CEREMONIES OF THE SAVAGES BEFORE ENGAGING IN WAR--OF THE ALMOUCHICOIS
SAVAGES AND THEIR STRANGE FORM--NARRATIVE OF SIEUR DE PREVERT OF ST. MALO
ON THE EXPLORATION OF THE LA CADIAN COAST, WHAT MINES THERE ARE THERE; THE
EXCELLENCE AND FERTILITY OF THE COUNTRY.
Upon arriving at Tadoussac, we found the savages, whom we had met at the
River of the Iroquois, and who had had an encounter at the first lake with
three Iroquois canoes, there being ten of the Montagnais. The latter
brought back the heads of the Iroquois to Tadoussac, there being only one
Montagnais wounded, which was in the arm by an arrow; and in case he should
have a dream, it would be necessary for all the ten others to execute it in
order to satisfy him, they thinking, moreover, that his wound would thereby
do better. If this savage should die, his relatives would avenge his death
either on his own tribe or others, or it would be necessary for the
captains to make presents to the relatives of the deceased, in order to
content them, otherwise, as I have said, they would practise vengeance,
which is a great evil among them.
Before these Montagnais set out for the war, they all gathered together in
their richest fur garments of beaver and other skins, adorned with beads
and belts of various colors. They assembled in a large public place, in the
presence of a sagamore named Begourat, who led them to the war. They were
arranged one behind the other, with their bows and arrows, clubs, and round
shields with which they provide for fighting. They went leaping one after
the other, making various gestures with their bodies, and many snail-like
turns. Afterwards they proceeded to dance in the customary manner, as I
have before described; then they had their _tabagie_, after which the women
stripped themselves stark naked, adorned with their handsomest
_matachiats_. Thus naked and dancing, they entered their canoes, when they
put out upon the water, striking each other with their oars, and throwing
quantities of water at one another. But they did themselves no harm, since
they parried the blows hurled at each other. After all these ceremonies,
the women withdrew to their cabins, and the men went to the war against the
Iroquois.
On the sixteenth of August we set out from Tadoussac, and arrived on the
eighteenth at Isle Percée, where we found Sieur Prevert of St. Malo, who
came from the mine where he had gone with much difficulty, from the fear
which the savages had of meeting their enemies, the Almouchicois, [243] who
are savages of an exceedingly strange form, for their head is small and
body short, their arms slender as those of a skeleton, so also the thighs,
their legs big and long and of uniform size, and when they are seated on
the ground, their knees extend more than half a foot above the head,
something strange and seemingly abnormal. They are, however, very agile and
resolute, and are settled upon the best lands all the coast of La Cadie;
[244] so that the Souriquois fear them greatly. But with the assurance
which Sieur de Prevert gave them, he took them to the mine, to which the
savages guided him. [245] It is a very high mountain, extending somewhat
seaward, glittering brightly in the sunlight, and containing a large amount
of verdigris, which proceeds from the before-mentioned copper mine. At the
foot of this mountain, he said, there was at low water a large quantity of
bits of copper, such as he showed us, which fall from the top of the
mountain. Going on three or four leagues in the direction of the coast of
La Cadie one finds another mine; also a small river extending some distance
in a Southerly direction, where there is a mountain containing a black
pigment with which the savages paint themselves. Then, some six leagues
from the second mine, going seaward about a league, and near the coast of
La Cadie, you find an island containing a kind of metal of a dark brown
color, but white when it is cut. This they formerly used for their arrows
and knives, which they beat into shape with stones, which leads me to
believe that it is neither tin nor lead, it being so hard; and, upon our
showing them some silver, they said that the metal of this island was like
it, which they find some one or two feet under ground. Sieur Prevert gave
to the savages wedges and chisels and other things necessary to extract the
ore of this mine, which they promised to do, and on the following year to
bring and give the same to Sieur Prevert.
They say, also, that, some hundred or hundred and twenty leagues distant,
there are other mines, but that they do not dare to go to them, unless
accompanied by Frenchmen to make war upon their enemies, in whose
possession the mines are.
This place where the mine is, which is in latitude 44 deg. and some
minutes, [246] and some five or six leagues from the coast of La Cadie, is
a kind of bay some leagues broad at its entrance, and somewhat more in
length, where there are three rivers which flow into the great bay near the
island of St John, [247] which is some thirty or thirty-five leagues long
and some six leagues from the mainland on the south. There is also another
small river emptying about half way from that by which Sieur Prevert
returned, in which there are two lake-like bodies of water. There is also
still another small river, extending in the direction of the pigment
mountain. All these rivers fall into said bay nearly southeast of the
island where these savages say this white mine is. On the north side of
this bay are the copper mines, where there is a good harbor for vessels, at
the entrance to which is a small island. The bottom is mud and sand, on
which vessels can be run.
From this mine to the mouth of the above rivers is a distance of some sixty
or eighty leagues overland. But the distance to this mine, along the
seacoast, from the outlet between the Island of St. Lawrence and the
mainland is, I should think, more than fifty or sixty leagues. [248]
All this country is very fair and flat, containing all the kinds of trees
we saw on our way to the first fall of the great river of Canada, with but
very little fir and cypress.
This is an exact statement of what I ascertained from Sieur Prevert.
ENDNOTES:
243. _Almouchiquois_. Champlain here writes _Armouchicois_. The account
here given to Prevert, by the Souriquois or Micmacs, as they have been
more recently called, of the Almouchicois or Indians found south of
Saco, on the coast of Massachusetts, if accurately reported, is far
from correct. _Vide_ Champlain's description of them, Vol. II. p. 63,
_et passim_.
244. _Coast of La Cadie_. This extent given to La Cadie corresponds with
the charter of De Monts, which covered the territory from 40 deg.
north latitude to 46 deg. The charter was obtained in the autumn of
this same year, 1603, and before the account of this voyage by
Champlain was printed.--_Vide_ Vol. 11. note 155.
245. Prevert did not make this exploration, personally, although he
pretended that he did. He sent some of his men with Secondon, the
chief of St. John, and others. His report is therefore second-hand,
confused, and inaccurate. Champlain exposes Prevert's attempt to
deceive in a subsequent reference to him. Compare Vol. II. pp. 26, 97,
98.
246. _44 deg. and some minutes_. The Basin of Mines, the place where the
copper was said to be, is about 45 deg. 30'.
247. _Island of St. John_. Prince Edward Island. It was named the island of
St. John by Cartier, having been discovered by him on St. John's Day,
the 24th of June, 1534.--_Vide Voyage de Jacques Cartier_, 1534,
Michelant, ed. Paris, 1865, p. 33. It continued to be so called for
the period of _two hundred and sixty-five_ years, when it was changed
to Prince Edward Island by an act of its legislature, in November,
1798, which was confirmed by the king in council, Feb. 1, 1799.
248. That is, from the Strait of Canseau round the coast of Nova Scotia to
the Bay of Mines.