The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents Volume 66

The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents

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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. LXVI.

Illinois, Louisiana, Iroquois, Lower Canada

1667—1669

CLEVELAND: The Burrows Brothers

Company, PUBLISHERS, M DCCC XCCCC

THE JESUIT RELATIONS

AND

ALLIED DOCUMENTS

Vol. LXVI

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The edition consists of sev-

en hundred and fifty sets

all numbered.

No.________

The Burrows Brothers Co.

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The Imperial Press, Cleveland

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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

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CONTENTS OF VOL. LXVI.

Preface To Volume LXVI		11
Documents:—
CLXXVIII.	Lettres diverses, adressées au R. P. Jean de Lamberville, touchant les Missions des Illinois. [Jacques Gravier] , n.p., [March 5, 1702]; Jacques Gravier, n.p., March 25, 1702; Gabriel Marest, aux Cascaskias, July 5, 1702; Gabriel Marest, aux ilinois Sur Le missisipi, November 26, [1702]		24
CLXXIX.	Lettre à Monseigneur le Comte de Pontchartrain. Martin Bouvart; n.p., [ca. 1702]		42
CLXXX.	Lettre aux Jésuites du Canada. Jean Mermet; aux Cascaskias, March 2, 1706		50
CLXXXI.	Lettre au Père [Jean] de Lamberville. Gabriel Marest; n.p., [ca. 1706]		66
CLXXXII.	Epistola ad R. P. Michaelem Angelum Tamburini, Præpositum Generalem Societatis Jesu, Romæ. Jacobus Gravies; Paris, March 6, 1707		120
CLXXXIII.	Lettre sur les Affaires de la Louisiane. Jacques Gravier; Fort St. Louis de la Louisiane, February 23, 1708		124
CLXXXIV.	Epistola ad R. P. Josephum Germain, superiorem Generalem Missionum Canadensium. Ludovicus Davaugour; è Lauretano oppidulo, October 7, 1710		146
CLXXXV.	Excerptum ex epistola ad P. Josephum Juvencium. Josephus Aubery, e Missione S. Francisci Salesii, October 10, 1710		174
CLXXXVI.	Lettre touchant la Mission canadienne, en l’année 1711 Joseph Germain; Quebec, November 5, 1711		182
CLXXXVII.	Lettre au Père Germon. Gabriel Marest; Cascaskias, November 9, 1712		218
Bibliographical Data; Volume LXVI			297
Notes			337

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ILLUSTRATIONS TO VOL. LXVI.

I.	Silver soleil presented by Nicolas Perrot to the Jesuit mission at De Pere, Wis., in 1686	Frontispiece

[Page viii]

PREFACE TO VOL. LXVI.

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

CLXXVIII. This is a group of letters addressed to Jean de Lamberville, agent in France for the Canada missions. The first is an invoice, probably written by Gravier, of the supplies necessary for the Illinois missions for the year 1702. The distressed condition of the laborers therein is energetically described, and relief for their poverty is urgently requested. The supplies desired include articles of clothing; conveniences like pins, twine, thread, paper, razors, etc.; a few household utensils; medicines, food, wine, etc.; material for hoods for protection against mosquitoes; ammunition and nails; vermilion, beads, rings, etc., for the Indians; “six ells of stuff for capotes, to make Breech-clouts;” also tobacco and agricultural tools.

Three weeks later, Gravier writes to Lamberville regarding certain financial matters. One of his engagés would have left the mission, on account of the higher wages that he could earn in the fur trade, if Gravier had not taken the responsibility of promising him an increase of pay; the Father now notifies Lamberville of this arrangement. He also desires the latter to pay a note of his to Iberville, for [Page 11] supplies furnished by the latter. Gravier warns the procurator not to depend upon Le Sueur, “whose arrogance is Unbearable.”

A short note from Marest (dated July 5, 1702) informs Lamberville that Pinet has left the Tamaroa village, and is now stationed at Kaskaskia. The writer also complains of the intrusion of Seminary priests into the Jesuit field of the Mississippi Valley.

Another letter from Marest (dated November 26, 1702) mentions the arrival of juchereau St. Denis in Illinois, and his intention of establishing a post at the mouth of the Ohio. Marest has aided him in all possible ways. The writer requests Lamberville to see Father Gooey, Pontchartrain’s confessor, and endeavor to secure a grant to the Jesuit missions in Illinois. He again blames the Seminary priests, saying that their missions are ineffective and useless. Marest is to go to the Ohio with Juchereau, but is dissatisfied with the latter, and with his duties as chaplain to the French at the new post,

CLXXIX. Bouvart, superior at Quebec, requests Pontchartrain to secure from the king the confirmation of a grant made to the Jesuits, in 1699, of the seigniory of Sillery. As the savages have now left the Sillery mission, and land has been provided for them elsewhere, the Jesuits ask that, in view of the great expenses which they are accordingly obliged to incur, the Sillery lands may be granted to them absolutely as their rightful property — instead of being, as hitherto, a trust in their hands for the benefit of the Indians. To this letter is appended an endorsement of their request, signed by the governor and intendant.

CLXXX. Jean Mermet, who is now the Jesuit missionary at Kaskaskia, writes (March 2, 1706) to [Page 12] his brethren in Canada an account of the Illinois mission. He reports good news “from this village, except that they threaten to leave us at the first word. It is bad, as regards both temporal and spiritual matters, among the Peorias, where Father Gravier nearly lost his life on two occasions. “Mermet relates the particulars of an attack made upon Gravier by a revengeful savage, who shoots arrows at the Father, dangerously wounding him. Mermet, hearing of this, sends four Indians to convey Gravier to him, at Kaskaskia; and some of the “Praying women” provide a canoe and food for the Father’s journey. His enemies attempt to kill him, but he escapes in safety. Gravier’s wound causes him so great suffering that he is sent to Mobile, where there are surgeons.

