"A minister that was a Jesuit." This
was the Jesuit father, Joseph Noncet.
See Introduction, page 3.] gave me
great offer, also a Marchand, to whom I shall ever have infinit
obligations, although they weare satisfied when I came to france att
Rochel. I stayed 3 dayes inclosed in the fort & hidden. Many came there to
search me, & doubt not but my parents weare of the party. If my father had
ben there he would venture hard, & no doubt but was troubled att it, & so
was my mother, & my parents who loved me as if I weare their owne naturall
son. My poore sisters cryed out & lamented through the town of the
flemings, as I was tould they called me by my name, ffor they came there
the 3rd day after my flight. Many flemings wondered, & could not perceive
how those could love me so well; but the pleasure caused it, as it agrees
well with the Roman proverbe, "doe as they doe." I was imbarked by the
governor's order; after taking leave, and thanks for all his favours, I was
conducted to Menada, a towne faire enough for a new country, where after
some 3 weekes I embarked in one of their shipps for holland, where we
arrived after many boisterous winds and ill weather, and, after some six
weeks' sayle and some days, we landed att Amsterdam the 4th of January,
1664 [1654]. Some days after I imbarked myselfe for france and came to
Rochelle well & safe, not without blowing my fingers many times as well as
I [had] done before [when] I arrived in holland. I stayed till spring,
expecting the transporte of a shippe for new france.
The Second Voyage made in the Upper Country of the Iroquoits.
The 15th day of may I embarked in a fisherboat to go for peerce Island,
which is 6 score leagues off Quebecq, being there arrived the 7th of may. I
search diligently the means possible for to end my voyage & render meselfe
neere my naturall parents & country people. Att last I found an occasion to
goe by some shallops & small boats of the wildernesse, which went up as
farre as the ffrench habitation, there to joyne with the Algonquins &
Mountaignaies to warre against the Iroquoits from all times, as their
histories mentions. Their memory is their Chronicle, for it [passes] from
father to son, & assuredly very excellent for as much as I know & many
others has remarked. I embarked into one of their shallops & had the wind
favorable for us N. E. In 5 dayes came to Quebecq, the first dwelling place
of the ffrench. I mean not to tell you the great joy I perceivd in me to
see those persons that I never thought to see more, & they in like maner
with me thought I was dead long since. In my absence peace was made
betweene the french & the Iroquoits, which was the reason I stayed not long
in a place. The yeare before, the French began a new plantation [Footnote:
"Began a new plantation," at Onondaga.] in the upper Country of the
Iroquoits, which is distant from the Low Iroquois Country som fourscore
leagues, where I was prisoner, & been in the warrs of that country. I tooke
great notice of it, as I mentioned in my formest voyage, which made me have
mind to goe thither againe, by the reason peace was concluded among them.
Friends, I must confesse I loved those poore people entirely well;
moreover, nothing was to be feared by reason of the great distance which
causes a difference in their speech, yett they understand one another. At
that very time the Reverend fathers Jesuits embarked themselves for a
second time to dwell there and teach Christian doctrin. I offered myselfe
to them, and was, as their custome is, kindly accepted. I prepare meselfe
for the journey, which was to be in June. You must know that the Hurrons
weare contained in the article of peace, but not the Algonquins, which
caused more difficulty; for those Iroquoits who imbarqued us durst not come
downe the 3 rivers where the french should embarque, because it is the
dwelling place of the Algonquin. To remedy this the ffrench and the
barbarrs that weare to march, must come to Mont Royall, the last french
inhabitation, in shalopps.
It will not be amisse to leave the following of the voyage for to repeat
the reasons why those poor hurrons ventured themselves into their hands,
who have bin ennemy one to another all their life time, and that naturally.
You must know that the Hurrons, so called by the ffrench, have a bush of a
hair rised up artificially uppon the heads like to a cock's comb. Those
people, I say, weare 20 or 30,000 by report of many not 20 years ago. Their
dwelling is neere the uper lake, so called by name of the ffrench. That
people tell us of their pedegree from the beginning, that their habitation
above the Lake, many years agoe, and as they increased, many, great many,
began to search out another country. For to tend towards the South they
durst not, for the multitude of people that was there, and besides some of
their owne nations had against them. Then [they] resolved to goe to the
north parts, for westward there was much watter, which was without end.
Moreover many inhabitants, monstruous for the greatnesse of body. We will
speake about this in another place more att large, where will give an exact
account of what came to our knowledge dureing our travells, and the land we
have discovered since. If eastward, they had found the Iroquoits who
possessed some parts of the river of Canada, and their dwelling was where
Quebecq is situated, and about that place, & att the upper end of
Montmerency 2 leagues from Quebecq, where was a great village where now is
seene a desolat country, that is, for woods and forests, nor more nor lesse
then what small bushes nigh the river's side in the place called the Cape
de Magdelaine.
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