Voyages of Samuel De Champlain Volume III Part 4

Cartier, Champlain, Lescarbot, Baron La Hontan, Potherie, and Charlvoix mention the outarde in catalogues of water-fowl in which _oye_, the goose, is likewise mentioned. They very clearly distinguish it from the cla.s.s which they commonly considered _oyes_, or geese. Cartier, for instance, says, Il y a aussi grand nombre d'oyseaulx, scauoir grues, signes, _oltardes, oyes sauuages, blanches, & grises_. Others speak of _outardes et oyes_. They do not generally describe it with particularity. Champlain, however, in describing the turkey, _cocq d'Inde_, on the coast of New England, says, _aussi gros qu'vne outarde, qui est une espece d'oye_. Father Pierre Biard writes, _et au mesme temps les outardes arriuent du midy, qui sont grosses cannes au double des nostres_. From these statements it is obvious that the outarde was a species of goose, but was so small that it could well be described as a large duck. In New France there were at least four species of the goose, which might have come under the observation of the early navigators and explorers. We give them in the order of their size, as described in Coues' Key to North American Birds.

1. Canada Goose, _Branta Canadensis_, SCOPOLI, 36 inches.

2. Snow Goose, _Anser hyperboreus_, LINNaeUS, 30 inches.

3. Am. White-fronted Goose, _Anser albifrons_, LINNaeUS, 27 inches.

4. Brant Goose, _Branta bernicla_, SCOPOLI, 24 inches.

Recurring to the statement of Cartier above cited, it will be observed that he mentions, besides the outarde, wild geese white and gray. The first and largest of the four species above mentioned, the Canada goose, _Branta Canadensis_, is gray, and the two next, the Snow goose and White-fronted, would be cla.s.sified as white. This disposes of three of the four mentioned. The outarde of Cartier would therefore be the fourth species in the list, viz. the Brant goose. _Branta bernicla_.

This is the smallest species found on our northern coast, and might naturally be described, as stated by Father Biard, as a large duck. It is obvious that the good Father could not have described the Canada goose, the largest of the four species, as a large duck, and the white geese have never been supposed to be referred to under the name of outarde. The Brant goose, to which all the evidence which we have been able to find in the Canadian authorities seems to point as the outarde of early times, is common in our markets in its season, but our market-men, unaccustomed to make scientific distinctions, are puzzled to decide whether it should be cla.s.sed as a goose or a duck. It is not improbable that the early voyagers to our northern lat.i.tudes, unable to decide to which of these cla.s.ses this water-fowl properly belonged, and seeing in it a fancied resemblance to the lesser outarde, with which they were familiar, gave it for sake of the distinction, but nevertheless inappropriately, the name of outarde. The reader is referred to the following authorities.

_Vide Brief Recit_ par Jacques Cartier, 1545. D'Avezac ed., p. 33; _Champlain_, Quebec ed., p. 220; _Jesuite Relations_, 1616, p. 10; _Le Grand Voyage du Pays des Hurons_, par Sagard, Paris, 1632, p. 301; _Dictionaire de la Langue Hurone_, par Sagard, Paris, 1632, _oyseaux; Letters to the Dutchess of Lesdiguieres_, By Fr. Xa. de Charlevoix, London. 1763, p. 88; _Le Jeune, Relations des Jesuites_, 1633, P. 4, 1636, p. 47; _Histoire de l'Amerique Septentrionale_, par de la Potherie, Paris, 1722, Vol. I. pp. 20, 172, 212, 308; _Lescarbot, Histoire de la Nouvelle France_, pp. 369, 582, 611.

CHAPTER III.

DEPARTURE TO DISCOVER THE NORTH SEA, ON THE GROUND OF THE REPORT MADE ME IN REGARD TO IT. DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL RIVERS, LAKES AND ISLANDS, THE FALLS OF THE CHAUDIeRE AND OTHER FALLS.