CLXXXI. This is a letter from Gabriel Marest to Jean de Lamberville, describing the Hudson Bay region, and the Iberville expedition thither in the autumn of 1694. He begins this account by a reference to the discovery of Hudson Bay, and mentions the rivalry of the French and English in attempting to secure the Indian trade. Marest describes the murder of Dalmas in 1693, and the capture of the French fort, soon afterward, by the English.

Iberville sails to Hudson Bay in 1694, and Marest goes with him as chaplain for the French. The Father describes the progress and incidents of the voyage, which is slow and difficult on account of contrary winds and the lateness of the season. They arrive at the mouth of Bourbon (Nelson) River on September 24, after a voyage of forty-five days. The French endeavor to surprise the English, but the latter perceive them in time to secure themselves [Page 13] After many difficulties, the French find a suitable location for their winter quarters; and on October 13 the men in the English fort surrender to the French. This success is accompanied by sorrow, for one of the French officers — Chateauguay, a brother of Iberville — had been mortally wounded in a skirmish, ten days before the surrender. “In entering the river sainte Thérèse, we had invoked with confidence the great saint whose name the river bears; and God so arranged events that precisely on the feast-day of the same Saint we entered the Fort; this rendered us masters of the Navigation, and of all the Trade of that great river.”

During the winter, there is much sickness among the Frenchmen; and Marest goes back and forth between the fort and a French encampment on the Nelson, to comfort and aid the sick. He tries to learn the language of the savages who dwell in that region; but he has little time, and is hindered by the ignorance and caprice of his Indian instructor. Marest relates what he has been able to learn about these tribes, the most important and numerous of whom are the Assiniboines and Crees. He mentions various interesting particulars about these people, their country, and their language; he thinks that the Assiniboines resemble the Flemings, and the Crees the Gascons, They are nomadic, but gather wild rice for their winter supplies.

The savages nearest James Bay are very inferior to the tribes just named: “they are base, cowardly, idle, churlish, and wholly vicious;” they are exceedingly superstitious and dissolute. Marest thinks that missionary effort should first be directed toward the Crees and Assiniboines. The country is [Page 14] marshy and sterile, producing only few and stunted trees; the climate is harsh and cold, but three or four months of the year being free from snow and ice. Worst of all is the summer plague of mosquitoes, which are larger and more numerous than in Canada. Nevertheless, human beings can live there with comfort, as far as food is concerned, for game of all sorts is abundant.

Marest has improved every opportunity to tell the savages about God; he has learned many words of their language, and has made a dictionary of these. He has baptized a few savages, who have since gone to heaven. Early in September, 1695, the two French vessels depart, leaving a garrison at the fort, — where Marest prefers to remain, that he may console the French, and, when more at leisure, learn the savage tongue. But English ships soon come to Hudson Bay, and recapture their fort; Marest is taken to England as a prisoner, but is afterward sent to France.

CLXXXII. Gravier writes from Paris (March 6, 1707) to Tamburini, general of the order, announcing his arrival from Louisiana. He has come to France to procure new missionaries, and to obtain a decision in certain vexed questions of morality and ecclesiastical procedure. Gravier describes the arduous missions which he and Marest are carrying on in Illinois; and states that almost the entire village of Kaskaskia is now converted to the truë faith.

CLXXXIII. Returning to Louisiana, Gravier writes (February 23, 1708), just two months before his death, an account of the mission in that colony, especially referring to the unpleasant relations between the Jesuits and the Seminary priests from [Page 15] Quebec. Bienville, now governor of Louisiana since the death of his brother Iberville, has been accused by enemies; but his conduct has been justified by the results of an investigation made by royal commissioners. Gravier has also been calumniated, but is able to refute such allegations, by certificates from the inhabitants of Mobile. He severely censures the priests who are stationed at Mobile, as being incompetent, self-seeking, or cowardly.

Gravier intends to return to the Illinois mission at Easter. He gives a list of the articles most needed by the Fathers there; among these, he mentions a barrel of powder, a quantity of colored beads, and some vermilion. He adds a request for some red lead or red chalk, to mix with the vermilion. He discusses with his correspondent various business matters; he also asks him for instructions regarding fees for masses, and the powers attached to the office of vicar-general, etc. Gravier has various difficulties with the local and Seminary priests at Mobile, which he ascribes to jealousy on their part. He urges that La Vente, the parish priest, be recalled to France.

CLXXXIV. Louis Davaugour, in charge at Lorette, sends (October 7, 1710) to Joseph Germain, the new Canadian superior, a report of the condition of his mission, The good that has been wrought there he ascribes to his predecessor, De Couvert, who has been compelled by ill health to retire to Quebec. The savages at Lorette retain their early piety, and zealously practice it, regardless of all obstacles. Drunkenness and vice are entirely abolished among them. The writer describes the pious exercises in which these Christian savages delight; and the [Page 16] material occupations of their daily lives in both winter and summer.

Davaugour eulogizes the docility and reverence which are displayed by the savages toward the missionaries. They obey their priests not only in their own village, but even at Quebec, where traders and tavern-keepers strive to make them intoxicated. The French themselves admire and praise the temperance and piety of the Lorette Christians. With all their piety, they are the most courageous and warlike of all the savage allies; several instances of this are cited. So excellent is their behavior while on an expedition against the English that Vaillant says of them, to Davaugour, “Congratulate thyself; for thou hast as many saints as thou hast Hurons at Lorette.” Their piety shines in death as well as in life. A glowing eulogy is bestowed upon their war-chief, Thaouvenhosen, whose piety and wisdom, and whose bravery and gentleness, are commensurate. He is also a valuable helper to the priest in charge of the Lorette mission. That place alone, of all the mission settlements, has been able to banish entirely the scourge of drunkenness; Davaugour ascribes the prevalence of this vice elsewhere to the greed of the traders, and calls for a check upon them. If they be not restrained from selling liquor to the savages, the latter will soon lose their religion, and consequently their fidelity to the French. They will then carry their trade to the heretics (the English and Dutch), and Canada will be ruined.

