(Figures in parentheses, following number of note, refer to pages of English text.)
1(p.35).—This was the motto of the Society of Jesus; it was a favorite expression with Loyola, and was adopted by him as the rule of his life. It became thus the rule of the Jesuit order, expressing the consecration of the lives of its members "to the greater glory of God."
2(p.35).—Jean de Lauson (or Lauzon), one of the most influential men in the affairs of Canada during more than thirty years, was born in 1582. In 1627, he was a member of both the state and privy councils; a member of the tribunal known as "requêtes de l'hotel," whose office was to bring petitions of individuals before the royal council; and president of the grand council. In the same year, he was appointed intendant of Richelieu's Company of New France, holding this post for about ten years. He acquired, for both himself and his family, large seigniories; the most important of these was the island of Montreal, which, however, he transferred (Aug. 7, 1640) to Dauversière and his associates, who founded the Montreal colony.
In January, 1651, Lauson was appointed governor of Canada, where he arrived in October following. Nine days later, he married (as his second wife) Anne Després, sister-in-law of Sieur Duplessis-Bochart (see vol.v.,note34). Lauson's administration, lasting till the end of 1656, was marked by quarrels with the Montreal colony, and by general disaffection among the residents of Canada. He cared less, apparently, for the needs or welfare of the country than for his own aggrandizement; and he was unfitted, by age and by lack of resolution, for the position he held,—especially at this time, when the Iroquois were a constant menace to the entire St. Lawrence region. He was, however, friendly to the Jesuits, and conferred many favors upon them. He died in February, 1666.
3(p.37).—Davost and Daniel had arrived, with the latter's brother, at the Grand Cibou (Cape Breton), in 1632; and in the following year they went thence to Quebec with Champlain (see vol.v.,notes53,54).
4(p.43).—Concerning Three Rivers, see vol.iv.,note24.
5(p.43).—Jacques Buteux was born at Abbeville, April 11, 1600; and at the age of twenty entered the Jesuit novitiate at Rouen. His studies were pursued at La Flèche; he was an instructor at Caen during 1625-29, and superintendent of the school at Clermont, 1633-34. In the latter year, he was sent to the Canada mission, and in September went with Le Jeune to the new settlement of Three Rivers. Here he remained (as superior, during 1639-42, and 1647-52), ministering to the Montagnais and Algonkin tribes, among whom he frequently journeyed. His death occurred May 10, 1652, while ascending the St. Maurice River, on a journey to the country of the Attikamègues; attacked by a hostile band of Iroquois, he was slain by them, and thrown into the river. Buteux, though of frail and delicate physique, was filled with zeal for the conversion of the savages, and longed for the glory of a martyr's death. Mother Mary of the Incarnation writes that his was "an incredible loss to the mission."
6(p.47).—All our men: a number of skilled artisans had been sent over in 1634, with Le Jeune; and they proceeded, under De Nouë's direction, to rebuild the Jesuit residence, which had suffered greatly during the capture of Quebec and the English occupation. They also built a small house for the priests in charge of Champlain's chapel, Notre Dame de Récouvrance (see vol.iv.,note20).
7(p.69).—Notre-Dame des Anges: this name was given first by the Récollets to their convent at Quebec (see vol.iv.,note22); the Jesuits adopted the appellation for their own church and residence not far distant, on the site once occupied by Cartier's fort, at the confluence of the St. Charles and Lairet rivers. The Jesuits were granted, in 1626, a seigniory on the St. Charles, which was named Notre-Dame des Anges.
8(p.75).—Robert Giffard, sieur of Beauport, was born in 1587, at Mortagne, France. He was a physician, and Sulte says that he had an appointment in that capacity, on the ships that were annually sent to Canada. In 1627, he had a hunting-lodge at La Canardière, where two Frenchmen were murdered by the Indians. He left Canada, upon its seizure by the English; but having obtained (Jan. 15, 1634) the concession of Beauport, below Quebec, he, in the following May, conducted thither a colony, under the escort of Duplessis-Bochart. He was (after Hébert) the first real colonist in Canada, the first who obtained from the soil support for his establishment. Lists of Giffard's censitaires are given by Sulte (Can.-Français, vol. ii., pp. 50-52, 57). In 1647, he obtained another and larger grant of land, known as the fief St. Gabriel. He transferred a part of this concession to the Hurons of New Lorette, March 13, 1651; another part to the hospital nuns (which order one of his daughters hadjoined two years before), Aug. 20, 1652; and the remainder to the Jesuits, Nov. 2, 1657, but five months before his death. In September, 1648, Giffard was elected a member of the colonial council. In August, 1652, his daughter Marie Louise (then aged thirteen) married Charles de Lauson, son of the governor. Giffard was a prominent and public-spirited citizen of New France.
