Those Hurrons
Lived In A Vast Country That They Found Unhabited, & They In A Great Number
Builded Villages & They Multiplied Very Many.
The Iroquoits also gott a
great country, as much by sweetnesse as by force.
They became warriors
uppon their owne dispences and cost. They multiplied so much, but they
became better souldiers, as it's seene by the following of this discourse.
The hurrons then inhabited most advantageously in that place, for as much
as for the abundance of dears and staggs, from whence they have the name
since of Staggy. It's certaine that they have had severall other callings,
according as they have builded villages. Fishing they have in abundance in
his season of every kind; I may say, more then wee have in Europe. In some
places in this lake where is an innumerable quantity of fish, that in 2
houres they load their boat with as many as they can carry.
At last [they] became so eminent strong that they weare of a minde to fight
against the neighbouring nation. Hearing that their sworne ennemys the
Iroquoits retired towards the nation called Andasstoueronom, which is
beyond the lake d'Ontario, between Virginia & that lake, they resolved to
goe & search them for to warre against them; but they shall find it to
their ruine, which I can affirme & assure, because the Iroquoits in the
most part of their speeches, which comes from father to son, says, we bears
(for it's their name) whilst we scraped the earth with our pawes, for to
make the wheat grow for to maintaine our wives, not thinking that the deare
shall leape over the lake to kill the Beare that slept; but they found that
the beare could scratch the stagge, for his head and leggs are small to
oppose. Such speeches have they commonly together, in such that they have
had warrs many years.
The Holanders being com'd to inhabit Menada, furnished that nation with
weopens, by which means they became conquerors. The ffrench planters in
Newfrance came up to live among this nation. In effect they doe live now
many years; but the ambition of the fathers Jesuits not willing to permitt
ffrench families to goe there, for to conserve the best to their profitt,
houlding this pretext that yong men should frequent the wild women, so that
the Christian religion by evil example could not be established. But the
time came that they have forsook it themselves. For a while after the
Iroquoits came there, the number of seaven hundred, on the snow in the
beginning of Spring, where they make a cruell slaughter as the precedent
years, where some ghostly fathers or brothers or their servants weare
consumed, taken or burnt, as their relation maks mention.
This selfesame yeare they tooke prisoners of 11 or 12,000 of those poore
people in a village att [in] sight of the Jesuits' Fort, which had the name
Saint, but [from] that houre it might have the name of feare. Heere follows
sicknesse, and famine also was gott among these people, flying from all
parts to escape the sword. They found a more rude and cruell enemy; for
some after being taken gott their lives, but the hunger and their treachery
made them kill one another, be it for booty or whatsoever other. None
escaped, saving some hundred came to Quebecq to recover their first
liberty, but contrary they found their end. So the ffathers left walls,
wildernesse, and all open wide to the ennemy and came to Quebecq with the
rest of the poore fugitives. They were placed in the wildernesse neere the
habitation of Quebecq; but being not a convenient place, they weare putt to
the Isle of Orleans, 3 leagues below Quebecq, in a fort that they made with
the succour of the ffrench, where they lived some years planting & sowing
Indian corne for their nourishment, and greased robes of Castors, of which
grease the profit came to the ffathers, the summe of 10,000 livres tournois
yearly.
In this place they weare catched when they least thought of it, not without
subject of conivance. God knoweth there weare escaped that time about 150
women and some 20 men. The rest are all killed, taken and brought away, of
which for the most part weare sett at liberty in the country of their
ennemy, where they found a great number of their kindred and relations who
lived with all sorte of liberty, and went along with the Iroquois to warre
as if they weare natives, in them was no trust to be given, ffor they weare
more cruell then the Iroquois even to their proper country, in soe much
that the rest resolved to surrender themselves then undergoe the hazard to
be taken by force. The peace was made by the instancy of the ffather
Jesuits. As before, some weare going there to live, as they have already
begun. They seeing our departure & transporting of our goods to Mount
Royall for to runne yea the hazard, they also must come. To lett you know
[if] our fortune or theirs be better or worse, it should be a hard thing
for me to declare; you may judge yourselfe.
Lett us come to our purpose and follow our voyage. Being arrived att the
last french habitation, where we must stay above 15 dayes, ffor to pass
that place without guide was a thing impossible, but after the time
expired, our guides arrived. It was a band of Iroquois that was appointed
to fetch us, and conduct us into their country. One day att 10 of the clock
in the morning, when we least thought of any, saw severall boats coming
from the point of St Louis, directly att the foot of a hill so called some
3 miles from mont Royall. Then rejoycing all to see coming those that they
never thought to have seene againe, ffor they promissed to come att the
beginning of Spring and should arrive 15 dayes before us, but seeing them,
every one speakes but of his imbarcation.
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