CLXXXV. An account of the Abenaki mission at St. François de Sales is sent (October 10, 1710) by Joseph Aubery to the Jesuit historian Jouvency [Page 17] All but three or four of the savages there are baptized. The extracts here given from Aubery’s letter mainly describe his efforts, finally successful, to expel from his mission the intemperance which had” well-nigh ruined” it. He wins over the old men, one by one; then he calls a council, and persuades the Indians themselves to ordain banishment for “all hopeless profligates.” Another obstacle against which the missionary must contend is the moral cowardice and inertia of the savages; this produces in their minds a sort of fatalism, which makes them say, when reproved for sin, that “it was not in their power to avoid it.”

CLXXXVI. Germain, the Quebec superior, sends (November 5, 1711) a report of Canadian affairs for the year, apparently to the assistant for France at Rome. He begins with an apology for not writing, as requested by the father general, directly to the Pope or to the Congregation of the Propaganda. We does not know how those high dignitaries should be properly addressed, and asks that a model of such a letter be sent him, that he may follow it when writing in future years.

Germain begins his report by describing the abortive expedition of Sir Wovenden Walker against Canada, in the summer of 1711. Vaudreuil, the governor, makes every preparation to resist the enemy — especially at Quebec, which is felt on both sides to be the key to the whole country. All the French people, “convinced that it was God’s cause, and that they would be fighting for Cod,” are ready “to shed the last drop of their blood rather than yield;” and regard such a death as I4 a glorious martyrdom.” But the English fleet is assailed by a [Page 19] terrible storm, and many ships are wrecked in the lower St. Lawrence; it is reported that 3,000 corpses are strewn along the shore. “But the most lamentable thing in this shipwreck is that, inasmuch as they have all died in heresy, these are so many souls that are damned.” The outcome of this unfortunate expedition is ascribed to the miraculous protection of Canada by the celestial powers, who were continually invoked by masses, prayers, penances, etc.

Germain now mentions the affairs of the missions. One of the greatest obstacles to the conversion of the heathen is the neighborhood of the English heretics, whose influence on the savages is most injurious. Their machinations have ruined the Iroquois mission, reopened in 1702. The various missions conducted by the Jesuits are enumerated by Germain, and their present status is briefly indicated. Besides those on the St. Lawrence, there are three in Acadia, one at Michillimackinac, and three in Illinois.

The Quebec college is admirably conducted; Germain praises the ability and intelligence of the French-Canadian boys who are pupils there. He outlines the work done by the Fathers who reside in the Jesuit houses at Quebec and Montreal. An epidemic prevalent in Canada this year has caused many deaths; among the victims are numbered Jacques Bigot and two lay brethren, Jacques Boussart and Benoit Lucas. Two other Fathers die soon afterward, from diseases caused by their hardships and privations in missionary labors — Claude Aveneau and Antoine Silvy. Upon all these, the superior bestows due praise and commemoration.

CLXXXVII. A letter (dated November 9, 1712) from Gabriel Marest to a brother Jesuit in France, [Page 19] Barthélemi Germon, gives a full account of the Illinois country and its people; and of the mission which the Jesuits have long conducted there.

Marest describes the obstacles that he encounters in the nature of the savages — lawless, arrogant, fickle, brutal, and ungrateful; their conversion is “a miracle of the Lord’s mercy.” They are, however, “much less barbarous than other Savages; Christianity and intercourse with the French have by degrees civilized them.” Many Frenchmen have come to Kaskaskia to live, and some of them have married Indian women. Among these savages, as elsewhere, the men are engaged in hunting and war; their wives and daughters perform all other labors. The women thus occupied and humbled by work are thereby more disposed to accept the truths of the Gospel.”

“Their religion consists only in superstitions,” especially the “manitou “or fetich which each one worships. The medicine-men are “a great obstacle to the conversion of the Savages,” not only through their influence over their tribesmen, but on account of their personal hostility to the missionaries, whose lives are often in danger from this cause, Kaskaskia is now quite free from these impostors. A tilt between one of the medicine-men and Father Mermet is recounted. This Father attempts to convert the Mascoutens who have settled near Juchereau’s post at the mouth of the Ohio; and, in an epidemic which assails them, he almost loses his life in caring for the sick.

The savages at Kaskaskia are much changed by the Christian influences that have long surrounded them, and manifest gentleness of disposition, and docility [Page 20] and zeal in religion. Marest describes the services and instructions which employ him in his mission. “The are that we take of their sick wins us their entire confidence.” Marest describes the foundation of this mission, for which he gives chief credit to Gravier, whose labors and virtues he warmly praises. A native instructor has died therein this year, whose remarkable conversion and unusual piety are recounted.

When the savages go away for their annual hunts, the missionary has to accompany them — a fatiguing and dangerous enterprise. Mermet is not strong enough to endure these journeys, and remains at Kaskaskia with the few savages who are left to care for the village; while Marest travels with the hunters, over the prairies and through the forests.

