LAHONTAN’S 
 
 NEW VOYAGES TO NORTH-AMERICA 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 REUBEN GOLD THWAITES, LL.D. 
 
 Volume I 
 

 Volumes in A. C. McCLURG & CO.’S series of 
 
 LIBRARY REPRINTS OF AMERICANA 
 
 THE EXPEDITION OF LEWIS 
 AND CLARK 
 
 Reprinted from the Edition of 1814. With Introduction 
 and Index by James K. Hosmer, LL.D. In two vol¬ 
 umes, with photogravure portraits and maps. $5.00 net. 
 
 HENNEPIN’S “A NEW DISCOVERY” 
 Exact Reprint of the Second Issue of 1698. With Intro¬ 
 duction, Notes, and an analytical Index by Reuben 
 Gold Thwaites, LL.D. In two volumes, with fac¬ 
 similes of original title-pages and of the seven original 
 full-page illustrations, and two large folding maps. 
 $6.00 net. 
 
 GASS’S JOURNAL OF THE 
 LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION 
 Reprinted from the Edition of 1811. With an analyti¬ 
 cal Index, and Introduction by James Kendall Hosmer, 
 LL.D. In one volume, with facsimiles of the original 
 title-page and of the five original illustrations, and a 
 reproduction of a rare portrait of Gass. $3.50 net. 
 
 LAHONTAN’S NEW VOYAGES 
 TO NORTH AMERICA 
 Exact Reprint of the English Edition of 1703. With 
 Introduction, Notes, and an analytical Index by Reuben 
 Gold Thwaites, LL.D. In two volumes, with fac¬ 
 similes of the original title-pages, and of the twenty- 
 four maps and illustrations. $7*5° netm 
 

NEW VOYAGES 
 
 TO 
 
 NORTH-AMERICA 
 
 BY THE 
 
 BARON de LAHONTAN 
 
 Reprinted from the English edition of 1703, with facsimiles of 
 original title-pages, maps, and illustrations, and the 
 addition of Introduction, Notes, and Index 
 
 By Reuben Gold Thwaites, LL.D. 
 
 Editor of “ The Jesuit Relations and Allied DocumentsHennepin's 
 “New Discoveryetc . 
 
 Hit Ctoo Volume* 
 
 Volume I 
 
 CHICAGO 
 
 A. C. McCLURG & CO. 
 
 1905 
 

 Copyright 
 
 A. C. McCLURG & CO. 
 1905 
 
 Published February 25, 1905 
 
 £ 
 
 Composition by The Dial Press, Chicago. 
 Pressivork by The University Press, Cambridge. 
 
CONTENTS —VOLUME I 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Introduction— The Editor .ix 
 
 Lahonton Bibliography — Victor Hugo Paltsits . . li 
 
 Lahontan’s “New Voyages to North-America”— 
 Volume I. 
 
 Title-page (facsimile of original) . . . . i 
 
 Dedication to the Duke of Devonshire ... 3 
 
 Preface . 5 
 
 Contents of Letters, Memoirs, Discourses, Dialogue, 
 
 etc., in both Volumes.13 
 
 Letters I (November 8, 1683)-XXV (January 31, 
 
 1694).25 
 
 Memoirs of North-America; containing a Geograph¬ 
 ical Defcription of that vaft Continent; the Cuftoms 
 and Commerce of the Inhabitants, &c. 
 
 Introductory Remarks.299 
 
 A ftiort Defcription of Canada .... 301 
 
 A Lift of the Savage Nations of Canada . . 339 
 
 A Lift of the Animals of Canada .... 343 
 A Defcription of fuch Animals or Beafts, as are 
 not mention’d in the Letters .... 345 
 A Lift of the Fowl or Birds that frequent the South 
 
 Countries of Canada.350 
 
 The Birds of the North Countries of Canada . 351 
 

 vi 
 
 g a s Ma g g^^ 
 
 i 
 
 Contents 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A Defcription of fuch Birds as are not accounted 
 for in my Letters ...... 353 
 
 A Defcription of the Infects of Canada . . 357 
 
 The Names of the Fifh in the River of St. Laurence, 
 from its Mouth to the Lakes of Canada . 358 
 The Fifh that are found in the Lakes of Canada, 
 and in the Rivers that fall into ’em . . . 359 
 
 The Fifh found in the River of Miflifipi . . 359 
 
 A Defcription of the Fifh that are not mention’d 
 
 in the Letters.360 
 
 The Trees and Fruits of the South Countries of 
 
 Canada. 3^4 
 
 The Trees and Fruits of the North Countries of 
 
 Canada. 3^4 
 
 A Defcription of the above-mention’d Trees and 
 
 Fruits.366 
 
 A Defcription of the Trees and Fruits of the 
 
 Northern Countries.370 
 
 A General view of the Commerce of Canada . 373 
 The Names of the Skins given in exchange, with 
 
 their Rates.379 
 
 An Account of the Government of Canada in 
 
 General.381 
 
 A Difcourfe of the Intereft of the French, and of 
 the Englifh, in North-America . . . 394 
 
 A Table explaining fome Terms made ufe of in 
 both Volumes.401 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS—VOLUME I 
 
 (facsimiles of originals) 
 
 PAGE 
 
 A beaver; the hunting of buffaloes; savages 
 
 drying their meat ..... Frontispiece 
 
 Map of the Great Lakes ..... Facing i 
 
 Map of the straits of Mackinac ... ,,36 
 
 “ Canows made of Birch-bark ” — sketches and 
 
 plans ........ „ 80 
 
 “ M r . De la Barre’s camp ” . . . . ,,124 
 
 “A General Map of New France, Com. call’d 
 
 Canada” . . . . . . . ,,156 
 
 “The curiofity of the Rackets, and the way of 
 
 hunting Elks” . . . . . . „ 188 
 
 “ The Hunting of divers Animals ” . . . ,, 220 
 
 “ The Difcovery of an Ambufcade ” . . . ,, 254 
 
 “A Map of y e Long River and of fome others 
 that fall into that fmall part of y e Great River 
 of Miflifipi which is here laid down ” — with 
 sketch-plans of a house, a vessel, and a medal „ 284 
 “The Attack of Quebec” . . . . ,,316 
 
 “ The Great bay of Placentia ” . . . . ,, 344 
 
 Map of Newfoundland ..... „ 384 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 I N the frontier department of the Basse-Pyrenees, once a 
 part of the ancient province of Bearn, on gently-undulating 
 hillsides which occupy middle ground between the broad- 
 viiiage of stretching pastures and marshes of the Landes and 
 Lahontan. ^he over-topping escarpments of the Pyrenees, lies 
 the pleasant little village of Lahontan. A community of 
 twelve hundred souls, it boasts of an interesting history, but 
 is now almost unknown in its dreamy isolation, save that the 
 scholar may remember that it was once the fief of the illus¬ 
 trious Montaigne. 
 
 About the middle of the seventeenth century, Lahontan 
 was erected into a barony, of which Isaac de Lorn, Sieur 
 d’Arce, the father of our author, was the second baron. The 
 Lahontan’s Sieur d’Arce was famous as a civil engineer, having 
 made the port of Bayonne navigable for sea-going 
 vessels (1630-48). As a recompense for this and certain 
 military services, Louis XIV granted to him and his heirs for¬ 
 ever (1658) a monopoly of navigation and transportation in 
 the harbor of Bayonne, and a pension of three thousand livres 
 per annum for a dozen years; in later years, he was made 
 reformer-general of Bearn, a councillor of the parlement of 
 Navarre, a chevalier of St. Michel, and a bourgeois of Bayonne. 
 
 His first wife (Jeanne Guerin), with whom he had lived 
 for fifteen years, having died in 1663 without issue, he con- 
 
X 
 
 Introduction 
 
 tracted in his old age a second marriage, this time with 
 Birthof Jeanne-Fran?oise le Fascheux de Couttes. To them 
 our author. wag born at Lahontan, the ninth of Jane, 1666, 
 Louis-Armand, whose book of adventurous travel in the 
 heart of North America we are here reprinting. The infant 
 was presented at the baptismal font by no less personages 
 than the Comte de Guiche, then governor of Bearn, and his 
 sister, the Marquise de Lons,—a distinguished welcome to 
 the stage of life, in strong contrast to the experiences 
 incident to his departure. 
 
 When young Louis was but eight years old, his father died 
 at the age of eighty. Honors and wealth had accompanied 
 Baron Isaac until about the time of his son’s birth; there- 
 a shattered after, he became involved in the toils of obligations 
 estate. incurred by his great engineering operations, and of 
 the lawsuits incidental thereto. The son inherited the title of 
 Le Baron de Lahontan et Hesleche (to-day, d’Esleich), and a 
 shattered estate which went from bad to worse. It is small 
 wonder that one of the characteristic features of his Voyages 
 is an unquenchable bitterness against lawyers and legal pro¬ 
 cesses. 
 
 After the fashion of the times, the third baron had from 
 his cradle been destined for the army; and while still a child, 
 family influence secured for him a cadetship in the famous 
 Bourbon regiment. Later, in the effort to secure for the 
 Dedicated to young nobleman a more rapid advancement, he 
 the army. was en t e red as a “garde” in the marine corps — 
 the Department of the Marine being then entrusted with the 
 
Introduction 
 
 xi 
 
 care of colonies. From earliest boyhood, Louis had heard 
 much of Canada. From a neighboring seignory had gone 
 forth the Baron de St. Castin, famous in the annals of Maine; 
 the land of the Basques, on both the Spanish and the French 
 slopes of the Pyrenees, had for nearly two centuries been a 
 recruiting ground for adventurers to the New World; and 
 Louis’s relative, Claude Bragelonne, a high official in the 
 French army, had been one of the Company of the Hundred 
 Associates, whose monopoly long exploited the commerce 
 of the king’s ambitious colony over seas. Lefebvre de la Barre 
 had but just succeeded Count Frontenac as governor of New 
 France. His petition to the court for eight hundred regular 
 troops to be used in proposed chastisements of the death¬ 
 dealing Iroquois, had been in part met by sending to his 
 assistance three companies of French marines in the autumn 
 of 1683. Enrolled among the members of this detachment — 
 exactly in what official capacity, we do not know — was Louis- 
 Armand de Lorn d’Arce, the youthful Baron de Lahontan, 
 then seventeen years of age. 
 
 Lahontan’s outlook on a life of reverses had thus early 
 made of him a cynic. The first Letter in his Voyages, describ¬ 
 ing the trip to America, contains premonitory symptoms of 
 that caustic humor which was soon to be characteristic of his 
 pen; here, as later, description is freely mingled with scoffing, 
 and information with persiflage. The season was Arrival in 
 late when the frigate left Rochelle; it was already New France ’ 
 November, with drift ice in the St. Lawrence and its rugged 
 shores white with snow, when Quebec was reached after a 
 
Introduction 
 
 • • 
 
 Xll 
 
 tempestuous voyage. “ I cannot,” Lahontan tells his anony¬ 
 mous correspondent, “ as yet give you any account of the 
 Country, excepting that ’tis mortally cold. The day follow¬ 
 ing the arrival of the troops, the great La Salle left the little 
 wilderness capital on his voyage to France, whence he was 
 to embark for the Gulf of Mexico upon his final, fateful 
 enterprise. 
 
 The marines at once went into winter quarters in fome 
 Villages or Cantons adjacent.” It fell to Lahontan’s share to 
 be billeted among the habitants of Beaupre, some seventeen 
 miles down the river from Quebec. Xhere, he declares, the 
 a winter boors of thofe Manors live with more eafe and 
 at Beaupri. conv eniency than an infinity of the Gentlemen in 
 France;” and he has many pleasant words for this “free fort 
 of People,” every one of whom “ lives in a good and a well 
 furnifh’d House.” He remarks the vast fire-places, and the 
 enormous quantities of wood consumed, “by reafon of the 
 prodigious Fires they make to guard themfelves from the Cold, 
 which is there beyond all meafure, from the month of Decem¬ 
 ber, to that of April.” Despite the nipping and protracted 
 frost, the lad appears to have been contented with his lot. 
 Hunting in company with the Indians, acquiring the dialects 
 of the tribesmen, and visiting their villages in sledges and 
 upon snow-shoes, with a few official duties intermingled, and 
 now and then a gay assembly at the little colonial court on the 
 hill-top in neighboring Quebec, furnished agreeable diversity 
 of occupation. His letters give us a pleasing picture of life 
 among the easy-going habitants in the suburbs; and from 
 
Introduction 
 
 xm 
 
 them we also obtain a vivid notion of the aspect of the little 
 frontier capital, in this hey-day of New France. 
 
 In the spring (1684), Lahontan proceeded under orders 
 to Montreal. Along the way, during a leisurely progress, he 
 picked up odds and ends of information, and in brief phrase 
 cleverly described what he saw. Late in June, he Aniroquoie 
 accompanied an expedition which Governor La cam P a, s n - 
 Barre undertook against the recalcitrant Iroquois, and on the 
 eleventh of the following month arrived with the advance party 
 at Fort Frontenac, where they awaited the main body of the 
 army; but owing to the delays incident to such enterprises 
 under primitive conditions, it was some five weeks later before 
 a start could be made. Crossing Lake Ontario the little col¬ 
 umn took up a position near Famine River, being there so 
 wasted by malarial fever that La Barre was forced to an igno¬ 
 minious peace, which soon led to his recall from the colony. 
 The story of this unfortunate expedition is skilfully told by 
 Lahontan, who gives the speeches of the governor and of the 
 Iroquois envoys in phrases which have become classic examples 
 of Indian oratory and diplomacy. 
 
 The following winter, the young baron passed in garrison 
 at Montreal. With the opening of spring (1685) he was sent 
 with a detachment to the frontier fort of Chambly, where the 
 summer was spent in the congenial occupation of accompany¬ 
 ing the neighboring habitants and tribesmen upon . 
 their hunting and fishing parties, which he de- fishing 
 
 ..... f . expeditions. 
 
 scribes with the gusto of a true sportsman and a 
 
 close observer of nature. In September he was ordered to 
 
XIV 
 
 Introduction 
 
 Boucherville, to be quartered on the habitants for the space 
 of a year and a half—a protracted sojourn, but without ennui, 
 for he was given his fill of sport, especially of elk hunting, 
 at one time being absent upon such an excursion for three 
 months in mid-winter. On another occasion, he spent an 
 autumn month “in a Canow upon feveral Rivers, Marfhes, 
 and Pools, that difembogue in the Champlain Lake, being 
 accompany’d with thirty or forty of the Savages that are very 
 expert in Shooting and Hunting, and perfectly well acquainted 
 with the proper places for finding Water-foul, Deer, and 
 other fallow Beafts.” He gives us careful reports not only 
 of the methods of the chase, but of the habits of the birds 
 and animals, spiced with much humor and keen comment on 
 men and things. 
 
 Dearly as the baron loved sport, he appears to have 
 devoted much of his spare time, even when in forest camps 
 amid rude wood-rangers and savages, to study and to mental 
 growth. “ Befides the pleafure of fo many different 
 
 A student 
 
 of the forts of Diverfion,” he writes, “I was likewife enter- 
 classics. ta j n >(j j n thg Woods with the company of the honeft 
 
 old Gentlemen that liv’d in former Ages. Honeft Homer, the 
 amiable Anacreon, and my dear Lucian, were my infeperable 
 Companions. Ariftotle too defir’d paflionately to go along 
 with us, but my Canow was too little to hold his bulky Equip¬ 
 age of Peripatetick Silogifms: So that he was e’en fain to 
 trudge back to the Jefuits, who vouchfaf’d him a very hon¬ 
 ourable Reception.” We doubtless obtain here a glimpse of 
 the source of the Dialogues with Adario, which occupy so 
 
Introduction 
 
 xv 
 
 large a share of the second volume; Lucian apparently fur¬ 
 nished the model for those caustic satires on the Christianity 
 and civilization of the seventeenth century. 
 
 The studies and pleasures of this interesting young man- 
 at-arms were occasionally interfered with by the austerities 
 of the priests about him. He indignantly relates that when 
 stationed in Montreal he was “inrag’d at the impertinent Zeal 
 of the Curate of this City.” Seeking his room in his absence, 
 this over-zealous ecclesiastic “ finding the Romance of the 
 Adventures of Petronius upon my Table, he fell upon it with 
 an unimaginable fury, and tore out almoft all the Leaves. 
 This Book I valued more than my Life, becaufe ’twas not 
 caftrated; and indeed I was fo provok’d when I saw it all in 
 wrack, that if my Landlord had not held me, I had gone 
 immediately to that turbulent Pallor's House, and would have 
 pluck’d out the Hairs of his Beard with as little mercy as he 
 did the Leaves of my Book.” 
 
 In the spring of 1687 all was bustling confusion in the set¬ 
 tlements on the St. Lawrence. Denonville, the new governor, 
 was about to try his hand at subduing the irrepressible Iro¬ 
 quois, whom Champlain had unwittingly converted Lahontan , ( 
 into sworn enemies of the French. The largest second Iroquois 
 expedition yet projected was fitted out by the campa ' gn ' 
 soldier-governor, and rendezvoused at the island of St. Helen, 
 opposite Montreal. Eight hundred regulars had been sent 
 over from France, doubling the number already in the colony. 
 With the new troops came an order from the ministry to 
 allow the return of young Lahontan, whose tangled affairs 
 
XVI 
 
 Introduction 
 
 were sadly in need of his presence in Paris; his relatives had 
 secured his furlough by the exercise of much personal influ¬ 
 ence. But the governor, needing all his useful men, deferred 
 compliance, promising it for the close of the campaign, and 
 Lahontan had no alternative but to advance a second time into 
 the country of the Iroquois. 
 
 This campaign, while more fruitful than the preceding, 
 effected nothing further than an invasion of the land of the 
 Seneca, the laying waste of their villages and harvests, and 
 the construction at Niagara of a fort designed to check their 
 aggressions. It was upon this expedition that the few friendly 
 Iroquois, who had, under missionary tutelage, settled around 
 Fort Frontenac, were captured by the French and sent pris¬ 
 oners to France to serve in the royal galleys—a piece of 
 arrant treachery, which the wretched and misguided colony 
 was to expiate two years later in the fire and blood of the 
 massacre at Lachine. Lahontan’s sympathies were so keenly 
 aroused by the unmerited sufferings of these innocent prison¬ 
 ers at Fort Frontenac, that he stood in close danger of falling 
 a victim to the wrath of the Algonkin allies, who, in their 
 savage fashion, delighted in maltreating the ill-fated Iroquois, 
 whom the missionaries had segregated from the care of their 
 own people. The baron had soundly thrashed some of the 
 young tormentors, but was immediately set upon by the 
 infuriated band, who “flew to their Fufees, in order to kill 
 me.” He was saved only by the interposition of the Cana¬ 
 dians, who “ affur’d ’em I was drunk (Among the Savages, 
 drunken Perfons are always excus’d: for, the Bottle attones 
 
Introduction 
 
 xvu 
 
 for all Crimes), that all the French were prohibited to give 
 me either Wine or Brandy, and that I ffiould certainly be 
 imprifon’d as foon as the Campaign were over.” 
 
 The campaign finished, Lahontan hoped to be allowed to 
 return to France, but before having an opportunity of 
 reminding Denonville of his promise of a furlough, the luck¬ 
 less officer was summoned to the great man’s pres- 0rderedto 
 ence and informed that because of his knowledge the Upper 
 of native languages and his skill in forest diplomacy, 
 he was detailed forthwith to the command of a detachment 
 destined to the upper lakes, in response to the request of the 
 wily Huron and Ottawa of Lake Huron, who wished to “ fee 
 a Fort fo conveniently plac’d, which might favour their re¬ 
 treat upon any Expedition againft the Iroquefe . . . At the 
 fame time he affur’d me, he would inform the Court of the 
 Reafons that mov’d him to detain me in Canada, notwith- 
 ftanding that he had orders to give me leave to go home. 
 You may eafily guefs, Sir, that I was thunderftruck with thefe 
 News, when I had fed myfelf all along with the hopes of 
 returning to France, and promoting my Intereft, which is now 
 fo much thwarted.” 
 
 The commands of the governor were not to be questioned 
 by a subordinate, so the disappointed Lahontan, smothering 
 his grief with reflections upon his professional advancement, 
 once more turned his back on home, and hastily made pre¬ 
 parations for his journey into the vast and almost unknown 
 region of the Northwest. “ The Men of my Detachment,” 
 
 he writes, “ are brisk proper fellows, and my Canows are both 
 
 b 
 
XV 111 
 
 Introduction 
 
 new and large. I am to go along with Mr. Dulhut, a Lions 
 Gentleman, who is a Perfon of great Merit, and has done his 
 king and his Country very confiderable Services. M. de 
 Tonti makes another of our Company; and a Company of 
 Savages is to follow us." 
 
 Among the motley war-party which Denonville had led to 
 his assault on the insolent Iroquois, was a band of the “ far 
 Indians ” brought by their commandant, La Durantaye, from 
 Fort st. t ^ ie distant post of Mackinac. Sweeping down in a 
 Joseph, flotilla of birch-bark canoes, La Durantaye had halted 
 his savage forces at the head of the strait leading from Lake 
 Huron to Lake St. Clair; and there, on “ the seventh of June, 
 1687, in the presence of the reverend Father Angeleran, 
 superior of the mission of the Outaouas at Michilimachinac, 
 of Ste. Marie du Sault, of the Miamis, of the Illinois, of the 
 Baie des Puans and of the Sioux, of M. de la Forest, late com¬ 
 mandant of the fort at St. Louis at the Illinois, and of M. de 
 Beauvais, our lieutenant of the fort of St. Joseph at the strait 
 of Lakes Huron and Erie,” had erected the arms of France 
 and taken formal possession of this vast region in the name 
 of the king. 1 
 
 The little fort of St. Joseph was a bastioned block-house 
 of logs, built the previous year by Duluth upon the orders 
 of the governor—one of the long chain of French posts 
 designed to keep English negotiants from the fur country, 
 
 1 Prise de possession (vol.x, fol. 206, Archives du Canada, at Paris), quoted in 
 Roy’s excellent paper on “ Le Baron de Lahontan,” in Can. Roy. Soc. Proceed¬ 
 ings , 1894, sec. i, p. 79, note. 
 
Introduction 
 
 xix 
 
 and to control the vagrant coureurs des boh. This important 
 vantage point, refounded (1701) some miles below by La 
 Mothe de la Cadillac, was the place to which the young 
 Gascon was designated, and for whose command he was 
 required to abandon the gayeties of Paris, and the more 
 important business regarding his estates. Setting forth from 
 Fort Niagara on the third of August, Lahontan and his com¬ 
 panions proceeded westward as fast as the crude transporta¬ 
 tion facilities of their day would permit. The first The jour- 
 stage was the long Niagara portage, “being oblig’d oeyout ' 
 to tranfport our Canows from a League and a half below the 
 great Fall of Niagara, to half a League above it. Before we 
 got at any beaten or level Path, we were forc’d to climb up 
 three Mountains, upon which an hundred Iroquefe might 
 have knock’d us all on the head with Stones.” Frequently 
 attacked by these “ cruel Fellows,” Lahontan was naturally 
 much alarmed at the danger of falling into the hands of such 
 expert torturers, declaring that “ To die is nothing but to 
 live in the midft of Fire is too much.” This constant fear 
 apparently paralyzed our author’s usual powers of descrip¬ 
 tion, for he dismisses with a scant paragraph the “ fearful 
 Cataract,” which nine years before the garrulous Friar Hen¬ 
 nepin had so carefully pictured with both pen and pencil. 
 
 The little company of whites and savages “ coafted along 
 the North-Coaft of the Lake of Erie,” feasting abundantly on 
 fish and wild turkeys, and arrived at the mouth of Lake 
 Huron on the fourteenth of September. “You cannot im¬ 
 agine,” he assures his correspondent, “ the pleafant profpedt 
 
XX 
 
 Introduction 
 
 of this Streight, and of the little Lake [of St. Clair]; for 
 their banks are cover’d with all forts of wild Fruit-Trees.” 
 The garrison of the little log fortress “ surrendered their 
 Poft very chearfully” to the newcomers and, being now 
 relieved from duty, in the way of their kind at once turned 
 fur-traders, and quickly scattered throughout the distant 
 camps of the savages. 
 
 Duluth and Tonty tarried for a few days, the former 
 having left some supplies at this station and being interested 
 in a crop of Indian corn which he had sown the previous 
 Life at Fort spring. Charmed with the beauty and free life of 
 st. Joseph. t j ie coun t r y ) the youthful commandant passed the 
 autumn agreeably enough, occupied with the chase, to which 
 he had become passionately devoted, and dallying with parties 
 of tribesmen that passed up and down bent on war, plunder, 
 or hunting. But the ensuing winter was rigorous to a degree 
 that restricted hunting, and the consequent short commons 
 is suggested by Lahontan’s sly remark that the Jesuit Father 
 Claude Aveneau, who arrived towards the end of November 
 to serve as chaplain, “ found no occafion to trouble himfelf 
 with preaching Abftinance from Meat in the time of Lent.” 
 
 By the first of April (1688), the restless commander, no 
 doubt intensely wearied by the long and inactive winter, sought 
 excuse in his lack of provisions to set out with the majority of 
 Departure his force — a small garrison being left at the fort 
 for Mackmac. —f or ^g u tt i e p renc h military and trading station 
 then on the north shore of the strait of Mackinac, to “ buy 
 up Corn from the Hurons and Outaouans.” Soon after his 
 
Introduction 
 
 xxi 
 
 arrival at that distant outpost, there appeared there Abbe 
 Cavelier, La Salle’s austere brother, and the other survivors 
 of the lost Texan colony of that ill-fated explorer. 
 
 At Mackinac Lahontan learned also that his own affairs in 
 France were in desperate straits. From the “ fagg end of the 
 World ” he thereupon addressed a letter to the Marquis de 
 Seignelay, then powerful at court, craving his pro- An appeal 
 tection for the “ Son of a Gentleman that fpent for P rotect,on - 
 three hundred Crowns in deepening the Water of the two 
 Gaves of Bearn . . . rendering the Bar of Bayonne paffable 
 by a fifty Gun Ship, whereas in former times a Frigot of ten 
 Guns durft not venture over it . . . and the bringing down 
 of Malls and Yards from the Pyrenean Mountains, which 
 could never have been effected, if he had not by his Care, 
 and by the disburfing of immenfe Sums, enlarged the quantity 
 of Water in the Gave of Oleron to a double proportion.” 
 Not only, pleads our petitioner, had the entailed privileges 
 and fees been cut off at his father’s death, but the son had 
 been denied several high political positions, “ all which were 
 mine by Inheritance”; and now there followed “an unjuft 
 Seizure that fome pretended Creditors have made of the 
 Barony of la Hontan, of a piece of Ground that lies con¬ 
 tiguous to it, and of a hundred thoufand Livres that lay in 
 the hands of the Chamber of Bayonne.” He is confident 
 that his absence in the American wilds is the sole justification 
 of his creditors, and asks for “Leave to come home the next 
 Year,” that he may confront and rout them. 
 
 The wander lust strong within his veins, the adventurous 
 
xxii Introduction 
 
 lieutenant roved as far afield as Sault Ste. Marie and the 
 neighboring regions, and in July joined a party of Chippewa 
 Rovings in on an inglorious raid into the Iroquois country, 
 the Northwest. east Q f L a k e Huron, stopping at his fort only to 
 land a few sacks of corn. It was upon this excursion, far 
 removed from his field of duty, that Lahontan was accom¬ 
 panied by the Huron chief, The Rat, whom he has idealized 
 and immortalized in his Voyages , under the title “ Adario.” 
 
 Late in the summer he returned to Fort St. Joseph, but 
 found the situation now untenable. Parties of Indians who 
 had stopped at the post for the usual parleying and present- 
 F t St begging, brought news of the reduction of the gar- 
 joseph rison at Niagara by disease and destitution, of its 
 abandoned. p r(J k a bi e abandonment, also of the peace which 
 Denonville was “ clapping up ” with their common foe, the 
 Iroquois. Lahontan reasoned that all this rendered his fort 
 of no value, that he had an accumulation of scarce two months’ 
 provisions, and having received neither orders nor supplies 
 from the governor, was thus thrown upon his own discretion. 
 He therefore abandoned his command, burned the block¬ 
 house and its stockade, and on the twenty-seventh of August 
 embarked with all his men for Mackinac, where he arrived on 
 the tenth of the following month. In the French edition of 
 his work, the commandant elaborately argues that while the 
 abandonment of his post would be a misdemeanor in an 
 officer in Europe, it was in the far interior of America an 
 example of military sagacity. Whatever may be one’s judg¬ 
 ment on this question, there is no evidence that Lahontan 
 
Introduction 
 
 xxiii 
 
 because of this action was either reprimanded or degraded in 
 rank. Doubless Fort St. Joseph was valueless at this juncture 
 of affairs, and its destruction certainly resulted in no disad¬ 
 vantage to New France. 
 
 Upon reaching Mackinac with his detachment, the baron 
 found advices to the effect that he had been relieved, and 
 ordered to return with his men to Quebec, provided “ the 
 Seafon and other Circumftances permit; or to tarry ordered to 
 here till the Spring if I forefee unfurmountable Dif- Quebec ' 
 Acuities in the Paffage.” But the convoys for that year had 
 returned to the lower country, and the commandant at Mack¬ 
 inac and the savages united in representing to him the diffi¬ 
 culties of the journey, the rapids to be run, the hazardous 
 portages to be made. With comparatively inexperienced 
 soldiers this was all but impossible, and they must perforce 
 content themselves in the upper country until the arrival of 
 spring. 
 
 Thus far Lahontan himself has been our guide; his 
 accounts of his own adventures and shortcomings have been 
 recorded in the letters with a naivete and a wealth of detail 
 that bear the stamp of verity. But we now come to Expedition 
 that apochrvphal relation in the Voyages , which for to the 
 
 . , River Long. 
 
 many years has caused the entire work to be rejected 
 by historians as fiction — the alleged journey to the River 
 Long. Writing to his friend under date of September 18, he 
 announces his intention “to travel through the Southern 
 Countries that I have fo often heard of,” for “ I cannot mew 
 my felf up here all this Winter.” The following May he gives 
 
XXIV 
 
 Introduction 
 
 to his correspondent a particularized and highly readable 
 account of the tour which he pretends to have made, accom¬ 
 panied by “ my own Detachment and five good Huntsmen of 
 the Outaouas,” later supplemented by Fox (Outagami) guides. 
 
 Leaving Mackinac on the twenty-fourth of September, 
 the story goes, the explorers coasted along the northwest 
 shore of Lake Michigan, visited the Sauk, Potawatomi, and 
 Menominee villages on Green Bay, ascended Fox River, made 
 the mile-and-a-half swampy portage to the Wisconsin (Octo¬ 
 ber 16-19), an d arrived at the Mississippi four days later. 
 Working their way up that river, the party reached the mouth 
 of the River Long on the second of November. This the 
 baron claims to have ascended for many leagues, visiting upon 
 its banks the wonderful nations of the Eokoros, Esanapes, 
 and Gnacsitares, from whom he gathered information con¬ 
 cerning the Mozeemlek and Tahuglauk beyond; also of a 
 river in the far West that emptied itself into a salt lake of 
 three hundred leagues in circumference. At the western 
 limit of this voyage, Lahontan, as was the custom of French 
 explorers in that day, set up a long pole, bearing the “Arms 
 of France done upon a Plate of Lead.” 
 
 Upon the twenty-sixth of January (1689), the adventurers 
 set out upon the return, reaching the Mississippi on the sec¬ 
 ond of March. Continuing their trip as far down stream as 
 the mouth of the Ohio, they returned to Illinois River, by 
 means of which and the Chicago portage they entered Lake 
 Michigan, finally arriving at Mackinac the twenty-second of 
 May. Two weeks later, in the company of twelve Ottawa 
 
Introduction 
 
 XXV 
 
 Indians, in two canoes, our author set out for Montreal by 
 the Ottawa River route, after an absence of two years in the 
 wilderness and among the savages of the Northwest. 
 
 “July the 9th I arriv’d at Montreal, after venturing down 
 feveral fearful Cataracts in the River of the Outaouas, and 
 enduring the hardfhips of fifteen or twenty Land-carriages, 
 fome of which are above a League in length.” Near- T h e return 
 ing Montreal, his canoe overturned in the Sault St. t0 Q uebec - 
 Louis, but he was saved by the adroitness of the Chevalier de 
 Vaudreuil — “The only time I was in danger,” he exclaims, 
 “through the whole courfe of my Voyages.” He found the 
 colony calmly watching the departure of the unpopular Gov¬ 
 ernor Denonville, but eagerly awaiting the return of the Count 
 de Frontenac, “for that Governour drew Efteem and Vener¬ 
 ation, not only from the French, but from all the Nations of 
 this vaft Continent, who look’d upon him as their Guardian 
 Angel.” 
 
 But when the new governor came on the fifteenth of Octo¬ 
 ber, he “ countermanded the leave I had to go for France, 
 and has offer’d me a free accefs to his Pocket and his Table 
 . . . and fo I am bound to obey.” Frontenac made The friend of 
 of the penniless and now disconsolate baron a com- Frontenac - 
 panion on his journeyings, and, because of his wide experience 
 at the farthest outposts, and his close studies of the aborig¬ 
 ines, took counsel of him in regard to remedies for the 
 desperate condition of New France. In the spring (1690), 
 the governor offered to send his protege on an embassy to the 
 Iroquois; but having no wish again to place his head within 
 
XXVI 
 
 Introduction 
 
 the lion’s jaws, Lahontan skilfully obtained an excuse from 
 the mission. He records with self-gratulation that the Chev¬ 
 alier d’Aux, going in his stead, was seized, bound, and sent 
 to a long imprisonment at Boston. 
 
 Lahontan, meanwhile following the governor’s train, was 
 at Montreal when news came of the English invasion under 
 Phips. Hurrying to the capital with his chief, he was in time 
 to witness the withdrawal of the discomfited English admiral 
 (October), and to be chosen by Frontenac to carry the glad 
 tidings to the king and court. Thus, after seven years of 
 At the French life upon the frontiers of civilization, the bronzed 
 court. young officer reappeared at the social capital of the 
 
 world, a solicitor of favors at the court of the great Louis. 
 Unfortunately his protector Seignelay was now dead, and the 
 new ministers, the Messrs. Pontchartrain, looked with slight 
 favor upon the nonchalant adventurer from America. They 
 coldly made answer to his petitions for redress, that he could 
 have but the summer to regulate his affairs, for in the autumn 
 he must embark once more for Quebec. However, by way of 
 reward for the welcome news he had brought, Lahontan was 
 promoted to a captaincy in his corps, and created a chevalier 
 of the order of Notre Dame of Mont-Carmel and of St. 
 Lazarre. With his customary cynicism the recipient, who had 
 paid roundly in fees for this last empty title, declares that 
 “ The Ceremony of that Inftalment was perform’d in Mr. de 
 Louvois his Chamber, and did not laft fo long as the telling 
 of the Money.” The new chevalier had entertained hopes 
 that his uncle, the generous Abbe des Couttes, might bestow 
 
Introduction 
 
 xxvn 
 
 upon him some simple benefice; but a scruple of conscience 
 stood in the way of granting church money to one who, like 
 Lahontan, scoffed at religion and its priests, and the infidel 
 applicant was sent away empty-handed. With parting jibes 
 at the venality and favoritism prevalent at the court, the young 
 captain left Versailles, and, with no apparent reluctance, for his 
 estate was now beyond resuscitation, started for La Rochelle, 
 where he again embarked for Canada. 
 
 The eighteenth of September, 1691, found captain the 
 Baron de Lahontan, now in his twenty-fifth year, once more 
 climbing the steep and winding roadway which ascends the 
 cliff of Quebec, and meeting at the chateau of his Againin 
 friend Frontenac the same generous hospitality which Canada, 
 had previously been his, and that of many another luckless 
 gentleman of that day. The winter was exceptionally gay at 
 the governor’s little court. Balls and theatricals were much 
 in vogue among the official class and the fur-trade and rustic 
 aristocracy; but the Jesuits vigorously condemned these 
 practices, and declaimed publicly against the satellites who 
 hung about the head of the colony. The anti-clerical Lahontan 
 was no doubt spurred thereby into a still more active partici¬ 
 pation in the sports and vices of the capital. 
 
 To this period probably belongs his experience with Mile. 
 Genevieve d’Amours, a romance which he relates under an 
 easily-penetrated disguise. No doubt the young people met 
 freely during the winter’s amusements, since the Lahontan’s 
 lady was a god-daughter of the governor, and be- romance - 
 longed to the family of one of the royal councillors. Her 
 
xxviii 
 
 Introduction 
 
 brothers were, as well, prominent young Canadians, whose 
 attachment for the life of the woods, common to the young 
 gentlemen of New France, had tempted them to the wilder¬ 
 ness of Pentagoet and the picturesque River St. John, where 
 among the Abenaki savages they had encountered a pleasant 
 English gentleman from Boston, who traded thither. The 
 fortunes of war had brought this trader a prisoner to Quebec, 
 where the genial Frontenac treated him with marked courtesy, 
 and releasing him on parole made him a participant in the 
 pleasures of the court. All of these friends conspired in 
 making a match between our baron and the brilliant young 
 beauty. On his part, the governor promised licenses to the 
 sum of seven to eight thousand livres; the English guest 
 requested leave to add a thousand more — this, with the 
 dowry of a thousand already possessed by the lady, would 
 have recuperated the ruined baron’s fortunes; and, basking 
 as they did in the governor’s favor, might have started the 
 couple on the high road to prosperity. But suddenly the 
 negotiations came to a standstill; the young cynic proved 
 stubborn, and would not sign the contract. He requested 
 two months in which to consider, then two months more — 
 which causes one to wonder at the young woman’s patience; 
 but no doubt Lahontan was a handsome fellow, with many 
 social graces, and considered a most eligible parti. At last 
 he found his liberty more precious than an establishment in 
 life, and repented of having desired to make her as unhappy 
 as himself. “ They were far from expecting any fuch retracta¬ 
 tion; fo the poor reform’d Captain fuffer’d for it, for fome 
 
Introduction 
 
 XXIX 
 
 time after Mr. de Frontenac did him a piece of Injuftice, in 
 bellowing a vacant Company over his Head, upon Madame 
 de Pontchartrain’s Nephew, notwithftanding that the Court 
 * had fent orders on his behalf.” 
 
 Our author’s nonchalance, however, did not forsake him; 
 it was not long before he presented a memorial concerning the 
 defences of the upper country against the ravaging Iroquois, 
 in which plan the forgiving Frontenac discovered so Againdes . 
 much merit that it pleased him to order Lahontan to patched to 
 
 . i • • France. 
 
 go in person to present his project to the ministry. 
 
 In the summer of 1692, therefore, the captain once more 
 started for the Old World, again bearing the governor’s des¬ 
 patches to the court at Versailles. 
 
 Putting in at Plaisance (the Placentia of our day), a new 
 French post upon the southeastern peninsula of Newfound¬ 
 land, the frigate which bore him awaited the fishing fleet 
 which it was, according to custom, to convoy to The defense 
 France. Just as they were about weighing anchor, of plaisance - 
 in the third week of September, a fisherman arrived at the fort 
 with the startling news that five English frigates were bearing 
 up the bay. Governor de Brouillon, despite his deficient 
 fortifications and scarcity of ammunition, made immediate 
 arrangements for a vigorous defense. Lahontan was sent 
 with sixty habitants to repulse the landing of the English 
 marines. This being skilfully achieved, the English offered 
 to parley, whereupon Lahontan and a companion were chosen 
 to go aboard the admiral’s ship, where they were received 
 with much courtesy. Negotiations failing, the governor 
 
XXX 
 
 Introduction 
 
 pushed the defenses with such vigor that the English were 
 obliged to withdraw, after firing two thousand cannon shots 
 at the fort and burning some neighboring fishing villages and 
 their drying scaffolds. 
 
 A second time the fortune befell Lahontan to be the bearer 
 of good tidings to the royal ear, again to tell of the repulse of 
 a powerful English fleet by a handful of defenders better 
 equipped with courage and energy than with assistance and 
 
 powder. Armed with this pleasing message, the 
 
 Versailles. m 
 
 captain arrived in France after a comparatively 
 brief voyage of seventeen days, and shortly after presented 
 himself at Versailles. The court, however, was more ready to 
 receive agreeable news than to furnish the sinews of war for 
 the far-away colony. Lahontan’s ingenious project for the 
 defense of the upper lake region smacked of large expendi¬ 
 tures, hence was dismissed with scant ceremony; but he him¬ 
 self was rewarded with the command of an independent com¬ 
 pany of a hundred men, and the highly honorable position of 
 lieutenant of the king for Newfoundland and Acadia. Our 
 author correctly ascribes his good fortune to no other patron 
 than good chance, remarking at the same time: “ I fhould 
 have been better pleas’d if I could have put the abovemen- 
 tion’d Project in execution, for a folitary Life is moft grate¬ 
 ful to me, and the manners of the Savages are perfectly agree¬ 
 able to my Palate.” The free, roving life of the Great West 
 of his day was vastly superior, in the opinion of this man of 
 spirit, to immolation upon the storm-swept fjords of gloomy 
 
Introduction 
 
 XXXI 
 
 Newfoundland, second in command to a governor of sus¬ 
 picious habits and capricious temper. 
 
 His new honors proved the undoing of our unfortunate 
 adventurer. The coming upon the scene of a royal lieutenant 
 sadly disarranged De Brouillon’s plans for his own emolument 
 and the advancement of his family. Lahontan was „ 
 
 J Royal lieuten- 
 
 received at Plaisance with grudging welcome, and ant in New- 
 
 e y , - , . foundland. 
 
 soon an open reud broke out between the new 
 official and his chief. It was not soothing to the irascible 
 governor’s spirits, that the inhabitants took the part of the 
 subordinate who would not become his puppet; that the 
 ready pen and caustic wit of the latter made lampoons con¬ 
 cerning his superior, which were sung publicly in the taverns 
 of Plaisance; and that even the Recollect friars protected the 
 young gallant in his escapades, and spoke in his behalf. 
 
 After the autumnal departure of the ships for France, 
 carrying to the court De Brouillon’s accusations against his 
 lieutenant, the former began more freely to show his temper. 
 One evening Lahontan was entertaining some of the De Brouillon , s 
 residents, when his door was suddenly burst open, persecution of 
 
 , Lahontan 
 
 the governor and his train of serving men entered 
 masked, and began to break the glass and windows, handle 
 the furniture roughly, and destroy all else that came beneath 
 their hands. By the time the baron could load his pistols, the 
 intruders were gone; but only to fall upon his servants the 
 next morning, and give them an unmerciful drubbing. 
 
 The lieutenant, alleging fear for his own life, determined 
 
XXX11 
 
 Introduction 
 
 to escape. The skipper of a small fishing boat that lay in the 
 harbor accepted the offer of a thousand livres to carry the 
 An unwise fugitive to Europe; and thus, a second time desert- 
 escape. j n g kjg p OS |- of duty, he fled from the hateful situation 
 
 — an unwise step, which brought a sweet revenge for De 
 Brouillon, for it wrought the gallant young officer’s downfall. 
 It was the fourteenth of December, nearly always a boisterous 
 month off the dread coast of wreck-strewn Newfoundland; 
 but the risk was taken, several “terrible Storms” were en¬ 
 countered, and once they were shot at by a French privateer 
 
 — at last, however, the little vessel landed her passenger safely 
 in a harbor of Portugal, for he dared not attempt to seek 
 shelter in France, where the only welcome he might expect 
 was disgrace and the Bastille. 
 
 By slow stages the unfortunate runaway now journeyed 
 into Holland, the home of refugees who were “ awaiting 
 patiently till it pleafes God that M. de Pontchartrain fhould 
 either remove to Paradife or do Juftice” to the wronged. 
 Wanderings of From Holland he visited Hamburg, whence 
 the refugee. (June 19, 1694), he sent a letter which was in¬ 
 
 tended to fall under the notice of the French court, contain¬ 
 ing an account of the survivors of La Salle’s last expedition, 
 whom he claimed to have met in that city. The ministry at 
 once authorized investigation, only to find that Lahontan had 
 invented the tale out of whole cloth, in the. vain hope of 
 winning favor at court. 1 
 
 1 Margry, Decouvertes et etablissements des Franqais (Paris, 1876-85), iv, 
 
 pp. 6-8. 
 
Introduction 
 
 xxxin 
 
 Meanwhile, our author had proceeded to Copenhagen, 
 where he ingratiated himself with the French ambassador, De 
 Bonrepaux, who sent him to Versailles with favorable letters 
 designed to secure his pardon and re-instatement in the king’s 
 favor; but his majesty, ever a severe disciplinarian, declined to 
 receive the justification of an officer who had transgressed 
 against his superior, and Lahontan had no recourse but to 
 betake himself in disgrace to his native province, where, his 
 barony having long since been confiscated, he found himself 
 an unwelcome guest. An order having gone forth for his 
 arrest, he avoided it in the nick of time by escaping across 
 the border into Spain, whence emanated the last of his Letters, 
 dated at Saragossa, October 8, 1695. 
 
 Thence, until the initial publication of his book in Holland 
 ( 1 7°3), we have no details concerning the whereabouts of the 
 poor fugitive. In the prefaces of the various editions, one 
 may trace his wanderings from the Low Countries 
 
 J 0 Last days at 
 
 to Denmark, thence to Hanover, whence he visited the court of 
 England, until the year 1710 finds him at the court 
 of the Elector of Hanover, recognized as an accomplished 
 man beset by ill fortune, and maintained as the friend and 
 companion of the philosopher Leibnitz. The unfortunate 
 officer had then, according to the latter, 1 a number of works 
 prepared which he would give to the press, if his now im¬ 
 paired health should improve. He appears to have died soon 
 after this, apparently in 17x5, but the actual date of his decease 
 is not known. A year or so later, Leibnitz published a 
 
 1 Leibnitz, Epistol. ad diversos (Berlin, 1710), iv, p. 22 . 
 
XXXIV 
 
 Introduction 
 
 posthumous essay by Lahontan, under the title, Reponse a la 
 lettre d’un particulier opposee an manifeste de S. M. le roi de la 
 Grande-Bretagne contre la Suede, proving that he followed the 
 increasing fortunes of his protector, the Elector of Hanover, 
 and was ready to aid that ruler’s cause with his pamphleteer¬ 
 ing pen. Parkman also cites 1 a Memoir on the Fur-trade of 
 Canada, written in the English interest, which was once in the 
 library of the poet Southey. 
 
 Lahontan’s Voyages to North America was avowedly printed 
 as a last resource on the part of the bankrupt fugitive. We 
 have seen that every vestige of hope regarding the resusci- 
 „ tation of his estate had vanished, and all appeals to 
 
 Voyages *■ r 
 
 published the court for reinstatement had proved futile ; in this 
 m revenge. cr j s j g ^ ^ Letters, which in the event of his monarch’s 
 favor might have been consigned to the flames, were brought 
 forth from their obscurity and given to the world — his dis¬ 
 tress thus proving our gain. While these now classic epistles 
 were printing in Holland, Lahontan passed over to England, 
 where he secured the patronage of the powerful Duke of 
 Devonshire, and put out an English translation of his work, 
 which in some respects is preferable to the original French. 
 
 The vogue of the baron’s book was immediate and wide¬ 
 spread, and must have soon replenished his slender purse. In 
 simple sentences, easily read and comprehended by the masses, 
 Their Lahontan recounted not only his own adventures 
 popularity. anc j the important events that occurred beneath 
 his eyes in the much-talked-of region of New France, but 
 
 1 La Salle and the Discovery of the Great West (Boston, 1879), P* 169. 
 
Introduction 
 
 XXXV 
 
 drew a picture of the simple delights of life in the wilderness, 
 more graphic than had yet been presented to the European 
 world. His idyllic account of manners and customs among 
 the savages who dwelt in the heart of the American forest, or 
 whose rude huts of bark or skin or matted reeds nestled by 
 the banks of its far-reaching waterways, was a picture which 
 fascinated the “average reader” in that romantic age, eager 
 to learn of new lands and strange peoples. In the pages of 
 Lahontan the child of nature was depicted as a creature of 
 rare beauty of form, a rational being thinking deep thoughts 
 on great subjects, but freed from the trammels and frets of 
 civilization, bound by none of its restrictions, obedient only 
 to the will and caprice of his own nature. In this American 
 Arcady were no courts, laws, police, ministers of An American 
 state, or other hampering paraphernalia of gov- Arcady - 
 ernment; each man was a law unto himself, and did what 
 seemed good in his own eyes. Here were no monks and 
 priests, with their strictures and asceticisms, but a natural, 
 sweetly-reasonable religion. Here no vulgar love of money 
 pursued the peaceful native in his leafy home ; without distinc¬ 
 tion of property, the rich man was he who might give most gen¬ 
 erously. Aboriginal marriage was no fettering life-covenant, 
 but an arrangement pleasing the convenience of the contract¬ 
 ing parties. Man, innocent and unadorned, passed his life in 
 the pleasures of the chase, warring only in the cause of the 
 nation, scorning the supposititious benefits of civilization, and 
 free from its diseases, misery, sycophancy, and oppression. 
 
In short, the American wilderness was the seat of serenity and 
 noble philosophy. 
 
 Europeans weary of courts and their futile ambitions, 
 found in all this a delightful representation. Moreover, the 
 keenest curiosity had been aroused among them regarding the 
 New World — a land so enormous that its breadth 
 
 European curi¬ 
 osity regarding had as yet been scarcely half-spanned by the most 
 
 the New world. a( } venturous G f t h e rQ ving coureurs de bois; a 
 region of great rivers and amazing cataracts, of lakes like 
 inland oceans, and vast unknown stretches wherein roamed 
 mysterious beasts of prey, and animals clad in furs which 
 might be envied by a monarch. All statements from such a 
 realm were to be accepted as a matter of course. The Rela¬ 
 tions of the Jesuits had been read with absorbing interest by 
 people with a turn for piety. Those more liberal in their 
 thinking turned with amused tolerance to the books of the 
 garrulous and worldly Recollect, Friar Hennepin, or found 
 keen but perhaps not too open enjoyment in the neatly- 
 printed volumes of the audacious and cynical Baron de Lahon- 
 tan, with their numerous flings at the polity and teachings of 
 the Canadian Jesuits, and many a well-considered thrust at 
 king and ministry also. A glance at Mr. Paltsits’s Biblio¬ 
 graphy is sufficient to prove the demand for Lahontan’s 
 Voyages —a taste lasting well into the middle of the eighteenth 
 century. 
 
 In estimating the historical value of this work, it is well to 
 bear in mind what we believe to be its double purpose — that 
 of a satire upon European life and civilization, and a narration 
 
Introduction 
 
 xxx vii 
 
 of the author’s adventures in new and unknown realms. The 
 first understood and allowed for, the book becomes Practical 
 of great utility to the student of life and conditions utility to 
 in the forests and hamlets of New France. Here is 
 no rambling journal-writer, like Father Hennepin, puffed up 
 by inordinate vanity. Lahontan relates in a clear, straight¬ 
 forward manner all that came before his eyes. With vivid 
 strokes, he pictures the thinly diffused colony of New France 
 — fishing hamlets fringing the fog-drenched fjords of spruce- 
 mantled Newfoundland; the fur-trade rendezvous at gloomy 
 Tadoussac; habitants nestled upon the billowy shores of the 
 St. Lawrence, or on waving meadows at the mouths of its trib¬ 
 utaries, which come swiftly coursing from out the dark forests 
 hanging on its rugged rim; the capital, perched defiantly on 
 the steep cliff of Quebec, overlooking hillsides and rolling 
 plains, in his day becoming well-dotted with the whitewashed 
 stone cabins of a thrifty peasantry; Three Rivers, the centre 
 of a widespread commerce; ecclesiastical Montreal, shad¬ 
 owed by its mountain, and ever alert against the crouching 
 Iroquois; and beyond that — up the stately Ottawa or along 
 the far-reaching waters of the upper lakes, and still farther 
 beyond upon the interlocking drainage systems of the conti¬ 
 nental interior — the isolated camps of coureurs de bois, and 
 little log fortresses, like that of St. Joseph, seeking to hold 
 the wilderness trade against all comers. 
 
 A participant in some of the most stirring campaigns in 
 the brilliant epoch of Frontenac’s government, Lahontan pre¬ 
 sents to us admirable reports of these events. We have also in 
 
xxxviii 
 
 Introduction 
 
 his pages first-hand accounts of the political institutions of the 
 colony — its officials, courts, and local government, combined 
 with incisive characterizations of the respective governors, 
 intendants, and official noblesse. The strutting functionary, 
 the zealous Jesuit who balks at no hazard, the gay soldier, 
 the hardy habitant, the roving coureur de bois, and the naked 
 savage, all stand out in bold relief upon his pages. Even the 
 birds and animals, the plants, and the minerals of this strange 
 land do not escape our observer’s eye. Thus not only in 
 history, but in topography, geography, ethnology, and natural 
 history, all of it the record of personal knowledge, Lahontan’s 
 work stands as one of the important sources for the intimate 
 study of New France. 
 
 The frequent neglect of Lahontan by scientific and his¬ 
 torical students, has not been justified by the lack of material 
 in his pages. As already intimated, it is in large measure due 
 investigations to t * ie s P ur i° us character of the alleged discovery 
 of the River Long, described in the sixteenth 
 Letter. Investigators have, from this one chapter, 
 rejected all. The geographers of the time, eager for informa¬ 
 tion regarding heretofore unknown regions in North America, 
 were easily deceived by the circumstantial character of our 
 author’s fluent description, and especially by his map of the 
 mythical waterway; and in consequence the river was incor¬ 
 porated in several maps published early in the eighteenth 
 century, persisting even down to that of Vaugondy, corrected 
 to 1783. But doubts soon arose in the minds of some. 
 Hennepin had omitted to mention such a stream, or the 
 
 as to the 
 River Long. 
 
Introduction 
 
 XXXIX 
 
 peoples that Lahontan had placed upon its banks. The 
 miner and trader Le Sueur, a colleague of Iberville, who 
 ascended the Mississippi nearly to its source and passed two 
 years (1700-02) upon its upper waters, reported neither the 
 Long nor its tribes. Perrot and Duluth, eminent forest 
 rangers of the period, knew no such river — but they were 
 not authors; and it was probably not until Charlevoix visited 
 the country (1721) and published his Journal historique , that 
 the spurious nature of Lahontan’s pretended discovery fully 
 dawned upon the European world. In 1728 a French expe¬ 
 dition built a fort upon Lake Pepin, in the upper Mississippi 
 
 — one of the chain which was to further the discovery of a 
 route to the Pacific. Its officers found the Issati of Hennepin 
 and the Scioux of Le Sueur, but no traces of the Eokoros, 
 Esanapes, Gnacsitares, and Mozeemleks of Lahontan. Scep¬ 
 ticism now succeeded to faith in the author’s verity, and 
 neglect to the former vogue of his works. 
 
 Many hypotheses have been advanced, to account for 
 Lahontan’s wilful tale. The theory of interpolation, some¬ 
 times applied to Hennepin, has been suggested in this case; 
 but the style of the baron’s story of his far Western Hypotheses 
 tour is quite in keeping with that of the entire work advanced - 
 
 — Letters and Dialogue carry, throughout, the evidence of 
 coming from one and the same hand. Others have seen in 
 the narrative of the journey only exaggeration of possible 
 facts, and have sought to identify the fabulous waterway with 
 the St. Peter’s (present Minnesota), whose latitude somewhat 
 closely corresponds with Lahontan’s River Long. The late 
 
xl 
 
 Introduction 
 
 Elliot Coues followed the suggestion of the explorer Nicollet, 
 that the St. Peter’s, with its principal affluent the Cannon, 
 may be of sufficient length to justify the baron’s description; 
 and that this southward tributary being the last to freeze, 
 might account for the journey thither in the dead of winter. 
 Still others have seen in the Moingona (present Des Moines) 
 a river whose long, straight stretch from the West may be 
 identical with Lahontan’s famous stream. Those who have 
 studied the subject more carefully — such as the baron’s latest 
 biographer, Edmond Roy—point out the impossibility of 
 reconciling the pretended voyage with the rest of the author’s 
 descriptions. They note that upon leaving Mackinac for the 
 West, the traveller, formerly giving precise and detailed infor¬ 
 mation as to dates and routes, becomes indistinct. The daily 
 occurrences and episodes of a journey, that give it an air of 
 verisimilitude, are now forced and betray invention; the tribes 
 encountered do not speak with the same certain ring as the 
 Iroquois and Algonquian savages whom the author meets 
 elsewhere in his travels, but have an air of posing, while their 
 customs, manners, mode of government, and diplomacy is 
 that of imaginary rather than of real beings ; finally, by careful 
 calculation and comparison there is not found available time 
 for so extensive a voyage in birch-bark canoes. 
 
 In Roy’s opinion, the impecunious fugitive, eager for 
 quick returns, doubtless thought the unvarnished record of a 
 simple officer now in disgrace, would attract few buyers for 
 the volume; he must, in order to secure patronage and 
 readers, pose as a discoverer, and imitate the achievements of 
 
Introduction 
 
 xli 
 
 Marquette and La Salle. Possibly he may have entertained 
 a distant hope of being again despatched to his beloved wil¬ 
 derness, on a mission of further exploration and discovery. 
 In the interior of America he had spent many days with 
 Perrot and Duluth, who knew the West as probably no other 
 white men did. Out of their reports, the published accounts 
 of Membre, La Salle, Marquette, and Hennepin, and chance 
 information received from the Indians, he may have obtained 
 the material for the tale of his marvellous journey, and im¬ 
 posed it upon the public for the sake of gain. That he was 
 not incapable of such a feat, his letter on the survivors of La 
 Salle’s ill-fated colony, already cited, is sufficient proof. 
 
 There remains to be accounted for, his disposition of the 
 time claimed to have been spent upon this voyage of dis¬ 
 covery. We have seen that having abandoned Fort St. 
 Joseph, he arrived at Mackinac in the second week of Sep¬ 
 tember, 1688. It is hardly probable that this uneasy Whathedid 
 spirit remained cooped up at that frontier post withhu 
 until his descent to the colony the following sum¬ 
 mer. With his habits of forest ranging, his fondness for the 
 chase, his delight in savage comrades, it is not difficult to see 
 how he might have spent the few months of this interval. 
 What more probable than that he joined a band of Wiscon¬ 
 sin tribesmen — probably Foxes (Outagami), from his choice 
 of them as guides for his pretended expedition— A j ourney t0 
 returning from a trading venture at Mackinac, and Wisconsin 
 after a winter in their villages and hunting camps 
 returned to the French outpost in time to descend with the 
 
xlii 
 
 Introduction 
 
 season’s convoy to Montreal? This would readily explain his 
 apparent familiarity with the northwest shores of Lake Michi¬ 
 gan, with Green Bay, and the Fox River, and his subsequent 
 vagueness in regard to the Wisconsin and the Mississippi. 
 
 Again, may not the entire account of the voyage to the 
 River Long, and of the savage Arcady which he found estab¬ 
 lished upon its banks, be deliberately part and parcel of his 
 satire upon European customs and manners — a 
 
 A satire on r , 
 
 others’ dis- cynical rebuke to the credulity of the reading world, 
 and a parody upon the avidity of the explorers of 
 his day to find a route through the continent of America to 
 the land of the great khan of Tartary? May one not see in 
 this an anticipation of Swift, in his more famous Gulliver's 
 Travels , and recognize in Lahontan’s fantastic Eokoros, Esa- 
 napes, etc., the predecessors if not the prototypes of Lili- 
 putians and Brobdignagians ? 
 
 It fell to the lot of this unfortunate man, possessed of 
 keen powers of observation, a biting wit, a passion for jus¬ 
 tice, and an independence of mind and temper verging upon 
 Anunfortu- license, to see his patrimony stolen through the 
 nate career, chicanery of the law; to plead in vain for justice, 
 at the doors of partial and corrupt ministers; to be bound 
 to military service in the remote quarters of the world, and 
 thus for years deprived of opportunity to meet the harpies 
 who were sapping his inheritance; to suffer indignities at the 
 hands of his superior, and injudiciously flying the scene to 
 become the victim of still greater injustice; to be refused 
 redress of every sort at the court of the most powerful mon- 
 
Introduction 
 
 xliii 
 
 arch of his time, and to be driven from one court to another 
 an exile and fugitive, seeking patronage which was grudg¬ 
 ingly granted. It is not surprising that even in his earlier 
 years his wit turned caustic, his independence became caprice, 
 his observation developed into satire, his reason became cyn¬ 
 icism. Add to all this an inconstant habit of mind, easily 
 overcome by ennui, and a tendency to seek diversion in fan¬ 
 tastic amusements, in coarse and sensual pleasures, in familiar 
 contact with social inferiors and with savages, and the secret 
 of both Lahontan’s success and failure is laid bare. 
 
 During his protracted sea-voyages, unending days in wil¬ 
 derness garrisons, and long months of campaigning in gloomy 
 forests, Lahontan brooded upon the blemishes of civilization, 
 contrasting it caustically with the simplicity of Brooding on 
 barbarism, and erecting an ideal system of sav- the blemishes 
 
 . . . - of civilization. 
 
 age perfection, which he used as a whip to lash 
 the vices of his time. With the European passion for money, 
 he compares the communal life of the North American abo¬ 
 rigine who seeks to satisfy only his immediate needs, and 
 shares his possessions with whoever needs them ; over against 
 the servile caste spirit of the courtier, he places the proud 
 independence of each Indian warrior; with the rigid bonds of 
 the married state, he contrasts the easy libertinism of the bar¬ 
 barian; with the elaborate ritual and dogmas of the Church, 
 the primitive nature myths of the sons of the forest. Both 
 the legal and medical professions stand for their share of sar¬ 
 casm— the flaws in French jurisprudence are ruthlessly thrust 
 forth to view, the ignorance and malpractice of European 
 
xliv 
 
 Introduction 
 
 physicians denounced. The comforts and luxuries of civiliza¬ 
 tion are ridiculed, while the hardships and paucity of wilderness 
 life are minimized. In short, to quote the words of his marvel¬ 
 lous Huronian, Adario, “ The Great Spirit has vouchfaf’d us 
 an honeft Mould, while Wickednefs neftles in yours; and that 
 he fends you into our Country, in order to have an opportu¬ 
 nity of Correcting your Faults, and following our Example.” 
 
 Lahontan’s scorn of civilization and exaltation of savagery, 
 culminate in the famous Dialogue between him and Adario — 
 The Dialogue a bit of clever satire modelled on the Dialogues of 
 with Adano. Lucian, whom we have seen was one of our author’s 
 favorite classics. With vision as keen as his Latin prototype, 
 he scoffs at the hypocrisies, shams, corruptions, and other de¬ 
 formities of the world of the seventeenth century, in a manner 
 as bold and with a wit as incisive as his fellow satirist of the 
 second. Nor do the Voyages lack Lucian’s obscenity and 
 occasional indecency—indeed, this is of so gross a character 
 that some critics have thought Lahontan, the gentleman, 
 scholar, and officer, could hardly be guilty of it; deeming it 
 not unlikely that these touches were either the additions 
 of the English translator — the Dialogue is much more ex¬ 
 tended in the English than in other editions — or the emenda¬ 
 tions of a certain unfrocked and ribald French friar, Nicolas 
 Gueudeville, also a refugee in Holland, and well known as a 
 political and religious satirist, as well as a writer on geograph¬ 
 ical discoveries . 1 Indeed, some authorities have credited to 
 
 1 Nicolas Gueudeville, the son of a Rouen physician, was born about 1650 or 1654 
 — authorities differ. Becoming a Benedictine friar, he finally abjured Catholicism, 
 which necessitated his fleeing at once and taking refuge in Holland, where about 1690 
 
Introduction 
 
 xlv 
 
 Gueudeville the entire book popularly attributed to Lahontan. 
 We are not, however, inclined to this sweeping judgment, 
 believing that the work bears throughout unmistakable evi¬ 
 dence of Lahontan’s hand — the philosophy of the satire 
 frequently crops out through the most sober narrative, and 
 the historical facts and ethnological information are clearly 
 the product of a man of accurate observation thoroughly con¬ 
 versant with the facts. While it is of course quite possible 
 that Gueudeville may have assisted in sharpening the weapon, 
 we have no direct evidence of this fact; and there is no 
 doubt that the Dialogue is quite in accord with the spirit of 
 Lahontan, hence may properly be treated as substantially the 
 latter’s production. 
 
 Two suggestions made by our author deserve more than 
 passing remark, as showing still further what manner of man 
 he was, and how the colony of New France might have bene¬ 
 fited from the adoption of his plans. The first con- Lahontan » s 
 cerns the project of garrisoning the upper lakes, in plans of 
 
 . . j t> • • i defense. 
 
 order to prevent Iroquois incursions and British 
 trading ventures. The astute Frontenac thought his young 
 friend’s plan of sufficient importance to send the author to 
 
 he married. His publications were numerous. For several years he edited at the 
 Hague a journal of political satire, VEsprit des cours de VEurope, in which the French 
 government was violently attacked. Suppressed on the instigation of that power, 
 Gueudeville revived the sheet under a slight change of title, and it enjoyed a large cir¬ 
 culation. In 1704 he republished Lahontan’s Dialogue , at Amsterdam ; in 1705, he 
 issued at Leyden a five-volume encyclopaedia of universal history ; in Amsterdam, 
 1713-21, there appeared his seven-volume Atlas historique , in which figured Lahon¬ 
 tan’s River Long. His translations of Plautus, Erasmus, etc., were mediocre, showing 
 a pen inferior to that of Lahontan, who had quite caught the classical style. Gueude¬ 
 ville appears to have died about 1721. 
 
xlvi 
 
 Introduction 
 
 propose it at Versailles. Had it been carried out — the im¬ 
 portant portages guarded, and the trade concentrated in 
 competent hands — it is fair to presume that the subsequent 
 ruinous Fox wars in Wisconsin might have been averted, the 
 integrity of New France preserved, and the English defied. 
 La Mothe Cadillac, developing one portion of the plan, 
 secured the upper country for New France for nearly sixty 
 years. 
 
 Lahontan’s other project was, to people the sparsely- 
 settled colony with the Huguenot heretics, whose energy, 
 industry, and steadfastness went to the building up of the 
 a plea for r ‘ va ^ s an d enemies of France. The short-sighted 
 Huguenot Louis would have greatly strengthened his hold upon 
 
 settlement. . . . 
 
 America, had his Protestant population, expelled 
 from the mother land through the revocation of the edict of 
 Nantes, been permitted to turn their steps toward Canada. 
 Lahontan’s vision was in this regard, however, in advance of 
 his contemporaries. 
 
 There remains but to notice a few of the lesser points in 
 which Lahontan shows his sagacity, foresight, and purely 
 modern spirit. In an age of cruel punishments, he was 
 Lahontan’s humane beyond his time. He had no patience with 
 qualities. the torture anc j crue ity Q f savage warfare, and its 
 imitation by the half-barbarized frontiersmen of New France. 
 The inquisition, as studied by him in Portugal, he denounced 
 rather for its cruelties than its intolerance. He makes the 
 savage Adario inveigh against taking testimony by means of 
 the rack. In all this sensitiveness to physical suffering he 
 
Introduction 
 
 xlvii 
 
 shows the fineness of his spirit, and the delicacy of his organ¬ 
 ization. Moreover, while railing at the prevalent beliefs of 
 his time, he is not himself intolerant; he has erected no 
 counter system of philosophy before which his contempo¬ 
 raries must bow; he sees good in various systems of religion, 
 laws, and government, even while he satirizes their deformities 
 and extravances. 
 
 In many ways Lahontan was a precursor of some of the 
 great thinkers of the Revolutionary period in France. His 
 was not the spirit of his own age — the devout worshiping of 
 supreme power as vested in Louis XIV, and of supreme 
 authority as resting in the church of Rome. By Lahontan’s 
 nature, Lahontan was an investigator and a critic. 
 
 No institution, no custom, no mode of thought was of his time, 
 by him accepted on faith or by tradition — each must run the 
 gauntlet of his reasoning powers, and show its worth in the 
 light of cold rationalism. His mind was passionately just; 
 in the midst of his cynicism he is fair — even the Jesuits 
 receive from him their meed of praise : he admits their chas¬ 
 tity and good works, while despising what he deems their 
 prudery and bigotry. Taking him as a whole, Lahontan was 
 a generation in advance of his age. The Zeitgeist from the 
 hills of the future descended upon him. In his hatred and 
 scorn of the current ecclesiasticism and despotism, he antici¬ 
 pated Rousseau ; his cynical criticism of existing institutions 
 foreshadowed Voltaire; his exaltation of the virtues and 
 blessings of the savage state, preluded the Encyclopedists. 
 In the Discours sur VOrigine et les Fondements de llnegalite parmi 
 
xlviii 
 
 Introduction 
 
 les ommes , Rousseau apparently borrows many ideas from La- 
 hontan’s Dialogue; Chateaubriand’s gentle barbarian Atala 
 is brother to the astute and charming Adario. 
 
 We have sought to reproduce the old text as closely as 
 possible, with its typographic and orthographic peculiarities, 
 our wish being to preserve the “ atmosphere ” of the original. 
 Exact It has, however, been found advisable here and 
 
 reproduction, there to make a few minor mechanical changes; 
 these consist almost wholly of palpable blemishes, the result 
 of negligent proof-reading in the edition followed — such- as 
 turned letters, transposed letters, slipped letters, and mis- 
 spacings. Such corrections have been made without specific 
 mention; but in some instances the original errors have been 
 retained, and in juxtaposition the correction given within 
 brackets. Throughout, we indicate the pagination of the old 
 edition which we are reprinting, by inclosing within brackets 
 the number of each page at its beginning, e. g. [75] ; in the one 
 instance, in the second volume, where a page was, as the fruit 
 of carelessness in make-up, misnumbered in the original, we 
 have given the incorrect as well as the correct figure, thus: 
 [276, i. e. 279]. 
 
 In the preparation for the press of this reprint of the 
 original London edition of 1703, the Editor has had through¬ 
 out the valued cooperation of Louise Phelps Kellogg, Ph. D., 
 Aid his editorial assistant on the staff of the Wisconsin 
 
 acknowledged. Historical Society. He is also under especial 
 obligations to Victor Hugo Paltsits, of the Lenox Branch 
 
Introduction 
 
 xlix 
 
 of the New York Public Library, whose careful and scientific¬ 
 ally constructed Bibliography of Lahontan was prepared for 
 the present publication. As in the case of Hennepin, a year 
 ago, Mr. Paltsits has here given us the first accurate Bibliog¬ 
 raphy of this difficult subject thus far issued. 
 
 R. G. T. 
 
 Madison, Wis., October, 1904. 
 
 d 
 
LAHONTAN BIBLIOGRAPHY 
 
 By Victor Hugo Paltsits 
 
 T HE path trodden by the bibliographer who undertakes a critical 
 study of the various editions of the voyages of the Baron de 
 Lahontan is beset with innumerable stumbling-blocks. Vagaries in 
 the books themselves; imperfections of extant or available copies in 
 libraries; and the fact that no complete series exists in the libraries of 
 any single city — all these conditions he encounters in his investiga¬ 
 tions. He discovers also, by the most painstaking analysis, that others 
 who have dealt with the subject have tabulated editions as extant 
 which never existed; and that numerous errors have been perpetuated 
 by the shirking of independent research. 
 
 The bibliography presented herewith has been made from the 
 books themselves —generally by testing the collations by several copies. 
 Only by this method has it been possible to present an almost defini¬ 
 tive work. Yet, after all the care bestowed, it is not unlikely, on 
 account of the difficulty of finding immaculate copies of certain edi¬ 
 tions, that some plates or maps are not here recorded. The books of 
 Lahontan have not been collected with that avidity which we find 
 elsewhere evident in this collecting age. 
 
 The present bibliography differs from all of its predecessors, in that 
 it gives an analysis of each volume by its component parts, by its pagi¬ 
 nation, by its signatures, and by the location of its plates and maps. 
 This is, to coin a new term, anatomical bibliography, and follows an 
 idea which I have sought, in several similar monographic studies, to 
 
lii 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 introduce as a more scholarly method in American bibliography. Only 
 by such means can the librarian, scholar, or collector ascertain whether 
 his books are perfect, or wherein they lack completeness. The mere 
 lumping of pagination or plates falls far short of usefulness; it is, 
 indeed, a source of irritation and annoyance. 
 
 In Henry Harrisse’s Notes sur la Nouvelle France (Paris, 1872), 
 nos. 795-803, a brief summary of a few editions of Lahontan’s work 
 was given, devoid of collations or other bibliographical data. Joseph 
 Sabin, in his Dictionary of Books relating to America , vol. x. (1878), 
 pp. 27-32, gave the fullest record which was printed up to his time; 
 but he read into his work non-extant editions, and distorted the facts. 
 Justin Winsor presented “A bibliographical and critical note” to his 
 Narrative and Critical History of America, vol. iv. (1884), pp. 257- 
 262 ; it is, however, a more or less inaccurate and incomplete sum¬ 
 mary. James Constantine Pilling was the first bibliographer to get at 
 all a proper grasp of the subject, in his Bibliography of the Algonquian 
 Languages (Washington, 1891), pp. 288-295, with seven facsimile title- 
 pages of the 1703 French editions. He made some mistakes, which 
 reappeared in Roy and Dionne, who drew almost bodily from him. 
 J. Edmond Roy appended a bibliography to his otherwise very impor¬ 
 tant w T ork on “ Le Baron de Lahontan,” published in the Proceedings 
 and Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada for 1894, section i. His 
 monograph is divided into the following divisions: “ Avant-propos,” 
 PP- 63-64; genealogy and biography of Lahontan, pp. 64-109; exam¬ 
 ination and critique of Lahontan’s book, pp. 109-165 ; “ Pieces Justifi- 
 catives” (documents), pp. 166-179; “ Notes sur les diverses Editions 
 des Ouvrages de Lahontan,” pp. 179-192. There is also a separate 
 issue of his work from the “ Proceedings,” with its own printed 
 wrapper. Phileas Gagnon, in his Essai de Bibliographie Canadienne 
 (Quebec, 1895), item 1922, summarized the bibliography of Lahontan 
 
Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 liii 
 
 in about ten lines. Narcisse E. Dionne is the latest bibliographer of 
 the subject, in Le Courrier du Livre (Quebec: Raoul Renault, 1899), 
 vol. iii, pp. 313-326. His work is merely a compilation from former 
 bibliographies and sale-catalogues, presents nothing original, and is 
 uncritical. 
 
 In the present account, the abbreviated designation for the location 
 of copies is explained by the following key: 
 
 B = Boston Public Library. 
 
 BA = Boston Athenaeum. 
 
 BE = Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, D. C. 
 
 BM = British Museum, London. 
 
 BN = Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris. 
 
 C = Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. 
 
 HC = Harvard College Library, Cambridge, Mass. 
 
 JCB = John Carter Brown Library, Providence, R. I. 
 
 LLQ = Legislative Library, Quebec. 
 
 LP = Library of Parliament, Ottawa. 
 
 LU = Laval University, Quebec. 
 
 MHS = Massachusetts Historical Society, Boston. 
 
 NL = New York Public Library (Lenox Library Building). 
 
 NYHS = New York Historical Society, New York City. 
 
 WHS = Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison. 
 
 The arrangement pursued is chronological, by the imprint date of 
 each volume; when the volumes of an edition bear the same date they 
 are placed sequentially under that particular year. Each volume, in 
 fact, has for identification its own earmarks. 
 
 It is a pleasure to acknowledge the special facilities afforded by 
 librarians in the prosecution of this work, and particularly to Mr. 
 George Parker Winship, librarian of the Carter Brown Library, and 
 Dr. Herbert Putnam, Librarian of Congress. 
 
liv 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 1703 —French: Angel issue —Vol. i. 
 
 Nouveaux | Voyages | de | Mr. le Baron de Lahontan, | dans | 
 PAmerique | Septentrionale, | Qui contiennent une relation des dif- 
 ferens Peuples | qui y habitent; la nature de leur Gouvernement; 
 leur | Commerce, leurs Coutumes, leur Religion, & | leur maniere de 
 faire la Guerre. | L’interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le Com- | 
 merce qu’ils font avec ces Nations; Pavantage que | PAngleterre peut 
 retirer dans ce Pais, etant | en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi 
 de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | [ Emblematic circular cut of 
 Angel , etc., with inscription underneath ] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres PHonore, Marchands Libraires. | 
 M. D c c hi. | 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; “A sa Majeste Frederic IV,” 
 pp. (4); “ Preface,” pp. (7); “ Table des Lettres du Tome I,” pp. (9); 
 “ Voyages ” or text, pp. 1-266 ; “Explication de quelques Termes qui 
 se trouvent dans le premier tome,” pp. 267-279; verso of p. 279 blank. 
 No mispaging. The 2d, 4th, 6th, 8th, 12th, and 17th lines and place 
 and date of imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 34, 46, 72, 85, 98, 116, 141, 174, 211, 226, 
 and 242; three frontispieces, namely, a globe and bird in a circle, an 
 Indian in an oval with superscription “Et leges et sceptra tent,” and a 
 small “Carte generale de Canada a petit point;” also a large folded 
 “Carte que le Gnacsitares ont dessine,” etc., found sometimes opp. 
 p. 1, but intended for p. 136. In the preface of this volume the fol¬ 
 lowing note appears: “La Carte mise a la tete du premier Volume 
 doit se raporter a la 16. Lettre du meme Volume.” 
 
 Signatures. — * in eleven, A—L in twelves, M in eight. Sig. I5 
 printed correctly. 
 
 Copies. — BM, JCB (the Globe and Indian frontispieces mounted), 
 
lv 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 NL (two, one in perfect condition, and one lacking Globe and Indian 
 frontispieces; both copies bound in contemporary hogskin), NYHS 
 (imperfect and otherwise a poor copy). 
 
 1703 — French: Angel issue — Vol. 2. 
 
 Memoires | de | l’Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite | des 
 Voyages de Mr. le | Baron de Lahontan. | Qui contiennent la De- 
 fcription d’une grande eten -1 due de Pais de ce Continent, 1 interet 
 des Francois & des | Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, | 
 les Moeurs & les Coutumes des Sauvages &c. | Avec un petit Diction- 
 aire de la Langue du Pais. I Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | 
 Tome Second. | [Same cut as in first volume ] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres l’Honore, Marchands Libraires. | 
 
 M. DCCIII. I 
 
 Collation. — i 2 mo; title, verso blank; “Memoires,” pp. 3-194J 
 half-title: “ Petit | Dictionaire | de la Langue | des Sauvages,” on p. 
 [195]; P- [196] blank; “ Petit Dictionaire,” pp. 197-220; “ Table des 
 Matieres contenues dans les deux tomes,” pp. (16). P. 219 is mis- 
 paged 29. The 1st, 3d. 6th, 7th, 12th, and 14th lines and place and 
 date of imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 95 . I2 5 . 133 . u8, 155 , 160, 185, 187, 188, 
 189, and 191; a large folded “ Carte generale de Canada Dediee au roy. 
 de Danemark,” opp. p. 3 i two frontispieces, namely, a globe and bird 
 in a circle, and an Indian in an oval, exactly like these two cuts in the 
 
 first volume of this issue. 
 
 Signatures.— A—I in twelves, K in ten. 
 
 Copies. — BM, JCB (the Globe and Indian frontispieces mounted), 
 NL (two, one in perfect condition, and one lacking Globe and Indian 
 frontispieces), NYHS (imperfect and otherwise a poor copy). 
 
lvi 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 1703 — French : Angel issue — Vol. 3. 
 
 Suple’ment | aux Voyages | du | Baron de Lahontan, | Ou l’on 
 trouve des Dialogues curieux | entre | l’Auteur | et | un Sauvage | 
 De bon fens qui a voyage. | L’on y voit aufli plufieurs Obfervations 
 faites par le meme | Auteur, dans fes Voyages en Portugal, en Efpagne, 
 I en Hollande, & en Dannemarck, &c. | Tome Troisie’me. | Avec 
 Figures. | [ Same cut as in vols. 1 and 2 of Angel issue ] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres 1 ’Honore, Marchands Libraires. | 
 
 M. DCC. III. | 
 
 Collation .— i2mo; title, verso blank; “ Preface,” pp. (12); “Avis 
 De l’Auteur, Au Lecteur,” pp. (2); “ Dialogues Ou Entretiens entre 
 un Sauvages, Et le Baron de Lahontan,” pp. 1-103; p. [104] blank; 
 half-title: “Voyages | Du | Baron de Lahontan | En | Portugal, | 
 Et en | Danemarc,” on p. [105]; p. [106] blank; “Voyages De 
 Portugal, Et de Danemarc,” pp. 107-222. P. 86 is mispaged 89. 
 Title-page printed wholly in black. 
 
 Plates . Folded plates at pp. 1, ii 8, 149, and 155; folded maps of 
 Portugal and Denmark, by N. de Fer, opp. pp. 107 and 145, respectively. 
 
 Signatures.—* in eight, A-I in twelves, K in three (some copies 
 have a blank leaf to complete the last signature in four). 
 
 Copies . — BM, JCB, LP. 
 
 J 7 ° 3 — French: Ornament issue — Vol. i. 
 
 Nouveaux | Voyages I de | M r le Baron de Lahontan, | dans | 
 l’Amerique | Septentrionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des dif¬ 
 fered | Peuples qui y habitent; la nature de leur | Gouvernement; 
 leur Commerce, leurs CoQ- | tumes, leur Religion, & leur maniere de | 
 faire la Guerre. | L’inte'ret des Franfois & des Anglois dans le Commer- 
 I ce qu’ils font avec ces Nations; l’avantage que | l’Angleterre peut 
 
Lahontan Bibliography lvii 
 
 retirer dans ce Pais, etant | en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi 
 de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | [Ornament] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres PHonore, Marchands Libraires. | 
 M. DCIII. | 
 
 Collation . — i2mo; title, verso blank ; “ A sa Majeste Frederic IV,” 
 pp. (4); “ Preface,” pp. (7); “ Table des Lettres du Tome I,” pp. (11); 
 “ Voyages ” or text, pp. 1-266 ; “ Explication de quelques Termes qui 
 se trouvent dans le premier tome,” pp. 267-279; verso of p. 279 blank. 
 Pp. 35, 82, 98, 123, 128, 177, 241, and 242 are mispaged 34, 84, 78, 
 133, 126, 176, 242, and 142, respectively. The 2d, 4th, 6th, 8th to 
 12th, and 18th lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates. —Frontispiece and opposite pp. 14, 34, 47, 72, 85, 98, 116, 
 141, 155 (really belongs in second volume at that page), 174, 225, and 
 242; a small 4 ‘Carte generale du Canada en petit point,” opp. p. 9, 
 and folded “ Carte que les Gnacsitares ont Dessine,” etc., at p. 136. 
 
 Signatures. — * in twelve, A—L in twelves, M in eight. Sig. I5 is 
 misprinted I3. 
 
 Copies. — B, BA, JCB, MHS. 
 
 1703 — French: Ornament issue — Vol. 2. 
 
 Memoires | de | PAmerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite des 
 Voyages | de | M r le Baron de Lahontan. | Qui contiennent la De- 
 fcription d’une grande | etendue de Pais de ce Continent, Pinteret | 
 des Francois & des Anglois, leurs Com- | merces, leurs Navigations, les 
 Moeurs & | les Coutumes des Sauvages &c. | Avec un petit Diction- 
 naire de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | 
 Tome Second. | \_Ornament ] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres PHonore, Marchands Libraires. | 
 M. DCCIII. | 
 
■■ 
 
 irvfy^rirMvrt 
 
 lviii 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; “ Memoires, ,, pp. 3 _I 94 
 (mispaged 164); half-title: “ Petit | Dictionaire | de la Langue | des 
 Sauvages,” on p. [195]; p. [196] blank; “ Petit Dictionaire,” pp. 197 “ 
 220 ; ‘Table des Matieres contenues dans les deux tomes,” pp. (17)> 
 verso of last leaf blank; one blank leaf to complete sig. K. Pp. 167, 
 169, 175, 194 and 219 are mispaged 761, 269, 375, 164, and 26, respec¬ 
 tively. The 1st, 3d, 5th, 7th, 13th, and 15th lines and place and date 
 of imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 55, 95, 101,125, 130, I 5 L * 74 , 189, 190, and 
 191 ; a “ Carte generale de Canada,” opp. p. 5. 
 
 Signatures. — A—K in twelves, the last leaf blank. D3 is printed in 
 small cap., and F3 is misprinted F2. The small printer’s ornament, or 
 fieuron , differs in size from that of the first volume of this issue. 
 
 Copies. —B, BA, JCB, MHS. 
 
 1703 — French: Globe issue — Vol. i. 
 
 Nouveaux | Voyages | de | M r le Baron de Lahontan, | dans | 
 l’Amerique | Septentrionale, | Qui contiennent une relation des dif- 
 ferens Peuples | qui y habitent; la nature de leur Gouvernement; | 
 leur Commerce, leur Coutumes, leur Reli- | gion, & leur maniere de 
 faire la Guerre. | L’interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le Com- 
 mer- | ce qu’ils font avec ces Nations; l’avantage que | l’Angleterre 
 peut retirer dans ce Pais, etant | en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout 
 enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | [ Cut of a globe] \ 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres l’Honore. Marchands Libraire [«V] 
 
 | M. DCCIII. | 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; collation the same as the “ Ornament ” issue of 
 the same year, with similar mispaging and signatures. 
 
 Plate. — The plate for p. 155 is sometimes found in this volume, 
 but really belongs in the second volume. The title-pages of both vol- 
 
lix 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 umes of this “ Globe” issue are printed entirely in black ink, and the 
 plates are superior to those in the “ Ornament ” issue. The “ Globe ” 
 issue has corrections in the place-nomenclature on the maps, and some 
 additions of places on these maps have also been noticed. The “ Orna¬ 
 ment ” issue has fancy initial letters, head and tail pieces, while the 
 “ Globe ” issue is simpler in this respect; but the two issues agree typo¬ 
 graphically as to text, even in broken letters and singular mispaging. 
 Copies . — BA, C, LLQ, LU, NL. 
 
 1703 — French: Globe issue — Vol. 2. 
 
 Memoires | de | l’Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite des 
 Voyages | de | M r le Baron de Lahontan. | Qui contiennent la De- 
 fcription d’une grande etendue de | Pais de ce Continent, interet des 
 Francois & des | Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, les | 
 Moeurs & les Coutumes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Dictionnaire 
 de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | 
 Tome Second. | [ Cut of a globe] \ 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres l’Honore, Marchand [xiV] Libraires. 
 | M. DCCIII. | 
 
 Collation. — i2mo. The plate which is found in the “Ornament ” 
 issue of this volume opposite p. 55 is properly placed at p. 155 in this 
 “ Globe ” issue. 
 
 Plates. — “Lac des Outagamis ” and another plate containing a 
 bow, hatchet, etc., and scenes in Indian warfare and cruelty, are not 
 found similarly located in several copies examined; the former appears 
 to belong opp. p. 165, and the latter opp. p. 174. 
 
 Signatures. — Some copies have p. 218 misprinted 418, and the sig¬ 
 nature mark D3 is not printed in small caps, as in the Ornament” 
 issue, but sig. F3 is misprinted F2. 
 
 Copies. — BA, C, LLQ, LU, NL. 
 
lx 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 1703 — English — Vol. i. 1 
 
 New | Voyages | to | North-America. | Containing | An Account 
 of the feveral Nations of that vaft Con- | tinent; their Cuftoms, Com¬ 
 merce, and Way of | Navigation upon the Lakes and Rivers; the feve- 
 | ral Attempts of the Englifh and French to difpoffefs | one another; 
 with the Reafons of the Mifcarriage | of the former; and the various 
 Adventures be- | tween the French, and the Iroquefe Confederates of | 
 England, from 1683 to 1694. I A Geographical Defcription of Canada, 
 and a Natu- | ral Hiftory of the Country, with Remarks upon | their 
 Government, and the Intereft of the Englifh | and French in their 
 Commerce. | Alfo a Dialogue between the Author and a General of 
 the | Savages, giving a full View of the Religion and ftrange | Opin¬ 
 ions of thofe People: With an Account of the Au- | thors Retreat to 
 Portugal and Denmark and his Remarks | on thofe Courts. | To 
 which is added, | A Dictionary of the Algonkine Language, which is 
 generally | fpoke in North-America. | Illuftrated with Twenty Three 
 Mapps and Cutts. | Written in French | By the Baron Lahontan, 
 Lord Lievtenant | of the French Colony at Placentia in New- | 
 foundland, now in England. | Done into Englifh. | In Two Volumes. 
 
 | A great part of which never Printed in the Original. | 
 
 London: Printed for H. Bonwicke in St. Paul’s Church-yard; | 
 T. Goodwin, M. Wotton, B. Tooke, in Fleetftreet; and S. Manfhip 
 | in Cornhil, 1703. | 
 
 Collation. — 8vo; title, verso blank; “To His Grace William 
 Duke of Devonshire,” pp. (2); “The Preface,” pp. (8); “ The Con¬ 
 tents,” pp. (12); “Some New Voyages” pp. 1-202; “Memoirs of 
 North-America,” pp. 203-274; “A Table explaining some Terms 
 made use of in both Volumes,” pp. 275-280; “Books lately Printed, 
 
 1 This is the original English edition which is herewith reprinted. 
 
Lahontan Bibliography lxi 
 
 &c.,” p. (i); one blank page. No mispaging. The “ Table” ends 
 in the midst of the letter “ T ” on p. 280, and there is a superfluous 
 catch-word “ THE ” at the foot of that page. 
 
 Plates, — Opposite pp. 26, 43, 55, 65, 75, 89, 106, 160, 184 and 
 225 (map of Newfoundland); a small full-page map of Canada to face 
 the title-page, and two large folded maps to face p. 1, as follows : (A) 
 
 “ A General Map of New France Com, call’d Canada,” (B) A Map 
 drawn upon Stag-skins by y e Gnacfitares,” etc. 
 
 Signatures . — A in eight, a in four, B—S in eights, T in four, and 
 one advertisement leaf. 
 
 Copies,- B, HC, JCB, MHS, NL (three), WHS. 
 
 The following extract from the preface of this volume is worthy of 
 notice here : 
 
 While my Book was a Printing in Holland, I was in England; and as soon 
 as it appear’d, several English Gentlemen of a distinguishing Merit, who understand 
 the French as well as their Mother Tongue, gave me to know, that they would be 
 glad to see a more ample Relation of the Manners and Customs of the People of that 
 Continent, whom we call by the name of Savages. This oblig’d me to communicate 
 to these Gentlemen, the substance of the several Conferences I had in that Country 
 with a certain Huron, whom the French call Rat. While I stay’d at that American s 
 Village, I imploy’d my time very agreeably in making a careful Collection of all his 
 Arguments and Opinions ; and as soon as I return’d from my Voyage upon the Lakes 
 of Canada, I shew’d my Manuscript to Count Frontenac, who was so pleas’d with it, 
 that he took the pains to assist me in digesting the Dialogues, and bringing them into 
 the order they now appear in : For before that, they were abrupt Conferences without 
 Connexion. Upon the Solicitation of these English Gentlemen, I’ve put these Dia¬ 
 logues into the hands of the Person who translated my Letters and Memoirs : And if 
 it had not been for their pressing Instances, they had never seen the light; for there 
 are but few in the World that will judge impartially, and without prepossession, of 
 some things contained in ’em. 
 
 I have likewise intrusted the same Translator with some Remarks that I made 
 in Portugal, and Denmark, when I fled thither from Newfound-Land. There the 
 Reader will meet with a description of Lisbon and Copenhagen, and of the capital 
 City of Arragon. 
 
 To the Translation of my first Volume, I have added an exact Map of Newfound- 
 Land, which was not in the Original. I have likewise corrected almost all the Cuts 
 
lxii 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 t 
 
 of the Holland Impression, for the Dutch Gravers had murder’d ’em, by not under¬ 
 standing their Explications, which were all in French. They have grav’d Women for 
 Men, and Men for Women ; naked Persons for those that are cloath’d, and e Contra. 
 As for the Maps, the Reader will find ’em very exact; And I have taken care to have 
 the Tracts of my Voyages more nicely delineated, than in the Original. 
 
 1703 — English —Vol. 2. 
 
 New | .Voyages | to | North-America. | Giving a full Account of 
 the Cuftoms, | Commerce, Religion, and ftrange O- | pinions of the 
 Savages of that Country. | With | Political Remarks upon the Courts 
 | of Portugal and Denmark, and the Prefent | State of the Commerce 
 of thofe Countries. | Never Printed before. | Written | By the Baron 
 Lahontan, Lord | Lieutenant of the French Colony at | Placentia in 
 Newfoundland: Now in | England. | Vol. II. | 
 
 London: | Printed for H. Bonwicke in St. Paul’s Church-yard; 
 T. Goodwin, | M. Wotton, B. Tooke in Fleetftreet; and S. Manfhip 
 in Cornhil, | 1703. | 
 
 Collation. — 8vo; title, verso blank; “A Discourse,” pp. 1-89; 
 “ A Conference or Dialogue,” pp. 90-183; p. [184] blank; “ An Ap¬ 
 pendix, Containing Some New Voyages to Portugal and Denmark,” 
 pp. 185-286; “A Short Dictionary Of the most Universal Language 
 of the Savages,” pp. 287-302; “The Index,” pp. (13); one blank 
 page. The second figure of the paging of p. 43 is inverted and p. 279 
 is misprinted 276. Sets of this edition are usually very much mixed up 
 in the arrangement of the preliminary and end leaves, and the majority 
 of copies examined lacked the frontispiece to the second volume. 
 
 Plates . — Frontispiece containing an Indian within an oval, having 
 the superscription “ Et Leges et Sceptra terit ”; and opposite pp. 5, 29, 
 36, 51, 59 (two), 80, 82, 84 and 86. 
 
 Signatures . — Title-page, Aa—Sf in eights, Tt in seven, Vv in seven. 
 
Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 lxiii 
 
 Copies. — B (with frontispiece), HC (lacks front.), JCB (with 
 front.), MHS (lacks front.), NL (two, both lack front.), WHS (lacks 
 front.). 
 
 1704— French — Vol. 1. 
 
 Nouveaux | Voyages | de Mr le Baron | de Lahontan | dans | 
 PAmerique | Septentrionale. | Qui contiennent une relation des dif- 
 ferens Peu- | pies qui y habitent, la nature de leur Gouver- | nement, 
 leur Commerce, leur Coutume, leur | Religion, & leur maniere de faire 
 la Guerre. | L’interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le | Commerce 
 qu’ils font avec ces Nations, Pa- | vantage que PAngleterre peut retirer 
 dans ce | Pais, etant en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de 
 Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | [Small ornament] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres Lhonore’, Marchands Libraires. | 
 M. dcciv. | 
 
 Collation . — i2mo; title, verso blank ; “ A sa Majeste Frederic IV,” 
 pp. (2);“ Preface,” pp. (5); “ Table desLettres du I. Tome,” pp. (9); 
 “Voyages,” pp. 1-266; “Explication de quelques Termes,” pp. 267- 
 280. P. 82 is misprinted 84. The title-page printed wholly in black. 
 
 Plates . — Frontispiece of an Indian in an oval, and opposite pp. 14, 
 34, 47, 72, 85, 98, 116, 141, 174, 225 and 242; a small “Carte 
 generate du Canada en petit point ” opp. p. 1 of the text; a folded map 
 opp. p. 136, entitled: “Carte que les Gnacsitares ont Dessine,” etc. 
 
 Signatures .— A—M in twelves, N in six (the last leaf blank). 
 Sig. E5 is misprinted Eg. 
 
 Copies .—JCB, LP. 
 
 1704 — French — Vol. 2. 
 
 Memoires | de | l’Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou | la Suite des 
 Voyages | de | Mr le Baron de Lahontan. | Qui contiennent la De- 
 
Ixiv 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 fcription (Tune | grande etendue de pais de ce Conti- | nent, l’interet des 
 Francois & des An- | glois, leurs Commerces, leurs Na- | vigations, les 
 Moeurs & les Coutu- | mes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Diction- 
 naire de la Langue du PaTs. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | 
 Et augmente dans ce fecond Tome de la ma- | niere dont les Sauvages 
 fe regalent. | [Small ornament , same as in vol. /] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres Lhonore’, Marchands Libraires. | 
 M. dcciv. | 
 
 Collation. —8vo; title, verso blank; “ Memoires, ,, pp. 3-198; 
 “Petit Dictionaire,” pp. 199-222; “Table des Matieres,” pp. (18). 
 Pagination of p. 101 imperfectly printed 10. Title-page printed wholly 
 in black. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 95, 98, 101, 125, 130, 151, 155, 167, 185, 
 189, 190, and 191; a folded “Carte generale de Canada” opp. p. 5. 
 
