 |
The next day, the 20th of the month, we went to the place which our men had seen, and which we found a very dangerous harbor in consequence of the shoals and banks, where we saw breakers in all directions. It was almost low tide when we entered, and there were only four feet of water in the northern passage; at high tide, there are two fathoms. After we had entered, we found the place very spacious, being perhaps three or four leagues in circuit, entirely surrounded by little houses, around each one of which there was as much land as the occupant needed for his support. A small river enters here, which is very pretty, and in which at low tide there are some three and a half feet of water. There are also two or three brooks bordered by meadows. It would be a very fine place, if the harbor were good. I took the altitude, and found the latitude 42 deg., and the deflection of the magnetic needle 18 deg. 40'. Many savages, men and women, visited us, and ran up on all sides dancing. We named this place Port de Mallebarre. [167]
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
MALLEBARRE.
The figures indicate fathoms of water.
A. The two entrances to the harbor. B. Sandy downs where the savages killed a sailor belonging to the barque of Sieur de Monts. C. Places in the harbor where the barque of Sieur de Monts was. D. Spring on the shore of the harbor. E. A river flowing into the harbor. F. A brook. G. A small river where quantities of fish are caught. H. Sandy downs with low shrubs and many vines. I. Island at the point of the downs. L. Houses and dwelling-places of the savages that till the land. M. Shoals and sand-banks at the entrance and inside of the harbor. O. Sandy downs. P. Sea-coast, q. Barque of Sieur de Poutrincourt when he visited the place two years after Sieur de Monts. R. Landing of the party of Sieur de Poutrincourt.
NOTES. A comparison of this map with the Coast Survey Charts will show very great changes in this harbor since the days of Champlain. Not only has the mouth of the bay receded towards the south, but this recession appears to have left entirely dry much of the area which was flooded in 1605. Under reference q, on the above map, it is intimated that De Poutrincourt's visit was two years after that of De Monts. It was more than one, and was the second year after, but not, strictly speaking, "two years after."
* * * * *
The next day, the 21st of the month, Sieur de Monts determined to go and see their habitation. Nine or ten of us accompanied him with our arms; the rest remained to guard the barque. We went about a league along the coast. Before reaching their cabins, we entered a field planted with Indian corn in the manner before described. The corn was in flower, and five and a half feet high. There was some less advanced, which they plant later. We saw many Brazilian beans, and many squashes of various sizes, very good for eating; some tobacco, and roots which they cultivate, the latter having the taste of an artichoke. The woods are filled with oaks, nut-trees, and beautiful cypresses, [168] which are of a reddish color and have a very pleasant odor. There were also several fields entirely uncultivated, the land being allowed to remain fallow. When they wish to plant it, they set fire to the weeds, and then work it over with their wooden spades. Their cabins are round, and covered with heavy thatch made of reeds. In the roof there is an opening of about a foot and a half, whence the smoke from the fire passes out. We asked them if they had their permanent abode in this place, and whether there was much snow. But we were unable to ascertain this fully from them, not understanding their language, although they made an attempt to inform us by signs, by taking some sand in their hands. Spreading it out over the ground, and indicating that it was of the color of our collars, and that it reached the depth of a foot. Others made signs that there was less, and gave us to understand also that the harbor never froze; but we were unable to ascertain whether the snow lasted long. I conclude, however, that this region is of moderate temperature, and the winter not severe. While we were there, there was a north-cast storm, which lasted four days; the sky being so overcast that the sun hardly shone at all. It was very cold, and we were obliged to put on our great-coats, which we had entirely left off. Yet I think the cold was accidental, as it is often experienced elsewhere out of season.
On the 23d of July, four or five seamen having gone on shore with some kettles to get fresh water, which was to be found in one of the sand-banks a short distance from our barque, some of the savages, coveting them, watched the time when our men went to the spring, and then seized one out of the hands of a sailor, who was the first to dip, and who had no weapons. One of his companions, starting to run after him, soon returned, as he could not catch him, since he ran much faster than himself. The other savages, of whom there were a large number, seeing our sailors running to our barque, and at the same time shouting to us to fire at them, took to flight. At the time there were some of them in our barque, who threw themselves into the sea, only one of whom we were able to seize. Those on the land who had taken to flight, seeing them swimming, returned straight to the sailor from whom they had taken away the kettle, hurled several arrows at him from behind, and brought him down. Seeing this, they ran at once to him, and despatched him with their knives. Meanwhile, haste was made to go on shore, and muskets were fired from our barque: mine, bursting in my hands, came near killing me. The savages, hearing this discharge of fire-arms, took to flight, and with redoubled speed when they saw that we had landed, for they were afraid when they saw us running after them. There was no likelihood of our catching them, for they are as swift as horses. We brought in the murdered man, and he was buried some hours later. Meanwhile, we kept the prisoner bound by the feet and hands on board of our barque, fearing that he might escape. But Sieur de Monts resolved to let him go, being persuaded that he was not to blame, and that he had no previous knowledge of what had transpired, as also those who, at the time, were in and about our barque. Some hours later there came some savages to us, to excuse themselves, indicating by signs and demonstrations that it was not they who had committed this malicious act, but others farther off in the interior. We did not wish to harm them, although it was in our power to avenge ourselves.
All these savages from the Island Cape wear neither robes nor furs, except very rarely: moreover, their robes are made of grasses and hemp, scarcely covering the body, and coming down only to their thighs. They have only the sexual parts concealed with a small piece of leather; so likewise the women, with whom it comes down a little lower behind than with the men, all the rest of the body being naked. Whenever the women came to see us, they wore robes which were open in front. The men cut off the hair on the top of the head like those at the river Choueacoet. I saw, among other things, a girl with her hair very neatly dressed, with a skin colored red, and bordered on the upper part with little shell-beads. A part of her hair hung down behind, the rest being braided in various ways. These people paint the face red, black, and yellow. They have scarcely any beard, and tear it out as fast as it grows. Their bodies are well-proportioned. I cannot tell what government they have, but I think that in this respect they resemble their neighbors, who have none at all. They know not how to worship or pray; yet, like the other savages, they have some superstitions, which I shall describe in their place. As for weapons, they have only pikes, clubs, bows and arrows. It would seem from their appearance that they have a good disposition, better than those of the north, but they are all in fact of no great worth. Even a slight intercourse with them gives you at once a knowledge of them. They are great thieves and, if they cannot lay hold of any thing with their hands, they try to do so with their feet, as we have oftentimes learned by experience. I am of opinion that, if they had any thing to exchange with us, they would not give themselves to thieving. They bartered away to us their bows, arrows, and quivers, for pins and buttons; and if they had had any thing else better they would have done the same with it. It is necessary to be on one's guard against this people, and live in a state of distrust of them, yet without letting them perceive it. They gave us a large quantity of tobacco, which they dry and then reduce to powder. [169] When they eat Indian corn, they boil it in earthen pots, which they make in a way different from ours. [170]. They bray it also in wooden mortars and reduce it to flour, of which they then make cakes, like the Indians of Peru.
In this place and along the whole coast from Quinibequy, there are a great many siguenocs, [171] which is a fish with a shell on its back like the tortoise, yet different, there being in the middle a row of little prickles, of the color of a dead leaf, like the rest of the fish. At the end of this shell, there is another still smaller, bordered by very sharp points. The length of the tail-varies according to their size. With the end of it, these people point their arrows, and it contains also a row of prickles like the large shell in which are the eyes. There are eight small feet like those of the crab, and two behind longer and flatter, which they use in swimming. There are also in front two other very small ones with which they eat. When walking, all the feet are concealed excepting the two hindermost which are slightly visible. Under the small shell there are membranes which swell up, and beat like the throat of a frog, and rest upon each other like the folds of a waistcoat. The largest specimen of this fish that I saw was a foot broad, and a foot and a half long.
We saw also a sea-bird [172] with a black beak, the upper part slightly aquiline, four inches long and in the form of a lancet; namely, the lower part representing the handle and the upper the blade, which is thin, sharp on both sides, and shorter by a third than the other, which circumference is a matter of astonishment to many persons, who cannot comprehend how it is possible for this bird to eat with such a beak. It is of the size of a pigeon, the wings being very long in proportion to the body, the tail short, as also the legs, which are red; the feet being small and flat. The plumage on the upper part is gray-brown, and on the under part pure white. They go always in flocks along the sea-shore, like the pigeons with us.
