de Champlain and the captains of the vessels here, having come
[181] to receive Indulgences in our little Chapel, so many Hurons
came also that we were compelled to close our door, saying that
we were having a feast, in order to prevent them from entering.
It is a maxim among them that they will never put their feet in
the cabin of any one who is having a feast. It is only to the
invited that entrance is permitted. Now, notwithstanding this, as
they were very curious to see, one of them put his head in at a
window and called his comrades; sieur de Champlain, enjoying their
wonder, gave a piece of lemon peel to one of them, who, on tasting
it, cried out: "Oh, how good that is!" He divided it with those
who were with him, who were all seized with the same admiration.
They asked what it was; sieur de Champlain said to them, laughing,
that it was the rind of a French [182] pumpkin. This astonished
them very much, and they said to each other that our pumpkins
were wonderful. Thereupon, those who had not tasted appeared at
the window, and asked sieur de Champlain if all the pumpkins were
eaten, saying that they would like to taste them, so as to tell
about them in their country. You can judge for yourself how all in
the room began to laugh! After Vespers, they were allowed to enter
the Chapel, which was neatly decorated according to our limited
means. It is a source of infinite satisfaction to us to see that
our Lord has a little house in the midst of the great forests in
which we live. It was here that they were completely astonished.
We had placed Statues of St. Ignace and of St. Xavier upon our
altar; they looked upon them with awe, believing [183] them to be
living persons; they asked if they were Ondaqui. The word _Oqui_,
and its plural _Ondaqui_, signifies among them some divinity; in a
word, what they recognize as above human nature. They asked also
if the tabernacle was their house, and if those _Ondaqui_ dressed
themselves in the ornaments which they saw around the Altar. Father
Brebeuf having explained to them what these Images represented,
they put their hands on their mouths and struck them in sign of
astonishment. There were three Images of the Virgin in different
places. They asked successively about each one, who it was; the
Father explaining to them, that it was the mother of him who had
made everything. They began to laugh, asking how it could possibly
be that a single person had three mothers; for they took the three
figures [184] for the representation of three different persons.
They were made to understand that these three images represented
the same person. Oh, how fortunate it would be if all the mysteries
of our faith could be well represented! These images help a great
deal, and speak for themselves.
Sur le soir le Pere Brebeuf estant allé à Kebec ou au fort des
François, où estoient les Hurons pour voir ceux auec lesquels nos
Peres s'embarqueroient, le Capitaine de la Rochelle (c'est ainsi que
nos François, ont appellé l'vn de leurs villages ou Bourgades) dõnans
les noms des villes de France à ces pauures bicoques. Ce Capitaine
donc aborde le Pere Brebeuf, & s'efforce de luy persuader qu'il aille
demeurer en sa bourgade se presentant pour l'embarquer ou tout autre
qu'il voudra, viẽs, disoit il, auec moy, tu seras assuré parmy nous,
[185] on ne te dérobera point, ie soustiens tout le pays sur mes
espaules, ie te protegeray, nous t'aimõs tous, tu ne manqueras de rien,
nostre pays est le meilleur entre les Hurons. Le Pere s'arrestãt vn
petit sãs respõdre. Ie voy bien, dit-il, que tu crains d'offenser ceux
du village où tu as demeuré qui te veulent auoir, tu es maistre de tes
actions, dy leur que tu veux venir auec nous, & ils ne te diront plus
riẽ. Le pere prent delay pour y penser. Nous aiant communiqué cette
emulation entre les villages qui vouloient tous auoir nos Peres, ie
luy dy qu'il me sembloit qu'ils deuoient imiter S. Pierre & S. Paul,
qui s'en allerent attaquer l'idolatrie dans la principale ville du
monde, & ainsi que la Bourgade la plus renommée entre les Hurons
deuoit estre le lieu de leur demeure: car celle-cy faisant ioug à la
loy de Dieu, toutes les autres [186] s'y soubmettroient aisement.
