USA > Louisiana > Historical collections of Louisiana : embracing translations of many rare and valuable documents relating to the natural, civil and political history of that state > Part 24
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good brandy might be made, were there artists and convenient vessels for pressing, fermenting and distilling.
There ramble about in great herds, especially about the bottom of this lake, infinite quantities of wild kine, some hundreds usually together, which is a great part of the subsistence of the savages, who live upon them while the season of hunting lasts ; for at those times they leave their towns quite empty. They have a way of preserving their flesh without salt six or eight months, which both looks and eats so fresh, strangers apprehend the cattle had not been killed one week. Besides, they use the hair, or rather wool, cut off their hides, for garments and beds, and spin it into yarn, of which they make great bags, wherein they put the flesh they kill, after they have cured it, to bring it home to their houses; for their huntings are from the latter end of autumn, when the cattle are fat, to the beginning of the spring; and of the hides dressed they make shoes à la savage.
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But it's time we should return to the Lake Karegnondi (Huron), which empties itself into the Lake Erie, by a channel thirty leagues long, and where narrowest a league broad ; in the middle whereof is a small lake, called by the Indians Otseka, ten leagues long, and seven or eight over, being of an oval figure. In this lake and channel are divers small islands, exceedingly pleasant and fruitful, in which, and all the country, on both sides of them, are great quantities of beasts and fowl, as deer of several kinds, wild turkeys, pheasants, and a large excellent fowl, which they call dindo's. The Lake Erie is about a hundred leagues long, and almost equally forty broad. Eight leagues from its mouth are eight or ten islands, most of them small; one in the middle is five or six miles in circumference, and all very agreeable. Near the mouth on the west side is a large harbor for ships, defended from most winds, made like our downs by a great bank of sand; though winds seldom infest this lake, in respect of the others, where sometimes they rage as in the main ocean, so that it may be deservedly called the Pacific Lake. And if we may give credit to the relation of the English who have long frequented it, and unanimously agree herein, there is not a more pleasant lake or coun- try surrounding it in the universe. It is not indeed so deep as the others, yet is in all places navigable by the greatest ships, there being seldom less than ten or twelve fathom water. The land round about it is perfectly level, abounding with trees, both for timber and fruit; so happily placed that one would be apt to apprehend it to be a work of great art, and contrived to declare the grandeur and magnificence of some mighty emperor, and not of nature. Abundance of small
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petty rivers discharge themselves thereinto, amongst which are four very considerable and remarkable. One about ten leagues from the entrance of the canal, in the bottom of the west end of the lake, that hath a course of sixty leagues, and its head very near the river of the Miamihas, which runs into the S. E. side of the Lake of the Illi- nouecks, by means whereof there is a short and casy communication therewith, which by water is above six hundred miles.
Fifty miles further to the south, at the same west end of this lake, is another river much of the same bigness and length ; and about and between these two rivers, every year in the season, are multitudes of the wild kine called Cibolas.
At the S. E. end of the lake there is a third river, which has its rise very near the great Susquehanna river, which waters part of Pennsylvania, and afterwards empties itself into the north end of the Bay of Chesapeake in Maryland. And twenty leagues south-westerly is another fair river which comes near fifty leagues out of the country ; from whose head, which issues from a lake, is but a short cut to the River Ohio, from whence to a branch of the aforesaid Susquehanna River is about one league.
. By these two last-mentioned rivers, the English may have a ready and easy communication with this and consequently with all the other lakes. If the French should ever settle thereon, which for above twenty years they have endeavored, but have been, in great measure, wonderfully frustrated by the Irocois, our subjects or allies, they might greatly molest, by themselves and their Indians, the colonies of New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia; which, I hope, by the wisdom and care of his majesty and ministry, will be speedily prevented.
