During The Said Terme We Sent Messengers
Everywhere, To Give Speciall Notice To All Manner Of Persons And Nation
That
Within 5 moons the feast of death was to be celebrated, and that we
should apeare together and explaine what
The devill should command us to
say, and then present them presents of peace and union. Now we must live on
what God sends, and warre against the bears in the meane time, for we could
aime att nothing else, which was the cause that we had no great cheare. I
can say that we with our comrades, who weare about 60, killed in the space
of 2 moons and a halfe, a thousand moons [Footnote: The writer no doubt
meant that they killed so many that they had bear's grease enough to last
for a thousand moons.] we wanted not bear's grease to annoint ourselves, to
runne the better. We beated downe the woods dayly for to discover
novellties. We killed severall other beasts, as Oriniacks, staggs, wild
cows, Carriboucks, fallow does and bucks, Catts of mountains, child of the
Devill; in a word, we lead a good life. The snow increases dayly. There we
make raketts, not to play att ball, but to exercise ourselves in a game
harder and more necessary. They are broad, made like racketts, that they
may goe in the snow and not sinke when they runne after the eland or other
beast.
We are come to the small lake, the place of rendezvous, where we found some
company that weare there before us. We cottage ourselves, staying for the
rest, that came every day. We stayed 14 dayes in this place most miserable,
like to a churchyard; ffor there did fall such a quantity of snow and
frost, and with such a thick mist, that all the snow stoocke to those trees
that are there so ruffe, being deal trees, prusse cedars, and thorns, that
caused the darknesse uppon the earth that it is to be believed that the sun
was eclipsed them 2 months; ffor after the trees weare so laden with snow
that fel'd afterwards, was as if it had been sifted, so by that means very
light and not able to beare us, albeit we made racketts of 6 foot long and
a foot and a halfe broad; so often thinking to tourne ourselves we felld
over and over againe in the snow, and if we weare alone we should have
difficultie enough to rise againe. By the noyse we made, the Beasts heard
us a great way off; so the famine was among great many that had not
provided before hand, and live upon what they gett that day, never thinking
for the next. It grows wors and wors dayly.
To augment our misery we receive news of the Octanaks, who weare about a
hundred and fifty, with their families. They had a quarell with the hurrons
in the Isle where we had come from some years before in the lake of the
stairing hairs, and came purposely to make warres against them the next
summer.
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