred by his great engineering operations, and of the lawsuits incidental thereto. The son inherited the title of Le Baron de Lahontan et Hesleche (to-day, d'Esleich), and a shattered estate which went from bad to worse. It is small wonder that one of the characteristic features of his Voyages is an unquenchable bitterness against lawyers and legal pro- cesses. After the fashion of the times, the third baron had from his cradle been destined for the army; and while still a child, family influence secured for him a cadetship in the famous Bourbon regiment. Later, in the effort to secure for the Dedicated to young noblcmau a more rapid advancement, he the army. ^^g entered as a "garde" in the marine corps — the Department of the Marine being then entrusted with the Introduction xi care of colonies. From earliest boyhood, Louis had heard much of Canada. From a neighboring seignory had gone forth the Baron de St. Castin, famous in the annals of Maine; the land of the Basques, on both the Spanish and the French slopes of the Pyrenees, had for nearly two centuries been a recruiting ground for adventurers to the New World; and Louis's relative, Claude Bragelonne, a high official in the French army, had been one of the Company of the Hundred Associates, whose monopoly long exploited the commerce of the king's ambitious colony over seas. Lefebvre de la Barre had but just succeeded Count Frontenac as governor of New France. His petition to the court for eight hundred regular troops to be used in proposed chastisements of the death- dealing Iroquois, had been in part met by sending to his assistance three companies of French marines in the autumn of 1683. Enrolled among the members of this detachment — exactly in what official capacity, we do not know — was Louis- Armand de Lorn d'Arce, the youthful Baron de Lahontan, then seventeen years of age. Lahontan's outlook on a life of reverses had thus early made of him a cynic. The first Letter in his Voyages^ describ- ing the trip to America, contains premonitory symptoms of that caustic humor which was soon to be characteristic of his pen ; here, as later, description is freely mingled with scoffing, and information with persiflage. The season was Arrival in late when the frigate left Rochelle ; it was already ^^^ France. November, with drift ice in the St. Lawrence and its rugged shores white with snow, when Quebec was reached after a xii Introduction tempestuous voyage. "I cannot," Lahontan tells his anony- mous correspondent, "as yet give you any account of the Country, excepting that 'tis mortally cold." The day follow- ing the arrival of the troops, the great La Salle left the little wilderness capital on his voyage to France, whence he was to embark for the Gulf of Mexico upon his final, fateful enterprise. The marines at once went into winter quarters " in fome Villages or Cantons adjacent." It fell to Lahontan's share to be billeted among the habitants of Beaupre, some seventeen miles down the river from Quebec. There, he declares, "the A winter boors of thofe Mauors live with more eafe and at Beauprd. convcniency than an infinity of the Gentlemen in France;" and he has many pleasant words for this "free fort of People," every one of whom "lives in a good and a well furnifh'd House." He remarks the vast fire-places, and the enormous quantities of wood consumed, "by reafon of the prodigious Fires they make to guard themfelves from the Cold, which is there beyond all meafure, from the month of Decem- ber, to that of April." Despite the nipping and protracted frost, the lad appears to have been contented with his lot. Hunting in company with the Indians, acquiring the dialects of the tribesmen, and visiting their villages in sledges and upon snow-shoes, with a few official duties intermingled, and now and then a gay assembly at the little colonial court on the hill-top in neighboring Quebec, furnished agreeable diversity of occupation. His letters give us a pleasing picture of life among the easy-going habitants in the suburbs; and from Introduction xiii them we also obtain a vivid notion of the aspect of the little frontier capital, in this hey-day of New France. In the spring (1684), Lahontan proceeded under orders to Montreal. Along the way, during a leisurely progress, he picked up odds and ends of information, and in brief phrase cleverly described what he saw. Late in June, he An Iroquois accompanied an expedition which Governor La ""^p^'S"- Barre undertook against the recalcitrant Iroquois, and on the eleventh of the following month arrived with the advance party at Fort Frontenac, where they awaited the main body of the army; but owing to the delays incident to such enterprises under primitive conditions, it was some five weeks later before a start could be made. Crossing Lake Ontario the little col- umn took up a position near Famine River, being there so wasted by malarial fever that La Barre was forced to an igno- minious peace, which soon led to his recall from the colony. The story of this unfortunate expedition is skilfully told by Lahontan, who gives the speeches of the governor and of the Iroquois envoys In phrases which have become classic examples of Indian oratory and diplomacy. The following winter, the young baron passed in garrison at Montreal. With the opening of spring (1685) he was sent with a detachment to the frontier fort of Chambly, where the summer was spent in the congenial occupation of accompany- ing the neighboring habitants and tribesmen upon . , , . . Hunting and their hunting and fishing parties, which he de- fishing • 1 • , , f . expeditions. scribes with the gusto of a true sportsman and a close observer of nature. In September he was ordered to xiv Introduction Bouchervllle, to be quartered on the habitants for the space of a year and a half — a protracted sojourn, but without ennui, for he was given his fill of sport, especially of elk hunting, at one tima being absent upon such an excursion for three months in mid-winter. On another occasion, he spent an autumn month "in a Canow upon feveral Rivers, Marflies, and Pools, that difembogue in the Champlain Lake, being accompany'd with thirty or forty of the Savages that are very expert in Shooting and Hunting, and perfedly well acquainted with the proper places for finding Water-foul, Deer, and other fallow Beafts." He gives us careful reports not only of the methods of the chase, but of the habits of the birds and animals, spiced with much humor and keen comment on men and things. Dearly as the baron loved sport, he appears to have devoted much of his spare time, even when in forest camps amid rude wood-rangers and savages, to study and to mental growth. " Befides the pleafure of fo many different A student ° t ti -r of the forts of Diverfion," he writes, "I was hkewiie enter- ciassics. ^^}^5jj j„ tj^g Woods with the company of the honeft old Gentlemen that liv'd in former Ages. Honeft Homer, the amiable Anacreon, and my dear Lucian, were my infeperable Companions. Ariftotle too defir'd paffionately to go along with us, but my Canow was too little to hold his bulky Equip- age of Peripatetick Silogifms : So that he was e'en fain to trudge back to the Jefuits, who vouchfaf'd him a very hon- ourable Reception." We doubtless obtain here a ghmpse of the source of the Dialogues with Adario, which occupy so Introduction xv large a share of the second volume ; Lucian apparently fur- nished the model for those caustic satires on the Christianity and civilization of the seventeenth century. The studies and pleasures of this interesting young man- at-arms were occasionally interfered with by the austerities of the priests about him. He indignantly relates that when stationed in Montreal he was "inrag'd at the impertinent Zeal of the Curate of this City." Seeking his room in his absence, this over-zealous ecclesiastic " finding the Romance of the Adventures of Petronius upon my Table, he fell upon it with an unimaginable fury, and tore out almoft all the Leaves. This Book I valued more than my Life, becaufe 'twas not caftrated; and indeed I was fo provok'd when I saw it all in wrack, that if my Landlord had not held me, I had gone immediately to that turbulent Paftor's House, and would have pluck'd out the Hairs of his Beard with as little mercy as he did the Leaves of my Book." In the spring of 1687 all was bustling confusion In the set- tlements on the St. Lawrence. Denonville, the new governor, was about to try his hand at subduing the irrepressible Iro- quois, whom Champlain had unwittingly converted into sworn enemies of the French. The largest second iroquois ... . , r ^ 11 campaign. expedition yet projected was fitted out by the soldier-governor, and rendezvoused at the island of St. Helen, opposite Montreal. Eight hundred regulars had been sent over from France, doubling the number already in the colony. With the new troops came an order from the ministry to allow the return of young Lahontan, whose tangled affairs xvi Introduction were sadly in need of his presence in Paris; his relatives had secured his furlough by the exercise of much personal influ- ence. But the governor, needing all his useful men, deferred compliance, promising it for the close of the campaign, and Lahontan had no alternative but to advance a second time into the country of the Iroquois. This campaign, while more fruitful than the preceding, effected nothing further than an invasion of the land of the Seneca, the laying waste of their villages and harvests, and the construction at Niagara of a fort designed to check their aggressions. It was upon this expedition that the few friendly Iroquois, who had, under missionary tutelage, settled around Fort Frontenac, were captured by the French and sent pris- oners to France to serve in the royal galleys — a piece of arrant treachery, which the wretched and misguided colony was to expiate two years later in the fire and blood of the massacre at Lachine. Lahontan's sympathies were so keenly aroused by the unmerited sufferings of these innocent prison- ers at Fort Frontenac, that he stood in close danger of falling a victim to the wrath of the Algonkin allies, who, in their savage fashion, delighted in maltreating the ill-fated Iroquois, whom the missionaries had segregated from the care of their own people. The baron had soundly thrashed some of the young tormentors, but was immediately set upon by the infuriated band, who "flew to their Fufees, in order to kill me." He was saved only by the interposition of the Cana- dians, who " affur'd 'em I was drunk (Among the Savages, drunken Perfons are always excus'd : for, the Bottle attones Introduction xvii for all Crimes), that all the French were prohibited to give me either Wine or Brandy, and that I fhould certainly be imprifon'd as foon as the Campaign were over." The campaign finished, Lahontan hoped to be allowed to return to France, but before having an opportunity of reminding Denonville of his promise of a furlough, the luck- less officer was summoned to the great man's pres- q^^^^^j^^ ence and informed that because of his knowledge the Upper of native languages and his skill in forest diplomacy, he was detailed forthwith to the command of a detachment destined to the upper lakes, in response to the request of the wily Huron and Ottawa of Lake Huron, who wished to " fee a Fort fo conveniently plac'd, which might favour their re- treat upon any Expedition againft the Iroquefe ... At the fame time he affur'd me, he would inform the Court of the Reafons that mov'd him to detain me in Canada, notwith- ftanding that he had orders to give me leave to go home. You may eafily guefs. Sir, that I was thunderftruck with thefe News, when I had fed myfelf all along with the hopes of returning to France, and promoting my Intereft, which is now fo much thwarted." The commands of the governor were not to be questioned by a subordinate, so the disappointed Lahontan, smothering his grief with reflections upon his professional advancement, once more turned his back on home, and hastily made pre- parations for his journey into the vast and almost unknown region of the Northwest. " The Men of my Detachment," he writes, " are brisk proper fellows, and my Canows are both b xviii Introduction new and large. I am to go along with Mr. Dulhut, a Lions Gentleman, who is a Perfon of great Merit, and has done his king and his Country very confiderable Services. M. de Tonti makes another of our Company ; and a Company of Savages is to follow us." Among the motley war-party which Denonville had led to his assault on the insolent Iroquois, was a band of the " far Indians " brought by their commandant, La Durantaye, from Fort St ^^^ distant post of Mackinac. Sweeping down in a Joseph, flotilla of birch-bark canoes, La Durantaye had halted his savage forces at the head of the strait leading from Lake Huron to Lake St. Clair; and there, on " the seventh of June, 1687, in the presence of the reverend Father Angeleran, superior of the mission of the Outaouas at Michilimachinac, of Ste. Marie du Sault, of the Miamis, of the Illinois, of the Bale des Puans and of the Sioux, of M. de la Forest, late com- mandant of the fort at St. Louis at the Illinois, and of M. de Beauvais, our lieutenant of the fort of St. Joseph at the strait of Lakes Huron and Erie," had erected the arms of France and taken formal possession of this vast region in the name of the king.i The little fort of St. Joseph was a bastioned block-house of logs, built the previous year by Duluth upon the orders of the governor — one of the long chain of French posts designed to keep English negotiants from the fur country. ^ Prise de possession (vol.x, fol. 206, Archives du Canada, at Paris), quoted in Roy's excellent paper on " Le Baron de Lahontan," in Can. Roy. Soc. Proceed- ings, 1894, sec. i, p. 79, note. Introduction xix and to control the vagrant coureiirs des bois. This hnportant vantage point, refounded (1701) some miles below by La Mothe de la Cadillac, was the place to which the young Gascon was designated, and for whose command he was required to abandon the gayeties of Paris, and the more important business regarding his estates. Setting forth from Fort Niagara on the third of August, Lahontan and his com- panions proceeded westward as fast as the crude transporta- tion facilities of their day would permit. The first Thejour- stage was the long Niagara portage, "being oblig'd "^y°"'- to tranfport our Canows from a League and a half below the great Fall of Niagara, to half a League above it. Before we got at any beaten or level Path, we were forc'd to climb up three Mountains, upon which an hundred Iroquefe might have knock'd us all on the head with Stones." Frequently attacked by these " cruel Fellows," Lahontan was naturally much alarmed at the danger of falling into the hands of such expert torturers, declaring that " To die is nothing but to live in the midft of Fire is too much." This constant fear apparently paralyzed our author's usual powers of descrip- tion, for he dismisses with a scant paragraph the " fearful Cataract," which nine years before the garrulous Friar Hen- nepin had so carefully pictured with both pen and pencil. The little company of whites and savages " coafted along the North-Coaft of the Lake of Erie," feasting abundantly on fish and wild turkeys, and arrived at the mouth of Lake Huron on the fourteenth of September. " You cannot im- agine," he assures his correspondent, " the pleafant profped XX Introduction of this Strelght, and of the little Lake [of St. Clair] ; for their banks are cover'd with all forts of wild Fruit-Trees." The garrison of the little log fortress " surrendered their Poft very chearfully" to the newcomers and, being now relieved from duty, in the way of their kind at once turned fur-traders, and quickly scattered throughout the distant camps of the savages. Duluth and Tonty tarried for a few days, the former having left some supplies at this station and being interested in a crop of Indian corn which he had sown the previous Life at Fort Spring. Charmed with the beauty and free life of St. Joseph. |.j^g country, the youthful commandant passed the autumn agreeably enough, occupied with the chase, to which he had become passionately devoted, and dallying with parties of tribesmen that passed up and down bent on war, plunder, or hunting. But the ensuing winter was rigorous to a degree that restricted hunting, and the consequent short commons is suggested by Lahontan's sly remark that the Jesuit Father Claude Aveneau, who arrived towards the end of November to serve as chaplain, " found no occafion to trouble himfelf with preaching Abftinance from Meat in the time of Lent." By the first of April (1688), the restless commander, no doubt intensely wearied by the long and inactive winter, sought excuse in his lack of provisions to set out with the majority of Departure his forcc — a Small garrison being left at the fort for Mackinac. — £qj. ^j^g httle French military and trading station then on the north shore of the strait of Mackinac, to " buy up Corn from the Hurons and Outaouans." Soon after his Introduction xxi arrival at that distant outpost, there appeared there Abbe Cavelier, La Salle's austere brother, and the other survivors of the lost Texan colony of that ill-fated explorer. At Mackinac Lahontan learned also that his own affairs in France were in desperate straits. From the " fagg end of the World " he thereupon addressed a letter to the Marquis de Seignelay, then powerful at court, craving his pro- An appeal tection for the " Son of a Gentleman that fpent ^°' protection, three hundred Crowns in deepening the Water of the two Gaves of Beam . . . rendering the Bar of Bayonne paffable by a fifty Gun Ship, whereas in former times a Frigot of ten Guns durft not venture over it . . . and the bringing down of Mafts and Yards from the Pyrenean Mountains, which could never have been effected, if he had not by his Care, and by the disburfing of immenfe Sums, enlarged the quantity of Water in the Gave of Oleron to a double proportion." Not only, pleads our petitioner, had the entailed privileges and fees been cut off at his father's death, but the son had been denied several high political positions, *' all which were mine by Inheritance"; and now there followed "an unjuft Seizure that fome pretended Creditors have made of the Barony of la Hontan, of a piece of Ground that lies con- tiguous to it, and of a hundred thoufand Livres that lay in the hands of the Chamber of Bayonne." He is confident that his absence in the American wilds is the sole justification of his creditors, and asks for "Leave to come home the next Year," that he may confront and rout them. The wander lust strong within his veins, the adventurous xxii Introduction lieutenant roved as far afield as Sault Ste. Marie and the neighboring regions, and in July joined a party of Chippewa Rovings in o^ ^^ inglorious raid into the Iroquois country, the Northwest, ^^g^ q£ Lake Huron, stopping at his fort only to land a few sacks of corn. It was upon this excursion, far removed from his field of duty, that Lahontan was accom- panied by the Huron chief. The Rat, whom he has idealized and immortalized in his Voyages^ under the title " Adario." Late in the summer he returned to Fort St. Joseph, but found the situation now untenable. Parties of Indians who had stopped at the post for the usual parleying and present- begging, brought news of the reduction of the gar- joseph rison at Niagara by disease and destitution, of its probable abandonment, also of the peace which Denonville was " clapping up " with their common foe, the Iroquois. Lahontan reasoned that all this rendered his fort of no value, that he had an accumulation of scarce two months' provisions, and having received neither orders nor supplies from the governor, was thus thrown upon his own discretion. He therefore abandoned his command, burned the block- house and its stockade, and on the twenty-seventh of August embarked with all his men for Mackinac, where he arrived on the tenth of the following month. In the French edition of his work, the commandant elaborately argues that while the abandonment of his post would be a misdemeanor in an officer in Europe, it was in the far interior of America an example of military sagacity. Whatever may be one's judg- ment on this question, there is no evidence that Lahontan Introduction xxiii because of this action was either reprimanded or degraded in rank. Doubless Fort St. Joseph was valueless at this juncture of affairs, and its destruction certainly resulted in no disad- vantage to New France. Upon reaching Mackinac with his detachment, the baron found advices to the effect that he had been relieved, and ordered to return with his men to Quebec, provided " the Seafon and other Circumftances permit; or to tarry ordered to here till the Spring if I forefee unfurmountable Dif- ^"'=''"- ficulties in the Paffage." But the convoys for that year had returned to the lower country, and the commandant at Mack- inac and the savages united in representing to him the diffi- culties of the journey, the rapids to be run, the hazardous portages to be made. With comparatively inexperienced soldiers this was all but impossible, and they must perforce content themselves in the upper country until the arrival of spring. Thus far Lahontan himself has been our guide; his accounts of his own adventures and shortcomings have been recorded in the letters with a naivete and a wealth of detail that bear the stamp of verity. But we now come to ^^ ^^.^.^^ that apochryphal relation in the Voyages^ which for to the ... J River Loag. many years has caused the entire work to be rejected by historians as fiction — the alleged journey to the River Long. Writing to his friend under date of September i8, he announces his intention "to travel through the Southern Countries that I have fo often heard of," for " I cannot mew my felf up here all this Winter." The following May he gives xxiv Introduction to his correspondent a particularized and highly readable account of the tour which he pretends to have made, accom- panied by " my own Detachment and five good Huntsmen of the Outaouas," later supplemented by Fox (Outagami) guides. Leaving Mackinac on the twenty-fourth of September, the story goes, the explorers coasted along the northwest shore of Lake Michigan, visited the Sauk, Potawatomi, and Menominee villages on Green Bay, ascended Fox River, made the mile-and-a-half swampy portage to the Wisconsin (Octo- ber 16-19), and arrived at the Mississippi four days later. Working their way up that river, the party reached the mouth of the River Long on the second of November. This the baron claims to have ascended for many leagues, visiting upon its banks the wonderful nations of the Eokoros, Esanapes, and Gnacsitares, from whom he gathered information con- cerning the Mozeemlek and Tahuglauk beyond ; also of a river in the far West that emptied itself into a salt lake of three hundred leagues in circumference. At the western limit of this voyage, Lahontan, as was the custom of French explorers in that day, set up a long pole, bearing the "Arms of France done upon a Plate of Lead." Upon the twenty-sixth of January (1689), the adventurers set out upon the return, reaching the Mississippi on the sec- ond of March. Continuing their trip as far down stream as the mouth of the Ohio, they returned to Illinois River, by means of which and the Chicago portage they entered Lake Michigan, finally arriving at Mackinac the twenty-second of May. Two weeks later, in the company of twelve Ottawa Introduction xxv Indians, in two canoes, our author set out for Montreal by the Ottawa River route, after an absence of two years in the wilderness and among the savages of the Northwest. "July the 9th I arriv'd at Montreal, after venturing down feveral fearful Cataracts in the River of the Outaouas, and enduring the hardfhips of fifteen or twenty Land-carriages, fome of which are above a League in length." Near- fhe return ing Montreal, his canoe overturned in the Sault St. '« Quebec. Louis, but he was saved by the adroitness of the Chevalier de Vaudreuil — "The only time I was in danger," he exclaims, "through the whole courfe of my Voyages." He found the colony calmly watching the departure of the unpopular Gov- ernor Denonville, but eagerly awaiting the return of the Count de Frontenac, "for that Governour drew Efteem and Vener- ation, not only from the French, but from all the Nations of this vaft Continent, who look'd upon him as their Guardian Angel." But when the new governor came on the fifteenth of Octo- ber, he " countermanded the leave I had to go for France, and has offer'd me a free accefs to his Pocket and his Table . . . and fo I am bound to obey." Frontenac made The friend of of the penniless and now disconsolate baron a com- f''°°te°3<^- panion on his journeyings, and, because of his wide experience at the farthest outposts, and his close studies of the aborig- ines, took counsel of him in regard to remedies for the desperate condition of New France. In the spring (1690), the governor offered to send his protege on an embassy to the Iroquois ; but having no wish again to place his head within xxvi Introduction the lion's jaws, Lahontan skilfully obtained an excuse from the mission. He records with self-gratulation that the Chev- alier d'Aux, going in his stead, was seized, bound, and sent to a long imprisonment at Boston. Lahontan, meanwhile following the governor's train, was at Montreal when news came of the English invasion under Phips. Hurrying to the capital with his chief, he was in time to witness the withdrawal of the discomfited English admiral (October), and to be chosen by Frontenac to carry the glad tidings to the king and court. Thus, after seven years of At the French l^^^ upon the frontiers of civilization, the bronzed court. young officer reappeared at the social capital of the world, a solicitor of favors at the court of the great Louis. Unfortunately his protector Seignelay was now dead, and the new ministers, the Messrs. Pontchartrain, looked with slight favor upon the nonchalant adventurer from America. They coldly made answer to his petitions for redress, that he could have but the summer to regulate his affairs, for in the autumn he must embark once more for Quebec. However, by way of reward for the welcome news he had brought, Lahontan was promoted to a captaincy in his corps, and created a chevalier of the order of Notre Dame of Mont-Carmel and of St. Lazarre. With his customary cynicism the recipient, who had paid roundly in fees for this last empty title, declares that " The Ceremony of that Inftalment was perform'd in Mr. de Louvois his Chamber, and did not laft fo long as the telling of the Money." The new chevalier had entertained hopes that his uncle, the generous Abbe des Couttes, might bestow Introduction xxvii upon him some simple benefice ; but a scruple of conscience stood in the way of granting church money to one who, like Lahontan, scoffed at religion and its priests, and the infidel applicant was sent away empty-handed. With parting jibes at the venality and favoritism prevalent at the court, the young captain left Versailles, and, with no apparent reluctance, for his estate was now beyond resuscitation, started for La Rochelle, where he again embarked for Canada. The eighteenth of September, 1691, found captain the Baron de Lahontan, now in his twenty-fifth year, once more climbing the steep and winding roadway which ascends the cliflF of Quebec, and meeting at the chateau of his Again in friend Frontenac the same generous hospitality which Canada. had previously been his, and that of many another luckless gentleman of that day. The winter was exceptionally gay at the governor's little court. Balls and theatricals were much in vogue among the official class and the fur-trade and rustic aristocracy ; but the Jesuits vigorously condemned these practices, and declaimed publicly against the satellites who hung about the head of the colony. The anti-clerical Lahontan was no doubt spurred thereby into a still more active partici- pation in the sports and vices of the capital. To this period probably belongs his experience with Mile. Genevieve d'Amours, a romance which he relates under an easily-penetrated disguise. No doubt the young people met freely during the winter's amusements, since the Lahontan's lady was a god-daughter of the governor, and be- f°'"^°"- longed to the family of one of the royal councillors. Her xxviii Introduction brothers were, as well, prominent young Canadians, whose attachment for the life of the woods, common to the young gentlemen of New France, had tempted them to the wilder- ness of Pentagoet and the picturesque River St. John, where among the Abenaki savages they had encountered a pleasant English gentleman from Boston, who traded thither. The fortunes of war had brought this trader a prisoner to Quebec, where the genial Frontenac treated him with marked courtesy, and releasing him on parole made him a participant in the pleasures of the court. All of these friends conspired in making a match between our baron and the brilliant young beauty. On his part, the governor promised licenses to the sum of seven to eight thousand livres ; the English guest requested leave to add a thousand more — this, with the dowry of a thousand already possessed by the lady, would have recuperated the ruined baron's fortunes ; and, basking as they did in the governor's favor, might have started the couple on the high road to prosperity. But suddenly the negotiations came to a standstill ; the young cynic proved stubborn, and would not sign the contract. He requested two months in which to consider, then two months more — which causes one to wonder at the young woman's patience ; but no doubt Lahontan was a handsome fellow, with many social graces, and considered a most eligible parti. At last he found his liberty more precious than an establishment in life, and repented of having desired to make her as unhappy as himself. " They were far from expecting any fuch retrafta- tion; fo the poor reform'd Captain fuflPer'd for it, for fome Introduction xxix time after Mr. de Frontenac did him a piece of Injuftice, in beftowing a vacant Company over his Head, upon Madame de Pontchartrain's Nephew, notwithftanding that the Court had fent orders on his behalf." Our author's nonchalance, however, did not forsake him ; it was not long before he presented a memorial concerning the defences of the upper country against the ravaging Iroquois, in which plan the forgiving Frontenac discovered so ^ ^^^ ^^^ much merit that it pleased him to order Lahontan to patched to . . France. go in person to present his project to the ministry. In the summer of 1692, therefore, the captain once more started for the Old World, again bearing the governor's des- patches to the court at Versailles. Putting in at Plaisance (the Placentia of our day), a new French post upon the southeastern peninsula of Newfound- land, the frigate which bore him awaited the fishing fleet which it was, according to custom, to convoy to The defense France. Just as they were about weighing anchor, °^ Pia'sance. in the third week of September, a fisherman arrived at the fort with the startling news that five English frigates were bearing up the bay. Governor de Brouillon, despite his deficient fortifications and scarcity of ammunition, made immediate arrangements for a vigorous defense. Lahontan was sent with sixty habitants to repulse the landing of the English marines. This being skilfully achieved, the English offered to parley, whereupon Lahontan and a companion were chosen to go aboard the admiral's ship, where they were received with much courtesy. Negotiations failing, the governor XXX Introduction pushed the defenses v/ith such vigor that the English were obliged to withdraw, after firing two thousand cannon shots at the fort and burning some neighboring fishing villages and their drying scaffolds. A second time the fortune befell Lahontan to be the beafer of good tidings to the royal ear, again to tell of the repulse of a powerful English fleet by a handful of defenders better equipped with courage and energy than with assistance and powder. Armed with this pleasing message, the At Versailles. . . , . -r-, - . , captain arrived in Prance after a comparatively brief voyage of seventeen days, and shortly after presented himself at Versailles. The court, however, was more ready to receive agreeable news than to furnish the sinews of war for the far-away colony. Lahontan's ingenious project for the defense of the upper lake region smacked of large expendi- tures, hence was dismissed with scant ceremony ; but he him- self was rewarded with the command of an independent com- pany of a hundred men, and the highly honorable position of lieutenant of the king for Newfoundland and Acadia. Our author correctly ascribes his good fortune to no other patron than good chance, remarking at the same time : " I fhould have been better pleas'd if I could have put the abovemen- tion'd Project in execution, for a folitary Life is moft grate- ful to me, and the manners of the Savages are perfectly agree- able to my Palate." The free, roving life of the Great West of his day was vastly superior, in the opinion of this man of spirit, to immolation upon the storm-swept fjords of gloomy I Introduction xxxi Newfoundland, second in command to a governor of sus- picious habits and capricious temper. His new honors proved the undoing of our unfortunate adventurer. The coming upon the scene of a royal lieutenant sadly disarranged De Brouillon's plans for his own emolument and the advancement of his family. Lahontan was „ , ,. ■' Royal lieuten- received at Plaisance with grudging welcome, and ant in New- ^ , I , , , foundland. soon an open feud broke out between the new official and his chief. It was not soothing to the irascible governor's spirits, that the inhabitants took the part of the subordinate who would not become his puppet ; that the ready pen and caustic wit of the latter made lampoons con- cerning his superior, which were sung publicly in the taverns of Plaisance ; and that even the Recollect friars protected the young gallant in his escapades, and spoke in his behalf. After the autumnal departure of the ships for France, carrying to the court De Brouillon's accusations against his lieutenant, the former began more freely to show his temper. One evening Lahontan was entertaining some of the _ „ ., ° ^ ° De Brouillon's residents, when his door was suddenly burst open, persecution of , ...... . Lahontan the governor and his train or serving men entered masked, and began to break the glass and windows, handle the furniture roughly, and destroy all else that came beneath their hands. By the time the baron could load his pistols, the intruders were gone ; but only to fall upon his servants the next morning, and give them an unmerciful drubbing. The lieutenant, alleging fear for his own life, determined xxxii Introduction to escape. The skipper of a small fishing boat that lay in the harbor accepted the ofifer of a thousand livres to carry the An unwise fugitive to Europc ; and thus, a second time desert- escape, jj^g j^jg pQgj. q£ duty, he fled from the hateful situation — an unwise step, which brought a sweet revenge for De Brouillon, for it wrought the gallant young oflScer's downfall. It was the fourteenth of December, nearly always a boisterous month off the dread coast of wreck-strewn Newfoundland ; but the risk was taken, several " terrible Storms " were en- countered, and once they were shot at by a French privateer — at last, however, the little vessel landed her passenger safely in a harbor of Portugal, for he dared not attempt to seek shelter in France, where the only welcome he might expect was disgrace and the Bastille. By slow stages the unfortunate runaway now journeyed into Holland, the home of refugees who were " awaiting patiently till it pleafes God that M. de Pontchartrain fhould either remove to Paradife or do Juftice " to the wronged. Wanderings of From Holland he visited Hamburg, whence the refugee. (June 1 9, 1 694), he Sent a letter which was in- tended to fall under the notice of the French court, contain- ing an account of the survivors of La Salle's last expedition, whom he claimed to have met in that city. The ministry at once authorized investigation, only to find that Lahontan had invented the tale out of whole cloth, in the vain hope of winning favor at court.^ 1 Margry, Decowvertes et etablissements des Franqais (Paris, 1876-85), iv, pp. 6-8. Introduction xxxiii Meanwhile, our author had proceeded to Copenhagen, where he ingratiated himself with the French ambassador, De Bonrepaux, who sent him to Versailles with favorable letters designed to secure his pardon and re-instatement in the king's favor ; but his majesty, ever a severe disciplinarian, declined to receive the justification of an officer who had transgressed against his superior, and Lahontan had no recourse but to betake himself in disgrace to his native province, where, his barony having long since been confiscated, he found himself an unwelcome guest. An order having gone forth for his arrest, he avoided it in the nick of time by escaping across the border into Spain, whence emanated the last of his Letters, dated at Saragossa, October 8, 1695. Thence, until the initial publication of his book in Holland (1703), we have no details concerning the whereabouts of the poor fugitive. In the prefaces of the various editions, one may trace his wanderings from the Low Countries •' ° Last days at to Denmark, thence to Hanover, whence he visited the court of England, until the year 1710 finds him at the court of the Elector of Hanover, recognized as an accomplished man beset by ill fortune, and maintained as the friend and companion of the philosopher Leibnitz. The unfortunate officer had then, according to the latter,^ a number of works prepared which he would give to the press, if his now im- paired health should improve. He appears to have died soon after this, apparently in 1715, but the actual date of his decease is not known. A year or so later, Leibnitz published a ^Leibnitz, Epistol. ad diversos (Berlin, 1710), iv, p. 22. xxxiv Introduction posthumous essay by Lahontan, under the title, Reponse a la lettre d'un particulier opposee au manifeste de S. M. le rot de la Grande-Bretagne contre la Suede, proving that he followed the increasing fortunes of his protector, the Elector of Hanover, and was ready to aid that ruler's cause with his pamphleteer- ing pen. Parkman also cites ^ a Memoir on the Fur-trade of Canada, written in the English interest, which was once in the library of the poet Southey. Lahontan's Voyages to North America was avowedly printed as a last resource on the part of the bankrupt fugitive. We have seen that every vestige of hope regarding the resusci- tation of his estate had vanished, and all appeals to Voyages * '^ published the court for reinstatement had proved futile ; in this crisis, the Letters, which in the event of his monarch's favor might have been consigned to the flames, were brought forth from their obscurity and given to the world — his dis- tress thus proving our gain. While these now classic epistles were printing in Holland, Lahontan passed over to England, where he secured the patronage of the powerful Duke of Devonshire, and put out an English translation of his work, which in some respects is preferable to the original French. The vogue of the baron's book was immediate and wide- spread, and must have soon replenished his slender purse. In simple sentences, easily read and comprehended by the masses, Their Lahontan recounted not only his own adventures popularity, ^j^^^ ^|^g important events that occurred beneath his eyes in the much-talked-of region of New France, but *£a Salle and the Discovery of the Great West (Boston, 1879), p. 169. Introduction xxxv drew a picture of the simple delights of life in the wilderness, more graphic than had yet been presented to the European world. His idyllic account of manners and customs among the savages who dwelt in the heart of the American forest, or whose rude huts of bark or skin or matted reeds nestled by the banks of its far-reaching waterways, was a picture which fascinated the "average reader" in that romantic age, eager to learn of new lands and strange peoples. In the pages of Lahontan the child of nature was depicted as a creature of rare beauty of form, a rational being thinking deep thoughts on great subjects, but freed from the trammels and frets of civilization, bound by none of its restrictions, obedient only to the will and caprice of his own nature. In this American Arcady were no courts, laws, police, ministers of An American state, or other hampering paraphernalia of gov- ■^■'"''y- ernment; each man was a law unto himself, and did what seemed good in his own eyes. Here were no monks and priests, with their strictures and asceticisms, but a natural, sweetly-reasonable religion. Here no vulgar love of money pursued the peaceful native in his leafy home ; without distinc- tion of property, the rich man was he who might give most gen- erously. Aboriginal marriage was no fettering life-covenant, but an arrangement pleasing the convenience of the contract- ing parties. Man, innocent and unadorned, passed his life in the pleasures of the chase, warring only in the cause of the nation, scorning the supposititious benefits of civilization, and free from its diseases, misery, sycophancy, and oppression. xxxvi Introduction In short, the American wilderness was the seat of serenity and noble philosophy. Europeans weary of courts and their futile ambitions, found in all this a delightful representation. Moreover, the keenest curiosity had been aroused among them regarding the New World — a land so enormous that its breadth Europeaa curi- osity regarding had as yet been scarcely half-spanned by the most the New World. , ... j i_ • adventurous or the rovmg coureurs de bois ; a region of great rivers and amazing cataracts, of lakes like inland oceans, and vast unknown stretches wherein roamed mysterious beasts of prey, and animals clad in furs which might be envied by a monarch. ■ All statements from such a realm were to be accepted as a matter of course. The Rela- tions of the Jesuits had been read with absorbing interest by people with a turn for piety. Those more liberal in their thinking turned with amused tolerance to the books of the garrulous and worldly Recollect, Friar Hennepin, or found keen but perhaps not too open enjoyment in the neatly- printed volumes of the audacious and cynical Baron de Lahon- tan, with their numerous flings at the polity and teachings of the Canadian Jesuits, and many a well-considered thrust at king and ministry also. A glance at Mr. Paltsits's Biblio- graphy is sufficient to prove the demand for Lahontan's Voyages — a taste lasting well into the middle of the eighteenth century. In estimating the historical value of this work, it is well to bear in mind what we believe to be its double purpose — that of a satire upon European life and civilization, and a narration Introduction xxxvii of the author's adventures in new and unknown realms. The first understood and allowed for, the book becomes ^^^^^^^^^ of great utility to the student of life and conditions utility to in the forests and hamlets of New France. Here is no rambling journal-writer, like Father Hennepin, puflfed up by inordinate vanity. Lahontan relates in a clear, straight- forward manner all that came before his eyes. With vivid strokes, he pictures the thinly diffused colony of New France — fishing hamlets fringing the fog-drenched fjords of spruce- mantled Newfoundland ; the fur-trade rendezvous at gloomy Tadoussac ; habitants nestled upon the billowy shores of the St. Lawrence, or on waving meadows at the mouths of its trib- utaries, v/hich come swiftly coursing from out the dark forests hanging on its rugged rim ; the capital, perched defiantly on the steep cliff of Quebec, overlooking hillsides and rolling plains, in his day becoming well-dotted with the whitewashed stone cabins of a thrifty peasantry ; Three Rivers, the centre of a widespread commerce ; ecclesiastical Montreal, shad- owed by its mountain, and ever alert against the crouching Iroquois; and beyond that — up the stately Ottawa or along the far-reaching waters of the upper lakes, and still farther beyond upon the interlocking drainage systems of the conti- nental interior — the isolated camps of coureurs de bois, and little log fortresses, like that of St. Joseph, seeking to hold the wilderness trade against all comers. A participant in some of the most stirring campaigns in the brilliant epoch of Frontenac's government, Lahontan pre- sents to us admirable reports of these events. We have also in xxxviii Introduction his pages first-hand accounts of the political institutions of the colony — its officials, courts, and local government, combined with Incisive characterizations of the respective governors, intendants, and official noblesse. The strutting functionary, the zealous Jesuit who balks at no hazard, the gay soldier, the hardy habitant, the roving coureur de bois, and the naked savage, all stand out in bold relief upon his pages. Even the birds and animals, the plants, and the minerals of this strange land do not escape our observer's eye. Thus not only in history, but in topography, geography, ethnology, and natural history, all of it the record of personal knowledge, Lahontan's work stands as one of the important sources for the intimate study of New France. The frequent neglect of Lahontan by scientific and his- torical students, has not been justified by the lack of material in his pages. As already intimated, it is in large measure due . . to the spurious character of the alleged discovery Investigations ^ as to the of the River Long, described In the sixteenth ong. Lg^-^gj.^ Investigators have, from this one chapter, rejected all. The geographers of the time, eager for informa- tion regarding heretofore unknown regions in North America, were easily deceived by the circumstantial character of our author's fluent description, and especially by his map of the mythical waterway ; and in consequence the river was incor- porated in several maps published early in the eighteenth century, persisting even down to that of Vaugondy, corrected to 1783. But doubts soon arose in the minds of some. Hennepin had omitted to mention such a stream, or the Introduction xxxix peoples that Lahontan had placed upon its banks. The miner and trader Le Sueur, a colleague of Iberville, who ascended the Mississippi nearly to its source and passed two years (1700-02) upon its upper waters, reported neither the Long nor its tribes. Perrot and Duluth, eminent forest rangers of the period, knew no such river — but they were not authors ; and it was probably not until Charlevoix visited the country (1721) and published his Journal historique^ that the spurious nature of Lahontan's pretended discovery fully dawned upon the European world. In 1728 a French expe- dition built a fort upon Lake Pepin, in the upper Mississippi — one of the chain which was to further the discovery of a route to the Pacific. Its officers found the Issati of Hennepin and the Scioux of Le Sueur, but no traces of the Eokoros, Esanapes, Gnacsitares, and Mozeemleks of Lahontan. Scep- ticism now succeeded to faith in the author's verity, and neglect to the former vogue of his works. Many hypotheses have been advanced, to account for Lahontan's wilful tale. The theory of interpolation, some- times applied to Hennepin, has been suggested in this case; but the style of the baron's story of his far Western Hypotheses tour is quite in keeping with that of the entire work ^ Huguenot Louis would have greatly strengthened his hold upon America, had his Protestant population, expelled from the mother land through the revocation of the edict of Nantes, been permitted to turn their steps toward Canada. Lahontan's vision was in this regard, however, in advance of his contemporaries. There remains but to notice a few of the lesser points in which Lahontan shows his sagacity, foresight, and purely modern spirit. In an age of cruel punishments, he was Lahontan's humane beyond his time. He had no patience with qualities. ^^^q torture and cruelty of savage warfare, and its imitation by the half-barbarized frontiersmen of New France. The inquisition, as studied by him in Portugal, he denounced rather for its cruelties than its intolerance. He makes the savage Adario inveigh against taking testimony by means of the rack. In all this sensitiveness to physical suffering he Introduction xlvii shows the fineness of his spirit, and the delicacy of his organ- ization. Moreover, while railing at the prevalent beliefs of his time, he is not himself intolerant ; he has erected no counter system of philosophy before which his contempo- raries must bow; he sees good in various systems of religion, laws, and government, even while he satirizes their deformities and extravances. In many ways Lahontan was a precursor of some of the great thinkers of the Revolutionary period in France. His was not the spirit of his own age — the devout worshiping of supreme power as vested in Louis XIV, and of supreme authority as resting in the church of Rome. By Lahontan's nature, Lahontan was an investigator and a critic, fn'^j^^nce No institution, no custom, no mode of thought was of his time. by him accepted on faith or by tradition — each must run the gauntlet of his reasoning powers, and show its worth in the light of cold rationalism. His mind was passionately just; in the midst of his cynicism he is fair — even the Jesuits receive from him their meed of praise : he admits their chas- tity and good works, while despising what he deems their prudery and bigotry. Taking him as a whole, Lahontan was a generation in advance of his age. The Zeitgeist from the hills of the future descended upon him. In his hatred and scorn of the current ecclesiasticism and despotism, he antici- pated Rousseau ; his cynical criticism of existing institutions foreshadowed Voltaire ; his exaltation of the virtues and blessings of the savage state, preluded the Encyclopedists. In the Discours sur VOrigine et les Fondements de VInegalite parmi xlviii Introduction les ommes, Rousseau apparently borrows many ideas from La- hontan's Dialogue ; Chateaubriand's gentle barbarian Atala is brother to the astute and charming Adario. We have sought to reproduce the old text as closely as possible, with its typographic and orthographic peculiarities, our wish being to preserve the " atmosphere " of the original. E„ct It has, however, been found advisable here and reproduction. ^\^qj.q ^q make a few minor mechanical changes; these consist almost wholly of palpable blemishes, the result of negligent proof-reading in the edition followed — such as turned letters, transposed letters, slipped letters, and mis- spacings. Such corrections have been made without specific mention ; but in some instances the original errors have been retained, and in juxtaposition the correction given within braclcets. Throughout, we indicate the pagination of the old edition which we are reprinting, by inclosing within brackets the number of each page at its beginning, e. g. [75] ; in the one instance, in the second volume, where a page was, as the fruit of carelessness in make-up, misnumbered in the original, we have given the incorrect as well as the correct figure, thus : [276, i. e. 279]. In the preparation for the press of this reprint of the original London edition of 1703, the Editor has had through- out the valued cooperation of Louise Phelps Kellogg, Ph. D., his editorial assistant on the staflF of the Wisconsin Aid acknowledged. HistoHcal Socicty. He is also under especial obHgations to Victor Hugo Paltsits, of the Lenox Branch Introduction xlix of the New York Public Library, whose careful and scientific- ally constructed Bibliography of Lahontan was prepared for the present publication. As in the case of Hennepin, a year ago, Mr. Paltsits has here given us the first accurate Bibliog- raphy of this difficult subject thus far issued. R. G. T. Madison, Wis., October, 1904. LAHONTAN BIBLIOGRAPHY By Victor Hugo Paltsits ^T^HE path trodden by the bibHographer who undertakes a critical -*- study of the various editions of the voyages of the Baron de Lahontan is beset with innumerable stumbling-blocks. Vagaries in the books themselves ; imperfections of extant or available copies in libraries ; and the fact that no complete series exists in the libraries of any single city — all these conditions he encounters in his investiga- tions. He discovers also, by the most painstaking analysis, that others who have dealt with the subject have tabulated editions as extant which never existed ; and that numerous errors have been perpetuated by the shirking of independent research. The bibliography presented herewith has been made from the books themselves — generally by testing the collations by several copies. Only by this method has it been possible to present an almost defini- tive work. Yet, after all the care bestowed, it is not unlikely, on account of the difficulty of finding immaculate copies of certain edi- tions, that some plates or maps are not here recorded. The books of Lahontan have not been collected with that avidity which we find elsewhere evident in this collecting age. The present bibliography differs from all of its predecessors, in that it gives an analysis of each volume by its component parts, by its pagi- nation, by its signatures, and by the location of its plates and maps. This is, to coin a new term, anatomical bibliography, and follows an idea which I have sought, in several similar monographic studies, to Hi Lahontan Bibliography introduce as a more scholarly method in American bibliography. Only by such means can the librarian, scholar, or collector ascertain whether his books are perfect, or wherein they lack completeness. The mere lumping of pagination or plates falls far short of usefulness ; it is, indeed, a source of irritation and annoyance. In Henry Harrisse's Notes sur la Nouvelle France (Paris, 1872), nos. 795-803, a brief summary of a few editions of Lahontan's work was given, devoid of collations or other bibliographical data. Joseph Sabin, in his Dictionary of Books relating to America, vol. x. (1878), pp. 27-32, gave the fullest record which was printed up to his time; but he read into his work non-extant editions, and distorted the facts. Justin Winsor presented "A bibliographical and critical note" to his Narrative and Critical History of America , vol. iv. (1884), pp. 257- 262 ; it is, however, a more or less inaccurate and incomplete sum- mary. James Constantine Pilling was the first bibliographer to get at all a proper grasp of the subject, in his Bibliography of the Algonquian Languages (Washington, 1891), pp. 288-295, with seven facsimile title- pages of the 1703 French editions. He made some mistakes, which reappeared in Roy and Dionne, who drew almost bodily from him. J. Edmond Roy appended a bibliography to his otherwise very impor- tant work on " Le Baron de Lahontan," published in the Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada for 1894, section i. His monograph is divided into the following divisions: " Avant-propos," pp. 63-64 ; genealogy and biography of Lahontan, pp. 64-109 ; exam- ination and critique of Lahontan's book, pp. 109-165 ; " Pieces Justifi- catives" (documents), pp. 166-179; " Notes sur les diverses Editions des Ouvrages de Lahontan," pp. 179-192. There is also a separate issue of his work from the " Proceedings," with its own printed wrapper. Phileas Gagnon, in his Essai de Bibliographie Canadienne (Quebec, 1895), item 1922, summarized the bibliography of Lahontan Lahontan Bibliography liii in about ten lines. Narcisse E. Dionne is the latest bibliographer of the subject, in Le Courrier du Livre (Quebec: Raoul Renault, 1899), vol. iii, pp. 313-326. His work is merely a compilation from former bibliographies and sale-catalogues, presents nothing original, and is uncritical. In the present account, the abbreviated designation for the location of copies is explained by the following key: B = Boston Public Library. BA = Boston Athenaeum. BE = Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D. C. BM = British Museum, London. BN = Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. C = Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. HC = Harvard College Library, Cambridge, Mass. JCB = John Carter Brown Library, Providence, R. L LLQ = Legislative Library, Quebec. LP = Library of Parliament, Ottawa. LU = Laval University, Quebec. MHS = Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston. NL = New York Public Library (Lenox Library Building). NYHS = New York Historical Society, New York City. WHS = Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison. The arrangement pursued is chronological, by the imprint date of each volume ; when the volumes of an edition bear the same date they are placed sequentially under that particular year. Each volume, in fact, has for identification its own earmarks. It is a pleasure to acknowledge the special facilities afforded by librarians in the prosecution of this work, and particularly to Mr. George Parker Winship, librarian of the Carter Brown Library, and Dr. Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress. liv Lahontan Bibliography 1703 — French : Angel issue — Vol. i. Nouveaux | Voyages | de I Mr. le Baron de Lahontan, | dans I TAmerique | Septentrionale, | Qui contiennent une relation des dif- ferens Peuples | qui y habitent ; la nature de leur Gouvernement ; leur I Commerce, leurs Coutumes, leur Religion, & | leur maniere de faire la Guerre. | L'interet des Franfois & des Anglois dans le Com- | merce qu'ils font avec ces Nations ; I'avantage que | I'Angleterre peut retirer dans ce Pais, etant | en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. I Tome Premier. I [Emblematic circular cut of Angel, etc., with inscription underneath^ | A La Haye, | Chez les Freres I'Honore, Marchands Libraires. | M. D c c III. I Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; "A sa Majeste Frederic IV," pp. (4); "Preface," pp. (7); "Table des Lettres du Tome I," pp.Cg); " Voyages " or text, pp. 1-266 ; "Explication de quelques Termes qui se trouvent dans le premier tome," pp. 267-279 ; verso of p. 279 blank. No mispaging. The 2d, 4th, 6th, 8th, 12th, and 17th lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. Plates. —Opposite pp. 34, 46, 72, 85, 98, 116, 141, 174, 2ii, 226, and 242 ; three frontispieces, namely, a globe and bird in a circle, an Indian in an oval with superscription "Et leges et sceptra terit," and a small "Carte generale de Canada a petit point;" also a large folded "Carte que le Gnacsitares ont dessine," etc., found sometimes opp. p. I, but intended for p. 136. In the preface of this volume the fol- lowing note appears: "La Carte mise a la tete du premier Volume doit se raporter a la 16. Lettre du meme Volume." Signatures. — * in eleven, A — L in twelves, M in eight. Sig. I5 printed correctly. Copies. — BM, JCB (the Globe and Indian frontispieces mounted), Lahontan Bibliography \y NL (two, one in perfect condition, and one lacking Globe and Indian frontispieces; both copies bound in contemporary hogskin), NYHS (imperfect and otherwise a poor copy). 1703 — French: Angelissue — Vol. 2. Memoires | de | TAmerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite | des Voyages de Mr. le | Baron de Lahontan. | Qui contiennent la De- fcription d'une grande eten- I due de Pais de ce Continent, I'interet des Francois & des 1 Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, | les Moeurs & les Coutumes des Sauvages &c. | Avec un petit Diction- aire de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Second. | \_Same cut as in first volume] \ A La Haye, | Chez les Freres I'Honore, Marchands Libraires. | M. DCCIII. I Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; "Memoires," pp. 3-194; half-title: "Petit I Dictionaire | de la Langue | des Sauvages," on p. [195]; P- [196] blank; " Petit Dictionaire," pp. 197-220; "Table des Matieres contenues dans les deux tomes," pp. (16). P. 219 is mis- paged 29. The 1st, 3d, 6th, 7th, 12th, and 14th lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. P/^/fj. — Opposite pp. 95, 125, 133, 148, 155, 160, 185, 187, 188, 189, and 191 ; a large folded " Carte generale de Canada Dediee au roy. de Danemark," opp. p. 3 ; two frontispieces, namely, a globe and bird in a circle, and an Indian in an oval, exactly like these two cuts in the first volume of this issue. Signatures. — A — I in twelves, K in ten. Copies. — BM. JCB (the Globe and Indian frontispieces mounted), NL (two, one in perfect condition, and one lacking Globe and Indian frontispieces), NYHS (imperfect and otherwise a poor copy). Ivi Lahontan Bibliography 1703 — French : Angel issue — Vol. 3. Suple'ment | aux Voyages | du | Baron de Lahontan, | Ou Ton trouve des Dialogues curieux | entre | I'Auteur | et | un Sauvage | De bon fens qui a voyage. | L'on y voit aufli plufieurs Obfervations faites par le meme | Auteur, dans (es Voyages en Portugal, en Efpagne, I en Hollande, & en Dannemarck, &c. | Tome Troisie'me. 1 Avec Figures. | {^Same cut as in vols. I and 2 of Angel issue\ \ A La Haye, | Chez les Freres I'Honore, Marchands Libraires. | M. DCC. III. I Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; "Preface," pp. (12); "Avis De I'Auteur, Au Lecteur," pp. (2); "Dialogues Ou Entretiens entre un Sauvages, Et le Baron de Lahontan," pp. 1-103 ; p. [104] blank; half-title: "Voyages | Du | Baron de Lahontan | En | Portugal, | Et en I Danemarc," on p. [105]; p. [106] blank; "Voyages De Portugal, Et de Danemarc," pp. 107-222. P. 86 is mispaged 89. Title-page printed wholly in black. Plates. — Folded plates at pp. i, 118, 149, and 155 ; folded maps of Portugal and Denmark, by N. de Fer, opp. pp. 107 and 145, respectively. Signatures. — * in eight, A — I in tv^^elves, K in three (some copies have a blank leaf to complete the last signature in four) . Copies. — BM, JCB, LP. 1 703 — French : Ornament issue — Vol. i . Nouveaux | Voyages | de | M"" le Baron de Lahontan, | dans | I'Amerique 1 Septentrionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des dif- ferens | Peuples qui y habitent ; la nature de leur | Gouvernement ; leur Commerce, leurs Coil- I tumes, leur Religion, & leur maniere de | faire la Guerre. | L'interet des Fran? ois & des Anglois dans le Commer- I ce qu'ils font avec ces Nations; I'avantage que | I'Angleterre peut Lahontan Bibliography Ivii retirer dans ce Pais, etant | en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | \_Ornament] \ A La Haye, | Chez les Freres rHoncre, Marchands Libraires. | M. DCIII. I Collation. — i2mo ; title, verso blank ; " A sa Majeste Frederic IV," pp. (4); " Preface," pp. (7); " Table des Lettres du Tome I," pp. (11); " Voyages " or text, pp. 1-266 ; " Explication de quelques Termes qui se trouvent dans le premier tome," pp. 267-279; verso of p. 279 blank. Pp. 35, 82, 98, 123, 128, 177, 241, and 242 are mispaged 34, 84, 78, 133, 126, 176, 242, and 142, respectively. The 2d, 4th, 6th, 8th to I2th, and i8th lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. Plates. — Frontispiece and opposite pp. 14, 34, 47, 72, 85, 98, 116, 141, 155 (really belongs in second volume at that page), 174, 225, and 242; a small "Carte generale du Canada en petit point," opp. p. 9, and folded "Carte que les Gnacsitares ont Dessine," etc., at p. 136. Signatures. — * in tvsrelve, A — L in tvi^elves, M in eight. Sig. I5 is misprinted I3. Copies.— B, BA, JCB, MHS. 1703 — French : Ornament issue — Vol. 2. Memoires | de | I'Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite des Voyages | de | M"" le Baron de Lahontan. 1 Qui contiennent la De- fcription d'une grande | etendue de Pais de ce Continent, I'interet | des Franf ois & des Anglois, leurs Com- | merces, leurs Navigations, les Moeurs & 1 les CoQtumes des Sauvages &c. | Avec un petit Diction- naire de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Second. | [Ornament] \ A La Haye, | Chez les Freres I'Honore, Marchands Libraires. | M. DCCIII. I Iviii Lahontan Bibliography Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; " Memoires," pp. 3-194 (mispaged 164); half-title: "Petit | Dictionaire | de la Langue | des Sauvages,"on p. [195]; p. [196] blank; " Petit Dictionaire," pp. 197" 220; 'Table des Matieres contenues dans les deux tomes," pp. (17), verso of last leaf blank; one blank leaf to complete sig. K. Pp. 167, 169, 175, 194 and 219 are mispaged 761, 269, 375, 164, and 26, respec- tively. The ist, 3d, 5th, 7th, 13th, and 15th lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. P/fl/^j. — Opposite pp. 55, 95, loi, 125, 130, 151, i74, 189, 190, and 191 ; a " Carte generale de Canada," opp. p. 5. Signatures. — A— K in twelves, the last leaf blank. D3 is printed in small cap., and F3 is misprinted F2. The small printer's ornament, or fleuron, differs in size from that of the first volume of this issue. Coi>w.-B, BA, JCB, MHS. 1 703 — French : Globe issue — Vol. i . Nouveaux | Voyages | de | M*" le Baron de Lahontan, 1 dans | I'Amerique 1 Septentrionale, | Qui contiennent une relation des dif- ferens Peuples | qui y habitent ; la nature de leur Gouvernement ; | leur Commerce, leur Coutumes, leur Reli- | gion, & leur maniere de faire la Guerre. | L'interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le Com- mer- | ce qu'ils font avec ces Nations ; I'avantage que 1 I'Angleterre peut retirer dans ce Pais, etant | en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. 1 iCut of a globe] \ A La Haye, | Chez les Freres I'Honore. Marchands Libraire [sic] I M. DCCIII. I Collation. — i2mo ; collation the same as the "Ornament " issue of the same year, with similar mispaging and signatures. Plate. — The plate for p. 155 is sometimes found in this volume, but really belongs in the second volume. The title-pages of both vol- Lahontan Bibliography lix umes of this " Globe " issue are printed entirely in black ink, and the plates are superior to those in the " Ornament " issue. The " Globe " issue has corrections in the place-nomenclature on the maps, and some additions of places on these maps have also been noticed. The " Orna- ment " issue has fancy initial letters, head and tail pieces, while the " Globe " issue is simpler in this respect ; but the two issues agree typo- graphically as to text, even in broken letters and singular mispaging. Copies. — BA, C, LLQ, LU, NL. 1 703 — French : Globe issue — Vol. 2. Memoires | de | I'Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite des Voyages | de 1 IVP le Baron de Lahontan. | Qui contiennent la De- fcription d'une grande etendue de | Pais de ce Continent, interet des Francois & des | Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, les | Moeurs & les Coutumes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Dictionnaire de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Second. | \_Cut of a globe] \ A La Haye, | Chez les Freres I'Honore, Marchand [sic] Libraires. I M. DCCIII. I Collation. — i2mo. The plate which is found in the " Ornament " issue of this volume opposite p. 55 is properly placed at p. 155 in this " Globe " issue. Plates. — "Lac des Outagamis " and another plate containing a bow, hatchet, etc., and scenes in Indian warfare and cruelty, are not found similarly located in several copies examined ; the former appears to belong opp. p. 165, and the latter opp. p. 174. Signatures. — Some copies have p. 2i8 misprinted 418, and the sig- nature mark D3 is not printed in small caps, as in the "Ornament" issue, but sig. F3 is misprinted F2. Copies. — BA, C, LLQ, LU, NL. Ix Lahontan Bibliography 1703 — English — Vol. i.^ New 1 Voyages I to I North-America. | Containing I An Account of the feveral Nations of that vaft Con- | tinent ; their Cufloms, Com- merce, and Way of | Navigation upon the Lakes and Rivers ; the feve- I ral Attempts of the Englifh and French to difpoffefs | one another ; with the Reafons of the Mifcarriage | of the former ; and the various Adventures be- | tween the French, and the Iroquefe Confederates of | England, from 1683 to 1694. I ^ Geographical Defcription of Canada, and a Natu- | ral Hiflory of the Country, with Remarks upon | their Government, and the Interefl of the Englifh | and French in their Commerce. | Alfo a Dialogue between the Author and a General of the I Savages, giving a full View of the Religion and flrange | Opin- ions of thofe People : With an Account of the Au- | thors Retreat to Portugal and Denmark and his Remarks | on thofe Courts. | To which is added, | A Dictionary of the Algonkine Language, which is generally | fpoke in North-America. | lUuftrated with Twenty Three Mapps and Cutts. I Written in French | By the Baron Lahontan, Lord Lievtenant | of the French Colony at Placentia in New- | foundland, now in England. | Done into Englifh. | In Two Volumes. I A great part of which never Printed in the Original. | London: Printed for H. Bonwicke in St. Paul's Church-yard; | T. Goodwin, M. Wotton, B. Tooke, in Fleetflreet ; and S. Manfhip I in Cornhil, 1703. I Collation. — Svo; title, verso blank; "To His Grace William Duke of Devonshire," pp. (2); "The Preface," pp. (8); " The Con- tents," pp. (12); "Some New Voyages" pp. 1-202 ; "Memoirs of North-America," pp. 203-274 ; "A Table explaining some Terms made use of in both Volumes," pp. 275-280; "Books lately Printed, 1 This is the original English edition which is herewith reprinted. Lahontan Bibliography Ixi &c.," p. (i); one blank page. No mispaging. The " Table" ends in the midst of the letter "T" on p. 280, and there is a superfluous catch-word " THE " at the foot of that page. P/a/w. — Opposite pp. 26, 43, 55, 65, 75, 89, 106, 160, 184 and 225 (map of Newfoundland); a small full-page map of Canada to face the title-page, and two large folded maps to face p. i, as follows : (A) " A General Map of New France Com, call'd Canada," (B) "A Map drawn upon Stag-skins byy^ Gnacfitares," etc. Signatures. — A in eight, a in four, B — S in eights, T in four, and one advertisement leaf. Copies.— B, HC, JCB, MHS, NL (three), WHS. The following extract from the preface of this volume is worthy of notice here : While my Book was a Printing in Holland, I was in England ; and as soon as it appear'd, several English Gentlemen of a distinguishing Merit, who understand the French as well as their Mother Tongue, gave me to know, that they would be glad to see a more ample Relation of the Manners and Customs of the People of that Continent, whom we call by the name of Savages. This oblig'd me to communicate to these Gentlemen, the substance of the several Conferences I had in that Country with a certain Huron, whom the French call Rat. While I stay'd at that American's Village, I imploy'd my time very agreeably in making a careful Collection of all his Arguments and Opinions ; and as soon as I return'd from my Voyage upon the Lakes of Canada, I shew'd my Manuscript to Count Frontenac, who was so pleas'd with it, that he took the pains to assist me in digesting the Dialogues, and bringing them into the order they now appear in : For before that, they were abrupt Conferences without Connexion. Upon the Solicitation of these English Gentlemen, I've put these Dia- logues into the hands of the Person who translated my Letters and Memoirs : And if it had not been for their pressing Instances, they had never seen the light ; for there are but few in the World that will judge impartially, and without prepossession, of some things contained in 'em. I have likewise intrusted the same Translator with some Remarks that I made in Portugal, and Denmark, when I fled thither from Newfound-Land. There the Reader will meet with a description of Lisbon and Copenhagen, and of the capital City of Arragon. To the Translation of my first Volume, I have added an exact Map of Newfound- Land, which was not in the Original. I have likewise corrected almost all the Cuts Ixii Lahontan Bibliography of the Holland Impression, for the Dutch Gravers had murder'd 'em, by not under- standing their Explications, which were all in French. They have grav'd Women for Men, and Men for Women ; naked Persons for those that are cloath'd, and e Contra. As for the Maps, the Reader will find 'em very exact ; And I have taken care to have the Tracts of my Voyages more nicely delineated, than in the Original. 1703 — English — Vol. 2. New I Voyages | to | North-America. | Giving a full Account of the Cuftoms, | Commerce, Religion, and ftrange O- | pinions of the Savages of that Country. | With | Political Remarks upon the Courts I of Portugal and Denmark, and the Prefent | State of the Commerce of thofe Countries. | Never Printed before. | Written | By the Baron Lahontan, Lord | Lieutenant of the French Colony at | Placentia in Newfoundland : Now in | England. | Vol. IL | London : | Printed for H. Bonwicke in St. Paul's Church-yard ; T. Goodwin, | M. Wotton, B. Tooke in Fleetftreet ; and S. Manfhip in Cornhil, | 1703. | Collation. — 8vo ; title, verso blank; "A Discourse," pp. 1-89; "A Conference or Dialogue," pp. 90-183; p. [184] blank; "An Ap- pendix, Containing Some New Voyages to Portugal and Denmark," pp. 185-286; "A Short Dictionary Of the most Universal Language of the Savages," pp. 287-302 ; "The Index," pp. (13); one blank page. The second figure of the paging of p. 43 is inverted and p. 279 is misprinted 276. Sets of this edition are usually very much mixed up in the arrangement of the preliminary and end leaves, and the majority of copies examined lacked the frontispiece to the second volume. Plates. — Frontispiece containing an Indian within an oval, having the superscription " Et Leges et Sceptra terit "; and opposite pp. 5, 29, 36, 51, 59 (two), 80, 82, 84 and 86. Signatures. — Title-page, Aa — Sf in eights, Tt in seven, Vv in seven. Lahontan Bibliography Ixiii Copies. — B (with frontispiece), HC (lacks front.), JCB (with front.), MHS (lacks front.), NL (two, both lack front.), WHS (lacks front.). 1704— French — Vol. i. Nouveaux | Voyages | de Mr le Baron | de Lahontan | dans | I'Amerique | Septentrionale. | Qui contiennent une relation des dif- ferens Peu- | pies qui y habitent, la nature de leur Gouver- | nement, leur Commerce, leur Coutume, leur | Religion, & leur maniere de faire la Guerre. | L'interet des Franfois & des Anglois dans le | Commerce qu'ils font avec ces Nations, I'a- | vantage que I'Angleterre peut retirer dans ce | Pais, etant en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | [Small ornament} | A La Haye, | Chez les Freres Lhonore', Marchands Libraires. | M. DCCIV. I Collation. — i2mo ; title, verso blank ; " A sa Majeste Frederic IV," pp. (2); " Preface," pp. (5); " Table desLettres du L Tome," pp. (9); "Voyages," pp. 1-266; "Explication de quelques Termes," pp. 267- 280. P. 82 is misprinted 84. The title-page printed wholly in black. Plates. — Frontispiece of an Indian in an oval, and opposite pp. 14, 34, 47, 72, 85, 98, 116, 141, 174, 225 and 242; a small "Carte generale du Canada en petit point " opp. p. i of the text ; a folded map opp. p. 136, entitled: "Carte que les Gnacsitares ont Dessine," etc. Signatures. — A — M in twelves, N in six (the last leaf blank). Sig. E5 is misprinted Ee. Copies.— JCB, LP. 1704 — French — Vol. 2. Memoires | de | I'Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou | la Suite des Voyages | de | Mr le Baron de Lahontan. | Qui contiennent la De- Ixiv Lahontan Bibliography fcription d'une | grande etendue de pais de ce Conti- | nent, Pinteret des Francois & des An- | glois, leurs Commerces, leurs Na- | vigations, les Moeurs & les Coutu- | mes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Diction- naire de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Et augmente dans ce (econd Tome de la ma- | niere dont les Sauvages fe regalent. | [Small ornament, same as in vol. /] | A La Haye, | Chez les Freres Lhonore', Marchands Libraires. | M. DCCIV. I Collation. — 8vo; title, verso blank; "Memoires," pp. 3-198; "Petit Dictionaire," pp. 199-222; "Table des Matieres," pp. (18). Pagination of p. loi imperfectly printed 10. Title-page printed wholly in black. Plates. — Opposite pp. 95, 98, lOi, 125, 130. I5i. I55> 167, 185, 189, 190, and 191; a folded "Carte generale de Canada" opp. p. 5. Signatures. — A — K in twelves. Copies. — ]CB, LP. 1704 — French — Vol. 3. Suite I Du I Voyage, | De I'Amerique, | Ou Dialogues | De Mon- fieur le | Baron de Lahontan | Et d'un | Sauvage, | Dans I'Amerique. Contenant une defcription | exacte des moeurs & des coutumes de ces I Peuples Sauvages. | Avec les Voyages du meme en Portgugal & en | Danemarc, dans lefquels on trouve des parti- | cularitez tres curieufes, & qu'on n'avoit 1 point encore remarquees. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | \_Small scrolled ornament^ \ A Amsterdam, | Chez la Veuve de Boeteman, | Et fe vend | A Londres, chez David Mortier, Li- | braire dans le Strand, a I'Enfeigne d'Erafme. | M. DCCIV. | Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; " Preface," pp. (12); "Avis Lahontan Bibliography Ixv De I'Auteur Au Lecteur," pp. (2); "Dialogues," pp. 1-103; p. [104] blank; half-title: "Voyages | Du | Baron de Lahontan | En Por- tugal, I Et en I Danemarc," on p. [105]; p. [106] blank; text of "Voyages," pp. 107-222. P. 86 is mispaged 89. The ist, 3d, 5th, 7th, and 9th lines and place of imprint printed in red. Plates. — Opposite pp. i, 118, 149, and 155; a map of Portugal at p. 107, and a map of Denmark at p. 145. Signatures. — * in eight, A — I in twelves, K in three. This volume is merely a reissue of the original sheets of the 1703 edition of the Supl'e- ment, with a new title-page. We have seen sets of the "Angel issue " of vols. I and 2 accompanied by the 1703 edition of the Supl'ement ; by the 1704 Suite, and by the issue of 1704 called Dialogues {vide next item). Copies. — LLQ, NL. 1704 — French : Dialogues issue — Vol. 3. Dialogues | De Monfieur le | Baron de Lahontan | Et d'un | Sauvage, | Dans I'Amerique. | Contenant une defcription exacte des moeurs | & des coutumes de ces Peuples Sauvages. | Avec les Voyages du meme en Portugal & en | Danemarc, dans lefquels on trouve des parti- I cularitez tres curieuses, & qu'on n'avoit | point encore remar- quees. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | \_Cut, a vase of flowers\ A Amsterdam, | Chez la Veuve de Boeteman, | Et fe vend | A Londres, chez David Mortier, Li- | braire dans le Strand, a 1' Enfeigne d' Erafme. | M. DCCIV. I Collation. — This is a separate issue of the Suite Du Voyage of this year, which as already shown in loco is merely the sheets of the 1703 original with a new title-page. Copies. — BM, C, JCB, NL (two). Ixvi Lahontan Bibliography 1705 — French: Jonas VHonore — Vol. i. Voyages | du Baron | de La Hontan | dans | I'Amerique | Sep- tentrionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des differens Peuples | qui y habitent ; la nature de leur Gouvernement ; leur | Commerce, leur Coutumes, leur Religion, & | leur maniere de faire la Guerre : | L'ln- teret des Franfois & des Anglois dans le Com- | merce qu'ils font avec ces Nations ; I'avantage que | I'Angleterre peut retirer de ce Pais, etant I en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. I Tome Premier. | Seconde Edition, revue, corrigee, & augmentee. | {.Cut, with emblematic scene, globe, pillar and figures\ \ A La Haye, | Chez Jonas I'Honore, & Compagnie. | mdccv. | Collation. — i2mo ; engraved frontispiece, w^ith title: " Nouveaux I Voyages | du Barron 1 de Lahontan "; title, verso blank; "Preface," pp. (8); "Table des Lettres du Tome Premier," pp. (8); "Voyages" or text, pp. [i]-364; " Explication de quelques Termes," pp. 365-376. No mispaging. The ist, 3d, 5th, 6th, nth to 14th, and i6th lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. In some copies, if not indeed in all, the paper of signatures N — P (pp. 289-360) is browned. Pto«. — Opposite pp. I, 38, 53, 82, 91, 118, 127, 174, 244, 303, 324, and 340; a folded "Carte que les Gnacsitares ont dessine," etc., opp. p. I. The only characteristic variation between the Jonas and Franfois I'Honore issues of this year seems to be their title-pages. Signatures. — * in nine, A — P in twelves, Q in eight. Copies.— "QM, JCB, NL, NYHS (imperfect). 1 705 — French : Jonas VHonore — VoL. 2. Memoires | de | I'Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite | des Voyages de Mr. le | Baron de La Hontan: | Qui contiennent la De- fcription d'une grande etendue | de Pais de ce Continent, I'interet des Franfois & des | Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, | les Lahontan Bibliography Ixvii Moeurs & les Coutumes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Dictionaire de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Second. | Seconde Edition, augmentee des Conversations de | I'Auteur avec un Sauvage diftingue. | \_Same cut as in first volume] \ A Amsterdam, | Pour Jonas THonore a la Haye. | M DCC v. | Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; "Memoires," pp. 5-196; " Conversations de I'Auteur de ces Voyages avec Adario,"pp. 197-310; half-title: "Dictionaire | de la Langue | des Sauvages," on p. [311]; p. [312] blank; "Dictionaire," pp. 313-336; "Table Des Matieres principales contenues dans ce II Volume," pp. (2). No mispaging. The 1st, 3d, 6th, 7th, 12th, and 14th lines and place and date of im- print printed in red. Plates.— Opposite pp. 95, 104, 125, 129, 133, 148, 155, 160, 185, 187, 189, and 191; frontispiece "Carte Generale de Canada a petit point," and a large folded " Carte Generale de Canada " opp. p. 5. Signatures. — Title-page, A3 — [A12] , B — O in twelves, P in one. Co^-«.— BM, JCB.NL. 1705 — French: Francois V Honor'e — VOL. I. Voyages | du Baron | de La Hontan | dans | I'Amerique | Sep- tentrionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des difierens Peuples | qui y habitent; la nature de leur Gouvernement; leur | Commerce, leurs Coutumes, leur Religion, & | leur maniere de faire la Guerre: | L'Interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le Com- | merce qu'ils font avec ces Nations; I'avantage que | I'Angleterre peut retirer de ce Pais, etant | en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | Seconde Edition, revue, corrigee, & aug- mentee. I \_Emblematic cut, a globe with five figures seated near a colutnni \ A Amsterdam, | Chez Franfois I'Honore vis-a-vis de la Bourfe. | M D CC V. I Ixviii Lahontan Bibliography Collation. — i2mo; engraved frontispiece, with title: "Nouveaux I Voyages | du Barron | de Lahontan"; title, verso blank; "Preface," pp. (8); "Table des Lettres du Tome Premier," pp. (8); "Voyages" or text, pp. [i] — 364; "Explication de quelques Termes," pp. 365- 376. No mispaging. The ist, 3d, 5th, 6th, nth to 14th, and i6th lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. Plates. — Opposite pp. i, 38, 53, 82 (corrected from 72), 91, 118, 127, 174, 244, 303, 324, and 340; a folded " Carte que les Gnacsitares ont dessine," etc., opp. p. i , but often found at some other location in the volume. The only characteristic variation between the Franfois and Jonas I'Honore issues of this year seems to be their title-pages. Signatures. — * in nine, A — P in twelves, Q in eight. Copies. — B, BM, C, HC. 1705 — French : Francois VHonor'e — VOL. 2. Memoires | de | I'Amerique 1 Septentrionale, | ou la suite | des Voyages de Mr. le Baron de La Hontan : | Qui contiennent la De- fcription d'une grande etendue | de Pais de ce Continent, I'interet des Francois & des | Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, I les Moeurs & les Coutumes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Dictionaire de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Second. | Seconde Edition, augmentee des Conversations de | I'Auteur avec un Sauvage diftingue. | [_Same cut as in first volume'} | A Amsterdam, | Chez Franfois I'Honore &Compagnie.| M DCC v. | Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; "Memoires," pp. 5-196; " Conversations," pp. 197-310; half-title: Dictionare | de la Langue | des Sauvages," on p. [311]; p. [312] blank; "Dictionaire," pp. 313- 336; "Table Des Matieres principales contenues dans ce II Volume," pp. (2). No mispaging. The ist, 3d, 6th, 7th, 12th, and 14th lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. Lahontan Bibliography Ixix /'/<7/fj. — Opposite pp. 95, 104, 125, 129, 133, 148, 155, 160, 185, 187, 189, and 191; frontispiece "Carte Generale de Canada a petit point," and large folded "Carte generale du Canada " opp. p. 5, but having the location mark " Pag: i " engraved upon it. Signatures. — A — O in twelves, P in one. Copies. — B, BM, C, HC (lacks large map). 1705 — English: Extract. A Voyage to North America. Or a Geographical Defcription of Canada. By the Baron La Hontan, Lord Lieutenant of the French Colony at Placentia in Newfound-Land. The above title is the heading of chap, xvi of the original folio edition of John Harris's Navigantium atqiie Itinerantium Bibliotheca : Or, a Complcat Collection of Voyages and Travels : . . . Volume II. (London: Printed for Thomas Bennet . . . mdccv). The com- plete extract from Lahontan is embraced by Harris's chapters xvi-xxvi, or pp. 915-928. The revised editions of Harris (edited by J. Campbell), published in 1 744-1 748 and 1764, do not contain these excerpts. 1706 — French — Vol. i. Voyages f cfu Baron | de La Hontan | dans | I'Amerique | Sep- tentrionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des differens Peuples | qui y habitent ; la nature de leur Gouvernement ; leur | Commerce, leurs Coutumes, leur Religion ; & | leur maniere de faire la Guerre : | L'Interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le Com- | merce qu'ils font avec ces Nations ; I'avantage que | I'Angleterre peut retirer de ce Pais, etant | en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | Seconde Edition, revue, corrige, & aug- mentee. | \_Cut of three cherubs'\ \ Ixx Lahontan Bibliography A La Haye, | Chez Charles Delo, fur le Singel. | MDCCVI. | This edition is merely a reissue from the same sheets of the two 1705 issues of Franfois and Jonas I'Honore, with which it agrees in collation ; even the paper of signatures N — P is browned as in them, and all typographical peculiarities are repeated in the body of both volumes. Copies. — BA (lacks many plates and the large map), JCB, NL. 1 706 — French — Vol. 2. Memoires | de | I'Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite | des Voyages de Mr. le | Baron de La Hontan : | Qui contiennent la De- fcription d'une grande etendue | de Pais de ce continent, I'interet des Franfois & des | Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, | les Moeurs & les Coutumes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Dictionaire de la Langue du Pais. | Tome Second. | Seconde Edition, augmente des Conversations | de I'Auteur avec un Sauvage diftingue. | [C«/ of two cherubs bearing the host^ \ A La Haye, | Chez Charles Delo, fur le Singel. | MDCCVi. | This edition is merely a reissue from the same sheets of the two 1705 issues of Franfois and Jonas I'Honore, with which it agrees in collation. Copies. — BA (lacks many plates and the large map), JCB, NL. 1707 — French — Vol. i. Nouveaux | Voyages | de Monsieur | le Baron de Lahontan, I dans 1 I'Amerique | Septentrionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des difife- | rens Peuples qui y habitent, la nature 1 de leur Gouverne- ment, leur Commerce, | leurs Coiatumes, leur Religion, & leur | ma- niere de faire la Guerre. | L'interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le I Commerce qu'ils font avec ces Nations; | I'avantage que la France, Lahontan Bibliography Ixxi peut retirer dans ce | Pais, etant en Guerre avec I'Angleterre. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | \Floral cui\ \ A La Haye, | Chez Isaac Delorme, Libraire. | m. dccvii. | Collation. — i2mo ; title, verso blank ; " A sa Majeste Frederic IV," pp. (4); " Preface," pp. (6); "Table des Lettres du tome I," pp. (6); "Voyages," pp. 1-342; "Explication de quelques Termes qui se trouvent dans le premier Tome," pp. 343~354 ; "Table des Matieres contenues dans le premier Tome," pp. (12). Pp. 22, 190, 191, 193, 218, 282, and 283 are mispaged 72, 192, 193, 195, 198, 284, and 285, respectively. Title-page printed wholly in black. Plates. — The copy in the Library of Congress, the only one I have been able to examine, evidently lacks six plates and two maps. It has a frontispiece of an Indian in an oval, and plates opposite pp. 47, loi, 119, 161, and 313. Two leaves from sig. E (pp. 107-110) are also wanting in that copy. Signatures. — Title, a in eight, A — B in sixes, b in twelve, C — P in twelves, Q in four (last leaf blank). Fs printed Fv ; I4 printed liiij ; I5 printed Iv. Copies. — C (imperfect). 1 708 — French — Vol. 2. Memoires | de | I'Amerique | Septentrionale, I ou la Suite des Voyages I de Monsieur | le Baron de Lahontan, | qui contiennent | La Defcription d'une grande etendue de | Pais de ce Continent, I'interet des | Franfois & des Anglois, leurs Com- | merces, leurs Nav- igations, les Moeurs | & les Coutumes des Sauvages &c. | Avec un Dictionnaire de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Seconde. | \_Cut, a pot of flowers^ \ A La Haye, | Chez Isaac Delorme, Libraire. | M. DCCViii. | Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; "Memoires," pp. 1-215 ; Ixxii Lahontan Bibliography p. [216] blank; "Petit Dictionaire de la Langue des Sauvages," pp. 217-239; verso of p. 239 blank. Pp. 38, 39, 40, 44, 105, 116, 150, and 160 are mispaged 36, 37, 38, 48, 89, 115, 250, and 60, respec- tively. The title-page printed wholly in black. Plates. — The copy in the Library of Congress, the only one I have been able to examine, evidently lacks five plates and perhaps a small map of Canada. It has plates opposite pp. 97, 104, 132, 136, 155, 166, and 211 ; and a "Carte generale de Canada" opp. p. 3. Signatures. — Title, A — K in twelves. Sig. A3 is printed Aiij ; C5 printed Cv ; E5 printed Ev ; K2 printed Kij. Copies. — C (imperfect). 1708 — French — Vol. 3. Dialogues | de Monsieur | le Baron de Lahontan, | et d'un | Sauvage, | dans I'Amerique. I Contenant | Une defcription exacte des mceurs | & des coutumes de ces Peuples | Sauvages. | Avec les Voy- ages du meme en Portugal | & en Danemarc, dans lefquels on | trouve des particularitez tres-curieufes, | & qu'on n'a point encore remarquees. I Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Troisieme. | \_Same floral cut as in vol. j] | A La Haye, | Chez Isaac Delorme, Libraire. | M. Dccviii. | Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; "Preface," pp. (13); "Avis de I'Auteur au Lecteur,"pp. (3); "Dialogues," pp. 1-174; one blank leaf for pp. [175] and [176]; half-title: "Voyages | de | Portugal | et de I Danemarc," on p. [177; p. [178] blank; " Voyages," pp. 179- 374. Pp. 265, 268, 269, 272, 273, 276, 277, 280, 281, 284, 285, and 288 are mispaged 269, 272, 273, 276, 277, 280, 281, 284, 285, 288, 289, and 290, respectively. Title-page printed wholly in black. Plates. — The copy in the Library of Congress, the only one I have Lahontan Bibliography Ixxiii been able to examine, evidently lacks three plates and two maps, of Portugal and Denmark. It has one plate opposite p. i. Signatures. — a in five, b in four, A — P in twelves, Q in eight (last leaf blank). Sig. H4 is a blank leaf. Copies. — C (imperfect) . 1709 — French — Vol. i. Nouveaux | Voyages | de Mr le Baron | de Lahontan, | dans | TAmerique | Septentrionale. 1 Qui contiennent une relation des dif- ferens Peu- | pies qui y habitent, la nature de leur Gouver- | nement, leur Commerce, leur Coiatume, leur | Religion, &leurmaniere de faire la Guerre. | L'intetet des Francois & des Anglois dans le | Commerce qu'ils font avec ces Nations, I'a- | vantage que I'Angleterre peut retirer dans I ce Pais, etant en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | \_Small ornament] \ A La Haye, | Chez les Freres L Honore, Marchands | Libraires. | M. DCCIX. Collation. — i2mo ; title, verso blank ; "A sa Majeste Frederic IV," pp. (3); " Preface," pp. (5); " Table des Lettres du I. tome," pp. (8); "Voyages," pp. 1-266; "Explication de quelques Termes," pp. 267- 280. Pp. 229 and 274 are misprinted 129 and 174, respectively. Title-page printed entirely in black. Plates. — Frontispiece of an Indian and opposite pp. 14, 34, 47, 72, 85,98, 116, 141, 174, 225, and 242 ; small "Carte generale du Canada en petit point " opp. p. i, and a small folded " Carte que les Gnacsitares ont Dessine " opp. p. 136. Signatures. — A — M in twelves, N in six (the last leaf blank). Copies.— HC (two), JCB. Ixxiv Lahontan Bibliography 1709 — French — Vol. 2. Memoires | de | I'Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou | la Suite des Voyages | de | Mr le Baron de Lahontan. I Qui contiennent la De- fcription d'une | grande etendue de pais de ce Con- | tinent, I'interet des Francois & des | Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs | Navigations, les Moeurs & les Cou | tumes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Diction- naire de la Langue du Pais. 1 Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. I Et augmente dans ce fecond Tome de la ma- | niere dont les Sauvages fe regalent. | \_Same small ornament as in vol. j] I A La Haye, | Chez les freres L Honore, Marchands Libraires. | M. DCCIX. I Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; "Memoires," pp. 3-198; " Petit Dictionaire de la Langue des Sauvages," pp. 199-222; "Table des Matieres contenues dans les deux Tomes," pp. (18). Pp. 200 and 220 are mispaged 220 and 120, respectively. Title-page printed entirely in black. P/fl^w. — Opposite pp. 95, lOi, 125, 130, 151, 155. 167, 185, 189, 190, and 191 ; a folded "Carte generale de Canada" opp. p. 5. Signatures. — A — K in twelves. Big. K4 is misprinted K3. Copies. — nC (two), JCB. 1 709 — German : Abridgment. Des beriihmten | Herrn | Baron De Lahontan | Neueste Reisen I Nach I Nord-Indien/ | Oder dem | Mitternachtischen America, | Mit vielen besondern und bey keinem Scribenten 1 befindlichen | Curiositaeten. | Aus dem Frantzosischen iibersetzet | Von | M. Vis- cher. I Hamburg und Leipzig/ | Im Reumannischen Verlag/MDCCIX. | Collation. — i2mo; doublepage title, with reverse blank; "Gen- Lahontan Bibliography Ixxv eigter Leser!", signed by the translator and dated at " Hamburg d. 15. April: 1709," pp. (8); text with heading: " Des Herrn Baron de la Hontan Nord-Indien," pp. 1-252; half-title of second part: " Der | Historischen | Nachrichten | Des | Herrn Baron de la | Hontan, | Von I Nord-Indien/ | Zweyter Theil," on p. 253 ; text of same, pp. 254-432; " Anhang eines Worter-Buchs von der Wilden Sprache," pp. 433-454; "Register," pp. 455-459; verso of p. 459 blank. Pp. 127, 373, 376, 377, and 380 are mispaged 107, 343, 347, 358, and 339, respectively. Title-page printed wholly in black. Plates. — No plates, but small folded " General Carte von Canada " before the title-page. Signatures. — )( in six (of which the folded title-page is a part) , a— t in twelves, u in two. The signature mark of be is on the verso of that leaf, and that of d4 is wanting. Copies. — "RM, C, JCB. 1 7 10 — Dutch: Extract. Van den oorspronk en de kracht der Vooroordeelen, Door J. T. Als mede een koort Uyttreksel Uyt de Aanteykeninge van de Baron de Lahontan, rakende de Zeden, 't Geloof, en't verstant van de Wilden tot Canada, en de lof der hedendaagse Eeuw, in vergelykinge, van de voorgaande Eeuwen. En dat er zoo veele Atheisten niet zyn als men doorgaans gelooft, Door J. de Klerk. Amsterdam : Jan Blum. 1710. i2mo. This title is copied from Joseph Sabin's Dictionary' of Books Re- lating to America, item 38048. A distorted title of the same is given in Frederik MuUer's Catalogue of Books, Maps, Plates on America. Part I. (Amsterdam, 1872), item 317. I have not seen this extract. See another edition, under 1723. Ixxvi Lahontan Bibliography 171 1 —German. Des beruhmten | Herrn | Baron De Lahontan | Neueste Reisen | Nach I Nord-Indien/ | Oder dem | Mitternachtischen America ', Mit vielen besondern und bey keinem Scribenten befindlichen 1 Curio- sitzeten. | Auch bey dieser andern Auflage mit | Seiner Reise nach Portugall/Dennemarck und | Spanien/vermehret. | Aus dem Frant- zosischen vibersetzet | Von M. Vischer. | Hamburg und Leipzig/ I Im Reumannischen Verlag/MDCCXI. | Collation. — i2mo ; doublepage title, with reverse blank ; " Vorrede. An den verstandigen Leser," dated at end " Hamburg, d. 20. Novemb. 1710," pp. (19); one blank page; text headed: "Des Herrn Baron de la Hontan Nord-Indien," pp. 1-316; half-title: " Der 1 Historischen I Nachrichten | Des | Herrn Baron de la I Hontan, | Von 1 Nord- Indien/ I Zweyter Theil," on p. [317]; text of same, pp. 318-563; " Anhang eines Worter-Buchs von der Wilden Sprache," pp. 563-590; " Des Beriihmten Herrn Baron de la Hontan Reise nach Portugall und Dennemarck," pp. 591-747 ; " Register," pp. 748-753 ; verso of p. 753 blank. Pp. 51, 212, and 359 are mispaged 24, 112, and 395, respect- ively; there is also an elision of pp. 254 and 255. Title-page wholly in black. Plates. — No plates, but a " General-Carte von Canada," folded, to precede p. i. Signatures. — )( in twelve (of which the folded title-page forms a part). A— Hh in twelves, li in four. Signature mark R4 is wanting. The translator calls this the " Zweite Auflage " in German. Copies.— ]CB. 1715 — French — Vol. i. Nouveaux | Voyages I de M""- le Baron 1 de Lahontan, | dans | I'Amerique | Septentrionale. I Qui contient une relation des differens Peuples 1 qui y habitent, la nature de leur Gouverne- I ment, leur Lahontan Bibliography Ixxvii Commerce, leur Coutume, leur | Religion, & leur maniere de faire la Guerre. | L'interet des Frangois & des Anglois dans le Com- | merce qu'ils font avec ces Nations, I'avantage | que I'Angleterre peut retirer dans ce Pais, | etant en Guerre avee la France. | Le tout enrich! de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | [Small ornament^ \ A La Haye, | Chez les Freres L Honore, Marchands Libraires. | M. DCCXV. I Collation. — i2mo ; title, verso blank ; " A sa Majeste Frederic IV,". pp. (3); " Preface," pp. (5); " Table des Lettres du L tome," pp. (8); "Voyages" or text, pp. 1-266; "Explication de quelques Termes," pp. 267-280. Pp. 130, 141, and 274 are misprinted 180, 411, and 174, respectively, and the paging of 131 is broken. Title-page printed en- tirely in black. Plates. — Frontispiece and opposite pp. 14, 34, 47, 72, 85, 98, 116, 141, 155, 174, 225, and 242; a small "Carte generate du Canada en petit point " opp. p. 9, and a folded " Carte que les Gnacsitares ont Dessine, etc., opp. p. 136. Signatures. — A — M in twelves, N in six (the last leaf blank). Sig. Me is misprinted He. C0/./VJ. — BN, HC, LU. 1715 — French — Vol. 2. Memoires | de | I'Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou | la Suite des Voyages | de | Mr le Baron de Lahontan. | Qui contient la Defcrip- tion d'une gran- | de etendue de Pais de ce Continent, | l'interet des Franfois & des Anglois, | leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, | leur Moeurs & les Coiatumes des Sau- | vages, £ Americans, among whom the forrycfl fellow thinks him f elf a better Man, than a Chancellor of France. Thefe People are happy in being fcreen'd from the tricks and fliifts of Miniflers, who are always Maflers where-ever they come. I envy the fiate of a poor Savage, who tramples upon Laws, and pays Homage to no Scepter. I wi/h I could fpend the reft of my Life in his Hutt, and fo be no longer expos' d to the chagrin of bending the knee to a fet of Men, that facrifice the publick good to their private intereft, and are born to plague honeft Men. The two Miniflers of State I have to do with, have been folicited in vain, by the Duchefs of Lude, Cardinal Bouillon, Count Guifcar, Mr. de Quiros, and Count d' Avaux^: Nothing could prevail, tho' all that is laid to my charge, confifls only in not bearing the affronts of a Governour, zvhom they protect ; at a time when a hundred other Officers, who 1 These patrons who spoke on behalf of Lahontan were among the eminent per- sonages of the court of Louis XIV. The Count de Lude was grand master of artillery, his wife a friend of Madame de Frontenac. Cardinal Bouillon was the younger son of the great Turenne, a prominent supporter of Fenelon ; at this time he was in a sort of honorable exile in Holland, as was likewise Count Guiscard, a diplomat and 12 The Preface. live tinder the imputation of Crimes^ infinitely greater than mine, are excused for three Months abfence from Court} Now the Reafon is, that they give lefs quarter to thofe who have the misfortune to dif- pleafe the two Mejfieurs de Ponchartrain. than to fuch as a3 contrary to the King's Orders. But after all my Misfortunes, I have this to folace me, that I injoy in England a fort of Liberty, that is not met with elfewhere: For one may juftly fay, that of all the Countries inhabited by civil- is'd People, this alone affords the greatefl perfection of Liberty. Nay, I do not except the liberty of the Mind, for I am convinced, that the Englifh maintain it with a great deal of tendernefs: So true it is, that all degrees of Slavery are abhorr'd by this People, who fliew their IFifdom in the precautions they take to prevent their finking into a fatal Servitude. politician of some fame. Don Francesco Bernardo de Quiros was Spanish ambassa- dor at the Hague ; and Count d'Avaux had long been French minister at the same court, retiring upon William Ill's invasion of England (1688), and again upon the outbreak of the War of Spanish Succession (1703). It was he who accompanied James II (1689) to Ireland, as representative of Louis XIV. — Ed. 1 Lahontan here refers to his disagreement with Brouillan, governor of Newfound- land, and his own departure thence without leave. — Ed. THE CONTENTS. VOL. I. [Original pagination retained.] LETTER I. Dated at Quebec Nov. 8. 1683. CONTAINING a Defcription of the Paffage from France to Canada ; with fome Remarks upon the Coafts^ Channels, &c. and the variation of the Needle. p. i. LETTER II. Dated at the Canton of Beaupri May 2. 1684. Containing a Defcription of the Plantations of Canada, and the manner in which they were firfl form'd : As alfo an Account of the Tranfportation of IFhores from France to that Country ; together with a view of its Climate and Soil. p. 7. LETTER. III. Dated at Quebec May 15. 1684. Containing an ample Defcription of the City of Quebec, and of the Ifland of St. Laurence. p. n. 14 The Contents. LETTER. IV. Dated at Monreal June 14. 1684. Containing a brief Defcription of the Habitations of the Savages in the Neighbourhood of Quebec ; of the River of St. Laurence, as far up as Monreal; of a curious way of fifiing Eels; and of the Cities of Trois Rivieres, and Monreal : Together with an account of the Conduct of the Forrefl-Rangers or Pedlers. p. 16. LETTER. V. Dated at Monreal June 18. 1684. In which is contain'd a fhort account of the Iroquefe, vAth a view of the War and Peace they made vAth the French, and of the means by which it was brought about. p. 22. LETTER. VL Dated at Monreal June 20. 1684. Being an ample Defcription of the Canows made of Birch Bark^ in zvhich the Canadans perform all their Voyages; with an Account of the manner in which they are made and manag'd. p. 26. LETTER. Vn. Dated at Monreal Novemb. 