Voyages of Samuel De Champlain — Volume 01

by Samuel de Champlain

CHAPTER VIII.

ARRIVAL AT THE FALL.—DESCRIPTION OF THE SAME AND ITS REMARKABLE CHARACTER.—REPORTS OF THE SAVAGES IN REGARD TO THE END OF THE GREAT RIVER.

Setting out from the River of the Iroquois, we came to anchor three leagues from there, on the northern shore. All this country is low, and filled with the various kinds of trees which I have before mentioned.

On the first day of July we coasted along the northern shore, where the woods are very open; more so than in any place we had before seen. The soil is also everywhere favorable for cultivation.

I went in a canoe to the southern shore, where I saw a large number of islands, [178] which abound in fruits, such as grapes, walnuts, hazel-nuts, a kind of fruit resembling chestnuts, and cherries; also in oaks, aspens, poplar, hops, ash, maple, beech, cypress, with but few pines and firs. There were, moreover, other fine-looking trees, with which I am not acquainted. There are also a great many strawberries, raspberries, and currants, red, green, and blue, together with numerous small fruits which grow in thick grass. There are also many wild beasts, such as orignacs, stags, hinds, does, bucks, bears, porcupines, hares, foxes, bearers, otters, musk-rats, and some other kinds of animals with which I am not acquainted, which are good to eat, and on which the savages subsist. [179]

We passed an island having a very pleasant appearance, some four leagues long and about half a league wide. [180] I saw on the southern shore two high mountains, which appeared to be some twenty leagues in the interior. [181] The savages told me that this was the first fall of the River of the Iroquois.

On Wednesday following, we set out from this place, and made some five or six leagues. We saw numerous islands; the land on them was low, and they were covered with trees like those of the River of the Iroquois. On the following day we advanced some few leagues, and passed by a great number of islands, beautiful on account of the many meadows, which are likewise to be seen on the mainland as well as on the islands. [182] The trees here are all very small in comparison with those we had already passed.

We arrived finally, on the same day, having a fair wind, at the entrance to the fall. We came to an island almost in the middle of this entrance, which is a quarter of a league long. [183] We passed to the south of it, where there were from three to five feet of water only, with a fathom or two in some places, after which we found suddenly only three or four feet. There are many rocks and little islands without any wood at all, and on a level with the water. From the lower extremity of the above-mentioned island in the middle of the entrance, the water begins to come with great force. Although we had a very favorable wind, yet we could not, in spite of all our efforts, advance much. Still, we passed this island at the entrance of the fall. Finding that we could not proceed, we came to anchor on the northern shore, opposite a little island, which abounds in most of the fruits before mentioned. [184] We at once got our skiff ready, which had been expressly made for passing this fall, and Sieur Du Pont Gravé and myself embarked in it, together with some savages whom we had brought to show us the way. After leaving our barque, we had not gone three hundred feet before we had to get out, when some sailors got into the water and dragged our skiff over. The canoe of the savages went over easily. We encountered a great number of little rocks on a level with the water, which we frequently struck.

There are here two large islands; one on the northern side, some fifteen leagues long and almost as broad, begins in the River of Canada, some twelve leagues towards the River of the Iroquois, and terminates beyond the fall. [185] The island on the south shore is some four leagues long and half a league wide. [186] There is, besides, another island near that on the north, which is perhaps half a league long and a quarter wide. [187] There is still another small island between that on the north and the other farther south, where we passed the entrance to the fall. [188] This being passed, there is a kind of lake, in which are all these islands, and which is some five leagues long and almost as wide, and which contains a large number of little islands or rocks. Near the fall there is a mountain, [189] visible at a considerable distance, also a small river coming from this mountain and falling into the lake. [190] On the south, some three or four mountains are seen, which seem to be fifteen or sixteen leagues off in the interior. There are also two rivers; the one [191] reaching to the first lake of the River of the Iroquois, along which the Algonquins sometimes go to make war upon them, the other near the fall and extending some feet inland. [192]

