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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A43326	A new discovery of a vast country in America extending above four thousand miles between New France and New Mexico, with a description of the great lakes, cataracts, rivers, plants and animals : also the manners, customs, and languages of the several native Indians ... : with a continuation, giving an account of the attempts of the Sieur De la Salle upon the mines of St. Barbe, &c., the taking of Quebec by the English, with the advantages of a shorter cut to China and Japan : both parts illustrated with maps and figures and dedicated to His Majesty, K. William / by L. Hennepin ... ; to which is added several new discoveries in North-America, not publish'd in the French edition.; Nouvelle découverte d'un très grand pays situé dans l'Amérique entre le Nouveau Mexique et la mer Glaciale. English	Hennepin, Louis, 17th cent.; La Salle, Robert Cavelier, sieur de, 1643-1687.; Joliet, Louis, 1645-1700.; Marquette, Jacques, 1637-1675.	1698 (1698)	Wing H1450; ESTC R6723	330,063	596

venture upon so dangerous and extraordinary an Undertaking We were inform'd that within three Leagues of the Maskoutens there was a River which runs into the Mississipi and that we were to go directly to the West-South-West to find it but there are so many Morasses and Lakes between it that had it not been for our Guide we had never been able to find it and the River upon which we row'd to find the Place we were to land and carry our Canow into the other was so full of Wild-Oats that it lookt rather like a Corn-Field than a River insomuch that we cou'd hardly discover its Channel As the Miamis frequented this Place they conducted us to the usual Place of Portage and help'd us to carry our Canow over-land into the other River distant from the former about two Miles and a half from whence they return'd home leaving us in an unknown Country having nothing to relie upon but the Divine Providence We made a solemn Vow in this place and resolv'd to use some particular Prayers every Day to the Blessed Virgin to recommend our Persons and Enterprize to her Protection and afterwards embark'd This River is call'd Mesconsin It is very broad but the Sands make its Navigation difficult and this Difficulty is incrceas'd by an infinite Number of Islands cover'd with Vines The Country thro' which it flows is very sine the Groves dispos'd at certain Distances in the Meadows make a noble Prospect and the Fruit of the Trees discovers the Fertility of the Soil Those Groves are full of Wallnut-Trees as also of Oaks and of another sort of Tree unknown to us in Europe the Boughs whereof are arm'd with long Thorns We saw no other Game in these Meadows but abundance of Wild-Goats and Wild-Oxen Within thirty Leagues of this Place where we embark'd we found some Iron-Mines and one of our Company who had formerly seen such Mines told us that these were extraordinary good They are not above three Foot deep and are situate near a Row of Rocks the Foot whereof is cover'd with fine Woods After having row'd ten Leagues further that is forty Leagues in all from the Place where we embark'd we came into the Mississipi on the 17 th of Iune The Mouth of the Mesconsin is about 42 Degrees and a half of Lat●tude The Satisfaction I had to see this famous River is almost incredible for tho' the Savages had often spoken of it to our Men none of them had been so bold as to venture so far in this unknown Country This oblig'd me to consider this River with a greater Attention than otherwise I wou'd have done as the Reader will perceive in perusing the following Account The Mississipi is form'd by several Lakes in the North-Country from whence it s runs to the South It s Channel is pretty narrow at the Mouth of the Mesconsin being streighten'd by a Row of high Mountains on the other side but however its Stream is very gentle because of its depth for we found there 19 Fathom Water But a little below that Place it enlarges it self and is about three quarters of a League broad Its Banks are very fine but three Days after we discover'd a much better Co●ucirc ntry The Trees are higher and the Islands so beautiful that I verily believe there is nothing like it in the World The Meadows are cover'd with an infinite number of Wild-Goats and Oxen and the River with Bustards and Swans without Wings because their Feathers fall in this Country about that time We saw extraordinary Fishes and one of them was so big that our Canow was like to be broke into into Pieces because it run against it We saw also a very hideous Sea-Monster his Head was like that of a Tyger but his Nose was somewhat sharper and like a Wild-Cat his Beard was long his Ears stood upright the Colour of his Head being Grey and the Neck Black He look'd upon us for some time but as we came near him our Oars frighted him away This is the only one we saw We caught abundance of Sturgeons and another sort of Fish somewhat like our Trouts except that their Eyes and