Early Western Travels
1748–1846
Volume II
Early Western Travels
1748–1846
A Series of Annotated Reprints of some of the best and rarest
contemporary Volumes of Travel, descriptive of the Aborigines and Social
and Economic Conditions in the Middle and Far West, during the Period of
Early American Settlement
Edited with Notes, Introductions, Index, etc., by
Reuben Gold Thwaites
Editor of “The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents,” “Wisconsin
Historical Collections,” “Chronicles of Border Warfare,” “Hennepin’s New
Discovery,” etc.
Volume II
John Long’s Journal, 1768–1782
[Illustration: [Logo]]
Cleveland, Ohio
The Arthur H. Clark Company
1904
COPYRIGHT 1904, BY
THE ARTHUR H. CLARK COMPANY
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
=The Lakeside Press=
R. R. DONNELLEY & SONS COMPANY
CHICAGO
CONTENTS OF VOLUME II
PREFACE. _The Editor_ 9
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS OF AN INDIAN INTERPRETER AND TRADER, describing
the Manners and Customs of the North American Indians; with an
Account of the Posts situated on the River Saint Laurence, Lake
Ontario, &c. April 10, 1768–Spring, 1782. _John Long_
Author’s Dedication 22
List of Subscribers 23
Author’s Preface 27
Voyages and Travels 33
Vocabulary
English-Esquimeaux 223
English-Iroquois, Algonkin, Chippeway 224
English-Algonkin, Chippeway 238
English-Mohegan, Shawanee 250
English-Mohegan, Algonkin, Chippeway 252
English-Iroquois 254
English-French 257
English-Chippeway 259
Chippeway-English 289
Familiar Phrases: English-Chippeway 317
ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOLUME II
Facsimile (reduced) of original title-page 21
Map: “Sketch of the Western Countries of Canada, 1791.” _Facsimile
of original_ 32
PREFACE
The second volume of our series of Early Western Travels is devoted to
the reprint of John Long’s _Voyages and Travels of an Indian Interpreter
and Trader_, originally published in London in 1791.
Concerning Long, but little is known further than what he himself
relates in his book. Coming from England to North America in 1768, he
passed nearly twenty years upon this continent, chiefly consorting with
the Indians—learning their languages, wearing their garb, living their
life. An expert woodsman, fur-trader, and explorer, he penetrated into
regions north and west of Canada, that are still practically unexplored.
At first an articled clerk in Canada, he later was apprenticed to a
Montreal fur merchant. Having displayed an adaptability for Indian
philology, Long was sent to the neighboring mission colony at
Caughnawaga, where he remained seven years, becoming an adept in the
arts and occupations of savage life. His term of service having expired,
the excitements of army life attracted him. The American Revolution had
just broken out, and volunteering for service with the British he was
detailed to lead Indian parties to hang upon the flanks of the invading
American army—one of these expeditions captured the famous Ethan Allen.
After a year and a half of this service, in which—dressed as an Indian,
and scalping his prisoners in their fashion—he could scarcely be
distinguished from a brave, Governor Guy Carleton appointed Long a
midshipman in the navy. But when his vessel sailed for England, he left
the sea in order to enter upon the more lucrative business of
fur-trading.
In May, 1777, Long left Montreal for Mackinac, engaged as a bourgeois to
lead a party of voyageurs into the far Northwest, and trade with the
Indians on their own hunting grounds. The independent Canadian merchants
of this period were endeavoring to maintain the old French connections
with the Indians of the “upper country,” and at the same time to
undermine the trade of the Hudson’s Bay Company, by intercepting the
natives before they reached the posts of the latter. Long was assigned
to the Nipigon district north and northeast of Lake Superior—a region
early occupied by the French, and the scene of their hardy and audacious
enterprises against the Hudson Bay trade.
Cameron[1] defines the limits of this region as follows: “Bounded on the
south by Lake Superior, on the southwest and west, by the northwest road
from Lake Superior to the lower end of Lake Ouinipique (Winnipeg); on
the northwest and north by Hayes river and part of Hudson Bay; and on
the northeast by Hudson Bay. Its greatest length from Pierre Rouge (Red
Rock), at the entrance of Nipigon River, to the Lake of the Islands, on
the Hayes river, is about three hundred and fifty leagues and its
greatest breadth, from Trout Lake to Eagle Lake, is about one hundred
and eighty leagues, but in most parts not over eighty leagues. The
two-thirds at least of this country are nothing but rivers and lakes,
some fifty leagues long; properly speaking, the whole country is nothing
but water and islands.” Into this watery wilderness Long and his
voyageurs pushed their way, literally subsisting on the country. The
bourgeois’s chief qualification for the enterprise was his familiarity
with the Indian life and language, and the fact that he had undergone
the ceremony of adoption by one of the most noted chiefs of the Chippewa
nation.
During the French régime, this country was noted for producing the
largest number and best quality of furs in the Northwest;[2] but after
the English occupation the district had been nearly abandoned, the
difficulties of existence proving too great. Four out of eight traders
starved to death in the region in one year, and it was avoided in favor
of the better-provisioned Western districts. Cameron says that in 1785
the whole district produced but fifty-six packs of furs. We may judge
from this of Long’s success as a trader; in the first year, he not only
subsisted himself and a party of eight Canadians, during the “hardest
winter ever remembered,” but rescued a brother trader from destruction
by a murderous band of Indians, and brought out a cargo of a hundred and
forty packs of furs all in good condition, valued between $25,000 and
$30,000. For these services he received from his chiefs the salary of
$750 a year, and a supply of Indian corn and “hard grease,” or tallow,
as provision.[3]
At the end of his first year’s engagement, Long returned only to Pays
Plat, a trading station on Lake Superior. Being there relieved of his
furs, and supplied with fresh provisions, he set out August 15, 1778,
for another winter in the “inlands,” whither, after many hardships and
experiences with murderous Indians, he returned to Mackinac, and spent
the following winter with the Chippewas near that fort.
