Voyages of Samuel De Champlain — Volume 01

by Samuel de Champlain

CHAPTER III.

THE REJOICINGS OF THE INDIANS AFTER OBTAINING A VICTORY OVER THEIR ENEMIES—THEIR DISPOSITION, ENDURANCE OF HUNGER, AND MALICIOUSNESS.—THEIR BELIEFS AND FALSE OPINIONS, COMMUNICATION WITH EVIL SPIRITS—THEIR GARMENTS, AND HOW THEY WALK ON THE SNOW—THEIR MANNER OF MARRIAGE, AND THE INTERMENT OF THEIR DEAD.

On the 9th of June the savages proceeded to have a rejoicing all together, and to celebrate their tabagie, which I have before described, and to dance, in honor of their victory over their enemies. Now, after they had feasted well, the Algonquins, one of the three nations, left their cabins and went by themselves to a public place. Here they arranged all their wives and daughters by the side of each other, and took position themselves behind them, all singing in the manner I have described before. Suddenly all the wives and daughters proceeded to throw off their robes of skins, presenting themselves stark naked, and exposing their sexual parts. But they were adorned with matachiats, that is beads and braided strings, made of porcupine quills, which they dye in various colors. After finishing their songs, they all said together, Ho, ho, ho: at the same instant all the wives and daughters covered themselves with their robes, which were at their feet. Then, after stopping a short time, all suddenly beginning to sing throw off their robes as before. They do not stir from their position while dancing, and make various gestures and movements of the body, lifting one foot and then the other, at the same time striking upon the ground. Now, during the performance of this dance, the Sagamore of the Algonquins, named Besouat, was seated before these wives and daughters, between two sticks, on which were hung the heads of their enemies. Sometimes he arose and went haranguing, and saying to the Montagnais and Etechemins: "Look! how we rejoice in the victory that we have obtained over our enemies; you must do the same, so that we may be satisfied." Then all said together, Ho, ho, ho. After returning to his position, the grand Sagamore together with all his companions removed their robes, making themselves stark naked except their sexual parts, which are covered with a small piece of skin. Each one took what seemed good to him, as matachiats, hatchets, swords, kettles, fat, elk flesh, seal, in a word each one had a present, which they proceeded to give to the Algonquins. After all these ceremonies, the dance ceased, and the Algonquins, men and women, carried their presents into their cabins. Then two of the most agile men of each nation were taken, whom they caused to run, and he who was the fastest in the race, received a present.

All these people have a very cheerful disposition, laughing often; yet at the same time they are somewhat phlegmatic. They talk very deliberately, as if desiring to make themselves well understood, and stopping suddenly, they reflect for a long time, when they resume their discourse. This is their usual manner at their harangues in council, where only the leading men, the elders, are present, the women and children not attending at all.

All these people suffer so much sometimes from hunger, on account of the severe cold and snow, when the animals and fowl on which they live go away to warmer countries, that they are almost constrained to eat one another. I am of opinion that if one were to teach them how to live, and instruct them in the cultivation of the soil and in other respects, they would learn very easily, for I can testify that many of them have good judgment and respond very appropriately to whatever question may be put to them. [141] They have the vices of taking revenge and of lying badly, and are people in whom it is not well to put much confidence, except with caution and with force at hand. They promise well, but keep their word badly.

Most of them have no law, so far as I have been able to observe or learn from the great Sagamore, who told me that they really believed there was a God, who created all things. Whereupon I said to him: that, "Since they believed in one sole God, how had he placed them in the world, and whence was their origin." He replied: that, "After God had made all things, he took a large number of arrows, and put them in the ground; whence sprang men and women, who had been multiplying in the world up to the present time, and that this was their origin." I answered that what he said was false, but that there really was one only God, who had created all things upon earth and in the heavens. Seeing all these things so perfect, but that there was no one to govern here on earth, he took clay from the ground, out of which he created Adam our first father. While Adam was sleeping, God took a rib from his side, from which he formed Eve, whom he gave to him as a companion, and, I told him, that it was true that they and ourselves had our origin in this manner, and not from arrows, as they suppose. He said nothing, except that he acknowledged what I said, rather than what he had asserted. I asked him also if he did not believe that there was more than one only God. He told me their belief was that there was a God, a Son, a Mother, and the Sun, making four; that God, however, was above all, that the Son and the Sun were good, since they received good things from them; but the Mother, he said, was worthless, and ate them up; and the Father not very good. I remonstrated with him on his error, and contrasted it with our faith, in which he put some little confidence. I asked him if they had never seen God, nor heard from their ancestors that God had come into the world. He said that they had never seen him; but that formerly there were five men who went towards the setting sun, who met God, who asked them: "Where are you going?" they answered: "We are going in search of our living." God replied to them: "You will find it here." They went on, without paying attention to what God had said to them, when he took a stone and touched two of them with it, whereupon they were changed to stones; and he said again to the three others: "Where are you going?" They answered as before, and God said to them again: "Go no farther, you will find it here." And seeing that nothing came to them, they went on; when God took two sticks, with which he touched the two first, whereupon they were transformed into sticks, when the fifth one stopped, not wishing to go farther. And God asked him again: "Where are you going?" "I am going in search of my living." "Stay and thou shalt find it." He staid without advancing farther, and God gave him some meat, which he ate. After making good cheer, he returned to the other savages, and related to them all the above.

