1910,
NORTH OF LAKE SAINT-JEAN PEKUKAKAMI NEAR THE PERIBONKA RIVER
ON THE LIMITS OF THE PIONEER BORDER
Dominus vobiscum
Et con spirito tu
Iiiih
Téééééh
Miiiiiih sa eeeest
Deo
Gratias
Amen,
Pater, filius et spiritus sanctus,
Amen,
Is it safe to cross?
The river water is clear at the top but,,,
Here should be fine too,
Easy, easy,,,
That's it,
Away!
Away, away!
Away, Charles-Eugène, away!
Away!
Away, Charles-Eugène!
Away, Charles-Eugène,
We are the last to cross before next winter,
Away!
Yah!
They'll be glad to see you, Maria,
Everyone missed you,
I missed you all, too,
CHAPTER ONE ITE MISSA EST
Lord, bless this meal and those who prepared it,
And feed those with no food, and God bless our family,
In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
Amen,
We stopped on the way for mass at Péribonka,
A lovely ceremony,
We are not as fortunate as those who celebrate every Sunday,
We are too far away, it cannot be helped,
I bumped into Paradis's son, François on the way out,
With Belgians,
They were going to buy pelts from the savages,
He spoke to me,
I have not seen him in a while,
He sold the land at Saint-Michel- de-Mistassini when his father died,
He has become a fur trader,
He said he was going upriver in a few weeks when the ice thaws,
He'll come past our plot, he said he might call,
Maria never said,
Many things have happened,
I have much to tell,
Is there a party each evening at Saint-Prime?
Not every night, but often,
-Did you go to mass? -Yes, like everyone,
-And our cousins? -Yes,
Were there children my age?
Yes,
-How many? -Many, I didn't count them,
Who's François Paradis?
You were just a child, you won't remember him,
Do you remember him?
A bit, yes,
Do you see him often?
He was our neighbor in Mistassini,
When you were my age, right Maria?
Yes,
Hush!
-A visitor, -OK,
It must be Eutrope Gagnon to see us,
You say
it is Eutrope Gagnon every time,
Who else would it be? He is our only neighbor!
It is easy to guess, he comes here often,
Hush, Alma-Rose!
-Am I intruding? -Not at all, come in,
The night was clear, I came to see
if you had returned,
The air is mild, with no rain,
How was the journey?
Rough roads,
the water has risen, it melted the ice,
And you Maria, how was your journey
over the Great Lake?
A month is a long time,
Your folks must be very fed up, and must have missed you,
The trip was fine, but I am glad to be home,
The animals have been in the stable since September,
nothing in the barn now,
If spring doesn't arrive soon I don't know what we will do,
We have a horse, three pigs, a cow,
Sheep, and chicken, We will survive,
A few more weeks, and they can go outside,
If Esdras and Da'Bé were not working on the site,
we would be completely lost!
A few more months, Laura,
When the boys return
from the woods we can get to work on the soil,
Me, Tit'Bé and the boys,
I will hire an extra man to make the work go faster,
In two years we'll have grain and a pasture,
with plenty to feed our livestock,
That is the third time you have said that,,,
since our youth,
Three times he has bought a plot, built a barn,
a house, and a stable of wood,
Three times he has cleared the trees
from the clearing by himself,
And three times sold it and started again further north,
Easily put off when the neighbors arrive
and the country's population expands and grows,
Three times he has wanted to leave and expand
instead of acquiring land in the old parishes,
Come play with us Maria, we are playing in teams,
You play with your father, I will play with Eutrope,
Rain,
Spring is not far off, Mrs, Chapdelaine,
And it will be the loveliest one we have ever seen,
Come Maria, it is your turn,
I hear the water from the falls, The ice is melting,
Stop!
Tomorrow I can finally go to Mistouk to collect grain
and feed for the livestock,
If I am lucky
the path should be clear enough for me to pass,
You will be on your own for a few days,
Fear not, we will be fine,
Télésphore stole the bottle of alcohol from Father's cupboard!
Télésphore!
Télésphore, you little scamp!
Wait till I get my hands on you!
I would tan his hide,
He gets away with everything because he is a boy,
Tomorrow you will feed him and he will start again,
He is never punished,
He shouldn't eat for a year!
Come, now,
A year is too long, he would starve,
See? You don't want to punish him,
It is the demon of disobedience, Maria,
Stop saying that,
I haven't eaten, Will I starve?
No, you won't starve,
You are Tit'Bé, correct?
Go ahead, say it,
"That must be Eutrope Gagnon to see us,"
Alma-Rose,
A revenant,
François Paradis,
We camped near the portage by the falls,
We had to mount the tent for the Belgians to sleep,
It is not wise to collect wood so late,
I do not fear the forest, Mrs, Chapdelaine,
Tit'Bé and Alma-Rose have changed,
When you left Mistassini, they were yea high,
You have not changed in seven years, though,
But our Maria has, you must have noticed,
True, but I still recognized her,
Samuel told me you sold some land,
What have you been up to?
