I must set down here what I saw them do on the twelfth of February. As I was reciting my hours, toward evening, the sorcerer began to talk about me: aiamtheou, "He is making his prayers;" then, pronouncing some words which I did not understand, he added: Niganipahau, "I will kill him at once." The thought occurred to me that he was speaking of me, seeing that he hated me for several reasons, as I shall state in the proper place; but especially because I tried to show that all he did was mere nonsense and child's play. Just as I was thinking that he wanted to take my life, my host said to me, "Hast thou not some powder that kills men?" "Why?" I asked. "I want to kill some one," he answered me. I leave you to imagine whether I finished my prayers without any distraction; for I knew very well that they were disinclined to kill any of their own people, and that the sorcerer had threatened me with death [74] some days before,—although only in jest, as he told me afterward; but I did not have much confidence in him. Now seeing these people bustling about, I retired within myself, supplicating our Lord to help me, and to take my life at the moment and in whatever manner would be pleasing to him. Nevertheless, to better prepare myself for this sacrifice, I wished to learn if they had me in mind, and so I asked them where the man was that they wished to kill; they answered me that he was in the neighborhood of Gaspé, more than a hundred leagues away from us. I began to laugh, for in truth I had never dreamed that they would undertake to kill a man a hundred leagues away. I inquired why they wished to take his life. They answered that this man was a Canadian sorcerer, who, having had some trouble with ours, had threatened him with death and had given him the disease from which he had suffered so long, and which was going to consume him in two days, if he did not prevent the stroke by his art. I told them that God had forbidden murder, and that we never killed people; that did not prevent them [75] from pursuing their purpose. My host, foreseeing the great commotion which was about to take place, said to me, "Thou wilt have the headache; go off into one of the other cabins near by." "No," said the sorcerer, "there will be no harm in his seeing what we do." They had all the children and women go out, except one who sat near the sorcerer; I remained as a spectator of their mysteries, with all the Savages of the other cabins, who were summoned. All being seated, a young man comes bearing two pickets, or very sharply-pointed sticks; my host prepares the charm, composed of little pieces of wood shaped at both ends like a serpent's tongue, iron arrow-points, pieces of broken knives, bits of iron bent like a big fishhook, and other similar things; all these are wrapped in a piece of leather. When this is done, the sorcerer takes his drum, all begin to chant and howl, and to make the uproar of which I spoke above; after a few songs, the woman who had remained arises, and goes all around the inside of the cabin, passing behind the [76] backs of the people who are there. When she is reseated, the magician takes these two stakes; then, pointing out a certain place, begins by saying, "Here is his head," (I believe he meant the head of the man whom he wished to kill); then with all his might he drives these stakes into the ground, inclining them toward the place where he believed this Canadian was. Thereupon my host comes to assist his brother; he makes a tolerably deep ditch in the ground with these stakes; meanwhile the songs and other noises continue incessantly. The ditch made and the stakes planted, the servant of the sorcerer, I mean the Apostate, goes in search of a sword, and the sorcerer strikes with it one of these pickets; then he descends into the ditch, assuming the posture of an excited man who is striking heavy blows with the sword and poniard; for he has both, in this act of a furious and enraged man. The sorcerer takes the charm wrapped in skin, puts it in the ditch, and redoubles his sword-cuts at the same time that they increase the uproar.