2. 1684. Defcribing the River of St. Laurence, from Monreal to the firfl great Lake of Canada, with the PFater-falls, Cataracts, and Navigation of that River : As alfo Fort Frontenac, and the advantages that accrue from it. Together with a Circumfian- The Contents. 15 tial account of the Expedition of Mr. de la Barre, the Gov- ernour General^ againfl the Iroquefe ; the Speeches he made, the Replies he receiv'd, and the final Accommodation of the dif- ference. P- 29. LETTER. VIII. Dated at Monreal June 28. 1685. Reprefenting the Fortifications of Monreal, and the indifcreet zeal of the Priefts, who are Lords of that Town : With a Defcrip- tion of Chambli, and of the Commerce of the Savages upon the great Lakes. p. 45. LETTER. IX. Dated at Boucherville 0^. 2. 1685. Being an Account of the Commerce and Trade of Monreal : Of the Arrival of the Marquis of Denonville with fome Troops ; and of the recalling of Mr. de la Barre. With a curious Defcription of certain Licenfes for trading in Beaver-Skins in the remote Countries. P* 5^* LETTER. X. Dated at Boucherville July 8. 1686. Relating the Arrival of Mr. de Champigni, in the room of Mr. de Meules, who is recall'd to France ; the arrival of the Troops that came along with him, the curiofity of the Rackets, and the way of hunting Elks; with a Defcription of that Animal. P- 55* i6 The Contents. LETTER. XI. Dated at Boucherville May 28. 1687. Being a curious Defcription of the Hunting of divers Animals, p. 60. LETTER. XII. Dated at St. Helens over againft Monreal June 8. 1687. The Chevalier de Vaudreuil arrives in Canada with feme Troops. Both the Regular Troops and the Militia are pofled at St. Helens, in a readinefs to march againfl the Iroquefe. p. 68. LETTER. XIII. Dated at Niagara Aug. 2. 1687. Reprefenting the unfavourable Iffue of the Campaign^ made in the Iroquefe Country ; the difcovery of an Ambufcade, and the iffuing of Orders for the Author to march with a Detachment to the great Lakes. p. 70. LETTER. XIV. Dated at Miffilimakinac May 26. 1688. The Author leaves Nagara, and has an Incounter with the Iro- quefe at the end of the Land-Carriage. The after-part of his Voyage. A Defcription of the Country. He arrives at Fort St. Jofeph in the Mouth of the Lake of Hurons. A Detachment of the Hurons arrive at the fame place. After an Ingagement, they fet out for MlfTilimakinac. A flrange Adventure of Mr. de la Salle'j Brother. Miffilimakinac defcrib'd. p. 80. The Contents. 17 LETTER. XV. Dated at Mijfdimakinac Sept. i8. 1688. Defcribing the Fall calVd Saut St. Marie, where the Author per- fwades the Inhabitants to joyn r^^ Outaouas, and march againft the Iroquefe. And containing an account of the Occurrences of the Voyage between that Place and Miflilimakinac. p. 92. LETTER. XVL Dated at Miffilimakinac May 28. 1689. Containing an Account of the Author's Departure from^ and Return to, Miflilimaklnac. // Defcription of the Bay of Puants, and its Villages. An ample Defcription of the Beavers, followed by the Journal of a remarkable Voyage upon the Long River, and a Map of the adjacent Country. p. 104. LETTER. XVn. Dated at Quebec Sep. 28. 1689. The Author fets out from Miflilimakinac to the Colony, and de- fcribes the Country, Rivers, and Paffes that he faw by the way. The Iroquefe make a fatal incur/ton into the Ifland of Mon- real: For; Frontenac is abandon'd ; Count Frontenac is fent to Canada, and the Marquis of Denonville is recall'd. p. 142. LETTER. XVIII. Dated at Quebec Nov. 15. 1689. Giving an Account of Mr. de Frontenac's Arrival, his Reception, his Voyage to Monreal, and the repairing of Fort Frontenac. p. 151. i8 The Contents. LETTER. XIX. Dated at Monreal October 2. 1690. Relating the Attempts upon New-England and New- York; a fatal Embaffyfent by the French to the Iroquefe, and an ill-concerted Enterprife of the Englifh and the Iroquefe, in marching by Land to attack the French Colony. p. 155. LETTER. XX. Dated at Rochel January 12. 1691. Being a Relation of a fecond and very important Expedition of the Englifh by Sea; in which is contained a Letter written by the Engliih Admiral to Count Frontenac, with the Governour's Verbal Anfwer. As alfo an account of the Author's departure for France. p. i59* LETTER. XXI. Dated at Rochel July 26. 1691. Containing a Defcription of the Courts or Offices of the Miniflers of State, and a view of fome Services that are ill rewarded at Court. p. 166. LETTER. XXII. Dated at Quebec Nov. 10. 1691. JFhich contains an account of the Author's departure from Rochel to Quebec, of his Voyage to the mouth of the River St. Laurence, of a Rencounter with an Englifh Ship ivhich he fought ; of the flranding of his Ship ; of his failing thro' the River St. Laurence ; of the news he receiv'd that a party of the Englifh and Iro- quefe, had defeated a Body of the French Troops. p. 171. The Contents. 19 LETTER. XXIII. Dated at Nants O£lob. 25. 1692. Containing an Account of the taking of fome Englifh Feffels^ of defeating a Party of the Iroquefe, of an Iroquefe burnt alive at Quebec ; of another Party of thefe Barbarians, who having furpris'd fome Coureurs de Bois, were afterwards furpris'd themfelves. Of the Project of an Enterprize propos'd by Mr. Frontenac to the Author. Of the Author's departure in a Frigat for France, and his flopping at Placentia, which was then attacked by the Englifh Fleet that came to take that Pofl from us. How the Englifh fail'd in their Defign, and the Author purfu'd his Voyage. p. 175, LETTER. XXIV. Dated at Nants May 10. 1693. Containing an Account of Mr. Frontenac'i Proje£l, which was reje5led at Court, and the reafon why it was rejected. The King gives the Author the Lieutenancy of Newfound Land, &c. together with the Independent Company. p. 187. LETTER. XXV. Dated at Fiana in Portugal Jan. 31. 1694. The Author's departure from France to Placentia. A Fleet of 30 Englifh Ships came to feize upon that place; but is dif- appointcd, and Sheers off. The reafon why the Englifli have bad fuccefs in all their Enterprifes beyond Sea. The Author's Adventure with the Governour of Placentia. His departure for Portugal. An Engagement with a Flufhing Privateer, p. 193. 20 The Contents. Memoirs of North- America, Containing a Geographical Defcription of that vaft Continent; the Cuftoms and Commerce of the Inhabitants^ &c. p. 203. A ftiort Defcription of Canada. p. 205. A Lift of the Savage Nations of Canada. p. 230. A Lift of the Animals of Canada. p. 232. A Defcription of fuch Animals orBeafls as are not mentioned in the Letters. p. 233. A Lift of the Fowl or Birds of Canada. p. 237. A Defcription of fuch Birds as are not accounted for in the Letters. p. 239. A Defcription of the Infe5ls of Canada. p. 242. The Names of the Fifh of Canada. p. 243. A Defcription of the Fifh that are not mention' d in the Letters p. 244. The Trees and Fruits of Canada. p. 247. A Defcription of the above-mention' d Trees. p. 248. A General view of the Commerce of Canada> p. 254. The Commodities truck'd to and again between the French and the Savages. p. 257. An Account of the Government of Canada in General. p. 260. A Difcourfe of the Intereft of the French and Englifh in North-America. p. 260. A Table Explaining fome uncommon Terms. p. 276. The Contents. 21 The Contents of the Second Volume. ADifcourfe of the Habit, Houfes, Complexion and Temperament of the Savages 0/ North-America. P. i. Vol. 2 J fhort view of the Humours and Ciiftoms of the Savages. p. 7 The Belief of the Savages, and the Obflacles of their Converfion. p. 19 The way of PTorfhip us'd by the Savages. p. 29 Jn Account of the Amours and Marriages of the Savages. p. 34 A View of the Difeafes and Remedies of the Savages. p. 45 The Diver/ions of Hunting and Shooting ufual among the Savages. P-5S The Military Art of the Savages. p. 7^ A View of the Heraldy and the Coats of Arms of the Savages, p. 84 An Explication of the Savage Hieroglyphicks. p. 86 A Conference or Dialogue between the Author and Adario, a noted Man among the Savages. Containing a Circumfiantial view of the Cufloms and Humours of that People. P- 90- 22 The Contents. An APPENDIX^ Containing fome New Voyages to Portugal and Denmark; after the Author's Retire- ment from Canada. LETTER. I. Dated at Lisbon April 20. 1694. Containing a Defcription 0/ Viana, Porto a Porto, Avelro, Colm- bra, Lisbon ; together with a View of the Court of Portugal; and an Account of the Government^ Laws^ Cufioms, and Hu- mours of the Portuguefe. p. 185. LETTER II. Dated at Travemunde 1694. Containing an Account of the Author's Voyage from Lisbon to Garnfey ; his Adventure with an Englifh Man of fVar^ and an Englifli Privateer : A Defcription of Rotterdam and Am- flerdam ; the Author's Voyage to Hamburgh ; the Dimenfions of a Flemifh Sloop ; a Defcription of the City of Hamburg; the Author's Journey from thence to Lubeck, and a Defcription of that City. p. 211. LETTER. III. Dated at Copenhagen Sept. 12. 1694. Containing a Defcription of the Port and City of Copenhagen, a view of the Danifh Courts and of the Humours^ Cufioms^ Com- merce, Forces, &c. of the Danes. p. 226. The Contents. 23 LETTER. IV. Dated at Paris Decemb. 29. 1694. Containing a Journal of the Author's Travels from Copenhagen to Paris. p. 244. LETTER. V. Dated at Erleich July 4. 1694. Giving a viezv of the SttperJUtion and Ignorance of the People of Beam ; their addi^lednefs to the notions of Witchcraft, Appari- tions, &c. And the Author's Arguments againft that Delufion. p. 255. LETTER. VI. Dated at Huefia July 11. 1695. Containing an Account of the Author's efcape and journey to Spain ; his being taken up for a Huguenot, and the Ignorance and Bigotry of the Curates and People of Beam in France, p. 268. LETTER. VII. Dated at Saragoza Octob. 8. 1695. Containing a Defcription of Saragoza ; a View of the Government 0/ Arragon, and an Account of the Cufloms of the People, p. 274. A fhort Dictionary of the Language of the Savages. p. 287. Some New VOYAGES TO North-America. TOME I. LETTER I. Dated at the Port of Quebec, Nov. 8. 1683. Containing a Defcription of the Paffage from France to Canada; with fome Remarks upon the Coajis, Channels, &c. and the Variation of the Needle. SIR, I AM furpris'd to find that a Voyage to the New World is fo formidable to thofe who are oblig'd to undertake it; for I folemnly proteft that 'tis far from being what the World commonly takes it for. 'Tis true, the Paffage is in fome mea- fure long ; but then the hopes of viewing an unknown Country, attones for the tedioufnefs of the Voyage. When we broke ground from Rochel, I acquainted you with the Reafons that mov'd Mr. le Fevre de la Barre, Governor General of Canada, 26 Some New Voyages to fend the Sieur Mahu, a Canadefe^ to France'^', and at the fame time gave you to know, that he [2] had refolv'd upon the utter deftrudllon of the Iroquefe, who are a very Warlike and Savage People.^ Thefe Barbarians befriend the Eitgli/h, upon the account of the Succours they receive from 'em ; but they are enemies to us, upon the apprehenfion of being deftroy'd by us fome time or other. The General I fpoke of but now, expeded that the King would fend him feven or eight hundred Men ; but when we fet out from Rochel the feafon was fo far advanc'd, that our three Companies of Marines were reckon'd a fufficient Venture. 1 Le Febre de la Barre was in 1682 appointed governor of New France, to super- sede Frontenac. He was an officer of experience, having seen service in the West Indies, been governor of Cayenne (1664-66), and defeated an English fleet and recovered Antigua, Montserrat, and Nevis for the French. In early life he had been a lawyer and government official in France. Upon his arrival in the colony (1682), he determined upon war with the Iroquois, and dispatched to the king urgent requests for regular troops, of whom the colony was bereft. In the spring of 1683, the Iro- quois again harassed the colony, and the governor impressed a small vessel lying at Quebec to send news thereof to France. This would appear to have been the ship of one Jean Paul Meheu, seigneur of a fief of La Riviere Maheu. Some years previous, a Canadian of the same name is noted as bearing letters to France. — Thv.aites, Jesuit Relations (Cleveland, 1896-1901), xlvi, p. 179. When this urgent request reached the court, the king determined to at once send to New France three companies of soldiers. See Collection de Manuscrits relatifs a la Nowvelle France (Quebec, 1883), i, p. 310. The transport was named the "Tempest," commanded by Sieur Pingo. It departed from La Rochelle Aug. 29, 1683 ; among the officers was Lahon- tan, this being his first venture across seas. — Ed. 2 The Iroquois had long been the scourge of Canada ; taking advantage of their strategic position between the English and Dutch of New York and the French of the St. Lawrence, they were attempting to control the fur-trade of the interior in the interest of the English, bringing disaster upon the colony of New France. They made war upon the Indian allies of the French on the Upper Lakes, and had recently (1680-82) inflicted a heavy blow upon the Illinois, among whom La Salle was endeav- oring to found a colony. — Ed. to North' Kv[\tnc2i, 27 I met with nothing in our Paflfage that was difagreeable, abating for a Storm that alarm'd us for fome days, upon the precipice of the bank of Newfound-Land^ where the Waves fwell prodigioufly, even when the Winds are low. In that Storm our Frigat receiv'd fome rude fhocks from the Sea ; but in regard that fuch accidents are ufual in that Voyage, they made no impreffion upon the old feafon'd Sailors. As for my part, I could not pretend to that pitch of indifference ; for having never made fuch a Voyage before, I was fo alarm'd in feeing the Waves mount up to the Clouds, that I made more vows to Neptune^ than the brave Idomenaus did in his return from the Wars of Troy. After we made the bank, the Waves funk, and the Wind dwindled, and the Sea became fo fmooth and eafie, that we could not work our Ship. You can fcarce imagine what quantities of Cod-fifh were catch'd there by our Seamen, in the fpace of a quarter of an hour; for though we had thirty two fathom Water, yet the Hook was no fooner at the bottom, than the Fifh was catch'd ; fo that they had noth- ing to do but to throw in, and take up without interruption : But after all, fuch is the misfortune of this Fifhery, that it do's not fucceed but upon certain banks, which are commonly paft over without flopping. However, as we were plentifully [3] entertain'd at the coft of thefe Fifhes, fo fuch of 'em as con- tinued in the Sea, made fufficient reprifals upon the Corps of a Captain, and of feveral Soldiers, who dy'd of the Scurvy, ajid were thrown over-board three or four days after. In the mean time the Wind veering to the Weft-North- Weft, we were oblig'd to lye bye for five or fix days ; but after 28 Some New Voyages that it chop'd to the North, and fo we happily made Cape Raje^ tho' indeed our Pilots were at a lofs to know where we were, by reafon that they could not take the Latitude for ten or twelve days before.^ You may eafily imagine, that 'was with great joy that we heard one of our Sailors call from the Top-Maft, Land, Land, juft as St. Paul did when he approach'd to Maltha, VTjv 6pC>, yijv 6pC): For you muft know that when the Pilots reckon they approach to Land, they ufe the pre- caution of fending up Sailors to the Top-Maft, in order to fome difcovery ; and thefe Sailors are reliev'd every two hours till Night comes, at which time they furl their Sails if the Land is not yet defcry'd : So that in the Night-time they fcarce make any way. From this it appears how important it is to know the Coaft, before you approach to it ; nay, the Paf- fengers put fuch a value upon the difcovery, that they prefent the firft difcoverer with fome Piftoles. In the mean time, you'll be pleas'd to obferve, that the Needle of the Compafs, which naturally points to the North, turns upon the bank of Newfound-Land, twenty three Degrees towards the North- Weft; that is, it points there a degree nearer to the Weft, than North-North- Weft. This remark we made by our Com- pafs of Variation. We defcry'd the Cape about Noon ; and in order to con- firm the Difcovery, ftood in upon it with all fails aloft. At 1 The name Race, applied to the southeastern extremity of Newfoundland, is first met under the form " Cap Rogo," on a map of about the year 1500. The name seems to have been given from the French word " ras," bare or flat. See Harrisse, Decowverte et Evolution cartographique de Terre-Newve (Paris, 1900) , p. 43. — Ed. to iVor^i-America. 29 laft, being affur'd that 'twas the Promontory we look'd for, an univerfal joy was [4] fpread throughout the Ship, and the fate of the wretches that we had thrown over-board, was quite forgot. Then the Sailors fet about the Chriftening of thofe who had never made the Voyage before, and indeed they had done it fooner, if it had not been for the death of our above- mention'd Companions. The Chriftening I fpeak of, is an impertinent Ceremony, pradis'd by Sea-faring Men, whofe humours are as ftrange and extravagant, as the Element it felf, upon which they foolifhly truft themfelves. By vertue of a Cuftom of old ftanding, they profane the Sacrament of Bap- tifm in an unaccountable manner. Upon that occafion, the old Sailors being blacken'd all over, and difguis'd with Rags and Ropes, force the greener fort that have never pafs'd fome certain degrees of Latitude before, to fall down on their Knees, and to fwear upon a Book of Sea Charts, that upon all occafions they will pradtife upon others, the fame Cere- mony that is then made ufe of towards them. After the admin- iftring of this ridiculous Oath, they throw fifty Buckets full of Water upon their Head, Belly, and Thighs, and indeed all over their Body, without any regard to times or feafons. This piece of folly is chiefly pradlis'd under the ^Equator, under the Tropicks, under the Polar Circles, upon the bank of Newfound-Land; and in the Streights of Gibraltar^ the Sund^ and the Dardanelloes. As for Perfons of Note or Char- acter, they are exempted from the Ceremony, at the expence of five or fix bottles of Brandy for the Ships Crew. 30 Some New Voyages Three or four days after the performance of this Solem- nity, v/e difcover'd Cape Raye} and fo made up to St. Laurence Bay, in the Mouth of which we were becalm'd for a little while ; and during that Calm, we had a clearer and pleafanter day, than any we had feerl in the Paffage. It look'd as if that day had been vouchfaf'd us by way of recompence [5] for the Rains, Foggs, and high Winds, that we incounter'd by the way. There we faw an Engagement between a Whale and a * Efpadon, a Fijh between * Sword-Fifh, at the diftance of a Gun- 10 and 15 Foot long, be- ihot from our Frigat. We were per- iv.g four Foot in circum- fedtly charm'd when we faw the Sword- ference, and having in its pj^ j^^p ^^^ ^f ^^^ ^^^^^ -^^ ^^der Snout a fort of Saw which , . o • 1 -n 1 /• 1 . , r, , ; J J to dart Its Spear mto the Body of the IS four Foot long, four In- ^ •' ches broad, and fix Lines Whale, when oblig'd to take breath. thick. This entertaining fhow lafted at leaft two hours, fometimes to the Starboard, and fometimes to the Larboard of the Ship. The Sailors, among whom Super- ftition prevails as much as among the Egyptians, took this for a prefage of fome mighty Storm ; but the Prophecy ended in two or three days of contrary Winds, during which time we travers'd between the Ifland of Nezv found-Land, and that of Cape Breton. Two days after we came in fight of the Ifland of Fowls, by the help of a North-Eaft Wind ; which drove us from the Mouth of St. Laurence Bay, to the Ifle of Anticofti, upon the bank of which, we thought to have been cafl 1 Cape Ray is at the southwestern extremity of Newfoundland ; the name first appeared on a map of 1600. Harrisse, op. cit., p. 285. — Ed. to North'h.vnmcdL, 31 away, by nearing it too much. In the Mouth of that River we fell Into a fecond calm, which was follow'd by a contrary Wind, that oblig'd us to lye bye for fome days. At laft we made Tadoiijfac^ by gradual approaches, and there came to an Anchor.^ This River is four Leagues broad where we then rode, and twenty two at its Mouth ; but it contracts it felf gradually, as it approaches to its fource. Two days after, the Wind ftand- ing Eaft, we weigh'd Anchor ; and being favor'd by the Tyde, got fafe through the Channel of the Red Ifland, in which the Currents are apt to turn a Veffel on one fide, as well as at the Ifland of Coudres, which lies fome Leagues higher.^ But upon the Coafl: of the laft [6] Ifland, we had certainly ftruck upon the Rocks, if we had not drop'd an Anchor. Had the Ship been caft away at that place, we might eafily have fav'd our 1 The Island of Fowls is probably the group still known as Bird Rocks, in St, Lawrence Gulf, north of Magdalen Islands. Anticosti is a large island one hundred and forty miles long by about twenty- seven in average breadth. It lies in the mouth of St. Lawrence River, and three years before this voyage of Lahontan had been granted as a seigniory of Louis Jolliet, the Mississippi explorer. Tadoussac, at the entrance of Saguenay River, is one of the oldest towns in Canada, having been founded before Quebec. It was the favorite resort of the Mon- tagnais Indians, and the centre of a thriving fur-trade and fishery. The Recollects said mass here as early as 1617 ; and here the hostile English fleet, under Admiral Sir David Kirk, anchored in July, 1628. The Jesuits began a mission at Tadoussac before 1642, and one of their early churches (built 1647-50) is still to be seen. — Ed. 2 Red Island is that now known as Isle Rouge, in the St. Lawrence opposite Tadoussac. It was early noted for its seal fishing. See Jesuit Relations, xxxii, p. 93. Isle aux Coudres was so designated for the hazelnut bushes with which it abounded, and appears to have been so named by Cartier. The early voyagers speak of the number of elk to be found on this island. — Ed. 32 Some New Voyages felves : But it prov'd fo, that we were more aflfraid than hurt. Next Morning we weighed with a frefh gale from the Eaft, and the next day after came to an Anchor over againft Cape Tour- mente, where we had not above two Leagues over, tho' at the fame time 'tis a dangerous place to thofe who are unacquainted with the Channel.^ From thence we had but feven Leagues failing to the Port of Quebec, where we now ride at Anchor. In our Paffage from the red Ifland to this place, we faw fuch floats of Ice, and fo much Snow upon the Land, that we were upon the point of turning back for France, tho' we were not then above thirty Leagues off our defired Port. We were affraid of being ftop'd by the Ice, and fo loft ; but thank God we 'fcap'd. We have receiv'd advice, that the Governor has mark'd out Quarters for our Troops in fome Villages or Cantons adjacent to this City; fo that I am oblig'd to prepare to go afhore, and therefore muft make an end of this Letter. I cannot as yet give you any account of the Country, excepting that 'tis already mortally cold. As to the River, I mean to give you a more ample defcription of it, when I come to know it better. We are informed that Mr. de la Salle is juft return' d from his Travels, which he undertook upon the difcovery of a great River that falls into the Gulf of Mexico ; and that he 1 Cape Tourmente is a lofty promontory on the St. Lawrence, about twenty miles below Quebec, towering nineteen hundred feet above the meadows (Beaupre) at its base. It was so named by Champlain (1608), who noted that " however little wind may blow the sea there is as if it were high tide. At this place the water begins to be fresh. " — Ed. to North- hxntnc2i. 33 imbarques to morrow for France} He is perfedlly well ac- quainted with Canada^ and for that reafon you ought to vifit him, if you go to Paris this Winter. I am, SIR, Tours, &c. 1 Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, had just returned from his successful journey into the interior, where he had explored the Mississippi and in Illinois founded the colony of St. Louis. Frontenac, his patron, had been replaced, and the new governor gave a ready ear to La Salle's detractors. The fortunes of the explorer were desperate, and he was about to embark for France to seek redress at court. This was his farewell to Canada, his final voyage being made to the Gulf of Mexico, upon whose waters he was assassinated (March i8, 1687). — Ed. 34 Some New Voyages LETTER II. Dated at the Canton of Beaupr^,^ May 2. 1684. Containing a Defcription of the Plantations of Canada, and the manner in which they were firfl form' d : As alfo an account of the Tranfportation of JVhores from France to that Country ; together with a view of its Climate and Soil. SIR, AS foon as we landed laft year, Mr. de la Barre lodg'd our three Companies in fome Cantons or Quarters in the Neighbourhood of Quebec. The Planters call thefe places Cotes^ which in France iignifies no more than the Sea-Coaft ; tho' in this Country where the names of Town and Village are unknown, that word is made ufe of to exprefs a Seignory or Manour, the Houfes of which lie at the diftance of two or three hun- dred Paces one from another, and are feated on the brink of the River of St. Laurence.- In earneft. Sir, the Boors of thofe iThe three companies were quartered at villages in the vicinity of Quebec. It fell to Lahontan's lot to pass the winter in the seigniory of Beaupre, which stretched for six leagues along the river and embraced more than the present county of Mont- morency. Beaupre was early settled, and as a Jesuit seigniory received much atten- tion. At this time it was considered the most orderly and thrift)' settlement in the colony. — Ed. 2 Feudalism was established in New France by the act of Richelieu, in his grant to the Company of One Hundred Associates (1627) . Seigniorial tenure was not abol- ished in Lower Canada (Province of Quebec) until 1854. On the influence of this system see Parkman, Old Regime in Canada (Boston, 1874), chap, xv ; Weir, Administration of the Old Regime in Canada (Montreal, 1896-97). — Ed. to A^or^/6- America. 35 Manors live with more eafe and conveniency, than an infinity of the Gentlemen in France. I am out indeed in calling 'em Boors, for that name is as little known here as in Spain; whether it be that they pay no Taxes, and injoy the liberty of Hunting and Fiihing; or that the eafinefs of their Life, puts 'em upon a level with the Nobility. The --, , . , . . J An Arpent is a fpot pooreft of them have four Urpents of .f^,,^^^ containing 100 Ground in front, and thirty or forty in Perches fquare, each of depth : The whole Country being a con- which is eighteen Foot tinued Forreft of lofty Trees, the ftumps '°"^" [8] of which muft be grub'd up, before they can make ufe of a Plough. 'Tis true, this is a troublefom and chargeable task at firft ; but in a fhort time after they make up their Loffes ; for when the Virgin ground is capable of receiving Seed, it yields an increafe to the rate of an hundred fold. Corn is there fown in May, and reap'd about the middle of September. Inftead of threfhing the Sheafs in the Field, they convey 'em to Barns, where they lie till the coldeft feafon of the Winter, at which time the Grain is more eafily difengag'd from the Ear. In this Country they likewife fow Peafe, which are much efteem'd in France. All forts of Grain are very cheap here, as well as Butchers Meat and Fowl. The price of Wood is almoft nothing, in comparifon with the charge of its carriage, which after all is very inconfiderable. Moft of the Inhabitants are a free fort of People that remov'd hither from France, and brought with 'em but little Money to fet up withal : The reft are thofe who were Soldiers about thirty or forty years ago, at which time the Regiment 36 Some New Voyages of Carigtian was broke, and they exchang'd a Military Poft, for the Trade of Agriculture} Neither the one nor the other pay'd any thing for the grounds they poffefs, no more than the Officers of thefe Troops, who mark'd out to themfelves, certain portions of unmanur'd and woody Lands; for this vaft Continent is nothing elfe than one continued Forreft. The Governours General allow'd the Officers three or four Leagues of ground in front, with as much depth as they pleas'd ; and at the fame time the Officers gave the Soldiers as much ground as they pleas'd, upon the condition of the payment of a Crown per Jrpent, by way of Fief. After the reform of thefe Troops, feveral Ships were fent hither from France, with a Cargoe of Women of an ordinary Reputation, under the diredlion [9] of fome old ftale Nuns, who rang'd 'em in three Claffes. The Veftal Virgins were heap'd up, (if I may fo fpeak) one above another, in three different Apartments, where the Bridegrooms fingled out their Brides, juft as a Butcher do's an Ewe from amongft a Flock of Sheep. In thefe three Seraglio's, there was fuch variety and change of Diet, as could fatisfie the moft whimfical Appetites; for here was fome big fome little, fome fair fome brown, fome fat and fome meagre. In fine, there was fuch Accommodation, ^ Lahontan's chronology is quite inaccurate ; scarcely twenty years had passed since the regiment of Carignan-Salieres, the first regular troops in New France, was ordered to America. This command had seen service in France and against the Turks. Coming to Canada in 1665, the soldiers were effectively employed against the Iroquois. A few years later several companies were disbanded, and urged to become colonists. Rewards in money and land were given those who married and settled in the province, and the descendants of these soldiers were among the most able and prominent citizens of the colony. See Suite, " Le Regiment deCarignan," in Canadian Royal Society Proceedings, 2d series, viii, pp. 25-95. — Ed. to iVo;Y/6-America. 37 that every one might be fitted to his Mind : And indeed the Market had fuch a run, that in fifteen days time, they were all difpos'd of. I am told, that the fatteft went off befl, upon the apprehenfion that thefe being lefs adive, would keep truer to their Ingagements, and hold out better againft the nipping cold of the Winter : But after all, a great many of the He- Adventurers found themfelves miftaken in their meafures. However, let that be as it will, it affords a very curious Remark ; namely. That in fome parts of the World, to which the vicious European Women are tranfported, the Mob of thofe Countries do's ferioufly believe, that their Sins are fo defac'd by the ridiculous Chriflening, I took notice of before, that they are look'd upon ever after as Ladies of Vertue, of Honour, and of an untarnifh'd condud of Life. The Sparks that wanted to be married, made their Addreffes to the above-mention'd Governefl'es, to whom they were oblig'd to give an account of their Goods and Eftates, before they were allow'd to make their choice in the three Seraglio's. After the choice was deter- min'd, the Marriage was concluded upon the fpot, in the prefence of a Priefl, and a publick Notary ; and the next day the Governor-General beftow'd upon the married Couple, a Bull, a Cow, a Hog, a Sow, a Cock, a Hen, two Barrels of fait Meat, and eleven Crowns ; together with [lo] a certain Coat of Arms call'd by the Greeks \\ Kipara} 1 This slanderous and apparently malicious account of the mothers of the Cana- dian population has brought much obloquy upon our author. For a refutation from contemporary documents, see Parkman, Old Regime, pp. 221-230 ; Roy, " Le Baron deLahontan," Can. Roy. Soc.Proc, 1894, sec. i,pp. 150-162; Suite, " Pretendues Origines des Canadiens fran(ais," in Id., 1885, sec. i, pp. 13-26. — Ed. 38 Some New Voyages The Officers having a nicer tafte than the Soldiers, made their AppHcation to the Daughters of the ancient Gentlemen of the Country, or thofe of the richer fort of Inhabitants ; for you know that Canada has been poffefs'd by the French above an hundred years. In this Country every one lives in a good and a well fur- nifh'd Houfe ; and moft of the Houfes are of Wood, and two Stories high. Their Chimnies are very large, by reafon of the prodigious Fires they make to guard themfelves from the Cold, which is there beyond all meafure, from the Month of December^ to that of April. During that fpace of time, the River is always frozen over, notwithftanding the flowing and ebbing of the Sea ; and the Snow upon the ground, is three or four foot deep ; which is very ftrange in a Country that lies in the Latitude of forty feven Degrees, and fome odd Minutes. Moft People impute the extraordinary Snow to the number of Mountains, with which this vaft Continent is replenifh'd. Whatever is in that matter, I muft take notice of one thing, that feems very ftrange, namely, that the Summer days are longer here than at Paris. The Weather is then fo clear and ferene, that in three Weeks time you fhall not fee a Cloud in the Horizon. I hope to go to Quebec with the firft opportunity; for I have orders to be in a readinefs to imbarque within fifteen days for Monreal, which is the City of this Country, that lies fartheft up towards the Head of the River. I am, SIR, Yours, &c. to North- Knitnc2i, 39 [11] LETTER III. Dated at Quebec May 15. 1684. Containing an ample Defcription of the City of Quebec, and of the Ifland of Orleans. SIR, BEFORE I fet out for Monreal, I had the curiofity to view the Ifland of Orleans^ which is feven Leagues in length, and three in breadth: It extends from over againfl: Cape Tourmente, to within a League and a half of Quebec, at which place the River divides it felf into two branches. The Ships fail through the South Channel; for the North Channel is fo foul with Shelves and Rocks, that the fmall Boats can only pafs that way. The Ifland belongs to a General Farmer of Fr^wc^, who would make out of it a thoufand Crowns of yearly Rent, if himfelf had the management of it. 'Tis furrounded with Plantations, that produce all forts of Grain.^ Quebec is the Metropolitan of New-France, being almofl: a League in Circumference ; It lies in the Latitude of 47 De- grees, and 12 Minutes. The Longitude of this place is uncer- iThe island of Orleans, which lies in the St. Lawrence near Quebec, is twenty- one miles long by about five in width. It was named by Cartier (1535) Isle of Bac- chus, but subsequently given its present appellation by the same explorer. This island was granted as a fief in 1636. At the time of Lahontan it was a fief-noble in the possession of the family of Berthelot. See Bois, L' Isle d' Orleans (Quebec, 189s).— Ed. 40 Some New Voyages tain,i as well as that of feveral other Countries, with the leave of the Geographers, that reckon you up 1200 Leagues from Rochel to Quebec, without taking the pains to meafure the Courfe: However, I am fure that it lies but at too great a diftance from France, for the Ships that are bound hither; For their paiTage commonly lafts for two Months and a half, whereas the homeward bound Ships may in 30 or 40 days failing, eafily make the Belle Ifle, which is the fureft [12] and moft ufual Land, that a Ship makes upon a long Voyage. The reafon of this diflPerence, is, that the Winds are Eafterly for 100 days of the year, and Wefterly for 260. Quebec is divided into the upper and the lower City. The Merchants live in the latter, for the conveniency of the Har- bor; upon which they have built very fine Houfes, three Story high, of a fort of Stone that's as hard as Marble. The upper or high City is full as populous, and as well adorn'd as the lower. Both Cities are commanded by a Caftle, that ftands upon the higheft Ground. This Caftle is the Refidence of the Governours, and affords them not only convenient Apartments, but the nobleft and moft extenfive Profpe6l in the World. Quebec wants two effential things, namely, a Key and Fortifications ; though both the one and the other might be eafily made, confidering the conveniency of Stones lying upon the fpot.^ 'Tis incompafs'd with feveral Springs, of the iThe true latitude of Quebec is 46° 49' north; the longitude, 71° 13' west of Greenwich. — Ed. 2 Champlain began the fortifications of Quebec by the founding of Fort St. Louis on the citadel rock. This building was replaced in stone by his successor Mont- magny, who also laid the foundations for the first Chateau St. Louis, which w-s to iVor^^- America. 41 beft frefh Water in the World, which the Inhabitants draw out of Wells ; for they are fo ignorant of the Hydroftaticks, that not one of 'em knows how to convey the Water to cer- tain Bafins, in order to raife either flat or fpouting Fountains. Thofe who live on the River fide, in the lower City, are not half fo much pinch'd with the Cold, as the Inhabitants of the upper ; befides that the former have a peculiar conveniency of tranfporting in Boats, Corn, Wood, and other NecefTaries, to the very Doors of their Houfes : But as the latter are more expofs'd to the injuries of the Cold, fo they injoy the benefit and pleafure of a cooler Summer. The way which leads from the one City to the other is pretty broad, and adorn'd with Houfes on each fide ; only 'tis a little fl:eep. Quebec fl:ands upon a very uneven Ground ; and its Houfes are not uniform. ^ The Intendant lives in a [13] bottom, at fome fmall difl;ance from the fide of a little River, which by joyning the River of St. Laurence^ coops up the City in a right Angle. His Houfe is the Palace in which the Soveraign Council affembles four times a Week^; and on one fide of which, we fee great Magazines demolished in 1694 to make way for tne finer structure which Frontenac constructed during his last years. See Gagnon, Le Fort et le Chateau St. Louis (Quebec, 1895). Quebec's walls were not built until the latter years of Frontenac; again, in 1720, Chassegros de Lery made great improvements in the circumvallation, and enlarged the area contained therein. Repairs and improvements were maintained throughout the French rdgime. See Doughty and Dionne, ^lebec under Tivo Flags (Quebec, 1903)1 PP- 101-145. — Ed. 1 For a plan of Quebec at this period, see that of J. B. Franquelin (1683), in Suite, Histoire des Canadiens fran^ais, ii, p. 32 ; and another of 1700 in the same work, p. 49. — Ed. 2 The sovereign council was established by the king upon the retrocession of the colony by the Company of New France (1663). It was first composed of the governor, 42 Some New Voyages of Ammunition and Provifions. There are fix Churches in the High City : The Cathedral confifts of a Bifhop, and twelve Prebendaries, who live in common in the Chapter-Houfe, the Magnificence and Architedlure of which is truly wonderful. Thefe poor Priefl:s are a very good fort of People ; they con- tent themfelves with bare Necefl"aries, and meddle with nothing but the Affairs of the Church, where the Service is perform'd after the Roman way.^ The fecond Church is that of the Jefuits, which fl:ands in the Center of the City ; and is a fair, flately, and well lighted Edifice. The great Altar of the Jefuits bishop, and five appointed councillors. Later, the intendant %vas added to the council, and the number gradually increased to twelve. Its functions were mainly judicial, but it likewise took cognizance of civil and financial affairs. Its records have been published. At first the council met in the ante-room of the governor's palace, but upon the complaint of the intendant the ministry ordered the purchase of the site of a brewery formerly erected by Talon upon St. Charles River. Here the intendant's palace was begun. This was burned in 1713, being rebuilt upon a scale of splendor. The site is once more occupied by a brewery. — Ed. ^ The cathedral of Notre Dame, now called the " Basilica," was long the only parish church of Quebec. Begun in 1647, the first mass was said therein three years later ; it was consecrated by Bishop Laval in 1666. In the early eighteenth century its size was found inadequate, and it was rebuilt after the plans of the chief engineer of New France, Chaussegros de Lery (1747-48). The building suffered much during the English siege (1759), all the wooden parts being burned. Repairs were instituted in 1769-71, since when only minor changes have been made. The chapter house, or Seminary, which had been begun in 1678, was considered one of the finest buildings in the country. See Tetu, Histoire du palais episcopal de ^lebec (Quebec, 1896). The Seminary priests officiated as secular parish cures. Lahontan's enconiums are the more remarkable, that his sympathies were seldom with ecclesiastics. It appears that the altar and its columns was a superfluous invention upon his part. The Jesuit historian Charlevoix, writing of this church in 1720 {Journal Historique, letter iii), indicates that there was no such ornament, and indulgently remarks : " One would voluntarily pardon that author [Lahontan] if he disfigured the truth only to give /Mster to churche?." — Ed. to North' hrnQvic^. 43 Church, is adorn'd with four great Cylindrical Columns of one Stone ; The Stone being a fort of Canada Porphyry, and black as Jet, without either Spots or Veins. Thefe Fathers have very convenient and large Apartments, beautify'd with plea- fant Gardens, and feveral rows of Trees, which are fo thick and bufhy, that in Summer one might take their Walks for an Ice-Houfe: And indeed we may fay without ftretching, that there is Ice not far from 'em, for the good Fathers are never without a referve in two or three places, for the cooling of their Drink. Their College is fo fmall, that at the beft they have fcarce fifty Scholars at a time.^ The third Church is that of the RecoUedts, who, through the interceffion of Count Frontenac^ obtain'd leave of the King to build a little Chappel (which I call a Church;) notwithftanding the Remon- ftrances of Mr. de Laval our Bifhop, who, in concert with the Jefuits, us'd his utmoft Efforts for ten years together to hinder it.2 Before the building [14] of this Chappel, they liv'd in a 1 The Jesuits came to Canada in 1625, and thereafter played a prominent part in the development of the colony. Their college was founded in 1635, a year before that of Harvard, making it the oldest institution of learning on the North American continent. The church occupied the northeast angle of the college, on the site of the present Jesuit barracks. The city hall now covers the larger portion of the site of the college and its gardens. At the time of Lahontan's visit, the Jesuit church was in size and decoration far superior to the cathedral. — Ed. 2 Franfois de Montmorency-Laval, first bishop of Canada, was born in 1623 and educated in a Jesuit seminary. Upon the death of his brothers, he became heir of a seigniory in France, but renounced it for the service of the church. In 1658 he was made bishop of Petraea and sent as vicar apostolic to New France. In 1674 Quebec was raised to a bishopric, and Laval made first bishop thereof, a position which he resigned in 1684. Four years later he returned to spend the remainder of his days in Canada, where he died in 1708. He supported the Jesuits, and was opposed to the re-introduction of the Recollects. — Ed. 44 Some New Voyages little Hofpital that the Bifliop had order'd to be built for 'em; and fome of 'em continue there ftill.^ The fourth Church is that of the Urfelines, which has been burn'd down two or three times, and ftill rebuilt to the Advantage. The fifth is that of the Hofpital-Order, who take a particular Care of the Sick, tho' themfelves are poor, and but ill lodg'd.^ The Soveraign Council is held at Quebec. It confifts of twelve Counfellors of * Capa y de fpada, who "^See the Exphca- ^^^ ^j^g fupreme Judicature, and decide all Caufes without Appeal. The Intendant claims a Right of being Prefident to the Council; but in the Juftice-Hall the Governour-General places himfelf fo as to face him, the Judges being fet on both fides of them ; fo that one would think they are both Prefidents. While Monficiir de Fron- 1 The Recollects (a branch of the Franciscans) were the first ecclesiastics to enter New France, coming over in 1615. During their first occupation they had a small convent called Notre Dame des Anges, on St. Charles River, where the General Hos- pital of Quebec is now situated. After the capture of Quebec by the English (1628) , the friars were sent back to France ; and the order did not return to this field until 1670, when they were sent out as a counterpoise to the Jesuits. Frontenac favored this order, and gave them a concession of land facing the governor's palace, where they built the chapel here mentioned by Lahontan, although some of the brothers were still living at their suburban convent, Notre Dame des Anges. This church of the Recollects was one of the finest in New France, being finished in 1681. Charlevoix said in the next century, that it was "worthy of Versailles." In 1796 it was burned, the site now being occupied by the Anglican cathedral of Quebec ; the court house occupies a portion of the convent grounds. — Ed. 2 The Ursulines were the first order of nuns to come to New France (1639), which they did under the patronage of Madame de la Peltrie. Two years later they began their convent, which still occupies the original site, although the buildings have sev- eral times been burned, and recently much enlarged. The Hospitalieres came over at the same time as the Ursulines, and founded Hotel Dieu, a great hospital which still exists on the same site where the corner stone was laid in 1654. — Ed. to North- Am^nc^i, 45 tenac was in Canada^ he laugh'd at the pretended Precedency of the Intendants ; nay he ufed the Members of that Afifembly as roughly as Cromwell did the Parliament of England. At this Court every one pleads his own Caufe, for Sollicitors or Barrifters never appear there ; by which means it comes to pafs, that Law-Suits are quickly brought to a Period, without demanding Court Fees or any other Charges from the con- tending Parties. The Judges, who have but four hundred Livers a Year from the King, have a Difpenfation of not wearing the Robe and the Cap. Befides this Tribunal, we have in this Country a Lieutenant-General, both Civil and Military, an Attorney-General, the Great Provoft, and a Chief Juftice in Eyre.^ The way of travelling in the Winter, whether in Town or Country, is that of Sledges drawn by Horfes ; who are fo infenfible of the Cold, that I have feen fifty or fixty of 'em in January and February ^?ind in the Snow up to their Breaft, in the [15] midft of a Wood, without ever offering to go near their Owner's Houfe. In the Winter-time they travel from Quebec to Monreal upon the Ice, the River being then frozen over; and upon that occafion thefe Sledges will run you fifteen Leagues a day. Others have their Sledges drawn by two Maftiff Dogs, but then they are longer by the way. As for their way of travelling in Summer, I fhall tranfmit you an Account of it, when I come to be better inform'd. I am told that the People ^One of the chief causes of dissension between Frontenac and the intendant, was the presidency of the supreme council. See Parkman, Frontenac, pp. 47-71. On the officers of justice, see Weir, Administration of Old Regime, pp. 63-67. — Ed. 46 Some New Voyages of this Country will go a thoufand Leagues in Canows of Bark; a Defcription of which you may exped, as foon as I have made ufe of 'em. The Eafterly Winds prevail here com- monly in the Spring and Autumn ; and the Wefterly have the Afcendant in Winter and Summer. Adieu Sir: I muft now make an end of my Letter, for my Matter begins to run fhort. All I can fay, is, that as foon as I am better inftru6led in what relates to the Commerce, and the Civil and Ecclefiaftical Gov- ernment of the Country, I'll tranfmit you fuch exadl Memoirs of the fame, as fhall give you full fatisfadlion. Thefe you may expedl with the firft Opportunity ; for in all Appearance our Troops will return after the Conclufion of the Campaign that we are now going to make in the Country of the Iroqtiefe, under the Command of Monfietir de la Barre. In feven or eight Days time I mean to imbark for Monreal ; and in the mean time am going to make a Progrefs to the Villages of Scilleri, of Saut de la Chaudiere, and of Lorete^ which are inhab- ited by the Abenakis and the Hurons. Thefe Places are not above three or four Leagues off; fo that I may return with eafe next Week. As for the Manners of the People, I cannot pretend to defcribe 'em fo foon ; for a juft Obfervation and Knowledge of thefe things cannot be compafs'd without time. I have been this Winter at hunting with thirty or [16] forty young Jlgonkins, who were well made clever Fellows. My Defign in accompanying them, was, to learn their Language, which is mightily efteem'd in this Country ; for all the other Nations for a thoufand Leagues round (excepting the Iroqtiefe and the Hurons) underftand it perfedlly well; nay, all their to iVor^Z>-America. 47 refpedive Tongues come as near to this, as the Portuguefe does to the Spanifli} I have already made my felf Mafter of fome Words with a great deal of Facility; and they being mightily pleafed in feeing a Stranger ftudy their Tongue take all imag- inable pains to inftrudl me. I am, SIR, Yours, &c. 1 The Algonquian language was the most wide-spread of the Indian dialects of North America, being used by most of the tribes east of the Mississippi and south of Hudson Bay. The Huron-Iroquois stock were aliens in their midst. See Powell, "Linguistic Families of North America," in U. S. Bureau of Ethnology Report, 1885-86. The Algonkins proper were a tribe whose original home was in the province of Quebec. See Jesuit Relations, index. — Ed. 48 Some New Voyages LETTER IV. Dated at Monreal, June 14. 1684. Containing a h'ief Defcription of the Habitations of the Savages in the Neighbourhood of Quebec ; Of the River of St. Lawrence, &€. as far up as Monreal; Of a curious way of fifhing Eels; ^ ^ , and of the Cities o/TroIs Rivieres and Mon- "^ Coureurs de -^ -^ r 1 r> j ex Bois. See the Ex- ^^^^ '• 'together with an Account of the Londutl plication Table. of the * Forrefl Rangers or Pedlers. SIR, BEFORE my Departure from Quebec, I vifited the adjacent Villages inhabited by the Savages. The Village oi Lorete is peopled by two hundred Families [17] of Hurons, who were converted to Chriftianity by the Jefuits, though with a great deal of Reludancy.^ The Villages of Silleri, and of Saut de la Chaudiere, are compos'd of three hundred Famihes oiAbenakis, who are likewife Chriftians, and among whom the Jefuits have ^The village of Lorette was a mission colony of the Jesuits, founded after the destruction of the Huron mission by the Iroquois (16+9). Part of the instructed Hurons sought the fathers at Quebec, and were first established on the Isle of Orleans ; later, during the Iroquois war, the remnant was removed to a less-exposed situation, and by 1669 settled at Notre Dame de Foye (now Ste. Foye). A few years later, this colony removed to the village of Lorette (now Ancienne Lorette) , and there Lahon- tan visited them. In 1697, impelled by need of fresh fuel and land, they founded the village of Jeune Lorette, eight miles from Montreal, which became their final home, and where a remnant of the Huron race is still to be found. — Ed. to North'AvciQv\c2i, 49 fetled MifHonaries.