ie me plais tant à racompter les traits de la prouidence particuliere
de Dieu, qu'il me se semble que tout le mõde y doit prendre plaisir;
& de fait s'il s'en fust retourné en France ceste annee là, nous
estions pour n'auancer gueres plus que les Reuerends Peres Recolets
en 10. ans. Dieu soit loüé de tout, voila donc à quoy se passa la
meilleure partie de l'hyuer. Outre ces occupatiõs ie n'ay point manqué
à mon tour d'aller les festes & Dimanches dire la Messe aux François,
ausquels i'ay fait exhortation toutes les fois que i'y ay esté: le
Pere Brebeuf de son costé en faisoit autant, & auons si bien auancé
par la grace de Dieu, que nous auons gaigné le coeur de tous ceux de
l'habitation, auons fait faire des confessions generales à la plus
part, & auons vescu en tres-bonne intelligence auec le Chef. Enuiron le
milieu du Caresme ie m'hazarday de prier le Capitaine de nous donner
les Charpentiers de l'habitation pour nous aider à dresser vne petite
cabane au lieu que nous auons commencé à défricher, ce qu'il m'accorda
auec beaucoup de courtoisie: les charpentiers ne souhaitoient [13] rien
tant que de trauailler pour nous; & de fait ils nous auoient donné
le mot auparauant: aussi trauaillerent-ils auec tant d'affection,
que nonobstant l'incommodité du temps & de la saison (car il y auoit
encore vn pied & demy de neige) ils eurent acheué nostre cabane le
Lundy de la semaine Saincte, & cependant ils cierent plus de 250.
aix, tant pour la couuerture, que pour le tour de la cabane; vingt
cheurons, & dolerent plus de vingt-cinq grosses pieces necessaires pour
l'erection de la cabane. Voila des commencemens assez heureux graces
à Dieu, ie ne sçay quel sera le progrés à cause de la continuation
de mes imperfections. Au reste parmy ces Sauuages nos vies ne sont
pas asseurées. Si quelque François leur a fait quelque déplaisir ils
s'en vengent par la mort du premier qu'ils rencontrent, sans auoir
esgard à plaisir aucun qu'ils ayent receu de celuy qu'ils attaquent.
S'ils ont songé la nuict qu'il faut qu'ils tuënt quelque François,
gar[d]e le premier qu'ils rencontrent à l'escart. Ils ajoustent grande
croyance à leurs songes. Quelques-vns deux vous diront deux iours
auparauant la venuë des vaisseaux l'heure à laquelle ils arriueront, &
ne vous diront autre chose sinon qu'ils l'ont veu en dormant. Ceux-la
sont en reputation parmy eux de parler au Diable. Leur conuersion ne
nous donnera pas peu d'affaire. Leur vie libertine & faineante, leur
esprit grossier, & qui ne peut guere comprendre, la disette des mots
qu'ils ont pour expliquer nos mysteres, n'ayans iamais eu aucun culte
diuin, nous exercera à bon escient. Mais pourtant nous ne perdons pas
courage graces à Dieu, appuyez sur cette verité, que Dieu n'aura pas
tant esgard au fruict que nous ferons, qu'à la bonne volonté & au
trauail que nous prendrons; & puis plus il y aura difficulté en leur
conuersion, & plus y aura-t'il de défiance de nous-mesmes; tant y a
que nostre esperance est en Dieu. Si ie puis ie me transporteray en
d'autres nations: si cela est, il ne faut plus attendre de nouuelles,
car ie seray si loin d'eux, qu'à grand peine pourray-ie leur écrire;
car au cas que cela arriue ie vous dy adieu & à tout le monde iusques
à ce que nous nous reuoyons au Ciel. N'oubliez pas les suffrages pour
nostre ame, & faites les de fois à autres. A tout hazard lors que
vous vous souuiendrez de nous en vos saincts sacrifices, dites pour
vn tel vif ou mort. Le secours qui nous est venu de France est vn
bon commencement pour cette Mission; mais les affaires [14] ne sont
pas encore en tel estat que Dieu puisse y estre seruy fidellement.
L'heretique y a autant encore d'empire que iamais, c'est pourquoy ie
renuoye le Pere Noiroit selon la permissiõ que les Superieurs m'en
ont faite, afin qu'il paracheue ce qu'il a commencé; il est le mieux
entendu en cette affaire. Si nos Peres desirent l'affermissement, &
le bon succes de cette Mission, il est du tout expedient qu'ils le
laissent faire. C'est bien à son corps defendant qu'il s'en retourne,
veu principalement qu'il est tant incommodé dessus la mer. I'enuoye
son compagnon auec le Pere Brebeuf à 300 lieux d'icy à vne de ces
nations qui sont stables en leur demeure, ils y seront bien tost s'ils
trouuent des Sauuages qui les y vueillent conduire, autrement ils
seront contraints de retourner vers nous; i'attends tous les iours
de leurs nouuelles. Ie viens d'apprendre tout maintenant qu'ils sont
partis. Le Diable qui craint la touche a voulu jouër des siennes, car
nos Peres estans desia embarquez, les Sauuages par deux ou trois fois
les voulurent faire desembarquer, alleguans que leurs canaux estoient
trop chargez; mais en fin Dieu l'emporta par dessus luy, on gaigna les
Sauuages à force de presents. S'il plaist à Dieu faire reüssir cette
mission, voila vne entrée dans des nations infinies pour ainsi dire,
qui sont tousiours stables en leur demeure. I'eusse bien desiré estre
de la partie, mais nos Peres ne l'ont pas iugé à propos, iugeans qu'il
estoit necessaire que ie demeurasse icy, tant pour l'éstablissement
de nostre petit domicille, que pour l'entretien des François. Vostre
R. s'estonnera peut-estre de ce que i'ay enuoyé le P. Brebeuf qui
auoit desia quelque commencement à la langue de cette nation, mais
les talents que Dieu luy a departy m'y ont fait resoudre; le fruict
que l'on attend de ces natiõs là estant bien autre que celuy que l'on
espere de celle cy. S'il plaist à Dieu benir leurs trauaux nous aurons
grand besoin d'ouuriers; les dispositions du costé des Sauuages sont
telles, qu'on en peut esperer quelque chose de bon. Le truchement ayant
demandé en ma presence à l'vn de leurs Capitaines s'ils seroi[~e]t tous
contens que quelques-vns des nostres allassent demeurer en leur pays
pour leur apprendre à cognoistre Dieu, il respondit qu'il ne falloit
demander cela & qu'ils ne souhaittoient rien tant, puis ayant consideré
la maison des Recollets où nous estions, il adiousta qu'à la verité
ils ne pourroient pas nous bastir vne maison de pierre semblable à
celle-là, [15] mais demandés leur, dit-il au truchement, s'ils seroient
contans de trouuer à leur arriuee vne cabane faicte semblable aux
nostres. Il ne pouuoit nous tesmoigner plus d'affection; De plus il y
a eu de la sterilité dans leur pays cette année, & ils l'attribuent à
cause qu'ils n'y ont point eu de Religieux, tout cela nous fait bien
esperer. Pour ceux de cette Nation ie les ay fait sommer de respondre,
s'ils ne vouloient pas se faire instruire; & nous donner leurs enfans
pour le mesme sujet: ils nous ont tous respondu qu'ils le desiroient.
Ils attendent que nous ayons basty, c'est à nous cependant de mesnager
leur affection & apprendre bien leur langue. Au demeurant ie supplirois
volontiers ceux qui ont de l'affection pour ce pays, qu'ils ne se
dégoustassent point s'ils n'entendent promptement des nouuelles du
fruict que l'on espere. La conuersion des Sauuages demande du temps.
Les premieres six ou sept annees sembleront steriles à quelques vns.
Et si i'adioustois iusqu'à dix ou douze, possible ne m'éloigneroisie
pas de la verité. Mais est ce à dire pourtãt qu'il faille tout quitter
là? Ne faut-il pas des cõmencemens par tout? Ne faut-il pas des
dispositions pour arriuer où on pretend? Quand à moy ie vous confesse
que Dieu me fait cette misericorde, qu'encor que ie n'esperasse aucun
profit tout le temps qu'il luy plaira me conseruer en vie, pourueu
qu'il eust nos trauaux agreables, & qu'il voulust s'en seruir comme de
preparation pour ceux qui viendront apres nous, ie me tiendrois trop
heureux d'employer & ma vie & mes forces, & n'épargner rien de ce qui
seroit en mon pouuoir, non pas mesme mon sang pour semblable suiet.
Neantmoins si nos Superieurs ne sont point d'aduis qu'on passe outre,
me voicy tout prés de me sousmettre à leur volonté, & suiure leur
iugement. Voicy vn petit Huron qui s'en va vous voir, il est passionné
de voir la France. Il nous affectionne grandement & fait paroistre vn
grand desir d'estre instruict; neantmoins le pere & le Capitaine de la
nation, le veulent reuoir l'an prochain, nous asseurant que s'il est
contant il le nous donnera pour quelques annees. Il est fort important
de le bien contenter; car si vne fois cet enfant est bien instruit,
voila vne partie ouuerte pour entrer en beaucoup de nations où il
seruira grandement. Et tout à propos le truchement de cetre [cette]
nation la est retourn[é] en France. Truchement qu'il aime tant, qu'il
l'appelle son pere. Ie prie nostre Seigneur qu'il luy plaise benir le
voyage. Au reste ie remercie V. R. du courage [16] qu'elle m'a donné.
I'ay leu ses lettres, quatre ou cinq fois; mais ie n'ay peu gaigner
sur moy que ce n'ait esté la larme à l'oeil, pour plusieurs raisons,
mais specialement sur la souuenance de mes imperfections (_coram Deo
loquor_) qui m'éloignent grandement, du merite de cette vocation, & me
fait viuement apprehender que ie n'aille trauerser les desseins de la
grace de Dieu, en l'établissement du Christianisme en ce pays. Apres
cela ie ne crains rien. Ie vous supplie en vertu de ce que vous aimez
mieux dans le Ciel, de ne vous lasser point de solliciter la diuine
bonté, ou qu'il me face la grace de m'en défaire, ou si mon idignité
est venuë iusques là qu'il m'y faille encore tremper, que ce ne soit au
preiudice de nos pauures Sauuages; que ma misere n'empesche point les
effects de sa misericorde, & le desordre de ma volonté fragile, l'ordre
que sa bonté veut établir en ce pays. Nous continuons plus que iamais
les bonnes intelligences auec le Pere Ioseph, qui est icy l'vnique
Prestre de son Ordre, l'vn estant allé auec nos Peres aux Hurons; &
l'autre s'en retournant en France; il a deux bons freres auec luy. Mr.
Champlain est tousiours fort affectionné en nostre endroit, m'a pris
pour directeur de sa conscience, aussi bien que Gaumont, duquel i'auray
vn soin particulier selon les recommandations de vostre R. L'aduis que
vostre R. me donne touchant la dedicace de nostre premiere Eglise, est
fort conforme à ma deuotion si les Superieurs m'en laissent la liberté,
elle ne sera iamais appellee autrement que N. Dame des Anges; c'est
pourquoy ie supplie V. R. de nous faire auoir quelque beau Tableau
enuironné d'Anges. C'est vne des grãdes Festes des PP. Recolets, qui
ont dedié leur Chappelle à S. Charles; & la Riuiere sur laquelle, eux
& nous; sommes logez, s'appelle la riuiere S. Charles, ainsi nõmee
quelque temps auparauant que nous vinsiõs. Pour les lettres ie ne pense
pas auoir obmis personne, tant de nos bien-faiteurs plus signalez, que
de ceux qui m'ont escrit. Aussi vous confessay je que ie suis vn peu
las; voicy la 68 & si ce n'est pas la derniere. Plaise à nostre bon
Dieu que le tout soit à sa gloire. Nostre R. P. Assistant se monstre
fort affectiõné à ceste Mission; ie luy enuoye vne charte de ce pays,
asseurant que ie demeureray toute ma vie, de Vostre Reuerence,
Seruiteur tres-affectionné en N Seigneur
CHARLES L'ALLEMANT.
A Kebec ce 1.
d'Aoust 1626.