Since Father died I have been working in the forest,
trading with the savages from the Great Lake,
those from the Mistassini and the Foins river,
I was two years in Labrador
as a guide for English surveyors
further north,
I enjoy working on sites,
being a guide and
trading with savages,,,
I could never toil
the same piece of earth every day,
I would feel like a tethered animal,
You, men,
You seem drawn to the woods,
But there is truly nothing better
than a piece of land
in an old parish,
Mother!
For some maybe, but not for me,
Thanks, That was mighty good,
Are there cities up north?
Plenty of villages, but very little farming land,
Winters are even worse up there,
There are only dogs to pull the sleds,
beautiful dogs,
Smart dogs, even though they are barely trained,
Do you have any run-ins with savages?
Nishteshatsh,
I have always gotten on well with them,
they are like kin to me,
I know most from Mistassini,
they came to our home when I was young,
My father often hunted in winter,
One day, up the Foins river,
a tree he was felling collapsed on top of him,
He was alone,
A group of savages came across him the next day,
maimed and frozen on their hunting path,
They could have ignored him and left him to die,
But they put him on their sled,
took him back to their tent
and took care of him,
You knew my father, he was a rough man who
drank a bit, but he was fair and had a good memory,
When he left he told them to come in spring
when they came down with their pelts,
François Paradis of Mistassini said to them:
"Do not forget François Paradis,"
They visited in spring while heading down the river,
and my father housed them and they left with new axes,
woolen blankets, and three month's worth of tobacco,
Then they came each spring, and let him pick the best pelts
much cheaper than what they sold to the English and traders,
When he died they continued with me,
as we share the same name: François Paradis,
If I had more means, I could have traded well with them,
You see, François,
the words of our fathers are our noble legacy,
You are quite right, Mrs, Chapdelaine,
We will be back down in summer for Saint Anne's Day,
I will try to stay
to see Mr, Chapdelaine,
Now I must return to the forest and the men,
or they will be lost without me,
May I drive François to the edge of the plot?
Yes, but stop before the forest edge, you hear?
You are always welcome here, François,
I was glad to see you again,
Hurry, Tit'Bé, he is waiting for you,
It is always nice to have visitors,
As a girl in Saint-Gédéon
the house was full every Saturday
and Sunday night,
Adélard Saint-Onge courted me for many a year,
Wilfrid Tremblay, the tradesman, had such dashing manners,
he always tried to speak as the French did,
Then there was your father,
he came to see us every week
for three years before I accepted his proposal,
Father was very patient,
Three years,
That is a long time,
CHAPTER TWO TIME TO WORK THE LAND
Father,
Mother,
We brought Edwidge Légaré with us,
He is ready to work for you again,
Ready to be your man for the summer,
If you will have me again,
Mr, Chapdelaine, Mrs, Chapdelaine,
Five piasters a week, plus room and board,
Show me the wooded land to cut,
We will clear out this spot, Mr, Chapdelaine,
Thank you, Father,
Hi, Alma-Rose,
My, you have grown!
-Hello, sister, -How are you?
Tired,
Away!
Come on!
Dammit!
Stubborn beast,
I will make you move,
You hear me?
Move! Though it may kill me!
I'm about to pass out!
Endure, Edwige, that's the mark of a tough man!
Here,
Thank you,
I did not forget you,
Fresh water, by God!
Thank you, miss,
Lunch!
Thank you, Mrs, Chapdelaine, A hearty meal,
Mighty good!
Thank you, Mother,
My only consolation
to living so far from the forest
is seeing my men working a good plot,
There is no work
more agreeable,
By god, this is good!
"Delicious", as the folks in the cities say,
Tit'bé, come with us after,
I have eaten well,
May the Good Lord pardon me for my gluttony,
The stumps are tough,
with less rotten roots
than I thought,
We cannot clear it this year,
I agree,
Already?
Dear God,
If the good weather holds,
the blueberries will be ripe for Saint Anne's,
With five men we have cleared it in good time,
But when you are alone with no horse it is not easy,
It is hard work,
You advance slowly, but surely,
Your brother Égide will return from the drive
with three hundred piasters or so,
If you both stay here next winter,
in a couple of years, the plot will be ready,
The youth of today do not know true suffering,
They spend three months in the forest
and then rush down again to buy yellow boots,
hard hats and cigarettes to go a courting,
Even at sites now
they are fed like at a hotel,
30 years ago, when we did the railroad for the Quebec trains,
I was there, That was true toil,
Boxed in, gripping our belongings,
but we had to push on, far from Ronne,
I was only 15, but I cut wood with the others
to clear the line just 25 miles away from the train,
14 months without seeing a single house,
From morning to night, wood, wood, wood,
Tormented by black flies,
sand flies, deer flies,,, agents of Satan,
Forced to smoke dogwood and benedoine,
When we finally arrived in Chicoutimi,
we were worse than savages,
Barely clothed,
skin and clothes torn to shreds by the branches,
Like goddamn tramps,
Some men began to weep
on hearing they could go home,
they thought they had been gone so long
that everyone was dead,
Yes, I'm telling you,
the youth of today have not experienced true suffering,
Pioneers,
You have visitors,
Pioneers,
I thought you must miss some company
alone out here, far from the woods,
So I brought someone along,
This is my nephew, Lorenzo,
The grandson of my brother, Adélard,
Elzéar's boy, who died last year,
-Pleasure, -He works in manufacturing
in the state of Massachusetts,
He came to deal with the remaining affairs from Elzéar's death
and to try and sell the land,
Does he not wish to keep it for himself?