In June, 1780, he joined a party of Canadians and Indians who were sent
from Mackinac to Prairie du Chien to secure the deposits of furs at the
latter place, and prevent them from falling into the hands of the
emissaries of George Rogers Clark from the Illinois, and the Spaniards
from St. Louis. After a march through Wisconsin, this undertaking was
successfully accomplished—the furs that could not be saved being burned
to keep them from the enemy.[4]
The following autumn, Long returned to Quebec never again to come to the
“upper country.” He made one more successful trading expedition to
unknown lands, by way of the Saguenay River and Lake St. John,
penetrating the country east of Hudson Bay, and bringing back a rich
cargo—in the very year that the Hudson’s Bay Company was pillaged by the
French expedition of La Pérouse.
Long returned for a year to England, his mother-land being entirely
strange to him after fifteen years’ absence. He was, therefore, glad to
fit out a cargo for another venture in the Indian trade of Canada. But
his good fortune seems now to have deserted him—debt, lack of
employment, and other difficulties drove him from one place to another.
In the spring of 1785 he was in New York, where he pushed the claim of a
Huron Indian through Congress. A fur-trading expedition among the
Iroquois failed, and the British commandant at Oswego confiscated his
goods. Taking refuge among his Loyalist friends near Kingston, he
received a grant of land for his services, but debt drove him from that;
and after securing some assistance from the authorities, he returned to
England in the fall of 1788,[5] there to write and publish the volume of
his adventures.
He appears to have secured some patronage for this work, as is evidenced
by the list of subscribers, and the dedication to Sir Joseph Banks. He
also consulted the best available authorities on Indian traditions and
Canadian history, and seems to have taken pains to verify his own
experiences and observations, without slavishly following his
authorities.[6] In his defense of the Hudson’s Bay Company, there is to
be noted either a desire to secure its favor for future services, or
pique in relation to the new North West Company, under some one of whose
partners he had undoubtedly served. The book, which was published in
1791, attained considerable popularity. It was favorably reviewed in the
_Monthly Review_ (June, 1792), and translated into both French and
German. The French translation, made by J. B. L. J. Billecocq, with
notes by the translator (but without the vocabularies, a fact deplored
by French philologists),[7] appeared in 1794, and again in 1810. Two
German translations were made, the first by B. Gottlob Hoffmann, issued
in 1791; the second by G. Forster, published in Berlin the following
year.
The interest of the work, aside from incidental historical references to
expeditions in Canada and Wisconsin during the Revolution, the Loyalist
settlements, and the retention of the Northern posts, lies in the
author’s intimate knowledge of Indian life and customs, especially those
of the more primitive and savage tribes of the North; and in the light
he incidentally throws on the history of the fur-trade.[8]
It is anything but an engaging picture which Long paints of his Indian
friends and companions—they are in the stage of downright savagery,
debauched by contact with the dregs of civilization, learning its vices,
appropriating its weapons, and dominating the whites by sheer force of
numbers, and knowledge of the weakness and greed of the latter. A
pleasant contrast is his account of the Canadian mission Indians; but
even these proved their savagery during the American Revolution. Of
their aboriginal customs, Long’s notices of totemism, religious rites
and beliefs, courtship and marriage, social customs—games, dances, food,
dwellings—habits of hunting, and physical and mental characteristics,
are valuable because original and the result of immediate observation.
Scarcely less dark is the picture presented by Long, of the fur-trade
and the traders. This was the period of unlicensed and almost ruinous
competition between the great company at the North, and the independent
merchants from Canada—the latter acting each for himself, with slight
regard for the interest of the trade, the Indians, or the lesser
employees.
The fur-trade under the French régime had been under strict
surveillance. All traders were required to purchase a government
license, and the products of their traffic were closely inspected. By
the close of the French rule, even the lawless _coureurs de
bois_—trading through the forest at will, and carrying their peltries to
the English at Albany and Hudson Bay—had been quite largely suppressed,
and brought into the service of the licensed traders.
After the conquest of New France, a period of cutthroat competition
began. The English traders did not at first dare venture into the
wilderness peopled with Indians faithful to the French; those who did,
nearly paid the penalty with their lives (as witness Alexander Henry, at
Mackinac). But after Pontiac’s War, and the gradual subsidence of Indian
hostility, British traders from Montreal and Quebec began reaching out
for this lucrative traffic, and a class of enterprising _entrepreneurs_
was developed, recruited chiefly from the ranks of Scotchmen. By them
the fur-trade was pushed to its highest development, and the rivers,
lakes, and fastnesses of the great Northwest discovered and explored in
rapid succession. This work was done by such men as the Henrys, Ponds,
Frobishers, Finlays, Camerons, McDonalds—and, greatest of all, Sir
Alexander Mackenzie.
By 1780, they began to unite their fortunes, and a sixteen-share stock
corporation was formed of the principal traders.[9] A conspiracy of the
Indians in the same year, to massacre all the whites and pillage the
posts, was discovered and averted; but by the following season a still
more terrible scourge had begun. Smallpox appeared among the tribes in
the Northwest, and spread so rapidly that hunting was but languidly
carried on, and profits fell to the zero mark. To avert the chaos into
which the trade seemed falling, the North West Company was established
in 1783, for a term of five years. In 1787 its organization was
perfected, and the corporate period of the Canadian fur-trade began;
competitors were gradually bought out—union with the X Y Company
occurring in 1805, and with the Hudson’s Bay Company in 1821.