Marest goes to Cahokia to take care of Bergier, the Seminary priest there, who is very ill. Returning to his own mission at Kaskaskia, he finds his savages “dispersed along the Mississipi,” and at once departs to join them. Later, Bergier dies, and Marest goes on foot to Cahokia, to bury the dead priest. The medicine-men rejoice over his death, and break into pieces the cross that he had erected. To punish them for this, the French traders refuse to sell them goods, which soon quells their arrogance. The same discipline has been meted to the Peorias, who had so ill-treated Father Gravier a few years before. Hearing that this treatment has brought those savages to their senses, Marest goes (in the summer of 1711) to Mackinac, to confer with the superior there about reestablishing the Peoria mission, and other affairs. After a painful journey on foot, he arrives at Peoria, where the savages greet him [Page 21] with the utmost cordiality, and urge him to reside with them; this he promises to do after his return from Mackinac. Going thence to St. Joseph, where the Pottawattomies now live, Marest is happily surprised by encountering there his brother Joseph, whom he was about to visit; and they proceed together to the latter’s headquarters at Mackinac. Gabriel returns to Kaskaskia in September of the same year. It is thought best to send to the Peorias, in his place, Father de Ville, who soon proves his eminent fitness for that mission. The natural advantages of Kaskaskia are attracting French settlers; but Marest is uncertain whether they will be of the sort whose example will “contribute to the welfare of Religion,”

We are indebted to l’Abbé Lionel Lindsay, chaplain to the Ursuline convent in Quebec, for the translation of Doc. CLXXXIV.; and to Miss Catharine S. Kellogg, of Cleveland, O., for the translation of Docs, CLXXXI., CLXXXVII, and some other documents, yet to be published, from Lettres édifiantes.

R. G. T.

Madison, Wis., April, 1900.

CLXXVIII, CLXXIX

Documents of 1702

CLXXVIII. — Lettres diverses, adressées au R. P. Jean de Lamberville, touchant les Missions des Illinois. [Jacques Gravier], n.p., [5 mars, 1702]; Jacques Gravier, n.p., 25 mars, 1702; Gabriel Marest, aux Cascaskias, 5 Juillet, 1702; Gabriel Marest, aux ilinois Sur Lemissisipi, 26 nouembre, [1702]

CLXXIX, — Lettre du R. P. Martin Bouvart à Monseigneur le Comte de Pontchartrain. N.p., [ca. 1702]

—————

Sources: In publishing Doc. CLXXVIII., we follow a MS. in the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C.; for Doc, CLXXIX., recourse is had to the original MS. in the Archives du Ministère des Colonies, Paris.

Various letters, addressed to Reverend Father

Jean de Lamberville, regarding the

Illinois Missions.

y Reverend Father,

I send to Your Reverence The invoice of this year, 1702, for The Ilinois missions, and for The 3 fathers who are now there. I beg You not to be surprised if it be somewhat large, It is to supply clothes and provisions for three fathers, besides Brother guibort and perhaps Brother gillet, who are in need of everything; and to begin at last to supply, once for all, The principal items of all that is required for 3 missions — which have always been borrowing; which have always lacked most of the necessary articles; And wherein The missionaries have done nothing but languish. Father bineteau died there from exhaustion; but, If he had had a few drops of Spanish wine, for which he asked us during his last illness, and some little dainties, — such as sugar, or other things, — or had we been able to procure some Fresh food for him, he would perhaps be still alive. Father pinet and father marest are wearing out their strength; and they are 2 saints, who take pleasure in being deprived of everything — in order, they say, that they may soon be nearer paradise. But they do not fail to tell me and to write me that I must bring some little comforts for the sick, and that these languish because they are in need of everything; and they tell the truth [Page 25] For my part, I am in good health, but I have no cassock, etc.; I am in a sorry plight, and the others are hardly less so.

Three winter cassocks.

3 pairs of winter hose.

3 lined cloaks.

3 summer cassocks; 3 pairs of winter and 3 of summer breeches.

3 pairs of summer hose.

3 pairs of cloth breeches for winter.

6 pairs of breeches of black duck or strong linen.

12 hempen shirts, lined;[1] calico handkerchiefs;

Cap linings.

4 hats; 3 hoods; 3 pairs of mittens.

One Livre of black Wool.

Half a livre of black and other silk.

One Livre of fine white thread.

2 livres of black thread. 1 livre of twine for Nets.

3 Lines; 3 whip-[lashes?].

3 livres of coarse white thread.

6 pairs of Shoes.

3 pairs of double-soled slippers.

3 pieces of white thread galloon.

One thousand pins.

One Ream of good and strong paper, of large size.

One Ream of small-sized paper. 3 good razors, with a whetstone.

3 sticks of Spanish wax. 3 half-double caps.

12 [small] towels and 6 [small] napkins.[2]

3 covered bowls for The sick.

12 pewter spoons, with knives and forks.

[illegible — 6 case-knives?] in 6 sheaths.

3 deep pewter basins with a narrow edge. [Page 27]

6 plates.

3 tinned kettles with lids, and strong, to hold 6 pots each.[3]

One Syringe; one livre of Theriac; ointment, plasters, alum, vitriol, aniseed, medicines, and pastils.

One host-Iron, and shape for cutting the wafers.

50 livres of flour, in a Barrel. 3 Tin boxes.

One minot of Salt, In a Barrel.

A jar of oil.

A Barrel of 15 pots of vinegar.

30 livres of Sugar.

Rice, raisins, prunes.

25 pots of Spanish wine, In 2 kegs.

25 pots of brandy.

9 livres of pepper.

One Livre of nutmegs and cloves.

Six pairs of half-worsted hose.[4] [Material for making] awnings as a protection against the gnats that infest the mississipi.

One piece of strong sail-cloth.

One livre or 2 of cotton candle-wicking.

India ink and cotton [illegible].

A thousand nails, large, medium-sized, and small.

150 livres of powder.

50 livres of assorted shot, large and small.

30 livres of Bullets; [500 gun-flints].

Ten livres of vermilion.

Ten livres of large glass Beads — black, white, and Striped.

Ten livres of small glass Beads — white, green, and transparent.

One gross of large Clasp-knives, with horn handles.

One gross of round buckles, both large and medium-sized.

One gross of small metal plates[5] [Page 29]

Six gross of small belts.

Six gross of finger-Rings.

3 gross of awls.

One thousand needles.

Six boxes of gun-flints.

Twenty gun-screws.

