fought, which it still retains.
On the way back, his Indian allies began tormenting one of their
prisoners with the usual refinements of cruelty; which considerably
disgusted Champlain, whom they requested "to do as they did." He
angrily refused, but offered to put the poor wretch out of misery by
shooting him at once with his arquebuss. Seeing that he was irritated,
they told him he might do so, "and," says he naively, "so I did,
without his seeing anything."
They soon arrived at Quebec, where he gave them "bread and peas and
paternosters," to ornament the skulls of their enemies, as rejoicing on
their return. The next day Champlain went with them in their canoes to
Tadoussac, in order to witness their ceremonies; and does not omit to
mention how the women stripped themselves stark naked, and threw
themselves into the water to meet the canoes, taking the enemies' heads
to hang round their necks as precious ornaments. His Indian friends
also made him a present of some of their weapons and one of the heads
"to show to his king," which to please them he promised.
From this first battle Champlain seems to have imbibed a taste for
fighting the Iroquois (though why he mixed in the quarrel at all he
does not explain), as in 1610 he again started from Quebec, with a boat
and some of his people for the mouth of the Iroquois river, to join
about four hundred Algenquins and others in another attack on their
mortal enemies. They found the Iroquois intrenched in a "fort" or
stockade, and after a sharp fight, in which Champlain was wounded by an
arrow in the ear and neck, and one of his men in the arms, they stormed
the "fort," assisted by the men whom he had left in the boat, but who,
hearing the firing, thought it shame to remain idle while their
comrades were fighting. On leaving the Algenquins, they insisted on his
taking one of their young men with him as hostage for a young French
lad whom he left with them, at his own desire, to learn their language,
etc.
While Champlain was thus busily occupied, Mons. de Monts, who was then
governor of Pons, in Saintonge, having remained at Paris to settle some
private affairs, was again attacked and worried by the complaints of
his former opponents, "the Bretons, Basques, and Normans," and, they
again getting the ear of persons in power, De Monts was for the second
time deprived of his privilege, and this time without any compensation.
He wrote an account of the whole business to Champlain, who immediately
returned to France, and, after having informed De Monts of his labours
at Quebec, made a full report of all to the king, who received both him
and it with much satisfaction.
De Monts endeavoured by every possible means to obtain a third
commission, but his enemies were too powerful, and so managed matters
that all his attempts and labour were in vain. Nevertheless, being
extremely desirous of settling in the new country, he resolved, with or
without commission, to continue his establishment there, and explore
the country inland on the upper part of the St. Laurence; and for the
better execution of the project he again equipped two ships, in
conjunction with a company formed under the auspices of Father Coton
(confessor to Henry IV) and of Madame de Guercheville, and which had
obtained certain privileges for the establishment of a Jesuit mission
in New France.[18] The vessels being ready, Champlain and Du Pont Grave
embarked with labourers and artisans of all kinds, and arriving at
Tadoussac and Quebec, found all things in good and flourishing
condition.
[18] The Jesuits did not send a mission until the next year,
1611. Madame de Guercheville was the wife of M. de Liancour,
"premier ecuyer" to the king, and governor of Paris: she was one
of the most ardent supporters of the Jesuits, as the following
trait will shew: "When the expedition of M. de Biencour, son of
M. de Poitrincourt, was preparing at Dieppe in 1611, the Jesuits
sent two of their company, the fathers Biart and Remond Masse, to
join it, and proceed to establish a mission in Canada. On their
arrival at Dieppe, the Sieurs du Querne and Jourdain, Protestants
and members of the Company of New France, would not allow them to
embark, treating them with disdain and contumely. At which Madame
de Guercheville was so indignant that, aided by the influence of
Father Coton, she managed to force the recusant Protestants to
quit the company, with an indemnity of four thousand livres for
their shares."--Asselini, MS. Chronicle, 1682.