Nose are much lesser and that they have near the Nose a Bone like a Woman's Busk three Inches broad and a Foot and a half long the End whereof is flat and very broad insomuch that when they leap out of the Water the Weight of that Bone makes them fall backwards We saw also abundance of Turky-Cocks on the Banks of the River The Pisikious which we call Wild-Oxen are not much unlike ours they are not altogether so long but twice as big We shot one of them and Thirteen Men had much ado to drag him from the Place where he fell Their Head is of a prodigious bigness their Forehead broad and flat and their Horns between which there is at least a Foot and a half distance are all black and much longer than those of our European Oxen. They have a Bump on the Back and their Head Breast and part of the Shoulders are cover'd with long Hair They have in the middle of their Forehead an ugly Tuff of long Hair which falling down over their Eyes blinds them in a manner and makes them look dreadful The rest of the Body is cover'd with curl'd Hair or rather Wooll like our Sheep but much thicker and ruffer Their Hair falls in Summer-time and then their Skin is as soft as Velvet nothing remaining but a kind of short Downe The Savages make use of their Skins for Gowns which they paint with several Colours Their Flesh and Fat is excellent and the best Dish of the Savages who destroy abundance of them tho' they are very fierce and dangerous and if they can but take a Man with their Horns they toss him up and then tread upon him The Savages hide themselves when they have shot at them for else they shou'd be in great danger of their Lives those Beasts being fiercer when wounded They follow them at certain distances till they have lost so much Blood as to be unable to do them any hurt or to defend themselves They graze upon the Banks of the River and I have seen above 400 together We continu'd to fall down the River having seen nothing for above 100 Leagues but Beasts and Birds however we were always upon our Guard and especially during the Night for fear of any Surprize We landed in the Evening to dress our Supper and made but a little Fire and then left the Shore casting an Anchor near the middle of the River where we lay as the safest Place and yet one of us watch'd always by turns On the 25 th of Iune we went a-shore and found some fresh Traces of Men upon the Sand and then found a Path which led into a Meadow We call'd our Men together and it was resolv'd that our Men shou'd continue in the Canow's while M. Ioliet and I shou'd follow that Path and endeavour to

cry'd all the Night upon us to oblige by their Tears their Companions to consent to our Death This Lake is form'd by the Meschasipi and may be seven Leagues long and five broad Its Waters are almost standing the Stream being hardly perceptible in the middle We met within a League above the Lake another River call'd The River of the Wild Oxen because of the great number of those Beasts grazing upon its Banks It falls with a great Rapidity into the Meschasipi but some Leagues above its Mouth the Stream is very gentle and moderate There is an infinite number of large Tortoises in that River which are very relishing A Row of Mountains fence its Banks in some places There is another River which falls forty Leagues above this last into the Meschasipi thro' which one may go into the Superiour Lake by making a Portage from it into the River Nissipikouet which runs into the same Lake It is full of Rocks and rapid Streams We nam'd it The River of the Grave or Mausolaeum because the Savages bury'd there one of their Men who was bitten by a Rattle-Snake They us'd great Ceremonies in his Funeral which I shall describe in another place and I put upon his Corps a white Covering for which the Savages return'd me their publick Thanks and made a great Feast to which above an hundred Men were invited The Navigation of the Meschasipi is interrupted ten Leagues above this River of the Grave by a Fall of fifty or sixty Foot high which we call'd The Fall of St. Anthony of Padua whom we had taken for the Protector of our Discovery There is a Rock of a Pyramidal Figure just in the middle of the Fall of the River The Row of Mountains fencing the Banks of the Meschasipi ends at the Mouth of the River of Ouisconsin and there we likewise observ'd that that River which runs from thence to Sea almost directly North and South runs then from the Westward or the North-West The Misfortune we had of being taken Prisoners hindred us from going as far as its Source which we cou'd never learn from the Savages who told us only that about twenty or thirty Leagues above the Fall of St. Anthony there is ano●her Fall near which a Nation of Savages inhabit at certain Seasons of the Year They call those Nations Tintonha that is The Inhabitants of the Meadows Eight Leagues above the Fall of St. Anthony we met with the River of the Issati or Nadouessians which is very narrow at the Mouth It comes out from the Lake of the Issati lying about seventy Leagues from