The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents Volume 55

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. LV

Lower Canada, Iroquois, Ottawas

1670—1672

CLEVELAND: The Burrows Brothers

Company, PUBLISHERS, M DCCC XCIX

THE JESUIT RELATIONS

AND

ALLIED DOCUMENTS

Vol. LV

[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
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Assistant Editor	Emma Helen Blair

Bibliographical Adviser	Victor Hugo Paltsits

Electronic Transcription	Tomasz Mentrak

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The Burrows Company

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The Imperial Press, Cleveland

[Page ]

CONTENTS OF VOL. LV.

Preface To Volume LV		9
Documents:—
CXXVII	Relation de ce qui s’est passé en la Nouvelle France, les années 1670. & 1671. [Second installment, concluding the document]. Claude Dablon, [Quebec, 1671); Estienne de Carheil, [Goiogouen], n.d.; Louys André, n.p., n.d.		19
CXXVIII	Relation de ce qui s’est passé en la Nouvelle France, les années 1671. & 1672. [Chapter i. of Part I., being the first installment of the document]. Claude Dablon; [Quebec, October, 1672]		229



Bibliographical Data; Volume LV.			315
Notes			319

[Page vii]

[INSERT GRAPHIC HERE]

ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL..

I.	Map of Lake Superior, from Relation of 1670-71	Facing 94
II	Diagram of parhelia, from Relation of 1670-71.	181
III	Photographic facsimile of title-page, Relation of 1671-72.	232

[Page viii]

PREFACE TO VOL. LV

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

CXXVII. The Relation of 1670-71, begun in Vol. LIV., is herein completed. Dablon continues his account of “the Huron colony near Quebec,” by relating “the constancy of Marie Oendraka [a Huron widow] in her afflictions, and her zeal in allowing no sin in her Family.” He then describes the new settlement made at La Prairie, opposite Montreal, by the Jesuits. Here they have begun another Indian colony, already numbering eighteen or twenty Christian families, — mostly converts who have gone thither for better religious surroundings; there are also a considerable number of French settlers. These Indians have come from many and diverse tribes, yet they live in great harmony and friendliness. No drunkenness is permitted among them.

Part II. of this Relation concerns the missions to the Iroquois tribes. These missions “have, since the latest Relation, increased the number of the Faithful by three hundred and eighteen or twenty souls, of whom more than half are in heaven.” Among the Mohawks, eighty-four have been baptized: Pierron gives a few incidents of their piety. Bruyas con- tributes a similar record from Oneida. At Onondaga, the noted chief Garakontié is leading a most [Page 9] the most cherished superstitions of his people. From Cayuga, Carheil writes that he has baptized sixty-two, and “sent thirty-five to live in glory;” and relates in detail the pious death of one of these. The Senecas are under Garnier’s charge, and the extent and importance of this field lead him to ask for aid in his labors. More than a hundred baptisms are recorded among these people during the past year. The burning of one of their villages by their enemies has “disposed them to receive the sacred Word, humiliation and misery rendering them more docile.” Still, Garnier admits that “they are strongly opposed to the Faith, and that a Savage’s conversion is a stroke of Heaven.” He has to contend with many obstacles-their fickleness, insolence, licentiousness, and superstition, as well as their wandering and warlike habits of life. Even worse is “the Demon of intemperance.” Still, they fear to die without baptism; they esteem the missionaries, and grant them full liberty to hold public prayers and services, and to instruct and baptize, and therefore, “in spite of Hell, these little Churches are making progress,” and more missionaries are needed to care for them.

In Part III. are described the Ottawa missions. It opens with a survey of these missions, of the tribes that they reach, and of the regions inhabited by those peoples; this résumé is illustrated by a map of Lake Superior and the adjacent lands, prepared by some of the missionaries. Besides the missions already familiar to the reader in these accounts, — at Sault Ste. Marie, Chequamegon, and Green Bay, — several new ones have been founded. New locations are assigned to several tribes that have been mentioned [Page 10] in previous documents; for the fierce Iroquois on the east, and the Sioux on the west, have made numerous raids upon the weaker tribes, who flee to whatever regions seem to offer even temporary security from their foes.

Dablon then relates how all the North and West has been annexed to the crown of France, the king “subjecting these nations to Jesus Christ’s dominion before placing them under his own.” This is accomplished by a formal ceremony at Sault Ste. Marie (June 4, 1671), at which St. Lusson takes possession, in the name of the king, of the territories “from Montreal as far as the South Sea, covering the utmost extent and range possible.” He plants a cross there, and raises over it the French royal standard, with ceremonies both civil and religious. Representatives of fourteen different tribes are present, whom Allouez addresses in eulogy of the king “giving them such an idea of our incomparable Monarch’s greatness that they have no words with which e to express their thoughts upon the subject.” His speech is reported at length; it is followed by one from St. Lusson, “in martial and eloquent language.” The ceremonies close with a bonfire, “around which the Te Deum was sung to thank God, on behalf of those poor peoples, that they were now the subjects of so great and powerful a monarch.”

A report of the various branches of the Ottawa mission is now made. At the Sault, Druillettes is in charge. An epidemic breaks out there among the Indians, but wonderful cures of the sick are wrought by prayer, — in cases of fever, hemorrhage, and even of paralysis, blindness, and deafness. These wonders lead the savages to embrace the faith; even the [Page 11] elders are desirous of instruction and baptism, and publicly declare (October 11, 1670) that “the Sault is Christian, and that the God of prayer is the Master of life.” Many of these miraculous cures are related in detail. The result is equally marvelous; the chapel is filled on Sundays, and in the cabins instructions are given both day and night. In less than six months, Druillettes has baptized more than six- score children. But such blessings from God, and such honors paid to him, “doubtless stirred the wrath of Hell against this infant Church;” the chapel is consumed by fire January 27, 1671. Another and much finer building is soon erected, however; and “in it were baptized in a single day as many as twenty-six children.”

The Ottawas have been driven by the Sioux from Chequamegon Bay, and part of the refugees have returned to their old home on Manitoulin Island. They ask for a priest, and André is assigned to this post. In the Relation is published the report of André upon his labors since August, 1670, among the tribes about Lake Huron. He first goes to the Mississaguas, whom he finds so pressed by famine that they are living on the inner bark of the fir-tree; but he is able to baptize seven new-born infants. On an island in Georgian Bay, he finds a large concourse of Indians from various tribes, who are “resuscitating” a dead chief, — that is, giving his name to his son. The Father addresses the assembly, urging them to accept the Christian faith, and to recognize the authority of the French governor. He then goes among the cabins, exhorting individuals; “in twelve days I baptized fifteen little children, while I left no one without adequate instruction.” Thence he [Page 12] proceeds to Manitoulin Island, the old home of the Ottawas, to which many of them have returned. With them he remains until famine disperses the people, and he is compelled to depart, after almost perishing from starvation. His next station is Lake Nipissing, where he remains three months; he there gains “fourteen Spiritual children, through Holy Baptism.” Although he suffers greatly from hunger, he is able to keep alive with acorns and rock tripe (an edible lichen). When the ice melts, he returns to Manitoulin, and instructs the Beaver tribe; they can now capture enough moose to live in comparative comfort.

A long description is given of Mackinac Island, its fisheries, its phenomena of wind and tide, and the tribes who, now and in the past, have made it their abode. A favorite resort for all the Algonkin tribes, many are returning to it since the peace with the Iroquois. On this account, the Jesuits have begun a new mission, opposite Mackinac, called St. Ignace. Thither have fled the Hurons, driven from Chequamegon Bay by fear of the Sioux, “the Iroquois of the West;” and Marquette follows his flock.

The Relation is here interrupted by a detailed account of a remarkable display of parhelia (“sun- dogs,” in common parlance), which appeared on the Upper lakes in January and March respectively, in 1671.