Now, as I had only two canoes, I could take with me but four men, among whom was one named Nicholas de Vignau, the most impudent liar that has been seen for a long time, as the sequel of this narrative will show. He had formerly spent the winter with the savages, and I had sent him on explorations the preceding years. He reported to me, on his return to Paris in 1612, that he had seen the North Sea; that the river of the Algonquins came from a lake which emptied into it; and that in seventeen days one could go from the Falls of St. Louis to this sea and back again; that he had seen the wreck and _debris_ of an English ship that had been wrecked, on board of which were eighty men, who had escaped to the sh.o.r.e, and whom the savages killed because the English endeavored to take from them by force their Indian corn and other necessaries of life; and that he had seen the scalps which these savages had flayed off, according to their custom, which they would show me, and that they would likewise give me a young English boy whom they had kept for me. This intelligence had greatly pleased me, for I thought that I had almost found that for which I had for a long time been searching. Accordingly I enjoined upon him to tell me the truth, in order that I might inform the King, and warned him that if he gave utterance to a lie he was putting the rope about his neck, a.s.suring him on the other hand that, if his narrative were true, he could be certain of being well rewarded. He again a.s.sured me, with stronger oaths than ever; and in order to play his _role_ better he gave me a description of the country, which he said he had made as well as he was able. Accordingly the confidence which I saw in him, his entire frankness as it seemed, the description which he had prepared, the wreck and _debris_ of the ship, and the things above mentioned, had an appearance of probability, in connection with the voyage of the English to Labrador in 1612, where they found a strait, in which they sailed as far as the 63d degree of lat.i.tude and the 290th of longitude, wintering at the 53d degree and losing some vessels, as their report proves.[33] These circ.u.mstances inducing me to believe that what he said was true, I made a report of the same to the Chancellor, [34]

which I showed to Marshal de Brissac,[35] President Jeannin, [36] and other Seigneurs of the Court, who told me that I ought to visit the place in person. For this reason I requested Sieur Georges, a merchant of La Roch.e.l.le, to give him a pa.s.sage in his ship, which he willingly did, and during the voyage he questioned him as to his object in making it; and, since it was not of any profit to him, he asked if he expected any pay, to which the young man answered that he did not, that he did not expect anything, from any one but the King, and that he undertook the voyage only to show me the North Sea, which he had seen. He made an affidavit of this at La Roch.e.l.le before two notaries.

Now as I took leave on Whitsuntide, [37] of all the princ.i.p.al men to whose prayers I commended myself, and also to those of all others, I said to him in their presence that if what he had previously said was not true he must not give me the trouble to undertake the journey, which involved many dangers. Again he affirmed all that he had said, on peril of his life.

Accordingly, our canoes being laden with some provisions, our arms, and a few articles of merchandise for making presents to the savages, I set out on Monday the 27th of May from Isle St. Helene with four Frenchmen and one savage, a parting salute being given me with some rounds from small pieces. This day we went only to the Falls of St. Louis, a league up the river, the bad weather not allowing us to go any farther.

On the 29th we pa.s.sed the Falls, [38] partly by land, partly by water, it being necessary for us to carry our canoes, clothes, victuals, and arms on our shoulders, no small matter for persons not accustomed to it. After going two leagues beyond the Falls, we entered a lake, [39] about twelve leagues in circuit, into which three rivers empty; one coming from the west, from the direction of the Ochateguins, distant from one hundred and fifty to two hundred leagues from the great Falls; [40] another from the south and the country of the Iroquois, a like distance off; [41] and the other from the north and the country of the Algonquins and Nebicerini, also about the same distance. [42] This river on the north, according to the report of the savages, comes from a source more remote, and pa.s.ses by tribes unknown to them and about three hundred leagues distant.

This lake is filled with fine large islands, containing only pasturage land, where there is fine hunting, deer and fowl being plenty. Fish are abundant. The country bordering the lake is covered with extensive forests. We proceeded to pa.s.s the night at the entrance to this lake, making barricades against the Iroquois, who roam in these regions in order to surprise their enemies; and I am sure that if they were to find us they would give us as good a welcome as them, for which reason we kept a good watch all night. On the next day I took the alt.i.tude of the place, and found it in lat.i.tude 45 18'. About three o'clock in the afternoon we entered the river which comes from the north, and, pa.s.sing a small fall [43] by land so as to favor our canoes, we proceeded to a little island, where we spent the remainder of the night.

On the last day of May we pa.s.sed another lake, [44] seven or eight leagues long and three broad, containing several islands. The neighboring country is very level, except in some places, where there are pine-covered hills.

We pa.s.sed a fall called by the inhabitants of the country Quenechouan,[45]

which is filled with stones and rocks, and where the water runs with great velocity. We had to get into the water and drag our canoes along the sh.o.r.e with a rope. Half a league from there we pa.s.sed another little fall by rowing, which makes one sweat. Great skill is required in pa.s.sing these falls, in order to avoid the eddies and surf, in which they abound; but the savages do this with the greatest possible dexterity, winding about and going by the easiest places, which they recognize at a glance.

On Sat.u.r.day, the 1st of June, we pa.s.sed two other falls; the first half a league long, the second a league, in which we had much difficulty; for the rapidity of the current is so great that it makes a frightful noise, and produces, as it descends from stage to stage, so white a foam everywhere that the water cannot be seen at all. This fall is strewn with rocks, and contains some islands here and there covered with pines and white cedars.

