On the 19th, the snow being already very deep, the Savages captured eight elks or moose. About that time one of them, named Nassitamirineou, and surnamed by the French Brehault, told them that he had dreamed that they must eat all of those Moose; and that he knew very well how to pray to God, who had told him that it was his will that they should eat all, and that they should give none of them away, if they wanted to capture others. The Savages believed him, and did not give a [58] piece to the Frenchmen. This was related to me in the presence of the dreamer. He did not admit all, yet it seemed very probable; for having settled near us, and having heard us speaking of God, he was just the man to talk about it afterward, and to play the learned among his people.
Le 21. de Decembre, le bon Dieu nous dõna deux petits pensionnaires, Manitougache nous en ayant presenté vn petit à qui il auoit sauué la vie, nous l'acceptasmes; & comme nous estions en crainte qu'il ne s'ennuyast tout seul, nous pensions à en trouuer encor vn autre pour luy tenir compagnie. Au mesme temps voila vne fẽme qui entre chez nous auec son petit fils aagé d'enuiron sept ans, nous le regardions, disans l'vn à l'autre, voila iustement ce qu'il nous faudroit. Ie prends la parole & [59] m'addresse à sa mere, luy demandant si elle ne voudroit pas bien nous dõner son enfant, que nous le nourririons le mieux qu'il nous seroit possible. Helas, dit-elle, i'estois venuë icy pour prier Manitougache de voꝰ le presenter, & vous supplier de l'accepter. Dieu sçait si nous fusmes cõtens. ô que sa prouidence est admirable!
On the 21st of December, God sent us two little pensioners, Manitougache having presented to us a little one whose life he had saved, and whom we accepted; and, as we were afraid that he would be lonesome, we thought to try and find another to keep him company. At the same time, a woman came bringing her little son, about seven years old. When we saw him, we said to each other, "This is just what we wanted." I at once asked [59] the mother, if she would not like to give us her child, saying that we would care for it as best we possibly could. "Ah," said she, "I came here to beg Manitougache to give him to you and to beg you to take him." God knows how happy we were! Oh, how admirable is his providence!
Le plus âgé que nous a donné Manitougache n'a ny pere ny mere, celuy-là nous est bien asseuré, nous luy auons donné nom Fortuné, en attendant qu'il soit capable d'estre baptisé. ô qu'il a rencontré vne bõne fortune! Estant à Tadoussac, cõme il estoit delaissé de tout le monde, vn Sauuage presenta vne harquebuse à nostre Pierre, luy disant, tuë ce miserable enfant, aussi bien n'aiãt point de parents, il sera toute sa vie abandonné d'vn chacun: Nostre [60] Sauuage entendant cela en eut compassion, il le retira, [138]& l'a nourry iusques à present qu'il nous l'a donné. Nous auons appelle le plus ieune Bienuenu, celuy-cy a de l'esprit, il est d'vn naturel complaisant, & flatteur: Nous ne sommes pas si asseurez qu'il nous demeure, car les Sauuages sont extrémement changeãs & volages. Vn sien parent entendant qu'il nous estoit donné, s'y voulut opposer, disant que leur Capitaine auoit defendu qu'on ne donnast aucun enfant aux François: la mère de l'enfant suruient là dessus, & dit que le Capitaine n'a point nourry son fils, & par conseqẽt ce n'est pas à luy d'en disposer, si bien à elle qui en estoit la mère, & qui l'auoit tousiours éleué dés sa ieunesse. Le pere de l'enfant ayant sceu que son ancienne femme qu'il a quittée nous l'auoit donné, en a esté bien aise, disant qu'il seroit [61] très-bien auec nous. Celuy qu'on nous auoit promis l'an passé voudroit bien estre maintenant auec les deux autres: mais il n'est pas encore temps de s'ẽ charger, il ne faut point embrasser par dessus ses forces. C'est vn plaisir de voir ces deux enfans, ce sont mes petits escoliers, ils commẽcent à lire, ils sçauent prier Dieu en Latin, & en leur langue. Ils nous fõt quelquefois rire par leurs petits discours: deuant qu'ils mangent nous leur saisons dire le Benedicite. Voila pourquoy quand ils veulent mãger; ils s'en viennent