The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents
—————
Travels and Explorations
of the Jesuit Missionaries
in New France
1610 —1791
THE ORIGINAL FRENCH, LATIN, AND ITALI-
IAN TEXTS, WITH ENGLISH TRANSLA-
TIONS AND NOTES; ILLUSTRATED BY
PORTRAITS, MAPS, AND FACSIMILES
EDITED BY
Reuben Gold Thwaites
Secretary of the State historical Society of Wisconsin
COMPUTERIZED TRANSCRIPTION BY
Tomasz Mentrak
Vol. XXI
QUEBEC AND HURONS
1641- 1642
CLEVELAND: The Burrows Brothers
Company, PUBLISHERS, M DCCC XCVIII
THE JESUIT RELATIONS
AND
ALLIED DOCUMENTS
Vol. XLVII
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The edition consists of sev-
en hundred and fifty sets
all numbered.
No.________
The Burrows Brothers Co.
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Copyright, 1899
by
The Burrows Company
— — — — —
all rights reserved
The Imperial Press, Cleveland
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EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor
Reuben Gold Thwaites
| Finlow Alexander
| Percy Favor Bicknell
| William Frederic Giese
Translators.
| Catharine S. Kellogg
| Crawford Lindsay
| William Price
| Hiram Allen Sober
Assistant Editor
Emma Helen Blair
Bibliographical Adviser
Victor Hugo Paltsits
Electronic Transcription
Tomasz Mentrak
[Page 5]
CONTENTS OF VOL. XXi.
Preface To Volume XXI
9
Documents: —
XLIV.
Relation de ce qvi s’est passé en la Novvelle France, és années 1640. et 1641. [Chaps. ix.-xiii. of Part I., and Part II., concluding the document.] Paul le Jeune; Kebec and Paris, undated. Jerome Lalemant; Ste. Marie aux Hurons, May 19, 1641
19
XLV.
Lettre au P. Étienne Charlet, Assistant de France à Rome. Charles Lalemant; Paris, February 28, 1642
268
XLVI.
Lettre à son frère. Charles Garnier; des Hurons, May 22, 1642.
274
XLVII.
Mémoire touchant les Domestiques. [Jerome Lalemant; 1642]
292
Bibliographical Data; Volume XXI
309
Notes
311
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PREFACE TO VOL. XXI
Following is a synopsis of the documents contained in the present volume:
XLIV. In Vol. XX., we gave the first eight chapters of Part I. of the Relation of 1640-41; the remainder of this part (written by Le Jeune at Quebec, without date) is herewith presented, also the whole of Part II, (the Huron report, by Jerome Lalemant, dated May 19, 1641), thus completing the Relation.
Commencing with Chap. ix., Le Jeune recounts the capture (February, 1641) of François Marguerie and Thomas Godefroy by the Iroquois, who take them away to their own country. The two Frenchmen at first expect death; but the Iroquois decide, at a council, to liberate the prisoners in the spring; meanwhile, the latter are treated by their captors “like their own children.” In June, a numerous band of Iroquois appear before Three Rivers, with their prisoners, of whom they send Marguerie, on parole, to demand an interview with the commandant; Champflour immediately sends to Quebec for Montmagny. The latter hastens, with armed men and vessels, to Three Rivers; and a long parley ensues between him and the Iroquois, in which many speeches and presents are mutually made. The Iroquois are full of treachery; it is obvious that they wish only to patch up an alliance with the French, in order to [Page 9] have better opportunity for attacking the allied Hurons and Algonkins. Finally, finding Montmagny their match in sagacity and adroitness, they openly show their hostility, but are quickly dispersed by shots from the French cannon, —fortunately, not till after they have liberated the two prisoners.
About the same time, Father Brébeuf narrowly escapes capture by another Iroquois band, while on his way from the Huron country to Quebec. Reaching his destination in safety, he tries to secure an escort for the returning Hurons, to protect them from the enemy. He obtains a few French soldiers, and some Christian Indians from St. Joseph; but, on arriving at Three Rivers, dissensions arise among the Algonkins who await them there, on account of the presence of two Abenaki Indians who have come to render satisfaction for the murder in their country of Makhcabichtichiou, the Montagnais chief, for some time a resident at St. Joseph. The Algonkins withdraw their promises to help escort the Hurons, and Champflour is unwilling to expose the Christian Indians to the danger of defeat; but news is brought that the Iroquois marauders have gone home, and the way is now clear. The Hurons accordingly return in peace, accompanied by Ragueneau and Ménard. Certain other Hurons who came down to Three Rivers, spread calumnies about Brébeuf, declaring that he has conspired with the Iroquois to ruin the Hurons.
Le Jeune gives an account of the mission recently formed at Tadoussac, the credit for which is mainly due to the neophytes of St. Joseph, who, visiting their Tadoussac tribesmen, commend to the latter the Christian faith by both word and deed. In June, [Page 10] 1640, a missionary (De Quen, according to Rochemonteix) is sent to them, for whom they erect a bark house and chapel combined, and listen attentively to his teachings. He spends the month of June with them, finds them very teachable and affectionate, and baptizes about fifteen.
An important event occurs late in the summer of 1641, —the coming of the Sieur de Maisonneuve, with the first installment of the new colony at Montreal. With them comes also the Jesuit De la Place. But a little while before the coming of the fleet, the missionaries drape their altars in mourning for the death of François de Gand, one of the Hundred Associates, and a pious and benevolent man; and that of the Chevalier de Sillery, founder of the Christian Indian settlement at St. Joseph. Le Jeune also mentions the death, last year, of René Rohault, the first to give money for the education of the Indian children.
The death of De Sillery had at first checked the aid given by him to the Canadian missions; but other wealthy persons in France, who “are not willing that this great work should cease,” are supplying this deficiency. One of these wishes to charge himself with the settlement of an Indian family, —building them a house, and supporting them during the first year. The Father recounts some of the acts of devotion performed in Europe for the benefit of these missions. Among these, “there has been found, even in the country, a Curé so zealous for the salvation of the poor Savages, and Parishioners so full of kindness, that they have made three general processions and seventy-five fasts; they have taken the discipline a hundred and twenty-four times: they [Page 11] have offered eighteen almsgivings, and a great many prayers, —all for the conversion of these tribes; is not that delightful?’’ Being told of the deep interest thus manifested in their welfare, the Christian Indians inform Le Jeune that they have resolved to spend a whole day in fasting and prayer for these good friends across the sea.
He is encouraged, by the success already attained in their enterprise, to predict great things for the future, —the assembling and colonization of the St. Lawrence tribes at Quebec and Three Rivers, and of the Ottawa tribes, the Hurons, “and even some Hiroquois,’’ at Montreal; he even trusts that the gospel shall one day penetrate into the regions of the South and West. For this last, as well as for the Company’s trade, and the safety of the French colonists, it is absolutely necessary that the Iroquois should be overcome. Le Jeune mentions their methods of warfare, and complains that the Dutch supply them with firearms. He closes the Relation with some extracts from letters he has received from Claude Pijart, describing his labors among the Indians of Lake Nipissing, the prospect among whom is encouraging; and from Pierre Pijart, who has been on a mission among the Tobacco tribe, with whom he finds many Algonkins. He also hears there of certain Southern tribes, who “plant and harvest Indian corn twice a year, and their last harvest was made in December.”
Jerome Lalemant opens the Huron Relation by stating that, “in their seven missions, they have preached the Gospel to 16,000 or 17,000 Barbarians,” Two of these missions are new, —one being for the benefit of the Algonkins, and in the charge of Raymbault and [Page 12] Claude Pijart, who have been sent from Quebec for this especial work. As the savages are now in good health, and have been blessed with an abundant harvest, they have, in general, become tolerant of the missionaries, who no longer encounter serious hindrances to their efforts, —although they are sorely tried by the worldliness, fickleness, and superstitious follies of their hearers.
The evangelists now possess “a little Church composed of about thirty Frenchmen, and about fifty Savages making profession.” These last have remained constant, since the panic and storms of the previous year; and it is they who form the leaven that shall yet be effectual among these tribes. Lalemant sees the urgent necessity of rendering Indian marriages stable; “and —inasmuch as one of the principal causes of their dissolution comes from this, that one of the parties is not able to supply the needs and necessities of the other, which causes that other to go and seek them elsewhere —one of the most effective means of binding them indissolubly will be to assist them in such a case.” He is greatly encouraged by the aid promised him from France for this very purpose. “Certain persons of merit have resolved to make perpetual foundations of the ten or twelve écus necessary for the establishment of these marriages,’’ setting aside a sum of money to produce the above income. Some of these persons are childless, and “believe that they might here gain children for God and for themselves, by this manner of holy adoption;” and, to keep their memories green, “they desire that their names should be given to the families proceeding from these marriages procured by the efforts of their charity.” [Page 13]
Each of the Huron missions has a chapter, in Lalemant’s report, assigned to its work and progress for the past year. The residence of Ste. Marie is the headquarters of all the Jesuit missions; hither all the gospel laborers come for their annual reunion, and it is likely to become a refuge for the Christian Indians who find it too hard to resist the heathen influences around them. As it is, these converts come on Saturday evenings, from even twelve leagues’ distance, to celebrate the Sabbath with their teachers.
