Part 5

[iii] Lectori.

_POSTQUAM Patres Societatis_ Jesu _malevolentiam inimicorum suorum vicerant et in_ Galliam _reversierant, vocari videbantur aliò ad labores suos fructuosè collocandos._

[iii] To the Reader.

_AFTER the Fathers of the Society of_ Jesus _had overcome the ill-will of their enemies and again been admitted into_ France,[7] _they felt themselves called to other fields for the fruitful employment of their labors._

_Multa erat in_ Novâ Franciâ _messis, ubi incolæ pene belluarum more sine Numinis cognitione vivebant._

_A rich harvest was offered in_ New France, _where the natives lived almost like animals, without any knowledge of God._

_Illûc igitur missi fuerunt duo Societatis sacerdotes, Patres scilicet_ Petrus Biardus _et_ Enemundus Massæus, _qui in_ Acadiam _pervenerunt 22 Maii, Anno Salutis 1611. Septem per menses ibi commoratus_, [iv] P. Biardus _hanc epistolam, Superiori suo transmisit._

_To that country, accordingly, were sent two priests of the Society, Fathers_ Pierre Biard _and_ Enemond Massé, _who reached_ Acadia _on the 22nd of May, 1611. After remaining there seven months_, [iv] Father Biard _sent this epistle to his Superior._

_Quatuor velluti in capita hæc litera divisa est, & narrat:_

1º. _Quid sit_ Nova Francia, _qualis regio, qui in eâ populi, quique mores._

2º. _Quo modo, quibusve auxiliis aut successu, Societas missionem illá in regione consecuta sit._

3º. _Quonam in statu rem Christianam his in locis offenderit Societas._

4º. _Quid a missionariis hactenus effectum seu potius attentatum sit._

_The letter is divided, as it were, under four heads, and relates:_

_1st. What New France is, the nature of the country, what tribes inhabit it, and their customs._

_2nd. In what manner, with what help and with what success the Society secured a mission in that country._

_3rd. In what condition the Society found the Christian religion in this region._

_4th. What has been done by the missionaries thus far, or rather what has been attempted._

_Licet epistola sub finem habeat:_ ultimo die Januarii CIↃ. IↃC. XI. _ia quidem aut error in anno est, aut P._ Biardus _secundum stylum veterem scripsit, nam debit esse annus_, CIↃ. IↃC. XII.

_Although, the end of the letter reads: the last day of_ January, 1611,--_either there is an error in the year, or Father Biard wrote according to the old style, for the year ought to be 1612.[8]_

[5] Missio Canadensis.

REVERENDE IN CHRISTO PATER,

Pax Christi.

VOCAT NOS huius anni CIↃ.IↃC.XI. instans iam atqʒ vrgens exitus ad recognoscendum coram Paternitate vestra principium, quo primùm Societas in has nouæ Franciæ regiones delata est: multorum quoque beneficiorum cumulus, quo nos diuina largitas in his & auspicādis, & sospitādis initijs prosecuta est, hoc exigit, vt in hoc tanquam temporum anníque portu actionum nostrarū, & tanquam velificationis seriem relegētes, Chariss: Patres Fratrésqʒ nostros inuitemus, & ad gaudium pro ijs, quæ feliciter [6] in nobis diuina manus operata est, & scilicet ad gemitum pariter & orationem pro ijs, quæ in animorum salute procuranda, segniter ipsi nequitérque multa deliquimus. Quod enim diutius antè Societas multísqʒ conatibus intenderat, vt aliquam suis laboribus posset huic quoq; siluaticæ genti opem & lucem Euangelio inferendo affere, id hoc ipsa demum anno videtur, vt in tenui exiguóque principio satis feliciter, próque desiderio esse assecuta.

[5] Canadian Mission.

REVEREND FATHER IN CHRIST,

The peace of Christ be with you.

The end of this year 1611, which is already so rapidly drawing near, invites me to write to your Reverence in acknowledgment of its beginning, in which our Society first penetrated into this territory of new France. The profusion of blessings and favors which the divine bounty has bestowed upon us while undertaking and sustaining this infant enterprise, requires that in this haven, as it were, of time and of the year we should, reviewing the course of our actions and the occurrences of our voyage, invite our dear Fathers and Brothers to share both in our rejoicing for those things which the hand of God has happily [6] effected through us, and, too, in our mourning and our prayers for our delinquencies and inefficiency in seeking the salvation of souls. The object sought by the Society for a long time previously and with many efforts, that it might in some degree impart help and light to this savage people also by its labors in bringing the Gospel among them, it seems at last to have attained in this year, with a small and slight beginning indeed, yet auspiciously and in accordance with its hopes.

