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. XLIX
Lower Canada, Iroquois:
1663—1665
CLEVELAND: The Burrows Brothers
Company, PUBLISHERS, M DCCC XCIX.
THE JESUIT RELATIONS
AND
ALLIED DOCUMENTS
Vol. XLIX
[Page ii]
The edition consists of sev-
en hundred and fifty sets
all numbered.
No.________
The Burrows Brothers Co.
[Page iii]
Copyright, 1899
by
The Burrows Company
—————
all rights reserved
The Imperial Press, Cleveland
[Page iv]
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
[Page v]
CONTENTS OF VOL. XLIX.
Preface To Volume XLIX.
9
Documents:—
CXV.
Relation de ce qvi s’est passé en la Novvelle France, és années 1663. & 1664. [Second and final installment of the document.] Hierosme Lalemant; Quebec, August 30, 1664.
15
CXVI.
Journal des PP. Jésuites. Hierosme Lalemant, Quebek, January-July, 1665; François le Mercier, Quebecq, August-December, 1665.
155
CXVII.
Relation de ce qvi s’est passé en la Novvelle France, és années 1664. & 1665. [Chaps. i.-v., first installment of the document.] François le Mercier; Kebec, November 3, 1665
183
Bibliographical Data; Volume XLIX.
269
Notes
273
[Page vii]
[INSERT GRAPHIC HERE]
ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. XLVII.
I.
Photographic facsimile of title-page, Relation of 1664-65.
186
II.
Map of the Iroquois country, and forts on River Richelieu. From the Relation of 1664-65
Facing 266
[Page viii]
PREFACE TO VOL. XLIX
Following is a synopsis of the documents contained in this volume:
CXV. In the preceding volume, Chaps. i.-ii. of the Relation of 1663-64 were presented; the remainder of the document is herewith given. A letter by Nouvel continues his account of his experiences among the wandering Algonkins. At Easter, they show great piety and zeal, several voluntarily scourging themselves; and they obey the Father in all his commands regarding their customs. He rewards them with a feast of “sagamité, seasoned with fat and with smoked Moose-flesh. A little piece of tobacco was their dessert.” He then proceeds to the north shore of the St. Lawrence, with a band of Papinachois Indians; his diary of this voyage, and of a visit to another and neighboring tribe, is given in the Relation. They coast along the Labrador shore, and ascend the Black River to Lake Manikouagan; Nouvel claims that no European had ever before been seen in this region. He names the lake for St. Barnabas. A considerable number of savages are at this rendezvous: they build a chapel for Nouvel, and he celebrates the rites of the church and instructs these neophytes. The entire company seek and receive baptism. These people are gentle, kind, honest, and virtuous; and “ they know not what drunkenness is.” Nouvel meets an intelligent [Page 9] savage from the far interior, who tells him of new lands and tribes to be conquered for the faith.
The remnant of the Hurons at Quebec are constantly advancing in faith and piety, of which various instances are recounted. One of these disciples “ intends to make, at her death, the blessed Virgin heiress to all her possessions. ” A letter from one of the Ursulines describes the remarkably devout behavior of an old Algonkin woman, received by the nuns in charity.
Even in the land of the Iroquois, there is a Christian church — which, although in captivity, is full of devout resignation and fervent piety. Not only the enslaved Hurons and some French prisoners are included therein, but some of the Iroquois themselves are zealous Christians. Notable among these last is Garakontie, a leading Onondaga chief. He has kept up the chapel erected in his village by the Jesuits, and built “ a French house for the missionaries whom he expects.” He has ransomed many French prisoners, and has risked his life in this work of charity. Among the Frenchmen still detained at Onondaga is one, the oldest of all, who is a sort of pastor for all the Christians there. The Indian women bring their infants to him for baptism; and he rebukes any dereliction from duty on the part of the Frenchmen. The Huron captives hold secret meetings, and recite all the prayers they know. A letter of Allouez details the conversion and pious death of a Seneca Indian at Montreal.
A chapter is devoted to the captivity and adventures of two French soldiers, made prisoners by the Mohawks. They are about to be burned to death, when an Onondaga envoy asks their lives, that they [Page 10] may aid in securing a treaty with the French. This being granted, he sets out with the prisoners, but deserts them on the way. After many hardships, they reach Onondaga, aided by the protection of the Virgin, and the charity of some women. One of these is a Huron captive, who, as a girl, had been reared and educated by the Ursulines at Quebec; another is an Iroquois matron, who is filled with pity at the misery of the fugitives.
In the spring of 1664, an Iroquois embassy of unusual importance and dignity is despatched to Quebec with overtures of peace, and the request for Jesuits to live among them. So often have they done the same thing in treachery, and so crafty are they, that the French dare not trust them. It is generally supposed that the Iroquois ask for peace mainly as a matter of policy, since they have recently experienced great losses through war, disease, and famine, This embassy is attacked on the way by Algonkins, and dispersed, several Iroquois being killed, and others captured. The French now see themselves in danger of still more cruel war, by which the Iroquois will seek revenge for this disaster. A postscript, taken from a letter written after the Relation had been sent to France, mentions another embassy sent to Quebec by the Cayugas.
CXVI. Lalemant continues the Journal des Jésuites for 1665, until August 3; he is then succeeded by Le Mercier. At New-Year’s, the Jesuits pay the customary visit to the governor (De Mézy), “ although he was on bad terms with us and with all the Ecclesiastics. ” Later, he becomes very ill, and the Jesuits, after much labor, effect his reconciliation with the church; he dies on May 5. Soon after this, Allouez leaves for [Page 11] Quebec for his mission among the Ottawas and Nouvel for his among the Papinachois.
In June arrive the ships from France; on them are several Jesuits, and — most welcome of all, in the great need of the colony — a regiment of soldiers. With them comes also the Marquis de Tracy, appointed royal lieutenant-general for the French possessions in America. The troops forthwith begin work on a new fort at the mouth of Richelieu River. Le Mercier becomes superior of the Canadian missions, August 6, in place of Lalemant. On that day, a great trading fleet of Ottawas comes down to Three Rivers; on their return, Allouez goes with them. Tracy commands the habitants to supply 800 cords of wood for the soldiers who are to winter at Quebec. On September 12, more high officials arrive — the new governor, De Courcelles; and Talon, the intendant. About this time, the superior remarks: “ Up to the present, nearly 20 heretics have been converted. ”
The new governor reestablishes the old council, dissolving that appointed by De Mézy. The Jesuits plan to enlarge their work for the coming year, and to ask for new missionaries; they also decide to ask for a printing outfit, intending to issue publications in Huron, Montagnais, and Iroquois. October 2, an important accession to the colony arrives — a ship from Normandy brings eighty-two girls and women, and one hundred and thirty laboring men.
In November, François du Peron dies at Fort Richelieu; and, a few weeks later, Simon le Moyne, at Cap de la Magdeleine. Charles le Moyne arrives at Quebec, December 2, with an Onondaga embassy, who, as usual, talk of a peace. They are feasted by the Associates and by the Jesuits. [Page 12]
CXVII. The Relation of 1664-65 is sent by François le Mercier, the new Canadian superior. We present herewith but the first five chapters; the remainder will appear in Vol. L. Some copies of this annual contain a letter (which we here reproduce) written by the superior of the hospital nuns at Quebec, dated October 23, 1665. It gives some account of their labors, which have been greatly increased this year. She thanks her correspondent, “ a citizen of Paris,” for aid sent to this hospital. More nuns are needed there, but they should have dowries, that the hospital funds may be used solely for the poor. The writer mentions the constantly — increasing expenses that must be incurred in their work, and adds a list of medicines, utensils, etc., which they need, requesting her correspondent to secure these for the hospital. She mentions certain Huguenots who, after being cared for by the nuns, renounced their heresy. The list of articles needed for the sick fully justifies the praises given by the Jesuits to the Quebec hospital and its devoted nurses.
The Relation proper begins with an urgent appeal for more missionaries. The coming of troops from France has encouraged the hearts of all the people in Canada, and especially of the Jesuits; for now there is hope that the Iroquois may be humbled, and the way opened for the establishment of missions. Le Mercier relates the circumstances connected with Tracy’s commission to visit all the French possessions in America, and that official’s voyage and doings in pursuance thereof. When he arrives at Quebec, he is received with great honors by all the people, the officials, and the ecclesiastics. The Huron and Algonkin allies of the French also [Page 13] welcome Tracy after their own fashion — that is, with harangues and presents, all of which are described at length.