^ I return'd to Quebec time enough, and imbarqued under the condud: of a Mafter, that would rather have had a Lading of Goods, than of Soldiers. The North- Eaft Winds wafted us in five or fix days to Trois Rivieres^ which is the name of a fmall City, feated at the diftance of thirty Leagues from hence. That City derives its name from three Rivers, that fpring from one Channel, and after continu- ing their divifion for fome fpace re-unite into a joynt Stream, that falls into the River of St. Laurence, about half a quarter of a League below the Town. Had we fail'd all Night, the Tides would have carry'd us thither in two days time ; but in regard that the River is full of Rocks and Shelves, we durft not ven- ture upon it in the dark ; fo, we came to an Anchor every Night, which did not at all difpleafe me ; for in the courfe of thirty Leagues, (notwithfl:anding the darknefs of the Night) it gave me an opportunity of viewing an infinite number of Habitations on each fide of the River, which are not above a Musket-Shot diftant one from another. The Inhabitants that are fetled between Quebec and fifteen Leagues higher, diverted me very agreeably with the fifiiing of Eels. At low ^The mission colony at Sillery was originally founded for the Algonkins, Mon- tagnais, etc.; but its inhabitants were decimated by disease and the ravages of intoxi- cation, so that the converted Abenaki from Maine, who began coming to Canada about 1680, formed the main body of the colony. The mission was maintained here until 1699, when the land which had been ceded in trust for the Indian converts was retroceded to the Jesuit order. " Le Saut de la Chaudiere " was a village on the river of that name, opposite Quebec, where was established about the time Lahontan arrived in Canada, the Aben- aki mission of St. Frangois de Sales. In 1700 all the scattered villages were collected in one, which exists till the present time — that of St. Francois du Lac, in Yamaska County, Quebec. — Ed. 4 50 Some New Voyages water they ftretch out Hurdles to the lo weft Water-M ark; and that fpace of ground being then dry by the retreat of the Water, is cover'd over, and fhut up by the Hurdles. Between the Hurdles they place at certain diftances Inftruments call'd Ruches^ from the refemblance they bear to a Bee-hive ; befides Baskets and little Nets belag'd upon a Pole, which they call Bouteux, and Bouts de Quievres. Then they let all ftand in this fafhion for three Months in [i8] the Spring, and two in the Autumn. Now as often as the Tide comes in, the Eels look- ing out for fhallow places, and making towards the Shoar, croud in among the Hurdles, which hinder 'em afterwards to retire with the Ebb-water; upon that they are forc'd to bury themfelves in the abovementioned Ingines, which are fome- times fo over-cram'd, that they break. When 'tis low water, the Inhabitants take out thefe Eels, which are certainly the biggeft, and the longeft in the World. They fait them up in Barrels, where they'll keep a whole year without fpoiling : And indeed they give an admirable relifh in all Sauces ; nay, there's nothing that the Council of Quebec defires more, than that this Fifhery fhould be equally plentiful in all years. Trois Rivieres is a little paltry Town, feated in the Latitude of forty fix Degrees; 'tis not fortified neither with Stone, nor Pales. The River to which it owes its name, takes its rife an hundred Leagues to the North- Weft, from the greateft ridge of Mountains in the Univerfe. The Algonkins who are at prefent an Erratick fort of Savages, and, like the Jrabs, have no fetled Abode; that People, I fay, feldom ftraggle far from the banks of this River, upon which they have excellent Beaver- to North' Ammc2i, 51 hunting. In former times the Iroquefe cut off three fourths of that Nation ; but they have not dar'd to renew their Incur- fions, fince the French have Peopled the Countries that lie higher up upon the River of St. Laurence. I call'd Trois Riv- ieres a little Town, with reference to the paucity of the Inhab- itants ; though at the fame time they are very rich, and live in ftately Houfes. The King has made it the Refidence of a Governor, who would die for Hunger, if he did not trade with the Natives for Beavers, when his fmall allowance is out: Befides, a Man that would live there, muft be of the like tem- per with a Dog, or at leaft he muft take pleafure in fcratching [19] his Skin, for the Flea's are there more numerous than the grains of Sand. I am inform'd, that the Natives of this place make the beft Soldiers in the Country.^ Three Leagues higher we enter'd St. Peter's Lake, which is fix Leagues long, and had difficulty enough in croffing it ; for the frequent Calms oblig'd us to caft Anchor feveral times. It receives three or four Rivers that abound with Fifh ; upon the Mouth of which, I defcry'd with my Telefcope very fine Houfes.2 Towards the Evening we fail'd out of that Lake ^ For the history of Trois Rivieres, on the St. Lawrence at the mouth of Maurice River, see Suite, " La Riviere des Trois Rivieres," Roy. Soc. Proc, 1901, pp. 97- 116. — Ed. 2 Lake St. Peters was christened Lac d'AngouIeme by Cartier ; but Champlain crossing it on the day of the saint, changed the name in the iatter's honor. It is an enlargement of the St. Lawrence, twenty-five miles long by about nine broad, in the midst of the most fertile region of Lower Canada. It receives several rivers, chief of which are the Du Loup and Maskinonge from the north ; the Nicoiet, St. Francis, and Yamaska from the south, not including River Richelieu, which enters the St. Lawrence at the upper end of the lake. — Ed. UBRARf 52 Some New Voyages with a frelh Eafterly Gale ; and though we hoifted up all our Sails, the Current run fo ftrong againft us, that 'twas three hours before we could make Sorely which was two fmall Leagues ofiF.^ Sorel is a Canton of four Leagues in front, in the neighbourhood of which, a certain River conveys the waters of Champlain Lake, to the River of St. Laurence^ after having form'd a Water-fall of two Leagues at Cbambli.^ Though we reckon but eight Leagues from Sorel to Monreal, yet we fpent three days in failing between 'em ; by reafon partly of flack Winds, and partly of the ftrength of the Cur- rents. In this courfe we faw nothing but Iflands ; and both fides of the River all along from Quebec to this place, are fo replenifh'd with Inhabitants, that one may juflly call 'em two continued Villages of fixty Leagues in length. This place, which goes by the name of Fillemarie, or Monreal, lies in the Latitude of forty five Degrees, and fome Minutes ; being feated in an Ifland of the fame name, which is about five Leagues broad, and fourteen Leagues long. The Directors of the Seminary of St. Sulpitius at Paris, are the Pro- prietors of the Ifland, and have the nomination of a Bailifi^, and feveral other Magifbrates ; nay, in former times they had ^ Fort Sorel was built by an officer of that name (Pierre de Saurel), In 1665. Three years later he married the daughter of a Canadian seigneur, and in 1672 received a grant of the seigniory of Sorel, where he lived until his death in 1682. — Ed, ^Chambly was named for Jacques de Chambly, captain in the Carignan regi- ment, whom Tracy sent (1665) to build an advance fort against the Iroquois. He received the surounding land as a seigniory in 1672, but the next year was sent to command In Acadia. Later he removed to Grenada, and Chambly passed to his nephew. — Ed. to North' A.m.tv\c2i, 53 the priviledge of nominating a Governor.^ This little Town lies all open without any Fortification [20] either of Stone or Wood : But its fituation is fo advantageous, notwith- flanding that it ftands upon an uneven and fandy Ground, that it might eafily be made an impregnable Poft. The River of St. Laurence which runs juft by the Houfes, on one fide of this Town, is not Navigable further, by reafon of its rapidity ; for about half a quarter of a League higher, 'tis full of rapid falls, Eddy's, ^c. Mr. Perot the Governor of the Town, who has but a thoufand Crowns a year Sallary ; has made fhift to get fifty thoufand in a few years, by trading with the Savages in Skins and Furs.^ The Bailiff of the Town gets but little by his place, no more than his Officers : So that the Mer- chants are the only Perfons that make Money here ; for the Savages that frequent the great Lakes of Canada^ come down hither almoft every year with a prodigious quantity of 1 Montreal was a religious colony, founded (1642) by a society of Associates of Montreal, who received the island as a seigniory. In 1663 the number of the Asso- ciates being much diminished, the Sulpitians of Paris agreed to take charge of the enterprise, and the seigniory was transferred to them, with the rights here mentioned by Lahontan. The Sulpitians held their seigniorial privileges until the abolition of feudal tenure in 1854 ; they still retain much land in Montreal and vicinity. — Ed. 2 Francois Marie Perrot came to Canada with the intendant Talon (1670), whose niece he had married. Upon the request of Talon, the Sulpitians named him gov- ernor of Montreal, a grant which was later confirmed by the king. Perrot abused his privileges to enrich himself, and protected the coureurs des bois. Involved in a dis- pute with Frontenac, the governor arrested Perrot and sent him to France for trial. The ministry, after punishing him by a brief imprisonment in the Bastille, restored him to his governorship, where he remained until 1684. In this year he was ap- pointed governor of Acadia, which position he held for three years. After his recall, he remained in the country as a trader, and in 1690 was captured by the English. The date of his death is unknown. — Ed. 54 Some New Voyages Beavers-Skins, to be given in exchange for Arms, Kettles, Axes, Knives, and a thoufand fuch things, upon which the Merchants clear two hundred per Cent. Commonly the Gov- ernor General comes hither about the time of their coming down, in order to fhare the profit, and receive Prefents from that People. The Pedlers call'd Coiirettrs de Bois, export from hence every year feveral Canows full of Merchandife, which they difpofe of among all the Savage Nations of the Continent, by way of exchange for Beaver-Skins. Seven or eight days ago, I faw twenty five or thirty of thefe Canows return with heavy Cargoes ; each Canow was manag'd by two or three Men, and carry'd twenty hundred weight, /'. e. forty packs of Beaver Skins, which are worth an hundred Crowns a piece. Thefe Canows had been a year and eighteen Months* out. You would be amaz'd if you faw how lewd thefe Ped- lers are when they return ; how they Feafb and Game, and how prodigal they are, not only in their Cloaths, but [21] upon Women. Such of 'em as are married, have the wifdom to retire to their own Houfes ; but the Batchelors a6t juft as our Eafi-India-Nltn, and Pirates are wont to do ; for they Lavifh, Eat, Drink, and Play all away as long as the Goods hold out ; and when thefe are gone, they e'en fell their Em- broidery, their Lace, and their Cloaths. This done, they are forc'd to go upon a new Voyage for Subfiflance. The Dire6tors of the Seminary of St. Sulpitius, take care to fend MifTionaries hither from time to time, who live under the diredlion of a Superiour, that is very much refpeded in the Country. They have Apartments allotted for 'em in a to North-Amtncz, 55 ftately, great, and pleafant Houfe, built of Free-ftone.^ This Houfe is built after the Model of that of St. Sulpice at Paris ; and the Altar ftands by it felf, juft like that at Paris. Their Seignories or Cantons that lye on the South-fide of the Ifland, produce a confiderable Revenue ; for the Plantations are good, and the Inhabitants are rich in Corn, Cattle, Fowl, and a thoufand other Commodities, for which they find a Mercat in the City: But the North part of the Ifland lies wafte. Thefe Diredors would never fuffer the Jefuits or Recolledts to dif- play their Banners here ; though 'tis conjedlur'd, that at the long run they'll be forc'd to confent to it. At the diftance of a League from the Town, I faw at the foot of a Mountain, a Plantation of Iroqueje Chriftians, who are infl:ru6led by two * Priefts of the Order of Siilpitius,^ and I'm inform'd of a larger 1 The Seminary of St. Sulpice, whose priests were known as Sulpitians, was founded at Vaugirard in 1640, by Jean Jacques Olier, a young Parisian priest, one of the Associates of Montreal, The next year the Seminary was established at Paris, and by 1657 the first Sulpitian arrived in Canada. At Montreal they were eagerly welcomed, became the cures of the parish, and later seigneurs of the island (see ante, p. 53, note i). The first superior was Queylus, upon whose retirement (1671) Franfois Casson de Dollier succeeded to the position. The latter came to Canada in 1666 after service in the armies of France. His first office was chaplain in an expedi- tion against the Mohawks ; later (1669) , he accompanied La Salle on his first voyage of Western exploration. Returning to Montreal the following spring, he served as superior of the Sulpitians until his death (1671-1701). The earliest historian of Montreal, his manuscript was first published in 1871, — Ed. 2 The Sulpitians founded (1677) the Iroquois mission called from its location. La Montagne, where were an Indian village, a school for boys, and another for girls, all aided by a pension from the king. During Frontenac's War (1691) this village was raided and thirty-five prisoners taken. Some years later (1704) , the mission was removed to Sault au Recollet, and sixteen years later became the nucleus of the Indian village of Oka on the Lake of Two Mountains, which still exists. See Canadian Indian Department Report, 1901, p. 49. — Ed. 56 Some New Voyages and more populous Plantation on t'other fide of the River, at the diftance of two Leagues from hence, which is took care of by Father Bruyas the Jefuit.^ I hope to fet out from hence, as foon as Mr. de la Barre receives advice from France ; for he defigns to leave Quebec upon the arrival of the firft Ship. I refolve to go to Fort Frontenac^ upon the Lake that [22] goes by the fame name. If I may credit thofe who have been form- erly in A6lion againft the Iroquefe, I fhall be able upon my return from this Campaign, to inform you of fome things that will feem as ftrange to you, as they will be difagreeable to my felf. I am, SIR, Tours, &c. 1 The Jesuit mission was known as St. Francois du Sault, from its location on Sault St. Louis. It was established at La Prairie de la Madeleine in 1669, and in 1676 removed to this place, which is now known as Caughnawaga. Father Jacques Bruyas came to the Canadian mission in 1666, and labored during the rest of his life among the Iroquois. In 1679 he took charge of the mission at Sault St. Louis, where he lived until his death in 1712. He was superior of Canada missions 1693-98, and in 1700-01 was instrumental in adjusting peace with the Iroquois. A linguist of repute, he prepared the first grammar of the Mohawk language. — Ed. to North- h.vntnc2., 57 LETTER V. Dated at Monreal June 18. 1684. In which is contain'd a /hort account of the Iroquefe, with a view of the War and Peace they made with the French, and of the means by which it zvas brought about. SIR, I WROTE to you but four days ago, and did not think to have heard from you fo foon; but this Morning I met with a very agreeable Surprifal, in receiving a Packet addrefs'd to me by your Brother. You may be fure I was infinitely well pleas'd, in being given to underftand what has pafs'd in Europe fince I left it. The knowledge of the Affairs oi Europe is comfortable to one that's doom'd to another World, fuch as this is, and I cannot but acknowledge my felf infinitely in- debted to you, for the exa6lnefs of your Intelligence. In as much as you require of me an account of the Iroquefe, and would have me to prefent you with a juft view of their Temper and Government ; I would willingly fatisfie and oblige you in that, or any other point : But in regard [23] that I am oblig'd to fet out for Fort Frontenac the day after to morrow, I have not time to inform my felf of things, or to confult thofe who have been in the Country before : So that all I can do at pref- ent, is only to acquaint you with what I have learn'd this Winter, from Perfons that have fojourn'd twenty years among 58 Some New Voyages 'em. As foon as I have an opportunity of inlarging my knowl- edge upon that Head, by a more immediate converfation with themfelves, you may affure your felf that I'll impart it to you. In the mean time, be pleas'd to accept of what follows. Thefe Barbarians are drawn up in five Cantons, not unlike thofe of the Swijfes. Tho' thefe Cantons are all of one Nation, and united in one joynt intereft, yet they go by different names, viz. the Tfonontotians, the Goyogoans, the Onnotagues^ the Onoyouts, and the Agnies. Their Language is almoft the fame ; and the five Villages or Plantations in which they live, lie at the diflance of thirty Leagues one from another, being all feated near the South fide of the Lake of Ontario^ or of Fronte- nac. Every year the five Cantons fend Deputies to alTift at the Union Feaft, and to fmoak in the great Calumet, or Pipe of the five Nations. Each Village or Canton contains about four- teen thoufand Souls, i. e. 1500 that bear Arms, 2000 Super- annuated Men, 4000 Women, 2000 Maids, and 4000 Children: Tho' indeed fome will tell you, that each Village has not above loooo or 1 1000 Souls.^ There has been an Alliance of long ftanding between thefe Nations and the Engli/Ji, and by trad- ing in Furrs to New-For^, they are fupply'd by the EngUJh 1 "Iroquois" was a title bestowed by the French ; the tribesmen called them- selves " People of the Long House "; to the English, they were known as the " Five Nations." Lahontan gives the five confederates of the league in the French form of their names ; the English called them — proceeding in the same order, from west to east — Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk. Among the Onondaga was the principal council house, where each year the " union feast " was held, and the forthcoming policy deliberated. Lahontan has greatly exaggerated the numbers of these Indians ; it is doubtful whether they ever mustered more than 2,500 warriors, implying a population of 10,000 to 12,000. See Jesuit Relations, index ; Parkman, Jesuits, p. Ixvi. — Ed. to North-Kvamcdi. 59 with Arms, Ammunition, and all other Neceffaries, at a cheaper rate than the French can afford 'em at. They have no other confideration for England or France^ than what depends upon the occafion they have for the Commodities of thefe two Nations ; though after all they [24] give an over-purchafe ; for they pay for them four times more than they are worth. They laugh at the Menaces of our Kings and Governors, for they have no notion of dependence, nay, the very word is to them infupportable. They look upon themfelves as Sov- eraigns, accountable to none but God alone, whom they call The Great Spirit. They waged War with us almoft always, from the firft fettlement of our Colonies in Canada^ to the firft years of the Count of Frontenac's Government. Mcjfieurs de Courfelles, and de Traci, both of 'em Governors-General, made Head againft the Agniis upon the Champlain Lake, in Winter as well as in Summer ; but they could not boaft of any great Succefs.^ They only burnt their Villages, p"^ rarry'd off fome hundred of their Children, of whom the above- mention'd Iroquefe Chriftians are fprung. 'Tis true, they cut off ninety or an hundred Warriours ; but in compenfation for ^ The Iroquois had harassed New France almost from its inception. Alexandre de Prouville, marquis de Tracy, was chosen (1664) lieufenant-general of French colo- nies in America. An old army officer who had served with efficiency in the West Indies, his arrival (1665) was hailed with joy by the distressed colonists. Shortly after came Daniel de Remy, sieur de Courcelle, the newly-appointed governor, and detachments of the Carignan regiment. Courcelle's first expedition against the Iro- quois, in the winter of 1665-66, was without success. Whereupon Tracy took up the matter, and in the autumn of 1666 led an expedition via Lake Champlain, which burned the Mohawk towns and cowed these savages into an advantageous peace. The following year (1667) Tracy returned to France, to die there three years later. Courcelle remained as governor until 1672, when failing health caused his retirement, he being replaced by Count de Frontenac. — Ed. 6o Some New Voyages that, feveral Canadans, and feveral Soldiers of the Regiment of Carignan, being unprovided againft the unfuflferable cold of the Climate, loft their Limbs, and even their Life it felf. Count Frontenac who fucceeded Mr. Courfelle,^ perceiving that the Barbarians had the advantage of the Europeans, as to the waging of War in that Country; upon this apprehenfion, I fay, he declin'd fuch fruitlefs Expeditions, which were very chargeable to the King, and us'd all his efforts to difpofe the Savages to a fmcere and lafting Peace. This judicious Gov- ernor had three things in view ; The firft was to incourage the greateft part of the French Inhabitants, who would have abdicated the Colony, and return'd to France, if the War had continued. His fecond Topick was, that the conclufion of a Peace would difpofe an infinity of People to marry, and to grub up the Trees, upon which the Colony would be better Peopled and inlarg'd. The third Argument that diffuaded him from carrying [25] on the War, was a defign of purfuing the difcovery of the Lakes, and of the Savages that live upon their banks, in order to fettle a Commerce with 'em, and at the fame time to ingage them in our interefts, by good Alliances, in cafe of a Rupture with the Iroquefe. Upon the confideration of thefe Reafons, he fent fome Canadans by way of a formal Embaffy to the Iroquefe Villages, in order to acquaint them, 1 Louis de Baude, count de Frontenac (born in 1620) , had from his fifteenth year seen service in French armies, and was also an accomplished courtier. He was made lieutenant-general of New France in 1672, and while the most able of the governors, his imperious disposition and autocratic temper involved him in many disputes. The opposition became so great that he was recalled in 1682. Seven years later, the peril of the colony was such that Frontenac was again summoned to defend it. This he did vigorously, his expedition of 1696 crushing the Iroquois, and saving Canada to the French. He died at Quebec November 28, 1698. — Ed. to iVor/^-America. 6i that the King being inform'd that a groundlefs War was car- ried on againft them, had fent him from France to make peace with 'em. At the fame time the Ambaffadors had orders to ftipulate all the advantages they could obtain with reference to the Commerce. The Iroqiiefe heard this Propofal with a great deal of Satisfadion ; for Charles II. King of England^ had order'd his Governor in New-Tork to reprefent to 'em, that if they continu'd to wage War with the French^ they were ruin'd, and that they would find themfelves crufh'd by the numerous Forces that were ready to fail from France. In effed, they promis'd to the Ambaffadors that four hundred of their num- ber fhould meet Count Frontenac, attended by an equal number of his Men, at the place where Fort Frontenac now ftands. Accordingly, fome Months after, both the one and the other met at the place appointed, and fo a Peace was concluded. Mr. de la Salle w^s very ferviceable to this Governor, in giving him good and feafonable Advices, which I cannot now enter upon, being oblig'd to make fome preparations for my Voy- age.^ When the Campaign is over, you may exped to hear from me. In the mean time, I am, SIR, Tours, &c. ^ Lahontan here refers to Frontenac's expedition of 1673, which built Fort Fron- tenac, and made peace with the Iroquois. La Salle was one of the messengers sent to Onondaga to summon the chiefs to council. See Parkman, La Salle (Boston, 1892), chap. vi. Thomas Dongan, governor of New York (1682-88) , was an Irish gentleman who had served in both English and French armies in Europe, and had acted as lieutenant- governor of Tangiers, He attempted to thwart the plans of the French, to control the Iroquois and monopolize the trade with the interior, which conduct brought upon him reprimands from the English king, then subservient to the crown of France. — Ed. 62 Some New Voyages LETTER VI. Dated at Monreal June 20. 1684. Being an ample Defcription of the Canows made of Birch-barky in which the Canadans perform all their Voyages; with an account of the manner in which they are made and manag'd. SIR, I THOUGHT to have fet out as this day ; but in regard that our Complement of great Canows is not yet brought up, our Voyage is put off for two days. Having fo much leifure time upon my Hands, I have a mind to imploy it in pre- fenting you with a fliort view of thefe flender Contrivances in which the Canadans perform all their Voyages : And this will furnifh you with an Idaa of the Voiture of this Country. I faw but now above an hundred Canows, fome great and fome httle; but confidering that the former are only proper for Martial Expeditions, and long Voyages, I fhall confine my Defcription to that fort. Even the great ones are of different fizes; for they run from ten to twenty eight Foot long. Indeed the lead of all hold but two Perfons fet upon their Breech, as in a Coffin ; and are apt to over-fet, if the Paffen- gers move to one fide or t'other : But thofe of a larger fize will eafily afford ftowage for fourteen Perfons ; tho' they are com- monly mann'd only with three Men, when they are imploy'd to North-\mtv\c^, 63 in tranfporting Provifions and Merchandize ; and even then they'll carry twenty hundred weight. The largeft fort are fafe and [27] fteddy, when they are made of the Bark of the Birch- tree, which comes off with hot Water in the Winter time. The greateft Trees afford the beft Barks for Canows ; but oftentimes the Bark of one Tree is not fufficient. The bot- tom of the Boat is all of one piece, to which the fides are fo artfully few'd by the Savages, that the whole Boat appears as one continu'd Bark. They are trimm'd and ftrengthn'd with wicker Wreaths, and ribs of Cedar- Wood, which are almoft as light as Cork ; the Wreaths are as thick as a Crown-piece ; but the Bark has the thicknefs of two Crowns, and the Ribs are as thick as three. On the two fides of the Boat, there runs from one end to the other two principal Head-bars, in which the ends of the Ribs are inchas'd, and in which the Spars are made faft, that run a-crofs the Boat and keep it com- pa6l. Thefe Boats have twenty Inches in depth, that is, from the upper edge to the Platform of the Ribs ; their length extends to twenty eight Foot, and the width at the middle Rib is computed to be four Foot and a half. They are very convenient upon the account of their extream lightnefs, and the drawing of very little Water ; but at the fame time their brittle and tender Fabrick, is an Argument of an equivalent inconveniency ; for if they do but touch or grate upon Stone or Sand, the cracks of the Bark fly open, upon which the Water gets in, and fpoils the Provifions and Merchandize : Every day there is fome new chink or feam to be gumm'd over. At Night they are always unloaded, and carried on 64 Some New Voyages fhoar where they are made faft with Pegs, left the Wind fhould blow 'em away: For they are fo light, that two Men carry 'em upon their fhoulders with eafe. This conveniency of lightnefs and eafie carriage, renders 'em very ferviceable in the Rivers of Canada, which are full of Catara6ls, Water-falls, and Currents : For in thefe Rivers we are obhg'd either to tranfport [28] 'em over-land where fuch obftrudions happen, or elfe to tow 'em along where the Current is not over-rapid, and the ftioar is accejflible. Thefe Boats are of no ufe for the Navigation of Lakes ; for the Waves would fwallow 'em up, if they could not reach the fhoar when a wind arifes.^ 'Tis true, the Inhabitants venture in 'em for four or five Leagues, from one Ifland to another ; but then 'tis always in calm Weather, and nothing is made ufe of but Oars ; for befides the rifque of being over-fet, the Goods are in danger of being dammag'd by the Water, efpecially the Furs which are the moft valuable part of the Cargoe. When the feafon ferves, they carry little Sails ; but if the Wind be but a little brisk, tho' they run right afore it, 'tis impoffible to make any ufe of it without running the rifque of Ship-wrack. If their courfe lies diredlly South, they cannot put up fail without the wind ftands at one of the eight points, between North-Weft and North-Eaft ; and if a wind happens to fpring any where elfe, (unlefs it comes from the Land which they coaft along) they ^ For a brief description of the process of making a birch bark canoe, see McKenney, Tour of the Lakes (Baltimore, 1827), PP- 319. 320. Lahontan errs in saying that these craft were unfitted for the navigation of the lakes ; he was later to learn of their usefulness on those waters. — Ed. to North- AA-ntv\c2i. 65 are obllg'd to put In to the fhoar with all pofTible expedition, and unload the Boat out of hand, till fuch time as a calm returns. As for the working of thefe Boats, the Canow-Men ply fometlmes on their Knees, namely, when they run down the fmall Water-falls ; fometlmes ftanding, when they ftem a Cur- rent by fetting the Boat along with Poles; and fometlmes fitting, viz. in fmooth and ftagnating water. The Oars they make ufe of are made of Maple-wood, and their form is reprefented In the annex'd Cutt. The Blade of the Oar is twenty Inches long, fix Inches broad, and four Lines thick: The Handle is about three Foot long, and as big as a Pigeons Egg. When they have occafion to run up agalnft rapid Cur- rents, they make ufe of Poles made of Pine-wood; and the fetting of the Boat along with thefe, [29] is what they call Piqiier de fond. The Canows have neither Stern nor Prow, for they run to a point at both ends : Neither have they Keels, Nails or Pegs, in the whole Strudture. The Steerfman, or he who Conns the Boat, rows without interruption as well as the reft. The common purchafe of fuch a Boat is eighty Crowns ; but it do's not laft above five or fix years. This day I have received advice, that Mr. de la Barre has rals'd the Militia in the neighbourhood of Quebec^ and that the Governor of this Ifland has recelv'd orders to have that of the adjacent Cantons in readinefs to march. I am, SIR, Tours ^ &c. 66 Some New Voyages LETTER VII. Dated at Monreal Novemb. 2. 1684. Defcribing the Coiirfe of the River of St. Laurence, /row Monreal to the firfi great Lake 0/ Canada; with the Water-f alls ^ Catara^ls, and Navigation of that River : As alfo For/ Frontenac, and the Advantages that accrue from it. Together with a Circumftan- tial account of the Expedition of Mr. de la Barre, the Governor- General^ againft the Iroquefe; the Speeches he made, the Replies he received, and the final Accommodation of the difference. SIR, THANK God I have finifh'd this Campaign, and am now return'd in fafety to this place. To prefent you with the Hiftory of our Campaign, be [30] pleas'd to know that in two or three days after the date of my laft, I imbarqu'd on board of a Canow that was work'd by three expert Canow- Men. Every Canow contain'd two Soldiers ; and we all row'd up againft the Current of the River till we arriv'd at Saut de St. Louis, about three Leagues above this Town, which is a little Water-fall, but fo rapid, that our Watermen were forc'd to ftand in the water up to their Middle, in order to drag the Canows againft the Stream for half a quarter of a League.^ 1 Sault St. Louis was the name originally given to Lachine Rapids, just above Montreal, by Champlain (1611), apparently in memory of a lad named Louis who to North-Avntnc2i, 6y We reimbarqu'd above this Pafs, and row'd about twelve Leagues up the River, and thro' the Lake of St. Louis^ till we arriv'd at a place call'd the Cafcades, where we were forc'd to turn out and carry our Boats and Baggage over-land, about half a quarter of a League. 'Tis true, we might have tow'd our Boats againft the Stream in this place with fome labour ; but there was a Catara6l a little above it, which they call le CataraBe dn Troii. I had taken up a notion that the only difficulty of failing up the River, confifted in the trouble of Land-carriage ; but when I came to be a Spedlator of the matter, I found that the ftemming of the Currents whether in towing of the Canows, or in fetting them along with Poles, was equally laborious. About five or fix Leagues higher we came to the Water-falls call'd Sauts des Cedres, and du Buiffon, where we were forc'd to tranfport our Boats five hundred paces over Land. Some Leagues above that, we enter'd the Lake of St. Francis, which is faid to be twenty Leagues in Circumference; and having crofs'd it, met with as flirong Cur- rents as before, particularly at a fall call'd Long Saui, where we had recourfe to Land-carriage for half a League. Then was drowned at this place. The head of navigation upon the St. Lawrence, Cartler ascended to this point on his second voyage (1535), and explored the region in 1541. The name " Lachine " commemorates the derision excited among the enemies of La Salle; upon his embarication thither for the West (1669), they said he was headed for China (La Chine) , an allusion to the then prevalent notion that in the West might be found a transcontinental waterway which should prove a short-cut to China. The term " La Chine " was equivalent to our " China-town." The Lachine Rapids are the most dangerous on the St. Lawrence, and are now avoided by the Lachine canal, eight and a half miles long, on the northern side. In descending, however, specially- constructed passenger steamers " shoot the rapids," a favorite amusement among the people of Montreal. — Ed. 68 Some New Voyages we were forc'd to drag up the Boats againft the rapid Stream; and after a great deal of fatigue came at laft to a Pafs call'd la Galete^ from whence we had but twenty Leagues failing to Fort Frontenac} This [31] Pafs was the laft difficulty we had to furmount ; for above it the water was as ftill as that of a Pool, and then our Watermen ply'd with their Oars in ftead of Poles. The Maringouins, which we call Midges^ are unfufferably troublefom in all the Countries of Canada. We were haunted with fuch clouds of 'em, that we thought to be eat up ; and fmoaking being the only Artifice that could keep 'em off, the Remedy was worfe than the Difeafe : In the Night-time the People fhelter themfelves from 'em in Bowers or Arbours, made after the following manner. They drive into the Ground Stakes or little branches of Trees, at a certain diftance one from another, fo as to form a femicircular Figure ; in which they put a Quilt and Bedcloaths, covering it above with a large Sheet that falls down to the Ground on all fides, and fo hinders the Infeds to enter. We landed at Fort Frontenac after twenty days failing ; and immediately upon our arrival, Mr. Duta our Commander in chief, view'd the Fortifications of the place, and three large Barques that lay at Anchor in the Port.^ We repair'd the ^ Lahontan here describes in some detail the passage from Montreal to Lake Ontario. For a similar description in reverse order, with enumeration of the rapids, see Journal of Father Bonnecamps (1749), in Jesuit Relations, Ixix, pp. 195, 197. The Long Sault of the St. Lawrence is now paralleled by the Cornwall canal. — Ed. 2 Captain Du Tas (Tartre) was in command of the advance guard sent to convey provisions to Fort Frontenac. See New York Colonial Documents, ix, p. 234. He to North-h.vi\tnc2i. 69 Fortifications in a very little time, and fitted up the three Barques. This Fort was a Square, confifting of large Cur- tains flanked with four little Baftions ; thefe Flanks had but two Battlements, and the Walls were fo low, that one might eafily climb upon 'em v/ithout a Ladder. After Mr. de la Salle concluded the Peace with the Iroqueje^ the King beftow'd upon him and his Heirs the property of this place ; but he was fo negligent, that inftead of enriching himfelf by the Commerce it might have aflForded, he was confiderably out of pocket upon it.^ To my mind this Fort is fituated very advantage- oufly for a Trade with the five Iroqiiefe Nations : For their Villages lye in the Neighbourhood of the Lake^ upon which they may tranfport their Furs in Canows with more [32] eafe, than they can carry 'em over-land to New- For/;. In time of War I take it to be indefenfible ; for the Cataradls and Cur- rents of the River are fuch, that fifty Iroqiiefe may there ftop stopped but a brief time in the colony, but again brought reinforcements in 1690, when Frontenac sent him to guard the St. Lawrence. He served in the English Channel in 1692 ; went to Hudson Bay (1695), ^^^ ^^^ following year was in the campaign in Acadia. — Ed. 1 Courcelle had recommended the site of Fort Frontenac (Catarakouy) on his expedition of 1671. His successor, acting upon the suggestion, advanced up the St. Lawrence in 1673, ^"^^ built the stockade on the present site of Kingston, Ontario. Two years later. La Salle, strongly endorsed by Frontenac, obtained from the court at Versailles a grant of the fort and district as a seignioiy. Had La Salle been a mere merchant, he would, as Lahontan suggests, have made his fortune therefrom. Using it merely as the base of Western exploration, he became involved in financial difficulties, and upon the departure of his patron Frontenac it was seized by his enemies, headed by La Barre (1683). Upon the order of the king, it was restored the following year to La Salle's lieutenant. At the outbreak of Frontenac's War (1689), Denonvillegave orders for the destruction of this fort ; but Frontenac restored it in 1695, and the French maintained it until its capture by the British in 1758. — Ed. 70 Some New Voyages five hundred French^ without any other Arms but Stones. Do but confider, Sir, that for twenty Leagues together the River is fo rapid, that we dare not fet the Canow four paces off the fhoar; Befides, Canada being nothing but a Forreft, as I inti- mated above, 'tis impoffible to travel there without falling every foot into Ambufcades, efpecially upon the banks of this River, which are lin'd with thick Woods, that render 'em inac- cefTible. None but the Savages can skip from Rock to Rock, and fcour thro' the Thickets, as if 'twere an open Field. If we were capable of fuch Adventures, we might march five or fix hundred Men by Land to guard the Canows that carry the Provifions; but at the fame time 'tis to be confider'd, that before they arriv'd at the Fort, they would confume more Provifions than the Canows can carry ; Not to mention that the Iroqucfe would ftill out-number 'em. As to the particulars relating to the Fort, I fhall take notice of 'em v/hen I come to give a general defcription of Ntw-France. While we continued at Fort Frontenac, the Iroquefe who live at Ganeoujfe and Qiiente, at the diftance of feven or eight Leagues from thence,^ threw in upon us Harts, Roe-bucks, Turkeys and Fifh ; in exchange for Needles, Knives, Powder ^ In 1668 several Cayugas, asking for a missionary, came to Montreal from a new settlement recently made on Quinte Bay, on the north shore of Lake Ontario. The Sulpitians sent out tvvo of their members, who maintained the mission until 1673, when Frontenac granted the Recollects the chaplaincy of his new fort. Hennepin was stationed here, and administered to the mission for several years. See Hennepin, Nenv Disco-very (Thwaites's ed., Chicago, 1903), pp. 47, 97. The mission was abandoned during the Iroquois disturbances just preceding the outbreak of Frontenac's War (or about 1687). — Ed. to iVo/tZ'-America. 71 and Ball. Towards the end of Auguft Mr. de la Bane ioyn'd us ; but he was dangeroufly ill of a Feaver, which rag'd in like manner among moft of his Militia ; fo that only our three Companies were free from Sicknefs. This Feaver was of the intermitting kind ; and the convulfive Motions, Tremblings, and frequency of the Pulfe that attended the cold Fit, were fo violent, that moft of our fick Men dy'd in the fecond or third Fit. Their Blood was [33] of a blackifh brown colour, and tainted with a fort of ycllovv'ifh Serum, not unlike Pus or cor- rupt Matter. Mr. de la Barre's Phyfician, who in my opinion knew as little of the true caufes of Feavers as Hippocrates or Galen, and a hundred thoufand befides ; this mighty Phyfician, I fay, pretending to trace the caufe of the Feaver I now fpeak of, imputed it to the unfavourable qualities of the Air and the Aliment. His plea was, that the exceflive heat of the feafon, put the Vapours or Exhalations into an over-rapid Motion ; that the Air was fo over-rarify'd, that we did not fuck in a fufficient quantity of it ; that the fmall quantity we did receive was loaded with Infedts and impure Corpufculum's, which the fatal neceflity of Refpiration oblig'd us to fwallow ; and that by this means nature was put into diforder : He added, that the ufe of Brandy and fait Meat fower'd the Blood, that this fowernefs occafion'd a fort of Coagulation of the Chyle and Blood, that the Coagulation hindered it to circulate thro' the Heart with a due degree of Celerity ; and that thereupon there infued an extraordinary Fermentation, which is nothing elfe but a Feaver. But after all, to my mind this Gentleman's 72 Some New Voyages Syfteme was too much upon the Iroquefe ftrain ; for at that rate the DIftemper muft have feiz'd all without diftin6lion, whereas neither our Soldiers nor the feafon'd Canadans were troubled with it ; for it raged only among the Militia, who being unacquainted with the way of fetting the Boats with Poles, were forc'd at every turn to get into the water and drag 'em up againft the rapid Stream : Now, the waters of that Country being naturally cold, and the heat being excefTive, the Blood might thereupon freeze by way of Antiperiflafis^ and fo occafion the Feaver I fpeak of, purfuant to the common Maxim, Oninis repentina mutatio efl perkiilofa^ i. e. All fiidden changes are of dangerous Confequence. [34] As foon as Mr. de la Barre recover'd, he imbarqu'd in order to continue his march; tho' he might have eafily known, that after halting fourteen or fifteen days at that Fort, when the feafon was fo far advanc'd, he could not pretend to compafs the end of his Expedition. We row'd Night and Day the Weather being very calm, and in five or fix days came before the River of Famine^ where we were forc'd to put in upon the apprehenfion of a Storm.^ Here we met with a Canow that Mr. Dulhiit had fent from Mijfilimakinac, with advice, that purfuant to orders he had ingag'd the Htirons, 1 Riviere la Famine was previously identified with Onondaga (Oswego) River, but later investigations have proven that it was Salmon River, Oswego County, N. Y. See N. Y, Colonial Documents, ix, p. 242. The region was not named for lack of supplies in La Barre's army, but from some previous Indian famine. La Barre encamped on the northwest side of the river, opposite the present Port Ontario. See Hawley, Early Chapters of Cayuga History (Auburn, 1879). — Ed. to North-hmtnc2i, 73 Outaoua'sy and fome other People, to joyn his Army; in which he had above two hundred brave * Foreft Rangers. Thefe News were very acceptable ^^^ Coureurs , , , , n 1 1 r . , de Bois in the to Mr. de la Barre ; but at the fame time he cr , , was very much perplexed ; for I'm perfwaded he repented oftner than once, of his entring upon an Expedi- tion that he forefaw would prove Succefslefs ; and to aggra- vate the danger of his Enterprife, the Iroquefe had at that time an opportunity to fall upon us. In fine, after a mature confideration of the Confequences, and of the Difficulties that ftood in the way, he fent back the Canow to Mr. Dulhut, with orders to difmifs the Foreft Rangers and Savages immediately, where ever he was, and by all means to avoid the approaching to his Troops. By good luck Mr. Dulhut had not yet reach'd Niagara^ when he receiv'd thefe Orders ; with which the Savages that accompany'd him were fo diffatisfied, that they threw out all manner of Invedlives againft the French Nation.^ As foon as Mr. de la Barre had difpatch'd this Canow, he ^ Daniel Greysolon DuLuth (duLhut), " king of coureurs des bois," had been an officer in the French army. Coming to Canada before 1674, lie set out four years later on an expedition to the Sioux country, and remained in the Northwest for over twelve years, exploring, trading, and securing the Indians in the French interest. He was so powerful that his services were sought by successive governors. He brought an Indian force to the aid of Denonville in 1687 ; and in 1694 was fighting the Iro- quois under Frontenac. Two years later he was commandant at Fort Frontenac, and died in 1710. See McLennan " Gentlemen of the King's Guard," in Harper's Magazine, Sept., 1893 ; and " Death of DuLuth " in Roy. Soc. Proc, 2d series, ix, pp. 39-47. The Huron and Ottawa who composed his party upon the occasion here cited by Lahontan, were from those tribes that had fled from the Iroquois attacks and settled under French protection at Fort Mackinac. — Ed. 74 Some New Voyages fent Mr. le Moine to the Village of the Onnontagues, which lay about eighteen Leagues up the River. This Mr. le Moine was a Gentleman of Normandy^ and highly efleem'd by the Iroquefe, who [35] call'd him Akouejfan, i. e. the Partridge} His Orders were, to indeavour by all means to bring along with him fome of the old ftanders of that Nation ; and accordingly he return'd in a few days, accompany'd with one of their moft confiderable Grandees, who had a Train of thirty young War- riours, and was diftinguifh'd by the Title of the Grangula} As foon as he debarqued, Mr. de la Barre fent him a Prefent of Bread and Wine, and of thirty Salmon-Trouts, which they fifh'd in that place in fuch plenty, that they brought up a hundred at one caft of a Net : At the fame time he gave the Grandee to underftand, that he congratulated his Arrival, and would be glad to have an Interview with him after he had refted himfelf for fome days. You muft know that he had us'd the precaution of fending the fick back to the Colony, ^ Charles Le Moyne, sieur de Longueuil, was a native of Dieppe, born in 1624. He came to Canada in 1641, and after four years among the Huron with the Jesuits, settled at Montreal. There he acted for many years as interpreter of the colony, and captain of militia. In 1655 he was captured by the Iroquois, who were so impressed by his intrepidity that they adopted him into their tribe, and sent him home unharmed. The value of his ser^'ices to the colony was so great that he was ennobled by the king (1668). His sons distinguished themselves in the history of the colony; the eldest, first baron of Longueuil, was governor of Canada ; Iberville and Bienville were the founders of Louisiana. — Ed. 2 By this Latinized form Lahontan designates the Iroquois chieftain known by the French as La Grande Gueule (Big Mouth), in allusion to his oratorical ability. His Indian name was Otreouate, and he belonged to the Onondaga tribe. Although not one of their great chiefs, he was a wily diplom.atist, and owed his influence to skill in oratory and powers of dissimulation. For his signature in the totems of his clan, see N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, p. 386. — Ed. to N orth- hxntx\C2i, 75 that the Iroquefe might not perceive the weaknefs of his Forces; and to favour the Stratagem, Mr. le Moine repre- fented to the Grangida, that the Body of the Army was left behind at Fort Frontenac, and that the Troops he faw in our Camp, were the General's Guards. But unhappily one of the Iroquefe that had a fmattering of the French Tongue, having ftroul'd in the Night-time towards our Tents, over-heard what we faid, and fo reveal'd the Secret. Two days after their arrival, the Grangula gave notice to Mr. de la Barre that he was ready for an Interview; and accordingly an hour being appointed, the whole Company appear'd as the figure repre- fents it. The Grangula fat on the Eaft fide, being plac'd at the head of his Men, with his Pipe in his Mouth, and the great Calumet of Peace before him. He was very attentive to the following Harangue, pronounc'd by our Interpreters ; which you cannot well underftand, without a previous explication of the Calumet^ and the CoUers that it mentions. [36] The Calumet of Peace is made of certain Stones, or of Marble, whether red, black, or white. The Pipe or Stalk is four or five foot long ; the body of the Calumet is eight Inches long, and the Mouth or Head in which the Tobacco is lodg'd, is three Inches in length; its figure approaches to that of a Hammer. The red Calumets are moft efteem'd. The Savages make ufe of 'em for Negotiations and State Affairs, and efpecially in Voyages ; for when they have a Calumet in their hand, they go where they will in fafety. The Calumet is trimm'd with yellow, white, and p^reen Feathers, 76 Some New Voyages and has the fame effefl among the Savages, that the Flag of friencKhip has amongft us ; for to violate the Rights of this venerable Pipe, is among them a flaming Crime, that will draw down mifchief upon their Nations.^ As for the Colters, they are certain fwathes of two or three Foot in length, and fix Inches in breadth ; being deck'd with little Beads made of a certain fort of fhells that they find upon the Sea fhoar, between New-^ory^ and Virginia. Thefe Beads are round, and as thick as a little Pea ; but they are twice as long as a grain of Corn : Their colour is either blew or white ; and they are bor'd thro' jufl like Pearl, being run after the fame manner upon ftrings that lye fideways one to another. Without the intervention of thefe Coliers, there's no bufinefs to be negotiated with the Savages ; for being altogether unacquainted with writing, they make ufe of them for Contrads and Obligations. Sometimes they keep for an Age the Coliers that they have receiv'd from their Neighbours; and in regard that every Colier has its peculiar Mark, they learn from the old Perfons, the Circum- ftances of the time and place in which they were deliver'd ; but after that age is over, they are made ufe of for new Treaties.^ iQn the uses of the calumet, see Jesuit Relations, index. The red stone is known as "catlinite," from the artist George Catlin, who was the first to explore and describe the quarries at Pipestone, Minnesota. — Ed. 2 These "collars" (so called by the French; the English entitled them " belts") were made of wampum, of which Lahontan has here described the primitive type in the form of shells. Later they were made of beads. See Jesuit Relations, viii, note 70 ; also Hale, " Indian Wampum Records " in Popular Science Monthly, February, 1897. Belts of wampum were always used in the negotiation of Indian treaties ; they were sent with envoys as credentials, preserved by a chief as the ensign of his authority, employed in ransom and atonement for crime, and also as ornament and in place of money. The English term was "wampum"; that of the French, " porcelain."— Ed. to North- PiTCitriQ^., 77 [37] ^^^- '^^ 1'^ Barre's Harangue^ was to this purpofe. ' The King, my Mafter, being inform'd that the five Iroqitefe Nations have for a long time made infradions upon the meafures of Peace, order'd me to come hither with a Guard, and to fend Akoiiejfan to the Canton of the Onno- tagues, in order to an Interview with their principal Leaders, in the Neighbourhood of my Camp. This great Monarch means, that you and I fhould fmoak together in the great Calumet of Peace, with the Provifo, that you ingage in the name of the Tfonnontouans, Goyoguans, Onnotagiies, OnnoyouteSy and Agnies^ to make reparation to his Subjeds, and to be guilty of nothing for the future, that may occafion a fatal rupture. ' The Tfonnontouans, Goyogouans, Onnotagues^ Onnoyoiites and Agnies^ have ftrip'd, rob'd, and abus'd all the Foreft-Rangers, that travel'd in the way of Trade to the Country of the lUineJe^ of the Oumamis^ and of feveral other Nations, who are my Matter's Children.