FRANCE AND ENGLAND IN NORTH AMERICA. 

A SERIES OF HISTORICAL NARRATIVES. 

BY FRANCIS PARKMAN

PART SECOND. 

THE JESUITS IN NORTH AMERICA IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY. 

BY FRANCIS PARKMAN

PREFACE. 

Few passages of history are more striking than those which record theefforts of the earlier French Jesuits to convert the Indians. Full asthey are of dramatic and philosophic interest, bearing strongly on thepolitical destinies of America, and closely involved with the history ofits native population, it is wonderful that they have been left so longin obscurity. While the infant colonies of England still clung feebly tothe shores of the Atlantic, events deeply ominous to their future were inprogress, unknown to them, in the very heart of the continent. It willbe seen, in the sequel of this volume, that civil and religious libertyfound strange allies in this Western World. 

The sources of information concerning the early Jesuits of New France arevery copious. During a period of forty years, the Superior of theMission sent, every summer, long and detailed reports, embodying oraccompanied by the reports of his subordinates, to the Provincial of theOrder at Paris, where they were annually published, in duodecimo volumes, forming the remarkable series known as the Jesuit Relations. Though theproductions of men of scholastic training, they are simple and oftencrude in style, as might be expected of narratives hastily written inIndian lodges or rude mission-houses in the forest, amid annoyances andinterruptions of all kinds. In respect to the value of their contents, they are exceedingly unequal. Modest records of marvellous adventuresand sacrifices, and vivid pictures of forest-life, alternate with prolixand monotonous details of the conversion of individual savages, and thepraiseworthy deportment of some exemplary neophyte. With regard to thecondition and character of the primitive inhabitants of North America, it is impossible to exaggerate their value as an authority. I should add, that the closest examination has left me no doubt that these missionarieswrote in perfect good faith, and that the Relations hold a high place asauthentic and trustworthy historical documents. They are very scarce, and no complete collection of them exists in America. The entire serieswas, however, republished, in 1858, by the Canadian government, in threelarge octavo volumes. 

[ Both editions--the old and the new--are cited in the following pages. Where the reference is to the old edition, it is indicated by the name ofthe publisher (Cramoisy), appended to the citation, in brackets. 

In extracts given in the notes, the antiquated orthography andaccentuation are preserved. ]

These form but a part of the surviving writings of the French-AmericanJesuits. Many additional reports, memoirs, journals, and letters, official and private, have come down to us; some of which have recentlybeen printed, while others remain in manuscript. Nearly every prominentactor in the scenes to be described has left his own record of events inwhich he bore part, in the shape of reports to his Superiors or lettersto his friends. I have studied and compared these authorities, as wellas a great mass of collateral evidence, with more than usual care, striving to secure the greatest possible accuracy of statement, and toreproduce an image of the past with photographic clearness and truth. 

The introductory chapter of the volume is independent of the rest; but aknowledge of the facts set forth in it is essential to the fullunderstanding of the narrative which follows. 

In the collection of material, I have received valuable aid fromMr. J. G. Shea, Rev. Felix Martin, S. J. , the Abbes Laverdiere andH. R. Casgrain, Dr. J. C. Tache, and the late Jacques Viger, Esq. 

I propose to devote the next volume of this series to the discovery andoccupation by the French of the Valley of the Mississippi. 

BOSTON, 1st May, 1867. 

CONTENTS. 

INTRODUCTION. 

NATIVE TRIBES. 

 Divisions. --The Algonquins. --The Hurons. --Their Houses. -- Fortifications. --Habits. --Arts. --Women. --Trade. --Festivities. -- Medicine. --The Tobacco Nation. --The Neutrals. --The Eries. -- The Andastes. --The Iroquois. --Social and Political Organization. -- Iroquois Institutions, Customs, and Character. -- Indian Religion and Superstitions. --The Indian Mind. 

CHAPTER I. 

1634. 

NOTRE-DAME DES ANGES. 

 Quebec In 1634. --Father Le Jeune. --The Mission-House. -- Its Domestic Economy. --The Jesuits and their Designs. 

CHAPTER II. 

LOYOLA AND THE JESUITS. 

 Conversion of Loyola. --Foundation of the Society of Jesus. -- Preparation of the Novice. --Characteristics of the Order. -- The Canadian Jesuits. 

CHAPTER III. 

1632, 1633. 

PAUL LE JEUNE. 

 Le Jeune's Voyage. --His First Pupils. --His Studies. -- His Indian Teacher. --Winter at the Mission-house. -- Le Jeune's School. --Reinforcements. 

CHAPTER IV. 

1633, 1634. 

LE JEUNE AND THE HUNTERS. 

 Le Jeune joins the Indians. --The First Encampment. --The Apostate. -- Forest Life in Winter. --The Indian Hut. --The Sorcerer. -- His Persecution of the Priest. --Evil Company. --Magic. -- Incantations. --Christmas. --Starvation. --Hopes of Conversion. -- Backsliding. --Peril and Escape of Le Jeune. --His Return. 

CHAPTER V. 

1633, 1634. 

THE HURON MISSION. 

 Plans of Conversion. --Aims and Motives. --Indian Diplomacy. -- Hurons at Quebec. --Councils. --The Jesuit Chapel. --Le Borgne. -- The Jesuits thwarted. --Their Perseverance. --The Journey to the Hurons. -- Jean de Brebeuf. --The Mission begun. 

CHAPTER VI. 

1634, 1635. 

BREBEUF AND HIS ASSOCIATES. 

 The Huron Mission-house. --Its Inmates. --Its Furniture. --Its Guests. -- The Jesuit as a Teacher. --As an Engineer. --Baptisms. -- Huron Village Life. --Festivities and Sorceries. --The Dream Feast. -- The Priests accused of Magic. --The Drought and the Red Cross. 

CHAPTER VII. 

1636, 1637. 

THE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 

 Huron Graves. --Preparation for the Ceremony. --Disinterment. -- The Mourning. --The Funeral March. --The Great Sepulchre. -- Funeral Games. --Encampment of the Mourners. --Gifts. --Harangues. -- Frenzy of the Crowd. --The Closing Scene. --Another Rite. -- The Captive Iroquois. --The Sacrifice. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

1636, 1637. 

THE HURON AND THE JESUIT. 

 Enthusiasm for the Mission. --Sickness of the Priests. -- The Pest among the Hurons. --The Jesuit on his Rounds. -- Efforts at Conversion. --Priests and Sorcerers. --The Man-Devil. -- The Magician's Prescription. --Indian Doctors and Patients. -- Covert Baptisms. --Self-Devotion of the Jesuits. 

CHAPTER IX. 

1637. 

CHARACTER OF THE CANADIAN JESUITS. 

 Jean de Brebeuf. --Charles Garnier. --Joseph Marie Chaumonot. -- Noel Chabanel. --Isaac Jogues. --Other Jesuits. --Nature of their Faith. -- Supernaturalism. --Visions. --Miracles. 

CHAPTER X. 

1637-1640. 

PERSECUTION. 

 Ossossane. --The New Chapel. --A Triumph of the Faith. -- The Nether Powers. --Signs of a Tempest. --Slanders. -- Rage Against the Jesuits. --Their Boldness and Persistency. -- Nocturnal Council. --Danger of the Priests. --Brebeuf's Letter. -- Narrow Escapes. --Woes and Consolations. 

CHAPTER XI

1638-1640. 

PRIEST AND PAGAN. 

 Du Peron's Journey. --Daily Life of the Jesuits. -- Their Missionary Excursions. --Converts at Ossossane. -- Machinery of Conversion. --Conditions of Baptism. --Backsliders. -- The Converts and their Countrymen. --The Cannibals at St. Joseph. 

CHAPTER XII. 

1639, 1640. 

THE TOBACCO NATION. --THE NEUTRALS. 

 A Change of Plan. --Sainte Marie. --Mission of the Tobacco Nation. -- Winter Journeying. --Reception of the Missionaries. -- Superstitious Terrors. --Peril of Garnier and Jogues. -- Mission of the Neutrals. --Huron Intrigues. --Miracles. -- Fury of the Indians. --Intervention of Saint Michael. -- Return to Sainte Marie. --Intrepidity of the Priests. -- Their Mental Exaltation. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

1636-1646. 

QUEBEC AND ITS TENANTS. 

 The New Governor. --Edifying Examples. --Le Jeune's Correspondents. -- Rank and Devotion. --Nuns. --Priestly Authority. --Condition of Quebec. -- The Hundred Associates. --Church Discipline. --Plays. --Fireworks. -- Processions. --Catechizing. --Terrorism. --Pictures. --The Converts. -- The Society of Jesus. --The Foresters. 

CHAPTER XIV. 

1636-1652. 

DEVOTEES AND NUNS. 

 The Huron Seminary. --Madame de la Peltrie. --Her Pious Schemes. -- Her Sham Marriage. --She visits the Ursulines of Tours. -- Marie de Saint Bernard. --Marie de l'Incarnation. --Her Enthusiasm. -- Her Mystical Marriage. --Her Dejection. --Her Mental Conflicts. -- Her Vision. --Made Superior of the Ursulines. --The Hotel-Dieu. -- The Voyage to Canada. --Sillery. --Labors and Sufferings of the Nuns. -- Character of Marie de l'Incarnation. --Of Madame de la Peltrie. 

CHAPTER XV. 

1636-1642. 

VILLEMARIE DE MONTREAL. 

 Dauversiere and the Voice from Heaven. --Abbe Olier. --Their Schemes. -- The Society of Notre-Dame de Montreal. --Maisonneuve. --Devout Ladies. -- Mademoiselle Mance. --Marguerite Bourgeois. --The Montrealists at Quebec. -- Jealousy. --Quarrels. --Romance and Devotion. --Embarkation. -- Foundation of Montreal. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

1641-1644. 

ISAAC JOGUES. 

 The Iroquois War. --Jogues. --His Capture. --His Journey to the Mohawks. -- Lake George. --The Mohawk Towns. --The Missionary tortured. -- Death of Goupil. --Misery of Jogues. --The Mohawk "Babylon. "-- Fort Orange. --Escape of Jogues. --Manhattan. --The Voyage to France. -- Jogues among his Brethren. --He returns to Canada. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

1641-1646. 

THE IROQUOIS. --BRESSANI. --DE NOUE. 

 War. --Distress and Terror. --Richelieu. --Battle. --Ruin of Indian Tribes. -- Mutual Destruction. --Iroquois and Algonquin. --Atrocities. -- Frightful Position of the French. --Joseph Bressani. --His Capture. -- His Treatment. --His Escape. --Anne de Noue. --His Nocturnal Journey. -- His Death. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

1642-1644. 

VILLEMARIE. 

 Infancy of Montreal. --The Flood. --Vow of Maisonneuve. --Pilgrimage. -- D'Ailleboust. --The Hotel-Dieu. --Piety. --Propagandism. --War. -- Hurons and Iroquois. --Dogs. --Sally of the French. --Battle. -- Exploit of Maisonneuve. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

1644, 1645. 

PEACE. 

 Iroquois Prisoners. --Piskaret. --His Exploits. --More Prisoners. -- Iroquois Embassy. --The Orator. --The Great Council. -- Speeches of Kiotsaton. --Muster of Savages. --Peace confirmed. 

CHAPTER XX. 

1645, 1646. 

THE PEACE BROKEN. 

 Uncertainties. --The Mission of Jogues. --He reaches the Mohawks. -- His Reception. --His Return. --His Second Mission. --Warnings of Danger. -- Rage of the Mohawks. --Murder of Jogues. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

1646, 1647. 

ANOTHER WAR. 

 Mohawk Inroads. --The Hunters of Men. --The Captive Converts. -- The Escape of Marie. --Her Story. --The Algonquin Prisoner's Revenge. -- Her Flight. --Terror of the Colonists. --Jesuit Intrepidity. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

1645-1651. 

PRIEST AND PURITAN. 

 Miscou. --Tadoussac. --Journeys of De Quen. --Druilletes. -- His Winter with the Montagnais. --Influence of the Missions. -- The Abenaquis. --Druilletes on the Kennebec. --His Embassy to Boston. -- Gibbons. --Dudley. --Bradford. --Eliot. --Endicott. -- French and Puritan Colonization. --Failure of Druilletes's Embassy. -- New Regulations. --New-Year's Day at Quebec. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

1645-1648. 

A DOOMED NATION. 

 Indian Infatuation. --Iroquois and Huron. --Huron Triumphs. -- The Captive Iroquois. --His Ferocity and Fortitude. --Partisan Exploits. -- Diplomacy. --The Andastes. --The Huron Embassy. --New Negotiations. -- The Iroquois Ambassador. --His Suicide. --Iroquois Honor. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

1645-1648. 

THE HURON CHURCH. 

 Hopes of the Mission. --Christian and Heathen. --Body and Soul. -- Position of Proselytes. --The Huron Girl's Visit to Heaven. --A Crisis. -- Huron Justice. --Murder and Atonement. --Hopes and Fears. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

1648, 1649. 

SAINTE MARIE. 

 The Centre of the Missions. --Fort. --Convent. --Hospital. --Caravansary. -- Church. --The Inmates of Sainte Marie. --Domestic Economy. --Missions. -- A Meeting of Jesuits. --The Dead Missionary. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

1648. 

ANTOINE DANIEL. 

 Huron Traders. --Battle at Three Rivers. --St. Joseph. -- Onset of the Iroquois. --Death of Daniel. --The Town destroyed. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

1649. 

RUIN OF THE HURONS. 

 St. Louis on Fire. --Invasion. --St. Ignace captured. -- Brebeuf and Lalemant. --Battle at St. Louis. --Sainte Marie threatened. -- Renewed Fighting. --Desperate Conflict. --A Night of Suspense. -- Panic among the Victors. --Burning of St. Ignace. -- Retreat of the Iroquois. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

1649. 

THE MARTYRS. 

 The Ruins of St. Ignace. --The Relics found. --Brebeuf at the Stake. -- His Unconquerable Fortitude. --Lalemant. --Renegade Hurons. -- Iroquois Atrocities. --Death of Brebeuf. --His Character. -- Death of Lalemant. 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

1649, 1650. 

THE SANCTUARY. 

 Dispersion of the Hurons. --Sainte Marie abandoned. --Isle St. Joseph. -- Removal of the Mission. --The New Fort. --Misery of the Hurons. --Famine. -- Epidemic. --Employments of the Jesuits. 

CHAPTER XXX. 

1649. 

GARNIER. --CHABANEL. 

 The Tobacco Missions. --St. Jean attacked. --Death of Garnier. -- The Journey of Chabanel. --His Death. --Garreau and Grelon. 

CHAPTER XXXI. 

1650-1652. 

THE HURON MISSION ABANDONED. 

 Famine and the Tomahawk. --A New Asylum. -- Voyage of the Refugees to Quebec. --Meeting with Bressani. -- Desperate Courage of the Iroquois. --Inroads and Battles. -- Death of Buteux. 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

1650-1866. 

THE LAST OF THE HURONS. 

 Fate of the Vanquished. -- The Refugees of St. Jean Baptiste and St. Michel. -- The Tobacco Nation and Its Wanderings. --The Modern Wyandots. -- The Biter Bit. --The Hurons at Quebec. --Notre-Dame de Lorette. 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

1650-1670. 

THE DESTROYERS. 

 Iroquois Ambition. --Its Victims. --The Fate of the Neutrals. -- The Fate of the Eries. --The War with the Andastes. -- Supremacy of the Iroquois. 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

THE END. 

 Failure of the Jesuits. --What their Success would have involved. -- Future of the Mission. 

INTRODUCTION. 

NATIVE TRIBES. 

 DIVISIONS. --THE ALGONQUINS. --THE HURONS. --THEIR HOUSES. -- FORTIFICATIONS. --HABITS. --ARTS. --WOMEN. --TRADE. --FESTIVITIES. -- MEDICINE. --THE TOBACCO NATION. --THE NEUTRALS. --THE ERIES. -- THE ANDASTES. --THE IROQUOIS. --SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION. -- IROQUOIS INSTITUTIONS, CUSTOMS, AND CHARACTER. -- INDIAN RELIGION AND SUPERSTITIONS. --THE INDIAN MIND. 

America, when it became known to Europeans, was, as it had long been, a scene of wide-spread revolution. North and South, tribe was givingplace to tribe, language to language; for the Indian, hopelesslyunchanging in respect to individual and social development, was, asregarded tribal relations and local haunts, mutable as the wind. InCanada and the northern section of the United States, the elements ofchange were especially active. The Indian population which, in 1535, Cartier found at Montreal and Quebec, had disappeared at the opening ofthe next century, and another race had succeeded, in language and customswidely different; while, in the region now forming the State of New York, a power was rising to a ferocious vitality, which, but for the presenceof Europeans, would probably have subjected, absorbed, or exterminatedevery other Indian community east of the Mississippi and north of theOhio. 

The vast tract of wilderness from the Mississippi to the Atlantic, and from the Carolinas to Hudson's Bay, was divided between two greatfamilies of tribes, distinguished by a radical difference of language. A part of Virginia and of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Southeastern New York, New England, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Lower Canada were occupied, so far as occupied at all, by tribes speaking various Algonquin languagesand dialects. They extended, moreover, along the shores of the UpperLakes, and into the dreary Northern wastes beyond. They held Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana, and detached bands ranged the lonelyhunting-round of Kentucky. 

[ The word Algonquin is here used in its broadest signification. It wasoriginally applied to a group of tribes north of the River St. Lawrence. The difference of language between the original Algonquins and theAbenaquis of New England, the Ojibwas of the Great Lakes, or the Illinoisof the West, corresponded to the difference between French and Italian, or Italian and Spanish. Each of these languages, again, had its dialects, like those of different provinces of France. ]

Like a great island in the midst of the Algonquins lay the country oftribes speaking the generic tongue of the Iroquois. The true Iroquois, or Five Nations, extended through Central New York, from the Hudson tothe Genesee. Southward lay the Andastes, on and near the Susquehanna;westward, the Eries, along the southern shore of Lake Erie, and theNeutral Nation, along its northern shore from Niagara towards theDetroit; while the towns of the Hurons lay near the lake to which theyhave left their name. 

[ To the above general statements there was, in the first half of theseventeenth century, but one exception worth notice. A detached branchof the Dahcotah stock, the Winnebago, was established south of Green Bay, on Lake Michigan, in the midst of Algonquins; and small Dahcotah bandshad also planted themselves on the eastern side of the Mississippi, nearly in the same latitude. 

There was another branch of the Iroquois in the Carolinas, consisting ofthe Tuscaroras and kindred bands. In 1716 they were joined to the FiveNations. ]

Of the Algonquin populations, the densest, despite a recent epidemicwhich had swept them off by thousands, was in New England. Here wereMohicans, Pequots, Narragansetts, Wampanoags, Massachusetts, Penacooks, thorns in the side of the Puritan. On the whole, these savages werefavorable specimens of the Algonquin stock, belonging to that section ofit which tilled the soil, and was thus in some measure spared theextremes of misery and degradation to which the wandering hunter tribeswere often reduced. They owed much, also, to the bounty of the sea, and hence they tended towards the coast; which, before the epidemic, Champlain and Smith had seen at many points studded with wigwams andwaving with harvests of maize. Fear, too, drove, them eastward; for theIroquois pursued them with an inveterate enmity. Some paid yearlytribute to their tyrants, while others were still subject to theirinroads, flying in terror at the sound of the Mohawk war-cry. Westward, the population thinned rapidly; northward, it soon disappeared. NorthernNew Hampshire, the whole of Vermont, and Western Massachusetts had nohuman tenants but the roving hunter or prowling warrior. 

We have said that this group of tribes was relatively very populous; yetit is more than doubtful whether all of them united, had union beenpossible, could have mustered eight thousand fighting men. To speakfurther of them is needless, for they were not within the scope of theJesuit labors. The heresy of heresies had planted itself among them; andit was for the apostle Eliot, not the Jesuit, to essay their conversion. 

[ These Indians, the Armouchiquois of the old French writers, were in astate of chronic war with the tribes of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Champlain, on his voyage of 1603, heard strange accounts of them. The following is literally rendered from the first narrative of thatheroic, but credulous explorer. 

"They are savages of shape altogether monstrous: for their heads aresmall, their bodies short, and their arms thin as a skeleton, as are alsotheir thighs; but their legs are stout and long, and all of one size, and, when they are seated on their heels, their knees rise more than half afoot above their heads, which seems a thing strange and against Nature. Nevertheless, they are active and bold, and they have the best country onall the coast towards Acadia. "--Des Sauvages, f. 84. 

This story may match that of the great city of Norembega, on thePenobscot, with its population of dwarfs, as related by Jean Alphonse. ]

Landing at Boston, three years before a solitude, let the traveller pushnorthward, pass the River Piscataqua and the Penacooks, and cross theRiver Saco. Here, a change of dialect would indicate a different tribe, or group of tribes. These were the Abenaquis, found chiefly along thecourse of the Kennebec and other rivers, on whose banks they raised theirrude harvests, and whose streams they ascended to hunt the moose and bearin the forest desert of Northern Maine, or descended to fish in theneighboring sea. 

[ The Tarratines of New-England writers were the Abenaquis, or a portionof them. ]

Crossing the Penobscot, one found a visible descent in the scale ofhumanity. Eastern Maine and the whole of New Brunswick were occupied bya race called Etchemins, to whom agriculture was unknown, though the sea, prolific of fish, lobsters, and seals, greatly lightened their miseries. The Souriquois, or Micmacs, of Nova Scotia, closely resembled them inhabits and condition. From Nova Scotia to the St. Lawrence, there was nopopulation worthy of the name. From the Gulf of St. Lawrence to LakeOntario, the southern border of the great river had no tenants buthunters. Northward, between the St. Lawrence and Hudson's Bay, roamedthe scattered hordes of the Papinachois, Bersiamites, and others, included by the French under the general name of Montagnais. When, in spring, the French trading-ships arrived and anchored in the port ofTadoussac, they gathered from far and near, toiling painfully through thedesolation of forests, mustering by hundreds at the point of traffic, and setting up their bark wigwams along the strand of that wild harbor. They were of the lowest Algonquin type. Their ordinary sustenance wasderived from the chase; though often, goaded by deadly famine, they wouldsubsist on roots, the bark and buds of trees, or the foulest offal; andin extremity, even cannibalism was not rare among them. 

Ascending the St. Lawrence, it was seldom that the sight of a human formgave relief to the loneliness, until, at Quebec, the roar of Champlain'scannon from the verge of the cliff announced that the savage prologue ofthe American drama was drawing to a close, and that the civilization ofEurope was advancing on the scene. Ascending farther, all was solitude, except at Three Rivers, a noted place of trade, where a few Algonquins ofthe tribe called Atticamegues might possibly be seen. The fear of theIroquois was everywhere; and as the voyager passed some wooded point, or thicket-covered island, the whistling of a stone-headed arrowproclaimed, perhaps, the presence of these fierce marauders. At Montrealthere was no human life, save during a brief space in early summer, when the shore swarmed with savages, who had come to the yearly tradefrom the great communities of the interior. To-day there were dances, songs, and feastings; to-morrow all again was solitude, and the Ottawawas covered with the canoes of the returning warriors. 

Along this stream, a main route of traffic, the silence of the wildernesswas broken only by the splash of the passing paddle. To the north of theriver there was indeed a small Algonquin band, called _La Petite Nation_, together with one or two other feeble communities; but they dwelt farfrom the banks, through fear of the ubiquitous Iroquois. It was nearlythree hundred miles, by the windings of the stream, before one reachedthat Algonquin tribe, _La Nation de l'Isle_, who occupied the great islandof the Allumettes. Then, after many a day of lonely travel, the voyagerfound a savage welcome among the Nipissings, on the lake which bearstheir name; and then circling west and south for a hundred and fiftymiles of solitude, he reached for the first time a people speaking adialect of the Iroquois tongue. Here all was changed. Populous towns, rude fortifications, and an extensive, though barbarous tillage, indicated a people far in advance of the famished wanderers of theSaguenay, or their less abject kindred of New England. These were theHurons, of whom the modern Wyandots are a remnant. Both in themselvesand as a type of their generic stock they demand more than a passingnotice. 

[ The usual confusion of Indian tribal names prevails in the case of theHurons. The following are their synonymes:--

Hurons (of French origin); Ochateguins (Champlain); Attigouantans (thename of one of their tribes, used by Champlain for the whole nation);Ouendat (their true name, according to Lalemant); Yendat, Wyandot, Guyandot (corruptions of the preceding); Ouaouakecinatouek (Potier), Quatogies (Colden). ]

THE HURONS. 

More than two centuries have elapsed since the Hurons vanished from theirancient seats, and the settlers of this rude solitude stand perplexed andwondering over the relics of a lost people. In the damp shadow of whatseems a virgin forest, the axe and plough bring strange secrets to light:huge pits, close packed with skeletons and disjointed bones, mixed withweapons, copper kettles, beads, and trinkets. Not even the stragglingAlgonquins, who linger about the scene of Huron prosperity, can telltheir origin. Yet, on ancient worm-eaten pages, between covers ofbegrimed parchment, the daily life of this ruined community, itsfiresides, its festivals, its funeral rites, are painted with a minuteand vivid fidelity. 

The ancient country of the Hurons is now the northern and eastern portionof Simcoe County, Canada West, and is embraced within the peninsulaformed by the Nottawassaga and Matchedash Bays of Lake Huron, the RiverSevern, and Lake Simcoe. Its area was small, --its populationcomparatively large. In the year 1639 the Jesuits made an enumeration ofall its villages, dwellings, and families. The result showed thirty-twovillages and hamlets, with seven hundred dwellings, about four thousandfamilies, and twelve thousand adult persons, or a total population of atleast twenty thousand. 

[ Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1640, 88 (Cramoisy). His words are, "de feux enuiron deux mille, et enuiron douze mille personnes. " Therewere two families to every fire. That by "personnes" adults only aremeant cannot be doubted, as the Relations abound in incidental evidenceof a total population far exceeding twelve thousand. A Huron familyusually numbered from five to eight persons. The number of the Hurontowns changed from year to year. Champlain and Le Caron in 1615, reckoned them at seventeen or eighteen, with a population of about tenthousand, meaning, no doubt, adults. Brebeuf, in 1635, found twentyvillages, and, as he thinks, thirty thousand souls. Both Le Mercier andDe Quen, as well as Dollier de Casson and the anonymous author of theRelation of 1660, state the population at from thirty to thirty-fivethousand. Since the time of Champlain's visit, various kindred tribes orfragments of tribes had been incorporated with the Hurons, thus more thanbalancing the ravages of a pestilence which had decimated them. ]

The region whose boundaries we have given was an alternation of meadowsand deep forests, interlaced with footpaths leading from town to town. Of these towns, some were fortified, but the greater number were open anddefenceless. They were of a construction common to all tribes ofIroquois lineage, and peculiar to them. Nothing similar exists at thepresent day. [ The permanent bark villages of the Dahcotah of theSt. Peter's are the nearest modern approach to the Huron towns. Thewhole Huron country abounds with evidences of having been occupied by anumerous population. "On a close inspection of the forest, " Dr. Tachewrites to me, "the greatest part of it seems to have been cleared atformer periods, and almost the only places bearing the character of theprimitive forest are the low grounds. " ] They covered a space of fromone to ten acres, the dwellings clustering together with little or nopretension to order. In general, these singular structures were aboutthirty or thirty-five feet in length, breadth, and height; but many weremuch larger, and a few were of prodigious length. In some of thevillages there were dwellings two hundred and forty feet long, though inbreadth and height they did not much exceed the others. [ Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1635, 31. Champlain says that he saw them, in 1615, more than thirty fathoms long; while Vanderdonck reports the length, from actual measurement, of an Iroquois house, at a hundred and eightyyards, or five hundred and forty feet! ] In shape they were much like anarbor overarching a garden-walk. Their frame was of tall and strongsaplings, planted in a double row to form the two sides of the house, bent till they met, and lashed together at the top. To these other poleswere bound transversely, and the whole was covered with large sheets ofthe bark of the oak, elm, spruce, or white cedar, overlapping like theshingles of a roof, upon which, for their better security, split poleswere made fast with cords of linden bark. At the crown of the arch, along the entire length of the house, an opening a foot wide was left forthe admission of light and the escape of smoke. At each end was a closeporch of similar construction; and here were stowed casks of bark, filled with smoked fish, Indian corn, and other stores not liable toinjury from frost. Within, on both sides, were wide scaffolds, four feetfrom the floor, and extending the entire length of the house, like theseats of a colossal omnibus. [ Often, especially among the Iroquois, the internal arrangement was different. The scaffolds or platforms wereraised only a foot from the earthen floor, and were only twelve orthirteen feet long, with intervening spaces, where the occupants storedtheir family provisions and other articles. Five or six feet above wasanother platform, often occupied by children. One pair of platformssufficed for a family, and here during summer they slept pellmell, in the clothes they wore by day, and without pillows. ] These wereformed of thick sheets of bark, supported by posts and transverse poles, and covered with mats and skins. Here, in summer, was the sleeping placeof the inmates, and the space beneath served for storage of theirfirewood. The fires were on the ground, in a line down the middle of thehouse. Each sufficed for two families, who, in winter, slept closelypacked around them. Above, just under the vaulted roof, were a greatnumber of poles, like the perches of a hen-roost, and here were suspendedweapons, clothing, skins, and ornaments. Here, too, in harvest time, the squaws hung the ears of unshelled corn, till the rude abode, throughall its length, seemed decked with a golden tapestry. In general, however, its only lining was a thick coating of soot from the smoke offires with neither draught, chimney, nor window. So pungent was thesmoke, that it produced inflammation of the eyes, attended in old agewith frequent blindness. Another annoyance was the fleas; and a third, the unbridled and unruly children. Privacy there was none. The housewas one chamber, sometimes lodging more than twenty families. 

[ One of the best descriptions of the Huron and Iroquois houses is thatof Sagard, Voyage des Hurons, 118. See also Champlain (1627), 78;Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1635, 31; Vanderdonck, New Netherlands, in N. Y. Hist. Coll. , Second Ser. , I. 196; Lafitau, Moeurs des Sauvages, II. 10. The account given by Cartier of the houses he saw at Montrealcorresponds with the above. He describes them as about fifty yards long. In this case, there were partial partitions for the several families, and a sort of loft above. Many of the Iroquois and Huron houses were ofsimilar construction, the partitions being at the sides only, leaving awide passage down the middle of the house. Bartram, Observations on aJourney from Pennsylvania to Canada, gives a description and plan of theIroquois Council-House in 1751, which was of this construction. Indeed, the Iroquois preserved this mode of building, in all essential points, down to a recent period. They usually framed the sides of their houseson rows of upright posts, arched with separate poles for the roof. The Hurons, no doubt, did the same in their larger structures. For adoor, there was a sheet of bark hung on wooden hinges, or suspended bycords from above. 

On the site of Huron towns which were destroyed by fire, the size, shape, and arrangement of the houses can still, in some instances, be traced byremains in the form of charcoal, as well as by the charred bones andfragments of pottery found among the ashes. 

Dr. Tache, after a zealous and minute examination of the Huron country, extended through five years, writes to me as follows. "From the remainsI have found, I can vouch for the scrupulous correctness of our ancientwriters. With the aid of their indications and descriptions, I have beenable to detect the sites of villages in the midst of the forest, and bytime study, in situ, of archaeological monuments, small as they are, to understand and confirm their many interesting details of the habits, and especially the funeral rites, of these extraordinary tribes. " ]

He who entered on a winter night beheld a strange spectacle: the vista offires lighting the smoky concave; the bronzed groups encirclingeach, --cooking, eating, gambling, or amusing themselves with idlebadinage; shrivelled squaws, hideous with threescore years of hardship;grisly old warriors, scarred with Iroquois war-clubs; young aspirants, whose honors were yet to be won; damsels gay with ochre and wampum;restless children pellmell with restless dogs. Now a tongue of resinousflame painted each wild feature in vivid light; now the fitful gleamexpired, and the group vanished from sight, as their nation has vanishedfrom history. 

The fortified towns of the Hurons were all on the side exposed toIroquois incursions. The fortifications of all this family of tribeswere, like their dwellings, in essential points alike. A situation waschosen favorable to defence, --the bank of a lake, the crown of adifficult hill, or a high point of land in the fork of confluent rivers. A ditch, several feet deep, was dug around the village, and the earththrown up on the inside. Trees were then felled by an alternate processof burning and hacking the burnt part with stone hatchets, and by similarmeans were cut into lengths to form palisades. These were planted on theembankment, in one, two, three, or four concentric rows, --those of eachrow inclining towards those of the other rows until they intersected. The whole was lined within, to the height of a man, with heavy sheets ofbark; and at the top, where the palisades crossed, was a gallery oftimber for the defenders, together with wooden gutters, by which streamsof water could be poured down on fires kindled by the enemy. Magazinesof stones, and rude ladders for mounting the rampart, completed theprovision for defence. The forts of the Iroquois were stronger and moreelaborate than those of the Hurons; and to this day large districts inNew York are marked with frequent remains of their ditches andembankments. 

[ There is no mathematical regularity in these works. In their form, the builders were guided merely by the nature of the ground. Frequentlya precipice or river sufficed for partial defence, and the line ofembankment occurs only on one or two sides. In one instance, distincttraces of a double line of palisades are visible along the embankment. (See Squier, Aboriginal Monuments of New York, 38. ) It is probable thatthe palisade was planted first, and the earth heaped around it. Indeed, this is stated by the Tuscarora Indian, Cusick, in his curious History ofthe Six Nations (Iroquois). Brebeuf says, that as early as 1636 theJesuits taught the Hurons to build rectangular palisaded works, withbastions. The Iroquois adopted the same practice at an early period, omitting the ditch and embankment; and it is probable, that, even intheir primitive defences, the palisades, where the ground was of a natureto yield easily to their rude implements, were planted simply in holesdug for the purpose. Such seems to have been the Iroquois fortressattacked by Champlain in 1615. 

The Muscogees, with other Southern tribes, and occasionally theAlgonquins, had palisaded towns; but the palisades were usually but asingle row, planted upright. The tribes of Virginia occasionallysurrounded their dwellings with a triple palisade. --Beverly, History ofVirginia, 149. ]

Among these tribes there was no individual ownership of land, but eachfamily had for the time exclusive right to as much as it saw fit tocultivate. The clearing process--a most toilsome one--consisted inhacking off branches, piling them together with brushwood around the footof the standing trunks, and setting fire to the whole. The squaws, working with their hoes of wood and bone among the charred stumps, sowed their corn, beans, pumpkins, tobacco, sunflowers, and Huron hemp. No manure was used; but, at intervals of from ten to thirty years, when the soil was exhausted, and firewood distant, the village wasabandoned and a new one built. 

There was little game in the Huron country; and here, as among theIroquois, the staple of food was Indian corn, cooked without salt in avariety of forms, each more odious than the last. Venison was a luxuryfound only at feasts; dog-flesh was in high esteem; and, in some of thetowns captive bears were fattened for festive occasions. These tribeswere far less improvident than the roving Algonquins, and stores ofprovision were laid up against a season of want. Their main stock ofcorn was buried in _caches_, or deep holes in the earth, either withinor without the houses. 

In respect to the arts of life, all these stationary tribes were inadvance of the wandering hunters of the North. The women made a speciesof earthen pot for cooking, but these were supplanted by the copperkettles of the French traders. They wove rush mats with no little skill. They spun twine from hemp, by the primitive process of rolling it ontheir thighs; and of this twine they made nets. They extracted oil fromfish and from the seeds of the sunflower, --the latter, apparently, only for the purposes of the toilet. They pounded their maize in hugemortars of wood, hollowed by alternate burnings and scrapings. Theirstone axes, spear and arrow heads, and bone fish-hooks, were fast givingplace to the iron of the French; but they had not laid aside theirshields of raw bison-hide, or of wood overlaid with plaited and twistedthongs of skin. They still used, too, their primitive breastplates andgreaves of twigs interwoven with cordage. [ Some of the northern tribesof California, at the present day, wear a sort of breastplate "composedof thin parallel battens of very tough wood, woven together with a smallcord. " ] The masterpiece of Huron handiwork, however, was the birchcanoe, in the construction of which the Algonquins were no less skilful. The Iroquois, in the absence of the birch, were forced to use the bark ofthe elm, which was greatly inferior both in lightness and strength. Of pipes, than which nothing was more important in their eyes, the Huronsmade a great variety, some of baked clay, others of various kinds ofstone, carved by the men, during their long periods of monotonous leisure, often with great skill and ingenuity. But their most mysterious fabricwas wampum. This was at once their currency, their ornament, their pen, ink, and parchment; and its use was by no means confined to tribes of theIroquois stock. It consisted of elongated beads, white and purple, made from the inner part of certain shells. It is not easy to conceivehow, with their rude implements, the Indians contrived to shape andperforate this intractable material. The art soon fell into disuse, however; for wampum better than their own was brought them by the traders, besides abundant imitations in glass and porcelain. Strung intonecklaces, or wrought into collars, belts, and bracelets, it was thefavorite decoration of the Indian girls at festivals and dances. Itserved also a graver purpose. No compact, no speech, or clause of aspeech, to the representative of another nation, had any force, unlessconfirmed by the delivery of a string or belt of wampum. [ Beaver-skinsand other valuable furs were sometimes, on such occasions, used as asubstitute. ] The belts, on occasions of importance, were wrought intosignificant devices, suggestive of the substance of the compact or speech, and designed as aids to memory. To one or more old men of the nation wasassigned the honorable, but very onerous, charge of keepers of thewampum, --in other words, of the national records; and it was for them toremember and interpret the meaning of the belts. The figures onwampum-belts were, for the most part, simply mnemonic. So also werethose carved on wooden tablets, or painted on bark and skin, to preservein memory the songs of war, hunting, or magic. [ Engravings of manyspecimens of these figured songs are given in the voluminous reports onthe condition of the Indians, published by Government, under theeditorship of Mr. Schoolcraft. The specimens are chiefly Algonquin. ]The Hurons had, however, in common with other tribes, a system of rudepictures and arbitrary signs, by which they could convey to each other, with tolerable precision, information touching the ordinary subjects ofIndian interest. 

Their dress was chiefly of skins, cured with smoke after the well-knownIndian mode. That of the women, according to the Jesuits, was moremodest than that "of our most pious ladies of France. " The young girlson festal occasions must be excepted from this commendation, as they woremerely a kilt from the waist to the knee, besides the wampum decorationsof the breast and arms. Their long black hair, gathered behind the neck, was decorated with disks of native copper, or gay pendants made in France, and now occasionally unearthed in numbers from their graves. The men, in summer, were nearly naked, --those of a kindred tribe wholly so, with the sole exception of their moccasins. In winter they were clad intunics and leggins of skin, and at all seasons, on occasions of ceremony, were wrapped from head to foot in robes of beaver or otter furs, sometimes of the greatest value. On the inner side, these robes weredecorated with painted figures and devices, or embroidered with the dyedquills of the Canada hedgehog. In this art of embroidery, however, the Hurons were equalled or surpassed by some of the Algonquin tribes. They wore their hair after a variety of grotesque and startling fashions. With some, it was loose on one side, and tight braided on the other; withothers, close shaved, leaving one or more long and cherished locks; while, with others again, it bristled in a ridge across the crown, like the backof a hyena. [ See Le Jeune, Relation, 1638, 35. --"Quelles hures!"exclaimed some astonished Frenchman. Hence the name, Hurons. ] When infull dress, they were painted with ochre, white clay, soot, and the redjuice of certain berries. They practised tattooing, sometimes coveringthe whole body with indelible devices. [ Bressani, Relation Abregee, 72. --Champlain has a picture of a warrior thus tattooed. ] When of suchextent, the process was very severe; and though no murmur escaped thesufferer, he sometimes died from its effects. 

Female life among the Hurons had no bright side. It was a youth oflicense, an age of drudgery. Despite an organization which, while itperhaps made them less sensible of pain, certainly made them lesssusceptible of passion, than the higher races of men, the Hurons werenotoriously dissolute, far exceeding in this respect the wandering andstarving Algonquins. [ 1 ] Marriage existed among them, and polygamy wasexceptional; but divorce took place at the will or caprice of eitherparty. A practice also prevailed of temporary or experimental marriage, lasting a day, a week, or more. The seal of the compact was merely theacceptance of a gift of wampum made by the suitor to the object of hisdesire or his whim. These gifts were never returned on the dissolutionof the connection; and as an attractive and enterprising damsel might, and often did, make twenty such marriages before her final establishment, she thus collected a wealth of wampum with which to adorn herself for thevillage dances. [ 2 ] This provisional matrimony was no bar to a licenseboundless and apparently universal, unattended with loss of reputation oneither side. Every instinct of native delicacy quickly vanished underthe influence of Huron domestic life; eight or ten families, and oftenmore, crowded into one undivided house, where privacy was impossible, and where strangers were free to enter at all hours of the day or night. 

[ 1 Among the Iroquois there were more favorable features in thecondition of women. The matrons had often a considerable influence onthe decisions of the councils. Lafitau, whose book appeared in 1724, says that the nation was corrupt in his time, but that this was adegeneracy from their ancient manners. La Potherie and Charlevoix make asimilar statement. Megapolensis, however, in 1644, says that they werethen exceedingly debauched; and Greenhalgh, in 1677, gives ample evidenceof a shameless license. One of their most earnest advocates of thepresent day admits that the passion of love among them had no other thanan animal existence. (Morgan, League of the Iroquois, 322. ) There isclear proof that the tribes of the South were equally corrupt. (SeeLawson, Carolina, 34, and other early writers. ) On the other hand, chastity in women was recognized as a virtue by many tribes. This waspeculiarly the case among the Algonquins of Gaspe, where a lapse in thisregard was counted a disgrace. (See Le Clerc, Nouvelle Relation de laGaspesie, 417, where a contrast is drawn between the modesty of the girlsof this region and the open prostitution practised among those of othertribes. ) Among the Sioux, adultery on the part of a woman is punished bymutilation. 

The remarkable forbearance observed by Eastern and Northern tribestowards female captives was probably the result of a superstition. Notwithstanding the prevailing license, the Iroquois and other tribes hadamong themselves certain conventional rules which excited the admirationof the Jesuit celibates. Some of these had a superstitious origin;others were in accordance with the iron requirements of their savageetiquette. To make the Indian a hero of romance is mere nonsense. ]

[ 2 "Il s'en trouue telle qui passe ainsi sa ieunesse, qui aura en plusde vingt maris, lesquels vingt maris ne sont pas seuls en la jouyssancede la beste, quelques mariez qu'ils soient: car la nuict venue, lasieunes femmes courent d'une cabane en une autre, come font les ieuneshommes de leur coste, qui en prennent par ou bon leur semble, toutesfoissans violence aucune, et n'en recoiuent aucune infamie, ny injure, la coustume du pays estant telle. "--Champlain (1627), 90. Compare Sagard, Voyage des Hurons, 176. Both were personal observers. 

The ceremony, even of the most serious marriage, consisted merely in thebride's bringing a dish of boiled maize to the bridegroom, together withan armful of fuel. There was often a feast of the relatives, or of thewhole village. ]

Once a mother, and married with a reasonable permanency, the Huron womanfrom a wanton became a drudge. In March and April she gathered theyear's supply of firewood. Then came sowing, tilling, and harvesting, smoking fish, dressing skins, making cordage and clothing, preparingfood. On the march it was she who bore the burden; for, in the words ofChamplain, "their women were their mules. " The natural effect followed. In every Huron town were shrivelled hags, hideous and despised, who, in vindictiveness, ferocity, and cruelty, far exceeded the men. 

To the men fell the task of building the houses, and making weapons, pipes, and canoes. For the rest, their home-life was a life of leisureand amusement. The summer and autumn were their seasons of seriousemployment, --of war, hunting, fishing, and trade. There was anestablished system of traffic between the Hurons and the Algonquins ofthe Ottawa and Lake Nipissing: the Hurons exchanging wampum, fishing-nets, and corn for fish and furs. [ Champlain (1627), 84. ] From variousrelics found in their graves, it may be inferred that they also tradedwith tribes of the Upper Lakes, as well as with tribes far southward, towards the Gulf of Mexico. Each branch of traffic was the monopoly ofthe family or clan by whom it was opened. They might, if they could, punish interlopers, by stripping them of all they possessed, unless thelatter had succeeded in reaching home with the fruits of their trade, --inwhich case the outraged monopolists had no further right of redress, and could not attempt it without a breaking of the public peace, andexposure to the authorized vengeance of the other party. [ Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1636, 168 (Cramoisy). ] Their fisheries, too, were regulated by customs having the force of laws. These pursuits, with their hunting, --in which they were aided by a wolfish breed of dogsunable to bark, --consumed the autumn and early winter; but before the newyear the greater part of the men were gathered in their villages. 

Now followed their festal season; for it was the season of idleness forthe men, and of leisure for the women. Feasts, gambling, smoking, and dancing filled the vacant hours. Like other Indians, the Hurons weredesperate gamblers, staking their all, --ornaments, clothing, canoes, pipes, weapons, and wives. One of their principal games was played withplum-stones, or wooden lozenges, black on one side and white on theother. These were tossed up in a wooden bowl, by striking it sharplyupon the ground, and the players betted on the black or white. Sometimesa village challenged a neighboring village. The game was played in oneof the houses. Strong poles were extended from side to side, and onthese sat or perched the company, party facing party, while two playersstruck the bowl on the ground between. Bets ran high; and Brebeufrelates, that once, in midwinter, with the snow nearly three feet deep, the men of his village returned from a gambling visit, bereft of theirleggins, and barefoot, yet in excellent humor. [ Brebeuf, Relation desHurons, 1636, 113. --This game is still a favorite among the Iroquois, some of whom hold to the belief that they will play it after death in therealms of bliss. In all their important games of chance, they employedcharms, incantations, and all the resources of their magical art, to gaingood luck. ] Ludicrous as it may appear, these games were often medicalprescriptions, and designed as a cure of the sick. 

Their feasts and dances were of various character, social, medical, and mystical or religious. Some of their feasts were on a scale ofextravagant profusion. A vain or ambitious host threw all his substanceinto one entertainment, inviting the whole village, and perhaps severalneighboring villages also. In the winter of 1635 there was a feast atthe village of Contarrea, where thirty kettles were on the fires, andtwenty deer and four bears were served up. [ Brebeuf, Relation desHurons, 1636, 111. ] The invitation was simple. The messenger addressedthe desired guest with the concise summons, "Come and eat"; and to refusewas a grave offence. He took his dish and spoon, and repaired to thescene of festivity. Each, as he entered, greeted his host with theguttural ejaculation, Ho! and ranged himself with the rest, squatted onthe earthen floor or on the platform along the sides of the house. The kettles were slung over the fires in the midst. First, there was along prelude of lugubrious singing. Then the host, who took no share inthe feast, proclaimed in a loud voice the contents of each kettle in turn, and at each announcement the company responded in unison, Ho! Theattendant squaws filled with their ladles the bowls of all the guests. There was talking, laughing, jesting, singing, and smoking; and at timesthe entertainment was protracted through the day. 

When the feast had a medical or mystic character, it was indispensablethat each guest should devour the whole of the portion given him, howeverenormous. Should he fail, the host would be outraged, the communityshocked, and the spirits roused to vengeance. Disaster would befall thenation, --death, perhaps, the individual. In some cases, the imaginedefficacy of the feast was proportioned to the rapidity with which theviands were despatched. Prizes of tobacco were offered to the most rapidfeeder; and the spectacle then became truly porcine. [ This superstitionwas not confined to the Hurons, but extended to many other tribes, including, probably, all the Algonquins, with some of which it holds infull force to this day. A feaster, unable to do his full part, might, if he could, hire another to aid him; otherwise, he must remain in hisplace till the work was done. ] These _festins a manger tout_ were muchdreaded by many of the Hurons, who, however, were never known to declinethem. 

Invitation to a dance was no less concise than to a feast. Sometimes acrier proclaimed the approaching festivity through the village. Thehouse was crowded. Old men, old women, and children thronged theplatforms, or clung to the poles which supported the sides and roof. Fires were raked out, and the earthen floor cleared. Two chiefs sang atthe top of their voices, keeping time to their song with tortoise-shellrattles. [ 1 ] The men danced with great violence and gesticulation;the women, with a much more measured action. The former were nearlydivested of clothing, --in mystical dances, sometimes wholly so; and, from a superstitious motive, this was now and then the case with the women. Both, however, were abundantly decorated with paint, oil, beads, wampum, trinkets, and feathers. 

[ 1 Sagard gives specimens of their songs. In both dances and feaststhere was no little variety. These were sometimes combined. It isimpossible, in brief space, to indicate more than their general features. In the famous "war-dance, "--which was frequently danced, as it still is, for amusement, --speeches, exhortations, jests, personal satire, andrepartee were commonly introduced as a part of the performance, sometimesby way of patriotic stimulus, sometimes for amusement. The music in thiscase was the drum and the war-song. Some of the other dances were alsointerspersed with speeches and sharp witticisms, always taken in goodpart, though Lafitau says that he has seen the victim so pitilesslybantered that he was forced to hide his head in his blanket. ]

Religious festivals, councils, the entertainment of an envoy, theinauguration of a chief, were all occasions of festivity, in which socialpleasure was joined with matter of grave import, and which at timesgathered nearly all the nation into one great and harmonious concourse. Warlike expeditions, too, were always preceded by feasting, at which thewarriors vaunted the fame of their ancestors, and their own past andprospective exploits. A hideous scene of feasting followed the tortureof a prisoner. Like the torture itself, it was, among the Hurons, partly an act of vengeance, and partly a religious rite. If the victimhad shown courage, the heart was first roasted, cut into small pieces, and given to the young men and boys, who devoured it to increase theirown courage. The body was then divided, thrown into the kettles, andeaten by the assembly, the head being the portion of the chief. Many ofthe Hurons joined in the feast with reluctance and horror, while otherstook pleasure in it. [ 1 ] This was the only form of cannibalism amongthem, since, unlike the wandering Algonquins, they were rarely under thedesperation of extreme famine. 

[ 1 "Il y en a qui en mangent auec plaisir. "--Brebeuf, Relation desHurons, 1636, 121. --Le Mercier gives a description of one of these scenes, at which he was present. (Ibid. , 1637, 118. ) The same horrible practiceprevailed to a greater extent among the Iroquois. One of the mostremarkable instances of Indian cannibalism is that furnished by a Westerntribe, the Miamis, among whom there was a clan, or family, whosehereditary duty and privilege it was to devour the bodies of prisonersburned to death. The act had somewhat of a religious character, wasattended with ceremonial observances, and was restricted to the family inquestion. --See Hon. Lewis Cass, in the appendix to Colonel Whiting's poem, "Ontwa. " ]

A great knowledge of simples for the cure of disease is popularlyascribed to the Indian. Here, however, as elsewhere, his knowledge is infact scanty. He rarely reasons from cause to effect, or from effect tocause. Disease, in his belief, is the result of sorcery, the agency ofspirits or supernatural influences, undefined and indefinable. TheIndian doctor was a conjurer, and his remedies were to the last degreepreposterous, ridiculous, or revolting. The well-known Indian sweating-bath is the most prominent of the few means of cure based on agenciessimply physical; and this, with all the other natural remedies, wasapplied, not by the professed doctor, but by the sufferer himself, or his friends. 

[ The Indians had many simple applications for wounds, said to have beenvery efficacious; but the purity of their blood, owing to the absencefrom their diet of condiments and stimulants, as well as to their activehabits, aided the remedy. In general, they were remarkably exempt fromdisease or deformity, though often seriously injured by alternations ofhunger and excess. The Hurons sometimes died from the effects of their_festins a manger tout_. ]

The Indian doctor beat, shook, and pinched his patient, howled, whooped, rattled a tortoise-shell at his ear to expel the evil spirit, bit himtill blood flowed, and then displayed in triumph a small piece of wood, bone, or iron, which he had hidden in his mouth, and which he affirmedwas the source of the disease, now happily removed. [ 1 ] Sometimes heprescribed a dance, feast, or game; and the whole village bestirredthemselves to fulfil the injunction to the letter. They gambled awaytheir all; they gorged themselves like vultures; they danced or playedball naked among the snow-drifts from morning till night. At a medicalfeast, some strange or unusual act was commonly enjoined as vital to thepatient's cure: as, for example, the departing guest, in place of thecustomary monosyllable of thanks, was required to greet his host with anugly grimace. Sometimes, by prescription, half the village would thronginto the house where the patient lay, led by old women disguised with theheads and skins of bears, and beating with sticks on sheets of dry bark. Here the assembly danced and whooped for hours together, with a din towhich a civilized patient would promptly have succumbed. Sometimes thedoctor wrought himself into a prophetic fury, raving through the lengthand breadth of the dwelling, snatching firebrands and flinging them abouthim, to the terror of the squaws, with whom, in their combustibletenements, fire was a constant bugbear. 

[ 1 The Hurons believed that the chief cause of disease and death was amonstrous serpent, that lived under the earth. By touching a tuft ofhair, a feather, or a fragment of bone, with a portion of his flesh orfat, the sorcerer imparted power to it of entering the body of his victim, and gradually killing him. It was an important part of the doctor'sfunction to extract these charms from the vitals of his patient. --Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1648, 75. ]

Among the Hurons and kindred tribes, disease was frequently ascribed tosome hidden wish ungratified. Hence the patient was overwhelmed withgifts, in the hope, that, in their multiplicity, the desideratum might besupplied. Kettles, skins, awls, pipes, wampum, fish-hooks, weapons, objects of every conceivable variety, were piled before him by a host ofcharitable contributors and if, as often happened, a dream, the Indianoracle, had revealed to the sick man the secret of his cure, his demandswere never refused, however extravagant, idle, nauseous, or abominable. [ 1 ] Hence it is no matter of wonder that sudden illness and suddencures were frequent among the Hurons. The patient reaped profit, and the doctor both profit and honor. 

[ 1 "Dans le pays de nos Hurons, il se faict aussi des assemblees detoutes les filles d'vn bourg aupres d'vne malade, tant a sa priere, suyuant la resuerie ou le songe qu'elle en aura eue, que par l'ordonnancede Loki (the doctor), pour sa sante et guerison. Les filles ainsiassemblees, on leur demande a toutes, les vnes apres les autres, celuyqu'elles veulent des ieunes hommes du bourg pour dormir auec elles lanuict prochaine: elles en nomment chacune vn, qui sont aussi-tostaduertis par les Maistres de la ceremonie, lesquels viennent tous au soiren la presence de la malade dormir chacun auec celle qui l'a choysi, d'vn bout a l'autre de la Cabane et passent ainsi toute la nuict, pendantque deux Capitaines aux deux bouts du logis chantent et sonnent de leurTortue du soir au lendemain matin, que la ceremonie cesse. Dieu vueilleabolir vne si damnable et malheureuse ceremonie. "--Sagard, Voyage desHurons, 158. --This unique mode of cure, which was called Andacwandet, is also described by Lalemant, who saw it. (Relation des Hurons, 1639, 84. ) It was one of the recognized remedies. 

For the medical practices of the Hurons, see also Champlain, Brebeuf, Lafitau, Charlevoix, and other early writers. Those of the Algonquinswere in some points different. The doctor often consulted the spirits, to learn the cause and cure of the disease, by a method peculiar to thatfamily of tribes. He shut himself in a small conical lodge, and thespirits here visited him, manifesting their presence by a violent shakingof the whole structure. This superstition will be described in anotherconnection. ]

THE HURON-IROQUOIS FAMILY. 

And now, before entering upon the very curious subject of Indian socialand tribal organization, it may be well briefly to observe the positionand prominent distinctive features of the various communities speakingdialects of the generic tongue of the Iroquois. In this remarkablefamily of tribes occur the fullest developments of Indian character, and the most conspicuous examples of Indian intelligence. If the highertraits popularly ascribed to the race are not to be found here, they areto be found nowhere. A palpable proof of the superiority of this stockis afforded in the size of the Iroquois and Huron brains. In averageinternal capacity of the cranium, they surpass, with few and doubtfulexceptions, all other aborigines of North and South America, notexcepting the civilized races of Mexico and Peru. 

[ "On comparing five Iroquois heads, I find that they give an averageinternal capacity of eighty-eight cubic inches, which is within twoinches of the Caucasian mean. "--Morton, Crania Americana, 195. --It isremarkable that the internal capacity of the skulls of the barbarousAmerican tribes is greater than that of either the Mexicans or thePeruvians. "The difference in volume is chiefly confined to theoccipital and basal portions, "--in other words, to the region of theanimal propensities; and hence, it is argued, the ferocious, brutal, and uncivilizable character of the wild tribes. --See J. S. Phillips, Admeasurements of Crania of the Principal Groups of Indians in the UnitedStates. ]

In the woody valleys of the Blue Mountains, south of the Nottawassaga Bayof Lake Huron, and two days' journey west of the frontier Huron towns, lay the nine villages of the Tobacco Nation, or Tionnontates. [ Synonymes: Tionnontates, Etionontates, Tuinontatek, Dionondadies, Khionontaterrhonons, Petuneux or Nation du Petun (Tobacco). ] In manners, as in language, they closely resembled the Hurons. Of old they weretheir enemies, but were now at peace with them, and about the year 1640became their close confederates. Indeed, in the ruin which befell thathapless people, the Tionnontates alone retained a tribal organization;and their descendants, with a trifling exception, are to this day thesole inheritors of the Huron or Wyandot name. Expatriated and wandering, they held for generations a paramount influence among the Western tribes. [ "L'ame de tous les Conseils. "--Charlevoix, Voyage, 199. --In 1763 theywere Pontiac's best warriors. ] In their original seats among the BlueMountains, they offered an example extremely rare among Indians, of atribe raising a crop for the market; for they traded in tobacco largelywith other tribes. Their Huron confederates, keen traders, would notsuffer them to pass through their country to traffic with the French, preferring to secure for themselves the advantage of bartering with themin French goods at an enormous profit. 

[ On the Tionnontates, see Le Mercier, Relation, 1637, 163; Lalemant, Relation, 1641, 69; Ragueneau, Relation, 1648, 61. An excellent summaryof their character and history, by Mr. Shea, will be found in Hist. Mag. , V. 262. ]

Journeying southward five days from the Tionnontate towns, the foresttraveller reached the border villages of the Attiwandarons, or NeutralNation. [ Attiwandarons, Attiwendaronk, Atirhagenrenrets, Rhagenratka(Jesuit Relations), Attionidarons (Sagard). They, and not the Eries, were the Kahkwas of Seneca tradition. ] As early as 1626, they werevisited by the Franciscan friar, La Roche Dallion, who reports a numerouspopulation in twenty-eight towns, besides many small hamlets. Theircountry, about forty leagues in extent, embraced wide and fertiledistricts on the north shore of Lake Erie, and their frontier extendedeastward across the Niagara, where they had three or four outlying towns. [ Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1641, 71. --The Niagara was then calledthe River of the Neutrals, or the Onguiaahra. Lalemant estimates theNeutral population, in 1640, at twelve thousand, in forty villages. ]Their name of Neutrals was due to their neutrality in the war between theHurons and the Iroquois proper. The hostile warriors, meeting in aNeutral cabin, were forced to keep the peace, though, once in the openair, the truce was at an end. Yet this people were abundantly ferocious, and, while holding a pacific attitude betwixt their warring kindred, waged deadly strife with the Mascoutins, an Algonquin horde beyond LakeMichigan. Indeed, it was but recently that they had been at blows withseventeen Algonquin tribes. [ Lettre du Pere La Roche Dallion, 8 Juillet, 1627, in Le Clerc, Etablissement de la Foy, I. 346. ] They burned femaleprisoners, a practice unknown to the Hurons. [ Women were often burnedby the Iroquois: witness the case of Catherine Mercier in 1661, and manycases of Indian women mentioned by the early writers. ] Their countrywas full of game and they were bold and active hunters. In form andstature they surpassed even the Hurons, whom they resembled in their modeof life, and from whose language their own, though radically similar, was dialectically distinct. Their licentiousness was even more open andshameless; and they stood alone in the extravagance of some of theirusages. They kept their dead in their houses till they becameinsupportable; then scraped the flesh from the bones, and displayed themin rows along the walls, there to remain till the periodical Feast of theDead, or general burial. In summer, the men wore no clothing whatever, but were usually tattooed from head to foot with powdered charcoal. 

The sagacious Hurons refused them a passage through their country to theFrench; and the Neutrals apparently had not sense or reflection enough totake the easy and direct route of Lake Ontario, which was probably opento them, though closed against the Hurons by Iroquois enmity. Thus theformer made excellent profit by exchanging French goods at high rates forthe valuable furs of the Neutrals. 

[ The Hurons became very jealous, when La Roche Dallion visited theNeutrals, lest a direct trade should be opened between the latter and theFrench, against whom they at once put in circulation a variety ofslanders: that they were a people who lived on snakes and venom; thatthey were furnished with tails; and that French women, though having butone breast, bore six children at a birth. The missionary nearly lost hislife in consequence, the Neutrals conceiving the idea that he wouldinfect their country with a pestilence. --La Roche Dallion, in Le Clerc, I. 346. ]

Southward and eastward of Lake Erie dwelt a kindred people, the Eries, or Nation of the Cat. Little besides their existence is known of them. They seem to have occupied Southwestern New York as far east as theGenesee, the frontier of the Senecas, and in habits and language to haveresembled the Hurons. [ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1648, 46. ]They were noted warriors, fought with poisoned arrows, and were long aterror to the neighboring Iroquois. 

[ Le Mercier, Relation, 1654, 10. --"Nous les appellons la Nation Chat, a cause qu'il y a dans leur pais vne quantite prodigieuse de Chatssauuages. "--Ibid. --The Iroquois are said to have given the same name, Jegosasa, Cat Nation, to the Neutrals. --Morgan, League of the Iroquois, 41. 

Synonymes: Eries, Erigas, Eriehronon, Riguehronon. The Jesuits neverhad a mission among them, though they seem to have been visited byChamplain's adventurous interpreter, Etienne Brule, in the summer of1615. --They are probably the Carantouans of Champlain. ]

On the Lower Susquehanna dwelt the formidable tribe called by the FrenchAndastes. Little is known of them, beyond their general resemblance totheir kindred, in language, habits, and character. Fierce and resolutewarriors, they long made head against the Iroquois of New York, and werevanquished at last more by disease than by the tomahawk. 

[ Gallatin erroneously places the Andastes on the Alleghany, Bancroft andothers adopting the error. The research of Mr. Shea has shown theiridentity with the Susquehannocks of the English, and the Minquas of theDutch. --See Hist. Mag. , II. 294. 

Synonymes: Andastes, Andastracronnons, Andastaeronnons, Andastaguez, Antastoui (French), Susquehannocks (English), Mengwe, Minquas (Dutch), Conestogas, Conessetagoes (English). ]

In Central New York, stretching east and west from the Hudson to theGenesee, lay that redoubted people who have lent their name to the tribalfamily of the Iroquois, and stamped it indelibly on the early pages ofAmerican history. Among all the barbarous nations of the continent, the Iroquois of New York stand paramount. Elements which among othertribes were crude, confused, and embryotic, were among them systematizedand concreted into an established polity. The Iroquois was the Indian ofIndians. A thorough savage, yet a finished and developed savage, he isperhaps an example of the highest elevation which man can reach withoutemerging from his primitive condition of the hunter. A geographicalposition, commanding on one hand the portal of the Great Lakes, and onthe other the sources of the streams flowing both to the Atlantic and theMississippi, gave the ambitious and aggressive confederates advantageswhich they perfectly understood, and by which they profited to theutmost. Patient and politic as they were ferocious, they were not onlyconquerors of their own race, but the powerful allies and the dreadedfoes of the French and English colonies, flattered and caressed by both, yet too sagacious to give themselves without reserve to either. Theirorganization and their history evince their intrinsic superiority. Even their traditionary lore, amid its wild puerilities, shows at timesthe stamp of an energy and force in striking contrast with the flimsycreations of Algonquin fancy. That the Iroquois, left under theirinstitutions to work out their destiny undisturbed, would ever havedeveloped a civilization of their own, I do not believe. Theseinstitutions, however, are sufficiently characteristic and curious, and we shall soon have occasion to observe them. 

[ The name Iroquois is French. Charlevoix says: "Il a ete forme du termeHiro, ou Hero, qui signifie J'ai dit, et par lequel ces sauvagesfinissent tous leur discours, comme les Latins faisoient autrefois parleur Dixi; et de Koue, qui est un cri tantot de tristesse, lorsqu'on leprononce en trainant, et tantot de joye, quand on le prononce pluscourt. "--Hist. De la N. F. , I. 271. --Their true name is Hodenosaunee, or People of the Long House, because their confederacy of five distinctnations, ranged in a line along Central New York, was likened to one ofthe long bark houses already described, with five fires and fivefamilies. The name Agonnonsionni, or Aquanuscioni, ascribed to them byLafitau and Charlevoix, who translated it "House-Makers, " Faiseurs deCabannes, may be a conversion of the true name with an erroneousrendering. The following are the true names of the five nationsseverally, with their French and English synonymes. For other synonymes, see "History of the Conspiracy of Pontiac, " 8, note. 

 English. French. Ganeagaono, Mohawk, Agnier. Onayotekaono, Oneida, Onneyut. Onundagaono, Onondaga, Onnontague. Gweugwehono, Cayuga, Goyogouin. Nundawaono, Seneca, Tsonnontouans. 

The Iroquois termination in ono--or onon, as the French write it--simplymeans people. ]

SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION. 

In Indian social organization, a problem at once suggests itself. In these communities, comparatively populous, how could spirits so fierce, and in many respects so ungoverned, live together in peace, without lawand without enforced authority? Yet there were towns where savages livedtogether in thousands with a harmony which civilization might envy. This was in good measure due to peculiarities of Indian character andhabits. This intractable race were, in certain external respects, the most pliant and complaisant of mankind. The early missionaries werecharmed by the docile acquiescence with which their dogmas were received;but they soon discovered that their facile auditors neither believed norunderstood that to which they had so promptly assented. They assentedfrom a kind of courtesy, which, while it vexed the priests, tendedgreatly to keep the Indians in mutual accord. That well-known self-control, which, originating in a form of pride, covered the savage natureof the man with a veil, opaque, though thin, contributed not a little tothe same end. Though vain, arrogant, boastful, and vindictive, theIndian bore abuse and sarcasm with an astonishing patience. Thoughgreedy and grasping, he was lavish without stint, and would give away hisall to soothe the manes of a departed relative, gain influence andapplause, or ingratiate himself with his neighbors. In his dread ofpublic opinion, he rivalled some of his civilized successors. 

All Indians, and especially these populous and stationary tribes, hadtheir code of courtesy, whose requirements were rigid and exact; normight any infringe it without the ban of public censure. Indian nature, inflexible and unmalleable, was peculiarly under the control of custom. Established usage took the place of law, --was, in fact, a sort of commonlaw, with no tribunal to expound or enforce it. In these wilddemocracies, --democracies in spirit, though not in form, --a respect fornative superiority, and a willingness to yield to it, were alwaysconspicuous. All were prompt to aid each other in distress, and aneighborly spirit was often exhibited among them. When a young woman waspermanently married, the other women of the village supplied her withfirewood for the year, each contributing an armful. When one or morefamilies were without shelter, the men of the village joined in buildingthem a house. In return, the recipients of the favor gave a feast, if they could; if not, their thanks were sufficient. [ The followingtestimony concerning Indian charity and hospitality is from Ragueneau:"As often as we have seen tribes broken up, towns destroyed, and theirpeople driven to flight, we have seen them, to the number of seven oreight hundred persons, received with open arms by charitable hosts, who gladly gave them aid, and even distributed among them a part of thelands already planted, that they might have the means of living. "--Relation, 1650, 28. ] Among the Iroquois and Hurons--and doubtless amongthe kindred tribes--there were marked distinctions of noble and base, prosperous and poor; yet, while there was food in the village, themeanest and the poorest need not suffer want. He had but to enter thenearest house, and seat himself by the fire, when, without a word oneither side, food was placed before him by the women. 

[ The Jesuit Brebeuf, than whom no one knew the Hurons better, is veryemphatic in praise of their harmony and social spirit. Speaking of oneof the four nations of which the Hurons were composed, he says: "Ils ontvne douceur et vne affabilite quasi incroyable pour des Sauuages; ils nese picquent pas aisement. . . . Ils se maintiennent dans cette siparfaite intelligence par les frequentes visites, les secours qu'ils sedonnent mutuellement dans leurs maladies, par les festins et lesalliances. . . . Ils sont moins en leurs Cabanes que chez leursamis. . . S'ils ont vn bon morceau, ils en font festin a leurs amis, etne le mangent quasi iamais en leur particulier, " etc. --Relation desHurons, 1636, 118. ]

Contrary to the received opinion, these Indians, like others of theirrace, when living in communities, were of a very social disposition. Besides their incessant dances and feasts, great and small, they werecontinually visiting, spending most of their time in their neighbors'houses, chatting, joking, bantering one another with witticisms, sharp, broad, and in no sense delicate, yet always taken in good part. Everyvillage had its adepts in these wordy tournaments, while the shrill laughof young squaws, untaught to blush, echoed each hardy jest or roughsarcasm. 

In the organization of the savage communities of the continent, onefeature, more or less conspicuous, continually appears. Each nation ortribe--to adopt the names by which these communities are usuallyknown--is subdivided into several clans. These clans are not locallyseparate, but are mingled throughout the nation. All the members of eachclan are, or are assumed to be, intimately joined in consanguinity. Hence it is held an abomination for two persons of the same clan tointermarry; and hence, again, it follows that every family must containmembers of at least two clans. Each clan has its name, as the clan ofthe Hawk, of the Wolf, or of the Tortoise; and each has for its emblemthe figure of the beast, bird, reptile, plant, or other object, fromwhich its name is derived. This emblem, called totem by the Algonquins, is often tattooed on the clansman's body, or rudely painted over theentrance of his lodge. The child belongs, in most cases, to the clan, not of the father, but of the mother. In other words, descent, not ofthe totem alone, but of all rank, titles, and possessions, is through thefemale. The son of a chief can never be a chief by hereditary title, though he may become so by force of personal influence or achievement. Neither can he inherit from his father so much as a tobacco-pipe. All possessions alike pass of right to the brothers of the chief, or tothe sons of his sisters, since these are all sprung from a common mother. This rule of descent was noticed by Champlain among the Hurons in 1615. That excellent observer refers it to an origin which is doubtless itstrue one. The child may not be the son of his reputed father, but mustbe the son of his mother, --a consideration of more than ordinary force inan Indian community. 

[ "Les enfans ne succedent iamais aux biens et dignitez de leurs peres, doubtant comme i'ay dit de leur geniteur, mais bien font-ils leurssuccesseurs et heritiers, les enfans de leurs soeurs, et desquels ils sontasseurez d'estre yssus et sortis. "--Champlain (1627), 91. 

Captain John Smith had observed the same, several years before, among thetribes of Virginia: "For the Crowne, their heyres inherite not, but thefirst heyres of the Sisters. "--True Relation, 43 (ed. Deane). ]

This system of clanship, with the rule of descent usually belonging to it, was of very wide prevalence. Indeed, it is more than probable that closeobservation would have detected it in every tribe east of theMississippi; while there is positive evidence of its existence in by farthe greater number. It is found also among the Dahcotah and other tribeswest of the Mississippi; and there is reason to believe it universallyprevalent as far as the Rocky Mountains, and even beyond them. The factthat with most of these hordes there is little property worthtransmission, and that the most influential becomes chief, with littleregard to inheritance, has blinded casual observers to the existence ofthis curious system. 

It was found in full development among the Creeks, Choctaws, Cherokees, and other Southern tribes, including that remarkable people, the Natchez, who, judged by their religious and political institutions, seem adetached offshoot of the Toltec family. It is no less conspicuous amongthe roving Algonquins of the extreme North, where the number of totems isalmost countless. Everywhere it formed the foundation of the polity ofall the tribes, where a polity could be said to exist. 

The Franciscans and Jesuits, close students of the languages andsuperstitions of the Indians, were by no means so zealous to analyzetheir organization and government. In the middle of the seventeenthcentury the Hurons as a nation had ceased to exist, and their politicalportraiture, as handed down to us, is careless and unfinished. Yet somedecisive features are plainly shown. The Huron nation was a confederacyof four distinct contiguous nations, afterwards increased to five by theaddition of the Tionnontates;--it was divided into clans;--it wasgoverned by chiefs, whose office was hereditary through the female;--thepower of these chiefs, though great, was wholly of a persuasive oradvisory character;--there were two principal chiefs, one for peace, the other for war;--there were chiefs assigned to special nationalfunctions, as the charge of the great Feast of the Dead, the direction oftrading voyages to other nations, etc. ;--there were numerous other chiefs, equal in rank, but very unequal in influence, since the measure of theirinfluence depended on the measure of their personal ability;--each nationof the confederacy had a separate organization, but at certain periodsgrand councils of the united nations were held, at which were present, not chiefs only, but also a great concourse of the people; and at theseand other councils the chiefs and principal men voted on proposedmeasures by means of small sticks or reeds, the opinion of the pluralityruling. 

[ These facts are gathered here and there from Champlain, Sagard, Bressani, and the Jesuit Relations prior to 1650. Of the Jesuits, Brebeuf is the most full and satisfactory. Lafitau and Charlevoix knewthe Huron institutions only through others. 

The names of the four confederate Huron nations were the Ataronchronons, Attignenonghac, Attignaouentans, and Ahrendarrhonons. There was also asubordinate "nation" called Tohotaenrat, which had but one town. (Seethe map of the Huron Country. ) They all bore the name of some animal orother object: thus the Attignaouentans were the Nation of the Bear. As the clans are usually named after animals, this makes confusion, and may easily lead to error. The Bear Nation was the principal memberof the league. ]

THE IROQUOIS. 

The Iroquois were a people far more conspicuous in history, and theirinstitutions are not yet extinct. In early and recent times, they havebeen closely studied, and no little light has been cast upon a subject asdifficult and obscure as it is curious. By comparing the statements ofobservers, old and new, the character of their singular organizationbecomes sufficiently clear. 

[ Among modern students of Iroquois institutions, a place far in advanceof all others is due to Lewis H. Morgan, himself an Iroquois by adoption, and intimate with the race from boyhood. His work, The League of theIroquois, is a production of most thorough and able research, conductedunder peculiar advantages, and with the aid of an efficient co-laborer, Hasanoanda (Ely S. Parker), an educated and highly intelligent Iroquoisof the Seneca nation. Though often differing widely from Mr. Morgan'sconclusions, I cannot bear a too emphatic testimony to the value of hisresearches. The Notes on the Iroquois of Mr. H. R. Schoolcraft alsocontain some interesting facts; but here, as in all Mr. Schoolcraft'sproductions, the reader must scrupulously reserve his right of privatejudgment. None of the old writers are so satisfactory as Lafitau. His work, Moeurs des Sauvages Ameriquains comparees aux Moeurs des PremiersTemps, relates chiefly to the Iroquois and Hurons: the basis for hisaccount of the former being his own observations and those of FatherJulien Garnier, who was a missionary among them more than sixty years, from his novitiate to his death. ]

Both reason and tradition point to the conclusion, that the Iroquoisformed originally one undivided people. Sundered, like countless othertribes, by dissension, caprice, or the necessities of the hunter life, they separated into five distinct nations, cantoned from east to westalong the centre of New York, in the following order: Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, Senecas. There was discord among them; wars followed, and they lived in mutual fear, each ensconced in its palisaded villages. At length, says tradition, a celestial being, incarnate on earth, counselled them to compose their strife and unite in a league of defenceand aggression. Another personage, wholly mortal, yet wonderfullyendowed, a renowned warrior and a mighty magician, stands, with his hairof writhing snakes, grotesquely conspicuous through the dim light oftradition at this birth of Iroquois nationality. This was Atotarho, a chief of the Onondagas; and from this honored source has sprung a longline of chieftains, heirs not to the blood alone, but to the name oftheir great predecessor. A few years since, there lived in OnondagaHollow a handsome Indian boy on whom the dwindled remnant of the nationlooked with pride as their destined Atotarho. With earthly and celestialaid the league was consummated, and through all the land the foreststrembled at the name of the Iroquois. 

The Iroquois people was divided into eight clans. When the originalstock was sundered into five parts, each of these clans was also sunderedinto five parts; and as, by the principle already indicated, the clanswere intimately mingled in every village, hamlet, and cabin, each one ofthe five nations had its portion of each of the eight clans. [ 1 ]When the league was formed, these separate portions readily resumed theirancient tie of fraternity. Thus, of the Turtle clan, all the membersbecame brothers again, nominal members of one family, whether Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas, or Senecas; and so, too, of the remainingclans. All the Iroquois, irrespective of nationality, were thereforedivided into eight families, each tracing its descent to a common mother, and each designated by its distinctive emblem or totem. This connectionof clan or family was exceedingly strong, and by it the five nations ofthe league were linked together as by an eightfold chain. 

[ 1 With a view to clearness, the above statement is made categorical. It requires, however, to be qualified. It is not quite certain, that, at the formation of the confederacy, there were eight clans, though thereis positive proof of the existence of seven. Neither is it certain, that, at the separation, every clan was represented in every nation. Among theMohawks and Oneidas there is no positive proof of the existence of morethan three clans, --the Wolf, Bear, and Tortoise; though there ispresumptive evidence of the existence of several others. --See Morgan, 81, note. 

The eight clans of the Iroquois were as follows: Wolf, Bear, Beaver, Tortoise, Deer, Snipe, Heron, Hawk. (Morgan, 79. ) The clans of theSnipe and the Heron are the same designated in an early French documentas La famille du Petit Pluvier and La famille du Grand Pluvier. (NewYork Colonial Documents, IX. 47. ) The anonymous author of this documentadds a ninth clan, that of the Potato, meaning the wild Indian potato, Glycine apios. This clan, if it existed, was very inconspicuous, and oflittle importance. 

Remarkable analogies exist between Iroquois clanship and that of othertribes. The eight clans of the Iroquois were separated into twodivisions, four in each. Originally, marriage was interdicted betweenall the members of the same division, but in time the interdict waslimited to the members of the individual clans. Another tribe, theChoctaws, remote from the Iroquois, and radically different in language, had also eight clans, similarly divided, with a similar interdict ofmarriage. --Gallatin, Synopsis, 109. 

The Creeks, according to the account given by their old chief, Sekopechi, to Mr. D. W. Eakins, were divided into nine clans, named in most casesfrom animals: clanship being transmitted, as usual, through the female. ]

The clans were by no means equal in numbers, influence, or honor. So marked were the distinctions among them, that some of the earlywriters recognize only the three most conspicuous, --those of the Tortoise, the Bear, and the Wolf. To some of the clans, in each nation, belongedthe right of giving a chief to the nation and to the league. Others hadthe right of giving three, or, in one case, four chiefs; while otherscould give none. As Indian clanship was but an extension of the familyrelation, these chiefs were, in a certain sense, hereditary; but the lawof inheritance, though binding, was extremely elastic, and capable ofstretching to the farthest limits of the clan. The chief was almostinvariably succeeded by a near relative, always through the female, as a brother by the same mother, or a nephew by the sister's side. But if these were manifestly unfit, they were passed over, and a chiefwas chosen at a council of the clan from among remoter kindred. In thesecases, the successor is said to have been nominated by the matron of thelate chief's household. [ Lafitau, I. 471. ] Be this as it may, thechoice was never adverse to the popular inclination. The new chief was"raised up, " or installed, by a formal council of the sachems of theleague; and on entering upon his office, he dropped his own name, andassumed that which, since the formation of the league, had belonged tothis especial chieftainship. 

The number of these principal chiefs, or, as they have been called by wayof distinction, sachems, varied in the several nations from eight tofourteen. The sachems of the five nations, fifty in all, assembled incouncil, formed the government of the confederacy. All met as equals, but a peculiar dignity was ever attached to the Atotarho of the Onondagas. 

There was a class of subordinate chiefs, in no sense hereditary, butrising to office by address, ability, or valor. Yet the rank was clearlydefined, and the new chief installed at a formal council. This classembodied, as might be supposed, the best talent of the nation, and themost prominent warriors and orators of the Iroquois have belonged to it. In its character and functions, however, it was purely civil. Like thesachems, these chiefs held their councils, and exercised an influenceproportionate to their number and abilities. 

There was another council, between which and that of the subordinatechiefs the line of demarcation seems not to have been very definite. The Jesuit Lafitau calls it "the senate. " Familiar with the Iroquois atthe height of their prosperity, he describes it as the central andcontrolling power, so far, at least, as the separate nations wereconcerned. In its character it was essentially popular, but popular inthe best sense, and one which can find its application only in a smallcommunity. Any man took part in it whose age and experience qualifiedhim to do so. It was merely the gathered wisdom of the nation. Lafitaucompares it to the Roman Senate, in the early and rude age of theRepublic, and affirms that it loses nothing by the comparison. He thusdescribes it: "It is a greasy assemblage, sitting _sur leur derriere_, crouched like apes, their knees as high as their ears, or lying, some ontheir bellies, some on their backs, each with a pipe in his mouth, discussing affairs of state with as much coolness and gravity as theSpanish Junta or the Grand Council of Venice. " [ Lafitau, I. 478. ]

The young warriors had also their councils; so, too, had the women; andthe opinions and wishes of each were represented by means of deputiesbefore the "senate, " or council of the old men, as well as before thegrand confederate council of the sachems. 

The government of this unique republic resided wholly in councils. By councils all questions were settled, all regulations established, --social, political, military, and religious. The war-path, the chase, the council-fire, --in these was the life of the Iroquois; and it is hardto say to which of the three he was most devoted. 

The great council of the fifty sachems formed, as we have seen, thegovernment of the league. Whenever a subject arose before any of thenations, of importance enough to demand its assembling, the sachems ofthat nation might summon their colleagues by means of runners, bearingmessages and belts of wampum. The usual place of meeting was the valleyof Onondaga, the political as well as geographical centre of theconfederacy. Thither, if the matter were one of deep and generalinterest, not the sachems alone, but the greater part of the population, gathered from east and west, swarming in the hospitable lodges of thetown, or bivouacked by thousands in the surrounding fields and forests. While the sachems deliberated in the council-house, the chiefs and oldmen, the warriors, and often the women, were holding their respectivecouncils apart; and their opinions, laid by their deputies before thecouncil of sachems, were never without influence on its decisions. 

The utmost order and deliberation reigned in the council, with rigorousadherence to the Indian notions of parliamentary propriety. Theconference opened with an address to the spirits, or the chief of all thespirits. There was no heat in debate. No speaker interrupted another. Each gave his opinion in turn, supporting it with what reason or rhetoriche could command, --but not until he had stated the subject of discussionin full, to prove that he understood it, repeating also the arguments, pro and con, of previous speakers. Thus their debates were excessivelyprolix; and the consumption of tobacco was immoderate. The result, however, was a thorough sifting of the matter in hand; while thepractised astuteness of these savage politicians was a marvel to theircivilized contemporaries. "It is by a most subtle policy, " says Lafitau, "that they have taken the ascendant over the other nations, divided andovercome the most warlike, made themselves a terror to the most remote, and now hold a peaceful neutrality between the French and English, courted and feared by both. "

[ Lafitau, I. 480. --Many other French writers speak to the same effect. The following are the words of the soldier historian, La Potherie, after describing the organization of the league: "C'est donc la cettepolitique qui les unit si bien, a peu pres comme tous les ressorts d'unehorloge, qui par une liaison admirable de toutes les parties qui lescomposent, contribuent toutes unanimement au merveilleux effet qui enresulte. "--Hist. De l'Amerique Septentrionale, III. 32. --He adds: "LesFrancois ont avoue eux-memes qu'ils etoient nez pour la guerre, &quelques maux qu'ils nous ayent faits nous les avons toujours estimez. "--Ibid. , 2. --La Potherie's book was published in 1722. ]

Unlike the Hurons, they required an entire unanimity in their decisions. The ease and frequency with which a requisition seemingly so difficultwas fulfilled afford a striking illustration of Indian nature, --on oneside, so stubborn, tenacious, and impracticable; on the other, so pliantand acquiescent. An explanation of this harmony is to be found also inan intense spirit of nationality: for never since the days of Sparta wereindividual life and national life more completely fused into one. 

The sachems of the league were likewise, as we have seen, sachems oftheir respective nations; yet they rarely spoke in the councils of thesubordinate chiefs and old men, except to present subjects of discussion. [ Lafitau, I. 479. ] Their influence in these councils was, however, great, and even paramount; for they commonly succeeded in securing totheir interest some of the most dexterous and influential of the conclave, through whom, while they themselves remained in the background, theymanaged the debates. 

