PREFACE TO VOL. XL

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

LXXXIII. Bressani's Breve Relatione, begun in Vol, XXXVIII., and continuing through Vol. XXXIX,, is here completed. He relates — abridging from the Relation of 1650 — the martyrdoms of the Huron missionaries, Garnier and Chabanel, and gives sketches of their lives. The final chapter of this document recounts " the desolation of the Huron country, and removal of the Huron mission to Kebek, " This also is largely compiled from Ragueneau's Relation of 1650. Bressani concludes with an expression of the hope still entertained by the missionaries that, at some future time, they may resume their labors among the Western savages.

LXXXIV. This is the Relation of 1652 - 53 , sent by the new superior, François le Mercier, and dated at Quebec, October 29, 1653. The first chapter, written by the Paris editor, recounts the capture by an English vessel of the ship on which was conveyed Father du Peron and the Canadian mail to France. The Father's papers are seized and carelessly flung about by the soldiers; he rescues. what he can, but

Le Mercier mentions the unusual aid sent to Montreal this year — a hundred artisans, who are not only versed in their trades, but brave in war. The Fathers residing there recommend special devotions to the Virgin, for aid in repelling the Iroquois; as a result, " God's hand was so heavy upon the enemy that they sued for peace. "

Three Rivers is harassed all summer by attacks of the enemy, which are graphically described — especially an attempt to capture that village by surprise, which is foiled by the vigilance and resolution of the French. The Iroquois finally begin friendly negotiations, and go away, leaving hostages with the French for the return of Father Poncet and a companion, who were captured, a few days before, by one of the Iroquois bands. His seizure and deliverance are described — mainly as written by himself, at the command of his superior. The two French prisoners are taken to the Iroquois country, where they are tormented — in like manner, but not as cruelly as had been Jogues and Bressani. Poncet is given, after a few days, to an old woman in place of her brother; he is then treated with the utmost kindness, and adopted into the family. His young French companion is, however, burned to death. Soon afterward, Poncet is released by his captors who take him first to Fort Orange (Albany) to obtain some European garments from the Dutch who treat him most generously and hospitably; then to Three Rivers, where he is surrendered to his countrymen.

Le Mercier now relates in detail the preliminary negotiations for peace — with the accompanying

secured by the providence of God, and, next, by the influence of Father Poncet. All the five tribes join in this peace — the Mohawks consenting last of all. Father Poncet returns, somewhat later, and confirms the statements of the Iroquois envoys that their people desire peace; the ratification of the treaty will be made in the following spring.

In November, 1652, a party of Sillery Algonkins had captured some prisoners of a tribe not named, but probably one of the Abenaki tribes. As a result of this event, a treaty of peace is made between this distant people and those of Sillery, which also is described in full. Le Mercier recounts the injuries ;u suffered by the French and their savage allies from the Iroquois war which has just ended. The fur trade, which had amounted to two or three hundred thousand livres annually, has been ruined; " for a year, the Montreal warehouse has not bought a single Beaver-skin from the Savages. " In consequence, the whole country is in distress. News is brought from the far West, that the Algonkins and Hurons who have fled thither from the Iroquois are preparing to come down to the French next year for trade; and several young Frenchmen plan to go to these tribes for the same purpose. These prospects are especially enticing, because the beaver and other fur-bearing animals, having been left undisturbed for several years, have multiplied enormously; and a rich harvest of furs is consequently expected. Another resource of Canada is in its fertile soil; and agriculture there is now becoming successful. The eel-fishery is also highly

this country is the Kingdom of water and of fish. " The climate is very healthful — "an especial blessing."

The peace made with the Iroquois, detailed in the preceding chapters, fills the missionaries with joy, and great hope for the extension of their field of labor. Le Mercier finds especial encouragement in the prospect of establishing a mission in the enemy's country, on or near Lake Ontario. The Onondagas invite the Jesuits to do this. The final chapter — summarizing several letters from Canada which have come to the Paris editor mentions that the Hurons who took refuge at Quebec have cleared and planted 300 arpents of land, thus providing food for them- selves. Some of them have been clothed through gifts received from France, from friends of the mission. Several instances of the piety of these neophytes are recounted, as also of their virtuous resistance to temptation.

R,G.T.

MADISON, WIS., February, 1899.

LXXXIII (concluded)

BRESSANI'S BREVE RELATIONE

This document, commenced in Volume XXXVIII., and continued throughout Volume XXXIX., is here complete .

CHAPTER SIXTH.

DEATH OF FATHER CHARLES GARNIER.

slain by the sword, or by fire, — which they kindled on all sides in order to expedite their work, fearing the return of the warriors. They therefore practiced, in a short time, savage cruelties, — especially upon the children, whom they tore from their mothers’ breasts in order to throw them alive into the fire. Father Charles Garnier was at that time alone there of ours; nor would he hear mention of fleeing, as some friend advised him to do. He wished, like the others, to die while administering the Sacraments, and exhorting all to constancy in the Faith, both in life and in death. And he did so until he received from the enemies an arquebus shot with three balls, — one of which wounded him in the stomach, another in the breast, the third in his thigh. This threw him to the ground, where he did not fail to lift his hands to Heaven, and to give signs of deep devotion; and soon afterward — as it were, rousing himself from a profound sleep, and looking about him — he saw one wounded like himself, to whom he thought he could give some spiritual aid. From the charity and zeal which glowed in his breast he gained, then, new strength; he arose, and took, half kneeling, two steps in order to approach him; but falling back in a strange manner, he was obliged to stop there until, recovering strength, he made a second and a third effort to die in the exercise of that charity which he had always practiced in life. We know no other particulars of his death, because the good Christian woman, who was a spectator of what has been told, was then wounded in the head with

related to us the foregoing. But the Father's body had, besides the arquebus wounds, the head cut open, from both temples even to the brain. The two Fathers who were in the neighboring Mission received the poor fugitive Christians all night; and on the following morning they went to St. Jean, in order to bury the body of their dear companion, — where they saw with their own eyes the effects of the Barbarian enemy's cruelty. They looked for that blessed body in vain, for a time; but at last they recovered it, naked, among many others which were half roasted; nor would they have known it, — so disfigured it was, — but for the help of some good Neophytes, who alone distinguished their dear Father from the others. In order to bury him, the two Fathers both stripped themselves of a part of their own clothing; and they immediately returned thence with their companions, who, for fear of the enemies, hastened away. The warriors of St. Jean returned two days later; and, being informed of their disaster by the blood and the corpses of the weakest (whom the enemies killed by the way, as a dangerous encumbrance), spent, according to their custom and that of the ancients, the day in a profound silence, — prostrated to the earth without lifting their eyes, and almost without motion, like statues of marble or of bronze, — leaving tears and lamentation to the women.

Father Charles Garnier was a native of Paris. He died at the age of 44 years, 25 of which he had spent in the Society, and 13 in these missions. From boyhood, he had had profound sentiments of devotion, especially toward the Most Blessed Virgin, whom he always called by the name of " Mother. "

even till death;. and he died on the eve of this feast, in order to go and celebrate it more solemnly in Heaven. While a young man among our Students at the College of Paris, he received every month from his Father some money for his recreation. He reserved it for the day of the vacation; when, having obtained leave to go abroad, instead of spending it in sports,. he carried it to the prisoners. One day he bought. with it an immoral book, in order to burn it, so that it should harm no one. Being with some companions who entered an inn, to make a banquet there, he, so as not to act against the rules of the Congregation, stayed at the door like a footman, waiting till they had finished.

looking at him. He was a man of profound humility, who — though he had taken the 4 vows, and was, in every respect, of eminent character — esteemed himself the least of all even of those who were not Priests; and, if he heard himself praised, he thought that he was punished by God, and felt sensible pain from it. Accordingly, by way of remedy, he often revealed his defects to the person who was praising him, — which he thought might give the latter an aversion to him. In prayer, even amid the most distracting occupations, he was most collected, and all fire from beginning to end. Besides sleeping on the ground, — a thing common there to all our Missionaries, — he used an iron belt with stars of steel; and with this he disciplined himself. His food was not only of things most insipid, but extremely moderate, so as to give alms with it to the hungry, especially in the last two years that he lived. During that time, partly from necessity, partly for edification, — although he had been delicately brought up in a noble house, — while mercenarii in domo patris abundabant panibus, — he reduced himself to the deprivation even of turkish corn, the only food of the country; he contented himself with some acorns, or with some bitter root cooked in water alone, without salt, and without bread or other relish. Three days before he died, the Superior of the Mission had written to him that he ought to consider whether it were not expedient, in order to recuperate himself somewhat, to retire for a time from the excessive labors in which he lived; and invited

true, " he says, " that I suffer something on account of hunger, which is great and universal here; but non usque ad mortem, — by the grace of God, neither the spirit nor the body loses its vigor. I do not fear hunger as much as I would fear that, by abandoning my sheep in these times of misery and dangers of war, wherein I am more than ever necessary, I might be lacking, in the opportunity which God should extend to me of losing myself for him, by rendering myself unworthy of his favors, etc. I take sufficient care of myself; and if I found myself in real need of recuperating my strength, I would not fail to leave for Ste. Marie, being disposed to abandon everything rather than obedience. Dut nothing else shall remove me from the Cross to which the divine goodness has attached me. " What we have said of his inward feelings is the testimony of that one who heard him in confession, and intimately dealt with him, for more than 12 years, who adds these words: " I may say in truth that, in these 12 years and more during which he opened his heart to me as to God, I do not believe that, outside of sleep, he remained a single hour without ardent desires of increasing in virtue, and of advancing his neighbor therein. Everything else was indifferent to him, — relatives, friends, rest, consolations, pains, fatigues, etc. God was everything to him; and, outside of God, everything was naught to him. " But that which follows is from one of his companions, who at the request of the Superior thus writes of him: " Your Reverence orders me to write to you what I know of Father Garnier. I think, generally speaking, that he had all the virtues in an

any fault that directly opposed any virtue. He sought God in everything, and not himself, nor have I ever been able to judge that he acted upon the principle of nature. He was ardent and full of zeal for the progress not only of his own, but of all these missions; in the variety of events, always the same, without vexing himself, but perfectly conformed to the divine will, — whereto in these last times he especially applied himself. He greatly respected all. He never blamed a failing, — even the most inexcusable; and if some Barbarian, committed to his charge, accused himself to him, either he excused him, if he could, or else was silent. All his thought was to promote in those missions the glory of God; and this is the only thing which he recommended to me for the other life; while I remained to die these years behind him. He knew almost nothing of the affairs of Europe, and the news that he heard of them, once a year, he promptly forgot, — intent on that unum necessarium, for which he had forsaken everything. It was almost necessary to compel him to answer letters, especially from his friends, — he fearing to take away from the Barbarians a moment of that time which he had entirely consecrated to them. One of the worst tidings that he received was the death of either some adult or a child without Baptism; and he always feared to be at fault therein. I have seen him start on quite long journeys in most disagreeable weather, — exposing himself, in order to aid some soul, to the danger of losing his life in some river or chasm, — without

companions; he never said an abrupt word to me; he always took the worst, for the sake of giving me the advantage in everything, trying to persuade me that this better contented him. He was extremely punctual in the observance of the rules, and most sensitive in obedience. No matter how much occupied he was, he never omitted or lessened the time of prayer, examination, or spiritual reading, — employing therein the night, when he was hindered by day, at the cost of rest and sleep. Purity in him went apace with modesty, both truly Angelic; but I admired nothing more than his profound humility, " etc. This his companion, a very virtuous man, was also his Confessor, — to whom, when they were together, agreeably to the custom of our Missionaries in those countries, he confessed every day. I know that these things will perhaps appear to some too minute; but not to him who knows what true virtue consists in, and to him who shall weigh it with the weight of the Sanctuary. We have seen him with vile sick people on his shoulders, going 3 and 4 miles, to gain them for God; tending a long while, and many times a day, most filthy and incurable wounds, of which the patient's own relatives had a horror, — with a countenance serene and full of charity. This he did in order to gain those souls, which, though in cadaverous bodies, had not cost less than the others to their Redeemer. And, the nearer they approached death, the more diligent he was in serving them, because of the danger and greater necessity, — making 30 and 40 miles on foot, in the great heat of summer, in places full of danger from the enemies; running behind a guide, so that he could find

similar occasions passed the night astray in the woods, amid the snows and the ice. At the time of the contagion, they shut the doors on us, as we have said, on all sides. But his zeal did not; fear to expose itself to a thousand dangers, in order to penetrate where he hoped he could make the conquest of a single soul to God. He had recourse, with great confidence, to the Angels of those regions, and proved their manifest help. Some dying man saw at his side a most beautiful youth, who accompanied him, and exhorted the sick man to profit by the Father's instruction. He had a special inclination for the most abandoned; and, no matter how proud and ungrateful a Barbarian he encountered, he showed him a more than maternal love in order to bring him back to God. His zeal had no limit; he was aspiring toward new villages and toward other nations more distant, and had desired to fall into the hands of the Hiroquois, that he might have an opportunity of preaching the Faith to them; but God granted him the first without the second. He had been in all the missions of the Hurons; he had founded more than one of them, and, among others, the one in which he died. He had no attachment either to places or to persons, or to his own labors; every occupation was alike to him, provided it came to him from the Superiors, who sometimes made him leave the missions, in which he had his heart, in order to draw, like a Horse, necessary burdens in the snows; to serve the sick, to do the cooking, and carry wood; and to seek, at a distance of 20 and 30 miles, wild grapes, in order to make wine of them for the Mass. In all these things he was equal to

CHAPTER SEVENTH

DEATH OF FATHER NOËL CHABANEL.

the enemy held. These fugitives, arriving from the Tobacco nation, reported that the Father had followed them for a time, but that, feeling his strength fail, he said: " No matter if I die here; this life is a small thing; the felicity of Paradise is the true good, which cannot be taken from me by the Hiroquois." At Dawn, the Father resumes the way to Sainte Marie; but, after some journeying, he encounters a river, which hinders his passage. This report was given us by an Apostate Huron, who added that he enabled him to cross the river in his canoe, and retained, for landing him (as he said), his hat and his writings, together with a blanket, which serves in those countries for a mantle by day and a bed by night. What befell him afterward, we do not know,-whether he were killed by the enemies, whether he went astray in the woods, whether he died of cold or hunger, or were betrayed by the man who gave us the last news of him and was wearing his spoils.{2} It is certain that to travel in those countries is to travel in periculis fluminum, periculis latronum, etc.; periculis in falsis fratribus; and in this case this is the most probable, not to say certain; nor is it difficult to believe of an Apostate who had boasted, a little before, that he would kill one of us. Father Noël was of the Province of Toulouse. He died at the age of 36 years, 19 in Religion, and 6 of residence in those countries, for which he had had a strong vocation, — but not indeed, without struggles. After 4 or 5 years of study of those languages, he could hardly make himself understood, although he was not deficient in either talent or memory, — as he had shown in France,

zeal, to see himself powerless to produce an effect, for want of language! Secondly, he had naturally a great aversion to the manner of life and the customs of the Barbarians — amid the smoke or amid the snows; to lie down on the ground among dogs, and in the almost continual din of great and small, without being able to retreat to any place which was not public; without other light by night than that of a fire full of smoke, — besides the more than daily perils of falling into the hands of an enemy who has for you nothing but fires and unheard-of cruelties. Thirdly, it appeared that God, in order to make his Cross heavier, deprived him of visible graces by abandoning him to disgust and to sadness. Is not this a great trial, especially if it lasts five or six whole years ? Now such was that of this servant of God, — with whom, however, the demon never gained aught. He suggested to him every day, and many times a day, that by returning to France he would find there the contentment which now failed him, both temporal and spiritual, which he had experienced there in the past; that he would there find occupations adapted to his talents and inclination, wherein he would serve God to perfection and with holiness, like so many others, — who were, perhaps, in many respects inferior to himself, etc. But not only did he not yield to these suggestions, but, in order to attach himself more firmly and inviolably to the Holy Cross, he had, on the contrary, made a vow in this form: My Lord JESUS CHRIST, — who through a special disposition of your fatherly providence have made me, although unworthy, a coadjutor of your Holy Apostles in this vineyard

The last time when he started for the mission where he died, on saying Adieu to his spiritual Father, " This time indeed " (he said), " I hope that it will be in very truth à Dieu," — but with such an accent that the other called it the voice of a victim going to be sacrificed, and added to a third person: "I know not the designs of God, but I well see that he is training a Holy Confessor. " Father Noël said to an intimate friend that he felt himself quite changed; and that, — although he had been until that time very timid, — in exposing himself on that journey to most obvious dangers, he feared nothing. " But this disposition, " he added, " does not come from myself. " And, passing by the Mission of St. Matthieu, on the very day when he died, " I know not " (he said to one of those Fathers) " why obedience calls me back; but, whether or not I shall obtain permission to return to my post, it is necessary to persevere, and serve God even to death," — which he desired and hoped for, of even a more painful sort than he found it. He thus wrote, the year before, to a brother of his in our Society in France: "But little was lacking," he says,

temper than mine. Father Gabriel Lallement, one of the three lately killed, had exchanged with me a month before. I, as being more robust, was sent to a more distant and more fatiguing mission, but one not so fruitful in victories as that of which my lukewarmness has rendered me unworthy. It. will be when God shall please, provided that on my side I meanwhile fail not, among so many, to art the part of a martyrem in umbra, et martyrium sine sanguine. The fury of the Hiroquois, which ruins everything here, will perhaps one day do the rest, through the merits of so many Saints, - with whom I have the consolation of living in very great peace, in continual dangers to life, etc. May Your Reverence and those Fathers of the Province remember me at the Altar, as a victim destined to the fire of the Hiroquois, — ut merear tot Sanctorum patrocinio victoriam in tam forti certamine." God gave it to him, in the way and at the time

CHAPTER EIGHTH.

DESOLATION OF THE COUNTRY OF THE HURONS, AND

REMOVAL OF THE HURON MISSION TO KEBEK.

house and a Church, fearing lest the enemies should profane those places of Holiness. We called this Island St. Joseph; and the fixed residence, which we transferred thither, by the name of the first, — the Residence of Ste. Marie. These forests, unbroken, perhaps, from the beginning of the world, received us and furnished us materials for fortifying ourselves, together with our Barbarians, against our common enemies, — Ut sine timore inimicorum liberati, we might serve our common Lord. We had with us some laymen, to the number of 40, who from devotion, without hope of any temporal recompense, served this Mission; plying every sort of trade, each one according to his proper capacity, — and all, that of soldier, in order to defend those poor fugitives from the incursions of those pitiless foes. All, with the Barbarians, so applied themselves to the work that in one summer we found ourselves regularly defended, as well as our Christians, who in a short time gathered thither from various quarters, so that they could receive with safety and facility the instructions necessary for the preservation and increase of their faith. But there is not in this life any good without its counterpoise of some evil. This great concourse, which was the culmination of all our labors, brought with it, in part, the ruin of the country, which, as it was new, and could not be sufficiently cultivated in so short a time, — especially by starving people, and those occupied, besides in housing and fortifying themselves, — could not yield enough to feed so many people, famished,

notwithstanding the many alms that we gave, — 800 bags, half of Turkish corn, half of acorns, which at that time were esteemed a delicious article, and which we ourselves took from our own mouths, — we could not prevent hundreds and hundreds of them from dying in the winter by hunger. In the summer, many had rather postponed death than prolonged life, by living either in the woods on a few bitter roots and wild fruits; or on the rocks, on some little fish, — which they caught, as it were, by stealth, for fear of the enemies. But in the winter, - when the earth was covered with 6 or 7 palms of snow, and the lakes and rivers were frozen, — unable to obtain any succor from either the land or the water, they were reduced to an extreme misery. It was a frightful thing to see, instead of men, dying skeletons, walking more like shadows of the dead than like bodies of the living; and feeding themselves on that which nature has most in abomination, — exhuming the corpses (which we buried with our own hands, the relatives of the dead often lacking the strength to do so), in order to nourish themselves therewith, and eat the leavings of foxes and dogs. Quid non mortalia pectora cogis, sacra fames? It is true that the Hurons, before having the light of the Faith, ate the dead bodies of their enemies; but they always had, no less than the Europeans, a horror of eating one another, among their own people. But on this occasion necessity exceeded all laws: a certain brother ate his dead brother; a mother, her dead sons; and the sons, after death, did not recognize or respect the corpses of their own fathers. It was a quite frequent spectacle to see two little children still

But, where they thought to recover life, they received there either slavery or death; and, instead of dying by hunger, many died by fire. These were seized by the enemies, who were surrounding them on all sides, especially at night, without any resistance, — our Hurons being divided into several bands from necessity; and burdened with women and children, who served only to augment the terror and the confusion. Moreover, there came news of two hostile bands that were on their way to make havoc, one with the fields, the other with the people. Two of the eldest Captains came to find us, in secret; and to the Superior, in company with certain other Fathers, they made the following speech:

This transaction was too important not to require thought, and neither one day nor two, nor ten , were sufficient to settle it. To leave a country so much desired, so much sought after, where each one had his heart, — a Country which we regarded as the key to so many missions to a thousand unknown peoples; and where we actually had, besides 6 missions in the Huron language, 5 for various nations of Algonquins, — was not a small affair. On the other side, the reasons of the Barbarians appeared to us unanswerable and convincing. What was to be done? We redouble our devotions, together with the 40 hours' prayer. With prayer we consult Heaven; and with frequent deliberations we confer among ourselves, 15 or 20 times, at considerable length. It ever appears to us that God has spoken by the mouth of those Captains. They were telling the truth; the country of the Hurons was no longer aught else than a place of horror and of slaughter, and appeared uninhabitable to others than the furies of Hell. Whithersoever we looked, that we might retire, and yield to the miseries of the time, we encountered both hunger and war; and, besides, we hoped to be able to save many of them when near the French settlements, with greater facilities for instructing them in the Faith, in which they were still new. It was therefore necessary to yield, — all with a common consent, though against their own inclination, acknowledging themselves convinced by the Barbarians’ reasons. And because the enemy was not asleep, it was necessary to hasten the execution of the plan to the utmost, before he laid snares for us by the way.

the sweat and the blood of our brethren, was promising us an abundant harvest, and was giving all of us the hope of imitating them both in life and in death. Our only consolation was to take with us about 300 persons of a nation formerly most populous, but now almost utterly ruined, at the time when it was most faithful to God, — who had drawn from it his elect, and by depopulating the Land, had peopled Heaven, which is enriched by our losses. These unhappy remnants from the divine scourges, did not, in the loss of their possessions, their native Country, and their kinsmen, lose the Faith, — which in this last year had been bestowed by Holy Baptism upon more than three thousand persons; these now enjoy, as we hope, the fruit of it in Paradise. We departed from the Hurons at the beginning of May; and, after 900 miles of march, — amid various hardships and perils, and frequent shipwrecks, — we all finally arrived in perfect health, on the 28th of July, 1650, at Kebek,-whither, soon afterward, about 300 others followed us. Here, although the Most Illustrious Governor, a certain private citizen, and the two Convents of Nuns, burdened themselves above their strength with some few families; nevertheless the bulk of the load fell upon our shoulders; but with good courage we charged ourselves with the spiritual and temporal interests of the remnant, whom God has not hitherto allowed to die of hunger. But on this account it has been necessary to relieve the mission of some laborers, — especially as they are not, in this paucity of people, indispensable as before. Now if the Reader should ask me, " What will become of this mission?" —

ours, — I would answer him that Judicia Dei abysses multa. But if the fury of the Hiroquois should moderate itself, why not: I know that there are very great difficulties, but quœ impossibilia sunt. apud homines, possibilia sunt apud Deum, apud quem non est impossible omne verbum. And, furthermore, the world will not end until the Gospel has been preached everywhere. Now Westward from the Hurons, even to the sea of China, are innumerable nations, quibus nondum est annunciatum Regnum Dei, hence it is necessary that the Gospel one day reach thither; even though all these missions should cease for a time; God knows how. Non est nostrum nosse tempora, vel momenta, quœ pater posuit in sua potestate, — but, indeed, to beseech him that Adveniat regnum suum as soon as possible; and that he be glorified by every people and nation, until fiat unum ovile, et unus pastor, et omnes labio unum laudemus viventem in sœcula sœculorum. As it is, there still remain in Canada about 30 Fathers for various missions, both stationary and itinerant, — at Tadusak, toward the English, among the Atticamegues, etc., — besides the College of Kebek and the Residences at Sylleri, three rivers, and Montreal, mentioned at the beginning, the history of which has been written every year in French. The whole would have been made clearer with the map which I was hoping to add here, but it is not ready. Those who shall desire it can have it a little while later, in separate form, with pictures of the Barbarians and their cruelties.

Table of Chapters.

PREFACE . . . . . . . . . . page 1

Part first, Chap. 1. Situation and discovery of New France . . . . page 1

Chap. 2. Description of the country of the Hurons. . . . . . . 5

Chap. 3. Of the soil, food, and dress of the Barbarians of new France . . . . page 7

Chap. 4. Other difficulties in the Conversion of the Barbarians,

LXXXIV

RELATION OF 1652 – 53

————————

SOURCE: We follow a copy of the original Cramoisy (H. 101) in Lenox Library, New York

RELATION

IN THE MISSION OF THE FATHERS

of the Society of Jesus,

From the Summer of the Year 1652

to the Summer of the Year 1653

Sent to the Reverend Frovincial

of the Province of France.

SEBASTIEN CRAMOISY, Printer in ordinary

to the King and Queen

And GABRIEL CRAMOISY, ruë St. Jacques,

at the Sign of the Storks

Ä Ä Ä Ä Ä Ä Ä

M. DC. LIV

Table of Chapters contained in this Book.

CHAP. I. Of a vessel taken by the English,

and of the memoirs referred to in the preceding letter . 5

II Of what occurred at Montreal . . . . . . 10

III. Of what occurred at Three Rivers . . . . . . 22

IV. Of the capture and deliverance of Father Joseph Poncet . . . 46

V. Of the Peace made with the Iroquois . . . . . 88

VI. Of the Peace made with a Nation dwelling in a Southerly direction from Québec 129

VII. The Poverty and the Riches of the Country . . . . . 146

VIII. The door closed to the Gospel seems to open wider than ever . . . 153

CHAP. THE LAST. Extracts from various Letters brought from New France . 156

End of the Table of Chapters.

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 1652

to the year 1653.

LETTER FROM THE FATHER SUPERIOR OF THE MISSION

TO THE REVEREND FATHER PROVINCIAL.

hearts, he caused a light to dawn that will arouse wonder even in France. These events are still so recent that we can say that we fear without fearing, and that we hope against all hope. We send to Father Paul le Jeune, Procurator of our Missions, the account of both our good and our ill fortunes, in order that he may present it to Your Reverence. You will see that we are in greater need than ever of your prayers, and of the assistance of all those who take an interest in our weal and woe, who fear in our fears and hope in our hopes. Your Reverence will please to remember at the altar these poor people and all our Missions, and, in particular, him who is, cordially and devotedly,

My Reverend Father,

Québec, this 29th Your very humble and very

of October, 1653 obedient servant in Our

Lord,

FRANÇOIS LE MERCIER.

CHAPTER FIRST.

OF A VESSEL TAKEN BY THE ENGLISH, AND OF THE

MEMOIRS REFERRED TO IN THE PRE-

CEDING LETTER. :

through the port-holes, and ran along between the two decks, to serve as beds and blankets to those poor vanquished souls. At last the ship was brought to Pleymouth in England.

Here our Frenchmen, meeting with some vessels and Captains from their own country, subject to the same misfortune, were seized with a fresh grief. Scarcely had their ship entered the harbor, when it was surrounded on all sides by boats and gondolas filled with merchants, who immediately came up on deck to purchase from the soldiers the fruits of the pillage and theft just committed by them. The Father saw his Breviary sold at Auction, the purchaser not asking whether it was for the use of Rome or of some other Diocese. The piety of those worthy people consists in having money, and in obtaining it from things sacred, as well as from things profane. Our Frenchmen saw their little belongings put up at auction, and the greater part of the passengers lost in one day what they spent several years in gaining in New France. Some of them said that the loss of this ship might reach as high as three hundred thousand livres. I do not know whether that is true; but I do know very well that there was seen, in pitiful conjunction, much joy and great sadness, — some hanging their heads, and others raising theirs vaingloriously and rejoicing, Sicut exultant victores captâ prœdâ, quando dividunt spolia — "like victors when they divide their plunder and booty."

There is no place in the universe, except Hell, where there are not found some good people, or

him a small gift of charity. It must be admitted, it is a very harsh and trying experience to suffer shipwreck in port, as the saying is. This poor Father and all the passengers and sailors of the same ship, after they had endured the fatigues of the sea during a long voyage, and when they were not far from their native land, — and tasting, in anticipation, the rest and delight which they expected from seeing and conversing with their relatives and friends, — saw themselves miserably captured and carried off by those who did not bear the name, although they displayed all the conduct, of enemies. Let God be blessed for all things. To conclude, after the English had kept the Father for some days at Pleymouth, they sent him over to Havre de Grace, at the solicitation of some French Captains whose vessels had been captured and brought into this same port. It is thus that we received the fragments of the memoirs that were sent to us.

CHAPTER II.

OF WHAT OCCURRED AT MONTRÉAL.

The Fathers of our Society who are at this settlement observed that the Iroquois were incessantly striving to obtain it, making sallies into the Island, continually laying ambuscades, and holding our French so closely besieged that no one ventured upon a ramble, to even the least distance, without manifest danger of losing his life, — as was shown by what happened to one poor wretch, who, because he did not obey the orders that were given him, unhappily fell into the hands of these hunters of men. Our

blessed Virgin in a special devotional service. Fasts were observed, alms were given, forty hours of prayer were entered upon, and several communions were offered in her honor. In short, a solemn vow was made to celebrate publicly the festival of her presentation, — with petitions to God, through the mediation of this Mother of goodness, either to stay the fury of these enemies, or to exterminate them, if he foresaw that they were unwilling to be converted or yield to reason. Strange and very remarkable Circumstance! From that time not. only did the Iroquois not gain any advantage over us, but they even lost many of their own number in. their attacks; and God's hand was finally so heavy upon them that they sued for peace.

The protection of this Queen of men and of Angels was, on a certain occasion, made evident in an altogether peculiar way. Twenty-six Frenchmen were surrounded by two hundred Iroquois and, without the aid of that Princess, would have surely lost their lives. The Barbarians discharged their pieces at them from a position of close proximity; and two hundred shots were fired by them, without killing or wounding one of our men. It was not that they did not handle their weapons well. But it was God's will, in this attack, to verify the proverb which says that "what God guards is well guarded." Mary's Son refuses his holy Mother nothing. He turned aside the enemy's bullets, and directed those of the French so well that they caused many of their Assailants to fall, and put to flight those who escaped death or serious wounds. I have read in a letter that the routes taken by them in their flight were found all covered with their blood;

human bodies to the French settlement.

"There has not passed, " say the memoirs which have reached us, " a single month of the year in which these Hunters have not visited us by stealth and tried to surprise us. But finally, on the twenty-sixth of June, there appeared sixty of them, belonging to those who are called by the Hurons, Onnontaeronnons, requesting from afar a safe-conduct for some of their number, and calling out that they were sent on behalf of their whole Nation to learn whether the hearts of the French would be inclined to peace.

"It is strange how much confidence these Infidels have in our word, although they are well aware that they have betrayed us almost as often as they have treated with us, and that consequently they themselves deserve like usage. Our Frenchmen were, indeed, planning to deceive them, and to put these treacherous and perfidious people to the sword; but, when they saw them advancing unarmed and defenseless, such frankness softened their hearts and made them believe that God had granted the prayers which they had offered him through the mediation of the blessed Virgin, whom they had petitioned for help against so faithless and powerful an enemy.

When they had entered the Fort of our French people and had declared the purposes and wishes of their Nation, you would have said, — since nothing was any longer talked about but confidence and peace and good will, — that they had never waged any war, and that they were indisposed ever to begin it

those simple people were in our midst with out rod or staff, satisfied with the mere word that had been given them for their sole defense.

They were treated with kindness; their presents were received, and others given them in return; and, after a public rejoicing on both sides, they returned to their own country, overcome with joy at having found minds and hearts desirous of peace. I find in some memoirs that they gave their promise that news should soon be heard from them; and we have received word that some from that Nation came down to Quebec with presents, as will be seen in the fifth Chapter, where the peace is described. As for those of whom we are speaking at present, we are told that, on their way back, they called at the Village of Onneiout and displayed, before the Inhabitants of that Village, the presents that had been given them at Montreal. They said a thousand things in favor of the French: " They are," said they, " Demons when they are attacked, but the gentlest, most courteous, and most affable people in the world, when they are treated as friends." They declared they were really going to contract a close alliance with them.

The Onneichronnons, wishing to be parties to it, some time afterward sent an Embassy to Montréal, with a large porcelain collar, declaring that all their Nation wished to enter into the treaty of peace that the Onnontaeronnons had begun with the French. And, in order to give some proof of their sincerity, they informed us that six hundred .Anniehronnon Iroquois had set out from their country with

It must be confessed that God is a great workman, and that he does for man, in one day, what man himself would scarcely dare hope to accomplish in thirty years. In this change of disposition on the part of the Iroquois, I would be almost willing to use the words uttered by the Algonquins some years ago. Their canoe being wrecked in the middle of the great river, they leaped upon a piece of floating ice; and, seeing that they were on the point of irremediable destruction, they offered a little prayer to God, although they were not yet Christians. They had scarcely begun it when the piece of ice, leaving the current that was bearing it away, crossed straight to the bank of the great river, where it gently came to rest, and the men forthwith sought a place of safety. At the same time, the block of ice which had served them as a boat was shattered before their eyes by other ice-blocks. Surprised at this miracle, they said in thanks giving only these words: " Truly, it was soon done; we had not yet finished the last word of our prayers, when he delivered us from shipwreck. " Let us say the same in regard to the Iroquois. They were filled with rage and fury; we pray, we Fast, we have recourse to the Blessed Virgin and to her dear Spouse, Saint Joseph, at Quebec as well as at three Rivers and Montreal; and in a moment these Barbarians are changed. In truth, God did his work quickly; he is a master workman. Soli Deo honor et gloria; to him alone is this great change to be attributed.

Some time after the change, and after the parley of these two Nations, a band of Anniehronnon Iroquois invaded the Island of Montreal for the purpose of molesting the French in their usual manner. A

hot chase after these hunters, on the very day of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin, that they made prisoners the Captain of the Skirmishers and four of his principal followers, putting the rest to rout. That

CHAPTER III.

OF WHAT OCCURRED AT THREE RIVERS.

"To carry out this purpose, a little army of Anniehronnons came and took up its Winter quarters

thinking to surprise us when the heavy snows and intense cold should make us think of rest rather than of war. But God, who did not choose to make us a prey to those ravenous wolves, caused us to discover the traces of their spies, who had advanced to within a league from our Village. That put us on the defensive: we fortified our Bastions and Curtains, doubled our guards and sentinels, and, in short, kept ourselves so carefully protected that the Enemy, whose numbers we did not know, finding no more game in the vicinity of the fort which they had constructed, were forced to disperse and go in search of provisions to their own country; but they did not remain there very long.

"As soon as the river was free, we saw on all sides nothing but little bands of skirmishers trying to surprise some hunter or some Husbandman, and to draw into their ambuscades those who should wish to save these. Our Savages, seeing themselves so hemmed in and so often harassed, took courage, choosing rather to die fighting than to be surprised, as occasionally happened to some Frenchman or to some of their own fellow-countrymen. They resolved to put a stop to the insolence of these Trasos [boasters], who came to defy us almost at our very doors. God gave them his blessing; for, although they were few in number, they often gave chase to some rather large bands, and compelled them to abandon their arms, their boats, and their baggage, in order to seek safety in the woods.

"On the ninth of May, a little Algonquin canoe, catching sight of an ambuscade concealed under

avoid an engagement, but to put ashore, on a cape where some Frenchmen were intrenched, a woman who was in their little boat. As soon as she was in safety, they faced about toward the enemy that pursued them, although they were only three men in that little gondola, while the Iroquois filled three of their large canoes. When these Iroquois saw the determination of our three warriors, who were trying to board them, they were so surprised and astounded that they took flight, thinking that others might pursue them, now that they were discovered.

"On the thirteenth of the same month, Monsieur de Lauson, Governor for his Majesty of the whole country, came to visit our Village. At the same time that the cannon fired a salute in his honor, it happened that four or five Husbandmen, who were plowing in the neighboring field, were surrounded by a band of Iroquois, who killed two of them. Our Savages pursued them, but a little too late, — finding only the baggage of these robbers, which they had abandoned in order to run more freely and put themselves the sooner out of danger of being caught.

"On the twenty-eighth, these Hunters having killed a little French child, almost within gunshot of our settlement, the cannoneer, seeing that there was no one to pursue them, discharged a piece of artillery, in order to give the signal; but the cannon burst, and broke one of this poor man's legs; he died from his wound, a few days later.

"On the thirtieth, this same band surprised a young Huron, whom some Husbandmen had posted

about half a league from the Village, where they made him sit down, in order to question him on our situation and learn the state of our affairs. This good lad was adroit; and he talked with them in such wise that these brigands, not thinking they might be followed, tarried there a little too long for their own good; for our Hurons, coming upon them by surprise, not only made them release their prey, but also took some of them prisoners and carried these back to the fort. I would take too much time if I tried to relate all the attacks, pursuits, and captures that were made on both sides in the neighborhood of this Village. Let us come to the siege, which they carried on after their usual method.

"Although the Savages do not carry on sieges in the manner of the Europeans, yet they do not lack generalship in their wars, of which I will give an instance. The Anniehronnon Iroquois, purposing to capture the Village of three Rivers by surprise rather than by force, sent in the first place, as far as I can infer, some small bands, detached from their main body, to Montreal and toward Quebec. This was in order to engage the attention of our Frenchmen and make them indisposed to go down — or up, as the case might be — to three Rivers; and by this means to cut off the aid that it might have been possible to render the place which they wished to capture.

"That done, they came and hid themselves, to the number of five hundred, in a cove that is very near the Village of three Rivers; they were covered by the point forming that cove, so that they could not

small Islands very near the fort an the Village of three Rivers, and caused eleven canoes to proceed to the farther side of the great river, opposite this fort. The rest concealed themselves in the woods behind our Village. In this disposition of their forces their purpose was as follows:

"Seeing some Indian corn planted on those little Islands, they thought that those to whom this corn belonged would come in the morning to work in their fields, according to their custom; and that the ten men in ambush would capture one of these and carry him away in their little boat, passing in front of the fort, in order to incite the French to pursue them; and then the eleven canoes that were concealed on the other side of the river would come to the rescue. Thereupon, as they imagined, the French would get excited, come out of their Village, and rush in crowds to the banks of this great river, partly to embark and put to rout these twelve canoes, partly to see the engagement; and, while these were engaged, — some in fighting, and others in looking on, — the main body, concealed behind the Village, would easily surprise it, as it would be emptied of the greater part of its Inhabitants. But the thing did not succeed according to their intention; for our Savages, to whom that corn belonged, did not go away from their cabins on that day, which was the twentieth of August; and so no one moved, — they remaining in hiding, and we being unaware that we had such bad neighbors.

"On the following day, some cattle having gone astray, the French Inhabitants asked some

it upon themselves to execute this commission, retraced their steps in a short time, saying they had seen traces of a great many people, and that the enemy was not far away. At the same time, some harvesters, leaving their work, came running toward the Village,. declaring that they had seen new faces, — those of people dressed in an unusual manner, who were keeping themselves hidden in the woods. Spies were sent out; but, as they discovered nothing, this information was ascribed to ill-founded fears or panic.

"On the twenty-second of the same month, the men returned to the work of harvesting; and, in order to give security to the harvesters, some sentinels were placed on the edge of the woods. The Iroquois, growing impatient, rushed out upon one of these sentinels, for the purpose of learning the condition of our settlement. This man took to his heels; but they overtook him, and gave him two or three blows on the head with clubs or hatchets, hurting him severely, although these blows were not mortal. There was then no longer any doubt that the enemy were in the field, or, rather, in the forests.

"On the twenty-third, they appeared on the water as well as on the land. The canoe that had hidden among the Islands, as already mentioned, seeing that no one appeared, left its post to cross the river and go to join those eleven boats which the enemy had placed in ambush on the other bank. We gave chase after it, not so much to fight with it as to find out, by its means, whether the enemy were many in number. But, as we could not overtake it, the Captain of the fort sent an armed shallop, well manned, up.

Let us hear him speak; I have taken what follows from the copy of one of his letters. "Scarcely had our people proceeded a quarter of a league from the fort, when they perceived a large number of canoes that had stranded in a cove; they discharged their firearms at these, and immediately resumed their course toward the fort. The Drummer, whom I had ordered to give some drum-beats in case the shallop should discover the enemy, called me back into the fort; as I approached it, I saw a great number of Iroquois running with loose rein, as the saying is, across the fields, and acting as if they were coming to attack the Village. I called to arms, had the gates closed and two pieces of ordnance discharged, which I had arranged for this purpose. Those Barbarians, at the noise of this thunder, rushed upon the cattle that were passing near the Village, drove them into the woods, and, after butchering them, ran to the banks of the great river, discharging their muskets at our shallop. The latter found itself assailed on all sides; for the eleven or twelve canoes that we have mentioned, came and pounced upon it, trying to force it to approach the shore, that it might be beaten both by land and by water. Fire was opened on all sides, and soon the air was full of flames and smoke. In a quarter of an hour, I had more than twenty cannon shots fired, — which, because our balls were not of the right caliber, produced no farther effect than to make the enemy retire and give passage to our shallop. This defended itself valiantly and with success; for our people used their firearms and wounded a number of Iroquois, while not one of them received any injury.

wrath on our Indian corn and French wheat. They cut down all that they could find, burning the plows and carts left in the field, in order to set fire to the heaps of peas and grain that they gathered together. They set fire to some scattered houses and killed the Fathers' cattle, which we had been unable to place in safety soon enough. In a word, one would have said they were madmen, so great fury did they manifest.

"I had a cannon rolled out upon a level place, and fired at them. The Savages advanced, engaging in several skirmishes; and in these little actions one of our Algonquins received a musket-ball in the knee, and we wounded and killed several Iroquois.

"At length, these Barbarians retired, feigning to have glutted their rage and vengeance, but planning to approach the Village at night and set fire to it, as it is surrounded in several places only by large trees. We were under arms all night long; I doubled the sentinels, and the Trumpeter and Drummer played almost constantly at the fort. Everywhere was to be heard only the cry, "Who goes there?" The Redout fired several arquebus volleys; and, as a result of all this, the enemy, after making their approach, were frightened by these noises, and despaired of being able either to capture or to surprise us.

"During that night there arrived a canoe of Algonquins, who were returning from the chase; they were much astonished to find themselves safe and sound in the midst of so many dangers. There also arrived a canoe of Frenchmen, who told us that Father Poncet had been made prisoner at Cap rouge, in

determination, were in pursuit of his captors, but, meeting with the Iroquois, — who were holding us, as it were, besieged, — they were led to change their plan. God sent us this reinforcement, which raised our courage and depressed proportionately the spirits of our Enemies.

"On the next day, the twenty-fourth of August, they once more dispersed throughout our little fields and renewed their ravages. Our cannon prevented them from coming too near, but did not deter our Hurons, who, — being eager to learn news of their relatives and friends who had formerly been taken in war, and had become Iroquois, — quietly approached the Enemy, in order to speak to them. When they had recognized one another, confidence spread little by little, on one side and the other, to such an extent that in a short time there was nothing to be seen but conferences and interviews between Iroquois and Hurons; and this continued for several days, so that one would have said there had never been any war between them. We kept careful guard on our side, each man remaining at his post, and under arms. Some Hurons of the Enemy's side came and gave themselves up to us. When these earnest parleys were noticed, and it was not doubted that the Enemy were seeking an opportunity to surprise us, the question whether we should not practice deception upon them themselves was proposed in the Town house; but, for several reasons, this was deemed inadvisable.

"At last, matters reached the point that the Enemy approached us without arms, and even made us presents on several occasions, — protesting that they had no more bitterness or venom in their hearts.

Enemy's camp a daughter of his, whom he found with us; and he and the Iroquois learned from her mouth many things, good and bad. She told them that assistance had come to us; that a company of Hurons had captured some Iroquois at Montreal, and that victors and vanquished were daily expected. That was the reason of their delay; for in our interchange of presents, one side with the other, they had given us their word to go back soon to their own country, but said they wished to await the return of these Hurons, who were bringing some of their people prisoners. In this truce, or period of waiting, they spoke of returning prisoner for prisoner, and promised to bring back Father Poncet and the Frenchman who had been captured with him."

On the thirtieth of the month of August, the Hurons, returning from Montreal with their Anniehronnon Iroquois prisoners, fell -not all, but a part of them - into the hands of the Enemy, who were waiting for them. We shall relate in the Chapter on the peace how it all came to pass among the Iroquois captured by the Hurons. Among these was a Captain of influence, who spoke in energetic terms to his compatriots, whom he found already universally in favor of peace, impelled by a more secret influence than that which actuates men.

They straightway dispatched two canoes to their own country, to prevent any harm being done to the Father and his companion, if they should be found to be still alive; and, after sending back the Hurons to our fort, the chief men among them came to visit us, entering our Village and sleeping there with as

short, they left us four or five of their people as hostages, solemnly promising that they would bring back the Father in a few days, and that they would come and treat of peace with us — a peace, too, which should be genuine and sincere. The foregoing is an abridgment of two letters that came from Three Rivers, where the above events occurred; what follows is drawn from a third which was written by a Father of our Society.

"We are daily awaiting the result of a Council or general assembly, that our Enemies are holding in their own country, on the proposal of peace which they themselves made to us after a thousand acts of hostility, and a thousand attempts to take our Village of Three Rivers. They were faithful in the truce of forty days which they granted us; for during that time nothing at all was seen of them, and we went our way, on both land and water, without any hostile encounter. " I will add, in concluding this Chapter, that, when the Onnontaeronnons were on their way down to Quebec to treat of peace, the Anniehronnons, of whom we have just spoken, delegated some of their own number to enter into this same treaty, as will be

CHAPTER IV.

OF THE CAPTURE AND DELIVERANCE OF FATHER JOSEPH PONCET.

"As soon as the news was brought to Quebec. that the Iroquois had carried off Father Poncet, not

Frenchmen, and some Christian Savages, firmly resolved to rescue him from the hands of those Barbarians, whatever it might cost them to do so. They launched their canoes on the day following his capture, purposing to forestall the Enemy by going to wait for them in some spot which they must pass, in order to surprise them as they went by. So many prayers have been offered here, in public and in private, since their departure, that I can but think either that God will restore him to us, or that by his means he will give peace to this poor country, both within and without its borders. " And, farther down in the same letter: " Father Poncet was captured on the twentieth of August, toward evening; on the twenty-first, toward night, our scouts followed him; and on the twenty-sixth, one of the canoes that had gone in pursuit of the robbers who were carrying him off brought back news to us that those scouts had stopped at Three Rivers to give help to the Village, as it was harassed by five hundred Iroquois, — who were holding it closely beset, and were prowling about the neighborhood in all directions. Those who returned in this canoe told us that they found, near the Island of saint Eloy, two faces drawn with charcoal on a tree from which the bark had been removed, and the names of Father Poncet and Mathurin Franchetot written beneath these. Furthermore, they said they had found in the same place a book in which was written, in substance, these words: ‘Six Hurons, turned Iroquois, and four Anniehronnons are carrying off Father Poncet and Mathurin Franchetot. They have not yet done us any injury. It is their custom to treat their

me concerning this good Father's capture. Let us now come to the tattered remnants of his own account, of which I shall make a brief abridgment.

" We arrived, " says he, " at a very rapid River, where the army that had gone to Three Rivers had camped. The Barbarian who had captured me at Cap rouge took away from me the Reliquary which I was wearing on my neck, and hung it to his own. One day, when he was running in the woods, this Reliquary flew open and all the Relics were lost, — there remaining in the little copper box composing the Reliquary only a small piece of paper on which I had written in my own blood, when I was still in the country of the Hurons, the names of our Fathers martyred in America, and a short Prayer in which I asked Our Lord for a violent death in his service, and the grace to shed all my blood for the same cause. It so happened that, when I had adroitly removed this paper from that Barbarian's grasp, I saw constantly before my eyes the sentence of my death written in my own blood, so that I could not revoke it. Nevertheless, I had a feeling that those great souls and stout hearts who had preceded me in this conflict had been actually immolated, as having genuine virtues; and that 1, who had only the shadows and faint likenesses thereof, would be crucified only in appearance.

" I still had in my Breviary a Picture of St. Ignatius, with Our Lord bearing his Cross, — a mystery which well suited our Society; and in which, as I had always felt a strong affection for it, he was

The Picture of Our Lady of Pity, surrounded by the five wounds of her Son, was also left me, and formed my greatest recreation, and my consolation in distress. But the fear that these hallowed portraits might meet with some indignity, made me decide to forego their possession and hide them in a bush.

" I kept a little Crown of Our Lord, which was the only thing left me of all that I had on my person when I was captured. I concealed it so well that it was never perceived by those Barbarians.

" To return to our journey: when it came to crossing the Stream of which I have spoken, I was ordered to wade through it. I was already soaking wet, having passed the night in the tall grass, which was all saturated with drizzling rain and the dew of night, the nights being very cold. I was wet up to the waist in this Stream; and all that, with the want of nourishment, caused me a severe colic and excessive pains. I did not, however, cease to perform all my devotions as usual, taking comfort quietly with Our Lord, from whose hand, and not from the hand of men, I received this Cross.

" Amid these labors, I was seized with so great numbness in the left leg, and was so severely inconvenienced by a large blister under this same left foot, that my hosts were compelled to halt for a time, a thing which they had not expected. They had only a morsel of boiled meat left, which they had kept from their last meal, thinking to reach a place where they would find provisions. They ate it at the same inn where we had lodged throughout our journey, — under the vault of Heaven; and, as I felt

to them softly in my heart that I greatly needed some refreshment in the thirst from which I was suffering, and a little broth in my exhaustion. Scarcely had these feelings arisen in my breast, when one of our conductors brought me some wild plums that he had found in the woods,-by great good luck, for more than six hundred men had passed that spot. Toward night, after experiencing much difficulty in finding a little clean water, because we were in a nasty swamp, I lay down and went to sleep, with no other comfort than what I gained from my weakness; but when my host aroused me and offered me some broth, I was much surprised, not knowing how he could have made it.

