One fine night, as we were lying in bed, trying to get a little rest,
a neat and impudent wave bent our window fastenings, broke the window,
and covered us over completely; we had the same experience again,
during the day. Furthermore, the cold was so severe, and continued to
be for more than six weeks, that we lost nearly all sensation from
numbness and exposure. Good Father Masse suffered a great deal.[39] He
was ill about forty days, eating very little and seldom leaving his
bed; yet, notwithstanding all that, he wanted to fast. After Easter he
continued to improve, thank God, more and more. As for me, I was gay
and happy, and, by the grace of God, was never ill enough to stay in
bed even when several of the sailors had to give up.
After escaping from these trials, we entered the ice at the Azores
of the bank, 46 degrees north latitude. Some of these masses of ice
seemed like islands, others [17] little villages, others grand churches
or lofty domes, or magnificent castles: all were floating. To avoid
them we steered towards the south; but this was falling, as they say,
from Charybdis into Scylla, for from these high rocks we fell into a
level field of low ice, with which the sea was entirely covered, as
far as the eye could reach. We did not know how to steer through it;
and had it not been for the fearlessness of Monsieur de Biancourt, our
sailors would have been helpless; but he guided us out, notwithstanding
the protests of many of them, through a place where the ice was more
scattered, and God, in his goodness, assisted us.
On the 5th of May, we disembarked at Campceau,[40] and there had the
opportunity of celebrating holy mass after so long a time, and of
strengthening ourselves with that bread which never fails to nourish
and console. Then we coasted along until we reached Port Royal, where
we arrived under good and happy auspices early in the morning[41] of
the holy day of Pentecost, the 22nd of May,[XII.] the day upon which
the sun enters the constellation Gemini. Our voyage had lasted four
months.
The joy of Monsieur de Potrincourt and his followers, at our arrival,
is indescribable. They had been, during the entire winter, reduced [18]
to sore straits, as I am going to explain to you.
Monsieur de Potrincourt had accompanied his son a part of the way
upon the latter's return to France the last of July, 1610, and had
gone as far as port Saint John,[XIII.] otherwise called Chachippé,[42]
70 leagues east and south of Port Royal. When he was returning, as
he veered around Cape Sable, he found himself in a strong current;
weakened by hardships, he was obliged to yield the helm, in order to
take a little rest, commanding his successor to always keep near the
shore, even in the deepest part of the Bay. This pilot, I know not why,
did not follow his orders, but soon afterward changed his course and
left the shore.
The Savage, Membertou, who was following in his boat, was astonished
that Poutrincourt should take this route; but, not knowing why he did
so, neither followed him nor said anything about it. So he soon arrived
at Port Royal, while Monsieur de Potrincourt drifted about for six
weeks, in danger of being hopelessly lost; for this worthy gentleman,
when he awoke, was very much surprised at seeing himself in a small
boat in the open sea, out of sight of land. He looked at his dial in
vain, for not knowing [19] what route his amiable pilot had taken, he
could not guess where he was, nor in what direction to turn. Another
misfortune was that his boat would not sail on a bowline,[XIV.] having
been somehow damaged in the sides. So, whether he wished to do so or
not, he was always obliged to sail before the wind.
A third inconvenience and misfortune was a lack of food. However, he
is a man who does not easily give up, and good luck follows him. Now
in this perplexity about the route, he fortunately decided to turn to
the north, and God sent him what he desired, a favorable South wind.
His thrift served him against the misfortune of hunger, for he had
hunted and kept a certain number of cormorants.[XV.] But how could they
be roasted in a small boat, so as to be eaten and kept? Fortunately
he found he had a few planks, upon which he built a fire-place, and
thus roasted the game; by the aid of which he arrived at Pentegouët,
formerly Norembegue, and from there to the Etechemins, thence to the
harbor of Port Royal, where by a piece of ill luck, he was nearly
shipwrecked.
It was dark when he entered this harbor, and his crew began to oppose
him, stoutly denying [20] that they were in the harbor of Port Royal.