Long’s narrative, therefore, portrays conditions during the period of
the free trader, responsible to no authority, exploiting the country and
the natives for the largest immediate returns, without reference to the
preservation of the hunting grounds or the protection of the hunters.
The frightful debauchery of the Indians by means of traders’ rum, and
the necessity for the use of laudanum to control their drunken excesses,
are shown in full by Long in his simple narrative of events. The
dangers, also, to which this system exposed the trader, are only too
evident from his relation of the case of Mr. Shaw. As for the
competition with the Hudson’s Bay Company, it is plain from Long’s
narrative that the Canadian traders were encroaching on the hunting
grounds of this great monopoly. The case of M. Jacques Santeron shows
the possibility of dishonest men passing from one employ to the other.
As for the rest of the picture, Long presents the usual traits of the
trader and interpreter—a certain rude honesty, taking the form of
loyalty to his employer, a disregard of dangers, and small concern for
hardships. His knowledge of wilderness life was intimate, but to this
fact he alludes only in an incidental way. In acquaintance with Indian
character, and power of influencing them in a crisis, he seems to have
been superior to the ordinary trader. His vices were those of his
class—slight regard for laws, either moral or military (witness the
incident at Fort Mackinac), improvidence and wastefulness, restlessness,
and dissatisfaction with the routine life of towns. His literary style,
while discursive, is simple, and as clear as running water. What he
wishes to say, he says plainly, leaving the reader as a rule to draw his
own conclusions. There is an unvarnished, unflinching directness in his
statements, conveying to the reader the impression that he is concealing
nothing, doing nought for effect, but telling a straightforward story of
travels and adventures. The book forms a contribution of note to this
important class of literature, and will always be readable.
In the preparation of the notes, the Editor has had, as in the first
volume of the series, the assistance of Dr. Louise Phelps Kellogg, of
the Wisconsin Historical Library. He has also had helpful suggestions
from Dr. James Bain, Jr., of the Toronto Public Library.
R. G. T.
MADISON, WIS., February, 1904.
LONG’S VOYAGES AND TRAVELS—1768–1782
Reprint of the original edition: London, 1791
[Illustration:
_VOYAGES AND TRAVELS_
OF AN
INDIAN INTERPRETER AND TRADER,
DESCRIBING
_The Manners and Customs_
OF THE
NORTH AMERICAN INDIANS;
WITH
_AN ACCOUNT OF THE POSTS_
SITUATED ON
THE RIVER SAINT LAURENCE, LAKE ONTARIO, &c.
TO WHICH IS ADDED,
A VOCABULARY
OF
The Chippeway Language.
_Names of Furs and Skins, in English and French._
A LIST OF WORDS
IN THE
IROQUOIS, MOHEGAN, SHAWANEE, AND ESQUIMEAUX TONGUES,
AND A TABLE, SHEWING
_The Analogy between the Algonkin and Chippeway Languages_.
BY J. LONG.
LONDON:
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR; AND SOLD BY ROBSON, BOND-STREET; DEBRETT,
PICCADILLY; T. AND J. EGERTON, CHARING-CROSS; WHITE AND SON,
FLEET-STREET; SEWELL, CORNHILL; EDWARDS, PALL-MALL; AND MESSRS.
TAYLORS, HOLBORN, LONDON; FLETCHER, OXFORD; AND BULL, BATH.
M,DCC,XCI.
]
TO SIR JOSEPH BANKS, BAR^T. PRESIDENT OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY,[10] &c. &c.
&c.
SIR,
I feel the highest satisfaction in being permitted to dedicate this work
to one whose pursuits have ever been more peculiarly directed to objects
of originality, and whose scientific researches have contributed so
largely to the information and benefit of society.
The public are too well acquainted with your general knowledge in every
branch of literature, to suspect that I hold the language of adulation.
Should I attempt to do justice to a character so eminently
distinguished, my feeble efforts could only be regarded as the grateful
effusions of a mind proud of a patronage that can ensure an especial
share of public notice and protection.
I have the honour to be, very respectfully,
SIR,
Your most obedient servant,
J. LONG.
_London,
February, 1791._
LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS
Addis, Mr. George.
Annereau, Mr.
Banks, Sir Joseph, Bart.
Beaufoy, Henry, Esq. M. P.
Berens, Hermanus, Esq.
Berens, Joseph, Esq.
Boddam, Thomas, Esq.
Bettesworth, Thomas, Esq.
Baker, John, Esq.
Baker, William, Esq.
Baker, Miss.
Batson, Robert, Esq.
Baynes, Burdon, Esq.
Blache, J. F. Esq.
Belfour, John, Esq.
Belfour, Mr. Okey. 3 copies.
Belfour, Mr. J. D.
Bird, William, Esq.
Bird, Thomas, Esq.
Bird, Michael, Esq.
Barbe, St. Samuel, Esq.
Barbe, St. John, Esq.
Bingley, ——, jun. Esq.
Bates, Mr. John.
Birkley, Mr. John.
Bowden, John, Esq.
Brandon, Mr.
Bull, Mr. J. Bath.
Beilby, Mr. 6 copies.
Croft, the Rev. Herbert.
Cornthwaite, the Rev. Mr.
