204 ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



early average of Huron and Iroquois villages, the guess may perhaps be 

 raisècl,a little to say Ironi 10,000 to 11,000. "This people conlincs itself 

 to tillage and fishing, for they do not leave their country and are not 

 migratory like those of Canada and Saguenay, although the said Cana- 

 dians are subject to them, with eujht or nine other peoples who are on the 

 said river.'' Nevertheless the site of Hochelagu, unearthed in 18G0, 

 shows them to have been traders to some extent with the west, evidently 

 through the Ottawa Algonquins. What Cartier did during his brief 

 visit to the town itself is well known. The main point for us is that 

 three men led him to the top of Mount Royal and showed him the coun- 

 try. They told him of the Ottawa River and of three great rapids in the 

 St. Lawrence, after passing which, "one could sail more than three moons 

 along the said river,"' doubtless meaning along the Great Lakes. Silver 

 and brass they identified as coming from that region, and "there were 

 Agojudas. or wicked people, armed even to the fingers," of whom they 

 showed "the make of their armor, which is of cords and wood laced and 

 woven together ; giving to understand that the said Agojudas are con- 

 tinually at war with one and other." This testimony clearly describes 

 the armour of the early Hurons and Iroquois ^ as found by Champlain, and 

 seems to relate to war between the Hurons and Senecas at that period 

 and to an aversion to them by the people of the town of Hochelaga 

 themselves ; who were, however, living in security from them at the time, 

 apparently cut off from regular communication with them by Algonquin 

 l)eoples, particularly those of the Ottawa, who controlled Huron com- 

 munication with the lower St. Lawrence in the same way in Champlain's 



days. 



On returning to Stadacona, Cartier, by talking with Donnaconna, 

 fearnt what showed this land of Saguenay so much talked of by these 

 people, to be undoubtedly the Huron country. " The straight and good 

 and safest road to it is by the Fleuve (St. Lawrence) to above Hochelaga 

 and by the river which descends from the said Saguenay and enters the 

 said Fleuve (as we had seen) ; and thence it takes a month to reach." 

 This is simply the Ottawa route to Lake Huron used by the Jesuits in 

 the next century. What they had seen was the Ottawa River entering 

 the St. Lawrence — from the top of Mount Royal, whence it is visible to- 

 day. The name Saguenay may possibly be Saginaw, — the old Saguenam, 

 the "very deep bay on the west shore of Lake Huron," of Charlevoix, 

 (Book XL) though it is not necessarily Saginaw Bay itself, as such names 

 shift. And they gave to understand that in that country the people are 

 clothed with clothes like us, and there are many peoples in tow7is and good 

 persons and that they have a great quantity of gold and of red copper. 

 And they told us that all the land from the said first river to Hochelaga 



1 Similar armour, thouKli highly elaborated, is.to be seen in the suits of Jiipaiie&e 

 warriors, made of cords and laccjuered wood woven together. 