This was the place where we had a hard time; for, not being able to carry our canoes by land on account of the density of the wood, we had to drag them in the water with ropes, and in drawing mine I came near losing my life, as it crossed into one of the eddies, and if I had not had the good fortune to fall between two rocks the canoe would have dragged me in, inasmuch as I was unable to undo quickly enough the rope which was wound around my hand, and which hurt me severely and came near cutting it off. In this danger I cried to G.o.d and began to pull my canoe, which was returned to me by the refluent water, such as occurs in these falls. Having thus escaped I thanked G.o.d, begging Him to preserve us. Later our savage came to help me, but I was out of danger. It is not strange that I was desirous of preserving my canoe, for if it had been lost it would have been necessary to remain, or wait until some savages came that way, a poor hope for those who have nothing to dine on, and who are not accustomed to such hardship. As for our Frenchmen, they did not have any better luck, and several times came near losing their lives; but the Divine Goodness preserved us all. During the remainder of the day we rested, having done enough.

The next day we fell in with fifteen canoes of savages called _Quenongebin_, [46] in a river, after we had pa.s.sed a small lake, four leagues long and two broad. They had been informed of my coming by those who had pa.s.sed the Falls of St. Louis, on their way from the war with the Iroquois. I was very glad to meet them, as were they also to meet me, but they were astonished to see me in this country with so few companions, and with only one savage. Accordingly, after saluting each other after the manner of the country, I desired them not to go any farther until I had informed them of my plan. To this they a.s.sented, and we encamped on an island.

The next day I explained to them that I was on my way to their country to visit them, and fulfil the promise I had previously made them, and that if they had determined to go to the war it would be very agreeable to me, inasmuch as I had brought some companions with this view, at which they were greatly pleased; and having told them that I wished to go farther in order to notify the other tribes, they wanted to deter me, saying that the way was bad, and that we had seen nothing up to this point. Wherefore I asked them to give me one of their number to take charge of our second canoe, and also to serve us as guide, since our conductors were not acquainted any farther. This they did willingly, and in return I made them a present and gave them one of our Frenchmen, the least indispensable, whom I sent back to the Falls with a leaf of my note-book, on which for want of paper I made a report of myself.

Thus we parted, and continuing our course up the river we found another one, very fair and broad, which comes from a nation called _Ouescharini_, [47] who live north of it, a distance of four days' journey from the mouth. This river is very pleasant in consequence of the fine islands it contains, and the fair and open woods with which its sh.o.r.es are bordered. The land is very good for tillage.

On the fourth day we pa.s.sed near another river coming from the north, where tribes called _Algonquins_ live. This river falls into the great river St. Lawrence, three leagues below the Falls of St. Louis, forming a large island of nearly forty leagues. [48] This river is not broad, but filled with a countless number of falls, very hard to pa.s.s. Sometimes these tribes go by way of this river in order to avoid encounters with their enemies, knowing that they will not try to find them in places so difficult of access.

Where this river has its debouchure is another coming from the south, [49]

at the mouth of which is a marvellous fall. For it descends a height of twenty or twenty-five fathoms [50] with such impetuosity that it makes an arch nearly four hundred paces broad. The savages take pleasure in pa.s.sing under it, not wetting themselves, except from the spray that is thrown off.

There is an island in the middle of the river which, like all the country round about, is covered with pines and white cedars. When the savages desire to enter the river they ascend the mountain, carrying their canoes, and go half a league by land. The neighboring country is filled with all sorts of game, so that the savages often make a stop here. The Iroquois also go there sometimes and surprise them while making the pa.s.sage.

We pa.s.sed a fall [51] a league from there, which is half a league broad, and has a descent of six or seven fathoms. There are many little islands, which are, however, nothing more than rough and dangerous rocks covered with a poor sort of brushwood. The water falls in one place with such force upon a rock that it has hollowed out in course of time a large and deep basin, in which the water has a circular motion and forms large eddies in the middle, so that the savages call it _Asticou_, which signifies boiler.