its Mouth We call'd this River The River of St. Francis and it was in this Place that we were made Slaves by the Issati The Course of the Meschasipi according to our best Computation is about 800 Leagues long from Tintonha to the Sea including its Windings and Turnings which are very great and may be navigable from the Fall of St. Anthony for flat-bottom'd-Boats provided the Island were clear'd from Trees and especially from Vines which having ty'd the Trees together wou'd stop a Boat in many places The Country about the Lake Issati is a Marshy Ground wherein grows abundance of wild Oats which grow without any culture or sowing in Lakes provided they are not above three Foot deep That Corn is much like our Oats but much better and its Stalks are a great deal longer when it is ripe The Savages gather it and live thereupon several Months of the Year making a kind of Broath thereof The Savage Women are oblig'd to tie several Stalks together with White Bark of Trees to fright away the Ducks Teals or Swans which otherwise wou'd spoil it before it be ripe This Lake of Issati lies within sixty Leagues to the Westward of the Superior Lake but 't is impossible to travel by Land from one to the other unless it be in a hard Frost because of the Marshy Grounds which otherwise sink under a Man but as I have already said they may use their Canow's tho' it be very troublesome because of the many Portages and the length of the Way which by reason of the Windings of the River is about 150 Leagues The shortest Way is by the River of the Grave thro' which we went in our Return We found nothing but the Bones of the Savage we had bury'd there the Bears having pull'd out with their Paws the great Stakes the Savages had beat deep into the Ground round about the Corps which is their usual Way of burying their Dead We found near the Grave a Calumet or Pipe of War and a Pot in which the Savages had left some fat Meat of wild Oxen for the use of their dead Friend during his Voyage into the Country of Souls which sheweth that they believe their Immortality There are many other Lakes near the River Issati from which several Rivers spring The Banks of those Rivers are inhabited by the Issati the Nadoussians the Tintonha or Inhabitants of Meadows the Ouadebathon or Men of Rivers the Chongasketon or Nation of the Wolf or the Dog for Chonga signifies either of these Creatures There are also several other Nations which we include under the general Denomination of Nadoussians These Savages may bring into the Field eight or nine thousand Men They are Brave Bold great Runners and good Marksmen with their Arrows It was a Party of these Savages that took us Prisoners and carry'd us to the Issati as I am going to relate in the following Chapter CHAP. XLV The Author and his Canow-Men are taken by the Savages who after several Attempts upon their Lives carry them away with them into their Country above the River Meschasipi WE used to go to Prayers thrice a Day as I have elsewhere observ'd and my constant Request to God was That when we shou'd first meet the Savages it might happen to be by Day Their Custom is to kill as Enemies all they meet by Night to enrich themselves with their Spoils which are nothing but a Parcel of Hatchets Knives and such like Trifles which yet they value more than we do Gold or Silver They make no Scruple to assassinate even their own Allies when they think they can handsomly conceal the Murder for by such Exploits it is they hope to gain the Reputation of being great Soldiers and to pass for Men of Courage and Resolution 'T was with a great deal of Satisfaction that we survey'd the Pleasures of the River Meschasipi all along our Passage up it which had been since the First of April Nothing as yet had interrupted our Observations whither it were navigable above or below In our Way we kill'd seven or eight Bustards or Wild Turkeys which in these Countries increase mightily as well as all other Wild Creatures We had also plenty of Bulls Dears Castors Fish and Bears-Flesh which last we kill'd as they were swimming over the River And here I cannot forbear seriously reflecting on that secret Pleasure and Satisfaction

and Creeks which we were forc'd to coast we past by the Great Fall of Niagara and spent half a Day in considering the Wonders of that prodigious Cascade I could not conceive how it came to pass that four great Lakes the least of which is 400 Leagues in compass should empty themselves one into another and then all centre and discharge themselves at this Great Fall and yet not drown good part of America What is yet more surprizing the Ground from the Mouth of the Lake Erie down to the Great Fall appears almost level and flat 'T is scarce discernable that there is the least Rise or Fall for six Leagues to gether The more than ordinary swiftness of the Stream is the only thing that makes it be observ'd And that which makes it yet●the stranger is That for 2 Leagues together below the Fall towards the Lake Ontario or Front●nac the Lands are as level as