Chalmers, George, Esq.
Culverden, William, Esq.
Corsellis, Nicholas Cæsar, Esq.
Coussmaker, John, Esq.
Croix, N. D. St., Esq.
Cleaver, Miss.
Cotton, Thomas, Esq.
Cotton, Bayes, Esq.
Chandler, George, Esq.
Coningham, William, Esq.
Cope, Thomas, Esq.
Cleugh, John, Esq.
Clay, Felix, Esq.
Clay, James, Esq.
Clay, William, Esq.
{iv} Clay, George, Esq.
Cooper, Mr.
Cooper, Mr. James.
Corbet, ——, Esq. 2 copies.
Dawson, William, Esq.
Dalrymple, Alexander, Esq.
Dicken, John, Esq.
Earle, James, Esq.
Emes, William, Esq.
Edwards, Charles, Esq.
Etches, R. C., Esq.
Eldridge, Thomas, Esq.
Fraser, Major.
Finch, Thomas, Esq.
Forbes, Thomas, Esq.
Fayle, Benjamin, Esq.
Faden, Mr. William. 6 copies.
Fawler, Mrs.
Forsteen, ——, Esq.
Finch, Mr. John.
Fletcher, Mr. James, Oxford.
Grote, George, Esq.
Gould, Thomas, Esq.
George, C. G., Esq.
Goldthwaite, Thomas, Esq.
George, Mr. Edward.
Graft, Mr. James.
Hollingsworth, John, Esq.
Hulse, Richard, Esq.
Hulse, Edward, Esq.
Howison, John, Esq. Lisbon.
Hayward, Francis, Esq. 2 copies.
Holden, Joseph, Esq.
Haffey, John, Esq.
Hill, Edward, Esq.
Hussey, William Wheatley, Esq.
Harper, Mrs.
Hillier, Mr.
Hale, Mr. Harry. 2 copies.
Hill, Mr. John.
Jones, Edward, Esq.
Jeudwine, Thomas, Esq.
Justice, Mr. Richard.
Jacks, Mr.
Knill, John, Esq.
Kensington, Charles, Esq.
Long, Sir James Tylney, Bart. M.P. 7 copies.
{v} Lake, Sir J. Winter, Bart. 4 cop.
Langmore, William, Esq.
Legg, Leaver, Esq.
Long, Mrs.
Locke, Miss.
Locke, John, Esq.
Lion, Thomas, Esq.
Lane, Benjamin, Esq.
Lang, Charles, Esq.
Lightfoot, John, Esq.
Lonsdale, Mr.
Mulgrave, the Right Hon. Lord.
Monsel, Lieutenant Colonel.
Marsden, William, Esq.
Morris, John, Esq.
Martin, Captain.
Man, Henry, Esq. 6 copies.
Mukins, Francis, Esq.
Malleson, John, Esq.
Murray, Mr. J. 2 copies.
Nesbitt, Lieutenant Colonel.
Nesbitt, Arnold, Esq.
Nasmyth, Maxwell, Esq.
Neave, Richard, Esq.
Prescott, George William, Esq.
Pott, Rev. J. H. Archdeacon of St. Albans.
Pott, Percival, Esq.
Pott, E. H. Esq.
Pott, Mrs.
Powell, Baden, Esq.
Powell, James, Esq.
Powell, Thomas, Esq.
Peck, Jasper, Esq.
Pooley, John, Esq.
Perry, John, Esq.
Palmer, Peregrine, Esq.
Pickwoad, Robert, Esq.
Pickering, Thomas, Esq.
Popplewell, Mr.
Roberts, John, Esq.
Rennell, Major.
Robertson, Captain.
Ruspini, J. B., Esq.
Rouse, Benjamin, Esq.
Ross, G. W., Esq. 2 copies.
Rutter, Miss.
Row, William, Esq.
Regail, Alexander, Esq.
Reading Society, Hackney.
Scott, Thomas, Esq. M. P.
{vi} Sneyd, Samuel, Esq.
Symons, the Rev. Mr.
Sheldon, John, Esq. Professor of Anatomy in the Royal Academy of Arts,
London, and F. R. S.
Shamier, ——, Esq.
Stoe, Harry, Esq.
Sedgwick, Harry, Esq.
Stone, John Hurford, Esq.
Surman, William, Esq.
Smith, Haskett, Esq.
Scafe, Mr. Richard.
Scargill, Mr. James.
Stable, Mr. William.
Smith, Mr. Thomas.
Smith, Mr. J. Thomas.
Turner, Miss.
Turner, Miss Jane.
Tanner, N. Esq.
Toulmin, William, Esq.
Taylors, Messrs. 6 copies.
Vaston, Mrs.
Vandriel, Mr. J. C.
Wegg, Samuel, Esq.
Winter, John, Esq.
Walker, John, Esq.
Wilson, Stephen, Esq.
Wilson, William, Esq.
Wilcox, William, Esq.
Wilcox, Edward, Esq.
Wilcox, Mrs. Anne.
Wickham, Lieut.
Woolhead, Major, Esq.
Wright, Mr. Thomas.
Watson, Mr. William.
White, Messrs. and Son. 6 copies.
Young, Mrs.
PREFACE
The reader will naturally expect some account of this work.
With regard to the historical part, I have endeavoured to explain the
situation of the Posts, which, by Mr. Oswald’s Treaty, were stipulated
to be surrendered to the Americans; and pointed out their convenience to
Great Britain in a political and commercial point of view:[11] I have
also given a description of the Five and Six Nation Indians; and
endeavoured to shew the usefulness, as well as necessity, of a strict
alliance with them as long as we retain any possessions in Canada.
