The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents Volume 50

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. L.

Lower Canada, Iroquois, Ottawas

1664—1667

CLEVELAND: The Burrows Brothers

Company, PUBLISHERS, M DCCC XCIX.

THE JESUIT RELATIONS

AND

ALLIED DOCUMENTS

Vol. L.

[Page iii]

The edition consists of sev-

en hundred and fifty sets

all numbered.

No.________

The Burrows Brothers Co.

[Page iv]

EDITORIAL STAFF

Editor	Reuben Gold Thwaites

	\| Finlow Alexander
	\| Percy Favor Bicknell
Translators.	\| William Frederic Giese
	\| Crawford Lindsay
	\| William Price
	\| Hiram Allen Sober

Assistant Editor	Emma Helen Blair

Bibliographical Adviser	Victor Hugo Paltsits

Electronic Transcription	Tomasz Mentrak

[Page v]

CONTENTS OF VOL. L.

Preface To Volume L.		9
Documents:—
CXVII.	Relation de ce qvi s’est passé en la Novvelle France, és années 1664. & 1665. [Chap. vi. to end of document.] François le Mercier; Kebec, November 3, 1665.		19
CXVIII.	Relation de ce qvi s’est passé en la Novvelle France, aux années mil fix cent foixante cinq, & mil fix cent foixante fix. François le Mercier; Kebec, November 12, 1666		93
CXIX.	Trois Lettres, 1666-67. Thierry Beschefer; Québec, October 1 and 4, 1666, and August 25, 1667.		166
CXX.	Journal des, PP. Jésuites. François le Mercier; Quebec, January, 1666, to December, 1667.		180
CXXI.	Relation de ce qvi s’est passé en la Novvelle France, les années mil fix tens foixante fix, & mil fix tens foixante fept. [Chaps. i.-vii., first installment of the document.] François le Mercier; Kebec, November 10, 1667.		221
Bibliographical Data; Volume L.			313
Notes			319

[Page vii]

[INSERT GRAPHIC HERE]

ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. L.

I..	Map of Montreal, 1665 ca.; reduced from Faillon’s Colonie Française	Frontispiece
II.	Photographic facsimile of title-page, Relation of 1665 -66.	96
III.	Facsimile of handwriting of Thierry Beschefer, S. J.; selected from baptismal entry in register of Boucherville Parish.	Facing 174
IV.	View of Jesuit College and Church, Quebec; reduced from engraving made in 1761	Facing 188
V.	Photographic facsimile of title-page, Relation of 1666-67.	224

[Page viii]

PREFACE TO VOL. L

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

CXVII. In Vol. XLIX. were presented the first five chapters of Le Mercier’s Relation of 1664-65; the remainder of the document is given in this volume. An account of Nouvel’s second journey to Lake Manikouagan is compiled from the diary kept by him. It is an undertaking of great fatigue, hardships, and danger; and Nouvel and his French companions barely escape with their lives, their canoe being capsized in the rapids. The Father finds that most of his disciples have left the lake, thinking that he would not come to them; but he ministers to the few who remain there, and to some others whom he meets upon the way.

Le Mercier recounts the victory and subsequent defeat of an Iroquois band who make a raid upon the savages dwelling near Lake St. John. He also relates several miraculous incidents which have occurred among the French people, — one, a sudden cure of blindness ; another, the household cares of a pious woman relieved, presumably, by the aid of the Virgin Mary.

A letter is here inserted, which describes the captivity and torments of some Frenchmen seized near Montreal by the Iroquois, in August, 1662. Some of them finally escape (1664), making their way to the [Page 9] Dutch at Fort Orange, who aid them to regain their homes.

A chapter is devoted to two comets which were visible at Quebec during the winter of 1664-65, with scientific observations of their places in the sky; and to other unusual natural phenomena-meteors, earthquake shocks, etc. The last chapter notes various interesting circumstances connected with the arrival of this year’s fleet with the troops. Horses, the first in the colony, are brought from France. Many sick soldiers come from the ships ; the hospital nuns care for them nobly, but are thereby so overworked that most of them become seriously ill. More than a score of Calvinists are induced to abjure their heresy; one of these, exceedingly obstinate, becomes as a lamb, after swallowing with his medicine a little piece of one of the martyr Brébeuf’s bones, pulverized.

CXVIII. Le Mercier prefaces the Relation of 1665 -66 with a brief note mentioning the success of Tracy’s expeditions against the Iroquois, and the consequent advantage to the colony and to the missions. The report for this year is brief, being mainly occupied with the public and military affairs of the colony. Imposing funeral services in memory of the late queen, Anne of Austria, are held in the church at Quebec, at which all the officials and influential habitants are present, dressed in mourning garb.

The piety of a little Huron girl, and her saintly death, are related at length. The Hurons captive among the Iroquois still retain their faith, and exercise charity, patience, and devotion in every possible way. One of these captives has even begun a church among his People who are enslaved by the Eries, who are now driven far from their own country. [Page 10] news has been received from Allouez, for more than a year. Nouvel has met with much success among the wandering tribes below Tadoussac. At Sillery, Noel Tekwerimat is dead — a great loss to the missionaries, whom he had always zealously supported. Certain miraculous cures wrought by relics of Brébeuf and Le Jeune are narrated.

The Iroquois have sent numerous embassies to Quebec during the past year, claiming to desire peace. One of these is headed by the noted Garakontie. He is received as a friend, but Courcelles leads an expedition against the Mohawks and Oneidas. This is done in January, 1666, and the troops suffer greatly from cold and other hardships. They find most of the Iroquois absent on a hostile expedition; but the demonstration made by the French alarms all the tribes, and induces them to supplicate for peace. It is still evident, nevertheless, that the Mohawks are not sufficiently humbled, as they delay and embarrass the negotiations; Tracy accordingly organizes another army, which he conducts in person (September-October, 1666) against that tribe. They hear of his approach, and desert their villages; these are destroyed by the French, and the fields and crops laid waste. “As a result, those familiar with these Barbarians’ mode of life have not a doubt that almost as many will die of hunger as would have perished by the weapons of our soldiers, had they dared await the latter’s approach.”

Le Mercier expresses his confidence in the benefits which Canada will receive from the coming of the troops, and from the efforts of the Company of the West Indies, to whom the country has been granted.

At the end of the Relation is a letter from the [Page 11] superior of the Quebec hospital — addressed, like the preceding one, to “Monsieur * * * *, Citizen of Paris.” She thanks him for the supplies sent by him and other friends, and adds another list of articles needed in the hospital, which she requests him to forward. This admirable institution has had, during the past year, more than 12,000 patients. There is, accordingly, imperative need for additions to their staff of nurses. Two Canadian girls wish to enter the sisterhood; but they are poor, and the hospital cannot afford to receive them for nothing. The superior therefore asks for contributions from the charitable to endow these girls. She mentions additional conversions of Huguenots, which have occurred at the hospital; also that of an Iroquois woman, who at first was obstinately averse to any mention of the faith. She praises the ability, the prudence, and especially the generous disposition, of Talon, the new intendant.