Atque hoc scilicet mihi iam narrandum est, exponendúmqʒ vestræ Paternitati, quæ & quanta sit hæc messis animorum, quidvé à magno Patrefamilias datum nobis hactenus, quid etiam porrò dandum speretur. Sed vt commodissimè tota mihi narratio decurrat, neq; decurrentem, vt fit, multa effugiant, in quatuor videtur velut capita rei totius expositio esse diuidenda. Exponā ergo primùm, quæ sit hæc noua Francia, quæ regio, qui populi morésque: tum deinde quomodo, quibusvé tandē auxilijs, aut successu Societas missionem in has regiones [7] obtinuerit. Tertiò quonam in statu rem Christianam in his terris offenderimus. Postremò quid à nobis effectum hactenus, seu potiùs quid attentatum sit ad diuinam gloriam. Hæc mihi videtur esse posse commodissima & sufficiens narrandorum omnium expositio.

This also I must narrate and explain to your Reverence, of what nature and how numerous is this harvest of souls, and what has hitherto been given to us by our Heavenly Father, and what further gifts we may hope for in the future. But to facilitate my whole narration, and to obviate the possible omission of many details in its course, I think it best to divide the whole matter under four heads. I shall therefore first describe new France, the country, the natives, and their customs; next, in what manner, and with what help, and with what result, our Society secured a mission to this country; [7] thirdly, in what condition we found the Christian religion in this region; and, finally, what has been accomplished by us thus far, or rather what has been attempted for the glory of God. This appears to me a very convenient and sufficient summary of all I am to tell.

Atque vt à capite ordiar explicémque primùm, quænam sit hæc Noua Francia, quod solum, quivé ritus gentis, credo non solùm Paternitati vestræ iucundum, sed nobis quoqʒ necessarium, regionem vniuersam accuratiùs describere. Nam cùm hic nobis ad laborandum campus assignatus, certum est, non posse nos à vestra paternitate dirigi pro occursuum varietate, nisi ea fines, adfractus viarum, viciniorum locorum distantiam, statum gentis & rerum, noverit.

And, in order that I may begin at the beginning and explain first what sort of a land New France is, the nature of the country and the customs of the natives, I think it will be not only a pleasure for your Reverence, but also a necessity for ourselves that the whole territory be rather accurately described. For, since this is the field assigned to us for our labors, it is certain that your reverence cannot direct us in accordance with our varied needs without a knowledge of the extent of the country, of the impediments to travel, of the distance of neighboring settlements, and of the condition of people and things.

Præterea tot video à Geographis antiquis errores tenebrásque in hanc cognitionem induci, vt nisi à nobis succurratur rerum non auditoribus sed spectatoribus, non possit non in nostris itineribus & vestigijs persequendis haud minùs à veritate, quàm à corpore cogitatio peregrinari. [8] Norumbegam illi nobis nescio quam, vrbésque & castella nominant, quorum hodie ne vmbra quidem aut ipsa vox extant.

Besides, I find this matter involved in so much error and darkness by the older Geographers, that unless we, who know these things not from hearsay only, but are eyewitnesses thereof, come to the rescue, it is impossible that the mind, in tracing our footsteps and our journeys, should not wander as far away from the truth as it has to do from the body. [8] They speak of a certain Norumbega and give the names of cities and strongholds of which to-day no trace or even report remains.

Verùm quod polliciti sumus exequamur. Noua Francia, vti nunc Galli vsurpant, regio illa est trans Oceanum Gallicum, quæ à quadragesimo primo gradu vsque ad quinquagesimum secundum latitudinis, aut etiam quinquagesimum tertium procurrit.

However, let me fulfill my promise. New France, as the French now call it, is that territory across the French Ocean which extends from the forty-first to the fifty-second, or even fifty-third degree of latitude.

Scio ab alijs multò latiùs fines regionis porrigi, ab alijs coarctari angustiùs, sed ego hîc non disputo: id solùm expono, quod nunc vti dixi communiùs vsurpatur, vel quod hoc terrarum Gallorum nauigationibus ab aliquot iam annis maximè frequentatum & vindicatum est, vel quod illud idem ferè antiquæ Franciæ parallelū æqualiter eam ab occidente respicit.