Le voila donc deliberé de demeurer dãs la Rochelle, cette bourgade
estant l'vne des plus grandes, & des plus peuplées de cette nation,
veu mesme que c'est là où les Conseils de tout le païs se concluent
en dernier ressort: le mal estoit qu'il n'osoit declarer sa volõté,
de peur d'ẽcourir la disgrace des autres Bourgades. Il s'aduisa de
prier le sieur de Champlain de tesmoigner à tous les Capitaines que sa
volonté estoit que tous les Francois allassent demeurer à la Rochelle,
ce qu'il fit. ces Capitaines demanderent pourquoy les autres villages
seroient priués de ce bien, & puis que six Frãçois alloient là, qu'il
les falloit loger en six villages ou bourgades. Non pas, dit le sieur
de Champlain, ie desire qu'ils soient tous ensemble, pour deux raisons
(remarqués qu'il faut payer ces peuples de raison pour calmer [187]
leur esprit) I'enuoye, ce dit-il, deux petits garçons & vn ieune hõme
auec les Peres: s'ils sont separez, ils feront peut estre des querelles
auec vos gens, car ils n'auront personne qui les gouuerne: de plus,
si nos François sont dispersez, ils s'en iront où ils voudront, & si
quelqu'vn des autres François ou de vous autres desire de luy parler,
on ne sçaura où il est: mais s'ils demeurent tous ensemble, ceux qui
demeureront à la maison scauront le lieu où se seront transportez
ceux qui en sortiront. Ayez un peu de patience, & vous aurez tous
des François en vos bourgades. Les voila donc tous contens, horsmis
le capitaine du village où le Pere Brebeuf & le Pere de Nouë auoient
demeuré; car il s'attendoit qu'on retourneroit là pour restablir ce
village, qui s'est dispersé. Voila donc le lieu de la demeure de nos
[188] Peres arrestée, reste à voir qui les embarquera. Pour euiter
toute enuie, le Pere Brebeuf fit assembler les capitaines, & les plus
âgez d'entr'eux en conseil. Ce capitaine mescontent ne s'y trouua
point, ains reprocha au capitaine de la Rochelle qu'il estoit cause
que les Frãçois n'alloyẽt point en son village. Celuy-cy se purge
le mieux qu'il peut, disant que c'estoit le Sieur de Champlain qui
auoit desiré cela: au reste, pour ne point choquer cet homme fasché,
il s'excusa d'embarquer l'vn de nos Peres, disant qu'il n'auoit dans
son canot que de la ieunesse qui n'estoit pas propre à ramer, mais
que nous ne trouuerions que trop de personnes qui noꝰ porteroyent.
Nos Peres auoyent bien desir d'estre embarquez dans les canots d'vn
mesme village, mais il fut arresté dans leur conseil qu'il falloit
donner ce contentement aux [189] autres villages, d'en passer quelqu'ũ
iusques dans le pays & ainsi nos Peres deuoyent estre portez en diuers
villages, pour se rassembler par apres dans la Rochelle.
Toward evening, Father Brebeuf having gone to Kebec, or to the
French fort, where the Hurons were, to see those with whom our
Fathers were to embark, the Captain of la Rochelle[60] (it is
thus our French people have named one of the Huron villages or
Settlements, having given the names of the French cities to these
poor straggling villages) accosts Father Brebeuf and tries to
persuade him to go and live in his village, offering to carry him
and as many more as he wished to have go. "Come with me," said he,
"thou wilt be safe with our people, [185] no one will steal from
thee; I hold the whole country upon my shoulders; I shall protect
thee; we all love thee, thou wilt want for nothing; our country is
the best among the Hurons." The Father, pausing a little before
answering, "I see clearly," continues he, "that thou hast fear
of offending those of the village where thou hast lived, and who
wish to have thee. Thou art master of thy actions, tell them that
thou wishest to come with us, and they will say nothing more to
thee." The father took time to think it over. Having told us of
this rivalry among the villages, each desiring to have our Fathers,
I said to him that it seemed to me they ought to imitate St. Peter
and St. Paul, who went forth to attack idolatry in the principal
city of the world, and in like manner the most renowned Village
of the Hurons ought to be their dwelling place; for, if that one
came under the yoke of the law of God, all the others [186] would
easily submit to it. So he decided to remain at la Rochelle, this
place being one of the largest and the most populous of this tribe;
and besides, it is there that all the Councils of this country are
held for final action. The trouble was that he dared not declare
his wish, for fear of offending the other Villages. He made up
his mind to ask sieur de Champlain to notify all the Captains
that it was his wish that all the French should go and live at la
Rochelle, which he did. These Captains asked why all of the other
villages should be deprived of this blessing, saying that, as six
Frenchmen were going, they ought to be lodged in six villages or
towns. "No," said sieur de Champlain, "I desire that they should
all live together, for two reasons" (notice that reasons must be
given to these people to pacify [187] them): "I send," said he,
"two little boys and a young man with the Fathers. If they are
separated, they will perhaps quarrel with your people, for they
will have no one to govern them; besides, if our Frenchmen are
separated, they will go where they please, and, if some of the
other Frenchmen or your people wish to talk to one of them, they
will not know where to find them. But, if they all live together,
those who remain at home will know where the absent ones can be
found. Have a little patience, and you will all have Frenchmen in
your villages." They were all then satisfied, except the captain
of the village where Father Brebeuf and Father de Nouë had lived,
for he expected that they would return to rebuild the village
which had been abandoned.[61] Thus, the place of habitation of our
[188] Fathers being fixed, it remained to be seen with whom they
would each embark. To avoid all jealousies, Father Brebeuf had
all the captains and the oldest among them assemble in council.
