A Memoir of Jacques Cartier cont...Hochelaga and the Abnakis

The next place they visited was the heavy agricultural area that led into the town Hochelaga which was near a mountain the French named Mont Royal. This was actually an enclosed town that even had a gate for the single entrance into town. Cartier even sounded impressed by the defensiveness of the town. He also talks about the long houses, corn flour that they used to make round cakes which they bake on stones, the method they use to smoke there meat, and the fact that the most precious thing to this tribe are the shells they use for their wampum. Cartier describes the way they get the shells is by of someone who has been sentenced to death and cutting large gashes in their body. They placed the body in the bottom of the river where the shells live and leave it there for up to 12 hours. When they take up the body we are able to gather what they need of the shells that have grown into the gashes. Once again Cartier mentions that the women are very physically curious and touch the Frenchman without shame, very curious.

One of the oddest things was the leader (I think that’s who he was) started bringing sick people to the captain for the captain to touch and “heal”. Many gifts were given afterwards, a feast was had, and then some of the people led the Frenchman on the mountain. While there, their guides made reference to silver coming from the river, but said evil folks named Agojuda were there, and that they warred with each other all the time. The Agojuda’s armor was described as wood laced together by cords woven together. I found reference to Samuel de Champlain mentioning the Agojuda as well and in notes scholars said that judging from the slat armor mentioned this was likely the Ouendat (Huron). Cartier and the other sailors were hoping the mountain held copper, but the Abnakis (Abenaki) insisted that came from Saguenay. After the walk to the mountain Cartier and his men went to return to their boats and when the Abnakis saw that they were tired, they carried the sailors. When the French men left the people follow them along the river, seeming sad to see them go.

It wasn’t until several days later that Cartier mentions Taignoagny and Dom Agaya who came with many others to welcome them further down on what the Frenchman named the Whip River. Cartier seem to doubt the sincerity of the welcome. They insisted that the Frenchman come see the Donnacona who apparently were located in a different place than they had been when the sailors had visited before. The captain gave the men knives and other things of small value, and to the women he presented gifts of tin rings. While there the captain was also shown by the Donnacona the “skins of five men’s heads stretched upon wood like the skins of parchment” and were told the skins were from a group called the Toudamans who they were at war with, and who had unexpectedly attacked them. A group that just happened to be located at the place the Abnakis said that the copper came from. Saguenay. Looking into the Iroquois and armor they were, it seems more likely that the Toudamans wore actually of that group, so it is possible the term Agojuda may have meant Iroquois not Huron.

As a side note the mention of the wood slat armor is very interesting to me, and may require a bit more research as a possible option for my own armor. To my knowledge my tribe didn't wear any armor in battle, at least nothing that would fit the standards of SCA armor, so this would slat armor might be a possible solution. I have seen the wood slat armor mentioned before while doing research on First Nations, and the Russians were said to have some contact with people called the Tlingit who wore wooden armor. Here's an example of that I found...