JOHN NICOLET, THE EXPLORER.
As early as the year 1615, Champlain had selected a number of young men
and put them in care of some of his Indian friends, to have them trained
to the life of the woods--to the language, manners, customs, and habits
of the savages. His object was to open, through them, as advisers and
interpreters, friendly relations, when the proper time should come, with
the Indian nations not yet brought in close alliance with the French. In
1618, an opportunity presented itself for him to add another young
Frenchman to the list of those who had been sent to be trained in all
the mysteries of savage life; for, in that year, John Nicolet[2] arrived
from France, and was dispatched to the woods.[3] The new-comer was born
in Cherbourg, in Normandy. His father, Thomas Nicolet, was a
mail-carrier from that city to Paris. His mother's name was Marguerite
de la Mer.[4]
Nicolet was a young man of good character, endowed with a profound
religious feeling, and an excellent memory. He awakened in the breast
of Champlain high hopes of usefulness, and was by him sent to the
Algonquins of Isle des Allumettes, in the Ottawa river. These Indians
were the same Algonquins that were visited by Champlain in 1613. They
are frequently spoken of, in early annals of Canada, as Algonquins of
the Isle. But all Algonquins, wherever found, were afterward designated
as Ottawas by the French. To "the Nation of the Isle," then, was sent
the young Norman, that he might learn their language, which was in
general use upon the Ottawa river and upon the north bank of the St.
Lawrence. With them he remained two years, following them in their
wanderings, partaking of their dangers, their fatigues, and their
privations, with a courage and fortitude equal to the boldest and the
bravest of the tribe. During all this time, he saw not the face of a
single white man. On several different occasions he passed a number of
days without a morsel of food, and he was sometimes fain to satisfy the
cravings of hunger by eating bark.[5]
Nicolet, while residing with the Algonquins of Isle des Allumettes, with
whose language he had now become familiar, accompanied four hundred of
those savages upon a mission of peace to the Iroquois. The voyage proved
a successful one, Nicolet returning in safety. Afterward, he took up his
residence among the Nipissings, with whom he remained eight or nine
years. He was recognized as one of the nation. He entered into the very
frequent councils of those savages. He had his own cabin and
establishment, doing his own fishing and trading. He had become, indeed,
a naturalized Nipissing.[6] The mental activity displayed by him while
sojourning among these savages may be judged of from the circumstance of
his having taken notes descriptive of the habits, manners, customs, and
numbers of the Nipissing Indians, written in the form of memoirs, which
were afterward presented by him to one of the missionaries, who,
doubtless, made good use of them in after-time in giving an account of
the nation.[7]
Nicolet finally left the savages, and returned to civilization, being
recalled by the government and employed as commissary and Indian
interpreter.[8] It is probable, however, that he had signified his
desire to leave the Nipissings, as he could not live without the
sacraments,[9] which were denied him so long as he remained with them,
there being no mission established in their country.[10]
Quebec having been reoccupied by the French, Nicolet took up his
residence there. He was in high favor with Champlain, who could not but
admire his remarkable adaptation to savage life--the result of his
courage and peculiar temperament; at least, this admiration may be
presumed, from the circumstance of his having, as the sequel shows, soon
after sent him upon an important mission.
Whether Nicolet visited Quebec during his long residence among the
Nipissing Indians is not known. Possibly he returned to the St. Lawrence
in 1628, to receive orders from Champlain on account of the new state of
things inaugurated by the creation of the system of 1627--the Hundred
Associates; but, in that event, he must have soon returned, for it is
known that he remained with the Nipissings during the occupation of
Quebec by the English--from July, 1629, to July, 1632. The month during
which, in the early days of New France, the trade of the Ottawa was
performed on the St. Lawrence, was July; and, in 1632, this trade was
largely carried on where the city of Three Rivers now stands, but which
was not then founded.[11] The flotilla of bark canoes used to spend
usually from eight to ten days in that place--seldom reaching Quebec. In
the month and the year just mentioned, De Caen arrived in Canada; and he
was, therefore, in the position to send word, by the assembled Indians,
to the French who were living among the savages upon the Ottawa and the
Georgian bay of Lake Huron, requesting their return to the St. Lawrence.
Champlain, in June, 1633, caused a small fort to be erected about forty
miles above Quebec, for the rendezvous of the trading flotilla
descending the St. Lawrence--to draw the market nearer Quebec. It was
thus the St. Croix fort was established where the trade with the Indians
would be much less likely to be interrupted by incursions of the
Iroquois than at Three Rivers. At this time, one hundred and fifty Huron
canoes arrived at the newly-chosen position, for traffic with the
French. Possibly so great a number was the result of the change in the
government of the colony--the return of the French to Quebec the
preceding year. With this large fleet of canoes Nicolet probably
returned to civilization; for it is certain that he was upon the St.
