In this narrative, my Reverend Father, you have an illustration of what we have to suffer in accompanying the Savages in their wanderings, and what must necessarily be done if we wish [92] to aid in saving them. And from this Your Reverence may see, if you please, what kind of men should be chosen for this mission. We do not suffer these discomforts while remaining in the house. All that we have to bear here is endurable. But, when it is necessary to become a Savage with the Savages, one must take his life and all that he has, and throw it away, so to speak, contenting himself with a very large and very heavy cross for all riches. It is true that God does not allow himself to be conquered, and that the more one gives, the more one gains; the more one loses, the more one finds; but God sometimes hides himself, and then the Cup is very bitter.
Vne chose me semble plus qu'intolerable, c'est qu'on est pesle-mesle, fille, femme, homme, garçõs tous ensemble dans vn trou enfumé; & plus on s'auance en la cognoissance [93] de la langue, plus on entend de salatés. Dieu veuille que les yeux n'en [170]soient point offensez, on me dit que non. Ie ne pensois pas que les Sauuages eussent la bouche si puante comme ie le vay remarquant tous les iours. Coucher sur la terre couuerte d'vn peu de branches de pin, n'auoir qu'vne écorce entre la neige & vostre teste, traisner vostre bagage sur des montagnes, se laisser rouler dans des vallons espouuãtables, ne manger qu'vne fois en deux ou trois iours quand il n'y a point de chasse, c'est la vie qu'il faut mener en suiuant les Sauuages. Il est vray que si la chasse est bonne, la chair ne vous est point épargnée: sinon il faut estre en danger de mourir de faim, ou de bien souffrir. Vn de nos François qui a demeuré auec eux cét hyuer passé, nous a dit qu'il n'auoit mangé en deux iours qu'vn petit bout de [94] chandelle qu'il auoit porté par mesgarde dans sa pochette. Voila peutestre mon traittement pour l'hyuer prochain, car si ie veux sçauoir la langue, il faut de necessité suiure les Sauuages. Ie crains neantmoins que nostre famille accreuë ne me retienne cette année, mais il y faut aller tost ou tard, i'y voudrais desia estre, tant i'ay de mal au cœur de voir ces pauures ames errãtes sans aucun secours faute de les entendre. On ne peut mourir qu'vne fois, le plustost n'est pas tousiours le pire. Changeons de propos: Il faut que ie remarque icy vne iniure que les Sauuages donnent aux François, c'est qu'ils aiment ce qu'ils ont: quand vous refusez quelque chose à vn Sauuage, aussi-tost il vous dit Khisakhitan: tu aime cela, sakhita, sakhita, aime le, aime le, comme s'ils vouloient dire qu'on est attaché à ce qu'on aime, & qu'on [95] le prefere à leur amitié.
One thing seems to me more than intolerable. It is their living together promiscuously, girls, women, men, and boys in a smoky hole. And the more progress one makes in the knowledge [93] of the language, the more vile things one hears. May it please God that one's eyes be not offended; I am told that they are not. I did not think that the mouth of the Savage was so foul as I notice it is everyday. To sleep on the earth, covered with a few branches of pine, nothing but the bark between the snow and your head; to drag your baggage over the mountains, to let yourself roll down into frightful valleys; to eat only once in two or three days, when there is no hunting,—that is the life you must lead in following the Savages. It is true that, if the hunting is good, there is no lack of meat; if not, one must be in danger of dying from starvation, or of enduring great suffering. One of our Frenchmen, who lived with them last winter, told us that during two days he ate nothing but a small piece of [94] candle, that he had accidentally carried in his pocket. This is the treatment that I shall perhaps have next winter; because, if I wish to learn the language, I must necessarily follow the Savages. I fear, however, that our growing family may keep me here this year; but sooner or later I must go. I would like to be there already, I am so sick at heart to see these poor straying souls, without any help because of our inability to understand them. We can die but once; the soonest is not always the worst. Let us change the subject; I must speak here of the charge which the Savages make against the French. It is that they love what is theirs; when you refuse anything to a Savage, he immediately says Khisakhitan, "Thou lovest that," sakhita, sakhita, "Love it, love it;" as if they would say that we are attached to what we love, and that we [95] prefer it to their friendship.
