THE ABENAKIS OF SAINT JOHN RIVER.

BY EDWARD JACK.

(Read 23rd January, 1892.)

When Champlain landed at the mouth of the St. John River in the year 1604, he found a number of Indians living there. In answer to his inquiries as to what they called this river, he received this reply, Ouigoudi; now the name of St. John River in Abenaki as well as in Micmac is Wallostook, the word Ouigoudi meaning camping ground. Singularly enough this error has been continued down to our day, and one of the ferry boats which cross the harbor of St. John is called the Ouangondy, a corruption of the word Ouigoudi, arising from a misprint in a history of Nova Scotia in which the word was thus printed. Had the parties who thus misnamed this steamboat asked the Aborigines who were camped near the city, what they called the St. John, they would have received a correct answer. Lescarbot in his "Histoire de la Nouvelle France" says, that when in 1606 he came to the River St. John, “being in the town of Ouigoudi, for thus I can properly call an enclosed place full of people, he saw in a great thicket about eighty savages."

Just opposite the city of Fredericton also, there is a collection of mean huts in which some of the Abenakis of the St. John reside, this they today call Ouigoudi. At the time of Champlain's arrival, the banks of the St. John were inhabited by the Abenakis, a branch of the great Algonquin family; their descendants tell me that their ancestors came from the west, and that before the white men arrived among them they worshipped the sun and moon.

The Great Spirit was called by them Ketsi Niouaskoo, and the Evil Spirit Matsi Niouaskoo. One of my Indian friends said to me he had read about the latter in his catechism, and that he is the devil.

It is stated in the relations of the Jesuits that in the year 1642 some Algonquins who were attending a religious celebration at Montreal, having ascended the mountain, one of them pointing to the hills situated to the south and east, said to the French, that the Hurons who then were their enemies, had driven their ancestors from this country, some of whom had fled to the country where the Abenakis now live. The first

missionary to visit the St. John was Pierre Biard, of the Society of Jesus, who was sent to Acadia in 1610-11, through the exertions of the Duchess of Guercheville and other ladies of the French Court. Biard in a letter to Claude Aquavia says: "I beseech you by the merits of Jesus Christ to remember us and these most solitary countries, assuredly we are sowing in great poverty and tears, may the Lord deign some day to grant us a harvest of joy." In another: "Our days and nights flow sadly along, what consoles us is the hope that God who reanimates the downcast heart will shortly come in his mercy and assist us in our wretchedness."

In 1611 Biard ascended the St. John in company with Biancourt, and celebrated Mass on an island six leagues from its mouth. This island is probably one of those which are situated not far from what is now called Oak Point. According to Abbe J. A. Maurault, the Abenakis (men of the east) formerly inhabited what are now Maine, New Hampshire and New Brunswick, extending even as far as the shores of Nova Scotia. This tribe formerly consisted, according to him, of several divisions. enumerates the following as being the chief:

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Ist. The Kanibesinnoaks, those who live near the lakes; these were called Canibas by the French.

2nd. The Patsuikets, those of the Land of Fraud, because there were among them many New England savages, who according to the Abenakis had established themselves by fraud on the Merrimac River, and extended themselves as far as the Connecticut; they were only one division of the Sokokis.

3rd. The Sokowakiakis, men of the south; these resided in the southwest part of Maine and in New Hampshire; the French called them Sokokis.

4th. The Nurhantsuaks, those who travel by water, because they resided on the upper part of the Kennebec, and on the shores of the lakes.

5th. The Pentagoets, who were also called Penaouabskets, those of the stony country; these resided on the Penobscot, where the shores were in many places covered by stone.

6th. The Etemankiaks, those of the country of snow-shoe hides; these resided on the River St. Croix and on the St. John. The Abenakis called this territory Etemandi, because there were here great quantities of moose and caribou, from whose hides excellent snowshoes were made.

7th. The Oualastegouiaks, these resided on the River St. John; later they were called the Mouskouasoaks, Muskrats, because they lived like these animals on the banks of the river. The remains of this tribe and those of the Etchemins are now called Melecites. These Indians now occupy the greater part of New Brunswick, and it is with them that the writer has to do at present.

Abbe Maurault gives the meaning of the word Malouidit as being those of Malo, which he says was the name given to the Metis among them, because the greater part of their fathers came from St. Malo. He also says that the Abenakis called the grain which was introduced among them by the French, Maloumenal, Malo grain. The early connection of the Abenakis with the English is shown by their word for king which is Kinzames, this evidently comes from that of King James, who ruled England from 1603-1625. This or a similar word is used for the name of Queen Victoria, as any one may learn by going into one of the Abenakis school houses, and asking the dusky little scholars who are very tractable and who excel much in writing. The chief settlement of the Abenakis on the St. John was at Augh-Pa-Hac, head of tide six miles above Fredericton, at the point where the still water meets the rapid. John Gyles, who was a prisoner among the Abenakis from 1689 to 1698, was taken to this place. About the first of July 1881, the writer being desirous of visiting the vicinity of Augh-Pa-Hac, all traces of which have completely disappeared, engaged one of the most intelligent of the Abenakis to pole him to the place in his bark canoe. Noticing a good chance to land and have our dinner, we went ashore near a cold spring; when the meal was finished, the Abenaki took out his pipe and enjoyed a good smoke. This made him more communicative than usual, for they are not a people who are fond of much talking. He said that "when the first white man came to St. Anne's Point just above Fredericton, he found an Indian sitting on a bench in front of his wigwam; the Indian motioned to the white man to be seated, and as the latter was taking his place on the bench the former out of respect moved a little away, then the white man moved nearer, until the poor Indian was pushed entirely from off the seat." I asked him why his people liked the French better than the English; in reply he said that "When the English took Quebec they promised to treat us Indians as well as the French did, but they never have and never will; the French lived among us, learned our language and gave us religion, they were just like ourselves; this is why we thought so much of them." After ascending the river for a mile or two more we came opposite the foot of what is now called Hart's Island; this the Abenaki said was formerly called Old Town by the Indians.