Lawrence as early as June, 1634, ready to embark in an undertaking
which, of necessity, would have caused so much consultation and
preparation as to preclude the idea of his arrival, just then, from the
Ottawa. An Indian interpreter--one well acquainted with the Algonquins
of the Ottawa, and to a certain extent with the Hurons of Georgian
bay--who could Champlain more safely depend upon than Nicolet to develop
his schemes of exploration in the unknown western country, the door of
which he had himself opened in previous years? Who was there better
qualified than his young _protege_, familiar as he was with the
Algonquin and Huron-Iroquois tongues, to hold "talks" with savage tribes
still further west, and smoke with them the pipe of peace--to the end
that a nearer route to China and Japan might be discovered; or, at
least, that the fur-trade might be made more profitable to the Hundred
Associates? Surely, no one. Hence it was that Nicolet was recalled by
the governor of Canada.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 2: The proper spelling is "Nicolet," not "Nicollet," nor
"Nicollett." The correct pronunciation is "Nick-o-lay." The people of
the province of Quebec all pronounce the name "Nicoll_ette_," though
improperly, the same as the word would be pronounced by English-speaking
people if it were spelled "Nick-o-let." But it is now invariably written
by them "Nicolet."]
[Footnote 3: Vimont, _Relation_, 1643 (Quebec edition, 1858), p. 3. The
Jesuits, intent upon pushing their fields of labor far into the heart of
the continent, let slip no opportunity after their arrival upon the St.
Lawrence to inform themselves concerning ulterior regions; and the
information thus obtained was noted down by them. They minutely
described, during a period of forty years, beginning with the year 1632,
the various tribes they came in contact with; and their hopes and fears
as to Christianizing them were freely expressed. Accounts of their
journeys were elaborated upon, and their missionary work put upon
record. Prominent persons, as well as important events, shared their
attention. Details concerning the geography of the country were also
written out. The intelligence thus collected was sent every summer by
the superiors to the provincials at Paris, where it was yearly
published, in the French language. Taken together, these publications
constitute what are known as the _Jesuit Relations_. They have been
collected and republished in the same language, at Quebec, by the
Canadian government, in three large volumes. As these are more
accessible to the general reader in this form than in the original
(Cramoisy) editions, they are cited in this narrative.
There is no complete translation of the _Relations_ into the English
language. Numerous extracts from the originals bearing particularly upon
the West--especially upon what is now Wisconsin--were made some years
since by Cyrus Woodman, of Mineral Point, translations of which are to
be found in Smith's history of that State, Vol. III., pp. 10-112. But
none of these are from the _Relation_ of 1643--the most important one in
its reference to Nicolet and his visit to the Northwest.]
[Footnote 4: "Jean Nicollet ne a Cherbourg, etait fils de Thomas
Nicollet, messager ordinaire de Cherbourg a Paris, et de Marie La
Mer."--Ferland's _Cours d'Histoire du Canada_ (1861), Vol. I., p. 324,
note. But, in his "Notes sur les Registres de Notre-Dame de Quebec"
(Quebec, 1863, p. 30), he corrects the mother's name, giving it as in
the text above. That this was her real name is ascertained from the
Quebec parochial register, and from Guitet's records (notary) of that
city.]
[Footnote 5: Il [Nicolet] arriua en la Nouuelle France, l'an mil six
cents dixhuict. Son humeur et sa memoire excellente firent esperer
quelque chose de bon de luy; on l'enuoya hiuerner auec les Algonquins de
l'Isle afin d'apprendre leur langue. Il y demeura deux ans seul de
Francois, accompagnant tousiours les Barbares dans leurs courses et
voyages, auec des fatigues qui ne sont imaginables qu'a ceux qui les ont
veuees; il passa plusieurs fois les sept et huiet iours sans rien manger,
il fut sept semaines entieres sans autre nourriture qu'vn peu d'escorce
de bois."--Vimont _Relation_, 1643, p. 3. (The antiquated orthography
and accentuation of the _Relations_ are strictly followed in the
foregoing extract; so, also, in all those hereafter made from them in
this narrative.)
