I Rested
Neither Day Nor Night; At Last By Means That God And My Brother Did Use,
Which Was By Rubbing My Leggs With Hott Oyle Of Bears And Keeping My Thigh
And Leggs Well Tyed, It Came To Its Former Strenght.
After a while I came
to me selfe.
There comes a great company of new wildmen to seeke a nation
in that land for a weighty buissinesse. They desired me to goe a long, so I
prepare myselfe to goe with them. I marched well 2 dayes; the 3rd day the
sore begins to breake out againe, in so much that I could goe no further.
Those left me, albeit I came for their sake. You will see the cruelties of
those beasts, and I may think that those that liveth on fish uses more
inhumanities then those that feed upon flesh; neverthelesse I proceeded
forwards the best I could, but knewed [not] where for the most part, the
sun being my onely guide.
There was some snow as yett on the ground, which was so hard in the
mornings that I could not percave any tracks. The worst was that I had not
a hattchett nor other arme, and not above the weight of ten pounds of
victualls, without any drink. I was obliged to proceed five dayes for my
good fortune. I indured much in the morning, but a litle warmed, I went
with more ease. I looked betimes for som old cabbans where I found wood to
make fire wherwith. I melted the snow in my cappe that was so greasy. One
night I finding a cottage covered it with boughs of trees that I found
ready cutt. The fire came to it as I began to slumber, which soone awaked
me in hast, lame as I was, to save meselfe from the fire. My racketts,
shoos, and stokens kept me my life; I must needs save them. I tooke them
and flung them as farr as I could in the snow. The fire being out, I was
forced to looke for them, as dark as it was, in the said snow, all naked &
very lame, and almost starved both for hungar and cold. But what is it that
a man cannot doe when he seeth that it concerns his life, that one day he
must loose? Yett we are to prolong it as much as we cane, & the very feare
maketh us to invent new wayes.
The fifth day I heard a noyse and thought it of a wolfe. I stood still, and
soone perceived that it was of a man. Many wild men weare up and downe
looking for me, fearing least the Bears should have devoured me. That man
came neere and saluts me, and demands whether it was I. We both satt downe;
he looks in my sacke to see if I had victualls, where he finds a peece as
bigg as my fist. He eats this without participation, being their usuall
way. He inquireth if I was a hungary. I tould him no, to shew meselfe stout
and resolute. He takes a pipe of tobacco, and then above 20 pounds of
victualls he takes out of his sack, and greased, and gives it me to eate. I
eat what I could, and gave him the rest. He bids me have courage, that the
village was not far off. He demands if I knewed the way, but I was not such
as should say no. The village was att hand. The other wildmen arrived but
the day before, and after a while came by boats to the lake. The boats
weare made of Oriniacks' skins. I find my brother with a company of
Christinos that weare arrived in my absence. We resolved to cover our
buissinesse better, and close our designe as if we weare going a hunting,
and send them before; that we would follow them the next night, which we
did, & succeeded, but not without much labor and danger; for not knowing
the right way to thwart the other side of the lake, we weare in danger to
perish a thousand times because of the crums of Ice. We thwarted a place of
15 leagues. We arrived on the other side att night. When we came there, we
knewed not where to goe, on the right or left hand, ffor we saw no body.
Att last, as we with full sayle came from a deepe Bay, we perceived smoake
and tents. Then many boats from thence came to meete us. We are received
with much Joy by those poore Christinos. They suffered not that we trod on
ground; they leade us into the midle of their cottages in our own boats,
like a couple of cocks in a Basquett. There weare some wildmen that
followed us but late. We went away with all hast possible to arrive the
sooner att the great river. We came to the seaside, where we finde an old
howse all demollished and battered with boulletts. We weare told that those
that came there weare of two nations, one of the wolf, the other of the
long-horned beast. All those nations are distinguished by the
representation of the beasts or animals. They tell us particularities of
the Europians. We know ourselves, and what Europ is, therefore in vaine
they tell us as for that.
We went from Isle to Isle all that summer. We pluckt abundance of Ducks, as
of all other sort of fowles; we wanted nor fish nor fresh meate. We weare
well beloved, and weare overjoyed that we promised them to come with such
shipps as we invented. This place hath a great store of cows. The wildmen
kill them not except for necessary use. We went further in the bay to see
the place that they weare to passe that summer. That river comes from the
lake and empties itselfe in the river of Sagnes, called Tadousack, which is
a hundred leagues in the great river of Canada, as where we weare in the
Bay of the north.
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