The Champlain Map

Samuel Champlain's map of the region gives us several valuable clues in the search for Carantouan. 

In Champlain's quote describing the location of Carantounnais he states:

"They have only three villages, which are in the midst of more than twenty others, on which they make war without assistance from their friends; for they are obliged to pass through the thickly settled country of the Chouontouaroueon,[138] or else they would have to make a very long circuit."

Look at the map again - - There are three villages AND the fortified area to the west branch...was this fortified area (Spanish Hill?)  for the Carantouannais nation?

The three villages said to make up the Caranouannai nation are: Oscolui: (meaning "sweet water" and therefore thought be located in the area of Sugar Creek, PA )  There is actually a site sign off of Rte 6 below Burlington, PA that marks the site. Also - Moorehead reported that it had a hill with a fortifies hilltop - much like Spanish Hill there - but smaller. (Moorehead 1936:70) Onnontioga: (onnon - people of , tioga - where the rivers meet) The Murray Farm located near Tioga Point, Athens, PA was in fact the site of an Andaste burial ground of which Moorehead reported "The chief excavations of the Susquehanna River Expedition centered around an old Andaste cemetery on the old Murray Farm. (Moorehead 1936:1) Gahontoto: I believe this to be located in Nichols, New York. (Englebert site) Notice the flag on this village site - - it must have been the "capital" and probably the largest of the three) ** I must note here that before me, most believe that Gahontoto was in Wyalusing, PA because there is evidence of a great battle there. However Clark, Moorehead, nor even Louise Welles Murray knew of the Nichols site in their lifetimes, as it was discovered in the late 1960's. My opinion is that this in itself does not mean there was a village site there - - Instead, I think because the largest village site ever found in our region is in Nichols New York - and they even found pottery there like that found on the Murray site (Onnontioga) - the Englebert Site in Nichols should be considered to have been the real Gahontoto. Unfortunately, there is little in the form of reports available on this site to date. However, I was lucky enough to hear a presentation on the excavations there by Dan Caister of NY Archaeology's TriCities Chapter. This group's was involved with the digs there in the late 1960's. Watch this video clip (#17) to learn more now!

Concerning Carantouannai (Andastoe) Nation:

J. Gilmary Shea - "Notes and Queries of the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography - published January 1878 - page 103-108 - "General John S. Clark has taken the the Champlain Expedition seriously and the results attained are remarkable, and seem destined to afford scholars a satisfactory solution of vexed questions"..."General Clark's next object is to study the territory of the group of tribes known to Champlain as the Carantouannais or Andastes who formed a confederacy like the Hurons, Neuter and Iroquois groups." (General Clark began his survey of Spanish Hill in May 1878)

 

Jesuit Relations - PREFACE TO VOL. XXXIII : "The Hurons send envoys to the Andastes, allied tribes along the Susquehanna, to ask aid against their foes. The latter, upon this appeal, request the hostile Iroquois to lay down their arms and consent so a peace." - (page 9)

 

Louise Welles Murray - (footnote page 34) - "Old Tioga Point and Early Athens"    - "The editor of Champlain ("Voyages") introduces a note of great interest, saying that the name of these allies "Carantouannai" was only a special name, a tribal, or a village name of the Andaste nation..."

 

Excerpt from Champlain's "Voyages" concerning the decision and need to "collect" and prepare them: 

"When the council was ended and it was decided to send the men, orders were given to collect, prepare, and arm them, so as to go and join us where we were encamped before the fort and the village of our enemies.  This was only three short days journey from Carantouan, which was provided with more than 800 warriors, and strongly fortified, after the manner of those before described, which have high and strong palisades well bound and joined together, the quarters being constructed in a similar fashion."

From this, I wonder if Champlain was not referring to a "region" and not a specific location when he referred to Carantouannais. In other words, by only looking for evidence of a village that would support 800 warriors on Spanish Hill and just below it, did we miss the point that these maps seem to show? And might this be the reason why it took the Carantouannais and Brule a few days to get there warriors together to join Champlain?  Louise Welles Murray ("Early Athens and Old Tioga Point") said that there was a substantial burial ground found on the old Murray farm - - located near Tioga Point (Onnontioga?) with a significant amount of graves.  What if the "Hill" was only used for ceremonies or celebrations such as when Brule arrived, or during attacks, and wasn't actually a VILLAGE SITE?  

Look at Champlain's map again...

The discrepancy concerning the Champlain Map

~~Susquehanna or Delaware?~~

As you look closely at the map - you will see that the river on which Carantouan resides, does not seem to go to the Chesapeake Bay, and therefore has been questioned as to whether it is actually the Susquehanna...

But, it seems clear to that Samuel Champlain was comfortable navigating from the north - not from the south, and if there is to be any misunderstanding on his illustrations - it should be from the south moving north and not from the north moving south. That is - I believe he would have been able to show relative location to the areas he himself spent so many years exploring. The misunderstandings would be more likely to occur when he drew areas from second hand accounts from people such as his interpreter, Etienne Brule.

The reason why I feel the need to state this, is because I must note that there are historians that believe he drew this river to be the Delaware - and not the Susquehanna.  However, after looking at the text that  - he would have only known that this river "went to the sea" secondhand through Brule. With this in mind, where Champlain ends up drawing  river that Carantouannais was on leading into the sea would most likely be pure speculation on his part. Where he draws it relative the the land he is familiar with to the north is to me the most reliable method to determine where Champlain understood it to be. read below for another possible explanation:

A growing understanding of the land....and river systems.

As I looked at more and more maps - I found that there was a general confusion about the exact mapping of the Susquehanna and the Delaware and found several instances where they were mapped to actually meet, but note on Champlain's map there are "3" major rivers coming in from the Atlantic in stead of the two in the earlier maps...

Ortelius, Abraham, 1584	de Jode, Cornelis, 1593
Quad, Matthias, 1600	Champlain, Samuel, 1632

Note~ on the bottom two maps - there is a mark for a large fort  - at the north side of the inlet of the SECOND river to the north on the 1600 map - but it is located on the north side of the THIRD river to the north on the Champlain map (marked with  .)

This is what General John S. Clark had this to say about Champlain's map:

"Champlain published a map in 1632, and from information furnished by Brule, located this town a short distance north of the junction of two main branches if a river, on the west branch some distance further north than New York City.  But unfortunately he was misled by other mapmakers, who preceded him, and made this river flow into the Delaware Bay.  The mistake was made originally by Captain Hendrickson, the discoverer of Delaware Bay and river, and was not corrected until many years after the publication (which leads me to believe it WAS CORRECTED) of Champlain's map. By cutting off this river from it's connection with the Delaware Bay and connecting it with the Chesapeake all difficulties immediately vanish as to the location of the famous Indian town, which I identify, as located beyond any possible question on the hill near Waverly, on the east bank of the Chemung, just south of the state line." ~ General John S. Clark

 

Here is General Clark's "Fac-Simile" of Champlain's map: (from The Selected Manuscripts of General John S. Clark.)