" On the following morning I was compelled to set out without breakfasting, and walk with one leg and one foot crippled, and my whole body disabled. The strength that God gave me I attribute to my dear Patrons, especially to St. Joseph, to whom I had frequent recourse. At two o'clock in the afternoon, reaching a spot near the river which flows down to the territory of the Dutch, and across which is situated the principal Village of the Iroquois, we were ordered to strip ourselves, and give up what was left us of our French garments. When I had nothing left on me but a breech-clout, a blue greatcoat, all in rags, was thrown over my back; and to my companion was left an old linen doublet, badly tattered. Some Savages of our band, who had gone on ahead, had returned as far as this river with their wives, bringing some ears of Indian corn and some native squashes to our conductors; but they never -offered us a single morsel. It was

refreshment were ordered to sing as we walked, thus attired. It was the beginning of our victors' triumph. I intoned the Litany of the blessed Virgin, the Veni Creator, and other Hymns of the Church.

" As we crossed the river of the Dutch, I confessed my companion, who wished to prepare himself for death, having caught sight of about forty or fifty Iroquois who appeared to be waiting for us with staves in their hands. We were stripped entirely naked, except our breech-clouts, and were made to pass through these Barbarians, who were drawn up in line. They gave me some blows on the back with their switches; but as I was quickening my steps, one of those executioners stopped me short, taking me by the arm and stretching it out, in order to give me a blow with a short, thick stick that he raised aloft. I gave my arm to Our Lord, thinking the man was about to break and shatter the bone between the elbow and the wrist; but, the blow falling on the joint, I came off with a wound which disappeared in course of time. When we had entered the Village, I was made to take the lead in ascending a scaffold erected in the middle of the public place, and raised about five feet from the ground. My companion joined me there soon afterward, bearing the marks of the blows he had received; and, among others, were seen the traces of a troublesome and painful lashing across his breast.

" I felt so firm and calm on this stage, and faced, with so serene an eye and mind, those who were

One-eyed man who carried a knife in one hand, and a piece of their bread in the other. I remembered that the good Father Isaac Jogues had lost one of his thumbs on a similar scaffold; and, not feeling then disposed to give the man my fingers, I appealed to his good Angel; and the man, approaching us, gave my companion the bread that he was holding, and then withdrew without doing any injury. A shower, coming up suddenly, dispersed the spectators, and we were conducted to the shelter of a little roof at the entrance to a cabin. There we were made to sing; and God put me in such a state of submission to those Barbarians, and I abandoned myself with such fortitude to all sorts of indignities, that there was nothing I would not have done, provided it were bidden me and were not contrary to God's Law. " I will say here, in passing, what I have noticed in a private letter, — namely, that, as the Father did not succeed in all these apish tricks in a manner satisfactory to the Savages, — who, in consequence, would have been inclined to condemn him to death, — a young Huron, a captive among these people, came forward to sing and dance, and execute all the grimaces, in the Father's place, the latter having never learned that trade.

"" Toward evening," continues the Father, "" we were conducted to the cabin of him who had captured me, and there I was given a dish of their sagamité, or porridge made of Indian corn and water. The old men having assembled in this cabin, a woman presented a brasse of Porcelain to enforce her request that one of my fingers should be cut off. I felt no farther reluctance at giving up my hands,

in my desire to work afterward in the cause of peace —I always believed it expedient that I should bear the marks of my experience, and that it should cost me one of my fingers. As a result, I no longer appealed to the Angels of these Barbarians, in order to avoid that cross, but rather to Saint Gabriel, that I might gain strength to suffer it cheerfully. The One-eyed man, who had approached our scaffold with a purpose which he did not execute at the time, took my right hand and examined my fingers; and, just as I was thinking that the fingers of that hand were a little more necessary to me than those of the left, he took the latter and dropped the right. Then calling a child, from four to five years of age, he gave him his knife, took the index or forefinger of my left hand, and made the child cut it off. I offered my blood and my sufferings in the cause of peace, regarding this little sacrifice with a mild eye, a serene countenance, and a stout heart; I sang the Vexilla, and I remember that I repeated two or three times the couplet, or Strophe, — Impleta sunt quœ concinit David fideli carmine, dicendo nationibus, regnavit à ligno Deus.

" The Hymn completed and the finger cut off, that man hung around my neck a part of the Porcelain beads which the woman mentioned above had given; and with the rest he encircled my severed finger, and carried it to my captor. Now, as the blood flowed from the wound in abundance, the One-eyed man wished to apply to it the fire of his tobacco-pipe, in order to stanch it — which would have caused me

child who had done the cutting. as the blood did not cease flowing, they wrapped the wound for me, some time afterward, in a leaf of Indian corn; and that was all the dressing applied to it until my life had been granted me. I shall abridge what follows, " adds the Father,'" since it appears to me as if it were being snatched out of my hands.

" On the following day, we were conducted to another Village, where there was to be held a great Assembly of the notables of the country. A woman took away my shoes from me, thinking perhaps that we were going to be put to death; accordingly I made that journey barefooted and bareheaded. For three days and two nights — namely, the Friday, Saturday, and Sunday immediately preceding the Nativity of the blessed Virgin — we were exposed to the ridicule, the taunts, and the insolence of the children and of every one. We shared in the promise that was made to the Son of God before his birth: Saturabitur opprobriis, — "He shall be filled with reproaches.' It was our principal dish, from morning until evening, in the great public place where we were exposed. Some gave me blows with their pipes on my cut finger, others applied to it burning ashes; some gave me fillips on it; others applied thereto the fire from their tobacco, and others the hot stone of their pipes. In a word, every one did us some injury, according to his fancy. Behold what we suffered outwardly, while inwardly we were expecting, as the last act of this tragedy, only horrible and frightful torments.

" In the night from Friday to Saturday they burned in the fire of their pipes the two Index-fingers,

admirable patience, singing the Ave maris stella in his sufferings. We were very rigorously bound during these two nights, the cords around our hands and feet being made fast at such a height, and in a manner so extremely uncomfortable, that we were half suspended in the air; we suffered in consequence, a pain of such excruciating severity that a good old man, seeing plainly that it was unbearable, loosened our bonds and relieved us a little.

" On one of these nights, the Elders ordered the young people to content themselves with making us sing and dance, without causing us further torments. But that did not prevent those who were around the fires in the cabin from touching glowing firebrands to our flesh as we passed. I received a good part of these burns.

" Sunday was spent in councils and assemblies, in order to determine what should be done with us. Toward evening, our sentence was pronounced, but in terms which I did not understand. I took it for a sentence of death, and my mind was so well prepared for this that I seemed to see the divine grace all ready to sustain me in the cruelty of the last torments. But my sentence was milder: I was given to a good old woman in place of a brother of hers, who had been captured or killed by those on our side. Nevertheless, my life was not yet safe; for that woman could have made me die in all the torments that could have been suggested by revenge. But she had pity on me and delivered me from death, at the season when the Church is wont to honor the birth of the blessed Virgin. I pray God to reward that goodness. As

daughters accompanied her. I was near the fire during these doleful chants and was made to sit down on a kind of table slightly raised from the ground; and then I became aware that I was given in return for a dead man, the last mourning for whom these women were renewing, — causing the departed to become alive again in my person, according to their custom. In this cabin I met a captive Algonquin woman, who had been adopted into that family, into which I saw myself also adopted. As I had seen her before, and as I understood her language, I was delighted. I found also a Huron of my former acquaintance, which increased my joy.

" As soon as I had been made a relative of my house, they began to dress my finger after the manner of the Savages, — applying to it I know not what roots or barks, previously boiled, which they wrapped in a linen rag that was greasier than a kitchen-cloth. This poultice lasted me a fortnight, so that it became hard, in such a manner as to cause me great inconvenience. I was given half a blanket, to serve me as robe and as bed; and, some time afterward, they made me some stockings and shoes after their fashion; I was also presented with an old and very greasy shirt,- and all that with so much savage kindness and so great affection, that I have not experienced more cordiality among the Savages who are friendly to us. Moreover, they went to my captor, and paid him for my life with several thousand Porcelain beads.

" As for my poor companion, he was conducted on Sunday to another Village and was burned on

her festival.

" Three days thereafter, there was brought to the Village where I was news of the army that had gone to Three Rivers. For a considerable time was in fear of death, not knowing whether the news was good or bad, and being well assure that I would be the object of their vengeance, in case it were bad.

" But at length there came a captain, who was commissioned to grant my life, and to conduct me back to Three Rivers. It happened, by a very special providence, that this man was a member of the family to which I had been given, and a brother of her who had adopted me as her brother. He lived in another Village, whence he sent two Hurons to invite me to go and see him. These good people told the Iroquois marvels about me, assuring them that I was mourned by all the French, and that on my life and my return depended the lives of their fellow-countrymen who had been left as hostages at Three Rivers. These words caused me to receive as much consideration as I had before met with indignity. The Captain whom I have just mentioned was delighted to see me still alive; and he gave me an old hat, which was very acceptable to me, inasmuch as I had been going bareheaded for twelve days. He promised to conduct me to the Dutch, in order to have me clothed, and then to take me back to the country of the French.

