On the day that the three Kings adored our Lord, we received three pieces of bad news. The first was that the young Hyroquois, who had gone hunting the day before, had not returned; and, as they were very well aware that hunger had weakened him so that he could not go far, they thought he was dead, or lying somewhere so weak from lack of food that hunger and cold would kill him. In fact, he has never yet appeared; some thought he might have tried to return to his own country, but the greater part are sure he is lying dead somewhere upon the snow. He was one of the three prisoners at Tadoussac, of whom I spoke in the first letters I sent from these countries;[4] his two compatriots were executed with unparalleled cruelties, but his life was saved because he was young, at the request of sieur Emery de Can, whom we begged to intercede [291] for him. This poor young man had very kind memories of me, and had a great desire to live in our house; but the Sorcerer, to whom he belonged, would neither give nor sell him. La seconde mauuaise nouuelle nous fut apportée par vn ieune Sauuage qui venoit d'vn autre cartier, lequel nous dit qu'vn Sauuage d'vne autre cabane plus esloignée estoit mort de disette, que ses gens estoient fort épouuentez ne trouuans pas de quoy viure, & nous voyant dans la mesme necessité, cela l'estonnoit encore dauantage. La troisiesme fut que nos gens découurisent la piste de plusieurs Sauuages qui nous estoient plus voisins que nous ne pensions, car ils venoient chasser iusques sur nos marches, enleuans nostre proye & nostre vie tout ensemble; ces trois nouuelles abbatirent grandement nos Sauuages, l'alarme estoit par tout, on ne marchoit plus que la teste baissée, ie ne sçay comme i'estois fait, mais ils me paroissoiẽt tous fort maigres, fort pensif, & fort mornes, si l'Apostat m'eust voulu [292] ayder à porter & à gagner le Sorcier, c'estoit bien le temps; mais son diable muet luy lioit sa langue. The second piece of bad news was brought by a young Savage who came from another quarter, who told us that a Savage of a more distant cabin had died of hunger, and that his people were greatly terrified at not finding anything to eat; when he saw us suffering from the same scarcity, he was frightened still more. The third news was that our people had discovered the trail of several Savages, who were nearer to us than we thought, for they were coming to hunt upon our very grounds, taking away our game and our lives at the same time. These three pieces of news discouraged our Savages greatly, the alarm spread everywhere, and all walked with bowed heads. I do not know how I looked, but they seemed to me very much emaciated, very sad and mournful. If the Apostate had consented [292] to help me influence and win over the Sorcerer, this was the time to do it; but his mute devil tied his tongue.