At the north-east end of this lake is another canal forty miles long, and in most places a league broad, called by the natives Niagara, having a delicate, level, beautiful, fertile country on each side of it; but being passed about two-thirds of the way, it is straitened by mighty rocks, and precipitates itself several hundred feet, being the greatest cataract that hath ever yet come to our knowledge, in.the whole world. This lying within five or six days' journey of Albany and Schenecteda (two remarkable towns and fortifications of New York), and adjacent unto our confederates or subjects the Five Nations, (by the French called Trocois), especially the Sonnontovans (by some named Senecas), the most populous of the five, I have received an at- count from divers persons, who have with great attention and curi-
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osity viewed it, suiting very well with the description Hennepin gives thereof, who had been there several times. The noise of such a mul- titude of waters falling from so great a height is so extraordinary, that although the country is very pleasant, level, and fruitful below the fall, yet the Sonnontovans were not able to bear it, but were forced to remove, and settle two leagues lower. I have had it from very credible people that, when the wind sets due south, they have heard it distinctly above thirty miles. The river, as may be easily imagined, below this cataract, is very rapid for the space of three or four miles ; then for six or eight is more placid and navigable, until it enters the Lake Ontario, which is eighty leagues long, and in the middle twenty-five or thirty broad, being of au oval figure. The name of this lake in the Irocois language, that nation bordering upon it to the south, signifies the pleasant or beautiful lake, as it may be deserv- edly styled ; the country round it being very champaign, fertile, and every two or three miles watered with fine rivulets. It has on the south side three fair rivers; that next the fall coming out of the country of the Sonnontovans, the middle one from the Onontages, and its origin from a lake within a league of their capital town, Onontague, made up with many little rivers and rivulets, being forty miles in circumference, abounding with fish of divers sorts with some salt- springs entering into it. After the river hath passed a mile from the lake, it receives another coming from the west, out of the province of the Onioiens or Oiongouens, who are neighbors of the Sonnontovans, in whose country the head of this river springs. About ten miles lower it is increased by a fair deep river, which comes from the east, out of the country of the Oneiouks (Oncidas), one of the five nations, situated between the Onontages (Onondagas) and the Mohachs (Mo- hawks), who dwell in three towns on a fair river, which runs, after a course of one hundred miles, into Hudson's River near Albany. The river of the Onontagues enters the Lake Ontario fifty miles from the little lake whence it derives its origin.
Twenty leagues to the east is another river, somewhat less, but navigable by sloops and large boats a considerable way into the country.
About the same distance, likewise to the cast, the lake forms a great river, which the French call the river of the Irocois, but the natives Kanadari, which for the space of sixty miles is very broad, full of five islands, and runs quietly ; then is interrupted in its course by divers falls successively, some very deep and long, for above a hundred miles, until it meets with the great river of the Outouacks
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at the end of the island and city of Montreal, and together with that makes the river of Canada or St. Lawrence, so named by the French because discovered on the day dedicated to his memorial.
The north part of the Lake Ontario was formerly possessed by two tribes of the Irocois, who were, in time of perfect peace, without the least provocation, but only to get their country destroyed, enslaved, or sent to France, and put into the galleys; of which you may read - at large in the journals of the Baron la Hontan, an impartial and judicious author, who saw and relates that tragedy with much indigna- tion.
The nation of the Irocois, as they are called by the French, for what reason I could never learn, who inhabit the south part of the country, are styled by the English the Five Nations, being so many distinct in name and habitations from each other; but leagued by a most strict confederacy, like the Cantons of Switzerland, which they frequently in a very solemn manner renew, especially since the French grew powerful in their neighborhood. They have always been an excellent and useful barrier between us and them, being ready, on all occasions, upon the most slender invitations and the least assistance, to molest and invade them, unto whom they are the most irreconcilable enemies, and I think upon good grounds; although the French say the hardest things imaginable against them; but I believe unto any impartial judges, they will appear more blameable themselves. The original of this enmity proceeded from the French, who about one hundred years since settled at the place, now their capital, called Quebeck. The Irocois knowing of the little French habitation (where were not above forty men), came according to their usual manner, being about 200 of their prime youth, under an estcemed captain, to war against the Algonquins, then a very populous nation; and to show their contempt of them, made a fort on the south side of the river, before they who dwelt on the north side could gather into a body, their habitations or villages being somewhat remote from cach other. But having drawn their forces together in great numbers, they attacked the Irocois, who always valiantly repulsed them, with great losses to their enemies and little unto themselves. Whereupon the Algonquins had recourse unto the French, desiring they would assist them with their thunder and lightning-darting engines. They readily complied, and did such execution with their guns (which being alto- gother new and very surprising, or rather astonishing), that the Irocois were discomfited, not above two or three escaping to give an account thereof to their own countrymen, who by tradition have propagated
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the story to posterity ; which may, in some measure, excuse the irre- concilable enmity this nation hath conceived against the French, between whom there have been formerly almost constant wars, accom- panied with various events-the French with their allies endeavor- ing to extirpate them, who have hitherto bravely defended themselves; the English for their furs supplying them with ammunition, and during time of war with the French powerfully assisting them. They have been a very useful barrier, and without their help New York, and probably other neighboring provinces, had long since been pos- sessed by the French, having been very slenderly aided from England.