they are above it towards the Lake of Erie Our Surprise was still greater when we observ'd there was no Mountains within two good Leagues of this Cascade and yet the vast quantity of Water which is discharg'd by these four fresh Seas stops or centres here and so falls above six hundred Foot deep down into a Gulph which one cannot look upon without Horrour Two other great Out-lets or Falls of Water which are on the two sides of a small sloping Island which is in the midst fall gently and without noise and so glide away quiety enough But when this prodigious quantity of Water of which I speak comes to fall there is such a din and such a noise more deafning than the loudest Thunder The rebounding of these Waters is so great that a sort of Cloud arises from the Foam of it which are seen hanging over this Abyss even at Noon-day when the Sun is at its heighth In the midst of Summer when the Weather is hottest they arise above the tallest Firrs and other great Trees which grow in the sloping Island which make the two Falls of Waters that I spoke of I wish'd an hundred times that somebody had been with us who could have describ'd the Wonders of this prodigious frightful Fall so as to give the Reader a just and natural Idea of it such as might satisfie him and create in him an Admiration of this Prodigy of Nature as great as it deserves In the mean time accept the following Draught such as it is in which however I have endeavour'd to give the curious Reader as just an Image of it as I can We must call to mind what I observ'd of it in the beginning of my Voyage which is to be seen in the Seventh Chapter of this Book From the Mouth of the Lake Erie to the Great Fall are reckon'd six Leagues as I have said which is the continuation of the Great River of St. Laurence which arises out of the four Lakes above-mention'd The River you must needs think is very rapid for these six Leagues because of the vast Discharge of Waters which fall into it out of the said Lakes The Lands which lie on both sides of it to the East and West are all level from the Lake Erie to the Great Fall Its Banks are not s●eep on the contrary the Water is almost always level with the Land 'T is certain that the Ground towards the Fall is lower by the more than ordinary swiftness of the Stream and yet 't is not perceivable to the Eye for the six Leagues abovesaid After it has run thus violently for six Leagues it meets with a small sloping Island about half a quarter of a League long and near three hundred Foot broad as well as one can guess by the Eye for it is impossible to come at it in a Canow of Bark the Waters run with that force The Isle is full of Cedar and Firr but the Land of it lies no higher than that on the Banks of the River It seems to be all level even as far as the two great Cascades that make the Main Fall The two sides of the Channels which are made by the Isle and run on both sides of it overflow almost the very Surface of the Earth of the said Isle as well as the Land that lies on the Banks of the River to the East and West as it runs South and North. But we must observe that at the end of the Isle on the side o● the two great Falls there is a sloping Rock which reaches as far as the Great Gulph into which the said Waters fall and yet the Rock is not at all wetted by the two Cascades which fall on both sides because the two Torrents which are made by the Isle throw themselves with a prodigious force one towards the East and the other towards the West from off the end of the Isle where the Great Fall of all is After then these two Torrents have thus run by the two sides of the Isle they cast their Waters all of a sudden down into the Gulph by two Great Falls which Waters are push'd so violently on by their own Weight and so sustain'd by the swiftness of the motion that they don't wet the Rock in the least And here it is that they tumble down into an Abyss above 600 Foot in depth The Waters that flow on the side of the East do not throw themselves with that violence as those that fall on the West The reason is because the Rock at the end of the Island rises something more on this side than it does on the West and so the Waters being supported by it somewhat longer than they are on the other side are carry'd the smoother off But on the West the Rock sloping more the Waters for want of a Support become the sooner broke and fall with the greater precipitation Another reason is the Lands that lie on the West are lower than those that lie on the East We also observ'd that the Waters of the Fall that is to the West made a sort of a square Figure as they fell which made a third Cascade less than the other two which fell betwixt the South and North. And because there is a rising Ground which lies before those two Cascades to the North the Gulph is much larger there than to the East Moreover we must observe that from the rising Ground that lies over against the two last Falls which are on the West of the main Fall one may go down as far as the bottom of this terrible Gulph The Author of this Discovery was down there the more narrowly to observe the Fall of these prodigious Cascades From hence we could discover a Spot of Ground which lay under the Fall of Water which is to the East big enough for four Coaches to drive a breast without being wet but because the Ground which is to the East of the sloping Rock where the first Fall empties it self into the Gulph is very steep and almost perpendicular 't is impossible for a Man

