The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents Volume 47

The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents

—————

Travels and Explorations

of the Jesuit Missionaries

in New France

1610—1791

THE ORIGINAL FRENCH, LATIN, AND ITALI-

IAN TEXTS, WITH ENGLISH TRANSLA-

TIONS AND NOTES; ILLUSTRATED BY

PORTRAITS, MAPS, AND FACSIMILES

EDITED BY

Reuben Gold Thwaites

Secretary of the State historical Society of Wisconsin

COMPUTERIZED TRANSCRIPTION BY

Tomasz Mentrak

Vol. XLVII.]

Iroquois, lower Canada

1661—1663

CLEVELAND: The Burrows Brothers

Company, PUBLISHERS, M DCCC XCIX.

THE JESUIT RELATIONS

AND

ALLIED DOCUMENTS

Vol. XLVII

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The edition consists of sev-

en hundred and fifty sets

all numbered.

No.________

The Burrows Brothers Co.

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EDITORIAL STAFF

Editor	Reuben Gold Thwaites

	\| Finlow Alexander
	\| Percy Favor Bicknell
Translators.	\| Crawford Lindsay
	\| William Price



Assistant Editor	Emma Helen Blair

Bibliographical Adviser	Victor Hugo Paltsits

Electronic Transcription	Tomasz Mentrak

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CONTENTS OF VOL. XLVII.

Preface To Volume XLVII.		9
Documents:—
CVII.	Relation de ce qvi s'est passé la Novvelle France és annés 1660 & 1661. [Second, and final, installment of the document.] [Paul le Jeune, editor; Paris]. n.d.		21
CVIII.	Relation de ce qvi s'est passé la Novvelle France és annés 1661 & 1662. Heirosme Lalemant; Kebec, September 18, 1662		125
CIX.	Epistola ad R.P. Joannem Paulem Olivam, Præpostium Generalem Societatis Jesu, Romæ. Hieronymus Lalemant; Quebeci in nova francia, August 18, 1663		246
CX>	Déclaration Des Terres Que Les Peres Jesuites possedentdans Le païs De La Nouvelle France. 1663. [Québec.], October 1663.		258
CXI.	Journal des PP. Jésuites. Hierosme Lalemant; Quebek, January, 1662, to December, 1663.		272
Bibliographical Data; Volume XLVII			313
Notes			315

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[INSERT GRAPHIC HERE]

ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. XLVII.

I.	Photographic facsimile of title-page, Relation of 1661-62.	128
II.	Facsimile of handwriting of Claude Dablon, S.J.; selection from his petition to the Governor in 1662.	Facing 268
III.	Facsimile of letter written by Claude Alloues, S.J., to Paul Ragueneau, S.J.	Facing 308

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PREFACE TO VOL. XLVII

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

CVII. In the preceding volume appeared Chaps. i.-iii. of the Relation of 1660-61; the rest of the document is herewith presented. The fourth chapter relates the miraculous deliverance of a Frenchman who is wrecked upon the St. Lawrence, in the depth of winter. This is followed by another account, of like tenor — a man being rescued, also by the Virgin’s help, from the fires of the Iroquois. The sufferings of other prisoners, who perished at the hands of these cruel foes, are likewise recounted, — also a vision of heaven and hell, which came to one of the Huron captives. He and other disciples constitute and maintain “a Church in bondage, but fervent; and so constant in the faith that secret Assemblies of Christians are held in some outlying cabin, removed from the noise and gaze of the Iroquois” — assemblies which are likened to those held, in olden time, in the catacombs of Rome. Another band of Christian Hurons had escaped, after the ruin of their nation, to the Erie tribe; they were led thither by one of their number, an old man, who was “a veritable Moses to this poor wandering Church.” He acts “as Preacher, Bishop, and general Pastor of his Church,” and even as their confessor.

The missionaries “have not failed, despite all the [Page 9] Iroquois and all the Demons, to extend our Missions this year to the four quarters of this New World.” Le Moyne has gone to the Iroquois tribes; Ménard, — from whom no tidings have come for two years, — to the West; Bailloquet, to the tribes far below Tadoussac; and Richard labors in Acadia. In this last-named mission, Father Lyonne has died, which event is narrated at some length. He falls at his post, as also did Turgis in earlier years, while ministering to the victims of an epidemic disease.

The last chapter gives ‘“the latest news from the Iroquois.” This concerns Le Moyne’s mission to Onondaga, to procure the release of the French captives there. He has succeeded not only in this undertaking, but in securing the reopening of the Iroquois missions. A letter from the Father is published in the Relation, also several from Frenchmen who have been captives among those barbarians. Le Moyne writes that both the Onondagas and Senecas desire the Jesuits among them. He relates the events of his journey from Montreal, in which they several times encounter parties of arrogant and hostile Mohawks, with whom they narrowly avoid fighting. The liberation of the French captives has been largely due to the chief Garakontie, “with whom our Fathers have lodged every time we have visited this country.” In consequence, probably, of his friendship to the missionaries, Le Moyne is also received by the common people with great hospitality and kindness. Garakontie prepares in his own cabin, a chapel, where all the Christians, both French and Huron, gladly receive communion. Le Moyne relates the proceedings in the councils held with the Onondagas in regard to his embassy. They consent to [Page 10] release the prisoners, and then he preaches to them concerning religion; they listen “with respect and attention.” Garakontie himself conducts half of the prisoners to Montreal; the others are detained for the winter, with Le Moyne.