 Signatures. — A—K in twelves. 
 
 Copies. — JCB, LP. 
 
 1704 — French — Vol. 3. 
 
 Suite | Du | Voyage, | De PAmerique, | Ou Dialogues | De Mon- 
 fieur le | Baron de Lahontan | Et d’un | Sauvage, | Dans l’Amerique. 
 Contenant une defcription | exacte des moeurs & des coutumes de ces 
 | Peuples Sauvages. | Avec les Voyages du meme en Portgugal & en | 
 Danemarc, dans lefquels on trouve des parti- | cularitez tres curieufes, 
 & qu’on n’avoit | point encore remarquees. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes 
 & de Figures. | [Small scrolled ornament ] | 
 
 A Amsterdam, | Chez la Veuve de Boeteman, | Et fe vend | A 
 Londres, chez David Mortier, Li- | braire dans le Strand, a PEnfeigne 
 d’Erafme. | M. DCCIV. | 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; “ Preface,” pp. (12); “Avis 
 
lxv 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 De l’Auteur Au Lecteur,” pp. (2); “Dialogues,” pp. 1-103; p. [104] 
 blank; half-title: “Voyages | Du | Baron de Lahontan | En Por¬ 
 tugal, | Et en | Danemarc,” on p. [105]; p. [106] blank; text of 
 “Voyages,” pp. 107-222. P. 86 is mispaged 89. The 1st, 3d, 5th, 
 7th, and 9th lines and place of imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 1, 118, 149, and 155 I a map of Portugal at 
 p. 107, and a map of Denmark at p. 145. 
 
 Signatures. — * in eight, A—I in twelves, K in three. This volume 
 is merely a reissue of the original sheets of the 1703 edition of the Suple- 
 ment, with a new title-page. We have seen sets of the “Angel issue ” 
 of vols. 1 and 2 accompanied by the 1703 edition of the Supl'ement; by the 
 1704 Suite, and by the issue of 1704 called Dialogues (vide next item). 
 
 Copies. —LLQ, NL. 
 
 1704 — French: Dialogues issue — VOL. 3. 
 
 Dialogues | De Monfieur le | Baron de Lahontan | Et d’un | 
 Sauvage, | Dans l’Amerique. | Contenant une defcription exacte des 
 moeurs | & des coutumes de ces Peuples Sauvages. | Avec les Voyages 
 du meme en Portugal & en | Danemarc, dans lefquels on trouve des 
 parti- | cularitez tres curieuses, & qu’on n’avoit | point encore remar¬ 
 quees. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | [Cut, a vase offlowers ] 
 
 A Amsterdam, | Chez la Veuve de Boeteman, | Et fe vend | A 
 Londres, chez David Mortier, Li -1 braire dans le Strand, a P Enfeigne 
 d’ Erafme. | M. dcciv. I 
 
 Collation. — This is a separate issue of the Suite Du Voyage of this 
 year, which as already shown in loco is merely the sheets of the 1703 
 original with a new title-page. 
 
 Copies. — BM, C, JCB, NL (two). 
 
lxvi 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 1705—-French: Jonas V Honor e — VOL. 1. 
 
 Voyages | du Baron | de La Hontan | dans | PAmerique | Sep- 
 tentrionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des differens Peuples | qui 
 y habitent; la nature de leur Gouvernement; leur | Commerce, leur 
 Coutumes, leur Religion, & | leur maniere de faire la Guerre: | L’ln- 
 teret des Francois & des Anglois dans le Com- | merce qu’ils font avec 
 ces Nations ; Pavantage que | PAngleterre peut retirer de ce Pais, etant 
 | en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. 
 | Tome Premier. | Seconde Edition, revue, corrigee, & augmentee. | 
 
 [Cuty with emblematic scene , globe } pillar and figures ] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez Jonas PHonore, & Compagnie. | mdccv. | 
 Collation . — i2mo ; engraved frontispiece, with title: “ Nouveaux 
 | Voyages | du Barron | de Lahontan ”; title, verso blank; “ Preface,’’ 
 pp. (8); “Table des Lettres du Tome Premier,” pp. (8); “Voyages” 
 or text, pp. [1] —364; “Explication de quelques Termes,” pp. 365-376. 
 No mispaging. The 1st, 3d, 5th, 6th, nth to 14th, and 16th lines and 
 place and date of imprint printed in red. In some copies, if not indeed 
 in all, the paper of signatures N—P (pp. 289-360) is browned. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 1, 38, 53, 82, 91, 118, 127, 174, 244, 303, 
 324, and 340; a folded “ Carte que les Gnacsitares ont dessine,” etc., 
 opp. p. 1. The only characteristic variation between the Jonas and 
 Francois PHonore issues of this year seems to be their title-pages. 
 Signatures. — * in nine, A—P in twelves, Q in eight. 
 
 Copies. — BM, JCB, NL, NYHS (imperfect). 
 
 1705 —French: Jonas rHonore — VOL. 2 . 
 
 Memoires | de | PAmerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite | des 
 Voyages de Mr. le | Baron de La Hontan: | Qui contiennent la De- 
 fcription d’une grande etendue | de Pais de ce Continent, Pinteret des 
 Francois & des | Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, | les 
 
Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 lxvii 
 
 Moeurs & les Coutumes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Dictionaire 
 de la Langue du Pa'is. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | 
 Tome Second. | Seconde Edition, augmentee des Conversations de | 
 l’Auteur avec un Sauvage diftingue. | [Same cut as in first volume ] | 
 
 A Amsterdam, | Pour Jonas l’Honore a la Haye. | M DCC V. | 
 Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; “ Memoires,” pp. 5-196; 
 “ Conversations de l’Auteur de ces Voyages avec Adario,” pp. I97“3!0; 
 half-title: “ Dictionaire | de la Langue | des Sauvages,” on p. [311]; 
 p. [312] blank; “Dictionaire,” pp. 3i3~336; "‘Table Des Matieres 
 principals contenues dans ce II Volume,” pp. (2). No mispaging. 
 The 1st, 3d, 6th, 7th, 12th, and 14th lines and place and date of im¬ 
 print printed in red. 
 
 Plates .— Opposite pp. 95, 104, 125, 129, 133, 148, 155, 160, 185, 
 187, 189, and 191; frontispiece “Carte Generate de Canada a petit 
 point,” and a large folded “ Carte Generale de Canada” opp. p. 5. 
 Signatures. —Title-page, A3— [A12], B—O in twelves, P in one. 
 Copies . —BM, JCB, NL. 
 
 1705 — French: Francois rHonore — Vol. 1. 
 
 Voyages | du Baron | de La Hontan | dans | l’Amerique | Sep- 
 tentrionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des differens Peuples | 
 qui y habitent; la nature de leur Gouvernement; leur | Commerce, 
 leurs Coutumes, leur Religion, & | leur maniere de faire la Guerre: | 
 L’Interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le Com- | merce qu’ils font 
 avec ces Nations; l’avantage que | l’Angleterre peut retirer de ce Pais, 
 etant | en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de 
 Figures. | Tome Premier. | Seconde Edition, revue, corrigee, & aug¬ 
 mentee. | \_Emblematic cut y a globe with five figures seated near a column] | 
 A Amsterdam, | Chez Francois l’Honore vis-a-vis de la Bourfe. | 
 M D CC V. | 
 
lxviii 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; engraved frontispiece, with title: “Nouveaux | 
 Voyages | du Barron | de Lahontan”; title, verso blank; “ Preface,” 
 pp. (8); “ Table des Lettres du Tome Premier,” pp. (8); ‘‘Voyages” 
 or text, pp. [i]—364; “Explication de quelques Termes,” pp. 365- 
 376. No mispaging. The 1st, 3d, 5th, 6th, nth to 14th, and 16th 
 lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates . — Opposite pp. 1, 38, 53, 82 (corrected from 72), 91, 118, 
 127, 174, 244, 303, 324, and 340; a folded “ Carte que les Gnacsitares 
 ont dessine,” etc., opp. p. 1, but often found at some other location in the 
 volume. The only characteristic variation between the Francois and 
 Jonas PHonore issues of this year seems to be their title-pages. 
 
 Signatures. —* in nine, A—P in twelves, Q in eight. 
 
 Copies. — B, BM, C, HC. 
 
 1705 — French : Franqois V Honore — Vol. 2. 
 
 Memoires | de | PAmerique | Septentrionale, | ou la suite | des 
 Voyages de Mr. le Baron de La Hontan: | Qui contiennent la De- 
 fcription d’une grande etendue | de Pa'is de ce Continent, Pinteret des 
 Francois & des | Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, | les 
 Mceurs & les Coutumes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Dictionaire 
 de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | 
 Tome Second. | Seconde Edition, augmentee des Conversations de | 
 PAuteur avec un Sauvage diftingue. | [ Same cut as in first volume'] | 
 
 A Amsterdam, | Chez Francois PHonore & Compagnie.l MDCCV. | 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; “Memoires,” pp. 5—1:96; 
 “ Conversations,” pp. 197-310; half-title: Dictionare | de la Langue | 
 des Sauvages,” on p. [311]; p. [312] blank; “Dictionaire,” pp. 313- 
 336 ; “ Table Des Matieres principals contenues dans ce II Volume,” 
 pp. (2). No mispaging. The 1st, 3d, 6th, 7th, 12th, and 14th lines 
 and place and date of imprint printed in red. 
 
Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 lxix 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 95, 104, 125, 129, I 33 > 148* l 55> 160, 185, 
 187, 189, and 191; frontispiece Carte Generale de Canada a petit 
 point,” and large folded “ Carte generale du Canada ” opp. p. 5, but 
 having the location mark “ Pag: I ” engraved upon it. 
 
 Signatures. — A—O in twelves, P in one. 
 
 Copies. — B, BM, C, HC (lacks large map). 
 
 1705 — English: Extract . 
 
 A Voyage to North America. Or a Geographical Defcription of 
 Canada. By the Baron La Hontan, Lord Lieutenant of the French 
 Colony at Placentia in Newfound-Land. 
 
 The above title is the heading of chap, xvi of the original folio 
 edition of John Harris’s Navigantium atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca : 
 Or, a Compleat Collection of Voyages and Travels : . . . Volume II. 
 (London: Printed for Thomas Bennet . . . mdccv). The com¬ 
 plete extract from Lahontan is embraced by Harris’s chapters xvi-xxvi, 
 or pp. 915-928. 
 
 The revised editions of Harris (edited by J. Campbell), published 
 in 1744-1748 and 1764, do not contain these excerpts. 
 
 1706 —French —Vol. 1. 
 
 Voyages { du Baron | de La Hontan | dans | l’Amerique | Sep- 
 tentrionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des differens Peuples | 
 qui y habitent; la nature de leur Gouvernement ; leur | Commerce, 
 leurs Coutumes, leur Religion; & | leur maniere de faire la Guerre: | 
 L’Interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le Com- | merce qu’ils font 
 avec ces Nations ; l’avantage que | PAngleterre peut retirer de ce Pa'is, 
 etant | en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de 
 Figures. | Tome Premier. | Seconde Edition, revue, corrige, & aug- 
 mentee. | [ Cut of three cherubs ] | 
 
Ixx 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez Charles Delo, fur le Singel. | MDCCVI. | 
 
 This edition is merely a reissue from the same sheets of the two 
 1705 issues of Francois and Jonas PHonore, with which it agrees in 
 collation; even the paper of signatures N—P is browned as in them, 
 and all typographical peculiarities are repeated in the body of both 
 volumes. 
 
 Copies . — BA (lacks many plates and the large map), JCB, NL. 
 
 1706 — French —Vol. 2. 
 
 Memoires | de | PAmerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite | des 
 Voyages de Mr. le | Baron de La Hontan: | Qui contiennent la De- 
 fcription d’une grande etendue | de Pais de ce continent, Pinteret des 
 Francois & des | Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, | les 
 Moeurs & les Coutumes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Dictionaire 
 de la Langue du Pa'is. | Tome Second. | Seconde Edition, augmente 
 des Conversations | de PAuteur avec un Sauvage diftingue. | [Cut of 
 two cherubs bearing the host~\ \ 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez Charles Delo, fur le Singel. | MDCCVI. | 
 
 This edition is merely a reissue from the same sheets of the two 
 1705 issues of Francois and Jonas PHonore, with which it agrees in 
 collation. 
 
 Copies . — BA (lacks many plates and the large map ), JCB, NL. 
 
 1707 —French — Vol. 1. 
 
 Nouveaux | Voyages | de Monsieur | le Baron de Lahontan, I 
 dans | PAmerique | Septentrionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation 
 des diffe- | rens Peuples qui y habitent, la nature | de leur Gouverne- 
 ment, leur Commerce, | leurs Coutumes, leur Religion, & leur | ma- 
 niere de faire la Guerre. | L’interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le 
 | Commerce qu’ils font avec ces Nations; | Pavantage que la France, 
 
lxxi 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 peut retirer dans ce | Pais, etant en Guerre avec 1 ’Angleterre. | Le 
 tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | [ Floral cut ] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez Isaac Delorme, Libraire. | M. DCCVii. | 
 Collation. — i2mo ; title, verso blank; “ A sa Majeste Frederic IV,” 
 pp. (4); “ Preface,” pp. (6); “ Table des Lettres du tome I,” pp. (6); 
 “Voyages,” pp. 1-342; “Explication de quelques Termes qui se 
 trouvent dans le premier Tome,” pp. 343 ~ 354 >' “Table des Matieres 
 contenues dans le premier Tome,” pp. (12). Pp. 22, 190, 191, 193, 
 218, 282, and 283 are mispaged 72, 192, 193, 195, 198, 284, and 285, 
 respectively. Title-page printed wholly in black. 
 
 Plates. — The copy in the Library of Congress, the only one I have 
 been able to examine, evidently lacks six plates and two maps. It has 
 a frontispiece of an Indian in an oval, and plates opposite pp. 47, 101, 
 119, 161, and 313. Two leaves from sig. E (pp. 107-110) are also 
 wanting in that copy. 
 
 Signatures. — Title, a in eight, A—B in sixes, b in twelve, C—P in 
 twelves, Q in four (last leaf blank). Fs printed Fv; I 4 printed Iiiij; 
 I 5 printed Iv. 
 
 Copies. — C (imperfect). 
 
 1708 — French — Vol. 2. 
 
 Memoires | de | l’Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite des 
 Voyages | de Monsieur | le Baron de Lahontan, | qui contiennent | 
 La Defcription d’une grande etendue de | Pais de ce Continent, 
 l’interet des | Francois & des Anglois, leurs Com -1 merces, leurs Nav¬ 
 igations, les Moeurs | & les Coutumes des Sauvages &c. | Avec un 
 Dictionnaire de la Langue du Pais. I Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de 
 Figures. | Tome Seconde. | {.Cut, a pot of flowers\ I 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez Isaac Delorme, Libraire. I M. dccviii. | 
 Collation. — i 2 mo ; title, verso blank; “Memoires,” pp. 1—215 J 
 
lxxii Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 p. [216] blank; “Petit Dictionaire de la Langue des Sauvages,” 
 pp. 217-239; verso of p. 239 blank. Pp. 38, 39, 40, 44, 105, 116, 
 150, and 160 are mispaged 36, 37, 38, 48, 89, 115, 250, and 60, respec¬ 
 tively. The title-page printed wholly in black. 
 
 Plates. — The copy in the Library of Congress, the only one I have 
 been able to examine, evidently lacks five plates and perhaps a small 
 map of Canada. It has plates opposite pp. 97, 104, 132, 136, 155, 
 166, and 21 x; and a “Carte generale de Canada” opp. p. 3. 
 
 Signatures. — Title, A—K in twelves. Sig. A3 is printed Aiij; C5 
 printed Cv; E5 printed Ev; K2 printed Kij. 
 
 Copies. —C (imperfect).' 
 
 1708 — French — Vol. 3. 
 
 Dialogues | de Monsieur | le Baron de Lahontan, | et d’un | 
 Sauvage, | dans l’Amerique. | Contenant | Une defcription exacte des 
 moeurs | & des coutumes de ces Peuples | Sauvages. | Avec les Voy¬ 
 ages du meme en Portugal | & en Danemarc, dans lefquels on | trouve 
 des particularitez tres-curieufes, | & qu’on n’a point encore remarquees. 
 
 | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Troisieme. | [Same 
 floral cut as in vol. /] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez Isaac Delorme, Libraire. | M. dccviii. | 
 
 Collation .— i2mo; title, verso blank; “Preface,” pp. (13); “Avis 
 de l’Auteur au Lecteur,”pp. (3); “Dialogues,” pp. 1—174; one blank 
 leaf for pp. [175] and [176]; half-title: “Voyages | de | Portugal | 
 et de | Danemarc,” on p. [i 77 J P- [178J blank; “ Voyages,” pp. 179— 
 374 - Pp- 265, 268, 269, 272, 273 . 276, 277. 280, 281, 284, 285, and 
 288 are mispaged 269, 272, 273, 276, 277, 280, 281, 284, 285, 288, 289, 
 and 290, respectively. Title-page printed wholly in black. 
 
 Plates. The copy in the Library of Congress, the only one I have 
 
Lahontan Bibliography lxxiii 
 
 been able to examine, evidently lacks three plates and two maps, of 
 Portugal and Denmark. It has one plate opposite p. i. 
 
 Signatures. — a in five, b in four, A—P in twelves, Q in eight (last 
 leaf blank). Sig. H4 is a blank leaf. 
 
 Copies . — C (imperfect). 
 
 1709 —French —Vol. 1. 
 
 Nouveaux | Voyages | de Mr le Baron | de Lahontan, | dans | 
 l’Amerique | Septentrionale. | Qui contiennent une relation des dif- 
 ferens Peu- | pies qui y habitent, la nature de leur Gouver- | nement, 
 leur Commerce, leur Coutume, leur | Religion, & leur maniere de faire 
 la Guerre. | L’intetet des Francois & des Anglois dans le | Commerce 
 qu’ils font avec ces Nations, Pa- | vantage que PAngleterre peut retirer 
 dans | ce Pais, etant en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de 
 Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | [Small ornament ] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres L Honore, Marchands | Libraires. | 
 M. DCCIX. 
 
 Collation . — i2mo ; title, verso blank ; “A sa Majeste Frederic IV,” 
 pp. (3); “ Preface,” pp. (5); ‘‘Table des Lettres du I. tome,” pp. (8); 
 “Voyages,” pp. 1-266; “Explication de quelques Termes,” pp. 267- 
 280. Pp. 229 and 274 are misprinted 129 and 174, respectively. 
 Title-page printed entirely in black. 
 
 Plates. — Frontispiece of an Indian and opposite pp. 14, 34, 47, 72, 
 85,98, 116, 141, 174, 225, and 242; small “Carte generale du Canada 
 en petit point ” opp. p. 1, and a small folded “ Carte que les Gnacsitares 
 ont Dessine ” opp. p. 136. 
 
 Signatures. — A—M in twelves, N in six (the last leaf blank). 
 
 Copies. — HC (two), JCB, 
 
lxxiv 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 1709— -French —Vol. 2. 
 
 Memoires | de | l’Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou | la Suite des 
 Voyages | de | Mr le Baron de Lahontan. | Qui contiennent la De- 
 fcription d’une | grande etendue de pais de ce Con- | tinent, l’interet 
 des Francois & des | Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs | Navigations, les 
 Moeurs & les Cou | tumes des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit Diction- 
 naire de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. 
 
 | Et augmente dans ce fecond Tome de la ma- | niere dont les Sauvages 
 fe regalent. | [ Same small ornament as in vol. /] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les freres L Honore, Marchands Libraires. I 
 M. dccix. | 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; “ Memoires,” pp. 3-198; 
 “ Petit Dictionaire de la Langue des Sauvages,” pp. 199-222; “Table 
 des Matieres contenues dans les deux Tomes,” pp. (18). Pp. 200 and 
 220 are mispaged 220 and 120, respectively. Title-page printed entirely 
 in black. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 95, 101, 125, 130, 151, 155, 167, 185, 189, 
 190, and 191 ; a folded “Carte generale de Canada” opp. p. 5. 
 
 Signatures. — A—K in twelves. Sig. K4 is misprinted K3. 
 
 Copies . — HC (two), JCB. 
 
 1709 — German : Abridgment. 
 
 Des beriihmten | Herrn | Baron De Lahontan | Neueste Reisen 
 | Nach | Nord-Indien/ | Oder dem | Mitternachtischen America, I 
 Mit vielen besondern und bey keinem Scribenten | befindlichen | 
 Curiositaeten. | Aus dem Frantzosischen iibersetzet | Von | M. Vis- 
 cher. | 
 
 Hamburg und Leipzig/ | Im Reumannischen Verlag/ MDCCIX. | 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; doublepage title, with reverse blank; “Gen- 
 
lxxv 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 eigter Leser!”, signed by the translator and dated at “ Hamburg d. 15. 
 April: 1709,” pp. (8); text with heading: “ Des Herrn Baron de la 
 Hontan Nord-Indien,” pp. 1-252; half-title of second part: “ Der | 
 Historischen | Nachrichten | Des | Herrn Baron de la | Hontan, | 
 Von | Nord-Indien/ | Zweyter Theil, ,, on p. 253; text of same, pp. 
 254-432; “ Anhang eines Worter-Buchs von der Wilden Sprache,” 
 PP- 433 " 454 ; “Register,” pp. 455 “ 459 ; verso of p. 459 blank. Pp. 
 127, 373, 376, 377, and 380 are mispaged 107, 343, 347, 358, and 339, 
 respectively. Title-page printed wholly in black. 
 
 Plates . — No plates, but small folded “ General Carte von Canada ” 
 before the title-page. 
 
 Signatures . —)(in six (of which the folded title-page is a part), a—t 
 in twelves, u in two. The signature mark of b6 is on the verso of that 
 leaf, and that of d4 is wanting. 
 
 Copies . — BM, C, JCB. 
 
 1710 — Dutch: Extract. 
 
 Van den oorspronk en de kracht der Vooroordeelen, Door J. T. 
 Als mede een koort Uyttreksel Uyt de Aanteykeninge van de Baron 
 de Lahontan, rakende de Zeden, ’t Geloof, en’t verstant van de Wilden 
 tot Canada, en de lof der hedendaagse Eeuw, in vergelykinge, van 
 de voorgaande Eeuwen. En dat er zoo veele Atheisten niet zyn als 
 men doorgaans gelooft, Door J. de Klerk. Amsterdam : Jan Blum. 
 1710. i2mo. 
 
 This title is copied from Joseph Sabin’s Dictionary of Books Re¬ 
 lating to America , item 38048. A distorted title of the same is given in 
 Frederik Muller’s Catalogue of Books , Maps , Plates on America. Part /. 
 (Amsterdam, 1872), item 317. I have not seen this extract. See 
 another edition, under 1723. 
 
lxxvi 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 1711 — German. 
 
 Des beruhmten | Herrn | Baron De Lahontan | Neueste Reisen | 
 Nach | Nord-Indien/ | Oder dem | Mitternachtischen America | 
 Mit vielen besondern und bey keinem Scribenten befindlichen | Curio- 
 sitaeten. | Auch bey dieser andern Auflage mit | Seiner Reise nach 
 Portugall/Dennemarck und | Spanien/vermehret. | Aus dem Frant- 
 zosischen iibersetzet | Von M. Vischer. | 
 
 Hamburg und Leipzig/ | Im Reumannischen Verlag/MDCCXI. | 
 
 Collation . — i2mo ; doublepage title, with reverse blank ; “ Vorrede. 
 An den verstandigen Leser,” dated at end “ Hamburg, d. 20. Novemb. 
 1710,” pp. (19); one blank page; text headed: “Des Herrn Baron de 
 la Hontan Nord-Indien/’ pp. 1-316; half-title: “ Der | Historischen 
 | Nachrichten | Des | Herrn Baron de la | Hontan, | Von | Nord- 
 Indien/ | Zweyter Theil,” on p. [317]; text of same, pp. 318-563; 
 “ Anhang eines Worter-Buchs von der Wilden Sprache,” pp. 563 “ 590 J 
 “ Des Beruhmten Herrn Baron de la Hontan Reise nach Portugall und 
 Dennemarck,” pp. 591-747 ; “ Register,” pp. 748—753; verso of p. 753 
 blank. Pp. 51, 212, and 359 are mispaged 24, 112, and 395, respect¬ 
 ively; there is also an elision of pp. 254 and 255. Title-page wholly 
 in black. 
 
 Plates . — No plates, but a “ General-Carte von Canada,” folded, to 
 precede p. 1. 
 
 Signatures. —)( in twelve (of which the folded title-page forms a 
 part), A—Hh in twelves, Ii in four. Signature mark R4 is wanting. 
 The translator calls this the “ Zweite Auflage ” in German. 
 
 Copies. — JCB. 
 
 1715 — French —Vol. 1. 
 
 Nouveaux | Voyages | de M r< le Baron | de Lahontan, | dans | 
 PAmerique | Septentrionale. | Qui contient une relation des differens 
 Peuples | qui y habitent, la nature de leur Gouverne- | ment, leur 
 
Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 lxxvii 
 
 Commerce, leur Coutume, leur | Religion, & leur maniere de faire la 
 Guerre. | L’interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le Com -1 merce 
 qu’ils font avec ces Nations, 1 ’avantage | que l’Angleterre peut retirer 
 dans ce Pais, | etant en Guerre avee la France. | Le tout enrichi de 
 Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Premier. | [ Small ornament ] | 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres L Honore, Marchands Libraires. | 
 M. DCCXV.| 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; “ A sa Majeste Frederic IV,” 
 pp. (3); “ Preface,” pp. (5); “ Table des Lettres du I. tome,” pp. (8); 
 “Voyages” or text, pp. 1-266; “Explication de quelques Termes,” 
 pp. 267-280. Pp. 130, 141, and 274 are misprinted 180, 411, and 174, 
 respectively, and the paging of 131 is broken. Title-page printed en¬ 
 tirely in black. 
 
 Plates. — Frontispiece and opposite pp. 14, 34, 47, 72, 85, 98, 116, 
 141, 155, 174, 225, and 242; a small “Carte generale du Canada 
 en petit point ” opp. p. 9, and a folded “ Carte que les Gnacsitares ont 
 Dessine, etc., opp. p. 136. 
 
 Signatures. — A—M in twelves, N in six (the last leaf blank). Sig. 
 Me is misprinted H6. 
 
 Copies. - BN, HC, LU. 
 
 1715 — French — Vol. 2. 
 
 Memoires | de | l’Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou | la Suite des 
 Voyages | de | Mr le Baron de Lahontan. | Qui contient la Defcrip- 
 tion d’une gran- | de etendue de Pais de ce Continent, | l’interet des 
 Francois & des Anglois, | leurs Commerces, leurs Navigations, | leur 
 Moeurs & les Coutumes des Sau -1 vages, &c. | Avec un petit Diction- 
 naire de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. 
 
 | Et augmente dans fe Second Tome de la maniere | dont les Sauvages 
 fe regalent. | [ Same ornament as vol. 1] 1 
 
lxxviii Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 A La Haye, | Chez les Freres L Honore, Marchands Libraires. | 
 M. dccxv. | 
 
 Collation .— i2mo; title, verso blank; “ Memoires,” pp. i [i.e. 3]- 
 198; “Petit Dictionnaire de la Langue des Sauvages,” pp. 199-222; 
 “Table des Matieres, ,, pp. (18). Pp. 3, 100, 200, and 220 are mis¬ 
 printed 1, 1, 220, and 122, respectively. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 55, 95, 101, 125, 130, 151, I74> 189, 190, 
 and 191; a large folded “Carte generale de Canada,” without page 
 location, but opposite the title-page in Harvard copy. 
 
 Signatures. — A—K in twelves. Sig. F3 and K4 misprinted F5 and 
 C3, respectively. 
 
 Copies. — BN, HC, LU. 
 
 1723 — Dutch: Extract. 
 
 Den Oorfpronk en de kracht | der | Vooroordeelen; | klaar ver- 
 toont in een brief door J. T. | Als mede | In de zeden, ’t geloof, en ’t 
 verftant | der Wilden te | Kanada, | getrokken uit de Aantekeningen 
 van | den Baron de | La Hontan. | Waar by gevoegt is | Den lof der 
 hedensdaagfche Eeuw, in | vergelyking met de voorgaande Eeuwen. | 
 Door | J. De Klerk. | \_Floral ornament ] | 
 
 Gedrukt in ’t Jaar 1723. | 
 
 Collation. — Small 8vo; title, verso blank; “Den oorspronk en de 
 kracht der Vooroordeelen,” pp. 3-11; “Een kort Uyttreksel Uyt de 
 Memoires de PAmerique Septentrionale van Mr. le Baron de Lahontan, 
 Tome Second,” pp. 12-26; “Een kort Extract Uyt de beschryvinge 
 van ’t Eyland Formosa,” pp. 27-29; “ Den lof der hedendaagze Eeuw,” 
 etc., pp. 29-39; verso of p. 39 blank. No mispaging. Title wholly in 
 black. 
 
 Signatures. — A—B in eights, C in four. 
 
 Copies. —JCB. 
 
lxxix 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 1728 — French — Vol. i. 
 
 Voyages | du Baron | de Lahontan | dans | l’Amerique | Septen- 
 trionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des differens | Peuples qui y 
 habitent; la nature de leur | Gouvernement; leur Commerce, leurs | 
 Coutumes, leur Religion, & leur maniere | de faire la Guerre: | 
 L Interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le | Commerce qu’ils font 
 avec ces Nations; Pa- | vantage que PAngleterre peut retirer de ce | 
 Pais, etant en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & 
 de Figures. | Tome Premier. | Seconde Edition, revue, corrigee, & 
 augmentee. | [ Cut with two flower vases\ | 
 
 Amsterdam, | Chez Francois PHonore, vis-a-vis de la Bourfe. | 
 M. DCC. xxviii. | 
 
 Collation.— i2mo; title, verso blank; ‘‘Preface/’ pp. (8); “Table 
 des Lettres du tome premier,” pp. (8); “ Voiages ” or text, pp. 1-398; 
 “ Explication de quelques Termes,” pp. 399-408. No mispaging. The 
 Ist > 3 <L 5th, 6th, 12th to 15th, and 17th lines and place and date of 
 imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates. — Frontispiece and opposite pp. 17, 40, 56, 90, 91, 97, 129, 
 136, 188, 216, 351, and 358; a small “Carte generate du Canada en 
 petit point opp. p. 105, and folded Carte que les Gnacsitares ont 
 Dessine,” etc., opp. p. 162. 
 
 Signatures. —Title-page, * in eight, A—R in twelves. 
 
 Copies. — B (two), BA, BM, BN, C, HC (lacks a map), JCB, 
 LLQ, LP, LU, NL, WHS. 
 
 1728— French —Vol. 2. 
 
 Memoires | de | l’Amerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite | des 
 Voyages de Mr. le | Baron de Lahontan: | Qui contiennent la De- 
 fcription d’une grande etendue | de Pais de ce Continent, l’interet des 
 Francois | & des Anglois, leurs Commerces, leurs Naviga- | tions, les 
 
lxxx 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 Moeurs & les Coutumes des Sauvages, | &c. | Avec un petit Diction- 
 aire de la Langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | 
 Tome Second. | Second Edition, augmentee de la maniere dont les | 
 Sauvages fe regalent. | [ Cut with two flower vases ] | 
 
 A Amsterdam, | Chez Francois THonore & Compagnie. | M. DCC. 
 xxviii. | 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; “ Memoires, ,, pp. 1-219; 
 “ Dictionaire de la Langue des Sauvages,” pp. 220-238. Pp. 161 and 
 185 are misprinted 151 and 158, respectively. The 1st, 3d, 6th, 7th, 
 13th, and 15th lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates . — Opposite pp. 98, 109, 142, 158, plate of “Lac des Outa- 
 gamis” variously placed (but incorrectly engraved “Tom. 2 Pag. 358”)» 
 plate of sun-dance variously placed (but incorrectly engraved “ Tom. 2. 
 Pag. 267 ”)> 178, 189, 193, and 209; a folded “Carte generale de 
 Canada ” opp. p. 5. 
 
 Signatures. — Title-page, A—L in twelves (last three leaves blank), 
 but often found without the final blank leaves. 
 
 Copies. — B (two), BA, BM, BN, C, JCB, LLQ, LP, LU, NL 
 (lacks a map), WHS. 
 
 1728— French —Vol. 3. 
 
 Suite | du | Voyage | de TAmerique | ou Dialogues | de Mon¬ 
 sieur | le Baron de Lahontan | et d’un | Sauvage, | de TAmerique. | 
 Contenant une defcription exacte des moeurs | & des coutumes de ces 
 Peuples Sauvages. | Avec les Voiages du meme en Portugal & en Dane- 
 | marc dans lefquels on trouve des particularitez | tres-curieufes, & 
 qu’on n’avoit point encore re- | marquees. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes 
 & de Figures. | [Small ornament ] | 
 
 A Amsterdam. | Chez la Veuve de Boeteman. | M. DCC. xxviii. | 
 Collation . — i2mo; title, verso blank; “ Preface,” pp. (10); “Avis 
 
lxxxi 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 de P Auteur au Lectern*,” pp. (2) ; “ Dialogues,” pp. 15-128; “ Voiages 
 de Portugal et de Danemarc,” pp. 129-257, with verso of p. 257 blank. 
 Pp. 84, 206, 207, and 209 are misprinted 48, 106, 107, and 109, respec¬ 
 tively. The 1st, 3d, 5th, 7th, 9th, and 17th lines and place and date of 
 imprint printed in red; in the Harvard and Carter-Brown copies the 
 nth and 12th lines are also printed in red. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 15, 136, 176, and 182; maps of Portugal and 
 Denmark at pp. 129 and 171, respectively. All the plates are marked 
 for “Tom. III.” 
 
 Signatures .— A—L in twelves (the last three leaves blank). 
 
 Copies . — B (two, one of which lacks the maps), BA, BM, BN, C, 
 HC, JCB, LLQ, LP, LU, NL, WHS. 
 
 ? 1731 —French — Vols. i and 2. 
 
 Voyages du Baron de Lahontan. 
 
 In Charles Leclerc’s Bibliotheca Americana (Paris: Maisonneuve & 
 Cie, 1867), p. I93> item 825, the following description appears: 
 
 825. — Le meme ouvrage. Amsterdam, Fr. L’Honore, 1731, 2 vol. 
 in —12, mar. chocolat, d. s. t. 
 
 Vol. i. 4 fnc., 188 pp., 2 fnc., front, grave, 8 pi. et cartes.—Vol. ii. 
 2 fnc., 220 pp., 6 pi. et cartes. 
 
 I believe no such edition exists, and that the date was mistaken for 
 M. DCC. xxxxi, for the collation agrees with vol. i and vol. ii (called 
 Suite) of the 174 1 edition. This vagary has misled every bibliographer 
 who has had recourse to Leclerc’s title. 
 
 ? 1731 —French — Vols. i and 2. 
 
 Nouveaux Voyages * * * dans PAmerique Septentrionale * * * . 
 
 La Haye, Chez les Freres PHonore. mdccxxxi. 2 vols., i2mo, pp. 
 
 (8), 188, (4); (4), 220. 14 Plates and Maps, 
 f 
 
lxxxii 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 This title appears in Joseph Sabin’s Dictionary of Books relating to 
 America , no. 38640. It is merely a repetition of Leclerc’s erroneous 
 title ( q . v . preceding title), in which Sabin has rearranged the material 
 of Leclerc and mistaken the Fr.” as “ Freres,” instead of “ Francois,” 
 and changed the place of imprint to the common “ La Haye ” of the 
 earlier editions by “ les Freres l’Honore.” I believe that no such 
 edition exists. This vagary has misled every bibliographer who has had 
 recourse to Sabin for this subject. 
 
 1735 — English: J. and J. Bonwicke , etc.—V ol. 1. 
 
 New | Voyages | to | North - America. | Containing | An Ac¬ 
 count of the feveral Nations of that vaft Con- | tinent; their Cuftoms, 
 Commerce, and Way of Naviga- | tion upon the Lakes and Rivers; the 
 feveral Attempts of | the Englifh and French to difpoffefs one another; 
 with the | Reafons of the Mifcarriage of the former; and the various | 
 Adventures between the French, and the Iroquefe Confe -1 derates of 
 England, from 1683 to 1694. I A Geographical Defcription of Canada, 
 and a | Natural Hiftory of the Country, with Remarks upon their | 
 Government, and the Intereft of the Englifh and French | in their 
 Commerce. | Alfo a Dialogue between the Author and a General of 
 the | Savages, giving a full View of the Religion and ftrange Opi -1 
 nions of thofe People: With an Account of the Author’s Retreat I to 
 Portugal and Denmark, and his Remarks on thofe Courts. | To which 
 is added, | A Dictionary of the Algonkine Language, which is | 
 generally fpoke in North-America. | Illuftrated with Twenty-Three 
 Maps and Cuts. | Written in French | By the Baron Lahontan, I 
 Lord Lieutenant of the French Colony at Placentia | in Newfoundland, 
 at that Time in England. | Done into Englifh. The Second Edition. 
 
 | In Two Volumes. | A great Part of which never Printed in the 
 Original. | Vol. I. | 
 
Labontan Bibliography lxxxiii 
 
 London: | Printed for J. and J. Bonwicke, R. Wilkin, S. Birt, T. 
 Ward, | E. Wicksteed; and J. Osborn. M, DCC, xxxv. 1 
 
 Collation . — 8vo ; title, verso blank ; “ To His Grace William Duke 
 of Devonshire,” pp. (2); “ The Preface,” pp. (8); ‘‘The Contents,” 
 pp. (12); “ Some New Voyages,” pp. [i]-202; “ Memoirs of North- 
 America,” pp. 203-274; “A Table explaining some Terms made use 
 of in both Volumes,” pp. 275-280. No mispaging. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 26, 43, 55, 65, 75, 89, 106, 160, 184, and 
 225; small full-page map of Canada opp. the title-page, and two large 
 folded maps, marked A and B , opp. p. 1, as follows : “A General Map 
 of New France Com, call’d Canada,” and “A Map drawn upon Stag- 
 skins by y e Gnacfitares,” etc. 
 
 Signatures . — A in eight, a in four, B—S in eights, T in four. 
 Copies . — BA, C. 
 
 1735 —English: Osborn issue —X ol. i. 
 
 New | Voyages | to | North-America. | Containing | An Account 
 of the feveral Nations of that vaft Con- | tinent; their Cuftoms, Com¬ 
 merce, and Way of Naviga- | tion upon the Lakes and Rivers; the 
 feveral Attempts of | the Englifh and French to difpoffefs one another ; 
 with the | Reafons of the Mifcarriage of the former; and the various | 
 Adventures between the French, and the Iroquefe Confe- | derates of 
 England, from 1683 t0 1694. I A Geographical Defcription of Canada, 
 and a | Natural Hiftory of the Country, with Remarks upon their | 
 Government, and the Intereft of the Englifh and French | in their 
 Commerce. | Alfo a Dialogue between the Author and a General of 
 the | Savages, giving a full View of the Religion and ftrange Opi- | 
 nions of thofe People: With an Account of the Author’s Retreat | to 
 Portugal and Denmark, and his Remarks on thofe Courts. | To which 
 is added, | A Dictionary of the Algonkine Language, which is | gen- 
 
lxxxiv 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 erally {poke in North-America. | Illuftrated with Twenty-Three Maps 
 and Cuts. | Written in French | By the Baron Lahontan, | Lord 
 Lieutenant of the French Colony at Placentia | in Newfoundland, at 
 that Time in England. | Done into Englifh. The Second Edition. | In 
 Two Volumes. | A great Part of which never Printed in the Original. 
 
 | Vol. I. | 
 
 London: | Printed for J. Osborn, at the Golden-Ball, in Pater- 
 nofter-Row. | M, dcc, xxxv. | 
 
 Collation. — 8vo ; title, verso blank ; “ To His Grace William,” pp. 
 (2); “The Preface,” pp. (8); “The Contents,” pp. (12); “Some 
 New Voyages to North-America,” pp. [i]-202; “ Memoirs of North- 
 America,” pp. 203-274; “A Table explaining some Terms made use 
 of in both Volumes,” pp. 275-280. No mispaging. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 26, 43 - 55 , 65, 75 , 89, 106, 160, and 184; a 
 small map of Canada to face the title-page; two large folded maps to 
 face p. 1 of text, as follows: (A) “ A General Map of New France, 
 Com, call’d Canada,” and (B) “A Map drawn upon Stag-skins by 
 y e Gnacfitares,” etc.; map of Newfoundland opp. p. 225. 
 
 Signatures. — Ain eight, a in four, B—S in eights, T in four. 
 
 Copies. — BM, MHS, NL (two, one imperfect). 
 
 1735 — English : J. Walthoe , etc. —Vol. 2. 
 
 New | Voyages | to | North-America. | Giving a full Account of 
 the Cuftoms, | Commerce, Religion, and ftrange Opinions | of the 
 Savages of that Country. | With | Political Remarks upon the Courts 
 | of Portugal and Denmark, and the Prefent State of | the Commerce 
 of thofe Countries. | The Second Edition. | Written | By the Baron 
 Lahontan, Lord-Lieutenant of | the French Colony at Placentia in 
 New -1 foundland: Now in England. | Vol. II. | 
 
Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 lxxxv 
 
 London : | Printed for J. Walthoe, R. Wilkin, J. and J. Bonwicke, 
 
 | J. Osborn, S. Birt, T. Ward and E. Wickfteed. 1735- I 
 
 Collation. —8vo; title, verso blank; (< A Discourse,” pp. 3—91; 
 “A Conference/’ pp. 92-185; p. [186] blank; “An Appendix,” pp. 
 187-288; “A Short Dictionary,” pp. 289-304. No mispaging. 
 
 Plates. — Frontispiece, and opposite pp. 5, 29, 36, 59 (two), 80, 
 82, 84, and 86. 
 
 Signatures. — Aa—Tt in eights. Sig. Tt3 is misprinted Tt4. 
 
 Copies. —BA (lacks plates), C, MHS, NL (two, one of which 
 lacks last leaf). 
 
 1735 — English: Brindley issue — VOL. 1. 
 
 New | Voyages | to | North-America. | Containing | An Account 
 of the feveral Nations of that vaft Con- | tinent; their Cuftoms, Com¬ 
 merce, and Way of Naviga- | tion upon the Lakes and Rivers; the 
 feveral Attempts of | the Englifh and French to difpoffefs one another; 
 with the | Reafons of the Mifcarriage of the former ; and the various | 
 Adventures between the French, and the Iroquefe Confe- | derates of 
 England, from 1683 to 1694. I A Geographical Defcription of Canada, 
 and a | Natural Hiftory of the Country, with Remarks upon | their 
 Government, and the Intereft of the Englifh and | French in their 
 Commerce. | Alfo a Dialogue between the Author and a General | of 
 the Savages, giving a full View of the Religion and | ftrange Opinions of 
 thofe People : With an Account of | the Author’s Retreat to Portugal 
 and Denmark, and his | Remarks on thofe Courts. | To which is added, 
 | A Dictionary of the Algonkine Language, which is | generally fpoke 
 in North-America. | Illuftrated with Twenty-Three Maps and Cuts. | 
 Written in French | By the Baron Lahontan, | Lord Lieutenant of the 
 French Colony at Placentia | in Newfoundland, at that Time in En- 
 
lxxxvi Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 gland. | Done into Englifh. The Second Edition. | In Two Volumes. 
 I A great Part of which never Printed in the Original. | Vol. I. | 
 
 London : | Printed for John Brindley, Bookfeller, at the King’s- 
 Arms | in New-bond-ftreet, Bookbinder to her Majefty, and his | 
 Royal Highnefs the Prince of Wales; and Charles | Corbett, at Addi- 
 fon’s-head, Temple-bar. 1735. I 
 
 Collation. — 8vo ; title, verso blank; dedication “To His Grace 
 William Duke of Devonshire,” pp. (2). “The Preface,” pp. (8); 
 “The Contents,” pp. (12); “ Some New Voyages to North-America,” 
 pp. [i]-202; “Memoirs,” pp. 203-274; “A Table explaining some 
 Terms made use of in both Volumes,” pp. 275-280. No mispaging. 
 The Carter Brown copy, the only one I have examined, has the fol¬ 
 lowing plates, etc.: 
 
 Plates. —Opposite pp. 26, 43, 65, 75, 89, and 106 ; a small map of 
 Canada to face the title-page; a map of Newfoundland at p. 225 ; and 
 two large folded maps to precede p. 1 of the text, as follows : (A) “A 
 General Map of New France Com, call’d Canada,” (B) “A Map 
 drawn upon Stag-skins by y e Gnacfitares,” etc. The copy examined 
 apparently lacks plates opposite pp. 55, 160, and 184. 
 
 Signatures. —A in eight, a in four, B—S in eights, T in four. 
 Copies . — C, JCB. 
 
 1735 — English : Brindley issue — Vol. 2. 
 
 New | Voyages | to | North-America. | Giving a full Account of 
 the Cu- | ftoms, Commerce, Religion, and ftrange | Opinions of the 
 Savages of that Country. | With | Political Remarks upon the Courts 
 | of Portugal and Denmark, and the Prefent | State of the Commerce 
 of thofe Countries. | The Second Edition. | Written | By the Baron 
 Lahontan, Lord Lieutenant | of the French Colony at Placentia in 
 New- | foundland: Now in England. | Vol. II. | 
 
lxxxvii 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 London : | Printed for J. Brindley, Bookfeller, at the King’s | 
 Arms in New-bond-ftreet, Bookbinder to her Ma- | jefty, and his Royal 
 Highnefs the Prince of Wales; | and C. Corbett, at Addifon’s-head, 
 Temple-bar. | m d. cc. xxxv. | 
 
 Collation .— 8vo; title, verso blank; “A Discourse,” pp. 3-91; 
 “A Conference or Dialogue,” pp. 92-185; p. [186] blank; “An 
 Appendix,” pp. 187-288; “A Short Dictionary,” pp. 289-304. No 
 mispaging. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 5, 29, 36, 59 (two), 80, 82, 84, and 86, 
 perhaps also a plate on healing sick and burying the dead at p. 51 (not 
 found in the Carter Brown copy), and a frontispiece of an Indian in 
 an oval. 
 
 Signatures .— Aa—Tt in eights. 
 
 Copies. — C, JCB. 
 
 1739 — Dutch — Vol. i. 
 
 Reizen | van den Baron | van La Hontan | in het | Noordelyk | 
 Amerika, | Vervattende een Verhaal van verfcheide Volke- | ren die 
 het bewoonen ; den aart hunner Re- | geering, hun Koophandel, hun 
 Ge- | woontens, hun Godsdienft, en | hun wys van Oorloogen. | 
 Neevens het Belang der Franfchen en der Engel- | fchen in hun Koop¬ 
 handel met die Volkeren ; en | ’t voordeel dat Engeland, met Vrankryk 
 in | Oorlog zynde, van dat Land kan trekken. | Alles met verfcheide 
 Aanteekeningen vermeer- | dert en opgeheldert, en met Kaarten en | 
 Plaaten verciert. | Eerste Deel. | Vertaalt door | Gerard Westerwyk. 
 
 I [Ornament] | 
 
 In’s Gravenhage, | By Isaac Beauregard. 1739. I 
 
 Collation. — 8vo; title, verso blank; “Voorbericht van den Ver- 
 taaler,” pp. (3); “ Korte Inhouden,” pp. (7); “ Reizen,” pp. [i]-28o, 
 an insert map-key of four pages at this location, and 281-582. Pp. 58, 
 
lxxxviii 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 59, 62, 298, 305, and 445 are mispaged 59, 60, 64, 498, 30, and 447 
 respectively; there are no pp. 191 and 192. The 1st, 3d, 6th, 12th to 
 15th and 21st lines and place of imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 1, 65, 190 (plate marked 192), 297, 398, 
 488, and 544; a large folded “ Carte que les Gnacsitares ont dessine,” 
 etc., between pp. 280 and 281. 
 
 Signatures .— * in six, A—Nn in eights, Oo in two, with an insert 
 of two leaves between S3 and S4. 
 
 Copies — C, JCB, NL, WHS. 
 
 1739 —Dutch —Vol. 2. 
 
 Gedenkschriften | van het | Noordelyk | Amerika, | of het ver- 
 volg der | Reizen van den | Baron van La Hontan. | Vervattende de 
 Befchryving van een groote | ftreek Land van dat Weerelddeel; het 
 Belang | der Franfchen en der Engelfchen in ’t zelve; | hun Koop- 
 handel, hun Schipvaart, en de | Zeeden en Gewoontens der Wil- | 
 den, &c. Alles met Aanteekeningen | vermeerdert en opgeheldert. | 
 Neevens de Zaamenfpraaken van den Schryver met | een Wilden, 
 en een Woordenboek | van de Taal dier Volkeren. | Met Kaarten en 
 Plaaten Verciert. | Tweede Deel. | Vertaalt door | Gerard Westerwyk. 
 
 | [ Ornament ] | 
 
 In’s Gravenhage, | By Isaac Beauregard, 1739. I 
 
 Collation. — 8vo ; title, verso blank ; “ Gedenkschriften,” pp. [1]— 
 358; half-title: “ Saamenspraaken | van den | Schryver dezer Reizen 
 | met | Adario | een Wilden van Aanzien,” etc., on p. [359]; p. 
 [360] blank; text of same, pp. [3621-523; “Woordenboek van de 
 Taal der Wilden,” pp. 524-552. Pp. 91, 327, and 427 are misprinted 
 19, 227, and 527, respectively. The 1st, 4th, 7th, 15th to 17th, and 
 2ist lines and place of imprint printed in red. 
 
lxxxix 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 178, 190, 239, 273, 297 - 352, 357 , 358 (long 
 narrow cut not numbered), and 390J a Carte generate de Canada 
 opp. p. 5 (marked on plate “Tom: 2. P: 1 ”), which has three 
 pages of text to accompany it — the whole intended to be bound 
 between pp. 4 and 5 of the text. 
 
 Signatures. — Title, A—LI in eights, Mm in four, with two insert 
 leaves between A2 and A3. 
 
 Copies. -C, JCB, NL, WHS. 
 
 1741—French —Vol. 1. 
 
 Voyages | du Baron | de Lahontan | dans | l’Amerique | Septen- 
 trionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des diffe- | rens Peuples qui y 
 habitent; la nature | de leur Gouvernement; leur Commer -1 ce, leurs 
 Coutumes, leur Religion, & | leur maniere de faire la Guerre: | 
 L’Interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le | Commerce qu’ils font 
 avec ces Nations, l’a -1 vantage que 1 ’Angleterre peut retirer de ce | 
 Pais, etant en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes 
 & de Figures. | Tome Pemier [«c] I Seconde Edition, revue, corrigee, 
 & augmentee. | \Ornament ] | 
 
 A Amsterdam, | Chez Francois L’Honore, vis-a-vis de la Bourfe. | 
 M. DCC. xxxxi. | 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; “ Preface,” pp. (8); “Voy¬ 
 ages” or text, pp. 1—188 ; “Table des Lettres,” pp. (4)- P* 82 is 
 mispaged 28. The 1st, 3d, 5th, 6th, 12th to 15th, and 17th lines and 
 place and date of imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 14, 25, 38, 56, 87, 97 , 129, and 156, and 
 frontispiece of an Indian in an oval; a small Carte general du Canada 
 en petit point ” opp. p. 10. 
 
 Signatures. — Title-page, * in four, A—H in twelves. 
 
 Copies. - BE, C, JCB, WHS. 
 
xc 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 1741 — French —Vol. 2 (called Vol. 3). 
 
 Memoires | de | PAmerique | Septentrionale, | ou la Suite | des 
 Voyages de Mr le | Baron de Lahontan : | Qui contiennent la De- 
 fcription d’une grande | etendue de Pais de ce Continent, Pinteret des 
 | Francois & des Anglois, leurs Commerces, | leurs Navigations, les 
 Moeurs & les Coutu | tumes [nV] des Sauvages, &c. | Avec un petit 
 Dictionaire de la langue du Pais. | Le tout enrichi de Cartes & de Fig¬ 
 ures. | Tome Troisieme. | Seconde Edition, augmentee de la maniere 
 dont | les Sauvages fe regalent. | [Cut, a double cornucopia ] | 
 
 A Amsterdam, | Chez Francois PHonore & Compagnie. | M. DCC. 
 
 xxxxi. | 
 
 Collation. — i2mo; title, verso blank; “ Memoires,” pp. 1—218 ; 
 “ Dictionnaire de la Langue des Sauvages,” pp. 219-237, with verso of 
 p. 237 blank. No mispaging. The 1st, 3d, 6th 7th, 13th, and 15th 
 lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 51, 103, no, 137, 142, 166, 191, 208, 209, 
 and 210; a large folded “ Carte generale de Canada” opp. p. 1. 
 
 Signatures. — Title, A—K in twelves (the last leaf blank). 
 
 Copies. - BE, C, HC, JCB, WHS. 
 
 1741—French —Vol. 3 (called Vol. 2). 
 
 Suite | desVoyages | du Baron | de Lahontan | dans | PAmerique 
 | Septentrionale, | Qui contiennent une Relation des difiEe- | rens 
 Peuples qui y habitent; la nature | de leur Gouvernement; leur 
 Commer- | ce leurs Coutumes, leur Religion, & | leur maniere de 
 faire la Guerre: L’interet des Francois & des Anglois dans le | Com¬ 
 merce qu’ils font avec ces Nations, Pa- | vantage que PAngleterre 
 peut retirer de ce | Pais, etant en Guerre avec la France. | Le tout 
 enrichi de Cartes & de Figures. | Tome Second. | Seconde Edition, 
 revue, corrigee, & augmentee. | [ Ornament ] | 
 

 Lahontan Bibliography xci 
 
 A Amsterdam, | Chez Francois l’Honore, vis-a-vis de la Bourfe. | 
 m. dcc. xxxxi. | 
 
 Collation. — i2mo ; title, verso blank ; “ Table des Lettres du Tome 
 Second,” pp. (4); “ Suite,” pp. 1-210; “ Explication de quelques 
 Termes,” pp. 211-220. No mispaging.. The 2d, 4th, 6th, 7th, 13th 
 to 16th, and 18th lines and place and date of imprint printed in red. 
 
 Plates. — Opposite pp. 23, 38, 172, and 175; a ‘‘Carte que les 
 Gnacsitares ont Dessine,” etc. opp. p. 1. 
 
 Signatures. — Title and two leaves, A—I in twelves, K in two 
 Copies. — BE, C, JCB, WHS. 
 
 1757 —F rench : Extract. 
 
 Voiage du Baron de la Hontan sur la Riviere Longue. 
 
 The above marginal title belongs to a short extract in the original 
 quarto edition of Histoire General des Voiages , ou Nouvelle Collection 
 de toutes les Relations de Voiages , edited by Antoine Francois Prevost 
 d’Exiles. It is found in vol. xiv (Paris: Chez Didot , 1 757 )> PP- 
 
 719-729. 
 
 This French collection of voyages was also issued in duodecimo — 
 Paris: Chez Didot , 1749-1789, 80 vols. of text; in quarto — ^ La 
 Haye : Chez Pierre De Hondt , 1747-1780, 25 vols. It appeared in 
 Dutch — In's Gravenhage : By Pieter de Hondt , 1747-1767, 21 vols., 
 quarto; in German — Leipzig: Arkstee und Merkus , 1747-1774, 21 
 vols., quarto; and in Spanish — En Madrid: En la Imprenta de Don 
 Juan Antonio Lozano , 1763-1791, 28 vols., quarto. 
 
 1758 — German : Extract . 
 
 Reife des Barons de la Hontan auf dem langen Fluffe. | 
 
 This is the heading of an extract in vol. 16 of the “ Allgemeine 
 Hiftorie | der Reifen zu Waffer und Lande; | oder | Sammlung | 
 aller | Reifebefchreibungen, | [ etc .] Leipzig, bey Arkftee und Merkus. 
 

 1758. | ” This is the German translation of Prevost’s collection, q . v. 
 under 1757. The German editor was Johann Joachim Schwabe. 
 Lahontan begins the fourth " Abschnitt ” of the twelfth chapter, 
 on p. 694. Described from a copy in BA. 
 
 1812 — English : Abridgment. 
 
 Travels in Canada; | by the Baron Lahontan. | 
 
 Such is the heading of this abridgment in John Pinkerton’s “ A 
 General Collection of the best and most interesting Voyages and 
 Travels in all Parts of the World; * * * Volume the thirteenth. * * * 
 London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 
 Paternoster-Row; and Cadell and Davies, in the Strand. 1812.” A 
 foot-note shows that the English edition (London, 1735) was used as 
 the source of the text. It extends from pp. 254-373. Good illus¬ 
 trations are included as follows: " Coffer of Perotte,” opp. p. 266; 
 double plate, 4 'On the River St. Lawrence” and "Characteristic 
 Scenery of the Hudson River,” opp. p. 271 ; " Falls of Niagara,” which 
 is "Engraved by G. Cooke, from an Original Drawing,” opp. p. 296. 
 
 1831— Italian —Vols. 1 and 2. 
 
 Viaggi | del | Barone di Lahontan | nelPAmerica Settentrionale 
 Tradotti dal Francese | dal gia Capitano Italiano | A. F. | Volume 
 Primo [Secondo] | 
 
 Milano | Per G. Truffi e Comp. | 1831 | 
 
 Collation . — 2 vols.; small 8vo; Vol. 1 : Half-title: "Viaggi | del 
 Barone di Lahontan,” verso blank; title, verso blank; "Viaggi” or 
 text (Letters I-XV), pp. [5]—215 ; "Indice,” on verso of p. 215. No 
 plates or maps. 
 
 Signatures . — Two unmarked signatures in eights, 2~I2 in eights, 
 13 in four. 
 
XC111 
 
 Lahontan Bibliography 
 
 Vol. 2: Half-title, verso blank; title, verso blank; text (Letters 
 XVI-XXV), pp. [ 5 ]-20i; “ Indice,” p. 202. No plates or maps. 
 
 Signatures .— [i] in four, 2~I2 in eights, 13 in four, 13* in six 
 (last leaf blank). 
 
 Printed paper covers, with cut of a globe on a stand; that of vol. 2 
 is dated “ M. DCCC. XXXII.” This is a translation of the first volume of 
 the French work, or series of twenty-five letters. The only copy I 
 have seen is in the Library of Congress. 
 
 1900 —French. 
 
 Un Outre-Mer | au xvii e Siecle | Voyages au Canada | Du Baron 
 de La Hontan | publies | Avec une Introduction et des Notes | par | 
 M. Francois de Nion | [ Printers' mark ] | 
 
 Paris | Librairie Plon | Plon-Nourrit et C ie , Imprimeurs-Editeurs | 
 Rue Garanciere, 8 | 1900 | Tous droits reserves | 
 
 Collation. — 8vo; cover-title, verso blank; half-title, with list of 
 works by the same editor, etc., on verso; title, verso blank; “ Intro¬ 
 duction, ” pp. [v]-xix; one blank page; text pp. [i]~331 ; p. [332] 
 blank; “Table des Matieres,” pp. [333]~338; colophon, with verso 
 blank; list of publications by the same publishing house, on last cover, 
 with recto blank. No mispaging. 
 
 Signatures. —Cover-title, half-title, title, a in eight, 1—21 in eights, 
 22 in two, last cover. This work is arranged under twenty-five letters. 
 It is not a full reprint of Lahontan, but presents parts of his work, with 
 interpretations in the narrative. There are no maps or plates, and the 
 editorial notes are sparse. 
 
 Described from a copy in NL. 
 
NEW 
 
 VOYAGES 
 
 T O 
 
 North-America. 
 
 CONTAINING 
 
 An Accpunt of the feveral Nations of that vaft Con¬ 
 tinent ; their Culloms, Commerce, and Way c 
 Navigation upon the Lakes and Rivers ; the feve¬ 
 ral Attempts of the Englijh and French to difpoirefs 
 one another ; with the Reafons of the Mifcarriage 
 of the former; and the various Adventures be¬ 
 tween the French , and the Irocjuefe Confederates of 
 England , from 168; to 1694. 
 
 A Geographical Defcription of Canada , and a Natu¬ 
 ral Hiftory of the Country, with Remarks upon 
 their Government, and the Intereft of the Englijh 
 and French in their Commerce. 
 
 AJfo a Dialogue between the Author and a General of the 
 Savages, giving a full View of the Religion and ftrange 
 Opinions of thofe People : With an Account of the Au¬ 
 thors Retreat to Portugal and Denmark^ and his Remarks 
 on thofe Courts. 
 
 To which is added, 
 
 A Dictionary of the Akcnkjne Language, which is generally 
 fpoke in North-America. 
 
 Iliuftrated with Twenty Three Map ps and Cutts. 
 
 Written in French 
 
 By the Baron Lahontan, Lord Lievtenant 
 of the French Colony at Placentia in New¬ 
 foundland, now in England. 
 
 Done into Englifh. 
 
 In Two VOLUMES. 
 
 A great part of which never Printed in the Original. 
 
 LONDON; Printed for H. Bonwicke in Sr. Paufs Church-yaJd ; 
 
 T. Goodwin , M.lVotton , B. Tooke, in Fleet ft reef ; and $. Manfhip 
 in Cornhil 9 1703. 
 
To His Grace 
 
 WILLIAM 
 
 Duke of Devon/hire , 
 
 Lord Steward of Her Majejiies Houfehold , Lord Lieutenant of the 
 County of Derby, Chief Juftice in Eyre of all Her Majejiies 
 Forrefts, Chafes , Parks , &c. Trent-North; One of the Lords 
 of Her Majejiies Moft Honourable Privy Council , and Knight 
 of the Moft Honourable Order of the Garter . 1 
 
 My Lord , 
 
 S INCE I had the Honour to prefent the King of Denmark 
 with the firft part of this Book, I prefume to make a 
 Prefent of the Latter to your Grace . 2 In making the firft 
 Dedication, I had no other inducement, than a due regard to 
 
 1 Unlike Hennepin, Lahontan did not present his book directly to the ruler of 
 England, but chose rather as patron one of the great Whig lords, who was distin¬ 
 guished for his taste in art and letters, and was a critic of some note. William Cav¬ 
 endish, duke of Devonshire, had been active in politics since the reign of Charles II. 
 A private quarrel, as well as public wrongs, had estranged him from James II; he 
 was one of the chief supporters of the Revolution of 1688, and high in favor at the 
 courts both of William III and of Anne. Next to the English ruler, Lahontan could 
 have applied to no more popular or more powerful patron. — Ed. 
 
 2 Frederick IV, one of the best-known princes of his day, was also a savant and 
 connoisseur. He had received Lahontan at his court, and protected him in need. 
 Lahontan refers here to the first edition, rather than the “ first part }> of his book— 
 the edition which appeared at the Hague (in French) early in 1703. — Ed. 
 
4 
 
 The Dedication. 
 
 the benefits I receiv’d from His Majefties favour; and the 
 fame Motive with reference to your Grace, has prompted me 
 to make this acknowledgment of the undeferved Favours you 
 kindly vouchfaf’d me. 
 
 I did not dare to launch out into the praife of His Danifh 
 Majefty, who has a juft Title to all forts of Encomiums; by 
 reafon that the little French I had, has been forgot among a 
 fort of People, that take Panegyricks to be Affronts. ’Tis 
 with the fame view, My Lord, that I decline the pleafure of 
 publiftiing thofe diftinguiftung Qualities, that place Your 
 Lordfhip at the Head of the Moft Accomplifh’d Grandees of 
 the World, and the Moft Zealous Patriots of their Country. 
 
 I am with all Gratitude and Veneration , 
 
 My Lord , • 
 
 Tour Grace's, 
 
 Moft Humble , and Moft 
 Obedient Servant. 
 
 Lahontan. 
 
THE 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 H AVING flatter d my felf with the vain hopes of retrieving the 
 King of France’s favour , before the Declaration of this 
 War;' I was fo far from thinking to put thefe Letters , and Me¬ 
 moirs , to the Prefs; that I defign’d to have committed ’em to the 
 flames, if that Monarch had done me the honour of reinftating me 
 in my former Places , with the good leave of Meffieurs de Pont- 
 chartrain,* the Father and the Son . 1 2 
 
 ' r -**,-*? ** *« I 
 
 to put em in fucb a drefs as might now retary of State: Both of 
 be wifh'd for , for the fatisfattion of the ’ em va ftb rich. 
 
 Reader that gives himfelf the trouble to perufe ’em . 
 
 1 The reference is to the War of the Spanish Succession (in America, called 
 Queen Anne’s War), which began in 1703 between France and Spain on the one 
 hand, and England, Austria, and Holland on the other, involving in its course 
 most European powers. It was terminated by the treaty of Utrecht (1713). —Ed. 
 
 2 After the able ministers who served during the vigor of his reign, those chosen 
 by Louis XIV during his old age were mediocre in talent. The two Counts of Pont- 
 chartrain belonged to this latter class. Louis Phelypeaux the elder was born in 1643, 
 and early entered the public service; in 1689 he became comptroller-general of 
 finance, and the following year minister of the marine, with charge of colonial affairs. 
 His son Jerome (born in 1674) became secretary of state in 1693, and upon his 
 father’s promotion to the chancellorship (1699), succeeded to the latter’s offices. 
 Thus during the latter years of Louis XIV the Pontchartrains were the most powerful 
 ministers of the court. Both lost their offices upon the demise of the king (1715), 
 the elder dying in 1727, the younger in 1717. — Ed. 
 
6 
 
 The Preface. 
 
 Between the fifteenth and fixteentb year of my Age I went to 
 Canada, and there took care to keep up a confiant Correfpondence 
 by Letters with an old Relation, who had required of me a Narra¬ 
 tive of the Occurrences of that Country , upon the account of the 
 yearly affiflance he gave me. ’ Tis thefe very Letters that make the 
 greatefi part of the firft Volum. They contain an account of all that 
 pafs’d between the Englifh, the French, the Iroquefe, and the 
 other Savage Nations, from the year 1683, to 1694. Together with 
 a great many curious Remarks, that may be of ufe to thofe who have 
 any knowledge of the Englifh or French Colonies. 
 
 The whole is writ with a great deal of Fidelity; for I reprefent 
 things juft as they are. I neither flatter nor fpare any Perfott what- 
 foever; I attribute to the »Iroquefe , c „ irt i h , b ,z„ gm 
 the glory they have purchafed on feveral New . Yo rk, Mabak. 
 occafions , tho’ at the fame time I hate 
 
 that Rafcally People, as much as Horns and Law-Suits. Notwith- 
 ftanding the Veneration I have for the Clergy, I impute to them all 
 the mifchief the Iroquefe have done to the French Colonies, in the 
 courfe of a War that bad never been undertaken, if it had not been 
 for the Counfels of thefe pious Church-Men. 
 
 The Reader is defir’d to take notice that the Towns of New- 
 York, are known to the French by their old Names only, and for 
 that reafon I was oblig’d to make ufe of the fame in my Letters, as 
 well as my Mapps. They give the name of New-York to all that 
 Country, that reaches from the Source of its River to the Mouth, 
 that is, to the Ifland , upon which there ftands a City call’d in the time 
 of the Dutch Manathe, and now by the Englifh, New-York. 
 
The Preface. 
 
 In like manner the Plantation of Albany, that lies towards the head 
 of the River, is call’d by the French, Orange. 
 
 Farther; I would not have the Reader to take it amifs, that the 
 thoughts of the Savages are fet forth in an European Drefs . The 
 occafion of that choice proceeded from the Relation I Correfponded 
 with; for that honeft Gentleman ridiculed the Metaphorical Ha- 
 rangue of the * Grangula; and intreated 
 me not to make a literal Tranflation of ^ ee Letter 7th. 
 
 a Language that was fo fluff’d with FiHions and Savage Hyper¬ 
 boles . ’Tis for this reafon that all the Difcourfes and Arguments of 
 thofe Nations, are here accommodated to the European Style and way 
 of Speaking; for having comply } d with my Friend’s Requeft, I con¬ 
 tented my felf in keeping only a Copy of the Letters I writ to him, 
 during my Pilgrimage in the Country of thefe naked Philofophers . 
 
 ’Twill not be improper to acquaint the Reader by the bye, that 
 thofe who know my faults, do as little jujlice to thefe People, as they 
 do to me, in alledging I am a Savage my felf, and that that makes 
 me fpeak fo favourably of my Fellow-Savages. Thefe Obfervators 
 do me a great deal of Honour, as long as they do not explain them- 
 felves, fo as to make me direHly of the fame Character with that 
 which is tack’d to the word Savage by the Europeans in their way 
 of thinking: For in faying only that I am of the fame temper with 
 the Savages, they give me without defign, the Char a Her of the hon- 
 efteft Man in the IVorld. ’Tis an uncontefled truth, that the Nations 
 which are not debauch’d by the Neighbourhood of the Europeans, 
 are grangers to the Meafures of Meum and Tuum, and to all 
 Laws, Judges, and Priefts. This can’t be call’d in queftion, fince 
 
8 
 
 The Preface. 
 
 all Travellers that have vifited thofe Countries, vouch for its truth; 
 and a great many of different Profeffions, have given the World 
 repeated affurances that ’tis fo. Now this being granted , we ought 
 not to fcruple to believe, that thefe are fuch wife and reafonable 
 People. I take it, a Man mufl be quite blind, who do’s not fee that 
 the property of Goods (I do not fpeak of the ingroffmg of Women) 
 is the only Source of all the Diforders that perplex the European 
 Societies. Upon that Confideration ’twill be eafie to perceive, that I 
 have not fpoke wide in defcribing that Wifdom and Acutenefs which 
 fhines through the W*ords and Actions of thefe poor Americans. If 
 all the World had accefs to the Books of Voyages, that are found in 
 fome well flock’d Libraries, they would find in above a hundred De- 
 fcriptions of Canada, an infinity of Difcourfes and Arguments offer’d 
 by the Savages, which are incomparably ftronger, and more nervous 
 than thofe I’ve inferted in my Memoirs. 
 
 As for fuch as doubt of the Inftinft and wonderful capacity of 
 Beavers, they need only to caft their Eyes upon the Great Map of 
 America, drawn by the Sieur de Fer, and grav’d at Paris in the 
 year 1698. 1 Where they will meet with feveral furprifing things, 
 relating to thefe Animals. 
 
 While my Book was a Printing in Holland, I was in England; 
 and as foon as it appear’d, feveral Englifh Gentlemen of a diftin- 
 guifhing Merit, who underftand the French as well as their Mother 
 Tongue, gave me to know, that they would be glad to fee a more 
 
 1 Nicolas de Fer (1646-1720) was a well-known cartographer of his time, bearing 
 the title of royal geographer of Belgium (1701-16). His maps were more noted for 
 the adornment of their borders, and their picturesque appearance, than for accuracy. 
 Lahontan doubtless refers to engravings of beavers which ornament the margin of the 
 chart here cited. — Ed. 
 
The Preface. 9 
 
 ample Relation of the Manners and Cuftoms of the People of that 
 Continent , whom we call by the name of Savages. This oblig’d me 
 to communicate to thefe Gentlemen , the fubflance of the feveral Con¬ 
 ferences I had in that Country with a certain Huron, whom the 
 French call Rat. While I flay’d at that American'* Village , I 
 imploy’d my time very agreeably in making a careful Collection of 
 all his Arguments and Opinions ; and as foon as I return’d from my 
 Voyage upon the Lakes of Canada, I fhew’d my Alanufcript to 
 Count Frontenac, who was fo pleas’d with it , that he took the pains 
 to affifl me in digefling the Dialogues , and bringing them into the 
 order they now appear in 1 : For before that, they were abrupt Con¬ 
 ferences without Connexion. Upon the Solicitation of thefe Englifh 
 Gentlemen , I’ve put thefe Dialogues into the hands of the Perfon 
 who tranflated my Letters and Memoirs: And if it had not been for 
 their preffing Inflances , they had never feen the light; for there are 
 but few in the World that will judge impartially , and without pre- 
 pojfeffion, of fome things contain’d in ’em. 
 
 I have likewife intrufted the fame Tranflator with fome Remarks 
 that I made in Portugal, and Denmark, when I fled thither from 
 Newfound-Land. There the Reader will meet with a defcription 
 of Lisbon and Copenhagen, and of the capital City of Arragon. 
 
 To the Translation of my firjl Volume, I have added an exalt 
 Map of Newfound-Land, which was not in the Original. I have 
 likewife corrected almofl all the Cuts of the Holland Impreffion, for 
 
 1 Frontenac’s responsibility for the famous dialogue between Lahontan and the 
 Huron has been much discussed. Without doubt, the governor of Canada permitted 
 himself liberties in religious thought, and enjoyed Lahontan’s clever flings against 
 the Jesuits ; but it can hardly be held that all the sentiments expressed by the traveller 
 accorded with his own. — Ed. 
 
IO 
 
 The Preface. 
 
 the Dutch Gravers had murder’d ’em , by not underjlanding their 
 Explications , which were all in French. They have grav’d IVomen 
 for Men , and Men for Women; naked Perfons for thofe that are 
 cloath’d, and e Contra. As for the Maps , the Reader will find 
 ’em very ex a 8 ; And I have taken care to have the Tratts of my 
 Voyages more nicely delineated , than in the Original. 
 
 I underfland by Letters from Paris, that the two Meffieurs 
 de Pontchartrain indeavour by all means to be reveng’d upon me 
 for the affront they say I have given ’em in publifhing fome trifling 
 Stories in my Book , that ought to have been conceal’d. I am likewife 
 inform’d , that I have reafon to be apprehenfive of the Refentment 
 of feveral Ecclefiafticks, who pretend I have infulted God in centr¬ 
 ing their Condutt. But fince I expected nothing lefs than the furious 
 Refentment both of the one and the other , when I put this Book to 
 the Prefs; I had time enough to arm myfelf from top to toe , in order 
 to make head againft ’em. ’Tis my comfort , that I have writ nothing 
 but what I make good by Authentick proofs ; befides , that I could not 
 have faid lefs of ’em than I have done; for if I had not tied my felf 
 up to the dire 3 thread of my Difcourfe, I could have made Digref- 
 fions , in which the Conduct both of the one and the other , would 
 have appear’d to be prejudicial to the repofe of the Society , and the 
 publick Good. I had provocation enough to have treated ’em in that 
 manner; but my Letters being addrefs’d to an old Bigotted Relation 
 of mine , who fed upon Devotion , and dreaded the influence of the 
 Court; he ftill befeech’d me to write nothing to him that might dif- 
 oblige the Clergy or the Courtiers , for fear of the intercepting of my 
 Letters. However , I have advice from Paris, that fome Pedants 
 are fet at work to lafh me in writing; and fo I mufl prepare to ftand 
 
II 
 
 The Preface. 
 
 the biunt of a Jhower of affronts , that will be pour’d upon me in a 
 few days. But tis no matter ; I am fo good a Conjurer , that I can 
 ward off any form from the fide of Paris. I laugh at their 
 Threats; and fince I can’t make ufe of my Sword, I’ll wage War 
 with my Pen. 
 
 This I only mention by the bye , in this my Preface to the Reader, 
 whom I pray the Heavens to Crown with Profperity, in preferving 
 him from having any bufinefs to adjuft with moft of the Minifters 
 of State, and Priefts; for let them be never fo faulty, they’ll fill be 
 faid to be in the right , till fuch time as Anarchy be introduc’d amongfl 
 us 1 as well as the Americans, among whom the forryeft fellow thinks 
 himfelf a better Man , than a Chancellor of France. Thefe People 
 are happy in being fcreen’d from the tricks and fhifts of Minifters, 
 who are always Mafters where-ever they come. I envy the ftate of 
 a poor Savage, who tramples upon Laws, and pays Homage to no 
 Scepter. I wifh I could fpend the reft of my Life in his Hutt, and 
 fo be no longer expos’d to the chagrin of bending the knee to a fet of 
 Men , that facrifice the publick good to their private inter eft, and are 
 born to plague honeft Men. The two Minifters of State I have 
 to do with, have been folicited in vain, by the Duchefs of Lude, 
 Cardinal Bouillon, Count Guifcar, Mr. de Quiros, and Count 
 d’ Avaux 1 : Nothing could prevail, tho’ all that is laid to my 
 charge, conftfts only in not bearing the affronts of a Governour, 
 whom they protett; at a time when a hundred other Officers, who 
 
 1 These patrons who spoke on behalf of Lahontan were among the eminent per¬ 
 sonages of the court of Louis XIV. The Count de Lude was grand master of artillery, 
 his wife a friend of Madame de Frontenac. Cardinal Bouillon was the younger son 
 of the great Turenne, a prominent supporter of Fenelon ; at this time he was in a sort 
 of honorable exile in Holland, as was likewise Count Guiscard, a diplomat and 
 
12 
 
 The Preface. 
 
 live under the imputation of Crimes, infinitely greater than mine , are 
 excus’d for three Months abfence from Court . * 1 Now the Reafon is, 
 that they give lefs quarter to thofe who have the misfortune to dif- 
 pleafe the two Meffieurs de Ponchartrain. than to fuch as a£l 
 contrary to the King’s Orders. 
 
 But after all my Misfortunes, I have this to folace me, that I 
 injoy in England a fort of Liberty, that is not met with elfewhere: 
 For one may jufily fay, that of all the Countries inhabited by civil¬ 
 is’d People, this alone affords the great eft perfection of Liberty. Nay, 
 I do not except the liberty of the Mind, for I am convinc’d, that the 
 Englifh maintain it with a great deal of tendernefs: So true it is, 
 that all degrees of Slavery are abhorr’d by this People, who /hew 
 their Wifdom in the precautions they take to prevent their finking 
 into a fatal Servitude. 
 
 politician of some fame. Don Francesco Bernardo de Quiros wa9 Spanish ambassa¬ 
 dor at the Hague ; and Count d’Avaux had long been French minister at the same 
 court, retiring upon William Ill’s invasion of England (1688), and again upon the 
 outbreak of the War of Spanish Succession (1703). It was he who accompanied 
 James II (1689) to Ireland, as representative of Louis XIV. — Ed. 
 
 1 Lahontan here refers to his disagreement with Brouillan, governor of Newfound¬ 
 land, and his own departure thence without leave. — Ed. 
 
THE 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 VOL. I. 
 
 [Original pagination retained.] 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Dated at Quebec Nov. 8. 1683. 
 
 C ONTAINING a Defcription of the Paffage from France to 
 Canada; with fome Remarks upon the Coafts, Channels , &c. 
 and the variation of the Needle. p. j. 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Dated at the Canton of Beaupre May 2. 1684. 
 
 Containing a Defcription of the Plantations of Canada, and the 
 manner in which they were firft form’d: As alfo an Account of 
 the Tranfportation of Whores from France to that Country; 
 together with a view of its Climate and Soil. p. 7. 
 
 LETTER. III. 
 
 Dated at Quebec May 15. 1684. 
 
 Containing an ample Defcription of the City of Quebec, and of the 
 Ifland of St. Laurence. p. n. 
 
The Contents. 
 
 M 
 
 LETTER. IV. 
 
 Dated at Monreal June 14. 1684. 
 
 Containing a brief Defcription of the Habitations of the Savages in 
 the Neighbourhood of Quebec; of the River of St. Laurence, 
 as far up as Monreal; of a curious way of fifliing Eels; and 
 of the Cities of Trois Rivieres, and Monreal: Together with 
 an account of the Conduct of the Forrefl-Rangers or Pedlers. 
 
 p. 16. 
 
 LETTER. V. 
 
 Dated at Monreal June 18. 1684. 
 
 In which is contain’d a fhort account of the Iroquefe, with a view 
 of the War and Peace they made with the French, and of the 
 means by which it was brought about. p. 22. 
 
 LETTER. VI. 
 
 Dated at Monreal June 20. 1684. 
 
 Being an ample Defcription of the Canows made of Birch Bark, in 
 which the Canadans perform all their Voyages; with an Account 
 of the manner in which they are made and manag’d. p. 26. 
 
 LETTER. VII. 
 
 Dated at Monreal Novemb. 2. 1684. 
 
 Defcribing the River of St. Laurence, from Monreal to the firfl 
 great Lake of Canada, with the Water-falls , Cataratts, and 
 Navigation of that River: As alfo Fort Frontenac, and the 
 advantages that accrue from it. Together with a Circumftan- 
 
The Contents. i 5 
 
 tial account of the Expedition of Mr. de la Barre, the Gov- 
 ernour General , againfi the Iroquefe; the Speeches he made , 
 the Replies he receiv’d , and the final Accommodation of the dif¬ 
 ference. n 2Q 
 
 LETTER. VIII. 
 
 Dated at Monreal June 28. 1685. 
 
 Reprefenting the Fortifications of Monreal, and the indifcreet zeal 
 of the Priefts , who are Lords of that Town : With a Defcrip- 
 tion of Chambli, and of the Commerce of the Savages upon the 
 great Lakes. p. 4C. 
 
 LETTER. IX. 
 
 Dated at Boucherville Off. 2. 1685. 
 
 Being an Account of the Commerce and Trade of Monreal: Of the 
 Arrival of the Marquis of Denonville with fome Troops; and 
 of the recalling of Mr. de la Barre. With a curious Defcription 
 of certain Licenfes for trading in Beaver-Skins in the remote 
 Countries. n CI 
 
 LETTER. X. 
 
 Dated at Boucherville July 8. 1686. 
 
 Relating the Arrival of Mr. de Champigni, in the room of Mr. 
 de Meules, who is recall’d to France; the arrival of the 
 Troops that came along with him , the curiofity of the Rackets , 
 and the way of hunting Elks; with a Defcription of that 
 Animal. n cc 
 
16 The Contents. 
 
 LETTER. XI. 
 
 Dated at Boucherville May 28. 1687. 
 
 Being a curious Defcription of the Hunting of divers Animals, p. 60. 
 
 LETTER. XII. 
 
 Dated at St. Helens over againft Monreal June 8. 1687. 
 
 The Chevalier de Vaudreuil arrives in Canada with fome Troops. 
 Both the Regular Troops and the Militia are pofted at St. 
 Helens, in a readinefs to march againft the Iroquefe. p. 68. 
 
 LETTER. XIII. 
 
 Dated at Niagara Aug. 2. 1687. 
 
 Reprefenting the unfavourable Iffue of the Campaign, made in the 
 Iroquefe Country; the difcovery of an Ambufcade , and the 
 iffuing of Orders for the Author to march with a Detachment 
 to the great Lakes. p. 70. 
 
 LETTER. XIV. 
 
 Dated at Miftilimakinac May 26. 1688. 
 
 The Author leaves Nagara, and has an Incounter with the Iro¬ 
 quefe at the end of the Land-Carriage. The after-part of bis 
 Voyage. A Defcription of the Country. He arrives at Fort St. 
 Jofeph in the Mouth of the Lake of Hurons. A Detachment 
 of the Hurons arrive at the fame place. After an Ingagement , 
 they fet out for Miffilimakinac. A ftrange Adventure of Mr. 
 de la Salle’j Brother. Miffilimakinac defcrib’d. p. 80. 
 
The Contents. I7 
 
 LETTER. XV. 
 
 Dated at Miffilimakinac Sept. 18. 1688. 
 
 Defcribing the Fall call’d Sant St. Marie, where the Author per- 
 fwades the Inhabitants to joyn the Outaouas, and march againft 
 the Iroquefe. And containing an account of the Occurrences of 
 the Voyage between that Place and Miffilimakinac. p. 92. 
 
 LETTER. XVI. 
 
 Dated at Miffilimakinac May 28. 1689. 
 
 Containing an Account of the Author’s Departure from, and Return 
 to, Miffilimakinac. A Defcription of the Bay of Puants, and 
 its Villages. An ample Defcription of the Beavers, follow’d by 
 the Journal of a remarkable Voyage upon the Long River, and 
 a Map of the adjacent Country . p # IQ ^ 
 
 LETTER. XVII. 
 
 Dated at Quebec Sep . 28. 1689. 
 
 The Author fets out from Miffilimakinac to the Colony, and de- 
 fcribes the Country, Rivers, and Paffes that he faw by the way. 
 The Iroquefe make a fatal incurfion into the Ifland of Mon- 
 real: Fort Frontenac is abandon’d; Count Frontenac is fent 
 to Canada, and the Marquis of Denonville is recall’d, p. 142. 
 
 LETTER. XVIII. 
 
 Dated at Quebec Nov. 15. 1689. 
 
 Giving an Account of Mr. de Frontenac’s Arrival, his Reception, 
 his Voyage to Monreal, and the repairing of Fort Frontenac. 
 
 p. 151. 
 
 2 
 

 ‘ly.fr,.; 
 
 18 The Contents. 
 
 LETTER. XIX. 
 
 Dated at Monreal October 2. 1690. 
 
 Relating the Attempts upon New-Englaad and New-York; a fatal 
 Embajfy fent by the French to the Iroquefe, and an ill-concerted 
 Enterprife of the Englifh and the Iroquefe, in marching by 
 Land to attack the French Colony. p. 155. 
 
 LETTER. XX. 
 
 Dated at Rachel January 12. 1691. 
 
 Being a Relation of a fecond and very important Expedition of the 
 Englifh by Sea; in which is contain’d a Letter written by the 
 Englifh Admiral to Count Frontenac, with the Governour’s 
 Verbal Anfwer. As alfo an account of the Author’s departure 
 for France. p. 159. 
 
 LETTER. XXI. 
 
 Dated at Rochel July 26. 1691. 
 
 Containing a Defcription of the Courts or Offices of the Miniflers 
 of State, and a view of fome Services that are ill rewarded at 
 Court. p. 166. 
 
 LETTER. XXII. 
 
 Dated at Quebec Nov. 10. 1691. 
 
 Which contains an account of the Author’s departure from Rochel 
 to Quebec, of his Vioyage to the mouth of the River St: Laurence, 
 of a Rencounter with an Englifh Ship which he fought; of the 
 ftranding of his Ship; of his failing thro’ the River St. Laurence; 
 of the news he receiv’d that a party of the Englifh and Iro¬ 
 quefe, had defeated a Body of the French Troops. p. 171 • 
 
The Contents. 
 
 19 
 
 LETTER. XXIII. 
 
 Dated at Nants Ottob. 25. 1692. 
 
 Containing an Account of the taking of fome Englifh Veffels, of 
 defeating a Party of the Iroquefe, of an Iroquefe burnt alive 
 at Quebec; of another Party of thefe Barbarians, who having 
 furpris’d fome Coureurs de Bois, were afterwards furpris’d 
 themfelves. Of the Project of an Enterprise propos’d by Mr. 
 Frontenac to the Author. Of the Author’s departure in a 
 Frigat for France, and his flopping at Placentia, which was 
 then attack’d by the Englifh Fleet that came to take that Poft 
 from us. How the Englifh fail’d in their Defign, and the 
 Author purfu’d his Voyage. p. 175. 
 
 LETTER. XXIV. 
 
 Dated at Nants May 10. 1693. 
 
 Containing an Account of Mr. Frontenac’i Projett, which was 
 rejetted at Court, and the reafon why it was rejetted. The 
 King gives the Author the Lieutenancy of Newfound Land, 
 &c. together with the Independent Company. p. 187. 
 
 LETTER. XXV. 
 
 Dated at Viana in Portugal Jan . 31. 1694. 
 
 The Author’s departure from France to Placentia. A Fleet of 
 30 Englifh Ships came to feize upon that place; but is difl 
 appointed, and Sheers off. The reafon why the Englifh have 
 bad fuccefs in all their Enterprifes beyond Sea. The Author’s 
 Adventure with the Governour of Placentia. His departure for 
 Portugal. An Engagement with a Flufhing Privateer, p. 193. 
 
20 
 
 The Contents. 
 
 Memoirs of North-America. 
 
 Containing a Geographical Defcription of that vaft Continent; the 
 Cuftoms and Commerce of the Inhabitants , &c. p. 203. 
 
 A fhort Defcription of Canada. p. 205. 
 
 A Lift of the Savage Nations of Canada. p. 230. 
 
 A Lift of the Animals of Canada. p. 232. 
 
 A Defcription of fuch Animals orBeafts as are not mention’d 
 
 in the Letters. p. 233. 
 
 A Lift of the Fowl or Birds of Canada. p. 237. 
 
 A Defcription of fuch Birds as are not accounted for in the 
 
 Letters. p. 239. 
 
 A Defcription of the InfeEls of Canada. p. 242. 
 
 The Names of the Fifh of Canada. p. 243. 
 
 A Defcription of the Fifh that are not mention’d in the Letters p. 244. 
 
 The Trees and Fruits of Canada. p. 247. 
 
 A Defcription of the above-mention’d Trees. p. 248. 
 
 A General view of the Commerce of Canada. p. 254. 
 
 The Commodities truck’d to and again between the French 
 
 and the Savages. p. 257. 
 
 An Account of the Government of Canada in General. p. 260. 
 
 A Difcourfe of the Intereft of the French and Englilh in 
 
 North-America. p. 260. 
 
 A Table Explaining fome uncommon Terms. p. 276. 
 
The Contents. 
 
 21 
 
 The Contents of the Second 
 Volume. 
 
 A Difcourfe of the Habit, Houfes, Complexion and Temperament 
 of the Savages of North-America. P. i. Vol. 2. 
 
 A fhort view of the Humours and Cuftoms of the Savages. 
 
 The Belief of the Savages, and the Obftacles of their Converfton 
 The way of Worjhip us’d by the Savages. 
 
 An Account of the Amours and Marriages of the Savages. 
 
 A View of the Difeafes and Remedies of the Savages. 
 
 The Diverfions of Hunting and Shooting ufual among the 
 Savages. 
 
 The Military Art of the Savages. 
 
 A View of the H eraldy and the Coats of Arms of the Savages, p. 84. 
 An Explication of the Savage Hieroglyphicks. p. 86. 
 
 p. 7. 
 p. 19. 
 P- 29 - 
 P- 34 - 
 P- 45 - 
 
 P 
 
 P 
 
 55 - 
 
 7i- 
 
 A Conference or Dialogue between the Author and 
 Adano, a noted Man among the Savages. 
 
 Containing a Circumftantial view of the CuJloms and Humours of 
 that People. n. go. 
 
22 
 
 The Contents. 
 
 An APPENDIX , Containing fome New Voyages 
 to Portugal and Denmark; after the Author’s Retire¬ 
 ment from Canada. 
 
 LETTER. I. 
 
 Dated at Lisbon April 20. 1694. 
 
 Containing a Defcription of Viana, Porto a Porto, Aveiro, Coim¬ 
 bra, Lisbon ; together with a View of the Court of Portugal; 
 and an Account of the Government, Laws, Cuftoms, and Hu¬ 
 mours of the Portuguefe. p. 185. 
 
 LETTER. II. 
 
 Dated at Travemunde 1694. 
 
 Containing an Account of the Author’s Voyage from Lisbon to 
 Garnfey; his Adventure with an Englifh Man of War, and 
 an Englifh Privateer: A Defcription of Rotterdam and Am- 
 fterdam ; the Author’s Voyage to Hamburgh; the Dimenfions 
 of a Flemifh Sloop; a Defcription of the City of Hamburg; 
 the Author’s Journey from thence to Lubeck, and a Defcription 
 of that City. p.211. 
 
 LETTER. III. 
 
 Dated at Copenhagen Sept. 12. 1694. 
 
 Containing a Defcription of the Port and City of Copenhagen, a 
 view of the Danifh Court, and of the Humours, Cuftoms, Com¬ 
 merce, Forces, &c. of the Danes. p. 226. 
 
The Contents. 
 
 23 
 
 LETTER. IV. 
 
 Dated at Paris Decemb. 29. 1694. 
 
 Containing a Journal of the Author’s Travels from Copenhagen 
 to Paris. p. 244. 
 
 LETTER. V. 
 
 Dated at Erleich July 4. 1694. 
 
 Giving a view of the Superftition and Ignorance of the People of 
 Bearn; their addiftednefs to the notions of Witchcraft, Appari¬ 
 tions, &c. And the Author’s Arguments againjl that Delufion. 
 
 p. 255. 
 
 LETTER. VI. 
 
 Dated at Huefia July 11. 1695. 
 
 Containing an Account of the Author’s efcape and journey to Spain; 
 his being taken up for a Huguenot, and the Ignorance and 
 Bigotry of the Curates and People of Bearn in France, p. 268. 
 
 LETTER. VII. 
 
 Dated at Saragoza Octob. 8. 1695. 
 
 Containing a Defcription of Saragoza; a View of the Government 
 of Arragon, and an Account of the Cuftoms of the People, p. 274. 
 
 A fhort Diftionary of the Language of the Savages. p. 287. 
 
Some New 
 
 VOYAGES 
 
 TO 
 
 N orth -America. 
 
 TOME i. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 Dated at the Port of Quebec , Nov. 8. 1683. 
 
 Containing a Defcription of the Paffage from France to Canada; 
 with fome Remarks upon the Coafts , Channels , &c. and the 
 Vaviation of the Needle. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 I AM furpris’d to find that a Voyage to the New World is 
 fo formidable to thofe who are oblig’d to undertake it; 
 for I folemnly proteft that ’tis far from being what the World 
 commonly takes it for. ’Tis true, the Paffage is in fome mea- 
 fure long ; but then the hopes of viewing an unknown Country, 
 attones for the tedioufnefs of the Voyage. When we broke 
 ground from Rochel , I acquainted you with the Reafons that 
 mov’d Mr. le Feme de la Barre y Governor General of Canada , 
 
26 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 to fend the Sieur Mabu , a Canadefe , to France *; and at the 
 fame time gave you to know, that he [2] had refolv’d upon the 
 utter deftrudtion of the Iroquefe , who are a very Warlike and 
 Savage People. 1 2 Thefe Barbarians befriend the Englijh , upon 
 the account of the Succours they receive from ’em; but they 
 are enemies to us, upon the apprehenfion of being deftroy’d 
 by us fome time or other. The General I fpoke of but now, 
 expeded that the King would fend him feven or eight hundred 
 Men; but when we fet out from Rochel the feafon was fo far 
 advanc’d, that our three Companies of Marines were reckon’d 
 a fufficient Venture. 
 
 1 Le Febre de la Barre wa9 in 1682 appointed governor of New France, to super¬ 
 sede Frontenac. He was an officer of experience, having seen service in the West 
 Indies, been governor of Cayenne (1664-66), and defeated an English fleet and 
 recovered Antigua, Montserrat, and Nevis for the French. In early life he had been 
 a lawyer and government official in France. Upon his arrival in the colony (1682), 
 he determined upon war with the Iroquois, and dispatched to the king urgent requests 
 for regular troops, of whom the colony was bereft. In the spring of 1683, the Iro¬ 
 quois again harassed the colony, and the governor impressed a small vessel lying at 
 Quebec to send news thereof to France. This would appear to have been the ship of 
 one Jean Paul Meheu, seigneur of a fief of La Riviere Maheu. Some years previous, 
 a Canadian of the same name is noted as bearing letters to France. — Thwaites, 
 Jesuit Relations (Cleveland, 1896-1901), xlvi, p. 179. When this urgent request 
 reached the court, the king determined to at once send to New France three companies 
 of soldiers. See Collection de Manuscrits relatifs d la Nouvelle France (Quebec, 
 
 1 883), i, p. 310. The transport was named the “Tempest,” commanded by Sieur 
 Pingo. It departed from La Rochelle Aug. 29, 1683 ; among the officers was Lahon- 
 tan, this being his first venture across seas. — Ed. 
 
 2 The Iroquois had long been the scourge of Canada ; taking advantage of their 
 strategic position between the English and Dutch of New York and the French of the 
 St. Lawrence, they were attempting to control the fur-trade of the interior in the 
 interest of the English, bringing disaster upon the colony of New France. They 
 made war upon the Indian allies of the French on the Upper Lakes, and had recently 
 (1680-82) inflicted a heavy blow upon the Illinois, among whom La Salle was endeav¬ 
 oring to found a colony. — Ed. 
 
27 
 
 to North- America. 
 