In 1611, in the early spring, Champlain started from Quebec in order to
meet the Indians with the young Frenchman, and give back the hostages
left at the settlement; but not finding them, he continued to explore
the country as far as Mont Royal, or Montreal. Shortly after the
natives arrived, and after exchanging presents, he took leave of them,
trusting another lad to their care, with particular instructions as to
the observations he was to make while with them. He returned to Quebec
in June, and finding matters proceeding regularly he sailed for France,
arriving at La Rochelle on the 11th of August.
On the 5th of March of the next year (1612), Champlain again embarked
at Honfleur for Quebec, arriving on the 7th of May, and finding all who
had wintered there in health and prospering. The winter had been so
mild that the river had not been frozen, "the trees also began to
reclothe themselves with leaves, and the fields to be enameled with
flowers."
On the 23rd, he left Quebec for the Sault St. Louis with two canoes,
having with him only four men, one of whom was a certain Nicolas
Vignan, "the most impudent liar that had been seen for a long time," as
will presently appear. One of Champlain's cherished projects was to
endeavour to penetrate to the Arctic Sea by means of some of the rivers
tributary to the St. Lawrence, which, by the account of the natives,
had their sources in great lakes, from which other streams flowed
towards the north.
This man Vignan had formerly wintered with the natives, and had been
sent on journeys of exploration by Champlain on various occasions. He
had returned to Paris, where, in the commencement of the present year
(1612), he had assured Champlain that he had seen the Northern Sea;
that the Algenquin river issued from a lake, which by another river
discharged itself into the said sea, and that in seventeen days he
might go to it from Sault St. Louis. He added that he had seen the
wreck of an English ship which had been lost on the coast, and that
eighty men had escaped to land, where they had all been killed by the
savages. He had been shown their heads, which had been skinned
(scalped) according to their custom; and the Indians wished to present
them to Champlain, with a young English boy whom they had preserved.
"This news," says Champlain, "rejoiced me greatly, thinking I had found
near me that which I had sought far off; so I conjured him to tell me
the truth, that I might inform the king. If his relation was false he
would put a rope round his neck, while if what he said was true he
would assuredly be well recompensed. He assured me of the truth of his
statement with more oaths than ever, and to play his part better, he
gave me an account of the country, which, he said, he had made as well
as he could." All these details, the assurance of the man, and the air
of simplicity which Champlain thought he perceived in him, combined
with a knowledge of the voyage which the English had made to Labrador
near that time, where they had wintered about the 63 deg. of latitude
and 250 deg. of longitude, and had actually lost some vessels, induced
him to give credence to the man's story, and make a report of it to the
Chancellor. He also presented him to the Marechal de Brissac and other
high personages, who strongly recommended Champlain to look after the
matter in person. Upon this advice he procured a passage for Vignan, in
a vessel belonging to a Sieur Georges of La Rochelle, who, asking him
why he was going out, etc., was also told by Vignan that he was going
to show the Northern Ocean, which he had seen, to Champlain, and made a
formal declaration to that effect before a notary of the town.
On taking leave of his companions before quitting Quebec, as before
mentioned, Champlain again told Vignan that if his tale was not exactly
true he had better not attempt the journey, as he would incur much
risk; when Vignan again declared, on peril of his life, that all that
he had averred was true.
On Monday, 27th May, Champlain accordingly left the island of Ste.
Helene on the expedition to discover the Northern Ocean, with four
French and one Indian. The route that he followed is not clearly
indicated; it is presumed that he ascended the Chaudiere river to a
lake, where he landed on an island, which he named Isle Sainte Croix.
On the 6th of June he left this island, in company with a number of the
natives who had joined him. About ten leagues further they arrived at
some rapids, where the Indians purposed to leave their canoes, when a
great dispute arose between them and Vignan, who declared there was no
danger in passing them. The Indians told him he must be tired of life,
and advised Champlain not to believe him, "for he spoke not the truth."