I know that some extend the boundaries of this region much farther, while others restrict them more narrowly, but I am not arguing this point; I merely explain what is, as I have said, the prevailing interpretation of them, either because this part of the country has been for many years past particularly explored and claimed by the French, or because the parallels bounding this western region are almost the same as those of old France.

Hæc igitur Noua Francia oram habet sanè multifariam, sinubus marinis fluminibùsque exesam, an fractuosam & recurrentem. Sinus duo sunt maiores, [9] vastíque; alter is, qui S. Laurentij gurges; alter, qui Francius appellatur.

New France has an exceedingly varied sea-coast, indented by bays and rivers, broken and irregular. There are two principal bays [9] of vast size, one called the gulf of St. Lawrence, the other French bay.

Námque à quadragesimo septimo gradu, vsque ad quinquagesimum primum, tellus velut gremium aperit; siue ad accipiendum introrsus Oceanum, siue ad exonerandum magnum flumen Canadan. Atque hic gurges S. Laurentij dicitur, cuius in introitu ingens illa adiacet insula, quam terras nouas Galli, Barbari Praesentis appellant moluarum piscatu celeberrima; oram sinûs fluminísque tenent Aquilonem versùs Excomminqui, siue, vt vulgus indigetat, Excōmunicati. Fera gens est, & vt dicitur Anthropophaga, quanquam & hi olim satis diu pacificè cum Gallis agitârunt, nunc irreconciliabiles cum his inimicitias exercent. Sequuntur interiùs, occidentem versùs Algonquini, pòst Montagnesij, intimi sunt ad capita ipsius magni fluminis Canadæ, Irocosij, qui etiam latè Austrum versus protenduntur.

Indeed, from the forty-seventh degree as far as to the fifty-first, the land opens its bosom, as it were, to receive the Ocean into it, or to facilitate the outflow of the great Canadian river. This gulf is known as the gulf of St. Lawrence, in the mouth of which lies that enormous island which the French call newfoundland, the Savages Præsentis [Plaisance];[9] it is famous for its cod-fishery; the shores of the gulf and the rivers are occupied toward the North by the Excomminqui, or, as they are commonly called, the Excommunicated.[10] This tribe is very savage, and, it is said, is addicted to Cannibalism; although once in very peaceful relations with the French for a considerable length of time, it is now on a footing of irreconcilable enmity. There follow, in the interior, toward the west, the Algonquins; then the Montagnais; those dwelling at the head-waters of this same great Canadian river are the Irocois, whose territory also extends far to the South.

Atque hi ferè Irocosij noti sunt Gallis duntaxat ob perpetua bella, quæ cum Montagnesijs, & Algonquinis fœderatis [10] & amicis populis geruntur. Iam verò Austrum versùs terra ab hoc S. Laurentij sinu paulatim vsque ad quadragesimum tertium gradum excurrit, vbi rursus altero sinu maximo inciditur, quem Francicum appellant. Hic gurges terras vastè exedens, seséque Aquilonem versùs & S. Laurentij sinum incuruans, velut Isthmum efficit; Isthmúmque adiuuat S. Ioannis longissimum flumē, quod orsum ab ipsa propemodum ora magni Canadæ in hūc sese Francicum gurgitem exonerat. Continet hic Isthmus leucas admodū quingentas circuitu suo, eúmque occupant Soriqui populi. In hoc Isthmo portus regalis est, vbi nunc degimus, ad gradum latitudinis quadragesimum quartum cum besse. Sed habet portus ostium suum (ne quis fallatur) non in Oceanum ad orientem obuersum, sed in sinum eum, quem dixi Francicum: ad Occidentem & septentrionem à fluuio Sancti Ioannis vsque ad fluuium Potugoët, atque adeò vsque ad flumen Rimbegui habitant Etheminquenses. Habet Rimbegui ostia sua sub gradu quadragesimo [11] tertio cum besse. Nec procul est Chouacoët, quod alterum est latus siue brachium terræ, quod sinum Frācicum excipit. Námque ad orientem est illud, quod promontorium sabulosum nominamus: ad Occidentem Chouacoët; vtrumque ad quadragesimum tertium eleuationis gradum, cùm tamen inter hoc atque illud centum leucarum intercapedo sit: à fluuio Rimbegui[IV.] vsque ad quadragesimum gradum latè possident, qui Armouchiqui appellantur. Atque hæc ferè partitio est regionis: itáque si numeres, populi erunt septem, linguâ inter se ac studijs discrepantes; Excommunicati, Algonquini, Montagnesij, Irocosij, Soriqui, Etheminquenses, & Armouchiqui. Sed ex ijs nec Excommunicati, nec Irocosij, nec Armouchiqui multum Gallis noti sunt. Reliqui quatuor in firmam iam videntur cum ijs amicitiam & cōsuetudinem coaluisse. Pernoctant ipsi nobiscum, nos cum ipsis vagamur, venamur, viuimus sine armis, sine metu; & quod adhuc apparuerit, sine periculo. Caussa frequentandi piscatio fuit Moluarum, [12] quibus hoc mare abundat, & pellium permutatio. Nam cùm ære, ferro, cānabe, lanâ, frugibus, atqʒ omni ferè artificio Barbari careant, hæc à Gallis accipiunt. Ipsi contrà, qui vnicus thesaurus est, pelles retribuunt. Est autem regio tota magnam partem perfrigida. Caussæ sunt plures; vna quòd valde aquosa est; nam præterquam quòd vndique ferè mari alluitur, fluminibus præterea & stagnis lacubúsque maximis abundat. Insulæ ita frequentes sunt, vt ora tota ijs intercisa, & tanquam baccata sit. Hinc sequitur nimirum, vt pruinosa sit, & tamē ventosa, sed flatu non nisi ferè algido. Altera est caussa frigoris, quòd inculta sit; nam cùm latè omnia silua vna contineat, nihil mirum est, si vix vnquam possit humus calefieri. Adde his, si placet, caussam tertiam, montes videlicet niuosos ac perpetuò rigentes, quibus dicimur ab Occidente ac Septentrione procul obuallari.