[ The following from Lafitau is very characteristic: "Ce que je dis deleur zele pour le bien public n'est cependant pas si universel, queplusieurs ne pensent a leur interets particuliers, & que les Chefs(sachems) principalement ne fassent jouer plusieurs ressorts secrets pourvenir a bout de leurs intrigues. Il y en a tel, dont l'adresse joue sibien a coup sur, qu'il fait deliberer le Conseil plusieurs jours de suite, sur une matiere dont la determination est arretee entre lui & lesprincipales tetes avant d'avoir ete mise sur le tapis. Cependant commeles Chefs s'entre-regardent, & qu'aucun ne veut paroitre se donner unesuperiorite qui puisse piquer la jalousie, ils se menagent dans lesConseils plus que les autres; & quoiqu'ils en soient l'ame, leurpolitique les oblige a y parler peu, & a ecouter plutot le sentimentd'autrui, qu'a y dire le leur; mais chacun a un homme a sa main, qui estcomme une espece de Brulot, & qui etant sans consequence pour sa personnehazarde en pleine liberte tout ce qu'il juge a propos, selon qu'il l'aconcerte avec le Chef meme pour qui il agit. "--Moeurs des Sauvages, I. 481. ]

There was a class of men among the Iroquois always put forward on publicoccasions to speak the mind of the nation or defend its interests. Nearly all of them were of the number of the subordinate chiefs. Natureand training had fitted them for public speaking, and they were deeplyversed in the history and traditions of the league. They were in factprofessed orators, high in honor and influence among the people. To ahuge stock of conventional metaphors, the use of which required nothingbut practice, they often added an astute intellect, an astonishing memory, and an eloquence which deserved the name. 

In one particular, the training of these savage politicians was neversurpassed. They had no art of writing to record events, or preserve thestipulations of treaties. Memory, therefore, was tasked to the utmost, and developed to an extraordinary degree. They had various devices foraiding it, such as bundles of sticks, and that system of signs, emblems, and rude pictures, which they shared with other tribes. Their famouswampum-belts were so many mnemonic signs, each standing for some act, speech, treaty, or clause of a treaty. These represented the publicarchives, and were divided among various custodians, each charged withthe memory and interpretation of those assigned to him. The meaning ofthe belts was from time to time expounded in their councils. Inconferences with them, nothing more astonished the French, Dutch, andEnglish officials than the precision with which, before replying to theiraddresses, the Indian orators repeated them point by point. 

It was only in rare cases that crime among the Iroquois or Hurons waspunished by public authority. Murder, the most heinous offence, exceptwitchcraft, recognized among them, was rare. If the slayer and the slainwere of the same household or clan, the affair was regarded as a familyquarrel, to be settled by the immediate kin on both sides. This, underthe pressure of public opinion, was commonly effected without bloodshed, by presents given in atonement. But if the murderer and his victim wereof different clans or different nations, still more, if the slain was aforeigner, the whole community became interested to prevent the discordor the war which might arise. All directed their efforts, not to bringthe murderer to punishment, but to satisfy the injured parties by avicarious atonement. [ Lalemant, while inveighing against a practicewhich made the public, and not the criminal, answerable for an offence, admits that heinous crimes were more rare than in France, where theguilty party himself was punished. --Lettre au P. Provincial, 15 May, 1645. ] To this end, contributions were made and presents collected. Their number and value were determined by established usage. Among theHurons, thirty presents of very considerable value were the price of aman's life. That of a woman's was fixed at forty, by reason of herweakness, and because on her depended the continuance and increase of thepopulation. This was when the slain belonged to the nation. If of aforeign tribe, his death demanded a higher compensation, since it involvedthe danger of war. [ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1648, 80. ]These presents were offered in solemn council, with prescribedformalities. The relatives of the slain might refuse them, if they chose, and in this case the murderer was given them as a slave; but they mightby no means kill him, since, in so doing, they would incur public censure, and be compelled in their turn to make atonement. Besides the principalgifts, there was a great number of less value, all symbolical, and eachdelivered with a set form of words: as, "By this we wash out the blood ofthe slain: By this we cleanse his wound: By this we clothe his corpsewith a new shirt: By this we place food on his grave": and so, in endlessprolixity, through particulars without number. 

[ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1648, gives a description of one ofthese ceremonies at length. Those of the Iroquois on such occasions weresimilar. Many other tribes had the same custom, but attended with muchless form and ceremony. Compare Perrot, 73-76. ]

The Hurons were notorious thieves; and perhaps the Iroquois were not muchbetter, though the contrary has been asserted. Among both, the robbedwas permitted not only to retake his property by force, if he could, but to strip the robber of all he had. This apparently acted as arestraint in favor only of the strong, leaving the weak a prey to theplunderer; but here the tie of family and clan intervened to aid him. Relatives and clansmen espoused the quarrel of him who could not righthimself. 

[ The proceedings for detecting thieves were regular and methodical, after established customs. According to Bressani, no thief everinculpated the innocent. ]

Witches, with whom the Hurons and Iroquois were grievously infested, were objects of utter abomination to both, and any one might kill them atany time. If any person was guilty of treason, or by his character andconduct made himself dangerous or obnoxious to the public, the council ofchiefs and old men held a secret session on his case, condemned him todeath, and appointed some young man to kill him. The executioner, watching his opportunity, brained or stabbed him unawares, usually in thedark porch of one of the houses. Acting by authority, he could not beheld answerable; and the relatives of the slain had no redress, even ifthey desired it. The council, however, commonly obviated all difficultyin advance, by charging the culprit with witchcraft, thus alienating hisbest friends. 

The military organization of the Iroquois was exceedingly imperfect andderived all its efficiency from their civil union and their personalprowess. There were two hereditary war-chiefs, both belonging to theSenecas; but, except on occasions of unusual importance, it does notappear that they took a very active part in the conduct of wars. TheIroquois lived in a state of chronic warfare with nearly all thesurrounding tribes, except a few from whom they exacted tribute. Any manof sufficient personal credit might raise a war-party when he chose. He proclaimed his purpose through the village, sang his war-songs, struck his hatchet into the war-post, and danced the war-dance. Any whochose joined him; and the party usually took up their march at once, with a little parched-corn-meal and maple-sugar as their sole provision. On great occasions, there was concert of action, --the various partiesmeeting at a rendezvous, and pursuing the march together. The leaders ofwar-parties, like the orators, belonged, in nearly all cases, to theclass of subordinate chiefs. The Iroquois had a discipline suited to thedark and tangled forests where they fought. Here they were a terriblefoe: in an open country, against a trained European force, they were, despite their ferocious valor, far less formidable. 

In observing this singular organization, one is struck by the incongruityof its spirit and its form. A body of hereditary oligarchs was the headof the nation, yet the nation was essentially democratic. Not that theIroquois were levellers. None were more prompt to acknowledgesuperiority and defer to it, whether established by usage andprescription, or the result of personal endowment. Yet each man, whetherof high or low degree, had a voice in the conduct of affairs, and wasnever for a moment divorced from his wild spirit of independence. Where there was no property worthy the name, authority had no fulcrum andno hold. The constant aim of sachems and chiefs was to exercise itwithout seeming to do so. They had no insignia of office. They were noricher than others; indeed, they were often poorer, spending theirsubstance in largesses and bribes to strengthen their influence. Theyhunted and fished for subsistence; they were as foul, greasy, andunsavory as the rest; yet in them, withal, was often seen a nativedignity of bearing, which ochre and bear's grease could not hide, andwhich comported well with their strong, symmetrical, and sometimesmajestic proportions. 

To the institutions, traditions, rites, usages, and festivals of theleague the Iroquois was inseparably wedded. He clung to them with Indiantenacity; and he clings to them still. His political fabric was one ofancient ideas and practices, crystallized into regular and enduringforms. In its component parts it has nothing peculiar to itself. All its elements are found in other tribes: most of them belong to thewhole Indian race. Undoubtedly there was a distinct and definite effortof legislation; but Iroquois legislation invented nothing. Like allsound legislation, it built of materials already prepared. It organizedthe chaotic past, and gave concrete forms to Indian nature itself. The people have dwindled and decayed; but, banded by its ties of clan andkin, the league, in feeble miniature, still subsists, and the degenerateIroquois looks back with a mournful pride to the glory of the past. 

Would the Iroquois, left undisturbed to work out their own destiny, ever have emerged from the savage state? Advanced as they were beyondmost other American tribes, there is no indication whatever of a tendencyto overpass the confines of a wild hunter and warrior life. They wereinveterately attached to it, impracticable conservatists of barbarism, and in ferocity and cruelty they matched the worst of their race. Nor did the power of expansion apparently belonging to their system everproduce much result. Between the years 1712 and 1715, the Tuscaroras, a kindred people, were admitted into the league as a sixth nation; butthey were never admitted on equal terms. Long after, in the period oftheir decline, several other tribes were announced as new members of theleague; but these admissions never took effect. The Iroquois were alwaysreluctant to receive other tribes, or parts of tribes, collectively, into the precincts of the "Long House. " Yet they constantly practised asystem of adoptions, from which, though cruel and savage, they drew greatadvantages. Their prisoners of war, when they had burned and butcheredas many of them as would serve to sate their own ire and that of theirwomen, were divided, man by man, woman by woman, and child by child, adopted into different families and clans, and thus incorporated into thenation. It was by this means, and this alone, that they could offset thelosses of their incessant wars. Early in the eighteenth century, andever-long before, a vast proportion of their population consisted ofadopted prisoners. 

[ Relation, 1660, 7 (anonymous). The Iroquois were at the height oftheir prosperity about the year 1650. Morgan reckons their number atthis time at 25, 000 souls; but this is far too high an estimate. Theauthor of the Relation of 1660 makes their whole number of warriors2, 200. Le Mercier, in the Relation of 1665, says 2, 350. In the Journalof Greenhalgh, an Englishman who visited them in 1677, their warriors areset down at 2, 150. Du Chesneau, in 1681, estimates them at 2, 000; De laBarre, in 1684, at 2, 600, they having been strengthened by adoptions. A memoir addressed to the Marquis de Seignelay, in 1687, again makes them2, 000. (See N. Y. Col. Docs. , IX. 162, 196, 321. ) These estimates implya total population of ten or twelve thousand. 

The anonymous writer of the Relation of 1660 may well remark: "It ismarvellous that so few should make so great a havoc, and strike suchterror into so many tribes. " ]

It remains to speak of the religious and superstitious ideas which sodeeply influenced Indian life. 

RELIGION AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

The religious belief of the North-American Indians seems, on a first view, anomalous and contradictory. It certainly is so, if we adopt the popularimpression. Romance, Poetry, and Rhetoric point, on the one hand, to the august conception of a one all-ruling Deity, a Great Spirit, omniscient and omnipresent; and we are called to admire the untutoredintellect which could conceive a thought too vast for Socrates and Plato. On the other hand, we find a chaos of degrading, ridiculous, andincoherent superstitions. A closer examination will show that thecontradiction is more apparent than real. We will begin with the lowestforms of Indian belief, and thence trace it upward to the highestconceptions to which the unassisted mind of the savage attained. 

To the Indian, the material world is sentient and intelligent. Birds, beasts, and reptiles have ears for human prayers, and are endowed with aninfluence on human destiny. A mysterious and inexplicable power residesin inanimate things. They, too, can listen to the voice of man, andinfluence his life for evil or for good. Lakes, rivers, and waterfallsare sometimes the dwelling-place of spirits; but more frequently they arethemselves living beings, to be propitiated by prayers and offerings. The lake has a soul; and so has the river, and the cataract. Each canhear the words of men, and each can be pleased or offended. In thesilence of a forest, the gloom of a deep ravine, resides a living mystery, indefinite, but redoubtable. Through all the works of Nature or of man, nothing exists, however seemingly trivial, that may not be endowed with asecret power for blessing or for bane. 

Men and animals are closely akin. Each species of animal has its greatarchetype, its progenitor or king, who is supposed to exist somewhere, prodigious in size, though in shape and nature like his subjects. A belief prevails, vague, but perfectly apparent, that men themselves owetheir first parentage to beasts, birds, or reptiles, as bears, wolves, tortoises, or cranes; and the names of the totemic clans, borrowed innearly every case from animals, are the reflection of this idea. 

[ This belief occasionally takes a perfectly definite shape. There was atradition among Northern and Western tribes, that men were created fromthe carcasses of beasts, birds, and fishes, by Manabozho, a mythicalpersonage, to be described hereafter. The Amikouas, or People of theBeaver, an Algonquin tribe of Lake Huron, claimed descent from thecarcass of the great original beaver, or father of the beavers. Theybelieved that the rapids and cataracts on the French River and the UpperOttawa were caused by dams made by their amphibious ancestor. (See thetradition in Perrot, Memoire sur les Moeurs, Coustumes et Relligion desSauvages de l'Amerique Septentrionale, p. 20. ) Charlevoix tells the samestory. Each Indian was supposed to inherit something of the nature ofthe animal whence he sprung. ]

An Indian hunter was always anxious to propitiate the animals he soughtto kill. He has often been known to address a wounded bear in a longharangue of apology. [ McKinney, Tour to the Lakes, 284, mentions thediscomposure of a party of Indians when shown a stuffed moose. Thinkingthat its spirit would be offended at the indignity shown to its remains, they surrounded it, making apologetic speeches, and blowing tobacco-smokeat it as a propitiatory offering. ] The bones of the beaver were treatedwith especial tenderness, and carefully kept from the dogs, lest thespirit of the dead beaver, or his surviving brethren, should takeoffence. [ This superstition was very prevalent, and numerous examplesof it occur in old and recent writers, from Father Le Jeune to CaptainCarver. ] This solicitude was not confined to animals, but extended toinanimate things. A remarkable example occurred among the Hurons, a people comparatively advanced, who, to propitiate their fishing-nets, and persuade them to do their office with effect, married them every yearto two young girls of the tribe, with a ceremony more formal than thatobserved in the case of mere human wedlock. [ 1 ] The fish, too, no lessthan the nets, must be propitiated; and to this end they were addressedevery evening from the fishing-camp by one of the party chosen for thatfunction, who exhorted them to take courage and be caught, assuring themthat the utmost respect should be shown to their bones. The harangue, which took place after the evening meal, was made in solemn form; andwhile it lasted, the whole party, except the speaker, were required tolie on their backs, silent and motionless, around the fire. [ 2 ]

[ 1 There are frequent allusions to this ceremony in the early writers. The Algonquins of the Ottawa practised it, as well as the Hurons. Lalemant, in his chapter "Du Regne de Satan en ces Contrees" (Relationdes Hurons, 1639), says that it took place yearly, in the middle ofMarch. As it was indispensable that the brides should be virgins, mere children were chosen. The net was held between them; and its spirit, or oki, was harangued by one of the chiefs, who exhorted him to do hispart in furnishing the tribe with food. Lalemant was told that thespirit of the net had once appeared in human form to the Algonquins, complaining that he had lost his wife, and warning them, that, unlessthey could find him another equally immaculate, they would catch no morefish. ]

[ 2 Sagard, Le Grand Voyage du Pays des Hurons, 257. Other old writersmake a similar statement. ]

Besides ascribing life and intelligence to the material world, animateand inanimate, the Indian believes in supernatural existences, known amongthe Algonquins as _Manitous_, and among the Iroquois and Hurons as _Okies_or _Otkons_. These words comprehend all forms of supernatural being, from the highest to the lowest, with the exception, possibly, of certaindiminutive fairies or hobgoblins, and certain giants and anomalousmonsters, which appear under various forms, grotesque and horrible, in the Indian fireside legends. [ Many tribes have tales of diminutivebeings, which, in the absence of a better word, may be called fairies. In the Travels of Lewis and Clarke, there is mention of a hill on theMissouri, supposed to be haunted by them. These Western fairiescorrespond to the _Puck Wudj Ininee_ of Ojibwa tradition. As an exampleof the monsters alluded to, see the Saginaw story of the Weendigoes, inSchoolcraft, Algic Researches, II. 105. ] There are local manitous ofstreams, rocks, mountains, cataracts, and forests. The conception ofthese beings betrays, for the most part, a striking poverty ofimagination. In nearly every case, when they reveal themselves to mortalsight, they bear the semblance of beasts, reptiles, or birds, in shapesunusual or distorted. [ The figure of a large bird is perhaps the mostcommon, --as, for example, the good spirit of Rock Island: "He was white, with wings like a swan, but ten times larger. "--Autobiography ofBlackhawk, 70. ] There are other manitous without local habitation, some good, some evil, countless in number and indefinite in attributes. They fill the world, and control the destinies of men, --that is to say, of Indians: for the primitive Indian holds that the white man lives undera spiritual rule distinct from that which governs his own fate. Thesebeings, also, appear for the most part in the shape of animals. Sometimes, however, they assume human proportions; but more frequentlythey take the form of stones, which, being broken, are found full ofliving blood and flesh. 

Each primitive Indian has his guardian manitou, to whom he looks forcounsel, guidance, and protection. These spiritual allies are gained bythe following process. At the age of fourteen or fifteen, the Indian boyblackens his face, retires to some solitary place, and remains for dayswithout food. Superstitious expectancy and the exhaustion of abstinencerarely fail of their results. His sleep is haunted by visions, and theform which first or most often appears is that of his guardian manitou, --a beast, a bird, a fish, a serpent, or some other object, animate orinanimate. An eagle or a bear is the vision of a destined warrior; awolf, of a successful hunter; while a serpent foreshadows the futuremedicine-man, or, according to others, portends disaster. [ 1 ] Theyoung Indian thenceforth wears about his person the object revealed inhis dream, or some portion of it, --as a bone, a feather, a snake-skin, or a tuft of hair. This, in the modern language of the forest andprairie, is known as his "medicine. " The Indian yields to it a sort ofworship, propitiates it with offerings of tobacco, thanks it inprosperity, and upbraids it in disaster. [ 2 ] If his medicine fails tobring the desired success, he will sometimes discard it and adoptanother. The superstition now becomes mere fetich-worship, since theIndian regards the mysterious object which he carries about him rather asan embodiment than as a representative of a supernatural power. 

[ 1 Compare Cass, in North-American Review, Second Series, XIII. 100. A turkey-buzzard, according to him, is the vision of a medicine-man. I once knew an old Dahcotah chief, who was greatly respected, but hadnever been to war, though belonging to a family of peculiarly warlikepropensities. The reason was, that, in his initiatory fast, he haddreamed of an antelope, --the peace-spirit of his people. 

Women fast, as well as men, --always at the time of transition fromchildhood to maturity. In the Narrative of John Tanner, there is anaccount of an old woman who had fasted, in her youth, for ten days, and throughout her life placed the firmest faith in the visions which hadappeared to her at that time. Among the Northern Algonquins, thepractice, down to a recent day, was almost universal. ]

[ 2 The author has seen a Dahcotah warrior open his medicine-bag, talk with an air of affectionate respect to the bone, feather, or hornwithin, and blow tobacco-smoke upon it as an offering. "Medicines"are acquired not only by fasting, but by casual dreams, and otherwise. They are sometimes even bought and sold. For a curious account ofmedicine-bags and fetich-worship among the Algonquins of Gaspe, see LeClerc, Nouvelle Relation de la Gaspesie, Chap. XIII. ]

Indian belief recognizes also another and very different class of beings. Besides the giants and monsters of legendary lore, other conceptions maybe discerned, more or less distinct, and of a character partly mythical. Of these the most conspicuous is that remarkable personage of Algonquintradition, called Manabozho, Messou, Michabou, Nanabush, or the GreatHare. As each species of animal has its archetype or king, so, among theAlgonquins, Manabozho is king of all these animal kings. Tradition isdiverse as to his origin. According to the most current belief, hisfather was the West-Wind, and his mother a great-granddaughter of theMoon. His character is worthy of such a parentage. Sometimes he is awolf, a bird, or a gigantic hare, surrounded by a court of quadrupeds;sometimes he appears in human shape, majestic in stature and wondrous inendowment, a mighty magician, a destroyer of serpents and evil manitous;sometimes he is a vain and treacherous imp, full of childish whims andpetty trickery, the butt and victim of men, beasts, and spirits. Hispowers of transformation are without limit; his curiosity and malice areinsatiable; and of the numberless legends of which he is the hero, the greater part are as trivial as they are incoherent. [ 1 ] It doesnot appear that Manabozho was ever an object of worship; yet, despite hisabsurdity, tradition declares him to be chief among the manitous, inshort, the "Great Spirit. " [ "Presque toutes les Nations Algonquines ontdonne le nom de Grand Lievre au Premier Esprit, quelques-uns l'appellentMichabou (Manabozho). "--Charlevoix, Journal Historique, 344. ] It was hewho restored the world, submerged by a deluge. He was hunting in companywith a certain wolf, who was his brother, or, by other accounts, hisgrandson, when his quadruped relative fell through the ice of a frozenlake, and was at once devoured by certain serpents lurking in the depthsof the waters. Manabozho, intent on revenge, transformed himself intothe stump of a tree, and by this artifice surprised and slew the king ofthe serpents, as he basked with his followers in the noontide sun. The serpents, who were all manitous, caused, in their rage, the waters ofthe lake to deluge the earth. Manabozho climbed a tree, which, in answerto his entreaties, grew as the flood rose around it, and thus saved himfrom the vengeance of the evil spirits. Submerged to the neck, he lookedabroad on the waste of waters, and at length descried the bird known asthe loon, to whom he appealed for aid in the task of restoring the world. The loon dived in search of a little mud, as material for reconstruction, but could not reach the bottom. A musk-rat made the same attempt, but soon reappeared floating on his back, and apparently dead. Manabozho, however, on searching his paws, discovered in one of them a particle ofthe desired mud, and of this, together with the body of the loon, createdthe world anew. [ 2 ]

[ 1 Mr. Schoolcraft has collected many of these tales. See his AlgicResearches, Vol. I. Compare the stories of Messou, given by Le Jeune(Relations, 1633, 1634), and the account of Nanabush, by Edwin James, in his notes to Tanner's Narrative of Captivity and Adventures during aThirty-Years' Residence among the Indians; also the account of the GreatHare, in the Memoire of Nicolas Perrot, Chaps. I. , II. ]

[ 2 This is a form of the story still current among the remoterAlgonquins. Compare the story of Messou, in Le Jeune, Relation, 1633, 16. It is substantially the same. ]

There are various forms of this tradition, in some of which Manabozhoappears, not as the restorer, but as the creator of the world, formingmankind from the carcasses of beasts, birds, and fishes. [ 1 ] Otherstories represent him as marrying a female musk-rat, by whom he becamethe progenitor of the human race. [ 2 ]

[ 1 In the beginning of all things, Manabozho, in the form of the GreatHare, was on a raft, surrounded by animals who acknowledged him as theirchief. No land could be seen. Anxious to create the world, the GreatHare persuaded the beaver to dive for mud but the adventurous diverfloated to the surface senseless. The otter next tried, and failed likehis predecessor. The musk-rat now offered himself for the desperatetask. He plunged, and, after remaining a day and night beneath thesurface, reappeared, floating on his back beside the raft, apparentlydead, and with all his paws fast closed. On opening them, the otheranimals found in one of them a grain of sand, and of this the Great Harecreated the world. --Perrot, Memoire, Chap. I. ]

[ 2 Le Jeune, Relation, 1633, 16. --The musk-rat is always a conspicuousfigure in Algonquin cosmogony. 

It is said that Messou, or Manabozho, once gave to an Indian the gift ofimmortality, tied in a bundle, enjoining him never to open it. TheIndian's wife, however, impelled by curiosity, one day cut the string, the precious gift flew out, and Indians have ever since been subject todeath. Le Jeune, Relation, 1634, 13. ]

Searching for some higher conception of supernatural existence, we find, among a portion of the primitive Algonquins, traces of a vague belief ina spirit dimly shadowed forth under the name of Atahocan, to whom it doesnot appear that any attributes were ascribed or any worship offered, and of whom the Indians professed to know nothing whatever; [ 1 ] butthere is no evidence that this belief extended beyond certain tribes ofthe Lower St. Lawrence. Others saw a supreme manitou in the Sun. [ 2 ]The Algonquins believed also in a malignant manitou, in whom the earlymissionaries failed not to recognize the Devil, but who was far lessdreaded than his wife. She wore a robe made of the hair of her victims, for she was the cause of death; and she it was whom, by yelling, drumming, and stamping, they sought to drive away from the sick. Sometimes, at night, she was seen by some terrified squaw in the forest, in shapelike a flame of fire; and when the vision was announced to the circlecrouched around the lodge-fire, they burned a fragment of meat to appeasethe female fiend. 

[ 1 Le Jeune, Relation, 1633, 16; Relation, 1634, 13. ]

[ 2 Biard, Relation, 1611, Chap. VIII. --This belief was very prevalent. The Ottawas, according to Ragueneau (Relation des Hurons, 1648, 77), were accustomed to invoke the "Maker of Heaven" at their feasts; but theyrecognized as distinct persons the Maker of the Earth, the Maker ofWinter, the God of the Waters, and the Seven Spirits of the Wind. He says, at the same time, "The people of these countries have receivedfrom their ancestors no knowledge of a God"; and he adds, that there isno sentiment of religion in this invocation. ]

The East, the West, the North, and the South were vaguely personified asspirits or manitous. Some of the winds, too, were personal existences. The West-Wind, as we have seen, was father of Manabozho. There was aSummer-Maker and a Winter-Maker; and the Indians tried to keep the latterat bay by throwing firebrands into the air. 

When we turn from the Algonquin family of tribes to that of the Iroquois, we find another cosmogony, and other conceptions of spiritual existence. While the earth was as yet a waste of waters, there was, according toIroquois and Huron traditions, a heaven with lakes, streams, plains, and forests, inhabited by animals, by spirits, and, as some affirm, by human beings. Here a certain female spirit, named Ataentsic, was oncechasing a bear, which, slipping through a hole, fell down to the earth. Ataentsic's dog followed, when she herself, struck with despair, jumpedafter them. Others declare that she was kicked out of heaven by thespirit, her husband, for an amour with a man; while others, again, hold the belief that she fell in the attempt to gather for her husbandthe medicinal leaves of a certain tree. Be this as it may, the animalsswimming in the watery waste below saw her falling, and hastily met incouncil to determine what should be done. The case was referred to thebeaver. The beaver commended it to the judgment of the tortoise, whothereupon called on the other animals to dive, bring up mud, and place iton his back. Thus was formed a floating island, on which Ataentsic fell;and here, being pregnant, she was soon delivered of a daughter, who inturn bore two boys, whose paternity is unexplained. They were calledTaouscaron and Jouskeha, and presently fell to blows, Jouskeha killinghis brother with the horn of a stag. The back of the tortoise grew intoa world full of verdure and life; and Jouskeha, with his grandmother, Ataentsic, ruled over its destinies. 

[ The above is the version of the story given by Brebeuf, Relation desHurons, 1636, 86 (Cramoisy). No two Indians told it precisely alike, though nearly all the Hurons and Iroquois agreed as to its essentialpoints. Compare Vanderdonck, Cusick, Sagard, and other writers. According to Vanderdonck, Ataentsic became mother of a deer, a bear, and a wolf, by whom she afterwards bore all the other animals, mankindincluded. Brebeuf found also among the Hurons a tradition inconsistentwith that of Ataentsic, and bearing a trace of Algonquin origin. Itdeclares, that, in the beginning, a man, a fox, and a skunk foundthemselves together on an island, and that the man made the world out ofmud brought him by the skunk. 

The Delawares, an Algonquin tribe, seem to have borrowed somewhat of theIroquois cosmogony, since they believed that the earth was formed on theback of a tortoise. 

According to some, Jouskeha became the father of the human race; but, in the third generation, a deluge destroyed his posterity, so that itwas necessary to transform animals into men. --Charlevoix, III. 345. ]

He is the Sun; she is the Moon. He is beneficent; but she is malignant, like the female demon of the Algonquins. They have a bark house, madelike those of the Iroquois, at the end of the earth, and they often cometo feasts and dances in the Indian villages. Jouskeha raises corn forhimself, and makes plentiful harvests for mankind. Sometimes he is seen, thin as a skeleton, with a spike of shrivelled corn in his hand, orgreedily gnawing a human limb; and then the Indians know that a grievousfamine awaits them. He constantly interposes between mankind and themalice of his wicked grandmother, whom, at times, he soundly cudgels. It was he who made lakes and streams: for once the earth was parched andbarren, all the water being gathered under the armpit of a colossal frog;but Jouskeha pierced the armpit, and let out the water. No prayers wereoffered to him, his benevolent nature rendering them superfluous. 

[ Compare Brebeuf, as before cited, and Sagard, Voyage des Hurons, p. 228. ]

The early writers call Jouskeha the creator of the world, and speak ofhim as corresponding to the vague Algonquin deity, Atahocan. Anotherdeity appears in Iroquois mythology, with equal claims to be regarded assupreme. He is called Areskoui, or Agreskoui, and his most prominentattributes are those of a god of war. He was often invoked, and theflesh of animals and of captive enemies was burned in his honor. [ Father Jogues saw a female prisoner burned to Areskoui, and two bearsoffered to him to atone for the sin of not burning more captives. --Lettrede Jogues, 6 Aug. , 1643. ] Like Jouskeha, he was identified with thesun; and he is perhaps to be regarded as the same being, under differentattributes. Among the Iroquois proper, or Five Nations, there was also adivinity called Tarenyowagon, or Teharonhiawagon, [ 1 ] whose place andcharacter it is very difficult to determine. In some traditions heappears as the son of Jouskeha. He had a prodigious influence; for itwas he who spoke to men in dreams. The Five Nations recognized stillanother superhuman personage, --plainly a deified chief or hero. This wasTaounyawatha, or Hiawatha, said to be a divinely appointed messenger, who made his abode on earth for the political and social instruction ofthe chosen race, and whose counterpart is to be found in the traditionsof the Peruvians, Mexicans, and other primitive nations. [ 2 ]

[ 1 Le Mercier, Relation, 1670, 66; Dablon, Relation, 1671, 17. CompareCusick, Megapolensis, and Vanderdonck. Some writers identifyTarenyowagon and Hiawatha. Vanderdonck assumes that Areskoui is theDevil, and Tarenyowagon is God. Thus Indian notions are ofteninterpreted by the light of preconceived ideas. ]

[ 2 For the tradition of Hiawatha, see Clark, History of Onondaga, I. 21. It will also be found in Schoolcraft's Notes on the Iroquois, and in his History, Condition, and Prospects of Indian Tribes. 

The Iroquois name for God is Hawenniio, sometimes written Owayneo; butthis use of the word is wholly due to the missionaries. Hawenniio is anIroquois verb, and means, "he rules, he is master". There is no Iroquoisword which, in its primitive meaning, can be interpreted, the GreatSpirit, or God. On this subject, see Etudes Philologiques sur quelquesLangues Sauvages (Montreal, 1866), where will also be found a curiousexposure of a few of Schoolcraft's ridiculous blunders in thisconnection. ]

Close examination makes it evident that the primitive Indian's idea of aSupreme Being was a conception no higher than might have been expected. The moment he began to contemplate this object of his faith, and soughtto clothe it with attributes, it became finite, and commonly ridiculous. The Creator of the World stood on the level of a barbarous and degradedhumanity, while a natural tendency became apparent to look beyond him toother powers sharing his dominion. The Indian belief, if developed, would have developed into a system of polytheism. 

[ Some of the early writers could discover no trace of belief in asupreme spirit of any kind. Perrot, after a life spent among the Indians, ignores such an idea. Allouez emphatically denies that it existed amongthe tribes of Lake Superior. (Relation, 1667, 11. ) He adds, however, that the Sacs and Foxes believed in a great _genie_, who lived not farfrom the French settlements. --Ibid. , 21. ]

In the primitive Indian's conception of a God the idea of moral good hasno part. His deity does not dispense justice for this world or the next, but leaves mankind under the power of subordinate spirits, who fill andcontrol the universe. Nor is the good and evil of these inferior beingsa moral good and evil. The good spirit is the spirit that gives goodluck, and ministers to the necessities and desires of mankind: the evilspirit is simply a malicious agent of disease, death, and mischance. 

In no Indian language could the early missionaries find a word to expressthe idea of God. Manitou and Oki meant anything endowed withsupernatural powers, from a snake-skin, or a greasy Indian conjurer, up to Manabozho and Jouskeha. The priests were forced to use acircumlocution, --"The Great Chief of Men, " or "He who lives in the Sky. "[ See "Divers Sentimens, " appended to the Relation of 1635, sec. 27; andalso many other passages of early missionaries. ] Yet it should seemthat the idea of a supreme controlling spirit might naturally arise fromthe peculiar character of Indian belief. The idea that each race ofanimals has its archetype or chief would easily suggest the existence ofa supreme chief of the spirits or of the human race, --a conceptionimperfectly shadowed forth in Manabozho. The Jesuit missionaries seizedthis advantage. "If each sort of animal has its king, " they urged, "so, too, have men; and as man is above all the animals, so is the spirit thatrules over men the master of all the other spirits. " The Indian mindreadily accepted the idea, and tribes in no sense Christian quickly roseto the belief in one controlling spirit. The Great Spirit became adistinct existence, a pervading power in the universe, and a dispenser ofjustice. Many tribes now pray to him, though still clinging obstinatelyto their ancient superstitions; and with some, as the heathen portion ofthe modern Iroquois, he is clothed with attributes of moral good. 

[ In studying the writers of the last and of the present century, it isto be remembered that their observations were made upon savages who hadbeen for generations in contact, immediate or otherwise, with thedoctrines of Christianity. Many observers have interpreted the religiousideas of the Indians after preconceived ideas of their own; and it maysafely be affirmed that an Indian will respond with a grunt ofacquiescence to any question whatever touching his spiritual state. Loskiel and the simple-minded Heckewelder write from a missionary pointof view; Adair, to support a theory of descent from the Jews; the worthytheologian, Jarvis, to maintain his dogma, that all religious ideas ofthe heathen world are perversions of revelation; and so, in a greater orless degree, of many others. By far the most close and accurateobservers of Indian superstition were the French and Italian Jesuits ofthe first half of the seventeenth century. Their opportunities wereunrivalled; and they used them in a spirit of faithful inquiry, accumulating facts, and leaving theory to their successors. Of recentAmerican writers, no one has given so much attention to the subject asMr. Schoolcraft; but, in view of his opportunities and his zeal, hisresults are most unsatisfactory. The work in six large quarto volumes, History, Condition, and Prospects of Indian Tribes, published byGovernment under his editorship, includes the substance of most of hisprevious writings. It is a singularly crude and illiterate production, stuffed with blunders and contradictions, giving evidence on every pageof a striking unfitness either for historical or philosophical inquiry, and taxing to the utmost the patience of those who would extract what isvaluable in it from its oceans of pedantic verbiage. ]

The primitive Indian believed in the immortality of the soul, [ 1 ] buthe did not always believe in a state of future reward and punishment. Nor, when such a belief existed, was the good to be rewarded a moral good, or the evil to be punished a moral evil. Skilful hunters, brave warriors, men of influence and consideration, went, after death, to the happyhunting-ground; while the slothful, the cowardly, and the weak weredoomed to eat serpents and ashes in dreary regions of mist and darkness. In the general belief, however, there was but one land of shades for allalike. The spirits, in form and feature as they had been in life, wended their way through dark forests to the villages of the dead, subsisting on bark and rotten wood. On arriving, they sat all day in thecrouching posture of the sick, and, when night came, hunted the shades ofanimals, with the shades of bows and arrows, among the shades of treesand rocks: for all things, animate and inanimate, were alike immortal, and all passed together to the gloomy country of the dead. 

[ 1 The exceptions are exceedingly rare. Father Gravier says that aPeoria Indian once told him that there was no future life. It would bedifficult to find another instance of the kind. ]

The belief respecting the land of souls varied greatly in differenttribes and different individuals. Among the Hurons there were those whoheld that departed spirits pursued their journey through the sky, alongthe Milky Way, while the souls of dogs took another route, by certainconstellations, known as the "Way of the Dogs. " [ Sagard, Voyage desHurons, 233. ]

At intervals of ten or twelve years, the Hurons, the Neutrals, and otherkindred tribes, were accustomed to collect the bones of their dead, and deposit them, with great ceremony, in a common place of burial. The whole nation was sometimes assembled at this solemnity; and hundredsof corpses, brought from their temporary resting-places, were inhumed inone capacious pit. From this hour the immortality of their souls began. They took wing, as some affirmed, in the shape of pigeons; while thegreater number declared that they journeyed on foot, and in their ownlikeness, to the land of shades, bearing with them the ghosts of thewampum-belts, beaver-skins, bows, arrows, pipes, kettles, beads, andrings buried with them in the common grave. [ The practice of buryingtreasures with the dead is not peculiar to the North American aborigines. Thus, the London Times of Oct. 25, 1885, describing the funeral rites ofLord Palmerston, says: "And as the words, 'Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, 'were pronounced, the chief mourner, as a last precious offering to thedead, threw into the grave several diamond and gold rings. " ] But as thespirits of the old and of children are too feeble for the march, they areforced to stay behind, lingering near their earthly villages, where theliving often hear the shutting of their invisible cabin-doors, and theweak voices of the disembodied children driving birds from theircorn-fields. [ Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1636, 99 (Cramoisy). ]An endless variety of incoherent fancies is connected with the Indianidea of a future life. They commonly owe their origin to dreams, oftento the dreams of those in extreme sickness, who, on awaking, supposedthat they had visited the other world, and related to the wonderingbystanders what they had seen. 

The Indian land of souls is not always a region of shadows and gloom. The Hurons sometimes represented the souls of their dead--those of theirdogs included--as dancing joyously in the presence of Ataentsic andJouskeha. According to some Algonquin traditions, heaven was a scene ofendless festivity, the ghosts dancing to the sound of the rattle and thedrum, and greeting with hospitable welcome the occasional visitor fromthe living world: for the spirit-land was not far off, and roving hunterssometimes passed its confines unawares. 

Most of the traditions agree, however, that the spirits, on their journeyheavenward, were beset with difficulties and perils. There was a swiftriver which must be crossed on a log that shook beneath their feet, while a ferocious dog opposed their passage, and drove many into theabyss. This river was full of sturgeon and other fish, which the ghostsspeared for their subsistence. Beyond was a narrow path between movingrocks, which each instant crashed together, grinding to atoms the lessnimble of the pilgrims who essayed to pass. The Hurons believed that apersonage named Oscotarach, or the Head-Piercer, dwelt in a bark housebeside the path, and that it was his office to remove the brains from theheads of all who went by, as a necessary preparation for immortality. This singular idea is found also in some Algonquin traditions, accordingto which, however, the brain is afterwards restored to its owner. 

[ On Indian ideas of another life, compare Sagard, the Jesuit Relations, Perrot, Charlevoix, and Lafitau, with Tanner, James, Schoolcraft, and theAppendix to Morse's Indian Report. 

Le Clerc recounts a singular story, current in his time among theAlgonquins of Gaspe and Northern New Brunswick. The favorite son of anold Indian died; whereupon the father, with a party of friends, set outfor the land of souls to recover him. It was only necessary to wadethrough a shallow lake, several days' journey in extent. This they did, sleeping at night on platforms of poles which supported them above thewater. At length they arrived, and were met by Papkootparout, the IndianPluto, who rushed on them in a rage, with his war-club upraised; but, presently relenting, changed his mind, and challenged them to a game ofball. They proved the victors, and won the stakes, consisting of corn, tobacco, and certain fruits, which thus became known to mankind. Thebereaved father now begged hard for his son's soul, and Papkootparout atlast gave it to him, in the form and size of a nut, which, by pressing ithard between his hands, he forced into a small leather bag. Thedelighted parent carried it back to earth, with instructions to insert itin the body of his son, who would thereupon return to life. When theadventurers reached home, and reported the happy issue of their journey, there was a dance of rejoicing; and the father, wishing to take part init, gave his son's soul to the keeping of a squaw who stood by. Beingcurious to see it, she opened the bag; on which it escaped at once, and took flight for the realms of Papkootparout, preferring them to theabodes of the living. --Le Clerc, Nouvelle Relation de la Gaspesie, 310-328. ]

Dreams were to the Indian a universal oracle. They revealed to him hisguardian spirit, taught him the cure of his diseases, warned him of thedevices of sorcerers, guided him to the lurking-places of his enemy orthe haunts of game, and unfolded the secrets of good and evil destiny. The dream was a mysterious and inexorable power, whose least behests mustbe obeyed to the letter, --a source, in every Indian town, of endlessmischief and abomination. There were professed dreamers, and professedinterpreters of dreams. One of the most noted festivals among the Huronsand Iroquois was the Dream Feast, a scene of frenzy, where the actorscounterfeited madness, and the town was like a bedlam turned loose. Each pretended to have dreamed of something necessary to his welfare, and rushed from house to house, demanding of all he met to guess hissecret requirement and satisfy it. 

Believing that the whole material world was instinct with powers toinfluence and control his fate, that good and evil spirits, andexistences nameless and indefinable, filled all Nature, that a pervadingsorcery was above, below, and around him, and that issues of life anddeath might be controlled by instruments the most unnoticeable andseemingly the most feeble, the Indian lived in perpetual fear. Theturning of a leaf, the crawling of an insect, the cry of a bird, thecreaking of a bough, might be to him the mystic signal of weal or woe. 

An Indian community swarmed with sorcerers, medicine-men, and diviners, whose functions were often united in the same person. The sorcerer, by charms, magic songs, magic feasts, and the beating of his drum, had power over the spirits and those occult influences inherent inanimals and inanimate things. He could call to him the souls of hisenemies. They appeared before him in the form of stones. He chopped andbruised them with his hatchet; blood and flesh issued forth; and theintended victim, however distant, languished and died. Like the sorcererof the Middle Ages, he made images of those he wished to destroy, and, muttering incantations, punctured them with an awl, whereupon the personsrepresented sickened and pined away. 

The Indian doctor relied far more on magic than on natural remedies. Dreams, beating of the drum, songs, magic feasts and dances, and howlingto frighten the female demon from his patient, were his ordinary methodsof cure. 

The prophet, or diviner, had various means of reading the secrets offuturity, such as the flight of birds, and the movements of water andfire. There was a peculiar practice of divination very general in theAlgonquin family of tribes, among some of whom it still subsists. A small, conical lodge was made by planting poles in a circle, lashingthe tops together at the height of about seven feet from the ground, and closely covering them with hides. The prophet crawled in, and closedthe aperture after him. He then beat his drum and sang his magic songsto summon the spirits, whose weak, shrill voices were soon heard, mingledwith his lugubrious chanting, while at intervals the juggler paused tointerpret their communications to the attentive crowd seated on theground without. During the whole scene, the lodge swayed to and fro witha violence which has astonished many a civilized beholder, and which someof the Jesuits explain by the ready solution of a genuine diabolicintervention. 

[ This practice was first observed by Champlain. (See "Pioneers ofFrance in the New World. " ) From his time to the present, numerouswriters have remarked upon it. Le Jeune, in the Relation of 1637, treats it at some length. The lodge was sometimes of a cylindrical, instead of a conical form. ]

The sorcerers, medicine-men, and diviners did not usually exercise thefunction of priests. Each man sacrificed for himself to the powers hewished to propitiate, whether his guardian spirit, the spirits of animals, or the other beings of his belief. The most common offering was tobacco, thrown into the fire or water; scraps of meat were sometimes burned tothe manitous; and, on a few rare occasions of public solemnity, a whitedog, the mystic animal of many tribes, was tied to the end of an uprightpole, as a sacrifice to some superior spirit, or to the sun, with whichthe superior spirits were constantly confounded by the primitive Indian. In recent times, when Judaism and Christianity have modified hisreligious ideas, it has been, and still is, the practice to sacrificedogs to the Great Spirit. On these public occasions, the sacrificialfunction is discharged by chiefs, or by warriors appointed for thepurpose. 

[ Many of the Indian feasts were feasts of sacrifice, --sometimes to theguardian spirit of the host, sometimes to an animal of which he hasdreamed, sometimes to a local or other spirit. The food was firstoffered in a loud voice to the being to be propitiated, after which theguests proceeded to devour it for him. This unique method of sacrificewas practised at war-feasts and similar solemnities. For an excellentaccount of Indian religious feasts, see Perrot, Chap. V. 

One of the most remarkable of Indian sacrifices was that practised by theHurons in the case of a person drowned or frozen to death. The flesh ofthe deceased was cut off; and thrown into a fire made for the purpose, as an offering of propitiation to the spirits of the air or water. What remained of the body was then buried near the fire. --Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1636, 108. 

The tribes of Virginia, as described by Beverly and others, not only hadpriests who offered sacrifice, but idols and houses of worship. ]

Among the Hurons and Iroquois, and indeed all the stationary tribes, there was an incredible number of mystic ceremonies, extravagant, puerile, and often disgusting, designed for the cure of the sick or for thegeneral weal of the community. Most of their observances seem originallyto have been dictated by dreams, and transmitted as a sacred heritagefrom generation to generation. They consisted in an endless variety ofdances, masqueradings, and nondescript orgies; and a scrupulous adherenceto all the traditional forms was held to be of the last moment, as theslightest failure in this respect might entail serious calamities. If children were seen in their play imitating any of these mysteries, they were grimly rebuked and punished. In many tribes secret magicalsocieties existed, and still exist, into which members are initiated withpeculiar ceremonies. These associations are greatly respected andfeared. They have charms for love, war, and private revenge, and exert agreat, and often a very mischievous influence. The societies of theMetai and the Wabeno, among the Northern Algonquins, are conspicuousexamples; while other societies of similar character have, for a century, been known to exist among the Dahcotah. 

[ The Friendly Society of the Spirit, of which the initiatory ceremonieswere seen and described by Carver (Travels, 271), preserves to this dayits existence and its rites. ]

A notice of the superstitious ideas of the Indians would be imperfectwithout a reference to the traditionary tales through which these ideasare handed down from father to son. Some of these tales can be tracedback to the period of the earliest intercourse with Europeans. One atleast of those recorded by the first missionaries, on the LowerSt. Lawrence, is still current among the tribes of the Upper Lakes. Many of them are curious combinations of beliefs seriously entertainedwith strokes intended for humor and drollery, which never fail to awakenpeals of laughter in the lodge-circle. Giants, dwarfs, cannibals, spirits, beasts, birds, and anomalous monsters, transformations, tricks, and sorcery, form the staple of the story. Some of the Iroquois talesembody conceptions which, however preposterous, are of a bold andstriking character; but those of the Algonquins are, to an incredibledegree, flimsy, silly, and meaningless; nor are those of the Dahcotahtribes much better. In respect to this wigwam lore, there is a curioussuperstition of very wide prevalence. The tales must not be told insummer; since at that season, when all Nature is full of life, thespirits are awake, and, hearing what is said of them, may take offence;whereas in winter they are fast sealed up in snow and ice, and no longercapable of listening. 

[ The prevalence of this fancy among the Algonquins in the remote partsof Canada is well established. The writer found it also among theextreme western bands of the Dahcotah. He tried, in the month of July, to persuade an old chief, a noted story-teller, to tell him some of thetales; but, though abundantly loquacious in respect to his own adventures, and even his dreams, the Indian obstinately refused, saying that winterwas the time for the tales, and that it was bad to tell them in summer. 

Mr. Schoolcraft has published a collection of Algonquin tales, under thetitle of Algic Researches. Most of them were translated by his wife, an educated Ojibwa half-breed. This book is perhaps the best ofMr. Schoolcraft's works, though its value is much impaired by the want ofa literal rendering, and the introduction of decorations which savor moreof a popular monthly magazine than of an Indian wigwam. Mrs. Eastman'sinteresting Legends of the Sioux (Dahcotah) is not free from the samedefect. Other tales are scattered throughout the works of Mr. Schoolcraftand various modern writers. Some are to be found in the works of Lafitauand the other Jesuits. But few of the Iroquois legends have been printed, though a considerable number have been written down. The singular Historyof the Five Nations, by the old Tuscarora Indian, Cusick, gives thesubstance of some of them. Others will be found in Clark's History ofOnondaga. ]

It is obvious that the Indian mind has never seriously occupied itselfwith any of the higher themes of thought. The beings of its belief arenot impersonations of the forces of Nature, the courses of human destiny, or the movements of human intellect, will, and passion. In the midst ofNature; the Indian knew nothing of her laws. His perpetual reference ofher phenomena to occult agencies forestalled inquiry and precludedinductive reasoning. If the wind blew with violence, it was because thewater-lizard, which makes the wind, had crawled out of his pool; if thelightning was sharp and frequent, it was because the young of thethunder-bird were restless in their nest; if a blight fell upon the corn, it was because the Corn Spirit was angry; and if the beavers were shy anddifficult to catch, it was because they had taken offence at seeing thebones of one of their race thrown to a dog. Well, and even highlydeveloped, in a few instances, --I allude especially to the Iroquois, --with respect to certain points of material concernment, the mind of theIndian in other respects was and is almost hopelessly stagnant. The verytraits that raise him above the servile races are hostile to the kind anddegree of civilization which those races so easily attain. Hisintractable spirit of independence, and the pride which forbids him to bean imitator, reinforce but too strongly that savage lethargy of mind fromwhich it is so hard to rouse him. No race, perhaps, ever offered greaterdifficulties to those laboring for its improvement. 

To sum up the results of this examination, the primitive Indian was assavage in his religion as in his life. He was divided between fetich-worship and that next degree of religious development which consists inthe worship of deities embodied in the human form. His conception oftheir attributes was such as might have been expected. His gods were nowhit better than himself. Even when he borrows from Christianity theidea of a Supreme and Universal Spirit, his tendency is to reduce Him toa local habitation and a bodily shape; and this tendency disappears onlyin tribes that have been long in contact with civilized white men. The primitive Indian, yielding his untutored homage to One All-pervadingand Omnipotent Spirit, is a dream of poets, rhetoricians, andsentimentalists. 

THE JESUITS IN NORTH AMERICA. 

CHAPTER I. 

1634. 

NOTRE-DAME DES ANGES. 

 QUEBEC IN 1634. --FATHER LE JEUNE. --THE MISSION-HOUSE. -- ITS DOMESTIC ECONOMY. --THE JESUITS AND THEIR DESIGNS. 

Opposite Quebec lies the tongue of land called Point Levi. One who, in the summer of the year 1634, stood on its margin and looked northward, across the St. Lawrence, would have seen, at the distance of a mile ormore, a range of lofty cliffs, rising on the left into the bold heightsof Cape Diamond, and on the right sinking abruptly to the bed of thetributary river St. Charles. Beneath these cliffs, at the brink of theSt. Lawrence, he would have descried a cluster of warehouses, sheds, and wooden tenements. Immediately above, along the verge of theprecipice, he could have traced the outlines of a fortified work, with aflagstaff, and a few small cannon to command the river; while, at theonly point where Nature had made the heights accessible, a zigzag pathconnected the warehouses and the fort. 

Now, embarked in the canoe of some Montagnais Indian, let him cross theSt. Lawrence, land at the pier, and, passing the cluster of buildings, climb the pathway up the cliff. Pausing for rest and breath, he mightsee, ascending and descending, the tenants of this outpost of thewilderness: a soldier of the fort, or an officer in slouched hat andplume; a factor of the fur company, owner and sovereign lord of allCanada; a party of Indians; a trader from the upper country, one of theprecursors of that hardy race of _coureurs de bois_, destined to form aconspicuous and striking feature of the Canadian population: next, perhaps, would appear a figure widely different. The close, blackcassock, the rosary hanging from the waist, and the wide, black hat, looped up at the sides, proclaimed the Jesuit, --Father Le Jeune, Superiorof the Residence of Quebec. 

And now, that we may better know the aspect and condition of the infantcolony and incipient mission, we will follow the priest on his way. Mounting the steep path, he reached the top of the cliff, some twohundred feet above the river and the warehouses. On the left lay thefort built by Champlain, covering a part of the ground now forming DurhamTerrace and the Place d'Armes. Its ramparts were of logs and earth, and within was a turreted building of stone, used as a barrack, asofficers' quarters, and for other purposes. [ Compare the variousnotices in Champlain (1632) with that of Du Creux, Historia Canadensis, 204. ] Near the fort stood a small chapel, newly built. The surroundingcountry was cleared and partially cultivated; yet only one dwelling-houseworthy the name appeared. It was a substantial cottage, where livedMadame Hebert, widow of the first settler of Canada, with her daughter, her son-in-law Couillard, and their children, good Catholics all, who, two years before, when Quebec was evacuated by the English, [ 1 ] weptfor joy at beholding Le Jeune, and his brother Jesuit, De Noue, crossingtheir threshold to offer beneath their roof the long-forbidden sacrificeof the Mass. There were inclosures with cattle near at hand; and thehouse, with its surroundings, betokened industry and thrift. 

[ 1 See "Pioneers of France in the New World. " Hebert's cottage seemsto have stood between Ste. -Famille and Couillard Streets, as appears by acontract of 1634, cited by M. Ferland. ]

Thence Le Jeune walked on, across the site of the modern market-place, and still onward, near the line of the cliffs which sank abruptly on hisright. Beneath lay the mouth of the St. Charles; and, beyond, thewilderness shore of Beauport swept in a wide curve eastward, to where, far in the distance, the Gulf of Montmorenci yawned on the great river. [ The settlement of Beauport was begun this year, or the year following, by the Sieur Giffard, to whom a large tract had been granted here--Langevin, Notes sur les Archives de N. D. De Beauport, 5. ] The priestsoon passed the clearings, and entered the woods which covered the siteof the present suburb of St. John. Thence he descended to a lowerplateau, where now lies the suburb of St. Roch, and, still advancing, reached a pleasant spot at the extremity of the Pointe-aux-Lievres, a tract of meadow land nearly inclosed by a sudden bend of theSt. Charles. Here lay a canoe or skiff; and, paddling across the narrowstream, Le Jeune saw on the meadow, two hundred yards from the bank, a square inclosure formed of palisades, like a modern picket fort of theIndian frontier. [ 1 ] Within this inclosure were two buildings, one ofwhich had been half burned by the English, and was not yet repaired. It served as storehouse, stable, workshop, and bakery. Opposite stoodthe principal building, a structure of planks, plastered with mud, and thatched with long grass from the meadows. It consisted of one story, a garret, and a cellar, and contained four principal rooms, of which oneserved as chapel, another as refectory, another as kitchen, and thefourth as a lodging for workmen. The furniture of all was plain in theextreme. Until the preceding year, the chapel had had no other ornamentthan a sheet on which were glued two coarse engravings; but the priestshad now decorated their altar with an image of a dove representing theHoly Ghost, an image of Loyola, another of Xavier, and three images ofthe Virgin. Four cells opened from the refectory, the largest of whichwas eight feet square. In these lodged six priests, while two laybrothers found shelter in the garret. The house had been hastily built, eight years before, and now leaked in all parts. Such was the Residenceof Notre-Dame des Anges. Here was nourished the germ of a vastenterprise, and this was the cradle of the great mission of New France. [ 2 ]

[ 1 This must have been very near the point where the streamlet calledthe River Lairet enters the St. Charles. The place has a triple historicinterest. The wintering-place of Cartier in 1535-6 (see "Pioneers ofFrance") seems to have been here. Here, too, in 1759, Montcalm's bridgeof boats crossed the St. Charles; and in a large intrenchment, whichprobably included the site of the Jesuit mission-house, the remnants ofhis shattered army rallied, after their defeat on the Plains ofAbraham. --See the very curious Narrative of the Chevalier Johnstone, published by the Historical Society of Quebec. ]

[ 2 The above particulars are gathered from the Relations of 1626(Lalemant), and 1632, 1633, 1634, 1635 (Le Jeune), but chiefly from along letter of the Father Superior to the Provincial of the Jesuits atParis, containing a curiously minute report of the state of the mission. It was sent from Quebec by the returning ships in the summer of 1634, and will be found in Carayon, Premiere Mission des Jesuites au Canada, 122. The original is in the archives of the Order at Rome. ]

Of the six Jesuits gathered in the refectory for the evening meal, one was conspicuous among the rest, --a tall, strong man, with featuresthat seemed carved by Nature for a soldier, but which the mental habitsof years had stamped with the visible impress of the priesthood. Thiswas Jean de Brebeuf, descendant of a noble family of Normandy, and one ofthe ablest and most devoted zealots whose names stand on the missionaryrolls of his Order. His companions were Masse, Daniel, Davost, De Noue, and the Father Superior, Le Jeune. Masse was the same priest who hadbeen the companion of Father Biard in the abortive mission of Acadia. [ See "Pioneers of France in the New World. " ] By reason of his usefulqualities, Le Jeune nicknamed him "le Pere Utile. " At present, hisspecial function was the care of the pigs and cows, which he kept in theinclosure around the buildings, lest they should ravage the neighboringfields of rye, barley, wheat, and maize. [ 1 ] De Noue had charge of theeight or ten workmen employed by the mission, who gave him at times nolittle trouble by their repinings and complaints. [ 2 ] They were forcedto hear mass every morning and prayers every evening, besides anexhortation on Sunday. Some of them were for returning home, while twoor three, of a different complexion, wished to be Jesuits themselves. The Fathers, in their intervals of leisure, worked with their men, spade in hand. For the rest, they were busied in preaching, singingvespers, saying mass and hearing confessions at the fort of Quebec, catechizing a few Indians, and striving to master the enormousdifficulties of the Huron and Algonquin languages. 

[ 1 "Le P. Masse, que je nomme quelquefois en riant le Pere Utile, est bien cognu de V. R. Il a soin des choses domestiques et du bestailque nous avons, en quoy il a tres-bien reussy. "--Lettre du P. Paul leJeune au R. P. Provincial, in Carayon, 122. --Le Jeune does not fail tosend an inventory of the "bestail" to his Superior, namely: "Deux grossestruies qui nourissent chacune quatre petits cochons, deux vaches, deuxpetites genisses, et un petit taureau. " ]

[ 2 The methodical Le Jeune sets down the causes of their discontentunder six different heads, each duly numbered. Thus:-- "1. C'est le naturel des artisans de se plaindre et de gronder. " "2. La diversite des gages les fait murmurer, " etc. ]

Well might Father Le Jeune write to his Superior, "The harvest isplentiful, and the laborers few. " These men aimed at the conversion of acontinent. From their hovel on the St. Charles they surveyed a field oflabor whose vastness might tire the wings of thought itself; a scenerepellent and appalling, darkened with omens of peril and woe. They werean advance-guard of the great army of Loyola, strong in a discipline thatcontrolled not alone the body and the will, but the intellect, the heart, the soul, and the inmost consciousness. The lives of these earlyCanadian Jesuits attest the earnestness of their faith and the intensityof their zeal; but it was a zeal bridled, curbed, and ruled by a guidinghand. Their marvellous training in equal measure kindled enthusiasm andcontrolled it, roused into action a mighty power, and made it assubservient as those great material forces which modern science haslearned to awaken and to govern. They were drilled to a factitioushumility, prone to find utterance in expressions of self-depreciation andself-scorn, which one may often judge unwisely, when he condemns them asinsincere. They were devoted believers, not only in the fundamentaldogmas of Rome, but in those lesser matters of faith which heresydespises as idle and puerile superstitions. One great aim engrossedtheir lives. "For the greater glory of God"--ad majorem Dei gloriam--they would act or wait, dare, suffer, or die, yet all in unquestioningsubjection to the authority of the Superiors, in whom they recognized theagents of Divine authority itself. 

CHAPTER II. 

LOYOLA AND THE JESUITS. 

 CONVERSION OF LOYOLA. --FOUNDATION OF THE SOCIETY OF JESUS. -- PREPARATION OF THE NOVICE. --CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ORDER. -- THE CANADIAN JESUITS. 

It was an evil day for new-born Protestantism, when a French artillerymanfired the shot that struck down Ignatius Loyola in the breach ofPampeluna. A proud noble, an aspiring soldier, a graceful courtier, an ardent and daring gallant was metamorphosed by that stroke into thezealot whose brain engendered and brought forth the mighty Society ofJesus. His story is a familiar one: how, in the solitude of hissick-room, a change came over him, upheaving, like an earthquake, all theforces of his nature; how, in the cave of Manresa, the mysteries ofHeaven were revealed to him; how he passed from agonies to transports, from transports to the calm of a determined purpose. The soldier gavehimself to a new warfare. In the forge of his great intellect, heated, but not disturbed by the intense fires of his zeal, was wrought theprodigious enginery whose power has been felt to the uttermost confinesof the world. 

Loyola's training had been in courts and camps: of books he knew littleor nothing. He had lived in the unquestioning faith of one born and bredin the very focus of Romanism; and thus, at the age of about thirty, his conversion found him. It was a change of life and purpose, not ofbelief. He presumed not to inquire into the doctrines of the Church. It was for him to enforce those doctrines; and to this end he turned allthe faculties of his potent intellect, and all his deep knowledge ofmankind. He did not aim to build up barren communities of secluded monks, aspiring to heaven through prayer, penance, and meditation, but to subduethe world to the dominion of the dogmas which had subdued him; toorganize and discipline a mighty host, controlled by one purpose and onemind, fired by a quenchless zeal or nerved by a fixed resolve, yetimpelled, restrained, and directed by a single master hand. The Jesuitis no dreamer: he is emphatically a man of action; action is the end ofhis existence. 

It was an arduous problem which Loyola undertook to solve, --to rob a manof volition, yet to preserve in him, nay, to stimulate, those energieswhich would make him the most efficient instrument of a great design. To this end the Jesuit novitiate and the constitutions of the Order aredirected. The enthusiasm of the novice is urged to its intensest pitch;then, in the name of religion, he is summoned to the utter abnegation ofintellect and will in favor of the Superior, in whom he is commanded torecognize the representative of God on earth. Thus the young zealotmakes no slavish sacrifice of intellect and will; at least, so he istaught: for he sacrifices them, not to man, but to his Maker. No limitis set to his submission: if the Superior pronounces black to be white, he is bound in conscience to acquiesce. 

[ Those who wish to know the nature of the Jesuit virtue of obediencewill find it set forth in the famous Letter on Obedience of Loyola. ]

Loyola's book of Spiritual Exercises is well known. In these exerciseslies the hard and narrow path which is the only entrance to the Societyof Jesus. The book is, to all appearance, a dry and superstitiousformulary; but, in the hands of a skilful director of consciences, it has proved of terrible efficacy. The novice, in solitude and darkness, day after day and night after night, ponders its images of perdition anddespair. He is taught to hear, in imagination, the howlings of thedamned, to see their convulsive agonies, to feel the flames that burnwithout consuming, to smell the corruption of the tomb and the fumes ofthe infernal pit. He must picture to himself an array of adverse armies, one commanded by Satan on the plains of Babylon, one encamped underChrist about the walls of Jerusalem; and the perturbed mind, humbled bylong contemplation of its own vileness, is ordered to enroll itself underone or the other banner. Then, the choice made, it is led to a region ofserenity and celestial peace, and soothed with images of divine benignityand grace. These meditations last, without intermission, about a month, and, under an astute and experienced directorship, they have been foundof such power, that the Manual of Spiritual Exercises boasts to havesaved souls more in number than the letters it contains. 

To this succeed two years of discipline and preparation, directed, above all things else, to perfecting the virtues of humility andobedience. The novice is obliged to perform the lowest menial offices, and the most repulsive duties of the sick-room and the hospital; and heis sent forth, for weeks together, to beg his bread like a commonmendicant. He is required to reveal to his confessor, not only his sins, but all those hidden tendencies, instincts, and impulses which form thedistinctive traits of character. He is set to watch his comrades, and his comrades are set to watch him. Each must report what he observesof the acts and dispositions of the others; and this mutual espionagedoes not end with the novitiate, but extends to the close of life. The characteristics of every member of the Order are minutely analyzed, and methodically put on record. 

This horrible violence to the noblest qualities of manhood, joined tothat equivocal system of morality which eminent casuists of the Orderhave inculcated, must, it may be thought, produce deplorable effects uponthe characters of those under its influence. Whether this has beenactually the case, the reader of history may determine. It is certain, however, that the Society of Jesus has numbered among its members menwhose fervent and exalted natures have been intensified, without beingabased, by the pressure to which they have been subjected. 

It is not for nothing that the Society studies the character of itsmembers so intently, and by methods so startling. It not only uses itsknowledge to thrust into obscurity or cast out altogether those whom itdiscovers to be dull, feeble, or unwilling instruments of its purposes, but it assigns to every one the task to which his talents or hisdisposition may best adapt him: to one, the care of a royal conscience, whereby, unseen, his whispered word may guide the destiny of nations; toanother, the instruction of children; to another, a career of letters orscience; and to the fervent and the self-sacrificing, sometimes also tothe restless and uncompliant, the distant missions to the heathen. 

The Jesuit was, and is, everywhere, --in the school-room, in the library, in the cabinets of princes and ministers, in the huts of savages, in thetropics, in the frozen North, in India, in China, in Japan, in Africa, in America; now as a Christian priest, now as a soldier, a mathematician, an astrologer, a Brahmin, a mandarin, under countless disguises, by athousand arts, luring, persuading, or compelling souls into the fold ofRome. 

Of this vast mechanism for guiding and governing the minds of men, this mighty enginery for subduing the earth to the dominion of an idea, this harmony of contradictions, this moral Proteus, the faintest sketchmust now suffice. A disquisition on the Society of Jesus would bewithout end. No religious order has ever united in itself so much to beadmired and so much to be detested. Unmixed praise has been poured onits Canadian members. It is not for me to eulogize them, but to portraythem as they were. 

CHAPTER III. 

1632, 1633. 

PAUL LE JEUNE. 

 LE JEUNE'S VOYAGE. --HIS FIRST PUPILS. --HIS STUDIES. -- HIS INDIAN TEACHER. --WINTER AT THE MISSION-HOUSE. -- LE JEUNE'S SCHOOL. --REINFORCEMENTS. 

In another narrative, we have seen how the Jesuits, supplanting theRecollet friars, their predecessors, had adopted as their own the ruggedtask of Christianizing New France. We have seen, too, how a descent ofthe English, or rather of Huguenots fighting under English colors, had overthrown for a time the miserable little colony, with the missionto which it was wedded; and how Quebec was at length restored to France, and the broken thread of the Jesuit enterprise resumed. [ "Pioneers ofFrance. " ]

It was then that Le Jeune had embarked for the New World. He was in hisconvent at Dieppe when he received the order to depart; and he set forthin haste for Havre, filled, he assures us, with inexpressible joy at theprospect of a living or a dying martyrdom. At Rouen he was joined by DeNoue, with a lay brother named Gilbert; and the three sailed together onthe eighteenth of April, 1632. The sea treated them roughly; Le Jeunewas wretchedly sea-sick; and the ship nearly foundered in a gale. At length they came in sight of "that miserable country, " as themissionary calls the scene of his future labors. It was in the harbor ofTadoussac that he first encountered the objects of his apostolic cares;for, as he sat in the ship's cabin with the master, it was suddenlyinvaded by ten or twelve Indians, whom he compares to a party of maskersat the Carnival. Some had their cheeks painted black, their noses blue, and the rest of their faces red. Others were decorated with a broad bandof black across the eyes; and others, again, with diverging rays of black, red, and blue on both cheeks. Their attire was no less uncouth. Some ofthem wore shaggy bear skins, reminding the priest of the pictures ofSt. John the Baptist. 

After a vain attempt to save a number of Iroquois prisoners whom theywere preparing to burn alive on shore, Le Jeune and his companions againset sail, and reached Quebec on the fifth of July. Having said mass, as already mentioned, under the roof of Madame Hebert and her delightedfamily, the Jesuits made their way to the two hovels built by theirpredecessors on the St. Charles, which had suffered woful dilapidation atthe hands of the English. Here they made their abode, and appliedthemselves, with such skill as they could command, to repair theshattered tenements and cultivate the waste meadows around. 

The beginning of Le Jeune's missionary labors was neither imposing norpromising. He describes himself seated with a small Indian boy on oneside and a small negro on the other, the latter of whom had been left bythe English as a gift to Madame Hebert. As neither of the threeunderstood the language of the others, the pupils made little progress inspiritual knowledge. The missionaries, it was clear, must learnAlgonquin at any cost; and, to this end, Le Jeune resolved to visit theIndian encampments. Hearing that a band of Montagnais were fishing foreels on the St. Lawrence, between Cape Diamond and the cove which nowbears the name of Wolfe, he set forth for the spot on a morning inOctober. As, with toil and trepidation, he scrambled around the foot ofthe cape, --whose precipices, with a chaos of loose rocks, thrustthemselves at that day into the deep tidewater, --he dragged down uponhimself the trunk of a fallen tree, which, in its descent, well nighswept him into the river. The peril past, he presently reached hisdestination. Here, among the lodges of bark, were stretched innumerablestrings of hide, from which hung to dry an incredible multitude of eels. A boy invited him into the lodge of a withered squaw, his grandmother, who hastened to offer him four smoked eels on a piece of birch bark, while other squaws of the household instructed him how to roast them on aforked stick over the embers. All shared the feast together, hisentertainers using as napkins their own hair or that of their dogs; whileLe Jeune, intent on increasing his knowledge of Algonquin, maintained anactive discourse of broken words and pantomime. [ Le Jeune, Relation, 1633, 2. ]

The lesson, however, was too laborious, and of too little profit, to beoften repeated, and the missionary sought anxiously for more stableinstruction. To find such was not easy. The interpreters--Frenchmen, who, in the interest of the fur company, had spent years among theIndians--were averse to Jesuits, and refused their aid. There was oneresource, however, of which Le Jeune would fain avail himself. An Indian, called Pierre by the French, had been carried to France by the Recolletfriars, instructed, converted, and baptized. He had lately returned toCanada, where, to the scandal of the Jesuits, he had relapsed into hisold ways, retaining of his French education little besides a few newvices. He still haunted the fort at Quebec, lured by the hope of anoccasional gift of wine or tobacco, but shunned the Jesuits, of whoserigid way of life he stood in horror. As he spoke good French and goodIndian, he would have been invaluable to the embarrassed priests at themission. Le Jeune invoked the aid of the Saints. The effect of hisprayers soon appeared, he tells us, in a direct interposition ofProvidence, which so disposed the heart of Pierre that he quarrelled withthe French commandant, who thereupon closed the fort against him. He then repaired to his friends and relatives in the woods, but only toencounter a rebuff from a young squaw to whom he made his addresses. On this, he turned his steps towards the mission-house, and, beingunfitted by his French education for supporting himself by hunting, begged food and shelter from the priests. Le Jeune gratefully acceptedhim as a gift vouchsafed by Heaven to his prayers, persuaded a lackey atthe fort to give him a cast-off suit of clothes, promised him maintenance, and installed him as his teacher. 

Seated on wooden stools by the rough table in the refectory, the priestand the Indian pursued their studies. "How thankful I am, " writes LeJeune, "to those who gave me tobacco last year! At every difficulty Igive my master a piece of it, to make him more attentive. "

[ Relation, 1633, 7. He continues: "Ie ne scaurois assez rendre graces aNostre Seigneur de cet heureux rencontre. . . . Que Dieu soit beny pourvn iamais, sa prouidence est adorable, et sa bonte n'a point de limites. " ]

Meanwhile, winter closed in with a severity rare even in Canada. TheSt. Lawrence and the St. Charles were hard frozen; rivers, forests, and rocks were mantled alike in dazzling sheets of snow. The humblemission-house of Notre-Dame des Anges was half buried in the drifts, which, heaped up in front where a path had been dug through them, rosetwo feet above the low eaves. The priests, sitting at night before theblazing logs of their wide-throated chimney, heard the trees in theneighboring forest cracking with frost, with a sound like the report of apistol. Le Jeune's ink froze, and his fingers were benumbed, as hetoiled at his declensions and conjugations, or translated the PaterNoster into blundering Algonquin. The water in the cask beside the firefroze nightly, and the ice was broken every morning with hatchets. The blankets of the two priests were fringed with the icicles of theircongealed breath, and the frost lay in a thick coating on the lozenge-shaped glass of their cells. [ Le Jeune, Relation, 1633, 14, 15. ]

By day, Le Jeune and his companion practised with snow-shoes, with allthe mishaps which attend beginners, --the trippings, the falls, andheadlong dives into the soft drifts, amid the laughter of the Indians. Their seclusion was by no means a solitude. Bands of Montagnais, withtheir sledges and dogs, often passed the mission-house on their way tohunt the moose. They once invited De Noue to go with them; and he, scarcely less eager than Le Jeune to learn their language, readilyconsented. In two or three weeks he appeared, sick, famished, and halfdead with exhaustion. "Not ten priests in a hundred, " writes Le Jeune tohis Superior, "could bear this winter life with the savages. " But whatof that? It was not for them to falter. They were but instruments inthe hands of God, to be used, broken, and thrown aside, if such should beHis will. 

[ "Voila, mon Reuerend Pere, vn eschantillon de ce qu'il faut souffrircourant apres les Sauuages. . . . Il faut prendre sa vie, et tout cequ'on a, et le ietter a l'abandon, pour ainsi dire, se contentant d'vnecroix bien grosse et bien pesante pour toute richesse. Il est bien vrayque Dieu ne se laisse point vaincre, et que plus on quitte, plus ontrouue: plus on perd, plus on gaigne: mais Dieu se cache par fois, et alors le Calice est bien amer. "--Le Jeune, Relation 1633, 19. ]

An Indian made Le Jeune a present of two small children, greatly to thedelight of the missionary, who at once set himself to teaching them topray in Latin. As the season grew milder, the number of his scholarsincreased; for, when parties of Indians encamped in the neighborhood, he would take his stand at the door, and, like Xavier at Goa, ring abell. At this, a score of children would gather around him; and he, leading them into the refectory, which served as his school-room, taughtthem to repeat after him the Pater, Aye, and Credo, expounded the mysteryof the Trinity, showed them the sign of the cross, and made them repeatan Indian prayer, the joint composition of Pierre and himself; thenfollowed the catechism, the lesson closing with singing the Pater Noster, translated by the missionary into Algonquin rhymes; and when all was over, he rewarded each of his pupils with a porringer of peas, to insure theirattendance at his next bell-ringing. 

[ "I'ay commence a appeller quelques enfans auec vne petite clochette. La premiere fois i'en auois six, puis douze, puis quinze, puis vingt etdavantage; ie leur fais dire le Pater, Aue, et Credo, etc. . . . . Nous finissons par le Pater Noster, que i'ay compose quasi en rimes enleur langue, que ie leur fais chanter: et pour derniere conclusion, ie leur fais donner chacun vne escuellee de pois, qu'ils mangent de bonappetit, " etc. --Le Jeune, Relation, 1633, 23. ]

It was the end of May, when the priests one morning heard the sound ofcannon from the fort, and were gladdened by the tidings that Samuel deChamplain had arrived to resume command at Quebec, bringing with him fourmore Jesuits, --Brebeuf, Masse, Daniel, and Davost. [ See "Pioneers ofFrance. " ] Brebeuf, from the first, turned his eyes towards the distantland of the Hurons, --a field of labor full of peril, but rich in hope andpromise. Le Jeune's duties as Superior restrained him from wanderings soremote. His apostleship must be limited, for a time, to the vagabondhordes of Algonquins, who roamed the forests of the lower St. Lawrence, and of whose language he had been so sedulous a student. Hisdifficulties had of late been increased by the absence of Pierre, who hadrun off as Lent drew near, standing in dread of that season of fasting. Masse brought tidings of him from Tadoussac, whither he had gone, andwhere a party of English had given him liquor, destroying the last traceof Le Jeune's late exhortations. "God forgive those, " writes the Father, "who introduced heresy into this country! If this savage, corrupted ashe is by these miserable heretics, had any wit, he would be a greathindrance to the spread of the Faith. It is plain that he was given us, not for the good of his soul, but only that we might extract from him theprinciples of his language. " [ Relation, 1633, 29. ]

Pierre had two brothers. One, well known as a hunter, was namedMestigoit; the other was the most noted "medicine-man, " or, as theJesuits called him, sorcerer, in the tribe of the Montagnais. Like therest of their people, they were accustomed to set out for their winterhunt in the autumn, after the close of their eel-fishery. Le Jeune, despite the experience of De Noue, had long had a mind to accompany oneof these roving bands, partly in the hope, that, in some hour of distress, he might touch their hearts, or, by a timely drop of baptismal water, dismiss some dying child to paradise, but chiefly with the object ofmastering their language. Pierre had rejoined his brothers; and, as thehunting season drew near, they all begged the missionary to make one oftheir party, --not, as he thought, out of any love for him, but solelywith a view to the provisions with which they doubted not he would bewell supplied. Le Jeune, distrustful of the sorcerer, demurred, but atlength resolved to go. 

CHAPTER IV. 

1633, 1634. 

LE JEUNE AND THE HUNTERS. 

 LE JEUNE JOINS THE INDIANS. --THE FIRST ENCAMPMENT. --THE APOSTATE. -- FOREST LIFE IN WINTER. --THE INDIAN HUT. --THE SORCERER. -- HIS PERSECUTION OF THE PRIEST. --EVIL COMPANY. --MAGIC. -- INCANTATIONS. --CHRISTMAS. --STARVATION. --HOPES OF CONVERSION. -- BACKSLIDING. --PERIL AND ESCAPE OF LE JEUNE. --HIS RETURN. 

On a morning in the latter part of October, Le Jeune embarked with theIndians, twenty in all, men, women, and children. No other Frenchman wasof the party. Champlain bade him an anxious farewell, and commended himto the care of his red associates, who had taken charge of his store ofbiscuit, flour, corn, prunes, and turnips, to which, in an evil hour, his friends had persuaded him to add a small keg of wine. The canoesglided along the wooded shore of the Island of Orleans, and the partylanded, towards evening, on the small island immediately below. Le Jeunewas delighted with the spot, and the wild beauties of the autumnal sunset. 

His reflections, however, were soon interrupted. While the squaws weresetting up their bark lodges, and Mestigoit was shooting wild-fowl forsupper, Pierre returned to the canoes, tapped the keg of wine, and soonfell into the mud, helplessly drunk. Revived by the immersion, he nextappeared at the camp, foaming at the mouth, threw down the lodges, overset the kettle, and chased the shrieking squaws into the woods. His brother Mestigoit rekindled the fire, and slung the kettle anew; whenPierre, who meanwhile had been raving like a madman along the shore, reeled in a fury to the spot to repeat his former exploit. Mestigoitanticipated him, snatched the kettle from the fire, and threw thescalding contents in his face. "He was never so well washed before inhis life, " says Le Jeune; "he lost all the skin of his face and breast. Would to God his heart had changed also!" [ 1 ] He roared in his frenzyfor a hatchet to kill the missionary, who therefore thought it prudent tospend the night in the neighboring woods. Here he stretched himself onthe earth, while a charitable squaw covered him with a sheet ofbirch-bark. "Though my bed, " he writes, "had not been made up since thecreation of the world, it was not hard enough to prevent me fromsleeping. "

[ "Iamais il ne fut si bien laue, il changea de peau en la face et entout l'estomach: pleust a Dieu que son ame eust change aussi bien que soncorps!"--Relation, 1634, 59. ]

Such was his initiation into Indian winter life. Passing over numerousadventures by water and land, we find the party, on the twelfth ofNovember, leaving their canoes on an island, and wading ashore at lowtide over the flats to the southern bank of the St. Lawrence. As twoother bands had joined them, their number was increased to forty-fivepersons. Now, leaving the river behind, they entered those savagehighlands whence issue the springs of the St. John, --a wilderness ofrugged mountain-ranges, clad in dense, continuous forests, with no humantenant but this troop of miserable rovers, and here and there somekindred band, as miserable as they. Winter had set in, and already deadNature was sheeted in funereal white. Lakes and ponds were frozen, rivulets sealed up, torrents encased with stalactites of ice; the blackrocks and the black trunks of the pine-trees were beplastered with snow, and its heavy masses crushed the dull green boughs into the driftsbeneath. The forest was silent as the grave. 

Through this desolation the long file of Indians made its way, all onsnow-shoes, each man, woman, and child bending under a heavy load, or dragging a sledge, narrow, but of prodigious length. They carriedtheir whole wealth with them, on their backs or on their sledges, --kettles, axes, hides of meat, if such they had, and huge rolls ofbirch-bark for covering their wigwams. The Jesuit was loaded like therest. The dogs alone floundered through the drifts unburdened. Therewas neither path nor level ground. Descending, climbing, stoopingbeneath half-fallen trees, clambering over piles of prostrate trunks, struggling through matted cedar-swamps, threading chill ravines, andcrossing streams no longer visible, they toiled on till the day began todecline, then stopped to encamp. [ 1 ] Burdens were thrown down, andsledges unladen. The squaws, with knives and hatchets, cut long poles ofbirch and spruce saplings; while the men, with snow-shoes for shovels, cleared a round or square space in the snow, which formed an upright wallthree or four feet high, inclosing the area of the wigwam. On one side, a passage was cut for an entrance, and the poles were planted around thetop of the wall of snow, sloping and converging. On these poles werespread the sheets of birch-bark; a bear-skin was hung in the passage-wayfor a door; the bare ground within and the surrounding snow were coveredwith spruce boughs; and the work was done. 

[ 1 "S'il arriuoit quelque degel, o Dieu quelle peine! Il me sembloitque ie marchois sur vn chemin de verre qui se cassoit a tous coups soubsmes pieds: la neige congelee venant a s'amollir, tomboit et s'enfoncoitpar esquarres ou grandes pieces, et nous en auions bien souuent iusquesaux genoux, quelquefois iusqu'a la ceinture. Que s'il y auoit de lapeine a tomber, il y en auoit encor plus a se retirer: car nos raquettesse chargeoient de neiges et se rendoient si pesantes, que quand vousveniez a les retirer il vous sembloit qu'on vous tiroit les iambes pourvous demembrer. I'en ay veu qui glissoient tellement soubs des souchesenseuelies soubs la neige, qu'ils ne pouuoient tirer ny iambes nyraquettes sans secours: or figurez vous maintenant vne personne chargeecomme vn mulet, et iugez si la vie des Sauuages est douce. "--Relation, 1634, 67. ]

This usually occupied about three hours, during which Le Jeune, spentwith travel, and weakened by precarious and unaccustomed fare, had thechoice of shivering in idleness, or taking part in a labor which fatigued, without warming, his exhausted frame. The sorcerer's wife was in farworse case. Though in the extremity of a mortal sickness, they left herlying in the snow till the wigwam was made, --without a word, on her part, of remonstrance or complaint. Le Jeune, to the great ire of her husband, sometimes spent the interval in trying to convert her; but she provedintractable, and soon died unbaptized. 

Thus lodged, they remained so long as game could be found within acircuit of ten or twelve miles, and then, subsistence failing, removed toanother spot. Early in the winter, they hunted the beaver and the Canadaporcupine; and, later, in the season of deep snows, chased the moose andthe caribou. 

Put aside the bear-skin, and enter the hut. Here, in a space somethirteen feet square, were packed nineteen savages, men, women, andchildren, with their dogs, crouched, squatted, coiled like hedgehogs, or lying on their backs, with knees drawn up perpendicularly to keeptheir feet out of the fire. Le Jeune, always methodical, arranges thegrievances inseparable from these rough quarters under four chiefheads, --Cold, Heat, Smoke, and Dogs. The bark covering was full ofcrevices, through which the icy blasts streamed in upon him from allsides; and the hole above, at once window and chimney, was so large, that, as he lay, he could watch the stars as well as in the open air. Whilethe fire in the midst, fed with fat pine-knots, scorched him on one side, on the other he had much ado to keep himself from freezing. At times, however, the crowded hut seemed heated to the temperature of an oven. But these evils were light, when compared to the intolerable plague ofsmoke. During a snow-storm, and often at other times, the wigwam wasfilled with fumes so dense, stifling, and acrid, that all its inmateswere forced to lie flat on their faces, breathing through mouths incontact with the cold earth. Their throats and nostrils felt as if onfire; their scorched eyes streamed with tears; and when Le Jeune tried toread, the letters of his breviary seemed printed in blood. The dogs werenot an unmixed evil, for, by sleeping on and around him, they kept himwarm at night; but, as an offset to this good service, they walked, ran, and jumped over him as he lay, snatched the food from his birchen dish, or, in a mad rush at some bone or discarded morsel, now and then oversetboth dish and missionary. 

Sometimes of an evening he would leave the filthy den, to read hisbreviary in peace by the light of the moon. In the forest around soundedthe sharp crack of frost-riven trees; and from the horizon to the zenithshot up the silent meteors of the northern lights, in whose fitfulflashings the awe-struck Indians beheld the dancing of the spirits of thedead. The cold gnawed him to the bone; and, his devotions over, heturned back shivering. The illumined hut, from many a chink and crevice, shot forth into the gloom long streams of light athwart the twistedboughs. He stooped and entered. All within glowed red and fiery aroundthe blazing pine-knots where, like brutes in their kennel, were gatheredthe savage crew. He stepped to his place, over recumbent bodies andleggined and moccasined limbs, and seated himself on the carpet of spruceboughs. Here a tribulation awaited him, the crowning misery of hiswinter-quarters, --worse, as he declares, than cold, heat, and dogs. 