With respect to the descriptions of lakes, rivers, &c. which lie beyond
Lake Superior, from Lake Nipegon to Lake Arbitibis, I have given them as
accurately as possible, either from my own knowledge, or the most
authentic Indian accounts; and when it is considered that interpreters
in the commercial line seldom have occasion for any geographical
knowledge, the want of better information will be excused.
The Vocabulary which is subjoined, and on which I have bestowed some
pains, it is hoped will not only afford information to such as may be
desirous of attaining a knowledge of the Chippeway language, but prove
useful to those who are already engaged in traffic with the Indians.
{viii} As the mode of spelling a language which has never been reduced
to a grammatical system, must be arbitrary, and principally depend on
the ear, I have endeavoured to use such letters as best agree with the
English pronunciation; avoiding a multiplicity of consonants, which only
perplex: and to enable the reader to speak so as to be understood by the
natives, it is necessary to observe that _a_ is generally sounded broad;
and _e_ final never pronounced but in monosyllables.
The following are the motives which induced me to make the Vocabulary in
the Chippeway language so copious.
In the first place it is, strictly speaking, one of the mother tongues
of North America, and universally spoken in council by the chiefs who
reside about the great lakes, to the westward of the banks of the
Mississippi, as far south as the Ohio, and as far north as Hudson’s Bay;
notwithstanding many of the tribes, within the space of territory I have
described, speak in common a different language.—This observation is
confirmed by authors of established repute, and further proved by the
concurrent testimony of the Indian interpreters.
Baron de Lahontan[12] asserts that the Algonkin is a mother tongue, and
that it is in as much estimation in North America, as Greek and Latin in
Europe: this being admitted, I am persuaded the Chippeway language
possesses as much, if not greater merit, as it is in every respect
better understood by the northwest Indians. But as the knowledge of both
{ix} may not only be useful, but necessary, I have given a comparative
table of about two hundred and sixty words in both tongues, that the
reader may use either as he shall find it best understood by the tribes
with whom he may have occasion to trade; though he will find, in a
variety of instances, a perfect accordance.
The table of words in the Muhhekaneew, or Mohegan, and Shawanee tongues,
are extracted from the Rev. Mr. Edwards’s publication, and are inserted
to shew their analogy with the Chippeway language;[13] and, as he
observes that the language of the Delawares in Pennsylvania, of the
Penobscots on the borders of Nova Scotia, of the Indians of St. Francis,
in Canada, of the Shawanees on the Ohio, and many other tribes of
Savages radically agree, I judged the tables of analogy would not be
unacceptable.
In the course of the historical part, several speeches in the Chippeway
language are introduced: and at the end of the Vocabulary, a number of
familiar phrases, which not only serve to shew the mode of speech, but
give a better idea of the language than single words.
The numeral _payshik_, or one, is frequently used to express the
articles _a_ and _the_; and _woke_ is the general word for the plural
number, though not always used.
Mr. Carver’s Vocabulary will, in many instances, be found to differ from
the Chippeway;[14] but when it is considered that though he calls it the
Chippeway Vocabulary, in p. 414 of his work, he says “The Chippeway, or
Algonkin,” which {x} evidently proves that he believes them the same
language:—but with regard to the usefulness of the tongue, there is a
perfect corroboration of sentiment; for he remarks that the Chippeway
tongue appears to be the most prevailing of all the Indian languages.
It may not be amiss to observe, that the Chippeway tongue, as spoken by
the servants of the Hudson’s Bay Company, is somewhat different, though
not essentially so, and is called by them the _Home-Guard_ Language.
With regard to the Iroquois, or Mohawk tongue, which is peculiar to the
Five and Six Nation Indians, it is not necessary in the fur-trade beyond
Michillimakinac; and if it were, there are not wanting printed
authorities sufficient to instruct:—this consideration has induced me to
give only the numerals, and a few words in the language.
I have not any thing further to add, but a sincere wish that my labours
may prove useful to the world; and that whatever defects may be found in
the following work, the Public will look on them with candour; and will
recollect that they are perusing, not the pages of a professed
_Tourist_, but such observations as a commercial man flatters himself
may be found acceptable to the merchant and the philosopher.
[Illustration: _SKETCH of the_ WESTERN COUNTRIES of CANADA 1791]
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS
Having engaged myself, at an early period of life, to go to North
America, in the quality of an articled clerk, I left Gravesend on the
10th of April, 1768, on board the “Canada,” captain Smith, bound to
Quebec and Montreal. We had a pleasant voyage, till we reached the coast
of America, when the weather proving unfavourable, we were obliged to
put into Newfoundland, where we stayed fourteen days. Nothing remarkable
occurred here, except that a party went on shore to hunt, and one of
them, Mr. Jordan, who was a passenger, bound to Montreal, finding
himself much fatigued, remained in the woods; the rest returned on board
in the evening, anxiously expecting their companion; but after four days
painful solicitude, not being able to obtain any intelligence of him, we
gave up all hopes of seeing him again; and as the snow was deep on the
ground, and the wild animals numerous, we supposed him to be either
frozen to death, or devoured by the beasts. Just as the captain proposed
setting sail, an Indian came on board, to whom we endeavoured to
communicate our distress. On this occasion, he seemed to understand us,
and made signs of his intention to go in search of him; and being
furnished with some rum by way of encouragement, he got into his canoe
and paddled {2} ashore. The captain, with great humanity, deferred
prosecuting the voyage for some time: but the Indian not returning, we
left Newfoundland, and after a tedious passage of near eleven weeks,
arrived at Quebec, the capital of Canada.
