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. XXIX
Iroquois, Lower Canada, Hurons
1646
CLEVELAND: The Burrows Brothers
Company, PUBLISHERS, M DCCC XCVIII
THE JESUIT RELATIONS
AND
ALLIED DOCUMENTS
Vol. XXIX
[Page iii]
The edition consists of sev-
en hundred and fifty sets
all numbered.
No.________
The Burrows Brothers Co.
[Page iv]
Copyright, 1898
by
The Burrows Company
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all rights reserved
The Imperial Press, Cleveland
[Page v]
EDITORIAL STAFF
Editor
Reuben Gold Thwaites
| Finlow Alexander
| Percy Favor Bicknell
Translators.
| Crawford Lindsay
| William Price
| Hiram Allen Sober
Assistant Editor
Emma Helen Blair
Bibliographical Adviser
Victor Hugo Paltsits
Electronic Transcription
Tomasz Mentrak
[Page v]
CONTENTS OF VOL. XXIX.
Preface To Volume XXIX.
9.
Documents:—
LX.
Relation de ce qvi s’est passé en la Novvelle France, és années 1645. & 1646. [Chaps. iii.-x., of Part I.; Chaps. i.-iii., of Part II., — second installment of the document.] Hierosme Lalemant, Quebek, October 28, 1646; Paul Ragueneau, Des Hurons, May 1, 1646
15
Notes
293.
[Page vii]
PREFACE TO VOL. XXIX.
As stated in the Preface to Vol. XXVIII., the Relation of 1645-46 [Doc. LX.) is in two parts — Part I. (dated at Quebec, October 28, 1646) being by the new superior of the Canadian missions, Jerome Lalemant; Part II. (dated in the Huron country, May 1, 1646) being the annual report on the Huron mission, this time by Ragueneau. In Vol. XXVIII. we published the first two chapters of Part I.; there are herewith presented the remaining eight chapters of that part, and the three opening chapters of Part II. — leaving the remainder of the document (five chapters) to form the opening portion of Vol. XXX.
Continuing his Relation, Lalemant describes the “blessed deaths” of Fathers Anne de Noüe and Enemond Massé. The former was frozen to death on the St. Lawrence, while on an errand of charity; a sketch of his life and character is given. Massé — who, with Biard, had first of the Jesuits come to the Canadian mission [161] — died at St. Joseph, an old man. His adventurous, toilsome, and self-denying career is described, and his purity and devoutness are eulogized.
A mission is at last begun in the Iroquois country. Jogues goes to the Mohawks, with Bourdon, as envoy from the French governor; his journey, and the proceedings of the Mohawk council, are related. Having been received there in a friendly manner, [Page 9] devoted missionary resolves to return thither, that he may preach the Gospel to his former tormentors; he therefore departs on this fateful journey, shortly before the present Relation is sent to France.
The residence of St. Joseph, at Sillery, is next discussed, Almost all the Indians who frequent this place are now baptized. They, in turn, have influenced the Attikamegues and Abenakis to seek the truth, and have sent to those tribes some of their own number to preach the Gospel. The Abenakis having asked for a missionary to reside among them, Druillettes has gone to winter with that tribe. Some conversions have occurred among the Algonkins of the Island, but many of these savages “are, in a sense, reprobate.” The Sillery Indians watch over not only their neighbors, but themselves; they will not harbor persistent infidels; no obstacles hinder them from daily attendance at mass; they spend whole days quite without eating, rather than break the prescribed fasts; they punish themselves most severely for petty faults. “The Fathers newly arrived tell us that in France one has no conception of what they here see with their own eyes.‘” At the Christmas season they march — in piercing cold, and fasting — to Quebec, and back to Sillery, to celebrate a jubilee ordered the previous year.
At Three Rivers, — the central point of intercourse and trade with all the upper tribes, — there are a considerable number of Christians; but they are so exposed to annoyance and temptation, from the many pagans who come and go at that settlement, that the missionaries experience great difficulty in maintaining their station there, and in cultivating the Christian virtues in their converts. The latter, in their [Page 10] annual hunt, form a band separate from that of the pagans, and are thus enabled to practice their Christian duties,
The Attikamegues at times come to Three Rivers for confession and communion: these are a simple and innocent folk, who give much comfort to the missionaries. Through them, the knowledge of the faith is beginning to spread to even more distant tribes. Some conversions are recounted in detail.
The savages at Tadoussac are so devoted to their religion that their ignorant zeal carries them into several indiscretions, and their spiritual director is obliged to administer reproofs; they acknowledge, thereupon, that “the devil has led them astray,” and penitently confess their faults, — also offering the Father “a present to take away his sadness ” there — at. As at Sillery, many hitherto pagan tribes are attracted by the new religion that is preached to those at Tadoussac, and many individuals go thither to receive instruction and baptism. When they return to their homes, the Father gives them a set of variously notched and colored sticks, to remind them of their prayers and other duties.
In the island of Montreal, “peace, union, and concord have flourished this year. ” Some Indian bands have settled there, intending to become sedentary; others would do the same, if it were not for rumors of Iroquois hostilities. The Mohawks keep the peace; but the Oneidas and Onondagas are still enemies, and make raids into the Huron country. Several interesting conversions at Montreal are here described. Some Huron families talk of coming down to live on that island, It is hoped that Jogues will succeed in persuading the Mohawks to restrain [Page 11] the upper Iroquois from passing through their lands to harass the French and their allies.
Lalemant relates numerous instances of the courage and fidelity of the neophytes in resisting temptation and repelling the superstitious follies of the pagans. Various cures of sickness are effected by certain relics applied by the Fathers.
In the Tadoussac mission, the children are employed, by the Father in charge there, to search for the drums, fetiches, and other instruments of superstition, which “the children have rendered so ridiculous that there is no longer any one who dares to use them, unless perhaps at night and in the depths of the woods. ”
The writer recounts various savage customs, regarding death and mourning, marriage, etc. He describes the firefly, tree-toad, elk, and other creatures, — also certain traits of the savage character. He mentions the wretched deaths of the Iroquois who had slain Goupil, and tortured Jogues and Bressani.
The Queen of France sends to the Sillery Indians a portrait of herself, her husband, and their heir; this is presented to them with speeches and gifts, after their own custom, and they are overcome with admiration at their kindness.
Part II. is Ragueneau’s report, to the provincial in Paris, of the Huron mission for the year. The tribes therein have had some little respite from the calamities that have so long oppressed them. Their crops, fisheries, and trade have, Ragueneau says, all been successful; and the epidemic has, for the time, ceased. Their only serious difficulty is in the hostilities still carried on by the Iroquois tribes nearest [Page 12] them, — the Mohawks alone having made a treaty of peace. Several encounters between the Hurons and Iroquois are related, — one of these following a crafty and treacherous pretense of peace on the pad of the latter, by which the Hurons were surprised and defeated. In other cases, they have been victorious, — routing their enemies, and burning captives to death in retaliation for their own losses. Deeds of great courage are performed on both sides.
All the missions in Huronia, except that to the wandering Algonkins therein, have been made permanent residences. Each of these is in charge of two missionaries, — Ragueneau, the superior, going about to visit each in turn, and remaining at each residence as long as its special needs require. At each of these stations a chapel has been built, where — in mass and vespers are said daily. In all, 164 persons have been baptized. These Huron converts exhibit much zeal and devotion, of which several instances are recounted. One of them takes occasion, at the burning of an Iroquois captive, to harangue his tribesmen on the like punishment in hell which their sins are bringing upon them; and he then proceeds, at the risk of his own life, to instruct and baptize the poor victim. Another spends many hours, and sometimes almost whole nights, in prayer; often he cannot find words wherewith to express the devotion that fills his soul.
R. G. T.
Madison, Wis., August, 1898. [Page 1]
LX (continued)
Relation of 1645-46
Paris: SEBASTIEN ET GABRIEL CRAMOISY, 1647
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This document was commenced in Volume XXVIII,; we herewith publish the second installment — chaps. iii.-x. of Part I., and chaps. i.-iii. of Part II. The remainder of the document will appear in Volume XXX.
[27] CHAPTER III.
OF THE BLESSED DEATHS OF FATHER ANNE DE NOÜE
AND FATHER ENEMOND MASSÉ.
