We Are A Litle Better Come To Ourselves And Furnished.
We left that
inn without reckoning with our host.
It is cheape when wee are not to put
the hand to the purse; neverthelesse we must pay out of civility: the one
gives thanks to the woods, the other to the river, the third to the earth,
the other to the rocks that stayes the ffish; in a word, there is nothing
but kinekoiur of all sorts; the encens of our Encens (?) is not spared.
The weather was agreable when we began to navigat upon that great extent of
watter, finding it so calme and the aire so cleare. We thwarted in a pretty
broad place, came to an isle most delightfull for the diversity of its
fruits. We called it the isle of the foure beggars. We arrived about 5 of
the clocke in the afternone that we came there. We sudainly put the kettle
to the fire. We reside there a while, and seeing all this while the faire
weather and calme. We went from thence att tenne of the clocke the same
night to gaine the firme lande, which was 6 leagues from us, where we
arrived before day. Here we found a small river. I was so curious that I
inquired my dearest friends the name of this streame. They named me it
pauabickkomesibs, which signifieth a small river of copper. I asked him
the reason. He told me, "Come, and I shall shew thee the reason why." I was
in a place which was not 200 paces in the wood, where many peeces of copper
weare uncovered. Further he told me that the mountaine I saw was of nothing
else. Seeing it so faire & pure, I had a minde to take a peece of it, but
they hindred me, telling my brother there was more where we weare to goe.
In this great Lake of myne owne eyes have seene which are admirable, and
cane maintaine of a hundred pounds teem will not be decayed. [Footnote: "Of
a hundred pounds teem." This sentence seems somewhat obscure. The writer
perhaps meant to say that he had seen masses of copper not less than a
hundred pounds weight.]
From this place we went along the coasts, which are most delightfull and
wounderous, for it's nature that made it so pleasant to the eye, the
sperit, and the belly. As we went along we saw banckes of sand so high that
one of our wildmen went upp for curiositie; being there, did shew no more
then a crow. That place is most dangerous when that there is any storme,
being no landing place so long as the sandy bancks are under watter; and
when the wind blowes, that sand doth rise by a strang kind of whirling that
are able to choake the passengers. One day you will see 50 small mountaines
att one side, and the next day, if the wind changes, on the other side.
This putts me in mind of the great and vast wildernesses of Turkey land, as
the Turques makes their pylgrimages.
Some dayes after we observed that there weare some boats before us, but
knewed not certainely what they weare. We made all the hast to overtake
them, fearing the ennemy no more. Indeed the faster we could goe the better
for us, because of the season of the yeare, that began to be cold & freeze.
They weare a nation that lived in a land towards the South. This nation is
very small, being not 100 in all, men & women together. As we came neerer
them they weare surprized of our safe retourne, and astonied to see us,
admiring the rich marchandises that their confederates brought from the
ffrench, that weare hattchetts and knives and other utensils very
commodious, rare, precious, and necessary in those countreys. They told the
news one to another whilst we made good cheere and great fires. They
mourned for the death of [one] of their comrades; the heads of their ennemy
weare danced. Some dayes [after] we separated ourselves, and presented
guiftes to those that weare going an other way, for which we received great
store of meate, which was putt up in barrills, and grease of bears &
Oriniacke.
After this we came to a remarquable place. It's a banke of Rocks that the
wild men made a sacrifice to; they calls it Nanitoucksinagoit, which
signifies the likenesse of the devill. They fling much tobacco and other
things in its veneration. It is a thing most incredible that that lake
should be so boisterous, that the waves of it should have the strength to
doe what I have to say by this my discours: first, that it's so high and
soe deepe that it's impossible to claime up to the point. There comes many
sorte of birds that makes there nest here, the goilants, which is a white
sea-bird of the bignesse of pigeon, which makes me believe what the wildmen
told me concerning the sea to be neare directly to the point. It's like a
great Portail, by reason of the beating of the waves. The lower part of
that oppening is as bigg as a tower, and grows bigger in the going up.
There is, I believe, 6 acres of land. Above it a shipp of 500 tuns could
passe by, soe bigg is the arch. I gave it the name of the portail of St
Peter, because my name is so called, and that I was the first Christian
[Footnote: "The first Christian that ever saw it." French Jesuits and
fur-traders pushed deeper and deeper into the wilderness of the northern
lakes. In 1641 Jacques and Raynbault preached the Faith to a concourse of
Indians at the outlet of Lake Superior. Then came the havoc and desolation
of the Iroquois war, and for years further exploration was arrested. At
length, in 1658, two daring traders penetrated to Lake Superior, wintered
there, and brought back the tales they had heard of the ferocious Sioux,
and of a great western river on which they dwelt.
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