Nostre Sauuage voudroit bien viure auec nous [172]comme frere, en vn mot il voudroit entrer en communauté de tout. Ie te donneray, dit-il, de tout ce que i'ay, & tu me donneras de tout ce que tu as: Ce seroit le moyen de manger en vn mois toutes les prouisions d'vne année, car ils ne cessent de manger tant qu'ils ont dequoy, n'en ayant plus, ils en cherchent, & en demandent auec importunité. Il est vray que ce bon homme voit bien que ceste procedure n'est pas bonne: & quand ie luy represente qu'il ne fait pas bien, prodiguant ses viures en peu de temps: ce n'est pas moy, dit-il, qui fait cela, c'est ma femme. Il s'estonne quand nous luy faisons manger d'vn morceau d'Ours ou d'Orignac six sepmaines apres qu'il nous l'a donné; car en ce temps-là on mangera deux & trois [96] & quatre ours en sa cabane, si on en prend autant.
Our Savage would like to live with us as a brother; in a word, he would like to have us divide with him all that we have. "I will give thee," said he, "of all that I possess, and thou shalt give me of all that belongs to thee." In this way, we should eat in a month all the provisions for a year, for they never stop eating as long as they have anything. Having nothing more, they go in search of something, and beg for it persistently. It is true that this simple fellow realizes that this is not a good way, and, when I show him that it is not well to use up his food so quickly, he says: "It is not I who do that, it is my wife." He is astonished when we give him a piece of Bear or Moose six weeks after he has given it to us, for in that time they eat two, three, [96] and four bears in his cabin, if they capture that many.
Le 13. de Feurier Dieu nous fit vne faueur fort signalée: Mon maistre nommé en sa langue comme i'ay desia souuent dit, Pierre Pastedechouan, s'en alla sans nous rien dire. Depuis qu'il estoit auec nous, il s'estoit vn peu remis: il se confessoit de tẽps en tẽps sãs se vouloir cõmunier quoy qu'on luy dit. Sa raison estoit que iamais il ne s'estoit cõmunié en son pays, si biẽ en France: mais i'estois là mieux disposé qu'icy, disoit-il. Comme il sentit approcher le Caresme, il nous fit plusieurs interrogations sans que nous prissiõs garde où elles buttoient: scauoir mõ à quel âge on estoit obligé de ieusner, si dans tout le Caresme on ne mangeroit point de chair, & choses semblables. La peur qu'il eut du ieusne, & la croyance qu'il auoit que [97] les gens de La Nasse auroient bõne chasse, fit qu'il s'en alla les trouuer sans nous en parler. Voyant mon secours perdu pour la langue, nous demandasmes derechef à Dieu qu'il [174] luy pleust nous donner pour la seconde fois celuy qu'il nous auoit dõné pour la premiere. La Theologie de ce bon aueugle né n'est pas bonne, qui dit que Dieu n'exauce point les pecheurs, si fait bien quand il luy plaist. La Nasse ayant mangé toute sa chasse, & n'en trouuant plus dans les bois, la faim le pressa si fort, qu'il ne sçauoit de quel coste se tourner. Nostre Pierre se voyant dans le ieusne deuant que d'estre en Caresme, ayant pense perdre la vie sur vne glace qui coula dessous luy, & passé quatre iours sans quasi rien manger, nous reuient voir tout defait apres 15 iours d'absẽce, il ne nous dit point que la famine le ramenoit, aussi attribuay-ie [98] son retour à celuy qui nous le donnoit pour la seconde fois: Il demeura donc auec nous iusques à Pasques, m'aydant à conclurre ce que i'auois enuie d'acheuer de nostre Dictionnaire.