Of the three brothers who had invited him to join the party, one, we haveseen, was the hunter, Mestigoit; another, the sorcerer; and the third, Pierre, whom, by reason of his falling away from the Faith, Le Jeunealways mentions as the Apostate. He was a weak-minded young Indian, wholly under the influence of his brother, the sorcerer, who, if not morevicious, was far more resolute and wily. From the antagonism of theirrespective professions, the sorcerer hated the priest, who lost noopportunity of denouncing his incantations, and who ridiculed hisperpetual singing and drumming as puerility and folly. The former, being an indifferent hunter, and disabled by a disease which he hadcontracted, depended for subsistence on his credit as a magician; and, in undermining it, Le Jeune not only outraged his pride, but threatenedhis daily bread. [ 1 ] He used every device to retort ridicule on hisrival. At the outset, he had proffered his aid to Le Jeune in his studyof the Algonquin; and, like the Indian practical jokers of Acadia in thecase of Father Biard, [ See "Pioneers of France, " 268. ] palmed off uponhim the foulest words in the language as the equivalent of thingsspiritual. Thus it happened, that, while the missionary sought toexplain to the assembled wigwam some point of Christian doctrine, he wasinterrupted by peals of laughter from men, children, and squaws. And now, as Le Jeune took his place in the circle, the sorcerer bent upon him hismalignant eyes, and began that course of rude bantering which filled tooverflowing the cup of the Jesuit's woes. All took their cue from him, and made their afflicted guest the butt of their inane witticisms. "Look at him! His face is like a dog's!"--"His head is like a pumpkin!"--"He has a beard like a rabbit's!" The missionary bore in silence theseand countless similar attacks; indeed, so sorely was he harassed, that, lest he should exasperate his tormentor, he sometimes passed whole dayswithout uttering a word. [ 2 ]

[ 1 "Ie ne laissois perdre aucune occasion de le conuaincre de niaiserieet de puerilite, mettant au iour l'impertinence de ses superstitions: orc'estoit luy arracher l'ame du corps par violence: car comme il nescauroit plus chasser, il fait plus que iamais du Prophete et du Magicienpour conseruer son credit, et pour auoir les bons morceaux; si bienqu'esbranlant son authorite qui se va perdant tous les iours, ie letouchois a la prunelle de l'oeil. "--Relation, 1634, 56. ]

[ 2 Relation, 1634, 207 (Cramoisy). "Ils me chargeoient incessament demille brocards & de mille injures; je me suis veu en tel estat, que pourne les aigrir, je passois les jours entiers sans ouvrir la bouche. "Here follows the abuse, in the original Indian, with French translations. Le Jeune's account of his experiences is singularly graphic. Thefollowing is his summary of his annoyances:--

"Or ce miserable homme" (the sorcerer), "& la fumee m'ont este les deuxplus grands tourmens que i'aye endure parmy ces Barbares: ny le froid, ny le chaud, ny l'incommodite des chiens, ny coucher a l'air, ny dormirsur un lict de terre, ny la posture qu'il faut tousiours tenir dans leurscabanes, se ramassans en peloton, ou se couchans, ou s'asseans sans siege& sans mattelas, ny la faim, ny la soif, ny la pauurete & salete de leurboucan, ny la maladie, tout cela ne m'a semble que ieu a comparaison dela fumee & de la malice du Sorcier. "--Relation, 1634, 201 (Cramoisy). ]

Le Jeune, a man of excellent observation, already knew his red associateswell enough to understand that their rudeness did not of necessity implyill-will. The rest of the party, in their turn fared no better. Theyrallied and bantered each other incessantly, with as little forbearance, and as little malice, as a troop of unbridled schoolboys. [ 1 ] No onetook offence. To have done so would have been to bring upon one's selfgenuine contumely. This motley household was a model of harmony. True, they showed no tenderness or consideration towards the sick anddisabled; but for the rest, each shared with all in weal or woe: thefamine of one was the famine of the whole, and the smallest portion offood was distributed in fair and equal partition. Upbraidings andcomplaints were unheard; they bore each other's foibles with wondrousequanimity; and while persecuting Le Jeune with constant importunity fortobacco, and for everything else he had, they never begged amongthemselves. 

[ 1 "Leur vie se passe a manger, a ire, et a railler les vns des autres, et de tous les peuples qu'ils cognoissent; ils n'ont rien de serieux, sinon par fois l'exterieur, faisans parmy nous les graues et les retenus, mais entr'eux sont de vrais badins, de vrais enfans, qui ne demandentqu'a rire. "--Relation, 1634, 30. ]

When the fire burned well and food was abundant, their conversation, such as it was, was incessant. They used no oaths, for their languagesupplied none, --doubtless because their mythology had no beingssufficiently distinct to swear by. Their expletives were foul words, of which they had a superabundance, and which men, women, and childrenalike used with a frequency and hardihood that amazed and scandalized thepriest. [ 1 ] Nor was he better pleased with their postures, in whichthey consulted nothing but their ease. Thus, of an evening when thewigwam was heated to suffocation, the sorcerer, in the closest possibleapproach to nudity, lay on his back, with his right knee planted uprightand his left leg crossed on it, discoursing volubly to the company, who, on their part, listened in postures scarcely less remote from decency. 

[ 1 "Aussi leur disois-je par fois, que si les pourceaux et les chiensscauoient parler, ils tiendroient leur langage. . . . Les filles et lesieunes femmes sont a l'exterieur tres honnestement couuertes, mais entreelles leurs discours sont puants, comme des cloaques. "--Relation, 1634, 32. --The social manners of remote tribes of the present time correspondperfectly with Le Jeune's account of those of the Montagnais. ]

There was one point touching which Le Jeune and his Jesuit brethren hadas yet been unable to solve their doubts. Were the Indian sorcerers mereimpostors, or were they in actual league with the Devil? That the fiendswho possess this land of darkness make their power felt by action directand potential upon the persons of its wretched inhabitants there is, argues Le Jeune, good reason to conclude; since it is a matter of gravenotoriety, that the fiends who infest Brazil are accustomed cruelly tobeat and otherwise torment the natives of that country, as manytravellers attest. "A Frenchman worthy of credit, " pursues the Father, "has told me that he has heard with his own ears the voice of the Demonand the sound of the blows which he discharges upon these his miserableslaves; and in reference to this a very remarkable fact has been reportedto me, namely, that, when a Catholic approaches, the Devil takes flightand beats these wretches no longer, but that in presence of a Huguenot hedoes not stop beating them. "

[ "Surquoy on me rapporte vne chose tres remarquable, c'est que le Diables'enfuit, et ne frappe point ou cesse de frapper ces miserables, quand vnCatholique entre en leur compagnie, et qu'il ne laisse point de les battreen la presence d'vn Huguenot: d'ou vient qu'vn iour se voyans battus enla compagnie d'vn certain Francois, ils luy dirent: Nous nous estonnonsqua le diable nous batte, toy estant auec nous, veu qu'il n'oseroit lefaire quand tes compagnons sont presents. Luy se douta incontinent quecela pouuoit prouenir de sa religion (car il estoit Caluiniste);s'addressant donc a Dieu, il luy promit de se faire Catholique si lediable cessoit de battre ces pauures peuples en sa presence. Le voeu fait, iamais plus aucun Demon ne molesta Ameriquain en sa compagnie, d'ou vientqu'il se fit Catholique, selon la promesse qu'il en auoit faicte. Mais retournons a nostre discours. "--Relation, 1634, 22. ]

Thus prone to believe in the immediate presence of the nether powers, Le Jeune watched the sorcerer with an eye prepared to discover in hisconjurations the signs of a genuine diabolic agency. His observations, however, led him to a different result; and he could detect in his rivalnothing but a vile compound of impostor and dupe. The sorcerer believedin the efficacy of his own magic, and was continually singing and beatinghis drum to cure the disease from which he was suffering. Towards theclose of the winter, Le Jeune fell sick, and, in his pain and weakness, nearly succumbed under the nocturnal uproar of the sorcerer, who, hourafter hour, sang and drummed without mercy, --sometimes yelling at the topof his throat, then hissing like a serpent, then striking his drum on theground as if in a frenzy, then leaping up, raving about the wigwam, and calling on the women and children to join him in singing. Now ensueda hideous din; for every throat was strained to the utmost, and all werebeating with sticks or fists on the bark of the hut to increase the noise, with the charitable object of aiding the sorcerer to conjure down hismalady, or drive away the evil spirit that caused it. 

He had an enemy, a rival sorcerer, whom he charged with having caused bycharms the disease that afflicted him. He therefore announced that heshould kill him. As the rival dwelt at Gaspe, a hundred leagues off, the present execution of the threat might appear difficult; but distancewas no bar to the vengeance of the sorcerer. Ordering all the childrenand all but one of the women to leave the wigwam, he seated himself, with the woman who remained, on the ground in the centre, while the menof the party, together with those from other wigwams in the neighborhood, sat in a ring around. Mestigoit, the sorcerer's brother, then brought inthe charm, consisting of a few small pieces of wood, some arrow-heads, a broken knife, and an iron hook, which he wrapped in a piece of hide. The woman next rose, and walked around the hut, behind the company. Mestigoit and the sorcerer now dug a large hole with two pointed stakes, the whole assembly singing, drumming, and howling meanwhile with adeafening uproar. The hole made, the charm, wrapped in the hide, wasthrown into it. Pierre, the Apostate, then brought a sword and a knifeto the sorcerer, who, seizing them, leaped into the hole, and, withfurious gesticulation, hacked and stabbed at the charm, yelling with thewhole force of his lungs. At length he ceased, displayed the knife andsword stained with blood, proclaimed that he had mortally wounded hisenemy, and demanded if none present had heard his death-cry. Theassembly, more occupied in making noises than in listening for them, gave no reply, till at length two young men declared that they had hearda faint scream, as if from a great distance; whereat a shout ofgratulation and triumph rose from all the company. 

[ "Le magicien tout glorieux dit que son homme est frappe, qu'il mourrabien tost, demande si on n'a point entendu ses cris: tout le monde ditque non, horsmis deux ieunes hommes ses parens, qui disent auoir ouy desplaintes fort sourdes, et comme de loing. O qu'ils le firent aise!Se tournant vers moy, il se mit a rire, disant: Voyez cette robe noire, qui nous vient dire qu'il ne faut tuer personne. Comme ie regardoisattentiuement l'espee et le poignard, il me les fit presenter: Regarde, dit-il, qu'est cela? C'est du sang, repartis-ie. De qui? De quelqueOrignac ou d'autre animal. Ils se mocquerent de moy, disants quec'estoit du sang de ce Sorcier de Gaspe. Comment, dis-je, il est a plusde cent lieues d'icy? Il est vray, font-ils, mais c'est le Manitou, c'est a dire le Diable, qui apporte son sang pardessous la terre. "--Relation, 1634, 21. ]

There was a young prophet, or diviner, in one of the neighboring huts, of whom the sorcerer took counsel as to the prospect of his restorationto health. The divining-lodge was formed, in this instance, of five orsix upright posts planted in a circle and covered with a blanket. The prophet ensconced himself within; and after a long interval ofsinging, the spirits declared their presence by their usual squeakingutterances from the recesses of the mystic tabernacle. Their responseswere not unfavorable; and the sorcerer drew much consolation from theinvocations of his brother impostor. [ See Introduction. Also, "Pioneers of France, " 315. ]

Besides his incessant endeavors to annoy Le Jeune, the sorcerer now andthen tried to frighten him. On one occasion, when a period of starvationhad been followed by a successful hunt, the whole party assembled for oneof the gluttonous feasts usual with them at such times. While the guestssat expectant, and the squaws were about to ladle out the banquet, the sorcerer suddenly leaped up, exclaiming, that he had lost his senses, and that knives and hatchets must be kept out of his way, as he had amind to kill somebody. Then, rolling his eyes towards Le Jeune, he begana series of frantic gestures and outcries, --then stopped abruptly andstared into vacancy, silent and motionless, --then resumed his formerclamor, raged in and out of the hut, and, seizing some of its supportingpoles, broke them, as if in an uncontrollable frenzy. The missionary, though alarmed, sat reading his breviary as before. When, however, on the next morning, the sorcerer began again to play the maniac, thethought occurred to him, that some stroke of fever might in truth havetouched his brain. Accordingly, he approached him and felt his pulse, which he found, in his own words, "as cool as a fish. " The pretendedmadman looked at him with astonishment, and, giving over the attempt tofrighten him, presently returned to his senses. 

[ The Indians, it is well known, ascribe mysterious and supernaturalpowers to the insane, and respect them accordingly. The Neutral Nation(see Introduction, "The Huron-Iroquois Family" (p. Xliv)) was full ofpretended madmen, who raved about the villages, throwing firebrands, and making other displays of frenzy. ]

Le Jeune, robbed of his sleep by the ceaseless thumping of the sorcerer'sdrum and the monotonous cadence of his medicine-songs, improved the timein attempts to convert him. "I began, " he says, "by evincing a greatlove for him, and by praises, which I threw to him as a bait whereby Imight catch him in the net of truth. " [ 1 ] But the Indian, thoughpleased with the Father's flatteries, was neither caught nor conciliated. 

[ "Ie commencay par vn temoignage de grand amour en son endroit, et pardes louanges que ie luy iettay comme vne amorce pour le prendre dans lesfilets de la verite. Ie luy fis entendre que si vn esprit, capable deschoses grandes comme le sien, cognoissoit Dieu, que tous les Sauuagesinduis par son exemple le voudroient aussi cognoistre. "--Relation, 1634, 71. ]

Nowhere was his magic in more requisition than in procuring a successfulchase to the hunters, --a point of vital interest, since on it hung thelives of the whole party. They often, however, returned empty-handed;and, for one, two, or three successive days, no other food could be hadthan the bark of trees or scraps of leather. So long as tobacco lasted, they found solace in their pipes, which seldom left their lips. "Unhappyinfidels, " writes Le Jeune, "who spend their lives in smoke, and theireternity in flames!"

As Christmas approached, their condition grew desperate. Beavers andporcupines were scarce, and the snow was not deep enough for hunting themoose. Night and day the medicine-drums and medicine-songs resoundedfrom the wigwams, mingled with the wail of starving children. Thehunters grew weak and emaciated; and, as after a forlorn march thewanderers encamped once more in the lifeless forest, the priestremembered that it was the eve of Christmas. "The Lord gave us for oursupper a porcupine, large as a sucking pig, and also a rabbit. It wasnot much, it is true, for eighteen or nineteen persons; but the HolyVirgin and St. Joseph, her glorious spouse, were not so well treated, on this very day, in the stable of Bethlehem. "

[ "Pour nostre souper, N. S. Nous donna vn Porc-espic gros comme vncochon de lait, et vn lieure; c'estoit peu pour dix-huit ou vingtpersonnes que nous estions, il est vray, mais la saincte Vierge et songlorieux Espoux sainct Ioseph ne furent pas si bien traictez a mesme iourdans l'estable de Bethleem. "--Relation, 1634, 74. ]

On Christmas Day, the despairing hunters, again unsuccessful, came topray succor from Le Jeune. Even the Apostate had become tractable, and the famished sorcerer was ready to try the efficacy of an appeal tothe deity of his rival. A bright hope possessed the missionary. Hecomposed two prayers, which, with the aid of the repentant Pierre, he translated into Algonquin. Then he hung against the side of the hut anapkin which he had brought with him, and against the napkin a crucifixand a reliquary, and, this done, caused all the Indians to kneel beforethem, with hands raised and clasped. He now read one of the prayers, and required the Indians to repeat the other after him, promising torenounce their superstitions, and obey Christ, whose image they sawbefore them, if he would give them food and save them from perishing. The pledge given, he dismissed the hunters with a benediction. At nightthey returned with game enough to relieve the immediate necessity. All was hilarity. The kettles were slung, and the feasters assembled. Le Jeune rose to speak, when Pierre, who, having killed nothing, was inill humor, said, with a laugh, that the crucifix and the prayer hadnothing to do with their good luck; while the sorcerer, his jealousyreviving as he saw his hunger about to be appeased, called out to themissionary, "Hold your tongue! You have no sense!" As usual, all tooktheir cue from him. They fell to their repast with ravenous jubilation, and the disappointed priest sat dejected and silent. 

Repeatedly, before the spring, they were thus threatened with starvation. Nor was their case exceptional. It was the ordinary winter life of allthose Northern tribes who did not till the soil, but lived by hunting andfishing alone. The desertion or the killing of the aged, sick, anddisabled, occasional cannibalism, and frequent death from famine, werenatural incidents of an existence which, during half the year, was but adesperate pursuit of the mere necessaries of life under the worstconditions of hardship, suffering, and debasement. 

At the beginning of April, after roaming for five months among forestsand mountains, the party made their last march, regained the bank of theSt. Lawrence, and waded to the island where they had hidden their canoes. Le Jeune was exhausted and sick, and Mestigoit offered to carry him inhis canoe to Quebec. This Indian was by far the best of the threebrothers, and both Pierre and the sorcerer looked to him for support. He was strong, active, and daring, a skilful hunter, and a dexterouscanoeman. Le Jeune gladly accepted his offer; embarked with him andPierre on the dreary and tempestuous river; and, after a voyage full ofhardship, during which the canoe narrowly escaped being ground to atomsamong the floating ice, landed on the Island of Orleans, six miles fromQuebec. The afternoon was stormy and dark, and the river was coveredwith ice, sweeping by with the tide. They were forced to encamp. At midnight, the moon had risen, the river was comparatively unencumbered, and they embarked once more. The wind increased, and the waves tossedfuriously. Nothing saved them but the skill and courage of Mestigoit. At length they could see the rock of Quebec towering through the gloom, but piles of ice lined the shore, while floating masses were driftingdown on the angry current. The Indian watched his moment, shot his canoethrough them, gained the fixed ice, leaped out, and shouted to hiscompanions to follow. Pierre scrambled up, but the ice was six feet outof the water, and Le Jeune's agility failed him. He saved himself byclutching the ankle of Mestigoit, by whose aid he gained a firm footholdat the top, and, for a moment, the three voyagers, aghast at thenarrowness of their escape, stood gazing at each other in silence. 

It was three o'clock in the morning when Le Jeune knocked at the door ofhis rude little convent on the St. Charles; and the Fathers, springing injoyful haste from their slumbers, embraced their long absent Superiorwith ejaculations of praise and benediction. 

CHAPTER V. 

1633, 1634. 

THE HURON MISSION. 

 PLANS OF CONVERSION. --AIMS AND MOTIVES. --INDIAN DIPLOMACY. -- HURONS AT QUEBEC. --COUNCILS. --THE JESUIT CHAPEL. --LE BORGNE. -- THE JESUITS THWARTED. --THEIR PERSEVERANCE. --THE JOURNEY TO THE HURONS. -- JEAN DE BREBEUF. --THE MISSION BEGUN. 

Le Jeune had learned the difficulties of the Algonquin mission. Toimagine that he recoiled or faltered would be an injustice to his Order;but on two points he had gained convictions: first, that little progresscould be made in converting these wandering hordes till they could besettled in fixed abodes; and, secondly, that their scanty numbers, their geographical position, and their slight influence in the politicsof the wilderness offered no flattering promise that their conversionwould be fruitful in further triumphs of the Faith. It was to anotherquarter that the Jesuits looked most earnestly. By the vast lakes of theWest dwelt numerous stationary populations, and particularly the Hurons, on the lake which bears their name. Here was a hopeful basis ofindefinite conquests; for, the Hurons won over, the Faith would spread inwider and wider circles, embracing, one by one, the kindred tribes, --theTobacco Nation, the Neutrals, the Eries, and the Andastes. Nay, in Hisown time, God might lead into His fold even the potent and ferociousIroquois. 

The way was pathless and long, by rock and torrent and the gloom ofsavage forests. The goal was more dreary yet. Toil, hardship, famine, filth, sickness, solitude, insult, --all that is most revolting to mennurtured among arts and letters, all that is most terrific to monasticcredulity: such were the promise and the reality of the Huron mission. In the eyes of the Jesuits, the Huron country was the innermoststronghold of Satan, his castle and his donjon-keep. [ "Une desprincipales forteresses & comme un donjon des Demons. "--Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1639, 100 (Cramoisy). ] All the weapons of hismalice were prepared against the bold invader who should assail him inthis, the heart of his ancient domain. Far from shrinking, the priest'szeal rose to tenfold ardor. He signed the cross, invoked St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier, or St. Francis Borgia, kissed his reliquary, saidnine masses to the Virgin, and stood prompt to battle with all the hostsof Hell. 

A life sequestered from social intercourse, and remote from every prizewhich ambition holds worth the pursuit, or a lonely death, under forms, perhaps, the most appalling, --these were the missionaries' alternatives. Their maligners may taunt them, if they will, with credulity, superstition, or a blind enthusiasm; but slander itself cannot accusethem of hypocrisy or ambition. Doubtless, in their propagandism, theywere acting in concurrence with a mundane policy; but, for the present atleast, this policy was rational and humane. They were promoting the endsof commerce and national expansion. The foundations of French dominionwere to be laid deep in the heart and conscience of the savage. Hisstubborn neck was to be subdued to the "yoke of the Faith. " The power ofthe priest established, that of the temporal ruler was secure. Thesesanguinary hordes, weaned from intestine strife, were to unite in acommon allegiance to God and the King. Mingled with French traders andFrench settlers, softened by French manners, guided by French priests, ruled by French officers, their now divided bands would become theconstituents of a vast wilderness empire, which in time might span thecontinent. Spanish civilization crushed the Indian; English civilizationscorned and neglected him; French civilization embraced and cherished him. 

Policy and commerce, then, built their hopes on the priests. Thesecommissioned interpreters of the Divine Will, accredited with letterspatent from Heaven, and affiliated to God's anointed on earth, would havepushed to its most unqualified application the Scripture metaphor of theshepherd and the sheep. They would have tamed the wild man of the woodsto a condition of obedience, unquestioning, passive, and absolute, --repugnant to manhood, and adverse to the invigorating and expansivespirit of modern civilization. Yet, full of error and full of danger aswas their system, they embraced its serene and smiling falsehoods withthe sincerity of martyrs and the self-devotion of saints. 

We have spoken already of the Hurons, of their populous villages on theborders of the great "Fresh Sea, " their trade, their rude agriculture, their social life, their wild and incongruous superstitions, and thesorcerers, diviners, and medicine-men who lived on their credulity. [ See Introduction. ] Iroquois hostility left open but one avenue totheir country, the long and circuitous route which, eighteen years before, had been explored by Champlain, [ "Pioneers of France, " 364. ]--up theriver Ottawa, across Lake Nipissing, down French River, and along theshores of the great Georgian Bay of Lake Huron, --a route as difficult asit was tedious. Midway, on Allumette Island, in the Ottawa, dwelt theAlgonquin tribe visited by Champlain in 1613, and who, amazed at theapparition of the white stranger, thought that he had fallen from theclouds. [ "Pioneers of France, " 348. ] Like other tribes of this region, they were keen traders, and would gladly have secured for themselves thebenefits of an intermediate traffic between the Hurons and the French, receiving the furs of the former in barter at a low rate, and exchangingthem with the latter at their full value. From their position, theycould at any time close the passage of the Ottawa; but, as this wouldhave been a perilous exercise of their rights, [ 1 ] they were forced toact with discretion. An opportunity for the practice of their diplomacyhad lately occurred. On or near the Ottawa, at some distance below them, dwelt a small Algonquin tribe, called _La Petite Nation_. One of thispeople had lately killed a Frenchman, and the murderer was now in thehands of Champlain, a prisoner at the fort of Quebec. The savagepoliticians of Allumette Island contrived, as will soon be seen, to turnthis incident to profit. 

[ 1 Nevertheless, the Hurons always passed this way as a matter of favor, and gave yearly presents to the Algonquins of the island, inacknowledgment of the privilege--Le Jeune, Relation, 1636, 70. --By theunwritten laws of the Hurons and Algonquins, every tribe had the right, even in full peace, of prohibiting the passage of every other tribeacross its territory. In ordinary cases, such prohibitions were quietlysubmitted to. 

"Ces Insulaires voudraient bien que les Hurons ne vinssent point auxFrancois & que les Francois n'allassent point aux Hurons, afin d'emportereux seuls tout le trafic, " etc. --Relation, 1633, 205 (Cramoisy), --"desirans eux-mesmes aller recueiller les marchandises des peuplescirconvoisins pour les apporter aux Francois. " This "Nation de l'Isle"has been erroneously located at Montreal. Its true position is indicatedon the map of Du Creux, and on an ancient MS. Map in the Depot des Cartes, of which a fac-simile is before me. See also "Pioneers of France, " 347. ]

In the July that preceded Le Jeune's wintering with the Montagnais, a Huron Indian, well known to the French, came to Quebec with the tidings, that the annual canoe-fleet of his countrymen was descending theSt. Lawrence. On the twenty-eighth, the river was alive with them. A hundred and forty canoes, with six or seven hundred savages, landed atthe warehouses beneath the fortified rock of Quebec, and set up theirhuts and camp-sheds on the strand now covered by the lower town. The greater number brought furs and tobacco for the trade; others cameas sight-seers; others to gamble, and others to steal, [ 1 ]--accomplishments in which the Hurons were proficient: their gamblingskill being exercised chiefly against each other, and their thievingtalents against those of other nations. 

[ 1 "Quelques vns d'entre eux ne viennent a la traite auec les Francoisque pour iouer, d'autres pour voir, quelques vns pour derober, et lesplus sages et les plus riches pour trafiquer. "--Le Jeune, Relation, 1633, 34. ]

The routine of these annual visits was nearly uniform. On the first day, the Indians built their huts; on the second, they held their council withthe French officers at the fort; on the third and fourth, they barteredtheir furs and tobacco for kettles, hatchets, knives, cloth, beads, iron arrow-heads, coats, shirts, and other commodities; on the fifth, they were feasted by the French; and at daybreak of the next morning, they embarked and vanished like a flight of birds. 

[ "Comme une volee d'oiseaux. "--Le Jeune, Relation, 1633, 190 (Cramoisy). --The tobacco brought to the French by the Hurons may have been raised bythe adjacent tribe of the Tionnontates, who cultivated it largely forsale. See Introduction. ]

On the second day, then, the long file of chiefs and warriors mounted thepathway to the fort, --tall, well-moulded figures, robed in the skins ofthe beaver and the bear, each wild visage glowing with paint andglistening with the oil which the Hurons extracted from the seeds of thesunflower. The lank black hair of one streamed loose upon his shoulders;that of another was close shaven, except an upright ridge, which, bristling like the crest of a dragoon's helmet, crossed the crown fromthe forehead to the neck; while that of a third hung, long and flowingfrom one side, but on the other was cut short. Sixty chiefs andprincipal men, with a crowd of younger warriors, formed their council-circle in the fort, those of each village grouped together, and allseated on the ground with a gravity of bearing sufficiently curious tothose who had seen the same men in the domestic circle of theirlodge-fires. Here, too, were the Jesuits, robed in black, anxious andintent; and here was Champlain, who, as he surveyed the throng, recognized among the elder warriors not a few of those who, eighteenyears before, had been his companions in arms on his hapless forayagainst the Iroquois. [ See "Pioneers of France, " 370. ]

Their harangues of compliment being made and answered, and the inevitablepresents given and received, Champlain introduced to the silent conclavethe three missionaries, Brebeuf, Daniel, and Davost. To their lot hadfallen the honors, dangers, and woes of the Huron mission. "These areour fathers, " he said. "We love them more than we love ourselves. The whole French nation honors them. They do not go among you for yourfurs. They have left their friends and their country to show you the wayto heaven. If you love the French, as you say you love them, then loveand honor these our fathers. " [ Le Jeune, Relation, 1633, 274 (Cramoisy);Mercure Francais, 1634. 845. ]

Two chiefs rose to reply, and each lavished all his rhetoric in praisesof Champlain and of the French. Brebeuf rose next, and spoke in brokenHuron, --the assembly jerking in unison, from the bottom of their throats, repeated ejaculations of applause. Then they surrounded him, and viedwith each other for the honor of carrying him in their canoes. In short, the mission was accepted; and the chiefs of the different villagesdisputed among themselves the privilege of receiving and entertaining thethree priests. 

On the last of July, the day of the feast of St. Ignatius, Champlain andseveral masters of trading vessels went to the house of the Jesuits inquest of indulgences; and here they were soon beset by a crowd of curiousIndians, who had finished their traffic, and were making a tour ofobservation. Being excluded from the house, they looked in at thewindows of the room which served as a chapel; and Champlain, amused attheir exclamations of wonder, gave one of them a piece of citron. The Huron tasted it, and, enraptured, demanded what it was. Champlainreplied, laughing, that it was the rind of a French pumpkin. The fame ofthis delectable production was instantly spread abroad; and, at everywindow, eager voices and outstretched hands petitioned for a share of themarvellous vegetable. They were at length allowed to enter the chapel, which had lately been decorated with a few hangings, images, and piecesof plate. These unwonted splendors filled them with admiration. Theyasked if the dove over the altar was the bird that makes the thunder; and, pointing to the images of Loyola and Xavier, inquired if they were_okies_, or spirits: nor was their perplexity much diminished by Brebeuf'sexplanation of their true character. Three images of the Virgin nextengaged their attention; and, in answer to their questions, they weretold that they were the mother of Him who made the world. This greatlyamused them, and they demanded if he had three mothers. "Oh!" exclaimsthe Father Superior, "had we but images of all the holy mysteries of ourfaith! They are a great assistance, for they speak their own lesson. "[ Relation, 1633, 38. ] The mission was not doomed long to suffer from adearth of these inestimable auxiliaries. 

The eve of departure came. The three priests packed their baggage, and Champlain paid their passage, or, in other words, made presents tothe Indians who were to carry them in their canoes. They lodged thatnight in the storehouse of the fur company, around which the Hurons wereencamped; and Le Jeune and De Noue stayed with them to bid them farewellin the morning. At eleven at night, they were roused by a loud voice inthe Indian camp, and saw Le Borgne, the one-eyed chief of AllumetteIsland, walking round among the huts, haranguing as he went. Brebeuf, listening, caught the import of his words. "We have begged the Frenchcaptain to spare the life of the Algonquin of the Petite Nation whom hekeeps in prison; but he will not listen to us. The prisoner will die. Then his people will revenge him. They will try to kill the threeblack-robes whom you are about to carry to your country. If you do notdefend them, the French will be angry, and charge you with their death. But if you do, then the Algonquins will make war on you, and the riverwill be closed. If the French captain will not let the prisoner go, then leave the three black-robes where they are; for, if you take themwith you, they will bring you to trouble. "

Such was the substance of Le Borgne's harangue. The anxious priestshastened up to the fort, gained admittance, and roused Champlain from hisslumbers. He sent his interpreter with a message to the Hurons, that hewished to speak to them before their departure; and, accordingly, in themorning an Indian crier proclaimed through their camp that none shouldembark till the next day. Champlain convoked the chiefs, and triedpersuasion, promises, and threats; but Le Borgne had been busy among themwith his intrigues, and now he declared in the council, that, unless theprisoner were released, the missionaries would be murdered on their way, and war would ensue. The politic savage had two objects in view. On the one hand, he wished to interrupt the direct intercourse betweenthe French and the Hurons; and, on the other, he thought to gain creditand influence with the nation of the prisoner by effecting his release. His first point was won. Champlain would not give up the murderer, knowing those with whom he was dealing too well to take a course whichwould have proclaimed the killing of a Frenchman a venial offence. The Hurons thereupon refused to carry the missionaries to their country;coupling the refusal with many regrets and many protestations of love, partly, no doubt, sincere, --for the Jesuits had contrived to gain nolittle favor in their eyes. The council broke up, the Hurons embarked, and the priests returned to their convent. 

Here, under the guidance of Brebeuf, they employed themselves, amid theirother avocations, in studying the Huron tongue. A year passed, and againthe Indian traders descended from their villages. In the meanwhile, grievous calamities had befallen the nation. They had suffereddeplorable reverses at the hands of the Iroquois; while a pestilence, similar to that which a few years before had swept off the nativepopulations of New England, had begun its ravages among them. Theyappeared at Three Rivers--this year the place of trade--in small numbers, and in a miserable state of dejection and alarm. Du Plessis Bochart, commander of the French fleet, called them to a council, harangued them, feasted them, and made them presents; but they refused to take theJesuits. In private, however, some of them were gained over; then againrefused; then, at the eleventh hour, a second time consented. On the eveof embarkation, they once more wavered. All was confusion, doubt, and uncertainty, when Brebeuf bethought him of a vow to St. Joseph. The vow was made. At once, he says, the Indians became tractable; theFathers embarked, and, amid salvos of cannon from the ships, set forthfor the wild scene of their apostleship. 

They reckoned the distance at nine hundred miles; but distance was theleast repellent feature of this most arduous journey. Barefoot, lesttheir shoes should injure the frail vessel, each crouched in his canoe, toiling with unpractised hands to propel it. Before him, week after week, he saw the same lank, unkempt hair, the same tawny shoulders, and long, naked arms ceaselessly plying the paddle. The canoes were soonseparated; and, for more than a month, the Frenchmen rarely or never met. Brebeuf spoke a little Huron, and could converse with his escort; butDaniel and Davost were doomed to a silence unbroken save by theoccasional unintelligible complaints and menaces of the Indians, of whommany were sick with the epidemic, and all were terrified, desponding, and sullen. Their only food was a pittance of Indian corn, crushedbetween two stones and mixed with water. The toil was extreme. Brebeufcounted thirty-five portages, where the canoes were lifted from the water, and carried on the shoulders of the voyagers around rapids or cataracts. More than fifty times, besides, they were forced to wade in the ragingcurrent, pushing up their empty barks, or dragging them with ropes. Brebeuf tried to do his part; but the boulders and sharp rocks woundedhis naked feet, and compelled him to desist. He and his companions boretheir share of the baggage across the portages, sometimes a distance ofseveral miles. Four trips, at the least, were required to convey thewhole. The way was through the dense forest, incumbered with rocks andlogs, tangled with roots and underbrush, damp with perpetual shade, and redolent of decayed leaves and mouldering wood. [ 1 ] The Indiansthemselves were often spent with fatigue. Brebeuf, a man of iron frameand a nature unconquerably resolute, doubted if his strength wouldsustain him to the journey's end. He complains that he had no moment toread his breviary, except by the moonlight or the fire, when stretchedout to sleep on a bare rock by some savage cataract of the Ottawa, or in a damp nook of the adjacent forest. 

[ 1 "Adioustez a ces difficultez, qu'il faut coucher sur la terre nue, ou sur quelque dure roche, faute de trouuer dix ou douze pieds de terreen quarre pour placer vne chetiue cabane; qu'il faut sentir incessammentla puanteur des Sauuages recreus, marcher dans les eaux, dans les fanges, dans l'obscurite et l'embarras des forest, ou les piqueures d'vnemultitude infinie de mousquilles et cousins vous importunent fort. "--Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1635, 25, 26. ]

All the Jesuits, as well as several of their countrymen who accompaniedthem, suffered more or less at the hands of their ill-humored conductors. [ 1 ] Davost's Indian robbed him of a part of his baggage, threw a partinto the river, including most of the books and writing-materials of thethree priests, and then left him behind, among the Algonquins ofAllumette Island. He found means to continue the journey, and at lengthreached the Huron towns in a lamentable state of bodily prostration. Daniel, too, was deserted, but fortunately found another party whoreceived him into their canoe. A young Frenchman, named Martin, wasabandoned among the Nipissings; another, named Baron, on reaching theHuron country, was robbed by his conductors of all he had, except theweapons in his hands. Of these he made good use, compelling the robbersto restore a part of their plunder. 

[ 1 "En ce voyage, il nous a fallu tous commencer par ces experiences aporter la Croix que Nostre Seigneur nous presente pour son honneur, et pour le salut de ces pauures Barbares. Certes ie me suis trouuequelquesfois si las, que le corps n'en pouuoit plus. Mais d'ailleurs moname ressentoit de tres-grands contentemens, considerant que ie souffroispour Dieu: nul ne le scait, s'il ne l'experimente. Tous n'en ont paseste quittes a si bon marche. "--Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1635, 26. 

Three years afterwards, a paper was printed by the Jesuits of Paris, called Instruction pour les Peres de nostre Compagnie qui seront enuoiezaux Hurons, and containing directions for their conduct on this route bythe Ottawa. It is highly characteristic, both of the missionaries and ofthe Indians. Some of the points are, in substance, as follows. --Youshould love the Indians like brothers, with whom you are to spend therest of your life. --Never make them wait for you in embarking. --Take aflint and steel to light their pipes and kindle their fire at night; forthese little services win their hearts. --Try to eat their sagamite asthey cook it, bad and dirty as it is. --Fasten up the skirts of yourcassock, that you may not carry water or sand into the canoe. --Wear noshoes or stockings in the canoe; but you may put them on in crossing theportages. --Do not make yourself troublesome, even to a single Indian. --Donot ask them too many questions. --Bear their faults in silence, andappear always cheerful. --Buy fish for them from the tribes you will pass;and for this purpose take with you some awls, beads, knives, andfish-hooks. --Be not ceremonious with the Indians; take at once what theyoffer you: ceremony offends them. --Be very careful, when in the canoe, that the brim of your hat does not annoy them. Perhaps it would bebetter to wear your night-cap. There is no such thing as improprietyamong Indians. --Remember that it is Christ and his cross that you areseeking; and if you aim at anything else, you will get nothing butaffliction for body and mind. ]

Descending French River, and following the lonely shores of the greatGeorgian Bay, the canoe which carried Brebeuf at length neared itsdestination, thirty days after leaving Three Rivers. Before him, stretched in savage slumber, lay the forest shore of the Hurons. Did hisspirit sink as he approached his dreary home, oppressed with a darkforeboding of what the future should bring forth? There is some reasonto think so. Yet it was but the shadow of a moment; for his masculineheart had lost the sense of fear, and his intrepid nature was fired witha zeal before which doubts and uncertainties fled like the mists of themorning. Not the grim enthusiasm of negation, tearing up the weeds ofrooted falsehood, or with bold hand felling to the earth the banefulgrowth of overshadowing abuses: his was the ancient faith uncurtailed, redeemed from the decay of centuries, kindled with a new life, andstimulated to a preternatural growth and fruitfulness. 

Brebeuf and his Huron companions having landed, the Indians, throwing themissionary's baggage on the ground, left him to his own resources; and, without heeding his remonstrances, set forth for their respectivevillages, some twenty miles distant. Thus abandoned, the priest kneeled, not to implore succor in his perplexity, but to offer thanks to theProvidence which had shielded him thus far. Then, rising, he pondered asto what course he should take. He knew the spot well. It was on theborders of the small inlet called Thunder Bay. In the neighboring Hurontown of Toanche he had lived three years, preaching and baptizing; [ 1 ]but Toanche had now ceased to exist. Here, Etienne Brule, Champlain'sadventurous interpreter, had recently been murdered by the inhabitants, who, in excitement and alarm, dreading the consequences of their deed, had deserted the spot, and built, at the distance of a few miles, a newtown, called Ihonatiria. [ Concerning Brule, see "Pioneers of France, "377-380. ] Brebeuf hid his baggage in the woods, including the vesselsfor the Mass, more precious than all the rest, and began his search forthis new abode. He passed the burnt remains of Toanche, saw the charredpoles that had formed the frame of his little chapel of bark, and found, as he thought, the spot where Brule had fallen. [ 2 ] Evening was near, when, after following, bewildered and anxious, a gloomy forest path, he issued upon a wild clearing, and saw before him the bark roofs ofIhonatiria. 

[ 1 From 1626 to 1629. There is no record of the events of this firstmission, which was ended with the English occupation of Quebec. Brebeufhad previously spent the winter of 1625-26 among the Algonquins, like LeJeune in 1633-34. --Lettre du P. Charles Lalemant au T. R. P. MutioVitelleschi, 1 Aug. , 1626, in Carayon. ]

[ 2 "Ie vis pareillement l'endroit ou le pauure Estienne Brule auoiteste barbarement et traitreusement assomme; ce qui me fit penser quequelque iour on nous pourroit bien traitter de la sorte, et desirer aumoins que ce fust en pourchassant la gloire de N. Seigneur. "--Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1635, 28, 29. --The missionary's prognostics were buttoo well founded. ]

A crowd ran out to meet him. "Echom has come again! Echom has comeagain!" they cried, recognizing in the distance the stately figure, robed in black, that advanced from the border of the forest. They ledhim to the town, and the whole population swarmed about him. After ashort rest, he set out with a number of young Indians in quest of hisbaggage, returning with it at one o'clock in the morning. There was acertain Awandoay in the village, noted as one of the richest and mosthospitable of the Hurons, --a distinction not easily won where hospitalitywas universal. His house was large, and amply stored with beans andcorn; and though his prosperity had excited the jealousy of the villagers, he had recovered their good-will by his generosity. With him Brebeufmade his abode, anxiously waiting, week after week, the arrival of hiscompanions. One by one, they appeared: Daniel, weary and worn; Davost, half dead with famine and fatigue; and their French attendants, each withhis tale of hardship and indignity. At length, all were assembled underthe roof of the hospitable Indian, and once more the Huron mission wasbegun. 

CHAPTER VI. 

1634, 1635. 

BREBEUF AND HIS ASSOCIATES. 

 THE HURON MISSION-HOUSE. --ITS INMATES. --ITS FURNITURE. --ITS GUESTS. -- THE JESUIT AS A TEACHER. --AS AN ENGINEER. --BAPTISMS. -- HURON VILLAGE LIFE. --FESTIVITIES AND SORCERIES. --THE DREAM FEAST. -- THE PRIESTS ACCUSED OF MAGIC. --THE DROUGHT AND THE RED CROSS. 

Where should the Fathers make their abode? Their first thought had beento establish themselves at a place called by the French Rochelle, thelargest and most important town of the Huron confederacy; but Brebeuf nowresolved to remain at Ihonatiria. Here he was well known; and here, too, he flattered himself, seeds of the Faith had been planted, which, withgood nurture, would in time yield fruit. 

By the ancient Huron custom, when a man or a family wanted a house, the whole village joined in building one. In the present case, notIhonatiria only, but the neighboring town of Wenrio also, took part inthe work, --though not without the expectation of such gifts as thepriests had to bestow. Before October, the task was finished. The housewas constructed after the Huron model. [ See Introduction. ] It wasthirty-six feet long and about twenty feet wide, framed with strongsapling poles planted in the earth to form the sides, with the ends bentinto an arch for the roof, --the whole lashed firmly together, braced withcross-poles, and closely covered with overlapping sheets of bark. Without, the structure was strictly Indian; but within, the priests, with the aid of their tools, made innovations which were the astonishmentof all the country. They divided their dwelling by transverse partitionsinto three apartments, each with its wooden door, --a wondrous novelty inthe eyes of their visitors. The first served as a hall, an anteroom, and a place of storage for corn, beans, and dried fish. The second--thelargest of the three--was at once kitchen, workshop, dining-room, drawing-room, school-room, and bed-chamber. The third was the chapel. Here they made their altar, and here were their images, pictures, andsacred vessels. Their fire was on the ground, in the middle of thesecond apartment, the smoke escaping by a hole in the roof. At the sideswere placed two wide platforms, after the Huron fashion, four feet fromthe earthen floor. On these were chests in which they kept theirclothing and vestments, and beneath them they slept, reclining on sheetsof bark, and covered with skins and the garments they wore by day. Rude stools, a hand-mill, a large Indian mortar of wood for crushing corn, and a clock, completed the furniture of the room. 

There was no lack of visitors, for the house of the black-robes containedmarvels [ 1 ] the fame of which was noised abroad to the uttermostconfines of the Huron nation. Chief among them was the clock. Theguests would sit in expectant silence by the hour, squatted on the ground, waiting to hear it strike. They thought it was alive, and asked what itate. As the last stroke sounded, one of the Frenchmen would cry"Stop!"--and, to the admiration of the company, the obedient clock wassilent. The mill was another wonder, and they were never tired ofturning it. Besides these, there was a prism and a magnet; also amagnifying-glass, wherein a flea was transformed to a frightful monster, and a multiplying lens, which showed them the same object eleven timesrepeated. "All this, " says Brebeuf, "serves to gain their affection, and make them more docile in respect to the admirable andincomprehensible mysteries of our Faith; for the opinion they have of ourgenius and capacity makes them believe whatever we tell them. " [ Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1636, 33. ]

[ 1 "Ils ont pense qu'elle entendoit, principalement quand, pour rire, quelqu'vn de nos Francois s'escrioit au dernier coup de marteau, c'estassez sonne, et que tout aussi tost elle se taisoit. Ils l'appellent leCapitaine du iour. Quand elle sonne, ils disent qu'elle parle, etdemandent quand ils nous viennent veoir, combien de fois le Capitaine adesia parle. Ils nous interrogent de son manger. Ils demeurent lesheures entieres, et quelquesfois plusieurs, afin de la pouuoir ouyrparler. "--Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1635, 33. ]

"What does the Captain say?" was the frequent question; for by this titleof honor they designated the clock. 

"When he strikes twelve times, he says, 'Hang on the kettle'; and when hestrikes four times, he says, 'Get up, and go home. '"

Both interpretations were well remembered. At noon, visitors were neverwanting, to share the Fathers' sagamite; but at the stroke of four, all rose and departed, leaving the missionaries for a time in peace. Now the door was barred, and, gathering around the fire, they discussedthe prospects of the mission, compared their several experiences, andtook counsel for the future. But the standing topic of their eveningtalk was the Huron language. Concerning this each had some new discoveryto relate, some new suggestion to offer; and in the task of analyzing itsconstruction and deducing its hidden laws, these intelligent and highlycultivated minds found a congenial employment. [ Lalemant, Relation desHurons, 1639, 17 (Cramoisy). ]

But while zealously laboring to perfect their knowledge of the language, they spared no pains to turn their present acquirements to account. Was man, woman, or child sick or suffering, they were always at hand withassistance and relief, --adding, as they saw opportunity, explanations ofChristian doctrine, pictures of Heaven and Hell, and exhortations toembrace the Faith. Their friendly offices did not cease here, butincluded matters widely different. The Hurons lived in constant fear ofthe Iroquois. At times the whole village population would fly to thewoods for concealment, or take refuge in one of the neighboring fortifiedtowns, on the rumor of an approaching war-party. The Jesuits promisedthem the aid of the four Frenchmen armed with arquebuses, who had comewith them from Three Rivers. They advised the Hurons to make theirpalisade forts, not, as hitherto, in a circular form, but rectangular, with small flanking towers at the corners for the arquebuse-men. TheIndians at once saw the value of the advice, and soon after began to acton it in the case of their great town of Ossossane, or Rochelle. [ Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1636, 86. ]

At every opportunity, the missionaries gathered together the children ofthe village at their house. On these occasions, Brebeuf, for greatersolemnity, put on a surplice, and the close, angular cap worn by Jesuitsin their convents. First he chanted the Pater Noster, translated byFather Daniel into Huron rhymes, --the children chanting in their turn. Next he taught them the sign of the cross; made them repeat the Ave, the Credo, and the Commandments; questioned them as to past instructions;gave them briefly a few new ones; and dismissed them with a present oftwo or three beads, raisins, or prunes. A great emulation was kindledamong this small fry of heathendom. The priests, with amusement anddelight, saw them gathered in groups about the village, vying with eachother in making the sign of the cross, or in repeating the rhymes theyhad learned. 

At times, the elders of the people, the repositories of its ancienttraditions, were induced to assemble at the house of the Jesuits, whoexplained to them the principal points of their doctrine, and invitedthem to a discussion. The auditors proved pliant to a fault, responding, "Good, " or "That is true, " to every proposition; but, when urged to adoptthe faith which so readily met their approval, they had always the samereply: "It is good for the French; but we are another people, withdifferent customs. " On one occasion, Brebeuf appeared before the chiefsand elders at a solemn national council, described Heaven and Hell withimages suited to their comprehension, asked to which they preferred to goafter death, and then, in accordance with the invariable Huron custom inaffairs of importance, presented a large and valuable belt of wampum, as an invitation to take the path to Paradise. [ Brebeuf, Relation desHurons, 1636, 81. For the use of wampum belts, see Introduction. ]

Notwithstanding all their exhortations, the Jesuits, for the present, baptized but few. Indeed, during the first year or more, they baptizedno adults except those apparently at the point of death; for, withexcellent reason, they feared backsliding and recantation. They foundespecial pleasure in the baptism of dying infants, rescuing them from theflames of perdition, and changing them, to borrow Le Jeune's phrase, "from little Indians into little angels. "

[ "Le seiziesme du mesme mois, deux petits Sauvages furent changes endeux petits Anges. "--Relation, 1636, 89 (Cramoisy). 

"O mon cher frere, vous pourrois-je expliquer quelle consolation cem'etoit quand je voyois un pauure baptise mourir deux heures, une demijournee, une ou deux journees, apres son baptesme, particulierement quandc'etoit un petit enfant!"--Lettre du Pere Garnier a son Frere, MS. --Thisform of benevolence is beyond heretic appreciation. 

"La joye qu'on a quand on a baptise un Sauvage qui se meurt peu apres, & qui s'envole droit au Ciel, pour devenir un Ange, certainement c'est unjoye qui surpasse tout ce qu'on se peut imaginer. "--Le Jeune, Relation, 1635, 221 (Cramoisy). ]

The Fathers' slumbers were brief and broken. Winter was the season ofHuron festivity; and, as they lay stretched on their hard couch, suffocating with smoke and tormented by an inevitable multitude of fleas, the thumping of the drum resounded all night long from a neighboringhouse, mingled with the sound of the tortoise-shell rattle, the stampingof moccasined feet, and the cadence of voices keeping time with thedancers. Again, some ambitious villager would give a feast, and inviteall the warriors of the neighboring towns; or some grand wager ofgambling, with its attendant drumming, singing, and outcries, filled thenight with discord. 

But these were light annoyances, compared with the insane rites to curethe sick, prescribed by the "medicine-men, " or ordained by the eccentricinspiration of dreams. In one case, a young sorcerer, by alternategorging and fasting, --both in the interest of his profession, --joinedwith excessive exertion in singing to the spirits, contracted a disorderof the brain, which caused him, in mid-winter, to run naked about thevillage, howling like a wolf. The whole population bestirred itself toeffect a cure. The patient had, or pretended to have, a dream, in whichthe conditions of his recovery were revealed to him. These were equallyridiculous and difficult; but the elders met in council, and all thevillagers lent their aid, till every requisition was fulfilled, and theincongruous mass of gifts which the madman's dream had demanded were allbestowed upon him. This cure failing, a "medicine-feast" was tried; thenseveral dances in succession. As the patient remained as crazy as before, preparations were begun for a grand dance, more potent than all the rest. Brebeuf says, that, except the masquerades of the Carnival amongChristians, he never saw a folly equal to it. "Some, " he adds, "hadsacks over their heads, with two holes for the eyes. Some were as nakedas your hand, with horns or feathers on their heads, their bodies paintedwhite, and their faces black as devils. Others were daubed with red, black, and white. In short, every one decked himself as extravagantly ashe could, to dance in this ballet, and contribute something towards thehealth of the sick man. " [ Relation des Hurons, 1636, 116. ] This remedyalso failing, a crowning effort of the medical art was essayed. Brebeufdoes not describe it, for fear, as he says, of being tedious; but, for the time, the village was a pandemonium. [ 1 ] This, with otherceremonies, was supposed to be ordered by a certain image like a doll, which a sorcerer placed in his tobacco-pouch, whence it uttered itsoracles, at the same time moving as if alive. "Truly, " writes Brebeuf, "here is nonsense enough: but I greatly fear there is something more darkand mysterious in it. "

[ 1 "Suffit pour le present de dire en general, que iamais lesBacchantes forcenees du temps passe ne firent rien de plus furieux enleurs orgyes. C'est icy a s'entretuer, disent-ils, par des sorts qu'ilss'entreiettent, dont la composition est d'ongles d'Ours, de dents de Loup, d'ergots d'Aigles, de certaines pierres et de nerfs de Chien; c'est arendre du sang par la bouche et par les narines, ou plustost d'vne poudrerouge qu'ils prennent subtilement, estans tombez sous le sort, etblessez; et dix mille autres sottises que ie laisse volontiers. "--Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1636, 117. ]

But all these ceremonies were outdone by the grand festival of the_Ononhara_, or Dream Feast, --esteemed the most powerful remedy in cases ofsickness, or when a village was infested with evil spirits. The time andmanner of holding it were determined at a solemn council. This scene ofmadness began at night. Men, women, and children, all pretending to havelost their senses, rushed shrieking and howling from house to house, upsetting everything in their way, throwing firebrands, beating thosethey met or drenching them with water, and availing themselves of thistime of license to take a safe revenge on any who had ever offended them. This scene of frenzy continued till daybreak. No corner of the villagewas secure from the maniac crew. In the morning there was a change. They ran from house to house, accosting the inmates by name, anddemanding of each the satisfaction of some secret want, revealed to thepretended madman in a dream, but of the nature of which he gave no hintwhatever. The person addressed thereupon threw to him at random anyarticle at hand, as a hatchet, a kettle, or a pipe; and the applicantcontinued his rounds till the desired gift was hit upon, when he gave anoutcry of delight, echoed by gratulatory cries from all present. If, after all his efforts, he failed in obtaining the object of his dream, he fell into a deep dejection, convinced that some disaster was in storefor him. 

[ Brebeuf's account of the Dream Feast is brief. The above particularsare drawn chiefly from Charlevoix, Journal Historique, 356, and Sagard, Voyage du Pays des Hurons, 280. See also Lafitau, and other earlywriters. This ceremony was not confined to the Hurons, but prevailedalso among the Iroquois, and doubtless other kindred tribes. The JesuitDablon saw it in perfection at Onondaga. It usually took place inFebruary, occupying about three days, and was often attended with greatindecencies. The word ononhara means turning of the brain. ]

The approach of summer brought with it a comparative peace. Many of thevillagers dispersed, --some to their fishing, some to expeditions of trade, and some to distant lodges by their detached corn-fields. The priestsavailed themselves of the respite to engage in those exercises of privatedevotion which the rule of St. Ignatius enjoins. About midsummer, however, their quiet was suddenly broken. The crops were withering undera severe drought, a calamity which the sandy nature of the soil madedoubly serious. The sorcerers put forth their utmost power, and, fromthe tops of the houses, yelled incessant invocations to the spirits. All was in vain; the pitiless sky was cloudless. There was thunder inthe east and thunder in the west; but over Ihonatiria all was serene. A renowned "rain-maker, " seeing his reputation tottering under hisrepeated failures, bethought him of accusing the Jesuits, and gave outthat the red color of the cross which stood before their house scared thebird of thunder, and caused him to fly another way. [ 1 ] On this aclamor arose. The popular ire turned against the priests, and theobnoxious cross was condemned to be hewn down. Aghast at the threatenedsacrilege, they attempted to reason away the storm, assuring the crowdthat the lightning was not a bird, but certain hot and fiery exhalations, which, being imprisoned, darted this way and that, trying to escape. As this philosophy failed to convince the hearers, the missionarieschanged their line of defence. 

[ 1 The following is the account of the nature of thunder, given toBrebeuf on a former occasion by another sorcerer. 

"It is a man in the form of a turkey-cock. The sky is his palace, and he remains in it when the air is clear. When the clouds begin togrumble, he descends to the earth to gather up snakes, and other objectswhich the Indians call _okies_. The lightning flashes whenever he opensor closes his wings. If the storm is more violent than usual, it isbecause his young are with him, and aiding in the noise as well as theycan. "--Relation des Hurons, 1636, 114. 

The word oki is here used to denote any object endued with supernaturalpower. A belief similar to the above exists to this day among theDacotahs. Some of the Hurons and Iroquois, however, held that thethunder was a giant in human form. According to one story, he vomitedfrom time to time a number of snakes, which, falling to the earth, caused the appearance of lightning. ]

"You say that the red color of the cross frightens the bird of thunder. Then paint the cross white, and see if the thunder will come. "

This was accordingly done; but the clouds still kept aloof. The Jesuitsfollowed up their advantage. 

"Your spirits cannot help you, and your sorcerers have deceived you withlies. Now ask the aid of Him who made the world, and perhaps He willlisten to your prayers. " And they added, that, if the Indians wouldrenounce their sins and obey the true God, they would make a processiondaily to implore his favor towards them. 

There was no want of promises. The processions were begun, as were alsonine masses to St. Joseph; and, as heavy rains occurred soon after, the Indians conceived a high idea of the efficacy of the French"medicine. "

[ "Nous deuons aussi beaucoup au glorieux sainct Ioseph, espoux de NostreDame, et protecteur des Hurons, dont nous auons touche au doigtl'assistance plusieurs fois. Ce fut vne chose remarquable, que le iourde sa feste et durant l'Octaue, les commoditez nous venoient de toutesparts. "--Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1635, 41. 

The above extract is given as one out of many illustrations of theconfidence with which the priests rested on the actual and direct aid oftheir celestial guardians. To St. Joseph, in particular, they find nowords for their gratitude. ]

In spite of the hostility of the sorcerers, and the transient commotionraised by the red cross, the Jesuits had gained the confidence andgood-will of the Huron population. Their patience, their kindness, their intrepidity, their manifest disinterestedness, the blamelessness oftheir lives, and the tact which, in the utmost fervors of their zeal, never failed them, had won the hearts of these wayward savages; andchiefs of distant villages came to urge that they would make their abodewith them. [ Brebeuf preserves a speech made to him by one of thesechiefs, as a specimen of Huron eloquence. --Relation des Hurons, 1636, 123. ] As yet, the results of the mission had been faint and few; butthe priests toiled on courageously, high in hope that an abundant harvestof souls would one day reward their labors. 

CHAPTER VII. 

1636, 1637. 

THE FEAST OF THE DEAD. 

 HURON GRAVES. --PREPARATION FOR THE CEREMONY. --DISINTERMENT. -- THE MOURNING. --THE FUNERAL MARCH. --THE GREAT SEPULCHRE. -- FUNERAL GAMES. --ENCAMPMENT OF THE MOURNERS. --GIFTS. --HARANGUES. -- FRENZY OF THE CROWD. --THE CLOSING SCENE. --ANOTHER RITE. -- THE CAPTIVE IROQUOIS. --THE SACRIFICE. 

Mention has been made of those great depositories of human bones found atthe present day in the ancient country of the Hurons. [ SeeIntroduction. ] They have been a theme of abundant speculation; [ 1 ]yet their origin is a subject, not of conjecture, but of historiccertainty. The peculiar rites to which they owe their existence werefirst described at length by Brebeuf, who, in the summer of the year 1636, saw them at the town of Ossossane. 

[ 1 Among those who have wondered and speculated over these remains isMr. Schoolcraft. A slight acquaintance with the early writers would havesolved his doubts. ]

The Jesuits had long been familiar with the ordinary rites of sepultureamong the Hurons; the corpse placed in a crouching posture in the midstof the circle of friends and relatives; the long, measured wail of themourners; the speeches in praise of the dead, and consolation to theliving; the funeral feast; the gifts at the place of burial; the funeralgames, where the young men of the village contended for prizes; and thelong period of mourning to those next of kin. The body was usually laidon a scaffold, or, more rarely, in the earth. This, however, was not itsfinal resting-place. At intervals of ten or twelve years, each of thefour nations which composed the Huron Confederacy gathered together itsdead, and conveyed them all to a common place of sepulture. Here wascelebrated the great "Feast of the Dead, "--in the eyes of the Hurons, their most solemn and important ceremonial. 

In the spring of 1636, the chiefs and elders of the Nation of theBear--the principal nation of the Confederacy, and that to whichIhonatiria belonged--assembled in a general council, to prepare for thegreat solemnity. There was an unwonted spirit of dissension. Somecauses of jealousy had arisen, and three or four of the Bear villagesannounced their intention of holding their Feast of the Dead apart fromthe rest. As such a procedure was thought abhorrent to every sense ofpropriety and duty, the announcement excited an intense feeling; yetBrebeuf, who was present, describes the debate which ensued as perfectlycalm, and wholly free from personal abuse or recrimination. Thesecession, however, took place, and each party withdrew to its villagesto gather and prepare its dead. 

The corpses were lowered from their scaffolds, and lifted from theirgraves. Their coverings were removed by certain functionaries appointedfor the office, and the hideous relics arranged in a row, surrounded bythe weeping, shrieking, howling concourse. The spectacle was frightful. Here were all the village dead of the last twelve years. The priests, connoisseurs in such matters, regarded it as a display of mortality soedifying, that they hastened to summon their French attendants tocontemplate and profit by it. Each family reclaimed its own, andimmediately addressed itself to removing what remained of flesh from thebones. These, after being tenderly caressed, with tears and lamentations, were wrapped in skins and adorned with pendent robes of fur. In thebelief of the mourners, they were sentient and conscious. A soul wasthought still to reside in them; [ 1 ] and to this notion, very generalamong Indians, is in no small degree due that extravagant attachment tothe remains of their dead, which may be said to mark the race. 

[ 1 In the general belief, the soul took flight after the great ceremonywas ended. Many thought that there were two souls, one remaining withthe bones, while the other went to the land of spirits. ]

These relics of mortality, together with the recent corpses, --which wereallowed to remain entire, but which were also wrapped carefully infurs, --were now carried to one of the largest houses, and hung to thenumerous cross-poles, which, like rafters, supported the roof. Here theconcourse of mourners seated themselves at a funeral feast; and, as thesquaws of the household distributed the food, a chief harangued theassembly, lamenting the loss of the deceased, and extolling theirvirtues. This solemnity over, the mourners began their march forOssossane, the scene of the final rite. The bodies remaining entire wereborne on a kind of litter, while the bundles of bones were slung at theshoulders of the relatives, like fagots. Thus the procession slowlydefiled along the forest pathways, with which the country of the Huronswas everywhere intersected; and as they passed beneath the dull shadow ofthe pines, they uttered at intervals, in unison, a dreary, wailing cry, designed to imitate the voices of disembodied souls winging their way tothe land of spirits, and believed to have an effect peculiarly soothingto the conscious relics which each man bore. When, at night, theystopped to rest at some village on the way, the inhabitants came forth towelcome them with a grave and mournful hospitality. 

From every town of the Nation of the Bear, --except the rebellious fewthat had seceded, --processions like this were converging towardsOssossane. This chief town of the Hurons stood on the eastern margin ofNottawassaga Bay, encompassed with a gloomy wilderness of fir and pine. Thither, on the urgent invitation of the chiefs, the Jesuits repaired. The capacious bark houses were filled to overflowing, and the surroundingwoods gleamed with camp-fires: for the processions of mourners were fastarriving, and the throng was swelled by invited guests of other tribes. Funeral games were in progress, the young men and women practisingarchery and other exercises, for prizes offered by the mourners in thename of their dead relatives. [ Funeral games were not confined to theHurons and Iroquois: Perrot mentions having seen them among the Ottawas. An illustrated description of them will be found in Lafitau. ] Some ofthe chiefs conducted Brebeuf and his companions to the place prepared forthe ceremony. It was a cleared area in the forest, many acres in extent. In the midst was a pit, about ten feet deep and thirty feet wide. Around it was reared a high and strong scaffolding; and on this wereplanted numerous upright poles, with cross-poles extended between, for hanging the funeral gifts and the remains of the dead. 

Meanwhile there was a long delay. The Jesuits were lodged in a housewhere more than a hundred of these bundles of mortality were hanging fromthe rafters. Some were mere shapeless rolls; others were made up intoclumsy effigies, adorned with feathers, beads, and belts of dyedporcupine-quills. Amidst this throng of the living and the dead, thepriests spent a night which the imagination and the senses conspired torender almost insupportable. 

At length the officiating chiefs gave the word to prepare for theceremony. The relics were taken down, opened for the last time, and thebones caressed and fondled by the women amid paroxysms of lamentation. [ 1 ] Then all the processions were formed anew, and, each bearing itsdead, moved towards the area prepared for the last solemn rites. As theyreached the ground, they defiled in order, each to a spot assigned to it, on the outer limits of the clearing. Here the bearers of the dead laidtheir bundles on the ground, while those who carried the funeral giftsoutspread and displayed them for the admiration of the beholders. Their number was immense, and their value relatively very great. Amongthem were many robes of beaver and other rich furs, collected andpreserved for years, with a view to this festival. Fires were nowlighted, kettles slung, and, around the entire circle of the clearing, the scene was like a fair or caravansary. This continued till threeo'clock in the afternoon, when the gifts were repacked, and the bonesshouldered afresh. Suddenly, at a signal from the chiefs, the crowd ranforward from every side towards the scaffold, like soldiers to theassault of a town, scaled it by rude ladders with which it was furnished, and hung their relics and their gifts to the forest of poles whichsurmounted it. Then the ladders were removed; and a number of chiefs, standing on the scaffold, harangued the crowd below, praising the dead, and extolling the gifts, which the relatives of the departed now bestowed, in their names, upon their surviving friends. 

[ 1 "I'admiray la tendresse d'vne femme enuers son pere et ses enfans;elle est fille d'vn Capitaine, qui est mort fort age, et a este autrefoisfort considerable dans le Pais: elle luy peignoit sa cheuelure, ellemanioit ses os les vns apres les autres, auec la mesme affection que sielle luy eust voulu rendre la vie; elle luy mit aupres de luy sonAtsatone8ai, c'est a dire son pacquet de buchettes de Conseil, qui sonttous les liures et papiers du Pais. Pour ses petits enfans, elle leurmit des brasselets de Pourcelaine et de rassade aux bras, et baigna leursos de ses larmes; on ne l'en pouuoit quasi separer, mais on pressoit, et il fallut incontinent partir. "--Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1636, 134. ]

During these harangues, other functionaries were lining the gravethroughout with rich robes of beaver-skin. Three large copper kettleswere next placed in the middle, [ 1 ] and then ensued a scene of hideousconfusion. The bodies which had been left entire were brought to theedge of the grave, flung in, and arranged in order at the bottom by tenor twelve Indians stationed there for the purpose, amid the wildestexcitement and the uproar of many hundred mingled voices. [ 2 ] Whenthis part of the work was done, night was fast closing in. The concoursebivouacked around the clearing, and lighted their camp-fires under thebrows of the forest which hedged in the scene of the dismal solemnity. Brebeuf and his companions withdrew to the village, where, an hour beforedawn, they were roused by a clamor which might have wakened the dead. One of the bundles of bones, tied to a pole on the scaffold, had chancedto fall into the grave. This accident had precipitated the closing act, and perhaps increased its frenzy. Guided by the unearthly din, and thebroad glare of flames fed with heaps of fat pine logs, the priests soonreached the spot, and saw what seemed, in their eyes, an image of Hell. All around blazed countless fires, and the air resounded with discordantoutcries. [ 3 ] The naked multitude, on, under, and around the scaffold, were flinging the remains of their dead, discharged from theirenvelopments of skins, pell-mell into the pit, where Brebeuf discernedmen who, as the ghastly shower fell around them, arranged the bones intheir places with long poles. All was soon over; earth, logs, and stoneswere cast upon the grave, and the clamor subsided into a funerealchant, --so dreary and lugubrious, that it seemed to the Jesuits the wailof despairing souls from the abyss of perdition. [ 4 ]

[ 1 In some of these graves, recently discovered, five or six largecopper kettles have been found, in a position corresponding with theaccount of Brebeuf. In one, there were no less than twenty-six kettles. ]

[ 2 "Iamais rien ce m'a mieux figure la confusion qui est parmy lesdamnez. Vous eussiez veu decharger de tous costez des corps a demypourris, et de tous costez on entendoit vn horrible tintamarre de voixconfuses de personnes qui parloient et ne s'entendoient pas. "--Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1636, 135. ]

[ 3 "Approchans, nous vismes tout a fait une image de l'Enfer: cettegrande place estoit toute remplie de feux & de flammes, & l'airretentissoit de toutes parts des voix confuses de ces Barbares, "etc. --Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1636, 209 (Cramoisy). ]

[ 4 "Se mirent a chanter, mais d'un ton si lamentable & si lugubre, qu'il nous representoit l'horrible tristesse & l'abysme du desespoir danslequel sont plongees pour iamais ces ames malheureuses. "--Ibid. , 210. 

For other descriptions of these rites, see Charlevoix, Bressani, Du Creux, and especially Lafitau, in whose work they are illustrated withengravings. In one form or another, they were widely prevalent. Bartramfound them among the Floridian tribes. Traces of a similar practice havebeen observed in recent times among the Dacotahs. Remains of places ofsepulture, evidently of kindred origin, have been found in Tennessee, Missouri, Kentucky, and Ohio. Many have been discovered in several partsof New York, especially near the River Niagara. (See Squier, AboriginalMonuments of New York. ) This was the eastern extremity of the ancientterritory of the Neuters. One of these deposits is said to havecontained the bones of several thousand individuals. There is a largemound on Tonawanda Island, said by the modern Senecas to be a Neuterburial-place. (See Marshall, Historical Sketches of the Niagara Frontier, 8. ) In Canada West, they are found throughout the region once occupiedby the Neuters, and are frequent in the Huron district. 

Dr. Tache writes to me, --"I have inspected sixteen bone-pits, " (in theHuron country, ) "the situation of which is indicated on the little pencilmap I send you. They contain from six hundred to twelve hundredskeletons each, of both sexes and all ages, all mixed together purposely. With one exception, these pits also contain pipes of stone or clay, small earthen pots, shells, and wampum wrought of these shells, copperornaments, beads of glass, and other trinkets. Some pits containedarticles of copper of aboriginal Mexican fabric. "

This remarkable fact, together with the frequent occurrence in thesegraves of large conch-shells, of which wampum was made, and which couldhave been procured only from the Gulf of Mexico, or some part of thesouthern coast of the United States, proves the extent of the relationsof traffic by which certain articles were passed from tribe to tribe overa vast region. The transmission of pipes from the famous Red Pipe-StoneQuarry of the St. Peter's to tribes more than a thousand miles distant isan analogous modern instance, though much less remarkable. 

The Tache Museum, at the Laval University of Quebec, contains a largecollection of remains from these graves. In one instance, the humanbones are of a size that may be called gigantic. 

In nearly every case, the Huron graves contain articles of use orornament of European workmanship. From this it may be inferred, that thenation itself, or its practice of inhumation, does not date back to aperiod long before the arrival of the French. 

The Northern Algonquins had also a solemn Feast of the Dead; but it waswidely different from that of the Hurons. --See the very curious accountof it by Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1642, 94, 95. ]

Such was the origin of one of those strange sepulchres which are thewonder and perplexity of the modern settler in the abandoned forests ofthe Hurons. 

The priests were soon to witness another and a more terrible rite, yet one in which they found a consolation, since it signalized the savingof a soul, --the snatching from perdition of one of that dreaded race, into whose very midst they hoped, with devoted daring, to bear hereafterthe cross of salvation. A band of Huron warriors had surprised a smallparty of Iroquois, killed several, and captured the rest. One of theprisoners was led in triumph to a village where the priests then were. He had suffered greatly; his hands, especially, were frightfullylacerated. Now, however, he was received with every mark of kindness. "Take courage, " said a chief, addressing him; "you are among friends. "The best food was prepared for him, and his captors vied with each otherin offices of good-will. [ This pretended kindness in the treatment of aprisoner destined to the torture was not exceptional. The Huronssometimes even supplied their intended victim with a temporary wife. ]He had been given, according to Indian custom, to a warrior who had losta near relative in battle, and the captive was supposed to be adopted inplace of the slain. His actual doom was, however, not for a moment indoubt. The Huron received him affectionately, and, having seated him inhis lodge, addressed him in a tone of extreme kindness. "My nephew, when I heard that you were coming, I was very glad, thinking that youwould remain with me to take the place of him I have lost. But now thatI see your condition, and your hands crushed and torn so that you willnever use them, I change my mind. Therefore take courage, and prepare todie tonight like a brave man. "

The prisoner coolly asked what should be the manner of his death. 

"By fire, " was the reply. 

"It is well, " returned the Iroquois. 

Meanwhile, the sister of the slain Huron, in whose place the prisoner wasto have been adopted, brought him a dish of food, and, her eyes flowingwith tears, placed it before him with an air of the utmost tenderness;while, at the same time, the warrior brought him a pipe, wiped the sweatfrom his brow, and fanned him with a fan of feathers. 

About noon he gave his farewell feast, after the custom of those who knewthemselves to be at the point of death. All were welcome to this strangebanquet; and when the company were gathered, the host addressed them in aloud, firm voice: "My brothers, I am about to die. Do your worst to me. I do not fear torture or death. " Some of those present seemed to havevisitings of real compassion; and a woman asked the priests if it wouldbe wrong to kill him, and thus save him from the fire. 

The Jesuits had from the first lost no opportunity of accosting him;while he, grateful for a genuine kindness amid the cruel hypocrisy thatsurrounded him, gave them an attentive ear, till at length, satisfiedwith his answers, they baptized him. His eternal bliss secure, all elsewas as nothing; and they awaited the issue with some degree of composure. 

A crowd had gathered from all the surrounding towns, and after nightfallthe presiding chief harangued them, exhorting them to act their partswell in the approaching sacrifice, since they would be looked upon by theSun and the God of War. [ Areskoui (see Introduction). He was oftenregarded as identical with the Sun. The semi-sacrificial character ofthe torture in this case is also shown by the injunction, "que pour cestenuict on n'allast point folastrer dans les bois. "--Le Mercier, Relationdes Hurons, 1637, 114. ] It is needless to dwell on the scene thatensued. It took place in the lodge of the great war chief, Atsan. Eleven fires blazed on the ground, along the middle of this capaciousdwelling. The platforms on each side were closely packed withspectators; and, betwixt these and the fires, the younger warriors stoodin lines, each bearing lighted pine-knots or rolls of birch-bark. The heat, the smoke, the glare of flames, the wild yells, contortedvisages, and furious gestures of these human devils, as their victim, goaded by their torches, bounded through the fires again and again, from end to end of the house, transfixed the priests with horror. But when, as day dawned, the last spark of life had fled, they consoledthemselves with the faith that the tortured wretch had found his rest atlast in Paradise. 

[ Le Mercier's long and minute account of the torture of this prisoner istoo revolting to be dwelt upon. One of the most atrocious features ofthe scene was the alternation of raillery and ironical compliment whichattended it throughout, as well as the pains taken to preserve life andconsciousness in the victim as long as possible. Portions of his fleshwere afterwards devoured. ]

CHAPTER VIII. 

1636, 1637. 

THE HURON AND THE JESUIT. 

 ENTHUSIASM FOR THE MISSION. --SICKNESS OF THE PRIESTS. -- THE PEST AMONG THE HURONS. --THE JESUIT ON HIS ROUNDS. -- EFFORTS AT CONVERSION. --PRIESTS AND SORCERERS. --THE MAN-DEVIL. -- THE MAGICIAN'S PRESCRIPTION. --INDIAN DOCTORS AND PATIENTS. -- COVERT BAPTISMS. --SELF-DEVOTION OF THE JESUITS. 

Meanwhile from Old France to New came succors and reinforcements to themissions of the forest. More Jesuits crossed the sea to urge on the workof conversion. These were no stern exiles, seeking on barbarous shoresan asylum for a persecuted faith. Rank, wealth, power, and royaltyitself, smiled on their enterprise, and bade them God-speed. Yet, withal, a fervor more intense, a self-abnegation more complete, a self-devotionmore constant and enduring, will scarcely find its record on the page ofhuman history. 

Holy Mother Church, linked in sordid wedlock to governments and thrones, numbered among her servants a host of the worldly and the proud, whoseservice of God was but the service of themselves, --and many, too, who, in the sophistry of the human heart, thought themselves true soldiers ofHeaven, while earthly pride, interest, and passion were the life-springsof their zeal. This mighty Church of Rome, in her imposing march alongthe high road of history, heralded as infallible and divine, astounds thegazing world with prodigies of contradiction: now the protector of theoppressed, now the right arm of tyrants; now breathing charity and love, now dark with the passions of Hell; now beaming with celestial truth, now masked in hypocrisy and lies; now a virgin, now a harlot; an imperialqueen, and a tinselled actress. Clearly, she is of earth, not of heaven;and her transcendently dramatic life is a type of the good and ill, the baseness and nobleness, the foulness and purity, the love and hate, the pride, passion, truth, falsehood, fierceness, and tenderness, thatbattle in the restless heart of man. 

It was her nobler and purer part that gave life to the early missions ofNew France. That gloomy wilderness, those hordes of savages, had nothingto tempt the ambitious, the proud, the grasping, or the indolent. Obscure toil, solitude, privation, hardship, and death were to be themissionary's portion. He who set sail for the country of the Hurons leftbehind him the world and all its prizes. True, he acted under orders, --obedient, like a soldier, to the word of command: but the astute Societyof Jesus knew its members, weighed each in the balance, gave each hisfitting task; and when the word was passed to embark for New France, it was but the response to a secret longing of the fervent heart. The letters of these priests, departing for the scene of their labors, breathe a spirit of enthusiastic exaltation, which, to a colder natureand a colder faith, may sometimes seem overstrained, but which is in noway disproportionate to the vastness of the effort and the sacrificedemanded of them. 

[ The following are passages from letters of missionaries at this time. See "Divers Sentimens, " appended to the Relation of 1635. 

"On dit que les premiers qui fondent les Eglises d'ordinaire sontsaincts: cette pensee m'attendrit si fort le coeur, que quoy que ie mevoye icy fort inutile dans ceste fortunee Nouuelle France, si faut-il quei'auoue que ie ne me scaurois defendre d'vne pensee qui me presse le coeur:Cupio impendi, et superimpendi pro vobis, Pauure Nouuelle France, iedesire me sacrifier pour ton bien, et quand il me deuroit couster millevies, moyennant que ie puisse aider a sauuer vne seule ame, ie seray tropheureux, et ma vie tres bien employee. "

"Ma consolation parmy les Hurons, c'est que tous les iours ie me confesse, et puis ie dis la Messe, comme si ie deuois prendre le Viatique et mourirce iour la, et ie ne crois pas qu'on puisse mieux viure, ny auec plus desatisfaction et de courage, et mesme de merites, que viure en un lieu, ou on pense pouuoir mourir tous les iours, et auoir la deuise de S. Paul, Quotidie morior, fratres, etc. Mes freres, ie fais estat de mourir tousles iours. "

"Qui ne void la Nouuelle France que par les yeux de chair et de nature, il n'y void que des bois et des croix; mais qui les considere auec lesyeux de la grace et d'vne bonne vocation, il n'y void que Dieu, lesvertus et les graces, et on y trouue tant et de si solides consolations, que si ie pouuois acheter la Nouuelle France, en donnant tout le ParadisTerrestre, certainement ie l'acheterois. Mon Dieu, qu'il fait bon estreau lieu ou Dieu nous a mis de sa grace! veritablement i'ay trouue icy ceque i'auois espere, vn coeur selon le coeur de Dieu, qui ne cherche queDieu. " ]

All turned with longing eyes towards the mission of the Hurons; for herethe largest harvest promised to repay their labor, and here hardships anddangers most abounded. Two Jesuits, Pijart and Le Mercier, had been sentthither in 1635; and in midsummer of the next year three more arrived, --Jogues, Chatelain, and Garnier. When, after their long and lonelyjourney, they reached Ihonatiria one by one, they were received by theirbrethren with scanty fare indeed, but with a fervor of affectionatewelcome which more than made amends; for among these priests, united in acommunity of faith and enthusiasm, there was far more than the genialcomradeship of men joined in a common enterprise of self-devotion andperil. [ 1 ] On their way, they had met Daniel and Davost descending toQuebec, to establish there a seminary of Huron children, --a project longcherished by Brebeuf and his companions. 

[ 1 "Ie luy preparay de ce que nous auions, pour le receuoir, mais quelfestin! vne poignee de petit poisson sec auec vn peu de farine;i'enuoyay chercher quelques nouueaux espics, que nous luy fismes rostir ala facon du pays; mais il est vray que dans son coeur et a l'entendre, il ne fit iamais meilleure chere. La ioye qui se ressent a cesentreueues semble estre quelque image du contentement des bien-heureux aleur arriuee dans le Ciel, tant elle est pleine de suauite. "--Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1637, 106. ]

Scarcely had the new-comers arrived, when they were attacked by acontagious fever, which turned their mission-house into a hospital. Jogues, Garnier, and Chatelain fell ill in turn; and two of theirdomestics also were soon prostrated, though the only one of the numberwho could hunt fortunately escaped. Those who remained in healthattended the sick, and the sufferers vied with each other in effortsoften beyond their strength to relieve their companions in misfortune. [ Lettre de Brebeuf au T. R. P. Mutio Vitelleschi, 20 Mai, 1637, inCarayon, 157. Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1637, 120, 123. ]The disease in no case proved fatal; but scarcely had health begun toreturn to their household, when an unforeseen calamity demanded theexertion of all their energies. 

The pestilence, which for two years past had from time to time visitedthe Huron towns, now returned with tenfold violence, and with it soonappeared a new and fearful scourge, --the small-pox. Terror was universal. The contagion increased as autumn advanced; and when winter came, farfrom ceasing, as the priests had hoped, its ravages were appalling. The season of Huron festivity was turned to a season of mourning; andsuch was the despondency and dismay, that suicide became frequent. The Jesuits, singly or in pairs, journeyed in the depth of winter fromvillage to village, ministering to the sick, and seeking to commend theirreligious teachings by their efforts to relieve bodily distress. Happily, perhaps, for their patients, they had no medicine but a little senna. A few raisins were left, however; and one or two of these, with aspoonful of sweetened water, were always eagerly accepted by thesufferers, who thought them endowed with some mysterious and sovereignefficacy. No house was left unvisited. As the missionary, physician atonce to body and soul, entered one of these smoky dens, he saw theinmates, their heads muffled in their robes of skins, seated around thefires in silent dejection. Everywhere was heard the wail of sick anddying children; and on or under the platforms at the sides of the housecrouched squalid men and women, in all the stages of the distemper. The Father approached, made inquiries, spoke words of kindness, administered his harmless remedies, or offered a bowl of broth made fromgame brought in by the Frenchman who hunted for the mission. [ Game wasso scarce in the Huron country, that it was greatly prized as a luxury. Le Mercier speaks of an Indian, sixty years of age, who walked twelvemiles to taste the wild-fowl killed by the French hunter. The ordinaryfood was corn, beans, pumpkins, and fish. ] The body cared for, he nextaddressed himself to the soul. "This life is short, and very miserable. It matters little whether we live or die. " The patient remained silent, or grumbled his dissent. The Jesuit, after enlarging for a time, inbroken Huron, on the brevity and nothingness of mortal weal or woe, passed next to the joys of Heaven and the pains of Hell, which he setforth with his best rhetoric. His pictures of infernal fires andtorturing devils were readily comprehended, if the listener hadconsciousness enough to comprehend anything; but with respect to theadvantages of the French Paradise, he was slow of conviction. "I wish togo where my relations and ancestors have gone, " was a common reply. "Heaven is a good place for Frenchmen, " said another; "but I wish to beamong Indians, for the French will give me nothing to eat when I getthere. " [ It was scarcely possible to convince the Indians, that therewas but one God for themselves and the whites. The proposition was metby such arguments as this: "If we had been of one father, we should knowhow to make knives and coats as well as you. "--Le Mercier, Relation desHurons, 1637, 147. ] Often the patient was stolidly silent; sometimes hewas hopelessly perverse and contradictory. Again, Nature triumphed overGrace. "Which will you choose, " demanded the priest of a dying woman, "Heaven or Hell?" "Hell, if my children are there, as you say, " returnedthe mother. "Do they hunt in Heaven, or make war, or go to feasts?"asked an anxious inquirer. "Oh, no!" replied the Father. "Then, "returned the querist, "I will not go. It is not good to be lazy. "But above all other obstacles was the dread of starvation in the regionsof the blest. Nor, when the dying Indian had been induced at last toexpress a desire for Paradise, was it an easy matter to bring him to adue contrition for his sins; for he would deny with indignation that hehad ever committed any. When at length, as sometimes happened, all thesedifficulties gave way, and the patient had been brought to what seemed tohis instructor a fitting frame for baptism, the priest, with contentmentat his heart, brought water in a cup or in the hollow of his hand, touched his forehead with the mystic drop, and snatched him from aneternity of woe. But the convert, even after his baptism, did not alwaysmanifest a satisfactory spiritual condition. "Why did you baptize thatIroquois?" asked one of the dying neophytes, speaking of the prisonerrecently tortured; "he will get to Heaven before us, and, when he sees uscoming, he will drive us out. " [ Most of the above traits are drawn fromLe Mercier's report of 1637. The rest are from Brebeuf. ]

Thus did these worthy priests, too conscientious to let theseunfortunates die in peace, follow them with benevolent persecutions tothe hour of their death. 

