My First Care After That Was Of Making Myself Informed Of What Had Passed
Between The English & The French Since My Departure & Their Arrival.
By
what the English told me I judged that it was proper to risque everything
to try to join
My nephew as soon as possible, & the men that I had left
with him; in fine, of endeavouring to reach them by kindness, or to
intercept them by cunning, before they received the shock upon what design
I came, for that was of extreme consequence. Thus without waiting for the
arrival of the ship in which I had come, I resolved to embark myself upon
the same shallop, which was named "The Little Adventure;" which I did not,
nevertheless, on the same day, because the Governor found it proper to
delay the party until the following day, & of giving me other men in the
place of those that I had brought, who sound themselves fatigued. I
embarked myself on the morrow, early in the morning, with Captain Gazer;
but the wind being found contrary, I had myself landed on the coast, with
Captain Gazer & the Englishman who spoke French, & after having sent back
the shallop with the other men, I resolved to go by land as far as the
place where I should find the marks of my nephew, which should make me
recognise the place where he was & his condition. We marched, all three,
until the morrow morning; but being arrived at the place where I had told
my nephew to leave me some marks, which having taken up, I learned that he
& his men had left our old houses & that they had built themselves another
of them upon an island above the rapids of the river Hayes. After that we
continued our route until opposite to the houses which had been abandoned,
where I hoped that we should discover something, or at least that we should
make ourselves seen or heard by firing some reports of the gun & making of
smoke; in which my attempt was not altogether vain, for after having rested
some time in that place we perceived 10 canoes of savages, who descended
the river. I believed at first that it would be probable they had there
some French with them; that my nephew would be able to send to discover who
were the people newly arrived, which obliged me to tell Captain Gazer that
I should go down to the bank of the river to speak to them; that I prayed
him to await me upon the heights without any apprehension, & that in a
little while he would be able to render evidence of my fidelity for the
service of the Company. I was at the same moment met by the savages, & from
the bank of the river I made them the accustomed signal, to the end of
obliging them to come towards me; but having perceived that they did not
put themselves to the trouble of doing it, I spoke to them in their
language, for to make myself known; which done, they approached the bank, &
not recognising me, they demanded of me to see the marks that I had; which
having shown them, they gave evidence, by their cries & postures of
diversion, the pleasure that they had of my arrival.
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