On the 16th of October 1690, Quebec was besieged by the English general William Phips, who was obliged to retire a few days after with great loss. The English have tried several times to repair their losses, but the river St. Lawrence has always been a very good defence for this country. An enemy, and one that is not acquainted with this river, cannot go upwards in it, without being ruined; for in the neighbourhood of Quebec, it abounds with hidden rocks, and has strong currents in some places, which oblige the ships to make many windings.
The name of Quebec it is said is derived from a Norman word, on account of its situation on a neck or point of land. For when one comes up in the river by l’Isle d’Orleans, that part of the river St. Lawrence does not come in sight, which lies above the town, and it appears as if the river St. Charles which lies just before, was a continuation of the St. Lawrence. But on advancing further the true course of the river comes within sight, and has at first a great similarity to the mouth of a river or a great bay. This has given occasion to a sailor, who saw it unexpectedly, to cry out in his provincial dialect Que bec[31], that is, what a point of land! and from hence it is [[112]]thought the city obtained its name. Others derive it from the Algonkin word Quebego or Quebec signifying that which grows narrow, because the river becomes narrower as it comes nearer to the town.
The river St. Lawrence, is exactly a quarter of a French mile, or three quarters of an English mile broad at Quebec. The salt water never comes up to the town in it, and therefore the inhabitants can make use of the water in the river for their kitchens, &c. All accounts agree that notwithstanding the breadth of this river, and the violence of its course, especially during ebb, it is covered with ice during the whole winter, which is strong enough for walking, and a carriage may go over it. It is said to happen frequently that, when the river has been open in May, there are such cold nights in this month, that it freezes again, and will bear walking over. This is a clear proof of the intenseness of the frost here, especially when one considers that which I shall mention immediately after, about the ebbing and flowing of the tide in this river. The greatest breadth of the river at its mouth, is computed to be twenty-six French miles or seventy-eight English miles, though the boundary between the sea, and the river cannot well be ascertained as the latter gradually looses itself in, and unites with [[113]]the former. The greatest part of the water contained in the numerous lakes of Canada, four or five of which are like large seas, is forced to disembogue into the sea by means of this river alone. The navigation up this river from the sea is rendered very dangerous by the strength of the current, and by the number of sand-banks, which often arise in places where they never were before. The English have experienced this formation of new sands once or twice, when they intend to conquer Canada. Hence the French have good reasons to look upon the river as a barrier to Canada[32].
The tide goes far beyond Quebec in the river St. Lawrence, as I have mentioned above. The difference between high and low water is generally between fifteen and sixteen feet, French measure; but with the new and full moon, and when the wind is likewise favourable, the difference is seventeen or eighteen feet, which is indeed very considerable. [[114]]
August the 7th. Ginseng is the current French name in Canada, of a plant, the root of which, has a very great value in China[33]. It has been growing since times immemorial in the Chinese Tartary and in Corea, where it is annually collected and brought to China. Father Du Halde says, it is the most precious, and the most useful of all the plants in eastern Tartary, and attracts, every year, a number of people into the deserts of that country. The Mantechoux-Tartars call it Orhota, that is the most noble, or the queen of plants[34]. The Tartars and Chinese praise it very much, and ascribe to it the power of curing several dangerous diseases, and that of restoring to the body new strength, and supplying the loss caused by the exertion of the mental, and corporeal faculties. An ounce of Ginseng bears the surprizing price of seven or eight ounces of silver at Peking. When the French botanists in Canada first saw a figure of it, they remembered to have seen [[115]]a similar plant in this country. They were confirmed in their conjecture by considering that several settlements in Canada, ly under the same latitude with those parts of the Chinese Tartary, and China, where the true Ginseng grows wild. They succeeded in their attempt, and found the same Ginseng wild and abundant in several parts of North-America, both in French and English plantations, in plain parts of the woods. It is fond of shade, and of a deep rich mould, and of land which is neither wet nor high. It is not every where very common, for sometimes one may search the woods for the space of several miles without finding a single plant of it; but in those spots where it grows it is always found in great abundance. It flowers in May and June, and its berries are ripe at the end of August. It bears transplanting very well, and will soon thrive in its new ground. Some people here, who have gathered the berries, and put them into their kitchen gardens, told me that they lay one or two years in the ground without coming up. The Iroquese, or Five (Six) Nations, call the Ginseng roots Garangtoging, which it is said signifies a child, the roots bearing a faint resemblance to it: but others are of opinion that they mean the thigh and leg by it, and [[116]]the roots look pretty like it. The French use this root for curing the asthma, as a stomachic, and to promote fertility in woman. The trade which is carried on with it here is very brisk; for they gather great quantities of it, and send them to France, from whence they are brought to China, and sold there to great advantage[35]. It is said the merchants in France met with amazing success in this trade at the first outset, but by continuing to send the Ginseng over to China, its price is fallen considerably there, and consequently in France and Canada; however, they still find their account in it. In the summer of 1748, a pound of Ginseng was sold for six Francs, or Livres, at Quebec; but its common price here is one hundred Sols, or five Livres. During my stay in Canada, all the merchants at Quebec and Montreal, received orders from their correspondents in France to send over a quantity of Ginseng, there being an uncommon demand for it this summer. The roots were accordingly collected in Canada with all possible diligence; the [[117]]Indians especially travelled about the country in order to collect as much as they could together, and to sell it to the merchants at Montreal. The Indians in the neighbourhood of this town were likewise so much taken up with this business, that the French farmers were not able during that time to hire a single Indian, as they commonly do, to help them in the harvest. Many