I am not at all interested in living there,
I do very well where I am,
Do you have any offers?
We spoke to the three Frenchmen who arrived in Mistook last month,
Are they trustworthy?
They seem serious, yes,
So you are Elzéar's boy?
Elzéar married a Gauthier girl from Kiskissink,
Laura, you must know them,
I remember your brother's family, yes,
Donat, the eldest, went to live in Kénogami,
Then there was Adhémard and Élie, who married Anne-Marie,
There was also Amédée, Armand, J-B and Ludger,
And Siffroy and Alcide, the little ones,
Alcide married a Baie-Saint-Paul girl from the Gagnon family,
And the sisters: Albertine, who married a Bouchard from Roberval,
What was his name again?
Jules,
Jules Bouchard,
Pite and Johnny's brother,
Their sister Jeanne died before her 12th birthday,
And Rose-Olympe,
always with the Drolets from Saint-Henri,
Marie-Anne and Juliette Drolet,
cousins of my mother,
Their mom ran the post office
and their brother supplied the church with wood and land,
And Elzéar married a Gauthier from Kiskissink,
That's right, Hélène Gauthier,
Exactly,
This is their son, little Adélard, after his grandfather,
Are there many Canadians near you?
Where I went first, in the state of Maine,
There were more Canadians than Americans or Irish,
Everyone spoke French,
But there are fewer where I am now,
Apart from a few families,
Do you come from a city?
Yes, 90,000 people,
90,000?
That's larger than Quebec,
Yes,
Boston is only an hour away overland,
That is a proper big city,
When I was a kid, almost everyone left for the large states,
Drawn by the good money
you could earn working in a factory there,
Every year several families would sell up and move to Canada,
Aye,
Hello, everyone,
More visitors?
You kept your promise, François,
Give him your chair, Da'Bé,
This is François Paradis of Saint-Michel-de-Mistassini,
a family friend,
I knew his father, a great man, as great as they come,
Good trip, François?
No, we had nothing but misfortune,
We almost lost a Belgian to a fever,
which means we arrived late in the season,
Some savages had already left for Sainte-Anne de Chicoutimi,
so we missed them,
To top it off a rowboat capsized going over a rapid,
meaning we had to fish out the pelts,
One of the bosses almost drowned,,,
But we made it back, And we still got the work done!
It is good to see houses again,
See?
You reckon we live too far out to see anyone,
And yet,,, 11 people here today,
True,
And a lot of boys but only one girl!
Indeed,
We lost the card,
The queen of hearts,
Perhaps Miss Murray will hire a Frenchman,
Remember the other?
One day, as we were adding roof tiles to the barn roof,
the Frenchman dropped a pile
on one of Mrs, Murray's turkeys!
Killed it on the spot,
He kept repeating:
"What will Mrs, Murray say?"
The boss said: "Don't worry,
"We will say it died from the heat,"
Not long after, Mrs, Murray realized
one of her turkeys was dead,
The Frenchman was afraid of the woman,
ugly as she was,
Even uglier than me!
So ugly she scared the animals, and made the wind change!
She said: "A turkey is dead,"
And the boss said: "From the heat, wife!"
She said: "Then why is it bleeding?"
The boss was stumped, He came down from the roof
and made his way slowly toward his wife,
He said,,,
"What do you expect me to do?"
Huh?
A good one, that,
The wife went back inside,
and the Frenchman went back to France!
Your turn,
You are too good, Mrs, Chapdelaine,
Are you ready to be fleeced?
We shall see,
It must be hard to live so far from others,
Have you traveled before, Maria?
Have you ever been to Quebec or Montreal?
Or Chicoutimi?
No,
You must visit Quebec, if you have the chance,
Yes, it's a long way, but a lovely city,
Maria is shy,
she is not used to visitors,
These things happen,
I got nothing,
Télésphore, watch the smoke for supper,
Clubs?
Clubs, Éphrem,
There is a beautiful moon tonight,
If you look closely
you will see the man in the moon sawing his wood,
Can you see him?
Did you know the moon is made from a scythe blade?
In the evenings on the construction sites,
when it is pitch dark and the winds are roaring,
you can see gusts of sawdust fall from the sky,
Did you ever see a wendigo in the woods?
Yes,
Once,
I believe I saw it,
on the edge of Tuque,
It thought I was hunting on its territory,
Luckily it let me go but,,,
Others were not so fortunate,
Are you afraid?
No, I am not afraid,
If it comes here I will grab Father's rifle and shoot it,
It stays in the woods,
protecting its territory,
Then I will go into the forest to kill it,
Wow,
Staying over, François?
