Lahontan and Kandiaronk

The Native American critique of European culture

Louis Armand, Baron de Lahontan (1666-1716) was a somewhat impoverished minor French aristocrat who traveled extensively as a young man in the Great Lakes regions that are now Canada, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. He wrote a multi-volume memoir of his travels, the second volume of which contained his recollections of a long conversation Lahontan had with a Huron chief named Kandiaronk. The Huron, whom Lahontan calls Adario in the dialogue, was chief of the Hurons living around Fort Michilimackinac and had led them in wars against the Iroquois. Kandiaronk was famous as an orator and was often invited to dine with the French Governor-General, Frontenac, because he was said to be the best conversationalist in America. The Jesuit historian, Charlevoix, said no Indian he had met “ever possessed greater merit, a finer mind, more valor, prudence or discernment in understanding those with whom he had to deal”. Part of Kandiaronk’s understanding of the French came from over a decade of study that included a visit to France, which he mentions in his discussion with Lahontan.

Kandiaronk has recently been cited as an example of what some historians are beginning to believe was a fairly widespread critique of French culture by Hurons and possibly their neighbors. As evidence increases of natives criticizing the inadequacies of European culture and character, some scholars have speculated that the Indian critique of Europeans’ obedience to kings and willingness to blindly follow orders, in contrast to their own commitment to independence, may have been a spark that helped ignite the Enlightenment in Europe. It is probably not a coincidence that several of the first European philosophers to write about natural rights and social contracts had read Lahontan’s memoir and other accounts of native American cultures in North America. 

(Note: I have replaced all the older uses of the second person (thee, thou, thy, thou’rt, etc.) with more modern pronouns. I have left in the contraction of them to ‘em, because I think it reflects the informality of the discussion.)

Lahontan’s Discussion with Kandiaronk, whom he calls Adario.

Lahontan announces his wish to educate the Indian about Christianity to save his soul, because the Huron have no religion. Adario replies,

How do you mean, without the Knowledge of the True God? What! are you mad? Do you believe we are void of Religion, after you have dwelt so long amongst us? Do you not know in the first place, that we acknowledge a Creator of the Universe, under the Title of the Great Spirit or Master of Life; whom we believe to be in every thing, and to be unconfined to Limits? 2. That we own the Immortality of the Soul. 3. That the Great Spirit has furnished us with a Rational Faculty, capable of distinguishing Good from Evil, as much as Heaven from Earth; to the end that we might Religiously observe the true Measures of Justice and Wisdom. 4. That the Tranquility and Serenity of the Soul pleases the Great Master of Life: And on the other hand, that he abhors trouble and anxiety of Mind, because it renders Men Wicked. 5. That Life is a Dream, and Death the Season of Awaking, in which the Soul sees and knows the Nature and Quality of all things, whether visible or invisible. 6. That the utmost reach of our Minds can’t go one Inch above the Surface of the Earth: So that we ought not to corrupt and spoil it by endeavoring to pry into Invisible and Improbable things. This my dear Friend is Our Belief, and we act up to it with the greatest Exactness. We believe that we shall go to the Country of Souls after death; but we have no such apprehension as you have, of a good and bad Mansion after this Life, provided for the good and bad Souls; for we cannot tell whether everything that appears faulty to Men, is so in the Eyes of God. If your Religion differs from ours, it does not follow that we have none at all. You know that I have been in France, New-York and Quebec; where I Studied the Customs and Doctrines of the English and French. The Jesuits allege, that out of five or six hundred sorts of Religions, there’s only one that is the good and the true Religion, and that’s their own; out of which no Man shall escape the Flames of a Fire that will burn his Soul to all Eternity. This is their allegation: But when they have said all, they cannot offer any Proof for it. (518-520)

Lahontan continues trying to convince Adario of the truth and consistency of the Bible, and the fact that hundreds of authors have written about theology without contradicting each other. The Indian replies,