S
INCE in the preceding Chapter we have mentioned the death of Father de Noüe, we will here speak of it more at length; and at the same time, of that of Father Massé, which occurred in this same year. One of the great favors which God has granted to the holy Apostles and the blessed Martyrs has been to place them within the opportunities — and, as it were, under the happy [28] necessity — of bold action and of great suffering for their Master. The two Fathers, of whom I am about to speak, seem to have shared in this blessing.
On the 30th of January in this present year, 1646, Father Anne de Noüe left the residence at three Rivers, in the company of two soldiers and one Huron, to go away to Richelieu, twelve leagues distant from three Rivers, in order to say Mass, and to administer the Sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist to the French who are there. All the rivers and all the lakes were but one expanse of ice, and the earth was everywhere covered with three or four feet of snow, as is usual during the winter. This good Father and his companions, walking on snowshoes so as not to sink into the snows, made only six leagues the first day, and even that with much difficulty: for although the snowshoes are a relief, they are [Page 17] nevertheless somewhat of a hindrance to those who have no great experience with them.
They built for themselves a little house in the snow, sheltered by the trees and covered with the Sky, in which to spend the night. The Father — having remarked that the two soldiers who accompanied him [29] had, on account of being new in the country, much difficulty in walking with trammeled feet, and, in addition to that, dragging after them all their baggage — rose about two hours after midnight, in order to gain the start and give notice to the soldiers at Richelieu to come and aid their comrades. This charity took away his life; happy martyrdom, to die at the hands of charity! He left his companions, and directed them to follow his trail, assuring them that relief would soon come to them; he took neither his steel for striking fire, nor his covering, nor other provisions than a little bread and. five or six prunes, which were still found upon him after his death. It is necessary, in this country, to carry one’s hostelries with one, — that is to say, one’s bed and provisions; as for the house, one finds it wherever one encounters the night.
While this man of fire was walking on the ice of Lake saint Pierre, which lies between three Rivers and Richelieu, having for guide only his good Angel and the brightness of the Moon, the Sky became overcast, and the clouds, depriving him of his torch, were changed into snow. But this was so abundant that the shades of night, [30] always frightful, were doubly so, — one saw neither the shores of the Lake, nor the Islands with which it is in some places studded. The poor Father, having no compass or quadrant to guide him, lost his way; he walked much [Page 19] and advanced little. The soldiers whom he had left, on rising to proceed on their journey, were much astonished when they saw not the tracks or the foot-prints of the Father; the newly-fallen snow had concealed these. Not knowing which route to take, one of them who had been only once at Richelieu, draws forth a quadrant, and guides himself nearly by the rhumb or line of wind along which he believed it fixed. They journey the whole day, without assistance reaching them; finally, worn out with toil, they spend the night on the Island of St. Ignace, not very far from the place where the Father was, — but they knew naught of that. The Huron, better qualified for these fatigues than the French, getting his bearings, reaches Richelieu; he asks if the Father has not arrived. They say “No; ” he is much astonished, — and the Captain of that place still more so, on learning that he had started so early to make only six leagues. As it was now night, they wait [31], till the next morning, to send to meet him. The soldiers of the garrison run: they seek him on the South shore, and he was on the North shore; they shout, they call, they fire arquebus shots, but in vain, — the poor Father was very far from there. As for the two soldiers whom they were expecting, the Huron having described the place where they were, they were soon found and led to the fort. All that day was spent in running hither and thither, in shouting, and in seeking, but finding nothing.
Finally, on the 2nd day of February, a clever soldier takes two Hurons, out of four who happened to be just then in that settlement; he goes in search of the shelter where the Father and his companions had spent their first night. Having found it, these [Page 21] Hurons, well trained in distinguishing trails hidden beneath the snow, follow the poor Father’s tracks, observing the turns and windings that he had made, and find the place where he had spent the second night after his departure. This was a cavity in the snow, at the bottom of which he had put some branches of fir, upon which he had taken his rest, — without fire, without a house, without covering: having only a single cassock [32] and an old jacket. As this place is not much frequented by the French, the Father could not ascertain where he was. Thence he crossed the river, in front of the settlement at Richelieu, which he did not perceive, — either because it snowed very hard, or because toil and the snows had weakened his sight. The soldier, continually following the trail which the Hurons uncovered, saw at the Cape called “massacre, ” a league above Richelieu,[1] a place where this good Father had rested; and three leagues higher, facing flat Island and the mainland, between two little brooks, they found his body on its knees, quite stiff and frozen upon the ground which he had laid bare, having cleared away the snow in a ring or circle; his hat and his snowshoes were near him; he was leaning over the edge of the heaped-up snow. It is probable that, having expired on his knees, the weight of his body had caused him to lean upon this wall of snow; he had his eyes open, — looking toward Heaven, the place of his dwelling, — and his arms crossed on his breast.
The soldier, seeing him in that posture, touched with a devout respect, falls on his knees, makes his prayer to God, and honors this sacred trust. [33] He notches a cross on the nearest tree; wraps the [Page 23] body, all stiff and frozen, in a blanket which he had brought; puts it on a sledge; and conveys it to Richelieu, and thence to three Rivers. He believes that he gave up his soul on the day of the Purification of the Virgin, for whom he had a most special devotion. He fasted every Saturday in her honor, recited every day a brief office to honor her Immaculate Conception, and spoke of her only in wholly affectionate terms. It is credible that this great and most faithful Mistress obtained for him that death, — so purifying, so saintly, and so removed from all earthly helps, — in order to receive him on a higher plane in Heaven.
The soldiers of Richelieu and the people of three Rivers knew not whether they should give their hearts to the admiration of so happy a death, or to sorrow at seeing themselves deprived of a man who was all for others and nothing for himself. He was buried with the attendance of all the French and all the Savages who were at three Rivers. Some ulcerated souls could no longer conceal their sores at the sight of those blessed remains; they came [34] to confession as soon as possible, saying that it seemed to them that this good Father was urging them to it; others were not able to pray for him, but could indeed commend themselves to his prayers.
In a word, this glorious death is the end of a holy life. This good Father was the son of a worthy Gentleman, Seignior of Villers en Priere, — or rather, en Prairie, — which is a Castle and a village, or a market town, distant six or seven leagues from the city of Rheims in Champagne. In his youth he was made a Page, and, finding himself at Court, he was solicited by courtesans on account of [Page 25] his beauty; but his good Mistress kept him chaste for thirty years in the world, and thirty-three years in Religion. He was harsh and severe toward himself, but full of affection for others; things the lowest and most vile were great and lofty to him; and all that there is in splendor seemed to him filled with darkness. He toiled sixteen years in the Mission of new France, always with courage, always with fervor, and always in deep humility. When he saw that his memory did not allow him to learn languages, he gave and dedicated himself entirely to the service of the poor Savages [35] and of those who instructed them, — lowering himself, with an ardor unparalleled, to the hardest and most humiliating offices. Our French and our Fathers having chanced to be, at a certain time, in great necessity for provisions, he went to seek roots in the woods; and he learned to fish so well that he relieved a whole house by his toil, as innocent as charitable.
He was extremely sensitive in regard to obedience. Whatever urgency he had in the affairs at hand, whatever difficulty presented itself to his sight, he was ready to leave everything or to embrace everything at the voice of his Superior, without examining his own power or his own skill, — desiring that only the will of God should give the impulse to his actions, and rejecting that indefinable prudence which, by dint of opening the eyes to arguments too human, closes them to the beauty of obedience. Accordingly, if he offended this virtue, even in the least, one saw in him, at the age of sixty years, the tears and tenderness of a young child who had in some manner displeased his father.
Some one, seeing him begin to grow infirm, [36] [Page 27] proposed to him to return to France, that he might there spend his old age more comfortably. “I know well, ” he answered, “that the Mission is burdened, and that I hold the place of a good workman. I am ready to relieve it, and to obey in everything; but I would be very glad to die in the field of battle. It is not that I do not approve the charity of those who, seeing themselves infirm, or too old to learn to speak the Savage tongue, make place for some good Gospel laborer; but, as for myself, I feel this inclination, to employ my life here in the service of the poor Savages and of those who are converting them, and in the aid that I can render to the French.” This blessing was granted to him; the desire to suffer has made a victim of his body; obedience has slain him, and charity has made of him a sacrifice which it has burned and consumed in the honor of his God, who alone, with his Angels, was spectator of this great offering. So much for Father de Noüe.