or Fevers they make a Medicine with a certain Rind that they boil and cause the Patient to swallow it after his Fit is over They are very well acquainted with Herbs and Roots with which they cure abundance of Diseases They have several never-failing Remedies against the Poiso● of Toads Rattle-Snakes and other such Dangerous Creatures but nevertheless they have no Cure at all for the small Pox. There are several Quacks among 'em whereof we ●ave spoken something before under the Name of Juglers They are certain old Salvages that live upon o●her Peoples Purses by pretending to cure this and that Diftemper by Medicines compos'd only of Superstitions They make use of no other Remedies but when the Patient s●nds for one of them he who is pitch'd upon immediately falls to Prayers as if he were going about some difficult and dangerous matter And after thus having pray'd for a good while all of a sudden he starts up and goes along with the Messenger Being arriv'd he immediately approaches the sick Person feeling and groaping all about his Body which at length having sufficiently handled he cries deliberately with a loud Voice He has a Spell or Charm in such a part of his Body whether in his Head Limbs or Stomach according as he thinks fit to pretend He adds further that he must bring this Spell away but which cannot possibly be effected without great Difficulty and that there must be a great deal done before they can hope for Success This Spell continues he is exceedingly malignant but it must nevertheless come away at what rate soever it be Hereupon the Friends of the sick Person who believe implicitely in all the Quack fays cry with a loud Voice Tchagon Tchagon that is Courage Courage do what you can and conceal nothing of what you know Then the Jugler squats down with a great deal of Gravity and considers for a good while about what Remedies he had best to apply After which starting as it were out of a profound Sleep he leaps up again and cries 'T is done 'T is done when turning to the sick Persons Friends he continues The Life of your Friend or Relation is precious therefore spare nothing to preserve it But to Day make a Feast and give such and such a thing do this and t'other and the like At the same time his Orders are executed with a great deal of blind Devotion During which some other of the Salvages enter into a Stove and there set up their Throats in an extravagant manner making up their Concert with a Noise of Tortoise Shells and hollow Pumkins fill'd with Indian Whea● to all which the Men and ●●men never cease Dancing They likewise sometimes get Drunk with Aqua Vitae which they have exchang'd with the Europeans Every body being thus busied and the Old Jugler left alone with the Patient he torments him after an incredible manner by griping his Feet Legs and Thighs and sometimes almost strangling him according as his Opinion is of the place where the Malady lies nay oftentimes he makes the very Blood burst out at his Fingers ends or Toes At last after having plaid over all his Tricks like a true Jugler he produces a piece of Skin a lock of a Womans Hair or some other such thing and tells the standers by That that is the Spell he has drawn from the Body of the Sick Person But notwithstanding to any tolerable sort of Apprehension this is but a very trifling piece of Deceit One Day I Baptiz'd a small Salvage Infant which seem'd to me to be in great danger of Death yet notwithstanding the next Day he was found Cur'd contrary to my Expectation A little while after the Mother told some other Women in my presence that I had recover'd her Child She took me it seems for a Jugler Crying that I was extraordinary expert and could Cure all sorts of Diseases by putting only a little Water on the Head and Fore-head of the Sick Person The Juglers hereupon beginning to Envy me for what the Woman had reported of me began to cry that I was of a Chagrin and Melancholy Humour and that I liv'd upon nothing but Serpents and Poison and moreover that such People as I fed upon Thunder The Salvages hearken'd with a great deal of Astonishment to the Account these Juglers gave of me upon the occasion of my Baptizing this Infant These Impostors further added that we had all Tails like Beasts altho' we took care to conceal ' em And that the Women of Europe have but one Breast which is in the middle of their Bosoms and that they are generally brought to Bed of five or six Children at once They told 'em moreover a great many other such strange Stories of us to render us odious to them They gave us this ●●●racter because they found