How do you mean, without contradicting one another? Why! That Book of Holy Things, is not it full of Contradictions? These Gospels that the Jesuits speak of, do not they occasion discord between the French and the English? And yet if we take your word for it, every Period of that Book sprung from the Mouth of the Great Spirit. But if the Great Spirit meant that his Words should be understood, why did he talk so confusedly, and clothe his Words with an ambiguous Sense? One or two things must follow from this advance. If he was born and died upon the Earth, and made speeches here, why, then his discourses must be lost; for he would certainly have spoke so distinctly and plainly, that the very Children might conceive his meaning. Or, if you will have the Gospels to be his genuine Words, and contain nothing but what flowed from him; why, then he must have come to raise Wars in the World instead of Peace; which cannot be. The English have told me that though their Gospels contain the same Words with the French, yet there’s as great a difference between their Religion and yours, as between Night and Day. They say positively that theirs is the best; and on the other hand, the Jesuits allege, that the Religion of the English, and of a thousand Nations besides, is good for nothing. If there be but one true Religion upon Earth, who must I believe in this case? Who is it that does not take their own Religion to be the most perfect? How can the Capacity of Man be able to single out that Divine Religion from amongst so many more, that lay claim to the same Title? Believe me, my dear Brother, the Great Spirit is Wise, all his Works are perfect; ’tis he that made us, and he knows perfectly well what will become of us. ’Tis our part to act freely, without perplexing our thoughts about future things. He ordered you to be Born in France, with intent that you should believe what you neither saw nor conceived; and me he has caused to be Born a Huron, to the end that I should give credit to nothing but what I understand, and what my reason teaches me. (524-5)

Lahontan argues some more, and threatens to break off the conversation. Adario replies,

Ha! my Brother, do not trouble your head, I do not pretend to provoke you by offering my Reasons. I do not hinder you to believe the Gospels: I only beg the favor that you will suffer me to doubt the truth of all the Advances you have made. Nothing can be more natural to the Christians than to believe the Holy Scriptures, upon the account, that from their Infancy they have heard so much of ‘em, that in imitation of so many People Educated in the fame Faith, they have ’em so much Imprinted upon their Imagination, that Reason has no farther influence upon their Minds, they being already prepossessed with a firm belief of the truth of the Gospels. To People that are void of Prejudice, such as the Hurons, there’s nothing so reasonable, as to examine things narrowly. Now, after frequent reflections for the course of ten years upon what the Jesuits Preached of the Life and Death of the Son of the Great Spirit, I must tell you, that all my Hurons will give you forty reasons to the contrary. (532)

In another section called “Of Laws”, Lahontan tries to impress on the Indian the quality of French legal thinking, claiming that without their laws the French would be the “most miserable People on the Face of the Earth.” Adario replies,  

Nay, you are miserable enough already, and indeed I can’t see how you can be more such. What sort of Men must the Europeans be? What Species of Creatures do they retain to? The Europeans, who must be forced to do Good, and have no other Prompter for the avoiding of Evil than the fear of Punishment. If I asked you, what a Man is, you would answer me, He's a Frenchman, and yet I’ll prove that your Man is rather a Beaver. For Man is not entitled to that Character upon the score of his walking upright upon two Legs, or of Reading and Writing, and showing a Thousand other Instances of his Industry. I call that Creature a Man, that has a natural inclination to do Good, and never entertains the thoughts of doing Evil. You see we have no Judges; and what’s the reason of that? Why? We neither quarrel nor sue one another. And what’s the reason that we have no Law Suits? Why? Because we are resolved neither to receive nor to know Silver. But why do we refuse admission to Silver among us? The reason is this: We are resolved to have no Laws, for since the World was a World our Ancestors lived happily without ’em. In fine, as I intimated before, the Word Laws does not signify just and reasonable things as you use it, for the Rich make a Jest of ’em, and ’tis only the poor Wretches that pay any regard to ’em. But, pray, let’s look into these Laws, or reasonable things, as you call ’em. For these Fifty Years, the Governors of Canada have still aleged that we are subject to the Laws of their great Captain. We content ourselves in denying all manner of Dependance, excepting that upon the Great Spirit, as being born free and joint Brethren, who are all equally Masters: Whereas you are all Slaves to one Man. We do not put in any such Answer to you, as if the French depended upon us; and the reason of our silence upon that Head is, that we have no mind to Quarrel. But, pray tell me, what Authority or Right is the pretended Superiority of your great Captain grounded upon? Did we ever sell ourselves to that great Captain? Were we ever in France to look after you? ’Tis you that came hither to find out us. Who gave you all the Countries that you now inhabit, by what Right do you possess ’em? They always belonged to the Algonikins before. In earnest, my dear Brother, I’m sorry for you from the bottom of my Soul. Take my advice, and turn Huron; for I see plainly a vast difference between your Condition and mine. I am Master of my own Body, I have the absolute disposal of myself, I do what I please, I am the first and the last of my Nation, I fear no Man, and I depend only upon the Great Spirit: Whereas your Body, as well as your Soul, are doomed to a dependance upon your great Captain; your Vice-Roy disposes of you; you had not the liberty of doing what you had a mind to; you’re afraid of Robbers, false Witnesses, Assassins, and you depended upon an infinity of Persons whose Places have raised ’em above you. Is it true, or not? Are these things either improbable or invisible? Ah! my dear Brother, you see plainly that I am in the right of it; and yet you choose rather to be a French Slave than a free Huron.  (553-4)

