ON THEIR CLOTHES AND ORNAMENTS.
IT was the opinion of Aristotle that the world had made three steps, as it were, to [165] arrive at the perfection which it possessed in his time. At first men were contented with life, seeking purely and simply only those things which were necessary and useful for its preservation. In the second stage, they united the agreeable with the necessary, and politeness with necessity. First they found food, and then the seasoning. In the beginning, they covered themselves against the severity of the weather, and afterward grace and beauty were added to their garments. In the early ages, houses were made simply to be used, and afterward they were made to be seen. In the third stage, men of intellect, seeing that the world was enjoying things that were necessary and pleasant in life, gave themselves up to the contemplation of natural objects and to scientific researches; whereby the great Republic of men has little by little perfected itself, necessity marching on ahead, politeness and gentleness following after, and knowledge bringing up the rear.
Or ie veux dire que nos Sauuages Montagnais & errans, ne sont encore [166] qu'au premier degré des trois que ie viẽs de toucher, ils ne pensent qu'à viure, ils mãgent pour ne point mourir, ils se couurent pour [8] banir le froid, non pour paroistre, la grace, la bienseance, la connoissance des arts, les sciences naturelles, & beaucoup moins les veritez surnaturelles, n'ont point encore de logis en cét hemisphere, du moins en ces contrées. Ce peuple ne croit pas qu'il y ait autre science au monde, que de viure & de mãger, voila toute leur Philosophie. Ils s'estõnent de ce que nous faisons cas de nos liures, puisque leur connoissance ne nous donne point dequoy bannir la faim, ils ne peuuent comprendre ce que nous demandons à Dieu en nos prieres. Demande luy, me disoient-ils, des Originaux, des Ours & des Castors, dis luy que tu en veux manger; & quand ie leur disois que ce la estoit peu de chose, qu'il y auoit biẽ d'autres richesses à demãder, ils se rioyent, que pourrois tu, me repondoient-ils souhaitter de meilleur, que de manger tõ saoul de ces bonnes viandes? Bref ils n'ont que la vie, encore ne l'ont-ils pas toute entiere, puisque la famine les tuë assez souuent.
Now I wish to say that our wandering Montagnais Savages are yet only [166] in the first of these three stages which I have just touched upon. Their only thought is to live, they eat so as not to die; they cover themselves to keep off the cold, and not for the sake of appearance. Grace, politeness, the knowledge of the arts, natural sciences, and much less supernatural truths, have as yet no place in this hemisphere, or at least in these countries. These people do not think there is any other science in the world, except that of eating and drinking; and in this lies all their Philosophy. They are astonished at the value we place upon books, seeing that a knowledge of them does not give us anything with which to drive away hunger. They cannot understand what we ask from God in our prayers. "Ask him," they say to me, "for Moose, Bears, and Beavers; tell him that thou wishest them to eat;" and when I tell them that those are only trifling things, that there are still greater riches to demand, they laughingly reply, "What couldst thou wish better than to eat thy fill of these good dishes?" In short, they have nothing but life; yet they are not always sure of that, since they often die of hunger.
[167] Iugez maintenant qu'elle peut-estre la gentillesse de leurs habits, la noblesse & la richesse de leurs ornements, vous prẽdriez plaisir de les voir en cõpagnie: pendant l'Hiuer toutes sortes d'habits leurs sont propres, & tout est commun tant aux femmes comme aux hommes: il n'y a point de difformité en leurs vestemens, tout est bon, pourueu qu'il soit biẽ chaud. Ils sont couuerts propremẽt, quand ils le sont commodement; dõnez leur vn chaperon, vne homme le portera aussi bien qu'vne femme, il n'y a habit de fol dont ils ne se seruent sagement, s'ils s'en peuuent seruir chaudement: ils ne sont point comme ces Seigneurs qui s'attachent à vne couleur. Depuis qu'ils prattiquent nos Europeans, ils sont plus bigarrez que [10] des Suisses. I'ay veu vne petite fille de six ans vestuë de la casaque de son pere, qui estoit vn grand homme, il ne falut point de Tailleur pour luy mettre cét habit dans sa iustesse, on le ramasse à l'entour du corps, & on le lie comme vn fagot. L'vn a vn bonnet rouge, l'autre vn bõnet verd, l'autre vn gris, tous faits, nõ à la mode de la Cour, mais à la mode de la commodité. L'autre aura [168] vn chapeau que si les bords l'empeschent, ils les couppent.
