his time, he ceased to
visite me with ambassages and victuals: and in the meane while I was not
able with the same store of victuals which I had, so well to proportion
out the trauaile vpon the ships which we built to returne into France, but
that in the end we were constrained to endure extreme famine, which
continued among vs all the moneth of May: (M506) for in this latter
season, neither Maiz nor Beanes, nor Mast was to be found in the villages,
because they had employed all for to sowe their fields, insomuch that we
were constrayned to eate rootes, which the most part of our men punned in
the morters which I had brought with me to beate gunnepowder in, and the
graine which came to vs from other places: some tooke the wood of Esquine,
beate it, and made meale thereof, which they boyled with water, and eate
it: others went with their harquebusies to seeke to kill some foule. Yea
this miserie was so great, that one was found that gathered vp among the
filth of my house, all the fish bones that he could finde, which he dried
and beate into powder to make bread thereof. The effects of this hideous
famine appeared incontinently among vs, for our bones eftsoones beganne to
cleaue so neere vnto the skinne, that the most part of the souldiers had
their skinnes pierced thorow with them in many partes of their bodies: in
such sort that my greatest feare was, least the Indians would rise vp
against vs, considering that it would haue bene very hard for vs to haue
defended our selues in such extreme decay of all our forces, besides the
scarsitie of all victuals, which fayled vs all at once. For the very riuer
had not such plentie of fish as it was wont, and it seemed that the land
and water did fight against vs. (M507) Now as we were thus vpon termes of
dispayre, about the end of the moneth of May and the beginning of Iune, I
was aduertised by certaine Indians that were my neighbours, that in the
high Countrey vp aboue the riuer, there was new Maiz, and that that
countrey was most forward of all. This caused me to take vpon me to go
thither with a certaine number of my men, and I went vp the riuer to a
place called Enecaque: where I met the sister of Vtina in a village where
she made vs very good cheere and sent vs fish. We found that which was
tolde vs to be true: for the maiz was now ripe: but by this good lucke one
shrewde turne happened vnto me. For the most part of my souldiers fell
sicke with eating more of it then their weak