Montmagny’s prudent and just treatment of the savages has done them much good; they admire his liberality, yet fear his sternness. Certain tribes, under this dread, have rendered satisfaction to the missionaries for the injuries inflicted upon them.
On November 2, the Fathers depart from Ste. Marie on their itinerant missions, leaving Chastellain alone to guard the house, and entertain the Christian Indians who might come hither.
Most of the Huron converts are found in the village of Ossossané, where was established the first of these missions, La Conception. The pillar of this little church was Joseph Chihwatenhwa, slain last year by the Iroquois; but this disaster seems on the whole to have confirmed the other Christians in their faith. “We could hardly desire more content and satisfaction than we receive from this little flock. It appears to us like a small lump of gold refined in the furnace of many tribulations.” Joseph’s brother, Teondechorren, is converted, and takes his dead brother’s name; the missionaries have much hope from him. A new chapel has been erected there, where regular services are held, In one of his missionary journeys, Father Le Mercier falls into [Page 14] the water, while crossing the ice, and barely escapes death.
The missions of St. Joseph and of St. Jean Baptiste —respectively the most southern and the most eastern in the Huron region —are under the care of Fathers Daniel and Le Moyne. This is a laborious field, on account of its great extent; and dangerous, because the forest trails are infested by the Iroquois. An Iroquois prisoner is baptized, before his torments begin. A man who in health had scorned the truth, and abused its preachers, sends for these when he is about to die; and his soul is, by baptism, saved from endless woe.
Next is mentioned the mission to the Tobacco Nation, where the difficulties of their work are unusually great, because this tribe, not going to the trading posts of the French, know but little of them, and look upon them as utter strangers. However, the missionaries, who last year were driven from the villages of these people, are now at last tolerated, and some Indians even desire instruction.
The new mission to the Neutral Nation is undertaken by Brébeuf and Chaumonot. This tribe and their country are described, as also their relations with other tribes about them, and their customs. From this region the missionaries have a wide outlook upon other tribes hitherto unknown to them except by name; and they recount various items of information concerning these. Lalemant mentions the journey of the Récollet Daillon, in 1626, to this Neutral tribe. He then relates the present experiences of Brébeuf and Chaumonot; the former, having a widespread reputation as a sorcerer, is greatly dreaded by the Neutrals, who for some time persecute [Page 15] the Fathers, and threaten them with death. The latter are compelled to retreat; but at the village of Teotongniaton, they find an oasis in the desert —a good woman receives them into her house, and treats them with the utmost kindness. This opportunity enables them to compare the Neutral language with the Huron, to their great aid in using the Indian tongues. One village in this tribe “gives them the hearing that their Embassy merited” —Khioetoa, largely inhabited by the Awenrehronons, part of which tribe had, as we have already seen (Vol. XVII.), earlier fled to the Hurons. After returning from this mission, Chaumonot is attacked by an Indian, who attempts to kill him; but the Father escapes with only a slight wound.
The final chapter details the work among the Nipissing Indians, who winter in the Huron country, not far from Ste. Marie. Raymbault and Claude Pijart minister to these people during the winter, and to other Algonkins who have come hither, and find them all much more docile and receptive than the Hurons.
The Relation ends with a specimen of the Huron language (accompanied by a French translation), for which Lalemant chooses “one of the most ordinary communions which Joseph Chihwatenhwa, that excellent Christian, had with God toward the end of his days.’ ’
XLV. Charles Lalemant writes from Paris (February 28, 1642) to Father Charlet, at Rome, in regard to Le Jeune’s request to the French government for assistance in driving the Iroquois out of Canada, and the Dutch from New Amsterdam. Lalemant thinks the former can be done, and states that Richelieu is [Page 16] well disposed thereto; but he thinks the latter scheme costly, impracticable, and useless. He asks Charlet’s opinion on the matter.
XLVI. Charles Gamier writes to his brother (May 22, 1642), from the Huron country. He regrets that his letter of last year failed to reach Quebec in time for the returning French fleet, and is therefore still waiting for its despatch. After various religious exhortations, Garnier speaks of another brother’ (mentioned in last year’s letter), “the poor prodigal child;’’ and he cites letters written by the latter, which indicate much affection, and a desire to return to God. The writer then mentions the present status of the Huron mission, and outlines his own work (apparently in the village of St. Joseph, or Teanaustayaé). A good convert there has given one end of his cabin for a chapel, where the services of the church are regularly held. This man and his family are earnest Christians, and various instances of their piety and devotion are recounted. Other converts are mentioned, and a baptism for which he secures opportunity through a mass offered in honor of a saint.
XLVII. Jerome Lalemant sends to the Father General (apparently in 1642) a memoir upon the donnés employed in the Huron mission. He explains why these laymen are more desirable than the coadjutors of the Society; also what arrangements had been made with the provincial of France (1638) for this service. The whole plan has been opposed by some of their superiors; but Lalemant urges that the Society accept the donnés, —not only in the Huron country but in all the missions of New France, — [Page 17] binding them by certain vows, and providing for their lifelong support. To this memoir are appended forms of acceptance and contract with a donné, and of consecration on the latter’s part.
R. G. T.
Madison, Wis., April, 1898.
XLIV. (concluded)
Relation of 1640-41
Paris: SEBASTIEN CRAMOISY, 1642
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Chaps. i.-viii. of Part I. were presented in Volume XX.; we herewith give chaps. ix.-xiii. of Part I., and all of Part II., thus concluding the document.
[Page 19]
[136] CHAPTER IX.
OF THE CAPTURE OF TWO FRENCHMEN WHO WERE
TAKEN TO THE COUNTRY OF THE HIROQUOIS,
AND THEIR RETURN TO THE THREE RIVERS.
U
NDER the name of Hiroquois we include six Nations, who are enemies of the Hurons, of the Algonquins, of the Montagnais, and now of the French. We have these people at the South, stretching from the coast of Acadia; they extend from Virginia Westward into the interior. Now, as their Villages are distant from one another, there is only the one Nation of the Agnieeronons, properly speaking, which has declared itself the enemy of the French; this nation has three well-peopled Villages, situated rather near each other, on three little mountains; it is true that these Nations lend a hand to one another in their wars, as do also those who have some intercourse with the French. Several years ago, the Agnieeronons killed a Frenchman in their own country, contrary to the common law [137] of peoples, for he had been sent with some Savages to negotiate a peace with them. On the second day of June, in the year 1633, they treacherously killed three other Frenchmen, very near the stream which we call the Three Rivers. Since that time, they have massacred many Hurons and Algonquins, as I have shown in preceding Relations: in a word, they have reached such a degree of insolence, that we must see the country lost or bring to it a prompt and [Page 21] efficacious remedy. If the French were gathered near one another, it would be very easy for them to master these Barbarians; but being dispersed, some here, some there, gliding at all hours over the great river in shallops, or in canoes, they can be easily surprised by these traitors, who hunt men as we do wild beasts, who can injure and scarcely be injured, —for, when they are discovered, they do not ordinarily await attack, but are beyond the reach of your arms before you are in readiness to discharge them. Let us see now what they have done within the last year.
[138] Toward the end of Autumn about ninety men set out from their country; they scattered themselves, some here, some there, by the little streams and by the rivers, where they know that our Savage allies go in search of beavers. About thirty of them having found their prey above Montreal, carried it away to their own country; the others came to prowl around the Settlement of the Three Rivers. Two young Frenchmen, —one an Interpreter of the Algonquin Tongue for the Gentlemen of New France, named François Marguerie; the other called Thomas Godefroy, who is brother to a worthy inhabitant of the country,[1] —having gone on a hunting trip, were discovered by these Barbarians, who, following the track of their snowshoes imprinted on the snow, approached them with stealthy steps during the night, and suddenly attempting to spring upon them, uttered frightful shrieks and howls. One of the two Frenchmen had time to present his arquebus to the first one who endeavored to seize him; but by good luck, or rather by a providence of our Lord, it flashed in the pan. If it had taken fire, [139] and he had [Page 23] killed this Barbarian, both of them would have lost their lives; he came off with only the stroke of a javelin which the enemy thrust into his thigh. The other Frenchman, having promptly risen at the noise, seized his sword; a Hiroquois shot an arrow at him, which passed under his arm. Another, intending to approach him, made a false step and fell into the snow; immediately the Frenchman presented his naked sword at his throat; the Hiroquois saw him do this without stirring, —not one made a show of hindering him, or of killing him, for fear he might transfix his enemy whom he had at his feet. At length this young man seeing that he would be massacred in a moment, if he went further, threw down his sword and surrendered, in order that he might have leisure to examine his conscience, although he had confessed and received communion the preceding Sunday, —preferring to be burned, roasted, and eaten, to dying in this headlong haste without thinking upon God. Behold, then, these two poor victims in the hands of these Tigers; they bind them, pinion them, and take them away into their own country with shrieks and yells, or rather with the howling of wolves. [140] Nevertheless, having recognized that they were Frenchmen, they did not treat them as they do the Savages, but used greater gentleness; for they neither tore off their finger-nails, nor mutilated them in any part of their bodies.