Here it was that the Abenakis lived in summer; their wigwams placed around the island formed a sort of stockade, the centre being reserved as a place for dancing. The Mohawks, he said, had often attempted the destruction of the Indians of the St. John, and once in particular they would have been successful but for an aged squaw, who was so wise that all the tribe listened to her opinions with respect. "One evening long before the whites had come among us," said my Indian whose words I give as nearly as possible, "this woman with her grey hair falling down over her shoulders, rushed into the centre of the encampment calling out "there is trouble, there is trouble;" she was soon surrounded by the anxious braves who wanted to know what she meant. Look at Wi-Jo-Sis, (Curry's Mountain) a hill on the opposite side of the St. John, back of it a great party of Mohawks are hidden, and they are only waiting for night. to attack and kill you all, if you are not ready to meet them; a council was at once called and a course of action determined upon. Some old Indians call this mountain We-Jo-Sis Po-Te-Wis, or Little Council Mountain, because in old times the Mohawk braves always went there first to hold a council before attempting to attack the Abenakis on Nkarne-Odan (Hart's Island), they would stop on this mountain for days watching the Abenakis. In order to deceive the Mohawks, the Melicites concluded to have a big dance; while this was going on the braves one by one slipped out, leaving none but the old men and women to keep it up. Before leaving however, they had agreed upon a particular sign by which they could distinguish each other in the dark as they were crawling through the long grass, or among the thick bushes which surrrounded the island, and he who did not respond to this sign was to be dispatched immediately and his bleeding head to be thrown among the dancers. The Mohawks, as night advanced, stole along noiselessly to the Melicite village, but wile had been met with wile, and before day dawned many a Mohawk's head had been thrown among the dancers, with the whispered command, dance harder, dance harder. All of the Mohawk braves were slain, the others were killed as easily as you would cut a chicken's head off, or knock down a lamb. Some three or four had been reserved however, whose noses and ears were cut off and they were allowed to return home in order to show the Mohawks how they would be treated should they try the like again." As my friend had again thrown off all reserve and become talkative, I seized upon the occasion to note down what he said. I had been speaking about the food of the Aborigines. "You want to know what vegetables we used before the white man came among us; we will go over to the island, and I will show you the Indian potatoe; when I was a little papoose I remember coming here with my mother for them, I picked them up as she dug them with a hoe. We will find the

Indian potatoes here," said my friend, as he pushed his canoe ashore, landing at a spot shaded by alders, where he began to dig with his hands, and soon brought to light what seemed to be a lot of very small potatoes strung together at equal distances; we wanted to see the plant of which they were the roots. After a good deal of looking among the tops of the alders, the Melicite brought us some leaves of the common bind weed, which had climbed up among them; it is of the same family I believe as the sweet potatoe. "There is another root," said the Melicite, "which our fathers used, we call it Indian rice, I often use it, it is very white and nice and is excellent in soup." From the description which he gave of the plant it must have been the yellow lily, which grows in rich damp ground on the shores of the St. John. "We use, in medicine, among other plants the root of the sweet flag (said the Indian). Long ago a great sickness fell upon the Abenakis, and many of their women and children died. One night there appeared to one of the braves a strange figure, as of a man all covered with joints and bars, I am, said he, Ke-Whis-Wask, muskrat root, (the Indian name for the sweet flag), and can heal you all; dig me up, steep me in water and drink me, and I will cure you. After saying this he disappeared, and the next morning, the brave doing as he was told, all of the sick on drinking it, recovered." Leaving the island where we were shown the Indian potatoe, as the Melicite poled his canoe towards Savage Island, the water became quicker, there, said he, pointing to the west side of the St. John River, is Augh-Pa-Hack, and here once stood our church and village, the English destroyed them long ago. Pointing towards Savage Island he continued, "There was in former times on this island a race course, which extended all around it; here after ball playing the young Indians tried their speed, I have seen when a boy, marks of this race course in the sod. In old times the young Indians were carefully trained, they were kept by themselves and everything was done to make them strong and supple. The Indian boys were every day practised in the use of the bow, by some old man whose duty it was, so that at fifteen years of age they became good hunters, the old teacher having taught them how to make traps and catch game of various kinds. The young Abenaki was not allowed to choose his own wife, the parents did this; when they saw a young squaw who was considered a suitable match for their son, they sent bracelets and a piece of wampum to the girl. Her relatives then met and consulted over the matter, and if the match was approved of the presents were kept, if not, they were returned." (The old Abenaki who gave me this information, said to the writer), "My old woman and I never spoke to each other before we were married, my father and step-mother made the