nous dire, Mon Père, Benedicite: c'est à dire, donnez moy à disner. Comme ils voyoient donner à manger à vn petit chien, ils nous disoient qu'il n'auoit pas dit son Benedicite. Ie m'en vay, dit l'vn d'eux, le dire pour luy; comme nous rions, son compagnõ luy dit, nama irinisionakhi attimoukhi, les chiens n'ont point [62] d'esprit, ils ne disent pas leur Benedicite, c'est à faire aux hommes seulement; vous les entendriez allans & venans ruminer [140] le Pater noster, en prononcer tantost vne partie, tantost l'autre; en quoy il arriua vn iour vn rencontre agreable. Le sieur Emery de Caën disnant en nostre maison, comme on seruoit sur table le peu que nous auions, l'vn de ces enfans regardant ce qu'on presentoit, & voyant bien que ce n'estoit pas pour luy, commence à dire par rencontre; & ne nos inducas in tentationem, cela fit rire toute la compagnie.
The oldest, the one given to us by Manitougache, has neither father nor mother, and hence we are sure of keeping him. We have named him Fortuné, until he can be baptized. Oh, what good fortune he has met with! Being at Tadoussac, forsaken by every one, a Savage gave an arquebus to our Pierre, telling him to kill this miserable child, because, having no parents, he would be abandoned by every one during his lifetime. Our [60] Savage, on hearing that, had pity on the little one, took him, and fed him up to the time when he gave him to us. We have called the younger one Bienvenu. He seems intelligent, and of a pleasant and endearing nature. We are not so sure that he will remain with us, because the Savages are extremely fickle and capricious. One of his relatives, hearing that he had been given to us, objected, saying that their Captain had forbidden them to give any of their children to the French. Thereupon the mother of the child interposed, declaring that the Captain had not taken care of her child; and that, consequently, it did not belong to him to dispose of it, but to her who was the mother, and who had reared him since his infancy. The father of the child, having learned that his former wife, who had left him, had given the child to us, was greatly pleased, saying that it would fare [61] very well with us. The one who was promised to us last year would like very much now to be with these two others. But we cannot charge ourselves with him now, we must not undertake more than we can perform. It is a pleasure to see these two children; they are my little pupils. They are beginning to read, and know how to pray to God, in Latin and in their own language. Sometimes they make us laugh by their childish prattle. Before eating we make them say the Benedicite. Hence, when they want to eat, they come to us and say, "My Father, Benedicite;" that is to say, "Give me something to eat." When they saw a little dog given something to eat, they told us that it had not said its Benedicite. "I am going," said one of them, "to say it for him." As we laughed at this, his companion said to him: nama irinisionakhi attimoukhi; that is, "The dogs have no [62] mind, they do not say their Benedicite, it is only for men to say that." You can hear them, going and coming, humming the Pater noster, pronouncing first one part and then another, in the course of which there happened the other day a very amusing incident. Sieur Emery de Caën was dining at our house. As we served upon the table the little that we had, one of the children, looking at what was set forth and seeing very well that it was not for him, began to say as it happened to occur to him: Et ne nos inducas in tentationem, causing the whole company to laugh.
Le second iour de Ianuier, ie vey quelques Sauuages qui s'efforçoient de passer dans leurs canots la grande riuiere de S. Laurens: ce fleuue ordinairement ne gele point au milieu: il charie ou porte d'horribles glaces, selon le cours & mouuement de la marée. Ces pauures gens abordoient [63] de grandes glaces flottantes, les sondoient auec leurs auirons montoiēt dessus, tiroient leurs canots aprés eux pour s'en aller prendre l'eau à l'autre costé de ces glaces; quoy qu'ils soient tres-habiles, il ne laisse pas de s'en noyer quelques-vns.