Adario continues:

Ay, my dear Brother, your being an honest Man would not avail you; if two false Witnesses swear against you, you’ll presently see whether your Laws are severe or not. Have not the Coureurs de Bois quoted me twenty instances of Persons that have been cruelly put to death by the lash of your Laws, whose Innocence has appeared after their death? What truth there is in their Relations, I do not pretend to know; but ’tis plain that such a thing may happen. I have heard ’em say farther (and indeed I had heard the same thing in France before) that poor innocent Men are Tortured in a most horrible manner, in order to force ’em by the violence of their Torment to a Confession of all that is charged upon ’em, and of ten times more. What execrable Tyranny must this be! Though the French pretend to be Men, yet the Women are not exempted from this horrid Cruelty, no more than the Men; both the one and the other choose rather to die once than to die fifty times. And indeed they are in the right of it: For if it should happen that by the influence of extraordinary courage, they were capable of undergoing such Torments without confessing a Crime that they never committed; what health, what manner of life can they enjoy thereafter? No, no, my dear Brother, the black Devils that the Jesuits talk so much of, are not in the Regions where Souls burn in Flames, but in Quebec and in France, where they keep Company with the Laws, the false Witnesses, the Conveniences of Life, the Cities, the Fortresses and the Pleasures you spoke of but now. (554-5)

Lahontan insists that the French laws are just and reasonable, Adario responds:

I protest I don’t understand one word of what you have said; for I know the contrary of what you say to be true, and those who informed me so of the Judges are Men of undisputed Honor and Sense. But if nobody had given me any such Information, I am not so dull Pated as not to see with my own Eyes, the Injustice of your Laws and your Judges. I’ll tell you one thing my dear Brother; I was agoing one day from Paris to Versailles, and about halfway, I met a Boor that was going to be Whipped for having taken Partridges and Hares with Traps. Between Rochel and Paris, I saw another that was Condemned to the Galleys for having a little Bag of Salt about him. These poor Men were punished by your unjust Laws, for endeavoring to get Sustenance to their Families; at a time when a Million of Women were got with Child in the absence of their Husbands, when the Physicians Murdered three fourths of the People, and the Gamesters reduced their Families to a Starving Condition, by losing all they had in the World; and all this with Impunity. If things go at this rate, where are your just and reasonable Laws; where are those Judges that have a Soul to be Saved as well as you and I? After this, you’ll be ready to Brand the Hurons for Beasts. In earnest, we should have a fine time of it if we offered to punish one of our Brethren for killing a Hare or a Partridge; and a glorious sight it would be, to see our Wives enlarge the number of our Children, while we are engaged in Warlike Expeditions against our Enemies; to see Physicians Poison our Families, and Gamesters lose the Beaver Skins they’ve got in Hunting. In France, these things are looked upon as trifles, which do not fall within the Verge of their fine Laws. Doubtless, they must needs be very blind, that are acquainted with us, and yet do not imitate our Example. (560-1)