Champlain followed the advice of the natives, and well it was for him,
as Vignan sought all kinds of difficulties, either to get rid of, or to
disgust him with the enterprise, as he afterwards confessed. Continuing
his journey he fell in with a tribe of Indians, who wondered much how
he had surmounted the dangers and difficulties of the rapids and the
route, "saying he and his people must have fallen from the clouds," and
wishing to know what his object was. Champlain told him that he had
come to help them in their wars, and for that purpose he wished to
proceed further on to visit and arrange with some other chiefs, which
rejoiced them greatly; so that they gave him two canoes to carry him on
to the village of a great chief named "Tessouat," about eight leagues
distant. This chief received him very well, though much astonished to
see him, saying "he thought it was a dream, and could not believe what
he beheld!"
On the following day a great council was held in the wigwam of
Tessouat, with a preliminary feast, which gave Champlain occasion
to protest against the Indian "cuisine," "because they cooked so
dirtily." He asked them for fish and flesh, that he might prepare his
dinner after his own fashion, "and for drink," says he, "we had fine
clear water."
After much smoking and talking about his intentions of helping them to
make war on their enemies, the Indians promised him four canoes, which
gave him great joy; "forgetting all my past troubles in the hope of
beholding that much desired sea"; but he had rejoiced rather too soon,
as his interpreter shortly after hastened to tell him that the Indians
had again consulted together, and had come to the conclusion that if he
undertook the desired journey, then both he and they would die, so
would not give the four canoes; but that if he would defer the
expedition to the next year, they would go with him.
Champlain, very much grieved at this change, sought the chiefs, and
told them boldly, that he "had hitherto considered them as men, and
truthful, but that now they showed themselves to be children, and
lying!" and that if four canoes were too many, to give two, and four of
their people only. The Indians again represented the difficulties of
the way, of the rapids, and the hostility of the people on the route,
and said that it was for fear of losing him that they refused: to which
he replied, that he had a man with him, "showing them my impostor," who
had already been through the country, and had met with neither the
difficulties nor hostility that they mentioned. It seems that Vignan
had wintered with this very Tessouat and his tribe, so that he had
fallen into a trap; and the old chief turning to him, said, "Nicolas,
is it true that you have said that you had been to the Nibericini?"
Vignan was a long time before answering, but at length said, "Yes, I
have been;" on which the Indians rushed at him with loud outcries, "as
if they would eat him up or tear him to pieces"; and Tessouat exclaimed,
that he was an impudent liar, well knowing that every night he had
slept at his side with his (Tessouat's) children, and rose every
morning with him, so that if he had been with those people, it must
have been during his sleep. "Let him be made to name the chiefs whom he
had seen, and describe the rivers, the rapids, the lakes, and the
country that he had passed," said the chief. Still Vignan affirmed
anew, with many oaths, the truth of all that he had before said, and
swore that he would proceed if the savages would give the canoes.
After some anxious private consideration of the probabilities and
doubts, Champlain again called Vignan, and told him that the time was
passed for dissimulation, and that now he must speak the truth, and he
would forget the past; but that if he went further and found the
statement false, he would assuredly have him hung or strangled;
whereupon Vignan threw himself on his knees, and confessed that all
that he had said in France and since was false; that he had never seen
the Northern Sea, or been beyond the village of Tessouat, and had
invented the whole story in order to return to Canada. Champlain,
enraged, ordered him never to appear before him again, and immediately
informed the Indians of the imposture; they proposed that Vignan should
be left to them, and they would take care that he should tell no more
lies, which Champlain declined. Finding his hopes thus frustrated and
his journey at an end, on the 10th of June he took leave of Tessouat,
and set out on his return, during which he met with nothing remarkable,
save a false alarm of an attack of the enemy, and witnessing the
offerings of the savages to the spirit of the Chaudiere rapid. He
arrived at the Sault St. Louis on the 17th, accompanied by certain of
his Indian friends, with whom he made an agreement that they should not
trade without his permission. He made Vignan again confess his lies in
presence of his countrymen; and, on his promising that he would
retrieve his fault by making a journey to the Northern Ocean and bring
back news of it in the following year, Champlain pardoned him. He then
proceeded to Tadoussac, and, having nothing further to do that year in
the country, sailed for France on the 8th of August, and in due time
arrived at St. Malo.