As for Father Enemond Massé, he was a native of the city of Lion, and entered our Society at the age of twenty years. He toiled therein fifty-two years, at the end of which time he died, on the twelfth of May in [37] this present year, at the residence of St. Joseph, aged 72 years. He lived in a great variety of times, and in very different occupations; but nothing has appeared in the course of his life save the ardor that he had for suffering in foreign Missions, — it was this desire that caused him to enter our Society. Having received sacred Orders, he was appointed companion to Reverend Father Pierre Coton, at that time Confessor and Preacher to the King, Henry the Great. His zeal for converting the Savages caused him to prefer their great forests to [Page 29] the air of the Court; he urged with so much love that finally he was sent to Acadia, with Father Pierre Biart. They embarked at Dieppe in the year 1611, and were the first two, of all the Religious Orders, to enter that part of America which bears the name of New France. It is not credible how much these two poor Fathers suffered in this new world. Acorns were, for several months, their food: those who were bound to protect them covered them with insults; they were imprisoned and slandered by those very persons to whom they were rendering all the duties of love and charity. [38] One of the principal among those who treated them ill, dying afterward without the assistance of any Ecclesiastic, said, with regret and grief, that he was paying very severely for the torments that he had caused these poor Fathers to suffer.
Having removed from that settlement, an English pirate seized them, and, after plundering them, took them aboard his vessel. This ship, being compelled to enter a Catholic port, was taken for a sea-rover; the Officers of marine boarded and inspected her. A single word of those two prisoners would have caused the capture of the vessel, and the hanging of all the sailors; but not only did they not speak, but they concealed themselves so well that they were never perceived. When the visitors were on one side, the Fathers slipped to the other; the Heretics, seeing this action, exclaimed aloud that they would have committed a great crime in killing those two Innocent men, as they had thought of doing when the storm drove them into that port inhabited by Catholics.
On departing thence, those pirates withdrew to England, where they were accused of some robberies; [Page 31] but having experienced the [39] magnanimity of their prisoners, they produced them as witnesses; the Fathers gave assurance that they had not seen the act committed with which their captors were charged.
Finally, they crossed over to France in the plight of two poor beggars, all in rags. Father Enemond Massé, having beheld the country of the Cross and the poor Savages in need of help, could not live; his body was in the old France, and his heart in the new. Seeing that the doors were closed to him on the side of earth, he takes the way of Heaven, as the surest in all good enterprises. He calls the Crosses and sufferings of this new world his Rachel, and says that, to recover her, he is going away to serve God as faithfully and as long as Jacob served Laban; and, in order better to strengthen his resolutions, he wrote them in a paper which was seen and read at his death. Here follow its principal articles:
“If Jacob served fourteen years for Rachel, with how much stronger reason ought I to serve my dear Master twice 7 years for new France, — my dear Canadas, embellished with a great variety of most lovable and adorable Crosses! So [40] great a blessing, so lofty an employ, so sublime a vocation, — in a word, Canadas and its delights, which are the Cross, — can be obtained only through a frame of mind conformed to the Cross. For this reason, one must resolve to observe inviolably that which follows:
“1. Never to lie down except on the bare ground, — that is, without sheets, without mattress, without straw bed; one nevertheless must have some of these in his room, that he may be seen only by the eyes from which one cannot hide oneself.
“2. To wear no linen, save about the neck [Page 33]
“3. Never to say holy Mass without being clad in a hair shirt; that armor will make thee remember the Passion of thy Master, of whom this Sacrifice is the great memorial.
“4. To take the discipline every day.
“5. Whenever thou shalt dine without having previously made thine examination of conscience, no matter how circumstances may hinder thee, thou shalt eat only a dessert, as one may do at the collation on days of fasting.
“6. Thou shalt never give to thy taste that which it might crave as a delight.
“7. Thou [41] shalt fast three times in the week, but so that none may perceive it save that one who must have knowledge thereof. As thou usually takest thy meal only at the second table, thou canst easily conceal these little mortifications.
“8. If thou suffer to issue from thy lips any word which offends charity, however little, thou shalt gather up secretly with thy tongue the spittle and phlegm proceeding from the mouths of others. ”
Behold the sheep which this Jacob tended in order to espouse the beautiful Rachel; such was the money with which he bought the Crosses of new France. God could not resist so many desires, nor deny so faithful a perseverance; he was sent back to Canadas in the year 1625. He found there his Rachel, — that is to say, Crosses in abundance; the vessels failing to come, famine assailed the French who were in this country. It was then that Father Enemond Massé and Father Anne de Noüe, his companion, sought roots to preserve their lives; and that they made themselves, the one a Gardener and Plough-man, and the other, Fisherman and Woodcutter, in [Page 35] order to be able [42] to subsist in this end of the world, where the souls have cost Jesus Christ as dear as the souls of Princes and Monarchs.
The end of that Cross was the beginning of another; an Anglicized Frenchman, having taken Kebec, sent this poor Father back to France. What will he do? Can all these rebuffs take from him the thought and the love of a Rachel who had appeared to him so beautiful, but who was so ugly, so deformed, and so frightful? The eyes and minds of men are very different, — what one calls grandeur, another calls baseness; these rigors were the softness and beauty of his Rachel. The coward flees on feeling the blows, and the good soldier is inspirited at the sight of his own blood.
This poor Father, regarding himself as an exile in his native land, makes to God a promise and a most solemn vow, that he will exert every effort to die on the Cross of new France. God is the greatest warrior in the world; nevertheless, love and perseverance disarm him. The Father gained what he asked, —he returns to his land of blessing in the year 1633; he dies there in the year 1646, all [43] laden with years and merits in the midst of the Savages, to whose salvation he had consecrated his whole life and all his labors. He received all the Sacraments of the Church, and, at his death, gave proofs of the tenderness which he had for his blessed Mistress; for, — unable, through his extreme debility, either to speak or to open his eyes, or to stir except with great pains, — as soon as they spoke to him of the blessed Virgin, or of her dear Spouse St. Joseph, he made signs that that pleased him extremely, begging that they should often give him [Page 37] that sweet nourishment, and that restorative which made him live.
Those who knew him most intimately remarked in him two or three very notable characteristics. He had a vivacious, ready, and ardent nature, which was to him an exercise in virtue all the course of his life. This ardor gave a fire and an admirable promptness to his obedience and his charity; and the falls that he incurred through frailty engendered in his soul a profound humility, and so great a contempt for himself that he esteemed himself less than a dog, when nature caused him to commit some failing. He was born with the love of [44] mortification; for, from his early youth, he treated his body harshly — especially when some little emulation of anger would vex his heart.
Having heard mention of the labors of the great saint François Xavier in the Indies, he had some thought of shedding his blood, or at least employing his life, in some foreign country for the salvation of souls. This thought becomes changed into desire, this desire into resolution; this resolution, increasing with age, causes him to ask admission into our Society, into which he was received; but, as his sight was extremely feeble, there was talk of sending him back from the house of probation. That terrifies him; he has recourse to his blessed Mother, and entreats her with the simplicity of a child to give him a sign of her will that he should remain in the Society. He prays with ardor; he takes a Book, opens it, and reads without difficulty the smallest characters; that consoles and surprises him, and effaces from the minds of his Superiors the thought of sending him away. As it is one of the tests which our [Page 39] Society makes of those who wish to be enrolled in it, to send them on certain pilgrimages, asking alms, [45] the good Enemond Massé, as well as the others, was sent out thus, with desires for the contempt and the hardships which accompany that probation — NOW it happened to him, in his pilgrimage, that an Ecclesiastic of piety and rank received him, and his companions also, with manifestations of extraordinary respect and love: he, who sought only contempt and the Cross, was at first seized with dread, — imagining that the rebuffs of the world must be the mark of the union with God which he wished to have. He resumes his usual simplicity, has recourse to the blessed Virgin, and entreats her to change this man’s kindness into coldness, and his charity into repulsion — and that he would take this change for a sign of his continuance in the society of her Son. This prayer — perhaps less discreet and less conformable to rule than innocent — was heard by the blessed Virgin; the words dry up in that man’s mouth, his fire is changed to ice, — he sends these pilgrims away by his agent, without casting a glance at them. From that time this good Novice held himself assured of his continuance in the service of his Lord and of his good Mistress, who made him a [46] present most special and most rare, that of purity. The Fathers who most intimately visited and conversed with him affirm that he never experienced any rebellion in the flesh. Those who combat and subdue this sting, like St. Paul, are not inferior; but it must be acknowledged that it is a great privilege to be delivered from the annoyance of those flies of Hell.
