use
of the heavy rainfall; so we were obliged to postpone it till the next
day. The chief treated us very kindly; he did us much good and gave us
plenty to eat, for everything to be found in his houses was at our
service. He said often to me that I was his brother and good friend;
yes, he told me even how he had been travelling overland for thirty
days, and how he met there an Englishman, to learn the language of the
Minquase and to buy the skins. I asked him whether there were any
French savages there with the Sinnekens. He said yes; and I felt
gratified and had a good hope to reach my aim. They called me here to
cure a man that was very sick.

December 22. When the sun rose, we waded together through the stream;
the water was over the knee, and so cold that our shoes and stockings
in a very short time were frozen as hard as armor. The savages dared
not go through, but went two by two, with a stick and hand in hand; and
after going half a league we came to a village named Cawaoge. There
stood fourteen houses, and a bear to fatten. We went in and smoked a
pipe of tobacco, because the old man who was our guide was very tired.
Another old man approached us, who shouted, "Welcome, welcome! you must
stop here for the night"; but we wanted to be on the march and went
forward. I tried to buy the bear, but they would not let it go. Along
these roads we saw many trees much like the savin, with a very thick
bark. This village likewise stood on a very high hill, and after going
for another league we came into the fourth castle by land whereon we
saw only a few trees. The name is Te notoge. There are 55 houses,
some one hundred, others more or fewer paces long. The kill we spoke
about before runs past here, and the course is mostly north by west and
south by east. On the other bank of the kill there are also houses;
but we did not go in, because they were most of them filled with corn
and the houses in this castle are filled with corn and beans. The
savages here looked much surprised to see us, and they crowded so much
around us that we could hardly pass through, for nearly all of them
were at home. After awhile one of the savages came to us and invited
us to go with him to his house, and we entered. This castle had been
surrounded by three rows of palisades, but now there were none save six
or seven pieces so thick that it was quite a wonder that savages should
be able to do that. They crowded each other in th