On the 13th of February God did us a very signal favor. My teacher, named in his language, as I have often said already, Pierre Pastedechouan, went off without giving us notice. Since he had been with us, he had somewhat improved; he had been to confession from time to time, but would not take communion, whatever might be said to him. His reason was that he had never taken communion in his country, though he had in France; "But I was," he said, "more disposed to it there than here." As he felt that Lent was approaching, he asked us a number of questions, the full tendency of which we did not comprehend; namely, at what age it was necessary to fast; if one should not eat meat at all during Lent, and similar things. The fear he had of fasting, and his belief that [97] the people of La Nasse would be lucky in their hunt, led him to go to them without telling me. Seeing that I had lost my help in learning the language, we again asked God to give us, if it pleased him, for a second time, the one he had given us at first. The Theology of that worthy man, blind from birth, who says that God does not hearken to sinners except when it is agreeable to him, is not good. La Nasse having eaten all his game, and finding no more in the woods, was so pressed with hunger that he knew not on which side to turn. Our Pierre found himself fasting before the beginning of Lent; having nearly lost his life upon the ice, which slipped from under him, he passed four days with scarcely anything to eat and returned to us completely exhausted, after 15 days of absence. He did not tell us that hunger brought him back, therefore I attributed [98] his return to him who gave him to us for a second time. He remained with us until Easter, helping me to finish what I was very anxious to complete, our Dictionary.
Le Vendredy Sainct, il s'en voulut aller à la chasse auec nostre Sauuage qui estoit du retour, mais ie luy dis qu'il n'iroit point qu'il ne se fust acquitté du deuoir que doiuent rendre à Dieu tous les Chrestiens en ce tẽps-là; i'aduerty nostre Sauvage de ne le point receuoir en sa cõpagnie; ce qu'il fit. Il se confessa donc & se communia le iour de Pasques. Le lendemain nostre Sauvage retournant pour vendre au sieur de Caën vn ieune Eslan qu'il auoit pris tout vif (lequel mourut depuis) nostre homme l'accosta, & luy dit que nous ne l'auions retenu sinon pour prier Dieu le iour precedẽt, & que l'ayant [99] fait nous estions contens qu'il le suiuit: Il est vray que pour le contenter nous luy auions dit que s'estant acquitté de ses deuotiõs, il pourroit s'en aller à la chasse à la premiere [176]occasion, ce qu'il a fait auec promesse de retourner, mais nous ne l'auõs point veu depuis. Dieu soit beny de tout: ie ne m'osois promettre tout ce que i'ay tiré de luy, i'en ay assez pour me rendre capable d'aller hyuerner parmy les Sauuages, auec profit.
On Good Friday, he wanted to go hunting with our Savage, who had returned; but I told him that he should not go until he had rendered to God the devotion that all Christians owed to him at that time. I charged our Savage not to receive him in his company, and he did not. Then he confessed and received his Easter communion. The next day, our Savage returning to sell to sieur de Caën a young Elk that he had taken alive (which died afterward), our man accosted him, and said that we had only detained him that he might pray to God on the preceding day; and that, having done [99] so, we were willing that he should go with him. It is true that, in order to please him, we told him that, if he performed his devotions, he might go hunting upon the first opportunity; which he did with the promise to return, but we have not seen him since. But God be praised for all; I dared not promise myself all that I have drawn from him; I have enough to fit me for going to pass the winter among the Savages with profit.
La Nasse reuenant de la chasse nous dit que ce pauure ieune homme auoit trauersé les bois pour aller trouuer ses frères à Tadoussac: pour moy i'estime qu'il a la foy, i'en ay de tres-grands indices: mais comme c'est vne foy de crainte & de seruitude, & que d'ailleurs il est enchaisné par vne infinité de mauuaises habitudes, il a de la peine de quitter la liberté blasmable des Sauuages, [100] pour s'arrester sous le ioug de la loy de Dieu.