I have, perhaps, dwelt longer upon this than was necessary, but
I am so pleased to relate the special acts of God's providence,
as it seems to me every one must take pleasure in them; and in
fact, if he had gone back to France that year, we would have made
hardly any more progress than the Reverend Recolet Fathers did in
10 years. May God be praised for all! In this way we passed the
greater part of the winter. Besides these occupations, I, in
my turn, have not failed to go, on holydays and Sundays, to say
Mass for the French, to whom I have made an exhortation every time
I have been there. Father Brebeuf did the same on his part; and,
by the grace of God, we have made such progress that we have won
the hearts of all the people of the settlement, and have induced
most of them to make general confessions, and have lived on good
terms with the Chief. About the middle of Lent, I ventured to
ask the Captain to give us the Carpenters of the settlement to
help us erect a little cabin at the place we had begun to clear
away, and he very courteously granted my request. The carpenters
asked for [13] nothing better than to work for us, and in fact
they had previously given us their promise; so they worked with
such good will, that, notwithstanding the unfavorableness of the
weather and of the season (for there was still a foot and a half
of snow), they had finished our cabin by Monday of Holy week; and
besides, they had sawed over 250 planks, both for the roof and for
the sides of the cabin, twenty rafters, and hewn over twenty-five
large pieces necessary for the erection of the cabin. These are
very happy beginnings, thank God; but, considering my imperfections
still continue, I do not know how much progress will be made.
Further, there is no security for our lives among these Savages.
If a Frenchman has in some way offended them, they take revenge
by killing the first one they meet, without any regard for favors
which they may have received from the one whom they attack. If
during the night they dream they must kill a Frenchman, woe to the
first one whom they meet alone. They attach great faith to their
dreams. Some of them will tell you two days before the coming of
a ship the hour of its arrival, and will give no other explanation
except that they have seen it while asleep. These are reputed
among them to have intercourse with the Devil. Their conversion
will give us no little trouble. Their licentious and lazy lives,
their rude and untutored minds, able to comprehend so little, the
scarcity of words they have to explain our mysteries, never having
had any form of divine worship, will tax our wits. And yet we do
not lose courage, thank God; trusting in this truth, that God will
not have so much regard to the fruits that we produce, as to our
good will and the trouble we take; and besides, the greater the
difficulty in their conversion, and the more distrust we have in
ourselves, so much the greater will be our trust in God. If I can,
I shall go among some of the other tribes; and, in that event, no
further news need be expected from me, because I shall be so far
away that it will be very hard to communicate with you; and if
that should happen, I say farewell to you and to every one until
we meet in Heaven. Do not forget the prayers for our souls, and
make them from time to time. In any case when you remember us
in your holy sacrifices, offer them up for such and such a one,
living or dead. The help which has reached us from France is a good
beginning for this Mission, but things [14] are not yet in such
a condition that God can be faithfully served here. The heretic
holds as complete dominion here as ever, and therefore I send back
Father Noiroit, according to the permission that I have received
from the Superiors, in order that he may finish what he has begun;
he is the most capable one for this affair. If our Fathers wish
the strengthening and the success of this Mission, it is by all
means proper that they should allow him to proceed.[32] He returns
very much against his inclination, principally on account of his
sufferings upon the sea. I send his companion[31] with Father
Brebeuf, 300 leagues from here, to one of those tribes which has a
permanent location. They will soon be there if they find Savages
to conduct them, otherwise they will be obliged to return here; I
am expecting news from them daily. I have just learned that they
have gone. The Devil, who feared their approach, tried to play
some of his tricks on them, for, when our Fathers had embarked,
the Savages tried two or three times to make them go ashore,
asserting that their canoes were too heavily loaded; but at last
God triumphed over him, and the Savages were won by means of
presents. If it please God to give success to this mission, it will
open a way, so to speak, to an infinite number of tribes which have
permanent settlements. I should have been very glad to be one of
the party; but our Fathers did not deem it expedient, considering
it well that I should remain here, both for the establishment of
our little home and for the welfare of the French. Your Reverence
will be astonished, perhaps, at my having sent Father Brebeuf, who
already had some knowledge of the language of this tribe; but the
talents that God has given him influenced me, the fruits which are
expected from those tribes being very different from those hoped
for here. If it please God to bless their labors, we shall have
great need of workers; the disposition on the part of the Savages
is such that something good may be looked for. When the interpreter
asked one of their Captains in my presence, if they would all
be glad if some one of us should go among them to teach them to
know God, he answered that it was not necessary to ask that, that
they desired nothing better; then, having examined the house of
the Recollets where we were, he added that they indeed could not
build us a stone house like that one; [15] "But ask them," said he
to the interpreter, "if they will be satisfied upon their arrival
to find a cabin made similar to ours." He could not manifest more
affection for us than he did. Moreover, there was a drought in
their country this year, and they attributed it to the fact that
they had no Religious among them; all this gives us strong hopes.
As to the people of this Tribe, I had them called together to say
whether they wanted to be instructed, and to give us their children
for the same purpose. They all answered that they did. They are
waiting for us to build; and it is for us, in the meantime, to
cultivate their affection and to learn their language. Meanwhile,
I would request those who are interested in this country not
to be disappointed if they do not promptly receive news of the
hoped-for converts. The conversion of the Savages takes time. The
first six or seven years will appear sterile to some; and, if I
should say ten or twelve, I would possibly not be far from the
truth. But is that any reason why all should be abandoned? Are
not beginnings necessary everywhere? Are not preparations needed
for the attainment of every object? For my part, I confess that,
if God shows me mercy, although I expect no fruits as long as it
will please him to preserve my life, provided that our labors are
acceptable to him, and that he may be pleased to make use of them
as a preparation for those who will come after us, I shall hold
myself only too happy to employ my life and my strength, and to
spare nothing in my power, not even my blood, for such a purpose.
However, if our Superiors do not think we should go farther, I
am ready to submit to their will and to follow their judgment. A
little Huron is going to see you; he longs to see France. He is
very fond of us and manifests a strong desire to be instructed;
nevertheless, his father and the Captain of the nation wishes to
see him next year, assuring us that, if he is satisfied, he will
give him to us for some years. It is of importance that he should
be thoroughly satisfied; for, if this child is once instructed,
it will open the way to many tribes where he will be very useful.
And the return of the interpreter of that tribe to France is very
opportune,--the Interpreter whom he loves so much, that he calls
him his father. I pray our Lord to be pleased to bless his voyage.
I also thank Your Reverence for the courage [16] you have given
me. I have read your letters four or five times, and I have not
been able to keep the tears from my eyes for several reasons;
but especially in reflecting upon my imperfections (_coram Deo
loquor_) which are far from the merit necessary for this vocation,
and inspire me with grave fears that I am opposing the purposes of
God's grace in the establishment of Christianity in this country.
After that, I fear nothing. I beseech you, in the name of all
you hold most dear in Heaven, not to become weary in appealing
to the divine goodness, either to do me the favor of removing me
from here, or, if my unworthiness is so great that I must yet be
chastened, let it not be to the disadvantage of our poor Savages;
let not my shortcomings prevent the effects of his mercy, nor my
weak will be a hindrance to the order that his goodness wishes
to establish in this country. Our sympathetic relations with Father
Joseph[26] are stronger than ever. He is the only Priest of his
Order here, one having gone with our Fathers to the Hurons, and the
other now returning to France; he has two good brothers with him.
Mr. Champlain is always very kind to us, and has chosen me as his
confessor. Gaumont has done the same, and I shall take special care
of him, according to the recommendations of your Reverence. The
advice which your Reverence gives me in regard to the dedication
of our first Church, is in thorough harmony with my views. If the
Superiors leave it to me, it will never be otherwise named than
"N. Dame des Anges." Therefore I beg Your Reverence to send us a
beautiful Picture surrounded by Angels. It is one of the great Fête
days of the Recolet Fathers, who have dedicated their Chapel to St.
Charles; the River upon which they and we live is called the river
St. Charles, so called some time before our arrival. As to sending
letters, I think I have not passed over any one, either of our
well-known benefactors or any of those who have written to me; and
I confess to you that I am a little tired; this is the 68th, and it
is not the last. May it please our good God that everything may be
done here for his glory. Our Reverend Father Assistant manifests a
great deal of affection for this Mission; I send him a map of this
country. With assurances that I will be, during my life, of Your
Reverence,
The very affectionate servant in Our Lord,
CHARLES L'ALLEMANT.
Kebec, this 1st of
August, 1626.
XIX
CHARLES LALEMANT'S
Lettre au R.P. Supérieur du Collége des Jésuites à Paris
BORDEAUX: Nouembre 22, 1629
SOURCE: The Title-page and Avant-Propos follow O'Callaghan's Reprint,
No. 3; but the Text has been compared with the original publication
in Champlain's _Voyages_ (Paris, 1632), part ii., pp. 275-279. The
bracketed pagination in the Text is that of Champlain.
LETTRE
du Reuerend
PÈRE L'ALLEMAND,
_Supérieur de la Mission des Pères Iésuites_,
en la
_NOUUELLE FRANCE_
Enuoyée de Bordeaux au R.P. Supérieur du Collége des Iésuites à PARIS,
et datée du 22 _Nouembre_, 1629.
[Illustration]
Imprimée d'après l'exemplaire que l'on trouve dans les Voyages du
Sieur Champlain.
A PARIS,
M. DC. XXXII.
LETTER
from the Reverend
FATHER L'ALLEMAND,
_Superior of the Mission of Jesuit Fathers_,
in
_NEW FRANCE_
Sent from Bordeaux to the Reverend Father Superior of the Jesuit
College at PARIS,
and dated 22nd _November_, 1629.
Reprinted from the copy to be found in the Voyages of
Sieur Champlain.
PARIS,
M. DC. XXXII.
Avant-Propos.
L_E R. Père CHARLES LALLEMANT, qui a écrit la Lettre suivante, entra
à l'âge de vingt ans dans la Compagnie de Jésus. En 1613, il avait
accompagné M. de la Saussaye, à Pentagouët. Argal s'étant emparé de
cet établissemement, le P. Lallemant s'en retourna en France, d'où il
partit pour le Canada en 1625. C'estoit la première fois que des Pères
Jésuites entrerent dans ce Pays. Quelques années aprés, il fût envoyé
avec le P. Philibert Noyrot, Procureur de la Mission, chercher en
France du secours pour la Colonie, et ayant trouvé de quoi fretter un
batiment avec des vivres, ils s'y étoient embarqués vers la fin du mois
de Juillet, 1629. Le vaisseau fit naufrage sur la côte de l'Acadie, et
c'est de cet naufrage et d'autres événements qui suivirent que traitte
la presente lettre._ [O'Callaghan.]
Preface.
T_HE Reverend Father CHARLES LALLEMANT, who wrote the following
Letter, entered the Society of Jesus at the age of twenty years.
In 1613, he accompanied M. de la Saussaye to Pentagoüet.[44] Argal
took possession of this settlement, and Father Lallemant returned
to France, whence he departed for Canada in 1625. This was the
first time that the Jesuit Fathers had entered that Country.
Several years later, he was sent with Father Philibert Noyrot,
Agent for the Mission, to France, to seek aid for the Colony;
and, having secured the means to load a ship with supplies,
they embarked upon it toward the end of July, 1629. The ship
was wrecked upon the Acadian coast; and it is this shipwreck
and other subsequent events that the present letter describes._
[O'Callaghan.]
Lettre du Reuerend P. l'Allemand, au R.P. Supérieur, à Paris.
[275] A_ÃYT sejourné deux iours à Dieppe ie m'acheminay à Rouën, où ie
m'arrestay deux autres iours, & appris comme le vaisseau des Reuerends
Peres l'Allemand & Noyrot s'estoient perdus vers les Isles de Canseau,
& me fit-on voir vne lettre dudit Reuerend Pere l'Allemand, Superieur
de la Mission des Peres Iesuites, en la nouuelle France, enuoyée de
Bordeaux au R.P. Superieur du College des Iesuites à Paris, & dattée du
22. Nouembre 1629. comme il s'ensuit._ [Champlain.]
Letter from the Reverend Father l'Allemand to the Reverend Father
Superior, at Paris.
[275] A_FTER having sojourned two days at Dieppe, I journeyed to
Rouën, where I remained two more days, and learned how the ship of
the Reverend Fathers l'Allemand and Noyrot had been wrecked upon
the Canseau Islands; and I was shown a letter from the Reverend
Father l'Allemand, Superior of the Mission of the Jesuit Fathers
in new France, sent from Bordeaux to the Reverend Father Superior
of the Jesuit College at Paris, and dated November 22nd, 1629, as
follows._ [Champlain.]
[276] MON REVEREND PERE,
Pax Christi.