He was willing to listen to their objections, and unfortunately even
yielded to them; and so turning to the lower part of French Bay, he
went wandering away off at the mercy of the winds and waves. Meanwhile
the colonists of Port Royal were in great anxiety and had already
nearly made up their minds that he was lost; the savage, Membertou,
strengthened this fear by asserting that he had seen him sail out of
sight upon the sea; whence it was inferred, since people believe as
easily what they fear as what they favor, that as such and such a wind
had prevailed, it was impossible for them to escape in such a boat.
And they were already planning their return to France. Now they were
greatly astonished, and at the same time exceedingly happy when they
saw their Theseus return from another world; this was six weeks after
his departure, just when Monsieur de Biancourt arrived in France,
whose return was expected at Port Royal during the whole month of
November of the same year, 1610. But they were very much surprised
when they did not see him at Christmas; then they lost all hope, on
account of the winter weather, of seeing him again before the end of
the following April.
For this reason they cut down their rations; but such economy was
of little avail, since Sieur de Potrincourt did not lessen [21] his
liberality toward the Savages, fearing to alienate them from the
Christian faith. He is truly a liberal and magnanimous gentleman,
refusing all recompense for the good he does them; so when they are
occasionally asked why they do not give him something in return for so
many favors, they are accustomed to answer, cunningly: _Endries ninan
metaij Sagamo_, that is to say, "Monsieur does not care for our beaver
skins." Nevertheless, they have now and then sent him some pieces of
elk meat, which have helped him to gain time [i.e., to save his own
provisions]. But they, the French, had a good chance of economizing
when winter came, for their mill froze up, and they had no way of
making flour. Happily for them they found a store of peas and beans,
which proved to be their manna and ambrosia for seven weeks.
Then April came, but not the ship; now it was just as well that the
mill was frozen up, for they had nothing to put in the hopper. What
were they to do? Hunger is a bad complaint. Some began to fish, others
to dig. From their fishing they obtained some smelts and herrings; from
their digging some very good roots, called _chiqueli_, which are very
abundant in certain places.
Thus this importunate creditor was somewhat satisfied; I say somewhat,
because, when there was no bread, [22] everything else was of little
account; and they had already made up their minds that, if the ship did
not come during the month of May, they would resort to the coast, in
search of ships to take them back to the sweet land of wheat and vines.
It was Monsieur de Potrincourt's followers who talked this way; as for
him, he was full of courage and knew well how he could manage to hold
out until saint John's day [midsummer]. Thank God, there was no need of
this, for, as has been said, we arrived the 22nd of May. Those who know
what hunger, despair, fear and suffering are, what it is to be a leader
and see all one's enterprises and hard work come to nought, can imagine
what must have been the joy of Monsieur de Potrincourt and his colony
upon seeing us arrive.
We all wept at this meeting, which seemed almost like a dream; then
when we had recovered ourselves a little and had begun to talk, this
question (mine, in fact) was proposed, to wit: Which was the happier
of the two, Monsieur de Potrincourt and his people, or Monsieur de
Biancourt and his? Truly, our hearts swelled within us, and God, in his
mercy, showed that he took pleasure in our joy; for, after mass and
dinner, there was nothing but going and coming from the ship to the
settlement, and from the settlement to the [23] ship, each one wanting
to embrace and be embraced by his friends, just as, after the winter,
we rejoice in the beautiful spring, and after a siege, in our freedom.
It happened that two persons from the settlement took one of the canoes
of the savages to go to the ship. These canoes are so made that, if you
do not sit very straight and steady, they immediately tip over; now
it chanced that, wishing to come back in the same canoe from the ship
to the settlement, somehow they did not properly balance it, and both
fell into the water.
Fortunately, it occurred at a time when I happened to be walking upon
the shore with Monsieur de Potrincourt. Seeing the accident, we made
signs with our hats as best we could to those upon the ship to come to
their aid; for it would have been useless to call out, so far away was
the ship, and so loud the noise of the wind. At first no one paid any
attention to us, so we had recourse to prayer, and fell upon our knees,
this being our only alternative; and God had pity upon us. One of the
two caught hold of the canoe, which was turned upside down, and threw
himself upon it: the other was finally saved by a boat, and thus both
were rescued; so our cup of joy was full in seeing how God in his all
paternal love and gentleness, would not permit the evil one to trouble
us and to destroy our happiness upon this good day. To him be the glory
forever. Amen!