This discontented captain did not go there, but he reproached the
captain of la Rochelle with having been the cause of the French
not going to his village. The latter defended himself from the
charge as best he could, saying that such was the wish of Sieur
de Champlain. Finally, lest he should offend this angry man, he
excused himself from furnishing passage for one of the Fathers,
saying that his canoe was manned only by young people who were not
fit to paddle, and that we would find only too many other persons
who would be glad to convey us. Our Fathers were very anxious to
embark together in the canoes of one village, but it was decided
in the council that it was necessary to satisfy the [189] other
villages by allowing them to carry some of the Fathers up into
the country. And so it was that our Fathers were to be taken to
different villages, to meet afterward at la Rochelle.
Le premier iour d'Aoust les Hurõs venoyent voir nostre Chapelle en
ayant ouy parler à ceux qui l'auoient veuë, & ie croy que s'ils
faisoyẽt quelque seiour à Kebec qu'il n'y en a pas vn qui ne la vint
visiter. Leur foire est bien tost faicte. Le premier iour qu'ils
arriuent ils font leur cabane, le second ils tiennent leurs conseils,
& font leurs presents; le troisiesme & quatriesme ils traittent, ils
vendent, ils acheptent, ils troquent leurs pelleteries & leur petun
contre des couuertures, des haches, des chaudieres, des capots,
des fers de flêches, des petits canons de verre, des chemises, &
choses semblables, C'est vn plaisir de les voir pẽdant cette traitte,
laquelle [190] estant finie ils prennent encore vn iour pour leur
dernier conseil, pour le festin qu'on leur fait ordinairemẽt, & pour
danser, & puis le lendemain de grand matin ils passent comme vne volée
d'oiseaux. Or ceux qui auoient debité leur marchandise de bonne heure
venoyent voir nostre maison allechez par le recit qu'on leur faisoit
de la beauté de nostre Chappelle. Le Pere Brebeuf les entretenoit: &
comme il eut parlé du Paradis & de l'Enfer à l'vne de leurs bandes,
l'vn d'eux l'arreste, & luy dict: Et que ferons nous, _Eschom_, (c'est
le nom qu'ils donnẽt au Pere) afin que nous n'allions point dans ces
grands tourmens? Le Pere leur ayant dit ce qu'il falloit faire; ils
tesmoignerent qu'ils estoyent prests d'obeir. Il leur dit que cette
Chapelle estoit le lieu où nous prions le grãd Dieu du ciel, & qu'ils
se missent tous à genoux, & [191] qu'ils luy fissent leurs prieres en
leur cœur. Ie les vey tous s'y mettre les vns apres les autres, ou
plustost s'accroupir deuant l'Autel, car ils ne sçauent que c'est de
s'agenouiller, ce n'est point l'vne de leurs postures. Leur oraison
faicte, qui ne fut pas longue, le Pere demanda à l'vn d'eux ce qu'il
auoit dit à ce grand Dieu: Il repart: Ie luy ay dict, Prens courage à
nous aider & à nous secourir, & à nous donner vn bō voyage: Voila la
priere de ce pauure barbare. Pendant que l'vn d'eux prioit, vn autre
luy dit: Regarde bien en ton cœur ce que tu diras à ce grand Maistre.