The French in all their writings concerning Canada make many tragical relations of and exclamations against the barbarous cruelties of this nation exercised upon them, and the Indians their allies; but seldom tell us that the very sune things are practiced by themselves and their Indians against the Irocois, and often during time of peace. For when the Irocois or Five Nations, as we call them, were aban- doned by order of King Charles II. towards the latter end of his reign and during the whole reign of King James, and obnoxious unto the resentments of the French (the English being strictly forbidden any ways to assist them), they were under a necessity of making a very disadvantageous peace, which how perfidiously it was broken may be seen at large in that faithful and judicious history of the Baron la Hontan. And had it not been for the revolution in England, the Irocois had been totally destroyed or subjected unto the French, which, as I hinted before in the preface, would have been of dreadful consequence to divers of our English colonies on the continent. "Tis true, the Irocois (Iroquois) have extirpated or subjected several nations of Indians round about them, but it hath been either because they were in confederacy with their enemies, destroyed their country, mur- dered their people, hindered them in their beaver-hunting (without which they could not subsist), or furnished their enemies with furs, which occasioned the increasing the numbers of the French from France, and consequently threatened them with utter ruin, when Canada shall be more populated from Europe; so that certainly the measures they take for their own preservation and security are more innocent and excusable than those have been by the French, forty years last past, exercised in Europe, whose wars have, according to a modest calculation, occasioned the death of above two millions of their own country people, and other Europeans, and most unjustly invaded or grievously oppressed their neighbors; desire of increasing their wealth, enlarging their territories, or advancing the glory of their
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great monarch being the chief causes, though some other slender and easily confuted pretences have sometimes been alleged.
But to return unto the Irocois, whom we call subjects of the crown of England, they only style themselves brethren, friends, allies, being a people highly tenacious of their liberty, and very impatient of the least encroachments thereon. These five cantons or nations have sold, given, and, in a very formal public manner, made over and conveyed to the English divers large countries conquered from the Indians, upon the south side of the great lakes, as far as the Meschacebe, and the noble, beautiful, fertile peninsula situated between the three mid- dle lakes, that of Hurons to the west, Ontario to the cast, and Erie to the south; a country almost as large as England, without Wales, admirably seated for traffick, pleasant, healthful and fertile as any part of North America ; and the territory to the south is of the same nature, and confines with the borders of our province of Carolana, which extends to all the north side of the Gulf of Mexico.
It will be one great convenieney of this country, if ever it comes to be settled, that there is an casy communication therewith and the South Sea, which lies between America and China, and that two ways-by the north branch of the great Yellow River, by the natives called the River of the Massorites (Missouri), which hath a course of 500 miles, navigable to its heads or springs, and which proceeds from a ridge of hills somewhat north of New Mexico, passable by horse, foot, or wagon in less than half a day. On the other side are · rivers which run into a great lake, that empties itself by another great navigable river into the South Sea .* The same may be said of the river Meschaouay, up which our people have been, but not so far as the Baron le Hontan, who passed on it above 300 miles almost due west, and declares it comes from the same ridge of hills above mentioned ; and that divers rivers from the other side soon make a large river, which enters into a vast lake, on which inhabit two or three great nations, much more populous and civilized than other Indians; and out of that lake a great river disembogues into the South Sea, which is doubtless the same with that before mentioned, the heads of the two rivers being little distant from each other.