When the Spaniards (who first discovered this northern clime) sailed
past Cape Rosiers at the entrance of the River St. Laurence, the
mountains, now called the Mountains of Nôtre Dame, were covered with
snow. Such a prospect, in the summer season, gave them a very
unfavourable opinion of the country, and they were deterred from going
up the river, supposing the land to be too barren to recompence their
labours at present, or afford any future advantages; and the same
impressions induced them to call it Capo di Nada, or Cape Nothing, by
which name it is described in their charts, and from whence, by
corruption of language, it has derived its present name of Canada.[15]
The River St. Laurence takes its rise from Lake Nipissin, northeast of
Lake Superior, about the distance of 2000 miles from Quebec.[16] The
breadth of it is 90 miles at the entrance, and it is navigable near 500
miles from the sea.
The Isle of Orleans, which is but a small distance from the city, is a
beautiful spot of ground, about 20 miles in length, and six in breadth.
The fertility of the soil makes it a useful and valuable garden,
insomuch that it supplies the capital with vegetables and grain in great
abundance. The opposite village of Beauport also charms the eye, and
very much heightens the scene, which is rich, romantic, and magnificent.
{3} The Fall of Montmorenci particularly attracted my notice, as it is
perhaps the most pleasing natural cascade in the world; and though its
height and width are not to be compared in point of awful grandeur with
the stupendous cataract of Niagara, it is sufficiently wonderful to shew
the power of the great Architect of the Universe; and its effects are
more pleasing than the latter; for while it produces wonder and pleasure
in the highest degree, it does not strike the beholder with such
tremendous ideas.
As our ship was bound to Montreal, as well as Quebec, and I was under
the captain’s care and direction, he did not allow me to go on shore at
the latter place; but in a few days, to my great joy, we arrived safe at
Montreal, the place of our last destination.
Montreal, formerly called Ville Marie, has nothing remarkable in it at
present; it was formerly famous for a great fair, which lasted near
three months, and was resorted to by the Indians, who came from the
distance of many hundreds of miles, to barter their peltry for English
goods. It will give pleasure to the reader to be informed, that we
received here the agreeable intelligence that Mr. Jordan was found in
the woods, two days after our departure from Newfoundland, though with
the loss of his feet, occasioned by the severity of the weather: he went
afterwards in a vessel to Trois Riviéres, where he settled in an iron
foundry.
Trois Riviéres,[17] is so called from the junction of three currents
which empty themselves into the River St. Laurence. About a league from
the town there is an iron foundry, which was erected by private {4}
persons in the year 1737, and afterwards ceded to the King. At first
cannon and mortars were cast there, but it is now principally used in
the manufacture of stoves and kettles. The ore is taken at a small
distance from the works. A river runs down from the foundry into the
River St. Laurence, which enables the proprietors to send their
manufactures round the country in boats upon very moderate terms.
This town, which is half way between Quebec and Montreal, had formerly a
very considerable trade in peltry, and was the second mart in Canada;
but in process of time the inhabitants of Montreal contrived to draw
almost all the fur-trade to themselves; and though the residents in
Trois Riviéres live by their commerce with the savages, and the
manufacturing of birch canoes, yet the town has lost that rank and
consequence which it formerly maintained; nevertheless, the advantage of
the iron foundry makes them some amends, and they live, upon the whole,
as happy as any people in Canada. The inhabitants of Trois Riviéres were
formerly very much incommoded with fleas, which swarmed in great
quantities, and which, Baron de Lahontan humorously observes, occasioned
an inconvenient quickness in conversation.
On my arrival at Montreal, I was placed under the care of a very
respectable merchant to learn the Indian trade, which is the chief
support of the town. I soon acquired the names of every article of
commerce in the Iroquois and French languages, and being at once
prepossessed in favour of the savages, improved daily in their tongue,
to the satisfaction of my employer, who approving my assiduity, and
wishing me to be completely qualified in the Mohawk language to enable
me to traffic with the Indians in his absence, sent me to a village
called {5} Cahnuaga, or Cocknawaga, situated about nine miles from
Montreal, on the south side of the River St. Laurence,[18] where I lived
with a chief whose name was _Assenegethter_, until I was sufficiently
instructed in the language, and then returned to my master’s store, to
improve myself in French, which is not only universally spoken in
Canada, but is absolutely necessary in the commercial intercourse with
the natives, and without which it would be impossible to enjoy the
society of the most respectable families, who are in general ignorant of
the English language.
{6} _A Description of the Village and Inhabitants of_ CAHNUAGA, _or_
COCKNAWAGA, _who some years since separated from the_ MOHAWKS.