Castigans castigauit me Dominus & morti non tradidit me, _Chastiment
qui m'a esté d'autant plus sensible que le naufrage a estè accompagné
de la mort du R.P. Noyrot & de nostre frere Louys, deux hõmes qui
deuoient, ce me semble grandem[~e]t seruir à nostre Seminaire. Or
neantmoins puis que Dieu a disposé de la sorte, il nous faut chercher
nos contentements dans ses sainctes volontez, hors desquelles il n'y
eut iamais esprit solide ny content, & ie m'asseure que l'experience
aura fait voir à vostre reuerence que l'amertume de nos ressentiments
détrempée dans la douceur du bon plaisir de Dieu, auquel vne ame
s'attache inseparablement, perd (ou le tout) ou la meilleure partie
de son fiel; Si que s'il reste encore quelques souspirs pour les
souffrances, ou passées ou presentes, ce n'est que pour aspirer
dauantage vers le Ciel, & perfectionner auec merite ceste conformité
dans laquelle l'ame a pris resolution de passer le reste de ses iours;
De quatre des nostres que nous estions dans la barque, Dieu partageant
à l'esgal, en a pris deux, & a laissé les deux autres. Ces deux bons
Religieux tresbien disposez & resignez à la mort, seruiront de victime
pour appaiser la colere de Dieu iustement iettée contre nous pour nos
deffauts, & pour nous rendre deformais sa bonté fauorable au succeds du
dessein entrepris._
[276] MY REVEREND FATHER,
The peace of Christ be with you.
Castigans castigavit me Dominus & morti non tradidit me, _a
Chastisement all the more keenly felt by me, as the shipwreck was
accompanied by the death of the Reverend Father Noyrot and of our
brother Louys,[20] two men who were destined, it seems to me, to
be of great service to our Seminary. But nevertheless, since God
has so ordained, we must seek our consolation in his holy will,
outside of which there never was a peaceful or contented mind; and
I feel sure that experience will have shown your reverence that the
bitterness of our grief, tempered with the sweetness of doing the
will of God, to whom a soul is inseparably attached, loses (either
all) or the greater part of its sting. And yet, if there still
remain some sighs for the sufferings either of the past or of the
present, it is only to make us aspire more earnestly to Heaven, and
to perfect with merit this harmony in which the soul is determined
to pass the rest of its days. Of the four of us who were in the
barque, God equally divided them, taking two and leaving two. These
two good Religious, who were thoroughly prepared and resigned to
die, will serve as victims to appease the wrath of God, justly
provoked against us for our shortcomings, and to cause him to grant
in the future his goodness, that it may be favorable to the success
of the project undertaken._
_Ce qui nous perdit fut vn grand coup de vent de Suest, qui s'efleua
lors que nous estions à la riue des terres, vent si impetueux que
quelque soin & diligence que peust apporter nostre Pilote auec ses
Matelots, Quelques voeux & prieres que nous peussions faire pour
destourner ce coup, iamais nous ne peusmes faire en sorte que nous
n'allassions heurter contre les rochers: ce fut le 26. iour d'apres
nostre depart, iour de sainct Barthelemy, enuiron sur les neuf heures
du soir; De 24. que nous estions dans la barque, dix seulement
eschapperent, les autres furent estouffez dans les eaux. Les deux
nepueux du Pere Noyrot tindrent compagnie à leur oncle, leurs corps
ont esté enterrez,_ [277] _entre autres celuy du P. Noyrot & de
nostre frere, des sept autres nous n'en auons eu aucune nouuelles,
quelque recherche que nous en ayons peu faire. De vous dire comment
le Pere de Vieuxpont & moy auons eschappé du naufrage, il me seroit
bien difficille, & croy que Dieu seul en a cognoissance, qui suiuans
les desseins de sa diuine prouid[~e]ce nous a preseruez, car pour
mon regard ne iugeant pas dans les apparences humaines qu'il me fust
possible d'éuiter ce danger, i'auois pris resolution de me tenir dans
la chambre du nauire auec nostre frere Louys, nous disposans tous
deux à receuoir le coup de la mort, qui ne pouuoit tarder plus de
trois_ Miserere, _lors que i'entendis qu'on m'appelloit sur le haut
du nauire, ie croyois que c'estoit quelqu'vn qui auoit affaire de mon
secours, ie montay en haut, & trouuay que c'estoit le P. Noyrot qui
me demandoit derechef l'absolution: Apres luy auoir donnée, & chanté
tous ensemble le_ Salue Regina, _ie fus contrainct de demeurer en
haut; car de descendre il n'y auoit plus de moyen, la mer estoit si
haute, & le vent si furieux, qu'en moins de rien le costé qui panchoit
sur le rocher fut mis en pieces, i'estois proche du P. Noirot lors
qu'vn coup de mer vint si impetueusement donner contre le costé sur
lequel nous estions qui rompit tout, & me separa du P. Noyrot, de la
bouche duquel i'entendis ces dernieres paroles_, In manus tuas Domine,
&c. _Pour moy de ce coup ie me trouuay engagé entre quatre pieces de
bois, deux desquelles me donnerent si rudement contre la poictrine,
& les deux autres me briserent si fort le dos que ie croyois mourir
auparauant que d'estre enueloppé des flots, mais voicy vn autre coup
de mer qui me desengageant de ces bois m'enleua, & mon bonnet & mes
pantoufles, & mist le reste du nauire tout à plat dans la mer: Ie
tombay heureusement sur vne planche que ie n'abandonnay point, de
rencontre elle estoit liée auec le reste du coste de ce nauire. Nous
voilà doncques à la mercy des flots, qui ne nous espargnoient point;
ains s'esleuans ie ne sçay combien de couldées au dessus de nous,
tomboient par apres sur nos testes. Apres auoir flotté longtemps de
la sorte dans l'obscurité de la nuict, qui estoit desia commencée,
regardant à l'entour de moy ie m'apperceus que nous estions enfermez
d'espines & sur tout enuironnez & prest du costau qui sembloit vne
isle, puis regardant vn peu plus attentiuement ie contay six personnes
qui n'estoient pas fort esloignées de moy, deux desquels m'apperceuans
m'exciterent à faire tous mes efforts pour m'approcher, ce ne_ [278]
_fut pas sans peine, car les coups que i'auois receus dans le debris
du vaisseau m'auoient fort affoiblis: Ie fis tant neantmoins, qu'auec
mes planches i'arriuay au lieu où ils estoient, & auec leur secours
ie me trouuay assis sur le grand mast, qui tenait encore ferme auec
vne partie du vaisseau, ie n'y fus pas long-temps car comme nous
approchions plus prés de cette isle, nos Matelots se lancerent
bien-tost à terre, & auec leur assistance tous ceux qui estoient sur
le costé du nauire y furent bien tost apres. Nous voilà donc sept de
compagnie, ie n'auois bonnet ny souliers, ma soutane & habits estoient
tous deschirez, & si moulus de coups que ie ne pouuois me soustenir, &
de faict il fallut qu'on me soustint pour aller iusques dans le bois,
aussi auois-ie receu deux rudes coups aux deux jambes, mais sur tout à
la dextre, dont ie me ressens encore, les mains fenduës auec quelque
contusion, la hanche escorchée, la poitrine sur tout fort offencée,
nous nous retirasmes donc tous sept dans le bois, moüillez comme ceux
qui venoient d'estre trempez dans la mer: la premiere chose que nous
fismes fut de remercier Dieu de ce qu'il nous auoit preseruez, & puis
le prier pour ceux qui pourroi[~e]t estre morts. Cela faict pour nous
eschauffer nous nous couchasmes les vns proches des autres, la terre
& l'herbe qui auoient esté moüillez de la pluye du iour n'estoient
encore propre pour nous seicher, nous passasmes ainsi le reste de la
nuict, pendant laquelle le P. de Vieuxpont (qui graces à Dieu n'estoit
point offencé) dormit fort bien. Le l'endemain si tost qu'il fut iour
nous allasmes recognoistre le lieu où nous estions, & trouuasmes que
c'estoit vne isle de laquelle nous pouuions passer à la terre ferme,
sur le riuage nous trouuasmes force choses que la mer y auoit ietté,
i'y trouuay deux pantoufles, vn bonnet, vn chappeau, vne soutanne, &
plusieurs autres choses necessaires. Sur tout Dieu nous y enuoya pour
viures cinq bariques de vin, quelques dix pieces de lard, de l'huile,
du pain, des fromages, & vne harquebuse, & de la pouldre tout à propos
pour faire du feu. Apres qu'on eut ainsi tout retiré, le iour de sainct
Louys tous s'employerent à faire le possible pour bastir vne chalouppe
du desbris du vaisseau, auec laquelle nous irions rangeant la coste
chercher quelque nauire de pescheurs: On se mit doncques à trauailler
auec meschans ferremens que l'on trouua, elle estoit bien aduancée le
quatriesme iour, lors que nous eusmes cognoissance d'vne chalouppe qui
estoit sous voile venant vers le lieu où nous estions, ils receurent
dedans vn de nos matelots qui alla tout seul plus proche du lieu_ [279]
_où elle deuoit passer, ils le menerent dans leur vaisseau parler au
Maistre, auquel il racõta nostre disgrace, le maistre tout aussi-tost
s'embarqua dans vne chalouppe & nous vint trouuer, nous offrit à tous
le passage: Nous voila en asseurance, car le lendemain tous les hommes
coucherent dans son vaisseau: C'estoit vn vaisseau Basque qui faisoit
pesche â vne lieuë & demie du rocher, où nous fismes naufrage, & pour
autãt qu'il restoit encores bien du temps pour acheuer leur pesche,
nous demeurasmes auec eux ce qui restoit du mois d'Aoust, & tout le
mois de Septembre. Le premier d' Octobre arriua vn Sauuage qui dist au
Maistre que s'il ne s'en alloit il y auroit danger que les Anglois ne
le surprissent. Cette nouvelle le disposa au depart: Le mesme Sauuage
nous dist que le Capitaine Daniel estoit â vingt-cinq lieuës de là qui
bastissoit vne maison, & y laissoit des François auec vn de nos Peres:
Cela me donna occasion de dire au P. de Vieuxpont qui me pressoit fort
que ie luy accordasse de demeurer auec ce Sauuage dans ceste coste,
qui estoit bien l'vn des meilleurs Sauuages qui se puisse rencontrer,
Mon Pere voicy le moyen de contenter vostre reuerence, le Pere Vimond
fera bien aise d'auoir vn compagnon. Ce Sauuage s'offre de mener
vostre Reuerence iusques au lieu où est Monsieur Daniel, si elle veut
demeurer là elle y demeurera, si elle veut aller quelque mois auec les
Sauuages, pour apprendre la langue elle le pourra faire, & ainsi le R.
Pere Vimond & vostre Reuerence auront leur contentement: le bon Pere
fut extresmement ioyeux de ceste occasion qui se presentoit, ainsi il
s'embarque dans la chalouppe du Sauuage, ie luy laissay tout ce que
nous auions sauué, horsmis le grand Tableau duquel le matelot Basque
s'estoit saisi, mais i'auois bien pensé au retour de luy faire rendre,
si vne autre disgrace ne nous fut arriuée. Nous partismes donc de la
coste le 6. Octobre, & apres auoir enduré de si furieuses tempestes
que nous n'auions encores experim[~e]tées, le quarantiesme iour de
nostre depart entrãt dãs vn port proche de S. Sebasti[~e], nous fismes
de rechef vn second naufrage, le Nauire rompu en mille piéces, toute
la moluë perduë, ce que ie peus faire ce fut de me sauuer dans vne
chalouppe, dans laquelle ie me iettay auec des pantoufles aux pieds, &
vn bonnet de nuict en teste, & en ceste esquippage m'en aller trouuer
nos Peres à S. Sebastien, d'où ie partis il y a huict iours, & suis
arriué à Bourdeuac proche de Bordeaux le 20. de ce mois. Voila le
succeds de nostre voyage, par lequel vostre Reuerence peut iuger des
obligations que i'ay à D I E V._
_Our wreck was caused by a heavy gust of wind from the Southeast,
which arose when we were near the shore,--a wind so strong that
in spite of all the diligence of our Pilot and his Sailors, and
the vows and prayers which we made to avert the disaster, we could
not avoid striking upon the rocks. This was on the 26th day after
our departure, saint Barthelemy's day, about nine o'clock in the
evening. Of the 24 who were in the barque, ten only escaped, the
others being suffocated in the water. The two nephews of Father
Noyrot kept company with their uncle, and there the bodies were
buried,_ [277] _among others that of Father Noyrot and our brother;
of the seven others we have no tidings, notwithstanding the search
that has been made. It would be difficult for me to tell you how
Father de Vieuxpont[45] and I escaped shipwreck, and I believe it
is known only to God, who, in harmony with the purposes of his
divine providence, has preserved us; for in regard to myself, not
thinking it within the bounds of human possibility that I could
escape this danger, I had resolved to remain in the ship's cabin
with our brother Louys. We were preparing ourselves to meet death,
which could not be farther away than three_ Miserere's, _when I
heard some one call me on the deck of the ship. I thought it might
be some one who was planning my rescue. I went up and found it
was Father Noyrot, who asked me to again give him absolution. After
having given it to him, and having all sung together the_ Salve
Regina, _I was obliged to remain above, for there was no means of
descending; the sea being so high and the wind so furious, that,
in less than no time, the side which leaned toward the rocks was
broken in pieces. I was near Father Noyrot, when a wave struck the
ship so hard on the side where we were that it broke everything,
separating me from Father Noyrot, from whose lips I heard these
last words_: In manus tuas Domine, &c. _I found myself after this
blow entangled in four pieces of wood, two of which struck me so
hard on the chest and the other two hit me so heavily upon the
back, that I thought I should die before being engulfed in the
waves; but then came another sea, which, freeing me from these
pieces of wood, carried me off, and my cap and slippers, and
scattered the rest of the ship over the sea. Fortunately, I fell
upon a plank to which I clung, and which happened to be attached
to the rest of the side of the ship. We were then at the mercy
of the waves, which did not spare us, but which rose, I know not
how many cubits above us, and then fell forward over our heads.