If his purity was great, his charity was not less; it made him a wood-sawyer and ship’s carpenter, along [Page 41] with Father Biart, his companion. They made planks and built a shallop or boat, in order to go fishing for cod, so as to succor the settlement in which they were, which was under the pressure of extreme necessity. This good Father plied all sorts of trades, but especially that by which one gains Paradise; he has run so well that he has carried off the prize or the crown; he has navigated so prosperously that he has at last arrived, in spite of all the storms, at the port of a glorious eternity. [Page 43]
[47] CHAPTER IV.
OF THE MISSION OF THE MARTYRS, BEGUN IN THE
COUNTRY OF THE IROQUOIS.
W
HEN I speak of a Mission among the Iroquois, it seems to me that I speak of a dream, and yet it is a truth. It is with good right that it is made to bear the name of the Martyrs; for — besides the cruelties which those Barbarians have already inflicted upon some persons impassioned for the salvation of souls; besides the pains and fatigues which those who are destined to this Mission are bound to incur — we may say with truth that it has already been crimsoned with the blood of one Martyr; for the Frenchman who was slain at the feet of Father Isaac Jogues lost his life for having expressed the sign of our creed to some little Iroquois children, which so greatly offended their parents that they — imagining that there might be some spell in this action — made of it at once a crime and a martyrdom.
[48] Add this, that — if it be permitted to conjecture, in things which indicate great probabilities — it is credible (if this enterprise succeed) that the designs which we have against the empire of Satan, for the salvation of these peoples, will not yield their fruits before they be sprinkled with the blood of some other Martyrs. Nevertheless, the principal design of this denomination is that this Mission may be assisted with the influence and favor of those [Page 45] blessed and consecrated victims who have the honor to approach nearest to the Lamb, and to follow him everywhere. But let us begin the discourse.
Monsieur our Governor having resolved to send two Frenchmen to the country of the Annierronnons, — in order to convey to them his word, and to betoken to them his joy and satisfaction over the peace happily concluded, — Father Isaac Jogues was presented to him, to be of the party. As he had already purchased an acquaintance with these peoples and their language, with a coin more precious than gold or silver, he was soon accepted; the Iroquois welcomed him, and he who had sustained the weight of war, was not for retreating in time of peace. He was very glad to sound their friendship, [49] after having experienced the rage of their enmity. He was not ignorant, however, of the inconstancy of these Barbarians; the difficulty of the roads was patent to him, as a man who had experienced it; he saw the dangers into which he was throwing himself; but he who never risks for God will never be an extensive dealer in the riches of Heaven. He was ready sooner than the proposition was made to him. Monsieur the Governor thought proper to send, besides, the sieur Bourdon, a settler in the country, — who showed his zeal for the public welfare all the more that he forsook his own family, in order to throw himself into hazards which are never small among these Barbarians.
The Algonquins, seeing that a Father was embarking, gave him warning not to speak of the Faith at the very first; “for there is nothing,” said they, “SO repulsive at the beginning as our doctrine, which seems to exterminate everything that men hold most [Page 47] dear; and, because your long robe preaches as well as your lips, it would be expedient to walk in shorter apparel. ” This warning was heeded, and it was considered necessary to treat the sick as sick, and to behave among [50] the impious as one does among the heretics, — that one must become all things to all men, in order to gain all to Jesus Christ.
They started on the 16th of May from three Rivers; and on the 18th, the eve of Pentecost,[2] they embarked at Richelieu on the river of the Iroquois. They were conducted by four Annierronnon Iroquois; two young Algonquins accompanied them, in their own separate canoe, laden with the gifts which they were going to make for the confirmation of the peace. The Holy Ghost, — to whom is dedicated the largest village of the Iroquois, — whose feast was about to begin in the Church at the moment of their departure, gave them even then a foretaste of the good fortune of their voyage.
They arrived, on the eve of the Blessed Sacrament, at the end of the lake which is joined to the great lake of Champlain. The Iroquois name it Andiatarocté, as if one should say, “there where the lake is shut in.” The Father named it the lake of the Blessed Sacrament.[3]
They left it, the day of that great Feast, continuing their way by land with great fatigues, for they had to carry on their backs their bundles and their baggage; the Algonquins were obliged [51] to leave a great part of theirs on the shore of the lake.
Six leagues from this lake, they crossed a small river which the Iroquois call Oiogué; the Dutch, who are located along it, but lower down, name it the River van Maurice.[4] [Page 49]
On the first day of June, their guides, overcome by their burdens and the toil, turned aside from the road which leads to their villages, in order to pass by a certain place called in their language Ossaragué; this spot (according to the Father’s report) is very remarkable as abounding in a small fish, the size of the herring. They were hoping to find some assistance there; and indeed they were loaned some canoes to carry their baggage as far as the first settlement of the Dutch, distant from this fishery about eighteen or twenty leagues.
God has a guidance all full of love: his goodness caused this detour to be made in order to give some assistance to the poor Therese, a former Seminarist of the Ursulines; our party met her at this place. The Father refreshed her memory concerning her duty, and heard her confession, to the great satisfaction of her soul.
[52] On the 4th of June, they landed at the first settlement of the Dutch, where they were Very well received by the Captain of the fort of Orange; they departed thence on the sixteenth of the same month, accompanied and assisted by the Iroquois who happened to be in that quarter. The next day, at evening, they arrived at their first small village, called Oneugiouré, formerly Osserrïon.[5] There it was necessary to stay two days, in order to be gazed at and welcomed by those peoples, who came from all parts to see them; those who had formerly ill-used the Father no longer showed any inclination to do so; and those whom natural compassion had touched at the sight of his torments, were evidently delighted to see him in another position and employed in an important office. [Page 51]
On the 10th of June, honored by the feast of the holy Trinity, he gave this Most holy name to that village. There was held, at the same time, a general assembly of all the principal Captains and elders of the country; there were exhibited the gifts which the sieur Bourdon brought with the Father; there were also present the two Algonquins who accompanied them.
[53] Silence procured, the Father sets forth the word of Onontio and of all the French, betokened by the gifts of which I have given the explanation in the preceding Chapter. He indicates the joy that was caused by the sight of the Ambassadors, and the satisfaction of all the people at the conclusion of the peace between the French, the Iroquois, the Hurons, and the Algonquins. He assures them that the council fire is lighted at three Rivers; he presents a necklace of 5000 Porcelain beads, in order to break the bonds of the little Frenchman captive in their country, and the like for the deliverance of Therese; he thanks them for having refused the heads of the montagnais or of the Algonquins massacred by the Sokoquiois. He made a special present of 3000 Porcelain beads to one of the great families of the Annierronnon scattered through their three villages, in order to keep a fire always lighted when the French should come to visit them.[6]
His harangue was favorably heard, and his gifts very well received. He spoke next for the Algonquins, who were not acquainted, with the Iroquois language, and who were somewhat ashamed at the lack [54] of a great part of their presents; for, of 24 robes of Elk skins, they had left 14 on the way, as we have remarked. The Father excused them by[Page 53] reason of the injury received by one of those two young men, through the weight of his burden, and the difficulty of the roads. He failed not to give the sense of all these speeches, and to specify all these gifts, insomuch that the assembly was satisfied therewith, — to the extent that afterward the Iroquois responded with two gifts which they made to the Algonquins; and they sent two others for the Hurons.
As for what concerned Onontio and the French, — as a favor to whom they had made peace with their allies, — they answered with more pomp and with a great manifestation of affection.
At the request of the little Frenchman, they drew forth a necklace of 2000 beads. “There,” said they, “is the bond which held him captive; take the prisoner and his chain, and do with them according to the will of Onontio. ”
As for Therese, whom they had given in marriage after her captivity, they answered that she would be restored as soon as she should return to their country; and, in token of the truth of their word, they offered a [55] necklace of 1500 Porcelain beads. The family of which we have spoken — which is named “the Wolf family “ — assured the French, by a beautiful gift of 36 palms[7] of Porcelain, that they should always have a secure dwelling among them, and that the Father, in particular, would always find his little mat all ready to receive him, and a fire lighted to warm him. All this was done with great demonstrations of good will.
But some distrustful minds did not look with favor on a little chest, which the Father had left as an assurance of his return; they imagined that some [Page 55] misfortune disastrous to the whole country was shut up in that little box. The Father, to undeceive them, opened it, and showed them that it contained no other mystery than some small necessaries for which he might have use.
I was almost forgetting to say that the Father, having remarked in the assembly some Iroquois from the country of the Onondaëronnons, made them in public a gift of 2000 Porcelain beads, in order to make them understand the design which the French had in going to see them in their country; and told them [56] that he made them this gift in advance, so that they would not be surprised at seeing the faces of the French. He said that, furthermore, the French had three roads by which to go to visit them, — one through the Annierronnons; another, by the great Lake which they name Ontario, or Lake of St. Louys; the third, through the land of the Hurons. Some of the elders manifested surprise at this proposition. “It is necessary,” they said, “to take the road which Onontio has opened; the others are too dangerous; one meets in them only people of war, men with painted and figured faces, with clubs and war hatchets, who seek only to kill,” — adding that the way which leads into their country was now excellent, entirely cleared, and very secure. But the Father followed up his point, not considering it expedient to depend on the Annierronnons, in order to go up into the Nations above. He put his gift in the hands of the Iroquois, who promised, in presence of the Onondaëronnons, to go and present it to the Captains and elders of their country. Thus ended the public affairs, in which the Father was not forgetful of those more private and important. [57] [Page 57] He gathered some ‘few Christians, — who are still there, — instructed them, and administered to them the Sacrament of Penance; he often made the round of the cabins, visited the sick, and sent to Heaven by the waters of Baptism some poor dying creatures, — predestined, however, to riches.
After all these assemblies, the Annierronnons urged the departure of the French, — saying that a band of Iroquois from above had started in order to await, at the passage, the Hurons who were to come down to the French; and that those warriors would move thence to Montreal, in order to come and cross before Richelieu, and go back to their own country by the river of the Iroquois. “We do not believe,” said they, “that they will do you any harm when they meet you; but we fear for the two Algonquins who are with you.”
The Father thereupon told them, very pertinently, that he was astonished to see how they permitted those upper Iroquois to come down into their district, and proceed to make war within their limits, descending the rapids and waterfalls which were of the jurisdiction and within the marches of the Annierronnons. [58] “We have given them warning of this,” they answered. “What then?” said the Father, “do they despise your commands? Do you not see that all the lawless acts that they may commit will be imputed to you? ” They opened their eyes at this argument, and promised to apply to the matter an efficacious remedy.
In conclusion, the Father, our French, and their guides left the village of the holy Trinity on the 16th of June. They journeyed for several days by land, not without difficulty: for it is necessary to do [Page 59] like the horses of Arabia, — carry one’s own provisions and baggage; the brooks are the hostelries that one meets. Having arrived on the shore of the Lake of the Blessed Sacrament, they made canoes or little boats of bark; having embarked in these, they made their way by paddling, until the 27th of the same month of June, when they landed at the first settlement of the French, situated where the river of the Iroquois empties into the great flood of St. Lawrence.
Such is the beginning of a Mission which must furnish an opening to many others among well-peopled Nations. If these roads are strewn with Crosses, they all are also filled with miracles; [59] for there is no human skill or power which could have changed the face of affairs so suddenly, and have drawn us out of the utmost despair, to which we were reduced. There are neither gifts nor eloquence which could have converted, in so short a time, hearts enraged for so many years. I know not what may not be hoped for, after these acts at the hand of the Almighty; may he be blessed beyond ages and beyond eternity.
Father Isaac Jogues, entirely attentive and devoted to this Mission, after having rendered account of his commission, thought of nothing but undertaking a second voyage in order to return thither and especially before the winter; for he could not endure to be so long absent from his spouse of blood. At last, he succeeded so well that he found the opportunity therefor, toward the end of September; and he started from three Rivers on the 24th of that month, in company with a young Frenchman, and some Iroquois and other Savages. We have learned that he [Page 51] was abandoned on the way by most of his companions, but that he continued his voyage. He goes intending to spend the winter there, and, on all the occasions which shall present themselves, [60] to influence the minds and affections of the Savages, — but especially to care for the affairs of God and the riches of Paradise. He has much need of earnest prayers for the success of an enterprise so difficult. [Page 63]
CHAPTER V.
OF THE RESIDENCE OF SAINT JOSEPH AT SILLERY.
T
HE Residence of St. Joseph has gathered the first fruits of the Gospel grain sown in this new world; it has resembled the good things which are communicated all the more in proportion to their goodness. Its torch has spread abroad its light very far along both banks of the great river; its fervor and zeal have made their warmth felt in regions almost unknown to the Summer, where the Winter always keeps a storehouse of snow and ice.
Superstitions and the Sorcerers are banished from this Residence; there now remains hardly any one to be baptized of those who usually retreat thither; the few Christians [61] who compose it form a squadron marvelously powerful before God. Their march has carried the Faith into various places, and their good example has gained many Savages. Those of Tadoussac, who mocked them at the start, were finally touched by their patience and constancy, — insomuch that they came to ask at Kebec, that some Fathers should be sent to them in order to instruct them. That was granted them in the year 1641; since that time, we have always continued to visit them, and to teach them the true doctrine of Jesus Christ, They have embraced it with so much fervor, and have published it with so much zeal in the Nations of the North, that these great forests, which heard but the howlings of the wolves, now [Page 65] resound with voices and Hymns concerning Jesus Christ.
The Attikamegues, who live North of three Rivers, have received the Faith from the Christians of St. Joseph. One of the Captains of this residence derived his origin from that nation; the visits which they have made on both sides have given them a new alliance, which regards Eternity.
A good widow, already quite aged, has done [62] wonders in that country; going to visit her nephews and nieces, she began to preach with so much success, and to instruct her fellow-countrymen with such good results, that several, coming afterward into our settlements to ask for Baptism, knew not only the principal articles of our creed, but also the prayers and the little exercises of a good Christian. This poor woman has made three journeys among those peoples, — not so much to see her kinsfolk and. her Friends, as to give them birth in Jesus Christ. “I love well my relatives and my children,” said she, “but I would leave them all very gladly, and all the riches of the French, for the conversion of a single soul. ” These fruits have issued from the garden of the glorious St. Joseph.
This is not all; the Abnaquiois, whom we have between the East and the South, have made such an alliance with our Neophytes, that some among them, having been baptized, now dwell at St. Joseph. And, for as much as fire is always fire, — that is to say, always active, — these new Christians took the resolution, this last Spring, to make an [63] excursion into their own country, to publish the Faith there, and to ascertain from the principal persons of their nation whether they would consent to lend ear [Page 67] to the Preachers of the Gospel. They have kept their word, and finally returned on the 14th of the month of August; and, on the fifteenth, — after having attended a solemn procession which is made at Kebec that day, in honor of the blessed Virgin, in order to present to her the person of the King and all his Estates, — the most influential person among them addressed us in these terms: “I had promised you last Spring that I would proceed to my own country, that I would carry thither the good tidings of the Gospel, and that I would learn from the elders what love they might have for our belief. As they are greatly attached to my brother Noel Negabamat, whom you see here, I cast into their ears the words which he had put into my mouth. I told them that my brother made great account of their friendship, but that that friendship was very short which ended with life; that friends should love even after death; and that if they did not believe in God, their separation would be eternal. I told them of the beauty of Heaven, and of the [64] horrors of Hell; after having heard me, thirty men informed me that they would embrace our belief. Ten women gave me the same assurance. All the others exhorted me to come and seek a Father, — and said that they would be very glad to listen to him before pledging their word.”
A Captain who has seen the piety of the Christians of St. Joseph, happening to be in this assembly, told wonders of our belief, — protesting that he would be baptized as soon as possible, and that he would not suffer near him any person who had no wish to become instructed. “Such,” said this Christian Ambassador, “are the opinions and resolutions of [Page 69] my country. See if you are willing to give me a Father; my people are all to assemble in the same place during the next winter, in order to hear, in peace and at leisure, the voice of him whom you shall send.”
This request appeared so devout and so reasonable that it could not be denied. Father Gabriel Dreuillettes, who has already lived among the Algonquins in their extensive rovings, has gone to spend the most trying season of the year with those Abnaquiois, [65] fully resolved to live and to die at the Cross of Jesus Christ. He will be able to satisfy in full the desires that he has for suffering; that is the most unquestionable and certain result which he can expect among these peoples. The fruits which may be gathered from this Mission, in course of time, will proceed in the first instance from the children of the great St. Joseph: this Mission has been surnamed that “of the Assumption.”
The Algonquins of the Island have had much opportunity to profit by the virtue and the good example of these first Christians, — accordingly, it is true that some of them have followed their trail; but one might say that a part of these wretches are, in a sense, reprobate. The Hurons, still more distant, coming down toward the French, have admired the Faith of these good souls; and some have been influenced, even to the wish to imitate them.
A Captain of their nation who has spent the winter at Kebec, said this Spring, at Montreal, that the Christians of St. Joseph were the true believers. In fact, this is the name which all the other Savages give them; and if any one among those would show his fervor, he says: “I will go [66] to dwell among the [Page 71] believers,“ — that is to say, “among the Christians of St. Joseph.”
It must be acknowledged that many Savages, — if they had the politeness of the French, and if they presented themselves with equal grace, — would ravish the eyes and hearts of those who should see the depth of their souls. They cannot endure that any infidel shall dwell in their cabins, unless he give signs of his conversion; they visit those who have any quarrel, give them good advice, and make them presents, in order to bring them back to their duty; and the parents begin to take a very special care to teach the prayers to their children, bring them to confession, and make them remember their sins. A good woman said to her little daughter: “My child, see the offenses that thou hast committed: do not forget them. Ask God’s pardon for them, and tell me on thy return from confession, if thou didst not forget something.”
Their devotion to holy Mass is altogether delightful, and quite singular: they hear it every day, with great modesty. There is no Casuist so strict that he would oblige any man to betake himself to Church in the severities of an [67] unusually piercing cold, when the distance is considerable; but neither the mountains nor the valleys, nor the length of the way, nor the ice, nor the snows, nor the wind, nor the cold, prevent them — either the men, or the women, or the children — from coming every day to the Chapel in order to hear there holy Mass. The Fathers newly arrived tell us that in France one has no conception of what they here see with their own eyes. These good people come from time to time during the day to visit the blessed Sacrament; [Page 73] they bring their children, and offer them to God with a tenderness truly loving. Here follows the prayer of some parents: “Thou who hast made all, thou knowest everything; thou seest, very far away, whatever will happen. Here is my child; if thou knowest that he will not have sense when he shall be grown up, if he will not believe in thee, take him, before he offend thee. Thou hast lent him to me; I give him back to thee; but as thou art all powerful, if thou wilt give him sense and preserve him to me, thou wilt do me a favor.”
The poverty of the Savages is so great, and their provisions are so wretched, except on some days when they kill animals in [68] abundance, — and, even then, they eat the meat of these without bread, without salt, and without other sauce than the appetite, — that it has not hitherto been believed necessary to speak to them of fasts, or of abstinence from meat, unless by reason of devotion. However, they sometimes become so devout on this point, that they will spend whole days without eating anything whatever, rather than to eat meat which in truth is worse than the poorest bread in the world, — so dry and hard it is, after being dried by smoke.
If any one commits a notorious fault, either he himself receives punishment from it, or the others will not fail to make him bear the penalty and the penance therefor. Not long ago, a Captain, coming to the Church, called the Father, who was on his way to the Altar, and said to him, “My Father, I will hear Mass outside the Church; I do not deserve to enter it.” “Why? ” said the Father to him. “I have drunk with people who have indulged to excess. ” “Hast thou thyself drunk to excess? ” said [Page 75] the Father. “No, but I have drunk with those who have done so.” “That ought not to prevent thee from entering the Church.” “I beg thee, my Father,” answers this good Neophyte, [69] “that I be punished, so that the others may hate the drink which destroys us. ” Moreover, whether it rain or hail, or the place be dirty and muddy, they stand uncovered, in the sight of every one.
There was some contention in a household; the dispute became public, in such sort that they wished to leave each other, according to their former custom. One of the principal Christians, knowing that the separation was proceeding rather from the husband’s side than from the wife’s, rose at the end of Mass. “Stop,” said he to the assembly; “we have here a man who dishonors prayer, — he talks of leaving his wife; let him know that we will never suffer him to take another." We are Christians; we will believe. But where is he? Let him appear; I will punish him myself, if he does not return to his duty.” All who were present approved this speech; the Father, turning round, was much astonished to hear this Preacher, — the culprit, still more; he said never a word, but returned thence quietly to his wife. This excess, which can easily be reduced within bounds, gives more joy than sorrow. The conclusion was, that the husband and the [70] wife came to confess and receive communion at the first opportunity.
It is useless to forbid the trade in wine and brandy with the Savages; there is always found some base soul who, to gain a little Beaver fur, introduces by Moonlight some bottles into their cabins. The Captains complain and storm, but it is very difficult to [Page 77] banish altogether this illegal practice. Some persons having accordingly drunk to excess wished to punish and chastise themselves. One of them at the end of the sacrifice of the Mass, exclaimed: My brothers, since you have had knowledge of our sin, it is necessary that you see our penance for it. Come now,” he says to his fellow-sinners, 64 let us repay to God what we have stolen from him by our offense. I know well that those who do not believe will mock us, but their jeerings must not prevent us from atoning for our offenses.” That said, he draws forth a great whip; he has himself severely flogged by another, and then he also spares not the shoulders of the culprits, any more than they had spared his own. The women showed this sight to their children. “How now?” said they, [71] “will you be naughty? will you ever lie? See how they treat the disobedient. ”
A pagan, involved in the same fault, presented himself to expiate it by the penalty; but they told him that the Church was not yet open to him. This consoled the Christians, who believed that God preferred them to the Infidels, by accepting their penance.
A young lad, having drunk with the others, and seeing that not a word was said to him, went afterward to the Father, to complain that they had not punished him like the guilty, — asking at least Permission to beat himself in private. Nature teaches the most barbarous, that all sin deserves punishment; but it must be acknowledged that those who are well acquainted with the Savages, — who have been removed for so many centuries from all submission, and from every act of justice, — are not a [Page 79] little astonished to see this change, so little expected. God grant that this fervor may last them a long time.
A stranger Savage, who happened to be involved in this penance, asked why the French who committed [72] the same faults did not undergo the same penalties. The other Savages answered him that Justice, or the Captain of the French, took knowledge of their crimes, and that they had seen with their own eyes some of them chastised; but that they themselves preferred to be punished in the Church, by order of the Fathers.
It is true that these public penances are necessary in these first beginnings, and especially among Savages, — first, because the Pagans are very easily scandalized by the faults of the new Christians; and, unless some public punishment were inflicted for these, they would attribute the sin not so much to the person who commits it, as to the doctrine which the Neophytes embrace and profess. In the second place, — as the Savage Captains have no regular Justice, or any authority to punish the failings of their people, — we are constrained to serve them as fathers and Judges, preventing disorders by certain punishments which they accept very willingly. But the irregularities which the vessels usually occasion by their liquors, cause us to abandon this [73] charity, and to refer to the Justice of the country the punishment of the too frequent cases of drunkenness, while they are anchored in our ports.
The preceding Relations have made mention of the most blessed death of a Neophyte named François Xavier Nenaskoumat; it was he who, in company with Noel Negabamat, laid the first foundations of Christianity in the residence of St. Joseph. [Page 81] He left two children, a boy and a girl; the latter is married, and leads a very Christian life. His son, who was named Vincent Xavier Nipikiwigan, was miserably wounded to death this last Autumn by the Sokoquiois, of whom we have spoken herein above. This poor man was brought back to Kebec, and taken to the Hospital, where he was received and treated with great charity; seeing that his wounds were incurable, he wished to die with the Christians of St. Joseph. He delighted, both in his sickness and at his death, all those who knew the emotions of his heart. One of the strangest passions of the Savages is vengeance against their enemies; it was not possible, at the beginning, to persuade them that it was well done [74] to pray for these, — they were scandalized at that. “Thou dost not love us,” they said to the Father who was giving them this counsel; “that prayer is of no use; what good can come to us, if God bless or succor our enemies? ” Those who believe have indeed changed their tone; this man — treacherously murdered, without ever having committed any act of hostility against that nation, which they did not wish to have as an enemy — not only forgave his murderers, but often prayed God to bless them, and to do them the favor of converting them. And when the Viaticum was brought to him, after having reiterated the prayers that he made for them, he promised, in a tone that touched all the bystanders, that he would remember them in Heaven, and that he would ask from God their salvation, and the knowledge of Jesus Christ for their whole nation. This death was precious in the sight of God and of men.
His wife showed an admirable charity and [Page 83] constancy in attending her poor husband. She had received a blow from a hatchet, at the hands of those traitors; they had removed a part of her scalp, with her hair, — in short, they had left her for dead; [75] but, her wounds not being mortal, as soon as she could drag herself along, she caused astonishment in all those who know the character of the Savages. As soon as a husband is in a condition where he can no longer recover his health, his wife quits and abandons him, leaving him in the hands of his relatives, if he has any; if he has none, she hastens his days, to deliver him, and herself also, from the trouble which a severe illness causes; the husband does the like to his wife, in similar case. This barbarism no longer exists among those who receive and preserve the Faith: that torch makes them see the beauty of conjugal charity; but it does not take away, however, the inclinations of a nature reared in those habits since the beginning of the ages. This wife, truly strong and faithful, nursed her husband every day, enduring the stench of his wounds, from which she continually wiped away the pus. She said sometimes, within herself: “I feel indeed that I am a Christian, — for without that it would not be possible for me to remain one day near a man who so rudely offends my senses; and yet I cannot withdraw from him.” This was, without doubt, a [76] very special grace, and an effect of the Sacrament of Marriage.
This poor patient had a little daughter, whom he had consecrated to God from the day of her birth, promising him that he would influence her to be a virgin all her life. He gave her from her early childhood to the Ursuline Mothers: it is not credible how much these good Mothers made account of that [Page 85] little child. They admired her good inclinations and the gentleness of her nature; one would have said that her greatest recreation was to pray to God; never, in whatever humor she was, did she refuse to do this. When she wept, as children do, if one said to her, “Let us pray to God, ” immediately joining her little hands, she checked her tears and uttered her prayers, which she knew perfectly from the age of three or four years. Her father, seeing himself nigh to death, wished to see her; they took her from the Seminary, conducted her to that poor dying man, and presented her to him. She was so prettily dressed, and she greeted him with so many graces that he was charmed with her. He could not satisfy himself with embracing her; he kisses her, takes her on his bed, holds her to his bosom, gives her a thousand blessings, [77] and congratulates her on having fallen into such good hands; he speaks to her as if she had been fifty years old: “Good-by, my daughter, I am going away to Heaven: do not grieve over my death. Be very obedient to the virgin sisters, — they are thy nearest relatives; never leave them; when thou art grown up, they will tell thee what thou must do. ” This love, too ardent, caused that poor child to die; she caught the fever from the breath and from the dying lips of her father. As she was very tender, being no more than five years old, the corrupt air very easily seized upon her little body, and caused her a sickness which sent her, six months afterward, to the grave.
Her father being dead, they soon learned the news of it at the Seminary, where they had carried her back. Her teacher led her before the blessed Sacrament, in order to have her pray to God for his soul. [Page 87] Having offered her prayer, she turned toward her teacher, and said to her: “Will Jesus be my father, since I no longer have any other? The Virgin likewise will be my mother, and you will be my relatives; my father told me so. ” She related to the Mothers all that her father had recommended to her.
[78] Her fever, becoming more and more evident, prostrated her so that she rose from it no more. She wished to confess; the Father who heard her was, delighted therewith, not supposing that a child whom he wished to console could ever have had so much judgment. They asked her if she would not be very glad to see Our Lord; napik nisadkiha missi kakichitdtz, she answered, —” Entirely I love the one who has made all; ” and thereupon she expired, to the joy and the regret of all those good Mothers.
The confusion which the coming of the vessels occasions made us postpone the Jubilee of last year to a time more convenient for obtaining it with more leisure; it was announced some days before the nativity of the Savior. The Christians of St. Joseph, who had not yet heard mention of this devotion, prepared for it with most extraordinary affection. They were told that the preparations for obtaining this pardon were fasting, alms, and prayer or orisons; as for fasting, they observed it very easily, for they had not many things to eat at that time; a piece of good fortune nevertheless rendered it more meritorious and more remarkable. A Hunter [79] having encountered a Caribou, which is not quite so large as one of our oxen in France, pursued it and felled it to the ground. Famine was in their cabins, and the desire to eat fresh meat strongly tempted them; yet never did any Christian consent to taste it on the [Page 89] days which had been appointed to them for fasting, — not even the Hunter himself. Nay, more, — some Pagans of his cabin, seeing this example, touched that flesh no more than if it had been poisoned.
As for alms, they had more difficulty; for they knew not what to give. Gold and silver have no currency among these peoples, and their poverty easily dispensed them from being wasteful. Yet it was necessary, in order to satisfy their devotion, that they should fulfill this clause. Some brought a few Porcelain beads, others a little piece of flesh; there was one who presented a small dish of bark, full of raisins that he had bought from the French. In a word, we gave all their alms to one of the more zealous Captains, to distribute them to the most necessitous.
[80] As for the prayers, they failed not to perform their Stations, and all, besides, to take part in a somewhat arduous and difficult Procession, which they made from saint Joseph even to Kebec, — the distance is about a league and a half. It was held on the day of saint Stephen, the day after Christmas, in extremely cold weather; they all walked, two by two, in fine order; the children wished to be of the company. The cross and the banner marched before; the Fathers who have charge of that little Church led their flock. They intoned Hymns on issuing from the Church; they continued their Procession, reciting their Rosaries, and offering other prayers. Arriving at Kebec, they delighted the French; their first Station was in the Church of the Ursuline Mothers; having there prayed to God, and sung some spiritual Songs, they moved straight to [Page 91] the Parish church, where the blessed Sacrament was exposed. They were received with motets full of piety, which were sung in honor of him whom they came to adore; when he had given them his blessing, by the hands of the Priest, they proceeded to the third Station, which was at the Hospital, where likewise [81] they prayed for the objects contained in the Bull, being continually led and directed by their Pastors. Upon departing thence, they returned fasting, — two by two, as they had come, — concluding the last act of the Jubilee in their own Church. Those who had seen the country in its barbarism — casting their eyes on such devotion, and so great a modesty; seeing Barbarians make three leagues on foot, in a most piercing cold, and fasting, in order to gain the remission of their sins — rendered a thousand praises to the God of Heaven, who pours his blessings where he pleases. [Page 93]
CHAPTER VI.
OF THE RESIDENCE OF LA CONCEPTION AT THREE
RIVERS.
T
HREE Rivers is the landing — place of all the Peoples of these regions, good and bad: one sees there from time to time Savages of all the nations which navigate the great river of saint Lawrence, from its mouth even [82] to the Hurons, and beyond; this length makes perhaps four hundred leagues and more.
This gathering of so many tribes, so different, causes great confusion; and though only the Christians are most cherished by the French, one is constrained to tolerate the others, and to await the time for their conversion.
All the assemblies which have been convened with the Iroquois have been held at three Rivers; two or three notorious Apostates have retreated thither; all the rogues from other places have come to that place to spend a part of their time; and all those who are curious to learn the news land there; all this is but an ebb and flow, which greatly hinders the Faith from taking root. The Christians, however, have not failed to give proofs of their faith and of their constancy, notwithstanding the bad examples which they have before their eyes, and which sometimes cause the weak to stumble.
An Infidel so successfully cajoled a Christian woman, that he took her for his second wife; the [Page 95] French, indignant at that action, forbid him entrance to the fort and to their houses. This furious man [83] proceeds to the quarter of the Savages, making a public denunciation against prayer, — that is to say, against the Faith, — using threats against all those who should issue from their Cabins in order to go to Mass or to instruction. A Christian, hearing this speech from his Cabin, leaves it, armed with a holy anger; he raises his voice, he shouts, he storms against that insolent man; he speaks highly of the faith, gives courage to the Christians, protests that the threats of the impudent will never shake him. In a word, the Pagan, seeing this torrent, withdraws, for fear that from words they might come to violence, — not hoping to find so much courage among his own, in behalf of lies, as he believed there was among the Christians for the truth.
Another time, a Christian, seeing the lawless acts which were committed in this mixture of every sort of nations, and having no other arms than his speech, in order to resist them, went out in public, and — walking, according to their custom, among the Cabins of his fellow-countrymen — he harangued in these terms:
“Listen, my brothers, it is to you all that I address my speech. You know [84] that I am baptized; if any one be ignorant thereof, let him learn it today from my lips. I love neither goods nor honor; I love prayer, and I honor the Faith, —I would that all people might honor it. All is of no importance, — belief is of price and of value. If your ears were pierced, the doctrine which is taught us would enter them; and, if you had not your eyes closed, you would see its beauty. One [Page 97] sees only insolent actions in our cabins; the young people run about every night; I would certainly Stop these disorders if I had power over you. Hold it as certain that these mischiefs will draw upon our heads the wrath and vengeance of him who has made all. As for you others who have received Baptism, and who do not keep your word, you are deceivers; either renounce your faith, or live conformably to the promises which you have made in your Baptism — If you are cut off from the Church, if you are driven out like dogs, I will be the first to take sides against you unless you cease your disorders.” His words — uttered with much emphasis, and by a man of authority — astonished the inconstant, and very greatly consoled the more fervent and courageous.
[85] On the following night, a Christian who had been banished from the Church for a public scandal, and who had become reconciled after a thorough penance, moved by the force of this address, made another before some apostates, in a most earnest tone. The Savages are very reserved in their words, before their fellow-countrymen; it rarely occurs that even a Captain gives himself the liberty of reproving the faults of his people, unless perhaps of some youth. This man spoke before the most t adorned and the proudest of his nation, in this wise: “He who has uttered his thoughts in the harangue which he has made to us today, has spoken like a person who truly believes: his age and his great authority deserve that the faithful and the unfaithful should obey his voice; and his perseverance in the Faith obliges all the Christians to keep the promises which they have made to God. As for me, who have set a bad example, I can give no weight [Page 99] to my words; if, nevertheless, you look at them very closely, you will find that they turn to neither one side nor the other, but that their course is entirely straight. I have sinned, — every [86] one knows it. well; I have asked pardon for it from God, and I have confessed. I believe that he has shown me mercy, and that the little time which remains to me until death is given me to do penance for my crimes; I cannot enough admire his goodness. But say not that, if you follow my example in vice you will follow it afterward in penance; such words are dangerous, — he hears them, he listens to you. If he has not delivered me to the wicked demon, it is a kindness which astonishes me, and which he has not showed toward countless others who have ruined themselves. Do not also say that you will have sense when you shall have white heads; the demon will prevent you, — there will no longer be time to wish for wisdom when you are in the fires. Wars, sicknesses, and death itself, are the punishments for our offenses, and not evil effects of the Faith and of prayers, as some say. It is prayer which says to God: ‘Arrest thy wrath; do not shoot thine arrows upon us. Give us the leisure to have sense; drive out diseases, and deliver us from war.’ That is what the Fathers ask day and night for us; that is [87] what they advise us to do and to practice. Without the prayer of those who love God, the demon who desires to destroy us would soon have plunged us into the pit full of fire. Those are much deceived who believe that prayer causes diseases and hastens death, — he to whom we pray is the very one who gives health and life; the honor which is rendered him does not provoke him to do us injury. [Page 101] Up then! let those who have sinned do penance with me; and let those who have not defiled their Baptism keep their word steadfastly, even till death.”
I think that it will be quite proper to say here a few words about this man’s conversion. Being enticed by a woman, he took her publicly, along with his lawful wife. God having punished him with a wholesome sickness, he opened his eyes; but, because they feared his inconstancy, of which he had already given indications, he was abandoned a long time, like one excommunicated. He sent, several times, to ask for some of our Fathers, — to all his requests, no response at all; finally, as they believed that he was truly touched, a Father went to see him [88] in his great pains. “Ah, my Father,” said this man to him, “have pity on me.” “I cannot,” the Father replied to him, “take thee into the Church; thou hast given too great a scandal.” “Alas, my Father, I do not ask that, —I am not worthy to enter it; I ask that my sins be blotted out by confession. I am extremely sick; death makes me afraid, since I am still burdened with all my crimes. ” The Father, seeing well that he was not yet in so great a danger, assigns him a day, goes to find him at the appointed time, and listens to him. This poor man draws forth a little bundle of wood, like a bunch of matches, and showing it to the Father, said to him: “There are all my sins, I have written them upon these pieces of wood, after our fashion, for fear of forgetting them.” He confesses with great remorse, his eyes filled with tears, his utterance choked with sobs, and his heart full of regret and grief. After his confession, he related to the Father how he had fallen into the abyss of his [Page 103] sins. “I did, ” said he, “preserve for a long time the whiteness of my Baptism; I carried a long time the torch which they made me hold, well lighted, without extinguishing it. When that woman who has ruined me [89] was endeavoring to gain me, I fled from her, at first; but little by little I took pleasure in her friendship. I thought of no harm in that, until I realized that my heart desired to be wicked; I drove her away from me, but she went not far, — very soon, she appeared before my eyes. Finally I began to love her; my heart trembled, reproaching me that I would forsake prayer. I was going to confess at once; but this demon, pursuing me, ruined me. I came to love her in good sooth; and, seeing well that I would have no peace near you, I left you and went away to the Island, and thence to the Hurons; love was blinding me. I sinned sometimes without remorse; more often, fear seized my soul. I sometimes wished to apply to you, — again, I despised you. Then I exalted you, admiring your patience and your goodness; for your brothers who are among the Hurons do up there what you do down here, — they pacify all the dissensions, they make presents to appease the wicked, they teach the way to Heaven. All that astonished me, and I said to my soul: ‘Thou art going into the fire; thou disobeyest [90] him who has made all.’ Being in such anguish, I fell sick; indeed, I was in awful fears. All my sins presented themselves to my eyes, as if they had been told to me one after another; I marked them all on these bits of wood. I asked to be brought down here, — I thought only of you, whom I had so much despised. I said to God: ‘Thou doest well to make me sick, — I have been the first to leave thee; I [Page 105] have no sense.’ I felt horrible pains; I cried out in my trouble: ‘I have deserved all this, — thou doest well; but kill me not until I have confessed.’ I thought every time that I was about to go down into the country of the demons. Finally, when I saw myself near you, my agonies were somewhat relieved; for, although you rejected me, I still said: ‘They are right; they fear that I may deceive them.’ Nikanis, ” said he to the Father, “pray for me; tell him that he shall increase my pain, if ever the desire seize me to leave him.” They kept him still very long in that state of penitence, before having him enter the Church; he is in it now, firmly resolved never to go out of it. He said, not long ago, [91] to some cold souls: “Ah! if you knew what a great misfortune it is to be driven out of the Church, and how many pangs that costs, you would be very careful not to commit anything which might ever cause you to fall over this precipice.” God grant to give him perseverance.
To return to our discourse; the Christians, seeing themselves surrounded with so many difficulties, took resolution, in order better to preserve themselves, to form a separate band in their great hunt during the winter, and in the other journeys which they should make for their trade. A Frenchman having accompanied them, testified to us, on the return, that he had been delighted at seeing them live as true Christians, — never failing to pray to God all together; also strictly keeping holy Sunday, as if they had been near our little Churches.
On returning from their hunt, they camped as near as they could to our Chapel; the Pagans took offense at this, casting at them a thousand taunts because [Page 107] they had not desired to join them. It is the custom among these peoples that the girls, when sick with their usual illness, separate themselves [92] from the others, as did the Jewish women.[8] The Infidels, seeing our Neophytes united together, said to them, jeering, that they were acting quite in the manner of the women, to lodge apart. They suffered these mockeries patiently, feeling compassion for their blindness. “What can we learn from you others,” answered a Christian, “except slanders and jeers? Be not astonished, then, if we place ourselves apart.”
There is no land in the world so dry and so arid where there does not appear some little spray of green. The little Church of three Rivers sees, amid this ebb and flow of the Savages who approach it, a nation altogether simple and candid, and very far from haughtiness: these people come from an inland region; they spend their lives in the innocence of hunting and fishing, seeing the French only once or twice in the year, in order to buy some necessaries in exchange for their peltries. They derive their name from the word Attikameg, which signifies a kind of fish that we call “the white fish,” because it is, in truth, all shining and all white. These poor white fish come to cast themselves into the nets [93] of the Gospel, as many times as they approach the banks of the great river of saint Lawrence. They now compose a little migratory Church, which has nothing more fixed or more constant than the Faith, and the practice of virtue, — which they preserve all the more easily since they are removed from the enemies who might steal these from them.