However, as they did not return on the day appointed, their friends began to suspect that some misfortune had happened to them; they were awaited some time longer, but as they did not appear, the French went to seek them in the place where they said they were going to hunt; they found a pole fixed [Page 25] in the snow, to which was attached a wretched paper, scribbled upon with a coal; they took it, read it, and found these words written: “The Hiroquois have captured us: go into the woods.” They entered the woods, and found a large tree from which the bark had recently been removed, and on which were written these words with charcoal: “The Hiroquois have captured us tonight; they have not yet done us any harm, —they are taking us away to their own country;” there were some other words which could not be read. This [141] happened about the twentieth of February. This blow somewhat bewildered our Frenchmen, who fervently commended to God these two poor captives; all possible ways were sought to deliver them, but none seemed feasible. Our neighboring Savages told us, that it was all over with them, that they had been boiled or roasted, and eaten; but God, who is pleased to grant the prayers of those who have confidence in his goodness, disposed of them otherwise; he restored them to us, and, from their own lips, we learned what follows:
“We arrived at the Village of those who captured us, after a journey of seventeen or eighteen days. At the report of our arrival, every one ran to see us, —not only the neighboring Villages, but also the other Nations wished to have the satisfaction of seeing the captive Frenchmen; they made us stand up .at all hours, that they might look us over from head to foot. Some derided us, others threatened to burn us, others had compassion on us; some [142] Hiroquois who had been prisoners at Kebec, and at the Three Rivers, and who had been favorably treated by the French, looked kindly on us, and told us that we should not die. One among them, to whom [Page 27] François Marguerie had been very kind, and whom our Fathers had aided in his necessity, said aloud that the Frenchmen were good, and must not be put to death.’’ An act of kindness is never forgotten by, God, —he knows how to reward it in his own time; it is well to practice acts of charity and mercy, for the sake of his love.
A young Algonquin prisoner, whose life had been spared by the Hiroquois, recognizing our Frenchmen, said to them: “Take courage, you will not die; inasmuch as you know how to pray to God, he will not fail to succor you.” I do not know whether that young man had any confidence in his sovereign Lord; but, at all events, he escaped from the hands of his enemies.
Notwithstanding all these declarations, these young men had every reason for fear, seeing themselves in the midst of barbarism and [143] of cruelty, without help from any creature. The question was of nothing less than fire, and of the fury and teeth of these barbarians, who practice strange tortures on their prisoners.
Some Savages of the upper Nations, not wishing to irritate the French, made presents that these two poor captives might be set free. At length a council was held in the country, and they concluded to negotiate peace with the French; that being done, they promised the prisoners that in the Spring they should be taken back to the Three Rivers. In the meantime, they were given in keeping to two heads of families, who treated them like their own children. One of these, seeing that his prisoner prayed to God night and morning, and that he made the sign of the Cross before each meal, asked him what [Page 29] this sacred sign meant; having had for answer that the God who had made heaven and earth, the animals, and all the grains, preserved those who honored him and who had recourse to him, —“I wish then to do the same,” responded he, “that he may preserve me and feed me.”
Another time several of these Barbarians [144] invited one of their prisoners to sing after the French fashion. “Then,” answered he, “be respectful; for the God of Heaven and of earth, whom we honor by our voices and by our Hymns, could punish you severely, if you should begin any scornful actions;” they all promised not to laugh, and to conduct themselves discreetly. The Frenchmen intoned the Ave maris stella, to which they listened, their heads being bowed with much modesty and respect; they declared afterward that the song had pleased them. The blessed Virgin who caused that Hymn to be sung every day at Kebec for the deliverance of the prisoners, foresaw from that time their liberty, and perhaps also asked from her son the conversion of these tribes, who will very soon hear the clarion of the Gospel, if old France love the New, as an elder sister should love the Younger.
Now, these two poor Frenchmen being distressed by the severity of the cold, —for, partly through force, and partly out of good will, they had given the best of their clothing to these Barbarians, —one of them, having a knowledge of the English language, [145] wrote to the Hollanders who have seized a part of Acadia, which belongs to the King, begging them to have pity upon their poverty; he used a beaver skin for paper, a little stick for a pen, and some rust or soot sticking to the bottom of a kettle, [Page 31] for ink. The Savage to whom the beaver belonged carrying it to the Dutch, they understood this writing, and, touched with compassion, they sent to these two poor prisoners a couple of shirts, two blankets, some provisions, an inkstand, some paper, and a short letter. The Savage delivered all faithfully except the letter, saying that the writing of the French was good, but that of the Hollanders was worth nothing. François Marguerie, having paper, wrote the whole history of their capture; and, as they feared the Hollanders might not understand the French language, he inscribed his letter in French, and in Latin as he was able, and in English. He believed that it was carried; but he saw no reply, —the Hiroquois doubtless were not willing to deliver one. Neither would they ever permit them [146] to visit the Dutch. “Those people,” said they to them, “are cruel, —they will put us into irons, they will plunder our Countrymen, if they come into these quarters to liberate you.” The Frenchmen believed nothing of all this; besides, they did not wish to escape from the hands of these Barbarians, in order that, being with them, they might better incline them to an advantageous peace.
Toward the end of the month of April, the decision to seek this peace with the French having been made, five hundred Hiroquois, or thereabouts, set out from their country, well armed, taking with them the two Frenchmen. Some went back, others broke from the ranks in great numbers to go and meet the Hurons and the Algonquins, with the design of pillaging, killing, and massacring all those whom they could surprise; the remainder went directly to the Three Rivers. On the fifth of June, at daybreak, [Page 33] twenty canoes appeared below the habitation of the French, all laden with well-armed men; others appeared in the middle of the river, equipped in like manner; immediately there was an alarm among the French, and among the Algonquins who [147] dwell near us; these last cried out that all was over with their people who had gone to hunt beavers. At that moment, an Algonquin canoe, going out of the mouth of the stream which we call the Three Rivers, was taken by its enemies in the sight of the French and of the Savages, without any one being able to render it assistance. While we were in this alarm, another canoe appeared, guided by a single man, coming out from the quarter of the enemy and advancing toward the fort of the French; this canoe carried a little flag, as a sign of peace. We cast our eyes upon the pilot; in dress he appeared to be a Savage, but by the voice we recognized that it was, François Marguerie, one of the two prisoners. Having set foot on land, he was conducted to the fort, that he might pay his respects to the sieur de Chanflour, who commands there. Every one ran, each one embraced him, —he was looked upon as a man raised from the dead, and as a victim escaped from the knife that was ready to sacrifice him, and from the fire that was ready to consume him; they made him abandon his rags, and reclothed him like a Frenchman. All were full of joy, and treated him affectionately, and after the [148] first caresses every one became silent, in order to listen to him. He said then, that the Hiroquois, desiring the alliance of the French, had treated them mildly; that they had set out from the country five hundred in number, of whom three hundred and fifty were seen [Page 35] prowling along the river, in sight of the fort; that they had deputed him to speak concerning peace with the French, but not with the Savages, —the Algonquins, and the Montagnais, whom they hate unto death, and whom they wish to exterminate entirely. “They have,” said he, “thirty-six arquebusiers, as skillful as the French, —the remainder are very well armed in Savage fashion; they are abundantly furnished with powder, with lead, with bows, arrows, and javelins, and with provisions. They are hoping that a present will be given them, of thirty good arquebuses; they are resolute people, whom you must trust only with reserve, since an Algonquin woman, —who has lived for some time in their country, and from whom these Barbarians concealed little, —warned us in secret that these people wished to use our bodies as a bait, in order that they might take all the Savages, our confederates, ruin the whole country, [149] and make themselves absolute masters of the great River. I am commissioned,” said he, “to return without delay; they have retained with them my companion as hostage, and I have given them my word that I will see them again as soon as possible.” The sieur de Chanflour gave as answer, that, this matter being of great importance, it wasp necessary that the great Captain of the French should be notified of it, —that they did not doubt he would approve of the pursuit of peace, that they were going —to send Messengers to him, and that he would shortly be at the Three Rivers. Our prisoner, and a Frenchman who accompanied him, reëmbarked with this answer, set off by a quantity of provisions and little presents, in order to win these Barbarians. They approved our procedure, but they did not neglect to fortify themselves well, while awaiting the [Page 37] coming of Onontio, —it is thus they call Monsieur the Governor. They again sent back François Marguerie and Thomas Godefroy his fellow captive, beseeching the Captain of the Three Rivers to come and parley with them while awaiting the arrival of the great Captain. Father Paul [150] Ragueneau and the sieur Nicolet, —both well versed in the Huron Language, which is related to the Hiroquois Language, —went to them instead of the Captain, who, with reason, was unwilling to leave his fort. Having arrived at the rendezvous of these Barbarians, they stated to them that the French had had great satisfaction in seeing their Countrymen: that they all took pleasure in the news of peace; and that they themselves had been sent to learn what was desired from the Captain whom they had asked to come. They replied that they wished to talk, —that is to say, that they wished to make presents, —not only about restoring our prisoners, but about inviting us to make a Settlement near their country, to which all the Hiroquois Nations could come for their trade. They were answered, that they would be willingly heard, but that we were awaiting the great Captain, who had been informed of all that had occurred, They made long harangues upon the condition of their country, and upon the desire that all the Hiroquois Nations had to see themselves allied with the French; and, as evidence of their sentiments, [151] they made a little present beforehand, while awaiting the coming of Onontio.