Resuming his report of the missions, Dablon next describes that at Green Bay. He enumerates and locates the tribes dwelling in Wisconsin. He relates a journey made by himself and Allouez, in the autumn of 1670, to visit the tribes in the central and southern parts of that State. Arriving at Green Bay, they find serious disturbances, — the Indians are [Page 13] plundering and ill-treating the French traders there, in revenge for wrongs which they have received from the soldiers at the French settlements. The Fathers quiet the savages, and call them together in a council; they announce the purpose of their coming hither, to teach the Indians the way to heaven, and they also reprimand the latter for the current disturbances. On this occasion some of the warriors attempt to imitate the appearance and drill of the French soldiers at Quebec, but make themselves “the more ridiculous, the more they tried to comport themselves seriously. We had difficulty in refraining from laughter, although we were treating of only the most important matters — the Mysteries of our Religion, and what must be done in order not to burn forever in Hell.”

The Fathers proceed up the Fox River, to visit the tribes thereon; they find at the De Pere rapids a sort of idol, adored by the savages, — a rock, resembling a human bust. This the missionaries remove, and cast to the bottom of the river. After passing all the rapids, they reach the prairies and “oak- openings” of Winnebago County, — ‘the fairest land possible to behold;” its beauty is vividly portrayed in their account. Here the abundance of game and wild rice renders the savages sedentary. They reach the Mascoutens and Miamis, who have fixed their abode in the same place, for common defense against the Iroquois. The Fathers address these people upon their need of the Christian religion, reinforcing their appeals, as usual, with a picture of the judgment-day, and a description of “the happiness of the Saints and the torments of the damned.” The Indians listen with great wonder and. respect; [Page 14] and afterward, not satisfied with the instruction given them through the day, “assembled during the night, in crowds, to hear a more detailed account of the Mysteries about which they had been told,” The Fathers are regaled with many feasts, and have free access to the cabins; they avail themselves of every opportunity to instruct the people. Among three thousand souls they find but one sick person, — a Child who is dying of consumption. After receiving baptism, this Child is restored to health.

Dablon devotes a chapter to the character, manners, and customs of the Illinois Indians, some of whom have come to dwell with the Mascoutens; and to the Mississippi river and valley, so far as he has learned about that region from the reports of the savages. He is delighted with the mildness and politeness of the Illinois tribe, and dilates upon the noble character and kindness of their chief, who shows the missionaries every attention; they have strong hope that he will embrace the faith. All these people show great docility, and are much less superstitious than the Ottawas and other Algonkin tribes. They offer no Sacrifices to spirits, and worship only the sun. They promise to build a chapel for the missionaries, when the latter come back to them. After the Fathers return to Green Bay, Allouez goes (February, 1671) to the Outagami ~(FOX) tribe, where he founds the mission of St. Mark. These savages are haughty and insolent, and at first bestow upon him only rebuffs and mockery. But Allouez perseveres in his efforts to reach them with the gospel, “cheering some with the hope of Paradise, and frightening others with the fear of Hell.” After a time, he secures their attention, and even [Page 15] their affection; he baptizes seven persons, 2nd the elders promise to build him a chapel when he shall &urn to them. All these tribes regard the Fathers as manitous, or spirits.

CXXVIII. In this volume we begin the Relation of 1671-72, the last of the regular and authorized series of those annuals. Herewith we give Chap. i. of Part I.; the remainder of the document will constitute Vol. LVI. Dablon’s prefatory note announces the recent departure of Courcelles and Talon for France, and the coming of Count de Frontenac, the new governor; Albanel’s discovery of the land route to Hudson Bay; the departure of Marquette to discover “the South Sea;” and the discovery of a copper mine at Lake Superior. The writer regrets Laval’s absence from Canada, but states that his subordinate ecclesiastics are zealously caring for the churches everywhere.

Special reports from all the missions are given seriatim. That to the Hurons near Quebec is first considered. “One of the difficulties of Father Chaumonot, who has charge of these Hurons, is to moderate the undue fervor of their devotion, and the excess of their charity to the poor,“— various instances of which are related, as also of their zeal for the faith. One of these is the case of an Iroquois woman, of high rank, who writes through Chaumonot an appeal to her relatives, and to all her nation, to embrace the faith, At Eastertide, the Christians of this colony hold feasts in honor of the resurrection, while on Good Friday, they not only weep over the Father’s description of Christ’s sufferings, but imitate these by severely scourging themselves. They show especial devotion to the infant Jesus, an image of whom is adored in their cabins, passing from one to another [Page 16] in turn. This devotion works wonders in their habits and morals; and their pious prayers also cure many cases of bodily disease. This report ends with an account of the conversion and pious death of a chief in this village, who has been only in appearance a Christian, but at heart an infidel. His death is caused by his zeal in rebuking a drunken tribesman, who with two companions in anger assaults him, inflicting fatal wounds. But the victim manifests a Christian forgiveness and compassion, forbidding his Young men to avenge his death, and even treating his assailants as if they were good friends. The chapter ends with a panegyric on the Hospital nuns at Quebec.

R. G. T.

Madison, Wis., September, 1899. [Page 17]

CXXVII (concluded)

Relation Of 1670-71

Paris: SEBASTIEN MABRE-CRAMOISY, 1672

The first four chapters of Part 1. were published in our Volume LIV. We herewith present the concluding portion of the document. [Page 19]

[30] CHAPTER V.

THE CONSTANCY OF MARIE OENDRAKA IN HER

AFFLICTIONS, AND HER ZEAL IN ALLOW-

ING NO SIN IN HER FAMILY.

HAT soul is too far advanced in virtue not to suffer occasional trials. Her only son, aged four or five years, one day in her absence inadvertently ate of a poisonous plant, which immediately made him dangerously ill. Word was carried to her at once; she hastened home in great distress, and found her Child [3 1] motionless and apparently dead. She took him in her arms, carried him into the Chapel, and, prostrating herself before the Holy Image of Our Lady of Foy, said: “Ah, Holy Virgin, my dear Child is dead. Receive his soul, I pray you, in your bosom, and be henceforth a Mother to him in Heaven. Your well-beloved Son had given him to me for a little while. Graciously permit me to-day, 0 Mother of mercy, to return this innocent soul to him by your own hands.” Wonderful to relate, and to the surprise of all present, scarcely had she uttered these few words mingled with sighs and sobs, when the Child regained consciousness, and showed such vigor and strength that he immediately vomited the poison from which he was suffering. This light affliction was only meant to prepare her for receiving a greater one, which followed soon after, and which was finally brought to an end by a great joy. Seven of her Family embarked, a few days after this [Page 21] accident, for the purpose of visiting some good hunting-grounds ten or fifteen leagues from (Quebec; [32] among these were her two children. in the same Canoe, — that little boy of whom I was just now speaking, and her daughter, sixteen or seventeen Years old, who was well trained in all things, especially as to virtue. Tidings were brought to the mother that they had been wrecked, and that not one of them had escaped. The proofs appeared so manifest that no one doubted the story. The weather since their departure had been very bad, and the saint Lawrence River, which is of great width in those parts, had been stirred by violent storms. A Canoe had been seen adrift, and some floating bodies of Savages; while there had even been distinguished the body of a well-dressed girl, with some porcelain collars; hence the belief that it was the girl whom they were mourning. At this news the poor mother — and she is the most loving of mothers — maintained her composure, and showed no agitation, seeking no consolation except at the feet of the Blessed Virgin, her sole recourse. Thither she resorted as soon as possible, saying a thousand times in her heart: “I am content, 0 God, since you have [33] thus willed it. Blessed be your holy Name. By this stroke, 0 Holy Virgin,” she said to her as she entered the Chapel, “my son and daughter Will be yours forever, and you Will take them, if you please. Not a day passes that I do not offer them to you; and I prayed You some time ago to take my son, but you would not then do me the favor to accept him. 0 mother of pity, 0 sole comfort of the afflicted, do not now refuse the offer that I make you, with all my heart, of my boy and girl, whom I cherished above [Page 23] everything else in the world, — my daughter whom I loved for her purity, and because she loved that virtue in order to please you and be loved by you, 0 Holy Virgin.” After thus pouring out her heart, and shedding many tears before the Blessed Virgin, she came to see me at Sillery, — where, when she had told me all that had passed in her breast since that sad news, she commended to me the souls of the deceased. I learned from her [34] her affliction and it touched me so keenly that both she and I remained speechless for a considerable time.

