with us would have left us there if I had not
noticed it; and when we thought of taking our meal we perceived that
their dogs had eaten our meat and cheese. So we had then only dry
bread and had to travel on that; and, after going for an hour, we came
to the branch that runs into our river and past the Maquas villages,
where the ice drifted very fast. Jeronimus crossed first, with one
savage in a canoe made of the bark of trees, because there was only
room for two; after that Willem and I went over; and it was so dark
that we could not see each other if we did not come close together. It
was not without danger. When all of us had crossed, we went another
league and a half and came to a hunter's cabin, which we entered to eat
some venison, and hastened farther, and after another half league we
saw some Indians approaching; and as soon as they saw us they ran off
and threw their sacks and bags away, and fled down a valley behind the
underwood, so that we could not see them. We looked at their goods and
bags, and took therefrom a small [loaf of] bread. It was baked with
beans, and we ate it. We went farther, and mostly along the aforesaid
kill that ran very swiftly because of the freshet. In this kill there
are a good many islands, and on the sides upward of 500 or 600 morgen
of flat land; yes, I think even more. And after we had been marching
about eleven leagues, we arrived at one o'clock in the evening half a
league from the first castle at a little house. We found only Indian
women inside. We should have gone farther, but I could hardly move my
feet because of the rough road, so we slept there. It was very cold,
with northerly wind.

December 13. In the morning we went together to the castle over the
ice that during the night had frozen on the kill, and, after going half
a league, we arrived in their first castle, which is built on a high
hill. There stood but 36 houses, in rows like streets, so that we
could pass nicely. The houses are made and covered with bark of trees,
and mostly are flat at the top. Some are 100, 90, or 80 paces long and
22 and 23 feet high. There were some inside doors of hewn boards,
furnished with iron hinges. In some houses we saw different kinds of
iron work, iron chains, harrow irons, iron hoops, nails,--which they
steal when they go forth from here. Most of the people were out hunting
deer and bear. The houses were full of corn that they call onersti,
and we saw maize; yes