Voyages of Samuel de Champlain V3 by Samuel de Champlain

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In the afternoon we entered a lake, [53] five leagues long and two wide, in
which there are very fine islands covered with vines, nut-trees, and other
excellent kinds of trees. Ten or twelve leagues above we passed some
islands covered with pines. The land is sandy, and there is found here a
root which dyes a crimson color, with which the savages paint their faces,
as also little gewgaws after their manner. There is also a mountain range
along this river, and the surrounding country seems to be very
unpromising. The rest of the day we passed on a very pleasant island.

The next day we proceeded on our course to a great fall, nearly three
leagues broad, in which the water falls a height of ten or twelve fathoms
in a slope, making a marvellous noise. [54] It is filled with a vast number
of islands, covered with pines and cedars. In order to pass it we were
obliged to give up our maize or Indian corn, and some few other provisions
we had, together with our least necessary clothes, retaining only our arms
and lines, to afford us means of support from hunting and fishing as place
and luck might permit. Thus lightened we passed, sometimes rowing,
sometimes carrying our canoes and arms by land, the fall, which is a league
and a half long, [55] and in which our savages, who are indefatigable in
this work and accustomed to endure such hardships, aided us greatly.

Continuing our course, we passed two other falls, one by land, the other
with oar and poles standing up. Then we entered a lake, [56] six or seven
leagues long, into which flows a river coming from the south, [57] on which
at a distance of five days' journey from the other river [58] live a people
called _Matou-oueescarini_ [59] The lands about the before-mentioned lake
are sandy and covered with pines, which have been almost entirely burned
down by the savages. There are some islands, in one of which we rested
ourselves. Here we saw a number of fine red cypresses,[60] the first I had
seen in this country, out of which I made a cross, which I planted at one
end of the island, on an elevated and conspicuous spot, with the arms of
France, as I had done in other places where we had stopped. I called this
island _Sainte Croix_.

On the 6th we set out from this island of St. Croix, where the river is a
league and a half broad, and having made eight or ten leagues we passed a
small fall by oar, and a number of islands of various sizes. Here our
savages left the sacks containing their provisions and their less necessary
articles, in order to be lighter for going overland and avoiding several
falls which it was necessary to pass. There was a great dispute between our
savages and our impostor, who affirmed that there was no danger by way of
the falls, and that we ought to go that way. Our savages said to him, You
are tired of living, and to me, that I ought not to believe him, and that
he did not tell the truth. Accordingly, having several times observed that
he had no knowledge of the places, I followed the advice of the savages,
which was fortunate for me, for he fought for dangers in order to ruin me
or to disgust me with the undertaking, as he has since confessed, a
statement of which will be given hereafter. We crossed accordingly towards
the west the river, which extended northward. I took the altitude of this
place and found it in latitude 46 deg. 40'.[61] We had much difficulty in going
this distance overland. I, for my part, was loaded only with three
arquebuses, as many oars, my cloak, and some small articles. I cheered on
our men, who were somewhat more heavily loaded, but more troubled by the
mosquitoes than by their loads. Thus after passing four small ponds and
having gone a distance of two and a half leagues, we were so wearied that
it was impossible to go farther, not having eaten for twenty-four hours
anything but a little broiled fish without seasoning, for we had left our
provisions behind, as I mentioned before. Accordingly we rested on the
border of a pond, which was very pleasant, and made a fire to drive away
the mosquitoes, which annoyed us greatly, whose persistency is so
marvellous that one cannot describe it. Here we cast our lines to catch
some fish.

The next day we passed this pond, which was perhaps a league long. Then we
went by land three leagues through a country worse than we had yet seen,
since the winds had blown down the pines on top of each other. This was no
slight inconvenience, as it was necessary to go now over, now under, these
trees. In this way we reached a lake, six leagues long and two wide, [62]
very abundant in fish, the neighboring people doing their fishing there.
Near this lake is a settlement of savages, who till the soil and gather
harvests of maize. Their chief is named _Nibachis_, who came to visit us
with his followers, astonished that we could have passed the falls and bad
roads in order to reach them. After offering us tobacco, according to their
custom, he began to address his companions, saying, that we must have
fallen from the clouds, for he knew not how we could have made the journey,
and that they who lived in the country had much trouble in traversing these
bad ways: and he gave them to understand that I accomplished all that I set
my mind upon; in short, that he believed respecting me all that the other
savages had told him. Aware that we were hungry, he gave us some fish,
which we ate, and after our meal I explained to him, through Thomas, our
interpreter, the pleasure I had in meeting them, that I had come to this
country to assist them in their wars, and that I desired to go still
farther to see some other chiefs for the same object, at which they were
glad and promised me assistance. They showed me their gardens and the
fields, where they had maize. Their soil is sandy, for which reason they
devote themselves more to hunting than to tillage, unlike the Ochateguins.
[63] When they wish to make a piece of land arable, they burn down the
trees, which is very easily done, as they are all pines, and filled with
rosin. The trees having been burned, they dig up the ground a little, and
plant their maize kernel by kernel, [64] like those in Florida. At the time
I was there it was only four fingers high.