Of course he is!
Tomorrow is Saint Anne's,
We will all go blueberry picking, the men too!
Those who don't bring back a nice amount
will go without,
Here, clean clothes from the boys' belongings,
That should do you,
Thank you, Mrs, Chapdelaine,
There is a good bunch here,
There are not many this year,
The spring thaw has killed them,
The snow stayed longer out here and protected them from early frost,
Why didn't you tell your folks
we met while you were visiting Saint-Prime?
We can stop searching, Eutrope, There are plenty here,
My bucket is nearly full, yours is still empty!
Let me help you,
The others must be nearby,
Has someone said something about me?
No,
I did enjoy a good drink or two
when I returned from the construction site and drive,
I am also known to curse quite a bit,
It comes from being so long in the forest with men,
Pastor Tremblay scolded me one day,
when he heard me say I wasn't afraid of the Devil,
Aye,
I will never be a pious man,
But that is all done with, Maria,
I want to come home,
I'm off to Grand-Mère next week
to work on the wood canal the rest of the summer,
I will work every day for two piasters a day,
so I can put money aside,
In the fall, I will get a foreman's job
on a construction site and make good money,
By next spring I will have 500 piasters saved,
and I will come back,
Will you still be here next spring, Maria?
Yes,
Then I will return,
There's a month after the first frost before winter,
That's what the elderly folk say,
I agree,
The summers are far too short,
I'm thinking of my cousin Jeanne, who will marry,
Oh, yes?
We spoke several times when I was in Saint-Prime,
She told me a young village man
and another from Normandy both courted her,
They visited her house regularly over several months,
She said she liked them both, but it was Zotique,
the Normandy boy, who held her heart,
But Zotique went on the drive on the Saint-Maurice river
and won't be back till summer,
So Édouard, the village boy, came to see her
and asked for her hand, so she said yes,
She said she liked him too,
Not all marriages happen like that, Maria,
Well, I hope we are all invited to the wedding,
It'd be nice together,
Here, Mrs, Chapdelaine, the papers you asked for,
I kept them safe and sound for you,
I estimate there is a year of news in there,
Best read them
before they end up in the walls of the house,
Nothing better to keep one's home nice and warm
than the world news,
Excuse me,
Go and rest, I will take care of the last batch,
Here, your earnings,
Always a pleasure to work for you Mr, Chapdelaine,
I hope to return next year,
Thank you,
Take care of yourselves, my sons,
I'd die of heartbreak if anything happened,
Look at me,
Both of you,
CHAPTER THREE A TIME OF CELEBRATION
Paradis, you are very quiet,
Come join us,
What are you doing?
I decided to spend the holidays at home,
I leave early tomorrow morning,
The boss will never allow it,
He knows those who go never want to return,
I will speak to him and I will return,
Come now, Paradis,
it is not reasonable to travel in winter,
The Transcontinental is two days' walk, I will survive,
Have you seen the weather?
I am not afraid of harsh travel, I'm used to it,
Don't fret,
I will send your love to everyone,
Tit'Bé!
Get the kids in, it is getting colder, it is not safe,
Is the pump frozen?
Don't let the fire die, children,
The bad weather is upon us now,
It will arrive tonight,
It must be hard living in the forest,
It is colder here than the woods,
They can't feel the wind,
Fear not, Esdras and Da'Bé will be fine,
I wonder if we will have any visitors for the New Year,
Azalma Larouche lives nearby, but is too lazy to come!
Those from Saint-Prime will not risk the journey,
Perhaps Wilfrid or Ferdinand,,,
if the ice melts on the great lake,
If it is like last year,
we shan't be able to attend midnight mass,
You promised me we would,
We need to go out and tend the livestock,
Tit'Bé, come with me,
Follow me!
Tit'Bé!
Don't let go!
Quick! Shut the door!
What is taking them so long?
I'm scared,
Hush, come here,
Away!
Damn horse!
Cursed creature!
Whoa!
We won't make it across for several days,
Télésphore,
With the paths like this,
no one will be able to go out,
Sad, there's nothing lovelier than midnight mass
at Saint-Cœur-de-Marie,
You are right, Laura,
You would have had a better life if you had chosen another man
who lived on a good piece of land near the village,
Hush, Samuel, I'm just feeling sorry for myself,
Everyone does now and again,
We have a good life,
We have good, strong sons
who bring us back practically all they earn,
And Maria is a fine daughter,
We are fortunate, Samuel,
Am I a fine daughter, too?
Of course you are!
Being angry on
Christ's birthday would be a sin,
Shall I rock you?
Come,
Come here, you,
Sing me a song,
No?
Very well, I will sing,
Nightingale of the woods
Wild nightingale of the snow
Teach me all you know
Teach me your words
And about the sky above Teach me how to love
How do I succeed?
Child, listen to me
Go and see the girls at night Their eyes shining bright
Promise them You will love them forever
Fair lady they say
The dimples on your cheeks
Are like cherries, so sweet
Will you let me
Take my hand
And pluck from your cherry tree?
