As Soone As The Resolution Was Made, Many Undertakes The Voyage; For Where
That There Is Lucre There Are People Enough To Be Had.
The best and ablest
men for that businesse weare chosen.
They make them goe up the 3 rivers
with the band that came with the Sacques. There take those that weare most
capable for the purpose. Two ffathers weare chosen to conduct that company,
and endeavoured to convert some of those foraigners of the remotest country
to the Christian faith. We no sooner heard their designe, but saw the
effects of the buisnesse, which effected in us much gladnesse for the
pleasure we could doe to one another, & so abler to oppose an ennemy if by
fortune we should meet with any that would doe us hurt or hinder us in our
way.
About the midle of June we began to take leave of our company and venter
our lives for the common good. We find 2 and 30 men, some inhabitants, some
Gailliards that desired but doe well. What fairer bastion then a good
tongue, especially when one sees his owne chimney smoak, or when we can
kiss our owne wives or kisse our neighbour's wife with ease and delight? It
is a strange thing when victualls are wanting, worke whole nights & dayes,
lye downe on the bare ground, & not allwayes that hap, the breech in the
watter, the feare in the buttocks, to have the belly empty, the wearinesse
in the bones, and drowsinesse of the body by the bad weather that you are
to suffer, having nothing to keepe you from such calamity.
Att last we take our journey to see the issue of a prosperous adventure in
such a dangerous enterprise. We resolved not to be the first that should
complaine. The ffrench weare together in order, the wildmen also, saving my
brother & I that weare accustomed to such like voyages, have foreseene what
happened afterwards. Before our setting forth we made some guifts, & by
that means we weare sure of their good will, so that he & I went into the
boats of the wild men. We weare nine and twenty french in number and 6
wildmen. We embarked our traine in the night, because our number should not
be knowne to some spyes that might bee in some ambush to know our
departure; ffor the Iroquoits are allwayes abroad. We weare 2 nights to
gett to mont royall, where 8 Octanac stayed for us & 2 ffrench. If not for
that company, we had passed the river of the meddowes, which makes an isle
of Mont royall and joines itselfe to the lake of St Louis, 3 leagues
further then the hight of that name.
We stayed no longer there then as the french gott themselves ready. We
tooke leave without noise of Gun. We cannot avoid the ambush of that eagle,
which is like the owle that sees better in the night then in the day. We
weare not sooner come to the first river, but our wildmen sees 5 sorts of
people of divers countrys laden with marchandise and gunns, which served
them for a shew then for defence if by chance they should be sett on.
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