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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