Dear sir, you will not Pick even one
First, you must bring me the moon And the sun
Do this for me And you may pluck from my tree
And so the young man went Up to the highest mountain, spent
But the sun was too far And the moon was too high
Impossible! He did cry
And then, did he realize
I returned In front of your door
But it was closed once more
Fair Lady, now I see
That your sweet heart
Your heart does not belong to me
If indeed that is true
Then my heart does not concern you
And though he may no more richer Fair or charming than you
If your heart cannot take it Then I bid you adieu
As I concede with grief
At least return my handkerchief
It is upstairs where I rest my head At the foot of my bed
You torment me night and day My heart has led me astray
If I must leave you, Then return to me my goods
Your goods are in the wood Where I would leave them if I could
Go fetch them to me, safe
and I will surrender my heart To my faith
Holy Mother, Mary
I pray François Paradis
May keep his promises
May he stop cursing and drinking
May he come to no harm in the woods
And may he return in spring
May he keep his promises And return in spring
As he said he would
Come on!
Let's go!
You are our only visitor this holiday season,
Same for you I guess,
I knew you would come a calling,
I never let a year pass without visiting
in the New Year,
But I have not come for a visit,
I have come with news,
By the looks of you, it is not good news,
Is it the boys?
No, Mrs, Chapdelaine,
Esdras and Da'Bé are fine, God willing,
The news I bring comes from elsewhere,
It is no relation of yours, but someone you know,
François Paradis,
You may know he was a foreman on
a construction site at the top of Tuque,
When mid December came, he told his boss
he wished to spend his holidays at Lake Saint-Jean,
He said he had family there,
The boss did not agree, but you know François,
When he has something in mind, he does it,
So, for fear of losing him, the boss let him go,
François gathered his things and left,
It was two days' walk from the Transcontinental
which goes down the Tuque,
But there was an accident, and the trains could not cross,
-And? -When François discovered
there was no train
he decided to walk home,
Go down the river Croche
and the river Ouiatchouan that runs near Roberval,
Everyone told François
it made no sense to make the trip in the middle of winter,
But he merely laughed and said
if the savages could do it, then so could he,
So he put on his snow shoes,
his blankets, and provisions on a sled,
It can be done,
Not during this winter, Mr, Chapdelaine,
In the storm François was
in the Grands Brûlés, where the snow powders deeply,
In such places
even the healthiest man has a slim chance,
What happened, Eutrope?
He fell off the path, Mrs, Chapdelaine,
How do you know?
Some savages found
his shelter and his tracks, moving away from the river
he had been following, and heading north,
That was three days ago,
He is lost,
We truly are small children guided by the hands of God,
François was one of our best men when it came to the forest,
Foreigners always hired him to bring them home safe and sound,
But he strayed from the path,
Small children,,, in God's hands,
He was a good, hard-working boy,
I liked him,
Everyone did,
Poor boy!
Everyone who knew him loved him,
He had no family,
We can pay for a mass or two,
when the boys return in spring,
Right, Laura?
Will you stay with us, Eutrope?
It is not a day of celebration,
I will head home,
I will come with you,
I must tend the animals,
Maria!
One red mare, seven,
One gray horse, nine,
CHAPTER FOUR THE SUITORS
Two cows, ten sheep, Two two-year-old bulls,
four one-year-old bulls, a young sow, six hens,
A grain mill,
with 66 dollars left to pay,
One sleigh, one large cart, one small cart, three sleds,
two wooden chopping blocks, a steel plow, a hearse,
A multi-faceted stove, a kitchen stove, two axes,
Two pick-axes, two handled scythes,
Four sickles, a washing machine,
A canvas rowboat, two beds, six chairs, two cauldrons,
one made from tinplate, one made from zinc,
All the milled and non-milled grain, and all the remaining straw and hay,
But the owner may claim this
as animal feed from now until next March,
He leaves three sets of wheat and 60 of oats
to sow the ten plots of land for next spring,
Sign here please, sir,
Your father is waiting,
Here, the grocery list,
Be careful,
Away!
Come, child,
I hear your mind is in unnatural torment,
Sit down,
Your father explained,
It is natural to grieve the loss of a dear friend,
But you were not engaged,
Neither of you had told your parents,
Do not dwell, child, Do not mope
over a boy who meant nothing to you,
It is not right,
nor proper,
Go to mass and pray for him,
That is the best you can do,
Three "our fathers" and three more
when the boys return from the woods as your father requested,
He would rather you pray than weep,
This will lessen his time in purgatory,
Because of how he died it is unclear
whether he had time to recite the act of contrition,
But to mourn unreasonably
and mope around the house is of no use,
The Good Lord dislikes that,
He knows what is right for us,
Do not dwell or lament, Maria,
Stop tormenting yourself so, it is a profane
and unsuitable torment, as you were not yet promised,
That boy meant nothing to you,
You have no plans to enter a convent, no?
Your father said a young man from the United States
returned to speak with you, Is this true?