After having floated about a long time in this manner, in the
darkness of the night, which had already set in, looking around
me I saw that we were surrounded on all sides by pine trees, and
everywhere environed by, and near the shores of what seemed to
be an island; then examining a little more closely I counted six
persons who were not far from me, two of whom noticed me, and
motioned for me to try and come near them. This_ [278] _was not
without difficulty, for the blows I had received from the debris
of the ship had weakened me. I did so well, however, that with
the aid of my planks, I reached the place where they were, and,
with their assistance, I found myself sitting upon the mainmast,
which was still firmly fastened to a part of the ship. I did not
remain there long, for as we neared the island our Sailors soon
leaped to the land; and, with their assistance, all those who were
on the side of the ship were soon brought to the shore. There
were then seven of us together; I had neither cap nor shoes, my
cassock and clothes were all torn, and I was so bruised by blows
from the wreck, that I could not stand up; and, in fact, some one
had to support me while I was trying to reach the woods; for I
had received two hard blows upon both legs, but especially upon
the right one, which I still feel; my hands were cut and bruised,
the flesh torn from my hips; above all I was badly wounded in the
chest. All seven of us withdrew into the woods, as wet as those who
have just been soaked in the sea. The first thing we did was to
thank God for having preserved us, and then we prayed to him for
those who might be dead. This done, we lay down very near to each
other to keep warm; the ground and the grass, which had been wet
by the rain of the previous day, were not yet in a condition to
dry us; thus we spent the rest of the night, during which Father
de Vieuxpont (who, thank God, was unharmed) slept well. The next
morning, at day-break, we reconnoitered the place where we were,
and discovered that it was an island, from which we could go to the
mainland. We found many things upon the shore that had been thrown
up by the sea; I found there two slippers, a cap, a hat, a cassock,
and several other necessary articles. Best of all, God sent us as
food, five barrels of wine, about ten pieces of lard; oil, bread,
and cheese; also an arquebuse, powder, and everything necessary
to make a fire. After having drawn all these upon the shore, on
saint Louis's day, everybody went to work in earnest to build a
boat out of the wreck of the ship, in which we might sail along
the coast in search of some fishing boat. So we began to work with
the poor tools at our disposal, and considerable progress was made
by the fourth day, when we learned of a boat under sail, coming
towards the place where we were. They received on board one of our
sailors, who went alone to the place_ [279] _near which it was to
pass. They took him into their ship to speak with their Captain,
to whom he related our misfortune. The captain immediately entered
a boat and came in search of us, offering a passage to all of us.
Behold us then in safety, for the next night we all slept in his
ship. It was a Basque, which was fishing a league and a half from
the rock where we were wrecked; and, as they would not finish their
fishing for some time, we stayed with them during the remainder of
the month of August and the entire month of September. On the first
of October a Savage arrived, and told the Master that if he did not
leave he would be in danger of being surprised by the English. This
news decided his departure. The same Savage told us that Captain
Daniel[46] was twenty-five leagues away, and was building a house,
and that he had left the French with one of our Fathers there.
This led me to say to Father de Vieuxpont, who urged me earnestly
to permit him to remain with this Savage upon this coast, for he
was one of the best Savages that could be found; "My Father, here
is the way we can satisfy your reverence; Father Vimond[47] will
be very happy to have a companion. This Savage offers to conduct
your Reverence to the place where Monsieur Daniel is; if you wish
to remain there, you may do so; if you wish to go to spend a
few months with the Savages to learn their language, you may do
so; and so the Reverend Father Vimond and your Reverence will
be satisfied." The good Father was very happy at this opportunity
which offered itself, so he embarked in the Savage's boat. I gave
him all that we had saved, except the large Painting, which the
Basque sailor had taken possession of; but I had intended to make
him surrender it upon our return, if another misfortune had not
overtaken us. So we left the coast on the 6th of October; and
after having suffered the most furious tempests that we had yet
experienced, we entered, the fortieth day after our departure, the
port near St. Sebastien, where we were wrecked a second time, the
Ship being broken into a thousand pieces and all the codfish being
lost. All I could do was to escape in a shallop into which I threw
myself, in my slippers and nightcap, and in this outfit I went to
find our Fathers at St. Sebastien, whence I departed eight days
later, and arrived at Bourdevac, near Bordeaux, the 20th of this
month. This is the result of our voyage, from which your Reverence
can judge of my obligations to G O D._
BIBLIOGRAPHICAL DATA: VOL IV
XIV
Chapters xxvi.-xxxvii., completing the document, are given in the
present volume. The preceding chapters, with Bibliographical Data, are
found in our Volume III.
XV-XVII
Documents XV. and XVI. are letters from Charles Lalemant to Sieur de
Champlain and the provincial of the Récollets, respectively, dated
at Quebec, July 28, 1625. They are taken from Sagard's _Histoire du
Canada_ (Paris, 1636), pp. 868, 869, 870; in the Tross reprint of
Sagard (Paris, 1865), they are in vol. iii., pp. 789, 790.[48]
Document XVII. is a letter from Lalemant to his general, at Rome, dated
New France, August 1, (presumably 1626). It was written in Latin, the
original being preserved in the Archives of the Gesù at Rome. This
is one of the letters copied for Carayon, by Father Martin, in 1858,
and translated by the latter into French, for the _Première Mission_,
where it appears on pp. 117-121,--see Bibliographical Data for Document
XIII., in our Volume III. We follow the Martin apograph, in Latin
(preserved at St. Mary's College, Montreal), and our translation into
English is made therefrom.[49]
The above three letters by Lalemant were selected by O'Callaghan from
Sagard and Carayon,--the third being, of course, Martin's French
translation,--and published at Albany in 1870, with a brief "Avis"
giving the sources of the documents. This publication, known in the
Lenox Catalogue as "O'Callaghan Reprint No. 2," bears the following
title-page:
Copie de Trois | Lettres | escrittes ès années 1625. et 1626. | Par
le P. Charles Lallemant | Superieur des Missions de la Compagnie | de
Iesvs en la | Novvelle France. | A Albanie | De l'Imprimerie de J.
Munsell | M.DCCC.LXX.
_Collation of O'Callaghan's Reprint._ Title, 1 p.; reverse of title,
with inscription: "Edition tirée à vingt cinq exemplaires. O'C.," 1 p.;
"Avis" (by O'Callaghan), 1 p.; text, pp. 5-14.
For further references, see Brown, vol. ii., no. 316 and p. 166;
Harrisse, nos. 426, 427, 429; Sabin, vol. x., no. 38679; O'Callaghan,
nos. 1209, 1250; Winsor, p. 301; Lenox, p. 18.
XVIII
We follow the original publication (Paris, 1627), now in the Lenox
Library, of Lalemant's letter to his brother, Jerome; it is described
in the Lenox Catalogue, p. 4, under "H. 41."
There are extant, four different reprints of this document, as follows:
1. It appears to have first been reprinted in _Mercure François_, tome
xiii., pp. 12-34; the portion of the journal wherein this is found, is
devoted to the events of the year 1626, but the royal Privilege for
the volume was "Donné au camp de la Rochelle le 28. de Septembre, l'an
de grace 1628." The original publication appeared without statement of
Privilege; it is, therefore, impossible to say when in 1627 permission
to print was granted. In the Quebec edition of the _Relations_ (1858),
it is inadvertently stated (vol. i.) that this letter commences on p.
1 (instead of p. 12) of tome xiii. of _Mercure_, an error which Sabin,
Harrisse, and others have repeated. As will be seen by a comparison
of our text with that of issues which follow the _Mercure_, the
differences between the original and this first reprint are slight.
2. The next reprint appears in Danjou's _Archives Curieuses_, 2nd
series, tome iii. (Paris, 1838), pp. (405-426). This follows the text
of the original, and not that of the _Mercure_. The following clause in
the Lenox Catalogue, p. 19,--the final sentence of note under "7(b)" in
list of O'Callaghan's Reprints,--is misleading: "The copy in the Astor
Library of that work is printed from the original letter of 1627." The
"copy in the Astor" is simply this reprint in _Archives Curieuses_, of
which rare collection the Astor has a set.
3. The third reprint, but the first in separate form, was issued by
O'Callaghan at Albany, 1870, and is the one designated in the Lenox
Catalogue (p. 19) as "7(b)." The text of the _Mercure_ reprint is
followed, with a made-up title-page, as follows:
Relation | de ce qvi s'est passé | en la | Novvelle France | en l'annee
M.DC.XXVI. | Enuoyée au Père Hierosme L'Allemant | par le P. Charles
L'Allemant Superievr de | la Mission de la Compagnie de Iesvs | en |
Canada. | D'après la Copie dans le Mercure François | Tome 13. | A
Paris | Chez Estienne Richer ruë S. Iean de Latran | M.DC.XXIX.
_Collation of same._ Title, 1 p.; reverse of title, with inscription:
"Edition tirée a vingt-cinq exemplaires, O'C.," 1 p.; Tables des
Matieres, 2 pp.; text, pp. 1-51; Table, pp. 53-59.
4. A second separate reprint was issued by O'Callaghan in 1871, and is
that referred to in the Lenox Catalogue (p. 19) as "7(a)." This follows
the original text, and not that of the _Mercure_; it is set in small
type in imitation of the original (Paris, 1627), and comes into the
same number of pages. Upon the otherwise blank page facing the last
page of the text, is the inscription: "Calqué sur l'exemplaire dans
la collection | de Mr. James Lenox, de New York." The title-page is
apparently photo-lithographed from the original.
For further references to this document, which has had a curious
bibliographical history, see Harrisse, no. 41; Sabin, vol. x., no.
38680 (original), and no. 38682 (reprint); Carayon, nos. 1254, 1255,
and p. 1179; Ternaux, no. 496; Winsor, pp. 300, 301; _Historical
Magazine_, vol. iii., p. 19; Brown, vol. ii., p. 166; Lenox, p. 4 (H.
41), 19; and the Barlow (no. 1272), Murphy (no. 1480), and O'Callaghan
(nos. 1250, 1982) sale catalogues.
_Title-page._ We give a photographic facsimile of original.
_Collation of Original._ Title, 1 p.; text, pp. 1-16.
XIX
Charles Lalemant's letter of Nov. 22, 1629, to the superior of
the Jesuit College at Paris, originally appeared without title or
headlines, in _Les voyages du Sieur de Champlain_ (Paris, 1632), 2nd
part, pp. 275-279. O'Callaghan reprinted it in what is known in the
Lenox list as "No. 3," of which,--as with others of the O'Callaghan
series,--but twenty-five copies were published. He omitted the
preliminary editorial note, on p. 275, made up a title-page of his
own, and furnished the Avant-Propos. In the present issue, we
reproduce the O'Callaghan title-page and Avant-Propos, but in all
other respects strictly follow the original publication. See further
references in Winsor, p. 301; Sabin, vol. x., no. 38681; Lenox, p. 18.
_Title-page._ We imitate O'Callaghan's Reprint.
_Collation of O'Callaghan's Reprint._ Title, 1 p.; reverse of title,
with inscription: "Tirée à vingt cinq exemplaires, lesquels ne font |
pas à vendre. O'C.," 1 p.; Avant-Propos (by O'Callaghan), 1 p.; blank,
1 p.; text, pp. 5-15; colophon, 1 p.: "Achevé d'Imprimer à Albany, N.
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NOTES TO VOL. IV
(_Figures in parentheses, following number of note, refer to pages of
English text._)
1 (p. 15).--_The pilot_: see vol. ii., _note_ 88.
2 (p. 15).--_Pretended Religion_: see vol. iii., _note_ 31.
3 (p. 21).--On Turnell, see vol. i, _note_ 66.
4 (p. 33).--_The Marshal_: Sir Thomas Dale (spelled Deel, by Biard).
See vol. i, _note_ 64.
