The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. 5: Quebec, 1632-1633
History
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. 5: Quebec, 1632-1633
Canada -- History -- To 1763 (New France); Indians of North America -- Canada; Jesuits -- Missions; Jesuits -- North America
Dictionaries and other MSS. in Algonkin, the work of Jesuit
missionaries, are still extant, in the archives of the mission of Lac
des Deux Montagnes (Oka), Quebec; one of these is dated 1661.--See
Pilling's _Bibliog. Algon. Lang._, pp. 6, 7. Several MSS. of this
character are also in the archives of St. Mary's College, Montreal.
25 (p. 87).--Hakluyt's account of Cartier's third voyage (1540) thus
mentions the "diamonds" of this locality: "And vpon that high cliff wee
found a faire fountaine very neere the sayd Fort: adioyning whereunto
we found good store of stones, which we esteemed to be Diamants....
the most faire, pollished, and excellently cut that it is possible
for a man to see, when the Sunne shineth vpon them, they glister as
it were sparkles of fire." Afterwards, meeting Roberval at St. John's
Bay, Cartier "tolde him that hee had brought certaine Diamonts, and
a quantitie of Golde ore, which was found in the Countrey. Which
ore the Sunday next ensuing was tryed in a Furnace, and found to be
good."--Goldsmid's _Hakluyt_, vol. xiii., pp. 150, 151, 164. On p. 155
of the same volume is a letter from Jacques Noel, a grandnephew of
Cartier, in which Noel declares that he has seen a map of Canada, drawn
by his uncle, on which the latter had written these words: "By the
people of Canada and Hochelaga it was said, That here is the land of
Saguenay, which is rich and wealthy in precious stones."
Champlain says, in _Voyages_ (Prince ed.), vol. i., p. 253: "Along the
shore of Quebec, there are diamonds in some slate rocks, which are
better than those of Alençon." Kalm describes the black limeslate of
this region, in his _Travels into North America_ (Forster's trans.,
London, 1772), vol. ii., p. 371, and adds: "The large cracks are almost
filled up with transparent quartz crystals, of different sizes. One
part of the mountain contains vast quantities of these crystals, from
which the corner of the mountain which lies to the S. S. E. of the
palace has got the name of Pointe de Diamante or Diamond Point."
26 (p. 93).--_La Nasse_: Champlain mentions this savage as warning
the French of Kirk's approach to Quebec (1629). Le Jeune describes
(_Relation_, 1634, _post_) the baptism of La Nasse, under the name of
Joseph, and his pious death some months later.
27 (p. 95).--Cf. Jouvency's account of a similar occurrence (vol. i. of
this series, p. 269).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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