The next day three hostile canoes moved up and down before the fort, within hearing; one of the oldest men belonging to this squadron cried with a loud voice, speaking to the Savages: “Listen to me! I come to treat for peace with all the Nations of these [Page 39] parts, with the Montagnais, with the Algonquins, with the Hurons; the land shall be beautiful, the river shall have no more waves, one may go everywhere without fear.” An Algonquin Captain, perceiving the knavery of this impostor, answered him in a louder voice, and in a harsh tone: “I represent, in their absence, all the Nations thou hast named; and I tell thee, in their name, that thou art a liar. If thou camest to treat for peace, thou wouldst deliver at least one of our prisoners, according to our custom, and thou wouldst commit no act of hostility; but every day thou art on the watch to surprise us, and thou massacrest all whom thou canst entrap.” This being said, each one retired to his own quarters. In the meantime, the canoe that had been sent to Kebec made all possible haste. [152] Monsieur the Governor, having received the news, armed in a trite a bark and four shallops, took with him Father Vimont, our Superior, and voyaged against winds and against tides; but, seeing that the bark did not advance, he took the lead with his shallops, the sailors and soldiers rowing with all their might. At length they arrived at the Three Rivers, sooner than they had hoped. As soon as the enemy perceived them, they withdrew into their stronghold; they were, however, so enraged against the Algonquins that, an hour before Monsieur the Governor went to them, they fell upon an Algonquin canoe, managed by two men and one woman; the latter was killed, one of the men was taken prisoner, and the other escaped. On the preceding day, Anerawi, a war Captain of the upper Algonquins, had escaped from their hands, hating seen them far off at the mouth of the large Lake near the Three Rivers, all the avenues of which they guarded with a multitude of their canoes. [Page 41]
[153] CHAPTER X.
OF THE DELIVERANCE OF THE FRENCH PRISONERS
AND THE PARLEY CONCERNING PEACE
WITH THE HIROQUOIS.
M
ONSIEUR the Chevalier de Montmagny, having learned from the French prisoners, the mood of these Barbarians, and having discovered their malice by their actions, conducted himself with great prudence and tact. He cast anchor before their fort, within musket range; these Barbarians made, very adroitly, a salute of thirty-six or forty shots from their arquebuses. That being done, two canoes came from the Hiroquois to meet him, on board of which were put Father Ragueneau and the sieur Nicolet, that they might go and speak for the two prisoners, withdraw them from their hands, and hear the propositions for the peace which they came to seek. All four then entered the stronghold or fort of the Hiroquois, whom they found [154] seated in a circle, in very good order, without tumult and without noise. They had the two negotiators of the peace sit upon a shield, and the two prisoners on the ground, binding these as a matter of form, to show that they were still captives. Thereupon, one of the Captains, named Onagan, arose, took the Sun as a witness of the sincerity of his proceeding, and then spoke in these terms:
“ These two young men whom you see, are Hiroquois, they are no longer Frenchmen, the right of [Page 43] war has made them ours; formerly the mere name of Frenchmen struck terror to our hearts, their look appalled us, and we fled from them as from Demons, whom one does not dare to approach; but at last, we have learned to change Frenchmen into Hiroquois. These two whom you see before your eyes were taken this winter by a squad of our young men. Finding themselves in our hands, they feared lest they should be ill treated; but they were told that the Hiroquois were seeking the alliance of the French, “and that no one would harm them. ‘If that be so,’ said they, ‘let one of [155] us return to the French, to inform them of your good intentions, and let the other go away into your country.’ We replied that it would be more to the purpose if both of them should come to comfort all the Hiroquois Nations by their presence, since these all had affection for the French. Indeed, the more distant tribes made us presents; in order to save their lives. Their attractions were not needed to inspire in us love and affection towards you, our hearts were already wholly inclined thereto; you will learn from them that they have been treated as friends, and not as slaves. As soon as Spring appeared, we set out upon our way to bring them back; they are still Hiroquois, but immediately they will be French; let us rather say that they will be French and Hiroquois at the same time, for we shall be only one people.” Saying that, he took the hands of Father Ragueneau, and of the sieur Nicolet, the delegates to negotiate peace, then touching them on the face and on the chin, he said to them: “Not only shall our customs be your customs, but we shall be so closely united that our chins [156] shall be reclothed with hair, and with beards [Page 45] like yours.’’ After some other ceremonies, he approached the captives, broke their bonds, and tossed these over the palisades of their fort, exclaiming: “Let the river carry these cords so far away that there may never be a remembrance of them; these young men are no longer captives, —their bands are broken, they are now wholly yours.” Then taking a Porcelain collar, he presented it to the Negotiators of the peace with these words: “Keep forever this collar, as a sign of their full and entire liberty.” Then causing two packages of beaver skins to be brought, “I do not wish,” said he, “to restore you wholly destitute to your brothers; here is something to make for each of them a beautiful robe.” He made then a number of presents, according to the custom of the country, in which the term “present” is called “the word,’’ in order to make clear that it is the present which speaks more forcibly than the lips; he made four of these in the name of the four Hiroquois Nations, as a sign that they desired our alliance. Lifting up a beaver robe, “Behold,” said he, “the standard that you shall plant upon your fort, when you shall see our canoes appear [157] upon this great river; and, when we see this signal of your friendship, we shall land with confidence at your ports.” Taking another porcelain collar, he put it on the ground in the form of a circle; “See,” said he, “the house that we shall have at the Three Rivers, when we come there to trade with you; we shall smoke therein without fear, since we shall have Onontio for a brother.”
The peace Deputies expressed to these Barbarians a great satisfaction in all that had taken place in this council; they added that they were going to make a [Page 47] full report of the whole to Monsieur the Governor, who would not be able to speak to them until the following day, because it was already late; they carried away their presents, and took back the two liberated prisoners. As they were going away, this Captain called to them: “Say to Onontio that we beg him to conceal the hatchets of the Montagnais and of the Algonquins under his robe, while we are negotiating peace.” They promised, on their part, that they would chase no Algonquin canoe, and that they would set no ambush for them; but their promise was only perfidy, for the Frenchmen [158] had hardly withdrawn to the port of the Three Rivers before they pursued four Algonquin canoes, which were returning from the chase well laden with provisions and with pelts; the men were scarcely able to escape, all their baggage was plundered, and a poor woman, burdened with her child, was taken.
Monsieur the Chevalier de Montmagny judged from the report that had been made to him, and from the behavior that he had observed in this crafty and treacherous enemy, that the fear of the French arms made them desire peace with us in order that they might be able to massacre with more liberty, even before our eyes, the tribes which are our confederates; nevertheless, as he is prudent and skillful, he sought means of inducing these Barbarians to enter into a firm, universal peace with all the Nations which are allied to us. The next day, the feast of Saint Barnabas, these Barbarians, who did not dare to approach the fort, for fear of the Algonquins, awaited with impatience Monsieur the Governor; but the winds and the rain detained him, so that it was not until the following day that he set out in his [Page 49] shallops, [159] laden with seventy men, well armed. He came to anchor before their fort; but the bad faith of these Barbarians making them guilty, aroused in them distrust, based upon a day’s delay which was caused by the bad weather, and upon the acts of hostility which they themselves had committed, suspecting with reason that we had knowledge of them. We expected that they would come for the Deputies, to the peace, as they had already done, but their mistrust hindered them. They pushed an empty canoe towards our shallops, inviting Monsieur the Governor, Father Ragueneau, and the sieur Nicolet to embark and come to them; their design was to slay them, as a young Algonquin who had escaped from their hands told us afterward. This wholly brutal proceeding caused us to be more than ever on our guard. The Captains were invited to come and listen to our words, as we had listened to theirs; no news from that! They were urged to send some Hurons, those who had been naturalized among them, and had become Hiroquois; to this they raised great objections. [160] At last, two approached our shallops in a canoe; they looked around on all sides, to see if some Algonquin might not be concealed among us; but not perceiving any, three Hiroquois Captains embarked in another canoe; when they had approached within pistol-shot, they invited Onontio, that is, Monsieur our Governor, to speak, —in other words, to offer his presents.