This cataract produces such a noise in this basin that it is heard for more than two leagues. The savages when pa.s.sing here observe a ceremony which we shall speak of in its place. We had much trouble in ascending by rowing against a strong current, in order to reach the foot of the fall. Here the savages took their canoes, my Frenchmen and myself, our arms, provisions, and other necessaries, and we pa.s.sed over the rough rocks for the distance of about a quarter of a league, the extent of the fall. Then we embarked, being obliged afterwards to land a second time and go about three hundred paces through copse-wood, after which we got into the water in order to get our canoes over the sharp rocks, the trouble attending which may be imagined. I took the alt.i.tude of this place, which I found to be in lat.i.tude 45 38'. [52]

In the afternoon we entered a lake, [53] five leagues long and two wide, in which there are very fine islands covered with vines, nut-trees, and other excellent kinds of trees. Ten or twelve leagues above we pa.s.sed some islands covered with pines. The land is sandy, and there is found here a root which dyes a crimson color, with which the savages paint their faces, as also little gewgaws after their manner. There is also a mountain range along this river, and the surrounding country seems to be very unpromising. The rest of the day we pa.s.sed on a very pleasant island.

The next day we proceeded on our course to a great fall, nearly three leagues broad, in which the water falls a height of ten or twelve fathoms in a slope, making a marvellous noise. [54] It is filled with a vast number of islands, covered with pines and cedars. In order to pa.s.s it we were obliged to give up our maize or Indian corn, and some few other provisions we had, together with our least necessary clothes, retaining only our arms and lines, to afford us means of support from hunting and fishing as place and luck might permit. Thus lightened we pa.s.sed, sometimes rowing, sometimes carrying our canoes and arms by land, the fall, which is a league and a half long, [55] and in which our savages, who are indefatigable in this work and accustomed to endure such hardships, aided us greatly.

Continuing our course, we pa.s.sed two other falls, one by land, the other with oar and poles standing up. Then we entered a lake, [56] six or seven leagues long, into which flows a river coming from the south, [57] on which at a distance of five days' journey from the other river [58] live a people called _Matou-ouescarini_ [59] The lands about the before-mentioned lake are sandy and covered with pines, which have been almost entirely burned down by the savages. There are some islands, in one of which we rested ourselves. Here we saw a number of fine red cypresses,[60] the first I had seen in this country, out of which I made a cross, which I planted at one end of the island, on an elevated and conspicuous spot, with the arms of France, as I had done in other places where we had stopped. I called this island _Sainte Croix_.

On the 6th we set out from this island of St. Croix, where the river is a league and a half broad, and having made eight or ten leagues we pa.s.sed a small fall by oar, and a number of islands of various sizes. Here our savages left the sacks containing their provisions and their less necessary articles, in order to be lighter for going overland and avoiding several falls which it was necessary to pa.s.s. There was a great dispute between our savages and our impostor, who affirmed that there was no danger by way of the falls, and that we ought to go that way. Our savages said to him, You are tired of living, and to me, that I ought not to believe him, and that he did not tell the truth. Accordingly, having several times observed that he had no knowledge of the places, I followed the advice of the savages, which was fortunate for me, for he fought for dangers in order to ruin me or to disgust me with the undertaking, as he has since confessed, a statement of which will be given hereafter. We crossed accordingly towards the west the river, which extended northward. I took the alt.i.tude of this place and found it in lat.i.tude 46 40'.[61] We had much difficulty in going this distance overland. I, for my part, was loaded only with three arquebuses, as many oars, my cloak, and some small articles. I cheered on our men, who were somewhat more heavily loaded, but more troubled by the mosquitoes than by their loads. Thus after pa.s.sing four small ponds and having gone a distance of two and a half leagues, we were so wearied that it was impossible to go farther, not having eaten for twenty-four hours anything but a little broiled fish without seasoning, for we had left our provisions behind, as I mentioned before. Accordingly we rested on the border of a pond, which was very pleasant, and made a fire to drive away the mosquitoes, which annoyed us greatly, whose persistency is so marvellous that one cannot describe it. Here we cast our lines to catch some fish.

The next day we pa.s.sed this pond, which was perhaps a league long. Then we went by land three leagues through a country worse than we had yet seen, since the winds had blown down the pines on top of each other. This was no slight inconvenience, as it was necessary to go now over, now under, these trees. In this way we reached a lake, six leagues long and two wide, [62]

very abundant in fish, the neighboring people doing their fishing there.

Near this lake is a settlement of savages, who till the soil and gather harvests of maize. Their chief is named _Nibachis_, who came to visit us with his followers, astonished that we could have pa.s.sed the falls and bad roads in order to reach them. After offering us tobacco, according to their custom, he began to address his companions, saying, that we must have fallen from the clouds, for he knew not how we could have made the journey, and that they who lived in the country had much trouble in traversing these bad ways: and he gave them to understand that I accomplished all that I set my mind upon; in short, that he believed respecting me all that the other savages had told him. Aware that we were hungry, he gave us some fish, which we ate, and after our meal I explained to him, through Thomas, our interpreter, the pleasure I had in meeting them, that I had come to this country to a.s.sist them in their wars, and that I desired to go still farther to see some other chiefs for the same object, at which they were glad and promised me a.s.sistance. They showed me their gardens and the fields, where they had maize. Their soil is sandy, for which reason they devote themselves more to hunting than to tillage, unlike the Ochateguins.