The Savages of this nation, who are called the praying Indians, from the
circumstance of their chiefs wearing crucifixes, and going through the
streets of Montreal with their beads, begging alms, separated long since
from the Mohawk and River Indians, and for a considerable time after
their separation, carried on an illicit trade between Albany and
Montreal. The village contains about two hundred houses, which, though
they are chiefly built of stone, have a mean and dirty appearance. The
inhabitants amount to about eight hundred, and (what is contrary to the
general observation on the population of the Indians) are continually
increasing. It is considered as the most respectable of all the Indian
villages, and the people are in a great degree civilized and
industrious. They sow corn, and do not depend like other nations solely
upon hunting for support; but at the same time, they are not fond of
laborious work, conceiving it only suited to those who are less free,
and retaining so much of their primeval valour and independence as to
annex the idea of slavery to every domestic employment. Their hunting
grounds are within the United States, at a considerable distance from
the village, round Fort George, Ticonderoga, and Crown Point, where they
kill beaver and deer, but not in such great abundance at present as they
did formerly, the country being better inhabited, and the wild animals,
from the present state of population, being obliged to seek a more
distant {7} and secure retreat. The skins they obtain are generally
brought down to Montreal, and either sold for money, or bartered for
goods. It is not improbable, that in a few years there will not be many
good hunters among them, as they are extravagantly fond of dress, and
that too of the most expensive kind. Their fondness for this luxury,
which the profits arising from the lands they let out to the Canadians
enables them to indulge, contributes to make them more idle; and in
proportion as their vanity increases, ease and indolence are the more
eagerly courted and gratified, insomuch that hunting is in danger of
being totally abandoned. Their religion is Catholic, and they have a
French priest, or, as the Chippeway Indians term it, “_The Master of
Life’s Man_,” who instructs them, and performs divine service in the
Iroquois tongue. Their devotion impressed my mind too powerfully to
suffer it to pass unnoticed, and induces me to observe that great praise
is due to their pastors, who by unwearied assiduity, and their own
exemplary lives and conversation, have converted a savage race of beings
from Heathenism to Christianity, and by uniformity of conduct, continue
to preserve both their religion and themselves in the esteem of their
converts: An example worthy of imitation, and amounting to an
incontrovertible proof that nature, in her most degenerate state, may be
reclaimed by those who are sincere in their endeavours, gentle in their
manners, and consistent in the general tenor of their behaviour. And it
is to be expected, and certainly most ardently to be wished, that the
savage temper among them may in time be more effectually subdued, their
natural impetuosity softened and restrained, and their minds weaned from
their unhappy attachment to the use of strong liquors; their indulgence
in which is frequently attended with the most melancholy and fatal
consequences.
{8} _Of the_ INDIANS _of the Five and Six Nations_.
I shall now give a particular account of the Indians of the Five and Six
Nations, and the reasons why they are so called, in order to enable the
reader to form an idea of their consequence in a political point of
view, as well as their importance on account of the fur-trade; because
the vicinity of the American territories from Georgia to New England,
gives the United States a great command and influence from their
situation, and renders them more to be dreaded than even the French were
in the zenith of their American power, when it was universally known
they had such an interest among the savages, as induced them to call the
French their fathers, and of which so much yet remains, as to prompt
them to retain a predilection in favour of the traders of the Gallic
race who are settled among them.
In 1603, when the French settled in Canada, part of the Five Nations
resided on the island of Montreal, and were at war with the
Adirondacks (who lived on the Uttawa, or grand river leading to
Michillimakinac);[19] these, considered the Five Nations as very
insignificant opponents, and incapable of serious revenge, and they
were held in as much derision as the Delawares, who were usually
called old women, or the Shawanees (who lived on the Wabach River),
who were obliged to wear petticoats for a considerable time, in
contempt of their want of courage, and as a badge of their
pusillanimity and degradation. But as no people can bear the
imputation of cowardice or effeminacy as a {9} national character, the
chiefs determined to rouse their young men, and stimulate them to
retrieve, or establish, a reputation; and inspiring them with heroic
notions, led them to war against the Satanas, or Shaounons, whom they
subdued with great ease. This success revived their drooping spirits,
and forgetting how often they had been defeated by the Adirondacks,
[they] commenced hostilities against them; and availing themselves of
the mean opinion their enemies entertained of their valour, gained the
victory in several actions: and at last carried on a successful war
against them even in their own country, obliging their former
conquerors to abandon their native land, and seek refuge on the spot
where Quebec is now situated.
Soon after the French arrived and had settled at Quebec, they formed an
alliance with the Adirondacks against the Five Nations. The first
engagement proved decisive in favour of the Adirondacks, owing entirely
to the use of fire arms having been introduced among them by their new
allies, which the Indians of the Five Nations had never before seen.
This alliance, and the consequent defeat was far from subduing or
disheartening the Five Nations, but rather seemed to inspire them with
additional ardour, and what they were deficient in military skill and
suitable weapons, they supplied by stratagem and courage. Although the
French gained several advantages over them in the course of more than
fifteen years, they at length were glad to bring the contest to a
conclusion, by making a peace with them.
This shews that the Savages of the Five Nations are not easily to be
conquered, and proves the necessity of preserving them in our interest,
{10} as long as we shall deem it expedient, from policy, to keep
possession of Canada. This being admitted, it is certain that no method
will more effectually conduce to that end, than retaining such barriers
in our hands as will enable us to afford them protection, and supply
them with arms and ammunition, and other necessaries, in time of danger.
The Indians who lie to the north of Philadelphia, between the provinces
of Pennsylvania and the Lakes, consist of three distinct leagues, of
which the Senekas, Mohawks, and Onondagoes, who are called the fathers,
compose the first; the Oneidoes, Cayugas, Tuscororas, Conoys and
Nanticokes, which are one tribe, compose the second, and these two
leagues constitute what is called the Six Nations. The third league is
formed of the Wanamis, Chihokockis, or Delawares, the Mawhiccons,
Munseys, and Wapingers, to which may be added the Mingoes. The Cowetas,
or Creek Indians, are also united in friendship with them.[20]
Mr. Colden says, the nations who are joined together by a league or
confederacy, like the United Provinces of Holland, are known by the
names of Mohawks, Oneydoes, Onondagoes, Cayugas, and Senekas; that each
of these nations is again divided into three tribes or families, who are
distinguished by the names of the Tortoise, Bear, and Wolf; and that the
Tuscororas, after the war they had with the people of Carolina, fled to
the Five Nations, and incorporated with them, so that in fact they now
consist of six, although they still retain the name of the Five
Nations.[21] This union is of such long duration as to leave little or
no traces of its origin.