I shall not relate the speech he made to them by, his interpreter; it will suffice to say a few words of the manner in which he offered his presents to them, in compliance with the code of these peoples; his gifts surpassed by far those of the Barbarians. [Page 51]
He made one as thanks for the good cheer that had been given to our Frenchmen in their country, —he offered blankets, for the mats that had been spread under them during the nights; he gave hatchets, for the wood that had been cut in order to warm them in the time of winter; robes or hoods, for having reclothed them; knives, in the place of those that had been used in cutting off the heads of [161] deer, of which they had made them feasts. Some other presents were for the Nations who sought our alliance, and others still, as a sign that they should see upon our bastions the standards of peace, and that they should find a house of security near us.
All these gifts were accepted by these Barbarians —apparently with great evidences of affection; but as they saw no arquebuses, for which they have a strange longing, they said we had not spoken of breaking the bonds of our captives whom they had set at liberty. Thereupon, still other presents were made to them for having struck off these bonds; but as we did not mention firearms, which was the most ardent of their wishes, that incited them to speak again. They then presented a porcelain collar as an invitation to us to make a settlement in their country; they gave a second one to serve as a conveyance, or as oars to our barks, that we might ascend thither; they offered a third one in the name of the Hiroquois youth, that their uncle Onontio, the great Captain of the French, might present to them some. [162] arquebuses; they brought forward a fourth one as a pledge of the peace which they wished to make with the Montagnais, with the Algonquins, and with the Hurons, our allies. They produced some beaver skins, as security that on returning to their Villages [Page 53] they would call a general assembly of the most distinguished persons of all the Hiroquois Nations in order to publish everywhere the generosity and the liberality of the French; in short, they made a last present to declare that they would give a kick to the Dutch, with whom they no longer wished to have any intercourse, they said. Observe, I beseech you by the way, the procedure of these people and no longer tell me that the Savages are brute beasts; certainly they do not lack good training. Their design was to make a patched up peace with us, so as to be free from the dread they have of our arms, and to massacre, without fear, our confederates. Could they more artfully induce us to give them arms? could they more ingeniously insinuate themselves into our friendship, than by restoring to us our prisoners [163] and offering to us gifts, than by indicating their willingness to be on good terms with those whom we protect in their presence, than by inviting us into their country, assuring us that they prefer us to the Dutch, extolling us above the generality of men? Such is their conduct, which lacks indeed the true Spirit of the children of God, but not the spirit of the children of the world. Monsieur our Governor, more discreet and prudent than these simple people are crafty, asked the advice of the Reverend Father Vimont, and of Father Ragueneau, on the present occasion; but, they having excused themselves from speaking upon a matter of war, he concluded, after having gathered the opinions of the leading men who accompanied him, that he ought not to make peace with these people to the exclusion of our confederates, —otherwise, we might enter into a more dangerous war than that which we wished to [Page 55] avoid; for if these peoples, with whom we live day by day, and who surround us on all sides, attacked us, as they might do, should we abandon them, they would give us [164] much more trouble than the Hiroquois. Moreover, if the Hiroquois had free access to our ports, the trade of the Hurons, of the Algonquins, and of the other tribes who come to the warehouses of the Gentlemen of New France, would be entirely stopped; I say still more, —that from this very moment the trade is going to be ruined unless the inroads of these Barbarians be prevented. After all, neither Monsieur our Governor, nor any of the Frenchmen, could decide on throwing into the jaws of the enemy the new Christians who publicly profess themselves Frenchmen: it is also true that our good King, whom may God bless in time and in eternity, looked upon them and recognized them as his Subjects in the gift that he made of these regions to the Gentlemen of New France.
Monsieur the Chevalier de Montmagny, apprehending the force of these reasons, judged that it would be necessary to make the Hiroquois speak plainly; he gave notice to them that, if they wished a universal peace, it would be granted to them with great satisfaction by the French, and by [165] their confederates; and that, if the present which they had made to the Algonquins for the purpose of entering into a peace with them were without pretense, they would immediately deliver one of the prisoners they had recently seized, such being the custom of friendly and allied nations. They replied that on the following day they would cross the great river, in order to come and treat of this affair with the Algonquins in our fort, and that we should withdraw. Monsieur the Governor, seeing well that their design was to [Page 57] escape in the obscurity of the night, replied that he desired to take back with him an Algonquin captive in order to restore him to his allied brothers, as an evidence of the peace which they wished to conclude. They pretended a willingness to give up one; but they finally replied that we should retire, and that, this affair being important, they would confer upon it among themselves during the night. Monsieur the Governor had them told that they might treat of it at their pleasure, but that he would not withdraw until he had seen the course of their resolution. While they were parleying, lo! seven Algonquin canoes, —ignorant of the coming of [166] the enemy, and filled with men, and game, and beavers, —appeared above on the great river. The young Hiroquois warriors, having perceived them, with difficulty restrained themselves, —their hands itched, as one says; but the presence of our armed shallops and of the bark —which, not having yet been able to ascend, began to appear drawing toward us with its sails unfurled —stopped them, and caused them to retire into their fort with some talk of setting at liberty, as soon as possible, an Algonquin captive. The execution of their promises was awaited; a full half-hour slipped by in profound silence; then suddenly was heard so horrible and frightful an uproar and clashing of hatchets, a fall and wreck of so many trees, that it seemed as if the whole forest were being overthrown; and then we were more than ever aware of their knavery. Monsieur the Governor, wishing to put them completely in the wrong before coming to hostilities, decided to spend the night on the water with his bark and shallops, in order to prevent their flight, and to sound them yet once more on their opinions concerning peace. [Page 59]
[167] CHAPTER XI.
OF THE WAR WITH THE HIROQUOIS.
T
HE next morning, Monsieur the Chevalier de Montmagny had a canoe equipped with a flag, in order to invite the Captains to a parley; they despised the canoe, the flag, and the herald. They assailed us with jeers and barbaric yells; they reproached us that Onontio had not given them arquebuses to eat —this is their way of speaking, to say that he did not make them a present of these; they erected above their fort, as a flag denoting war, a scalp which they had taken from some Algonquin; they shot arrows at our shallops. All these acts of insolence made Monsieur the Governor resolve to give them arquebuses to eat, but not in the way that they asked: he ordered to be discharged upon their fort the brass pieces of the bark, the swivel guns of the shallops, and all the [168] musketry; all this was done by the French with such ardor, and so repeatedly, that although the enemy, by a stratagem that would not be expected from the Savages, indeed put themselves in safety, they nevertheless took such fright that, as soon as they were shielded by the darkness of the night, they carried their canoes through the woods, that they might embark a quarter of a league further above us and escape from our hands. When this was discovered, we resolved to pursue them; the shallops were rowed with all force, but the adverse wind and tide hindered them. Some [Page 61] Algonquin canoes attempted to give them chase; but, as they were few in number compared with the Hiroquois, Monsieur the Governor called them back. A young Algonquin, who had been for two years among the Hiroquois, and who escaped in this retreat, reported to us that these Barbarians were afraid of our cannon, and that if we had been able to approach them they would have been defeated, —that is to say, we should have put them to flight in the woods; for, as to killing many of them, that is something to which the French cannot pretend, inasmuch [169] as they run like deer, they bound like harts, and they know better the ways of these vast and dreadful forests than do the wild beasts, whose dwelling they are; the French did not lightly venture to entangle themselves in these dense woods.
After their retreat we saw, more than ever, their cunning and ability; they had a fort rather near the shore of the great river, from which they spoke to us; they had another, hidden further within the woods, but so well constructed and so well supplied that it was proof against all our resources. Now, mistrusting that we might come to hostilities with them, on account of the resolution they had made to continue war with our Savage allies, during the night they put their canoes in safety; they transported all their baggage to their second fort, to which they themselves secretly retired; and, to the end that we should believe them to be in the first one at which we were firing, having no knowledge of the second, they kept therein a fire continually burning. They left there also their arquebusiers, [170] who, after having fired some shots, came out to take closer aim at us, skulking behind trees and shooting very [Page 63] skillfully. They let loose their whole fury upon our bark, knowing that Monsieur the Governor was therein; and truly, if it had not been well shielded, they would have wounded and killed several of our men, —a French sword, being visible above the screens, was carried away by an arquebus shot, many ropes were cut, and all the screens were filled with balls. They effected their retreat with good management, for they had charged their arquebusiers to fight valiantly, as they did, so that they might not be perceived while they carried across marshes and woods their baggage and their canoes. When night came they made their escape, as I remarked above. Thus the war with these tribes has broken out more fiercely than ever; but let us see what followed.