I have dwelt somewhat at length on this episode of Vignan's imposture,
as it preeminently shows the enterprising, persevering, and resolute
character of Champlain, combined with a generous and forgiving
disposition. Few at that time would have blamed him for inflicting
summary justice on the liar who had so deceived him, or have condemned
him had he left Vignan to the tender mercies of Tessouat and his tribe.
The condition of pardon is also characteristic,--condemnation to
perform the journey pretended to have been made, thus turning the
imposture to some advantage.
On his arrival in France, Champlain found the affairs of the new
company in great disorder, from the detention of its chief protector,
Monseigneur le Prince de Conde, who had been created Viceroy of Canada,
"and this," says he, "made me judge that the envious would not delay to
vomit their poison, and that they would now do that which before they
dared not; for the head being sick, the members cannot be healthy."
After strange and scandalous intrigues which led to lawsuits, and
consequently to greater confusion, the associates of the company began
to perceive that, with all these cabals, the colony would be ruined and
the company broken up, unless they sent aid in men and materials to
continue the buildings and clearance of land.
Monsieur de Monts, always desirous to forward the interests of his
favorite settlement, drew up articles by which the company should be
obliged to furnish men, warlike stores, and provisions sufficient for
two years, while the new lands were being cleared and cultivated; these
articles were approved and laid before the Royal Council. "But," says
Champlain, "I know not by what chance, all went off in smoke, and God
did not permit the said articles to be accomplished."
During this time (in 1615) Champlain was at Honfleur, preparing for
another voyage, when a certain Boyer, one of the company, "as malicious
as he was litigious," attempted by chicane to deprive him of the post
of lieutenant for Monsieur le Prince, which had been granted to him by
letters patent, dated 15th October, 1612. "But all that did not touch
me; having served as I had done, they could neither take away my
charge, nor the appointments to which they had voluntarily obliged
themselves when I had arranged their association." This attempt to
deprive him of his well-earned honours, seems to have served as a
lesson to Champlain not to engage himself in any way in the service of,
or take share in, any of the companies which were purely formed for
prosecuting the colonization and trade of New France, until the
monopoly of the whole intercourse was centred in a society, formed
subsequently in 1627, under the auspices and especial favour of the
_de facto_ sovereign of France, Cardinal Richelieu. As lieutenant
of the viceroys, he maintained a neutral position, powerful enough to
control hostility, without subjecting himself to the influence of the
cabals which perpetually divided the parties, Jesuits, Recollets,
merchants, etc., who struggled for the chief power in the various
associations.
On the 24th of April, 1615, Champlain left Honfleur with four
missionaries (Jesuits) on board his vessel, and arrived without
accident at Tadoussac on the 25th May. He proceeded immediately to the
Sault St. Louis, when his first care was to arrange a treaty with the
friendly Indians to assist them in their wars, on condition of their
facilitating his enterprises of discovery, and with the view of
advancing the progress of Christianity among them. By helping them to
slay their enemies, he hoped to induce them to worship his God!
The Indians were to furnish two thousand five hundred warriors; and
Champlain was to take as many men as he could, and besides, to give his
allies some instruction in discipline, etc., which they received with
great satisfaction, but, as by and by will be seen, by which they
profited little.
Having arranged this matter, Champlain returned to the settlement to
provide for the good conduct of all affairs during his proposed
absence, and, on the 9th of June, started with an interpreter and
another European, "myself third," he says, and ten savages, and by the
Riviere des Prairies pursued his route to the Algenquin country; from
thence he continued by land to the lake of the Nipiserini (Lake
Nipissing) in 45-1/4 deg. of latitude, where he arrived on the 26th of
the same month, and remained two days; from thence he descended a river
(Riviere des Francois) to the great Lake Attigouantan (Lake Huron),
where he met some three hundred natives, with whom he "contracted
friendship," making the chief a present of a hatchet, "with which he
was as contented and joyful as if I had given him some rich present."