A Frenchman who has spent the past year among the Ottawas, and has come down with their trading fleet, relates to the priests many interesting particulars about the tribes of the great Northwest. Allouez goes with the Algonkins on their return to Lake Superior, to take the place of Ménard there. Tracy sends by him presents and messages to the tribes whom he is to visit, promising the Algonkins the aid of French troops, and exhorting them to embrace the faith. Le Mercier relates the erection of the three new forts on the Richelieu River, which Tracy has ordered; in this connection, he describes “ the Iroquois country, and the routes leading thither” — that is, the Richelieu-Champlain and the St. Lawrence-Ontario waterways.
R. G. T.
Madison, Wis., July, 1899.
[Page 14]
CXV (concluded)
Relation Of 1663-44
Paris: SEBASTIEN CRAMOISY ET SEBASTIEN
MABRE-CRAMOISY, 1665
—————
Chaps. i.-ii. were given in our Volume XLVIII.; the remainder of the document is herewith presented. [Page 15]
[36] CHAPTER III.
A SECOND LETTER ON THE SAME SUBJECT.
M
Y REVEREND FATHER,
Pax Christi.
You have seen in my preceding letter the most important events that occurred during my wintering with the Savages; you will read in this one what occurred from that day on which I had the pleasure of writing to you, up to the twenty-first of April, when we crossed the great river saint Lawrence, to enter the lands of the North. Having begun my first Campaign under the favorable auspices of the holy family [37] of Jesus, Mary! and Joseph, I experienced on several occasions how greatly God approves of our asking favors of him through the mediation of Jesus Christ, who has earned them all for us, and of our appealing to the blessed Virgin and saint Joseph as to the most powerful Advocates whom we can have with our adorable Savior. I am bound to publish the following for the greater glory of that visible August Trinity.
On the eleventh day of March I lost my way in the woods, which I had entered with the intention of pushing on to a mountain whence the sea may be descried — having undertaken this excursion as a walk, the day being very fine; and I found myself in great perplexity when I had to return to the Cabin. Instead of retracing my steps, I 1381 decided to try an entirely new path, thinking thus to shorten the way; [Page 17] but I was much out in my reckoning. After walking until nightfall, I recognized perfectly that I had lost my way, and I found myself in a difficult situation; for to stop would have been to expose myself to death in the snow during the rigors of a freezing night, while to go on in the darkness of the night was to put myself in great danger of wandering farther and farther astray. In this perplexity I fell on my knees and said my Compline; after which I prayed to Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and made a vow in honor of that very Holy and August Family. Then, changing my course as if directed by a guide, I traversed a very dense wood, where there [39] was at least six feet of snow. After enduring much fatigue, I came luckily to a little stream, entirely frozen over, which I had passed some days before; and recognizing the locality, I reached the Camp toward eleven o’clock in the evening, I cannot express the joy of my poor Savages at my arrival. “ Oh, how sad our hearts were! ” said they to me. “ We could not sleep at all, thinking that thou hadst been killed by the Iroquois, or that thou wert dying of cold after losing thy way in the woods. We all prayed for thee to him who made all things.” “ Let us give him thanks,” said I to them, “ for the favor which I have just received from his goodness. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph took pity on me; I called upon them when I had gone astray, and they set me right again. [40] Let us have recourse to them in our necessities and they will assist us.” After our thanksgiving, as I had not seen in the Cabin the Frenchman who accompanied me, I asked where he was, and was informed that, being anxious about me, he had gone into the woods toward evening to look [Page 19] for me; and that without doubt, having found the marks of my snowshoes, he was following, under favor of the Moon, the entire route which I had taken. This news disturbed me, and I was as apprehensive on his account as the others had been on mine; but he who set my steps aright in my wandering led him back safely to the Cabin. I thanked him for his kindness, and he told me that I had run a great risk, if I had continued my route toward the South; but that, at the spot where I had made a pause (it was the place where I said my Compline [41] and made my vow), I had set my course exactly right, and had come by the shortest way to the Cabin.
On the fourteenth, we arrived at the bank of the great river saint Lawrence. We took pleasure in making our sledges glide over the snow, through a fine beech forest where our hunters had killed some Moose several days before. The beauty of the country alleviated for us all the inconveniences and fatigues of the journey: and we admired God’s providence in ordaining that we should not be deprived of the consolation of saying and hearing holy Mass. The Frenchman’s sledge, which carried a part of our provisions, escaping from his hands in going down a mountain, ran against trees which shattered it, as well as what it [42] bore, with the exception of a bottle in which I had a little wine left for Mass until the arrival of the Shallops from Kebec. All our Savages regarded this as a little miracle.
On the eighteenth, we prepared ourselves for the celebration of the feast of saint Joseph, Patron of New France. Our Savages began with a strict fast and Confession, which they made on the evening before. On the day following this Confession, they [Page 21] heard Mass and received Communion with great devotion, favored by the beautiful day which Cod gave us. After telling their Beads in the afternoon, they prepared a fine bonfire for the evening, there being no lack of wood for this purpose. I chanted the Te Deum with the two Frenchmen, and the Savages [43] added their spiritual hymns, besides the discharge of their rifles, which they redoubled in testimony of the respect and confidence which they have toward this great Saint. Those who, being still out hunting, did not take part in this solemnity, rendered their homage on the day of the Annunciation of the blessed Virgin, for whom the Savages have an especial tenderness.
On the twenty-first, we tried to make our way over the ice to Isle aux Basques, to put ourselves out of danger from the Iroquois — who, some said, had been espied by them when out hunting; but some ice having broken under our feet, we were obliged to turn back, after having already made a good league on the great river.
On the twenty-second of April, the [44] ice having melted in part, we went by land to the place where we had left our Shallop when we entered the woods. We found it all under snow, and it took three days to put it into shape. Thereupon we embarked for Isle aux Basques, whither we made our way through the ice in one day.
This Island, which is distant from the river’s banks only two leagues toward the South and seven toward the North, is very agreeable; it is only one league in length, and half a league in width. It bears the name of Isle aux Basques because the Basques formerly carried on Whale-fishing there. [Page 23] I took pleasure in visiting the furnaces which they built for trying out their oil; and, very near by, there are still to be seen great ribs of the Whales which they killed.
[45] It was to this Island that God’s Providence led us, to spend there Holy week and Easter week, and it was here that our Savages gave evidence of their piety. Scarcely had I marked a spot for the erection of a Chapel, when immediately the men ran to get their hatchets, in order to cut the wood necessary for building it; while the women and girls gathered fir branches for its floor, walls, and roof. We required only one day to put it in such condition that we could perform our devotions there.
In this Chapel I began at once the instructions for the Easter Confession and Communion. I read to them an account of the Passion of Jesus Christ, which I had translated into their language, and to which they listened very attentively. To these general instructions I added [46] private ones, in which each one opened his conscience to me with as much candor as the most scrupulous novice. It is beyond belief how easily they are won over when one speaks to their hearts from his own. I divided those who could receive communion into two bands; the first performed its Paschal duty on Holy Thursday, and the second on Easter Sunday. Good Friday was spent in confessing those who were not yet admitted to communion, and in worshipping the dying Savior. I read the Passion to them for the second time, and added some reflections, after which we adored the Cross. At this sacred ceremony, full of love, their hearts were greatly softened, of which I subjoin a proof. [Page 25]
When the service was over, a good Christian approached me and said: “ Thou [47] hast taught us that, especially at this time, good Christians suffer voluntarily for the love of Jesus; they fast, and chastise their bodies. Oblige me by lending me an instrument of discipline, aouihitou pasagastehigan.” “ Knowest thou well what it is?” I returned. “ I know very well, ” he answered me; “ I have used it before. ” “ Come back after some time,” I replied; “ I know a man, a friend of thine, who has one, and I promise thee that he will lend it to thee.” His zeal made him prompt in claiming the fulfillment of my promise. When I had put into his hands this instrument of penance and love, he asked my leave to take the discipline in the Chapel in sight of all. “ No,” I said to him; “ I wish to moderate thy zeal. Do what I shall tell thee. Go away a good distance into the woods, and, after [48] praying some time, remembering how he who endured so much for thee is looking down upon thee from the highest Heavens, prove to him the regret which thou feelest at having offended him, and the regard in which thou holdest his sufferings. ” He obeyed me without replying. But what is more remarkable is that, after giving himself a hundred strokes, by count, with the instrument, he invited his wife to do the same. She willingly complied, in order, she said, to testify to Jesus Christ, our dearest Savior, the sympathy she felt with his doleful Passion.
