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Voyages of Samuel de Champlain, Vol. 1

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The territory on the side of the fall where we went overland consists, so
far as we saw it, of very open woods, where one can go with his armor
without much difficulty. The air is milder and the soil better than in any
place I have before seen. There are extensive woods and numerous fruits, as
in all the places before mentioned. It is in latitude 45 deg. and some
minutes.

Finding that we could not advance farther, we returned to our barque, where
we asked our savages in regard to the continuation of the river, which I
directed them to indicate with their hands; so, also, in what direction its
source was. They told us that, after passing the first fall, [194] which we
had seen, they go up the river some ten or fifteen leagues with their
canoes, [195] extending to the region of the Algonquins, some sixty leagues
distant from the great river, and that they then pass five falls,
extending, perhaps, eight leagues from the first to the last, there being
two where they are obliged to carry their canoes. [196] The extent of each
fall may be an eighth of a league, or a quarter at most. After this, they
enter a lake, [197] perhaps some fifteen or sixteen leagues long. Beyond
this they enter a river a league broad, and in which they go several
leagues. [198] Then they enter another lake some four or five leagues long.
[199] After reaching the end of this, they pass five other falls, [200] the
distance from the first to the last being about twenty-five or thirty
leagues. Three of these they pass by carrying their canoes, and the other
two by dragging them in the water, the current not being so strong nor bad
as in the case of the others. Of all these falls, none is so difficult to
pass as the one we saw. Then they come to a lake some eighty leagues long,
[201] with a great many islands; the water at its extremity being fresh and
the winter mild. At the end of this lake they pass a fall, [202] somewhat
high and with but little water flowing over. Here they carry their canoes
overland about a quarter of a league, in order to pass the fall, afterwards
entering another lake [203] some sixty leagues long, and containing very
good water. Having reached the end, they come to a strait [204] two leagues
broad and extending a considerable distance into the interior. They said
they had never gone any farther, nor seen the end of a lake [205] some
fifteen or sixteen leagues distant from where they had been, and that those
relating this to them had not seen any one who had seen it; that since it
was so large, they would not venture out upon it, for fear of being
surprised by a tempest or gale. They say that in summer the sun sets north
of this lake, and in winter about the middle; that the water there is very
bad, like that of this sea. [206]

I asked them whether from this last lake, which they had seen, the water
descended continuously in the river extending to Gaspé. They said no; that
it was from the third lake only that the water came to Gaspé, but that
beyond the last fall, which is of considerable extent, as I have said, the
water was almost still, and that this lake might take its course by other
rivers extending inland either to the north or south, of which there are a
large number there, and of which they do not see the end. Now, in my
judgment, if so many rivers flow into this lake, it must of necessity be
that, having so small a discharge at this fall, it should flow off into
some very large river. But what leads me to believe that there is no river
through which this lake flows, as would be expected, in view of the large
number of rivers that flow into it, is the fact that the savages have not
seen any river taking its course into the interior, except at the place
where they have been. This leads me to believe that it is the south sea
which is salt, as they say. But one is not to attach credit to this opinion
without more complete evidence than the little adduced.

This is all that I have actually seen respecting this matter, or heard from
the savages in response to our interrogatories.

ENDNOTES:

178. Isle Plat, and at least ten other islets along the share before
reaching the Verchères.--_Vide_ Laurie's Chart.

179. The reader will observe that the catalogue of fruits, trees, and
animals mentioned above, include, only such as are important in
commerce. They are, we think, without an exception, of American
species, and, consequently, the names given by Champlain are not
accurately descriptive. We notice them in order, and in italics give
the name assigned by Champlain in the text.

Grapes. _Vignes_, probably the frost grape. _Vitis
cordifolia_.--Pickering's _Chronological History of Plants_ p. 875.

Walnuts. _Noir_, this name is given in France to what is known in
commerce as the English or European walnut, _Juglans rigia_, a Persian
fruit now cultivated in most countries in Europe. For want of a
better, Champlain used this name to signify probably the butternut,
_Juglans cinerea_, and five varieties of the hickory; the shag-bark.
_Carya alba_, the mocker-nut, _Carya tontentofa_, the small-fruited
_Carya microcarpa_, the pig-nut, _Carya glatra_, bitter-nut. _Carya
amara_, all of which are exclusively American fruits, and are still
found in the valley of the St Lawrence.--_MS. Letter of J. M. Le
Maine_, of Quebec; Jeffrie's _Natural History of French Dominions in
America_, London. 1760, p.41.