Lahontan says he regrets the false and prejudicial opinions Adario holds about the French. The Indian says:

You are mistaken, my dear Brother, in all you’ve said; for I have not formed to myself any false Idea of your Religion, or of your Laws. The Example of all the French in General, will ever oblige me to look upon all their Actions as unworthy of a Man. So that my Ideas are just; the prepossession you talk of is well grounded; and I am ready to make out all my advances. We talked of Religion and Laws, and I did not impart to you above a quarter of what I had to say upon that Head. You insist chiefly upon our way of living, which you take to be Blame-worthy. The French in general take us for Beasts; the Jesuits Brand us for impious, foolish and ignorant Vagabonds. And to be even with you, we have the same thoughts of you; but with this difference, that we pity you without offering invectives. Pray hear me, my dear Brother, I speak calmly and without passion. The more I reflect upon the lives of the Europeans, the less Wisdom and Happiness I find among ’em. These six years I have bent my thoughts upon the State of the Europeans: But I can’t light on anything in their Actions that is not beneath a Man; and truly I think ’tis impossible it should be otherwise, so long as you stick to the measures of Meum and Tuum [Mine and Yours]. I affirm that what you call Silver is the Devil of Devils; the Tyrant of the French; the Source of all Evil; the Bane of Souls, and the Slaughter-House of living Persons. To pretend to live in the Money Country, and at the same time to save one’s Soul, is as great an inconsistency as for a Man to go to the bottom of a Lake to preserve his Life. This Money is the Father of Luxury, Lasciviousness, Intrigues, Tricks, Lying, Treachery, Falseness, and in a word, of all the mischief in the World. The Father sells his Children, Husbands expose their Wives to Sale, Wives betray their Husbands, Brethren kill one another, Friends are false, and all this proceeds from Money. Consider this, and then tell me if we are not in the right of it, in refusing to finger, or so much as to look upon that cursed Metal. (570-1)

The French and Huron also differed in their ideas about the rights of Women. Adario says:

My Brother, I come to Visit you, and am accompanied by my Daughter, who is about to Marry, against my Will, a young Man that’s as good a Warrior as he’s a sorry Huntsman. She has a mind to it; and that is enough in our Country. But ’tis not so in France, where the Parents must consent to the Marrying of their Children. I am obliged to comply with my Daughter’s demands: For if I pretend to Marry her again [against her will], she’d quickly return upon me: What do you think Father! Am I your Slave? Shall not I enjoy my Liberty? Must I for your fancy, Marry a Man I do not care for? How can I endure a Husband that buys my Corps [body] of my Father, and what value shall I have for such a Father as makes Brokerage of his Daughter to a Brute? And how can I have an affection for the Children of a Man I cannot love? If I should Marry him in obedience to you , and go from him in fifteen days time, as the Privileges and natural Liberties of the Nation would allow; you’ll tell me tis not well done and it would trouble you, all the World would laugh at it, and perhaps I might prove with Child. Thus, dear Brother, would my Girl answer me, and it may be a great deal worse, as it happened some years ago to one of our old Men, who pretended to Marry his Daughter to a Man she did not love, for in my Presence she said a great many harsh things by way of Reproach: Insinuating that a Man of Spirit ought not to expose himself, in offering to advise a Person from whom he may receive such affronts; neither ought he to require such respects from his Children as he knows to be impracticable. She added then, 'twas true she was his Daughter, and he might be satisfied. He got her upon a Woman he loved as much as she hated the Husband her Father had provided for her. (605-6)

Source: Lahontan’s New Voyages to North-America, Volume II, Reuben Gold Thwaites, LLD, Ed., 1905 (https://archive.org/details/McGillLibrary-rbsc_lc_new-voyages-north-america-lahontan_lande00503-v2-17825/page/n3/mode/2up)