The Christinos Had Skill In That Game Above The Rest.

The snow proved favourable that yeare, which caused much plenty of every thing.

Most of the woods & forests are very thick, so that it was in some places as darke as in a cellar, by reason of the boughs of trees. The snow that falls, being very light, hath not the strenght to stopp the eland, [Footnote: Elend, plainly the Moose. "They appear to derive their Dutch appellation (eelanden) from elende, misery, they die of the smallest wound." Documentary History of New York, by O'Callaghan, Vol. IV. p. 77.] which is a mighty strong beast, much like a mule, having a tayle cutt off 2 or 3 or 4 thumbes long, the foot cloven like a stagge. He has a muzzle mighty bigge. I have seene some that have the nostrills so bigg that I putt into it my 2 fists att once with ease. Those that uses to be where the buffes be are not so bigg, but about the bignesse of a coach horse. The wildmen call them the litle sort. As for the Buff, it is a furious animal. One must have a care of him, for every yeare he kills some Nadoneseronons. He comes for the most part in the plaines & meddows; he feeds like an ox, and the Oriniack so but seldom he galopps. I have seene of their hornes that a man could not lift them from of the ground. They are branchy & flatt in the midle, of which the wildman makes dishes that can well hold 3 quarts. These hornes fall off every yeare, & it's a thing impossible that they will grow againe. The horns of Buffs are as those of an ox, but not so long, but bigger, & of a blackish collour; he hath a very long hairy taile; he is reddish, his haire frized & very fine. All the parts of his body much [like] unto an ox. The biggest are bigger then any ox whatsoever. Those are to be found about the lake of the Stinkings & towards the North of the same. They come not to the upper lake but by chance. It's a pleasur to find the place of their abode, for they tourne round about compassing 2 or 3 acres of land, beating the snow with their feete, & coming to the center they lye downe & rise againe to eate the bows of trees that they can reach. They go not out of their circle that they have made untill hunger compells them.

We did what we could to have correspondence with that warlick nation & reconcile them with the Christinos. We went not there that winter. Many weare slained of both sides the summer last. The wound was yett fresh, wherfore it was hard to conclude peace between them. We could doe nothing, ffor we intended to turne back to the ffrench the summer following. Two years weare expired. We hoped to be att the 2 years end with those that gave us over for dead, having before to come back at a year's end. As we are once in those remote countreys we cannot doe as we would. Att last we declared our mind first to those of the Sault, encouraging those of the North that we are their brethren, & that we would come back & force their enemy to peace or that we would help against them. 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. Lett us keepe our lives." We made many private suits, but all in vaine. That vexed us most that we had given away most of our merchandises & swapped a great deale for Castors. Moreover they made no great harvest, being but newly there. Beside, they weare no great huntsmen. Our journey was broaken till the next yeare, & must per force.

That summer I went a hunting, & my brother stayed where he was welcome & putt up a great deale of Indian corne that was given him. He intended to furnish the wildmen that weare to goe downe to the ffrench if they had not enough. The wild men did not perceive this; ffor if they wanted any, we could hardly kept it for our use. The winter passes away in good correspondence one with another, & sent ambassadors to the nations that uses to goe downe to the french, which rejoyced them the more & made us passe that yeare with a greater pleasur, saving that my brother sell into the falling sicknesse, & many weare sorry for it.

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