Hazel-nuts, _noysettes_. The American filbert or hazel-nut, _Corylus
Americana_. The flavor is fine, but the fruit is smaller and the shell
thicker than that of the European filbert.

"Kind of fruit resembling chestnuts." This was probably the chestnut,
_Caftanea Americana_. The fruit much resembles the European, but is
smaller and sweeter.

Cherries, _cerises_. Three kinds may here be included, the wild red
cherry, _Prunus Pennsylvanica_, the choke cherry. _Prunus Virginiana_,
and the wild black cherry, _Prunus serotina_.

Oaks, _chesnes_. Probably the more noticeable varieties, as the white
oak, _Quercus alba_, and red oak, Quercus _rubra_.

Aspens, _trembles_. The American aspen, _Populus tremuloides_.

Poplar, _pible_. For _piboule_, as suggested by Laverdière. a variety
of poplar.

Hops, _houblon_. _Humulus lupulus_, found in northern climates,
differing from the hop of commerce, which was imported from Europe.

Ash. _fresne_. The white ash, _Fraxinus Americana_, and black ash,
_Fraxinus sambucifolia_.

Maple, _érable_. The tree here observed was probably the rock or sugar
maple, _Acer faccharinum_. Several other species belong to this
region.

Beech, _hestre_. The American beech, _Fagus ferruginea_, of which
there is but one species.--_Vide_, Vol. II. p. 113, note 205.

Cypress, _cyprez_.--_Vide antea_ note 35.

Strawberry, _fraises_. The wild strawberry, _Fragaria vesca_, and
_Fragaria Virginiana_, both species, are found in this region.--_Vide_
Pickering's _Chronological History of Plants_, p. 873.

Raspberries _framboises_. The American raspberry, _Rubis strigosus_.

Currants, red, green, and blue, _groizelles rouges, vertes and
bleues_. The first mentioned is undoubtedly the red currant of our
gardens. _Ribes rubrum_. The second may have been the unripe fruit of
the former. The third doubtless the black currant, _Ribes nigrum_,
which grows throughout Canada.--_Vide Chronological History of
Plants_, Pickering. p. 871; also Vol. II. note 138.

_Orignas_, so written in the original text. This is, I think, the
earliest mention of this animal under this Algonquin name. It was
written, by the French, sometimes _orignac, orignat_, and
_orignal_.--_Vide Jesuit Relations_, 1635, p. 16; 1636, p. 11, _et
passim_; Sagard, _Hist. du Canada_, 1636, p. 749; _Description de
l'Amerique_, par Denys. 1672, p. 27. _Orignac_ was used
interchangeably with _élan_, the name of the elk of northern Europe,
regarded by some as the same spccies.--_Vide Mammals_, by Spenser F.
Baird. But the _orignac_ of Champlain was the moose. _Alce
Americanus_, peculiar to the northern latitudes of America. Moose is
derived from the Indian word _moosoa_. This animal is the largest of
the _Cervus_ family. The males are said to attain the weight of eleven
or twelve hundred pounds. Its horns sometimes weigh fifty or sixty
pounds. It is exceedingly shy and difficult to capture.

Stags, _cerfs_. This is undoubtedly a reference to the caribou,
_Cervus tarandus_. Sagard (1636) calls it _Caribou ou asne Sauuages_,
caribou or wilde ass.--_Hist. du Canada_, p. 750. La Hontan, 1686,
says harts and caribous are killed both in summer and winter after the
same manner with the elks (mooses), excepting that the caribous, which
are a kind of wild asses, make an easy escape when the snow is hard by
virtue of their broad feet (Voyages, p. 59). There are two varieties,
the _Cervus tarandus arcticus_ and the _Cervus tarandus sylvestris_.
The latter is that here referred to and the larger and finer animal,
and is still found in the forests of Canada.

Hinds, _biches_, the female of _cerfs_, and does, _dains_, the female
of _daim_, the fallow deer. These may refer to the females of the two
preceding species, or to additional species as the common red deer,
_Cervus Virginianus_, and some other species or variety. La Hontan in
the passage cited above speaks of three, the _elk_ which we have shown
to be the moose, the well-known _caribou_, and the _hart_, which was
undoubtedly the common red deer of this region, _Cervus Virginianus_.
I learn from Mr. J. M. LeMoine of Quebec, that the Wapiti, _Elaphus
Canadensis_ was found in the valley of the St. Lawrence a hundred and
forty years ago, several horns and bones having been dug up in the
forest, especially in the Ottawa district. It is now extinct here, but
is still found in the neighborhood of Lake Winnipeg and further west.
Cartier, in 1535, speaks of _dains_ and _cerfs_, doubtless referring
to different species.--_Vide Brief Récit_, D'Avezac ed. p. 31 _verso_.