This good Christian did not stop there; for receiving back the instrument of discipline from his wife’s hands, he offered it to a Captain, — an ally and a good friend of his, whom I had baptized in the beginning of Winter, — and exhorted him not to spare himself, [Page 27] [49] since Jesus Christ had not spared himself in having been so cruelly scourged for love of us. This Neophyte Captain did not, indeed, spare himself; and, after a severe application of the instrument, he brought it back to me, telling me that he had been taught how to use it, and that he had given himself a hundred strokes for the love of Jesus Christ. Such zeal on the part of these good Neophytes will, without doubt, at the judgment seat of God, rise up in testimony against the delicacy and cowardice of those who are born and raised in the maxims of Christianity.
Their obedience to their pastor merits my mentioning an admirable feature of it. The Papinachois had made a drum for use against the Iroquois, for counteracting the shouts and yells which the latter utter when they make an attack; and this [50] drum was of no use to them in Isle aux Basques, where they were in a secure retreat, A thoughtless young man of another Nation suggested to them at a feast that they should make use of it for dancing, and celebrating the victory which the Montagnais and Algonquins had gained the preceding Spring over their Enemies. These good people, without reflecting that we were in holy week, prepared to dance, while he who owned the drum explained to me their opinion on this point in the following terms: “ We danced before this, at Tadoussac; thou wilt not be displeased if we dance here now. ” “ My brother, ” I said to him, “ dancing is in itself a matter of indifference; but to dance w bile Christians are doing penance, lamenting their sins, and meditating on what Jesus, their Captain, suffered [51] for the salvation of all mankind — that would no longer be a matter of indifference, but a crime. Therefore [Page 29] change thy mind; thou, who art the owner of the drum, wouldst be the most guilty.” “ In how many days may we dance? ” said he. “ On the day following that on which Jesus rose,” I replied, “ and this dance, which you wish to hold in celebration of the victory of your allies, can be held from a still more noble and more sacred motive — that is to say, in order to participate in the joy of all good Christians, who rejoice in the glorious Resurrection of Jesus, their Captain, through their steadfast hope of being raised, as he was, to be no more subject to death.” They obeyed perfectly, not minding the urgent solicitations of him who had first suggested to them the thought of dancing, and through whom [52] the Demon endeavored to disturb the days of devotion of holy week. Otherwise their dance is harmless enough; the men dance apart from the women, without touching one another, and they exchange presents — the men with the men, and the women with the women. When I perceived something in the dance that was not pleasing, and called their attention to it, they left it out without making any reply, although there was nothing criminal in it.
I would have been much chagrined if I had not had means to give them a feast on Easter Sunday, to show them how well satisfied I was with them. We had left some Indian corn at Isle Verte in the beginning of Winter, and I sent a Canoe thither to bring it. Upon its return, the feast was soon prepared; my host [53] took charge of everything, forgetting nothing of his skill to render it entirely successful. A good Christian, who had often shown kindness toward me during the Winter, having heard of my project, made me a present of a large package of [Page 31] Moose-tongues. The morning of this great feast having been given to devotion, and the dinner hour approaching, my host invited the inmates of all the Cabins. Each person provided himself with his ouragan, — that is, his plate of bark, — and came at once to take his place in the festal hall; and when all were assembled, as I was the one who gave the feast, it was my duty to make a speech. I said to them: “ The Christians have times for weeping and times for rejoicing — always, however, within the bounds of modesty. Those who have mourned during Holy week, [54] meditating on Jesus Christ suffering and dying for the love of mankind, have a right to rejoice when they meditate on the same Savior risen. ’ ’ I dilated for some time upon this theme. They would have been very much pleased if, at the conclusion of my speech, I had sung in their own way; but I excused myself on the plea that I did not yet know how to do so, begging my host to sing for me. This good Christian, after making a speech in praise of the feast and in favor of prayer, and after exhorting his fellows to be faithful to God and to love prayer to the end, acquitted himself perfectly of the commission I had given him. He sang two songs, the first for me and the second for himself; all the others paid their reckoning in a like manner, each one with [55] a song. They spent fully an hour in this preamble to the feast. The songs completed, I pronounced the Benedicite, after which two young men of the Cabin distributed the festal meal, which consisted of a dish of sagamité — that is to say, a kind of mush made of cornmeal cooked in water, and seasoned with fat and with smoked Moose-flesh. A little piece of tobacco was [Page 33] their dessert, and pure water served them for drink. Men, women, and children performed their parts perfectly. This mush made of Indian corn was to them a very delicious dish, a long time having passed since they had eaten any. After this, each one withdrew to his own abode, well pleased and satisfied. At about three o’clock, we told our Beads all together, [56] In conclusion, we saluted Our risen Lord with a song in the Algonquin tongue, the solemn occasion furnishing the theme. We sang it twice on each day of the Octave; it pleased them much, for it is indeed a good song,
Before leaving Isle des Basques to go Northward, I performed the last rites over the body of a little girl who had died about two months before. Her father, a Montagnais, was very glad to have her buried in our little Chapel before a large Cross which, on Good Friday, we erected opposite the door. I will give a proof of the love and respect which these people have for the bodies of their deceased relatives. When I had admonished this afflicted father to have his daughter buried, after she [57] had died, he asked me for time to consider what he should do in the matter. Some time afterward, he made answer to me: “ Thou seest that we are in constant fear of the Iroquois. If I bury my daughter in the woods, perhaps those wicked men will find her body, which they will certainly burn. Let us avoid this danger; we will bury her elsewhere in a place where there will be nothing to fear. ”
This, my Reverend Father, is what I have gathered together from the end of my winter season, of which I render an account to you in compliance with your command. The kindness which you showed me in [Page 35] naming me for this Mission is a benefit which I shall never forget; I thank you for it with all my heart, and with all the more [58] reason that it seems to me I have never known God except in the dense forests of Canada, where all the eternal verities upon which I had pondered elsewhere have become wonderfully clear to me. Oh, what pleasure there is in living for God, and separating oneself from all creatures! Another would have profited much more by so fine an opportunity. Obtain for me, if you please, through your prayers, pardon for the sins which I have committed against the infinitely good God; and in my behalf ask in your holy Sacrifices that I may die in his sacred service, abandoned by men, although I can never be abandoned by God. [Page 37]
[59] CHAPTER IV.
DIARY OF A JOURNEY MADE BY A FATHER OF THE
SOCIETY OF JESUS TO THE COUNTRY OF THE
PAPINACHOIS AND OF THE OUCHESTIGOUETCH.
T
HE resolution to undertake this journey having been adopted during the winter season, we set about its execution on the twenty-first of April. Leaving the Montagnais who had wintered with us at Isle aux Basques, I proceeded toward the North with the Papinachois, under favor of a fine day which God gave us to enable us to make about seven leagues. We landed at the Esseigiou,[1] a river famous for the number of Salmon taken there in the [60] fishing season. Two things rejoiced us upon landing: first, the sight of a large Cross, which we saluted by singing the Vexilla Regis prodeunt in the Montagnais tongue; second, the taking of five Moose, which, coming to feed on the banks of the great river, were killed by our hunters. At this the Papinachois, proud of this success in hunting, said to me: “ Some Montagnais told thee that ours is a wretched country, and that thou wouldst die of hunger there if thou earnest with us. Thou seest now that they did not tell the truth. Kataouatichouasti Oupapinachiouek asti, asti. It is a good land, ” said he, “ the land of the Papinachois. ’ ’ I repeated to them often these same words, to show them how glad I was to be with them in their country. We remained at this post for about [61] a fortnight. My host gave me there a proof of [Page 39] his great love. I was afflicted with a rather violent fever for some days, and this good Christian comforted me from time to time. He said to me one day: “ Oh, how sad my heart has been since thou hast been ill; I suffer greatly in seeing thee suffer, and I pray God with all my heart that I may be ill in thy place. And if thou art to die, I ask this favor of him, that I may die, and that thou mayst continue to live.” Whoever knows the sincerity of these good Savages, knows well that this was no mere politeness; he said what he thought. I thanked him for his kindness, and assured him that I considered myself happy to suffer, for the love of Jesus Christ, the ill which it pleased him to send me; and that, if he wished to dispose of me, I would hold [62] it a great favor to die in entire destitution of all things. He had offered to bleed me had my fever lasted longer; but I believe the prayers of these good people obtained for me my perfect recovery.
