In Europe, the seam of stockings is behind the leg....Among the Savages it is otherwise; the seam of stockings worn by men is between the legs, and here they fasten little ornaments-made of porcupine quills, stained scarlet, and in the form of fringe or of spangles-which meet when they walk, and make...a pretty effect, not easily described. The women wear this ornamentation on the outer side of the leg.
In France, patterns and raised shoes are considered the most beautiful....The Savagesí shoes are as flat as tennis-shoes, but much wider, especially in winter, when they stuff and line them amply to keep away the cold.
Shirts are in Europe worn next to the skin, under the other garments. The Savages wear them usually over their dress, to shield it from snow and rain....
The end of a shirt protruding from under the coat is an indecorous thing; but not so in Canadas. You will see Savages dressed in French attire, with worsted stockings and a cloak, but without any breeches; while before and....behind are seen two large shirt-flaps hanging down below the cloak....That fashion seems all the more tasteful in their eyes because they regard our breeches as an encumbrance....
Politeness and propriety have taught us to carry handkerchiefs. In this matter the Savages charge us with filthiness-because, the say, we place what is unclean in a fine white piece of linen, and put it away in our pockets as something very precious, while they throw it upon the ground....
Most Europeans sit on raised seats, using round or square tables. The Savages eat from the ground.
In France, food and drink are taken together. The Algonquins follow quite the contrary custom in their feasts, first eating what is served to them, and then drinking, without touching food again....
We wash meat to cleanse it of blood and impurities; the Savages do not wash it, for fear of losing its blood and a part of its fat...We usually begin dinner with soup, which is the last dish among the Savages, the broth of the pot serving them for drink. Bread is eaten here with meat and other courses; if you give some to a Savage, he will make a separate course of it and very often eat it last. Yet they are gradually adapting themselves to our way.
In most parts of Europe, when any one makes a call he is invited to drink; among the Savages he is invited to eat....
When the Savages are not hunting or on a journey, their usual posture is to recline or sit on the ground. They cannot remain standing, maintaining that their legs become swollen immediately. Seats higher than the ground they dislike; the French, on the contrary, use chairs, benches, or stools, leaving the ground and litter to the animals.
A good dance in France does not move....his arms much, and holds his body erect, moving his feet so nimbly that, you would say, he spurns the ground and wishes to stay in the air. The Savages, on the contrary, bend over in their dances, thrusting out their arms and moving violently as if they were kneading bread, while they strike the ground with their feet so vigorously that one would say there were determined to make it tremble, or to bury themselves in it up to the neck....
In France, children are carried on the arm, or clasped to the breast; in Canadas, the mothers bear them behind their backs. In France, they are kept as well covered as possible....The cradle, in France, is left at home; there the women carry it with their children; it is composed merely of a cedar board, on which the poor little one is bound like a bundle.
....In France, a Workman does not expect his pay until he completes his task; the Savages ask it in advance....
Europeans have no hesitation about telling their names and conditions, but you embarrass a Savage by asking him his name; if you do ask him, he will say that he does not know, and will make a sign to someone else to tell it....
In France, when a father gives his daughter in marriage, he allows her a dowry. There, it is given to the girlís father.
In Europe, the children inherit from their parents; among the Hurons the nephews, sons of the fatherís sister, are their uncleís heirs; and the Savageís small belongings will be given to friends of the deceased, rather than to his children. ....In France, the man usually takes to his house the woman he marries; there the man goes to the womanís house to dwell.
In France, if any one fall into a fit of anger, or harbor some evil purpose, or meditate some harm, he is reviled, threatened, and punished; there, they give him presents, to soothe his ill-humor, cure his mental ailment, and put good thoughts into his head. This custom, in the sincerity of their actions, is not a bad one; for if he is angry, or is devising some ill....to resent an offense, touch this present, his anger and his evil purpose are immediately effaced from his mind.