En fin ce mystere cessa, il retire l'espée & le poignard tout ensanglanté, les iette deuant les autres Sauuages; on recouure [77] viste la fosse, & le magicien tout glorieux, dit que son homme est frappé, qu'il mourra bien tost, demande si on n'a point entendu ses cris: tout le monde dit que non, horsmis deux ieunes hommes ses parens, qui disent auoir ouy des plaintes fort sourdes, & comme de loing. O qu'ils le firent aise, se tournant vers moy, il se mit a rire, disant, voyez cette robe noire qui nous vient dire qu'il ne faut tuer personne: Comme ie regardois attentiuement l'espée & le poignard; il me les fit presenter, regarde, dit-il, qu'est cela; c'est du sang, repartis-je, de qui? de quelque Orignac ou d'autre animal, ils se mocquerent de moy, disants que c'estoit du sang de ce Sorcier de Gaspé; comment, dis je, il est à plus de cent lieuës d'icy? il est vray font-ils, mais c'est le Manitou, c'est à dire le Diable, qui apporte son sang pardessous la terre. Or si c'est hõme est vrayement Magicien, ie m'en rapporte, pour moy i'estime qu'il n'est ny Sorcier ny Magicien, mais qu'il le voudroit bien estre: tout ce qu'il faict selon ma pensée n'est que badinerie, [78] pour amuser les Sauuages, il voudroit bien auoir communication auec le Diable ou Manitou, mais ie ne crois pas qu'il en ait: si bien me persuaday-je, qu'il y a eu icy quelque Sorcier, ou quelque Magicien s'il est vray ce [200] qu'ils disent des maladies & des guerisons, dont ils me parlent: c'est chose estrange, que le Diable qui apparoist sensiblement aux Ameriquains Meridionaux, & qui les bat & les tourmente de telle sorte, qu'ils se voudroient bien deffaire d'vn tel hoste, ne se communique point visiblement ny sensiblement à nos Sauuages, selon ce que ie crois. Ie sçais qu'il y a des personnes d'opinion contraire, croyans aux rapports de ces Barbares, mais quand ie les presse, ils m'aduoüent tous, qu'ils n'ont rien veu de tout ce qu'ils disent, mais seulement qu'ils l'ont oüy dire à d'autres.
Finally, this mystery ends, and he draws out the sword and the poniard all covered with blood, and throws them down before the other Savages; the ditch [77] is hurriedly covered up, and the magician boastfully asserts that his man is struck, that he will soon die, and asks if they have not heard his cries; they all say "no," except two young men, relatives of his, who say they have heard some very dull sounds, and as if far away. Oh, how glad they make him! Turning toward me, he begins to laugh, saying, "See this black robe, who comes here to tell us that we must not kill any one." As I am looking attentively at the sword and the poniard, he has them presented to me. "Look," he says, "what is that?" "It is blood," I answer, "of what? Of some Moose or other animal." They laugh at me, saying that it is the blood of that Sorcerer of Gaspé. "How?" I answer them, "he is more than a hundred leagues away from here." "It is true," they reply, "but it is the Manitou; that is, the Devil, who carries his blood under the earth." Now if this man is really a Magician, I leave you to decide; for my part, I consider that he is neither Sorcerer nor Magician, but that he would like very much to be one. All that he does, according to my opinion, is nothing but nonsense [78] to amuse the Savages. He would like to have communication with the Devil or Manitou, but I do not think that he has. Yet I am persuaded that there has been some Sorcerer or Magician here, if what they tell me is true about diseases and cures which they describe to me; it is a strange thing, in my opinion, that the Devil, who is visible to the South Americans, and who so beats and torments them that they would like to get rid of such a guest, does not communicate himself visibly and sensibly to our Savages. I know that there are persons of contrary opinion, who believe in the reports of these Barbarians; but, when I urge them, they all admit that they have seen nothing of that of which they speak, but that they have only heard it related by others.
Ce n'est pas le mesme des Ameriquains Meridionaux, nos Europeans ont oüy le bruit, la voix & les coups que ruë le Diable sur ces pauures esclaues: & vn François digne de creance, [79] m'a asseuré l'auoir oüy de ses oreilles: surquoy on me rapporte vne chose tres remarquable, c'est que le Diable s'enfuit, & ne frappe point ou cesse de frapper ces miserables, quand vn Catholique entre en leur compagnie, & qu'il ne laisse point de les battre en la presence d'vn Huguenot, d'où vient qu'vn iour se voyans battus en la compagnie d'vn certain François, ils luy dirent, nous nous estonnons que le diable nous batte, toy estant auec nous, veu qu'il n'oseroit le faire quand tes compagnons sont presents. Luy se douta incontinent que cela pouuoit prouenir de sa religion, (car il estoit Caluiniste) s'adressant donc à Dieu, il luy promist de se faire Catholique si le diable cessoit de battre ces pauures peuples en sa presẽce: Le vœu fait, iamais plus aucun Demon ne molesta Amariquain en sa compagnie, d'où vient qu'il se fist Catholique, selon la promesse qu'il en auoit faicte; mais [202] retournons à nostre discours. I'ay veu deux autrefois faire les mesmes sortileges à nostre Magicien pretendu, & [80] garda toutes les ceremonies susdites, horsmis qu'il changea de sort, car vne fois il se seruit de quatre bastons faits en forme de fuseaux à filer, sinon qu'ils estoient plus gros, & qu'ils auoient comme des dents en certains endroits: Il se seruit encore du bout de la queuë & du pied d'vn Porc épic, & quelques poils d'Orignac, ou de Porc épic, liez ensemble en petit faisseau: l'autrefois il se seruit encore de ces fuseaux, d'vn pied de Porc épic, ou d'vn autre animal, d'os de quelque beste, d'vn fer semblable, & celuy qu'õ attache à vne porte pour la tirer, & de quelques autres badineries: son valet le renegat luy tenant tout cela prest, & battant le tambour pendant que son Maistre estoit occupé dans la fosse. Voila vne partie des actions esquelles se retrouuent leurs chants, leurs cris, hurlemens & tintamarres.
