We Weare Informed Of That Nation That Live In The Other River.

These weare men of extraordinary height & biggnesse, that made us believe they had no communication with them.

They live onely uppon Corne & Citrulles, [Footnote: Citrulles, pumpkins.] which are mighty bigg. They have fish in plenty throughout the yeare. They have fruit as big as the heart of an Oriniak, which grows on vast trees which in compasse are three armefull in compasse. When they see litle men they are affraid & cry out, which makes many come help them. Their arrows are not of stones as ours are, but of fish boans & other boans that they worke greatly, as all other things. Their dishes are made of wood. I having seene them, could not but admire the curiosity of their worke. They have great calumetts of great stones, red & greene. They make a store of tobacco. They have a kind of drink that makes them mad for a whole day. This I have not seene, therefore you may believe as you please.

When I came backe I found my brother sick, as I said before. God gave him his health, more by his courage then by any good medicine, ffor our bodyes are not like those of the wildmen. To our purpose; we came backe to our carriage, whilst wee endeavoured to ayde our compagnions in their extremity. The Iroquoits gott a great way before, not well satisfied to have stayed for us, having lost 7 of their men; 2 of them weare not nimble enough, ffor our bulletts & arrows made them stay for good & all. Seaven of our men weare sick, they have ben like to be drowned, & the other two weare wounded by the Iroquoits.

The next day we went on without any delay or encounter. I give you leave if those of mont Royall weare not overjoyed to see us arrived where they affirme us the pitifull conditions that the country was by the cruelty of these cruell barbars, that perpetually killed & slaughtered to the very gate of the ffrench fort. All this hindered not our goeing to the ffrench att the 3 rivers after we refreshed ourselves 3 dayes, but like to pay dearly for our bold attempt. 20 inhabitants came downe with us in a shawlopp. As we doubled the point of the river of the meddows we weare sett uppon by severall of the Iroquoits, but durst not come neare us, because of two small brasse pieces that the shalop carryed. We tyed our boats together & made a fort about us of castors' skins, which kept us from all danger. We went downe the streame in that posture. The ennemy left us, & did well; for our wildmen weare disposed to fight, & our shaloupp could not come neare them because for want of watter. We came to Quebecq, where we are saluted with the thundring of the guns & batteryes of the fort, and of the 3 shipps that weare then att anchor, which had gon back to france without castors if we had not come. We weare well traited for 5 dayes. The Governor made guifts & sent 2 Brigantins to bring us to the 3 rivers, where we arrived the 2nd day of, & the 4th day they went away.

That is the end of our 3 years' voyage & few months. After so much paine & danger God was so mercifull [as] to bring us back saf to our dwelling, where the one was made much off by his wife, the other by his friends & kindred. The ennemy that had discovered us in our goeing downe gott more company, with as many as they could to come to the passages, & there to waite for the retourne of those people, knowinge well that they could not stay there long because the season of the yeare was almost spent; but we made them by our persuasions goe downe to Quebecq, which proved well, ffor the Iroquoits thought they weare gone another way. So came the next day after our arrivall to make a discovery to the 3 rivers, where being perceived, there is care taken to receive them.

The ffrench cannot goe as the wildmen through the woods, but imbarks themselves in small boats & went along the river side, knowing that if the ennemy was repulsed, he would make his retreat to the river side. Some Algonquins weare then att the habitation, who for to shew their vallour disposed themselves to be the first in the poursuit of the enemy. Some of the strongest and nimblest ffrench kept them company, with an other great number of men called Ottanacks, so that we weare soone together by the ears. There weare some 300 men of the enemy that came in the space of a fourteen night together; but when they saw us they made use of their heels. We weare about 500; but the better to play their game, after they runned half a mile in the wood they turned againe, where then the batail began most furiously by shooting att one another.

That uppermost nation, being not used to shooting nor heare such noise, began to shake off their armours, and tooke their bows and arrows, which indeed made [more] execution then all the guns that they had brought. So seeing 50 Algonquins & 15 ffrench keep to it, they resolved to stick to it also, which had not long lasted; ffor seeing that their arrows weare almost spent & they must close together, and that the enemy had an advantage by keeping themselves behind the trees, and we to fall uppon we must be without bucklers, which diminished much our company that was foremost, we gave them in spight us place to retire themselves, which they did with all speed. Having come to the watter side, where their boats weare, saw the ffrench all in a row, who layd in an ambush to receive them, which they had done if God had not ben for us; ffor they, thinking that the enemy was att hand, mistrusted nothing to the contrary.

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