It was clear to the Fathers, that their ministrations were valued solelybecause their religion was supposed by many to be a "medicine, " or charm, efficacious against famine, disease, and death. They themselves, indeed, firmly believed that saints and angels were always at hand with temporalsuccors for the faithful. At their intercession, St. Joseph hadinterposed to procure a happy delivery to a squaw in protracted pains ofchildbirth; [ Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1636, 89. Another woman wasdelivered on touching a relic of St. Ignatius. Ibid. , 90. ] and theynever doubted, that, in the hour of need, the celestial powers wouldconfound the unbeliever with intervention direct and manifest. At thetown of Wenrio, the people, after trying in vain all the feasts, dances, and preposterous ceremonies by which their medicine-men sought to stopthe pest, resolved to essay the "medicine" of the French, and, to thatend, called the priests to a council. "What must we do, that your Godmay take pity on us?" Brebeuf's answer was uncompromising:--

"Believe in Him; keep His commandments; abjure your faith in dreams; takebut one wife, and be true to her; give up your superstitious feasts;renounce your assemblies of debauchery; eat no human flesh; never givefeasts to demons; and make a vow, that, if God will deliver you from thispest, you will build a chapel to offer Him thanksgiving and praise. "[ Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1637, 114, 116 (Cramoisy). ]

The terms were too hard. They would fain bargain to be let off withbuilding the chapel alone; but Brebeuf would bate them nothing, and thecouncil broke up in despair. 

At Ossossane, a few miles distant, the people, in a frenzy of terror, accepted the conditions, and promised to renounce their superstitions andreform their manners. It was a labor of Hercules, a cleansing of Augeanstables; but the scared savages were ready to make any promise that mightstay the pestilence. One of their principal sorcerers proclaimed in aloud voice through the streets of the town, that the God of the Frenchwas their master, and that thenceforth all must live according to Hiswill. "What consolation, " exclaims Le Mercier, "to see God glorified bythe lips of an imp of Satan!" [ Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1637, 127, 128 (Cramoisy). ]

Their joy was short. The proclamation was on the twelfth of December. On the twenty-first, a noted sorcerer came to Ossossane. He was of adwarfish, hump-backed figure, --most rare among this symmetricalpeople, --with a vicious face, and a dress consisting of a torn and shabbyrobe of beaver-skin. Scarcely had he arrived, when, with ten or twelveother savages, he ensconced himself in a kennel of bark made for theoccasion. In the midst were placed several stones, heated red-hot. On these the sorcerer threw tobacco, producing a stifling fumigation; inthe midst of which, for a full half-hour, he sang, at the top of histhroat, those boastful, yet meaningless, rhapsodies of which Indianmagical songs are composed. Then came a grand "medicine-feast"; and thedisappointed Jesuits saw plainly that the objects of their spiritual care, unwilling to throw away any chance of cure, were bent on invoking aidfrom God and the Devil at once. 

The hump-backed sorcerer became a thorn in the side of the Fathers, who more than half believed his own account of his origin. He was, hesaid, not a man, but an _oki_, --a spirit, or, as the priests rendered it, a demon, --and had dwelt with other _okies_ under the earth, when the whimseized him to become a man. Therefore he ascended to the upper world, in company with a female spirit. They hid beside a path, and, when theysaw a woman passing, they entered her womb. After a time they were born, but not until the male oki had quarrelled with and strangled his femalecompanion, who came dead into the world. [ Le Mercier, Relation desHurons, 1637, 72 (Cramoisy). This "petit sorcier" is often mentionedelsewhere. ] The character of the sorcerer seems to have comportedreasonably well with this story of his origin. He pretended to have anabsolute control over the pestilence, and his prescriptions werescrupulously followed. 

He had several conspicuous rivals, besides a host of humbler competitors. One of these magician-doctors, who was nearly blind, made for himself akennel at the end of his house, where he fasted for seven days. [ SeeIntroduction. ] On the sixth day the spirits appeared, and, among otherrevelations, told him that the disease could be frightened away by meansof images of straw, like scarecrows, placed on the tops of the houses. Within forty-eight hours after this announcement, the roofs ofOnnentisati and the neighboring villages were covered with an army ofthese effigies. The Indians tried to persuade the Jesuits to put them onthe mission-house; but the priests replied, that the cross before theirdoor was a better protector; and, for further security, they set anotheron their roof, declaring that they would rely on it to save them frominfection. [ "Qu'en vertu de ce signe nous ne redoutions point lesdemons, et esperions que Dieu preserueroit nostre petite maison de cettemaladie contagieuse. "--Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1637, 150. ]The Indians, on their part, anxious that their scarecrows should do theiroffice well, addressed them in loud harangues and burned offerings oftobacco to them. [ Ibid. , 157. ]

There was another sorcerer, whose medical practice was so extensive, that, unable to attend to all his patients, he sent substitutes to thesurrounding towns, first imparting to them his own mysterious power. One of these deputies came to Ossossane while the priests were there. The principal house was thronged with expectant savages, anxiouslywaiting his arrival. A chief carried before him a kettle of mystic water, with which the envoy sprinkled the company, [ 1 ] at the same timefanning them with the wing of a wild turkey. Then came a grandmedicine-feast, followed by a medicine-dance of women. 

[ 1 The idea seems to have been taken from the holy water of the French. Le Mercier says that a Huron who had been to Quebec once asked him theuse of the vase of water at the door of the chapel. The priest told himthat it was "to frighten away the devils". On this, he begged earnestlyto have some of it. ]

Opinion was divided as to the nature of the pest; but the greater numberwere agreed that it was a malignant oki, who came from Lake Huron. [ 1 ]As it was of the last moment to conciliate or frighten him, no means tothese ends were neglected. Feasts were held for him, at which, to do himhonor, each guest gorged himself like a vulture. A mystic fraternitydanced with firebrands in their mouths; while other dancers wore masks, and pretended to be hump-backed. Tobacco was burned to the Demon of thePest, no less than to the scarecrows which were to frighten him. A chiefclimbed to the roof of a house, and shouted to the invisible monster, "If you want flesh, go to our enemies, go to the Iroquois!"--while, to add terror to persuasion, the crowd in the dwelling below yelled withall the force of their lungs, and beat furiously with sticks on the wallsof bark. 

[ 1 Many believed that the country was bewitched by wicked sorcerers, one of whom, it was said, had been seen at night roaming around thevillages, vomiting fire. (Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1637, 134. )This superstition of sorcerers vomiting fire was common among theIroquois of New York. --Others held that a sister of Etienne Brule causedthe evil, in revenge for the death of her brother, murdered some yearsbefore. She was said to have been seen flying over the country, breathing forth pestilence. ]

Besides these public efforts to stay the pestilence, the sufferers, each for himself, had their own methods of cure, dictated by dreams orprescribed by established usage. Thus two of the priests, entering ahouse, saw a sick man crouched in a corner, while near him sat threefriends. Before each of these was placed a huge portion of food, --enough, the witness declares, for four, --and though all were gorged tosuffocation, with starting eyeballs and distended veins, they still heldstaunchly to their task, resolved at all costs to devour the whole, in order to cure the patient, who meanwhile ceased not in feeble tones, to praise their exertions, and implore them to persevere. 

[ "En fin il leur fallut rendre gorge, ce qu'ils firent a diuersesreprises, ne laissants pas pour cela de continuer a vuider leurplat. "--Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1637, 142. --This beastlysuperstition exists in some tribes at the present day. A kindredsuperstition once fell under the writer's notice, in the case of awounded Indian, who begged of every one he met to drink a large bowl ofwater, in order that he, the Indian, might be cured. ]

Turning from these eccentricities of the "noble savage" [ 1 ] to thezealots who were toiling, according to their light, to snatch him fromthe clutch of Satan, we see the irrepressible Jesuits roaming from townto town in restless quest of subjects for baptism. In the case of adults, they thought some little preparation essential; but their efforts to thisend, even with the aid of St. Joseph, whom they constantly invoked, [ 2 ]were not always successful; and, cheaply as they offered salvation, they sometimes railed to find a purchaser. With infants, however, a simple drop of water sufficed for the transfer from a prospective Hellto an assured Paradise. The Indians, who at first had sought baptism asa cure, now began to regard it as a cause of death; and when the priestentered a lodge where a sick child lay in extremity, the scowling parentswatched him with jealous distrust, lest unawares the deadly drop shouldbe applied. The Jesuits were equal to the emergency. Father Le Mercierwill best tell his own story. 

[ 1 In the midst of these absurdities we find recorded one of the besttraits of the Indian character. At Ihonatiria, a house occupied by afamily of orphan children was burned to the ground, leaving the inmatesdestitute. The villagers united to aid them. Each contributed something, and they were soon better provided for than before. ]

[ 2 "C'est nostre refuge ordinaire en semblables necessitez, etd'ordinaire auec tels succez, que nous auons sujet d'en benir Dieu aiamais, qui nous fait cognoistre en cette barbarie le credit de ceS. Patriarche aupres de son infinie misericorde. "--Le Mercier, Relationdes Hurons, 1637, 153. --In the case of a woman at Onnentisati, "Dieu nousinspira de luy vouer quelques Messes en l'honneur de S. Joseph. "The effect was prompt. In half an hour the woman was ready for baptism. On the same page we have another subject secured to Heaven, "sans doutepar les merites du glorieux Patriarche S. Joseph. " ]

"On the third of May, Father Pierre Pijart baptized at Anonatea a littlechild two months old, in manifest danger of death, without being seen bythe parents, who would not give their consent. This is the device whichhe used. Our sugar does wonders for us. He pretended to make the childdrink a little sugared water, and at the same time dipped a finger in it. As the father of the infant began to suspect something, and called out tohim not to baptize it, he gave the spoon to a woman who was near, andsaid to her, 'Give it to him yourself. ' She approached and found thechild asleep; and at the same time Father Pijart, under pretence ofseeing if he was really asleep touched his face with his wet finger, and baptized him. At the end of forty-eight hours he went to Heaven. 

"Some days before, the missionary had used the same device (_industrie_)for baptizing a little boy six or seven years old. His father, who wasvery sick, had several times refused to receive baptism; and when askedif he would not be glad to have his son baptized, he had answered, No. 'At least, ' said Father Pijart, 'you will not object to my giving him alittle sugar. ' 'No; but you must not baptize him. ' The missionary gaveit to him once; then again; and at the third spoonful, before he had putthe sugar into the water, he let a drop of it fall on the child, at thesame time pronouncing the sacramental words. A little girl, who waslooking at him, cried out, 'Father, he is baptizing him!' The child'sfather was much disturbed; but the missionary said to him, 'Did you notsee that I was giving him sugar?' The child died soon after; but Godshowed His grace to the father, who is now in perfect health. "

[ Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1637, 165. Various other cases of thekind are mentioned in the Relations. ]

That equivocal morality, lashed by the withering satire of Pascal, --amorality built on the doctrine that all means are permissible for savingsouls from perdition, and that sin itself is no sin when its object isthe "greater glory of God, "--found far less scope in the rude wildernessof the Hurons than among the interests, ambitions, and passions ofcivilized life. Nor were these men, chosen from the purest of theirOrder, personally well fitted to illustrate the capabilities of thiselastic system. Yet now and then, by the light of their own writings, we may observe that the teachings of the school of Loyola had not beenwholly without effect in the formation of their ethics. 

But when we see them, in the gloomy February of 1637, and the gloomiermonths that followed, toiling on foot from one infected town to another, wading through the sodden snow, under the bare and dripping forests, drenched with incessant rains, till they descried at length through thestorm the clustered dwellings of some barbarous hamlet, --when we see thementering, one after another, these wretched abodes of misery and darkness, and all for one sole end, the baptism of the sick and dying, we may smileat the futility of the object, but we must needs admire the self-sacrificing zeal with which it was pursued. 

CHAPTER IX. 

1637. 

CHARACTER OF THE CANADIAN JESUITS. 

 JEAN DE BREBEUF. --CHARLES GARNIER. --JOSEPH MARIE CHAUMONOT. -- NOEL CHABANEL. --ISAAC JOGUES. --OTHER JESUITS. --NATURE OF THEIR FAITH. -- SUPERNATURALISM. --VISIONS. --MIRACLES. 

Before pursuing farther these obscure, but noteworthy, scenes in thedrama of human history, it will be well to indicate, so far as there aremeans of doing so, the distinctive traits of some of the chief actors. Mention has often been made of Brebeuf, --that masculine apostle of theFaith, --the Ajax of the mission. Nature had given him all the passionsof a vigorous manhood, and religion had crushed them, curbed them, or tamed them to do her work, --like a dammed-up torrent, sluiced andguided to grind and saw and weave for the good of man. Beside him, in strange contrast, stands his co-laborer, Charles Garnier. Both wereof noble birth and gentle nurture; but here the parallel ends. Garnier'sface was beardless, though he was above thirty years old. For this hewas laughed at by his friends in Paris, but admired by the Indians, who thought him handsome. [ "C'est pourquoi j'ai bien gagne quitter laFrance, ou vous me fesiez la guerre de n'avoir point de barbe; car c'estce qui me fait estimes beau des Sauvages. "--Lettres de Garnier, MSS. ]His constitution, bodily or mental, was by no means robust. From boyhood, he had shown a delicate and sensitive nature, a tender conscience, and a proneness to religious emotion. He had never gone with hisschoolmates to inns and other places of amusement, but kept hispocket-money to give to beggars. One of his brothers relates of him, that, seeing an obscene book, he bought and destroyed it, lest other boysshould be injured by it. He had always wished to be a Jesuit, and, after a novitiate which is described as most edifying, he became aprofessed member of the Order. The Church, indeed, absorbed the greaterpart, if not the whole, of this pious family, --one brother being aCarmelite, another a Capuchin, and a third a Jesuit, while there seemsalso to have been a fourth under vows. Of Charles Garnier there remaintwenty-four letters, written at various times to his father and two ofhis brothers, chiefly during his missionary life among the Hurons. They breathe the deepest and most intense Roman Catholic piety, and aspirit enthusiastic, yet sad, as of one renouncing all the hopes andprizes of the world, and living for Heaven alone. The affections of hissensitive nature, severed from earthly objects, found relief in an ardentadoration of the Virgin Mary. With none of the bone and sinew of ruggedmanhood, he entered, not only without hesitation, but with eagerness, on a life which would have tried the boldest; and, sustained by thespirit within him, he was more than equal to it. His fellow-missionariesthought him a saint; and had he lived a century or two earlier, he wouldperhaps have been canonized: yet, while all his life was a willingmartyrdom, one can discern, amid his admirable virtues, some slightlingerings of mortal vanity. Thus, in three several letters, he speaksof his great success in baptizing, and plainly intimates that he had sentmore souls to Heaven than the other Jesuits. 

[ The above sketch of Garnier is drawn from various sources. Observations du P. Henri de St. Joseph, Carme, sur son Frere leP. Charles Garnier, MS. --Abrege de la Vie du R. Pere Charles Garnier, MS. This unpublished sketch bears the signature of the Jesuit Ragueneau, with the date 1652. For the opportunity of consulting it I am indebtedto Rev. Felix Martin, S. J. --Lettres du P. Charles Garnier, MSS. Theseembrace his correspondence from the Huron country, and are exceedinglycharacteristic and striking. There is another letter in Carayon, Premiere Mission. --Garnier's family was wealthy, as well as noble. Its members seem to have been strongly attached to each other, and theyoung priest's father was greatly distressed at his departure for Canada. ]

Next appears a young man of about twenty-seven years, Joseph MarieChaumonot. Unlike Brebeuf and Garnier, he was of humble origin, --hisfather being a vine-dresser, and his mother the daughter of a poorvillage schoolmaster. At an early age they sent him to Chatillon on theSeine, where he lived with his uncle, a priest, who taught him to speakLatin, and awakened his religious susceptibilities, which were naturallystrong. This did not prevent him from yielding to the persuasions of oneof his companions to run off to Beaune, a town of Burgundy, where thefugitives proposed to study music under the Fathers of the Oratory. To provide funds for the journey, he stole a sum of about the value of adollar from his uncle, the priest. This act, which seems to have been amere peccadillo of boyish levity, determined his future career. Findinghimself in total destitution at Beaune, he wrote to his mother for money, and received in reply an order from his father to come home. Stung withthe thought of being posted as a thief in his native village, he resolvednot to do so, but to set out forthwith on a pilgrimage to Rome; andaccordingly, tattered and penniless, he took the road for the sacredcity. Soon a conflict began within him between his misery and the pridewhich forbade him to beg. The pride was forced to succumb. He beggedfrom door to door; slept under sheds by the wayside, or in haystacks; andnow and then found lodging and a meal at a convent. Thus, sometimesalone, sometimes with vagabonds whom he met on the road, he made his waythrough Savoy and Lombardy in a pitiable condition of destitution, filth, and disease. At length he reached Ancona, when the thought occured tohim of visiting the Holy House of Loretto, and imploring the succor ofthe Virgin Mary. Nor were his hopes disappointed. He had reached thatrenowned shrine, knelt, paid his devotions, and offered his prayer, when, as he issued from the door of the chapel, he was accosted by a young man, whom he conjectures to have been an angel descended to his relief, and who was probably some penitent or devotee bent on works of charity orself-mortification. With a voice of the greatest kindness, he profferedhis aid to the wretched boy, whose appearance was alike fitted to awakenpity and disgust. The conquering of a natural repugnance to filth, in the interest of charity and humility, is a conspicuous virtue in mostof the Roman Catholic saints; and whatever merit may attach to it wasacquired in an extraordinary degree by the young man in question. Apparently, he was a physician; for he not only restored the miserablewanderer to a condition of comparative decency, but cured him of agrievous malady, the result of neglect. Chaumonot went on his way, thankful to his benefactor, and overflowing with an enthusiasm ofgratitude to Our Lady of Loretto. 

[ "Si la moindre dame m'avoit fait rendre ce service par le dernier deses valets, n'aurois-je pas dus lui en rendre toutes les reconnoissancespossibles? Et si apres une telle charite elle s'etoit offerte a meservir toujours de mesme, comment aurois-je du l'honorer, lui obeir, l'aimer toute ma vie! Pardon, Reine des Anges et des hommes! pardon dece qu'apres avoir recu de vous tant de marques, par lesquelles vousm'avez convaincu que vous m'avez adopte pour votre fils, j'ai eul'ingratitude pendant des annees entieres de me comporter encore plutoten esclave de Satan qu'en enfant d'une Mere Vierge. O que vous etesbonne et charitable! puisque quelques obstacles que mes peches ayent pumettre a vos graces, vous n'avez jamais cesse de m'attirer au bien;jusque la que vous m'avez fait admettre dans la Sainte Compagnie de Jesus, votre fils. "--Chaumonot, Vie, 20. The above is from the very curiousautobiography written by Chaumonot, at the command of his Superior, in 1688. The original manuscript is at the Hotel Dieu of Quebec. Mr. Shea has printed it. ]

As he journeyed towards Rome, an old burgher, at whose door he had begged, employed him as a servant. He soon became known to a Jesuit, to whom hehad confessed himself in Latin; and as his acquirements were considerablefor his years, he was eventually employed as teacher of a low class inone of the Jesuit schools. Nature had inclined him to a life ofdevotion. He would fain be a hermit, and, to that end, practised eatinggreen ears of wheat; but, finding he could not swallow them, conceivedthat he had mistaken his vocation. Then a strong desire grew up withinhim to become a Recollet, a Capuchin, or, above all, a Jesuit; and atlength the wish of his heart was answered. At the age of twenty-one, he was admitted to the Jesuit novitiate. [ 1 ] Soon after its close, a small duodecimo volume was placed in his hands. It was a Relation ofthe Canadian mission, and contained one of those narratives of Brebeufwhich have been often cited in the preceding pages. Its effect wasimmediate. Burning to share those glorious toils, the young priest askedto be sent to Canada; and his request was granted. 

[ 1 His age, when he left his uncle, the priest, is not mentioned. But he must have been a mere child; for, at the end of his novitiate, he had forgotten his native language, and was forced to learn it a secondtime. 

"Jamais y eut-il homme sur terre plus oblige que moi a la Sainte Famillede Jesus, de Marie et de Joseph! Marie en me guerissant de ma vilainegalle ou teigne, me delivra d'une infinite de peines et d'incommoditescorporelles, que cette hideuse maladie qui me rongeoit m'avoit cause. Joseph m'ayant obtenu la grace d'etre incorpore a un corps aussi saintqu'est celui des Jesuites, m'a preserve d'une infinite de miseresspirituelles, de tentations tres dangereuses et de peches tres enormes. Jesus n'ayant pas permis que j'entrasse dans aucun autre ordre qu'encelui qu'il honore tout a la fois de son beau nom, de sa douce presenceet de sa protection speciale. O Jesus! O Marie! O Joseph! qui meritoitmoins que moi vos divines faveurs, et envers qui avez vous ete plusprodigue?"--Chaumonot, Vie, 37. ]

Before embarking, he set out with the Jesuit Poncet, who was alsodestined for Canada, on a pilgrimage from Rome to the shrine of Our Ladyof Loretto. They journeyed on foot, begging alms by the way. Chaumonotwas soon seized with a pain in the knee, so violent that it seemedimpossible to proceed. At San Severino, where they lodged with theBarnabites, he bethought him of asking the intercession of a certain poorwoman of that place, who had died some time before with the reputation ofsanctity. Accordingly he addressed to her his prayer, promising topublish her fame on every possible occasion, if she would obtain his curefrom God. [ "Je me recommandai a elle en lui promettant de la faireconnoitre dans toutes les occasions que j'en aurois jamais, si ellevn'obtenoit de Dieu ma guerison. "--Chaumonot, Vie, 46. ] Theintercession was accepted; the offending limb became sound again, and thetwo pilgrims pursued their journey. They reached Loretto, and, kneelingbefore the Queen of Heaven, implored her favor and aid; while Chaumonot, overflowing with devotion to this celestial mistress of his heart, conceived the purpose of building in Canada a chapel to her honor, after the exact model of the Holy House of Loretto. They soon afterwardsembarked together, and arrived among the Hurons early in the autumn of1639. 

Noel Chabanel came later to the mission; for he did not reach the Huroncountry until 1643. He detested the Indian life, --the smoke, the vermin, the filthy food, the impossibility of privacy. He could not study by thesmoky lodge-fire, among the noisy crowd of men and squaws, with theirdogs, and their restless, screeching children. He had a naturalinaptitude to learning the language, and labored at it for five yearswith scarcely a sign of progress. The Devil whispered a suggestion intohis ear: Let him procure his release from these barren and revoltingtoils, and return to France, where congenial and useful employmentsawaited him. Chabanel refused to listen; and when the temptation stillbeset him, he bound himself by a solemn vow to remain in Canada to theday of his death. [ Abrege de la Vie du Pere Noel Chabanel, MS. Thisanonymous paper bears the signature of Ragueneau, in attestation of itstruth. See also Ragueneau, Relation, 1650, 17, 18. Chabanel's vow ishere given verbatim. ]

Isaac Jogues was of a character not unlike Garnier. Nature had given himno especial force of intellect or constitutional energy, yet the man wasindomitable and irrepressible, as his history will show. We have but fewmeans of characterizing the remaining priests of the mission otherwisethan as their traits appear on the field of their labors. Theirs was nofaith of abstractions and generalities. For them, heaven was very nearto earth, touching and mingling with it at many points. On high, God theFather sat enthroned: and, nearer to human sympathies, Divinity incarnatein the Son, with the benign form of his immaculate mother, and her spouse, St. Joseph, the chosen patron of New France. Interceding saints anddeparted friends bore to the throne of grace the petitions of those yetlingering in mortal bondage, and formed an ascending chain from earth toheaven. 

These priests lived in an atmosphere of supernaturalism. Every day hadits miracle. Divine power declared itself in action immediate and direct, controlling, guiding, or reversing the laws of Nature. The missionariesdid not reject the ordinary cures for disease or wounds; but they reliedfar more on a prayer to the Virgin, a vow to St. Joseph, or the promise ofa _neuvaine_, or nine days' devotion, to some other celestial personage;while the touch of a fragment of a tooth or bone of some departed saintwas of sovereign efficacy to cure sickness, solace pain, or relieve asuffering squaw in the throes of childbirth. Once, Chaumonot, having aheadache, remembered to have heard of a sick man who regained his healthby commending his case to St. Ignatius, and at the same time putting amedal stamped with his image into his mouth. Accordingly he tried asimilar experiment, putting into his mouth a medal bearing arepresentation of the Holy Family, which was the object of his especialdevotion. The next morning found him cured. [ Chaumonot, Vie, 73. ]

The relation between this world and the next was sometimes of a naturecuriously intimate. Thus, when Chaumonot heard of Garnier's death, he immediately addressed his departed colleague, and promised him thebenefit of all the good works which he, Chaumonot, might perform duringthe next week, provided the defunct missionary would make him heir to hisknowledge of the Huron tongue. [ 1 ] And he ascribed to the deceasedGarnier's influence the mastery of that language which he afterwardsacquired. 

[ 1 "Je n'eus pas plutot appris sa glorieuse mort, que je lui promistout ce que je ferois de bien pendant huit jours, a condition qu'il meferoit son heritier dans la connoissance parfaite qu'il avoit duHuron. "--Chaumonot, Vie, 61. ]

The efforts of the missionaries for the conversion of the savages werepowerfully seconded from the other world, and the refractory subject whowas deaf to human persuasions softened before the superhuman agencieswhich the priest invoked to his aid. 

[ As these may be supposed to be exploded ideas of the past, the writermay recall an incident of his youth, while spending a few days in theconvent of the Passionists, near the Coliseum at Rome. These worthymonks, after using a variety of arguments for his conversion, expressedthe hope that a miraculous interposition would be vouchsafed to that end, and that the Virgin would manifest herself to him in a nocturnal vision. To this end they gave him a small brass medal, stamped with her image, to be worn at his neck, while they were to repeat a certain number ofAves and Paters, in which he was urgently invited to join; as the resultof which, it was hoped the Virgin would appear on the same night. No vision, however, occurred. ]

It is scarcely necessary to add, that signs and voices from another world, visitations from Hell and visions from Heaven, were incidents of no rareoccurrence in the lives of these ardent apostles. To Brebeuf, whose deepnature, like a furnace white hot, glowed with the still intensity of hisenthusiasm, they were especially frequent. Demons in troops appearedbefore him, sometimes in the guise of men, sometimes as bears, wolves, or wildcats. He called on God, and the apparitions vanished. Death, like a skeleton, sometimes menaced him, and once, as he faced it with anunquailing eye, it fell powerless at his feet. A demon, in the form of awoman, assailed him with the temptation which beset St. Benedict amongthe rocks of Subiaco; but Brebeuf signed the cross, and the infernalsiren melted into air. He saw the vision of a vast and gorgeous palace;and a miraculous voice assured him that such was to be the reward ofthose who dwelt in savage hovels for the cause of God. Angels appearedto him; and, more than once, St. Joseph and the Virgin were visiblypresent before his sight. Once, when he was among the Neutral Nation, in the winter of 1640, he beheld the ominous apparition of a great crossslowly approaching from the quarter where lay the country of theIroquois. He told the vision to his comrades. "What was it like?How large was it?" they eagerly demanded. "Large enough, " replied thepriest, "to crucify us all. " [ 1 ] To explain such phenomena is theprovince of psychology, and not of history. Their occurrence is nomatter of surprise, and it would be superfluous to doubt that they wererecounted in good faith, and with a full belief in their reality. 

[ 1 Quelques Remarques sur la Vie du Pere Jean de Brebeuf, MS. On themargin of this paper, opposite several of the statements repeated above, are the words, signed by Ragueneau, "Ex ipsius autographo, " indicatingthat the statements were made in writing by Brebeuf himself. 

Still other visions are recorded by Chaumonot as occurring to Brebeuf, when they were together in the Neutral country. See also the long noticeof Brebeuf, written by his colleague, Ragueneau, in the Relation of 1649;and Tanner, Societas Jesu Militans, 533. ]

In these enthusiasts we shall find striking examples of one of the morbidforces of human nature; yet in candor let us do honor to what was genuinein them, --that principle of self-abnegation which is the life of truereligion, and which is vital no less to the highest forms of heroism. 

CHAPTER X. 

1637-1640. 

PERSECUTION. 

 OSSOSSANE. --THE NEW CHAPEL. --A TRIUMPH OF THE FAITH. -- THE NETHER POWERS. --SIGNS OF A TEMPEST. --SLANDERS. -- RAGE AGAINST THE JESUITS. --THEIR BOLDNESS AND PERSISTENCY. -- NOCTURNAL COUNCIL. --DANGER OF THE PRIESTS. --BREBEUF'S LETTER. -- NARROW ESCAPES. --WOES AND CONSOLATIONS. 

The town of Ossossane, or Rochelle, stood, as we have seen, on theborders of Lake Huron, at the skirts of a gloomy wilderness of pine. Thither, in May, 1637, repaired Father Pijart, to found, in this, one ofthe largest of the Huron towns, the new mission of the ImmaculateConception. [ The doctrine of the immaculate conception of the Virgin, recently sanctioned by the Pope, has long been a favorite tenet of theJesuits. ] The Indians had promised Brebeuf to build a house for theblack-robes, and Pijart found the work in progress. There were at thistime about fifty dwellings in the town, each containing eight or tenfamilies. The quadrangular fort already alluded to had now beencompleted by the Indians, under the instruction of the priests. [ Lettres de Garnier, MSS. It was of upright pickets, ten feet highwith flanking towers at two angles. ]

The new mission-house was about seventy feet in length. No sooner hadthe savage workmen secured the bark covering on its top and sides thanthe priests took possession, and began their preparations for a notableceremony. At the farther end they made an altar, and hung suchdecorations as they had on the rough walls of bark throughout half thelength of the structure. This formed their chapel. On the altar was acrucifix, with vessels and ornaments of shining metal; while above hungseveral pictures, --among them a painting of Christ, and another of theVirgin, both of life-size. There was also a representation of the LastJudgment, wherein dragons and serpents might be seen feasting on theentrails of the wicked, while demons scourged them into the flames ofHell. The entrance was adorned with a quantity of tinsel, together withgreen boughs skilfully disposed. 

[ "Nostre Chapelle estoit extraordinairement bien ornee, . . Nous auionsdresse vn portique entortille de feuillage, mesle d'oripeau, en vn motnous auions estalle tout ce que vostre R. Nous a enuoie de beau, " etc. , etc. --Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1637, 175, 176. --In his Relationof the next year he recurs to the subject, and describes the picturesdisplayed on this memorable occasion. --Relation des Hurons, 1638, 33. ]

Never before were such splendors seen in the land of the Hurons. Crowdsgathered from afar, and gazed in awe and admiration at the marvels of thesanctuary. A woman came from a distant town to behold it, and, tremulousbetween curiosity and fear, thrust her head into the mysterious recess, declaring that she would see it, though the look should cost her life. [ Ibid. , 1637, 176. ]

One is forced to wonder at, if not to admire, the energy with which thesepriests and their scarcely less zealous attendants [ 1 ] toiled to carrytheir pictures and ornaments through the most arduous of journeys, where the traveller was often famished from the sheer difficulty oftransporting provisions. 

[ 1 The Jesuits on these distant missions were usually attended byfollowers who had taken no vows, and could leave their service at will, but whose motives were religious, and not mercenary. Probably this wasthe character of their attendants in the present case. They were knownas _donnes_, or "given men. " It appears from a letter of the JesuitDu Peron, that twelve hired laborers were soon after sent up to themission. ]

A great event had called forth all this preparation. Of the manybaptisms achieved by the Fathers in the course of their indefatigableministry, the subjects had all been infants, or adults at the point ofdeath; but at length a Huron, in full health and manhood, respected andinfluential in his tribe, had been won over to the Faith, and was now tobe baptized with solemn ceremonial, in the chapel thus gorgeouslyadorned. It was a strange scene. Indians were there in throngs, and thehouse was closely packed: warriors, old and young, glistening in greaseand sunflower-oil, with uncouth locks, a trifle less coarse than ahorse's mane, and faces perhaps smeared with paint in honor of theoccasion; wenches in gay attire; hags muffled in a filthy discardeddeer-skin, their leathery visages corrugated with age and malice, andtheir hard, glittering eyes riveted on the spectacle before them. The priests, no longer in their daily garb of black, but radiant in theirsurplices, the genuflections, the tinkling of the bell, the swinging ofthe censer, the sweet odors so unlike the fumes of the smoky lodge-fires, the mysterious elevation of the Host, (for a mass followed the baptism, )and the agitation of the neophyte, whose Indian imperturbability fairlydeserted him, --all these combined to produce on the minds of the savagebeholders an impression that seemed to promise a rich harvest for theFaith. To the Jesuits it was a day of triumph and of hope. The ice hadbeen broken; the wedge had entered; light had dawned at last on the longnight of heathendom. But there was one feature of the situation which intheir rejoicing they overlooked. 

The Devil had taken alarm. He had borne with reasonable composure theloss of individual souls snatched from him by former baptisms; but herewas a convert whose example and influence threatened to shake his Huronempire to its very foundation. In fury and fear, he rose to the conflict, and put forth all his malice and all his hellish ingenuity. Such, at least, is the explanation given by the Jesuits of the scenes thatfollowed. [ 1 ] Whether accepting it or not, let us examine thecircumstances which gave rise to it. 

[ 1 Several of the Jesuits allude to this supposed excitement among thetenants of the nether world. Thus, Le Mercier says, "Le Diable sesentoit presse de pres, il ne pouuoit supporter le Baptesme solennel dequelques Sauuages des plus signalez. "--Relation des Hurons, 1638, 33. --Several other baptisms of less note followed that above described. Garnier, writing to his brother, repeatedly alludes to the alarm excitedin Hell by the recent successes of the mission, and adds, --"Vous pouvezjuger quelle consolation nous etoit-ce de voir le diable s'armer contrenous et se servir de ses esclaves pour nous attaquer et tacher de nousperdre en haine de J. C. " ]

The mysterious strangers, garbed in black, who of late years had madetheir abode among them, from motives past finding out, marvellous inknowledge, careless of life, had awakened in the breasts of the Huronsmingled emotions of wonder, perplexity, fear, respect, and awe. From thefirst, they had held them answerable for the changes of the weather, commending them when the crops were abundant, and upbraiding them intimes of scarcity. They thought them mighty magicians, masters of lifeand death; and they came to them for spells, sometimes to destroy theirenemies, and sometimes to kill grasshoppers. And now it was whisperedabroad that it was they who had bewitched the nation, and caused the pestwhich threatened to exterminate it. 

It was Isaac Jogues who first heard this ominous rumor, at the town ofOnnentisati, and it proceeded from the dwarfish sorcerer alreadymentioned, who boasted himself a devil incarnate. The slander spreadfast and far. Their friends looked at them askance; their enemiesclamored for their lives. Some said that they concealed in their housesa corpse, which infected the country, --a perverted notion, derived fromsome half-instructed neophyte, concerning the body of Christ in theEucharist. Others ascribed the evil to a serpent, others to a spottedfrog, others to a demon which the priests were supposed to carry in thebarrel of a gun. Others again gave out that they had pricked an infantto death with awls in the forest, in order to kill the Huron children bymagic. "Perhaps, " observes Father Le Mercier, "the Devil was enragedbecause we had placed a great many of these little innocents in Heaven. "

[ "Le diable enrageoit peutestre de ce que nous avions place dans le cielquantite de ces petits innocens. "--Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1638, 12 (Cramoisy). ]

The picture of the Last Judgment became an object of the utmost terror. It was regarded as a charm. The dragons and serpents were supposed to bethe demons of the pest, and the sinners whom they were so busilydevouring to represent its victims. On the top of a spruce-tree, neartheir house at Ihonatiria, the priests had fastened a small streamer, to show the direction of the wind. This, too, was taken for a charm, throwing off disease and death to all quarters. The clock, once anobject of harmless wonder, now excited the wildest alarm; and the Jesuitswere forced to stop it, since, when it struck, it was supposed to soundthe signal of death. At sunset, one would have seen knots of Indians, their faces dark with dejection and terror, listening to the measuredsounds which issued from within the neighboring house of the mission, where, with bolted doors, the priests were singing litanies, mistaken forincantations by the awe-struck savages. 

Had the objects of these charges been Indians, their term of life wouldhave been very short. The blow of a hatchet, stealthily struck in thedusky entrance of a lodge, would have promptly avenged the victims oftheir sorcery, and delivered the country from peril. But the priestsinspired a strange awe. Nocturnal councils were held; their death wasdecreed; and, as they walked their rounds, whispering groups of childrengazed after them as men doomed to die. But who should be the executioner?They were reviled and upbraided. The Indian boys threw sticks at them asthey passed, and then ran behind the houses. When they entered one ofthese pestiferous dens, this impish crew clambered on the roof, to peltthem with snowballs through the smoke-holes. The old squaw who crouchedby the fire scowled on them with mingled anger and fear, and cried out, "Begone! there are no sick ones here. " The invalids wrapped their headsin their blankets; and when the priest accosted some dejected warrior, the savage looked gloomily on the ground, and answered not a word. 

Yet nothing could divert the Jesuits from their ceaseless quest of dyingsubjects for baptism, and above all of dying children. They penetratedevery house in turn. When, through the thin walls of bark, they heardthe wail of a sick infant, no menace and no insult could repel them fromthe threshold. They pushed boldly in, asked to buy some trifle, spoke oflate news of Iroquois forays, --of anything, in short, except thepestilence and the sick child; conversed for a while till suspicion waspartially lulled to sleep, and then, pretending to observe the suffererfor the first time, approached it, felt its pulse, and asked of itshealth. Now, while apparently fanning the heated brow, the dexterousvisitor touched it with a corner of his handkerchief, which he hadpreviously dipped in water, murmured the baptismal words with motionlesslips, and snatched another soul from the fangs of the "Infernal Wolf. "[ 1 ] Thus, with the patience of saints, the courage of heroes, and anintent truly charitable, did the Fathers put forth a nimble-fingeredadroitness that would have done credit to the profession of which thefunction is less to dispense the treasures of another world than to graspthose which pertain to this. 

[ 1 _Ce loup infernal_ is a title often bestowed in the Relations on theDevil. The above details are gathered from the narratives of Brebeuf, Le Mercier, and Lalemant, and letters, published and unpublished, ofseveral other Jesuits. 

In another case, an Indian girl was carrying on her back a sick child, two months old. Two Jesuits approached, and while one of them amused thegirl with his rosary, "l'autre le baptise lestement; le pauure petitn'attendoit que ceste faueur du Ciel pour s'y enuoler. " ]

The Huron chiefs were summoned to a great council, to discuss the stateof the nation. The crisis demanded all their wisdom; for, while thecontinued ravages of disease threatened them with annihilation, theIroquois scalping-parties infested the outskirts of their towns, andmurdered them in their fields and forests. The assembly met in August, 1637; and the Jesuits, knowing their deep stake in its deliberations, failed not to be present, with a liberal gift of wampum, to show theirsympathy in the public calamities. In private, they sought to gain thegood-will of the deputies, one by one; but though they were successful insome cases, the result on the whole was far from hopeful. 

In the intervals of the council, Brebeuf discoursed to the crowd ofchiefs on the wonders of the visible heavens, --the sun, the moon, thestars, and the planets. They were inclined to believe what he told them;for he had lately, to their great amazement, accurately predicted aneclipse. From the fires above he passed to the fires beneath, till thelisteners stood aghast at his hideous pictures of the flames ofperdition, --the only species of Christian instruction which produced anyperceptible effect on this unpromising auditory. 

The council opened on the evening of the fourth of August, with all theusual ceremonies; and the night was spent in discussing questions oftreaties and alliances, with a deliberation and good sense which theJesuits could not help admiring. [ Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1638, 38. ] A few days after, the assembly took up the more exciting questionof the epidemic and its causes. Deputies from three of the four Huronnations were present, each deputation sitting apart. The Jesuits wereseated with the Nation of the Bear, in whose towns their missions wereestablished. Like all important councils, the session was held at night. It was a strange scene. The light of the fires flickered aloft into thesmoky vault and among the soot-begrimed rafters of the great council-house, [ 1 ] and cast an uncertain gleam on the wild and dejected throngthat filled the platforms and the floor. "I think I never saw anythingmore lugubrious, " writes Le Mercier: "they looked at each other like somany corpses, or like men who already feel the terror of death. Whenthey spoke, it was only with sighs, each reckoning up the sick and deadof his own family. All this was to excite each other to vomit poisonagainst us. "

[ 1 It must have been the house of a chief. The Hurons, unlike someother tribes, had no houses set apart for public occasions. ]

A grisly old chief, named Ontitarac, withered with age and stone-blind, but renowned in past years for eloquence and counsel, opened the debatein a loud, though tremulous voice. First he saluted each of the threenations present, then each of the chiefs in turn, --congratulated themthat all were there assembled to deliberate on a subject of the lastimportance to the public welfare, and exhorted them to give it a matureand calm consideration. Next rose the chief whose office it was topreside over the Feast of the Dead. He painted in dismal colors thewoful condition of the country, and ended with charging it all upon thesorceries of the Jesuits. Another old chief followed him. "My brothers, "he said, "you know well that I am a war-chief, and very rarely speakexcept in councils of war; but I am compelled to speak now, since nearlyall the other chiefs are dead, and I must utter what is in my heartbefore I follow them to the grave. Only two of my family are left alive, and perhaps even these will not long escape the fury of the pest. I have seen other diseases ravaging the country, but nothing that couldcompare with this. In two or three moons we saw their end: but now wehave suffered for a year and more, and yet the evil does not abate. And what is worst of all, we have not yet discovered its source. "Then, with words of studied moderation, alternating with bursts of angryinvective, he proceeded to accuse the Jesuits of causing, by theirsorceries, the unparalleled calamities that afflicted them; and insupport of his charge he adduced a prodigious mass of evidence. When hehad spent his eloquence, Brebeuf rose to reply, and in a few wordsexposed the absurdities of his statements; whereupon another accuserbrought a new array of charges. A clamor soon arose from the wholeassembly, and they called upon Brebeuf with one voice to give up acertain charmed cloth which was the cause of their miseries. In vain themissionary protested that he had no such cloth. The clamor increased. 

"If you will not believe me, " said Brebeuf, "go to our house; searcheverywhere; and if you are not sure which is the charm, take all ourclothing and all our cloth, and throw them into the lake. "

"Sorcerers always talk in that way, " was the reply. 

"Then what will you have me say?" demanded Brebeuf. 

"Tell us the cause of the pest. "

Brebeuf replied to the best of his power, mingling his explanations withinstructions in Christian doctrine and exhortations to embrace the Faith. He was continually interrupted; and the old chief, Ontitarac, stillcalled upon him to produce the charmed cloth. Thus the debate continuedtill after midnight, when several of the assembly, seeing no prospect ofa termination, fell asleep, and others went away. One old chief, as hepassed out said to Brebeuf, "If some young man should split your head, we should have nothing to say. " The priest still continued to haranguethe diminished conclave on the necessity of obeying God and the danger ofoffending Him, when the chief of Ossossane called out impatiently, "What sort of men are these? They are always saying the same thing, and repeating the same words a hundred times. They are never done withtelling us about their _Oki_, and what he demands and what he forbids, and Paradise and Hell. " [ The above account of the council is drawn fromLe Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1638, Chap. II. See also Bressani, Relation Abregee, 163. ]

"Here was the end of this miserable council, " writes Le Mercier; . . . "and if less evil came of it than was designed, we owe it, after God, to the Most Holy Virgin, to whom we had made a vow of nine masses inhonor of her immaculate conception. "

The Fathers had escaped for the time; but they were still in deadlyperil. They had taken pains to secure friends in private, and there werethose who were attached to their interests; yet none dared openly taketheir part. The few converts they had lately made came to them in secret, and warned them that their death was determined upon. Their house wasset on fire; in public, every face was averted from them; and a newcouncil was called to pronounce the decree of death. They appearedbefore it with a front of such unflinching assurance, that their judges, Indian-like, postponed the sentence. Yet it seemed impossible that theyshould much longer escape. Brebeuf, therefore, wrote a letter offarewell to his Superior, Le Jeune, at Quebec, and confided it to someconverts whom he could trust, to be carried by them to its destination. 

"We are perhaps, " he says, "about to give our blood and our lives in thecause of our Master, Jesus Christ. It seems that His goodness willaccept this sacrifice, as regards me, in expiation of my great andnumberless sins, and that He will thus crown the past services and ardentdesires of all our Fathers here. . . . Blessed be His name forever, that He has chosen us, among so many better than we, to aid him to bearHis cross in this land! In all things, His holy will be done!" He thenacquaints Le Jeune that he has directed the sacred vessels, and all elsebelonging to the service of the altar, to be placed, in case of his death, in the hands of Pierre, the convert whose baptism has been described, and that especial care will be taken to preserve the dictionary and otherwritings on the Huron language. The letter closes with a request formasses and prayers. 

[ The following is the conclusion of the letter (Le Mercier, Relation desHurons, 1638, 43. )

"En tout, sa sainte volonte soit faite; s'il veut que des ceste heurenous mourions, o la bonne heure pour nous! s'il veut nous reseruer ad'autres trauaux, qu'il soit beny; si vous entendez que Dieu ait couronnenos petits trauaux, ou plustost nos desirs, benissez-le: car c'est pourluy que nous desirons viure et mourir, et c'est luy qui nous en donne lagrace. Au reste si quelques-vns suruiuent, i'ay donne ordre de tout cequ'ils doiuent faire. I'ay este d'aduis que nos Peres et nos domestiquesse retirent chez ceux qu'ils croyront estre leurs mei'leurs amis; i'aydonne charge qu'on porte chez Pierre nostre premier Chrestien tout ce quiest de la Sacristie, sur tout qu'on ait vn soin particulier de mettre enlieu d'asseurance le Dictionnaire et tout ce que nous auons de la langue. Pour moy, si Dieu me fait la grace d'aller au Ciel, ie prieray Dieu poureux, pour les pauures Hurons, et n'oublieray pas Vostre Reuerence. 

"Apres tout, nous supplions V. R. Et tous nos Peres de ne nous oublier enleurs saincts Sacrifices et prieres, afin qu'en la vie et apres la mort, il nous fasse misericorde; nous sommes tous en la vie et a l'Eternite, "De vostre Reuerence tres-humbles et tres-affectionnez seruiteurs enNostre Seigneur, "IEAN DE BREBEVF. FRANCOIS IOSEPH LE MERCIER. PIERRE CHASTELLAIN. CHARLES GARNIER. PAVL RAGVENEAV. 

"En la Residence de la Conception, a Ossossane, ce 28 Octobre. 

"I'ay laisse en la Residence de sainct Ioseph les Peres Pierre Pijart etIsaac Iogves, dans les mesmes sentimens. " ]

The imperilled Jesuits now took a singular, but certainly a very wisestep. They gave one of those farewell feasts--festins d'adieu--whichHuron custom enjoined on those about to die, whether in the course ofNature or by public execution. Being interpreted, it was a declarationthat the priests knew their danger, and did not shrink from it. It mighthave the effect of changing overawed friends into open advocates, andeven of awakening a certain sympathy in the breasts of an assembly onwhom a bold bearing could rarely fail of influence. The house was packedwith feasters, and Brebeuf addressed them as usual on his unfailingthemes of God, Paradise, and Hell. The throng listened in gloomysilence; and each, when he had emptied his bowl, rose and departed, leaving his entertainers in utter doubt as to his feelings andintentions. From this time forth, however, the clouds that overhung theFathers became less dark and threatening. Voices were heard in theirdefence, and looks were less constantly averted. They ascribed thechange to the intercession of St. Joseph, to whom they had vowed a ninedays' devotion. By whatever cause produced, the lapse of a week wroughta hopeful improvement in their prospects; and when they went out of doorsin the morning, it was no longer with the expectation of having a hatchetstruck into their brains as they crossed the threshold. 

[ "Tant y a que depuis le 6. De Nouembre que nous acheuasmes nos Messesvotiues son honneur, nous auons iouy d'vn repos incroyable, nons nous enemerueillons nous-mesmes de iour en iour, quand nous considerons en quelestat estoient nos affaires il n'y a que huict iours. "--Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1638, 44. ]

The persecution of the Jesuits as sorcerers continued, in an intermittentform, for years; and several of them escaped very narrowly. In a houseat Ossossane, a young Indian rushed suddenly upon Francois Du Peron, and lifted his tomahawk to brain him, when a squaw caught his hand. Paul Ragueneau wore a crucifix, from which hung the image of a skull. An Indian, thinking it a charm, snatched it from him. The priest triedto recover it, when the savage, his eyes glittering with murder, brandished his hatchet to strike. Ragueneau stood motionless, waitingthe blow. His assailant forbore, and withdrew, muttering. PierreChaumonot was emerging from a house at the Huron town called by theJesuits St. Michel, where he had just baptized a dying girl, when herbrother, standing hidden in the doorway, struck him on the head with astone. Chaumonot, severely wounded, staggered without falling, when theIndian sprang upon him with his tomahawk. The bystanders arrested theblow. Francois Le Mercier, in the midst of a crowd of Indians in a houseat the town called St. Louis, was assailed by a noted chief, who rushedin, raving like a madman, and, in a torrent of words, charged upon himall the miseries of the nation. Then, snatching a brand from the fire, he shook it in the Jesuit's face, and told him that he should be burnedalive. Le Mercier met him with looks as determined as his own, till, abashed at his undaunted front and bold denunciations, the Indian stoodconfounded. 

[ The above incidents are from Le Mercier, Lalemant, Bressani, theautobiography of Chaumonot, the unpublished writings of Garnier, and theancient manuscript volume of memoirs of the early Canadian missionaries, at St. Mary's College, Montreal. ]

The belief that their persecutions were owing to the fury of the Devil, driven to desperation by the home-thrusts he had received at their hands, was an unfailing consolation to the priests. "Truly, " writes Le Mercier, "it is an unspeakable happiness for us, in the midst of this barbarism, to hear the roaring of the demons, and to see Earth and Hell ragingagainst a handful of men who will not even defend themselves. " [ 1 ]In all the copious records of this dark period, not a line gives occasionto suspect that one of this loyal band flinched or hesitated. The ironBrebeuf, the gentle Garnier, the all-enduring Jogues, the enthusiasticChaumonot, Lalemant, Le Mercier, Chatelain, Daniel, Pijart, Ragueneau, Du Peron, Poncet, Le Moyne, --one and all bore themselves with a tranquilboldness, which amazed the Indians and enforced their respect. 

[ 1 "C'est veritablement un bonheur indicible pour nous, au milieu decette barbarie, d'entendre les rugissemens des demons, & de voir toutl'Enfer & quasi tous les hommes animez & remplis de fureur contre unepetite poignee de gens qui ne voudroient pas se defendre. "--Relation desHurons, 1640, 31 (Cramoisy). ]

Father Jerome Lalemant, in his journal of 1639, is disposed to draw anevil augury for the mission from the fact that as yet no priest had beenput to death, inasmuch as it is a received maxim that the blood of themartyrs is the seed of the Church. [ 1 ] He consoles himself with thehope that the daily life of the missionaries may be accepted as a livingmartyrdom; since abuse and threats without end, the smoke, fleas, filth, and dogs of the Indian lodges, --which are, he says, little images ofHell, --cold, hunger, and ceaseless anxiety, and all these continued foryears, are a portion to which many might prefer the stroke of a tomahawk. Reasonable as the Father's hope may be, its expression proved needless inthe sequel; for the Huron church was not destined to suffer from a lackof martyrdom in any form. 

[ 1 "Nous auons quelque fois doute, scauoir si on pouuoit esperer laconuersion de ce pais sans qu'il y eust effusion de sang: le principereceu ce semble dans l'Eglise de Dieu, que le sang des Martyrs est lasemence des Chrestiens, me faisoit conclure pour lors, que cela n'estoitpas a esperer, voire mesme qu'il n'etoit pas a souhaiter, considere lagloire qui reuient a Dieu de la constance des Martyrs, du sang desquelstout le reste de la terre ayant tantost este abreuue, ce seroit vneespece de malediction, que ce quartier du monde ne participast point aubonheur d'auoir contribue a l'esclat de ceste gloire. "--Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1639, 56, 57. ]

CHAPTER XI

1638-1640. 

PRIEST AND PAGAN. 

 DU PERON'S JOURNEY. --DAILY LIFE OF THE JESUITS. -- THEIR MISSIONARY EXCURSIONS. --CONVERTS AT OSSOSSANE. -- MACHINERY OF CONVERSION. --CONDITIONS OF BAPTISM. --BACKSLIDERS. -- THE CONVERTS AND THEIR COUNTRYMEN. --THE CANNIBALS AT ST. JOSEPH. 

We have already touched on the domestic life of the Jesuits. That we maythe better know them, we will follow one of their number on his journeytowards the scene of his labors, and observe what awaited him on hisarrival. 

Father Francois Pu Peron came up the Ottawa in a Huron canoe in September, 1638, and was well treated by the Indian owner of the vessel. Lalemantand Le Moyne, who had set out from Three Rivers before him, did not fareso well. The former was assailed by an Algonquin of Allumette Island, who tried to strangle him in revenge for the death of a child, which aFrenchman in the employ of the Jesuits had lately bled, but had failed torestore to health by the operation. Le Moyne was abandoned by his Huronconductors, and remained for a fortnight by the bank of the river, with a French attendant who supported him by hunting. Another Huron, belonging to the flotilla that carried Du Peron, then took him into hiscanoe; but, becoming tired of him, was about to leave him on a rock inthe river, when his brother priest bribed the savage with a blanket tocarry him to his journey's end. 

It was midnight, on the twenty-ninth of September, when Du Peron landedon the shore of Thunder Bay, after paddling without rest since oneo'clock of the preceding morning. The night was rainy, and Ossossane wasabout fifteen miles distant. His Indian companions were impatient toreach their towns; the rain prevented the kindling of a fire; while thepriest, who for a long time had not heard mass, was eager to renew hiscommunion as soon as possible. Hence, tired and hungry as he was, he shouldered his sack, and took the path for Ossossane without breakinghis fast. He toiled on, half-spent, amid the ceaseless pattering, trickling, and whispering of innumerable drops among innumerable leaves, till, as day dawned, he reached a clearing, and descried through themists a cluster of Huron houses. Faint and bedrenched, he entered theprincipal one, and was greeted with the monosyllable "Shay!"--"Welcome!"A squaw spread a mat for him by the fire, roasted four ears of Indiancorn before the coals, baked two squashes in the embers, ladled from herkettle a dish of sagamite, and offered them to her famished guest. Missionaries seem to have been a novelty at this place; for, while theFather breakfasted, a crowd, chiefly of children, gathered about him, and stared at him in silence. One examined the texture of his cassock;another put on his hat; a third took the shoes from his feet, and triedthem on her own. Du Peron requited his entertainers with a few trinkets, and begged, by signs, a guide to Ossossane. An Indian accordingly setout with him, and conducted him to the mission-house, which he reached atsix o'clock in the evening. 

Here he found a warm welcome, and little other refreshment. In respectto the commodities of life, the Jesuits were but a step in advance of theIndians. Their house, though well ventilated by numberless crevices inits bark walls, always smelt of smoke, and, when the wind was in certainquarters, was filled with it to suffocation. At their meals, the Fatherssat on logs around the fire, over which their kettle was slung in theIndian fashion. Each had his wooden platter, which, from the difficultyof transportation, was valued, in the Huron country, at the price of arobe of beaver-skin, or a hundred francs. [ "Nos plats, quoyque de bois, nous coutent plus cher que Les votres; ils sont de la valeur d'une robede castor, c'est a dire cent francs. "--Lettre du P. Du Peron a son Frere, 27 Avril, 1639. --The Father's appraisement seems a little questionable. ]Their food consisted of sagamite, or "mush, " made of pounded Indian-corn, boiled with scraps of smoked fish. Chaumonot compares it to the pasteused for papering the walls of houses. The repast was occasionallyvaried by a pumpkin or squash baked in the ashes, or, in the season, by Indian corn roasted in the ear. They used no salt whatever. Theycould bring their cumbrous pictures, ornaments and vestments through thesavage journey of the Ottawa; but they could not bring the commonnecessaries of life. By day, they read and studied by the light thatstreamed in through the large smoke-holes in the roof, --at night, by theblaze of the fire. Their only candles were a few of wax, for the altar. They cultivated a patch of ground, but raised nothing on it except wheatfor making the sacramental bread. Their food was supplied by the Indians, to whom they gave, in return, cloth, knives, awls, needles, and varioustrinkets. Their supply of wine for the Eucharist was so scanty, thatthey limited themselves to four or five drops for each mass. 

[ The above particulars are drawn from a long letter of Francois Du Peronto his brother, Joseph-Imbert Du Peron, dated at La Conception(Ossossane), April 27, 1639, and from a letter, equally long, ofChaumonot to Father Philippe Nappi, dated Du Pays des Hurons, May 26, 1640. Both are in Carayon. These private letters of the Jesuits, of which many are extant, in some cases written on birch-bark, areinvaluable as illustrations of the subject. 

The Jesuits soon learned to make wine from wild grapes. Those in Maineand Acadia, at a later period, made good candles from the waxy fruit ofthe shrub known locally as the "bayberry. " ]

Their life was regulated with a conventual strictness. At four in themorning, a bell roused them from the sheets of bark on which they slept. Masses, private devotions, reading religious books, and breakfasting, filled the time until eight, when they opened their door and admitted theIndians. As many of these proved intolerable nuisances, they took whatLalemant calls the _honnete_ liberty of turning out the most intrusive andimpracticable, --an act performed with all tact and courtesy, and rarelytaken in dudgeon. Having thus winnowed their company, they catechizedthose that remained, as opportunity offered. In the intervals, theguests squatted by the fire and smoked their pipes. 

As among the Spartan virtues of the Hurons that of thieving wasespecially conspicuous, it was necessary that one or more of the Fathersshould remain on guard at the house all day. The rest went forth ontheir missionary labors, baptizing and instructing, as we have seen. To each priest who could speak Huron [ 1 ] was assigned a certain numberof houses, --in some instances, as many as forty; and as these often hadfive or six fires, with two families to each, his spiritual flock was asnumerous as it was intractable. It was his care to see that none of thenumber died without baptism, and by every means in his power to commendthe doctrines of his faith to the acceptance of those in health. 

[ 1 At the end of the year 1638, there were seven priests who spokeHuron, and three who had begun to learn it. ]

At dinner, which was at two o'clock, grace was said in Huron, --for thebenefit of the Indians present, --and a chapter of the Bible was readaloud during the meal. At four or five, according to the season, theIndians were dismissed, the door closed, and the evening spent in writing, reading, studying the language, devotion, and conversation on the affairsof the mission. 

The local missions here referred to embraced Ossossane and the villagesof the neighborhood; but the priests by no means confined themselveswithin these limits. They made distant excursions, two in company, until every house in every Huron town had heard the annunciation of thenew doctrine. On these journeys, they carried blankets or large mantlesat their backs, for sleeping in at night, besides a supply of needles, awls, beads, and other small articles, to pay for their lodging andentertainment: for the Hurons, hospitable without stint to each other, expected full compensation from the Jesuits. 

At Ossossane, the house of the Jesuits no longer served the doublepurpose of dwelling and chapel. In 1638, they had in their pay twelveartisans and laborers, sent up from Quebec, [ Du Peron in Carayon, 173. ] who had built, before the close of the year, a chapel of wood. [ "La chapelle est faite d'une charpente bien jolie, semblable presque enfacon et grandeur, a notre chapelle de St. Julien. "--Ibid. , 183. ]Hither they removed their pictures and ornaments; and here, in winter, several fires were kept burning, for the comfort of the half-nakedconverts. [ Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1639, 62. ] Of these theynow had at Ossossane about sixty, --a large, though evidently not a verysolid nucleus for the Huron church, --and they labored hard and anxiouslyto confirm and multiply them. Of a Sunday morning in winter, one couldhave seen them coming to mass, often from a considerable distance, "as naked, " says Lalemant, "as your hand, except a skin over their backslike a mantle, and, in the coldest weather, a few skins around their feetand legs. " They knelt, mingled with the French mechanics, before thealtar, --very awkwardly at first, for the posture was new to them, --andall received the sacrament together: a spectacle which, as the missionarychronicler declares, repaid a hundred times all the labor of theirconversion. [ Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1639, 62. ]

Some of the principal methods of conversion are curiously illustrated ina letter written by Garnier to a friend in France. "Send me, " he says, "a picture of Christ without a beard. " Several Virgins are alsorequested, together with a variety of souls in perdition--ames damnees--most of them to be mounted in a portable form. Particular directions aregiven with respect to the demons, dragons, flames, and other essentialsof these works of art. Of souls in bliss--ames bienheureuses--he thinksthat one will be enough. All the pictures must be in full face, not inprofile; and they must look directly at the beholder, with open eyes. The colors should be bright; and there must be no flowers or animals, as these distract the attention of the Indians. 

[ Garnier, Lettre 17me, MS. These directions show an excellent knowledgeof Indian peculiarities. The Indian dislike of a beard is well known. Catlin, the painter, once caused a fatal quarrel among a party of Sioux, by representing one of them in profile, whereupon he was jibed by a rivalas being but half a man. ]

The first point with the priests was of course to bring the objects oftheir zeal to an acceptance of the fundamental doctrines of the RomanChurch; but, as the mind of the savage was by no means that beautifulblank which some have represented it, there was much to be erased as wellas to be written. They must renounce a host of superstitions, to whichthey were attached with a strange tenacity, or which may rather be saidto have been ingrained in their very natures. Certain points ofChristian morality were also strongly urged by the missionaries, whoinsisted that the convert should take but one wife, and not cast her offwithout grave cause, and that he should renounce the gross license almostuniversal among the Hurons. Murder, cannibalism, and several otheroffences, were also forbidden. Yet, while laboring at the work ofconversion with an energy never surpassed, and battling against thepowers of darkness with the mettle of paladins, the Jesuits never had thefolly to assume towards the Indians a dictatorial or overbearing tone. Gentleness, kindness, and patience were the rule of their intercourse. [ 1 ] They studied the nature of the savage, and conformed themselves toit with an admirable tact. Far from treating the Indian as an alien andbarbarian, they would fain have adopted him as a countryman; and theyproposed to the Hurons that a number of young Frenchmen should settleamong them, and marry their daughters in solemn form. The listeners weregratified at an overture so flattering. "But what is the use, " theydemanded, "of so much ceremony? If the Frenchmen want our women, theyare welcome to come and take them whenever they please, as they alwaysused to do. " [ Le Mercier, Relation des Hurons, 1637, 160. ]

[ 1 The following passage from the "Divers Sentimens, " before cited, will illustrate this point. "Pour conuertir les Sauuages, il n'y fautpas tant de science que de bonte et vertu bien solide. Les quatreElemens d'vn homme Apostolique en la Nouuelle France sont l'Affabilite, l'Humilite, la Patience et vne Charite genereuse. Le zele trop ardentbrusle plus qu'il n'eschauffe, et gaste tout; il faut vne grandemagnanimite et condescendance, pour attirer peu a peu ces Sauuages. Ils n'entendent pas bien nostre Theologie, mais ils entendentparfaictement bien nostre humilite et nostre affabilite, et se laissentgaigner. "

So too Brebeuf, in a letter to Vitelleschi, General of the Jesuits (seeCarayon, 163): "Ce qu'il faut demander, avant tout, des ouvriers destinesa cette mission, c'est une douceur inalterable et une patience a touteepreuve. " ]

The Fathers are well agreed that their difficulties did not arise fromany natural defect of understanding on the part of the Indians, who, according to Chaumonot, were more intelligent than the French peasantry, and who, in some instances, showed in their way a marked capacity. It was the inert mass of pride, sensuality, indolence, and superstitionthat opposed the march of the Faith, and in which the Devil layintrenched as behind impregnable breastworks. 

[ In this connection, the following specimen of Indian reasoning is worthnoting. At the height of the pestilence, a Huron said to one of thepriests, "I see plainly that your God is angry with us because we willnot believe and obey him. Ihonatiria, where you first taught his word, is entirely ruined. Then you came here to Ossossane, and we would notlisten; so Ossossane is ruined too. This year you have been all throughour country, and found scarcely any who would do what God commands;therefore the pestilence is everywhere. " After premises so hopeful, the Fathers looked for a satisfactory conclusion; but the Indianproceeded--"My opinion is, that we ought to shut you out from all thehouses, and stop our ears when you speak of God, so that we cannot hear. Then we shall not be so guilty of rejecting the truth, and he will notpunish us so cruelly. "--Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1640, 80. ]

It soon became evident that it was easier to make a convert than to keephim. Many of the Indians clung to the idea that baptism was a safeguardagainst pestilence and misfortune; and when the fallacy of this notionwas made apparent, their zeal cooled. Their only amusements consisted offeasts, dances, and games, many of which were, to a greater or lessdegree, of a superstitious character; and as the Fathers could rarelyprove to their own satisfaction the absence of the diabolic element inany one of them, they proscribed the whole indiscriminately, to theextreme disgust of the neophyte. His countrymen, too, beset him withdismal prognostics: as, "You will kill no more game, "--"All your hairwill come out before spring, " and so forth. Various doubts also assailedhim with regard to the substantial advantages of his new profession; andseveral converts were filled with anxiety in view of the probable want oftobacco in Heaven, saying that they could not do without it. [ Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1639, 80. ] Nor was it pleasant to these incipientChristians, as they sat in class listening to the instructions of theirteacher, to find themselves and him suddenly made the targets of a showerof sticks, snowballs, corn-cobs, and other rubbish, flung at them by ascreeching rabble of vagabond boys. [ Ibid. , 78. ]

Yet, while most of the neophytes demanded an anxious and diligentcultivation, there were a few of excellent promise; and of one or twoespecially, the Fathers, in the fulness of their satisfaction, assure usagain and again "that they were savage only in name. "

[ From June, 1639, to June, 1640, about a thousand persons were baptized. Of these, two hundred and sixty were infants, and many more werechildren. Very many died soon after baptism. Of the whole number, less than twenty were baptized in health, --a number much below that ofthe preceding year. 

The following is a curious case of precocious piety. It is that of achild at St. Joseph. "Elle n'a que deux ans, et fait joliment le signede la croix, et prend elle-meme de l'eau benite; et une fois se mit acrier, sortant de la Chapelle, a cause que sa mere qui la portoit ne luiavoit donne le loisir d'en prendre. Il l'a fallu reporter en prendre. "--Lettres de Garnier, MSS. ]

As the town of Ihonatiria, where the Jesuits had made their first abode, was ruined by the pestilence, the mission established there, and known bythe name of St. Joseph, was removed, in the summer of 1638, toTeanaustaye, a large town at the foot of a range of hills near thesouthern borders of the Huron territory. The Hurons, this year, had hadunwonted successes in their war with the Iroquois, and had taken, atvarious times, nearly a hundred prisoners. Many of these were brought tothe seat of the new mission of St. Joseph, and put to death withfrightful tortures, though not before several had been converted andbaptized. The torture was followed, in spite of the remonstrances of thepriests, by those cannibal feasts customary with the Hurons on suchoccasions. Once, when the Fathers had been strenuous in theirdenunciations, a hand of the victim, duly prepared, was flung in at theirdoor, as an invitation to join in the festivity. As the owner of thesevered member had been baptized, they dug a hole in their chapel, and buried it with solemn rites of sepulture. [ Lalemant, Relation desHurons, 1639, 70. ]

CHAPTER XII. 

1639, 1640. 

THE TOBACCO NATION. --THE NEUTRALS. 

 A CHANGE OF PLAN. --SAINTE MARIE. --MISSION OF THE TOBACCO NATION. -- WINTER JOURNEYING. --RECEPTION OF THE MISSIONARIES. -- SUPERSTITIOUS TERRORS. --PERIL OF GARNIER AND JOGUES. -- MISSION OF THE NEUTRALS. --HURON INTRIGUES. --MIRACLES. -- FURY OF THE INDIANS. --INTERVENTION OF SAINT MICHAEL. -- RETURN TO SAINTE MARIE. --INTREPIDITY OF THE PRIESTS. -- THEIR MENTAL EXALTATION. 

It had been the first purpose of the Jesuits to form permanent missionsin each of the principal Huron towns; but, before the close of the year1639, the difficulties and risks of this scheme had become fullyapparent. They resolved, therefore, to establish one central station, to be a base of operations, and, as it were, a focus, whence the light ofthe Faith should radiate through all the wilderness around. It was toserve at once as residence, fort, magazine, hospital, and convent. Hence the priests would set forth on missionary expeditions far and near;and hither they might retire, as to an asylum, in times of sickness orextreme peril. Here the neophytes could be gathered together, safe fromperverting influences; and here in time a Christian settlement, Huronsmingled with Frenchmen, might spring up and thrive under the shadow ofthe cross. 

The site of the new station was admirably chosen. The little river Wyeflows from the southward into the Matchedash Bay of Lake Huron, and, at about a mile from its mouth, passes through a small lake. The Jesuitsmade choice of the right bank of the Wye, where it issues from thislake, --gained permission to build from the Indians, though not withoutdifficulty, --and began their labors with an abundant energy, and a verydeficient supply of workmen and tools. The new establishment was calledSainte Marie. The house at Teanaustaye, and the house and chapel atOssossane, were abandoned, and all was concentrated at this spot. On one hand, it had a short water communication with Lake Huron; and onthe other, its central position gave the readiest access to every part ofthe Huron territory. 

During the summer before, the priests had made a survey of their field ofaction, visited all the Huron towns, and christened each of them with thename of a saint. This heavy draft on the calendar was followed byanother, for the designation of the nine towns of the neighboring andkindred people of the Tobacco Nation. [ See Introduction. ] The Hurontowns were portioned into four districts, while those of the TobaccoNation formed a fifth, and each district was assigned to the charge oftwo or more priests. In November and December, they began theirmissionary excursions, --for the Indians were now gathered in theirsettlements, --and journeyed on foot through the denuded forests, in mudand snow, bearing on their backs the vessels and utensils necessary forthe service of the altar. 

The new and perilous mission of the Tobacco Nation fell to Garnier andJogues. They were well chosen; and yet neither of them was robust bynature, in body or mind, though Jogues was noted for personal activity. The Tobacco Nation lay at the distance of a two days' journey from theHuron towns, among the mountains at the head of Nottawassaga Bay. The two missionaries tried to find a guide at Ossossane; but none wouldgo with them, and they set forth on their wild and unknown pilgrimagealone. 

The forests were full of snow; and the soft, moist flakes were stillfalling thickly, obscuring the air, beplastering the gray trunks, weighing to the earth the boughs of spruce and pine, and hiding everyfootprint of the narrow path. The Fathers missed their way, and toiledon till night, shaking down at every step from the burdened branches ashower of fleecy white on their black cassocks. Night overtook them in aspruce swamp. Here they made a fire with great difficulty, cut theevergreen boughs, piled them for a bed, and lay down. The stormpresently ceased; and, "praised be God, " writes one of the travellers, "we passed a very good night. " [ Jogues and Garnier in Lalemant, Relationdes Hurons, 1640, 95. ]

In the morning they breakfasted on a morsel of corn bread, and, resumingtheir journey, fell in with a small party of Indians, whom they followedall day without food. At eight in the evening they reached the firstTobacco town, a miserable cluster of bark cabins, hidden among forestsand half buried in snow-drifts, where the savage children, seeing the twoblack apparitions, screamed that Famine and the Pest were coming. Their evil fame had gone before them. They were unwelcome guests;nevertheless, shivering and famished as they were, in the cold anddarkness, they boldly pushed their way into one of these dens ofbarbarism. It was precisely like a Huron house. Five or six firesblazed on the earthen floor, and around them were huddled twice thatnumber of families, sitting, crouching, standing, or flat on the ground;old and young, women and men, children and dogs, mingled pell-mell. The scene would have been a strange one by daylight: it was doublystrange by the flicker and glare of the lodge-fires. Scowling brows, sidelong looks of distrust and fear, the screams of scared children, the scolding of squaws, the growling of wolfish dogs, --this was thegreeting of the strangers. The chief man of the household treated themat first with the decencies of Indian hospitality; but when he saw themkneeling in the litter and ashes at their devotions, his suppressed fearsfound vent, and he began a loud harangue, addressed half to them and halfto the Indians. "Now, what are these _okies_ doing? They are makingcharms to kill us, and destroy all that the pest has spared in this house. I heard that they were sorcerers; and now, when it is too late, I believeit. " [ Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1640, 96. ] It is wonderful thatthe priests escaped the tomahawk. Nowhere is the power of courage, faith, and an unflinching purpose more strikingly displayed than in the recordof these missions. 

In other Tobacco towns their reception was much the same; but at thelargest, called by them St. Peter and St. Paul, they fared worse. They reached it on a winter afternoon. Every door of its capacious barkhouses was closed against them; and they heard the squaws within callingon the young men to go out and split their heads, while children screamedabuse at the black-robed sorcerers. As night approached, they left thetown, when a band of young men followed them, hatchet in hand, to putthem to death. Darkness, the forest, and the mountain favored them; and, eluding their pursuers, they escaped. Thus began the mission of theTobacco Nation. 

In the following November, a yet more distant and perilous mission wasbegun. Brebeuf and Chaumonot set out for the Neutral Nation. Thisfierce people, as we have already seen, occupied that part of Canadawhich lies immediately north of Lake Erie, while a wing of theirterritory extended across the Niagara into Western New York. [ 1 ]In their athletic proportions, the ferocity of their manners, and theextravagance of their superstitions, no American tribe has ever exceededthem. They carried to a preposterous excess the Indian notion, thatinsanity is endowed with a mysterious and superhuman power. Theircountry was full of pretended maniacs, who, to propitiate their guardianspirits, or _okies_, and acquire the mystic virtue which pertained tomadness, raved stark naked through the villages, scattering the brands ofthe lodge-fires, and upsetting everything in their way. 

[ 1 Introduction. --The river Niagara was at this time, 1640, well knownto the Jesuits, though none of them had visited it. Lalemant speaks ofit as the "famous river of this nation" (the Neutrals). The followingtranslation, from his Relation of 1641, shows that both Lake Ontario andLake Erie had already taken their present names. 

"This river" (the Niagara) "is the same by which our great lake of theHurons, or Fresh Sea, discharges itself, in the first place, into LakeErie (le lac d'Erie), or the Lake of the Cat Nation. Then it enters theterritories of the Neutral Nation, and takes the name of Onguiaahra(Niagara), until it discharges itself into Ontario, or the Lake ofSt. Louis; whence at last issues the river which passes before Quebec, and is called the St. Lawrence. " He makes no allusion to the cataract, which is first mentioned as follows by Ragueneau, in the Relation of 1648. 

"Nearly south of this same Neutral Nation there is a great lake, abouttwo hundred leagues in circuit, named Erie (Erie), which is formed by thedischarge of the Fresh Sea, and which precipitates itself by a cataractof frightful height into a third lake, named Ontario, which we call LakeSt. Louis. "--Relation des Hurons, 1648, 46. ]

The two priests left Sainte Marie on the second of November, found aHuron guide at St. Joseph, and, after a dreary march of five days throughthe forest, reached the first Neutral town. Advancing thence, theyvisited in turn eighteen others; and their progress was a storm ofmaledictions. Brebeuf especially was accounted the most pestilent ofsorcerers. The Hurons, restrained by a superstitious awe, and unwillingto kill the priests, lest they should embroil themselves with the Frenchat Quebec, conceived that their object might be safely gained by stirringup the Neutrals to become their executioners. To that end, they sent twoemissaries to the Neutral towns, who, calling the chiefs and youngwarriors to a council, denounced the Jesuits as destroyers of the humanrace, and made their auditors a gift of nine French hatchets on conditionthat they would put them to death. It was now that Brebeuf, fullyconscious of the danger, half starved and half frozen, driven withrevilings from every door, struck and spit upon by pretended maniacs, beheld in a vision that great cross, which as we have seen, moved onwardthrough the air, above the wintry forests that stretched towards the landof the Iroquois. [ See ante, chapter 9 second last paragraph (page 109). ]

Chaumonot records yet another miracle. "One evening, when all the chiefmen of the town were deliberating in council whether to put us to death, Father Brebeuf, while making his examination of conscience, as we weretogether at prayers, saw the vision of a spectre, full of fury, menacingus both with three javelins which he held in his hands. Then he hurledone of them at us; but a more powerful hand caught it as it flew: andthis took place a second and a third time, as he hurled his two remainingjavelins. . . . Late at night our host came back from the council, where the two Huron emissaries had made their gift of hatchets to have uskilled. He wakened us to say that three times we had been at the pointof death; for the young men had offered three times to strike the blow, and three times the old men had dissuaded them. This explained themeaning of Father Brebeuf's vision. " [ Chaumonot, Vie, 55. ]

They had escaped for the time; but the Indians agreed among themselves, that thenceforth no one should give them shelter. At night, pierced withcold and faint with hunger, they found every door closed against them. They stood and watched, saw an Indian issue from a house, and, by a quickmovement, pushed through the half-open door into this abode of smoke andfilth. The inmates, aghast at their boldness, stared in silence. Then a messenger ran out to carry the tidings, and an angry crowdcollected. 

"Go out, and leave our country, " said an old chief, "or we will put youinto the kettle, and make a feast of you. "

"I have had enough of the dark-colored flesh of our enemies, " said ayoung brave; "I wish to know the taste of white meat, and I will eatyours. "

A warrior rushed in like a madman, drew his bow, and aimed the arrow atChaumonot. "I looked at him fixedly, " writes the Jesuit, "and commendedmyself in full confidence to St. Michael. Without doubt, this greatarchangel saved us; for almost immediately the fury of the warrior wasappeased, and the rest of our enemies soon began to listen to theexplanation we gave them of our visit to their country. " [ Ibid. , 57. ]

The mission was barren of any other fruit than hardship and danger, and after a stay of four months the two priests resolved to return. On the way, they met a genuine act of kindness. A heavy snow-stormarresting their progress, a Neutral woman took them into her lodge, entertained them for two weeks with her best fare, persuaded her fatherand relatives to befriend them, and aided them to make a vocabulary ofthe dialect. Bidding their generous hostess farewell, they journeyednorthward, through the melting snows of spring, and reached Sainte Mariein safety. 

[ Lalemant, in his Relation of 1641, gives the narrative of this missionat length. His account coincides perfectly with the briefer notice ofChaumonot in his Autobiography. Chaumonot describes the difficulties ofthe journey very graphically in a letter to his friend, Father Nappi, dated Aug. 3, 1640, preserved in Carayon. See also the next letter, Brebeuf au T. R. P. Mutio Vitelleschi, 20 Aout, 1641. 

The Recollet La Roche Dallion had visited the Neutrals fourteen yearsbefore, (see Introduction, note, ) and, like his two successors, had beenseriously endangered by Huron intrigues. ]

The Jesuits had borne all that the human frame seems capable of bearing. They had escaped as by miracle from torture and death. Did their zealflag or their courage fail? A fervor intense and unquenchable urged themon to more distant and more deadly ventures. The beings, so near tomortal sympathies, so human, yet so divine, in whom their faithimpersonated and dramatized the great principles of Christian truth, --virgins, saints, and angels, --hovered over them, and held before theirraptured sight crowns of glory and garlands of immortal bliss. Theyburned to do, to suffer, and to die; and now, from out a living martyrdom, they turned their heroic gaze towards an horizon dark with perils yetmore appalling, and saw in hope the day when they should bear the crossinto the blood-stained dens of the Iroquois. [ This zeal was in nodegree due to success; for in 1641, after seven years of toil, themission counted only about fifty living converts, --a falling off fromformer years. ]

But, in this exaltation and tension of the powers, was there no momentwhen the recoil of Nature claimed a temporary sway? When, an exile fromhis kind, alone, beneath the desolate rock and the gloomy pine-trees, the priest gazed forth on the pitiless wilderness and the hovels of itsdark and ruthless tenants, his thoughts, it may be, flew longingly beyondthose wastes of forest and sea that lay between him and the home of hisboyhood. Or rather, led by a deeper attraction, they revisited theancient centre of his faith, and he seemed to stand once more in thatgorgeous temple, where, shrined in lazuli and gold, rest the hallowedbones of Loyola. Column and arch and dome rise upon his vision, radiantin painted light, and trembling with celestial music. Again he kneelsbefore the altar, from whose tablature beams upon him that loveliest ofshapes in which the imagination of man has embodied the spirit ofChristianity. The illusion overpowers him. A thrill shakes his frame, and he bows in reverential rapture. No longer a memory, no longer adream, but a visioned presence, distinct and luminous in the forestshades, the Virgin stands before him. Prostrate on the rocky earth, he adores the benign angel of his ecstatic faith, then turns withrekindled fervors to his stern apostleship. 

Now, by the shores of Thunder Bay, the Huron traders freight their birchvessels for their yearly voyage; and, embarked with them, let us, too, revisit the rock of Quebec. 

CHAPTER XIII. 

1636-1646. 

QUEBEC AND ITS TENANTS. 

 THE NEW GOVERNOR. --EDIFYING EXAMPLES. --LE JEUNE'S CORRESPONDENTS. -- RANK AND DEVOTION. --NUNS. --PRIESTLY AUTHORITY. --CONDITION OF QUEBEC. -- THE HUNDRED ASSOCIATES. --CHURCH DISCIPLINE. --PLAYS. --FIREWORKS. -- PROCESSIONS. --CATECHIZING. --TERRORISM. --PICTURES. --THE CONVERTS. -- THE SOCIETY OF JESUS. --THE FORESTERS. 

I have traced, in another volume, the life and death of the noble founderof New France, Samuel de Champlain. It was on Christmas Day, 1635, that his heroic spirit bade farewell to the frame it had animated, and to the rugged cliff where he had toiled so long to lay the corner-stone of a Christian empire. 

Quebec was without a governor. Who should succeed Champlain and wouldhis successor be found equally zealous for the Faith, and friendly to themission? These doubts, as he himself tells us, agitated the mind of theFather Superior, Le Jeune; but they were happily set at rest, when, on a morning in June, he saw a ship anchoring in the basin below, and, hastening with his brethren to the landing-place, was there met byCharles Huault de Montmagny, a Knight of Malta, followed by a train ofofficers and gentlemen. As they all climbed the rock together, Montmagnysaw a crucifix planted by the path. He instantly fell on his kneesbefore it; and nobles, soldiers, sailors, and priests imitated hisexample. The Jesuits sang Te Deum at the church, and the cannon roaredfrom the adjacent fort. Here the new governor was scarcely installed, when a Jesuit came in to ask if he would be godfather to an Indian aboutto be baptized. "Most gladly, " replied the pious Montmagny. He repairedon the instant to the convert's hut, with a company of gayly apparelledgentlemen; and while the inmates stared in amazement at the scarlet andembroidery, he bestowed on the dying savage the name of Joseph, in honorof the spouse of the Virgin and the patron of New France. [ Le Jeune, Relation, 1636, 5 (Cramoisy). "Monsieur le Gouverneur se transporte auxCabanes de ces pauures barbares, suivy d'une leste Noblesse. Je vouslaisse a penser quel estonnement a ces Peuples de voir tant d'ecarlate, tant de personnes bien faites sous leurs toits d'ecorce!" ] Three daysafter, he was told that a dead proselyte was to be buried; on which, leaving the lines of the new fortification he was tracing, he took inhand a torch, De Lisle, his lieutenant, took another, Repentigny andSt. Jean, gentlemen of his suite, with a band of soldiers followed, two priests bore the corpse, and thus all moved together in procession tothe place of burial. The Jesuits were comforted. Champlain himself hadnot displayed a zeal so edifying. [ Ibid. , 83 (Cramoisy). ]

A considerable reinforcement came out with Montmagny, and among the restseveral men of birth and substance, with their families and dependants. "It was a sight to thank God for, " exclaims Father Le Jeune, "to beholdthese delicate young ladies and these tender infants issuing from theirwooden prison, like day from the shades of night. " The Father, it willbe remembered, had for some years past seen nothing but squaws, withpapooses swathed like mummies and strapped to a board. 

He was even more pleased with the contents of a huge packet of lettersthat was placed in his hands, bearing the signatures of nuns, priests, soldiers, courtiers, and princesses. A great interest in the mission hadbeen kindled in France. Le Jeune's printed Relations had been read withavidity; and his Jesuit brethren, who, as teachers, preachers, andconfessors, had spread themselves through the nation, had successfullyfanned the rising flame. The Father Superior finds no words for his joy. "Heaven, " he exclaims, "is the conductor of this enterprise. Nature'sarms are not long enough to touch so many hearts. " [ "C'est Dieu quiconduit cette entreprise. La Nature n'a pas les bras assez longs, "etc. --Relation, 1636, 3. ] He reads how in a single convent, thirteennuns have devoted themselves by a vow to the work of converting theIndian women and children; how, in the church of Montmartre, a nun liesprostrate day and night before the altar, praying for the mission;[ Brebeuf, Relation des Hurons, 1636, 76. ] how "the Carmelites are allon fire, the Ursulines full of zeal, the sisters of the Visitation haveno words to speak their ardor"; [ Le Jeune, Relation, 1636, 6. Compare"Divers Sentimens, " appended to the Relation of 1635. ] how some personunknown, but blessed of Heaven, means to found a school for Huronchildren; how the Duchesse d'Aiguillon has sent out six workmen to builda hospital for the Indians; how, in every house of the Jesuits, youngpriests turn eager eyes towards Canada; and how, on the voyage thither, the devils raised a tempest, endeavoring, in vain fury, to drown theinvaders of their American domain. 

[ "L'Enfer enrageant de nous veoir aller en la Nouuelle France pourconuertir les infidelles et diminuer sa puissance, par depit ilsousleuoit tous les Elemens contre nous, et vouloit abysmer la flotte. "--Divers Sentimens. ]

Great was Le Jeune's delight at the exalted rank of some of those whogave their patronage to the mission; and again and again his satisfactionflows from his pen in mysterious allusions to these eminent persons. [ Among his correspondents was the young Duc d'Enghien, afterwards theGreat Conde, at this time fifteen years old. "Dieu soit loue! tout leciel de nostre chere Patrie nous promet de fauorables influences, iusquesa ce nouuel astre, qui commence a paroistre parmy ceux de la premieregrandeur. "--Le Jeune, Relation, 1636, 3, 4. ] In his eyes, the viciousimbecile who sat on the throne of France was the anointed champion of theFaith, and the cruel and ambitious priest who ruled king and nation alikewas the chosen instrument of Heaven. Church and State, linked inalliance close and potential, played faithfully into each other's hands;and that enthusiasm, in which the Jesuit saw the direct inspiration ofGod, was fostered by all the prestige of royalty and all the patronage ofpower. And, as often happens where the interests of a hierarchy areidentified with the interests of a ruling class, religion was become afashion, as graceful and as comforting as the courtier's embroideredmantle or the court lady's robe of fur. 

Such, we may well believe, was the complexion of the enthusiasm whichanimated some of Le Jeune's noble and princely correspondents. But therewere deeper fervors, glowing in the still depths of convent cells, and kindling the breasts of their inmates with quenchless longings. Yet we hear of no zeal for the mission among religious communities ofmen. The Jesuits regarded the field as their own, and desired no rivals. They looked forward to the day when Canada should be another Paraguay. [ "Que si celuy qui a escrit cette lettre a leu la Relation de ce qui sepasse au Paraguais, qu'il a veu ce qui se fera un jour en la NouuelleFrance. "--Le Jeune, Relation, 1637, 304 (Cramoisy). ] It was to thecombustible hearts of female recluses that the torch was most busilyapplied; and here, accordingly, blazed forth a prodigious and amazingflame. "If all had their pious will, " writes Le Jeune, "Quebec wouldsoon be flooded with nuns. " [ Chaulmer. Le Nouveau Monde Chrestien, 41, is eloquent on this theme. ]

Both Montmagny and De Lisle were half churchmen, for both were Knights ofMalta. More and more the powers spiritual engrossed the colony. Asnearly as might be, the sword itself was in priestly hands. The Jesuitswere all in all. Authority, absolute and without appeal, was vested in acouncil composed of the governor, Le Jeune, and the syndic, an officialsupposed to represent the interests of the inhabitants. [ Le Clerc, Etablissement de la Foy, Chap. XV. ] There was no tribunal of justice, and the governor pronounced summarily on all complaints. The churchadjoined the fort; and before it was planted a stake bearing a placardwith a prohibition against blasphemy, drunkenness, or neglect of mass andother religious rites. To the stake was also attached a chain and ironcollar; and hard by was a wooden horse, whereon a culprit was now andthen mounted by way of example and warning. [ Le Jeune, Relation, 1636, 153, 154 (Cramoisy). ] In a community so absolutely priest-governed, overt offences were, however, rare; and, except on the annual arrival ofthe ships from France, when the rock swarmed with godless sailors, Quebec was a model of decorum, and wore, as its chroniclers tell us, an aspect unspeakably edifying. 

In the year 1640, various new establishments of religion and charitymight have been seen at Quebec. There was the beginning of a college anda seminary for Huron children, an embryo Ursuline convent, an incipienthospital, and a new Algonquin mission at a place called Sillery, fourmiles distant. Champlain's fort had been enlarged and partly rebuilt instone by Montmagny, who had also laid out streets on the site of thefuture city, though as yet the streets had no houses. Behind the fort, and very near it, stood the church and a house for the Jesuits. Bothwere of pine wood: and this year, 1640, both were burned to the ground, to be afterwards rebuilt in stone. The Jesuits, however, continued tooccupy their rude mission-house of Notre-Dame des Anges, on theSt. Charles, where we first found them. 

The country around Quebec was still an unbroken wilderness, with theexception of a small clearing made by the Sieur Giffard on his seignioryof Beauport, another made by M. De Puiseaux between Quebec and Sillery, and possibly one or two feeble attempts in other quarters. [ 1 ] Thetotal population did not much exceed two hundred, including women andchildren. Of this number, by far the greater part were agents of the furcompany known as the Hundred Associates, and men in their employ. Some of these had brought over their families. The remaining inhabitantswere priests, nuns, and a very few colonists. 

[ 1 For Giffard, Puiseaux, and other colonists, compare Langevin, Notes sur les Archives de Notre-Dame de Beauport, 5, 6, 7; Ferland, Notes sur les Archives de N. D. De Quebec, 22, 24 (1863); Ibid. , Coursd'Histoire du Canada, I. 266; Le Jeune, Relation, 1636, 45; Faillon, Histoire de la Colonie Francaise, I. C. Iv. , v. ]

The Company of the Hundred Associates was bound by its charter to send toCanada four thousand colonists before the year 1643. [ See "Pioneers ofFrance, " 399. ] It had neither the means nor the will to fulfil thisengagement. Some of its members were willing to make personal sacrificesfor promoting the missions, and building up a colony purely Catholic. Others thought only of the profits of trade; and the practical affairs ofthe company had passed entirely into the hands of this portion of itsmembers. They sought to evade obligations the fulfilment of which wouldhave ruined them. Instead of sending out colonists, they granted landswith the condition that the grantees should furnish a certain number ofsettlers to clear and till them, and these were to be credited to theCompany. [ 1 ] The grantees took the land, but rarely fulfilled thecondition. Some of these grants were corrupt and iniquitous. Thus, a son of Lauson, president of the Company, received, in the name of athird person, a tract of land on the south side of the St. Lawrence ofsixty leagues front. To this were added all the islands in that river, excepting those of Montreal and Orleans, together with the exclusiveright of fishing in it through its whole extent. [ 2 ] Lauson sent outnot a single colonist to these vast concessions. 

[ 1 This appears in many early grants of the Company. Thus, in a grantto Simon Le Maitre, Jan. 15, 1636, "que les hommes que le dit . . . Ferapasser en la N. F. Tourneront a la decharge de la dite Compagnie, " etc. , etc. --See Pieces sur la Tenure Seigneuriale, published by the Canadiangovernment, passim. ]

[ 2 Archives du Seminaire de Villemarie, cited by Faillon, I. 350. Lauson's father owned Montreal. The son's grant extended from the RiverSt. Francis to a point far above Montreal. --La Fontaine, Memoire sur laFamille de Lauson. ]

There was no real motive for emigration. No persecution expelled thecolonist from his home; for none but good Catholics were tolerated in NewFrance. The settler could not trade with the Indians, except oncondition of selling again to the Company at a fixed price. He mighthunt, but he could not fish; and he was forced to beg or buy food foryears before he could obtain it from that rude soil in sufficientquantity for the wants of his family. The Company imported provisionsevery year for those in its employ; and of these supplies a portion wasneeded for the relief of starving settlers. Giffard and his seven men onhis seigniory of Beauport were for some time the only settlers--excepting, perhaps, the Hebert family--who could support themselves throughout theyear. The rigor of the climate repelled the emigrant; nor were theattractions which Father Le Jeune held forth--"piety, freedom, andindependence"--of a nature to entice him across the sea, when it isremembered that this freedom consisted in subjection to the arbitrarywill of a priest and a soldier, and in the liability, should he forget togo to mass, of being made fast to a post with a collar and chain, like adog. 

Aside from the fur trade of the Company, the whole life of the colony wasin missions, convents, religious schools, and hospitals. Here on therock of Quebec were the appendages, useful and otherwise, of anold-established civilization. While as yet there were no inhabitants, and no immediate hope of any, there were institutions for the care ofchildren, the sick, and the decrepit. All these were supported by acharity in most cases precarious. The Jesuits relied chiefly on theCompany, who, by the terms of their patent, were obliged to maintainreligious worship. [ 1 ] Of the origin of the convent, hospital, andseminary I shall soon have occasion to speak. 

[ 1 It is a principle of the Jesuits, that each of its establishmentsshall find a support of its own, and not be a burden on the general fundsof the Society. The Relations are full of appeals to the charity ofdevout persons in behalf of the missions. 

"Of what use to the country at this period could have been twocommunities of cloistered nuns?" asks the modern historian of theUrsulines of Quebec. And he answers by citing the words of Pope Gregorythe Great, who, when Rome was ravaged by famine, pestilence, and thebarbarians, declared that his only hope was in the prayers of the threethousand nuns then assembled in the holy city. --Les Ursulines de Quebec. Introd. , XI. ]

Quebec wore an aspect half military, half monastic. At sunrise andsunset, a squad of soldiers in the pay of the Company paraded in thefort; and, as in Champlain's time, the bells of the church rang morning, noon, and night. Confessions, masses, and penances were punctiliouslyobserved; and, from the governor to the meanest laborer, the Jesuitwatched and guided all. The social atmosphere of New England itself wasnot more suffocating. By day and by night, at home, at church, or at hisdaily work, the colonist lived under the eyes of busy and over-zealouspriests. At times, the denizens of Quebec grew restless. In 1639, deputies were covertly sent to beg relief in France, and "to representthe hell in which the consciences of the colony were kept by the union ofthe temporal and spiritual authority in the same hands. " [ "Pour leurrepresenter la gehenne ou estoient les consciences de la Colonie, de sevoir gouverne par les mesmes personnes pour le spirituel et pour letemporel. "--Le Clerc, I. 478. ] In 1642, partial and ineffectivemeasures were taken, with the countenance of Richelieu, for introducinginto New France an Order less greedy of seigniories and endowments thanthe Jesuits, and less prone to political encroachment. [ 1 ] Nofavorable result followed; and the colony remained as before, in apitiful state of cramping and dwarfing vassalage. 

[ 1 Declaration de Pierre Breant, par devant les Notaires du Roy, MS. The Order was that of the Capuchins, who, like the Recollets, are abranch of the Franciscans. Their introduction into Canada was prevented;but they established themselves in Maine. ]

This is the view of a heretic. It was the aim of the founders of NewFrance to build on a foundation purely and supremely Catholic. What thisinvolved is plain; for no degree of personal virtue is a guaranty againstthe evils which attach to the temporal rule of ecclesiastics. Burningwith love and devotion to Christ and his immaculate Mother, the ferventand conscientious priest regards with mixed pity and indignation thosewho fail in this supreme allegiance. Piety and charity alike demand thathe should bring back the rash wanderer to the fold of his divine Master, and snatch him from the perdition into which his guilt must otherwiseplunge him. And while he, the priest, himself yields reverence andobedience to the Superior, in whom he sees the representative of Deity, it behooves him, in his degree, to require obedience from those whom heimagines that God has confided to his guidance. His conscience, then, acts in perfect accord with the love of power innate in the human heart. These allied forces mingle with a perplexing subtlety; pride, disguisedeven from itself, walks in the likeness of love and duty; and a thousandtimes on the pages of history we find Hell beguiling the virtues ofHeaven to do its work. The instinct of domination is a weed that growsrank in the shadow of the temple, climbs over it, possesses it, coversits ruin, and feeds on its decay. The unchecked sway of priests hasalways been the most mischievous of tyrannies; and even were they allwell-meaning and sincere, it would be so still. 

To the Jesuits, the atmosphere of Quebec was well-nigh celestial. "In the climate of New France, " they write, "one learns perfectly to seekonly God, to have no desire but God, no purpose but for God. " And again:"To live in New France is in truth to live in the bosom of God. " "If, "adds Le Jeune, "any one of those who die in this country goes toperdition, I think he will be doubly guilty. "

[ "La Nouuelle France est vn vray climat ou on apprend parfaictement biena ne chercher que Dieu, ne desirer que Dieu seul, auoir l'intentionpurement a Dieu, etc. . . . Viure en la Nouuelle France, c'est a vraydire viure dans le sein de Dieu, et ne respirer que l'air de sa Diuineconduite. "--Divers Sentimens. "Si quelqu'un de ceux qui meurent en cescontrees se damne, je croy qu'il sera doublement coupable. "--Relation, 1640, 5 (Cramoisy). ]

The very amusements of this pious community were acts of religion. Thus, on the fete-day of St. Joseph, the patron of New France, there wasa show of fireworks to do him honor. In the forty volumes of the JesuitRelations there is but one pictorial illustration; and this representsthe pyrotechnic contrivance in question, together with a figure of theGovernor in the act of touching it off. [ Relation, 1637, 8. TheRelations, as originally published, comprised about forty volumes. ]But, what is more curious, a Catholic writer of the present day, the AbbeFaillon, in an elaborate and learned work, dilates at length on thedetails of the display; and this, too, with a gravity which evinces hisconviction that squibs, rockets, blue-lights, and serpents are importantinstruments for the saving of souls. [ Histoire de la Colonie Francaise, I. 291, 292. ] On May-Day of the same year, 1637, Montmagny plantedbefore the church a May-pole surmounted by a triple crown, beneath whichwere three symbolical circles decorated with wreaths, and bearingseverally the names, Iesus, Maria, Ioseph; the soldiers drew up before it, and saluted it with a volley of musketry. [ Relation, 1637, 82. ]

On the anniversary of the Dauphin's birth there was a dramaticperformance, in which an unbeliever, speaking Algonquin for the profit ofthe Indians present, was hunted into Hell by fiends. [ Vimont, Relation, 1640, 6. ] Religious processions were frequent. In one of them, theGovernor in a court dress and a baptized Indian in beaver-skins werejoint supporters of the canopy which covered the Host. [ Le Jeune, Relation, 1638, 6. ] In another, six Indians led the van, arrayed eachin a velvet coat of scarlet and gold sent them by the King. Then cameother Indian converts, two and two; then the foundress of the Ursulineconvent, with Indian children in French gowns; then all the Indian girlsand women, dressed after their own way; then the priests; then theGovernor; and finally the whole French population, male and female, except the artillery-men at the fort, who saluted with their cannon thecross and banner borne at the head of the procession. When all was over, the Governor and the Jesuits rewarded the Indians with a feast. [ Le Jeune, Relation, 1639, 3. ]

Now let the stranger enter the church of Notre-Dame de La Recouvrance, after vespers. It is full, to the very porch: officers in slouched hatsand plumes, musketeers, pikemen, mechanics, and laborers. Here isMontmagny himself; Repentigny and Poterie, gentlemen of good birth;damsels of nurture ill fitted to the Canadian woods; and, mingled withthese, the motionless Indians, wrapped to the throat in embroideredmoose-hides. Le Jeune, not in priestly vestments, but in the commonblack dress of his Order, is before the altar; and on either side is arow of small red-skinned children listening with exemplary decorum, while, with a cheerful, smiling face, he teaches them to kneel, clasp theirhands, and sign the cross. All the principal members of this zealouscommunity are present, at once amused and edified at the grave deportment, and the prompt, shrill replies of the infant catechumens; while theirparents in the crowd grin delight at the gifts of beads and trinkets withwhich Le Jeune rewards his most proficient pupils. [ Le Jeune, Relation, 1637, 122 (Cramoisy). ]

We have seen the methods of conversion practised among the Hurons. They were much the same at Quebec. The principal appeal was to fear. [ Ibid. , 1636, 119, and 1637, 32 (Cramoisy). "La crainte est l'auancouriere de la foy dans ces esprits barbares. " ] "You do good to yourfriends, " said Le Jeune to an Algonquin chief, "and you burn yourenemies. God does the same. " And he painted Hell to the startledneophyte as a place where, when he was hungry, he would get nothing toeat but frogs and snakes, and, when thirsty, nothing to drink but flames. [ Le Jeune, Relation, 1637, 80-82 (Cramoisy). "Avoir faim et ne mangerque des serpens et des crapaux, avoir soif et ne boire que des flammes. " ]Pictures were found invaluable. "These holy representations, " pursuesthe Father Superior, "are half the instruction that can be given to theIndians. I wanted some pictures of Hell and souls in perdition, and afew were sent us on paper; but they are too confused. The devils and themen are so mixed up, that one can make out nothing without particularattention. If three, four, or five devils were painted tormenting a soulwith different punishments, --one applying fire, another serpents, anothertearing him with pincers, and another holding him fast with a chain, --this would have a good effect, especially if everything were madedistinct, and misery, rage, and desperation appeared plainly in his face. "

[ "Les heretiques sont grandement blasmables, de condamner et de briserles images qui ont de si bons effets. Ces sainctes figures sont lamoitie de l'instruction qu'on peut donner aux Sauuages. I'auois desirequelques portraits de l'enfer et de l'ame damnee; on nous en a enuoyequelques vns en papier, mais cela est trop confus. Les diables sonttellement meslez auec les hommes, qu'on n'y peut rien recognoistre, qu'auec vne particuliere attention. Qui depeindroit trois ou quatre oucinq demons, tourmentans vne ame de diuers supplices, l'vn luy appliquantdes feux, l'autre des serpens, l'autre la tenaillant, l'autre la tenantliee auec des chaisnes, cela auroit vn bon effet, notamment si toutestoit bien distingue, et que la rage et la tristesse parussent bien enla face de cette ame desesperee"--Relation, 1637, 32 (Cramoisy). ]

The preparation of the convert for baptism was often very slight. A dying Algonquin, who, though meagre as a skeleton, had thrown himself, with a last effort of expiring ferocity, on an Iroquois prisoner, andtorn off his ear with his teeth, was baptized almost immediately. [ 1 ]In the case of converts in health there was far more preparation; yetthese often apostatized. The various objects of instruction may all beincluded in one comprehensive word, submission, --an abdication of willand judgment in favor of the spiritual director, who was the interpreterand vicegerent of God. The director's function consisted in theenforcement of dogmas by which he had himself been subdued, in which hebelieved profoundly, and to which he often clung with an absorbingenthusiasm. The Jesuits, an Order thoroughly and vehemently reactive, had revived in Europe the mediaeval type of Christianity, with all itsattendant superstitions. Of these the Canadian missions bear abundantmarks. Yet, on the whole, the labors of the missionaries tended greatlyto the benefit of the Indians. Reclaimed, as the Jesuits tried toreclaim them, from their wandering life, settled in habits of peacefulindustry, and reduced to a passive and childlike obedience, they wouldhave gained more than enough to compensate them for the loss of theirferocious and miserable independence. At least, they would have escapedannihilation. The Society of Jesus aspired to the mastery of all NewFrance; but the methods of its ambition were consistent with a Christianbenevolence. Had this been otherwise, it would have employed otherinstruments. It would not have chosen a Jogues or a Garnier. TheSociety had men for every work, and it used them wisely. It utilized theapostolic virtues of its Canadian missionaries, fanned their enthusiasm, and decorated itself with their martyr crowns. With joy and gratulation, it saw them rival in another hemisphere the noble memory of its saint andhero, Francis Xavier. [ Enemies of the Jesuits, while denouncing them inunmeasured terms, speak in strong eulogy of many of the Canadianmissionaries. See, for example, Steinmetz, History of the Jesuits, II. 415. ]

[ 1 "Ce seroit vne estrange cruaute de voir descendre vne ame touteviuante dans les enfers, par le refus d'vn bien que Iesus Christ luy aacquis au prix de son sang. "--Relation, 1637, 66 (Cramoisy). 

"Considerez d'autre cote la grande apprehension que nous avions sujet deredouter la guerison; pour autant que bien souvent etant gueris il neleur reste du St. Bapteme que le caractere. "--Lettres de Garnier, MSS. 

It was not very easy to make an Indian comprehend the nature of baptism. An Iroquois at Montreal, hearing a missionary speaking of the water whichcleansed the soul from sin, said that he was well acquainted with it, as the Dutch had once given him so much that they were forced to tie him, hand and foot, to prevent him from doing mischief. --Faillon II. 43. ]

I have spoken of the colonists as living in a state of temporal andspiritual vassalage. To this there was one exception, --a small class ofmen whose home was the forest, and their companions savages. Theyfollowed the Indians in their roamings, lived with them, grew familiarwith their language, allied themselves with their women, and often becameoracles in the camp and leaders on the war-path. Champlain's boldinterpreter, Etienne Brule, whose adventures I have recounted elsewhere, [ "Pioneers of France, " 377. ] may be taken as a type of this class. Of the rest, the most conspicuous were Jean Nicollet, Jacques Hertel, Francois Marguerie, and Nicolas Marsolet. [ 1 ] Doubtless, when theyreturned from their rovings, they often had pressing need of penance andabsolution; yet, for the most part, they were good Catholics, and some ofthem were zealous for the missions. Nicollet and others were at timessettled as interpreters at Three Rivers and Quebec. Several of them weremen of great intelligence and an invincible courage. From hatred ofrestraint, and love of a wild and adventurous independence, theyencountered privations and dangers scarcely less than those to which theJesuit exposed himself from motives widely different, --he from religiouszeal, charity, and the hope of Paradise; they simply because they likedit. Some of the best families of Canada claim descent from this vigorousand hardy stock. 

[ 1 See Ferland, Notes sur les Registres de N. D. De Quebec, 30. 

Nicollet, especially, was a remarkable man. As early as 1639, heascended the Green Bay of Lake Michigan, and crossed to the waters of theMississippi. This was first shown by the researches of Mr. Shea. See his Discovery and Exploration of the Mississippi Valley, XX. ]

CHAPTER XIV. 

1636-1652. 

DEVOTEES AND NUNS. 

 THE HURON SEMINARY. --MADAME DE LA PELTRIE. --HER PIOUS SCHEMES. -- HER SHAM MARRIAGE. --SHE VISITS THE URSULINES OF TOURS. -- MARIE DE SAINT BERNARD. --MARIE DE L'INCARNATION. --HER ENTHUSIASM. -- HER MYSTICAL MARRIAGE. --HER DEJECTION. --HER MENTAL CONFLICTS. -- HER VISION. --MADE SUPERIOR OF THE URSULINES. --THE HOTEL-DIEU. -- THE VOYAGE TO CANADA. --SILLERY. --LABORS AND SUFFERINGS OF THE NUNS. -- CHARACTER OF MARIE DE L'INCARNATION. --OF MADAME DE LA PELTRIE. 

Quebec, as we have seen, had a seminary, a hospital, and a convent, before it had a population. It will be well to observe the origin ofthese institutions. 

The Jesuits from the first had cherished the plan of a seminary for Huronboys at Quebec. The Governor and the Company favored the design; sincenot only would it be an efficient means of spreading the Faith andattaching the tribe to the French interest, but the children would bepledges for the good behavior of the parents, and hostages for the safetyof missionaries and traders in the Indian towns. [ "M. De Montmagnycognoit bien l'importance de ce Seminaire pour la gloire de NostreSeigneur, et pour le commerce de ces Messieurs"--Relation, 1637, 209(Cramoisy). ] In the summer of 1636, Father Daniel, descending from theHuron country, worn, emaciated, his cassock patched and tattered, and hisshirt in rags, brought with him a boy, to whom two others were soonadded; and through the influence of the interpreter, Nicollet, the numberwas afterwards increased by several more. One of them ran away, two atethemselves to death, a fourth was carried home by his father, while threeof those remaining stole a canoe, loaded it with all they could lay theirhands upon, and escaped in triumph with their plunder. [ Le Jeune, Relation, 1637, 55-59. Ibid. , Relation, 1638, 23. ]

The beginning was not hopeful; but the Jesuits persevered, and at lengthestablished their seminary on a firm basis. The Marquis de Gamache hadgiven the Society six thousand crowns for founding a college at Quebec. In 1637, a year before the building of Harvard College, the Jesuits begana wooden structure in the rear of the fort; and here, within oneinclosure, was the Huron seminary and the college for French boys. 

Meanwhile the female children of both races were without instructors; buta remedy was at hand. At Alencon, in 1603, was born Marie Madeleine deChauvigny, a scion of the _haute noblesse_ of Normandy. Seventeen yearslater she was a young lady, abundantly wilful and superabundantlyenthusiastic, --one who, in other circumstances, might perhaps have made aromantic elopement and a _mesalliance_. [ 1 ] But her impressible andardent nature was absorbed in other objects. Religion and its ministerspossessed her wholly, and all her enthusiasm was spent on works ofcharity and devotion. Her father, passionately fond of her, resisted herinclination for the cloister, and sought to wean her back to the world;but she escaped from the chateau to a neighboring convent, where sheresolved to remain. Her father followed, carried her home, and engagedher in a round of fetes and hunting parties, in the midst of which shefound herself surprised into a betrothal to M. De la Peltrie, a younggentleman of rank and character. The marriage proved a happy one, and Madame de la Peltrie, with an excellent grace, bore her part in theworld she had wished to renounce. After a union of five years, herhusband died, and she was left a widow and childless at the age oftwenty-two. She returned to the religious ardors of her girlhood, again gave all her thoughts to devotion and charity, and again resolvedto be a nun. She had heard of Canada; and when Le Jeune's firstRelations appeared, she read them with avidity. "Alas!" wrote the Father, "is there no charitable and virtuous lady who will come to this countryto gather up the blood of Christ, by teaching His word to the littleIndian girls?" His appeal found a prompt and vehement response from thebreast of Madame de la Peltrie. Thenceforth she thought of nothing butCanada. In the midst of her zeal, a fever seized her. The physiciansdespaired; but, at the height of the disease, the patient made a vow toSt. Joseph, that, should God restore her to health, she would build ahouse in honor of Him in Canada, and give her life and her wealth to theinstruction of Indian girls. On the following morning, say herbiographers, the fever had left her. 

[ 1 There is a portrait of her, taken at a later period, of which aphotograph is before me. She has a semi-religious dress, hands claspedin prayer, large dark eyes, a smiling and mischievous mouth, and a facesomewhat pretty and very coquettish. An engraving from the portrait isprefixed to the "Notice Biographique de Madame de la Peltrie" in LesUrsulines de Quebec, I. 348. ]

Meanwhile her relatives, or those of her husband, had confirmed her piouspurposes by attempting to thwart them. They pronounced her a romanticvisionary, incompetent to the charge of her property. Her father, too, whose fondness for her increased with his advancing age, entreated her toremain with him while he lived, and to defer the execution of her planstill he should be laid in his grave. From entreaties he passed tocommands, and at length threatened to disinherit her, if she persisted. The virtue of obedience, for which she is extolled by her clericalbiographers, however abundantly exhibited in respect to those who heldcharge of her conscience, was singularly wanting towards the parent who, in the way of Nature, had the best claim to its exercise; and Madame dela Peltrie was more than ever resolved to go to Canada. Her father, on his part, was urgent that she should marry again. On this she tookcounsel of a Jesuit, [ 1 ] who, "having seriously reflected before God, "suggested a device, which to the heretical mind is a little startling, but which commended itself to Madame de la Peltrie as fitted at once tosoothe the troubled spirit of her father, and to save her from the sininvolved in the abandonment of her pious designs. 

[ 1 "Partagee ainsi entre l'amour filial et la religion, en proie auxplus poignantes angoisses, elle s'adressa a un religieux de la Compagniede Jesus, dont elle connaissait la prudence consommee, et le supplia del'eclairer de ses lumieres. Ce religieux, apres y avoir serieusementreflechi devant Dieu, lui repondit qu'il croyait avoir trouve un moyen detout concilier. "--Casgrain, Vie de Marie de l'Incarnation, 243. ]

Among her acquaintance was M. De Bernieres, a gentleman of high rank, great wealth, and zealous devotion. She wrote to him, explained thesituation, and requested him to feign a marriage with her. His sense ofhonor recoiled: moreover, in the fulness of his zeal, he had made a vowof chastity, and an apparent breach of it would cause scandal. Heconsulted his spiritual director and a few intimate friends. All agreedthat the glory of God was concerned, and that it behooved him to acceptthe somewhat singular overtures of the young widow, [ 1 ] and request herhand from her father. M. De Chauvigny, who greatly esteemed Bernieres, was delighted; and his delight was raised to transport at the dutiful andmodest acquiescence of his daughter. [ 2 ] A betrothal took place; allwas harmony, and for a time no more was said of disinheriting Madame dela Peltrie, or putting her in wardship. 

[ 1 "Enfin apres avoir longtemps implore les lumieres du ciel, il remittoute l'affaire entre les mains de son directeur et de quelques amisintimes. Tous, d'un commun accord, lui declarerent que la gloire de Dieuy etait interessee, et qu'il devait accepter. "--Ibid. , 244. ]

[ 2 "The prudent young widow answered him with much respect and modesty, that, as she knew M. De Bernieres to be a favorite with him, she alsopreferred him to all others. "

The above is from a letter of Marie de l'Incarnation, translated byMother St. Thomas, of the Ursuline convent of Quebec, in her Life ofMadame de la Peltrie, 41. Compare Les Ursulines de Quebec, 10, and the"Notice Biographique" in the same volume. ]

Bernieres's scruples returned. Divided between honor and conscience, he postponed the marriage, until at length M. De Chauvigny conceivedmisgivings, and again began to speak of disinheriting his daughter, unless the engagement was fulfilled. [ 1 ] Bernieres yielded, and wentwith Madame de la Peltrie to consult "the most eminent divines. " [ 2 ]A sham marriage took place, and she and her accomplice appeared in publicas man and wife. Her relatives, however, had already renewed theirattempts to deprive her of the control of her property. A suit, of whatnature does not appear, had been decided against her at Caen, and she hadappealed to the Parliament of Normandy. Her lawyers were in despair; but, as her biographer justly observes, "the saints have resources whichothers have not. " A vow to St. Joseph secured his intercession andgained her case. Another thought now filled her with agitation. Herplans were laid, and the time of action drew near. How could she endurethe distress of her father, when he learned that she had deluded him witha false marriage, and that she and all that was hers were bound for thewilderness of Canada? Happily for him, he fell ill, and died inignorance of the deceit that had been practised upon him. [ 3 ]

[ 1 "Our virtuous widow did not lose courage. As she had given herconfidence to M. De Bernieres, she informed him of all that passed, while she flattered her father each day, telling him that this noblemanwas too honorable to fail in keeping his word. "--St. Thomas, Life ofMadame de la Peltrie, 42. ]

[ 2 "He" (Bernieres) "went to stay at the house of a mutual friend, where they had frequent opportunities of seeing each other, andconsulting the most eminent divines on the means of effecting thispretended marriage. "--Ibid. , 43. ]

[ 3 It will be of interest to observe the view taken of this pretendedmarriage by Madame de la Peltrie's Catholic biographers. Charlevoixtells the story without comment, but with apparent approval. Sainte-Foi, in his Premieres Ursulines de France, says, that, as God had taken herunder His guidance, we should not venture to criticize her. Casgrain, in his Vie de Marie de l'Incarnation, remarks:--

"Une telle conduite peut encore aujourd'hui paraitre etrange a bien despersonnes; mais outre que l'avenir fit bien voir que c'etait uneinspiration du ciel, nous pouvons repondre, avec un savant et pieuxauteur, que nous ne devons point juger ceux que Dieu se charge lui-memede conduire. "--p. 247. 

Mother St. Thomas highly approves the proceeding, and says:--

"Thus ended the pretended engagement of this virtuous lady and gentleman, which caused, at the time, so much inquiry and excitement among thenobility in France, and which, after a lapse of two hundred years, cannot fail exciting feelings of admiration in the heart of everyvirtuous woman!"

Surprising as it may appear, the book from which the above is taken waswritten a few years since, in so-called English, for the instruction ofthe pupils in the Ursuline Convent at Quebec. ]

Whatever may be thought of the quality of Madame de la Peltrie's devotion, there can be no reasonable doubt of its sincerity or its ardor; and yetone can hardly fail to see in her the signs of that restless longing for_eclat_, which, with some women, is a ruling passion. When, in companywith Bernieres, she passed from Alencon to Tours, and from Tours to Paris, an object of attention to nuns, priests, and prelates, --when the Queenherself summoned her to an interview, --it may be that the profoundcontentment of soul ascribed to her had its origin in sources notexclusively of the spirit. At Tours, she repaired to the Ursulineconvent. The Superior and all the nuns met her at the entrance of thecloister, and, separating into two rows as she appeared, sang the _VeniCreator_, while the bell of the monastery sounded its loudest peal. Then they led her in triumph to their church, sang _Te Deum_, and, whilethe honored guest knelt before the altar, all the sisterhood knelt aroundher in a semicircle. Their hearts beat high within them. That day theywere to know who of their number were chosen for the new convent ofQuebec, of which Madame de la Peltrie was to be the foundress; and whentheir devotions were over, they flung themselves at her feet, eachbegging with tears that the lot might fall on her. Aloof from thisthrong of enthusiastic suppliants stood a young nun, Marie de St. Bernard, too timid and too modest to ask the boon for which her fervent heart waslonging. It was granted without asking. This delicate girl was chosen, and chosen wisely. [ Casgrain, Vie de Marie de l'Incarnation, 271-273. There is a long account of Marie de St. Bernard, by Ragueneau, in theRelation of 1652. Here it is said that she showed an unaccountableindifference as to whether she went to Canada or not, which, however, was followed by an ardent desire to go. ]

There was another nun who stood apart, silent and motionless, --a statelyfigure, with features strongly marked and perhaps somewhat masculine;[ 1 ] but, if so, they belied her, for Marie de l'Incarnation was a womanto the core. For her there was no need of entreaties; for she knew thatthe Jesuits had made her their choice, as Superior of the new convent. She was born, forty years before, at Tours, of a good _bourgeois_ family. As she grew up towards maturity, her qualities soon declared themselves. She had uncommon talents and strong religious susceptibilities, joined toa vivid imagination, --an alliance not always desirable under a form offaith where both are excited by stimulants so many and so powerful. Like Madame de la Peltrie, she married, at the desire of her parents, in her eighteenth year. The marriage was not happy. Her biographers saythat there was no fault on either side. Apparently, it was a severe caseof "incompatibility. " She sought her consolation in the churches; and, kneeling in dim chapels, held communings with Christ and the angels. At the end of two years her husband died, leaving her with an infant son. She gave him to the charge of her sister, abandoned herself to solitudeand meditation, and became a mystic of the intense and passional school. Yet a strong maternal instinct battled painfully in her breast with asense of religious vocation. Dreams, visions, interior voices, ecstasies, revulsions, periods of rapture and periods of deep dejection, made up theagitated tissue of her life. She fasted, wore hair-cloth, scourgedherself, washed dishes among the servants, and did their most menialwork. She heard, in a trance, a miraculous voice. It was that of Christ, promising to become her spouse. Months and years passed, full oftroubled hopes and fears, when again the voice sounded in her ear, with assurance that the promise was fulfilled, and that she was indeedhis bride. Now ensued phenomena which are not infrequent among RomanCatholic female devotees, when unmarried, or married unhappily, and whichhave their source in the necessities of a woman's nature. To her excitedthought, her divine spouse became a living presence; and her language tohim, as recorded by herself, is that of the most intense passion. She went to prayer, agitated and tremulous, as if to a meeting with anearthly lover. "O my Love!" she exclaimed, "when shall I embrace you?Have you no pity on me in the torments that I suffer? Alas! alas! myLove, my Beauty, my Life! instead of healing my pain, you take pleasurein it. Come, let me embrace you, and die in your sacred arms!" Andagain she writes: "Then, as I was spent with fatigue, I was forced to say, 'My divine Love, since you wish me to live, I pray you let me rest alittle, that I may the better serve you'; and I promised him thatafterward I would suffer myself to consume in his chaste and divineembraces. " [ 2 ]

[ 1 There is an engraved portrait of her, taken some years later, of which a photograph is before me. When she was "in the world, " herstately proportions are said to have attracted general attention. Her family name was Marie Guyard. She was born on the eighteenth ofOctober, 1599. ]

[ 2 "Allant a l'oraison, je tressaillois en moi-meme, et disois: Allonsdans la solitude, mon cher amour, afin que je vous embrasse a mon aise, et que, respirant mon ame en vous, elle ne soit plus que vous-meme parunion d'amour. . . . Puis, mon corps etant brise de fatigues, j'etoiscontrainte de dire: Mon divin amour, je vous prie de me laisser prendreun peu de repos, afin que je puisse mieux vous servir, puisque vousvoulez que je vive. . . . Je le priois de me laisser agir; luipromettant de me laisser apres cela consumer dans ses chastes et divinsembrassemens. . . O amour! quand vous embrasserai-je? N'avez-vous pointpitie de moi dans le tourment que je souffre? helas! helas! mon amour, ma beaute, ma vie! au lieu de me guerir, vous vous plaisez a mes maux. Venez donc que je vous embrasse, et que je meure entre vos bras sacrez!"

The above passages, from various pages of her journal, will sufficethough they give but an inadequate idea of these strange extravagances. What is most astonishing is, that a man of sense like Charlevoix; in hisLife of Marie de l'Incarnation, should extract them in full, as matter ofedification and evidence of saintship. Her recent biographer, the AbbeCasgrain, refrains from quoting them, though he mentions them approvinglyas evincing fervor. The Abbe Racine, in his Discours a l'Occasion du192eme Anniversaire de l'heureuse Mort de la Ven. Mere de l'Incarnation, delivered at Quebec in 1864, speaks of them as transcendent proofs of thesupreme favor of Heaven. --Some of the pupils of Marie de l'Incarnationalso had mystical marriages with Christ; and the impassioned rhapsodiesof one of them being overheard, she nearly lost her character, as it wasthought that she was apostrophsizing an earthly lover. ]

Clearly, here is a case for the physiologist as well as the theologian;and the "holy widow, " as her biographers call her, becomes an example, and a lamentable one, of the tendency of the erotic principle to allyitself with high religious excitement. 

But the wings of imagination will tire and droop, the brightestdream-land of contemplative fancy grow dim, and an abnormal tension ofthe faculties find its inevitable reaction at last. From a condition ofhighest exaltation, a mystical heaven of light and glory, the unhappydreamer fell back to a dreary earth, or rather to an abyss of darknessand misery. Her biographers tell us that she became a prey to dejection, and thoughts of infidelity, despair, estrangement from God, aversion tomankind, pride, vanity, impurity, and a supreme disgust at the rites ofreligion. Exhaustion produced common-sense, and the dreams which hadbeen her life now seemed a tissue of illusions. Her confessor became aweariness to her, and his words fell dead on her ear. Indeed, sheconceived a repugnance to the holy man. Her old and favorite confessor, her oracle, guide, and comforter, had lately been taken from her bypromotion in the Church, --which may serve to explain her dejection; andthe new one, jealous of his predecessor, told her that all his counselshad been visionary and dangerous to her soul. Having overwhelmed herwith this announcement, he left her, apparently out of patience with herrefractory and gloomy mood; and she remained for several months deprivedof spiritual guidance. [ Casgrain, 195-197. ] Two years elapsed beforeher mind recovered its tone, when she soared once more in the seventhheaven of imaginative devotion. 

Marie de l'Incarnation, we have seen, was unrelenting in every practiceof humiliation; dressed in mean attire, did the servants' work, nursedsick beggars, and, in her meditations, taxed her brain with metaphysicalprocesses of self-annihilation. And yet, when one reads her "SpiritualLetters, " the conviction of an enormous spiritual pride in the writer canhardly be repressed. She aspired to that inner circle of the faithful, that aristocracy of devotion, which, while the common herd of Christiansare busied with the duties of life, eschews the visible and the present, and claims to live only for God. In her strong maternal affection shesaw a lure to divert her from the path of perfect saintship. Love forher child long withheld her from becoming a nun; but at last, fortifiedby her confessor, she left him to his fate, took the vows, and immuredherself with the Ursulines of Tours. The boy, frenzied by his desertion, and urged on by indignant relatives, watched his opportunity, and madehis way into the refectory of the convent, screaming to the horrifiednuns to give him back his mother. As he grew older, her anxietyincreased; and at length she heard in her seclusion that he had falleninto bad company, had left the relative who had sheltered him, and runoff, no one knew whither. The wretched mother, torn with anguish, hastened for consolation to her confessor, who met her with sternupbraidings. Yet, even in this her intensest ordeal, her enthusiasm andher native fortitude enabled her to maintain a semblance of calmness, till she learned that the boy had been found and brought back. 

Strange as it may seem, this woman, whose habitual state was one ofmystical abstraction, was gifted to a rare degree with the faculties mostuseful in the practical affairs of life. She had spent several years inthe house of her brother-in-law. Here, on the one hand, her vigils, visions, and penances set utterly at nought the order of a well-governedfamily; while, on the other, she made amends to her impatient relative byable and efficient aid in the conduct of his public and private affairs. Her biographers say, and doubtless with truth, that her heart was faraway from these mundane interests; yet her talent for business was notthe less displayed. Her spiritual guides were aware of it, and sawclearly that gifts so useful to the world might be made equally useful tothe Church. Hence it was that she was chosen Superior of the conventwhich Madame de la Peltrie was about to endow at Quebec. [ Thecombination of religious enthusiasm, however extravagant and visionary, with a talent for business, is not very rare. Nearly all the founders ofmonastic Orders are examples of it. ]

Yet it was from heaven itself that Marie de l'Incarnation received herfirst "vocation" to Canada. The miracle was in this wise. 

In a dream she beheld a lady unknown to her. She took her hand; and thetwo journeyed together westward, towards the sea. They soon met one ofthe Apostles, clothed all in white, who, with a wave of his hand, directed them on their way. They now entered on a scene of surpassingmagnificence. Beneath their feet was a pavement of squares of whitemarble, spotted with vermilion, and intersected with lines of vividscarlet; and all around stood monasteries of matchless architecture. But the two travellers, without stopping to admire, moved swiftly on tillthey beheld the Virgin seated with her Infant Son on a small temple ofwhite marble, which served her as a throne. She seemed about fifteenyears of age, and was of a "ravishing beauty. " Her head was turnedaside; she was gazing fixedly on a wild waste of mountains and valleys, half concealed in mist. Marie de l'Incarnation approached withoutstretched arms, adoring. The vision bent towards her, and, smiling, kissed her three times; whereupon, in a rapture, the dreamer awoke. [ Marie de l'Incarnation recounts this dream at great length in herletters; and Casgrain copies the whole, verbatim, as a revelation fromGod. ]

She told the vision to Father Dinet, a Jesuit of Tours. He was at noloss for an interpretation. The land of mists and mountains was Canada, and thither the Virgin called her. Yet one mystery remained unsolved. Who was the unknown companion of her dream? Several years had passed, and signs from heaven and inward voices had raised to an intense fervorher zeal for her new vocation, when, for the first time, she saw Madamede la Peltrie on her visit to the convent at Tours, and recognized, on the instant, the lady of her nocturnal vision. No one can besurprised at this who has considered with the slightest attention thephenomena of religious enthusiasm. 

On the fourth of May, 1639, Madame de la Peltrie, Marie de l'Incarnation, Marie de St. Bernard, and another Ursuline, embarked at Dieppe forCanada. In the ship were also three young hospital nuns, sent out tofound at Quebec a Hotel Dieu, endowed by the famous niece of Richelieu, the Duchesse d'Aiguillon. [ Juchereau, Histoire de l'Hotel-Dieu aeQuebec, 4. ] Here, too, were the Jesuits Chaumonot and Poncet, on theway to their mission, together with Father Vimont, who was to succeed LeJeune in his post of Superior. To the nuns, pale from their cloisteredseclusion, there was a strange and startling novelty in this new world oflife and action, --the ship, the sailors, the shouts of command, theflapping of sails, the salt wind, and the boisterous sea. The voyage waslong and tedious. Sometimes they lay in their berths, sea-sick andwoe-begone; sometimes they sang in choir on deck, or heard mass in thecabin. Once, on a misty morning, a wild cry of alarm startled crew andpassengers alike. A huge iceberg was drifting close upon them. Theperil was extreme. Madame de la Peltrie clung to Marie de l'Incarnation, who stood perfectly calm, and gathered her gown about her feet that shemight drown with decency. It is scarcely necessary to say that they weresaved by a vow to the Virgin and St. Joseph. Vimont offered it in behalfof all the company, and the ship glided into the open sea unharmed. 

They arrived at Tadoussac on the fifteenth of July; and the nuns ascendedto Quebec in a small craft deeply laden with salted codfish, on which, uncooked, they subsisted until the first of August, when they reachedtheir destination. Cannon roared welcome from the fort and batteries;all labor ceased; the storehouses were closed; and the zealous Montmagny, with a train of priests and soldiers, met the new-comers at the landing. All the nuns fell prostrate, and kissed the sacred soil of Canada. [ 1 ]They heard mass at the church, dined at the fort, and presently set forthto visit the new settlement of Sillery, four miles above Quebec. 

[ 1 Juchereau, 14; Le Clerc, II. 33; Ragueneau, Vie de Catherine deSt. Augustin, "Epistre dedicatoire;" Le Jeune, Relation, 1639, Chap. II. ;Charlevoix, Vie de Marie de l'Incarnation, 264; "Acte de Reception, "in Les Ursulines de Quebec, I. 21. ]

Noel Brulart de Sillery, a Knight of Malta, who had once filled thehighest offices under the Queen Marie de Medicis, had now severed hisconnection with his Order, renounced the world, and become a priest. He devoted his vast revenues--for a dispensation of the Pope had freedhim from his vow of poverty--to the founding of religious establishments. [ 1 ] Among other endowments, he had placed an ample fund in the handsof the Jesuits for the formation of a settlement of Christian Indians atthe spot which still bears his name. On the strand of Sillery, betweenthe river and the woody heights behind, were clustered the smalllog-cabins of a number of Algonquin converts, together with a church, a mission-house, and an infirmary, --the whole surrounded by a palisade. It was to this place that the six nuns were now conducted by the Jesuits. The scene delighted and edified them; and, in the transports of theirzeal, they seized and kissed every female Indian child on whom they couldlay hands, "without minding, " says Father Le Jeune, "whether they weredirty or not. " "Love and charity, " he adds, "triumphed over every humanconsideration. " [ 2 ]

[ 1 See Vie de l'Illustre Serviteur de Dieu Noel Brulart de Sillery;also Etudes et Recherches Bioqraphiques sur le Chevalier Noel Brulart deSillery, and several documents in Martin's translation of Bressani, Appendix IV. ]

[ 2 ". . . Sans prendre garde si ces petits enfans sauvages estoientsales ou non; . . . La loy d'amour et de charite l'emportoit par dessustoutes les considerations humaines. "--Relation, 1639, 26 (Cramoisy). ]

The nuns of the Hotel-Dieu soon after took up their abode at Sillery, whence they removed to a house built for them at Quebec by theirfoundress, the Duchesse d'Aiguillon. The Ursulines, in the absence ofbetter quarters, were lodged at first in a small wooden tenement underthe rock of Quebec, at the brink of the river. Here they were soon besetwith such a host of children, that the floor of their wretched tenementwas covered with beds, and their toil had no respite. Then came thesmall-pox, carrying death and terror among the neighboring Indians. These thronged to Quebec in misery and desperation, begging succor fromthe French. The labors both of the Ursulines and of the hospital nunswere prodigious. In the infected air of their miserable hovels, wheresick and dying savages covered the floor, and were packed one aboveanother in berths, --amid all that is most distressing and most revolting, with little food and less sleep, these women passed the rough beginningof their new life. Several of them fell ill. But the excess of the evilat length brought relief; for so many of the Indians died in thesepest-houses that the survivors shunned them in horror. 

But how did these women bear themselves amid toils so arduous? Apleasant record has come down to us of one of them, --that fair anddelicate girl, Marie de St. Bernard, called, in the convent, SisterSt. Joseph, who had been chosen at Tours as the companion of Marie del'Incarnation. Another Ursuline, writing at a period when the severityof their labors was somewhat relaxed, says, "Her disposition is charming. In our times of recreation, she often makes us cry with laughing: itwould be hard to be melancholy when she is near. " [ Lettre de la Mere SteClaire a une de ses Soeurs Ursulines de Paris, Quebec, 2 Sept. , 1640. --SeeLes Ursulines de Quebec, I. 38. ]

It was three years later before the Ursulines and their pupils tookpossession of a massive convent of stone, built for them on the sitewhich they still occupy. Money had failed before the work was done, and the interior was as unfinished as a barn. [ The interior wasfinished after a year or two, with cells as usual. There were fourchimneys, with fireplaces burning a hundred and seventy-five cords ofwood in a winter; and though the nuns were boxed up in beds which closedlike chests, Marie de l'Incarnation complains bitterly of the cold. See her letter of Aug. 26, 1644. ] Beside the cloister stood a largeash-tree; and it stands there still. Beneath its shade, says the conventtradition, Marie de l'Incarnation and her nuns instructed the Indianchildren in the truths of salvation; but it might seem rash to affirmthat their teachings were always either wise or useful, since FatherVimont tells us approvingly, that they reared their pupils in so chaste ahorror of the other sex, that a little girl, whom a man had playfullytaken by the hand, ran crying to a bowl of water to wash off theunhallowed influence. [ Vimont, Relation, 1642, 112 (Cramoisy). ]

Now and henceforward one figure stands nobly conspicuous in this devotedsisterhood. Marie de l'Incarnation, no longer lost in the vagaries of aninsane mysticism, but engaged in the duties of Christian charity and theresponsibilities of an arduous post, displays an ability, a fortitude, and an earnestness which command respect and admiration. Her mentalintoxication had ceased, or recurred only at intervals; and falseexcitements no longer sustained her. She was racked with constantanxieties about her son, and was often in a condition described by herbiographers as a "deprivation of all spiritual consolations. " Herposition was a very difficult one. She herself speaks of her life as asuccession of crosses and humiliations. Some of these were due to Madamede la Peltrie, who, in a freak of enthusiasm, abandoned her Ursulines fora time, as we shall presently see, leaving them in the utmostdestitution. There were dissensions to be healed among them; and money, everything, in short, to be provided. Marie de l'Incarnation, in hersaddest moments, neither failed in judgment nor slackened in effort. She carried on a vast correspondence, embracing every one in France whocould aid her infant community with money or influence; she harmonizedand regulated it with excellent skill; and, in the midst of relentlessausterities, she was loved as a mother by her pupils and dependants. Catholic writers extol her as a saint. [ 1 ] Protestants may see in hera Christian heroine, admirable, with all her follies and her faults. 

[ 1 There is a letter extant from Sister Anne de Ste Claire, an Ursulinewho came to Quebec in 1640, written soon after her arrival, andcontaining curious evidence that a reputation of saintship alreadyattached to Marie de l'Incarnation. "When I spoke to her, " writes SisterAnne, speaking of her first interview, "I perceived in the air a certainodor of sanctity, which gave me the sensation of an agreeable perfume. "See the letter in a recent Catholic work, Les Ursulines de Quebec, I. 38, where the passage is printed in Italics, as worthy the especial attentionof the pious reader. ]

The traditions of the Ursulines are full of the virtues of Madame de laPeltrie, --her humility, her charity, her penances, and her acts ofmortification. No doubt, with some little allowance, these traditionsare true; but there is more of reason than of uncharitableness in thebelief, that her zeal would have been less ardent and sustained, if ithad had fewer spectators. She was now fairly committed to the conventuallife, her enthusiasm was kept within prescribed bounds, and she was nolonger mistress of her own movements. On the one hand, she was anxiousto accumulate merits against the Day of Judgment; and, on the other, she had a keen appreciation of the applause which the sacrifice of herfortune and her acts of piety had gained for her. Mortal vanity takesmany shapes. Sometimes it arrays itself in silk and jewels; sometimes itwalks in sackcloth, and speaks the language of self-abasement. In theconvent, as in the world, the fair devotee thirsted for admiration. The halo of saintship glittered in her eyes like a diamond crown, and sheaspired to outshine her sisters in humility. She was as sincere asSimeon Stylites on his column; and, like him, found encouragement andcomfort in the gazing and wondering eyes below. [ Madame de la Peltriedied in her convent in 1671. Marie de l'Incarnation died the followingyear. She had the consolation of knowing that her son had fulfilled herardent wishes, and become a priest. ]

CHAPTER XV. 

1636-1642. 

VILLEMARIE DE MONTREAL. 

 DAUVERSIERE AND THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN. --ABBE OLIER. --THEIR SCHEMES. -- THE SOCIETY OF NOTRE-DAME DE MONTREAL. --MAISONNEUVE. --DEVOUT LADIES. -- MADEMOISELLE MANCE. --MARGUERITE BOURGEOIS. --THE MONTREALISTS AT QUEBEC. -- JEALOUSY. --QUARRELS. --ROMANCE AND DEVOTION. --EMBARKATION. -- FOUNDATION OF MONTREAL. 

We come now to an enterprise as singular in its character as it provedimportant in its results. 

At La Fleche, in Anjou, dwelt one Jerome le Royer de la Dauversiere, receiver of taxes. His portrait shows us a round, _bourgeois_ face, somewhat heavy perhaps, decorated with a slight moustache, and redeemedby bright and earnest eyes. On his head he wears a black skull-cap; andover his ample shoulders spreads a stiff white collar, of wide expanseand studious plainness. Though he belonged to the _noblesse_, his look isthat of a grave burgher, of good renown and sage deportment. Dauversierewas, however, an enthusiastic devotee, of mystical tendencies, whowhipped himself with a scourge of small chains till his shoulders wereone wound, wore a belt with more than twelve hundred sharp points, and invented for himself other torments, which filled his confessor withadmiration. [ Fancamp in Faillon, Vie de Mlle Mance, Introduction. ]One day, while at his devotions, he heard an inward voice commanding himto become the founder of a new Order of hospital nuns; and he was furtherordered to establish, on the island called Montreal, in Canada, ahospital, or Hotel-Dieu, to be conducted by these nuns. But Montreal wasa wilderness, and the hospital would have no patients. Therefore, in order to supply them, the island must first be colonized. Dauversierewas greatly perplexed. On the one hand, the voice of Heaven must beobeyed; on the other, he had a wife, six children, and a very moderatefortune. [ Faillon, Vie de Mlle Mance, Introduction; Dollier de Casson, Hist. De Montreal, MS. ; Les Veritables Motifs des Messieurs et Dames deMontreal, 25; Juchereau, 33. ]

Again: there was at Paris a young priest, about twenty-eight years ofage, --Jean Jacques Olier, afterwards widely known as founder of theSeminary of St. Sulpice. Judged by his engraved portrait, hiscountenance, though marked both with energy and intellect, was anythingbut prepossessing. Every lineament proclaims the priest. Yet the AbbeOlier has high titles to esteem. He signalized his piety, it is true, by the most disgusting exploits of self-mortification; but, at the sametime, he was strenuous in his efforts to reform the people and theclergy. So zealous was he for good morals, that he drew upon himself theimputation of a leaning to the heresy of the Jansenists, --a suspicionstrengthened by his opposition to certain priests, who, to secure thefaithful in their allegiance, justified them in lives of licentiousness. [ Faillon, Vie de M. Olier, II. 188. ] Yet Olier's catholicity was pastattaintment, and in his horror of Jansenists he yielded to the Jesuitsalone. 

He was praying in the ancient church of St. Germain des Pres, when, like Dauversiere, he thought he heard a voice from Heaven, saying that hewas destined to be a light to the Gentiles. It is recorded as a mysticcoincidence attending this miracle, that the choir was at that very timechanting the words, _Lumen ad revelationem Gentium_; [ 1 ] and it seemsto have occurred neither to Olier nor to his biographer, that, falling onthe ear of the rapt worshipper, they might have unconsciously suggestedthe supposed revelation. But there was a further miracle. An inwardvoice told Olier that he was to form a society of priests, and establishthem on the island called Montreal, in Canada, for the propagation of theTrue Faith; and writers old and recent assert, that, while both he andDauversiere were totally ignorant of Canadian geography, they suddenlyfound themselves in possession, they knew not how, of the most exactdetails concerning Montreal, its size, shape, situation, soil, climate, and productions. 

[ 1 Memoires Autographes de M. Olier, cited by Faillon, in Histoire dela Colonie Francaise, I. 384. ]

The annual volumes of the Jesuit Relations, issuing from the renownedpress of Cramoisy, were at this time spread broadcast throughout France;and, in the circles of _haute devotion_, Canada and its missions wereeverywhere the themes of enthusiastic discussion; while Champlain, in his published works, had long before pointed out Montreal as theproper site for a settlement. But we are entering a region of miracle, and it is superfluous to look far for explanations. The illusion, in these cases, is a part of the history. 

Dauversiere pondered the revelation he had received; and the more hepondered, the more was he convinced that it came from God. He thereforeset out for Paris, to find some means of accomplishing the task assignedhim. Here, as he prayed before an image of the Virgin in the church ofNotre-Dame, he fell into an ecstasy, and beheld a vision. "I should hefalse to the integrity of history, " writes his biographer, "if I did notrelate it here. " And he adds, that the reality of this celestial favoris past doubting, inasmuch as Dauversiere himself told it to hisdaughters. Christ, the Virgin, and St. Joseph appeared before him. He saw them distinctly. Then he heard Christ ask three times of hisVirgin Mother, Where can I find a faithful servant? On which, the Virgin, taking him (Dauversiere) by the hand, replied, See, Lord, here is thatfaithful servant!--and Christ, with a benignant smile, received him intohis service, promising to bestow on him wisdom and strength to do hiswork. [ Faillon, Vie de Mlle Mance, Introduction, xxviii. The AbbeFerland, in his Histoire du Canada, passes over the miracles in silence. ]From Paris he went to the neighboring chateau of Meudon, which overlooksthe valley of the Seine, not far from St. Cloud. Entering the galleryof the old castle, he saw a priest approaching him. It was Olier. Now we are told that neither of these men had ever seen or heard ofthe other; and yet, says the pious historian, "impelled by a kind ofinspiration, they knew each other at once, even to the depths of theirhearts; saluted each other by name, as we read of St. Paul, the Hermit, and St. Anthony, and of St. Dominic and St. Francis; and ran to embraceeach other, like two friends who had met after a long separation. "[ Ibid. , La Colonie Francaise, I. 390. ]

"Monsieur, " exclaimed Olier, "I know your design, and I go to commend itto God at the holy altar. "

And he went at once to say mass in the chapel. Dauversiere received thecommunion at his hands; and then they walked for three hours in the park, discussing their plans. They were of one mind, in respect both toobjects and means; and when they parted, Olier gave Dauversiere a hundredlouis, saying, "This is to begin the work of God. "

They proposed to found at Montreal three religious communities, --threebeing the mystic number, --one of secular priests to direct the colonistsand convert the Indians, one of nuns to nurse the sick, and one of nunsto teach the Faith to the children, white and red. To borrow their ownphrases, they would plant the banner of Christ in an abode of desolationand a haunt of demons; and to this end a band of priests and women wereto invade the wilderness, and take post between the fangs of theIroquois. But first they must make a colony, and to do so must raisemoney. Olier had pious and wealthy penitents; Dauversiere had a friend, the Baron de Fancamp, devout as himself and far richer. Anxious for hissoul, and satisfied that the enterprise was an inspiration of God, he was eager to bear part in it. Olier soon found three others; and thesix together formed the germ of the Society of Notre-Dame de Montreal. Among them they raised the sum of seventy-five thousand livres, equivalent to about as many dollars at the present day. 

[ Dollier de Casson, Histoire de Montreal, MS. ; also Belmont, Histoire duCanada, 2. Juchereau doubles the sum. Faillon agrees with Dollier. 

On all that relates to the early annals of Montreal a flood of new lighthas been thrown by the Abbe Faillon. As a priest of St. Sulpice, he hadready access to the archives of the Seminaries of Montreal and Paris, and to numerous other ecclesiastical depositories, which would have beenclosed hopelessly against a layman and a heretic. It is impossible tocommend too highly the zeal, diligence, exactness, and extent of hisconscientious researches. His credulity is enormous, and he iscompletely in sympathy with the supernaturalists of whom he writes: inother words, he identifies himself with his theme, and is indeed afragment of the seventeenth century, still extant in the nineteenth. He is minute to prolixity, and abounds in extracts and citations from theancient manuscripts which his labors have unearthed. In short, the Abbeis a prodigy of patience and industry; and if he taxes the patience ofhis readers, he also rewards it abundantly. Such of his originalauthorities as have proved accessible are before me, including aconsiderable number of manuscripts. Among these, that of Dollier deCasson, Histoire de Montreal, as cited above, is the most important. The copy in my possession was made from the original in the MazarinLibrary. ]

Now to look for a moment at their plan. Their eulogists say, and withperfect truth, that, from a worldly point of view, it was mere folly. The partners mutually bound themselves to seek no return for the moneyexpended. Their profit was to be reaped in the skies: and, indeed, there was none to be reaped on earth. The feeble settlement at Quebecwas at this time in danger of utter ruin; for the Iroquois, enraged atthe attacks made on them by Champlain, had begun a fearful course ofretaliation, and the very existence of the colony trembled in thebalance. But if Quebec was exposed to their ferocious inroads, Montrealwas incomparably more so. A settlement here would be a perilousoutpost, --a hand thrust into the jaws of the tiger. It would provokeattack, and lie almost in the path of the war-parties. The associatescould gain nothing by the fur-trade; for they would not be allowed toshare in it. On the other hand, danger apart, the place was an excellentone for a mission; for here met two great rivers: the St. Lawrence, with its countless tributaries, flowed in from the west, while the Ottawadescended from the north; and Montreal, embraced by their uniting waters, was the key to a vast inland navigation. Thither the Indians wouldnaturally resort; and thence the missionaries could make their way intothe heart of a boundless heathendom. None of the ordinary motives ofcolonization had part in this design. It owed its conception and itsbirth to religious zeal alone. 

The island of Montreal belonged to Lauson, former president of the greatcompany of the Hundred Associates; and, as we have seen, his son had amonopoly of fishing in the St. Lawrence. Dauversiere and Fancamp, after much diplomacy, succeeded in persuading the elder Lauson totransfer his title to them; and, as there was a defect in it, they alsoobtained a grant of the island from the Hundred Associates, its originalowners, who, however, reserved to themselves its western extremity as asite for a fort and storehouses. [ 1 ] At the same time, the youngerLauson granted them a right of fishery within two leagues of the shoresof the island, for which they were to make a yearly acknowledgment of tenpounds of fish. A confirmation of these grants was obtained from theKing. Dauversiere and his companions were now _seigneurs_ of Montreal. They were empowered to appoint a governor, and to establish courts, from which there was to be an appeal to the Supreme Court of Quebec, supposing such to exist. They were excluded from the fur-trade, andforbidden to build castles or forts other than such as were necessary fordefence against the Indians. 

[ Donation et Transport de la Concession de l'Isle de Montreal parM. Jean de Lauzon aux Sieurs Chevrier de Fouancant (Fancamp) et le Royerde la Doversiere, MS. 

Concession d'une Partie de l'Isle de Montreal accordee par la Compagniede la Nouvelle France aux Sieurs Chevrier et le Royer, MS. 

Lettres de Ratification, MS. 

Acte qui prouve que les Sieurs Chevrier de Fancamps et Royer de laDauversiere n'ont stipule qu'au nom de la Compagnie de Montreal, MS. 

From copies of other documents before me, it appears that in 1659 thereserved portion of the island was also ceded to the Company of Montreal. 

See also Edits, Ordonnances Royaux, etc. , I. 20-26 (Quebec, 1854). ]

Their title assured, they matured their plan. First they would send outforty men to take possession of Montreal, intrench themselves, and raisecrops. Then they would build a house for the priests, and two conventsfor the nuns. Meanwhile, Olier was toiling at Vaugirard, on theoutskirts of Paris, to inaugurate the seminary of priests, andDauversiere at La Fleche, to form the community of hospital nuns. How the school nuns were provided for we shall see hereafter. The colony, it will be observed, was for the convents, not the convents for thecolony. 

The Associates needed a soldier-governor to take charge of their fortymen; and, directed as they supposed by Providence, they found one whollyto their mind. This was Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, a devoutand valiant gentleman, who in long service among the heretics of Hollandhad kept his faith intact, and had held himself resolutely aloof from thelicense that surrounded him. He loved his profession of arms, and wishedto consecrate his sword to the Church. Past all comparison, he is themanliest figure that appears in this group of zealots. The piety of thedesign, the miracles that inspired it, the adventure and the peril, all combined to charm him; and he eagerly embraced the enterprise. His father opposed his purpose; but he met him with a text of St. Mark, "There is no man that hath left house or brethren or sisters or fatherfor my sake, but he shall receive an hundred-fold. " On this the elderMaisonneuve, deceived by his own worldliness, imagined that the plancovered some hidden speculation, from which enormous profits wereexpected, and therefore withdrew his opposition. [ Faillon, La ColonieFrancaise, I. 409. ]

Their scheme was ripening fast, when both Olier and Dauversiere wereassailed by one of those revulsions of spirit, to which saints of theecstatic school are naturally liable. Dauversiere, in particular, was a prey to the extremity of dejection, uncertainty, and misgiving. What had he, a family man, to do with ventures beyond sea? Was it nothis first duty to support his wife and children? Could he not fulfil allhis obligations as a Christian by reclaiming the wicked and relieving thepoor at La Fleche? Plainly, he had doubts that his vocation was genuine. If we could raise the curtain of his domestic life, perhaps we shouldfind him beset by wife and daughters, tearful and wrathful, inveighingagainst his folly, and imploring him to provide a support for them beforesquandering his money to plant a convent of nuns in a wilderness. How long his fit of dejection lasted does not appear; but at length [ 1 ]he set himself again to his appointed work. Olier, too, emerging fromthe clouds and darkness, found faith once more, and again placed himselfat the head of the great enterprise. [ 2 ]

[ 1 Faillon, Vie de Mlle Mance, Introduction, xxxv. ]

[ 2 Faillon (Vie de M. Olier) devotes twenty-one pages to the history ofhis fit of nervous depression. ]

There was imperative need of more money; and Dauversiere, under judiciousguidance, was active in obtaining it. This miserable victim of illusionshad a squat, uncourtly figure, and was no proficient in the graces eitherof manners or of speech: hence his success in commending his objects topersons of rank and wealth is set down as one of the many miracles whichattended the birth of Montreal. But zeal and earnestness are inthemselves a power; and the ground had been well marked out and ploughedfor him in advance. That attractive, though intricate, subject of study, the female mind, has always engaged the attention of priests, moreespecially in countries where, as in France, women exert a strong socialand political influence. The art of kindling the flames of zeal, and themore difficult art of directing and controlling them, have been themes ofreflection the most diligent and profound. Accordingly we find that alarge proportion of the money raised for this enterprise was contributedby devout ladies. Many of them became members of the Association ofMontreal, which was eventually increased to about forty-five persons, chosen for their devotion and their wealth. 

Olier and his associates had resolved, though not from any collapse ofzeal, to postpone the establishment of the seminary and the college untilafter a settlement should be formed. The hospital, however, might, they thought, be begun at once; for blood and blows would be the assuredportion of the first settlers. At least, a discreet woman ought toembark with the first colonists as their nurse and housekeeper. Scarcelywas the need recognized when it was supplied. 

Mademoiselle Jeanne Mance was born of an honorable family of Nogent-le-Roi, and in 1640 was thirty-four years of age. These Canadian heroinesbegan their religious experiences early. Of Marie de l'Incarnation weread, that at the age of seven Christ appeared to her in a vision;[ Casgrain, Vie de Marie de l'Incarnation, 78. ] and the biographer ofMademoiselle Mance assures us, with admiring gravity, that, at the sametender age, she bound herself to God by a vow of perpetual chastity. [ Faillon, Vie de Mlle Mance, I. 3. ] This singular infant in due timebecame a woman, of a delicate constitution, and manners graceful, yetdignified. Though an earnest devotee, she felt no vocation for thecloister; yet, while still "in the world, " she led the life of a nun. The Jesuit Relations, and the example of Madame de la Peltrie, of whomshe had heard, inoculated her with the Canadian enthusiasm, then soprevalent; and, under the pretence of visiting relatives, she made ajourney to Paris, to take counsel of certain priests. Of one thing shewas assured: the Divine will called her to Canada, but to what end sheneither knew nor asked to know; for she abandoned herself as an atom tobe borne to unknown destinies on the breath of God. At Paris, FatherSt. Jure, a Jesuit, assured her that her vocation to Canada was, pastdoubt, a call from Heaven; while Father Rapin, a Recollet, spread abroadthe fame of her virtues, and introduced her to many ladies of rank, wealth, and zeal. Then, well supplied with money for any pious work towhich she might be summoned, she journeyed to Rochelle, whence ships wereto sail for New France. Thus far she had been kept in ignorance of theplan with regard to Montreal; but now Father La Place, a Jesuit, revealedit to her. On the day after her arrival at Rochelle, as she entered theChurch of the Jesuits, she met Dauversiere coming out. "Then, " says herbiographer, "these two persons, who had never seen nor heard of eachother, were enlightened supernaturally, whereby their most hiddenthoughts were mutually made known, as had happened already with M. Olierand this same M. De la Dauversiere. " [ Faillon, Vie de Mlle Mance, I. 18. Here again the Abbe Ferland, with his usual good sense, tacitly rejectsthe supernaturalism. ] A long conversation ensued between them; and thedelights of this interview were never effaced from the mind ofMademoiselle Mance. "She used to speak of it like a seraph, " writes oneof her nuns, "and far better than many a learned doctor could have done. "[ La Soeur Morin, Annales des Hospitalieres de Villemarie, MS. , cited byFaillon. ]

She had found her destiny. The ocean, the wilderness, the solitude, the Iroquois, --nothing daunted her. She would go to Montreal withMaisonneuve and his forty men. Yet, when the vessel was about to sail, a new and sharp misgiving seized her. How could she, a woman, not yetbereft of youth or charms, live alone in the forest, among a troop ofsoldiers? Her scruples were relieved by two of the men, who, at the lastmoment, refused to embark without their wives, --and by a young woman, who, impelled by enthusiasm, escaped from her friends, and took passage, in spite of them, in one of the vessels. 

All was ready; the ships set sail; but Olier, Dauversiere, and Fancampremained at home, as did also the other Associates, with the exception ofMaisonneuve and Mademoiselle Mance. In the following February, animpressive scene took place in the Church of Notre Dame, at Paris. The Associates, at this time numbering about forty-five, [ Dollier deCasson, A. D. 1641-42, MS. Vimont says thirty-five. ] with Olier at theirhead, assembled before the altar of the Virgin, and, by a solemnceremonial, consecrated Montreal to the Holy Family. Henceforth it wasto be called Villemarie de Montreal, [ Vimont Relation, 1642, 37. Compare Le Clerc, Etablissement de la Foy, II. 49. ]--a sacred town, reared to the honor and under the patronage of Christ, St. Joseph, and the Virgin, to be typified by three persons on earth, foundersrespectively of the three destined communities, --Olier, Dauversiere, and a maiden of Troyes, Marguerite Bourgeoys: the seminary to beconsecrated to Christ, the Hotel-Dieu to St. Joseph, and the college tothe Virgin. 

But we are anticipating a little; for it was several years as yet beforeMarguerite Bourgeoys took an active part in the work of Montreal. She was the daughter of a respectable tradesman, and was now twenty-twoyears of age. Her portrait has come down to us; and her face is a mirrorof frankness, loyalty, and womanly tenderness. Her qualities were thoseof good sense, conscientiousness, and a warm heart. She had known nomiracles, ecstasies, or trances; and though afterwards, when herreligious susceptibilities had reached a fuller development, a few suchare recorded of her, yet even the Abbe Faillon, with the best intentions, can credit her with but a meagre allowance of these celestial favors. Though in the midst of visionaries, she distrusted the supernatural, and avowed her belief, that, in His government of the world, God does notoften set aside its ordinary laws. Her religion was of the affections, and was manifested in an absorbing devotion to duty. She had felt novocation to the cloister, but had taken the vow of chastity, and wasattached, as an externe, to the Sisters of the Congregation of Troyes, who were fevered with eagerness to go to Canada. Marguerite, however, was content to wait until there was a prospect that she could do good bygoing; and it was not till the year 1653, that renouncing an inheritance, and giving all she had to the poor, she embarked for the savage scene ofher labors. To this day, in crowded school-rooms of Montreal and Quebec, fit monuments of her unobtrusive virtue, her successors instruct thechildren of the poor, and embalm the pleasant memory of MargueriteBourgeoys. In the martial figure of Maisonneuve, and the fair form ofthis gentle nun, we find the true heroes of Montreal. [ For MargueriteBourgeoys, see her life by Faillon. ]

Maisonneuve, with his forty men and four women, reached Quebec too lateto ascend to Montreal that season. They encountered distrust, jealousy, and opposition. The agents of the Company of the Hundred Associateslooked on them askance; and the Governor of Quebec, Montmagny, saw arival governor in Maisonneuve. Every means was used to persuade theadventurers to abandon their project, and settle at Quebec. Montmagnycalled a council of the principal persons of his colony, who gave it astheir opinion that the new-comers had better exchange Montreal for theIsland of Orleans, where they would be in a position to give and receivesuccor; while, by persisting in their first design, they would exposethemselves to destruction, and be of use to nobody. [ Juchereau, 32;Faillon, Colonie Francaise, I. 423. ] Maisonneuve, who was present, expressed his surprise that they should assume to direct his affairs. "I have not come here, " he said, "to deliberate, but to act. It is myduty and my honor to found a colony at Montreal; and I would go, if everytree were an Iroquois!" [ La Tour, Memoire de Laval, Liv. VIII; Belmont, Histoire du Canada, 3. ]

At Quebec there was little ability and no inclination to shelter the newcolonists for the winter; and they would have fared ill, but for thegenerosity of M. Puiseaux, who lived not far distant, at a place calledSt. Michel. This devout and most hospitable person made room for themall in his rough, but capacious dwelling. Their neighbors were thehospital nuns, then living at the mission of Sillery, in a substantial, but comfortless house of stone; where, amidst destitution, sickness, and irrepressible disgust at the filth of the savages whom they had incharge, they were laboring day and night with devoted assiduity. Amongthe minor ills which beset them were the eccentricities of one of theirlay sisters, crazed with religious enthusiasm, who had the care of theirpoultry and domestic animals, of which she was accustomed to inquire, one by one, if they loved God; when, not receiving an immediate answer inthe affirmative, she would instantly put them to death, telling them thattheir impiety deserved no better fate. [ Juchereau, 45. A greatmortification to these excellent nuns was the impossibility of keepingtheir white dresses clean among their Indian patients, so that they wereforced to dye them with butternut juice. They were the _Hospitalieres_who had come over in 1639. ]

At St. Michel, Maisonneuve employed his men in building boats to ascendto Montreal, and in various other labors for the behoof of the futurecolony. Thus the winter wore away; but, as celestial minds are notexempt from ire, Montmagny and Maisonneuve fell into a quarrel. Thetwenty-fifth of January was Maisonneuve's _fete_ day; and, as he wasgreatly beloved by his followers, they resolved to celebrate theoccasion. Accordingly, an hour and a half before daylight, they made ageneral discharge of their muskets and cannon. The sound reached Quebec, two or three miles distant, startling the Governor from his morningslumbers; and his indignation was redoubled when he heard it again atnight: for Maisonneuve, pleased at the attachment of his men, had feastedthem and warmed their hearts with a distribution of wine. Montmagny, jealous of his authority, resented these demonstrations as an infractionof it, affirming that they had no right to fire their pieces without hisconsent; and, arresting the principal offender, one Jean Gory, he put himin irons. On being released, a few days after, his companions welcomedhim with great rejoicing, and Maisonneuve gave them all a feast. Hehimself came in during the festivity, drank the health of the company, shook hands with the late prisoner, placed him at the head of the table, and addressed him as follows:--

"Jean Gory, you have been put in irons for me: you had the pain, and Ithe affront. For that, I add ten crowns to your wages. " Then, turningto the others: "My boys, " he said, "though Jean Gory has been misused, you must not lose heart for that, but drink, all of you, to the health ofthe man in irons. When we are once at Montreal, we shall be our ownmasters, and can fire our cannon when we please. " [ Documents Divers, MSS. , now or lately in possession of G. B. Faribault, Esq. ; Ferland, Notes sur les Registres de N. D. De Quebec, 25; Faillon, La ColonieFrancaise, I. 433. ]

Montmagny was wroth when this was reported to him; and, on the groundthat what had passed was "contrary to the service of the King and theauthority of the Governor, " he summoned Gory and six others before him, and put them separately under oath. Their evidence failed to establish acase against their commander; but thenceforth there was great coldnessbetween the powers of Quebec and Montreal. 

Early in May, Maisonneuve and his followers embarked. They had gained anunexpected recruit during the winter, in the person of Madame de laPeltrie. The piety, the novelty, and the romance of their enterprise, all had their charms for the fair enthusiast; and an irresistibleimpulse--imputed by a slandering historian to the levity of her sex[ La Tour, Memoire de Laval, Liv. VIII. ]--urged her to share theirfortunes. Her zeal was more admired by the Montrealists whom she joinedthan by the Ursulines whom she abandoned. She carried off all thefurniture she had lent them, and left them in the utmost destitution. [ Charlevoix, Vie de Marie de l'Incarnation, 279; Casgrain, Vie de Mariede l'Incarnation, 333. ] Nor did she remain quiet after reaching Montreal, but was presently seized with a longing to visit the Hurons, and preachthe Faith in person to those benighted heathen. It needed all theeloquence of a Jesuit, lately returned from that most arduous mission, to convince her that the attempt would be as useless as rash. [ St. Thomas, Life of Madame de la Peltrie, 98. ]

It was the eighth of May when Maisonneuve and his followers embarked atSt. Michel; and as the boats, deep-laden with men, arms, and stores, moved slowly on their way, the forest, with leaves just opening in thewarmth of spring, lay on their right hand and on their left, in aflattering semblance of tranquillity and peace. But behind woody islets, in tangled thickets and damp ravines, and in the shade and stillness ofthe columned woods, lurked everywhere a danger and a terror. 

What shall we say of these adventurers of Montreal, --of these whobestowed their wealth, and, far more, of these who sacrificed their peaceand risked their lives, on an enterprise at once so romantic and sodevout? Surrounded as they were with illusions, false lights, and falseshadows, --breathing an atmosphere of miracle, --compassed about withangels and devils, --urged with stimulants most powerful, thoughunreal, --their minds drugged, as it were, to preternatural excitement, --it is very difficult to judge of them. High merit, without doubt, there was in some of their number; but one may beg to be spared theattempt to measure or define it. To estimate a virtue involved inconditions so anomalous demands, perhaps, a judgment more than human. 

The Roman Church, sunk in disease and corruption when the Reformationbegan, was roused by that fierce trumpet-blast to purge and brace herselfanew. Unable to advance, she drew back to the fresher and comparativelypurer life of the past; and the fervors of mediaeval Christianity wererenewed in the sixteenth century. In many of its aspects, thisenterprise of Montreal belonged to the time of the first Crusades. The spirit of Godfrey de Bouillon lived again in Chomedey de Maisonneuve;and in Marguerite Bourgeoys was realized that fair ideal of Christianwomanhood, a flower of Earth expanding in the rays of Heaven, whichsoothed with gentle influence the wildness of a barbarous age. 

On the seventeenth of May, 1642, Maisonneuve's little flotilla--a pinnace, a flat-bottomed craft moved by sails, and two row-boats [ Dollier deCasson, A. D. 1641-42, MS. ]--approached Montreal; and all on board raisedin unison a hymn of praise. Montmagny was with them, to deliver theisland, in behalf of the Company of the Hundred Associates, toMaisonneuve, representative of the Associates of Montreal. [ Le Clerc, II. 50, 51. ] And here, too, was Father Vimont, Superior of themissions; for the Jesuits had been prudently invited to accept thespiritual charge of the young colony. On the following day, they glidedalong the green and solitary shores now thronged with the life of a busycity, and landed on the spot which Champlain, thirty-one years before, had chosen as the fit site of a settlement. [ "Pioneers of France, " 333. It was the Place Royale of Champlain. ] It was a tongue or triangle ofland, formed by the junction of a rivulet with the St. Lawrence, andknown afterwards as Point Calliere. The rivulet was bordered by a meadow, and beyond rose the forest with its vanguard of scattered trees. Earlyspring flowers were blooming in the young grass, and birds of variedplumage flitted among the boughs. [ Dollier de Casson, A. D. 1641-42, MS. ]

Maisonneuve sprang ashore, and fell on his knees. His followers imitatedhis example; and all joined their voices in enthusiastic songs ofthanksgiving. Tents, baggage, arms, and stores were landed. An altarwas raised on a pleasant spot near at hand; and Mademoiselle Mance, with Madame de la Peltrie, aided by her servant, Charlotte Barre, decorated it with a taste which was the admiration of the beholders. [ Morin, Annales, MS. , cited by Faillon, La Colonie Francaise, I. 440;also Dollier de Casson, A. D. 1641-42, MS. ] Now all the company gatheredbefore the shrine. Here stood Vimont, in the rich vestments of hisoffice. Here were the two ladies, with their servant; Montmagny, no verywilling spectator; and Maisonneuve, a warlike figure, erect and tall, his men clustering around him, --soldiers, sailors, artisans, andlaborers, --all alike soldiers at need. They kneeled in reverent silenceas the Host was raised aloft; and when the rite was over, the priestturned and addressed them:--

"You are a grain of mustard-seed, that shall rise and grow till itsbranches overshadow the earth. You are few, but your work is the work ofGod. His smile is on you, and your children shall fill the Land. "[ Dollier de Casson, MS. , as above. Vimont, in the Relation of 1642, p. 87, briefly mentions the ceremony. ]

The afternoon waned; the sun sank behind the western forest, and twilightcame on. Fireflies were twinkling over the darkened meadow. They caughtthem, tied them with threads into shining festoons, and hung them beforethe altar, where the Host remained exposed. Then they pitched theirtents, lighted their bivouac fires, stationed their guards, and lay downto rest. Such was the birth-night of Montreal. 

[ The Associates of Montreal published, in 1643, a thick pamphlet inquarto, entitled Les Veritables Motifs de Messieurs et Dames de laSociete de Notre-Dame de Montreal, pour la Conversion des Sauvages de laNouvelle France. It was written as an answer to aspersions cast uponthem, apparently by persons attached to the great Company of New Franceknown as the "Hundred Associates, " and affords a curious exposition ofthe spirit of their enterprise. It is excessively rare; but copies ofthe essential portions are before me. The following is a characteristicextract:--

"Vous dites que l'entreprise de Montreal est d'une depense infinie, plus convenable a un roi qu'a quelques particuliers, trop faibles pour lasoutenir; & vous alleguez encore les perils de la navigation & lesnaufrages qui peuvent la ruiner. Vous avez mieux rencontre que vous nepensiez, en disant que c'est une oeuvre de roi, puisque le Roi des roiss'en mele, lui a qui obeissent la mer & les vents. Nous ne craignonsdonc pas les naufrages; il n'en suscitera que lorsque nous en auronsbesoin, & qu'il sera plus expedient pour sa gloire, que nous cherchonsuniquement. Comment avez-vous pu mettre dans votre esprit qu'appuyes denos propres forces, nous eussions presume de penser a un si glorieuxdessein? Si Dieu n'est point dans l'affaire de Montreal, si c'est uneinvention humaine, ne vous en mettez point en peine, elle ne dureraguere. Ce que vous predisez arrivera, & quelque chose de pire encore;mais si Dieu l'a ainsi voulu, qui etes-vous pour lui contredire? C'etaitla reflexion que le docteur Gamaliel faisait aux Juifs, en faveur desApotres; pour vous, qui ne pouvez ni croire, ni faire, laissez les autresen liberte de faire ce qu'ils croient que Dieu demande d'eux. Vousassurez qu'il ne se fait plus de miracles; mais qui vous l'a dit? ou celaest-il ecrit? Jesus-Christ assure, au contraire, que ceux qui aurontautant de Foi qu'un grain de seneve, feront, en son nom, des miraclesplus grands que ceux qu'il a faits lui-meme. Depuis quand etes-vous lesdirecteurs des operations divines, pour les reduire a certains temps &dans la conduite ordinaire? Tant de saints mouvements, d'inspirations &de vues interieures, qu'il lui plait de donner a quelques ames dont il sesert pour l'avancement de cette oeuvre, sont des marques de son bonplaisir. Jusqu'-ici, il a pourvu au necessaire; nous ne voulons pointd'abondance, & nous esperons que sa Providence continuera. " ]

Is this true history, or a romance of Christian chivalry? It is both. 