Yes, Pastor,
Then I advise you to listen to him,
It is unimaginable,,,
walking through the sidewalks of the large streets,
Not like our small sidewalks here,
These are made from asphalt,
Picture walking there at night, lit up by the street lamps,
Electric vehicles driving past,
the stores,,, the world at your fingertips,
You will be speechless,
And all the pleasures one could desire,
movie theaters, circuses, the bright pictures in the papers,
animated shows,,,
Everywhere there's a a place to go for a nickel
where you can spend hours laughing and crying,
It seems like a wonderful place, Lorenzo,
Charles-Eugène,
Hardly a name for a horse!
My great-great grandfather quarreled with a neighbor,
a family quarrel,
The neighbor was called Charles-Eugène,
So my grandfather named the horse after him as revenge,
He must have hated him,
he spent the whole day yelling at the horse,
It made him happy to pass by the neighbor's home
cursing the horse's name and ordering him to move,
Ever since, everyone in our family
has called their horse, Charles-Eugène,
It is a tradition,
Or a curse, even, Poor man!
He died years ago, it does him no harm,
Listen,,,
What I came to settle could have been done by letter,
The notary took care of my father's affairs,
I came back for you, Maria,
I came back from Boston
to say what I needed to say and hear your reply,
I am glad your parents let me come and speak to you,
I am glad, too,
This is not the place for you, Maria,
If you were my wife, and we moved over there,
you wouldn't have to work,
I would make enough money for us both,
We could have a wonderful life,
One day I will buy a brick house,
with gas, hot water,
and so many other amenities,
I don't know what else to say,
You've always lived here,
you can't imagine what it is like, elsewhere,
And I can't make you see through mere words,
If you agreed to marry me,
I'd take you to the best places, nothing like here,
I,,, I need time to make a decision, Lorenzo,
You don't have to say yes right away,
we have not known each other long,
You can give me your answer later,
We are invited to a party
next Saturday at Éphrem Surprenant's in Honfleur,
Everyone will be there,
Children, you can come too,
You will be a welcome distraction,
Tit'Bé will look after the house,
Am I invited, too?
Yes, Télésphore,
Look at those heels!
And that foot!
No finer heels in all the land,
Bravo!
Your turn!
How do you find Canada?
It is a lovely,
Lots of flies in summer and rough winters, but,,,
I imagine one gets used to it,
Were you also a farmer
back in your country?
I was a piano tuner,
Both my sons were employed,
Edmond in an office, and Pierre in a store,
I told you he was a piano tuner, you wouldn't believe me!
You don't even know what it is!
Is it a good job? Did you make a good living?
An honest living,
So you and your boys must be educated?
We don't know how to read and write,
I'd have loved it, but,,,
This family is not made for the and paper,
Nor are we,
What about you, Maria?
I would have loved to be a schoolmistress, as I loved school,
But my parents needed me at home,
Your parents should not have asked you that, Maria,
They didn't have to ask me, Lorenzo,
Is life here how you imagined?
No, not exactly,
Life here is hard,
It might seem rough at first,
But once your land is productive you will learn to love it,
Three of these men have come here to do just that,
I always say there is nothing more pleasant
than sitting quietly behind a desk all day,
pen in hand, sheltered from the cold and heat,
To each their own,
Didn't you wish to stay in Honfleur and work in wood?
That is true,
I wouldn't have minded that,
These men bought my land,
It is good land, no one can deny that,
But I am happy where I am,
There are no stumps in the city,
The roads are straight, and beautiful,
That is progress,
Progress might make nice, straight roads,
but less lucky folk who must take the harsh roads in Génie,
Progress is not the same for everyone,
It must be chosen,
Nothing beats being on your own land with your health and no debt,
No boss, just your beasts,
Working for your family's benefit,
That is a good life!
Yes, I hear many say that,
Free to be their own master or mistress,
You seem to pity
factory workers, who are
under someone's thumb,
Free on your own land? Come now!
No man is less free than a man with land,
The animals are in charge!
True, there is no harsher boss than a beloved beast,
And it will always be so,
Even if it changed, you would have new masters,
A summer that ends too soon,
a winter that eats up seven months progress,
Then there is drought, and rain,,,
The cities do not preoccupy themselves with these,
People often say that, the only people who succeed
to live on the land are those that were raised on it,
And there is truth behind that,
The others, from the cities,
Their minds are too active to like such a life,
I disagree, There is no finer life
than a landowner who lives off their land,
Not in this country, Mrs, Chapdelaine,
You are too far north,
The winters are too long and the summers too short,
I often wonder why
those here did not leave a long time ago
to head for milder places
where you can go out in winter
without the risk of freezing to death,
Twenty years ago
there was almost nothing in Honfleur, everyone remembers,
And in 20 years time, who knows?
Perhaps Mistouk will be as large as Quebec,
Perhaps even as big as Boston,
True,
But that is why folks need to stay,
We cannot leave,
Idiot!
What do you say, Mr, Surprenant?
Would you have lived in a city?
No, not even the most beautiful city in the world,
Especially when you have spent your whole life
in the most remote corner of the world,
Eugène, play some music for us,
Pastor Tremblay won't like it,
but I am tired of dancing sitting down!
