Leurs guerres ne se font quasi que de langue à langue, ou de pays à pays, & tousiours par surprinse & trahison. Ils ont l'arc & le pauois, ou targue, mais ils ne se mettẽt iamais en bataille rãgée, au moins de ce que i'en ay peu apprendre. Et de vray ils sont de leur naturel paoureux & coüards, quoi qu'ils ne [92] cessent de se vanter, & facent leur possible d'estre censés, & auoir le nom de Grand cœur. Meskir Kameramon, Grand cœur chez eux, c'est toute vertu.
Their wars are nearly always between language and language, or country and country, and always by deceit and treachery. They have the bow and the shield, or buckler, but they never place themselves in a line of battle, at least from what I have been able to learn. And, in truth, they are by nature fearful and cowardly, although they are always boasting, and do all they can to be renowned and to have the name of "Great-heart." Meskir Kameramon, "Great-heart," among them is the crowning virtue.
[56] Si les offenses ne sont pas de peuple à peuple, ains entre compatriotes, & combourgeois, lors ils se battent par entr'eux pour les petites offenses, & leur façon de cõbat, est cõm'icy celle des femmes, de se voler aux cheueux: saisis par là, ils se luittẽt & secoüent d'vne terrible façon, & s'ils sont fort esgaux, ils demeureront tout vn iour voire deux sans se quitter iusques à ce qu'on les separe, & de vray pour la force du corps, & bras, ils nous sont esgaux, le prenant de pareil à pareil, & si sont plus adextres à la luicte, & plus agiles à courir: mais ils n'entendent point à l'escrime des poings. I'ay veu vn de nos petits garçons faire fuir deuant soy vn Sauuage plus grãd que luy d'vn pied: quãd se mettant en posture de noble combattant, il fermoit le pouce sur les doigs, luy disant, Approche: [57] mais aussi, quand le Sauuage pouuoit le happer par le tronc du corps, il luy faisoit crier mercy.
[56] If the offenses are not between tribes, but between compatriots and fellow-citizens, then they fight among themselves for slight offenses, and their way of fighting is like that of women here, they fly for the hair; holding on to this, they struggle and jerk in a terrible fashion, and if they are equally matched, they keep it up one whole day, or even two, without stopping until some one separates them; and certainly in strength of body and arms they are equal to us, comparing like to like; but if they are more skillful in wrestling and nimble running, they do not understand boxing at all. I have seen one of our little boys make a Savage, a foot taller than himself, fly before him; placing himself in the posture of a noble warrior, he placed his thumb over his fingers and said, "Come on!" [57] However, when the Savage was able to catch him up by the waist, he made him cry for mercy.
Reueuant à mon propos les petites offenses querelles sont facilement appaisees par les Sagamos & communs amis. Et certes ils ne s'offensent guieres, qu'on sçache. Ie dy qu'on sçache. Car nous n'en auons rien veu, ains tousiours vn grand respect, & amour entr'eux. Ce qui nous donoit vn grãd creue-cœur lors que nous tournions les yeux sur nostre misere. Car de voir vne assemblee de François sans reproches, mespris, enuies, & noises de l'vn à l'autre, c'est autant difficile, que de voir la mer sans ondes, ne fust dedans les Cloistres & Conuents, où la grace predomine à la nature.
Returning to my subject. The little offenses and quarrels are easily adjusted by the Sagamores and common friends. And in truth they are hardly ever offended long, as far as we know. I say, as far as we know, for we have never seen anything except always great respect and love among them; which was a great grief to us when we turned our eyes upon our own shortcomings. For to see an assembly of French people without reproaches, slights, envy, and quarrels with each other, is as difficult as to see the sea without waves, except in Monasteries and Convents, where grace triumphs over nature.
[94] Les grandes offenses, comme si [58] quelqu'vn auoit tué vn autre, s'il luy auoit desrobé sa femme, &c. C'est à l'offensé de les venger de sa propre main: ou s'il est mort, c'est à ses plus proches parents, ce qu'arriuant personne ne s'en remuë, ains tous demeurent contents sur ce mot, habenquedouïc, il n'a pas commencé, il le luy a rendu: quittes & bons amis. Que si le delinquant, repentant de sa faute desire faire sa paix, il est receu d'ordinaire à satisfaction, moyennant presents & autres reparatiõs conuenables.
The great offenses, as when [58] some one has killed another, or stolen away his wife, etc., are to be avenged by the offended person with his own hand; or if he is dead, it is the duty of the nearest relatives; when this happens, no one shows any excitement over it, but all dwell contentedly upon this word habenquedouïc, "he did not begin it, he has paid him back: quits and good friends." But if the guilty one, repenting of his fault, wishes to make peace, he is usually received with satisfaction, offering presents and other suitable atonement.
Ils ne sont nullement ingrats entr'eux, ils s'entredonnent tout. Nul oseroit esconduire la priere d'vn autre, ny manger, sans luy faire part de ce qu'il a. Vne fois que nous estions allés bien loin à la pesche, passerent par là cinq ou six femmes, ou filles bien chargées & lasses: nos gents par courtoisie, [59] leur donnerent de leur prinse, ce qu'elles mirent cuire tout aussi tost dans vn chauderon, que nous leur prestasmes, à peine le chauderon boüilloit, que voicy vn bruit, que d'autres Sauuages estoyent là qui venoyẽt, alors nos pauures femmes à s'enfuir viste dans les bois à tout leur chauderon demy cuit: car elles auoyent bonne faim. La raison de la fuite estoit pour-autant que si elles eussent esté veuës, il eust fallu par loy de ciuilité, qu'elles eussent faict part aux suruenants de leur viande, qui n'estoit point trop grande. L'on rit bien alors; & plus encores quand elles apres auoir mangé, voyants lesdits Sauuages venus aupres de nostre feu, firent semblant de n'y auoir pas touché, & de passer tout ainsi, que si elles ne nous eussent point veu au parauant, elles dirent à nos gents [60] tout bas où c'est qu'elles auoyent laissé le chauderon, & eux comme bons compagnons, cognoissans le mystere [96] sçeurent bien seruir aux belles mines, & pour mieux aider au jeu, les pressoyent de s'arrester & gouster vn peu de leur pesche, mais elles ne voulurent rien faire, tant elles auoyent de haste, disants, coupouba, coupouba, grand mercy, grand mercy. Nos gẽts respondirẽt: Or allez de part Dieu, puis qu'auez si grand haste.
They are in no wise ungrateful to each other, and share everything. No one would dare to refuse the request of another, nor to eat without giving him a part of what he has. Once when we had gone a long way off to a fishing place, there passed by five or six women or girls, heavily burdened and weary; our people through courtesy [59] gave them some of our fish, which they immediately put to cook in a kettle, that we loaned them. Scarcely had the kettle begun to boil when a noise was heard, and other Savages could be seen coming; then our poor women fled quickly into the woods, with their kettle only half boiled, for they were very hungry. The reason of their flight was that, if they had been seen, they would have been obliged by a rule of politeness to share with the newcomers their food, which was not too abundant. We had a good laugh then; and were still more amused when they, after having eaten, seeing the said Savages around our fire, acted as if they had never been near there and were about to pass us all by as if they had not seen us before, telling our people [60] in a whisper where they had left the kettle; and they, like good fellows, comprehending the situation, knew enough to look unconscious, and to better carry out the joke, urged them to stop and taste a little fish; but they did not wish to do anything of the kind, they were in such a hurry, saying coupouba, coupouba, "many thanks, many thanks." Our people answered: "Now may God be with you since you are in such a hurry."