Bears. _ours_. The American black bear, _Ursus Americanus_. The grisly
bear. _Ursus ferox_, was found on the Island of Anticosti.--_Vide
Hist. du Canada_, par Sagard, 1636, pp. 148, 750. _La Hontan's
Voyages_. 1687, p. 66.

Porcupines. _porcs-espics_. The Canada porcupine, _Hystrix pilosus_. A
nocturnal rodent quadruped, armed with barbed quills, his chief
defence when attacked by other animals.

Hares, _lapins_. The American hare, _Lepus Americanus_.

Foxes, _reynards_. Of the fox. _Canis vulpes_, there are several
species in Canada. The most common is of a carroty red color, _Vulpes
fulvus_. The American cross fox. _Canis decussatus_, and the black or
silver fox. _Canis argentatus_, are varieties that may have been found
there at that period, but are now rarely if ever seen.

Beavers, _castors_. The American beaver, _Castor Americanus_. The fur
of the beaver was of all others the most important in the commerce of
New France.

Otters, _loutres_. This has reference only to the river otter, _Lutra
Canadensis_. The sea otter, _Lutra marina_, is only found in America
on the north-west Pacific coast.

Muskrat, _rats musquets_. The musk-rat, _Fiber zibethecus_, sometimes
called musquash from the Algonquin word, _m8sk8éss8_, is found in
three varieties, the black, and rarely the pied and white. For a
description of this animal _vide Le Jeune, Jesuit Relations_, 1635,
pp. 18, 19.

180. The Verchères.

181. Summits of the Green Mountains.

182. From the Verchères to Montreal, the St. Lawrence is full of islands,
among them St. Thérèse and nameless others.

183. This was the Island of St Hélène, a favorite name given to several
other places. He subsequently called it St Hélène, probably from
Hélène Boullé, his wife. Between it and the mainland on the north
flows the _Rapide de Ste. Marie.--Vide Lauru's Chart_.

184. This landing was on the present site of the city of Montreal, and the
little island, according to Laverdière, is now joined to the mainland
by quays.

185. The island of Montreal, here referred to, not including the isle
Jésus, is about thirty miles long and nine miles in its greatest
width.

186. The Isle Perrot is about seven or eight miles long and about three
miles wide.

187. Island of St Paul, sometimes called Nuns' Island.

188. Round Island, situated just below St. Hélène's, on the east, say about
fifty yards distant.

189. The mountain in the rear of the city of Montreal, 700 feet in height,
discovered in October, 1535. by Jacques Cartier, to which he gave the
name after which the city is called. "Nous nomasmes la dicte montaigne
le mont Royal."--_Brief Récit_, 1545, D'Avezac's ed. p. 23. When
Cartier made his visit to this place in 1535, he found on or near the
site of the present city of Montreal the famous Indian town called
_Hochelaga_. Champlain does not speak of it in the text, and it had of
course entirely disappeared.--_Vide_ Cartier's description in _Brief
Récit_, above cited.

190. Rivière St Pierre. This little river is formed by two small streams
flowing one from the north and the other from the south side of the
mountain. Bellin and Charlevoix denominate it _La Petite Rivière_.
These small streams do not appear on modern maps, and have probably
now entirely disappeared.--_Vide Charlevoix's Carte de l'Isle de
Montreal; Atlas Maritime_, par Sieur Bellin; likewise _Atlas of the
Dominion of Canada_, 1875.

191. The River St. Lambert, according to Laverdière, a small stream from
which by a short portage the Indian with his canoe could easily reach
Little River, which flows into the basin of Chambly, the lake referred
to by Champlain. This was the route of the Algonquins, at least on
their return from their raids upon the Iroquois.--_Vide_ Vol. II. p.
225.

