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
On the third of the same month, the wife of our Savage being sick,
he came to ask me for my knife with which to bleed her. The Savages
draw blood from the head. One day when I was in a cabin, a Savage
Woman, looking at a writing case, I was holding, adroitly took my
penknife, without my [65] perceiving it, and made several openings
in the upper part of her forehead, then returned it to me. I was
astonished when I saw her bleeding. She told me she had a headache,
and wanted to cure it. Now that they have seen our way of bleeding,
and believe it to be good, La Nasse came and begged me to aid his
wife in the same way. I told him that I knew nothing about it; and,
as he wanted to take my knife, I told him to wait until the next
day, when I would beg the Surgeon to go and see her, which he did.
In the meantime I went to see her in her cabin; it was very cold;
she was bareheaded, according to their custom, biting a lump of
snow, trying to cure a bad cold which almost choked her! Such are
the delicate usages of the country. The next day, after having been
bled, she went out to gather wood as usual. Think [66] if those who
make a profession of suffering something in the cause of God ought
not to feel ashamed, when they see such examples.
Nous n'auons point esté solitaires tout l'hiuer, nombre de Sauuages
nous sont venus voir, ils sont passez à grosses bandes deuant nostre
maison s'en allans à la chasse de l'Orignac.
We have not been lonely all winter, as a number of Savages have
been to see us. They pass by our house in large crowds, going Moose
hunting.
Le Prince, & sa mere la Princesse, c'est ainsi que les François
appellent vn Sauuage de bonne façon: Vous diriez que ceste famille a ie
ne sçay quoy de noble; & s'ils estoient couuerts à la Françoise, ils ne
cederoient point en bonne mine à nos gentils-hommes François.
[Among them were] the Prince and his mother, the Princess. It is
thus that the French call a fine looking Savage. You would say that
this family has something inexpressibly noble about it; and, if
they were dressed in the French style, they would not yield in good
appearance to our French gentlemen.
Ce ieune homme nous estant venu visiter, ie luy demanday s'il auoit
vn fils, & s'il ne seroit pas bien content de nous le donner pour
l'instruire, il me dit que ouy; sa mere [67] conduisant vne petite
fille, moy croyant que ce fut vn garçon, ie l'appelle, disant à sa
grand'mere qu'elle nous le donnast, elle se mit à rire: me doutant
que c'estoit vne fille, ie luy dis que nous ne les prenions point,
mais qu'il y viendroit quelque iour d'honnestes filles de Frãce pour
enseigner leurs filles: alors, me dit-elle, ie donneray celle-cy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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