Becoming America - An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution, 2018a

BECOMING AMERICA
PRE- AND EARLY COLONIAL LITERATURE
ourselves against these things, and that in time, if we should come to live in their
country, they would learn.
Chapter VII
Journey from Quebec to the Island of St. Eloi, and the meeting that I had with
some Algonquin and Ochtaiguin savages.
With this purpose I departed on the eighteenth of the month. The river begins
to widen here, sometimes to a league and even a league and a half in some places.
The country becomes more and more beautiful. The banks of the river are partly
hills and partly level land without rocks, except a very few. As for the river, it is
dangerous in many places, because of sandbars and rocks, and is not good to sail in
without the lead in hand. The river is very abundantly supplied with several sorts
of sh, not only such as we have on this side of the sea, but others that we have
not. The country is all covered with large, high forests of the same kinds of trees
that we have about our settlement. There are also many vines and nut trees on the
bank of the river and a great many little brooks and rivers which are navigable only
with canoes. We passed near Point St. Croix. This point is sandy. It projects a little
into the river, and is exposed to the northwest wind, which beats upon it. There
are some meadows, but they are submerged every time the tide is high. The tide
falls nearly two and a half fathoms. This passage is very dangerous to go through,
on account of the quantity of rocks that lie across the river, although there is a
good channel which is very crooked, where the river runs like a mill-race, and one
must take plenty of time for the passage. This place has deceived a great many
people, who thought that they could not go through it except at high tide for lack
of a channel, but we have found the contrary. As for going down, one can do it at
low tide; but to go up would be very dicult, unless there should be a high wind,
because of the great current; and so it is necessary to wait until the tide is one-third
ood to pass, when the current in the channel is 6, 8, 10, 12 and 15 fathoms deep.
Continuing our course we came to a river which is very pleasant. It is nine
leagues from St. Croix and twenty-four from Quebec. We named it St. Mary’s River.
The whole length of this river from St. Croix is very beautiful.
Continuing our route I met two or three hundred savages, who were in
cabins near a little island called St. Eloi, a league and a half from St. Mary. We
investigated and found that they were some tribes of savages called Ochateguins
and Algonquins, who were going to Quebec, to assist us in exploration of the
countries of the Iroquois, against whom they carry on mortal combat, sparing
nothing that belongs to them.
After having recognized them I went ashore to see them and asked who their
chief was. They told me that they had two of them one named Iroquet and the
other Ochasteguin, whom they pointed out to me and I went to their cabin, where
they received me well, according to their custom. I began to explain to them the
purpose of my journey, with which they were very much pleased; and, after talking
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