“ There is no place in the world where Rhetoric is more powerful than in Canada, and, nevertheless, it has no other garb than what nature has given it; it is entirely simple and without disguise; and yet it controls all these tribes, as the Captain is elected for his eloquence alone, and is obeyed in proportion to his use of it, for they have no other law than his word. ”

“ I admit that some days are very cold and penetrating, but they are few, and the rest are more than tolerable. Here they roll on the snow as they do in France upon the grass of our meadows, so to speak; I do not mean to say that it is less cold than it is white, but the days are fine, and the Sun is warmer than in many parts of France. ”

“ The Interpreter of the Algonquains, who makes himself readily understood by the Montagnaits, being present, the Father gave them a little talk upon Baptism and its effects. "You care only for the body," said he, "we care for the soul, which is purified by this Sacrament," adapting their words as best he could to our mysteries. "Baptism always cures the soul, and does no harm to the body, but on the contrary often restores it to health." ”

“ I have seen men whose neck, cheeks, and whole face were so swollen that you could not see their eyes. They cover a man completely with blood when they attack him; they war upon some people more than others. ”

“ As for me, I hope that, if a single village is converted, the fire will not be long in spreading to a great many others; and that the neighboring tribes, which are very populous, will wish to warm themselves with the Hurons at this divine flame. ”

“ The body of the dead man is not taken out of the common door of the cabin. They raise the bark from the spot where he died, and take it out through that. I asked why; the Savage answered me that the common door was the door of the living, and not of the dead, and consequently the dead ought not to pass there. Now, as he believed that he had perfectly satisfied me, and as he was laughing at me, I asked him if, when he had killed a Beaver, he made it enter and go out by the common door. ”

“ I see that it is absolutely necessary to teach the girls as well as the boys, and that we shall do nothing or very little, unless some good household has the care of this sex; for the boys that we shall have reared in the knowledge of God, when they marry Savage girls or women accustomed to wandering in the woods, will, as their husbands, be compelled to follow them and thus fall back into barbarism, or to leave them, another evil full of danger. ”

“ Mind is not lacking among the Savages of Canada, but education and instruction. They are already tired of their miseries, and stretch out their hands to us for help. It seems to me that the tribes which have stationary homes could be easily converted. I can say of the Hurons all that was written to us a while ago by the Father of a young Paraguayan: to wit, that much suffering must be endured among them, but that great results may be expected; and that, if the consolations of the earth are lacking there, those of Paradise may already be enjoyed. It is only necessary to know the language ”

“ I know not how it happens, but I do know well that since they interest themselves in the glory of God, in the spread of the Gospel, in the conversion of souls, we feel an inexplicable and affectionate interest in their affairs; so much so that, if things would go according to our wishes, they would gain more in one month than they have lost in all the years that their plans have been thwarted. ”

“ Thou sayest that we wish to go to the English; I will tell my men that they should not go there. I promise thee that neither I myself, nor they who have any sense, will do that; but if there is some young man who jumps over there without being seen, I shall not know what to do; thou knowest well that youth cannot be restrained. I shall forbid every one from going there. Any one who does so has no sense. ”

“ I hold the whole country upon my shoulders; I shall protect thee; we all love thee, thou wilt want for nothing; our country is the best among the Hurons." The Father, pausing a little before answering, "I see clearly," continues he, "that thou hast fear of offending those of the village where thou hast lived, and who wish to have thee. ”

“ For these Savages are great gamblers, and some of them come to trade with the French for this purpose alone; others come to look on, some to steal, and the wisest and the richest to trade. I do not believe that there is a people under heaven more given to stealing than the Hurons. ”

“ Then we shall no longer be suspected of going to see those who do not love you. Thou wilt sow wheat; we shall do as thou dost, and we shall no longer go to seek our living in the woods; we shall no longer be wanderers and vagabonds. ”

“ I could scarcely tell you how the people of this tribe wear their hair; each one follows his own fancy. Some wear it long and hanging over to one side like women, and short and tied up on the other, so skillfully that one ear is concealed and the other uncovered. ”