people feared lest by continuing for several successive years, to collect these plants without leaving one or two in each place to propagate their species, there would soon be very few of them left; which I think is very likely to happen, for by all accounts they formerly grew in abundance round Montreal, but at present there is not a single plant of it to be found, so effectually have they been rooted out. This obliged the Indians this summer to go far within the English boundaries to collect these roots. After the Indians have sold the fresh roots to the merchants, the latter must take a great deal of pains with them. They are spread on the floor to dry, which commonly requires two months and upwards, according as the season is wet or dry. During that time they must be turned once or twice every day, lest they should putrify or moulder. Ginseng has never been found far [[118]]north of Montreal. The superior of the clergy, here and several other people, assured me that the Chinese value the Canada Ginseng as much as the Tartarian[36]; and that no one ever had been entirely acquainted with the Chinese method of preparing it. However it is thought that amongst other preparations they dip the roots in a decoction of the leaves of Ginseng. The roots prepared by the Chinese are almost transparent, and look like horn in the inside; and the roots which are fit for use, must be heavy and compact in the inside.
The plant which throughout Canada bears the name of Herba capillaris is likewise one of those with which a great trade is carried on in Canada. The English in their plantations call it Maiden-hair; it grows in all their North-American colonies, which I travelled through, and likewise in the southern parts of Canada; but I never found it near Quebec. It grows in the woods in shady places and in a good soil[37]. Several people in Albany and Canada, assured me that its leaves were very much used instead [[119]]of tea, in consumptions, coughs, and all kinds of pectoral diseases. This they have learnt from the Indians, who have made use of this plant for these purposes since times immemorial. This American maiden-hair is reckoned preferable in surgery to that which we have in Europe[38]; and therefore they send a great quantity of it to France, every year. The price is different, and regulated according to the goodness of the plant, the care in preparing it, and the quantity which is to be got. For if it be brought to Quebec in great abundance, the price falls; and on the contrary it rises, when the quantity gathered is but small. Commonly the price at Quebec is between five and fifteen sols a pound. The Indians went into the woods about this time, and travelled far above Montreal in quest of this plant.
The Kitchen herbs, succeed very well here. The white cabbage is very fine, but sometimes suffers greatly from worms. Onions (Allium cepa) are very much in use here, together with other species of leeks. They likewise plant several species of gourds, melons, sallads, wild succory or wild endive (Cichorium Intybus), several kinds of pease, beans, French beans, carrots, and cucumbers. They have [[120]]plenty of red beets, horseradishes and common raddishes, thyme, and marjoram. Turneps are sown in abundance, and used chiefly in winter. Parsneps are sometimes eaten, though not very common. Few people took notice of potatoes; and neither the common (Solanum tuberosum) nor the Bermuda ones (Convolvulus Batatas) were planted in Canada. When the French here are asked why they do not plant potatoes, they answer that they cannot find any relish in them, and they laugh at the English who are so fond of them. Throughout all North-America the root cabbage[39] (Brassica gongylodes, Linn.) is unknown to the Swedes, English, Dutch, Irish, Germans, and French. Those who have been employed in sowing and planting kitchen herbs in Canada, and have had some experience in gardening, told me that they were obliged to send for fresh seeds from France every year, because they commonly loose their strength here in the third generation, and do not produce such plants as would equal the original ones in taste and goodness. [[121]]
The Europeans have never been able to find any characters, much less writings, of books, among the Indians, who have inhabited North-America since time immemorial, and seem to be all of one nation, and speak the same language. These Indians have therefore lived in the greatest ignorance and darkness, during some centuries, and are totally unacquainted with the state of their country before the arrival of the Europeans, and all their knowledge of it consists in vague traditions, and mere fables. It is not certain whether any other nations possessed America, before the present Indian inhabitants came into it, or whether any other nations visited this part of the globe, before Columbus discovered it. It is equally unknown, whether the Christian religion was ever preached here in former times. I conversed with several Jesuits, who undertook long journies in this extensive country, and asked them, whether they had met with any marks that there had formerly been some Christians among the Indians which lived here? but they all answered, they had not found any. The Indians have ever been as ignorant of architecture and manual labour, as of science and writing. In vain does one seek for well built towns and houses, artificial [[122]]fortifications, high towers and pillars, and such like, among them, which the old world can shew, from the most antient times. Their dwelling-places are wretched huts of bark, exposed on all sides to wind, and rain. All their masonry-work consists in placing a few grey rock-stones on the ground, round their fire-place, to prevent the firebrands from spreading too far in their hut, or rather to mark out the space intended for the fire-place in it. Travellers do not enjoy a tenth part of the pleasure in traversing these countries, which they must receive on their journies through our old countries, where they, almost every day, meet with some vestige or other of antiquity: now an antient celebrated town presents itself to view; here the remains of an old castle; there a field where, many centuries ago, the most powerful, and the most skilful generals, and the greatest kings, fought a bloody battle; now the native spot and residence of some great or learned man. In such places the mind is delighted in various ways, and represents all past occurrences in living colours to itself. We can enjoy none of these pleasures in America. The history of the country can be traced no further, than from the arrival of the Europeans; for every [[123]]thing that happened before that period, is more like a fiction or a dream, than any thing that really happened. In later times there have, however, been found a few marks of antiquity, from which it may be conjectured, that North-America was formerly inhabited by a nation more versed in science, and more civilized, than that which the Europeans found on their arrival here; or that a great military expedition was undertaken to this continent, from these known parts of the world.