The Father sends certain letters which he has received from Frenchmen still held captive by the Mohawks. François Hertel twice asks Le Moyne to visit him, that he may thus have an opportunity to confess his sins; also to comfort Hertel’s mother in her grief at her son’s captivity. The youth has lost one of his thumbs, and one of his fingers is burned. He also sends to the Father a letter to be forwarded to his mother. Another Frenchman in captivity writes to a friend at Three Rivers. This man, with several others, was cruelly tortured by his captors; he describes their sufferings, and the pious deaths of some of his comrades. This writer adds some important information respecting the numbers and defenses of the Mohawks, both of which are but paltry in comparison with the ravages they have wrought in Canada. He implores the French to rescue him and the other prisoners, and adds: “The Dutch are no longer willing to secure our freedom, as it costs them too dearly.” The writer of the Relation (doubtless Jerome Lalemant) adds a long account of the deliverance of these and other prisoners through the efforts of Garakontie; he rescues all the Frenchmen whom he can find among the Iroquois tribes, and provides for them in his own village, being therefore “commonly called the Father of the French.” At Montreal, he is received with the utmost gratitude and hospitality. He announces that the Cayugas and Senecas join with him in assurances of peace, and [Page 11] invites the French to settle at Onondaga in large numbers. These words are pleasing to the French; yet they dare not trust too readily the promises of those who have so often proved cruel and treacherous, both to the French and the Hurons. The writer makes various observations on the present aspect of affairs with the Iroquois, political and religious. These crafty barbarians have involved themselves in hostilities with neighboring tribes, both east and south, which has much to do with their present attitude toward the French. Their recent devastations in the St. Lawrence valley are recounted, and the necessity of checking these is forcibly presented,-for which purpose prompt and vigorous aid from France is urgently demanded. If the Mohawks are but subdued, all the other tribes will fear the power of the French; the fur trade will flourish, and thus give new life to the Canadian colony; and, above all, the way will be opened for the missionaries to spread the gospel among all the pagan tribes. The Jesuits expect to open, in the coming spring, missions among the Onondagas and Senecas; for these, they need many new laborers. A final postscript gives news, received at the last moment, from Father Ménard, who had gone to Lake Superior two years before. He expects to return to Quebec in the spring, and writes of new discoveries which he has made.

CVIII. The Relation of 1661-62 is sent to France by Jerome Lalemant. He states that the reinforcements from France, promised by the king, have not yet (in September) made their appearance. He proceeds to recount the wars which the Iroquois are waging against many tribes, even at a distance of four hundred leagues, and describes some of the [Page 12] peculiar features of the Southern regions which they have invaded. Among these are reeds as tall as oaks, in the trunks of which live large bears, which feed upon the pith; Indian corn with “ears two feet long, and grains as large as Muscatel grapes;” serpents of prodigious size, but harmless; and native tribes who poison springs, and even rivers. There are even vague accounts of the Mississippi and the Spaniards; for the vengeful Iroquois have undertaken to carry war almost to the shores of the Mexican Gulf. Other of their bands are ranging the entire Northwest, even to the Missouri River; and the savages of Nekouba — visited, the preceding year, by Jesuits for the first time — are cut off by these prowling marauders, who are now planning to devastate the entire region of Hudson Bay. These raids leave the French settlements in comparative peace, although, by cutting off the fur trade, they sap the life of the colony. At Montreal, two prominent men have been slain by the enemy, during the past year — Lambert Closse, major of the garrison, whose bravery saved that town from the Iroquois; and a priest, Vignal.

After relating the pious deaths of several converts, Lalemant describes the experience of Bailloquet in wintering with the Montagnais among the mountains south of the St. Lawrence; in such a life, privations abound, and “one must seek his living from mountain to mountain, with no assured provisions except such as are furnished by providence, which does not always choose to work a miracle in order to transport moose, as it did of old in sending a shower of quails.” The Father is most gladly received by these simple and kindly people, who also hospitably entertain a [Page 13] large company of Frenchmen who are unable to reach Quebec.

Le Moyne has wintered at Onondaga. He has there ministered to the French captives,” restored the Huron church, and laid the foundations of a new Iroquois church.” He sends to his superior accounts of these labors, and of the superstitious practices so prevalent among the savages, which greatly hinder all his efforts. Most of these are based upon their reverence for dreams; and “it frequently occurs that a hot fever, by causing grotesque and senseless dreams, gives the poor Medicine-men much trouble.” Many of these follies are simply ridiculous; but often they cause great danger to those who stand in the way of the desires which their dreams occasion, and the missionary’s life is in frequent peril. These dangers are greatly increased by the drunkenness in which the barbarians indulge; “they bring from New Holland brandy, in such quantities as to make a veritable Pot-house of Onnontaghe.” The French find that the Cayugas are the least cruel and the most hospitable of the Iroquois tribes. Le Moyne takes refuge with them for several weeks during the worst disorders at Onondaga. A French surgeon goes with him, and with his lancet cures many sick persons, which “won the hearts of all those people.” Garakontie’s return from Montreal brings also peace and comfort to the Frenchmen at his village. At the end of August, 1662, all these poor captives arrive at Montreal with Le Moyne, liberated through his exertions. During Le Moyne’s stay (or, rather, captivity) with the Iroquois, “his greatest care was to let no infant miss baptism;” and “the smallpox, opportunely intervening, gathered in a rich harvest [Page 14] of those innocent souls” — over six-score dying soon after baptism. He also does what he can to convert. adults, mainly those who are sick; but his chief success here is among the captive slaves, who have been brought hither from eight or ten foreign tribes. The poor Hurons welcome his ministrations with especial delight, “coming by stealth from the neighboring villages to perform their devotions at Onnontaghe.” He celebrates mass every day; and, when his supply of wine gives out, sends to the Dutch for some, “on account of his health.” They send him a small bottle, well sealed, telling the savage who carries it that “it is medicine for the Father, and that he him-self must not drink it unless he wished to contract a serious illness.” The Indian fulfills his commission, but also asks the Father for a taste of that medicine, “to see if it was as bad as they said. The Father took some Barbados Nuts, cut them up in a little of this wine, and presented it to his Savage; and it proved a Medicine of such purgative effect as to deprive him of all desire to ask for a second dose.”

The liberation of the French captives is again described, with details of the dangers incurred by Le Moyne. But one of these men dies in captivity, and he is murdered because he refuses to take an Iroquois wife — thus dying as “a martyr to chastity.” Another man succeeds in baptizing more than sixty children during his captivity. A third is miraculously warned of a plot against his life, and enabled to escape to Le Moyne for safety. Many other miracles in behalf of these poor prisoners are recorded. Le Moyne’s enterprise has secured not only the lives of these men, but great advantage to the entire French colony. He has checked hostilities from the [Page 15] three western Iroquois tribes, thus giving the St. Lawrence valley comparative tranquillity; the settlers have had opportunity to plant and harvest their crops. Nevertheless, those tribes are restrained only by their own selfish interests; and they can be permanently held in submission only by armed forces, which the settlers eagerly look for from the mother country.

A supplementary chapter — compiled, apparently by Le Jeune, from a letter by Richard — describes hostilities waged by the Micmacs of Gaspé against some Montagnais north of the St. Lawrence. Richard ransoms from the Micmacs a little captive boy, whom he takes with him to France, and places in the Jesuit college at Clermont, where he proves a very docile pupil.

CIX. Jerome Lalemant writes (August 18, 1663) to the father general. He acquaints him with the appointment of a new governor for Canada, and other changes in its government. He also describes the death of Father Ménard, of which tidings has but recently arrived at Quebec; lost in the Wisconsin forest, the missionary disappears from the sight of men — either starving to death, or murdered by some savage. At Montreal, the Jesuits no longer have a residence; but Chaumonot has spent the past year there as a missionary, at the desire of Laval and the governor — “ very greatly to the approval and edification of all the orders of priests, notably of those Secular ones” (the Sulpitians).

Lalemant reports the instructions given to Le Moyne, who is about to undertake another embassy to the Iroquois; and the condition of the several Jesuit residences along the river. All these are [Page 16] successfully carrying on their work, in peace, and to the edification of the entire colony. He mentions also the severe earthquake which occurred in February, 1663.

CX. This is a “Declaration of the Lands which the Jesuit Fathers possess in the country of New France, 1663.” These lands are enumerated under two heads — those of value, and cleared; and “those not yet of value, and not yet cleared for lack of Habitans.” In the former division are included the Jesuit estates in Quebec and its environs, at Tadoussac, and at and near Three Rivers. In the latter are named Isle des Ruaux and Isle Jesus, in the St. Lawrence River; and lands on the River de 1’ Assumption, at Prairie de la Magdelaine, and between the Batiscan and Champlain Rivers. It is noticeable that this list does not include De Lauson’s grant (1656) in the Onondaga country — an excellent instance of the practical common sense of the Fathers. Additional information of much interest is given in this enumeration, showing the number of persons on each estate, and improvements made upon the land up to the time when this statement was made.

CXI. In this volume we present the Journal des Jésuites for the years 1662-63. It is still continued by Jerome Lalemant. In January of the former year, “there was much talk respecting the permission to sell liquor to the savages, that was given by Monsieur the Governor; we used every effort, except Excommunication, to oppose it.” “On the Feast of St. Mathias, it became necessary to withdraw the Excommunication, owing to extraordinary troubles and disorders;” but it is not clear whether this penalty had been published by the Jesuit superior or [Page 17] by Bishop Laval. On March 2 5, news from Le Moyne reaches Quebec, brought by Iroquois envoys; these give “some presents, which said nothing.” Soon after, Closse and several others are slain at Montreal by Iroquois foes.

In April, the governor removes, on his own authority, the members of the council, and appoints ten others in their places; and “other innovations” are made. On May 3, Groseilliers sets out on an expedition to the North Sea (Hudson Bay). A month later, the Jesuits send to Montreal supplies of wheat and flour for distribution there; this alms is paid for by them, the bishop, and Madame de la Peltrie. Laval and Ragueneau sail for France, in August. Le Moyne returns, September 15, from the Iroquois country, bringing the French captives; also news that a sedition had occurred in Montreal, directed “against those who wished to establish there a public warehouse.”

In September, two Frenchmen marry Huron girls, who are given marriage portions by the religious establishments. Through the autumn, occasional raids are made by the Iroquois; a party of Frenchmen set out “to strike some blow at the Yroquois, but they returned on All Saints’ day, without having accomplished anything.”

October x4, the long-expected reinforcement arrives from France — one hundred soldiers and two hundred settlers. During the rest of the year 1662, no matter of special importance is recorded. In January, 1663, numerous robberies occur — in one case, a house being set afire to conceal the crime. “As the disregard for the Excommunication respecting liquors continued, it was renewed; and, as but little [Page 18] improvement resulted therefrom, it seemed to be the will of God that he himself should avert the insults offered to him.” An earthquake occurs on February 5, which inflicts but slight damage to houses or other property, “but did a great deal of good to souls,” — so many are the persons who come to confession and communion. In this month, numerous concessions are made on the lands of the Sillery savages.

Sowing begins April 15. In May, the Algonkin warriors return from an expedition against the Iroquois; they bring ten scalps, including that of Le Fer, the most renowned captain of the enemy. A servant robs and kills his master, and burns the house to conceal his crime. Being captured, he is tried and convicted, “and sentenced to have his hand cut off, to be hanged, and then burned. Monsieur the Governor was contented that he should die upon the staff old; after having been tormented there-on by the executioner, he was shot.” Somewhat later, a Frenchman who has attempted to flee from Tadoussac is made prisoner, and is hanged for that offense.

Early in August, the party whom Ménard had accompanied to the Ottawa country in 1660 return. Not only the Father, but his companion Guerin, has found death in the great wilderness. A considerable amount of peltries is brought back by this party, but not enough, by 800 livres, “to compensate us for the expense incurred for that expedition.” In September, Laval returns from France; a new Jesuit, Father Raffeix, also comes, while Father Simon goes back, after but one year’s stay in Canada. Another change occurs in the government; D’Avaugour is recalled [Page 19] to France, and his authority as governor is conferred upon the Chevalier De Mézy; the latter arrives September 15.

R. G. T.

Madison, Wis., June, 1899.

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CVII (concluded)

Relation of 1660—61

Paris: SEBASTIEN CRAMOISY, 1662

Chaps. i.-iii. were published in our Volume XLVI.; the remainder of the document is herewith given.

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[108] CHAPTER IV.

THE REMARKABLE EXPERIENCE WHICH BEFELL A

FRENCHMAN AT KEBEC.

N the twenty-eighth day of last January, three of our Frenchmen were returning from a Moose-hunt when they found themselves obliged to cross our great river St. Lawrence, a league above Kebec, at a season when the cakes of ice that entirely covered it rendered such crossing very dangerous. They made ready an old Canoe for the purpose, and, after loading it with [109] their slender spoils, embarked — first commending their voyage, which was to be not long but perilous, to God’s care. Before proceeding far, they saw themselves involved in the midst of the ice-cakes which, obeying the impulse of winds and tide, jostled and struck one against another with a loud noise. The largest of these often made a passage for themselves through the midst of the small ones by force of their own weight — proceeding at times all alone, while at other times they would push before them a large mass of ice, leaving the river free and open behind them for a short time; other pieces of ice, however, followed, borne along by the impulse imparted by the winds, or by their own weight.

Our Voyagers thought that they [110] could slip between these moving ice-fields, and follow some opening — or clearing, as they say here — which should offer them a prospect of passing from one [Page 23] open path into another, gliding through the passages which their good fortune and adroitness might secure for them; but they were not long in recognizing the rashness that had involved them in this disaster.

The masses of ice had separated to give them free entrance into their midst, and then, suddenly coming together on all sides, enclosed them in a prison whence they expected to escape only through the gates of death. In truth, these poor prisoners, seeing themselves closely encompassed, thought they were about to be crushed by the ice, or swallowed up by the water; hence they had [111] recourse to Heaven, not so much to escape being wrecked as to reach the harbor of a blessed eternity. During their prayers, they could not avoid colliding with a block of ice, which shattered their Canoe and threw them all three into the water; whereupon two of them, who were brothers, more expert in this kind of boating, seized the prow of the Canoe and held on, each one for himself, clinging to it in such a manner as to leave scarcely anything but their heads above water. In this pitiful condition they encouraged each other to keep a firm hold and not let go; but, the younger one’s strength failing him, and the intense cold, which penetrated his whole body, benumbing his hands, he cried out: “I cannot hold on any longer, my poor brother. Farewell! I am sinking. 0 God, forgive me [112] my sins; have mercy on me; receive my poor soul!" Thus saying, he disappeared.

His brother, more robust than he, after a longer resistance to the cold, was luckily brought near a cake of ice on which he threw himself with agility as into an asylum where he could wait for death more at ease, or for succor if it were the will of Providence. [Page 25] to send him any. And Providence did not fail him; his cries having reached one of the riverbanks, means were found to go to his rescue during the night, and thus he was safely delivered from a danger that he deemed inevitable.

The fortunes of the third are much more wonderful, and hence this Chapter is really devoted to him. [113] This man, before embarking, had his eyes more open to the danger than did the other two, and supplicated the blessed Virgin’s aid with great fervor. He stepped into the Canoe as into a coffin, such was his opinion of the proposed passage — which he had opposed for a long time, seeing only certain death in such a hazardous undertaking. Yet he was obliged to follow his companions, and, in spite of his objections, to take paddle in hand, which he was forced soon to drop when the ice came and crushed the Canoe. Seeing himself without a boat, he began to swim, not, however, believing in the least that he could save his life. He had not proceeded far when suddenly he felt, under his feet, a piece of ice on which, [114] wonderful to relate, he found himself standing; but this cake of ice was so small and weak that it could not bear him up out of the water, and so he sank with it, but only up to his knees.

In this unexpected occurrence he fully believed there was something divine, and that the blessed Virgin, to whom he had made his appeal, was caring for him. Nevertheless, for five hours he was left in this position, upright, both feet in the icy water, balancing this way and that at the will of his cake of ice, and seeing all about him only abysmal depths, into which he would have been hurled had his foot slipped ever so little, or had he failed in the least to [Page 27] maintain perfect equilibrium, — a position [115] very uncomfortable, indeed, and very difficult to maintain for a long time. When now his feet were gradually becoming numb with the intense cold, he was fully conscious that they were failing him — or, to express it better, that they scarcely retained any farther sensation. In this extremity his recourse was again to his good Mother, to whom he had never prayed with greater warmth. “My dear Mistress,” he said to her, “why do you forsake me thus, after having performed a miracle to put me where I am? If you wish me to die, I am content, and offer you my life to satisfy the Justice of your Son. Beg him to forgive my sins; and if I am to die, as I clearly see I must, I pray you that I may expire in your arms, in order that you may receive my dying breath.”

[116] It passes belief how devout and eloquent one is in such extremities, the sight of a frightful death seeming to loosen the tongue, open the mind, and give fluent speech to the most stupid. There were no modes of prayer that our poor Navigator did not use to obtain from the Virgin entrance to some good haven. Meanwhile, his cake of ice still bore him up, gliding between two waters, and following the course of the tide. I am uncertain whether this first cake of ice went and joined a second, or whether that second, much stronger and thicker, drifting on the surface of the water, came and united with the first; but I do know that those two cakes joined, and adhered in one mass, so fittingly for his rescue that he found himself sitting on the second one, [117] the collision with which, though gentle enough, had made him bend his knees, and left him seated as if in a chair. That was truly a propitious succor from [Page 29] Heaven; but alas! the poor man could hold out no longer. What was to be done in that situation during the horrors of the night? The north wind blew in his face and chilled his whole body, while he was seated on a cake of ice in the middle of a great river, whose current carried him ever farther from its banks, and dragged him over a thousand abysmal depths to certain death. He redoubled his shouts and his prayers, until the cold deprived him of speech and bereft him of his senses. Then it was that the Virgin, ever holy and ever good, stretched forth her hand and wrought a thing so astounding as to be miraculous. She put that poor man to sleep’ on his bed of ice, a sleep [118] so peaceful, too, that he was borne, with the ebb and flow of the tide, from near Cap rouge down half-way past the Island of Orleans, and thence back to Kebec, — covering a distance of ten or twelve leagues, and drifting all night amid a hundred abysses, — without being conscious of them, or being awakened from his sleep. Wonder at this incident, you who will; but it exceeds the wonderful. He was covered with snow, hoar-frost, and the shades of night. With such garments does God clothe the Sea, according to Job,—cum ponerem nubem vestimentum ejus, et caligine illud quasi pannis infantiœ obvolverem. Nevertheless, he was awakened by the impulse of a temptation of despair, into which the Devil tried to plunge him, as into the deepest of all gulfs: [119] but having overcome it by the prayers which he addressed to his Deliverer, he fell asleep again, as if his head had rested upon the softest of pillows, and passed the remainder of the night in this miraculous slumber, borne to and fro by his two cakes of ice. In the morning he was aroused by the [Page 31] noise and cries of those who were hunting for him, who found him seated on the ice — as it were, on the stage of Providence. He might well have made it a Preacher’s Pulpit for proclaiming the marvels of his deliverance, and the goodness of the blessed Virgin, who can change a yawning chasm into a place of safety for the rescue of her Servants.

Those who know how piercing the cold is in Canadas during the Winter, especially in the [120] month of January, will easily perceive that this man, remaining so long in the water and on the ice, should naturally have lost his feet and his life. As a slight proof of this assumption, note the following. A Frenchman, telling a Comrade of his that it froze in Canadas out of proportion to the coldness of the temperature, added that he did not believe a man could go barefoot, from a place which he named, to another, at no great distance from it, and back again, without having his feet frozen. The other replied that he would wager the contrary. The bet was made, and then the more venturesome one took off his shoes and stockings, and ran as fast as he could to the spot designated, which was the house of a Frenchman. Arriving there, he cried out that he could go no farther; warm clothes were promptly wrapped [121] about his feet and legs, and he went to bed, yielding the victory to his comrade, as he preferred to lose his wager rather than his feet, which latter he would have lost had he returned to the starting point, although it was distant only about two or three hundred paces. Compare now the one case with the other, and bless the holy Virgin for her benefactions [Page 33]

CHAPTER V.

WONDERFUL FLIGHT OF A FRENCHMAN ESCAPING

FROM THE CLUTCHES OF THE IROQUOIS.

INCE, according to the Saints, the Empire of the Mother of God extends over all creatures, fire does not remove one [122] from her domain any more than water, and it costs her no more to extinguish flames than to melt ice. Snow and glowing coals render her homage alike. She stretches forth her hand into the watery depths and into the fires, to rescue her servants. As we have seen her, in the preceding Chapter, exact obedience from the waters and the ice, so in this we shall see fires and flames working for her and serving for her triumph, in the person of one of the prisoners captured at Montreal toward the end of the Winter.

This poor man was no sooner in the enemy’s hands than he threw himself with all his soul into those of the blessed Virgin, by virtue of a promise he made her to burn with no other fire than [123] that of love to her, if by her means he could escape the fire of the Iroquois. Nevertheless, he was sentenced to be burned; and, had not the pains taken by that good Mother infinitely exceeded those of his cruel executioners, he would never have made his escape, So careful were they to guard this poor victim — who, it was intended, should die a thousand times on the way before consummating that burnt offering. He was bound every night, and that, too, by a new [Page 35] method: for those barbarians, only too ingenious in devising fresh sufferings, would split large pieces of wood half-way, and put their captive’s hands and feet into the clefts. These pieces of wood, opened by force, would, upon closing, cause him a terrible discomfort and torture, making him [124] groan pitifully all night long; but those barbarians were no more moved by this than if they had had tigers’ hearts, or souls of stone. The sufferer’s pain was increased by the intensity of the cold, since he lay on the bare snow while in this posture. As, moreover, prisoners are stripped of their clothes upon being captured, they are left naked — or, at most, are clothed in wretched rags, which generally afford such scanty protection that some have been known to cover themselves at night with decayed wood, moss, and rushes, in order to protect themselves from the cold, Is not that being reduced to extreme misery? It was made still greater in our Frenchman’s case by the cruelty of his Master, who, for fear his [125] prey might escape him, lay every night on his feet, which were confined in those fetters as described, in order to be aroused if the captive should chance to move while he himself slept.

This torture continued a long time; for the Victors changed from warriors to hunters, and turned aside from their route to find better hunting. This prolonged the sufferings of the prisoner, who groaned by day beneath the loads placed upon his back, as if he had been a beast of burden, and by night under the pieces of wood which squeezed him so tightly that the night’s rest was more unbearable for him than the day’s toil. His nightly sufferings increased as he approached the village where it was intended [Page 37] that he should find an end to his woes in the end of his [126] life. This prospect made him resolve to make an effort to escape from his captors’ hands. Renewing his vows to the blessed Virgin, he managed so skillfully one night that he gently rolled his man from off his feet, without awakening him; and freeing himself from his instruments of torture, he plunged into the woods and ran breathlessly through brambles and thickets, stopping neither to pick his way, nor to avoid dangerous places. But alas! this poor man, after a long run, or, rather, a wide circle, found himself exactly at his point of departure. Fright seized him at sight of his executioners, from whom he thought himself far away. Accordingly he darted away at once in another direction, and began to run again more swiftly than before. His [127] fear, redoubling, had rendered him lighter, and made him fearless in plunging now into the melting snow, now into the icy waters; striking now his head against the trees, and now his feet against the pebbles; nothing was held of any account, provided he ran, and increased his distance from his enemies. Finally, as dawn was beginning to break, he almost believed himself led by some magic spell or deceived by some illusion, upon again beholding, after running so long and going astray so many times, the cabin whence he had started. He concluded that he was doomed, and, rather to defer his capture than in the hope of escaping, he climbed a tree whence he could watch every movement of the Iroquois. [128] He saw their astonishment when, at daybreak, they perceived his flight, and he heard them give the cry to start in pursuit. He watched them going and coming all about him, following his footsteps, which [Page 39] were printed clearly enough in the snow. And then he became conscious that his ill luck might well be the cause of good luck to him, since, after all the turning and doubling he had made, his tracks were so confused that the Iroquois could make nothing of them, and knew not in what direction to give chase, in the bewilderment of so many footprints, which doubled on their course without order and without sequence.

I leave the reader to judge with what alarm he was then seized on the treetop, since it needed only [129] a glance to work his destruction. He has since confessed that fear, added to the intense cold that had chilled his whole body, made his teeth chatter so fast and with so much noise that he had not a doubt that this alone would have been enough to betray him, had not the blessed Virgin, who had caused him to lose his way most fortunately in his wanderings, miraculously preserved him, by preventing his pursuers from seeing him, although he was exposed to their eyes. The day and the night were passed in these mortal terrors; but on the following day, the entire forest being wrapped in profound silence, he deemed it safe for him to descend and see whether his flight would be more successful by day than by night. As he had given heed to the direction taken by [130] the Iroquois upon their departure, he took just the opposite and proceeded at a smart pace, fleeing from, and, at the same time, approaching his own ill luck; for the more he avoided one band of Iroquois, the nearer he came to another, until at last, without intending it, he rushed into the latter’s arms, They did not fail to bind him fast, as a recaptured prisoner.

But all such precautions are vain, for there are no [Page 41] bonds that the Virgin cannot sunder. She mocks at iron gratings; she opens dungeons when she chooses; and so, for the second time, she caused the escape of her servant, who loosed his fetters with such skill that he once more found himself free. He then made a firm resolve to order his steps with such care [131]] that he could not again fall into the snares he had escaped.

Leaving the highways — if, indeed, that term can be applied to great forests where neither road nor path is to be seen — he tried to go astray, wishing to get lost, for fear of being found by another band of those barbarians, whom the poor man was constantly fancying he saw ahead of him. The least puff of wind frightened him, as he was continually taking these whispering breezes for Iroquois voices, while his too ingenious fears sometimes changed the trees into men, to his view, and their branches into swords or muskets. For a number of days he was thus disquieted, ever advancing and drawing nearer to Montreal. By good luck, Providence made him chance upon [132] a foot, or, rather, a dry bone of a Moose; and this he sucked and gnawed for some time, after which he found himself reduced to nothing but leaves and twigs of trees for food. He never lodged at nightfall without finding in his company two unwelcome guests, — hunger and fear. Nevertheless, as nature, in such extremities, derives strength from her weakness, he was always full of courage, and animated with a firm hope that the Virgin, who had made him escape so many perils, would care for his safety to the very end. Strengthened by this thought, he pushed on, drawing nearer and nearer to his goal, which he longed to reach [Page 43] more ardently than the Sailor longs to gain his port. It happened that, in pursuing his way, he was obliged to climb a little hillock; and [133] here he met with fresh misfortunes. While he was ascending one side of this hill, the same band of Iroquois from which he had first escaped was ascending the other on its way back from Montreal, where it had only recently captured some prisoners; so that, by one of the most unexpected chance encounters possible, he ran into their very arms at the summit of this little mountain. With equal surprise on each side, he saw them and they saw him, such an unlooked-for occurrence filling them all with unbounded astonishment. But that did not prevent the immediate seizure of this unfortunate man, whose strength was exhausted, his face like that of one risen from the dead, his complexion ashy and death-like, his body nothing but a living skeleton, [134] and his voice so weak that he could only lament his ill luck and groan over his hardships, And yet he was bound and manacled, and his bonds were doubled in number, as if this half-dead man could have broken redoubled fetters, and escaped from his captors’ midst like a phantom. Nevertheless he did escape, sundering his bonds not by violence, but by adroitness. Rather it was his Deliverer’s powerful hand that broke them: for, taking advantage of his weakness, he pretended to be ill and to fall into convulsions, which, as he declared, arose from the violence done to the vital and animal spirits by all those bandages with which he was so tightly bound, hand and foot. So well could he simulate, refusing the while all kinds of food [135] and depicting on his countenance the emotions of a madman, that he attained his end, — [Page 45] namely, the slackening of his bonds, that the passages for the spirits might be left free. This was with the purpose of gaining his freedom — as he actually did, by a miracle at which he himself cannot sufficiently marvel. Thus for the third time he escaped, but with entire success, as he met with no, further mishap.

And thus it is that this favorite of Providence and of the Virgin returned to Montreal, where he paid his acknowledgments to his Deliverer, fulfilling his vow and rendering her his thanksgivings in public. [Page 47]

[136] CHAPTER VI.

OTHER EVENTS WHICH BEFELL CERTAIN FRENCHMEN

AND SAVAGES IN CAPTIVITY.

E have learned during the past year that one of the seventeen Frenchmen from Montreal who signalized their courage in the fight that took place in the Spring, having received a musket-ball in the head, which made the enemy decide to commit him to the flames, as they despaired of being able to conduct him alive to their country, — we have learned, I say, that this Frenchman manifested no less piety than constancy in his torture, continually accompanying his torments with prayer. While in the fire, he ceased not [137] to make the sign of the Cross upon himself, thus consecrating his flames and making them truly precious and glorious by a piety which was not extinguished with his life. Indeed, he did more; for having near him a Huron as companion in his sufferings, he wished to make him also share his own merits. But not knowing his language, and yet desiring to exhort him to die with him in the profession of Christianity, as they had been made captives in its defense, he was rendered by Charity at once ingenious and wise; for, making the sign of the Cross repeatedly, he spoke to him by this beautiful gesture, with arm and eyes alike, in default of verbal utterance; and encouraged him by signs, glances, and a few stammered words [Page 49] to follow his [138] example. Charitas nunquam excidit, sive linguæ cessabunt, sive scientia destrurtur.

Another Frenchman, captured at Three Rivers and taken to Agnie, a village of the Iroquois, was so fortunate in his misfortune as to obtain from those barbarians a commutation of sentence from death by fire to captivity. Accordingly he was condemned to lead a very wretched life: but, as he had been cruelly maltreated on the way and was all mutilated, those to whom he was given as a slave found him so unsightly that they decided to burn him, as unworthy to live with them. So he heard his sentence, being a criminal only because his enemies had been too cruel; and his pitiful lot, which was enough to melt tigers’ hearts, only made theirs the more savage, [139] and rendered him, instead of an object of pity, one of wrath on their part.

Yet this poor man, who was no longer alive except in half of his body, could not lose his love of the little life yet remaining to him. Seeing, then, his guards asleep on the night preceding his execution, he escaped and fled into the woods, where he passed ten days, living like the Moose and eating only leaves of whitewood[1], thus keeping his bones alive with a life worse than death, but easier to endure than the fires. He failed to escape, after all; for, being recaptured, he was immediately consigned to the flames, which he endured with a resignation truly Christian.

Some time ago, the Agniehronnons carried off a [140] poor Huron woman into captivity, and, in crossing a Lake, they were overtaken by a storm which made those wretches blanch at the prospect of shipwreck and death. The poor woman, being less afraid of water than of fire, witnessed the approach [Page 51] of death with pleasure; but, in order to prepare herself to receive it by prayer to God, she knelt in the Canoe, a posture that cost her her life — or, rather, brought her a glorious martyrdom. For the Iroquois, whether in mockery of so holy a ceremony, or because they thought she wished thus to shake and overturn the Canoe, in order to involve them with her in one and the same wreck, treated her with a severity that passes belief. Binding her, hand and foot, they held her fastened [141] by the hair, day and night, in a constrained and painful position, until they reached their village and put an end to her woes and to her life, crowning her sufferings with a death that was truly precious.

The following will show how God treats some poor captives much more gently, and how he consoles them in their bondage and imprisonment by even sending them Angels of peace — very much as he sent them to the dungeons of the Martyrs, to encourage those first Champions of the Church in their contests. A good Huron Christian, being captured by the Agniehronnons and stretched every evening on the ground, as it were, upon a chevalet, there to pass the night in all the discomfort of the most cruel torment, [142] found comfort in converse with God, and prayed to him with all the more ardor because he found no other lenitive for his sufferings than in the thought of eternity and things celestial. Once when he was most deeply engaged in prayer, and was suffering intensely, two Angels appeared to him in the guise of Frenchmen, of comely appearance and all crowned with glory; and by their mere aspect they wrought such a soothing charm upon him as to put him to sleep, in order to show him wonders such as his [Page 53] mind, in bondage to the flesh and dependent on material visions, could not have conceived. In this rapture, rather than during his sleep, accordingly, he saw himself carried by those two Angels up to the top of a mountain, at whose foot there suddenly opened a vast abyss of fire, [143] with billows of flame that seemed bound to reach the clouds, so vast were they. There was nothing but boiling floods on every side, but all of fire, abysmal depths that lost themselves in other depths, and labyrinths involved in other labyrinths of burning sulphur, where he saw people in throngs — some, even, whom he knew — who, by the horrible contortions of their limbs, and by the gnashing of their teeth, showed plainly enough the excruciating torture that they were suffering. He distinguished very clearly, among all the others, a Huron who had been put to death a short time before by the Iroquois, and who in his lifetime had not been one of the most fervent in prayer. From the midst of the earthly flames he had not uttered more piercing cries than [144] those with which he now bewailed his fate, and deplored his remissness in listening to the word of God, to whom he had paid too little honor.

While this enraptured man was occupied with such direful spectacles, he was directed to turn his gaze aloft and feast his eyes on a more pleasing sight; and he did, indeed, see all Heaven as if disclosed to him, showing such charms that, he confesses, he has no words wherewith to describe them. One of his keenest delights, during all that pleasing vision, was to contemplate the upward flight of souls, in a beautiful halo of glory, to that abode of rapture; and among these souls he recognized five, whose [Page 55] earthly life had been above reproach, and who were worthy, he said, to be enrolled among the black Gowns. Thus do Innocence and Virtue [145] find a place in the forests of our Savages, as well as in the Cloisters of the Religious. We know not how long this good Huron’s happy transport continued, for he himself does not know, and found it only too short. But we do know that since that occurrence, ‘whatever it may have been, he sanctifies his bondage by unremitting prayer, ceases not to urge his fellow-captives to consecrate their sufferings, and, in a word, makes of his captivity an Academy of all the Virtues.

Of this man’s stamp was, beyond doubt, a poor Huron woman who, while a slave in Agnié some years ago, upon the coming of one of our Fathers to the village, did a thing the like of which can seldom be found [146] among the best Christians. Carried away by her fervor, she ran and plunged twice into the water, in very cold weather, in order to cross two rivers and hasten to kneel at the Father’s feet as soon as possible, for the sake of receiving the Sacrament of Penance, and of rejoicing with him at his coming. The Father, overjoyed, found in that barbarous country a Church in bondage, but fervent, and so constant in the Faith that secret Assemblies of Christians are held in some outlying cabin, removed from the noise and gaze of the Iroquois. There these good Hurons say their prayers together, exhort one another to guard their Faith more jealously than their lives, and give us some idea of those crypts and subterranean haunts which the primitive Church [147] made the depositories of the most sacred of our mysteries, when persecution forced it to confide them only to grottoes and caverns. [Page 57]

More than four hundred leagues from here, in our vast forests, the Angels have seen and admired a poor fugitive Church seeking some asylum after the Hurons’ destruction, in which it had lost everything but the Faith. A good Old man was the Shepherd of this wandering flock, and he led it a long distance, through many great forests, to some infidel Peoples called Rigueronnons, who seemed, from their remote situation, to be out of the Iroquois’ reach.[2] This Moses, this Leader of the little People of God, there discharged all the duties [148] of a Curate, with a fidelity fitted to ravish Heaven and all the Angels, who here beheld a Savage acting as Preacher, Bishop, and general Pastor of his Church. Gathering his people together every Sunday, he taught them to say their prayers, preached to them, and catechized them, — using reprimand toward some and gentler words with others, according to their several needs. But he did so with a zeal to which God had imparted such authority that these good people went to him in entire simplicity, and candidly told him all the sins they had committed during the week — just as they had been wont to do to their Confessor, before the Iroquois had smitten and slain the Shepherds and scattered all the Sheep.

[149] If this cruel enemy of the Faith did not check our progress and hem in our desires, we would find many other marvels in all these poor Churches, captive, wandering, or fugitive, which may well be called suffering Churches — or let us rather say, triumphant Churches, since Paradise is found in smoky cabins and in the depths of the woods. I mean to say, the joy wherewith God alleviates the afflictions of these poor Christians, and the sweets of [Page 59] devotion with which he seasons their hardships, make them triumph in their sufferings, and suffer as if they were triumphant.

But, although our enemies prevent our free passage in all directions for gathering fruit of such sweetness and ripeness, we have not failed, [150] despite all the Iroquois and all the Demons, to extend our Missions this year to the four quarters of this New World, and to go almost everywhere in search of these poor wandering sheep. Southward, Father Simon le Moine has gone to the country of those very Iroquois, perhaps to moisten with his blood those lands which we have bathed with our sweat. Westward, Father Rend Ménard is more than three hundred leagues from here, either dead or alive; for in the two years since he entered upon that great Harvest we have been unable to gain any tidings of him. It is enough that his life be offered up to all imaginable hardships, and death in a thousand shapes, for the salvation of those Infidels. Northward, the two Fathers whose journey we described in the [151] third Chapter, have pursued their end as far as famine and the Iroquois permitted. Eastward, a little to the North, Father Pierre Bailloquet has pushed on as far as the mouth of our river St. Lawrence, a hundred and sixty leagues from here, visiting seven or eight different Nations, — the Papinachiois, the Bersiamites, the Nation of the bare Mountains, the Oumamiouek, and others allied to these. There the Father was petitioned for baptism by some, who believed that they fully deserved that happiness for having of their own accord learned the prayers, with no Teacher but the Holy Ghost, through meeting with some Christian Savages; others presented him [Page 61] their children for holy Baptism at his hands, not deeming their own pious enough for that [152] sacred Office. Still others rekindled in their hearts the fire of devotion, which is extinguished not so much by the intensity of the cold and the abundance of snow, as by their exceeding remoteness from Churches and Pastors.

Eastward, again, a little to the South, Acadia enjoys the labors of Father André Richard, and has been sanctified by the death of Father Martin Lyonne, an event of such precious import that it may well form the conclusion of this Chapter.

He was the only Priest in the settlement called Chedabouctou, where the inroads of a certain contagious malady gave him abundant cause to exercise his zeal, and to aid the sick, the dying, and the dead, as he was entirely alone in that region, toiling [153] with all the pains of a fervent Missionary. The disease seemed to spare him, almost alone, while it was attacking all the others with the greatest fury. But, whether because it was impossible for such a contagion not to be communicated to one who was devoting himself, even beyond his strength, to those infected with it, or because it was God’s will to reward so many good services rendered to these sick ones, by sending the sickness itself, — for he has often given as recompense the glory of Martyrdom to those who made Martyrs by their exhortations, — however that may be, the Father was stricken with the disease. But, Providentially, he was the last one of all, in order that the glory he enjoyed in dying from this common ailment might not be gained at the cost of the salvation of the afflicted, and that he might render [154] the last offices to all his flock. [Page 63] before drawing his final breath. He was destined to consummate his Martyrdom of Charity neither earlier, because his glory would not have been quite complete; nor later, since, as he closed his eyes only after closing those of all the sick, it may be said that he terminated the malady, and that God called him to himself in order to crown his labors, there being no field left for the winning of new Crowns. At last, love of his neighbor caused him the stroke of death and of life, On being informed by a messenger that some one living at a little distance was attacked with the disease, he dropped everything and hastened to him. Crossing a frozen brook, the ice broke under his feet and he fell into the water, whence he emerged with a [155] part of his body all drenched and chilled. He continued on his way without changing his garments or drying them, succored his sick patient, comforted him, and put him in a good condition. Then the fever seized him; in two days an internal abscess, the result of overwork and insufficient nourishment, broke, and he was borne to his resting — place, January the sixteenth, in this year, one thousand six hundred and sixty-one. [Page 65]

CHAPTER THE LAST.