The savages, along all these coasts where we have been, say that other birds, which are very large, come along when their corn is ripe. They imitated for us their cry, which resembles that of the turkey. They showed us their feathers in several places, with which they feather their arrows, and which they put on their heads for decoration; and also a kind of hair which they have under the throat like those we have in France, and they say that a red crest falls over upon the beak. According to their description, they are as large as a bustard, which is a kind of goose, having the neck longer and twice as large as those with us. All these indications led us to conclude that they were turkeys. [173] We should have been very glad to see some of these birds, as well as their feathers, for the sake of greater certainty. Before seeing their feathers, and the little bunch of hair which they have under the throat, and hearing their cry imitated, I should have thought that they were certain birds like turkeys, which are found in some places in Peru, along the sea-shore, eating carrion and other dead things like crows. But these are not so large; nor do they have so long a bill, or a cry like that of real turkeys; nor are they good to eat like those which the Indians say come in flocks in summer, and at the beginning of winter go away to warmer countries, their natural dwelling-place.
ENDNOTES:
160. It will be observed that, after doubling this cape, they sailed two leagues, and then entered Plymouth Harbor, and consequently this cape must have been what is now known as Brant Point.
161. The latitude is 42 deg. 5'.
162. This was plainly our Indian hemp, Asclepias incarnata. "The fibres of the bark are strong, and capable of being wrought into a fine soft thread; but it is very difficult to separate the bark from the stalk. It is said to have been used by the Indians for bow-strings."—Vide Cutler in Memoirs of the American Academy, Vol. I. p. 424. It is the Swamp Milkweed of Gray, and grows in wet grounds. One variety is common in New England. The Pilgrims found at Plymouth "an excellent strong kind of Flaxe and Hempe"—Vide Mourt's Relation, Dexter's ed. p. 62.
163. Port du Cap St. Louis. From the plain, the map in his edition of 1613, drawing of this Harbor left by Champlain, and also that of the edition of 1632, it is plain that the "Port du Cap St. Louis" is Plymouth Harbor, where anchored the "Mayflower" a little more than fifteen years later than this, freighted with the first permanent English colony established in New England, commonly known as the Pilgrims. The Indian name of the harbor, according to Captain John Smith, who visited it in 1614. was Accomack. He gave it, by direction of Prince Charles, the name of Plymouth. More recent investigations point to this harbor as the one visited by Martin Pring in 1603.— Vide Paper by the Rev Benj. F. De Costa, before the New England His. Gen. Society, Nov. 7, 1877, New England His. and Gen. Register, Vol. XXXII. p. 79.
The interview of the French with the natives was brief, but courteous and friendly on both sides. The English visits were interrupted by more or less hostility. "When Pring was about ready to leave, the Indians became hostile and set the woods on fire, and he saw it burn 'for a mile space.'"—De Costa. A skirmish of some seriousness occurred with Smith's party. "After much kindnesse upon a small occasion, wee fought also with fortie or fiftie of those: though some were hurt, and some slaine, yet within an hour after they became friends."—Smith's New England, Boston, ed. 1865, p. 45.
164. Cape Cod Bay.
165. They named it "le Cap Blanc," the White Cape, from its white appearance, while Bartholomew Gosnold, three years before, had named it Cape Cod from the multitude of codfish near its shores. Captain John Smith called it Cape James. All the early navigators who passed along our Atlantic coast seem to have seen the headland of Cape Cod. It is well defined on Juan de la Cosa's map of 1500, although no name is given to it. On Ribero's map of 1529 it is called C. de arenas. On the map of Nic. Vallard de Dieppe of 1543, it is called C. de Croix.
166. Wellfleet Harbor. It may be observed that a little farther back Champlain says that, having sailed along in a southerly direction four or five leagues, they were at a place where there was a "rock on a level with the surface of the water," and that they saw lying north-north-west of them Cap Blanc, that is, Cape Cod; he now says that the "rock" is near a river, which they named St. Suzanne du Cap Blanc, and that from it to Cap St. Louis the distance is ten leagues. Now, as the distance across to Brant Point, or Cap St. Louis, from Wellfleet Harbor, is ten leagues, and as Cap Blanc or Cape Cod is north-northwest of it, it is plain that Wellfleet Harbor or Herring River, which flows into it, was the river which they named St. Suzanne du Cap Blanc, and that the "rock on a level with the water" was one of the several to be found near the entrance of Wellfleet Bay. It may have been the noted Bay Rock or Blue Rock.
167. Port de Mallebarre, Nauset Harbor, in latitude 41 deg. 48'. By comparing Champlain's map of the harbor, it will be seen that important changes have taken place since 1605. The entrance has receded a mile or more towards the south, and this has apparently changed its interior channel, and the whole form of the bay. The name itself has drifted away with the sands, and feebly clings to the extremity of Monomoy Point at the heel of the Cape.
168. Not strictly a cypress, but rather a juniper, the Savin, or red cedar, Juniparus Virginiana, a tree of exclusively American origin; and consequently it could not be truly characterized by any name then known to Champlain.
169. The method of preparing tobacco here for smoking was probably not different from that of the Indian tribes in Canada. Among the Huron antiquities in the Museum at the University Laval are pipes which were found already filled with tobacco, so prepared as to resemble our fine-cut tobacco.—Vide Laverdiere in loco.
170. The following description of the Indian pottery, and the method of its manufacture by their women, as quoted by Laverdiere from Sagard's History of Canada, who wrote in 1636, will be interesting to the antiquary, and will illustrate what Champlain means by "a way different from ours:"—
"They are skilful in making good earthen pots, which they harden very well on the hearth, and which are so strong that they do not, like our own, break over the fire when having no water in them. But they cannot sustain dampness nor cold water so long as our own, since they become brittle and break at the least shock given them; otherwise they last very well. The savages make them by taking some earth of the right kind, which they clean and knead well in their hands, mixing with it, on what principle I know not, a small quantity of grease. Then making the mass into the shape of a ball, they make an indentation in the middle of it with the fist, which they make continually larger by striking repeatedly on the outside with a little wooden paddle as much as is necessary to complete it. These vessels are of different sizes, without feet or handles, completely round like a ball, excepting the mouth, which projects a little."
171. This crustacean, Limulus polyphemus, is still seen on the strands of New England. They are found in great abundance in more southern waters: on the shores of Long Island and New Jersey, they are collected in boat-loads and made useful for fertilizing purposes. Champlain has left a drawing of it on his large map. It is vulgarly known as the king-crab, or horse-foot; to the latter it bears a striking similarity. This very accurate description of Champlain was copied by De Laet into his elaborate work "Novvs Orbis," published in 1633, accompanied by an excellent wood-engraving. This species is peculiar to our Atlantic waters, and naturally at that time attracted the attention of Europeans, who had not seen it before.
172. The Black skimmer or Cut-water, Rhynchops nigra. It appears to be distinct from, but closely related to, the Terns. This bird is here described with general accuracy. According to Dr. Coues, it belongs more particularly to the South Atlantic and Gulf States, where it is very abundant; it is frequent in the Middle States, and only occasionally seen in New England. The wings are exceedingly long; they fly in close flocks, moving simultaneously. They seem to feed as they skim low over the water, the under-mandible grazing or cutting the surface, and thus taking in their food.—Vide Coues's Key to North American Birds, Boston, 1872, p. 324.
Whether Champlain saw this bird as a "stray" on the shores of Cape Cod, or whether it has since ceased to come in large numbers as far north as formerly, offers an interesting inquiry for the ornithologists. Specimens may be seen in the Museum of the Boston Society of Natural History.
173. Champlain was clearly correct in his conclusion. The wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo, was not uncommon in New England at that period. Wood and Josselyn and Higginson, all speak of it fully:—
"Of these, sometimes there will be forty, threescore and a hundred of a flocke; sometimes more, and sometimes lesse; their feeding is Acornes, Hawes, and Berries; some of them get a haunt to frequent our English corne: In winter, when the snow covers the ground, they resort to the Sea shore to look for Shrimps, and such small Fishes at low tides. Such as love Turkie hunting, most follow it in winter after a new-falne Snow, when hee may followe them by their tracts; some have killed ten or a dozen in half a day; if they can be found towards an evening and watched where they peirch, if one come about ten or eleven of the clock, he may shoote as often as he will, they will sit, unlesse they be slenderly wounded. These Turkies remaine all the yeare long, the price of a good Turkey cocke is foure shillings; and he is well worth it for he may be in weight forty pound: a Hen, two shillings."—Wood's New England Prospect, 1634, Prince Society ed., Boston, p. 32.
"The Turkie, who is blacker than ours; I haue heard several credible persons affirm, they haue seen Turkie Cocks that have weighed forty, yea sixty pound; but out of my personal experimental knowledge I can assure you, that I haue eaten my share of a Turkie Cock, that when he was pull'd and garbidg'd, weighed thirty [9] pound; and I haue also seen threescore broods of young Turkies on the side of a marsh, sunning themselves in a morning betimes, but this was thirty years since, the English and the Indians having now destroyed the breed, so that 'tis very rare to meet with a wild Turkie in the Woods: But some of the English bring up great store of the wild kind, which remain about their Houses as tame as ours in England."—New England's Rarities, by John Josselyn, Gent., London, 1672, Tuckerman's ed., pp. 41, 42.