 I met with nothing in our Paffage that was difagreeable, 
 abating for a Storm that alarm’d us for fome days, upon the 
 precipice of the bank of Newfound-Land , where the Waves 
 fwell prodigioufly, even when the Winds are low. In that 
 Storm our Frigat receiv’d fome rude (hocks from the Sea; 
 but in regard that fuch accidents are ufual in that Voyage, 
 they made no impreflion upon the old feafon’d Sailors. As 
 for my part, I could not pretend to that pitch of indifference; 
 for having never made fuch a Voyage before, I was fo alarm’d 
 in feeing the Waves mount up to the Clouds, that I made more 
 vows to Neptune , than the brave Idomenaus did in his return 
 from the Wars of Troy. After we made the bank, the Waves 
 funk, and the Wind dwindled, and the Sea became fo fmooth 
 and eafie, that we could not work our Ship. You can fcarce 
 imagine what quantities of Cod-filh were catch’d there by our 
 Seamen, in the fpace of a quarter of an hour; for though we 
 had thirty two fathom Water, yet the Hook was no fooner at 
 the bottom, than the Fifh was catch’d; fo that they had noth¬ 
 ing to do but to throw in, and take up without interruption: 
 But after all, fuch is the misfortune of this Filhery, that it do’s 
 not fucceed but upon certain banks, which are commonly part 
 over without flopping. However, as we were plentifully [3] 
 entertain’d at the coft of thefe Fifties, fo fuch of ’em as con¬ 
 tinued in the Sea, made fufficient reprifals upon the Corps of 
 a Captain, and of feveral Soldiers, who dy’d of the Scurvy, 
 ajid were thrown over-board three or four days after. 
 
 In the mean time the Wind veering to the Weft-North- 
 Weft, we were oblig’d to lye bye for five or fix days; but after 
 
28 Some New Voyages 
 
 that it chop’d to the North, and fo we happily made Cape 
 Rafe, tho’ indeed our Pilots were at a lofs to know where we 
 were, by reafon that they could not take the Latitude for ten 
 or twelve days before. 1 You may eafily imagine, that ’was 
 with great joy that we heard one of our Sailors call from the 
 Top-Maft, Land , Land , juft as St. Paul did when he approach’d 
 to Maltha , IV opto, yrjv opto : For you muft know that when 
 the Pilots reckon they approach to Land, they ufe the pre¬ 
 caution of fending up Sailors to the Top-Maft, in order to 
 fome difcovery; and thefe Sailors are reliev’d every two hours 
 till Night comes, at which time they furl their Sails if the Land 
 is not yet defcry’d: So that in the Night-time they fcarce 
 make any way. From this it appears how important it is 
 to know the Coaft, before you approach to it; nay, the Paf- 
 fengers put fuch a value upon the difcovery, that they prefent 
 the firft difcoverer with fome Piftoles. In the mean time, 
 you’ll be pleas’d to obferve, that the Needle of the Compafs, 
 which naturally points to the North, turns upon the bank of 
 Newfound-Land, twenty three Degrees towards the North- 
 Weft; that is, it points there a degree nearer to the Weft, 
 than North-North-Weft. This remark we made by our Com¬ 
 pafs of Variation. 
 
 We defcry’d the Cape about Noon; and in order to con¬ 
 firm the Difcovery, ftood in upon it with all fails aloft. At 
 
 1 The name Race, applied to the southeastern extremity of Newfoundland, is 
 first met under the form “ Cap Rogo,” on a map of about the year 1500. The name 
 seems to have been given from the French word “ ras,” bare or flat. See Harrisse, 
 Decouverte et Evolution cartographique de Terre-Neuve (Paris, 1900), p. 43. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 29 
 
 laft, being affur’d that ’twas the Promontory we look’d for, 
 an univerfal joy was [4] fpread throughout the Ship, and the 
 fate of the wretches that we had thrown over-board, was quite 
 forgot. Then the Sailors fet about the Chriftening of thofe 
 who had never made the Voyage before, and indeed they had 
 done it fooner, if it had not been for the death of our above- 
 mention’d Companions. The Chriftening I fpeak of, is an 
 impertinent Ceremony, practis'd by Sea-faring Men, whofe 
 humours are as ftrange and extravagant, as the Element it felf, 
 upon which they foolifhly truft themfelves. By vertue of a 
 Cuftom of old ftanding, they profane the Sacrament of Bap- 
 tifm in an unaccountable manner. Upon that occafion, the 
 old Sailors being blacken’d all over, and difguis’d with Rags 
 and Ropes, force the greener fort that have never pafs’d fome 
 certain degrees of Latitude before, to fall down on their 
 Knees, and to fwear upon a Book of Sea Charts, that upon 
 all occafions they will pradtife upon others, the fame Cere¬ 
 mony that is then made ufe of towards them. After the admin- 
 iftring of this ridiculous Oath, they throw fifty Buckets full of 
 Water upon their Head, Belly, and Thighs, and indeed all 
 over their Body, without any regard to times or feafons. 
 This piece of folly is chiefly practis’d under the ./Equator, 
 under the Tropicks, under the Polar Circles, upon the bank 
 of Newfound-Land; and in the Streights of Gibraltar , the 
 Sund, and the Dardanelles. As for Perfons of Note or Char¬ 
 acter, they are exempted from the Ceremony, at the expence 
 of five or fix bottles of Brandy for the Ships Crew. 
 
3° 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 Three or four days after the performance of this Solem¬ 
 nity, we difcover’d Cape Raye , 1 and fo made up to St. Laurence 
 Bay , in the Mouth of which we were becalm’d for a little 
 while; and during that Calm, we had a clearer and pleafanter 
 day, than any we had feen in the Paffage. It look d as if that 
 day had been vouchfaf’d us by way of recompence [5] for the 
 Rains, Foggs, and high Winds, that we incounter’d by the 
 way. There we faw an Engagement between a Whale and a 
 , * Sword-Fifh, at the diftance of a Gun- 
 
 fhot from our Fngat. We were per- 
 fe&ly charm’d when we faw the Sword- 
 Fifh. jump out of the water in order 
 to dart its Spear into the Body of the 
 Whale, when oblig’d to take breath. 
 This entertaining fhow lafted at leaft 
 
 10 and 15 Foot long, be¬ 
 ing four Foot in circum¬ 
 ference, and having in its 
 Snout a fort of Saw which 
 is four Foot long, four In¬ 
 ches broad, and fix Lines 
 thick . 
 
 two hours, fometimes to the Starboard, and fometimes to 
 the Larboard of the Ship. The Sailors, among whom Super- 
 ftition prevails as much as among the Egyptians , took this for 
 a prefage of fome mighty Storm; but the Prophecy ended 
 in two or three days of contrary Winds, during which time 
 we travers’d between the Ifland of Newfound-Land , and that 
 of Cape Breton. Two days after we came in fight of the 
 Ifland of Fowls, by the help of a North-Eaft Wind; which 
 drove us from the Mouth of St. Laurence Bay, to the Ille of 
 Anticofti , upon the bank of which, we thought to have been call 
 
 1 Cape Ray is at the southwestern extremity of Newfoundland ; the name first 
 appeared on a map of 1600. Harrisse, op. cit p. 285. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 3i 
 
 away, by nearing it too much. In the Mouth of that River 
 we fell into a fecond calm, which was follow’d by a contrary 
 Wind, that oblig’d us to lye bye for fome days. At laft we 
 made Tadouffac, by gradual approaches, and there came to an 
 Anchor. 1 
 
 This River is four Leagues broad where we then rode, and 
 twenty two at its Mouth; but it contracts it felf gradually, as 
 it approaches to its fource. Two days after, the Wind Hand¬ 
 ing Eaft, we weigh’d Anchor; and being favor’d by the Tyde, 
 got fafe through the Channel of the Red Ifland, in which the 
 Currents are apt to turn a Veffel on one fide, as well as at the 
 Ifland of Coudres , which lies fome Leagues higher. 2 But upon 
 the Coaft of the laft [6] Ifland, we had certainly ftruck upon 
 the Rocks, if we had not drop’d an Anchor. Had the Ship 
 been caft away at that place, we might eafily have fav’d our 
 
 1 The Island of Fowls is probably the group still known as Bird Rocks, in St. 
 Lawrence Gulf, north of Magdalen Islands. 
 
 Anticosti is a large island one hundred and forty miles long by about twenty- 
 seven in average breadth. It lies in the mouth of St. Lawrence River, and three years 
 before this voyage of Lahontan had been granted as a seigniory of Louis Jolliet, the 
 Mississippi explorer. 
 
 Tadoussac, at the entrance of Saguenay River, is one of the oldest towns in 
 Canada, having been founded before Quebec. It was the favorite resort of the Mon- 
 tagnais Indians, and the centre of a thriving fur-trade and fishery. The Recollects 
 said mass here as early as 1617 ; and here the hostile English fleet, under Admiral 
 Sir David Kirk, anchored in July, 1628. The Jesuits began a mission at Tadoussac 
 before 1642, and one of their early churches (built 1647-50) is still to be seen.— Ed. 
 
 2 Red Island is that now known as Isle Rouge, in the St. Lawrence opposite 
 Tadoussac. It was early noted for its seal fishing. See Jesuit Relations , xxxii, p. 93. 
 
 Isle aux Coudres was so designated for the hazelnut bushes with which it abounded, 
 and appears to have been so named by Cartier. The early voyagers speak of the 
 number of elk to be found on this island. — Ed. 
 
32 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 felves: But it prov’d fo, that we were more affraid than hurt. 
 Next Morning we weighed with a frefh gale from the Eaft, and 
 the next day after came to an Anchor over againft Cape Tour- 
 mente , where we had not above two Leagues over, tho’ at the 
 fame time ’tis a dangerous place to thofe who are unacquainted 
 with the Channel. 1 From thence we had but feven Leagues 
 failing to the Port of Quebec , where we now ride at Anchor. 
 In our Paffage from the red Ifland to this place, we faw fuch 
 floats of Ice, and fo much Snow upon the Land, that we were 
 upon the point of turning back for France , tho’ we were not 
 then above thirty Leagues off our defired Port. We were 
 affraid of being ftop’d by the Ice, and fo loft; but thank God 
 we ’fcap’d. 
 
 We have receiv’d advice, that the Governor has mark’d 
 out Quarters for our Troops in fome Villages or Cantons 
 adjacent to this City; fo that I am oblig’d to prepare to go 
 afhore, and therefore muft make an end of this Letter. I 
 cannot as yet give you any account of the Country, excepting 
 that ’tis already mortally cold. As to the River, I mean to 
 give you a more ample defcription of it, when I come to know 
 it better. We are informed that Mr. de la Salle is juft return’d 
 from his Travels, which he undertook upon the difcovery of 
 a great River that falls into the Gulf of Mexico; and that he 
 
 1 Cape Tourmente is a lofty promontory on the St. Lawrence, about twenty miles 
 below Quebec, towering nineteen hundred feet above the meadows (Beaupre) at its 
 base. It was so named by Champlain (1608), who noted that “ however little wind 
 may blow the sea there is as if it were high tide. At this place the water begins to 
 be fresh.’* — Ed. 
 
33 
 
 to North- America. 
 
 imbarques to morrow for France} He is perfectly well ac¬ 
 quainted with Canada, and for that reafon you ought to vifit 
 him, if you go to Paris this Winter. I am, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Tours, &c. 
 
 1 Rene Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, had just returned from his successful 
 journey into the interior, where he had explored the Mississippi and in Illinois 
 founded the colony of St. Louis. Frontenac, his patron, had been replaced, and the 
 new governor gave a ready ear to La Salle’s detractors. The fortunes of the explorer 
 were desperate, and he was about to embark for France to seek redress at court. 
 This was his farewell to Canada, his final voyage being made to the Gulf of Mexico, 
 upon whose waters he was assassinated (March 18, 1687).—Ed. 
 
34 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 Dated at the Canton of Beauprbf May 2. 1684. 
 Containing a Defcription of the Plantations of Canada, and the 
 
 manner in which they were firft form f d: As alfo an account of 
 the Tranfportation of Whores from France to that Country; 
 together with a view of its Climate and Soil. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 S foon as we landed laft year, Mr. de la Barre lodg’d our 
 
 il three Companies in fome Cantons or Quarters in the 
 Neighbourhood of Quebec. The Planters call thefe places Cotes ) 
 which in France fignifies no more than the Sea-Coaft; tho’ in this 
 Country where the names of Town and Village are unknown, 
 that word is made ufe of to exprefs a Seignory or Manour, 
 the Houfes of which lie at the diftance of two or three hun¬ 
 dred Paces one from another, and are feated on the brink of 
 the River of St. Laurence . 1 2 In earned, Sir, the Boors of thofe 
 
 1 The three companies were quartered at villages in the vicinity of Quebec. It 
 fell'to Lahontan’s lot to pass the winter in the seigniory of Beaupre, which stretched 
 for six leagues along the river and embraced more than the present county of Mont¬ 
 morency. Beaupre was early settled, and as a Jesuit seigniory received much atten¬ 
 tion. At this time it was considered the most orderly and thrifty settlement in the 
 colony. — Ed. 
 
 2 Feudalism was established in New France by the act of Richelieu, in his grant 
 to the Company of One Hundred Associates (1627) • Seigniorial tenure was not abol¬ 
 ished in Lower Canada (Province of Quebec) until 1854. On the influence of this 
 system see Parkman, Old Regime in Canada (Boston, 1874), chap, xv; Weir, 
 Administration of the Old Regime in Canada (Montreal, 1896-97). — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 t An Arpent is a fpot 
 of ground containing ioo 
 Perches fquare , each of 
 which is eighteen Foot 
 long. 
 
 35 
 
 Manors live with more eafe and conveniency, than an infinity 
 of the Gentlemen in France. I am out indeed in calling ’em 
 Boors, for that name is as little known here as in Spain; 
 whether it be that they pay no Taxes, and injoy the liberty of 
 Hunting and Filhing; or that the eafinefs of their Life, puts 
 ’em upon a level with the Nobility. The 
 pooreft of them have four t Arpents of 
 Ground in front, and thirty or forty in 
 depth: The whole Country being a con¬ 
 tinued Forreft of lofty Trees, the ftumps 
 [8] of which muft be grub’d up, before they can make ufe of 
 a Plough. ’Tis true, this is a troublefom and chargeable task 
 at firft; but in a fhort time after they make up their Lofles; 
 for when the Virgin ground is capable of receiving Seed, it 
 yields an increafe to the rate of an hundred fold. Corn is 
 there fown in May , and reap’d about the middle of September. 
 Inftead of threfhing the Sheafs in the Field, they convey ’em 
 to Barns, where they lie till the coldeft feafon of the Winter, 
 at which time the Grain is more eafily difengag’d from the 
 Ear. In this Country they likewife fow Peafe, which are much 
 efteem’d in France. All forts of Grain are very cheap here, as 
 well as Butchers Meat and Fowl. The price of Wood is 
 almoft nothing, in comparifon with the charge of its carriage, 
 which after all is very inconfiderable. 
 
 Moll of the Inhabitants are a free fort of People that 
 remov’d hither from France , and brought with ’em but little 
 Money to fet up withal: The reft are thofe who were Soldiers 
 about thirty or forty years ago, at which time the Regiment 
 
36 Some New Voyages 
 
 of Carignan was broke, and they exchang’d a Military Poll, 
 for the Trade of Agriculture . 1 Neither the one nor the other 
 pay’d any thing for the grounds they poffefs, no more than 
 the Officers of thefe Troops, who mark’d out to themfelves, 
 certain portions of unmanur’d and woody Lands; for this 
 vaft Continent is nothing elfe than one continued Forreft. 
 The Governours General allow’d the Officers three or four 
 Leagues of ground in front, with as much depth as they 
 pleas’d; and at the fame time the Officers gave the Soldiers 
 as much ground as they pleas’d, upon the condition of the 
 payment of a Crown per Arpent , by way of Fief. 
 
 After the reform of thefe Troops, feveral Ships were fent 
 hither from France , with a Cargoe of Women of an ordinary 
 Reputation, under the dire&ion [9] of fome old ftale Nuns, 
 who rang’d ’em in three Claffes. The Veftal Virgins were 
 heap’d up, (if I may fo fpeak) one above another, in three 
 different Apartments, where the Bridegrooms fingled out their 
 Brides, juft as a Butcher do’s an Ewe from amongft a Flock of 
 Sheep. In thefe three Seraglio’s , there was fuch variety and 
 change of Diet, as could fatisfie the moft whimfical Appetites; 
 for here was fome big fome little, fome fair fome brown, fome 
 fat and fome meagre. In fine, there was fuch Accommodation, 
 
 1 Lahontan’s chronology is quite inaccurate; scarcely twenty years had passed 
 since the regiment of Carignan-Salieres, the first regular troops in New France, was 
 ordered to America. This command had seen service in France and against the 
 Turks. Coming to Canada in 1665, the soldiers were effectively employed against 
 the Iroquois. A few years later several companies were disbanded, and urged to 
 become colonists. Rewards in money and land were given those who married and 
 settled in the province, and the descendants of these soldiers were among the most able 
 and prominent citizens of the colony. See Suite, “ Le Regiment de Carignan,” in 
 Canadian Royal Society Proceedings , 2d series, viii, pp. 25-95. — Ed. 
 
to iYW£-America. 37 
 
 that every one might be fitted to his Mind: And indeed the 
 Market had fuch a run, that in fifteen days time, they were all 
 difpos d of. I am told, that the fattefl went off beft, upon 
 the apprehenfion that thefe being lefs adlive, would keep truer 
 to their Ingagements, and hold out better againft the nipping 
 cold of the Winter: But after all, a great many of the He- 
 Adventurers found themfelves miftaken in their meafures. 
 However, let that be as it will, it affords a very curious 
 Remark; namely, That in fome parts of the World, to which 
 the vicious European Women are tranfported, the Mob of thofe 
 Countries do’s ferioufly believe, that their Sins are fo defac’d 
 by the ridiculous Chriftening, I took notice of before, that 
 they are look’d upon ever after as Ladies of Vertue, of Honour, 
 and of an untarnifh’d conduct of Life. The Sparks that wanted 
 to be married, made their Addreffes to the above-mention’d 
 Governeffes, to whom they were oblig’d to give an account of 
 their Goods and Eftates, before they were allow’d to make 
 their choice in the three Seraglio’s. After the choice was deter¬ 
 min’d, the Marriage was concluded upon the fpot, in the 
 piefence of a Prieft, and a publick Notary; and the next day 
 the Governor-General bellow’d upon the married Couple, a 
 Bull, a Cow, a Hog, a Sow, a Cock, a Hen, two Barrels of 
 fait Meat, and eleven Crowns ; together with [io] a 
 certain Coat of Arms call’d by the Greeks || Klpara} 11 Horm 
 
 1 This slanderous and apparently malicious account of the mothers of the Cana¬ 
 dian population has brought much obloquy upon our author. For a refutation from 
 contemporary documents, see Parkman, Old Regime , pp. 221-230 ; Roy, “ Le Baron 
 deLahontan,” Can. Roy. Soc.Proc., 1894, sec. i,pp. 150-162; Suite, “ Pretendues 
 Ongines des Canadiens franfais,” in Id., 1885, sec. 1, pp. 13-26. — Ed. 
 
38 Some New V*oyages 
 
 The Officers having a nicer tafte than the Soldiers, made their 
 Application to the Daughters of the ancient Gentlemen of the 
 Country, or thofe of the richer fort of Inhabitants; for you 
 know that Canada has been poffefs’d by the French above an 
 hundred years. 
 
 In this Country every one lives in a good and a well fur- 
 niffi’d Houfe; and molt of the Houfes are of Wood, and two 
 Stories high. Their Chimnies are very large, by reafon of 
 the prodigious Fires they make to guard themfelves from the 
 Cold, which is there beyond all meafure, from the Month of 
 December , to that of April. During that fpace of time, the 
 River is always frozen over, notwithftanding the flowing and 
 ebbing of the Sea; and the Snow upon the ground, is three 
 or four foot deep ; which is very ftrange in a Country that lies 
 in the Latitude of forty feven Degrees, and fome odd Minutes. 
 Moll People impute the extraordinary Snow to the number 
 of Mountains, with which this vaft Continent is repleniffi’d. 
 Whatever is in that matter, I mull take notice of one thing, 
 that feems very ftrange, namely, that the Summer days are 
 longer here than at Paris. The Weather is then fo clear and 
 ferene, that in three Weeks time you ffiall not fee a Cloud in 
 the Horizon. I hope to go to Quebec with the firft opportunity; 
 for I have orders to be in a readinefs to imbarque within 
 fifteen days for Monreal, which is the City of this Country, 
 that lies fartheft up towards the Head of the River. 
 
 I am, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
to iVor/^-America. 
 
 39 
 
 [ii] LETTER HI. 
 
 Dated at Quebec May 15. 1684. 
 
 Containing an ample Defcription of the City of Quebec, and of the 
 Ifland of Orleans. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 B EFORE I fet out for Monreal, I had the curiofity to view 
 the Ifland of Orleans , which is feven Leagues in length, 
 and three in breadth: It extends from over againft Cape 
 Tourmente , to within a League and a half of Quebec, at which 
 place the River divides it felf into two branches. The Ships 
 fail through the South Channel; for the North Channel is fo 
 foul with Shelves and Rocks, that the fmall Boats can only 
 pafs that way. The Ifland belongs to a General Farmer of 
 France , who would make out of it a thoufand Crowns of yearly 
 Rent, if himfelf had the management of it. ’Tis furrounded 
 with Plantations, that produce all forts of Grain. 1 
 
 Quebec is the Metropolitan of N ew-France, being almoft a 
 League in Circumference; It lies in the Latitude of 47 De¬ 
 grees, and 12 Minutes. The Longitude of this place is uncer- 
 
 1 The island of Orleans, which lies in the St. Lawrence near Quebec, is twenty- 
 one miles long by about five in width. It was named by Cartier (1535) Isle of Bac¬ 
 chus, but subsequently given its present appellation by the same explorer. This 
 island was granted as a fief in 1636. At the time of Lahontan it was a fief-noble 
 in the possession of the family of Berthelot. See Bois, VIsle d' Orleans (Quebec, 
 1895). — Ed. 
 
40 Some New V*oyages 
 
 tain, 1 as well as that of feveral other Countries, with the leave 
 of the Geographers, that reckon you up 1200 Leagues from 
 Rochel to Quebec , without taking the pains to meafure the 
 Courfe: However, I am fure that it lies but at too great a 
 diftance from France , for the Ships that are bound hither; 
 For their paffage commonly lafts for two Months and a half, 
 whereas the homeward bound Ships may in 30 or 40 days 
 failing, eafily make the Belle Ifle, which is the fureft [12] and 
 mod ufual Land, that a Ship makes upon a long Voyage. The 
 reafon of this difference, is, that the Winds are Eafterly for 
 xoo days of the year, and Wefterly for 260. 
 
 Quebec is divided into the upper and the lower City. The 
 Merchants live in the latter, for the conveniency of the Har¬ 
 bor ; upon which they have built very fine Houfes, three 
 Story high, of a fort of Stone that’s as hard as Marble. The 
 upper or high City is full as populous, and as well adorn’d as 
 the lower. Both Cities are commanded by a Caftle, that 
 ftands upon the higheft Ground. This Caftle is the Refidence 
 of the Governours, and affords them not only convenient 
 Apartments, but the nobleft and moft extenfive Profpecft in 
 the World. Quebec wants two effential things, namely, a Key 
 and Fortifications; though both the one and the other might 
 be eafily made, confidering the conveniency of Stones lying 
 upon the fpot. 2 ’Tis incompafs’d with feveral Springs, of the 
 
 1 The true latitude of Quebec is 46° 49' north ; the longitude, 71 0 13' west of 
 Greenwich. — Ed. 
 
 2 Champlain began the fortifications of Quebec by the founding of Fort St. Louis 
 on the citadel rock. This building was replaced in stone by his successor Mont- 
 magny, who also laid the foundations for the first Chateau St. Louis, which w-s 
 
to North-America. 
 
 4i 
 
 beft freflh Water in the World, which the Inhabitants draw 
 out of Wells; for they are fo ignorant of the Hydroftaticks, 
 that not one of ’em knows how to convey the Water to cer¬ 
 tain Bafins, in order to raife either flat or fpouting Fountains. 
 Thofe who live on the River fide, in the lower City, are not 
 half fo much pinch’d with the Cold, as the Inhabitants of the 
 upper; befides that the former have a peculiar conveniency 
 of tranfporting in Boats, Corn, Wood, and other Neceffaries, 
 to the very Doors of their Houfes : But as the latter are more 
 expofs’d to the injuries of the Cold, fo they injoy the benefit 
 and pleafure of a cooler Summer. The way which leads from 
 the one City to the other is pretty broad, and adorn’d with 
 Houfes on each fide; only ’tis a little fteep. Quebec ftands 
 upon a very uneven Ground; and its Houfes are not uniform. * 1 
 The Intendant lives in a [13] bottom, at fome fmall diftance 
 from the fide of a little River, which by joyning the River of 
 St. Laurence , coops up the City in a right Angle. His Houfe is 
 the Palace in which the Soveraign Council affembles four times 
 a Week 2 ; and on one fide of which, we fee great Magazines 
 
 demolished in 1694 to make way for tne finer structure which Frontenac constructed 
 during his last years. See Gagnon, Le Fort et le Chateau St. Louis (Quebec, 1895). 
 Quebec’s walls were not built until the latter years of Frontenac; again, in 1720, 
 Chassegros de Lery made great improvements in the circumvallation, and enlarged 
 the area contained therein. Repairs and improvements were maintained throughout 
 the French regime. See Doughty and Dionne, Quebec under Two Flags (Quebec, 
 1903)» PP- 101-145. — Ed. 
 
 1 For a plan of Quebec at this period, see that of J. B. Franquelin (1683), in 
 Suite, Histoire des Canadiens franqais , ii, p. 32; and another of 1700 in the same 
 work, p. 49. —Ed. 
 
 2 The sovereign council was established by the king upon the retrocession of the 
 colony by the Company of New France (1663). It was first composed of the governor, 
 
42 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 of Ammunition and Provifions. There are fix Churches in 
 the High City: The Cathedral confifts of a Bifhop, and twelve 
 Prebendaries, who live in common in the Chapter-Houfe, the 
 Magnificence and Architecture of which is truly wonderful. 
 Thefe poor Priefts are a very good fort of People; they con¬ 
 tent themfelves with bare Neceffaries, and meddle with nothing 
 but the Affairs of the Church, where the Service is perform’d 
 after the Roman way. * 1 The fecond Church is that of the 
 Jefuits, which ftands in the Center of the City; and is a fair, 
 {lately, and well lighted Edifice. The great Altar of the Jefuits 
 
 bishop, and five appointed councillors. Later, the intendant was added to the council, 
 and the number gradually increased to twelve. Its functions were mainly judicial, 
 but it likewise took cognizance of civil and financial affairs. Its records have been 
 published. 
 
 At first the council met in the ante-room of the governor’s palace, but upon the 
 complaint of the intendant the ministry ordered the purchase of the site of a brewery 
 formerly erected by Talon upon St. Charles River. Here the intendant’s palace was 
 begun. This was burned in 1713, being rebuilt upon a scale of splendor. The site 
 is once more occupied by a brewer)'. — Ed. 
 
 1 The cathedral of Notre Dame, now called the “ Basilica,” was long the only 
 parish church of Quebec. Begun in 1647, the first mass was said therein three years 
 later ; it was consecrated by Bishop Laval in 1666. In the early eighteenth century its 
 size was found inadequate, and it was rebuilt after the plans of the chief engineer of 
 New France, Chaussegros de Lery (1747-48). The building suffered much during the 
 English siege (1759), all the wooden parts being burned. Repairs were instituted 
 in 1769-71, since when only minor changes have been made. The chapter house, or 
 Seminary, which had been begun in 1678, was considered one of the finest buildings 
 in the country. See Tetu, Histoire du palais episcopal de Quebec (Quebec, 1896). 
 The Seminary priests officiated as secular parish cures. Lahontan’s enconium9 are 
 the more remarkable, that his sympathies were seldom with ecclesiastics. It appears 
 that the altar and its columns was a superfluous invention upon his part. The Jesuit 
 historian Charlevoix, writing of this church in 1720 (Journal Historique , letter iii), 
 indicates that there was no such ornament, and indulgently remarks: “ One would 
 voluntarily pardon that author [Lahontan] if he disfigured the truth only to give 
 /Mster to churches.” — Ed. 
 
43 
 
 to North- America. 
 
 Church, is adorn’d with four great Cylindrical Columns of one 
 Stone; The Stone being a fort of Canada Porphyry, and'black 
 as Jet, without either Spots or Veins. Thefe Fathers have 
 very convenient and large Apartments, beautify’d with plea- 
 fant Gardens, and feveral rows of Trees, which are fo thick 
 and bufhy, that in Summer one might take their Walks for 
 an Ice-Houfe: And indeed we may fay without ftretching, 
 that there is Ice not far from ’em, for the good Fathers are 
 never without a referve in two or three places, for the cooling 
 of their Drink. Their College is fo fmall, that at the beft 
 they have fcarce fifty Scholars at a time. 1 The third Church 
 is that of the Recolledts, who, through the interceffion of 
 Count Frontenac , obtain’d leave of the King to build a little 
 Chappel (which I call a Church;) notwithftanding the Remon- 
 flrances of Mr. de Laval our Bifhop, who, in concert with the 
 Jefuits, us’d his utmoft Efforts for ten years together to hinder 
 it. 2 Before the building [14] of this Chappel, they liv’d in a 
 
 1 The Jesuits came to Canada in 1625, and thereafter played a prominent part 
 in the development of the colony. Their college was founded in 1635, a year before 
 that of Harvard, making it the oldest institution of learning on the North American 
 continent. The church occupied the northeast angle of the college, on the site of the 
 present Jesuit barracks. The city hall now covers the larger portion of the site of the 
 college and its gardens. At the time of Lahontan’s visit, the Jesuit church was in size 
 and decoration far superior to the cathedral. — Ed. 
 
 2 Francois de Montmorency-Laval, first bishop of Canada, was born in 1623 and 
 educated in a Jesuit seminary. Upon the death of his brothers, he became heir of a 
 seigniory in France, but renounced it for the service of the church. In 1658 he was 
 made bishop of Petraea and sent as vicar apostolic to New France. In 1674 Quebec 
 was raised to a bishopric, and Laval made first bishop thereof, a position which he 
 resigned in 1684. Four years later he returned to spend the remainder of his days 
 in Canada, where he died in 1708. He supported the Jesuits, and was opposed to 
 the re-introduction of the Recollects. — Ed. 
 
44 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 little Hofpital that the Bifhop had order’d to be built for ’em; 
 and fome of ’em continue there ftill. 1 The fourth Church is 
 that of the Urfelines , which has been burn’d down two or 
 three times, and ftill rebuilt to the Advantage. The fifth is 
 that of the Hofpital-Order, who take a particular Care of the 
 Sick, tho’ themfelves are poor, and but ill lodg’d. 2 
 
 The Soveraign Council is held at Quebec. It confifts of 
 twelve Counfellors of * Capa y de fpada , who 
 *See the Explica- are t h e fupreme Judicature, and decide all 
 tion Table. Caufes without Appeal. The Intendant 
 
 claims a Right of being Prefident to the Council; but in the 
 Juftice-Hall the Governour-General places himfelf fo as to face 
 him, the Judges being fet on both fides of them ; fo that one 
 would think they are both Prefidents. While Monfieur de Fron - 
 
 1 The Recollects (a branch of the Franciscans) were the first ecclesiastics to enter 
 New France, coming over in 1615. During their first occupation they had a small 
 convent called Notre Dame des Anges, on St. Charles River, where the General Hos¬ 
 pital of Quebec is now situated. After the capture of Quebec by the English (1628) , 
 the friars were sent back to France; and the order did not return to this field until 
 1670, when they were sent out as a counterpoise to the Jesuits. Frontenac favored 
 this order, and gave them a concession of land facing the governor’s palace, where 
 they built the chapel here mentioned by Lahontan, although some of the brothers 
 were still living at their suburban convent, Notre Dame des Anges. This church 
 of the Recollects was one of the finest in New France, being finished in 1681. 
 Charlevoix said in the next century, that it was “ worthy of Versailles.” In 1796 it 
 was burned, the site now being occupied by the Anglican cathedral of Quebec ; the 
 court house occupies a portion of the convent grounds. — Ed. 
 
 2 The Ursulines were the first order of nuns to come to New France (1639), which 
 they did under the patronage of Madame de la Peltrie. Two years later they began 
 their convent, which still occupies the original site, although the buildings have sev¬ 
 eral times been burned, and recently much enlarged. 
 
 The Hospitalieres came over at the same time as the Ursulines, and founded Hotel 
 Dieu, a great hospital which still exists on the same site where the corner stone was 
 laid in 1654. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 45 
 
 tenac was in Canada , he laugh’d at the pretended Precedency 
 of the Intendants; nay he ufed the Members of that Affembly 
 as roughly as Cromwell did the Parliament of England. At 
 this Court every one pleads his own Caufe, for Sollicitors or 
 Barrifters never appear there; by which means it comes to 
 pafs, that Law-Suits are quickly brought to a Period, without 
 demanding Court Fees or any other Charges from the con¬ 
 tending Parties. The Judges, who have but four hundred 
 Livers a Year from the King, have a Difpenfation of not 
 wearing the Robe and the Cap. Befides this Tribunal, we 
 have in this Country a Lieutenant-General, both Civil and 
 Military, an Attorney-General, the Great Provoft, and a Chief 
 Juftice in Eyre. 1 
 
 The way of travelling in the Winter, whether in Town or 
 Country, is that of Sledges drawn by Horfes; who are fo 
 infenfible of the Cold, that I have feen fifty or fixty of ’em in 
 January and February ftand in the Snow up to their Breaft, in the 
 [15] midft of a Wood, without ever offering to go near their 
 Owner’s Houfe. In the Winter-time they travel from Quebec to 
 Monreal upon the Ice, the River being then frozen over; and 
 upon that occafion thefe Sledges will run you fifteen Leagues 
 a day. Others have their Sledges drawn by two Maftiff Dogs, 
 but then they are longer by the way. As for their way of 
 travelling in Summer, I fhall tranfmit you an Account of it, 
 when I come to be better inform’d. I am told that the People 
 
 1 One of the chief causes of dissension between Frontenac and the intendant, was 
 the presidency of the supreme council. See Parkman, Frontenac , pp. 47-71. On 
 the officers of justice, see Weir, Administration of Old Regime , pp. 63-67. — Ed. 
 
46 Some New Voyages 
 
 of this Country will go a thoufand Leagues in Canows of 
 Bark; a Defcription of which you may exped, as foon as I 
 have made ufe of ’em. The Eafterly Winds prevail here com¬ 
 monly in the Spring and Autumn; and the Wefterly have the 
 Afcendant in Winter and Summer. Adieu Sir: I muft now 
 make an end of my Letter, for my Matter begins to run Ihort. 
 All I can fay, is, that as foon as I am better inftruded in what 
 relates to the Commerce, and the Civil and Ecclefiaftical Gov¬ 
 ernment of the Country, I’ll tranfmit you fuch exad Memoirs 
 of the fame, as fhall give you full fatisfadion. Thefe you may 
 exped with the firft Opportunity; for in all Appearance our 
 Troops will return after the Conclufion of the Campaign that 
 we are now going to make in the Country of the Iroquefe y 
 under the Command of Monfteur de la Barre. In feven or 
 eight Days time I mean to imbark for Monreal; and in the 
 mean time am going to make a Progrefs to the Villages of 
 Scilleri, of Saut de la Chaudiere , and of Lorete , which are inhab¬ 
 ited by the Abenakis and the Hurons. Thefe Places are not 
 above three or four Leagues off; fo that I may return with 
 eafe next Week. As for the Manners of the People, I cannot 
 pretend to defcribe ’em fo foon; for a juft Obfervation and 
 Knowledge of thefe things cannot be compafs’d without time. 
 I have been this Winter at hunting with thirty or [16] forty 
 young Algonkins , who were well made clever Fellows. My 
 Defign in accompanying them, was, to learn their Language, 
 which is mightily efteem’d in this Country; for all the other 
 Nations for a thoufand Leagues round (excepting the Iroquefe 
 and the Hurons) underftand it perfedly well; nay, all their 
 
to North- America. 47 
 
 refpe&ive Tongues come as near to this, as the Portuguefe does 
 to the Spani/h . 1 I have already made my felf Mafter of fome 
 Words with a great deal of Facility; and they being mightily 
 pleafed in feeing a Stranger ftudy their Tongue take all imag¬ 
 inable pains to inftrud me. I am, 
 
 SIR , 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 1The Algonquian language was the most wide-spread of the Indian dialects of 
 North America, being used by most of the tribes east of the Mississippi and south of 
 Hudson Bay. The Huron-Iroquois stock were aliens in their midst. See Powell, 
 “Linguistic Families of North America,” in U. S. Bureau of Ethnology Report 
 1885-86. 
 
 The Algonkins proper were a tribe whose original home was in the province of 
 Quebec. See Jesuit Relations , index. — Ed. 
 
4 8 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 Dated at Monreal, June 14. 1684. 
 
 Containing a brief Defcription of the Habitations of the Savages in 
 the Neighbourhood of Quebec; Of the River of St. Lawrence, 
 &c. as far up as Monreal; Of a curious way of fifhing Eels; 
 
 ^ and of the Cities of Trois Rivieres and Mon- 
 Bois° U &m« Ex- real: Together with an Account of the Conduct 
 plication Table. of the * Forreft Rangers or Pedlers. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 B EFORE my Departure from Quebec, I vifited the adjacent 
 Villages inhabited by the Savages. The Village of Lorete 
 is peopled by two hundred Families [17] of Hurons, who were 
 converted to Chriftianity by the Jefuits, though with a great 
 deal of Relu&ancy. 1 The Villages of Silleri, and of Saut de la 
 Chaudiere, are compos’d of three hundred Families of Abenakis, 
 who are likewife Chriftians, and among whom the Jefuits have 
 
 1 The village of Lorette was a mission colony of the Jesuits, founded after the 
 destruction of the Huron mission by the Iroquois (1649). Part of the instructed 
 Hurons sought the fathers at Quebec, and were first established on the Isle of Orleans; 
 later, during the Iroquois war, the remnant was removed to a less-exposed situation, 
 and by 1669 settled at Notre Dame de Foye (now Ste. Foye). A few years later, 
 this colony removed to the village of Lorette (now Ancienne Lorette), and there Lahon- 
 tan visited them. In 1697, impelled by need of fresh fuel and land, they founded the 
 village of Jeune Lorette, eight miles from Montreal, which became their final home, 
 and where a remnant of the Huron race is still to be found. — Ed. 
 
to America. 49 
 
 fetled Miffionaries. 1 I return’d to Quebec time enough, and 
 imbarqued under the condudt of a Mafter, that would rather 
 have had a Lading of Goods, than of Soldiers. The North- 
 Eaft Winds wafted us in five or fix days to Trots Rivieres , 
 which is the name of a fmall City, feated at the diftance of 
 thirty Leagues from hence. That City derives its name from 
 three Rivers, that fpring from one Channel, and after continu¬ 
 ing their divifion for fome fpace re-unite into a joynt Stream, 
 that falls into the River of St. Laurence , about half a quarter of 
 a League below the Town. Had we fail’d all Night, the Tides 
 would have carry’d us thither in two days time; but in regard 
 that the River is full of Rocks and Shelves, we durft not ven¬ 
 ture upon it in the dark; fo, we came to an Anchor every 
 Night, which did not at all difpleafe me; for in the courfe of 
 thirty Leagues, (notwithftanding the darknefs of the Night) 
 it gave me an opportunity of viewing an infinite number of 
 Habitations on each fide of the River, which are not above 
 a Musket-Shot diftant one from another. The Inhabitants 
 that are fetled between Quebec and fifteen Leagues higher, 
 diverted me very agreeably with the fifhing of Eels. At low 
 
 'The mission colony at Sillery was originally founded for the Algonkins, Mon- 
 tagnais, etc.; but its inhabitants were decimated by disease and the ravages of intoxi¬ 
 cation, so that the converted Abenaki from Maine, who began coming to Canada 
 about 1680, formed the main body of the colony. The mission was maintained here 
 until 1699, when the land which had been ceded in trust for the Indian converts was 
 retroceded to the Jesuit order. 
 
 Le Saut de la Chaudiere ” was a village on the river of that name, opposite 
 Quebec, where was established about the time Lahontan arrived in Canada, the Aben¬ 
 aki mission of St. Francois de Sales. In 1700 all the scattered villages were collected 
 in one, which exists till the present time —that of St. Francois du Lac, in Yamaska 
 County, Quebec.— Ed. 
 
So 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 water they ftretch out Hurdles to the loweft Water-Mark; 
 and that {pace of ground being then dry by the retreat of the 
 Water, is cover’d over, and fhut up by the Hurdles. Between 
 the Hurdles they place at certain diftances Inftruments call’d 
 Ruches , from the refemblance they bear to a Bee-hive; befides 
 Baskets and little Nets belag’d upon a Pole, which they call 
 Boutcux , and Bouts de Quievres. Then they let all ftand in this 
 fafhion for three Months in [18] the Spring, and two in the 
 Autumn. Now as often as the Tide comes in, the Eels look¬ 
 ing out for fballow places, and making towards the Shoar, 
 croud in among the Hurdles, which hinder em afterwards to 
 retire with the Ebb-water; upon that they are fore d to bury 
 themfelves in the abovementioned Ingines, which are fome- 
 times fo over-cram’d, that they break. When ’tis low water, 
 the Inhabitants take out thefe Eels, which are certainly the 
 biggeft, and the longeft in the World. They fait them up in 
 Barrels, where they’ll keep a whole year without fpoiling: 
 And indeed they give an admirable relifh in all Sauces; nay, 
 there’s nothing that the Council of Quebec defires more, than 
 that this Fifhery ftiould be equally plentiful in all years. 
 
 Trois Rivieres is a little paltry Town, feated in the Latitude 
 of forty fix Degrees; ’tis not fortified neither with Stone, nor 
 Pales. The River to .which it owes its name, takes its rife an 
 hundred Leagues to the North-Weft, from the greateft ridge 
 of Mountains in the Univerfe. The Algonkins who are at 
 prefent an Erratick fort of Savages, and, like the Arabs , have 
 no fetled Abode; that People, I fay, feldom ftraggle far from 
 the banks of this River, upon which they have excellent Beaver- 
 
to TVor^-America. 
 
 Si 
 
 hunting. In former times the Iroquefe cut off three fourths of 
 that Nation; but they have not dar’d to renew their Incur- 
 fions, fince the French have Peopled the Countries that lie 
 higher up upon the River of St. Laurence. I call’d Trois Riv¬ 
 ieres a little Town, with reference to the paucity of the Inhab¬ 
 itants ; though at the fame time they are very rich, and live in 
 ftately Houfes. The King has made it the Refidence of a 
 Governor, who would die for Hunger, if he did not trade 
 with the Natives for Beavers, when his fmall allowance is out: 
 Befides, a Man that would live there, muft be of the like tem¬ 
 per with a Dog, or at leaft he muft take pleafure in fcratching 
 [19] his Skin, for the Flea’s are there more numerous than 
 the grains of Sand. I am inform’d, that the Natives of this 
 place make the belt Soldiers in the Country. 1 
 
 Three Leagues higher we enter’d St. Peter’s Lake, which is 
 fix Leagues long, and had difficulty enough in crofting it; for 
 the frequent Calms oblig’d us to call Anchor feveral times. 
 It receives three or four Rivers that abound with Filh; upon 
 the Mouth of which, I defcry’d with my Telefcope very fine 
 Houfes. 2 Towards the Evening we fail’d out of that Lake 
 
 1 For the history of Trois Rivieres, on the St. Lawrence at the mouth of Maurice 
 River, see Suite, “La Riviere des Trois Rivieres,” Roy. Soc. Proc. y 1901, pp. 97- 
 116. — Ed. 
 
 2 Lake St. Peters was christened Lac d’Angouleme by Cartier; but Champlain 
 crossing it on the day of the saint, changed the name in the latter’s honor. It is an 
 enlargement of the St. Lawrence, twenty-five miles long by about nine broad, in the 
 midst of the most fertile region of Lower Canada. It receives several rivers, chief of 
 which are the Du Loup and Maskinonge from the north ; the Nicolet, St. Francis, 
 and Yamaska from the south, not including River Richelieu, which enters the St. 
 Lawrence at the upper end of the lake. — Ed. 
 
$2 Some New Voyages 
 
 with a frefh Eafterly Gale; and though we hoifted up all our 
 Sails, the Current run fo ftrong againft us, that ’twas three 
 hours before we could make Sorely which was two fmall 
 Leagues off. 1 2 Sorel is a Canton of four Leagues in front, 
 in the neighbourhood of which, a certain River conveys the 
 waters of Champlain Lake, to the River of St. Laurence , 
 after having form’d a Water-fall of two Leagues at Chambli? 
 Though we reckon but eight Leagues from Sorel to Monreal , 
 yet we fpent three days in failing between ’em; by reafon 
 partly of flack Winds, and partly of the ftrength of the Cur¬ 
 rents. In this courfe we faw nothing but Iflands; and both 
 fides of the River all along from Quebec to this place, are fo 
 replenifh’d with Inhabitants, that one may juftly call ’em two 
 continued Villages of fixty Leagues in length. 
 
 This place, which goes by the name of Villemarie, or 
 Monreal , lies in the Latitude of forty five Degrees, and fome 
 Minutes; being feated in an Ifland of the fame name, which 
 is about five Leagues broad, and fourteen Leagues long. The 
 Directors of the Seminary of St. Sulpitius at Paris, are the Pro¬ 
 prietors of the Ifland, and have the nomination of a Bailiff, 
 and feveral other Magiftrates; nay, in former times they had 
 
 1 Fort Sorel was built by an officer of that name (Pierre de Saurel), in 1665. 
 Three years later he married the daughter of a Canadian seigneur, and in 1672 
 received a grant of the seigniory of Sorel, where he lived until his death in 1682.— Ed. 
 
 2 Chambly was named for Jacques de Chambly, captain in the Carignan regi¬ 
 ment, whom Tracy sent (1665) to build an advance fort against the Iroquois. He 
 received the surounding land as a seigniory in 1672, but the next year was sent to 
 command in Acadia. Later he removed to Grenada, and Chambly passed to his 
 nephew. —Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 53 
 
 the priviledge of nominating a Governor. 1 This little Town 
 lies all open without any Fortification [20] either of Stone 
 or Wood: But its fituation is fo advantageous, notwith- 
 ftanding that it Hands upon an uneven and fandy Ground, 
 that it might eafily be made an impregnable Poft. The River 
 of St. Laurence which runs juft by the Houfes, on one fide of 
 this Town, is not Navigable further, by reafon of its rapidity; 
 for about half a quarter of a League higher, ’tis full of rapid 
 falls, Eddy’s, Mr. Perot the Governor of the Town, who 
 has but a thoufand Crowns a year Sallary; has made fhift to 
 get fifty thoufand in a few years, by trading with the Savages 
 in Skins and Furs. 2 The Bailiff of the Town gets but little 
 by his place, no more than his Officers: So that the Mer¬ 
 chants are the only Perfons that make Money here; for 
 the Savages that frequent the great Lakes of Canada , come 
 down hither almoft every year with a prodigious quantity of 
 
 1 Montreal was a religious colony, founded (1642) by a society of Associates of 
 Montreal, who received the island as a seigniory. In 1663 the number of the Asso¬ 
 ciates being much diminished, the Sulpitians of Paris agreed to take charge of the 
 enterprise, and the seigniory was transferred to them, with the rights here mentioned 
 by Lahontan. The Sulpitians held their seigniorial privileges until the abolition of 
 feudal tenure in 1854; they still retain much land in Montreal and vicinity. — Ed. 
 
 2 Francois Marie Perrot came to Canada with the intendant Talon (1670), whose 
 niece he had married. Upon the request of Talon, the Sulpitians named him gov¬ 
 ernor of Montreal, a grant which was later confirmed by the king. Perrot abused his 
 privileges to enrich himself, and protected the coureurs des bois. Involved in a dis¬ 
 pute with Frontenac, the governor arrested Perrot and sent him to France for trial. 
 The ministry, after punishing him by a brief imprisonment in the Bastille, restored 
 him to his governorship, where he remained until 1684. In this year he was ap¬ 
 pointed governor of Acadia, which position he held for three years. After his recall, 
 he remained in the country as a trader, and in 1690 was captured by the English. 
 The date of his death is unknown. — Ed. 
 
54 Some New Voyages 
 
 Beavers-Skins, to be given in exchange for Arms, Kettles, 
 Axes, Knives, and a thoufand fuch things, upon which the 
 Merchants clear two hundred per Cent. Commonly the Gov¬ 
 ernor General comes hither about the time of their coming 
 down, in order to fhare the profit, and receive Prefents from 
 that People. The Pedlers call’d Coitreurs de Bois , export 
 from hence every year feveral Canows full of Merchandife, 
 which they difpofe of among all the Savage Nations of the 
 Continent, by way of exchange for Beaver-Skins. Seven or 
 eight days ago, I faw twenty five or thirty of thefe Canows 
 return with heavy Cargoes; each Canow was manag’d by two 
 or three Men, and carry’d twenty hundred weight, i. e. forty 
 packs of Beaver Skins, which are worth an hundred Crowns a 
 piece. Thefe Canows had been a year and eighteen Months 
 out. You would be amaz’d if you faw how lewd thefe Ped¬ 
 lers are when they return; how they Feaft and Game, and 
 how prodigal they are, not only in their Cloaths, but [21] 
 upon Women. Such of ’em as are married, have the wifdom 
 to retire to their own Houfes; but the Batchelors adt juft 
 as our Eajl-India-Men, and Pirates are wont to do; for they 
 Lavifh, Eat, Drink, and Play all away as long as the Goods 
 hold out; and when thefe are gone, they e’en fell their Em¬ 
 broidery, their Lace, and their Cloaths. This done, they are 
 forc’d to go upon a new Voyage for Subfiftance. 
 
 The Directors of the Seminary of St. Sulpitius , take care 
 to fend Miflionaries hither from time to time, who live under 
 the direction of a Superiour, that is very much refpedted in 
 the Country. They have Apartments allotted for ’em in a 
 
to North-America.. ^ 
 
 ftately, great, and pleafant Houfe, built of Free-ftone. 1 This 
 Houfe is built after the Model of that of St. Sulpice at Paris; 
 and the Altar ftands by it felf, juft like that at Paris. Their 
 Seignories or Cantons that lye on the South-fide of the Ifland, 
 produce a confiderable Revenue ; for the Plantations are good, 
 and the Inhabitants are rich in Corn, Cattle, Fowl, and a 
 thoufand other Commodities, for which they find a Mercat in 
 the City: But the North part of the Ifland lies wafte. Thefe 
 Directors would never fuffer the Jefuits or Recolleds to dif- 
 play their Banners here; though ’tis conjecftur’d, that at the 
 long run they’ll be forc’d to confent to it. At the diftance of 
 a League from the Town, I faw at the foot of a Mountain, a 
 Plantation of Iroqueje Chriftians, who are inftrudted by two 
 Prieftsof the Order of Sulpitius? and I’m inform’d of a larger 
 
 1 The Seminary of St. Sulpice, whose priests were known as Sulpitians, was 
 founded at Vaugirard in 1640, by Jean Jacques Olier, a young Parisian priest, one of 
 the Associates of Montreal. The next year the Seminary was established at Paris 
 and by 1657 the first Sulpitian arrived in Canada. At Montreal they were eagerly 
 welcomed, became the cures of the parish, and later seigneurs of the island (see ante, 
 p. 53. note 1). The first superior was Queylus, upon whose retirement (1671) 
 Fran f o,s Casson de Dollier succeeded to the position. The latter came to Canada in 
 1666 after service in the armies of France. His first office was chaplain in an expedi- 
 tion agamst the Mohawks; later (1669) , he accompanied La Salle on his first voyage 
 of Western exploration. Returning to Montreal the following spring, he served as 
 superior of the Sulpitians until his death (1671-1701). The earliest historian of 
 Montreal, his manuscript was first published in 1871. — Ed. 
 
 I u The SuI P‘ tlans founded (1677) the Iroquois mission called from its location, 
 La Montagne, where were an Indian village, a school for boys, and another for girls, 
 all aided by a pension from the king. During Frontenac’s War (1691) this village 
 was raided and thirty-five prisoners taken. Some years later (1704) , the mission was 
 removed to Sault au Recollet, and sixteen years later became the nucleus of the Indian 
 village of Oka on the Lake of Two Mountains, which still exists. See Canadian 
 Indian Department Report, 1901, p. 49. —Ed. 
 
56 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 and more populous Plantation on t’other fide of the River, at 
 the diftance of two Leagues from hence, which is took care of 
 by Father Bruyas the Jefuit. 1 I hope to fet out from hence, as 
 foon as Mr. de la Barre receives advice from France; for he 
 defigns to leave Quebec upon the arrival of the firft Ship. I 
 refolve to go to Fort Frontenac , upon the Lake that [22] goes 
 by the fame name. If I may credit thofe who have been form¬ 
 erly in Adion againft the Iroquefe, I fhall be able upon my 
 return from this Campaign, to inform you of fome things that 
 will feem as ftrange to you, as they will be difagreeable to my 
 
 1 “ m ’ SIR, 
 
 Tours , &c. 
 
 1 The Jesuit mission was known as St. Francois du Sault, from its location on 
 Sault St. Louis. It was established at La Prairie de la Madeleine in 1669, and in % 
 1676 removed to this place, which is now known as Caughnawaga. Father Jacques 
 Bruyas came to the Canadian mission in 1666, and labored during the rest of his life 
 among the Iroquois. In 1679 he took charge of the mission at Sault St. Louis, where 
 he lived until his death in 1712. He was superior of Canada missions 1693-98, and 
 in 1700-01 was instrumental in adjusting peace with the Iroquois. A linguist of 
 repute, he prepared the first grammar of the Mohawk language. Ed. 
 
to North-America.. 
 
 57 
 
 LETTER V. 
 
 Dated at Monreal June 18. 1684. 
 
 In which is contain’d a jhort account of the Iroquefe, with a view 
 of the W>ar and Peace they made with the French, and of the 
 means by which it was brought about. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 I WROTE to you but four days ago, and did not think to 
 have heard from you fo foon; but this Morning I met with 
 a very agreeable Surprifal, in receiving a Packet addrefs’d to 
 me by your Brother. You may be fure I was infinitely well 
 pleas’d, in being given to underftand what has pafs’d in 
 Europe fince I left it. The knowledge of the Affairs of Europe 
 is comfortable to one that’s doom’d to another World, fuch 
 as this is, and I cannot but acknowledge my felf infinitely in¬ 
 debted to you, for the exacftnefs of your Intelligence. In as 
 much as you require of me an account of the Iroquefe , and 
 would have me to prefent you with a juft view of their Temper 
 and Government; I would willingly fatisfie and oblige you in 
 that, or any other point: But in regard [23] that I am oblig’d 
 to fet out for Fort Frontenac the day after to morrow, I have 
 not time to inform my felf of things, or to confult thofe who 
 have been in the Country before: So that all I can do at pref¬ 
 ent, is only to acquaint you with what I have learn’d this 
 Winter, from Perfons that have fojourn’d twenty years among 
 
58 Some New Voyages 
 
 ’em. As foon as I have an opportunity of inlarging my knowl¬ 
 edge upon that Head, by a more immediate converfation with 
 themfelves, you may affure your felf that I’ll impart it to you. 
 In the mean time, be pleas’d to accept of what follows. 
 
 Thefe Barbarians are drawn up in five Cantons, not unlike 
 thofe of the Swijfes. Tho’ thefe Cantons are all of one Nation, 
 and united in one joynt intereft, yet they go by different 
 names, viz. the Tfonontouans , the Goyogoans, the Onnotagues, the 
 Onoyouts, and the Agnils. Their Language is almoft the fame; 
 and the five Villages or Plantations in which they live, lie at 
 the diftance of thirty Leagues one from another, being all 
 feated near the South fide of the Lake of Ontario , or of Fronte- 
 nac. Every year the five Cantons fend Deputies to affift at the 
 Union Feaft, and to fmoak in the great Calumet , or Pipe of the 
 five Nations. Each Village or Canton contains about four¬ 
 teen thoufand Souls, i. e. 1500 that bear Arms, 2000 Super¬ 
 annuated Men, 4000 Women, 2000 Maids, and 4000 Children: 
 Tho’ indeed fome will tell you, that each Village has not above 
 10000 or 11000 Souls. 1 There has been an Alliance of long 
 Handing between thefe Nations and the Englijh , and by trad¬ 
 ing in Furrs to New-Tor£, they are fupply’d by the Englijh 
 
 1 “ Iroquois’ * was a title bestowed by the French; the tribesmen called them¬ 
 selves “ People of the Long House to the English, they were known as the “ Five 
 Nations.” Lahontan gives the five confederates of the league in the French form of 
 their names ; the English called them — proceeding in the same order, from west to 
 east —Seneca, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, and Mohawk. Among the Onondaga 
 was the principal council house, where each year the “ union feast” was held, and 
 the forthcoming policy deliberated. Lahontan has greatly exaggerated the numbers 
 of these Indians ; it is doubtful whether they ever mustered more than 2,500 warriors, 
 implying a population of 10,000 to 12,000. See Jesuit Relations , index; Parkman, 
 Jesuits , p. lxvi.— Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 with Arms, Ammunition, and all other Neceffaries, at a cheaper 
 rate than the French can afford ’em at. They have no other 
 confederation for England or France , than what depends upon 
 the occafion they have for the Commodities of thefe two 
 Nations; though after all they [24] give an over-purchafe; 
 for they pay for them four times more than they are worth. 
 They laugh at the Menaces of our Kings and Governors, for 
 they have no notion of dependence, nay, the very word is to 
 them infupportable. They look upon themfelves as Sov- 
 eraigns, accountable to none but God alone, whom they call 
 The Great Spirit . They waged War with us almoft always, 
 from the fiift fettlement of our Colonies in Canada , to the 
 firft years of the Count of Frontenac’s Government. Mejfieurs 
 de Courfelles , and de Traci , both of ’em Governors-General, 
 made Head againft the Agnits upon the Champlain Lake, in 
 Winter as well as in Summer; but they could not boaft of any 
 great Succefs. 1 They only burnt their Villages, and carry’d 
 off fome hundred of their Children, of whom the above¬ 
 mention d Iroquefe Chnftians are fprung. ’ Tis true, they cut 
 off ninety or an hundred Warriours; but in compenfation for 
 
 1 The Iroquois had harassed New France almost from its inception. Alexandre 
 de Prouville, marquis de Tracy, was chosen (1664) lieutenant-general of French colo¬ 
 nies in America. An old army officer who had served with efficiency in the West 
 Indies, his arrival (1665) was hailed with joy by the distressed colonists. Shortly 
 after came Daniel de Remy, sieur de Courcelle, the newly-appointed governor, and 
 detachments of the Carignan regiment. Courcelle’s first expedition against the Iro¬ 
 quois, in the winter of 1665-66, was without success. Whereupon Tracy took up the 
 matter, and in the autumn of 1666 led an expedition via Lake Champlain, which 
 burned the Mohawk towns and cowed these savages into an advantageous peace. 
 The following year (1667) Tracy returned to France, to die there three years later. 
 Courcelle remained as governor until 1672, when failing health caused his retirement, 
 he being replaced by Count de Frontenac. — Ed. 
 
6o Some New Voyages 
 
 that, feveral Canadans , and feveral Soldiers of the Regiment 
 of Carignan , being unprovided againft the unfufferable cold 
 of the Climate, loft their Limbs, and even their Life it felf. 
 Count Frontenac who fucceeded Mr. Courfeltef perceiving that 
 the Barbarians had the advantage of the Europeans , as to the 
 waging of War in that Country; upon this apprehenfion, I 
 fay, he declin’d fuch fruitlefs Expeditions, which were very 
 chargeable to the King, and us’d all his efforts to difpofe the 
 Savages to a fincere and lafting Peace. This judicious Gov¬ 
 ernor had three things in view; The firft was to incourage 
 the greateft part of the French Inhabitants, who would have 
 abdicated the Colony, and return’d to France , if the War had 
 continued. His fecond Topick was, that the conclufion of a 
 Peace would difpofe an infinity of People to marry, and to 
 grub up the Trees, upon which the Colony would be better 
 Peopled and inlarg’d. The third Argument that diffuaded 
 him from carrying [25] on the War, was a defign of purfuing 
 the difcovery of the Lakes , and of the Savages that live upon 
 their banks, in order to fettle a Commerce with ’em, and at the 
 fame time to ingage them in our interefts, by good Alliances, 
 in cafe of a Rupture with the Iroquefe. Upon the confideration 
 of thefe Reafons, he fent fome Canadans by way of a formal 
 Embaffy to the Iroquefe Villages, in order to acquaint them, 
 
 1 Louis de Baude, count de Frontenac (born in 1620), had from his fifteenth year 
 seen service in French armies, and was also an accomplished courtier. He was made 
 lieutenant-general of New France in 1672, and while the most able of the governors, 
 his imperious disposition and autocratic temper involved him in many disputes. The 
 opposition became so great that he was recalled in 1682. Seven years later, the 
 peril of the colony was such that Frontenac was again summoned to defend it. This 
 he did vigorously, his expedition of 1696 crushing the Iroquois, and saving Canada 
 to the French. He died at Quebec November 28, 1698. — Ed. 
 
6i 
 
 to North- America. 
 
 that the King being inform’d that a groundlefs War was car¬ 
 ried on againft them, had fent him from France to make peace 
 with ’em. At the fame time the Ambaffadors had orders to 
 ftipulate all the advantages they could obtain with reference to 
 the Commerce. The Iroquefe heard this Propofal with a great 
 deal of Satisfadion; for Charles II. King of England , had 
 order’d his Governor in New-Tork to reprefent to ’em, that if 
 they continu’d to wage-War with the French , they were ruin’d, 
 and that they would find themfelves crufh’d by the numerous 
 Forces that were ready to fail from France. In effed, they 
 promis’d to the Ambaffadors that four hundred of their num¬ 
 ber fhould meet Count Frontenac , attended by an equal number 
 of his Men, at the place where Fort Frontenac now Hands. 
 Accordingly, fome Months after, both the one and the other 
 met at the place appointed, and fo a Peace was concluded. 
 Mr. de la Salle was very ferviceable to this Governor, in giving 
 him good and feafonable Advices, which I cannot now enter 
 upon, being oblig’d to make fome preparations for my Voy¬ 
 age. 1 When the Campaign is over, you may exped to hear 
 from me. In the mean time, I am, 
 
 SIR , 
 
 Tours , &c. 
 
 1 Lahontan here refers to Frontenac’s expedition of 1673, which built Fort Fron¬ 
 tenac, and made peace with the Iroquois. La Salle was one of the messengers sent to 
 Onondaga to summon the chiefs to council. See Parkman, La Salle (Boston, 1892), 
 chap. vi. 
 
 Thomas Dongan, governor of New York (1682-88), was an Irish gentleman who 
 had served in both English and French armies in Europe, and had acted as lieutenant- 
 governor of Tangiers. He attempted to thwart the plans of the French, to control 
 the Iroquois and monopolize the trade with the interior, which conduct brought upon 
 him reprimands from the English king, then subservient to the crown of France.— Ed. 
 
62 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 Dated at Monreal June 20 . 1684. 
 
 Being an ample Description of the Canows made of Birch-bark , in 
 which the Canadans perform all their Voyages; with an account 
 of the manner in which they are made and manag’d. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 I THOUGHT to have let out as this day; but in regard that 
 our Complement of great Canows is not yet brought up, 
 our Voyage is put off for two days. Having fo much leifure 
 time upon my Hands, I have a mind to imploy it in pre- 
 fenting you with a fhort view of thefe {lender Contrivances in 
 which the Canadans perform all their Voyages: And this will 
 furnifh you with an Id<ea of the Voiture of this Country. I faw 
 but now above an hundred Canows, fome great and fome 
 little; but confidering that the former are only proper for 
 Martial Expeditions, and long Voyages, I fhall confine my 
 Defcription to that fort. Even the great ones are of different 
 fizes; for they run from ten to twenty eight Foot long. 
 Indeed the leaft of all hold but two Perfons fet upon their 
 Breech, as in a Coffin; and are apt to over-fet, if the Paffen- 
 gers move to one fide or t’other: But thofe of a larger fize will 
 eafily afford ftowage for fourteen Perfons; tho’ they are com¬ 
 monly mann’d only with three Men, when they are imploy’d 
 
to North- America. 63 
 
 in tranfporting Provifions and Merchandize; and even then 
 they’ll carry twenty hundred weight." The largeft fort are fafe 
 and [27] fteddy, when they are made of the Bark of the Birch- 
 tree, which comes off with hot Water in the Winter time. 
 The greateft Trees afford the beft Barks for Canows; but 
 oftentimes the Bark of one Tree is not fufficient. The bot¬ 
 tom of the Boat is all of one piece, to which the fides are fo 
 artfully few’d by the Savages, that the whole Boat appears as 
 one continu’d Bark. They are trimm’d and ftrengthn’d with 
 wicker Wreaths, and ribs of Cedar-Wood, which are almoft as 
 light as Cork; the Wreaths are as thick as a Crown-piece; 
 but the Bark has the thicknefs of two Crowns, and the Ribs 
 are as thick as three. On the two fides of the Boat, there 
 runs from one end to the other two principal Head-bars, in 
 which the ends of the Ribs are inchas’d, and in which the 
 Spars are made faff, that run a-crofs the Boat and keep it corn- 
 pad:. Thefe Boats have twenty Inches in depth, that is, from 
 the upper edge to the Platform of the Ribs; their length 
 extends to twenty eight Foot, and the width at the middle 
 Rib is computed to be four Foot and a half. They are very 
 convenient upon the account of their extream lightnefs, and 
 the drawing of very little Water; but at the fame time their 
 brittle and tender Fabrick, is an Argument of an equivalent 
 inconveniency; for if they do but touch or grate upon Stone 
 or Sand, the cracks of the Bark fly open, upon which the 
 Water gets in, and fpoils the Provifions and Merchandize: 
 Every day there is fome new chink or feam to be gumm’d 
 over. At Night they are always unloaded, and carried on 
 
64 Some New Voyages 
 
 (hoar where they are made faft with Pegs, left the Wind fhould 
 blow ’em away: For they are fo light, that two Men carry 
 ’em upon their ftioulders with eafe. This conveniency of 
 lightnefs and eafie carriage, renders ’em very ferviceable in 
 the Rivers of Canada, which are full of Cataracts, W^ater-falls, 
 and Currents: For in thefe Rivers we are oblig’d either to 
 tranfport [28] ’em over-land where fuch obftrudlions happen, 
 or elfe to tow ’em along where the Current is not over-rapid, 
 and the ftioar is acceflible. Thefe Boats are of no ufe for the 
 Navigation of Lakes; for the Waves would fwallow ’em up, 
 if they could not reach the Ihoar when a wind arifes. 1 ’Tis 
 true, the Inhabitants venture in ’em for four or five Leagues, 
 from one Ifland to another; but then ’tis always in calm 
 Weather, and nothing is made ufe of but Oars; for befides 
 the rifque of being over-fet, the Goods are in danger of being 
 dammag’d by the Water, efpecially the Furs which are the 
 moft valuable part of the Cargoe. When the feafon ferves, 
 they carry little Sails; but if the Wind be but a little brisk, 
 tho’ they run right afore it, ’tis impoflible to make any ufe of 
 it without running the rifque of Ship-wrack. If their courfe 
 lies diredtly South, they cannot put up fail without the wind 
 ftands at one of the eight points, between North-Weft and 
 North-Eaft; and if a wind happens to fpring any where elfe, 
 (unlefs it comes from the Land which they coaft along) they 
 
 1 For a brief description of the process of making a birch bark canoe, see 
 McKenney, Tour of the Lakes (Baltimore, 1827), pp. 319, 320. Lahontan errs in 
 saying that these craft were unfitted for the navigation of the lakes ; he was later to 
 team of their usefulness on those waters. — Ed. 
 
 
to AW/>-America. 6^ 
 
 are oblig d to put in to the fhoar with all poffible expedition, 
 
 and unload the Boat out of hand, till fuch time as a calm 
 returns. 
 
 As for the working of thefe Boats, the Canow-Men ply 
 fometimes on their Knees, namely, when they run down the 
 fmaH Water-falls ; fometimes Handing, when they item a Cur¬ 
 rent by letting the Boat along with Poles; and fometimes 
 fitting, viz. in fmooth and ftagnating water. The Oars they 
 make ufe of are made of Maple-wood, and their form is 
 reprefented in the annex’d Cutt. The Blade of the Oar is 
 twenty Inches long, fix Inches broad, and four Lines thick: 
 The Handle is about three Foot long, and as big as a Pigeons 
 Egg. When they have occafion to run up againft rapid Cur¬ 
 rents, they make ufe of Poles made of Pine-wood; and the 
 fetting of the Boat along with thefe, [29] is what they call Piquer 
 de fond. The Canows have neither Stern nor Prow, for they 
 run to a point at both ends: Neither have they Keels, Nails 
 or Pegs, in the whole Structure. The Steerfman, or he who 
 Conns the Boat, rows without interruption as well as the reft. 
 The common purchafe of fuch a Boat is eighty Crowns; but 
 it do s not laft above five or fix years. 
 
 _ ^ hls day I have received advice, that Mr. de la Barre has 
 rais d the Militia in the neighbourhood of Quebec , and that 
 the Governor of this Ifland has receiv’d orders to have that 
 of the adjacent Cantons in readinefs to march. I am, 
 
 SIR , 
 
 Tours , &c. 
 
 6 
 
LETTER VII. 
 
 Dated at Monreal Novemb. 2. 1684. 
 
 Describing the Courfe of the River of St. Laurence, from Monreal 
 to the firft great Lake of Canada; with the IEater-falls , Catarabls , 
 and Navigation of that River: As alfo Fort Frontenac, and the 
 Advantages that accrue front it. 'Together with a Circumflan- 
 tial account of the Expedition of Mr. de la Barre, the Governor- 
 General , againjl the Iroquefe; the Speeches he made , the Replies 
 he receiv’d , and the final Accommodation of the difference. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 T HANK God I have finifh’d this Campaign, and am now 
 return’d in fafety to this place. To prefent you with 
 the Hiftory of our Campaign, be [30] pleas’d to know that 
 in two or three days after the date of my laft, I imbarqu’d on 
 board of a Canow that was work’d by three expert Canow- 
 Men. Every Canow contain’d two Soldiers; and we all row’d 
 up againft the Current of the River till we arriv’d at Saut de 
 St. Louis , about three Leagues above this Town, which is a little 
 Water-fall, but fo rapid, that our Watermen were forc’d to 
 ftand in the water up to their Middle, in order to drag the 
 Canows againft the Stream for half a quarter of a League. 1 
 
 1 Sault St. Louis was the name originally given to Lachine Rapids, just above 
 Montreal, by Champlain (1611), apparently in memory of a lad named Louis who 
 
to ./Vtf/V/6-America. 
 
 67 
 
 We reimbarqu’d above this Pafs, and row’d about twelve 
 Leagues up the River, and thro’ the Lake of St. Louis, till we 
 arriv d at a place call d the Cafcades, where we were forc’d to 
 turn out and carry our Boats and Baggage over-land, about 
 half a quarter of a League. ’Tis true, we might have tow’d 
 our Boats againft the Stream in this place with feme labour; 
 but there was a Cataraft a little above it, which they call 
 le Cataratte du Trou. I had taken up a notion that the only 
 difficulty of failing up the River, confifted in the trouble of 
 Land-carnage; but when I came to be a Spectator of the 
 matter, 1 found that the ftemming of the Currents whether in 
 towing of the Canows, or in fetting them along with Poles, 
 was equally laborious. About five or fix Leagues higher we 
 came to the Water-falls call’d Sauls des Cedres, and du Buiffon, 
 where we were forc’d to tranfport our Boats five hundred 
 paces over Land. Some Leagues above that, we enter’d the 
 Lake of St. Francis , which is faid to be twenty Leagues in 
 Circumference; and having crofs’d it, met with as ftrong Cur¬ 
 rents as before, particularly at a fall call’d Long Saul, where 
 we had recourfe to Land-carriage for half a League. Then 
 
 was drowned at this place. The head of navigation upon the St. Lawrence, Cartier 
 amended to this point on his second voyage (1535), and explored the region in 1541. 
 fhe name Lachine” commemorates the derision excited among the enemies of 
 La Salle ; upon his embarkation thither for the West (1669), they said he was headed 
 tor China (La Chine), an allusion to the then prevalent notion that in the West might 
 be found a transcontinental waterway which should prove a short-cut to China. The 
 erm La Chine ” was equivalent to our “China-town.” The Lachine Rapids are 
 the most dangerous on the St. Lawrence, and are now avoided by the Lachine canal, 
 eight and a half miles long, on the northern side. In descending, however, specially- 
 constructed passenger steamers “shoot the rapids,” a favorite amusement among the 
 people of Montreal. — Ed. 
 
68 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 wc were forc'd to drag up the Boats againft the rapid Stream; 
 and after a great deal of fatigue came at laft to a Pafs call d 
 la Galete , from whence we had but twenty Leagues failing to 
 Fort Frontenac} This [31] Pafs was the laft difficulty we had 
 to furmount; for above it the water was as ftill as that of a 
 Pool, and then our Watermen ply’d with their Oars in ftead 
 of Poles. 
 
 The Maringouins , which we call Midges , are unfufferably 
 troublefom in all the Countries of Canada. We were haunted 
 with fuch clouds of ’em, that we thought to be eat up; and 
 fmoaking being the only Artifice that could keep ’em off, the 
 Remedy was worfe than the Difeafe: In the Night-time the 
 People fhelter themfelves from ’em in Bowers or Arbours, 
 made after the following manner. They drive into the Ground 
 Stakes or little branches of Trees, at a certain diftance one 
 from another, fo as to form a femicircular Figure; in which 
 they put a Quilt and Bedcloaths, covering it above with a large 
 Sheet that falls down to the Ground on all Tides, and fo 
 hinders the Infedts to enter. 
 
 We landed at Fort Frontenac after twenty days failing; and 
 immediately upon our arrival, Mr. Duta our Commander in 
 chief, view’d the Fortifications of the place, and three large 
 Barques that lay at Anchor in the Port. 1 2 We repair’d the 
 
 1 Lahontan here describes in some detail the passage from Montreal to Lake 
 Ontario. For a similar description in reverse order, with enumeration of the rapids, 
 see Journal of Father Bonnecamps (1749), in Jesuit Relations, lxix, pp. 195, J 97 - 
 The Long Sault of the St. Lawrence is now paralleled by the Cornwall canal. Ed. 
 
 2 Captain Du Tas (Tartre) was in command of the advance guard sent to convey 
 provisions to Fort Frontenac. See New York Colonial Documents y ix, p. 234. He 
 
to North- America. 69 
 
 Fortifications in a very little time, and fitted up the three 
 Barques. This Fort was a Square, confifting of large Cur¬ 
 tains flanked with four little Baflions; thefe Flanks had but 
 two Battlements, and the Walls were fo low, that one might 
 eafily climb upon ’em without a Ladder. After Mr. de la Salle 
 concluded the Peace with the Iroquefe , the King bellow’d upon 
 him and his Heirs the property of this place; but he was fo 
 negligent, that inflead of enriching himfelf by the Commerce 
 it might have afforded, he was confiderably out of pocket 
 upon it. * 1 To my mind this Fort is fituated very advantage- 
 oufly for a Trade with the five Iroquefe Nations: For their 
 Villages lye in the Neighbourhood of the Lake, upon which 
 they may tranfport their Furs in Canows with more [32] eafe, 
 than they can carry ’em over-land to New-7crL In time of 
 War I take it to be indefenfible; for the Catara<fts and Cur¬ 
 rents of the River are fuch, that fifty Iroquefe may there flop 
 
 St ° Pped bl “ 3 b " ef time ‘ n the colon y- but a g ain brought reinforcements in 1690, 
 when Frontenac sent him to guard the St. Lawrence. He served in the English 
 Channel in r6 9 2 ; went to Hudson Bay (1695), and the following year was in the 
 campaign in Acadia.— Ed. 
 
 'Courcelle had recommended the site of Fort Frontenac (Catarakouy) on his 
 expedition of 1671. His successor, acting upon the suggestion, advanced up the St. 
 
 awrence in 1673, and built the stockade on the present site of Kingston, Ontario. 
 
 1 wo years later, La Salle, strongly endorsed by Frontenac, obtained from the court at 
 Versailles a grant of the fort and district as a seigniory. Had La Salle been a mere 
 merchant, he would, as Lahontan suggests, have made his fortune therefrom. Using it 
 merely as the base of Western exploration, he became involved in financial difficulties, 
 and upon the departure of his patron Frontenac it was seized by his enemies, headed 
 
 r l683) ' Uf>0n the ° rder ° f the kin £- k was stored the following year to 
 
 La Salle s lieutenant. At the outbreak of Frontenac’s War (1689), Denonville gave 
 orders for the destruction of this fort; but Frontenac restored it in 1695, and the French 
 maintained it until its capture by the British in 1758.— Ed. 
 
y Q Some New Voyages 
 
 five hundred French , without any other Arms but Stones. Do 
 but confider, Sir, that for twenty Leagues together the River 
 is fo rapid, that we dare not fet the Canow four paces off the 
 (hoar; Befides, Canada being nothing but a Forreft, as I inti¬ 
 mated above, ’tis impoffible to travel there without falling 
 every foot into Ambufcades, efpecially upon the banks of this 
 River, which are lin’d with thick Woods, that render ’em inac- 
 ceffible. None but the Savages can skip from Rock to Rock, 
 and fcour thro’ the Thickets, as if ’twere an open Field. If 
 we were capable of fuch Adventures, we might march five or 
 fix hundred Men by Land to guard the Canows that carry 
 the Provifions; but at the fame time ’tis to be confider’d, that 
 before they arriv’d at the Fort, they would confume more 
 Provifions than the Canows can carry; Not to mention that 
 the Iroquefe would ftill out-number ’em. As to the particulars 
 relating to the Fort, I (hall take notice of ’em when I come to 
 give a general defcription of New -France. 
 
 While we continued at Fort Frontenac , the Iroquefe who live 
 at Ganeoujfe and Quenti, at the diftance of feven or eight 
 Leagues from thence , 1 threw in upon us Harts, Roe-bucks, 
 Turkeys and Fiffi; in exchange for Needles, Knives, Powder 
 
 i In 1668 several Cayugas, asking for a missionary, came to Montreal from a new 
 settlement recently made on Quinte Bay, on the north shore of Lake Ontario. 
 Suloitians sent out two of their members, who maintained the mission until 1673. 
 when Frontenac granted the Recollects the chaplaincy of his new fort. Hen 
 was stationed here, and administered to the mission for several years. See Henn p , 
 Nevu Discovery (Thwaites’s ed., Chicago, 1903), PP- 47. 97- T , he “ 1SS1 ° , 
 
 abandoned during the Iroquois disturbances just preceding the outbreak of Fronten 
 
 War (or about 1687).—Ed. 
 
7i 
 
 to TVor^-America. 
 
 and Ball. Towards the end of Auguft Mr. de la Barre joyn’d 
 us; but he was dangeroufiy ill of a Feaver, which rag’d in like 
 manner among moft of his Militia; fo that only our three 
 Companies were free from Sicknefs. This Feaver was of the 
 intermitting kind; and the convulfive Motions, Tremblings, 
 and frequency of the Pulfe that attended the cold Fit, were fo 
 violent, that moft of our Tick Men dy’d in the fecond or third 
 Fit. Their Blood was [33] of a blackilb brown colour, and 
 tainted with a fort of yellowifh Serum, not unlike Pus or cor¬ 
 rupt Matter. Mr. de la Barre’s Phyfician, who in my opinion 
 knew as little of the true caufes of Feavers as Hippocrates or 
 Galen, and a hundred thoufand befides; this mighty Phyfician, 
 
 I fay, pretending to trace the caufe of the Feaver I now fpeak 
 of, imputed it to the unfavourable qualities of the Air and the 
 Aliment. His plea was, that the exceftive heat of the feafon, 
 put the Vapours or Exhalations into an over-rapid Motion; 
 that the Air was fo over-rarify’d, that we did not fuck in a 
 fufficient quantity of it; that the fmall quantity we did receive 
 was loaded with Infers and impure Corpufculum’s, which the 
 fatal neceflity of Refpiration oblig’d us to fwallow; and that 
 by this means nature was put into diforder: He added, that 
 the ufe of Brandy and fait Meat fower’d the Blood, that this 
 fowernefs occafion’d a fort of Coagulation of the Chyle and 
 Blood, that the Coagulation hindered it to circulate thro’ the 
 Heart with a due degree of Celerity; and that thereupon 
 there infued an extraordinary Fermentation, which is nothing 
 elfe but a Feaver. But after all, to my mind this Gentleman’s 
 
72 Some New Voyages 
 
 Syfteme was too much upon the Iroquefe ftrain; for at that 
 rate the Diftemper muft have feiz’d all without diftindtion, 
 whereas neither our Soldiers nor the feafon’d Canadans were 
 troubled with it; for it raged only among the Militia, who 
 being unacquainted with the way of fetting the Boats with 
 Poles, were forc’d at every turn to get into the water and drag 
 ’em up againft the rapid Stream: Now, the waters of that 
 Country being naturally cold, and the heat being exceffive, the 
 Blood might thereupon freeze by way of Antiperiftafts, and fo 
 occafion the Feaver I fpeak of, purfuant to the common 
 Maxim, Omnis repenlina mutatio eft periculofa , i. e. All fudden 
 changes are of dangerous Confequence. 
 
 [34] As foon as Mr. de la Barre recover’d, he imbarqu’d 
 in order to continue his march; tho’ he might have eafily 
 known, that after halting fourteen or fifteen days at that Fort, 
 when the feafon was fo far advanc’d, he could not pretend to 
 compafs the end of his Expedition. We row’d Night and Day 
 the Weather being very calm, and in five or fix days came 
 before the River of Famine , where we were forc’d to put in 
 upon the apprehenfion of a Storm. 1 Here we met with a 
 Canow that Mr. Dulhut had fent from Miftilimakinac, with 
 advice, that purfuant to orders he had ingag’d the Hurons y 
 
 1 Riviere la Famine was previously identified with Onondaga (Oswego) River, 
 but later investigations have proven that it was Salmon River, Oswego County, N. Y. 
 See N. Y. Colonial Documents, ix, p. 242. The region was not named for lack of 
 supplies in La Barre’s army, but from some previous Indian famine. La Barre 
 encamped on the northwest side of the river, opposite the present Port Ontario. See 
 Hawley, Early Chapters of Cayuga History (Auburn, 1879).— Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 73 
 
 Outaoua’s , and fome other People, to joyn his Army; in which 
 he had above two hundred brave * Foreft 
 Rangers. Thefe News were very acceptable ^ ee Coureurs 
 to Mr. de la Barre; but at the fame time he m tl}e 
 
 was very much perplexed; for I’m perfwaded 
 he repented oftner than once, of his entring upon an Expedi¬ 
 tion that he forefaw would prove Succefslefs; and to aggra¬ 
 vate the danger of his Enterprife, the Iroquefe had at that 
 time an opportunity to fall upon us. In fine, after a mature 
 confideration of the Confequences, and of the Difficulties that 
 flood in the way, he fent back the Canow to Mr. Dulhut , with 
 orders to difmifs the Foreft Rangers and Savages immediately, 
 where ever he was, and by all means to avoid the approaching 
 to his Troops. By good luck Mr. Dulhut had not yet reach’d 
 Niagara, when he receiv’d thefe Orders; with which the 
 Savages that accompany’d him were fo diffatisfied, that they 
 threw out all manner of Invedtives againft the French Nation. 1 
 
 As foon as Mr. de la Barre had difpatch’d this Canow, he 
 
 1 Daniel Greysolon DuLuth (duLhut), “ king of coureurs des bois,” had been 
 an officer in the French army. Coming to Canada before 1674, he set out four years 
 later on an expedition to the Sioux country, and remained in the Northwest for over 
 twelve years, exploring, trading, and securing the Indians in the French interest. He 
 was so powerful that his services were sought by successive governors. He brought 
 an Indian force to the aid of Denonville in 1687 ; and in 1694 was fighting the Iro¬ 
 quois under Frontenac. Two years later he was commandant at Fort Frontenac, 
 and died in 1710. See McLennan “ Gentlemen of the King’s Guard,” in Harper's 
 Magazine , Sept., 1893 ; and “ Death of DuLuth ” in Roy. Soc. Proc.> 2d series, ix, 
 pp. 39~47’ The Huron and Ottawa who composed his party upon the occasion here 
 cited by Lahontan, were from those tribes that had fled from the Iroquois attacks and 
 settled under French protection at Fort Mackinac.— Ed. 
 

 about eighteen Leagues up the River. This Mr. le Maine 
 
 Iroquefe, who [35] call’d him AkoueJJan , i. e. the Partridge} His 
 Orders were, to indeavour by all means to bring along with 
 
 he return’d in a few days, accompany’d with one of their mod 
 confiderable Grandees, who had a Train of thirty young War- 
 riours, and was diftinguilh’d by the Title of the Grangula? 
 As foon as he debarqued, Mr. de la Barre fent him a Prefent 
 of Bread and Wine, and of thirty Salmon-Trouts, which they 
 fifh’d in that place in fuch plenty, that they brought up a 
 hundred at one caft of a Net: At the fame time he gave the 
 Grandee to underftand, that he congratulated his Arrival, 
 and would be glad to have an Interview with him after he had 
 refted himfelf for fome days. You muft know that he had 
 us’d the precaution of fending the fick back to the Colony, 
 
 1 Charles Le Moyne, sieur de Longueuil, was a native of Dieppe, born in 1624. 
 He came to Canada in 1641, and after four years among the Huron with the Jesuits, 
 settled at Montreal. There he acted for many years as interpreter of the colony, and 
 captain of militia. In 1655 he was captured by the Iroquois, who were so impressed 
 by his intrepidity that they adopted him into their tribe, and sent him home unharmed. 
 The value of his services to the colony was so great'that he was ennobled by the king 
 (1668). His sons distinguished themselves in the history of the colony; the eldest, 
 first baron of Longueuil, was governor of Canada; Iberville and Bienville were the 
 founders of Louisiana.— Ed. 
 
 2 By this Latinized form Lahontan designates the Iroquois chieftain known by 
 the French as La Grande Gueule (Big Mouth), in allusion to his oratorical ability. 
 His Indian name was Otreouate, and he belonged to the Onondaga tribe. Although 
 not one of their great chiefs, he was a wily diplomatist, and owed his influence to 
 skill in oratory and powers of dissimulation. For his signature in the totems of his 
 clan, see N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, p. 386.— Ed. 
 
to North- America. 75 
 
 that the Iroquefe might not perceive the weaknefs of his 
 Forces; and to favour the Stratagem, Mr. le Moine repre- 
 fented to the Grangula , that the Body of the Army was left 
 behind at Fort Frontenac , and that the Troops he faw in our 
 Camp, were the General’s Guards. But unhappily one of the 
 Iroquefe that had a fmattering of the French Tongue, having 
 ftroul d in the Night-time towards our Tents, over-heard what 
 we faid, and fo reveal’d the Secret. Two days after their 
 arrival, the Grangula gave notice to Mr. de la Barre that he 
 was ready for an Interview; and accordingly an hour being 
 appointed, the whole Company appear’d as the figure repre- 
 fents it. 
 
 The Grangula fat on the Eaft fide, being plac’d at the 
 head of his Men, with his Pipe in his Mouth, and the great 
 Calumet of Peace before him. He v/as very attentive to the 
 following Harangue, pronounc’d by our Interpreters; which 
 you cannot well underftand, without a previous explication of 
 the Calumet , and the Colters that it mentions. 
 
 [36] The Calumet of Peace is made of certain Stones, or 
 of Marble, whether red, black, or white. The Pipe or Stalk 
 is four or five foot long; the body of the Calumet is eight 
 Inches long, and the Mouth or Head in which the Tobacco 
 is lodg’d, is three Inches in length; its figure approaches to 
 that of a Hammer. The red Calumets are moft efteem’d. 
 The Savages make ufe of ’em for Negotiations and State 
 Affairs, and efpecially in Voyages; for when they have a 
 Calumet in their hand, they go where they will in fafety. The 
 Calumet is trimm’d with yellow, white, and green Feathers, 
 

 I 
 
 I: 
 
 I 
 
 and has the fame effedt among the Savages, that the Flag of 
 friendfhip has amongft us; for to violate the Rights of this 
 venerable Pipe, is among them a flaming Crime, that will draw 
 down mifchief upon their Nations. 1 As for the Colters , they 
 are certain fwathes of two or three Foot in length, and fix 
 Inches in breadth; being deck’d with little Beads made of a 
 certain fort of fhells that they find upon the Sea fhoar, between 
 New-Tork and Virginia. Thefe Beads are round, and as thick 
 as a little Pea; but they are twice as long as a grain of Corn: 
 Their colour is either blew or white; and they are bor’d thro’ 
 juft like Pearl, being run after the fame manner upon firings 
 that lye Tideways one to another. Without the intervention 
 of thefe Coliers, there’s no bufinefs to be negotiated with the 
 Savages; for being altogether unacquainted with writing, they 
 make ufe of them for Contra&s and Obligations. Sometimes 
 they keep for an Age the Coliers that they have receiv d from 
 their Neighbours; and in regard that every Colier has its 
 peculiar Mark, they learn from the old Perfons, the Circum- 
 flances of the time and place in which they were deliver’d ; but 
 after that age is over, they are made ufe of for new Treaties. 2 
 
 1 On the uses of the calumet, see Jesuit Relations , index. The red stone is 
 known as “ catlinite,” from the artist George Catlin, who was the first to explore 
 and describe the quarries at Pipestone, Minnesota. — Ed. 
 
 2 These ‘ ‘ collars ’ ’ (so called by the French ; the English entitled them ‘ ‘ belts ’ ’) 
 were made of wampum, of which Lahontan has here described the primitive type in 
 the form of shells. Later they were made of beads. See Jesuit Relations , viii, note 
 70 ; also Hale, “ Indian Wampum Records ” in Popular Science Monthly , February, 
 1897. Belts of wampum were always used in the negotiation of Indian treaties ; they 
 were sent with envoys as credentials, preserved by a chief as the ensign of his authority, 
 employed in ransom and atonement for crime, and also as ornament and in place of 
 money. The English term was “wampum”; that of the French, “ porcelain.”— Ed. 
 
to TVor^-America. 
 
 77 
 
 [ 37 ] Mr. de la Barre’s Harangue , was to this purpofe. 
 
 ‘ The King, my Mailer, being inform’d that the five 
 ‘ Iroquefe Nations have for a long time made infraflions 
 1 upon the meafures of Peace, order’d me to come hither with 
 ‘ a Guard, and to fend Akoueffan to the Canton of the Onno- 
 1 tagues, in order to an Interview with their principal Leaders, 
 ‘in the Neighbourhood of my Camp. This great Monarch 
 ‘means, that you and I Ihould fmoak together in the great 
 ‘ Calumet of Peace, with the Provifo, that you ingage in the 
 ‘ name of the Tfonnontouans, Goyoguans , Onnotagues , Onnoyoutes , 
 ‘ and Agnies , to make reparation to his Subjects, and to be 
 ‘ guilty of nothing for the future, that may occafion a fatal 
 ‘ rupture. 
 
 ‘ The Tfonnontouans , Goyogouans , Onnotagues , Onnoyoutes and 
 ‘ Agnies , have fbrip’d, rob’d, and abus’d all the Foreft-Rangers, 
 ‘that travel’d in the way of Trade to the Country of the 
 { Illinefe, of the Oumamis , and of feveral other Nations, who 
 ‘ are my Mailer’s Children. 1 Now this ufage being in high 
 ‘violation of the Treaties of Peace concluded with my Prede- 
 ‘ ceffor, I am commanded to demand Reparation, and at the 
 
 1 According to Parkman, La Barre had brought this about by giving leave to 
 the Iroquois to plunder La Salle’s canoes. The Indians had taken advantage of 
 this permission to seize several canoes and employes of the governor himself. See 
 Parkman, Frontenac, pp. 86, 87. 
 
 The Illinois Indians, of Algonquian stock, were encountered by the French in 
 the state to which they have given their name. La Salle had founded his colony 
 among them, only to have it raided by the Iroquois. See Hennepin, New Discovery 
 (Thwaites’s ed.), pp. 337-342. The Miami (Oumamis) were first encountered by 
 white men in Wisconsin. On their migrations see Wis. Hist. Colls. , xvi, pp. 41, 99, 
 127, 285, 361, 398.— Ed. 
 
78 Some New Voyages 
 
 ‘ fame time to declare, that in cafe of their refufal to comply 
 ‘with my demands, or of relapfing into the like Robberies, 
 ‘War is pofitively proclaim’d. 
 
 This Colier makes my words good. 
 
 ‘ The Warriours of thefe five Nations have introduc’d the 
 ‘ Englifh to the Lakes , belonging to the King my Mafter, and 
 ‘ into the Country of thofe Nations to whom my Mafter is a 
 ‘Father: This they have done with a defign to ruine the 
 ‘ Commerce of his Subjects, and to oblige thefe Nations to 
 ‘ depart from their due Allegiance; notwithftanding the Re- 
 ‘ monftrances of the late Governor [38] of New -Tork, who faw 
 ‘ thro the danger that both they and the Englifh expos’d them- 
 ‘ felves to. At prefent I am willing to forget thofe Adions; 
 ‘ but if ever you be guilty of the like for the future, I have 
 ‘ exprefs orders to declare War. 
 
 This Colier warrants my Words. 
 
 ‘ The fame Warriours have made feveral barbarous Incur- 
 * fions upon the Country of the Illinefe, and the Oumamis. 
 ‘They have maffacred Men, Women, and Children; they 
 ‘ have took, bound, and carried off an infinite number of the 
 ‘ Natives of thofe Countries, who thought themfelves fecure 
 ‘ in their Villages in a time of Peace. Thefe People are my 
 ‘ Matter’s Children, and therefore muft hereafter ceafe to be 
 ‘ your Slaves. I charge you to reftore ’em to their Liberty, 
 ‘and to fend ’em home without delay; for if the five Nations 
 
to North- America. 
 
 79 
 
 1 refufe to comply with this demand, I have exprefs orders to 
 ‘ declare War. 
 
 This Colier makes my words good. 
 
 1 This is all I had to fay to the Grangula , whom I defire to 
 ‘report to the five Nations, this Declaration, that my Mafter 
 ‘ commanded me to make. He wifhes they had not oblig’d 
 ‘ him to fend a potent Army to the Fort of * Cat- * The French 
 1 aracouy , in order to carry on a War that will call it Fort 
 ‘ prove fatal to them : And he will be very much Frontenac. 
 
 1 troubled, if it fo falls out, that this Fort which is a work of 
 ‘ Peace, muft be imploy’d for a Prifon to your Militia. Thefe 
 ‘ mifchiefs ought to be prevented by mutual endeavours: The 
 ‘ French who are the Brethren and Friends of the five Nations, 
 ‘ will never difturb their Repofe ; provided they make the fatis- 
 ‘ fadtion I now demand, and prove religious obfervers of their 
 ‘Treaties. I wifh my words [39] may produce the defir’d 
 ‘ effedf; for if they do not, I am oblig’d to joyn the Governor 
 ‘of New-Tor£, who has orders from the King his Mafter, to 
 ‘ aflift me to burn the five Villages, and cut you off. 
 
 This Colier confirms my word. 
 
 ‘ While Mr. de la Barre's Interpreter pronounc’d this 
 Harangue, the Grangula did nothing but look’d upon the end 
 of his Pipe: After the Speech was finifh’d he rofe, and having 
 took five or fix turns in the Ring that the French and the 
 Savages made, he return’d to his place, and ftanding upright 
 
8o 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 fpoke after the following manner to the General, who fat in 
 his Chair of State. 
 
 ‘ * Onnontio , I honour you, and all the 
 give to the Gov Warriors that accompany me do the fame: 
 ernor-General of ‘ Your Interpreter has made an end of his 
 Canada. * Difcourfe, and now I come to begin mine. 
 
