I 
350 uhe Discoveries and Settlements Book' I: 
fiich a dreadful Account of the Colony they had left, a§ 
difcouraged others from going thither, and made the 
Miniftry repent of the Pains they had taken about it ; 
but the greateft Obftacle of all was, their continual Wars 
with the Natives^ of which they have given us very large 
Accounts, that, in my Opinion, do no great Honour 
either to the particular Perfons who have had the 
Dire<5tion of their Affairs in thofe Colonies, or the French 
Nation in general. Before we proceed, however, to an 
exadt Defcription of this Country, it will be very requifite 
to fay fomething of its original Inhabitants, their Cuf- 
toms, and Manners, and the rather becaufe what we lhall 
offer on that Subjedl, will be equally ufeful and enter- 
taining. 
4 . Among all the French Writers who have taken upon 
them to treat of this Subjedl, and to defcribe the Indians 
With whom they had converfed, the moft fenfible and 
moft worthy of Credit that I have met with is Mr. Joutel^ 
v/ho accompanied the famous Monf. de Sale^ in his Dif- 
coveries on the River Miffiffi-ppi. Pie behaved himfelf in 
every refpedt fo as to obtain an eftablifhed Reputation •, 
and as no body had better Opportunities than he to be 
acquainted with the Nations he defcribes, fo I fee not the 
leaft Realbn to doubt of what he has delivered about 
them. As to the Accounts of Lahontain, and Father 
Hennepin^ they have been formerly very much admired, 
yet we are now very well fatisfied that they are rather 
Romances than Relations, and that their Authors had 
their particular Schemes fo much in View, that they have 
made no manner of Scruple of abufmg the Confidence of 
Mankind ; fo that if we except fome Parts of their 
Writings which relate to Matters in which they could 
not fo well deceive their Readers, they are not much to be 
depended upon. But for Mr. Joiitely he did not fet up 
for a great Politician, but confined himfelf barely to the 
reporting what he lav/ ; which he does in a very plain, 
natural Way ; Whereas moft of the MifTionaries either 
magnify the Savages at the Expence of Europeans^ or elfe 
run them down, as if they were . very little better than 
Beafts. Our Author comes neareft to the latter Opinion, 
which by comparing him with later Writers, appears 
to be moft confiftent with Truth ; and if we follow the 
Lights he gives us, we muft regard them as Men as 
much diftinguifhed from the reft of the human Race, as 
the Country they live in is from the reft of the World : 
He fpeaks of them thus ; 
Allowing, fays he, that there are fome Barbarians lefs 
wicked and brutal than the others; yet there are none good, 
nor thoroughly capable of knowing fuch Things as are 
above the Reach of our Senfes : There is no relying on 
them ; there is always Caufe to fufped them : And, in 
fhort, before a Savage can be made a Chriftian, it is 
requifite to make him a Man ; and we look upon thefe 
Savages as having neither King nor Laws, and, what is 
moft deplorable, no God ; for if we rightly examine their 
Sentiments and their Adtions, it does not appear they 
have any fort of Religion, or well formed Notion of a 
Deity ; if fome of them, upon certain Occafions, do 
fometimes own a firft or fovereign Being, or pay fome 
Veneration to the Sun ; as to the firft Article, they deliver 
themfelves in fuch a confufed manner, and with fo many 
Contradidlions and Extravagancies that it plainly appears 
they neither know or believe any thing of it ; and as for 
the fecond, it is only bare Cuftom, without any ferious 
Refledlions on their Part. The fame Traveller, fpeaking 
of an Interview he had with the Chiefs of another Na- 
tion, to the weftward of the River Miffiffippi^ fays, 
their Eiders came to meet us in their Formalities, which 
confifted in fome Goats-fkins dreffed, and painted of fe- 
veral Colours ; which they wore on their Shoulders like 
Belts, and Plumes of Feathers of feveral Colours on 
their Heads like Coronets ; fix or feven of them had 
fquare Sword-Blades, like the Spanijh^ on the Hilts 
whereof they had faftened great Plumes of Feathers, and 
Hawks-bells ; fome of them had Clubs, which they 
called Head-breakers ; fome only their Bows and Arrows; 
others Pieces of white Linen, reaching from Shoulder to 
Shoulder : All their Faces were daubed with black and 
red: There. Were twelve Elders, who walked in the 