On approaching this fall [193] with our little skiff and the canoe, I saw, to my astonishment, a torrent of water descending with an impetuosity such as I have never before witnessed, although it is not very high, there being in some places only a fathom or two, and at most but three. It descends as if by steps, and at each descent there is a remarkable boiling, owing to the force and swiftness with which the water traverses the fall, which is about a league in length. There are many rocks on all sides, while near the middle there are some very narrow and long islands. There are rapids not only by the side of those islands on the south shore, but also by those on the north, and they are so dangerous that it is beyond the power of man to pass through with a boat, however small. We went by land through the woods a distance of a league, for the purpose of seeing the end of the falls, where there are no more rocks or rapids; but the water here is so swift that it could not be more so, and this current continues three or four leagues; so that it is impossible to imagine one's being able to go by boats through these falls. But any one desiring to pass them, should provide himself with the canoe of the savages, which a man can easily carry. For to make a portage by boat could not be done in a sufficiently brief time to enable one to return to France, if he desired to winter there. Besides this first fall, there are ten others, for the most part hard to pass; so that it would be a matter of great difficulty and labor to see and do by boat what one might propose to himself, except at great cost, and the risk of working in vain. But in the canoes of the savages one can go without restraint, and quickly, everywhere, in the small as well as large rivers. So that, by using canoes as the savages do, it would be possible to see all there is, good and bad, in a year or two.

The territory on the side of the fall where we went overland consists, so far as we saw it, of very open woods, where one can go with his armor without much difficulty. The air is milder and the soil better than in any place I have before seen. There are extensive woods and numerous fruits, as in all the places before mentioned. It is in latitude 45 deg. and some minutes.

Finding that we could not advance farther, we returned to our barque, where we asked our savages in regard to the continuation of the river, which I directed them to indicate with their hands; so, also, in what direction its source was. They told us that, after passing the first fall, [194] which we had seen, they go up the river some ten or fifteen leagues with their canoes, [195] extending to the region of the Algonquins, some sixty leagues distant from the great river, and that they then pass five falls, extending, perhaps, eight leagues from the first to the last, there being two where they are obliged to carry their canoes. [196] The extent of each fall may be an eighth of a league, or a quarter at most. After this, they enter a lake, [197] perhaps some fifteen or sixteen leagues long. Beyond this they enter a river a league broad, and in which they go several leagues. [198] Then they enter another lake some four or five leagues long. [199] After reaching the end of this, they pass five other falls, [200] the distance from the first to the last being about twenty-five or thirty leagues. Three of these they pass by carrying their canoes, and the other two by dragging them in the water, the current not being so strong nor bad as in the case of the others. Of all these falls, none is so difficult to pass as the one we saw. Then they come to a lake some eighty leagues long, [201] with a great many islands; the water at its extremity being fresh and the winter mild. At the end of this lake they pass a fall, [202] somewhat high and with but little water flowing over. Here they carry their canoes overland about a quarter of a league, in order to pass the fall, afterwards entering another lake [203] some sixty leagues long, and containing very good water. Having reached the end, they come to a strait [204] two leagues broad and extending a considerable distance into the interior. They said they had never gone any farther, nor seen the end of a lake [205] some fifteen or sixteen leagues distant from where they had been, and that those relating this to them had not seen any one who had seen it; that since it was so large, they would not venture out upon it, for fear of being surprised by a tempest or gale. They say that in summer the sun sets north of this lake, and in winter about the middle; that the water there is very bad, like that of this sea. [206]

I asked them whether from this last lake, which they had seen, the water descended continuously in the river extending to Gaspé. They said no; that it was from the third lake only that the water came to Gaspé, but that beyond the last fall, which is of considerable extent, as I have said, the water was almost still, and that this lake might take its course by other rivers extending inland either to the north or south, of which there are a large number there, and of which they do not see the end. Now, in my judgment, if so many rivers flow into this lake, it must of necessity be that, having so small a discharge at this fall, it should flow off into some very large river. But what leads me to believe that there is no river through which this lake flows, as would be expected, in view of the large number of rivers that flow into it, is the fact that the savages have not seen any river taking its course into the interior, except at the place where they have been. This leads me to believe that it is the south sea which is salt, as they say. But one is not to attach credit to this opinion without more complete evidence than the little adduced.