At length, after a long silence, “Come, my daughter,” said I to her, “let us go to the Chapel, where we shall find consolation.” “Let us go, Father,” she returned; and then, heaving a deep sigh, “Ah, my Lord Jesus,” said she, “my children were not mine; they belonged to you, my God, and you have taken them again. You have not taken from me anything of my own, and I would be greatly in the wrong to complain.” Upon entering the Chapel, she exclaimed: “Ah, my God, I am more deeply attached to you than ever, for there is nothing left on earth to divide my heart, which Will henceforth be wholly in Heaven where all my children and my husband are.” Grief, sobs, and tears checked her utterance; and I, fearing she would faint and swoon away, led her led out of the Church, and, after a brief rest, conducted to her village, Visiting’ her there on the following day, I was urgently requested by her, as the news of the disaster [35] was Constantly receiving fresh confirmation, to write to Monseigneur the Bishop, asking that he Would have the goodness to have prayers said for the Family of the poor departed Ignace, now utterly extinct. She [Page 25] referred to her late husband, whom Monseigneur had greatly loved for his virtue, even to the extent of ordering his body to be brought to the Church at Quebec, where he caused a solemn service to be held over it, at which were present all his clergy and the principal people of the Town. I did not hesitate also, on this occasion, to chant in the Chapel of our Lady of Foy a Mass for the dead, for the repose of the souls of that poor Family. Most of our best Christians received communion at that service, while she who was chiefly concerned approached the Holy Table with a noble mien, and a countenance as peaceful and serene as if she had been about to enter Paradise. After our thanksgiving she begged me to distribute, among the French whom I considered the poorest and the most virtuous, about thirty boisseaux of grain, in order to [36) incite them to pray for the departed.

God — who, after all, aims only at our sanctification in all the afflictions that he suffers to befall us — was content with the good intentions of this virtuous widow; and, when her grief was at its height and she was making in her heart the most heroic acts of resignation to his holy Will, he restored her happiness to her by giving back her children and nephews, alive and in Perfect health. The bodies which had been found were those of some Savages of the Loup nation, who inhabit the toasts of Cadie [Acadia] and of New England; they are our allies, and frequent our settlements.

Her zeal in banishing sin from her Family, and in filling with a horror of it all who belong to her, is not less admirable than her courage and constancy in affliction. While attending the holy Sacrifice of the [Page 27] Mass, one day, she felt uneasy and anxious in her mind at having left her son all alone in her cabin. TO relieve her anxiety, she [37] bade her daughter to go and see what was taking place there. As soon as the girl entered the cabin, she perceived that her mother had been Divinely inspired; for she caught her little brother, and one of his comrades of his own age, in an act of indecency bordering on impurity. Living a loud scream, as if the house had been on fire, she assailed those two little culprits with feet and hands, and drove them into the street. The mother hastened home at the noise, and, being informed of the matter, caused a good handful of rods to be prepared, in order to inflict punishment for the offense at the close of Mass, in sight of all the people. This purpose she executed, but with such rigor that a good old woman, a relative of hers, filled with compassion, snatched the Child from her hands, and led him into the Church, where she made him ask God’s forgiveness. She then took him back to his mother, who repulsed him, and sent him away from her, — assigning him his place in a corner of the hearth on the ashes, and forbidding him to leave it or to lie down elsewhere until he had expiated his offense. Coming in at this juncture, I saw the Child in the veritable attitude of a culprit, his countenance [38] dejected and his eyes lowered. “See, father,” said that good woman to me, “is not that a real Ondechonronnon?” — meaning a denizen of Hell. “I have put him in that prison until he shall have expiated a certain offense,” relating it to me, “for which he deserves to burn forever in Hell. TO how many days’ fast do you condemn him, my Father?” “I think,” said I, “that he ought to fast two days, [Page 29] neither eating nor drinking.” “That is not enough,” returned the mother, “for a little wretch who ought to suffer perpetual hunger and thirst with the demons.” The Child heard all this without saying a Word, being so humiliated and ashamed that he excited my pity. The children of the Savages commonly experience much more rapid mental development than the average French Child; and this one, among the rest, is so bright that he sometimes makes repartees and remarks which surprise me. But to conclude, although I privately informed the mother that her daughter must not fail [3g] to give the boy food in secret, as if on her own account, yet her zeal so wrought upon her that he passed more than 24 hours without taking any nourishment whatever; and she was fully resolved to make the term of his penance still longer, had it not been for the marked weakness which became manifest in the Child. Her reason was that, although his judgment was not mature enough to admit of his committing a mortal sin, yet he had sufficient imagination and memory to recall this punishment in the future, and to conceive therefrom a horror of the sin of impurity. Therefore she insisted further that, before he received anything to eat, he should be taken to me in the Chapel, that I might make him ask God’s forgiveness for his sin, — which he did in a way that moved me deeply. [Page 31]

CHAPTER VI.

CONCERNING THE RESIDENCE OF ST. XAVIER DES PRAIZ.

THIS Residence is sixty leagues from Quebec and a little above [40] the Town of Montreal, which lies to the North of it, and from which it is separated only by the width of the saint Lawrence river, — that is, by about a league and a half. It is situated on an elevated plain resembling a small mountain, at the entrance to a vast prairie, commonly called la prairie de la Magdelene, which is watered by the various windings of a little river of great beauty and abounding in all kinds of fish. A league farther up stream, the Falls of Saint Louys pour their waters down, forming a beautiful basin of more than a league in width, bounded on the North by saint Paul’s Island, while toward the South it forms a sort of half-circle along the above-mentioned prairie, extending two leagues, and bounding this settlement as you go down toward the Island of sainte Helene. The number of settlers here is nearly sixty; and the soil is some of the most fertile to be found in this country, being excellently adapted to supply food for many animals, and to produce large quantities of grains.[1]

This residence is designed to serve as a resting place for our Missionaries, — both those of the [41] Iroquois country and those among the Upper Algonquin, called Outaouaks, — and to furnish tbem more easily the things needful for their maintenance.

The throng of Savages resorting thither from all [Page 33] directions compels us to keep there at least two Missionaries, versed in their different Languages, in order that the Christians and Catechumens formed by our Fathers in their several countries may find at this place the same Spiritual succor, and may be enabled more easily to continue the practice of their Faith and to partake of the Sacraments. This end has been attained, with Heaven’s generous blessing, during the two years since the initial establishment of the residence. Eighteen or twenty Christian Families have already settled there, in the hope of being followed by many more, — attracted by the beauty and advantages of the site, and by the facilities for receiving the instruction necessary for their salvation.

[42] Concerning the prosperous beginnings of this little Church, from the inquiries that I made on the spot when I was returning from my Mission among the Outaouaks, — although I have not yet been able to gain information in detail from those who direct it, — I can say that, after seeing and reflecting upon the conduct of the Huron Christians of Nostre-Dame de Foy, since my arrival, I find everything to be going on there in the same spirit. The same devotional exercises are observed, morning and evening. I noticed an admirable respect and affection for their Pastors, and among themselves a charity and union exceeding all power of conception, especially in view of the fact that they are all people gathered from different countries, — Hurons, members of the neutral Nation, Iroquois, people from Andastogué, from New Sweden, etc., — and all coming from different Iroquois Nations, and either natives of that country, or dwellers there as prisoners of war. [Page 35]

Having reached a common agreement this last Summer [43] to settle there, they decided to elect two Chiefs, — one for policy and war, the other to superintend the observance of Christianity and Religion. At the outset, they were most careful to commend the undertaking to God, deeming such a course of the utmost importance. They heard Mass with this intent; then assembling, all chose by common agreement the two men who were really most meritorious, — whether piety or prudence and common sense be considered. TO them they have since yielded scrupulous obedience in all matters, especially in the inviolable observance of a Law established by those who lighted the first fire there, and ever since strictly obeyed, to the effect that no drunkenness shall be allowed. Consequently no new Savage is received there unless he solemnly promises never to indulge in intoxicating liquors to excess; and the matter is so well known that when any one says, [44] “I have made up my mind to go and settle at Saint Xavier des Praiz,” it is as if he said, “I have resolved never to get drunk again.”