ENDNOTES:

33. _Vide_ Vol. II. p. 171, note 297, for an account of Henry Hudson, to
whom this statement refers. De Vignau had undoubtedly heard rumors
concerning Hudson's expedition to the bay that bears his name in the
years 1610-11, out of which he fabricated the fine story of his
pretended discovery. Longitude at that time was reckoned from the
island of Ferro, one of the Canaries. Proceeding from west to east, the
290 deg. would pass through Hudson's Bay, as may be seen by consulting any
early French map. _Vide_ Bellin's _Carte du Globe Terrestre_, 1764.

34. Nicholas Brulart de Sillery, who was born at Sillery, in France, in
1544, and died in the same place in 1624. He rendered signal service to
Henry IV. Among other public acts he negotiated the peace of Vervins
between France and Spain in 1598. He was appointed grand chancellor of
France in 1607. Henry IV. said of him, Avec mon chanclier qui ne fait
pas le latin et mon connetable (Henri de Montmorency), qui ne fait ni
lire ni ecrire, je puis venir a bout des affairs les plus difficiles.

35. For some account of Marshal de Brissac, _vide_ Vol. I. p. 17, note 16.

36. _Vide_ Vol. I. p. 112, note 73. President Jeannin was a most suitable
person to consult on this subject, as he was deeply interested in the
discovery of a northwest passage to India. When minister at the Hague
he addressed a letter bearing date January 21st, 1609, to Henry IV. of
France, containing an account of his indirect negotiations with Henry
Hudson, for a voyage to discover a shorter passage to India. A copy of
this interesting letter, both in French and English, may be found in
_Henry Hudson the Navigator_, by G. M. Asher, LL.D., Hakluyt Society,
London, 1860, p. 244.

37. The festival of Whitsunday occurred on the 26th May. _Laverdiere in
loco_.

38. The Falls of St Louis.

39. Lake St. Louis.

40. Champlain is here speaking of the river St. Lawrence, which flows into
Lake St. Louis slightly south of west.

41. Riviere de Loup, now known as the Chateauguay.

42. The River Ottawa or a branch of it flows into Lake St. Louis from the
north, although its course is rather from the west. It was often called
the River of the Algonquins. It approaches comparatively near to Lake
Nipissing, the home of the Nipissirini. The sources of the Ottawa are
northeast of Lake Nipissing, a distance of from one to three hundred
miles. The distances here given by Champlain are only general estimates
gathered from the Indians, and are necessarily inaccurate.

43. Rapide de Brussi, by which the river flows from the Lake of
Two Mountains into Lake St Louis.

44. _Lac de Soissons_, now called Lake of Two Mountains _Vide_ Vol. I.
p. 294.

45. This is the first of a series of falls now known as the Long Fall.

46. _Quenongebin_. Laverdiere makes, this the same as the Kinounchepirini
of Vimont. It was an Algonquin nation situated south of Allumette
Island. _Vide Jesuite Relations_, Quebec ed, 1640, p. 34.

47. _Ouescharini_. These people, called Ouaouechkairini by Vimont, appear
to have dwelt on the stream now known as the _Riviere de Petite
Nation_, rising in a system of lakes, among which are Lake Simon,
Whitefish Lake, Long Lake, and Lake Des Isles. _Vide Jesuite
Relations_, 1640, p. 34. The tribe here mentioned was subsequently
called the Little Nation of the Algonquins hence the name of the
river. _Laverdiere_.

