Voyages of Samuel De Champlain — Volume 02

by Samuel de Champlain

345. This is not an inaccurate description of the beautiful as well as rich and fertile valleys to be found among the hills of Vermont.

346. On entering the lake, they saw the Adirondack Mountains, which would appear very nearly in the south. The points visible from the lake were Mt. Marcy, 5,467 feet high above tide-water; Dix's Peak, 5,200; Nipple Top, 4,900; Whiteface, 4,900; Raven Hill, 2,100; Bald Peak, 2,065.— Vide Palmer's Lake Champlain, p. 12.

347. The river here referred to is the Hudson. By passing from Lake Champlain through the small stream that connects it with Lake George, over this latter lake and a short carrying place, the upper waters of the Hudson are reached. The coast of Norumbegue and that of Florida were both indefinite regions, not well defined by geographers of that day. These terms were supplied by Champlain, and not by his informants. He could not of course tell precisely where this unknown river reached the sea, but naturally inferred that it was on the southern limit of Norumbegue, which extended from the Penobscot towards Florida, which latter at that time was supposed to extend from the Gulf of Mexico indefinitely to the north.

348. This battle, or Skirmish, clearly took place at Ticonderoga, or Cheonderoga, as the Indians called it, where a cape juts out into the lake, as described by Champlain. This is the logical inference to be drawn from the whole narrative. It is to be observed that the purpose of the Indians, whom Champlain was accompanying, was to find their enemies, the Iroquois, and give them battle. The journey, or warpath, had been clearly marked out and described by the Indians to Champlain, as may be seen in the text. It led them along the western shore of the lake to the outlet of Lake George, over the fall in the little stream connecting the two lakes, through Lake George, and thence to the mountains beyond, where the Iroquois resided. They found the Iroquois, however, on the lake; gave them battle on the little cape alluded to; and after the victory and pursuit for some distance into the forest, and the gathering up of the spoils, Champlain and his allies commenced their journey homeward. But Champlain says he saw the fall in the stream that connects the two lakes. Now this little stream flows into Lake Champlain at Ticonderoga, and he would naturally have seen the fall, if the battle took place there, while in pursuit of the Iroquois into the forest, as described in the text. The fall was in the line of the retreat of the Iroquois towards their home, and is only a mile and three-quarters from the cape jutting out into the lake at Ticonderoga. If the battle had occurred at any point north of Ticonderoga, he could not have seen the fall, as they retreated immediately after the battle: if it had taken place south of that point, it would have been off the war-path which they had determined to pursue. We must conclude, therefore, that the battle took place at Ticonderoga, a little north of the ruins of the old Fort Carillon, directly on the shore of the lake. If the reader will examine the plan of the battle as given by Champlain's engraving, he will see that it conforms with great exactness to the known topography of the place. The Iroquois, who had their choice of positions are on the north, in the direction of Willow Point, where they can most easily retreat, and where Champlain and his allies can be more easily hemmed in near the point of the cape. The Iroquois are on lower ground, and we know that the surface there shelves to the north. The well-known sandy bottom of the lake at this place would furnish the means of fastening the canoes, by forcing poles into it, a little out from the shore during the night, as they actually did. On Champlain's map of 1632, this point is referred to as the location of the battle; and in his note on the map, No. 65, he says this is the place where the Iroquois were defeated by Champlain. All the facts of the narrative thus point to Ticonderoga, and render it indisputable that this was the scene of the first of the many recorded conflicts on this memorable lake. We should not have entered into this discussion so fully, had not several writers, not well informed, expressed views wholly inconsistent with known facts.

349. The Indian name of Lake Champlain is Caniaderiguaronte, the lake that is the gate of the country.—Vide Administration of the Colonies, by Thomas Pownall. 1768, p. 267. This name was very significant, since the lake and valley of Champlain was the "gate," or war-path, by which the hostile tribes of Iroquois approached their enemies on the north of the St. Lawrence, and vice-versa.

CHAPTER X.

RETURN FROM THE BATTLE, AND WHAT TOOK PLACE ON THE WAY.

After going some eight leagues, towards evening they took one of the prisoners, to whom they made a harangue, enumerating the cruelties which he and his men had already practised towards them without any mercy, and that, in like manner, he ought to make up his mind to receive as much. They commanded him to sing, if he had courage, which he did; but it was a very sad song.

Meanwhile, our men kindled a fire; and, when it was well burning, they each took a brand, and burned this poor creature gradually, so as to make him suffer greater torment. Sometimes they stopped, and threw water on his back. Then they tore out his nails, and applied fire to the extremities of his fingers and private member. Afterwards, they flayed the top of his head, and had a kind of gum poured all hot upon it; then they pierced his arms near the wrists, and, drawing up the sinews with sticks, they tore them out by force; but, seeing that they could not get them, they cut them. This poor wretch uttered terrible cries, and it excited my pity to see him treated in this manner, and yet showing such firmness that one would have said, at times, that he suffered hardly any pain at all. They urged me strongly to take some fire, and do as they did. I remonstrated with them, saying that we practised no such cruelties, but killed them at once; and that, if they wished me to fire a musket-shot at him, I should be willing to do so. They refused, saying that he would not in that case suffer any pain. I went away from them, pained to see such cruelties as they practised upon his body. When they saw that I was displeased, they called me, and told me to fire a musket-shot at him. This I did without his feeling it, and thus put an end, by a single shot, to all the torments he would have suffered, rather than see him tyrannized over. After his death, they were not yet satisfied, but opened him, and threw his entrails into the lake. Then they cut off his head, arms, and legs, which they scattered in different directions; keeping the scalp which they had flayed off, as they had done in the case of all the rest whom they had killed in the contest. They were guilty also of another monstrosity in taking his heart, cutting it into several pieces, and giving it to a brother of his to eat, as also to others of his companions, who were prisoners: they took it into their mouths, but would not swallow it. Some Algonquin savages, who were guarding them, made some of them spit it out, when they threw it into the water. This is the manner in which these people behave towards those whom they capture in war, for whom it would be better to die fighting, or to kill themselves on the spur of the moment, as many do, rather than fall into the hands of their enemies. After this execution, we set out on our return with the rest of the prisoners, who kept singing as they went along, with no better hopes for the future than he had had who was so wretchedly treated.

Having arrived at the falls of the Iroquois, the Algonquins returned to their own country; so also the Ochateguins, [350] with a part of the prisoners: well satisfied with the results of the war, and that I had accompanied them so readily. We separated accordingly with loud protestations of mutual friendship; and they asked me whether I would not like to go into their country, to assist them with continued fraternal relations; and I promised that I would do so.