[24] But now that we have arrived in good health, by the grace of God,
it is time we were casting our eyes over the country, and were giving
some consideration to the condition in which we find christianity here.
Its whole foundation consists, after God, in this little settlement
of a family of about twenty persons. Messire Jessé Flesche, commonly
called the Patriarch, has had charge of it; and, in the year that he
has lived here, has baptized about one hundred Savages. The trouble is,
he has not been able to instruct them as he would have wished, because
he did not know the language, and had nothing with which to support
them; for he who would minister to their souls, must at the same
time resolve to nourish their bodies. This worthy man has shown great
friendliness toward us, and thanked God for our coming; for he had made
up his mind some time ago to return to France at the first opportunity,
which he is now quite free to do without regret at leaving a vine which
he has planted.
They have not yet succeeded in translating into the native language the
common creed or symbol, the Lord's prayer, the commandments of God, the
Sacraments, and other principles quite necessary to the making of a
christian.
Recently, when I was at port Saint John, I was informed that among the
other Savages there were five who were already christians. Thereupon
I took occasion to give them [25] some pictures, and to erect a cross
before their wigwams, singing a _Salve Regina_. I had them make the
sign of the cross; but I was very much astonished, for the unbaptized
understood almost as much about it as the christians. I asked each one
his baptismal name; some did not know theirs, so they called themselves
_Patriarchs_, because it is the Patriarch who gives them their names,
and thus they conclude that, when they have forgotten their own names,
they ought to be called _Patriarchs_.
It was also rather amusing that, when I asked them if they were
christians, they did not know what I meant; when I asked them if
they had been baptized, they answered: _Hetaion enderquir Vortmandia
Patriarché_, that is to say, "Yes, the Patriarch has made us like
the Normans." Now they call all the French "Normans," except the
Malouins,[43] whom they call Samaricois, and the Basques, Bascua.
The name of the _sagamore_, that is, the lord of port Saint John, is
Cacagous, a man who is shrewd and cunning as are no others upon the
coast; that is all that he brought back from France (for he has been in
France); he told me he had been baptized in Bayonne, relating his story
to me as one tells about going to a ball out of friendship. Whereupon,
seeing how wicked he was, and [26] wishing to try and arouse his
conscience, I asked him how many wives he had. He answered that he had
eight; and in fact he counted off seven to me who were there present,
pointing them out with as much pride, instead of an equal degree of
shame, as if I had asked him the number of his legitimate children.
Another, who was looking out for a number of wives, made the following
answer to my objections on the ground that he was a Christian: _Reroure
quiro Nortmandia_: which means, "That is all well enough for you
Normans." So there is scarcely any change in them after their baptism.
The same savagery and the same manners, or but little different, the
same customs, ceremonies, usages, fashions, and vices remain, at least
as far as can be learned; no attention being paid to any distinction of
time, days, offices, exercises, prayers, duties, virtues, or spiritual
remedies.
Membertou, as the one who has most associated with Monsieur de
Potrincourt for a long time, is also the most zealous and shows the
greatest faith, but even he complains of not understanding us well
enough; he would like to become a preacher, he says, if he were
properly taught. He gave me a witty answer the other day, as I was
teaching him his _Pater_, according to the translation made of it by M.
de Biancourt, when [27] I had him say: _Nui en caraco nac iquem esmoi
ciscou_; that is, "Give us this day our daily bread." "But," said he,
"if I did not ask him for anything but bread, I would be without
moose-meat or fish."
The good old man told us, with a great deal of feeling, how God is
helping him since he has become a Christian, saying that this spring
it happened that he and his family were suffering much from hunger;
then he remembered that he was a christian, and therefore prayed to
God. After his prayer, he went to the river and found all the smelts he
wanted. And while I am speaking of this old sagamore, the first fruit
of this heathen nation, I will tell you also what happened this winter.