CXIX. Father Thierry Beschefer, who came to Canada in 1665, writes three letters to relatives and friends. The first (dated October 1, 1666) mentions the war with the Iroquois, which has prevented Beschefer from going to them as a missionary. He praises the climate and soil of Canada, and is well content to remain there.

A letter written three days later describes the ceremony by which he receives from the Hurons the name of Ondessonk, as successor of Jogues and Le Moyne. He hopes to go next year on a mission to the upper Iroquois tribes. Marquette has come to Canada, and will go to Three Rivers to study the Algonkin tongue. Beschefer gives an interesting description of Quebec. “The upper town is of [Page 12] importance only on account of the Churches and religious houses.” The Jesuits are building a large church. The small chapel which they meanwhile use contains over 1,000 écus’ worth of silverware. Two houses were recently built at Quebec, “one of which was sold for 22 thousand livres, and the other is well worth 15 thousand.”

We have but part of the third letter, which is dated August 25, 1667. “At the present moment, we have peace with the Iroquois,” and a mission has been already begun among them. Allouez comes down to Quebec, and obtains a priest and five other companions to return with him to Lake Superior. But the ungrateful Ottawas refuse to take into their canoes any one except the two Fathers; and, even at that, they have to depart without any of their baggage except a little food. Over 400 colonists come from France this year, and horses and sheep are sent over. “The best of all is, that there are numbers of savages to teach.” The Iroquois ask for six priests and two brethren for next year. Beschefer himself has been prevented, for a year past, from going to them, by a bilious complaint, as is indicated by a memorandum on the MS.

CXX. Le Mercier continues the Journal des Jésuites, during the years 1666 -67. It is occupied, during most of the first three months in 1666, with an account of Courcelles’s expedition against the Mohawks, which is unsuccessful,-mainly through the drunkenness of the Algonkins who were to act as his guides. Not only do the French fail to reach the Mohawk villages, but their provisions give out, and over sixty men die of hunger. Courcelles is angry at his failure, and accuses the Jesuits of purposely [Page 13] detaining the Algonkins, which Talon is at first inclined to believe. The governor soon changes his mind, and resumes friendly relations with the Jesuits.

On May 31, the first stones of the new Jesuit church and chapels are laid by the governor and other high officials. St. John’s fire is lit, this year, with great solemnity, by the bishop and Tracy. The students of the Jesuits are examined in philosophy, July 2; Louis Joliet, among others, takes honors. On the 6th, a large Oneida embassy arrives. They are reprimanded for their past misdeeds, and some of the principal men are detained at Quebec. The rest are sent home, accompanied by Father Beschefer as an envoy from the French; but, news coming soon after of murders committed by the Mohawks, Beschefer and his prisoners are recalled to Quebec. A detachment of soldiers is at once sent to punish the Mohawks; but, on the way, they meet chiefs of that tribe, who return the prisoners they have taken, and offer reparation. Early in August, two new missionaries arrive, Bruyas and Carheil. On the thirteenth, a solemn funeral service is held in memory of the deceased queen-mother, Anne of Austria. At the end of the month a band of Senecas and Cayugas, over one hundred in number, arrive at the French settlements. Restrictions are placed by Tracy upon the mail for France; he desires that all news shall be borne by Chevalier de Chaumont, his aide.

A council with various Iroquois deputies is held August 31, which induces Tracy to resolve upon leading an army in person against the Mohawks; the Cayugas and Senecas however, part with the French on friendly terms. The army, composed of 1,400 [Page 14] men, goes to the Mohawk villages, which are found deserted; they are laid waste, and the corn is destroyed. In December, Father Nicolas has to go into the wilderness with his Algonkin neophytes, “to remove them from the temptation to drunkenness, which is greater than ever.” The Council, at its first session (January 5, 1667), passes “an ordinance against the disorders caused by liquor.” The “first ball in Canada” was given February 4; “may God grant that it do not become a precedent.”

The Mohawk chief known as “the Flemish Bastard” returns to Quebec April 20, without the hostages and captives whom he had been directed to bring. Tracy detains all the band except two men, whom he sends back with the message that if his terms are not promptly complied with, he will destroy the whole tribe.

This year, the ships come early — the first one arriving June 10. In the same month, “a coiner of counterfeit money was hanged.” Envoys from the Mohawks and Oneidas come (July 8) with presents, and the hostages required : they also ask for “black gowns,” which request is granted. A week later, they return home, accompanied by Fremin, Pierron, and Bruyas, and two donnés. An intoxicated man is drowned; his body is found, and “buried like a dog.” August 4, Allouez comes down to Quebec; he has baptized about 340 Ottawas.

In September, three Jesuits arrive; new colonists are also brought over, with additional horses and other supplies. About the commencement of October, the Jesuits begin a residence at Prairie de la Magdelaine, Raffeix going thither to spend the winter. [Page 15]

On December 3, eleven of the Iroquois hostages at Quebec are baptized, the highest officials becoming their sponsors. Letters arrive on the fifteenth from the Oneida and Mohawk missions; “our gentlemen [of the Company] find fault because Father Fremin has not written to them, and because the Journal — at least, that portion which relates to business matters — was not addressed to them.”

CXXI. The first seven chapters of the Relation of 1666-67 are herewith given; the remainder Will appear in Vol. LI. Le Mercier gladly announces that “this year has passed in perfect peace,” owing to the chastisement administered to the Iroquois by the French troops. Jesuit missionaries have resumed their labors among these perfidious savages; they realize the dangers which surround them, but are ready “to lose their lives in God’s service.” More laborers in this great field are desired.

The opening chapter of the Relation reviews the changes wrought in Canada by the new policy of Louis XIV., which is now developing that colony into “a veritable New France.” Now that the Iroquois are humbled, the Canadian habitants are able to till the soil in peace, and agriculture flourishes. Tracy has returned to France; but Courcelles governs the country with vigor and discretion, Talon, the intendant, is using every means for developing all the resources of the country, and extending its commerce. He is promoting the fisheries, and finding a market for their products, especially in the West Indies. He is opening the mines; he orders lands to be cleared, and the timber manufactured into staves, boards, etc.; he has begun ship-building. He encourages agriculture, and introduces the cultivation [Page 16] of hemp. Villages are rapidly arising in the vicinity of Quebec, and the new colonists are making excellent farms around them. The soldiers, both officers and privates, who have come from France, readily become settlers and colonists. Sheep and horses have been brought hither; they increase and flourish finely in Canada.

Allouez has returned from his two years’ mission among the Ottawas; he has traveled nearly 2,000 leagues in the wilderness of the great Northwest, and endured many hardships; “but he has also had the consolation of bearing the torch of the Faith to more than twenty different infidel Nations.” The journal of his wanderings is given; it includes many interesting “descriptions of the places and Lakes that he passed, the customs and superstitions of the peoples visited,” etc. He confers upon Lake Superior the name of Tracy. The savages dwelling on its shores often possess large nuggets of pure copper, which they regard with superstitious reverence, “and cherish as household gods.” The lake is a resort for many tribes, North, South, and West; they obtain there food from the fisheries, and carry on trade with one another. Allouez finds some of Ménard’s disciples — among them, “two Christian women who had always kept the faith, and who shone like two stars amid the darkness of that infidelity.” He finds at Chequamegon Bay a great village of sedentary Algonkins, numbering eight hundred warriors. Most of these people have never seen Europeans, and the missionary finds his labors constantly interrupted.