End of Part first.

[Page 37]

[45] Part Second.

Relation of the Missions to the Iroquois during

the years 1670 and 1671.

—————

CONCERNING THE IROQUOIS MISSIONS.

THE Missions to the five Iroquois Nations, which have become well known through the preceding Relations, have, since the latest Relation, increased the number of the Faithful by three hundred and eighteen or twenty souls, of whom more than half are in Heaven. [Page 39]

[46] CHAPTER FIRST.

OF THE MISSION OF THE MARTYRS AT ANNIÉ.

F eighty-four baptized at the Mission of the Martyrs at Annie, seventy-four died soon after Baptism, — for the most part, children under seven years.

God’s Providence was especially manifest in the Baptism of two women with Child, and of their offspring. They had, fortunately for their salvation, been captured in war, and brought to the conquerors’ country, with twenty-five other Captives. One of the women was only two months pregnant. The two babes, on being taken from the wombs of their mothers, — who were breathing their last at the stake, amid the horrible torments which those barbarians made them suffer, — were found to have enough life left to be placed among the number of the predestined. Father Jean Pierron, who has chief charge of that Mission, had the happiness to baptize them.

The mother of the younger Child gave very [47] marked proofs of her faith. Besides greatly aiding in the instruction and Baptism of the other Captives who had been condemned to death, she, although herself reduced to a deplorable condition, — with the skin torn from her head, her face covered with blood, her whole body cruelly burned, and so disfigured that she no longer looked like a human being, — nevertheless went in quest of the father amid that [Page 41] crowd of barbarians who made a laughing stock of her, presented herself before him, made the sign of the Cross, and said to him several times with evident marks of devotion, and in a clear voice: “My Father, Oh, my Father, I am going to Heaven, I am going to Heaven!”

A Christian woman of the same Church, who was urgently importuned by one of the chief men of the country to commit sin, made a brief rejoinder which checked that impudent man, and covered him with confusion. “Know, 0 wretched man,” said she to him, “that I am a Christian, and that I am, as such, an abject precious in God’s sight.” [Page 43]

[48] CHAPTER II.

OF THE MISSION OF SAINT FRANÇOIS XAVIER AT

ONNEIOUT.

T the Mission of St. François Xavier, at Onneiout, an old-time Huron Christian named Joseph Ondessonka died, with very decided evidences of predestination. In his last illness, his first thought was to put in order the matters pertaining to his salvation, by a general confession covering his whole life; and this purpose he executed in a frame of mind betokening a truly contrite heart, and with all possible exactness. TO aid his memory in omitting none of his sins, and to supply the want of writing, which they do not practice, he had arranged on his bed some grains of Indian corn, separated into as many little heaps as he believed himself to have committed sins of different sorts. Thus his Pastor, Father Jacques Bruyas, had not much difficulty in confessing him, nor did he [49] in fully meeting the requirements of this Sacrament.

He received the holy Viaticum with great piety and devotion, constantly begging the Father to warn him of death’s approach, — “in order,” said he, “that I may put forth a final effort to pray, and to appease the wrath of my God, whom I have so grievously off ended.” The thought of his sins and the ill use he had made of the grace shown to him, filled him with so lively a fear of the final judgment that he often exclaimed with tears in his eyes: “Is it [Page 45] possible, my God, for you to show me mercy and receive me into your Paradise after my life of dissolute behavior? Alas, what abundant reason I have to fear Hell! But I hope in your infinite goodness; and am ready to suffer, as long as it shall please you, my present pains, — and even severer ones, if you so decree, — in order to satisfy your Divine Justice.” An infidel woman very nearly related to him, who had taken him into her cabin, [ijr] had often pressed him to permit her to summon the Jugglers, who are regarded as the Physicians of the country, and to employ the secrets of their Art in attempting his cure. TO this he always made strenuous opposition. “One day before his death he begged me,” says the Father, “to call together our Christians in his cabin, that he might bid them a final adieu, and commend himself to their prayers. Our Dying man played the Preacher on this occasion, —urging upon them, among other things, perseverance in the Faith, to the end that they might all be one day reunited in Heaven. A good Christian woman named Felicité Gannondadik — one of the most influential members of that Church, through her piety and her courage in professing Christianity — took the Word, and exhorted him, in a way that touched all the assembly, to endure his present suffering patiently and for the love of our Lord. Especially did she urge him to make another serious self-examination, to discover whether he had not forgotten something in his confession. ‘Thou must know, my brother,’ said she to him, ‘what the [s 1] Sacrament of Penance is, and its importance; and the necessity of opening one’s heart therein unfeignedly and unreservedly to the Priest, who stands to us in the place of Jesus Christ. Besides, thou [Page 47] wilt soon appear before him; nothing is hidden from him. Thou hast the Father still with thee; declare to him everything that might burden thy conscience, and render thee guilty before that terrible Judge. Fight valiantly, to the last breath, against the demon of Hell. Come, my brother, we are going to pray for thee; pray thou likewise for us.’ Forthwith, the whole company recited a decade of the Rosary. He did not die until the morrow, saint Barthelemy’s day, toward ten o’clock in the morning, after raising both hands to Heaven with the words, Jesus, titaiatak garonhiâgué; that is, ‘Jesus, take me up into Heaven.’ A death so Christian is but the sequel to such a life.” The same Joseph, when he was living at Cap de la Magdeleine, fell ill with a swelling on the hand, of so dangerous a nature that the Surgeon regarded his [52] case as incurable unless a finger, or perhaps the whole hand, were cut off. Father Fremin, who was then Superior of that residence, carried him word to that effect, and at the same time encouraged him to endure the operation with patience. “Ah,” returned this good Savage with a smiling countenance, “you do not know me yet, my Father; you are not aware now deeply I have offended my God, and how many times I have deserved Hell for my sins. Why should I fear to see one of my fingers cut off, when I have so often deserved to be burned throughout all eternity? Even if every one of my fingers should be cut off, one after another, and my whole body hacked to pieces, I would not suffer the hundredth part of the agonies endured by the damned in Hell, — agonies to which I would have been long since condemned, had not God taken pity on me. How glad I am, my Father, that the opportunity is given me of offering [Page 49] this slight suffering to God, in atonement for my sins.” So saying, he held out his hand to the Surgeon with [53] intrepid courage, and “submitted to that little voluntary martyrdom with a firmness so heroic that he betrayed no more feeling over it,” says the Father, “than if merely one of his hairs had been cut off, — frequently giving devout utterance to these words: ‘Let them cut me to pieces, let them burn me alive in this life, if only my God forgive me in Eternity.’”

God tries these little Churches in an admirable manner, by depriving them of the principal Pillars which seemed to sustain them. “About a month after Joseph’s death,” the Father writes me, “we suffered another very grievous loss by the death of one of our best Christians, own sister to the late Ignace Tsaouenhohoui, — who was Captain of the Huron Colony, and died a holy death at Quebec. God exercised and purified this good woman during the three months’ continuance of her very painful illness. Her patience under the loss of an eye, and in the most intense sufferings, caused by a hemorrhage which resulted in her death, delighted our little Church. She never ceased [54] to pray, even in the death-agony, and God suffered her to retain her faculties up to her last breath, — which caused her to say many times, with much feeling and gratitude, that it was an advantage enjoyed by Christians over infidels, to keep the use of their reason up to the last moment of their lives. She was most assiduous and constant in prayer, never failing for a single day to say her Rosary, no matter what her occupation.”

I cannot omit what the same Father adds in his [Page 51] letter, in the following words: “A few days after God had taken this good Christian from us, he gave us another, who seemed destined to succeed her in piety and devotion. I granted her Baptism after I had tried her a long time, until she gave me sufficient proofs of her sincerity and perseverance. At the same time, I baptized two of her children, much to my consolation. But my joy was short indeed. She [55 3 had deferred her full conversion for three years, in the fear common to these people that Baptism might cause her death. Yet yielding at last to the divine inspiration, and courageously overcoming this fear, she embraced the Faith.

“Three days after receiving this grace, she fell ill; and after pining away for five weeks, never failing in patience and resignation to God’s Will, she died a very happy death, and, as I believe, in her baptismal innocence.” [Page 55]

CHAPTER III.

OF THE MISSION OF ST. JEAN BAPTISTE AT ONNON-

TAGUÉ.

HE Letters arriving from the Mission of St. Jean Baptiste at Onnontagué assure us that Daniel Garakontié, the most noted man [56] among all the Iroquois Nations, and their chief, is continuing courageously in the exercise of Christianity; he was baptized last year here at Quebec, by Monseigneur the Bishop, with Monsieur de Courcelles, our Governor, for Godfather.

As soon as he had returned to his country, he made open profession of his faith, — declaring publicly, at a feast attended by the Chief men of his Nation, that he was a Christian. “You know, my brothers,” said he to them, “how I have ever supported the Public interests. You have never known me to withhold my utterance on occasions when I ought to have spoken, or to refuse to expose my life in affairs of importance or in danger, which I have faced a hundred times for the support and preservation of my country. Are there any poor Families in the Village, or even any widows, who can reproach me with not having used my authority to procure for them needed assistance, — either for the tilling of their fields or for restoring and [57] reëstablishing themselves after they had lost everything by fire? Moreover, if I have acted hitherto in such matters from natural inclination and a sense of honor, I shall be prompted [Page 55] henceforth by a loftier motive, — namely, the obedience due to the sovereign Master of our lives, who compels me by an express command to discharge all these duties. I cannot deny that I have been sinful; my conduct, in the license that I have allowed myself in the misuse of the marriage: relation, is only too well known. I have blushed for it before God, and am now again covered with confusion before you. But you Will bear me witness to the vow: which I have taken, and which I now once more renew, to change my manner of life, and to make my example to you in the future as edifying as it has been the opposite in the past, on account of my libertinism. Cease to expect me to lend my support and countenance to your dreams, or to uphold and sanction the superstitious practices of our ancestors. All that is forbidden to me, as contrary to God’s Laws. It is an error to suppose that such things [58] are the mainstay of the country and of our lives; they are rather the cause of our ruin, and serve only to hasten our destruction. I see clearly that the demon of Hell is deceiving you; and you will be convinced of it yourselves when it shall please God to show you the same grace that he has shown me, and to enlighten you.”

“This speech, attentively heard by the whole assembly, together with such a remarkable change as this in a person of so great repute among those people, produced such an effect on their minds” — says Father Pierre Millet, in his Letter of the third of July — “that our stray sheep returned to the fold, and many who did not before listen to the words of the Pastor approached, and made urgent request for admission [Page 57]

“Our Neophyte has since then declared himself on all occasions, both in public and in private, — always speaking in zealous defense of Christianity and the holy Mysteries of our Faith, and of his resolve to continue constant therein until his death.”

On one occasion, when he had gone to trade in new Holland, where he is very well known, the Governor [59] of the place, having declared, in an assembly attended by some of the chief men among the Iroquois, his desire to see them all at peace with the Nation of the Loups, — who go and slay them under their very palisades, — appealed to him in particular, as to a man of good sense and of experience in affairs, to learn his opinion regarding the most efficacious method of attaining this end. Garakontié replied to him frankly. “Truly,” said he, “it becomes you to undertake such reconciliations as that; you know nothing about such matters. That glory belongs only to Onnontio.” (He referred to Monsieur our Governor.) “When he holds council with us at Quebec, before opening the matters in hand, he enjoins us above all things to honor and serve God, and to keep his commandments, — desiring us to respect and heed those who instruct us, and who teach us the way to salvation. But you, you do quite the contrary, turning us away from God’s service, — [BO] asking me why I wear this Crucifix and this Rosary at my neck, making fun of them, and saying they are of no account. You censure and show contempt for the true and salutary doctrine taught US by the black-gowned men. After that, what blessing can you expect from God in your treaties of peace, when you blaspheme against his [Page 59] most Adorable Mysteries and offend him continually?”

But those who are acquainted with the characters of our Savages will admire still more his courage, on an occasion that would have proved highly embarrassing to any one but him.

They have a certain ceremony — one of the most important of their superstitious observances — which they hold at least once a year, toward the month of February, with great solemnity, in honor of their dreams, through which they claim to know all the decrees of a certain Taronhiaouagon respecting their good or evil fortune. This spirit, they declare, is the mightiest [61] of all spirits, and the Master of our lives. The ceremony is held either for the cure of some person of wealth and station; or before their hunting expedition, to obtain good success therein; or when they are about to adopt some important war plans. It Will sometimes last four or five days, during which all is disorder, and no one does more than snatch a hasty meal. All are at liberty to run through the cabins in grotesque attire, both men and women, indicating — by signs, or by singing in enigmatical and obscure terms — what they have wished for in their dreams; and this each person tries to divine, offering the thing guessed, however precious it may be, and making a boast of appearing generous on this occasion. The head-man of the Village is the prime mover in this whole affair, and to him it belongs to determine the time and conditions of the ceremony. It offered a fresh opportunity, which Garakontié seized, to make known to all his people that he was truly a Christian at heart, and not, as some people [62] are, in external appearance only. [Page 61]

One day, accordingly, after the despatch of some business in the Council, one of the elders brought forward the matter of the Onnonhouaroia, as they call this superstitious ceremony.

Thereupon Garakontié took the word and addressed them as follows: “You know, my brothers, that I have sufficiently declared my position on all such matters, and you cannot be ignorant of my sentiments. It suffices to assure you, as I have on all occasions, that I am a Christian.” With that he rose and went out of the Cabin, leaving the whole assembly with heads lowered in speechless surprise; so that all were obliged to return to their homes without reaching any conclusion.

This hitherto unheard of proceeding astonished the whole Village, and even stirred to anger some ill-disposed persons; but such firmness and fidelity on the part of our Neophyte gave consolation and joy to all the Christians, and added greatly to the repute of our Missionaries and to the esteem of the doctrine preached by them. We have since received word that his wife has become [63] converted to Christianity; and that, in imitation of this Captain, many are showing great constancy in their faith. A Christian woman who t had unfortunately become intoxicated, and had, for that reason, been forbidden to enter the Church for a considerable time, because of the scandal she had caused, received this punishment very humbly and submissively; and when she was told, after a thorough trial of her constancy, and in response to her very urgent petitions, that she could only reënter the Church on certain conditions of considerable severity, especially for Savages, she submitted to them all without reserve and with much [Page 63] courage, — counting herself happy to be restored, at whatever price, to all the rights of God’s children.

Although these infant Churches have not yet a large membership, still the Faithful ones who are members do not fail to show something of the courage of the Christians of the primitive Church. You Will find some who remain as firm and immovable [64] as Rocks before the insults of their infidel relatives, — preferring to suffer opprobrium and scorn, and even to continue in extreme poverty, rather than betray their Faith, or consent to the least act unworthy of a Christian soul. Some have consciences so tender that they cannot endure the slightest offense without immediately seeking its expiation in Confession. [Page 65]

CHAPTER IV.

OF THE MISSION OF SAINT JOSEPH AT GOIOGOUEN.

HE latest Letter received by us from Father Estienne de Carheil gives us a sufficient acquaintance with the present State of this Mission. He writes us concerning it as follows:

“The fresh progress of Christianity, as shown by the spread of the Faith and the saving of souls, being all the consolation your Reverence expects [65] each year from our Missions, I can afford you no greater joy than by informing you of the growth of this Church, in the number of souls it has either regenerated in the waters of Baptism or rendered happy in Heaven by a holy death.

“If the saving of a soul is a more worthy cause for consolation than all the most illustrious earthly conquests, I hope that the sixty-two upon whom I have conferred the life of grace, and the thirty-five who have gone to live in glory, will be abundant cause for your solace. Most of those who died after Baptism were children, whose age admits of no doubt as to their blessed state. The others were adults whose condition makes me believe them to have won, by their cooperation with heaven’s grace, what those little Innocents received solely by virtue of the Sacrament.

“Without dwelling on each of them separately, the one who seemed to me best prepared was a Young woman of about twenty-five. She was [66] of an [Page 67] admirable disposition, showing a sweetness wholly foreign to the Savage, and savoring rather of a French education than of one in a Barbarous land. Before her Baptism, she used to attend prayers with some frequency, bringing with her a little girl of hers, four or five years old. This observance, by impressing upon her the truths of Christianity, which entered her breast little by little, prepared her to receive more easily the grace of Baptism. She fell ill, and I found her in that condition when I was visiting all the Village. She besought me to take pity on her, and give her some medicine to cure her. I gave her some, at the same time instructing her in all our Mysteries, and especially in the necessity of Baptism. She showed that she took pleasure in listening to me when I spoke to her only of the essential part and the effects of this Sacrament, finding it easy enough to allow the pouring of a little water on her head, in order to gain eternal happiness in Heaven; and, had I asked from her nothing further, she [67] would have been quite ready to receive Baptism. But, when I added that the mere application of water was insufficient to obtain for us that eternal happiness, and exempt us from the sufferings that were never to end, — that we must also acknowledge the sins that we had committed, be moved with sorrow because of them, and firmly resolve never to commit them again, — then her heart, which had been hopeful before, was filled with conflict and opposition. She heaved a deep sigh, and, giving me a look full of meaning, turned away and hid her face, in order to prevent my saying any more to her on the subject than she chose to hear.

“At the same time, a woman of her cabin came and [Page 69] objected to the instruction that I was still continuing, so that I was forced to withdraw.

“Three days passed, and my patient would not suffer me to approach and instruct her. Meanwhile, her illness was increasing, causing me [68] to put forth the urgent efforts requisite for her salvation, and at last with success. As all these rebuffs arose merely from the opposition of her Will to the light given by her understanding, my frequent visits to her and my evident desire for her salvation, together with the inevitable approach of death, at length softened her heart, and changed all her aversion into love.

“Upon my visiting her one morning, to offer her some further remedy, with my usual expressions of pity, she received it and experienced some slight alleviation; this caused her to feel so much trust during the short time left her to live, that she thereafter appealed to hardly any one but me for any relief which her suffering made her desire. This trust enabled me to speak to her once more concerning Baptism, and I met with no further resistance. If her heart had found it difficult to conceive sorrow because of, and hatred for, certain abjects to which it had become attached through inclination and [69] habit, God had permitted this only that he might prepare her to repent more effectively and sincerely, and with greater assurance of salvation. Indeed, when I approached her the second time to tell her that she must abhor her sins, — which I enumerated to her, — and to ask her whether she did not abhor them, in obedience to God’s Will, so that they might be washed away by Baptism, then I saw her overcome in a manner quite contrary to her former [Page 71] emotion; and the grief that I had felt over her refusal to repent was compensated by a much greater joy. She clung to that Word, ‘repentance,’ with both heart and tongue, pronouncing it and repeating it over and over again, of her own accord, with an inexpressible tenderness, which penetrated me through and through, — and of which I can only say that one must have heard its expression, in order to gain any conception of its nature. After that, I no longer doubted that she was of the number of the predestined. I Baptized her after a prayer of considerable length, which I had her repeat, including therein all the acts that could be of [70] service in preparing her. When she saw me approaching to Baptize her, she offered her head for receiving the water, and composed her features with such modesty that the working of grace seemed to me visible in her. I delayed her Baptism only long enough to assure her of eternal happiness and make her repeat some prayers; after which I withdrew, and she surrendered her soul, some time later, to him who had just purified her.” [Page 73]

CHAPTER V.

OF THE MISSIONS OF LA CONCEPTION, SAINT MICHEL,

AND SAINT JACQUES, IN TSONNONTOUAN.

ALTHOUGH the Nation of the Sonnontouans is the grossest and most barbarous, has the least intercourse with the French, and is apparently the farthest removed from a fit condition for embracing the Faith, yet [71] our Fathers, who have labored in those Missions for two years, have found there some chosen souls; and Father Julien Garnier, who is now in sole charge there, asks us for aid, — in the hope that those Peoples, who exceed in population all the rest of the Iroquois, Will finally become softened, and furnish a noble occupation for the zeal of the Missionaries whom it shall please God to send thither. The little he tells us about them is amply sufficient to touch and draw thither hearts filled with the holy Ghost. Miracles of grace have been wrought there, which show us that God’s hand has not been shortened; evident proof of this is furnished by the hundred and ten, and more, who have been Baptized this year, as well as by the fervor and courage of certain elect souls.

A Christian of long standing, named François Tehoronhiongo, — one of the first members of saint Michel’s Church, and highly esteemed for his eminent virtue and the authority he has acquired over the people of his Nation, — lost an intimate friend, who was a good Christian and very virtuous, [72] and who [Page 75] met with a sudden death, which was unexpected and almost instantaneous. François was thereby filled with so keen a sense of the importance of dying worthily, and of the necessity of being prepared at any moment to make that passage which is to decide our eternal happiness or misery, that he could think of nothing else. Such was the effect on him of this grace that he thereupon made a resolve — which he has ever since strictly observed — not to attend any Feasts where he saw any signs of superstitious practices or of wrong-doing. Moreover, when the time came at which the infidel Savages run through the village to gain the fulfillment of their dreams, he made proclamation by public crier, in the villages of saint Michel and saint Jacques, that no one was to appeal to him or to any member of his family for the fulfillment of his dream; that he no longer observed that ceremony, having renounced such practices at his Baptism; and that, as he acknowledged no dream-god, so he would render no worship or homage to his own [73] dreams or to the dreams of others.

One of the Village elders, — men toward whom these Peoples always show great respect and obedience, — having turned to him in the course of this public ceremony, threatening, unless he granted him what he had dreamed about, to hold François responsible, according to these Peoples’ belief, for all the ill that should befall him, this threat did not disturb him in the least. He answered the other boldly that, being a Christian, he did not fear him; and he made the same reply to all who importuned him in that matter.

This Christian firmness gained him such influence [Page 77] and respect that, whenever he joins any group — even of infidels — who, as often occurs, are talking only on indecent themes or in disparagement of the Faith and of Christianity, they immediately change the subject. Many go to him to be instructed in our holy Mysteries, wherein he is thoroughly versed, and to learn to pray.

The Divine Providence usually turns [74] these peoples’ misfortunes to account in disposing them to receive the sacred Word, humiliation and misery rendering them more docile. The same Father informs us that he never had a more favorable hearing than after the burning of the Village of saint Michel, which occurred last spring, when all the cabins and the Chapel were reduced to ashes, and nothing could be saved — neither furnishings, nor corn, nor any of the necessities of life. Those poor people did not seem disturbed over it, but on the contrary assured the Father that they recognized that they were being justly punished by God for their infidelity, and for the resistance they had hitherto offered to the spread of the Gospel. They besought him earnestly not to forsake them, promising that, as soon as they had rebuilt their cabins and palisade, so as to be somewhat protected against their enemies, they would build a much finer Chapel than their former one, and would attend prayers there more constantly than in the past. The Father adds that they promised this [75] so solemnly, and with such evidences of sincerity, that he is convinced that they will keep their Word. Fiat, Fiat.

We recognize still more clearly in their mortal attacks of illness the workings of grace, and the fruits borne by daily teachings, even in dispositions [Page 79] apparently the most rebellious and the most strongly opposed to the Faith. I will relate two or three examples of this, which seem tome attended by most remarkable circumstances.

A Sonnontouan of the Village of saint Jacques, of great age and high station, having fallen ill, the Father went to see him, and offered him every assistance in his power, — both for relief in his illness, and for the salvation of his soul. Both offers were refused with considerable brusqueness, so that the Father was forced to withdraw, after some polite pressing of his services, in order not to alienate the man still more. Several days of this ill humor succeeded, during which the Father could do nothing but [76] intercede with God on behalf of this wretched man, — who, in all human probability, was destined to die without Baptism and in infidelity, as his door was closed to the Father, who could not gain further access to him. Meanwhile, the Father was duly informed that he was visibly sinking, which caused him incredible anguish of soul, such as only those who have felt it can conceive, — at seeing an unhappy soul, whom one has come to seek across so many Seas, at the very gates of Hell, without being able to succor it, or help it to escape from such danger. But the goodness of God, who shows himself as well disposed toward a poor Savage as toward the greatest Monarch of the earth, extended a hand to him in an unhoped-for mariner. As these Peoples are guided by their dreams, he suffered him to see the Father in his sleep offering him a medicine very beneficial to his health. This was enough to compel him to send for the Father without delay, with a pressing entreaty to visit him at the earliest moment [Page 81] They found him at St. Michel [77] where, pending the moment of grace, he had gone to visit his Church. On receiving this Word, he dropped everything, and hastened away with all speed. The sick man seemed overjoyed at his coming, made him sit down by his bed, and said to him: “Ourasera,” for so the Father is called in the Savage tongue, “give me a medicine without delay, I pray thee; I saw it in thy hands, in a dream, and it Will cure me.” “Oh, most gladly, my brother,” the Father said to him; “I am going to give thee a medicine, but a far different and a much better one than thou sawest in thy dream. No longer dost thou need any medicine for thy body, which cannot now be helped by it. A medicine of that kind would but hasten the coming of thy last day of life. The Great Master of our lives, who loves thee, bids me give thee one which is wholly of heaven; it will restore health and life to thy soul, Will deliver it from eternal death, and Will procure for it, in place of this wretched life which we have in common with the animals, a blessed and eternal life in Heaven, — by means of Baptism.” While the [‘83 Father was speaking, the Holy Ghost was at work in this Savage’s heart; and, at the word “Baptism,” on which he had talked with him several times without effect, the patient awoke as if from a deep sleep, and earnestly begged the Father to refresh his memory on the instructions that he had formerly taught him, in order to fit him to receive that Sacrament. The Father complied at once, and the sick man heard him with much joy and consolation. Thinking it best, nevertheless, to defer his Baptism until the next day, he visited his patient at daybreak, and found him in a holy impatience to see himself enrolled with God’s [Page 93] children. He had passed the whole night in acts of Faith and Contrition, and in reciting the prayers which he had learned the day before; these he had not forgotten, as the Father perceived when the sick man repeated them again in his presence, without the help of others. Accordingly, he received holy Baptism very devoutly; and, after passing the whole day and night in blessing God and asking him for Paradise, [79] he died on the day after, leaving with his Pastor the conviction that he was, beyond a doubt, one of the number of the predestined.

I Will conclude this Chapter with the Abstract of a letter which I have received from the same Missionary, as follows: “Drunkenness — caused by the liquor which the infidels bring hither from the Dutch, carrying it more than eighty leagues by land — has been more general than ever, having spread even to the women; and these debauches continue for twelve or fifteen days after the coming of each band of traders. During all this time, no food is prepared or fire lighted in the Cabins, which remain deserted day and night, — all the rest of the people taking flight, and hiding in the fields and woods. In all these outbreaks, the virtue of our Christians has shone forth with brilliancy: they have all remained steadfast in their duty, and shown as pronounced an aversion for such debauches as the latter are at variance with their profession. Even the intoxicated persons have been so far respectful as not to come to the Chapel; [80] and we have held our meetings there on Sundays as usual, — our Christians assembling from their places of refuge with great punctuality, and hearing Mass as undisturbed and as devoutly as at any other time of the year, [Page 85] In regard to the sick, I have had more difficulty, not knowing where to find them; but I succeeded in Baptizing some, and among them an adult who, after a little training, gave me much consolation. He was a Catechumen and showed considerable punctuality at the usual prayer-services. Finding him very ill one day, I thought best, with his consent, to prepare him for Baptism; and therefore instructed him in the principal Mysteries of our Faith, making him say the acts necessary for his preparation for this Sacrament — which, however, I deferred for good reasons. Then, as I found him delirious and in danger of dying, I did not hesitate to Baptize him. Recovering his reason some time afterward, he had me summoned and told me in great anger that I had deceived him; that in his dreams he had seemed to be [81] in Heaven, where the French had received him with the hooting in which the natives are wont to indulge on the arrival of their Prisoners of war; and that, when he made his escape from them, they already had firebrands in their hands for burning him. Moreover, he said, the water that I had poured on his head was a charm and a malignant spell, which would cause his death and consign him to eternal flames in the other world. At so unexpected a turn, I appealed most earnestly to God, who at last graciously permitted me, after more than three hours of conflict, — which was, however, a strife of gentleness and love, — to undeceive and convince him. Banishing all those imaginings prompted by the evil one, who was bent on his destruction, he resumed, in a way that excited my admiration, his first thoughts, and the sentiments of a soul truly converted. His one wish was to die as soon [Page 87] as possible, in order not to offend God again, and to attain happiness in Heaven. After his usual prayers, he voluntarily made a petition to that effect in these words: Thou who art in Heaven, have pity on me; take me [82] as soon as possible from down here, that I may be blessed with thee.

“Another sick man caused me still greater consolation when I saw him taking action for his salvation in a manner very unusual for a Savage, and. indicative of a deep faith. TO win him to God I had, besides giving him frequent instruction, spared no effort, day or night, to aid him and to convince him of my sincere desire for his recovery. One day, as he felt that all my remedies were useless, and that he was constantly going from bad to worse, but as he still saw me filled with no common eagerness to relieve his sufferings, ‘My brother,’ said he to me, ‘I see plainly that thou lovest me, but I pray thee think no more about my body; strive only to save my soul. It is all over with me; I am a dead man, I cannot doubt it; and the important thing is to die a good death.’ Accordingly, I instructed him fully and baptized him, — whereupon, being entirely satisfied, and thinking thenceforth only of Paradise, he began to sing what they call ‘the death-Song,’ but in far different [83] words from those he had used formerly in times of danger, when he was an infidel. ‘Jesus,’ he kept saying, ‘is the master of my life; he will take me to Heaven. Never any more sin or dream-worship; the great Master in Heaven forbids them.’ Such were his sentiments, which be maintained to the end.”

After all, it must be admitted that these peoples are strongly opposed to the Faith, and that a [Page 89] Savage’ s conversion is a stroke of Heaven. Liberty, which they cherish more than life; pride, which is natural to them, as well as inconstancy in their resolves; the impurity wherein they have been reared; their extreme attachment to their dreams and superstitious customs; their diversions, and their ordinary pursuits of the chase and of war, which render them far from settled and keep them most of the time in the woods and on the war-path; furthermore, the Demon of intemperance which has possessed them for some years, — these are certainly great hindrances [84] to the permanent establishment of Religion among them. Yet the zeal, trust, application, patience, and long-suffering of our Missionaries are overcoming all these obstacles, and give us reason to hope God Will ever increase the blessings which he has hitherto been pleased to bestow upon their labors. It is already a great gain that they know the native Tongue, have found access to the peoples’ hearts, are loved and esteemed by them, and have entire liberty to preach God’s word to them publicly and privately; while there is not a family in all those countries which is not adequately instructed in the principal mysteries of our Faith. Many have the Faith, although, from attachment to their evil ways, they are not yet professed Christians; this they show in times of sickness, when they often, unsolicited, send for our Fathers, in order not to die without Baptism. Prayers are held regularly in each village [SS] morning and evening, in the Chapel, to which the Catechumens have free access, and where the Christians receive the Sacraments on Sunday; and there the Catechism is taught, in addition to the daily instruction given in the Cabins. Many little [Page 91] children take flight to Heaven after the grace of Baptism, one of the first cares of our Missionaries being to watch that not a single one dies without this Sacrament. Thus it is that, in spite of Hell, these little Churches are making progress; and there is not one of them that has not some chosen souls, who imitate the fervor and charity of the first centuries, and, by their good example, furnish a strong impetus to the conversion of the rest. In short, our Gospel Laborers, far from holding that nothing can be done for the Faith with these peoples, call to us from all directions for succor, and ask us for reinforcements with all imaginable urgency. Especially true is this of those who are laboring in the [86] fields most choked with briers and thorns, and in the training of peoples the most barbarous, and the most violently opposed to the Gospel.