"Here are likewise abundance of Turkies often killed in the Woods, farre greater then our English Turkies, and exceeding fat, sweet, and fleshy, for here they haue aboundance of feeding all the yeere long, as Strawberriees, in Summer at places are full of them and all manner of Berries and Fruits."—New England Plantation, by Francis Higginson, London, 1630. Vide also Bradford's Hist. Plym. Plantation, 1646, Deane's ed., Boston, 1856. p. 105.
It appears to be the opinion among recent ornithologists that the species of turkey, thus early found in New England, was the Meleagris Americana, long since extirpated, and not identical with our domesticated bird. Our domestic turkey is supposed to have originated in the West Indies or in Mexico, and to have been transplanted as tamed to other parts of this continent, and to Europe, and named by Linnaeus. Meleagris gallopavo.—Vide Report on the Zoology of Pacific Railroad Routes, by Baird, Washington, 1858. Vol. IX. Part II. pp. 613-618; Coues's Key, Boston, 1872, pp. 231, 232.
CHAPTER IX.
RETURN FROM THE DISCOVERIES ALONG THE COAST OF THE ALMOUCHIQUOIS.
We had spent more than five weeks in going over three degrees of latitude, and our voyage was limited to six, since we had not taken provisions for a longer time. In consequence of fogs and storms, we had not been able to go farther than Mallebarre, where we waited several days for fair weather, in order to sail. Finding ourselves accordingly pressed by the scantiness of provisions, Sieur de Monts determined to return to the Island of St. Croix, in order to find another place more favorable for our settlement, as we had not been able to do on any of the coasts which we had explored on this voyage.
Accordingly, on the 25th of July, we set out from this harbor, in order to make observations elsewhere. In going out, we came near being lost on the bar at the entrance, from the mistake of our pilots, Cramolet and Champdore, masters of the barque, who had imperfectly marked out the entrance of the channel on the southern side, where we were to go. Having escaped this danger, we headed north-east [174] for six leagues, until we reached Cap Blanc, sailing on from there to Island Cape, a distance of fifteen leagues, with the same wind. Then we headed east-north-east sixteen leagues, as far as Choueacoet, where we saw the savage chief, Marchin, [175] whom we had expected to see at the Lake Quinibequy. He had the reputation of being one of the valiant ones of his people. He had a fine appearance: all his motions were dignified, savage as he was. Sieur de Monts gave him many presents, with which he was greatly pleased; and, in return, Marchin gave him a young Etechemin boy, whom he had captured in war, and whom we took away with us; and thus we set out, mutually good friends. We headed north-east a quarter east for fifteen leagues, as far as Quinibequy, where we arrived on the 29th of the month, and where we were expecting to find a savage, named Sasinou, of whom I spoke before. Thinking that he would come, we waited some time for him, in order to recover from him an Etechemin young man and girl, whom he was holding as prisoners. While waiting, there came to us a captain called Anassou, who trafficked a little in furs, and with whom we made an alliance. He told us that there was a ship, ten leagues off the harbor, which was engaged in fishing, and that those on her had killed five savages of this river, under cover of friendship. From his description of the men on the vessel, we concluded that they were English, and we named the island where they were La Nef; [176] for, at a distance, it had the appearance of a ship. Finding that the above-mentioned Sasinou did not come, we headed east-south-east, [176-1/2] for twenty leagues, to Isle Haute, where we anchored for the night.
On the next day, the 1st of August, we sailed east some twenty leagues to Cap Corneille, [177] where we spent the night. On the 2d of the month, we sailed north-east seven leagues to the mouth of the river St. Croix, on the western shore. Having anchored between the two first islands, [178] Sieur de Monts embarked in a canoe, at a distance of six leagues from the settlement of St. Croix, where we arrived the next day with our barque. We found there Sieur des Antons of St. Malo, who had come in one of the vessels of Sieur de Monts, to bring provisions and also other supplies for those who were to winter in this country.
ENDNOTES:
174. Champlain is in error as to the longitude of Mallebarre, or Nauset harbor, from which they took their departure on the 25th of July, 1605. This port is about 38' east of Island Cape, or Cape Anne, and about 16' east of the western point of Cap Blanc, or Cape Cod; and, to reach their destination, they must have sailed north-west, and not north-east, as he erroneously states.
175. They had failed to meet him at the lake in the Kennebec; namely, Merrymeeting Bay.—Vide antea, p. 60.
176. The island which they thus named La Nef, the Ship, was Monhegan, about twenty-five nautical miles east from the mouth of the Kennebec, a mile and a third long, with an elevation at its highest point of a hundred and forty feet above the level of the sea, and in latitude 43 45' 52". Champlain's conjecture as to the nationality of the ship was correct. It was the "Archangel," commanded by the celebrated explorer, Captain George Weymouth, who under the patronage of the Earl of Southampton came to explore our Atlantic coast in the spring of 1605, for the purpose of selecting a site for an English colony. He anchored near Monhegan on the 28th of May, N. S.; and, after spending nearly a month in reconnoitring the islands and mainland in the vicinity, and capturing five of the natives, he took his departure for England on the 26th of June. On the 5th of July, just 9 days after Weymouth left the coast, De Monts and Champlain entered with their little barque the mouth of the Kennebec. They do not appear to have seen at that time any of the natives at or about the mouth of the river; and it is not unlikely that, on account of the seizure and, as they supposed, the murder of their comrades by Weymouth, they had retired farther up the river for greater safety. On the return, however, of the French from Cape Cod, on the 29th of July, Anassou gave them, as stated in the text, a friendly reception, and related the story of the seizure of his friends.
To prevent the interference of other nations, it was the policy of Weymouth and his patron not to disclose the locality of the region he had explored; and consequently Rosier, the narrator of the voyage, so skilfully withheld whatever might clearly identify the place, and couched his descriptions in such indefinite language, that there has been and is now a great diversity of opinion on the subject among local historians. It was the opinion of the Rev. Thomas Prince that Weymouth explored the Kennebec, or Sagadahoc, and with him coincide Mr. John McKeen and the Rev. Dr. Ballard, of Brunswick. The Rev. Dr. Belknap, after satisfactory examinations, decided that it was the Penobscot; and he is followed by Mr. William Willis, late President of the Maine Historical Society. Mr. George Prince, of Bath, has published an elaborate paper to prove that it was St. George's River; and Mr. David Cushman, of Warren, coincides in this view. Other writers, not entering into the discussion at length, accept one or another of the theories above mentioned. It does not fall within the purview of our present purpose to enter upon the discussion of this subject. But the statement in the text, not referred to by any of the above-mentioned writers, "that those on her had killed five savages of this river," que ceux de dedans avoient tue cinq sauuages d'icelle riviere, can hardly fail to have weight in the decision of this interesting question.
The chief Anassou reported that they were "killed," a natural inference under the circumstances; but in fact they were carefully concealed in the hold of the ship, and three of them, having been transported to England and introduced into his family, imparted much important information to Sir Ferdinando Gorges, whose distinguished career was afterward so intimately connected with the progress of American colonization. For the discussion touching the river explored by Weymouth, vide Prince's Annals, 1736, in loco; Belknap's American Biography, 1794, Vol. II., art. Weymouth; Remarks on the Voyage of George Waymouth, by John McKeen, Col. Me. His. Society, Vol. V. p. 309; Comments on Waymouth's Voyage, by William Willis, idem, p. 344; Voyage of Captain George Weymouth, by George Prince, Col. Me. His. Soc., Vol. VI. p. 293; Weymouth's Voyage, by David Cushman, idem, p. 369; George Weymouth and the Kennebec, by the Rev. Edward Ballard, D. D., Memorial Volume of the Popham Celebration, Portland, 1863, p. 301.
176-1/2. We headed east south-east. It is possible that, on leaving the mouth of the Kennebec, they sailed for a short distance to the south-east; but the general course was to the north-east.
177. Cap Corneille, or Crow Cape, was apparently the point of land advancing out between Machias and Little Machias Bays, including perhaps Cross Island. De Monts and his party probably anchored and passed the night in Machias Bay. The position of Cap Corneille may be satisfactorily fixed by its distance and direction from the Grand Manan, as seen on Champlain's map of 1612, to which the reader is referred.
178. This anchorage was between Campobello and Moose Island, on which is situated the town of Eastport.
CHAPTER X.
THE DWELLING-PLACE ON THE ISLAND OF ST. CROIX TRANSFERRED TO PORT ROYAL, AND THE REASON WHY.
Sieur De Monts determined to change his location, and make another settlement, in order to avoid the severe cold and the bad winter which we had had in the Island of St. Croix. As we had not, up to that time, found any suitable harbor, and, in view of the short time we had for building houses in which to establish ourselves, we fitted out two barques, and loaded them with the frame-work taken from the houses of St. Croix, in order to transport it to Port Royal, twenty-five leagues distant, where we thought the climate was much more temperate and agreeable. Pont Grave and I set out for that place; and, having arrived, we looked for a site favorable for our residence, under shelter from the north-west wind, which we dreaded, having been very much harassed by it.