^ Now this ufage being in high violation of the Treaties of Peace concluded with my Prede- ceffor, I am commanded to demand Reparation, and at the ^ According to Parkman, La Barre had brought this about by giving leave to the Iroquois to plunder La Salle's canoes. The Indians had taken advantage of this permission to seize several canoes and employes of the governor himself. See Parkman, Frontenac, pp. 86, 87. The Illinois Indians, of Algonquian stock, were encountered by the French in the state to which they have given their name. La Salle had founded his colony among them, only to have it raided by the Iroquois. See Hennepin, Ne-zv Discovery (Thwaites's ed.), pp. 337-342. The Miami (Oumamis) were first encountered by white men in Wisconsin. On their migrations see fris. Hist. Colts., xvi, pp. 41, 99, 127, 285, 361, 398. — Ed. 78 Some New Voyages ' fame time to declare, that in cafe of their refufal to comply 'with my demands, or of relapfing into the like Robberies, ' War is pofitively proclaim'd. This Colier makes my words good. ' The Warriours of thefe five Nations have introduc'd the ' EngUpi to the Lakes, belonging to the King my Mafter, and ' into the Country of thofe Nations to whom my Mafter is a ' Father : This they have done with a defign to ruine the ' Commerce of his Subjeds, and to oblige thefe Nations to ' depart from their due Allegiance ; notwithftanding the Re- ' monftrances of the late Governor [38] of N^w-Tofk, who faw ' thro the danger that both they and the Engli/h expos'd them- ' felves to. At prefent I am willing to forget thofe A6lions ; ' but if ever you be guilty of the like for the future, I have ' exprefs orders to declare War. This Colier warrants my Words. ' The fame Warriours have made feveral barbarous Incur- ' fions upon the Country of the lUineJe, and the Oumamis. 'They have maffacred Men, Women, and Children; they ' have took, bound, and carried off an infinite number of the ' Natives of thofe Countries, who thought themfelves fecure ' in their Villages in a time of Peace. Thefe People are my ' Matter's Children, and therefore muft hereafter ceafe to be ' your Slaves. I charge you to reftore 'em to their Liberty, ' and to fend 'em home without delay ; for if the five Nations to iVo/tZ?- America. 79 ' refufe to comply with this demand, I have exprefs orders to ' declare War. This Colier makes my words good. ' This is all I had to fay to the Grangiila, whom I defire to ' report to the five Nations, this Declaration, that my Mafter ' commanded me to make. He wifhes they had not oblig'd ' him to fend a potent Army to the Fort of * Cat- ^7-^^ French ' aracouy, in order to carry on a War that will call it Fort ' prove fatal to them : And he will be very much Frontenac. ' troubled, if it fo falls out, that this Fort which is a work of ' Peace, muft be imploy'd for a Prifon to your Militia. Thefe ' mifchiefs ought to be prevented by mutual endeavours : The * French who are the Brethren and Friends of the five Nations, ' will never difturb their Repofe ; provided they make the fatis- ' faction I now demand, and prove religious obfervers of their 'Treaties. I wifh my words [39] may produce the defir'd ' eflfed ; for if they do not, I am oblig'd to joyn the Governor ' of New-ror/^, who has orders from the King his Mafter, to ' afTift me to burn the five Villages, and cut you off. This Colier confirms my word. ' While Mr. de la Barrels Interpreter pronounc'd this Harangue, the Grangula did nothing but look'd upon the end of his Pipe : After the Speech was finifh'd he rofe, and having took five or fix turns in the Ring that the French and the Savages made, he return'd to his place, and {landing upright 8o Some New Voyages fpoke after the following manner to the General, who fat in his Chair of State. 5fe— ,. — . , , ^ * Onnontio, I honour you, and all the ^ This Title they . ' -^ ' give to the Gov- ' Warriors that accompany me do the fame : ernor-General of ' Your Interpreter has made an end of his Canada. » Difcourfe, and now I come to begin mine. ' My Voice glides to your Ear, pray liften to my words. ' Onnontio^ in fetting out from Quebec^ you muft needs have ' fancy'd that the fcorching Beams of the Sun had burnt down ' the Forefts which render our Country unaccefTible to the ' French ; or elfe that the Inundations of the Lake had fur- ' rounded our Cottages, and confin'd us as Prifoners. This ' certainly was your thought; and it could be nothing elfe but ' the curiofity of feeing a burnt or drown'd Country, that ' mov'd you to undertake a Journey hither. But now you ' have an opportunity of being undeceiv'd, for I and my war- ' like Retinue come to affure you, that the T jonontouam ^ Goyogo- ' uans^ Onnontagues, Onnoyoutes cindJgnies, are not yet deftroy'd. ' I return you thanks in their name, for bringing into their * Country the Calumet of Peace, that your Predeceffor receiv'd ' from their hands. At the fame time I congratulate your [40] 'Happinefs, in having left under Ground "^ Burying the Axe . * ^j^^ ^^^. ^^^^ ^^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^ fignifies Peace. . /• t-^ . t n ' dy d with the blood of the French. I muft ' tell you, Onnontio, I am not afleep, my Eyes are open ; and ' the Sun that vouchfafes the light, gives me a clear view of a ' great Captain at the head of a Troop of Soldiers, who fpeaks « as if he were afleep. He pretends that he do's not approach /.v ^ Stti'a^^s rj/viii^tuiagreacSa770ttj cinj Jtaiidm^ iiprtc//it ' u±^<-i/ti>/v ^f^irc/t 6nr^ tZ' it/l ifjcatj. to iVor^y^- America. 8i ' to this Lake with any other view, than to fmoak with the ^ Onnotagues in the great Calumet; but the Grangida knows ' better things, he fees plainly that the Onnontio mean'd to ' knock 'em on the Head, if the French Arms had not been fo ' much weaken'd. ' I perceive that the Onnontio raves in a Camp of fick ' People, whofe lives the great Spirit has fav'd by vifiting ' them with Infirmities. Do you hear, Onnontio^ our Women * had took up their Clubbs ; and the Children and the old ' Men, had vifited your Camp with their Bows and Arrows, ' if our Warlike Men had not ftop'd and difarm'd 'em, when ^Jkoueffan your Ambaffadour appear'd before my Village. ' But I have done, I'll talk no more of that. ' You muft know, Onnontio, we have robb'd no French-Men, 'but thofe who fupply'd the Iliinefe and the Oiimamis (our 'Enemies) with Fufees, with Powder, and with Ball: Thefe ' indeed we took care of, becaufe fuch Arms might have coft ' us our life. Our Condud in that point is of a piece with ' that of the Jefuits, who ftave all the barrels of Brandy that ' are brought to our Cantons, left the People getting drunk ' (hould knock them in the Head. Our Warriours have no ' Beavers to give in exchange for all the Arms they take from ' the French ; and as for the old fuperannuated People, they ' do not think of bearing Arms. [41] This Colier comprehends my word. ' We have conducted the EngUPi to our * They pretend ' * Lakes, in order to traffick with the Outaouas, '" ^''' property * and the Hurons ; juft as the Algonkins con- 82 Some New Voyages ' du6led the French to our five Cantons, in order to carry on a ' Commerce that the Engli/h lay claim to as their Right. We ' are born Freemen, and have no dependance either upon the .[.^ , . ,, '' Onnontio or t\\t '\ Corlar} We have a power to fCorlar is the '^ Title of the ' go where we pleafe, to condu6l who we will Governor of 'to the places we refort to, and to buy and fell New-\orVi. t where we think fit. If your Allies are your ' Slaves or Children, you may e'en treat 'em as fuch, and rob ' 'em of the liberty of entertaining any other Nation but your ' own. This Colier contains my word. ' We fell upon the Illineje and the Oumamis, becaufe they ' cut down the trees of Peace that ferv'd for limits or bound- ' aries to our Frontiers. They came to hunt Beavers upon ' our Lands ; and contrary to the cuftom of all the Savages, ' have carried off whole Stocks, ||both Male and o , ■ ' Female. They have ingag'd the Chaouanons Savages, tts a _ -^ . capital Crime ' ^^ their intereft, and entertain'd 'em in their to dejlroy all ' Country.^ They fupply'd 'em with Fire-Arms, the Beavers of i after the concerting of ill defigns againft us. ' We have done lefs than the Engli/h and the 1 The significance of the word Onontio, by which the Iroquois designated the governor of Canada, was said to be " great " or " beautiful mountain," and to have been a translation of the name of the second governor, Montmagny. Corlaer, the Indian name for the governor of New York, was derived from Van Curler, an early Dutch trader who had much influence among the Mohawk. — Ed. 2 The Shawnee (French Chaouanon) were an Algonquian tribe, concerning whose migrations and relations there has been considerable controversy. La Salle found them in the Ohio country, where in the eighteenth century they were a terror to the Western settlers of the United States. See Jesuit Relations, xlvii, p. 316 ; Ixi, p. 249 ; If is. Hist. Colls., xvi, pp. 48, 364; xvii, index. — Ed. to North-Kmtvicdi.. 83 ' French, who without any right, have ufurp'd the Grounds ' they are now poffefs'd of; and of which they have diflodg'd * feveral Nations, in order to make way for their building of ' Cities, Villages, and Forts. [42] This Colier contains my word. ' I give you to know, Onnontio^ that my Voice is the Voice ' of the five Iroquefe Cantons. This is their Anfwer, pray ' incline your Ear, and liften to v/hat they reprefent. ' The Tfonontouans, Goyogouans, Onnontagues, Onnoyoutes, and *■ Agnies declare, that they interr'd * the . ^' Interring the Axe, Axe at Cataracouy, m the prefence of your ^^,„-^^^ ^^^ ^^^;„^ ^y * Precedeffor, in the very center of the Fort; a Peace; and the dig- ' and planted the Tree of Peace in the fame gingofit up imports a ' place, that it might be carefully preferv'd ; ^^^^«^^^'<'« "/ ^^^• ' that 'twas then ftipulated, that the Fort fhould be us'd as a ' place of retreat for Merchants, and not a refuge for Soldiers ; ' and that inftead of Arms and Ammunition, it fhould be made ' a Receptacle of only Beaver-Skins, and Merchandize Goods, ' Be it known to you, Onnontio, that for the future you ought ' to take care, that fo great a number of Martial-Men as I now * fee, being fhut up in fo fmall a Fort, do not flifle and choak ' the Tree of Peace. Since it took Root fo eafily, it muft ' needs be of pernicious confequence to ftop its growth, and ' hinder it to fhade both your Country and ours with its ' Leaves. I do affure you, in the name of the five Nations, ' that our Warriors fhall dance the Calumet Dance under its 84 Some New Voyages 'branches; that they fhall reft in Tran- t This Phrafe Jis[ni- . .,. ^ • \ -n. x 1 mi r , ■ in quuity upon their tMatts, and will never jies keeping the reace. . ' dig up the Axe to cut down the Tree of ' Peace ; till fuch time as the Onnontio and the Corlar^ do either 'joyntly or feparately oflFer to invade the Country, that the ' great Spirit has difpos'd of in the favour of our Anceftors. [43] This Colier contains my word ; and the other comprehends the power granted to me by the five Nations. Then the Grangula addrefs'd himfelf to Mr. le Moine, and fpoke to this purpofe. ^Jkoueffan, take Heart, you are a Man of Senfe ; fpeak and ' explain my meaning ; be fure you forget nothing, but declare ' all that thy Brethren and thy Friends reprefent to thy chief ' Onnontioy by the voice of the Grangula, who pays you all ' Honour and Refped, and invites you to accept of this Pre- ' fent of Beavers, and to affift at his Feaft immediately. ' This other Prefent of Beavers is fent by the five Nations ' to the Onnontio. As foon as the Grangula had done, Mr. le Maine and the Jefuits that were prefent, explain'd his anfwer to Mr. de la Barre,^ who thereupon retir'd to his Tent and ftorm'd and blufter'd, till fome body came and reprefented to him, that, Iroca Progenies nefcit habere modos, i. e. The Iroquefe are always upon extreams. The Gratigula danc'd after the Iroquefe manner, ^ Father Jacques Bruyas was interpreter upon this occasion. See ante, p. 56, note I. — Ed. to iVor^^-America. 85 by way of prelude to his Entertainment ; after which he regal'd feveral of the French. Two days after he and his Martial-Retinue return'd to their own Country, and our Army fet out for Monreal. As foon as the General was on board, together with the few healthy Men that remain'd, the Canows were difpers'd, for the Militia ftraggled here and there, and every one made the beft of his way home. Our three Com- panies indeed kept together, becaufe all of us, both Officers and Soldiers, were carried in flat-bottom'd Boats, made of Deal on purpofe for our ufe. However, I could have wifh'd to have run down the falls and Catarads [44] in the fame Canow that brought me up, for every body thought we fhould have been caft away at thefe Paffes, which are full of Eddy's and Rocks ; and 'twas never heard before, that fuch Precipices were pafs'd with Deal Boats either upwards or downwards. But we were forc'd to run all hazards, and had certainly been fwallow'd up in thofe Mountains of Water, if we had not oblig'd feveral Canows to fhoot the Cataradls at the head of our Boats, in order to fhew us the way ; at the fame time we had prepar'd our Soldiers for rowing, and fhieving upon occafion. Do but confider. Sir, that the Cur- rents run as faft as a Cannon Ball; and that one falfe ftroak of the Oar, would have run us unavoidably upon the Rocks ; for we are oblig'd to fteer a Zig-zag courfe purfuant to the thread of the Stream, which has fifty windings. The Boats which are loaded are fometimes loft in thofe places. But after all, tho' the rifque we run be very great, yet by way of Com- 86 Some New Voyages penfation, one has the fatisfadion of running a great way in a little time ; for we run from Galete to this Town in two days time, notwithftanding that we crofs'd the two ftagnating Lakes I took notice of before. As foon as we landed, we receiv'd advice that the Chevalier de CaUieres was come to fupply the room of Mr. Pe?'rot, the Governor of this place.^ Mr. Perrot has had feveral fcuffies with Mr. de Frontenac, and Mr. de la Barre ; of which you may exped: a farther account, when I am better inform'd. All the World blames our General for his bad Succefs : 'Tis talk'd publickly, that his only defign was to cover the fending of feveral Canows to traffick with the Savages in thofe Lakes for Beaver-Skins. The People here are very bufie in wafting over to Court a thoufand Calumnies againft him ; both the Clergy and the Gentlemen of the long Robe, write to his difadvantage. Tho' after all, the whole charge is [45] f alfe ; for the poor Man could do no more than he did.^ Juil now, I was inform'd that Mr. Hainaiit, Mr. Montortier, and Mr. Durivau, three Cap- tains of Ships, are arriv'd at Quebec, v/ith a defign to pafs the Winter there, and to affift him as Counfellors ; and that the ^ Louis Hector, sieur de Callieres-Bonnevue was born in 1646 or 1647, and early adopted the profession of arms. Coming to Canada in 1684 as governor of Montreal, he soon proved himself an important factor in the defense of the colony. He ably seconded the measures of Frontenac, and upon his death (1698) was appointed his successor. He brought Frontenac's war with the Iroquois to a successful issue, and made a peace (1701) with this redoubtable foe. His death occurred in 1703.— Ed. 2 For La Barre's own account of the expedition, see N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, pp. 239-243. The account of his detractors, headed by the intendant Meules, follows, pp. 244-248. ^Ed. to No7'th-Kvc).^nc2i, 87 laft of thefe three has brought with him an Independent Com- pany, to be commanded by himfelf.^ I fhall have no opportunity of writing again before the next Spring ; for the laft Ships that are to return for France this year, are now ready to fail. / am^ SIR, Yours, &c. 1 These officers, whose names are given, Desnots, Montortie, and Du Rivau Huet, came out in charge of reinforcements in the autumn of 1684, but were permitted to return the following year. See N. Y. Colon, Docs., ix, p. 250; Canadian Archives , supplement, 1899, pp. 269, 270. — Ed. 88 Some New Voyages LETTER VIII. Dated at Monreal, June 28. 1685. Reprefenting the Fortifications of Monreal, and the indifcreet Zeal of the Priefls, who a?'e Lords of that Town : With a Defcrip- tion of Chambli, and of the Commerce of the Savages upon the great Lakes. SIR, I HAVE juft receiv'd yours, by a fmall Veffel of Bourdeaux loaded with Wine; which is the firft that came to Quebec this Year. I am mightily pleas'd to hear that the King has granted to Mr. de la Salle four Ships, to go upon the Dif- covery of the Mouth of the Miffifipi; and cannot but admire your Curiofity, in defiring to know the Occurrences of this Place, and how I fpent my time in the Winter. Mr. de CalUeres was no fooner poffefs'd of his Government, than he order'd all the Inhabitants of this Town, and of the adjacent Country, to cut down and bring in great Stakes, of fifteen Foot in length, [46] to fortifie the Town. During the Winter, thefe Orders were purfued with fo much Applica- tion, that all things are now ready for making the Inclofure ; in which five or fix hundred Men are to be imploy'd. I fpent part of the Winter in Hunting with the Algonkins, in order to a more perfed knowledge of their Language ; and the reft I to A^o;t^-America. 89 fpent in this Place, with a great deal of uneafinefs : for, here we cannot enjoy our felves, either at Play, or in vifiting the Ladies, but 'tis prefently carried to the Curate's ears, who takes publick notice of it in the Pulpit. His Zeal goes fo far, as even to name the Perfons : and fince he refufes the Sacra- ment of the Holy Supper to Ladies of Quality, upon the moft (lender Pretences, you may eafily guefs at the other fl:eps of his Indefcretion, You cannot imagine to what a pitch thefe Ecclefiaftical Lords have fcrew'd their Authority : They excommunicate all the Masks, and wherever they fpy 'em, they run after 'em to uncover their Faces, and abufe 'em in a reproachful manner : In fine, they have a more watchful eye over the Condud of the Girls and married Women, than their Fathers and Husbands have. They cry out againft thofe that do not receive the Sacrament once a Month ; and at Eafter they oblige all forts of Perfons to give in Bills to their Confeffors. They prohibit and burn all the Books that treat of any other Subje6l but Devotion. When I think of this Tyranny, I cannot but be inrag'd at the impertinent Zeal of the Curate of this City. This inhumane Fellow came one day to my Lodging, and finding the Romance of the Adven- tures of Petroniiis upon my Table, he fell upon it with an unimaginable fury, and tore out almoft all the Leaves. This Book I valued more than my Life, becaufe 'twas not caftrated ; and indeed I was fo provok'd when I faw it all in wrack, that if my Landlord had not held me, I had gone immediately to that turbulent Paftor's [47] Houfe, and would have pluck'd out the Hairs of his Beard with as little mercy as he did the 90 Some New Voyages Leaves of my Book. Thefe Animals cannot content them- felves with the ftudying of Mens A6lions, but they muft likewife dive into their Thoughts. By this Sketch, Sir, you may judge what a pleafant Life we lead here. The 30th of the laft March the Ice melted ; and the River being then open, I was fent with a fmall Detachment to Cbam- bli: for commonly the Sun refumes its Vigour here much about that time. Chambli ftands on the brink of a Bafin, about five or fix Leagues off this Place : That Bafin is two Leagues in Circumference, and receives the Lake of Cham- plain by a Water-fall that is a League and a half in length ; out of which there arifes a River that difembogues at Sorel into the River of St. Laurence^ as I intimated above in my fourth Letter. In former times this Place had a great Trade in Beaver-skins, which is now decay'd : for the Soccokis, the Mahingans, and the Openangos, us'd formerly to refort thither in {hoals, to exchange their Furs for other Goods ; but at prefent they are retir'd to the Englifli Colonies, to avoid the purfuit of the Iroquefe} The Champlain Lake, which lies above that Water-fall, is eighty Leagues in circumference. At the end of this Lake we met with another, call'd S. Sacrement, by which one may go very eafily to New-York^ there being but 1 These were tribes who had formerly occupied Acadia and Maine, and had migrated with the Abenaki to the St. Lawrence. The Sokoki (Soccoki) were Abenaki whose habitat was the Saco River, and whose enmity with the Mohawk was of long standing. One of this tribe, Squanto, led the attack on the English settlement at Saco, Sept. 18, 1675. The Openangoes were the Algonquian of New Brunswick, called by the English Quoddy Indians. The Mahican (Mohegan) was a numerous Algon- quian tribe, whose first habitat was the valley of the Hudson, later that of the Con- necticut. The French usually called them Loups (Wolves). — Ed. to North'\vcitnc2i, 91 a Land-carriage of two Leagues from thence to the River Du Fer, which falls into the Manathe} While I was at Cham- bli, I faw two Canows loaded with Beaver-skins pafs privately by that way ; and 'tv/as thought they were fent thither by Mr. de la Barre. This fmuggling way of Trade is exprefly pro- hibited : for they are oblig'd to carry thefe Skins before the Office of the Company, where they are rated at an Hundred and 60 per Cent, lefs than the Englifh buy 'em at in their Colo- nies.2 But the little Fort that ftands at the bottom [48] of the Water-fall, upon the brink of the Bafin of Chambli, being only fingle Pallifadoes, it cannot hinder People to pafs that way; efpecially confidering that the Profpedl, of fo great a profit, renders the Paffengers the more daring. The Inhab- itants of the adjacent Villages are very much expos'd to the Incurfions of the Iroqueje in time of War. Notwithftanding the weaknefs of the Fort, I continued in that place a Month and a half, and then I return'd hither, where Mr. de la Barre arriv'd fome days after; being accompany'd with Mr. Hemiaut, ^ The Indian name for Lake George was Andiatarocte, " where the lake is shut in." The Jesuit missionary Jogues named it (1646) Lac du St. Sacrement. In 1755 Sir William Johnson changed the name in honor of the English king. The River Du Fer is the north branch of the Hudson which falls into the " Manathe," i. e. the river of Manhattan. — Ed. 2 The Compagnie des Indes Occidentales was created May 24, 1664, and given the monopoly of the fur-trade of Canada. Upon the protestation of the colony's mer- chants, the company relinquished the monopoly in favor of the right to levy a duty of one-fourth of the beaver skins and one-tenth of the moose skins imported from Canada. The company was dissolved in 1674, ^^^ the king retained the duties in the same form, and farmed them out for 350,000 livres. The farmer formed a company, some- times spoken of as the " Company of Domain." This is the one to which Lahontan here refers. The price paid for beaver was regulated by edict. — Ed, 92 Some New Voyages Mr. Montortier, and Mr. du Rivau. Much about the fame day there arrlv'd 25 or 30 Canows, belonging to the Coureurs de BoiSy being homeward bound from the great Lakes, and laden with Beaver-skins. The Cargo of each Canow amounted to 40 Packs, each of which weighs 50 pound, and will fetch 50 Crowns at the Farmers Office. Thefe Canows were follow'd by 50 more of the Outaouas and Htirons, who come down every Year to the Colony, in order to make a better Market than they can do in their own Country of Miffilimakinac, which lies on the Banks of the Lake of Hurons^ at the Mouth of the Lake of the lUinefe} Their way of Trading is as follows. Upon their firft Arrival, they incamp at the diftance of five or fix hundred Paces from the Town. The next day is fpent in ranging their Canows, unloading their Goods, and pitching their Tents, which are made of Birch Bark. The next day after, they demand Audience of the Governour General; which is granted 'em that fame day in a publick place. Upon this Occafion, each Nation makes a Ring for it felf ; the Sav- ages fit upon the Ground with their Pipes in their Mouths, and the Governour Is feated in an arm'd Chair ; after which, there fl:arts up an Orator or Speaker from one of thefe Nations, who makes an Harangue, importing, ' That his * Brethren are come to vifit the Governour general, and to ' renew [49] with him their wonted Friendfhip : That their ' chief View is, to promote the Intereft of the French^ fome of ^ For the early history of Mackinac (Missilimaicinac) see Thwaites, " Story of Mackinac," in Hoiu George Rogers Clark Won the Northivest (Chicago, 1903). Illinois Lake (Lac d' liinois) was an early name for Lake Michigan. — Ed. to North- A.vi\tv\c2i, 93 ' whom being unacquainted with the way of Traffick, and ' being too weak for the tranfporting of Goods from the ' Lakes, would be unable to deal in Beaver-skins, if his Breth- ' ren did not come in perfon to deal with 'em in their own ' Colonies : That they know very well how acceptable their ' Arrival is to the Inhabitants of Monreal, 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 inconfiderable Value, they mean to give ' the French fufficient proof of their readinefs to furnifh 'em ' with what they defire fo earneftly : That by way of prepara- ' tion for another Years Cargo, they are come to take in ' Exchange, Fufees, Powder, and Ball, in order to hunt great ' numbers of Beavers, or to gall the Iroquefe, in cafe they offer •to difturb the French Settlements: And, in fine. That in con- ' formation of their Words, they throw a Purcelain CoHer ' with fome Beaver-skins to the Kitchi-Okima (fo they call the ' Governour-General) whofe Protedion they lay claim to in ' cafe of any Robbery or Abufe committed upon 'em in the ' Town.i The Spokefman having made an end of his Speech, returns to his Place, and takes up his Pipe ; and then the Interpreter explains the Subftance of the Harangue to the Governour, who commonly gives a very civil Anfwer, efpecially if the Prefent be valuable : in confideration of which, he likewife ^See Lahontan's explanation of this term in his Table, post. John Long, an English trader of a century later, gives nearly the same form for the Algonquian word. See Long, Voyages and Travels (Thwaites's ed., Cleveland, 1904), p. 242. — Ed. 94 Some New Voyages i makes them a Prefent of fome trifling things. This done, the Savages rife up, and return to their Hutts to make fuitable Preparations for the enfuing Truck. The next day the Savages make their Slaves carry the Skins to the Houfes of the Merchants, who bargain with 'em for fuch Cloaths as they want. All the Inhabitants of Monreal are allow'd to traffick with [50] 'em in any Com- modity but Wine and Brandy ; thefe two being excepted upon the account that when the Savages have got what they wanted, and have any Skins left, they drink to excefs, and then kill their Slaves ; for when they are in drink, they quarrel and fight; and if they were not held by thofe who are fober, wou'd certainly make Havock one of another.^ However, you muft obferve, that none of 'em will touch either Gold or Silver. 'Tis a comical fight, to fee 'em running from Shop to Shop, ftark naked, with their Bow and Arrow. The nicer fort of Women are wont to hold their Fans before their eyes, to prevent their being frighted with the view of their ugly Parts. But thefe merry Companions, who know the brisk She- Merchants as well as we, are not wanting in making an Offer, which is fometimes accepted of, when the Prefent is of . 1 The sale of liquor to the Indians had long agitated the colony. Champlain forbade the traffic (1633), except under strict control; but by 1660 it had attained such excesses that Bishop Laval pronounced excommunication against all colonists who sold brandy to savages, and the following year secured a royal edict punishing the crime with death. The excitement in the colony was so great that the edict was revoked, and in Frontenac's first governorship a compromise established, whereby the carrying of liquor into the woods was prohibited, but a moderate sale allowed in the colony. The question never ceased to be agitated by the missionaries, and the evasions of the ordinance by coureurs des bois were a standing grievance. — Ed. to North- Ax)L\^v\c2i, 95 good Mettle. If we may credit the common Report, there are more than one or two of the Ladies of this Country, whofe Conftancy and Vertue has held out againft the Attacks of feveral Officers, and at the fame time vouchfaf'd a free accefs to thefe nafty Lechers. 'Tis prefum'd their Com- pliance was the Effed of Curiofity, rather than of any nice Relifh; for, in a word, the Savages are neither brisk, nor conftant. But whatever is in the matter, the Women are the more excufable upon this Head, that fuch Opportunities are very unfrequent. As foon as the Savages have made an end of their Truck, they take leave of the Governour, and fo return home by the River of Outaouas} To conclude, they did a great deal of good both to the Poor and Rich ; for you will readily appre- hend, that every body turns Merchant upon fuch occafions. I am, SIR, Yours, &c. 1 The Ottawa River was at first called River of the Algonkins, and Riviere des Prairies. Its present name arose not from its being the habitat of the Ottawa tribe, but because it was the route by which the Ottawa came to Canada from the " upper country " {pays en haul) . — Ed. 96 Some New Voyages LETTER IX. Dated at Boucherville, Octob. 2. 1685. Being an Account of the Commerce^ and Trade of Monreal: Of the Arrival of the Marquis of Denonville with fome Troops ; and of the recalling of Mr. de la Barre. IFith a curious Defcription of certain Licenfes for Trading in Beaver-skins in the remote Countries. SIR, IRECEIV'D your fecond Letter three Weeks ago, but could not fend a fpeedier Anfvver, by reafon that none of our Ships have yet fet Sail for France. Since you want to know the nature of the Trade of Monreal, be pleas'd to take the following Account. Almoft all the Merchants of that City ad only on the behalf of the Quebec Merchants, whofe Fadors they are. The Barques which carry thither dry Commodities, as well as Wine and Brandy, are but few in number; but then they make feveral Voyages in one Year from the one City to the other. The Inhabitants of the Ifland of Monreal, and the adjacent Cantons, repair twice a Year to the City of Monreal, where they buy Commodities fifty per Cent, dearer than at Quebec. The Savages of the neighbouring Countries, whether fettled to 7V(?r^/6-America. 97 or erratick, carry thither the Skins of Beavers, Elks, Caribous, Foxes, and wild Cats ; all which, they truck for Fufees, Pow- der, Lead, and other Necefifaries. There every one is allow'd to trade ; and indeed 'tis the beft place for the getting of an Eftate in a fliort time. All the Merchants have fuch a perfedl good underftanding one with another, that they all fell at the fame price. [52] But when the Inhabitants of the Country find their Prices exorbitant, they raife their Commodities in proportion. The Gentlemen that have a Charge of Children, efpecially Daughters, are oblig'd to be good Husbands, in order to bear the Expence of the magnificent Cloaths with which they are fet off; for Pride, Vanity, and Luxury, reign as much in New France as in Old France. In my opinion, 'twould do well, if the King would order Commodities to be rated at a reafonable Price, and prohibit the felling of Gold or Silver Brocadoes, Fringes, and Ribbands, as well as Points and rich Laces. The Marquis of Denonville is come to fucceed Mr. de la Barre in the quality of Governour-General ; for the King has recall'd Mr. de la Barre^ upon the Accufations laid againft him by his Enemies. To be fure, you who are in France know better than I, that Mr. de Denonville was Maitre de Camp to the Queen's Regiment of Dragoons, which Place he fold to Mr. Murcey when the King beftow'd this Government upon him; and, that he brought with him fome Companies of Marines, befides his Lady and his Children: for it feems the danger and inconveniencies that attend fuch a long and 7 98 Some New Voyages troublefome Voyage, made no Impreilion upon her.^ This Governour ftay'd at firft fome Weeks at Quebec^ after which he came to Monreal, with 500 or 600 Men of Regular Troops, and fent back the Captains Hainaut^ Montortier, and du Rivo, with feveral other Officers. His Army is now in Winter Quarters all round Monreal. My Quarters are at a Place call'd Boucherville, which lies at the diftance of three Leagues from Monreal.^ I have been here fifteen Days, and in all appearance fhall live more happily than in the Town, abating for the Solitude ; for at leaft I fhall have no other oppofition to encounter in the cafe of Balls, Gaming, or Feafting, but the zealous Freaks of a filly Prieft. I am inform'd, that the Gov- ernour [53] has given Orders to compleat the Fortifications of Monreal,^ and is now ready to embarque for Quebec, where our Governours commonly pafs the Winter. The Savages I fpoke of in my laft, met the Iroqiiefe upon the great River of the Oiitaoiias, who inform'd 'em that the Englijh were making Preparations to tranfport to their Villages in Mijfilimakbiac, better and cheaper Commodities than thofe they had from the 1 Jacques Rene de Brisay, marquis de Denonville, had served in the French armies for thirty years. He was a zealous and pious officer, but unequal to the difficulties of the situation in Canada; recalled in 1689, he was given honorable preferment at court. Madame de Denonville was the last French woman of rank to honor Canada with her presence at the government house. — Ed. ^Boucherville was founded in 1667 by Pierre Boucher, formerly governor of Trois Rivieres, and the first Canadian ennobled by the king. The Boucher family was one of the most important in the colony. See Suite, " Pierre Boucher et son Livre " in Can. Roy. Soc. Proc, series ii, vol. ii, sec. i, pp. 99-168. — Ed. ^ Montreal until this time had scarcely any military protection. In 1685 six hun- dred men were employed, under a royal engineer, in erecting a palisade over twelve feet in height, with five gates and five posterns. — Ed. to N orth- A.mmc2i, 99 French. This piece of News did equally alarm the Gentlemen, the Pedlers call'd Coureurs de Bois, and the Merchants ; who, at that rate, would be confiderable Lofers : for you muft know, that Canada fubfifts only upon the Trade of Skins or Furrs, three fourths of which come from the People that live round the great Lakes : So that if the EngUfli fhould put fuch a Defign in execution, the whole Country would fuffer by it ; efpecially confidering, that 'twould fink certain Licenfes : an Account of which will be proper in this place. Thefe Licenfes are granted in Writing by the Governours General, to poor Gentlemen and old Officers who have a Charge of Children. They are difpos'd of by the King's Orders; and the Defign of 'em is, to enable fuch Perfons to fend Com- modities to thefe Lakes. The Number of the Perfons thus impower'd, ought not to exceed twenty five in one Year: but God knows how many more have private Licenfes. All other Perfons, of what Quality or Condition foever, are prohibited to go or fend to thefe Lakes, without fuch Licenfes, under the pain of Death. ^ Each Licenfe extends to the lading of two great Canows ; and whoever procures a whole or a half Licenfe for himfelf, may either make ufe of it himfelf, or fell it to the 1 The licenses (conges) for trade in the Western country were established in the latter years of Frontenac's first administration, partly, as Lahontan says, as a measure of charity or relief, partly as a means of restricting the coureurs des bois. The abuses were so great that in 1697 the king revoked all licenses and abolished the system. At the close of Queen Anne's War (1702-13) , the licenses were again issued, and utilized as a means for provisioning expeditions against the Foxes and the other recalcitrant Indians of the upper country. See H^is. Hist. Colls., xvi, xvii. This policy was maintained throughout the French regime. Henry describes it as still existing in 1765 ; see his Travels and Adventures (Bain's ed., Boston, 1901), pp. 183, 184. — Ed, loo Some New Voyages higheft Bidder. Commonly they are bought at fix hundred Crowns a-piece. Thofe who purchafe 'em are at no trouble in finding Pedlars or Foreft-Rangers to undertake the long Voyages, which fetch the mofl confiderable [54] Gains, and commonly extend to a Year, and fometimes more. The Mer- chants put into the two Canows ftipulated in the Licenfe, fix Men with a thoufand Crowns-worth of Goods, which are rated to the Pedlars at fifteen per Cent, more than what they are fold for in ready Money in the Colony. When the Voyage is per- form'd, this Sum of a thoufand Crowns commonly brings in feven hundred per Cent, clear profit, and fometimes more, fometimes lefs ; for thefe Sparks call'd Coureurs de Bois bite the Savages mofl dexteroufly, and the lading of two Canows, computed at a thoufand Crowns, is a Purchafe for as many Beaver-skins as will load four Canows: Now, four Canows will carry a hundred and fixty Packs of Skins, that is, forty a-piece ; and reckoning each Pack to be worth fifty Crowns, the value of the whole amounts to eight thoufand Crowns. As to the Repartition of this extravagant Profit, 'tis made after the following manner : In the firfl place, the Merchant takes out of the whole bulk fix hundred Crowns for the Purchafe of his Licenfe ; then a thoufand Crowns for the prime Coft of the exported Commodities. After this, there remains 6400 Crowns of Surplufage, out of which the Merchant takes forty per Cent, for Bottomree, which amounts to 2560 Crowns; and the Remainder is divided equally among the fix Coureurs de Bois, who get little more than 600 Crowns a-piece : and indeed I mufl fay 'tis fairly earn'd ; for their Fatigue is inconceivable. to TVor/^- America. loi In the mean time, you muft remark, that over and above the foregoing profit, the Merchant gets 25 per Cent, upon his Beaver-skins by carrying them to the Office of the Farmers General, where the Price of four forts of Beaver-skins is fix'd. If the Merchant fells thefe Skins to any private Man in the Country for ready Money, he is paid in the current Money of the Country, which is of lefs value than the Bills of Exchange that the Diredlor of [55] that Office draws upon Rocbel or Paris ; for there they are paid in French Livres, which are twenty Sols, whereas a Canada Livre is but fifteen Sols. This Advantage of 25 per Cent, is call'd le Benefice; but take notice, that 'tis only to be had upon Beaver-skins : for, if you pay to a Quebec Merchant 400 Canada Livres in Silver, and take from him a Bill of Exchange upon his Correfpondent in France, his Correfpondent will pay no more than 300 French Livres, which is a juft Equivalent. This is the laft Intelligence I fhall give you for this Year, v/hich has already brought in a very Qo\d Autumn, The Quebec Ships muft fet Sail in the middle of November, purfuant to the wonted Cuftom. I am, SIR, Tours, &c. 102 Some New Voyages LETTER X. Dated at Boucherville July 8. 1686. Relating the Arrival of Mr. de Champlgni, in the room of Mr. de Meules, who is recaWd to France ; the arrival of the Troops that came along with him, the curiofity of the Rackets, and the way of hunting Elks; with a Defcription of that Animal. SIR, THOUGH I have not heard from you this year, yet I will not flight this opportunity of writing to you. Some Ships from France are arriv'd at Quebec, and have brought over Mr. de Champigni Noroua, [^6] with fome Companies of Marines. He comes to fupply the place of Mr. de Meules, whom the King recalls upon the unjuft complaints that are made of him. He is charg'd with preferring his private Inter- eft to the publick Good ; but the charge is falfe, and he will eafily clear himfelf. I am apt to believe he may have carry'd on fome underhand Commerce^ but in fo doing he injur'd no body; nay, on the contrary he has procur'd Bread for a thoufand poor Creatures, that without his AfTiftance would have ftarv'd for Hunger. This new Intendant is defcended of one of the moft Illuftrious Families of the Robe in France. He is faid to be a Man of Honour, and Fame entitles his to North-Kmcvic^., 103 Lady to a diftlngulfhing Merit : I underftand, he and Mr. Denonville are bound fpeedlly for Monreal^ where they mean to take a review of the Inhabitants of this Ifland, and of the Neighbouring Cantons.^ Probably, they take fuch precau- tions in order to fome new effort agalnft the Iroquefe. Laft Winter we had no new Occurrences in the Colony. I fpent the whole Winter at the hunting of Orlgnals or Elks along with the Savages, whofe Language I am learning, as I have intimated to you feveral tlmes.^ The hunting of Elks is perform'd upon the Snow, with fuch Rackets as you fee defign'd in the annex'd Cutt. Thefe Rackets are two Foot and a half long, and fourteen Inches broad ; their ledges are made of a very hard Wood, about an Inch thick, that faftens the Net juft like a Tennis Racket, from which they differ only in this ; that thofe for the Tennis are made of Gut-ftrings, whereas the others are made of little thongs of the skins of Harts or Elks. In the Cut, you may perceive two little fpars of Wood, which run a-crofs to render the Net firmer and ftiffer. The hole that appears by the two Latchets, is the place in which they put the Toes and fore- ^ Jean Bochart de Champigny was one of the most able and faithful of Canadian intendants. He was sent (1686) to replace Jacques de Mueles, who had come out with La Barre (1682), but had proven his bitter enemy, and was also complained of by the new governor Denonville. Champigny lived in concord with the latter, with whose politics he coincided. The harmony with Frontenac was less sincere ; but in the last years of the latter, they became good friends. Champigny was recalled to France (1702) to take position as intendant at Havre. — Ed. 2 The " original " or elk of Canada is not to be confounded with the American elk or wapiti {Cervus Canadensis) , called La Biche by the French ; this is the moose of northern North America {Ceri'us alches) . See Caton, Antelope and Deer of North America (New York, 1877). — Ed. 104 Some New Voyages part of the Foot ; fo that 'tis tied faft by [57] the two Latch- ets, which run twice round about the Heel, and every ftep they make upon the Snow, the fore-part of the Foot finks into that hole, as often as they raife their Heel. By the help of this Contrivance they walk fafter upon the Snow, than one can do with Shoes upon a beaten path : And indeed 'tis fo neceffary for them, that 'twould be otherwife impofTible not only to hunt and range the Woods, but even to go to Church, notwithftanding they are fo near ; for commonly the Snow is three or four Foot deep in that Country during the Winter. Being oblig'd to march thirty or forty Leagues in the Woods in purfuit of the above-mention'd Animals, I found that the fatigue of the Journey equal'd the pleafure of it. The Orignal is a fort of Elk, not much different from that we find in Mufcovy. 'Tis as big as an Aiivergne Moyle, and much of the fame fhape, abating for its Muzzle, its Tail, and its great flat Horns, which weigh fometimes 300, and fometimes 400 weight, if we may credit thofe who pretend to have weigh'd 'em. This Animal ufually reforts to planted Coun- tries. Its Hair is long and brown; and the Skin is ftrong and hard, but not thick. The Flefli of the Orignal^ efpecially that of the Female fort, eats delicioufly; and 'tis faid, that the far hind Foot of the Female kind, is a Cure for the Falling- Sicknefs ; it neither runs nor skips, but its trot will almoft keep up with the running of a Hart. The Savages affure us, that in Summer 'twill trot three Days and three Nights with- out intermiffion. This fort of Animals commonly gather into a body towards the latter end of Autumn ; and the Herds are to iVor^y^- America. 105 largeft in the beginning of the Spring, at which time the fhe ones are in rutting ; but after their heat is over, they all dif- perfe themfelves. We hunted 'em in the following manner; Firft of all, we went 40 Leagues to the Northward of the River of St. Laurence^ [58] where we found a little Lake of three or four Leagues in Circumference, and upon the banks of that Lake, we made Hutts for our felves of the barks of Trees, having firft clear'd the Ground of the Snow that cover'd it. In our Journey thither, we kill'd as many Hares and Wood- hens, as we could eat. When we had fitted up our Hutts, the Savages went out upon the difcovery of the Elks, fome to the Northward, and fome to the South, to the diftance of two or three Leagues from the Hutts. As foon as they difcover'd any frefh foot-fteps, they detach'd one of their number to give us notice, to the end, that the whole Company might have the pleafure of feeing the chace. We trac'd thefe foot-fteps fome- times for one, and fometimes for two Leagues, and then fell in with five, ten, fifteen or twenty Elks in a body ; which pref- ently betook themfelves to flight, whether a part or in a Body, and funk into the Snow up to their Breaft. Where the Snow was hard and condenfated, or where the froft following wet Weather had glaz'd it above, we came up with 'em after the chace of a quarter of a League : But when the Snow was foft or juft fallen, we were forc'd to purfue 'em three or four Leagues before we could catch 'em, unlefs the Dogs happen'd to ftop 'em where the Snow was very deep. When we came up with them, the Savages fired upon 'em with Fufees. If the Elks be much inrag'd they'll fometimes turn upon the Sav- io6 Some New Voyages ages, who cover themfelves with Boughs in order to keep off their Feet, with which they would crufh 'em to pieces. As foon as they are kill'd, the Savages make new Hutts upon the fpot, with great Fires in the middle ; while the Slaves are imploy'd in fleaing 'em, and ftretching out the Skins in the open Air. One of the Soldiers that accompany'd me, told me one Day, that to withftand the violence of the Cold, one ought to have his Blood compos'd of Brandy, [59] his Body of Brafs, and his Eyes of Glafs: And I muft fay, he had fome ground for what he fpoke, for we were forc'd to keep a Fire all round us, all the Night long. As long as the Fiefh of thefe Animals lafts, the Savages feldom think of ftirring ; but when 'tis all confum'd, they then look out for a new Difcovery. Thus they continue to hunt, till the Snow and the Ice are melted. As foon as the great thaw commences, 'tis impoffible for 'em to travel far ; fo that they content themfelves with the killing of Hares and Partridges, which are very numerous in the Woods. When the Rivers are clear of the Ice, they make Canows of the Elk-skins, which they fow together very eafily, covering the Seams with a fat fort of Earth inftead of pitch. This work is over in four or five days time, after which they return home in the Canows with all their Baggage. This, Sir, was our Diverfion for three Months in the Woods. We took fifty fix Elks, and might have kill'd twice as many, if we had hunted for the benefit of the Skins, In the Summer feafon, the Savages have two ways of killing 'em, both of which are equally troublefom. One confifl:s in hanging a Rope-gin between two Trees, upon a Pafs furrounded with Thorns ; the to 7Vor^/6- America. 107 other is compafs'd by crauling like Snakes among the Trees and Thickets, and approaching to 'em upon the Leeward fide, fo that they may be fhot with a Fufee. Harts and Caribous are kill'd both in Summer and Winter, after the fame manner with the Elks; excepting that the Caribou's, which are a kind of wild Affes, make an eafie efcape when the Snow is hard, by vertue of their broad Feet; whereas the Elk finks as faft as he rifes.^ In fine, I am fo well pleas'd with the hunting of this Country, that I have refolv'd to imploy all my leifure time upon the Exercife. The Savages have promifed, that in three Months time [60] I fhall fee other forts of chafes, which will prove lefs fatiguing, and more agreeable. I am, SIR, Tours, &c. 1 Caribou is the American woodland reindeer, Rang'ifer caribou or tarandus. By the term ' ' hart, ' ' Lahontan intends the common deer, Cervus 'virginianus . — Ed. io8 Some New Voyages LETTER XL Dated at Boucherville May 28. 1687. Being a curious Defcription of the Hunting of divers Animals. SIR, YOU complain that the laft year you receiv'd but one of my Letters, dated July 8. and with the fame breath affure me, that you writ two to me, neither of which is come to hand. I receiv'd a Letter from you this Day, which is fo much the more acceptable, that I thought you had been dead, and that I find you continue to give proof of your remembrance of me. I find by your Letter, that you have an agreeable relifh for the curious Elk-Hunting in this Country, and that a further account of our other hunting Adventures, would meet with a welcome Reception. This Curiofity, indeed, is worthy of fo great a Hunts-Man as your felf ; but at prefent I muft beg your excufe as to the Beaver-hunting, for I know nothing of it yet but by hear-fay. In the beginning of September, I fet out in a Canow upon feveral Rivers, Marfhes, and Pools, that difembogue in the Champlain Lake, being accompany'd with thirty or forty of the Savages that are very expert in Shooting and Hunting, and perfedlly [61] well acquainted with the proper places for finding Water-foul, Deer, and other fallow Beafts. The firft to North- KmQnc2i, 109 Poft we took up was upon the fide of a Marfh or Fen of four or five Leagues in Circumference ; and after we had fitted up our Hutts, the Savages made Hutts upon the Water in feveral places. Thefe Water-Hutts are made of the branches and leaves of Trees, and contain three or four Men : For a Decoy they have the skins of Geefe, Buftards, and Ducks, dry'd and ftufi^'d with Hay, the two feet being made faft with two Nails to a fmall piece of a light plank, which floats round the Hutt. This place being frequented by wonderful numbers of Geefe, Ducks, Buftards, Teals, and an infinity of other Fowl unknown to the. Europeans ; when thefe Fowls fee the ftufi^'d Skins fwim- ming with the Heads eredled, as if they were alive, they repair to the fame place, and fo give the Savages an opportunity of fhooting 'em, either flying, or upon the Water ; after which the Savages get into their Canows and gather 'em up. They have likewife a way of catching 'em with Nets, ftretch'd upon the furface of the Water at the Entries of the Rivers. In a word, we eat nothing but Water-fowl for fifteen Days; after which we refolv'd to declare War againft the Turtle-Doves, which are fo numerous in Canada^ that the Bifhop has been forc'd to excommunicate 'em oftner than once, upon the account of the Damage they do to the Produd of the Earth. With that view, we imbarqued and made towards a Meadow, in the Neighbourhood of which, the Trees were cover'd with that fort of Fowl, more than with Leaves : For juft then 'twas the feafon in which they retire from the North Countries, and repair to the Southern Climates ; and one would have thought, that all the Turtle-Doves upon Earth had chofe to pafs thro' iio Some New Voyages this place. For the eighteen or twenty days that we ftay'd there, I firmly believe that a thoufand [62] Men might have fed upon 'em heartily, without putting themfelves to any trouble. You muft know, that through the middle of this Meadow there runs a Brook, upon which I and two young Savages fhot feveral Snipes, Rayles, and a certain fort of Fowl call'd Bateurs de faux, which is as big as a Quail, and eats very delicioufly.