[63] When they wish to make a piece of land arable, they burn down the trees, which is very easily done, as they are all pines, and filled with rosin. The trees having been burned, they dig up the ground a little, and plant their maize kernel by kernel, [64] like those in Florida. At the time I was there it was only four fingers high.

ENDNOTES:

33. _Vide_ Vol. II. p. 171, note 297, for an account of Henry Hudson, to whom this statement refers. De Vignau had undoubtedly heard rumors concerning Hudson's expedition to the bay that bears his name in the years 1610-11, out of which he fabricated the fine story of his pretended discovery. Longitude at that time was reckoned from the island of Ferro, one of the Canaries. Proceeding from west to east, the 290 would pa.s.s through Hudson's Bay, as may be seen by consulting any early French map. _Vide_ Bellin's _Carte du Globe Terrestre_, 1764.

34. Nicholas Brulart de Sillery, who was born at Sillery, in France, in 1544, and died in the same place in 1624. He rendered signal service to Henry IV. Among other public acts he negotiated the peace of Vervins between France and Spain in 1598. He was appointed grand chancellor of France in 1607. Henry IV. said of him, Avec mon chanclier qui ne fait pas le latin et mon connetable (Henri de Montmorency), qui ne fait ni lire ni ecrire, je puis venir a bout des affairs les plus difficiles.

35. For some account of Marshal de Brissac, _vide_ Vol. I. p. 17, note 16.

36. _Vide_ Vol. I. p. 112, note 73. President Jeannin was a most suitable person to consult on this subject, as he was deeply interested in the discovery of a northwest pa.s.sage to India. When minister at the Hague he addressed a letter bearing date January 21st, 1609, to Henry IV. of France, containing an account of his indirect negotiations with Henry Hudson, for a voyage to discover a shorter pa.s.sage to India. A copy of this interesting letter, both in French and English, may be found in _Henry Hudson the Navigator_, by G. M. Asher, LL.D., Hakluyt Society, London, 1860, p. 244.

37. The festival of Whitsunday occurred on the 26th May. _Laverdiere in loco_.

38. The Falls of St Louis.

39. Lake St. Louis.

40. Champlain is here speaking of the river St. Lawrence, which flows into Lake St. Louis slightly south of west.

41. Riviere de Loup, now known as the Chateauguay.

42. The River Ottawa or a branch of it flows into Lake St. Louis from the north, although its course is rather from the west. It was often called the River of the Algonquins. It approaches comparatively near to Lake Nip.i.s.sing, the home of the Nip.i.s.sirini. The sources of the Ottawa are northeast of Lake Nip.i.s.sing, a distance of from one to three hundred miles. The distances here given by Champlain are only general estimates gathered from the Indians, and are necessarily inaccurate.

43. Rapide de Brussi, by which the river flows from the Lake of Two Mountains into Lake St Louis.

44. _Lac de Soissons_, now called Lake of Two Mountains _Vide_ Vol. I.

p. 294.

45. This is the first of a series of falls now known as the Long Fall.

46. _Quenongebin_. Laverdiere makes, this the same as the Kinounchepirini of Vimont. It was an Algonquin nation situated south of Allumette Island. _Vide Jesuite Relations_, Quebec ed, 1640, p. 34.

47. _Ouescharini_. These people, called Ouaouechkairini by Vimont, appear to have dwelt on the stream now known as the _Riviere de Pet.i.te Nation_, rising in a system of lakes, among which are Lake Simon, Whitefish Lake, Long Lake, and Lake Des Isles. _Vide Jesuite Relations_, 1640, p. 34. The tribe here mentioned was subsequently called the Little Nation of the Algonquins hence the name of the river. _Laverdiere_.

48. This pa.s.sage is exceedingly obscure. Laverdiere supposes that part of a sentence was left out by the printer. If so it is remarkable that Champlain did not correct it in his edition of 1632. Laverdiere thinks the river here spoken of is the Gatineau, and that the savages following up this stream went by a portage to the St. Maurice, and pa.s.sing down reached the St. Lawrence _thirty_ leagues, and not _three_, below the Falls of Saint Louis. The three rivers thus named inclose or form an island of about the extent described in the text. This explanation is plausible. The pa.s.sage amended would read, "This river _extends near another which_ falls into the great river St. Lawrence thirty leagues below the falls of St. Louis." We know of no other way in which the pa.s.sage can be rationally explained.