 ‘ My Voice glides to your Ear, pray liften to my words. 
 
 ‘ Onnontio , in fetting out from Quebec , you muft needs have 
 ‘ fancy’d that the fcorching Beams of the Sun had burnt down 
 ‘ the Forefts which render our Country unacceflible to the 
 ‘ French; or elfe that the Inundations of the Lake had fur- 
 1 rounded our Cottages, and confin’d us as Prifoners. This 
 ‘ certainly was your thought; and it could be nothing elfe but 
 ‘the curiolity of feeing a burnt or drown’d Country, that 
 ‘ mov’d you to undertake a Journey hither. But now you 
 ‘ have an opportunity of being undeceiv’d, for I and my war- 
 ‘ like Retinue come to affure you, that the Tfonontouans, Goyogo- 
 ‘ uans, Onnontagues , Onnoyoutes and Agnies , are not yet deftroy’d. 
 ‘ I return you thanks in their name, for bringing into their 
 1 Country the Calumet of Peace, that your Predeceffor receiv’d 
 ‘ from their hands. At the fame time I congratulate your [40] 
 ‘ Happinefs, in having left under Ground 
 
 * Burying the Axe 1 * ^be bloody Axe, that has been fo often 
 fignifies Peace. , w ; t b t b e blood of the French. I muft 
 
 ‘ tell you, Onnontio , I am not afleep, my Eyes are open; and 
 ‘ the Sun that vouchfafes the light, gives me a clear view of a 
 
 • great Captain at the head of a Troop of Soldiers, who fpeaks 
 1 as if he were afleep. He pretends that he do’s not approach 
 

 
 JL cano/v of’lrirc/i 6etrA tvtWi <9 JCats. 
 
 mi 
 
to North- America. 81 
 
 ‘ to this Lake with any other view, than to fmoak with the 
 ‘ Onnotagues in the great Calumet; but the Grangula knows 
 ‘better things, he fees plainly that the Onnontio mean’d to 
 * knock ’em on the Head, if the French Arms had not been fo 
 ‘ much weaken’d. 
 
 ‘I perceive that the Onnontio raves in a Camp of fick 
 ‘People, whofe lives the great Spirit has fav’d by vifiting 
 them with Infirmities. Do you hear, Onnontio , our Women 
 ‘had took up their Clubbs; and the Children and the old 
 ‘ Men, had vifited your Camp with their Bows and Arrows, 
 if our Warlike Men had not ftop’d and difarm’d ’em, when 
 ‘ Akoueffan your Ambaffadour appear’d before my Village. 
 ‘ But I have done, I ’ll talk no more of that. 
 
 ‘ You muft know, Onnontio , we have robb’d no French-Men , 
 ‘ but thofe who fupply’d the Illinefe and the Oumamis (our 
 ‘ Enemies) with Fufees, with Powder, and with Ball: Thefe 
 ‘ indeed we took care of, becaufe fuch Arms might have coft 
 1 us our life. Our Condudt in that point is of a piece with 
 ‘ that of the Jefuits, who Have all the barrels of Brandy that 
 ‘ are brought to our Cantons, left the People getting drunk 
 ‘ fhould knock them in the Head. Our Warriours have no 
 ‘ Beavers to give in exchange for all the Arms they take from 
 ‘the French; and as for the old fuperannuated People, they 
 ‘ do not think of bearing Arms. 
 
 [4 1 ] This Colier comprehends my word. 
 
 ‘ We have conducted the Englijh to our * They pretend 
 * * Lakes, in order to traffick with the Outaouas, 
 
 ‘and the Hurons; juft as the Algonkins con- 
 
 to the property 
 of the Lakes . 
 
 con- 
 
82 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 ‘ dufted the French to our five Cantons, in order to carry on a 
 ‘ Commerce that the Englifh. lay claim to as their Right. We 
 ‘ are born Freemen, and have no dependance either upon the 
 
 tCorlar is the ‘ ^ nnon ^° or the t Corlar. 1 We have a power to 
 Title of the ‘ go where we pleafe, to condudt who we will 
 Governor of ‘to the places we refort to, and to buy and fell 
 New- York. i w } iere we think fit. If your Allies are your 
 ‘ Slaves or Children, you may e’en treat ’em as fuch, and rob 
 ‘ ’em of the liberty of entertaining any other Nation but your 
 ' own. 
 
 This Colier contains my word. 
 
 ‘ We fell upon the Illinefe and the Oumamis, becaufe they 
 ‘ cut down the trees of Peace that ferv’d for limits or bound- 
 ‘ aries to our Frontiers. They came to hunt Beavers upon 
 ‘ our Lands; and contrary to the cuftom of all the Savages, 
 ‘ have carried off whole Stocks, ||both Male and 
 ‘ Female. They have ingag’d the Chaouanons 
 ‘ in their intereft, and entertain’d ’em in their 
 ‘ Country. 2 They fupply’d ’em with Fire-Arms, 
 ‘ after the concerting of ill defigns againft us. 
 ‘ We have done lefs than the iEnglifli and the 
 
 1 The significance of the word Onontio, by which the Iroquois designated the 
 governor of Canada, was said to be “ great ” or “ beautiful mountain,” and to have 
 been a translation of the name of the second governor, Montmagny. Corlaer, the 
 Indian name for the governor of New York, was derived from Van Curler, an early 
 Dutch trader who had much influence among the Mohawk.— Ed. 
 
 2 The Shawnee (French Chaouanon) were an Algonquian tribe, concerning 
 whose migrations and relations there has been considerable controversy. La Salle 
 found them in the Ohio country, where in the eighteenth century they were a terror 
 to the Western settlers of the United States. See Jesuit Relations , xlvii, p. 316 ; Ixi, 
 p. 249 ; IVis. Hist. Colls., xvi, pp. 48, 364; xvii, index. —Ed. 
 
 || A7710 ng the 
 Savages , ’tis a 
 capital Cr'iTTie 
 to deftroy all 
 the Beavers of 
 a SetleTnent. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 83 
 
 ‘ French , who without any right, have ufurp’d the Grounds 
 1 they are now poffefs’d of; and of which they have diflodg’d 
 ‘ feveral Nations, in order to make way for their building of 
 ‘ Cities, Villages, and Forts. 
 
 [42] This Colier contains my word. 
 
 1 I g* ve you to know, Onnontio , that my Voice is the Voice 
 ‘ of the five Iroquefe Cantons. This is their Anfwer, pray 
 1 incline your Ear, and liften to what they reprefent. 
 
 ‘ The Tfonontouans, Goyogouans, Onnontagues , Onnoyoutes, and 
 Agnies declare, that they interr’d * the 
 Axe at Cataracouy , in the prefence of your 
 Precedeffor, in the very center of the Fort; 
 and planted the Tree of Peace in the fame 
 place, that it might be carefully preferv’d; 
 that ’twas then ftipulated, that the Fort fhould be us’d as a 
 place of retreat for Merchants, and not a refuge for Soldiers; 
 and that inftead of Arms and Ammunition, it fhould be made 
 a Receptacle of only Beaver-Skins, and Merchandize Goods. 
 Be it known to you, Onnontio , that for the future you ought 
 to take care, that fo great a number of Martial-Men as I now 
 fee, being fhut up in fo fmall a Fort, do not ftifle and choak 
 the Tree of Peace. Since it took Root fo eafily, it muft 
 needs be of pernicious confequence to flop its growth, and 
 hinder it to fhade both your Country and ours with its 
 Leaves. I do affure you, in the name of the five Nations, 
 that our Warriors fhall dance the Calumet Dance under its 
 
 * Interring the Axe , 
 Jignifies the making of 
 a Peace ; and the dig¬ 
 ging of it up imports a 
 Declaration of IPar. 
 
‘ Peace; till fuch time as the Onnontio and the Corlar , do either 
 ‘joyntly or feparately offer to invade the Country, that the 
 ‘ great Spirit has difpos’d of in the favour of our Anceftors. 
 
 [43] This Colier contains my word; and the other comprehends 
 
 the power granted to me by the five Nations. 
 
 Then the Grangula addrefs’d himfelf to Mr. le Moine, and 
 fpoke to this purpofe. 
 
 1 Akoueffan, take Heart, you are a Man of Senfe; fpeak and 
 ‘ explain my meaning; be fure you forget nothing, but declare 
 ‘ all that thy Brethren and thy Friends reprefent to thy chief 
 ‘ Onnontio , by the voice of the Grangula , who pays you all 
 ‘ Honour and Refpedl, and invites you to accept of this Pre- 
 ‘ fent of Beavers, and to affift at his Feaft immediately. 
 
 ‘ This other Prefent of Beavers is fent by the five Nations 
 ‘ to the Onnontio. 
 
 As foon as the Grangula had done, Mr. le Moine and the 
 Jefuits that were prefent, explain’d his anfwer to Mr. de la 
 Barre} who thereupon retir’d to his Tent and ftorm’d and 
 blufter’d, till fome body came and reprefented to him, that, 
 dr oca Progenies nefcit habere modos , i. e. The Iroquefe are always 
 upon extreams. The Grangula danc’d after the Iroquefe manner, 
 
 1 Father Jacques Bruyas was interpreter upon this occasion. See ante , p. 56, 
 note 1.— Ed. 
 
to North- America. 85 
 
 by way of prelude to his Entertainment; after which he 
 regal’d feveral of the French. Two days after he and his 
 Martial-Retinue return’d to their own Country, and our Army 
 fet out for Monreal. As foon as the General was on board, 
 together with the few healthy Men that remain’d, the Canows 
 were difpers’d, for the Militia ftraggled here and there, and 
 every one made the bell of his way home. Our three Com¬ 
 panies indeed kept together, becaufe all of us, both Officers 
 and Soldiers, were carried in flat-bottom’d Boats, made of 
 Deal on purpofe for our ufe. However, I could have wiffi’d 
 to have run down the falls and Cataradls [44] in the fame 
 Canow that brought me up, for every body thought we 
 Ihould have been call away at thefe Paffes, which are full of 
 Eddy s and Rocks; and ’twas never heard before, that fuch 
 Precipices were pafs’d with Deal Boats either upwards or 
 downwards. But we were forc’d to run all hazards, and had 
 certainly been fwallow’d up in thofe Mountains of Water, if 
 we had not oblig’d feveral Canows to ffioot the Cataradls at 
 the head of our Boats, in order to lhew us the way; at the 
 fame time we had prepar’d our Soldiers for rowing, and 
 ffiieving upon occafion. Do but confider, Sir, that the Cur¬ 
 rents run as fall as a Cannon Ball; and that one falfe llroak 
 of the Oar, would have run us unavoidably upon the Rocks; 
 for we are oblig’d to Iteer a Zig-zag courfe purfuant to the 
 thread of the Stream, which has fifty windings. The Boats 
 which are loaded are fometimes loll in thofe places. But after 
 all, tho’ the rifque we run be very great, yet by way of Com- 
 
86 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 penfation, one has the fatisfadtion of running a great way in a 
 little time; for we run from Galete to this Town in two days 
 time, notwithstanding that we crofs’d the two ftagnating Lakes 
 I took notice of before. 
 
 As foon as we landed, we receiv’d advice that the Chevalier 
 de Callieres was come to fupply the room of Mr. Perrot , the 
 Governor of this place. 1 Mr. Perrot has had feveral fcuffles 
 with Mr. de Frontenac, and Mr. de la Barre; of which you may 
 expeft a farther account, when I am better inform’d. All the 
 World blames our General for his bad Succefs: ’Tis talk’d 
 publickly, that his only defign was to cover the fending of 
 feveral Canows to traffick with the Savages in thofe Lakes for 
 Beaver-Skins. The People here are very bufie in wafting over 
 to Court a thoufand Calumnies againft him ; both the Clergy 
 and the Gentlemen of the long Robe, write to his difadvantage. 
 Tho’ after all, the whole charge is [45] falfe; for the poor 
 Man could do no more than he did. 2 Juft now, I was inform’d 
 that Mr. Hainaut, Mr. Montortier, and Mr. Durivau, three Cap¬ 
 tains of Ships, are arriv’d at Quebec , with a defign to pafs the 
 Winter there, and to aflift him as Counfellors; and that the 
 
 1 Louis Hector, sieur de Callieres-Bonnevue was born in 1646 or 1647, and early 
 adopted the profession of arms. Coming to Canada in 1684 as governor of Montreal, 
 he soon proved himself an important factor in the defense of the colony. He ably 
 seconded the measures of Frontenac, and upon his death (1698) was appointed his 
 successor. He brought Frontenac’s war with the Iroquois to a successful issue, and 
 made a peace (1701) with this redoubtable foe. His death occurred in 1703.— Ed. 
 
 2 For La Barre’s own account of the expedition, see N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, pp. 
 239-243. The account of his detractors, headed by the intendant Meules, follows, 
 pp. 244-248.— Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 87 
 
 laft of thefe three has brought with him an Independent Com¬ 
 pany, to be commanded by himfelf. 1 
 
 I {hall have no opportunity of writing again before the 
 next Spring; for the laft Ships that are to return for France 
 this year, are now ready to fail. 
 
 I am , SIR, Yours , &c. 
 
 1 These officers, whose names are given, Desnots, Montortie, and Du Rivau Huet, 
 came out in charge of reinforcements in the autumn of 1684, but were permitted to 
 return the following year. See N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, p. 250; Canadian Archives, 
 supplement, 1899, pp. 269, 270.— Ed. 
 
88 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER VIII. 
 
 Dated at Monreal , June 28. 1685. 
 
 Reprefenting the Fortifications of Monreal, and the indifcreet Zeal 
 of the Priefis, who are Lords of that Town : With a Defcrip- 
 tion of Chambli, and of the Commerce of the Savages upon the 
 great Lakes. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 I HAVE juft receiv’d yours, by a fmall Veffel of Bourdeaux 
 loaded with Wine; which is the firft that came to Quebec 
 this Year. I am mightily pleas’d to hear that the King has 
 granted to Mr. de la Salle four Ships, to go upon the Dif- 
 covery of the Mouth of the Miffifipi; and cannot but admire 
 your Curiofity, in deliring to know the Occurrences of this 
 Place, and how I fpent my time in the Winter. 
 
 Mr. de Callieres was no fooner poffefs’d of his Government, 
 than he order’d all the Inhabitants of this Town, and of the 
 adjacent Country, to cut down and bring in great Stakes, 
 of fifteen Foot in length, [46] to fortifie the Town. During 
 the Winter, thefe Orders were purfued with fo much Applica¬ 
 tion, that all things are now ready for making the Inclofure; 
 in which five or fix hundred Men are to be imploy’d. I fpent 
 part of the Winter in Hunting with the Algonkins, in order to 
 a more perfect knowledge of their Language; and the reft I 
 
to North- America. 89 
 
 fpent in this Place, with a great deal of uneafinefs: for, here 
 we cannot enjoy our felves, either at Play, or in vifiting the 
 Ladies, but ’tis prefently carried to the Curate’s ears, who 
 takes publick notice of it in the Pulpit. His Zeal goes fo far, 
 as even to name the Perfons : and fince he refufes the Sacra¬ 
 ment of the Holy Supper to Ladies of Quality, upon the moft 
 flender Pretences, you may eafily guefs at the other fteps of 
 his Indefcretion. You cannot imagine to what a pitch thefe 
 Ecclefiaftical Lords have fcrew’d their Authority: They 
 excommunicate all the Masks, and wherever they fpy ’em, 
 they run after ’em to uncover their Faces, and abufe ’em in a 
 reproachful manner: In fine, they have a more watchful eye 
 over the Conduct of the Girls and married Women, than 
 their Fathers and Husbands have. They cry out againft 
 thofe that do not receive the Sacrament once a Month; and 
 at Eafter they oblige all forts of Perfons to give in Bills to 
 their Confeffors. They prohibit and burn all the Books that 
 treat of any other Subject but Devotion. When I think of 
 this Tyranny, I cannot but be inrag’d at the impertinent Zeal 
 of the Curate of this City. This inhumane Fellow came one 
 day to my Lodging, and finding the Romance of the Adven¬ 
 tures of Petronius upon my Table, he fell upon it with an 
 unimaginable fury, and tore out almoft all the Leaves. This 
 Book I valued more than my Life, becaufe ’twas not caftrated ; 
 and indeed I was fo provok’d when I faw it all in wrack, that 
 if my Landlord had not held me, I had gone immediately to 
 that turbulent Pallor’s [47] Houfe, and would have pluck’d 
 out the Hairs of his Beard with as little mercy as he did the 
 
90 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 Leaves of my Book. Thefe Animals cannot content them- 
 felves with the ftudying of Mens Adlions, but they muft 
 likewife dive into their Thoughts. By this Sketch, Sir, you 
 may judge what a pleafant Life we lead here. 
 
 The 30th of the laft March the Ice melted; and the River 
 being then open, I was fent with a fmall Detachment to Cbam- 
 bli: for commonly the Sun refumes its Vigour here much 
 about that time. Chambli ftands on the brink of a Bafin, 
 about five or fix Leagues off this Place: That Bafin is two 
 Leagues in Circumference, and receives the Lake of Cham¬ 
 plain by a Water-fall that is a League and a half in length; 
 out of which there arifes a River that difembogues at Sorel 
 into the River of St. Laurence , as I intimated above in my 
 fourth Letter. In former times this Place had a great Trade 
 in Beaver-skins, which is now decay’d: for the Soccokis, the 
 Mahingans, and the Openangos , us’d formerly to refort thither 
 in fhoals, to exchange their Furs for other Goods; but at 
 prefent they are retir’d to the Englifli Colonies, to avoid the 
 purfuit of the Iroquefe . 1 The Champlain Lake, which lies 
 above that Water-fall, is eighty Leagues in circumference. At 
 the end of this Lake we met with another, call’d S. Sacrement, 
 by which one may go very eafily to New-Tork, there being but 
 
 1 These were tribes who had formerly occupied Acadia and Maine, and had 
 migrated with the Abenaki to the St. Lawrence. The Sokoki (Soccoki) were Abenaki 
 whose habitat was the Saco River, and whose enmity with the Mohawk was of long 
 standing. One of this tribe, Squanto, led the attack on the English settlement at Saco, 
 Sept. 18, 1675. The Openangoes were the Algonquian of New Brunswick, called 
 by the English Quoddy Indians. The Mahican (Mohegan) was a numerous Algon¬ 
 quian tribe, whose first habitat was the valley of the Hudson, later that of the Con- 
 nccticut. The French usually called them Loups (Wolves). — Ed. 
 
to AW/^-America. 
 
 9i 
 
 a Land-carriage of two Leagues from thence to the River 
 Du Fer, wh.ch falls into the Mana.be} While I was at CW 
 I law two Canows loaded with Beaver-skins pats privately 
 y way, and twas thought they were fent thither by Mr 
 
 h!h> dT I ' n,UggIin « w *y ° ! Trade « exprefly pro- 
 bitedt for they are oblig'd to carry thefe Skins before the 
 
 ce o t e Company, where they are rated at an Hundred 
 
 and 60 per Cent. lefs than the En e tifh buy 'em at in their Colo- 
 
 rTw ‘.T * le F ° rt thM flands at the bottom f 48 ] of 
 e Water-fall upon the brink of the Balin of Cbambli. being 
 
 only fingle Palhfadoes, it cannot hinder People to pafs tha! 
 way Specially confidenng that the Protpeft, of fo great a 
 profit, renders the PafTengers the more daring. The Inhab¬ 
 itants of the adjacent Villages are very much expos'd to the 
 Incurfions of the Iroqnefe in time of War. Notwithllanding 
 
 dThtlT M ‘T’ ' CO ' ,tinUed “ that Plac ' a M °«h 
 
 d a ha f ' a " d then 1 return ’<i hither, where Mr. de la Bane 
 m d f ome da > rs af,er i bei "g accompany'd with Mr. Henna,,. 
 
 .!>. Ukr i„he, 
 
 ssee ir k _ir - *• —1 «■* -i sajt .:z 
 
 the "l C “" d M ‘’ * 4 ' '“ 4 ' “ d 
 
 form, and farmed them out for 350 000 iLes * Thef^^f , dUt ' eS the Same 
 
 times spoken of as the “ Company of D lmain o t 3 c ° m P an y- 
 
 here refers. The price paid for ’ i T j 1S 1S the ° ne t0 which Lahontan 
 
 ne price paid for beaver was regulated by edict. — Ed. 
 
92 Some New Voyages 
 
 Mr. Montortier, and Mr. du Rivau. Much about the fame day 
 there arriv’d 25 or 30 Canows, belonging to the Coureurs de 
 Bois , being homeward bound from the great Lakes, and laden 
 with Beaver-skins. The Cargo of each Canow amounted to 
 40 Packs, each of which weighs 50 pound, and will fetch 50 
 Crowns at the Farmers Office. Thefe Canows were follow’d 
 by 50 more of the Outaouas and Hurons , who come down every 
 Year to the Colony, in order to make a better Market than 
 they can do in their own Country of MiJJilimakinac , which lies 
 on the Banks of the Lake of Hurons , at the Mouth of the 
 Lake of the Illinefe. 1 Their way of Trading is as follows. 
 
 Upon their firft Arrival, they incamp at the diftance of five 
 or fix hundred Paces from the Town. The next day is fpent 
 in ranging their Canows, unloading their Goods, and pitching 
 their Tents, which are made of Birch Bark. The next day 
 after, they demand Audience of the Governour General; 
 which is granted ’em that fame day in a publick place. Upon 
 this Occafion, each Nation makes a Ring for it felf; the Sav¬ 
 ages fit upon the Ground with their Pipes in their Mouths, 
 and the Governour is feated in an arm’d Chair; after which, 
 there ftarts up an Orator or Speaker from one of thefe 
 Nations, who makes an Harangue, importing, ‘ That his 
 1 Brethren are come to vifit the Governour general, and to 
 ‘ renew [49] with him their wonted Friendfhip: That their 
 ‘ chief View is, to promote the Intereft of the French , fome of 
 
 1 For the early history of Mackinac (Missilimakinac) see Thwaites, “ Story of 
 Mackinac,” in How George Rogers Clark JVon the Northwest (Chicago, 1903). 
 Illinois Lake (Lac d’ Ilinois) was an early name for Lake Michigan. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. ^ 
 
 ‘whom being unacquainted with the way of Traffick, and 
 being too weak for the tranfporting of Goods from the 
 Lakes, would be unable to deal in Beaver-skins, if his Breth¬ 
 ren did not come in perfon to deal with ’em in their own 
 Colonies : That they know very well how acceptable their 
 Arrival is to the Inhabitants of Mott real, in regard of the 
 Advantage they reap by it: That in regard the Beaver-skins 
 are much valued in France, and the French Goods given in 
 exchange are of an inconfiderable Value, they mean "to give 
 the French fufficient proof of their readinefs to furnifh ’em 
 with what they defire fo earneftly: That by way of prepara¬ 
 tion for another Years Cargo, they are come to take in 
 Exchange, Fufees, Powder, and Ball, in order to hunt great 
 numbers of Beavers, or to gall the Iroquefe, in cafe they offer 
 difturb the French Settlements: And, in fine, That in con¬ 
 firmation of their Words, they throw a Purcelain Colter 
 fome Beaver-skins to the Kitchi-Okima (fo they call the 
 Governour-General) whofe Protedion they lay claim to in 
 
 of any Robbery or Abufe committed upon ’em in the 
 own . 1 
 
 The Spokefman having made an end of his Speech, returns 
 to his Place, and takes up his Pipe; and then the Interpreter 
 explains the Subftance of the Harangue to the Governour, 
 who commonly gives a very civil Anfwer, Specially if the 
 refent be valuabIe •• 111 confideration of which, he likewife 
 
 
94 Some New Voyages 
 
 makes them a Prefent of fome trifling things. This done, the 
 Savages rife up, and return to their Hutts to make fuitable 
 Preparations for the enfuing Truck. 
 
 The next day the Savages make their Slaves carry the 
 Skins to the Houfes of the Merchants, who bargain with 
 ’em for fuch Cloaths as they want. All the Inhabitants of 
 Monreal are allow’d to traffick with [50] ’em in any Com¬ 
 modity but Wine and Brandy; thefe two being excepted upon 
 the account that when the Savages have got what they wanted, 
 and have any Skins left, they drink to excefs, and then kill 
 their Slaves ; for when they are in drink, they quarrel and 
 fight; and if they were not held by thofe who are fober, 
 wou’d certainly make Havock one of another. 1 However, 
 you muft obferve, that none of ’em will touch either Gold or 
 Silver. ’Tis a comical fight, to fee ’em running from Shop to 
 Shop, ftark naked, with their Bow and Arrow. The nicer fort 
 of Women are wont to hold their Fans before their eyes, 
 to prevent their being frighted with the view of their ugly 
 Parts. But thefe merry Companions, who know the brisk 
 She-Merchants as well as we, are not wanting in making an 
 Offer, which is fometimes accepted of, when the Prefent is of 
 
 1 The sale of liquor to the Indians had long agitated the colony. Champlain 
 forbade the traffic (1633), except under strict control; but by 1660 it had attained 
 such excesses that Bishop Laval pronounced excommunication against all colonists 
 who sold brandy to savages, and the following year secured a royal edict punishing 
 the crime with death. The excitement in the colony was so great that the edict was 
 revoked, and in Frontenac’s first governorship a compromise established, whereby the 
 carrying of liquor into the woods was prohibited, but a moderate sale allowed in the 
 colony. The question never ceased to be agitated by the missionaries, and the evasions 
 of the ordinance by coureurs des bois were a standing grievance. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 95 
 
 good Mettle. If we may credit the common Report, there 
 are more than one or two of the Ladies of this Country, 
 whofe Conftancy and Vertue has held out againft the Attacks 
 of feveral Officers, and at the fame time vouchfaf’d a free 
 accefs to thefe nafty Lechers. ’Tis prefum’d their Com¬ 
 pliance was the Effedt of Curiofity, rather than of any nice 
 Reliffi; for, in a word, the Savages are neither brisk, nor 
 conftant. But whatever is in the matter, the Women are the 
 more excufable upon this Head, that fuch Opportunities are 
 very unfrequent. 
 
 As foon as the Savages have made an end of their Truck, 
 they take leave of the Governour, and fo return home by the 
 River of Outaouas . 1 To conclude, they did a great deal of 
 good both to the Poor and Rich; for you will readily appre¬ 
 hend, that every body turns Merchant upon fuch occafions. 
 
 I am , SIR, Yours, &c. 
 
 1 The Ottawa River was at first called River of the Algonkins, and Riviere des 
 Prairies. Its present name arose not from its being the habitat of the Ottawa tribe, 
 but because it was the route by which the Ottawa came to Canada from the “ upper 
 country ” (pays en haul) . — Ed. 
 
96 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER IX. 
 
 Dated at Boucherville, Octob. 2. 1685. 
 
 Being an Account of the Commerce, and Trade of Monreal: Of the 
 Arrival of the Marquis of Denonville with fome Troops; and 
 of the recalling of Mr. de la Barre. JVith a curious Defcription 
 of certain Licenfes for Trading in Beaver-skins in the remote 
 Countries. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I RECEIV’D your fecond Letter three Weeks ago, but could 
 not fend a fpeedier Anfwer, by reafon that none of our 
 Ships have yet fet Sail for France. Since you want to know 
 the nature of the Trade of Monreal, be pleas’d to take the 
 following Account. 
 
 Almoft all the Merchants of that City a<5t only on the 
 behalf of the Quebec Merchants, whofe Fadtors they are. 
 The Barques which carry thither dry Commodities, as well as 
 Wine and Brandy, are but few in number; but then they make 
 feveral Voyages in one Year from the one City to the other. 
 The Inhabitants of the Ifland of Monreal, and the adjacent 
 Cantons, repair twice a Year to the City of Monreal, where 
 they buy Commodities fifty per Cent, dearer than at Quebec. 
 The Savages of the neighbouring Countries, whether fettled 
 
to North-America.. gy 
 
 or erratick, carry thither the Skins of Beavers, Elks, Caribous, 
 Foxes, and wild Cats; all which, they truck for Fufees, Pow¬ 
 der, Lead, and other Neceffaries. There every one is allow’d 
 to trade; and indeed ’tis the beft place for the getting of an 
 Eftate in a fhort time. All the Merchants have fuch a perfect 
 good undemanding one with another, that they all fell at the 
 fame price. [52] But when the Inhabitants of the Country 
 find their Prices exorbitant, they raife their Commodities in 
 proportion. The Gentlemen that have a Charge of Children, 
 efpedaily Daughters, are oblig’d to be good Husbands, in 
 order to bear the Expence of the magnificent Cloaths with 
 which they are fet off; for Pride, Vanity, and Luxury, reign 
 as much in New France as in Old France. In my opinion, 
 ’‘would do well, if the King would order Commodities to be 
 rated at a reafonable Price, and prohibit the felling of Gold 
 or Silver Brocadoes, Fringes, and Ribbands, as well as Points 
 and rich Laces. 
 
 The Marquis of Denonville is come to fucceed Mr. de la 
 Barre in the quality of Governour-General; for the King has 
 recall’d Mr. de la Barre , upon the Accufations laid againft 
 him by his Enemies. To be fure, you who are in France 
 know better than I, that Mr. de Denonville was Maitre de 
 Camp to the Queen’s Regiment of Dragoons, which Place he 
 fold to Mr. Murcey when the King beftow’d this Government 
 upon him; and, that he brought with him fome Companies of 
 Marines, befides his Lady and his Children: for it feems 
 the danger and mconveniencies that attend fuch a long and 
 
 \ 
 
98 Some New Voyages 
 
 troublefome Voyage, made no Impreffion upon her. 1 2 This 
 Governour ftay’d at firft fome Weeks at Quebec, after which 
 he came to Monreal , with 500 or 600 Men of Regular Troops, 
 and fent back the Captains Hainaut , Montortier , and du Rivo, 
 with feveral other Officers. His Army is now in Winter 
 Quarters all round Monreal. My Quarters are at a Place 
 call’d Boucherville , which lies at the diftance of three Leagues 
 from Monreal? I have been here fifteen Days, and in all 
 appearance fhall live more happily than in the Town, abating 
 for the Solitude; for at leaft I fhall have no other oppofition 
 to encounter in the cafe of Balls, Gaming, or Feafting, but the 
 zealous Freaks of a filly Prieft. I am inform’d, that the Gov¬ 
 ernour [53] has given Orders to compleat the Fortifications of 
 Monreal , 3 and is now ready to embarque for Quebec , where our 
 Governours commonly pafs the Winter. The Savages I fpoke 
 of in my laft, met the Iroquefe upon the great River of the 
 Outaouas, who inform’d ’em that the Englijh were making 
 Preparations to tranfport to their Villages in Miffilimakinac, 
 better and cheaper Commodities than thofe they had from the 
 
 1 Jacques Rene de Brisay, marquis de Denonville, had served in the French armies 
 for thirty years. He was a zealous and pious officer, but unequal to the difficulties of 
 the situation in Canada; recalled in 1689, he was given honorable preferment at 
 court. Madame de Denonville was the last French woman of rank to honor Canada 
 with her presence at the government house. — Ed. 
 
 2 Boucherville was founded in 1667 by Pierre Boucher, formerly governor of Trois 
 Rivieres, and the first Canadian ennobled by the king. The Boucher family was one 
 of the most important in the colony. See Suite, “ Pierre Boucher et son Livre ” in 
 Can. Roy. Soc. Proc.> series ii, vol. ii, sec. i, pp. 99-168. — Ed. 
 
 3 Montreal until this time had scarcely any military protection. In 1685 six hun¬ 
 dred men were employed, under a royal engineer, in erecting a palisade over twelve 
 feet in height, with five gates and five posterns. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 99 
 
 French. This piece of News did equally alarm the Gentlemen, 
 the Pedlers call’d Coureurs de Bois , and the Merchants; who, at 
 that rate, would be confiderable Lofers: for you mull know, 
 that Canada fubfifts only upon the Trade of Skins or Furrs, 
 three fourths of which come from the People that live round 
 the great Lakes: So that if the Englifh. fhould put fuch a 
 Defign in execution, the whole Country would fuffer by it; 
 efpecially confidering, that ’twould fink certain Licenfes: an 
 Account of which will be proper in this place. 
 
 Thefe Licenfes are granted in AVriting by the Governours 
 General, to poor Gentlemen and old Officers who have a Charge 
 of Children. They are difpos’d of by the King’s Orders; and 
 the Defign of ’em is, to enable fuch Perfons to fend Com¬ 
 modities to thefe Lakes. The Number of the Perfons thus 
 impower’d, ought not to exceed twenty five in one Year: but 
 God knows how many more have private Licenfes. All other 
 Perfons, of what Quality or Condition foever, are prohibited 
 to go or fend to thefe Lakes, without fuch Licenfes, under the 
 pain of Death. 1 Each Licenfe extends to the lading of two 
 great Canows; and whoever procures a whole or a half Licenfe 
 for himfelf, may either make ufe of it himfelf, or fell it to the 
 
 1 The licenses (conges) for trade in the Western country were established in the 
 latter years of Frontenac s first administration, partly, as Lahontan says, as a measure 
 of charity or relief, partly as a means of restricting the coureurs des bois. The abuses 
 were so great that in 1697 the king revoked all licenses and abolished the system. At 
 the close of Queen Anne’s War (1702-13), the licenses were again issued, and utilized 
 as a means for provisioning expeditions against the Foxes and the other recalcitrant 
 Indians of the upper country. See fVis. Hist. Colls ., xvi, xvii. This policy was 
 maintained throughout the French regime. Henry describes it as still existing in 
 1765 ; see his Travels and Adventures (Bain’s ed., Boston, 1901), pp. 183,184 .—Ed. 
 
IOO 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 higheft Bidder. Commonly they are bought at fix hundred 
 Crowns a-piece. Thofe who purchafe ’em are at no trouble 
 in finding Pedlars or Foreft-Rangers to undertake the long 
 Voyages, which fetch the moil confiderable [54] Gains, and 
 commonly extend to a Year, and fometimes more. The Mer¬ 
 chants put into the two Canows ftipulated in the Licenfe, fix 
 Men with a thoufand Crowns-worth of Goods, which are rated 
 to the Pedlars at fifteen per Cent, more than what they are fold 
 for in ready Money in the Colony. When the Voyage is per¬ 
 form’d, this Sum of a thoufand Crowns commonly brings in 
 feven hundred per Cent, clear profit, and fometimes more, 
 fometimes lefs; for thefe Sparks call’d Coureurs de Bois bite 
 the Savages moil dexteroufly, and the lading of two Canows, 
 computed at a thoufand Crowns, is a Purchafe for as many 
 Beaver-skins as will load four Canows: Now, four Canows 
 will carry a hundred and fixty Packs of Skins, that is, forty 
 a-piece; and reckoning each Pack to be worth fifty Crowns, 
 the value of the whole amounts to eight thoufand Crowns. 
 As to the Repartition of this extravagant Profit, ’tis made after 
 the following manner: In the firft place, the Merchant takes 
 out of the whole bulk fix hundred Crowns for the Purchafe 
 of his Licenfe ; then a thoufand Crowns for the prime Coft of 
 the exported Commodities. After this, there remains 6400 
 Crowns of Surplufage, out of which the Merchant takes forty 
 per Cent, for Bottomree, which amounts to 2560 Crowns; and 
 the Remainder is divided equally among the fix Coureurs de 
 Bois ,who get little more than 600 Crowns a-piece: and indeed 
 I muft fay ’tis fairly earn’d ; for their Fatigue is inconceivable. 
 
IOI 
 
 to N or^-America. 
 
 In the mean time, you muft remark, that over and above the 
 foregoing profit, the Merchant gets 25 per Cent, upon his 
 Beaver-skins by carrying them to the Office of the Farmers 
 General, where the Price of four forts of Beaver-skins is 
 fix d. If the Merchant fells thefe Skins to any private Man 
 in the Country for ready Money, he is paid in the current 
 Money of the Country, which is of lefs value than the Bills 
 of Exchange that the Director of [55] that Office draws upon 
 Rochel or Paris; for there they are paid in French Livres, which 
 are twenty Sols, whereas a Canada Livre is but fifteen Sols. 
 This Advantage of 25 per Cent, is call’d le Benefice; but take 
 notice, that ’tis only to be had upon Beaver-skins: for, if you 
 pay to a Quebec Merchant 400 Canada Livres in Silver, and 
 take from him a Bill of Exchange upon his Correfpondent in 
 France, his Correfpondent will pay no more than 300 French 
 Livres, which is a juft Equivalent. 
 
 This is the laft Intelligence I ffiall give you for this Year, 
 which has already brought in a very cold Autumn. The Quebec 
 
 Ships muft fet Sail in the middle of November, purfuant to the 
 wonted Cuftom. I am, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Tours, &c. 
 
102 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 letter x. 
 
 Dated at Boucherville July 8. 1686. 
 
 Relating the Arrival of Mr. de Champigm, in the room of Mr. 
 de Meules, who is recall’d to France; the arrival of the 
 Troops that came along with him, the curiofity of the Rackets, 
 and the way of hunting Elks; with a Defcription of that 
 
 Animal. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 T HOUGH I have not heard from you this year, yet I will 
 not flight this opportunity of writing to you. Some 
 Ships from France are arriv’d at Quebec, and have brought 
 over Mr. de Champigni Noroua, [56] with fome Companies of 
 Marines. He comes to fupply the place of Mr. de Meules, 
 whom the King recalls upon the unjuft complaints that are 
 made of him. He is charg’d with preferring his private Inter- 
 eft to the publick Good; but the charge is falfe, and he will 
 eafily clear himfelf. I am apt to believe he may have carry’d 
 on fome underhand Commerce, but in fo doing he injur d 
 no body; nay, on the contrary he has procur’d Bread for a 
 thoufand poor Creatures, that without his Afliftance would 
 have ftarv’d for Hunger. This new Intendant is defeended 
 of one of the moft Illuftrious Families of the Robe in France. 
 He is laid to be a Man of Honour, and Fame entitles his 
 
to TVor^-America. 103 
 
 Lady to a diftinguifhing Merit: I underftand, he and Mr. 
 Denonville are bound fpeedily for Monreal , where they mean 
 to take a review of the Inhabitants of this Ifland, and of the 
 Neighbouring Cantons.* Probably, they take fuch precau¬ 
 tions in order to fome new effort againft the Iroquefe. Laft 
 Winter we had no new Occurrences in the Colony. I fpent 
 the whole Winter at the hunting of Orignals or Elks along 
 with the Savages, whofe Language I am learning, as I have 
 intimated to you feveral times. 1 2 
 
 The hunting of Elks is perform’d upon the Snow, with 
 fuch Rackets as you fee defign’d in the annex’d Cutt. Thefe 
 Rackets are two Foot and a half long, and fourteen Inches 
 broad ; their ledges are made of a very hard Wood, about an 
 Inch thick, that faftens the Net juft like a Tennis Racket, from 
 which they differ only in this; that thofe for the Tennis are 
 made of Gut-ftrings, whereas the others are made of little 
 thongs of the skins of Harts or Elks. In the Cut, you may 
 perceive two little fpars of Wood, which run a-crofs to render 
 the Net firmer and ftiffer. The hole that appears by the two 
 Latchets, is the place in which they put the Toes and fore- 
 
 1 Jean Bochart de Champigny was one of the most able and faithful of Canadian 
 intendants. He was sent (1686) to replace Jacques de Mueles, who had come out 
 with La Barre (1682), but had proven his bitter enemy, and was also complained of 
 by the new governor Denonville. Champigny lived in concord with the latter, with 
 whose politics he coincided. The harmony with Frontenac was less sincere ; but in 
 the last years of the latter, they became good friends. Champigny was recalled to 
 France (1702) to take position as intendant at Havre. — Ed. 
 
 The original or elk of Canada is not to be confounded with the American 
 elk or wapiti (Census Canadensis ), called La Biche by the French ; this is the moose 
 of northern North America (Cervus alches ). See Caton, Antelope and Deer of North 
 America (New York, 1877). — Ed. 
 
104 Some New Voyages 
 
 part of the Foot; fo that ’tis tied faft by [57.] the two Latch- 
 ets, which run twice round about the Heel, and every ftep 
 they make upon the Snow, the fore-part of the Foot finks into 
 that hole, as often as they raife their Heel. By the help of 
 this Contrivance they walk fafter upon the Snow, than one 
 can do with Shoes upon a beaten path: And indeed ’tis fo 
 neceffary for them, that ’twould be otherwife impoflible not 
 only to hunt and range the Woods, but even to go to Church, 
 notwithftanding they are fo near; for commonly the Snow is 
 three or four Foot deep in that Country during the Winter. 
 Being oblig’d to march thirty or forty Leagues in the Woods 
 in purfuit of the above-mention’d Animals, I found that the 
 fatigue of the Journey equal’d the pleafure of it. 
 
 The Ongnal is a fort of Elk, not much different from that 
 we find in Mufcovy. ’Tis as big as an Auvergne Moyle, and 
 much of the fame fhape, abating for its Muzzle, its Tail, and its 
 great flat Horns, which weigh fometimes 300, and fometimes 
 400 weight, if we may credit thofe who pretend to have 
 weigh’d ’em. This Animal ufually reforts to planted Coun¬ 
 tries. Its Hair is long and brown; and the Skin is ftrong and 
 hard, but not thick. The Flefh of the Orignal , efpecially that 
 of the Female fort, eats delicioufly; and ’tis faid, that the far 
 hind Foot of the Female kind, is a Cure for the Falling- 
 Sicknefs; it neither runs nor skips, but its trot will almoft 
 keep up with the running of a Hart. The Savages affure us, 
 that in Summer ’twill trot three Days and three Nights with¬ 
 out intermiflion. This fort of Animals commonly gather into 
 a body towards the latter end of Autumn; and the Herds are 
 
to North- America. I05 
 
 largeft in the beginning of the Spring, at which time the fhe 
 ones are in rutting; but after their heat is over, they all dif- 
 Perfe themfelves. We hunted ’em in the following manner: 
 Firft of all, we went 40 Leagues to the Northward of the River 
 of St. Laurence , [58] where we found a little Lake of three or 
 four Leagues in Circumference, and upon the banks of that 
 Lake, we made Hutts for our felves of the barks of Trees, 
 having firft clear’d the Ground of the Snow that cover’d it. 
 In our Journey thither, we kill’d as many Hares and Wood- 
 hens, as we could eat. When we had fitted up our Hutts, the 
 Savages went out upon the difcovery of the Elks, fome to the 
 Northward, and fome to the South, to the diftance of two or 
 three Leagues from the Hutts. As foon as they difcover’d 
 any frefh foot-fteps, they detach’d one of their number to give 
 us notice, to the end, that the whole Company might have the 
 pleafure of feeing the chace. We trac’d thefe foot-fteps fome- 
 times for one, and fometimes for two Leagues, and then fell 
 in with five, ten, fifteen or twenty Elks in a body; which pref- 
 ently betook themfelves to flight, whether a part or in a Body, 
 and funk into the Snow up to their Breaft. Where the Snow 
 was hard and condenfated, or where the froft following wet 
 Weather had glaz’d it above, we came up with ’em after the 
 chace of a quarter of a League: But when the Snow was foft 
 or juft fallen, we were forc’d to purfue ’em three or four 
 Leagues before we could catch ’em, unlefs the Dogs happen’d 
 to flop ’em where the Snow was very deep. When we came 
 up with them, the Savages fired upon ’em with Fufees. If the 
 Elks be much inrag’d they’ll fometimes turn upon the Sav- 
 
106 Some New Voyages 
 
 ages, who cover themfelves with Boughs in order to keep off 
 their Feet, with which they would crufli ’em to pieces. As 
 foon as they are kill’d, the Savages make new Hutts upon the 
 fpot, with great Fires in the middle; while the Slaves are 
 imploy’d in fleaing ’em, and ftretching out the Skins in the 
 open Air. One of the Soldiers that accompany’d me, told me 
 one Day, that to withftand the violence of the Cold, one ought 
 to have his Blood compos’d of Brandy, [59] his Body of 
 Brafs, and his Eyes of Glafs: And I muft fay, he had fome 
 ground for what he fpoke, for we were forc’d to keep a Fire 
 all round us, all the Night long. As long as the Flefh of thefe 
 Animals lafts, the Savages feldom think of ftirring; but when 
 ’tis all confum’d, they then look out for a new Difcovery. 
 Thus they continue to hunt, till the Snow and the Ice are 
 melted. As foon as the great thaw commences, ’tis impoffible 
 for ’em to travel far; fo that they content themfelves with the 
 killing of Hares and Partridges, which are very numerous in 
 the Woods. When the Rivers are clear of the Ice, they make 
 Canows of the Elk-skins, which they fow together very eafily, 
 covering the Seams with a fat fort of Earth inftead of pitch. 
 This work is over in four or five days time, after which they 
 return home in the Canows with all their Baggage. 
 
 This, Sir, was our Diverfion for three Months in the Woods. 
 We took fifty fix Elks, and might have kill’d twice as many, 
 if we had hunted for the benefit of the Skins. In the Summer 
 feafon, the Savages have two ways of killing ’em, both of which 
 are equally troublefom. One confifts in hanging a Rope-gin 
 between two Trees, upon a Pafs furrounded with Thorns; the 
 
to North- America. 107 
 
 other is compafs’d by crauling like Snakes among the Trees 
 *md Thickets, and approaching to ’em upon the Leeward fide, 
 fo that they may be {hot with a Fufee. Harts and Caribous 
 are kill’d both in Summer and Winter, after the fame manner 
 with the Elks; excepting that the Caribou’s,which are a kind 
 of wild Affes, make an eafie efcape when the Snow is hard, by 
 vertue of their broad Feet; whereas the Elk finks as fall as 
 he nfes. 1 In fine, I am fo well pleas’d with the hunting of this 
 Country, that I have refolv’d to imploy all my leifure time 
 upon the Exercife. The Savages have promifed, that in three 
 Months time [60] I (hall fee other forts of chafes, which will 
 prove lefs fatiguing, and more agreeable. I am, 
 
 SIR , 
 
 Tours , &c. 
 
 Caribou is the American woodland reindeer, Rangifer caribou or tarandus. 
 By the term hart,” Lahontan intends the common deer, Cervus virginianm. — Ed. 
 
io8 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER XI. 
 
 Dated at Boucberville May 28. 1687. 
 
 Being a curious Defcription of the Hunting of divers Animals. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 Y OU complain that the laft year you receiv’d but one of 
 my Letters, dated July 8. and with the fame breath affure 
 me, that you writ two to me, neither of which is come to hand. 
 
 I receiv’d a Letter from you this Day, which is fo much the 
 more acceptable, that I thought you had been dead, and 
 that I find you continue to give proof of your remembrance 
 of me. I find by your Letter, that you have an agreeable 
 relifh for the curious Elk-Hunting in this Country, and that 
 a further account of our other hunting Adventures, would 
 meet with a welcome Reception. This Curiofity, indeed, is 
 worthy of fo great a Hunts-Man as your felf; but at prefent 
 I muft beg your excufe as to the Beaver-hunting, for I know 
 nothing of it yet but by hear-fay. 
 
 In the beginning of September , I fet out in a Canow upon 
 feveral Rivers, Marfhes, and Pools, that difembogue in the 
 Champlain Lake, being accompany’d with thirty or forty of 
 the Savages that are very expert in Shooting and Hunting, 
 and perfectly [61] well acquainted with the proper places for 
 finding Water-foul, Deer, and other fallow Beafts. The firft 
 
to North- America. I09 
 
 Poft we took up was upon the fide of a Marfli or Fen of four 
 or five Leagues in Circumference; and after we had fitted up 
 our Hutts, the Savages made Hutts upon the Water in feveral 
 places. Thefe Water-Hutts are made of the branches and 
 leaves of Trees, and contain three or four Men: For a Decoy 
 they have the skins of Geefe, Buftards, and Ducks, dry’d and 
 Huff’d with Hay, the two feet being made faff with two Nails 
 to a fmall piece of a light plank, which floats round the Hutt. 
 This place being frequented by wonderful numbers of Geefe, 
 Ducks, Buftards, Teals, and an infinity of other Fowl unknown 
 to the Europeans ; when thefe Fowls fee the fluff’d Skins fwim- 
 ming with the Heads erecfted, as if they were alive, they repair 
 to the fame place, and fo give the Savages an opportunity of 
 ftiooting ’em, either flying, or upon the Water; after which 
 the Savages get into their Canows and gather ’em up. They 
 have likewife a way of catching ’em with Nets, ftretch’d upon 
 the furface of the Water at the Entries of the Rivers. In a 
 word, we eat nothing but Water-fowl for fifteen Days; after 
 which we refolv’d to declare War againft the Turtle-Doves, 
 which are fo numerous in Canada, that the Biftiop has been 
 forc’d to excommunicate ’em oftner than once, upon the 
 account of the Damage they do to the Producft of the Earth. 
 With that view, we imbarqued and made towards a Meadow, 
 in the Neighbourhood of which, the Trees were cover’d with 
 that fort of Fowl, more than with Leaves: For juft then ’twas 
 the feafon in which they retire from the North Countries, and 
 repair to the Southern Climates; and one would have thought, 
 that all the Turtle-Doves upon Earth had chofe to pafs thro’ 
 
110 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 this place. For the eighteen or twenty days that we ftay’d 
 there, I firmly believe that a thoufand [62] Men might have 
 fed upon ’em heartily, without putting themfelves to any 
 trouble. You muft know, that through the middle of this 
 Meadow there runs a Brook, upon which I and two young 
 Savages ftiot feveral Snipes, Rayles, and a certain fort of Fowl 
 call’d Bateurs de faux, which is as big as a Quail, and eats very 
 delicioufly. 1 
 
 In the fame place we kill’d fome Musk-Rats, or a fort of 
 Animals which refemble a Rat in their fhape, and are as big 
 as a Rabbet. The Skins of thefe Rats are very much valued, 
 as differing but little from thofe of Beavers. Their Tefticles 
 fmell fo ftrong of Musk, that no Civet or Antilope that Afia 
 affords, can boaft of fuch a ftrong and fweet fmell. We spy’d 
 ’em in the Mornings and Evenings, at which time they ufually 
 appear upon the Water with their Nofe to the Windward, and 
 betray themfelves to the Huntfmen, by the curling of the 
 Water. The Fouteraux, which are an amphibious fort of little 
 Pole-Cats, are catch’d after the fame manner. I was likewife 
 entertain’d upon this occafion, with the killing of certain little 
 Beafts, call’d Siffleurs, or Whiftlers, with allufion to their wonted 
 way of whittling or whizzing at the Mouth of their Holes in 
 fair Weather. They are as big as Hares, but fomewhat fhorter, 
 their Flefh is good for nothing, but their Skins are recom- 
 
 1 Many early travellers speak of the number of wild pigeons (Ectopistes migra- 
 toria). See Jesuit Relations , index. Batteurs de faux are the North American rail 
 (Porzana Carolina) — in French, rale de la Caroline. This identification is made 
 by M. Dionne, curator of Laval University, Quebec. — Ed. 
 
to ./Vor^-America. 
 
 iii 
 
 mended by their rarity. The Savages gave me an opportunity 
 of hearing one of thefe Creafures whiltle for an hour together, 
 after which they fhot it. 1 To gratifie the curiofityl had to fee 
 fuch diverfity of Animals, they made a diligent fearch for the 
 Holes or Dens of the Carcaioux , and having found fome at the 
 diftance of two or three Leagues from the Fen upon which we 
 were polled, they conduced me to the place. At the break 
 of day we planted our felves round the Holes, with our Bellies 
 upon the Ground; and left fome Slaves to hold the Dogs a 
 Musket-fhot behind [63] us. As foon as thefe Animals per¬ 
 ceiv’d Day-light, they came out of their Holes, which were 
 immediately Hop’d up by the Savages, and upon that the 
 Dogs fetch’d ’em up with eafe. We faw but two of ’em, 
 which made a vigorous defence againll the Dogs, but were 
 ftrangled after a difpute of half an hour. Thefe Animals are 
 not unlike a Badger, only they are bigger, and more mifchiev- 
 ous. 2 Tho’ our Dogs shew’d a great deal of Courage in attack¬ 
 ing the Carcaioux , they betray’d their Cowardice the next day 
 in a rencounter with a Porcupine, which we fpy’d upon a little 
 Tree. To obtain the pleafure of feeing the Porcupine fall, we 
 cut down the Tree; but neither the Dogs nor we durft go 
 near it: The Dogs only bark’d and jump’d round it; for it 
 darted its long and hard hair like fo many Bodkins, three or 
 
 1 Muskrats ( Fiber zibethicus ) are widely distributed over the North American 
 continent. The “ whistler ” is the hoary marmot (Arctomys pruniosus) . M. Dionne 
 thinks that foutereaux ” must be mink ( Lutreola vison) , which is amphibious, 
 preys on fish, and is a foe to the muskrat. — Ed. 
 
 2 Carcajou is the usual Canadian term for the wolverine (Gulo luscus) , also 
 called at times the “ beaver eater.’’— Ed. 
 
112 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 four paces off. At laft we pelted it to death, and put it upon 
 the fire to burn off its Darts; after which we fcalded it like a 
 Pig, took out the Intrails, and roafted it: But tho’ ’twas very 
 fat, I could not relifh it fo well as to comply with the affertion 
 of the Natives, who alledge, that it eats as well as a Capon or 
 a Partridge. 
 
 After the Turtle-Doves had all pafs’d over the place, in 
 queft of their Southern retreats, the Savages offer’d to fend 
 fome of their number with Canows to condud me home, before 
 the Rivers and Lakes were frozen over; for themfelves were 
 to tarry out for the Elk-hunting; and they imagin’d that the 
 Cold and Hardfhip attending that Exercife, had made me Tick 
 of it the year before. However, we had then a Month good 
 before the commencement of the Froft, and in that interval 
 of time, they proffer’d to entertain me with more diverting 
 Game than any I had feen before. They propos’d to go fif¬ 
 teen or fixteen Leagues further up the Country, affuring me, 
 that they knew of a certain place that had the mod advan¬ 
 tageous fituation [64] in the World, both for Pleafure and 
 Profit, and that afforded great plenty of Otters, of the Skins 
 of which they mean’d to make a great Cargoe. Accordingly 
 we pull d down our Hutts, and having imbarqu’d in our 
 Canows, fail d up the River, till we came to a little Lake of 
 two Leagues in Circumference, at the end of which we faw 
 another greater Lake, divided from this by an Ifthmus of 150 
 Paces in length. We pitch’d our Hutts at the diftance of a 
 League from that Ifthmus; and fome of the Savages fifh’d for 
 Trouts, while the reft were imploy’d in laying Traps for the 
 
to North- America. 
 
 Otters upon the brinks of the Lake. Thefe Traps are made 
 of five Stakes plac’d in the form of an oblong Quadrangle, 
 fo as to make a little Chamber, the Door of which is kept up,’ 
 and fupported by a Stake. To the middle of this Stake they 
 tye a firing which paffes thro’ a little fork, and has a Trout 
 well fallen d to the end of it. Now, when the Otter comes 
 on fhoar, and fees this bait, he puts above half his Body into 
 that fatal Cage, in order to fwallow the Fifh; but he no 
 fooner touches, than the firing to which ’tis made fall pulls 
 away the Stake that fupports the Door, upon which an heavy 
 and loaded Door falls upon his Reins and quafhes him. 
 During our Pilgrimage in that part of the Country, the Sav¬ 
 ages took above two hundred and fifty Canada Otters; the 
 Skins of which are infinitely prittier than thofe of Mufcovy or 
 Sweden. The bell of ’em which are not worth two Crowns in 
 this place, are fold in France for four or five, and fometimes 
 for ten, if they are black and very rough. As foon as the 
 Savages had fet their Traps, they gave orders to their Slaves 
 to go round the Lake every Morning, in order to take out the 
 amphibious Animals. After that they conduced me to the 
 above-mention’d Ifthmus, where I was furpriz’d to fee a fort 
 of a Park or Fence made of Trees, fell’d one upon another, 
 [65] and interlac d with Thorns and Branches; with a quad¬ 
 rangular inclofure of Stakes at the end of it, the entry of 
 which was very narrow. They gave me to know, that they 
 ufed to hunt Harts in that place, and promis’d to divert me 
 with the fhew, as foon as the Inclofures were a little mended. 
 
 In effect, they carry’d me two or three Leagues off, upon 
 8 
 
n 4 Some New Voyages 
 
 fuch Roads as had nothing on either fide but Fens and 
 Marihes; and after they had difpers’d themfelves, fome on 
 one hand and fome on the other, with a Dog for every Man; 
 
 I faw a great many Harts running to and again, in queft of 
 places of Safety. The Savage that I kept company with, 
 affur’d me, that he and I had no occafion to walk very fail, 
 becaufe he had took the ftraighteft and the neareft Road. 
 Before us we faw above ten Harts, which were fore d to turn 
 back, rather than throw themfelves into the Marfh, of which 
 they could never get clear. At laft, after walking a great 
 pace, and running now and then, we arriv’d at the Park, and 
 found the Savages lying flat upon the Ground all round it, in 
 order to fhut up the entry of the flake Inclofure as foon as 
 the Harts enter’d. We found thirty five Harts in the place, 
 and, if the Park had been better fenc’d, we might have had 
 above fixty; for the nimbleft and lighteft of ’em, skip d over 
 before they came to enter the Inclofure. We kill’d a great 
 many of ’em, but fpar’d the Dams, becaufe they were great 
 with young. I ask’d of the Savages the Tongues and the 
 Marrow of the Harts, which they gave me very readily. The 
 Flefh was very fat, but not delicious, excepting fome few bits 
 about the Ribs. But after all, this was not our only Game; 
 for two days after we went a Bear-hunting, and the Savages 
 who fpend three parts of four of their life in Hunting in the 
 Woods, are very dexterous at that Exercife, efpecially in Ang¬ 
 ling out the Trunks of the Trees upon [66] which the Bears 
 Neftle. I could not but admire their knowledge in that Point, 
 when, as we were walking up and down in a Foreft, at the 
 
to North- America. 11 5 
 
 diftance of an hundred Paces one from another, I heard one 
 Savage call to another, Here’s a Bear. I askt ’em how he 
 knew that there was a Bear upon the Tree which he knock’d 
 with his Axe; and they all reply’d, that ’twas as eafily diftin- 
 guilh’d as the print of an Elks foot in the Snow. For five or 
 fix times they never mifs’d; for after they had knock’d two 
 or three times upon the Trunk of the Tree, the Bear came 
 out of its hole, and was prefently fhot. The Canada Bears 
 are extream black, but not mifchievous, for they never attack 
 one, unlefs they be wounded or fir’d upon. They are fo fat, 
 efpecially in the Autumn, that they can fcarce walk: Thofe 
 which we kill’d were extream fat, but their fat is good for 
 nothing but to be burnt, whereas their Flelh, and, above all, 
 their Feet are very nice Victuals. The Savages affirm, that no 
 Fleffi is fo delicious as that of Bears; and indeed, I think they 
 are in the right of it. While we rang’d up and down in quell 
 of Bears, we had the pleafure of fpying fome Martins and 
 wild Cats upon the branches of the Trees, which the Savages 
 fhot in the Head to preferve their Skin. But the moll Com¬ 
 ical thing I faw, was the Stupidity of the Wood-hens, which 
 fit upon the Trees in whole Flocks, and are kill’d one after 
 another, without ever offering to ftir. Commonly the Savages 
 Ihoot at ’em with Arrows, for they fay they are not worth a 
 Ihoot of Powder, which is able to kill an Elk or an Hart. I 
 have ply’d this fort of Fowling in the Neighbourhood of our 
 Cantons or Habitations in the Winter time, with the help of 
 a Dog who found out the Trees by fcent, and then bark’d; 
 upon which I approach’d to the Tree, and found the Fowls 
 
ii6 Some New Voyages 
 
 upon the Branches. When the thaw came, I went two or three 
 Leagues further [67] up the Lake, in Company with fome 
 Canade/e, on purpofe to fee that Fowl flap with its Wings. 
 Believe me, Sir, this fight is one of the greateft Curiofities in 
 the World; for their flapping makes a noife much like that 
 of a Drum all about, for the fpace of a Minute or thereabouts; 
 then the noife ceafes for half a quarter of an Hour, after 
 which it begins again. By this noife we were directed to the 
 place where the unfortunate Moor-hens fat, and found ’em 
 upon rotten moffy Trees. By flapping one Wing againft the 
 other, they mean to call their Mates; and the humming noife 
 that infues thereupon, may be heard half a quarter of a League 
 off. This they do only in the Months of April, May, Septem¬ 
 ber, and Ottober; and, which is very remarkable, a Moorhen 
 never flaps in this manner, but upon one Tree. It begins at 
 the break of day, and gives over at nine a Clock in the Morn¬ 
 ing, till about an hour before Sunfet that it flutters again, and 
 continues fo to do till Night: I proteft to you, that I have 
 frequently contented my felf with feeing and admiring the 
 flapping of their Wings without offering to fhoot at ’em. 
 
 Befides the pleafure of fo many different forts of Diverfion, 
 I was likewife entertain’d in the Woods with the company of 
 the honeft old Gentlemen that liv’d in former Ages. Honeft 
 Homer, the amiable Anacreon , and my dear Lucian, were my 
 infeparable Companions. Ariftotle too defir’d paflionately to 
 go along with us, but my Canow was too little to hold his 
 bulky Equipage of Peripatetick Silogifms: So that he was 
 e’en fain to trudge back to the Jefuits, who vouchfaf’d him a 
 
to North- America. U7 
 
 very honourable Reception. I had a great deal of reafon 
 to rid my felf of that great Philofopher’s Company; for his 
 ridiculous Jargon, and his fenfelefs Terms, would have frighted 
 the Savages out of their wits. Farewell, Sir, I am now arriv’d 
 at once at the end of [68] my Game and my Letter. I have 
 heard no News from Quebec , where they continue to make 
 mighty Preparations for fome confiderable Enterprife. Time 
 will difcover a great many things, an Account of which I mean 
 to tranfmit to you by the Ships that are to leave this Harbour 
 in the end of Autumn. I conclude with my ufual Compliment, 
 
 Tours , &c. 
 
ii8 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER XII. 
 
 Dated at 5 /. Helens , over againft Monreal? 
 
 June 8. 1687. 
 
 The Chevalier de Vaudreuil arrives in Canada with fome Troops. 
 Both the Regular Troops and the Militia, are pofted at St. 
 Helens, in a readinefs to march againjl the Iroquefe 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I HAVE fuch a budget-full of News, that I know not where 
 to begin. I receiv’d Letters but now from Mr. Senelay’s 
 Office; by which I have Advice, that Orders are fent to Mr. 
 Denonville to allow me to go for France, upon my private 
 Concerns. 1 2 No longer fince than Yefterday, he told me I 
 fhould have Leave to go after the Campaign is over. My 
 Relations write, that the procuring of this Leave coft ’em a 
 great deal of pains; and that the fooner I come to Paris, 
 ’twill be the better for me. 
 
 The Governour arriv’d at Monreal three or four days ago, 
 
 1 St. Helen Island, in the St. Lawrence opposite Montreal, was named by Cham¬ 
 plain in honor of his wife. It was the seigniory of Jacques Le Moyne, sieur de Ste. 
 Helene, second son of Longueuil, who distinguished himself in the opening of Fron- 
 tenac’s War, and fell at the siege of Quebec (1690). The island, where the troops 
 rendezvoused for Denonville’s expedition, is now a public park. — Ed. 
 
 2 Jean Baptiste Colbert, marquis de Seignelay, eldest son of the great Colbert, 
 succeeded his father (1683) as minister of the marine, which office he administered 
 until his death in 1690. The colonies were controlled by this department of the 
 French administration. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. II9 
 
 with all the Militia of the Country, who lie now incamp’d 
 along with our Troops in that Ifland. Mr. D’Amblemont has 
 been at Quebec this Month, with five or fix fecond Rate Ships, 
 having [69] fail’d from Rocbel thither in 28 days. He brought 
 over with him ten or twelve Companies of Marines, who are 
 to guard the Colony while we invade the Iroquefe Country. 1 
 Tis faid » that laft Year Mr. Denonville fent feveral Canadefe , 
 that were known and efteem’d by the Savages, our Allies, who 
 live upon the Banks of the Lakes and the adjacent Countries, 
 with Orders to engage ’em to favour our Defign of extirpat¬ 
 ing the Iroquefe. In the Winter he made Magazines of Ammu¬ 
 nition and Provifions, and now he has fent feveral Canows, 
 laden with Provifions, to Fort Frontenac, and given Orders for 
 the building of an infinite number of fuch Boats as I defcrib’d 
 in my fourth Letter, for the Tranfporting of our twenty Com¬ 
 panies of Marines. The Militia who are incamp’d in this 
 Ifland along with our Troops, make fifteen hundred Men, 
 and are join’d by five hundred of the converted Savages that 
 live in the Neighbourhood of Quebec and the Ifland of Monreal. 
 The Chevalier Vaudreuil , who is come from France to Com¬ 
 mand our Troops, is refolv’d to appear in the Field, notwith- 
 ftanding the Fatigue of his Paffage to Canada 2 : and the 
 
 1 D Amblemont commanded the royal ships sent out with reinforcements. There 
 were now about sixteen hundred regular troops in the colony. — Ed. 
 
 2 Philippe de Rigaud, Chevalier de Vaudreuil, came to Canada in 1687 as com¬ 
 mander of the king’s regiment. Three years later he married a Canadian, and per¬ 
 manently threw in his fortunes with the colony. His services were of sufficient value 
 to secure him a marquisate (1702), when he was appointed governor to succeed Cal- 
 Iieres, an office held until his death in 1726. His son was the last French governor 
 
120 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 Governour of Monreal is of the fame mind. Mr. de Chatnpigni , 
 the Intendant of this Country, went from hence to Fort Fron- 
 tenac two days ago. The day after to morrow, Mr. de Denott- 
 ville means to march at the Head of his little Army, being 
 accompany’d with an ancient Iroquefe , that is very much 
 refpeded by the five Cantons. The Hiftory and various 
 Adventures of this old Gentleman, are too tedious to bear a 
 Relation in this place. Every body is apprehenfive that this 
 Expedition will prove as fucceflefs as that of Mr. de la Barre: 
 And if their Apprehenfions are not difappointed, the King 
 lays out his Money to no purpofe. For my own part, when 
 I refled upon the Attempt we made three Years ago, I can’t 
 but think it impoflible for us to fucceed. Time will difcover 
 the Confequences of [70] this Expedition; and perhaps we 
 may come to repent, tho’ too late, of our complying with the 
 Advice of fome Difturbers of the Publick Peace, who projed 
 to enlarge their private Fortunes in a general Commotion. I 
 lay this down for an uncontefted Truth, that we are not able 
 to deftroy the Iroquefe by our felves: befides, what occafion 
 have we to trouble ’em, fince they give us no Provocation? 
 However, let the Event be what it will, I fhall not fail upon 
 my Return to tranfmit you a Journal of our Adions, unlefs it 
 be, that I embarque for Rocbel , and deliver it my felf: In the 
 mean time, believe me to be, 
 
 SIR , 
 
to North- America. 
 
 121 
 
 LETTER XIII. 
 
 Dated at Niagara , Jug. 2. 1687. 
 
 Reprefenting the unfavourable Iffue of the Campaign made in the 
 Iroquefe Country; the Difcovery of an Ambufcade; and the 
 iffuing of Orders for the Author to march with a Detachment 
 to the great Lakes. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 I T has been a Maxim in all Ages, That the Events of things 
 are not always anfwerable to Mens Expeditions: When 
 Men form to themfelves a promifing profped of comparing 
 their Ends, they frequently meet with the mortification of 
 feeing themfelves difappointed. This I fpeak by way of 
 application to my felf; for inftead of going for France , pur- 
 fuant to the Contents of the Letter I writ to you [71] two 
 Months ago, I am now oblig’d to ftraggle to one End of the 
 World, as you’ll find by the following Journal of our Expe¬ 
 dition. 
 
 We broke up from St. Helens much about the time I fpoke 
 of in my laft. Mr. de Champigni went before us with a ftrong 
 Guard, and arriv’d in a Canow at Fort Frontenac , eight or ten 
 days before we came up. As foon as he arriv’d, he fent two 
 or three hundred Canadefe to furprife the Villages of Kente and 
 Ganeouffe , which lie at the diftance of feven or eight Leagues 
 
122 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 from the Fort, and are inhabited by a fort of Iroquefe , that 
 deferv’d no other Ufage than what they met with. Our Cana- 
 defe had no great difficulty in mattering them; for they fur- 
 pris’d ’em when they leaft thought of any Alarm, and brought 
 ’em Prifoners to Fort Frontenac , where they were tied to Polls 
 with Cords round their Necks, Hands, and Feet. We arriv’d 
 at the Fort on the firft of July , after the encountering of fev- 
 eral Difficulties among the Water-falls, Catara< 5 ts, and Currents, 
 that I formerly defcrib’d to you in my Account of Mr. de la 
 Barre’s Expedition. We were more perplex’d in this Voyage 
 than the former; for our Boats were fo heavy, that we could 
 not tranfport ’em over Land as we did the Canows, but were 
 oblig’d to drag ’em up through the impracticable Paffes with 
 the force of Men and Ropes. Immediately upon our De- 
 barquing, I went ftraight to the Fort, where I faw the miferable 
 Prifoners in the abovemention’d Poflure. The fight of this 
 piece of Tyranny fill’d me at once with Compaffion and Hor¬ 
 ror ; but in the mean time the poor Wretches fung Night 
 and Day, that being the cuflomary Practice of the People of 
 Canada when they fall into the hands of their Enemies. They 
 complain’d, ‘ That they were betray’d without any ground; 
 
 ‘ that in compenfation for the care they had took ever fince 
 1 the Peace to furnifh the Garrifon with Fifh and Venifon, they 
 ‘were bound and [72] tied to Polls, and whip’d in fuch a 
 ‘ manner, that they could neither fleep, nor guard off the Flies; 
 
 ‘ that the only Requital they met with for procuring to the 
 ‘ French a Commerce in the Skins of Beavers and other Ani- 
 ‘ mals, was, to be doom’d to Slavery, and to fee their Fathers, 
 
to North- America. I23 
 
 ‘ and the ancient Men of their Country, murder’d before their 
 ‘ eyes. Are thefe the French , faid they, that the Jefuits cry’d 
 ‘ UP fo much f °r Men of Probity and Honour? Even the 
 ‘cruelleft fort of Death that Imagination it felf can reach, 
 ( vvouId be nothing to us in comparifon with the odious and 
 ( boiT ible Spedacle of the Blood of our Anceftors, that is fhed 
 1 fo inhumanely before our eyes. Affuredly, the five Villages 
 will revenge our Quarrel, and entertain an everlafting and 
 ‘juft Refentment of the tyrannical Ufage we now meet with.’ 
 I made up to one of thefe Wretches that was about five and 
 twenty Years old, and had frequently regal’d me in his Hutt, 
 not far from the Fort, during my fix Weeks Service in that 
 Place in the Year of Mr. de la Barrel Expedition. This poor 
 Man being Mafter of the Algonkin Language, I gave him to 
 know, that I was heartily griev’d to fee him in that difmal 
 Pofture; that I would take care to have Vi&uals and Drink 
 convey’d to him twice a day, and would give him Letters for 
 my Friends at Monreal , in order to his being us’d more favour¬ 
 ably than his Companions. He reply’d, That he faw and was 
 very well acquainted with the Horror that moft of the French 
 were affedled with, upon the view of the Cruelty they under¬ 
 went ; and, that he fcorn’d to be fed, or us’d more civily than 
 his Fellow Pnfoners. He gave me an account of the manner 
 in which they were furpris’d, and how their Anceftors were maf- 
 facred; and truly, I do not believe that any one can be touch’d 
 with more cutting and bitter Reflexions than this poor Man 
 was, when he recounted the many Services he had done the 
 French, during [73] the whole courfe of his Life : At laft, after 
 
124 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 many Sighs and Groans, he bow’d down his Head, and wrap’d 
 himfelf up in Silence. Qnaque poteft narrat, rejlabant ultima flevit. 
 But this was not the only thing that affe&ed me, when I beheld 
 the mifery of thefe innocent Creatures: I faw fome young 
 Savages of our fide burn their Fingers with Fire in their 
 lighted Pipes; which provok’d me to threfh ’em foundly: but 
 I was feverely reprimanded for my pains, and confin’d to my 
 Tent for five or fix days, where I only repented that I had not 
 dealt my blows in a double meafure. Thefe Savages relented 
 the matter fo highly, that they ran prefently to their Hutts, 
 and flew to their Fufees, in order to kill me. Nay, all that 
 could be done was fcarce fufficient to appeafe ’em; for the 
 Difpute came to that heighth, that they would have left us, if 
 it had not been that our Men affur’d ’em 
 I was || drunk, that all the French were pro¬ 
 hibited to give me either Wine or Brandy, 
 and that I Ihould certainly be imprifon’d as 
 foon as the Campaign were over. How¬ 
 ever, the poor Wretches, the Prifoners, were carried to Quebec; 
 from whence they are to be fent to the French Galleys. 1 Much 
 about that time, the Sieur dela Foreft , one of the Mr. dela Salle’s 
 Officers, arriv’d at the Fort in a great Canow, being conduced 
 
 || Among the Savages, 
 drunken Perfons are 
 always excus'd: for, 
 the Bottle attones for 
 all Crimes. 
 
 1 For the treacherous action of Denonville in seizing these friendly Iroquois, 
 reprisals were made on the colony. See Parkman, Frontenac, pp. 167-183. Thirty- 
 six were shipped to France as the first installment for the royal galleys. See Jes. Ret., 
 lxiii, p. 281. The remnant that survived were reprieved and sent back under Fron- 
 tenac’s care (1689). See list in Collection de Manuscrits relatifs a la Nouvelle 
 France (Quebec, 1883), i, p. 454. The French edition of Lahontan gives a more 
 extended and vivid narration of his own peril upon this occasion. — Ed. 
 

 Tfir Canon* ctttc/ 
 
 4444 4 ik 4 4 4 4 44 
 
 44 
 
 44 
 
 44 4 4 4 4 i. 4 44 
 
 M' DE LA 
 
 BARRES 
 
 44 
 44 
 44 
 44 
 4444 44 
 444444 
 
 / , rr> Jn?erprete< 
 
 fret ten nfifir**. - r 
 
 CAMP 
 
 inifitiet 
 

to North- America, 
 
 125 
 
 thither by eight or ten Coureurs de Bois . 1 He gave Mr. de 
 Denonville to underftand, that a Party of the Illinefe and the 
 Oumamis waited for the Hurons and the Outaouas at the Lake 
 of St. Claire , in order to joyn ’em, and to march with joint 
 Forces to the River of the Tfonotitouans, that being the place 
 of their general Rendezvous. 2 He added, that in the Lake of 
 the Hurons near MiJJilimakinac , Mr. de la Durantais 3 aflifted by 
 the Savages, our Allies, had taken an Englifli Company con¬ 
 ducted by fome Iroquefe , who had fifty [74] thoufand Crowns- 
 worth of Goods in their Canows, to be difpos’d of in exchange 
 
 1 Francis Dauphine, sieur de la Forest, was one of La Salle’s trusted lieuten¬ 
 ants. Born in 1648, he arrived in the colony with his chief (1675), who left him 
 (1678) in charge of Fort Frontenac. Thence he w r as summoned (1680-81) to accom¬ 
 pany La Salle and carry succor to Illinois. In 1683, his fort was treacherously seized 
 by La Barre, La Forest being offered the command if he would forsake La Salle’s 
 interests. He preferred to seek redress in France, where an order was issued restoring 
 all to him, in trust for his absent chief. In 1685, he was relieved of Fort Frontenac, 
 and joined Tonty in Illinois, whence he issued to aid this expedition. In 1690 
 La Forest and Tonty received a grant of Fort St. Louis, in Illinois; this being 
 revoked in 1702. La Forest then became La Mothe’s lieutenant at Detroit, and in 
 1710 was appointed commandant of this post, which position he held until 1714, 
 dying at Boucherville five years later. — Ed 
 
 2 As the sequel shows, the rendezvous was at Irondequoit Bay, Monroe County, 
 N. Y. The “River of the Tsonontouans ” was Irondequoit Creek, a highway 
 toward the towns of that nation. — Ed. 
 
 3 Olivier Morel de la Durantaye, born at Nantes in 1641, came to Canada with 
 the regiment de Carignan. A brief contemporary biography {Can. Arch., 1899, 
 Supp., p. 26) is as follows: “In 1662, ensign; in 1665, captain; in 1663, com¬ 
 mandant over the Ottawa country by order of the Court; in 1689, captain on half¬ 
 pay in Canada; in 1694, captain enpied in that country, where he has settled. A 
 good officer. An honest man ; ready for any service ; entitled to a company.” After 
 retiring from his command at Mackinac (1683-89), he aided in Frontenac’s War, 
 and was esteemed the first soldier in the colony. He died in 1717, leaving descend¬ 
 ants who still live in Canada. — Ed. 
 
i2 6 Some New Voyages 
 
 with the Nations that dwell upon thefe Lakes: as alfo, That 
 Mr. Dulhut had taken another Englifh Convoy, being affifted 
 by the Coureurs de Bois, and the Savages, who had fhar’d the 
 former Capture ; and that he had kept the Englifh and Iroquefe 
 as Prifoners, as well as their Commander, who was call’d Major 
 Gregory} In fine, he reprefented to Mr. de Denonville, that 
 ’twas high time for him to fet out from Fort Frontenac , if he 
 mean’d to appear at the general Rendezvous, where the Aux¬ 
 iliary Troops lent from the Lakes would arrive very fpeedily. 
 The next day, being the 3d of July , the Sieur de la Foreft em- 
 barqued again for Niagara , and fleer’d to the North-fide of 
 the Lake. At the fame time we embarqued, and flood to the 
 oppofite fide of the Lake, being favour’d by the Calms which 
 
 in that Month are very common. 
 
 By good luck, our whole Body arriv’d almoft at one and 
 the fame time in the River of the Tfonontouans; and upon that 
 occafion, the Savages, our Allies, who draw Predhftions from 
 the moft trifling Accidents, fhew’d their wonted Superftition 
 in taking this for an infallible Prefage of the utter Deftrudion 
 of the Iroquefe: tho’ after all they prov’d falfe Prophets, as 
 you will find by the fequel of this Letter. The fame Night 
 that we Landed, we hawl’d our Canows and Boats out of the 
 Water, and fet a ftrong Guard upon ’em. This done, we 
 
 T^ 7 an account of the capture of the English and Dutch traders commissioned 
 by Dongan, see Parkman, Frontenac, pp. 145-147; Y ■ Colon - f 1 ocs " 
 
 on. 018-322, 363. Colonel Patrick MacGregory emigrated with a colony from scot 
 land to Maryland, in 1684; later, he removed to New York and engaged in te 
 Indian trade. He was released from imprisonment and sent back to New York 1 
 the autumn of 1687, and next year was employed against the Indians in Maine. e 
 was killed during the Leisler rebellion in New York, 1691. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 127 
 
 built a Fort of Stakes or Pales, where we left the Sieur Dor- 
 villers with four hundred Men to guard our Shipping and 
 Baggage. 1 The next day, a young Canadefe, call’d Fontaine 
 Marion was unjuftly fhot to death. His cafe ftood thus : Hav¬ 
 ing travell’d frequently all over this Continent, he was perfectly 
 well acquainted with the Country, and with the Savages of 
 Canada; and after the doing of feveral good Services to the 
 King, defir’d Leave from the Governour general to continue 
 [75] his Travels, in order to carry on fome little Trade: but 
 his Requeft was never granted. Upon that he refolv’d to 
 remove to New England , the two Crowns being then in Peace. 
 I he Planters of New England gave him a very welcome 
 Reception; for he was an adtive Fellow, and one that under- 
 flood almoft all the Languages of the Savages. Upon this 
 Confideration he was employ’d to condudt the two Englifli 
 Convoys I fpoke of but now, and had the Misfortune to be 
 taken along with them. Now, to my mind, the Ufage he met 
 with from us was extream hard; for, we are in Peace with 
 England: and befides, that Crown lays Claim to the Property 
 of the Lakes of Canada. 
 
 The next Day we began our March towards the great 
 Village of the Tfonontouans , without any other Provifions than 
 ten Biskets a Man, which every one carry’d for himfelf. 2 
 
 1 Francis Chord, sieur de St. Romain dit d’ Orvilliers, was born near Lyons in 
 1639, came to Canada about 1660, and was prominent in military affairs in the colony 
 until his death in 1709. Denonville placed him in charge of Fort Frontenac (1685- 
 87), and he commanded in person one division of his expedition. — Ed. 
 
 2 The great village of the Seneca was situated in Ontario County, just south of 
 the present town of Victor. See map in Cayuga County Historical Society Collections , 
 iii, and Jes, Rel. t li, p. 293. — Ed. 
 
128 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 We had but feven Leagues to march in a great Wood of tall 
 Trees, upon a fmooth even Ground. The Coureurs de Bois , 
 with a Party of the Savages, led the Van, and the reft of the 
 Savages brought up the Rear, our Regular Troops and our 
 Militia being pofted in the middle. The firft Day the Army 
 march’d four Leagues, and the advanc’d Guards made no 
 Difcovery. The fecond Day our advanc’d Parties march’d up 
 to the very Fields of the Village without perceiving any thing, 
 tho’ they paft within a Piftol-fhot of five hundred Tfonontou- 
 ans, who lay flat upon the Ground, and fuffer d em to pafs 
 and repafs without moleftation. Upon their Intelligence we 
 march’d up with equal Precipitation and Confufion, being 
 bouy’d up with the Apprehenfion that the Iroquefe had fled, 
 and that at leaft their Women, Children, and fuperannuated 
 Perfons would fall into our hands. When we arriv’d at the 
 bottom of the Hill upon which the Ambufcade was plac’d, at 
 the diftance of a quarter of a League from the Village, they 
 began to raife their wonted Cry, which [76] was follow’d by 
 the firing of fome Muskets. Had you but feen, Sir, what 
 Diforder our Troops and Militia were in amidft the thick 
 Trees, you would have joyn’d with me, in thinking that fev- 
 eral thoufands of Europeans are no more than a fufficient 
 number to make head againft five hundred Barbarians. Our 
 Battalions were divided into ftraggling Parties, who fell in to 
 the right and left, without knowing where they went. Inftead 
 of firing upon the Iroquefe , we fir’d upon one another. ’Twas 
 to no purpofe to call in the Soldiers of fuch and fuch a Battal¬ 
 ion, for we could not fee thirty Paces off: In fine, we were fo 
 
to North- America. 129 
 
 diforder d, that the Enemy were going to clofe in upon us 
 with their Clubs in their hands; when the Savages of our 
 fide having rally’d, repuls’d the Enemy, and purfu’d ’em to 
 their Villages with fo much fury, that they brought off the 
 Heads of eighty, and wounded a great many. In this Adlion 
 we loft ten Savages, and a hundred French: We had twenty 
 or two and twenty wounded, in which number was the good 
 Father Angeleran the Jefuit, 1 who receiv’d a Musket-fhot in 
 thofe Parts which Origen chofe to lop off, in order to qualify 
 himfelf for inftrucfting the Fair Sex without the difturbance of 
 Paffion, or the danger of Scandal. When the Savages brought 
 in the Heads of their Enemies to Mr. de Denonville, they ask’d 
 him why he halted, and did not march up? He made Anfwer, 
 That he could not leave his wounded Men behind, and that 
 he thought it proper to encamp, that the Surgeons might 
 have time to drefs their Wounds. To obviate this Pretence, 
 the Savages offer’d to make Litters for the tranfporting of 
 em to the Village that lay but a little way off. But our 
 General did not approve of their Advice; upon which, not- 
 withftanding his Remonftrances, they drew up into a Body, 
 and tho’ they confifted of ten different Nations, agreed in a 
 joynt Refolution of purfuing their Enemy, in hopes of taking, 
 at [77] leaft their Women, their Old-men, and their Children. 
 
 1 Father Jean Enjalran (born in 1639) came to Canada in 1676, and the follow- 
 m S year was sent to the Ottawa mission at Mackinac, where he remained until 1688, 
 acting as superior of Ottawa missions for the last seven years. He had been instru¬ 
 mental in persuading the savages to join this expedition. The next year (1688) he 
 went to France, but was again in Canada until 1701, when he returned to his native 
 land for the last time, and died there in 1718. — Ed. 
 
 9 
 
130 Some New Voyages 
 
 Our General being acquainted with their Refolution, gave em 
 to know, that he earneftly defir’d they would reft for one day, 
 and not depart from his Camp, and that the next day he 
 would burn their Villages, and ftarve ’em to Death by fpoiling 
 their Crops. But they took this Compliment fo ill, that molt 
 of ’em return’d to their own Country; remonftrating, ‘ That 
 ‘ the French came out to fetch a Walk, rather than to wage 
 ‘ War, fince they would not take the Advantage of the belt 
 1 Opportunity in the World: That their Ardour, like a flafh 
 * of Fire, was extinguifh’d as foon as kindled: That twas a 
 1 fruitlefs Adventure, to draw together fo many Warriours, 
 
 1 from all Parts, to burn fome Hutts of Bark, that the Enemy 
 ‘ could rebuild in four days: That the 1 fonontouans did not 
 ‘ matter the fpoiling of their Corn, for that the other Iroquefe 
 1 Nations were able to fupply ’em: And in fine, That fince 
 1 they had joyn’d the French twice together to no purpofe, 
 
 ‘ they would never truft ’em for the future, in fpite of all the 
 Remonftrances they could make.’ Some are of the opinion, 
 that Mr. de Denonville ought to have gone farther; and others 
 affirm, that ’twas importable for him to do more than he did. 
 For my part, I fhall not venture upon any Decifion of the matter; 
 thofe who fit at the Helm are moft liable to be perplex’d. To 
 purfue the bare matter of Fadt; we march’d next day to the 
 great Village, and carry’d our wounded Men upon Litters: but 
 we found nothing there but Allies ; for the Iroquefe had burnt 
 the Village themfelves, by way of Precaution. Then we fpent 
 five or fix days in cutting down the Indian Corn with our 
 Swords. From thence we march’d to the two little Villages 
 
to Aor^-America. 
 
 131 
 
 of the Thegaronhies and the Danoncaritaoui , which lay about 
 two or three Leagues off. 1 Having done the like Exploits 
 there, we return’d to the Lake fide. In all thefe Villages we 
 [78] found plenty of Horfes, black Cattel, Fowl, and Hogs. 
 All the Country round afforded us a very charming, pleafant, 
 and even Profpedt. The Forefts thro which we march’d were 
 replenifh’d with Oak, Wall-nut, and wild Chefnut-Trees. 
 
 Two days after we imbarqu’d for Niagara , which lay thirty 
 Leagues off, and arriv’d there in four days. As foon as the 
 Troops had debarqu’d, we imploy’d ’em in making a Fort of 
 Pales with four Baflions, which was finifh’d in three days. 2 
 Here we mean to leave 120 Soldiers under the command of 
 Mr. des Bergeres, with Ammunition and Provifions for eight 
 Months. 3 The Fort Hands on the South fide of the Streight 
 of Herrii Lake, upon a Hill; at the foot of which, that Lake 
 falls into the Lake of Frontenac. Yefterday the Savages our 
 
 1 These villages were in the vicinity of Honeoye Falls, Monroe County, N. Y. 
 See Hawley, “Jesuit Missions among the Senecas,” in Cayuga Co. Hist. Soc. Col¬ 
 lections , iii, pp. 25, 26. — Ed. 
 
 2 It had long been a favorite plan of the leaders of New France to place a fort at 
 Niagara, and thus intercept the fur-trade which passed through the Great Lakes to 
 the Iroquois and English. La Salle built a block house on this site in 1679, which 
 was destroyed by the Senecas; see Hennepin, New Discovery. Dongan (1686) 
 complained that Denonville was planning to build “ a fort at Ohinagero on this side 
 the lake, within my Master’s territoryes without question.” N. Y. Colon. Docs. , iii, 
 p. 455. Denonville ordered the demolition of this fort, Sept. 15, 1688. A permanent 
 French fort was begun on this site in 172 6, being captured by the English (1759), 
 and later surrendered to the Americans (1796). See Severance, Old Trails on the 
 Niagara Frontier (Buffalo, 1899). — Ed. 
 
 3 Chevalier de Troyes was left first in command at this fort, where he died in the 
 following year. See N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, pp. 335, 368, 396. Raymond Blaise 
 des Bergeres, sieur de Rigauville, was captain of a company stationed at Niagara; 
 later he was major at Three Rivers. His son commanded at Niagara (1732-36).— Ed, 
 
132 Some New Voyages 
 
 Allies took leave of Mr. de Denonville , and made a Speech after 
 their ufual manner; in which, among other things, they infinu- 
 ated, That they were pleas’d to fee a Fort fo conveniently 
 plac’d, which might favour their retreat upon any Expedition 
 againft the Iroquefe; That they depended upon his promife, 
 of continuing the Whr till the five Nations fhould be either 
 deftroy’d or difpoffefs’d of their Country; That they earneftly 
 defir’d that part of the Army fhould take the Field out of hand, 
 and continue in it both Winter and Summer, for that they 
 would certainly do the fame on their part; and in fine, That 
 for as much as their Alliance with France was chiefly grounded 
 upon the promifes the French made of liftening to no Pro- 
 pofals of Peace, till the five Nations fhould be quite extirpated; 
 they therefore hop’d they would be as good as their Word; 
 efpecially confidering that a Ceffation of Arms would fully 
 the honour of the French , and infallibly difengage their Allies. 
 Mr. de Denonville gave them frefh affurances of his intention 
 to carry on the War, in fpite of all the efforts of the Iroquefe; 
 and in a [79] word, protefted that he would profecute this 
 defign fo vigoroufly, that in the end thefe Barbarians fhould 
 be either quite cut off, or oblig’d to fhift their Seats. 
 
 The General call’d for me that very day, and acquainted 
 me, that in regard I underflood the Language of the Savages, 
 I was to go with a Detachment to cover their Country pur- 
 fuant to their Requefl. At the fame time he affur’d me, he 
 would inform the Court of the Reafons that mov’d him to 
 detain me in Canada , nothwithflanding that he had orders to 
 give me leave to go home. You may eafily guefs, Sir, that I 
 
to North- America. 133 
 
 was thunderftruck with thefe News, when I had fed my felf 
 all along with the hopes of returning to France , and promoting 
 my Intereft, which is now fo much thwarted. However, I was 
 forc’d to be contented; for the greater Power bears the fway 
 all the World over. Purfuant to my orders, I made all fuit- 
 able preparations for my Voyage, without lofs of time. I took 
 leave of my Friends, who fingled out the bell Soldiers for me; 
 and made me Prefents of Cloaths, Tobacco, Books, and an 
 infinity of other things, that they could fpare without any 
 inconveniency, becaufe they were then upon their return to 
 the Colony, which affords every thing that one can defire. By 
 good luck, I brought my Allrolabe with me from Monreal , 
 which will enable me to take the Latitudes of this Lake, and to 
 make feveral other ufeful Obfervations; for in all appearance, 
 I fhall be out two years or fuch a matter. The Men of my 
 Detachment are brisk proper fellows, and my Canows are 
 both new and large. I am to go along with Mr. Dulhut , a 
 Lions Gentleman, who is a Perfon of great Merit, and has done 
 his King and his Country very confiderable Services. Mr. de 
 Tonti makes another of our Company 1 ; and a Company of 
 Savages is to follow us. Mr. de Denonville will fet out [80] 
 
 1 Henry de Tonty was a Neapolitan, whose father invented the insurance system 
 called from his name, “tontine.” Tonty entered the French service at the age of 
 eighteen, and won distinction in the army, where he lost one of his hands. In 1677 
 he met La Salle, and embarked on his enterprise of discovery, accompanied him to 
 the Illinois, and there took command of Fort St. Louis. After La Salle’s death this 
 fort was granted to Tonty and La Forest as a seigniory, and there for ten years or more 
 they held command. Tonty assisted Cadillac in founding Detroit (1701), after which 
 he was ordered to aid Iberville in Louisiana, where he died of yellow fever in 1704. 
 See Legler, “ Henry de Tonty,” Parkman Club Papers (Milwaukee, 1896). — Ed. 
 
! 34 Some New Voyages 
 
 for the Colony by the North fide of the Lake of Frontenac, 
 in two or three days. He defigns to leave at Fort Frontenac, a 
 number of Men and Ammunition equal to what he leaves here. 
 I herewith tranfmit fome Letters for my Relations, which I beg 
 you would convey to their Hands. If I meet with any oppor¬ 
 tunity, I’ll fend you a Journal of my Voyage the next year. In 
 the mean time, I am, 
 
 SIR , 
 
 Tours , &c. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 i 35 
 
 LETTER XIV. 
 
 Dated at Mijjilimakinac May 26. 1688. 
 
 The Author leaves Niagara, and has an Incounter with the Iro- 
 quefe at the end of the Land-Carriage. The after part of his 
 Vioyage. A Defcription of the Country. He arrives at Fort St. 
 Jofeph in the Mouth of the Lake of Hurons. A Detachment 
 of the Hurons arrive at the fame place. After an Ingagement, 
 they fet out for Miflilimakinac. A flrange Adventure of Mr. 
 de la Salle’s Brother. Miflilimakinac defcrib’d. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 I AM at a lofs to determine whether ’tis owing to Stupidity, 
 or greatnefs of Mind, that the lofs of my Eftate, which I 
 infallibly forefee, do’s not at all affecft me. Your Letter is but 
 too fhrewd a confirmation of my Prophecy: However, I can¬ 
 not but purfue your feafonable advice in writing to Court; 
 [81] in the meantime fuffer me to fatisfie my promife, in pre- 
 fenting you with a relation of my Voyages. 
 
 I imbarqued at Niagara Auguft 3. on board a Canow 
 mann’d with eight Soldiers of my Detachment; and after run¬ 
 ning three Leagues againft the Current of the Streight, came 
 that fame day to the place where the Navigation flops. There 
 I met with the Sieur Grifolon de la Tourette, Brother to Mr. 
 Dulhut, who had ventur’d to come from Mijjilimakinac with a 
 
i 3 6 Some New Voyages 
 
 Tingle Canow to joyn the Army. 1 The 4 th we commenc’d our 
 great Land-Carriage to the Southward, being oblig’d to tranf- 
 port our Canows from a League and a half below the great 
 Fall of Niagara , to half a League above it. Before we got at 
 any beaten or level Path, we were forc’d to climb up three 
 Mountains, upon which an hundred Iroquefe might have 
 knock’d us all on the head with Stones. 2 While we were 
 imploy’d in this tranfport Service, we were alarm’d twice or 
 thrice; which caution’d us to keep a ftridt guard, and to tranf¬ 
 port our Baggage with all poffible Expedition: Nay, after all 
 our precautions we were forc’d to leave one half of our Bag¬ 
 gage about half way, upon the difcovery of a thoufand Iroquefe 
 that march’d towards us. Do you judge, Sir, if we had not 
 fome reafon to be alarm’d; and whether we would ftand to 
 Sacrifice all to the natural principle of Self prefervation; tho’ 
 indeed we were in danger of lofing our Lives as well as our 
 Baggage: for we had not imbarqued above the Fall half a 
 quarter of an hour, when the Enemy appear’d upon the 
 Streight fide. I affure you, I ’fcap’d very narrowly; for about 
 a quarter of an hour before, I and three or four Savages had 
 
 1 Claude Greysolon de la Tourette, younger brother of Duluth, assisted him in 
 
 all his adventures, and ably seconded his measures. In 1678 he accompanied him to 
 the upper country, and when Duluth built the fort on Lake Nipigon (1683), he name 
 it La Tourette and placed his brother in charge. Their uncle patron bequeathed his 
 possessions to the younger nephew in 1691, and at the time of Duluth’s death, La 
 Tourette was living in Lyons, France. The report which he made to Denonville after 
 this encounter with Lahontan, is found in N. V. Colon. Docs., ix, p. 343 • ^ D * 
 
 2 For a description of the “three Mountains,” which are the three levels of the 
 cliff above Lewiston, see Parkman, La Salle , p. 132, note. Hennepin first described 
 the portage path ; see Ne<w Discovery , pp. 103, 104, 324. — Ed. 
 
fearful Cataract; and ’twas as much as I could do, to get at 
 the Canows before they put off. To be taken by fuch cruel 
 Fellows, [82] was to me no trifling thing. 
 