O que ne sçauons nous les langues de ces pauures Sauuages! Ce sera
quand il plaira à Nostre Seigneur; Que son sainct nom soit beny pour vn
iamais.
On the first day of August, the Hurons came to see our Chapel,
having heard it spoken of by those who had seen it; and I believe
that, if they had made a longer stay at Kebec, there would not
have been one who did not visit it. Their fair is soon over. The
day of their arrival they erect their huts; the second, they hold
their councils and make their presents; the third and fourth, they
trade, sell, buy, barter their furs and their tobacco for blankets,
hatchets, kettles, capes, iron arrow-points, little glass beads,
shirts, and many similar things. It is a pleasure to watch them
during this trading. When it [190] is over they take one day more
for their last council, for the feast which is generally made for
them, and the dance; and early the next morning they disappear
like a flock of birds. Now those who had sold their goods early
came to see our home, attracted thither by the description they
had heard of the beauty of our Chapel. Father Brebeuf entertained
them; and, after he had discoursed upon Paradise and Hell to one
of their companies, a man interrupted him, asking: "And what shall
we do, _Eschom_" (that is the name they give to the Father), "that
we may escape these great torments?" When the Father told them
what they must do, they assured him that they were ready to obey.
He said that this Chapel was the place in which we offered prayers
to the great God of the sky, that they must kneel down, and [191]
that they should pray to him in their hearts. I saw them all get
on their knees one beside the other, before the Altar, or rather
they squatted down, for they do not know what kneeling is, as it
is not one of their postures. Their prayer, which was not long,
having been made, the Father asked one of them what he had said to
the great God. He replied: "I said to him, 'Have courage to aid and
succor us, and to give us a good voyage.'" That was the prayer of
this poor barbarian. While one was praying, another said to him:
"Look well into thy heart for what thou wilt say to this great
Master." Oh, if we only knew the language of these poor Savages!
That will come when it pleases Our Lord. May his holy name be
forever blessed!
Le 3. du mesme mois d'Aoust le Sieur de Champlain festina tous les
[192] Hurons. Les mets du festin furent de la sagamité cõposée de
pois, de pain esmié ou de galette puluerisée, & de pruneaux, tout
cela bouilly dans vne grande chaudiere dont on se sert pour faire de
la biere, auec de l'eau sās sel, leur a semblé tres-excellente. Ie ne
declareray point les particularitez de ce banquet, ny de leur chant &
de leur danse: ce sera pour vn autre fois.
(_Continued in Vol. vi._)
On the 3rd of the same month of August, Sieur de Champlain made
a feast for all the [192] Hurons. The dishes of this feast were
sagamité, composed of peas, of bread-crumbs or powdered sea
biscuit, and of prunes; all this was boiled together in a great
kettle which is used for making beer, with water and no salt, and
they thought it very good indeed. I shall not go into details about
this banquet, nor about their songs and their dances. That will be
for another time.
(_Continued in Vol. vi._)
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA: VOL. V
XX
In reprinting Le Jeune's _Brief Relation_ (1632), commonly classed as
the first _Relation_ of the regular series, we follow the original
Cramoisy in Lenox Library. This is the copy marked "GB" in Winsor's
list; it was formerly in the Bancroft collection, which was absorbed
by the Lenox, being considered the chief jewel therein. Other copies
are known to be in Brown Library, Providence; British Museum; and
Bibliothèque Nationale and Bibliothèque de l'Arsenal, Paris. Winsor
mentions a copy in the Murphy collection, but it was not included in
the sale catalogue; the Kalbfleisch collection mentioned by Winsor had
a copy, but that library is now dispersed.
Extracts from this _Relation_, for which "privilege" was issued Nov.,
1632, appear in _Mercure François_, vol. xviii., pp. 56-72; the date
of the "privilege" for this volume of _Mercure_ is March, 1633. The
_Relation_ given in the Quebec Reprint (1858), is after the copy in the
Bibliothèque Nationale.
Further references are in Sabin, vol. x., no. 39946, and vol. xvi.,
under caption "Relations;" Carayon, no. 1260; Winsor, p. 301; Brown,
vol. ii., no. 381; Lenox, p. 4; and Harrisse, no. 49. Harrisse, in
describing the title-page, misspells Barthelemy Iacquinot, "Bartelemy
Iacquinet,"--an error in which Lenox and Sabin follow him; the Brown
Catalogue gives the name correctly, and has a facsimile of the page.