These Irocois are known to the French chiefly for the perpetual warfare which they maintain against the Montagnais and Algonquins, allied [10] and friendly tribes. To the South, however, the coast gradually advances up to the forty-third degree, where once more it is interrupted by a very large bay called French bay. This gulf, advancing far into the interior, and bending toward the North and the gulf of St. Lawrence, forms a sort of Isthmus; and this Isthmus is completed by the St. John, a very long river which, taking its rise almost at the very banks of the great Canadian river, empties into this French bay. This Isthmus has a circuit of fully five hundred leagues and is occupied by the Soriquois tribe. In this Isthmus is port royal, where we are now sojourning, lying on the parallel of 44° 40'. But this port (to obviate misunderstanding) is not on the Ocean lying eastward, but on that gulf which I have called French bay. To the West and north, from the river of St. John to the river Potugoët,[3] and even to the river Rimbegui,[2] live the Etheminqui. The mouth of this river is in latitude 43° 40'. [11] Not far distant is Chouacoët,[11] which is the other shore or arm embracing French Bay. For to the east lies what we call cape sable, while Chouacoët lies toward the West; both are on the forty-third parallel, though they are separated by an interval of a hundred leagues. From the Rimbegui[III.] river to the fortieth parallel the whole country is in the possession of the tribe called the Armouchiquois. Such is the distribution of the territory. The tribes amount to seven in number, differing from each other in language and character: the Excommunicated, the Algonquins, the Montagnais, the Irocois, the Soriquois, the Etheminqui and the Armouchiquois. But of these neither the Excommunicated, nor the Irocois, nor the Armouchiquois are well known to the French. The remaining four tribes appear already to be united in firm friendship and intimacy with them. They stay over night among us; we rove about with them, and hunt with them and live among them without arms and without fear; and, as has thus far appeared, without danger. This intimacy arose partly from association while fishing for Cod, [12] which abound in these waters, and partly from trading in furs. For the Savages, who have neither copper, iron, hemp, wool, vegetables nor manufactured articles of any kind, resort to the French for them, giving in return the only thing of value they have, namely, furs. This whole region is for the most part very cold, owing to various causes. In the first place, the country is a very wet one; for, besides being washed on almost every side by the sea, it abounds in rivers and ponds and large lakes. Islands are so numerous that the whole shore is cut up by a confused procession of them, as it were. Moreover, though a land of frost, it is very windy, the wind being nearly always a cold one. Another cause of cold is the wildness of the country; for, being covered on every side by one continuous forest, it naturally follows that the soil hardly ever becomes really warmed through. A third cause is the mountains, covered with snow and perpetual frost, which are said to wall us in far away to the North and the West.

