514 THE MOUNDS OF THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. 
village of Hochelaga, now Montreal. According to Cartier* “they had. 
good and large fields full of corn, - -° - ‘which they preserved in 
garrets at the top of their houses.” He also tells us that they are 
“oiven to husbandrie, - - - butare no men of great labor; and 
that they digge their ground with certain pieces of wood as big as 
halfe a sword, on which ground groweth their corne.” The women 
are said “to work more than the men - - - in tilling and hus 
banding the ground.” Champlain,t A. D. 1610, speaking of this same 
family of tribes, especially of those living north of the St. Law- 
rence, and in the peninsula lying ovetween lakes Huron, Erie, and 
Ontario, repeats, substantially, what is said about their houses and 
fortified villages,t and adds that most of them cultivated corn, which 
was their principal article of food, and which they also exchanged for 
skins with the hunter tribes living to the north. They stored it in the 
tops of their houses, and cultivated it in quantities, so that they might 
have on hand a supply large enough to last three or four years, in case 
of the failure of the crops in some bad season.§ The women are said to 
have cultivated the ground and planted corn, whilst the men hunted, 
fished, went to war, and built their cabins. When this was done, they 
went off on trading expeditions among other tribes, sometimes extend- 
ing their trips to the distance of 400 or 500 leagues, AI this is con- 
firmed by Sagard,|| who adds some interesting details as to the tenure of 
lands] and the method of cultivating the corn. He also tells us that 
the men cleared the ground, and that this was done with great difficulty, 
as they had no suitable implements with which to work. This process 
was the same among all the Indian tribes, and as it is practically in 
*Cartier in Hakluyt’s Voyages, vol. 111, pp. 271, et seqg.: London, 1810. 
t Voyages de Champlain, Livre Quatri¢me, chapter viii: Paris, 1632. 
{Compare Relation de la Norvelle France en I’ année, 1626, p. 2: Quebec, 1858. 
Lafitau, Moeurs des Sauvages Ameriquains, vol. 11, p. 3, et seq.: Paris, 1724. La 
Hontan, Voyages, vol. u, p. 6: London, 1703. Charlevoix, Letters, pp. 240-241; 
London, 1763. Sagard, Voyage des Hurons, pp. 115-117: Paris, 1632. 
§ Voyages de Champlain, p. 301: Paris, 1632. ‘‘Cultivent des champs dont ils 
tirent & suffisance pour leur nourriture de toute 1’? Année:” Relation da la Nouvelle 
France en lV année, 1636, p. 118. See also Relation en 1’ année, 1626, p. 2: Quebec, 
1858. ‘The Hurons, more laborous, of more foresight, and more used to cultivate 
the earth, act with greater prudence, and by their labor are in a condition not only 
to subsist without any help, but also to feed others; but this, indeed, they will not 
do without some recompense:” Charlevoix, Letters, p. 175: London, 1763, ‘‘ Eyi- 
dences of their agricultural habits may still be traced in the large spaces which 
were cultivated, and which are yet conspicuous :” Schoolcraft, Indian tribes of the 
United States, vol. v1, p. 201. ‘‘Et continuent ainsi, jusques 4 ce qu’ ils en ayent 
pour deux ou trois ans de provision, soit pour la crainte qu’ il ne leur suecede quelque 
mauvaise année, ou bien pourl’ aller traicter en d’ autres Nations pour des pelle- 
teries ou autres choses qui leur font besoin:” Sagard, Voyage des Hurons, p. 134: 
Paris, 1632. 
|| Voyage des Hurons: Paris, 1632. 
q ‘‘Leur contume est, que chaque mesnage vit de ce qu’ il pesche, chasse et seme 
ayans autant de terre comme il leur est necessaire; car toutes les forets, prairies ef 