{11} Baron Lahontan observes, that the Iroquois are in reality but one
nation, divided into five districts; and which he distinguishes in the
following manner:—The Tsonontouans, the Goyogans, the Onontagues, the
Oneyouts, and the Agnies, who were all settled about thirty leagues from
each other, near the great Lake Frontenac, now called Ontario.
The Mohawks, or Maquas, are the most warlike among the Five Nations, and
consist of near seven hundred warriors. They are called by the French,
Agnies, or Annies, and were originally settled on the French or grand
River, leading to Michillimakinac, from whence they afterwards removed
to the Mohawk River, near Schenectady, about sixteen miles from Albany,
in the state of New York. Since the war in 1757 they have separated, and
part of the nation is settled on the grand river, near Niagara, and the
rest at the back of the bay of Quenty, or Kenty, about forty-eight miles
above Cataraqui, the capital of the Loyalist settlements on the River
St. Laurence.[22]
Cataraqui, or Fort Frontenac, is built near to the place where Lake
Ontario discharges itself into the River St. Laurence. It was erected by
Le Comte de Frontenac, governor general of Canada, to stop the
incursions of the Iroquois, and divert the channel of the commerce in
peltry, which that people carried on with the inhabitants of New York,
and which they bartered for with the Savages by merchandize, at a
cheaper rate than the French could supply them.
This fort was at first built of wood and turf, and surrounded with high
pickets, but during the mission of Father Hennepin, it was faced {12}
with stone, by the direction of the Sieur Cavelier de la Salle, and
enlarged to a circuit of more than seven hundred yards. The bason in
which it stands is capable of holding a number of vessels of
considerable burthen. There is a small garrison at present, and a
commanding officer, to examine all boats which pass either to the new
settlements or the upper posts.[23]
The Oneidoes, or Oneyouts, the Onondagoes, Cayugas, Senekas, or
Tsonontouans, and the Tuscororas, who live with the Oneidoes and
Onondagoes, are settled about thirty leagues distant from each other,
and none of them exceeding two hundred and fifty miles from the Mohawk
River. All these nations express peace by the metaphor of a tree, whose
top they say will reach the sun, and whose branches extend far abroad,
not only that they may be seen at a great distance, but to afford them
shelter and repose.
The Five Nations claim all the country south of the River St. Laurence
to the Ohio, and down the Ohio to the Wabache, which lies to the
westward of the state of Pennsylvania, near to the borders of Virginia;
westerly, to the Lakes Ontario and Erie, and the River Miamis, and the
eastern boundaries of Lake Champlain, and the United States.
The firmness of this league, the great extent of land it claims, the
number of great warriors it produces, and the undaunted courage and
skill which distinguish the members of it in their contests both with
the Savages and European nations, all conspire to prove the good policy
of an alliance with them; as it is an undoubted fact, that in case of a
dispute with the Americans, the posts would make but a feeble resistance
{13} without their exertions; and deprived of the forts, the fur-trade
would soon be lost to this country.
I shall next consider the situation and utility of these barriers, in a
commercial point of view, and endeavour to shew the propriety of keeping
possession of the posts, notwithstanding by the treaty of peace with the
United States, they were expressly stipulated to be given up; although
it is not probable indeed that the Americans will be able to fulfil the
treaty on their part, so as to entitle them to make a reasonable
demand—I mean such a claim as government must absolutely admit.
The first post I shall notice is Oswegatche, on the River St. Laurence,
about one hundred and fifty miles above Montreal, at the mouth of the
Black River, where there are about an hundred Savages, who occasionally
frequent it, and are called Oswegatche Indians, although they belong to
the tribes of the Five Nations.[24] To this fort the inhabitants of New
England may with ease transport goods, to supply the Mohawks, Cahnuagas,
Connecedagas, St. Regis, and some straggling Messesawger Indians, who
live near the Détroit,[25] at a smaller expence than they can possibly
be obtained from the merchants at Quebec or Montreal, but particularly
Rum, which is now become an essential requisite in every transaction
with the Savages; for though they used formerly often to complain of the
introduction of strong water by the traders (as appears by the language
of their chiefs in council) to the prejudice of their young men, yet
they have not now the resolution to refrain from the use of it;—on the
contrary, it is become so familiar, and even necessary to them, that a
drunken frolic is {14} looked upon as an indispensible requisite in a
barter, and anticipated with extreme delight.
Carlton Island is higher up the river, and has greater conveniences
annexed to it than Oswegatche, having an excellent harbour, with a
strong fortification well garrisoned.[26] It affords excellent
accommodation for shipping, and may be considered as the naval
storehouse for supplying Niagara and the other posts. There are vessels
of considerable bulk continually sailing from thence to Niagara, Oswego,
&c.—There is also a commodore of the Lakes, whose residence is on the
island.
Fort Oswego, on Lake Ontario, formerly called Lake Frontenac, is a good
fortification, and capable of containing six hundred men. This post is
particularly important, as it is the key to the United States, and
commands the opening to the North, or Hudson’s River, protecting the
trade with the Indians who live on the banks of the River St. Laurence,
and the whole extent of the great sheet of water near which it stands,
reckoned about eighty leagues in length, and in some places from
twenty-five to thirty broad.[27]