We felt much joy, on the second day of May, at the arrival of the Frenchman and the Savage who had gone to Kebec while we were still on the Southern side. I had no more wine for saying Mass, having poured out the last on that very day. The newcomers crowned our joy when they told us that the Shallop in which they had come was a league above us, and that Father Gabriel Druillettes was in it. On the next day all our Savages wished to accompany me to go and see the French, and especially [63] the Father, whom they love very much. Our little Shallop did not lack rowers, and we soon arrived at our place of meeting, where we were received with much love. The Father and I, having conferred on what we had to do touching our Missions, decided [Page 41] that I should accompany the Papinachois on their journey inland, while he would proceed up the Saguene to visit the Savages of those regions. After this, we separated.
On the fifth day of May, we arrived at saut au Mouton, a great waterfall by which the river called by the Savages Kaouasagiskaket[2] empties into the great river saint Lawrence. We remained a week at this place. Two Savages, who had [64] lost their two little girls during the winter, having chosen this place as that best suited for giving them their last burial, we erected a little Chapel and interred them there. All the finest articles possessed by these Savages were placed in the children’s bier. The ceremonies of the Church, which I explained to them, gave them much comfort, — above all, when I told them that these two little innocents had no need of our prayers, and that the prayers then offered were only to thank God for the graces which he had shown them, and which they possessed in Heaven, where they were waiting for us. The fathers having seen that the French put Crosses on their Graves, of their own accord made two; and they begged me to erect these on the spot where their [65] little girls were buried, as a sign that they were Christians. They told me that they would often visit this place to invoke the departed, as they have been doing ever since their death. It is incredible how much respect they have for the bodies of the dead, and I have often used it as an argument to inculcate in them a belief in the immortality of the Soul and the resurrection of our bodies.
On the eleventh of the same month, we arrived at the river which the Savages call Kouakoueou. We [Page 43] saw in passing the ravages wrought by the Earthquake in the rivers of Port neuf; the water coming there — from is all yellow, and it retains this color far into the great river, as does also that of the Bersiamites[3] The Savages could no longer navigate these two rivers.
[66] Leaving this last place, we met two Canoes coming down from the interior, well laden with peltries. They turned about, and came with us. Our Savages made their trade with these newcomers, after which they finished the Canoes which we needed for our journey. Some days later we reached the river Peritibistokou[4] where we halted until the second of June before proceeding inland by this river. The arrangement for our journey was that the women, the children, and some men should remain on the bank of the great river, while the rest would go up to Lake Manikougan. But the Frenchman who accompanied me, and I myself, were excluded from the journey. A good Christian having informed me of [67] the effort made by some newcomers to prevent my accompanying them to the Lake, I referred the matter to God, and then called them together in the Chapel. After hearing my arguments, they changed their minds. Some merely said to me: “ The way is so hard that we fear greatly for thee, lest thou be unable to bear such great fatigue. That is the only reason why we found it difficult to consent to thy going; but since God wills it, as thou hast assured us, and since thou feelest strong enough to surmount all these difficulties, we are very glad of it.” After all had performed their devotions on the day of Pentecost, we set out on the morrow, the second of June, after Mass, to the number of ten [Page 45] Canoes. So there we were on our way, [68] plying our paddles in emulation of one another; in this handicraft I served my apprenticeship under the direction of the Frenchman and the Savage who were with me. We proceeded — on that day as far as a great waterfall, where our Argonauts, finding a good number of Seals, killed many of them, using their guns, javelins, and arrows in this hunt. In the evening I was told that the Savage who commanded our Canoe was ill, — or at least pretended to be so, — and that he had some thought of turning back. The Evil One was playing his last stake to prevent my journey. I had recourse to God; then I visited the sick man, gave him a simple remedy, and encouraged him; and on the next day he was entirely cured and thoroughly resolved to continue the journey to the end.
[69] On the third day of June, after four Canoes had left us to go and join their families, we made a portage which occupied an entire day, spent now in climbing mountains and now in piercing forests. Here we had much difficulty in making our way, for we were all laden as heavily as possible, — one carrying the Canoe, another the provisions, and a third what we needed in our commercial transactions. I carried my Chapel and my little store of provisions; there was no one who was not laden, and sweating from every pore. We entered, somewhat late, the great river Manikouaganistikou, which the French call riviere Noire [“ Black river “I, because of its depth.[5] It is quite as broad as the Seine, and as swift as the Rhone. The eleven portages which we had to make there, and [70] the numerous currents which it was necessary to overcome by dint of paddling, gave us [Page 47] abundant exercise. Blessed be God, who gave me the strength to meet all that. I had the consolation of saying Mass on holy Trinity, midway on my journey, opposite a high mountain which we call mont de la Trinité. It was the first sacrifice ever offered in this country, where never before had a European made his appearance. I entreated our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Sovereign of this as well as of all other parts of the world, to make himself master of all hearts there, which belong to him by right.
On the ninth day of June we reached Lake Manikouagan, where I found sixty-four souls. They were Papinachois, who, returning from the chase, [71] had assembled in this place to trade with their Compatriots who dwell along the great river saint Lawrence, and have commerce with the French. They received us with many marks of affection. Two Canoes, after coming to reconnoiter us, returned promptly to their Camp, to prepare our reception. We saluted’ them, upon approaching, with all our little artillery; and they replied with their guns. Then, after we had disembarked, they took charge of all our packages, which they carried to the Captain’s Cabin; hither, too, they conducted us, and we were at once regaled with a great piece of Smoked meat, together with a bit of Moose-fat.
The greater part, having [72] never seen any Frenchmen or Jesuits, could not weary of looking at us, and the whole Cabin was filled with spectators. We all kept silence, until the thanksgiving which my Savages and I offered after taking our refreshment. After this, I announced the good news to them, — namely, the design which God had concerning them, to deliver them from Hell and give them [Page 49] his Paradise, if they would imitate those Compatriots of theirs who accompanied me. The good Christians took the word after me, and as they knew the language better than I, they expatiated still further in praise of prayer. I was delighted to hear these new Preachers, whom God used for the conversion of all that audience.
[73] The next day, the tenth, was employed partly in visiting individual families, in noting down their names, and in distinguishing those who were baptized from those who were not, and partly in erecting a Chapel. It was a pleasure to watch the movements of the workmen. Some ran for poles, others for bark, and the women for fir branches; while the builders prepared the ground, and made the plan of the first Church ever built in that country. The body of the Chapel being finished, I erected the Altar, and adorned it in the best way I could. Having seen at the Captain’s place a fine Moose-skin, covered with ornamental work, I thought he would willingly lend it to me, and I was not mistaken; that good Catechumen was well pleased that it should serve [76 i.e., 74] to adorn the house of prayer.
The eleventh was employed, after celebrating the first Mass there in honor of saint Barnabas, — the day being that of his feast, — in giving Baptism to six little children, The first was named Barnabe, in honor of that Apostle, whom I have held as the especial patron of that great Lake, which will bear his name henceforth, and which we shall call Lake St. Barnabé.
On the twelfth, I gave Baptism to some more little children, after which I began my teaching. All those who had not received Baptism presented [Page 51] themselves to become Catechumens. My old Christians who accompanied me were delighted at seeing this, and repeated to me from time to time: Tapoué noua kimiroueriten kataiamiaouek nachiriniouinanak, — [77 i.e., 75] “ In truth, my Father, thou art much pleased; our Compatriots will pray. ’ ’ They recalled to mind what some had said to me during the Winter, — namely, that I would lose my time by going inland, and that the people whom I should find there would mock at me and my teachings, They also recalled the answer that I made them: ‘ ‘ My children, your Compatriots will pray; he who made all things, who is our common Father, ordains to save them. Let us pray every day for the salvation of their souls. ”
When I had sufficiently instructed my Catechumens, recognizing besides that the holy Ghost was at work in their hearts, I chose six and solemnly baptized them, on the fifteenth day of the same month; on the sixteenth, seventeenth, and twentieth, I finished conferring the Sacrament upon the rest, [76] Baptizing in all twenty-seven Adults, men as well as women. There is no false religion to combat among these tribes; they are intelligent and very gentle, and it is no wonder that they have so soon understood our Mysteries.