" Upon this Captain's report, they began to call assemblies and hold councils, for the purpose of concluding peace with the French. Meanwhile, I was conducted to fort Orange, occupied by the Dutch,

much charity: I was given a dinner and, among other things, I there ate some apples, — a fruit which I had not tasted for fifteen years; and I was also presented with a white shirt. A young man who had been captured at Three Rivers by the Iroquois, and ransomed by the Dutch, whom he served a interpreter, came to find me, and, after some conversation, told me that he was coming to make his confession on the next day, which was Sunday.

" A good Scotch Lady, who has shown herself on all occasions very charitable toward the French, — and who had done all in her power to ransom Monsieur Petit's little son, who has since died among the Iroquois, — conducted me to her house, to remove the dressing of bark or roots which those good Iroquois women, of whom I have spoken, had applied to my finger; and, when she saw that it was still very far from being healed, she sent me to fort Orange, to have it dressed by a Surgeon. There I met the Governor of that fort, to whom the Iroquois Captain had presented a letter from Monsieur de Lauzon, Governor for the King over the great river saint Lawrence in new France. This man received me very coldly, although the letter which had been brought to him commended me in the highest terms. As night was approaching, and I was going away to lie down on the bare floor, without bed or supper, a Savage asked the Governor for leave to take me to a family who were friendly to him. I was conducted thither, and found there an old man who received me with much kindness. The Frenchman whom I mentioned

spent with him under the roof of that worthy man, whose courtesy I wish I could acknowledge by any kind of service, so handsomely did he treat me when I was in the most despicable condition in the world. I could not lack coats, as this worthy Gentleman presented me a very decent one; and, at the same time, a good Walloon, knowing nothing of this kindness, went to search through the houses, to find me the means of clothing myself. I was also told that that good Scotch Lady was preparing to do me the same charity; but I thanked them all, and would not accept anything but a hooded cloak, and some stockings of the Savage fashion, with some French shoes, and a blanket that was to serve me for bed on my return journey. That Lady took charge of all this, with so much skill and affection as to include every conceivable provision for my comfort. My hosts urged me to take some food for my journey; but I contented myself with some peaches from a Brussels Merchant, a good Catholic, whom I confessed at my departure, I had to promise them all to come back and see them the next Summer, so much affection and kindness did they manifest toward me.

" Leaving the Dutch settlement, I was conducted to the Village of the man who had captured me, Upon going to visit him, he returned to me my Breviary. Thence we proceeded to the Village and to the cabin where I had been adopted, where I remained only two days; for some one came to conduct me, together with my sister who had given me my life, to the largest of the Iroquois Villages, for the purpose

observed that presents were being everywhere collected, to accompany my escort back to Quebec. There was nothing but feasting, and I was given the best possible reception at these gatherings. At length, on St. Michael's day, it was decreed that they should solicit and conclude a treaty of peace with the French and their Allies. This conclusion was reached in the Village where the first Frenchman, the good René Goupil, companion to Father Isaac Jogues, had been killed by the Iroquois on that very day of St. Michael. I had always expected that this festival would not pass without some important occurrence.

" Three days after this resolution, I was told that the Captain who had escorted me to the Dutch settlement would be my conductor to the country of the French, — not by water, because of the storms which ordinarily prevail at this season upon lake Champlain, over which we must have passed; but by another route, which was very fatiguing to me, as we had to proceed on foot through those great forests for seven or eight days, and I had neither strength nor legs for so great an undertaking. At the end of these eight days is found a river upon which we proceed by boat for about two days, and then we come to the great river saint Lawrence, into which the first empties its waters, sixty leagues or thereabout above the Island of Montreal, and not far from the lake called Ontario.

" I at that time recalled to mind St. Joseph, who bore Our Lord to Egypt through the deserts of Arabia, as is believed; and I prayed him to serve me as guide and support in the fatigues of this journey. I

Michael, protector of the Church and of France; and it happened as I have since learned, that on the fourth of September, the day on which I entered an Iroquois Village for the first time, the Te Deum was sung at Kebec in a little Church dedicated to St. Joseph, This was in thanksgiving at my deliverance and my return to Three Rivers, — a report having a arisen, though the first author of it could never be descovered, that I had escaped from the hands of the Enemy. On that same day, too, the Sacrifice of the Mass was offered. for the same reason at the Cove of St. Joseph [Sillery], in a Church dedicated to God under the name of St. Michael, — whom we may call the Angel of our peace, since that was concluded in the country of the Iroquois on the day of his festival.

" At length, on the third of October, I left behind me the last Village of the Iroquois, to return to Quebec. On a little hill at a short distance from the Village, I met the Captains and Elders of the country, who were waiting for me with the presents which they sent in ratification of the peace. They made me their last harangue, urging me to bind our new alliance firmly. My conductor having taken charge of the presents, we pursued our journey, accomplishing only four leagues on that first day. All those whom we met bestowed some endearment on me, according to their custom, and begged me to use my influence in concluding a satisfactory peace with the French.

Beaver about lake Ontario. The rains, and the mountains and valleys; the mountain-streams and brooks, and four rivers of considerable size which we had to cross by fording, wetting ourselves thereby up to the waist; another larger one, that had to be crossed on rafts, insecure and badly put together; very short rations, consisting solely of Indian corn just picked, without bread, without wine, without meat and without game, those regions having been hunted bare, — all these things, I say, formed a Cross for me that was so formidable and unceasing that it seems to me a perpetual miracle that I was able to bear it, suffering, as I was, such intense pain and such extreme weakness. It was also very remarkable that my Guide never lost his gentleness and patience, although he saw what a bad traveler I was. In this return journey, I seem to have participated a little in the weakness and exhaustion of the King of the afflicted, — as on my outward journey, after my capture, I had shared in his bonds and his agony.

" But now, at the end of this nine days’ labor, there appeared three young men; sent by the Elders of the country to notify my Conductor that a Captain, to whom presents had been given at Three Rivers for my deliverance, had just arrived in the country with a report that the Iroquois hostages who had been left in the French fort had been put in irons, and that some of them had already had their heads broken. This Captain declared that he had learned that news from the mouth of a Savage, a friend of his. Upon

involve themselves farther in conducting me home. They asked me if I wished to go on, as affairs then stood, and I had no answer. My Conductor, with great courage, said to me that if I would give him my word to try to save his life, he would expose it to all sorts of dangers for the sake of leading me back, safe and sound, among the French. I gave it to him very freely, and that many times for be constantly asked me for it. The promise given and accepted, we embarked and pursued our journey. I have since learned that this false rumor was based on the fact that irons had been put on the feet of an Algonquin Savage who had become intoxicated. These alarms came to us from time to time, and some took pleasure in reporting them to me, thinking to intimidate me; but those persons were not of the number of my Guides, who always treated me with much gentleness.

" As we began to draw near the Island of Montreal, my people were afraid of meeting with some Algonquins; and meanwhile they took such great pleasure in hunting — game being very plenty in those regions of the great river saint Lawrence — that this delay seemed tiresome to me. Our final Cross was the danger of being swallowed up in the whirlpools of the saint Louys rapids, within sight of the Montreal settlement. I almost thought I would find my grave in those currents, but they did me no further harm than to wash away the rest of my sins.

" At last, we landed safely at that settlement on the twenty-fourth of October, — nine weeks having passed, in honor of St. Michael and all the holy Angels, since the beginning of my captivity. We

Rivers, where we remained until the third of November. On the fifth we set foot on shore at Quebec; on the sixth our Iroquois, my Conductors, made their presents in the cause of peace, which were responded to with other presents; and thus, upon a Sunday evening, eighty-one days after my capture, — that it is to say, just nine times nine days, — the great affair of the peace, so ardently desired, was brought to a. close. The Holy Angels made manifest by this number, nine, which is dedicated to them, the share which they had in this sacred work, — which was conducted in an entirely different manner from the affairs managed by the Savages, who protract to extreme length their assemblies and proceedings. I spent only one month in the country of the Iroquois, entering it on the fourth of September, and leaving it on the third of October; and in this short time I held communication with the Dutch, saw fort Orange, and thrice entered the four Villages of the Anniehronnon Iroquois, — the rest of the period of my captivity being consumed by my journey thither and back. I was taken by way of the River of the Iroquois and Lake Champlain, and then proceeded, for two days only, by land; and I returned by another way, so that I passed over the two routes taken by their armies and warriors when they come to seek us. That, approximately, is what

CHAPTER V.

OF THE PEACE MADE WITH THE IROQUOIS.