Soon after Allouez’s arrival, a great council of the Algonkin tribes is held, mainly to plan for defense [Page 17] against their enemies, the Sioux, with whom a new war is imminent. They invite to this assembly the Father, who is, moreover, the bearer of messages and presents to these savages from Tracy. They listen to him attentively, and he then proclaims the gospel to them, afterward going among their cabins and with them on their journeys, to gather the fruits of this sowing. Allouez describes many of the peculiar customs and superstitious rites among these savages, of which he has been an eye-witness. He finds these people unusually licentious, and, like the Eastern tribes, swayed by their dreams and medicine-men. The Father establishes at Chequamegon the residence and mission of St. Esprit, a name already applied to the bay; and there he labors to spread the gospel among the savages, who visit him from curiosity, but show little sympathy with his work’. Still, he sees some good results; he baptizes many little children, and the young people are less shameless in their behavior. After a time, he removes his chapel to the large village; but the medicine-men are so hostile to him that he is compelled to return to his former station.

Allouez finds the remnants of the Tobacco Nation settled not far from this place, and undertakes to restore in their hearts the Christian belief which they once had — now, alas! almost effaced through their long intercourse with the pagans. “As they had been very well taught, it was a matter of no great difficulty for me to restore piety to their hearts.” He describes, in especial, the conversion of three persons in this tribe, “for whose salvation God seems to have sent me hither.”

R. G. T.

Madison, Wis. July, 1899.

CXVII (concluded)

Relation of 1664-65

Paris: SEBASTIEN CRAMOISY ET SEBASTIEN

MABRE - CRAMOISY, 1666

—————

The first five chapters appeared in our Volume XLIX.; the remainder of the document is presented herewith. [Page 19]

[58] CHAPTER VI. .

DIARY OF THE SECOND JOURNEY OF A FATHER OF THE

SOCIETY OF JESUS TO LAKE SAINT BARNABÉ

ATHER Henry Nouvel, first Pastor of that infant Church which he planted a year ago, having made ready to go and cultivate it this last Summer, embarked with some Frenchmen, and reached without mishap the mouth of the Manicouagan river in the month of June.

The Papinachois, who were to have awaited them at Tadoussac, being obliged to depart thence sooner than they expected, had already withdrawn to the interior. Hence our Frenchmen were forced to attempt the well-nigh impossible — undertaking, with no guide and [59] without aid from the Savages, to ascend a very dangerous river, passing fearful rapids, chasms, and precipices.

After almost losing their way in those frightful forests, they still persevered-the Father having said Holy Mass on a tree overturned by age-in bravely pursuing their undertaking, even carrying for half a league, by very difficult paths, — laden, as they were, with their baggage, — the canoe which had carried them.

At length they saw certain marks painted on the tree-trunks by some of the Savages whom they were seeking, who had recently passed that way. At this discovery, they hoped soon to gain tidings of them, and fired several musket-shots at different [Page 21] places on the river, in order that the others might answer them and [60] know that they were not far away. They were heard, and soon afterward saw a little canoe filled with Savages coming to meet them. The salute accorded them upon their approach was a thanksgiving to God, on both sides, for guiding them so opportunely. Then they paddled vigorously toward the place of encampment, where the Father and the Frenchmen were received with unusual marks of affection.

The Father desiring to push on, in order to find a larger company on lake Saint Barnabé the men joined him in making this journey. They set out the very next day, leaving the women and children in a place which had tolerable advantages for fishing, where they awaited the others’ return.

On the 23rd of June, the day before that of Saint [61] John the Baptist, the Father and two Frenchmen who were in his canoe were wrecked, and were rescued in a wonderful manner. While crossing the river, they saw themselves being borne by the current into an abyss: and as they were thinking only how to avoid this danger, they fell into another, the canoe being turned completely over. Already the current was carrying them far away, when one of the two Frenchmen gained the overturned canoe, and the other joined him at the same time. They both climbed upon the canoe, one at each end to steady it by the counterpoise; otherwise, if one of them let go, the other would have been thrown into the water. And, as if an Angel from Heaven had guided the Father’s rotations, as the stream bore him away, he also was fortunate enough to catch with one hand the thwart in the middle of the canoe, [62] [Page 23] which he seized in passing. Thus all three men continued to balance themselves, for more than a quarter of an hour, in constant danger of death, until another canoe of Frenchmen, following the first, had had time to approach the latter — not to venture joining it in those rapids, a course which would have exposed them to the same danger, but to render aid from a reasonable distance by throwing out a line, which one of the Father’s Companions seized with his teeth, not daring to disengage his hands from the canoe.

They were thus delivered from this danger, and they attributed their miraculous rescue to the holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, whom they had invoked most heartily, with a trust and presence of mind which could only come from Heaven. The Father has declared to us [63] that during the entire continuance of this disaster, while he was rolling over and over in these rapids, which threatened to engulf him, he made ready for death-with such peace of mind, and with prayers so suited to the occasion, that he would desire no different spiritual preparation, or feelings of greater love toward God, when he actually faced the hour of death, than those with which his whole heart was then filled.

Likewise the Father ascribes it to a very special Providence of God that, a quarter of an hour before this accident, one of his Companions had, without his knowledge, put into another canoe both his chapel and his manuscripts, which comprised his sole treasure. It was God’s will by this means to leave them the consolation of being able to celebrate Mass for the rest of their journey; and it was [64] not his will to deprive the Father of his writings in [Page 25] a savage tongue — writings which, since it is God’s pleasure to employ him in those Peoples’ conversion, he values more highly than all the sciences in the world.

While our Frenchmen were thus contending with the floods, the Savages who had gone ahead, after waiting a long time for them without seeing them appear, feared some disaster. Retracing their course, they found the Father and his Companions drying themselves in the bright sunshine on a little Island. The Savages, learning of the Frenchmen’s wreck, and seeing the spot where their canoe had capsized, assured them that their preservation was manifestly due to God’s protection — canoes of Savages having very often perished there, although the natives are excellent canoemen, and swim [65] like fishes. But, beyond a doubt, God aids those who put their trust in him, and have no other wish than to please him and to promote his glory.

Continuing their journey, they arrived, after some days of weariness, at a bend in the river where God’s Providence had long before prepared for them a repast of fish. The Savages spread their nets there and caught many large pike.

A few days later, they came upon a spot where a Moose had lain the night before. They encamped there, and the Savages followed its trail and killed it about half a league from that place in the woods. In such wise God cares for his servants, and is able to provide them with fish and flesh.