192. Laverdière supposes this insignificant stream to be La Rivière de la
Tortue.

193. The Falls of St. Louis, or the Lachine rapids.

194. Lachine Rapids.

195. Passing through Lake St. Louis, they come to the River Ottawa,
sometimes called the River of the Algonquins.

196. The Cascades, Cèdres and Rapids du Coteau du Lac with subdivisions.
_Laverdière_. La Hontan mentions four rapids between Lake St. Louis
and St Francis, as _Cascades, Le Cataracte du Trou, Sauts des Cedres_,
and _du Buisson_.

197. Lake St. Francis, about twenty-five miles long.

198. Long Saut.

199. Hardly a lake but rather the river uninterrupted by falls or rapids.

200. The smaller rapids, the Galops, Point Cardinal, and others.--_Vide_
La Hontan's description of his passage up this river, _New Voyages to
N. America_, London, 1735. Vol. I. p. 30.

201. Lake Ontario. It is one hundred and eighty miles long.--_Garneau_.

202. Niagara Falls. Champlain does not appear to have obtained from the
Indians any adequate idea of the grandeur and magnificence of this
fall. The expression, _qui est quelque peu éleué, où il y a peu d'eau,
laquelle descend_, would imply that it was of moderate if not of an
inferior character. This may have arisen from the want of a suitable
medium of communication, but it is more likely that the intensely
practical nature of the Indian did not enable him to appreciate or
even observe the beauties by which he was surrounded. The immense
volume of water and the perpendicular fall of 160 feet render it
unsurpassed in grandeur by any other cataract in the world. Although
Champlain appears never to have seen this fall, he had evidently
obtained a more accurate description of it before 1629.--_Vide_ note
No. 90 to map in ed. 1632.

203. Lake Erie, 250 miles long.--_Garneau_.

204. Detroit river, or the strait which connects Lake Erie and Lake St.
Clair.--_Atlas of the Dominion of Canada_.

205. Lake Huron, denominated on early maps _Mer Douce_, the sweet sea of
which the knowledge of the Indian guides was very imperfect.

206. The Indians with whom Champlain came in contact on this hasty visit in
1603 appear to have had some notion of a salt sea, or as they say
water that is very bad like the sea, lying in an indefinite region,
which neither they nor their friends had ever visited. The salt sea to
which they occasionally referred was probably Hudson's Bay, of which
some knowledge may have been transmitted from the tribes dwelling near
it to others more remote, and thus passing from tribe to tribe till it
reached, in rather an indefinite shape, those dwelling on the St.
Lawrence.




CHAPTER IX.

RETURN FROM THE FALL TO TADOUSSAC.--TESTIMONY OF SEVERAL SAVAGES IN REGARD
TO THE LENGTH AND COMMENCEMENT OF THE GREAT RIVER OF CANADA, NUMBER OF THE
FALLS, AND THE LAKES WHICH IT TRAVERSES.

We set out from the fall on Friday, the fourth of June, [207] and returned
the same day to the river of the Iroquois. On Sunday, the sixth of June, we
set out from here, and came to anchor at the lake. On Monday following, we
came to anchor at the Trois Rivières. The same day, we made some four
leagues beyond the Trois Rivières. The following Tuesday we reached Quebec,
and the next day the end of the island of Orleans, where the Indians, who
were encamped on the mainland to the north, came to us. We questioned two
or three Algonquins, in order to ascertain whether they would agree with
those whom we had interrogated in regard to the extent and commencement of
the River of Canada.

They said, indicating it by signs, that two or three leagues after passing
the fall which we had seen, there is, on the northern shore, a river in
their territory; that, continuing in the said great river, they pass a
fall, where they carry their canoes; that they then pass five other falls
comprising, from the first to the last, some nine or ten leagues, and that
these falls are not hard to pass, as they drag their canoes in the most of
them, except at two, where they carry them. After that, they enter a river
which is a sort of lake, comprising some six or seven leagues; and then
they pass five other falls, where they drag their canoes as before, except
at two, where they carry them as at the first; and that, from the first to
the last, there are some twenty or twenty-five leagues. Then they enter a
lake some hundred and fifty leagues in length, and some four or five
leagues from the entrance of this lake there is a river [208] extending
northward to the Algonquins, and another towards the Iroquois, [209] where
the said Algonquins and the Iroquois make war upon each other. And a little
farther along, on the south shore of this lake, there is another river,
[210] extending towards the Iroquois; then, arriving at the end of this
lake, they come to another fall, where they carry their canoes; beyond
this, they enter another very large lake, as long, perhaps, as the first.
The latter they have visited but very little, they said, and have heard
that, at the end of it, there is a sea of which they have not seen the end,
nor heard that any one has, but that the water at the point to which they
have gone is not salt, but that they are not able to judge of the water
beyond, since they have not advanced any farther; that the course of the
water is from the west towards the east, and that they do not know whether,
beyond the lakes they have seen, there is another watercourse towards the
west; that the sun sets on the right of this lake; that is, in my judgment,
northwest more or less; and that, at the first lake, the water never
freezes, which leads me to conclude that the weather there is moderate.
[211] They said, moreover, that all the territory of the Algonquins is low
land, containing but little wood; but that on the side of the Iroquois the
land is mountainous, although very good and productive, and better than in
any place they had seen. The Iroquois dwell some fifty or sixty leagues
from this great lake. This is what they told me they had seen, which
differs but very little from the statement of the former savages.