5 (p. 33).--_The General_: this was Sir Thomas Gates, one of the
prominent men of his time in both military and civil service. He was of
Devonshire, and probably at this time a little over 50 years of age;
had been an officer in the Drake-Sidney expedition to America (1585-86)
and published an account of it in 1589; later, had military commands in
Spain and Holland; was commander of the English expedition to Virginia
in 1608, and appointed the first sole and absolute governor to the
colony there; returned to England in April, 1614. He lived about six
years longer, and took much interest in the affairs of Virginia. Both
he and Dale were men of energy and executive ability; to their efforts
are mainly ascribed the establishment and continuance of the Jamestown
colony.
6 (p. 69).--The French name for the English Channel; given on account
of its shape, resembling a sleeve (Fr. _manche_). It gives its name to
the maritime department of France in which are situated Cherbourg and
St. Lô.
7 (p. 75).--_The ambassador_: see vol. ii., _note_ 94.
8 (p. 85).--On Betsabes, see vol. iii., _note_ 16.
9 (p. 91).--_River of smelts_: the Liesse River of Lescarbot (see vol.
ii., _note_ 37).
10 (p. 95).--On this point, cf. Maurault (_Hist. Abenakis_, p. 95,
_note_ 4): "The Abnakis always exhibited profound grief at the death of
a child; the parents were inconsolable. The cause of this great sorrow
was the belief of the savages that a child was wretched in the other
world, because it was too young and weak to procure for itself the
necessities of life there."
11 (p. 101).--The letters patent here referred to were those issued
to Sir Thomas Gates and others, for the establishment of colonies in
Virginia, and constituted the colonial charter. This document, dated
April 10, 1606, granted some 20,000 square miles to the two companies,
but claimed for the crown all of North America between 34° and 45°
north latitude, presumably amounting to some 2,000,000 square miles, as
the width of the continent was then understood. The text is given, with
collateral and illustrative papers, in Brown's _Genesis_, pp. 52 _et
seq._
12 (p. 105).--For a graphic account of the colonial enterprises of Jean
Ribaut and René de Laudonnière in Florida (1562-65), consult Parkman's
_Pioneers_, pp. 33-150. Cf. Laudonnière's own narrative, and Ribaut's
journal, as given in Goldsmid's _Hakluyt_, vol. xiii., pp. 407-507;
also Guérin's _Navigateurs Français_, (Paris, 1846), pp. 180-204.
13 (p. 105).--Concerning these early discoveries by the French, see
vol. ii., _notes_ 49, 72; and vol. iii., _notes_ 5, 9.
14 (p. 107).--Biard here refers to the colony established in 1610
by John Guy and others at Cupids Harbor (opening into Conception
Bay), N. F. Lord Bacon was prominent in this enterprise, and it was
his influence that secured the charter and subsidies granted to the
Newfoundland Colonization Company, as it was called. The company seems
to have existed till at least 1628. For Guy's charter, and letters
written by him, with an account of his enterprise and of other early
colonies in that region, see Prowse's _Hist. N.F._, pp. 92-133.
15 (p. 107).--The map of Ortelius (1570) shows New France as extending
southward to 40°. Van der Aa's "Canada" (1619, _ca._) and Blaeu's
"Extrema Americæ" (1620), give the Kennebec river as the dividing line
between New England and New France; the latter region is extended
by Van der Aa to the south of the Great Lakes, and as far as the
Mississippi river. Winsor gives (_Cartier to Frontenac_, p. 9), a
sketch reduced from a tracing of the alleged map of Denis (1506),
mentioned in vol. iii, of the present series, _note_ 4.
16 (p. 109).--Reference is here made to the "Pandects," or _Corpus
Juris Civilis_, a collection of the Roman civil law, made in the
sixth century by Emperor Justinian. The "law of Alluvions" has
two branches,--the law of abandonment, and that of accretion
(_acquirendo_). Biard's reference is to the _Corpus Juris Civilis_,
Digest, book 41 ("_De adquirendo rerum dominio_"), 29 and 30. The sign
ff, used in our text, was employed by early jurisconsults to signify
the Digest, and even the Pandects as a whole; it is supposed to be
a corruption of the Greek character [^p] (or perhaps of [th]).--See
Hermann Hugo's _De Prima Scribendi Origine_ (Antwerp, 1617), p. 153.
17 (p. 109).--Regarding the Count de Soissons, see vol. ii., _note_ 24.
18 (p. 109).--Cf. with these arguments of Biard, Champlain's "_Abregé
des decovvertvres de la Nouuelle France_," in his _Voyages_ (ed. 1632),
part 2, pp. 290-296; and Hinsdale's "Right of Discovery," in _Ohio
Archæol. and Hist. Quarterly_, Dec., 1888.
19 (p. 113).--Concerning the French fisheries in Newfoundland, which,
with the neighboring Banks, furnished the greater part of the Canadian
product, see Prowse's _Hist. N.F._, pp. 49-50; and Dionne's _Nouv.
France_, chaps. viii., ix. For a detailed account of the Canadian
fisheries at the present time, see Joncas's "Fisheries of Canada," in
_Canadian Economics_ (Montreal, 1884), pp. 41-73.
Lalemant says (doc. no. xviii., _post_) that the usual exportation
of beaver skins from New France was 12,000 to 15,000 annually; and
that it had, in one year, been 22,000. These skins were sold in
France at a pistole each, or ten livres. The Company of Merchants
is said to have realized an annual dividend of 40 per cent on its
investment. Garneau cites De Caen as saying, when Quebec was restored
to him by Kirk, in 1632: "But as for our settlement, my people have
found it utterly consumed, along with 9,000 beaver skins, valued at
40,000 livres."--_Histoire du Canada_ (4th ed., Montreal, 1882),
vol. i., p. 127, _note_ *. See, also, chapter on "New France and the
Fur-trade," in H. H. Bancroft's _N.W. Coast_, vol. i., pp. 378-403; and
Dionne's _Nouv. France_, chap. xiii. Gagnon's _Essai de bibliographie
canadienne_ (Quebec, 1895), p. 128, mentions Bruslons's _Dictionnaire
universel de commerce_ (Savary's ed., Paris, 1723) as "an immense
compilation, containing highly valuable information in regard to
Canadian commerce in the seventeenth century."
20 (p. 171).--Charles Lalemant (also written L'Alemand, L'Almand,
Lallemant, and Allemand) was born at Paris Nov. 17, 1587, and became a
novice of the Jesuits July 29, 1607, at Rouen. He studied philosophy
at La Flèche, 1609-12; during the following three years, he was an
instructor in the college of Nevers; four years more he devoted to
the study of theology at La Flèche, and one year at Paris. He was a
professor in the college at Bourges, 1620-22; and, for three years
more, principal of the boarding school of Clermont, Paris. In March,
1625, he was appointed superior of the mission at Quebec, whither he
went with his brethren Massé and Brébeuf, and the Récollet missionary
Joseph La Roche-Daillon, arriving in June of that year. Here Lalemant
remained till November, 1627, when he went to France to procure
supplies. Returning in the following May, the ship was captured by
Admiral Kirk, the Jesuits being sent to England, and later to France.
In June, 1629, Lalemant, with several other Jesuits, made a second
attempt to return to Canada; but they were shipwrecked on the rocks
near Canso. Noyrot and Malot perished in the waves, Vieuxpont joined
Father Vimont at Grand Cibou, and Lalemant was taken back to France by
a Basque fishing vessel, arriving at St. Sebastien after still another
shipwreck. Quebec having been meanwhile captured by the English, the
Canadian missions were interrupted until 1632, when the region was
restored to France. Lalemant, upon his return to France, in 1629, was
appointed rector of the college at Eu; and, later, of that at Rouen.
In April, 1634, his superiors granted his earnest request that he
might again go to Canada. He was placed in charge, with Massé and De
Nouë, of the chapel "Notre-Dame de Récouvrance" (built by Champlain on
his return to New France), and was the latter's friend and spiritual
director, attending him at his death. Lalemant returned to France in
1639, and there, during several years, acted as agent for the Canadian
missions; he was afterwards successively rector of the colleges at
Rouen, La Flèche, and Paris, and at the last place superior of the
Maison Professe. There he died, Nov. 18, 1674.
21 (p. 171).--_The General._ This was Emery de Caen, who, with his
uncle, Guillaume de Caen, was placed by Montmorency in charge of
commercial affairs in New France; both were Huguenots--the latter a
merchant, the former a naval captain.
It is necessary, in this connection, to outline the commercial
monopolies that successively dominated New France in its infancy. For
an account of the first of these, granted to De Monts, see vol. i.,
_note_ 2. His patent was finally canceled in 1609; and in January,
1611, he gave up his claims in America to Madame de Guercheville.
Meanwhile, Champlain (see vol. ii., _note_ 42) was continued as
lieutenant of the King in New France, with personal command over the
Quebec colony, which was sustained mainly through his efforts, with the
aid of the Rouen merchants who had been associated with De Monts.
_Company of Associates._--The Rouen associates withdrew from the
enterprise, toward the close of 1611; and, in the following year,
Champlain undertook the formation of a new company, to be composed of
merchants from Rouen, Havre, St. Malo and La Rochelle. It was open to
all who were willing to share both the profits and the losses, thus
avoiding the jealousies that had been aroused against the limited
membership of De Monts's company. The Rochelle men finally declined
to enter the company, which afterwards lost heavily by the illicit
trade in which the former engaged with the savages. Champlain also
accuses these merchants of selling arms and ammunition to the natives,
and exciting their hostility against the Quebec colonists.--See his
_Voyages_ (1632), part 2, pp. 2, 3. The Count de Soissons (vol. ii,
of this series, _note_ 24) was appointed governor of New France, with
Champlain as his lieutenant. After considerable delay, the Company of
Associates was organized (1613-14); among its members were, besides De
Monts and Champlain, Thomas Porée, Lucas Legendre, Mathieu Dusterlo,
and Daniel Boyer. Quarrels arose among the associates, caused by
commercial and even religious differences of opinion; and some of
them tried to eject Champlain from his command. Although this attempt
failed, his work was greatly hindered and embarrassed, until the Duke
of Montmorency, Condé's successor as viceroy, came to his aid (1620).
_Company of De Caen._--Dissensions and complaints still arising,
the Company of Associates was summarily dissolved by Montmorency,
in November, 1620, and a new company formed. At its head were the
De Caens; there were, also, Guillaume Robin, Jacques de Troyes, and
François Hervé, merchants; François de Troyes, chief of royal finance
at Orléans; Claude Le Ragois, receiver-general of finance at Limoges;
Pierre de Verton, counselor and secretary of the King; and others. The
old company had resented Montmorency's order of dissolution; but within
a year its membership and interests were consolidated with those of
the new association. The latter received a monopoly for eleven years,
to which the King added eleven more; but it also was dissolved by
Richelieu, early in 1627, to make room for his "Company of New France,"
also known as the "Company of the Hundred Associates."
_Company of New France._--This association was personally controlled
and managed by Richelieu; and had members in official positions about
the court, and in Paris, Rouen, and other cities of France. Among
these were Marquis Deffiat, superintendent of finance; Champlain;
Claude de Roquemont; the Commander de Razilly; Sebastian Cramoisy, the
Parisian publisher; Jean de Lauson, long the president of the company,
and intendant of Canada; Louis Houel, secretary of the King, and
controller of the salt works at Brouage; and several leading merchants
of Paris, Rouen, Dieppe, and Bordeaux. The reasons for the formation
of this company, the royal charter granted to it, and its articles of
association, are given in _Mercure François_, vol. xiv. (1628), pp.
232-267. For a complete list of the (107) members, see Creuxius' _Hist.
Canad._; for a copy of the list, with the company's charter, and other
interesting particulars, see Sulte's _Histoire des Canadiens-Français_
(Montreal, 1882-84), vol. ii., pp. 27-33. The company was granted
jurisdiction over the territory extending from Florida to the Arctic
Circle, and from Newfoundland to the "great fresh lake" (Huron). Only
Catholics were permitted to join this association, or to settle in its
colonies; and no Huguenot or foreigner might enter Canada. The capture
of Quebec by the English (1629) temporarily broke up this monopoly; but
it resumed operations when that region was retroceded to France (vol.
ii., _note_ 42). The charter of the company obliged it to send 4,000
colonists thither before 1643; to lodge and support them during three
years; and then to give them cleared lands for their maintenance. The
vast expense attending this undertaking was beyond the ability of the
Associates; therefore, in 1645, they transferred to the inhabitants
of Quebec their monopoly of the fur trade, with their debts and other
obligations,--retaining, however, their seigniorial rights. Finally
(Feb. 24, 1663), the Hundred Associates abandoned their charter, and
New France again became the property of the crown.
