8

Champlain’s expeditions into northern and western new-york.

of the Entouhonorons ’. And having traversed this Lake, we passed a water fall, proceeding alwaysdown along the course of said river, about sixty four leagues, which is the entrance of the saidvalley of the Entouhonorons, and passed by land five rapids ( sauts ), some four or five leagues long,where there are several lakes of pretty considerable extent; the said river which flows betweenthem also abounds with good fish, and all this country is very fine and agreeable. In severalplaces along the banks, the trees would seem to have been planted for ornament. All this countrywas formerly inhabited by Savages, who have since been constrained to abandon it, through fearof their enemies. Vines and nuts are in great quantities, and grapes come to maturity there,but they leave always a sharp sour taste, which proceeds from want of cultivation ; but those thathave been cultivated in these parts are of pretty good flavour.

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We continued along the border of the Lake of the Entouhonorons, always hunting as abovementioned; being there, we crossed over at one of the extremities, tending Eastward, which is thebeginning (Ventree) of the river Saint Lawrence, in the parellel of forty-three degrees of Latitude .There are some beautiful and very large Islands in this passage. We made about fourteenleagues to cross to the other side of the Lake , proceeding southward, towards the enemy’s country.The Indians concealed all their canoes in the woods, near the bank. We travelled by land about4 leagues over a sandy plain, where I observed a very pleasing and fine country, watered by numer-ous small streams, and two little rivers which empty into said Lake , and a number of ponds andprairies, where there was an infinite quantity of game, a great many vines and fine trees, vastnumber of chestnuts, the fruit of which was yet in the shell. It is quite small, but well flavored.

All the canoes being thus concealed, we left the bank of the Lake , which is 80 leagues long and25 wide. It is inhabited for the greater part by Savages, along the sides of the streams, and wecontinued our journey overland some 25 to 30 leagues. In the course of four days, we traversed anumber of streams and one river issuing from a lake 'which empties into that of the Entouhono-rons. This lake is 25 to 30 leagues in circumference, with many beautiful Islands , and is theIroquois fishing ground, fish being in abundance there.

The 9 th of October; Our Indians going out scouting, encountered eleven Savages whom theytook prisoners ; to wit, 4 women, three boys, one girl and three men, who were going fishing, fourleagues distant from the enemy’s fort. Now is to be noted that one of the Chiefs seeing these pris-oners, cut the finger off one of those poor women, as the commencement of their usual tortures.Whereupon I interfered, and censured the Iroquet Captain, representing to him that a Warrior,as he called himself, was not in the habit of acting cruelly towards women, who have no defencebut their tears and who, by reason of their helplessness and feebleness, ought to be treated withhumanity. That on the contrary this act would be supposed to proceed from a vile and brutalcourage, and that if he committed any more of those cruelties, he would not encourage me toassist them, nor to favor their war. Whereupon he replied, that their enemies treated them in thesame manner. But since such customs displeased me, he would not act so any more to women, butexclusively to men.

Next day, at three o’clock in the afternoon we arrived before the enemy’s fort, where the Savageshad some skirmishes, the one against the other, though it was not our design to discover ourselvesuntil the morrow : But the impatience of our Savages would not brook this, as well through thedesire they felt to see us fire on their enemies, as to liberate some of their men who had venturedtoo far. Then I advanced -and Resented myself, but with the few men I had; nevertheless I

1 Lake Ontario , presumed to have been so called by the Hurons from the fact, of their having to cross it to get to theAutouoronons, or Senecas, who lived on the South side of it.