He was sick, and what is more, had been given up to die by the native
_aoutmoins_, or sorcerers. Now it is the custom, when the Aoutmoins
have pronounced the malady or wound to be mortal, for the sick man to
cease eating from that time on, nor do they give him anything more.
But, donning his beautiful robe, he begins chanting his own death-song;
after this, if he lingers too long, a great many pails of water are
thrown over him to hasten his death, and sometimes he is buried half
alive. Now the children of Membertou, though christians, were prepared
to exercise this noble and pious duty toward their father; already
they had ceased giving him anything to eat and had taken away his [28]
beautiful otter robe, and he had, like the swan, finished his Nænie,
or funeral chant. One thing still troubled him, that he did not know
how to die like a christian, and he had not taken farewell of Monsieur
de Potrincourt. When M. de Potrincourt heard these things, he went to
see him, remonstrated with him, and assured him that, in spite of all
the Aoutmoins and Pilotois, he would live and recover his health if he
would eat something, which he was bound to do, being a christian. The
good man believed and was saved; to-day he tells this story with great
satisfaction, and very aptly points out how God has thereby mercifully
exposed the malice and deceit of their aoutmoins.
I shall here relate another act of the same Sieur de Potrincourt, which
has been of great benefit to all these heathen. A christian savage had
died, and (as a mark of his constancy) he had sent word here to the
settlement during his sickness, that he desired our prayers. After his
death the other Savages prepared to bury him in their way; they are
accustomed to take everything that belongs to the deceased, skins,
bows, utensils, wigwams, etc., and burn them all, howling and shouting
certain cries, sorceries, and invocations to the evil spirit. M. de
Potrincourt firmly resolved to oppose these ceremonies. So he armed all
his men, and [29] going to the Savages in force, by this means obtained
what he asked, namely, that the body should be given to the Patriarch,
and so the burial took place according to christian customs. This act,
inasmuch as it could not be prevented by the Savages, was and still is,
greatly praised by them.
The chapel they have been using until now is very small, badly
arranged, and in every way unsuited for religious services. To remedy
this, M. de Poutrincourt has given us an entire quarter of his
habitation, if we can roof it over and adapt it to our needs. But I
shall add one more word which will be pleasant and edifying news to
many.
After my arrival here at Port Royal, I went with M. de Potrincourt as
far as the Etechemins. There God willed that I should meet young du
Pont, of Sainct Malo,[44] who, having been for some reason frightened
away [from the settlement],[XVI.] had passed the entire year with the
Savages, living just as they did. He is a young man of great physical
and mental strength, excelled by none of the savages in the chase, in
alertness and endurance, and in his ability to speak their language.
He was very much afraid of M. de [30] Potrincourt: but God inspired me
with so much faith in him that, relying upon my word, Du Pont came with
me to our ship; and after making some apologies and promises, peace was
declared, to the great satisfaction of all. When he departed, as the
cannon were sounding, he begged me to appoint an hour to receive his
confession. The next morning, in his great eagerness, he anticipated
the hour, and made his confession upon the shores of the sea in the
presence of all the Savages, who were greatly astonished at thus
seeing him upon his knees so long before me. Then he took communion in
a most exemplary manner, at which I can say tears came into my eyes,
and not into mine alone. The devil was confounded at this act; so he
straightway planned trouble for us that very afternoon; but thank God,
through the justice and goodness of M. de Potrincourt, harmony was
everywhere restored.
And now you have had, my Reverend Father, an account of our voyage,
of what happened in it, and before it, and since our arrival at this
settlement. It now remains to tell you that the conversion of this
country to the Gospel, and of these people to civilization, is not a
small undertaking nor free from great difficulties; for, in the first
place, if we consider the country, it is only a forest, without other
conveniences of life than those which will be brought from France,
and what in time may be obtained from the soil after [31] it has been
cultivated. The nation is savage, wandering and full of bad habits; the
people few and isolated. They are, I say, savage, haunting the woods,
ignorant, lawless and rude: they are wanderers, with nothing to attach
them to a place, neither homes nor relationship, neither possessions
nor love of country; as a people they have bad habits, are extremely
lazy, gluttonous, profane, treacherous, cruel in their revenge, and
given up to all kinds of lewdness, men and women alike, the men having
several wives and abandoning them to others, and the women only serving
them as slaves, whom they strike and beat unmercifully, and who
dare not complain; and after being half killed, if it so please the
murderer, they must laugh and caress him.