Come on!
I leave for the states in two days,
It will be a long, expensive journey, But I'll be back soon,
Will you think about my proposal?
Yes,
Leaving already, Eutrope? The night is still young,
I'm not one for dancing,,,
I must return to the top, like you,
I want to get an early start,
Hi, Tit'Bé,
I have come to see Maria,
She is in the house,
Your parents said
I could visit you while they are in Saint-Henri,
Of course, I am always glad to see you, Eutrope,
You know I am very fond of you, Maria,
I did not mention it before
because my land was not bountiful,
and because I understood
François Paradis was your beloved,
But now he is gone, I thought perhaps I would take my chances,
I am not rich, but I have two plots all paid up,
You know it is good land,
I will work on them all spring,
and when May comes I will have plenty to sow,
I will sow 130 lots, Maria,
130 of wheat, barley and oats,
And some granary flour for the animals,
I'll buy this good, sturdy corn in Roberval,
and I will pay for it up front!
I already have the money,
I will pay in cash, and have no debt,
In summer, between the hay and harvest,
will be the right time to build a good solid house
made from red spruce,
The wood is already cut and ready in my barn,
My brother will help me,
and perhaps even Esdras and Da'Bé when they return,
The winter after that I will head to the work sites, and
return in spring with 200 piasters in my pocket,
And then when I am ready,,,
I know it will take a lot of hard work,
But you are a strong woman, Maria,
who is accustomed to hard work, like me,
I have always worked hard,
no one can accuse me of being idle,
And so, if you agree to marry me, I will love you just as hard,
The feelings I have for you are more than friendship,
Go back to our sister, Télésphore, I will be right there,
You would be a free woman,
You could be whoever you want to be
with me, Maria,
I am sorry, Eutrope,
I have made no promises, but Lorenzo came to see me,
He spoke to me,,,
and asked for my hand, Eutrope,
I understand,
He is a good man,
So will you go?
Bye, Tit'Bé,
Bye, Eutrope,
FINAL CHAPTER THE DEPARTURE
That hasn't progressed much since yesterday,
Are you knitting backwards, daughter?
You will never finish at this rate,
I had to start over,
I wanted you to get some flour but I will go myself,
I am not hungry,
I think I hurt my back collecting the flour sack today,
My back is aching,
Keep an eye on the meal, Maria,
I'll lie down for a bit,
You must do the chores, Maria,
Your father can help you milk the cows,
I am useless this morning,
Rest, Mother, We will be fine,
No, stay outside,
Come on,
Is she still in bed?
Here,
Our neighbor gave me these,
They helped his brother,
He said to take a couple,
The work is not done,
Can you ask Maria to take care of supper?
Don't worry, there is nothing left to do
except supper,
Maria can do that
and the rest,
She is just as capable as you, she is a strong young lady,
You lie still and rest,
stop fidgeting under those blankets,
You will make things worse,
It hurts, Samuel,
I cannot stand it,
I do not like this, your mother,,,
Complaining isn't like her,
Get the children in, and let's eat,
Coming!
Can I go and see Mother?
Not tonight, But tomorrow, I will harness Charles-Eugène
and go to Mistouk for the doctor,
Then to Saint-Henri to visit the pastor,
he will tell us what to do,
I should be back by this evening,
The roads are not good in springtime,
Give me some fresh water, Maria, I am thirsty,
Perhaps you should not drink so much,
You must manage your thirst,
Thank you, Tit'Bé,
Father must be near Saint-Cœur-de-Marie,
If the doctor is home,
he will let the horse rest a few hours
before they head back here,
Whoa!
Yes,
With the paths as they are, visiting patients is no easy matter,
And you chose
to come and hide in the woods,
As far as you could go,
You could all die and no one would know,,,
No one would come and help,
Well,
I see you are suffering as only the rich can afford to suffer,
Yes,
Yes, you are definitely ill, I fear,
Can you tell me how it began?
She said she hurt her back lifting a flour sack,
Have you had this kind of pain before?
No,
Where exactly does it hurt, Mrs, Chapdelaine?
In my stomach,
I can't get up,
and my head is burning,
Well, if you have simply overdone things,
your body will heal itself, provided you stay in bed and rest,
But if there is a lesion in your stomach,
then it could become more serious,
When we are not aware of what it is
it can be very serious indeed,
We can't see so we cannot tell,
but it could be something else,
The world's best scholar would say the same,
You must have patience,
I can at least
give you something to help with the pain,
It will help you sleep,
I have other patients I must see,
I'll sleep in Péribonka,
Can your horse take me there?
You need not come, I know the way,
I will spend the night at Napoléon Bérubé's,
and will return tomorrow afternoon,
The horse must be tired,
It will be fine,
-Father,,, -I said it is fine,
See you tomorrow,
What happens if we need the horse?
We don't need it, we will stay with your mother,
I was hoping she would be healed by the time I arrived,
The medicine seems to be doing its work,
She has been asleep for three hours,
It is kind of you to visit, Eutrope,
I thought the doctor--?