_Title-page._ We present a photographic facsimile of the original at
Lenox.
_Collation._ Title, 1 p.; blank, 1 p.; text, pp. 3-68; privilege, dated
Nov., 1632, 1 unnumbered p.; blank, 1 p.
XXI
In our reissue of Le Jeune's _Relation_ of 1633 (No. 2 of the Cramoisy
series), we follow the original in the Brown Library, at Providence,
R. I. Harvard College Library possesses a copy which is evidently,
in the main, from the same setting of type as the Brown copy, but
with variations. It is apparently the Harvard copy which is described
in Harrisse's _Notes_, no. 55, although, in the catalogues of these
respective libraries, each example is entered as "H. 55." We shall
for convenience designate them as "Brown H. 55," and "Harvard H. 55,"
respectively.
A word-for-word collation of these two examples of H. 55 convinces
us that the original issue of the press is the one at Brown, making
this, so far as we are aware, a unique copy. As the working of the
edition progressed, some occasion arose for changing the phraseology
of the text upon pp. 225, 226 (i.e., 125, 126, correct pagination)
in signature H, these two pages being in part reset. The following
sentences, which appear on p. 225 (i.e., 125) of the Brown copy, were
expunged from the sheet, and do not appear in the Harvard and other
examples of this _Relation_:
pour
toute sa Prouince, & pour tous ceux
qui cooperent au salut de tant de
pauures ames esgarées: Vne petite
gouttelette de ce diuin calice
nous enrichira tous: & puis que mes prieres
sont trop foibles pour obtenir
vn si grand bien, ie supplie V. R. d'interposer
les siennes, & celles encore
de tant d'ames sainctes qui sont dessous
sa charge: Mais passons outre.
There was also expunged from pp. 225, 226 (i.e., 125, 126) the
following paragraph, which appears only in the Brown copy:
Ie remerciay le mieux qu'il me fut
possible Mõsieur de Champlain de
la charité qu'il auoit exercée enuers
nos Peres qui a esté tres-grande, cõme
me témoignoit le Pere Brebeuf.
To occupy the space, the following fifteen lines were substituted on
pp. 225, 226 (i.e., 125, 126), and these appear in the Harvard and
later issues of the document, but not in the Brown copy:
Il me vient quelquefois en pensée,
que ce Grand Homme, qui par
son admirable sagesse, & non-pareille
conduite ez affaires s'est tant acquis
de renommée sur la terre, se prepare
vne couronne de gloire tres-
esclatante dans le Ciel, pour le soing
qu'il tesmoigne auoir en la conuersion
de tant d'ames que l'infidelité
perd en ces pays sauuages: I'en prie
tous les iours affectueusement pour
luy, & nostre compagnie ayant par
son moyen occasion de glorifier
Dieu en cette si noble entreprise, luy
en aura vne obligation eternelle.
While form H was off the press, and the above alteration of text taking
place, certain types appear to have dropped out or been moved in other
pages of the same form, making a half-dozen verbal errors on pp. 115,
119. The form, with the text thus altered, was again sent to press,
and apparently Harvard H. 55 is the result. Another peculiarity in the
Harvard copy is,--and this is noted by Harrisse,--that the letter P
in the word "Par," on the title-page, has been partially dropped: the
Brown copy is perfect, in this respect.
In due course, a second issue of the _Relation_ became necessary,--but
in what year it is now impossible to say; for, after the custom of
Cramoisy, the dates of the original title-page and Privilege were
reproduced in the new edition, which is the one known to bibliographers
as "H. 56," having been described by Harrisse in his _Notes_, no. 56.
This edition--we describe the example in Lenox Library--was printed
from an entire resetting of type, the altered text of Harvard H.