^ In the fame place we kill'd fome Musk-Rats, or a fort of Anim.als which refemble a Rat in their fhape, and are as big as a Rabbet. The Skins of thefe Rats are very much valued, as differing but little from thofe of Beavers. Their Tefticles fmell fo ftrong of Musk, that no Civet or Antilope that Jfia affords, can boaft of fuch a ftrong and fweet fmell. We spy'd 'em in the Mornings and Evenings, at which time they ufually appear upon the Water with their Nofe to the Windward, and betray themfelves to the Huntfmen, by the curling of the Water. The Fouteraux, which are an amphibious fort of little Pole-Cats, are catch'd after the fame manner. I was likewife entertain'd upon this occafion, with the kilHng of certain little Beafts, call'd Siffleurs, or Whiftlers, with allufion to their wonted way of whittling or whizzing at the Mouth of their Holes in fair Weather. They are as big as Hares, but fomewhat fhorter, their Flefh is good for nothing, but their Skins are recom- ^ Many early travellers speak of the number of wild pigeons {Ectopistes migra- toria). See Jesuit Relations, index. Batteurs de faux are the North American rail {Porzana Carolina) — in French, rale de la Caroline. This identification is made by M. Dionne, curator of Laval University, Quebec. — Ed. to North'AmQX\C2i, in mended by their rarity. The Savages gave me an opportunity of hearing one of thefe Creafures whittle for an hour together, after which they fhot it.^ To gratifie the curiofity I had to fee fuch diverfity of Animals, they made a diligent fearch for the Holes or Dens of the CarcaiouXy and having found fome at the diftance of two or three Leagues from the Fen upon which we were pofted, they conduced me to the place. At the break of day we planted our felves round the Holes, with our Bellies upon the Ground ; and left fome Slaves to hold the Dogs a Musket-fhot behind {f)^] ^^- ^^ ^oo*^ ^^ thefe Animals per- ceiv'd Day-light, they came out of their Holes, which were immediately ftop'd up by the Savages, and upon that the Dogs fetch'd 'em up with eafe. We faw but two of 'em, which made a vigorous defence againft the Dogs, but were ftrangled after a difpute of half an hour. Thefe Animals are not unlike a Badger, only they are bigger, and more mifchiev- ous.^ Tho' our Dogs shew'd a great deal of Courage in attack- ing the Carcaioux, they betray'd their Cowardice the next day in a rencounter with a Porcupine, which we fpy'd upon a little Tree. To obtain the pleafure of feeing the Porcupine fall, we cut down the Tree ; but neither the Dogs nor we durft go near it: The Dogs only bark'd and jump'd round it; for it darted its long and hard hair like fo many Bodkins, three or ^ Muskrats {Fiber zibethicus) are widely distributed over the North American continent. The " whistler " is the hoary marmot {Arctomys pruniosus) . M. Dionne thinks that " foutereaux " must be mink {Lutreola 'vison), which is amphibious, preys on fish, and is a foe to the muskrat. — Ed. 2 Carcajou is the usual Canadian term for the wolverine [Gulo luscus), also called at times the " beaver eater." — Ed. 112 Some New Voyages four paces off. At laft we pelted it to death, and put it upon the fire to burn off its Darts ; after which we fcalded it like a Pig, took out the Intrails, and roafted it : But tho' 'twas very fat, I could not relifh it fo well as to comply with the affertion of the Natives, who alledge, that it eats as well as a Capon or a Partridge. After the Turtle-Doves had all pafs'd over the place, in queft of their Southern retreats, the Savages offer'd to fend fome of their number with Canows to condudl me home, before the Rivers and Lakes were frozen over ; for themfelves were to tarry out for the Elk-hunting ; and they imagin'd that the Cold and Hardfhip attending that Exercife, had made me lick of it the year before. However, we had then a Month good before the commencement of the Froft, and in that interval of time, they proffer'd to entertain me with more diverting Game than any I had feen before. They propos'd to go fif- teen or fixteen Leagues further up the Country, affuring me, that they knew of a certain place that had the moft advan- tageous fituation [64] in the World, both for Pleafure and Profit, and that afforded great plenty of Otters, of the Skins of which they mean'd to make a great Cargoe. Accordingly we pull'd down our Hutts, and having imbarqu'd in our Canows, fail'd up the River, till we came to a little Lake of two Leagues in Circumference, at the end of which we faw another greater Lake, divided from this by an Ifthmus of 150 Paces in length. We pitch'd our Hutts at the diftance of a League from that Iflhmus; and fome of the Savages fifli'd for Trouts, while the reft were imploy'd in laying Traps for the to iVor^/?>- America. 113 Otters upon the brinks of the Lake. Thefe Traps are made of five Stakes plac'd in the form of an oblong Quadrangle, fo as to make a little Chamber, the Door of which is kept up, and fupported by a Stake. To the middle of this Stake they tye a ftring which paffes thro' a little fork, and has a Trout well faften'd to the end of it. Now, when the Otter comes on fhoar, and fees this bait, he puts above half his Body into that fatal Cage, in order to fwallow the Fifh ; but he no fooner touches, than the firing to which 'tis made faft pulls away the Stake that fupports the Door, upon which an heavy and loaded Door falls upon his Reins and quafhes him. During our Pilgrimage in that part of the Country, the Sav- ages took above two hundred and fifty Canada Otters ; the Skins of which are infinitely prittier than thofe of Mitfcovy or Swede}!. The beft of 'em which are not worth two Crowns in this place, are fold in France for four or five, and fometimes for ten, if they are black and very rough. As foon as the Savages had fet their Traps, they gave orders to their Slaves to go round the Lake every Morning, in order to take out the amphibious Animals. After that they conduded me to the above-mention'd Ifthmus, where I was furpriz'd to fee a fort of a Park or Fence made of Trees, fell'd one upon another, [65] and interlac'd with Thorns and Branches; with a quad- rangular inclofure of Stakes at the end of it, the entry of which was very narrow. They gave me to know, that they ufed to hunt Harts in that place, and promis'd to divert me with the fhew, as foon as the Inclofures were a little mended. In eflFe6l, they carry'd me two or three Leagues oflF, upon 114 Sotne New Voyages fuch Roads as had nothing on either fide but Fens and Marfhes ; and after they had difpers'd themfelves, fome on one hand and fome on the other, with a Dog for every Man ; I faw a great many Harts running to and again, in queft of places of Safety. The Savage that I kept company with, affur'd m.e, that he and I had no occafion to walk very faft, becaufe he had took the ftraighteft and the neareft Road. Before us we faw above ten Harts, which were forc'd to turn back, rather than throw themfelves into the Marfh, of which they could never get clear. At laft, after walking a great pace, and running now and then, we arriv'd at the Park, and found the Savages lying flat upon the Ground all round it, in order to fhut up the entry of the ftake Inclofure as foon as the Harts enter'd. We found thirty five Harts in the place, and, if the Park had been better fenc'd, we might have had above fixty; for the nimblefl: and lighteft: of 'em, skip'd over before they came to enter the Inclofure. We kill'd a great many of 'em, but fpar'd the Dams, becaufe they were great with young. I ask'd of the Savages the Tongues and the Marrow of the Harts, which they gave me very readily. The Flefii was very fat, but not deUcious, excepting fome few bits about the Ribs. But after all, this was not our only Game ; for two days after we went a Bear-hunting, and the Savages who fpend three parts of four of their life in Hunting in the Woods, are very dexterous at that Exercife, efpecially in fing- ling out the Trunks of the Trees upon [66] which the Bears Neftle. I could not but admire their knowledge in that Point, when, as we were walking up and down in a Foreft, at the to 7Vor^/6- America. 115 diftance of an hundred Paces one from another, I heard one Savage call to another, Here's a Bear. I askt 'em how he knew that there was a Bear upon the Tree which he knock'd with his Axe ; and they all reply'd, that 'twas as eafily diftin- guifh'd as the print of an Elks foot in the Snow. For five or fix times they never mifs'd ; for after they had knock'd two or three times upon the Trunk of the Tree, the Bear came out of its hole, and was prefently fhot. The Canada Bears are extream black, but not mifchievous, for they never attack one, unlefs they be wounded or fir'd upon. They are fo fat, efpecially in the Autumn, that they can fcarce walk : Thofe which we kill'd were extream fat, but their fat Is good for nothing but to be burnt, whereas their Flefh, and, above all, their Feet are very nice Viduals. The Savages affirm, that no Flefh is fo delicious as that of Bears; and indeed, I think they are in the right of it. While we rang'd up and down in queft of Bears, we had the pleafure of fpying fome Martins and wild Cats upon the branches of the Trees, which the Savages fhot in the Head to preferve their Skin. But the mofl; Com- ical thing I faw, was the Stupidity of the Wood-hens, which fit upon the Trees in whole Flocks, and are kill'd one after another, without ever offering to ftir. Commonly the Savages fhoot at 'em with Arrows, for they fay they are not worth a fhoot of Powder, which is able to kill an Elk or an Hart. I have ply'd this fort of Fowling in the Neighbourhood of our Cantons or Habitations in the Winter time, with the help of a Dog who found out the Trees by fcent, and then bark'd ; upon which I approach'd to the Tree, and found the Fowls ii6 Some New Voyages upon the Branches. When the thaw came, I went two or three Leagues further [67] up the Lake, in Company with fome Canadefe, on purpofe to fee that Fowl flap with its Wings. Believe me. Sir, this fight is one of the greateft Curiofities in the World ; for their flapping makes a noife much like that of a Drum all about, for the fpace of a Minute or thereabouts ; then the noife ceafes for half a quarter of an Hour, after which it begins again. By this noife we were diredled to the place where the unfortunate Moor-hens fat, and found 'em upon rotten moffy Trees. By flapping one Wing againft the other, they mean to call their Mates ; and the humming noife that infues thereupon, may be heard half a quarter of a League oflF. This they do only in the Months of Aprils May, Septem- ber, and October ; and, which is very remarkable, a Moorhen never flaps in this manner, but upon one Tree. It begins at the break of day, and gives over at nine a Clock in the Morn- ing, till about an hour before Sunfet that it flutters again, and continues fo to do till Night : I proteft to you, that I have frequently contented my felf with feeing and admiring the flapping of their Wings without ofi^ering to fhoot at 'em. Befides the pleafure of fo many difi^erent forts of Diverfion, I was likewife entertain'd in the Woods with the company of the honeft old Gentlemen that liv'd in former Ages. Honeft: Homer, the amiable Anacreon, and my dear Lucian, were my infeparable Companions. Arijlotle too defir'd paflionately to go along with us, but my Canow was too little to hold his bulky Equipage of Peripatetick Silogifms : So that he was e'en fain to trudge back to the Jefuits, who vouchfaf'd him a to North- Avntnc2i. 117 very honourable Reception. I had a great deal of reafon to rid my felf of that great Philofopher's Company ; for his ridiculous Jargon, and his fenfelefs Terms, would have frighted the Savages out of their wits. Farewell, Sir, I am now arriv'd at once at the end of [68] my Game and my Letter. I have heard no News from Quebec^ where they continue to make mighty Preparations for fome confiderable Enterprife. Time will difcover a great many things, an Account of which I mean to tranfmit to you by the Ships that are to leave this Harbour in the end oi Autumn. I conclude with my ufual Compliment, Tours ^ &c. ii8 Some New Voyages LETTER XII. Dated at St. Helens^ over againft Monreal^^ June 8. 1687. The Chevalier de Vaudreuil arrives in Canada with fome Troops. Both the Regular Troops and the Militia, are pofted at St. Helens, in a readinefs to march againft the Iroquefe SIR, I HAVE fuch a budget-full of News, that I know not where to begin. I receiv'd Letters but now from Mr. Senelay's Office ; by which I have Advice, that Orders are fent to Mr. Denonville to allow me to go for France, upon my private Concerns.^ No longer fince than Yefterday, he told me I fhould have Leave to go after the Campaign is over. My Relations write, that the procuring of this Leave coft 'em a great deal of pains ; and that the fooner I come to Paris^ 'twill be the better for me. The Governour arriv'd at Monreal three or four days ago, ^ St. Helen Island, in the St. Lawrence opposite Montreal, was named by Cham- plain in honor of his wife. It was the seigniory of Jacques Le Moyne, sieur de Ste. Helene, second son of Longueuil, who distinguished himself in the opening of Fron- tenac's War, and fell at the siege of Quebec (1690). The island, where the troops rendezvoused for Denonville's expedition, is now a public park. — Ed. 2 Jean Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Selgnelay, eldest son of the great Colbert, succeeded his father (1683) as minister of the marine, which office he administered until his death in 1690. The colonies were controlled by this department of the French administration. — Ed. to North- A.vi\mc2i, 119 with all the Militia of the Country, who lie now incamp'd along with our Troops in that Ifland. Mr. D'Amblemont has been at Quebec this Month, with five or fix fecond Rate Ships, having [69] fail'd from Rochel thither in 28 days. He brought over with him ten or twelve Companies of Marines, who are to guard the Colony while we invade the Iroquefe Country.^ 'Tis faid, that laft Year Mr. Denonville fent feveral Canadefe, that were known and efteem'd by the Savages, our Allies, who live upon the Banks of the Lakes and the adjacent Countries, with Orders to engage 'em to favour our Defign of extirpat- ing the Iroquefe. In the Winter he made Magazines of Ammu- nition and Provifions, and now he has fent feveral Canows, laden with Provifions, to Fort Frontenac, and given Orders for the building of an infinite number of fuch Boats as I defcrib'd in my fourth Letter, for the Tranfporting of our twenty Com- panies of Marines. The Militia who are incamp'd in this Ifland along with our Troops, make fifteen hundred Men, and are join'd by five hundred of the converted Savages that live in the Neighbourhood of Quebec and the Ifland of Monreal. The Chevalier Faudreuil, who is come from France to Com- mand our Troops, is refolv'd to appear in the Field, notwith- flanding the Fatigue of his Paffage to Canada^: and the 1 D'Amblemont commanded the royal ships sent out with reinforcements. There were now about sixteen hundred regular troops in the colony. — Ed. 2 Philippe de Rigaud, Chevalier de Vaudreuil, came to Canada in 1687 as com- mander of the king's regiment. Three years later he married a Canadian, and per- manently threw in his fortunes with the colony. His services were of sufficient value to secure him a marquisate (1702), when he was appointed governor to succeed Cal- lieres. an office held until his death in 1726. His son was the last French governor of Canada. — Ed. 120 Some New Voyages Governour of Monreal is of the fame mind. Mr. de Champigni, the Intendant of this Country, went from hence to Fort Fron- tenac two days ago. The day after to morrow, Mr. de Denon- ville means to march at the Head of his little Army, being accompany'd with an ancient Iroquefe, that is very much refpedled by the five Cantons. The Hiftory and various Adventures of this old Gentleman, are too tedious to bear a Relation in this place. Every body is apprehenfive that this Expedition will prove as fucceflefs as that of Mr. de la Barre: And if their Apprehenfions are not difappointed, the King lays out his Money to no purpofe. For my own part, when I refledl upon the Attempt we made three Years ago, I can't but think it impoffible for us to fucceed. Time will difcover the Confequences of [70] this Expedition ; and perhaps we may come to repent, tho' too late, of our complying with the Advice of fome Difturbers of the Publick Peace, who projedt to enlarge their private Fortunes in a general Commotion. I lay this down for an uncontefled Truth, that we are not able to deftroy the Iroquefe by our felves : befides, what occafion have we to trouble 'em, fince they give us no Provocation? However, let the Event be what it will, I fhall not fail upon my Return to tranfmit you a Journal of our A6lions, unlefs it be, that I embarque for Rochel, and deliver it my felf : In the mean time, believe me to be, SIR, Tours, &c. to TVo/tZ?- America. 121 LETTER XIII. Dated at Niagara, Aug. 2. 1687. Reprefent'tng the unfavourable Iffue of the Campaign made in the Iroquefe Country ; the Difcovery of an Ambufcade ; and the iffuing of Orders for the Author to march with a Detachment to the great Lakes. SIR, IT has been a Maxim in all Ages, That the Events of things are not always anfwerable to Mens Expedlations : When Men form to themfelves a promifing profpedl of comparing their Ends, they frequently meet with the mortification of feeing themfelves difappointed. This I fpeak by way of application to my felf ; for inftead of going for France, pur- fuant to the Contents of the Letter I writ to you [71] two Months ago, I am now oblig'd to ftraggle to one End of the World, as you'll find by the following Journal of our Expe- dition. We broke up from 5/. Helens much about the time I fpoke of in my laft. Mr. de Champigni went before us with a ftrong Guard, and arriv'd in a Canow at Fort Frontenac, eight or ten days before we came up. As foon as he arriv'd, he fent two or three hundred Canadefe to furprife the Villages of Kente and Ganeouffe, which lie at the diftance of feven or eight Leagues 122 Some New Voyages from the Fort, and are inhabited by a fort of Iroquefe, that deferv'd no other Ufage than what they met with. Our Cana- defe had no great difficulty in maftering them ; for they fur- pris'd 'em when they leaft thought of any Alarm, and brought 'em Prifoners to Fort Frontenac, where they were tied to Pofts with Cords round their Necks, Hands, and Feet. We arriv'd at the Fort on the firft of July, after the encountering of fev- eral Difficulties among the Water-falls, Cataradls, and Currents, that I formerly defcrib'd to you in my Account of Mr. de la Barrels Expedition. We were more perplex'd in this Voyage than the former ; for our Boats were fo heavy, that we could not tranfport 'em over Land as v/e did the Canows, but were oblig'd to drag 'em up through the impracticable Paffes with the force of Men and Ropes. Immediately upon our De- barquing, I went ftraight to the Fort, where I faw the miferable Prifoners in the abovemention'd Pofture. The fight of this piece of Tyranny fiU'd me at once with Compaffion and Hor- ror ; but in the mean time the poor Wretches fung Night and Day, that being the cuftomary Pradice of the People of Canada when they fall into the hands of their Enemies. They complain'd, 'That they were betray'd without any ground; ' that in compenfation for the care they had took ever fince ' the Peace to furnifh the Garrifon with Fifli and Venifon, they 'were bound and [72] tied to Pofl:s, and whip'd in fuch a ' manner, that they could neither deep, nor guard off the Flies; ' that the only Requital they met with for procuring to the ' French a Commerce in the Skins of Beavers and other Ani- ' mals, was, to be doom'd to Slavery, and to fee their Fathers, to TVor^Z'- America. 123 ' and the ancient Men of their Country, murder'd before their ' eyes. Are thefe the French^ faid they, that the Jefiiits cry'd * up fo much for Men of Probity and Honour? Even the ' cruelleft fort of Death that Imagination it felf can reach, ' would be nothing to us in comparifon with the odious and ' horrible Spedacle of the Blood of our Anceftors, that is fhed ' fo inhumanely before our eyes. Affuredly, the five Villages ' will revenge our Quarrel, and entertain an everlafting and ' juft Refentment of the tyrannical Ufage we now meet with.' I made up to one of thefe Wretches that was about five and twenty Years old, and had frequently regal'd me in his Hutt, not far from the Fort, during my fix Weeks Service in that Place in the Year of Mr. de la Barrels Expedition. This poor Man being Mafl:er of the Algonkin Language, I gave him to know, that I was heartily griev'd to fee him in that difmal Pofture ; that I would take care to have Victuals and Drink convey'd to him twice a day, and would give him Letters for my Friends at Monreal, in order to his being us'd more favour- ably than his Companions. He reply'd, That he faw and was very well acquainted with the Horror that moft of the French were affeded with, upon the view of the Cruelty they under- went ; and, that he fcorn'd to be fed, or us'd more civily than his Fellow Prifoners. He gave me an account of the manner in which they were furpris'd, and how their Anceftors were maf- facred ; and truly, I do not believe that any one can be touch'd with more cutting and bitter Reflexions than this poor Man was, when he recounted the many Services he had done the French, during [73] the whole courfe of his Life : At lafl:, after 124 Some New Voyages many Sighs and Groans, he bow'd down his Head, and wrap'd himfelf up in Silence. Qiiaque poteft narrate reftabant ultima flevit. But this was not the only thing that affedled me, when I beheld the mifery of thefe innocent Creatures : I faw fome young Savages of our fide burn their Fingers with Fire in their lighted Pipes ; which provok'd me to threfh 'em foundly : but I was feverely reprimanded for my pains, and confin'd to my Tent for five or fix days, where I only repented that I had not dealt my blows in a double meafure. Thefe Savages refented the matter fo highly, that they ran prefently to their Hutts, and flew to their Fufees, in order to kill me. Nay, all that could be done was fcarce fufficient to appeafe 'em ; for the Difpute came to that heighth, that they would have left us, if ,, ^ , _ it had not been that our Men affur'd 'em I I Among the ravages, drunken Perfons are ^ ^^^ H drunk, that all the French were pro- always excused: for, hibited to give me either Wine or Brandy, the Bottle attones for j^^d that I fhould certainly be imprifon'd as all Crimes. r ^l r^ • tt ioon as the Campaign were over. How- ever, the poor Wretches, the Prifoners, were carried to Quebec; from whence they are to be fent to the French Galleys.^ Much about that time, the Sieur de la Forejl, one of the Mr. de la Salle's Officers, arriv'd at the Fort in a great Canow, being conduded ^ For the treacherous action of Denonville in seizing these friendly Iroquois, reprisals were made on the colony. See Parkman, Frontenac, pp. 167-183. Thirty- six were shipped to France as the first installment for the royal galleys. See Jes. Rel., Ixiii, p. 281. The remnant that survived were reprieved and sent back under Fron- tenac's care (1689). See list in Colleciio?i de Manuscrits relatifs a la Nowvelle France (Quebec, 1883), i, p. 454. The French edition of Lahontan gives a more extended and vivid narration of his own peril upon this occasion. — Ed. 7rv /• ■■^7 to North' A.mmc2i, 125 thither by eight or ten Coureurs de Bots} He gave Mr. de Denonville to underftand, that a Party of the lUinefe and the Onmamis waited for the Hiirons and the Outaouas at the Lake of St. Claire^ in order to joyn 'em, and to march with joint Forces to the River of the Tfonontouans^ that being the place of their general Rendezvous.^ He added, that in the Lake of the Hurons near Mijfilimakinac^ Mr. de la Durantais,^ afTifted by the Savages, our Allies, had taken an Englifli Company con- dueled by fome Iroquefe, who had fifty [74] thoufand Crowns- worth of Goods in their Canows, to be difpos'd of in exchange 1 Franfois Dauphine, sieur de la Forest, was one of La Salle's trusted lieuten- ants. Born in 1648, he arrived in the colony with his chief (1675), who left him (1678) in charge of Fort Frontenac. Thence he was summoned (1680-81) to accom- pany La Salle and carry succor to Illinois. In 1683, his fort was treacherously seized by La Barre, La Forest being offered the command if he would forsake La Salle's interests. He preferred to seek redress in France, where an order was issued restoring all to him, in trust for his absent chief. In 1685, he was relieved of Fort Frontenac, and joined Tonty in Illinois, whence he issued to aid this expedition. In 1690 La Forest and Tonty received a grant of Fort St. Louis, in Illinois; this being revoked in 1702. La Forest then became La Mothe's lieutenant at Detroit, and in 1710 was appointed commandant of this post, which position he held until 1714, dying at Boucherville five years later. — Ed 2 As the sequel shows, the rendezvous was at Irondequoit Bay, Monroe County, N. Y. The "River of the Tsonontouans " was Irondequoit Creek, a highway toward the towns of that nation. — Ed. 3 Olivier Morel dc la Durantaye, born at Nantes in 1641, came to Canada with the regiment de Carignan. A brief contemporary biography {Can. Arch., 1899, Supp., p. 26) is as follows: "In 1662, ensign; in 1665, captain; in 1663, com- mandant over the Ottau-a country by order of the Court; in 1689, captain on half- pay in Canada ; in 1694, captain enpied in that country, where he has settled. A good officer. An honest man ; ready for any service ; entitled to a company." After retiring from his command at Mackinac (1683-89), he aided in Frontenac's War, and was esteemed the first soldier in the colony. He died in 1717, leaving descend- ants who still live in Canada. — Ed. 126 Some New Voyages with the Nations that dwell upon thefe Lakes: as alfo, That Mr. Dulhut had taken another Eugli/h Convoy, being affifted by the Coureurs de Bois, and the Savages, who had fhar'd the former Capture ; and that he had kept the EngUjJi and Iroquefe as Prifoners, as well as their Commander, who was call'd Major Gregory.^ In fine, he reprefented to Mr. de Denonville, that 'twas high time for him to fet out from Fort Frontenac, if he mean'd to appear at the general Rendezvous, where the Aux- iliary Troops fent from the Lakes would arrive very fpeedily. The next day, being the 3d of July, the Sieur de la Foreft em- barqued again for Niagara, and fteer'd to the North-fide of the Lake. At the fame time we embarqued, and ftood to the oppofite fide of the Lake, being favour'd by the Calms which in that Month are very common. By good luck, our whole Body arriv'd almoft at one and the fame time in the River of the Tfonontouans ; and upon that occafion, the Savages, our Allies, who draw Predi<5lions from the moft trifling Accidents, (hew'd their wonted Superftition in taking this for an infallible Prefage of the utter Deftrudlion of the Iroquefe : tho' after all they prov'd falfe Prophets, as you will find by the fequel of this Letter. The fame Night that we Landed, we hawl'd our Canows and Boats out of the Water, and fet a fl:rong Guard upon 'em. This done, we 1 For an account of the capture of the English and Dutch traders commissioned by Dongan, see Parkman, Frontenac, pp. 145-147; A^. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, pp. 318-322, 363. Colonel Patrick MacGregory emigrated with a colony from Scot- land to Maryland, in 1684; later, he removed to New York and engaged in the Indian trade. He was released from imprisonment and sent back to New York in the autumn of^687, and next year was employed against the Indians in Maine. He was killed during the Leisier rebellion in New York, 1691 . — Ed. to North' h.vi\tx\Q.2i, 127 built a Fort of Stakes or Pales, where we left the Sieur Dor- villers with four hundred Men to guard our Shipping and Baggage.^ The next day, a young Canadefe, call'd Fontaine Marion was unjuftly fhot to death. His cafe flood thus : Hav- ing travell'd frequently all over this Continent, he was perfedly well acquainted with the Country, and with the Savages of Canada; and after the doing of feveral good Services to the King, defir'd Leave from the Governour general to continue [75] his Travels, in order to carry on fome little Trade: but his Requeft was never granted. Upon that he refolv'd to remove to New England^ the two Crowns being then in Peace. The Planters of New England gave him a very welcome Reception ; for he was an adlive Fellow, and one that under- ftood almoft all the Languages of the Savages. Upon this Confideration he was employ'd to conduct the two Englifh Convoys I fpoke of but now, and had the Misfortune to be taken along with them. Now, to my mind, the Ufage he met with from us was extream hard ; for, we are in Peace with England: and befides, that Crown lays Claim to the Property of the Lakes of Canada. The next Day we began our March towards the great Village of the Tfonontouans, without any other Provifions than ten Biskets a Man, which every one carry'd for himfelf.^ 1 Franfois Chore!, sieur de St. Romain dit d' Orvilliers, was born near Lyons in 1639, came to Canada about 1660, and was prominent in military affairs in the colony until his death in 1709. Denonvilie placed him in charge of Fort Frontenac (1685- 87), and he commanded in person one division of his expedition. — Ed. ^ The great village of the Seneca was situated in Ontario County, just south of the present town of Victor. See map in Cayuga County Historical Society Collections, iii, znAJes. Rel., li, p. 293. — Ed. 128 Some New Voyages We had but feven Leagues to march in a great Wood of tall Trees, upon a fmooth even Ground. The Coureurs de Bois, with a Party of the Savages, led the Van, and the reft of the Savages brought up the Rear, our Regular Troops and our Militia being pofted in the middle. The firft Day the Army march'd four Leagues, and the advanc'd Guards made no Difcovery. The fecond Day our advanc'd Parties march'd up to the very Fields of the Village without perceiving any thing, tho' they paft within a Piftol-fhot of five hundred Tfonontou- anSy who lay flat upon the Ground, and fufifer'd 'em to pafs and repafs without moleftation. Upon their Intelligence we march'd up with equal Precipitation and Confufion, being bouy'd up with the Apprehenfion that the Iroqiiefe had fled, and that at leaft their Women, Children, and fuperannuated Perfons would fall into our hands. When we arriv'd at the bottom of the Hill upon which the Ambufcade was plac'd, at the diftance of a quarter of a League from the Village, they began to raife their wonted Cry, which [76] was follow'd by the firing of fome Muskets. Had you but feen. Sir, what Diforder our Troops and Militia were In amidft the thick Trees, you would have joyn'd with me, in thinking that fev- eral thoufands of Europeans are no more than a fufiicient number to make head againft five hundred Barbarians. Our Battalions were divided into ftraggling Parties, who fell in to the right and left, without knowing where they went. Inftead of firing upon the Iroquefe^ we fir'd upon one another. 'Twas to no purpofe to call in the Soldiers of fuch and fuch a Battal- ion, for we could not fee thirty Paces ofi^ : In fine, we were fo to Nortb-Kvamc^, 129 diforder'd, that the Enemy were going to clofe in upon us with their Clubs in their hands ; when the Savages of our fide having rally'd, repuls'd the Enemy, and purfu'd 'em to their Villages with fo much fury, that they brought off the Heads of eighty, and wounded a great many. In this Adion we loft ten Savages, and a hundred French : We had twenty or two and twenty wounded, in which number was the good Father Angeleran the Jefuit,^ who receiv'd a Musket-fhot in thofe Parts which Origen chofe to lop off, in order to qualify himfelf for inftruding the Fair Sex without the difturbance of Paffion, or the danger of Scandal. When the Savages brought in the Heads of their Enemies to Mr. de Denonville, they ask'd him why he halted, and did not march up? He made Anfwer, That he could not leave his wounded Men behind, and that he thought it proper to encamp, that the Surgeons might have time to drefs their Wounds. To obviate this Pretence, the Savages offer'd to make Litters for the tranfporting of 'em to the Village that lay but a little way off. But our General did not approve of their Advice ; upon which, not- withftanding his Remonftrances, they drew up into a Body, and tho' they confifted of ten different Nations, agreed in a joynt Refolution of purfuing their Enemy, in hopes of taking, at [77] leaft their Women, their Old-men, and their Children. ^ Father Jean Enjalran (born in 1639) came to Canada in 1676, and the follow- ing year was sent to the Ottawa mission at Mackinac, where he remained until 1688, acting as superior of Ottawa missions for the last seven years. He had been instru- mental in persuading the savages to join this expedition. The next year (1688) he went to France, but was again in Canada until 1701, when he returned to his native land for the last time, and died there in 1718. — Ed. 9 I30 Some New Voyages Our General being acquainted with their Refolution, gave 'em to know, that he earneftly defir'd they would reft for one day, and not depart from his Camp, and that the next day he would burn their Villages, and ftarve 'em to Death by fpoiling their Crops. But they took this Compliment fo ill, that moft of 'em return'd to their own Country ; remonftrating, * That ' the French came out to fetch a Walk, rather than to wage ' War, fmce they v/ould not take the Advantage of the beft 'Opportunity in the World : That their Ardour, like a flafh ' of Fire, v/as ext'inguifh'd as foon as kindled : That 'twas a 'fruitlefs Adventure, to draw together fo many Warriours, ' from all Parts, to burn fome Hutts of Bark, that the Enemy ' could rebuild in four days : That the TJonontouans did not ' matter the fpoiling of their Corn, for that the other Iroqueje ' Nations were able to fupply 'em : And in fine, That fmce ' they had joyn'd the French twice together to no purpofe, ' they would never truft 'em for the future, in fpite of all the Remonftrances they could make.' Some are of the opinion, that Mr. de Denonville ought to have gone farther ; and others affirm, that 'twas impoffible for him to do more than he did. For my part, I ftiall not venture upon any Decifion of the matter ; thofe who fit at the Helm are moft liable to be perplex'd. To purfue the bare matter of Fa6t; we march'd next day to the great Village, and carry'd our wounded Men upon Litters : but we found nothing there but Afhes ; for the Iroquefe had burnt the Village themfelves, by way of Precaution. Then we fpent five or fix days in cutting down the Indian Corn with our Swords. From thence we march'd to the two little Villages to 7Vor^Z>- America. 131 of the Thegaronhies and the Danortcaritaoui, which lay about two or three Leagues off.^ Having done the hke Exploits there, we return'd to the Lake fide. In all thefe Villages we [78] found plenty of Horfes, black Cattel, Fowl, and Hogs. All the Country round aflForded us a very charming, pleafant, and even Profpedl. The Forefts thro which we march'd were replenifh'd with Oak, Wall-nut, and wild Chef nut-Trees. Two days after we imbarqu'd for A^i^^^r^ , which lay thirty Leagues off, and arriv'd there in four days. As foon as the Troops had debarqu'd, we imploy'd 'em in making a Fort of Pales with four Baftions, which was finifh'd in three days.^ Here we mean to leave 120 Soldiers under the command of Mr. des Bergeres, with Ammunition and Provifions for eight Months.'' The Fort flands on the South fide of the Streight of Henie Lake, upon a Hill ; at the foot of which, that Lake falls into the Lake of Frontenac. Yefterday the Savages our ^ These villages were in the vicinity of Honeoye Falls, Monroe County, N. Y. See Hawley, "Jesuit Missions among the Senecas," in Cayuga Co. Hist. Soc. Col- lections, iii, pp. 25, 26. — Ed. 2 It had long been a favorite plan of the leaders of New France to place a fort at Niagara, and thus intercept the fur-trade which passed through the Great Lakes to the Iroquois and English. La Salle built a block house on this site in 1679, which was destroyed by the Senecas; see Hennepin, Nenu Disco'very. Dongan (1686) complained that Denonville was planning to build " a fort at Ohinagero on this side the lake, within my Master's territories without question." N. Y. Colon. Docs., iii, p. 455. Denonville ordered the demolition of this fort, Sept. 15, r688. A permanent French fort was begun on this site in 1726, being captured by the English (1759), and later surrendered to the Americans (1796). See Severance, Old Trails on the Niagara Frontier (Buffalo, 1899). — Ed. ' Chevalier de Troyes was left first in command at this fort, where he died in the following year. See A'^. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, pp. 335, 368, 396. Raymond Blaise des Bergeres, sieur de Rigauville, was captain of a company stationed at Niagara; later he was major at Three Rivers. His son commanded at Niagara (1732-36),— Ed, 132 Some New Voyages Allies took leave of Mr. de Denonville^ and made a Speech after their ufual manner ; in which, among other things, they infinu- ated, That they were pleas'd to fee a Fort fo conveniently plac'd, which might favour their retreat upon any Expedition againfl the Iroquefe ; That they depended upon his promife, of continuing the War till the five Nations fhould be either deftroy'd or difpoffefs'd of their Country; That they earneftly defir'd that part of the Army fhould take the Field out of hand, and continue in it both Winter and Summer, for that they would certainly do the fame on their part ; and in fine, That for as much as their Alliance with France was chiefly grounded upon the promifes the French made of liftening to no Pro- pofals of Peace, till the five Nations fhould be quite extirpated; they therefore hop'd they would be as good as their Word ; efpecially confidering that a Ceffation of Arms would fully the honour of the French, and infallibly difengage their AUies. Mr. de Denonville gave them frefh affurances of his intention to carry on the War, in fpite of all the efforts of the Iroquefe; and in a [79] word, protefted that he would profecute this defign fo vigoroufly, that in the end thefe Barbarians fhould be either quite cut off, or oblig'd to fhift their Seats. The General call'd for me that very day, and acquainted me, that in regard I underflood the Language of the Savages, I was to go with a Detachment to cover their Country pur- fuant to their Requefl. At the fame time he affur'd me, he would inform the Court of the Reafons that mov'd him to detain me in Canada, nothwithflanding that he had orders to give me leave to go home. You may eafily guefs, Sir, that I to iVo;Y/6- America. 133 was thunderftruck with thefe News, when I had fed my felf all along with the hopes of returning to France^ and promoting my Intereft, which is now fo much thwarted. However, I was forc'd to be contented ; for the greater Power bears the fway all the World over. Purfuant to my orders, I made all fuit- able preparations for my Voyage, without lofs of time. I took leave of my Friends, who fingled out the beft Soldiers for me; and made me Prefents of Cloaths, Tobacco, Books, and an infinity of other things, that they could fpare without any inconveniency, becaufe they were then upon their return to the Colony, which affords every thing that one can defire. By good luck, I brought my Aftrolabe with me from Monreal, which will enable me to take the Latitudes of this Lake, and to make feveral other ufeful Obfervations; for in all appearance, I fhall be out two years or fuch a matter. The Men of my Detachment are brisk proper fellows, and my Canows are both new and large. I am to go along with Mr. Dulhut^ a Lions Gentleman, who is a Perfon of great Merit, and has done his King and his Country very confiderable Services. Mr. de Tonti makes another of our Company^; and a Company of Savages is to follow us. Mr. de Denonville will fet out [80] ^ Henry de Tonty was a Neapolitan, whose father invented the insurance systeiTi called from his name, "tontine." Tonty entered the French service at the age of eighteen, and won distinction in the army, where he lost one of his hands. In 1677 he met La Salle, and embarked on his enterprise of discovery, accompanied him to the Illinois, and there took command of Fort St. Louis. After La Salle's death this fort was granted to Tonty and La Forest as a seigniory, and there for ten years or more they held command. Tonty assisted Cadillac in founding Detroit (1701), after which he was ordered to aid Iberville in Louisiana, where he died of yellow fever in 1704. See Legler, " Henry de Tonty," Parkman Club Papers (Milwaukee, 1896). — Ed. 134 Some New Voyages for the Colony by the North fide of the Lake of Frontenac, in two or three days. He defigns to leave at Fort Frontenac, a number of Men and Ammunition equal to what he leaves here. I herewith tranfmit fome Letters for my Relations, which I beg you would convey to their Hands. If I meet with any oppor- tunity, I'll fend you a Journal of my Voyage the next year. In the mean time, I am, SIR, Tours, &c. to North- hmQ.x\Q.2., 135 LETTER XIV. Dated at MiJJilimakinac May 26. 1688. The Author leaves Niagara, and has an Incounter with the Iro- quefe at the end of the Land-Carriage. The after part of his Voyage. A Defcription of the Country. He arrives at Fort St. Jofeph in the Mouth of the Lake of Hurons. A Detachment of the Hurons arrive at the fame place. After an Ingagement^ they fet out for Miflilimakinac. A firange Adventure of Mr. de la Salle's Brother. MifTilimakinac defcrib'd. SIR, I AM at a lofs to determine whether 'tis owing to Stupidity, or greatnefs of Mind, that the lofs of my Eftate, which I infallibly forefee, do's not at all affed me. Your Letter is but too fhrewd a confirmation of my Prophecy : However, I can- not but purfue your feafonable advice in writing to Court; [81] in the meantime fuflrer me to fatisfie my promife, in pre- fenting you with a relation of my Voyages. I imbarqued at Niagara Augufl 3. on board a Canow mann'd with eight Soldiers of my Detachment; and after run- ning three Leagues againft the Current of the Streight, came that fame day to the place where the Navigation ftops. There I met with the -Sieur Grifolon de la Tourette, Brother to Mr. Dulhut, who had ventur'd to come from Miffdimakinac with a 136 Some New Voyages fingle Canow to joyn the Army.^ The ^th we commenc'd our great Land-Carriage to the Southward, being oblig'd to tranf- port our Canows from a League and a half below the great Fall of Niagara, to half a League above it. Before we got at any beaten or level Path, we were forc'd to climb up three Mountains, upon which an hundred Iroquefe might have knock'd us all on the head with Stones.^ While we were imploy'd in this tranfport Service, we were alarm'd twice or thrice; which caution'd us to keep a ftri6t guard, and to tranf- port our Baggage with all poflible Expedition : Nay, after all our precautions we were forc'd to leave one half of our Bag- gage about half way, upon the difcovery of a thoufand Iroquefe that march'd towards us. Do you judge. Sir, if we had not fome reafon to be alarm'd ; and whether we would ftand to Sacrifice all to the natural principle of Self prefervation ; tho' indeed we were in danger of lofing our Lives as well as our Baggage : for v/e had not imbarqued above the Fall half a quarter of an hour, when the Enemy appear'd upon the Streight fide. I affure you, I 'fcap'd very narrowly; for about a quarter of an hour before, I and three or four Savages had 1 Claude Greysolon de la Tourette, younger brother of Duluth, assisted him in all his adventures, and ably seconded his measures. In 1678 he accompanied him to the upper country, and when Duluth built the fort on Lake Nipigon (1683), he named it La Tourette and placed his brother in charge. Their uncle patron bequeathed his possessions to the younger nephew in 1691, and at the time of Duluth's death, La Tourette was living in Lyons, France. The report which he made to Denonville after this encounter with Lahontan, is found in N. T. Colon. Docs., ix, p. 343. — Ed. 2 For a description of the " three Mountains," which are the three levels of the clifl above Lewiston, see Parkman, La Salle, p. 132, note. Hennepin first described the portage path ; see Nenv Discovery, pp. 103, 104, 324. — Ed. to iV- America. 137 gone five hundred paces out of our Road, to look upon that fearful Catarad ; and 'twas as much as I could do, to get at the Canows before they put off. To be taken by fuch cruel Fellows, [82] was to me no trifling thing. // morir e niente^ ma il vivere brugiando (^ ' The Prifoners taken troppo. To die is nothing, but to live in the ^ ^ roqueje ^^ ^ quently burnt. midjl of Fire * is too much. As for the Waterfall of Niagara ; 'tis feven or eight hun- dred foot high, and half a League broad. Towards the middle of it we defcry an Ifland that leans towards the Preci- pice, as if it were ready to fall. All the Beafts that crofs the Water within half a quarter of a League above this unfortu- nate Ifland, are fuck'd in by force of the Stream: And the Beafts and Fifh that are thus kill'd by the prodigious fall, ferve for food to fifty Iroqueje^ who are fetled about two Leagues off, and take 'em out of the water with their Canows. Between the furface of the water that fhelves off prodigioufly, and the foot of the Precipice, three Men may crofs in a breafl: without any other dammage, than a fprinkling of fome few drops of water.^ To return to the Story of the thoufand I roqueje; I muft tell you, that we crofs'd the Streight with all the vigour we were 1 The first allusion to Niagara Falls is found in the account of Cartier's voyage, in 1535. Champlain heard many relations of the falls from the Indians, but never saw them in person. Hennepin's appears to he the first detailed description by an eye witness ; but he characteristically exaggerates the height and noise of the cataract. See Nenjj Discovery, pp. 54-56, with illustration. The Seneca village mentioned by Lahontan must have been a temporary camp. The Senecas lived east of Genesee River until after Denonville's expedition, and had no permanent village near Niagara until a number of years later. — Ed. 138 Some New Voyages mafters of, and after rowing all Night, arriv'd next Morning at the mouth of the Lake, which appear'd to be indifferent rapid. Then we were fecure from all danger, for the Iroquefe Canows are fo dull and large, that they cannot fail near fo quick as thofe made of Birch-bark. The former are made of Elm-bark, which is very heavy, and their form is very aukard; for they are fo long and broad that thirty Men row in them, two abreaft, whether fitting or {landing, and the fides are fo low, that they dare not venture 'em upon the Lakes, tho' the wind be very flack. We coafted along the North-Coaft of the Lake of Erie, being favour'd by the Calms, which are in a manner conftant in that feafon, efpecially in the Southern Countries. Upon the brink of this Lake we frequently faw [83] flocks of fifty or fixty Turkey's, which run incredibly faft upon the Sands: And the Savages of our Company kill'd great numbers of 'em, which they gave to us in exchange for the Fifh that we catch'd. The i^th we arriv'd at a long point of Land which fiioots out 14 or 15 Leagues into the Lake; and the heat being excefiive, we chofe to tranfport our Boats and Baggage two hundred paces over-land, rather than coafl: about for thirty five Leagues.^ Septemb. 6. We enter'd the Streight of the Lake of Huron, where we met with a flack Current of half a League in breadth, that continued till we arriv'd in the Lake of St. Claire, which is twelve Leagues in Circumference. The 2>th of the fame Month we fl;eer'd on to the other end, from whence we had but fix Leagues to run againft the flream, 1 Long Point, Lake Erie, which Hennepin called " Cape St. Francis." —Ed. to iVor^Z'- America. 139 till we arriv'd in the Mouth of the Lake of Hufoits, where we landed on the 14?^. You cannot imagine the pleafant prof- ped: of this Streight, and of the little Lake; for their banks are cover'd with all forts of wild Fruit-Trees. 'Tis true, the want of Agriculture finks the agreeablenefs of the Fruit ; but their plenty is very furprifing.^ We fpy'd no other Animals upon the fhoar, but Herds of Harts, and Roe-bucks : And when we came to little Iflands, we fcour'd 'em, in order to oblige thefe Beads to crofs over to the Continent, upon which they offering to fwim over, were knock'd on the head by our Canow-men that were planted all round the Iflands. After our arrival at the Fort, of which I was order'd to take poffef- fion, Mr. Didhut and Mr. de Tonti had a mind to reft them- felves for fome days, as well as the Savages that accompany'd us. This Fort, which was built by Mr. Diilhut, was Garri- fon'd upon his own charges by the Couretirs de Bois, who had taken care to fow in it fome Bufhels of ?"//r^^^- Wheat, which afforded a plentiful Crop, that prov'd of great ufe to me.^ ^ Hennepin says that he named Lake St. Clair, and gives its Iroquois name as " Otsi Keta." All early travellers remark on the beauty of the landscape and the abundance of wild fruit in the vicinity of Detroit. See fVis. Hist. Colls., xvi, pp. 129, 366. — Ed. 2 It was part of Denonville's plan to bar the English from the upper lakes by erecting a fort at Detroit River. Accordingly in i6S6 he sent word to Duluth to pro- ceed thither and erect a stockade. In the autumn of tiiat year, Duluth collected fifty coureurs des bois, and built the post, which he named Fort St. Joseph — not on the site of Detroit, but where St. Clair River flows from Lake Huron, apparently near the present Fort Gratiot, Michigan. See A'^. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, pp. 300, 302. A contemporary description says : " Our Fort covers a square of one Arpent in extent, without the Bastions, and is very advantageously Situated on an Eminence, separated from the River by a gentle slope of about forty paces, which forms a very pleasant I40 Some New Voyages The Garrifon furrendred their Poft very [84] chearfully to my Detachment ; and then purfued their Commerce with our Savages, for every one had leave to go where he pleas'd. This gave me an opportunity of fending two Canows under a guard of Soldiers, to difpofe of a great Roll of Tobacco of 200 weight, that Mr. Dulhut had kindly prefented me with; for that honeft Gentleman inform'd me, that my Soldiers might eafily purchafe Corn in exchange for Tobacco, fooner than for any other Commodities. I am oblig'd to him as long as I live; but I am much affraid, the Treafurer of the Navy will make him no better compenfation for this piece of Service, than for a thoufand other disburfements upon the King's account. The Soldiers I fent with the Tobacco, return'd in the latter end of November, and brought with 'em the Reverend Father Avenau the Jefuit, who found no occafion to trouble himfelf with preaching up Abftinence from Meat in the time of Lent} They brought advice, that a Party of the Hurons being prepar'd to march out of their Villages, to attack the Iroqtiefe Beaver-hunters, would fpeedily repair to the Fort to reft themfelves. In the mean time I waited with impatience Glacis [parapet] . Care has been taken to place it at the narrowest part of the River, which is here a gunshot in width." iris. Hist. Colls., xvi, p. 128. The further his- tory of Fort St. Joseph, which Lahontan was to command, is related by him. "Turkey wheat " is maize or Indian corn, so called from a vague notion that it was first found in Turkey. — Ed. 1 Father Claude Aveneau came to Canada in 1685, and was assigned next year to the Ottawa mission at Mackinac. One would judge from Lahontan's remark that this missionary acted as chaplain of Fort St. Joseph throughout the winter of 1687-88. He passed the remainder of his life in the West, for many years serving in the Miami mission, and finally dying at Quebec in 1711. — Ed. to iVor^^- America. 