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]