About twelve or fourteen years since, I had imparted unto me a journal from a gentleman admirably well skilled in geography, who
* The Lewis and Yellow Stone Rivers head together within some miles of each other, a fact however not proven for more than a century after this account was written.
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had made divers voyages from England to all our English planta- tions in America, and visited most parts of the Gulf of Mexico, where he became acquainted with one Captain Coxton, a famous privatcer, who was towards the latter end of the reign of King Charles II. enter- tained in his majesty's service. But whether he was disobliged, or that his genius prompted him to follow his old trade, having with bis co-partners fitted up a ship of twenty-six guns, he sailed to the South Sea, with a design to take the ship which comes annually from the Manillias, or Philippine Islands, in the East Indies, to Acapulco, the chief port of Mexico; which ship, as he had been well informed, usually made that part of the continent that lies between Japan and America, at a famous port in forty-two degrees. But when he came to the head of the Islands or Peninsula of California (it being too soon by some months for the putting in execution his intended design), romaging the coast, he discovered a great river in about forty-four degrees north latitude, which entered a great lake, near the mouth whereof he found a very convenient island, where he staid two or three months to refit himself, happening to have a man on board who under- stood the language of the country. The natives finding he was engaged in an expedition against the Spaniards, treated him very kindly, supplied him very cheerfully with whatsoever he wanted, and he contracted great friendship with them. He calls them the nation of Thoya. The Spaniards, as I find in divers of their expeditions, call at Thoyago, sometimes Tejago. They are often at war with the Spaniards, who have been always repulsed by them. They bring thirty or forty thousand men in one body into the field. These and two other nations neighboring, and not much inferior unto them, are accounted the most sensible and civilized Indians in America.
When the season came fit for their expedition, they sailed west and by south, and happened to stop upon some occasion at an island called Farinda or Carinda; there were five in all near each other, like the Canary Islands, but lay rounder, and were one with another about fifty or sixty miles in compass. The inhabitants were not shy of them, but supplied them with provisions, and brought them gold to barter for such commodities of ours as they liked, and in three or four days they purchased eighty six pounds weight of that metal. The natives told them they were sorry they had no more, they taking care to provide ouly against a certain time of the year, for persons who came from the sun-setting at a particular season, and bartered divers commodities with them for gold. These traders or merchants must certainly be inhabitants of Japan, which I gather from a large relation
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in the history of that island, published by the Dutch, and translated into our tongue, and makes the sixth volume of Ogleby's Collections. They therein declare that they sent from Batavia two ships (as they pretended), to discover a passage from the north-east part of Japan, round Tartary to Europe; though it is very probable they had other views. These ships were separated a little east of Japan by a storm ; the Castrilome proceeded, and found the strait entering into the Gulf of Tartary or Jesso, and searched the coast on the west side to forty-nine degrees; the other ship, the Blefkins, having suffered much by the storm, put into the port of Namboe, near the N. E. end of Japan, not doubting they should be kindly received, being in league, and having a free trade with that empire; but while they were refitting, they were unexpectedly surprised by the Japanese, sent to court, and very strictly examined, whither they had not been at, or went not to discover the Gold Islands (as they called them), to the east, of which traffick the emperor is so jealous that it- is capital for any to go thither except by his permission, or to declare to others the distance and situation thereof ; and had not the Dutch given uncontrollable evidence that they had not been, nor were they going thither, but only upon the forementioned discovery, they had been all executed.