They had set out from their own country five hundred warriors strong, as I have already said; one band had gone to meet the Hurons, in order to set ambushes for them, [171] and to await them as one awaits a wild beast in its flight. While these were on the watch, they perceived two canoes which were bringing to us Father de Brébeuf and some Frenchmen, but having descried them rather late, in a place where it was possible to escape by vigorous paddling, they let them go on without pursuing them or revealing themselves. It was a great proof of the goodness and of the providence of our Lord towards the Father, and towards those who accompanied him; for five other canoes filled with Hurons, coming shortly after, were attacked by these robbers, who massacred some of them; others escaped, and others fell alive into their hands, to be the sport of flames and of their rage, and to be the food of their wretched stomachs. Such is the funeral and such the tomb [Page 65] that awaits us, if ever we happen to die by the claws of these tigers, and the fury of these Demons.
One of those who had escaped from this ambuscade went at once to the Three Rivers, the others ascended towards the country of the Hurons, to warn those who were coming down of the danger by which they might be lost. Some [172] time after this defeat, Father Paul Ragueneau and Father René Ménard, while reascending to the country of the Hurons, escorted by some canoes, met eight or ten Savages who told them that their lives would be lost if they went further, as the enemy had not yet withdrawn. At this unexpected news, these canoes returned to the Three Rivers for the purpose of asking assistance from the Algonquins; these last exhorted them to go as far as Kebec in order to procure arms from the fort, and aid from the Christian Savages of Saint. Joseph, —promising themselves to meet that escort. Father de Brébeuf, Father Ragueneau, and the good Charles Sondatsaa undertook this commission; they came to Monsieur the Governor, who shipped some well-armed and very resolute soldiers, commending them to the new Christians of Saint Joseph, who on their part armed eight canoes for the same purpose. When they were ready to set out, two Savages arrived from the country of the Abnaquiois, who told as news that the whole country of the Hiroquois breathed only [173] war; that the English had abandoned the settlement they had made at Quinibequi; and that a man named Makheabichtichiou, of whom I have spoken above, had been wretchedly slain in their own country, by an Abnaquiois nearer to the sea. They said that this deed was done in drunkenness; that all his Countrymen had strongly disapproved of [Page 67] it, and that they had been sent to give satisfaction to the parents and to the relatives and to the whole Nation of the deceased. Now, as his relatives were for the most part at the Three Rivers, these two Abnaquiois had embarked with the fleet to go to them; the report of their arrival having already spread, our warriors, who had taken into their own canoes these two Ambassadors, met a rather unfriendly reception from the Algonquins.
They were told at first, that these Algonquins were inclined to seize the Abnaquiois, that they might put them to death, contrary to the law of all Nations; for they came to treat of peace. Jean Baptiste Etinechkawat and Noël Negabamat, who are the two principal Chiefs of Saint Joseph, seeing that the Algonquins were crowding together, and that some were [174] armed, commanded those who were following them to make a halt and to load their arquebuses with balls. At these words, a young’ Algonquin advanced, knife in hand, to thrust it at one of the Abnaquiois, but this last, taking a step, backward, presented to him the muzzle of his arquebus. The Algonquins exclaimed that it was a feint, —that their custom is to terrify those who bring news of the death of any one of their Nation, even though they come as Delegates and as Mediators of peace.
At these words, each one stood still; they looked, although rather coldly, on the Abnaquiois discussing their affair; and an Algonquin Captain, a near relative of one of our Saint Joseph Christians, approaching and addressing him, said: “My nephew, I am very glad at thy coming.” “And I,” said this young Christian, “was much astonished, on landing at the [Page 69] Three Rivers, to see that arms had been seized. ‘Indeed,’ said I to myself, ‘have we already arrived in the country of the enemy?’ When I left Saint Joseph, I said in my heart, ‘I shall find my [175] relatives at the Three Rivers, —I shall surely be consoled by seeing them;’ but as soon as I had set foot on land I found the country of the Hiroquois, for we were commanded to load with balls.” “Didst thou load?” said his uncle to him. “Yes,” responded he, “I put two balls into my arquebus.” “Wouldst thou have fired on thy relatives?” “I would have obeyed our Captains, and fired right and left: I am on the side of those who believe in God.” These responses made me see the strength of faith so much the more as these Savages are closely bound to their relatives: but Jesus Christ came to break this bond. Veni separare hominem adversus patrem suum.
When this tumult was appeased, the sieur de Chanflour ordered the chief Montagnais and Algonquin Savages to be called, and to be asked when they would set out to escort the Hurons. The Algonquins made a sign to Jean Baptiste Etinechkawat, a Montagnais Captain, that this was for him to say; his speech was comprised in a single word, —“ I am a Frenchman,” said he, “I have nothing more to say.’’ This word was worth ten thousand; he meant that he was a Christian and a Frenchman at the same time, [176] that he was ready to obey the will of him who commanded the French, and that, in so urgent an affair, it was not a question of much speaking, but of marching without delay.
The Apostate Oumasatikeie began to speak with a thousand impertinences; at last he came to the conclusion that the enemy had departed, and consequently [Page 71] that there was no need of giving an escort to the Hurons.
Charles Sondatsaa, a Huron, thereupon vigorously harangued, —he pictured the danger and urged the Algonquins; but he spoke to those who had closed ears, and who rushed from the assembly as soon as they had inflicted their blow. The question now was, to see if the Christians in these eight canoes, which also bore a few French soldiers, would go on with the Hurons; their small number in comparison with the enemy was enough to terrify them. The French soldiers were asked if, seeing themselves destitute of help from the Algonquins, they were willing to go on further; they answered with a truly generous firmness that, Monsieur the Governor having commanded them to accompany the [177] Christian Savages of Saint Joseph, they would never abandon them on account of any danger. Faith has an indescribable bond which unites hearts. The soldiers, on their return, spoke in the highest terms of our Neophytes, and our Neophytes could not sufficiently praise the soldiers. Here then were our French soldiers ready to embark, if the Christians in these eight canoes wished to go on. They were asked what their opinion was; they answered that it was not for them to decide it, that they were wholly disposed to receive the orders and commands of the French. This troubled the sieur de Chanflour, and all those who were present; not even one voted that they ought to command this voyage, no person was willing to expose these good Neophytes to the great dangers that were dreaded. “This small number of Christians,” said some one, “is like the yeast which ought to leaven the whole mass of Christianity [Page 73] in these regions; if they are defeated, the Unbelievers will become more troublesome than ever, and will accuse us of having forced to their death those who have received our belief.” On account of these objections, the poor [178] Hurons, seeing themselves abandoned by all aid, were much distressed, and we as well as they; for Father Paul Ragueneau and Father René Ménard were to accompany them.
At length, our Lord consoled us; for, at the very time they had resolved to set out, a Huron canoe arrived, and we learned that the enemy had retired; so that the Fathers went on with the good Charles Sondatsaa and the other Hurons without any other discomfort than the great fatigues of a most frightful road.
A short time after their departure, some other canoes arrived, bearing Hurons, who greatly slandered poor Father de Brébeuf; they said that, having met a Huron who had escaped from the hands of the enemy, they had learned from him what I am going to relate. “Being in the hands of the Hiroquois,’’ said this escaped prisoner, “one of them spoke to me in this wise: ‘We have an acquaintance and a good understanding with the black-robed Frenchmen who are in your country, and especially with a certain man whom you call Echon,’ “ —it is thus they name Father Jean de Brébeuf; [179] “‘ this man spent the winter among the neutral Nation, where he had communication with the Hiroquois, our confederates; he combined with them and with us that he might ruin you.” Take courage,” said he to them; “we entered into the country of the Hurons in order to exterminate them; we have already caused a great number of them to die by our [Page 75] prayers, as by powerful charms; but we have not been able to destroy them entirely. You must give the finishing stroke to them, by your wars and by your sudden attacks; when they shall be wholly destroyed, we will dwell with you in your country.” When our confederates had informed us of all this, we came to lie in ambush for you. We recognized Echon, and visited him at night; he made us presents, and we let him go away. He apprised us of the canoes which were following him, and thus you have fallen into our hands, ’” said the Hiroquois to this prisoner, according to the report of the calumniators who contrived these impostures in order to ruin us. Saint Paul was quite right in saying that, Si in hac vita tantùm in Christo sperantes [180] sumus, miserabiliores sumus omnibus hominibus. If we expect nothing in the other life, we are more miserable than the rest of men; for those to whom we give our lives in these immense labors, procure our death by the most iniquitous means in the world,
Before concluding this chapter, I must notice an act of magnanimity in our Christians of Saint Joseph, during the sojourn they made at the Three Rivers; their Captain having said in open assembly that he was a Frenchman, since he had embraced their belief, a certain Unbeliever —an impudent man, wishing to affront him and all his people —walked around his cabin, and cried aloud to him: “Go then, thou Frenchman, that is right, go away into thine own country. Embark in the Ships, since thou art a Frenchman; cross the sea, and go to thine own land; thou hast for too long a time caused us to die here.” This Captain came to me immediately, without replying a word. “My heart wishes to be wicked,” said [Page 77] he, “but I shall not obey it; if I had not [181] given up my old habits, I would certainly lower the pride of that impudent man; but since one must not be a halfway Christian, I will say no word to him, I will do him no harm. I know well that they say I have no sense, because I have embraced the faith; they accuse me of causing their death since I have begged them to be instructed. Their calumnies would have troubled me, formerly; but, as I have given my word to God, I intend to do all that is commanded me. I will not cast at them any reproach, which would be very easy for me to do, —not only because their life is no better than ours, but because I have never received any of their presents, although we have several times made presents to them.” Grace has strange effects; it is also true that the God who gives it is an all-powerful God. [Page 79]
[182] CHAPTER XII.