[167] Judge now how elegant must be their garments, how noble and rich their ornaments. You would enjoy seeing them in company. During the Winter all kinds of garments are appropriate to them, and all are common to both women and men, there being no difference at all in their clothes; anything is good, provided it is warm. They are dressed properly when they are dressed comfortably. Give them a hood, and a man will wear it as well as a woman; for there is no article of dress, however foolish, which they will not wear in all seriousness if it helps to keep them warm, in this respect being unlike those Lords who affect a certain color. Since they have had intercourse with our Europeans, they are more motley than the Swiss. I have seen a little six-year-old girl dressed in the greatcoat of her father, who was a large man; yet no Tailor was needed to adjust it to her size, for it was gathered around her body and tied like a bunch of fagots. One has a red hood, another a green one, and another a gray,—all made, not in the fashion of the Court, but in the way best suited to their convenience. Another will wear [168] a hat with the brim cut off, if it happens to be too broad.
Les femmes ont pour robbe vne camisolle ou vn capot, ou vne casaque, ou vne castelogne, ou quelque peau dont ils s'enueloppent, se lians en autãt d'endroits qu'il est necessaire, pour fermer les aduenuës au vent? L'vn porte vn bas de cuir, l'autre de drap, pour le present ils couppent leurs vieilles couuertures ou castellongnes, pour faire des mãches & des bas de chausses. Ie vous laisse à penser si cela est bien vuidé & bien tiré; en vn mot ie reïtere ce que i'ay desia dit, leur proprieté est leur commodité, & comme ils ne se couurent que contre l'injure du tẽps, si tost que l'air est chaud, ou qu'ils entrènt dans leurs Cabanes, ils iettent leurs atours à bas, les hõmes restãs tous nuds, à la reserue d'vn brayer qui leur cache ce qui ne peut estre veu sans vergongne. Pour les femmes elles quittent leur bonnet, leurs manches & bas de chausses, le reste du corps demeurant couuert. Voila l'equipage des Sauuages, pour le present qu'ils communiquent auec nos François.
The women have for dress a long shirt, or a hooded cloak, or a greatcoat, or a blanket, or some skins tied in as many places as may be necessary to keep out the wind. A man will wear one stocking of leather, and another of cloth; just now they are cutting up their old coverings or blankets, with which to make sleeves or stockings; and I leave you to imagine how neatly and smoothly they fit. In a word, I repeat what I have already said,—to them propriety is convenience; and, as they only clothe themselves according to the exigencies of the weather, as soon as the air becomes warm or when they enter their Cabins, they throw off their garments and the men remain entirely naked, except a strip of cloth which conceals what cannot be seen without shame. As to the women, they take off their bonnets, sleeves and stockings, the rest of the body remaining covered. In this you have the clothing of the Savages, now during their intercourse and association with our French.
Ce peuple va tousi[o]urs teste nuë, hormis [169] dans les plus grands froids, encore y en a-il plusieurs qui ne se couurient iamais, ce qui me fait conjecturer que fort peu se seruoient de bõnets, auant qu'ils communiquassent auec nos Europeãs, aussi n'en sçauroient [12] ils faire, ains ils les traittent tous faits, ou du moins les font tailler à nos François. Voila pour leur coiffure, qui n'est autre que leurs cheueux, tant aux hommes qu'aux femmes, & mesme aux enfans; car ils sont testes nuës dans leur maillot.
These people always go bareheaded, except [169] in the most severe cold, and even then some of them go uncovered, which makes me think that very few of them used hats before their intercourse with our Europeans; nor do they know how to make them, buying them already made, or at least cut, from our French people. So for their head gear they have nothing but their hair, both men and women and even the children, for they are bareheaded in their swaddling clothes.