This is all that I have actually seen respecting this matter, or heard from the savages in response to our interrogatories.

ENDNOTES:

178. Isle Plat, and at least ten other islets along the share before reaching the Verchères.—Vide Laurie's Chart.

179. The reader will observe that the catalogue of fruits, trees, and animals mentioned above, include, only such as are important in commerce. They are, we think, without an exception, of American species, and, consequently, the names given by Champlain are not accurately descriptive. We notice them in order, and in italics give the name assigned by Champlain in the text.

Grapes. Vignes, probably the frost grape. Vitis cordifolia.—Pickering's Chronological History of Plants p. 875.

Walnuts. Noir, this name is given in France to what is known in commerce as the English or European walnut, Juglans rigia, a Persian fruit now cultivated in most countries in Europe. For want of a better, Champlain used this name to signify probably the butternut, Juglans cinerea, and five varieties of the hickory; the shag-bark. Carya alba, the mocker-nut, Carya tontentofa, the small-fruited Carya microcarpa, the pig-nut, Carya glatra, bitter-nut. Carya amara, all of which are exclusively American fruits, and are still found in the valley of the St Lawrence.—MS. Letter of J. M. Le Maine, of Quebec; Jeffrie's Natural History of French Dominions in America, London. 1760, p.41.

Hazel-nuts, noysettes. The American filbert or hazel-nut, Corylus
Americana. The flavor is fine, but the fruit is smaller and the shell
thicker than that of the European filbert.

"Kind of fruit resembling chestnuts." This was probably the chestnut,
Caftanea Americana. The fruit much resembles the European, but is
smaller and sweeter.

Cherries, cerises. Three kinds may here be included, the wild red cherry, Prunus Pennsylvanica, the choke cherry. Prunus Virginiana, and the wild black cherry, Prunus serotina.

Oaks, chesnes. Probably the more noticeable varieties, as the white oak, Quercus alba, and red oak, Quercus rubra.

Aspens, trembles. The American aspen, Populus tremuloides.

Poplar, pible. For piboule, as suggested by Laverdière. a variety
of poplar.

Hops, houblon. Humulus lupulus, found in northern climates,
differing from the hop of commerce, which was imported from Europe.

Ash. fresne. The white ash, Fraxinus Americana, and black ash,
Fraxinus sambucifolia.

Maple, érable. The tree here observed was probably the rock or sugar maple, Acer faccharinum. Several other species belong to this region.

Beech, hestre. The American beech, Fagus ferruginea, of which there is but one species.—Vide, Vol. II. p. 113, note 205.

Cypress, cyprez.—Vide antea note 35.

Strawberry, fraises. The wild strawberry, Fragaria vesca, and Fragaria Virginiana, both species, are found in this region.—Vide Pickering's Chronological History of Plants, p. 873.

Raspberries framboises. The American raspberry, Rubis strigosus.

Currants, red, green, and blue, groizelles rouges, vertes and bleues. The first mentioned is undoubtedly the red currant of our gardens. Ribes rubrum. The second may have been the unripe fruit of the former. The third doubtless the black currant, Ribes nigrum, which grows throughout Canada.—Vide Chronological History of Plants, Pickering. p. 871; also Vol. II. note 138.