On the second day of January, I saw a number of Savages trying to cross the great river St. Lawrence in their canoes. Usually this river does not freeze in the middle; it drifts or floats immense pieces of ice, according to the course and movement of the current. These poor fellows approached [63] large pieces of the floating ice, sounded them with their paddles, then mounted them, and drew their canoes up after them, crossing over to reach the water on the other side of the ice. Nimble as they are, not infrequently some of them are drowned.
Voyant vn Sauuage qui traisnoit sa mere apres soy sur la neige. Les chariots & carrosses de ce pays-cy font des traisnes faictes d'escorce ou de bois, les cheuaux sont les hommes qui les tirent apres eux: voyant donc ceste pauure vieille liée sur vne d'icelles, son fils ne la pouuant commodement faire descendre par le sentier ordinaire d'vne montagne qui borde la riuiere où il alloit, la laissa rouler à bas par l'endroict le plus roide, & s'en alla la requerir par vn autre chemin. Ne pouuant supporter cette impieté, ie le dy à quelques Sauuages qui estoient auprés de [64] moy: ils me respondirent, Que veux-tu qu'il en fasse, aussi bien s'en va elle mourir, prens la & la tuë, puis que tu en as compassion, tu luy feras du biẽ, car elle ne [142] souffrira pas tãt, peutestre que son fils la laissera au milieu des bois, ne la pouuãt ny guerir ny traisner apres soy, s'il ne trouue point dequoy manger. Voila comme ils soulagent les malades qu'ils croyent deuoir mourir, ils leur aduancent la mort par quelque coup de baston ou de hache, quand ils ont beaucoup de chemin à faire, & cela par compassion.
I saw a Savage dragging his mother behind him over the snow. The coaches and wagons of this country are sledges made of bark or wood, the horses are the men who draw them. Now this poor old woman was tied upon one of these sleighs; and her son, being unable, conveniently, to take her down by the common path of a mountain which borders the river along which he was going, let her roll down the steepest place to the bottom, and then went by another route to find her. As I could not bear this act of impiety, I said so to some of the Savages who were near [64] me. They answered: "What wouldst thou have him do with her? She is going to die any way; take her and kill her, since thou hast pity for her; thou wilt do her a service, because she will not suffer so much; perhaps her son will leave her in the midst of the woods, as he is unable either to cure her or to drag her after him, if he does not find something to eat." This is the way they take care of the sick that they think are going to die. They hasten death by a blow from a club or an axe, when they have a long journey to make, and do this through compassion.
Le troisiesme du mesme mois, la femme de nostre Sauuage estant malade, il me vint demander mon canif pour la saigner. Les Sauuages se tirent du sang de la teste. Estant vn iour en vne cabane, vne Sauuage regardant vne escritoire que ie tenois, prit dextrement le canif sans qui ie [65] m'en apperceusse, & s'en fit quelques ouuertures au hault du frond, puis elle me le rendit: ie fus estonné la voyant saigner; elle me dit qu'elle auoit mal à la teste, & qu'elle se vouloit guerir. Or comme ils ont veu nostre façon de saigner, & qu'ils la trouuent bonne, La Nasse me vint prier d'aider en cela sa femme. Ie luy respondis que ie n'y entendois rien: & comme il vouloit prendre mon canif, ie luy dis qu'il attendist au iour suiuant, & que ie prierois le Chirurgien de la venir voir; ce qu'il fit. Ce pendant ie l'allay visiter en sa cabane: il faisoit vn grãd froid, elle estoit teste nue à leur accoustumee, mordant dans vn peloton de nege; c'estoit seulement pour guerir vn gros rhume qui l'estouffoit. Voila les delicatesses du païs. Le lendemain estãt saignee elle ne tarda gueres à aller querir du bois à son ordinaire. Voiez [66] si ceux qui font profession de souffrir quelque chose pour Dieu, ne doiuent pas estre confus voyans de tels exemples.