if we continu'd in favour by the Operation of such wonderful Cures as mine was reported to effect we might in all probability rob 'em of many a good Belly full at the Feasts These good People who are very easie to be impos'd upon began to think strangely of me from this time for afterwards when any Person fell sick among 'em they forthwith came to me to know whether I had not poison'd 'em and that if I did not speedily Cure 'em they would certainly be the Death of me This Whimsey I had no small trouble to get out of their Heads and I have been sometimes forc'd to appease their Fury by giving them Knives Needles Awls and other such Trifles extreamly valu'd by them tho' among us they are of little worth After which I gave 'em a Dose of Mithridate for their sick Friend and so got rid of ' em They have often recourse to our Medicines I suppose because they find 'em good but where they do not succeed they rather lay the Cause on the Physick than the Constitution of the Person CHAP. XIX Of the Constitutions of the Salvages GEnerally speaking these Salvages are strong and Robust both Men Women and Children have naturally a great deal of Vigour which is the Reason they rarely fall sick They never know what it is to live nicely and consequently are never subject to the many Inconveniences our Effeminacy brings upon us They are never troubled with the Stone Gravel Dropsie nor Fevers They never have any of those Distempers that befall the Europeans for want of Exercise They seldom or never want a Stomach They are so extraordinarily addicted to Gluttony that they will rise to eat at Midnight and where they have any Victuals ready by 'em they will then fall to like Dogs in their Kennel without rising They will nevertheless sometimes fast to a degree that it were insupportable to an European Sometimes they will continue two or three Days together without drawing bit especially when they see it necessary and this without neglecting their daily Exercises of War Hunting or Fishing The Children of those that inhabit the North are so inur'd to

had no sense at all and afterwards there were some Presents made for stopping the Tears of the Friends of him who had been maliciously killed and with this Excuse the Relations would be contented without seeking for any further Revenge Then the Elders secretly praised him who had counterfeited himself a Fool and killed the Person which they had singled out and resolved to be rid of The Iroquoise have Spies and Men on purpose amongst them who go and come continually and give an Account of all the News they can learn As to the matter of Trade they are very cunning and are not easily deceiv'd they observe every thing nicely and study to know the Merchandize for which they Truck The Onnonlages or Iroquoise Mountaneers are more subtil than the rest they can Cheat very cleverly the Algoncains the Abenati Esquimones and an infinite number of Salvages who have Converst with the Europeans are no less Sly and Politick We are not to think these People Brutish and without Reason they have a great deal of subtilty in them and know their Interest right well and they mannage their Affairs with much Prudence and Dexterity CHAP. XXV Of the Way the Salvages have to Hunt Wild Beasts The admirable Industry of the Beavers THE Salvages observe the Times Seasons and Moons of the Year for their Hunting and are very punctual therein the New Moons they call according to the Names of those Animals which appear most at certain Seasons For instance they call it the Moon of Frogs at the time when the Frogs croak the Moon of Bulls when these wild Creatures appear the Moon of Swallows at the time of the coming of these Birds And this is the Custom as these Barbarians who have no other Names to distinguish their Months by as we Europeans have They retain also the like Usage in respect to the Names they give to Men imposing them from the Serpent the Wolf the wild Cat and other Animals according to the respective Season of them They kill Elks and wild Goats at all times but more particularly in Snowy Weather wild Cats and Baboons they Hunt in the Winter Porcupines Beavers and Bears in the Spring and sometimes in the Autumn they take the Elks in a Snare and the Beavers in a Trap They shoot the Bears with Arrows or Fusils upon the Oaks when they are feeding upon Acrons As for wild Cats they beat the Trees on which they are and then their Dogs fall upon them and strangle them they take the Porcupines much after the same manner saving that they kill them with Pole-Axes or with Forks when the Tree is fell'd because the Dogs are not able to draw near unto them by reason of their Quills that are sharper than Auls and which by little and little pierce the Body of a Man in an imperceptible manner and which would infallibly kill the Dogs that would seize upon them these Animals are not swift of Foot As to the Bears they are taken in a Trap or shot with Arrows or Musquets but very seldom killed with Pole-Axes because these Creatures are very quick of Hearing The Salvages