In a large part of Europe, ceremonies and compliments are indulged in to such an exceed as to drive out sincerity. There, quite the contrary, sincerity is entirely naked....
In Europe, we unclothe the dead as much as we can, leaving them only what is necessary to veil them and hide them from our eyes. The Savages, however, give them all that they can, anointing and attiring them as if for their wedding, and burying them with all their favorite belongings.
The French are stretched lengthwise in their graves, while the Savages,....in burying their dead make them take in the grave the position which they held in their mothersí wombs. In some parts of France, the dead are placed with their heads turned toward the East; the Savages make them face the West.
Most Europeans sit on raised seats, using round or square tables. The Savages eat from the ground.
In France, food and drink are taken together. The Algonquins follow quite the contrary custom in their feasts, first eating what is served to them, and then drinking, without touching food again....
We wash meat to cleanse it of blood and impurities; the Savages do not wash it, for fear of losing its blood and a part of its fat...We usually begin dinner with soup, which is the last dish among the Savages, the broth of the pot serving them for drink. Bread is eaten here with meat and other courses; if you give some to a Savage, he will make a separate course of it and very often eat it last. Yet they are gradually adapting themselves to our way.
In most parts of Europe, when any one makes a call he is invited to drink; among the Savages he is invited to eat....
When the Savages are not hunting or on a journey, their usual posture is to recline or sit on the ground. They cannot remain standing, maintaining that their legs become swollen immediately. Seats higher than the ground they dislike; the French, on the contrary, use chairs, benches, or stools, leaving the ground and litter to the animals.
A good dance in France does not move....his arms much, and holds his body erect, moving his feet so nimbly that, you would say, he spurns the ground and wishes to stay in the air. The Savages, on the contrary, bend over in their dances, thrusting out their arms and moving violently as if they were kneading bread, while they strike the ground with their feet so vigorously that one would say there were determined to make it tremble, or to bury themselves in it up to the neck....
In France, children are carried on the arm, or clasped to the breast; in Canadas, the mothers bear them behind their backs. In France, they are kept as well covered as possible....The cradle, in France, is left at home; there the women carry it with their children; it is composed merely of a cedar board, on which the poor little one is bound like a bundle.
....In France, a Workman does not expect his pay until he completes his task; the Savages ask it in advance....
Europeans have no hesitation about telling their names and conditions, but you embarrass a Savage by asking him his name; if you do ask him, he will say that he does not know, and will make a sign to someone else to tell it....
In France, when a father gives his daughter in marriage, he allows her a dowry. There, it is given to the girlís father.
In Europe, the children inherit from their parents; among the Hurons the nephews, sons of the fatherís sister, are their uncleís heirs; and the Savageís small belongings will be given to friends of the deceased, rather than to his children. ....In France, the man usually takes to his house the woman he marries; there the man goes to the womanís house to dwell.
In France, if any one fall into a fit of anger, or harbor some evil purpose, or meditate some harm, he is reviled, threatened, and punished; there, they give him presents, to soothe his ill-humor, cure his mental ailment, and put good thoughts into his head. This custom, in the sincerity of their actions, is not a bad one; for if he is angry, or is devising some ill....to resent an offense, touch this present, his anger and his evil purpose are immediately effaced from his mind.
In a large part of Europe, ceremonies and compliments are indulged in to such an exceed as to drive out sincerity. There, quite the contrary, sincerity is entirely naked....
In Europe, we unclothe the dead as much as we can, leaving them only what is necessary to veil them and hide them from our eyes. The Savages, however, give them all that they can, anointing and attiring them as if for their wedding, and burying them with all their favorite belongings.
The French are stretched lengthwise in their graves, while the Savages,....in burying their dead make them take in the grave the position which they held in their mothersí wombs. In some parts of France, the dead are placed with their heads turned toward the East; the Savages make them face the West.
(The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. 44, Iroquois, lower Canada, 1656-58,ed.
converted to html by Laura Belmonte, Dept. of History, Oklahoma State University