55 having been selected for "copy," although the orthography was
occasionally modernized. Harrisse, in giving the title-page of H. 56,
accidentally omits two line-ending indicators; with these exceptions,
his description applies to the copy of H. 56 in Lenox. But he errs in
saying that H. 56 does not differ from H. 55 (he describes the Harvard
copy), save in the arrangement of the title with its repetition of
"de," in the substitution of a ram's head for a cupid in the vignette
of p. 1, and a few errors in pagination. The differences are more
numerous: in page-numberings, are many discrepancies; in the contents
of lines, on several of the pages of each, there is considerable
variance,--although both continue to end their pages uniformly, save
that H. 56 is on p. 57 a line short; there are also frequent variations
in spelling and capitalization.
An abridgment of the _Relation_ appears in _Mercure François_, vol.
xix., pp. 771-802. The Privilege for this volume, which covers events
in 1633, bears date March, 1636.
The Quebec reprint (1858) follows H. 56.
See further references in Carayon, no. 1261; Sabin, vol. x., nos.
39,947, 39,948. and vol. xvi., p. 536 (this bibliographer strictly
follows Harrisse); Brown Catalogue, vol ii., nos. 118, 417; Pilling's
_Bibliography of the Algonquian Languages_ (Washington, 1891), p. 307;
O'Callaghan Sale Catalogue, no. 1212 (wherein the description follows
Lenox H. 56); Barlow's _Rough List_ (N. Y., 1885), no. 338, p. 77;
Barlow Sale Catalogue, no. 1273 (the copy therein mentioned sold for
$120); Græsse, tome iv., livr. i., p. 154; Murphy Sale Catalogue, no.
1344; O'Callaghan's _Bibliography_ (1850), p. 36; Sommervogel, tome
iv., p. 795, no. 2; Winsor, p. 301 (the Bancroft copy referred to is
now in Lenox); and Dodd, Mead & Co.'s _Trade Catalogue_ (April, 1896),
wherein a copy, with "the date cut from title," is priced at $200.
Examples of the _Relation_ of 1633 may be found in the following
libraries: Harvard (H. 55), Brown (H. 55 and 56), Lenox (H. 56, two
copies), and British Museum (ed. not specified).
_Title-page._ Given in photographic facsimile, from the copy of H. 55,
in Brown Library, Providence.
_Collation of Brown H. 55._ Title, 1 p.; blank at back of title, 1 p.;
text, pp. 3-216; Privilege, in small type, on p. 216.
NOTES TO VOL. V
(_Figures in parentheses, following number of note, refer to pages of
English text_.)
1 (p. 11).--Paul le Jeune was born in July, 1591, at Chalons-sur-Marne,
France. His parents were Huguenots; but, upon attaining his majority,
he became a Catholic, and entered the Jesuit novitiate, at Rouen,
Sept. 22, 1613. Pursuing his studies at La Flèche and Clermont, he
became an instructor at Rennes and Bourges, and, later, professor of
rhetoric at Nevers (1626-28) and at Caen (1629-30). He then spent two
years as a preacher at Dieppe, and two years more as superior of the
residence there. On the return of the French to Quebec, he came there
with De Caen, as superior of the Canadian mission. His first year was
spent in the French settlements; in the second, he wintered among the
Montagnais, in order to learn their language. When the settlement of
Three Rivers was founded (1634; see vol. iv., _note_ 24), he went there
with Buteux, returning to Quebec before the death of Champlain, whose
funeral sermon he preached. Le Jeune remained superior of the mission
until 1639, and continued his labors in Canada during ten years more.
In 1649, he returned to France, where he became procuror of foreign
missions; and died there Aug. 7, 1664. Besides his _Relations_ of
the missions, he wrote several religious works; one of these, _A Ten
Days' Retreat_, was reprinted at Rennes in 1843. Rochemonteix says of
Le Jeune: "He carried a will of steel in a heart of fire." Suite thus
characterizes him: "He was a typical missionary--fervent, devoted,
asking only to be directed towards sacrifice."
2 (p. 11).--This document is given in Martin's _Bressani_, pp. 295,
296. It states that Richelieu had already offered the Canadian mission
to the Capuchins, but that they had declined to enter the field
formerly occupied by the Jesuits.
3 (p. 11).--The order of Ursulines was founded Nov. 25, 1535, at
Brescia, by, Angela Merici. To the three vows of Augustine, it added
a fourth, requiring the instruction of girls. It became established
in France by the end of the sixteenth century, thence spreading to
Germany. The first Ursuline convent in America was established at
Quebec, in 1639, by the efforts of Madame de la Peltrie.