The next day he continued his route along the shores of the lake to a
village called Cahiague, where the "army" was to rendezvous, having
overtaken on the way thirteen or fourteen Frenchmen who had started
before him from the Riviere des Prairies. He arrived at Cahiague on the
17th of August, and was received with great gratitude and rejoicing by
the Indians, who informed him that another and very warlike nation, the
Entouhoronins(?), would join them with five hundred fighting men
against the common enemy,--the Iroquois. The greater part of the "army"
being assembled, they started together from the village on the 1st of
September, and pursued their route, hunting as they went. On the 9th of
October their scouts took eleven prisoners, "four women, one girl,
three boys, and three men;" whereupon one of the chiefs began
tormenting a female prisoner by cutting off one of her fingers; at
which Champlain indignantly interfered, and blamed the chief, "Captain
Yroquet," severely, representing that it was unworthy of a warrior, as
he called himself, to behave cruelly to women, "who have no defence but
their tears, and who, on account of their '_like those of families_'
should be humanely treated," and that if such cruelties were continued,
he could neither assist nor favour them in the war; so seeing that
Champlain was seriously displeased, "Captain Yroquet" promised in
future to spare the women, and only torment the men! On the following
day, about three o'clock, they arrived before the enemy's fort, and
commenced skirmishing, driving him into his entrenchments; after which
the "allies" withdrew out of the enemy's sight, which seems to have
angered Champlain extremely, moving him "to use and say rude and angry
words to incite them to do their duty," not according to their
councils, but in conformity with his notions. He proposed to construct
a "cavallier," a sort of high platform, to overlook the enemy's
palisades, in which five or six arquebusiers being placed would soon
dislodge the foe; also "mantelets," or large shields, to protect them
from arrows or stones. This being done, they attacked the fort, his
arquebusiers doing great execution; but his allies seconded him so
badly, making all kinds of blunders, that, after three hours combat,
two of their chiefs and about fifteen of their men being wounded, and
Champlain himself hurt in the leg and knee by arrows, they withdrew, in
spite of all his remonstrances, and to his great indignation and
disgust, saying, that when the five hundred promised men should arrive,
they would attack the enemy again. The skirmishing continued till the
9th, in which the enemy seems to have had the best of it, as Champlain
and his men were always obliged to bring off their friends, the enemy
retreating at sight of them, dreading their firearms, "urging, by firm
persuasion, that we ought not to mix in their quarrels," which was
perfectly true. Seeing that the five hundred promised warriors did not
arrive, the allies resolved on retreat, carrying off Champlain in a
sort of basket on a man's back, "so tied and hampered," says he, "that
I lost patience, and as soon as I had strength to support myself, I got
out of that prison, or rather, of that Gehenna!" On their way back,
they hunted a great deal, the savages being better, according to his
notions, at that sport than at fighting. Champlain's explorings were
very nearly being here ended, as one day having followed a curious bird
too eagerly, he lost himself in the woods, and wandered about for three
days and nights, subsisting on such game as he met with; at last he
resolved to follow the course of some river or brook on the chance of
its leading him to the river on whose banks the Indians were to encamp.
Fortunately, he succeeded, and joined them in safety, but almost
exhausted. They then all started on their return to the village
(Cahiague), where they arrived on the 23rd.
After recruiting his strength, Champlain resolved on visiting, during
the winter, the tribes and country which the summer and the war had
prevented his exploring. He accordingly started on the 17th of January
(1616) for that purpose, but when he had arrived at the "Pisirinii"
nation (Nipissing), he heard that a violent quarrel had broken out
between his friends, the Algenquins, and their allies, which determined
him to retrace his steps immediately, and endeavour to arrange the
matter in dispute. He got back to the village on the 15th of February,
and managed with great difficulty, by dint of persuasion, to patch up a
sort of hollow truce, the Algenquins retiring to their own village,
"saying they would no more winter there."