Orignas, so written in the original text. This is, I think, the earliest mention of this animal under this Algonquin name. It was written, by the French, sometimes orignac, orignat, and orignal.—Vide Jesuit Relations, 1635, p. 16; 1636, p. 11, et passim; Sagard, Hist. du Canada, 1636, p. 749; Description de l'Amerique, par Denys. 1672, p. 27. Orignac was used interchangeably with élan, the name of the elk of northern Europe, regarded by some as the same spccies.—Vide Mammals, by Spenser F. Baird. But the orignac of Champlain was the moose. Alce Americanus, peculiar to the northern latitudes of America. Moose is derived from the Indian word moosoa. This animal is the largest of the Cervus family. The males are said to attain the weight of eleven or twelve hundred pounds. Its horns sometimes weigh fifty or sixty pounds. It is exceedingly shy and difficult to capture.

Stags, cerfs. This is undoubtedly a reference to the caribou, Cervus tarandus. Sagard (1636) calls it Caribou ou asne Sauuages, caribou or wilde ass.—Hist. du Canada, p. 750. La Hontan, 1686, says harts and caribous are killed both in summer and winter after the same manner with the elks (mooses), excepting that the caribous, which are a kind of wild asses, make an easy escape when the snow is hard by virtue of their broad feet (Voyages, p. 59). There are two varieties, the Cervus tarandus arcticus and the Cervus tarandus sylvestris. The latter is that here referred to and the larger and finer animal, and is still found in the forests of Canada.

Hinds, biches, the female of cerfs, and does, dains, the female of daim, the fallow deer. These may refer to the females of the two preceding species, or to additional species as the common red deer, Cervus Virginianus, and some other species or variety. La Hontan in the passage cited above speaks of three, the elk which we have shown to be the moose, the well-known caribou, and the hart, which was undoubtedly the common red deer of this region, Cervus Virginianus. I learn from Mr. J. M. LeMoine of Quebec, that the Wapiti, Elaphus Canadensis was found in the valley of the St. Lawrence a hundred and forty years ago, several horns and bones having been dug up in the forest, especially in the Ottawa district. It is now extinct here, but is still found in the neighborhood of Lake Winnipeg and further west. Cartier, in 1535, speaks of dains and cerfs, doubtless referring to different species.—Vide Brief Récit, D'Avezac ed. p. 31 verso.

Bears. ours. The American black bear, Ursus Americanus. The grisly
bear. Ursus ferox, was found on the Island of Anticosti.—Vide
Hist. du Canada, par Sagard, 1636, pp. 148, 750. La Hontan's
Voyages. 1687, p. 66.

Porcupines. porcs-espics. The Canada porcupine, Hystrix pilosus. A nocturnal rodent quadruped, armed with barbed quills, his chief defence when attacked by other animals.

Hares, lapins. The American hare, Lepus Americanus.

Foxes, reynards. Of the fox. Canis vulpes, there are several species in Canada. The most common is of a carroty red color, Vulpes fulvus. The American cross fox. Canis decussatus, and the black or silver fox. Canis argentatus, are varieties that may have been found there at that period, but are now rarely if ever seen.

Beavers, castors. The American beaver, Castor Americanus. The fur
of the beaver was of all others the most important in the commerce of
New France.

Otters, loutres. This has reference only to the river otter, Lutra
Canadensis. The sea otter, Lutra marina, is only found in America
on the north-west Pacific coast.

Muskrat, rats musquets. The musk-rat, Fiber zibethecus, sometimes called musquash from the Algonquin word, m8sk8éss8, is found in three varieties, the black, and rarely the pied and white. For a description of this animal vide Le Jeune, Jesuit Relations, 1635, pp. 18, 19.

180. The Verchères.

181. Summits of the Green Mountains.

182. From the Verchères to Montreal, the St. Lawrence is full of islands, among them St. Thérèse and nameless others.

183. This was the Island of St Hélène, a favorite name given to several other places. He subsequently called it St Hélène, probably from Hélène Boullé, his wife. Between it and the mainland on the north flows the Rapide de Ste. Marie.—Vide Lauru's Chart.

184. This landing was on the present site of the city of Montreal, and the
little island, according to Laverdière, is now joined to the mainland
by quays.

