The one beats his belly, the other shakes his
head, others stopp their mouthes to keepe in what they have eaten.
They
weare in such an admiration, making strange kinds of faces, that turned
their eyes up and downe. We bid them cheare up, & tould them it was an
usuall custome with the ffrench to make much of themselves & of their
friends. "They affect you, and yee must shew such like to them by shewing
your respects to them that they so splendidly trait you. Cheere up like
brave men. If your sleepe overcomes you, you must awake; come, sound [the]
drumme, it is not now to beat the Gien; [Footnote: "To beat the gien,"
probably meaning the guitar, as Charlevoix mentions that at the feast to
the Indians one of the French young men played upon that instrument for
their amusement.] come, make a noise. Trumpett blow and make thy cheeks
swell, to make the belly swell alsoe."
In the end nothing [is] spared that can be invented to the greater
confusion. There is a strife between the french who will make the greatest
noise. But there is an end to all things; the houre is come, ffor all is
embarked. The wildman can hold out no longer; they must sleepe. They cry
out, Skenon, enough, we can beare no more. "Lett them cry Skenon; we
will cry hunnay, we are a going," sayes we. They are told that the
ffrench are weary & will sleepe alsoe awhile. They say, "Be it so." We come
away; all is quiet. Nobody makes a noise after Such a hurly-burly. The fort
is shutt up as if we had ben in it. We leave a hogg att the doore for
sentery, with a rope tyed to his foot. He wanted no meat for the time. Here
we make a proposition, being three and fifty ffrench in number, to make a
slaughter without any difficulty, they being but 100 beasts not able to
budge, & as many women. That done, we could goe to their village att the
breake of the day, where we weare sure there weare not 20 men left, nor
yong nor old. It was no great matter to deale with 5 or 600 women, & may be
1000 children; besides, the huntsmen should not be ready this 2 moneths to
come home. Having done so, we might have a great hole in the skirts of that
untoward & pervers nation, that it was in way of revenge, because of their
disloyalty, breaking the peace & watching an opportunity to doe the like to
us, that we should by that means have a better opportunity to escape;
shewing by this whosoever intends to betray, betrays himselfe. The
ffathers' answer was to this, that they weare sent to instruct the people
in the faith of Jesus Christ and not to destroy; that the crosse must be
their sword; moreover that they are told that we weare able to keepe the
place, having victualls for the space of 4 yeares, with other provisions.
[Footnote:
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