we rested
ourselves. We made a fire and ate all the food we had, because the
savages told us that we were still about four leagues distant from the
castle. The sun was near setting as still another of the savages went
on to the castle to tell them we were coming. We would have gone with
him, but because we felt so very hungry the savages would not take us
along with them. The course northwest.

December 30. Without anything to eat we went to the Sinnekens' castle,
and after marching awhile the savages showed me the branch of the river
that passes by Fort Orange and past the land of the Maquas. A woman
came to meet us, bringing us baked pumpkins to eat. This road was
mostly full of birches and beautiful flat land for sowing. Before we
reached the castle we saw three graves, just like our graves in length
and height; usually their graves are round. These graves were
surrounded with palisades that they had split from trees, and they were
closed up so nicely that it was a wonder to see. They were painted
with red and white and black paint; but the chief's grave had an
entrance, and at the top of that was a big wooden bird, and all around
were painted dogs, and deer, and snakes, and other beasts. After four
or five leagues' marching the savages still prayed us to fire our guns,
and so we did, but loaded them again directly and went on to the
castle. And we saw to the northwest of us, a large river, and on the
other side thereof tremendously high land that seemed to lie in the
clouds. Upon inquiring closely into this, the savages told me that in
this river the Frenchmen came to trade. And then we marched confidently
to the castle, where the savages divided into two rows, and so let us
pass through them by the gate, which was--the one we went through--3
1/2 feet wide, and at the top were standing three big wooden images,
carved like men, and with them I saw three scalps fluttering in the
wind, that they had taken from their foes as a token of the truth of
their victory. This castle has two gates, one on the east and one on
the west side. On the east side a scalp was also hanging; but this
gate was 1 1/2 feet smaller than the other one. When at last we
arrived in the chief's house, I saw there a good many people that I
knew; and we were requested to sit down in the chief's place where he
was accustomed to sit, because at the time he was not at home, and we
felt cold and were wet and tired. They at once gave us