“ I was afraid, at first; for the rising tide, lifting up those great blocks of ice, cracks them in many places, and the water, splashing up on the banks of the river, makes a thin layer of ice over the thicker one. When you try walking upon the thin ice, it breaks under you. ”

“ How often, when coming to a hill or a mountain which I must descend, I have rolled down to the bottom on the snow, experiencing no other discomfort than to change for a little while my black habit for a white one, and all this is done with much laughter. ”

“ Is there not some Lady in France who has enough courage to found here a Seminary for girls, to be under the care of some good courageous widow, assisted by two brave young women, who would live in a house which might be built near the home of that estimable family that is here? ”

“ God knows if our French People were happy, seeing the dislodgment of these Anglicized Frenchmen, who have done so much injury to these poor countries, and who have prevented many Savages from being baptized, especially among the Hurons, where the Faith would now produce fruits worthy of the table of God, if these 45enemies of the truth, of real virtue and of their country, had not thrown themselves in the way. ”

“ One would say that he ought [44] to have knocked; but this is not the custom of the Savages. They enter everywhere without saying a word, or without any greeting. Their houses are not closed; all can enter who will, as they have only an old skin which serves as a door. Nevertheless, we never hear of thieves among them, or very seldom.—I mean among the Montagnaits; but the Hurons make a business of thieving. They also make better houses, being sedentary, and not leading a vagabond and wandering life like those of this country. ”

“ A river always freezes first along its banks; and, when the tide rises, it loosens this ice and carries it higher up. Now, not far from us there is a waterfall or some rocks, which prevent the tidal ice from passing beyond them. This ice being 185 thus massed and pressed together in the river, which is in the midst of so great a wood that the snow and cold are easily preserved, it becomes consolidated; and thousands and thousands of blocks of ice are frozen into one mass which goes on increasing every day, [108] making a great bridge over the whole river. ”

“ In the summer, they go barefooted; in the winter, their shoes must be of a pliable skin, otherwise they would spoil their raquettes. They make them broad and very ample, in order to line them inside with a layer of old rags against the cold. If we had some French leather here a little softer than the hard, untanned cowhide, it would be of incomparable service to us, especially in the spring, when the snow begins to melt toward the south. For the shoes of the Savages take water like a sponge, and those leathers from France would keep the feet dry. ”

“ So that drunkards are continually seen among them, shouting, fighting, and quarreling. The Interpreter told me that the Savages of the tribe to which the prisoner in the fort belonged who had killed the Frenchman, told him reproachfully that it was brandy and not that Savage who had committed this murder, meaning to say that he was drunk when he struck the blow. "Put thy wine and thy brandy in prison," they say: "It is thy drinks that do all the evil, and not we." They believe themselves to be entirely excused from the crimes they commit, when they say that they were drunk. ”

“ God be blessed for all; it is the duty of our French people to think of their preservation, and to put this country, in a short time, in such a condition that they will not have to depend upon supplies from France, which will be easy enough to do if they will only work. ”

“ Oh, 113 how grateful I am to those who sent me some Tobacco last year. The Savages love it to madness. Whenever we came to a difficulty, I gave my master a piece of tobacco, to make him more attentive. I [34] never can thank our Lord enough for this fortunate circumstance. In all the years that we have been in this country no one has ever been able to learn anything from the interpreter named Marsolet,35 who, for excuse, said he had sworn that he would never teach the Savage tongue to any one whomsoever. ”

“ I confess that the Savages have no public or common prayer, nor any form of worship usually rendered to one whom they hold as God, and their knowledge is only as darkness. But it cannot be denied that they recognize some nature superior to the nature of man. ”

“ If the death of these poor wretches brought profits to the fur trade which people come here to carry on, there would be some reason for this eagerness for their death; but neither their life nor their death could affect it. ”

“ In speaking of Father de Nouë's visit to some of the neighboring tribes, Le Jeune enumerates the hardships endured by the missionaries in attempting to dwell in the savage camps; nevertheless, he speaks hopefully of the prospect for mission labors, especially among stationary tribes, like the Hurons.
A description is given of Champlain's return as governor of the colony; and of a conference held by the latter (May 24) with the Ottawas, on their annual trading visit to Quebec. The eloquence and shrewdness displayed by the savages are dwelt upon. ”