Middle, and the Youth and Warriors in Ranks, on the 
right and left of the old Men. Being come up to us in 
that Manner, he that conduced Us made a Sign for us to 
halt, which, when we had done, all the old Men lifted up 
their right Hands above their Heads, crying in a moft 
ridiculous Manner ; but it behoved us to have a care of 
Laughing. That done, they came and embraced us, 
ufing all Sorts of Endearments. The whole Company 
conduced us, afterwards, to their Chief’s Cottage, and 
after we had ftaid there a fhort Time, they led us to a 
larger Cottage, a quarter of a League from thence, be- 
ing the Hut in which they had their public Rejoicings, 
and great Affemblies : We found it furnifhed with Mats 
for us to fit on. The Elders feated themfelves round 
about it, and they brought us to eat fome Sagamite, 
which is their Pottage, little Beans, Bread made of In- 
dian Corn, and another Sort they made with boiled 
Flower ; and at laft they made us fmoak. The Cotta<?es 
that are inhabited, are not each of them for a private Fa- 
mily, for in fome of them there are fifteen or twenty, 
each of which has its Nook, or Corner-bed, and other 
Utenfils to itfelf, but without any Partition to feparate 
it from the reft : However, they have nothing in 
common befides the Fire, which is in the Midft of the 
Hut, and never goes out : It is made of great Trees, the 
Ends whereof are laid together, fo that when once light- 
ed, it lafts a long Time, and the firft Cornier takes 
Care to keep it up. 
The Cottages are round at the Top, after the manner 
of a Bee-Hive, or a Rick of Hay ; fome of them are fix 
Foot in Diameter : In order to build them they fet up 
long Poles as thick as a Man’s Leg, tall and ftrait ;. and 
placing them in a Circle, join the Tops together ; then 
they faften and cover them with Weeds. When they re- 
move their Dwellings, they generally burn the Cottages^ 
and build new ones on the Ground they defign to inha- 
bit. Their Moveables are fome Buffaloes or Bullocks 
Skins well cured, fome Mats clofe wove, wherewith 
they adorn their Huts, and fome Earthern Veffels, which 
they are very flcilful in making, and wherein they boil 
their Flefh, Roots, and Sagamite Pottage. They have 
alfo fome fmall Bafkets made of Canes, Serving to put 
their Fruit and other Pro vifions in. Their Beds are made 
of Canes, raifed two or three Feet above the Ground, 
handfomely fitted with Mats and Bullocks Hides, or 
Goats Skins, v/hich ferve them inftead of Feather-beds, 
Quilts and Blankets, and thefe Beds are parted one from 
another by Mats hung up. Their Tillage confifts in 
breaking up juft the Surface of the Earth with a wooden 
Inftrument like a Pick-ax, which they make by fplitting 
the End of a thick Piece of Wood, v/hich ferves for the 
Handle, and putting another Piece of Wood Iharp-point- 
ed at one End into the Slit. This Inftrument ferves 
them inftead of a Hoe or Spade ; for they have no Iron 
Tools. When the I.and has been thus broke up, the 
Women fow and plant the Indian Corn, Beans, Pom- 
pions, Water-Melons, and other Grain and Garden-Stuff. 
The Indians are generally handfome, but disfigure them- 
felves by making Streaks on their Jaws, from the Top 
of the Forehead dov/n the Nofe to the Tip of the Chin, 
which is done by pricking the Skin till it bleeds, and 
then ftrewing fine Charcoal on the Skin, which finks in 
and mixes with the Blood. They alfo make, after the 
fame Manner, the Figures of living Creatures, of Leaves 
and Flowers, on their Shoulders, Thighs, and other 
Parts of their Bodies ; and paint themfelves, as has been 
faid before, with Black or Red, and fometimes both to- 
gether. The Women are generally well-fhaped, and 
would not be difagreeable did they adhere to Nature ; 
but they difguife themfelves as ridiculoufiy as the Men, 
not only with the Streaks they have like them down their 
Faces, but by other Figures they make at the Corner of 
their Eyes and on their Bodies, particularly on their Bo- 
foms. The Women do all the Work in the Cottase, ei- 
ther in pounding the Indian Corn and baking their Bread, 
dreffing their other Provifion, drying, parching, and 
fmoaking their Flefh, fetching the Wood they have Oc- 
cafion for, or the Flefh of wild Beafts killed by their 
Hufbands in the Woods, which are often at a great Di- 
ftance. I did not obferve 'that their Women were natu- 
rally 
1 