185. The island of Montreal, here referred to, not including the isle
Jésus, is about thirty miles long and nine miles in its greatest
width.

186. The Isle Perrot is about seven or eight miles long and about three miles wide.

187. Island of St Paul, sometimes called Nuns' Island.

188. Round Island, situated just below St. Hélène's, on the east, say about fifty yards distant.

189. The mountain in the rear of the city of Montreal, 700 feet in height, discovered in October, 1535. by Jacques Cartier, to which he gave the name after which the city is called. "Nous nomasmes la dicte montaigne le mont Royal."—Brief Récit, 1545, D'Avezac's ed. p. 23. When Cartier made his visit to this place in 1535, he found on or near the site of the present city of Montreal the famous Indian town called Hochelaga. Champlain does not speak of it in the text, and it had of course entirely disappeared.—Vide Cartier's description in Brief Récit, above cited.

190. Rivière St Pierre. This little river is formed by two small streams flowing one from the north and the other from the south side of the mountain. Bellin and Charlevoix denominate it La Petite Rivière. These small streams do not appear on modern maps, and have probably now entirely disappeared.—Vide Charlevoix's Carte de l'Isle de Montreal; Atlas Maritime, par Sieur Bellin; likewise Atlas of the Dominion of Canada, 1875.

191. The River St. Lambert, according to Laverdière, a small stream from which by a short portage the Indian with his canoe could easily reach Little River, which flows into the basin of Chambly, the lake referred to by Champlain. This was the route of the Algonquins, at least on their return from their raids upon the Iroquois.—Vide Vol. II. p. 225.

192. Laverdière supposes this insignificant stream to be La Rivière de la Tortue.

193. The Falls of St. Louis, or the Lachine rapids.

194. Lachine Rapids.

195. Passing through Lake St. Louis, they come to the River Ottawa, sometimes called the River of the Algonquins.

196. The Cascades, Cèdres and Rapids du Coteau du Lac with subdivisions. Laverdière. La Hontan mentions four rapids between Lake St. Louis and St Francis, as Cascades, Le Cataracte du Trou, Sauts des Cedres, and du Buisson.

197. Lake St. Francis, about twenty-five miles long.

198. Long Saut.

199. Hardly a lake but rather the river uninterrupted by falls or rapids.

200. The smaller rapids, the Galops, Point Cardinal, and others.—Vide La Hontan's description of his passage up this river, New Voyages to N. America, London, 1735. Vol. I. p. 30.

201. Lake Ontario. It is one hundred and eighty miles long.—Garneau.

202. Niagara Falls. Champlain does not appear to have obtained from the Indians any adequate idea of the grandeur and magnificence of this fall. The expression, qui est quelque peu éleué, où il y a peu d'eau, laquelle descend, would imply that it was of moderate if not of an inferior character. This may have arisen from the want of a suitable medium of communication, but it is more likely that the intensely practical nature of the Indian did not enable him to appreciate or even observe the beauties by which he was surrounded. The immense volume of water and the perpendicular fall of 160 feet render it unsurpassed in grandeur by any other cataract in the world. Although Champlain appears never to have seen this fall, he had evidently obtained a more accurate description of it before 1629.—Vide note No. 90 to map in ed. 1632.

203. Lake Erie, 250 miles long.—Garneau.

204. Detroit river, or the strait which connects Lake Erie and Lake St.
Clair.—Atlas of the Dominion of Canada.

205. Lake Huron, denominated on early maps Mer Douce, the sweet sea of
which the knowledge of the Indian guides was very imperfect.

206. The Indians with whom Champlain came in contact on this hasty visit in 1603 appear to have had some notion of a salt sea, or as they say water that is very bad like the sea, lying in an indefinite region, which neither they nor their friends had ever visited. The salt sea to which they occasionally referred was probably Hudson's Bay, of which some knowledge may have been transmitted from the tribes dwelling near it to others more remote, and thus passing from tribe to tribe till it reached, in rather an indefinite shape, those dwelling on the St. Lawrence.