Among the South Americans it is different. Our Europeans have heard the noise, the voice, and the blows that the Devil deals to these poor slaves, and a Frenchman, worthy of belief, [79] has assured me that he heard it with his own ears. In regard to this, a very remarkable thing is reported to me; it is that the Devil takes flight, and does not strike or else ceases to strike these wretches, when a Catholic enters their company, and that he does not cease to strike them in the presence of a Huguenot. From this it happened that, one day, seeing themselves being beaten in the presence of a Frenchman, they said to him, "We are astonished that the devil beats us when thou art with us, seeing that he does not dare to do it when thy companions are here." It suddenly occurred to him that this might come from his religion (for he was a Calvinist); so, addressing himself to God, he promised to become a Catholic if the devil ceased beating these poor people in his presence. After this vow was made, never afterward did any Demon molest an American in his company, on account of which he became a Catholic according to his promise. But let us return to our story. I have seen our pretended Magician perform the same witchcraft on two other occasions. [80] He observed all the above mentioned ceremonies, except that he changed the charm, for once he made use of four sticks made in the shape of spindles, except that they were heavier, and that they had something like teeth in certain places. Also he used the end of the tail and the foot of a Porcupine, and some hairs of the Moose and of the Porcupine, bound together in a little sheaf. Another time he used these spindles also, and a foot of the Porcupine or of another animal, the bone of some beast, an iron similar to that which they fasten to a door to pull it open, and some other absurd things. His servant, the renegade, held all these things ready for him, and beat the drum while his Master was occupied in the ditch. These are a part of their actions, among which are mingled their songs, their cries, their howls and uproar.
Leur Religiõ, ou plustost superstitiõ, consiste encore à prier: mais, ô mon Dieu! quelles oraisons font ils? Le matin les petits enfans sortans de la Cabane, s'escrient à pleine teste, Cacouakhi [81] Pakhais Amiscouakhi, Pakhais MousouaKhi, Pakhais: venez Porcs épics, venez Castors, venez Elans, voila toutes leurs prieres.
Their Religion, or rather their superstition, consists besides in praying; but O, my God, what prayers they make! In the morning, when the little children come out from their Cabins, they shout, Cacouakhi, [81] Pakhais Amiscouakhi, Pakhais Mousouakhi, Pakhais, "Come, Porcupines; come, Beavers; come, Elk;" and this is all of their prayers.
Les Sauuages eternuans, & quelquefois mesme en autre temps, disent pendant l'Hiuer, criants tout haut Etouctaian miraouinam an MirouscamiKhi, ie serois bien aise de voir le Printemps.
When the Savages sneeze, and sometimes even at other times, during the Winter, they cry out in a loud voice, Etouctaiau miraouinam an Mirouscamikhi, "I shall be very glad to see the Spring."
D'autrefois ie leur ay oüy demãder le Printemps, ou la deliurance du mauuais, & autres choses semblables; & tout cela se faict par desirs qu'ils expriment, criants tant qu'ils peuuent, ie serois bien aise que ce iour continuast, que le vent se changeast, &c. De [204]dire à qui ces souhaits s'adressent, ie ne sçaurois, car eux mesmes ne le sçauent pas, du moins ceux à qui ie l'ay demandé ne m'en ont pû instruire.