After searching carefully in all directions, we found no place more suitable and better situated than one slightly elevated, about which there are some marshes and good springs of water. This place is opposite the island at the mouth of the river Equille. [179] To the north of us about a league, there is a range of mountains, [180] extending nearly ten leagues in a north-east and south-west direction. The whole country is filled with thick forests, as I mentioned above, except at a point a league and a half up the river, where there are some oaks, although scattering, and many wild vines, which one could easily remove and put the soil under cultivation, notwithstanding it is light and sandy. We had almost resolved to build there; but the consideration that we should have been too far up the harbor and river led us to change our mind.
Recognizing accordingly the site of our habitation as a good one, we began to clear up the ground, which was full of trees, and to erect houses as soon as possible. Each one was busy in this work. After every thing had been arranged, and the majority of the dwellings built, Sieur de Monts determined to return to France, in order to petition his Majesty to grant him all that might be necessary for his undertaking. He had desired to leave Sieur d'Orville to command in this place in his absence. But the climatic malady, mal de la terre, with which he was afflicted would not allow him to gratify the wish of Sieur de Monts. On this account, a conference was held with Pont Grave on the subject, to whom this charge was offered, which he was happy to accept; and he finished what little of the habitation remained to be built. I, at the same time, hoping to have an opportunity to make some new explorations towards Florida, determined to stay there also, of which Sieur de Monts approved.
ENDNOTES:
179. In the original, Champlain has written the name of this river in this particular instance Guille, probably an abbreviation for Anguille, the French name of the fish which we call the eel. Lescarbot says the "river was named L'Equille because the first fish taken therein was an equille."—Vide antea, note 57.
180. The elevation of this range varies from six hundred to seven hundred feet.
CHAPTER XI
WHAT TOOK PLACE AFTER THE DEPARTURE OF SIEUR DE MONTS, UNTIL, NO TIDINGS OF WHAT HE HAD PROMISED BEING RECEIVED, WE DEPARTED FROM PORT ROYAL TO RETURN TO FRANCE.
As soon as Sieur de Monts had departed, a portion of the forty or forty-five who remained began to make gardens. I, also, for the sake of occupying my time, made one, which was surrounded with ditches full of water, in which I placed some fine trout, and into which flowed three brooks of very fine running water, from which the greater part of our settlement was supplied. I made also a little sluice-way towards the shore, in order to draw off the water when I wished. This spot was entirely surrounded by meadows, where I constructed a summer-house, with some fine trees, as a resort for enjoying the fresh air. I made there, also, a little reservoir for holding salt-water fish, which we took out as we wanted them. I took especial pleasure in it, and planted there some seeds which turned out well. But much work had to be laid out in preparation. We resorted often to this place as a pastime; and it seemed as if the little birds round about took pleasure in it, for they gathered there in large numbers, warbling and chirping so pleasantly that I think I never heard the like.
The plan of the settlement was ten fathoms long and eight wide, making the distance round thirty-six. On the eastern side is a store-house, occupying the width of it, and a very fine cellar from five to six feet deep. On the northern side are the quarters of Sieur de Monts, handsomely finished. About the back yard are the dwellings of the workmen. At a corner of the western side is a platform, where four cannon were placed; and at the other corner, towards the east, is a palisade shaped like a platform, as can be seen from the accompanying illustration.
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
L'ABITASION DU PORT ROYAL.
The figures indicate fathoms of water.
A. Dwelling of the artisans. B. Platform where the cannon were placed. C. The store-house. D. Dwelling of Sieur de Pont Grave and Champlain. E. The blacksmith's shop. F. Palisade of pickets. G. The bakery. H. The kitchen. O. Small house where the equipment of our barques was stored. This Sieur de Poutrincourt afterwards had rebuilt, and Sieur Boulay dwelt there when Sieur de Pont Grave returned to France. P. Gate to our habitation. Q. The Cemetery. R. The River.
NOTES. The habitation of Port Royal was on the present site of the hamlet of Lower Granville in Nova Scotia. I. Points to the garden-plots. K. Takes the place of Q, which is wanting on the map, and marks the place of the cemetery, where may be seen the crucifix, the death's-head, and cross-bones. L. Takes the place of R, which is wanting, to indicate the river. M. Indicates the moat on the north side of the dwelling. N. Probably indicates the dwelling of the gentlemen, De Monts and others.
* * * * *
Some days after the buildings were completed, I went to the river St. John to find the savage named Secondon, the same that conducted Prevert's party to the copper mine, which I had already gone in search of with Sieur de Monts, when we were at the Port of Mines, though without success. [181] Having found him, I begged him to go there with us, which he very readily consented to do, and proceeded to show it to us. We found there some little pieces of copper of the thickness of a sou, and others still thicker imbedded in grayish and red rocks. The miner accompanying us, whose name was Master Jacques, a native of Sclavonia, a man very skilful in searching for minerals, made the entire circuit of the hills to see if he could find any gangue, [182] but without success. Yet he found, some steps from where we had taken the pieces of copper before mentioned, something like a mine, which, however, was far from being one. He said that, from the appearance of the soil, it might prove to be good, if it were worked; and that it was not probable that there could be pure copper on the surface of the earth, without there being a large quantity of it underneath. The truth is that, if the water did not cover the mines twice a day, and if they did not lie in such hard rocks, something might be expected from them.
After making this observation, we returned to our settlement, where we found some of our company sick with the mal de la terre, but not so seriously as at the Island of St. Croix; although, out of our number of forty-five, twelve died, including the miner, and five were sick, who recovered the following spring. Our surgeon, named Des Champs, from Honfleur, skilful in his profession, opened some of the bodies, to see whether he might be more successful in discovering the cause of the maladies that our surgeons had been the year before. He found the parts of the body affected in the same manner as those opened at the Island of St. Croix, but could discover no means of curing them, any more than the other surgeons.
On the 20th of December, it began to snow, and some ice passed along before our Settlement. The winter was not so sharp as the year before, nor the snow so deep, or of so long duration. Among other incidents, the wind was so violent on the 20th of February, 1605, [183] that it blew over a large number of trees, roots and all, and broke off many others. It was a remarkable sight. The rains were very frequent; which was the cause of the mild winter in comparison with the past one, although it is only twenty-five leagues from Port Royal to St. Croix.
On the first day of March, Pont Grave ordered a barque of seventeen or eighteen tons to be fitted up, which was ready, on the 15th, in order to go on a voyage of discovery along the coast of Florida. [184] With this view, we set out on the 16th following, but were obliged to put in at an island to the south of Manan, having gone that day eighteen leagues. We anchored in a sandy cove, exposed to the sea and the south wind. [185] The latter increased, during the night, to such an impetuosity that we could not stand by our anchor, and were compelled, without choice, to go ashore, at the mercy of God and the waves. The latter were so heavy and furious that while we were attaching the buoy to the anchor, so as to cut the cable at the hawse-hole, it did not give us time, but broke straightway of itself. The wind and the sea cast us as the wave receded upon a little rock, and we awaited only the moment to see our barque break up, and to save ourselves, if possible, upon its fragments. In these desperate straits, after we had received several waves, there came one so large and fortunate for us that it carried us over the rock, and threw us on to a little sandy beach, which insured us for this time from shipwreck.
The barque being on shore, we began at once to unload what there was in her, in order to ascertain where the damage was, which was not so great as we expected. She was speedily repaired by the diligence of Champdore, her master. Having been put in order, she was reloaded; and we waited for fair weather and until the fury of the sea should abate, which was not until the end of four days, namely, the 21st of March, when we set out from this miserable place, and proceeded to Port aux Coquilles, [186] seven or eight leagues distant. The latter is at the mouth of the river St. Croix, where there was a large quantity of snow. We stayed there until the 29th of the month, in consequence of the fogs and contrary winds, which are usual at this season, when Pont Grave determined to put back to Port Royal, to see in what condition our companions were, whom we had left there sick. Having arrived there, Pont Grave was attacked with illness, which delayed us until the 8th of April.
On the 9th of the month he embarked, although still indisposed, from his desire to see the coast of Florida, and in the belief that a change of air would restore his health. The same day we anchored and passed the night at the mouth of the harbor, two leagues distant from our settlement.
The next morning before day, Champdore came to ask Pont Grave if he wished to have the anchor raised, who replied in the affirmative, if he deemed the weather favorable for setting out. Upon this, Champdore had the anchor raised at once, and the sail spread to the wind, which was north-north-east, according to his report. The weather was thick and rainy, and the air full of fog, with indications of foul rather than fair weather.