 II morir e niente y ma il vivere brugiando *The Prifoners taken 
 troppo. To die is nothing , but to live in the ^ t ^ e Iroquefe are fre- 
 midfi of Fire * is m much. ,u ' n,ly b “ mt ' 
 
 As for the Waterfall of Niagara ; ’tis feven or eight hun- 
 
I3 8 Some New Voyages 
 
 matters of, and after rowing all Night, arriv’d next Morning 
 at the mouth of the Lake, which appear d to be indifferent 
 rapid. Then we were fecure from all danger, for the Iroquefe 
 Canows are fo dull and large, that they cannot fail near fo 
 quick as thofe made of Birch-bark. The former are made of 
 Elm-bark, which is very heavy, and their form is very aukard; 
 for they are fo long and broad that thirty Men row in them, 
 two abreaft, whether fitting or ftanding, and the Tides are fo 
 low, that they dare not venture ’em upon the Lakes, tho’ the 
 wind be very flack. We coafted along the North-Coaft of 
 the Lake of Erie , being favour’d by the Calms, which are in a 
 manner conftant in that feafon, efpecially in the Southern 
 Countries. Upon the brink of this Lake we frequently faw 
 [83] flocks of fifty or fixty Turkey’s, which run incredibly fall 
 upon the Sands: And the Savages of our Company kill’d great 
 numbers of ’em, which they gave to us in exchange for the 
 Fifh that we catch’d. The 25 tb we arriv d at a long point of 
 Land which fhoots out 14 or 15 Leagues into the Lake; and 
 the heat being exceflive, we chofe to tranfport our Boats and 
 Baggage two hundred paces over-land, rather than coaft about 
 for thirty five Leagues. 1 Septemb. 6. We enter’d the Streight 
 of the Lake of Huron , where we met with a flack Current of 
 half a League in breadth, that continued till we arriv’d in the 
 Lake of St. Claire , which is twelve Leagues in Circumference. 
 The 8 th of the fame Month we fleer’d on to the other end, 
 from whence we had but fix Leagues to run againft the ftream, 
 
 1 Long Point, Lake Erie, which Hennepin called “ Cape St. Francis.” Ed. 
 
to North- America. I39 
 
 till we arriv’d in the Mouth of the Lake of Hurons , where we 
 landed on the 14 th. You cannot imagine the pleafant prof- 
 pedt of this Streight, and of the little Lake; for their banks 
 are cover’d with all forts of wild Fruit-Trees. ’Tis true, the 
 want of Agriculture finks the agreeablenefs of the Fruit; but 
 their plenty is very furprifing. 1 We fpy’d no other Animals 
 upon the (hoar, but Herds of Harts, and Roe-bucks: And 
 when we came to little Hands, we fcour’d ’em, in order to 
 oblige thefe Beafts to crofs over to the Continent, upon which 
 they offering to fwim over, were knock’d on the head by our 
 Canow-men that were planted all round the Hands. After 
 our arrival at the Fort, of which I was order’d to take poffef- 
 fion, Mr. Dulhut and Mr. de Tonti had a mind to reft them- 
 felves for fome days, as well as the Savages that accompany’d 
 us. This Fort, which was built by Mr. Dulbut, was Garri- 
 fon’d upon his own charges by the Coureurs de Bois , who had 
 taken care to fow in it fome Bufhels of Turkey- Wheat, which 
 afforded a plentiful Crop, that prov’d of great ufe to me. 2 
 
 1 Hennepin says that he named Lake St. Clair, and gives its Iroquois name as 
 “Otsi Keta.” All early travellers remark on the beauty of the landscape and the 
 abundance of wild fruit in the vicinity of Detroit. See IVis. llist. Colls., xvi, 
 pp. 129, 366. — Ed. 
 
 2 It was part of Denonville’s plan to bar the English from the upper lakes by 
 erecting a fort at Detroit River. Accordingly in 1686 he sent word to Duluth to pro¬ 
 ceed thither and erect a stockade. In the autumn of that year, Duluth collected fifty 
 coureurs des bois, and built the post, which he named Fort St. Joseph — not on the 
 site of Detroit, but where St. Clair River flows from Lake Huron, apparently near 
 the present Fort Gratiot, Michigan. See N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, pp. 300, 302. A 
 contemporary description says: “ Our Fort covers a square of one Arpent in extent, 
 without the Bastions, and is very advantageously Situated on an Eminence, separated 
 from the River by a gentle slope of about forty paces, which forms a very pleasant 
 
I4 o Some New Voyages 
 
 The Garrifon furrendred their Poft very [84] chearfully to 
 my Detachment; and then purfued their Commerce with our 
 Savages, for every one had leave to go where he pleas’d. 
 This gave me an opportunity of fending two Canows under a 
 guard of Soldiers, to difpofe of a great Roll of Tobacco of 
 200 weight, that Mr. Dulhut had kindly prefented me with; 
 for that honeft Gentleman inform’d me, that my Soldiers 
 might eafily purchafe Corn in exchange for Tobacco, fooner 
 than for any other Commodities. I am oblig d to him as long 
 as I live; but I am much affraid, the Treafurer of the Navy 
 will make him no better compenfation for this piece of Service, 
 than for a thoufand other disburfements upon the King’s 
 account. The Soldiers I fent with the Tobacco, return’d in 
 the latter end of November , and brought with ’em the Reverend 
 Father Avenau the Jefuit, who found no occafion to trouble 
 himfelf with preaching up Abftinence from Meat in the time 
 of Lent. 1 They brought advice, that a Party of the Hurons 
 being prepar’d to march out of their Villages, to attack the 
 Iroquefe Beaver-hunters, would fpeedily repair to the Fort to 
 reft themfelves. In the mean time I waited with impatience 
 
 Glacis [parapet]. Care has been taken to place it at the narrowest part of the River, 
 which is here a gunshot in width . 99 fVis. Hist. Colls., xvi, p. 128. The further his¬ 
 tory of Fort St. Joseph, which Lahontan was to command, is related by him. 
 
 “ Turkey wheat ” is maize or Indian corn, so called from a vague notion that it 
 was first found in Turkey. — Ed. 
 
 1 Father Claude Aveneau came to Canada in 1685, and was assigned next year 
 to the Ottawa mission at Mackinac. One would judge from Lahontan’s remark that 
 this missionary acted as chaplain of Fort St. Joseph throughout the winter of 1687-88. 
 He passed the remainder of his life in the West, for many years serving in the Miami 
 mission, and finally dying at Quebec in 1711. —Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 141 
 
 for the arrival of one Turcot , 1 and four more of the Coureurs 
 deBois, who were to come to me in the beginning of December, 
 along with fome other Huntfmen that Mr. de Denonville had 
 promis’d to fend me: But hearing nothing of ’em, and our 
 Commons being at that time very fhort, I fhould have been 
 very much pinch’d, if four young Canadefe who were expert 
 Huntfmen, had not tarry’d with me all Winter. The above- 
 mention’d Party of the Hurons arriv’d Decemb. 2. being headed 
 by one Saentfouan, who left me his Canow and his Baggage, to 
 keep till he return’d; for he could not poffibly continue his 
 Navigation longer, upon the account that the furface of the 
 water began then to be cover’d with Ice. Thefe Savages chofe 
 to march [85] over-land to the Fort of Niagara, where they 
 expelled to receive intelligence before they enter’d the 
 Country of the Iroquefe. They march’d ten days, i. e. fifty 
 Leagues, without feeing one Soul. But at laft their Scouts 
 perceiv’d the foot-fteps of fome Huntfmen, which they trac’d 
 at a great pace for a whole Night, the Snow being then a foot 
 deep. Towards the break of day they return’d, and gave 
 notice to their Fellow-Adventurers, that they had difcover’d 
 fix Hutts, with ten Men lodg’d in each of ’em. Upon this 
 Intelligence the whole party made a halt, in order to paint 
 their faces, to prepare their Arms, and to concert proper 
 Meafures. The attack was fo form’d, that two Men made 
 
 1 A habitant by this name was captured by the Iroquois in 1652. As coureur 
 des bois, he was accused of taking refuge among the English to escape his crimes — 
 N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, p. 133. He appears to have been pardoned and again 
 received in favor by the French authorities. — Ed. 
 
 I 
 
142 Some New Voyages 
 
 foftly up to the two doors of the Hutts with their Clubs in 
 their Hands, to knock down any one that offer’d to come out, 
 while the reft were imploy’d in firing their pieces. And the 
 Adtion was crown’d with wonderful Succefs; for the Iroquefe 
 being furpriz’d and Ihut up in their bark Prifons, there was 
 but two out of fixty four that made their efcape; and thefe 
 two being naked and deftitute of Fire-Arms, could not but 
 perifh in the Woods. Three of the Hurons indeed were kill’d 
 upon the fpot, but to attone for that lofs, the Agreffors carry’d 
 off fourteen Prifoners, and four Women. This done, they 
 march’d back to my Fort with all poftible Expedition. Among 
 the Captive Slaves, there were three who had made part of 
 the number of the 1000 Iroquefe that thought to have furpris’d 
 us the year before, when we were imploy’d in the great Land- 
 Carriage at Niagara. They gave us to underftand, that the 
 Fort of Niagara was block’d up by eight hundred Iroquefe , 
 who mean’d to appear before my Poft without any delay. 
 This troublefom piece of news gall’d me to the laft degree, 
 for fear of being reduc’d to extremities; and with that view I 
 was a very nice Husband of what Corn I had [86] left. I was 
 not apprehenfive of being attack’d by ’em, for the Savages 
 never fight fairly, neither do they ever attempt to pull up 
 Paliffadoes; but I was affraid that they would ftarve us out by 
 cramping our Huntfmen in their due range. However, the 
 Hurons continuing fifteen days in my Fort to refrelh them- 
 felves, I us’d the precaution of ingaging them to aflift my 
 Huntfmen in providing Meat: But as foon as they took leave 
 
to North- America. 
 
 i43 
 
 of me in order to return home, our hunting was at an end 
 and the Gates were kept {hut. 
 
 At laft, finding that my Provifions were almoft out, I 
 refolv’d to go to Miffilimakinac, to buy up Corn from the 
 Hurons and the Outaouans . 1 Accordingly, having left fome 
 Soldiers to guard the Fort in my abfence, I imbarqu’d with 
 the reft of my Detachment on the firft of April , with a gentle 
 South-Eaft Gale; by the help of which we infenfibly crofs’d 
 the Bay of Saguinan. That little Gulf is fix hours over, and 
 in the middle of it there are two little Iflands, which afford a 
 very feafonable fhelter when a wind arifes in the crofling 
 over. Before you have crofs’d this Bay, the Coaft is all a 
 long full of Rocks and Shelves, one of which that I faw was 
 fix Leagues broad: But above it the Coaft is clean and low, 
 efpecially towards the Sand-River, which lies half way between 
 that Bay and a place call’d I’Anfe du Tonnere . 2 Now this laft 
 place is reckon’d thirty Leagues off the Bay. Having paft 
 that, we had but thirty Leagues more to fail; which we did 
 without any danger, by the help of an Eaft-South-Eaft Gale, 
 that fwell’d the Waves prodigioufly. In the Mouth of the 
 Illinefe Lake we met the party of the Hurons that I mention’d 
 before; and four or five hundred Outaouas, who were bound 
 home, after having fpent the Winter in hunting of Beavers 
 upon the River of Saguinan. Both they and we were forc’d to 
 
 1 In the French edition, Lahontan explains that to abandon one’s post would be 
 censured in the Old World ; in the New, it is regarded as a species of heroism. — Ed. 
 
 2 The description of Saginaw Bay, River Au Sable (Sand River), and Thunder 
 Bay is easily recognized. — Ed. 
 
i 4 4 S° me New Voyages 
 
 lye by in that place for three or [87] four days, by reafon of 
 the Ice : After which the Lake was clear’d, and we crofs’d it 
 together. When the Hurons came afhoar, they confulted 
 among themfelves how to difpofe of their Slaves: After 
 which they made a Prefent of one of ’em to Mr. de Juchereau , 
 who commanded in that place 1 ; but the poor wretch was pre- 
 fently fhot to Death. Another of ’em was prefented to the 
 Outaouas , who granted him his Life, for fuch reafons as you 
 would eafily apprehend, if you were better acquainted with 
 the policy and cunning of that fort of Men, whom you now 
 take for Beafts. 
 
 I arriv’d in this place on the 18 th of April , and my uneafi- 
 nefs and trouble took date from the day of my arrival: For 
 I found the Indian Corn fo fcarce by reafon of the preceding 
 bad Harvefts, that I defpair’d of finding half fo much as I 
 wanted. But after all, I am hopeful, that two Villages will 
 furnifh me with almoft as much as I have occafion for. Mr. 
 Cavelier arriv’d here May 6, being accompany’d with his 
 Nephew, Father Anaftafe the Recollet, a Pilot, one of the 
 Savages, and fome few Frenchmen , which made a fort of a 
 party-colour’d Retinue. Thefe Frenchmen were fome of thofe 
 that Mr. de la Salle had conducted upon the difcovery of 
 
 1 This was probably Charles Juchereau de St. Denis, eldest son of Nicolas, sieur 
 de Beauport, who the previous year had been employed as a messenger to Mackinac 
 by Denonville. During the absence of La Durantaye (1687-88) he commanded the 
 post. In later years he became councillor of the king, and lieutenant general of 
 Montreal; he assisted Iberville in founding Louisiana, and in 1702 built a post near 
 the mouth of the Ohio. A younger brother, Louis, undertook a remarkable explora¬ 
 tion into New Mexico, and lived for many years at Natchitoches. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 145 
 
 Mijfifipi. They give out, that they are fent to Canada , in 
 order to go to France , with fome Difpatches from Mr. de la 
 Salle to the King: But we fufpe6t that he is dead, becaufe 
 he do’s not return along with ’em. I fliall not fpend time in 
 taking notice of their great Journey over-land; which by the 
 account they give cannot be lefs than eight hundred Leagues. 1 
 
 MiJJilimakinac , the place I am now in, is certainly a place 
 of great Importance. It lies in the Latitude of forty five 
 Degrees, and thirty Minutes; but as for its Longitude, I 
 have nothing to fay of it, for reafons mention’d in my fecond 
 Letter. ’Tis not above half a League diftant from the Illinefe 
 Lake, [88] an account of which, and indeed of all the other 
 Lakes, you may expedl elfe-where. Here the Hurons and 
 Outaouas have, each of ’em, a Village; the one being fever’d 
 from the other by a fingle Paliffadoe: But the Outaouas are 
 
 1 These were the survivors of La Salle’s last and fatal expedition, which was to 
 have founded a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi. See Parkman, La Salle , 
 PP* 356 446 ) Suite, Le Mort de La Salle,” in Can. Roy. Soc. Proc. y 2d series, iv, 
 pp. 3-32. 
 
 Abbe Jean Cavelier, the elder brother of the explorer, was born in Rouen, and 
 became a Sulpitian priest. He had preceded La Salle to Canada, and often vexed him 
 by his censoriousness. Joining this last expedition, he led the few survivors of the 
 party, after the murder of La Salle, back from Texas to Canada ; and concealed the 
 death of the explorer from all his friends en route, partly to secure his brother’s prop¬ 
 erty. He died in 1717 at the house of his sister in Rouen. 
 
 Jean Cavelier, the younger, was a nephew of La Salle, a lad of fourteen when he 
 embarked with his uncle at La Rochelle (1684). Returning to France, he entered 
 the army. 
 
 Father Anastase Douay was, according to Hennepin, a native of Hainault. This 
 was his first journey to America, and his published Memoir is largely used as a source 
 for the expedition. After his return to Europe he was vicar of the Recollects at Cam- 
 bray, and in 1699 embarked the second time for Louisiana, with Iberville, to found a 
 mission among the Cenis. — Ed. 
 
 10 
 
I4 6 Some New Voyages 
 
 beginning to build a Fort upon a Hill, that ftands but 1000 
 or 1200 paces off. This Precaution they were prompted to 
 by the murder of a certain Huron , call’d Sandaouires , who 
 was affaffinated in the Saguinan River by four young Outaouas. 
 In this place the Jefuits have a little Houfe, or Colledge 
 adjoyning to a fort of a Church, and inclos’d with Pales that 
 feparate it from the Village of the Hurons. Thefe good 
 Fathers lavifh away all their Divinity and Patience to no pur- 
 pofe, in converting fuch ignorant Infidels: For all the length 
 they can bring ’em to, is, that oftentimes they’ll defire Baptifm 
 for their dying Children, and fome few fuperannuated Perfons 
 confent to receive the Sacrament of Baptifm, when they find 
 themfelves at the point of Death. 1 The Coureurs de Bois have 
 but a very fmall fettlement here; though at the fame time tis 
 not inconfiderable, as being the Staple of all the Goods that 
 they truck with the South and the Weft Savages; for they 
 cannot avoid palling this way, when they go to the Seats of 
 the Illinefe, and the Oumamis , or to the Bay des Puants , 2 and 
 to the River of Miffiftpi. The Skins which they import from 
 
 1 During the French regime Michillimackinac (now Mackinac) was the capital 
 of the Northwest. It had been occupied by traders for many years ; but the first Jesuit 
 mission was not begun until Marquette established that of St. Ignace m 1671. A tew 
 years later the fort was built and garrisoned. Mackinac Island is 45 0 54' north lati¬ 
 tude by 80° 30' west longitude ; but the Mackinac of Lahontan’s time lay on the nort 1 
 shore of the strait, as his map plainly indicates. For further details of the hlstor y 0 
 this place, see Thwaites, “ Story of Mackinac,” in How George Rogers Clark Won 
 the Northwest (Chicago, 1903). — Ed. 
 
 2 Bay des Puants (Stinkards) was the French name for Green Bay, Wisconsin. 
 The origin of the term arose from the significance of the name of the Winnebago 
 (men from the bad-smelling water). For further details, see Wis. Hist. Colls., xvi, 
 p. 3 ; Thwaites, Stories of the Badger State (New York, 1900), p. 30. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 H7 
 
 thefe different places, muff lye here fome time before they 
 are tranfported to the Colony. Miffilimakinac is lituated very 
 advantageoufly; for the Iroquefe dare not venture with their 
 forry Canows, to crofs the Streight of the Illinefe Lake, which 
 is two Leagues over ; befides that the Lake of the Hurons is 
 too rough for fuch flender Boats: And as they cannot come 
 to it by Water, fo they cannot approach to it by Land, by 
 reafon of the Marfhes, Fens, and little Rivers, which ’twould 
 be very difficult to crofs; not to mention that the Streight of 
 the Illinefe Lake lies ftill in their way. 
 
 [89] You can fcarce believe, Sir, what vaft fholes of white 
 Fifh are catch’d about the middle of the Channel, between the 
 Continent and the Ifle of Miffilimakinac. The Outaouas and 
 the Hurons could never fubfift here, without that Filhery; for 
 they are oblig’d to travel above twenty Leagues in the Woods, 
 before they can kill any Harts or Elks, and ’twould be an 
 infinite fatigue to carry their Carcafes fo far over Land. This 
 fort of white Fifh in my opinion, is the only one in all thefe 
 Lakes that can be call’d good; and indeed it goes beyond all 
 other forts of River Fifh. Above all, it has one fingular prop¬ 
 erty, namely, that all forts of Sauces fpoil it, fo that ’tis always 
 eat either boil’d or broil’d, without any manner of feafoning. 1 
 In the Channel I now fpeak of the Currents are fo ftrong, that 
 they fometimes fuck in the Nets, though they are two or three 
 Leagues off. In fome feafons, it fo falls out that the Currents 
 
 1 There are several species of the whitefish of the lakes. The common one, 
 Coregonus clupeiformis , is the largest and the best food. These fish formed an 
 important article of Indian diet. — Ed. 
 

 148 Some New Voyages 
 
 run three days Eaftward, two days to the Weft, one to the 
 South, and four Northward ; fometimes more, and fometimes 
 lefs. The caufe of this diverfity of Currents could never be 
 fathom’d, for in a calm, they’l run in the fpace of one day to 
 all the points of the Compafs, i. e. fometimes one way, fome¬ 
 times another, without any limitation of time; fo that the deci- 
 fion of this matter muft be left to the Difciples of Copernicus. 
 Here the Savages catch Trouts as bigh as one’s Thigh, with 
 a fort of Fiftiing-Hook made in the form of an Awl, and made 
 faft to a piece of Brafs wire, which is joyn’d to the Line that 
 reaches to the bottom of the Lake. 1 This fort of Filhery is 
 carried on not only with Hooks, but with Nets, and that in 
 Winter, as well as in Summer : For they make holes in the Ice 
 at a certain diftance one from another, thro’ which they con¬ 
 duit the Nets with Poles. The Outaouas and the Hurons have 
 very pleafant Fields, in which they fow Indian Corn, Peafe, 
 [90] and Beans, befides a fort of Citruls, 2 and Melons, which 
 differs much from ours, and of which I fhall take occaflon to 
 fpeak in another place. Sometimes, thefe Savages fell their 
 Corn very dear, efpecially when the Beaver-hunting happens 
 not to take well: Upon which occafion they make fufficient 
 reprifals upon us for the extravagant price of our Com¬ 
 modities. 
 
 As foon as I have bought up fixty facks of Corn, each of 
 
 1 This is the Mackinac trout (Salvelinus namycush), which often grows to great 
 size. Its flesh is inferior to that of the whitefish. — Ed. 
 
 2 Citrouille, or summer squash (Cucurbita polymortba) was raised extensively 
 by the North American Indians. — Ed. 
 
149 
 
 to iVon^-America. 
 
 which may weigh fifty pound, I am to march with my Detach¬ 
 ment alone to St. Mary's Fort, in order to ingage the Sauteurs 
 or the Inhabitants of Sant Saint Marie , to joyn the Outaouas 1 ; 
 after which we mean to march with joynt Forces to the Coun¬ 
 try of the Iroquefe. Befides thefe, there’s a party of a hundred 
 Hurons ready to march, under the Command of the great 
 Leader Adarioy whom the French call the Rat; but they do 
 not march our way. I fhall write to you with the firft Oppor¬ 
 tunity after my return from this Expedition. 2 Perhaps the 
 Jefuits will fend your Letters for me along with Mr. Denon- 
 ville's to Fort St. Jofepb, where I am to refide. I (hall expedt 
 their arrival with the utmoft impatience. In the mean time I 
 fend you a Letter directed to Mr. de Seignelai, the purport of 
 which I have here fubjoyn’d. ’Twill be a very fenfible obliga¬ 
 tion laid upon me, if you vouchfafe to believe that I always am, 
 
 SIR , 
 
 YourSy &c. 
 
 1 The Saulteurs were a Chippewa tribe, so named by the French from first encoun¬ 
 tering one of their bands at Sault Ste. Marie; the name was afterwards extended to 
 the entire tribe. Sault Ste. Marie was visited by traders as early as 1616, and the 
 Jesuit mission thereat was established in 1669. In early days it took precedence of 
 Mackinac; but after the discovery of the Mississippi, the latter place increased in 
 importance, as being upon the path thither, and by 1689 the Sault was practically 
 abandoned, except as a station on the trade route to the far Northwest.— Ed. 
 
 2 This is Lahontan’s first mention of the famous chief, to whom he ascribes his 
 Dialogues. Kondiaronk, to give him his Huron name, was a savage of much ability, 
 who played a prominent part in Frontenac’s War (1689-97). His skill in diplomacy, 
 and in confederating the tribes, makes of him a precursor of Pontiac and Tecumseh. 
 He was strongly attached to Frontenac, and accepted his counsel. Charlevoix says 
 that he was a Christian convert, and often preached at Mackinac. Dying at Montreal 
 during an important peace conference (1701), he was interred with elaborate rites. 
 See Charlevoix, Histoire de Nouvelle France (Shea’s trans.), v, pp. 145-148. — Ed. 
 
150 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 [91] The Letter directed to Mr. de Seignelay. 
 Honoured Sir, 
 
 I AM the Son of a Gentleman that fpent three hundred 
 thoufand Crowns in deepening the Water of the two Gaves 
 of Bearn: He had the good luck to compafs his End by con¬ 
 veying a great many Brooks to thefe two Rivers; and the 
 Current of the Adour was by that means fo far ftrengthen’d 
 as to render the Bar of Bayonne paffable by a fifty Gun Ship, 
 whereas in former times a Frigot of ten Guns durft not ven¬ 
 ture over it. ’Twas in confederation of this great and fucceffful 
 Attempt, that his Majefty granted to my Father and his Heirs 
 for ever, certain Duties and Taxes, amounting to the Sum of 
 three thoufand Livres a Year. This Grant was confirm’d by 
 an A6t of the Council of State, dated January 9. 1658, Sign’d 
 Bojfuet, Collated, &V. Another Advantage accruing to the 
 King and the Province from my Father’s Services, confifts in 
 the bringing down of Mails and Yards from the Pyrenean 
 Mountains, which could never have been effedted, if he had 
 not by his Care, and by the disburfing of immenfe Sums, en¬ 
 larged the quantity of Water in the Gave of Oleron to a double 
 proportion. Thefe Duties and Taxes which had been juftly 
 intail’d upon him and his Heirs, ceas’d to be ours when he 
 dy’d; and to inflame the Difgrace, I loft his Places, viz. that 
 of being a Honorary Judge of the Parliament of Pau, and Chief 
 
to iVon^-America. 
 
 151 
 
 Juftice in Eyre for the Province of Bearn; all which were mine 
 by Inheritance. 1 Thefe Loffes are now follow’d by an unjuft 
 Seizure that fome pretended Creditors have made of the Barony 
 of la Hontan , [92] of a piece of Ground that lies contiguous to 
 it, and of a hundred thoufand Livres that lay in the hands of 
 the Chamber of Bayonne. Thefe faithlefs Creditors have no 
 other reafon to fue me, but that I am now in the fagg end of 
 the World, and that they are rich, and fupported by the Credit 
 and Protection of the Parliament of Paris , where they hope to 
 make good their unjuft Pretenfions in my Abfence. Laft Year 
 I obtain’d Leave to return to France , in order to take care of 
 this matter; but now Mr. de Denonville has fent me with a 
 Detachment to thefe Lakes; from whence I humbly petition 
 that your Honour would vouchfafe me Leave to come home 
 the next Year, and at the fame time honour me with your 
 Protection. I am, with all poflible refpect, 
 
 Tour Honours , &c. 
 
 1 For a further account of the services of Lahontan’s father, Isaac Lom d’Arce, 
 baron de Lahontan and d’Esleich, see Roy, “ Le Baron de Lahontan,” in Can. Roy. 
 Soc. Proc.y 1st series, xii, pp. 67-69, 166-173. — Ed. 
 
152 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER XV. 
 
 Dated at MiJJilimakinac Sept. 18. 1688. 
 
 Defcribing the Fall call’d Saut St. Marie, where the Author per- 
 fwades the Inhabitants to joyn the Outaouas, and march againft 
 the Iroquefe. And containing an Account of the Occurrences of 
 the Voyage between that Place and Miffilimakinac. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 I AM now return’d from the Iroquefe Country, and have 
 quitted the Fort of St. Jofeph , againft my Will. I cannot 
 allow my felf to doubt, but that you took care of the Letter 
 directed for Mr. de Seignelay, which I tranfmitted to you three 
 Months ago. 
 
 [93] I fet out from hence in my Canow, June 2. And after 
 my Arrival at the Water-fall call’d Saut Sainte Marie , I per- 
 fwaded forty young Warlike Fellows to joyn the Party of the 
 Outaouas that I mention’d in my laft. This Saut Sainte Marie 
 is a Cataradf, or rather a Water-fall of two Leagues in length, 
 which gives vent to the Waters of the upper Lake, and at the 
 bottom of which, not far from the Jefuits Houfe, there’s a 
 Village of the Outchipoues, alias Sauteurs . 1 This Place is a great 
 Thoroughfare for the Coureurs de Bois that trade with the 
 
 1 For an interesting Indian legend of the origin of Sault Ste. Marie, see Jes. Rel. } 
 liv, p. 201. — Ed. 
 
to 7YW£-America. 
 
 iS3 
 
 Northern People, who ufually repair to the brinks of that 
 Lake in the Summer. The continual Fogg that rifes from 
 the upper Lake, and fpreads over the adjacent Country, ren¬ 
 ders the Ground fo barren, that it bears no Corn. The 13th 
 of the fame Month I fet out from the abovemention’d Village, 
 being accompany’d by the forty young Sauteurs , who embark’d 
 in five Canows, each of which held eight Men. The 16th we 
 arriv’d at the Ifle of Detour , where my Soldiers and the Party 
 of the Outaouas had tarry’d for me two days. 1 The firft day 
 was fpent by the Outaouas and the Sauteurs in Warlike Feafts, 
 Dancing, and Singing, purfuant to their wonted Cuftom: 
 The next day we all embark’d, and traverfing from Ifle to Ifle, 
 made the Ifland of Manitoualin in four days. This Ifland is 
 25 Leagues long, and feven or eight broad. In former times 
 ’twas poffefs’d by the Outaouas of Talon , call’d the Otontagans; 
 who were diflodg’d by the Progrefs of the Iroqueje , that has 
 ruin’d fo many Nations. 2 We coafted upon that Ifle a whole 
 day; and being favour’d by a Calm, crofs’d from Ifle to Ifle 
 
 1 Isle of Detour was the present Drummond Island, which lies east of Detour 
 Strait—the passage to St. Mary’s River ; the Indian name was “ Pontaganipy.” In 
 1815 the island obtained its present title in honor of Sir Gordon Drummond, then 
 lieutenant-governor of Canada. See Cook, Drummond Island (Lansing, Mich., 
 1896). — Ed. 
 
 2 Grand Manitoulin Island appears to have been the original home of the Ottawa 
 — first called by the French “ cheveux relevez,” from their custom of wearing the 
 hair erect. See Jes. Rel. t xiv, note 9. After the devastation of the Huron country 
 by the Iroquois (1649-51), many of the vanquished Huron fled to Manitoulin ; later, 
 the entire island appears to have been deserted. The Relation of 1670-72 speaks of 
 a tribe of Ottawa who had betaken themselves to this island, their former home ; prob¬ 
 ably this was the band led by chief Talon (named for the intendant of Canada), 
 whom Hennepin encountered in this country. See his Ne<w Discovery, pp. 316, 317. 
 The present Indian population is an admixture of Huron and Ottawa.— Ed. 
 
154 Some New Voyages 
 
 till we made the Eaft-fide of the Lake. In this Paffage we 
 crofs’d between two Iflands that were fix Leagues diftant the 
 one from the other; and upon that occafion our Watermen, 
 who were not us’d to venture fo far out in their flender Boats, 
 were fain to tugg hard at their Oars. 1 The Savages flood out 
 at firft, and refus’d to [94] venture fo far from Land, for they 
 would rather have gone fifty Leagues about; but at laft I 
 over-perfwaded ’em, by reprefenting that I would have been 
 very loth to venture my own Perfon, if I had not been fuf- 
 ficently provided againft all danger by an exadt knowledge 
 of the Winds and the Storms. The Calm continuing, we 
 made the River of Theonontati on the 25th. The next day 
 there fprung up a Gale from the Weft-fouth-weft, which kept 
 us back for four or five days; but our flop was of no great 
 advantage to us, for it rain’d fo heavily, that we could not 
 hunt. This Country is the ancient Seat of the Hurons, as it 
 appears from the Name they give to their Nations in their 
 own Language, viz. Theonontateronons , i. e. the Inhabitants of 
 Theonontate. But after the Iroquefe had, upon divers occafions, 
 taken and defeated great numbers of ’em, the reft quitted the 
 Country to avoid the like Fate. 2 We re-embark’d on the 
 
 1 Scadding (Canadian Journal, new series, xiii, p. 313) identifies the two islands 
 as those now known as Fitzwilliam, and the Isle of Caves off Cape Hurd, both across 
 the entrance of Georgian Bay. He identifies the River Theonontate with the Mait¬ 
 land, in Huron County, Ontario. It was more probably the Nottawausaga, in Simcoe 
 County, where the Tionnontate had their earliest home. — Ed. 
 
 2 The Tionnontate, called by the French Tobacco Huron or Petuns, were known 
 to the earliest French explorers. Their ancient seat was in Simcoe County, but all 
 the peninsula between Georgian Bay and lower Lake Huron was known as the 
 “ Country of the Ancient Hurons.” This is the tribe among whom Marquette had 
 
to North-America. 15 5 
 
 29th, and on the ift of July arriv’d at Fort St. Jofepb, where 
 the Soldiers I had left waited for us with great Impatience. 
 Having landed fome Sacks Corn at the Fort, we fet out again 
 on the 3d of July, and purfued our Courfe with all diligence, 
 in order to an early Appearance in the Iroquefe Country. We 
 fail’d through the Streight or Neck, and flood to the South- 
 fide, of the Lake Erie; and being favour’d by the Weather, 
 arriv’d on the 17th in the River of Conde, which I fliall have 
 occafion to take notice of in defcribing the Lakes of Canada . * 1 
 Immediately, upon our Landing, the Savages fell to work in 
 cutting down Trees, and making a Redoubt of Stakes, or 
 Pales, for the Security of our Canows and Baggage, and for a 
 fafe Retreat to our felves in cafe of neceflity. 
 
 The 20th they march’d, each Man being provided with a 
 light Covering, a Bow, and fome Arrows, (or elfe a Fufee) 
 and a little Bag containing ten pound weight of the Flowr of 
 the Indian Corn. [95] They thought it moft convenient to 
 keep to the Banks of the River, upon which the Goyogoans are 
 
 his Mackinac mission of St. Ignace ; they afterwards settled at Detroit, and were 
 known to the English as Wyandots. On the Iroquois war which expelled them from 
 their ancient home, see Parkman, Jesuits , pp. 403-410. On their later history and 
 migrations, see Shea, in Historical Magazine , v, pp. 262-265. A remnant still 
 exists on a reservation near Amherstburg, Ont. — Ed. 
 
 1 This name, “River de Conde,” appears to be peculiar to Lahontan, from 
 whom Pownall quotes it in his description of 1754 {N. Y. Colon. Docs., vi, p. 896). 
 In our author’s later description, and upon his map he exaggerates the size and length 
 of the stream, which from its location must be either Mill Creek, Erie County, Pa., 
 whence the portage ran to the sources of the Allegheny, or Chautauqua Creek, in 
 New York, whence the usual portage to the lake of that name was about six miles. 
 Scadding thinks it was Cattaraugus Creek ; but the portage thence to the Allegheny 
 was much longer than Lahontan describes, post. — Ed. 
 
156 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 wont to fifli for Sturgeon; for that Fifh, which is fix foot in 
 length, comes out of the Lakes in hot Weather, and fwims up 
 the Rivers. 1 They had refolv’d likewife, if they found the 
 Country clear, to march up and furprife the Villages of the 
 Goyogoans: but they were foon eas’d of that trouble; for they 
 had not march’d two days when their Scouts defcry’d three 
 hundred Iroquefe: and on the other hand the Iroquefe fpy’d 
 them to fuch purpofe, that the Scouts efcap d very narrowly, 
 and had much ado to return to the body of the Party, which 
 immediately betook themfelves to flight. I was mightily fur- 
 pris’d when I heard the Centinel of our Redoubt cry out, 
 AuxArmes , our Men are beaten and purfued; but I was yet more 
 furpriz’d when I faw the Fugitives run at full fpeed, when 
 there was no body behind them. When they came up they 
 were all filent for half an hour, purfuant to their Ufe and 
 Wont; after which their Leader recounted to me the Particu¬ 
 lars of the Adventure. I thought at firft that their advanc’d 
 Guards had miftook the number of the Enemies; for I knew 
 that the Outaouas had not the Reputation of too much Cour¬ 
 age: but the next day a Party of the Iroquefe appear’d in fight 
 of our Redoubt, which gave me occafion to believe that they 
 were in the right of it. Nay, this Truth was afterwards con¬ 
 firmed by a certain Slave call’d Chaouanon, who made his 
 efcape to the Redoubt, and affur’d me, that the Iroquefe were 
 not lefs than four hundred; to which he added, that they 
 expefted to be joyn’d by fixty more that had march’d fome 
 
 1 Lahontan here correctly describes the habits of the lake sturgeon (Acifenser 
 rubicundus) which spawns in the small streams. — Ed. 
 
ofyl i/LpiJ nip oral/ 
 
 Mouth ofy CreatZuth 
 !ofy JtSSlTXIPO^A 
 
 Little lort of S* Ccrniain 
 which hmdirjjf ^^<sA iT»r»i ix>v; 
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 iTQrt\ 
 
 Mellon 
 
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 1 1 4 - The Countnej fir 3c.tror 
 huntina, that J hr 
 x^Tu \turftlii and Cotar 
 + Land CamayejJron 
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 \ y''The pitch'd line th t 
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 Hirer/ 
 
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 Jtfinony X * 
 
 S T7 JP X JR, IX UH or 
 
 htion 
 
 j\{iich<iAibi 
 
 ^piCerini 
 
 xriftrtnt • % 
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 r\0^1ca«.4 
 
 ’tZCcleno 
 
 
 $ ^rChamhh ^T f \«V 
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 CarxJ Camatf* 
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 n -5 ffTorxjnivyn *rvnK 
 
 ^ m&Tc Suit.. af± % j j 
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 t B,M‘trlhun 
 
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 a 
 
to North- America. 157 
 
 Months before to the Country of the Oumamis. He inform’d 
 us farther, That while the Marquis de Denonville was concert¬ 
 ing meafures for a Peace with the five Nations, an Englifliman , 
 of the Name of Aria , accompany’d with fome others, endeav¬ 
 our’d to diffwade them from Peace, by Orders [96J from the 
 Governour of New York?- In the mean time the Savages hav- 
 ing prefs d me to affift at a Council of War, they propos’d to 
 lie by for a fair Wind, and then to embark. They repre- 
 fented, that they defign d to fail to the end of the Lake, where 
 they would infallibly light upon the fixty Iroquefe that I men¬ 
 tion’d above; but withal, that they could not agree to fet out 
 in a Calm, becaufe that after their quitting the Redoubt, and 
 launching out, a contrary Wind might force ’em afhore, where 
 their Throats might be cut if the Enemy purfu’d ’em. I 
 reply’d, That ’twas then fuch fine Weather, that we had 
 nothing to expeft but Calms ; that if we tarry’d longer in this 
 Place, our Enemies would thereby gain time to make Canows 
 in order to a Purfuit; that fince the favourablenefs of the 
 Wind was fo uncertain, we ought to embark without lofs of 
 time; that we might fail in the Night, and fculk in the Day¬ 
 time behind Rocks and Points of Land; and, that by this 
 means the Enemy would be at a lofs to know whether we ftood 
 to the South or to the North fide of the Lake. The Savages 
 made Anfwer, That ’twas true their tarrying might be every 
 way prejudicial; but ’twas equally true, that my Expedient 
 
 1 For the negotiations between Governors Denonville and Dongan, see N. Y. 
 Colon. Docs., iii, pp. 438-564 ; ix, 388-404. By the “ Englishman Aria,” Lahontan 
 doubtless intends Arnout Cornelisse Viele, whom Dongan employed as his messenger 
 to the Iroquois. — Ed. 
 
i 5 8 Some New Voyages 
 
 was dangerous: However, they confented to embark along 
 with us, and for that end gumm’d their Canows. We embark’d 
 on the 24th at night, and the Weather being fair, clear, and 
 calm, made a great deal of way that night, and the fucceeding 
 day. The next Evening we came to an Anchor, defigning to 
 deep for three or four hours, but not to ftir out of the 
 Canows. About Midnight we weigh’d our little wooden 
 Anchors, and one half of the Men row’d while the other was 
 at reft. Thus did we continue to fteer with a great deal of 
 Precaution and Care, rowing all night, and lying by all day. 
 
 July 28. when we were lying almoft all afleep in a Creek of 
 a little Ifland, the Watch defcrying fome [97] Canows that 
 made towards us, wak’d fome Savages that had gone a-ftiore 
 to fleep the more conveniently. The Noife having alarm’d us 
 all, we prefently made our felves ready to get in head of thefe 
 Canows ; but at the fame time, tho’ we were but half a League 
 off, we could not diftinguifh who they were, by reafon that the 
 Sun-beams falling perpendicularly, made the Surface of the 
 Water look like a Looking-glafs. Indeed there being but 
 two of ’em, we reckon’d they were mann’d with Iroquefe, and 
 that each of ’em contain’d at leaft twenty Men: upon which 
 fufpicion, the Leader of the Sauteurs offered to go a-fhore with 
 his Men, and poft himfelf at the Entry of a Wood, from whence 
 he would foftly follow the Canows without being difcover’d, 
 till fuch time as we forc’d ’em a-fhore. At the fame time he 
 propos’d that the Outaouas and my Detachment fhould fuffer 
 ’em to be within a Musket-fhot of the Ifland before we dif¬ 
 cover’d our felves, or offer’d to give ’em chafe, upon the 
 
to iVor^-America. 
 
 iS9 
 
 apprehenfion that if we follow’d ’em clofer, they would be fo 
 far from getting on Ihore, that they would fight as defperate, 
 and choofe rather to be kill’d or drown’d than to be taken. 
 This Propofal was lik’d, and every thing was manag’d accord¬ 
 ingly. As foon as our unknown Enemy perceiv’d us, they 
 made the Shore with all imaginable Precipitation; and juft 
 when they were going to knock their Prifoners on the Head, 
 the Sauieurs fell upon ’em, but mifs’d of their aim in taking 
 ’em all alive; for they fought to the laft gafp, like Men that 
 knew no Medium betwixt Conqueft and Death. Una falus 
 vitlis nullam fperare falutem. This Engagement happen’d while 
 we landed: however, the Sauteurs came off with Honour, for 
 they loft only four Men, and of twenty Iroquefe they kill’d 
 three, wounded five, and took the reft Prifoners, fo that not 
 one of ’em efcap’d. The Iroquefe had along with them eighteen 
 Slaves of the Oumamis , who were all wounded, and feven big- 
 belly’d [98] Women, from whom we had Intelligence that the 
 reft of their Party were then upon their Return by Land upon 
 the Banks of the Lake, having thirty four Prifoners, of both 
 Sexes; and that they could not then be far off. When this 
 Intelligence was laid before us, the Outaouas were of the opinion 
 that we fhould reft fatisfied with the Feats we had done, upon 
 the Plea that the above-mention’d four hundred Iroquefe would 
 certainly get before us. On the other hand, the Sauteurs main¬ 
 tain’d that they had rather perifh than fail to attempt the 
 Refcue of thefe Prifoners, and the Defeat of the whole Party; 
 and that if no body would fecond ’em, they would make the 
 Attempt by themfelves. The Bravery of this Refolution 
 
160 Some New Voyages 
 
 oblig’d me to encourage and egg on the Outaouas. I remon- 
 ftrated to ’em, that in regard the Sauteurs ingrofs’d the Glory 
 of the former Adtion, they had more reafon than we to decline 
 the rifque of a fecond Engagement: that if we refus’d to back 
 ’em, our Cowardice would cover us with everlafting Infamy: 
 and, that in order to render the Attack more fecure, we ought 
 to ufe a fpeedy Precaution in finding out fome Point or Elbow 
 of Land where our Canows, our Baggage, and our Prifoners 
 might be lodg’d fafe. The Outaouas had a great deal of Re- 
 ludtancy to the matter; however, after confulting among them- 
 felves, they comply’d with the Propofal, more for Shame, than 
 out of true Courage. Having laid down that joint Refolution, 
 we made up a little fort of a Fence in feven or eight hours, 
 and then fent out Scouts on all hands, while the main Body 
 was kept in readinefs to march upon the firft Alarm. 
 
 Auguft 4. two of our Spies return’d upon full fpeed, to 
 acquaint us that the Iroquefe were not above three Leagues 
 off, and that they advanc’d towards us; and withal, that upon 
 the Road there was a little Brook, upon which an Ambufcado 
 might be conveniently laid. This Advice animated our Sav¬ 
 ages fo much, [99] that they run immediately to take Poffef- 
 fion of that Advantageous Poll: but they knew not how to 
 make the right ufe of it. The Outaouas were too hafty in firing; 
 and by (hooting at too great a diftance, gave all the Enemies 
 an opportunity of making their Efcape, abating for ten or 
 twelve whofe Heads were brought into the little Fort where I 
 flay’d. The Slaves indeed were all retaken, and fo refcued 
 from the Cruelty of thefe Tygers; which encourag’d us to 
 
to North- America. 161 
 
 reft fatisfied. When the Expedition was over, we flow’d thefe 
 poor Wretches in our Canows, and fleer’d with all Expedition 
 to the Streight or Neck of the Lake of Huron , which we made 
 on the 13th. We enjoy’d a great deal of Pleafure in ftemming 
 the Current of that Streight; the Iflands of which, that I 
 mention’d above, were cover’d with Roe bucks. This oppor¬ 
 tunity we did not flight; nor did we grudge our flopping 
 upon thefe Iflands for eight days ; during which time we were 
 bulled in Hunting, and refrefh’d our felves with plenty of 
 excellent Fruit that was fully ripe. Here the wounded and 
 retaken Prifoners had an opportunity of refting, and of drink¬ 
 ing the Broth of feveral forts of Meat; and we had time to 
 broil as much Meat as we could flow in our Canows, not to 
 mention the great numbers of Turkeys that we were oblig’d 
 to eat upon the fpot, for fear that the heat of the Seafon would 
 fpoil ’em. 
 
 In that fpace of time the poor wounded Savages were 
 carefully purg’d with fuch Roots as the Americans are well 
 vers’d in; which I mean to explain to you in its proper time 
 and place; and they wanted not good Reftoratives of Jelly- 
 broth. The 24th we re-embark’d, and arriv’d at Night at 
 Fort St. Jo/epb , where I found a Party of eighty Oumamis 
 commanded by one Micbitonka, who being lately return’d 
 from Niagara , expe&ed my Arrival v/ith the utmoft impa¬ 
 tience. When I landed, I was furpris’d to fee the [100] Fort 
 cramm d with Savages; but on the other hand, they were 
 equally aftonilh’d to find in our Company their Country-men, 
 to whole hard Fortune they had been altogether Strangers. 
 
162 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 The joyful Meeting fill’d the Air with Acclamations, and 
 Panegyricks rung all about to an extravagant degree. I wifh, 
 Sir, you had been there to partake of the Pleafure of fo fine a 
 Show : had you been prefent, you would have join’d with me 
 in owning that all our French Rhetorick cannot reach fuch 
 pithy and fignificant Figures, efpecially upon the fcore of 
 Hyperbole's , as made up the bulk of the Harangues and Songs 
 that thefe poor People utter’d with Rapture and Tranfport. 
 Michitonka acquainted me, that after he went to the Fort of 
 Niagara , with a Defign to make fome Expedition into the 
 Country of the Tfonontouans, he found that the Scurvey had 
 made fuch a terrible havock in that Fort, that it had fweept off 
 the Commander, and all the Soldiers, bating twelve, who had 
 the good luck to get over it, as well as Mr. de Bergeres , who 
 by the advantage of a hale Conftitution had ftemm’d the raging 
 Violence of that Diftemper. 1 He inform’d me farther, That 
 Mr. Bergeres having refolv’d to fet out with his twelve Men 
 for the Fort of Frontenac , had defir’d of him a Reinforcement 
 of fome young Oumamis, which was granted him; that after 
 Mr. Bergeres had embark’d, himfelf march’d over Land to the 
 Country of the Onnontagues , where he rejoin’d the Reinforce¬ 
 ment he had granted to Mr. de Bergeres , and underftood from 
 them, that during the Winter the Scurvey had carried off as 
 many Soldiers at Fort Frontenac as at Niagara ; and, that Mr. 
 de Denonville was negotiating a Peace with the Iroquefe. 
 
 The Governour of Fort Frontenac had requefted Michitonka 
 
 1 For the official report of this disaster, and the abandonment of the fort at 
 Niagara, see N. Y. Colon. Docs. y ix, pp. 386-388. — Ed. 
 
to 7 VWZ>-America. 
 
 163 
 
 to engage in no Enterprife, and to return home with his Men; 
 upon which that Leader being in full March homeward, was 
 attack’d by three hundred [101] Onnontagues, whom he durft 
 not engage otherwife than in a running Fight, by which he 
 loft four Men. Being inform’d of all thefe Circumftances, I 
 confulted with the three different Nations that were then 
 polled in my Fort. After a mature Reflection upon the Intel¬ 
 ligence that was laid before ’em, they came to this Refolution; 
 That fince the Marquis de Denonville had a mind to clap up a 
 Peace, and the Fort of Niagara was abdicated, the Fort I then 
 commanded would be of no ufe; that fince I had neither Pro- 
 vifions nor Ammunition for above two Months, I Ihould be 
 oblig’d at the end of thefe two Months to retreat to the Place 
 from whence I now write; that at that time of the Year our 
 Navigation would be uneafie and dangerous; that in regard I 
 lay under an indifpenfible neceflity of making my Retreat, 
 ’twas of no great moment whether I march’d off two Months 
 fooner or later; and, in fine, that fince I had receiv’d no frefh 
 Orders, nor no Succors, ’twas my Bufinefs to go off along 
 with them. This Refolution, which was a fufficient Argument 
 to fway me, afforded matter of joy to the Soldiers, who were 
 afraid of being oblig’d to a more rigorous courfe of Abfti- 
 nence in that Poll than they had formerly undergone; for the 
 meafures of a critical Abftinence do not fit well upon a 
 Soldiers Stomach. In fine, purfuant to our joint Refolution, 
 we fet fire to the Fort on the 27th, and embarked that fame 
 day, and keeping clofe to the South fhore of the Lake that I 
 took notice of in my laft, arriv’d here on the 10th of September. 
 
164 Some New Voyages 
 
 The Oumamis march’d over Land to their own Country, and 
 carry’d with ’em the Wounded, who were then in a condition 
 to march. 
 
 Upon my Arrival in this Place, I found here Mr. de la 
 Durantay , whom Mr. Denonville has inverted with the Com- 
 miffion of Commander of the Coureurs de Bois that trade upon 
 the Lakes, and in the Southern Countries of Canada. The 
 Governour has fent me [102] Orders to return to the Colony 
 if the Seafon and other Circumftances permit; or to tarry here 
 till the Spring if I forefee unfurmountable Difficulties in the 
 Paffage. In the mean time he has fent me Effedts to anfwer 
 the Pay of my Detachment, and to fubfift ’em in the Winter. 
 Thefe Orders would be extream acceptable to me, if I could 
 but contrive how to return to the Colony; but that feems to 
 be abfolutely impoflible, and both the French and the Savages 
 agree that it is fo. There are in that Paffage fo many Water¬ 
 falls, Cataradls, and Places where there’s a neceflity of tedious 
 Land-carriages, that I dare not run fuch Hazards with my 
 Soldiers, who cannot work the Boats but upon ftagnating 
 Water. Upon that confideration I have thought it more 
 proper to halt here till the next Year; at which time I defign 
 to take the Advantage of the Company of fome Frenchmen 
 and Savages, that promife to take into each of their Canows 
 one of my Men. In the mean time, I am upon the point of 
 undertaking another Voyage, for I cannot mew my felf up 
 here all this Winter. I defign to make the beft ufe of my time, 
 and to travel through the Southern Countries that I have fo 
 
to North- America. 165 
 
 often heard of, having engag’d four or five good Huntfmen 
 of the Outaouas to go along with me. 
 
 The Party of the Hurons that I mention’d in the beginning 
 of my Letter, return’d hither two Months ago, and brought 
 with ’em an Iroquefe Slave, whom their Leader prefented to 
 hdr. de I uchereau , the late Colonel of the Coureurs de Bois 
 and whom that Colonel order’d to be immediately (hot. The 
 crafty Leader atfted upon that occafion a very cunning and 
 malicious part, the fatal Confequences of which I eafily fore¬ 
 fee : He intrufted no body with the Secret but my felf; for 
 he is my true Friend, and he knows that I am his. However, 
 I muft go no farther upon this matter, left my Letter Ihould 
 be intercepted. Tho after all, if the Blow were not already 
 given, [103] or if ’twere poflible to remedy it, my Friendfhip 
 Ihould not hinder me from acquainting Mr. de Denonville with 
 the Intrigue, that he might get clear of it as well as he could. 
 If it pleafes God to allow me a fafe Return to France , I fhall 
 tell you the Story by word of mouth. 
 
 I underftand by your laft, that the King has preferr’d his 
 Almoner, the Abbot of St. Valiers, to the Biftioprick of Quebec; 
 and that this Bilhop was confecrated in St. Sulpice' s Church. 1 
 
 1 The Abbe de St. Vallier had been Bishop Laval’s vicar-apostolic since 1685 ; 
 but at the desire of the latter was consecrated bishop, Jan. 25, 1688. Jean Bap¬ 
 tiste de la Croix Chevriere, known as St. Vallier from his benefice, was a native of 
 Grenoble (1653) who had served as chaplain of Louis XIV. He was second bishop 
 of Quebec, retaining the office until his death (1727). During his long term of service, 
 he was frequently absent in France (1694-97); again (1700-04), when he was cap- 
 tured by the English on his return voyage, and kept a prisoner five years. He did 
 not finally reach Quebec until 1713. For his portrait see Jes. Rel., lxiv, frontis- 
 piece. — Ed. 
 
x 66 Some New Voyages 
 
 This piece of News would be very welcome to me, if I thought 
 he would be lefs rigid than Mr. de Laval, his Predeceffor. 
 But what likelyhood is there that the new Bilhop will be of a 
 tradable temper? If ’tis true that he has refus’d other good 
 Bilhopricks, he mull be as fcrupulous as the Monk Dracontius, 
 that St. Athanafuis cenfures for not accepting of a Prefentation 
 to a Bilhoprick that was offer’d him. In fine, if he is of that 
 fcrupulous Temper, his critical Stridnefs will fcarce go down 
 in this Country; for the People are already tyr’d out with his 
 Predeceffor’s Excommunications. 
 
 I am, 
 
 SIR , 
 
 Tours, &c. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 167 
 
 [104] LETTER XVI. 
 
 Dated at Miffilimakinac, May 28. 1689. 
 
 Containing an Account of the Author’s Departure from, and Return 
 to, Miffilimakinac. A Defcription of the Bay of Puants, and 
 its Villages. An ample Defcription of the Beavers; follow’d by 
 the Journal of a remarkable Voyage upon the Long River, and 
 a Map of the adjacent Country. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 HANK God, I am now return’d from my Voyage upon 
 
 X the Long River, which falls into the River of Miffifipi. I 
 would willingly have trac’d it up to its Source, if feveral Ob- 
 ftacles had not flood in my way. I fet out from hence the 
 24th of Sept, accompany’d with my own Detachment, and the 
 five Huntfmen I mention’d in my laft; who indeed did me a 
 great deal of Service. All the Soldiers were provided with 
 new Canows loaded with Provifions and Ammunition, and 
 fuch Commodities as are proper for the Savages. The Wind, 
 which flood then in the North, wafted me in three days to the 
 Bay of Pcuteouatamis, that lay forty Leagues off. The mouth 
 of that Bay is in a manner choak’d with Ifles, and the Bay it 
 felf is ten Leagues broad, and twenty five Leagues long. 1 
 
 1 Now Green Bay, Wis., usually called by the French Baye des Puants; see 
 p. 146, note 2, ante. Charlevoix says that the Potawatomi formerly inhabited these 
 islands at the mouth of the bay, after being driven by the Iroquois from their seats in 
 lower Michigan. — Ed. 
 
168 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 The 29th we came to a little deep fort of a River, which 
 difembogues at a place where the Water of the Lake fwells 
 three foot high in twelve hours, and decreafes as much in the 
 fame compafs of time. Our tarrying there three or four days 
 gave me an opportunity of making this Remark. 1 The Villa¬ 
 ges of the Sakis, the Pouteouatamis, and fome Malominis, are 
 [105] feated on the fide of that River, and the Jefuits have a 
 Houfe or College built upon it. 2 This is a place of great 
 Trade for Skins and Indian Corn, which thefe Savages fell to 
 the Coureurs de Bois , as they come and go, it being the neareft 
 and mod convenient Paffage to the River of MiJJifipi. The 
 Soil of this Country is fo fertile, that it produces (in a man¬ 
 ner without Agriculture) our European Corn, Peafe, Beans, 
 and feveral other Fruits that are not known in France. As 
 foon as I landed, the Warriours of thefe three Nations came 
 by turns to my Apartment, to regale me with the Calumet- 
 Dance , and with the Captains-Dance; the former being a figni- 
 fication of Peace and Friendfhip, and the latter of Refpedl 
 
 1 The Fox River, first called by the French Riviere des Puants, later Riviere 
 des Renards (Foxes) from the tribe encountered on its banks. The Jesuits entitled 
 it St. Francis River, but the name did not persist. The Jesuits also remarked the 
 tides in the bay. See Jes. Rel. } lvi, pp. 137-139; lvii, pp. 301-305; lx. pp. 
 205-207. —Ed. 
 
 2 The Sauk, Potawatomi, and Menominee tribes were all of Algonquian stock, 
 and had their habitat about the mouth of the Fox, although the latter tribe were more 
 often upon the river of the same name. 
 
 The Jesuit mission of St. Francis Xavier was founded on the shores of Green Bay 
 by Father Claude Allouez in 1669 ; two years later a chapel was built upon the site of 
 the present city of De Pere. In 1899 the citizens of that place, inspired thereto by the 
 Wisconsin Historical Society, erected a monument near the site of this pioneer mis¬ 
 sionary station. See fVis. His. Soc. Proc., 1899, p. 105. — Ed. 
 
to iVor^-America. 
 
 169 
 
 and Efteem. 1 I return’d the Compliment with a Prefent of 
 fome Rolls of Brafil Tobacco, which they value mightily, and 
 fome firings of Venice Beads, with which they embroider their 
 Coats. Next Morning I was invited to a Feaft with one of 
 the three Nations; and after having fent to ’em fome Difhes 
 and Plates, purfuant to the Cuftom of the Country, I went 
 accordingly about Noon. They began with congratulating 
 my Arrival, and after I had return’d them thanks, fell a Tinging 
 and dancing one after another, in a particular manner, of 
 which you may expert a circumftantial account when I have 
 more leifure. The Singing and Dancing lafted for two hours, 
 being feafon’d with Acclamations of Joy and Jefts, which make 
 up part of their ridiculous Mufick. After that the Slaves 
 came to ferve, 2 and all the Company fat down after the Eaftern 
 falhion, every one being provided with his Mefs, juft as our 
 Monks are in the Monaftery-Halls. 
 
 Firft of all four Platters were fet down before me, in the 
 firft of which there were two white Fifh only boil’d in Water; 
 in the fecond the Tongue and Breaft of a Roe-buck boil’d ; in 
 the third two Woodhens, the hind Feet or Trotters of a Bear, 
 and [106] the Tail of a Beaver, all roafted; and the fourth 
 contain’d a large quantity of Broth made of feveral forts of 
 
 1 For the calumet dance see Marquette’s detailed description in Jes. Rel., lix, 
 pp. 129-137. In its modern form it is described in U. S. Bur. of Ethnol. Report, 
 1881-82, pp. 276-282. — Ed. 
 
 2 Slavery among the Indians was due entirely to prisoners taken in war. It 
 was a mild form, slaves being usually treated as members of the family, and having 
 the hope of exchange or ransom by their own tribe. From the Indians it spread to the 
 French in Illinois, and was authorized by edict in 1709. See Lafontaine, ’ l De 1 ’esclavage 
 en Canada,” in Montreal Historical Society Memoires, 1858. — Ed. 
 
170 Some New Voyages 
 
 Meat. For Drink they gave me a very pleafant Liquor, which 
 was nothing but a Syrrup of Maple beat up with Water; but 
 of this more elfewhere. The Feaft lafted two Hours; after 
 which I intreated one of the Grandees to fing for me ; for in 
 all the Ceremonies made ufe of among the Savages, ’tis cuf- 
 tomary to imploy another to a6t for ’em. I made this Grandee 
 a Prefent of fome pieces of Tobacco, in order to oblige him 
 to a£t my part till Night. Next day, and the day after, I was 
 oblig’d to go to the Feafts of the other two Nations, who ob- 
 ferv’d the fame Formalities. The moft curious thing I faw in 
 the Villages, was ten or twelve tame Beavers, that went and 
 came like Dogs from the Rivers to the Cottages, without 
 ftragling out of the Road. I ask’d the Savages if thefe Ani¬ 
 mals could live out of the Water; and receiv’d this anfwer, 
 that they could live afhoar as well as Dogs, and that they had 
 kept fome of ’em above a year, without fuffering them to go 
 near the Rivers: From whence I conclude, that the Cafuifts are 
 out in not ranging Ducks, Geefe, and Teals, in the number of 
 Amphibious Animals, as the Naturalifts are wont to do. I 
 had heard the fame ftory from feveral Americans before; but 
 being apprehenfive that there were different Species of 
 Beavers, I had a mind to be better inform’d: And indeed 
 there is a particular kind of ’em, which the Savages call the 
 Terrejlrial, or Land-Beaver; but at the fame time they tell you, 
 thefe are of a different Species from the Amphibious fort; for 
 they make Holes or Dens in the Earth, like Rabbets or Foxes, 
 and never go near the Water unlefs it be to drink. They are 
 likewife call’d by the Savages, the lazy or idle kind, as being 
 
to North- America. 171 
 
 expell’d by the other Beavers from the Kennels in which thefe 
 Animals are lodg’d, to the [107] number of 80. Thefe Ken¬ 
 nels I mean to defcribe afterwards; in the mean time I only 
 take occafion to acquaint you, that the idle fort being unwilling 
 to work, are expell’d by the others, juft as Wafps are by Bees; 
 and are fo teas’d by ’em, that they are forc’d to quit the Ken¬ 
 nels, which the better and more induftrious Race huddles up 
 to themfelves in the Fens. This fupine Beaver refembles the 
 other fort in its Figure, excepting that the Hair is rub’d off 
 the Back and the Belly, which is occafion’d by their rubbing 
 againft the Earth when they return to, or ftir out from their 
 Holes. 1 
 
 The Writers of Natural Hiftory are very much out, in 
 fancying that the Beavers cut off their own Tefticles, when 
 purfued by the Huntfmen; for that which the Phyficians call 
 Caftoreum , is not lodg’d in the Tefticles, but in a certain Bag 
 that Nature feems to have form’d on purpofe for thefe Ani¬ 
 mals, and this Bag they make ufe of to clear their Teeth, after 
 the biting of fome gummy Shrub. But fuppofing the Tefticles 
 to be the proper Receptacle of the Caftor, we muft ftill con¬ 
 ceive that ’tis impoflible for a Beaver to pull out his Tefticles, 
 without rending the Nerves of the Groin, in which they are 
 feated juft by the Sharebone. ’Tis manifeft that Elian and 
 feveral other Naturalifts, were fcarce acquainted with Beaver¬ 
 hunting ; for had they known any thing of the matter, they 
 
 1 The beaver is easily domesticated, and becomes as tame as a kitten. Stories 
 of idle beavers are numerous, but apochryphal; they arise from some disorder in the 
 form of a parasite, which occasionally attacks the animal. See Martin, Castorologia, 
 or the Canadian Beaver (London and Montreal, 1892), pp. 157, 168, 233. — Ed. 
 
 
172 Some New Voyages 
 
 would never have talk’d of the purfuing of thefe Animals, 
 which never go from the fide of the Pond where their Kennels 
 are built \ and which dive under water upon the leaft noife, 
 and return to their Dens when the danger is over. If thefe 
 Creatures were but fenfible of the reafon for which War is 
 declar’d againft ’em, they would flea themfelves alive; for ’tis 
 their Skin only that the Huntfmen want, the value of the 
 Caftor being nothing in comparifon with that. A great Beaver 
 is twenty fix Inches long, from [108] the hind-Head, to the 
 root of the Tail. ’Tis about three Foot and eight Inches 
 round, its Head is feven Inches long, and fix broad; its Tail 
 is fourteen Inches long, and fix broad, and about the middle 
 it has the thicknefs of an Inch and two lines. The figure of 
 the Tail is Oval; the Scale with which ’tis cover’d, and which 
 performs the Office of what the Phyficians call the Epidermis 
 or Scarf-skin, is an irregular Hexagon. The Beaver carries 
 upon its Tail the Clay, the Earth and other Materials of which 
 they make their Banks and Kennels, or Hutts, by a wonderful 
 Inftin6t. Its Ears are ffiort, round and hollow; its Legs are 
 five Inches long, its Feet fix Inches and eight Lines, and its 
 Paws are three Inches and a half from the Heel to the end of 
 the great Toe. Its Paws are form’d much like a Man’s Hand, 
 and they make ufe of ’em in feeding, as Apes do. The five 
 Toes are joyn’d like thofe of a Duck, with a Membrane of a 
 Slate colour. Its Eyes are of the leffer fize, in proportion to 
 the bulk of its Body, and bear the figure of a Rats Eyes. 
 Before its Muzzle there are four Fore-Teeth or Cutters, viz. 
 
to North- America. 173 
 
 two in each Jaw, as in a Rabbet, befides which it has fixteen 
 Grinders, that is, eight in the upper, and as many in the lower 
 Mandible. The Cutters are above an Inch long, and % of an 
 Inch broad, being very ftrong and fharp like a Cutlas; for a 
 Beaver affifted by its Affociates, (if I may fo call its fellow 
 Beavers) cuts down Trees as big as a Hogfhead; which I 
 could never have believ’d, if I had not obferv’d with my own 
 Eyes, above twenty Trunks of Trees cut down in that falhion. 
 A Beaver has two lays of Hair; one is long, and of a fhining 
 black colour, with a grain as big as that of Mans Hair; the 
 other is fine and fmooth, and in Winter fifteen lines long: In 
 a word, the laft is the fineft Down in the World. The Skin 
 of fuch a Beaver as I have now defcrib’d, will be two pound 
 weight, but the [109] price varies according to the goodnefs. 
 In Winter and Autumn the Flefh of a Beaver eats very well, 
 if it be roafted. Thus, Sir, I have prefented you with an exaCt 
 Defcription of thefe reputed Amphibious Animals which make 
 fuch Structures, that all the Art of Man can fcarce equal. 
 Upon another occafion perhaps I may give you a circumftan- 
 tial Account of their wonderful Structure, which I decline at 
 prefent, becaufe the Digreffion would be too tedious. 1 
 
 To return to my Voyage. After our arrival in the Bay of 
 Pouteouatamis , we bid adieu to the Navigation upon the Lakes 
 of Canada; and fetting out September 30, arriv’d Ottober 2. at 
 the foot of the fall of Kakalin , after Hemming fome little Cur- 
 
 1 Lahontan’s description of the beaver is not inaccurate, and shows habits of keen 
 observation. For full description see Martin, op, cit . — Ed. 
 
174 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 rents in the River of Puants} The next day we accomplifh d 
 the fmall Land-carriage, and on the 5 th arriv’d before the Vil¬ 
 lage of Kikapous , in the Neighbourhood of which I incamp’d 
 the next day, in order to receive Intelligence. That Village 
 {lands upon the brink of a little Lake, in which the Savages 
 filh great quantities of Pikes and Gudgeons. 1 2 I found only 
 thirty or forty Men fit for War in the place, for the reft were 
 gone a Beaver-hunting fome days before. The 7 th I reim- 
 barq’d, and rowing hard made in the Evening the little Lake 
 of Malominis, where we kill’d Bucks and Buftards enough for 
 Supper. We went afhoar that Night, and built Hutts for our 
 felves upon a point of Land that fhoots out; by break of day 
 I went in a Canow to the Village, and after an hours Confer¬ 
 ence with fome of the Savages, prefented ’em with two Rolls 
 of Tobacco, and they by way of Acknowledgment, made me 
 a prefent of two or three Sacks of Oatmeal: For the fides of 
 
 1 The Grand Kakaling, twenty-one miles from the mouth of Fox River, was a 
 series of rapids, the river falling fifty-two feet in the course of a mile. The name sig¬ 
 nified “the fishing ground for pickerel.” The modern town of Kaukauna is on the 
 river bank at this place. See Tanner, “ Early ICaukauna ’’ in IVis. Mist. Soc. Proc., 
 i8 99 > PP- 212-217. The other rapids of Fox River, ascending from the mouth, 
 were those at DePere, Little Kakalin (now called Little Rapids), the Croche (above 
 Wrightstown), Grand Kakalin (at Kaukauna), Little Chute (still so named), the 
 Cedars (at Kimberly), Grand Chute (at Appleton), and Winnebago Rapids (at 
 Neenah). See Jes. Rel. } liv, p. 306. —Ed. 
 
 2 The Kickapoo were an Algonquian tribe closely associated with the Mascoutin. 
 They were first encountered in Wisconsin, but drifted over various portions of Mich¬ 
 igan and Illinois, finally crossing the Mississippi (about 1725), and making their 
 homes in Iowa. See Wis. Hist. Colls., xvi, xvii, index. A remnant of this tribe still 
 exists upon reservations in Kansas and Oklahoma. The village mentioned here by 
 Lahontan is not described by his contemporaries. It would seem to have been on 
 Lake Winnebago, between Neenah and Oshkosh. — Ed. 
 
to Aor^-America 
 
 i75 
 
 the Lake are cover’d with a fort of Oats, which grows in tufts 
 with a tall Stalk, and of which the Savages reap plentiful 
 Crops. 1 The 9 th I arriv’d at the foot of Outagamis Fort, 
 where I found but [no] few People; however, they gave me 
 a very kind Reception, for after dancing the Calumet before 
 the Door of my Hutt, they made me a Prefent of Venifon and 
 Fifh. Next day they convey’d me up the River, to the place 
 where their folks were hunting the Beavers. The 11th we im- 
 barq’d, and landed the lyb upon the fhoar of a little Lake, 
 where the Head of that Nation refided. 2 After we had rear’d 
 up our Hutts, that General gave me a Vifit, and inquir’d which 
 way I intended to move. I made anfwer, that I was fo far 
 from defigning to march toward the Nadoueffious his Enemies, 
 that I fhould not come near ’em by 100 Leagues 3 ; and to con- 
 
 1 The “ Lake of Malhominis ” was probably the present Grand Lake Butte des 
 Morts, where, as now, grew great expanses of wild rice or oats. The French called 
 the Menominee “ Folle Avoines,” the name for this plant (Zizania aquatica) which 
 formed a staple food for Indians in the Northwest. See Jenks, “ Wild-rice Gatherers 
 of the Upper Lakes,” in U. S. Bur. of Ethnol. Report , No. 19. Father Allouez 
 mentioned the wild rice in this lake on his journey of 1670. See Jes. Rel., liv, pp. 
 217-219, 307. —Ed. 
 
 2 The location of the Outagami or Fox Indian villages has been much discussed. 
 See IVis. Hist. Colls., xvi, p. 39. The most that can be said is, that they were 
 probably in Waupaca County, on Wolf River, or some of its affluents. 
 
 The Outagami or Fox (Fr., Renard) Indians were of Algonquian stock, first 
 encountered in Wisconsin, which was their permanent home until driven by the 
 French across the Mississippi, about the middle of the eighteenth century. Their 
 wars upon the French (1712-47) undermined the empire of the latter in the Northwest. 
 See Wis. Hist. Colls., xvii. In 1730 they amalgamated with the Sauk. Remnants of 
 the Sauk and Fox tribes are still extant in Iowa, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. — Ed. 
 
 3 Nadouessioux, usually abreviated to Sioux, was the name given by the Algon¬ 
 quian tribes to the great Western stock, who called themselves Dakota. The term 
 Nadouessioux meant ‘ ‘ snake-like ones, ’ * or ‘ ‘ enemy. * * At this time they were hostile 
 
176 Some New Voyages 
 
 firm the innocence of my Intentions, I pray’d him to fend fix 
 Warriours to accompany me to the long River, which I defign’d 
 to trace up to its Source. He reply’d that he was extream 
 glad to find that I carry’d neither Arms nor Cloaths to the 
 Nadoueffious; that he faw I had not the equipage of a Coureur 
 de Bois , but that on the contrary, I had fome difcovery in my 
 view. At the fame time he caution’d me not to venture too 
 far up that Noble River, by reafon of the multitudes of People 
 that I would find there, though they have no ftomach for War : 
 He mean’d, that fome numerous Party might furprife me in 
 the Night-time. In the mean time, inftead of the fix War¬ 
 riours that I defir’d, he gave me ten, who underftood the 
 Lingua, and knew the Country of the Eokoros , with whom his 
 Nation had maintain’d a Peace of twenty years Handing. I 
 flay’d two days with this General, during which time he regal’d 
 me nobly, and walk’d about with me to give me the Satisfac¬ 
 tion of obferving the difpofure of the Cottages of the Beaver- 
 hunters ; a defcription of which, you may expert in another 
 place; I prefented him with a Fufee, twelve Flint-ftones, two 
 pound of Powder, four pound of Ball, and a little Axe, and I 
 gave each of his two Sons a [111 ] great Coat, and a Roll of 
 Brafil Tobacco. Two of the ten Warriours that he gave me, 
 could fpeak the Language of the Outaouas, which I was well 
 pleas’d with ; not that I was a ftranger to their own Language, 
 for between that and the Algonkin there is no great difference, 
 
 to the Fox, but in their eighteenth-century wars upon the French were their allies. 
 For information concerning the Siouan people, see references in Hennepin, New 
 Discovery , p. 225, note.—E d. 
 
to North- America. 177 
 
 but in regard that there were feveral words that puzled me. 
 My four Outaouas were tranfported with this little Reinforce¬ 
 ment, and were then fo incouraged, that they told me above 
 four times, that we might venture fafely fo far as the Planta¬ 
 tion of the Sun. I embarqed with this fmall Guard the 1 6th 
 about Noon, and arriv’d that Night at the Land-carriage of 
 Ouifconfinc , which we finifti’d in two days, that is, we left the 
 River of Puants , and tranfported our Canows and Baggage to 
 the River Ouifconfinc , which is not above three quarters of a 
 League diftant, or thereabouts. 1 I {hall fay nothing of the 
 River we left, but that ’twas Muddy, full of Shelves, and 
 inclofed with a fteep Coaft, Marflies, and frightful Rocks. 
 
 The ic)tb we embarqu’d upon the River Ouifconfinc , and 
 being favour’d by a flack Current, arriv’d in four days at the 
 place, where it empties it felf into the River Miffifipi, which is 
 about half a League broad in that part. The force of the 
 Current, and the breadth of that River, is much the fame as 
 that of the Loire. It lies North-Eaft, and South-Weft; and its 
 fides are adorn’d with Meadows, lofty Trees and Firs. I ob- 
 ferv’d but two Iflands upon it, though there may be more, 
 
 1 Lahontan certainly allows too little time for the passage from the Outagami 
 village to the Fox-Wisconsin portage — not less than 100 miles, following the meander- 
 ings of the river. 
 
 The Fox-Wisconsin portage was a noted place in the early history of Western 
 discovery. Apparently Radisson and Groseilliers were (1655) the first white men to 
 traverse it. Marquette describes it in 1672. A contemporary writer (1682) says it 
 was “through an oak grove and a flooded meadow .’’—Wis. Hist. Colls.,xv i, p. 106. 
 The portage was about a mile in length ; later, the French built a corduroy road 
 through the swamp, and established a rude wagon carriage for their batteaux. — Wis. 
 Hist. Colls., x, pp. 221,222. A government ship canal now spans the distance. — Ed. 
 
^8 Some New Voyages 
 
 which the darknefs of the Night hid from us as we came down. 
 The 23<i we landed upon an Ifland in the River Mijfifipi , over 
 againft the River I fpoke of but now, and were in hopes to 
 find fome wild Goats there, but had the ill fortune to find 
 none. The day after we croft to t’other fide of the River, 
 founding it every where, as we had done the day before, and 
 found nine foot water in the fhalloweft place. The [112] 2 d 
 of November we made the Mouth of the Long River , having 
 firft ftem’d feveral rapid Currents of that River, though ’twas 
 then at loweft Ebb. In this little paffage we kill d feveral wild 
 Beeves which we broil’d, and catch’d feveral large Dabs. On 
 
 1 The distance from the portage to the mouth of the Wisconsin is 145 miles. Its 
 stage of water was in Lahontan’s time doubtless much higher than now, although 
 early canoeists speak of being embarrassed by its numerous shifting sand-bars. Until 
 the depletion of the great pine forests in north-central Wisconsin, it was an important 
 lumbering stream. From the time of the erection of Wisconsin Territory (1836) until 
 about 1890 there was much popular agitation in favor of dredging both the Fox and 
 Wisconsin, in order to connect Lake Michigan with Mississippi River—in other 
 words, adapting what was, in the French regime, the most popular fur-trade route 
 between the great lakes and the great river, to the requirements of modern steam 
 navigation. Large sums of money have been spent by the federal government in sur¬ 
 veys on the sprawling and sand-bar-ridden Wisconsin, and in a lockage system on the 
 lower Fox ; but it has at last come to be recognized by most engineers that the route 
 is impracticable without an unwarranted expenditure of public funds. The Fox as 
 far up as Lake Winnebago has a strong current, and its rapids are the basis of the 
 present federal-built water powers ; the upper Fox is sluggish, shallow, and frequently 
 fringed with wild-rice swamps. There is to-day occasional navigation by flat-bottomed 
 steamers as far as Berlin, but only small launches can proceed to the portage. On 
 the Wisconsin, which in spring and autumn overflows to the width of a mile or more, 
 steam craft are seldom seen ; the passage of a small launch, perhaps once or twice a 
 season, arousing general curiosity. Lahontan’s description, although brief, is not 
 inexact, and appears to be that of one who had seen the alternating cliffs and meadows 
 which border the Wisconsin, one of the most beautiful of Western streams. See 
 chapters on the Fox-Wisconsin waterway in Thwaites, Down Historic IVaterways 
 (Chicago, new ed., 1903). — Ed. 
 

 to North- America. 179 
 
 the 3^ we enter’d the Mouth of the Long River , which looks 
 like a Lake full of Bull-rufhes ; we found in the middle of it a 
 narrow Channel, upon which we fteer’d till Night, and then 
 lay by to deep in our Canows. In the Morning I enquir’d of 
 my ten Outagamis , if we had far to fail before we were clear of 
 the Rufhes, and receiv’d this anfwer, that they had never been 
 in the Mouth of that River before, though at the fame time 
 they affur’d me, that about twenty Leagues higher, the Banks 
 of it were clad with Woods and Meadows. But after all we 
 did not fail fo far, for about ten a Clock next Morning the 
 River came pretty narrow, and the Shoar was cover’d with 
 lofty Trees; and after continuing our courfe the reft of that 
 day, we had a profpedt of Meadows now and then. That fame 
 Night we landed at a point of Land, with a delign to drefs 
 our broil’d Meat, for at that time we had none frefh. The 
 next day we ftop’d at the firft Bland we faw, in which we found 
 neither Man nor Beall; and the Evening drawing near, I was 
 unwilling to venture far into it, fo we e’en contented our felves 
 with the catching of fome forry Fifh. The 6 th a gentle Gale 
 fprung up, which wafted us to another Illand about 12 Leagues 
 higher, where we landed. Our paffage to this place was very 
 quick, notwithstanding the great calm that always prevails 
 upon this River, which I take to be the leaft rapid River in 
 the World. But the quicknefs of the paffage was not the only 
 furprifal, for I was amaz’d that I faw no Harts, nor Bucks, 
 nor Turkeys, having met with ’em all along in the other parts 
 of my Difcovery. The 7 th the fame Wind drove us [113] to 
 a third Bland, that lay ten or twelve Leagues off the former, 
 
180 Some New Voyages 
 
 which we quitted in the Morning. In this third Ifland our 
 Savages kill’d thirty or forty Pheafants, which I was not ill 
 pleas’d with. 
 
 The 8 th the Wind proving unferviceable to us, by reafon 
 that ’twas intercepted by Hills cover’d with Firs, we ply’d 
 our Oars; and about two in the Afternoon, defcry’d on the 
 left Hand large Meadows, and fome Hutts at the diftance of 
 a quarter of a League from the River. Upon this Difcovery, 
 our Savages and ten of the Soldiers jump’d upon the fhoar, 
 and directed their courfe to the Houfes, where they found fifty 
 or fixty Huntfmen prepar’d to receive ’em, with their Bows 
 and Arrows. As foon as the Huntfmen heard the voice of 
 the Outagamis, they threw down their Arms, and prefented 
 the Company with fome Deer that they had juft kill’d, which 
 they likewife help’d to carry to my Canows. The Benefactors 
 were fome of the Eokoros , who had left their Villages, and come 
 thither to hunt. I prefented ’em, more out of Policy, than 
 Acknowledgment, with Tobacco, Knives and Needles, which 
 they could not but admire. Upon this, they repair’d with ex¬ 
 pedition to their Villages, and gave their Affociates to under- 
 ftand, what a good fort of People they had met with; which 
 had fo much influence, that the next day towards the Evening, 
 there appear’d upon the River fide above two thoufand Sav¬ 
 ages, who fell a dancing as foon as they defcry’d us. There¬ 
 upon, our Outagamis went afhoar, and after a fhort Conference, 
 fome of the principal Savages imbarqu’d on board of our 
 Canows, and fo we all fleer’d to the chief Village, which we 
 did not reach till Midnight. I order’d our Hutts to be made 
 
I 
 
 to North- America. 181 
 
 up on a point of Land near a little River, at the diftance of a 
 quarter of a League from the Village. Though the Savages 
 prefs’d me extreamly to lodge in one of their Villages, yet 
 none [114] went with ’em but the Outagamis , and the four 
 Outaouas, who at the fame time caution’d the Savages not to 
 approach to our Camp in the Night-time. Next day I allow’d 
 my Soldiers to refrelh and reft themfelves; and went my felf 
 to vifit the Grandees of this Nation to whom I gave Prefents 
 of Knives, Ciffars, Needles, and Tobacco. They gave me to 
 underftand, that they were infinitely well pleas’d with our 
 arrival in their Country, for that they had heard the Savages 
 of other Nations fpeak very honourably of the French. I took 
 leave of em on the 12th, and fet out with a Convoy of five or 
 fix hundred Savages, who march’d upon the fhoar, keeping 
 pace with our Canows. We pafs’d by another Village that 
 lay to the right Hand, and ftop’d at a third Village that was 
 five Leagues diftant from the firft, but did not difimbarque: 
 For all that I defign’d, was to make a Prefent to the leading 
 Men of the Village, from whom I receiv’d more Indian Corn, 
 and broil’d or dry’d Meat, than I had occafion for. In fine, 
 I pafs’d from Village to Village without flopping, unlefs it 
 were to incamp all Night, or to prefent the Savages with fome 
 Trinkets; and fo fleer’d on to the laft Village, with a defign 
 to get fome Intelligence. As foon as we arriv’d at the end of 
 this Village, the Great Governour, who indeed was a venerable 
 old Gentleman, fent out Hunters to bring us good Cheer. 
 He inform’d me, that fixty Leagues higher I fhould meet with 
 the Nation of the EJfanapes, who wag’d War with him ; that if 
 
182 Some New Voyages 
 
 it had not been for their being at War, he would have given 
 me a Convoy to their Country; that, however he mean’d to 
 give up to me fix Slaves of that Country, which I might carry 
 home, and make ufe of as I faw occafion; and that in failing 
 up the River, I had nothing to fear, but the being furpriz’d 
 in the Night-time. In fine, after he had inftrudted me in 
 feveral very ufeful Circumftances, I immediately [115 ] made 
 every thing ready for my Departure. 
 
 The Commanders of this People acquainted me, that they 
 had twelve Villages peopled by 20000 Warriours; that their 
 number was much greater before the War, which they wag’d 
 at one time with the Nadonejfis, the Panimoha , and the Effanapes. 
 The People are very civil, and fo far from a wild Savage tem¬ 
 per, that they have an Air of Humanity and Sweetnefs. Their 
 Hutts are long, and round at the top, not unlike thofe of our 
 Savages; but they are made of Reeds and Bulruflies, inter¬ 
 lac’d and cemented with a fort of fat Earth. Both the Men 
 and the Women go naked all over, excepting their Privities. 
 The Women are not fo handfom, as thofe who live upon the 
 Lakes of Canada. There feems to be fomething of Govern¬ 
 ment and Subordination among this People; and they have 
 their Houfes fortified with the branches of Trees, and Faf- 
 cines ftrengthen’d with fat Earth. 
 
 The 2 \ft we imbarqu’d at the break of day, and landed that 
 Night in an Ifiand cover’d with Stones and Gravel, having 
 pafs’d by another at which I would not put in, becaufe I would 
 not flight the opportunity of the Wind, which then flood very 
 fair. Next day the Wind Handing equally fair, we fet out 
 
to iVor^-America. 
 
 183 
 
 and continued our courfe all that Day, and the following 
 Night; for the fix Ejfanapes inform’d us, that the River was 
 clean, and free from Rocks and Beds of Sand. The 23 we 
 landed early in the Morning on the right fide of the River, in 
 order to careen one of our Boats that fprung a Leak. While 
 that was a doing, we dreft fome Venifon that had been pre- 
 fented me by the Commander of the laft Village of the Eokoros; 
 and the adjacent Country being replenifh’d with Woods, the 
 Savages of our Company went a (hooting in the Forefts; but 
 they faw nothing but fmall Fowls, that they did not think fit 
 to fhoot at. As foon as we reimbarqu’d, the Wind fell all of 
 a fudden, and fo [116] we were forc’d to ply the Oars ; but 
 moft of the Crew having flept but little the Night before, 
 they row’d but very faintly, which oblig’d me to put in at a 
 great Ifland two Leagues higher; the fix Effanapes Slaves hav¬ 
 ing inform’d me, that this Ifland afforded great plenty of 
 Hares, which I found to be true. Thefe Animals had a lucky 
 Inftind in taking fhelter in this Ifland, for there the Woods 
 are fo thick, that we were forc’d to fet fire to feveral places, 
 before we could diflodge ’em. 
 
 Having made an end of our Game, my Soldiers fed heartily, 
 and thereupon fell fo found afleep, that I could fcarce get ’em 
 wak’d upon a falfe Alarm, occafion’d by a Herd of Wolves 
 that made a noife among the Thickets upon the Continent. 
 We reimbarqued next day at ten a Clock in the Morning, and 
 did not run above twelve Leagues in two days, by reafon that 
 the Savages of our Company would needs walk along the 
 River fide with their Guns, to fhoot Geefe and Ducks; in 
 
184 Some New Voyages 
 
 which they had very good Succefs. After that we incampt 
 juft by the Mouth of a little River on the right Hand, and the 
 Effanapes Slaves gave me notice, that the firft of their Villages 
 was not above fixteen or eighteen Leagues off. Upon this 
 Information, I fent, by the advice of the Savages of our Com¬ 
 pany, two of the Slaves to give notice of our arrival. The 
 26th we row’d briskly, in hopes to reach the firft Village that 
 day; but being retarded by the huge quantities of floating 
 Wood, that we met in feveral places, we were forc’d to con¬ 
 tinue all Night in our Canows. The 27 th about ten or eleven 
 a Clock we approach’d to the Village, and after putting up 
 the great Calumet of Peace upon the Prow of our Canows, 
 lay upon our Oars. 
 
 Upon our firft appearance, three or four hundred Effanapes 
 came running to the fhoar, and, after dancing juft over againft 
 us, invited us afhoar. As foon [ 117] as we came near the 
 fhoar, they began to jump into our Canows; but I gave ’em to 
 know by the four Effanapes Slaves, that I defir’d they fhould 
 retire, which they did immediately. Then I landed, being 
 accompany’d with the Savages of our Company, namely, the 
 Outagamis, and the Outaouas, and with twenty Soldiers. At 
 the fame time I gave orders to my Sergeants, to land and poft 
 Centries. As we flood upon the fhoar, all the Effanapes prof- 
 trated themfelves three or four times before us, with their 
 Hands upon their Foreheads ; after which we were convoy’d 
 to the Village with fuch Acclamations of Joy, as perfe&ly 
 ftun’d us. Upon our arrival at the Gate, our Condu&ors 
 Hop’d us, till the Governour, a Man of fifty years of Age, 
 

 to North- America. 185 
 
 march’d out with five or fix hundred Men arm’d with Bows 
 and Arrows. The Outagamis of my Company perceiving this, 
 charg’d ’em with Infolence in receiving Strangers with their 
 Arms about ’em, and call’d out in the Eokoros Language, that 
 they ought to lay down their Arms. But the Effanapes Slaves 
 that I had fent in the day before, came up to me, and gave me 
 to underftand, that ’twas their cuftom to ftand to their Arms 
 on fuch occafions, and that there was no danger in the cafe. 
 However, the obftinate Outagamis oblig’d us to retire imme¬ 
 diately to our Canows: Upon which the Leading Officer, and 
 the whole Battalion, flung their Bows and Arrows afide all on 
 a fudden. Then I return’d, and our whole Company enter’d 
 the Village with their Fufees in their Hands, which the Sav¬ 
 ages admir’d mightily. The Leader of the Savages conduced 
 us to a great Hutt, which look’d as if no body had liv’d in 
 it before. When I and my twenty Soldiers had enter’d the 
 place, they Hop’d the Outagamis , affirming, that they did not 
 deferve the priviledge of entring within the Cottage of Peace, 
 fince they had endeavour’d to create a difference, and occafion 
 [ 118] a War between us and the Effanapes. In the mean time 
 I order’d my Men to open the Door, and to call out to the 
 Outagamis, that they fhould offer no manner of Injury: But 
 the Outagamis in ftead of coming in, prefs’d me to return with 
 all expedition to the Canows, which accordingly I did, without 
 lofs of time, and carry’d with me the four Effanapes Slaves, in 
 order to leave ’em at the firft Village we came to. We had no 
 fooner imbarqued, than the two other Slaves came to acquaint 
 me that the Governor would flop me in his River; but the 
 
 1 
 
186 Some New Voyages 
 
 Outagamis made anfwer, that he could not do that, without 
 throwing a Mountain into it. In fine, we did not Hand to dif- 
 pute the matter; and tho’ ’twas then late, we row’d ftraight 
 to the next Village, which lay about three Leagues off. During 
 the time of this paffage, I us’d the precaution of taking from 
 my fix Slaves an exad information of the Conftitution of their 
 Country, and particularly of the principal Village. They 
 having affur’d me, that the Capital Canton was feated upon 
 a fort of a Lake, I took up a Refolution of not flopping at 
 the other Villages, where I ffiould only lofe time, and lavifh 
 my Tobacco, and fleering direcflly to the Metropolitan in order 
 to complain to their Generaliflimo. 
 
 We arriv’d at the Capital Canton on the 3^ of November / 
 and there met with a very honourable Reception. The Outa¬ 
 gamis of our Company complain’d of the affront they had 
 receiv’d; but the Head General being already inform’d of 
 the matter, made anfwer, that they ought to have carry’d off 
 the Governour or Leading Officer, and brought him along 
 with them. In paffing from the firft Village to this we run 
 fifty Leagues, and were follow’d by a Proceffion of People, 
 that were much more fociable than the Governour that offer’d 
 us that Affront. After our Men had fitted up our Hutts 
 at [ 119 ] the diftance of a Cannon ftiot from the Village; we 
 went in a joynt body with the Outagamis and the Outaouas , 
 to the Cacick of that Nation; and in the mean time the EJfa- 
 napes Slaves were brought before him by ten of my Soldiers. 
 
 1 According to Lahontan’s own chronology this should be December, not Novem- 
 ber. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 187 
 
 I was actually in the prefence of this petty King, when thefe 
 Slaves fpent half an hour in proftrating themfelves feveral 
 times before him. I made him a Prefent of Tobacco, Knives, 
 Needles, Ciflfars, two Firelocks with Flints, fome Hooks, and 
 a very pretty Cutlas. He was better fatisfied with thefe trifling 
 things, which he had never feen before, than I could have been 
 with a plentiful Fortune. He teftified his Acknowledgment 
 of the Gift, by a Counter-prefent that was more folid, though 
 not much more valuable, as confifting of Peafe, Beans, Harts, 
 Roe-bucks, Geefe and Ducks, of which he fent great plenty 
 to our Camp: And indeed, we were extreamly well fatisfied 
 with fuch a feafonable Prefent. He gave me to know, That, 
 fince I defign d to vifit the Gnacfitares , he would give me a 
 Convoy of two or three hundred Men: That the Gnacfitares 
 were a very honeft fort of People ; and that both they and his 
 People were link d by a common intereft in guarding off the 
 Mozeemlek, which were a turbulent and warlike Nation. He 
 added, that the Nation laft mention’d were very numerous; 
 that they never took the Field without twenty thoufand Men 
 at leaft: That to repref the Incurfions and Infults of that 
 dangerous Enemy, the Gnacfitares and his Nation had main¬ 
 tain’d a Confederacy for fix and twenty years; and that his 
 Allies (the Gnacfitares) were forc’d to take up their Habita¬ 
 tion in Hands, where the Enemy cannot reach ’em. I was 
 glad to accept of his Convoy, and return’d him many thanks. 
 
 I ask’d four Pirogues of him, which he granted very frankly, 
 allowing me to pick and choofe that number out of fifty. 
 Having thus concerted my Meafures, I [120] was refolv’d 
 
i88 
 
 Some New V*oyages 
 
 to lofe no time; and with that view order’d my Carpenters 
 to plane the Pirogues; by which they were thinner and 
 lighter by one half. The poor innocent People of this Coun¬ 
 try, could not conceive how we work d with an Axe; every 
 ftroke we gave they cry’d out, as if they had feen fome new 
 Prodigy; nay, the firing of Piftols could not divert ’em from 
 that Amazement, though they were equally ftrangers both 
 to the Piftol and the Axe. As foon as my Pirogues were 
 got ready, I left my Canows with the Governour or Prince, 
 and beg’d of him that they might remain untouch’d by any 
 body; in which point he was very faithful to me. 
 
 I cannot but acquaint you in this place, that the higher I 
 went up the River, I met with more difcretion from the Sav¬ 
 ages. But in the mean time I muft not take leave of the laft 
 Village, without giving fome account of it. ’Tis bigger than 
 all the reft, and is the Refidence of the Great Commander or 
 Generaliflimo, whofe Apartment is built by it felf towards the 
 fide of the Lake, and furrounded with fifty other Apartments, 
 in which all his Relations are lodg’d. When he walks, his way 
 is ftrow’d with the leaves of Trees: But commonly he is carry’d 
 by fix Slaves. His Royal Robes are of the fame Magnificence 
 with thofe of the Commander of the Okoros: For he is naked 
 all over, excepting his lower parts, which are cover’d with a 
 large Scarf made of the barks of Trees. The large extent of 
 this Village might juftly intitle it to the name of a City. The 
 Houfes are built almoft like Ovens, but they are large and 
 high; and moft of ’em are of Reeds cemented with fat Earth. 
 The day before I left this place, as I was walking about, 1 faw 
 

 to North- America. 189 
 
 thirty or forty Women running at full fpeed; and being fur- 
 pris’d with the fpeftacle, fpoke to the Outagamis to order my 
 four Slaves to fee what the matter was; for thefe Slaves were 
 my only Interpreters in [121] this unknown Country. Ac¬ 
 cordingly they brought me word, that ’twas fome new mar¬ 
 ried Women, who were running to receive the Soul of an old 
 Fellow that lay a dying. From thence I concluded, that the 
 People were Pythagoreans; and upon that Apprehenfion, ask’d 
 ’em how they came to eat Animals, into which their Souls 
 might be transfus’d: But they made anfwer, that the Tranf- 
 migration of Souls is always confin’d to the refpedUve Species, 
 fo that the Soul of a Man cannot enter into a Fowl, as that 
 of a Fowl cannot be lodg’d in a quadruped, and fo on. The 
 Okoros , of both Sexes, are fully as handfom and as clever, as 
 this People. 
 
 December the 4I took leave of this Village, having ten 
 Soldiers on board of my Pirogue, befides the ten Oumamis , x 
 the four Outaonas , and the four EJfanapes Slaves, that I have 
 mention’d fo often. Here ended the Credit and Authority 
 of the Calumet of Peace, for the Gnacfitares are not acquainted 
 with that Symbol of Concord. The firft day we had enough 
 to do to run fix or feven Leagues, by reafon of the Bulrufhes 
 with which the Lake is incumber’d. The two following days 
 we fail’d twenty Leagues. The 4 tb day a Weft-North-Weft 
 wind furpris d us with fuch a boifterous violence, that we were 
 fore d to put afhoar, and lay two days upon a fandy Ground, 
 
 1 This must be a misprint for Outagamis, as no previous mention has been made 
 of Oumanis (Miamis) accompanying him. — Ed. 
 
