CHAPTER XVI.
RETURN FROM THE FOREGOING DISCOVERIES, AND WHAT TRANSPIRED DURING THE WINTER.
Upon our arrival, Lescarbot, who had remained at the settlement, assisted by the others who had stayed there, welcomed us with a humorous entertainment. [240]
Having landed and had time to take breath, each one began to make little gardens, I among the rest attending to mine, in order in the spring to sow several kinds of seeds which had been brought from France, and which grew very well in all the gardens.
Sieur de Poutrincourt, moreover, had a water-mill built nearly a league and a half from our settlement, near the point where grain had been planted. This mill [241] was built at a fall, on a little river which is not navigable on account of the large number of rocks in it, and which falls into a small lake. In this place, there is such an abundance of herring in their season that shallops could be loaded with them, if one were to take the trouble to bring the requisite apparatus. The savages also of this region come here sometimes to fish. A quantity of charcoal was made by us for our forge. During the winter, in order not to remain idle, I undertook the building of a road along the wood to a little, river or brook, which we named La Truitière, [242] there being many trout there. I asked Sieur de Poutrincourt for two or three men, which he gave me to assist in making this passage-way. I got along so well that in a little while I had the road through. It extends through to trout-brook, and measures nearly two thousand paces. It served us as a walk under the shelter of the trees, which I had left on both sides. This led Sieur de Poutrincourt to determine to make another through the woods, in order that we might go straight to the mouth of Port Royal, it being a distance of nearly three leagues and a half by land from our settlement. He had this commenced and continued for about half a league from La Truitière; but he did not finish it, as the undertaking was too laborious, and he was occupied by other things at the time more necessary. Some time after our arrival, we saw a shallop containing savages, who told us that a savage, who was one of our friends, had been killed by those belonging to the place whence they came, which was Norumbegue, in revenge for the killing of the men of Norumbegue and Quinibequy by Iouaniscou, also a savage, and his followers, as I have before related; and that some Etechemins had informed the savage Secondon, who was with us at that time.
The commander of the shallop was the savage named Ouagimou, who was on terms of friendship with Bessabez, chief of the river Norumbegue, of whom he asked the body of Panounias, [243] who had been killed. The latter granted it to him, begging him to tell his friends that he was very sorry for his death, and assuring him that it was without his knowledge that he had been killed, and that, inasmuch as it was not his fault, he begged him to tell them that he desired they might continue to live as friends. This Ouagimou promised to do upon his return. He said to us that he was very uneasy until he got away from them, whatever friendship they might show him, since they were liable to change; and he feared that they would treat him in the same manner as they had the one who had been killed. Accordingly, he did not tarry long after being dismissed. He took the body in his shallop from Norumbegue to our settlement, a distance of fifty leagues.
As soon as the body was brought on shore, his relatives and friends began to shout by his side, having painted their entire face with black, which is their mode of mourning. After lamenting much, they took a quantity of tobacco and two or three dogs and other things belonging to the deceased, and burned them some thousand paces from our settlement on the sea-shore. Their cries continued until they returned to their cabin.
The next day they took the body of the deceased and wrapped it in a red covering, which Mabretou, chief of this place, urgently implored me to give him, since it was handsome and large. He gave it to the relatives of the deceased, who thanked me very much for it. After thus; wrapping up the body, they decorated it with several kinds of matachiats; that is, strings of beads and bracelets of diverse colors. They painted the face, and put on the head many feathers and other things, the finest they had. Then they placed the body on its knees between two sticks, with another under the arms to sustain it. Around the body were the mother, wife, and others of the relatives and friends of the deceased, both women and girls, howling like dogs.
While the women and girls were shrieking, the savage named Mabretou made an address to his companions on the death of the deceased, urging all to take vengeance for the wickedness and treachery committed by the subjects of Bessabez, and to make war upon them as speedily as possible. All agreed to do so in the spring.
After the harangue was finished and the cries had ceased, they carried the body of the deceased to another cabin. After smoking tobacco together, they wrapped it in an elk-skin likewise; and, binding it very securely, they kept it until there should be a larger number of savages present, from each one of whom the brother of the deceased expected to receive presents, it being their custom to give them to those who have lost fathers, mothers, wives, brothers, or sisters.
On the night of the 26th of December, there was a southeast wind, which blew down several trees. On the last day of December, it began to snow, which continued until the morning of the next day. On the both of January following, 1607, Sieur de Poutrincourt, desiring to ascend the river Équille, [244] found it at a distance of some two leagues from our settlement sealed with ice, which caused him to return, not being able to advance any farther. On the 8th of February, some pieces of ice began to flow down from the upper part of the river into the harbor, which only freezes along the shore. On the both of May following, it snowed all night; and, towards the end of the month, there were heavy hoar-frosts, which lasted until the 10th or 12th of June, when all the trees were covered with leaves, except the oaks, which do not leaf out until about the 15th. The winter was not so severe as on the preceding years, nor did the snow continue so long on the ground. It rained very often, so that the savages suffered a severe famine, owing to the small quantity of snow. Sieur de Poutrincourt supported a part of them who were with us; namely, Mabretou, his wife and children, and some others.