All these monopolies appear to have sought mainly their own financial
interests. They sustained the Quebec settlement, but in penurious
fashion, and only so far as it aided their trade with the natives; but
they did nothing to make it an agricultural community, or to forward
Champlain's schemes for the permanent colonization of Canada,--neither
of which objects could well be attained under the feudal tenure by
which the colonists held land under the companies.
For more extended accounts of these enterprises, see Parkman's
_Pioneers_, pp. 364-366, 419-432; his _Jesuits_, pp. 155-157, 194, 195,
331; Ferland's _Cours d'Histoire_, vol. i, pp. 161, 162, 167, 185, 189,
197-201, 215, 217, 220, 226, 338-340; Rochemonteix's _Jésuites_, vol.
i., pp. 128-135, 159, 163, 164, and vol. ii., pp. 65-66; Slafter's
"Memoir of Champlain," in _Voyages_ (Prince Soc.), vol. i., pp.
110-114, 122, 144-158, 187; Faillon's _Colon. Fr._, vol. i., pp.
132-136, 150, 160-175, 189-232, 268-272, 333-352; Winsor's _Cartier to
Frontenac_, pp. 130, 131, 167, 168; Garneau's _Canada_, vol. i., pp.
63-75; and Margry's _Collection de manuscrits relatifs à la Nouvelle
France_ (Quebec, 1883), vol. i., pp. 62-85.
The losses of the De Caens at the capture of Quebec (referred to _note
ante_, 19) were heavy; and, as some compensation therefor, they were
granted a monopoly of the fur trade in the Gulf of St. Lawrence for
one year. Emery De Caen was therefore appointed provisional governor
of Canada for that period, upon the restitution of the province by the
English; and on July 13, 1632, he took formal possession of Quebec in
the name of his King. Laverdière gives (_Champlain_, close of vol. ii.)
numerous "Pièces justificatives;" see pp. 6-31 of these, for documents
showing De Caen's losses through Kirk's attack, and his attempts to
secure redress from the latter through the English government. L'Abbé
H. A. B. Verreau, in _Report on Canadian Archives_ (1874), p. 197,
mentions that in Paris he found documents granting islands in the West
Indies to De Caen, in 1633 and 1640.
22 (p. 171).--Champlain, in thorough accord with the policy then
dominant at the court of France, was fully as desirous of establishing
the Christian religion among the savages of America as of gaining
new possessions for France. He had tried, in 1612, to induce Madame
de Guercheville to send the Jesuits to Quebec, and to aid De Monts in
establishing a colony there; see his _Voyages_ (1632), pt. i., pp. 112,
113. This proposal was rejected, on account of De Monts's Calvinistic
faith. But when the Company of Merchants was formed, two years later,
Champlain at once made plans for the establishment of missions in New
France. Consulting Louis Houel, of Brouage, the latter advised him to
apply to the Récollets (vol. ii., of the present series, _note_ 41),
who had already won renown from their successful missions in Spanish
America.
That Order gladly responded to the appeal; and, having secured the
consent of the King of France and of the Pope, and assurances of
aid from the Company of Merchants, the first Récollet missionaries
to Canada departed from France, April 24, 1615.--See Introduction,
vol. i., pp. xx., xxi. Other Récollets were sent over, from time to
time; and, in 1620-21, they built a convent and chapel (the first in
Canada) on St. Charles River, about half a French league from the
fort of Quebec. This they named Notre-Dame des Anges; it was situated
(according to Laverdière) on the spot where now stands the General
Hospital.
By 1624, five Récollet missions had been established--at Tadoussac,
Quebec, and Three Rivers; at Carhagouha, in the Huron country; and
among the Nipissings. There was another, in Acadia, on St. John River,
founded in 1619, conducted by three Récollets from Aquitaine, and
supported by certain commercial companies at Bordeaux. This mission was
closed in July, 1624; and, immediately thereafter, its priests joined
their brethren at Quebec.
Just before their arrival, a conference of the Récollet missionaries
was held at Quebec, at which they resolved to ask the coöperation of
the Jesuits (also noted for the success of their foreign missions)
in the Canadian field, which was far too large and arduous for their
limited resources, hoping that the latter order would send some
missionaries at its own expense. The Récollets, even more austere
than the other Franciscan orders, were forbidden by their rules to
own property; hence their missionaries could not look to their own
order for aid. The Company of Merchants had agreed with Champlain
to support six of the Récollets; but, as many of its members were
Protestants, this outlay was probably an unwelcome burden to them.
Moreover, the religious dissensions constantly arising between the
Huguenots and the Catholics were felt to be a hindrance to the labors
of the missionaries, who would have preferred that Protestants should
be entirely excluded from the management of affairs. Sagard says
(_Canada_, pp. 860, 861) that he complained to Montmorency of the
disorders in Canada, for which he blamed the Huguenots; and that
the Récollet provincial at Paris, with Father Irenæus Piat (envoy
from the Canadian missionaries, to negotiate with the Jesuits), made
formal charges against them in the council, to the same effect. The
viceroy (in Rochemonteix's phrase, "a man of the world, who loved
pleasures quite as well as honors") had meanwhile gladly disposed
of his troublesome Canadian dignities (January, 1625) to his nephew
Henri de Lévis, duke of Ventadour, a pious man who cared not for trade
or conquest, but only for the conversion of the savages. De Lévis's
spiritual director was a Jesuit; the application of the Récollets
for aid from the Society of Jesus came at an opportune time for both
orders. It is also probable that the influences of the court, at that
time strongly inclined toward the Jesuits, helped to bring about
the arrangement. There was, however, considerable opposition to its
consummation, especially from the Company of Merchants; but, according
to Faillon, the new viceroy asserted his authority over them, and
obliged them to yield. In accordance with the agreement, the Jesuit
fathers Lalemant, Massé, and Brébeuf, with the coadjutors François
Charreton, Jean Goffestre, and Gilbert Burel, were sent to New France
in April, 1625. There they pursued their missionary labors until the
capture of Quebec by the English, four years later. After that event,
Kirk sent all the missionaries back to France, by way of England. When
the French returned (1632), they were accompanied solely by Jesuit
priests, for Richelieu would not allow the Récollets to resume their
Canadian missions.
For accounts of this transaction, from a Récollet standpoint, see
Shea's _Le Clercq_, pp. 224-233; and Sagard's _Canada_, pp. 860-865.
The Jesuit view is given in Rochemonteix's _Jésuites_, vol. i., pp.
137-153. Cf. Faillon's _Colon. Fr._, vol. i., pp. 206-212.
23 (p. 171).--This was Joseph de la Roche-Daillon (written also
d'Allion), a Récollet priest of the province of St. Denis, allied to
the house of the counts du Lud (or Lude). He accompanied the Jesuit
missionaries to Canada, and, after remaining at Quebec for a year, went
to the Huron country with Brébeuf and De Nouë. In October, 1626, he
visited the Neutral Nation, and spent the winter there. In the summer
of 1628, he returned from the Huron mission to Quebec, remaining there
until its capture; Champlain mentions his visit to "Father la Roche,"
just before that event, to ask if the Récollets could supply any grain
to the colony. Sagard gives (_Canada_, pp. 880-892) a letter written
to a friend by Daillon, describing his visit to the Neutrals; it is
reproduced by Le Clercq (Shea's ed., vol. i., pp. 263-272). Harris
(citing Noiseux's _Liste chronologique_) gives the date of Daillon's
death as July 16, 1656.--_Early Missions in Western Canada_ (Toronto,
1893), p. 56, _note_.
24 (p. 171).--_The trading station_: Three Rivers (see vol. ii.,
_note_ 52). This point was long a favorite fur-trade rendezvous for
the Indians. The Récollet missionaries established a residence here
in June, 1615, which was maintained until 1628. The fortified French
settlement at Three Rivers was established by Champlain in July, 1634,
to protect the Huron and Algonkin fur trade from the incursions of
the Iroquois, and to serve as an outpost of defence for Quebec. The
first colonist was Jacques Hertel, who in 1633 had obtained a grant of
land there. The Jesuit missionaries were also among the proprietors
of the new town, having obtained from the Company of New France (see
_note_ 21, _ante_), by a grant dated Feb. 15, 1634, six arpents of
land at Three Rivers; but they did not secure possession of this till
Montmagny delivered it to them (1637). However, within two months
after La Violette, Champlain's lieutenant, had erected his stockade at
Three Rivers, two of the Jesuit fathers,--Le Jeune and Buteux,--had
established a residence there, which was for many years an important
center of missionary work.--See Sulte's _Can.-Français_, vol. ii., pp.
48-54: he gives a list; containing also much genealogical information,
of the early inhabitants of Three Rivers; and the document granting
land there to the Society of Jesus, copied from _Titres seigneuriaux_
(Quebec, 1852), p. 70. Cf. Ferland's _Cours d'Histoire_, vol. i., p.
270; he states that the church registers of Three Rivers are continuous
since February, 1635; and that these records are the oldest existing in
Canada. The first entry gives the exact date on which the settlement
was begun--July 4, 1634.
Sulte has published, at Montreal, several works concerning this
town: _Histoire de la ville des Trois-Rivières_ (1870), _Chronique
trifluvienne_ (1879), and _Album de l'Histoire des Trois-Rivières_
(1881).
25 (p. 171).--Father Nicholas Viel, then stationed at Montargis,
France, was sent to the Canadian mission of the Récollets, with Brother
Gabriel Sagard (see _note_ 48, _post_), in 1623. Arriving at Quebec,
June 28 of that year, they at once accompanied Father Joseph Le Caron
to the Huron country, which they reached in August, and settled at
the residence already established at Quieunonascaran. At the end of
ten months, Le Caron and Sagard returned to Quebec, leaving Viel in
charge of the mission. In the summer of 1625, he went with the Hurons
on their annual trading voyage to Quebec, taking with him an Indian lad
named Ahautsic, whom he had baptized and confirmed. A storm scattering
the fleet, the three Hurons in his canoe viciously threw him and his
disciple into the water, at the last rapid above Montreal, which from
that time has borne the name of Sault au Récollet. Sagard and Le Clercq
give full accounts of Father Viel's missionary work, and of his tragic
death. The latter states that Viel left a dictionary of the Huron
language, with other memoirs, in the hands of certain Frenchmen then
living in the Huron country, who, later, conveyed the MSS. to Father Le
Caron, at Quebec.
26 (p. 171).--Joseph Le Caron was one of the four Récollets who began
the mission of that order in Canada (see _note_ 22, _ante_). Verbal
permission to engage in this work was given them by the papal nuncio
at Paris, that their departure might not be delayed by waiting for
the usual brief; for some unknown reason the issue of this paper was
delayed until March 20, 1618. The original document is now in the
departmental archives of France, according to Faillon (_Col. Fr._, vol.
i., p. 146). It is addressed to Father Le Caron and other Récollet
brothers and priests: Sagard copies it in his _Canada_, pp. 12-17.
Upon arriving at Tadoussac, May 25, 1615, Jamay (the superior) went
with Le Caron to Three Rivers, where they at once proceeded to
establish a sedentary mission for the Indians. Leaving this in the care
of Jamay (whose headquarters were at Quebec), Le Caron departed for
the Huron country, living with the savages at their town of Carhagouha
(near Thunder Bay; later known as Toanché). Here he remained until the
following May, meanwhile visiting with Champlain the Tobacco Nation
and adjoining tribes. By these Indians he was cruelly treated, at the
instigation of the medicine men (whom the French missionaries styled
"sorcerers").
In July, 1616, the Récollet missionaries held at Quebec a conference
with Champlain and other friends of their work, at which it was
decided that they needed more missionaries, more French colonists,
and a seminary for the education of Indian children. To obtain aid
in these directions, Jamay and Le Caron soon afterwards went with
Champlain to France, where at first they received but little help or
encouragement. Jamay remained to forward the interests of the mission;
while Le Caron, now appointed its superior, returned to Canada in the
spring of 1617, accompanied by Father Paul Huet. A year later, desiring
to work personally among the savages, Le Caron delegated to Father
d'Olbeau his authority as superior, and spent a year at Tadoussac,
with the Montagnais. During 1619-22, he labored at Quebec, then again
wintered with the Montagnais; and in July, 1623, returned to the Huron
mission, accompanied by Viel and Sagard (see _notes_ 25, 48). During
his year's stay there, he did much to aid Champlain in securing the
temporary treaty of peace which, in July, 1624, was concluded between
the Iroquois, on one part, and the French and their savage allies on
the other.
In August, 1625, Le Caron went to France on the affairs of the
mission, and returned the following year with Brother Gervase Mohier
and a reinforcement of Jesuit missionaries. He remained at Quebec, as
superior of his mission, until 1629, when all the priests were sent
back to France by Kirk. As the Récollets expected to resume work on the
Canadian mission, Le Caron was appointed its procurator in France; but
he died on March 29, 1632,--according to Le Clercq--through grief at
the exclusion of his order from Canada.
