I asked them about the thunder; they said that they did not know what animal it was; that it ate snakes, [98] and sometimes trees; that the Hurons believed it to be a very large bird. They were led to this belief by a hollow sound made by a kind of swallow which appears here in the Summer. I have not seen any of these birds in France, but have examined some of them here. They have a beak, a head, and a form like the swallow, except that they are a little larger; they fly about in the evening, repeatedly making a dull noise. The Hurons say that they make this noise from behind, as does also the bird which they think is the thunder; and that there is only one man who has seen this bird, and he only once in his lifetime. This is what my old man told me. Voila vne partie de leurs superstitiõs; que de poussiere dedans leurs yeux, & qu'il y aura de peine à la faire sortir, pour leur faire voir le beau iour de la verité. Ie croy neãtmoins, que qui sçauroit parfaittement leur langue, pour les payer promptement de bonnes raisons, qu'ils se mocqueroient eux mesmes de leurs sottises: car par fois ie les rendois honteux & cõfus, quoy que ie ne parle quasi que par les mains, ie veux dire par signes. These are some of their superstitions. How much dust there is in their eyes, and how much trouble there will be to remove it that they may see the beautiful light of truth! I believe, nevertheless, that any one who knew their language perfectly, in order to give them good reasons promptly, would soon make them laugh at their own stupidity; for sometimes I have made them ashamed and confused, although I speak almost entirely by my hands, I mean by signs. Ie veux conclurre ce chapitre par vn estõnement; on se plaint en France d'vne [99] Messe, si elle passe vne demie heure; le Sermon limité d'vne heure semble par fois trop long, à peine exerce l'on ces actes de Religion vne fois la semaine, & ces pauures ignorants crient & hurlent à toute heure. I am going to conclude this chapter with a surprise; they complain in France of a [99] Mass, if it lasts more than half an hour; a Sermon limited to an hour seems too long; those Religious services are performed hardly once a week; and yet those poor ignorant people cry and howl all the time.