9(p.101).—Nicholas Rohault, Marquis de Gamache (or Gamaches), was a nobleman of Picardy. His eldest son, René Rohault, was born May 25, 1609, not far from Amiens, in which city he was a pupil at the Jesuit college. René became a novice in that order, March 9, 1626, at Paris,—largely through the influence of Coton, then provincial of France, whose death occurred but ten days later. Upon entering his novitiate, René persuaded his father to give the Jesuits a part of his own patrimony, for the establishment of a school in connection with their Canadian mission. De Gamache accordingly gave them, for his son, 16,000 écus of gold (Charlevoix erroneously says 6,000); and added, as a personal gift from himself, an annuity of 3,000 livres, to be paid as long as he should live. René pursued his studies successively at Paris, Amiens, Eu, and La Flèche, and preached three years at Eu, where he died June 29, 1839.
Le Jeune had opened, about the beginning of 1633, at the residence of Notre Dame des Anges, a school for such Indian children as he could collect from wandering families or parties camping near Quebec,—Montagnais or Algonkin. In the summer of 1636, a few boys were brought from the Huron country by Daniel and Davost; and these, with two lads who had been presented to Le Jeune, were the nucleus of the "seminary" or boarding-school that had been so ardently desired by the missionaries, Récollet as well as Jesuit. After continuing this school nearly five years, the Jesuits abandoned it, in order to carry on the college at Quebec (which had been established through the gift of De Gamache), and an Indian settlement at Sillery.—See Creuxius'Hist. Canad., pp. 7, 8; and Rochemonteix'sJésuites, vol. i., pp. 205-209, 280-287.
10(p.103).—Kingsford says (Canada, vol. 1., p. 130): "One regulation which Champlain instituted remains in force to this day. He directed that, in New France, theAngelusshould be rung at morning, mid-day, and evening,—a social as well as a religious necessity, in a community where there were few clocks, watches, or sun-dials.
"TheAngelusis so called from the short Latin prayer made at the hour indicated by the ringing of the church bell. In summer the morning hour is six, in winter it is seven; the bell is also rung at noon, and at seven in the evening." The devotion of the Angelus was instituted by Pope John XXII., in 1316.
11(p.105).—Cf. with this account of Jacques Michel, that given by Champlain, inVoyages(1632), pp. 230, 252, 256-262.
12(p.119).—Concerning Pierre Antoine (Pastedechouan), the Montagnais interpreter, see vol.v.,note33.
13(p.129).—For sketch of Oliver Le Tardif, see vol.v.,note49.
14(p.147).—The Sorcerer: Carigonan, a noted medicine man among the Montagnais, and a brother of Pierre Antoine. A third brother, with whom Le Jeune lived while wintering with the tribe, was named Mestigoit.
15(p.151).—The abandonment of the Indian village at Three Rivers, here referred to, would seem to have occurred some time after the League of the Five Nations was formed (soon after 1600). See vol.v.,note52.
16(p.157).—See Le Jeune's account of legends regarding Messou and Atahocan, vol. v., pp. 153-157, andnote41. Cf. the "comparative study of the Nanibozhu legend" given by Chamberlain inJournal of American Folk-Lore, vol. iv. (1891), pp. 193-213; and vol. v., p. 291.
17(p.159).—This curious legend suggests the Greek myth of Pandora. Cf. a story related by Le Clercq, in hisRelation de la Gaspesie(Paris, 1691), pp. 310-326, of a soul that was brought back by a bereaved father from the Land of Souls, and lost through the curiosity of a woman. On the ideas of immortality current among the aborigines, see Sagard'sCanada, pp. 497, 498; Champlain'sVoyages(1632), part i., p. 127; Tailhan'sPerrot, pp. 40-43, 184, 185; Schoolcraft'sInd. Tribes, vol., iii., p. 60, and vol. v., p. 79; and Parkman'sJesuits, pp. lxxx.-lxxxiii.
18(p.163).—Castelogne: a woolen blanket. The name, originally a commercial term, and used especially in Normandy, seems to have been derived from Catalonia, Spain, where this article was manufactured. Clapin'sDictionnaire Canadien-Français(Montreal, 1894) states that the name "castelogne" is still used in Canada, to designate a home-made rug of odds and ends.
19(p.253).—TheMercure François, vol. xix. (1633), p. 841, thus speaks of the influence of liquor on the Indians, and Champlain's attitude toward the traffic, in an account of the latter's voyage to Canada (1633), written by "a reliable person who made the voyage with him:" "Our Savages—not only men, but women and girls—are such lovers of brandy that they get swinishly intoxicated, since the English made them acquainted with this beverage, which causes numberless quarrels among them. When they get tipsy, they fight, and batter each other with their fists; they break into the cabins, and tear them in pieces; and in this state they may do some fouldeed, and murder us,—as some time ago they threatened a sailor, and, if he had not thrown himself into the water, I know not what they might have done to him,—and thence would arise broils and commotion throughout the country. Sieur de Champlain, considering this, and realizing the misfortunes that would arise therefrom, deems it expedient to issue a stringent prohibition of traffic, in any manner whatsoever, in brandy,—under penalty of corporal punishment, and loss of his wages, for any one caught in selling brandy and wine."