With all these vices, they are exceedingly vainglorious: they think
they are better, more valiant and more ingenious than the French;
and, what is difficult to believe, richer than we are. They consider
themselves, I say, braver than we are, boasting that they have killed
Basques and Malouins, and that they do a great deal of harm to the
ships, and that no one has ever resented it, insinuating that it was
from a lack of courage. They consider themselves better than the
French; "For," they say, "you are always fighting and quarreling among
yourselves; we live peaceably. You are envious and are all the time
slandering each other; [32] you are thieves and deceivers; you are
covetous, and are neither generous nor kind; as for us, if we have a
morsel of bread we share it with our neighbor."
They are saying these and like things continually, seeing the
above-mentioned imperfections in some of us, and flattering themselves
that some of their own people do not have them so conspicuously, not
realizing that they all have much greater vices, and that the better
part of our people do not have even these defects, they conclude
generally that they are superior to all christians. It is self-love
that blinds them, and the evil one who leads them on, no more nor
less than in our France, we see those who have deviated from the
faith holding themselves higher and boasting of being better than the
catholics, because in some of them they see many faults; considering
neither the virtues of the other catholics, nor their own still greater
imperfections; wishing to have, like Cyclops, only a single eye, and to
fix that one upon the vices of a few catholics, never upon the virtues
of the others, nor upon themselves, unless it be for the purpose of
self-deception.
Also they [the savages] consider themselves more ingenious, inasmuch as
they see us admire some of their productions as the work of people so
rude and ignorant; [33] lacking intelligence, they bestow very little
admiration upon what we show them, although much more worthy of being
admired. Hence they regard themselves as much richer than we are,
although they are poor and wretched in the extreme.
Cacagous, of whom I have already spoken, is quite gracious when he is
a little elated about something; to show his kindly feelings toward
the French he boasts of his willingness to go and see the King, and to
take him a present of a hundred beaver skins, proudly suggesting that
in so doing he will make him richer than all his predecessors. They
get this idea from the extreme covetousness and eagerness which our
people display to obtain their beaver skins.
Not less amusing is the remark of a certain Sagamore, who, having
heard M. de Potrincourt say that the King was young and unmarried:
"Perhaps," said he, "I may let him marry my daughter; but according
to the usages and customs of the country, the King must make me some
handsome presents; namely, four or five barrels of bread, three of peas
or beans, one of tobacco, four or five cloaks worth one hundred sous
apiece, bows, arrows, harpoons, and other similar articles."
Such are the marks of intelligence in the people of these countries,
which are very sparsely populated, especially those of the Soriquois
and Etechemins, which are near the sea; although [34] Membertou assures
us that in his youth he has seen _chimonuts_, that is to say, Savages,
as thickly planted there as the hairs upon his head. It is maintained
that they have thus diminished since the French have began to frequent
their country; for, since then they do nothing all summer but eat;
and the result is that, adopting an entirely different custom and
thus breeding new diseases, they pay for their indulgence during the
autumn and winter by pleurisy, quinsy and dysentery, which kill them
off. During this year alone sixty have died at Cape de la Hève, which
is the greater part of those who lived there; yet not one of all M.
de Potrincourt's little colony has even been sick, notwithstanding
all the privations they have suffered; which has caused the Savages
to apprehend that God protects and defends us as his favorite and
well-beloved people.
What I say about the sparseness of the population of these countries
must be understood as referring to the people who live upon the coast;
for farther inland, principally among the Etechemins, there are, it is
said, a great many people. All these things, added to the difficulty of
acquiring the language, the time that must be consumed, the expenses
that must be incurred, the great distress, toil and poverty that must
be endured, fully proclaim the greatness of this enterprise and the
difficulties which beset it. Yet [35] many things encourage me to
continue in it.