Chap. 20. How the next day, being the fift of May, the same people came againe to speake vnto their Lord, and how foure women came to the shore to bring him victuals.
Vpon the fift of May, very early in the morning, a great number of the sayd people came againe to speake vnto their Lord, and sent a boate, which in their tongue they call Casnoni, wherein were onely foure women, without any man, for feare their men should be retained.
These women brought great store of victuals, as great Millet, which is their come that they liue withall, flesh, fish, and other things, after their fashion.
These women being come to our shippes, our Captaine did very friendly entertaine them. Then Donnacona prayed our Captaine to tell these women that hee should come againe after ten or twelue moneths, and bring Donnacona to Canada with him: this hee sayd only to appease them, which our Captaine did: wherefore the women, as well by words as signes, seemed to be very glad, giuing our Captaine thanks, and told him, if he came againe, and brought Donnacona with him, they would giue him many things: in signe whereof, each one gaue our Captaine a chaine of Esurgny, and then passed to the other side of the riuer againe, where stood all the people of Stadacona, who taking all leaue of their Lord, went home againe. On Saturday following, [pg 141]
The Isle of Orleans. Isle de Coudres.
being the sixt of the moneth, we departed out of the sayd Port of Santa Croix, and came to the harborough a little beneath the Island of Orleans, about twelue leagues from the Port of the Holy Crosse, and vpon Sonday we came to the Island of Filberds, where we stayed vntil the sixteenth of that moneth, till the fiercenesse of the waters were past, which at that time ranne too swift a course, and were too dangerous to come downe along the riuer, and therefore we stayed till faire weather came.
A knife of red coper brought from Saguenay.
In the meane while many of Dannaconas subiects came from the riuer of Saguenay to him, but being by Domagaia aduertised, that their Lord was taken to bee carried into France they were all amazed: yet for all that they would not leaue to come to our ships, to speake to Dannacona, who told them that after twelue moneths he should come againe, and that he was very well vsed by the Captaine, Gentlemen, and Mariners. Which when they heard, they greatly thanked our Captaine and gaue their Lord three bundles of Beauers, and Sea Woolues skinnes, with a great knife of red copper that commeth from Saguenay, and other things. They gaue also to our Captaine a chaine of Esurgny, for which our Captaine gaue them ten or twelue Hatchets, and they gaue him hearty thankes, and were very well contented. The next day, being the sixteenth of May, we hoysed sayle, and came from the said Island of Filberds, to another about fifteene leagues from it, which is about fiue leagues in length, and there, to the end we might take some rest the night following, we stayed that day, in hope the next day we might passe and auoide the dangers of the riuer of Saguenay, which are great.
The Isle of Hares.
That euening we went a land and found great store of Hares, of which we tooke a great many, and therefore we called it the Island of Hares: in the night there arose a contrary winde, with such stormes and tempest that wee were constrained to returne to the Island of Filberds againe, from whence wee were come, because there was none other passage among the sayde Islandes, and there we stayed till the one and twentieth of that moneth, till faire weather and good winde came againe: and then wee sayled againe, and that so prosperously, that we passed to Honguedo, which passage vntill that time had not bene discouered: wee caused our ships to course athwart Cape Prat which is the beginning of the Port of Chaleur: and because the winde was [pg 142] good and conuenient, we sayled all day and all night without staying, and the next day we came to the middle of Brions Island, which we were not minded to doe, to the end we might shorten our way. These two lands lie Northwest, and Southeast, and are about fiftie leagues one from another. The said Island is in latitude 47 degrees and a halfe. Vpon Thursday being the twenty sixe of the moneth, and the feast of the Ascension of our Lord, we coasted ouer to a land and shallow of lowe sandes, which are about eight leagues Southwest from Brions Island, aboue which are large Champaignes, full of trees and also an enclosed sea, whereas we could neither see, nor perceiue any gappe or way to enter thereinto. On Friday following, being the 27 of the moneth, because the wind did change on the coast, we came to Brions Island againe, where we stayed till the beginning of Iune, and toward the Southeast of this Island, wee sawe a lande, seeming vnto vs an Island, we coasted it about two leagues and a halfe, and by the way we had notice of three other high Islands, lying toward the Sands: after wee had knowen these things we returned to the Cape of the sayd land, which doeth diuide it selfe into two or three very high Capes: the waters there are very deepe, and the flood of the sea runneth so swift, that it cannot possibly be swifter. That day we came to Cape Loreine, which is in forty seuen degrees and a halfe toward the South: on which cape there is a low land, and it seemeth that there is some entrance of a riuer, but there is no hauen of any worth. Aboue these lands we saw another cape toward the south, we named it Saint Paules Cape, it is at 47 degrees and a quarter.