The missionaries of all the orders, notably the Jesuits, persistently opposed the sale of liquor to the Indians; but in this course they aroused powerful and unscrupulous enemies, as we shall see in later volumes.
20(p.257).—Obole: a small copper coin of early French currency, named from the Greek ὀβολός. Its value was one-half that of a denier tournois (which equaled one-twelfth of a sou). The obole is mentioned as early as 1329. The word is used in the present text, however, to signify, in a general way, a very small sum, in the same manner that the English often use the word "penny," or "farthing."
21(p.271).—For information on the elk and moose, see vol.ii.,note34; on the caribou, see vol.iii.,note17.
22(p.271).—The whistler, or nightingale: so named from the shrill whistle it utters on the approach of an enemy. The hoary marmot, or whistler (Arctomys pruinosus): a hibernant rodent, of theSciuridæor squirrel family; its flesh is esteemed a delicacy by the Indians, who also sew the skins into robes or blankets.
23(p.273).—Concerning these roots, see vol. v.,note29. The "rosary" is doubtlessApios tuberosa; its roots were and still are used as food by the aborigines. It has been found as far north as latitude 47°, on the Lower St. Lawrence. It is figured and described by Charlevoix, inPlantes Principales de l'Amérique Septentrionale(Paris, 1744), p. 21.
24(p.273).—Michtan: the sugar-maple (Acer saccharinum). This tree was found, by early explorers, growing abundantly throughout Canada and the Atlantic region. Lafitau tells how the Indians made sugar from its sap (Mœurs des Sauvages, part ii., pp. 154-157) and gives a pictorial illustration of the process. Cf. Schoolcraft'sInd. Tribes, vol. ii., pp. 55, 56; Bouchette'sBritish Dominions in N. America(London, 1832), pp. 371, 372; and Carr's "Food of Amer. Inds,"Am. Antiq. Soc. Proc., vol. x., part i., p. 170.
25(p.273).—The early explorers found tobacco cultivated by the natives along the entire Atlantic coast. Cartier saw it in use on the St. Lawrence; Champlain, under cultivation at San Domingo and on the coast of Maine; Strachey, on the James River (where it was calledapooke). The Northern species wasNicotiana rustica,smaller and of milder quality thanN. tabacumof the South. It was generally known among the Indians aspetun(a word of Brazilian origin).—See Pickering'sChron. Hist. of Plants, pp. 741, 742. Champlain mentions it (Laverdière's ed., p. 50) as "tobacco, also called petung, or Queen's plant." It is figured by De Bry in Wyth'sPortraits of Inhabitants of Virginia(1590), plates 1, 22,—reprinted by Langley (N. Y., 1841). For descriptions of its preparation and use, see Cartier'sBrief Récit(Tross ed.), p. 31; Lescarbot'sNouv. France, pp. 838, 840; Lafitau'sMœurs des Sauvages, part ii., pp. 126-139. Lescarbot says: "The good Tobacco that comes from Brazil costs sometimes an écu the pound." Tobacco was highly prized by the American Indians, and often figured in their myths, religious rites, and sacrifices; much information concerning these is given byJour. Amer. Folk-Lore.
The pipes used in smoking were often elaborately carved and otherwise ornamented. Creuxius has an illustration (Hist. Canad., p. 76) of an Indian smoking a long pipe; Schoolcraft gives descriptions and engravings of various sculptured pipes, inInd. Tribes, vol. i., pp. 72, 74; vol. ii., p. 511. Cf.Bureau of Ethnology Report, 1890-91, pp. 323-354, etc.; and 1891-92, pp. 128-134. The pipe was ceremoniously smoked at councils, especially when a treaty was under consideration.
26(p.275).—Hippocras: an old medicinal drink composed of wine with an infusion of spices and other ingredients, used as a cordial.—Century Dictionary(N. Y., 1889).
Transcriber's Note.Variable spelling and hyphenation have been retained. Minor punctuation inconsistencies have been silently repaired.Corrections.The first line indicates the original, the second the correction.p.105:bereft him of all conciousnessbereft him of allconsciousnessp.133:her Father was called in Algonqauin,her Father was called inAlgonquain,
Variable spelling and hyphenation have been retained. Minor punctuation inconsistencies have been silently repaired.
The first line indicates the original, the second the correction.
p.105:
p.133: