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

Thom Mentrak

Historical Interpreter at Ste. Marie Among The Iroquois

Vol. XXXVII

Lower Canada, Abenakis:

1651 - 1652

CLEVELAND: The Burrows Brothers

Company, PUBLISHERS, M DCCC XCVIII

¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯ ¯

 

EDITORIAL STAFF

Editor Reuben Gold Thwaites

| Finlow Alexander [French]

| Percy Favor Bicknell [French]

| John Cutler Covert [French]

| William Frederic Giese [Latin]

Translators. | Crawford Lindsay [French]

| Mary Sifton Pepper [French & Italian]

| William Price [French]

| Hiram Allen Sober [French]

| John Dorsey Wolcott [Latin]

Assistant Editor Emma Helen Blair

Bibliographical Adviser Victor Hugo Paltsits

 

 

CONTENTS OF VOL.
Preface To Volume		9
Document:—
LXXIX.	Relation de ce qvi s'est passé . . . . en la Novvelle France, es années 1650.& 1651. [Supplementary material completing the document.] Jacques Buteux, journal [Three Rivers, 1651], and letter from Three Rivers, November 4, 1651; Noël Tekwerimat, [Sillery, 1651]; Martin Lyonne, La Rochelle, France, December 27, 1651			17
LXXX.	Journal des PP. Jésuites. Paul Ragueneau; Quebec, February—December, 1652			91
LXXXI.	Relation de ce qvi s'est passé . . . .av pays de la Novvelle France, depuis l'Eté de l'année 1651. Jusques à l'Eté de l'année 1652 . [Chaps. i - vii., first installment of the document.] Paul Ragueneau; Kebec, October 4, 1652			121
Bibliographical Data: Volume XXXVII			263
Notes			265

[page 7]

ILLUSTRATION TO VOL. XXXVII
I.	Photographic facsimile of title-page, Relation of 1651 - 52	124

[page 9]

PREFACE TO VOL. XXXVII

Following is a synopsis of the documents contained in the present volume:

LXXIX. The Relation of 1650-51 consists of several papers: (1) three chapters, by Ragueneau; (2) an undated journal [1651], by Jacques Buteux, and a letter written to Ragueneau by him, dated Three Rivers, November 4, 1651 ; (3) an undated letter of the convert chief, Noël Tekwerimat, addressed to Le Jeune; (4) a letter by Martin Lyonne, dated La Rochelle, December 27, 1651, and addressed to the Paris agent of the Society's missions in New France. The last two papers were added by the Paris editor. In Vol. XXXVI. we gave the portion by Ragueneau, and now present the supplementary matter.

In the journal of Father Buteux on his mission to the .Attikamègues (1651), are related the hardships and dangers of his journey through a Canadian wilderness, at the end of winter,—traversing almost pathless forests; crossing mountains, lakes, and rivers; wading knee-deep in melting snow; and unable, on account of all these difficulties, to carry enough. food for more than "warding. off death, rather than supporting life." On Easter Sunday, which occurs during this fifteen days' journey, a little chapel of cedar and fir branches is erected, in which the holy rites are celebrated; and every one brings, for its decoration, "his pictures and his new blankets." [page 9] After a fortnight's halt, in which the travelers—three Frenchmen, and forty Indians—construct canoes for the next stage of the journey, they resume their way, and spend sixteen days in paddling "over various rivers and many lakes, which had to be reached by roads the mere remembrance of which fills me with horror." Often, they must portage their canoes and baggage for considerable distances, without eating any food from morning until night.

Upon reaching the place Where the Attikamègues are wont to assemble for the summer, they Find a large cross, "erected long ago by the First Christians" of this tribe; and a bark chapel, "decorated with blue blankets, on which were fastened paper pictures, and some small crucifixes." here Buteux is most affectionately welcomed, with dancing, feasting, and speeches. He at once begins to administer the rites of the church, and finds these forest neophytes well prepared, for those who had received instructions at Three Rivers had taught the others. Buteux recounts several instances of their innocence, devotion, and constancy amid persecutions. Thus he makes the round of their summer gatherings, everywhere consoled and edified by their simple piety and faith. many of these people had never seen any European before this visit of Buteux's. One of them is so humble that he regards himself "as a dog, and less than a flea, before God."

At one place the missionary encounters many unbelievers; but his sermons, and the zealous efforts of his native disciples, win them to the faith, and many are converted; he is listened to "as an Angel from Heaven." The scarcity of game soon compels all these bands to separate, and disperse through the [page 10] forests; so Buteux is obliged to return to Three Rivers (June 18). He regards this as a most promising field of labor, and as an opening to many remote tribes of the North,—an additional advantage lying in the prospective increase of the fur trade for the French settlements. He hopes to return to these good people, the following year.

In a subsequent letter (dated November 4, 1651), Buteux describes the invasion, by the Iroquois, of that remote region which he had traversed. They fall, in the night-time, upon some of those poor Attikamègues, kill the men, and drag the women and children into a horrible captivity. Others of these Christian Indians flee to Three Rivers, for refuge with the French, and Buteux earnestly appeals for help to be given these destitute brethren. They have been invited to go to Sillery; but many considerations make it desirable to retain them at Three Rivers. If they go to Sillery or Quebec, Buteux desires to go there with them, that he may accompany them to their own country in the following spring.

The letter from the Sillery chief, Noël Tekwerimat, to Father le ,Jeune, tells the Father of his mission to New England for help against the Iroquois, and of its failure. He begs Le Jeune to procure in France aid against this enemy. He regrets the Father's absence, and asks him to return soon. He sends him a present of a robe, and entreats his prayers for himself and his family.

The letter of De Lyonne, who took with him to France the copy for the Relation of this year, describes the terrors of his winter voyage across the Atlantic, lasting from November 16 to December 25 the [page 11] latest sailing thus far made from Canada. His Ship barely survives the fearful storms of that dangerous season; and her consort, as it has not been heard from, is probably wrecked. That loss would seriously cripple the Canadian mission, which therefore implores further aid from its friends in France,—especially in the present emergency, when the ravages of the Iroquois are driving hundreds of destitute Indian fugitives to seek aid at the French settlements.

LXXX. The Journal des Jésuites has but one entry previous to March, in this year's record. On the 2nd of that month, a party of Hurons and Algonkins, on their way to Montreal, are partly destroyed by the Iroquois. Father Druillette's returns, on the 30th, from his embassy to the English settlements. April 4, a. prominent Ursuline nun dies, Mother Marie de St. Joseph. Corneille's tragedy, Le Cid, is represented on the 16th. News come, at this time, of wars between the Iroquois and more southern tribes—Andastes and Neutrals.

A sad event occurs on May 10—the death of Father Buteux and his companion, a French soldier, at the hands of the Iroquois, while on the way to his Attikamègue mission. Indeed, throughout the summer there are numerous alarms and attacks by this relentless foe, around all the French settlements. One of the most serious of these is an attack on some Frenchmen in sight of Three Rivers, by a considerable force of Iroquois. The Hurons, by treachery, capture two of the enemy—one, the chief of the band. On the 30th, these captives are baptized by Father Menard; and, on the following day they are burned at the stake. At this time, news comes of [page 12] Iroquois attacks on widely separated tribes,—chiefly that upon the Andastes, over five hundred of whom are carried away as captives. August 19, a terrible loss falls upon the little settlement at Three Rivers; fifteen Frenchmen—among them the governor of that town, Duplessis—are either killed or captured by the Iroquois.

LXXXI. The Relation of 1651-52 comprises ten chapters, seven of which are given in this volume; the three remaining chapters will appear in Vol. XXXVIII. Ragueneau opens the Relation with a eulogistic sketch of Father Buteux, who was killed by the Iroquois May 2, 1652 , while on his way, for the second time, to his faithful disciples, the Attikamègues. The reduction at Sillery is next mentioned; two Fathers labor there, who are obliged to aid the Christian Indians in temporal as well as spiritual affairs, since the constant dread of the Iroquois prevents them from going far on hunting expeditions. The mission receives money for this purpose from friends in France, which fills the hearts of these savages with gratitude, and with zeal for the faith. Noël Tekwerimat, their chief, also is exceedingly benevolent, and cares for them as a father for his children. Ragueneau relates several instances of piety among these converts.

The Huron colony prospers, on the whole, although it has lost "six of its best Christians"—among these, Joseph Taondechoren, so renowned for his piety in Huronia. Most of this chapter is filled with the recital of his virtues and piety—especially his patience with a jealous wife. The Huron fugitives are settled at Three Rivers and on Orleans Island. At the latter place, they have cleared some [page 13] land, and raised a fair crop of corn; a fort has been built, also a chapel, and a house for the Fathers Chaumonot and Garreau, the former having evidently written this account of them.

Good news comes from Tadoussac, where a mission chapel and residence of timber have been erected, and two new mission outposts established among tribes beyond the Saguenay. At Tadoussac itself, some eighty persons were baptized, and nearly three hundred came to confession, during the past year. In the winter, the Fathers sometimes go to Quebec, and sometimes join their savage disciples in their winter hunt, suffering therein many privations and hardships. In the spring, these wandering sheep come back to Tadoussac, to a joyful reunion with their pastor. As usual, their great stumbling-block is in the liquors brought in trade by the French; the missionaries contend against this to the utmost of their ability, but cannot prevent the evil traffic. The Attikamègues, terrified at the invasion of their land by the Iroquois, have fled to the St. Lawrence, part of them to Tadoussac.

A chapter is devoted to Father de Quen's journal of his mission to the Porcupine tribe, about Lake St. John. He goes thither with a trading-fleet of canoes, and spends twelve days in religious ministrations to those remote disciples, of whose simple faith and zeal he recounts several incidents. Immediately after his return to Tadoussac, he undertakes a similar mission to the Bersiamites tribe, who dwell on the north shore of the St Lawrence, below Anticosti Island. He is greatly aided by the Christian Indians who escort him thither, who show much zeal For the conversion of their allies.[page 14]

Ragueneau gives an historical sketch of the mission to the Abenakis, and relates the particulars of a journey thither by Druillettes, who is in charge of that mission, - mentioning also his fruitless embassy to the English colonies, in quest of aid against the Iroquois, which was fully narrated in the preceding volume.

R.G.T.

Madison, Wis., January, 1899.

[page 15]

LXXIX (concluded)

RELATION OF 1650-51

PARIS: SEBASTIEN ET GABRIEL CRAMOISY, 1652

The Relation proper, by Ragueneau, was given in our Volume XXXVI.; the supplementary papers, thus concluding the document, are published herewith.

[page 19]

[73] Journal of Father Jacques Buteux, of the

journey that he made for the Mission

to the Attikamegues.

T is impossible to imagine the efforts made by the good Attikamegues to attract me to their country. I was only too ready for this mission; but, as permission was not granted me, I could not comply with their requests. Finally, I obtained permission to go thither, of which I at once notified the Captain of a band which was at three Rivers. A host was selected for me, who undertook to provide me with what was necessary,—a train, on which to drag my slender outfit with me; snowshoes, for walking on the snow; etc.

On the 27th of March we started, four Frenchmen together,—namely, Monsieur [74] de Normanville and myself, with our two men, accompanied by about forty Savages, both adults and children. A squad of soldiers went with us the first day, for fear of the Iroquois. The weather was fine, but was not good: for us on account of the heat of the Sun, which thawed the snow; this impeded our trains, and loaded our snowshoes, and even put us in peril of sinking into the water. I was suddenly endangered by a piece of ice that gave way under my feet; and had it not been for the assistance of a soldier, who held out his hand to me, I would not have been able to save myself from destruction, owing to the rapidity of the current that flowed beneath me. The first day's [page 19] journey was amid continual rapid torrents and cataracts falling over precipices,—causing [75] a great deal of thin ice which was very dangerous and very troublesome, because we were compelled to walk with our feet and snowshoes in the water, making the latter very slippery when we had to climb up ice-cliffs near falls or precipices. We passed four of these on that day; and all the distance we could get over was about six leagues, although we walked from morning until night. The end of the day was harder than the beginning, owing to a cold wind that froze our shoes and our stockings, which had been wet since morning. Our escort of soldiers, who were little accustomed to such fatigue, was disheartened; and it was still more so when, at night, it was necessary to encamp in the midst of the snow, as in a sepulchre in the ground.

On the second day after our departure, [76] we dismissed our escort, and advanced toward the upper part of the river. At a distance of a mile from our halting-place, we came to a waterfall which barred our way. We had to climb over three mountains, the last of which is of enormous height; then we felt the weight of our trains and our snowshoes. When we came to descend on the other side of these precipices, there was no other way but to let our trains slide from the top to the bottom, the height of the fall causing them to go beyond the middle of the river, which at that point may be about four hundred paces wide. At a distance of about a league from each other, there were three other cataracts of prodigious height, over which the river falls with a horrible noise and wonderful impetuosity, forming high icebergs, [77] the mere sight of which inspires [page 21] fear. Through these places full of horrors we had to walk, or rather to drag ourselves, as if on all fours. Finally, we stopped on the summit of a mountain, that was very difficult to pass over. This days' journey was very hard, and every one was fatigued with the march of eleven whole hours, and with hauling this load like a horse that draws a plough, without taking either rest or food.

On the third day, we struck our camp early in the morning, and walked upon the river, which was still frozen all along its course, and very wide at that point. About two o'clock in the afternoon, the mirage made some branches of trees that had fallen into the river, and showed above it, assume the shape of men ; every one thought that they were a band of Iroquois who were lying in wait for us on [78] our passage. Some young men were sent out to reconnoiter, and they reported that it was the enemy. Thereupon, all the Christians prepared themselves to receive absolution, and the Catechumens to be Baptized. After that, the Captain exhorted his people to the fight by a most Christian harangue, placing his trust in God; all resolved to conquer or to die. On approaching, the enemy proved to be an imaginary one, but the sentiments of devotion were quite firm in their hearts ; and I can truly say that I have never seen greater or more filial confidence in than that which I have admired among these people, either in their sicknesses or their famines, or in the fear of the enemy. Their most usual words are these: "God is our Father ; he will do with us as he wills; [79] but I hope in him. He is good, I believe that he will assist me." And it may be truly said that he assists them, so visibly that Monsieur de [page 23] Normanville and myself could not sufficiently admire his loving and paternal kindness toward those poor Barbarians.

On the fourth day, I said holy Mass on a small Island, which had the happiness of witnessing that adorable Sacrifice,—the first offered to God in this part of the country. On that occasion, the good Christians fired a volley from their guns after the elevation of the blessed Sacrament; and, after their devotions, they had a feast of Indian corn and eels. For all food for over forty people that we were, we had only two bushels of Indian cornmeal, one of peas, and a small sack of sea-biscuit. The [80] difficulty of hauling provisions had prevented us from taking more; besides, we hoped to kill some game on the way, but there was not as much as we needed. We had barely enough to ward off death, rather than to sustain life. For my part, I had enough of my few effects; the difficulties of the road, the fatigue, and the fast, which I did not wish to break in Passion time, did not allow me to load myself with food. Nevertheless, God gave more courage to me than to a young man whom I had brought with me; he sank under the burden, and was compelled to quit us, and return with two Algonquin women, who left us two days afterward.

The fifth and sixth days [81] were very different, and still they were both alike as regards the fatigues of the road. It rained the whole of the first, and it, was very fine on the second; but both were very inconvenient because the snow, melted by the rays of the Sun, loaded our snowshoes and our trains. To avoid this, we were compelled on the ten following [page 25] days to start very early in the morning, before the ice and snow had time to thaw.

On the seventh day, we walked from three in the morning until one in the afternoon, in order to reach an Island, and to say holy Mass there on Palm Sunday. I said it, but I really endured in my own person some of the sufferings of the Passion of our good Master, and a thirst which glued my tongue to the roof of my mouth. The additional load that I [82] had to take after my companion left me, had also increased my troubles. The good Christians, who had observed my weakness during Mass, comforted me with a sagamité made, for me alone, out of a handful of biscuit boiled in water, and half a smoked eel. .After dinner, we said the public prayers in lieu of Vespers; each one had walked with his rosary in his hand reciting it in private.

On the eighth day, to avoid the rapid torrents and the dangers of the river,—the ice on which was beginning to break up, and could not have borne us,—we entered the woods by a valley between two mountains. It was nothing but a mass of old trees overthrown by the winds, which blocked up a very bad road, over which [83] we had great difficulty in proceeding with our snowshoes on our feet, as they caught in the branches of those trees. Finally; beyond the declivity of the land, we reached a mountain, so high that it took us more than three hours to reach its summit. In addition to hauling my train, I held in my arms a little child three years old, the son of my host. I carried him in order to relieve his mother, who was loaded with another child, besides her baggage, on her train. Beyond the mountain we came to a great lake which must [page 27] be crossed; every step that we took made us think of death, and made us fear that we would be swallowed up by the waters. We sank in it up to our knees, and deeper still, beneath the upper layer of ice, which was thinner, while the second stopped us from sinking farther. Frequently the road [84] was too slippery, and a false step would occasion a bad fall; and not only the legs, but the whole body, would be immersed in the water.

The ninth day was an extraordinary one, as regards both the length of the road,—amid several lakes and rapid rivers, and the descent of mountains,—and the time consumed in it, from early morning until evening. The fear that the lakes and rivers would thaw caused us to hasten our steps, till we were extremely fatigued. From time to time, to cheer us amid the hardships of the road, we sang Hymns as we walked; our only consolation was to direct our thoughts toward God.

On the tenth day, we walked past various mountains; we had [85] to climb up and down until we reached a great lake, whose shores consist of perpendicular rocks, higher than any cliff in France.

On the eleventh day, we started three hours before daylight to walk over the ice, which a cold wind had hardened; we were favored with the light of the Moon. When day came, we resumed our way through the woods and by mountains, intersected by lakes and very rapid rivers.

On the twelfth day after the Office of Good Friday, and after having confessed several Savages,—who wished to separate from us, in order to take another road, and make some canoes,-we reached the summit of the mountains, and a small river, on which [page 29] we found some Beaver lodges; we killed six of these animals. Then we continued our route [86] past three great lakes, in the last of which was an islet; here we slept on the snow, without erecting any cabins.

The thirteenth day was the most fatiguing of all, for me; we started at three in the morning, by horrible roads, through brushwood so dense that at each step we had to look for a place whereon to put a foot or a snowshoe. I lost myself at various times, because the darkness prevented me from following the tracks of those who went before me. Afterward, we came to lakes that were quite slippery and on which it was very dangerous to walk without snowshoes for fear of falling through the ice; but it was extremely difficult to walk on snowshoes there, because the surface of the lakes was roughened by the freezing of the melted snows. At noon, we halted; and I had the happiness of saying [87] holy Mass. That was my only consolation, and from it I derived strength to endure so much fatigue. To restore my energy, they gave me a morsel of Beaver, that had been kept over from the previous day for me. I offered it to Our Lord, as I had not yet eaten any of it, or any other meat throughout the whole of Lent.

On the fourteenth day after our departure,—which was Easter Sunday, and the ninth of the month of April,—it was very consoling to me to see how Our Lord was honored by our band. Our little Chapel, built of cedar and fir branches, was adorned more than usual,—that is, every one brought to it his pictures and his new blankets. After the holy water had been blessed, and the bread also,—which consisted of part of a loaf, that I had reserved for the [page 31] purpose,—[88] the Captain delivered a harangue, to incite his people to devotion. When Communion and thanksgiving were over, with the rosary which was recited as an additional exercise of devotion, they came to regale me with some little presents; one gave a fat piece of Moose, another a partridge, of which these poor people had deprived themselves, in order to reserve them for me, in spite of the hunger that pressed them as much as it did me.

On the tenth of April, we started early in the morning; the rain, which had fallen throughout the night, had thawed the first layer of ice on the lakes, and the snow in the woods,—so that we had to walk in water up to our knees, and with snowshoes on our feet for fear of breaking through the lower ice. After having crossed four lakes, we reached the one on which my host usually has his abode. We proceeded to erect our cabins [89] on a hillock of sand, and under pine trees where the snow was melted. We built a chapel, in which I said holy Mass in thanksgiving; and afterward we erected a fine Cross. Hitherto, we had contented ourselves, at our various camps, with carving a Cross on a tree; but in this spot we planted that noble standard. We rested for the remainder of the day; we would have had time to eat, if we had had any food; but, as the snow was half melted, and the fish had not yet drawn near the land, we spent fifteen days in great privation. My people began making canoes, and worked from morning until night; I am surprised that they could endure the work, as they did not eat more than six ounces of food in a whole day. Their greatest trouble [90] was to see us suffer; they joyfully offered all these privations to God. Seeing that every one [page 33] was working for his livelihood, I joined a good old man in setting snares for hares. One day, I lost myself in the woods, and was unable to find my way again. I walked all day long, through strange regions, by mountains, and valleys full of water and of melting snows, without knowing where I was. Fatigue, the coldness of the water, and the darkness that surprised me while I was still fasting, compelled me to throw myself at the foot of a tree, all wet and icy, for it froze every night. I gathered some pine-branches, with which I made a bed to protect myself from the dampness of the ground, and a covering to shelter me from the cold; nevertheless, I had leisure to shiver all night long. Thirst was my greatest [91] trouble; I was near a large lake, from which, from time to time, I obtained water to appease my thirst. At last, I fell asleep; and on awaking, after I had commended myself to my guardian Angel and to the late Father Jean de Brebeuf, I heard the report of an arquebus. It was fired by some of our people who had been anxious about me all night. I called out in reply to the shot, which was repeated. I proceeded in the direction of the sound, and, on arriving at the shore of a lake, I saw sieur de Normanville coming in a canoe with my host, to get me. When I reached the cabin, I was treated, like a man risen. from the dead, with a little fish that had been caught; and this is eaten without bread, without wine, with no other sauce than appetite, which never fails one.

On saint Mark's day, after the Procession and Mass, we blessed the [92] lake, and gave it the name of saint Thomas; we also blessed the canoes, and gave to each one the name of some Saint which was inscribed upon it with red paint. Before starting for [page 35] the places where their gatherings are held, all the Christians prepared themselves by a general Communion, which was received on the first day of May. On the following day, we embarked in canoes; and up to the eighteenth of May we paddled over various rivers and many lakes, which had to be reached by roads the mere remembrance of which fills me with horror. We climbed almost inaccessible rocks, and we were often compelled to cross over the land, to attain lakes and rivers between which there is no communication,—that is to say, we had to load ourselves with our canoes and baggage, often [93} without having any food, or being able to find any.

Finally, on Ascension day,—after having said Mass on a convenient flat rock in the middle of a small Island, and after having crossed places that caused us fear and terror,—we reached the spot appointed for the gathering. I was delighted to observe, in a prominent place, a tall and beautiful Cross; we adored it, and invoked the assistance of the Guardian Angels, and of saint Peter, the patron of these regions. Afterward, we fired a salvo from the arquebuses, to which there was no other reply than the voices of some children. This astonished us; but the Captain ,—who came alone, shortly afterward, to meet us on the shore, gave us the reason for it. "My Father," he said to me, "if we did not reply to your salvo, it is [94] not because we are unable to do so, or through lack of love for thee. We have plenty of firearms, powder, and shot; and there is not one of us who does not love thee as he loves his own salvation. But, at the present moment, we are at prayers in the Chapel, where we await thee to thank God for having given us thy person." "Let [page 37] us go there at once," I said to him. "But who has planted that Cross there?" "It is a long time," he said, "since the first Christians erected it. And why should they not have done so?" he added. "Were they not obliged to do so as much as the French? But come, let us go to the Chapel." It was a bark cabin with an arched roof, at the end of which was a sort of Altar,—the whole decorated with blue blankets, on which were fastened paper pictures [95] and some small crucifixes. We all recited the rosary together, and sang some devotional motets.

The chief men came to pay me their compliments, and requested me to baptize their little children. I baptized about fifteen on the spot ; darkness compelled me to defer the others until the first suitable occasion. The adults pressed me so earnestly to instruct them that I had barely time to say my Office. I commenced with the old people; I found some, eighty and a hundred years old, who had never seen Europeans; but who were, nevertheless, so well is posed toward the faith that one would have said that God reserved them, like St. Simeon and saint Anne the Prophetess, that they might know Jesus Christ.

Though time was dear and precious to me, and, owing to lassitude [96] and the fatigues of the journey, I needed a night's rest, I was nevertheless obliged to allow some dancing in my cabin, as a mark of rejoicing and thanksgiving, according to the custom of the country; and, on the following day, I had to attend a feast, though food was scarce. the slight quantity of snow that had fallen during the Winter in all those regions had caused a famine there,—so much so that, where we expected to find an abundance of provisions, we met with nothing but scarcity. [page 39] Their Willingness was more to me than all that; and the pious dispositions that I found in those poor people seemed to me my true food.

On the morrow, seven or eight families came from another place, and I baptized their children; the Christians I prepared for Confession and communion. I expected [97] to have Much difficulty in this, because there were a good Many Who had never confessed themselves since their baptism, and from early youth; but one and all of them, at the very first opportunity, confessed themselves as well as if they had been taught the catechism like the French. All had their rosaries, and knew their prayers very well, for they had taught them to one another.

Here are some proofs of the firmness of their Christianity and of their faith. The first is to be found in their confessions. In order to remember their sins, they brought various tokens, which served them instead of writing: some had small sticks of various lengths, according to the number and grievousness of their sins; others marked them upon bark, with longer or shorter lines, according as they considered them [98] more or less serious; others on some white and well-dressed moose or caribou skin, as they would have done on paper; others still made use of the beads of their rosaries. But those who marked down their sins every day on their calendars, and who confessed themselves by thus running over these for a year, caused me much surprise. A good woman gave me consolation; she had gone down five or six years before to Sillery, where father Paul le Jeune then was. She was instructed and baptized there, and was compelled to follow her pagan husband to a small tribe in which faith had not yet been [page 41] able to find entrance. She endured great and constant persecutions from those wretched infidels, Who scoffed at her piety as folly, at her faith as an error, and at her innocence [99] as silly simplicity. They urged her every day to abandon the faith, but she cherished it more than life; she retained her rosary as the most precious possession she had in the world; her regret was that she could not distinguish the Festival days or Sundays, and, above all, that she could Not confess. Fear of the Iroquois, who during the previous Winter had carried off thirty of their countrymen, still further increased her dread of dying without confession. Therefore, during four years she daily entreated Our Lord to inspire her husband with the idea of going down to three Rivers, and taking her there with him, or to send one of our fathers into her own country. The Divine goodness gave her, of these opportunities, that which she least expected. She was overjoyed at My arrival, [100] and came to Me with tears in her eyes; but they were tears of consolation, both for her and for Me. She brought me her child to be baptized, and another, a little girl, to be confessed. As for her, I may say that she confessed herself with her eyes bathed in tears, with such affection and such clearness that it touched Me very deeply. I remained for several Days in a state of self-abasement and confusion, When I remembered what I had seen in and heard from that Savage Woman. She prevailed upon her husband to such an extent that, in the Autumn, he gave up a second Wife whom he had; she taught him the prayers and the Mysteries of our faith; and, as he is a man of some importance, he won over to Our Lord five or six families of his Tribe, Whom I have [page 43] baptized this year. [101] The others of the same Tribe whom I saw were also fairly well disposed; but I deemed it more advisable not to grant them holy baptism so soon, because some of them had formerly followed the trade of Jugglers, who are the Sorcerers of the country.

A second proof of the true Christianity that prevails among those who compose this assembly—which, properly speaking, consists of Attikamegues—Is the zeal that they manifest in banishing vice, and In tolerating nothing among them that Is contrary to the promises that they made to God at their baptism. A young man had taken a Christian wife, without, However, being able to have the marriage performed With the rites of the Church. (When they are At a distance of two or three hundred leagues in the woods, resort to the Pastor is a very onerous condition.) Some discord having arisen [102] in this Marriage, the husband left his wife, and took another during the Winter. no sooner had this Wretched Man arrived than he was referred to Me. He Came to me, and, as the scandal had been public, he asked Me for a public penance, which gave me and all those good Christians more consolation than his sin had caused them grief. This is the second scandal that has occurred in a region and in a flock so remote from the sight of its Pastor, Where there Is nothing which can prevent sin, except the fear and the love of God.

The third proof of the Firmness of their faith is the assiduity and diligence with which they perform the duties of a good Christian. They are not content With praying to God night and Morning, before all their actions and before their meals; but they usually pray [103] Six or seven times a night, Interrupting [page 45] their slumbers as Many times and kneeling on both knees. I have never seen them prevented from doing so by anything whatever. When they were notified to come to prayers or to instruction, at the first word they immediately went to the Chapel. Not one, no matter how high his position might be, was ashamed to learn, even from the children. An aged Captain repeated his lesson—either on prayers, or some devotional air, or regarding the holy Ghost, the Guardian Angel, or saint Joseph—with as much simplicity and as lovable a humility as if he had been only eight or ten years old. Those whom I had taught last Winter—among others, My host and his brother, a Captain—did wonders everywhere, and at that assembly I could not have desired anything [104] in the world that could be better, either for speaking, for edifying by their examples, or for attracting by means of their presents the more distant tribes to come and listen to the prayer, that is, to be instructed. My host alone gave for that purpose twelve thousand porcelain beads to the Erigouechkak tribe.

A fourth proof of the true faith of these people is their constant thought of death. Formerly, if one spoke of death in their country, he became a criminal, and, as it were, a murderer. Now they have changed their style; when they speak of this life they call it only "the four nights that they have to live." "Remember that we must die," the Captains often

say to the young people, to maintain them in their duty. "Think that tomorrow you may die; and that you must keep yourselves [105] prepared for a moment upon which depends an entire eternity, [page 47] either of good or of evil, according as you have served

God or obeyed the Devil."

The devotion that they have for the souls of the departed is another proof of their faith. Not far from the place where this gathering is held, there is a Cemetery, in the middle of which stands a fine Cross. There are the sepulchres, four or five feet wide, and six or seven feet long, raised about four feet above the ground; a fine large piece of bark covers the grave; at the head and at the feet of the deceased are two crosses; and on one side is a sword, if the deceased were a man, or some household implement, if a woman. When I arrived I was asked to pray to God for the souls of those whose bodies lay in that place. A good Christian woman [106] brought me a robe of Beaver fur by the hands of her daughter, aged about seven years; and said, when her daughter presented it to me: "My Father, this present is to ask thee to pray to God for the soul of her sister, and for her grandmother." Many others preferred similar requests to me. I promised to do what they wished, but told them that I would not accept their gifts.

Some time ago, when the Christians of this place died, their rosaries were buried with them. Last year, this custom was changed into a still more holy one, on the occasion of the death of a good Christian woman who, in dying, gave her rosary to another, begging her to keep it and to say it for her, at least on holy days. This act of charity was promised to her; and that custom has been [107] introduced since that time,—so that, when any one dies, his rosary is presented, with some little gift, to some person selected among the company, who undertakes to [page 49] carry it and to say it for the soul of the deceased, at least on Feast-days and Sundays. But let us resume the continuation of our journey.

After remaining some days at. the place of this first gathering, I embarked, in company with thirty-five canoes, to go to another assembly, about twenty-five leagues thence, We had no other provisions than the produce of our fishing. A piece of fish, weighing nine or ten ounces, was our usual allowance for a day,—that is to say, it was our bread, our meat, our entrées, our dessert, our everything. The broth in which [108] the fish had been boiled was our beverage. Not that the fishing was not sometimes more plentiful, but frequently also we had to be satisfied with five or sir ounces a day, and sometimes less. It is true that nature is content with little, and that God sustained our bodies as well as our souls in this deprivation of all things.

On the day after embarking, we encountered horrible waterfalls,—among others, one in a place where the river, after rolling over many rocky levels, falls suddenly as if into an abyss, like a stone trough or cradle, hundreds of feet long. In this cradle the river boils so that, if you throw a stick therein, it remains there a long time without reappearing; then [109] it suddenly shoots up, to the height of two pikes, forty or fifty paces from the place where you have thrown it. To avoid these falls, we carried our canoes and our baggage over high mountains, by a narrow path on the edge of a precipice; and at every moment there was but a step between us and death.

On the third day, we reached our destination, and were saluted with a general discharge of all the firearms. After the Captain had delivered his harangue [page 53] to me,—which was short, but full of affection and piety,—we were taken to a chapel made of the bark of certain very odoriferous pine-trees, and built by the hands of these good Christians, wherein no European had ever set foot. Two Captains did wonders by speaking [no] highly of the blessedness of the faith, which they enjoyed through our attentions and charity. One of them, whom I had baptized at three Rivers some years ago,—a very intelligent man, tall of stature, and an excellent Christian,—brought me a small bundle of straws, as a list of those whom he himself had instructed and very well prepared for baptism. I was delighted to see that. God had done, without us, what I could not have hoped to do myself after long instructions. The first two to whom I spoke were two brothers, married to two young women who were well-formed, but as modest as any European Christian. The elder of the two brothers spoke to me thus, while holding his rosary: "Here," said he, "is what I prize more than anything in the world. I have [111] never seen any Europeans before to-day, and I did not wish to see any, except that I might be instructed and baptized. For three years I have asked God that I might see those who teach and who baptize; he has greatly obliged me by bringing thee here to baptize me. I thank thee for having come; lose no time; teach us." "But," I said to them, "do you know the prayers?" "Listen," they said to me. Thereupon each of them knelt and said his prayers holding his rosary in his hand. "But where did you get that rosary?" "The Christians gave these to us," they replied. It was consoling to see their modesty and their attention; they did not lose a single word [page 53] of what was said to them. After they had been taught some mysteries, they asked to be questioned; and when they knew it [112] well, they divided themselves into small groups, in order to teach others who had not been present. In no time at all, everyone knew the Catechism; and, a few days afterward, I baptized those whom I found best prepared. Most of those who were assembled here had never seen Europeans. I confessed the older Christians, and administered communion to them. On Saturday, the Captain gave notice that all things necessary for the morrow must be provided for, so that no work should be done on Sunday. This custom of celebrating the Festival days is observed not only by the Christians, but also by the others. One day, when I was coming out of the Chapel, they came to invite me to a feast in a certain place, where seven or eight kettles were hung up, near the Cemetery. An old man began to speak, and said that the feast [113] was not a superstitious one, but an act of charity that they wished to offer to those who were hungry, and in order to request their prayers to God for the soul of one of his departed relatives. Meanwhile, preparations were being made for the feast, which consisted of some Moose, about twenty Beavers, and some Bear's fat: Prayers were said to God for the departed. This man and his wife have a great affection for God, and I might say that God is ever present to them. Frequently, during the day, they entered the chapel, although the blessed Sacrament was not there. Here are some points on which I questioned him, and on which he frankly replied to me, respecting his inner experiences. [page 55]

Question. "Dost thou remember to think of God sometimes during the day?"

Answer. "I do remember. Is it not he who gives us everything as a father does to his children; who [114] guides and preserves us I Should we not therefore remember him, and often thank him for it?"

Qu.estion "How many times a day do you pray to God?"

Answer. "For my part, I pray to him at least four times. In the morning, when we arise, and when we meet together, we say all the prayers and two decades of our rosary; at night, we recite the remainder; and when I go to sleep I also pray in public. Besides that, I pray to him before I do anything; but, usually, God alone witnesses it."

Question. "And on Sundays how many times do you pray to God all together?"

Answer. "Four times. In the morning, when we have said all the prayers, we recite the rosary; and the Captain of the prayers exhorts us to live as good Christians. At noon, we meet together for [115] the second time; the third time, we meet at Sunset; and the last time, before going to sleep."

Question. "Do you not forget the Feast-days and Sundays?"

Answer. "It would be easy to do so were not those days full of reverence. Not one of us forgets them. Look at the catalogues of all the Christians, and see how the days that deserve respect are marked therein."

Question. "And what did you do on Christmas eve?"

Answer. "We passed it entirely without sleep; some recited their rosaries three times, others oftener; and we sang what Hymns we knew." [page 57]

Question. "What thoughts hast thou about thyself?"

Answer. "That I am a dog, and less than a flea before God."

Question. "What dost thou feel [116] when thou seest one of thy people offending God?".

Answer. "It grieves me very much. I pray for him and warn him. But I do not see my people committing any great offenses. I very often speak to them of God, and tell them to ask his pardon for their sins."

It would take too long, were I to relate that man's sentiments. His wife yields nothing to him as regards piety; the slightest shadow of sin frightens them. The Christians of that assembly govern themselves by him. I was delighted to see a Christian woman named Angelique; she is truly a saint; all her time, when she is not working, she devotes to instructing her neighbors, or to prayer. I feel unspeakable pleasure in observing her teach the others; and never have I seen any [117] Savage so well versed in the mysteries of our faith. The holy Ghost is a great Master; Spiritus ubi vult, spirat. , Oh, what confusion for me to see how these poor Barbarians—without Priest, without Mass, and without any other help—maintain themselves in such purity and fervor! Monsieur de Normanville was greatly touched by it. Let us continue our journey.

From this second gathering we went to a third, three days' journey from that place, accompanied by sixty canoes. I found no little occupation there; for those people came from a country where the faith was still looked upon as a law of death, and where polygamy prevailed. On my arrival, I spoke of the object that brought me thither; the Christians who were with me told them marvelous things [118] of [page 59] the excellence of our faith, and of the trouble that I had taken to come and instruct them,—giving them clearly to understand that I was a person of consideration, but that I exposed myself to all those fatigues through the desire of their salvation. These Savages gradually grew accustomed to such discourses, and brought me several of their children to be baptized. On the following day, they and all the Christians erected a large Cross, and began to build a Chapel, and to prepare a Cemetery for the dead, close by. I taught in that Church, from morning until night; our Neophytes, on their side, did their best; and, within a few days, we observed a marked change. Here are some proofs of it.

In the first place, as soon as the call for prayers was heard, all hastened thither, [119] like famished persons to a feast. Secondly, when we went to get them to come and be instructed, they put everything aside,—no matter what there might be to prevent them, or what time of the day it was. Thirdly, they brought me the drums and other superstitious instruments which the Jugglers, who practice the trade of sorcery, use when they have recourse to the Demons whom they invoke. Fourthly, as the day did not suffice for them, they came for me at night to teach them in their cabins, where I was listened to as if I were an Angel from Heaven. Fifthly, the older people exhorted the youths to listen attentively, and to remember my instructions well, in order that they might, when they had more leisure, learn from the young men what these should have learned from me. The fervor was general. Although many asked [120] for baptism, during the ten days that I spent there, I did not deem it advisable to grant this so soon,—[page 61] except in the case of the old people, for whom I feared approaching death. I observed, among others, a blind old man, eighty years of age,—a, man of sound sense, who thoroughly understood our mysteries. He repeated and taught to the others what was most difficult. This man, though blind, was beloved and honored by his people. He was continually astonished that he had lived so long without knowing well or thinking of the Author and Master of our lives. It seemed as if God had reserved this good old man solely for Baptism.

Hunger compelled this gathering to disperse. They begged me to return in a year from that time, with such tender affection that [121] my heart was quite consoled. I left my Chapel in the hands of the Captain, as a pledge that I would come and see them again. The Neophytes asked me for rosaries, to give to those whom they might meet in the woods,—that they might teach them to say these, and prepare them for Baptism, as they are in: the habit of doing. I gave them all that I had left, except a few, which I sent as presents to the Captains of some Tribes further to the North, to invite them to come in the following years. I think that this will produce its effect; if the rosaries were handsomer, it would be all the better. No porcelain beads are so highly prized, and for no other reason than that they look upon them as holy things, dedicated to God. Zeal for the conversion of souls [122] is, as it were, natural to these good Attikamegue peoples. Husbands win their wives to God, and wives draw their husbands to him; parents teach their children, and the children win their fathers and mothers; in a word, this country is a good soil, [page 63] wherein the seed of the faith produces a hundredfold. In all these regions there are many other Tribes,—more than we can baptize, even if we had still forty years to live; and those people have no intercourse with us. It is from them that the Hurons, before their own country was desolated, obtained nearly all their Beavers,—the supply of which, being no longer diverted elsewhere, will now come to our French settlements, if the Iroquois do not disturb our repose.

We returned by an entirely different road from that which [123] we had followed when going there. We passed almost continually by torrents, by precipices, and by places that were horrible in every way. In less than five days, we made more than thirty-five portages, some of which were a league and a half long. This means that on these occasions one has to carry on his shoulders his canoe and all his baggage, and with so little food that we were constantly hungry, and almost without strength and vigor. But God is good, and it is only too great a favor to be allowed to consume our lives and our days in his holy service. Moreover, these fatigues and difficulties—the mere recital whereof would have frightened me—did not injure my health. We returned to three Rivers on the 18th of the month of June.

Since writing the above, I have felt somewhat uneasy in my conscience because I have [124] omitted to mention many cures that seemed miraculous, and were obtained through the prayers that these good people say with their rosaries. They have a great devotion for the blessed Virgin, for their Guardian Angel, and for the Saints whose names they bear. I was also afraid of being too diffuse, and, for that [page 65] reason, I did not mention many pious sentiments of these good Neophytes. God will be glorified thereby in Heaven, where we shall verily see that his kindness is everywhere alike in its quality, and that he has no less love for poor Barbarians than he has for those who, for many centuries, have made him the object of all their affections.

I hope next Spring to make the same journey, and to push still farther toward the North sea, to find there new tribes and entire new Nations wherein [125] the light of the faith has never yet penetrated.

Since that journey, the Iroquois have entered that country which seemed almost inaccessible. You would say that the Preachers of the Gospel, the Faith, and Crosses always accompany one another in New France. As soon as any Father sows the seed of the faith in a new country, sickness and war at once follow him. The letter given below, written since the journey just related, is a manifest proof of it. God shows by this proceeding that it is not human eloquence that persuades our belief, and begets faith in souls who see Jesus Christ only in his Cross. To a God alone it belongs to make the mind of a Barbarian, who is closely bound to his senses, believe that a doctrine [126] is holy and good which tie can hardly embrace, save by embracing persecutions or death.

Letter of Father Jaques Buteux, written from

three Rivers to Reverend Father Paul

Ragueneau, residing at Quebec.

Y REVEREND FATHER,

Pax Christi.

The inward sorrow that I felt on leaving Sillery, whither I went by Your Reverence's order, and the state of abandonment into which the good God cast me, were no doubt but presentiments and foretastes of the cross that I was to meet with, and of the chalice that I was to drink, on my arrival at three Rivers. I felt this cross all the more, because I considered myself guilty of the [127] loss of some Catechumens, who had died without Baptism; and I had more reason to grieve for the death of some brave Neophytes who advanced Christianity, a thousand times more than I, among the tribes whom God has placed under my charge.

The Iroquois penetrated into the country of the Attikamegues, as far as the lake called Kisakami. I would never have thought that they could have found or reached that lake with their canoes. On: the journey that I made to those regions, we walked about twenty days on the snow, before coming to it. The length of the road, the currents of water, the horrible and very frequent torrents, did not prevent those Barbarians from going thither, and surprising twenty-two persons in the darkness of night. There were only [128] three men in their cabin who[page 69] defended themselves valiantly; all the, others were but women and children, who, after the death of the three brave warriors, were tied and bound, and dragged away as victims to the land of fire and flames.

A neighboring cabin was full of women whose husbands had gone out hunting; and when they heard the noise of the combat, and the cries and groans of their neighbors, they fled, under cover of the darkness. When their husbands returned from their pursuit of game, they were greatly surprised to find their countrymen massacred, and their wives in flight. Thinking that they were sure to have gone toward our quarter, they came to seek the same refuge. I greatly fear that those who are scattered about that lake will be put to death, this [129] winter, by those same Barbarians,—who will surprise them all the more easily, since those poor people think they are in safety.

Those who have come to throw themselves into our arms are most worthy of compassion, both on account of the loss of their friends, and because they have not been able to hunt and collect furs,—which are the money wherewith they buy their clothes; and most of their food, from the French. In a word, they are in dire necessity. How can we live, and not succor them? They are Christians, and true Christians. This great affliction is far from casting them down, or making them indifferent, or less affectionate toward the faith. On the contrary, they are more eager to thank God, to praise him, and to conform to his holy will. So far, their sole and only request, [130] in so pressing a necessity, has been

merely for prayers on behalf of those who have been killed; and for those who are captives, that God may [page 71] give them strength to suffer as Christians, and to persevere in the faith.

One of them came to see me, this morning. In that disaster he lost his father, his wife, three of his children, three of his young brothers, and a sister; but in the sorrow of that great affliction, which touches him deeply, his lips uttered not a word of complaint; he praised God, with a faith that delighted me. These trials are great. God shows that he is God in the hearts of these brave Neophytes. This good Christian is deprived of a wife, one of the most comely and accomplished women that I have seen among these Tribes. She was [131] a good housekeeper, very industrious, most generous; very courageous, modest, and charitable; as humble as possible; and, above all, she had a zeal for the faith, and for the salvation of her neighbor, exceeding all that I can say of it. This zeal has made her a captive, and has caused her to fall into the hands of the enemy; for, when she was invited to withdraw inland in the direction of Tadoussac, which is a country unknown to the Iroquois, the desire that she felt to go and help the Catechumens of lake Kisagami induced her to remain in the quarter where she was captured. Within a short time, she has won to Jesus Christ more than twenty-five families. She has so completely changed the heart of her husband by her gentleness and compliance, and by a truly solid virtue, that from a fierce and savage man she has made of him a Christian, meek [132] as a lamb. For more than six years, they did not fail to expose themselves, to great danger, and to perform long journeys, to come to confession and communion at the appointed time. They had intended to pass this Winter near [page 73] us, to perfect themselves in the faith and in the Christian exercises.

I could say many things about the others who were killed or taken captive, especially of the father of him whom I have just mentioned,—who had received the name of Antoine in his Baptism. His faith, his zeal, his inward piety, his patience, and his other virtues were extraordinary. He enjoyed, above all, the presence of God to so remarkable a degree that it would be difficult to believe what I might say of him. It is sufficient that God knows it, and that he will be the reward of his good deeds.

[133] I do not yet know where the Savages who are here will go for their great Winter hunt. The Attikamegues, of whom I have just spoken, have been invited to go down to Sillery. These good people replied that they had no other will than that of their Father; and that, although they were in greater danger here than at Sillery, they wished to remain in the place that God should ordain for them through the mouth of him who guided their souls. I am greatly embarrassed, for I know not what advice to give them. If I keep them near me, they 'will, as I cannot give them all the assistance that I would desire, disperse from time to time to hunt, and may fall into the ambushes of the Iroquois. To send them to you, as you are already burdened with many [134] Hurons and Algonquins, I can hardly make up my mind. And both they and I find it very difficult to part; they are my hosts and my boatmen; it is they who have conducted and conveyed me to their country, and who are to take me there again, next Spring. They have given all their porcelain in presents to the more remote Tribes, to induce them to [page 75] attend at the appointed time and place, to hear me speak of the mysteries of our faith. Should they decide to go down to Quebec or to Sillery, I have some idea of following them, if Your Reverence agree thereto,—so that, when they leave your vicinity in the Spring to return to their own country, I may be able to accompany them. I commend myself to your holy Sacrifices, this 4th of November, 1651.

 

Here is another letter, dictated by a Christian Captain named [135] Noël Negabamat, or Tekouerimat, and sent to a Father of the Society of JESUS, who went back to France some time ago on account of matters respecting these new Churches. The reader will be pleased to observe the simplicity of these people.

ATHER le Jeune, thou art my Father, and wholly my friend. I say to thee that I will always keep the faith and the prayer; I will never forget what thou hast taught me; I will never lose courage in the faith; I will always obey the commandments of him who has made all. I have this thought, that I shall remain steadfast; and that, even were I the only believer, I will believe and pray always, until death,

I tell thee, also, that I wished to go to France to see thee, but that I was prevented from doing so. I was sent [136] to the countries of the Abnaquiois and of the English, who are their neighbors, to ask them for assistance against the Iroquois. I obeyed those who sent me, but my journey was in vain. The Englishman replies not; he has no good thoughts for us. This grieves me much; we see ourselves dying and being exterminated every day.

For thy part, my Father, be firm and constant [page 77] of heart; speak to the great Captain of the French; encourage the other Captains, visit them often, and induce them to defend those who believe in him who has made all. The Iroquois are weak, but you are strong; the Iroquois are few in number, but you are very numerous. If you wish to destroy our enemy utterly, you will do it, and give us life once more.

[137] I speak to thee once more, my Father. Remember that thou must not deprive us entirely of thy presence. I count all the Winters since thy departure; we are about to enter upon the third. That is enough; return, I beg thee, to our country; come and see thine old friends and thy spiritual children.

I send thee a robe wherewith to cover thyself, so that thou mayst not be cold on the ship, when thou returnest. Dispose of it, however, as thou choosest; thou art the master of it. If it should please any one of thy friends, thou mayst give it to him, for the French will not let thee be cold in their ships.

Pray to God for me, for my wife, and for my children; I have still three,—a boy six years old, a daughter of four years, and a little son in swaddling clothes. We often speak of thee to Father Dequen who is [138] now our Father; he also very often speaks to us of thee. He is very anxious to see thee. We pray to him who has made all, for thee, and for all who assist us and have pity on us. My consolation is, that, if I no longer see thee on earth, I shall see thee in Heaven. It is Noël Tekouerimat who writes to thee.

 

Here is another letter from Father Martin Lyonne, written from la Rochelle to Paris, to the Father [page 79] Procuror for the Missions of the Society of JESUS in New France. In it will be seen the result of the voyage which he has just made to Canada. It is but a succession of crosses, which one must bear with as good a grace in old as they are borne in New France. [139]

 

Y REVEREND FATHER,

Pax Christi.

This will inform you of our good and of our evil fortune, of our joys and of our sorrows. I know not whether I should say that we have arrived safe in port, because we find unhappiness in the midst of our happiness, and have to chant the Psalm Misrere mei Deus instead of intoning the Te Deum laudamus, with which our Mariners cause the air to resound when they reach the end of their voyage. I shall relate our adventures in detail.

We left la Rochelle last year only on the sixteenth of July, at which season the North and Northeast winds blow but little; and this occasioned a long and unpleasant passage. We reached Quebec at last, on the fourteenth [140] of October, and left it on the

sixteenth of November. Never have ships sailed from those countries so late in the year; not one of the inhabitants would embark, either for his private affairs or on public business, for they feared the ice in the great river St. Lawrence, and storms on the sea. I know not whether they had a presentiment of what was to happen to us; but I do know that we were beaten by all sorts of winds and tempests. We all thought that the beginning of December would be the end of our lives. the fury of the unchained winds lasted eight days; during that time we were struck by such a heavy sea that about eighty [page 81] puncheons of stones and eight large dismounted cannons,—that served as ballast for our ship, [141] to keep her steady,—all the merchandise, our water-casks, and our peas,—which then supplied the only food for our table,—in a word, everything in the hold of the vessel, shifted, rolled over, and was thrown pell-mell on one side of our ship; and I know not what prevented the cannons from bursting a hole through her. She careened and lay over, to such an extent that the water poured in over the side; our topmasts were carried away; the biscuit that remained was all soaked; and every one cried for mercy. We remained about an hour in that position and had we shipped another such sea (as very frequently happens), the vessel would have upset and gone to the bottom. But the blessed Virgin saved us from this, in consequence of a vow that we made to her, and which we have performed. I know not how [142] the ship, borne down as she was on one side by the weight of so many cannons, stones, and puncheons, could ever have righted herself without a miracle.

Finally, after weathering this storm, and other lesser ones that also beset us, we reached, on Christmas eve, the place where we expected to find rest, and to perform our devotions. There was nothing but rejoicing; gladness beamed on the countenances of all our people, saved from a watery grave. We were adorning the Captain's cabin with the finest of everything in the ship, in order to celebrate holy Mass on Christmas day; when suddenly we heard the report of two shotted cannons firing on our ship. This noise, in the darkness of the night, silenced us. We were between isle de Ré and that part of the mainland called Chef de [143] bois: We afterward [page 83] heard men's voices, calling out: "Bring to! Bring to! Down with your sails; drop your anchor, or we will send you a broadside from fifty cannons!" God knows how astonished we were at these words. As we knew nothing of what was passing in France at the time, we thought that these were some of the King's ships, to windward of which we had inadvertently placed ourselves; for the darkness prevented us from recognizing them. We lower our sails, cast anchor, and are boarded by four boat-loads of soldiers and sailors, who leap into our ship, break open the

lockers, and pillage everything they can find. They take our Captain before the person commanding five or six vessels that lie in that estuary; [144] and, to cut short, our ship is taken to Brouage. For my part, I went to la Rochelle with our brother Pierre feoté, who has come back to France for his health.

Those are not all our adventures. We started from Quebec, two vessels in company,—one called the St. Joseph, of which I have spoken; and the other la Vierge. We kept company all the time we were in the great river, until we left the land behind; when we became separated. Now, as the latter ship was a much faster sailor than ours, we thought that she would reach port long before us; and yet she has not made her appearance. This leads us to believe that the storms that nearly wrecked us have destroyed. her; and our conjecture is all [145] the better founded, because that ship was weak, and had great trouble in reaching Canada, for she leaked very much throughout the whole passage So much for our voyage. I say nothing of the country; the letters and the Relation, which I send you in advance, will tell you everything. I would merely [page 85] beg you to consider, as soon as possible, where you can find something to send to our Fathers, and to the poor Savages who, flying from the Iroquois fires, throw themselves into their arms every day, having but faith and Christianity for their sole wealth. Expect no help from the country. What it is accustomed to give for a portion of the support of our Missions is lost. Those to whom belonged the two ships and the merchandise that I have mentioned, cannot assist us after [146] so heavy a loss. God be praised for all. Quod bonum erat in oculis suis fecit. We must adore his providence, and confide in his goodness. I commend myself to your holy Sacrifices, until I have the honor of seeing you.

My Reverend Father,

At la Rochelle, this

27th of December, 1651.

Your most humble and affectionate servant

in Our Lord,

Martin Lyonne.

(No news has been received of the ship mentioned in this letter, since it was written.)

END.

Permission of the Rev. Father Vice-Provincial.

E, Charles Lalemant, Vice-Provincial of the Society of JESUS in the Province of France, have granted for the future to sieur Sebastien Cramoisy, Printer in ordinary to the King and Queen, Burgess and former Alderman of this city of Paris, the printing of the Relations of New France.

Done at Paris, this 3rd day of February, 1652.

Charles lalemant

 

LXXX

 

Journal Des PP. Jesuites

en l'année 1652

Source: We follow the original MS., in Laval University library, Quebec.

Journal of the Jesuit Fathers, in the year

1652.

FEBRUARY, OF THE YEAR 1652

N the 26th, Monsieur le Seneschal and Monsieur Robineau leave Quebec to go to three Rivers, in company with 15 frenchmen. They arrived at 3 Rivers on the second day of March, and started thence on the Thursday of mid-Lent. They arrived at Quebec on the following Saturday, the 9th day of March.

MARCH.

On the second day of March, 12 Hurons, six Algonquins, and ten Algonquin women, having left Three Rivers for Montreal, and having spent the night on lake st. Pierre, were—on the next morning, a Saturday—attacked on the way by the Iroquois. 3 Algonquin women escaped, also five Algonquins, and 2 Hurons, Ehawennon and Achaennhak. Desiderati sunt decem Hurones,—Toratati, burned; Athohonchiwanne, killed; Ora'kwi, Otarawia, burned; Ondïatsondi, Onnondate¸en, Osondach, Atandihetsi, Ionde'cha, and Tonnontaon, son of Hoek, qui et Ahoskwentak vocatur.

On the 8th, Mademoiselle de Grandmaison's house at the isle of Orleans was burned, [page 93] about ten or eleven o'clock in the evening.

30. Father Druillettes arrived at point de Lauzon, with Jean Guerin, after many fatigues,—returning from New England and the Mission to the Abnaquinois. The next day,—Easter day,—he said mass to the habitans at that point; and the wind and the ice detained him till Wednesday, when he crossed to Quebec.

APRIL.

On the 9th, about 8 o'clock in the evening, died Mother Marie de St. Joseph, Assistant of the Ursulines. She was buried the next day, after high mass, which was said at ten o'clock by Father Hierosme Lallemant,—Monsieur Vignal serving as Deacon, and Monsieur de Lisle as subdeacon. 4 of our Fathers were present in surplices,—Fathers Mercier, Chastelain, La Place, and Poncet. After the gospel, Father Lallemant delivered a sort of sermon. Monsieur the Governor was present, et multi alii.

On the 16th, there was a performance of Corneille's Tragedy, le Scide [Cid].

On the 19th, Monsieur de La Poterie arrived by canoe from three Rivers, with La Boujonnier and sieur Le Moine, agent at Montreal, bringing letters which acquainted us with the following news from Montreal,—to wit, that, On February 15th, an Algonquin, named by the Hurons Haasate, left Montreal with three Hurons,—Pierre Tsondeonskon, Jaques saonwaretsi, and Louys Tehoa'chia'kwan. On [page 95] the 17th, they were captured by 8 Annie'ronnons, who intercepted their trail near Montreal, and followed them until at a day's journey from Anniee. Aasate escaped by night, and arrived at Montreal on the 10th of March. He brought back the following news:

1. that the Neutrals have made an alliance with those of Andasto¸e against the Iroquois.
2. that the sonnontwe'ronnons, going to war against the Neutrals, had been defeated, so that the women had been constrained to leave sonnontwan, and take refuge at Onioñen.
3. that the Annie'ronnons and sokoquinois are killing one another.
4. that, during the winter, the Annie'ronnons had gone to war toward Andasto¸e,—the result of which was not yet known.
5. that Tehandoutason had gone,—he the eighth,—toward the petite Nation, as a skirmisher.

On the 4th of April, Father Buteux left Three Rivers for his Mission to the Atikannegues, with Tsondoutannen, a Huron, and fontarabie.

On the 16th of April, Monsieur Robineau left Three Rivers for Montreal, with some Algonquins who were going for trade to the petite Nation. He returned on the 26th to 3 Rivers.

On the 22nd, Monsieur des Prez was drowned at 3 Rivers.

MAY.

On the 4th, the frigate sails for Tadoussac. Father De Quen and Father Albanel leave [page 97] for their mission; Monsieur Denys, goes to find Monsieur de La Tour, in order to establish himself again toward Miscou.

On the 5th, some one has a glimpse of the Iroquois on the coast of Lauson; vanus tamen rumor.

On the 16th,—the Thursday before Pentecost,—we leave Quebec in the Esperance,—Monsieur the Governor and I,—and arrive at Three Rivers the next day, having said Mass at the Cape. On Trinity Sunday, 26th of May, we left Three Rivers for Montreal, where we did not arrive until ten o'clock at night the next day. We sailed again on the 3rd day of June, and arrived at Three Rivers on the fifth. We left Three Rivers again on the 21st; and the next day we arrived at Quebec.

On the 10th day of May, Father Jaques Buteux, in company with a Frenchman named fontarabie, and a Huron named Thomas Tsondoutannen, was killed by a band of 14 Iroquois. The two frenchmen remained dead on the spot; the Huron was Led away captive. This took place on the Three Rivers, at the third portage. The Huron afterward escaped from the hands of the Iroquois, and arrived at Three Rivers on the 28th of the same month, giving news of the disaster.

On the 13th of the same month of May, the Algonquins, having gone up for trade to the whitefish tribe, fell into the ambushes of that band of 14 who had killed Father Buteux. [Page 99] They took to flight, excepting the son of Jean Baptiste, who shot and killed an Iroquois; but he had his arm broken, and was captured and burned at the same place.

15. Two Huron women, mother and daughter, Annendok and Atondech, with a little son four years old, were seized at Montreal by a band of 50 or 60 Iroquois. They had gone to a secluded place, in order to get some meat from a Moose, which four frenchmen had killed there.

On the 16th, a Huron named Ahoskwentak, son of Hoek, who had been taken by the Iroquois on the second day of March, returned in safety to Montreal.

The same day, at daybreak, eleven Algonquins, who were hunting in the islands of lake St. Pierre, were surprised and defeated by a score of enemies. A number of them escaped.

On the 21st, two men in a canoe,-one a Frenchman, named La fleur de Cognac, a soldier; the other, a young Algonquin,—having gone to raise their fish-line on the other side of the River, opposite the fort of Three Rivers, were attacked by a volley of 7 or 8 gunshots. The savage died two days later; the Frenchman was wounded, but not seriously. The enemy promptly retreated, being pursued by a number of canoes and shallops.

On the 26th, the day of The Trinity, a troop of 50 Iroquois killed the cowherd at [page 101] Montréal, named Antoine Róos, near the hill St. Louys.

JUNE.

On the 2nd, two Algonquin women, escaped from the Iroquois, arrived at Montréal; one of them had been delivered of a child by the way, ten days before. They had been 25 days on the road. The child was baptized the same day, and named Jean by Monsieur De Lauson. Our Governor was his godfather; the godmother was Mademoiselle Mance.

On the 3rd, having sailed from Montréal, we picked up, three leagues below, a Christian Algonquin named Mangouch (Ahikwanne, by the Hurons), who had been taken in lake st. Pierre on the 16th day of May, ut dictum supra.

Two hours later, we encountered a canoe with seven Iroquois, to whom we gave chase, sed frustra.

4. We picked up in the islands of lake St. Pierre two Algonquin women, escaped from Anniené, where they had been captive for 2 years.

On the 5th, we arrived, about eight o'clock, at Three Rivers. Toward evening a soldier, named de Beaumont, having entered a very short distance into the woods for hunting, went so far astray that he was lost for three days.

The fugitives brought back the news:

1. that, toward the end of the winter, a [page 103] band of Iroquois had gone up to the whitefish tribe, and had dealt a considerable blow.
2. that another band had gone up to the Païsans, and had captured 25 Algonquins.
3. that the Onnontaeronnons had defeated a number of Hurons, toward the end of the last summer, in the isle Ahwen'do¸e, where they had gone to seek Sunflowers.
4. that the Iroquois, having gone during the winter in full force against the Atra'kwae'ronnons or Andasto¸e'ronnons, had had the worst of it.

June 8. Enheionsa and Aontarison, Hurons, having gone very early in the morning to their fish-line, which was at Three Rivers, fell into an ambush of Iroquois. The first was killed on the spot; the second was probably carried away alive; but the enemies, having been vigorously pursued by the Algonquins, Hurons, and French, may have thrown him into the water, after having killed him. However this may be, the Iroquois were so keenly pursued that they were constrained to abandon all their baggage. Two were then killed, from whom Our savages removed the scalps.

On the 23rd, the Shallop arrives from the first ship come from France, commanded by Master Jean Pointel; this ship ran aground on isle aux Coudres.

28th. Joseph Taondechoren, Pierre Ahandation, André Hannenharisonk, Martin Honahahoiannik, Dominique Ondhwe¸i, and René Hondennionhe, with three little children, [page 105] were drowned while going to Tadoussac, having been surprised in a canoe by a storm. Optimi christiani.

JULY.

On the 1st, Monsieur de Charny arrives, and the men who had come by that first ship.

2. A band of 80 Iroquois appeared at Three Rivers,—at first to the number of 8, who, issuing from the wood, rushed upon two canoes which were approaching the land opposite Three Rivers, where they had gone accompanied by a shallop, to inspect some fish-lines. But, Our men having abandoned their canoes and taken refuge in the shallop, there appeared a greater number of Iroquois, who discharged 40 or 50 shots upon the shallop,—in which no one was hurt save Atseñna, a Huron Captain, but slightly in the arm. They fired, on both sides, several volleys without effect; until, by gradually working into the stream, and raising the sail, the Northeast wind carried our shallop to the brick-yard. The enemies were meanwhile holding the middle of the river in 13 large canoes. The French, Hurons, and Algonquins having embarked, they give chase to the enemy at such a rate that they constrain him to go ashore, a league from the fort of 3 Rivers. Sundry negotiations were held between the Hurons and the Iroquois; these not pleasing the French and the Algonquins, the French, to prevent the same, withdrew to Three Rivers; and, subsequently, all the [page 107] Hurons and Algonquins. Shortly afterward, the Iroquois send a canoe with three men, who stop in the middle of the River while waiting for a canoe from us. Annaotaha, Sowendwanne, and an Algonquin went to meet them.

While they were parleying, other canoes from the enemies' side came ashore in the direction of the brick-yard, which landed a Huron named Oskennontonwa, or Otindewan. Hoek went to meet him, and put him in charge of Monsieur Robineau, who led him to the fort, where Onda'kont questioned him.

Meanwhile, these three canoes were parleying with certain persons, saying that A¸ontarisati was coming with the intention of making peace, etc. But, every one having concluded that this was nothing but deception, the plan was adopted of deceiving them in turn. There was a canoe with three men, at the edge of the water,—two Iroquois, and a Huron named Annenharitak. Onda'kont beguiled this canoe, while some hastened to get bread; Annaotaha, Ahoskwontak, and some children carried it. Annaotaha comes near, and the others; and, while giving bread, he lays hands on the Iroquois. Some men run up, at the same time, and bring them along. The one whom Annaotaha had seized proved to be Aontarisa'ti, chief of the band; the other, named Ta¸akenrat, was not a man of importance. [Page 109]

The enemies were not aware of this capture, save through the delay of these men to return.

On the 3rd, Father Menard baptized the two Iroquois, Pierre and François Aontarisa'ti, who were burned the next day. Aontarisati was given for an Algonquin named Otsinnenko; Ta'akenrat, for Torata'ti, a Huron.

As for news of the enemies:

1. The capture of Atra'kwa¸e by the Iroquois Nations, to the number of a thousand. They have carried off 5 or 6 hundred,—chiefly men. The Annie'ronnons lost, in this expedition, ten men; the other cantons, some 20, some 30,—all together, 130.
2. One band has been to Ekaentouton, where they have made a capture.
3. Another has made a capture at Askikwannhe.

On the 23rd, the frigate sails for 3 Rivers, where Monsieur Barbier is going to trade. It returns the 10th day of August. . . . The Esperance leaves for Montreal, whither goes Monsieur Theirry, agent of sieurs Rozee, Guenet, etc.

AUGUST.

On the seventh day of August, 80 Hurons, Montagnais, and Algonquins, returning from Montreal, were attacked by the enemy, who numbered one hundred, in eleven canoes. Our Christians had two shallops and some canoes. There was one Huron killed, Anniewindet; and an Algonquin, Entsoña. [page111] Three Iroquois were killed, and several wounded,—so that the enemy retreated, and had the worst of it.

On the 10th, news arrived from Montreal that, on the 29th of July, two Iroquois, having slipped in under cover of the corn, had attacked Martine, wife of Antoine Primot, who, by defending herself courageously, gave the soldiers of the fort time to come to her aid, and put the enemy to flight. She received six shots, not one of which was mortal.

Monsieur de Charny is married to Madamoiselle Louyse Giffard.

On the 17th, letters arrive from Acadia, from Monsieur de La Tour.

On the 18th, 4 frenchmen were attacked by 8 Iroquois canoes, between 3 Rivers and the Cape; Maturin Guillet and La Boujonnier were killed on the spot. Plassez, a surgeon, and Rochereau, were taken away as captives.

19. 2 French shallops having been in search of the cattle of 3 Rivers,—killed or scattered by the Iroquois, above 3 Rivers, along the lake, —the following persons were killed or carried away captive:

Monsieur Du Plessis, the Governor.

Monsieur Grandmesnil.

Guillaume Isabelle.

francheville, captive.

Poisson.

Turcot.

Normanville, captive.

Du Puis.

Matris Belhomme, burned.

Langoulmois, killed.

La Palme, captive.

La Gravé.

St. Germain.

Chaillon.

Des Lauriers, died from his wounds.

The fight was about eleven o'clock in the morning. 120 Onneiochronnons.

At the same time, Sawenhati, a Huron, and his wife, were killed in their fields by some Iroquois.

21. Monsieur le Seneschal and Father Mercier depart for 3 Rivers.

On the evening of the 29th, Monsieur le Seneschal and Father Mercier arrive, petituri auxilium et immunitates habitantibus trium fluminum; and inform us,—

1. that there has been a loss of 50 horned cattle.

On the 31st, Master Jean Poulet's ship arrives, and Father Lyonne in it. Nasritur filius Domino le Seneschal.

SEPTEMBER.

On the 1st, the shallop from Montréal arrives, bringing us Monsieur d'Ailleboust, and the news of the capture of Tiburce Aotonst at 3 Rivers, on August 30th.

On the 8th, the bark Esperance sails for 3 Rivers, with Monsieur de La Poterie for Governor.

On the 20th, Our brother Liegeois arrives, in the Flemish ship called the Passemoy.

On the 27th, at evening, the bark from 3 Rivers arrives.

Monsieur Le Chesnee's house is burned at point de Lauson; and his daughter, of 3 or 4 years, is burned in it.

OCTOBER.

1. Father Andre Richard sails for Acadia.

8. The shallop of Master Jean Langlois arrives.

On the 13th, the frigate for Montreal sails.

On the 20th, Captain Pointel's ship sails; and,

On the 21st, Captain Poulet's ship, in which was Father Lyonne. They were laden to the amount of sixty-five thousand livres of Beaver.

NOVEMBER.

On the 3rd, departure of the Passemoy, the Ship of sieurs Pagetz and Beraudin, which was delayed 8 days behind the isle of orleans by the Northeast wind.

On the 12th, arrival of the bark Esperance from 3 Rivers, which brings us the news that, on the 25th day of october, a Huron;woman, named Annendieratons, had been killed at 3 Rivers; and that, on the following day, st. Denis and Gaillarbois had been killed at the Cape, and a certain Le Valon wounded.

On the 16th, the bark Esperance sails for 3 Rivers.

24th. The frigate returns from Montreal, bringing news of the death of La Lochetiere, killed by the Hiroquois; and of the fight which took place at Montreal on the 14th of october.

On the 16th of september, André David, alias Mirgré, had been killed by some Iroquois near the house of the late Big Jean.

On the 26th, 9 Algonquins arrive, with five Sokokinois, whom they had captured as enemies, in the direction of the south, 3 or 4 days' journey from the river. Their lives were spared, with the intention of sending two of them back to their own country, in order to give warning of what was going on; and to ask that some Algonquin women be sent back, whom the Sokokinois are keeping, etc. But the Algonquins and Hurons having, at the outset, wounded and beaten these prisoners so severely that the two who were chosen to make the journey, were not in such condition that they could do so, this journey was postponed.

DECEMBER.

9th. Genevieve Bourdon takes the veil at the Ursulines'; it was I who officiated, Father Hierosme Lallemant who said the mass, and Father Chastelain who preached. Madame d'Ailleboust and Madame Bourdon entered, and dined in the Ursulines' house. Monsieur the Governor, Monsieur d'Ailleboust, and Monsieur Bourdon came to dine in our refectory, as also did Monsieur de St. Sauveur and Monsieur Vignal,—Monsieur Bourdon having sent for our whole refectory to dine, ubi duplicia fuere omnia.

END

LXXXI

Relation of 1651 - 52

PARIS: SEBASTIEN ET GABRIEL CRAMOISY, 1653

Source: We follow a copy of the original Cramoisy (H. 98), in Lenox Library, New York.

We herewith present chaps. i. - vii.; the balance will appear in Volume XXXVIII.

RELATION

OF WHAT OCCURRED

IN THE MISSIONS OF THE FATHERS

of the Society of Jesus,

in the country of

New France,

from the Summer of the year 1651, to the Summer of the year 1652.

 

Sent to Reverend Father Provincial of the

the Province of France.

 

By the superior of the Missions of the

same Society.

 

 

 

PARIS

	Sebastien cramoisy,
Print- ed by	Printer in ordinary to the King; and to the Queen Regent,	ruë St. Jac-ques, at the
	AND Gabriel Cramoisy.	sign of the Storks.

M. DC. LIII.

BY ROYAL LICENSE.

 

Table of the Chapters contained in this Book.
RELATION of what occurred in the Mission of the Fathers of the Sociefy of Jesus, in the country of New France, from the Summer of the Year 1651 to the Summer of the Year 1652		page 1
Chap. I.	Letter from the Father Superior of the Mission to the Reverend Father Provincial, touching the death of Father Jacques Buteaux.	page 1
II.	Of the Residence of saint Joseph at Sillery.	10
III.	Of the Huron Colony on the rsland of Orleans.	25
IV.	Of the Mission of the holy Cross at Tadoussac.	36
V.	Of the Mission of saint John among the so called Porcupine Nations.	56
VI.	Of the Mission of the Guardian Angel in the country of the Oumamiouek or Bersiamites.	71
VII.	Of the Mission of the Assumption in the country of the Abnaquiois.	76
VII.	Of the good disposition shown by the Abnaquiois toward the faith of Jesus Christ.	92
IX.	Of the War with the Hiroquois.	112
X.	Of the life and death of Mother Marie de saint Joseph, who died at the Seminary of the Ursulines of Kebec.	126 [i.e.,129]
	Of her Childhood.	130
	Of her Novitiate and her Profession	138
	How God called her, and made her go over to New France.	148
	Of her love and her devotion to Jesus Christ and his sufferings.	160
	Of her devotion to the blessed Virgin and to saint Joseph.	167
	Of some of her Virtues.	174
	Of her Patience and of her death.	188

Extract From the Royal License.

Y the King's grace and License, permission is given to Sebastien Cramoisy, Merchant Book-seller under Oath in the University of Paris and Printer in ordinary to the King and Queen, Citizen, former Alderman and Judge-Consul of this City of Paris, to print or cause to be printed a Book entitled, Relation de ce qui s'est passé en la Mission des Peres de la Compagnie de Jesus, aux Hurons pays de la Nouvelle France, és années 1651. et 1652, envoyée au R. P. Provincial de la Province de France. And this during the time and period of nine consecutive years, forbidding all Booksellers and Printers to print or cause to be printed the said Book, under pretext of any disguise or change that they might tnake therein, under penalty of confiscation and of the fine provided by the said License. Given at Paris, January 26, 1653.

Signed, By the King in his Council,

CRAMOISY

 

Permission of the Reverend Father Provincial.

E, François Annat, Provincial of the Society of Jesus in the Province of France, have for the future awarded to sieur Sebastien Cramoisy, Merchant Bookseller, Printer in ordinary to the King and Queen, Citizen and former Alderman of this City of Paris, the printing of the Relations of New France. Done at Paris, this 10th of February, 1653.

François Annat

[1] Relation of what occurred in the Mission of

the Fathers of the Society of JESUS, in

the Country of New France, From the

Summer of the Year 1651 to the

Summer of the Year 1652.

CHAPTER FIRST.

LETTER FROM THE FATHER SUPERIOR OF THE MISSION TO THE REVEREND FATHER PROVINCIAL, TOUCHING THE DEATH OF FATHER JACQUES BUTEUX.

Y REVEREND FATHER,

PAX CHRISTI.

The present letter will be to inform [2] your Reverence of the glorious death of Father Jacques Buteux, who was slain by the Hiroquois infidels on the tenth day of May of the present year, 1652.

Father Jacques Buteux was from Abbeville in Picardy, and was born in the month of April, in the year 1600. He entered the Society at Rouen, on the second of October, 1620, and was sent to these Missions of New France in the year 1634, aftei finishing his studies in Theology.

For the period of eighteen years, he was engaged in the conversion of the Montagnais and Algonquin tribes. God had given him a very special grace for touching these poor people's hearts and instilling in them such sentiments of piety, that those of our [page 135] Neophytes who had been under his care were recognized by a tenderness of devotion and a spirit of faith that was lasting and altogether extraordinary.

He was a man of prayer, and so unremitting in self-mortification that his life was an almost continual fast; he always made his bed on the hard ground; and cut short his sleep by a great part of the night; and [3] although he was of a very delicate constitution, and always suffering from some ailment, he added thereto voluntary inflictions over and above his strength, not being able to sate his vehement desire for suffering.

On overhearing some persons say that they would rather die than fall alive into the hands of the Hiroquois, "For my part" (he said to those to whom he was in duty bound to open his heart), "I would count myself only too happy if God had suffered me to fall into their hands. Their cruelty is great, and to die by a slow fire is a horrible torture; but grace overcomes all things, and an act of love to God is purer in the midst of flames than are all our devotions unattended with suffering." And indeed he was more than a thousand times in places where the Hiroquois was to be feared, without ever being daunted, or letting the prospect of any danger stop him from taking a step, when there was hope of accomplishing something for the glory of God.

His death was the seal of his life. He had converted to the Faith many Savage nations, for whom he had [4] a Father's tenderness, while they all felt for him a love that was truly filial. But, above all, the Nation of the Attikamegues, whom: we call the Poissons-blancs, were the children of his heart; and in their souls he had implanted feelings of devotion [page 137] so powerful, and so efficient for their Salvation, that it seemed as if those good people had been born only for Heaven; as if innocence was their portion, and sin had been banished from all their country since the planting there of the Cross of the Savior of the world; and as if this good Father's Charity had made, from an utterly barbarous people, one that was wholly Christian. He had, with inconceivable difficulty and fatigue, made a journey to their country the year before, of which we gave an account in our last Relation.

This year, after passing the winter at three Rivers, with a good many Savages who had gathered there to receive his instruction, some families of Poissons-blancs invited him to follow them into their own Country,-where, it was expected, would be found a considerable number of other tribes from farther Northward, which had given their word to become [5] Christians. Had there been a thousand lives to lose, and a thousand Hiroquois in the way, this good Father's zeal would have made him face all those perils. They set out on the fourth day of April. Following is what he wrote to me on the eve of his departure:

"My Reverend Father: This time, it is to be hoped, we shall start; God grant that our resolution may be firm, and that finally we may depart, once for all, and that Heaven may be our journey's end. Hœc spes reposita est in sinu meo. Our company is feeble, consisting mostly of invalid men, and of women and children,—the whole comprising about sixty souls. The provisions and supplies of this little troop are in the hands of him who feeds the birds of Heaven. I set out with my sufferings for [page 139] company; I have great need of prayers, and ask, in all humility, for those of your Reverence and of our Fathers. My heart tells me that the time of my happiness is approaching. Dominus est, quod bonum est in oculis suis faciat." These are his last words.

After a month and more of many fatigues, and, above all, of hunger, which [6] followed them everywhere on this journey,—several days often passing during which their hunting gave them nothing to live on,—they resolved to separate, and to take different routes. Si venerit Esau ad unam turmam, et percusserit eam, alia turma, quœ reliqua est, salvabitur. However, their separation did not take place until Ascension-day, after the Pastor had Confessed and fed all his Flock; and after their hearts, animated with a new devotion, had been prepared for the eternal journey.

After the other parties had gone ahead, the Father was left in company with a young Frenchman, who was accustomed to the life of the Savages, and a young Huron Christian. The snow being melted, and the ice in the rivers brok en up, they embarked in a little bark canoe, which they themselves had made; and they encamped were nightfall obliged them to halt.

On the morrow, which was the tenth day of the month of May, they continued their journey; and after they had been compelled to disembark three times, in places where the river goes falling down declivities and where it ceases to be navigable, (that means, in such circumstances, that one has to carry [7] his canoe and all his baggage on his shoulders,) when they were making their their portage, each laden with his burden, they found themselves surrounded [page 141] by a band of Hiroquois who lay in wait for them on their way. The Huron, who was walking in front, was seized so suddenly that he had no time to take a single step backward. The two others, a little Farther away, were brought to the ground by the discharge of the enemy's muskets at them. The Father fell, wounded by two balls in his breast and another in his right arm, which was broken. Those barbarians immediately threw themselves upon him, to stab him with their javelins, and to kill him and his companion with strokes of their hatchets. Neither of them uttered a single word, except the name of Jesus. They were stripped entirely naked, and their bodies thrown into the river.

Two days later, some other Christians, who were following the same route, fell into the same ambush; and a young .Algonquin whom the Hiroquois captured alive, was cruelly burnt there, on that very spot, with no other consolation but God, whom he invoked until [8] his last breath. They reserved the young Huron, in order to burn him in their own country; but in the course of a few days God gave him means to break his bonds, and, escaping entirely naked from his captivity, he arrived safely at three Rivers on the eighth day of June. It was he who brought us these sad tidings, which, however, are happy enough, since they redound to the glory of God in the death of those who lay down their lives for the salvation of souls.

Subsequently, the Christian Savages went to search for their good Father's body; but, despite every exercise of diligence, they never succeeded in finding it, although they found his Companion's body, half eaten by the Crows and wild animals.[page 143]

Deus, venerunt gentes in hœreditatem tuam. Posuerunt morticina servorum tuorum, escas volatilibus cœli; carnes Sanctorum tuorum, bestiis terrœ: effuderunt sanguinem eorum tanquam aquam, et non erat qui sepeliret.

I have been unable to prepare anything but this letter for the Relation. The Fathers, who are only just returning from their Missions, furnished me their memoirs too late, and I [9] send them to Father Paul le Jeune, Procuror of our Missions, who will present them to Your Reverence for such disposition as you shall choose to make of them. From them can be drawn themes for noble and holy edification.

If it please our Lord to preserve the country from the fury of the Hiroquois, we have employment for his glory, which will outlast our lifetime; and we shall see his name worshipped in this new world, where for five thousand years it had never been known. To this end we ask the help of your prayers, and the prayers of all those who have a love for the salvation of souls.

My Reverend Father,

Kebec, this 4th of October, 1652.

Your very humble and very obedient

servant in our Lord,

Paul Ragueneau, of the

Society of Jesus.

[page 145]

 

[10] CHAPTER II.

OF THE RESIDENCE OF SAINT JOSEPH AT SILLERY.

HE Christians of this Residence have given employment all the year to two of our Fathers, who have performed all the duties of good shepherds over their flock, administering the Sacraments of Baptism, Confession, the Eucharist, Extreme unction, and Marriage; comforting the sick, burying the dead, Catechizing and preaching to the living,—in a word, working to the utmost of their strength; for it has been necessary, notably this year, to join temporal to Spiritual assistance, and this for two reasons.

One is, that the Hiroquois, being always in the field, cause these good Neophytes to fear that they may meet death in the forests whither they go to seek their living. Wishing to go and kill wild animals, which serve them for food, they fear they may themselves be killed; this apprehension, during the greater part of the year, has thrown them into [11] extreme want The other reason is, that there has been so little snow this past winter that those who risked their lives in order to find game thought they would die of hunger and cold,—so that, being destitute of all things, they would have died miserably or, at least, would have undergone extreme suffering, had not the goodness of some persons, whose charity is not limited by the confines of France, given us the means to succor them. [page 147] I could wish that people might witness the sentiments of gratitude that these good Neophytes have for their Benefactors, and hear the fine speeches they make in regard to them; for, in truth, these favors cause them an astonishment which is all the greater because they have naturally little love or respect for those who are not of their own nation. They love one another, but have only importunity for all Strangers. Now, when they see that persons who, as they are told, are people of worth and condition, like Captains or Captains' wives, do them a kindness from a thousand leagues' distance, that touches them and [12] makes them search for its reason; and when they learn that all those who believe in Jesus Christ are bound to love one another as brothers, since they will all be together in Heaven, and that it is in view of and in consideration of this that they are given help, that gives them a high idea of the Faith. "I did not believe," said a Captain one day, "that there were in the world people so good as to send presents to those whom they have never seen. Prayer and belief have a strange power, since out of many nations they make only one. Since I was Baptized, it seems to me that I have gained a great many relatives. When I enter the Frenchmen's Church; I am told that the French are my relatives. When I see a baptized Huron, I look upon him as my relative; and, if the Hiroquois were baptized, I would consider them my relatives, for they would be no longer wicked."

Another Captain said to a Father: "Since thou knowest how to paint speech," that is, "since thou knowest how to write,"—"and since those person's of importance who are beyond the great Lake "—[page 149] that is, beyond the Ocean—"hear with their eyes,"—that is, "know well how to read,"—"tell them [13] that we shall believe in God, and pray to him for them, all our lives; that we are their children, and they are our parents; and tell them to speak to the great Captain of the French, in order that he may give us aid against the Hiroquois, who kill and massacre and burn those who pray and who believe in God."

When the Father Superior of our Missions asked some Christian women if they could really love persons whom they had never seen or known,—speaking of some Ladies who had. aided them,—one of them took the word and said: "Why not, Father? Those holy women of charity love us well without having seen us; why should not we love them well without seeing them: They have nothing before their eyes prompting them to love us, while we see their presents and their alms. They love us for the love of God, who has bidden them do good to the wretched; and we love them also for the love of God, whose will it is that we should love those who follow his example,-that is to say, who do good to all the world. Finally, we love those [14] holy women of Charity without seeing them, as we wish to love God without seeing him. We shall see them in Heaven when we see God, who gives them this compassion for us, and who is our Father, as they are our mothers." Such was the answer of a Savage woman, which has nothing Savage in it.

Word reaches us by letter that the Captain of the Savages of that Residence generously imitates the goodness of those who place no limits to their hearts and hands, and who believe themselves indebted to [page 151] the Barbarians as well as to the Greeks. Nova bona data dare fillies suis. That excellent Neophyte knows how to dispense the goods that God and men have given him to the poor Christians, whom he considers as his children. He succors the old women, the poor widows, and the orphans,—giving them bread, peas, Indian corn, eels, and even robes. Now see what is observed regarding this Captain.

A French Lady, who has become his neighbor in that country, speaks of him as follows, in a letter that she has sent to a person of virtue and rank: "Noël Tekouerimat, who was formerly called [15] Negabamat,—a great Captain of Sillery and an excellent Christian, possessing nothing of the Savage except the name,—thanks you, as your very humble servant, for the honor of being remembered by you. He hopes, and we also, that, if God gives peace to old France, you will work for the aid of his people against the Hiroquois. I leave it to the Reverend Father le Jeune to tell you the details of our afflictions and our needs. I speak in the name of the Savages, whom I love tenderly." These are the very words of her letter.

Let us add something of what has occurred at that Residence and has not yet appeared in the other Relations. Here is a Paradox which will with difficulty find credence in minds unacquainted with the Savages. There has been Baptized: a young woman of about twenty-three or twenty-four: years of age, who has remained a Virgin although she has had three husbands in succession. This poor girl,. if we may so call her, was brought up in the. innocence of the first centuries, having been born in a nation far distant from Kebec. When she was at the cove of [page 153] Saint Joseph, a young man, after a stay of some time there, [16]