190 Some New Voyages 
 
 where we were in danger of ftarving for Hunger and Cold; 
 for the Country was fo barren, that we could not find a chip 
 of Wood wherewith to warm our felves, or to drefs our 
 Victuals; and as far as our Eye could reach, there was nothing 
 to be feen but Fens cover’d with Reeds and Clay, and naked 
 Fields. Having indur’d this Hardfhip we fet out again, and 
 row’d to a little Ifland, upon which we incamp’d, but found 
 nothing there but green Fields; however, to make fome 
 amends we filh’d up great numbers of little Trouts, upon 
 which we fed very heartily. At laft, after [122] failing fix days 
 more, we arriv’d at the Point or Lands-end of that Ifland 
 which you fee mark’d in my Map with a Flower-de-luce. ’Twas 
 then the 19th day of December , and we had not yet felt all 
 the rigorous Hardfhips of the Cold. As foon as I had landed 
 and fitted up my Tents or Hutts, I detach’d my Ejfanapes 
 Slaves to the firft of the three Villages that lay before us; for 
 I had avoided flopping at fome Villages in an Hand upon 
 which we coafted in the Night-time. The Slaves return’d in 
 a great Alarm, occafion’d by the unfavourable Anfwer they 
 receiv’d from the Gnacfitares, who took us for Spaniards , and 
 were angry with them for conducting us to their Country. I 
 fhall not be minute in every Particular that happen’d, for fear 
 of tyring your Patience. ’Tis fufficient to acquaint you, that 
 upon the Report of my Slaves I immediately embark’d, and 
 polled my felf in another Hand that lay in the middle between 
 the great Hand and the Continent; but I did not fuffer the 
 Effanapes to be in my Camp. In the mean time the Gnacfitares 
 fent expeditious Couriers to the People that live eighty 
 
to North- America. 
 
 191 
 
 Leagues to the Southward of them, to defire they would fend 
 fome of their number to examine us ; for that People were 
 fuppos’d to be well acquainted with the Spaniards of New 
 Mexico. The length of the Journey did not difcourage ’em, 
 for they came as chearfully as if it had been upon a National 
 Concern: and after taking a view of our Cloaths, our Swords, 
 our Fufees, our Air, Complexion, and manner of Speech, were 
 forc’d to own that we were not true Spaniards? Thefe Con¬ 
 federations, join’d to the Account I gave ’em of the Reafons 
 upon which I undertook the Voyage, of the War we were 
 ingag’d in againft Spain, and of the Country to the Eaftward 
 that we poffefs’d; thefe, I fay, had fo much influence, as to 
 undeceive ’em. Then they invited me to encamp in their 
 Ifland, and brought me a fort of [123] Grain not unlike our 
 Lentils, that grows plentifully in that Country. I thank’d ’em 
 for their Invitation, and told ’em that I would not be oblig’d 
 to diftruft them, nor give them any occafion to diftruft me. 
 However, I crofs’d with my Savages and ten Soldiers well 
 arm’d; and after breaking the Ice in certain places (for it had 
 freez’d hard for ten or twelve days) I landed within two 
 Leagues of one of their Villages, to which I walk’d up by 
 Land. ’Tis needlefs to mention the Particulars of the Cere¬ 
 mony with which I was receiv’d, it being the fame with what 
 I defcrib’d upon other occafions; I fliall only take occafion to 
 acquaint you, that my Prefents made a wonderful Impreflion 
 upon the Minds of thefe People, whom I fhall call a rafcally 
 Rabble, tho’ at the fame time they are the politeft Nation I 
 have yet feen in this Country. Their Governour bears the 
 
192 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 Figure of a King more than any of the other Commanders of 
 the Savages. He has an abfolute Dominion over all the Vil¬ 
 lages which are defcrib’d in my Map. In this and the other 
 Iflands I faw large Parks, or Inclofures, flock’d with wild 
 Beeves for the ufe of the People. I had an Interview for two 
 hours together with the Governour, or the Cacick; and almoft 
 our whole Conference related to the Spaniards of New Mexico, 
 who, as he allured me, were not diftant from his Country 
 above eighty Tazous, each of which is three Leagues. I muft 
 own indeed, I was as curious upon this Head as he was; and 
 I wanted an Account of the Spaniards from him, as much as 
 he did from me: In fine, we reciprocally inform’d one another 
 of a great many Particulars relating to that Head. He 
 requefted me to accept of a great Houfe that was prepar’d 
 for me; and his firft piece of Civility confifted in calling in a 
 great many Girls, and prefling me and my Retinue to ferve 
 our felves. Had this Temptation been thrown in our way at 
 a more feafonable time, it had prov’d irrefiftible; but ’twas 
 not an agreeable Mefs [124] for Paffengers that were infee- 
 bled by Labour and Want. Sine Cerere & Baccho friget Venus. 
 After he made us fuch a civil Proffer, the Savages, upon my 
 inftance, reprefented to him, that my Detachment expected 
 me at a certain hour, and that if I flay’d longer, they would 
 be in pain for me. This Adventure happen’d on the 7th of 
 January. 
 
 Two days after, the Cacick came to fee me, and brought 
 with him four hundred of his own Subjects, and four Mozeem- 
 lek Savages, whom I took for Spaniards. My Miftake was 
 
J 
 
 to North- America. 193 
 
 occafion d by the great difference between thefe two American 
 Nations; for, the Mozeemlek Savages were cloath’d, they had 
 a thick bufhy Beard, and their Hair hung down under their 
 Ears; their Complexion was fwarthy, their Addrefs was civil 
 and fubmiffive, their Meen grave, and their Carriage engag- 
 ing. Upon thefe Confiderations I could not imagine that 
 they were Savages, tho’ after all I found my felf miftaken. 
 Thefe four Slaves gave me a Defcription of their Country, 
 which the Gnacfitares reprefented by way of a Map upon a 
 Deer’s Skin; as you fee it drawn in this Map. Their Villages 
 ftand upon a River that fprings out of a ridge of Mountains, 
 from which the Long River likewife derives its Source, there 
 being a great many Brooks there which by a joint Con¬ 
 fluence form the River. When the Gnacfitares have a mind to 
 hunt wild Beeves, they fet out in Pirogues, which they make 
 ufe of till they come to the Crofs mark’d thus (+) in the 
 Map, at the Confluence of two little Rivers. The Hunting 
 of the wild Bulls, with which all the Valleys are cover’d in 
 Summer, is fometimes the occafion of a cruel War: For the 
 other Crofs (+) which you fee in the Map is one of the 
 Boundaries or Limits of Mozeemlek; and if either of thefe 
 two Nations advances but a little beyond their Limits, it gives 
 Rife to a bloody Engagement. The Mountains I fpoke of but 
 now, are fix Leagues broad, and fo high [125] that one muff 
 caff an infinity of Windings and Turnings before he can crofs 
 ’em. Bears and wild Beafts are their only Inhabitants. 
 
 The Mozeemleck Nation is numerous and puiffant. The 
 four Slaves of that Country inform’d me, that at the diftance 
 
 13 
 
194 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 of 150 Leagues from the Place where I then was, their prin¬ 
 cipal River empties it felf into a Salt Lake of three hundred 
 Leagues in Circumference, the mouth of which is about two 
 Leagues broad: That the lower part of that River is adorn’d 
 with fix noble Cities, furrounded with Stone cemented with 
 fat Earth: That the Houfes of thefe Cities have no Roofs, 
 but are open above like a Platform, as you fee ’em drawn in 
 the Map : That befides the abovemention’d Cities, there were 
 above an hundred Towns, great and fmall, round that fort of 
 Sea, upon which they navigate with fuch Boats as you fee 
 drawn in the Map: That the People of that Country made 
 Stuffs, Copper Axes, and feveral other Manufactures, which 
 the Outagamis and my other Interpreters could not give me 
 to underftand, as being altogether unacquainted with fuch 
 things: That their Government was Defpotick, and lodg’d 
 in the hands of one great Head, to whom the reft paid a 
 trembling Submiflion: That the People upon that Lake call 
 themfelves Tahuglauk, and are as numerous as the Leaves of 
 Trees, (fuch is the Expreflion that the Savages ufe for an 
 Hyperbole:) That the Mozeemlek People fupply the Cities 
 or Towns of the Tahuglauk with great numbers of little Calves, 
 which they take upon the abovemention’d Mountains: and, 
 That the Tahuglauk make ufe of thefe Calves for feveral ends; 
 for, they not only eat their Flefh, but bring ’em up to Labour, 
 and make Cloaths, Boots, &c. of their Skins. They added, 
 That ’twas their Misfortune to be took Prifoners by the 
 Gnac/itares in the War which had lafted for eighteen Years; 
 but, that they hoped a Peace would be fpeedily concluded, 
 
to TVor^-America. 
 
 *95 
 
 [126] upon which the Prifoners would be exchang’d, purfuant 
 to the ufual Cuftom. They glory’d in the poffeffion of a 
 greater meafure of Reafon than the Gnacfitares could pretend 
 to, to whom they allow no more than the Figure of a Man; 
 for they look upon ’em as Beafts otherwife. To my mind, 
 their Notion upon this Head is not fo very extravagant; for 
 I obferv’d fo much Honour and Politenefs in the Converfa- 
 tion of thefe four Slaves, that I thought I had to do with 
 Europeans: But, after all, I muft confefs, that the Gnacfitares 
 are the moft tradable Nation I met with among all the Sav¬ 
 ages. One of the four Mozeemlek Slaves had a reddifh fort of 
 a Copper Medal hanging upon his Neck, the Figure of which 
 is reprefented in the Map. I had it melted by Mr. de Tonti’s 
 Gun-fmith, who underftood fomething of Mettals; but it 
 became thereupon heavier, and deeper colour’d, and withal 
 fomewhat tradable. I defir’d the Slaves to give me a circum- 
 ftantial Account of thefe Medals; and accordingly they gave 
 me to underftand, that they are made by the Tahuglauk, who 
 are excellent Artizans, and put a great value upon fuch Med¬ 
 als. I could pump nothing farther out of ’em, with relation 
 to the Country, Commerce and Cuftoms of that remote Nation. 
 All they could fay was, that the great River of that Nation 
 runs all along Weftward, and that the fait Lake into which it 
 falls is three hundred Leagues in Circumference, and thirty 
 in breadth, its Mouth ftretching a great way to the South¬ 
 ward. I would fain have fatisfied my Curiofity in being an 
 eye-witnefs of the Manners and Cuftoms of the Tahuglauk; 
 but that being impradicable, I was forc’d to be inftruded at 
 
 
 
196 Some New Voyages 
 
 fecond hand by thefe Mozeemlek Slaves; who affur’d me, upon 
 the Faith of a Savage, that the Tahuglauk wear their Beards 
 two Fingers breadth long; that their Garments reach down 
 to their Knees; that they cover their Heads with a fharp- 
 pointed Cap; that they [127] always wear a long Stick or 
 Cane in their hands, which is tipp’d, not unlike what we ufe 
 in Europe; that they wear a fort of Boots upon their Legs 
 which reach up to the Knee; that their Women never lhew 
 themfelves, which perhaps proceeds from the fame Principle 
 that prevails in Italy and Spain; and, in fine, that this People 
 are always at War with the puiffant Nations that are feated in 
 the Neighbourhood of the Lake ; but withal, that they never 
 difquiet the ftrowling Nations that fall in their way, by reafon 
 of their Weaknefs: An admirable Leffon for fome Princes in 
 the World, who are fo much intent upon the making ufe of 
 the ftrongeft hand. 
 
 This was all I could gather upon that Subject. My Curi- 
 ofity prompted me to defire a more particular Account; but 
 unluckily I wanted a good Interpreter: and having to do 
 with feveral Perfons that did not well underftand themfelves, 
 I could make nothing of their incoherent Fuftian. I prefented 
 the poor miferable Slaves with fomething in proportion to 
 the Cuftom of that Country, and endeavour’d to perfwade 
 em to go with me to Canada , by making ’em fuch Offers as 
 in their efteem would appear like Mountains of Gold: but 
 the love they had for their Country ftifled all Perfwafion; fo 
 true it is, that Nature reduc’d to its juft Limits cares but little 
 for Riches. 
 
to North- America. 197 
 
 In the mean time it began to thaw, and the Wind chop’d 
 about to the South-weft; upon which I gave notice to the 
 great Cacique of the Gnacfitares, that I had a mind to return to 
 Canada. Upon that occafion I repeated my Prefents; in com- 
 penfation of which, my Pirogues were flow’d with Beef as full 
 as they could hold. This done, I embark’d, and crofs’d over 
 from the little Ifland to the Continent, where I fix’d a great 
 long Pole, with the Arms of France done upon a Plate of 
 Lead. I fet out the 26th of January , and arriv’d fafe on the 
 5th of February in the Country [128] of the EJfanapes. We 
 had much more pleafure in failing down the River, than we 
 had in going up ; for we had the agreeable diverfion of feeing 
 feveral Huntfmen ftiooting the Water-Fowl, that are plentiful 
 upon that River. You muft know, that the Stream of the 
 Long River is all along very flack and eafie, abating for about 
 three Leagues between the fourteenth and fifteenth Village; 
 for there indeed its Current may be call’d rapid. The Chan¬ 
 nel is fo ftraight, that it fcarce winds at all from the Head to 
 the Lake. ’Tis true ’tis not very pleafant; for moft of its 
 Banks have a difmal Profpedt, and the Water it felf has an 
 u gly Tafte: but then its Ufefulnefs attones for fuch Incon- 
 vemencies; for, ’tis navigable with the greateft eafe, and will 
 bear Barques of fifty Tun, till you come to that place which 
 is mark d with a Flower-de-luce in the Map, and where I put 
 up the Poft that my Soldiers chriften’d la Hontau’s Limit. 
 March 2. I arriv’d in the Miffifipi, which was then much 
 deeper and more rapid than before, by reafon of the Rains 
 and Land-floods. To fave the Labour of Rowing, we then 
 
I9 g Some New Voyages 
 
 left our Boats to the Current, and arriv’d on the ioth in the 
 Ifland of Rencontres , which took its Name from the Defeat of 
 400 Iroquefe, accomplifh’d there by 300 Nadoueffis. The Story 
 of the Encounter is briefly this : A Party of 400 Iroquefe hav¬ 
 ing a mind to furprife a certain People in the Neighbourhood 
 of the Otentas (of whom more anon) march’d to the Country 
 of the Illinefe, where they built Canows, and were furnifh’d 
 with Provifions. After that they embark’d upon the River 
 MiJJifipi, and were difcover’d by another little Fleet that was 
 failing down the other fide of the fame River. The Iroquefe 
 crofs’d over immediately to that Ifland, which is fince call d 
 Am Rencontres. The Nadoueffis, i. e. the other little Fleet, 
 being fufpicious of feme ill Defign, without knowing what 
 People they were, (for they had no knowledge of the [129] 
 Iroquefe but by Hear-fay; upon this fufpicion, I fay, they 
 tugg’d hard to come up with ’em. The two Armies potted 
 themfelves upon the point of the Ifland, where the two Croffes 
 are put down in the Map; and as foon as the Nadoueffis came 
 in fight, the Iroquefe cry’d out in the Illinefe Language, Who 
 are ye? To which the Nadoueffis anfwer’d, Some body: And put¬ 
 ting the like Queftion to the Iroquefe , receiv’d the fame An- 
 fwer. Then the Iroquefe put this Queftion to ’em, Where are 
 you a going? To hunt Beeves, reply’d the Nadoueffis. But pray, 
 fays the Nadoueffis, what’s your bufinefs ? To hunt Men , reply d 
 the Iroquefe. ’Tis well , fays the Nadoueffis, we are men, and fo 
 you need go no farther. Upon this Challenge the two Parties 
 difembark’d, and the Leader of the Nadoueffis cut his Canows 
 
to TVor^-America. 199 
 
 to pieces ; and after reprefenting to his Warriours that they 
 behov’d either to Conquer or Die, march’d up to the Iroquefe; 
 who receiv’d ’em at firft Onfet with a Cloud of Arrows : But 
 the Nadoueffis having flood their firft Difcharge, which kill’d 
 ’em eighty Men, fell in upon ’em with their Clubs in their 
 hands, before the others could charge again; and fo routed 
 ’em entirely. This Engagement lafted for two hours, and 
 was fo hot, that two hundred and fixty Iroquefe fell upon the 
 fpot, and the reft were all taken Prifoners. Some of the 
 Iroquefe indeed attempted to make their Efcape after the 
 Action was over; but the victorious General fent ten or 
 twelve of his Men to purfue ’em in one of the Canows that 
 he had taken: and accordingly they were all overtaken and 
 drown’d. The Nadoueffis having obtain’d this Victory, cut 
 off the Nofes and Ears of two of the clivereft Prifoners; and 
 fupplying ’em with Fufees, Powder, and Ball, gave ’em the 
 liberty of returning to their own Country, in order to give 
 their Country-men to underftand, that they ought not to 
 employ Women to hunt after Men any longer. 1 
 
 [130] The 12th we arriv’d at the Village of the Otentas , 
 where we took in a plentiful Provifion of Turkey Corn, of which 
 thefe People have great ftore. They inform’d us, that their 
 River was pretty rapid, and took its Rife from the neighbour¬ 
 ing Mountains; and that the upper part of it was adorn’d 
 with feveral Villages inhabited by the People call’d Panimaha, 
 
 1 This tale appears to have been an invention of Lahontan ; none of his contem¬ 
 poraries describes any such encounter between the Sioux and the Iroquois. — Ed. 
 
200 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 Paneaffa , and Panetonka. 1 But confidering that I was ftraitned 
 for time, and that I faw no probability of learning what I 
 wanted to know with reference to the Spaniards , I took leave 
 of ’em the next day, which was the 13th, and in four days 
 time, by the help of the Current and our Oars, made the 
 River of the Miffouris. 2 This done, we run up againft the 
 Stream of that River, which was at leaft as rapid as the Miffiftpi 
 was at that time; and arriv’d on the 18th at the firft Village 
 of the Miffouris , where I only Hop’d to make the People fome 
 Prefents that procur’d me a hundred Turkeys, with which 
 that People are wonderfully well flock’d. 3 After that, we 
 row’d hard againft the Stream, and landed next night near the 
 fecond Village. As foon as I arriv’d, I detach’d a Sergeant 
 with ten Soldiers to convoy the Outagamis to the Village, 
 while the reft of my Crew were bulled in fitting up our 
 
 1 River Otentas is an early name for the Des Moines, so called from the tribe 
 encountered near its mouth. Marquette’s map shows the Otontantas, whom Shea, 
 Early Voyages on the Mississippi (Albany, 1861), identifies with the Oto, evidently 
 the same as the Authoutantas of LeClercq and Hennepin. The Oto were a Siouan 
 tribe who by the beginning of the nineteenth century had migrated west of the Mis¬ 
 souri, and were settled on Platte River with the remnant of the Missouri tribe. The 
 Panimaha, Paneassa, and Panitonka were divisions of the Pawnees, of Caddoan stock. 
 The Panimaha were later called Pawnee Loups. By the close of the eighteenth cen¬ 
 tury they were all west of the Missouri. — Ed. 
 
 2 Missouri River was first seen at its mouth by Jolliet and Marquette, who called 
 it Pekitanoui, meaning Muddy Stream. Marquette surmised that its upper waters 
 might mingle with a stream flowing into the Vermillion Sea ( Pacific Ocean). — Ed. 
 
 3 The Missouri were a Siouan tribe first encountered near the mouth of their great 
 river. It would be fruitless to attempt to locate the villages described by Lahontan; 
 but later, the Missouri dwelt for many years near the mouth of Grand River. From 
 this site they were driven late in the eighteenth century, and amalgamated with the 
 Kansa and Oto. On the movements of all these tribes see Dorsey, “ Migrations of 
 Siouan Tribes,” in Amer. Naturalist , xx, pp. 211-218. — Ed. 
 
201 
 
 to North-America. 
 
 Hutts and unloading our Canows. It happen’d unluckily 
 that neither the Soldiers nor the Outagamis could make the 
 Savages underftand ’em ; and the latter were juft ready to fall 
 upon ’em, when an old Fellow cry’d out, that the Strangers 
 were not without more company, for that he had difcover’d 
 our Huts and Canows. Upon this, the Soldiers and the Outa¬ 
 gamis retir’d in a great Confirmation, and advis’d me to keep 
 a ftrong Guard all night. About two a clock in the Morning 
 two Men approach’d to our little Camp, and call’d in Illinefe , 
 that they wanted an Interview; upon which the Outagamis , 
 being extreamly well fatisfied that there was fome body among 
 ’em who could underftand what they faid, reply’d [131] in 
 Illinefe , that they fhould be very welcome as foon as the Sun 
 appear’d in the Horizon. Neverthelefs, the Outagamis re¬ 
 lented the former Affront fo much, that they importun’d me 
 all night long to fet fire to the Village, and put all the fcoun- 
 drel Inhabitants to the Sword. I made anfwer to ’em, that 
 ’twas our bufinefs to be wifer than they, and to bend our 
 Thoughts, not upon a fruitlefs Revenge, but upon the Difcov- 
 ery that we were then in queft of. At the break of Day the 
 two Adventurers of the Night came up to us, and after put¬ 
 ting Interrogatories to us for the fpace of two hours, invited 
 us to come up to their Village. The Outagamis reply’d, that 
 the Head or Governour of their Nation ought to have faluted 
 us fooner: and this oblig’d ’em to go back to give him notice. 
 After that we faw no body for three hours: but at laft, when 
 our Impatience was juft beginning to boil, we perceiv’d the 
 Governour, who accofted us in a trembling Pofture. He was 
 
202 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 accompany’d with fome of his own Men, who were loaded 
 with broil’d or dry’d Meat, Sacks of Turkey or Indian Corn, 
 dry’d Raifins, and fome fpeckled or particolour’d Buck-skins. 
 In confideration of this Prefent, I made ’em another of lefs 
 confequence. Then I brought on a Conference between the 
 Outagamis of my Company and the two Night Meffengers, in 
 order to make fome difcovery of the Nature of the Country; 
 but they ftill ftop’d our Mouths with this Anfwer, that they 
 knew nothing of the Matter, but that the other Nations that 
 liv’d higher up were able to inform us. Had I been of the 
 fame mind with the Outagamis , we had done noble Exploits in 
 this Place: but I confider’d that ’twas my bufinefs to pur- 
 chafe the Knowledge of feveral things, which I could not 
 obtain by burning the Village. To be fhort, we re-embark’d 
 that fame day, about two a clock in the Afternoon, and row’d 
 about four Leagues up the River, where we made the River 
 of [132] the Ofages, and encamp’d by its Mouth. 1 That Night 
 we had feveral falfe Alarms from the wild Beeves, upon which 
 we made fufficient Reprifals afterwards; for the next day we 
 kill’d many of ’em notwithftanding that it rain’d fo heavily 
 that we could fcarce ftir out of our Hutts. Towards the 
 Evening, when the Rain was over, and while we were tran- 
 fporting two or three of thefe Beeves to our little Camp, we 
 fpy’d an Army of the Savages upon a full March towards us. 
 
 1 The Missouri was in early nomenclature frequently called “River of the 
 Ozages”; but Lahontan seems here to refer to that now known as Osage River. 
 The Osage Indians were of Siouan origin, closely akin to the Missouri and Kansa. 
 Nearly 2,000 still live (1902) upon their reservation in Oklahoma.—E d. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 203 
 
 Upon that, my Men began to entrench themfelves, and to 
 unload their Pieces with Worms, in order to charge ’em 
 afrefh; but one of the Pieces happening to go off, the whole 
 Body of the Enemy difappear’d, fome ftraggling one way, 
 and fome another: for thefe People were upon the fame foot 
 with the Nations that live upon the Long River, forafmuch as 
 neither of them had ever feen or handled Fire-Arms. How¬ 
 ever, this Adventure mov’d the Outagamis fo much, that to 
 fatisfie them, I was oblig’d to re-embark that very night, and 
 return the fame way that I came. Towards Midnight we 
 came before a Village, and kept a profound Silence till Day¬ 
 break, at which time we row’d up to their Fort; and upon 
 our entring there, and difcharging our Pieces in the Air, the 
 Women, Children, and fuperannuated Men, were put into fuch 
 a Confternation, that they run from place to place calling out 
 for Mercy. You muff know, all their Warriours were abroad, 
 and ’twas a Body of them that offer’d to attack us the day 
 before. The Outagamis perceiving the Confternation of the 
 Women and Children, call’d out, that they behov’d to depart 
 the Village, and that the Women fhould have time to take up 
 their Children. Upon that the whole Crew turn’d out, and 
 we fet fire to the Village on all fides. This done, we purfu’d 
 our Courfe down that rapid River, and enter’d the River 
 Mijjiftpi on the 25th, early in the Morning : the 26th, about 
 three a clock in the [133] Afternoon, we defcry’d three or 
 four hundred Savages employ’d in the Hunting of Beeves, 
 which fwarmed in all the Meads to the Weftward. As foon as 
 the Hunters fpy’d us, they made a fign that we fhould make 
 
204 Some New Voyages 
 
 towards ’em. Being ignorant who, or how numerous they 
 were, we made a halt at firft; but at laft we put in about a 
 Musket-lhot above ’em, calling out to ’em that they fhould 
 not approach to us in a Body. Upon that, four of their 
 number came up to us with a fmiling Countenance, and gave 
 us to know, in the Ilinefe Language, that they were Akanfas. 
 We could not but credit their Report, for they had Knives 
 and Sciffars hanging upon their Necks, and little Axes about 
 ’em, which the Ilinefe prefent ’em with when they meet. In 
 fine, being affur’d that they were of that Nation, which Mr. de 
 la Salle and feveral other French-men were intimately acquainted 
 with, we landed at the fame place ; and they entertain’d us firft 
 with Dancing and Singing, and then with all forts of Meat. 1 
 The next day they ftiew’d us a Crocodile that they had 
 knock’d in the head two days before, by a Stratagem that 
 you’ll find defcrib’d in another place: After that they gave 
 us the diverfion of a Hunting Match; for ’tis cuftomary with 
 them, when they mean to divert themfelves, to catch the 
 Beeves by the different Methods laid down in this Cut. I 
 put fome Queftions to ’em relating to the Spaniards , but they 
 could not refolve ’em. All that I learn’d from ’em was, that 
 the Miffouris and the Ofages are numerous and mifchievous 
 
 1 The Akansas (Arkansas) was the name by which the French designated the 
 great Siouan tribe of Quapaw. Dorsey (see p. 200, note 3, ante) thinks it was an 
 Illinois term for all that stock who lived on the banks of the Ohio, whence the 
 Quapaw moved southward (before 1540) to the region of the river now known a9 
 Arkansas. In the beginning of the nineteenth century numerous bands of Arkansas 
 lived along the river of that name. About three hundred yet survive in Oklahoma. 
 For La Salle’s adventures among the Arkansas, see Membre’s account in Shea, Dis¬ 
 covery and Exploration of Mississippi Valley (New York, 1853), pp. 169-172. —Ed. 
 
to TVor^- America. 205 
 
 Nations, equally void both of Courage and Honefty; that 
 their Countries were water’d with very great Rivers; and, in 
 a word, were too good for them. 
 
 After we had fpent two days with them, we purfued our 
 Voyage to the River Ouabach, taking care to watch the Croco¬ 
 diles very narrowly, of which they had told us incredible Stories. 
 The next day we enter’d the Mouth of that River, and founded 
 
 [ 1 34 ] t° t r y the truth of what the Savages reported of its 
 depth. In effed, we found there three Fathom and a half 
 Water; but the Savages of our Company alledg’d, that ’twas 
 more fwell d than ufually. 1 They all agreed, that ’twas Navi¬ 
 gable an hundred Leagues up, and I wiffi’d heartily, that my 
 time had allow’d me to run up to its Source; but that being 
 unfeafonable, I fail’d up again!! the Stream, till we came to the 
 River of the Illinefe , which we made on the 9 th of April with 
 fome difficulty, for the Wind was again!! us the fir!! two days, 
 and the Currents was very rapid. 2 
 
 All I can fay of the River Miflifipi, now that I am to take 
 leave of it, is, that its narroweft part is half a League over, 
 and the fhallowel! is a Fathom and a half deep; and that 
 
 1 The Ohio River was usually designated as the Wabash (Ouabache) below 
 the mouth of the present river of that name. Marquette gave it the title Ouabou- 
 skiguo, which the French soon corrupted into Ouabache. The upper reaches of the 
 Ohio were early known by the name it now bears. — Ed. 
 
 2 Jolliet and Marquette named the Illinois River St. Louis. Several names were 
 later given it; Seignelay (by Hennepin), Riviere Divine, etc. For an explanation 
 of these titles see Parkman, La Salle , p. 154 note. This river, about three hundred 
 and fifty miles in length, is entirely in the state of the same name. Its easy naviga¬ 
 tion made it of much value as a connecting link between the great lakes and the 
 Mississippi. — Ed. 
 
206 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 according to the information of the Savages, its ftream is 
 pretty gentle for feven or eight Months of the year. As for 
 Shelves or Banks of Sand, I met with none in it. Tis full of 
 Ifles which look like Groves, by reafon of the great plenty 
 of Trees, and in the verdant feafon of the year afford a very 
 agreeable profpedt. Its Banks are Woods, Meadows and 
 Hills. I cannot be pofitive, whether it winds much in other 
 places; but as far as I could fee, its courfe is very different 
 from that of our Rivers in France; for I muff tell you by the 
 way, that all the Rivers of America run pretty ftraight. 
 
 The River of the Illinefe is intitled to Riches, by vertue of 
 the benign Climate, and of the great quantities of Deer, Roe- 
 Bucks, and Turkeys that feed upon its brinks: Not to men¬ 
 tion feveral other Beafts and Fowls, a defcription of which 
 would require an intire Volume. If you faw but my Journal, 
 you would be fick of the tedious particulars of our daily 
 Adventures both in Hunting and Fifhing divers fpecies of 
 Animals, and in Rencounters with the Savages. In fhort, the 
 laft thing I fhall mention of this [135] River, is, that the 
 Banks are repleniffi’d with an infinity of Fruit-Trees, which 
 we faw in a difmal condition, as being ftrip’d of their verdure; 
 and that among thefe Fruit-Trees, there are many Vines, 
 which bear molt beautiful Clufters of very large Grapes. I 
 ate fome of thefe Grapes dry’d in the Sun, which had a moft 
 delicious Tafte. The Beavers are as unfrequent in this, as in 
 the long River, where I faw nothing but Otters, of which the 
 People make Furs for the Winter. 
 
 I fet out from the Illinefe River on the 10 th of April , and 
 
to AW£-America. 
 
 207 
 
 by the help of a Weft-South-Weft Wind, arriv’d in fix days 
 at the Fort of Crevecoeur , where I met with Mr. de Tonti, who 
 receiv’d me with all imaginable Civility, and is juftly refpedted 
 and honour’d by the Iroquefe. 1 I flay’d three days in this 
 Fort, where there were thirty Coureurs de Bois that traded with 
 the Illineje. The 20 th I arriv’d at the Village of the Illinefe; 
 and to leffen the drudgery of a great Land-carriage of twelve 
 great Leagues, ingag’d four hundred Men to tranfport our 
 Baggage, which they did in the fpace of four days, being 
 incourag’d by a Bribe of a great Roll of Braftl Tobacco, an 
 hundred pound weight of Powder, two hundred weight of 
 Ball, and fome Arms, which I gave to the moft confiderable 
 Men of their number. The i^th I arriv’d at Chekakou, where 
 my Outagamis took leave of me in order to return to their own 
 Country, being very well fatisfied with a Prefent I made ’em 
 of fome Fufees, and fome Piftols. 2 The i$th I reimbarqued, 
 and by rowing hard in a Calm, made the River of the Oumamis 
 on the 28 th. There I met four hundred Warriours, upon the 
 
 1 If Lahontan had really been at Tonty’s fort on the Illinois, he would have 
 known better than to call it Fort Crevecceur. The latter was the fort built near the 
 site of Peoria, Ill., on La Salle’s first journey to Illinois, and destroyed by mutineer- 
 ing soldiers two months later (Jan.-March, 1680). Tonty was at this time in com¬ 
 mand at Fort St. Louis, built (1682) on “La Rocher ” farther up the river near the 
 present Utica. For its later history see p. 133, note 1, ante. Lahontan probably 
 intended to say that Tonty was respected and honored by the Illinois, not the Iroquois, 
 against whom he waged frequent wars. — Ed. 
 
 2 The portage at Chicago was first made known to the French by the voyage of 
 Jolliet and Marquette, who returned to Mackinac by this route (1672). They re¬ 
 ported it as very convenient for settlement ( Jes . Rel., lviii, pp. 105, 107); but La 
 Salle wrote less favorably of the site, and that a canal would be very expensive. The 
 connection between Chicago River and the Illinois is now secured by the Chicago 
 drainage canal, between that city and Joliet, Ill. — Ed. 
 
208 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 very fame place where Mr. de la Salle had formerly built a 
 Fort. 1 Thefe Warriours were then imploy’d in burning three 
 Iroquefe, who, as they faid, deferv’d the Punilhment; and 
 invited us to lhare in the pleafure of the Show; for the 
 Savages take it very ill if one [136] refufes the diverfion of 
 fuch real Tragedies. The Tragical fpeftacle made me fhrink, 
 for the poor wretches were put to inconceiveable Torture; 
 and upon that I refolv’d to reimbarque with all expedition; 
 alledging for an Apology, that my Men had great ftore of 
 Brandy with ’em, and would certainly make themfelves drunk, 
 in folemnifing their Viflory, upon which they would be apt 
 to commit diforders, that I could not poflibly prevent. Ac¬ 
 cordingly I went immediately on board, and after coafting 
 along the Lake, crofs’d the Bay de I'Ours , and landed at Mif- 
 ftlimakinac the lid. 2 
 
 I am inform’d by the Sieur de S. Pierre de Repantigni, who 
 travel’d from Quebec hither upon the Ice, that Mr. de Denonville 
 has took up a refolution of making a Peace with the Iroquefe, in 
 
 1 The River of the Miamis was that now known as St. Joseph, which flows into 
 Lake Michigan in Berrien County, Mich. La Salle built a fort at this place in 
 November, 1679, which was destroyed the next spring by the deserters from Fort 
 Crevecoeur. In the autumn of the same year it was rebuilt by La Salle’s lieutenant 
 La Forest, and there the great explorer spent the ensuing winter. The Jesuits 
 founded a mission to the Miamis about sixty miles up the river, near the present 
 Niles, Mich. The mission and the fort afterwards built were known as St. 
 Joseph. — Ed. 
 
 2 The Bay de I’Ours qui Dort (Bay of Sleeping Bears) was that now called 
 Grand Traverse Bay, Mich. This name appears upon nearly all French maps until 
 the English conquest (1760). The first English maps designate it as Grand Bay; 
 later, it acquired its present appellation. The French name was doubtless given 
 because of a fancied resemblance in the rocky headlands to sleeping bears. — Ed. 
 
to North-America. 209 
 
 which he means to comprehend the other Nations that are his 
 Allies; and with that view had given notice to his Allies, that 
 they fhould not infeft the Iroquefe. 1 He acquaints me further, 
 that Mr. de Denonville has fent orders to the Governour of 
 this place, to perfwade the Rat, (one of the Commanders of 
 the Hurorts) to go down to the Colony, with a defign, to have 
 him hang d; and that the Savage General being aware of 
 the defign, has made a publick Declaration, that he will go 
 thither on purpofe to defie him. Accordingly he defigns to 
 fet out to Morrow with a great body of Outaouas, and fome 
 Coureurs de Bois , under the command of Mr. Dulhut. As for 
 the Soldiers of my Detachment, I have difpers’d ’em in feveral 
 Canows among the Savages, and the Coureurs de Bois; but 
 having fome bufinefs to adjuft in this place, I am oblig’d to 
 tarry my felf feven or eight days longer. 
 
 This, Sir, is the true account of my little Voyage. I have 
 related nothing but the Effential Circumftances; choofing to 
 overlook the reft, which are fo trifling, as to be unworthy of 
 your Curiofity. [137] As for the Illinefe Lake, ’tis three hun¬ 
 dred Leagues in Circumference, as you may fee by the Scale 
 of Leagues upon the Map. ’Tis feated in an admirable Cli- 
 
 Jean Paul le Gardeur, sieur de St. Pierre de Repentigny, was grandson of a 
 Norman gentleman of good family, who early settled in Canada; and, on his mother’s 
 side, of Jean Nicolet, first explorer of Wisconsin. He had seen service in the North¬ 
 west, probably under Du Luth. He was in 1689 sent by Denonville with orders for 
 the destruction of Fort Frontenac, and distinguished himself as an officer in both 
 King William’s (1689-97) and Queen Anne’s (1702-13) wars. In 1718 he built 
 the French post at Chequamegon Bay, on Lake Superior. His son Jacques, second 
 sieur de St. Pierre, was the officer whom Washington encountered upon the Alle¬ 
 gheny (1753). —Ed. 
 
 14 
 
210 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 mate; its Banks are cloath’d with fine and tall Trees, and 
 have but few Meads. The River of the Oumamis is not worth 
 your regard. The Bay de l Ours cyui dorty is of an indifferent 
 large extent, and receives the River upon which the Outaouas 
 are wont to hunt Beavers every third year. In fhort, it has 
 neither Shelves, Rocks, nor Banks of Sand. The Land which 
 bounds it on the South fide, is replenifh’d with Roe-bucks, 
 Deer, and Turkeys. Farewel, Good Sir: And affure your 
 felf, that ’twill always be a fenfible pleafure to me, to amufe 
 you with an account of the greateft Curiofities I meet with. 
 
 But now, Sir, I hope you will not take it ill, that the Re¬ 
 lation I here give you, is only an Abridgment of my Voyage: 
 For, in earneft, to be minute upon every particular Curiofity, 
 would require more time and leifure than I can fpare. I have 
 here fent you a view of the fubftantial part; and fhall after¬ 
 wards hope for an opportunity of recounting to you by word 
 of Mouth, an infinity of Adventures, Rencounters, and Obfer- 
 vations, which may call up the refledting faculty of thinking 
 Men. My own Thought is too Superficial to philofophife 
 upon the Origin, the Belief, the Manners and Cuftoms of fo 
 many Savages; or to make any advances with reference to the 
 extent of this Continent to the Weftward. I have contented 
 my felf with offering fome thoughts upon the caufes of the 
 bad fuccefs of the Difcoveries, that feveral experienc’d Men 
 have attempted in America , both by Sea and Land: And I 
 flatter my felf, that my thoughts upon that head are juft. The 
 frefh Inftances of Mr. de la Salle , and feveral other unlucky 
 Difcoverers, may afford a fufficient and feafonable caution to 
 
21 I 
 
 to North- America. 
 
 [138] thofe, who for the future fhall undertake to difcover all 
 the unknown Countries of this New World. ’Tis not every 
 one that’s qualify’d for fuch an Enterprife, non licet omnibus 
 adire Corintbum. ’Twere an eafie matter to trace the utmoft 
 limits of the Country that lies to the Weft of Canada , pro¬ 
 vided it be gone about in a proper Method. In the firft 
 place, inftead of Canows, I would have fuch Adventurers to 
 make ufe of certain Sloops of a peculiar Structure, which 
 might draw but little Water, and be portable, as being made 
 of light Wood ; and withall carry thirteen Men, with 35 or 40 
 hundred weight of Stowage, and be able to bear the fhock of 
 the Waves in the great Lakes. Courage, Health, and Vigi¬ 
 lance, are not fufficient of themfelves to qualifie a Man for 
 fuch Adventures; he ought to be poffefs’d of other Talents, 
 which are rarely met with in one and the fame Perfon. The 
 Conduct of the three hundred Men that accompany’d me upon 
 this Difcovery, gave me a great deal of trouble. It requires 
 a large ftock of Induftry and Patience, to keep fuch a Com¬ 
 pany up to their Duty. Sedition, Mutinies, Quarrels, and an 
 infinity of diforders frequently take place among thofe, who 
 being in remote and folitary Places, think they have a right 
 of ufing force againft their Superiours. One muft diffemble, 
 and even fhut his Eyes upon occafion, leaft the growing Evil 
 ftiould be inflam’d : The gentleft Methods are the fureft, for 
 him that commands in Chief; and if any Mutiny or Seditious 
 Plot is in view, ’tis the bufinefs of the inferior Officers to ftifle 
 it, by perfwading the Mutineers, that the difcovery of fuch 
 things to the Commanding Officer, would create a great deal 
 
212 
 
 ■Some New Voyages 
 
 of uneafinefs. So, the chief Officer muft ftill make as if he 
 were ignorant of what paffes, unlefs it be, that the flame breaks 
 out in his Prefence; then indeed he lies under an indifpenfible 
 Obligation, of inflicting fpeedy [139] and private puniffiment, 
 without his prudence diredts him to put off the Execution, 
 upon an apprehenfion of fome pernicious confequences that 
 may infue thereupon. In fuch Voyages he muft overlook a 
 thoufand things, which upon other occafions he has all reafon 
 to punifh. He muft counterfeit a downright ignorance of 
 their Intrigues with the She-Savages, of their Quarrels among 
 themfelves, of their negligence in not mounting the Guard, 
 and not obferving the other points of Duty; in a word, he 
 muft pretend to know nothing of an Infinity of fuch Diforders, 
 as have no diredt tendency to a Revolt. He ought to ufe the 
 precaution of fingling out a Spy in his little Army, and reward 
 him handfomly for a dexterous Intelligence as to all that hap¬ 
 pens ; to the end that he may remedy the growing diforders 
 either diredtly or indiredlly. This Spie may by good manage¬ 
 ment, and due fecrecy find out the Ringleader of a Club or 
 Cabal; and when the Commanding Officer has receiv’d fuch 
 fatisfadlion upon the matter, that there’s no room left to doubt 
 of the Criminal’s Demerit; ’twill then be very convenient to 
 make away with him, and that with fuch management, that no 
 body fhould know what became of him. 
 
 Farther: He ought to give ’em Tobacco and Brandy now 
 and then, to ask their advice upon fome occafions, to fatigue 
 ’em as little as poffible, to call ’em up to dance and make 
 
213 
 
 to North- America. 
 
 merry, and at the fame time to exhort ’em to live in a good 
 underftanding with one another. The beft Topick he can 
 make ufe of for inforcing their Duty, is Religion, and the 
 Honour of their Country, and this he ought to defcant upon 
 himfelf: For though I have a great deal of Faith in the power 
 of the Clergy; yet I know that fort of Men do’s more harm 
 than good, in Voyages of this nature; and for that reafon I’d 
 choofe to be without their Company. The Perfon [140] who 
 undertakes to go upon a Difcovery, ought to be very nice and 
 cautious in the choice of his Men; for every one is not fit for 
 his bufinefs. His Men ought to be between 30 and 40 years 
 of Age, of a dry Conftitution, of a peaceable Temper, of an 
 a&ive and bold Spirit, and inur’d to the fatigues of Voyages. 
 The whole Retinue muft confift of three hundred Men ; and 
 of that number there muft be fome Ship-Carpenters, Gun- 
 fmiths, and Sawyers with all their Tools ; befides Huntfmen, 
 and Fifhermen with their Tackling. You muft likewife have 
 Surgeons among ’em, but their Cheft ought to contain nothing 
 but Razours, Lancets, External Medicines for Wounds, Or- 
 vietan and Senna. All the Men of the Detachment, ought 
 to be provided with Buff-Coats and Boots to turn the Arrows; 
 for, as I intimated above, the Savages of the unknown Coun¬ 
 tries are ftrangers to Fire-Arms. They muft be arm’d with a 
 double barrel’d Gun, a double barrel’d Piftol, and a good long 
 Sword. The Commanding Officer muft take care to provide 
 a fufficient quantity of the Skins of Deer, Elks, and Beeves, 
 in order to be few’d together, and hung round his Camps 
 
214 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 upon certain Stakes fix’d at convenient diftances from one 
 another. I had as many as would go round a fquare of thirty 
 Foot every way; for each Skin being five Foot deep, and 
 almoft four Foot broad, I made two pieces of eight Skins a 
 piece, which were rais’d and extended in a Minute. Befides 
 thefe, he ought to carry with him fome Pot-Guns of eight 
 Foot in length, and fix in breadth; with two Hand-Mills for 
 grinding the Indian Corn, Nails of all fizes, Pickaxes, Spades, 
 Hatchets, Hooks, Soap, and Cotton to make Candles of. 
 Above all, he muft not forget to take in good ftore of Pow¬ 
 der, Brandy, Brafil Tobacco, and fuch things as he muft pre- 
 fent to the Savages whofe Country he difcovers. Add to this 
 Cargo, an Aftrolabe, a Semicircle, feveral [141] Sea-Compaffes, 
 fome Simple, and fome of Variation, a Load-ftone, two large 
 Watches of three Inches Diameter; Pencils, Colours, and 
 Paper, for making Journals and Maps, for the defigning of 
 Land-Creatures, Fowl, Filh, Trees, Plants, Grain, and in a 
 word, whatever feems worthy of his Curiofity. I would like- 
 wife advife him to carry with him fome Trumpeters and Fid- 
 lers, both for animating his Retinue, and railing the admira¬ 
 tion of the Savages. With this Equipage, Sir, a Man of Senfe, 
 Conduct, and A&ion, I mean, a Man that’s Vigilant, Prudent, 
 Cautious, and above all, Patient and Moderate, and qualify’d 
 for contriving Expedients upon all occafions; a Man, I fay, 
 thus qualify’d, and thus fitted out, may boldly go to all the 
 Countries that lye to the Weft of Canada , without any appre- 
 henfion of danger. As for my own part, I ferioully declare, 
 
1 
 
 to iVor^-America. 215 
 
 that if I were poffefs’d of all thefe qualities, I fhould efteem 
 it my happinefs to be imploy’d upon fuch an Enterprife, both 
 for the Glory of his Majefty, and my own Satisfaction: For 
 the continu’d diverfity of ObjeCts, did fo charm me in my 
 Voyages, that I had fcarce time to refleCt upon the fatigue 
 and trouble that I underwent. I am, 
 
 SIR , 
 
 Tours , &c. 
 
2l6 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 'Z> 
 
 [142] LETTER XVII. 
 
 Dated at Quebec September 28. 1689. 
 
 The Author fets out from Miffilimakinac to the Colony, and defcribes 
 the Country, Rivers, and Paffes that he faw by the way. The 
 Iroquefe make a fatal incurfion into the Ifland of Monreal: 
 Fort Frontenac is abandon’d. Count Frontenac is fent to 
 Canada, and the Marquis of Denonville is recall’d. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I WRIT to you from Miffilimakinac on the 28 th of May. I 
 left that place June the 8 th, and fet out for Monreal, ac- 
 company’d with twelve Outaouas, who were divided into two 
 Canows, and row’d very hard. The 23*/, I overtook the 
 Coureurs de Bois in the River Creufe, who had got the ftart 
 of me for fome days. 1 Mr. Dulhut us’d his utmoft efforts to 
 diffwade me from going further with fo weak a Retinue. He 
 would have had me to go down along with him; and remon- 
 ftrated to me, that if my twelve Condu&ers perceiv’d either in 
 the Land-carriage or upon the Rivers, any thing that might 
 call up an apprehenfion of falling into the hands of the Iro¬ 
 quefe, they would defert me and the Canows, and fly to the 
 
 x The Riviere Creuse — called by the English Deep River — is not a separate 
 stream, but the long, deep, still part of the Ottawa River, extending for many miles 
 above the Allumettes Rapids and Islands. Lahontan apparently gives that name to 
 all of the Upper Ottawa or to the Mattawan. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 217 
 
 Woods to avoid the Enemy. I rejected his Advice, though I 
 had like to have repented of my refolution not long after; for 
 according to his Prediction, my Canow-Men threaten’d to run 
 away to the Forrefts, at the Fall call’d Long Saul 1 : And indeed 
 if they had done it, I had follow’d ’em, upon the reflection, 
 that of two Evils a Man ought [143] to choofe the leaft; but 
 this Storm blew over. In the great River of the Outaouas , not 
 far from the River of Lievre , 2 I met Mr. de St. Helene at the 
 Head of a Party of the Coureurs de Bois , who was bound for 
 Hudfon’s Bay, in order to retake fome Forts that the Englijh 
 had feiz’d upon. 3 He acquainted me with the Prince of 
 Orange's Expedition for England; and gave me to underftand, 
 that upon his arrival King James retir’d to France , and that 
 the Prince was proclaim’d King, which feem’d to prefage a 
 bloody and fharp War in Europe. I allure you, Sir, this piece 
 of News furpriz’d me extreamly; and notwithftanding that I 
 
 1 This was the Long Sault of the Ottawa, not that of the St. Lawrence, for which 
 see p. 68, note i, ante . The former, about three miles in length, is on the Ottawa 
 above the Lake of Two Mountains, and is now avoided by the Grenville Canal. It 
 was at the lower end of these rapids that occurred the heroic defense of Canada 
 by Dollard and his companions (1661). See Parkman, Old Regime in Canada , 
 chap. 3. — Ed. 
 
 2 Riviere au Lievre descends from the north and enters the Ottawa about three 
 miles above the upper end of the Long Sault. — Ed. 
 
 3 For Jacques le Moyne, Sieur de St. Helene, see p. 118, note i, ante. He was 
 carrying supplies and despatches to his brother Iberville, who was in command of the 
 forts which the French had captured (1686) in Hudson Bay. Two English ships 
 had been sent to recover these ; during St. Helene’s absence, Iberville succeeded in 
 capturing both of these vessels, with their officers and crews. Iberville had sent 
 messengers to the governor of Canada, who left Fort Albany (Fr., St. Anne) Jan. 5, 
 1689, and came overland on snowshoes. See Charlevoix, History of New France 
 (Shea’s trans.), iv, pp. 37-40. — Ed. 
 
2l8 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 had it from the Mouth of a Man, whofe word I rely very much 
 upon, yet I had all the difficulty in the World to make my felf 
 believe, that a Revolution of fuch Importance could be accom- 
 plifh’d in fo fhort a time, without the effufion of Blood; efpe- 
 cially confidering what a ftridt Alliance there was between our 
 Court, and the Court of England , and how much ’twas the 
 intereft of both thefe Monarchs to give mutual affiftance to 
 one another. July the 9 th I arriv’d at Monreal, after venturing 
 down feveral fearful Cataradts in the River of the Outaouas , 
 and induring the hardfhips of fifteen or twenty Land-carriages, 
 fome of which are above a League in length. 
 
 The Navigation is prety fure from Mijfilimakinac to the 
 River des Francois; for in coafting along the Lake of Hurons , 
 we meet with an infinity of Iflands, which ferve for a fhelter. 1 
 But in going up that River, there’s fome difficulty, for it has 
 five Cataradls which oblige us to turn out and carry all over¬ 
 land for thirty, fifty, and a hundred Paces. Having pafs’d 
 that River, we enter’d the Lake of the Nepicerinis , from 
 whence we are forc’d to tranfport our Canows and Baggage 
 two Leagues over-land, to another River which has fix or feven 
 Water-falls that we commonly fhoot. 2 From that River we 
 
 1 The distance from Mackinac to the mouth of French River, in Georgian Bay, is 
 nearly 200 miles, taking as direct a course as possible among the islands of the North 
 Channel. French River (River des Franfais) was so called because it was the 
 accustomed waterway of the French voyageurs, who on account of the hostility of the 
 Iroquois, found the difficult route via the Ottawa, Lake Nipissing, and French River 
 more practicable than the Great Lakes. — Ed. 
 
 2 French River is fifty-five miles long, and filled with rapids and falls. Lake 
 Nipissing was named from the tribe of Algonquian Indians first encountered on its 
 banks, some of whose descendants still live on a reservation on the north bank of the 
 
to North- America. 219 
 
 have another [144] Land-carriage to the River Creufe , which 
 falls with rapid Currents into the great River of the Outaouas , 
 near a place call’d Mataouan . * 1 We continue our courfe upon 
 this great River, till we come to the point of the Ifland of 
 Monreal, where ’tis loft in the great River of St. Laurence. 
 Thefe two Rivers joyn one another with very gentle Streams, 
 and quitting their fearful Channels form the little Lake of 
 St. Louis. I thought to have loft my Life at the fall, call’d the 
 fall of St. Louis , about three Leagues from Monreal , for our 
 Canow having overfet in the Eddy, I was carry’d by the Cur¬ 
 rent to the foot of that Cataradt, from whence the Chevalier 
 de Vaudreuil drag’d me out by a great chance. 2 The Canows 
 and the Skins belonging to the fix Savages were loft; and one 
 of the Savages was drown’d. This is the only time I was in 
 danger, through the whole courfe of my Voyages. As foon as 
 I landed here, I repair’d with diligence to a Tavern to refrefh 
 my felf, and to make up the Ioffes I had fuftain’d by a neceffary 
 Abftinence. The next day I waited upon Mr. de Denonville , 
 
 lake ; From the eastern end of this lake, the route lay for a mile and a half along 
 Riviere de Vase (Muddy River), whence the Portage au Vase, of about four miles, led 
 over the watershed to Trout Lake, the source of River Mattawan. This river flows 
 east into the Ottawa, is about thirty-four miles long, and has in it fourteen rapids, 
 some of which are very difficult. For details of this route, see Alexander Henry, 
 Travels and Adventures (Bain ed.), pp. 28-37; Mackenzie, Voyages through the 
 Continent of North America (London, 1801), pp. xxix-xxxvii. — Ed. 
 
 1 Mattawan is now a town at the junction of River Mattawan with the Ottawa; 
 it is three hundred miles from Montreal. Champlain utilized this route in his voyage 
 to the Hurons (1615). — Ed. 
 
 2 For Lake St. Louis and the fall of the same name, see p. 66, note 1, ante. 
 Lachine Rapids were frequently dangerous to the returning voyageur, who had 
 escaped all the perils of the upper country. Jolliet here lost his papers on his return 
 from the famous exploration of 1673. — Ed. 
 
220 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 and Mr. de Cbampigni, to whom I gave an account of my 
 Voyages, and withal, gave in the News that a great company 
 of the Coureurs de Bois and Savages would arrive very fpeedily; 
 which they did accordingly after fifteen days. The Rat I 
 mention’d above came down hither, and return’d home not- 
 withftanding the threats that were levell’d againft him. By 
 this Adventure, he fhew’d that he laugh’d at their Intrigues. 
 But now that I have mention’d his name, I cannot forbear 
 mentioning a malicious Stratagem that this cunning Savage 
 made ufe of laft year, to prevent the conclufion of a Peace 
 between Mr. de Denonville and the Iroquefe. 
 
 This Savage is the general and chief Counfellour of the 
 Hurons; he is a Man of forty years of Age, and brave in his 
 way. When he found himfelf [145] prefs’d and importun’d 
 by Mr. de Denonville , to enter into the Alliance concluded in 
 the year 1687, that I took notice of before ; he at laft comply’d 
 with his defire, with this referve, that the War fhould not 
 be put to an end till the Iroquefe were totally routed. This 
 claufe the Governour promis’d to make good, and gave him 
 affurances to that purpofe on the 3 d of September , in the fame 
 year, which happen’d about two days before I fet out from 
 Niagara , upon my Voyage to the great Lakes. This Savage- 
 General relying upon Mr. de Denonville' s promife, march’d 
 from Miffilimakinac at the Head of an hundred Warriours as 
 I infinuated in my 14 th Letter, in order to invade the Iroquefe 
 Country, and atchieve fome glorious feats among ’em. In the 
 mean time, to carry on his defign the more cautioufly, he 
 thought it proper to pafs by the way of Fort Frontenac, where 
 
221 
 
 to iVor^-America. 
 
 he might receive fome intelligence. Upon his arrival at this 
 Fort, the Governour told him that Mr. de Denonville was 
 negotiating a Peace with the five Iroquefe Nations, whofe Em- 
 baffadors and Hoftages he expedled in a fhort time, in order 
 to conclude and ratifie the Peace, he having orders to conduct 
 em to Monreal: And that upon that Confederation, ’twas 
 moft proper for him and his Warriours to return home, and 
 to pafs no further. The Savage General was mightily fur- 
 pris’d with this unexpected piece of News; efpecially confid- 
 ering that by the means of that Peace, he and his Nation 
 would be given up as a Sacrifice for the Wellfare of the 
 French. When the Governor had made an end of his Re- 
 monftrance, the Rat acknowledg’d, that what he offer’d was 
 very reafonable, but withal, that inftead of following his 
 Advice, he would go and tarry for the Iroquefe Embaffadours 
 and Hoftages at the CataraCts, by which they were oblig’d to 
 pafs. He had not tarry’d there above five or fix days, before 
 the unhappy Deputies [146] arriv’d with a Train of forty 
 young Men, who were all either kill’d or taken as they difem- 
 barqued. The Prifoners were no fooner fetter’d, than this 
 crafty General of the Hurons reprefented to ’em, that the 
 French Governour had fent him notice to take up that Poft, 
 in order to lie in wait for a Party of fifty Warriours, that 
 were to pafs that way at a certain fet time. The Iroquefe being 
 much furpris d with the apprehenfion of the perfidioufnefs 
 that he charg’d upon Mr. de Denonville , acquainted the Rat 
 with the defign upon which they came. Upon that the Rat 
 counterfeited a fort of Rage and Fury; and to play his Cards 
 
222 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 the better, flew out in invefHves againft Mr. de Denonville , 
 declaring, that fome time or other he would be reveng d upon 
 that Governour, for making him the Inllrument of the moft 
 barbarous Treachery that ever was afbed. Then he fix d his 
 Eyes upon all the Prifoners, among whom was the chief Em- 
 baffadour call’d Theganeforens , 1 and fpoke to this purpofe; Go 
 my Brethren , though I am at JVar with you , yet I releafe you, and 
 allow you to go home. ’Tis the Governour of the French that put 
 me upon this black Attion, which I fhall never be able to digeft , 
 unlefs your jive Nations revenge themfelves, and make their juft 
 Reprifals. This was fufficient to convince the Iroquefe of the 
 fincerity of his words; and they affur’d him upon the fpot, 
 that if he had a mind to make a feparate Peace, the five 
 Nations would agree to it: However, the Rat having loft 
 one Man in this Adventure, kept an Iroquefe Slave to fupply 
 the place of the Man he had loft: And after furnifhing the 
 Prifoners with Guns, Powder, and Ball, in order to their 
 return homeward, march’d to Miffilimakinac, where he pre- 
 fented the French Governour with the Slave that he brought 
 off. The poor wretch was no fooner deliver’d, than he was 
 condemn’d to be fhot; for at that time the French Garrifon 
 did not know that [147] Mr. de Denonville defign’d to clap up 
 a Peace with the Iroquefe. The condemn’d Prifoner gave an 
 
 1 Teganissoren (Dekanissore) was a famous Onondaga chief who for many years 
 took a prominent part in the councils of the Iroquois, and in the French and English 
 wars. Being much attached to Frontenac, during his rule he was regarded by the 
 English as a French spy. Later, he became attached to the English; but in 1711 
 notified Vaudreuil of an intended British attack. For his negotiations with the two 
 powers, see N. Y. Colon. Docs., index. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 223 
 
 account of his Adventure, and that of the Ambaffadours; 
 but the French thought that the fear of Death made the fellow 
 talk idly, and were confirm’d in that thought, by hearing the 
 Rat and his Men fay that he was Light-headed: Infomuch, 
 that the poor Fellow was put to death, notwithftanding all 
 the reafons he could offer. The fame day that he was fhot, 
 the Rat call’d an old Iroquefe Slave that had ferv’d him a long 
 while, and told him he had refolv’d to allow him the liberty 
 of returning to his own Country, and fpending the reft of his 
 days among his Friends and Country-men. At the fame time 
 he gave him to know, that fince he had been an Eye-witnefs of 
 the barbarous ufage that his Countrymen had met with from 
 the French , notwithftanding what he offer’d in his own defence, 
 it behov’d him to acquaint his Countrymen with the blacknefs 
 of that Action. The manumitted Slave obey’d his orders fo 
 punctually, that foon after the Iroquefe made an Incurfion, at a 
 time when the Governour did not dream of any fuch thing, 
 for he had us’d the Precaution of giving the Iroquefe to under- 
 ftand, that he difallow’d of the Rat’s Treachery; infomuch, 
 that he had a mind to have him hang’d; and upon this prof- 
 petft, expeCted hourly ten or twelve Deputies to conclude the 
 Peace he fo much defir’d. 1 
 
 In effeCt the Deputies did come, but neither their Number 
 nor their Defign was fuitable to what the Governour had 
 
 1 Parkman, after careful comparison with other original documents bearing on 
 this story of the Rat’s treachery, accepts the account of Lahontan as substantially cor- 
 rect. He thinks the weight of evidence, however, would place the site of the ambus¬ 
 cade at La Famine, rather than the Cascades of the St. Lawrence. See Frontenac , 
 p. 176, note. — Ed. 
 
224 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 promifed to himfelf. Twelve hundred Warriours landed at 
 the Lands-end of the Ifland of Monreal , and burnt and fack’d 
 all the Plantations in that Quarter: They maffacred Men, 
 Women, and Children; and Madam de Denonville, who was 
 then at Monreal with her Husband, did not think her felf fafe 
 in that place. A general Confirmation was fpread all about; 
 for the Barbarians were not above [148] three Leagues from 
 Monreal . They burnt all the adjacent Settlements, and block’d 
 up two Forts. 1 Mr. de Denonville fent out a Detachment of 
 a hundred Soldiers and fifty Savages to oppofe ’em, being 
 unwilling to fpare a greater number out of the City: but all 
 the Men of the Detachment were either taken or cut in pieces, 
 excepting twelve Savages, one Soldier, and Mr. de Longueil 
 who commanded the Party, and was carried off by the twelve 
 Savages after his Thigh was broke : The other Officers, namely, 
 the Sieurs de la Raberre, Denis , la Plante ) and Villedene , were all 
 taken Prifoners. 2 In a word, the Barbarians laid almoft the 
 
 1 Lahontan must have been in Montreal at the time of this massacre at Lachine, 
 which occurred August 5, 1689, and was the most appalling in the histoiy of New 
 France. There are several other reports of eye-witnesses, which correspond in the 
 main to this account. The two forts were block-houses known as Forts Rolland and 
 Remy. For a detailed account, with full list of the victims, see Girouard, Lake St. 
 Louis , pp. 117-139. — Ed. 
 
 2 Charles Le Moyne, first baron de Longueuil, later governor of New France 
 (1725-26), was eldest son of Charles, seigneur de Longueuil, for whom see p. 74, note 1, 
 ante. Longueuil distinguished himself in the Iroquois wars, was for many years gov¬ 
 ernor of Montreal, and one of the most distinguished Canadians. He died in 1729* 
 
 Of the other officers, all were finally rescued from the Iroquois, except Lieutenant 
 de la Rabeyre, who was burned at the stake. La Plante did not return to the colony 
 until 1692. After his release, Etienne de Villedonne led troops against the Mohawk 
 (1692-93), and distinguished himself in Acadia (1705). He died in 1726. — Ed. 
 
to iVor^-America. 225 
 
 whole Ifland wafte, and loft only three Men, who having drank 
 to excefs of the Wine they found in the Plantations, were 
 decoy’d into a Fort by a Canadefe Cow-keeper, that had been 
 their Slave for fome Years. As foon as the three unfortunate 
 Iroquefe arriv’d in the Fort, they were thrown into a Cellar to 
 fleep themfelves fober; and, queftionlefs, as foon as they wak’d 
 they repented of their exceflive drinking. When they wak’d, 
 they fell immediately a finging; and when the Garrifon offer’d 
 to fetter ’em, and carry ’em to Monreaf they flew to fome 
 Clubs that lay in the Cellar, and made fuch a vigorous and 
 brave defence, that the Garrifon was forc’d to fhoot ’em upon 
 the fpot. The Cow-keeper being brought before Mr. de 
 Denonville , he told him, That the Breach made by the Rat' s 
 Contrivance was irreparable; that the five Iroquefe Nations 
 refented that Adventure with fo much warmth, that ’twas 
 impoflible to difpofe ’em to a Peace in a fhort time; that they 
 were fo far from being angry with that Huron for what he 
 did, that they were willing to enter into a Treaty with him, 
 owning that he and his Party had done nothing but what 
 became a brave Man and a good Ally. Doubtlefs this fatal 
 Incurfion was a great Surprifal to Mr. de Denonville , and 
 afforded him a copious Field for Reflexion. ’Twas already 
 impoflible [149] to continue the Poffeflion of Fort Frontenac , 
 where they began to want Provifions, and which could not be 
 relieved without expofing a great many Men to the danger 
 of the Paffes or Catara&s, which I have mention’d fo often. 
 There was a downright neceflity of calling out the Garrifon, 
 
 15 1 
 

 —o—- - 
 
 226 Some New oyages 
 
 and blowing up the Fort; but the difficulty lay in finding a 
 Man to carry Orders for that effedt to the Governour, for no 
 body durft undertake it, till the Sieur Peter d’Arpentigni offer’d 
 to go all alone through the Forefts; and accordingly he went, 
 and did his Bufinefs fuccefsfully. The Orders were extream 
 welcome to Mr. de Valrenes, the Governour of the Fort for 
 the time; who, upon the receiving of ’em, run a Mine under 
 the four Baftions, which, with the Powder he put in, was 
 reckon’d fufficient to blow it up. 1 This done, he embark’d, 
 and came down the River through the Cataradls to Monreal , 
 where he found Mr. de Denonville , and accompany’d him 
 hither. That Officer did not only abdicate the Fort of Fron- 
 tenac , but fet fire to three great Barques that they us’d to ply 
 with upon the Lake, both to awe the Iroquefe in time of War, 
 and to convey Commodities to ’em in time of Peace. Mr. de 
 Denonville adted a prudent part in relinquiffiing both this Fort 
 and that of Niagara ; for, in earneft thefe two Polls are inde- 
 fenfible, by reafon of the inacceffible Cataradls, upon which 
 an Ambufcado of ten Iroquefe may repulfe a thoufand French¬ 
 men by the throwing of Stones. But after all I mull own, that 
 the Welfare and Prefervation of our Colonies had an abfolute 
 dependance upon thefe two Forts, which feem’d to infure the 
 utter Deftrudlion of the Iroquefe; for they could not ftir out 
 
 1 Philippe Clement Duvault, sieur de Valrennes, was already a veteran officer 
 when he arrived in Canada in 1685. * In that year, he led one division of La Barre s 
 forces, and performed prodigies of valor in the relief of La Prairie de la Madeleine 
 (1691), for which he received high praise from Frontenac. See N. Y. Colon. Docs., 
 ix, pp. 522, 523. —Ed. 
 
to North- America.. 
 
 22 7 
 
 of their Villages to Hunt, or to Fifh, without running the 
 rifque of having their Throats cut by the Savages in Alliance 
 with us, who being then affur’d of a fafe Retreat, would have 
 made continual Incurfions into the Country of thofe Bar¬ 
 barians: [150] And by this means the Iroquefe being unpro¬ 
 vided with Beaver-skins to be given in exchange for Guns, 
 Powder, Ball, and Nets, would be ftarv’d to death, or at leaft 
 be oblig’d to depart their Country. 
 
 In the end of September Mr. de Bonaventure, Captain and 
 Owner of a Merchant Ship, arriv’d in this Port, and brought 
 the News of Mr. de Frontenac’s Reinftallment in the place 
 of Governour-General of Canada , x and of the Re-calling of 
 Mr. de Denonville , whom the Duke de Beauvilliers has recom¬ 
 mended to the King, for the place of Sub-Governour to the 
 Princes his Grandfons. 1 2 Some People are uneafie at the 
 re-calling of this Governour; and ’tis faid, that the Rever¬ 
 end Fathers the Jefuits, fall under the number of the Male- 
 contents : For if we may credit the reports of the Country, 
 they contributed in a great meafure, to the re-calling of Mr. 
 de Frontenac feven or eight years agoe, by adling in concert 
 
 1 Claude Denis, sieur de Bonaventure, belonged to one of the oldest Canadian 
 families, and afterwards rose to the rank of admiral in the navy. In 1691 he co¬ 
 operated in driving the English from Acadia, and was aid to Iberville in the latter’s 
 expeditions. — Ed. 
 
 2 Paul, Duke de Beauvilliers, was one of the noted figures of the court of Louis 
 XIV, and famous for his probity and piety. For many years he had served as first 
 gentleman of the bedchamber and chief of the council of finance, and in 1670 was 
 chosen governor of the royal princes. He died in 1714, on which occasion St. Simon 
 drew the remarkable portrait of him which appears in his Memoirs. — Ed. 
 
228 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 with the Intendant of Cbefneau , and the fupreme Council, 
 and drawing up Accufations againft him which had the de- 
 fired effedt; though now the King fhews that he is unde¬ 
 ceiv’d, by reinftating that Gentleman once more in this Gov¬ 
 ernment. 1 In the mean time the Statefmen of the Country 
 that are moft guilty, know not how to drefs this kettle of 
 Filh; for they make no queftion but the New Governour will 
 retain a juft refentment of what’s paft. But the Gentlemen, 
 Merchants, and other Inhabitants, are making preparations 
 for folemnifing his Arrival, which they expedl with as much 
 impatience, as the Jews do the Mejfias. The very Savages 
 that live in the skirts of the Colony, fhew an uncommon Joy 
 upon the hopes of his return: And indeed, we need not think 
 it ftrange, for that Governour drew Efteem and Veneration, 
 not only from the French , but from all the Nations of this vaft 
 Continent, who look’d upon him as their Guardian Angel. 
 Mr. de Denonville begins to pack up his Baggage, and that in 
 effedt, [151] is all I can fay of him. ’Tis none of my bufinefs 
 to meddle with an infinity of Affairs, that relate to the Gentle¬ 
 man’s private Intereft. As to the queftion, whether he has 
 manag’d well or ill, during the courfe of his Government, or 
 whether he was lov’d or hated, I know nothing of the matter. 
 
 1 Jacques Duchesneau, sieur de la Doussiniere, was chosen (1675) successor 
 of Talon in the Canadian intendancy. Almost from the first he maligned Count 
 Frontenac, and supported the Jesuit party in opposition. The king, losing patience 
 at their complaints, recalled both Frontenac and Duchesneau May 10, 1682. In 
 the crisis of affairs in New France, Frontenac was sent back (1689) as the one man 
 capable of meeting the difficulties. — Ed. 
 

 to iVipr^-America. 229 
 
 I am at a lofs to know whether he kept a good or a forry 
 Table, for indeed I was never at it. Adieu. 
 
 . 1 make account to fet out for Rochel, when the Veffel that 
 brings our new Governour, returns for France. I am, 
 
 SIR , 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
230 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER XVIII. 
 
 Dated at Quebec November 15. 1689. 
 
 Giving an Account of Mr. de Frontenac’* Arrival , his Reception , 
 his Voyage to Monreal, and the repairing of Fort Frontenac. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 T HE Intelligence you give me of the adjudging of the 
 Lands of Labontan , would have drove me to defpair; if 
 you had not affur’d me at the fame time, that I might recover 
 it after a Century of years, (if I had the misfortune to live fo 
 long) upon the condition of reimburfing to the Poffeffour, 
 the Sum that he pay’d for it, and of proving that I was 
 actually in the Kings Service in the remote parts of the 
 World, when that Eftate was fold. To fpeak to the purpofe, 
 Mr. de Frontenac has [152] countermanded the leave I had to 
 go for France , and has offer’d me a free accefs to his Pocket 
 and his Table. All the Arguments I offer’d, have no Influence 
 upon him, and fo I am bound to obey. 
 
 This new Governour arriv’d at Quebec the 15 tb of Otiober. 
 He came on (hoar at eight a Clock at Night, and was receiv d 
 by the Supreme Council, and all the Inhabitants in Arms, 
 with Flambeau’s both in the City, and upon the Harbour, 
 with a triple Difcharge of the great and fmall Guns, and 
 Illuminations in all the Windows of the City. That fame 
 
to North- America, 231 
 
 Night he was complimented by all the Companies of the 
 Town, and above all, by the Jefuits, who upon that occafion 
 made a very pathetick Speech, though the Heart had lefs 
 hand in it, than the Mouth. The next day he was vifited by 
 all the Ladies, whofe inward joy appear’d in their Counte¬ 
 nances, as much as in their Words. Several Perfons made Fire¬ 
 works, while the Governour and his Retinue fung Te Deiim in 
 the great Church. Thefe folemn Demonftrations of Joy, 
 increas d from day to day, till the new Governour fet out for 
 Monreal; and the Condudf of the People upon this Head, 
 afforded fignal proofs of the fatisfadlion they had in his re¬ 
 turn, and of their refting affur’d, that his wife Condutt, and 
 noble Spirit, would preferve the Repofe and Tranquility that 
 he always kept up, during his firft ten years Government. All 
 the World ador’d him, and ftyl’d him Redemptor Patria ; to 
 which Title he had a juft claim, for all the Inhabitants of thefe 
 Colonies agree, that when he came firft to Canada , he found 
 all things in Confufion and Diftrefs. At that time the Iroquefe 
 had burnt all the Plantations, and cut the Throats of fome 
 thoufands of the French; the Farmer was knock’d on the 
 Head in his Field; the Traveller was murder’d upon the 
 Road, and the Merchant ruin’d for want of Commerce: All 
 the Planters were pinch’d with Famine, [153] the War ren¬ 
 der’d the Country defolate; and in a word, N ew-France had 
 infallibly perifh’d, if this Governour had not made that Peace 
 with the Barbarians , that I fpoke of in my fifth Letter. The 
 bringing of that Peace to bear, was an adtion of greater 
 Importance, than you can well imagine; for thefe Barbarians 
 
232 Some New Voyages 
 
 grounded all their Wars upon a perfonal Enmity, whereas the 
 European Ruptures depend more upon Intereft than upon 
 pure Revenge. 
 
 Mr. de St. Valiers the Bilhop of Quebec , arriv’d likewife on 
 the 15 tb at the fame Port. He had imbarqu’d in the preced¬ 
 ing Spring, on board of a Bark that he had hir’d to tranfport 
 him to Acadia , to Newfound-land , and to the other Countries 
 of his Diocefe. Mr. de Frontenac our Governour, fet out for 
 Monreal in a Canow, four or five days after his Arrival; and 
 I had the honour to accompany him. All Indeavours were 
 us’d to diffwade him from undertaking,that Voyage, when the 
 feafon was fo cold, and fo far advanc’d: For, as I inform’d 
 you before, the Ice is thicker and ftronger here in Oblob. than 
 ’tis at Paris in January; which, is very ftrange. Notwith- 
 ftanding all the Remonftrances drawn from the Hardlhips and 
 Inconveniences of the Voyage, he flighted the Fatigues of the 
 Water, and threw himfelf into a Canow in the fixty eighth 
 year of his Age. Nay, he took the abdication of Fort Fron¬ 
 tenac fo much to Heart, that he had gone ftraight thither, if 
 the Nobility, the Priefts, and the Inhabitants of Monreal , had 
 not intreated him with joynt Supplications, not to expofe his 
 Perfon to the danger of the Falls and Cataradls that lie in 
 that Paffage. In the mean time fome Gentlemen of Canada , 
 follow’d by a hundred Coureurs de Bois , under the command of 
 Mr. Mantet, ventur’d upon the Voyage, with intent to learn 
 the State of the Fort. I acquainted you in my laft Letter, 
 that Mr. de Valrenes had blown up the Walls of the Fort, when 
 [154] he made his Retreat; but by good luck, the damage was 
 
to North- America. 233 
 
 not fo great as ’twas took to be; for the Party commanded 
 by Mr. Mantel, have already rear’d up the ruinous Wall to 
 the height of fome Fathoms, and will continue to work upon 
 the repair of the Fort all this Winter. 1 This News Mr. de 
 Frontenac receiv’d laft Night, which was the fixth after his 
 return to this City. 
 
 I had forgot to tell you that he brought with him out 
 of France , fome of thofe Iroquefe that Mr. de Denonville had 
 fent to the Galleys, as I intimated in my thirteenth Letter; 
 the reft having perifh’d in their Chains. Of all thefe unfor¬ 
 tunate Barbarians that he has brought back, the moft con- 
 fiderable is one that goes by the name of Oreouaht. He was 
 not us’d as a Galley Slave, in regard that he was the Leader 
 of the Goyoguans, and the Governour has lodg’d him in the 
 Caftle, in confideration of the efteem he (hews both for Mr. 
 de Frontenac , and for the French Nation. Some flatter them- 
 felves with the hopes, that fome Accommodation with the five 
 Iroquefe Nations may be effected by his Mediation; and for 
 that end propofals of Peace are now in agitation: But I have 
 three good reafons for predicting, that fuch a Defign will 
 prove abortive. 2 I have already laid thefe Reafons before Mr. 
 
 1 Nicholas d’Ailleboust, sieur de Mantet (Mantz, Manteht), belonged to a prom¬ 
 inent Canadian family, being grandson of one of the founders of Montreal. Like 
 other promising young men he took to wood-ranging; becoming an associate of 
 DuLuth, he acquired much influence with the Indians of the Northwest. Frontenac 
 employed him upon raiding parties, and he was first to enter Schenectady (1690). 
 His latter years were spent in trading in the upper country, where he is last mentioned 
 in 1709. — Ed. 
 
 2 Oureahe (Ourehaoue) was a Cayuga war chief, who had been sent to France 
 through Denonville’s treachery. Frontenac had won his good will on the return 
 
'J 
 
 234 Some New Voyages 
 
 de Frontenac , who gave me to know, that after the departure 
 of the Ships, he would difcourfe me upon that Head. I (hall 
 not offer at the particulars of his Interview, with Monfieur 
 and Madam de Denonville; till fuch time as you and I have 
 an opportunity of talking under the Rofe. Some Officers 
 accompany Mr. Denonville and his Lady to France , in hopes 
 of being prefer’d. In all probability the Ships will fet fail to 
 Morrow, for we have now a fair and gentle Wefterly Gale; 
 befides, that the feafon for quitting this Port, is almoft fpent. 
 I am, 
 
 SIR , Tours, &c. 
 
 voyage, and employed him in negotiations with the Iroquois. On the ill-success of 
 these first efforts see Parkman, Frontenac , pp., 194-207. The chief, however, 
 continued to serve the French, and was rewarded with the pay of a captain until his 
 death in the early eighteenth century. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 235 
 
 [155] LETTER XIX. 
 
 Dated at Monreal October 2. 1690. 
 
 Relating the Attempts upon 7 V<?w-England and New-Yovk ; a 
 fatal Embaffy fent by the French to the Iroquefe ; and an ill- 
 concerted Interprife of the Englifh and the Iroquefe, in march¬ 
 ing by Land to Attack the French Colony. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 BOUT fifteen days fince a Ship of Rochel laden with Wine 
 
 1 Y and Brandy, arriv’d in this Harbour; and the Captain 
 took care to convey a Letter from you to my Hands. As to 
 your defire of having a circumftantial Account of the Trade 
 of Canada , I cannot fatisfie it at prefent, for I am not as yet 
 fo thoroughly acquainted with all its Branches. But I affure 
 you, that fome time or other I fhall fend you fuch Memoirs, 
 as will give you fatisfa&ion upon that Head. In the mean 
 time, I hope you’ll be contented with an account of what 
 pafs’d in this Country fince the date of my laft. 
 
 As foon as Mr. Denonville fet out from Quebec , upon his 
 return to France , Mr. de Frontenac took polTeffion of the 
 Fort, which is the common Refidence of our Governour- 
 General; and order’d one of our beft Architects to make 
 preparations for rebuilding it as foon as he could. 
 
 In the beginning of this year, Mr. d’Iberville attempted to 
 
236 Some New V*oyages 
 
 pillage a fmall Village in New- 2 V£, call’d by the Iroquefe 
 Corlar; which name they likewife give to all the Governours 
 of that Englijh Colony. [156] This Gentleman, who is a 
 Canadefe, was attended by five hundred Coureurs de Boh , and 
 the like number of Savages; and the whole Party made the 
 Expedition over Snow and Ice, notwithftanding they had three 
 hundred Leagues to march backward and forward, and that 
 the Roads were very rugged and troublefome. Mr. d Iberville 
 met with wonderful Succefs, for after he had pillag d, burnt, 
 and lack’d that little Village, with the adjacent Cantons, he 
 fell in with a Party of an hundred Iroquefe , and defeated ’em 
 intirely. 1 Much about the fame time Mr. dePortneuf, another 
 Canada Gentleman, march’d out at the Head of three hundred 
 Men, one half Savages, and the other half Coureurs de Boh , with 
 intent to poffefs himself of a Fort belonging to the Englijh , 
 call’d Kenebeki , which Hands upon the Sea-Coaft of New - 
 England , towards the Frontiers of Acadia . The Garrifon of 
 this Fort made a brave defence: But there being great quan¬ 
 tities of Granado’s and other Fire-works thrown in upon ’em, 
 
 1 St. Helene and Mantet were the leaders of this expedition, which numbered only 
 about two hundred men, not a thousand. Iberville was one of the officers. See 
 N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, pp. 466-469. The Iroquois party who pursued the victors 
 were not routed, but defeated the rear of the French forces. 
 
 Pierre Le Moyne, sieur d’Iberville, was one of the most remarkable of early 
 Canadians, and has been called “ The Cid of Canada.” Born in 1661, the third son 
 of Charles le Moyne, sieur de Longueuil (see p. 74, note 1, ante), he early joined the 
 French navy. His first exploits were in Hudson Bay, where he captured the English 
 forts and vessels. In 1692 he served against the English in Acadia and Newfound¬ 
 land. After the Peace of Ryswick (1697) he turned his attention to the Mississippi, 
 and led the expedition which founded Louisiana (1699). He attacked the English 
 fleet in the West Indies (1706), dying in July of the same year at Havana.— Ed. 
 
while the Savages (contrary to their Cuftom) fcal’d the Palif- 
 fadoes on all hands, the Governour was oblig’d to furrender 
 upon Difcretion. ’Tis faid, that in this A<ftion the Coureurs 
 de Boh did their duty very bravely, but the Enterprife had 
 prov’d luccefslefs without the affiftance of the Savages. 1 
 
 As foon as the Rivers were navigable, Mr. de Frontenac 
 offer’d to fend me with Propofals of Peace to the Iroquefe. 
 But I made anfwer, that fince his Pocket and his Table had 
 been free to me during the Winter, I could not imagine that 
 he had a mind to be rid of me fo foon. Being oblig’d by this 
 reply to unfold my meaning, I remonftrated to him, That, the 
 King of England having loft his Crown, and War being pro¬ 
 claim’d, the Governours of New -England and N ew-Tork, would 
 infallibly ufe their utmoft Efforts to excite thefe Bandito’s to 
 redouble their Incurfions; that for that end they would furnifti 
 [157] ’em with Ammunition gratis, and even joyn ’em in order 
 to attack our Towns; and above all, that the Intrigue of the 
 Rat had fo provok’d ’em, that in my opinion, ’twas impoflible 
 to appeafe ’em. Upon thefe Confiderations, I humbly be- 
 feech’d him to have fome other Perfon in his view, in cafe he 
 
 1 The French version of this attack upon Fort Loyal, on the present site of Port¬ 
 land, Maine, is found in N. T. Colon. Docs., ix, pp. 472, 473. Lahontan has, as 
 usual, exaggerated the number of the attacking party. For the narrative of the British 
 captain, Sylvanus Davis, see Mass. Hist . Colls., 3d series, i, pp. 101-112. 
 
 Jacques Robineau, sieur de Portneuf, belonged to the early Canadian noblesse, 
 and was employed as an officer in the Indian and English wars. In 1687 he acted as 
 lieutenant under Denonville. After this attack on Fort Loyal, he served in Acadia, 
 where his brother Villebon was governor, and for several years led raiding parties 
 against the Maine settlements. He died at Quebec in 1715. The flag captured at 
 Fort Loyal hung for many years in the basilica at Quebec. —Ed. 
 
 tiMi 
 
 
 
2-38 Some New Voyages 
 
 perfifted in his defign of making a Trial of that Nature. The 
 Chevalier Do was fingled out for this fatal Embaffy, being 
 attended by one Colin , as Interpreter of the Iroquefe Lan¬ 
 guage, and two young Canadans. They fet out in a Canow, 
 and when they came in fight of the Village of the Onnontagues , 
 were receiv'd with the honourable Salvo of feveral good 
 blows, and conduced with the fame Ceremony to the Village. 
 Such a Retinue could not but be difagreeable to the Gentle¬ 
 man that came to make offers of a Peace. The ancient Men 
 being quickly affembled, thought it moft proper to fend ’em 
 back with a favourable Anfwer, and in the mean time to 
 ingage fome of the Agnies and Onnoyotes , to lye in wait for ’em 
 at the Cataradls of the River, and there kill two, fending the 
 third back to Quebec , and carrying the fourth to their Village, 
 where there would be found fome Engli/h that would (hoot 
 ’em, that is, that would give ’em the fame ufage as the Rat did 
 to their Ambaffadours: So true it is, that that Adtion flicks 
 in their ftomachs. This Projedt had actually been put in exe¬ 
 cution, if it had not been for fome of the Planters of New- 
 York , who were then among the Barbarians , having come 
 thither on purpofe to animate ’em againft us. Thefe Plant¬ 
 ers knew fo well how to influence the Barbarians that were 
 already bent upon Revenge; that a Company of young Barba¬ 
 rians burnt ’em all alive, excepting the Chevalier Do, whom 
 they tied Hand and Foot, and fent him bound to Bofton , with 
 a defign to pump out of him, a view of the condition of our 
 
 1 The French version indicates that Lahontan had been ill, and used his weakness 
 as a plea to be excused from this hazardous embassy. — Ed. 
 
to Aor^-America. 
 
 239 
 
 Colonies and Forces. 1 This piece of News [158] we receiv’d 
 two Months after, by fome Slaves that made their efcape 
 from the Iroquefe ; and Mr. de Frontenac, when furpris’d with 
 fuch difmal News, declar’d, that out of twenty Captains that 
 offer’d to execute that Commiflion, and would have taken the 
 Imployment for an Honour, I was the only one that had been 
 capable of forefeeing its bad Succefs. 
 
 June the 24 th, I imbarqu’d for this place in a fluggifh 
 Brigantine, that the Captain of the Governour’s Guards had 
 caus’d to be built the foregoing Winter. This venerable 
 Veffel had the honour to lodge the Intendant and his Lady; 
 and all of us being in no hafte, fpent ten or twelve days by 
 the way, and feafted like Kings every Night. Mr. de Frontenac 
 mark’d out a Fort in his paffage to the City of Trois Rivieres, 
 which I fpoke of before. Fifteen days after our arrival in 
 this place, a certain Savage whofe name was Plake, came and 
 gave us notice, that he had difcover’d a Body of a thoufand 
 Engli/h, and five hundred Iroquefe that march’d up to attack 
 us. 2 Upon this Intelligence, all our Troops crofs’d over to 
 
 1 This account of the embassy of Chevalier Pierre d’Aux (Do), sieur de Jolliet, 
 is substantially correct. He was a prisoner both in Boston and New York until 
 August, 1692, when having escaped he made his way to Canada in time to furnish 
 Count Frontenac with useful information relative to the English plans. The governor 
 thereupon sent him to France to give an account of the situation of Boston and New 
 York, “ and how easily they may be taken.” He returned to New France the fol¬ 
 lowing year, and then disappears from history. — Ed. 
 
 2 La Plaque, nephew of the Great Mohawk (called by the Dutch, Kryn), chief of 
 the praying Indians of Sault St. Louis mission, was useful to the French during 
 Frontenac’s War (1689-97). After having given notice of this intended invasion, 
 he set out the following year (1691) to capture prisoners and secure information, 
 which undertaking proved so successful that he was sent to France to report. After 
 
240 Some New Voyages 
 
 the Meadow of A ladelaine, oppofite to this City, and there 
 incamp’d, in conjunction with three or four hundred Savages 
 that were our Allies, in order to give the Enemy a warm 
 Reception. * 1 Our Camp was no fooner form’d, than Mr. de 
 Frontenac detach’d two or three fmall Parties of the Savages 
 to obferve the Enemy. Thefe Parties came foon back, after 
 having furpris’d fome ftragling Iroquefe at hunting on the 
 Confines of Champlaine Lake: The Prifoners inform’d us, 
 that the Englifo. being unable to encounter the fatigues of the 
 march, and unprovided with a fufficient ftock of Provifions, 
 both they and the Iroquefe were return’d to their own Coun¬ 
 try. 2 This account being confirm’d by other Savages, our 
 Troops decamp’d, and march’d back to this place, from 
 whence I was detach’d [159] fome days after to command a 
 Party that was to cover the Reapers of Fort Roland , which lies 
 in this Ifland. 3 When the Harveft was over I return’d to 
 
 his return he continued to serve the French, on two occasions (1692, 1693) leading 
 war parties nearly to the gates of Albany. — Ed. 
 
 1 La Prairie de la Madeleine is six miles above Montreal, on the opposite side of 
 the river. This was supposed to be the point at which the expedition would emerge, 
 coming by way of Lake Champlain and Richelieu River. A small division did attack 
 this point after Frontenac’s return to Quebec, carrying off several prisoners. — Ed. 
 
 2 This was part of the expedition fitted out by the British colonies for the capture 
 of Canada. The troops of New York and Connecticut rendezvoused at Wood Creek, 
 on Lake Champlain, under command of General Winthrop of Connecticut; but ill¬ 
 ness, lack of provisions, and the lukewarm attitude of their Iroquois allies, made it 
 necessary to abandon the attack. See Winthrop’s “Journal,” in N. Y. Colon. Docs., 
 iv, pp. 193-197- — Ed - 
 
 3 Fort Rolland was built (1670) on the site of the present Lachine, to protect the 
 trading houses of Francois le Noir, dit Rolland, who carried on a large traffic with 
 the Western Indians. During Frontenac’s War, it was regularly garrisoned by detach¬ 
 ments of soldiers. For full details, see Girouard, Lake St. Louis , pp. 70-75. — E D - 
 
to North- America. 241 
 
 this place, along with the Hurons and the Outaouas, who had 
 come down from their own Country, in purfuit of their ufual 
 Trade in Skins, an account of which you had in my eight 
 Letter. Thefe Traders continued here fifteen days, and then 
 march’d home. 1 
 
 This, Sir, is a Summary of all our Occurrences of Moment 
 fince the laft year. About fifteen days hence, I think to fet 
 out for Quebec, in Mr. de Frontenac’s Brigantin. I conclude 
 with my ufual Complement, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Yours, See. 
 
 1 The descent of the Northwest Indians for trade this year (1690) was an encour¬ 
 aging circumstance for New France. See N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix. pp. 478-490- 
 Parkman, Frontenac, pp. 252-255. — Ed. ’ 
 
 16 
 
242 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER XX. 
 
 Dated at Rochel January 12. 1691. 
 
 Being a Relation of a fecond and very important Expedition of the 
 Englifh by Sea; in which is contain’d a Letter written by the 
 Englilh Admiral to the Count of Frontenac, with this Gov¬ 
 ernor’s Verbal Answer. As alfo an account of the Author’s 
 departure for France. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 I AM arriv’d at laft at Rochel , from whence I now tranfmit 
 you a Relation of all that pafs’d in Canada , fince the date 
 of my laft Letter. In the fpace of a few days after that date, 
 Mr. de Frontenac receiv’d advice that a ftrong Fleet of Englifh 
 [160] Ships, amounting to thirty four Sail, was feen near 
 Tadouffac} Immediately he got on board of his Brigantine, 
 and order’d all the Troops to imbarque in Canows and Boots, 
 and to row Night and Day to prevent the Enemy; all which 
 was happily put in execution. At the fame time he gave 
 orders to Mr. de Callieres, to bring down as many of the 
 Inhabitants as poffibly he could. We row’d with fuch expedi¬ 
 tion, and diligence, that we arriv’d the 3 d day at Quebec. As 
 
 1 The first report of the approach of the English Fleet reached Frontenac through 
 an Abenaki Indian, who had travelled overland with the tidings. The governor gave 
 this news scant credence until ffshing vessels announced the progress of the fleet as 
 far up as Tadoussac. For a brief but succinct account, see Jes. Rel lxiv, pp. 4 1- 
 53. —Ed. 
 
I 
 
 to North-America.. 243 
 
 foon as Mr. de Frontenac debarqued, he view’d the weakeft 
 Polls, and order’d ’em to be fortified without lofs of time: 
 He rais’d Batteries in feveral places, and though in that capital 
 City we had but twelve great Guns, and but little Ammuni¬ 
 tion, yet he feem’d to be refolutely bent upon an obftinate 
 Refiftance to the efforts of the Enemy’s Fleet, which in the 
 mean time Hood catching of Flies, at the diftance of two 
 Leagues from Quebec. We took the advantage of their flow 
 approaches, and work’d inceffantly to put our felves in a 
 pofture of defence. Our Troops, our Militia, and our con¬ 
 federate Savages, came up to us on all hands. ’Tis certain, 
 that if the Englijh Admiral had made his Defcent before our 
 arrival at Quebec, or even two days after, he had carry’d the 
 place without ftriking a blow; for at that time there was not 
 two hundred French in the City, which lay open, and expos’d 
 on all hands. 1 2 But inftead of doing that, he call Anchor 
 towards the point of the Illand of Orleans , and loll three days 
 in confulting with the Captains of the Ships, before they came 
 to a Refolution. He took the Sieur Joliet with his Lady and 
 his Mother-in-Laws in a Bark in the River of St. Laurence? 
 Three Merchant-men from France, and one laden with Beaver- 
 
 1 All authorities apparently agree with Lahontan’s judgment, that the capital 
 fault of the English commander was his waste of time. — Ed. 
 
 2 Lahontan is the only contemporary authority who includes Jolliet himself in the 
 list of prisoners. Probably it was only his wife and mother-in-law, who were cap¬ 
 tured on their way to their seigniory of Anticosti, with M. de Grandville. Louis 
 Jolliet, the famous explorer, was born in Quebec in 1645. Losing his father at an 
 early age, he was reared by the Jesuits. In 1667 he visited France, and the following 
 year organized his first trading and exploring expedition to the Great Lakes, whither 
 he again went, 1670-71. His success brought him a commission to discover the 
 
244 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 Skins from Hudjon Bay, enter’d the River of Saguenay , by the 
 way of Tadoujfac, where they fculk’d, and after hauling their 
 Guns afhoar, rais’d very good Batteries. [161] To be Ihort, 
 the Officers of the Enemy’s Fleet came to a Refolution after 
 the lofs of three or four days in ufelefs Confultations, during 
 which time we were joyn’d on all hands by great numbers of 
 Inhabitants and Soldiers. Purfuant to the refolution of the 
 Councils of War, the Englijh Admiral, namely, Sir William 
 Phips, fent out his Sloop with a French Flag upon its Prow, 
 which made up to the City with found of Trumpet. * 1 Upon 
 
 Mississippi, which he accomplished in company with the Jesuit missionary Marquette 
 (1673). Upon his return in July, 1674, Jolliet lost all of his papers by having his 
 canoe swamped in the descent of Lachine Rapids. The following year he married 
 Claire Franfoise Bissot, who brought him property on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 
 where in 1679, h e acquired Isles Mingan, and Anticosti a year later. In the former 
 year, he visited Hudson Bay, via the Saguenay and Lake St. John, and was cordially 
 received by the English. Labrador was explored by him in 1694, his death occurring 
 six years later. For the latest research concerning Jolliet, see Gagnon, “Louis 
 Jolliet,” in La Revue Canadienne , 1900-1902. 
 
 Jolliet’s mother-in-law was Marie Couillard, who after the death (1675) 
 Bissot, her first husband, married Jacques de Lalande. She was a woman of much 
 force and ability, and according to other authorities suggested to Phips the exchange 
 of prisoners, and to effect it went in person to Frontenac. She was a sister-in-law of 
 Jean Nicolet, the explorer, and one of her sons was Sieur de Vincennes, an officer of 
 note in the Western country. —Ed. 
 