He told me also that another time there was a man who had a large quantity of tobacco (a plant from which they obtain what they smoke), and that God came to this man, and asked him where his pipe was. The man took his pipe, and gave it to God, who smoked much. After smoking to his satisfaction, God broke the pipe into many pieces, and the man asked: "Why hast thou broken my pipe? thou seest in truth that I have not another." Then God took one that he had, and gave it to him, saying: "Here is one that I will give you, take it to your great Sagamore; let him keep it, and if he keep it well, he will not want for any thing whatever, neither he nor all his companions." The man took the pipe, and gave it to his great Sagamore; and while he kept it, the savages were in want of nothing whatever: but he said that afterwards the grand Sagamore lost this pipe, which was the cause of the severe famines they sometimes have. I asked him if he believed all that; he said yes, and that it was the truth. Now I think that this is the reason why they say that God is not very good. But I replied, "that God was in all respects good, and that it was doubtless the Devil who had manifested himself to those men, and that if they would believe as we did in God they would not want for what they had need of; that the sun which they saw, the moon and the stars, had been created by this great God, who made heaven and earth, but that they have no power except that which God has given them; that we believe in this great God, who by His goodness had sent us His dear Son who, being conceived of the Holy Spirit, was clothed with human flesh in the womb of the Virgin Mary, lived thirty years on earth, doing an infinitude of miracles, raising the dead, healing the sick, driving out devils, giving sight to the blind, teaching men the will of God his Father, that they might serve, honor and worship Him, shed his blood, suffered and died for us, and our sins, and ransomed the human race, that, being buried, he rose again, descended into hell, and ascended into heaven, where he is seated on the right hand of God his Father." [142] I told him that this was the faith of all Christians who believe in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that these, nevertheless, are not three Gods, but one the same and only God, and a trinity in which there is no before nor after, no greater nor smaller; that the Virgin Mary, mother of the Son of God, and all the men and women who have lived in this world doing the commandments of God, and enduring martyrdom for his name, and who by the permission of God have done miracles, and are saints in heaven in his paradise, are all of them praying this Great Divine Majesty to pardon us our errors and sins which we commit against His law and commandments. And thus, by the prayers of the saints in heaven and by our own prayers to his Divine Majesty, He gives what we have need of, and the devil has no power over us and can do us no harm. I told them that if they had this belief, they would be like us, and that the devil could no longer do them any harm, and that they would not lack what they had need of.

Then this Sagamore replied to me that he acknowledged what I said. I asked him what ceremonies they were accustomed to in praying to their God. He told me that they were not accustomed to any ceremonies, but that each prayed in his heart as he desired. This is why I believe that they have no law, not knowing what it is to worship and pray to God, and living, the most of them, like brute beasts. But I think that they would speedily become good Christians, if people were to colonize their country, of which most of them were desirous.

There are some savages among them whom they call Pilotoua, [143] who have personal communications with the devil. Such an one tells them what they are to do, not only in regard to war, but other things; and if he should command them to execute any undertaking, as to kill a Frenchman or one of their own nation, they would obey his command at once.

They believe, also, that all dreams which they have are real; and many of them, indeed, say that they have seen in dreams things which come to pass or will come to pass. But, to tell the truth in the matter, these are visions of the devil, who deceives and misleads them. This is all that I have been able to learn from them in regard to their matters of belief, which is of a low, animal nature.

All these people are well proportioned in body, without any deformity, and are also agile. The women are well-shaped, full and plump, and of a swarthy complexion, on account of the large amount of a certain pigment with which they rub themselves, and which gives them an olive color. They are clothed in skins, one part of their body being covered and the other left uncovered. In winter they provide for their whole body, for they are dressed in good furs, as those of the elk, otter, beaver, seal, stag, and hind, which they have in large quantities. In winter, when the snows are heavy, they make a sort of raquette [144] two or three times as large as those in France. These they attach to their feet, and thus walk upon the snow without sinking in; for without them, they could not hunt or make their way in many places.

Their manner of marriage is as follows: When a girl attains the age of fourteen or fifteen years, she may have several suitors and friends, and keep company with such as she pleases. At the end of some five or six years she may choose that one to whom her fancy inclines as her husband, and they will live together until the end of their life, unless, after living together a certain period, they fail to have children, when the husband is at liberty to divorce himself and take another wife, on the ground that his own is of no worth. Accordingly, the girls are more free than the wives; yet as soon as they are married they are chaste, and their husbands are for the most part jealous, and give presents to the father or relatives of the girl whom they marry. This is the manner of marriage, and conduct in the same.

In regard to their interments, when a man or woman dies, they make a trench, in which they put all their property, as kettles, furs, axes, bows and arrows, robes, and other things. Then they put the body in the trench, and cover it with earth, laying on top many large pieces of wood, and erecting over all a piece of wood painted red on the upper part. They believe in the immortality of the soul, and say that when they die themselves, they shall go to rejoice with their relatives and friends in other lands.

ENDNOTES:

141. Vide Vol. II of this work, p 190.

142. This summary of the Christian faith is nearly in the words of the Apostles Creed.

143. On Pilotoua or Pilotois, vide Vol. II. note 341.

144. Une manière de raquette. The snow-shoe, which much resembles the racket or battledore, an instrument used for striking the ball in the game of tennis. This name was given for the want of one more specific.