[66] The remaining portion of the journey was the most difficult. After pausing some time at this place, they held a council and decided that a part of the French and Savages should be left there, while [Page 27] the Father, with the remainder, went up as far as lake Saint Barnabé. He was to visit the Neophytes there, instruct them, and confer with them on the subject of passing the winter, as he intended to do, in two villages of which they had spoken to him a year before.

Accordingly, canoes were launched; and at length, after three wearisome days, the Father and his attendants arrived safely at the lake. Scarcely had they entered it when they caught sight of some canoes coming to meet them.

It proved to be a Captain living on the lake, who, upon being notified by a canoe which [67] had gone ahead, came with his entire family to receive the Father, and tell him the condition of things in general.

“Ten days ago,” said he to the Father, “part of the Papinachois and all the Ouchestigouek left this lake, where thou didst Baptize them last year. They waited for thee, until those who came from the great river Saint Lawrence assured them that neither thou nor any of the French would come this year. The Oumamiois Captain, to whom the Frenchman attending thee gave presents to carry to the Savages of the North Sea, has not made his appearance here, and will not, perhaps, until Winter or next Spring. I am sorry, ” continued he to the Father, “ that thou dost not see here all whom thou wouldst like to find, [68] so that thou mightest instruct them; and that the Frenchmen attending thee will not have all the satisfaction they hope for.”

The Father, when more at leisure, questioned this Captain, asking whether they could not push on and find the Ouchestigoueks, in order to go in their [Page 29] company to the two villages where he would like to pass the winter. “Thou canst not find them,” was the Captain’s reply; “ they are far away from here, scattered in different places, hunting Bustards; and, besides, I have no one suited to bear thee company.”

This impossibility of going on compelled the Father to halt; and after instructing and confessing these good Neophytes, to the number of twenty, he returned to the place where the French and Savages were waiting for news from him. It is a sweet consolation [69] to a man who knows what the saving of souls cost Jesus Christ, to find some to lead to Heaven; and, although there be but a single one in the midst of Barbarism to win for Paradise, it is a rich reward for all the fatigues that can be endured therein.

The descent of that great river is much easier and quicker than the ascent. The Father and his attendants arrived in one day at the place where they had left the Frenchmen and Savages, and in two more days they all together reached the camp where they had left the women and children.

There they halted for a day only; and God did not fail to afford the Father the consolation of baptizing a little newborn babe, and of receiving the confessions of [70] such as had not before confessed.

Departing thence, they reached the banks of the great river Saint Lawrence in a day and a half, but not without running great risks- the Father’s canoe and that of some of the Savages nearly perishing in a second wreck, amid some dangerous rapids; but they were delivered by Heaven’s special protection. Every day is one of grace and favor for such as give their lives to God. [Page 31]

Arriving at the river’s mouth, they erected a little Chapel on a small Island, in order there to enjoy better protection from the mosquitoes, or little flies, which are very troublesome, stinging so as to draw blood, and which fill all the woods.

On this spot the French and the [71] Savages attended Mass, which the Father said with heartfelt earnestness, to thank God for his help throughout that journey.

On the following day, the Savages who had borne the Father company performed their devotions; and — after he had given them each a Calendar, with the Sundays and Festivals marked for the better guidance of their devotions — they descended all together, to carry on their salmon-fishing in a river one day’s journey farther down.

At the same time, the Father and the Frenchmen embarked in a Biscayan long-boat, and, in two days, gained the mouth of the Piribisticou river, where a head wind detained them.

There all the Father’s fatigue was entirely dispelled by the consolation he received at [72] sight of a Papinachois family, which God’s Providence caused him to meet. The Chief who was its head, who had been instructed the year before by the Father, had promised him to be on the banks of the great river with his wife and children to receive Baptism, and had kept his promise faithfully.

He rehearsed to the Father the instructions which the latter had given him, assuring him that he had made constant use of the prayer which he had been taught; and that he had not had recourse to his superstitions, except on a single occasion — for which, however, he was truly repentant; that he had a [Page 33] great fear of falling into those fires hidden in the heart of the earth; and that he longed with all his heart for that fair abode where God rewards forever those [73] who have obeyed him in this life.

After sufficient instruction, he, his mother, his wife, and four of his children were solemnly baptized in a little Chapel erected with much zeal by the French. They were glad to coöperate in this good work, and were all conscious that God had rescued them from the mortal perils they had encountered, only out of consideration for these poor Savages, to whom he wished to show mercy through them, having forced them by a violent head wind to tarry awhile at this place.

These good Neophytes attended with much devotion the Mass which was celebrated there every day ; and they afterward, God sending a favorable wind, arrived at [74] Tadoussac in a short time, and then at Quebec on the day of Saint Anne, whom they had chosen as one of the Protectors of their journey. [Page 35]

CHAPTER VII.

WAR OF THE IROQUOIS. THEIR VICTORY AND THEIR

DEFEAT AT LAKE PIAGOUAGAMI.

HATEVER disgrace the Iroquois may suffer, he will ever be the same — that is, arrogant and cruel — until he is utterly crushed. The late humiliations that have befallen him in the last few years, have not rid him of his desire to proceed Northward in quest of people to slaughter. Following is what we know with certainty on this subject.

A hundred Iroquois, partly Annieronnons [75] and partly Onnontagueronnons, having determined to go upon a hostile expedition, set out from their country about the middle of Winter. The better to succeed in their purposes, they divided into three bands, each taking a separate direction, Thirty proceeded toward the country of the Mistasiriniens, another thirty came to lake Piagouagami, while the destination of the remainder we have not ascertained. Whatever it may have been, we relate below the fortunes of those who made war around lake Piagouagami.

These thirty, commanded by two Chiefs, after killing in two places five men, and taking one woman prisoner, forced this captive woman, as they were not well acquainted with the country, to give them a description of it. She, after doing so with exceeding simplicity, received for her only recompense nothing [Page 37] [76] but a hatchet-stroke on the head, from which she died on the spot.

These Barbarians, after sacrificing this poor victim to their fury, discovered the trail of the people of the lake, who, entertaining some fear of the Iroquois, had, to the number of forty-five, ensconced themselves with their women and children within a palisaded enclosure. A few, however, persisted in leaving the rest, for the purpose of living by their hunting; and, of two young men remaining in the woods, one fell into the enemy’s hands.

The latter suspected, after capturing this prisoner, that he could not be alone. Indeed, the Iroquois’ trail having been discovered by a young Montagnais who had come out of the fort, he retraced his steps, and gave the alarm to his countrymen.

[77] Thereupon, fourteen of the bravest went out to reconnoiter the enemy, but were soon surrounded and attacked on all sides. The Iroquois, superior in numbers, killed four of them at the outset and took three prisoners, although our men made a gallant defense, killing two of their foes on the spot and wounding others.

The seven Montagnais who were left withdrew into their palisade, and thought only how to strengthen their position; while the Iroquois, astonished at our men’s courage, concluded to return in haste with their four captives.

They plied their paddles vigorously for two whole days; but the nights, which bring rest to all man- kind, were employed in burning our Captives unmercifully. They began by cutting off a thumb of each, [78] to make them unable to unbind themselves, and continued their other cruelties upon them. [Page 39]

But God, doubtless touched by the fervent prayers offered him by our poor unfortunates, broke the bonds of one, who, after his happy escape from captivity, became the liberator of the others and the cause of the victory achieved by the conquered over the conquerors.

This Captive, animated with courage, returned to that palisade which his companions dared not leave, for fear of the enemy, and inspired them with hopes of a glorious victory, encouraging them to follow him whither he should lead them.

Leaping into their canoes with a determination to fight bravely, they arrived in four days at the spot where the Iroquois had landed before them, and whence they had [79] entered the woods. Our men followed their trail, and at length discovered the enemy in a sort of redout where they had intrenched themselves with considerable strength. They resolved to attack them at daybreak.

Then these good Christians — having offered up their prayer, in order thus to begin their battle — charged the Iroquois and forced their palisade, with such success that eighteen men were left dead on the ground, two women were taken prisoners, and their own three companions who had fallen into the enemy’s hands were happily set free.

Our Montagnais Christians lost in this engagement only two men, although the Iroquois fired two volleys of musketry at them.

[80] All the Iroquois were either killed or wounded, except a single one, who, fleeing at the very beginning of the attack, seems to have survived for the sole purpose of bearing the tidings of their defeat to the country of the Iroquois. [Page 41]

God’s protection of those three prisoners, whom the Iroquois were leading away, is indeed worthy of attention. They were three young Christians, fifteen or sixteen years old, and the enemy kept them bound and manacled in a peculiar manner.

When the assault began, the three Iroquois who had special charge of these three prisoners, ran directly to them to brain them; for such is the usual custom. The first one, when about to let his hatchet fall upon his [81] captive’s head, was killed that very instant by a musket-shot, which saved the Christian’s life and brought death to the Infidel.

The second captive saw the hatchet stroke already descending on his head, when an arrow, guided by God’s Providence for his deliverance, pierced through and through the one who was about to despatch him.

Another accident, of similar nature, delivered the third; and it cannot have been without Heaven’s special favor that the bullets and arrows paid respect — as they seemed to — to these three young Christians, who saw on all sides the Iroquois falling stark dead at their feet, without a single shot hitting themselves.

We have every reason to believe that this adorable protection of God, both over these three Christian captives, [82] and over those who delivered them with such good fortune and courage, was a reward of their piety; for never during the whole Winter had they failed to say their prayers, morning and evening, and to keep the Holy days, which they distinguished by means of their little Calendars, wherein these were all marked. On such days they failed not to assemble for the purpose of saying their Rosaries, and singing their Hymns and spiritual Songs, with as much devotion as if some one of our Fathers who had instructed them were present. [Page 43]

[83] CHAPTER VIII.

CONCERNING SOME WONDERS THAT HAVE RECENTLY

OCCURRED.

YOUNG man twenty-two or twenty-three years old, Jean Adam by name, was with his master in the woods on the day of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin, when he suddenly felt himself seized with a violent pain in the eyes; and as his sight failed him more and more every day after this, he took the ordinary remedies. But when his ailment grew constantly worse, he had recourse to God, and performed a novena to Saint Anne, promising to go on a pilgrimage to her Church, which is six leagues distant from Quebec, and celebrated for the favors which the divine Majesty has [84] there been pleased to bestow through the intercession of this great Saint.[1]

No relief, however, was experienced by the young man, his blindness, on the contrary, becoming constantly greater. Hence he was obliged to perform a second novena, this time in honor of Our Lady of Laurette,[2] binding himself by a vow to make a pilgrimage of devotion to her church some day. He begged one of our Fathers, his Confessor, to coöperate with him for the purpose of obtaining from God the cure of his blindness.

His master took him in a canoe to fulfill his first vow in the Church of Saint Anne, this good young [Page 45] man being unable to make his way unaided, as his blindness was now complete.

A good Priest, who has charge of that Parish, felt inspired to recite the Gospel over this blind man, [85] wearing the stole the while, according to the custom of the Church. During the short time of his saying this Gospel, the blind man saw at three different times what seemed like three flashes of lightning, by the aid of which he recovered his sight, but for three instants only, during which he saw very clearly the whole Church and everything in it. After this he relapsed into his former blindness; but he apprehended by an inner illumination that these three transient flashes of lightning, by which he had seen everything in the Church, were a sign to him that at the end of three days he should recover his sight entirely and be wholly cured. Indeed, from that moment he conceived a firm hope of this, and declared to those who were with him that there were only three days wanting for the completion of his second novena, which he was performing in honor of Our Lady [86] of Laurette, who would obtain his cure.

The ninth day arriving, while his Confessor was saying Mass for him, at the moment of the consecration of the most Holy Host, he felt himself struck in the eyes as if by two iron points — which made him immediately raise his hands to his eyes; and, on withdrawing them, he saw the Priest elevating the Host for the people’s adoration, so that the unseen miracles which are wrought at the moment of the consecration were accompanied, at this Mass, by this visible and sensible miracle. For, from that instant, this blind man recovered his sight in its [Page 47] perfection; and at the close of the Mass, to which he had only been able to come with the aid of a guide and a staff, he returned without help from any one and without a staff, and has seen since [87] then more clearly than ever before.

In connection with this miracle I cannot omit what occurred, under the special protection of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, at fort Richelieu.

While work was in progress upon this fort, one of the Lieutenants was making the rounds, and had gone to visit a guardhouse posted about two musket shots distant, when he remembered that he had not on that evening attended the usual prayers, at which it was customary to recite in concert a short Office in honor of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. To discharge this little office of devotion toward that Holy Family, he withdrew aside in the woods, eight or ten steps from the sentinel, knelt among some shrubbery which concealed him, [88] and began this little Rosary with the utmost possible devotion. At that point, the soldier who was standing sentinel, seeing something in those bushes and fancying it was an Iroquois, fired at it at close range, and doubted not that he had killed his man. But as if the bullet had respected this servant of God, instead of piercing his head through and through, it did nothing but wound him slightly — it being God’s will that the evident danger in which he had been should become known, in order to convey a realization of the powerful protection he had received from the Holy Family and, at the same time, of the succor which we all may expect on like occasions. [Page 49]

I will add a circumstance very similar to what often befell Saint Isidore the Husbandman, who [89] was wont to see the Angels guiding his plow which he had left in order to pray — those blessed Spirits choosing, without doubt, to perform his duty while he performed theirs.

A very virtuous woman, who saw herself burdened with three children, the eldest of whom was but four years old, and who, moreover, lived at a great distance from the Church, was extremely hindered on Holy days in the discharge of her devotions. Yet she did not cease to come to the Chapel of Saint John and to attend the assembly of the Holy Family, with great punctuality, although always with much disquiet and fear for her children. One day when she had left them asleep in her house, she was greatly surprised, on her return, to see them upon their beds, very carefully dressed, and provided with breakfast, just as she was wont [90] to give it to them. Upon asking her eldest girl who had thus dressed them in her absence, the child, who is very intelligent for her age, could tell her nothing about it except that it was a Lady clothed in white whom she did not know -although she knew very well all the women of the neighborhood; and that, besides, she had but just gone out, and her mother must have met her on entering.

Many have piously believed that the Blessed Virgin herself was pleased to calm this good woman’s anxieties, and let her know that, after taking the usual precautions for her children, she was to leave the rest to the protection of the Holy Family.

What renders such an opinion plausible is that the mother found the door [91] of the house closed, just [Page 51] as she had left it on going out; that she did not see this woman dressed in white, who had but just made her exit when she entered; that everything was performed exactly as she was wont to do it herself; that this cannot be ascribed to any one known in the neighborhood or in the country; that the child is of an age little capable of a fabrication of this nature; and that, after all, God does sometimes perform such marvels on behalf of the poor. Finally, inquiries in the matter were prosecuted with great exactness by a very virtuous Ecclesiastic. That good woman is named Marie Haslé, wife of Joachim Girard,[3] and this occurrence was on the 8th of July, 1665. [Page 83]

[92] CHAPTER IX.

CRUELTIES PRACTICED UPON SOME FRENCHMEN CAP-

TURED BY THE IROQUOIS IN THE YEAR 1662.

GIVE below a letter that has fallen into our hands concerning the cruel treatment which some Frenchmen received from the Iroquois two years ago, and of which we had not before learned.

I make no change either in the wording or in the style of the letter, since its simplicity will, in the reader’s mind, prove its chief claim to trustworthiness.

On the 25th of the month of August, in the year 1662, fourteen Frenchmen were unexpectedly attacked by the Iroquois on a small Island near [93] Montreal, and fled in disorder without offering much resistance.

Only Monsieur Brignac[4] and two other Frenchmen, disregarding their comrades’ flight, assumed an attitude of defense, and Monsieur Brignac killed the Captain of the Iroquois at the outset.

The latter were immediately seized with fear and, seeing their Captain fallen, were already taking flight, when one of them began to harangue the others, saying to them: “Where, then, is our Nation’s courage and renown? What ignominy for thirty-five warriors to flee before four Frenchmen!”

Meanwhile the other Frenchmen, who were in a boat, let themselves drift with the current and were [Page 59] exposed to all the enemy’s shots, so that some were instantly killed, and others wounded.

[94] At length, to return to the Iroquois, having recovered their courage, they came and fell upon the Frenchmen, mortally wounding an Ecclesiastic named Monsieur Vignal.

The two Frenchmen, their firearms being wet, were soon captured, together with Monsieur Brignac. The latter, however, made a stout resistance before letting himself be taken. Having his arm broken by a musket-shot, he still presented his pistol to the enemy; but, lacking strength to fire it, he plunged into the water, followed by the Iroquois, who caught him and dragged him over the rocks, head and face downward, around nearly the whole Island.

The Iroquois embarked with their prisoners, and all proceeded together to encamp at prairie de la Magdeleine, where they erected a fort; and, taking the body of [95] Sieur Vignal, who was dead, the Iroquois stripped it and removed the flesh for eating.

As for the two other Frenchmen, who were uninjured, they were bound each to a tree; and as one of them, named René, was murmuring a prayer to God, a Savage who observed him asked him what he was doing, whereupon the Frenchman made answer that he was praying to God, and the Savage unbound him and said to him, “Kneel down, and pray at thine ease.”

Thus they passed the night in the fort which they had built; and on the next day, after eating the body of that good Priest and removing his scalp, pushed on to the Falls.

After this meal the Barbarians divided their forces, those of the Nation of Anniegue carrying off one [Page 57] Frenchman, whose name was du Fresne,[5] and those of the Nation [96] of Onneiout, who were much superior in numbers, leading away the two others.

They proceeded eight days by land, René always laden like a packhorse, and most of the time entirely naked. Monsieur Brignac went along very quietly, scarcely able to walk because of the wounds on his head, feet, and whole body-which did not prevent him from ceaselessly praying to God.

After journeying for a week, the two bands which had separated reunited, and once more encamped together, loudly rejoicing and indulging in good cheer after their hunt.

Two among them went ahead, and carried the news to the villages.

The Iroquois, perceiving [97] that René had a psalter, and was reading therein, determined to cut off one of his thumbs, and forbade him to keep further company with Sieur Brignac, because they prayed together.

Arriving at length at the village of the Nation of Onneiout, they stripped the two Frenchmen — Sieur Brignac and René — and painted their faces in native fashion. Then, after the enemy had arranged them- selves for giving them the salute, — which consists in making the prisoners pass between two hedge-rows, so to speak, each person giving them a blow with a stick, — one of the elders cried out, “Enough, stop! Make way for them;” and, being conducted to the central space of this village, where a scaffold was prepared, they mounted it. Then an Iroquois took a stick, and struck René seven or [98] eight blows with it, and plucked out his nails. After this, the two captives were made to come down, and were led into [Page 59] a cabin where the Council of the elders was in session.

The whole night was spent in making the two French prisoners sing, while to them was added an Algonquin captured from among the Outaouaks by another band.

One of the cruelties exercised was the forcing of these three prisoners to exchange insults, and torture one another with coals of fire, — the Frenchmen being pitted against the Algonquin, and the Algonquin against the Frenchmen. But the latter would not obey such cruel orders, so that a Captain who saw that the Frenchmen were unwilling to harm the Algonquin, although they were maltreated by him, made them sit down near himself, [99] as if to assure them of protection.

Finally, upon the Council’s decreeing that the two Frenchmen should be burned, the sister of the Captain slain by Sieur Brignac said that she wished to have René to take the place of her dead brother. One of the old men declared this to be only fair, and it was granted, but not without opposition.

Sieur Brignac, however, was burned throughout the whole night, from his feet up to his waist, and on the next day these Barbarians still continued to burn him; but, after they had broken his fingers and had grown weary of burning him, one of their number stabbed him with a knife, tore out his heart, and ate it. They cut off his nose first, then his eyebrows, lips, and cheeks.

Throughout all that bloody and [100] cruel execution, this poor Frenchman never ceased to entreat God for the conversion of these Barbarians, offering on their behalf all the agonies they made him suffer, [Page 61] and constantly saying: “I pray you, O God to convert them; O God, convert them,” — ever repeating these words, and never crying out, however they might torture him.

Finally these Barbarians cut open his body and drank his blood-afterward cutting the body in pieces, putting these into a kettle, and eating them.

René received his freedom, but not without fears on his part; for, a sedition having arisen some time afterward, an Iroquois, holding a cocked pistol in his hand, entered the cabin where our Frenchman was, and asked him a question which greatly frightened him. He [101] addressed him, as if he had said in our language, “Long live who — Father le Moyne or Father Chaumonot?” Then his adopted sister told the Frenchman to say, “Long live Father Chaumonot;” and so his life was saved on that occasion.