CHAPTER XVI. 

1641-1644. 

ISAAC JOGUES. 

 THE IROQUOIS WAR. --JOGUES. --HIS CAPTURE. --HIS JOURNEY TO THE MOHAWKS. -- LAKE GEORGE. --THE MOHAWK TOWNS. --THE MISSIONARY TORTURED. -- DEATH OF GOUPIL. --MISERY OF JOGUES. --THE MOHAWK "BABYLON. "-- FORT ORANGE. --ESCAPE OF JOGUES. --MANHATTAN. --THE VOYAGE TO FRANCE. -- JOGUES AMONG HIS BRETHREN. --HE RETURNS TO CANADA. 

The waters of the St. Lawrence rolled through a virgin wilderness, where, in the vastness of the lonely woodlands, civilized man found a precariousharborage at three points only, --at Quebec, at Montreal, and at ThreeRivers. Here and in the scattered missions was the whole of NewFrance, --a population of some three hundred souls in all. And now, over these miserable settlements, rose a war-cloud of frightful portent. 

It was thirty-two years since Champlain had first attacked the Iroquois. [ See "Pioneers of France, " 318. ] They had nursed their wrath for morethan a generation, and at length their hour was come. The Dutch tradersat Fort Orange, now Albany, had supplied them with fire-arms. TheMohawks, the most easterly of the Iroquois nations, had, among theirseven or eight hundred warriors, no less than three hundred armed withthe arquebuse, a weapon somewhat like the modern carbine. [ 1 ] Theywere masters of the thunderbolts which, in the hands of Champlain, had struck terror into their hearts. 

[ 1 Vimont, Relation, 1643, 62. The Mohawks were the Agnies, orAgneronons, of the old French writers. 

According to the Journal of New Netherland, a contemporary Dutch document, (see Colonial Documents of New York, I. 179, ) the Dutch at Fort Orangehad supplied the Mohawks with four hundred guns; the profits of the trade, which was free to the settlers, blinding them to the danger. ]

We have surveyed in the introductory chapter the character andorganization of this ferocious people; their confederacy of five nations, bound together by a peculiar tie of clanship; their chiefs, halfhereditary, half elective; their government, an oligarchy in form and ademocracy in spirit; their minds, thoroughly savage, yet marked here andthere with traits of a vigorous development. The war which they had longwaged with the Hurons was carried on by the Senecas and the other Westernnations of their league; while the conduct of hostilities against theFrench and their Indian allies in Lower Canada was left to the Mohawks. In parties of from ten to a hundred or more, they would leave their townson the River Mohawk, descend Lake Champlain and the River Richelieu, lie in ambush on the banks of the St. Lawrence, and attack the passingboats or canoes. Sometimes they hovered about the fortifications ofQuebec and Three Rivers, killing stragglers, or luring armed parties intoambuscades. They followed like hounds on the trail of travellers andhunters; broke in upon unguarded camps at midnight; and lay in wait, for days and weeks, to intercept the Huron traders on their yearlydescent to Quebec. Had they joined to their ferocious courage thediscipline and the military knowledge that belong to civilization, they could easily have blotted out New France from the map, and made thebanks of the St. Lawrence once more a solitude; but, though the mostformidable of savages, they were savages only. 

In the early morning of the second of August, 1642, [ For the date, see Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1647, 18. ] twelve Huron canoes weremoving slowly along the northern shore of the expansion of theSt. Lawrence known as the Lake of St. Peter. There were on board aboutforty persons, including four Frenchmen, one of them being the Jesuit, Isaac Jogues, whom we have already followed on his missionary journey tothe towns of the Tobacco Nation. In the interval he had not been idle. During the last autumn, (1641, ) he, with Father Charles Raymbault, had passed along the shore of Lake Huron northward, entered the straitthrough which Lake Superior discharges itself, pushed on as far as theSault Sainte Marie, and preached the Faith to two thousand Ojibwas, and other Algonquins there assembled. [ Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1642, 97. ] He was now on his return from a far more perilous errand. The Huron mission was in a state of destitution. There was need ofclothing for the priests, of vessels for the altars, of bread and winefor the eucharist, of writing materials, --in short, of everything; and, early in the summer of the present year, Jogues had descended to ThreeRivers and Quebec with the Huron traders, to procure the necessarysupplies. He had accomplished his task, and was on his way back to themission. With him were a few Huron converts, and among them a notedChristian chief, Eustache Ahatsistari. Others of the party were incourse of instruction for baptism; but the greater part were heathen, whose canoes were deeply laden with the proceeds of their bargains withthe French fur-traders. 

Jogues sat in one of the leading canoes. He was born at Orleans in 1607, and was thirty-five years of age. His oval face and the delicate mouldof his features indicated a modest, thoughtful, and refined nature. He was constitutionally timid, with a sensitive conscience and greatreligious susceptibilities. He was a finished scholar, and might havegained a literary reputation; but he had chosen another career, and onefor which he seemed but ill fitted. Physically, however, he was wellmatched with his work; for, though his frame was slight, he was so active, that none of the Indians could surpass him in running. 

[ Buteux, Narre de la Prise du Pere Jogues, MS. ; Memoire touchant le PereJogues, MS. 

There is a portrait of him prefixed to Mr. Shea's admirable edition inquarto of Jogues's Novum Belgium. ]

With him were two young men, Rene Goupil and Guillaume Couture, _donnes_of the mission, --that is to say, laymen who, from a religious motive andwithout pay, had attached themselves to the service of the Jesuits. Goupil had formerly entered upon the Jesuit novitiate at Paris, butfailing health had obliged him to leave it. As soon as he was able, he came to Canada, offered his services to the Superior of the mission, was employed for a time in the humblest offices, and afterwards became anattendant at the hospital. At length, to his delight, he receivedpermission to go up to the Hurons, where the surgical skill which he hadacquired was greatly needed; and he was now on his way thither. [ Jogues, Notice sur Rene Goupil. ] His companion, Couture, was a man ofintelligence and vigor, and of a character equally disinterested. [ For an account of him, see Ferland, Notes sur les Registres de N. D. DeQuebec, 83 (1863). ] Both were, like Jogues, in the foremost canoes;while the fourth Frenchman was with the unconverted Hurons, in the rear. 

The twelve canoes had reached the western end of the Lake of St. Peter, where it is filled with innumerable islands. [ Buteux, Narre de le Prisedu Pere Jogues, MS. This document leaves no doubt as to the locality. ]The forest was close on their right, they kept near the shore to avoidthe current, and the shallow water before them was covered with a densegrowth of tall bulrushes. Suddenly the silence was frightfully broken. The war-whoop rose from among the rushes, mingled with the reports ofguns and the whistling of bullets; and several Iroquois canoes, filledwith warriors, pushed out from their concealment, and bore down uponJogues and his companions. The Hurons in the rear were seized with ashameful panic. They leaped ashore; left canoes, baggage, and weapons;and fled into the woods. The French and the Christian Hurons made fightfor a time; but when they saw another fleet of canoes approaching fromthe opposite shores or islands, they lost heart, and those escaped whocould. Goupil was seized amid triumphant yells, as were also several ofthe Huron converts. Jogues sprang into the bulrushes, and might haveescaped; but when he saw Goupil and the neophytes in the clutches of theIroquois, he had no heart to abandon them, but came out from hishiding-place, and gave himself up to the astonished victors. A few ofthem had remained to guard the prisoners; the rest were chasing thefugitives. Jogues mastered his agony, and began to baptize those of thecaptive converts who needed baptism. 

Couture had eluded pursuit; but when he thought of Jogues and of whatperhaps awaited him, he resolved to share his fate, and, turning, retraced his steps. As he approached, five Iroquois ran forward to meethim; and one of them snapped his gun at his breast, but it missed fire. In his confusion and excitement, Couture fired his own piece, and laidthe savage dead. The remaining four sprang upon him, stripped off allhis clothing, tore away his finger-nails with their teeth, gnawed hisfingers with the fury of famished dogs, and thrust a sword through one ofhis hands. Jogues broke from his guards, and, rushing to his friend, threw his arms about his neck. The Iroquois dragged him away, beat himwith their fists and war-clubs till he was senseless, and, when herevived, lacerated his fingers with their teeth, as they had done thoseof Couture. Then they turned upon Goupil, and treated him with the sameferocity. The Huron prisoners were left for the present unharmed. More of them were brought in every moment, till at length the number ofcaptives amounted in all to twenty-two, while three Hurons had beenkilled in the fight and pursuit. The Iroquois, about seventy in number, now embarked with their prey; but not until they had knocked on the headan old Huron, whom Jogues, with his mangled hands, had just baptized, and who refused to leave the place. Then, under a burning sun, theycrossed to the spot on which the town of Sorel now stands at the mouth ofthe river Richelieu, where they encamped. 

[ The above, with much of what follows, rests on three documents. The first is a long letter, written in Latin, by Jogues, to the FatherProvincial at Paris. It is dated at Rensselaerswyck (Albany), Aug. 5, 1643, and is preserved in the Societas Jesu Militans of Tanner, and inthe Mortes Illustres et Gesta eorum de Societate Jesu, etc. , of Alegambe. There is a French translation in Martin's Bressani, and an Englishtranslation, by Mr. Shea, in the New York Hist. Coll. Of 1857. Thesecond document is an old manuscript, entitled Narre de la Prise du PereJogues. It was written by the Jesuit Buteux, from the lips of Jogues. Father Martin, S. J. , in whose custody it was, kindly permitted me to havea copy made from it. Besides these, there is a long account in theRelation des Hurons of 1647, and a briefer one in that of 1644. Allthese narratives show the strongest internal evidence of truth, and areperfectly concurrent. They are also supported by statements of escapedHuron prisoners, and by several letters and memoirs of the Dutch atRensselaerswyck. ]

Their course was southward, up the River Richelieu and Lake Champlain;thence, by way of Lake George, to the Mohawk towns. The pain and feverof their wounds, and the clouds of mosquitoes, which they could not driveoff, left the prisoners no peace by day nor sleep by night. On theeighth day, they learned that a large Iroquois war-party, on their way toCanada, were near at hand; and they soon approached their camp, on asmall island near the southern end of Lake Champlain. The warriors, two hundred in number, saluted their victorious countrymen with volleysfrom their guns; then, armed with clubs and thorny sticks, rangedthemselves in two lines, between which the captives were compelled topass up the side of a rocky hill. On the way, they were beaten with suchfury, that Jogues, who was last in the line, fell powerless, drenched inblood and half dead. As the chief man among the French captives, hefared the worst. His hands were again mangled, and fire applied to hisbody; while the Huron chief, Eustache, was subjected to tortures evenmore atrocious. When, at night, the exhausted sufferers tried to rest, the young warriors came to lacerate their wounds and pull out their hairand beards. 

In the morning they resumed their journey. And now the lake narrowed tothe semblance of a tranquil river. Before them was a woody mountain, close on their right a rocky promontory, and between these flowed astream, the outlet of Lake George. On those rocks, more than a hundredyears after, rose the ramparts of Ticonderoga. They landed, shoulderedtheir canoes and baggage, took their way through the woods, passed thespot where the fierce Highlanders and the dauntless regiments of Englandbreasted in vain the storm of lead and fire, and soon reached the shorewhere Abercrombie landed and Lord Howe fell. First of white men, Joguesand his companions gazed on the romantic lake that bears the name, not of its gentle discoverer, but of the dull Hanoverian king. Like afair Naiad of the wilderness, it slumbered between the guardian mountainsthat breathe from crag and forest the stern poetry of war. But all thenwas solitude; and the clang of trumpets, the roar of cannon, and thedeadly crack of the rifle had never as yet awakened their angry echoes. 

[ Lake George, according to Jogues, was called by the Mohawks"Andiatarocte, " or Place where the Lake closes. "Andiataraque" is foundon a map of Sanson. Spofford, Gazetteer of New York, article "LakeGeorge, " says that it was called "Canideri-oit, " or Tail of the Lake. Father Martin, in his notes on Bressani, prefixes to this name that of"Horicon, " but gives no original authority. 

I have seen an old Latin map on which the name "Horiconi" is set down asbelonging to a neighboring tribe. This seems to be only a misprint for"Horicoui, " that is, "Irocoui, " or "Iroquois. " In an old English map, prefixed to the rare tract, A Treatise of New England, the "Lake ofHierocoyes" is laid down. The name "Horicon, " as used by Cooper in hisLast of the Mohicans, seems to have no sufficient historical foundation. In 1646, the lake, as we shall see, was named "Lac St. Sacrement. " ]

Again the canoes were launched, and the wild flotilla glided on itsway, --now in the shadow of the heights, now on the broad expanse, nowamong the devious channels of the narrows, beset with woody islets, where the hot air was redolent of the pine, the spruce, and thecedar, --till they neared that tragic shore, where, in the followingcentury, New-England rustics baffled the soldiers of Dieskau, whereMontcalm planted his batteries, where the red cross waved so long amidthe smoke, and where at length the summer night was hideous with carnage, and an honored name was stained with a memory of blood. 

[ The allusion is, of course, to the siege of Fort William Henry in 1757, and the ensuing massacre by Montcalm's Indians. Charlevoix, with hisusual carelessness, says that Jogues's captors took a circuitous route toavoid enemies. In truth, however, they were not in the slightest dangerof meeting any; and they followed the route which, before the presentcentury, was the great highway between Canada and New Holland, or NewYork. ]

The Iroquois landed at or near the future site of Fort William Henry, left their canoes, and, with their prisoners, began their march for thenearest Mohawk town. Each bore his share of the plunder. Even Jogues, though his lacerated hands were in a frightful condition and his bodycovered with bruises, was forced to stagger on with the rest under aheavy load. He with his fellow-prisoners, and indeed the whole party, were half starved, subsisting chiefly on wild berries. They crossed theupper Hudson, and, in thirteen days after leaving the St. Lawrence, neared the wretched goal of their pilgrimage, a palisaded town, standingon a hill by the banks of the River Mohawk. 

The whoops of the victors announced their approach, and the savage hivesent forth its swarms. They thronged the side of the hill, the old andthe young, each with a stick, or a slender iron rod, bought from theDutchmen on the Hudson. They ranged themselves in a double line, reaching upward to the entrance of the town; and through this "narrowroad of Paradise, " as Jogues calls it, the captives were led in singlefile, Couture in front, after him a half-score of Hurons, then Goupil, then the remaining Hurons, and at last Jogues. As they passed, they weresaluted with yells, screeches, and a tempest of blows. One, heavier thanthe others, knocked Jogues's breath from his body, and stretched him onthe ground; but it was death to lie there, and, regaining his feet, he staggered on with the rest. [ This practice of forcing prisoners to"run the gauntlet" was by no means peculiar to the Iroquois, but wascommon to many tribes. ] When they reached the town, the blows ceased, and they were all placed on a scaffold, or high platform, in the middleof the place. The three Frenchmen had fared the worst, and werefrightfully disfigured. Goupil, especially, was streaming with blood, and livid with bruises from head to foot. 

They were allowed a few minutes to recover their breath, undisturbed, except by the hootings and gibes of the mob below. Then a chief calledout, "Come, let us caress these Frenchmen!"--and the crowd, knife in hand, began to mount the scaffold. They ordered a Christian Algonquin woman, a prisoner among them, to cut off Jogues's left thumb, which she did; anda thumb of Goupil was also severed, a clam-shell being used as theinstrument, in order to increase the pain. It is needless to specifyfurther the tortures to which they were subjected, all designed to causethe greatest possible suffering without endangering life. At night, they were removed from the scaffold, and placed in one of the houses, each stretched on his back, with his limbs extended, and his ankles andwrists bound fast to stakes driven into the earthen floor. The childrennow profited by the examples of their parents, and amused themselves byplacing live coals and red-hot ashes on the naked bodies of the prisoners, who, bound fast, and covered with wounds and bruises which made everymovement a torture, were sometimes unable to shake them off. 

In the morning, they were again placed on the scaffold, where, duringthis and the two following days, they remained exposed to the taunts ofthe crowd. Then they were led in triumph to the second Mohawk town, and afterwards to the third, [ 1 ] suffering at each a repetition ofcruelties, the detail of which would be as monotonous as revolting. 

[ 1 The Mohawks had but three towns. The first, and the lowest on theriver, was Osseruenon; the second, two miles above, was Andagaron; andthe third, Teonontogen: or, as Megapolensis, in his Sketch of the Mohawks, writes the names, Asserue, Banagiro, and Thenondiogo. They all seem tohave been fortified in the Iroquois manner, and their united populationwas thirty-five hundred, or somewhat more. At a later period, 1720, there were still three towns, named respectively Teahtontaioga, Ganowauga, and Ganeganaga. See the map in Morgan, League of the Iroquois. ]

In a house in the town of Teonontogen, Jogues was hung by the wristsbetween two of the upright poles which supported the structure, in such amanner that his feet could not touch the ground; and thus he remained forsome fifteen minutes, in extreme torture, until, as he was on the pointof swooning, an Indian, with an impulse of pity, cut the cords andreleased him. While they were in this town, four fresh Huron prisoners, just taken, were brought in, and placed on the scaffold with the rest. Jogues, in the midst of his pain and exhaustion, took the opportunity toconvert them. An ear of green corn was thrown to him for food, and hediscovered a few rain-drops clinging to the husks. With these hebaptized two of the Hurons. The remaining two received baptism soonafter from a brook which the prisoners crossed on the way to another town. 

Couture, though he had incensed the Indians by killing one of theirwarriors, had gained their admiration by his bravery; and, aftertorturing him most savagely, they adopted him into one of their families, in place of a dead relative. Thenceforth he was comparatively safe. Jogues and Goupil were less fortunate. Three of the Hurons had beenburned to death, and they expected to share their fate. A council washeld to pronounce their doom; but dissensions arose, and no result wasreached. They were led back to the first village, where they remained, racked with suspense and half dead with exhaustion. Jogues, however, lost no opportunity to baptize dying infants, while Goupil taughtchildren to make the sign of the cross. On one occasion, he made thesign on the forehead of a child, grandson of an Indian in whose lodgethey lived. The superstition of the old savage was aroused. SomeDutchmen had told him that the sign of the cross came from the Devil, and would cause mischief. He thought that Goupil was bewitching thechild; and, resolving to rid himself of so dangerous a guest, applied foraid to two young braves. Jogues and Goupil, clad in their squalid garbof tattered skins, were soon after walking together in the forest thatadjoined the town, consoling themselves with prayer, and mutuallyexhorting each other to suffer patiently for the sake of Christ and theVirgin, when, as they were returning, reciting their rosaries, they metthe two young Indians, and read in their sullen visages an augury of ill. The Indians joined them, and accompanied them to the entrance of the town, where one of the two, suddenly drawing a hatchet from beneath his blanket, struck it into the head of Goupil, who fell, murmuring the name ofChrist. Jogues dropped on his knees, and, bowing his head in prayer, awaited the blow, when the murderer ordered him to get up and go home. He obeyed but not until he had given absolution to his still breathingfriend, and presently saw the lifeless body dragged through the town amidhootings and rejoicings. 

Jogues passed a night of anguish and desolation, and in the morning, reckless of life, set forth in search of Goupil's remains. "Where areyou going so fast?" demanded the old Indian, his master. "Do you not seethose fierce young braves, who are watching to kill you?" Joguespersisted, and the old man asked another Indian to go with him as aprotector. The corpse had been flung into a neighboring ravine, at thebottom of which ran a torrent; and here, with the Indian's help, Joguesfound it, stripped naked, and gnawed by dogs. He dragged it into thewater, and covered it with stones to save it from further mutilation, resolving to return alone on the following day and secretly bury it. But with the night there came a storm; and when, in the gray of themorning, Jogues descended to the brink of the stream, he found it arolling, turbid flood, and the body was nowhere to be seen. Had theIndians or the torrent borne it away? Jogues waded into the coldcurrent; it was the first of October; he sounded it with his feet andwith his stick; he searched the rocks, the thicket, the forest; but allin vain. Then, crouched by the pitiless stream, he mingled his tearswith its waters, and, in a voice broken with groans, chanted the serviceof the dead. [ Jogues in Tanner, Societas Militans, 519; Bressani, 216; Lalemant, Relation, 1647, 25, 26; Buteux, Narre, MS. ; Jogues, Notice sur Rene Goupil. ]

The Indians, it proved, and not the flood, had robbed him of the remainsof his friend. Early in the spring, when the snows were melting in thewoods, he was told by Mohawk children that the body was lying, where ithad been flung, in a lonely spot lower down the stream. He went to seekit; found the scattered bones, stripped by the foxes and the birds; and, tenderly gathering them up, hid them in a hollow tree, hoping that a daymight come when he could give them a Christian burial in consecratedground. 

After the murder of Goupil, Jogues's life hung by a hair. He lived inhourly expectation of the tomahawk, and would have welcomed it as a boon. By signs and words, he was warned that his hour was near; but, as henever shunned his fate, it fled from him, and each day, with renewedastonishment, he found himself still among the living. 

Late in the autumn, a party of the Indians set forth on their yearlydeer-hunt, and Jogues was ordered to go with them. Shivering and halffamished, he followed them through the chill November forest, and sharedtheir wild bivouac in the depths of the wintry desolation. The game theytook was devoted to Areskoui, their god, and eaten in his honor. Jogueswould not taste the meat offered to a demon; and thus he starved in themidst of plenty. At night, when the kettle was slung, and the savagecrew made merry around their fire, he crouched in a corner of the hut, gnawed by hunger, and pierced to the bone with cold. They thought hispresence unpropitious to their hunting, and the women especially hatedhim. His demeanor at once astonished and incensed his masters. Hebrought them fire-wood, like a squaw; he did their bidding without amurmur, and patiently bore their abuse; but when they mocked at his God, and laughed at his devotions, their slave assumed an air and tone ofauthority, and sternly rebuked them. [ Lalemant, Relation, 1647, 41. ]

He would sometimes escape from "this Babylon, " as he calls the hut, and wander in the forest, telling his beads and repeating passages ofScripture. In a remote and lonely spot, he cut the bark in the form of across from the trunk of a great tree; and here he made his prayers. This living martyr, half clad in shaggy furs, kneeling on the snow amongthe icicled rocks and beneath the gloomy pines, bowing in adorationbefore the emblem of the faith in which was his only consolation and hisonly hope, is alike a theme for the pen and a subject for the pencil. 

The Indians at last grew tired of him, and sent him back to the village. Here he remained till the middle of March, baptizing infants and tryingto convert adults. He told them of the sun, moon, planets, and stars. They listened with interest; but when from astronomy he passed totheology, he spent his breath in vain. In March, the old man with whomhe lived set forth for his spring fishing, taking with him his squaw, and several children. Jogues also was of the party. They repaired to alake, perhaps Lake Saratoga, four days distant. Here they subsisted forsome time on frogs, the entrails of fish, and other garbage. Joguespassed his days in the forest, repeating his prayers, and carving thename of Jesus on trees, as a terror to the demons of the wilderness. A messenger at length arrived from the town; and on the following day, under the pretence that signs of an enemy had been seen, the party brokeup their camp, and returned home in hot haste. The messenger had broughttidings that a war-party, which had gone out against the French, had beendefeated and destroyed, and that the whole population were clamoring toappease their grief by torturing Jogues to death. This was the truecause of the sudden and mysterious return; but when they reached the town, other tidings had arrived. The missing warriors were safe, and on theirway home in triumph with a large number of prisoners. Again Jogues'slife was spared; but he was forced to witness the torture and butchery ofthe converts and allies of the French. Existence became unendurable tohim, and he longed to die. War-parties were continually going out. Should they be defeated and cut off, he would pay the forfeit at thestake; and if they came back, as they usually did, with booty andprisoners, he was doomed to see his countrymen and their Indian friendsmangled, burned, and devoured. 

Jogues had shown no disposition to escape, and great liberty wastherefore allowed him. He went from town to town, giving absolution tothe Christian captives, and converting and baptizing the heathen. On one occasion, he baptized a woman in the midst of the fire, underpretence of lifting a cup of water to her parched lips. There was nolack of objects for his zeal. A single war-party returned from the Huroncountry with nearly a hundred prisoners, who were distributed among theIroquois towns, and the greater part burned. [ 1 ] Of the children ofthe Mohawks and their neighbors, he had baptized, before August, aboutseventy; insomuch that he began to regard his captivity as a Providentialinterposition for the saving of souls. 

[ 1 The Dutch clergyman, Megapolensis, at this time living at FortOrange, bears the strongest testimony to the ferocity with which hisfriends, the Mohawks, treated their prisoners. He mentions the samemodes of torture which Jogues describes, and is very explicit as tocannibalism. "The common people, " he says, "eat the arms, buttocks, and trunk; but the chiefs eat the head and the heart. " (Short Sketch ofthe Mohawk Indians. ) This feast was of a religious character. ]

At the end of July, he went with a party of Indians to a fishing-place onthe Hudson, about twenty miles below Fort Orange. While here, he learnedthat another war-party had lately returned with prisoners, two of whomhad been burned to death at Osseruenon. On this, his conscience smotehim that he had not remained in the town to give the sufferers absolutionor baptism; and he begged leave of the old woman who had him in charge toreturn at the first opportunity. A canoe soon after went up the riverwith some of the Iroquois, and he was allowed to go in it. When theyreached Rensselaerswyck, the Indians landed to trade with the Dutch, and took Jogues with them. 

The centre of this rude little settlement was Fort Orange, a miserablestructure of logs, standing on a spot now within the limits of the cityof Albany. [ The site of the Phoenix Hotel. --Note by Mr. Shea to Jogues'sNovum Belgium. ] It contained several houses and other buildings; andbehind it was a small church, recently erected, and serving as the abodeof the pastor, Dominie Megapolensis, known in our day as the writer of aninteresting, though short, account of the Mohawks. Some twenty-five orthirty houses, roughly built of boards and roofed with thatch, werescattered at intervals on or near the borders of the Hudson, above andbelow the fort. Their inhabitants, about a hundred in number, were forthe most part rude Dutch farmers, tenants of Van Rensselaer, the patroon, or lord of the manor. They raised wheat, of which they made beer, and oats, with which they fed their numerous horses. They traded, too, with the Indians, who profited greatly by the competition among them, receiving guns, knives, axes, kettles, cloth, and beads, at moderaterates, in exchange for their furs. [ 1 ] The Dutch were on excellentterms with their red neighbors, met them in the forest without the leastfear, and sometimes intermarried with them. They had known of Jogues'scaptivity, and, to their great honor, had made efforts for his release, offering for that purpose goods to a considerable value, but withouteffect. [ 2 ]

[ 1 Jogues, Novum Belgium; Barnes, Settlement of Albany, 50-55;O'Callaghan, New Netherland, Chap. VI. 

On the relations of the Mohawks and Dutch, see Megapolensis, Short Sketchof the Mohawk Indians, and portions of the letter of Jogues to hisSuperior, dated Rensselaerswyck, Aug. 30, 1643. ]

[ 2 See a long letter of Arendt Van Curler (Corlaer) to Van Rensselaer, June 16, 1643, in O'Callaghan's New Netherland, Appendix L. "Wepersuaded them so far, " writes Van Curler, "that they promised not tokill them. . . . The French captives ran screaming after us, andbesought us to do all in our power to release them out of the hands ofthe barbarians. " ]

At Fort Orange Jogues heard startling news. The Indians of the villagewhere he lived were, he was told, enraged against him, and determined toburn him. About the first of July, a war-party had set out for Canada, and one of the warriors had offered to Jogues to be the bearer of aletter from him to the French commander at Three Rivers, thinkingprobably to gain some advantage under cover of a parley. Jogues knewthat the French would be on their guard; and he felt it his duty to loseno opportunity of informing them as to the state of affairs among theIroquois. A Dutchman gave him a piece of paper; and he wrote a letter, in a jargon of Latin, French, and Huron, warning his countrymen to be ontheir guard, as war-parties were constantly going out, and they couldhope for no respite from attack until late in the autumn. [ See a Frenchrendering of the letter in Vimont, Relation, 1643, p. 75. ] When theIroquois reached the mouth of the River Richelieu, where a small fort hadbeen built by the French the preceding summer, the messenger asked for aparley, and gave Jogues's letter to the commander of the post, who, after reading it, turned his cannon on the savages. They fled in dismay, leaving behind them their baggage and some of their guns; and, returninghome in a fury, charged Jogues with having caused their discomfiture. Jogues had expected this result, and was prepared to meet it; but severalof the principal Dutch settlers, and among them Van Curler, who had madethe previous attempt to rescue him, urged that his death was certain, if he returned to the Indian town, and advised him to make his escape. In the Hudson, opposite the settlement, lay a small Dutch vessel nearlyready to sail. Van Curler offered him a passage in her to Bordeaux orRochelle, --representing that the opportunity was too good to be lost, and making light of the prisoner's objection, that a connivance in hisescape on the part of the Dutch would excite the resentment of theIndians against them. Jogues thanked him warmly; but, to his amazement, asked for a night to consider the matter, and take counsel of God inprayer. 

He spent the night in great agitation, tossed by doubt, and full ofanxiety lest his self-love should beguile him from his duty. [ Buteux, Narre, MS. ] Was it not possible that the Indians might spare his life, and that, by a timely drop of water, he might still rescue souls fromtorturing devils, and eternal fires of perdition? On the other hand, would he not, by remaining to meet a fate almost inevitable, incur theguilt of suicide? And even should he escape torture and death, could hehope that the Indians would again permit him to instruct and baptizetheir prisoners? Of his French companions, one, Goupil, was dead; whileCouture had urged Jogues to flight, saying that he would then follow hisexample, but that, so long as the Father remained a prisoner, he, Couture, would share his fate. Before morning, Jogues had made his decision. God, he thought, would be better pleased should he embrace theopportunity given him. He went to find his Dutch friends, and, with aprofusion of thanks, accepted their offer. They told him that a boatshould be left for him on the shore, and that he must watch his time, and escape in it to the vessel, where he would be safe. 

He and his Indian masters were lodged together in a large building, like a barn, belonging to a Dutch farmer. It was a hundred feet long, and had no partition of any kind. At one end the farmer kept his cattle;at the other he slept with his wife, a Mohawk squaw, and his children, while his Indian guests lay on the floor in the middle. [ Buteux, Narre, MS. ] As he is described as one of the principal persons of the colony, it is clear that the civilization of Rensselaerswyck was not high. 

In the evening, Jogues, in such a manner as not to excite the suspicionof the Indians, went out to reconnoitre. There was a fence around thehouse, and, as he was passing it, a large dog belonging to the farmerflew at him, and bit him very severely in the leg. The Dutchman, hearingthe noise, came out with a light, led Jogues back into the building, and bandaged his wound. He seemed to have some suspicion of theprisoner's design; for, fearful perhaps that his escape might exasperatethe Indians, he made fast the door in such a manner that it could notreadily be opened. Jogues now lay down among the Indians, who, rolled intheir blankets, were stretched around him. He was fevered withexcitement; and the agitation of his mind, joined to the pain of hiswound, kept him awake all night. About dawn, while the Indians werestill asleep, a laborer in the employ of the farmer came in with alantern, and Jogues, who spoke no Dutch, gave him to understand by signsthat he needed his help and guidance. The man was disposed to aid him, silently led the way out, quieted the dogs, and showed him the path tothe river. It was more than half a mile distant, and the way was roughand broken. Jogues was greatly exhausted, and his wounded limb gave himsuch pain that he walked with the utmost difficulty. When he reached theshore, the day was breaking, and he found, to his dismay, that the ebb ofthe tide had left the boat high and dry. He shouted to the vessel, but no one heard him. His desperation gave him strength; and, by workingthe boat to and fro, he pushed it at length, little by little, into thewater, entered it, and rowed to the vessel. The Dutch sailors receivedhim kindly, and hid him in the bottom of the hold, placing a large boxover the hatchway. 

He remained two days, half stifled, in this foul lurking-place, while theIndians, furious at his escape, ransacked the settlement in vain to findhim. They came off to the vessel, and so terrified the officers, thatJogues was sent on shore at night, and led to the fort. Here he washidden in the garret of a house occupied by a miserly old man, to whosecharge he was consigned. Food was sent to him; but, as his hostappropriated the larger part to himself, Jogues was nearly starved. There was a compartment of his garret, separated from the rest by apartition of boards. Here the old Dutchman, who, like many others of thesettlers, carried on a trade with the Mohawks, kept a quantity of goodsfor that purpose; and hither he often brought his customers. The boardsof the partition had shrunk, leaving wide crevices; and Jogues couldplainly see the Indians, as they passed between him and the light. They, on their part, might as easily have seen him, if he had not, when he heard them entering the house, hidden himself behind some barrelsin the corner, where he would sometimes remain crouched for hours, in a constrained and painful posture, half suffocated with heat, andafraid to move a limb. His wounded leg began to show dangerous symptoms;but he was relieved by the care of a Dutch surgeon of the fort. Theminister, Megapolensis, also visited him, and did all in his power forthe comfort of his Catholic brother, with whom he seems to have been wellpleased, and whom he calls "a very learned scholar. " [ Megapolensis, A Short Sketch of the Mohawk Indians. ]

When Jogues had remained for six weeks in this hiding-place, his Dutchfriends succeeded in satisfying his Indian masters by the payment of alarge ransom. [ Lettre de Jogues a Lalemant, Rennes, Jan. 6, 1644. --SeeRelation, 1643, p. 79. --Goods were given the Indians to the value ofthree hundred livres. ] A vessel from Manhattan, now New York, soonafter brought up an order from the Director-General, Kieft, that heshould be sent to him. Accordingly he was placed in a small vessel, which carried him down the Hudson. The Dutch on board treated him withgreat kindness; and, to do him honor, named after him one of the islandsin the river. At Manhattan he found a dilapidated fort, garrisoned bysixty soldiers, and containing a stone church and the Director-General'shouse, together with storehouses and barracks. Near it were ranges ofsmall houses, occupied chiefly by mechanics and laborers; while thedwellings of the remaining colonists, numbering in all four or fivehundred, were scattered here and there on the island and the neighboringshores. The settlers were of different sects and nations, but chieflyDutch Calvinists. Kieft told his guest that eighteen different languageswere spoken at Manhattan. [ Jogues, Novum Belgium. ] The colonists werein the midst of a bloody Indian war, brought on by their own besottedcruelty; and while Jogues was at the fort, some forty of the Dutchmenwere killed on the neighboring farms, and many barns and houses burned. [ This war was with Algonquin tribes of the neighborhood. --SeeO'Callaghan, New Netherland, I. , Chap. III. ]

The Director-General, with a humanity that was far from usual with him, exchanged Jogues's squalid and savage dress for a suit of Dutch cloth, and gave him passage in a small vessel which was then about to sail. The voyage was rough and tedious; and the passenger slept on deck or on acoil of ropes, suffering greatly from cold, and often drenched by thewaves that broke over the vessel's side. At length she reached Falmouth, on the southern coast of England, when all the crew went ashore for acarouse, leaving Jogues alone on board. A boat presently came alongsidewith a gang of desperadoes, who boarded her, and rifled her of everythingvaluable, threatened Jogues with a pistol, and robbed him of his hat andcoat. He obtained some assistance from the crew of a French ship in theharbor, and, on the day before Christmas, took passage in a small coalvessel for the neighboring coast of Brittany. In the following afternoonhe was set on shore a little to the north of Brest, and, seeing apeasant's cottage not far off, he approached it, and asked the way to thenearest church. The peasant and his wife, as the narrative gravely tellsus, mistook him, by reason of his modest deportment, for some poor, but pious Irishman, and asked him to share their supper, after finishinghis devotions, an invitation which Jogues, half famished as he was, gladly accepted. He reached the church in time for the evening mass, and with an unutterable joy knelt before the altar, and renewed thecommunion of which he had been deprived so long. When he returned to thecottage, the attention of his hosts was at once attracted to hismutilated and distorted hands. They asked with amazement how he couldhave received such injuries; and when they heard the story of histortures, their surprise and veneration knew no bounds. Two young girls, their daughters, begged him to accept all they had to give, --a handful ofsous; while the peasant made known the character of his new guest to hisneighbors. A trader from Rennes brought a horse to the door, and offeredthe use of it to Jogues, to carry him to the Jesuit college in that town. He gratefully accepted it; and, on the morning of the fifth of January, 1644, reached his destination. 

He dismounted, and knocked at the door of the college. The porter openedit, and saw a man wearing on his head an old woollen nightcap, and in anattire little better than that of a beggar. Jogues asked to see theRector; but the porter answered, coldly, that the Rector was busied inthe Sacristy. Jogues begged him to say that a man was at the door withnews from Canada. The missions of Canada were at this time an object ofprimal interest to the Jesuits, and above all to the Jesuits of France. A letter from Jogues, written during his captivity, had already reachedFrance, as had also the Jesuit Relation of 1643, which contained a longaccount of his capture; and he had no doubt been an engrossing theme ofconversation in every house of the French Jesuits. The Father Rector wasputting on his vestments to say mass; but when he heard that a poor manfrom Canada had asked for him at the door, he postponed the service, and went to meet him. Jogues, without discovering himself, gave him aletter from the Dutch Director-General attesting his character. TheRector, without reading it, began to question him as to the affairs ofCanada, and at length asked him if he knew Father Jogues. 

"I knew him very well, " was the reply. 

"The Iroquois have taken him, " pursued the Rector. "Is he dead? Havethey murdered him?"

"No, " answered Jogues; "he is alive and at liberty, and I am he. "And he fell on his knees to ask his Superior's blessing. 

That night was a night of jubilation and thanksgiving in the college ofRennes. [ For Jogues's arrival in Brittany, see Lettre de Jogues aLalemant, Rennes, Jan. 6, 1644; Lettre de Jogues a ----, Rennes, Jan. 5, 1644, (in Relation, 1643, ) and the long account in the Relation of 1647. ]

Jogues became a centre of curiosity and reverence. He was summoned toParis. The Queen, Anne of Austria, wished to see him; and when thepersecuted slave of the Mohawks was conducted into her presence, shekissed his mutilated hands, while the ladies of the Court thronged aroundto do him homage. We are told, and no doubt with truth, that thesehonors were unwelcome to the modest and single-hearted missionary, who thought only of returning to his work of converting the Indians. A priest with any deformity of body is debarred from saying mass. The teeth and knives of the Iroquois had inflicted an injury worse thanthe torturers imagined, for they had robbed Jogues of the privilege whichwas the chief consolation of his life; but the Pope, by a specialdispensation, restored it to him, and with the opening spring he sailedagain for Canada. 

CHAPTER XVII. 

1641-1646. 

THE IROQUOIS. --BRESSANI. --DE NOUE. 

 WAR. --DISTRESS AND TERROR. --RICHELIEU. --BATTLE. --RUIN OF INDIAN TRIBES. -- MUTUAL DESTRUCTION. --IROQUOIS AND ALGONQUIN. --ATROCITIES. -- FRIGHTFUL POSITION OF THE FRENCH. --JOSEPH BRESSANI. --HIS CAPTURE. -- HIS TREATMENT. --HIS ESCAPE. --ANNE DE NOUE. --HIS NOCTURNAL JOURNEY. -- HIS DEATH. 

Two forces were battling for the mastery of Canada: on the one side, Christ, the Virgin, and the Angels, with their agents, the priests; onthe other, the Devil, and his tools, the Iroquois. Such at least was theview of the case held in full faith, not by the Jesuit Fathers alone, but by most of the colonists. Never before had the fiend put forth suchrage, and in the Iroquois he found instruments of a nature notuncongenial with his own. 

At Quebec, Three Rivers, Montreal, and the little fort of Richelieu, that is to say, in all Canada, no man could hunt, fish, till the fields, or cut a tree in the forest, without peril to his scalp. The Iroquoiswere everywhere, and nowhere. A yell, a volley of bullets, a rush ofscreeching savages, and all was over. The soldiers hastened to the spotto find silence, solitude, and a mangled corpse. 

"I had as lief, " writes Father Vimont, "be beset by goblins as by theIroquois. The one are about as invisible as the other. Our people onthe Richelieu and at Montreal are kept in a closer confinement than everwere monks or nuns in our smallest convents in France. "

The Confederates at this time were in a flush of unparalleled audacity. They despised white men as base poltroons, and esteemed themselveswarriors and heroes, destined to conquer all mankind. [ 1 ] Thefire-arms with which the Dutch had rashly supplied them, joined to theirunited councils, their courage, and ferocity, gave them an advantage overthe surrounding tribes which they fully understood. Their passions rosewith their sense of power. They boasted that they would wipe the Hurons, the Algonquins, and the French from the face of the earth, and carry the"white girls, " meaning the nuns, to their villages. This last event, indeed, seemed more than probable; and the Hospital nuns left theirexposed station at Sillery, and withdrew to the ramparts and palisades ofQuebec. The St. Lawrence and the Ottawa were so infested, thatcommunication with the Huron country was cut off; and three times theannual packet of letters sent thither to the missionaries fell into thehands of the Iroquois. 

[ 1 Bressani, when a prisoner among them, writes to this effect in aletter to his Superior. --See Relation Abregee, 131. 

The anonymous author of the Relation of 1660 says, that, in their belief, if their nation were destroyed, a general confusion and overthrow ofmankind must needs be the consequence. --Relation, 1660, 6. ]

It was towards the close of the year 1640 that the scourge of Iroquoiswar had begun to fall heavily on the French. At that time, a party oftheir warriors waylaid and captured Thomas Godefroy and FrancoisMarguerie, the latter a young man of great energy and daring, familiarwith the woods, a master of the Algonquin language, and a scholar of nomean acquirements. [ During his captivity, he wrote, on a beaver-skin, a letter to the Dutch in French, Latin, and English. ] To the great joyof the colonists, he and his companion were brought back to Three Riversby their captors, and given up, in the vain hope that the French wouldrespond with a gift of fire-arms. Their demand for them being declined, they broke off the parley in a rage, fortified themselves, fired on theFrench, and withdrew under cover of night. 

Open war now ensued, and for a time all was bewilderment and terror. How to check the inroads of an enemy so stealthy and so keen for bloodwas the problem that taxed the brain of Montmagny, the Governor. Hethought he had found a solution, when he conceived the plan of building afort at the mouth of the River Richelieu, by which the Iroquois alwaysmade their descents to the St. Lawrence. Happily for the perishingcolony, the Cardinal de Richelieu, in 1642, sent out thirty or fortysoldiers for its defence. [ Faillon, Colonie Francaise, II. 2; Vimont, Relation, 1642, 2, 44. ] Ten times the number would have been scarcelysufficient; but even this slight succor was hailed with delight, andMontmagny was enabled to carry into effect his plan of the fort, forwhich hitherto he had had neither builders nor garrison. He took withhim, besides the new-comers, a body of soldiers and armed laborers fromQuebec, and, with a force of about a hundred men in all, [ Marie del'Incarnation, Lettre, Sept. 29, 1642. ] sailed for the Richelieu, in a brigantine and two or three open boats. 

On the thirteenth of August he reached his destination, and landed wherethe town of Sorel now stands. It was but eleven days before that Joguesand his companions had been captured, and Montmagny's followers foundghastly tokens of the disaster. The heads of the slain were stuck onpoles by the side of the river; and several trees, from which portions ofthe bark had been peeled, were daubed with the rude picture-writing inwhich the victors recorded their exploit. [ 1 ] Among the rest, arepresentation of Jogues himself was clearly distinguishable. The headswere removed, the trees cut down, and a large cross planted on the spot. An altar was raised, and all heard mass; then a volley of musketry wasfired; and then they fell to their work. They hewed an opening into theforest, dug up the roots, cleared the ground, and cut, shaped, andplanted palisades. Thus a week passed, and their defences were nearlycompleted, when suddenly the war-whoop rang in their ears, and twohundred Iroquois rushed upon them from the borders of the clearing. [ The Relation of 1642 says three hundred. Jogues who had been amongthem to his cost, is the better authority. ]

[ 1 Vimont, Relation, 1642, 52. 

This practice was common to many tribes, and is not yet extinct. Thewriter has seen similar records, made by recent war-parties of Crows orBlackfeet, in the remote West. In this case, the bark was removed fromthe trunks of large cotton-wood trees, and the pictures traced withcharcoal and vermilion. There were marks for scalps, for prisoners, and for the conquerors themselves. ]

It was the party of warriors that Jogues had met on an island in LakeChamplain. But for the courage of Du Rocher, a corporal, who was onguard, they would have carried all before them. They were rushingthrough an opening in the palisade, when he, with a few soldiers, metthem with such vigor and resolution, that they were held in check longenough for the rest to snatch their arms. Montmagny, who was on theriver in his brigantine, hastened on shore, and the soldiers, encouragedby his arrival, fought with great determination. 

The Iroquois, on their part, swarmed up to the palisade, thrust theirguns through the loop-holes, and fired on those within; nor was it tillseveral of them had been killed and others wounded that they learned tokeep a more prudent distance. A tall savage, wearing a crest of the hairof some animal, dyed scarlet and bound with a fillet of wampum, leapedforward to the attack, and was shot dead. Another shared his fate, with seven buck-shot in his shield, and as many in his body. The French, with shouts, redoubled their fire, and the Indians at length lost heartand fell back. The wounded dropped guns, shields, and war-clubs, and thewhole band withdrew to the shelter of a fort which they had built in theforest, three miles above. On the part of the French, one man was killedand four wounded. They had narrowly escaped a disaster which might haveproved the ruin of the colony; and they now gained time so far tostrengthen their defences as to make them reasonably secure against anyattack of savages. [ 1 ] The new fort, however, did not effectuallyanswer its purpose of stopping the inroads of the Iroquois. They wouldland a mile or more above it, carry their canoes through the forestacross an intervening tongue of land, and then launch them in theSt. Lawrence, while the garrison remained in total ignorance of theirmovements. 

[ 1 Vimont, Relation, 1642, 50, 51. 

Assaults by Indians on fortified places are rare. The Iroquois are known, however, to have made them with success in several cases, some of themost remarkable of which will appear hereafter. The courage of Indiansis uncertain and spasmodic. They are capable, at times, of a furioustemerity, approaching desperation; but this is liable to sudden andextreme reaction. Their courage, too, is much oftener displayed incovert than in open attacks. ]

While the French were thus beset, their Indian allies fared still worse. The effect of Iroquois hostilities on all the Algonquin tribes of Canada, from the Saguenay to the Lake of the Nipissings, had become frightfullyapparent. Famine and pestilence had aided the ravages of war, till thesewretched bands seemed in the course of rapid extermination. Their spiritwas broken. They became humble and docile in the hands of themissionaries, ceased their railings against the new doctrine, and leanedon the French as their only hope in this extremity of woe. Sometimesthey would appear in troops at Sillery or Three Rivers, scared out oftheir forests by the sight of an Iroquois footprint; then some new terrorwould seize them, and drive them back to seek a hiding-place in thedeepest thickets of the wilderness. Their best hunting-grounds werebeset by the enemy. They starved for weeks together, subsisting on thebark of trees or the thongs of raw hide which formed the net-work oftheir snow-shoes. The mortality among them was prodigious. "Where, eight years ago, " writes Father Vimont, "one would see a hundred wigwams, one now sees scarcely five or six. A chief who once had eight hundredwarriors has now but thirty or forty; and in place of fleets of three orfour hundred canoes, we see less than a tenth of that number. " [ Relation, 1644, 8. ]

These Canadian tribes were undergoing that process of extermination, absorption, or expatriation, which, as there is reason to believe, had for many generations formed the gloomy and meaningless history of thegreater part of this continent. Three or four hundred Dutch guns, in the hands of the conquerors, gave an unwonted quickness and decisionto the work, but in no way changed its essential character. The horriblenature of this warfare can be known only through examples; and of theseone or two will suffice. 

A band of Algonquins, late in the autumn of 1641, set forth from ThreeRivers on their winter hunt, and, fearful of the Iroquois, made their wayfar northward, into the depths of the forests that border the Ottawa. Here they thought themselves safe, built their lodges, and began to huntthe moose and beaver. But a large party of their enemies, with apersistent ferocity that is truly astonishing, had penetrated even here, found the traces of the snow-shoes, followed up their human prey, and hidat nightfall among the rocks and thickets around the encampment. Atmidnight, their yells and the blows of their war-clubs awakened theirsleeping victims. In a few minutes all were in their power. They boundthe prisoners hand and foot, rekindled the fire, slung the kettles, cut the bodies of the slain to pieces, and boiled and devoured thembefore the eyes of the wretched survivors. "In a word, " says thenarrator, "they ate men with as much appetite and more pleasure thanhunters eat a boar or a stag. " [ Vimont, Relation, 1642, 46. ]

Meanwhile they amused themselves with bantering their prisoners. "Uncle, "said one of them to an old Algonquin, "you are a dead man. You are goingto the land of souls. Tell them to take heart: they will have goodcompany soon, for we are going to send all the rest of your nation tojoin them. This will be good news for them. " [ Vimont, Relation, 1642, 45. ]

This old man, who is described as no less malicious than his captors, and even more crafty, soon after escaped, and brought tidings of thedisaster to the French. In the following spring, two women of the partyalso escaped; and, after suffering almost incredible hardships, reachedThree Rivers, torn with briers, nearly naked, and in a deplorable stateof bodily and mental exhaustion. One of them told her story to FatherButeux, who translated it into French, and gave it to Vimont to beprinted in the Relation of 1642. Revolting as it is, it is necessary torecount it. Suffice it to say, that it is sustained by the whole body ofcontemporary evidence in regard to the practices of the Iroquois and someof the neighboring tribes. 

The conquerors feasted in the lodge till nearly daybreak, and then, after a short rest, began their march homeward with their prisoners. Among these were three women, of whom the narrator was one, who had eacha child of a few weeks or months old. At the first halt, their captorstook the infants from them, tied them to wooden spits, placed them to dieslowly before a fire, and feasted on them before the eyes of the agonizedmothers, whose shrieks, supplications, and frantic efforts to break thecords that bound them were met with mockery and laughter. "They are notmen, they are wolves!" sobbed the wretched woman, as she told what hadbefallen her to the pitying Jesuit. [ Vimont, Relation, 1642, 46. ]At the Fall of the Chaudiere, another of the women ended her woes byleaping into the cataract. When they approached the first Iroquois town, they were met, at the distance of several leagues, by a crowd of theinhabitants, and among them a troop of women, bringing food to regale thetriumphant warriors. Here they halted, and passed the night in songs ofvictory, mingled with the dismal chant of the prisoners, who were forcedto dance for their entertainment. 

On the morrow, they entered the town, leading the captive Algonquins, fast bound, and surrounded by a crowd of men, women, and children, all singing at the top of their throats. The largest lodge was ready toreceive them; and as they entered, the victims read their doom in thefires that blazed on the earthen floor, and in the aspect of theattendant savages, whom the Jesuit Father calls attendant demons, thatwaited their coming. The torture which ensued was but preliminary, designed to cause all possible suffering without touching life. Itconsisted in blows with sticks and cudgels, gashing their limbs withknives, cutting off their fingers with clam-shells, scorching them withfirebrands, and other indescribable torments. [ 1 ] The women werestripped naked, and forced to dance to the singing of the male prisoners, amid the applause and laughter of the crowd. They then gave them food, to strengthen them for further suffering. 

[ 1 "Cette pauure creature qui s'est sauuee, a les deux pouces couppez, ou plus tost hachez. Quand ils me les eurent couppez, disoit-elle, ils me les voulurent faire manger; mais ie les mis sur mon giron, et leurdis qu'ils me tuassent s'ils vouloient, que ie ne leur pouuois obeir. "--Buteux in Relation, 1642, 47. ]

On the following morning, they were placed on a large scaffold, in sightof the whole population. It was a gala-day. Young and old were gatheredfrom far and near. Some mounted the scaffold, and scorched them withtorches and firebrands; while the children, standing beneath the barkplatform, applied fire to the feet of the prisoners between the crevices. The Algonquin women were told to burn their husbands and companions; andone of them obeyed, vainly thinking to appease her tormentors. Thestoicism of one of the warriors enraged his captors beyond measure. "Scream! why don't you scream?" they cried, thrusting their burningbrands at his naked body. "Look at me, " he answered; "you cannot make mewince. If you were in my place, you would screech like babies. " At thisthey fell upon him with redoubled fury, till their knives and firebrandsleft in him no semblance of humanity. He was defiant to the last, and when death came to his relief, they tore out his heart and devouredit; then hacked him in pieces, and made their feast of triumph on hismangled limbs. 

[ The diabolical practices described above were not peculiar to theIroquois. The Neutrals and other kindred tribes were no whit less cruel. It is a remark of Mr. Gallatin, and I think a just one, that the Indianswest of the Mississippi are less ferocious than those east of it. The burning of prisoners is rare among the prairie tribes, but is notunknown. An Ogillallah chief, in whose lodge I lived for several weeksin 1846, described to me, with most expressive pantomime, how he hadcaptured and burned a warrior of the Snake Tribe, in a valley of theMedicine Bow Mountains, near which we were then encamped. ]

All the men and all the old women of the party were put to death in asimilar manner, though but few displayed the same amazing fortitude. The younger women, of whom there were about thirty, after passing theirordeal of torture, were permitted to live; and, disfigured as they were, were distributed among the several villages, as concubines or slaves tothe Iroquois warriors. Of this number were the narrator and hercompanion, who, being ordered to accompany a war-party and carry theirprovisions, escaped at night into the forest, and reached Three Rivers, as we have seen. 

While the Indian allies of the French were wasting away beneath thisatrocious warfare, the French themselves, and especially the travellingJesuits, had their full share of the infliction. In truth, the puny andsickly colony seemed in the gasps of dissolution. The beginning ofspring, particularly, was a season of terror and suspense; for with thebreaking up of the ice, sure as a destiny, came the Iroquois. As soon asa canoe could float, they were on the war-path; and with the cry of thereturning wild-fowl mingled the yell of these human tigers. They did notalways wait for the breaking ice, but set forth on foot, and, when theycame to open water, made canoes and embarked. 

Well might Father Vimont call the Iroquois "the scourge of this infantchurch. " They burned, hacked, and devoured the neophytes; exterminatedwhole villages at once; destroyed the nations whom the Fathers hoped toconvert; and ruined that sure ally of the missions, the fur-trade. Not the most hideous nightmare of a fevered brain could transcend inhorror the real and waking perils with which they beset the path of theseintrepid priests. 

In the spring of 1644, Joseph Bressani, an Italian Jesuit, born in Rome, and now for two years past a missionary in Canada, was ordered by hisSuperior to go up to the Hurons. It was so early in the season thatthere seemed hope that he might pass in safety; and as the Fathers inthat wild mission had received no succor for three years, Bressani wascharged with letters to them, and such necessaries for their use as hewas able to carry. With him were six young Hurons, lately converted, and a French boy in his service. The party were in three small canoes. Before setting out they all confessed and prepared for death. 

They left Three Rivers on the twenty-seventh of April, and found icestill floating in the river, and patches of snow lying in the nakedforests. On the first day, one of the canoes overset, nearly drowningBressani, who could not swim. On the third day, a snow-storm began, and greatly retarded their progress. The young Indians foolishly firedtheir guns at the wild-fowl on the river, and the sound reached the earsof a war-party of Iroquois, one of ten that had already set forth for theSt. Lawrence, the Ottawa, and the Huron towns. [ Vimont, Relation, 1644, 41. ] Hence it befell, that, as they crossed the mouth of a small streamentering the St. Lawrence, twenty-seven Iroquois suddenly issued frombehind a point, and attacked them in canoes. One of the Hurons waskilled, and all the rest of the party captured without resistance. 

On the fifteenth of July following, Bressani wrote from the Iroquoiscountry to the General of the Jesuits at Rome--"I do not know if yourPaternity will recognize the handwriting of one whom you once knew verywell. The letter is soiled and ill-written; because the writer has onlyone finger of his right hand left entire, and cannot prevent the bloodfrom his wounds, which are still open, from staining the paper. His inkis gunpowder mixed with water, and his table is the earth. " [ This letteris printed anonymously in the Second Part, Chap. II, of Bressani'sRelation Abregee. A comparison with Vimont's account, in the Relation of1644, makes its authorship apparent. Vimont's narrative agrees in allessential points. His informant was "vne personne digne de foy, qui aeste tesmoin oculaire de tout ce qu'il a soufiert pendant sa captiuite. "--Vimont, Relation, 1644, 43. ]

Then follows a modest narrative of what be endured at the hands of hiscaptors. First they thanked the Sun for their victory; then plunderedthe canoes; then cut up, roasted, and devoured the slain Huron before theeyes of the prisoners. On the next day they crossed to the southernshore, and ascended the River Richelieu as far as the rapids of Chambly, whence they pursued their march on foot among the brambles, rocks, and swamps of the trackless forest. When they reached Lake Champlain, they made new canoes and re-embarked, landed at its southern extremitysix days afterwards, and thence made for the Upper Hudson. Here theyfound a fishing camp of four hundred Iroquois, and now Bressani'storments began in earnest. They split his hand with a knife, between thelittle finger and the ring finger; then beat him with sticks, till he wascovered with blood; and afterwards placed him on one of their torture-scaffolds of bark, as a spectacle to the crowd. Here they stripped him, and while he shivered with cold from head to foot they forced him tosing. After about two hours they gave him up to the children, whoordered him to dance, at the same time thrusting sharpened sticks intohis flesh, and pulling out his hair and beard. "Sing!" cried one; "Holdyour tongue!" screamed another; and if he obeyed the first, the secondburned him. "We will burn you to death; we will eat you. " "I will eatone of your hands. " "And I will eat one of your feet. " [ "Ils merepetaient sans cesse: Nous te brulerons; nous te mangerons;--je temangerai un pied;--et moi, une main, " etc. --Bressani, in Relation Abregee, 137. ] These scenes were renewed every night for a week. Every eveninga chief cried aloud through the camp, "Come, my children, come and caressour prisoners!"--and the savage crew thronged jubilant to a large hut, where the captives lay. They stripped off the torn fragment of a cassock, which was the priest's only garment; burned him with live coals andred-hot stones; forced him to walk on hot cinders; burned off now afinger-nail and now the joint of a finger, --rarely more than one at atime, however, for they economized their pleasures, and reserved the restfor another day. This torture was protracted till one or two o'clock, after which they left him on the ground, fast bound to four stakes, and covered only with a scanty fragment of deer-skin. [ 1 ] The otherprisoners had their share of torture; but the worst fell upon the Jesuit, as the chief man of the party. The unhappy boy who attended him, thoughonly twelve or thirteen years old, was tormented before his eyes with apitiless ferocity. 

[ 1 "Chaque nuit apres m'avoir fait chanter, et m'avoir tourmente commeie l'ai dit, ils passaient environ un quart d'heure a me bruler un ongleou un doigt. Il ne m'en reste maintenant qu'un seul entier, et encoreils en ont arrache l'ongle avec les dents. Un soir ils m'enlevaient unongle, le lendemain la premiere phalange, le jour suivant la seconde. En six fois, ils en brulerent presque six. Aux mains seules, ils m'ontapplique le feu et le fer plus de 18 fois, et i'etais oblige de chanterpendant ce supplice. Ils ne cessaient de me tourmenter qu'a une ou deuxheures de la nuit. "--Bressani, Relation Abregee, 122. 

Bressani speaks in another passage of tortures of a nature yet moreexcruciating. They were similar to those alluded to by the anonymousauthor of the Relation of 1660: "Ie ferois rougir ce papier, et lesoreilles fremiroient, si ie rapportois les horribles traitemens que lesAgnieronnons" (the Mohawk nation of the Iroquois) "ont faits sur quelquescaptifs. " He adds, that past ages have never heard of such. --Relation, 1660, 7, 8. ]

At length they left this encampment, and, after a march of severaldays, --during which Bressani, in wading a rocky stream, fell fromexhaustion and was nearly drowned, --they reached an Iroquois town. It is needless to follow the revolting details of the new torments thatsucceeded. They hung him by the feet with chains; placed food for theirdogs on his naked body, that they might lacerate him as they ate; and atlast had reduced his emaciated frame to such a condition, that even theythemselves stood in horror of him. "I could not have believed, " hewrites to his Superior, "that a man was so hard to kill. " He found amongthem those who, from compassion, or from a refinement of cruelty, fed him, for he could not feed himself. They told him jestingly that they wishedto fatten him before putting him to death. 

The council that was to decide his fate met on the nineteenth of June, when, to the prisoner's amazement, and, as it seemed, to their ownsurprise, they resolved to spare his life. He was given, with dueceremony, to an old woman, to take the place of a deceased relative; but, since he was as repulsive, in his mangled condition, as, by the Indianstandard, he was useless, she sent her son with him to Fort Orange, to sell him to the Dutch. With the same humanity which they had shown inthe case of Jogues, they gave a generous ransom for him, supplied himwith clothing, kept him till his strength was in some degree recruited, and then placed him on board a vessel bound for Rochelle. Here hearrived on the fifteenth of November; and in the following spring, maimed and disfigured, but with health restored, embarked to dare againthe knives and firebrands of the Iroquois. 

[ Immediately on his return to Canada he was ordered to set out again forthe Hurons. More fortunate than on his first attempt, he arrived safely, early in the autumn of 1645. --Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1646, 73. 

On Bressani, besides the authorities cited, see Du Creux, HistoriaCanadensis, 399-403; Juchereau, Histoire de l'Hotel-Dieu, 53; and Martin, Biographie du P. Francois-Joseph Bressani, prefixed to the RelationAbregee. 

He made no converts while a prisoner, but he baptized a Huron catechumenat the stake, to the great fury of the surrounding Iroquois. He has left, besides his letters, some interesting notes on his captivity, preservedin the Relation Abregee. ]

It should be noticed, in justice to the Iroquois, that, ferocious andcruel as past all denial they were, they were not so bereft of theinstincts of humanity as at first sight might appear. An inexorableseverity towards enemies was a very essential element, in their savageconception, of the character of the warrior. Pity was a cowardlyweakness, at which their pride revolted. This, joined to their thirstfor applause and their dread of ridicule, made them smother everymovement of compassion, [ 1 ] and conspired with their native fiercenessto form a character of unrelenting cruelty rarely equalled. 

[ 1 Thus, when Bressani, tortured by the tightness of the cords thatbound him, asked an Indian to loosen them, he would reply by mockery, if others were present; but if no one saw him, he usually complied. ]

The perils which beset the missionaries did not spring from the fury ofthe Iroquois alone, for Nature herself was armed with terror in thisstern wilderness of New France. On the thirtieth of January, 1646, Father Anne de Noue set out from Three Rivers to go to the fort built bythe French at the mouth of the River Richelieu, where he was to say massand hear confessions. De Noue was sixty-three years old, and had come toCanada in 1625. [ See "Pioneers of France, " 393. ] As an indifferentmemory disabled him from mastering the Indian languages, he devotedhimself to the spiritual charge of the French, and of the Indians aboutthe forts, within reach of an interpreter. For the rest, he attended thesick, and, in times of scarcity, fished in the river or dug roots in thewoods for the subsistence of his flock. In short, though sprung from anoble family of Champagne, he shrank from no toil, however humble, to which his idea of duty or his vow of obedience called him. [ He waspeculiarly sensitive as regarded the cardinal Jesuit virtue of obedience;and both Lalemant and Bressani say, that, at the age of sixty and upwards, he was sometimes seen in tears, when he imagined that he had notfulfilled to the utmost the commands of his Superior. ]

The old missionary had for companions two soldiers and a Huron Indian. They were all on snow-shoes, and the soldiers dragged their baggage onsmall sledges. Their highway was the St. Lawrence, transformed to solidice, and buried, like all the country, beneath two or three feet of snow, which, far and near, glared dazzling white under the clear winter sun. Before night they had walked eighteen miles, and the soldiers, unused tosnow-shoes, were greatly fatigued. They made their camp in the forest, on the shore of the great expansion of the St. Lawrence called the Lakeof St. Peter, --dug away the snow, heaped it around the spot as a barrieragainst the wind, made their fire on the frozen earth in the midst, and lay down to sleep. At two o'clock in the morning De Noue awoke. The moon shone like daylight over the vast white desert of the frozenlake, with its bordering fir-trees bowed to the ground with snow; and thekindly thought struck the Father, that he might ease his companions bygoing in advance to Fort Richelieu, and sending back men to aid them indragging their sledges. He knew the way well. He directed them tofollow the tracks of his snow-shoes in the morning; and, not doubting toreach the fort before night, left behind his blanket and his flint andsteel. For provisions, he put a morsel of bread and five or six prunesin his pocket, told his rosary, and set forth. 

Before dawn the weather changed. The air thickened, clouds hid the moon, and a snow-storm set in. The traveller was in utter darkness. He lostthe points of the compass, wandered far out on the lake, and when dayappeared could see nothing but the snow beneath his feet, and the myriadsof falling flakes that encompassed him like a curtain, impervious to thesight. Still he toiled on, winding hither and thither, and at timesunwittingly circling back on his own footsteps. At night he dug a holein the snow under the shore of an island, and lay down, without fire, food, or blanket. 

Meanwhile the two soldiers and the Indian, unable to trace his footprints, which the snow had hidden, pursued their way for the fort; but the Indianwas ignorant of the country, and the Frenchmen were unskilled. Theywandered from their course, and at evening encamped on the shore of theisland of St. Ignace, at no great distance from De Noue. Here the Indian, trusting to his instinct, left them and set forth alone in search oftheir destination, which he soon succeeded in finding. The palisades ofthe feeble little fort, and the rude buildings within, were whitened withsnow, and half buried in it. Here, amid the desolation, a handful of menkept watch and ward against the Iroquois. Seated by the blazing logs, the Indian asked for De Noue, and, to his astonishment, the soldiers ofthe garrison told him that he had not been seen. The captain of the postwas called; all was anxiety; but nothing could be done that night. 

At daybreak parties went out to search. The two soldiers were readilyfound; but they looked in vain for the missionary. All day they wereranging the ice, firing their guns and shouting; but to no avail, andthey returned disconsolate. There was a converted Indian, whom theFrench called Charles, at the fort, one of four who were spending thewinter there. On the next morning, the second of February, he and one ofhis companions, together with Baron, a French soldier, resumed thesearch; and, guided by the slight depressions in the snow which hadfallen on the wanderer's footprints, the quick-eyed savages traced himthrough all his windings, found his camp by the shore of the island, and thence followed him beyond the fort. He had passed near withoutdiscovering it, --perhaps weakness had dimmed his sight, --stopped to restat a point a league above, and thence made his way about three leaguesfarther. Here they found him. He had dug a circular excavation in thesnow, and was kneeling in it on the earth. His head was bare, his eyesopen and turned upwards, and his hands clasped on his breast. His hatand his snow-shoes lay at his side. The body was leaning slightlyforward, resting against the bank of snow before it, and frozen to thehardness of marble. 

Thus, in an act of kindness and charity, died the first martyr of theCanadian mission. 

[ Lalemant, Relation, 1646, 9; Marie de l'Incarnation, Lettre, 10 Sept. , 1646; Bressani, Relation Abregee, 175. 

One of the Indians who found the body of De Noue was killed by theIroquois at Ossossane, in the Huron country, three years after. Hereceived the death-blow in a posture like that in which he had seen thedead missionary. His body was found with the hands still clasped on thebreast. --Lettre de Chaumonot a Lalemant, 1 Juin, 1649. 

The next death among the Jesuits was that of Masse, who died at Sillery, on the twelfth of May of this year, 1646, at the age of seventy-two. He had come with Biard to Acadia as early as 1611. (See "Pioneers ofFrance, " 262. ) Lalemant, in the Relation of 1646, gives an account of him, and speaks of penances which he imposed on himself, some of which are tothe last degree disgusting. ]

CHAPTER XVIII. 

1642-1644. 

VILLEMARIE. 

 INFANCY OF MONTREAL. --THE FLOOD. --VOW OF MAISONNEUVE. --PILGRIMAGE. -- D'AILLEBOUST. --THE HOTEL-DIEU. --PIETY. --PROPAGANDISM. --WAR. -- HURONS AND IROQUOIS. --DOGS. --SALLY OF THE FRENCH. --BATTLE. -- EXPLOIT OF MAISONNEUVE. 

Let us now ascend to the island of Montreal. Here, as we have seen, an association of devout and zealous persons had essayed to found amission-colony under the protection of the Holy Virgin; and we left theadventurers, after their landing, bivouacked on the shore, on an eveningin May. There was an altar in the open air, decorated with a taste thatbetokened no less of good nurture than of piety; and around it clusteredthe tents that sheltered the commandant, Maisonneuve, the two ladies, Madame de la Peltrie and Mademoiselle Mance, and the soldiers andlaborers of the expedition. 

In the morning they all fell to their work, Maisonneuve hewing down thefirst tree, --and labored with such good-will, that their tents were sooninclosed with a strong palisade, and their altar covered by a provisionalchapel, built, in the Huron mode, of bark. Soon afterward, their canvashabitations were supplanted by solid structures of wood, and the feeblegerm of a future city began to take root. 

The Iroquois had not yet found them out; nor did they discover them tillthey had had ample time to fortify themselves. Meanwhile, on a Sunday, they would stroll at their leisure over the adjacent meadow and in theshade of the bordering forest, where, as the old chronicler tells us, the grass was gay with wild-flowers, and the branches with the flutterand song of many strange birds. [ Dollier de Casson, MS. ]

The day of the Assumption of the Virgin was celebrated with befittingsolemnity. There was mass in their bark chapel; then a Te Deum; thenpublic instruction of certain Indians who chanced to be at Montreal; thena procession of all the colonists after vespers, to the admiration of theredskinned beholders. Cannon, too, were fired, in honor of theircelestial patroness. "Their thunder made all the island echo, " writesFather Vimont; "and the demons, though used to thunderbolts, were scaredat a noise which told them of the love we bear our great Mistress; and Ihave scarcely any doubt that the tutelary angels of the savages of NewFrance have marked this day in the calendar of Paradise. " [ Vimont, Relation, 1642, 38. Compare Le Clerc, Premier Etablissement de la Foy, II. 51. ]

The summer passed prosperously, but with the winter their faith was putto a rude test. In December, there was a rise of the St. Lawrence, threatening to sweep away in a night the results of all their labor. They fell to their prayers; and Maisonneuve planted a wooden cross inface of the advancing deluge, first making a vow, that, should the perilbe averted, he, Maisonneuve, would bear another cross on his shoulders upthe neighboring mountain, and place it on the summit. The vow seemed invain. The flood still rose, filled the fort ditch, swept the foot of thepalisade, and threatened to sap the magazine; but here it stopped, and presently began to recede, till at length it had withdrawn within itslawful channel, and Villemarie was safe. 

[ A little MS. Map in M. Jacques Viger's copy of Le Petit Registre de laCure de Montreal, lays down the position and shape of the fort at thistime, and shows the spot where Maisonneuve planted the cross. ]

Now it remained to fulfil the promise from which such happy results hadproceeded. Maisonneuve set his men at work to clear a path through theforest to the top of the mountain. A large cross was made, and solemnlyblessed by the priest; then, on the sixth of January, the Jesuit Du Peronled the way, followed in procession by Madame de la Peltrie, the artisans, and soldiers, to the destined spot. The commandant, who with all theceremonies of the Church had been declared First Soldier of the Cross, walked behind the rest, bearing on his shoulder a cross so heavy that itneeded his utmost strength to climb the steep and rugged path. Theyplanted it on the highest crest, and all knelt in adoration before it. Du Peron said mass; and Madame de la Peltrie, always romantic and alwaysdevout, received the sacrament on the mountain-top, a spectacle to thevirgin world outstretched below. Sundry relics of saints had been setin the wood of the cross, which remained an object of pilgrimage to thepious colonists of Villemarie. [ Vimont, Relation, 1643, 52, 53. ]

Peace and harmony reigned within the little fort; and so edifying was thedemeanor of the colonists, so faithful were they to the confessional, and so constant at mass, that a chronicler of the day exclaims, in aburst of enthusiasm, that the deserts lately a resort of demons were nowthe abode of angels. [ Veritables Motifs, cited by Faillon, I. 453, 454. ] The two Jesuits who for the time were their pastors had them wellin hand. They dwelt under the same roof with most of their flock, who lived in community, in one large house, and vied with each other inzeal for the honor of the Virgin and the conversion of the Indians. 

At the end of August, 1643, a vessel arrived at Villemarie with areinforcement commanded by Louis d'Ailleboust de Coulonges, a piousgentleman of Champagne, and one of the Associates of Montreal. [ Chaulmer, 101; Juchereau, 91. ] Some years before, he had asked inwedlock the hand of Barbe de Boulogne; but the young lady had, when achild, in the ardor of her piety, taken a vow of perpetual chastity. By the advice of her Jesuit confessor, she accepted his suit, oncondition that she should preserve, to the hour of her death, the stateto which Holy Church has always ascribed a peculiar merit. [ 1 ]D'Ailleboust married her; and when, soon after, he conceived the purposeof devoting his life to the work of the Faith in Canada, he invited hismaiden spouse to go with him. She refused, and forbade him to mentionthe subject again. Her health was indifferent, and about this time shefell ill. As a last resort, she made a promise to God, that, if He wouldrestore her, she would go to Canada with her husband; and forthwith hermaladies ceased. Still her reluctance continued; she hesitated, and thenrefused again, when an inward light revealed to her that it was her dutyto cast her lot in the wilderness. She accordingly embarked withd'Ailleboust, accompanied by her sister, Mademoiselle Philippine deBoulogne, who had caught the contagion of her zeal. The presence ofthese damsels would, to all appearance, be rather a burden than a profitto the colonists, beset as they then were by Indians, and often in perilof starvation; but the spectacle of their ardor, as disinterested as itwas extravagant, would serve to exalt the religious enthusiasm in whichalone was the life of Villemarie. 

[ 1 Juchereau, Histoire de l'Hotel-Dieu de Quebec, 276. The confessortold D'Ailleboust, that, if he persuaded his wife to break her vow ofcontinence, "God would chastise him terribly. " The nun historian adds, that, undeterred by the menace, he tried and failed. ]

Their vessel passed in safety the Iroquois who watched the St. Lawrence, and its arrival filled the colonists with joy. D'Ailleboust was askilful soldier, specially versed in the arts of fortification; and, under his direction, the frail palisades which formed their sole defencewere replaced by solid ramparts and bastions of earth. He brought newsthat the "unknown benefactress, " as a certain generous member of theAssociation of Montreal was called, in ignorance of her name, had givenfunds, to the amount, as afterwards appeared, of forty-two thousandlivres, for the building of a hospital at Villemarie. [ Archives duSeminaire de Villemarie, cited by Faillon, I. 466. The amount of thegift was not declared until the next year. ] The source of the gift waskept secret, from a religious motive; but it soon became known that itproceeded from Madame de Bullion, a lady whose rank and wealth wereexceeded only by her devotion. It is true that the hospital was notwanted, as no one was sick at Villemarie and one or two chambers wouldhave sufficed for every prospective necessity; but it will be rememberedthat the colony had been established in order that a hospital might bebuilt, and Madame de Bullion would not hear to any other application ofher money. [ Mademoiselle Mance wrote to her, to urge that the moneyshould be devoted to the Huron mission; but she absolutely refused. Dollier de Casson, MS. ] Instead, therefore, of tilling the land tosupply their own pressing needs, all the laborers of the settlement wereset at this pious, though superfluous, task. [ 1 ] There was no room inthe fort, which, moreover, was in danger of inundation; and the hospitalwas accordingly built on higher ground adjacent. To leave it unprotectedwould be to abandon its inmates to the Iroquois; it was thereforesurrounded by a strong palisade, and, in time of danger, a part of thegarrison was detailed to defend it. Here Mademoiselle Mance took up herabode, and waited the day when wounds or disease should bring patients toher empty wards. 

[ 1 Journal des Superieurs des Jesuites, MS. 

The hospital was sixty feet long and twenty-four feet wide, with akitchen, a chamber for Mademoiselle Mance, others for servants, and twolarge apartments for the patients. It was amply provided with furniture, linen, medicines, and all necessaries; and had also two oxen, three cows, and twenty sheep. A small oratory of stone was built adjoining it. The inclosure was four arpents in extent. --Archives du Seminaire deVillemarie, cited by Faillon. ]

Dauversiere, who had first conceived this plan of a hospital in thewilderness, was a senseless enthusiast, who rejected as a sin everyprotest of reason against the dreams which governed him; yet one rationaland practical element entered into the motives of those who carried theplan into execution. The hospital was intended not only to nurse sickFrenchmen, but to nurse and convert sick Indians; in other words, it wasan engine of the mission. 

From Maisonneuve to the humblest laborer, these zealous colonists werebent on the work of conversion. To that end, the ladies made pilgrimagesto the cross on the mountain, sometimes for nine days in succession, to pray God to gather the heathen into His fold. The fatigue was great;nor was the danger less; and armed men always escorted them, as aprecaution against the Iroquois. [ Morin, Annales de l'Hotel-Dieu deSt. Joseph, MS. , cited by Faillon, I. 457. ] The male colonists wereequally fervent; and sometimes as many as fifteen or sixteen personswould kneel at once before the cross, with the same charitable petition. [ Marguerite Bourgeoys, Ecrits Autographes, MS. , extracts in Faillon, I. 458. ] The ardor of their zeal may be inferred from the fact, thatthese pious expeditions consumed the greater part of the day, when timeand labor were of a value past reckoning to the little colony. Besidestheir pilgrimages, they used other means, and very efficient ones, to attract and gain over the Indians. They housed, fed, and clothed themat every opportunity; and though they were subsisting chiefly onprovisions brought at great cost from France, there was always a portionfor the hungry savages who from time to time encamped near their fort. If they could persuade any of them to be nursed, they were consigned tothe tender care of Mademoiselle Mance; and if a party went to war, their women and children were taken in charge till their return. As thisattention to their bodies had for its object the profit of their souls, it was accompanied with incessant catechizing. This, with the otherinfluences of the place, had its effect; and some notable conversionswere made. Among them was that of the renowned chief, Tessouat, or LeBorgne, as the French called him, --a crafty and intractable savage, whom, to their own surprise, they succeeded in taming and winning to the Faith. [ Vimont, Relation, 1643, 54, 55. Tessouat was chief of Allumette Island, in the Ottawa. His predecessor, of the same name, was Champlain's hostin 1613. --See "Pioneers of France, " Chap. XII. ] He was christened withthe name of Paul, and his squaw with that of Madeleine. Maisonneuverewarded him with a gun, and celebrated the day by a feast to all theIndians present. 

[ It was the usual practice to give guns to converts, "pour attirer leurcompatriotes a la Foy. " They were never given to heathen Indians. "It seems, " observes Vimont, "that our Lord wishes to make use of thismethod in order that Christianity may become acceptable in thiscountry. "--Relation, 1643, 71. ]

The French hoped to form an agricultural settlement of Indians in theneighborhood of Villemarie; and they spared no exertion to this end, giving them tools, and aiding them to till the fields. They might havesucceeded, but for that pest of the wilderness, the Iroquois, who hoveredabout them, harassed them with petty attacks, and again and again drovethe Algonquins in terror from their camps. Some time had elapsed, as we have seen, before the Iroquois discovered Villemarie; but at lengthten fugitive Algonquins, chased by a party of them, made for the friendlysettlement as a safe asylum; and thus their astonished pursuers becameaware of its existence. They reconnoitred the place, and went back totheir towns with the news. [ Dollier de Casson, MS. ] From that timeforth the colonists had no peace; no more excursions for fishing andhunting; no more Sunday strolls in woods and meadows. The men went armedto their work, and returned at the sound of a bell, marching in a compactbody, prepared for an attack. 

Early in June, 1643, sixty Hurons came down in canoes for traffic, and, on reaching the place now called Lachine, at the head of the rapids ofSt. Louis, and a few miles above Villemarie, they were amazed at findinga large Iroquois war-party in a fort hastily built of the trunks andboughs of trees. Surprise and fright seem to have infatuated them. They neither fought nor fled, but greeted their inveterate foes as ifthey were friends and allies, and, to gain their good graces, told themall they knew of the French settlement, urging them to attack it, andpromising an easy victory. Accordingly, the Iroquois detached forty oftheir warriors, who surprised six Frenchmen at work hewing timber withina gunshot of the fort, killed three of them, took the remaining threeprisoners, and returned in triumph. The captives were bound with theusual rigor; and the Hurons taunted and insulted them, to please theirdangerous companions. Their baseness availed them little; for at night, after a feast of victory, when the Hurons were asleep or off their guard, their entertainers fell upon them, and killed or captured the greaterpart. The rest ran for Villemarie, where, as their treachery was as yetunknown, they were received with great kindness. 

[ I have followed Dollier de Casson. Vimont's account is different. He says that the Iroquois fell upon the Hurons at the outset, and tooktwenty-three prisoners, killing many others; after which they made theattack at Villemarie. --Relation, 1643, 62. 

Faillon thinks that Vimont was unwilling to publish the treachery of theHurons, lest the interests of the Huron mission should suffer inconsequence. 

Belmont, Histoire du Canada, 1643, confirms the account of the Hurontreachery. ]

The next morning the Iroquois decamped, carrying with them theirprisoners, and the furs plundered from the Huron canoes. They had takenalso, and probably destroyed, all the letters from the missionaries inthe Huron country, as well as a copy of their Relation of the precedingyear. Of the three French prisoners, one escaped and reached Montreal;the remaining two were burned alive. 

At Villemarie it was usually dangerous to pass beyond the ditch of thefort or the palisades of the hospital. Sometimes a solitary warriorwould lie hidden for days, without sleep and almost without food, behinda log in the forest, or in a dense thicket, watching like a lynx for somerash straggler. Sometimes parties of a hundred or more made ambuscadesnear by, and sent a few of their number to lure out the soldiers by apetty attack and a flight. The danger was much diminished, however, when the colonists received from France a number of dogs, which provedmost efficient sentinels and scouts. Of the instinct of these animalsthe writers of the time speak with astonishment. Chief among them was abitch named Pilot, who every morning made the rounds of the forests andfields about the fort, followed by a troop of her offspring. If one ofthem lagged behind, she hit him to remind him of his duty; and if anyskulked and ran home, she punished them severely in the same manner onher return. When she discovered the Iroquois, which she was sure to doby the scents if any were near, she barked furiously, and ran at oncestraight to the fort, followed by the rest. The Jesuit chronicler adds, with an amusing naivete, that, while this was her duty, "her naturalinclination was for hunting squirrels. "

[ Lalemant, Relation, 1647, 74, 75. "Son attrait naturel estoit lachasse aux ecurieux. " Dollier de Casson also speaks admiringly of herand her instinct. Faillon sees in it a manifest proof of the protectingcare of God over Villemarie. ]

Maisonneuve was as brave a knight of the cross as ever fought inPalestine for the sepulchre of Christ; but he could temper his valor withdiscretion. He knew that he and his soldiers were but indifferentwoodsmen; that their crafty foe had no equal in ambuscades and surprises;and that, while a defeat might ruin the French, it would only exasperatean enemy whose resources in men were incomparably greater. Therefore, when the dogs sounded the alarm, he kept his followers close, and stoodpatiently on the defensive. They chafed under this Fabian policy, and at length imputed it to cowardice. Their murmurings grew louder, till they reached the ear of Maisonneuve. The religion which animatedhim had not destroyed the soldierly pride which takes root so readily andso strongly in a manly nature; and an imputation of cowardice from hisown soldiers stung him to the quick. He saw, too, that such an opinionof him must needs weaken his authority, and impair the disciplineessential to the safety of the colony. 

On the morning of the thirtieth of March, Pilot was heard barking withunusual fury in the forest eastward from the fort; and in a few momentsthey saw her running over the clearing, where the snow was still deep, followed by her brood, all giving tongue together. The excited Frenchmenflocked about their commander. 

"Monsieur, les ennemis sont dans le bois; ne les irons-nous jamais voir?"[ Dollier de Casson, MS. ]

Maisonneuve, habitually composed and calm, answered sharply, --

"Yes, you shall see the enemy. Get yourselves ready at once, and takecare that you are as brave as you profess to be. I shall lead youmyself. "

All was bustle in the fort. Guns were loaded, pouches filled, andsnow-shoes tied on by those who had them and knew how to use them. There were not enough, however, and many were forced to go without them. When all was ready, Maisonneuve sallied forth at the head of thirty men, leaving d'Ailleboust, with the remainder, to hold the fort. They crossedthe snowy clearing and entered the forest, where all was silent as thegrave. They pushed on, wading through the deep snow, with the countlesspitfalls hidden beneath it, when suddenly they were greeted with thescreeches of eighty Iroquois, [ 1 ] who sprang up from their lurking-places, and showered bullets and arrows upon the advancing French. The emergency called, not for chivalry, but for woodcraft; andMaisonneuve ordered his men to take shelter, like their assailants, behind trees. They stood their ground resolutely for a long time; butthe Iroquois pressed them close, three of their number were killed, others were wounded, and their ammunition began to fail. Their onlyalternatives were destruction or retreat; and to retreat was not easy. The order was given. Though steady at first, the men soon becameconfused, and over-eager to escape the galling fire which the Iroquoissent after them. Maisonneuve directed them towards a sledge-track whichhad been used in dragging timber for building the hospital, and where thesnow was firm beneath the foot. He himself remained to the last, encouraging his followers and aiding the wounded to escape. The French, as they struggled through the snow, faced about from time to time, and fired back to check the pursuit; but no sooner had they reached thesledge-track than they gave way to their terror, and ran in a body forthe fort. Those within, seeing this confused rush of men from thedistance, mistook them for the enemy; and an over-zealous soldier touchedthe match to a cannon which had been pointed to rake the sledge-track. Had not the piece missed fire, from dampness of the priming, he wouldhave done more execution at one shot than the Iroquois in all the fightof that morning. 