While going out of the mouth of the harbor, [187] we were suddenly carried by the tide out of the passage, and, before perceiving them, were driven upon the rocks on the east-north-east coast. [188] Pont Grave and I, who were asleep, were awaked by hearing the sailors shouting and exclaiming, "We are lost!" which brought me quickly to my feet, to see what was the matter. Pont Grave was still ill, which prevented him from rising as quickly as he wished. I was scarcely on deck, when the barque was thrown upon the coast; and the wind, which was north, drove us upon a point. We unfurled the mainsail, turned it to the wind, and hauled it up as high as we could, that it might drive us up as far as possible on the rocks, for fear that the reflux of the sea, which fortunately was falling, would draw us in, when it would have been impossible to save ourselves. At the first blow of our boat upon the rocks, the rudder broke, a part of the keel and three or four planks were smashed, and some ribs stove in, which frightened us, for our barque filled immediately; and all that we could do was to wait until the sea fell, so that we might get ashore. For, otherwise, we were in danger of our lives, in consequence of the swell, which was very high and furious about us. The sea having fallen, we went on shore amid the storm, when the barque was speedily unloaded, and we saved a large portion of the provisions in her, with the help of the savage, Captain Secondon and his companions, who came to us with their canoes, to carry to our habitation what we had saved from our barque, which, all shattered as she was, went to pieces at the return of the tide. But we, most happy at having saved our lives, returned to our settlement with our poor savages, who stayed there a large part of the winter; and we praised God for having rescued us from this shipwreck, from which we had not expected to escape so easily.
The loss of our barque caused us great regret, since we found ourselves, through want of a vessel, deprived of the prospect of being able to accomplish the voyage we had undertaken. And we were unable to build another; for time was pressing, and although there was another barque on the stocks, yet it would have required too long to get it ready, and we could scarcely have made use of it before the return from France of the vessels we were daily expecting.
This was a great misfortune, and owing to the lack of foresight on the part of the master, who was obstinate, but little acquainted with seamanship, and trusting only his own head. He was a good carpenter, skilful in building vessels, and careful in provisioning them with all necessaries, but in no wise adapted to sailing them.
Pont Grave, having arrived at the settlement, received the evidence against Champdore, who was accused of having run the barque on shore with evil intent. Upon such information, he was imprisoned and handcuffed, with the intention of taking him to France and handing him over to Sieur de Monts, to be treated as justice might direct.
On the 15th of June, Pont Grave, finding that the vessels did not return from France, had the handcuffs taken off from Champdore, that he might finish the barque which was on the stocks, which service he discharged very well.
On the 16th of July, the time when we were to leave, in case the vessels had not returned, as was provided in the commission which Sieur de Monts had given to Pont Grave, we set out from our settlement to go to Cape Breton or to Gaspe in search of means of returning to France, since we had received no intelligence from there.
Two of our men remained, of their own accord, to take care of the provisions which were left at the settlement, to each of whom Pont Grave promised fifty crowns in money, and fifty more which he agreed to estimate their pay at when he should come to get them the following year. [189]
There was a captain of the savages named Mabretou, [190] who promised to take care of them, and that they should be treated as kindly as his own children. We found him a friendly savage all the time we were there, although he had the name of being the worst and most traitorous man of his tribe.
ENDNOTES:
181. Vide antea, pp. 25, 26.
182. La gangue. This is the technical word for the matrix, or substance containing the ore of metals.
183. For 1605, read 1606.
184. Florida, as then known, extended from the peninsula indefinitely to the north.
185. Seal Cove, which makes up between the south-west end of the Grand Manan and Wood Island, the latter being South of Manan and is plainly the island referred to in the text. This cove is open to the South wind and the sea in a storm. Wood Island has a sandy shore with occasional rocks.
186. Port aux Coquilles, the harbor of shells. This port was near the northeastern extremity of Campobello Island, and was probably Head Harbor, which affords a good harbor of refuge.—Vide Champlain's Map of 1612, reference 9.
187. By "harbor" is here meant Annapolis Bay. This wreck of the barque took place on the Granville side of Digby Strait, where the tides rise from twenty-three to twenty-Seven feet.
188. North-east. The text has norouest, clearly a misprint for nordest.
189. These two men were M. La Taille and Miquelet, of whom Lescarbot speaks in terms of enthusiastic praise for their patriotic courage in voluntarily risking their lives for the good of New France. Vide Histoire Nouvelle France, Paris, 1612, pp. 545, 546.
190. Mabretou, by Lescarbot written Membertou.
CHAPTER XII.
DEPARTURE FROM PORT ROYAL TO RETURN TO FRANCE.—MEETING RALLEAU AT CAPE SABLE, WHICH CAUSED US TO TURN BACK.
On the 17th of the month, in accordance with the resolution we had formed, we set out from the mouth of Port Royal with two barques, one of eighteen tons, the other of seven or eight, with the view of pursuing the voyage to Cape Breton or Canseau. We anchored in the strait of Long Island,[191] where during the night our cable broke, and we came near being lost, owing to the violent tides which strike upon several rocky points in and about this place. But, through the diligent exertions of all, we were saved, and escaped once more.
On the 21st of the month there was a violent wind, which broke the irons of our rudder between Long Island and Cape Fourchu, and reduced us to such extremities that we were at a loss what to do. For the fury of the sea did not permit us to land, since the breakers ran mountain high along the coast, so that we resolved to perish in the sea rather than to land, hoping that the wind and tempest would abate, so that, with the wind astern, we might go ashore on some sandy beach. As each one thought by himself what might be done for our preservation, a sailor said that a quantity of cordage attached to the stern of our barque, and dragging in the water, might serve in some measure to steer our vessel. But this was of no avail; and we saw that, unless God should aid us by other means, this would not preserve us from shipwreck. As we were thinking what could be done for our safety, Champdore, who had been again handcuffed, said to some of us that, if Pont Grave desired it, he would find means to steer our barque. This we reported to Pont Grave, who did not refuse this offer, and the rest of us still less. He accordingly had his handcuffs taken off the second time, and at once taking a rope, he cut it and fastened the rudder with it in such a skilful manner that it would steer the ship as well as ever. In this way, he made amends for the mistakes he had made leading to the loss of the previous barque, and was discharged from his accusation through our entreaties to Pont Grave who, although Somewhat reluctantly, acceded to it.
The same day we anchored near La Baye Courante, [192] two leagues from Cape Fourchu, and there our barque was repaired.
On the 23d of July, we proceeded near to Cape Sable.
On the 24th of the month, at two o'clock in the afternoon, we perceived a shallop, near Cormorant Island, coming from Cape Sable. Some thought it was savages going away from Cape Breton or the Island of Canseau. Others said it might be shallops sent from Canseau to get news of us. Finally, as we approached nearer, we saw that they were Frenchmen, which delighted us greatly. When it had almost reached us, we recognized Ralleau, the Secretary of Sieur de Monts, which redoubled our joy. He informed us that Sieur de Monts had despatched a vessel of a hundred and twenty tons, commanded by Sieur de Poutrincourt, who had come with fifty men to act as Lieutenant-General, and live in the country; that he had landed at Canseau, whence the above-mentioned vessel had gone out to sea, in order, if possible, to find us, while he, meanwhile, was proceeding along the coast in a shallop, in order to meet us in case we should have set out, supposing we had departed from Port Royal, as was in fact the case: in so doing, they acted very wisely. All this intelligence caused us to turn back; and we arrived at Port Royal on the 25th of the month, where we found the above-mentioned vessel and Sieur de Poutrincourt, and were greatly delighted to see realized what we had given up in despair. [193] He told us that his delay had been caused by an accident which happened to the ship in leaving the boom at Rochelle, where he had taken his departure, and that he had been hindered by bad weather on his voyage. [194]
The next day, Sieur de Poutrincourt proceeded to set forth his views as to what should be done; and, in accordance with the opinion of all, he resolved to stay at Port Royal this year, inasmuch as no discovery had been made since the departure of Sieur de Monts, and the period of four months before winter was not long enough to search out a site and construct another settlement, especially in a large vessel, unlike a barque which draws little water, searches everywhere, and finds places to one's mind for effecting settlements. But he decided that, during this period, nothing more should be done than to try to find some place better adapted for our abode. [195]
Thus deciding, Sieur de Poutrincourt despatched at once some laborers to work on the land in a spot which he deemed suitable, up the river, a league and a half from the settlement of Port Royal, and where we had thought of making our abode. Here he ordered wheat, rye, hemp, and several other kinds of seeds to be sown, in order to ascertain how they would flourish. [196]
On the 22d of August, a small barque was seen approaching our settlement. It was that of Des Antons, of St. Malo, who had come from Canseau, where his vessel was engaged in fishing, to inform us that there were some vessels about Cape Breton engaged in the fur-trade; and that, if we would send our ship, we might capture them on the point of returning to France. It was determined to do so as soon as some supplies, which were in the ship, could be unloaded. [197]
This being done. Pont Grave embarked, together with his companions, who had wintered with him at Port Royal, excepting Champdore and Foulgere de Vitre. I also stayed with De Poutrincourt, in order, with God's help, to complete the map of the coasts and countries which I had commenced. Every thing being put in order in the settlement. Sieur de Poutrincourt ordered provisions to be taken on board for our voyage along the coast of Florida.
On the 29th of August, we set out from Port Royal, as did also Pont Grave and Des Antons, who were bound for Cape Breton and Canseau, to seize the vessels which were engaging in the fur-trade, as I have before stated. After getting out to sea, we were obliged to put back on account of bad weather. But the large vessel kept on her course, and we soon lost sight of her.
ENDNOTES:
191. Petit Passage, leading into St. Mary's Bay.
192. La Baye Courante, the bay at the mouth of Argyl or Abuptic River, sometimes called Lobster Bay.—Vide Campbell's Yarmouth County. N.S., p. 13. The anchorage for the repair of the barque near this bay, two leagues from Cape Fourchu, was probably near Pinckney Point, or it may have been under the lee of one of the Tusquet Islands.
193. Lescarbot, who with De Poutrincourt was in this vessel, the "Jonas," gives a very elaborate account of their arrival and reception at Port Royal. It seems that, at Canseau, Poutrincourt, supposing that the colony at Port Royal, not receiving expected succors, had possibly already embarked for France, as was in fact the case, had despatched a small boat in charge of Ralleau to reconnoitre the coast, with the hope of meeting them, if they had already embarked. The "Jonas" passed them unobserved, perhaps while they were repairing their barque at Baye Courante. As Ralleau did not join the "Jonas" till after their arrival at Port Royal, Poutrincourt did not hear of the departure of the colony till his arrival. Champlain's dates do not agree with those of Lescarbot, and the latter is probably correct. According to Lescarbot, Poutrincourt arrived on the 27th, and Pont Grave with Champlain on the 31st of July. Vide His. Nou. France, Paris, 1612, pp. 544, 547.
194. Lescarbot gives a graphic account of the accident which happened to their vessel in the harbor of Rochelle, delaying them more than a month: and the bad weather and the bad seamanship of Captain Foulques, who commanded the "Jonas," which kept them at sea more than two months and a half.—Vide His. Nou. France, Paris. 1612, p. 523, et seq.
195. Before leaving France, Poutrincourt had received instructions from the patentee, De Monts to seek for a good harbor and more genial climate for the colony farther south than Mallebarre, as he was not satisfied either with St. Croix or Port Royal for a permanent abode.—Vide Lescarbot's His. Nou. France, Paris, 1612, p. 552.
196. By reference to Champlain's drawing of Port Royal, it will be seen that the place of this agricultural experiment was on the southern side of Annapolis River, near the mouth of Alien River, and on the identical soil where the village of Annapolis now stands.
197. It appears that this fur-trader was one Boyer, of Rouen, who had been delivered from prison at Rochelle by Poutrincourt's lenity, where he had been incarcerated probably for the same offence. They did not succeed in capturing him at Canseau.—Vide His. Nou. France, par Lescarbot, Paris, 1612, p. 553.
CHAPTER XIII.
SIEUR DE POUTRINCOURT SETS OUT FROM PORT ROYAL TO MAKE DISCOVERIES.—ALL THAT WAS SEEN, AND WHAT TOOK PLACE AS FAR AS MALLEBARRE.
On the 5th of September, we set out again from Port Royal.
On the 7th, we reached the mouth of the river St. Croix, where we found a large number of savages, among others Secondon and Messamouet. We came near being lost there on a rocky islet, on account of Champdore's usual obstinacy.
The next day we proceeded in a shallop to the Island of St. Croix, where Sieur de Monts had wintered, to see if we could find any spikes of wheat and other seeds which we had planted there. We found some wheat which had fallen on the ground, and come up as finely as one could wish; also a large number of garden vegetables, which also had come up fair and large. It gave us great satisfaction to see that the soil there was good and fertile.
After visiting the island, we returned to our barque, which was one of eighteen tons, on the way catching a large number of mackerel, which are abundant there at this season. It was decided to continue the voyage along the coast, which was not a very well-considered conclusion, since we lost much time in passing over again the discoveries made by Sieur de Monts as far as the harbor of Mallebarre. It would have been much better, in my opinion, to cross from where we were directly to Mallebarre, the route being already known, and then use our time in exploring as far as the fortieth degree, or still farther south, revisiting, upon our homeward voyage, the entire coast at pleasure.
After this decision, we took with us Secondon and Messamouet, who went as far as Choueacoet in a shallop, where they wished to make an alliance with the people of the country, by offering them some presents.
On the 12th of September, we set out from the river St. Croix.
On the 21st, we arrived at Choueacoet, where we saw Onemechin, chief of the river, and Marchin, who had harvested their corn. We saw at the Island of Bacchus [198] some grapes which were ripe and very good, and some others not yet ripe, as fine as those in France; and I am sure that, if they were cultivated, they would produce good wine.
In this place. Sieur de Poutrincourt secured a prisoner that Onemechin had, to whom Messamouet [199] made presents of kettles, hatchets, knives, and other things. Onemechin reciprocated the same with Indian corn, squashes, and Brazilian beans; which was not very satisfactory to Messamouet, who went away very ill-disposed towards them for not properly recognizing his presents, and with the intention of making war upon them in a short time. For these nations give only in exchange for something in return, except to those who have done them a special service, as by assisting them in their wars.
Continuing our course, we proceeded to the Island Cape, [200] where we encountered rather bad weather and fogs, and saw little prospect of being able to spend the night under shelter, since the locality was not favorable for this. While we were thus in perplexity, it occurred to me that, while coasting along with Sieur de Monts, I had noted on my map, at a distance of a league from here, a place which seemed suitable for vessels, but which we did not enter, because, when we passed it, the wind was favorable for continuing on our course. This place we had already passed, which led me to suggest to Sieur de Poutrincourt that we should stand in for a point in sight, where the place in question was, which seemed to me favorable for passing the night. We proceeded to anchor at the mouth, and went in the next day. [201]
Sieur de Poutrincourt landed with eight or ten of our company. We saw some very fine grapes just ripe, Brazilian peas, [202] pumpkins, squashes, and very good roots, which the savages cultivate, having a taste similar to that of chards. [203] They made us presents of some of these, in exchange for little trifles which we gave them. They had already finished their harvest. We saw two hundred savages in this very pleasant place; and there are here a large number [204] of very fine walnut-trees, [205] cypresses, sassafras, oaks, ashes, and beeches. The chief of this place is named Quiouhamenec, who came to see us with a neighbor of his, named Cohoueepech, whom we entertained sumptuously. Onemechin, chief of Choueacoet, came also to see us, to whom we gave a coat, which he, however, did not keep a long time, but made a present of it to another, since he was uneasy in it, and could not adapt himself to it. We saw also a savage here, who had so wounded himself in the foot, and lost so much blood, that he fell down in a swoon. Many others surrounded him, and sang some time before touching him. Afterwards, they made some motions with their feet and hands, shook his head and breathed upon him, when he came to himself. Our surgeon dressed his wounds, when he went off in good spirits.
* * * * *
CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
LE BEAU PORT. [Note: Le Beau Port is Gloucester.]
The figures indicate fathoms of water.
A. Place where our barque was. B. Meadows. C. Small island. [Note: Ten-Pound Island. It is forty rods long and thirty feet high. On it is a U. S. Light, fifty feet above the sea-level.] D. Rocky cape.
E. Place where we had our shallop calked. [Note: This peninsula is now called Rocky Neck. Its southern part and the causeway which connects it with the main land are now thickly settled.] F. Little rocky islet, very high on the coast. [Note: This is Salt Island.] G. Cabins of the savages and where they till the soil. H. Little river where there are meadows. [Note: This is the small stream that flows into Fresh-Water Cove.] I. Brook. L. Tongue of land covered with trees, including a large number of sassafras, walnut-trees, and vines. [Note: This is now called Eastern Point, is three quarters of a mile long, and about half a mile in its greatest width. At its southern extremity is a U. S. Light, sixty feet above the sea-level. The scattering rocks figured by Champlain on its western shore are now known as Black Bess.] M. Arm of the sea on the other side of the Island Cape. [Note: Squam River, flowing into Annisquam Harbor.] N. Little River. O. Little brook coming from the meadows. P. Another little brook where we did our washing. Q. Troop of savages coming to surprise us. [Note: They were creeping along the eastern bank of Smith's Cove.] R. Sandy strand. [Note: The beach of South-East Harbor.] S. Sea-coast. T. Sieur de Poutrincourt in ambuscade with some seven or eight arquebusiers. V. Sieur de Champlain discovering the savages.
NOTES: A comparison of his map with the Coast Survey Charts will exhibit its surprising accuracy, especially when we make allowance for the fact that it is merely a sketch executed without measurements, and with a very brief visit to the locality. The projection or cape west of Ten-Pound Island, including Stage Head, may be easily identified, as likewise Fort Point directly north of the same island, as seen on our maps, but north-west on that of Champlain, showing that his map is oriented with an inclination to the west. The most obvious defect is the foreshortening of the Inner Harbor, which requires much greater elongation.
* * * * *
The next day, as we were calking our shallop, Sieur de Poutrincourt in the woods noticed a number of savages who were going, with the intention of doing us some mischief, to a little stream, where a neck connects with the main land, at which our party were doing their washing. As I was walking along this neck, these savages noticed me; and, in order to put a good face upon it, since they saw that I had discovered them thus seasonably, they began to shout and dance, and then came towards me with their bows, arrows, quivers, and other arms. And, inasmuch as there was a meadow between them and myself, I made a sign to them to dance again. This they did in a circle, putting all their arms in the middle. But they had hardly commenced, when they observed Sieur de Poutrincourt in the wood with eight musketeers, which frightened them. Yet they did not stop until they had finished their dance, when they withdrew in all directions, fearing lest some unpleasant turn might be served them. We said nothing to them, however, and showed them only demonstrations of gladness. Then we returned to launch our shallop, and take our departure. They entreated us to wait a day, saying that more than two thousand of them would come to see us. But, unable to lose any time, we were unwilling to stay here longer. I am of opinion that their object was to surprise us. Some of the land was already cleared up, and they were constantly making clearings. Their mode of doing it is as follows: after cutting down the trees at the distance of three feet from the ground, they burn the branches upon the trunk, and then plant their corn between these stumps, in course of time tearing up also the roots. There are likewise fine meadows here, capable of supporting a large number of cattle. This harbor is very fine, containing water enough for vessels, and affording a shelter from the weather behind the islands. It is in latitude 43 deg., and we gave it the name of Le Beauport. [206]
The last day of September we set out from Beauport, and, passing Cap St. Louis, stood on our course all night for Cap Blanc. [207] In the morning, an hour before daylight we found ourselves to the leeward of Cap Blanc, in Baye Blanche, with eight feet of water, and at a distance of a league from the shore. Here we anchored, in order not to approach too near before daylight, and to see how the tide was. Meanwhile, we sent our shallop to make soundings. Only eight feet of water were found, so that it was necessary to determine before daylight what we would do. The water sank as low as five feet, and our barque sometimes touched on the sand, yet without any injury, for the water was calm, and we had not less than three feet of water under us. Then the tide began to rise, which gave us encouragement.
When it was day, we saw a very low, sandy shore, off which we were, and more to the leeward. A shallop was sent to make soundings in the direction of land somewhat high, where we thought there would be deep water; and, in fact, we found seven fathoms. Here we anchored, and at once got ready the shallop, with nine or ten men to land and examine a place where we thought there was a good harbor to shelter ourselves in, if the wind should increase. An examination having been made, we entered in two, three, and four fathoms of water. When we were inside, we found five and six. There were many very good oysters here, which we had not seen before, and we named the place Port aux Huistres. [208] It is in latitude 42 deg.. Three canoes of savages came out to us. On this day, the wind coming round in our favor, we weighed anchor to go to Cap Blanc, distant from here five leagues north a quarter north-east, and we doubled the cape.
On the next day, the 2d of October, we arrived off Mallebarre, [209] where we stayed some time on account of the bad weather. During this time, Sieur de Poutrincourt, with the shallop, accompanied by twelve or fifteen men, visited the harbor, where some hundred and fifty savages, singing and dancing according to their custom, appeared before him. After seeing this place, we returned to our vessel, and, the wind coming favorable, sailed along the coast towards the south.
ENDNOTES:
198. Richmond Island.—Vide antea, note 123. The ripe grapes which he saw were the Fox Grape. Vitis labrusca, which ripens in September. The fruit is of a dark purple color, tough and musky. The Isabella, common in our markets, is derived from it. It is not quite clear whether those seen in an unripe state were another species or not. If they were, they were the Frost Grape, Vitis cardifolia, which are found in the northern parts of New England. The berry is small, black or blue, having a bloom, highly acid, and ripens after frosts. This island, so prolific in grapes, became afterward a centre of commercial importance. On Josselyn's voyage of 1638, he says: "The Six and twentieth day, Capt. Thomas Cammock went aboard of a Barke of 300 Tuns, laden with Island Wine, and but 7 men in her, and never a Gun, bound for Richmond's Island, Set out by Mr. Trelaney, of Plimouth"— Voyages, 1675, Boston, Veazie's ed., 1865, p. 12.
199. Messamouet was a chief from the Port de la Heve, and was accompanied by Secondon, also a chief from the river St. John. They had come to Saco to dispose of a quantity of goods which they had obtained from the French fur-traders. Messamouet made an address on the occasion, in which he stated that he had been in France, and had been entertained at the house of Mons. de Grandmont, governor of Bavonne.—Vide His. Nou. France, par Lescarbot, Paris, 1612, p. 559, et seq.
200. Cape Anne.
201. Gloucester Bay, formerly called Cape Anne Harbor, which, as we shall see farther on, they named Beauport, the beautiful harbor.
202. Brazilian peas. This should undoubtedly read Brazilian beans. Pois du Bresil is here used apparently by mistake for febues de Bresil.— Vide antea, note 127.
203. Chards, a vegetable dill, composed of the footstocks and midrib of artichokes, cardoons, or white beets. The "very good roots," des racines qui font bonnes, were Jerusalem Artichokes, Helianthus tuberofus, indigenous to the northern part of this continent. The Italians had obtained it before Champlain's time, and named it Girasole, their word for sunflower, of which the artichoke is a species. This word, girasole, has been singularly corrupted in England into Jerusalem; hence Jerusalem artichoke, now the common name of this plant. We presume that there is no instance on record of its earlier cultivation in New England than at Nauset in 1605, vide antea, p. 82, and here at Gloucester in 1606.
204. Under the word _noyers_, walnut-trees, Champlain may have comprehended the hickories, _Carya alba_ and _porcina_, and perhaps the butternut, _Juglans cinerea_, all of which might have been seen at Gloucester. It is clear from his description that he saw at Saco the hickory, _Carya porcina_, commonly known as the pig-nut or broom hickory. He probably saw likewise the shag bark, _Carya alba_, as both are found growing wild there even at the present day.—_Vide antea_, p. 67. Both the butternut and the hickories are exclusively of American origin; and there was no French name by which they could be more accurately designated. _Noyer_ is applied in France to the tree which produces the nut known in our markets as the English walnut. Josselyn figures the hickory under the name of walnut.—_Vide New Eng. Rarities_, Tuckerman's ed., p. 97. See also _Wood's New Eng. Prospect, 1634, Prince Soc. ed., p. 18.
205. The trees here mentioned are such probably as appeared to Champlain especially valuable for timber or other practical uses.
The cypress, cypres, has been already referred to in note 168. It is distinguished for its durability, its power of resisting the usual agencies of decay, and is widely used for posts, and sleepers on the track of railways, and to a limited extent for cabinet work, but less now than in earlier times. William Wood says of it: "This wood is more desired for ornament than substance, being of color red and white, like Eugh, smelling as sweet as Iuniper; it is commonly used for seeling of houses, and making of Chests, boxes and staves."—Wood's New Eng. Prospect, 1634, Prince Soc. ed., p. 19.
The sassafras, Sassafras officinate, is indigenous to this continent, and has a spicy, aromatic flavor, especially the bark and root. It was in great repute as a medicine for a long time after the discovery of this country. Cargoes of it were often taken home by the early voyagers for the European markets; and it is said to have sold as high as fifty livres per pound. Dr. Jacob Bigelow says a work entitled "Sassafrasologia" was written to celebrate its virtues; but its properties are only those of warm aromatics. Josselyn describes it, and adds that it does not "grow beyond Black Point eastward," which is a few miles north-east of Old Orchard Beach, near Saco, in Maine. It is met with now infrequently in New England; several specimens, however, may be seen in the Granary Burial Ground in Boston.
Oaks, chesnes, of which several of the larger species may have been seen: as, the white oak, Quercus alba; black oak, Quercus tinfloria; Scarlet oak, Quercus coccinea; and red oak, Quercus rubra.
Ash-trees, fresnes, probably the white ash, Fraxinus Americana, and not unlikely the black ash, Fraxinus sambucifolia, both valuable as timber.
Beech-trees, hestres, of which there is but a single Species, Fagus ferruginca, the American beech, a handsome tree, of symmetrical growth, and clean, smooth, ash-gray bark: the nut, of triangular shape, is sweet and palatable. The wood is brittle, and used only for a few purposes.
206. Le Beauport. The latitude of Ten-Pound Island, near where the French barque was anchored in the Harbor of Gloucester, is 42 deg. 36' 5".
207. The reader may be reminded that Cap St. Louis is Brant Point; Cap Blanc is Cape Cod; and Baye Blanche is Cape Cod Bay.
208. Le Port aux Huistres, Oyster Harbor. The reader will observe, by looking back a few sentences in the narrative, that the French coasters, after leaving Cap St. Louis, that is, Brant Point, had aimed to double Cape Cod, and had directed their course, as they supposed, to accomplish this purpose. Owing, however, to the strength of the wind, or the darkness of the night, or the inattention of their pilot, or all these together, they had passed to the leeward of the point aimed at, and before morning found themselves near a harbor, which they subsequently entered, in Cape Cod Bay. It is plain that this port, which they named Oyster Harbor, was either that of Wellfleet or Barnstable. The former, it will be remembered, Champlain, with De Monts, entered the preceding year, 1605, and named it, or the river that flows into it, St. Suzanne du Cap Blanc.—Vide antea, note 166. It is obvious that Champlain could not have entered this harbor the second time without recognizing it: and, if he had done so, he would not have given to it a name entirely different from that which he had given it the year before. He was too careful an observer to fall into such an extraordinary mistake. We may conclude, therefore, that the port in question was not Wellfleet, but Barnstable. This conclusion is sustained by the conditions mentioned in the text. They entered, on a flood-tide, in twelve, eighteen, and twenty-four feet of water, and found thirty or thirty-six when they had passed into the harbor. It could hardly be expected that any harbor among the shifting sands of Cape Cod would remain precisely the same, as to depth of water, after the lapse of two hundred and fifty years. Nevertheless, the discrepancy is so slight in this case, that it would seem to be accidental, rather than to arise from the solidity or fixedness of the harbor-bed. The channel of Barnstable Harbor, according to the Coast Survey Charts, varies in depth at low tide, for two miles outside of Sandy Neck Point, from seven to ten feet for the first mile, and for the next mile from ten feet to thirty-two on reaching Beach Point, which may be considered the entrance of the bay. On passing the Point, we have thirty-six and a half feet, and for a mile inward the depth varies from twelve to twenty feet. Add a few feet for the rise of the tide on which they entered, and the depth of the water in 1606 could not have been very different from that of to-day. The "low sandy coast" which they saw is well represented by Spring Hill Beach and Sandy Neck; the "land somewhat high," by the range of hills in the rear of Barnstable Harbor. The distance from the mouth of the harbor to Wood End light, the nearest point on Cape Cod, does not vary more than a league, and its direction is about that mentioned by Champlain. The difference in latitude is not greater than usual. It is never sufficiently exact for the identification of any locality. The substantial agreement, in so many particulars with the narrative of the author, renders it quite clear that the Port aux Huistres was Barnstable Harbor. They entered it on the morning of the 1st of October, and appear to have left on the same day. Sandy Neck light, at the entrance of the harbor, is in latitude 41 deg. 43' 19".
209. Nauset Harbor.
CHAPTER XIV.
CONTINUATION OF THE ABOVE DISCOVERIES, AND WHAT WAS OBSERVED OF PARTICULAR IMPORTANCE.
When we were some six leagues from Mallebarre, we anchored near the coast, the wind not being fair, along which we observed columns of smoke made by the savages, which led us to determine to go to them, for which purpose the shallop was made ready. But when near the coast, which is sandy, we could not land, for the swell was too great. Seeing this, the savages launched a canoe, and came out to us, eight or nine of them, singing and making signs of their joy at seeing us, and they indicated to us that lower down there was a harbor where we could put our barque in a place of security. Unable to land, the shallop came back to the barque; and the savages, whom we had treated civilly, returned to the shore.
On the next day, the wind being favorable, we continued our course to the north [210] five leagues, and hardly had we gone this distance, when we found three and four fathoms of water at a distance of a league and a half from the shore. On going a little farther, the depth suddenly diminished to a fathom and a half and two fathoms, which alarmed us, since we saw the sea breaking all around, but no passage by which we could retrace our course, for the wind was directly contrary.
Accordingly being shut in among the breakers and sand-banks, we had to go at hap-hazard where there seemed to be the most water for our barque, which was at most only four feet: we continued among these breakers until we found as much as four feet and a half. Finally, we succeeded, by the grace of God, in going over a sandy point running out nearly three leagues seaward to the south-south-east, and a very dangerous place. [211] Doubling this cape, which we named Cap Batturier, [212] which is twelve or thirteen leagues from Mallebarre, [213] we anchored in two and a half fathoms of water, since we saw ourselves surrounded on all sides by breakers and shoals, except in some places where the sea was breaking to go to a place, which, we concluded to be that which the savages had indicated. We also thought there was a river there, where we could lie in security.
When our shallop arrived there, our party landed and examined the place, and, returning with a savage whom they brought off, they told us that we could enter at full tide, which was resolved upon. We immediately weighed anchor, and, under the guidance of the savage who piloted us, proceeded to anchor at a roadstead before the harbor, in six fathoms of water and a good bottom; [214] for we could not enter, as the night overtook us.
On the next day, men were sent to set stakes at the end of a sand-bank [215] at the mouth of the harbor, when, the tide rising, we entered in two fathoms of water. When we had arrived, we praised God for being in a place of safety. Our rudder had broken, which we had mended with ropes; but we were afraid that, amid these shallows and strong tides, it would break anew, and we should be lost. Within this harbor [216] there is only a fathom of water, and two at full tide. On the east, there is a bay extending back on the north some three leagues, [217] in which there is an island and two other little bays which adorn the landscape, where there is a considerable quantity of land cleared up, and many little hills, where they cultivate corn and the various grains on which they live. There are, also, very fine vines, many walnut-trees, oaks, cypresses, but only a few pines. [218] All the inhabitants of this place are very fond of agriculture, and provide themselves with Indian corn for the winter, which they store in the following manner:—
They make trenches in the sand on the slope of the hills, some five to six feet deep, more or less. Putting their corn and other grains into large grass sacks, they throw them into these trenches, and cover them with sand three or four feet above the surface of the earth, taking it out as their needs require. In this way, it is preserved as well as it would be possible to do in our granaries. [219]
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CHAMPLAIN'S EXPLANATION OF THE ACCOMPANYING MAP.
PORT FORTUNE.
The figures indicate fathoms of water.
_A_. Pond of salt water. [Note: This is now called Oyster Pond.] _B_. Cabins of the Savages and the lands they cultivate. _C_. Meadows where there are two little brooks. _C_. Meadows on the island, that are covered at every tide. [Note: The letter _C_ appears twice in the index, but both are wanting on the map. The former seems to point to the meadows on the upper left-hand corner: the other should probably take the place of the _O_ on the western part of the island above _F_.] _D_. Small mountain ranges on the island, that are covered with trees, vines, and plum-trees. [Note: This range of hills is a marked feature of the island.] _E_. Pond of fresh water, where there is plenty of game. [Note: This pond is still distinguished for its game, and is leased by gentlemen in Boston and held as a preserve.] _F_. A kind of meadow on the island. [Note: This is known as Morris Island; but the strait on the north of it has been filled up, and the island is now a part of the main land.] _G_. An island covered with wood in a great arm of the sea. [Note: This island has been entirely obliterated, and the neck on the north has likewise been swept away, and the bay now extends several leagues farther north. The destruction of the island was completed in 1851, in the gale that swept away Minot's Light. In 1847, it had an area of thirteen acres and an elevation of twenty feet.—_Vide Harbor Com. Report, 1873.] _H_. A sort of pond of salt water, where there are many shell-fish, and, among others, quantities of oysters. [Note: This is now called the Mill Pond.] _I_. Sandy downs on a narrow tongue of land. _L_. Arm of the sea. _M_. Roadstead before the harbor where we anchored. [Note: Chatham Roads, or Old Stage Harbor.] _N_. Entrance to the harbor. _O_. The harbor and place where our barque was. _P_. The cross we planted. _Q_. Little brook. _R_. Mountain which is seen at a great distance. [Note: A moderate elevation, by no means a mountain in our sense of the word.] _S_. Sea-shore. _T_. Little river. _V_. Way we went in their country among their dwellings: it is indicated by small dots. [Note: The circuit here indicated is about four or five miles. Another path is indicated in the same manner on the extreme northern end of the map, which shows that their excursions had been extensive.] _X_. Banks and shoals. _Y_. Small mountain seen in the interior. [Note: This is now called the Great Chatham Hill, and is a conspicuous landmark.] _Z_. Small brooks. _9_. Spot near the cross where the savages killed our men. [Note: This is a creek up which the tide sets. The other brook figured on the map a little south of the cross has been artificially filled up, but the marshes which it drained are still to be seen. These landmarks enable us to fix upon the locality of the cross within a few feet.] |
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