48. This passage is exceedingly obscure. Laverdiere supposes that part of a
sentence was left out by the printer. If so it is remarkable that
Champlain did not correct it in his edition of 1632. Laverdiere thinks
the river here spoken of is the Gatineau, and that the savages
following up this stream went by a portage to the St. Maurice, and
passing down reached the St. Lawrence _thirty_ leagues, and not
_three_, below the Falls of Saint Louis. The three rivers thus named
inclose or form an island of about the extent described in the
text. This explanation is plausible. The passage amended would read,
"This river _extends near another which_ falls into the great river
St. Lawrence thirty leagues below the falls of St. Louis." We know of
no other way in which the passage can be rationally explained.

49. Rideau, at the mouth of which is Green Island, referred to in the text
below.

50. The fall in the Rideau is thirty-four feet, according to the Edinburgh
Gazetteer of the World. The estimate of Champlain is so far out of the
way that it seems not unlikely that feet were intended instead of
fathoms. _Vide_ Vol. I. pp. 301, 302.

51. The Chaudiere Falls, just above the present city of Ottawa, the
greatest height of which is about forty feet "Arrayed in every
imaginable variety of form, in vast dark masses, in graceful cascades,
or in tumbling spray, they have been well described as a hundred rivers
struggling for a passage. Not the least interesting feature they
present is the Lost Chaudiere, where a large body of water is quietly
sucked down, and disappears underground" _Vide Canada_ by W. H Smith.
Vol. I. p. 120. Also Vol I. p, 120 of this work.

52. The latitude of the Chaudiere Falls is about 45 deg. 27'.

53. Chaudiere Lake, which was only an expansion of the River Ottawa.

54. Rapide des Chats.

55. This probably refers to that part of the fall which was more difficult
to pass.

56. Lake des Chats. The name _des chats_ appears to have been given to this
Lake, the Rapids, and the _Nation des chats_, on account of the great
number of the _loup cervier_, or wild cats, _chats sauvages_, found in
this region. Cf. _Le Grande Voyage du Pays des Hurons_, par Sagard,
Paris, 1632, p. 307.

57. Madawaskca River, an affluent of the Ottawa, uniting with it at Fitz
Roy.

58. Probably an allusion to the River St. Lawrence.

59. This is the same tribe alluded to by Vimont under the name
_Mataouchkarmi_, as dwelling south of Allumette Island. _Vide Relations
des Jesuites_, 1640, Quebec ed., p. 34.

60. Cypres, Red Cedar or Savin, _Juniperus Virginiana_. _Vide_ Vol. II.
note 168.

61. They were now, perhaps, two miles below Portage du Fort, at the point
on the Ottawa nearest to the system of lakes through which they were to
pass, and where, as stated in the text, the Ottawa, making an angle,
begins to flow directly from the north. The latitude, as here given, is
even more than usually incorrect, being too high by more than a degree.
The true latitude is about 43 deg. 37'. _Vide Walker_ and _Miles's Atlas of
Dominion of Canada_. Note 62 will explain the cause of this
inexactness.

62. Muskrat Lake. On Champlain's map of 1632 will be seen laid down a
succession of lakes or ponds, together with the larger one, now known
as Muskrat Lake, on the borders of which are figured the dwellings of
the savages referred to in the text. The pond which they passed is the
last in the series before reaching Muskrat Lake. On the direct route
between this pond and the lake, known as the Muskrat Portage road, the
course undoubtedly traversed by Champlain, there was found in 1867, in
the, township of Ross, an astrolabe, an instrument used in taking
latitudes, on which is the date, 1603. It is supposed to have been lost
by Champlain on his present expedition. The reasons for this
supposition have been stated in several brochures recently issued, one
by Mr. O. H. Marshall of Buffalo, entitled _Discovery of an Astrolabe
supposed to have been left by Champlain in 1613_, New York, 1879;
reprinted from the _Magazine of American History_ for March of that
year. Another, _Champlain's Astrolabe lost on the 7th of June, 1613,
and found in August, 1867_, by A. J Russell of Ottawa, Montreal,
1879. And a third entitled _The Astrolabe of Samuel Champlain and
Geoffrey Chaucer_, by Henry Scadding, D.D., of Toronto, 1880. All of
these writers agree in the opinion that the instrument was probably
lost by Champlain on his expedition up the Ottawa in 1613. For the
argument _in extenso_ the reader is referred to the brochures above
cited.

[Illustration of an astrolabe.]