 1 Sir William Phips was born in Pemaquid (Bristol), Maine, in 1651. He was 
 the son of a poor colonist, and tended sheep until he was eighteen years of age, then 
 learned the trade of a ship carpenter. Going to Boston, he there married a wealthy 
 widow, who taught him to read and write. On a visit to England, he secured a 
 commission to search for wrecked Spanish treasure-ships in the West Indies. After 
 one unsuccessful attempt (1684), he raised in 1687 silver and plate amounting to 
 ^300,000. For this service knighthood was conferred upon him, and he returned to 
 Massachusetts to lead an expedition which captured Port Royal (May, 1690). After 
 the failure of the Quebec investment, Phips was somewhat discredited, but in 1692 
 he was appointed governor of Massachusetts, which office he held until his death in 
 London, in 1695 .—Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 245 
 
 this, Mr. de Frontenac fent out another with a French Officer to 
 meet it, who found an Englijh Major in the Sloop, who gave 
 him to underftand, that he had the charge of a Letter from 
 his General, to the Governour of Canada , and hop’d he might 
 be allow’d to deliver it himfelf. Upon that the French Officer 
 took him into his Sloop, and having blindfolded him, con¬ 
 duced him to the Governour’s Chamber; where his Face 
 being uncover’d, he deliver’d him a Letter, the fubftance of 
 which was this. 
 
 *1 Sir William Phips, General of the Forces of New- 
 1 England, by Sea and Land, to Count Frontenac , Governour 
 1 General of Quebec , by Orders from, and in the name of 
 ‘ William III and Mary King and Queen of England; am come 
 ‘ to make my felf Mailer of this Country. But in regard that 
 ‘ I have nothing fo much in view, as the preventing of the 
 ‘ effufion of Blood, I require you to furrender at difcretion, 
 ‘your Cities, Callles, Forts, Towns, as well as your Perfons; 
 
 ‘ affuring you at the fame time, that you ffiall meet with all 
 ‘ manner of good Ufage, Civility and Humanity. If you do 
 1 not accept of this Propofal without any ReftriCion, I will 
 1 indeavour, by the affiftance of Heaven, on which I rely, and 
 ‘ the force of my Arms, to make a Conqueft of ’em. I expeC 
 ‘ a pofitive anfwer in writing in the fpace of an Hour, and in 
 ‘the mean time give you notice, that after [162] the com- 
 ‘ mencement of Hollilities, I lhall not entertain any thoughts 
 ‘ of Accommodation. 
 
 Sign’d, William Phips. 
 
246 Some New Voyages 
 
 After the Interpreter had tranflated the Letter to Mr. de 
 Frontenac , who was then furrounded with Officers; he order’d 
 the Captain of his Guards to make a Gibbet before the Fort, 
 in order to hang the poor Major, who in all appearance 
 underftood French; for upon the pronouncing of this fatal 
 Sentence, he was like to fwoon away. And indeed I muft fay, 
 the Major had fome reafon to be affedted, for he had certainly 
 been hang’d, if the Biffiop and the Intendant, who to his good 
 luck were then prefent, had not interceded on his behalf. 
 Mr. de Frontenac pretended, that they were a Fleet of Pyrates, 
 or of Perfons without Commiffion, for that the King of 
 England was then in France. But at laft the Governour being 
 appeas’d, order’d the Major to repair forthwith on board of 
 his Admiral, againft whom he could defend himfelf the better, 
 for not being attack’d. At the fame time he declar’d, that 
 he knew no other King of Great Britain , than James II, that 
 his rebellious Subjects were Pyrates, and that he dreaded 
 neither their Force nor their Threats. This faid, he threw 
 Admiral Phips's Letter in the Major’s face, and then turn’d 
 his Back upon him. Upon that the poor Ambaffadour took 
 freffi courage, and looking upon his Watch, took the liberty 
 to ask Mr. de Frontenac , if he could not have his Anfwer in 
 Writing before the hour elaps’d. But the Governour made 
 anfwer with all the haughtinefs and difdain imaginable, that 
 his Admiral deferv’d no other anfwer, than what flew from 
 the Mouth of Cannons and Muskets. Thefe words were no 
 fooner pronounc’d than the Major was forc’d to take his 
 
to North- America. 
 
 247 
 
 Letter again, and being blind-folded, was recondudted to his 
 Sloop, in which he row’d towards the Fleet with all expedition. 
 
 [163] The next day about two in the Afternoon, fixty 
 Sloops were fent afhoar with ten or twelve hundred Men, 
 who flood upon the Sand in very good order. After that 
 the Sloops went back to the Ships, and brought afhoar the 
 like Compliment of Men, which was afterwards joyn’d by a 
 third Complement of the fame number. As foon as thefe 
 Troops were landed, they began to march towards the City 
 with Drums beating, and Colours flying. This Defcent was 
 made over againft the Ifle of Orleans , about a League and a 
 half below Quebec; but ’twas not fo expeditious, but that our 
 Confederate Savages, with two hundred Coureurs de Bois , and 
 fifty Officers, had time to poft themfelves in a Copfe of thick 
 Brambles, which lay half a League off the place of Landing. 
 It being impoffible for fo fmall a Party to come to an open 
 Battle with a numerous Enemy, they were forc’d to fight 
 after the manner of the Savages, that is, to lay Ambufcadoes 
 from place to place in the Copfe, which was a quarter of a 
 League broad. This way of waging War prov’d wonderfully 
 fuccefsful to us, for our Men being polled in the middle of 
 the Copfe, we fuffer’d the Englijh to enter, and then fir’d 
 upon ’em, lying flat upon the ground till they fir’d their 
 pieces; after which we fprung up, and drawing into knots 
 here and there, repeated our fire with fuch fuccefs, that the 
 Englifli Militia perceiving our Savages fell into confufion and 
 diforder, and their Battalions were broke; infomuch, that 
 
24.8 Some New Voyages 
 
 I 
 
 they betook themfelves to flight, crying out, Indians , Indians , 
 and gave our Savages the opportunity of making a bloody 
 daughter among ’em, for we found three hundred Men left 
 upon the fpot, without any other lofs on our fide, than that 
 of ten Coureurs de Bois , four Officers, and two Savages. 
 
 The next day the Englifli landed four pieces of brafs 
 Cannon mounted like Field-pieces, and fought [164] very 
 bravely, though they were very ill difciplin’d. ’Tis certain 
 there was no want of Courage on their fide, and their want 
 of Succefs muft be imputed to their unacqaintednefs with 
 Military Difcipline, to their being infeebled by the fatigues 
 of the Sea, and to the ill condud of Sir William Pbips , who 
 upon this Enterprife could not have done more than he did, 
 if he had been ingag’d by us to ftand ftill with his hands in 
 his Pockets. This day pafs’d over more peaceably than the 
 next: For then the Englifli made a frefh attempt to force their 
 paffage through the Copfe, by the help of their Artillery; 
 but they loft three or four hundred more in the attempt, and 
 were forc’d to retire with all diligence to the Landing-place: 
 On our fide we loft Mr. de St. Helene , who dy’d of a wound 
 in his Leg, and about forty French-men and Savages. This 
 Vidory animated us fo much, that we purfued the Englifli to 
 their Camp, and lay all Night flat upon the ground juft by it, 
 with a defign to attack it by the break of day: But they fav’d 
 us the labour, for they imbarqued about Midnight with fuch 
 confufion, that we kill’d fifty more of ’em, rather by chance, 
 than by dexterity, while they were getting into their Boats. 
 When day came, we tranfported to Quebec their Tents and 
 
to North- America. 
 
 249 
 
 their Cannon, which they had left behind ’em ; the Savages 
 being in the mean time imploy’d in ftripping the dead in the 
 Wood. 
 
 The fame day that the Defcent was made, Sir William 
 Pbips weigh’d and came to an Anchor with four great Ships, 
 at the diftance of a Musket-fhot from the lower City, where 
 we had only one Battery of fix or eight Pounders. There he 
 Cannonadoed for twenty four hours fo handfomly, that the 
 fire of the great Guns equal’d that of the fmall Arms. The 
 dammage they did to the roofs of the Houfes, amounted to 
 five or fix Piftoles ; for as I inform’d you in my firft Letter, the 
 Walls of the Houfes are fo hard, that a Ball cannot pierce ’em. 
 
 [165] When Sir William Phips had made an end of thefe 
 glorious Exploits, he fent to demand of Mr. de Frontenac fome 
 Englifli Prifoners in exchange for the Sieur Joliet, with his 
 Wife and his Mother, and fome Seamen ; which was forthwith 
 put in execution. This done, the Fleet weigh’d Anchor and 
 fleer’d homeward. 1 As foon as the three Merchantmen that 
 lay fculking in the River of Saguenay , faw the Fleet running 
 below Tadoujfac with full Sail before a Weflerly Gale, they put 
 their Guns aboard, and purfuing their Voyage with great fat- 
 isfadlion, arriv’d at Quebec on the 12 th of November. They had 
 fcarce put their Cargoe on fhoar, when the bitter cold cover’d 
 the River with Ice, which dammag’d their Ships fo much, that 
 
 1 There exist many contemporaneous accounts of Phips’s expedition. Myrand, 
 Sir William Phips decant Quebec (Quebec, 1893), has collected nineteen from 
 archives, with all the details of participants. He accuses Lahontan of exaggerating 
 the numbers of English taking part and wounded in the land battles, op. cit. } pp. 267- 
 276. For the rest, however, Lahontan’s account is substantially correct. — Ed. 
 
250 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 they were forc’d to run ’em alhoar. This troublefom Froft was 
 as uneafie to me, as to Mr. de Frontenac; for I then faw that I 
 was oblig’d to pafs another Winter in Canada , and Mr. de 
 Frontenac was at a lofs, to contrive a way of fending the King 
 advice of this Enterprife. But by good luck, there came all 
 of a fudden a downfal of Rain, which was follow’d by a Thaw, 
 and was equally acceptable to us both. Immediately the 
 Governour order’d an unrigg’d Frigat to be rigg’d and fitted 
 out; which was done accordingly with fuch difpatch, that the 
 Ballaft, Sails, Ropes, and Mails, were all in order almoft as 
 foon as the Orders were given out. When the Frigat was 
 ready to fail, the Governour told me, that the making of 
 France as foon as ever I could, would be a piece of important 
 Service; and that I ought rather to perilh, than to fuffer my 
 felf to be taken by the Enemy, or to put in at any Port what- 
 foever by the way. At the fame time he gave me a particular 
 Letter to Mr. de Seignelay , the purport of which was much to 
 my advantage. 
 
 I put to Sea the 20 th of November , the like of which was 
 never feen in that place before. At the Ifle of Coudres we 
 ’fcap’d luckily, for there the [166] North-Eaft Wind blew 
 fo hard upon us, that after we had drop’d Anchor, we thought 
 to have been fplit in pieces in the Night-time. The reft of 
 our paffage was good enough, for we encounter’d but one 
 Storm till we arriv’d at this place. Indeed we met with 
 contrary Winds, about 150 Leagues off the coaft of France , 
 which oblig’d us to traverfe, and lye by for a long time, and 
 ’twas for this reafon that our paffage was fo long. 
 
to North- America. 251 
 
 I hear you are now in Provence, and that Mr. de Seignelai is 
 gone upon a Voyage to the other World, which is of a quite 
 different nature from that I have juft perform’d. In earneft, 
 Sir, his Death is the laft misfortune to the Navy of France , to 
 the Colonies of the two America’s, and to me in particular, 
 fince Mr. de Frontenac’s Recommendatory Letter is thereby 
 render’d ufelefs to me. I am, 
 
 SIR, Yours, &c. 
 
252 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER XXL 
 
 Dated at Rochel July 26. 1691. 
 
 Containing a Defcription of the Courts or Offices of the Minifters 
 of State , and a view of fome Services that are ill rewarded at 
 
 Court. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 T HE Letter you writ to me two Months agoe came to my 
 Hands at Paris; but I could not give you an anfwer 
 there, becaufe I had not then done my bufinefs. Now that I am 
 return’d to Rocbel, I have leifure time enough to inform you 
 of all that befell me fince my return to France. As foon as I 
 arriv’d at Verfailles , I waited upon Mr. de Pontchartrain, [167] 
 who fucceeded Mr. de Seignelai. I reprefented to him, that 
 Mr. de Frontenac had given me a Letter to his Predeceffour, 
 in which he took notice of the Services I had done. I remon- 
 ftrated to him, that my Eftate being feiz’d upon, and there 
 being feveral Law-fuits to be adjufted, where my prefence was 
 neceffary, I hop’d his Majefty would give me leave to quit his 
 Service. He made anfwer, that he had been inform’d of the 
 ftate of my Affairs, and that I was allow’d to purfue the man¬ 
 agement of ’em, till the departure of the laft Ships that are 
 bound this year for Quebec , to which place he mean’d I fhould 
 return. Having receiv’d this anfwer, I went from F<erfailles to 
 
to iVor^-America. 253 
 
 Paris, where my Relations drew me into a confultation of fev- 
 eral Counfellors, who declar’d that my Affairs were fo per¬ 
 plex’d, that in their opinion, I could not have ’em adjufted in 
 fo fhort a time. In the mean time, the Crowns I was forc’d 
 to lug out for this Confultation, turn’d my Stomach againft 
 the going to Law with Perfons that had fo much intereft in 
 the Parliament of Paris; infomuch, that I was almoft in the 
 mind of lofing my Right, rather than to enter upon the Law- 
 fuit. However, I did not fail to put in for a provifion upon 
 my confifcated Eftate, by vertue of my being a&ually in the 
 Service. But the folliciting of that, coft me fo much trouble 
 and charges, that though my powerful Adverfaries had not 
 been able to prevent the obtaining of my requeft, yet the 
 Sum adjudg’d thereupon, would not be fufficient to anfwer the 
 charges I was at. Mejfieurs de Bragelone 1 are very honourable 
 Gentlemen, as you know very well. ’Tis true, they love Pif- 
 toles better than their Relations, and upon that Principle 
 contented themfelves in doing me the honour of their good 
 Advice, for their Generofity do’s not go much further; and 
 if I had no other refuge than theirs, I fhould be but in a forry 
 condition. The Abbot of Ecouttes, 2 who is more liberal, [i68] 
 tho’ not fo rich as they, made me a Prefent of a hundred 
 Louis d’ors , which I applied to the payment of the Fees, for 
 being receiv’d into the Order of St. Lazarus. The Ceremony 
 
 1 Lahontan belonged to the Gascon family of Bragelonne, one member of which 
 had been of the Company of One Hundred Associates, that founded the colony of 
 New France. — Ed. 
 
 2 The Abbe de Couttes, who was an uncle of Lahontan, being a brother of his 
 mother, was an ecclesiastic well known at the court of Louis XIV. — Ed. 
 
254 Some New Voyages 
 
 of that Inftallment was perform’d in Mr. de Louvois his Cham¬ 
 ber, and did not laft fo long as the telling of the Money. 1 
 I was in hopes that this generous Abbot would have bellow’d 
 upon me fome fimple Benefice that he might have thrown in 
 my way, without injuring himfelf: But it feems, a fcruple of 
 Confcience flood my Enemy. Upon the whole, Sir, I was e en 
 forc’d at laft to go to Verfailles to follicit for a Place, which is 
 the moft cutting and vexatious Office in the World. Do but 
 confider, Sir, that in thofe Royal Apartments Crowns fly, and 
 no body knows where they go. One muff: patiently attend 
 five or fix hours a day in Mr. de Pontcbartfain s Apartments, 
 only to (hew himfelf every time that that Minifter goes out or 
 comes in. 
 
 He no fooner appears, than every one crowds in to prefent 
 Memorials clogg’d with fifty Reafons, which commonly fly off 
 as light as the Wind. As foon as he receives thefe Petitions, 
 he gives ’em to fome Secretary or other that follows him; and 
 this Secretary carries ’em to Meflieurs de la ‘Touche , de Begon , 
 and de Saluberri; whofe Footmen receive Piftoles from moft 
 of the Officers, who without that Expedient, would be in 
 danger of catching cold at the Door of the Office of thefe 
 Deputies. ’Tis from that expedient alone, that their good 
 or bad deftiny muff: flow. Pray undeceive your felf, as to your 
 
 1 St. Lazare was one of the military orders founded in the eleventh century, during 
 the Crusades. It was rich and powerful, and had large property in Pans. In the 
 seventeenth century it was amalgamated with the order of Mont Carmel, and Lahon- 
 tan is sometimes known as chevalier of Notre Dame du Mont Carmel. 
 
 Franfois Michel le Tellier, marquis de Louvois, was the great war minister o 
 the reign of Louis XIV. Among other honors, he received in 1673 the office of vicar 
 general of the orders of St. Lazare and Mont Carmel. — Ed. 
 

 
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 j&pSi 
 
 r©^ <K ! 1 ^£gi 3 §£ a- 
 
 ®k o< _ou 1 J>iR§j ijjfsL* 
 
 ^i ®bSHB§r%*x« 
 
 <* ** <$%& 
 
 0 > ©W. f&3&@&*4»B<w3L v> 
 
 ^ 12^4 
 
 OiQi ,, 4 ri^>. 
 
 ^ 4 ^ ><*- ***? / 
 
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 TR ^vSl 
 
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to North- America. 
 
 255 
 
 notion of the protection of great Lords : The time is gone in 
 which the Minifters granted whatever they ask’d for their 
 Baftards, their Footmen, and their Vaffals. There is but two 
 or three Princes or Dukes, who being great Favourites, will 
 meddle in protecting thofe that have no immediate depen- 
 dance upon ’em: And if thefe do it, ’tis very [169] feldom; 
 for you know that the Gentry of France is in no great Circum- 
 ftances, and thefe great Lords have oftentimes poor Friends 
 of their own, for whom they are oblig’d to ask places, in order 
 to their Subfiftence. As the World goes now, the Minifters 
 are upon fuch a foot, that they’ll refufe any thing to Perfons 
 of the higheft Dignity about Court, by replying, the King 
 will have it fo, or the King will have it otherwife. And as 
 for the Topick of Merit; that’s fuch a frightful Monfter, that 
 it can have no Reception in the Minifters Offices, nay, moft of 
 the Minifters are ftruck with horrour when they think of it. 
 ’Tis the Minifters, in effecft, that difpofe of all places, though 
 it appears as if ’twere the King. They do what they pleafe, 
 without being accountable to him, for he puts all upon the 
 affedtion and zeal they ought to have for his Service. They 
 carry Extracts to him, in which the merit of the Officers they 
 mean to prefer, is either fuppos’d or extoll’d. But the Me¬ 
 morials of thofe they do not like, are far from appearing. 
 
 Pm forry I ffiould be oblig’d to lay this truth before you; 
 however, I mention no particular Minifter, for they are not 
 all of that kidney. I know fome of ’em that would fcorn to 
 do the leaft injuftice to any Man whatfoever; and would not 
 fuffer their Suiffes, or their Lackeys, or even their Deputies 
 
256 . Some New Vioyages 
 
 or Clerks, to intrigue for the preferment of fuch and fuch 
 Perfons by the means of Piftoles. Thefe dexterous Intriguers, 
 do by indireft means make more Officers, than you have hairs 
 on your Head; and ’tis for that reafon they are faluted a 
 League off, and dignify’d as ferioufly with the Title of Mon- 
 fieur, as their Mailers are with that of Monfeigneur or Grandeur. 
 Thefe laft Titles have been acquir’d by our Minifters and 
 Secretaries of State, with as much glory, as by our Bifhops. 
 We muft not think it ftrange therefore, that even our General 
 Officers [170] have the words Monfeigneur and Grandeur fo 
 frequently in their Mouths, provided it be accompany’d with 
 that of your Excellency. I fwear, Sir, I could find matter for a 
 Book of three hundred Pages in Folio, if I had a mind to be 
 particular upon the intrigues of the Officers and Minifters 
 of State ; upon the means by which the Sollicitors compafs 
 their ends, the notorious Knavery of a certain fort of People, 
 and the patience with which the Officers muft be fortified; 
 upon the contempt that thofe meet with, who have no other 
 Recommendation than Merit, and in a word, upon all the 
 inftances of Injuftice, that are pradtis’d without the King’s 
 knowledge. 
 
 Let it be as it will, I muft acquaint you that after a fruitlefs 
 Sollicitation for what I thought I had fome Title to, in confid- 
 eration of my Services, I receiv’d this Anfwer, that the King 
 would order Mr. de Frontenac to provide for me as handfomly 
 as he could, when an occafion offer’d: So that I was forc’d 
 to reft fatisfi’d with my Anfwer, and refolve to continue a 
 
to North- America. 257 
 
 Captain for ever; for I know very well that the Governour 
 of Canada can not prefer me to a higher Poft. 1 
 
 Having left Verfailles , I came hither with all expedition, 
 and then went to receive the commands of the Intendant of 
 Rochefort. He acquainted me that the Ship call’d Honori 
 was fitting up, and that I might fail as foon as ’twas ready. 
 He recommended to me the Chevalier de Meaupou , Madam 
 Ponchartrain’ s Nephew, who is to go along with me. 2 This 
 Gentleman having the curiofity to fee Canada , is come hither 
 from Paris , with a handfom Retinue. ’Tis in vain to fet forth 
 to him the tedioufnefs of the Paffage, the inconveniencies of 
 the Sea, and the difagreeablenefs of the Country; for all thefe 
 Arguments ferve only to inflame his Curiofity. The Count 
 d’Aunay is to convoy us to the Latitude of Cape Finijlerre , 
 at which place [171] he is to take leave of us, and return to 
 Rochefort. We only flay for a fair Wind to put to Sea. I am, 
 
 SIR , 
 
 Tours, &c. 
 
 1 r l he king, in addition to the bestowal of a military order, had already pro¬ 
 moted Lahontan to a captaincy. See Collecion de Manuscrits de la Nouvelle France 
 n, p. 62. The governor of New France had no higher appointment in his power! 
 Roy suggests that most young officers of that time would, at the age of twenty-five 
 
 have been content with such honors. — Ed. ’ 
 
 2 Probably the Sieur de Maupeau, who was later president of inquests in the 
 rarhament of Paris and whose son was chancellor, 1763-68. — Ed. 
 
 17 
 
258 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER XXII. 
 
 Dated at Quebec Nov . 10. 1691* 
 
 Which contains an Account of the Authors departure from Rochel 
 to Quebec, of his Voyage to the Mouth of the River St. Lau¬ 
 rence, of a Ren-counter be had with an Englifh Ship which 
 he fought; of the ftranding of his Ship; of his failing through 
 the River St. Laurence; of the News be receiv'd , that a Party 
 of the Englilh and Iroquefe had defeated a Body of the French 
 Troops. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 T WO days after I wrote to you, we fet fail from the Har¬ 
 bour of Rochel , upon our great Voyage to Canada. On 
 the 5 th of Auguft we perceiv’d a great Ship, which the Count 
 of Attnay gave chafe to, who having a better Sailer, came up 
 with her in three hours time, whereupon (he on a fudden put 
 up Genoefe Colours. Some Guns were fir’d upon the Prow, to 
 oblige her to ftrike ; but the Captain was fo obftinate, that 
 Mr. d’Aunay was forc’d to give her a Broadfide, which kill d 
 four or five of the Seamen, whereupon the reft were oblig’d 
 to put out their Long-boat, and carry to his Ship their Paff- 
 ports and Bills of Lading. On the io th, after [172] they had 
 taken the Latitude, the Pilots thinking that they were even 
 with Cape Finifler , Mr. d’Aunay fent out his Long-boat, to 
 
to North- America. 259 
 
 acquaint me that he was then upon his return home, upon 
 which I wrote him a Letter of thanks. Father Bechefer a 
 Jefuit, who had been many years Superior of the College of 
 Quebec , whither he was now going in the fame Capacity, was 
 forc’d to throw himfelf into this Long-boat, in order to his 
 return into France , having found himfelf continually indifpos’d, 
 from the firft day we put to Sea. 1 On the 23*/ of Auguft we 
 had a great Storm of Wind from the North-Weft, which lafted 
 about twenty four hours, being then a hundred Leagues off 
 the Bank of Newfound-Land. This Bank takes its Name from 
 the Ijland of Newfound-Land, a Map of which is here annex’d. 
 
 When the Storm was over, there fucceeded a Wind from 
 the North-Eaft, which drove us in ten or twelve hours, to the 
 Mouth of the River of St. Laurence. On the 6 th of September we 
 difcover’d a Ship failing from the Coaft of Gafpt, which bore 
 down upon us with a full fail. We thought at firft that they 
 were French coming from Quebec , but their way of working 
 the Ship difcover’d to us within an hour after, that they were 
 Enemies. After we knew them, we prepar’d to fight them, 
 and they being about a League to the Windward of us, came 
 quickly down upon us with full Sail, within Musket-fhot. 
 Prefently they put up Englifh. Colours, and gave us a Broad- 
 fide; and we put up our own Colours, and paid them home 
 in their own Coyn. The Fight lafted two hours, and both 
 
 1 Thierry Beschefer, Jesuit missionary, came to Canada in 1665, and was for 
 several years stationed among the Iroquois. He had been superior of the Canadian 
 missions since 1680, and in 1688 was prefect of the College of Quebec. After this 
 mention by Lahontan, he disappears from Canadian history, but is thought to have 
 died at Rheims in 1711, — Ed. 
 
26 o 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 fides fir’d continually one upon another, but the Sea being 
 tempeftuous, we were oblig’d to fhear off as Night came on, 
 without fuffering any other lofs, than the wounding of two 
 Seamen, and the receiving of twenty eight or thirty fhot in 
 our Mafts, Sails, and Rigging. Two days after we met Mr. 
 Duta , Captain of the Hazardous , who was homeward bound 
 for [173] France , being a Convoy to ten or twelve Merchant 
 Ships. He gave me fome Refrefhments, and told me fome 
 news of Canada , which were very acceptable. We purfu’d 
 our courfe in fpight of the South-Eaft Wind, which oblig’d 
 us to tack about feveral ways, till we came to Portneuf , near to 
 Tadouffac . 1 In this place we were ftranded by the fault of the 
 Coafting-Pilot, who being obftinate for calling Anchor near 
 the Land, was like to have been the caufe of a Shipwrack. 
 At Midnight the Ship was fo dalh’d againll the Sand, that 
 I thought fhe was fplit in pieces, but the Tide ebbing by 
 degrees, fhe was left lying upon the Coaft, without any 
 apparent Damage. I prefently caus’d a Kedger to be dropt 
 in the deep Water belag’d with feveral Ropes call’d Grelins 
 Epijfes (fee the Explication Table ,) 2 and the next Morning the 
 Tide returning fet the Ship afloat, and then we haul’d it in 
 with the Capeftan. On the i^tb we caff anchor near the Red 
 
 1 The seigniory of Portneuf lay a league and a half along the St. Lawrence River 
 northeast of Tadoussac, in the present County of Chicoutimi, where is now Portneuf 
 River. The fief was founded in 1636, in favor of the family of Le Neuf de la Poterie; 
 in 1671 it passed by marriage to the Robineau family, who remained barons de Portneuf 
 until the conquest (1760). — Ed. 
 
 2 In the French edition of 1728, this term is explained as follows : Grelins episses, 
 cables made fast end to end, interlaced and joined, one to the end of the other by means 
 of iron bolts which are called “cornets d’episse ” (spiked horns). — Ed. 
 
w 
 
 to North- America. 261 
 
 IJland , and the next day being the 14 tb, we pafs’d that Chan¬ 
 nel without danger, by the favour of a frefti Gale from the 
 North-Eaft. 
 
 On the 15 th we call Anchor at the IJle of Hares 1 2 : On the 
 l 6ih we pafs d the IJle of Coudres: On the 17th we weather’d 
 the Cape of Tourmente , and the next day we anchor’d in this 
 Port. From the Mouth of the River to this place, we had 
 the fineft Sunlhine days that ever were feen : During which 
 time, I had both leifure and opportunity to view the Coafts 
 on the right Hand and the left, while we tack’d about and 
 about as the wind ferv’d. When I faw a great many Rivers 
 on the South fide, I ask’d the Pilots why the Ships us’d to 
 fleer their courfe on the North fide, where there is no Anchor¬ 
 age to be found, but at Papinachefe, the feven Ifles , and Port- 
 neuf. z They anfwer’d me, that the ordinary Breezes of the 
 rough North-Weft Wind, which blows upon this River for 
 three quarters of a year, were [174] the true caufe why they 
 durft not go far from the North fide ; and that no body could 
 enfure a Ship that fhould fleer on the South fide, except it 
 were in the Months of June , July , and Auguft. If it were not 
 for that, I believe it would be more pleafant, more eafie, and 
 lefs dangerous to fail on the South, than on the North fide, 
 
 1 Hare Island (Isle au Lievres) lies in the River St. Lawrence west of Tadoussac c 
 It was so named by Cartier (1545), because many hares were there captured on his 
 voyage of discovery. — Ed. 
 
 2 Seven Islands is a group lying near the northerly shore of the St. Lawrence, 
 protecting a harbor now known as Seven Islands Bay. Papinachois is a small 
 bay at the entrance of a river of that name, in Saguenay County, Quebec. It was 
 named from a tribe of Montagnais Indians, and is said to signify, “ I like to laugh a 
 little.” — Ed. 
 
262 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 becaufe one might caft Anchor every Night at the entrance 
 of thofe Rivers which difcharge themfelves all along that Coaft, 
 and would not be oblig’d to be veering about continually 
 Night and Day, as he is forc’d to do, when he fleers his 
 courfe on the North fide. This, Sir, is all I had to fay at 
 prefent about our failing in this River, which I fhall have 
 occafion to mention to you again. After our Ship caft Anchor 
 before Quebec , I landed with the Chevalier Meaupou , whom I 
 conduced to the Houfe of Mr. Frontenac , who offer’d to him 
 as well as to me, the ufe of his Table and Houfe. I am in¬ 
 form’d that 300 Englifh, and 200 Iroquefe, approach’d about 
 two Months agoe to the Ifle of Monreal; That the Governour 
 of that Ifle tranfported x 5 Companies from the other fide of 
 the River, to watch their motions; That a Detachment of the 
 Enemy having furpriz’d our Out-Guards, attack d the whole 
 Body of them, and our Camp at the fame time with fo much 
 Vigour and Courage, that they kill’d upon the fpot more than 
 three hundred Soldiers, befides two Captains, fix Lieutenants, 
 and five Enfigns; and that after this fatal Expedition, Mr. 
 Valrenes, a Captain of the Marines, fet out for Monreal , with 
 a Detachment of French and Savages, to go to Fort Chambh , 
 (for fear the Iroquefe fhould attack that Poft) who having met 
 in their paffage a party of Englifh and Iroquefe , attack’d them 
 vigouroufly, and defeated them. 1 
 
 1 This account refers to the raiding party sent out from Albany under Peter 
 Schuyler in August, 1691. Schuyler’s report is in AT. Y. Colon. Docs., m, PP- 0O “ 
 805 ; that of the French ibid, ix, pp. 520-524. Parkman gives a good resume in 
 Frontenac , pp. 289-294. Lahontan has greatly exaggerated the numbers of the s am 
 _j n all, about a hundred French were killed and wounded. —Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 263 
 
 All thefe different Adventures give me ground to con¬ 
 jecture, that it will be much more difficult [175] than ’tis 
 imagin’d, to make a good Peace with the five Nations of the 
 Iroquefe. Mr. Frontenac has given the neceffary Orders to all 
 the neighbouring Habitations, that they Ihould tranfport a 
 great quantity of Stakes and Lime in the Winter time to the 
 Neighbourhood of this City. Farewel Sir, the laft Ships which 
 are to depart hence for France , will fail in three or four days. 
 I am, 
 
 SIR , Yours , &c. 
 
264 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER XXIII. 
 
 Dated at Nants Oblob. 25. 1692. 
 
 Containing an Account of the taking of fome Englifh Veffels, of 
 defeating a Party of the Iroquefe, of an Iroquefe burnt alive 
 at Quebec; of another Party of thefe Barbarians, who having 
 furpriz’d fome Coureurs de Bois, were afterwards furpriz’d 
 themfelves. Of the Projebl of an Enterprize propos’d by Mr. 
 Frontenac to the Author. Of the Authors departure in a 
 Frigat for France, and his flopping at Placentia, which was 
 attack’d by an Englifh Fleet that came to take that Poft from 
 us. How the Englifh fail’d in their Defign, and the Author 
 purfu’d his Voyage. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 T HIS Letter comes from Britany , and not from Canada, 
 from whence I parted fuddenly to return into France, 
 about two Months after I receiv’d your Letter, which I could 
 not then anfwer for want of an opportunity. You tell me, 
 that you are fatisfi’d with the Defcription I have fent you of 
 [176] the River St. Laurence, and that you would be very glad 
 to have as exadb an account of the whole Country of Canada. 
 I can fcarce fatisfie your defire at prefent, becaufe I have not 
 yet had time to fort all my Memoirs, and therefore you mud 
 not take it amifs, that I pray you to fufpend your curiofity 
 
to North- America. 
 
 265 
 
 for fome time. In the mean time, here follows the Relation 
 of fome things that happen’d in Canada , which may be accept¬ 
 able to you. 
 
 Immediately after the Ships parted from Quebec the laft 
 year, Mr. Frontenac order’d a Plan to be drawn of a Wall to 
 encompafs the City, and having tranfported thither all the 
 Materials neceffary for building fome Redoubts of Stone, 
 he took care to fortifie it during the Summer. 1 Some days 
 agoe a Gentleman of New-England call’d Nelfon , was brought 
 prifoner to Quebec , who was taken in the River of Kenebeki, 
 upon the Coaft of Acadia , together with three Ships belonging 
 to him, and becaufe he was a very gallant Man, Mr. Frontenac 
 gave him a Lodging at his own Houfe, and treated him with 
 all manner of Civility. 2 About the beginning of this year, 
 
 1 The plans for fortifying Quebec were made by Levasseur and Beaucourt, two 
 young engineers from France. The walls, which were the first permanent fortifica¬ 
 tions of Quebec, were about three-quarters of a mile in extent, stretching from Cape 
 Diamond to St. Charles River. — Ed 
 
 2 John Nelson, a prominent Boston merchant, was great-nephew of Sir Thomas 
 Temple from whom he had inherited rights to Nova Scotia grants. During the 
 Andros revolution (1689), he headed the party that secured surrender of the fort in 
 Boston harbor, and used all his influence against the tyrannical government. Being 
 an Episcopalian and “of gay and free temper/’ he was accorded no place in the 
 provisional government, but opposed Phips and his plans. In 1691, he was captured 
 in St. John’s River on his way to Port Royal. Frontenac treated him with marked 
 courtesy, as a reward for his kindness to French prisoners in Boston. Having found 
 means to send information to Boston of an expected attack on Pemaquid, Nelson was 
 deported to France, where he was kept in solitary confinement for two years. Re¬ 
 moved to the Bastille, he made propositions for an adjustment between the crowns, 
 and was sent to England on parole (1696). Refusing to break his parole, though 
 the king forbade his return to Paris, he went back and remained prisoner until the 
 peace of Ryswick (1697). Upon his release, he had trouble with the English author¬ 
 ities because of his disobedience, but, after an absence of ten years, was finally allowed 
 to return to Boston. In 1707, he supported the king’s party in the colony. — Ed. 
 

 266 Some New Voyages 
 
 this Governour gave the command of a Party confifting of 
 150 Soldiers, to Chevalier Beaucour, with whom fifty of the 
 Savages that were our Friends were joyn’d, in order to march 
 on the Ice towards Fort Frontenac. About thirty or forty 
 Leagues from Monreal , they met a Company of fixty Iroquefe, 
 who were difcover’d by the Foot-fteps of fome of their 
 Hunters, that had ftragled out of their Cottages, and the next 
 day they were all furpriz’d, and either had their Throats cut, 
 or were made Prifoners. The Sieur de la Plante who liv’d 
 in Slavery with thefe Wretches, had the good fortune to be 
 prefent in their Company when they were defeated, and he 
 had certainly been kill’d with his Matters, if he had not cry’d 
 out with all his Might, Spare me, I am a Frenchman: He was 
 one of [177] the four Officers, who had the misfortune to be 
 taken in that fatal Incurfion, which thefe Tygers made into 
 Monreal , as I told you in my 17 th Letter. 1 The Chevalier 
 Beaucour return’d again to the Colony with his Party, and 
 brought along with him twelve Prifoners of the Iroquefe, who 
 were immediately conducted to Quebec: After they arriv’d, 
 Mr. Frontenac did very judicioufly condemn two of the wicked- 
 eft of the Company, to be burnt alive with a flow Fire. This 
 Sentence extreamly terrified the Governour’s Lady, and the 
 Jesuits; the Lady us’d all manner of ^application to procure 
 a moderation of the terrible Sentence, but the Judge was 
 
 1 Josue Dubois de Berthelot, sieur de Beaucourt, a young engineer, was the 
 second officer on this expedition, and took command when his superior became dis¬ 
 abled. Later, he served the colony in many capacities, planning the Quebec fortifica¬ 
 tions of 1712 ; acting as army officer in Newfoundland in 1705 ; and as governor of 
 Three Rivers in 1730. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 267 
 
 inexorable, and the Jefuits employ’d all their Eloquence in 
 vain upon this occafion. The Governour anfwered them, 
 “ That it was abfolutely neceffary to make fome terrible ex- 
 “ amples of Severity to frighten the Iroquefe ; That fince thefe 
 “ Barbarians burnt almoft all the French , who had the mis- 
 “ fortune to fall into their Hands, they mult be treated after 
 “ the fame manner, becaufe the Indulgence which had hitherto 
 “ been Ihown them, feem’d to authorize them to invade our 
 “ Plantations, and fo much the rather to do it, becaufe they 
 “ run no other hazard, than that of being taken, and well kept 
 “ at their Mailer’s Houfes ; but when they Ibould underftand 
 “ that the French caus’d them to be burnt, they would have 
 “ a care for the future, how they advanc’d with fo much 
 boldnefs to the very Gates of our Cities; and in fine, That 
 “ the Sentence of Death being pall, thefe two wretches mull 
 “ prepare to take a Journey into the other World. This 
 obftinacy appear d furprizing in Mr. Frontenac , who but a 
 little before had favour’d the efcape of three or four Perfons 
 liable to the Sentence of Death, upon the importunate prayer 
 of Madam the Governefs; but though lhe redoubled her 
 earned: Supplications, fhe could not alter his firm Refolution 
 as [178] to thefe two Wretches. 1 The Jefuits were thereupon 
 fent to Baptize them, and oblige them to acknowledge the 
 Trinity, and the Incarnation, and to reprefent to them the 
 
 1 The lady who plead for the Iroquois must have been the intendant’s wife, 
 Madame de Champigny, as the Countess de Frontenac never came to New France. 
 The Jesuits later reported that the terrible example made of this Iroquois prisoner had 
 a good effect, in causing that nation to cease or mitigate the tortures of the captured 
 French. — Ed. 
 
268 Some New Voyages 
 
 Joys of Paradife, and the Torments of Hell, within the fpace 
 of eight or ten hours. You will readily confefs, Sir, that this 
 was a very bold way of treating thefe great Myfteries, and 
 that to endeavour to make the Iroquefe underftand them fo 
 quickly, was to expofe them to their Laughter. Whether 
 they took thefe Truths for Songs, I do not know; but this I 
 can affure you, that from the Minute they were acquainted 
 with this fatal News, they fent back thefe good Fathers with¬ 
 out ever hearing them ; and then they began to ling the long 
 of Death, according to the cuftom of the Savages. Some 
 charitable Perfon having thrown a Knife to them in Prifon, 
 he who had the leaft Courage of the two, thruft it into his 
 Bread, and died of the Wound immediately. Some young 
 Hurons of Lorette, aged between fourteen and fifteen years, 
 came to feize the other, and carry him away to the Diamant 
 Cape, where notice was given to prepare a great pile of 
 Wood. He ran to death with a greater unconcernednefs, 
 than Socrates would have done, if he had been in his cafe. 
 During the time of Execution he fung continually; “That 
 “he was a Warriour, brave and undaunted; that the mod 
 “cruel kind of Death could not fliock his Courage, that 
 “no Torments could extort from him any Cries, that his 
 “ Companion was a Coward for having kill’d himfelf through 
 “the fear of Torment; and ladly, that if he was burnt, he 
 “had this Comfort, that he had treated many French and 
 “ Hurons after the fame manner. All that he faid was very 
 true, and chiefly as to his own courage and firmnefs of Soul; 
 
to North- America. 269 
 
 for I can truly fwear to you, that he neither Ihed Tears, nor 
 was ever perceiv’d to Sigh; but on the contrary, during 
 all the time that he fuffer’d [179] the moll horrible Tor¬ 
 ments that could be invented, and which lafted about the 
 fpace of three hours, he never ceas’d one Minute from 
 linging. The foies of his Feet were roafted before two 
 great Stones red hot, for more than a quarter of an hour; 
 the tops of his Fingers were fcorch’d in a Stove of lighted 
 Pipes; during which Torture he did not draw back his 
 Hand. After this the feveral joynts of his Body were cut 
 off, one after another: The Nerves of his Limbs and Arms 
 were diftorted with a little Iron Wand, after fuch a manner, 
 as cannot poflibly be exprefs’d. In fine, after many other 
 Tortures, the hair of his Head was taken off after fuch a man¬ 
 ner, that there remain’d nothing but the Skull, upon which 
 thefe young Executioners were going to throw fome burning 
 Sand, when a certain Slave of the Hurom of Lorette , by the 
 order of Madam the Governefs, knock’d him on the head 
 with a Club, which put an end to his Martyrdom. As to my 
 felf, I vow and fwear, that the Prologue of this Tragedy, cre¬ 
 ated in me fo great a Horror, that I had not the curiofity to 
 fee the end of it, nor to hear this poor Wretch fing to the laft 
 moment of his Life. I have feen fo many burnt againft my 
 Will, amonglt thofe People where I fojourn’d, during the 
 courfe of my Voyages, that I cannot think of it without 
 trouble. ’Tis a fad Spedlacle, at which every one is obliged 
 to be prefent, when he happens to Sojourn among thefe Sav- 
 
270 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 age Nations, who inflidt this cruel kind of Death upon their 
 Prifoners of War; for as I have told you in one of my Let¬ 
 ters, all the Savages pra&ife this barbarous Cruelty. Nothing 
 is more grating to a civil Man, than that he is oblig’d to be a 
 Witnefs of the Torments which this kind of Martyrs fuffer; 
 for if any one (hould pretend to fhun this Sight, or exprefs 
 any Compaffion for them, he would be efteem’d by them a 
 Man of no Courage. 
 
 [180] After the Navigation was open and free, the Sieur 
 St. Michel a Canadan , fet out from Motived for the Beaver 
 Lakes, at the Head of a Party of the Coreurs de Bois , with 
 feveral Canows laden with fuch Goods as are proper for the 
 Savages. In their paffage from Long-Saut, to the River of the 
 Outaouas, they met fixty Ivoquefe, who furpriz’d them, and cut 
 all their Throats except four, that had the good fortune to 
 efcape, and carry the news to Motived. 1 As foon as this fatal 
 accident was known, the Chevalier Vaudveuil , put himfelf in a 
 Canow with a Detachment, and purfu’d this party of Ivoquefe, 
 being follow’d by a hundred Canadans, and fome confederate 
 Savages. I know not by what chance he had the good fortune 
 to overtake them, but fo it was, he furpriz’d them, and at¬ 
 tack’d them with Vigour, upon which they fought defperately, 
 but at laft they were defeated. This Vidtory coft us the lives 
 of many of our Savages, and of three or four of our Officers. 
 
 1 St. Michel, the leader, was carried captive to Onondaga, whence he escaped in 
 11693, just as he was *° b e burned at the stake. Nearly naked, without food or 
 weapons, he made his way in twenty-four days to Quebec, where he gave warning 01 
 an approaching Iroquois raid. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 271 
 
 The Iroquefe that were taken, were carried to the City of 
 Monreal , near which place they were regal’d with a Salvo of 
 Baftinadoes. 1 
 
 About the beginning of the Month of July , Mr. Frontenac 
 having receiv’d fome News from the Commander of the 
 Lakes, 2 fpoke to me of a certain Project, which I had formerly 
 fhown him to be of great Importance : But becaufe he did not 
 fufficiently confider all the advantages that might be reap’d 
 from it, and on the contrary, apprehended a great many 
 difficulties would attend the putting it in execution, he had 
 altogether neglected this Affair, of which I ffiall give you the 
 following account. 
 
 I obferv’d to you in my 17 th Letter, the great Importance 
 and Advantage of the Forts of Frontenac and Niagara , and 
 that in the conjuntffure of Circumftances wherein Mr. Denon- 
 ville then found them, it was impoffible to preferve them. 
 You have alfo [181] remarqu’d the advantages which the 
 Savages have over the Europeans , by their way of fighting in 
 the Forrefts of this vaft Continent. Since we cannot deftroy 
 the Iroquefe with our own fingle Forces, we are neceffarily 
 oblig d to have recourfe to the Savages that are our Allies: 
 And ’tis certain, as they themfelves forefee, that if thefe Bar- 
 
 1 For an account of Vaudreuil’s pursuing party, see N. Y. Colon. Docs., ix, pp. 
 S3 1 » 536- — Ed. 
 
 2 This was Louis de la Porte, sieur de Louvigny, who was commandant at Mack¬ 
 inac 1690-94. He was an able officer, who saw much service in the colony; was 
 major of Quebec in 1703 ; led several expeditions to the upper country, notably that 
 of 1716 to Wisconsin ; and was drowned in a shipwreck (1725). For fuller details 
 see IVis. Hist. Colls., v, pp. 67-77, 108-110; xvi, index. — Ed. 
 
2J2 
 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 barians could compafs the Deftru&ion of our Colonies, they 
 would be fubdued by them fooner or later, as it has happen’d 
 to many other Nations, fo they know it to be their Intereft to 
 joyn with us to deftroy thefe Banditi's. Now fince they are 
 well affedted to this delign, we muft endeavour to faciliate to 
 them the means of putting it in execution, for you may eafily 
 believe that thefe People, as favage as they are, are not fo 
 void of Senfe, as to travel two or three hundred Leagues from 
 their own Country, to fight againft their Enemies, without 
 being fure of a place of retreat, where they may repofe them- 
 felves, and find Provifions. There is no queftion therefore, 
 but we fhould build Forts upon the Lands of the Iroquefe, and 
 maintain them in fpite of their Teeth. This, Sir, is what I 
 propos’d above a year agoe to Mr. Frontenac , and it is what 
 he would have me ftill to undertake. I projedl therefore, to 
 build and maintain three Forts upon the courfe of the Lakes, 
 with fome Veffels that fhall go with Oars, which I will build 
 according to my Fancy; but they being light, and of great 
 carriage, may be manag’d either with Oars or a Sail, and will 
 alfo be able to bear the fhocks of the Waves. I demand fifty 
 Seamen of the French Bifcay , for they are known to be the 
 moft dexterous and able Mariners that are in the World. I 
 muft alfo have two hundred Soldiers, chofen out of the Troops 
 of Canada. I will build three little Caftles in feveral places, 
 one at the mouth of the Lake Errie, which you fee in my Map 
 of Canada , under the name of Fort Suppofe , befides two [182] 
 others. The fecond I will build in the fame place where it 
 was when I maintain’d it, in the years 1687, and 1688, whereof 
 
to North- America. 273 
 
 I have wrote to you in my 14 th and i$tb Letter: and the third 
 at the Mouth of the Bay of Toronto , upon the fame Lake. 1 
 Ninety Men will be fufficient to Garrifon thefe three Re¬ 
 doubts, and perhaps a fmaller number; for the Iroquefe who 
 never faw a Canon, but in a Pidfure, and to whom an ounce 
 of Powder is more precious than a Lewis-D’or, can never be 
 perfwaded to attack any kind of Fortification. I defire of the 
 King for putting this Project in execution, 15000 Crowns a 
 year, for the Maintenance, Entertainment, Subfiftance, and 
 pay of thefe 250 Men. It will be very eafie for me to tranf- 
 port with the abovemention’d Veffels 400 Savages, into the 
 Country of the Iroquefe , whenever I have a mind. I can carry 
 Provifions for 2000, and tranfport as many Sacks of Indian 
 Corn, as are neceffary for maintaining thefe Forts both in 
 Winter and Summer. ’Tis eafie to have plenty of Hunting 
 and Shooting in all the Ifles, and to contrive ways for eroding 
 the Lakes; and it will be fo much the more eafie to purfue 
 the Iroquefe in their Canows, and fink them, that my Veffels 
 are light, and my Men fight under a Cover. In fine, if you 
 faw the Memorial which I am to prefent to Mr. Pontcbartrain, 
 you would find that this Enterprize is the fined: and mod: 
 ufeful that can be invented, to diftrefs the Iroquefe in time of 
 War, and confine them within bounds in time of Peace. Mr. 
 
 1 Toronto Lake was the early name of Lake Simcoe. Lahontan appears to apply 
 it to the entire Georgian Bay, whence the Toronto portage led through the peninsula 
 to Lake Ontario. His intended fort was to control this passage to Canada, as that on 
 Lake Erie commanded the route by the Great Lakes. A contemporary document ap¬ 
 pears to be concerned with that part of Lahontan’s project that related to the post at 
 Detroit. See Roy, Lahontan , pp. 94 , 95 . — Ed. 
 
 18 
 
 
274 Some New Voyages 
 
 Frontenac has joyn’d to it a private Letter to Mr. Pontchartrain, 
 wherein he obferves to him, that if this Projeft were well put 
 in execution, thefe terrible Enemies would be oblig’d in two 
 years time, to abandon their Country. After this he adds, 
 that he judges me fufficiently qualified to go upon fuch an 
 Interprife; and believes I will make my point good. Perhaps 
 he might have light on others that know the Country and 
 Cuftoms of the Savages better than [183] I do: But by an 
 accident which do’s not tend much to my advantage, I have 
 purchas’d the Efteem and Friendlhip of thefe Savages, which 
 in my opinion was the only reafon that mov’d Mr. de Fron- 
 tenac to fingle out me for this Service. 
 
 July the 27^ the Governour having given me his Packet for 
 the Court, and the St. Ann Frigat being rigg’d and fitted out 
 according to his Orders, I imbarqu’d in the Port of Quebec, 
 and after five days failing, we met in the River of St. Laurence, 
 over againft Monts noire dame , twelve Merchantmen bound from 
 France for Quebec , under the Convoy of Mr. d'Iberville, Cap¬ 
 tain of the Poll} Auguft the 8 th, we got clear of the Bay of 
 St. Laurence, by the help of a Wefterly Gale, and that in fuch 
 fair and clear Weather, that we defcry’d the Iflands of Cape 
 Breton and Newfound-Land, as diftin&ly, as if we had been 
 within a Musket-fhot of ’em. The nine or ten following days 
 were fo far of a different ftamp, that we could fcarce fee from 
 
 1 Iberville was to continue to the coast of Acadia and attack Fort Pemaquid. 
 The plan proved abortive, because the English authorities were notified by the 
 prisoner Nelson. The “ Poli ” was wrecked the following year off the coast of New- 
 foundland. — Ed. 
 
to North-America., 
 
 2 75 
 
 the Prow to the Poop of the Ship, for all of a fudden there 
 fell the thickeft and darkeft Fog that ever I faw. At the end 
 of thefe days the Horifon clearing up, we flood in for New¬ 
 found-Land , defcrying Cape St. Mary; and by making all the 
 fail we could, arriv’d that very day in the Port of Placentia. 1 
 
 In that Port I found fifty Fifhermen, moft of which were 
 of French Bijcay , and thought to have fet out for France along 
 with them in a few days: But they were longer in getting 
 ready than I thought for, and when we were juft ready to 
 break ground, we were inform’d by fome Fifhermen, that five 
 large Englijh Ships were come to an Anchor near Cape St. 
 Mary. This Intelligence prov’d very true, for on the 15 th of 
 September they caft Anchor in fight of Placentia. The 16 th they 
 weigh’d, and came to an Anchor in the Road, out of the reach 
 of our Guns. Upon this the Governour was not a little per¬ 
 plex’d, for he had but fifty Soldiers in his Fort, and a very 
 [184] fmall moiety of Ammunition. Befides, the Fort was 
 commanded by a Mountain, from whence he might be gall’d 
 v/ith Stones flung out of Slings; and ’twas to be fear’d, the 
 Englijh would poffefs themfelves of that high Ground. I 
 march’d with fixty of the Seamen belonging to the Fifhermen, 
 to prevent their Landing, in cafe they attempted to make a 
 
 1 Placentia, the French post upon Newfoundland, possessed an excellent harbor. 
 Together with a portion of the southern shore of the island, it had been sold (1662) 
 by Charles II to Louis XIV, who immediately erected a fortification at this point. 
 Before King William’s War, the defences had fallen into ruin, and the place become 
 the resort of privateers who sallied forth to attack English fishing and trading vessels. 
 Since 1690 the French had been occupied in restoring the stronghold, and rebuilding 
 the fort, named St. Louis. — Ed. 
 
276 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 Defcent at a certain place call’d la Fontaine; and I compafs’d 
 my end without firing a Gun. In effedt, fix or feven hundred 
 Englifh put in to the Land in twenty Sloops, with a defign to 
 have landed at that place; upon which my vigorous Canta¬ 
 brians being full of fire and forwardnefs, appear’d too foon 
 upon the fhoar, in fpite of my Teeth, and by that means oblig’d 
 the Englifli to take another courfe, and row with all their might 
 to the back of a little Cape, where they threw in a Barrel of 
 Pitch and Tar that burnt two arpents of Thickets. The 18 lb 
 about Noon, perceiving that a little Sloop put off from the 
 Admiral with a white Flag on its Prow, and made towards the 
 Fort, I run in thither immediately. The Governour had took 
 care to fend out one of his own Sloops with the fame Flag, to 
 meet the other, and was furpris’d when fhe return’d with two 
 Englifli Officers on board. Thefe Officers gave the Governour 
 to underftand, that the Admiral defir’d he would fend an 
 Officer on board of him, which was done accordingly; for 
 Mr. de Cofle-belle 1 and I, went on board of the Admiral, who 
 receiv’d us with all Refpedt and Civility, and regal’d us with 
 Sweet-meats, and feveral forts of Wines, with which we drank 
 the Healths of the Admirals of France , and England. He 
 ffiew’d us his whole Ship, to the very Carriages of the Guns, 
 
 1 Sieur Pastour de Costabelle was sent to Placentia in 1687 in command of a 
 detachment of troops. Upon the retirement of the governor, he assumed control until 
 superseded by De Brouillon (1690), under whom he became second in command, and 
 with whom he was a confederate in enriching himself from the profit of the public 
 service. In 1701 Costabelle succeeded De Brouillon as governor of Placentia an 
 office he held for about twelve years, when he was sent to take charge of Isle Royal 
 (Cape Breton). — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 2 77 
 
 and then gave the Sieur de Coftebelle to know, that ’twould be 
 a great trouble to him to be oblig’d to take Placentia by the 
 force of Arms, in regard that he forefaw, fuch an Enterprife 
 would prove fatal to the Governour, to the Garrifon, and all 
 the [185] Inhabitants, upon the account that he would find a 
 great deal of difficulty in preventing the Pillaging and other 
 Diforders; That in order to avoid this Misfortune, ’twould 
 be a prudential part in the Governour to come to a Compofi- 
 tion. Our Officer being fully acquainted with the Governour’s 
 Mind, made anfwer in his name, that he was refolv’d upon a 
 vigorous defence, and would rather fpring the place in the 
 Air, than furrender it to the Enemies of the King his Matter. 
 After a mutual exchange of Compliments, we took leave of 
 him, and being ready to get into our Sloop, he told us with 
 embraces, that he was infinitely forry he could not falute us 
 with his Guns, in the room of which he order’d five or fix 
 Huzza’s, with a Long live the King. When we went into the 
 Boat, we return’d him the fame number of ffiouts, to which 
 he return’d a feventh that finilh’d the Ceremony. Upon our 
 return to the Fort, Mr. de Coftebelle gave the Governour an 
 account of the force of the Admiral’s Ship. The St. Albans 
 (fo the Ship was call’d) carried fixty fix Guns mounted, and 
 fix hundred Men Complement, but the other Ships appear’d 
 to be of lefs force. 
 
 The next day, which was the 19 th, they advanc’d within 
 Canon-ttiot of the Fort, where they lay bye, while a Sloop 
 row’d up to the Batteries. The Governour fent out another 
 
Z7 
 
 278 Some New Voyages 
 
 Sloop to know what the matter was, and was anfwer d, that if 
 he had a mind for a Parley in the time of the Ingagement, 
 he fhould put up a red Flag for a Signal. I was then polled 
 at la Fontaine , to oppofe a Defcent; for that was the only 
 place that could be ferviceable to the Englijli , in order to 
 mafter Placentia. The Englijh ought to have confider’d, that 
 their Cannon would do no fervice againft an impenetrable 
 Rampart, and that they would lofe their labour in fhooting 
 againft Flints and Earth. But it feems, they were oblig’d by 
 exprefs Orders from the Prince of Orange , to do [186] it, and 
 at the fame time to expofe themfelves to the danger of being 
 funk, which had certainly been effected, if we had had Powder 
 and Ball enough for the Canonading lafted almoft five hours. 
 
 The 20 th a French Pilot who was Prifoner on board of the 
 Admiral, made his efcape by throwing himfelf into the Sea in 
 the Night-time. He landed at the place where I lay in Am- 
 bufcade; and after he had given me an account of what pafs’d 
 in the Fleet, I fent him to the Governour’s Houfe. He 
 inform’d me, that they had defign’d a Defcent with feven or 
 eight hundred Men, but alter’d their Refolution, upon the 
 apprehenfion, that there were fourteen or fifteen hundred 
 Seamen ready to oppofe them; that they were of the opinion, 
 that my fixty Bifcayans who difcover’d themfelves upon the 
 (hoar at la Fontaine , in fpite of all I could do, had no other 
 view but to draw ’em into an Ambufcade, by tempting ’em 
 to come up. The 11ft they fet fail with a North-Eaft Gale, 
 after having burnt all the Houfes at Pointe Verte, where the 
 Governour had fent a Detachment by way of Precaution that 
 
to North-America. 
 
 279 
 
 fame very day; but the ways were fo impracticable, that the 
 Detachment could not get there in time to oppofe the Enemy. 
 This one may juftly fay, that if it had not been for the Cap¬ 
 tains of the Bifcay Ships that were then at Placentia , that place 
 had undoubtedly fallen into the hands of the Englifli : And 
 this I can convince you of, when you and I meet. In this 
 bloody Expedition, the Englifli loft fix Men; and on our fide 
 the Sieur Boat , Lieutenant of a Nantes Veffel, had his Arm 
 fhot off. In fine, the Englifli did all that Men could do, fo 
 that nothing can be faid againft their Conduct. 1 
 
 October the 6 th, I took fhipping in purfuit of my Voyage 
 to France, being accompany’d with feveral other Veffels. The 
 Wefterly Winds were fo favourable to us in our paffage, that 
 we came to an Anchor [187] on the 23^ at St. Nazere, which 
 lies but eight or nine Leagues for this place. 2 I am to fet out 
 immediately for Verfailles; in the mean time, I am, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Yours, &c. 
 
 1 The English ships were commanded by Commodore Williams, whose manage¬ 
 ment of the attack was later criticized. Comparison with the documentary reports of 
 this expedition, proves that Lahontan was accurate in this account. Charlevoix drew 
 from it largely in his History , iv, pp. 222-226. The governor represented to the court 
 the services of Lahontan on this occasion. See Roy, Lahontan , p. 97. — Ed. 
 
 2 St. Nazaire is a harbor at the mouth of the Loire River. — Ed. 
 
280 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 LETTER XXIV. 
 
 Dated at Nantes May 10. 1693. 
 
 Containing an Account of Mr. Frontenac s Projett, which was 
 rejetted at Court, and the reafon why it was rejetted. The 
 King gives the Author the Lieutenancy of the Ifle of New¬ 
 found Land, 6?c. together with a free Independent Company. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I AM now once more at Nantes, from whence I wrote to you 
 in Ottober laft. I am now return’d from Court, where I 
 prefented to Mr. Pontcbarlrain Mr. Frontenac' s Letters, and 
 the Memorial I mention’d in my laft. I was anfwer’d, that it 
 would not be proper to execute the Projed I propos’d be- 
 caufe the forty Seamen which were neceffary for my purpofe, 
 could not now be allow’d me, and befides the King had given 
 Orders to Mr. Frontenac , to make Peace with the Iroquefe upon 
 any terms whatfoever. This Inconveniency alfo was found to 
 attend the Projed, that after the Forts which I intended to 
 build upon the Lakes were intirely finifh’d, the Savages that 
 are our Friends and Confederates, would rather feek after 
 Glory, by making [ x 88] War upon the Iroquefe, than take 
 pleafure in Hunting the Beavers, which would be a confider- 
 able damage to the Colonies of Canada, that fubfift only as 
 one may fay, by the trade of Skins, as I fhall fhew you more 
 
to North- America. 
 
 281 
 
 particularly in a proper place. The Englifh will by no means 
 take it ill, that we do not build thefe Forts, for befides that, 
 they are too much concern’d for the prefervation of the 
 Iroquefe , they will always be ready to furnifti with Merchandize 
 the Savage Nations, that are our Allies, as they have done 
 hitherto. I muft own my felf mightily oblig’d to the Englifh, 
 who attack’d us at Placentia the laft year; they declar’d pub- 
 lickly, though without any juft ground, after they arriv’d in 
 England ', that they would infallibly have taken that place, if I 
 had not oppos’d their Defcent. I have already inform’d you, 
 that I did not at all hinder them from Landing at the place 
 where I was polled with fixty Bifcayan Seamen: So that they 
 attribute to me a glorious Adlion, in which I had no fhare, 
 and by that means have done me fo much Honour, that his 
 Majefty hath bellow’d upon me the Lieutenancy of the Ille of 
 Newfound-Land and Acadia , which I never deferv’d upon that 
 fcore. Thus you fee, Sir, that many times fuch Perfons are 
 preferr’d, who have no other Patrons in the World, but pure 
 Chance. However, I Ihould have been better pleas’d, if I 
 could have put the abovemention’d Projedl in execution, for 
 a folitary Life is moll grateful to me, and the manners of the 
 Savages are perfe&ly agreeable to my Palate. The corrup¬ 
 tion of our Age is fo great, that it feems the Europeans have 
 made a Law, to tear one another in pieces by cruel Ufage and 
 Reproaches, and therefore you muft not think it ftrange, if I 
 have a kindnefs for the poor Americans, who have done me fo 
 many favours. I am to fet out the next day after to Morrow, 
 from this [189] place, in order to embark at St. Nazere. The 
 
282 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 Meffxeurs d’Angui, two Nantes Merchants, have taken upon 
 them to maintain the Garrifon of Placentia , upon condition of 
 certain Grants made by the Court, who furnifhes them with a 
 Ship, wherein I am to have my Paffage. Pray fend me your 
 News by fome Ships of S. John de Luz , which are to fail from 
 this place within two Months, in order to truck with the 
 Inhabitants of Placentia. 
 
 I cannot conclude this Letter, without giving you fome 
 account of a Difpute I had very lately at my Inn, with a 
 Portugueze Phyfician, who had made many Voyages to Angola , 
 Brezil, and Goa. He maintain’d, that the People of the Con¬ 
 tinent of America , A ft a, and Africa , were defcended from three 
 different Fathers, which he thus attempted to prove. The 
 Americans differ from the Afiatics ) for they have neither Hair 
 nor Beard; the features of their Face, their colour and their 
 cuftoms are different; beffdes that, they know neither meum 
 nor tuum , but have all things in common, without making any 
 property of Goods, which is quite contrary to the Afiatic way 
 of living. He added, that America was fo far diftant from the 
 other parts of the World, that no body can imagine, how a 
 Voyage fhould be made into this New Continent, before the 
 ufe of the Compafs was found out; That the Africans being 
 black and flat Nos’d, had fuch monftrous thick Lips, fuch a 
 flat Face, fuch foft woolly Hair on their Head, and were in 
 their Conftitution, Manners, and Temper, fo different from 
 the Americans , that he thought it impoflible, that thefe two 
 forts of People fhould derive their Original from Adam, whom 
 this Phyfician would have to refemble a Turk or a Perfian in his 
 
to North- America. 
 
 283 
 
 Air and Figure. I anfwer’d him prefently, that fuppofing the 
 Scripture did not give convincing evidence, that all Men in 
 general are defcended from one firft Father, yet his reafoning 
 would not be fufficient [190] to prove the contrary, fince the 
 difference that is found between the People of America and 
 Africa , proceeds from no other caufe but the different qual¬ 
 ities of the Air and Climat in thefe two Continents: That 
 this appears plainly to be true, becaufe a Negro Man and 
 Woman, or a Savage Man and Woman, being tranfplanted 
 into Europe , will produce fuch Children there, who in four or 
 five Generations, will infallibly be as white, as the moft ancient 
 Europeans. The Phyfician deny’d this matter of Fadf, and 
 maintain’d, that the Children defcended from this Negro Man 
 or Woman, would be born there as black as they are in 
 Guinea ; but that afterwards the Rays of the Sun being more 
 oblique and lefs fcorching than in Africa , thefe Infants would 
 not have that black fhining Luftre, which is fo eafily diftin- 
 guifhed upon the Skin of fuch Negroes as are brought up in 
 their own Country. To confirm his Hypothejis, he affur’d me, 
 that he had feen many Negroes at Lisbon , as black as in Africa , 
 tho’ their Great Grandfather’s Grandfather had been tranf¬ 
 planted into Portugal many years agoe. He added alfo, that 
 thofe who were defcended from the Portugueze, that dwelt at 
 Angola, Cape Vert, &c. about a hundred years agoe, are fo 
 little tawn’d, that ’tis impoffible to diftinguifh them from the 
 Natives of Portugal: He further confirm’d his way of reafon- 
 * n g> from an unconteftable matter of fadl, for, fays he, if the 
 Rays of the Sun were the caufe of the blacknefs of the Negroes, 
 
284 Some New Voyages 
 
 from hence it would follow, that the Brazilians being fituate 
 in the fame degree from the Equator with the Africans , fhould 
 be as black as they are ; but fo they are not, for ’tis certain 
 their Skin appears to be as clear as that of the Portuguefe. 
 But this was not all, he maintain d farther, that thefe who are 
 defcended from the firft Savages of Brazil , that were tranf- 
 ported into Portugal , above an Age agoe, have as little Hair 
 and [191] Beard as their Anceftors, and on the contrary, thofe 
 who are defcended from the firft Portugueze, who peopl’d the 
 Colonies of Brazil , are as hairy, and have as great Beards, as 
 if they had been born in Portugal. But after all, continued 
 he, though all that I have faid is abfolutely true, yet there are 
 fome People, who rafhly maintain, that the Children of the 
 Africans and Americans , will by degrees degenerate in Europe. 
 This may happen to thofe whofe Mothers receive the im- 
 braces of Europeans , which is the reafon why we fee fo many 
 Mullatto' s in the Ifles of America , in Spain , and in Portugal: 
 Whereas if thefe Women had been as clofely kept up in Eu¬ 
 rope , as the Portugueze Women are in Africa and America , the 
 Children of the Brafilians would no more degenerate than 
 thofe of the Portugueze. Such Sir, was the reafoning of this 
 Do&or, who hits the matter pretty juftly towards the end of 
 his Difcourfe; but his Principle is moft falfe, and moft abfurd, 
 for no Man can doubt, unlefs he be void of Faith, good Senfe 
 and Judgment, but that Adam was the only Father of all Man¬ 
 kind. ’Tis certain, that the Savages of Canada , and all the 
 other People of America , have not naturally either Hair or 
 Beard; that the features of their Face, and their colour ap- 
 
4 ) jkiru by v GnACiitAreJ umo gar* 
 7 <rf a& JpUeeJ mark J in it. by pointing to 
 eaycilt that one or t'other eorrefpended to; 
 U aJj‘u/1 yZat: to half a Degree or UttU 
 U from ’em a. computation of y diftanaj 
 h I compute to be 3 Lena french league*. 
 
 VS***' 
 
 \ SMoxoomUi 
 
 f 'VtHtotJ of'SrcJrxAx : 
 V. Midi li*naki/W,Huj 
 and OutaouaJ . -j o 
 -f&untitu? Country 
 fiofjfrthdrio 
 
 -^-thi jirench 
 
 
 US^let, 
 
 ,3!Lld colour rurt '• 
 ^ unlike Cdpptr 
 
 
 'VilUots 
 
 TfuDwt-Utru? Houfei cfiht TAHXJGX, AUK-, undi an 8a pacts inUnybtb 
 
 rdxng to iJuDrauyht t/ratyM-ozeemleh. Jlansyan mi uponyXarks TrttJ . 
 
 miwM, 
 
 acca 
 
 27^ VeffeIs uJ^/^TAHUGL A.UK, tn wich zoo nun may raw; 
 ptwiU. they artftuh asJamsfy Moxeemlek ftoph Jrewio.nu uponj&wks of Trees . 
 
 
 AJMap ofyhoxra UivXR eind of form otktrj 
 -thtttfa.il into that (mall part ofy CreatTkxver 
 of JVlilfifipi unch is here laid doum . 
 
 fhe small pricks duct art run atony fivtnMxjixluna^nac 
 itncL back to it hy another way is y* Courfl JteerdtnmyVbyage 
 rteflowerdelates $C mark 'd tn /omedLsvers represent | 
 yfUuJ that J Stop dot with outgoing higher up . 
 
 fhe Crofcj — ^ ^ 
 
 'J^atnarivfligoyan 'tort 
 
 r- 
 
 j 
 
 <7 
 
 ? 
 
 
 • t 4 
 
 fl 
 
 
 
 JSVt. 
 
 w£marU«f •( 
 
 „ ^ fAoni atinon -1 
 
 fRencontres Jl 
 
 I’.Ci-evecocur ^ 
 
 l/.RQy 
 
to North- America. 285 
 
 proaching to an Olive, Ihow a vaft difference between them 
 and the Europeans. What is the caufe of thefe things I know 
 not, and yet I cannot believe them to be the effed of their Air 
 and Food. For at that rate, thofe who are defcended from 
 the French , that firft fetled in Canada near a hundred years 
 agoe, and for the moft part run up and down in the Woods, 
 and live like the Savages, fhould have neither Beard nor Hair, 
 but degenerate alfo by degrees into Savages, which yet never 
 happens. After this Phyfician had alledg’d all thefe Reafons, 
 he digrefs’d from this Subjed, and having a mind to difcover 
 his extravagant Opinions, ask’d me what I [192] thought of 
 the Salvation of fo many Americans , to whom in all probability 
 the Gofpel was never preach’d. You may very well believe, 
 that I made no fcruple to condemn them by wholefale to 
 Eternal Fire, which he took very ill. ‘ How can you, faid he, 
 ‘ condemn thefe poor People with fo much affurance: ’Tis 
 ‘ probable that their firft Father, having never finn’d as our 
 ‘ Adam did, had a good Soul, and an upright Heart, fince his 
 ‘ Poflerity do exadly obferve the Law of natural Equity, 
 ‘ which is exprefs’d in Latine in thefe well known words, Alteri 
 * ne feceris quod tibi fieri non vis; and allow no property of 
 ‘ Goods, nor any Diftindion or Subordination among them, 
 
 ‘ but live as Brethren, without Difputes, without Suits, with- 
 ‘ out Laws, and without Malice. But fuppofing, added he, 
 
 ‘ that they were originally defcended from Adam , we ought 
 1 not to believe, that they are damn’d for their ignorance of 
 ‘ the Chriftian Dodrine, for who can tell but God may impute 
 4 to them the Merits of Chrift’s Blood, by ways fecret and 
 
286 
 
 u 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 ‘ incomprehenfible to us; and befides, (fuppoling that Man 
 ‘has a Free Will) his Divine Majefty without doubt will have 
 1 a greater regard to his moral Adions, than to his Worlhip 
 ‘ and Belief. The want of Knowledge, continued he, is an 
 ‘ Unhappinefs, but not a Crime, and who can tell but God has 
 ‘ a mind to be honour d by infinite ways of paying him Hom- 
 ‘ age and Refped, as by Sacrifices, Dances, Songs, and the 
 ‘other Ceremonies of the Americans? He had fcarce made 
 an end of his Difcourfe, when I fell foul upon him with all my 
 might, as to the preceding Points; but after I had given him 
 to underftand, that if among the multi vocati , i. e. thofe who 
 profefs the true Religion, who are but a handful of Men, there 
 are found but Pauci eletti, all the Americans muft be in a very 
 deplorable condition : He anfwer’d me impudently, that I was 
 very ralh [193] to determine who fhould be in the number of 
 the Reprobate at the laft Judgment, and to condemn them 
 without giving any Quarter; for, fays he, this is to infult the 
 Wifdom of God, and to make him deal as capricioufly by his 
 Creatures, as St. Paul's Potter did by his two Veffels. Never- 
 thelefs, when he faw that I treated him like an impious, unbe¬ 
 lieving Wretch, he to be even with me, reply’d in thefe foolifh 
 words, Fidem ego hie qua adhibetur Myfteriis facris interpello , fed 
 fidem illam qua bona mentis foror eft , quaq ; retd am rationem amat. 
 From hence you may judge, Sir, whether this fine Phyfician 
 was able to remove Mountains. I am, 
 
 SIR , 
 
 Tours , &c. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 287 
 
 LETTER XXV. 
 
 % 
 
 Dated at Viana in Portugal January 31. 1694. 
 
 The Author’s departure from France for Placentia. A Fleet of 
 30 Englifli Ships came to feize upon that place; but is dif- 
 appointed, and fheers off. The Reafons why the Englifli have 
 bad fuccefs in all their Enterprifes beyond Sea. The Author’s 
 Adventure with the Governour of Placentia. His departure for 
 Portugal. An Engagement with a Fluffing Privateer. 
 
 SIR , 
 
 I DO not at all doubt but you will be fenfibly affected with 
 my fad and fatal Mifadventure, which I am now to give you 
 an account of. And firft [194] you muft know, that after we 
 had waited for a fair Wind fifteen or twenty days at St. Nazere , 
 we fet fail on the 12 th of May laft. Our Paffage was neither 
 long nor fhort, for we arriv’d at the Harbour of Placentia the 
 20 th of June , having taken an Engliff Ship laden with Tobacco, 
 on the edges of the Bank of Newfound Land. After I landed, 
 I went to falute Mr. Brouillon, Governor of Placentia , and 
 declar’d to him how glad I was to obey the Orders of fo wife 
 a Commander. 1 He anfwer’d, that he was much furpriz’d 
 
 1 Jacques Francois de Brouillon belonged to a good family from Guienne, France, 
 and had served as an infantry officer since 1670. Twenty years later he was honored 
 with the appointment of governor of Placentia, where he arrived early in the spring 
 of 1690. He was an officer of merit, but inclined to peculation, and both merchants 
 
2 88 
 
 Some New Vioyages 
 
 to find, that I had follicited to be employ’d there, without 
 acquainting him with it the preceding year; and that he now 
 plainly perceiv’d, that the Projedl about the Lakes of Canada, 
 (which I had mention’d to him) was a mere lham pretence. 
 I endeavour’d in vain to perfwade him to the contrary; for 
 it was not poffible for me to undeceive himd Neverthelefs, I 
 landed my Goods, and hir’d a private Houfe, till fuch time as 
 I could build one for my felf, which I carried on with fo much 
 diligence, that it was finilh’d in September , by the affiftance of 
 the Ship-Carpenters, who were lent me gratis , by all the Bi/cay 
 Captains. The Sieur Beray of St. John de Luz , 2 arriv’d at Pla¬ 
 centia on the 18 th of July , with one of his Ships, and brought 
 me a Letter, wherein you acquaint me, that in regard to your 
 Nephew defires to vifit Canada the next year, you would be 
 very glad to have a Dictionary of the Language of the Sav¬ 
 ages, together with the Memoirs which I promis’d you. 
 
 On the 1 6 th of September we perceiv’d an Englifh Fleet of 
 twenty four Sail, which caft Anchor in the Road much about 
 the time that it was difcover’d. It was commanded by Sir 
 Francis Wheeler, who had gone to Martinico with a defign 
 
 and habitants made frequent complaints under his administration. He remained in 
 Placentia until 1701, when he was transferred to Acadia, serving there as governor 
 until his death in 1705. Indications are not lacking from official sources that 
 Lahontan’s accusations against De Brouillon had some justification. See Roy, 
 Lahontan, pp. 176-179. — Ed. 
 
 1 Roy shows from the letters of De Brouillon himself, that the arrival of Lahontan 
 in the capacity of lieutenant of the king, not only deprived the governor of certain 
 sources of profit, but also of hopes for placing his brother in that position. Ed. 
 
 2 St. Jean de Luz is a small port at the southwestern extremity of France on the 
 Bay of Biscay. It had considerable commerce with Placentia and its fisheries. Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 289 
 
 to feize that Me, and in his return from thence had fail’d 
 to New England , to take in fome Forces and Ammunition 
 there, in order to make himfelf Mafter [195] of Placentia; 
 but when he difcover’d a Redoubt of Stone lately built upon 
 the top of the Mountain, which I mention’d to you in my 
 laft Letter but one, he thought it more advifable to return 
 quietly into Europe , than to make a fruitlefs Attempt. We 
 had planted four Canon upon this high Redoubt, which fo 
 gaul’d the Ships of his Fleet, that they were forc’d to weigh 
 Anchor, and hoift Sail fooner than they intended. 1 The fault 
 of the Englifli upon this occafion, was, that they did not enter 
 the Harbour the fame day that they appear’d before the 
 place. I have obferv’d it many times, that Attempts do com¬ 
 monly mifcarry, by delaying them for a little while ; and of 
 this I could give you at leaft fifteen or fixteen Inftances within 
 the compafs of my own Knowledge. But now I return to the 
 Quarrel the Governour had with me. 
 
 Fancying that I had follicited my Employments without 
 taking notice of him, he treated me with all manner of Re¬ 
 proaches and Outrages, from the time of my Landing, to 
 that of my Departure, and was not fatisfy’d with appropriat- 
 
 1 Sir Francis Wheler, bom in 1656, entered the navy when twenty-two years of 
 age, and by 1680 was captain of a man of war. The following year he captured two 
 Algerine corsairs, and was knighted by James II in the last year of his reign. After 
 the Revolution (1688) Wheler was made rear-admiral and sent with a squadron to 
 the West Indies. There he made an unsuccessful attack on Martinique (April, 1692), 
 and arrived in Boston June 10, where he requested Phips to cooperate in a second 
 attack upon Quebec. Finding that impracticable, he sailed for Placentia, with the 
 results Lahontan details. The following year (1694) his flag ship foundered off the 
 coast of Gibralter, and the admiral, with all on board, was lost. — Ed. 
 
 19 
 
2go 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 ing to himfelf the Profits and Advantages of the free Com¬ 
 pany that was given me, but likewife Hop’d without any 
 fcruple, the pay of the Soldiers that were employ’d in the 
 Cod-fifhing by the Inhabitants, and made the reft work with¬ 
 out Wages. I fhall take no notice of his publick Extortion; 
 for tho’ he has formally counteracted the ten Articles con¬ 
 tain’d in the Orders of Lewis the io tb, yet he had fo many 
 Friends in all the Courts, that he could not be found guilty: 
 There’s fome pleafure in making Prefents in his way, for by 
 them he has made 50000 Crowns per fas £5? nefas, in the fpace 
 of three or four years. I fhould never have done, if I offer’d 
 to give you a particular account of all the trouble and vexa¬ 
 tion he gave me. I fhall only mention three Inftances which 
 crown’d all the reft. 
 
 [196] On the 20 th of November , i. e. a Month after our 
 Fifhermen fet fail, while I was entertaining at Supper fome of 
 the Inhabitants, he came Mask’d into my Houfe, with his 
 Servants, and broke the glafs Windows, Bottles, and Drink- 
 ing-Glaffes, and threw down the Tables, Chairs, Chefts of 
 Drawers, and every thing that came to hand. Before I had 
 time to get into my Chamber, and take my Piftols, this info- 
 lent Mob difappear’d very feafonably; for I would have loaded 
 my Piftols and purfu’d them, if my Guefts had not hindred 
 me. Next Morning his Servants fell upon mine, who expe&ed 
 nothing lefs than to be threfh’d to death with Clubs. This 
 fecond infult having provok’d my Patience to the laft degree, 
 I was meditating fome Revenge upon thefe Affaflins, when the 
 Recollets came and remonftrated to me, that I muft diffem- 
 
to North-America.. 
 
 291 
 
 ble my Refentment, to prevent any Innovation in the King’s 
 Affairs. Then I refolv’d to ffiut my felf up, and apply my 
 felf to Study, to divert the vexatious Thoughts, of not being 
 able to pull off my Mask. The third trick which he play’d 
 me, at the end of three days, was this; he fent to arreft two 
 Soldiers, whom I had imploy’d to cut down fome Grafs in the 
 Meadows, about half a League from the Garrifon: They 
 were feiz’d while they were Mowing, bound and carried away 
 Prifoners, under the pretence of being Deferters, becaufe they 
 had lain two Nights out of the Garrifon, without his leave ; 
 and, which would have prov’d yet more fatal to thefe innocent 
 Men, he had certainly caus’d ’em to be knock’d on the Head, 
 on purpofe to vex me, if the Recollets, and his own Miffse, 
 had not earneftly interceded on their behalf. 
 
 After this Accident, the Recollets advifed me to go and 
 fee him, and to entreat him to put an end to all his Perfec¬ 
 tions, affuring him at the fame time, that I was entirely his 
 Servant and Friend. Durus eft hie fermo. Whatever relucffancy 
 I had to yield to an advice fo [197] contrary to nature, which, 
 I muff confefs, ftruggled furioufly within me, yet I offer’d fo 
 much violence to my felf, that I fubmitted to it. I was at his 
 Houfe, went into his Chamber, and being with him all alone, 
 I fpoke to him for a quarter of an hour in the moll fubmiffive 
 Terms, that any Slave could ufe. I am alham’d to make this 
 Confeflion to you, for I blufh to my felf every time I think of 
 fo mean a fubmiffion. However, inftead of his liftening to my 
 Reafons, and treating friendly with me, he fell into a moll 
 furious Paflion, and loaded me with a torrent of moft bitter 
 
292 Some New Voyages 
 
 Reproaches. In this cafe, Sir, I preferr’d the Service of the 
 King, before the Punctilio’s of Honour, for I did nothing but 
 retir’d to my own Houfe, being well fatisfy’d that I was not 
 affaflinated by his Domefticks : But the diforder which this 
 Affair produc’d, would require a long Difcourfe. It will be 
 more to the purpofe, to come to matter of Fadt; I do affure 
 you, that he would have laid me up, if the Inhabitants had 
 appear’d to be in his Intereft. He pretended that he had 
 been infulted, and confequently that he was in the right in 
 revenging himfelf, whatever it coft him. But the tragical end 
 of a Governour, whole Throat was cut in this Country about 
 thirty or forty years agoe, furnifh’d him with abundant matter 
 of Reflexion. He judg’d it therefore his fafeft way to diffem- 
 ble his Anger, being perfwaded, that if I fhould have run him 
 through with my Sword, the Soldiers and Inhabitants would 
 have favour’d my efcape to the Englifli , in the neighbourhood 
 of Placentia. In the mean time the Recollets, who had a mind 
 to compofe thefe growing Differences, found no great trouble 
 in reconciling us, for they Remonftrated to him, of what con- 
 fequence it would be for us to live in a good Correfpondence, 
 and to avoid the troubles that would enfue upon our quarrels. 
 This propofal of an Accomodation, was in appearance [198] 
 moll agreeable to him, and fo much the rather, becaufe he 
 was glad to diffemble his Refentments by the external figns of 
 Friendfhip. So we faw and embrac’d one another with mutual 
 Proteftations of forgetting all that had pafs’d between us. 
 
 After this Reconciliation, I had reafon to believe, that 
 
V J 
 
 to North-America.. 293 
 
 his Heart would not give the lye to his Mouth, becaufe I 
 thought he was not fo imprudent as to inform the Court of 
 fome Trifles, wherein he would appear to have proftituted his 
 Honour; but I was deceiv’d, for he took the pains to add 
 afterwards to the Verbal Procefs he had given in before our 
 Accommodation, fome falfhoods which he ought to have con¬ 
 ceal’d. ’Tis needlefs to acquaint you, how by chance his 
 Papers fell into my Hands ; that Indifcretion might prove a 
 difadvantage to fome Perfons, whom Heaven blefs. I fhall 
 only tell you, that after the Recollets had feen and read the 
 Allegations contain’d in his Papers, they made no fcruple to 
 advife me to take care of my felf, and ingeneoufly declar’d 
 to me, that they never intended to meddle any more in that 
 Affair, becaufe they perceiv’d that they had innocently con¬ 
 tributed to do me a prejudice, by reftoring peace between him 
 and me. 1 This wholfom advice made me perceive the danger 
 to which I fhould be expos’d, if I continued any longer at 
 Placentia , infomuch, that the fear I had of being fent to the 
 Baftile , after the arrival of the Ships from France , made me 
 refolve to abandon all hopes of making my fortune here, and 
 to throw up my Places. After the Inhabitants were acquainted 
 with this News, all of ’em except three or four, came running 
 to my Houfe, to affure me they were ready to fign my Verbal 
 
 1 For copies of De Brouillon’s accusations against his lieutenant, taken from the 
 French archives, see Roy, Lahontan , pp. 100, 101. It is amusing reading, as one 
 recognizes the unpopularity of the governor with the inhabitants, and the mocking 
 spirit of Lahontan who composed satiric songs concerning his superior, and sang 
 them in the taverns of Placentia. — Ed. 
 
294 Some New Voyages 
 
 Procefs, in cafe I would change my Refolution: But inftead 
 of accepting their offer, I gave them to underftand, having 
 thank’d them firft for their Good-will, that [199] they would 
 bring Mifchief upon themfelves, and be look’d upon at Court 
 as Seditious Perfons, and Difturbers of the publick Peace; 
 fmce by a deteftable principle of Politicks, an inferior Perfon 
 is always judg’d to be in the wrong, whatever reafon he may 
 have on his fide. Indeed I would gladly have avoided this 
 fatal neceflity of throwing up my Places, which feem’d infenfi- 
 bly to lead me to fome great Fortune; but at laft the confine¬ 
 ment in the Bajlile, made fuch a deep impreflion upon my 
 Mind, after I had ferioufly reflected upon the troublefom 
 Circumftances of my Affairs, that I made no fcruple to embark 
 in a little Veffel, which was the only one, and the laft that was 
 to go to France. The Propofal I made to the Captain of 
 prefenting him with a 1000 Crowns, was fo well receiv’d, that 
 he engag’d to land me upon the Coaft of Portugal for that 
 Sum, upon condition that I fhould keep the Secret. The beft 
 of the matter was, that my Enemy had ufed the precaution of 
 writing to the Governors of Belle Ifle, of the Ifle of Re , and of 
 Rochelle , to feize me as foon as I fhould land. 1 He reckon d, 
 and not without reafon indeed, that this Veffel would put into 
 one of thefe three Ports : But three hundred Piftoles, dexter- 
 oufly convey’d to the hands of fome People that are not much 
 
 1 Three well-known harbors on the west coast of France. Belle Isle lies off from 
 Britanny opposite the bay of Quiberon ; Isle de Re is over against the harbor of La 
 Rochelle in the Bay of Biscay. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 295 
 
 accuftom’d to finger Gold, have a wonderful effedt; for that 
 very Sum, which indeed I was loth to part with, fav’d me my 
 Liberty, and perhaps my Life. 
 
 Purfuant to this Refolution, I imbarqu’d the 14 tb of the 
 laft Month, notwithftanding the rifque that one runs by fail¬ 
 ing in the Winter time, through fuch a Sea as lies between 
 Newfound-Land and France. ’Tis needlefs to inform you, that 
 I left at Placentia a great deal of Houfhold Furniture, which I 
 could neither fell nor carry off. ’Twill be more edifying for 
 you to hear the Journal of our Voyage. We incounter’d three 
 terrible Storms in our Paffage, [200] without any damage; 
 and in the laft of thefe, which lafted three days, the Wind at 
 North-Weft, we run a hundred and fifty Leagues without any 
 Sail. This laft Storm was fo violent, that the Seamen imbrac’d, 
 and bid an eternal adieu to one another; for every Minute 
 they expedted to be funk Without relief. As this Storm alarm’d 
 us, fo the contrary Winds from the Eaft and North-Eaft, that 
 fprung upon us a hundred Leagues to the Weftward of Cape 
 Finijlerre, occafion’d an equal dread; for we were oblig’d to 
 traverfe the Sea for three or four and twenty days, after which 
 we defcry’d the Cape by vertue of our frequent tackings, and 
 by a ftrange accident, were attack’d by a Flufhing Privateer, 
 which could not board us, becaufe the Sea roll’d fo high, but 
 contented her felf with firing upon us, and that with fo little 
 effedt, that we did not lofe one Man. Our Mails and Rigging 
 indeed was fo dammag’d, that after we were parted from the 
 Privateer, by the help of the Night and a great Fog, we could 
 
296 Some New Voyages 
 
 fcarce make ufe of our Sails. However, we refitted with all 
 poffible diligence, and the Captain of the Ship having then a 
 fair pretence to luft out of the diredl courfe ftood to the South- 
 Eaft in the Night-time. This feign’d courfe did not fecure us 
 from the Privateer, which might happen to fleer the fame 
 courfe; fo that in the Night-time we put our felves in a readi- 
 nefs to renew the fight in the Day-time. In effedt, he did not 
 purfue us, as we apprehended: But about Noon we efcap’d 
 yet more narrowly, for we were purfu’d by a Sallymati 1 in fight 
 of the Coaft for four hours, and were within a hairs breadth 
 of being taken, before we got under the Canon of the Fort 
 of this City. Had we been catch’d, the Governour of Placentia 
 would have had fome ground for the joyful Exclamation, Incidit 
 in Scillam, &c. But thank God we were only frighted. 
 
 [201] As foon as we came to an Anchor, I paid down my 
 1000 Crowns to the Captain, who has reafon to look upon this 
 Adtion, as one of the beft he ever did in his Life-time. The 
 Long-boat was no fooner in the Water, than I went alhoar 
 with all my Baggage; and as foon as I came into this City, I 
 procur’d Ammunition and Provifions for the Ship with that 
 Expedition, that the Captain weigh’d Anchor the very next 
 day, and fo continu’d his courfe to France. 
 
 As for the Memoirs of the Country of Canada , which you 
 have fo often defir’d, I have addrefs’d ’em to the Rochel Mer¬ 
 chant, who convey’d your Letters to me all the while I was in 
 
 1 A Salleeman was a Moorish pirate ship, so called from the port of Sallee on the 
 coast of Morocco. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 297 
 
 Canada. To thefe I have tack’d a fmall Catalogue of the moll 
 neceffary words of the Algonkin Language; which, as I have 
 often told you, is the fineft and the moll univerfal Language 
 in that Continent. If your Nephew continues his defign of 
 undertaking a Voyage to that Country, I would advife him to 
 learn thefe words in the time of his Paffage, that fo he may be 
 able to ftay five or fix Months with the Algonkins , and under- 
 ftand what they fay. I have likewife fent you an explication 
 of the Sea-Terms, made ufe of in my Letters. The making 
 of this little Table, was a diverfion to me in my Voyage; for 
 in pending my Letters, I drew out fome remarks which I 
 defign to impart to you, if I find that the infuing Memoirs 
 give you fatisfadlion. 
 
 You will readily guefs, that from the year 1683, to this 
 very day, I have renounc’d all manner of ties to my Country. 
 The curious Adventures that I have related to you in Writing 
 fince that time, will undoubtedly afford an agreeable diverfion 
 to your Friends; provided they are not of the number of thofe 
 unfufferable Devotees, who would rather be crucifi’d, than fee 
 an Ecclefiaftick expos’d. Pray be fo kind as to write to me 
 to Lisbon , and inform [202] me of what you hear, in reference 
 to my concern. You have fuch good Correfpondents at 
 Paris, that you cannot mifs of knowing how things go. I 
 doubt not but my Adverfary feeds himfelf with the hopes, 
 that his ufual Prefents would procure the apprehending of me 
 in France, where he thinks I would be the fool to land : But 
 now to be fure he’ll fret his Heart out, for that he cannot gall 
 
2gS Some New Voyages 
 
 me to his Wifhes. However, ’tis as much his intereft to fol- 
 licit my Death, (purfuant to his unjuft Charge againft me) as 
 ’tis my Glory to procure him a long Life. Upon this foot, 
 Sir, the longer he lives, the more revenge I {hall have; and 
 confequently I fhall have an opportunity of an eafie folace for 
 the lofs of my Places, and the Difgrace I have met with from 
 the King. I am, 
 
 SIR, 
 
 Tours, &c. 
 
[203] 
 
 MEMOIRS 
 
 OF 
 
 North -America; 
 
 Containing a Geographical Defcription of that vafl Continent; the 
 Cuftoms and Commerce, of the Inhabitants , &c. 
 
 SIR, 
 
 I N my former Letters, I prefented you with a view of the 
 Englifh and French Colonies, the Commerce of Canada , 
 the Navigation upon the Rivers and Lakes of that Country, 
 the courfe of failing from Europe to North-America, the feveral 
 Attempts made by the iEnglifh to matter the French Colonies, 
 the Incurfions of the French upon N ew-England, and upon the 
 Iroquefe Country: In a word, Sir, I have reveal’d a great many 
 things, that for reafons of State or Politicks, have been 
 hitherto conceal’d; infomuch, that if you were capable of 
 making me a Sacrifice to your Refentment, ’tis now in your 
 power to ruine me at Court, by producing my Letters. 
 
 All that I writ in the foregoing Letters, and the whole 
 fubftance of the Memoirs I now fend you, is truth as plain as 
 the Sun-lhine. I flatter no Man, and I fpare no body. I fcorn 
 to be partial; I beftow due praife upon thofe who are in no 
 
300 Some New Voyages 
 
 capacity to ferve [204] me, and I cenfure the Conduct of 
 others, that are capable of doing me an injury by indirect 
 Methods. I am not influenc’d by that principle of Intereft 
 and Party-making, that is the rule of fome folks words. I 
 facrifice all to the love of Truth, and write with no other view, 
 than to give you a juft Reprefentation of things as they are. 
 ’Tis beneath me to mince or alter the matter of fa<ft, contain’d 
 either in the Letters I fent you fome ten or twelve years agoe, 
 or in thefe Memoirs. In the courfe of my Voyages and 
 Travels, I took care to keep particular Journals of every 
 thing; but a minute relation of all Particulars, would be irk- 
 fom to you, befides, that the trouble of taking a copy of the 
 Journals, before I have an opportunity of (hewing you the 
 Original, would require more time than I can well fpare. In 
 thefe Memoirs you’ll find as much as will ferve to form a 
 perfed Idea of the vaft Continent of North -America. In the 
 courfe of our Correfpondence from the year 1683, to this 
 time, I fent you five and twenty Letters, of all which I have 
 kept a double very carefully. My only view in writing of 
 thefe Letters, was to inform you of the moft effential things; 
 for I was unwilling to perplex and confound your Thoughts, 
 with an infinity of uncommon things, that have happen’d in 
 that Country. If you’ll confult my Maps, as you read the 
 abovemention’d Letters, you’ll find a juft Reprefentation of 
 all the places I have fpoke of. Thefe Maps are very particu¬ 
 lar, and I dare affure you, they are the corre&eft yet extant. 
 My Voyage upon the Long River, gave me an opportunity of 
 making that little Map, which I fent you from MiJJHimakinac in 
 
to North- America. 
 
 301 
 
 1699 [1689], with my fixteenth Letter. ’Tis true, it gives only 
 a bare Defcription of that River, and the River of the Mif- 
 fouris: But it requir’d more time than I could fpare, to make 
 it more compleat, by a knowledge of the adjacent Countries, 
 which have [205] hitherto been unknown to all the World, as 
 well as that great River, and which I would never have vifited, 
 if I had not been fully inftru&ed in every thing that related to 
 it, and convoy’d by a good Guard. I have plac’d the Map of 
 Canada at the front of thefe Memoirs, and defire that favour 
 of you, that you would not fhew it to any body under my 
 Name. To the latter part I have fubjoyn’d an Explication 
 of the Marine , and other difficult Terms, made ufe of in my 
 Letters, as well as in thefe Memoirs ; which you’ll pleafe to 
 confult, when you meet with a word that you do not under- 
 ftand. 
 