141 for the arrival of one Turcot,^ and four more of the Coureurs de Bois, who were to come to me in the beginning of December, along with fome other Huntfmen that Mr. de Deuonville had promis'd to fend me: But hearing nothing of 'em, and our Commons being at that time very (hort, I fhould have been very much pinch'd, if four young Canadefe who were expert Huntfmen, had not tarry'd with me all Winter. The above- mention'd Party of the Hurons arriv'd Decemb. 2. being headed by one Saentfoiian^ who left me his Canow and his Baggage, to keep till he return'd ; for he could not pofTibly continue his Navigation longer, upon the account that the furface of the water began then to be cover'd with Ice. Thefe Savages chofe to march [85] over-land to the Fort of Niagara^ where they expedled to receive intelligence before they enter'd the Country of the Iroquefe. They march'd ten days, i. e. fifty Leagues, without feeing one Soul. But at laft their Scouts perceiv'd the foot-fteps of fome Huntfmen, which they trac'd at a great pace for a whole Night, the Snow being then a foot deep. Towards the break of day they return'd, and gave notice to their Fellow-Adventurers, that they had difcover'd fix Hutts, with ten Men lodg'd in each of 'em. Upon this Intelligence the whole party made a halt, in order to paint their faces, to prepare their Arms, and to concert proper Meafures. The attack was fo form'd, that two Men made ^ A habitant by this name was captured by the Iroquois in 1652. As coureur des hois, he was accused of taking refuge among the English to escape his crimes — N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, p. 133. He appears to have been pardoned and again received in favor by the French authorities. — Ed. 142 Some New Voyages foftly up to the two doors of the Hutts with their Clubs in their Hands, to knock down any one that offer'd to come out, while the reft were imploy'd in firing their pieces. And the Aftion was crown'd with wonderful Succefs ; for the Iroqueje being furpriz'd and fhut up in their bark Prifons, there was but two out of fixty four that made their efcape ; and thefe two being naked and deftitute of Fire-Arms, could not but perifh in the Woods. Three of the Hiirons indeed were kill'd upon the fpot, but to attone for that lofs, the Agreffors carry'd ofif fourteen Prifoners, and four Women. This done, they march'd back to my Fort with all poflible Expedition. Among the Captive Slaves, there were three who had made part of the number of the looo Iroqueje that thought to have furpris'd us the year before, when we were imploy'd in the great Land- Carriage at Niagara. They gave us to underftand, that the Fort of Niagara was block'd up by eight hundred Iroqueje, who mean'd to appear before my Poft without any delay. This troublefom piece of news gall'd me to the laft degree, for fear of being reduc'd to extremities ; and with that view I was a very nice Husband of what Corn I had [86] left. I was not apprehenfive of being attack'd by 'em, for the Savages never fight fairly, neither do they ever attempt to pull up Paliffadoes ; but I was affraid that they would ftarve us out by cramping our Huntfmen in their due range. However, the Hurons continuing fifteen days in my Fort to refrefh them- felves, I us'd the precaution of ingaging them to afiift my Huntfmen in providing Meat : But as foon as they took leave to iVor^A- America. 143 of me in order to return home, our hunting was at an end and the Gates v/ere kept fhut. At laft, finding that my Provifions were almoft out, I refolv'd to go to MiJJilimakinac^ to buy up Corn from the Hiirons and the Outaouans} Accordingly, having left fome Soldiers to guard the Fort in my abfence, I imbarqu'd with the reft of my Detachment on the firft of Aprils with a gentle South-Eaft Gale ; by the help of which we infenfibly crofs'd the Bay of Sagninan. That little Gulf is fix hours over, and in the middle of it there are two little Iflands, which afford a very feafonable fhelter when a wind arifes in the crofiing over. Before you have crofs'd this Bay, the Coaft is all a long full of Rocks and Shelves, one of which that I faw was fix Leagues broad : But above it the Coaft is clean and low, efpecially towards the Sand-River, which lies half way between that Bay and a place call'd VAnfe du Tonnere.^ Now this laft place is reckon'd thirty Leagues off the Bay. Having paft that, we had but thirty Leagues more to fail ; which we did without any danger, by the help of an Eaft-South-Eaft Gale, that fwell'd the Waves prodigioufly. In the Mouth of the lUinefe Lake we met the party of the Hurons that I mention'd before ; and four or five hundred Outaouas^ who were bound home, after having fpent the Winter in hunting of Beavers upon the River of Sagninan. Both they and we were forc'd to 1 In the French edition, Lahontan explains that to abandon one's post would be censured in the Old World ; in the New, it is regarded as a species of heroism. — Ed. 2 The description of Saginaw Bay, River Au Sable (Sand River), and Thunder Bay is easily recognized. — Ed. 144 Some New Voyages lye by in that place for three or [87] four days, by reafon of the Ice : After which the Lake was clear'd, and we crofs'd it together. When the Hiirons came afhoar, they confulted among themfelves how to difpofe of their Slaves : After which they made a Prefent of one of 'em to Mr. de Juchereau^ who commanded in that place ^; but the poor wretch was pre- fently fhot to Death. Another of 'em was prefented to the Otitaouas, who granted him his Life, for fuch reafons as you would eafily apprehend, if you were better acquainted with the poHcy and cunning of that fort of Men, whom you now take for Beafts. I arriv'd in this place on the iSth of Jpril, and my uneafi- nefs and trouble took date from the day of my arrival : For I found the Indian Corn fo fcarce by reafon of the preceding bad Harvefts, that I defpair'd of finding half fo much as I wanted. But after all, I am hopeful, that two Villages will furnifh me with almoft as much as I have occafion for. Mr. Cavelier arriv'd here May 6, being accompany'd with his Nephew, Father Anaftafe the Recollet, a Pilot, one of the Savages, and fome few Frenchmen^ which made a fort of a party-colour'd Retinue. Thefe Frenchmen were fome of thofe that Mr. de la Salle had conduced upon the difcovery of ^ This was probably Charles Juchereau de St. Denis, eldest son of Nicolas, sieur de Beauport, who the previous year had been employed as a messenger to Mackinac by Denonville. During the absence of La Durantaye (1687-88) he commanded the post. In later years he became councillor of the king, and lieutenant general of Montreal ; he assisted Iberville in founding Louisiana, and in 1702 built a post near the mouth of the Ohio. A younger brother, Louis, undertook a remarkable explora- tion into New Mexico, and lived for many years at Natchitoches. — Ed. to North' h.vi\tnc2i. 145 Mijfifipi. They give out, that they are fent to Canada^ in order to go to France^ with fome Difpatches from Mr. de la Salle to the King : But we fufpedl that he is dead, becaufe he do's not return along with 'em. I fhall not fpend time in taking notice of their great Journey over-land ; which by the account they give cannot be lefs than eight hundred Leagues.^ Mijfilimakinac, the place I am now in, is certainly a place of great Importance. It lies in the Latitude of forty five Degrees, and thirty Minutes ; but as for its Longitude, I have nothing to fay of it, for reafons mention'd in my fecond Letter. 'Tis not above half a League diftant from the Illinefe Lake, [88] an account of which, and indeed of all the other Lakes, you may expe6t elfe-where. Here the Hurons and Outaouas have, each of 'em, a Village ; the one being fever'd from the other by a fingle Paliffadoe : But the Outaouas are ^ These were the survivors of La Salle's last and fatal expedition, which was to have founded a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. See Parkman, La Salle, pp. 356-446 ; Suite, " Le Mort de La Salle," in Can. Roy. Soc. Proc, 2d series, iv, pp. 3-32. Abbe Jean Cavelier, the elder brother of the explorer, was born in Rouen, and became a Sulpitian priest. He had preceded La Salle to Canada, and often vexed him by his censoriousness. Joining this last expedition, he led the few survivors of the party, after the murder of La Salle, back from Texas to Canada ; and concealed the death of the explorer from all his friends en route, partly to secure his brother's prop- erty. He died in 17 17 at the house of his sister in Rouen. Jean Cavelier, the younger, was a nephew of La Salle, a lad of fourteen when he embarked with his uncle at La Rochelle (1684). Returning to France, he entered the army. Father Anastase Douay was, according to Hennepin, a native of Hainault. This was his first journey to America, and his published Memoir is largely used as a source for the expedition. After his return to Europe he was vicar of the Recollects at Cam- bray, and in 1699 embarked the second time for Louisiana, with Iberville, to found a mission among the Cenis. — Ed. 10 146 Some New Voyages beginning to build a Fort upon a Hill, that ftands but 1000 or 1200 paces off. This Precaution they were prompted to by the murder of a certain Hurotty call'd Sandaoiiires^ who was affaffinated in the Saguinan River by four young Outaouas. In this place the Jefuits have a little Houfe, or Colledge adjoyning to a fort of a Church, and inclos'd with Pales that feparate it from the Village of the Hiirons. Thefe good Fathers lavifh away all their Divinity and Patience to no pur- pofe, in converting fuch ignorant Infidels : For all the length they can bring 'em to, is, that oftentimes they'll defire Baptifm for their dying Children, and fome few fuperannuated Perfons confent to receive the Sacrament of Baptifm, when they find themfelves at the point of Death.^ The Coureurs de Bots have but a very fmall fettlement here ; though at the fame time 'tis not inconfiderable, as being the Staple of all the Goods that they truck with the South and the Weft Savages ; for they cannot avoid pafling this way, when they go to the Seats of the lUineJe^ and the Oumamis, or to the Bay des Puants,^ and to the River of Mijfifipi. The Skins which they import from 1 During the French regime Michiilimackinac (now Mackinac) was the capital of the Northwest. It had been occupied by traders for many years ; but the first Jesuit mission was not begun until Marquette established that of St. Ignace in 1671. A few years later the fort was built and garrisoned. Mackinac Island is 45° 54' north lati- tude by 80° 30' west longitude ; but the Mackinac of Lahontan's time lay on the north shore of the strait, as his map plainly indicates. For further details of the history of this place, see Thwaites, " Story of Mackinac," in Honv George Rogers Clark If on the North-west (Chicago, 1903). — Ed. 2 Bay des Puants (Stinkards) was the French name for Green Bay, Wisconsin. The origin of the term arose from the significance of the name of the Winnebago (men from the bad-smelling water). For further details, see Wis. Hist. Colls., xvi, p. 3 ; Thwaites, Stories of the Badger State (New York, 1900), p. 30. — Ed. to iV^or^Z>- America. 147 thefe different places, muft lye here fome time before they are tranf ported to the Colony. MijjiUmakinac is fituated very advantageoufly ; for the Iroquefe dare not venture with their forry Canows, to crofs the Streight of the lUinefe Lake, which is two Leagues over ; befides that the Lake of the Hiirons is too rough for fuch flender Boats : And as they cannot come to it by Water, fo they cannot approach to it by Land, by reafon of the Marfhes, Fens, and little Rivers, which 'twould be very difficult to crofs ; not to mention that the Streight of the lUineJe Lake lies ftill in their way. [89] You can fcarce believe. Sir, what vafl: fholes of white Fifh are catch'd about the middle of the Channel, between the Continent and the Ifle of Mijfilimakinac. The Outaouas and the Htirons could never fubfift here, without that Fiihery ; for they are oblig'd to travel above twenty Leagues in the Woods, before they can kill any Harts or Elks, and 'twould be an infinite fatigue to carry their Carcafes fo far over Land. This fort of white Fifli in my opinion, is the only one in all thefe Lakes that can be call'd good ; and indeed it goes beyond all other forts of River Fifh. Above all, it has one fingular prop- erty, namely, that all forts of Sauces fpoil it, fo that 'tis always eat either boil'd or broil'd, without any manner of feafoning.^ In the Channel I now fpeak of the Currents are fo ftrong, that they fometimes fuck in the Nets, though they are two or three Leagues off. In fome feafons, it fo falls out that the Currents ^ There are several species of the whitefish of the lakes. The common one, Coregonus clupclformis, is the largest and the best food. These fish formed an important article of Indian diet. — Ed. 148 Some New Voyages run three days Eaftward, two days to the Weft, one to the South, and four Northward ; fometimes more, and fometimes lefs. The caufe of this diverfity of Currents could never be fathom'd, for in a calm, they'l run in the fpace of one day to all the points of the Compafs, i. e. fometimes one way, fome- times another, without any limitation of time; fo that the deci- fion of this matter muft be left to the Difciples of Copernicus. Here the Savages catch Trouts as bigh as one's Thigh, with a fort of Fifhing-Hook made in the form of an Awl, and made faft to a piece of Brafs wire, which is joyn'd to the Line that reaches to the bottom of the Lake.^ This fort of Fifhery is carried on not only with Hooks, but with Nets, and that in Winter, as well as in Summer : For they make holes in the Ice at a certain diftance one from another, thro' which they con- du6t the Nets with Poles. The Outaouas and the Hurons have very pleafant Fields, in which they fow Indian Corn, Peafe, [90] and Beans, befides a fort of Citruls,^ and Melons, which differs much from ours, and of which I fhall take occafion to fpeak in another place. Sometimes, thefe Savages fell their Corn very dear, efpecially when the Beaver-hunting happens not to take well : Upon which occafion they make fufficient reprifals upon us for the extravagant price of our Com- modities. As foon as I have bought up fixty facks of Corn, each of ^ This is the Mackinac trout {Sal'velinus namycush) , which often grows to great size. Its flesh is inferior to that of the whitefish. — Ed. 2 Citrouille, or summer squash {Cucurbita polymortha) was raised extensively by the North American Indians. — Ed. to North' hmtnc2i. 149 which may weigh fifty pound, I am to march with my Detach- ment alone to St. Mary\ Fort, in order to ingage the Sauteurs or the Inhabitants of Saut Saint Marie^ to joyn the Outaouas'^; after which we mean to march with joynt Forces to the Coun- try of the Iroquefe. Befides thefe, there's a party of a hundred Hiirons ready to march, under the Command of the great Leader Adario^ whom the French call the Rat; but they do not march our way. I fhall write to you with the firfl Oppor- tunity after my return from this Expedition.^ Perhaps the Jefuits will fend your Letters for me along with Mr. Denon- ville^s to Fort St. Jofeph, where I am to refide. I fhall expe6l their arrival with the utmoft impatience. In the mean time I fend you a Letter direded to Mr. de Seignelai, the purport of which I have here fubjoyn'd. 'Twill be a very fenfible obliga- tion laid upon me, if you vouchfafe to believe that I always am, SIR, YourSy &c. ^ The Saulteurs were a Chippewa tribe, so named by the French from first encoun- tering one of their bands at Sault Ste. Marie ; the name was afterwards extended to the entire tribe. Sault Ste. Marie was visited by traders as early as 1616, and the Jesuit mission thereat was established in 1669. In early days it took precedence of Mackinac; but after tlie discovery of the Mississippi, the latter place increased in importance, as being upon the path thither, and by 1689 the Sault was practically abandoned, except as a station on the trade route to the far Northwest. — Ed. 2 This is Lahontan's first mention of the famous chief, to whom he ascribes his Dialogues. Kondiaronk, to give him his Huron name, was a savage of much ability, who played a prominent part in Frontenac's War (1689-97) . His skill in diplomacy, and in confederating the tribes, makes of him a precursor of Pontiac and Tecumseh. He was strongly attached to Frontenac, and accepted his counsel. Charlevoix says that he was a Christian convert, and often preached at Mackinac. Dying at Montreal during an important peace conference (1701), he was interred with elaborate rites. See Charlevoix, Histoire de Nowvelle France (Shea's trans.), v, pp. 145-148. — Ed. 150 Some New Voyages [91] The Letter directed to Mr. de Seignelay. Honoured Sir, I AM the Son of a Gentleman that fpent three hundred thoufand Crov/ns in deepening the Water of the two Gaves of Beam : He had the good luck to compafs his End by con- veying a great many Brooks to thefe two Rivers; and the Current of the Adour was by that means fo far ftrengthen'd as to render the Bar of Bayonne paffable by a fifty Gun Ship, whereas in former times a Frigot of ten Guns durft not ven- ture over it. 'Twas in confideration of this great and fucceffful Attempt, that his Majefty granted to my Father and his Heirs for ever, certain Duties and Taxes, amounting to the Sum of three thoufand Livres a Year. This Grant was confirm'd by an Ad of the Council of State, dated January 9. 1658, Sign'd Boffuet, Collated, &'c. Another Advantage accruing to the King and the Province from my Father's Services, confifts in the bringing down of Mafts and Yards from the Pyrenean Mountains, which could never have been eifeded, if he had not by his Care, and by the disburfmg of immenfe Sums, en- larged the quantity of Water in the Gave of Oleron to a double proportion. Thefe Duties and Taxes which had been juftly intail'd upon him and his Heirs, ceas'd to be ours when he dy'd ; and to inflame the Difgrace, I loft his Places, viz. that of being a Honorary Judge of the Parliament of Pau^ and Chief to iV- America. 165 often heard of, having engag'd four or five good Huntfmen of the Outaouas to go along with me. The Party of the Hiirons that I mention'd in the beginning of my Letter, return'd hither two Months ago, and brought with 'em an Iroqiiefe Slave, whom their Leader prefented to Mr. de luchereau, the late Colonel of the Coiireurs de Bois and whom that Colonel order'd to be Immediately fhot. The crafty Leader adled upon that occafion a very cunning and malicious part, the fatal Confequences of which I eafily fore- fee: He intrufted no body with the Secret but my felf ; for he is my true Friend, and he knows that I am his. However, I muft go no farther upon this matter, left my Letter fhould be intercepted. Tho' after all, if the Blow were not already given, [103] or if 'twere pofTible to remedy it, my Friendfhip fhould not hinder me from acquainting Mr. de Deiionville with the Intrigue, that he might get clear of it as well as he could. If it pleafes God to allow me a fafe Return to France^ I fhall tell you the Story by word of mouth. I underftand by your laft, that the King has preferr'd his Almoner, the Abbot of St. Falters, to the Bifhoprick of Quebec ; and that this Bifhop was confecrated in St. Sulpice^s Church.^ ^ The Abbe de St. Vallier had been Bishop Laval's vicar-apostolic since 1685 ; but at the desire of the latter was consecrated bishop, Jan. 25, 1688. Jean Bap- tiste de la Croix Chevriere, known as St. Vallier from his benefice, was a native of Grenoble (1653) who had served as chaplain of Louis XIV. He was second bishop of Quebec, retaining the office until his death (1727). During his long term of service, he was frequently absent in France (1694-97); again (1700-04), when he was cap- tured by the English on his return voyage, and kept a prisoner five years. He did not finally reach Quebec until 1713. For his portrait see Jes. Rel., Ixiv, frontis- piece. — Ed. 1 66 Some New Voyages This piece of News would be very welcome to me, if I thought he would be lefs rigid than Mr. de Lavaly his Predeceffor. But what likelyhood is there that the new Bifhop will be of a tradable temper? If 'tis true that he has refus'd other good Bifliopricks, he muft be as fcrupulous as the M.onk Dracontius, that St. Athanafius cenfures for not accepting of a Prefentation to a Bifhoprick that was ofifer'd him. In fine, if he is of that fcrupulous Temper, his critical Stridnefs will fcarce go down in this Country ; for the People are already tyr'd out with his Predeceffor's Excommunications. / am^ SIR, Tours, &c. to iVo;tZ>- America. 167 [104] LETTER XVI. Dated at Mijjilimakinac^ May 28. 1689. Containing an Account of the Author's Departure from^ and Return to, Miflilimakinac. A Defcription of the Bay of Puants, and its Villages. An ample Defcription of the Beavers ; follow'' d by the Journal of a remarkable Voyage upon the Long River ^ and a Map of the adjacent Country. SIR, THANK God, I am now return'd from my Voyage upon the Lofig River, which falls into the River oi Miffifipi. I would willingly have trac'd it up to its Source, if feveral Ob- ftacles had not flood in my way. I fet out from hence the 24th of Sept. accompany'd with my own Detachment, and the five Huntfmen I mention'd in my laft ; who indeed did me a great deal of Service. All the Soldiers were provided with new Canows loaded with Provifions and Ammunition, and fuch Commodities as are proper for the Savages. The Wind, which ftood then in the North, wafted me in three days to the Bay of Fouteouatamis, that lay forty Leagues off. The mouth of that Bay is in a manner choak'd with Ifles, and the Bay it felf is ten Leagues broad, and twenty five Leagues long.^ ^ Now Green Bay, Wis., usually called by the French Baye des Puants; see p. 146, note 2, ante. Charlevoix says that the Potawatomi formerly inhabited these islands at the mouth of the bay, after being driven by the Iroquois from their seats in lower Michigan. — Ed. 1 68 Some New Voyages The 29th we came to a little deep fort of a River, which difembogues at a place where the Water of the Lake fwells three foot high in twelve hours, and decreafes as much in the fame compafs of time. Our tarrying there three or four days gave me an opportunity of making this Remark.^ The Villa- ges of the Sakis^ the Pouteouatamis, and fome Malominis, are [105] feated on the fide of that River, and the Jefuits have a Houfe or College built upon it.^ This is a place of great Trade for Skins and Indian Corn, which thefe Savages fell to the Coureurs de Bois, as they come and go, it being the neareft and moft convenient Paffage to the River of Mijfifipl The Soil of this Country is fo fertile, that it produces (in a man- ner without Agriculture) our European Corn, Peafe, Beans, and feveral other Fruits that are not known in France. As foon as I landed, the Warriours of thefe three Nations came by turns to my Apartment, to regale me with the Calumet- Dance, and with the Captains-Dance ; the former being a figni- fication of Peace and Friendfhip, and the latter of Refped 1 The Fox River, first called by the French Riviere des Puants, later Riviere des Renards (Foxes) from the tribe encountered on its banks. The Jesuits entitled it St. Francis River, but the name did not persist. The Jesuits also remarked the tides in the bay. See Jes. Rel., Ivi, pp. 137-139; Iv'i. PP- 301-30S ; 'x. pp. 205-207. — Ed. 2 The Sauk, Potawatomi, and Menominee tribes were all of Algonquian stock, and had their habitat about the mouth of the Fox, although the latter tribe were more often upon the river of the same name. The Jesuit mission of St. Francis Xavier was founded on the shores of Green Bay by Father Claude Allouez in 1669 ; two years later a chapel was built upon the site of the present city of De Pere. In 1899 the citizens of that place, inspired thereto by the Wisconsin Historical Society, erected a monument near the site of this pioneer mis- sionary station. See Wis. His. Soc. Proc, 1899, p. 105. — Ed. to North- Avs\mc2i. 169 and Efteem.^ I return'd the Compliment with a Prefent of fome Rolls of Brafil Tobacco, which they value mightily, and fome ftrings of Venice Beads, with which they embroider their Coats. Next Morning I was invited to a Feaft with one of the three Nations ; and after having fent to 'em fome Difhes and Plates, purfuant to the Cuftom of the Country, I went accordingly about Noon. They began with congratulating my Arrival, and after I had return'd them thanks, fell a finging and dancing one after another, in a particular manner, of which you may expedl a circumftantial account when I have more leifure. The Singing and Dancing lafted for two hours, being feafon'd with Acclamations of Joy and Jefts, which make up part of their ridiculous Mufick. After that the Slaves came to ferve,^ and all the Company fat down after the Eaftern fafhion, every one being provided with his Mefs, juft as our Monks are in the Monaftery-Halls. Firft of all four Platters were fet down before me, in the firft of which there were two white Fifh only boil'd in Water ; in the fecond the Tongue and Breaft of a Roe-buck boil'd ; in the third two Woodhens, the hind Feet or Trotters of a Bear, and [106] the Tail of a Beaver, all roafled ; and the fourth contain'd a large quantity of Broth made of feveral forts of 1 For the calumet dance see Marquette's detailed description in ^'^j. ReL, lix, pp. 129-137. In its modern form it is described in U. S. Bur. of Ethnol. Report, 1881-82, pp. 276-282. — Ed. 2 Slavery among the Indians was due entirely to prisoners taken in war. It was a mild form, slaves being usually treated as members of the family, and having the hope of exchange or ransom by their own tribe. From the Indians it spread to the French in Illinois, and was authorized by edict in 1709. SeeLafontaine, "Del'esclavage en Canada," in Montreal Historical Society Memoires, 1858. — Ed. 170 Some New Voyages Meat. For Drink they gave me a very pleafant Liquor, which was nothing but a Syrrup of Maple beat up with Water ; but of this more elfewhere. The Feaft lafted two Hours ; after which I intreated one of the Grandees to fing for me ; for in all the Ceremonies made ufe of among the Savages, 'tis cuf- tomary to imploy another to a61: for 'em. I made this Grandee a Prefent of fome pieces of Tobacco, in order to oblige him to a6t my part till Night. Next day, and the day after, I was oblig'd to go to the Feafts of the other two Nations, who ob- ferv'd the fame Formalities. The moft curious thing I faw in the Villages, was ten or twelve tame Beavers, that went and came like Dogs from the Rivers to the Cottages, without ftragling out of the Road. I ask'd the Savages if thefe Ani- mals could live out of the Water ; and receiv'd this anfwer, that they could live afhoar as well as Dogs, and that they had kept fome of 'em above a year, without fuffering them to go near the Rivers : From whence I conclude, that the Cafuijis are out in not ranging Ducks, Geefe, and Teals, in the number of Amphibious Animals, as the Naturalifts are wont to do. I had heard the fame ftory from feveral Americans before ; but being apprehenfive that there were different Species of Beavers, I had a mind to be better inform'd : And indeed there is a particular kind of 'em, which the Savages call the Terreftrial, or Land-Beaver ; but at the fame time they tell you, thefe are of a different Species from the Amphibious fort ; for they make Holes or Dens in the Earth, like Rabbets or Foxes, and never go near the Water unlefs it be to drink. They are likewife call'd by the Savages, the lazy or idle kind, as being to 7Vor^Z>- America. 171 expell'd by the other Beavers from the Kennels in which thefe Animals are lodg'd, to the [107] number of 80. Thefe Ken- nels I mean to defcribe afterwards ; in the mean time I only take occafion to acquaint you, that the idle fort being unwilling to work, are expell'd by the others, juft as Wafps are by Bees ; and are fo teas'd by 'em, that they are forc'd to quit the Ken- nels, which the better and more induftrious Race huddles up to themfelves in the Fens. This fupine Beaver refembles the other fort in its Figure, excepting that the Hair is rub'd off the Back and the Belly, which is occafion'd by their rubbing againft the Earth when they return to, or ftir out from their Holes.i The Writers of Natural Hiftory are very much out, in fancying that the Beavers cut off their own Tefticles, when purfued by the Huntfmen ; for that which the Phyficians call Caftoreum, is not lodg'd in the Tefticles, but in a certain Bag that Nature feems to have form'd on purpofe for thefe Ani- mals, and this Bag they make ufe of to clear their Teeth, after the biting of fome gummy Shrub. But fuppofing the Tefticles to be the proper Receptacle of the Caftor, we muft ftill con- ceive that 'tis impoftible for a Beaver to pull out his Tefticles, without rending the Nerves of the Groin, in which they are feated juft by the Sharebone. 'Tis manifeft that Elian and feveral other Naturalifts, were fcarce acquainted with Beaver- hunting ; for had they known any thing of the matter, they ^The beaver is easily domesticated, and becomes as tame as a kitten. Stories of idle beavers are numerous, but apochryphal ; they arise from some disorder in the form of a parasite, which occasionally attacks the animal. See Martin, Castorologia, or the Canadian Beaver (London and Montreal, 1892), pp. 157, 168, 233. — Ed. 172 Some New Voyages would never have talk'd of the purfulng of thefe Animals, which never go from the fide of the Pond where their Kennels are built ; and which dive under water upon the leaft noife, and return to their Dens v/hen the danger is over. If thefe Creatures were but fenfible of the reafon for which War is declar'd againft 'em, they would flea themfelves alive ; for 'tis their Skin only that the Huntfmen want, the value of the Caftor being nothing in comparifon with that. A great Beaver is twenty fix Inches long, from [108] the hind-Head, to the root of the Tail. 'Tis about three Foot and eight Inches round, its Head is feven Inches long, and fix broad ; its Tail is fourteen Inches long, and fix broad, and about the middle it has the thicknefs of an Inch and two lines. The figure of the Tail is Oval ; the Scale with which 'tis cover'd, and which performs the Office of what the Phyficians call the Epidermis or Scarf-skin, is an irregular Hexagon. The Beaver carries upon its Tail the Clay, the Earth and other Materials of which they make their Banks and Kennels, or Hutts, by a wonderful Inftind. Its Ears are fhort, round and hollow; its Legs are five Inches long, its Feet fix Inches and eight Lines, and its Paws are three Inches and a half from the Heel to the end of the great Toe. Its Paws are form'd much like a Man's Hand, and they make ufe of 'em in feeding, as Apes do. The five Toes are joyn'd like thofe of a Duck, v/ith a Membrane of a Slate colour. Its Eyes are of the leffer fize, in proportion to the bulk of its Body, and bear the figure of a Rats Eyes. Before its Muzzle there are four Fore-Teeth or Cutters, viz. to iVor^^- America. 173 two in each Jaw, as in a Rabbet, befides which it has fixteen Grinders, that is, eight in the upper, and as many in the lower Mandible. The Cutters are above an Inch long, and ]i of an Inch broad, being very ftrong and fharp like a Cutlas ; for a Beaver afiifted by its Affociates, (if I may fo call its fellow Beavers) cuts down Trees as big as a Hogfhead ; which I could never have believ'd, if I had not obferv'd with my own Eyes, above twenty Trunks of Trees cut down in that fafhion. A Beaver has two lays of Hair ; one is long, and of a fhining black colour, with a grain as big as that of Mans Hair; the other is fine and fmooth, and in Winter fifteen lines long : In a word, the laft is the fineft Down in the World. The Skin of fuch a Beaver as I have now defcrib'd, will be two pound weight, but the [109] price varies according to the goodnefs. In Winter and Autumn the Flefh of a Beaver eats very well, if it be roafted. Thus, Sir, I have prefented you with an exadl Defcription of thefe reputed Amphibious Animals which make fuch Strudures, that all the Art of Man can fcarce equal. Upon another occafion perhaps I may give you a circumftan- tial Account of their wonderful Structure, which I decline at prefent, becaufe the Digreffion would be too tedious.^ To return to my Voyage. After our arrival in the Bay of Pouteouatamis, we bid adieu to the Navigation upon the Lakes of Canada ; and fetting out September 30, arriv'd October 2. at the foot of the fall of Kakalin, after ftemming fome little Cur- 1 Lahontan's description of the beaver is not inaccurate, and shows habits of keen observation. For full description see Martin, op, cit. — Ed. 174 Some New Voyages rents In the River of Piiants} The next day we accompUfh'd the fmall Land-carriage, and on the c^th arriv'd before the Vil- lage of KikapouSy in the Neighbourhood of which I incamp'd the next day, in order to receive IntelHgence. That Village ftands upon the brink of a little Lake, in which the Savages fifh great quantities of Pikes and Gudgeons.^ I found only thirty or forty Men fit for War in the place, for the reft were gone a Beaver-hunting fome days before. The jtb I reim- barq'd, and rowing hard made in the Evening the little Lake of Malominis, where we kill'd Bucks and Buftards enough for Supper. We went afhoar that Night, and built Hutts for our felves upon a point of Land that fhoots out ; by break of day I v/ent in a Canow to the Village, and after an hours Confer- ence with fome of the Savages, prefented 'em with two Rolls of Tobacco, and they by way of Acknowledgment, made me a prefent of two or three Sacks of Oatmeal : For the fides of ^The Grand Kakaling, twenty-one miles from the mouth of Fox River, was a series of rapids, the river falling fifty-two feet in the course of a mile. The name sig- nified " the fishing ground for pickerel." The modern town of Kaukauna is on the river bank at this place. See Tanner, "Early Kaukauna " in fFis. Hist. Soc. Proc, 1899, pp. 212-217. The other rapids of Fox River, ascending from the mouth, were those at De Pere, Little Kakalin (now called Little Rapids) , the Croche (above Wrightstown), Grand Kakalin (at Kaukauna), Little Chute (still so named), the Cedars (at Kimberly), Grand Chute (at Appleton), and Winnebago Rapids (at Neenah). See Jes. Rel., liv, p. 306. — Ed. 2 The Kickapoo were an Algonquian tribe closely associated with the Mascoutin. They were first encountered in Wisconsin, but drifted over various portions of Mich- igan and Illinois, finally crossing the Mississippi (about 1725), and making their homes in Iowa. See iris. Hist. Colls., xvi, xvii, index. A remnant of this tribe still exists upon reservations in Kansas and Oklahoma. The village mentioned here by Lahontan is not described by his contemporaries. It would seem to have been on Lake Winnebago, between Neenah and Oshkosh. — Ed. to N orth- Ammc^.. 175 the Lake are cover'd with a fort of Oats, which grows in tufts with a tall Stalk, and of which the Savages reap plentiful Crops.^ The ()th I arriv'd at the foot of Ouiagamis Fort, where I found but [no] few People; however, they gave me a very kind Reception, for after dancing the Calumet before the Door of my Hutt, they made me a Prefent of Venifon and Fifh. Next day they convey'd me up the River, to the place where their folks were hunting the Beavers. The ii/;& we im- barq'd, and landed the 13/^ upon the fhoar of a little Lake, where the Head of that Nation refided.^ After we had rear'd up our Hutts, that General gave me a Vifit, and inquir'd which way I intended to move. I made anfwer, that I was fo far from defigning to march toward the N adouejfioiis his Enemies, that I fhould not come near 'em by 100 Leagues^; and to con- ^ The " Lake of Malhominis " was probably the present Grand Lake Butte dea Morts, where, as now, grew great expanses of wild rice or oats. The French called the Menominee " Folle Avoines," the name for this plant {Zizania aquatica) which formed a staple food for Indians in the Northwest. See Jenks, " Wild-rice Gatherers of the Upper Lakes," in U. S. Bur. of Ethnol. Report, No. 19. Father Allouez mentioned the wild rice in this lake on his journey of 1670. See Jes. Rel., liv, pp. 217-219, 307. — Ed. 2 The location of the Outagami or Fox Indian villages has been much discussed. See IVis. Hist. Colls., xvi, p. 39. The most that can be said is, that they were probably in Waupaca County, on Wolf River, or some of its affluents. The Outagami or Fox (Fr., Renard) Indians were of Algonquian stock, first encountered in Wisconsin, which was their permanent home until driven by the French across the Mississippi, about the middle of the eighteenth century. Their wars upon the French (1712-47) undermined the empire of the latter in the Northwest. See IVis. Hist. Colls., xvii. In 1730 they amalgamated with the Sauk. Remnants of the Sauk and Fox tribes are still extant in Iowa, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. — Ed. ' Nadouessioux, usually abreviated to Sioux, was the name given by the Algon- quian tribes to the great Western stock, who called themselves Dakota. The term Nadouessioux meant ' ' snake-like ones, " or " enemy. ' ' At this time they were hostile 176 Some New Voyages firm the innocence of my Intentions, I pray'd him to fend fix Warriours to accompany me to the long River, which I defign'd to trace up to its Source. He reply'd that he was extream glad to find that I carry'd neither Arms nor Cloaths to the Nadouejfious ; that he faw I had not the equipage of a Coureur de Bois, but that on the contrary, I had fome difcovery in my view. At the fame time he caution'd me not to venture too far up that Noble River, by reafon of the multitudes of People that I would find there, though they have no fliomach for War : He mean'd, that fome numerous Party might furprife me in the Night-time. In the mean time, infliead of the fix War- riours that I defir'd, he gave me ten, who underftood the Lingua, and knew the Country of the Eokoros, with whom his Nation had maintain'd a Peace of twenty years fl:anding. I ftay'd two days with this General, during which time he regal'd me nobly, and walk'd about with me to give me the Satisfac- tion of obferving the difpofure of the Cottages of the Beaver- hunters ; a defcription of which, you may expe6l in another place ; I prefented him with a Fufee, twelve Flint-ftones, two pound of Powder, four pound of Ball, and a little Axe, and I gave each of his two Sons a [m] great Coat, and a Roll of Brafil Tobacco. Two of the ten Warriours that he gave me, could fpeak the Language of the Outaouas, which I was well pleas'd with ; not that I was a fl:ranger to their own Language, for between that and the Algonkin there is no great difference, to the Fox, but in their eighteenth-century wars upon the French were their allies. For information concerning the Siouan people, see references in Hennepin, Neiu Discovery, p. 225, note. — Ed. to North- Kvntxicdi, 177 but in regard that there were feveral words that puzled me. My four Outaouas were tranfported with this little Reinforce- ment, and were then fo incouraged, that they told me above four times, that we might venture fafely fo far as the Planta- tion of the Sun. I embarqed with this fmall Guard the i(>th about Noon, and arriv'd that Night at the Land-carriage of Ouifconfinc, which we finifh'd in two days, that is, we left the River of Puants, and tranfported our Canows and Baggage to the River Ouifconfinc^ which is not above three quarters of a League diftant, or thereabouts.^ I (hall fay nothing of the River we left, but that 'twas Muddy, full of Shelves, and inclofed with a fteep Coaft, Marfhes, and frightful Rocks. The \()th we embarqu'd upon the River Ouifconfinc^ and being favour'd by a flack Current, arriv'd in four days at the place, where it empties it felf into the River Mijfifipi^ which is about half a League broad in that part. The force of the Current, and the breadth of that River, is much the fame as that of the Loire. It lies North-Eaft, and South- Weft ; and its fides are adorn'd with Meadows, lofty Trees and Firs. I ob- ferv'd but two Iflands upon it, though there may be more. iLahontan certainly allows too little time for the passage from the Outagami village to the Fox-Wisconsin portage — not less than lOO miles, following the meander- ings of the river. The Fox-Wisconsin portage was a noted place in the early history of Western discovery. Apparently Radisson and Groseilliers were (1655) the first white men to traverse it. Marquette describes it in 1672. A contemporary writer (1682) says it was " through an oak grove and a flooded meadow." — JVis. Hist. Colls., xvi, p. 106. The portage was about a mile in length ; later, the French built a corduroy road through the swamp, and established a rude wagon carriage for tiieir batteaux. —IFis. Hist. Colls. ,x, pp. 221, 222. A government ship canal now spans the distance. — Ed. 12 178 Some New Voyages which the darknefs of the Night hid from us as we came down.^ The 23J we landed upon an Ifland in the River Mijfifipi^ over againft the River I fpoke of but now, and were in hopes to find fome wild Goats there, but had the ill fortune to find none. The day after we croft to t'other fide of the River, founding it every where, as we had done the day before, and found nine foot water in the fiialloweft place. The [112] 2d of November we made the Mouth of the Long River^ having firft ftem'd feveral rapid Currents of that River, though 'twas then at loweft Ebb. In this little paffage we kill'd feveral wild Beeves which we broil'd, and catch'd feveral large Dabs. On ^The distance from the portage to the mouth of the Wisconsin is 145 miles. Its stage of water was in Lahontan's time doubtless much higher than now, although early canoeists speak of being embarrassed by its numerous shifting sand-bars. Until the depletion of the great pine forests in north-central Wisconsin, it was an important lumbering stream. From the time of the erection of Wisconsin Territory (1836) until about 1890 there was much popular agitation in favor of dredging both the Fox and Wisconsin, in order to connect Lake Michigan with Mississippi River — in other words, adapting what was, in the French regime, the most popular fur-trade route between the great lakes and the great river, to the requirements of modern steam navigation. Large sums of money have been spent by the federal government in sur- veys on the sprawling and sand-bar-ridden Wisconsin, and in a lockage system on the lower Fox ; but it has at last come to be recognized by most engineers that the route is impracticable without an unwarranted expenditure of public funds. The Fox as far up as Lake Winnebago has a strong current, and its rapids are the basis of the present federal-built water powers ; the upper Fox is sluggish, shallow, and frequently fringed with wild-rice swamps. There is to-day occasional navigation by flat-bottomed steamers as far as Berlin, but only small launches can proceed to the portage. On the Wisconsin, which in spring and autumn overflows to the width of a mile or more, steam craft are seldom seen ; the passage of a small launch, perhaps once or twice a season, arousing general curiosity. Lahontan's description, although brief, is not inexact, and appears to be that of one who had seen the alternating cliffs and meadows which border the Wisconsin, one of the most beautiful of Western streams. See chapters on the Fox- Wisconsin waterway in Thwaites, Donun Historic fVaterivays (Chicago, newed., 1903). — Ed. to North' Amtnc2i, 179 the 3^ we enter'd the Mouth of the Long River, which looks like a Lake full of Bull-rufhes ; we found in the middle of it a narrow Channel, upon which we fteer'd till Night, and then lay by to fleep in our Canows. In the Morning I enquir'd of my ten OuUigcimis, if we had far to fail before we were clear of the Rufhes, and receiv'd this anfwer, that they had never been in the Mouth of that River before, though at the fame time they affur'd me, that about twenty Leagues higher, the Banks of it were clad with Woods and Meadows. But after all we did not fail fo far, for about ten a Clock next Morning the River came pretty narrow, and the Shoar was cover'd with lofty Trees ; and after continuing our courfe the reft of that day, we had a profpedl of Meadows now and then. That fame Night we landed at a point of Land, with a defign to drefs our broil'd Meat, for at that time we had none freih. The next day we ftop'd at the firft Ifland we faw, in which we found neither Man nor Beaft ; and the Evening drawing near, I was unwilling to venture far into it, fo we e'en contented our felves with the catching of fome forry Fifh. The 6th a gentle Gale fprung up, which wafted us to another Ifland about 12 Leagues higher, where we landed. Our pafTage to this place was very quick, notwithftanding the great calm that always prevails upon this River, which I take to be the leaft rapid River in the World. But the quicknefs of the paffage was not the only furprifal, for I was amaz'd that I faw no Harts, nor Bucks, nor Turkeys, having met with 'em all along in the other parts of my DIfcovery. The Jth the fame Wind drove us [113] to a third Ifland, that lay ten or twelve Leagues off the former, i8o Some New Voyages which we quitted in the Morning. In this third Ifland our Savages kill'd thirty or forty Pheafants, which I was not ill pleas'd with. The 8//? the Wind proving unferviceable to us, by reafon that 'twas intercepted by Hills cover'd with Firs, we ply'd our Oars ; and about two in the Afternoon, defcry'd on the left Hand large Meadows, and fome Hutts at the diftance of a quarter of a League from the River. Upon this Difcovery, our Savages and ten of the Soldiers jump'd upon the fhoar, and direded their courfe to the Houfes, where they found fifty or fixty Huntfmen prepar'd to receive 'em, with their Bows and Arrows. As foon as the Huntfmen heard the voice of the Outagamis, they threw down their Arms, and prefented the Company with fome Deer that they had juft kill'd, which they likewife help'd to carry to my Canows. The Benefadors were fome of the Eokoros, who had left their Villages, and come thither to hunt. I prefented 'em, more out of Policy, than Acknowledgment, with Tobacco, Knives and Needles, which they could not but admire. Upon this, they repair'd with ex- pedition to their Villages, and gave their Affociates to under- ftand, what a good fort of People they had met with; which had fo much influence, that the next day towards the Evening, there appear'd upon the River fide above two thoufand Sav- ages, who fell a dancing as foon as they defcry'd us. There- upon, our Outagamis went aflioar, and after a fhort Conference, fome of the principal Savages imbarqu'd on board of our Canows, and fo we all flieer'd to the chief Village, which we did not reach till Midnight. I order'd our Hutts to be made to iVor^Z>- America. i8i up on a point of Land near a little River, at the diftance of a quarter of a League from the Village. Though the Savages prefs'd me extreamly to lodge in one of their Villages, yet none [114] went with 'em but the Outagamis, and the four Outaoiias, who at the fame time caution'd the Savages not to approach to our Camp in the Night-time. Next day I allow'd my Soldiers to refrefti and reft themfelves ; and went my felf to vifit the Grandees of this Nation to whom I gave Prefents of Knives, Ciffars, Needles, and Tobacco. They gave me to underftand, that they were infinitely well pleas'd with our arrival in their Country, for that they had heard the Savages of other Nations fpeak very honourably of the French. I took leave of 'em on the 12th, and fet out with a Convoy of five or fix hundred Savages, who march'd upon the fhoar, keeping pace with our Canows. We pafs'd by another Village that lay to the right Hand, and ftop'd at a third Village that was five Leagues diftant from the firft, but did not difmibarque : For all that I defign'd, was to make a Prefent to the leading Men of the Village, from whom I receiv'd more Indian Corn, and broil'd or dry'd Meat, than I had occafion for. In fine, I pafs'd from Village to Village without flopping, unlefs it were to incamp all Night, or to prefent the Savages with fome Trinkets ; and fo fteer'd on to the laft Village, with a defign to get fome Intelligence. As foon as we arriv'd at the end of this Village, the Great Governour, who indeed was a venerable old Gentleman, fent out Hunters to bring us good Cheer. He inform'd me, that fixty Leagues higher I fhould meet with the Nation of the Effanapes, who wag'd War with him ; that if 1 82 Some New Voyages it had not been for their being at War, he would have given me a Convoy to their Country; that, however he mean'd to give up to me fix Slaves of that Country, which I might carry home, and make ufe of as I faw occafion ; and that in failing up the River, I had nothing to fear, but the being furpriz'd In the Night-time. In fine, after he had inftrudled me in feveral very ufeful Circumftances, I immediately [115] made every thing ready for my Departure. The Commanders of this People acquainted me, that they had twelve Villages peopled by 20000 Warriours ; that their number was much greater before the War, which they wag'd at one time with the Nadonejfis, the Panimoha, and the EJfanapes. The People are very civil, and fo far from a wild Savage tem- per, that they have an Air of Humanity and Sweetnefs. Their Hutts are long, and round at the top, not unlike thofe of our Savages ; but they are made of Reeds and Bulrufhes, inter- lac'd and cemented with a fort of fat Earth. Both the Men and the Women go naked all over, excepting their Privities. The Women are not fo handfom, as thofe who live upon the Lakes of Canada. There feems to be fomething of Govern- ment and Subordination among this People ; and they have their Houfes fortified with the branches of Trees, and Faf- cines fl:rengthen'd with fat Earth. The 2ifl we imbarqu'd at the break of day, and landed that Night in an Ifland cover'd with Stones and Gravel, having pafs'd by another at which I would not put in, becaufe I would not flight the opportunity of the Wind, which then flood very fair. Next day the Wind flianding equally fair, we fet out to iVor^Z>- America. 