Upon the invasion of Canada by the English, the Récollet missionaries
had been urged by their savage disciples to take refuge with them in
their towns, where they would be safe from attack, and could minister
to the religious wants of the natives until the French should return.
The fathers wished to accept this proposal; but as it was opposed by
the council of Quebec, Le Caron felt obliged to decline it, for which
he was afterwards blamed by some of his brethren in France.
Full details of his work are given by Le Clercq and Sagard: the
former copies a letter written by La Caron to his provincial at
Paris, Aug. 7, 1618; also fragments of memoirs sent by him to that
officer in 1624.--See Shea's _Le Clercq_, vol. i., pp. 134-137,
and 213-224. He is said to have prepared a dictionary of the Huron
language (_Ibid._, p. 249). Other MSS. of his were burned in March,
1631, as a result of sanitary measures then taken against a contagious
disease in the convent of St. Margaret, near Gisors, Normandy, of
which he was superior.--See "Memorial of the Récollets, 1637," in
Margry's _Découvertes et établissements des Français dans l'Amérique
septentrionale_ (Paris, 1876-86), vol. i., p. 11.
27 (p. 173).--_The purpose of his voyage._ Sagard tells us (_Canada_,
p. 871) that this was to improve the condition of Canada, and to ask
the King for funds to support the children and new converts in the
seminary planned by the Récollets. Le Clercq asserts that it was
through Le Caron's influence that Emery de Caen was recalled from
Canada, and replaced by a Catholic, Raymond de la Ralde (who had been
De Caen's lieutenant); also that the same influence had much to do
with the formation of Richelieu's Company of New France.--See Shea's
_Le Clercq_, vol. i., pp. 253-259. Rochemonteix, however, claims
(_Jésuites_, vol. i., p. 165) that Richelieu's determination to replace
Montmorency's company by that of the Hundred Associates was due mainly
to Father Noyrot's influence, and to his representations of the state
of affairs in Canada.
28 (p. 177).--Mutio Vitelleschi was born at Rome, in 1565; on Nov.
15, 1615, he became Aquaviva's successor as general of the Society
of Jesus; his death occurred Feb. 9, 1645. Ranke, in _History of
the Popes_ (Foster's tr., London, 1871), vol. ii., p. 388, says:
"Vitelleschi was by nature mild, indulgent, and conciliatory; his
intimates called him the angel of peace; and he found consolation
on his deathbed from the conviction that he had never injured any
one. These were admirable qualities of a most amiable man, but did
not suffice to fit him for the government of an order so widely
extended, active, and powerful. He was unable to enforce strictness of
discipline, even with regard to dress; still less could he oppose an
effectual resistance to the demands of determined ambition." Daurignac,
in _History of the Society of Jesus_ (Clements's tr., Baltimore,
1878), vol. i., p. 398, says that he was designated "the Angel" by
Pope Urban VIII., on account of his docility and humility. It was
under his generalship (Feb. 12, 1622) that Loyola, the founder of the
Jesuit order, and Francis Xavier, were canonized by Gregory XV.; that
the first centenary of the society was held (Sept. 25, 1639), when its
reports showed that it occupied 36 provinces, and had 800 houses and
15,000 members; and that the great controversy between the Jansenists
and Jesuits began. Even more important, according to Ranke, was the
change which occurred, during this administration, in the government
and discipline of the society, by which the "professed" members
attained supremacy, and occupied positions in business, administration,
and other affairs of the world, which before had belonged mainly to the
coadjutors,--those of provincials, rectors, and superiors of colleges.
The former ascetic strictness of discipline was relaxed; and the
society became less ardent in its devotion to the interests of the Holy
See. Vitelleschi and his immediate successors strove, but with little
success, to correct these tendencies.--See Ranke, _ut supra_, pp.
387-393; he obtains most of his information from a MS. in the Corsini
library at Rome, entitled _Discorso sopra la religione de' padri
Gesuiti, e loro modo di governare_ (1681-86, _circa_). Cf. Daurignac's
account (_ut supra_, pp. 324-398) of the order under Vitelleschi's
administration.
29 (p. 177).--During the seventeenth century, all navigated seas were
infested with pirates. Lescarbot mentions (vol. ii. of the present
series, p. 131) that Poutrincourt met, in the English Channel, a ship
of "Forbans" or pirates; the word "forban" means, literally, one
banished, an outlaw, and characterizes most of the European pirates
of the time. Sagard (_Canada_, 115, 120, 121), relates that, on his
journey to New France, his ship was threatened by a Dutch pirate, in
the very harbor of Rochelle. Sulte (_Can.-Français_, vol. ii., p. 20,
_note_) cites the case of one of De Caen's vessels, which was captured
(September, 1624) while en route from Gaspé to Bordeaux, by Turks, near
the coast of Brittany; the Frenchmen were carried away as slaves.
Brown (_Cape Breton_, p. 110), who says he obtained his information
from original documents in the Public Record office at London, writes:
"The fishermen of Newfoundland were cruelly harassed by pirates. In
eight years (1612-20), the damage done by the pirates was estimated
at 40,800 _l._; besides the loss of 180 pieces of ordnance, and 1,080
fishermen and mechanics carried off by force. On August 8, 1625,
the Mayor of Poole wrote to the Privy Council, saying that, unless
protection were afforded to the Newfoundland fleet of 250 sail, 'of the
Western Ports,' they would be surprised by the Turkish pirates; and, on
the 12th of the same month, the Mayor of Plymouth informed the Council
that twenty-seven ships and 200 men had been taken by pirates in ten
days." Brown also cites _Discourse and Discovery of Newfoundland_
(London, 1623), written by one Captain Whitbourne, who was sent out in
1615, to hold a court of admiralty for inquiry into certain abuses; and
who says that Peter Easton, a pirate, had ten sail of well-appointed
ships, that he was master of the seas, and levied a regular tax on
fishing vessels.
As early as 1620, John Mason, then governor of Newfoundland, received
a commission from the English admiralty to suppress pirates; and he
captured, among others, a Sallee (or Moorish) pirate in the Irish
harbor of Crookhaven (1625). Prowse (_Hist. N.F._, pp. 108, 174, 182),
gives the text of this commission; he also states that Placentia
was raided five times previous to 1685, by English buccaneers, who
plundered the town of all movable property.
30 (p. 177).--Jean de Brébeuf was born March 25, 1593, at
Condé-sur-Vire, Normandy. He belonged to a noble family, from which,
according to the _Biographie Universelle_ (Paris, 1843-66), the English
family of Arundel had its descent. Entering the Society of Jesus Nov.
8, 1617, at Rouen, he was ordained five years later; and in 1625 was
sent to Canada as one of the first Jesuit missionaries (_note_ 22,
_ante_). The first year he spent among the Montagnais; but in 1626
went, with De Nouë, to the Huron country, where they settled at Toanché
(known to the Récollets as Carhagouha; see _note_ 26, _ante_), in
the bark cabin which Le Caron had erected eleven years before. Here
Brébeuf remained (alone, after the first year) until the capture of
Quebec. Returning to Canada with Champlain (1633), he at once resumed
work in the Huron country, where he labored until his death (excepting
1641-44, when at Quebec). During the winter of 1640-41, he endeavored
(but without success) to establish a mission in the Neutral Nation.
He lived successively at Ihonatiria, a new village built not far from
the deserted Toanché; Teanaustayé, called by the missionaries St.
Joseph, in the present township of Médonte, Simcoe county, Ontario;
and St. Ignace and St. Louis, about half-way between the former towns.
In March, 1649, a thousand Iroquois attacked and destroyed the two
last-named villages capturing there Brébeuf and Gabriel Lalemant,
both of whom were put to death with cruel tortures,--the former dying
March 16, the latter on the day following. Their bodies were rescued
by their brethren and their bones afterwards taken to Quebec,--where,
in the Hôtel Dieu, Brébeuf's head is still preserved, inclosed in a
silver bust sent from France by his family. A minute account of this
martyrdom is given by one of the lay brothers of the Huron mission,
Christophe Regnaut (Regnault), in a MS. written at Caen in 1678. A copy
of this document, with an English translation, is given by Brymner, in
_Canadian Archives_, 1884, pp. lxiii.-lxvii., and will in due course be
reproduced in the present series.
Harris (_Miss. West. Canada._, p. 212, _note_) states that he has seen
in St. Martin's church (Ritualist), Brighton, England, a figured window
in memory of Father Brébeuf. A memorial church, in honor of all the
Jesuit martyrs in the Huron country, is now (January, 1897) approaching
completion at Penetanguishene, Ontario; an illustration thereof will
appear in vol. v. of this series.
Brébeuf's _Relations_ of the Huron mission will appear in succeeding
volumes of our series; that for 1636 contains an elaborate account
of the social condition, manners, and customs of that nation, and a
treatise on their language--this last being reproduced, in an English
translation, by Albert Gallatin in _Transactions of Amer. Antiquarian
Society_, vol. ii., (Cambridge, 1836), pp. 236-238. At the close
of Champlain's _Voyages_ (ed. 1632) may be found translations into
Montagnais of Ledesma's "_Christian Doctrine_," by Brébeuf; and of the
Lord's Prayer, Apostles' Creed, etc., by Massé.
31 (p. 181).--Anne de Nouë was born Aug. 7, 1587; his father was the
seigneur of Prières and of Villers, near Rheims, France. Anne's early
years were spent at court, first as a page, then as an officer of the
King's bedchamber; but at the age of twenty-five he devoted himself to
a religious life, and entered the Jesuit novitiate (Sept. 20, 1612).
He spent ten years in the study of philosophy and theology, at the
Jesuit colleges of Paris, La Flèche, and Nevers; then became acting
rector at Bourges, where he remained until sent to Canada (1626).
Accompanying Brébeuf to the Huron country, he came back to Quebec in
the following spring, apparently remaining there until the English
invasion. During this time he essayed to spend a winter with the
Montagnais, but suffered so greatly from cold and hunger that he was
obliged to leave them. Returning to Canada with De Caen (1632), his
first care was to repair the convent and other buildings destroyed
by the English. Unable, after repeated efforts, either to learn the
native languages, or to endure the hardships of life among the savages,
he spent the remainder of his life in the French settlements on the
St. Lawrence,--ministering to the sick and dying, instructing the
colonists, supplying the temporal needs of his brethren, directing
workmen who repaired buildings or cultivated the ground,--as
Rochemonteix says, "he became, in the mission, the servant of all." His
disposition was enthusiastic and impetuous, yet gentle, lovable, and
self-sacrificing. On a journey to Fort Richelieu, to administer the
sacraments to the garrison there, he was frozen to death on the St.
Lawrence river, Feb. 1, 1646.
32 (p. 181).--Philibert Noyrot was born October, 1592, in the diocese
of Autun; he entered the Jesuit order Oct. 16, 1617, and spent four
years in study at Paris and Bourges. Four years later, having been
ordained as a priest, he was appointed procuror of the latter college,
retaining this office until his death. It was by his advice, according
to Rochemonteix, that Ventadour (whose confessor he was) bought the
viceroyalty of Canada from Montmorency. In 1626, Noyrot went to Quebec,
taking with him twenty workmen to build a residence for the Jesuit
missionaries there. Lalemant immediately sent him back to France, to
report to Richelieu on the affairs of Canada, and to secure the removal
of the Huguenots from the direction of the mercantile company. This
resulted in the formation of the Company of New France (see _note_ 27,
_ante_). In order to relieve the scarcity at Quebec, Noyrot loaded a
ship with a year's supply of provisions for the missionaries and their
workmen; but, according to Le Clercq, these supplies were stopped
at Honfleur by De Caen and La Ralde, from resentment at Noyrot's
complaints about their conduct. In consequence of this disappointment,
the workmen of the mission were taken back to France by Lalemant. Twice
again did Noyrot seek to convey supplies to his brethren at Quebec:
the first time (July, 1628), he was driven back by Admiral Kirk; the
second (June, 1629), he perished by shipwreck near Canso (see _note_
20, _ante_).
33 (p. 181).--Regarding Cotton, (Coton) see vol. ii., _note_ 68.
34 (p. 183).--For sketch of Massé, see vol. i., _note_ 39.
35 (p. 191).--Le Clercq, apparently without good reason, mentions
this letter as "falsely attributed to Lalemant."--See Rochemonteix's
_Jésuites_, vol. i., p. 155, _note_.
36 (p. 191).--A younger brother of Charles Lalemant; a sketch of his
life will be given in a later volume.
37 (p. 193).--_Meslin_ (or _maslin_; derived from Latin _miscere_):
mixed grain, especially a mixture of rye and wheat.