"On his [Nicolet's] first arrival [in New France], by orders of those
who presided over the French colony of Quebec, he spent two whole years
among the Algonquins of the island, for the purpose of learning their
language, without any Frenchman as companion, and in the midst of those
hardships, which may be readily conceived, if we will reflect what it
must be to pass severe winters in the woods, under a covering of cedar
or birch bark; to have one's means of subsistence dependent upon
hunting; to be perpetually hearing rude outcries; to be deprived of the
pleasant society of one's own people; and to be constantly exposed, not
only to derision and insulting words, but even to daily peril of life.
There was a time, indeed, when he went without food for a whole week;
and (what is really wonderful) he even spent seven weeks without having
any thing to eat but a little bark."--Du Creux, _Historia Canadensis_,
Paris, 1664, p. 359. "Probably," says Margry, "he must, from time to
time, have added some of the lichen which the Canadians call rock
tripe."--_Journal General de l'Instruction Publique_, Paris, 1862.]
[Footnote 6: "Il [_Nicolet_] accompagna quatre cents Algonquins, qui
alloient en ce temps la faire la paix auec les Hiroquois, et en vint a
bout heureusement. Pleust a Dieu qu'elle n'eust iamais este rompue, nous
ne souffririons pas a present les calamitez qui nous font gemir et
donneront vn estrange empeschement a la conuersion de ces peuples. Apes
cette paix faite, il alla demeurer huict ou neuf ans auec la nation des
Nipissiriniens, Algonquins; la il passoit pour vn de cette nation,
entrant dans les conseils forts frequents a ces peuples, ayant sa cabane
et son mesnage a part, faisant sa perche et sa traitte."--Vimont,
_Relation_, 1643, p. 3.]
[Footnote 7: "I'ay quelques memoires de sa main, qui pourront paroistre
vn iour, touchant les Nipisiriniens, auec lesquels il a souuent
hyuerne."--Le Jeune, _Relation_, 1636, p. 58.]
[Footnote 8: "Il [_Nicolet_] fut enfin rappalle et estably Commis et
Interprete."--Vimont, _Relation_, 1643, p. 3.]
[Footnote 9: "Il [_Nicolet_]... ne s'en est retire, que pour mettre son
salut en asseurance dans l'vsage des Sacremens, faute desquels il y a
grande risque pour l'ame, parmy les Sauuages."--Le Jeune, _Relation_,
1636, pp. 57, 58.]
[Footnote 10: It would be quite impossible to reconcile the _Relation_
of 1643 (p. 3) with that of 1636 (pp. 57, 58), respecting Nicolet's
retiring from his Indian life, unless he, for the motive stated, asked
for his recall and was recalled accordingly.]
[Footnote 11: Champlain's map of 1632 shows no habitation on the St.
Lawrence above Quebec. In 1633, Three Rivers was virtually founded; but
the fort erected there by Champlain was not begun until 1634.--Sulte's
_Chronique Trifluvienne_, p. 5.
"As for the towns in Canada, there are but three of any considerable
figure. These are Quebec, Montreal, and Trois Rivieres [Three
Rivers].... Trois Rivieres is a town so named from its situation at the
confluence of three rivers, one whereof is that of St. Lawrence, and
lies almost in the midway between Quebec and Montreal. It is said to be
a well-built town, and considerable mart, where the Indians exchange
their skins and furs for European goods."--_An Account of the French
Settlements in North America_, Boston, 1746, pp. 12, 14.
"Three Rivers, or Trois Rivieres, is a town of Canada East, at the
confluence of the rivers St. Maurice and St. Lawrence, ninety miles from
Quebec, with which it is connected by electric telegraph, and on the
line of the proposed railway thence to Montreal. It is one of the oldest
towns in Canada, and was long stationary as regarded enterprise or
improvement; but recently it has become one of the most prosperous
places in the province--a change produced principally by the
commencement of an extensive trade in lumber on the river St. Maurice
and its tributaries, which had heretofore been neglected, and also by
increased energy in the manufacture of iron-ware, for which the St.
Maurice forges, about three miles distant from the town, have always
been celebrated in Canada. Three Rivers is the residence of a Roman
Catholic bishop, whose diocese bears the same name; and contains a Roman
Catholic cathedral, a church of England, a Scotch kirk, and a Wesleyan
chapel, an Ursuline convent, with a school attached, where over two
hundred young females are educated; two public and several private
schools, a mechanics' institute, a Canadian institute, and a Young Men's
Improvement, and several other societies. It sends a member to the
provincial parliament. Population in 1852, was 4,966; in 1861, 6,058.
The district of Three Rivers embraces both sides of the St. Lawrence,
and is subdivided into four counties."--_Lippincott's Gazetteer_,
Philadelphia, 1874.]