“ The ice is of such thickness that, when they were breaking it near Kebec, to launch a bark, sieur du Plessis told me that, being 127 on land, it was [48] all he could do to reach the top of a piece of ice with the rest of a musket that he held in his hand. All this should not astonish any one. All who are here say that they have suffered more from cold in France than in Canada. ”

“ I have seen some of them with very badly bruised faces; even the women get drunk, and shriek like furies. I expect that they will kill some of us French People one of these days, as they have already thought of doing; and after eight o'clock in the morning it is not safe to go to see them without arms, if they have any wine. Some of our men going to see them after dinner, a Savage tried to kill them with his hatchet, but other Savages who were not drunk came to their assistance. When one of them is very drunk, the others tie him by his feet and arms, if they can catch him. ”

“ There are Ladies in Paris who yearly spend over ten thousand francs in pocket-money; if they would apply a part of this to gather in the drops of blood that the son of God shed 147 for so many souls that are going astray daily for want of help, then they would not be put to shame when they appear before God, and must give an account of the goods of which he has made them stewards. ”

“ I was answered that they put their meat and water into these dishes, then they place five or six stones in the fire; and, when one is burning hot, they throw it into this fine soup, [19] and, withdrawing it to place it in the fire again, they put another one which is red-hot in its place, and thus continue until their meat is cooked. Pierre, the Savage, of whom I shall speak hereafter, assured me that some of them, having lost or broken their kettles, still resorted to this old custom, and that it did not take so long to cook the meat as one would imagine. ”

“ It is they who go in search of the wood that is burned. In fact, they would make fun of a man who, except in some great necessity, would do anything that should be done by a woman. Our Savage, seeing Father de Nouë carrying wood, began to laugh, saying: "He's really a woman;" meaning that he was doing a woman's work. But a short time afterward, his wife falling sick, and having no one in his cabin who could assist him, he was compelled to go out himself in search of supplies ”

“ In new France there are only sins to destroy, and those in a small number; for these poor people, so far removed from all luxury, are not given to many offenses. If there are any superstitions or false religions in some places, they are few. The Canadians think only of how to live and to revenge themselves upon their enemies. ”

“ However, the fruit which may be gathered from this mission will be great, if it please God. If the Fathers who are assigned to go to the Hurons, a stationary tribe, are able to enter the country, and if war does not trouble these people, probably in [115] two years it will be seen that there is not a nation so barbarous as not to recognize and honor God. Some are astonished that they hear nothing about the conversion of Savages during the many years that we have been in New France. It is necessary to clear, till, and sow, before harvesting. ”

“ It was a good half league from our house to his cabin. Night was approaching; the death of the last Frenchman had caused some fear in the minds of the others, so much so that we were on our guard. Notwithstanding that, I could not suffer this poor little one to be abandoned. I wished to go and baptize it myself; but, being indisposed, and having felt for some time a slight attack of fever, our Fathers thought it best that Father Brebeuf should go. So he started [252 i.e., 152] off with Father de Nouë in a canoe. ”

“ Experience teaches us that the woods engender cold and frosts. The lands owned by the family living here, having been cleared more than ours, are sooner freed from snow, and less subject to cold in the morning. ”

“ Chacun dit icy, qu'il a plus enduré de froid en France, qu'en Canada: le Scorpion porte son contrepoison: dans les païs plus subiects aux maladies, il se trouue plus de remedes: si le mal est present, la medecine n'est pas loing. ”

“ In the third place, these people may be converted by means of seminaries; and how necessary it is to educate at Kebec the children of the Savages, who belong to settlements farther up the river. We shall have them [the children] at last; for they will give them, if they see that we do not send them to France. As to the children of this section, they must be sent up there. The reason is, that the Savages prevent their instruction; they will not tolerate the chastisement of their children, whatever they may do; they permit only a simple reprimand. ”