The doctor was useless!
Useless,
He came here,
gave her some sort of remedy in a cup,
and trotted off to the village as if his work was done!
The old goat,
He won't get a cent from us!
Not one cent,
Samuel,
Samuel!
It hurts, Samuel,
I feel as if I'm dying,
Do not think such things,
You will die when God decides,
and I don't think he is ready for you, yet,
The Good Lord has no need of you,
Heaven is full of old women,
Here there is only one,
And we still have great need of her,
The doctor doesn't know what to do,
He could not even say what was wrong,
I am dying, I feel it,
Go and fetch the pastor from Saint-Henri,
Please,
Samuel,
I can't, Laura,
I will go, Mr, Chapdelaine,
The doctor took the horse, Eutrope,
I will go, regardless,
It is too far,
I will cut through the woods,
I'll go to Honfleur tonight then Saint-Henri-de-Taillon,
I will find someone to lend me a horse and sled,
I will be back early tomorrow, Mr, Chapdelaine,
You have my word,
Here,
Tit'Bé,
She is awake,
May the Lord turn His benevolent eyes upon you,
bless you, and bring you peace,
Laura, do you wish to confess?
Repeat after me the act of contrition,
O My God, I am heartily sorry For having offended thee
My God, Who art all-good
And deserving of all my love
I firmly resolve
With the help of Thy grace
To sin no more And to avoid the near occasion of sin
To sin no more
And to avoid the near occasion of sin
In the name of the Father The Son, and the Holy Spirit, Amen
Amen
Is the doctor returning soon?
I hope he will not be delayed,
Then we will wait for him together,
Come, children,
I came as soon as I heard,
She looks like a lady of the city,
All pale,
Death has made her more refined,
This is a great loss,
She was a good woman, Samuel,
The most capable, strong,
brave and devoted woman in all the parish,
She had a great heart,
a sharp mind, and a welcome manner,
A gracious, kind lady,
You will not find a lady such as she
in all the parishes or cities,
Samuel, your wife was,,,
the epitome of good,
And of kindness,
Éphrem Surprenant is right,
Your mother was a good woman,
Brave,
Up to her final day,
I remember when we bought our first land in Normandin,
We did not have a large pasture,
Almost all of it
was covered in trees,
I took my ax and said: "I'll clear you this land, Laura,"
From morning till night, I chopped and I chopped,
only returning to the house to eat,
In the meantime she took care of all the chores:
she looked after the animals,
mended the fences, transported the rocks,
Without a moment's pause,
I told her to leave it,
but she just yelled at me: "Leave me be!"
"Let me worry about this, you worry about our land,"
She would laugh to reassure me,
but I could tell it weighed on her,
the bags under her eyes were black with fatigue,
Three or four times a day, she would stand at the door
and watch me a moment out by the edge of the woods,
where I was felling the spruces
and birch trees as hard as I could to clear our land,
Normandin, Mistassini,
and all the other places we lived,
I always worked my hardest,
told myself every time the day would come
where we could have a decent land
and your mother could live
like the women in the old parishes,
A land of naked, bare fields
all around the house,
as far as the eye could see,
Instead she died in this savage wilderness,
far from the houses and churches,
and so close to the woods,
It is my fault she died in such a place,
It is all my fault,
Several times,
when we had spent five or six years in one place
and were making a good living,
people would come and settle around us,
Little by little, with a bit of work,
a beautiful parish would have been built,
where Laura could have lived a happy life,
But suddenly I would lose heart,
I would grow tired of the toil and the land,
I began to hate those
buying up lots in the area
and who kept coming to see us,
I would hear that further up, near the top of the lake
in the woods,
there was good land,
And when I heard of this place,
a place I had never seen, where no one yet lived,
I started to long for it
as if I had been born there,
During that time,
when the hard day's work was done,,, Instead of
smoking my pipe by the fire,
I would sit on the porch, unmoving,
like a bored, homesick man,
Everything I saw in front of me,
what I had created through toil and misery,
the fields, the fences, the corn blocking the view,,,
I started to hate it uncontrollably,
And your mother
would come up behind me without a word,
and look at the land with me,
Deep in her heart, she knew she was happy,
the place reminded her of the old parishes
where she was raised, and where she wanted to remain,
And instead of calling me an old fool
for wanting to leave as many wives would,
she simply sighed,
resigned to the misery that would begin elsewhere in the woods,
And she would say:
"Well, Samuel,
"Time for us to move again,"
I forgot,,,
I have a letter for you, Maria,
From my great-nephew, Lorenzo,
He doesn't know about your mother yet, of course,
But he certainly hopes he will see you soon,
The weather is warm,
Everyone says spring will come early this year,
Away!
Esdras!
Da'bé!
Mr, Chapdelaine,
I am ready to come work again for you this summer,
Five piasters a week plus room and board,
Show me the wooded land to cut,
Are you still thinking of leaving, Maria?
I know this is not the right time but,,,
If you tell me I might have a chance later,
it would make the wait easier to bear,
The spring after next,
when the men return for the harvest,
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