This is confirmed by an account, which I received from Mr. de Verandrier, who has commanded the expedition to the south-sea in person, of which I shall presently give an account. I have heard it repeated by others, who have been eye-witnesses of every thing that happened on that occasion. Some years before I came into Canada, the then governor-general, Chevalier de Beauharnois, gave Mr. de Verandrier an order to go from Canada, with a number of people, on an expedition across North-America to the south-sea, in order to examine, how far those two places are distant from each other, and to find out, what advantages might accrue to Canada, or Louisiana, from a communication with that ocean. They set out on horseback from [[124]]Montreal, and went as much due west as they could, on account of the lakes, rivers, and mountains, which fell in their way. As they came far into the country, beyond many nations, they sometimes met with large tracts of land, free from wood, but covered with a kind of very tall grass, for the space of some days journey. Many of these fields were every where covered with furrows, as if they had been ploughed and sown formerly. It is to be observed, that the nations, which now inhabit North-America, could not cultivate the land in this manner, because they never made use of horses, oxen, ploughs, or any instruments of husbandry, nor had they ever seen a plough before the Europeans came to them. In two or three places, at a considerable distance from each other, our travellers met with impressions of the feet of grown people and children, in a rock; but this seems to have been no more than a Lusus Naturæ. When they came far to the west, where, to the best of their knowledge, no Frenchmen, or European, had ever been, they found in one place in the woods, and again on a large plain, great pillars of stone, leaning upon each other. The pillars consisted of one single stone each, and the Frenchmen could not but [[125]]suppose, that they had been erected by human hands. Sometimes they have found such stones laid upon one another, and, as it were, formed into a wall. In some of those places where they found such stones, they could not find any other sorts of stones. They have not been able to discover any characters, or writing, upon any of these stones, though they have made a very careful search after them. At last they met with a large stone, like a pillar, and in it a smaller stone was fixed, which was covered on both sides with unknown characters. This stone, which was about a foot of French measure in length, and between four or five inches broad, they broke loose, and carried to Canada with them, from whence it was sent to France, to the secretary of state, the count of Maurepas. What became of it afterwards is unknown to them, but they think it is yet preserved in his collection. Several of the Jesuits, who have seen and handled this stone in Canada, unanimously affirm, that the letters on it, are the same with those which in the books, containing accounts of Tataria, are called Tatarian characters[40], and that, on comparing both together, [[126]]they found them perfectly alike. Notwithstanding the questions which the [[127]]French on the south-sea expedition asked the people there, concerning the time when, and by whom those pillars were erected? what their traditions and sentiments concerning them were? who had wrote the characters? what was meant by them? what kind of letters they were? in what language they were written? and other circumstances; yet they could never get the least explication, the Indians being as ignorant of all those things, as the French themselves. All they could say was, that these stones had been in those places, since times immemorial. The places where the pillars flood were near nine hundred French miles westward of Montreal. The chief intention of this journey, viz. to come to the south-sea, and to examine its distance from Canada, was never attained on this occasion. For the people sent out for that purpose, were induced to take part in a war between some of the most distant Indian [[128]]nations, in which some of the French were taken prisoners, and the rest obliged to return. Among the last and most westerly Indians they were with, they heard that the south-sea was but a few days journey off; that they (the Indians) often traded with the Spaniards on that coast, and sometimes likewise they went to Hudson’s Bay, to trade with the English. Some of these Indians had houses, which were made of earth. Many nations had never seen any Frenchmen; they were commonly clad in skins, but many were quite naked.
All those who had made long journies in Canada to the south, but chiefly westward, agreed that there were many great plains destitute of trees, where the land was furrowed, as if it had been ploughed. In what manner this happened, no one knows; for the corn-fields of a great village, or town, of the Indians, are scarce above four or six of our acres in extent; whereas those furrowed plains sometimes continue for several days journey, except now and then a small smooth spot, and here and there some rising grounds.