Mr. Russell, who examined the astrolabe thus found with great care and
had it photographed, describes it as a circular plate having a diameter
of five inches and five eighths. "It is of place brass, very dark with
age, one eighth of an inch thick above, increasing to six sixteenths of
an inch below, to give it steadiness when suspended, which apparently
was intended to be increased by hanging a weight on the little
projecting ring at the bottom of it, in using it on ship-board. Its
suspending ring is attached by a double hinge of the nature of a
universal joint. Its circle is divided into single degrees, graduated
from its perpendicular of suspension. The double-bladed index, the
pivot of which passes through the centre of the astrolabe, has slits
and eyelets in the projecting fights that are on it."

We give on the preceding page an engraving of this astrolabe from a
photograph, which presents a sufficiently accurate outline of the
instrument. The plate was originally made to illustrate Mr. Marshall's
article in the Magazine of American History, and we are indebted to the
courtesy of the proprietors of the Magazine, Messrs. A. S. Barnes and
Company of New York, for its use for our present purpose.

The astrolabe, as an instrument for taking the altitude of the stars or
the sun, had long been in use. Thomas Blundevile, who wrote in 1622,
says he had seen three kinds, and that the astrolabe of Stofflerus had
then been in use a hundred years. It had been improved by Gemma
Frisius. Mr. Blagrave had likewise improved upon the last-mentioned,
and his instrument was at that time in general use in England. The
astrolabe continued to be employed in Great Britain in taking altitudes
for more than a century subsequent to this, certainly till Hadley's
Quadrant was invented, which was first announced in 1731.

The astrolabes which had the broadest disks were more exact, as they
were projected on a larger scale, but as they were easily jostled by
the wind or the movement of the ship at sea, they could with difficulty
be employed. But Mr. Blundevile informs us that "the Spaniards doe
commonly make their astrolabes narrow and weighty, which for the most
part are not much above five inches broad, and yet doe weigh at the
least foure pound, & to that end the lower part is made a great deale
thicker than the upper part towards the ring or handle." _Vide
M. Blendeale his Exercises_, London, 1622, pp. 595, 597. This Spanish
instrument, it will be observed, is very similar to that found on the
Old Portage road, and the latter may have been of Spanish make.

In order to take the latitude in Champlain's day, at least three
distinct steps or processes were necessary, and the following
directions might have been given.

I. Let the astrolabe be suspended so that it shall hang plumb. Direct
the index or diopter to the sun at noon, so that the same ray of light
may shine through both holes in the two tablets or pinules on the
diopter, and the diopter will point to the degree of the sun's meridian
altitude indicated on the outer rim of the astrolabe.

II. Ascertain the exact degree of the sun's declination for that day,
by a table calculated for that purpose, which accompanies the
astrolabe.

III. Subtract the declination, so found, if it be northerly, from the
meridian altitude; or if the declination be southerly, add the
declination to the meridian altitude, and the result, subtracted from
90 deg., will give the latitude.

In these several processes of taking the latitude there are numerous
possibilities of inexactness. It does not appear that any correction
was made for refraction of light, or the precession of the equinoxes.
But the most important source of inaccuracy was in the use of the
astrolabe whose disk was so small that its divisions could not be
carried beyond degrees, and consequently minutes were arrived at by
sheer estimation, and usually when the work was completed, the error
was not less than one fourth or one half of a degree, and it was often
much more.

This accounts fully for the inaccuracies of Champlain's latitudes from
first to last throughout his entire explorations, as tested by the very
exact instruments and tables now in use. No better method of
determining the latitude existed at that day, and consequently the
historian is warned not to rely upon the latitude alone as given by the
early navigators and explorers in identifying the exact localities
which they visited.

63. Subsequently called Hurons.

64. _Vide_ Vol. I. p. 49; Vol. II. note 219.

CHAPTER IV.

CONTINUATION.--ARRIVAL AT THE ABODE OF TESSOUAT, AND HIS FAVORABLE
RECEPTION OF ME.--CHARACTER OF THEIR CEMETERIES--THE SAVAGES PROMISE ME
FOUR CANOES FOR CONTINUING MY JOURNEY, WHICH THEY HOWEVER SHORTLY AFTER
REFUSE.--ADDRESS OF THE SAVAGES TO DISSUADE ME FROM MY UNDERTAKING, IN
WHICH THEY REPRESENT ITS DIFFICULTIES--MY REPLY TO THESE OBJECTIONS.--
TESSOUAT ACCUSES MY GUIDE OF LYING, AND OF NOT HAVING BEEN WHERE HE SAID HE
HAD.--THE LATTER MAINTAINS HIS VERACITY--I URGE THEM TO GIVE ME CANOES.--
SEVERAL REFUSALS.--MY GUIDE CONVICTED OF FALSEHOOD, AND HIS CONFESSION.