 A Jhort Defcription of Canada. 
 
 You’ll think, Sir, that I advance a Paradox, when I acquaint 
 you that New -France, commonly call’d Canada , comprehends a 
 greater extent of Ground, than the half of Europe: But pray 
 mind what proof I have for that Affertion. You know that 
 Europe extends South and North, from the 35 to the 72 degree 
 of Latitude, or if you will, from Cadiz to the North Cape on 
 the confines of Lapland; and that it’s Longitude reaches from 
 the 9 th to the 94^ Degree, that is, from the River Oby , to the 
 Weft Cape in TJlandia. But at the fame time, if we take the 
 greateft breadth of Europe , from Eaft to Weft, from the imag¬ 
 inary Canal, (for Inftance) between the Tanais and the Volga, 
 
3 o2 Some New Voyages 
 
 to Dinglebay in Ireland , it makes but 66 Degrees of Longitude, 
 which contain more Leagues than the Degrees allotted to it 
 towards the Polar Circle, though thefe are more numerous, by 
 reafon that the degrees of Longitude are unequal: And fince 
 we are wont to meafure Provinces, Iflands, and Kingdoms by 
 the fpace of Ground, I am of the Opinion, that we ought to 
 make ufe of the fame Standard, with refpedt to the four parts 
 of the World. The Geographers who parcel [206] out the 
 Earth in their Clofets, according to their fancy; thefe Gentle¬ 
 men, I fay, might have been aware of this advance, if they had 
 been more careful. But, to come to Canada; 
 
 All the World knows, that Canada reaches from the 39 th 
 to the 65 th Deg. of Latitude, that is, from the South fide of 
 the Lake Errtt , to the North fide of Hudfon’s Bay; and from 
 the 284^, to the 336/^ Degree of Longitude, viz. from the 
 River Miflifipi, to Cape Rafe in the Ifland of N evt-Foundland? 
 I affirm therefore, that Europe has but 11 Degrees of Latitude, 
 and 33 of Longitude, more than Canada , in which I compre¬ 
 hend the Ifland of N zw-Foundland, Acadia , and all the other 
 Countries that lye to the Northward of the River of St. 
 Laurence , which is the pretended great boundary that fevers 
 the French Colonies from the Englifh. Were I to reckon in all 
 the Countries that lye to the North-Weft of Canada , I ftiould 
 
 1 The claim for Canadian limits as far south as 39 0 of latitude would extend them 
 nearly to the Ohio River. Longitude was reckoned at this time from west to east 
 entirely around the globe, the prime meridian in most common use being that of the 
 Canary Islands, supposed to be the “ Fortunate Isles” of Ptolemy. The longitude 
 of the Mississippi, therefore, at its eastern projection would be about 284°; that of Cape 
 Race was usually estimated at about 330°. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 303 
 
 find it larger than Europe: But I confine my felf to what is 
 difcover d, known and own’d; I mean, to the Countries in 
 which the French trade with the Natives for Beavers, and in 
 which they have Forts, Magazines, Miffionaries, and fmall 
 Settlements. 
 
 Tis above a Century and a half fince Canada was dif¬ 
 cover d. John V>erafan was the firft Difcoverer, though he 
 got nothing by it, for the Savages eat him up. 1 James Cartier 
 was the next that went thither, but after failing with his Ship 
 above Quebec , he return’d to France with a forry opinion of 
 the Country. 2 At laft better Sailors were imploy’d in the Dif- 
 covery, and trac’d the River of St. Laurence more narrowly: 
 And about the beginning of the laft Century, a Colony was 
 fent thither from Rouan , which fetled there after a great deal 
 of oppofition from the Natives. 3 At this day the Colony is fo 
 
 1 Giovanni da Verrazzano was a Florentine navigator, who, sailing under the 
 French flag, explored the coast of North America (1524) from Carolina to Newfound¬ 
 land. The authenticity of his narrative has been doubted, and for a long time there 
 was a critical controversy concerning his Relation ; but its genuineness is now generally 
 accepted by historians. See Old South Leaflets , No. 17, and authorities therein cited ; 
 also Harrisse, Discovery of North America (London and Paris, 1892), pp. 218-228. 
 One of his earliest biographers relates his death upon a later voyage at the hands of the 
 Indians. — Ed. 
 
 2 For an account of Cartier’s explorations, and the recent investigations concerning 
 them, see Pope, Jacques Cartier (Ottawa, 1889) J Dionne, Jacques Cartier (Quebec, 
 1889). A version of his Voyages was published by Stevens (Montreal, 1890). Cartier 
 made three (possibly four) voyages to North America (1534-42), discovered and 
 explored the St. Lawrence as far as Lachine rapids, and made full reports of his adven¬ 
 tures. His accounts are far from being as discouraging as Lahontan represents. — Ed. 
 
 3 Lahontan here refers to the first permanent settlement of New France, made by 
 Champlain upon the site of Quebec (1608). The colony was fostered by a company 
 of Rouen merchants see Biggar, Early Trading Cotnpanies of New France (To¬ 
 ronto, 1901). The opposition of the aborigines is exaggerated by our author. — Ed. 
 
304 Some New Voyages 
 
 populous, that ’tis computed to contain 180000 Souls. 1 I have 
 already given you fome account of that Country in [207] my 
 Letters, and therefore fhall now only point to the moft noted 
 places, and take notice of what may gratifie your curiolity 
 beyond what you have yet heard. 
 
 We are at a lofs to find the Head of the River of St. 
 Laurence , for tho’ we have traced it feven or eight hundred 
 Leagues up, yet we could never reach its fource ; the remoteft 
 place that the Coureurs de Bois go to, being the Lake Lenemi- 
 pigon, which difimbogues into the Upper Lake , as the Upper 
 Lake do’s into the Lake of Hurons , the Lake of Hurons into 
 that of Errii alias Conti , and that of Errie, into the Lake of 
 Frontenac , 2 which forms this laft great River, that runs for 
 twenty Leagues with a pretty gentle Stream, and fweeps thro’ 
 thirty more with a very rapid Current, till it reaches the City 
 of Monreal; from whence it continues its courfe with fome 
 moderation to the City of Quebec; and after that fpreads out, 
 and inlarges it felf by degrees to its Mouth, which lies a 
 hundred Leagues further. If we may credit the North- 
 Country Savages, this River takes its rife from the great 
 Lake of the AJfmipouals, which they give out to be larger than 
 any of the Lakes I mention’d but now, being fituated at the 
 
 1 This should be 18,000. Ferland, Cours d’Histoire du Canada (Quebec, 1865), 
 ii, p. 390, gives the exact population in 1713 as 18,440, taken from the archives of the 
 diocese of Quebec. — Ed. 
 
 2 Lake Lenemipigon was the present Nipigon, north of Lake Superior (Upper 
 Lake). For the first exploration of this region see p. 136, note 1, ante; also 
 Thwaites, Early Western Travels (Cleveland, 1904), ii, p. 87, note 45. Lake 
 Ontario was frequently called “ Frontenac ” by the French. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 305 
 
 diftance of fifty or fixty Leagues from the Lake of Lenemipigon . 1 
 The River of St. Laurence is 20 or 22 Leagues broad at its 
 Mouth, in the middle of which there’s an Ifland call’d Anticofti, 
 which is twenty Leagues long. This Ifland belongs to the 
 Sieur Joliet a Canadan , who has built a little fortify’d Maga¬ 
 zine upon it, to guard his Goods and his Family from the 
 Incurfions of the Eskimaux, of whom more anon. He deals 
 with the other Savage Nations, namely, the Montagnois , and 
 the Papipanacbois in Arms and Ammunition, by way of 
 exchange for the Skins of Sea-Wolves or Sea-Calves, and 
 fome other Furs. 2 
 
 Over againft this Ifland, to the Southward of it, we find 
 the Ifle call’d L’ljle Percte , which is a great Rock with a 
 paffage bor’d through it, in which [208] the Sloops can 
 only pafs. 3 In time of Peace the Bifcayans of France , and 
 the Normans , us’d to fifli for Cod at this place: For here 
 that Filh are very plentiful, and at the fame time larger, and 
 more proper for drying than thofe of New-Foundland. But 
 there are two great Inconveniencies that attend the fifhing 
 
 1 The Assinipouals were the present Assiniboin Indians, a large Siouan tribe of 
 the Northwest region. The lake here referred to was Winnipeg. — Ed. 
 
 2 For Jolliet and the seignoiry of Anticosti, see pp. 243, 244, note 2, ante. The 
 Indians mentioned are noticed on p. 261, note 2. — Ed. 
 
 3 Isle Perce (now called Perce Rock) is a remarkable cliff of primitive rock 
 separated from the mainland of Gaspe by the action of the waves and ice, which 
 have also worn through it a great arch from which the islet takes its name. The 
 village of Perce, near by, is one of the oldest and most interesting fishing stations 
 on the continent. For an excellent and well-illustrated description, see Clarke, 
 “ Perce: a brief sketch of its geology,** in Report of New York State Paleontologist, 
 1903.— Ed. 
 
 20 
 
3 o 6 Some New Voyages 
 
 upon this I {land; one is, that the Ships ride in great danger, 
 unlefs they have good Anchors and ftrong Cables; another 
 Inconvenience is, that this place affords neither Gravel nor 
 Flint-ftones to ftretch out the Filh upon before the Sun, 
 and that the Fifhermen are forc’d to make ufe of a fort of 
 Hurdles. 
 
 There are other Fiflaing-places befides this, which lie fome 
 Leagues higher up upon the fame fide of the River. Such is 
 that call’d Gafp a, where the Ships Crew fometimes trade in 
 Skins with the Gafpe/tans, to the prejudice of the Proprietors 
 of this River. The other places for Cod-fifli lie toward Monts 
 notre dame , in the little Bays or Rivers that empty themfelves 
 into the River of St. Laurence . 1 
 
 On the other fide of the River, there lies the wide extended 
 Country of Labrador , or of the Eskimaux, who are fuch a wild 
 barbarous People, that no means whatfoever, have hitherto 
 been able to civilife ’em. One would think that good old 
 Homer had this People in his view, when he fpeaks of the 
 Cyclopes; for the Chara&er of the one, fuits the other admir¬ 
 ably well, as it appears from thefe four Verfes, in the ninth 
 
 i Gaspe is an Indian term signifying "that which is separated,” and originally 
 applied only to Cape Forillon, a lonely detached rock at the extremity of the penin¬ 
 sula. It is now extended to the entire broad peninsula between the St. Lawrence 
 and the Bay of Chaleurs, the coast of which is dotted with French-Canadian fishing 
 villages. Monts Notre Dame was the early name for the Chicchack (Shickshock) 
 range, which traverses the peninsula and forms the watershed. The interior of Gaspe 
 is still a forested wilderness, and the home of big game. At several points wealthy 
 Americans have of recent years bought large tracts for game preserves; on the other 
 hand, the lumber industry, also largely capitalized by Americans, is rapidly making 
 inroads into the forest. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 307 
 
 Book of his Odyffea, which are fo pretty, that I cannot forbear 
 inferring them in this place. 
 
 Tttitmv cf 1 ’ «T ayjfctl /3aAK^cpci ste M/mS W. 
 
 Ato Si}/ u^'/iAwy opeW vaoW xaVa- 
 *Ev cnittot y\ot(pupO?<n' 9 ijjj.gi.vei Si 
 HeclStov &MhA (f)v 
 
 [209] That is; this People do not perplex themfelves 
 with voluminous Laws, and vexatious Suits; they delight only 
 in the tops of Mountains, and deep Caves, and every one 
 confines his care to the management of his own Family, with¬ 
 out troubling his Head about his Neighbour. The Danes 
 were the firft difcoverers of this Country, which is full of 
 Ports, Havens, and Bays, that the Quebec Barques refort to in 
 the Summer, in order to truck with the Savages for the Skins 
 of Sea-Calves. 1 The Commerce I fpeak of, is carried on after 
 this manner. As foon as the Quebec Barques come to an 
 Anchor, thefe Devils come on board of them in their little 
 Canows made of the Skins of Sea-Calves, in the form of a 
 Weavers Shuttle, with a hole in the middle of it, refembling 
 that of a Purfe, in which they flow themfelves with Ropes, 
 fitting fquat upon their Brech. Being fet in this falhion they 
 row with little Slices, fometimes to the Right, and fometimes 
 to the Left, without bending their Body for fear of Over- 
 
 1 It is not probable that Lahontan here refers to the early discovery of this country 
 by the Norsemen. Gomara, in Histoire Generalle des hides Occidentals et Terres 
 neuves, translated into French and published in 15691 declares that the Bretons and 
 Danes made the first voyages to Baccaleos — a term used for both the Newfoundland 
 and Labrador coasts. Lahontan is probably following this authority, or a similar one, 
 for his historical remarks; the description of the trading is evidently the report of an 
 eye witness. — Ed. 
 
308 Some New Voyages 
 
 fetting. As foon as they are near the Barque, they hold up 
 their Skins upon the end of the Oar, and at the fame time 
 make a demand of fo many Knives, Powder, Ball, Fufees, Axes, 
 Kettles, &c. In fine, every one fhews what he has, and mentions 
 what he expedts in exchange: And fo when the Bargain is 
 concluded, they deliver and receive their Goods upon the end 
 of a Stick. As thefe pitiful Fellows ufe the precaution of not 
 going on board of our Boats, fo we take care not to fuffer 
 too great a number of Canows to furround us; for they have 
 carry’d off oftner than once, fome of our fmall Veffels, at a 
 time when the Seamen were bulled in hauling in the Skins, 
 and delivering out the other Goods. Here, we are oblig’d to 
 be very vigilant in the Night-time, for they know how to 
 make great Sloops, that will hold thirty or forty Men, and 
 run as faff as the Wind: And ’tis for this [210] reafon that 
 the Malouins, who fifh for Cod at Petit Nord, and the Span¬ 
 iards who follow the fame Fifhery at Porlochoua} are oblig’d to 
 fit out long Barques to fcour the Coaft and purfue ’em; for 
 almoft every year they furprife fome of the Crew on Ihoar, 
 and cut their Throats, and fometimes they carry off the Veffel. 
 We are affur’d, that their number of Warriours, or Men that 
 bear Arms, amounts to thirty thoufand ; but they are fuch 
 cowardly fellows, that five hundred Cliftino’s from Hudfons 
 
 1 French fishers from St. Malo and other Breton towns were among the earliest 
 explorers of the Newfoundland coast. They termed all of the great upper peninsula 
 of the island, from White Bay northward, Petit Nord, and it was their favorite fishing 
 ground. The Spanish Basque fishermen frequented the northwest coast, and their 
 port was Portachua, now called Old Port au Choix. — Ed. 
 
to AW/ 6 -America. 
 
 309 
 
 Bay , ufed to defeat five or fix thoufand of them. 1 They are 
 poffefs’d of a very large Country, extending from over againft 
 the Ifles of Mingan to Hudfons Streight. They crofs over to 
 the Ifland of Newfound-Land every day, at the Streight of 
 Belie Ifle, which is not above feven Leagues over; but they 
 never came fo far as Placentia , for fear of meeting with other 
 Savages there. 
 
 Hudfon’s Bay adjoyns to this Terra of Labrador , and 
 extends from the 52 d Degree and thirty Minutes to the 63 
 of Latitude. The Original of its name was this. Captain 
 Henry Hudfon , an Englijh Man by Birth, obtain’d a Ship from 
 the Dutch , in order to trace a paffage to China through an 
 imaginary Streight to the Northward of North -America. He 
 had firft form’d a defign of going by the way of Nova Zembla; 
 but upon feeing the Memoirs of a Danifh Pilot, who was a 
 friend of his, he drop’d that thought. This Pilot, namely, 
 Frederick Anfchild, had fet out from Norway or Tjlandia , fome 
 years before, with a defign to find out a Paffage to Japan by 
 Davis’ s Streight, which is the Chimerical Streight I fpoke of. 2 
 
 1 The Cristinaux (Killistinoe, Clistino) Indians are a large branch of the Algon- 
 quian family, that roam the Hudson Bay country and far to the west. They are now 
 known as the Cree, their present number being reckoned at twelve thousand. For 
 further details of this tribe see Henry, Travels and Adventures (Bain, ed., Boston, 
 1901), p. 246. — Ed. 
 
 2 The standard authority for the voyages of Hudson is Asher, Henry Hudson 
 the Navigator (London, i860), printed for the Hakluyt Society, vol. xxvii. The 
 editor in his introduction says that the story of the Danish pilot Anschild (Anskoeld) 
 is a myth, growing out of the expedition of a Pole, Johannes Kolnus, whose voyage 
 (H76) was cited by the geographers of the sixteenth century in distorted terms. See 
 also Read, Historical Inquiry concerning Henry Hudson (Albany, 1866) ; DeCo9ta, 
 Sailing Directions of Henry Hudson (Albany, 1869). — Ed. 
 
3 io Some New Voyages 
 
 The firft Land he defcry’d was Savage Bay, feated on the 
 North fide of the Terra of Labrador; then fweeping along 
 the Coaft, he enter’d a Streight, which about twenty or thirty 
 years afterwards, was chriften’d Hudfon' s Streight. After that, 
 fteering to the Weftward, he came upon fome [211] Coaft that 
 run North and South; upon which he flood to the North, 
 flattering himfelf with the hopes of finding an open paffage 
 to crofs the Sea of Jeffo; but after failing to the Latitude 
 of the Polar Circle, and running the rifque of perilhing in 
 the Ice, I do not know how often, without meeting with any 
 paffage or open Sea, he took up a refolution of turning back; 
 but the Seafon was then fo far advanc’d, and the Ice fo cover’d 
 up the furface of the Water, that he was forc’d to put in to 
 Hudfon’ s Bay, and winter there in a Harbour, where feveral 
 Savages furnifh’d his Crew with Provifions and excellent 
 Skins. As foon as the Sea was open, he return’d to Den¬ 
 mark. Now, Captain Hudfon being afterwards acquainted 
 with this Dane , undertook upon his Journals to attempt a 
 paffage to Japan through the Streight of Davis; but the 
 Enterprife fail’d, as well as that of one Button , and fome 
 others. 1 However, Hudfon put in to the Bay that now goes 
 
 1 From 1576 to 1632 there were sixteen English voyages of exploration for a 
 Northwest Passage. That of John Davis, whose name is commemorated in Davis 
 Strait, occurred in 1585. The same navigator made two later voyages to Arctic 
 regions, and was finally murdered by Japanese pirates in the East Indies (1606). See 
 Markham, “Voyages and Works of John Davis, Navigator” (London, 1880), 
 Publications of Hakluyt Society, No. 59. Sir Thomas Button followed on the track 
 of Henry Hudson, and explored the great bay bearing the latter’s name (1612-13); 
 he was knighted for his services. See Christy, Voyages of Captain Luke Foxe and 
 Captain Thomas James (London, 1894), Hakluyt Society, No. 88. — Ed. 
 
to TVon^-America. 
 
 3 i i 
 
 by his name, where he receiv’d a great quantity of Skins from 
 the Savages; after that, he difcover’d New Holland , which is 
 now call’d New-York , 1 and fome other Countries retaining to 
 New-England: upon the whole, ’tis not fair to call this 
 Streight and this Bay, by the name of Hudfon ; in regard that 
 the abovemention’d Dane , Frederick Anfchild , was the firft 
 difcoverer of them; he being the firft European that defcry’d 
 the Countries of North -America, and chalk’d out the way to 
 the others. Upon this Hudfon’ s Journals, the Englifh made 
 feveral attempts to fettle a Commerce with the Americans. 
 The great quantity of Beaver-Skins and other Furs that he 
 purchas’d of the Savages while he Winter’d in the Bay, put 
 the notion into the heads of fome Englifh Merchants, who 
 thereupon form’d a Company for the carrying on of this New 
 Commerce. With this view, they fitted out fome Ships under 
 the command of Captain Nelfon, who loft fome of ’em in the 
 Ice not far from the [212] Streight, having efcap’d narrowly 
 himfelf. However, he enter’d the Bay, and plac’d himfelf at 
 the Mouth of a great River, which rifes towards the Lake of 
 the Afimpouals, and falls into the Bay at a place where he built 
 a Redoubt, and mounted fome Cannon upon it. 2 In the fpace 
 
 1 Hudson did not discover the great bay of that name until his fourth voyage 
 (1610-11), whence he never returned. His exploration of New Holland (preferably 
 New Netherlands) occurred upon his third voyage (1609). — Ed. 
 
 2 This voyage of Nelson is hypothetical, apparently invented to account for the 
 name Nelson River. The wintering place at its mouth was named Port Nelson by 
 Button, in honor of his sailing master, who died and was buried there; thence the 
 name extended to the river. In the confusion of Lahontan’s account, it is uncertain 
 whether he refers to the organization of the Hudson’s Bay Company (1670), or to the 
 
3I2 Some New Voyages 
 
 of three or four years after, the Englifli made fome other little 
 Forts near that River, which prov’d a confiderable baulk to 
 the Commerce of the French , who found that the Savages who 
 us’d to deal with ’em in Furs on the North fide of the upper 
 
 Lake, were not then to be feen. 
 
 It came to pafs in procefs of time, but how I cannot tell, 
 that one Ratiffon, and one Grozelier , met in that great Lake 
 fome Cliftino' s, who promis’d to condud ’em to the bottom of 
 the Bay, where the Englifli had not yet penetrated. In effed, 
 the Cliflino' s were as good as their word; for they fhew’d ’em 
 the place they fpoke of, befides feveral other Rivers upon 
 which there was a fair profped of making fuch Settlements, 
 as would carry on a great trade in Skins with feveral Savage 
 Nations. 1 Thefe two Frenchmen return’d to the Upper Lake, 
 the fame way that they went, and from thence made the beft 
 of their way to Quebec , where they offer’d to the chief Mer¬ 
 chants of the place, to carry Ships to Hudfon's Bay; but their 
 
 incorporation of “The Company of the Merchants of London, Discoverers of the 
 North-West Passage,” which latter received its charter in 1612 (Hakluyt Society, 
 No. 89, pp. 642-664).—Ed. 
 
 1 Pierre Esprit Radisson and Medard Chouart des Groseilliers were among the 
 most interesting and daring adventurers of the early years of New France. It is not 
 beyond probability that Lahontan had known them either in Canada or at the English 
 court. Their alleged overland visit to Hudson Bay, on what is known as their 
 “fourth voyage,” is open to doubt. For the evidence see Campbell, “ Radisson an 
 Groseillers,” in Parkman Club Papers (Milwaukee, 1896); Wis. Hist. Soc. Pro¬ 
 ceedings, 1895, pp. 88-116; Bryce, The Remarkable History of Hudson's Bay 
 Company (Toronto, 1900), pp. 4~7- The latter author (pp. 39-46) has unearthed 
 some new evidence concerning Radisson’s later life and death in England (1710). 
 Radisson’s Voyages (Boston, 1885) are published by the Prince Society, No. 16; see 
 also Wis. Hist. Colls., xi, pp. 64-96; Dionne, “Chouart et Radisson,” in Can. 
 Roy. Soc. Proceedings, 1893, 1894. — Ed. 
 
Project was reje&ed. In fine, having met with this repulfe, 
 they went to France , in hopes of a more favourable hearing at 
 Court: But after the prefenting of Memorial upon Memorial, 
 and fpending a great deal of Money, they were treated as 
 whimfical Fellows. Upon that occafion the King of England's 
 Ambaffadour did not lofe the opportunity of perfwading them 
 to go to London , where they met with fuch a favourable Re¬ 
 ception, that they got feveral Ships, which they carry’d to the 
 Bay, not without difficulty, and built feveral Forts in different 
 places, [213] that did great fervice in promoting the Com¬ 
 merce. 1 Then the Court of France repented, though too late, 
 that they did not give ear to their Memorials: and finding no 
 other remedy, refolv’d to diflodge the Englifli at any rate. In 
 effeft, they attack’d ’em vigoroufly by Sea and Land, and dif- 
 poffefs’d ’em of all their Forts, excepting Fort Nelfon , where 
 they could not exped fuch an eafie Conqueft. 2 Some years 
 after, the Englifh refolv’d to ufe their utmoft efforts to retake 
 thefe Polls; and their refolution was crown’d with Succefs, 
 for they diflodg’d the French in their turn, and at this day the 
 
 1 The first permanent trading fort (or factory) in Hudson Bay was that erected 
 by Groseilliers upon Rupert River in the autumn of 1668, and christened Fort Charles 
 in honor of the king. The success of this trading venture led to the chartering (1670) 
 of the Hudson’s Bay Company. — Ed. 
 
 2 Radisson organized an expedition in the French interest in 1682, set out for the 
 bay, captured a ship and the English governor, and built Fort Bourbon not far from 
 Fort Nelson. Upon his return (1684), when France was on the point of dispatching 
 another squadron under his guidance, he deserted to the English, returned to Fort 
 Bourbon, and retook it and its furs in the interest of the Company. The authorities 
 of New France resolved on retribution, and an overland expedition (1685-87), headed 
 by De Troyes and d’Iberville captured all the forts except that upon Nelson River. 
 See p. 217, note 3, ante. — Ed. 
 
314 Some New Voyages 
 
 French are making preparations to repay ’em in their own 
 Coin. 1 
 
 That Country is fo cold for feven or eight Months of the 
 year, that the Sea freezes ten Foot deep, the Trees and the 
 very Stones fplit, the Snow is ten or twelve Foot deep upon 
 the Ground, for above fix Months of the year, and during 
 that feafon, no body can ftir out of Doors, without running 
 the rifque of having their Nofe, Ears and Feet mortified by 
 the Cold. The paffage from Europe to that Country is fo 
 difficult and dangerous, by reafon of the Ice and the Cur¬ 
 rents, that one muft be reduc’d to the laft degree of mifery, 
 or be blind to a foolifh heighth, that undertakes fuch a 
 wretched Voyage. 
 
 ’Tis now time to pafs from Hudfon’s Bay, to the Superior 
 or Upper Lake. ’Tis eafier to make this Voyage upon Paper, 
 than to go actually through it; for you muft fail almoft a hun¬ 
 dred Leagues up the River of Machakandibi , which is fo rapid 
 and full of Cataradls, that a light Canow work’d by fix Water¬ 
 men, fhall not fail ’em under thirty or thirty five days. At the 
 head of this River we meet with a little Lake of the fame 
 name, from whence we are oblig’d to a Land-carriage of feven 
 Leagues, to get at the River of Michipikoton, which we run 
 down in ten or twelve days, though at the fame [214] time we 
 
 1 After the first Canadian punitive expedition (see preceding note), each nation 
 made frequent armed attempts to dislodge the other from the lucrative trading posts of 
 Hudson Bay. See the brief summary in Bryce, Hudson's Bay Company , pp. 47—55. 
 Lahontan probably refers to the preparations being made for d’Iberville’s brilliant 
 expedition of 1697. The French were not finally expelled from the forts on the lower, 
 or James, Bay until after the treaty of Utrecht (1713 ).—Ed. 
 
u 
 
 to TVor^-America. 315 
 
 have feveral Land-carriages upon it: For going down this 
 River we pafs feveral Cataradts, where we are oblig’d either 
 to carry our Canows by Land, or to drag ’em back again. 1 
 Thus we arrive at the Upper Lake , which is reckon’d to be 
 five hundred Leagues in Circumference, including the wind¬ 
 ings of the Creeks, and little Gulfs. This little frefh-water 
 Sea is calm enough from the beginning of May , to the end of 
 September. The South fide is the fafeft for the Canows, by 
 reafon of the many Bays, and little Rivers, where one may put 
 in in cafe of a Storm. There is no fetled Savage Nation upon 
 the brinks of the Lake, that I know of. ’Tis true indeed, 
 that in Summer feveral Northern Nations come to Hunt and 
 Fifh in thefe parts, and bring with ’em the Beaver-Skins they 
 have got in the Winter, in order to truck with the Coureurs 
 de Bolt, who do not fail to meet ’em there every year. The 
 places where the Interview happens, are Bagouafch, Lemipifakiy 
 and Cbagouamigon . 2 ’Tis fome years fince Mr. Dulhut built 
 
 1 Probably Lahontan had conversed at Mackinac with natives or coureurs des bois 
 who described the journey from Hudson Bay to Lake Superior. The ‘ ‘ River of Mac- 
 hakandibi ’ ’ is likely the present Moose River, whence the portage to the Michipiciton 
 is not long. — Ed. 
 
 2 It is probable that Lahontan had his information concerning Lake Superior from 
 Duluth (see p. 73» note 1, ante), who roamed this region for a dozen years. Bagou- 
 asch is a river on the north side of the lake, east of Nipigon, where, according to an 
 inscription upon a map of 1756, Duluth had had a fort. Neill, Minn. Hist. Colls ., 
 v, p. 417, identifies (but without giving reasons) Lemipisaki with Nipigon ; but there 
 is a greater probability that it was Nemitsakouat, at Bois Brule River, which empties 
 into Lake Superior to the west of Chequamegon Bay ; Duluth had a rendezvous with 
 the Indians, on the Bois Brule. See JVis. Hist. Colls., xvi, p. 108. Chequamegon 
 was a well-known post on the present bay of that name, where a fort was first built by 
 Radisson and Groseilliers. SeeThwaites, “ Story of Chequamegon,’’ in How George 
 Rogers Clark iron the Northwest, etc. (Chicago, 1903). — Ed. 
 
316 Some New Voyages 
 
 a Fort of Pales or Stakes upon this Lake, where he had 
 large Magazines of all forts of Goods. That Fort was call’d 
 Camanijligoyan, and did confiderable Differvice to the Englijh 
 Settlements in Hudfon's Bay,' by reafon that it fav’d feveral 
 Nations the trouble of transporting their Skins to that Bay. 1 
 Upon that Lake we find Copper Mines, the Mettal of which 
 is fo fine and plentiful, that there is not a feventh part lofs 
 from the Oar. 2 It has fome pretty large Blands, which are 
 replenilh’d with Elks and wild Affes; but there’s fcarce any 
 that goes to hunt upon ’em, by reafon of the danger of 
 eroding over. In fine, this Lake abounds with Sturgeons, 
 Trouts, and white Filh. The Climate is unfufferably cold 
 for fix Months of the year, and the Snow joyn’d to the Froft, 
 commonly freezes the Water of the Lake for ten or twelve 
 Leagues over. 
 
 [215] From the Superiour or Upper Lake , I fteer to that of 
 Hurons , to which I allot four hundred Leagues in Circumfer¬ 
 ence. Now to make this Lake, you muft fail down by the fall 
 call’d Saut St. Mary , which I deferib’d in my fifteenth Letter. 
 This Lake is fituated in a fine Climate, as you’ll perceive from 
 
 1 Kamanistiquia (Camanistigoyan) was the site of Duluth’s first western fort, 
 erected in 1678. It was later abandoned until 1717, when the Canadian authorities 
 sent Sieur de la Noue to restore it. This post was maintained throughout the French 
 regime, and was the site of the famous Fort William, the North West Company’s 
 headquarters well into the nineteenth century. It was at the mouth of Three Rivers, 
 and commanded the Grand Portage route to the interior, along what is now the 
 boundary between Minnesota and Ontario. The locations on Lahontan’s map are 
 obviously incorrect. —Ed. 
 
 2 For early copper mines on the shores of Lake Superior, consult Wis. Hist. Colls ., 
 xvi, xvii. — Ed. 
 
itStHOaUMBtatUBHI 
 
 
to North- America. 
 
 3*7 
 
 the Map. The North fide of it is beft for the Navigation of 
 Canows, by reafon of the frequency of Ifles which afford 
 fhelter in bad Weather. The South fide is pleafanter, and 
 more convenient for the Hunting of Deer, which are there 
 very plentiful. The figure of this Lake comes near to an 
 equilateral Triangle. Of all its Illes, that call’d Manitoualin , 
 is the moft confiderable, being above twenty Leagues long, 
 and ten broad. In former times, the Outaouas of the Nations 
 of Talon and Sable dwelt in it; but the dread they were under 
 upon the account of the Iroquefe , oblig’d both them and their 
 Neighbours to retire to Mijjilimakinac. That part of the Con¬ 
 tinent that faces this Ifiand, is inhabited by the Nockes and the 
 MiJJitagues , in two different Villages, which are twenty Leagues 
 diftant, the one from the other. 1 Towards the Eaft end of 
 this Hand, we fall in with the River des Francois , which I took 
 notice of in my fixteenth Letter. ’Tis as broad as the Seine is 
 at Paris, and runs not above forty Leagues in length from its 
 fource in the Lake Nepicerini, to its Mouth. To the North- 
 Weft of this River, there lies the Bay of Toranto, which is 
 twenty, or five and twenty Leagues long, and fifteen broad at 
 its Mouth. This Bay receives a River that fprings from a 
 little Lake of the fame name, and forms feveral Cataradts that 
 
 1 For Manitoulin Island and its inhabitants, see p. 153, note 2, ante. The Nocke 
 (Noquets) were an Algonquian tribe that early merged with others of the same family 
 — see fVis. Hist. Colls ., xvi, pp. 117, 360; they left their name upon two bays in 
 Upper Michigan. The Mississagua occupied the north shore of Lake Huron, and 
 later built villages in the peninsula between Lakes Erie and Ontario. In 1901 they 
 numbered about eight hundred, settled upon reservations in Ontario. — Ed. 
 
318 Some New Voyages 
 
 are equally impracticable both upon the afcent and defcent. 1 2 
 Upon the fide of this River you’ll fee a Man’s Head mark’d 
 in my Map, which fignifies a large Village of the Hurons , that 
 was deftroy’d by the Iroquefe. You may go from the fource 
 of this River to the [216] Lake Frontenac , by making a Land- 
 carriage to the River of Tunuouute^ that falls into that Lake.^ 
 Upon the South fide of the Bay of Toronto , you fee the Fort 
 call’d Fort Suppofe, which I mention’d in my 23 d Letter, and 
 about thirty Leagues to the Southward of that, you find the 
 Country of Theonontate, which being formerly inhabited by the 
 Hurons , was entirely depopulated by the Iroquefe. 3 
 
 From thence I pafs direCtly to my Fort, without amufing 
 you with the different Landskips I met with in the fpace of 
 thirty Leagues. That Fort I have fpoke fo often of already, 
 that without flopping there, I fhall run direcStly to the Bay of 
 Sakinac , reckoning it needlefs at the fame time, to take any 
 notice of the many Shelves and Rocks that lye hid under the 
 Water for two Leagues off the Coaft. This Bay is fixteen or 
 feventeen Leagues long, and fix broad at its Mouth : In the 
 middle of which we meet with two little Iflands, that are very 
 ferviceable to the Paffengers ; for if it were not for the con- 
 
 1 Concerning the Bay of Toronto, see p. 273, note i, ante. The text should 
 read southwest, instead of northwest. — Ed. 
 
 2 Lake Toronto is the modern Simcoe, whence the entire region was often 
 called Toronto; see Scadding, Toronto of Old (Toronto, 1893). The “River of 
 Tanouate,’* which appears upon a map of 1746, is to be identified with the chain of 
 lakes ending in Trent River, falling into Quinte Bay. Lahontan’s reference may be 
 to the present Humber River, as the Toronto portage was used upon both or either of 
 these routes. — Ed. 
 
 3 See p. 154, note 2, ante. — Ed. 
 
to TVor^-America. 
 
 3i9 
 
 veniency of putting in there, they would be oblig’d for the 
 moft part, rather to march quite round the Bay, than to run 
 the hazard of crofting dire&ly over in a Canow. 1 The River 
 of Sakinac falls into the bottom of the Bay. This River runs 
 fixty Leagues in length, with a gentle Current, having only 
 three little Cataratffs that one may fhoot without danger. ’Tis 
 as broad as the Seine is at Seve Bridge. Once in two years the 
 Outaouas and the Hurons , are wont to hunt great quantities of 
 Beavers upon the confines of the River of Sakinac. Between 
 the River I now fpeak of, and Miflilimakinac , we meet with no 
 place that is worth our regard. As for Mijfilimakinac it felf, I 
 have already imparted to you all that I can fay of that Poft, 
 which is of fo great importance to our Commerce, and at the 
 fame time fent you a draught of it. I fhall therefore purfue 
 my courfe to the Lake Errie ) remembring that I [217] de- 
 fcrib’d the Ilinefe Lake in my fixteenth Letter. 
 
 The Lake Errih is juftly dignified with the illuftrious name 
 of Conti; for affuredly ’tis the fineft Lake upon Earth. You 
 may judge of the goodnefs of the Climate, from the Latitudes 
 of the Countries that furround it. Its Circumference extends 
 to two hundred and thirty Leagues; but it affords every 
 where fuch a charming Profpetff, that its Banks are deck’d 
 with Oak-Trees, Elms, Chefnut-Trees, Walnut-Trees, Apple- 
 Trees, Plum-Trees, and Vines which bear their fine clufters up 
 to the very top of the Trees, upon a fort of ground that lies 
 as fmooth as one’s Hand. Such Ornaments as thefe, are fuffi- 
 
 1 See p. 143, ante. The islands were probably those now known as the Charity 
 group. — Ed. 
 
320 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 cient to give rife to the moft agreeable Idea of a Landskip in 
 the World. I cannot exprefs what vaft quantities of Deer 
 and Turkeys are to be found in thefe Woods, and in the 
 vaft Meads that lye upon the South fide of the Lake. At the 
 bottom of the Lake, we find wild Beeves upon the Banks of 
 two pleafant Rivers that difembogue into it, without Cataradls 
 or rapid Currents. It abounds with Sturgeon and white Fifh; 
 but Trouts are very fcarce in it, as well as the other Fifh that 
 we take in the Lakes of Hurons and Ilinefe. ’Tis clear of 
 Shelves, Rocks, and Banks of Sand; and has fourteen or fif¬ 
 teen fathom Water. The Savages affure us, that ’tis never 
 difturb’d with high Winds, but in the Months of December , 
 January , and February , and even then but feldom, which indeed 
 I am very apt to believe, for we had but very few Storms, 
 when I winter’d in my Fort in 1688, though the Fort lay open 
 to the Lake of Hurons. The Banks of this Lake are com¬ 
 monly frequented by none but Warriours, whether the Iroquefe, 
 the Ilinefe , the Oumamis , £s?c. and ’tis very dangerous to flop 
 there. By this means it comes to pafs, that the Stags, Roe- 
 Bucks and Turkeys, run in great Bodies up and down the 
 fhoar, all round the Lake. In former times the Errieronons , 
 [218] and the Andaflogueronons, liv’d upon the Confines of this 
 Lake, but they were extirpated by the Iroquefe , as well as the 
 other Nations mark’d in the Map. 1 
 
 1 The identity of the Erie nation is much in doubt — see Jesuit Relations , xxi, 
 pp. 313-315 ; but their habitat was originally south of Lake Erie, named for them. 
 Andastes was a generic term by which the French designated a congeries of tribes in 
 Pennsylvania, among whom were those known to the Dutch as Minquas, and to the 
 
to North- America. 321 
 
 Upon the North fide of the Lake we defcry a point of 
 Land, that fhoots fifteen Leagues into the Main * 1 ; and about 
 thirty Leagues beyond that to the Eaftward, we meet with a 
 fmall River that takes its rife near the Bay of Ganaraske, in 
 the Lake of Frontenac / and would afford a fhort paffage from 
 the one Lake to the other, if ’twere not incumber’d with Cat¬ 
 aracts. 2 From thence to the Streight or Mouth of the Lake, 
 you have thirty Leagues; the Streight being a League over, 
 and fourteen Leagues long. Upon this Streight you fee Fort 
 Suppofi mark’d in the Map, which is one of the Forts that I 
 mention d in my 23^ Letter. From that imaginary Fort to 
 the River of Condi , we have twenty Leagues. 
 
 The River of Condi runs fixty Leagues in length without 
 CataraCls, if we may credit the Savages, who affur’d me, that 
 one may go from its fource to another River that falls into the 
 Sea, without any other Land-carriage than one of a League in 
 length, between the [one] River and the other. 3 I faw only the 
 Mouth of the firfl River, where our Outaouas tried their Limbs, 
 as I told you in my fifteenth Letter. The Iflands that you 
 fee mark’d in the Map at the bottom of the Lake Errii, 
 
 English as Susquehannocks, or Conestogas. All these tribes were of Huron-Iroquois 
 stock, but at war with the Five Nations. The suffix ronons (roanu) signified people, 
 or tribe. — Ed. 
 
 1 For Long Point, Lake Erie, see p. 138, ante. — Ed. 
 
 2 The bay which Lahontan calls “ Ganaraske,” is usually designated upon maps 
 of the period as Ganadoke, and is the present Hamilton Bay, or rather all the western 
 end of Lake Ontario. It seems likely that the river must be the present Grand, which, 
 as Lahontan indicates, was too rugged for a trade route. — Ed. 
 
 3 For the River of Conde, see p. 155, note 1, ante. Lahontan has here a confused 
 notion of the Ohio, probably taken from Indian descriptions. — Ed. 
 
322 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 are replenifh’d with Roe-Bucks, and with Fruit-Trees, which 
 nature has generoufly provided, in order to entertain the 
 Turkeys, Feafants and Deer with their Fruit. In fine, if there 
 were a clear and free paffage for Veffels, from Quebec to this 
 Lake, it might be made the fineft, the richeft, and the mcft 
 fertile Kingdom in the World: For over and above all the 
 beauties I have mention’d, there are excellent Silver Mines 
 about twenty Leagues up the Country, upon a certain Hill, 
 from whence the Savages brought [219] us great lumps, that 
 have yielded that precious Metal with little wafte. 
 
 From the Lake Errit, I fteer my courfe to that of Fronte- 
 nac , which I could not forbear to fpeak of in my feventh and 
 feventeenth Letters. This Lake (as I intimated above) is 180 
 Leagues in Circumference, its figure is Oval, and its depth 
 runs between twenty and twenty five Fathom. On the South 
 fide it receives feveral little Rivers, particularly thofe of the 
 Tfonontouans, of the Onnontagues, and of the Famine 1 ] on the 
 North fide ’tis joyn’d by the Rivers of Ganaraske, and of Teo- 
 nontate. Its fides are deck’d with tall Trees, and the ground 
 is indifferent even and level, for it has no fteep Coafts. On 
 the North fide we meet with feveral little Gulfs. You may go 
 from this Lake to that of Hurons , by going up the River 
 Tanaouate , from whence you have a Land-carriage of fix or 
 eight Leagues to the River of Toronto , which falls into it. You 
 may likewife have a paffage from the Lake of Frontenac , to 
 that of Errii, through the Bay of Ganaraskt , by making a 
 
 1 The Genessee, Oswego, and Salmon Rivers, New York. See p. 72> note i, 
 ante. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 323 
 
 Land-carriage from thence to a little River that’s full of 
 Cataradts. The Villages of the Onnontagues, Tfonontouans, 
 Goyogouans, and Onnoyoutes , are not far diftant from the Lake 
 of Frontenac . 1 Thefe Iroquefe Nations are very advantageoufly 
 feated. They have a pleafant and fertile Country; but they 
 want Roe-Bucks and Turkeys, as well as Fifh, of which their 
 Rivers are altogether deftitute, infomuch that they are forc’d 
 to fifh in the Lake, and to broil or dry their Fifh with a Fire, 
 in order to keep ’em and tranfport ’em to their Villages. 
 They are in like manner forc’d to range out of their own 
 Territories, in queft of Beavers in the Winter time, either 
 towards Ganarastd, or to the fides of the Lake of Toronto , or 
 elfe towards the great River of the Outaouas; where ’twould 
 be an eafie matter to cut all their Throats, by purfuing 
 the courfe I laid down in my [220] Letters. I have already 
 touch’d upon the Forts of Frontenac and Niagara ; as well as 
 upon the River of St. Laurence , which here takes leave of 
 the Lakes, and purfues a comparer courfe to Monreal and 
 Quebec , where its waters mingling with thofe of the Sea, 
 become fo brackifh, that they are not drinkable. 
 
 It remains only to give you a Defcription of Acadia , and 
 the Ifland of Newfound-Land, which are two Countries that 
 differ widely from one another. The Coaft of Acadia extends 
 from Kenebeki , one of the Frontiers of New-England, to fljle 
 Perde, near the Mouth of the River of St. Laurence. This 
 Sea-Coaft runs almoft three hundred Leagues in length, and 
 
 1 For the names of the Iroquois tribes, see p. 58, ante. — Ed. 
 
324 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 has upon it two great Navigable Bays, namely, the Bay call’d 
 Frangoife, and the Bay des Cbaleurs . 1 2 3 It has a great many little 
 Rivers, the Mouths of which are deep, and clean enough for 
 , the greateft Ships. Thefe Rivers would afford a plentiful 
 Salmon-fifhery, if there were any body to undertake it; and 
 moil of ’em as well as the Gulfs that lies before ’em, furnilh 
 fuch Cods as we take at the Ijle Perch. For in the Summer 
 time, that fort of Fifh make in to the Coaft in Shoals, Spe¬ 
 cially about the Iflands of Cape Breton , and of St. John? ’Tis 
 true, the latter has no Harbours, and the former has none 
 that receive any Veffel above the burthen of a Barque ; but if 
 thefe two Iflands were peopled, the Inhabitants might fit out 
 Sloops to manage the Fifbery; and towards the latter end of 
 Augujl, when the Fifh are cur’d and ready, the Ships might 
 come to an Anchor near the Land, and fo take ’em in. Two 
 Gentlemen of the name of Amour of Quebtc*, have a Settlement 
 
 1 Bay Franfaise was the early name for the Bay of Fundy, which was first ade¬ 
 quately explored by Champlain (1604-08). The tercentenary of Champlain’s landfall 
 on the shores of the Bay of Fundy was appropriately celebrated in June, 1904: at 
 Annapolis Royal (old Port Royal), the 21st and 22d, by the Nova Scotia Historical 
 Society ; at St. John, the 23d and 24th, by the New Brunswick Historical Society ; at 
 Isle St. Croix, at the head of Passamaquoddy Bay, the 25th, by the Maine Historical 
 Society. 
 
 The Bay of Chaleurs was so named by Cartier, who (1534) experienced great 
 heat therein. — Ed. 
 
 2 St. John (St. Jean) was the present Prince Edward’s Island. Harisse has shown 
 (Decouverte de Terre-Neuve) that the former name was first (1505) applied to the 
 northeastern portion of Cape Breton Island, and afterwards by a misconception given 
 to the smaller island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Cape Breton was the name used 
 first for the southeast extremity of the island, now known by that name, because it was 
 the haunt of certain fishers from Brittany. Later, the term was extended to the entire 
 island, thus succeeding the name St. John. — Ed. 
 
 3 Three sons of Mathieu d’Amours, councillor of the King at Quebec, received 
 
to North- America. 325 
 
 for Beaver-hunting upon the River of St. John; which is a 
 very pleafant River, and adorn’d with Fields that are very 
 fertile in Grain. ’Tis Navigable for twelve Leagues up, from 
 its Mouth. Between the point of Acadia, and the Ifland [221] 
 of Cape Breton , there is a Channel or Streight about two 
 Leagues in breadth, which is deep enough to carry the greateft 
 Ships in France. ’Tis call’d the pafs des Canfeaux , * 1 and would 
 be much more frequented than it is, if the Merchant-men 
 bound to Canada , would fet out from France about the 15 th 
 of March; for then they might pafs that way, being affur’d 
 of a clear paffage at all feafons of the year, whereas the Chan¬ 
 nel of Cape de Raye , is oftentimes cover’d with Ice in April: 
 And by this contrivance, the Ships would arrive at Quebec in 
 the beginning of May. 
 
 Moft of the Countries of Acadia abound with Corn, Peafe, 
 Fruit, and Pulfe; and have a plain diftindtion of the four 
 Seafons of the year, nothwithftanding that ’tis extream cold 
 for three Months in Winter. Several places of Acadia , afford 
 Mails as ftrong as thofe we have from Norway; and if there 
 were occafion, all forts of Ships might be built there : For if 
 you’ll believe the Carpenters, the Oak of that Country is 
 
 grants on St. John River in 1684, and established what was known as “ seigneuries 
 sauvages” —stations for trade, hunting, and fishing—and a kind of pre-eminence 
 over the neighboring Indians. Two of this family, Rene and Mathieu, aided (1696) 
 in the defense of the St. John against the English. — Ed. 
 
 1 The strait of Canso (Campceaux, Canseaux) lies between Nova Scotia and 
 Cape Breton Island. The word is undoubtedly of Indian origin, and was first applied 
 to the point at the southeastern extremity of the mainland. On his map of 1612 
 Champlain called the strait “ Le Passage Courant”; but by 1632 it appears a3 that of 
 Campseau. — Ed. 
 
2 2 6 Some New Voyages 
 
 better than ours in Europe. In a word, ’tis a very fine Coun- 
 try; the Climate is indifferent temperate, the Air is pure 
 and wholefom, the Waters clear and light, and there’s good 
 accommodation for Hunting, Shooting, and Filhing. The 
 Animals that we meet with there mod commonly, are Beavers, 
 Otters, and Sea-Calves, all of ’em being very numerous. Thofe 
 who love Meat are indebted to the Do&ors, who perfwaded 
 the Popes to Metamorphofe thefe terreftrial Animals into 
 Filh; for they are allow’d to eat of ’em without fcruple in the 
 time of Lent. To be plain, the knowledge I have of that 
 Country, makes me forefee that the Englifh will be mafters of 
 it fome time or other. I could give very plaufible reafons for 
 the Prophecy. They have already begun to ruine the Com¬ 
 merce that the French had with the Savages, and in a fhort 
 time, they’ll compafs its intire Deftrudtion. The [222] French 
 they will prize their Goods too high, though they are not fo 
 good as thofe of the Englifh; and yet the Englifh fell their 
 Commodities cheaper. ’Twere a pity that we Ihould tamely 
 leave to the Englifh a Country, the Conqueft of which they 
 have attempted fo often, in confideration of our Fur-trade 
 and Cod-filhing. ’Tis impoffible to hinder ’em to poffefs 
 themfelves of the Settlements upon the Coaft of Acadia , by 
 reafon that they lye at fuch a diftance from one another; fo 
 that they’ll certainly fucceed in fuch Enterpnfes, as indeed 
 they have done already. The French Governours, they aft 
 with the fame view, as many of thofe who are imploy’d in 
 Pofts beyond Sea. They look upon their place as a Gold 
 Mine given ’em, in order to enrich themfelves; fo that the 
 
to North- America. 
 
 327 
 
 publick Good, muft always march behind private Intereft. 
 Mr. de Meneval fuffer’d the Englijh to poffefs themfelves of 
 Port Royal , becaufe that place was cover’d with nothing but 
 fingle Paliffado’s. But why was it not better fortified ? I can 
 tell you the reafon; he thought he had time enough to fill 
 his Pockets, before the Englijh would attack it. This Gov- 
 ernour fucceeded to Mr. Perrot , who was broke with Difgrace, 
 for having made it his chief bufinefs to enrich himfelf; and 
 after returning to France , went back again with feveral Ships 
 laden with Goods, in order to fet up for a private Merchant 
 in that Country. While Mr. Perrot was Governour, he fuf¬ 
 fer’d the Englijh to poffefs themfelves of feveral advantageous 
 Polls, without offering to ftir. His chief bufinefs was to go 
 in Barques from River to River, in order to traffick with the 
 Savages: And after he was difgrac’d, he was not contented 
 with a Commerce upon the Coafts of Acadia , but would needs 
 extend it to the Englijh Plantations; but it coll him dear, for 
 fome Pyrates fell in with him, and after feizing his Barques, 
 duck’d himfelf, upon which he died immediately. 1 
 
 [223] The three principal Savage Nations that live upon 
 the Coafts of Acadia , are the Abenakis , the Mikemak , and the 
 Canibas . 2 There are fome other erratick Nations, who go and 
 
 1 For a sketch of Perrot see p. 53, note 2, ante; it is generally believed that 
 Lahontan’s strictures upon his rapacious conduct are justifiable. He was not killed 
 by the pirates (1690), but rescued by a French privateer, being again in Acadia in 
 1691. See N. Y. Col. Docs., ix, p. 475. — Ed. 
 
 2 Abenaki was a generic term for the Algonquian Indians of Maine and New 
 Brunswick. They were a powerful but mild people, dwelling in villages when first 
 encountered by the French; but later losing their village habit to some extent, under 
 the influence of the French, who induced them to revert to the hunting stage, in the 
 
328 Some New Voyages 
 
 come from Acadia , to New-England, and go by the names of 
 Mabingans , Soccokis , and Openango} The firft three (having 
 fix’d Habitations) are intirely in the interefts of the French; 
 and I muft fay, that in time of War they gall the Englifli Col¬ 
 onies with their Incurfions, fo much, that we ought to take 
 care to perpetuate a good underftanding between them and 
 us. The Baron of Saint Cajieins , a Gentleman of Oleron in 
 Bearn , having liv’d among the Abenakis after the Savage way, 
 for above twenty years, is fo much refpe&ed by the Savages, 
 that they look upon him as their Tutelar God. 2 He was for¬ 
 merly an Officer of the Carignan Regiment in Canada; and 
 upon the breaking of that Regiment, threw himfelf among 
 the Savages, whofe Language he had learn’d. He married 
 among ’em after their fafhion, and prefer’d the Forrefts of 
 
 interest of the all-absorbing fur-trade. The name Abenaki is said to mean “ people 
 of the East.” See Vetromile, Abnakis and their History (New York, 1866); 
 Maurault, Histoire des Abenakis (1866). They are now represented by the Penobscot 
 and Passamaquoddy Indians in Maine, and a few at the mission village in Canada. 
 See p. 49, note 1, ante. 
 
 The Micmac were dwellers in Nova Scotia and Cape Breton— a large confeder¬ 
 ated tribe, of whom Membertou was the chief when Port Royal was founded (1605). 
 They were frequently called Souriquois by the French, and not only were devoted to 
 the latter’s interests, but many were converted to Christianity. 
 
 The Canibaswere an Abenaki tribe settled around Naroutsouat (Norridgewock), 
 Maine. Their name was a variant of Kennebec. — Ed. 
 
 1 See p. 90, note 1, ante. — Ed. 
 
 2 Jean Vincent St. Castin, of whom Lahontan gives so succinct an account, was 
 born about 1636, and settled in the forests of Maine in 1667. After 1676 he was com¬ 
 mandant of Pentagoet, the French fort upon the Penobscot. For many years he 
 traded with the English, but aided his own people in King William’s War (1689-97), 
 leading his savage allies against the English settlements. Late in the century he 
 inherited a considerable fortune in France, whither he returned about 1700. His son 
 Anselm succeeded to his influence among the Penobscot Indians, to whom he was 
 allied on his mother’s side. See Maine Hist. Colls., vii, pp. 42-72. — Ed. 
 

 
 to iVor^-America. 
 
 329 
 
 Acadia to the Pyrenean Mountains, that encompafs the place 
 of his Nativity : For the firft years of his abode with the Sav¬ 
 ages, he behav’d himfelf fo, as to draw an inexpreffible efteem 
 from ’em. They made him their Great Chief or Leader, who 
 is in a manner the Soveraign of the Nation; and by degrees 
 he has work’d himfelf into fuch a Fortune, which any Man 
 but he would have made fuch ufe of, as to draw out of that 
 Country above two or three hundred thoufand Crowns, which 
 he has now in his Pocket in good dry Gold. But all the ufe 
 he makes of it, is, to buy up Goods for Prefents to his Fel¬ 
 low-Savages, who upon their return from Hunting, prefent 
 him with Beaver-Skins to a treble value. The Governours 
 General of Canada keep in with him, and the Governours of 
 New-England are afraid of him. He has feveral Daughters, 
 who are, all of [224] ’em, married very handfomly to French¬ 
 men, and had good Dowries. He has never chang’d his 
 Wife; by which means he mean’d to give the Savages to 
 underftand, that God do’s not love inconftant Folks. ’Tis 
 faid, that he indeavour’d to convert thefe poor People, but 
 his indeavours prov’d fuccefslefs; fo that ’tis in vain for the 
 Jefuits to preach up the Truths of Chriftianity to ’em; 
 though after all, thefe good Fathers are not difcourag’d, nay, 
 they think that the adminiftring of Baptifm to a dying Child, 
 is worth ten times the pains and uneafinefs of living among 
 that People. 1 
 
 1 Lahontan here belittles the Jesuit missions, which nevertheless had a consider¬ 
 able success among the Acadian Indians. Druillettes began his visits to the Kennebec 
 about 1646, and by 1680 a large number of converts had been removed to the mission 
 
 gjiiiliilj 
 
330 Some New Voyages 
 
 Port-Royal , the Capital or the only City of Acadia , is in 
 effe6t no more than a little paultry Town, 1 that is fomewhat 
 inlarg’d fince the War broke out in 1689. by the acceffion of 
 the Inhabitants that liv’d near Bofton, the Metropolitan of 
 New-England. A great many of thefe People retir’d to Port- 
 Royal , upon the apprehenfion that the Englijh would pillage 
 ’em, and carry ’em into their Country. Mr. de Meneval fur- 
 rendred this place to the Englijh, as I faid before; he could 
 not maintain fuch a poll with the handful of Men that he had, 
 becaufe the Paliffadoes were low, and out of order. He 
 made a Capitulation with the Commander of the Party that 
 made the Attack; but the Englijh Officer broke his word to 
 him, and us’d him both ignominioufly and harffily. 2 Port- 
 Royal is feated in the Latitude of 44 Degrees, and 40 Min¬ 
 utes, upon the edge of a very fine Bafin, 3 which is a League 
 
 colony. See p. 49, note 1, ante. For a fuller account of the Acadian mission, see 
 Jesuit Relations , i, Introduction. — Ed. 
 
 1 For a good summary of the history of Port Royal, the settlement at which was 
 decided upon in 1604, but not actually undertaken until the following year, see 
 Hannay, History of Acadia (St. John, N. B., 1879); Hannay, Story of Acadia 
 (Kentville, N. S., 1904); Acadiensis (special number, June, 1904); Savary, History 
 of the County of Annapolis (Toronto, 1897). The census of 1686 gave 885 persons 
 in all Nova Scotia, of whom 592 were at Port Royal, exclusive of 30 soldiers. See 
 Suite, Les Canadiens Franqais (Montreal, 1882), vi, pp. 8, 9. — Ed. 
 
 2 The reference is here to the siege of Port Royal by Sir William Phips in May, 
 1690. Menneval, son of the Baron de Portneuf, had but recently succeeded Perrot as 
 governor of Acadia. The fort was inefficiently garrisoned and provisioned, and was 
 entirely unable to resist the demand for surrender made by the well-equipped English 
 fleet. The charge that Phips broke the terms of capitulation, seems to be sustained. 
 Menneval was carried captive to Boston, where after a short imprisonment he was sent 
 to England, afterwards exchanged, and returned to Canada, where he was useful in 
 affording information of New England conditions. — Ed. 
 
 3 First called Port Royal Basin, but now Annapolis Basin. Situated on the 
 northwest coast of Nova Scotia, and pouring its enormous tide into the Bay of Fundy 
 
broad, and two Leagues long, having at the entry about fix- 
 teen or eighteen fathom Water on one fide, and fix or feven 
 on the other; for you muft know that the Ifland call’d 1 'IJle 
 aux Cbevres which ftands in the middle, divides the Channel 
 into two. There’s excellent anchorage all over the Bafin; 
 and at the bottom of it, there’s a Cape or point of Land that 
 parts two Rivers, at which the tide rifes ten or [225] twelve 
 Foot. Thefe Rivers are bounded by pleafant Meads, which 
 in Spring and Autumn are cover’d with all forts of frefh 
 Water-foul. In fine, Port-Royal is only a handful of Houfes 
 two Story high, and has but few Inhabitants of any Note. 
 It fubfifts upon the traffick of the Skins, which the Savages 
 bring thither to truck for European Goods. In former 
 times, the Farmer’s Company had Magazins in this place, 
 which were under the care of the Governours. I could 
 
 through the narrow Digby Gut, this strikingly-beautiful fjord appealed strongly to 
 the French explorers—De Monts, Champlain, and Poutrincourt — who discovered 
 it about the twenty-fourth of June, 1604. Poutrincourt obtained from De Monts a 
 grant of the region, and determined to settle there; but the ill-fated winter of 1604-05 
 was actually spent by the party on Island St. Croix, at the mouth of St. Croix River, 
 where it empties into Passamaquoddy Bay. The next year, the remnant of the com¬ 
 pany settled on Poutrincourt’s grant, on the shores of Annapolis Basin. This first 
 settlement of the French in Canada was on the mainland, in Lower Granville, oppo¬ 
 site Goat Island (the “ Isle aux Chevres ” of our author), about seven miles below 
 and on the opposite shore to the present Annapolis Royal, at the head of the basin — 
 whither the colony removed in later years. Annapolis Basin was too far removed 
 from the fur trade of the interior, also was subject to English attacks, for which reasons 
 Champlain wisely decided to found Quebec (1608) as the capital of New France. 
 
 Along the east shore of the basin is now a continuous and prosperous farming 
 community, chiefly the descendants of early Scotch settlers and American Loyalists, 
 with several small towns. Digby is a considerable summer resort, chiefly for New 
 Englanders ; Annapolis Royal (1000 inhabitants) is a quiet market town. Concern¬ 
 ing the tercentenary celebration of the landfall of the early French, see p. 324, note 1, 
 ante. — Ed. 
 
 ] 
 
 
332 Some New Voyages 
 
 eafily mention fome of ’em, if I were not apprehenfive that 
 thefe Memoirs may be feen by others befides your felf. 
 
 The Ifland of Newfound-Land , is three hundred Leagues 
 in Circumference. It lies at the diftance of fix hundred and 
 fifty Leagues from France , and forty or fifty Leagues from 
 the Bank of the fame name. The South fide of the Ifland 
 belongs to the French , who have feveral Settlements there for 
 the fifhing of Cod. The Eaft fide is inhabited by the Englijh , 
 who are poffefs’d of feveral confiderable Polls, fituated in 
 certain Ports, Bays, and Havens, which they have taken care 
 to fortifie. The Weft of the Ifland is wafte, and was never yet 
 poffefs’d. The Ifland is of a triangular Figure, and full of 
 Mountains, and impracticable Forrefts. It has fome great 
 Meadows, or rather Heaths, which are covered with a fort of 
 Mofs inftead of Grafs. The Soil of this Country is good for 
 nothing, as being a mixture of Gravel, Sand and Stones; fo 
 that the Fifliery was the only motive that induc’d the French 
 and the Englijh to fettle there. It affords great ftore of Game, 
 for Water-fowl, Patridges and Hairs; but as for the Stags, 
 ’tis almoft impoflible to come at ’em, by reafon that the 
 Mountains are fo high, and the Woods fo thick. 1 In this 
 
 1 The area of Newfoundland, which in its extreme length from north to south is 
 350 miles and in its average breadth from east to west 130 miles, is 40,200 square 
 miles. Its population in 1901 was 216,215, for the most part littoral; the interior 
 being still a wilderness, chiefly forested, although there are several broad rocky 
 plateaus which yield little beyond moss and low-growing shrubs. The lumbering 
 industry is being rapidly developed, the lakes and rivers furnishing easy timber high¬ 
 ways to mill and port; mining interests are also fast growing in importance — the 
 present annual output of copper, pyrites, iron ore, and other products amounting to a 
 million dollars; under recent governmental bounties, the area of cultivation has been 
 
to AW^-America. 333 
 
 I {land, as well as in that of Cape Breton , we find Porphyry of 
 feveral colours; and care has been taken to fend to France 
 fome pieces of it for a Pattern, which were [226] found to be 
 very pretty, only they were hard to cut. I have feen fome of 
 ’em that were red ftreak’d with green, and feem’d to be 
 extream fine ; but the mifchief is, it fplits fo when ’tis taken 
 out of the Quarries, that it cannot be made ufe of, but by way 
 of incruftation. 
 
 This Illand of Cape Breton affords likewife black Marble, 
 or a fort of Brefche with grey Veins, which is hard, and not 
 
 extended to upwards of 100,000 acres, largely along the coast, by fishermen ; the 
 fisheries, however, are, as in Lahontan’s day, still the chief industry, employing in 
 all branches of that pursuit nearly 60,000 of the inhabitants—while American, French, 
 and a few Portuguese vessels are also engaged in the catch. The total annual value of 
 the cod-fish catch in this region is $10,000,000, Newfoundland’s share being $ 600,000 ; 
 to these, may be added herring, lobsters, seal, and whale — while the interior waters 
 abound in salmon and trout, which attract tourists from Canada, England, and the 
 United States. The principal manufacturing establishments are in St. Johns; but 
 factories for canning lobsters, and making seal and cod-liver oil, and guano, are 
 numerous along the coast. The island is for the most part a plateau, creased by 
 numerous river gorges and lake basins, and capped by a few mountains of not more 
 than 2000 feet above sea-level, with a deeply-indented, fjord-like coast — more 
 on the west, north, and east sides than on the south. The numerous fjords 
 are valuable to fishermen as land-locked harbors, and the population, as in Norway, 
 clings closely to the ragged fringe of shore. For a century and a half, French fisher¬ 
 men have controlled the west and north coasts, from Cape Ray to Notre Dame Bay; 
 but a recent treaty between England and France (1904) has effectively disposed of this 
 long-pending source of discontent on the part of the English residents, and England 
 now dominates (or will, when the stipulation is formally confirmed by both parlia¬ 
 ments) the entire island. Newfoundland is not a part of the Dominion of Canada, 
 preferring to remain a separate colony of the British Empire. Reid’s Transinsular 
 Railroad (narrow gauge), built in 1893-98, now runs from Port-au-Basques to St. 
 Johns, but thus far has had but slight effect in developing the island, for the cheaper 
 water carriage is still quite generally preferred. Labrador is owned by Newfoundland, 
 and many of the tourists who now flock to the island for fishing and hunting, take 
 pleasure trips on Newfoundland steamers as far north as Nain. — Ed. 
 
334 Some New Voyages 
 
 eafily polic’d. 1 This Stone is apt to fplit, for ’tis not equally 
 hard, and it has knots in it. There are no fetled Savages in 
 the Ifland of Newfound-Land . 2 3 ’Tis true, the Eskimaux do 
 fometimes crofs over to it at the Streight of Belle IJle in great 
 Sloops, with intent to furprife the Crew of the Fiftiermen 
 upon the Coaft call’d Petit Nord. Our Settlements are at 
 Placentia , at the Ifland of St. Peter , and in the Bay of Erepaffez? 
 From Cape Rafe to Chapeau Rouge , the Coaft is very clean, but 
 from Chapeau Rouge to Cape Rafe, the Rocks render it dan¬ 
 gerous. 4 There are two confiderable Inconveniences, that 
 attend the landing upon this Ifland. In the firft place, the 
 Fogs are here fo thick in the Summer, for twenty Leagues off 
 into the Main, that the ableft and moft expert Sailor dare not 
 ftand into the Land while they laft: So that all Ships are 
 oblig’d to lye bye for a clear day, in order to make the Land. 
 
 1 The author probably means breccia, a conglomerate of angular fragments. — Ed. 
 
 2 The aborigines of Newfoundland were few in number, and occupied chiefly the 
 northern portion. They were known to the early French as Beothics, and exhibited 
 an ineradicable hatred of the whites. After an act of treachery on their part, in 1810, 
 they were nearly all exterminated. — Ed. 
 
 3 For Placentia, see p. 275, note 1, ante. The little island of St. Pierre was one 
 of the earliest visited by French fishers in the sixteenth century, and by 1670 became 
 a permanent French settlement, with slight fortifications. After the Treaty of Utrecht 
 (1713), all French inhabitants were expelled ; but in 1763, the islands of St. Pierre 
 and Miquelon were retroceded to France, as a refuge for fishermen ; the sovereignty 
 is still in her hands, these now being, after the Newfoundland French Shore treaty 
 (1904), her only possessions in North America, save those in the West Indies. 
 
 Trepassey Bay is the first large indentation southwest of Cape Race. The per¬ 
 manent French settlement here was broken up in 1713. See Prowse, History of New¬ 
 foundland (London, 1895), p. 542. —Ed. 
 
 4 The first should be Cape Ray, not Race. Chapeau Rouge is the extremity of 
 the great peninsula between Fortune and Placentia Bays. Eastward from this point, 
 the coast is more wild and rocky than that to the west. — Ed. 
 

 to North- America. 335 
 
 The fecond Inconveniency, which is yet greater, proceeds 
 from the Currents which run to and again, without any per¬ 
 ceivable variation, by which means the Ships are fometimes 
 drove in upon the Coaft, when they reckon upon ten Leagues 
 offing. But, which is worft of all, the infenfible motion of the 
 rowling Waves, throw’s ’em infenfibly upon the Rocks, which 
 they cannot poflibly avoid, for want of ground to anchor 
 upon. ’Twas by this means that the King’s Ship the Pretty 
 was loft in 1692, as well as a great many others upon feveral 
 occafions. 1 
 
 [227] Of all our Settlements in North -America, Placentia is 
 the Poft of the greateft Importance and Service to the King, 
 in regard that ’tis a place of refuge to the Ships that are 
 oblig’d to put into a Harbour, when they go or come from 
 Canada , and even to thofe which come from South-^wma?, 
 when they want to take in frefh Water or Provifions, and 
 have fprung their Mall, or been dammag’d in a Storm. This 
 place is fituated in the Latitude of 47 Degrees, and fome 
 Minutes, almoft at the bottom of the Bay that goes by the 
 fame name. The Bay is ten or twelve Leagues broad, and 
 twenty odd Leagues long. The Fort ftands upon the fide of 
 a Neck or narrow Streight, which is fixty Paces over, and fix 
 Fathoms water deep. The Ships that enter into the Port, 
 are oblig’d to graze, (fo to fpeak) upon the angle of the 
 Baftions. The Port or Harbour is a League long, and a 
 
 1 This was probably the ship ‘ ‘ Joli,’* which under command of Monsieur 
 Beaujeu conveyed La Salle’s ill-fated colony to the Gulf of Mexico (1684). See 
 Thwaites, Hennepin's Ne<w Discovery (Chicago, 1903), pp. 388-392, where in the 
 original text of the reprint (London, 1698) it is misprinted “ Toby.” — Ed. 
 
336 Some New Voyages 
 
 quarter of a League over: Before the Port there’s a large, 
 fine road, which is a League and a half wide ; but lies fo 
 bleak to the North-Weft, and Weft-North-Weft Winds, the 
 ftrongeft and moft boifterous Winds that are, that neither 
 Cables nor Anchors, nor large ftout Ships can withftand 
 their furious Ihocks; tho’ indeed thefe violent ftorms feldom 
 happen but in the latter end of Autumn. The fame year 
 that the Pretty was loft, the King loft another of 69 Guns 
 call’d the Good , in this Road; and if the four or five other 
 Ships that belong’d to the fame Squadron, had not took the 
 precaution of fteering into the Port, they had certainly under¬ 
 went the fame fate. This Road then which is only expos’d 
 to the North-Weft, and Weft-North-Weft Winds, has fome 
 hidden Rocks on the North fide, befides thofe at Pointe 
 Ferte , where feveral of the Inhabitants are wont to fifh. All 
 thefe things you may fee plainly upon the Plan that I fent 
 you along with my 23^ Letter. 
 
 [228] Commonly, there comes thirty or forty Ships from 
 France to Placentia every year, and fometimes fixty. Some 
 come with intent to fifh, and others have no other defign than 
 to truck with the Inhabitants, who live in the Summer time on 
 the other fide of the Fort. The ground upon which their 
 Houfes ftand, is call’d La grand Grave , for in effeift, they have 
 nothing but Gravel to fpread their Cod-fifh upon, in order to 
 have ’em dry’d by the Sun after they are falted. The Inhab¬ 
 itants and the French Fifhermen, fend their Sloops every day 
 two Leagues oflf the Port to purfue the Fifhery; and fome- 
 
to North-America.. 
 
 337 
 
 times the Sloops return fo over-loaded, that they are in a 
 manner bury’d in the Water. You cannot imagine how deep 
 they fink, and ’tis impoflible you fhould believe it, unlefs you 
 faw it. The Fifhery commences in the beginning of June , and 
 is at an end about the middle of Augujl. In the Harbour they 
 catch a little fort of a fifh, which they put upon their Hooks 
 as a bait for the Cod. 
 
 Placentia is in great want of Gravel, which occafions the 
 thinnefs of the Inhabitants. If the Governours prefer’d the 
 King’s Service to Avarice, they might make it a confiderable 
 Poll, and a great many would make gravel Walks at their own 
 charge; but as long as the Governours prey upon the for¬ 
 tunes of private Men, under the fair pretence of the King’s 
 Service, which is always in their Mouths, I can’t fee that this 
 Settlement will ever be inlarg’d or improv’d. Do’s not the 
 Governour difgrace his Prince, and fink the chara&er of his 
 Poll, in turning Fifherman, Merchant, Vintner, and adting in 
 the way of a thoufand meaner and more Mechanical Trades ? 
 Is not this a piece of Tyranny? To force the Inhabitants to 
 buy what Goods they want, out of fuch and fuch a Ship, and 
 to fell their Cod to fuch other Ships as the Governour is 
 interefs’d in, and that as a principal Owner: To [229] appro¬ 
 priate to himfelf the Rigging and Tackle of the Ships that 
 are call away upon the Coaft, to flop the Crew of Merchant¬ 
 men for his own Fifhery, to fell Habitations or Settlements, 
 to ftifle the bidding up for Effedls fold by way of Audtion 
 that he may ingrofs them by his foie Authority, to change 
 
338 Some New Voyages 
 
 the Provifions laid up in Magazines for his Majefty’s Troops, 
 to carry off the good Biskuit and put bad in the room of it, 
 to make fo much Beef and Bacon for the fubfiftance of the 
 Garrifon, to force the Inhabitants to fend their Servants and 
 Carpenters to fome work, in which his Majefty’s Service is 
 lefs concern’d than his own Pocket: Thefe, I fay, are things 
 that I take to be plain infractions of the Orders iffued forth 
 by Lewis the XIV. Thefe are abufes that muft be redrefs’d, 
 if we would have the King to be well ferv’d : And yet there’s 
 nothing done in it. For my part, I am unacquainted with 
 the reafon of the delay; thofe that have a mind to know, had 
 beft ask the Deputies of Monfieur de P * * *. I am fully 
 perfwaded, that all thefe Pyracies do not come to the King’s 
 Ear, for he’s too juft to fuffer ’em. 
 
 To conclude; Placentia bears neither Corn, nor Rie, nor 
 Peafe, for the Soil is good for nothing; not to mention, that 
 if it were as good and as fertile as any in Canada , yet no 
 body would give themfelves the trouble to cultivate it; for 
 one Man earns more in Cod-fifhing in one Summer, than ten 
 would do in the way of Agriculture. In the great Bay of 
 Placentia , there are fome little Harbours, (befides that of the 
 Fort) which the Bi/cay Fifhermen refort to. Such are the 
 little and the great Burin , St. Laurence , Martir , Chapeau 
 Rouge , 1 &c. 
 
 1 The inlets here mentioned are all upon the western coast of Placentia Bay, and 
 still retain practically their old names. Burin Inlet has at its entrance an island of 
 the same name. “ Martir” is the present Mortier Bay, being thus named for two 
 well-known cartographers of the seventeenth century, Corneille and Pierre Mortier. 
 Burin and St. Lawrence were early seats of shipbuilding. — Ed. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 339 
 
 [230] A Lift of the Savage Nations of Canada. 
 
 The Abenakis. 
 The Micmac. 
 The Cattibas. 
 The Mabingans. 
 The Openangos. 
 The Soccokis. 
 The Etechemins. 
 
 Thofe in Acadia. 
 
 Thefe are all of ’em good Warriours; 
 they are more adtive and lefs cruel than 
 the Iroquefe. Their Language differs a 
 little from that of the A Igonkins . 1 
 
 The Nations that lye upon the River of St. Laurence, from the Sea 
 to Monreal. 
 
 The Papinachois. 
 
 The Mountaneers. 
 
 The Gafpefians. 
 
 The Hurons of Loreto , the Iroquefe Tongue. 
 
 The Abenakis of Scilleri. 
 
 The Algonkins. 
 
 The Agnies of the Fall call’d Sant St. Louis; they fpeak the 
 Iroquefe Language, and are good Warriours. 
 
 The Iroquefe of the Mountain of Monreal; they fpeak the 
 Iroquefe Language, and are a brave People. 2 
 
 Thefe fpeak the Algonkin Language. 
 
 The Algonkin Language. 
 
 1 For these tribes see pp. 90, 327, 328, ante . The Etechemins — nomads, whom the 
 French found it difficult to convert — occupied the region from the Penobscot east to 
 beyond St. John River, and in 1677 numbered from four to five hundred. The rem¬ 
 nants of one Etechemin tribe are the so-called Quoddy Indians of to-day. Ed. 
 
 2 For the Papinachois, see p. 261, note 2, ante. They were one of the tribe of 
 the Montagnais (Mountaineers), by which term the French designated the wander- 
 
340 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 Thofe upon the Lake of Hurons. 
 The Hurons , the Iroquefe Language. 
 
 The Algonkin Language. 
 
 The Outehipoues , alias Sauteurs, good Warriours. * 1 
 
 ing Algonquian bands north of the St. Lawrence, among whom they had missions. 
 
 As the name indicates, the Gaspesiens were the aborigines of Gaspe, extending 
 from the territory of the Etechemins northeast to the St. Lawrence. In 1677 there 
 were from four to five hundred of these savages, whom the Jesuits found gentle and 
 tractable. 
 
 The other tribes mentioned in this division are the Indians of the mission colonies. 
 For Lorette, see p. 48, note 1, ante; for Sillery, p. 49, note 1; for the mission of Sault 
 St. Louis to the Agnies (Mohawks), p. 56, note 1 ; for that of La Montagne, p. 55, 
 note 2. — Ed. 
 
 1 The Huron confederacy was one of the largest and most enlightened bodies of 
 North American Indians. When first encountered by the French they numbered 
 about 16,000, and had agricultural villages in the region between Lake Simcoe and 
 Georgian Bay — see p. 154, note 2, ante. An important Jesuit mission was founded 
 in the Huron country (Huronia, in Jesuit annals), but was destroyed and the Hurons 
 dispersed by Iroquois war-raids (1648-49) —see Jesuit Relations , i, pp. 21-27. 
 
 Ottawa (Outaouat) was the name applied by the early French to the North¬ 
 western Algonquians. When first encountered, they dwelt chiefly upon Manitoulin 
 Island, in Lake Huron, whither they had sought an asylum from the Iroquois — see 
 p. 153, note 2, ante. Later, their chief habitat was about Mackinac. They were 
 especially faithful to French interests, and Pontiac was an Ottawa chief. The rem¬ 
 nants of this tribe were removed to Indian Territory. 
 
 For the Nockes and Mississagues, see p. 317, note 1, ante. 
 
 The Attikamek (Attikamegues) were a Montagnais tribe dwelling chiefly upon 
 the upper St. Maurice River, and trading with the Western Indians. They were 
 destroyed by the ravages of the Iroquois, and an epidemic of small-pox. 
 
 For the Saulteurs (men of the Sault), by which term the French designated the 
 entire Chippewa (Ojibwa) nation, whether living at Sault Ste. Marie or elsewhere, see 
 p. 149, note 1, ante. — Ed. 
 
 The Outaouas. 
 The Nockes. 
 The Miffifagues. 
 The Attikamek. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 34i 
 
 [231] Upon the Ilinefe Lake , and the adjacent Country. 
 
 Some Ilinefe at Chegakou . 
 
 The Oumamis ) good Warriours. 
 
 The Maskoutens. 
 
 The Kikapous , good Warriours. 
 
 The Outagamis, good Warriours. 
 
 The Malomimis . 
 
 The Pouteouatamis. 
 
 The OjatinonSy good Warriours. 
 
 The Sakis. 
 
 In the Neighbourhood of the Lake of Frontenac. 
 
 The Tfonontouans. ^ 
 
 The Goyoguans. L Thefe fpeak a different Language 
 The Omiolagues. J <r ° m the 
 
 The Onnoyoutes and AgnieSy at a fmall diftance. 2 
 
 ^or the Illinois (Ilinese) and Miami*(Oumamis), see p. 77, note 1, ante. The 
 Ouiatonon (Ojatinons) were a Miami tribe, later settled in western Indiana, and 
 known to the English as Weas. 
 
 For the Mascouten and Kickapoo, see p. 174, note 2; for the Outagami (Fox) 
 and Sauk (Sakis), p. 175, note 2 ; for the Menominee (Malomimis) and Potawatomi 
 (Pouteouatamis), p. 168, note 2. These dwelt for the most part in Wisconsin, 
 
 which was more densely populated with aborigines than any other Northwestern 
 state. — Ed. 
 
 2 These were the Iroquois, for whom see p. 58, note 1, ante. — Ed. 
 
 They fpeak the Algon- 
 kin Language, and are a 
 fprightly adlive fort of 
 People. 1 
 
342 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 Near the River of the Outaouas. 
 
 The Tabitibi. 
 
 The Monzoni. 
 
 The Machakandibi. 
 
 The Nopemen d’Achirini. 
 The Nepifirini. 
 
 The Temiskamink. 
 
 They fpeak the Algonkin Lan- 
 ► guage, and all of ’em are very 
 cowardly. 1 2 
 
 To the North of Miflifipi, and upon the Confines of the Upper 
 Lake , and Hudfon’s Bay. 
 
 The Nadoueffis. 
 
 The Affimpouals. 
 
 The Sonkaskitons. 
 
 The Ouadbatons. 
 
 The A tin tons. 
 
 The Cliflinos brave Warriour’s 
 and a&ive brisk Men. 
 
 The Ekimaux. 
 
 1 The Abittibi (Tabitibi) were the Indians of the lake and river of that name, 
 tributary of the Moose. In 1760 the French maintained a post upon Abittibi Lake. 
 The Monsoni lived in the eastern part of Rupert Land, but wandered widely, some 
 of that nation being present at Sault Ste. Marie when St. Lusson took possession of 
 the Northwest (1671). 
 
 For the identification of Machakandibi, see p. 315, note 1, ante. 
 
 The Achirigouans (Nopemen d’Achirini) and Nipissing (Nepisirini) were 
 kindred tribes, living north of the lake named for the latter. Charlevoix says that 
 they were the original Algonquians, and spoke the language in its purity. There 
 are now about two hundred of the tribe on their reservation on Lake Nipissing. 
 
 The Temiscaming (Temiskamink) Indians took their name from that of the 
 lake, which signified “ deep.” About two hundred still frequent the agency on Lake 
 Temiscaming in northern Ontario. — Ed. 
 
 2 Lahontan is mistaken in stating that these tribes spoke the Algonquian language 
 
 - Thefe fpeak Algonkin? 
 
to North -America 
 
 343 
 
 [232] A Lift, of the Animals of the South Countries of Canada. 
 
 Wild Beeves. 
 
 Little Stags or Harts. 
 
 Roebucks of three different Species. 
 
 Wolves, fuch as we have in Europe. 
 
 Lynx’s, fuch as we have in Europe. 
 
 Michibichi, a fort of baftard Tygre. 
 
 fuch as we have in Europe. 
 
 Afb-colour’d Squirrels. 
 
 , 1 fuch as we have in Europe. 
 
 Rabbets. \ r 
 
 Badgers, fuch as we have in Europe. 
 
 White Beavers, but very fcarce. 
 
 Reddifh Bears. 
 
 Musk Rats. 
 
 Reddifh Foxes, as in Europe. 
 
 Crocodiles in the Mifftfipi. 
 
 Offa , an Animal like a Hare, upon the Mifftfipi. 
 
 — another evidence of his lack of knowledge of the Siouan country. Of all the tribes enu¬ 
 merated, the Cristinaux (Clistini, Cree) were the only members of that stock, although 
 intimately associated with the Assinboin (Assimpouals) —see p. 309, note 1, ante. 
 
 With the exception of the Eskimo (Ekimaux), the other tribes are all Siouan 
 (Dakotan) —see p. 175, note 3, ante. The Assiniboin separated from the Yankton 
 tribe of Dakota, moved north and west, and are still one of the strongest bands of 
 the Northwest. The Chonkasketons (Sonkaskitons) were “people of the fortified 
 village”; the Wahpetons (Ouadebatons), a branch of thelssati (Santee); the Tetons 
 (Atintons) a fierce tribe of western Sioux, whose later habitat was the Upper Missouri 
 River. See Thwaites (ed.), Original Journals of Lewis and Clark Expedition 
 (New York, 1904), index; also IVis. Hist. Colls., xvi, pp. 193, 194. — Ed. 
 
344 Some New Voyages 
 
 A Lift of the Animals of the North Countries of Canada. 
 Orignals or Elks. 
 
 Caribous or wild Affes. 
 
 Black Foxes. 
 
 Silver colour’d Foxes. 
 
 A fort of wild Cats, call’d Enfans du Diable , or the Devil’s 
 Children. 
 
 Carcaious, an Animal not unlike a Badger. 
 
 Porcupines. 
 
 Fontereaux, an Amphibious fort of little Pole-Cats. 
 
 Martins. 
 
 Pole-Cats, fuch as we have in Europe. 
 
 Black Bears. 
 
 [233] White Bears. 
 
 Siffleurs, an Animal that makes a whizzing noife. 
 
 Flying Squirrels. 
 
 White Hares. 
 
 Beavers. 
 
 Otters. 
 
 Musk-Rats. 
 
 Suiffe Squirrels, or a fort of Squirrels, whofe Hair refembles a 
 Suiffe's Doublet. 
 
 Great Harts. 
 
 Sea-Wolves or Calves. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 345 
 
 A Defcription of fuch Animals or Beafls , as are not men¬ 
 tion'd in the Letters. 
 
 T HE Micbibichi is a fort of Tyger, only ’tis The Animals 
 lefs than the common Tyger, and not fo tl3e South 
 much fpeckl’d. As foon as it defcries a Man, ^ountnes. 
 it runs away, and climbs up the firft Tree it meets with. It 
 attacks all brute Animals whatfoever, and conquers ’em with 
 eafe; and, which is very Angular and peculiar to it above all 
 other Animals, it runs in to the affiftance of the Savages, when 
 they purfue Bears and wild Beeves; upon fuch occafions it 
 makes as if ’twere affraid of no body, and fally’s out with fury 
 upon the hunted Animal. The Savages call thefe Animals a 
 fort of Manitous , that is, Spirits that love Men; and ’tis upon 
 that fcore they efteem and refped ’em to fuch a degree, that 
 they would choofe rather to die, than to kill one of ’em. 1 
 
 The ‘white Beavers are much valued, upon the account of 
 their being uncommon, though at the fame time, their Hair is 
 neither fo large nor fo fine as that of the common Beavers. 
 As there are but few of thefe white Beavers, fo thofe which 
 are quite black are very fcarce. 2 
 
 1 The animal here described as “ Michibichi M is undoubtedly the puma or 
 American tiger-cat (Felis concolor) . Marquette describes one that he saw swimming 
 a river, and one of the Jesuit missionaries gives this title to a manitou. Consult 
 Jesuit Relations, lix, p. 109; Ixvii, pp. 159, 161. — Ed. 
 
 2 The white beaver is an albino of the ordinary Castor canadensis , and is very 
 
346 Some New Voyages 
 
 [234] The Reddifh Bears are mifchievous Creatures, for 
 they fall fiercely upon the Huntfmen, whereas the black ones 
 fly from ’em. The former fort are lefs, and more nimble 
 than the latter. * 1 
 
 The Crocodiles of Mijjijipi , are exactly the fame with thofe 
 of the Nile and other places. I have feen that Crocodile that 
 is at Engolifma m Aquitaine, and find that it has the fame figure 
 with thefe, only ’tis fomewhat lefs. The rnoft ufual method 
 that the Savages have for taking ’em alive, is to throw great 
 Wreaths or Cords made of the barks of Trees with a running 
 knot, upon their Neck, the middle of their Body, their Paws, 
 &c. After they are thus fiez’d, they fhut ’em up between ten 
 or twelve Stakes, and there tie ’em after their Belly is turn’d 
 upwards. While they lie in this pofture, they flea ’em without 
 touching their Head or their Tail, and give ’em a Coat of 
 Fir-bark, to which they fet fire, having cut the Ropes that 
 keep’d ’em faft. Upon fuch occafions, thefe Animals make a 
 fearful houling and crying. To conclude, the Savages are 
 frequently fwallow’d up by thefe Creatures, whether in 
 fwimming over a River, or in fleeping upon its Banks. Ariofte 
 in the 68 Diapafon of his i$th Song, gives this Defcription of 
 a Crocodile. 
 
 Vive fub lito e dentro a la Riviera , 
 
 Ei Corpi Umani fon le fue Vivande, 
 
 De le Perfone mifere e incaute, 
 
 Di Viandanti e d’infelice naute. 
 
 rare. The black beaver is less unusual, but only about one in ten thousand is found 
 of this color. See Martin, Castorologia, p. 39. — Ed. 
 
 1 It is still a question among naturalists whether the cinnamon bear and the ordi- 
 
to North-America. 347 
 
 That is, it lives both in the River, and upon its Banks; 
 it fquafhes People with its murdering Tooth; it feeds upon 
 the Bodies of poor Travellers, of unfortunate Paflengers, and 
 Sailours. * 1 
 
 The Offa , are little Animals like Hares, and refemble ’em 
 in every thing, excepting the Ears and Hind-feet. They run, 
 and cannot climb. Their [235] Females have a Bag under 
 their Belly, where their young ones enter upon a purfuit, in 
 order to fave themfelves along with the Mother, who immedi¬ 
 ately betakes her felf to flight. 2 
 
 The Silver-colour’d Foxes are of the fame cru * ■ , 
 
 The Animals 
 
 lhape with thofe of Europe , as well as the black or Beaftsofthe 
 ones. The black ones are very fcarce, and who- North Coun- 
 foever catches one, is fure to fell it for its weight trtes ' 
 in Gold. This fpecies is met with only in the coldeft Coun¬ 
 tries. 
 
 The White Bears are a monftrous Animal, and extraordi¬ 
 nary long; their Head has a formidable Afpedt, and their 
 Hair is very large and thick; they are fo fierce, that they’ll 
 come and attack a Sloop in the Sea, with feven or eight Men 
 in it. ’Tis faid, that they’ll fwim fix or feven Leagues without 
 being tyr’d. They live upon Fifh and Shells upon the Sea- 
 
 nary black bear (Ursus americanus) are two species or one. Huntsmen, however, 
 usually discriminate, as Lahontan does. — Ed. 
 
 1 It is possible that Lahontan received his description of the crocodile ( Alligator 
 mississippiensis ) from some members of La Salle’s ill-fated colony, whose survivors he 
 met at Mackinac. See p. 145, ante. — Ed. 
 
 2 The ordinary opossum of North America ( Didelphys virginiana). — Ed. 
 
348 Some New Voyages 
 
 (hoar, from whence they feldom ftraggle far. I never faw but 
 one of ’em in my Life-time, which had certainly tore me to 
 pieces, if I had not fpy’d it at a diftance, and fo had time to 
 run back for Ihelter to Fort Louis at Placentia . 1 
 
 The Flying Squirrels are as big as a large Rat, and of a 
 greyilh white colour. They are as droufie, as thofe of the 
 other Species are watchful. They are call’d Flying Squirrels , 
 in regard that they fly from one Tree to another, by the 
 means of a certain Skin which ftretches it felf out in the form 
 of a Wing, when they make thefe little Flights. 
 
 The White Hares are only fuch in Winter, for as foon as 
 the Spring comes on, they begin to turn grayilh, and by 
 degrees recover the fame colour as our Hares have in France , 
 which they hold till the end of Autumn. 
 
 The Suiffe Squirrels are little Animals, refembling little 
 Rats. 2 The Epithet of Suiffe is beftow’d upon ’em, in regard 
 that the Hair which covers their Body, [236] is fkreak’d with 
 black and white, and refembles a Suiffe' s Doublet; and that 
 thefe ftreaks make a ring on each Thigh, which bears a great 
 deal of refemblance to a Suiffe' s Cap. 
 
 The large Stags are neither higher nor thicker, than thofe 
 we have in Europe; but they are call’d large in proportion 
 
 1 Lahontan must refer here to the polar bear ( Thallassartos maritimus), which 
 occasionally ventures as far as the southern coast of Newfoundland. — Ed. 
 
 2 The well-known flying squirrel ( Sciuropterus e volucella) is well described. 
 Several of the North American hares change color as thus noted ; probably Lahontan 
 means Lepus timidus, <var. arcticus. The Swiss squirrel is either a chipmunk ( Tamias 
 striatus) or a ground-squirrel (Spermophile tridecemlineatus) . See Jesuit Relations , 
 vi, p. 315.—Ed. 
 
349 
 
 to North- America. 
 
 to two other Species of Harts that frequent the Southern 
 Countries. The leffer fort affords the moft delicious Meat. 
 
 The Sea-Wolves , which fome call Sea-Calves , are as big as 
 Maftiffs. They are almoft always in the Water, or at leaft 
 they never go far from the Sea fide. Thefe Animals do not 
 walk fo much as they crawl, for when they raife themfelves 
 out of the Water, they only creep upon the Sand or Clay. 
 Their Head has the form of an Otter’s Head, and their Feet, 
 which have no Legs, refemble thofe of a Goofe. The Female 
 kind bring forth their young ones upon the Rocks, or upon 
 fome little Iflands, juft by the Sea. The Sea-Wolves live 
 upon Fifh, and refort to cold Countries. There’s a pro¬ 
 digious number of ’em about the Mouth of the River of 
 St. Laurence . 1 
 
 As for the remaining Animals of Canada , I gave you an 
 account of ’em in my Letters. I will not offer to fhew you 
 what methods the Savages take to catch or kill all thefe Ani¬ 
 mals, for fuch an undertaking would be endlefs. This I can 
 affure you of in the general, that they rarely go a Hunting to 
 no purpofe, and that they make no ufe of their Dogs, but in 
 the Hunting of Elks, and fometimes in Hunting of Beavers, 
 as you fhall fee under the Head of the Diverfions of Hunting 
 and Shooting among the Savages. 
 
 1 The ordinary seal (Phoca vitulina), often called sea-calf, from the sound it 
 emits. — Ed, 
 
350 
 
 Some New Voyages 
 
 fuch as we have in Europe. 
 
 [237] A Lift of the Fowl or Birds that frequent the South Countries 
 of Canada. 
 
 Vultures. 
 
 Huards, a River-fowl as big as a Goofe. 
 
 Swans. 
 
 Black Geefe. 
 
 Black Ducks. 
 
 Plungeons. 
 
 Coots. 
 
 Rayles. 
 
 Turkeys. 
 
 Red Partridges. 
 
 Pheafants. 
 
 Large Eagles. 
 
 Cranes. 
 
 Blackbirds. > fuch as we have in Europe. 
 
 Thrufhes. J 
 Wood-Pigeons. 
 
 Parrots. 
 
 Ravens. 
 
 Swallows. 
 
 Several forts of Birds of Prey that are not known in Europe. 
 Nightingales unknown in Europe , as well as feveral other little 
 Birds of different colours, particularly that call’d Oifeau 
 Mouche , a very little Bird refembling a Fly; and great 
 quantities of Pelicans. 
 
 fuch as we have in Europe. 
 
to North- America. 
 
 [ fuch as we have in Europe. 
 ;. ) 
 
 The Birds of the North Countries of Canada. 
 
 Buftards. 
 
 White Geefe. 
 
 Ducks of ten or twelve forts. 
 
 Teals. 
 
 Sea-Mews. 
 
 Grelans. 
 
 Sterlets. 
 
 [238] Sea-Parrots. 
 
 Moyacks. 
 
 Cormorants. 
 
 Heath-Cocks. 
 
 Snipes. 
 
 Plungeons. 
 
 Plovers. 
 
 Lapwings. 
 
 Herns. 
 
 Courbeious. 
 
 The Water-Fowl 
 call’d Chevalier. 
 
 Beateurs de Faux , a Fowl as big as a Quail. 
 
 White Partridges. 
 
 Large black Partridges. 
 
 Reddifh Partridges. 
 
 Woodhens. 
 
 Turtledoves. 
 
 fuch as we have in Europe.