Voyages of Peter Esprit Radisson / Being an Account of His Travels and Experiences Among the North American Indians, from 1652 to 1684

by Pierre Esprit Radisson

"After that he passes the river with 2 men of the most hardihood of his troops, who had greased themselves, like himself, from the feet up to the head. Having each only 2 poniards for arms, their design was to go right to the chief of the English, present to him a pipe of tobacco as a mark of union, & then, if he refused it, endeavour to kill him & make for themselves a passage through his people with their poniards as far as the place where they would be able to pass the river to be supported by their men. But after having marched as far as the place where the persons were who they had seen, they recognized that it was some women; to whom having spoken, they returned upon their steps, & said to us that there was nothing to fear, & that it was a false alarm. This general proceeding on their part gave us proofs of their courage & of their amity in a manner that the confidence that we had placed in their help had put us in a condition of fearing nothing on the part of the English nor of those there of the savages of the South; and we were in that state when God, who is the author of all things, & who disposes of them according to his good pleasure, gave me the grace of my uncle's arrival in this country to arrest the course of the disorders, who could come & work for our reconciliation. That work so much desired on both sides is accomplished. It depends not upon me that it may not be permanent. Live henceforth like brothers in good union & without jealousy. As to myself, I am resolved, if the time should arrive, of sacrificing my life for the glory of the King of Great Britain, for the interest of the nation & the advantage of the Hudson's Bay Company, & of obeying in all thirds my uncle."

I found this with regard to repeating the recital that my nephew made us concerning what had passed between him & the English & the savages, their allies, that although he had apprised me of the true state in which the 2 parties were at the time of my arrival, yet I also saw plainly the need that the English had of being succoured, & the necessity that the French had for provisions, of merchandise, and especially of guns, which could not come to them but by my means.

But it is time to resume the care of our affairs, & to continue to render an account of our conduct. Our people worked always with great application to transport the beaver skins a half league across the wood, for it was the road that it was necessary to make from the house as far as the place where the shallops were, & they carried them to the little frigate, which discharged them upon the ships. I was always present at the work, for the purpose of animating all our men, who gave themselves in this work no rest until it was done, & that against the experience of the Captains of our ships, whom some had made believe that the business would drag at length; but having gone to them I assured them that if they were ready to do so they could raise the anchor to-morrow.

There things thus disposed of, it only disturbed me yet more to execute a secret order that the company had given me, leaving it, however, to my prudence and discretion. It was of retaining in its service my nephew and some other Frenchmen, & above all the one who spoke the savage dialect, who was the wounded one, to remain in the country in my absence, which I dared not promise myself. In the meantime I resolved to make the proposition to my nephew, believing that after gaining him I should be able easily to add the others also. I caused to assemble for that end 5 or 6 of the savages of the most consideration in the country with the Governor, & in their presence I said to him, that for the glory of the King & for the advantage of the company it was necessary that he should remain in the country. To which he was averse at first; but the Governor having assured him that he would trust him as his own nephew, & that he would divide the authority that he had with him, & myself on my part having reproached him that he was not loyal to the oath of allegiance that he had sworn to me, these reasons obliged him to determine, & he assured me that he was ready to do all that I wished of him. What contributed much was the discourse that the savages made to him, telling him that I left him amongst them to receive in my absence the marks of amity that they had sworn to me, & that they regarded him as the nephew of the one who had brought peace to the nations & made the union of the English & French in making by the same means the brothers of both.

This last success in my affairs was proof to me of the authority that I had over the French & the savages; for my nephew had no sooner declared that he submitted himself to do what I wished, than all the other Frenchmen offered themselves to risk the ennui of remaining in the country, although my design was only to leave but two of them; & the savages on their part burst out in cries of joy in such a manner that I no more considered after that but to put an end to all things.

All our beaver skins having been embarked, I resolved, after having put everything into tranquil & assured state for my return into England, where my presence was absolutely necessary, to make known to the Company in what manner it was necessary to act to profit advantageously the solid establishment that I came to do & the things which were of indispensible necessity in the country to facilitate the trade with the savages & hindering them from making any of it with foreigners, that is to say, with the French of Canada.

