We Made Guifts One To
Another, And Thwarted A Land Of Allmost 50 Leagues Before The Snow Was
Melted.
In the morning it was a pleasur to walke, for we could goe without
racketts.
The snow was hard enough, because it freezed every night. When
the sun began to shine we payed for the time past. The snow sticks so to
our racketts that I believe our shoes weighed 30 pounds, which was a paine,
having a burden uppon our backs besides.
We arrived, some 150 of us, men & women, to a river side, where we stayed 3
weeks making boats. Here we wanted not fish. During that time we made
feasts att a high rate. So we refreshed ourselves from our labours. In that
time we tooke notice that the budds of trees began to spring, which made us
to make more hast & be gone. We went up that river 8 dayes till we came to
a nation called Pontonatenick & Matonenock; that is, the scrattchers. There
we gott some Indian meale & corne from those 2 nations, which lasted us
till we came to the first landing Isle. There we weare well received
againe. We made guifts to the Elders to encourage the yong people to bring
us downe to the ffrench. But mightily mistaken; ffor they would reply,
"Should you bring us to be killed? The Iroquoits are every where about the
river & undoubtedly will destroy us if we goe downe, & afterwards our wives
& those that stayed behinde. Be wise, brethren, & offer not to goe downe
this yeare to the ffrench.
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