The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents 12

The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents 12

They had left our Shallop at anchor in a strong tidal current. I

told them it was not safe, and that it ought to be placed under

shelter behind the Island; but, as we were only waiting for a

good breeze in order to depart, they did not heed me. During the

night the tempest increased, so that it seemed as if the winds

were uprooting our Island. Our host, foreseeing what might occur,

roused the Apostate, and urged him to come and help him save our

Shallop, which threatened to go to pieces. Now either this wretch

was lazy, or he was afraid of the billows; for he did not even try

to get up, giving as his only reason that he was tired. During this

delay, the wind broke the fastening, or cable of the anchor, and

in an instant carried away our Shallop. My host, seeing this fine

[222] management, came and said to me, "_Nicanis_, my well-beloved,

the Shallop is lost; the winds, which have loosened it, will break

it to pieces against the rocks which surround us on all sides."

Who would not have been vexed at that Renegade, whose negligence

caused us untold trials, considering that we had a number of

packages among our baggage, and several children to carry? Yet my

host, barbarian and savage that he is, was not at all troubled at

this accident; but, fearing it might discourage me, he said to me,

"_Nicanis_, my well-beloved, art thou not angry at this loss, which

will cause us so many difficulties?" "I am not very happy over it,"

I answered. "Do not be cast down," he replied, "for anger brings

on sadness, and sadness brings sickness. _Petrichtich_ does not

know anything; if he had tried to help me, this misfortune would

not have happened." And these were all the reproaches he made.

Truly, it humiliates me that considerations of health should check

the anger and vexation of a Barbarian; and that the law of God,

his good pleasure, the hope of his great rewards, the fear of his

[223] chastisements, our own peace and comfort, cannot check the

impatience and anger of a Christian.

 

Au malheur susdit en suruint vn autre, nous auions outre la Chaloupe

vn petit Canot d'écorce, la marée se grossissant plus qu'à l'ordinaire

par le souffle des vents nous le déroba, nous voila prisonniers

plus que iamais, ie ne vis ny larmes ny plaintes, non pas mesme

parmy les femmes, sur le dos desquelles ce desastre tomboit plus

particulierement, à raison qu'elles sont comme les bestes de voiture,

portant ordinairement le bagage des Sauuages, au contraire tout le

monde se mit à rire.

 

The above misfortune was soon followed by another. In addition

to the Shallop, we had a little bark Canoe, and the tide, rising

higher than usual through the force of the wind, robbed us of

that; and there we were, more than ever prisoners. I neither saw

tears nor heard complaints, not even among the women, upon whose

shoulders this disaster fell more particularly, as they are like

beasts of burden, usually carrying the baggage of the Savages; on

the contrary, everybody began to laugh.

 

Le iour venu, car ce fut la nuict que la tempeste commit ce larcin,

nous courusmes tous sur les riues du fleuue, pour apprendre par nos

yeux des nouuelles de nostre pauure Chaloupe, & de nostre Canot,

nous vismes l'vn & l'autre échoüez fort loing de nous, la Chaloupe

parmy des roches, & le Canot au bord du bois de la terre continente,

chacun pensoit que tout estoit en pieces: si tost que la mer se fut

retirée les [224] vns courrent vers la Chaloupe, les autres vers le

Canot, chose estrange; rien ne se trouua endommagé, i'en demeuray tout

estonné: car de cent vaisseaux fussent-ils d'vn bois aussi dur que le

bronze, à peine s'en sauueroit-il pas vn dans ces grands coups de vent

& sur des roches.

 

When morning came, for it was at night when the tempest committed

this theft, we all ran along the edge of the river, to learn with

our own eyes some news of our poor Shallop and our Canoe. We

saw both of them stranded a long distance from us, the Shallop

among the rocks and the Canoe along the edge of the woods of the

mainland. Every one thought they were all in pieces; as soon as

the sea had receded [224], some ran toward the Shallop, and others

toward the Canoe. Wonderful to relate, nothing was harmed; I was

amazed, for out of a hundred ships made of wood as hard as bronze,

scarcely one would have been saved in those violent blasts of wind,

and upon those rocks.

 

Pendant que les vents nous tenoient prisonniers dans ceste malheureuse

Islete, vne partie de nos gens s'en allerent visiter quelques Sauuages

qui estoient à cinq ou six lieuës de nous, si bien qu'il ne resta que

les femmes & les enfans, & _L'hiroquois_ dans nostre cabane. La nuict

vne femme estant sortie s'en reuint toute effarée criant qu'elle auoit

oüy le _Manitou_, ou le diable, voila l'allarme dans nostre camp, tout

le monde remply de peur garde vn profond silence, Ie demanday d'où

procedoit ceste épouuente: car ie n'auois pas entendu ce qu'auoit dit

ceste femme, _eca titou, eca titou_, me dit on, _Manitou_, tais-toy,

tais-toy, c'est le diable: ie me mis à rire, & me leuant en pied ie

sors de la cabane, & pour les asseurer i'appelle en leur langage le

_Manitou_, criant tout haut que ie [225] ne le craignois pas, & qu'il

n'oseroit venir où i'estois: puis ayant fait quelques tours dans

nostre Islete, ie rentray, & leur dis, ne craignez point, le diable ne

vous fera aucun mal tant que ie seray auec vous, il craint ceux qui

croyent en Dieu, si vous y voulez croire il s'enfuïra de vous. Eux bien

estonnez, me demandent si ie ne le craignois point, ie repars pour les

deliurer de leur peur, que ie n'en craignois pas vne centaine, ils

se mirent tous à rire, se rasseurans petit à petit: or voyant qu'ils

auoient ietté de l'anguille dans le feu i'en demanday la raison,

tais-toy, me firent-ils, nous donnons à manger au diable afin qu'il ne

nous fasse point de mal.