On the same day we went about three leagues, nearly to the Isle aux
Coudres. On Thursday, the tenth of the month, we came within about a league
and a half of Hare Island, on the north shore, where other Indians came to
our barque, among whom was a young Algonquin who had travelled a great deal
in the aforesaid great lake. We questioned him very particularly, as we had
the other savages. He told us that, some two or three leagues beyond the
fall we had seen, there is a river extending to the place where the
Algonquins dwell, and that, proceeding up the great river, there are five
falls, some eight or nine leagues from the first to the last, past three of
which they carry their canoes, and in the other two drag them; that each
one of these falls is, perhaps, a quarter of a league long. Then they enter
a lake some fifteen leagues in extent, after which they pass five other
falls, extending from the first to the last some twenty to twenty-five
leagues, only two of which they pass in their canoes, while at the three
others they drag them. After this, they enter a very large lake, some three
hundred leagues in length. Proceeding some hundred leagues in this lake,
they come to a very large island, beyond which the water is good; but that,
upon going some hundred leagues farther, the water has become somewhat bad,
and, upon reaching the end of the lake, it is perfectly salt. That there is
a fall about a league wide, where a very large mass of water falls into
said lake; that, when this fall is passed, one sees no more land on either
side, but only a sea so large that they have never seen the end of it, nor
heard that any one has; that the sun sets on the right of this lake, at the
entrance to which there is a river extending towards the Algonquins, and
another towards the Iroquois, by way of which they go to war; that the
country of the Iroquois is somewhat mountainous, though very fertile, there
being there a great amount of Indian corn and other products which they do
not have in their own country. That the territory of the Algonquins is low
and fertile.

I asked them whether they had knowledge of any mines. They told us that
there was a nation called the good Iroquois, [212] who come to barter for
the articles of merchandise which the French vessels furnish the
Algonquins, who say that, towards the north, there is a mine of pure
copper, some bracelets made from which they showed us, which they had
obtained from the good Iroquois; [213] that, if we wished to go there, they
would guide those who might be deputed for this object.

This is all that I have been able to ascertain from all parties, their
statements differing but little from each other, except that the second
ones who were interrogated said that they had never drunk salt water;
whence it appears that they had not proceeded so far in said lake as the
others. They differ, also, but little in respect to the distance, some
making it shorter and others longer; so that, according to their statement,
the distance from the fall where we had been to the salt sea, which is
possibly the South Sea, is some four hundred leagues. It is not to be
doubted, then, according to their statement, that this is none other than
the South Sea, the sun setting where they say.

On Friday, the tenth of this month, [214] we returned to Tadoussac, where
our vessel lay.

ENDNOTES:

207. As they were at Lake St Peter on the 29th of June, it is plain that
this should read July.

208. This river extending north from Lake Ontario is the river-like Bay of
Quinté.

209. The Oswego River.

210. The Genesee River, after which they come to Niagara Falls.

211. We, can easily recognize Lake Ontario, Lake Erie and Niagara Falls,
although this account is exceedingly confused and inaccurate.

212. Reference is here made to the Hurons who were nearly related to the
Iroquois. They were called by the French the good Iroquois in
distinction from the Iroquois in the State of New York, with whom they
were at war.

213. A specimen of pure copper was subsequently presented to Champlain.--
Vol. II. p. 236: _Vide_ a brochure on _Prehistoric Copper Implements_,
by the editor, reprinted from the New England Historical and
Genealogical Register for Jan. 1879; also reprinted in the Collections
of Wis. Hist. Soc., Vol. VIII. 1880.

214. Friday, July 11th.




CHAPTER X.

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