OF A MISSION HELD AT TADOUSSAC.
A
LTHOUGH the Savages of Tadoussac are almost the first ones that our vessels meet, yet the good news of the Gospel was carried to them only after it had been taken to many others; and still it must be confessed that it was not we who won them, but our Neophytes, or new Christians of the Residence of Saint Joseph. When they visited one another on both sides, and saw that the chief Savages of this Residence made public profession of the faith, they derided them in the beginning; but, at length, the good example and the good conversation of their Tribesmen made them love that which they had hated, and seek that which they had abhorred. Last year our Neophytes, as I have observed, went to invite them by means of a fine present to come and dwell with them at Saint Joseph, [183] that they might hear of the blessings of the other life. They answered by another present that they were not estranged from the faith, but desired that some one should come and instruct them in their own country. Indeed, they appointed Charles Meiachkawat, who was not yet baptized, to come for a Father of our Society, and conduct him to Tadoussac, where would also be found some Savages of the tribes from the Sagné; as the Father for whom they asked was occupied elsewhere, they were promised that we would not fail to assist them in the Spring. [Page 81]
On the twelfth of May, the Captain of Tadoussac came to our Reverend Father Superior to claim the fulfillment of his promise; the Father most willingly granted him the one of our Society for whom he asked. As soon as our Saint Joseph Christians were aware of this voyage, they came to the Father imploring him to speak to Tadoussac, —that is to say, to make presents in order to draw to Saint Joseph the remains of these poor tribes, “Beg Monsieur our Captain,’’ said they to him, “to speak also, —perhaps they will respect [184] his word; if they come to dwell with us, we will speak on our own part,“ —that is to say, “we will make them presents,“ —“ that they may clear up the ground on which they shall place their cabins or their houses.” Monsieur the Governor, seeing that this plan tended to the glory of our Lord, made his present, with which we joined our own, that we might offer them according to the instructions given us by our Neophytes, for they informed us minutely how we should speak. This done, the Father entered a bark which was going down to Tadoussac, and contrary winds detained him for some time on the way; but let us hear him speak of his voyage.
“ On Wednesday, the eve of the most Holy Sacrament, the Savages came in a canoe to meet us; as I saw that the winds, which had seemed inclined to make a truce with us, were recommencing their war, I set out with them, promising our Frenchmen that I would come to say holy Mass for them on the following day, if the weather permitted. The Savages conducted me to a place where there was neither soil nor [185] tree; it was on the rocks, where they would have passed the night with no other covering [Page 83] than the sky if I had not been with them. I urged them immediately to seek a place, however poor, where we might erect a cabin; having found one, they spread their sheets of bark on five or six poles, and well it was for them, and for me also,” said the Father, “for we were beaten all night by the wind and the rain.
“ The next day, not being able to approach the bark, I spent the great feast of our Lord in this house, —very poor in worldly goods, but richly provided with the blessings of heaven. The greater part of the Savages were Christians: I told them of the honor that was paid on that day to the Son of God, with pomp and magnificence, in the whole of Europe. Then I erected a little Altar that I might say holy Mass; they aided me with so much affection that I was greatly moved thereby; on seeing that the place where I should walk was very damp and muddy, they threw a robe upon the ground to serve me for a carpet. I stretched a little altar cloth across the cabin, to separate the [186] faithful from the unbelievers; then I began holy Mass, not without astonishment that the God of gods should stoop once more to a place more wretched than the stable of Bethlehem. These good people wished to confess and receive communion, but I put them off until the following Sunday. The Savages who had not been baptized maintained a profound silence during this divine Sacrifice, and they also had a great desire to be Christians.
“ The tempest detained us two days and two nights, prisoners under this bark shelter, which was more open than a courtyard. As we were thinking of our departure, the sieur Marsolet[2], who [Page 85] commanded the bark, wrote me these few words, and a young Savage brought me the letter: ‘The Savage surnamed Boyer has come to our bark; he says he has come expressly for you, to take you to Tadoussac. He awaits you here: send him, if you please, a word of reply. I have given to the bearer of this a little bread and some prunes, knowing well that you have need of them. ’
“ When I received these few words, I went to [187] the bark; the Savage who had come to meet me urged my going to Tadoussac, saying that all who were there ardently desired to be instructed; I went there in the canoe which came for me. When I arrived, they manifested to me every sort of good will; they all received me with great friendliness. I visited the sick; I found a woman dangerously ill; I instructed and baptized her, and God took her to heaven. Cujus vult, miseretur, God chooses whomsoever he pleases. This poor woman was waiting for this passport that she might enter Paradise.
“ As soon as I had arrived,” continued the Father, “the Savages built me a house after their fashion. It was soon set up; the young men went to search for bark, the girls and the women for branches of fir, to line it with a beautiful green; the older men did the carpentry, which consisted of some poles that they bent to form a bower, and spread thereon the bark of ash or of spruce; and lo! a Church and a house were quickly built. In the beginning, I wondered [188] where they would cut the bark, so as to make windows; but, when the house was finished, I saw that it was not necessary to take that trouble, for there was enough air and light without windows. I erected within an Altar; I made my little retreat [Page 87] hard by, and I was more content than in a Louvre, and as well lodged. The door alone troubled me, for I desired the means of fastening it when I went out; the Savages, who use only a piece of bark or a skin to close their cabins, did not seem to me sufficiently good carpenters to make my palace secure; but Charles Meiachkawat showed me that they were. He went in search of two pieces of board, nailed them together, and made a little door; I had with me a padlock dangling from a small bag, and he discovered a way of using it to lock up my house, Here I am, then, lodged like a young Prince, in a Palace built in three hours. As I apprehended annoyance from the children, the Captain made a great shout among the cabins and charged the young people not to enter my dwelling except with my permission: ‘0 youth!’ said he, ‘and [189] you, 0 children! respect our Father. Go and visit him; but when he is praying, or is engaged, retire without noise; carry him fish, when’ you catch them.’ The children followed me everywhere, and called me their Father; they brought me their fish, and I gave them a little biscuit; in a word, I was at peace in my house of bark, when I chose to be, for I took the liberty from the very beginning of sending away all whom I would, when I was occupied.” Although it is an unheard —of thing for a Savage to refuse the door of his cabin to another Savage, nevertheless, no one took offense at the Father’s manner of dealing with them. It is necessary from the very beginning to give the bent you desire to these simple people; they are reasonable, and are not surprised that our ways are different from theirs.