One dozen [wooden?] combs.[6]

3 dozen Spools of fine iron wire, or Else a roll of fine wire.

Six Bars of soap.

Three dozen hatchets — medium-sized, large, and small.

Three dozen medium-sized hoes.

Three hatchets [illegible] 3 mattocks.

One dozen trade shirts — large, medium-sized, and small.

Six blue capotes — large, medium-sized, and small.

Six ells of stuff for capotes, to make Breech-clouts.

Thirty livres of good tobacco.

Three dozen wax candles, and

Six livres of Wax tapers for the 3 missionaries.

The same is needed in proportion for each mission; and a chapel, with all its accessories, is required for The missionary to the Scious, since a father will be sent there; and he has need of a man, if Monsieur Le Sueur does not defray all His expenses.[7] Your Reverence will see Him about it. You will find this a very long list, but Nothing can be Omitted from it if you wish the missionaries to have any comfort. Since it costs nothing for The fort to the Missionaries of quebec, — who have Received through Monsieur d’Iberville 10 times more than they asked, — we Shall not be in a worse condition; and he has written to me that we should bring out engagés (hired men] from France, whom we could [Page 31] get There cheaper than here, and whose passage would cost us nothing.”[8]

[Endorsed: “March 5, 1702. Invoice.”]

y Reverend Father,

Pax Christi.

After having written a good deal, I have been unable to avoid making myself responsible here for 256 livres 10 sols for Jean Baptiste chevalier, who has served us for nearly 3 years. He wished to leave me here, where he could earn as Much as 400 livres per annum; on that account, I engaged him for a 4th year, — to begin on The 27th of July of this year, and end on the same Day of The year 1703, — In the presence of witnesses and by a signed contract. I am not aware that he has Received more than 50 escus for the 3 years. It is the painful necessity to which I am reduced of seeing the 3 Ilinois missionaries without a man this summer which has compelled me to promise him 200 livres for that 4th year; but, in order that he may cost only 150 livres at quebec, I beg Your Reverence to pay The extra 50 livres that I give him. This sum I have advanced him out of the money that Your Reverence must have received from father Lila and from father Laseur — of which, as I wrote to you, they inform me by their Letters. Thus there will be entered in the quebec accounts only 206 livres 10 sols paid for chevalier on his wages, for 3 years ending on the 27th of July of this year, 1702; and although I promised him an extra amount of 50 livres, he will cost here only 50 escus to quebec for The first year — because we shall pay him The 50 livres that I advance him out of The money to my credit in Your Reverence’s hands. And I beg You to pay [Page 33] promptly and punctually The note that I made out in favor of sieur d’Iberville, for it is important that he should not suppose that your Reverence has Any trouble in paying what we have taken from him here; we would be unable to obtain anything more here. We will take nothing except in case of extreme necessity; but, after all, if Your Reverence do not send us what we ask, we shall be obliged to procure it here, at an advance of from 3 to 400 per cent. Place no reliance whatever on Monsieur Lesueur, whose arrogance is Unbearable, and who has had a groundless quarrel with me about his canoe, which was plundered at [illegible], and about The appropriation of a hundred livres of powder. I am greatly mistaken if he does not leave his company to join Monsieur d’Iberville. My Reverend father, always accept from both of them whatever they offer you, as if you had no doubt of their sincerity. But let us take the Right measures with the persons to whom these affairs pertain to maintain ourselves in this new colony, — where we shall be no less persecuted than in china and elsewhere. Unless God grant me His sure aid for my conversion, I shall no longer have any thing of the Religious about me except the habit. I remain with Great Respect, in the sacred heart of Jesus.

your Reverence’s

very humble and

very obedient servant,

JACQUES GRAVIER, S.J.

This 25th of march, 1702.

At last I [am about] to start.

[Addressed: “My Reverend Father, Reverend Father De Lamberville, of The society of Jesus, at the college of Louis Le grand, Paris.”] [Page 35]

Among the Cascaskias,

The 5th of July, 1702.

y Reverend Father,

I have already written to you via quebec, but we take every opportunity to pay our respects to your reverence. Father Pinet, a very Holy and Zealous missionary, has left The mission at the tamarous, or arkinsa, in accordance with your directions to me. Rut he has only half quitted It, for he has Left a man in our house there who takes care of it: and thus we occasionally go thither from this place to show that we are obedient to the king pending the receipt of his orders. That Father now has charge of the Cascaskias, where I leave him alone, to His great sorrow — owing to present circumstances, wherein monsieur bergier shows that he is a worthy member of the missions etrartgeres. Inform Him of the ruling by which The vicars- general have no right to visit our churches or to hear confessions in them without our consent. I am convinced that these missions will receive rude shocks. They were beginning to be on a good footing. This caused Jealousy in the minds of the gentlemen of the missions etrangeres, who have come to take them from us.[9] God grant that they may leave them in a better condition than we have done. It also seems as if there were a coolness on the part of monsieur D’iberville; and perhaps next year there may be a freezing coldness. God be praised, who grants to this beneficent church The same trials which he gave to those most cherished by him. I would write you more at length, had I not done so via quebec, giving you in that letter every possible information about all our affairs. As you will receive [Page 37] That letter before this one, I refer you to it, and content myself at present with telling you of my continual remembrance of your reverence. Tonight I shall commence my retreat, immediately after which I shall leave for The Scious country. I remain, with respect,

My Reverend Father,

Your Reverence’s

Very humble and very

obedient servant,

Gabriel Marest, S.J.

[Addressed: “To My Reverend Father, Father de Lamberville, of the Society of Jesus, at Paris.”]

y Reverend Father,

I have already done myself The honor of writing to Your Reverence from my village, with respect to the abandonment of the fort among the Scioux, and to the arrival of Monsieur Jucherau, who is to establish a post at Vabache, whither he takes with him Father mermet, As it is stated that monsieur de Ponchartrain is very Desirous that this post be established,[10] I rendered monsieur Jucherau all the services in my power; and I accompanied him for a distance of 30 Leagues from my village to see roensa in his winter quarters. I also took steps for endeavoring to assemble the ilinois at wabache; but there are many obstacles, and I think that we shall have considerable difficulty in gaining our end. As I know that Father Gouiz[11] has ready access to monsieur de ponchartrain, I have just written to him on the subject, in order that through his agency a grant may be given to our missions. Try to support my Letter, if you see that his intervention can be [Page 39] successful. Shall it be said that the gentlemen of the seminary, who work less than we do, will continually receive both grants and pensions for living in missions where they do nothing, and which they abandon at once I — as we see in The lower missisipi, where all those gentlemen do not even take the trouble to learn the Savage Tongues, And quite recently, also, monsieur foucault has abandoned The famous mission of the acansas.[12]

An effort should also be made to give us accurate information about monsieur de ponchartrain’s intentions — respecting what is asked and expected from our Savages, as well as the grant that The court will be pleased to give them. I think you understand what I mean.

Monsieur Jucherau is prodigal of his promises, but he thinks, in reality, of his own interests. The Father who is with him is not at all pleased. He is neither a missionary, for there are no Savages, nor a chaplain, for there is no stipend. He has not even a person to help him in his needs. I am pressed for time; the dear Father will write you the rest. I remain in the union of Holy Sacrifices,

My Reverend Father,

Your Reverence’s

Very humble and very

obedient servant,

Gabriel Marest, S.J.

The 26th of november [1702],

among the ilinois On The

missisipi.

[Addressed: ( To My Reverend Father, Father de Lamberville, of the Society of Jesus, at the College of Louis le grand, at Paris.”] [Page 41]

Letter by Reverend Father Martin Bouvart to

Monseigneur the Count de Pontchartrain.

onseigneur,

On account of His Majesty’s refusal to ratify a Concession which Monsieur the Governor and Monsieur the Intendant of this country jointly granted to the Jesuit Fathers of New France, of the Seigniory of Sillery and some perches of land at three Rivers, by a deed passed on the 23rd of October, 1699, Your Grace is humbly Begged to consider that it is not, properly speaking, a new concession that is given them, but merely a confirmation of possession that is granted to them. For fifty years, Monseigneur, they have held those lands as Tutors and Administrators of the property of the Savages; this quality was conferred upon them by His Majesty, by a deed dated in the month of July, 1651. They have built there a Church and a stone fort, with a tower on the height commanding the fort; they have erected several dwellings and built a mill, the whole of good masonry; and have cleared a very considerable extent of land, — all this at their own expense, and solely for the benefit of the Savages. Now, Monseigneur, as all these lands Are exhausted, and Are no longer capable of producing indian corn, the Savages have abandoned them for some years; and the Jesuit Fathers have bought for them other lands, — Either on the river of the Chaudiere Falls, In the Seigniory of Lauzon; or at [Page 43] New Laurette, In the Seigniory of St. Gabriel, — in order to retain them in one village, to the great advantage of the Colony.[13] And this, Monseigneur, leads the said Jesuit Fathers to have recourse to Your Grace, in order to obtain from His Majesty that they may continue to hold these former lands of the Savages, — no longer as their Tutors and as the Administrators of their property, as hitherto; but in their own private name and as a real fief, as granted to them by the said Messeigneurs the Governor and the Intendant of this country. By this request the Petitioners seek solely to avoid the contestatioos that might arise through the escheat of the said Savages, and in order that the slight fruits that may be derived therefrom may fall into the hands of those who employ them — all, and a hundred times more — for the benefit of the Savages to whom they were first given. Such a favor will oblige the said Petitioners to continue their prayers for Your Grace, and to remain for life, with a most profound respect.

Your very humble and very Obedient

Servants in Our Lord,

Martin Bouvart, Superior,

Francois Vaillant, Procurator, s.j.

We Certify that the Contents of the above petition are Truë, and that Accordingly We have deemed it just to grant to the jesuit fathers, As We have done, the possession in their own name of the lands, the ratification whereof they now ask of His Majesty, — especially in View of the Exceedingly great expense which they have incurred in the past, and still incur daily, in Supporting the Missions of [Page 45] the Savages in this country. Moreover, they have purchased several tracts of land, As set forth in the said petition, to replace Those at Sillery and three Rivers, which the said Savages have abandoned.

The Chevalier Decallière.

Champigny.

[Endorsed: “The Jesuites in New France; Concession. I was not informed of it.”] [Page 47]

CLXXX-CLXXXIII

Documents of 1706-1708

CLXXX. — Lettre du P. Mermet, Missionnaire du Cascaskias, aux Jésuites du Canada. Aux Cascaskias, 2 mars, 1706

CLXXXL. — Lettre du Pere Gabriel Marest, Missionnaire de la Compagnie de Jésus, au Père de Lamberville, de la même Compagnie, Procureur de la Mission du Canada. N.p., [ca. 1706]

CLXXXlI. — Epistola Patris Jacobi Gravier ad Reverendissimum Patrem Michaelem Angelum Tamburini, Præpositum Generalem Societatis Jesu,

Romæ. Paris, 6 mars, 1707

CLXXXlll. — Lettre du P. Jacques Gravier, sur les Affaires de la Louisiane. Du Fort St. Louis de la Louisiane, 23 feu., 1708

—————

Sources: For Docs. CLXXX. and CLXXXII., we follow MS. apographs in the archives of St. Mary’s College, Montreal; Doc, CLXXXI. we reprint from Lettres édifiantes et curieuses (Paris, 1810), tome vi., pp. 1-31; in publishing Doc. CLXXXIII., we follow a MS. in the Library of Congress, Washington, D. C. [Page 49]

Letter by Father Mermet, Missionary at Cascas-

kias, to the Jesuits in Canada.

Among the Cascaskias,

This 2nd of march, 1706.

write you news concerning the affairs of the Ilinois, some of which is good and some bad. It is good from this village, except that they threaten to leave us at the first word. It is bad, as regards both spiritual and temporal matters, among the Ilinois of Détroit, — otherwise, the Peoarias, — where Father Gravier nearly lost his life on two occasions, and he is not yet out of danger. It happened thus: In obedience to the menacing orders of Monsieur the Governor, the chiefs appointed one Mantouchensa, — called by the french tête d’Ours [“Bear’s Head”], — as being one of the most notable of the tribe, to go to Monsieur the Governor to account for the death of a soldier named la Giroffé, who had been killed by the Ilinois. He was accompanied by some other Ilinois savages, and went to Michilimakina with Monsieur Desliettes, with the intention of going. down to Montréal.[14] But,: while at Michillimakina, he saw the frightful presents that the timidity of the French caused them to give to the Outaoi’s, — who, as well as the Ilinois, were all to be killed, and he at once took very different measures with the Outaoïs.[15] The latter told him that they were more feared at Montreal than was imagined; and that he should act [Page 51] as they did, and do things that would make him dreaded and redoubtable. These discourses, or the mere sight of the cowardice of the French, and their powerlessness to revenge themselves after the terrible threats of all the tribes — which were, to eat the first one who broke the peace, — induced him to give up the idea of going to Montreal. He resolved to return to his own country, and kill and pillage the black gown and the French, that he might make himself at once redoubtable and rich with their spoils. He sent his comrades away from Michilimakina, with orders to keep in sight the said father and the French who were among the Peouarias. He followed closely upon his countrymen, and no sooner had he reached the village than he related the news, and urged the whole village to sedition. He loudly harangued that a person who took notice of everything, as the black gown did, should not be tolerated; that, after killing these French, they need use no further moderation toward the others; that they must be got rid of, and that the savages must make themselves redoubtable beyond question, in imitation of their neighbors. All these discourses excited their minds to revolt, and, although not all were of that opinion, a great many followed it. Among these was a hot-headed man, who, under the pretext that he had been offered a slight by the Said father, who would not bury one of his deceased relatives in the church, — a favor which the father had granted to no one, and which he was not even able to grant at the time when the deceased person died; for the savage had brought her dead body without taking the trouble to dig a grave, leaving the father to do everything, a thing that has never been done, — this [Page 53] hot-headed man, I say, asserted that since the Father rejected the body of his relative, he would revenge himself therefor. This he did shortly afterward; for, when he met the father in the village, he ran to his Cabin for his bow and arrows, and, without saying a word, shot the father, wounding him dangerously. Two arrows struck his breast, but glanced off; a 3rd tore his ear; the next would have killed him, had it not been for the collar of his cassock, which stopped the arrow-head; the 5th was a deadly shot, for the arrow pierced the arm above the wrist, and penetrated to below the elbow; three streams of blood poured from the opened veins and from the severed artery. The father plucked out the arrow, but the stone head stuck in the sinews near the joint of the elbow, — within, as we suppose. All this sportive affair occurred quietly, without a single illinois trying to stop the furious man. At the first shots, the father asked the Savage: “My son, why do you kill me? What have I done to you?” He knelt to commend himself to God; and at the same time, as soon as the wound was inflicted, the father swam, as it were, in his own blood. A good Samaritan, a stranger in the village, and a renard [Fox] by nation, had compassion on the father. He pressed tightly upon the upper part of the arm, and the artery, from which the blood had spurted freely, allowed only a few drops to escape. Then some praying women ran to the poor Father; and, assisted by the renard, who still retained his strong pressure on the father’s arm, they brought poor father Gravier home. An Ilinois offered to dress the wound, and the father consented; but we saw, from what happened afterward, [Page 55] that the intentions of this physician were no better than those of his brethren. He closed the wound as SOOD as he could; and, as a Frenchman who was there said very truly, he shut up the wolf in the sheepfold, by closing up in the wound the clotted blood that was in it. At first, the father felt some relief from pain; but he afterward paid very dearly for his credulity in having tolerated his physician. Fever was added to his sufferings, and, during the three months while the father remained there, he suffered terribly. He nevertheless made an effort to trace some letters, to inform me of what had happened and resolved to withdraw — while he took steps to keep in communication with some faithful praying savages here. This cannot be done, especially among Savages, without some information of it being given. At the very first Suspicion, they called out in the village that the father must not be allowed to depart; that those who favored his escape were to be killed, and that the french were to be closely watched. At the very first news of this accident, I applied to Rouenza, who gave me 4 young men to go to get the father. Monsieur Berger, who was nearer the Pewarias than we were, had sent thither 14 persons, but they abandoned the task; one only, one of the chief men among them, went to the father, and remained some time, watching over him; but he went home before the father’s departure. One of our 4 young men came back from the Tamarrais to inform us of what they had done; the three others continued their journey, and told the Father that Rouenza had ordered them to die with him. Thus they did not leave him until he reached us at Rouenza’s village, which is called st. [Page 57] Fransois de Xavier, as you are aware. The praying women who took care of the father among the Pewarias also accompanied him. They supplied him with a Canoe, and with what he needed on the journey. The rendezvous was appointed for after Midnight, long before daybreak; but the father was nearly prevented from going, by an accident more unfortunate than the first, As you will see. About Midnight, when rain was falling and the sky very dark, and the father considered the time favorable to his escape, he was greatly surprised on being told that his house was surrounded by 200 Ilinois — who had taken down a portion of his palisade, in order to get in. It was St. Michel, the blacksmith, who was watching with the father; and who, on going out by chance, saw all this great multitude, whose numbers were probably exaggerated by the darkness of the night and by his fears. He did not lose his presence of mind in his fright. He approached and questioned them, asking them: “What do you seek at this hour?” “We are looking for something,” one of them replied.