At length, after nineteen months of hardship and fatigue, encountered now in hunting, now in fishing, and again in an attack, which he had, of smallpox, — which swept away more than a thousand souls in the country of the Iroquois, — when he was out hunting young pigeons, in company with the Nations of Anniegué and Onneiout, it occurred to him to make his escape. Upon asking his comrade, du Fresne, who was with the people of Anniegué, whether he would run away, the latter told him no. Then, after devising a scheme with two other Frenchmen of the same village, when preparations for breaking up and returning [102] home were in progress, he one evening asked one of the Iroquois in which direction the village lay, and in which one should go to reach the Dutch, and how many leagues distant they were. Being informed, he went and marked a tree, in order [Page 63] to remember the way he must take to reach them.

Indeed, when morning came, he noted the spot which he must pass in order to make his escape; and, while all were preparing to set out, each one loading himself with packages, the three Frenchmen took another route. Very fortunately, owing to a fire that some women had started among the leaves on the ground, causing them all to be reduced to ashes or even to be dissipated, their footprints were not discovered.

They journeyed nine days before coming to New [103] Holland, eating for their entire sustenance nothing but herbs which they found; for they had abandoned their packs in order to be more nimble for running. Nevertheless they were in great danger of recapture, and, as its necessary sequel, of being committed to the flames without hope of mercy.

They traveled only at night, and yet were constantly rushing, so to speak, into the enemy’s hands, passing now inadvertently near the fishers’ cabins, now near the hunters; again by day finding themselves in the immediate neighborhood of a village, and still again by night in the very midst of the cabins.

Four or five times they were pursued by the Iroquois, while on one occasion, among others, nearly all the youth of the second village [104] of Anniegué started in pursuit of them. At other times, they were followed by the warriors; and, still another time, by some men who were returning from trading with the Dutch.

After many dangers, they at last reached the country of the Dutch, but did not make themselves known until they ascertained whether any Iroquois were [Page 65] there. As there were none there at that time, they declared themselves to be Frenchmen, and were received with open arms. They were conducted to the Governor of fort Orange, who received them very cordially, clothed them, and even freighted a shallop to convey them to Manhate, lest they might be discovered by the Iroquois and carried off.

From Manhate they proceeded to Baston [Boston], and following all the coast as far as Quebec, they everywhere met with a kind reception. Thus ended [105] happily their captivity, in which they were every day in danger of a cruel death.

Such are the contents of the Letter, which does not tell the half of the sufferings endured by those poor Frenchmen. Can the King’s arms be better employed than in delivering us from the cruelty of those Barbarians? [Page 67]

CHAPTER X.

OF THE COMETS AND EXTRAORDINARY SIGNS THAT

HAVE APPEARED AT QUÉBEC OR IN ITS

NEIGHBORHOOD.

E do not purpose giving here an exact account of all the irregular changes in the Comets that have been seen by us this year. Our design is to report [106] merely some observations, which may perhaps serve as data for the curious in obtaining some further information.

On the 29th of November of the year 1664, the first Comet began to be seen at Quebec. Some have said that they saw it about the 15th of the month, while others assert that it showed itself even before All Saints’ day.

On the 30th of November, early in the morning, it was again seen; but, during the thirteen nights following, the clouds hid it from our sight and careful scrutiny.

On the 14th day of December, about a quarter past three o’clock, we saw the Comet a little better, without being able to take any complete observation. Its distance from Spica Virginis was 22 degrees, 30 minutes.

[107] We will state here — what ought to be known, for regarding the following observations — that the altitude of the Pole at Quebec is 46 degrees, 44 minutes.

On the 15th of December, we took the Comet’s [Page 69] altitude, which was 23 degrees, 30 minutes; and that from Arcturus to the Comet, 54 degrees, 20 minutes. But we did not note exactly the time of that observation; we note here some that are more exact.

On the 21st of December, at half past four in the morning, the altitude of the Comet was 20 degrees, 8 minutes; that of Arcturus, 44 degrees, 45 minutes; the Azimuth from the latter to the Comet, 69 degrees, 20 minutes. The Comet had then 164 degrees, 58 minutes [right ascension], and 23 degrees, 8 minutes southern declination.

On the following day, December 22, at [108] a quarter past four in the morning, the Comet’s altitude was 15 degrees, 15 minutes; that of Spica, 21 degrees, 54 minutes; and the Azimuth between the Comet and Spica, 38 degrees, 22 minutes. The Star was East of the Comet; and consequently the latter’s southern declination was 27 degrees, 31 minutes, and its right ascension, 162 degrees, 51 minutes.

On the twenty-third, at half past one in the morning, the Comet’s altitude was 6 degrees, 36 minutes; that of Keleb alased, or the Lion’s heart, 47 degrees, 15 minutes; and the Azimuth between the two, 20 degrees, 10 minutes. By calculation the right ascension of the Comet is found to be 150 degrees, 15 minutes, and its southern declination, 30 degrees, 27 minutes.

[109] On the twenty-seventh, at the same hour, the distance from the Comet to Procyon was 37 degrees, 25 minutes; from the Lion’s heart, 50 degrees, 30 minutes; and from Sirius, or the great Dog, 27 degrees, 35 minutes. The Comet’s [right] ascension was, on that day, 112 degrees, 20 minutes; and its southern declination, 21 degrees, 21 minutes, [Page 71] 36 seconds. At that time the Comet’s tail extended from the Comet itself as far as the Star of the great Dog, and I do not think it ever appeared much larger than on the morning of that day.

On the last day of the year 1664, about six o’clock in the evening, the distance from the right shoulder of Orion to the Comet was 27 degrees; and from the eye of Taurus, 27 degrees, 35 minutes. The Comet then appeared to us only hairy, with no [110] indication of a tail. According to that observation, the Comet’s right ascension was 64 degrees and nearly 57 minutes; its southern declination, 11 degrees, 46 minutes.

We will frankly confess here that, being unable to observe the Comet on the three preceding days, and remarking, moreover, such a notable change both in its form and in its path, which was altogether extraordinary, we would have had little difficulty in persuading ourselves that it was a second Comet.

On the same night, at half past eight o’clock, the altitude of the eye of Taurus was 5g degrees, 27 minutes, — the Comet’s altitude being 32 degrees, 35 minutes, in the same vertical. The right ascension of the eye of Taurus was 64 degrees, 10 minutes; and that of the Comet, 60 degrees, 48 minutes, 30 [111] seconds, — the southern declination of the latter being 10 degrees, 9 minutes.

On the first day of the year 1665, at a quarter to ten in the evening, the altitude of Sirius was 22 degrees, 27 minutes; and of the Comet, 33 degrees, 52 minutes. The Azimuth from Sirius to the Comet was 44 degrees, 4 minutes; and hence the southern declination of the latter was 8 degrees, 4 minutes, and its right ascension 62 degrees, 50 minutes. [Page 73]

We purposely omit the observations taken on the second, seventh, eleventh, thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth of the same month of January, the high wind and excessive cold having disturbed our instruments, which we were unable to readjust with all the exactness necessary on such occasions.