Nibachis had two canoes fitted out, to conduct me to another chief, named
Tessoueat, [65] who lived eight leagues from him, on the border of a great
lake, through which flows the river which we had left, and which extends
northward. Accordingly we crossed the lake in a west-northwesterly
direction, a distance of nearly seven leagues. Landing there, we went a
league towards the northeast through a very fine country, where are small
beaten paths, along which one can go easily. Thus we arrived on the shore
of the lake, [66] where the dwelling of Tessoueat was. He was accompanied by
a neighboring chieftain, and was greatly amazed to see me, saying that he
thought I was a dream, and that he did not believe his eyes. Thence we
crossed on to an island, [67] where their cabins are, which are poorly
constructed out of the bark of trees. The island is covered with oaks,
pines, and elms, and is not subject to inundations, like the other islands
in the lake.

This island is strongly situated; for at its two ends, and where the river
enters the lake, there are troublesome falls, the roughness of which makes
the island difficult of access. They have accordingly taken up their abode
here in order to avoid the pursuit of their enemies. It is in latitude 47 deg.,
[68] as also the lake, which is twenty leagues long, [69] and three or four
wide. It abounds in fish; the hunting, however, is not especially good.

On visiting the island, I observed their cemeteries, and was struck with
wonder as I saw sepulchres of a shape like shrines, made of pieces of wood
fixed in the ground at a distance of about three feet from each other, and
intersecting at the upper end. On the intersections above they place a
large piece of wood, and in front another upright piece, on which is carved
roughly, as would be expected, the figure of the male or female interred.
If it is a man, they add a shield, a sword attached to a handle after their
manner, a mace, and bow and arrows. If it is a chief, there is a plume on
his head, and some other _matachia_ or embellishment. If it is a child,
they give it a bow and arrow; if a woman or girl, a boiler, an earthen
vessel, a wooden spoon, and an oar. The entire sepulchre is six or seven
feet long at most, and four wide; others are smaller. They are painted
yellow and red, with various ornaments as neatly done as the carving. The
deceased is buried with his dress of beaver or other skins which he wore
when living, and they lay by his side all his possessions, as hatchets,
knives, boilers, and awls, so that these things may serve him in the land
whither he goes; for they believe in the immortality of the soul, as I have
elsewhere observed. These carved sepulchres are only made for the warriors;
for in respect to others they add no more than in the case of women, who
are considered a useless class, accordingly but little is added in their
case.

Observing the poor quality of the soil, I asked them what pleasure they
took in cultivating land so unpromising, since there was some much better,
which they left barren and waste, as at the Falls of St. Louis. They
answered that they were forced to do so in order to dwell in security, and
that the roughness of the locality served them as a defence against their
enemies. But they said that if I would make a settlement of French at the
Falls of St. Louis, as I had promised, they would leave their abode and go
and live near us, confident that their enemies would do them no harm while
we were with them. I told them that we would this year collect wood and
stone in order the coming year to build a fort and cultivate the land; upon
hearing which they raised a great cry of applause. This conference having
been finished, I asked all the chiefs and prominent men among them to
assemble the next day on the main land, at the cabin of Tessoueat, who
purposed to celebrate a _tabagie_ in my honor, adding that I would there
tell them my plans. This they promised, and sent word to their neighbors to
convene at the appointed place.

The next day all the guests came, each with his porringer and wooden
spoon. They seated themselves without order or ceremony on the ground in
the cabin of Tessoueat, who distributed to them a kind of broth made of
maize crushed between two stones, together with meat and fish which was cut
into little pieces, the whole being boiled together without salt. They also
had meat roasted on coals, and fish boiled apart, which he also
distributed. In respect to myself, as I did not wish any of their chowder,
which they prepare in a very dirty manner, I asked them for some fish and
meat, that I might prepare it in my own way, which they gave me. For drink,
we had fine clear water. Tessoueat, who gave the _tabagie_, entertained us
without eating himself, according to their custom.

The _tabagie_ being over, the young men, who are not present at the
harangues and councils, and who during the _tabagies_ remain at the door of
the cabins, withdrew, when all who remained began to fill their pipes, one
and another offering me one. We then spent a full half-hour in this
occupation, not a word being spoken, as is their custom.

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