38 (p. 195).--Champlain wished to make Quebec an agricultural colony,
but his efforts were thwarted by the narrow and selfish policy of the
mercantile companies, who cared only to develop the fur trade. They
gave the colonists no means for cultivating the soil, and, according to
Champlain, "had not themselves cleared an arpent and a half of land
in the 22 years during which they were, according to his Majesty's
intention, to have peopled and cultivated the colony of Quebec."
Sagard says (_Canada_, p. 168) that the space cleared was not even
one arpent. The merchants even oppressed Hébert (vol. ii., _note_
80),--"the only colonist who supported his family from the produce of
his land, making many illegal claims upon him for his yearly harvests,
and compelling him to sell only to the company, and that at a specified
rate."--Champlain's _Voyages_ (1632), part 2, pp. 144, 183, 184. Cf.
_Mercure François_, vol. xiv. (1628), p. 234. The Récollet missionaries
were cultivators, and, desirous of leading the savages from a nomadic
to a sedentary life, even induced a few of the latter to imitate their
example. The Jesuits also paid much attention to agriculture.--See
Faillon's _Col. Fr._, vol. i., pp. 161-164; Rochemonteix's _Jésuites_,
vol. i., pp. 154-157; and Sulte's _Can.-Français_, vol. ii., p. 18.
Champlain says (Laverdière's ed., pp. 1144, 1155) that the plow was
first used in Canada, April 27, 1628; this was doubtless by Couillard,
Hébert's son-in-law.
_Arpent_: a word of Celtic derivation, according to Columelle and
Littré; it occurs as early as the eleventh century (e.g., _Chanson de
Roland_). An old French land measure, containing 100 square perches,
but varying in different provinces. The linear arpent of Paris was 180
French feet (variously computed at from 191.83 to 192.3 English feet),
the common arpent 200, and the standard arpent 220. The first of these
was the one used in New France, under the _Coutume de Paris_, and it
still remains the legal measure in all the seigniories of Quebec.
The Quebec Department of Crown Lands, which we adopt as preferable
authority, translates the arpent into 191.85 English feet.
Bourdon's map of the settlements on the St. Lawrence, from Quebec to
Cape Tourmente (1641; reproduced at end of Tanguay's _Dict. Généal._,
vol. i.), indicates that each lot had seven arpents of river frontage,
and a depth of a French league or more (84 arpents to the league).
Giffard's concession at Beauport (the first of the seigniories)
was 1½ leagues along the river, and the same in depth.--Sulte's
_Can.-Français_, vol. ii., pp. 47-48. Duralde's survey of the Illinois
country (1770) assigned to each inhabitant a lot, measuring from one
to four arpents wide, and forty arpents deep.--See H. W. Williams's
chapter on "St. Louis Land Titles," in Scharf's _History of St. Louis_
(Phila., 1883), vol. i., pp. 316-329. Williams, whom Scharf indorses as
an authority, computes the arpent at 192 feet 6 inches, English measure.
The assignment of lands throughout New France in long, narrow strips,
was obviously made to secure for each settler a frontage on the river,
then the main highway; and to bring the inhabitants of each settlement
into close neighborhood, for social and defensive purposes. The same
reasons, of course, governed the allotment of lands in Roger Williams's
colony at Providence (1640),--an interesting similarity to French
Canadian custom. The "home-lots" at Providence had an (estimated) river
frontage of 105 to 120 English feet, all running up to a common highway
along the crest of the back-lying ridge; each lot contained from 4½ to
5½ acres. For description and plats, see Charles W. Hopkins's _Home
Lots of the Early Settlers of Providence Plantations_ (Providence,
1886).
39 (p. 201).--Cf. vol. iii., _note_ 22.
40 (p. 201).--See vol. ii., _note_ 21.
41 (p. 205).--Cf. vol. iii., _note_ 19.
42 (p. 209).--For value of écu, see vol. i., _note_ 34. The livre was a
money of account, in value somewhat less than the modern franc; but in
ordinary speech, both terms signified the same value; six livres = one
crown. The livre of Tours was worth 20 sous; that of Paris, 25 sous.
The pistole was a money of account, equal to ten livres tournois, and
worth ten francs of the present currency.
43 (p. 211) _Anti-Coton_: a sarcastic pamphlet, published in September,
1610; it attacked the Jesuits, and especially Father Coton, the
confessor of Henry IV., of whose murder the Jesuits had been accused
by their enemies. Daurignac says (_Hist. Soc. Jesus_, vol. i., p. 205)
that this pamphlet was attributed to Pierre Dumoulin, a Protestant
minister of Charenton. This and other like attacks on the Jesuits had
been circulated in Canada, and had prejudiced against them even many
Catholics.
44 (p. 233).--This mention of Lalemant being at Pentegoët in 1613, has
been copied by some later writers; but it is apparently an oversight.
Biard would certainly have included Lalemant in his account of the
Acadian missions, if the latter had been there.
45 (p. 237).--Alexander Vieuxpont was born Dec. 25, 1599, at Auxeville,
Normandy. He became a Jesuit novice Sept. 13, 1620, at Rouen, and for
seven years pursued his studies there, at Rennes, and at La Flèche.
Thence he was sent to Alençon, and two years later (June, 1629), he
went with Noyrot to Canada. Cast ashore near Canso, in the shipwreck
wherein the latter perished, Vieuxpont went to Grand Cibou, to join
Father Vimont, then laboring among the savages of Cape Breton. In 1630,
recalled to France by his superiors, he became a traveling preacher in
the rural districts near Rouen; he did not return to Canada.
46 (p. 243).--After the destruction of Port Royal (1613), the English
took no immediate steps to secure possession of Acadia. Eight years
later, Sir William Alexander (afterwards secretary of state for
Scotland) obtained from James I. a grant of all the lands from the St.
Croix River to the St. Lawrence, under the title of "Nova Scotia;" thus
were ignored all French rights in that region. In 1625, this grant
was renewed by Charles I., with considerable additions. Alexander,
not having the necessary funds, was unable to establish any colonies
there until 1627; when (having associated with himself Gervase Kirk
and his sons, William Berkley, John Love, and others, under the title
of "Merchant Adventurers of Canada"), he sent his son, as governor of
Nova Scotia, with a few Scotch emigrants, to form a settlement at Port
Royal. David Kirk, whose vessel had conveyed them, returned to England
for reinforcements; and, in the following year, he seized Miscou, and
all the French fishing vessels in the Gulf; threatened Quebec; and
captured De Roquemont's squadron, sent by the Hundred Associates with
supplies and artillery for Champlain's succor. In 1629, he captured
Quebec. Early in that year, Sir James Stewart, who had purchased a
tract of land from Alexander, brought a colony to Port Baleines, Cape
Breton (near the present Louisburg); he also began to seize the French
vessels fishing on that coast. This excited the anger of Captain
Charles Daniel (one of the Hundred Associates, and a brother of the
Jesuit Antoine Daniel), who had recently come from France; he seized
and demolished Stewart's fort, and proceeded to erect another at Grand
Cibou. (This name, meaning "the great river," was doubtless applied by
the natives to the estuary now known as Great Bras d'Or; but Daniel's
colony was planted at St. Anne's Bay,--thus named by him,--just north
of the Bras d'Or). Charles Leigh, who made a voyage to Cape Breton
in 1597, mentions "the harborow of Cibo;" see Goldsmid's _Hakluyt_,
vol. xiii., p. 69. Here he left a garrison of forty men, with the two
Jesuits Vimond and Vieuxpont, and took the English colonists back
to their own country (except a few, whom he carried to France as
prisoners). Champlain, arriving in Dieppe Dec. 31, 1629, met Daniel
there, and obtained from him his "Relation" of the above enterprise,
which is given in Champlain's _Voyages_ (1632), part 2, pp. 271-275.
In the following year, Daniel returned to this fort, and settled
certain disorders that had arisen during his absence. It is not
definitely known how long the garrison was kept here; but, when De Caen
took possession of Canada (1632), the Jesuits Davost and Antoine Daniel
also came to Cape Breton (probably with Charles, the latter's brother),
and carried on the mission begun by Vimont. Denys, a few years later,
had an important settlement at St. Anne's.
47 (p. 243).--Vimont remained at Cape Breton but a year, and did
not return to Canada until 1639. A sketch of his life will appear
hereafter.
48 (p. 247).--Gabriel Sagard Theodat, a lay brother, was one of the
Récollet missionaries to Canada, where he arrived June 24, 1623, in
company with Father Nicholas Viel. He states, in his _Canada_, p. 11,
that he desired to go on this mission in 1615, at which time he was in
a Récollet convent in Paris; but his superiors would not then consent.
Sagard's missionary labors were among the Hurons, with whom he remained
nearly one year; returning then to France, he wrote and published two
books,--_Grand voyage du pays des Hurons_ (Paris, 1632), and _Histoire
du Canada_ (Paris, 1636). In these works he minutely describes the
customs, social condition, religion, etc., of the Indian tribes; and
gives a history of the missionary labors of the Récollets, up to their
expulsion in 1629. To the _Grand Voyage_ he appends a dictionary of the
Huron language. He died in 1650.
There is some confusion among historians in regard to the dates of
Sagard's sojourn in New France, which apparently arises from his own
inaccuracy of statement, or possibly from a typographical error. In his
_Histoire_ (Tross ed., 1866), p. 115, he says that he left France in
1623; but, in the _Grand Voyage_ (Tross ed., 1865), p. 5, he gives the
year as "vingt-quatre;" while, in the former work, p. 759, he gives in
full the letter of his provincial recalling him to France, dated March
9, 1625. Champlain, however, says that Sagard arrived at Quebec in
June, 1623, and returned from the Huron country in July, 1624.
Sagard's works are rare, and command high prices. Brunet says (in
Michaud's _Biog. Univ._) that five and even eight guineas were paid for
a copy at public sales in London; and that, in France, one was valued
in 1851 at 210 francs. Chevalier says, in his edition of the _Histoire_
(Paris, 1866), p. iii., _note_, that 1,200 francs had in vain been
offered for a copy of that work. Gagnon (_Bibliog. Canad._) states that
a copy brought $38 at the Fraser sale in Quebec, 1860; and that one had
been offered by a Paris bookseller, in 1890, for 1,200 francs.
49 (p. 247).--Father Felix Martin was born Oct. 4, 1804, at Auray,
in Bretagne, France; in September, 1823, he became a novice in the
Jesuit order, entering the convent of Montrouge, at Paris. During
nearly twenty years, he was employed in various colleges and missions
throughout Western Europe; and, early in 1842, was sent to Canada.
There he labored, especially in Montreal, until August, 1851, when he
became the first rector of St. Mary's College in that city; he was its
founder, and the designer of its building. In this position he remained
until 1857, when he became superior of the residence at Quebec. Four
years later, he returned to France, where he was, successively, rector
of St. Francis Xavier's college at Vannes, and superior at Poitiers
and Rouen. He died at Paris, Nov. 25, 1892.
Father Martin published (Montreal, 1852) a French translation of
Bressani's _Breve Relatione_ (1653), accompanied by explanatory notes
and a biographical sketch of Bressani. Later, he wrote the lives
of Jogues, Brébeuf, and other early missionaries; and, in 1886, a
biography of his sister, Mother St. Stanislas, a French nun. He was
also noted as an antiquarian and collector, especially in regard
to the Jesuit _Relations_ and the history of Canada. Carayon's
_Première Mission des Jésuites au Canada_ (Paris, 1864), described in
Bibliographical Data for Doc. xiii. in vol. iii., p. 285, a valuable
collection of documents, all of which are embodied in our series,
consists of manuscripts collected by Father Martin, chiefly in 1858,
while on a visit to Europe.
Transcriber's Note.
Variable spelling and hyphenation have been retained. Minor punctuation
inconsistencies have been silently repaired.
Corrections.
The first line indicates the original, the second the correction.
p. 58:
il ne luy peut iamais defraciner
il ne luy peut iamais desraciner
p. 138:
Femmes Candoises peu fecondes à cause de leurs trauaux continuels.
Femmes Canadoises peu fecondes à cause de leurs trauaux continuels.
p. 268:
from a nomadic to a sendentary life
from a nomadic to a sedentary life
Errata.
The first line indicates the original, the second how it should read.
p. 8:
nostre Capitaine de tous tous costés,
nostre Capitaine de tous costés,
p. 22:
la chaloupe se trouua conpetemment
la chaloupe se trouua completemment
p. 42:
qu'il estoit estoit indigne que les Anglois
qu'il estoit indigne que les Anglois
p. 126:
Canadois ont honne memoire des choses sensibles.
Canadois ont bonne memoire des choses sensibles.
p. 162:
cause de de la perte de S. Sauueur.
cause de la perte de S. Sauueur.