The Sky showed us [112] another Comet, as marvelous in size and brightness as the first, and having a tail at least as long. Its path brought it near the Sun, to which it lent an extraordinary aurora.

We saw it here on the twenty-ninth of March, Palm Sunday; but the Sky was clouded with little intermission until the fourth of April, when we noted that the Comet was between the Star in the head of Cassiopeia and one of the brightest in her shoulder, making very nearly a straight line with these two Stars. Its northern declination was between 13 and 14 degrees; and its right ascension, 335 degrees.

On the eleventh of, April the Comet was in the tropic of Capricorn, [113] and had for right ascension the beginning of Aries.

On the seventeenth, it formed a right-angled, or slightly obtuse-angled, triangle with the head of Andromeda and the star at her girdle, both the latter being of the second magnitude. Dividing the distance between these two Stars into four parts, there would have been nearly three of these parts between the Star at Andromeda’s girdle and the Comet. The first Star of Aries, the Comet, and the last-mentioned Star — which is of the second magnitude, and on the southern edge of Andromeda’s girdle — were nearly in a straight line, and had between 25 and 26 degrees Northern declination. [Page 75]

Those were the few observations we took of the last Comet.

Not merely from the summit of the Heavens did God address us in this language of the Stars, but he also [114] made himself heard from a less distance; for from the Sky, the Moon, and even the Earth, we saw, heard, and felt some unusual manifestations of his Almighty power.

On the twenty-seventh of December of the year 1664, the Moon presented a very strange appearance after midnight, one half of it being blood-red, and the other so bright as to dazzle the beholder’s eyes.

On Monday, the nineteenth of January, 1665, about a quarter to six in the evening, there was heard to come from beneath the ground a report so loud as to be taken for a cannon-shot. This sound was heard by persons distant three and four leagues from one another; while our Savages, knowing that the can- non is not fired toward evening, except to [115] give warning of the appearance of Iroquois, left the woods where they were, and came all through the night to ask us why we had fired such a terrible cannon-shot.

About seven minutes after this report, there appeared over Quebec a ball of fire which merely passed by, coming from the mountains toward the North and emitting so bright a light that houses two leagues from Quebec were seen as in broad day.

In the course of the year there were seen several other similar fire-balls, not only at Quebec, but below Tadoussac, and on the way to Three Rivers.

Besides the moderate earthquakes and frequent rumblings in the neighboring coast districts, there have been shocks of unusual severity [116] seven or eight leagues from here, occurring two or three times [Page 77] in one night with great violence. Some Frenchmen and Savages, who were in the woods, also felt the severe shocks.

On Saint Mathias’s day the shocks were so violent around Tadoussac and at Malbaye, that the Savages, and one of our Fathers who was wintering in that neighborhood with them, declare that they were not less severe than those that were felt here at Quebec in that famous earthquake which occurred in the year 1663. Two highly trustworthy Frenchmen who have traversed that whole coast of Malbaye, made the assertion that the Relation of the year 1663 had only half described the ravages wrought by the earthquake shocks in those regions. Perhaps those of this [117] year have increased that fearful devastation.

On the fifteenth of October, 1665, at nine o’clock in the evening, there was an earthquake which caused a great cracking of the slates on our house. This shock was preceded by a report louder than that of two hundred cannon, which continued for about the space of a Miserere. [Page 79]

CHAPTER LAST.

SOME CIRCUMSTANCES CONNECTED WITH THE ARRIVAL

OF THE KING’S VESSELS BEARING THE REGI-

MENT OF CARIGNAN-SALIERES.

N the 17th and 19th of June, 1665, there arrived at Quebec two vessels from la Rochelle with four Companies of the Carignan-Salieres Regiment. All the soldiers debarking, in good health, it was necessary [118] to pass from a large vessel into small boats made of planks, purposely made to be dragged through the rapids and swift currents, and carried by land up past the Richelieu Falls, at the foot of which these four Companies have constructed a fort, as we related in the fourth chapter.

On the 30th of the same month, there appeared in the distance two sails, which filled us with joy when we learned that they were bringing Monsieur de Tracy. It is impossible to express the gratification of all the people at his landing.

On the sixteenth of July, the ship from Havre arrived, bringing some horses,[6] with which the King intends to supply this country. Our Savages, who had never seen any, viewed them with admiration, and were astonished that the Moose of France (for so they styled them) [119] were so tractable and so obedient to man’s every wish.

On the 18th and 19th of August there arrived at [Page 81] our roadstead two more vessels, laden each with four Companies, — Monsieur de Salieres, Colonel of the Regiment, at their head.

The soldiers, being in good health, after a short period of recuperation on land, started out under the lead of the said Sieur de Salieres, to go with the utmost expedition and build two additional forts, — one at the mouth of the Richelieu river, the other above the Falls, below which the first fort had already been built.

On the twelfth of September appeared two other vessels, one named the Saint Sebastien, and the other the Jardin de Hollande; and two days later a third, called the [120] Justice, bearing eight Companies.

Our period of waiting was thus happily brought to an end, since these vessels brought Monsieur de Courcelles, Lieutenant-general for the King in this country, and Monsieur Talon, Intendant for his Majesty.

Monsieur de Courcelles, breathing nothing but war, immediately set about serving his Majesty therein under Monsieur de Tracy’s orders, — proceeding by water, in rather inclement weather, to visit the works in progress at a distance of forty, fifty, and sixty leagues from Quebec, in order to prepare for the Campaign of next Spring and Summer.

Monsieur Talon made it evident to us at the outset that the King loves this country, and has great plans for its upbuilding — convincing us by [121] his verbal assurances to that effect, and also, much more, by his personal merits, which cause us already to taste the sweets of a superintendence so guided by reason, and of a policy in all respects Christian. [Page 84]

As to other matters, the soldiers enjoyed constant good health as far as Tadoussac; but, by some unknown mishap, sickness broke out in one of the vessels and more than a hundred patients debarked, who were received by the Hospital Nuns with all conceivable kindness. Furthermore, as the ward for the sick, large as it is, could not hold them all, the nuns found themselves obliged to turn their Church into a second Hospital, Jesus Christ willingly yielding his place to his members.

These good Nuns, with so many patients on their hands, — [122] really in numbers beyond their strength, although not beyond their courage, — have, in the services rendered to those poor soldiers, manifested all the joy of hearts filled with God; their zeal and charity take no rest, day or night, in providing for all the needs of body and soul in their patients. Hence they nearly all fell ill themselves, some of them even to the point of death; but God mightily upheld them in a steadfastness and zeal which are the causes and the effects of true sanctity.

A number of Heretics being among these troops, efforts were exerted, and successfully, for their conversion. More than a score made abjuration of their heresy, with a deep sense of their indebtedness [123] to God, who caused them to find the road to Paradise by way of Canada.

One of them had begun to receive instruction while he was still on board ship; and as he had been sentenced to the hold for some offense, he was told that he would be set free if he would become converted. He made