We spent this winter very pleasantly, and fared generously by means of the ORDRE DE BON TEMPS, which I introduced. This all found useful for their health, and more advantageous than all the medicines that could have been used. By the rules of the order, a chain was put, with some little ceremonies, on the neck of one of our company, commissioning him for the day to go a-hunting. The next day it was conferred upon another, and thus in succession. All exerted themselves to the utmost to see who would do the best and bring home the finest game. We found this a very good arrangement, as did also the savages who were with us. [245]
There were some cases of mal de la terre among us, which was, however, not so violent as in the previous years. Nevertheless, seven died from it, and another from an arrow wound, which he had received from the savages at Port Fortuné. [246]
Our surgeon, named Master Estienne, opened some of the bodies, as we did the previous years, and found almost all the interior parts affected. Eight or ten of the sick got well by spring.
At the beginning of March and of April, all began to prepare gardens, so as to plant seeds in May, which is the proper time for it. They grew as well as in France, but were somewhat later. I think France is at least a month and a half more forward. As I have stated, the time to plant is in May, although one can sometimes do so in April; yet the seeds planted then do not come forward any faster than those planted in May, when the cold can no longer damage the plants except those which are very tender, since there are many which cannot endure the hoar-frosts, unless great care and attention be exercised.
On the 24th of May, we perceived a small barque [247] of six or seven tons' burthen, which we sent men to reconnoitre; and it was found to be a young man from St. Malo, named Chevalier, who brought letters from Sieur de Monts to Sieur de Poutrincourt, by which he directed him to bring back his company to France. [248] He also announced to us the birth of Monseigneur, the Duke of Orleans, to our delight, in honor of which event we made bonfires and chanted the Te Deum. [249]
Between the beginning and the 20th of June, some thirty or forty savages assembled in this place in order to make war upon the Almouchiquois, and revenge the death of Panounias, who was interred by the savages according to their custom, who gave afterwards a quantity of peltry to a brother of his.[250] The presents being made, all of them set out from this place on the 29th of June for Choüacoet, which is the country of the Almouchiquois, to engage in the war.
Some days after the arrival of the above Chevalier, Sieur de Poutrincourt sent him to the rivers St. John [251] and St. Croix [252] to trade for furs. But he did not permit him to go without men to bring back the barque, since some had reported that he desired to return to France with the vessel in which he had come, and leave us in our settlement. Lescarbot was one of those who accompanied him, who up to this time had not left Port Royal. This is the farthest he went, only fourteen or fifteen leagues beyond Port Royal.
While awaiting the return of Chevalier, Sieur de Poutrincourt went to the head of Baye Françoise in a shallop with seven or eight men. Leaving the harbor and heading northeast a quarter east for some twenty-five leagues along the coast, we arrived at a cape where Sieur de Poutrincourt desired to ascend a cliff more than thirty fathoms high, in doing which he came near losing his life. For, having reached the top of the rock which is very narrow, and which he had ascended with much difficulty, the summit trembled beneath him. The reason was that, in course of time, moss had gathered there four or five feet in thickness, and, not being solid, trembled when one was on top of it, and very often when one stepped on a stone three or four others fell down. Accordingly, having gone up with difficulty, he experienced still greater in coming down, although some sailors, men very dexterous in climbing, carried him a hawser, a rope of medium size, by means of which he descended, This place was named Cap de Poutrincourt, [253] and is in latitude 45° 40'.
We went as far as the head of this bay, but saw nothing but certain white stones suitable for making lime, yet they are found only in small quantities. We saw also on some islands a great number of gulls. We captured as many of them as we wished. We made the tour of the bay, in order to go to the Port aux Mines where I had previously been, [254] and whither I conducted Sieur de Poutrincourt, who collected some little pieces of copper with great difficulty. All this bay has a circuit of perhaps twenty leagues, with a little river at its head, which is very sluggish and contains but little water. There are many other little brooks, and some places where there are good harbors at high tide, which rises here five fathoms. In one of these harbors three or four leagues north of Cap de Poutrincourt, we found a very old cross all covered with moss and almost all rotten, a plain indication that before this there had been Christians there. All of this country is covered with dense forests, and with some exceptions is not very attractive. [255]
From the Port aux Mines [256] we returned to our settlement. In this bay there are strong tidal currents running in a south-westerly direction.
On the 12th of July, Ralleau, secretary of Sieur de Monts, arrived with three others in a shallop from a place called Niganis, [257] distant from Port Royal some hundred and sixty or hundred and seventy leagues, confirming the report which Chevalier had brought to Sieur de Poutrincourt.
On the 3d of July, [258] three barques were fitted out to send the men and supplies, which were at our settlement, to Canseau, distant one hundred and fifteen leagues from our settlement, and in latitude 45° 20', where the vessel [259] was engaged in fishing, which was to carry us back to France.
Sieur de Poutrincourt sent back all his companions, but remained with eight others at the settlement, so as to carry to France some grain not yet quite ripe. [260]
On the 10th of August, Mabretou arrived from the war, who told us that he had been at Choüacoet, and had killed twenty savages and wounded ten or twelve; also that Onemechin, chief of that place, Marchin, and one other, had been killed by Sasinou, chief of the river of Quinibequy, who was afterwards killed by the companions of Onemechin and Marchin. All this war was simply on account of the savage Panounias, one of our friends who, as I have said above, had been killed at Norumbegue by the followers of Onemechin and Marchin. At present, the chiefs in place of Onemechin, Marchin, and Sasinou are their sons: namely, for Sasinou, Pememen; Abriou for his father, Marchin; and for Onemechin, Queconsicq. The two latter were wounded by the followers of Mabretou, who seized them under pretence of friendship, as is their fashion, something which both sides have to guard against. [261]