There are upon the coast between America and Japan divers very large and safe harbors, and a very good climate, the coast stretching south-west, mostly from forty to degrees of north latitude. These seas abound with fish, and the land with fowl and venison. The inhabitants are sociable and hospitable. I have a draught and journals of all the coast from America, with those of divers harbors, until you are within about one hundred leagues of the Strait of Uries, which the Dutch discovered about sixty or seventy years since, and which is the entrance of the sea or gulf of Tartary, lying one hun- dred and twenty leagues north-east from Namboe, the most northerly haven and promontory of Japan. This strait, or rather these straits (there being two made by a long island), are the inlets into a great sea or bay, into which disembogues a vast river, on the west side of it, between forty-nine and fifty degrees of north latitude, navigable many hundred miles by the biggest ships, and is made by the conflux of divers great rivers, some of which come from the south-west, as Chingola, Hilum, Ola, Sungoro, and their fountains, near the great wall of China, and run through the dominions of the Eastern Tartars, who are now masters of China. Other rivers from the north-west,
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proceed from the territories of the Czar of Muscovy, who hath built divers large and well fortified cities on the main river of Yamour, and several of its branches, as Negovim, Nepchou, Albazin, Argun, Nert- zinskoy, &c.
This river of Yamour or Amura hath a course from its furthest fountains above twelve hundred miles, without any interruption by cataracts, so frequent in all the other great rivers in Muscovy, as the Oby, Jenisseg or Jenisca, &c. By this river you may trade with the inhabitants of Jedso for furs, who have great store, and those very rich. They inhabit all the coast on both sides of the mouth of the river, and a considerable way up it. You may likewise traffick with the Muscovites for the same commodities, who sell them there for a fourth part of what they yield in Muscow or Archangel; these parts being above four thousand miles almost due east from Muscow, their capital city, a most prodigious, tedious and difficult journey, as appears by divers largo and accurate journals, which have been many years pub- lished in print. And by means of the rivers which come from the south-west, you may correspond with the Eastern Tartars, Chinese, and the great rich kingdom of Tanguth, all now united under one and the same emperor, being very civilized nations, and kind to strangers. To say nothing of the great and rich peninsula of Corea, which is contiguous to one or two branches of this river, was once a province of China, hath the same manners and language, and is now tributary to the present emperor. This river and its branches are in a good clime, it never varying above two or three degrees from a due easterly course. Three or more ships may be sent every year, who may part at the straits of the Tartarian gulf or sea; one for Yedzo and the river; another for Japan; and a third for North China to the great city Tunxo, the port of Pekin, the capital of that kingdom, from which it is not above one day's journey by land or water. And there is not a better commodity, or of which more profit may be madle, than of the furs, which are ro easily procured, and so soon brought into that imperial city, where, in the court and amongst the grandees, there is a prodigions consumption of them, and most extravagant prices given for them, especially those of the better sort, though even the meanest come to an extraordinary good market.
Thus, after a thorough search and discovery both by sea and land, have I given the reader a topographical description of a country, the timely possession and due improvement whereof by the English may be more beneficial to them than all the other colonies they are at
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present possessed of; besides that they will thereby secure forever all the rest of our plantations upon the continent of America, which if this country be by them neglected, and suffered to remain in the hands of any ambitious, politic and powerful prince or potentate, may be distressed, conquered, or utterly exterminated.
In a new colony, the first care is to provide food for their subsist- ence. The Great Duke of Rohan, famous for wisdom and valor, who hath written so many celebrated treatises, especially relating to mili- tary affairs and politics, advances it as a maxim, that he who will be a great warrior must, in the first place, make provision for the belly; and, in the late war with the French, our seasonable and plentiful supplies of the soldiers hath not a little contributed to our wonderful successes, and both strengthened and animated our troops to perform snch acts of valor as will be celebrated in future ages. The Spaniards tell a pretty, and I think instructive story; that upon the discovery of the immense riches contained in the mountain Potosi, in Peru, two Spaniards resorted thither. The one bought slaves, hired servants, overseers, and found a rich vein of silver ore. The other (land being then common in the neighborhood) fed sheep. The mine master wanting wool for the clothing of his servants (that place being much colder than others in the same latitude), and food for his overseers (who could not be satisfied, being Spaniards, with the poor fare of the Indians and negroes), bought flesh and wool of the shepherd; and, after some few years, the shepherd grew rich and the master-miner poor. If the Spaniards had further improved this notion, the English, Dutch, and French had not exchanged so many of their manufactures for gold and silver; so that they are the richest and poorest nation in the southern part of Europe.
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