take the Beavers in Winter under the Ice they first make it their Business to find out the Lakes of these Animals these Beavers are admirably industrious in Building their Lodgments when they are disposed to change their Habitations they seek out a Rivulet in the Woods along the Banks whereof they ascend 'till they have found a Flat very proper to make a Lake When they have well observed the place on all sides they fall to work and raise up a Causey or Dam to stop the Water which they make as strong as those which serve to keep in the Waters of the greatest Ponds in Europe This Dam is made up of Wood Earth and Clay and is of such a Bigness as is necessary to form a great Lake which is sometimes a Quarter of a League long These Beavers build their Dwellings in the midst of the Water with Wood Bull-rushes and Clay or Dirt and work them all together very exactly with the help of their Tails which is longer and as large as a Masons Trowel their Building consists of three or four Stories filled with Bull-rush-Matting and 't is thére their Females bring forth their young At the Bottom of the Water there are deep and shallow Channels when their Lakes or Ponds are frozen they must pass then under the Ice wherefore they make Provision in the beginning of Winter of Ash-trees which is their ordinary Food which they set in the Water round about their Dwellings in the Lake When the Salvages would take any of them they first break the Ice about these Lodgments with the Helve of an Hatchet or a Stake and make an hole through and when they have so done they sound the depth of the Water in order to know whether it be the Way through which the Beavers are wont to go out and if upon Enquiry they find it to be so in reality they put in a String of about a Fathom long and two Sticks whose lower ends touch the Bottom of the Pond and the other two are kept without the Hole which is made in the Ice to which Sticks are fastned two Cords to draw out the String when the Beaver is caught But to the end that this subtile Animal may not see the String nor the People that seek his Life they strew rotten Wood Cotten and such things upon the surface of the Ice and when they have so done a Salvage stands upon the Watch near the String with an Ax in his Hand to pull up the Beaver on the Ice while the rest of the Company with much Labour break up his Lodgment where they many times find the Wood and Earth wrought together to be above a Foot thick which they are forc'd to cut down with their Axes because its hard as a Stone through the violence of the Frost When that is done they sound the Lake and wherever they find any Hollows they break the Ice for fear lest the Beavers hide themselves underneath to the end that being constrain'd to run from one end unto the other they may at length throw themselves into the Strings laid for them and thus it is they labour with much Fatigue from Morning to Evening without eating any thing and yet after all do not take above three or four Beavers Moreover these Salvages do take these Animals with Traps in the Spring time in the following Manner When the Ice begins to dissolve the Salvages take notice of those Places by which the Beavers go out and there lay a Trap with a Branch of Asp-wood for a Bait which reaches from the Trap to the Water Now when the Beavers light on it they cease not to eat thereof ' til they come to the Trap which lets fall two thick pieces of Wood upon them and so kills them The Pole-Cats are caught almost in the same manner saving that they lay no Bait

Hand and I fed above fifty Families of the Iroquoise of Ganneous therewith who with the Sieur de Salle I had brought to plant Indian Corn there and to have their Children instructed in the Christian Religion at Fort Frontenac The most considerable sort of Fishing among the Salvages is that of Eels which are very big Salmons and Salmon Trouts and Whitings The Iroquoise Aguier who are in the Neighbourhood of New York fish very often for Frogs which they catch in abundance and which they put whole into their Kettles without fleaing them for the seasoning their Pagamite which is Pap made of Indian Corn. Salmon Trouts are catch'd in several other parts of the Rivers which discharge themselves into the Lake of Frontenac and there are such great Numbers to be found there that they kill them with Sticks They catch Eels in the Night time when the Weather is calm and these Fishes came down in great quantities along the River St. Lawrence the Salvages put the thick Bark of a Birch-tree together with Earth upon the end of a Stake and then kindle a kind of a Flambeau which gives a very clear Light when a Man or two go into a Cannow with an Harping-Iron fixed between two Points of a little Fork As soon as they discover the Eels by the help of the Fire they fall to and kill a vaft Quantity of them because that the white Porpoises which pursued them drive them before them till at last they betake themselves to the Brink of the Rivers to which those great Porpoises cannot approach Salmons