I was then for the last time with my nephew at the house of our Frenchmen, to the end of leaving there some Englishmen. I found there a number of savages arrived to visit me, who called my nephew & myself into one of their cabins, where a venerable old man spoke to me in these terms: "Porcupine's head, thy heart is good & thou hast great courage, having made peace with the English for the love of us. Behold, we have come towards thee, old & young, wives & daughters & little children, to thank thee for it, & to recognise thee for our father. We wish to be the children & adopt for our son thy nephew that thou lovest so much, & in fine to give thee an eternal mark of the obligation that we have to thee. We weep no more henceforth except for the memory of those of whom thou bearest the name." After which, having told one of the young people to speak, he fell like as if in a swoon, & the other spoke after that same manner: "Men & women, young men & children, even those who are at the breast, remember this one here for your father. He is better than the sun who warms you. You will find always in him a protector who will help you in your needs & console you in your afflictions. Men, remember that he gave you guns during the course of the year for you to defend yourselves against your Enemies, & to kill the beasts who nourish you & your families. Wives, consider that he gave you hatchets & knives with which you banish hunger from your country; daughters & children, fear nothing more, since the one who is your father loves you always, & that he gave you from time to time all that is necessary for you to have your subsistance. We all together weep no more, on the contrary give evidence by cries of our mirth that we have beheld the man of courage;" & at the same time they set themselves to cry with all their might, weeping bitterly for the last time, in saying, "We have lost our father; [Footnote: "But here is one that you adopt for your father." Note by Radisson,] we have lost our children." [Footnote: "Here is the nephew of your father, who will be your son; he remains with you & he will have care of his mothers." Note by Radisson,]

After that piteful music they all came to be acknowledged. To be acknowledged by our adoption with some presents, & covering us with robes of white beaver skins, giving us quantities of beavers' tails, Some bladders of stag's marrow, several tongues of the same animal smoked, that which is the most exquisite to eat among them. They also presented us two great copper boilers full of smoked & boiled flesh, of which we ate all together, they, the English, & ourselves, & it is what is called a feast among these nations. After that I said adieu to them, & having given charge in the house what should be embarked in the ship, I went down to the mouth of the River, where Captain Gazer worked to build a fort in the same place where the preceding year Sieur Bridger had made to be constructed his shallop. It was the most advantageous situation that he had been able to find, & I advised that he should make all the diligence possible; but he had some men who by their delicacy were incapable of responding to his vigilence. I made this observation because I hold it for a maxim that one should only employ men robust, skilful, & capable of serving, & that those who are of a complexion feeble, or who flatter themselves of having protection & favour, ought to be dismissed.

Then we passed to the place where the ships were, because my design was to oblige by my presence the captains to return to their ships ready to make sail; but I was no sooner arrived there than a savage came to inform me that my adopted father, whom I had not seen because that he was at the wars, waited for me at the place where Captain Gazer was building the Fort of which I came to speak. That is why I resolved to go there, & I expressed the same hope to the savage whom I sent back to give information to my father that the Governor would come with me to make some friendship to him & protect him in my absence. It was with the consent of the Governor & upon his parole that I had told him that; nevertheless he did not wish to come, & I was for the first time found a liar among the savages, which is of a dangerous consequence, for these nations have in abomination this vice. He came to me, however, in no wise angry in that interview, & I received not even a reproach from him.

When I was at the rendezvous they told me that my adopted father was gone away from it because I had annoyed a savage, for he had been informed that I had arrived to see him. This savage having remembered the obligation to return, although very sad on account of some news that he had learned upon the road, which was that the chief of the nation who inhabited the height above the river Neosaverne, named "the bearded," & one of his sons, who were his relations, had been killed in going to insult those among the savages who were set to the duty of taking care of the Frenchman who had been wounded by a savage gained over by the English, after that he had embraced me, & that he had informed me of the circumstance of that affaire, & the number of people he had as followers, I wrote to the Governor to come to me in the place where we were, to make him know in effect that he must after my departure prevent the continuation of these disorders in virtue of the treaty of peace & of union that I had made in presence of the savages between the French & the English.