“ Some time after my arrival, I made for the Savages [Page 89] a feast of Indian corn, which they like exceedingly; I had had it brought in the bark expressly for this purpose. I meant to speak during this feast, but the Savages [90 i.e., 190] having discovered my intention, put me off until another time. Toward evening, when the sieur Marsolet and I wished to exhibit the presents of Monsieur the Governor and our own, the Captain ran to meet us, and spoke to me in these terms: ‘My Father, there is no need of making us presents to invite us to believe in God; we have all before this resolved to do so, Heaven is a sufficiently great recompense; we do not wish to be proud, nor to boast of being honored by your presents; let it suffice for all speech that you teach us the way to heaven. Without entering upon further discussion, all those whom you see here have resolved to pray, but not to leave their country to ascend the river.’ He brought forward many reasons to show that it was important to them, not to withdraw from Tadoussac. In fact, his remarks were good, but based upon human and temporal considerations. Thus, then, we were checked in making our presents. Charles’ Meiachkawat who had retired, as I have already said, from Tadoussac, that he might live as a child of God at Saint Joseph, spoke to them several times, very earnestly, [191] but above their comprehension, for men do not promptly lay aside the interests of the world, although that be but a point in comparison with heaven. ‘Ah! I see well,’ said this good man, ‘that the Devil detains you here; he gives you notions that you will be poor if you abandon your country, —he makes you imagine that the riches of the earth are of great importance; and how will all that help you at the [Page 91] hour of death? He well knows that he cannot deprive you of the determination that you have to believe in God; but he will put you under the impossibility of carrying it into effect, by keeping you in a place where you cannot be instructed. As soon as you no longer see the Father, you will no longer think of God; who will counsel you in your difficulties? who will hinder you from falling back into your superstitious chants, and into your feasts? If any one have a drum, who will have the hardihood to take it from him? “We have thrown them all away,” you say as if you could not make others! Although I myself believe with all my heart, yet it seems, when I am a long time absent from the [192] Fathers, that my old ideas are inclined to return; this is why, even should I become the poorest creature in the world, I would never leave them.’ This good Neophyte did not cease morning and evening, and even at night, to urge his Tribesmen to come and dwell with those who teach the way of salvation. The Savages, when urged by these reasons, concluded, not that it was necessary to ascend to Kebec, but that it was expedient for us to descend to Tadoussac, and set up a House there, that we might instruct them. ‘The neighboring Tribes will come and dwell there,’ they said, ‘they will unquestionably embrace the faith.’” But the country is so wretched, that soil is scarcely found therein for their graves; there are only barren and frightful rocks. If, nevertheless, Monsieur the general, and the fleet of the Gentlemen of New France, which passes some months of every year at Tadoussac, should cause a house to be built there by their order, like the one Monsieur du Plessis Bochart[3] had [Page 93] commenced, that would be a benefit to all their crews, and to the poor Savages; for some Fathers of our Society could withdraw there [193] in the Spring and remain until the departure of the vessels, so that they might aid the Frenchmen and the Savages in their spiritual needs. To dwell there during the winter is a thing I should never advise any Frenchman to do; for the Savages go away at that time, abandoning their rocks to the cold and the snow and the ice, of which some remains are still seen this year very late in the month of June. Moreover, I do not doubt in the least that, if the fury of the Hiroquois can be checked, all the Savages of Tadoussac, and of the Sagné, and of many other small Tribes, will go farther up the river, if we continue to aid them. But let us hear all the observations of the Father.
“ During the stay I made there, these good people,” said he, “invited me ordinarily to their councils; they imparted to me their little affairs; they asked me to their feasts, treating me as their father. They made a feast over the graves of their dead, immediately after my arrival, at which they served eight moose and ten beavers; the Captain, haranguing, said that the souls of the deceased [194] took great pleasure in the odor of these good viands. I wished to speak, in order to refute this error, but they said to me: ‘‘Do not be troubled; this will not hinder our believing, and we are going soon to throw aside all of our old customs.’
“ See how I employed my time among them. At daybreak, which was about three or four o’clock in the morning, I went and offered up prayers to God in their cabins: then I said holy Mass, at which all [Page 95] the Christians who had come down to Tadoussac, in order to trade, were present every day, —not unfrequently making confession and receiving communion. Mass having been said, I withdrew apart, beyond the noise of the cabins, in order to have a little time for myself; afterward I visited the sick, then I brought the children together, to teach them the Catechism. The Sun did not regulate my rising up, or my lying down, or the hour of my repasts, but convenience alone, which was hardly advantageous or favorable to my body.
“ I gave some time after dinner, —now to the men, and then to the women, [195] who assembled that they might be instructed; and toward evening, after having retired by myself for some time, I had prayers offered, with a public instruction, when the children gave an account before their fathers and mothers of what they had learned in the Catechism; this encouraged them, and infinitely gratified their parents.
“ I have seen some of them so eager to be instructed that they have spent whole nights with our Christians waiting to be told and retold a single thing, that it might be fixed in their memories. I questioned publicly the most aged, as I did the children, and all gave me an account of what I had taught them. In a word, if this Mission is arduous, it is enriched with much consolation.
“ On a certain day, I told them that some Frenchmen had said to me, on my leaving Kebec, that I could do with them anything I would, before the arrival of the Vessels; but that on the landing of the Ships they could no longer be restrained, —that they would be intoxicated from morning until night. One of them, beginning to speak, said to me [Page 97] good-naturedly: ‘My Father, make a wager with [196] those who told thee that, and we will see that thou dost win, for assuredly we will not be intoxicated. Remain with us until the fleet comes, and we will bring thee all the liquors that we have, —thou shalt be the Cupbearer and the distributer of them; thou shalt pour them out for us with thine own hand, and we will not exceed the measure that thou shalt give us.’
“ I saw some young men of the Sagné here, who had never seen any Frenchmen; they were much astonished to hear me speak their own Language. They asked from what place I was; they were told that I was from Kebec, and was one of their relatives; but they could not believe it at all, for our beards put a difference, almost essential, so to speak, between a European and a Savage. I have had intercourse with some families from the Interior; they are simple people, and very capable of receiving the good grain and rich seed of the Gospel.
“ Being present, on a certain day, at a meeting where the Savages discussed sending their young men with merchandise to these more distant Tribes, I offered to accompany them, that I might speak of God to [197] those poor people; this somewhat troubled them, for they are unwilling that Frenchmen should have a knowledge of their trade, and of what they give to other Savages for their furs, and this they keep so secret that no one is able to discover it. They described to me the horrible and frightful roads, as they are, indeed; but they magnified the horror of them so as to astound me and divert me from my plan. Having perceived their apprehension, I began to discourse upon eternal woes [Page 99] and blessings; and, seeing them touched, I asked them if they would be content that these poor peoples of their acquaintance should fall into those fires. They answered, ‘Certainly not.’ ‘They must then be instructed,’ I replied; ‘who will do it, if you shut the door to me?’ ‘It is true,’ said one of the chiefs; ‘the Father must be permitted to go anywhere; he is not laden with knives, or hatchets, or any goods, he is our Father, and he loves us; I am of opinion that he should go wherever he will.’ All the others having agreed to this, a Captain exclaimed: ‘Go whither thou wilt, my Father; the door is open to thee, [198] to all the Tribes with which we have acquaintance. We will take thee there in our canoes; but remain with us for this Spring, because, having come to instruct us, thou oughtst not to leave us until we have learned the prayers; thou canst go and visit these good people another year.’ When I saw them thus afraid, I told them that they were well aware of my purpose. ‘It is true,’ said one of the chiefs; ‘the Father does not come here for our furs; he has no merchandise in his hands. He loves us, he is our Father; the door to all the Tribes with which we have acquaintance must be opened for him.’ All the others were of the same opinion, but they, nevertheless, besought me to remain there. Those who had not been baptized asked me for Christians who might embark with them, and speak in my place to these peoples. I put some presents into the hands of two Christians in order that they might invite two Tribes to come and lend ear to the good news of the Gospel. They sent back to me other presents, with a message that, if I would stay at Tadoussac, they would come there. One of our Christians of [199] [Page 101] Saint Joseph, brother to a Captain of the Savages who are in the Interior, inviting him to come and see their fields and their grain, so that he might incite him to cultivate the land, the latter responded:’ Work courageously; beg the French to aid you energetically in clearing the land; as soon as you shall have grain, so that you can assist us, we will all go to see you and remain with you; but we fear the Hiroquois.’ ”
Some time after this, Charles Meiachkawat went, on his own account, to invite another Tribe to believe in God; he found these people so well disposed that he was surprised. This is the way in which he entered upon the subject with them: as they had already heard of our faith, by the report of it which had spread throughout these great forests, they asked him if he had any knowledge of it: “Yes, indeed,” said he; “I myself have been baptized, and I believe in him who made heaven and earth.”’’ Then,’’ said they, “instruct this poor sick man whom thou hast visited, and who is dying.” He approached him, spoke to him of the power of God over all men, and of the recourse he should have to him, and caused him to pray [200] and to ask aid of God’s goodness. The sick man after this prayer was half cured; he arose and walked, to the astonishment of his Tribesmen. Charles, seeing them attentive, told them of the creation of the world, of the Incarnation of the Word, —in short, he taught them what he had learned from us. Being weary of speaking, he went away alone, recited his rosary, and communed with himself in holy thoughts, —walking apart, regardless whether his people were astonished at it or not, imitating what he had seen done by the Father who instructed the Savages at [Page 103] Tadoussac. As soon as he reentered the cabin of the sick man, all the other Savages ran toward him; they placed themselves around him in a circle, in profound silence, and he instructed them according to his ability, No longer knowing what to say, he began so strongly to denounce their superstitions and their eat-all feasts, —showing the brutality of their manners, and blessing God that he had forsaken his old barbarism, —and said so many things against the uselessness and the folly of their drums, that all th