they catch with Harping-Irons and Whitings with Nets the Southern Nations which dwell upon the River Meschasipi are very subtil and have such lively and piercing Eyes that tho' the Fishes glide very swiftly in the Waters yet they fail not to kill them with their Darts which they vigorously thrust a little b●fore into the Water when they shoot out of their Bow Moreover they have long Poles with sharp Points which they dart from them with greatAccuracy because of their being so sharp sighted they also kill great Sturgeons and Trouts which are seven or eight foot under Water CHAP. XXVII Of the Vtensils used by the Salvages in their Huts Their extraordinary way of making a Fire Before the arrival of the Europeans in North America both the Northern and Southern Salvages made use of and do to this day use Earthen Pots especially such as have no Commerce with the Europeans from whom they may procure Kettels and other Moveables in stead of Hatchets and Knives they make use of sharp Stones which they fasten in a cleft piece of Wood with Leather Thongs and instead of Awls they make a certain sharp Bone to serve which is seated about Elks Talons they have no Fire Arms amongst them Bows and Arrows being their only Weapons Their way of making a Fire and which is new and unknown to us is thus they take a Triangular piece of Cedar-Wood of a Foot and an half long wherein they bore some Holes half through then they take a Switch or another small piece of hard Wood and with both their hands rub the strongest upon the weakest in the hole which is made in the Cedar and while they are thus rubbing they let fall a sort of Dust or Powder which turns into Fire This white Dust they roul up in a Pellet of Herbs dryed in Autumn and Rubbing them all together and then blowing upon the Dust that is in the Pellet the Fire kindles in a mome●t When the Salvages are about to make Wooden Dishe● Porringers or Spoons they form the Wood to their purpose with their Stone Hatchets make it hollow with Coles out of the Fire and scrape them afterward with Beavers Teeth for to polish them The Northern Nations where usually they have hard Winters make use of Rackets in their Passage over the Snow The Salvages make them of Thongs of Leather as Broad as small Ribbons in a neater manner than our playing Hand-Rackets they have no Handles to them as those of our Tennis Courts but they are longer and larger They leave a vacancy in the middle as large as the Toes to the end the Salvages may walk easier with their Shoes they Travel further with these Rackets than they can without them And without the use of them they would sink into the Snow which is there seven or eight Foot deep and more some times in the Winter Season Nay in some places t is as high as the highest Houses in Europe for the Wind drives it violently into Nooks and hollow Places The Salvages who live in the Neighbourhood of the Europeans have now the use of Guns Hatchets Kettles Awls Knifes Fireforks and other Instruments as we have In order to sow Indian Corn they make Pick-Axes of Wood but 't is to supply the want of Iron ones They have Gourds or Callibasses wherein they put their Bear wild Cat and Turnsoll Oyls there is never a Man that has not a Skin or Sack to put his Pipe and his Tobacco in and the Salvage Women make Sacks for Indian Corn of Bullrushes or Linden Bark to put their Corn in They also make them of Nettle-peel the Bark of Linden and of other Roots whose names I do not know The Salvages make use of very small Thongs ●o sow their Shoes withal and have Mats made of Bull rushes to lye upon and for want of them they make use of the Barks of Trees their Women swaddle their Infans in the same manner as the European Women do yet with this difference that their Bonds ar● made of a large Skins and a kind of Cotton together to prevent their being over-heated in their Swathing they tye them to a piece of Board after they have swaddled them and that with a Skin-band then they make the Board fast to the Branch of a Tree or some place in their Huts in such a manner that the Infants do not lye but are bolt upright with their Heads upwards and Feet downward and to the end their Urine may not incommode them they put a piece of the Birch-Tree in a commodious Place for that Purpose so as that their Urine may run down as in a Gutter and not touch the Body of the Child These Women take such great care of their Infants that they do not come near their Husbands at all but shun their Company 'till their Children have attained to the Age of three or four Years and may be fed as the rest It 's otherwise with the European Women because it is easie to supply the Defects of Mothers by the means of Cows Milk or other tame Animals but these shun the Company of Men while they are Nurses because if they once Conceive their Infants must necessarily Perish seeing for Example they cannot at five or fix Months Old eat of their dryed Meats or any other thing and this is it that doth oblige ●hem to do as they do to the end they may put their Children