St. Michel at once reentered the house, and said to the Father: “We are lost; we are beset by 200 Ilinois. Listen to me, my father, while I confess my sins before I die.” Deman, the father’s servant, did the same. Meanwhile the Savages were deliberating as to what they should do; because, as they expected to surprise the father in his house alone, and without witnesses, they were astonished at finding there the blacksmith, who dwelt elsewhere. Hardly had the said frenchmen finished their confession, when 4 or 5 Savage knaves entered arrogantly, as if to speak to the father. But in the [Page 59] meantime St. Michel had pushed through the crowd of besiegers to warn, without loss of time, one of the chiefs, who was rather friendly to the french, of what was going on at the father’s house. The chief came at once with St. Michel, and with some young men among his followers, to the dwelling of the father, who was greatly perplexed about his safety. The sight of the chief disconcerted the assassins, who had intended to kill the father in his own house, But, as they have deference for one another, they did not dare to carry out their design against the will of the last comer, who caused them to be asked what they were looking for. The band dispersed without a word, and swooped down upon St. Michel’s house, which they pillaged. Some hours afterward, the father embarked without loss of time; and shortly before dawn, his Savage and french canoemen under his orders brought him safely here. That was at the end of October, three months after the attack; and, even then, I greatly feared for his life.

The poor father could barely say mass once or twice; he had to be dressed like a child; but afterward his arm swelled more than ever, and he could not use it. He uttered cries night and day, like a man who is being burned; in fact, he felt pains similar to those caused by a scorching fire. His condition excited compassion in me, for I had no means of relieving him. At last I proposed, somewhat rashly, to lance the swelled arm, and he consented. “But,” he said, “you will have to cut very deep with the lancet, to reach the stone arrow- head.” “I am not sufficiently skillful to flatter myself that I can find it, even if you were to point out the place where the pain is most severe; but I [Page 61] hope to give you relief by allowing the pus to flow.” He consents; he exhorts me to perform the operation, and I set to work. I thrust the lancet three times into his arm, fortunately without injuring him, or opening the principal vein, although the lancet was buried to one-half its depth. After this a great quantity of putrid blood, having a very disagreeable odor, escaped, and this gave him relief; but the stone did not appear and we despaired of curing him. How could an inexperienced man, as I was, seek it among the sinews?

Therefore Jacques, dit le Castor,[16] and all the french here agreed with me that he’ should go to Mobile to have his wound attended to, as there are surgeons at that place who know their trade. After much resistance, he yielded to our prayers, and to the kindness of his guide, Bouat, who had been sent by Monsieur Pacaud to Ouabache;[17] he had returned from the sea to go to Canada, and was here when the father arrived from Peouareoua. Bouat did not venture to continue his journey, on account of the insolence of the Ilinois — who, at the very least, would not have failed to plunder him. In despair of being able to get past that barrier, He very kindly came to offer his services to the father to conduct him to Mobile, whence he came; he sold here all his effects, and undertook to conduct the father, and to take care of him. He even came to our house and dressed his wound some days beforehand, and did so with remarkable skill. The father allowed himself to be won by his kindness, and left here for the sea on the 6th of november.

I greatly fear that he will die of his wound, or be crippled by it for the remainder of his life. After [Page 63] one day’s journey, he hesitated as to whether he should not return to see me, instead of continuing his journey; for the pain had greatly diminished, He continued it, nevertheless, with the view of returning as soon as he is cured, in order to die on his first battle-field.

[Endorsed: “Copy of a copy made at Paris, on the 24th of March, 1707.

(Signed) Dauteuil."] [Page 65]

Letter from Father Gabriel Marest, Missionary

of the Society of Jesus, to Father de Lam-

berville of the same Society, Procura-

tor of the Mission of Canada.

y Reverend Father,

The peace of Our Lord.

It is rather late to ask me for news of Hudson’s bay. I was in far better condition to tell you of it when I went back to France on my return from the prisons of Plimouth. All that I can do now is to send you an extract from the little Journal which I wrote at that time, and of which I have kept a copy. It begins with our departure from Quebec, and ends with the return of the two vessels which carried us to that bay. Nevertheless, first allow me to inform you of what I had learned at Quebec — both in regard to the two Jesuits who had made the same voyage before me, and concerning the first discovery of Hudson’s bay.

It is already more than two centuries since Navigators of various Nations undertook to open a new way to China and Japan by the North; and yet none of them have succeeded, God having placed in their way an invincible barrier in the icebergs that are found — in these seas. It was with the same design that in 1611 the famous Hudson, an Englishman, penetrated 500 leagues and more farther north than the others, to the great bay that to-day bears his [Page 67] name, and at which he passed the winter. In the spring of the following year he tried to continue his route; but, provisions beginning to fail him, and diseases having enfeebled his crew, he found himself compelled to return to England. Two years after, he made a second attempt; and in 1614 he pushed on as far as the 82nd degree. He was so many times in danger of perishing there, and he had so much difficulty in retreating, that since that time neither he nor any other has again dared to penetrate so far.

However, the English Merchants, in order to profit by the voyages and discoveries of their fellow- countrymen, have since then made a settlement at Hudson’s bay, and have begun there a trade in furs, with many northern Indians — who during the long summer come, in their pirogues, on the rivers which empty into that bay. At first, the English built only a few houses, that they might pass the winter in them and await the savages. They had much to suffer, and many died there from scurvy. But, as the furs that the savages bring to that bay are very fine, and as the profits on them are great, the English were not deterred by the inclemency of the weather or the severity of the climate. The French of Canada likewise undertook to settle there — claiming that, as many of the neighboring lands are on the same continent as new France, they had the right to trade in them to the 51st degree, and even farther north.[18]