 

While the wind held us prisoners in this unhappy Island, a number

of our people went to visit some Savages who were five or six

leagues from us, so that there only remained in our cabin the

women and children, and the _Hiroquois_. During the night, a woman

who had gone out, returned, terribly frightened, crying out that

she had heard the _Manitou_, or devil. At once all the camp was

in a state of alarm, and everyone, filled with fear, maintained a

profound silence. I asked the cause of this fright, for I had not

heard what the woman had said; _eca titou, eca titou_, they told

me, _Manitou_, "Keep still, keep still, it is the devil." I began

to laugh, and rising to my feet, went out of the cabin; and to

reassure them I called, in their language, the _Manitou_, crying

in a loud voice that I [225] was not afraid, and that he would not

dare come where I was. Then, having made a few turns in our Island,

I reëntered, and said to them, "Do not fear, the devil will not

harm you as long as I am with you, for he fears those who believe

in God; if you will believe in God, the devil will flee from you."

They were greatly astonished, and asked me if I was not afraid of

him at all. I answered, to relieve them of their fears, that I was

not afraid of a hundred of them; they began to laugh, and were

gradually reassured. Now seeing that they had thrown some eels

in the fire, I asked them the reason for it. "Keep still," they

replied; "we are giving the devil something to eat, so that he will

not harm us."

 

Mon hoste à son retour ayant sceu ceste histoire, me remercia fort

de ce que i'auois rasseuré tous ses gens, me demandant si en effet

ie n'auois point de peur du _Manitou_, ou du diable, & si ie le

cognoissois bien, que pour eux qu'ils le craignoient plus que la

foudre; Ie luy répondis, que s'il vouloit croire, & obeïr à celuy qui

a tout fait, que le _Manitou_ n'auroit nul pouuoir sur luy: pour nous

qu'estans assistez de celuy que [226] nous adorions, le diable auoit

plus de peur de nous, que nous n'auions de luy; il s'estonna, & me dit

qu'il eust bien voulu que i'eusse eu cognoissance de sa langue: car

figurez vous que nous nous faisions entendre l'vn l'autre plus par les

yeux, & par les mains, que par la bouche.

 

My host, upon his return, having learned this story, thanked me

very much for giving courage to his people, and asked me if I

really had no fear of the _Manitou_, or devil, and if I knew him

very well; as for them, they feared him more than a thunderbolt. I

answered that, if he would believe and obey him who had made all,

the _Manitou_ would have no power over him; that for ourselves,

being helped by him whom [226] we adored, the devil had more fear

of us than we had of him. He was astonished, and told me that he

would be very glad if we knew his language, for you must be aware

that we were making each other understand more through our eyes and

hands than through our lips.

 

Ie dressay quelques prieres en leur langue, auec l'ayde de l'Apostat:

or comme le Sorcier n'estoit pas encore venu, ie les recitois le matin,

& auant nos repas, eux-mesmes m'en faisans souuenir, & prenans plaisir

à les ouīr prononcer; si ce miserable Magicien ne fust point venu auec

nous ces Barbares auroient pris grand plaisir de m'écouter: mon hoste

me faisoit mille questions, me demandant pourquoy nous mouriõs, où

alloient nos ames, si la nuit estoit vniuerselle par tout le monde, &

choses semblables, se monstrant fort attentif à mes réponses. Changeons

de discours.

 

I arranged a few prayers in their language, with the help of the

Apostate. Now, as the Sorcerer had not yet come, I repeated them

in the morning and before our meals, they themselves reminding me

of them, and taking pleasure in hearing them pronounced; if the

wretched Magician had not come with us, these Barbarians would

have taken great pleasure in listening to me. My host asked me a

thousand questions,--why we died, where our souls went, if night

was universal all over the world, and similar things,--and was very

attentive to my answers. Let us change the subject.

 

Ie remarquay en ce lieu cy, que les ieunes femmes ne mangent point dans

le plat de leurs marys: i'en demanday la raison, le Renegat me dit que

les ieunes [227] filles à marier, & les femmes qui n'auoient point

encore d'enfans, n'auoient rien en maniement, & qu'on leur faisoit leur

part comme aux enfans, de là vient que sa femme mesme me dit vn iour,

Dis à mon mary qu'il me donne bien à manger: mais ne luy dis pas que ie

t'ay prié de luy dire.

 

I observed in this place that the young women did not eat from the

same dish as their husbands. I asked the reason, and the Renegade

told me that the young [227] unmarried women, and the women who had

no children, took no part in the management of affairs, and were

treated like children. Thence it came that his own wife said to me

one day, "Tell my husband to give me plenty to eat, but do not tell him that I asked you to do so."