The first thing that inclined them to receive the Gospel was the earthquake, which to them proclaimed aloud a divinity; the second was the example of those Compatriots of theirs who accompanied me; the third, the disinterested love of the black gowns, who expose their lives to a thousand dangers, solely to come and teach them; and the fourth, the beauty of our mysteries, and the harmony between God’s Commandments and reason. One could not believe [Page 53] the horror which they have of falsehood and theft. I found no polygamy among them. [77] To become angry is to commit a great crime. As to drunkenness, they know not what it is, and as for avarice, their goods are held almost in common. You would say that they are a people without passion; I have not yet seen any who are more peaceful and more kind. Gaudeant bene nati! Oh, what happiness it is to sow in a soil where there are neither thorns nor rocks, where one can sow and reap at the same time! Dextera Domini fecit virtutem.
Blessed be he forever for the bounties which he lavishes upon these poor tribes! His mercy was especially evident in the case of a Captain of much note, named Ouiskoupi. This man had never appeared at Lake saint Barnabe, and he went thither to visit a Captain who [78] is in command there, taking with him his wife, ten of his children, and two of his grandchildren. This entire family found in Baptism a source of blessings. Ouiskoupi had formerly followed the calling of a Juggler, — that is to say, of one who invokes the Demon; but he protested to me that since the earthquake he had renounced the trade; and when I asked him whether he still retained any of those things which he had used in his invocations, he ingenuously declared that he had some in his pouch. I asked for them, and he gave them to me to sacrifice them to God, which I did, throwing them into the fire. When I visited him in his Cabin, some days after his Baptism, he said to me: “ Thou knowest that I was ill before thou didst baptize me; he who made all things cured me at the same time when thou didst baptize me.” One of his children, who had [79] been unwell, told me the same thing. [Page 55] I said to them that the God whom the Christians worship, who is the true and only God, is so good that he gives to those who believe and have trust in him, more than they ask of him; and that Baptism, which is instituted to confer holiness upon the soul, often gives health to the body.
On this occasion, I related to them the miraculous cure of the Emperor Constantine. This story pleased them much, above all because of the resemblance which they noted between the cure of Captain Ouiskoupi and that of the great Constantine. This good Neophyte gave me a beautiful proof of the confidence which he had in prayer, and of the desire which he cherished to be faithful to God. The Demon appearing to him during the night, — so he assured me, — he at once went [80] out of his Cabin, came to awaken me in the one where I was, and said to me: Nouta aiamihatau, niouabamatas matchi manitou nichikatau, — “ My Father, let us pray to God; I have seen the Demon; I hate him. ” I encouraged him with words which God put into my mouth; then we offered our prayer together, after which he returned to his Cabin, with no more fear of the Demon. His most usual abiding place during the day was the Chapel. He could never become sated with looking at the pictures, which I explained to him from time to time. Neither he nor any of his family had ever seen any Frenchmen before.
I must not omit something that happened almost immediately after I had given Baptism to the little children: the greater part fell ill, a circumstance well suited to inspire [81] in the Adults an aversion for Baptism. One of my old Christians thought so, and came to tell it to me. [Page 57]
“Let us,” I said, “ have recourse to him who made all things; he is all-good and all-powerful, and it is easy for him to give health to these little sick children. ” On the next day I had them all brought to the Chapel, and after reciting over them the prayers which the Church has instituted for asking health, I gave them a little theriac, and they all recovered. This effect of God’s goodness in the case of these little innocents excited the admiration of the old Christians and of the Catechumens, and greatly strengthened both in the faith.
I must not omit something that I observed in regard to Baptism given to little children. Among the persons whom I [82] met at Lake saint Barnabe, I found twenty-three who had been baptized by the Fathers of our Society, when their relatives came to Tadoussac or the river of the Bersiamites; some were twelve years old, some fifteen, others about twenty. After I had instructed them, — the greater part having no knowledge of their blessedness, — I confessed them, and found in them so much sincerity and innocence that I could attribute this especial protection of God only to the baptismal grace and the merits of Jesus Christ, which had been applied to them in this Sacrament.
Two women, Christians of long standing, who had seen none of the Fathers of our Society for some years, gave me much consolation when they [83] rendered me an account of their lives since their last Confession. I found that they had added to the innocence of their lives the practice of the Christian virtues. They experienced much joy when I told them that I would be very glad if they would receive communion, as a worthy expression of gratitude to [Page 59] Our Lord for the favors which they had received from him. They prepared themselves for the ceremony with much exactness, and then received communion very devoutly. “ Pray, ” I said to them, “ you for your husband, and you for your brother,“ — they were sisters-in-law. “ He is not baptized; exhort him to pray, I will teach him willingly. ” Since then he has been taught and baptized. What joy for those two good souls whose prayers God undoubtedly has heard!
We thought that we would remain only [84] three days at Lake saint Barnabe, for we had provisions only for that length of time; but God decreed otherwise. The Ouchestiguetch, a more Northern tribe than the Papinachois, did not appear at the rendezvous at the appointed time. “ We must wait for them, ’ ’ said my old Christians; “ they are the ones who have the most peltries.” Their resolution was very agreeable to me, God giving me more time for the better instruction of my Neophytes, besides the hope to see the Ouchestigouetch. We waited until the sixteenth, when a Papinachois Canoe, returning from its winter expedition, brought us news of having seen some Ouchestiguetch at a neighboring Lake, whereupon a Canoe was immediately despatched to make them hasten. Among the young men who [85] were sent out was a Catechumen, who, after letting them know that we were waiting for them, gave them the first teachings in Christianity, but with so much zeal that he excited in their hearts a desire to see the black gown as soon as possible, in order to receive thorough instruction. Some of those messengers outstripping the rest, announced to me this news on their arrival: Noutakataniamieoueth [Page 61] ouchestigoueth, — “My Father, the Ouchestigouets will pray; they are very near and will arrive very soon. ’ ’ O God, what joy when I saw appear eight Canoes, filled partly with Adults and partly with little Children! I invoked their guardian Angels, imploring their succor and their intercession with God for the salvation of these souls so dear to them. After the people had landed, I showed them [86] the joy which I felt in seeing them and then I retired. They spent the rest of the day in housing themselves and in exchanging visits.
On the next day, the 21st of June, the feast of the Blessed Louis de Gonzague, I was in the Chapel at the time when I was to begin the instruction of these newcomers, and God sent me all the men separately; and, as I was pressed for time, I set about my task at once. I told them that he who made all things bade me love them; that I was obeying him, and that I did indeed love them; and that it was to give them sure proofs of this that I had come to that country after passing the winter with the Papinachois, their allies. They interrupted me often with their exclamations, “ O, o, o! ” “ I care naught,” said I, “ for [87] your Beaver and Caribou skins; I have not come to trade; that is the business of the Papinachois and the French merchant who has come up here with us. May it please God that the Papinachois and Ouchestigueti burn not forever with the Demons in Hell; may it please God that they find eternal happiness in Heaven. Those are precisely my thoughts concerning you; and now it is for you to profit by the favor which God offers you, and to make good use of the time that we have to remain together, in order to render yourselves fit for [Page 63] Baptism. Meanwhile, are you not glad to have me baptize your little children? ” Karapouan, replied they, — “ Yes.” They went to fetch them after the lesson, and came back all together with the little children and [88] with their wives. In the meantime, I prepared to administer Baptism to all those innocents, begging Monsieur Amiot[6] to be their godfather. When all was ready, I explained to them the advantages of Baptism, its very marvelous effects, and also the meaning of the ceremonies attending it; after which I baptized sixteen little children in two groups. On the faces of the fathers and mothers could be read the joy they felt in their hearts, of which they gave many signs by the different exclamations which they uttered from time to time.
That being over, I was informed that we would take our departure on the twenty-third; this left me only a day and a half to teach the Adults. That was a very short time to render fit for Baptism persons who had never heard of the Mysteries of our [89] Religion; but God, who never fails in time of need, made up for the shortness of the time by increasing his graces twofold. The savages applied themselves so assiduously to the different lessons, and showed so much fervor in learning what they had to know before being baptized, that on the twenty-third I felt it my duty to give them private baptism, postponing the ceremonies to our next meeting.
While I was teaching them a rather amusing thing happened. I was explaining to them the last judgment, letting them see, on a large picture where all was represented, what would be the happiness of those who believed in God, hoped in him, and loved [Page 65] and served him to the end; and, on the other hand, what would be the misery of those who did not believe in him and [90] obey him: how the good Christians would be the companions of the Angels in Heaven, and the Infidels and bad Christians the companions of the Demons in the fires of Hell. At this point one of those good Catechumens interrupted me, exclaiming: Nouta tapoué naspich nichikatanan natchi manitou, — “ My Father, in truth, we utterly hate the evil spirit. I beg you, let us not look at him any longer; let us always fix our gaze above. Oh, what pleasure we take in contemplating Heaven, and those who are happy there! ” At the same time, perceiving that his eldest son, about twelve years of age, had his eyes fixed on the representation of Hell, he rebuked him: Nigousai kesta Kitirinissin espimitck ouabanta, — “ My son, thou hast no sense; look always upward. ”
[91] Being informed that among these Catechumens there were three who had formerly been jugglers, I summoned them into the Chapel in private, and examined them on what they had done in juggling, and what were their intentions regarding it. They told me that their notion had been that there was a good and a bad manitou; that they hated the bad one, and loved the good one; and that all they had done had been solely for the purpose of honoring the good manitou. When I had thoroughly inculcated in them what Faith teaches us in this matter, they were satisfied, and resolved to obey him who made all things, and always to love prayer.
Among the Ouchestigouetch there happened to be, by a special providence, an Oumamiois[7] Captain, a man of intelligence, who seemed to be the most [Page 67] devoted to prayer. [92] This good Catechumen, whom I baptized with his wife and four children, was never tired of speaking in praise of our mysteries. He honored them on all occasions that offered, particularly in a fine harangue which he delivered in his Cabin, in the presence of Sieur Amiot, the Papinachois, and the Ouchestigouetch. I was at the time very busy in the Chapel. Sieur Amiot made him a present of a roll of tobacco, a sword, and some other things which they value, and I gave him two fine Pictures. In one of these the Mother of God was represented holding in her arms her Son Jesus; and in the other was the Savior of the world, holding a globe in one hand. At this he said wonderful things to us; he was going to exhibit these Pictures which I [93] had presented to him to all the nations allied to his own, and he would make a tour of all the Villages which lie along the North Sea, to invite all the Inhabitants to prayer. He said that he would tell them in advance what I had taught him; that all the Captains of that country would taste the tobacco which Sieur Amiot had given him; and that the sword of which he had made him a present would speak in a loud voice in honor of the French. As I found him to be a man of intelligence, and thoroughly acquainted with all that country, I did not lose this excellent opportunity to ask him a number of questions, which I shall set down here, with the replies.
“ Is it very far from here to the two Villages where thy relatives and thyself dwell? ” “ One can arrive there in twenty nights, or thereabout.”
[94] “ Can one ascend thither in a Canoe? ” “ Yes; but beyond those Villages Canoes are not used, [Page 69] for want of bark to make them, the trees of that country being very small.”
“ Are those two Villages well peopled? ” “ There are a great many people there.” A Papinachois who wintered with us confirmed this statement for me, having been there formerly.
“ Are there any other villages near these?” (‘ Yes, there are two; and, farther away, two others.” “ On what do all the inhabitants of those districts live? ” “ In summer on fish, which they catch in large lakes, where they are found in abundance; and in Winter on Caribou flesh, which they prefer to Moose.”
“ Is it very far from those Villages to the North sea? ” “ It takes a Winter to go there and return.” [95] “ Hast thou been to the North Sea? ” “ Yes.” “ Is the coast of that Sea inhabited?” “ I have seen a great many Savages there. ”
“ Oblige me by giving me the Massinahigan, the description with the names of the tribes inhabiting that coast.” He gave me the Topography of those regions with the names of the inhabitants composing the different nations.
O God, how many souls to win over to Jesus Christ!
“ Have Europeans — French, or Spanish, or English — made their appearance on that coast? ”
“ No.”
As a result of this conversation, it was decided that he should return next year to the same Lake, — saint Barnabé, — and that I, or some other one of our Fathers, should go and join him at this same post, in order to go up from that place [96] to the two villages, and labor there in teaching his Compatriots. God [Page 71] grant that my sins be no obstacle to this purpose! I know well that the Evil One will do what he can to balk it; but quis ut Deus? si Deus pro nobis, quis contra nos.? I pray all good souls who shall read this Relation to offer Masses, Communions, Rosaries, and mortifications to God, for the happy outcome of this Mission and of this new discovery, which offers many souls to be won. The Baptism of nearly eighty persons by me at Lake St. Barnabe has afforded me much joy; but it is far surpassed by that which I feel at sight of this new Mission presenting itself.
We parted on the twenty-third of June, and in four [97] days — so swift is the river — we arrived safely at the bank of the great river saint Lawrence, where our coming had been eagerly awaited by the French and the Papinachois. Finally, two days and two nights of good northeast wind brought us to Kebek. [Page 73]
CHAPTER V.
OF THE HURON CHURCH AT QUEBEC.
G
OD’S Spirit works its wonders wherever he chooses. It is not merely among civilized nations, and in souls consecrated to God, that devotion is found; Savages are capable of it, and Cabins of Bark conceal as much virtue as can be desired in cloisters. [98] Since there has been introduced into the Huron Church of Quebec a devotion which bears abundant fruit among the French of this country, and since they have been inspired with the idea of modeling their families after that of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, it is impossible to believe the length to which the fervor of these poor Barbarians goes. Those who are admitted into this holy family do not allow in their homes any sinful talk; and one now sees poor women, who before would not have dared to open their mouths, rise up like Lionesses against rascals who try to hold sinful converse in their presence — a conduct very rare, and to be highly valued, among Barbarous nations, where license of speech and action reigns with impunity.
But the devotion of these good people does not end there. During [99] Holy week, after the Father who has charge of that Church had spoken on our Lord’s sufferings for the expiation of our crimes, a good Huron woman went back into her Cabin and said to her Companion: “Why should we not show our sympathy with our good suffering Savior? He [Page 75] was scourged so cruelly! Come, let us scourge each other; there are my shoulders, begin! ” “ We have not the Father’s permission,” replied her companion, shutting the woman’s mouth with these words. But the latter at once resolved that she herself would execute what she had been unable to obtain from her companion. In fact, when she found herself alone in her Cabin, thinking that to inflict the discipline on oneself required no permission, as it did to strike others, she took [100] the discipline with such severity that the marks of it remained for a long time engraven on her shoulders.
This noble spirited Huron has as much goodness and gentleness for others as she has rigor for herself. She takes care to visit the sick, and to help them as far as she is able. She repeats to them in private the exhortations which have been made publicly in our Chapel. She takes orphans under her shelter, as she did with three poor little children whom, notwithstanding her poverty, she willingly feeds and cares for, — lest, being bereft of father and mother, they should fall into the hands of one of their relatives, whose faith is not sufficiently rooted in his soul. She acts as father, mother, and even spiritual father, to these little children, bringing them up in innocence, [101] and inspiring them with the fear of God. This was sufficiently shown by what she did one day, when they indulged in some frolic natural at their age. For in order to give them some conception of the gravity of their offense, which she herself regarded as very serious, she told them that it was all over with them, and that they would be hanged just as they had seen a Frenchman hanging on the gallows. She said this so earnestly that those [Page 77] poor children thought every passerby was the executioner come to take them; one of them hid in, a corner of the Cabin, and the others took refuge, half-naked, in the snow among the bushes. At last she persuaded them that, in order to avoid this punishment, they must make confession as soon as possible; and then she came to Quebec to speak [102] to the Father. She caused him serious alarm by leading him to suspect that what she had to relate was some strange case, and it all ended in these childish trifles, which she regarded as so grave that she found no rest, and gave none to the children, until they had confessed. That is being keenly apprehensive even about the least imperfections.
The manner of raising her children adopted by this good Huron woman is extremely wonderful. When her little son, only two or three years old, has been beaten by his little comrades, and comes back into the Cabin weeping, she does not set about soothing him, wiping away his tears, and caressing him, as other mothers ordinarily do; on the contrary, she teaches him to make an offering to God [103] of his little sufferings. “ Be quiet,” she says, “ be quiet; thou art crying, instead of offering up to God the pain which thou feelest. Make haste; down on thy knees, and make an offering to God of the injury thou hast received. Pray for those who have hurt thee, in order that their sense may return to them, and they may abstain in the future from ill-treating others. ” And then this poor little one kneels down, and repeats what his mother prompts him; and when the prayer is done, lo! he feels perfectly well again.
She is very zealous for the conversion of her compatriots, instructing them, exhorting them, and [Page 79] confounding them with her gentleness, in order to reclaim them from sin; and her charity makes her so eloquent that she penetrates the most rebellious hearts to make of them hearts wholly Christian.
On the occasion of the arrival of some alms from France for the Savages, [104] after their distribution, she said to some libertines who did not mind their duties: “ It is not this day only when the faith and charity of the French ought to convince us that what they preach to us is infallible truth. How many years is it during which they have been preaching to us and teaching us, without any other reward than the expectation of an eternal life from God? Neither the fear of the Enemy’s fires, nor all their cruelties make those draw back who went to the country of the Iroquois in quest of us.
“The alms which have been sent us from France for ten or twelve years, since the Iroquois drove us out of our Huron country, are evidences of the piety and the living faith of the good souls [105] who deprive themselves of what we receive from their hands. The care which the holy maidens of the Hospital take of our sick; the teachings which the Ursulines give our children, without gaining anything in return except the Paradise which they expect as a reward — is not this a proof which ought to convince us that we too are to win Paradise? Either those who send us their alms from France prove themselves to be fools by sending them to us, if they have not the hope of an eternal reward; or we show that we are mad by not striving after this same reward of Paradise that is promised us. Thinkest thou, ’ ’ she asked, addressing a young debauchee, “ that thou art wiser than those who teach us? [Page 81] When thou didst escape entirely naked from the hands of the Iroquois, [106] they covered thy nakedness, and stood to thee as father, and mother, and relative, and all. Beyond a doubt they love thee, and desire thy good. Why, then, dost thou not obey their counsels? Why doest thou not what they tell thee that thou must do in order to avoid the fires of Hell, and escape from a captivity more cruel than that which thou hast experienced among the Iroquois, from whom thou didst escape with so great difficulty? ” In a word, the charitable Christian eloquence of this virtuous Huron woman converted on the spot the young Huron debauchee who, touched by this glowing discourse, was thoroughly converted, and changed his life.
The calmness of her disposition was made evident in the case of a woman to whom she had lent a kettle, which chanced to be lost during some [107] cajolery that this woman permitted to be practiced upon her. Instead of getting angry with her, this good Christian said to her: “ My sister, it is not this loss that I shall ever regret, but the loss of thy soul; for thou hast sinned and offended God, by permitting cajoleries of which thou shouldst have a horror, because thou art a Christian. No, I shall never speak to thee about my kettle, provided thou makest confession as early as possible. I give it to thee; but do thou give to God what thou owest him, and be more discreet in the future.” It needed no more to make a penitent.
Her husband being extremely ill with a malady from which, in fact, he died, an Abnaquiois Juggler, who had recently come from far inland, said he would undertake the cure of this man, if [108] he were [Page 83] permitted to use his art and his Demon in the cure. “ I have bewitched him,” said he, “ I admit it; but I have pity on him. Let me only visit him, and I will dispel the charm, and the sick man shall be cured.” That was too much to ask of this good Christian, who preferred to see her husband die before her eyes, although he was very dear to her, than to permit the Juggler to enter the Cabin. And, some time afterward, when she was reproached with having let her husband die, she exclaimed: “ What? You would wish me to add to the affliction I have received in his death, that of having made him commit a sin before dying? No, no. I loved my dear husband more than myself; but I prefer to see him dead and to know that he refused to commit [109] this sin, than to see him alive because he, and I with him, had committed a sin of that nature. And I would wish this Juggler greater ill for having restored my husband’s health by offending God, than for having let him die without using his witchcraft.” Her charity did not stop there; for, a little later, the wife and children of this pretended sorcerer being in great need, she took them into her Cabin, fed them, and gave them every evidence of genuine friendship, — in this way returning good for evil, and saving the lives of those to whom was imputed the death of her husband.
On being one day solicited, by a rich present which a Frenchman gave her with this end in view, to do wrong, “ Wretched man, ” she exclaimed; “ knowest thou not that I have the faith? And of what use will all thy porcelain be to me in Hell, except [110] for an eternal remorse that, in the hope of a slight gain, I delivered myself over of my own [Page 85] accord to so many woes. ” She overwhelmed this shameless man with confusion, and she, who is in the constant exercise of piety, cared not to speak otherwise.
She knew how to respond — it was the response of solid virtue — to certain libertines who reproached her that all her behavior was only hypocrisy, and that she wished to win the esteem of men by these fair appearances. “ That might well have been the case, ” said she, “ when first I began to be instructed; but now that I know what my practice of devotion will be worth to me in Heaven, I do not care to take for sole reward a vain applause which is only smoke, or words which are lost in [111] the air. ” Finally, she intends to make, at her death, the blessed Virgin heiress to all her possessions. It is no great amount that a poor Huron woman, who during her lifetime has great need of our help, can give at her death; but if the mite of a poor woman was preferred to the gold pieces of the Pharisees in our Savior’s judgment, what are we to think of a Savage woman who, in the presence of her relatives, declares the blessed Virgin her heiress?
The Huron Church furnishes us other souls of this stamp, a detailed account of which would be too long. I will merely give two or three instances of their good sentiments.
Some young girls newly arrived from France entered our Chapel at the time when [112] our Christian Huron women were saying their prayers there; and they could not help having their eyes constantly turned toward these Savages, because of the novelty. The latter, soon becoming aware of this, went out of the Church quietly, before their customary prayers [Page 87] were finished. The Father who has charge of them asked them the reason of their going out; and they answered frankly that they preferred not to pray rather than cause these French girls to pray ill. They said that, consequently, they would willingly wait at the Church door, in order to remove the cause of distraction which the girls found in them; and that their time was not so precious to them that they could not put off their prayers a little, and they did not wish their devotion to disturb that of others. So, when these French girls had left [113] the Church, the Huron women went back, and finished the prayers they had begun.
A good Huron woman, to whom God made a very special manifestation of himself during the earthquake of last year, has inspired in her husband, who used to be very remiss in prayer, a fervor which is quite extraordinary. Her conversation is about the things of God and of the other world; and thus the younger of her two children, who is about six years old, hearing her tell about the frightful torments of Hell, was so alarmed thereby that he asked her permission on the spot to retire to our Seminary among our little Boarders, in order to be removed from occasions for offending God. His mother answered him that the little French boys in the Seminary would beat and maltreat him, as one not of their own [114] nation. “ Well,” he returned, “ let me then go and live with hari ouaouagui,“ — that is the name the Hurons give to Monseigneur the Bishop of Petræa. The boy was so urgent that he had to be taken there, where he was assured by Monseigneur the Bishop that he would be admitted when he was larger, if by the grace of God he continued in this [Page 89] good desire. Such are the fruits of the good education which parents give their children when they instill in them, with their mothers’ milk, a spirit of devotion.
In this connection, I remember the practice of a good Huron woman when she suckled her child. She ordinarily addressed this prayer to the child Jesus: “Ah, Lord, how happy I would have deemed myself if, during your infancy, the blessed Virgin had let me give you a few drops of [115] milk from my breast! But since I had not the good fortune to be living at that time, and to render this little service to you in your own person, I wish at least to render it to you in the person of my son; for you have said that whatsoever one shall do unto the least of your children you will consider it as done unto yourself.” Such was her custom every time she put her child to her breast, addressing our Lord with altogether charming tenderness and familiarity. A single thing made her uneasy in this act of devotion, and that was that she deemed herself too vile and contemptible to treat him with such intimacy; and it was necessary to add courage to her humility, to make her continue this innocent practice.
The good Heleine, whose children were carried off at Montreal, last year, [116] by the Iroquois, — from whom she received so many blows with the hatchet that she was left for dead, one of her eyes blinded and her face grievously and lastingly disfigured — yet never fails to be present at all devotional meetings; and every morning she offers to our Lord each new humiliation that she must endure from the looks cast at her during the day. She does not complain that she is SO disfigured, but that her [Page 91] poor children are in such danger of damnation among the Iroquois; and it is solely to weep over this misfortune that she would desire the use of both her eyes. She often addresses this gentle prayer to the blessed Virgin: “ Holy Virgin, have pity on me! You alone know by your own experience the grief that [117] a mother feels at the loss of her children. Help me then, if you please, according to my needs, which you know much better than I myself.”