183 and continued our courfe all that Day, and the following Night ; for the fix Effanapes inform'd us, that the River was clean, and free from Rocks and Beds of Sand. The 23 we landed early in the Morning on the right fide of the River, in order to careen one of our Boats that fprung a Leak. While that was a doing, we dreft feme Venifon that had been pre- fented me by the Commander of the laft Village of the Eokoros; and the adjacent Country being replenifh'd with Woods, the Savages of our Company went a fhooting in the Forefts ; but they faw nothing but fmall Fowls, that they did not think fit to fhoot at. As foon as we reimbarqu'd, the Wind fell all of a fudden, and fo [116] we were forc'd to ply the Oars; but moft of the Crew having flept but little the Night before, they row'd but very faintly, which oblig'd me to put in at a great Ifland two Leagues higher ; the fix Ejfanapes Slaves hav- ing inform'd me, that this Ifiand afforded great plenty of Hares, which I found to be true. Thefe Animals had a lucky Inftindt in taking fhelter in this Ifland, for there the Woods are fo thick, that we were forc'd to fet fire to feveral places, before we could diflodge 'em. Having made an end of our Game, my Soldiers fed heartily, and thereupon fell fo found afleep, that I could fcarce get 'em wak'd upon a falfe Alarm, occafion'd by a Herd of Wolves that made a noife among the Thickets upon the Continent. We reimbarqued next day at ten a Clock in the Morning, and did not run above twelve Leagues in two days, by reafon that the Savages of our Company would needs walk along the River fide with their Guns, to fhoot Geefe and Ducks ; in 184 Some New Voyages which they had very good Succefs. After that we incampt juft by the Mouth of a little River on the right Hand, and the EJfanapes Slaves gave me notice, that the firft of their Villages was not above fixteen or eighteen Leagues off. Upon this Information, I fent, by the advice of the Savages of our Com- pany, two of the Slaves to give notice of our arrival. The 26tb we row'd briskly, in hopes to reach the firft Village that day ; but being retarded by the huge quantities of floating Wood, that we met in feveral places, we were forc'd to con- tinue all Night in our Canows. The 2jth about ten or eleven a Clock we approach'd to the Village, and after putting up the great Calumet of Peace upon the Prow of our Canows, lay upon our Oars. Upon our firft appearance, three or four hundred Ejjanapes came running to the fhoar, and, after dancing juft over againft us, invited us afhoar. As foon [117] as we came near the fhoar, they began to jump into our Canows ; but I gave 'em to know by the four EJfanapes Slaves, that I defir'd they fhould retire, which they did immediately. Then I landed, being accompany'd with the Savages of our Company, namely, the Outagamis, and the OutaouaSy and with twenty Soldiers. At the fame time I gave orders to my Sergeants, to land and poft Centries. As we ftood upon the fhoar, all the EJfanapes prof- trated themfelves three or four times before us, with their Hands upon their Foreheads ; after which we were convoy'd to the Village with fuch Acclamations of Joy, as perfectly ftun'd us. Upon our arrival at the Gate, our Condudlors ftop'd us, till the Governour, a Man of fifty years of Age, to jYor^/'- America. 185 march'd out with five or fix hundred Men arm'd with Bows and Arrows. The Outagamis of my Company perceiving this, charg'd 'em with Infolence in receiving Strangers with their Arms about 'em, and call'd out in the Eokoros Language, that they ought to lay down their Arms. But the Effanapcs Slaves that I had fent in the day before, came up to me, and gave me to underftand, that 'twas their cuftom to ftand to their Arms on fuch occafions, and that there was no danger in the cafe. However, the obftinate Outagamis oblig'd us to retire imme- diately to our Canows : Upon which the Leading Officer, and the whole Battalion, flung their Bows and Arrows afide all on a fudden. Then I return'd, and our whole Company enter'd the Village with their Fufees in their Hands, which the Sav- ages admir'd mightily. The Leader of the Savages conducted us to a great Hutt, which look'd as if no body had liv'd in it before. When I and my twenty Soldiers had enter'd the place, they ftop'd the Outagamis, affirming, that they did not deferve the priviledge of entring within the Cottage of Peace, fince they had endeavour'd to create a difference, and occafion [118] a War between us and the Ejjanapes. In the mean time I order'd my Men to open the Door, and to call out to the Outagamis, that they fhould offer no manner of Injury : But the Outagamis in {lead of coming in, prefs'd me to return with all expedition to the Canows, which accordingly I did, without lofs of time, and carry'd with me the four Effanapes Slaves, in order to leave 'em at the firft Village we came to. We had no fooner imbarqued, than the two other Slaves came to acquaint me that the Governor would ftop me in his River ; but the 1 86 Some New Voyages Outagamis made anfwer, that he could not do that, without throwing a Mountain into it. In fine, we did not ftand to dif- pute the matter ; and tho' 'twas then late, we row'd ftraight to the next Village, which lay about three Leagues oflF. During the time of this paffage, I us'd the precaution of taking from my fix Slaves an exad information of the Conftitution of their Country, and particularly of the principal Village. They having affur'd me, that the Capital Canton was feated upon a fort of a Lake, I took up a Refolution of not fl:opping at the other Villages, where I fliould only lofe time, and lavifh my Tobacco, and fleering diredtly to the Metropolitan in order to complain to their Generaliflimo. We arriv'd at the Capital Canton on the 3^ of November^ and there met with a very honourable Reception. The Outa- gamis of our Company complain'd of the affront they had receiv'd ; but the Head General being already inform'd of the matter, made anfwer, that they ought to have carry'd off the Governour or Leading Officer, and brought him along with them. In paffing from the firfl Village to this we run fifty Leagues, and were follow'd by a Proceffion of People, that were much more fociable than the Governour that offer'd us that Affront. After our Men had fitted up our Hutts at [119] the diftance of a Cannon fhot from the Village; we went in a joynt body with the Outagamis and the Outaouas^ to the Cacick of that Nation ; and in the mean time the Ejfa- napes Slaves were brought before him by ten of my Soldiers. ^ According to Lahontan's own chronology this should be December, not Novem- ber.— Ed. to iVor/Zy- America. 187 1 was adlually in the prefence of this petty King, when thefe Slaves fpent half an hour in profbrating themfelves feveral times before him. I made him a Prefent of Tobacco, Knives, Needles, Ciffars, two Firelocks with Flints, fome Hooks, and a very pretty Cutlas. He was better fatisfied with thefe trifling things, which he had never feen before, than I could have been with a plentiful Fortune. He teflified his Acknowledgment of the Gift, by a Counter-prefent that was more folid, though not much more valuable, as confifting of Peafe, Beans, Harts, Roe-bucks, Geefe and Ducks, of which he fent great plenty to our Camp : And indeed, we were extreamly well fatisfied with fuch a feafonable Prefent. He gave me to know. That, fince I defign'd to vifit the Gnacfitares^ he would give me a Convoy of two or three hundred Men : That the Gnacfitares were a very honeft fort of People ; and that both they and his People were link'd by a common intereft in guarding off the Mozeemlek, which were a turbulent and warlike Nation. He added, that the Nation laft mention'd were very numerous; that they never took the Field without twenty thoufand Men at leaft: That to repref the Incurfions and Infults of that dangerous Enemy, the Gnacfitares and his Nation had main- tain'd a Confederacy for fix and twenty years ; and that his Allies (the Gnacfitares) were forc'd to take up their Habita- tion in Iflands, where the Enemy cannot reach 'em. I was glad to accept of his Convoy, and return'd him many thanks. I ask'd four Pirogues of him, which he granted very frankly, allowing me to pick and choofe that number out of fifty. Having thus concerted my Meafures, I [120] was refolv'd 1 88 Some New Voyages to lofe no time ; and with that view order'd my Carpenters to plane the Pirogues ; by which they were thinner and lighter by one half. The poor innocent People of this Coun- try, could not conceive how we work'd with an Axe ; every flroke we gave they cry'd out, as if they had feen fome new Prodigy ; nay, the firing of Piftols could not divert 'em from that Amazement, though they were equally ftrangers both to the Piftol and the Axe. As foon as my Pirogues were got ready, I left my Canows with the Governour or Prince, and beg'd of him that they might remain untouch'd by any body ; in which point he was very faithful to me. I cannot but acquaint you in this place, that the higher I went up the River, I met with more difcretion from the Sav- ages. But in the mean time I muft not take leave of the laft Village, without giving fome account of it. 'Tis bigger than all the reft, and is the Refidence of the Great Commander or Generaliffimo, whofe Apartment is built by it felf towards the fide of the Lake, and furrounded with fifty other Apartments, in which all his Relations are lodg'd. When he walks, his way is ftrow'd with the leaves of Trees : But commonly he is carry'd by fix Slaves. His Royal Robes are of the fame Magnificence with thofe of the Commander of the Okoros: For he is naked all over, excepting his lower parts, which are cover'd with a large Scarf made of the barks of Trees. The large extent of this Village might juftly intitle it to the name of a City. The Houfes are built almoft like Ovens, but they are large and high ; and moft of 'em are of Reeds cemented with fat Earth. The day before I left this place, as I was walking about, 1 faw to 7V- America. 195 [126] upon which the Prifoners would be exchang'd, purfuant to the ufual Cuftom. They glory'd in the poffeffion of a greater meafure of Reafon than the Gnacfitares could pretend to, to whom they allow no more than the Figure of a Man ; for they look upon 'em as Beafts otherwife. To my mind, their Notion upon this Head is not fo very extravagant ; for I obferv'd fo much Honour and Politenefs in the Converfa- tion of thefe four Slaves, that I thought I had to do with Europeans : But, after all, I muft confefs, that the Gnacfitares are the moil tradlable Nation I met with among all the Sav- ages. One of the four Mozeemiek Slaves had a reddifh fort of a Copper Medal hanging upon his Neck, the Figure of which is reprefented in the Map. I had it melted by Mr. de TontVs Gun-fmith, who underftood fomething of Mettals ; but it became thereupon heavier, and deeper colour'd, and withal fomewhat tra6lable. I defir'd the Slaves to give me a circum- ftantial Account of thefe Medals ; and accordingly they gave me to underftand, that they are made by the Tahuglauk, who are excellent Artizans, and put a great value upon fuch Med- als. I could pump nothing farther out of 'em, with relation to the Country, Commerce and Cuftoms of that remote Nation. All they could fay was, that the great River of that Nation runs all along Weftward, and that the fait Lake into which it falls is three hundred Leagues in Circumference, and thirty in breadth, its Mouth ftretching a great way to the South- ward. I would fain have fatisfied my Curiofity in being an eye-witnefs of the Manners and Cuftoms of the Tahuglauk; but that being impradlicable, I was forc'd to be inftrudled at 196 Some New Voyages fecond hand by thefe Mozeemlek Slaves ; who affur'd me, upon the Faith of a Savage, that the Tahuglauk wear their Beards two Fingers breadth long ; that their Garments reach down to their Knees ; that they cover their Heads with a (harp- pointed Cap; that they [127] always wear a long Stick or Cane in their hands, which is tipp'd, not unlike what we ufe in Europe ; that they wear a fort of Boots upon their Legs which reach up to the Knee ; that their Women never fhew themfelves, which perhaps proceeds from the fame Principle that prevails in Italy and Spain ; and, in fine, that this People are always at War with the puiffant Nations that are feated in the Neighbourhood of the Lake ; but withal, that they never difquiet the ftrowling Nations that fall in their way, by reafon of their Weaknefs : An admirable Leffon for fome Princes in the World, who are fo much intent upon the making ufe of the ftrongeft hand. This was ail I could gather upon that Subjedl. My Curi- ofity prompted me to defire a more particular Account ; but unluckily I wanted a good Interpreter : and having to do with feveral Perfons that did not well underftand themfelves, I could make nothing of their incoherent Fuftian. I prefented the poor miferable Slaves with fomething in proportion to the Cuftom of that Country, and endeavour'd to perfwade 'em to go with me to Canada^ by making 'em fuch Offers as in their efteem would appear like Mountains of Gold : but the love they had for their Country ftifled all Perfwafion ; fo true it is, that Nature reduc'd to its juft Limits cares but little for Riches. to North- Avnmc3.. 197 In the mean time it began to thaw, and the Wind chop'd about to the South-weft ; upon which I gave notice to the great Cacique of the Gnacjitares, that I had a mind to return to Canada. Upon that occafion I repeated my Prefents; in com- penfation of which, my Pirogues were ftow'd with Beef as full as they could hold. This done, I embark'd, and crofs'd over from the little Ifland to the Continent, where I fix'd a great long Pole, with the Arms of France done upon a Plate of Lead. I fet out the 26th of January^ and arriv'd fafe on the 5th of February in the Country [128] of the Effanapes. We had much more pleafure in faihng down the River, than we had in going up ; for we had the agreeable diverfion of feeing feveral Huntfmen fhooting the Water-Fowl, that are plentiful upon that River. You muft know, that the Stream of the Long River is all along very flack and eafie, abating for about three Leagues between the fourteenth and fifteenth Village; for there indeed its Current may be call'd rapid. The Chan- nel is fo ftraight, that it fcarce winds at all from the Head to the Lake. 'Tis true 'tis not very pleafant ; for moft of its Banks have a difmal Profpedl, and the Water it felf has an ugly Tafte : but then its Ufefulnefs attones for fuch Incon- veniencies ; for, 'tis navigable with the greateft eafe, and will bear Barques of fifty Tun, till you come to that place which is mark'd with a Flower-de-luce in the Map, and where I put up the Poft that my Soldiers chriften'd la Hontau's Limit. March 1. I arriv'd in the Mijfifipi^ which was then much deeper and more rapid than before, by reafon of the Rains and Land-floods. To fave the Labour of Rowing, we then 198 Some New Voyages left our Boats to the Current, and arriv'd on the loth in the Ifland of Rencontres^ which took its Name from the Defeat of 400 Iroquefe, accompHfh'd there by 300 NadoueJJis. The Story of the Encounter is briefly this : A Party of 400 Iroquefe hav- ing a mind to furprife a certain People in the Neighbourhood of the Otentas (of whom more anon) march'd to the Country of the Illinefe, where they built Canows, and were furnifh'd with Provifions. After that they embark'd upon the River MiJJifipi, and were difcover'd by another little Fleet that was failing down the other fide of the fame River. The Iroquefe crofs'd over immediately to that Ifland, which is fince call'd /iux Rencontres. The Nadouefjis, i. e. the other little Fleet, being fufpicious of fome ill Defign, without knowing what People they were, (for they had no knowledge of the [129] Iroquefe but by Hear-fay ; upon this fufpicion, I fay, they tugg'd hard to come up with 'em. The two Armies pofl:ed themfelves upon the point of the Ifland, where the two Croffes are put down in the Map ; and as foon as the Nadoueffis came in fight, the Iroquefe cry'd out in the lUinefe Language, Who are ye? To which the Nadoueffis anfwer'd. Some body : And put- ting the like Queflion to the Iroquefe^ receiv'd the fame An- fwer. Then the Iroquefe put this Queftion to 'em. Where are you a going? To hunt Beeves, reply'd the Nadoueffis. But pray ., fays the Nadoueffis, what's your bufinefs? To hunt Men, reply'd the Iroquefe. ^Tis well, fays the Nadoueffis, we are men, and fo you need go no farther. Upon this Challenge the two Parties difembark'd, and the Leader of the Nadoueffis cut his Canows -1 to North-Kvnmc2i. 199 to pieces ; and after reprefenting to his Warriours that they behov'd either to Conquer or Die, march'd up to the Iroquefe; who receiv'd 'em at firft Onfet with a Cloud of Arrows : But the Nadouejfui having ftood their firft Difcharge, which kill'd 'em eighty Men, fell in upon 'em with their Clubs in their hands, before the others could charge again ; and fo routed 'em entirely. This Engagement lafted for two hours, and was fo hot, that two hundred and fixty Iroquefe fell upon the fpot, and the reft were all taken Prifoners. Some of the Iroquefe indeed attempted to make their Efcape after the Adion was over ; but the victorious General fent ten or twelve of his Men to purfue 'em in one of the Canows that he had taken : and accordingly they were all overtaken and drown'd. The Nadoueffis having obtain'd this Vidory, cut off the Nofes and Ears of two of the clivereft Prifoners ; and fupplying 'em with Fufees, Powder, and Ball, gave 'em the liberty of returning to their own Country, in order to give their Country-men to underftand, that they ought not to employ Women to hunt after Men any longer.^ [130] The 1 2th we arriv'd at the Village of the Otentas^ where we took in a plentiful Provifion of Turkey Corn, of which thefe People have great ftore. They inform'd us, that their River was pretty rapid, and took its Rife from the neighbour- ing Mountains ; and that the upper part of it was adorn'd with feveral Villages inhabited by the People call'd Pnnimaha, ^ This tale appears to have been an invention of Lahontan ; none of his contem- poraries describes any such encounter between the Sioux and the Iroquois. — Ed. 200 Some New Voyages Paneaffa, and Panetonka} But confidering that I was ftraitned for time, and that I faw no probability of learning what I wanted to know with reference to the Spaniards^ I took leave of 'em the next day, which was the 13th, and in four days time, by the help of the Current and our Oars, made the River of the Miffouris? This done, we run up againft the Stream of that River, which was at leaft as rapid as the Mijfifipi was at that time; and arriv'd on the i8th at the firft Village of the Miffouris, where I only ftop'd to make the People fome Prefents that procur'd me a hundred Turkeys, with which that People are wonderfully well ftock'd.^ After that, we row'd hard againft the Stream, and landed next night near the fecond Village. As foon as I arriv'd, I detach'd a Sergeant with ten Soldiers to convoy the Outagamis to the Village, while the reft of my Crew were bufied in fitting up our 1 River Otentas is an early name for the Des Moines, so called from the tribe encountered near its mouth. Marquette's map shows the Otontantas, whom Shea, Early Voyages on the Mississippi (Albany, 1861), identifies with the Oto, evidently the same as the Authoutantas of LeClercq and Hennepin. The Oto were a Siouan tribe who by the beginning of the nineteenth century had migrated west of the Mis- souri, and were settled on Platte River with the remnant of the Missouri tribe. The Panimaha, Paneassa, and Panitonka were divisions of the Pawnees, of Caddoan stock. The Panimaha were later called Pawnee Loups. By the close of the eighteenth cen- tury they were all west of the Missouri. — Ed. 2 Missouri River was first seen at its mouth by Jolliet and Marquette, who called it Pekitanoui, meaning Muddy Stream. Marquette surmised that its upper waters might mingle with a stream flowing into the Vermillion Sea {Pacific Ocean). — Ed. 3 The Missouri were a Siouan tribe first encountered near the mouth of their great river. It would be fruitless to attempt to locate the villages described by Lahontan ; but later, the Missouri dwelt for many years near the mouth of Grand River. From this site they were driven late in the eighteenth century, and amalgamated with the Kansa and Oto. On the movements of all these tribes see Dorsey, " Migrations of Siouan Tribes," in Amer. Naturalist, xx, pp. 211-218. — Ed. to iV(?r^^- America. 201 Hutts and unloading our Canows. It happen'd unluckily that neither the Soldiers nor the Outagamis could make the Savages underftand 'em ; and the latter were juft ready to fall upon 'em, when an old Fellow cry'd out, that the Strangers were not without more company, for that he had difcover'd our Huts and Canows. Upon this, the Soldiers and the Outa- gamis retlr'd In a great Confternation, and advls'd me to keep a ftrong Guard all night. About two a clock in the Morning two Men approach'd to our little Camp, and call'd in Illinefe, that they wanted an Interview ; upon which the Outagamis^ being extreamly well fatisfied that there was fome body among 'em who could underftand what they faid, reply'd [131] In lUinefe, that they fliould be very welcome as foon as the Sun appear'd in the Horizon. Neverthelefs, the Outagamis re- fented the former Affront fo much, that they importun'd me all night long to fet fire to the Village, and put all the fcoun- drel Inhabitants to the Sword. I made anfwer to 'em, that 'twas our bufinefs to be wifer than they, and to bend our Thoughts, not upon a frultlefs Revenge, but upon the Dlfcov- ery that we were then in queft of. At the break of Day the two Adventurers of the Night came up to us, and after put- ting Interrogatories to us for the fpace of two hours, invited us to come up to their Village. The Outagamis reply'd, that the Head or Governour of their Nation ought to have faluted us fooner: and this oblig'd 'em to go back to give him notice. After that we faw no body for three hours : but at laft, when our Impatience was juft beginning to boil, we perceiv'd the Governour, who accofted us in a trembling Pofture. He was 202 Some New Voyages accompany'd with fome of his own Men, who were loaded with broil'd or dry'd Meat, Sacks of Turkey or Indian Corn, dry'd Raifins, and fome fpeckled or particolour'd Buck-skins. In confideration of this Prefent, I made 'em another of lefs confequence. Then I brought on a Conference between the Oiitagamis of my Company and the two Night Meffengers, in order to make fome difcovery of the Nature of the Country; but they ftill ftop'd our Mouths with this Anfwer, that they knew nothing of the Matter, but that the other Nations that liv'd higher up were able to inform us. Had I been of the fame mind with the Outagamis, we had done noble Exploits in this Place : but I confider'd that 'twas my bufinefs to pur- chafe the Knowledge of feveral things, which I could not obtain by burning the Village. To be fliort, we re-embark'd that fame day, about two a clock in the Afternoon, and row'd about four Leagues up the River, where we made the River of [132] the Ofages, and encamp'd by its Mouth. ^ That Night we had feveral falfe Alarms from the wild Beeves, upon which we made fufficient Reprifals afterwards ; for the next day we kill'd many of 'em notwithftanding that it rain'd fo heavily that we could fcarce ftir out of our Hutts. Towards the Evening, when the Rain was over, and while we were tran- fporting two or three of thefe Beeves to our little Camp, we fpy'd an Army of the Savages upon a full March towards us. 1 The Missouri was in early nomenclature frequently called "River of the Ozages"; but Lahontan seems here to refer to that now known as Osage River. The Osage Indians were of Siouan origin, closely akin to the Missouri and Kansa. Nearly 2,000 still live (1902) upon their reservation in Oklahoma. — Ed. to North' Am^nc2i. 203 Upon that, my Men began to entrench themfelves, and to unload their Pieces with Worms, in order to charge 'em afrefh ; but one of the Pieces happening to go off, the whole Body of the Enemy difappear'd, fome ftraggling one way, and fome another: for thefe People were upon the fame foot with the Nations that live upon the Long River, forafmuch as neither of them had ever feen or handled Fire-Arms. How- ever, this Adventure mov'd the Oiitagamis fo much, that to fatisfie them, I was oblig'd to re-embark that very night, and return the fame way that I came. Towards Midnight we came before a Village, and kept a profound Silence till Day- break, at which time we row'd up to their Fort ; and upon our entring there, and difcharging our Pieces in the Air, the Women, Children, and fuperannuated Men, were put into fuch a Confternation, that they run from place to place calling out for Mercy. You muft know, all their Warriours were abroad, and 'twas a Body of them that offer'd to attack us the day before. The Oiitagamis perceiving the Confternation of the Women and Children, call'd out, that they behov'd to depart the Village, and that the Women fhould have time to take up their Children. Upon that the whole Crew turn'd out, and we fet fire to the Village on all fides. This done, we purfu'd our Courfe down that rapid River, and enter'd the River MiJJifipi on the 25th, early in the Morning : the 26th, about three a clock in the [133] Afternoon, we defcry'd three or four hundred Savages employ'd in the Hunting of Beeves, which fwarmed in all the Meads to the Weftward. As foon as the Hunters fpy'd us, they made a fign that we fhould make 204 Some New Voyages towards 'em. Being ignorant who, or how numerous they were, we made a halt at firft ; but at laft we put in about a Musket-fhot above 'em, calling out to 'em that they fhould not approach to us in a Body. Upon that, four of their number came up to us with a fmiling Countenance, and gave us to know, in the Ilinefe Language, that they were Akanfas. We could not but credit their Report, for they had Knives and Sciffars hanging upon their Necks, and little Axes about 'em, which the Ilinefe prefent 'em with when they meet. In fine, being affur'd that they were of that Nation, which Mr. de la Salle and feveral other French-men were intimately acquainted with, we landed at the fame place ; and they entertain'd us firft with Dancing and Singing, and then with all forts of Meat.^ The next day they fhew'd us a Crocodile that they had knock'd in the head two days before, by a Stratagem that you'll find defcrib'd in another place : After that they gave us the diverfion of a Hunting Match; for 'tis cuftomary with them, when they mean to divert themfelves, to catch the Beeves by the different Methods laid down in this Cut. I put fome Queftions to 'em relating to the Spaniards, but they could not refolve 'em. All that I learn'd from 'em was, that the Mijfouris and the Ofages are numerous and mifchievous ^ The Akansas (Arkansas) was the name by which the French designated the great Siouan tribe of Quapaw. Dorsey (see p. 200, note 3, ante) thinks it was an Illinois term for all that stock who lived on the banks of the Ohio, whence the Quapaw moved southward (before 1540) to the region of the river now known as Arkansas. In the beginning of the nineteenth century numerous bands of Arkansas lived along the river of that name. About three hundred yet survive in Oklahoma. For La Salle's adventures among the Arkansas, see Membre's account in Shea, Dis- covery and Exploration of Mississippi Valley (New York, 1853) , pp. 169-172. — Ed. to North- Am^nc2i, 205 Nations, equally void both of Courage and Honefty ; that their Countries were water'd with very great Rivers ; and, in a word, were too good for them. After we had fpent two days with them, we purfued our Voyage to the River Oiiabach^ taking care to watch the Croco- diles very narrowly, of which they had told us incredible Stories. The next day we enter'd the Mouth of that River, and founded '^ [134] to try the truth of what the Savages reported of its depth. In efiFed, we found there three Fathom and a half Water; but the Savages of our Company alledg'd, that 'twas more fwell'd than ufually.^ They all agreed, that 'twas Navi- gable an hundred Leagues up, and I wifh'd heartily, that my time had allow'd me to run up to its Source ; but that being unfeafonable, I fail'd up againft the Stream, till we came to the River of the Illinefe, which we made on the ^th of April with fome difficulty, for the Wind was againft us the firft two days, and the Currents was very rapid.^ All I can fay of the River MiJJifipi^ now that I am to take leave of it, is, that its narroweft part is half a League over, and the fhalloweft is a Fathom and a half deep ; and that 1 The Ohio River was usually designated as the Wabash (Ouabache) below the mouth of the present river of that name. Marquette gave it the title Ouabou- skiguo, which the French soon corrupted into Ouabache. The upper reaches of the Ohio were early known by the name it now bears. — Ed. 2 Jolliet and Marquette named the Illinois River St. Louis. Several names were later given it; Seignelay (by Hennepin) , Riviere Divine, etc. For an explanation of these titles see Parkman, La Salle, p. 154 note. This river, about three hundred and fifty miles in length, is entirely in the state of the same name. Its easy naviga- tion made it of much value as a connecting link between the great lakes and the Mississippi. — Ed. 2o6 Some New Voyages according to the information of the Savages, its ftream is pretty gentle for feven or eight Months of the year. As for Shelves or Banks of Sand, I met with none in it. 'Tis full of Ifles which look like Groves, by reafon of the great plenty of Trees, and in the verdant feafon of the year afford a very agreeable profpe(5l. Its Banks are Woods, Meadows and Hills. I cannot be pofitive, whether it winds much in other places ; but as far as I could fee, its courfe is very different from that of our Rivers in France; for I muft tell you by the way, that all the Rivers of America run pretty ftraight. The River of the Illineje is intitled to Riches, by vertue of the benign Climate, and of the great quantities of Deer, Roe- Bucks, and Turkeys that feed upon its brinks : Not to men- tion feveral other Beafts and Fowls, a defcription of which would require an intire Volume. If you faw but my Journal, you would be fick of the tedious particulars of our daily Adventures both in Hunting and Fifhing divers fpecies of Animals, and in Rencounters with the Savages. In fhort, the laft thing I fhall mention of this [135] River, is, that the Banks are replenifh'd with an infinity of Fruit-Trees, which we faw in a difmal condition, as being ftrip'd of their verdure; and that among thefe Fruit-Trees, there are many Vines, which bear mofl beautiful Clufters of very large Grapes. I ate fome of thefe Grapes dry'd in the Sun, which had a moft delicious Tafte. The Beavers are as unfrequent in this, as in the long River, where I faw nothing but Otters, of which the People make Furs for the Winter. I fet out from the Illineje River on the lOth of Aprils and to North-hvnmc2i, 207 by the help of a Weft-South-Weft Wind, arriv'd in fix days at the Fort of Crevecoeiir, where I met with Mr. de Tonti, who receiv'd me with all imaginable Civility, and is juftly refpeded and honour'd by the Iroqiiefe} I ftay'd three days in this Fort, where there were thirty Coureurs de Bois that traded with the Illinefe. The 20th I arriv'd at the Village of the IlUnefe;. and to leffen the drudgery of a great Land-carriage of twelve great Leagues, ingag'd four hundred Men to tranfport our Baggage, which they did in the fpace of four days, being incourag'd by a Bribe of a great Roll of Brafd Tobacco, an hundred pound weight of Powder, two hundred weight of Ball, and fome Arms, which I gave to the moft confiderable Men of their number. The i^th I arriv'd at Chekakou, where my Outagamis took leave of me in order to return to their own Country, being very well fatisfied with a Prefent I made 'em of fome Fufees, and fome Piftols.^ The i^th I reimbarqued, and by rowing hard in a Calm, made the River of the Oumamis on the 2Stb. There I met four hundred Warriours, upon the 1 If Lahontan had really been at Tonty's fort on the Illinois, he would have known better than to call it Fort Crevecoeur. The latter was the fort built near the site of Peoria, 111., on La Salle's first journey to Illinois, and destroyed by mutineer- ing soldiers two months later (Jan. -March, 1680). Tonty was at this time in com- mand at Fort St. Louis, built (1682) on " La Rocher " farther up the river near the present Utica. For its later history see p. 133, note r, ante. Lahontan probably intended to say that Tonty was respected and honored by the Illinois, not the Iroquois, against whom he waged frequent wars. — Ed. 2 The portage at Chicago was first made known to the French by the voyage of Jolliet and Marquette, who returned to Mackinac by this route (1672). They re- ported it as very convenient for settlement (Jes. ReL, Iviii, pp. 105, 107); but La Salle wrote less favorably of the site, and that a canal would be very expensive. The connection between Chicago River and the Illinois is now secured by the Chicago drainage canal, between that city and Joliet, 111. — Ed. 2o8 Some New Voyages very fame place where Mr. de la Salle had formerly built a Fort.^ Thefe Warriours were then imploy'd in burning three Iroquefe, who, as they faid, deferv'd the Punifhment ; and invited us to fhare in the pleafure of the Show ; for the Savages take it very ill if one [136] refufes the diverfion of fuch real Tragedies. The Tragical fpe6lacle made me fhrink, for the poor wretches were put to inconceiveable Torture; and upon that I refolv'd to reimbarque with all expedition ; alledging for an Apology, that my Men had great ftore of Brandy with 'em, and would certainly make themfelves drunk, in folemnifing their Vidory, upon which they would be apt to commit diforders, that I could not poflibly prevent. Ac- cordingly I went immediately on board, and after coafhing along the Lake, crofs'd the Bay de VOurs, and landed at Mif- filimakinac the iid} I am inform'd by the Sieur de S. Pierre de Repantigni, who travel'd from Quebec hither upon the Ice, that Mr. de Denonville has took up a refolution of making a Peace with the Iroquefe^ in 1 The River of the Miamis was that now known as St. Joseph, which flows into Lake Michigan in Berrien County, Mich. La Salle built a fort at this place in November, 1679, which was destroyed the next spring by the deserters from Fort Crevecoeur. In the autumn of the same year it was rebuilt by La Salle's lieutenant La Forest, and there the great explorer spent the ensuing winter. The Jesuits founded a mission to the Miamis about sixty miles up the river, near the present Niles, Mich. The mission and the fort afterwards built were known as St. Joseph. — Ed. 2 The Bay de I'Ours qui Dort (Bay of Sleeping Bears) was that now called Grand Traverse Bay, Mich. This name appears upon nearly all French maps until the English conquest (1760). The first English maps designate it as Grand Bay; later, it acquired its present appellation. The French name was doubtless given because of a fancied resemblance in the rocky headlands to sleeping bears, — Ed, to North- Amtv\c2i. 209 which he means to comprehend the other Nations that are his Allies ; and with that view had given notice to his Allies, that they fhould not infeft the Iroqiiefe} He acquaints me further, that Mr. de Denonville has fent orders to the Governour of this place, to perfwade the Rat^ (one of the Commanders of the Hurons) to go down to the Colony, with a defign, to have him hang'd ; and that the Savage General being aware of the defign, has made a publick Declaration, that he will go thither on purpofe to defie him. Accordingly he defigns to fet out to Morrow with a great body of Oiitaouas^ and fome Coureurs de Boh, under the command of Mr. Dulhut. As for the Soldiers of my Detachment, I have difpers'd 'em in feveral Canows among the Savages, and the Coureurs de Bois ; but having fome bufinefs to adjuft in this place, I am oblig'd to tarry my felf feven or eight days longer. This, Sir, is the true account of my little Voyage. I have related nothing but the Effential Circumftances ; choofmg to overlook the reft, which are fo trifling, as to be unworthy of your Curiofity. [137] As for the lUinefe Lake, 'tis three hun- dred Leagues in Circumference, as you may fee by the Scale of Leagues upon the Map. 'Tis feated in an admirable Cli- ^ Jean Paul le Gardeur, sieur de St. Pierre de Repentigny, was grandson of a Norman gentleman of good family, who early settled in Canada; and, on his mother's side, of Jean Nicolet, first explorer of Wisconsin. He had seen service in the Nortli- west, probably under Du Luth. He was in 1689 sent by Denonville with orders for the destruction of Fort Frontenac, and distinguished himself as an ofHcer in both King William's (1689-97) and Queen Anne's (1702-13) wars. In 1718 he built the French post at Chequamegon Bay, on Lake Superior. His son Jacques, second sieur de St. Pierre, was the officer whom Washington encountered upon the Alle- gheny (1753). — Ed. 14 2IO Some New Voyages mate ; its Banks are cloath'd with fine and tall Trees, and have but few Meads. The River of the Oumamis is not worth your regard. The Bay de I'Onrs qui dort, is of an indifferent large extent, and receives the River upon which the Outaouas are wont to hunt Beavers every third year. In {hort, it has neither Shelves, Rocks, nor Banks of Sand. The Land which bounds it on the South fide, is replenifii'd with Roe-bucks, Deer, and Turkeys. Farewel, Good Sir : And affure your felf, that 'twill always be a fenfible pleafure to me, to amufe you with an account of the greateft Curiofities I meet with. But now. Sir, I hope you will not take it ill, that the Re- lation I here give you, is only an Abridgment of my Voyage : For, in earneft, to be minute upon every particular Curiofity, would require more time and leifure than I can fpare. I have here fent you a view of the fubftantial part ; and fhall after- wards hope for an opportunity of recounting to you by word of Mouth, an infinity of Adventures, Rencounters, and Obfer- vations, which may call up the refleding faculty of thinking Men. My own Thought is too Superficial to philofophife upon the Origin, the Belief, the Manners and Cuftoms of fo many Savages ; or to m.ake any advances with reference to the extent of this Continent to the Weftward. I have contented my felf with offering fome thoughts upon the caufes of the bad fuccefs of the Difcoveries, that feveral experienc'd Men have attempted in America^ both by Sea and Land : And ! flatter my felf, that my thoughts upon that head are juft. The frefh Inftances of Mr. de hi Salle, and feveral other unlucky Difcoverers, may afford a fufiicient and feafonable caution to to North' AiTimc2i. 211 [138] thofe, who for the future fhall undertake to difcover all the unknown Countries of this New World. 'Tis not every one that's qualify'd for fuch an Enterprife, non licet omnibus adire Corintbum. 'Twere an eafie matter to trace the utmoft limits of the Country that lies to the Weft of Canada, pro- vided it be gone about in a proper Method. In the firft place, inftead of Canows, I would have fuch Adventurers to make ufe of certain Sloops of a peculiar Strudlure, which might draw but little Water, and be portable, as being made of light Wood ; and withall carry thirteen Men, with 35 or 40 hundred weight of Stowage, and be able to bear the fhock of the Waves in the great Lakes. Courage, Health, and Vigi- lance, are not fufficient of themfelves to qualifie a Man for fuch Adventures ; he ought to be poffefs'd of other Talents, which are rarely met with in one and the fame Perfon. The Condu6l of the three hundred Men that accompany'd me upon this Difcovery, gave me a great deal of trouble. It requires a large ftock of Induftry and Patience, to keep fuch a Com- pany up to their Duty. Sedition, Mutinies, Quarrels, and an infinity of diforders frequently take place among thofe, who being in remote and folitary Places, think they have a right of ufing force againft their Superiours. One muft diffemble, and even fhut his Eyes upon occafion, leaft the growing Evil fhould be inflam'd : The gentleft Methods are the fureft, for him that commands in Chief; and if any Mutiny or Seditious Plot is in view, 'tis the bufinefs of the inferior Officers to ftifle it, by perfwading the Mutineers, that the difcovery of fuch things to the Commanding Officer, would create a great deal 212 Some New Voyages of uneafinefs. So, the chief OfHcer muft ftill make as if he were ignorant of what paffes, unlefs it be, that the flame breaks out in his Prefence ; then indeed he lies under an indifpenfible Obligation, of infliding fpeedy [139] and private punifhment, without his prudence diredls him to put off the Execution, upon an apprehenfion of fome pernicious confequences that may infue thereupon. In fuch Voyages he muft overlook a thoufand things, which upon other occalions he has all reafon to punifh. He muft counterfeit a downright ignorance of their Intrigues with the She-Savages, of their Quarrels among themfelves, of their negligence in not mounting the Guard, and not obferving the other points of Duty; in a word, he muft pretend to know nothing of an Infinity of fuch Diforders, as have no diredl tendency to a Revolt. He ought to ufe the precaution of fingling out a Spy in his little Army, and reward him handfomly for a dexterous Intelligence as to all that hap- pens ; to the end that he may remedy the growing diforders either diredly or indirectly. This Spie may by good manage- ment, and due fecrecy find out the Ringleader of a Club or Cabal; and when the Commanding Officer has receiv'd fuch fatisfadlion upon the matter, that there's no room left to doubt of the Criminal's Demerit ; 'twill then be very convenient to make away with him, and that with fuch management, that no body Ihould know what became of him. Farther : He ought to give 'em Tobacco and Brandy now and then, to ask their advice upon fome occafions, to fatigue 'em as little as poffible, to call 'em up to dance and make to iVor/Z>- America. 213 merry, and at the fame time to exhort 'em to live in a good underftanding with one another. The beft Topiclc he can make ufe of for inforcing their Duty, is Religion, and the Honour of their Country, and this he ought to defcant upon himfelf : For though I have a great deal of Faith in the power of the Clergy ; yet I know that fort of Men do's more harm than good, in Voyages of this nature; and for that reafon I'd choofe to be without their Company. The Perfon [140] who undertakes to go upon a Difcovery, ought to be very nice and cautious in the choice of his Men ; for every one is not fit for his bufinefs. His Men ought to be between 30 and 40 years of Age, of a dry Conflitution, of a peaceable Temper, of an adlive and bold Spirit, and inur'd to the fatigues of Voyages. The whole Retinue muft confift of three hundred Men ; and of that number there muft be fome Ship-Carpenters, Gun- fmiths, and Sawyers with all their Tools ; befides Huntfmen, and Fiihermen with their Tackling. You muft likewife have Surgeons among 'em, but their Cheft ought to contain nothing but Razours, Lancets, External Medicines for Wounds, Or- vietan and Senna. All the Men of the Detachment, ought to be provided with BufT-Coats and Boots to turn the Arrows ; for, as I intimated above, the Savages of the unknown Coun- tries are ftrangers to Fire-Arms. They muft be arm'd with a double barrel'd Gun, a double barrel'd Piftol, and a good long Sword. The Commanding Officer muft take care to provide a fufficient quantity of the Skins of Deer, Elks, and Beeves, in order to be few'd together, and hung round his Camps 214 Some New Voyages upon certain Stakes fix'd at convenient diftances from one another. I had as many as would go round a fquare of thirty Foot every way ; for each Skin being five Foot deep, and almoft four Foot broad, I made two pieces of eight Skins a piece, which were rais'd and extended in a Minute. Befides thefe, he ought to carry with him fome Pot-Guns of eight Foot in length, and fix in breadth ; with two Hand-Mills for grinding the Indian Corn, Nails of all fizes. Pickaxes, Spades, Hatchets, Hooks, Soap, and Cotton to make Candles of. Above all, he muft not forget to take in good flore of Pow- der, Brandy, Brafil Tobacco, and fuch things as he muft pre- fent to the Savages whofe Country he difcovers. Add to this Cargo, an Aftrolabe, a Semicircle, feveral [141] Sea-Compaffes, fome Simple, and fome of Variation, a Load-ftone, two large Watches of three Inches Diameter; Pencils, Colours, and Paper, for making Journals and Maps, for the defigning of Land-Creatures, Fowl, Fifh, Trees, Plants, Grain, and in a word, whatever feems worthy of his Curiofity. I would like- wife advife him to carry with him fome Trumpeters and Fid- lers, both for animating his Retinue, and raifmg the admira- tion of the Savages. With this Equipage, Sir, a Man of Senfe, Condud, and Adion, I mean, a Man that's Vigilant, Prudent, Cautious, and above all. Patient and Moderate, and qualify'd for contriving Expedients upon all occafions ; a Man, I fay, thus qualify'd, and thus fitted out, may boldly go to all the Countries that lye to the Weft of Canada, without any appre- henfion of danger. As for my own part, I ferioufly declare, to North-Am^ncz. 215 that if I were poffefs'd of all thefe qualities, I fhould efteem it my happinefs to be imploy'd upon fuch an Enterprife, both for the Glory of his Majefty, and my own Satisfaction : For the continu'd diverfity of Objedls, did fo charm me in my Voyages, that I had fcarce time to refled upon the fatigue and trouble that I underwent. I am, SIR, Tours, &c. 2i6 Some New Voyages [142] LETTER XVII. Dated at Quebec September 28. 1689. The Author Jets out from MifTilimakinac to the Colony, and defcribes the Country, Rivers, and Pajjes that he Jaw by the way. The Iroquefe make a fatal incurfion into the IJland of Monreal : Fort Frontenac is abandon'd. Count Frontenac is fent to Canada, and the Marquis of Denonville is recall'd. SIR, I WRIT to you from Miffilimakinac on the 28/^ of May. I left that place June the ^th, and fet out for Monreal, ac- company'd with twelve Outaouas, who were divided into two Canows, and row'd very hard. The 23^, I overtook the Coureurs de Bois in the River Creufe, who had got the ftart of me for fome days.^ Mr. Dulhut us'd his utmoft efforts to diffwade me from going further with fo weak a Retinue. He would have had me to go down along with him ; and remon- ftrated to me, that if my twelve Conduders perceiv'd either in the Land-carriage or upon the Rivers, any thing that might call up an apprehenfion of falling into the hands of the Iro- quefe, they would defert me and the Canows, and fly to the iThe Riviere Creuse — called by the English Deep River — is not a separate stream, but the long, deep, still part of the Ottawa River, extending for many miles above the Allumettes Rapids and Islands. Lahontan apparently gives that name to all of the Upper Ottawa or to the Mattawan. — Ed. to N orth- Amtnc2i. 217 Woods to avoid the Enemy. I rejedled his Advice, though I had like to have repented of my refolution not long after ; for according to his Predidion, my Canow-Men threaten'd to run away to the Forrefts, at the Fall call'd Long Saut'^: And indeed if they had done it, I had follow'd 'em, upon the refledion, that of two Evils a Man ought [143] to choofe the leaft ; but this Storm blew over. In the great River of the Outaouas, not far from the River of Lievre,^ I met Mr. de St. Helene at the Head of a Party of the Coiireurs de BoiSf who was bound for Hud/on's Bay, in order to retake fome Forts that the Engli/h had feiz'd upon.^ He acquainted me with the Prince of Orange's Expedition for England; and gave me to underftand, that upon his arrival King James retir'd to France^ and that the Prince was proclaim'd King, which feem'd to prefage a bloody and fharp War in Europe. I affure you, Sir, this piece of News furpriz'd me extreamly ; and notwithftanding that I 1 This was the Long Sault of the Ottawa, not that of the St. Lawrence, for which see p. 68, note i, ante. The former, about three miles in length, is on the Ottawa above the Lake of Two Mountains, and is now avoided by the Grenville Canal. It was at the lower end of these rapids that occurred the heroic defense of Canada by Dollard and his companions (1661). See Parkman, Old Regime in Canada, chap. 3. — Ed. ^ Riviere au Lievre descends from the north and enters the Ottawa about three miles above the upper end of the Long Sault. — Ed. ' For Jacques le Moyne, Sieur de St. Helene, see p. 118, note i, ante. He was carrying supplies and despatches to his brother Iberville, who was in command of the forts which the French had captured (1686) in Hudson Bay. Two English ships had been sent to recover these; during St. Helene's absence, Iberville succeeded in capturing both of these vessels, with their officers and crews. Iberville had sent messengers to the governor of Canada, who left Fort Albany (Fr., St. Anne) Jan. 5, 1689, and came overland on snowshoes. See Charlevoix, History of Ne-a; France (Shea's trans.), iv, pp. 37-40. — Ed. 2i8 Some New Voyages had it from the Mouth of a Man, whofe word I rely very much upon, yet I had all the difficulty in the World to make my felf believe, that a Revolution of fuch Importance could be accom- plifh'd in fo fhort a time, without the effufion of Blood ; efpe- cially confidering what a flrid Alliance there was between our Court, and the Court of England^ and how much 'twas the intereft of both thefe Monarchs to give mutual affiftance to one another. July the (^th I arriv'd at Monreal, after venturing down feveral fearful Catarads in the River of the Outaouas, and induring the hardfhips of fifteen or twenty Land-carriages, fome of which are above a League in length. The Navigation is prety fure from Mijfilimakinac to the River des Francois; for in coafting along the Lake of Hurons, we meet with an infinity of Iflands, which ferve for a fhelter.^ But in going up that River, there's fome difficulty, for it has five Cataradls which oblige us to turn out and carry all over- land for thirty, fifty, and a hundred Paces. Having pafs'd that River, we enter'd the Lake of the Nepicerinis, from whence we are forc'd to tranfport our Canows and Baggage two Leagues over-land, to another River which has fix or feven Water-falls that we commonly fhoot.^ From that River we ^ The distance from Mackinac to the mouth of French River, in Georgian Bay, is nearly 200 miles, taking as direct a course as possible among the islands of the North Channel. French River (River des Franfais) was so called because it was the accustomed waterway of the French voyageurs, who on account of the hostility of the Iroquois, found the difficult route via the Ottawa, Lake Nipissing, and French River more practicable than the Great Lakes. — Ed. 2 French River is fifty-five miles long, and filled with rapids and falls. Lake Nipissing was named from the tribe of Algonquian Indians first encountered on its banks, some of whose descendants still live on a reservation on the north bank of the to iVor^/&- America. 219 have another [144] Land-carriage to the River Creiife, which falls with rapid Currents into the great River of the Outaouas, near a place call'd Mataotian} We continue our courfe upon this great River, till we come to the point of the Ifland of Monreal, where 'tis loft in the great River of St. Laurence. Thefe two Rivers joyn one another with very gentle Streams, and quitting their fearful Channels form the little Lake of St. Louis. I thought to have loft my Life at the fall, call'd the fall of St. Louis, about three Leagues from Monreal, for our Canow having overfet in the Eddy, I was carry'd by the Cur- rent to the foot of that Cataradl, from whence the Chevalier de Vaudreuil drag'd me out by a great chance.^ The Canows and the Skins belonging to the fix Savages were loft ; and one of the Savages was drown'd. This is the only time I was in danger, through the whole courfe of my Voyages. As foon as I landed here, I repair'd with diligence to a Tavern to refrefh my felf, and to make up the loffes I had fuftain'd by a neceffary Abftinence. The next day I waited upon Mr. de Denonville, lake. From the eastern end of this lake, the route lay for a mile and a half along Riviere de Vase (Muddy River) , whence the Portage au Vase, of about four miles, led over the watershed to Trout Lake, the source of River Mattawan. This river flows east into the Ottawa, is about thirty-four miles long, and has i