End of Part second.

[Page 93]

[87] Part Third.

Relation of the Missions to the Outouacs dur-

ing the years 1670 and 1671.

—————

EXPLANATION OF THE IDEA THAT SHOULD BE HELD

REGARDING ALL THE MISSIONS INCLUDED

UNDER THE NAME OUTAOUAC.

T is well to afford a general view of all these Outaouac territories, not only for the purpose of designating the places where the Faith has been proclaimed by the planting of Missions; but [88] also because the King, by very recently taking possession of them with a ceremony worthy of the eldest son of the Church, and of a Most Christian King, put all those tribes under the protection of the Cross before receiving them under his own, being unwilling to unfurl his standard before planting that of Jesus Christ, — as Will be set forth in the account to be given of that act of taking possession.

By glancing, as one can, at the Map of the lakes, and of the territories on which are settled most of the tribes of these regions, one Will gain more light upon all these Missions than by long descriptions that might be given of them.

The reader may first turn his eyes to the Mission of Sainte Marie du Sault, three leagues below the mouth of Lake superior. He Will find it situated on [Page 95] the banks of the river by which this great Lake discharges its waters, at the place called the Sault, very advantageous in which to perform Apostolic functions, since it is the great resort [89] of most of the Savages of these regions, and lies in the almost universal route of all who go down to the French settlements. It was also on this spot that all these lands were taken possession of in his Majesty’s name, in the presence and with the approval of fourteen Nations who had come hither for that purpose.

Toward the other end of the same lake is found the Mission of Saint Esprit, covering both the district known as Chagaouamigong point, and the neighboring Islands. Thither the Outaouacs, with the Hurons of Tionnontaté, repair in the seasons suitable for fishing and for raising Indian corn.

It will be easy to recognize the rivers and routes leading to various Nations, either stationary or nomadic, located in the vicinity of this same lake, who are somewhat dependent on this Mission of saint Esprit in the matter of trade, which draws them to our Savages’ abode.

For it is a Southward course that is taken by the [90] great river called by the natives Missisipi, which must empty somewhere in the region of the Florida sea, more than four hundred leagues hence. Fuller mention Will be made of it hereafter. Beyond that great river lie the eight Villages of the Ilinois, a hundred leagues from saint Esprit point; while forty or fifty leagues Westward from the latter place is found the Nation of the Nadouessi, — very populous and warlike, and regarded as the Iroquois of these regions, waging war, almost unaided, with all the other tribes hereabout. Still farther away is situated [Page 97] another Nation, of an unknown tongue, beyond which, it is said, lies the Western sea. Again, proceeding toward the West-Northwest, we find the people called Assinipoualac, constituting one large village, — or, as others say, thirty small villages in a group, — not far from the North sea, two weeks’ journey from the above-named Mission of saint Esprit.

Finally, the Kilistinons are dispersed through the whole Region to the North of this Lake [91] Superior, — possessing neither corn, nor fields, nor any fixed abode; but forever wandering through those vast Forests, and seeking a livelihood there by hunting. There are also other Nations in those districts, for that reason called “the peoples of the Interior,” or of the North Sea.

The reader will also be enabled — on his journey, so to speak — to note all the places on this Lake where copper is said to be found. For, although at present we have no very definite knowledge on the subject, because no thorough surveys have been made, yet the slabs and huge lumps of this metal which we have seen, each weighing a hundred or two hundred livres, and much more; that great rock of copper, seven or eight hundred livres in weight, seen near the head of the Lake by all who pass; and, furthermore, the numerous pieces found at the water’s edge in various places — all seem to force upon us the conviction that somewhere there are parent mines which have not yet been discovered.[2]

After surveying this entire [92] Lake Superior, together with the Nations surrounding it, let us go down to the Lake of the Hurons, almost in the middle of which we shall see the Mission of saint Simon, established on the Islands which were formerly the [Page 99] true country of some Nations of the Outaouacs, and which they were forced to leave when the Hurons were ravaged by the Iroquois. But since the King’s Arms have compelled the latter to live at peace with our Algonquins, part of the Outaouacs have returned to their country; and we at the same time have planted this Mission, with which are connected the peoples of Mississagué, the Amicouës, and other circumjacent tribes, — to whom we have proclaimed the Faith, baptizing many of their children and adults.

Toward the south, on the other side of the Lake, are the territories formerly occupied by various Nations of the Hurons and Outaouacs, who had stationed themselves at some distance from one another, as far as the famous Island of Missilimakinac.[3] In the neighborhood of this island, as being the spot most noted in all these regions [93] for its abundance of fish, various Peoples used to make their abode, who now fully intend to return thither if they see that peace is firmly established. It is for this reason that we have already begun there to found the Mission of St, Ignace; this was done during the past Winter, which we spent there.

Thence one enters the Lake called Mitchiganons, to which the Ilinois have given their name. After the People who formerly lived near the Western sea were driven away from it by their foes, they sought a refuge on the shores of this Lake; and when the Iroquois expelled them thence also, they finally withdrew to a spot seven days’ journey beyond the great river. The reader will see, at the end, how a part of this nation has begun to receive the light of the Faith, which we carried even to their own country.

Finally, between this Lake of the Ilinois and Lake [Page 101] Superior is seen a long bay called the bay des Puans, at the head of which is the Mission of saint François Xavier; while at its entrance [94] are encountered the Islands called Huron, because the Hurons took refuge there for some time, after their own country was laid waste. In one of them especially is found a kind of Emerald or diamond, some white and others green. Still farther Northward may be seen a stream of no great size, to which is given the name of copper river, from a lump of metal that we saw there, weighing more than two hundred livres.

Approaching the head of the same bay, we see the river of the Oumaloumines [Menomonees], — or, translated, “the wild-oats Nation,”— which is a dependency of the Mission of St. François Xavier, as are also the Poteouatami, the Ousaki, and other Tribes, — who, driven from their own abode, the Lands toward the South, near Missilimakinac, have sought refuge at the head of this bay. Beyond it, and farther Inland, may be seen the Fire Nation, or the Mathkoutench, with an Ilinois tribe called the Oumami [Miami], and also the Outagami. [95] Of these mention will be made more in detail, as well as of all the other tribes designated, the Faith having been proclaimed to nearly all of them. Some peoples have embraced it, and make public profession of Christianity; while the others have not yet made any declaration, although many individuals have received holy Baptism, and the greater part have been given the necessary instruction therefor.

Finally, the remaining tribes, farther distant toward the South and Southwest, are either beginning to draw near to US, — for already the Ilinois have reached the bay mentioned above, — or else are [Page 103] waiting until we can advance to them. All these matters will be treated more in detail when we take up each Mission in order, touching upon what has been found most rare and curious to be known among those newly-discovered countries and Peoples. But first let us see how the King took possession of them this year, and subjected them to Jesus Christ’s dominion before placing them under his own.

[96] TAKING POSSESSION, IN THE KING’S NAME, OF

ALL THE COUNTRIES COMMONLY INCLUDED

UNDER THE DESIGNATION OUTAOUAC.

IT is not our present purpose to describe this ceremony in detail, but merely to touch on matters relating to Christianity and the welfare of our Missions, which are going to be more flourishing than ever after what occurred to their advantage on this