Piety gives not only tenderness to the Huron women, but also steadfastness to the Huron men. This was made evident in the case of a good Christian converted, some time ago, from a somewhat licentious life to a devout state of mind, which is no whit inferior to the fervor of the Religious most practiced in the virtue of patience, This man, having some sore on his hand, decided to apply to it one of their ordinary remedies, cutting himself with a knife and making several incisions, but with so little skill that he severed some of the tendons and veins. This brought on mortification of almost the entire hand, so that, [118] in order to rid himself of the stench of this gangrene, and the pain that he felt, he made up his mind to cut off, by himself, several fingers of this hand — and this he executed with a firmness which was admirable and truly Christian. For during the whole of this severe operation, and all the time following, when it caused him cruel tortures, one never heard an impatient word from him; but he always gently conversed with our Lord. “ Ah, great God,” he would say; “ what is this that I suffer now in comparison with what I had deserved to suffer in Hell, if you had not saved me from it when I merited it for my sins? Ah, my God, it seems to me that, if [Page 93] it were well understood what comfort faith brings us in the hope of Paradise, amid our sharpest pains, [119] nothing else would be needed to make us conclude that all that we are taught is true.” He often repeats these prayers in his home; but it is a pleasure to see and hear him when he thinks that he is alone in our Chapel, for then he pours out his heart with his tears before the blessed Sacrament. God’s grace must indeed have great power to work this in the hearts of his poor Savages, who are born and reared in Barbarism.
It is well to add here what the Ursuline Mothers of Quebec have given us in writing concerning a good Algonkin woman who has dwelt a considerable time with them. This is what they say about her.
“ Among the Seminarists whom we have had this year in our Seminary, there has been a good widow, [120] quite old, named Genevieve, an Algonkin of the Nepisirinien nation. Knowing well that we did not receive women of her age, she had had the Father in charge of the Savages beg us not to refuse to do her this kindness. During the twenty-three years that we have spent in this country, I have seen no Savages so fervent as this good woman. She followed us every day to the Choir services, where she said her Beads over and over for different purposes, — among others for the salvation of the Algonkains; and when she had said them several times, she would offer Jaculatory Prayers on her Rosary. She never tired of praying, or of receiving instruction in the mysteries of our holy Faith. She would often tell us her adventures, and, among others, she once [121] related the following: ‘ I have had signal experience of God’s aid, in the firm belief that I have in him; [Page 95] he has protected me everywhere. When returning from our country to come into these regions, we met some Iroquois. I threw myself on the ground; ouaboukima, my brother, was very much frightened, while our band fled hither and thither in the woods. “ Take courage,” I said to my brother; “ be firm, and earnestly believe in him who made all things; he will save US, and protect us from our enemies, ” Without ceasing,’ said she, ‘ I continued to exhort him, while the musket-balls whistled around us on all sides. But God was so strong a protection to us, in this encounter, that not one of us was wounded, or seen by the Enemy, whom we saw quite near us.’
“ When her husband was dying in her own [122] country, which is more than five hundred leagues from here, there was not at that time any Father there to help him die a holy death, or to administer the Sacraments to him. This good woman was therefore breaking her heart with grief. Nevertheless, as she is very eloquent, in the fear which she entertained that her husband was not in a proper condition, she exhorted him earnestly, and constantly made him perform acts of Contrition; so that, as a result of her fervent admonitions, he died a good Christian, She is inconsolable when she thinks of her children, who have all died, some of them without baptism. A single one who had been left her died when he was at the age of nine or ten: and, because she saw him speak to a Juggler one day, she thinks he may have been damned for this sin. Although a long time has passed [123] since she suffered these losses, she still laments them, and gives alms, in order that God may be pleased to take pity on her. When she entered our Seminary she [Page 97] made US a present of a Beaver robe that had served as a coat for her dear son, now dead, in order that we might pray to God in his behalf.
“ This good woman admired all our Religious functions; and, contemplating us, she would say to God: ‘ Preserve these good maidens! From morning until night they think always of you, and do nothing but serve you. ’ When she chanced upon any instrument of mortification, she desired to use it, and sometimes she did, especially a girdle of iron points, the pain of which is very acute. But we did not let her do all that she would have liked.
[124] “ On Good Friday she was deeply moved in meditating upon the Passion of our Lord; and during our tenbræ she burst into tears, so keenly sensible did God make her of the love which he had borne mankind in enduring such extreme sufferings. Recovering her self-control, she said: ‘ I am quite at a loss; I have never experienced anything like that. Would the Devil perhaps deceive me? ’
“ She has a very clear insight into her own internal states. One day, when she appeared very thoughtful, some one asked her what subject occupied her mind. ‘ I am thinking that I am very wicked. It seems to me that I do what I can, not to offend him who made all things, and yet I see myself quite full of sins. The other day, a man took away my [125] Beaver robe in my presence, under pretext of keeping it for me. I ran after him, yet I was not angry with him, and wished him no ill. Nevertheless, I felt in myself a malice which strove to deceive me. ’
“ She watched our Choir ceremonies, and we had to explain them to her. She said that we imitated [Page 99] the Angels and the Saints who are in Heaven. When Monseigneur the Bishop administered the Sacrament of Confirmation at our Church last Lent, she saw that several of our Boarders were instructed and prepared to receive the Sacrament. She suspected that it was something holy and momentous, and went through the house seeking some one to tell her what it was. ‘ Alas! ’ she exclaimed; ‘ it is something holy, [126] and they do not teach me, but they do the children. ’ Being then instructed, she was delighted; above all when she learned that, by receiving this Sacrament, she would be strengthened against the temptations of the Demon, and become more firm and courageous in the faith; and that she would carry the marks of it in Heaven, in the same manner as those of Holy Baptism. As soon as she had received Confirmation, she asked leave to go to Sillery to tell her good fortune to her relatives and friends among the Savages; and she preached to them with such fervor that they admired her, and adored God’s greatness in the exalted sentiments with which that woman was filled. She left us to go to Three Rivers, to look for some women of her tribe, in order to prevent them from engaging in an affair which might turn them from the practice of Christianity. ’ ’. [Page 101]
[127] CHAPTER VI.
OF THE CAPTIVE CHURCHES AMONG THE IROQUOIS.
T
HESE are the most distressed of all our Churches, but not the least acceptable to God, who sees himself honored in the heart of Barbarism at once by French, Hurons, and Iroquois. There are maimed Frenchmen, who lift to Heaven hands without fingers; Huron slaves, who in their captivity take the liberty to preach Jesus Christ to their executioners; and, as there are Iroquois persecutors, there are also Iroquois Preachers. One of these is a man named Garakontie, who was [128] formerly our host when we were in their country — one of the most notable men of Onnontae, and a good friend of the French, so far as one can judge from results. It has been God’s will often to make use of this man for his glory. Besides rescuing so many poor Frenchmen from the hands and the flames of the Agniehronnon Iroquois, — some of whom he brought back to us, while the rest he has harbored at his cabin as he would his own children, — he has by his authority maintained the Chapel that we erected in their village. There he assembles all the French Captives for prayer; while, in order to unite material with spiritual charity, he gives them a feast at the close of prayers, to encourage their devotion and at the same time alleviate their misery. This charitable Barbarian has done still more, erecting [129] in the middle of his Village a French house for lodging the [Page 103] Missionaries whom he expects; and in the desire to hasten their arrival, he nearly lost his life and became a captive of the Algonkins while working for the deliverance of our Frenchmen from their captivity among the Iroquois — as we shall relate in the seventh Chapter.
He is not the only Iroquois in this Village of Onnontae who favors the faith. There are several of them who invite these French Captives to their feasts, in order to induce them, at the close of the feast, to pray to God in their behalf; they ask, and indeed can expect, nothing else from these poor wretches than the aid of their prayers, of which they make great account, Iroquois although they are, appearing thus to be not far removed from the Kingdom of God.
[130] The women of this Village do still more. No sooner have they given birth to their children than they carry them to the oldest of the Frenchmen for Baptism, giving him profuse thanks when he confers this Sacrament upon the little predestined creatures. “ We thank thee,” they say to him, “ for having put our children in the way to Heaven, where they
