The Marquis de La Jaille, 1782

Text presented and translated by Constance Cartmill (University of Manitoba)

The following excerpts are taken from the Journal of the Marquis de La Jaille, a French officer who accompanied the expedition of the Comte de La Pérouse to take control of the English posts on Hudson Bay in 1782.

(On the morning of July 19, 1782, after the French expedition led by La Pérouse has reached the Hudson Strait, La Jaille describes their first encounter with Aboriginals - Inuit, in this case - and comments on the friendly demeanor of the women.)

In the morning several savages in canoes came up along our ships. They announced with their shouts their willingness to trade, and they lifted whale barbs in the form of palms, which I interpreted as signs of friendship. We offered them strong liquors and some biscuit, of which they took little notice. They preferred the strongest pieces of iron, needle hooks, old knives, razors, and in general anything made of iron, without displaying any desire to acquire many of the other things we showed them. In return we obtained the skins of seals, polar bears, different species of water birds and some quadrupeds that were unknown to us, and all as well tanned as anything that can be done in Europe. These men are of average height, generally fat, strong and agile; their complexion is swarthy, their hair is black and straight. Their faces are round and beardless, their mouths large, their eyes and forehead small, their teeth white and their feet remarkably small. They are cheerful and distrustful in their trading. They never give with one hand without holding what has been promised to them in the other. They have an odd custom of licking everything they give and receive. They are sanguinary and eat the animals they catch completely raw, and whose blood they suck as greedily as our sailors drink brandy. They have a bizarre way of bleeding themselves in order to drink their own blood. Their clothing made of sealskins consists of a tabard bearing a cowl similar to that worn by the Capuchin friars to cover their heads. They are sewn with admirable skill, using guts as fine as our thinnest threads. It is undoubtedly the handiwork of the women; both sexes wear breeches made of tanned animal skins. They use the same for shoes and gloves. The women's attire differs slightly from that of the men, the shoes and stockings are attached to one side of the breeches divided in two, each of which has a very large opening. In place of the cowl of the tabard worn by the men, the women's has a kind of pouch used to hold their infants whom they carry on their backs. The women are not the least reserved. They even seem to derive satisfaction from the pleasures of immodesty. However, I have reason to believe that this is not a general vice, and here is the proof. One of these women who appeared no older than 17 or 18 years of age and who, although not pretty, had certain charms, especially for sailors, attracted looks from several young men. One of them meant to take certain liberties with her; she defended herself, as much as and as well as the most recalcitrant virtue would allow. Several men and women, witnesses to this scene as well as myself, did not appear to pay it any notice, but I put a stop to it by an authority that this child seemed to favour with a nod to me and a pleasing smile.

Twenty women of all ages came in large canoes to trade their handiwork for needles, pins and pieces of iron. None of them tried to board my ship but two of the boldest got on board the Astrée where they displayed a gaiety that would be considered excessive and intolerable in France.

I conveyed to one of them that she sell me her child; at first she understood the pouch in which he was confined, and she immediately stripped naked, but when she was made to understand that we wanted to trade for her child, she took him in her arms, gave him several caresses while making signs with her head and hand that she did not want to give him away.

I have heard it said that the men prostitute their women, persuaded that each man was to produce his fellow man, not only physically but even morally, so that a captain must produce a captain, etc.

(In a journal entry dated July 21, La Jaille describes another encounter, indicating that the notion of Inuit hospitality extends to offering the newcomers the sexual favours of their wives):

One of the canoes from the Astrée landed at one of these islands that are often visited by the savages, or at least that is the impression one has, judging by the quantity of bones found there and that I myself have seen. There they [the French officers] found a tent inhabited by a savage man and woman, the latter of whom was not too unattractive. The officers conveyed a desire to go into the tent. The savage man refused entry and tried to close the tent, when someone raised one of the pegs without him noticing, only to find some raw meat, some blood that had been shed and a little fire. The Eskimo having thus been surprised took on an angry countenance and threw himself down on his knees, raised his eyes and his hands to the sky and uttered several words that were not understood; but it seemed from his expression that he wished to purify his retreat of the stain that she had just wiped away. Once the prayer was finished, if that's what it was, he reverted to his cheerful demeanor and treated the visitors well enough to offer them his wife with the most demonstrative of signs; but they, far from taking advantage of their right to his hospitality, hurried to give him everything they had that could be useful to the savages.

(Later in his account, after the French have taken control of Fort Prince of Wales and York Factory, La Jaille describes the relationships forged by the English and Aboriginals, and presents evidence of their interracial unions. He also describes his meeting with Samuel Hearne who, appointed chief at Fort Prince of Wales in 1776, was forced to surrender to the Comte de La Pérouse. Hearne describes to him in detail his experiences with the Aboriginals, in particular the "Northern Indians" or Chipewyans who also called themselves the "Dinnae", as well as the "Southern Indians" or "Home Guards" who were in fact Cree.)

The English had allowed into their fort several Indians whose language they spoke and who helped them with their trade. They were clothed and fed at the expense of the company. They had conferred upon some of them the title of captain, so that they would command and watch over the others. Lastly, there were some women, several of whom were rather good looking. They have round faces, well-shaped noses, moist mouths, very white teeth, very black hair, and eyes that are quite small but rather lascivious. Their feet are incredibly small and like the men, they have a gentle and timid air. Amongst the Indians who are all very strong and agile, I saw that those who were over five feet five or six inches tall outnumbered those under five feet. Their highest-ranking captain is seventy-one years of age, five feet nine inches tall; their complexion is generally swarthy. However some of them are quite white, which I attribute to the Englishmen frequenting their women. I have never heard it said that they ever attempted anything against the factory. Monsieur Hearne who is commander of the fort and who has spent eighteen years of his life here assured me that he had never had reason to complain about them. The commander made an exceedingly curious land trek of the factory, located between fifty-nine and seventy-two degrees latitude. He was accompanied by forty Indians and subsisted on their hunting for nine years, which was the duration of this voyage. He was finally stopped by impenetrable ice which he encountered everywhere, and he calmed the fears of the Hudson Company regarding the discovery of the passage to the North West[1] which has been the ambition of many a traveler.

Monsieur Hearne is an exceedingly learned man who, speaking the Indian language, just as he speaks the English language, assured me that the Indians had no religion other than natural law. They are immensely charitable with one another and their society feeds those to whom nature has denied the means to provide for themselves. They are rarely at war with their neighbours. However he found them at it during the discovery he made of Chesterfield River, which he followed as far as 250 leagues inland. They are all the same people with the same language. There is no more difference between them and that which one notices in France between a man from one province and the inhabitant of another. A man takes as many wives as he can feed from his hunting and fishing. The latter do all the work, they cut the wood, cure the hides, do perfect stitch work and cook the meats, for the Indians never eat raw meat, unlike the Eskimos and especially those of whom I have already spoken.

[1] Samuel Hearne is of course credited with proving that the Northwest Passage was merely a myth.