Certè quidem ab ea parte non nisi gelu perflamur & niuibus. Alioqui sanè facies regionis est peramœna, pluribus [13] locis hospitem inuitans ac bene pollicens; & quod apparuit, si colatur, non infœcunda. Indigenæ rari sunt. Etheminquenses mille capita numerare non possent, nec multò plus Algonquini simul & Montanenses iuncti: Soriqui duo millia non conficerent: Itaque summùm quatuor capitum millibus tam vasti terrarum & littorum tractus non tenentur, sed percurruntur. Gens enim est vaga, siluestris, & sparsa, vt quæ venatu solo & piscatu viuat. Imberbes feré, & quidem statura cōmuni, vel paulò breuiore ac graciliore quàm nostri, at non degener tamen aut indecora; color non multùm fuscus, faciem vulgò pingunt, & in luctu atrant. Iuris amantes, ac vim latrociniùmque perosi. Quod sanè mirum est in hominibus, qui lege ac magistratu carent. Sui enim quisque dominus est ac vindex. Sagamos quidem habēt, hoc est bellorum ductores, sed quorum omnino precarium sit imperium, si tamen imperium appellandum est, vbi nulla est necessitas parendi. Sequuntur vel exemplo, vel vsu, vel affinitatis [14] aut generis conciliatione inducti, nonnunquam etiam certè cuiusdam potentiæ auctoritate: bella populatim gerunt, ob illatas priuatis iniurias. Genus totum vindictæ auidum; & vt barbarum, in victoriâ insolens, captiuorum capita tanquam opima spolia & torques magno gaudio circumferunt.

We certainly get nothing from that quarter but piercing winds and snow-storms. Elsewhere, however, the appearance of the country is very pleasing, and in many [13] places inviting to the settler and quite promising; and, as experience has shown, it is not unfruitful if cultivated. The natives are not numerous. The Etheminqui number less than a thousand, the Algonquins and the Montagnais together would not amount to much more, the Soriquois would not amount to two thousand. Thus four thousand Indians at most roam through, rather than occupy, these vast stretches of inland territory and sea-shore. For they are a nomadic people, living in the forests and scattered over wide spaces, as is natural for those who live by hunting and fishing only. They are nearly all beardless and of average stature, or even a little shorter and more slender than we, but not degraded nor ill-favored in appearance; their color is not very swarthy; they commonly paint their faces, and, when in mourning, blacken them. They love justice and hate violence and robbery, a thing really remarkable in men who have neither laws nor magistrates; for, among them, each man is his own master and his own protector. They have Sagamores, that is, leaders in war; but their authority is most precarious, if, indeed, that may be called authority to which obedience is in no wise obligatory. The Indians follow them through the persuasion of example or of custom, [14] or of ties of kindred and alliance; sometimes even through a certain authority of power, no doubt. They wage war as a tribe on account of wrongs done to a private individual. The whole race is very revengeful and, after the fashion of savages, insolent in victory, carrying about the heads of their captives as trophies and spoils of victory.

Et quidem dicuntur humanis carnibus non abstinuisse, ídque etiamnum perhibentur & Excommunicati & Armonchiqui facere: verum ab ijs, quorum est cum Gallis consuetudo, tantum scelus procul abest.

They are even said to have been addicted to the eating of human flesh, and the Excommunicated and Armouchiquois tribes are said to have the same practice even now. Those, however, who are intimate with the French are far from being guilty of so great a crime.

Religio tota certis incantationibus, choreis, & veneficijs constat; nimirum vt aut necessaria vitæ conquirant, aut inimicos amoliantur; suos habent Autmoinos, hoc est veneficos, qui malū Dæmonem consulant de vita & morte, futurorúmque euentis; & quidem sese illis mala bellua præsentem sæpe sistit, vt ipsi asserunt, vindictam annuit, renuítque, mortem inimicorum suorumvé, venationem prosperam, & cetera eiusmodi ludibria, quorum vt ne quid desit, [15] etiam somnijs fidem habent: si fortè super placito & bene auspicante somnio euigilauerint, consurgunt, vel de nocte concubia, & omen cantu ac choreis sequuntur. Templa, ædesvé sacras, ritus, cæremonias, disciplinam nullam habent, vti nec leges aut artificia politiamvé vllam, præter certos mores & consuetudinem, quorū sunt retinentissimi. Si quem Veneficus respondit ad certā diem moriturum, is deseritur ab omnibus; quin ipse adeò miser, vtpote iam mortis certus, vltro sibi inediam atque omnium incuriam indicit, credo ne videatur contra fatum pugnare.