[ 1 Vimont, Relation, 1644, 42. Dollier de Casson says two hundred, but it is usually safe in these cases to accept the smaller number, and Vimont founds his statement on the information of an escapedprisoner. ]

Maisonneuve was left alone, retreating backwards down the track, andholding his pursuers in check, with a pistol in each hand. They mighteasily have shot him; but, recognizing him as the commander of the French, they were bent on taking him alive. Their chief coveted this honor forhimself, and his followers held aloof to give him the opportunity. He pressed close upon Maisonneuve, who snapped a pistol at him, whichmissed fire. The Iroquois, who had ducked to avoid the shot, rose erect, and sprang forward to seize him, when Maisonneuve, with his remainingpistol, shot him dead. Then ensued a curious spectacle, not infrequentin Indian battles. The Iroquois seemed to forget their enemy, in theiranxiety to secure and carry off the body of their chief; and the Frenchcommander continued his retreat unmolested, till he was safe under thecannon of the fort. From that day, he was a hero in the eyes of his men. 

[ Dollier de Casson, MS. Vimont's mention of the affair is brief. He says that two Frenchmen were made prisoners, and burned. Belmont, Histoire du Canada, 1645, gives a succinct account of the fight, andindicates the scene of it. It seems to have been a little below the siteof the Place d'Armes, on which stands the great Parish Church ofVillemarie, commonly known to tourists as the "Cathedral. " Faillonthinks that Maisonneuve's exploit was achieved on this very spot. 

Marguerite Bourgeoys also describes the affair in her unpublishedwritings. ]

Quebec and Montreal are happy in their founders. Samuel de Champlain andChomedey de Maisonneuve are among the names that shine with a fair andhonest lustre on the infancy of nations. 

CHAPTER XIX. 

1644, 1645. 

PEACE. 

 IROQUOIS PRISONERS. --PISKARET. --HIS EXPLOITS. --MORE PRISONERS. -- IROQUOIS EMBASSY. --THE ORATOR. --THE GREAT COUNCIL. -- SPEECHES OF KIOTSATON. --MUSTER OF SAVAGES. --PEACE CONFIRMED. 

In the damp and freshness of a midsummer morning, when the sun had notyet risen, but when the river and the sky were red with the glory ofapproaching day, the inmates of the fort at Three Rivers were roused by atumult of joyous and exultant voices. They thronged to the shore, --priests, soldiers, traders, and officers, mingled with warriors andshrill-voiced squaws from Huron and Algonquin camps in the neighboringforest. Close at hand they saw twelve or fifteen canoes slowly driftingdown the current of the St. Lawrence, manned by eighty young Indians, all singing their songs of victory, and striking their paddles againstthe edges of their bark vessels in cadence with their voices. Among themthree Iroquois prisoners stood upright, singing loud and defiantly, as men not fearing torture or death. 

A few days before, these young warriors, in part Huron and in partAlgonquin, had gone out on the war-path to the River Richelieu, wherethey had presently found themselves entangled among several bands ofIroquois. They withdrew in the night, after a battle in the dark with anIroquois canoe, and, as they approached Fort Richelieu, had the goodfortune to discover ten of their enemy ambuscaded in a clump of bushesand fallen trees, watching to waylay some of the soldiers on theirmorning visit to the fishing-nets in the river hard by. They capturedthree of them, and carried them back in triumph. 

The victors landed amid screams of exultation. Two of the prisoners wereassigned to the Hurons, and the third to the Algonquins, who immediatelytook him to their lodges near the fort at Three Rivers, and began theusual "caress, " by burning his feet with red-hot stones, and cutting offhis fingers. Champfleur, the commandant, went out to them with urgentremonstrances, and at length prevailed on them to leave their victimwithout further injury, until Montmagny, the Governor, should arrive. He came with all dispatch, --not wholly from a motive of humanity, butpartly in the hope that the three captives might be made instrumental inconcluding a peace with their countrymen. 

A council was held in the fort at Three Rivers. Montmagny made valuablepresents to the Algonquins and the Hurons, to induce them to place theprisoners in his hands. The Algonquins complied; and the unfortunateIroquois, gashed, maimed, and scorched, was given up to the French, who treated him with the greatest kindness. But neither the Governor'sgifts nor his eloquence could persuade the Hurons to follow the exampleof their allies; and they departed for their own country with their twocaptives, --promising, however, not to burn them, but to use them fornegotiations of peace. With this pledge, scarcely worth the breath thatuttered it, Montmagny was forced to content himself. [ Vimont, Relation, 1644, 45-49. ]

Thus it appeared that the fortune of war did not always smile even on theIroquois. Indeed, if there is faith in Indian tradition, there had beena time, scarcely half a century past, when the Mohawks, perhaps thefiercest and haughtiest of the confederate nations, had been nearlydestroyed by the Algonquins, whom they now held in contempt. [ 1 ]This people, whose inferiority arose chiefly from the want of thatcompact organization in which lay the strength of the Iroquois, had notlost their ancient warlike spirit; and they had one champion of whom eventhe audacious confederates stood in awe. His name was Piskaret; and hedwelt on that great island in the Ottawa of which Le Borgne was chief. He had lately turned Christian, in the hope of French favor andcountenance, --always useful to an ambitious Indian, --and perhaps, too, with an eye to the gun and powder-horn which formed the earthly reward ofthe convert. [ 2 ] Tradition tells marvellous stories of his exploits. Once, it is said, he entered an Iroquois town on a dark night. His firstcare was to seek out a hiding-place, and he soon found one in the midstof a large wood-pile. [ 3 ] Next he crept into a lodge, and, finding theinmates asleep, killed them with his war-club, took their scalps, andquietly withdrew to the retreat he had prepared. In the morning a howlof lamentation and fury rose from the astonished villagers. They rangedthe fields and forests in vain pursuit of the mysterious enemy, whoremained all day in the wood-pile, whence, at midnight, he came forth andrepeated his former exploit. On the third night, every family placed itssentinels; and Piskaret, stealthily creeping from lodge to lodge, andreconnoitring each through crevices in the bark, saw watchers everywhere. At length he descried a sentinel who had fallen asleep near the entranceof a lodge, though his companion at the other end was still awake andvigilant. He pushed aside the sheet of bark that served as a door, struck the sleeper a deadly blow, yelled his war-cry, and fled like thewind. All the village swarmed out in furious chase; but Piskaret was theswiftest runner of his time, and easily kept in advance of his pursuers. When daylight came, he showed himself from time to time to lure them on, then yelled defiance, and distanced them again. At night, all but sixhad given over the chase; and even these, exhausted as they were, hadbegun to despair. Piskaret, seeing a hollow tree, crept into it like abear, and hid himself; while the Iroquois, losing his traces in the dark, lay down to sleep near by. At midnight he emerged from his retreat, stealthily approached his slumbering enemies, nimbly brained them allwith his war-club, and then, burdened with a goodly bundle of scalps, journeyed homeward in triumph. [ 4 ]

[ 1 Relation, 1660, 6 (anonymous). 

Both Parrot and La Potherie recount traditions of the ancient superiorityof the Algonquins over the Iroquois, who formerly, it is said, dwelt nearMontreal and Three Rivers, whence the Algonquins expelled them. Theywithdrew, first to the neighborhood of Lake Erie, then to that of LakeOntario, their historic seat. There is much to support the conjecturethat the Indians found by Cartier at Montreal in 1535 were Iroquois (See"Pioneers of France, " 189. ) That they belonged to the same family oftribes is certain. For the traditions alluded to, see Perrot, 9, 12, 79, and La Potherie, I. 288-295. ]

[ 2 "Simon Pieskaret . . . N'estoit Chrestien qu'en apparence et parpolice. "--Lalemant, Relation, 1647, 68. --He afterwards became a convertin earnest. ]

[ 3 Both the Iroquois and the Hurons collected great quantities of woodin their villages in the autumn. ]

[ 4 This story is told by La Potherie, I. 299, and, more briefly, by Perrot, 107. La Potherie, writing more than half a century after thetime in question, represents the Iroquois as habitually in awe of theAlgonquins. In this all the contemporary writers contradict him. ]

This is but one of several stories that tradition has preserved of hisexploits; and, with all reasonable allowances, it is certain that thecrafty and valiant Algonquin was the model of an Indian warrior. Thatwhich follows rests on a far safer basis. 

Early in the spring of 1645, Piskaret, with six other converted Indians, some of them better Christians than he, set out on a war-party, and, after dragging their canoes over the frozen St. Lawrence, launched themon the open stream of the Richelieu. They ascended to Lake Champlain, and hid themselves in the leafless forests of a large island, watchingpatiently for their human prey. One day they heard a distant shot. "Come, friends, " said Piskaret, "let us get our dinner: perhaps it willbe the last, for we must dine before we run. " Having dined to theircontentment, the philosophic warriors prepared for action. One of themwent to reconnoitre, and soon reported that two canoes full of Iroquoiswere approaching the island. Piskaret and his followers crouched in thebushes at the point for which the canoes were making, and, as theforemost drew near, each chose his mark, and fired with such good effectthat, of seven warriors, all but one were killed. The survivor jumpedoverboard, and swam for the other canoe, where he was taken in. It nowcontained eight Iroquois, who, far from attempting to escape, paddled inhaste for a distant part of the shore, in order to land, give battle, and avenge their slain comrades. But the Algonquins, running through thewoods, reached the landing before them, and, as one of them rose to fire, they shot him. In his fall he overset the canoe. The water was shallow, and the submerged warriors, presently finding foothold, waded towards theshore, and made desperate fight. The Algonquins had the advantage ofposition, and used it so well, that they killed all but three of theirenemies, and captured two of the survivors. Next they sought out thebodies, carefully scalped them, and set out in triumph on their return. To the credit of their Jesuit teachers, they treated their prisoners witha forbearance hitherto without example. One of them, who was defiant andabusive, received a blow to silence him; but no further indignity wasoffered to either. 

[ According to Marie de l'Incarnation, Lettre, 14 Sept. , 1645, Piskaretwas for torturing the captives; but a convert, named Bernard by theFrench, protested against it. ]

As the successful warriors approached the little mission settlement ofSillery, immediately above Quebec, they raised their song of triumph, and beat time with their paddles on the edges of their canoes; while, from eleven poles raised aloft, eleven fresh scalps fluttered in thewind. The Father Jesuit and all his flock were gathered on the strand towelcome them. The Indians fired their guns, and screeched in jubilation;one Jean Baptiste, a Christian chief of Sillery, made a speech from theshore; Piskaret replied, standing upright in his canoe; and, to crown theoccasion, a squad of soldiers, marching in haste from Quebec, fired asalute of musketry, to the boundless delight of the Indians. Much to thesurprise of the two captives, there was no running of the gantlet, no gnawing off of finger-nails or cutting off of fingers; but the scalpswere hung, like little flags, over the entrances of the lodges, and allSillery betook itself to feasting and rejoicing. [ Vimont, Relation, 1645, 19-21. ] One old woman, indeed, came to the Jesuit with apathetic appeal: "Oh, my Father! let me caress these prisoners a little:they have killed, burned, and eaten my father, my husband, and mychildren. " But the missionary, answered with a lecture on the duty offorgiveness. [ Vimont, Relation, 1645, 21, 22. ]

On the next day, Montmagny came to Sillery, and there was a grand councilin the house of the Jesuits. Piskaret, in a solemn harangue, deliveredhis captives to the Governor, who replied with a speech of compliment andan ample gift. The two Iroquois were present, seated with a seemingimperturbability, but great anxiety of heart; and when at length theycomprehended that their lives were safe, one of them, a man of great sizeand symmetry, rose and addressed Montmagny:--

"Onontio, [ 1 ] I am saved from the fire; my body is delivered fromdeath. Onontio, you have given me my life. I thank you for it. I willnever forget it. All my country will be grateful to you. The earth willbe bright; the river calm and smooth; there will be peace and friendshipbetween us. The shadow is before my eyes no longer. The spirits of myancestors slain by the Algonquins have disappeared. Onontio, you aregood: we are bad. But our anger is gone; I have no heart but for peaceand rejoicing. " As he said this, he began to dance, holding his handsupraised, as if apostrophizing the sky. Suddenly he snatched a hatchet, brandished it for a moment like a madman, and then flung it into the fire, saying, as he did so, "Thus I throw down my anger! thus I cast away theweapons of blood! Farewell, war! Now I am your friend forever!" [ 2 ]

[ 1 _Onontio_, _Great Mountain_, a translation of Montmagny's name. It was the Iroquois name ever after for the Governor of Canada. In thesame manner, _Onas_, _Feather_ or _Quill_, became the official name ofWilliam Penn, and all succeeding Governors of Pennsylvania. We have seenthat the Iroquois hereditary chiefs had official names, which are the sameto-day that they were at the period of this narrative. ]

[ 2 Vimont, Relation, 1645, 22, 23. He adds, that, "if these people arebarbarous in deed, they have thoughts worthy of Greeks and Romans. " ]

The two prisoners were allowed to roam at will about the settlement, withheld from escaping by an Indian point of honor. Montmagny soon aftersent them to Three Rivers, where the Iroquois taken during the lastsummer had remained all winter. Champfleur, the commandant, now receivedorders to clothe, equip, and send him home, with a message to his nationthat Onontio made them a present of his life, and that he had still twoprisoners in his hands, whom he would also give them, if they saw fit toembrace this opportunity of making peace with the French and their Indianallies. 

This was at the end of May. On the fifth of July following, theliberated Iroquois reappeared at Three Rivers, bringing with him two menof renown, ambassadors of the Mohawk nation. There was a fourth man ofthe party, and, as they approached, the Frenchmen on the shore recognized, to their great delight, Guillaume Couture, the young man captured threeyears before with Father Jogues, and long since given up as dead. In dress and appearance he was an Iroquois. He had gained a greatinfluence over his captors, and this embassy of peace was due in goodmeasure to his persuasions. [ Marie de l'Incarnation, Lettre, 14 Sept. , 1645. ]

The chief of the Iroquois, Kiotsaton, a tall savage, covered from head tofoot with belts of wampum, stood erect in the prow of the sail-boat whichhad brought him and his companions from Richelieu, and in a loud voiceannounced himself as the accredited envoy of his nation. The boat fireda swivel, the fort replied with a cannon-shot, and the envoys landed instate. Kiotsaton and his colleague were conducted to the room of thecommandant, where, seated on the floor, they were regaled sumptuously, and presented in due course with pipes of tobacco. They had never beforeseen anything so civilized, and were delighted with their entertainment. "We are glad to see you, " said Champfleur to Kiotsaton; "you may be surethat you are safe here. It is as if you were among your own people, and in your own house. "

"Tell your chief that he lies, " replied the honored guest, addressing theinterpreter. 

Champfleur, though he probably knew that this was but an Indian mode ofexpressing dissent, showed some little surprise; when Kiotsaton, aftertranquilly smoking for a moment, proceeded:--"Your chief says it is as ifI were in my own country. This is not true; for there I am not sohonored and caressed. He says it is as if I were in my own house; but inmy own house I am some times very ill served, and here you feast me withall manner of good cheer. " From this and many other replies, the Frenchconceived that they had to do with a man of _esprit_. [ Vimont, Relation, 1645, 24. ]

He undoubtedly belonged to that class of professed orators who, thoughrarely or never claiming the honors of hereditary chieftainship, hadgreat influence among the Iroquois, and were employed in all affairs ofembassy and negotiation. They had memories trained to an astonishingtenacity, were perfect in all the conventional metaphors in which thelanguage of Indian diplomacy and rhetoric mainly consisted, knew by heartthe traditions of the nation, and were adepts in the parliamentary usages, which, among the Iroquois, were held little less than sacred. 

The ambassadors were feasted for a week, not only by the French, but alsoby the Hurons and Algonquins; and then the grand peace council tookplace. Montmagny had come up from Quebec, and with him the chief men ofthe colony. It was a bright midsummer day; and the sun beat hot upon theparched area of the fort, where awnings were spread to shelter theassembly. On one side sat Montmagny, with officers and others whoattended him. Near him was Vimont, Superior of the Mission, and otherJesuits, --Jogues among the rest. Immediately before them sat theIroquois, on sheets of spruce-bark spread on the ground like mats: forthey had insisted on being near the French, as a sign of the extreme lovethey had of late conceived towards them. On the opposite side of thearea were the Algonquins, in their several divisions of the Algonquinsproper, the Montagnais, and the Atticamegues, [ 1 ] sitting, lying, or squatting on the ground. On the right hand and on the left wereHurons mingled with Frenchmen. In the midst was a large open space likethe arena of a prize-ring; and here were planted two poles with a linestretched from one to the other, on which, in due time, were to be hungthe wampum belts that represented the words of the orator. For thepresent, these belts were in part hung about the persons of the twoambassadors, and in part stored in a bag carried by one of them. 

[ 1 The Atticamegues, or tribe of the White Fish, dwelt in the forestsnorth of Three Rivers. They much resembled their Montagnais kindred. ]

When all was ready, Kiotsaton arose, strode into the open space, and, raising his tall figure erect, stood looking for a moment at the sun. Then he gazed around on the assembly, took a wampum belt in his hand, and began:--

"Onontio, give ear. I am the mouth of all my nation. When you listen tome, you listen to all the Iroquois. There is no evil in my heart. My song is a song of peace. We have many war-songs in our country; butwe have thrown them all away, and now we sing of nothing but gladness andrejoicing. "

Hereupon he began to sing, his countrymen joining with him. He walked toand fro, gesticulated towards the sky, and seemed to apostrophize thesun; then, turning towards the Governor, resumed his harangue. First hethanked him for the life of the Iroquois prisoner released in the spring, but blamed him for sending him home without company or escort. Then heled forth the young Frenchman, Guillaume Couture, and tied a wampum beltto his arm. 

"With this, " he said, "I give you back this prisoner. I did not say tohim, 'Nephew, take a canoe and go home to Quebec. ' I should have beenwithout sense, had I done so. I should have been troubled in my heart, lest some evil might befall him. The prisoner whom you sent back to ussuffered every kind of danger and hardship on the way. " Here heproceeded to represent the difficulties of the journey in pantomime, "so natural, " says Father Vimont, "that no actor in France could equalit. " He counterfeited the lonely traveller toiling up some rocky portagetrack, with a load of baggage on his head, now stopping as if half spent, and now tripping against a stone. Next he was in his canoe, vainlytrying to urge it against the swift current, looking around in despair onthe foaming rapids, then recovering courage, and paddling desperately forhis life. "What did you mean, " demanded the orator, resuming hisharangue, "by sending a man alone among these dangers? I have not doneso. 'Come, nephew, ' I said to the prisoner there before you, "--pointingto Couture, --"'follow me: I will see you home at the risk of my life. '"And to confirm his words, he hung another belt on the line. 

The third belt was to declare that the nation of the speaker had sentpresents to the other nations to recall their war-parties, in view of theapproaching peace. The fourth was an assurance that the memory of theslain Iroquois no longer stirred the living to vengeance. "I passed nearthe place where Piskaret and the Algonquins slew our warriors in thespring. I saw the scene of the fight where the two prisoners here weretaken. I passed quickly; I would not look on the blood of my people. Their bodies lie there still; I turned away my eyes, that I might not beangry. " Then, stooping, he struck the ground and seemed to listen. "I heard the voice of my ancestors, slain by the Algonquins, crying to mein a tone of affection, 'My grandson, my grandson, restrain your anger:think no more of us, for you cannot deliver us from death; think of theliving; rescue them from the knife and the fire. ' When I heard thesevoices, I went on my way, and journeyed hither to deliver those whom youstill hold in captivity. "

The fifth, sixth, and seventh belts were to open the passage by waterfrom the French to the Iroquois, to chase hostile canoes from the river, smooth away the rapids and cataracts, and calm the waves of the lake. The eighth cleared the path by land. "You would have said, " writesVimont, "that he was cutting down trees, hacking off branches, draggingaway bushes, and filling up holes. "--"Look!" exclaimed the orator, when he had ended this pantomime, "the road is open, smooth, andstraight"; and he bent towards the earth, as if to see that no impedimentremained. "There is no thorn, or stone, or log in the way. Now you maysee the smoke of our villages from Quebec to the heart of our country. "

Another belt, of unusual size and beauty, was to bind the Iroquois, the French, and their Indian allies together as one man. As he presentedit, the orator led forth a Frenchman and an Algonquin from among hisauditors, and, linking his arms with theirs, pressed them closely to hissides, in token of indissoluble union. 

The next belt invited the French to feast with the Iroquois. "Ourcountry is full of fish, venison, moose, beaver, and game of every kind. Leave these filthy swine that run about among your houses, feeding ongarbage, and come and eat good food with us. The road is open; there isno danger. "

There was another belt to scatter the clouds, that the sun might shine onthe hearts of the Indians and the French, and reveal their sincerity andtruth to all; then others still, to confirm the Hurons in thoughts ofpeace. By the fifteenth belt, Kiotsaton declared that the Iroquois hadalways wished to send home Jogues and Bressani to their friends, and hadmeant to do so; but that Jogues was stolen from them by the Dutch, and they had given Bressani to them because he desired it. "If he hadbut been patient, " added the ambassador, "I would have brought him backmyself. Now I know not what has befallen him. Perhaps he is drowned. Perhaps he is dead. " Here Jogues said, with a smile, to the Jesuits nearhim, "They had the pile laid to burn me. They would have killed me ahundred times, if God had not saved my life. "

Two or three more belts were hung on the line, each with its appropriatespeech; and, then the speaker closed his harangue: "I go to spend whatremains of the summer in my own country, in games and dances andrejoicing for the blessing of peace. " He had interspersed his discoursethroughout with now a song and now a dance; and the council ended in ageneral dancing, in which Iroquois, Hurons, Algonquins, Montagnais, Atticamegues, and French, all took part, after their respective fashions. 

In spite of one or two palpable falsehoods that embellished his oratory, the Jesuits were delighted with him. "Every one admitted, " says Vimont, "that he was eloquent and pathetic. In short, he showed himself anexcellent actor, for one who has had no instructor but Nature. Igathered only a few fragments of his speech from the mouth of theinterpreter, who gave us but broken portions of it, and did not translateconsecutively. "

[ Vimont describes the council at length in the Relation of 1645. Marie de l'Incarnation also describes it in a letter to her son, ofSept. 14, 1645. She evidently gained her information from Vimont andthe other Jesuits present. ]

Two days after, another council was called, when the Governor gave hisanswer, accepting the proffered peace, and confirming his acceptance bygifts of considerable value. He demanded as a condition, that the Indianallies of the French should be left unmolested, until their principalchiefs, who were not then present, should make a formal treaty with theIroquois in behalf of their several nations. Piskaret then made apresent to wipe away the remembrance of the Iroquois he had slaughtered, and the assembly was dissolved. 

In the evening, Vimont invited the ambassadors to the mission-house, and gave each of them a sack of tobacco and a pipe. In return, Kiotsatonmade him a speech: "When I left my country, I gave up my life; I went tomeet death, and I owe it to you that I am yet alive. I thank you that Istill see the sun; I thank you for all your words and acts of kindness; Ithank you for your gifts. You have covered me with them from head tofoot. You left nothing free but my mouth; and now you have stopped thatwith a handsome pipe, and regaled it with the taste of the herb we love. I bid you farewell, --not for a long time, for you will hear from us soon. Even if we should be drowned on our way home, the winds and the waveswill bear witness to our countrymen of your favors; and I am sure thatsome good spirit has gone before us to tell them of the good news that weare about to bring. " [ Vimont, Relation, 1645, 28. ]

On the next day, he and his companion set forth on their return. Kiotsaton, when he saw his party embarked, turned to the French andIndians who lined the shore, and said with a loud voice, "Farewell, brothers! I am one of your relations now. " Then turning to theGovernor, --"Onontio, your name will be great over all the earth. When Icame hither, I never thought to carry back my head, I never thought tocome out of your doors alive; and now I return loaded with honors, gifts, and kindness. " "Brothers, "--to the Indians, --"obey Onontio and theFrench. Their hearts and their thoughts are good. Be friends with them, and do as they do. You shall hear from us soon. "

The Indians whooped and fired their guns; there was a cannon-shot fromthe fort; and the sail-boat that bore the distinguished visitors moved onits way towards the Richelieu. 

But the work was not done. There must be more councils, speeches, wampum-belts, and gifts of all kinds, --more feasts, dances, songs, and uproar. The Indians gathered at Three Rivers were not sufficient innumbers or in influence to represent their several tribes; and more wereon their way. The principal men of the Hurons were to come down thisyear, with Algonquins of many tribes, from the North and the Northwest;and Kiotsaton had promised that Iroquois ambassadors, duly empowered, should meet them at Three Rivers, and make a solemn peace with them all, under the eye of Onontio. But what hope was there that this swarm offickle and wayward savages could be gathered together at one time and atone place, --or that, being there, they could be restrained from cuttingeach other's throats? Yet so it was; and in this happy event the Jesuitssaw the interposition of God, wrought upon by the prayers of those pioussouls in France who daily and nightly besieged Heaven with supplicationsfor the welfare of the Canadian missions. [ Vimont, Relation, 1645, 29. ]

First came a band of Montagnais; next followed Nipissings, Atticamegues, and Algonquins of the Ottawa, their canoes deep-laden with furs. Then, on the tenth of September, appeared the great fleet of the Hurons, sixty canoes, bearing a host of warriors, among whom the Frenchrecognized the tattered black cassock of Father Jerome Lalemant. Therewere twenty French soldiers, too, returning from the Huron country, whither they had been sent the year before, to guard the Fathers andtheir flock. 

Three Rivers swarmed like an ant-hill with savages. The shore was linedwith canoes; the forests and the fields were alive with busy camps. The trade was brisk; and in its attendant speeches, feasts, and dances, there was no respite. 

But where were the Iroquois? Montmagny and the Jesuits grew veryanxious. In a few days more the concourse would begin to disperse, and the golden moment be lost. It was a great relief when a canoeappeared with tidings that the promised embassy was on its way; and yetmore, when, on the seventeenth, four Iroquois approached the shore, and, in a loud voice, announced themselves as envoys of their nation. Thetumult was prodigious. Montmagny's soldiers formed a double rank, and the savage rabble, with wild eyes and faces smeared with grease andpaint, stared over the shoulders and between the gun-barrels of themusketeers, as the ambassadors of their deadliest foe stalked, withunmoved visages, towards the fort. 

Now council followed council, with an insufferable prolixity ofspeech-making. There were belts to wipe out the memory of the slain;belts to clear the sky, smooth the rivers, and calm the lakes; a belt totake the hatchet from the hands of the Iroquois; another to take awaytheir guns; another to take away their shields; another to wash thewar-paint from their faces; and another to break the kettle in which theyboiled their prisoners. [ Vimont, Relation, 1645, 34. ] In short, there were belts past numbering, each with its meaning, sometimes literal, sometimes figurative, but all bearing upon the great work of peace. At length all was ended. The dances ceased, the songs and the whoopsdied away, and the great muster dispersed, --some to their smoky lodges onthe distant shores of Lake Huron, and some to frozen hunting-grounds innorthern forests. 

There was peace in this dark and blood-stained wilderness. The lynx, the panther, and the wolf had made a covenant of love; but who should betheir surety? A doubt and a fear mingled with the joy of the JesuitFathers; and to their thanksgivings to God they joined a prayer, that thehand which had given might still be stretched forth to preserve. 

CHAPTER XX. 

1645, 1646. 

THE PEACE BROKEN. 

 UNCERTAINTIES. --THE MISSION OF JOGUES. --HE REACHES THE MOHAWKS. -- HIS RECEPTION. --HIS RETURN. --HIS SECOND MISSION. --WARNINGS OF DANGER. -- RAGE OF THE MOHAWKS. --MURDER OF JOGUES. 

There is little doubt that the Iroquois negotiators acted, for the moment, in sincerity. Guillaume Couture, who returned with them and spent thewinter in their towns, saw sufficient proof that they sincerely desiredpeace. And yet the treaty had a double defect. First, the wayward, capricious, and ungoverned nature of the Indian parties to it, on bothsides, made a speedy rupture more than likely. Secondly, in spite oftheir own assertion to the contrary, the Iroquois envoys represented, not the confederacy of the five nations, but only one of these nations, the Mohawks: for each of the members of this singular league could, and often did, make peace and war independently of the rest. 

It was the Mohawks who had made war on the French and their Indian allieson the lower St. Lawrence. They claimed, as against the other Iroquois, a certain right of domain to all this region; and though the warriors ofthe four upper nations had sometimes poached on the Mohawk preserve, by murdering both French and Indians at Montreal, they employed theirenergies for the most part in attacks on the Hurons, the Upper Algonquins, and other tribes of the interior. These attacks still continued, unaffected by the peace with the Mohawks. Imperfect, however, as thetreaty was, it was invaluable, could it but be kept inviolate; and tothis end Montmagny, the Jesuits, and all the colony, anxiously turnedtheir thoughts. 

[ The Mohawks were at this time more numerous, as compared with the otherfour nations of the Iroquois, than they were a few years later. Theyseem to have suffered more reverses in war than any of the others. At this time they may be reckoned at six or seven hundred warriors. A war with the Mohegans, and another with the Andastes, besides their warwith the Algonquins and the French of Canada soon after, told severely ontheir strength. The following are estimates of the numbers of theIroquois warriors made in 1660 by the author of the Relation of that year, and by Wentworth Greenhalgh in 1677, from personal inspection:--

 1660. 1677. 

 Mohawks . . . . . 500 . . 300 Oneidas . . . . . 100 . . 200 Onondagas . . . . 300 . . 350 Cayugas . . . . . 300 . . 300 Senecas . . . . . 1, 000 . . 1, 000 ----- ----- 2, 200 2, 150 ]

It was to hold the Mohawks to their faith that Couture had bravely goneback to winter among them; but an agent of more acknowledged weight wasneeded, and Father Isaac Jogues was chosen. No white man, Coutureexcepted, knew their language and their character so well. His errandwas half political, half religious; for not only was he to be the bearerof gifts, wampum-belts, and messages from the Governor, but he was alsoto found a new mission, christened in advance with a prophetic name, --theMission of the Martyrs. 

For two years past, Jogues had been at Montreal; and it was here that hereceived the order of his Superior to proceed to the Mohawk towns. At first, nature asserted itself, and he recoiled involuntarily at thethought of the horrors of which his scarred body and his mutilated handswere a living memento. [ Lettre du P. Isaac Jogues au B. P. JerosmeL'Allemant. Montreal, 2 Mai, 1646. MS. ] It was a transient weakness;and he prepared to depart with more than willingness, giving thanks toHeaven that he had been found worthy to suffer and to die for the savingof souls and the greater glory of God. 

He felt a presentiment that his death was near, and wrote to a friend, "I shall go, and shall not return. " [ "Ibo et non redibo. " Lettre duP. Jogues au R. P. No date. ] An Algonquin convert gave him sageadvice. "Say nothing about the Faith at first, for there is nothing sorepulsive, in the beginning, as our doctrine, which seems to destroyeverything that men hold dear; and as your long cassock preaches, as wellas your lips, you had better put on a short coat. " Jogues, therefore, exchanged the uniform of Loyola for a civilian's doublet and hose; "for, "observes his Superior, "one should be all things to all men, that he maygain them all to Jesus Christ. " [ Lalemant, Relation, 1646, 15. ]It would be well, if the application of the maxim had always been asharmless. 

Jogues left Three Rivers about the middle of May, with the Sieur Bourdon, engineer to the Governor, two Algonquins with gifts to confirm the peace, and four Mohawks as guides and escort. He passed the Richelieu and LakeChamplain, well-remembered scenes of former miseries, and reached thefoot of Lake George on the eve of Corpus Christi. Thence he called thelake Lac St. Sacrement; and this name it preserved, until, a centuryafter, an ambitious Irishman, in compliment to the sovereign from whom hesought advancement, gave it the name it bears. 

[ Mr. Shea very reasonably suggests, that a change from Lake George toLake Jogues would be equally easy and appropriate. ]

From Lake George they crossed on foot to the Hudson, where, being greatlyfatigued by their heavy loads of gifts, they borrowed canoes at anIroquois fishing station, and descended to Fort Orange. Here Jogues metthe Dutch friends to whom he owed his life, and who now kindly welcomedand entertained him. After a few days he left them, and ascended theRiver Mohawk to the first Mohawk town. Crowds gathered from theneighboring towns to gaze on the man whom they had known as a scorned andabused slave, and who now appeared among them as the ambassador of apower which hitherto, indeed, they had despised, but which in theirpresent mood they were willing to propitiate. 

There was a council in one of the lodges; and while his crowded auditorysmoked their pipes, Jogues stood in the midst, and harangued them. He offered in due form the gifts of the Governor, with the wampum beltsand their messages of peace, while at every pause his words were echoedby a unanimous grunt of applause from the attentive concourse. Peacespeeches were made in return; and all was harmony. When, however, the Algonquin deputies stood before the council, they and their giftswere coldly received. The old hate, maintained by traditions of mutualatrocity, burned fiercely under a thin semblance of peace; and though nooutbreak took place, the prospect of the future was very ominous. 

The business of the embassy was scarcely finished, when the Mohawkscounselled Jogues and his companions to go home with all despatch, saying, that, if they waited longer, they might meet on the way warriors of thefour upper nations, who would inevitably kill the two Algonquin deputies, if not the French also. Jogues, therefore, set out on his return; butnot until, despite the advice of the Indian convert, he had made theround of the houses, confessed and instructed a few Christian prisonersstill remaining here, and baptized several dying Mohawks. Then he andhis party crossed through the forest to the southern extremity of LakeGeorge, made bark canoes, and descended to Fort Richelieu, where theyarrived on the twenty seventh of June. [ Lalemant, Relation, 1646, 17. ]

His political errand was accomplished. Now, should he return to theMohawks, or should the Mission of the Martyrs be for a time abandoned?Lalemant, who had succeeded Vimont as Superior of the missions, held acouncil at Quebec with three other Jesuits, of whom Jogues was one, and it was determined, that, unless some new contingency should arise, he should remain for the winter at Montreal. [ Journal des Superieursdes Jesuites. MS. ] This was in July. Soon after, the plan was changed, for reasons which do not appear, and Jogues received orders to repair tohis dangerous post. He set out on the twenty-fourth of August, accompanied by a young Frenchman named Lalande, and three or four Hurons. [ Journal des Superieurs des Jesuites. MS. ] On the way they metIndians who warned them of a change of feeling in the Mohawk towns, and the Hurons, alarmed, refused to go farther. Jogues, naturallyperhaps the most timid man of the party, had no thought of drawing back, and pursued his journey with his young companion, who, like other _donnes_of the missions; was scarcely behind the Jesuits themselves in devotedenthusiasm. 

The reported change of feeling had indeed taken place; and the occasionof it was characteristic. On his previous visit to the Mohawks, Jogues, meaning to return, had left in their charge a small chest or box. From the first they were distrustful, suspecting that it contained somesecret mischief. He therefore opened it, and showed them the contents, which were a few personal necessaries; and having thus, as he thought, reassured them, locked the box, and left it in their keeping. The Huronprisoners in the town attempted to make favor with their Iroquois enemiesby abusing their French friends, --declaring them to be sorcerers, who hadbewitched, by their charms and mummeries, the whole Huron nation, andcaused drought, famine, pestilence, and a host of insupportable miseries. Thereupon, the suspicions of the Mohawks against the box revived withdouble force, and they were convinced that famine, the pest, or somemalignant spirit was shut up in it, waiting the moment to issue forth anddestroy them. There was sickness in the town, and caterpillars wereeating their corn: this was ascribed to the sorceries of the Jesuit. [ Lettre de Marie de l'Incarnation a son Fils. Quebec, . . . 1647. ]Still they were divided in opinion. Some stood firm for the French;others were furious against them. Among the Mohawks, three clans orfamilies were predominant, if indeed they did not compose the entirenation, --the clans of the Bear, the Tortoise, and the Wolf. [ SeeIntroduction. ] Though, by the nature of their constitution, it wasscarcely possible that these clans should come to blows, so intimatelywere they bound together by ties of blood, yet they were often divided onpoints of interest or policy; and on this occasion the Bear raged againstthe French, and howled for war, while the Tortoise and the Wolf stillclung to the treaty. Among savages, with no government except theintermittent one of councils, the party of action and violence mustalways prevail. The Bear chiefs sang their war-songs, and, followed bythe young men of their own clan, and by such others as they had infectedwith their frenzy, set forth, in two bands, on the war-path. 

The warriors of one of these bands were making their way through theforests between the Mohawk and Lake George, when they met Jogues andLalande. They seized them, stripped them, and led them in triumph totheir town. Here a savage crowd surrounded them, beating them withsticks and with their fists. One of them cut thin strips of flesh fromthe back and arms of Jogues, saying, as he did so, "Let us see if thiswhite flesh is the flesh of an oki. "--"I am a man like yourselves, "replied Jogues; "but I do not fear death or torture. I do not know whyyou would kill me. I come here to confirm the peace and show you theway to heaven, and you treat me like a dog. " [ 1 ]--"You shall dieto-morrow, " cried the rabble. "Take courage, we shall not burn you. We shall strike you both with a hatchet, and place your heads on thepalisade, that your brothers may see you when we take them prisoners. "[ 2 ] The clans of the Wolf and the Tortoise still raised their voicesin behalf of the captive Frenchmen; but the fury of the minority sweptall before it. 

[ 1 Lettre du P. De Quen au R. P. Lallemant; no date. MS. ]

[ 2 Lettre de J. Labatie a M. La Montagne, Fort d'Orange, 30 Oct. 1646. MS. ]

In the evening, --it was the eighteenth of October, --Jogues, smarting withhis wounds and bruises, was sitting in one of the lodges, when an Indianentered, and asked him to a feast. To refuse would have been an offence. He arose and followed the savage, who led him to the lodge of the Bearchief. Jogues bent his head to enter, when another Indian, standingconcealed within, at the side of the doorway, struck at him with ahatchet. An Iroquois, called by the French Le Berger, [ 1 ] who seems tohave followed in order to defend him, bravely held out his arm to wardoff the blow; but the hatchet cut through it, and sank into themissionary's brain. He fell at the feet of his murderer, who at oncefinished the work by hacking off his head. Lalande was left in suspenseall night, and in the morning was killed in a similar manner. The bodiesof the two Frenchmen were then thrown into the Mohawk, and their headsdisplayed on the points of the palisade which inclosed the town. [ 2 ]

[ 1 It has been erroneously stated that this brave attempt to saveJogues was made by the orator Kiotsaton. Le Berger was one of those whohad been made prisoners by Piskaret, and treated kindly by the French. In 1648, he voluntarily came to Three Rivers, and gave himself up to aparty of Frenchmen. He was converted, baptized, and carried to France, where his behavior is reported to have been very edifying, but where hesoon died. "Perhaps he had eaten his share of more than fifty men, "is the reflection of Father Ragueneau, after recounting his exemplaryconduct. --Relation, 1650, 43-48. ]

[ 2 In respect to the death of Jogues, the best authority is the letterof Labatie, before cited. He was the French interpreter at Fort Orange, and, being near the scene of the murder, took pains to learn the facts. The letter was inclosed in another written to Montmagny by the DutchGovernor, Kieft, which is also before me, together with a MS. Account, written from hearsay, by Father Buteux, and a letter of De Quen, citedabove. Compare the Relations of 1647 and 1650. ]

Thus died Isaac Jogues, one of the purest examples of Roman Catholicvirtue which this Western continent has seen. The priests, hisassociates, praise his humility, and tell us that it reached the point ofself-contempt, --a crowning virtue in their eyes; that he regarded himselfas nothing, and lived solely to do the will of God as uttered by the lipsof his Superiors. They add, that, when left to the guidance of his ownjudgment, his self-distrust made him very slow of decision, but that, when acting under orders, he knew neither hesitation nor fear. With allhis gentleness, he had a certain warmth or vivacity of temperament; andwe have seen how, during his first captivity, while humbly submitting toevery caprice of his tyrants and appearing to rejoice in abasement, a derisive word against his faith would change the lamb into the lion, and the lips that seemed so tame would speak in sharp, bold tones ofmenace and reproof. 

CHAPTER XXI. 

1646, 1647. 

ANOTHER WAR. 

 MOHAWK INROADS. --THE HUNTERS OF MEN. --THE CAPTIVE CONVERTS. -- THE ESCAPE OF MARIE. --HER STORY. --THE ALGONQUIN PRISONER'S REVENGE. -- HER FLIGHT. --TERROR OF THE COLONISTS. --JESUIT INTREPIDITY. 

The peace was broken, and the hounds of war turned loose. The contagionspread through all the Mohawk nation, the war-songs were sung, and thewarriors took the path for Canada. The miserable colonists and theirmore miserable allies woke from their dream of peace to a reality of fearand horror. Again Montreal and Three Rivers were beset with murderingsavages, skulking in thickets and prowling under cover of night, yet, when it came to blows, displaying a courage almost equal to the ferocitythat inspired it. They plundered and burned Fort Richelieu, which itssmall garrison had abandoned, thus leaving the colony without even thesemblance of protection. Before the spring opened, all the fighting menof the Mohawks took the war-path; but it is clear that many of them stillhad little heart for their bloody and perfidious work; for, of thesehardy and all-enduring warriors, two-thirds gave out on the way, andreturned, complaining that the season was too severe. [ Lettre duP. Buteux au R. P. Lalemant. MS. ] Two hundred or more kept on, dividedinto several bands. 

On Ash-Wednesday, the French at Three Rivers were at mass in the chapel, when the Iroquois, quietly approaching, plundered two houses close to thefort, containing all the property of the neighboring inhabitants, whichhad been brought hither as to a place of security. They hid their booty, and then went in quest of two large parties of Christian Algonquinsengaged in their winter hunt. Two Indians of the same nation, whom theycaptured, basely set them on the trail; and they took up the chase likehounds on the scent of game. Wrapped in furs or blanket-coats, some withgun in hand, some with bows and quivers, and all with hatchets, war-clubs, knives, or swords, --striding on snow-shoes, with bodies half bent, through the gray forests and the frozen pine-swamps, among wet, blacktrunks, along dark ravines and under savage hill-sides, their small, fierce eyes darting quick glances that pierced the farthest recesses ofthe naked woods, --the hunters of men followed the track of their humanprey. At length they descried the bark wigwams of the Algonquin camp. The warriors were absent; none were here but women and children. TheIroquois surrounded the huts, and captured all the shrieking inmates. Then ten of them set out to find the traces of the absent hunters. They soon met the renowned Piskaret returning alone. As they recognizedhim and knew his mettle, they thought treachery better than an openattack. They therefore approached him in the attitude of friends; whilehe, ignorant of the rupture of the treaty, began to sing his peace-song. Scarcely had they joined him, when one of them ran a sword through hisbody; and, having scalped him, they returned in triumph to theircompanions. [ 1 ] All the hunters were soon after waylaid, overpoweredby numbers, and killed or taken prisoners. 

[ 1 Lalemant, Relation, 1647, 4. Marie de l'Incarnation, Lettre a sonFils. Quebec, . . . 1647. Perrot's account, drawn from tradition, is different, though not essentially so. ]

Another band of the Mohawks had meanwhile pursued the other party ofAlgonquins, and overtaken them on the march, as, incumbered with theirsledges and baggage, they were moving from one hunting-camp to another. Though taken by surprise, they made fight, and killed several of theirassailants; but in a few moments their resistance was overcome, and thosewho survived the fray were helpless in the clutches of the enragedvictors. Then began a massacre of the old, the disabled, and the infants, with the usual beating, gashing, and severing of fingers to the rest. The next day, the two bands of Mohawks, each with its troop of captivesfast bound, met at an appointed spot on the Lake of St. Peter, andgreeted each other with yells of exultation, with which mingled a wail ofanguish, as the prisoners of either party recognized their companions inmisery. They all kneeled in the midst of their savage conquerors, and one of the men, a noted convert, after a few words of exhortation, repeated in a loud voice a prayer, to which the rest responded. Thenthey sang an Algonquin hymn, while the Iroquois, who at first had staredin wonder, broke into laughter and derision, and at length fell upon themwith renewed fury. One was burned alive on the spot. Another tried toescape, and they burned the soles of his feet that he might not repeatthe attempt. Many others were maimed and mangled; and some of the womenwho afterwards escaped affirmed, that, in ridicule of the converts, they crucified a small child by nailing it with wooden spikes against athick sheet of bark. 

The prisoners were led to the Mohawk towns; and it is needless to repeatthe monotonous and revolting tale of torture and death. The men, asusual, were burned; but the lives of the women and children were spared, in order to strengthen the conquerors by their adoption, --not, however, until both, but especially the women, had been made to endure theextremes of suffering and indignity. Several of them from time to timeescaped, and reached Canada with the story of their woes. Among thesewas Marie, the wife of Jean Baptiste, one of the principal Algonquinconverts, captured and burned with the rest. Early in June, she appearedin a canoe at Montreal, where Madame d'Ailleboust, to whom she was wellknown, received her with great kindness, and led her to her room in thefort. Here Marie was overcome with emotion. Madame d'Ailleboust spokeAlgonquin with ease; and her words of sympathy, joined to theassociations of a place where the unhappy fugitive, with her murderedhusband and child, had often found a friendly welcome, so wrought uponher, that her voice was smothered with sobs. 

She had once before been a prisoner of the Iroquois, at the town ofOnondaga. When she and her companions in misfortune had reached theMohawk towns, she was recognized by several Onondagas who chanced to bethere, and who, partly by threats and partly by promises, induced her toreturn with them to the scene of her former captivity, where they assuredher of good treatment. With their aid, she escaped from the Mohawks, and set out with them for Onondaga. On their way, they passed the greattown of the Oneidas; and her conductors, fearing that certain Mohawks whowere there would lay claim to her, found a hiding-place for her in theforest, where they gave her food, and told her to wait their return. She lay concealed all day, and at night approached the town, under coverof darkness. A dull red glare of flames rose above the jagged tops ofthe palisade that encompassed it; and, from the pandemonium within, an uproar of screams, yells, and bursts of laughter told her that theywere burning one of her captive countrymen. She gazed and listened, shivering with cold and aghast with horror. The thought possessed herthat she would soon share his fate, and she resolved to fly. The groundwas still covered with snow, and her footprints would infallibly havebetrayed her, if she had not, instead of turning towards home, followedthe beaten Indian path westward. She journeyed on, confused andirresolute, and tortured between terror and hunger. At length sheapproached Onondaga, a few miles from the present city of Syracuse, and hid herself in a dense thicket of spruce or cedar, whence she creptforth at night, to grope in the half-melted snow for a few ears of corn, left from the last year's harvest. She saw many Indians from herlurking-place, and once a tall savage, with an axe on his shoulder, advanced directly towards the spot where she lay: but, in the extremityof her fright, she murmured a prayer, on which he turned and changed hiscourse. The fate that awaited her, if she remained, --for a fugitivecould not hope for mercy, --and the scarcely less terrible dangers of thepitiless wilderness between her and Canada, filled her with despair, for she was half dead already with hunger and cold. She tied her girdleto the bough of a tree, and hung herself from it by the neck. The cordbroke. She repeated the attempt with the same result, and then thethought came to her that God meant to save her life. The snow by thistime had melted in the forests, and she began her journey for home, with a few handfuls of corn as her only provision. She directed hercourse by the sun, and for food dug roots, peeled the soft inner bark oftrees, and sometimes caught tortoises in the muddy brooks. She had thegood fortune to find a hatchet in a deserted camp, and with it made oneof those wooden implements which the Indians used for kindling fire byfriction. This saved her from her worst suffering; for she had nocovering but a thin tunic, which left her legs and arms bare, and exposedher at night to tortures of cold. She built her fire in some deep nookof the forest, warmed herself, cooked what food she had found, told herrosary on her fingers, and slept till daylight, when she always threwwater on the embers, lest the rising smoke should attract attention. Once she discovered a party of Iroquois hunters; but she lay concealed, and they passed without seeing her. She followed their trail back, and found their bark canoe, which they had hidden near the bank of ariver. It was too large for her use; but, as she was a practisedcanoe-maker, she reduced it to a convenient size, embarked in it, anddescended the stream. At length she reached the St. Lawrence, andpaddled with the current towards Montreal. On islands and rocky shoresshe found eggs of water-fowl in abundance; and she speared fish with asharpened pole, hardened at the point with fire. She even killed deer, by driving them into the water, chasing them in her canoe, and strikingthem on the head with her hatchet. When she landed at Montreal, hercanoe had still a good store of eggs and dried venison. 

[ This story is taken from the Relation of 1647, and the letter of Mariede l'Incarnation to her son, before cited. The woman must have descendedthe great rapids of Lachine in her canoe: a feat demanding no ordinarynerve and skill. ]

Her journey from Onondaga had occupied about two months, under hardshipswhich no woman but a squaw could have survived. Escapes not lessremarkable of several other women are chronicled in the records of thisyear; and one of them, with a notable feat of arms which attended it, calls for a brief notice. 

Eight Algonquins, in one of those fits of desperate valor which sometimesoccur in Indians, entered at midnight a camp where thirty or fortyIroquois warriors were buried in sleep, and with quick, sharp blows oftheir tomahawks began to brain them as they lay. They killed ten of themon the spot, and wounded many more. The rest, panic-stricken andbewildered by the surprise and the thick darkness, fled into the forest, leaving all they had in the hands of the victors, including a number ofAlgonquin captives, of whom one had been unwittingly killed by hiscountrymen in the confusion. Another captive, a woman, had escaped on aprevious night. They had stretched her on her back, with limbs extended, and bound her wrists and ankles to four stakes firmly driven into theearth, --their ordinary mode of securing prisoners. Then, as usual, they all fell asleep. She presently became aware that the cord thatbound one of her wrists was somewhat loose, and, by long and painfulefforts, she freed her hand. To release the other hand and her feet wasthen comparatively easy. She cautiously rose. Around her, breathing indeep sleep, lay stretched the dark forms of the unconscious warriors, scarcely visible in the gloom. She stepped over them to the entrance ofthe hut; and here, as she was passing out, she descried a hatchet on theground. The temptation was too strong for her Indian nature. She seizedit, and struck again and again, with all her force, on the skull of theIroquois who lay at the entrance. The sound of the blows, and theconvulsive struggles of the victim, roused the sleepers. They sprang up, groping in the dark, and demanding of each other what was the matter. At length they lighted a roll of birch-bark, found their prisoner goneand their comrade dead, and rushed out in a rage in search of thefugitive. She, meanwhile, instead of running away, had hid herself inthe hollow of a tree, which she had observed the evening before. Herpursuers ran through the dark woods, shouting and whooping to each other;and when all had passed, she crept from her hiding-place, and fled in anopposite direction. In the morning they found her tracks and followedthem. On the second day they had overtaken and surrounded her, when, hearing their cries on all sides, she gave up all hope. But near at hand, in the thickest depths of the forest, the beavers had dammed a brook andformed a pond, full of gnawed stumps, dead fallen trees, rank weeds, and tangled bushes. She plunged in, and, swimming and wading, found ahiding-place, where her body was concealed by the water, and her head bythe masses of dead and living vegetation. Her pursuers were at fault, and, after a long search, gave up the chase in despair. Shivering, naked, and half-starved, she crawled out from her wild asylum, and resumed herflight. By day, the briers and bushes tore her unprotected limbs; bynight, she shivered with cold, and the mosquitoes and small black gnatsof the forest persecuted her with torments which the modern sportsmanwill appreciate. She subsisted on such roots, bark, reptiles, or othersmall animals, as her Indian habits enabled her to gather on her way. She crossed streams by swimming, or on rafts of driftwood, lashedtogether with strips of linden-bark; and at length reached theSt. Lawrence, where, with the aid of her hatchet, she made a canoe. Her home was on the Ottawa, and she was ignorant of the great river, or, at least, of this part of it. She had scarcely even seen a Frenchman, but had heard of the French as friends, and knew that their dwellingswere on the banks of the St. Lawrence. This was her only guide; and shedrifted on her way, doubtful whether the vast current would bear her tothe abodes of the living or to the land of souls. She passed the waterywilderness of the Lake of St. Peter, and presently descried a Huroncanoe. Fearing that it was an enemy, she hid herself, and resumed hervoyage in the evening, when she soon came in sight of the woodenbuildings and palisades of Three Rivers. Several Hurons saw her at thesame moment, and made towards her; on which she leaped ashore and hid inthe bushes, whence, being entirely without clothing, she would not comeout till one of them threw her his coat. Having wrapped herself in it, she went with them to the fort and the house of the Jesuits, in awretched state of emaciation, but in high spirits at the happy issue ofher voyage. [ Lalemant, Relation, 1647, 15, 16. ]

Such stories might be multiplied; but these will suffice. Nor is itnecessary to dwell further on the bloody record of inroads, butcheries, and tortures. We have seen enough to show the nature of the scourge thatnow fell without mercy on the Indians and the French of Canada. Therewas no safety but in the imprisonment of palisades and ramparts. A deepdejection sank on the white and red men alike; but the Jesuits would notdespair. 

"Do not imagine, " writes the Father Superior, "that the rage of theIroquois, and the loss of many Christians and many catechumens, can bringto nought the mystery of the cross of Jesus Christ, and the efficacy ofhis blood. We shall die; we shall be captured, burned, butchered: be itso. Those who die in their beds do not always die the best death. I see none of our company cast down. On the contrary, they ask leave togo up to the Hurons, and some of them protest that the fires of theIroquois are one of their motives for the journey. " [ Lalemant, Relation, 1647, 8. ]

CHAPTER XXII. 

1645-1651. 

PRIEST AND PURITAN. 

 MISCOU. --TADOUSSAC. --JOURNEYS OF DE QUEN. --DRUILLETES. -- HIS WINTER WITH THE MONTAGNAIS. --INFLUENCE OF THE MISSIONS. -- THE ABENAQUIS. --DRUILLETES ON THE KENNEBEC. --HIS EMBASSY TO BOSTON. -- GIBBONS. --DUDLEY. --BRADFORD. --ELIOT. --ENDICOTT. -- FRENCH AND PURITAN COLONIZATION. --FAILURE OF DRUILLETES'S EMBASSY. -- NEW REGULATIONS. --NEW-YEAR'S DAY AT QUEBEC. 

Before passing to the closing scenes of this wilderness drama, we willtouch briefly on a few points aside from its main action, yet essentialto an understanding of the scope of the mission. Besides theirestablishments at Quebec, Sillery, Three Rivers, and the neighborhood ofLake Huron, the Jesuits had an outlying post at the island of Miscou, on the Gulf of St. Lawrence, near the entrance of the Bay of Chaleurs, where they instructed the wandering savages of those shores, andconfessed the French fishermen. The island was unhealthy in the extreme. Several of the priests sickened and died; and scarcely one convert repaidtheir toils. There was a more successful mission at Tadoussac, orSadilege, as the neighboring Indians called it. In winter, this placewas a solitude; but in summer, when the Montagnais gathered from theirhunting-grounds to meet the French traders, Jesuits came yearly fromQuebec to instruct them in the Faith. Some times they followed themnorthward, into wilds where, at this day, a white man rarely penetrates. Thus, in 1646, De Quen ascended the Saguenay, and, by a series of rivers, torrents, lakes, and rapids, reached a Montagnais horde called the Nationof the Porcupine, where he found that the teachings at Tadoussac hadborne fruit, and that the converts had planted a cross on the borders ofthe savage lake where they dwelt. There was a kindred band, the Nationof the White Fish, among the rocks and forests north of Three Rivers. They proved tractable beyond all others, threw away their "medicines"or fetiches, burned their magic drums, renounced their medicine-songs, and accepted instead rosaries, crucifixes, and versions of Catholic hymns. 

In a former chapter, we followed Father Paul Le Jeune on his winterroamings, with a band of Montagnais, among the forests on the northernboundary of Maine. Now Father Gabriel Druilletes sets forth on a similarexcursion, but with one essential difference. Le Jeune's companions wereheathen, who persecuted him day and night with their gibes and sarcasms. Those of Druilletes were all converts, who looked on him as a friend anda father. There were prayers, confessions, masses, and invocations ofSt. Joseph. They built their bark chapel at every camp, and no festivalof the Church passed unobserved. On Good Friday they laid their bestrobe of beaver-skin on the snow, placed on it a crucifix, and kneltaround it in prayer. What was their prayer? It was a petition for theforgiveness and the conversion of their enemies, the Iroquois. [ Vimont, Relation, 1645, 16. ] Those who know the intensity and tenacity of anIndian's hatred will see in this something more than a change from onesuperstition to another. An idea had been presented to the mind of thesavage, to which he had previously been an utter stranger. This is themost remarkable record of success in the whole body of the JesuitRelations; but it is very far from being the only evidence, that, inteaching the dogmas and observances of the Roman Church, the missionariestaught also the morals of Christianity. When we look for the results ofthese missions, we soon become aware that the influence of the French andthe Jesuits extended far beyond the circle of converts. It eventuallymodified and softened the manners of many unconverted tribes. In thewars of the next century we do not often find those examples of diabolicatrocity with which the earlier annals are crowded. The savage burnedhis enemies alive, it is true, but he rarely ate them; neither did hetorment them with the same deliberation and persistency. He was a savagestill, but not so often a devil. The improvement was not great, but itwas distinct; and it seems to have taken place wherever Indian tribeswere in close relations with any respectable community of white men. Thus Philip's war in New England, cruel as it was, was less ferocious, judging from Canadian experience, than it would have been, if ageneration of civilized intercourse had not worn down the sharpestasperities of barbarism. Yet it was to French priests and colonists, mingled as they were soon to be among the tribes of the vast interior, that the change is chiefly to be ascribed. In this softening of manners, such as it was, and in the obedient Catholicity of a few hundred tamedsavages gathered at stationary missions in various parts of Canada, we find, after a century had elapsed, all the results of the heroic toilof the Jesuits. The missions had failed, because the Indians had ceasedto exist. Of the great tribes on whom rested the hopes of the earlyCanadian Fathers, nearly all were virtually extinct. The missionariesbuilt laboriously and well, but they were doomed to build on a failingfoundation. The Indians melted away, not because civilization destroyedthem, but because their own ferocity and intractable indolence made itimpossible that they should exist in its presence. Either the plasticenergies of a higher race or the servile pliancy of a lower one would, each in its way, have preserved them: as it was, their extinction was aforegone conclusion. As for the religion which the Jesuits taught them, however Protestants may carp at it, it was the only form of Christianitylikely to take root in their crude and barbarous nature. 

To return to Druilletes. The smoke of the wigwam blinded him; and it isno matter of surprise to hear that he was cured by a miracle. Hereturned from his winter roving to Quebec in high health, and soon setforth on a new mission. On the River Kennebec, in the present State ofMaine, dwelt the Abenaquis, an Algonquin people, destined hereafter tobecome a thorn in the sides of the New-England colonists. Some of themhad visited their friends, the Christian Indians of Sillery. Here theybecame converted, went home, and preached the Faith to their countrymen, and this to such purpose that the Abenaquis sent to Quebec to ask for amissionary. Apart from the saving of souls, there were solid reasons foracceding to their request. The Abenaquis were near the colonies of NewEngland, --indeed, the Plymouth colony, under its charter, claimedjurisdiction over them; and in case of rupture, they would proveserviceable friends or dangerous enemies to New France. [ Charlevoix, I. 280, gives this as a motive of the mission. ] Their messengers werefavorably received; and Druilletes was ordered to proceed upon the newmission. 

He left Sillery, with a party of Indians, on the twenty-ninth of August, 1646, [ Lalemant, Relation, 1647, 51. ] and following, as it seems, the route by which, a hundred and twenty-nine years later, the soldiersof Arnold made their way to Quebec, he reached the waters of the Kennebecand descended to the Abenaqui villages. Here he nursed the sick, baptized the dying, and gave such instruction as, in his ignorance of thelanguage, he was able. Apparently he had been ordered to reconnoitre;for he presently descended the river from Norridgewock to the firstEnglish trading-post, where Augusta now stands. Thence he continued hisjourney to the sea, and followed the coast in a canoe to the Penobscot, visiting seven or eight English posts on the way, where, to his surprise, he was very well received. At the Penobscot he found several Capuchinfriars, under their Superior, Father Ignace, who welcomed him with theutmost cordiality. Returning, he again ascended the Kennebec to theEnglish post at Augusta. At a spot three miles above the Indians hadgathered in considerable numbers, and here they built him a chapel aftertheir fashion. He remained till midwinter, catechizing and baptizing, and waging war so successfully against the Indian sorcerers, thatmedicine-bags were thrown away, and charms and incantations weresupplanted by prayers. In January the whole troop set off on their grandhunt, Druilletes following them, "with toil, " says the chronicler, "too great to buy the kingdoms of this world, but very small as a pricefor the Kingdom of Heaven. " [ Lalemant, Relation, 1647, 54. For anaccount of this mission, see also Maurault, Histoire des Abenakis, 116-156. ] They encamped on Moosehead Lake, where new disputes with the"medicine-men" ensued, and the Father again remained master of the field. When, after a prosperous hunt, the party returned to the Englishtrading-house, John Winslow, the agent in charge again received themissionary with a kindness which showed no trace of jealousy or religiousprejudice. 

[ Winslow would scarcely have recognized his own name in the Jesuitspelling, --"Le Sieur de Houinslaud. " In his journal of 1650 Druilletesis more successful in his orthography, and spells it Winslau. ]

Early in the summer Druilletes went to Quebec; and during the twofollowing years, the Abenaquis, for reasons which are not clear, wereleft without a missionary. He spent another winter of extreme hardshipwith the Algonquins on their winter rovings, and during summer instructedthe wandering savages of Tadoussac. It was not until the autumn of 1650that he again descended the Kennebec. This time he went as an envoycharged with the negotiation of a treaty. His journey is worthy ofnotice, since, with the unimportant exception of Jogues's embassy to theMohawks, it is the first occasion on which the Canadian Jesuits appear ina character distinctly political. Afterwards, when the fervor andfreshness of the missions had passed away, they frequently did the workof political agents among the Indians: but the Jesuit of the earlierperiod was, with rare exceptions, a missionary only; and though he wasexpected to exert a powerful influence in gaining subjects and allies forFrance, he was to do so by gathering them under the wings of the Church. 

The Colony of Massachusetts had applied to the French officials at Quebec, with a view to a reciprocity of trade. The Iroquois had brought Canadato extremity, and the French Governor conceived the hope of gaining thepowerful support of New England by granting the desired privileges oncondition of military aid. But, as the Puritans would scarcely see itfor their interest to provoke a dangerous enemy, who had thus far nevermolested them, it was resolved to urge the proposed alliance as a pointof duty. The Abenaquis had suffered from Mohawk inroads; and the French, assuming for the occasion that they were under the jurisdiction of theEnglish colonies, argued that they were bound to protect them. Druilletes went in a double character, --as an envoy of the government atQuebec, and as an agent of his Abenaqui flock, who had been advised topetition for English assistance. The time seemed inauspicious for aJesuit visit to Boston; for not only had it been announced as foremostamong the objects in colonizing New England, "to raise a bulwark againstthe kingdom of Antichrist, which the Jesuits labor to rear up in allplaces of the world, " [ 1 ] but, three years before, the Legislature ofMassachusetts had enacted, that Jesuits entering the colony should beexpelled, and if they returned, hanged. [ 2 ]

[ 1 Considerations for the Plantation in New England. --See Hutchinson, Collection, 27. Mr. Savage thinks that this paper was by Winthrop. See Savage's Winthrop, I. 360, note. ]

[ 2 See the Act, in Hazard, 550. ]

Nevertheless, on the first of September, Druilletes set forth from Quebecwith a Christian chief of Sillery, crossed forests, mountains, andtorrents, and reached Norridgewock, the highest Abenaqui settlement onthe Kennebec. Thence he descended to the English trading-house atAugusta, where his fast friend, the Puritan Winslow, gave him a warmwelcome, entertained him hospitably, and promised to forward the objectof his mission. He went with him, at great personal inconvenience, to Merrymeeting Bay, where Druilletes embarked in an English vessel forBoston. The passage was stormy, and the wind ahead. He was forced toland at Cape Ann, or, as he calls it, _Kepane_, whence, partly on foot, partly in boats along the shore, he made his way to Boston. Thethree-hilled city of the Puritans lay chill and dreary under a Decembersky, as the priest crossed in a boat from the neighboring peninsula ofCharlestown. 

Winslow was agent for the merchant, Edward Gibbons, a personage of note, whose life presents curious phases, --a reveller of Merry Mount, a boldsailor, a member of the church, an adventurous trader, an associate ofbuccaneers, a magistrate of the commonwealth, and a major-general. [ 1 ]The Jesuit, with credentials from the Governor of Canada and letters fromWinslow, met a reception widely different from that which the lawenjoined against persons of his profession. [ 2 ] Gibbons welcomed himheartily, prayed him to accept no other lodging than his house while heremained in Boston, and gave him the key of a chamber, in order that hemight pray after his own fashion, without fear of disturbance. Anaccurate Catholic writer thinks it likely that he brought with him themeans of celebrating the Mass. [ J. G. Shea, in Boston Pilot. ] If so, the house of the Puritan was, no doubt, desecrated by that Popishabomination; but be this as it may, Massachusetts, in the person of hermagistrate, became the gracious host of one of those whom, next to theDevil and an Anglican bishop, she most abhorred. 

[ 1 An account of him will be found in Palfrey, Hist. Of New England, II. 225, note. ]

[ 2 In the Act, an exception, however, was made in favor of Jesuitscoming as ambassadors or envoys from their government, who were declarednot liable to the penalty of hanging. ]

On the next day, Gibbons took his guest to Roxbury, --called _Rogsbray_ byDruilletes, --to see the Governor, the harsh and narrow Dudley, grown grayin repellent virtue and grim honesty. Some half a century before, he had served in France, under Henry the Fourth; but he had forgotten hisFrench, and called for an interpreter to explain the visitor'scredentials. He received Druilletes with courtesy, and promised to callthe magistrates together on the following Tuesday to hear his proposals. They met accordingly, and Druilletes was asked to dine with them. The old Governor sat at the head of the table, and after dinner invitedthe guest to open the business of his embassy. They listened to him, desired him to withdraw, and, after consulting among themselves, sent forhim to join them again at supper, when they made him an answer, of whichthe record is lost, but which evidently was not definitive. 

As the Abenaqui Indians were within the jurisdiction of Plymouth, [ 1 ]Druilletes proceeded thither in his character of their agent. Here, again, he was received with courtesy and kindness. Governor Bradfordinvited him to dine, and, as it was Friday, considerately gave him adinner of fish. Druilletes conceived great hope that the colony could bewrought upon to give the desired assistance; for some of the chiefinhabitants had an interest in the trade with the Abenaquis. [ 2 ]He came back by land to Boston, stopping again at Roxbury on the way. It was night when he arrived; and, after the usual custom, he tooklodging with the minister. Here were several young Indians, pupils ofhis host: for he was no other than the celebrated Eliot, who, during thepast summer, had established his mission at Natick, [ 3 ] and was nowlaboring, in the fulness of his zeal, in the work of civilization andconversion. There was great sympathy between the two missionaries; andEliot prayed his guest to spend the winter with him. 

[ 1 For the documents on the title of Plymouth to lands on the Kennebec, see Drake's additions to Baylies's History of New Plymouth, 36, wherethey are illustrated by an ancient map. The patent was obtained as earlyas 1628, and a trading-house soon after established. ]

[ 2 The Record of the Colony of Plymouth, June 5, 1651, contains, however the entry, "The Court declare themselves not to be willing to aidthem (the French) in their design, or to grant them liberty to go throughtheir jurisdiction for the aforesaid purpose" (to attack the Mohawks). ]

[ 3 See Palfrey, New England, II. 336. ]

At Salem, which Druilletes also visited, in company with the minister ofMarblehead, he had an interview with the stern, but manly, Endicott, who, he says, spoke French, and expressed both interest and good-will towardsthe objects of the expedition. As the envoy had no money left, Endicottpaid his charges, and asked him to dine with the magistrates. 

[ On Druilletes's visit to New England, see his journal, entitled Narredu Voyage faict pour la Mission des Abenaquois, et des Connoissancestirez de la Nouvelle Angleterre et des Dispositions des Magistrats decette Republique pour le Secours contre les Iroquois. See alsoDruilletes, Rapport sur le Resultat deses Negotiations, in Ferland, Notes sur les Registres, 95. ]

Druilletes was evidently struck with the thrift and vigor of these sturdyyoung colonies, and the strength of their population. He says thatBoston, meaning Massachusetts, could alone furnish four thousand fightingmen, and that the four united colonies could count forty thousand souls. [ 1 ] These numbers may be challenged; but, at all events, the contrastwas striking with the attenuated and suffering bands of priests, nuns, and fur-traders on the St. Lawrence. About twenty-one thousand personshad come from Old to New England, with the resolve of making it theirhome; and though this immigration had virtually ceased, the naturalincrease had been great. The necessity, or the strong desire, ofescaping from persecution had given the impulse to Puritan colonization;while, on the other hand, none but good Catholics, the favored class ofFrance, were tolerated in Canada. These had no motive for exchanging thecomforts of home and the smiles of Fortune for a starving wilderness andthe scalping-knives of the Iroquois. The Huguenots would have emigratedin swarms; but they were rigidly forbidden. The zeal of propagandism andthe fur-trade were, as we have seen, the vital forces of New France. Of her feeble population, the best part was bound to perpetual chastity;while the fur-traders and those in their service rarely brought theirwives to the wilderness. The fur-trader, moreover, is always the worstof colonists; since the increase of population, by diminishing thenumbers of the fur-bearing animals, is adverse to his interest. Butbehind all this there was in the religious ideal of the rival colonies aninfluence which alone would have gone far to produce the contrast inmaterial growth. 

[ 1 Druilletes, Reflexions touchant ce qu'on peut esperer de la NouvelleAngleterre contre l'Irocquois (sic), appended to his journal. ]

To the mind of the Puritan, heaven was God's throne; but no less was theearth His footstool: and each in its degree and its kind had its demandson man. He held it a duty to labor and to multiply; and, building on theOld Testament quite as much as on the New, thought that a reward on earthas well as in heaven awaited those who were faithful to the law. Doubtless, such a belief is widely open to abuse, and it would be follyto pretend that it escaped abuse in New England; but there was in it anelement manly, healthful, and invigorating. On the other hand, those whoshaped the character, and in great measure the destiny, of New France hadalways on their lips the nothingness and the vanity of life. For them, time was nothing but a preparation for eternity, and the highest virtueconsisted in a renunciation of all the cares, toils, and interests ofearth. That such a doctrine has often been joined to an intenseworldliness, all history proclaims; but with this we have at presentnothing to do. If all mankind acted on it in good faith, the world wouldsink into decrepitude. It is the monastic idea carried into the widefield of active life, and is like the error of those who, in their zealto cultivate their higher nature, suffer the neglected body to dwindleand pine, till body and mind alike lapse into feebleness and disease. 

Druilletes returned to the Abenaquis, and thence to Quebec, full of hopethat the object of his mission was in a fair way of accomplishment. The Governor, d'Ailleboust, [ 1 ] who had succeeded Montmagny, called hiscouncil, and Druilletes was again dispatched to New England, togetherwith one of the principal inhabitants of Quebec, Jean Paul Godefroy. [ 2 ]They repaired to New Haven, and appeared before the Commissioners ofthe Four Colonies, then in session there; but their errand provedbootless. The Commissioners refused either to declare war or to permitvolunteers to be raised in New England against the Iroquois. The Puritan, like his descendant, would not fight without a reason. The bait offree-trade with Canada failed to tempt him; and the envoys retraced theirsteps, with a flat, though courteous refusal. [ 3 ]

[ 1 The same who, with his wife, had joined the colonists of Montreal. See ante, chapter 18 (page 264). ]

[ 2 He was one of the Governor's council. --Ferland, Notes sur lesRegistres, 67. ]

[ 3 On Druilletes's second embassy, see Lettre ecrite par le Conseil deQuebec aux Commissionaires de la Nouvelle Angleterre, in Charlevoix, I. 287; Extrait des Registres de l'Ancien Conseil de Quebec, Ibid. , I. 288; Copy of a Letter from the Commissioners of the United Colonies tothe Governor of Canada, in Hazard, II. 183; Answare to the Propositionspresented by the honered French Agents, Ibid. , II. 184; and Hutchinson, Collection of Papers, 240. Also, Records of the Commissioners of theUnited Colonies, Sept. 5, 1651; and Commission of Druilletes and Godefroy, in N. Y. Col. Docs. , IX. 6. ]

Now let us stop for a moment at Quebec, and observe some notable changesthat had taken place in the affairs of the colony. The Company of theHundred Associates, whose outlay had been great and their profit small, transferred to the inhabitants of the colony their monopoly of thefur-trade, and with it their debts. The inhabitants also assumed theirobligations to furnish arms, munitions, soldiers, and works of defence, to pay the Governor and other officials, introduce emigrants, andcontribute to support the missions. The Company was to receive, besides, an annual acknowledgement of a thousand pounds of beaver, and was toretain all seigniorial rights. The inhabitants were to form acorporation, of which any one of them might be a member; and noindividual could trade on his own account, except on condition of sellingat a fixed price to the magazine of this new company. 

[ Articles accordes entre les Directeurs et Associes de la Compagnie dela Nelle France et les Deputes des Habitans du dit Pays, 6 Mars, 1645. MS. ]

This change took place in 1645. It was followed, in 1647, by theestablishment of a Council, composed of the Governor-General, theSuperior of the Jesuits, and the Governor of Montreal, who were investedwith absolute powers, legislative, judicial, and executive. TheGovernor-General had an appointment of twenty-five thousand livres, besides the privilege of bringing over seventy tons of freight, yearly, in the Company's ships. Out of this he was required to pay the soldiers, repair the forts, and supply arms and munitions. Ten thousand livres andthirty tons of freight, with similar conditions, were assigned to theGovernor of Montreal. Under these circumstances, one cannot wonder thatthe colony was but indifferently defended against the Iroquois, and thatthe King had to send soldiers to save it from destruction. In the nextyear, at the instance of Maisonneuve, another change was made. Aspecified sum was set apart for purposes of defence, and the salaries ofthe Governors were proportionably reduced. The Governor-General, Montmagny, though he seems to have done better than could reasonably havebeen expected, was removed; and, as Maisonneuve declined the office, d'Ailleboust, another Montrealist, was appointed to it. This movement, indeed, had been accomplished by the interest of the Montreal party; foralready there was no slight jealousy between Quebec and her rival. 

The Council was reorganized, and now consisted of the Governor, theSuperior of the Jesuits, and three of the principal inhabitants. [ TheGovernors of Montreal and Three Rivers, when present had also seats inthe Council. ] These last were to be chosen every three years by theCouncil itself, in conjunction with the Syndics of Quebec, Montreal, and Three Rivers. The Syndic was an officer elected by the inhabitantsof the community to which he belonged, to manage its affairs. Hence aslight ingredient of liberty was introduced into the new organization. 

The colony, since the transfer of the fur-trade, had become a residentcorporation of merchants, with the Governor and Council at its head. They were at once the directors of a trading company, a legislativeassembly, a court of justice, and an executive body: more even than this, for they regulated the private affairs of families and individuals. The appointment and payment of clerks and the examining of accountsmingled with high functions of government; and the new corporation of theinhabitants seems to have been managed with very little consultation ofits members. How the Father Superior acquitted himself in his capacityof director of a fur-company is nowhere recorded. 

[ Those curious in regard to these new regulations will find an accountof them, at greater length, in Ferland and Faillon. ]

As for Montreal, though it had given a Governor to the colony, itsprospects were far from hopeful. The ridiculous Dauversiere, its chieffounder, was sick and bankrupt; and the Associates of Montreal, once sofull of zeal and so abounding in wealth, were reduced to nine persons. What it had left of vitality was in the enthusiastic Mademoiselle Mance, the earnest and disinterested soldier, Maisonneuve, and the priest, Olier, with his new Seminary of St. Sulpice. 

Let us visit Quebec in midwinter. We pass the warehouses and dwellingsof the lower town, and as we climb the zigzag way now called MountainStreet, the frozen river, the roofs, the summits of the cliff, and allthe broad landscape below and around us glare in the sharp sunlight witha dazzling whiteness. At the top, scarcely a private house is to beseen; but, instead, a fort, a church, a hospital, a cemetery, a house ofthe Jesuits, and an Ursuline convent. Yet, regardless of the keen air, soldiers, Jesuits, servants, officials, women, all of the littlecommunity who are not cloistered, are abroad and astir. Despite thegloom of the times, an unwonted cheer enlivens this rocky perch of Franceand the Faith; for it is New-Year's Day, and there is an activeinterchange of greetings and presents. Thanks to the nimble pen of theFather Superior, we know what each gave and what each received. He thuswrites in his private journal:--"The soldiers went with their guns tosalute Monsieur the Governor; and so did also the inhabitants in a body. He was beforehand with us, and came here at seven o'clock to wish us ahappy New-Year, each in turn, one after another. I went to see him aftermass. Another time we must be beforehand with him. M. Giffard also cameto see us. The Hospital nuns sent us letters of compliment very early inthe morning; and the Ursulines sent us some beautiful presents, withcandles, rosaries, a crucifix, etc. , and, at dinner time, two excellentpies. I sent them two images, in enamel, of St. Ignatius and St. FrancisXavier. We gave to M. Giffard Father Bonnet's book on the life of OurLord; to M. Des Chatelets, a little volume on Eternity; to M. Bourdon, a telescope and compass; and to others, reliquaries, rosaries, medals, images, etc. I went to see M. Giffard, M. Couillard, and Mademoiselle deRepentigny. The Ursulines sent to beg that I would come and see thembefore the end of the day. I went, and paid my compliments also toMadame de la Peltrie, who sent us some presents. I was near leaving thisout, which would have been a sad oversight. We gave a crucifix to thewoman who washes the church-linen, a bottle of eau-de-vie to Abraham, four handkerchiefs to his wife, some books of devotion to others, and twohandkerchiefs to Robert Hache. He asked for two more, and we gave themto him. "

[ Journal des Superieurs des Jesuites, MS. Only fragments of thiscurious record are extant. It was begun by Lalemant in 1645. For theprivilege of having what remains of it copied I am indebted to M. JacquesViger. The entry translated above is of Jan. 1, 1646. Of the personsnamed in it, Giffard was seigneur of Beauport, and a member of theCouncil; Des Chatelets was one of the earliest settlers, and connected bymarriage with Giffard; Couillard was son-in-law of the first settler, Hebert; Mademoiselle de Repentigny was daughter of Le Gardeur deRepentigny, commander of the fleet; Madame de la Peltrie has beendescribed already; Bourdon was chief engineer of the colony; Abraham wasAbraham Martin, pilot for the King on the St. Lawrence, from whom thehistoric Plains of Abraham received their name. (See Ferland, Notes surRegistres, 16. ) The rest were servants, or persons of humble station. ]

CHAPTER XXIII. 

1645-1648. 

A DOOMED NATION. 

 INDIAN INFATUATION. --IROQUOIS AND HURON. --HURON TRIUMPHS. -- THE CAPTIVE IROQUOIS. --HIS FEROCITY AND FORTITUDE. --PARTISAN EXPLOITS. -- DIPLOMACY. --THE ANDASTES. --THE HURON EMBASSY. --NEW NEGOTIATIONS. -- THE IROQUOIS AMBASSADOR. --HIS SUICIDE. --IROQUOIS HONOR. 

It was a strange and miserable spectacle to behold the savages of thiscontinent at the time when the knell of their common ruin had alreadysounded. Civilization had gained a foothold on their borders. The longand gloomy reign of barbarism was drawing near its close, and theirunited efforts could scarcely have availed to sustain it. Yet, in thiscrisis of their destiny, these doomed tribes were tearing each other'sthroats in a wolfish fury, joined to an intelligence that served littlepurpose but mutual destruction. 

How the quarrel began between the Iroquois and their Huron kindred no mancan tell, and it is not worth while to conjecture. At this time, theruling passion of the savage Confederates was the annihilation of thisrival people and of their Algonquin allies, --if the understanding betweenthe Hurons and these incoherent hordes can be called an alliance. United, they far outnumbered the Iroquois. Indeed, the Hurons alone werenot much inferior in force; for, by the largest estimates, the strengthof the five Iroquois nations must now have been considerably less thanthree thousand warriors. Their true superiority was a moral one. They were in one of those transports of pride, self-confidence, and ragefor ascendency, which, in a savage people, marks an era of conquest. With all the defects of their organization, it was far better than thatof their neighbors. There were bickerings, jealousies, plottings, and counter plottings, separate wars and separate treaties, among thefive members of the league; yet nothing could sunder them. The bondsthat united them were like cords of India-rubber: they would stretch, and the parts would be seemingly disjoined, only to return to their oldunion with the recoil. Such was the elastic strength of those relationsof clanship which were the life of the league. [ See ante, Introduction. ]

The first meeting of white men with the Hurons found them at blows withthe Iroquois; and from that time forward, the war raged with increasingfury. Small scalping-parties infested the Huron forests, killing squawsin the cornfields, or entering villages at midnight to tomahawk theirsleeping inhabitants. Often, too, invasions were made in force. Sometimes towns were set upon and burned, and sometimes there were deadlyconflicts in the depths of the forests and the passes of the hills. The invaders were not always successful. A bloody rebuff and a sharpretaliation now and then requited them. Thus, in 1638, a war-party of ahundred Iroquois met in the forest a band of three hundred Huron andAlgonquin warriors. They might have retreated, and the greater numberwere for doing so; but Ononkwaya, an Oneida chief, refused. "Look!"he said, "the sky is clear; the Sun beholds us. If there were clouds tohide our shame from his sight, we might fly; but, as it is, we must fightwhile we can. " They stood their ground for a time, but were soonoverborne. Four or five escaped; but the rest were surrounded, andkilled or taken. This year, Fortune smiled on the Hurons; and they took, in all, more than a hundred prisoners, who were distributed among theirvarious towns, to be burned. These scenes, with them, occurred always inthe night; and it was held to be of the last importance that the tortureshould be protracted from sunset till dawn. The too valiant Ononkwayawas among the victims. Even in death he took his revenge; for it wasthought an augury of disaster to the victors, if no cry of pain could heextorted from the sufferer, and, on the present occasion, he displayed anunflinching courage, rare even among Indian warriors. His execution tookplace at the town of Teanaustaye, called St. Joseph by the Jesuits. The Fathers could not save his life, but, what was more to the purpose, they baptized him. On the scaffold where he was burned, he wroughthimself into a fury which seemed to render him insensible to pain. Thinking him nearly spent, his tormentors scalped him, when, to theiramazement, he leaped up, snatched the brands that had been theinstruments of his torture, drove the screeching crowd from the scaffold, and held them all at bay, while they pelted him from below with sticks, stones, and showers of live coals. At length he made a false step andfell to the ground, when they seized him and threw him into the fire. He instantly leaped out, covered with blood, cinders, and ashes, andrushed upon them, with a blazing brand in each hand. The crowd gave waybefore him, and he ran towards the town, as if to set it on fire. They threw a pole across his way, which tripped him and flung himheadlong to the earth, on which they all fell upon him, cut off his handsand feet, and again threw him into the fire. He rolled himself out, and crawled forward on his elbows and knees, glaring upon them with suchunutterable ferocity that they recoiled once more, till, seeing that hewas helpless, they threw themselves upon him, and cut off his head. 

[ Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1639, 68. It was this chief whosesevered hand was thrown to the Jesuits. See ante, chapter 11 (page 137). ]

When the Iroquois could not win by force, they were sometimes moresuccessful with treachery. In the summer of 1645, two war-parties of thehostile nations met in the forest. The Hurons bore themselves so wellthat they had nearly gained the day, when the Iroquois called for aparley, displayed a great number of wampum-belts, and said that theywished to treat for peace. The Hurons had the folly to consent. Thechiefs on both sides sat down to a council, during which the Iroquois, seizing a favorable moment, fell upon their dupes and routed themcompletely, killing and capturing a considerable number. [ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1646, 55. ]

The large frontier town of St. Joseph was well fortified with palisades, on which, at intervals, were wooden watch-towers. On an evening of thissame summer of 1645, the Iroquois approached the place in force; and theyoung Huron warriors, mounting their palisades, sang their war-songs allnight, with the utmost power of their lungs, in order that the enemy, knowing them to be on their guard, might be deterred from an attack. The night was dark, and the hideous dissonance resounded far and wide;yet, regardless of the din, two Iroquois crept close to the palisade, where they lay motionless till near dawn. By this time the last song haddied away, and the tired singers had left their posts or fallen asleep. One of the Iroquois, with the silence and agility of a wild-cat, climbedto the top of a watch-tower, where he found two slumbering Hurons, brained one of them with his hatchet, and threw the other down to hiscomrade, who quickly despoiled him of his life and his scalp. Then, with the reeking trophies of their exploit, the adventurers rejoinedtheir countrymen in the forest. 

The Hurons planned a counter-stroke; and three of them, after a journeyof twenty days, reached the great town of the Senecas. They entered itat midnight, and found, as usual, no guard; but the doors of the houseswere made fast. They cut a hole in the bark side of one of them, creptin, stirred the fading embers to give them light, chose each his man, tomahawked him, scalped him, and escaped in the confusion. [ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1646, 55, 56. ]

Despite such petty triumphs, the Hurons felt themselves on the verge ofruin. Pestilence and war had wasted them away, and left but a skeletonof their former strength. In their distress, they cast about them forsuccor, and, remembering an ancient friendship with a kindred nation, the Andastes, they sent an embassy to ask of them aid in war orintervention to obtain peace. This powerful people dwelt, as has beenshown, on the River Susquehanna. [ 1 ] The way was long, even in adirect line; but the Iroquois lay between, and a wide circuit wasnecessary to avoid them. A Christian chief, whom the Jesuits had namedCharles, together with four Christian and four heathen Hurons, bearingwampum-belts and gifts from the council, departed on this embassy on thethirteenth of April, 1647, and reached the great town of the Andastesearly in June. It contained, as the Jesuits were told, no less thanthirteen hundred warriors. The council assembled, and the chiefambassador addressed them:--

"We come from the Land of Souls, where all is gloom, dismay, anddesolation. Our fields are covered with blood; our houses are filledonly with the dead; and we ourselves have but life enough to beg ourfriends to take pity on a people who are drawing near their end. " [ 2 ]Then he presented the wampum-belts and other gifts, saying that they werethe voice of a dying country. 

[ 1 See Introduction. The Susquehannocks of Smith, clearly the samepeople, are placed, in his map, on the east side of the Susquehanna, some twenty miles from its mouth. He speaks of them as great enemies ofthe Massawomekes (Mohawks). No other savage people so boldly resistedthe Iroquois; but the story in Hazard's Annals of Pennsylvania, that ahundred of them beat off sixteen hundred Senecas, is disproved by thefact, that the Senecas, in their best estate, never had so many warriors. The miserable remnant of the Andastes, called Conestogas, were massacredby the Paxton Boys, in 1763. See "Conspiracy of Pontiac, " 414. CompareHistorical Magazine, II. 294. ]

[ 2 "Il leur dit qu'il venoit du pays des Ames, ou la guerre et laterreur des ennemis auoit tout desole, ou les campagnes n'estoientcouuertes que de sang, ou les cabanes n'estoient remplies que de cadaures, et qu'il ne leur restoit a eux-mesmes de vie, sinon autant qu'ils enauoient eu besoin pour venir dire a leurs amis, qu'ils eussent pitie d'vnpays qui tiroit a sa fin. "--Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1648, 58. ]

The Andastes, who had a mortal quarrel with the Mohawks, and who hadbefore promised to aid the Hurons in case of need, returned a favorableanswer, but were disposed to try the virtue of diplomacy rather than thetomahawk. After a series of councils, they determined to sendambassadors, not to their old enemies, the Mohawks, but to the Onondagas, Oneidas, and Cayugas, [ 1 ] who were geographically the central nationsof the Iroquois league, while the Mohawks and the Senecas wererespectively at its eastern and western extremities. By inducing thethree central nations, and, if possible, the Senecas also, to conclude atreaty with the Hurons, these last would be enabled to concentrate theirforce against the Mohawks, whom the Andastes would attack at the sametime, unless they humbled themselves and made peace. This scheme, it will be seen, was based on the assumption, that the dreaded league ofthe Iroquois was far from being a unit in action or counsel. 

[ 1 Examination leaves no doubt that the Ouiouenronnons of Ragueneau(Relation des Hurons, 1648, 46, 59) were the Oiogouins or Goyogouins, that is to say, the Cayugas. They must not be confounded with theOuenrohronnons, a small tribe hostile to the Iroquois, who took refugeamong the Hurons in 1638. ]

Charles, with some of his colleagues, now set out for home, to report theresult of their mission; but the Senecas were lying in wait for them, and they were forced to make a wide sweep through the Alleghanies, Western Pennsylvania, and apparently Ohio, to avoid these vigilant foes. It was October before they reached the Huron towns, and meanwhile hopesof peace had arisen from another quarter. [ On this mission of theHurons to the Andastes, see Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1648, 58-60. ]

Early in the spring, a band of Onondagas had made an inroad, but wereroughly handled by the Hurons, who killed several of them, capturedothers, and put the rest to flight. The prisoners were burned, with theexception of one who committed suicide to escape the torture, and oneother, the chief man of the party, whose name was Annenrais. Some of theHurons were dissatisfied at the mercy shown him, and gave out that theywould kill him; on which the chiefs, who never placed themselves in openopposition to the popular will, secretly fitted him out, made himpresents, and aided him to escape at night, with an understanding that heshould use his influence at Onondaga in favor of peace. After crossingLake Ontario, he met nearly all the Onondaga warriors on the march toavenge his supposed death; for he was a man of high account. Theygreeted him as one risen from the grave; and, on his part, he persuadedthem to renounce their warlike purpose and return home. On their arrival, the chiefs and old men were called to council, and the matter was debatedwith the usual deliberation. 

About this time the ambassador of the Andastes appeared with hiswampum-belts. Both this nation and the Onondagas had secret motiveswhich were perfectly in accordance. The Andastes hated the Mohawks asenemies, and the Onondagas were jealous of them as confederates; for, since they had armed themselves with Dutch guns, their arrogance andboastings had given umbrage to their brethren of the league; and a peacewith the Hurons would leave the latter free to turn their undividedstrength against the Mohawks, and curb their insolence. The Oneidas andthe Cayugas were of one mind with the Onondagas. Three nations of theleague, to satisfy their spite against a fourth, would strike hands withthe common enemy of all. It was resolved to send an embassy to theHurons. Yet it may be, that, after all, the Onondagas had but half amind for peace. At least, they were unfortunate in their choice of anambassador. He was by birth a Huron, who, having been captured when aboy, adopted and naturalized, had become more an Iroquois than theIroquois themselves; and scarcely one of the fierce confederates had shedso much Huron blood. When he reached the town of St. Ignace, which hedid about midsummer, and delivered his messages and wampum-belts, therewas a great division of opinion among the Hurons. The Bear Nation--themember of their confederacy which was farthest from the Iroquois, andleast exposed to danger--was for rejecting overtures made by so offensivean agency; but those of the Hurons who had suffered most were eager forpeace at any price, and, after solemn deliberation, it was resolved tosend an embassy in return. At its head was placed a Christian chiefnamed Jean Baptiste Atironta; and on the first of August he and fourothers departed for Onondaga, carrying a profusion of presents, andaccompanied by the apostate envoy of the Iroquois. As the ambassadorshad to hunt on the way for subsistence, besides making canoes to crossLake Ontario, it was twenty days before they reached their destination. When they arrived, there was great jubilation, and, for a full month, nothing but councils. Having thus sifted the matter to the bottom, the Onondagas determined at last to send another embassy with JeanBaptiste on his return, and with them fifteen Huron prisoners, as anearnest of their good intentions, retaining, on their part, one ofBaptiste's colleagues as a hostage. This time they chose for their envoya chief of their own nation, named Scandawati, a man of renown, sixtyyears of age, joining with him two colleagues. The old Onondaga enteredon his mission with a troubled mind. His anxiety was not so much for hislife as for his honor and dignity; for, while the Oneidas and the Cayugaswere acting in concurrence with the Onondagas, the Senecas had refusedany part in the embassy, and still breathed nothing but war. Would they, or still more the Mohawks, so far forget the consideration due to onewhose name had been great in the councils of the League as to assault theHurons while he was among them in the character of an ambassador of hisnation, whereby his honor would be compromised and his life endangered. His mind brooded on this idea, and he told one of his colleagues, that, if such a slight were put upon him, he should die of mortification. "I am not a dead dog, " he said, "to be despised and forgotten. I amworthy that all men should turn their eyes on me while I am among enemies, and do nothing that may involve me in danger. "

What with hunting, fishing, canoe-making, and bad weather, the progressof the august travellers was so slow, that they did not reach the Hurontowns till the twenty-third of October. Scandawati presented seven largebelts of wampum, each composed of three or four thousand beads, which theJesuits call the pearls and diamonds of the country. He delivered, too, the fifteen captives, and promised a hundred more on the final conclusionof peace. The three Onondagas remained, as surety for the good faith ofthose who sent them, until the beginning of January, when the Hurons ontheir part sent six ambassadors to conclude the treaty, one of theOnondagas accompanying them. Soon there came dire tidings. Theprophetic heart of the old chief had not deceived him. The Senecas andMohawks, disregarding negotiations in which they had no part, andresolved to bring them to an end, were invading the country in force. It might be thought that the Hurons would take their revenge on theOnondaga envoys, now hostages among them; but they did not do so, for thecharacter of an ambassador was, for the most part, held in respect. One morning, however, Scandawati had disappeared. They were full ofexcitement; for they thought that he had escaped to the enemy. Theyranged the woods in search of him, and at length found him in a thicketnear the town. He lay dead, on a bed of spruce-boughs which he had made, his throat deeply gashed with a knife. He had died by his own hand, a victim of mortified pride. "See, " writes Father Ragueneau, "how muchour Indians stand on the point of honor!" [ This remarkable story istold by Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1648, 56-58. He was present atthe time, and knew all the circumstances. ]

We have seen that one of his two colleagues had set out for Onondaga witha deputation of six Hurons. This party was met by a hundred Mohawks, who captured them all and killed the six Hurons but spared the Onondaga, and compelled him to join them. Soon after, they made a sudden onset onabout three hundred Hurons journeying through the forest from the town ofSt. Ignace; and, as many of them were women, they routed the whole, and took forty prisoners. The Onondaga bore part in the fray, andcaptured a Christian Huron girl; but the next day he insisted onreturning to the Huron town. "Kill me, if you will, " he said to theMohawks, "but I cannot follow you; for then I should be ashamed to appearamong my countrymen, who sent me on a message of peace to the Hurons; andI must die with them, sooner than seem to act as their enemy. " On this, the Mohawks not only permitted him to go, but gave him the Huron girlwhom he had taken; and the Onondaga led her back in safety to hercountrymen. [ 1 ] Here, then, is a ray of light out of Egyptiandarkness. The principle of honor was not extinct in these wild hearts. 

[ 1 "Celuy qui l'auoit prise estoit Onnontaeronnon, qui estant icy en ostage a cause de la paix qui se traite auec les Onnontaeronnons, ets'estant trouue auec nos Hurons a cette chasse, y fut pris tout despremiers par les Sonnontoueronnons (Annieronnons?), qui l'ayans reconnune luy firent aucun mal, et mesme l'obligerent de les suiure et prendrepart a leur victoire; et ainsi en ce rencontre cet Onnontaeronnon auoitfait sa prise, tellement neantmoins qu'il desira s'en retourner lelendemain, disant aux Sonnontoueronnons qu'ils le tuassent s'ilsvouloient, mais qu'il ne pouuoit se resoudre a les suiure, et qu'ilauroit honte de reparoistre en son pays, les affaires qui l'auoient ameneaux Hurons pour la paix ne permettant pas qu'il fist autre chose que demourir avec eux plus tost que de paroistre s'estre comporte en ennemy. Ainsi les Sonnontoueronnons luy permirent de s'en retourner et de ramenercette bonne Chrestienne, qui estoit sa captiue, laquelle nous a consolepar le recit des entretiens de ces pauures gens dans leur affliction. "--Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1648, 65. 

Apparently the word Sonnontoueronnons (Senecas), in the above, shouldread Annieronnons (Mohawks); for, on pp. 50, 57, the writer twice speaksof the party as Mohawks. ]

We hear no more of the negotiations between the Onondagas and the Hurons. They and their results were swept away in the storm of events soon to berelated. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

1645-1648. 

THE HURON CHURCH. 

 HOPES OF THE MISSION. --CHRISTIAN AND HEATHEN. --BODY AND SOUL. -- POSITION OF PROSELYTES. --THE HURON GIRL'S VISIT TO HEAVEN. --A CRISIS. -- HURON JUSTICE. --MURDER AND ATONEMENT. --HOPES AND FEARS. 

How did it fare with the missions in these days of woe and terror?They had thriven beyond hope. The Hurons, in their time of trouble, had become tractable. They humbled themselves, and, in their desolationand despair, came for succor to the priests. There was a harvest ofconverts, not only exceeding in numbers that of all former years, butgiving in many cases undeniable proofs of sincerity and fervor. In sometowns the Christians outnumbered the heathen, and in nearly all theyformed a strong party. The mission of La Conception, or Ossossane, was the most successful. Here there were now a church and one or moreresident Jesuits, --as also at St. Joseph, St. Ignace, St. Michel, andSt. Jean Baptiste: [ 1 ] for we have seen that the Huron towns werechristened with names of saints. Each church had its bell, which wassometimes hung in a neighboring tree. [ 2 ] Every morning it rang itssummons to mass; and, issuing from their dwellings of bark, the convertsgathered within the sacred precinct, where the bare, rude walls, freshfrom the axe and saw, contrasted with the sheen of tinsel and gilding, and the hues of gay draperies and gaudy pictures. At evening they metagain at prayers; and on Sunday, masses, confession, catechism, sermons, and repeating the rosary consumed the whole day. [ 3 ]

[ 1 Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1646, 56. ]

[ 2 A fragment of one of these bells, found on the site of a Huron town, is preserved in the museum of Huron relics at the Laval University, Quebec. The bell was not large, but was of very elaborate workmanship. Before 1644 the Jesuits had used old copper kettles as a substitute. --Lettre de Lalemant, 31 March, 1644. ]

[ 3 Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1646, 56. ]

These converts rarely took part in the burning of prisoners. On thecontrary, they sometimes set their faces against the practice; and on oneoccasion, a certain Etienne Totiri, while his heathen countrymen weretormenting a captive Iroquois at St. Ignace, boldly denounced them, and promised them an eternity of flames and demons, unless they desisted. Not content with this, he addressed an exhortation to the sufferer in oneof the intervals of his torture. The dying wretch demanded baptism, which Etienne took it upon himself to administer, amid the hootings ofthe crowd, who, as he ran with a cup of water from a neighboring house, pushed him to and fro to make him spill it, crying out, "Let him alone!Let the devils burn him after we have done!"

[ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1646, 58. The Hurons often resistedthe baptism of their prisoners, on the ground that Hell, and not Heaven, was the place to which they would have them go. --See Lalemant, Relationdes Hurons, 1642, 60, Ragueneau, Ibid. , 1648, 53, and several otherpassages. ]

In regard to these atrocious scenes, which formed the favorite Huronrecreation of a summer night, the Jesuits, it must be confessed, did notquite come up to the requirements of modern sensibility. They wereoffended at them, it is true, and prevented them when they could; butthey were wholly given to the saving of souls, and held the body in scorn, as the vile source of incalculable mischief, worthy the worst inflictionsthat could be put upon it. What were a few hours of suffering to aneternity of bliss or woe? If the victim were heathen, these brief pangswere but the faint prelude of an undying flame; and if a Christian, they were the fiery portal of Heaven. They might, indeed, be a blessing;since, accepted in atonement for sin, they would shorten the torments ofPurgatory. Yet, while schooling themselves to despise the body, and allthe pain or pleasure that pertained to it, the Fathers were emphatic onone point. It must not be eaten. In the matter of cannibalism, theywere loud and vehement in invective. 

[ The following curious case of conversion at the stake, gravely relatedby Lalemant, is worth preserving. 

"An Iroquois was to be burned at a town some way off. What consolationto set forth, in the hottest summer weather, to deliver this poor victimfrom the hell prepared for him! The Father approaches him, and instructshim even in the midst of his torments. Forthwith the Faith finds a placein his heart, he recognizes and adores, as the author of his life, Him whose name he had never heard till the hour of his death. Hereceives the grace of baptism, and breathes nothing but heaven. . . . This newly made, but generous Christian, mounted on the scaffold which isthe place of his torture, in the sight of a thousand spectators, who areat once his enemies, his judges, and his executioners, raises his eyesand his voice heavenward, and cries aloud, 'Sun, who art witness of mytorments, hear my words! I am about to die; but, after my death, I shallgo to dwell in heaven. '"--Relation des Hurons, 1641, 67. 

The Sun, it will be remembered, was the god of the heathen Iroquois. The convert appealed to his old deity to rejoice with him in his happyfuture. ]

Undeniably, the Faith was making progress; yet it is not to be supposedthat its path was a smooth one. The old opposition and the old calumnieswere still alive and active. "It is _la priere_ that kills us. Your booksand your strings of beads have bewitched the country. Before you came, we were happy and prosperous. You are magicians. Your charms kill ourcorn, and bring sickness and the Iroquois. Echon (Brebeuf) is a traitoramong us, in league with our enemies. " Such discourse was still rife, openly and secretly. 

The Huron who embraced the Faith renounced thenceforth, as we have seen, the feasts, dances, and games in which was his delight, since all thesesavored of diabolism. And if, being in health, he could not enjoyhimself, so also, being sick, he could not be cured; for his physicianwas a sorcerer, whose medicines were charms and incantations. If theconvert was a chief, his case was far worse; since, writes FatherLalemant, "to be a chief and a Christian is to combine water and fire;for the business of the chiefs is mainly to do the Devil's bidding, preside over ceremonies of hell, and excite the young Indians to dances, feasts, and shameless indecencies. "

[ Relation des Hurons, 1642, 89. The indecencies alluded to were chieflynaked dances, of a superstitious character, and the mystical cure calledAndacwandet, before mentioned. ]

It is not surprising, then, that proselytes were difficult to make, or that, being made, they often relapsed. The Jesuits complain that theyhad no means of controlling their converts, and coercing backsliders tostand fast; and they add, that the Iroquois, by destroying the fur-trade, had broken the principal bond between the Hurons and the French, andgreatly weakened the influence of the mission. [ Lettre du P. HierosmeLalemant, appended to the Relation of 1645. ]

Among the slanders devised by the heathen party against the teachers ofthe obnoxious doctrine was one which found wide credence, even among theconverts, and produced a great effect. They gave out that a baptizedHuron girl, who had lately died, and was buried in the cemetery at SainteMarie, had returned to life, and given a deplorable account of the heavenof the French. No sooner had she entered, --such was the story, --thanthey seized her, chained her to a stake, and tormented her all day withinconceivable cruelty. They did the same to all the other convertedHurons; for this was the recreation of the French, and especially of theJesuits, in their celestial abode. They baptized Indians with no otherobject than that they might have them to torment in heaven; to which endthey were willing to meet hardships and dangers in this life, just as awar-party invades the enemy's country at great risk that it may bringhome prisoners to burn. After her painful experience, an unknown friendsecretly showed the girl a path down to the earth; and she hastenedthither to warn her countrymen against the wiles of the missionaries. [ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1646, 65. ]

In the spring of 1648 the excitement of the heathen party reached acrisis. A young Frenchman, named Jacques Douart, in the service of themission, going out at evening a short distance from the Jesuit house ofSainte Marie, was tomahawked by unknown Indians, [ 1 ] who proved to betwo brothers, instigated by the heathen chiefs. A great commotionfollowed, and for a few days it seemed that the adverse parties wouldfall to blows, at a time when the common enemy threatened to destroy themboth. But sager counsels prevailed. In view of the manifest strength ofthe Christians, the pagans lowered their tone; and it soon becameapparent that it was the part of the Jesuits to insist boldly onsatisfaction for the outrage. They made no demand that the murderersshould be punished or surrendered, but, with their usual good sense insuch matters, conformed to Indian usage, and required that the nation atlarge should make atonement for the crime by presents. [ 2 ] The numberof these, their value, and the mode of delivering them were all fixed byancient custom; and some of the converts, acting as counsel, advised theFathers of every step it behooved them to take in a case of suchimportance. As this is the best illustration of Huron justice on record, it may be well to observe the method of procedure, --recollecting that thepublic, and not the criminal, was to pay the forfeit of the crime. 

[ 1 Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1648, 77. Compare Lettre du P. Jeande Brebeuf au T. R. P. Vincent Carafa, General de la Compagnie de Jesus, Sainte Marie, 2 Juin, 1648, in Carayon. ]

[ 2 See Introduction. ]

First of all, the Huron chiefs summoned the Jesuits to meet them at agrand council of the nation, when an old orator, chosen by the rest, rose and addressed Ragueneau, as chief of the French, in the followingharangue. Ragueneau, who reports it, declares that he has added nothingto it, and the translation is as literal as possible. 

"My Brother, " began the speaker, "behold all the tribes of our leagueassembled!"--and he named them one by one. "We are but a handful; youare the prop and stay of this nation. A thunderbolt has fallen from thesky, and rent a chasm in the earth. We shall fall into it, if you do notsupport us. Take pity on us. We are here, not so much to speak as toweep over our loss and yours. Our country is but a skeleton, withoutflesh, veins, sinews, or arteries; and its bones hang together by athread. This thread is broken by the blow that has fallen on the head ofyour nephew, [ 1 ] for whom we weep. It was a demon of Hell who placedthe hatchet in the murderer's hand. Was it you, Sun, whose beams shineon us, who led him to do this deed? Why did you not darken your light, that he might be stricken with horror at his crime? Were you hisaccomplice? No; for he walked in darkness, and did not see where hestruck. He thought, this wretched murderer, that he aimed at the head ofa young Frenchman; but the blow fell upon his country, and gave it adeath-wound. The earth opens to receive the blood of the innocent victim, and we shall be swallowed up in the chasm; for we are all guilty. The Iroquois rejoice at his death, and celebrate it as a triumph; forthey see that our weapons are turned against each other, and know wellthat our nation is near its end. 

"Brother, take pity on this nation. You alone can restore it to life. It is for you to gather up all these scattered bones, and close thischasm that opens to ingulf us. Take pity on your country. I call ityours, for you are the master of it; and we came here like criminals toreceive your sentence, if you will not show us mercy. Pity those whocondemn themselves and come to ask forgiveness. It is you who have givenstrength to the nation by dwelling with it; and if you leave us, we shallbe like a wisp of straw torn from the ground to be the sport of the wind. This country is an island drifting on the waves, for the first storm tooverwhelm and sink. Make it fast again to its foundation, and posteritywill never forget to praise you. When we first heard of this murder, we could do nothing but weep; and we are ready to receive your orders andcomply with your demands. Speak, then, and ask what satisfaction youwill, for our lives and our possessions are yours; and even if we rob ourchildren to satisfy you, we will tell them that it is not of you thatthey have to complain, but of him whose crime has made us all guilty. Our anger is against him; but for you we feel nothing but love. Hedestroyed our lives; and you will restore them, if you will but speak andtell us what you will have us do. "

[ 1 The usual Indian figure in such cases, and not meant to express anactual relationship;--"Uncle" for a superior, "Brother" for an equal, "Nephew" for an inferior. ]

Ragueneau, who remarks that this harangue is a proof that eloquence isthe gift of Nature rather than of Art, made a reply, which he has notrecorded, and then gave the speaker a bundle of small sticks, indicatingthe number of presents which he required in satisfaction for the murder. These sticks were distributed among the various tribes in the council, in order that each might contribute its share towards the indemnity. The council dissolved, and the chiefs went home, each with his allotmentof sticks, to collect in his village a corresponding number of presents. There was no constraint; those gave who chose to do so; but, as all wereambitious to show their public spirit, the contributions were ample. No one thought of molesting the murderers. Their punishment was theirshame at the sacrifices which the public were making in their behalf. 

The presents being ready, a day was set for the ceremony of theirdelivery; and crowds gathered from all parts to witness it. The assemblywas convened in the open air, in a field beside the mission-house ofSainte Marie; and, in the midst, the chiefs held solemn council. Towardsevening, they deputed four of their number, two Christians and twoheathen, to carry their address to the Father Superior. They came, loaded with presents; but these were merely preliminary. One was to openthe door, another for leave to enter; and as Sainte Marie was a largehouse, with several interior doors, at each one of which it behooved themto repeat this formality, their stock of gifts became seriously reducedbefore they reached the room where Father Ragueneau awaited them. On arriving, they made him a speech, every clause of which was confirmedby a present. The first was to wipe away his tears; the second, torestore his voice, which his grief was supposed to have impaired; thethird, to calm the agitation of his mind; and the fourth, to allay thejust anger of his heart. [ 1 ] These gifts consisted of wampum and thelarge shells of which it was made, together with other articles, worthless in any eyes but those of an Indian. Nine additional presentsfollowed: four for the four posts of the sepulchre or scaffold of themurdered man; four for the cross-pieces which connected the posts; andone for a pillow to support his head. Then came eight more, corresponding to the eight largest bones of the victim's body, and alsoto the eight clans of the Hurons. [ 2 ] Ragueneau, as required byestablished custom, now made them a present in his turn. It consisted ofthree thousand beads of wampum, and was designed to soften the earth, in order that they might not be hurt, when falling upon it, overpoweredby his reproaches for the enormity of their crime. This closed theinterview, and the deputation withdrew. 

[ 1 Ragueneau himself describes the scene. Relation des Hurons, 1648, 80. ]

[ 2 Ragueneau says, "les huit nations"; but, as the Hurons consisted ofonly four, or at most five, nations, he probably means the clans. For the nature of these divisions, see Introduction. ]

The grand ceremony took place on the next day. A kind of arena had beenprepared, and here were hung the fifty presents in which the atonementessentially consisted, --the rest, amounting to as many more, being onlyaccessory. [ 1 ] The Jesuits had the right of examining them all, rejecting any that did not satisfy them, and demanding others in place ofthem. The naked crowd sat silent and attentive, while the orator in themidst delivered the fifty presents in a series of harangues, which thetired listener has not thought it necessary to preserve. Then came theminor gifts, each with its signification explained in turn by thespeaker. First, as a sepulchre had been provided the day before for thedead man, it was now necessary to clothe and equip him for his journey tothe next world; and to this end three presents were made. Theyrepresented a hat, a coat, a shirt, breeches, stockings, shoes, a gun, powder, and bullets; but they were in fact something quite different, as wampum, beaver-skins, and the like. Next came several gifts to closeup the wounds of the slain. Then followed three more. The first closedthe chasm in the earth, which had burst through horror of the crime. The next trod the ground firm, that it might not open again; and here thewhole assembly rose and danced, as custom required. The last placed alarge stone over the closed gulf; to make it doubly secure. 

[ 1 The number was unusually large, --partly because the affair wasthought very important, and partly because the murdered man belonged toanother nation. See Introduction. ]

Now came another series of presents, seven in number, --to restore thevoices of all the missionaries, --to invite the men in their service toforget the murder, --to appease the Governor when he should hear ofit, --to light the fire at Sainte Marie, --to open the gate, --to launch theferry boat in which the Huron visitors crossed the river, --and to giveback the paddle to the boy who had charge of the boat. The Fathers, it seems, had the right of exacting two more presents, to rebuild theirhouse and church, --supposed to have been shaken to the earth by the latecalamity; but they forbore to urge the claim. Last of all were threegifts to confirm all the rest, and to entreat the Jesuits to cherish anundying love for the Hurons. 

The priests on their part gave presents, as tokens of good-will; and withthat the assembly dispersed. The mission had gained a triumph, and itsinfluence was greatly strengthened. The future would have been full ofhope, but for the portentous cloud of war that rose, black and wrathful, from where lay the dens of the Iroquois. 

CHAPTER XXV. 

1648, 1649. 

SAINTE MARIE. 

 THE CENTRE OF THE MISSIONS. --FORT. --CONVENT. --HOSPITAL. --CARAVANSARY. -- CHURCH. --THE INMATES OF SAINTE MARIE. --DOMESTIC ECONOMY. --MISSIONS. -- A MEETING OF JESUITS. --THE DEAD MISSIONARY. 

The River Wye enters the Bay of Glocester, an inlet of the Bay ofMatchedash, itself an inlet of the vast Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. Retrace the track of two centuries and more, and ascend this littlestream in the summer of the year 1648. Your vessel is a birch canoe, and your conductor a Huron Indian. On the right hand and on the left, gloomy and silent, rise the primeval woods; but you have advancedscarcely half a league when the scene is changed, and cultivated fields, planted chiefly with maize, extend far along the bank, and back to thedistant verge of the forest. Before you opens the small lake from whichthe stream issues; and on your left, a stone's throw from the shore, rises a range of palisades and bastioned walls, inclosing a number ofbuildings. Your canoe enters a canal or ditch immediately above them, and you land at the Mission, or Residence, or Fort of Sainte Marie. 

Here was the centre and base of the Huron missions; and now, for once, one must wish that Jesuit pens had been more fluent. They have told usbut little of Sainte Marie, and even this is to be gathered chiefly fromincidental allusions. In the forest, which long since has resumed itsreign over this memorable spot, the walls and ditches of thefortifications may still be plainly traced; and the deductions from theseremains are in perfect accord with what we can gather from the Relationsand letters of the priests. [ Before me is an elaborate plan of theremains, taken on the spot. ] The fortified work which inclosed thebuildings was in the form of a parallelogram, about a hundred andseventy-five feet long, and from eighty to ninety wide. It lay parallelwith the river, and somewhat more than a hundred feet distant from it. On two sides it was a continuous wall of masonry, [ 1 ] flanked withsquare bastions, adapted to musketry, and probably used as magazines, storehouses, or lodgings. The sides towards the river and the lake hadno other defences than a ditch and palisade, flanked, like the others, by bastions, over each of which was displayed a large cross. [ 2 ]The buildings within were, no doubt, of wood; and they included a church, a kitchen, a refectory, places of retreat for religious instruction andmeditation, [ 3 ] and lodgings for at least sixty persons. Near thechurch, but outside the fortification, was a cemetery. Beyond the ditchor canal which opened on the river was a large area, still traceable, in the form of an irregular triangle, surrounded by a ditch, andapparently by palisades. It seems to have been meant for the protectionof the Indian visitors who came in throngs to Sainte Marie, and who werelodged in a large house of bark, after the Huron manner. [ 4 ] Here, perhaps, was also the hospital, which was placed without the walls, in order that Indian women, as well as men, might be admitted into it. [ 5 ]

[ 1 It seems probable that the walls, of which the remains may still betraced, were foundations supporting a wooden superstructure. Ragueneau, in a letter to the General of the Jesuits, dated March 13, 1650, alludesto the defences of Saint Marie as "une simple palissade. " ]

[ 2 "Quatre grandes Croix qui sont aux quatre coins de nostre enclos. "--Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1648, 81. ]

[ 3 It seems that these places, besides those for the priests, were oftwo kinds, --"vne retraite pour les pelerins (Indians), enfin vn lieu plussepare, ou les infideles, qui n'y sont admis que de iour au passage, y puissent tousiours receuoir quelque bon mot pour leur salut. "--Lalemant, Relation des Hurons, 1644, 74. ]

[ 4 At least it was so in 1642. "Nous leur auons dresse vn Hospice ouCabane d'ecorce. "--Ibid. , 1642, 57. ]

[ 5 "Cet hospital est tellement separe de nostre demeure, que nonseulement les hommes et enfans, mais les femmes y peuuent estreadmises. "--Ibid. , 1644, 74. ]

No doubt the buildings of Sainte Marie were of the roughest, --rude wallsof boards, windows without glass, vast chimneys of unhewn stone. All itsriches were centred in the church, which, as Lalemant tells us, wasregarded by the Indians as one of the wonders of the world, but which, he adds, would have made but a beggarly show in France. Yet one wonders, at first thought, how so much labor could have been accomplished here. Of late years, however, the number of men at the command of the missionhad been considerable. Soldiers had been sent up from time to time, to escort the Fathers on their way, and defend them on their arrival. Thus, in 1644, Montmagny ordered twenty men of a reinforcement justarrived from France to escort Brebeuf, Garreau, and Chabanel to theHurons, and remain there during the winter. [ 1 ] These soldiers lodgedwith the Jesuits, and lived at their table. [ 2 ] It was not, however, on detachments of troops that they mainly relied for labor or defence. Any inhabitant of Canada who chose to undertake so hard and dangerous aservice was allowed to do so, receiving only his maintenance from themission, without pay. In return, he was allowed to trade with theIndians, and sell the furs thus obtained at the magazine of the Company, at a fixed price. [ Registres des Arrets du Conseil, extract in Faillon, II, 94. ] Many availed themselves of this permission; and all whoseservices were accepted by the Jesuits seem to have been men to whom theyhad communicated no small portion of their own zeal, and who wereenthusiastically attached to their Order and their cause. There isabundant evidence that a large proportion of them acted from motiveswholly disinterested. They were, in fact, _donnes_ of the mission, [ 3 ]--given, heart and hand, to its service. There is probability in theconjecture, that the profits of their trade with the Indians were reaped, not for their own behoof, but for that of the mission. [ 4 ] It isdifficult otherwise to explain the confidence with which the FatherSuperior, in a letter to the General of the Jesuits at Rome, speaks ofits resources. He says, "Though our number is greatly increased, andthough we still hope for more men, and especially for more priests of ourSociety, it is not necessary to increase the pecuniary aid given us. "[ 5 ]

[ 1 Vimont, Relation, 1644, 49. He adds, that some of these soldiers, though they had once been "assez mauvais garcons, " had shown great zealand devotion in behalf of the mission. ]

[ 2 Journal des Superieurs des Jesuites, MS. In 1648, a small cannonwas sent to Sainte Marie in the Huron canoes. --Ibid. ]

[ 3 See ante, chapter 16 (page 214), "donnes". Garnier calls them"seculiers d'habit, mais religieux de coeur. "--Lettres, MSS. ]

[ 4 The Jesuits, even at this early period, were often and loudlycharged with sharing in the fur-trade. It is certain that this chargewas not wholly without foundation. Le Jeune, in the Relation of 1657, speaking of the wampum, guns, powder, lead, hatchets, kettles, and otherarticles which the missionaries were obliged to give to the Indians, at councils and elsewhere, says that these must be bought from thetraders with beaver-skins, which are the money of the country; and headds, "Que si vn Iesuite en recoit ou en recueille quelques-vns pourayder aux frais immenses qu'il faut faire dans ces Missions si eloignees, et pour gagner ces peuples a Iesus-Christ et les porter a la paix, il seroit a souhaiter que ceux-la mesme qui deuroient faire ces despensespour la conseruation du pays, ne fussent pas du moins les premiers acondamner le zele de ces Peres, et a les rendre par leurs discours plusnoirs que leurs robes. "--Relation, 1657, 16. 

In the same year, Chaumonot, addressing a council of the Iroquois duringa period of truce, said, "Keep your beaver-skins, if you choose, for theDutch. Even such of them as may fall into our possession will beemployed for your service. "--Ibid. , 17. 

In 1636, La Jeune thought it necessary to write a long letter of defenceagainst the charge; and in 1643, a declaration, appended to the Relationof that year, and certifying that the Jesuits took no part in thefur-trade, was drawn up and signed by twelve members of the company ofNew France. Its only meaning is, that the Jesuits were neither partnersnor rivals of the Company's monopoly. They certainly bought suppliesfrom its magazines with furs which they obtained from the Indians. 

Their object evidently was to make the mission partially self-supporting. To impute mercenary motives to Garnier, Jogues, and their co-laborers, is manifestly idle; but, even in the highest flights of his enthusiasm, the Jesuit never forgot his worldly wisdom. ]

[ 5 Lettre du P. Paul Ragueneau au T. R. P. Vincent Carafa, General dela Compagnie de Jesus a Rome, Sainte Marie aux Hurons, 1 Mars, 1649(Carayon). ]

Much of this prosperity was no doubt due to the excellent management oftheir resources, and a very successful agriculture. While the Indiansaround them were starving, they raised maize in such quantities, that, in the spring of 1649, the Father Superior thought that their stock ofprovisions might suffice for three years. "Hunting and fishing, " he says, "are better than heretofore"; and he adds, that they had fowls, swine, and even cattle. [ 1 ] How they could have brought these last to SainteMarie it is difficult to conceive. The feat, under the circumstances, is truly astonishing. Everything indicates a fixed resolve on the partof the Fathers to build up a solid and permanent establishment. 

[ 1 Lettre du P. Paul Ragueneau au T. R. P. Vincent Carafa, General dela Compagnie de Jesus a Rome, Sainte Marie aux Hurons, 1 Mars, 1649(Carayon). ]

It is by no means to be inferred that the household fared sumptuously. Their ordinary food was maize, pounded and boiled, and seasoned, in theabsence of salt, which was regarded as a luxury, with morsels of smokedfish. [ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1648, 48. ]

In March, 1649, there were in the Huron country and its neighborhoodeighteen Jesuit priests, four lay brothers, twenty-three men servingwithout pay, seven hired men, four boys, and eight soldiers. [ 1 ]Of this number, fifteen priests were engaged in the various missions, while all the rest were retained permanently at Sainte Marie. All wasmethod, discipline, and subordination. Some of the men were assigned tohousehold work, and some to the hospital; while the rest labored at thefortifications, tilled the fields, and stood ready, in case of need, to fight the Iroquois. The Father Superior, with two other priests asassistants, controlled and guided all. The remaining Jesuits, undisturbed by temporal cares, were devoted exclusively to the charge oftheir respective missions. Two or three times in the year, they all, or nearly all, assembled at Sainte Marie, to take counsel together anddetermine their future action. Hither, also, they came at intervals fora period of meditation and prayer, to nerve themselves and gain newinspiration for their stern task. 

[ 1 See the report of the Father Superior to the General, above cited. The number was greatly increased within the year. In April, 1648, Ragueneau reports but forty-two French in all, including priests. Before the end of the summer a large reinforcement came up in the Huroncanoes. ]

Besides being the citadel and the magazine of the mission, Sainte Mariewas the scene of a bountiful hospitality. On every alternate Saturday, as well as on feast-days, the converts came in crowds from the farthestvillages. They were entertained during Saturday, Sunday, and a part ofMonday; and the rites of the Church were celebrated before them with allpossible solemnity and pomp. They were welcomed also at other times, and entertained, usually with three meals to each. In these latter yearsthe prevailing famine drove them to Sainte Marie in swarms. In thecourse of 1647 three thousand were lodged and fed here; and in thefollowing year the number was doubled. [ Compare Ragueneau in Relationdes Hurons, 1648, 48, and in his report to the General in 1649. ]Heathen Indians were also received and supplied with food, but were notpermitted to remain at night. There was provision for the soul as wellas the body; and, Christian or heathen, few left Sainte Marie without aword of instruction or exhortation. Charity was an instrument ofconversion. 

Such, so far as we can reconstruct it from the scattered hints remaining, was this singular establishment, at once military, monastic, andpatriarchal. The missions of which it was the basis were now eleven innumber. To those among the Hurons already mentioned another had latelybeen added, --that of Sainte Madeleine; and two others, called St. Jeanand St. Matthias, had been established in the neighboring Tobacco Nation. [ 1 ] The three remaining missions were all among tribes speaking theAlgonquin languages. Every winter, bands of these savages, driven byfamine and fear of the Iroquois, sought harborage in the Huron country, and the mission of Sainte Elisabeth was established for their benefit. The next Algonquin mission was that of Saint Esprit, embracing theNipissings and other tribes east and north-east of Lake Huron; and, lastly, the mission of St. Pierre included the tribes at the outlet ofLake Superior, and throughout a vast extent of surrounding wilderness. [ 2 ]

[ 1 The mission of the Neutral Nation had been abandoned for the time, from the want of missionaries. The Jesuits had resolved on concentration, and on the thorough conversion of the Hurons, as a preliminary to moreextended efforts. ]

[ 2 Besides these tribes, the Jesuits had become more or less acquaintedwith many others, also Algonquin on the west and south of Lake Huron; aswell as with the Puans, or Winnebagoes, a Dacotah tribe between LakeMichigan and the Mississippi. 

The Mission of Sault Sainte Marie, at the outlet of Lake Superior, was established at a later period. Modern writers have confounded itwith Sainte Marie of the Hurons. 

By the Relation of 1649 it appears that another mission had lately beenbegun at the Grand Manitoulin Island, which the Jesuits also christenedIsle Sainte Marie. ]

These missions were more laborious, though not more perilous, than thoseamong the Hurons. The Algonquin hordes were never long at rest; and, summer and winter, the priest must follow them by lake, forest, andstream: in summer plying the paddle all day, or toiling through pathlessthickets, bending under the weight of a birch canoe or a load ofbaggage, --at night, his bed the rugged earth, or some bare rock, lashedby the restless waves of Lake Huron; while famine, the snow-storms, the cold, the treacherous ice of the Great Lakes, smoke, filth, and, not rarely, threats and persecution, were the lot of his winterwanderings. It seemed an earthly paradise, when, at long intervals, he found a respite from his toils among his brother Jesuits under theroof of Sainte Marie. 

Hither, while the Fathers are gathered from their scattered stations atone of their periodical meetings, --a little before the season of Lent, 1649, [ 1 ]--let us, too, repair, and join them. We enter at the easterngate of the fortification, midway in the wall between its northern andsouthern bastions, and pass to the hall, where, at a rude table, spreadwith ruder fare, all the household are assembled, --laborers, domestics, soldiers, and priests. 

[ 1 The date of this meeting is a supposition merely. It is adoptedwith reference to events which preceded and followed. ]

It was a scene that might recall a remote half feudal, half patriarchalage, when, under the smoky rafters of his antique hail, some warlikethane sat, with kinsmen and dependants ranged down the long board, each in his degree. Here, doubtless, Ragueneau, the Father Superior, held the place of honor; and, for chieftains scarred with Danishbattle-axes, was seen a band of thoughtful men, clad in a threadbare garbof black, their brows swarthy from exposure, yet marked with the lines ofintellect and a fixed enthusiasm of purpose. Here was Bressani, scarredwith firebrand and knife; Chabanel, once a professor of rhetoric inFrance, now a missionary, bound by a self-imposed vow to a life fromwhich his nature recoiled; the fanatical Chaumonot, whose charactersavored of his peasant birth, --for the grossest fungus of superstitionthat ever grew under the shadow of Rome was not too much for hisomnivorous credulity, and miracles and mysteries were his daily food; yet, such as his faith was, he was ready to die for it. Garnier, beardlesslike a woman, was of a far finer nature. His religion was of theaffections and the sentiments; and his imagination, warmed with the ardorof his faith, shaped the ideal forms of his worship into visiblerealities. Brebeuf sat conspicuous among his brethren, portly and tall, his short moustache and beard grizzled with time, --for he was fifty-sixyears old. If he seemed impassive, it was because one overmasteringprinciple had merged and absorbed all the impulses of his nature and allthe faculties of his mind. The enthusiasm which with many is fitful andspasmodic was with him the current of his life, --solemn and deep as thetide of destiny. The Divine Trinity, the Virgin, the Saints, Heaven andHell, Angels and Fiends, --to him, these alone were real, and all thingselse were nought. Gabriel Lalemant, nephew of Jerome Lalemant, Superiorat Quebec, was Brebeuf's colleague at the mission of St. Ignace. Hisslender frame and delicate features gave him an appearance of youth, though he had reached middle life; and, as in the case of Garnier, the fervor of his mind sustained him through exertions of which he seemedphysically incapable. Of the rest of that company little has come downto us but the bare record of their missionary toils; and we may ask invain what youthful enthusiasm, what broken hope or faded dream, turnedthe current of their lives, and sent them from the heart of civilizationto this savage outpost of the world. 

No element was wanting in them for the achievement of such a success asthat to which they aspired, --neither a transcendent zeal, nor a matchlessdiscipline, nor a practical sagacity very seldom surpassed in thepursuits where men strive for wealth and place; and if they were destinedto disappointment, it was the result of external causes, against which nopower of theirs could have insured them. 

There was a gap in their number. The place of Antoine Daniel was empty, and never more to be filled by him, --never at least in the flesh, forChaumonot averred, that not long since, when the Fathers were met incouncil, he had seen their dead companion seated in their midst, as ofold, with a countenance radiant and majestic. [ 1 ] They believed hisstory, --no doubt he believed it himself; and they consoled one anotherwith the thought, that, in losing their colleague on earth, they hadgained him as a powerful intercessor in heaven. Daniel's station hadbeen at St. Joseph; but the mission and the missionary had alike ceasedto exist. 

[ 1 "Ce bon Pere s'apparut apres sa mort a vn des nostres par deuxdiuerses fois. En l'vne il se fit voir en estat de gloire, portant levisage d'vn homme d'enuiron trente ans, quoy qu'il soit mort en l'age dequarante-huict. . . . Vne autre fois il fut veu assister a vne assembleeque nous tenions, " etc. --Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1649, 5. 

"Le P. Chaumonot vit au milieu de l'assemblee le P. Daniel qui aidait lesPeres de ses conseils, et les remplissait d'une force surnaturelle; sonvisage etait plein de majeste et d'eclat. "--Ibid. , Lettre au General dela Compagnie de Jesus (Carayon, 243). 

"Le P. Chaumonot nous a quelque fois raconte, a la gloire de cet illustreconfesseur de J. C. (Daniel) qu'il s'etoit fait voir a lui dans la gloire, a l'age d'environ 30 ans, quoiqu'il en eut pres de 50, et avec les autrescirconstances qui se trouuent la (in the Historia Canadensis of DuCreux). Il ajoutait seulement qu'a la vue de ce bien-heureux tant dechoses lui vinrent a l'esprit pour les lui demander, qu'il ne savoit pasou commencer son entretien avec ce cher defunt. Enfin, lui dit-il:"Apprenez moi, mon Pere, ce que ie dois faire pour etre bien agreable aDieu. "--"Jamais, " repondit le martyr, "ne perdez le souvenir de vospeches. "--Suite de la Vie de Chaumonot, 11. ]

CHAPTER XXVI. 

1648. 

ANTOINE DANIEL. 

 HURON TRADERS. --BATTLE AT THREE RIVERS. --ST. JOSEPH. -- ONSET OF THE IROQUOIS. --DEATH OF DANIEL. --THE TOWN DESTROYED. 

In the summer of 1647 the Hurons dared not go down to the Frenchsettlements, but in the following year they took heart, and resolved atall risks to make the attempt; for the kettles, hatchets, and knives ofthe traders had become necessaries of life. Two hundred and fifty oftheir best warriors therefore embarked, under five valiant chiefs. They made the voyage in safety, approached Three Rivers on theseventeenth of July, and, running their canoes ashore among the bulrushes, began to grease their hair, paint their faces, and otherwise adornthemselves, that they might appear after a befitting fashion at the fort. While they were thus engaged, the alarm was sounded. Some of theirwarriors had discovered a large body of Iroquois, who for several dayshad been lurking in the forest, unknown to the French garrison, watchingtheir opportunity to strike a blow. The Hurons snatched their arms, and, half-greased and painted, ran to meet them. The Iroquois received themwith a volley. They fell flat to avoid the shot, then leaped up with afurious yell, and sent back a shower of arrows and bullets. The Iroquois, who were outnumbered, gave way and fled, excepting a few who for a timemade fight with their knives. The Hurons pursued. Many prisoners weretaken, and many dead left on the field. [ Lalemant, Relation, 1648, 11. The Jesuit Bressani had come down with the Hurons, and was with them inthe fight. ] The rout of the enemy was complete; and when their tradewas ended, the Hurons returned home in triumph, decorated with thelaurels and the scalps of victory. As it proved, it would have been well, had they remained there to defend their families and firesides. 

The oft-mentioned town of Teanaustaye, or St. Joseph, lay on thesouth-eastern frontier of the Huron country, near the foot of a range offorest-covered hills, and about fifteen miles from Sainte Marie. It hadbeen the chief town of the nation, and its population, by the Indianstandard, was still large; for it had four hundred families, and at leasttwo thousand inhabitants. It was well fortified with palisades, afterthe Huron manner, and was esteemed the chief bulwark of the country. Here countless Iroquois had been burned and devoured. Its people hadbeen truculent and intractable heathen, but many of them had surrenderedto the Faith, and for four years past Father Daniel had preached amongthem with excellent results. 

On the morning of the fourth of July, when the forest around baskedlazily in the early sun, you might have mounted the rising ground onwhich the town stood, and passed unchallenged through the opening in thepalisade. Within, you would have seen the crowded dwellings of bark, shaped like the arched coverings of huge baggage-wagons, and decoratedwith the _totems_ or armorial devices of their owners daubed on theoutside with paint. Here some squalid wolfish dog lay sleeping in thesun, a group of Huron girls chatted together in the shade, old squawspounded corn in large wooden mortars, idle youths gambled with cherrystones on a wooden platter, and naked infants crawled in the dust. Scarcely a warrior was to be seen. Some were absent in quest of game orof Iroquois scalps, and some had gone with the trading-party to theFrench settlements. You followed the foul passage-ways among the houses, and at length came to the church. It was full to the door. Daniel hadjust finished the mass, and his flock still knelt at their devotions. It was but the day before that he had returned to them, warmed with newfervor, from his meditations in retreat at Sainte Marie. Suddenly anuproar of voices, shrill with terror, burst upon the languid silence ofthe town. "The Iroquois! the Iroquois!" A crowd of hostile warriors hadissued from the forest, and were rushing across the clearing, towards theopening in the palisade. Daniel ran out of the church, and hurried tothe point of danger. Some snatched weapons; some rushed to and fro inthe madness of a blind panic. The priest rallied the defenders; promisedHeaven to those who died for their homes and their faith; then hastenedfrom house to house, calling on unbelievers to repent and receive baptism, to snatch them from the Hell that yawned to ingulf them. They crowdedaround him, imploring to be saved; and, immersing his handkerchief in abowl of water, he shook it over them, and baptized them by aspersion. They pursued him, as he ran again to the church, where he found a throngof women, children, and old men, gathered as in a sanctuary. Some criedfor baptism, some held out their children to receive it, some begged forabsolution, and some wailed in terror and despair. "Brothers, " heexclaimed again and again, as he shook the baptismal drops from hishandkerchief, --"brothers, to-day we shall be in Heaven. "

The fierce yell of the war-whoop now rose close at hand. The palisadewas forced, and the enemy was in the town. The air quivered with theinfernal din. "Fly!" screamed the priest, driving his flock before him. "I will stay here. We shall meet again in Heaven. " Many of them escapedthrough an opening in the palisade opposite to that by which the Iroquoishad entered; but Daniel would not follow, for there still might be soulsto rescue from perdition. The hour had come for which he had longprepared himself. In a moment he saw the Iroquois, and came forth fromthe church to meet them. When they saw him in turn, radiant in thevestments of his office, confronting them with a look kindled with theinspiration of martyrdom, they stopped and stared in amazement; thenrecovering themselves, bent their bows, and showered him with a volley ofarrows, that tore through his robes and his flesh. A gun shot followed;the ball pierced his heart, and he fell dead, gasping the name of Jesus. They rushed upon him with yells of triumph, stripped him naked, gashedand hacked his lifeless body, and, scooping his blood in their hands, bathed their faces in it to make them brave. The town was in a blaze;when the flames reached the church, they flung the priest into it, and both were consumed together. 

[ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1649, 3-5; Bressani, Relation Abregee, 247; Du Creux, Historia Canadensis, 524; Tanner, Societas Jesu Militans, 531; Marie de l'Incarnation, Lettre aux Ursulines de Tours, Quebec, 1649. 

Daniel was born at Dieppe, and was forty-eight years old at the time ofhis death. He had been a Jesuit from the age of twenty. ]

Teanaustaye was a heap of ashes, and the victors took up their march witha train of nearly seven hundred prisoners, many of whom they killed onthe way. Many more had been slain in the town and the neighboring forest, where the pursuers hunted them down, and where women, crouching forrefuge among thickets, were betrayed by the cries and wailing of theirinfants. 

The triumph of the Iroquois did not end here; for a neighboring fortifiedtown, included within the circle of Daniel's mission, shared the fate ofTeanaustaye. Never had the Huron nation received such a blow. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

1649. 

RUIN OF THE HURONS. 

 ST. LOUIS ON FIRE. --INVASION. --ST. IGNACE CAPTURED. -- BREBEUF AND LALEMANT. --BATTLE AT ST. LOUIS. --SAINTE MARIE THREATENED. -- RENEWED FIGHTING. --DESPERATE CONFLICT. --A NIGHT OF SUSPENSE. -- PANIC AMONG THE VICTORS. --BURNING OF ST. IGNACE. -- RETREAT OF THE IROQUOIS. 

More than eight months had passed since the catastrophe of St. Joseph. The winter was over, and that dreariest of seasons had come, the churlishforerunner of spring. Around Sainte Marie the forests were gray and bare, and, in the cornfields, the oozy, half-thawed soil, studded with thesodden stalks of the last autumn's harvest, showed itself in patchesthrough the melting snow. 

At nine o'clock on the morning of the sixteenth of March, the priests sawa heavy smoke rising over the naked forest towards the south-east, about three miles distant. They looked at each other in dismay. "TheIroquois! They are burning St. Louis!" Flames mingled with the smoke;and, as they stood gazing, two Christian Hurons came, breathless andaghast, from the burning town. Their worst fear was realized. TheIroquois were there; but where were the priests of the mission, Brebeufand Lalemant?

Late in the autumn, a thousand Iroquois, chiefly Senecas and Mohawks, had taken the war-path for the Hurons. They had been all winter in theforests, hunting for subsistence, and moving at their leisure towardstheir prey. The destruction of the two towns of the mission ofSt. Joseph had left a wide gap, and in the middle of March they enteredthe heart of the Huron country, undiscovered. Common vigilance andcommon sense would have averted the calamities that followed; but theHurons were like a doomed people, stupefied, sunk in dejection, fearingeverything, yet taking no measures for defence. They could easily havemet the invaders with double their force, but the besotted warriors layidle in their towns, or hunted at leisure in distant forests; nor couldthe Jesuits, by counsel or exhortation, rouse them to face the danger. 

Before daylight of the sixteenth, the invaders approached St. Ignace, which, with St. Louis and three other towns, formed the mission of thesame name. They reconnoitred the place in the darkness. It was defendedon three sides by a deep ravine, and further strengthened by palisadesfifteen or sixteen feet high, planted under the direction of the Jesuits. On the fourth side it was protected by palisades alone; and these wereleft, as usual, unguarded. This was not from a sense of security; forthe greater part of the population had abandoned the town, thinking ittoo much exposed to the enemy, and there remained only about four hundred, chiefly women, children, and old men, whose infatuated defenders wereabsent hunting, or on futile scalping-parties against the Iroquois. It was just before dawn, when a yell, as of a legion of devils, startledthe wretched inhabitants from their sleep; and the Iroquois, bursting inupon them, cut them down with knives and hatchets, killing many, andreserving the rest for a worse fate. They had entered by the weakestside; on the other sides there was no exit, and only three Huronsescaped. The whole was the work of a few minutes. The Iroquois left aguard to hold the town, and secure the retreat of the main body in caseof a reverse; then, smearing their faces with blood, after their ghastlycustom, they rushed, in the dim light of the early dawn, towardsSt. Louis, about a league distant. 

The three fugitives had fled, half naked, through the forest, for thesame point, which they reached about sunrise, yelling the alarm. Thenumber of inhabitants here was less, at this time, than seven hundred;and, of these, all who had strength to escape, excepting about eightywarriors, made in wild terror for a place of safety. Many of the old, sick, and decrepit were left perforce in the lodges. The warriors, ignorant of the strength of the assailants, sang their war-songs, andresolved to hold the place to the last. It had not the natural strengthof St. Ignace; but, like it, was surrounded by palisades. 

Here were the two Jesuits, Brebeuf and Lalemant. Brebeuf's convertsentreated him to escape with them; but the Norman zealot, bold scion of awarlike stock, had no thought of flight. His post was in the teeth ofdanger, to cheer on those who fought, and open Heaven to those who fell. His colleague, slight of frame and frail of constitution, trembleddespite himself; but deep enthusiasm mastered the weakness of Nature, and he, too, refused to fly. 

Scarcely had the sun risen, and scarcely were the fugitives gone, when, like a troop of tigers, the Iroquois rushed to the assault. Yell echoedyell, and shot answered shot. The Hurons, brought to bay, fought withthe utmost desperation, and with arrows, stones, and the few guns theyhad, killed thirty of their assailants, and wounded many more. Twice theIroquois recoiled, and twice renewed the attack with unabated ferocity. They swarmed at the foot of the palisades, and hacked at them with theirhatchets, till they had cut them through at several different points. For a time there was a deadly fight at these breaches. Here were the twopriests, promising Heaven to those who died for their faith, --one givingbaptism, and the other absolution. At length the Iroquois broke in, and captured all the surviving defenders, the Jesuits among the rest. They set the town on fire; and the helpless wretches who had remained, unable to fly, were consumed in their burning dwellings. Next they fellupon Brebeuf and Lalemant, stripped them, bound them fast, and led themwith the other prisoners back to St. Ignace, where all turned out towreak their fury on the two priests, beating them savagely with sticksand clubs as they drove them into the town. At present, there was notime for further torture, for there was work in hand. 

The victors divided themselves into several bands, to burn theneighboring villages and hunt their flying inhabitants. In the flush oftheir triumph, they meditated a bolder enterprise; and, in the afternoon, their chiefs sent small parties to reconnoitre Sainte Marie, with a viewto attacking it on the next day. 

Meanwhile the fugitives of St. Louis, joined by other bands as terrifiedand as helpless as they, were struggling through the soft snow whichclogged the forests towards Lake Huron, where the treacherous ice ofspring was still unmelted. One fear expelled another. They venturedupon it, and pushed forward all that day and all the following night, shivering and famished, to find refuge in the towns of the TobaccoNation. Here, when they arrived, they spread a universal panic. 

Ragueneau, Bressani, and their companions waited in suspense at SainteMarie. On the one hand, they trembled for Brebeuf and Lalemant; on theother, they looked hourly for an attack: and when at evening they saw theIroquois scouts prowling along the edge of the bordering forest, theirfears were confirmed. They had with them about forty Frenchmen, wellarmed; but their palisades and wooden buildings were not fire-proof, and they had learned from fugitives the number and ferocity of theinvaders. They stood guard all night, praying to the Saints, and aboveall to their great patron, Saint Joseph, whose festival was close at hand. 

In the morning they were somewhat relieved by the arrival of about threehundred Huron warriors, chiefly converts from La Conception and SainteMadeleine, tolerably well armed, and full of fight. They were expectingothers to join them; and meanwhile, dividing into several bands, theytook post by the passes of the neighboring forest, hoping to waylayparties of the enemy. Their expectation was fulfilled; for, at this time, two hundred of the Iroquois were making their way from St. Ignace, in advance of the main body, to begin the attack on Sainte Marie. They fell in with a band of the Hurons, set upon them, killed many, drove the rest to headlong flight, and, as they plunged in terror throughthe snow, chased them within sight of Sainte Marie. The other Hurons, hearing the yells and firing, ran to the rescue, and attacked so fiercely, that the Iroquois in turn were routed, and ran for shelter to St. Louis, followed closely by the victors. The houses of the town had been burned, but the palisade around them was still standing, though breached andbroken. The Iroquois rushed in; but the Hurons were at their heels. Many of the fugitives were captured, the rest killed or put to utter rout, and the triumphant Hurons remained masters of the place. 

The Iroquois who escaped fled to St. Ignace. Here, or on the way thither, they found the main body of the invaders; and when they heard of thedisaster, the whole swarm, beside themselves with rage, turned towardsSt. Louis to take their revenge. Now ensued one of the most furiousIndian battles on record. The Hurons within the palisade did not muchexceed a hundred and fifty; for many had been killed or disabled, andmany, perhaps, had straggled away. Most of their enemies had guns, while they had but few. Their weapons were bows and arrows, war-clubs, hatchets, and knives; and of these they made good use, sallyingrepeatedly, fighting like devils, and driving back their assailants againand again. There are times when the Indian warrior forgets his cautiousmaxims, and throws himself into battle with a mad and reckless ferocity. The desperation of one party, and the fierce courage of both, kept up thefight after the day had closed; and the scout from Sainte Marie, as hebent listening under the gloom of the pines, heard, far into the night, the howl of battle rising from the darkened forest. The principal chiefof the Iroquois was severely wounded, and nearly a hundred of theirwarriors were killed on the spot. When, at length, their numbers andpersistent fury prevailed, their only prize was some twenty Huronwarriors, spent with fatigue and faint with loss of blood. The rest laydead around the shattered palisades which they had so valiantly defended. Fatuity, not cowardice, was the ruin of the Huron nation. 

The lamps burned all night at Sainte Marie, and its defenders stoodwatching till daylight, musket in hand. The Jesuits prayed withoutceasing, and Saint Joseph was besieged with invocations. "Those of uswho were priests, " writes Ragueneau, "each made a vow to say a mass inhis honor every month, for the space of a year; and all the rest boundthemselves by vows to divers penances. " The expected onslaught did nottake place. Not an Iroquois appeared. Their victory had been bought toodear, and they had no stomach for more fighting. All the next day, the eighteenth, a stillness, like the dead lull of a tempest, followedthe turmoil of yesterday, --as if, says the Father Superior, "the countrywere waiting, palsied with fright, for some new disaster. "

On the following day, --the journalist fails not to mention that it wasthe festival of Saint Joseph, --Indians came in with tidings that a panichad seized the Iroquois camp, that the chiefs could not control it, and that the whole body of invaders was retreating in disorder, possessedwith a vague terror that the Hurons were upon them in force. They hadfound time, however, for an act of atrocious cruelty. They plantedstakes in the bark houses of St. Ignace, and bound to them those of theirprisoners whom they meant to sacrifice, male and female, from old age toinfancy, husbands, mothers, and children, side by side. Then, as theyretreated, they set the town on fire, and laughed with savage glee at theshrieks of anguish that rose from the blazing dwellings. 

[ The site of St. Ignace still bears evidence of the catastrophe, in theashes and charcoal that indicate the position of the houses, and thefragments of broken pottery and half-consumed bone, together withtrinkets of stone, metal, or glass, which have survived the lapse of twocenturies and more. The place has been minutely examined by Dr. Tache. ]

They loaded the rest of their prisoners with their baggage and plunder, and drove them through the forest southward, braining with their hatchetsany who gave out on the march. An old woman, who had escaped out of themidst of the flames of St. Ignace, made her way to St. Michel, a largetown not far from the desolate site of St. Joseph. Here she found aboutseven hundred Huron warriors, hastily mustered. She set them on thetrack of the retreating Iroquois, and they took up the chase, --butevidently with no great eagerness to overtake their dangerous enemy, well armed as he was with Dutch guns, while they had little beside theirbows and arrows. They found, as they advanced, the dead bodies ofprisoners tomahawked on the march, and others bound fast to trees andhalf burned by the fagots piled hastily around them. The Iroquois pushedforward with such headlong speed, that the pursuers could not, or wouldnot, overtake them; and, after two days, they gave over the attempt. 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

1649. 

THE MARTYRS. 

 THE RUINS OF ST. IGNACE. --THE RELICS FOUND. --BREBEUF AT THE STAKE. -- HIS UNCONQUERABLE FORTITUDE. --LALEMANT. --RENEGADE HURONS. -- IROQUOIS ATROCITIES. --DEATH OF BREBEUF. --HIS CHARACTER. -- DEATH OF LALEMANT. 

On the morning of the twentieth, the Jesuits at Sainte Marie receivedfull confirmation of the reported retreat of the invaders; and one ofthem, with seven armed Frenchmen, set out for the scene of havoc. They passed St. Louis, where the bloody ground was strown thick withcorpses, and, two or three miles farther on, reached St. Ignace. Herethey saw a spectacle of horror; for among the ashes of the burnt townwere scattered in profusion the half-consumed bodies of those who hadperished in the flames. Apart from the rest, they saw a sight thatbanished all else from their thoughts; for they found what they had cometo seek, --the scorched and mangled relics of Brebeuf and Lalemant. 

[ "Ils y trouuerent vn spectacle d'horreur, les restes de la cruautemesme, ou plus tost les restes de l'amour de Dieu, qui seul triomphe dansla mort des Martyrs. "--Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1649, 13. ]

They had learned their fate already from Huron prisoners, many of whomhad made their escape in the panic and confusion of the Iroquois retreat. They described what they had seen, and the condition in which the bodieswere found confirmed their story. 

On the afternoon of the sixteenth, --the day when the two priests werecaptured, --Brebeuf was led apart, and bound to a stake. He seemed moreconcerned for his captive converts than for himself, and addressed themin a loud voice, exhorting them to suffer patiently, and promising Heavenas their reward. The Iroquois, incensed, scorched him from head to foot, to silence him; whereupon, in the tone of a master, he threatened themwith everlasting flames, for persecuting the worshippers of God. As hecontinued to speak, with voice and countenance unchanged, they cut awayhis lower lip and thrust a red-hot iron down his throat. He still heldhis tall form erect and defiant, with no sign or sound of pain; and theytried another means to overcome him. They led out Lalemant, that Brebeufmight see him tortured. They had tied strips of bark, smeared with pitch, about his naked body. When he saw the condition of his Superior, hecould not hide his agitation, and called out to him, with a broken voice, in the words of Saint Paul, "We are made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. " Then he threw himself at Brebeuf's feet; uponwhich the Iroquois seized him, made him fast to a stake, and set fire tothe bark that enveloped him. As the flame rose, he threw his arms upward, with a shriek of supplication to Heaven. Next they hung around Brebeuf'sneck a collar made of hatchets heated red hot; but the indomitable prieststood like a rock. A Huron in the crowd, who had been a convert of themission, but was now an Iroquois by adoption, called out, with the maliceof a renegade, to pour hot water on their heads, since they had poured somuch cold water on those of others. The kettle was accordingly slung, and the water boiled and poured slowly on the heads of the twomissionaries. "We baptize you, " they cried, "that you may be happy inHeaven; for nobody can be saved without a good baptism. " Brebeuf wouldnot flinch; and, in a rage, they cut strips of flesh from his limbs, and devoured them before his eyes. Other renegade Hurons called out tohim, "You told us, that, the more one suffers on earth, the happier he isin Heaven. We wish to make you happy; we torment you because we loveyou; and you ought to thank us for it. " After a succession of otherrevolting tortures, they scalped him; when, seeing him nearly dead, they laid open his breast, and came in a crowd to drink the blood of sovaliant an enemy, thinking to imbibe with it some portion of his courage. A chief then tore out his heart, and devoured it. 

Thus died Jean de Brebeuf, the founder of the Huron mission, its truesthero, and its greatest martyr. He came of a noble race, --the same, it is said, from which sprang the English Earls of Arundel; but never hadthe mailed barons of his line confronted a fate so appalling, with soprodigious a constancy. To the last he refused to flinch, and "his deathwas the astonishment of his murderers. " [ Charlevoix, I. 204. Alegambeuses a similar expression. ] In him an enthusiastic devotion was graftedon an heroic nature. His bodily endowments were as remarkable as thetemper of his mind. His manly proportions, his strength, and hisendurance, which incessant fasts and penances could not undermine, had always won for him the respect of the Indians, no less than a courageunconscious of fear, and yet redeemed from rashness by a cool andvigorous judgment; for, extravagant as were the chimeras which fed thefires of his zeal, they were consistent with the soberest good sense onmatters of practical bearing. 

Lalemant, physically weak from childhood, and slender almost toemaciation, was constitutionally unequal to a display of fortitude likethat of his colleague. When Brebeuf died, he was led back to the housewhence he had been taken, and tortured there all night, until, in themorning, one of the Iroquois, growing tired of the protractedentertainment, killed him with a hatchet. [ 1 ] It was said, that, at times, he seemed beside himself; then, rallying, with hands uplifted, he offered his sufferings to Heaven as a sacrifice. His robust companionhad lived less than four hours under the torture, while he survived itfor nearly seventeen. Perhaps the Titanic effort of will with whichBrebeuf repressed all show of suffering conspired with the Iroquoisknives and firebrands to exhaust his vitality; perhaps his tormentors, enraged at his fortitude, forgot their subtlety, and struck too near thelife. 

[ 1 "We saw no part of his body, " says Ragueneau, "from head to foot, which was not burned, even to his eyes, in the sockets of which thesewretches had placed live coals. "--Relation des Hurons, 1649, 15. 

Lalemant was a Parisian, and his family belonged to the class of _gens derobe_, or hereditary practitioners of the law. He was thirty-nine yearsof age. His physical weakness is spoken of by several of those who knewhim. Marie de l'Incarnation says, "C'etait l'homme le plus faible et leplus delicat qu'on eut pu voir. " Both Bressani and Ragueneau are equallyemphatic on this point. ]

The bodies of the two missionaries were carried to Sainte Marie, andburied in the cemetery there; but the skull of Brebeuf was preserved as arelic. His family sent from France a silver bust of their martyredkinsman, in the base of which was a recess to contain the skull; and, to this day, the bust and the relic within are preserved with pious careby the nuns of the Hotel-Dieu at Quebec. 

[ Photographs of the bust are before me. Various relics of the twomissionaries were preserved; and some of them may still be seen inCanadian monastic establishments. The following extract from a letter ofMarie de l'Incarnation to her son, written from Quebec in October of thisyear, 1649, is curious. 

"Madame our foundress (Madame de la Peltrie) sends you relics of our holymartyrs; but she does it secretly, since the reverend Fathers would notgive us any, for fear that we should send them to France: but, as she isnot bound by vows, and as the very persons who went for the bodies havegiven relics of them to her in secret, I begged her to send you some ofthem, which she has done very gladly, from the respect she has for you. "She adds, in the same letter, "Our Lord having revealed to him (Brebeuf)the time of his martyrdom three days before it happened, he went, full ofjoy, to find the other Fathers; who, seeing him in extraordinary spirits, caused him, by an inspiration of God, to be bled; after which timesurgeon dried his blood, through a presentiment of what was to take place, lest he should be treated like Father Daniel, who, eight months before, had been so reduced to ashes that no remains of his body could be found. "

Brebeuf had once been ordered by the Father Superior to write down thevisions, revelations, and inward experiences with which he was favored, --"at least, " says Ragueneau, "those which he could easily remember, for their multitude was too great for the whole to be recalled. "--"I findnothing, " he adds, "more frequent in this memoir than the expression ofhis desire to die for Jesus Christ: 'Sentio me vehementer impelli admoriendum pro Christo. ' . . . In fine, wishing to make himself aholocaust and a victim consecrated to death, and holily to anticipate thehappiness of martyrdom which awaited him, he bound himself by a vow toChrist, which he conceived in these terms"; and Ragueneau gives the vowin the original Latin. It binds him never to refuse "the grace ofmartyrdom, if at any day, Thou shouldst, in Thy infinite pity, offer itto me, Thy unworthy servant;". . . "and when I shall have received thestroke of death, I bind myself to accept it at Thy hand, with all thecontentment and joy of my heart. "

Some of his innumerable visions have been already mentioned. (See ante, chapter 9 (page 108). ) Tanner, Societas Militans, gives various others, --as, for example, that he once beheld a mountain covered thick with saints, but above all with virgins, while the Queen of Virgins sat at the top ina blaze of glory. In 1637, when the whole country was enraged againstthe Jesuits, and above all against Brebeuf, as sorcerers who had causedthe pest, Ragueneau tells us that "a troop of demons appeared before himdivers times, --sometimes like men in a fury, sometimes like frightfulmonsters, bears, lions, or wild horses, trying to rush upon him. Thesespectres excited in him neither horror nor fear. He said to them, 'Do to me whatever God permits you; for without His will not one hairwill fall from my head. ' And at these words all the demons vanished in amoment. "--Relation des Hurons, 1649, 20. Compare the long notice inAlegambe, Mortes Illustres, 644. 

In Ragueneau's notice of Brebeuf, as in all other notices of deceasedmissionaries in the Relations, the saintly qualities alone are broughtforward, as obedience, humility, etc. ; but wherever Brebeuf himselfappears in the course of those voluminous records, he always brings withhim an impression of power. 

We are told that, punning on his own name, he used to say that he was anox, fit only to bear burdens. This sort of humility may pass for what itis worth; but it must be remembered, that there is a kind of acting inwhich the actor firmly believes in the part he is playing. As for theobedience, it was as genuine as that of a well-disciplined soldier, and incomparably more profound. In the case of the Canadian Jesuits, posterity owes to this, their favorite virtue, the record of numerousvisions, inward voices, and the like miracles, which the object of thesefavors set down on paper, at the command of his Superior; while, otherwise, humility would have concealed them forever. The truth is, that with some of these missionaries, one may throw off trash andnonsense by the cart-load, and find under it all a solid nucleus of saintand hero. ]

CHAPTER XXIX. 

1649, 1650. 

THE SANCTUARY. 

 DISPERSION OF THE HURONS. --SAINTE MARIE ABANDONED. --ISLE ST. JOSEPH. -- REMOVAL OF THE MISSION. --THE NEW FORT. --MISERY OF THE HURONS. --FAMINE. -- EPIDEMIC. --EMPLOYMENTS OF THE JESUITS. 

All was over with the Hurons. The death-knell of their nation hadstruck. Without a leader, without organization, without union, crazedwith fright and paralyzed with misery, they yielded to their doom withouta blow. Their only thought was flight. Within two weeks after thedisasters of St. Ignace and St. Louis, fifteen Huron towns were abandoned, and the greater number burned, lest they should give shelter to theIroquois. The last year's harvest had been scanty; the fugitives had nofood, and they left behind them the fields in which was their only hopeof obtaining it. In bands, large or small, some roamed northward andeastward, through the half-thawed wilderness; some hid themselves on therocks or islands of Lake Huron; some sought an asylum among the TobaccoNation; a few joined the Neutrals on the north of Lake Erie. The Hurons, as a nation, ceased to exist. 

[ Chaumonot, who was at Ossossane at the time of the Iroquois invasion, gives a vivid picture of the panic and lamentation which followed thenews of the destruction of the Huron warriors at St. Louis, and of theflight of the inhabitants to the country of the Tobacco Nation. --Vie, 62. ]

Hitherto Sainte Marie had been covered by large fortified towns which laybetween it and the Iroquois; but these were all destroyed, some by theenemy and some by their own people, and the Jesuits were left alone tobear the brunt of the next attack. There was, moreover, no reason fortheir remaining. Sainte Marie had been built as a basis for themissions; but its occupation was gone: the flock had fled from theshepherds, and its existence had no longer an object. If the priestsstayed to be butchered, they would perish, not as martyrs, but as fools. The necessity was as clear as it was bitter. All their toil must come tonought. Sainte Marie must be abandoned. They confess the pang which theresolution cost them; but, pursues the Father Superior, "since the birthof Christianity, the Faith has nowhere been planted except in the midstof sufferings and crosses. Thus this desolation consoles us; and in themidst of persecution, in the extremity of the evils which assail us andthe greater evils which threaten us, we are all filled with joy: for ourhearts tell us that God has never had a more tender love for us than now. "[ Ragueneau. Relation des Hurons, 1649, 26. ]

Several of the priests set out to follow and console the scattered bandsof fugitive Hurons. One embarked in a canoe, and coasted the drearyshores of Lake Huron northward, among the wild labyrinth of rocks andislets, whither his scared flock had fled for refuge; another betookhimself to the forest with a band of half-famished proselytes, and sharedtheir miserable rovings through the thickets and among the mountains. Those who remained took counsel together at Sainte Marie. Whither shouldthey go, and where should be the new seat of the mission? They madechoice of the Grand Manitoulin Island, called by them Isle Sainte Marie, and by the Hurons Ekaentoton. It lay near the northern shores of LakeHuron, and by its position would give a ready access to numberlessAlgonquin tribes along the borders of all these inland seas. Moreover, it would bring the priests and their flock nearer to the Frenchsettlements, by the route of the Ottawa, whenever the Iroquois shouldcease to infest that river. The fishing, too, was good; and some of thepriests, who knew the island well, made a favorable report of the soil. Thither, therefore, they had resolved to transplant the mission, whentwelve Huron chiefs arrived, and asked for an interview with the FatherSuperior and his fellow Jesuits. The conference lasted three hours. The deputies declared that many of the scattered Hurons had determined toreunite, and form a settlement on a neighboring island of the lake, called by the Jesuits Isle St. Joseph; that they needed the aid of theFathers; that without them they were helpless, but with them they couldhold their ground and repel the attacks of the Iroquois. They urgedtheir plea in language which Ragueneau describes as pathetic andeloquent; and, to confirm their words, they gave him ten large collars ofwampum, saying that these were the voices of their wives and children. They gained their point. The Jesuits abandoned their former plan, and promised to join the Hurons on Isle St. Joseph. 

They had built a boat, or small vessel, and in this they embarked such oftheir stores as it would hold. The greater part were placed on a largeraft made for the purpose, like one of the rafts of timber which everysummer float down the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa. Here was their stockof corn, --in part the produce of their own fields, and in part boughtfrom the Hurons in former years of plenty, --pictures, vestments, sacredvessels and images, weapons, ammunition, tools, goods for barter with theIndians, cattle, swine, and poultry. [ Some of these were killed forfood after reaching the island. In March following, they had ten fowls, a pair of swine, two bulls and two cows, kept for breeding. --Lettre deRagueneau au General de la Compagnie de Jesus, St. Joseph, 13 Mars, 1650. ] Sainte Marie was stripped of everything that could be moved. Then, lest it should harbor the Iroquois, they set it on fire, and sawconsumed in an hour the results of nine or ten years of toil. It wasnear sunset, on the fourteenth of June. [ 1 ] The houseless banddescended to the mouth of the Wye, went on board their raft, pushed itfrom the shore, and, with sweeps and oars, urged it on its way all night. The lake was calm and the weather fair; but it crept so slowly over thewater that several days elapsed before they reached their destination, about twenty miles distant. 

[ 1 Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1650, 3. In the Relation of thepreceding year he gives the fifteenth of May as the date, --evidently anerror. 

"Nous sortismes de ces terres de Promission qui estoient nostre Paradis, et ou la mort nous eust este mille fois plus douce que ne sera la vie enquelque lieu que nous puissions estre. Mais il faut suiure Dieu, et ilfaut aimer ses conduites, quelque opposees qu'elles paroissent a nosdesirs, a nos plus saintes esperances et aux plus tendres amours denostre coeur. "--Lettre de Ragueneau au P. Provincial a Paris, in Relationdes Hurons, 1650, 1. 

"Mais il fallut, a tous tant que nous estions, quitter cette anciennedemeure de saincte Marie; ces edifices, qui quoy que pauures, paroissoient des chefs-d'oeuure de l'art aux yeux de nos pauures Sauuages;ces terres cultiuees, qui nous promettoient vne riche moisson. Il nousfallut abandonner ce lieu, que ie puis appeller nostre seconde Patrie etnos delices innocentes, puis qu'il auoit este le berceau de ceChristianisme, qu'il estoit le temple de Dieu et la maison des seruiteursde Iesus-Christ; et crainte que nos ennemis trop impies, ne profanassentce lieu de sainctete et n'en prissent leur auantage, nous y mismes le feunous mesmes, et nous vismes brusler a nos yeux, en moins d'vne heure, nos trauaux de neuf et de dix ans. "--Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1650, 2, 3. ]

Near the entrance of Matchedash Bay lie the three islands now known asFaith, Hope, and Charity. Of these, Charity or Christian Island, calledAhoendoe by the Hurons and St. Joseph by the Jesuits, is by far thelargest. It is six or eight miles wide; and when the Hurons soughtrefuge here, it was densely covered with the primeval forest. Thepriests landed with their men, some forty soldiers, laborers, and others, and found about three hundred Huron families bivouacked in the woods. Here were wigwams and sheds of bark, and smoky kettles slung over fires, each on its tripod of poles, while around lay groups of famished wretches, with dark, haggard visages and uncombed hair, in every posture ofdespondency and woe. They had not been wholly idle; for they had madesome rough clearings, and planted a little corn. The arrival of theJesuits gave them new hope; and, weakened as they were with famine, they set themselves to the task of hewing and burning down the forest, making bark houses, and planting palisades. The priests, on their part, chose a favorable spot, and began to clear the ground and mark out thelines of a fort. Their men--the greater part serving without pay--labored with admirable spirit, and before winter had built a square, bastioned fort of solid masonry, with a deep ditch, and walls abouttwelve feet high. Within were a small chapel, houses for lodging, and a well, which, with the ruins of the walls, may still be seen on thesouth-eastern shore of the island, a hundred feet from the water. [ 1 ]Detached redoubts were also built near at hand, where French musketeerscould aid in defending the adjacent Huron village. [ Compare Martin, Introduction to Bressani, Relation Abregee, 38. ] Though the island wascalled St. Joseph, the fort, like that on the Wye, received the name ofSainte Marie. Jesuit devotion scattered these names broadcast over allthe field of their labors. 

[ 1 The measurement between the angles of the two southern bastions is123 feet, and that of the curtain wall connecting these bastions is 78feet. Some curious relics have been found in the fort, --among others, a steel mill for making wafers for the Host. It was found in 1848, in a remarkable state of preservation, and is now in an English museum, having been bought on the spot by an amateur. As at Sainte Marie on theWye, the remains are in perfect conformity with the narratives andletters of the priests. ]

The island, thanks to the vigilance of the French, escaped attackthroughout the summer; but Iroquois scalping-parties ranged theneighboring shores, killing stragglers and keeping the Hurons inperpetual alarm. As winter drew near, great numbers, who, trembling andby stealth, had gathered a miserable subsistence among the northernforests and islands, rejoined their countrymen at St. Joseph, until sixor eight thousand expatriated wretches were gathered here under theprotection of the French fort. They were housed in a hundred or morebark dwellings, each containing eight or ten families. [ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1650, 3, 4. He reckons eight persons to a family. ]Here were widows without children, and children without parents; forfamine and the Iroquois had proved more deadly enemies than thepestilence which a few years before had wasted their towns. [ 1 ]Of this multitude but few had strength enough to labor, scarcely any hadmade provision for the winter, and numbers were already perishing fromwant, dragging themselves from house to house, like living skeletons. The priests had spared no effort to meet the demands upon their charity. They sent men during the autumn to buy smoked fish from the NorthernAlgonquins, and employed Indians to gather acorns in the woods. Of thismiserable food they succeeded in collecting five or six hundred bushels. To diminish its bitterness, the Indians boiled it with ashes, or thepriests served it out to them pounded, and mixed with corn. [ Eighthundred sacks of this mixture were given to the Hurons during thewinter. --Bressani, Relation Abregee, 283. ]

[ 1 "Ie voudrois pouuoir representer a toutes les personnesaffectionnees a nos Hurons, l'etat pitoyable auquel ils sont reduits;. . . Comment seroit-il possible que ces imitateurs de Iesus Christ nefussent emeus a pitie a la veue des centaines et centaines de veuues dontnon seulement les enfans, mais quasi les parens ont este outrageusementou tuez, ou emmenez captifs, et puis inhumainement bruslez, cuits, dechirez et deuorez des ennemis. "--Lettre de Chaumonot a Lalemant, Superieur a Quebec, Isle de St. Joseph, 1 Juin, 1649. 

"Vne mere s'est veue, n'ayant que ses deux mamelles, mais sans suc etsans laict, qui toutefois estoit l'vnique chose qu'elle eust peupresenter a trois ou quatre enfans qui pleuroient y estans attachez. Elle les voyoit mourir entre ses bras, les vns apres les autres, etn'auoit pas mesme les forces de les pousser dans le tombeau. Ellemouroit sous cette charge, et en mourant elle disoit: Ouy, Mon Dieu, vous estes le maistre de nos vies; nous mourrons puisque vous le voulez;voila qui est bien que nous mourrions Chrestiens. I'estois damnee, et mes enfans auec moy, si nous ne fussions morts miserables; ils ontreceu le sainct Baptesme, et ie croy fermement que mourans tous decompagnie, nous ressusciterons tous ensemble. "--Ragueneau, Relation desHurons, 1650, 5. ]

As winter advanced, the Huron houses became a frightful spectacle. Their inmates were dying by scores daily. The priests and their menburied the bodies, and the Indians dug them from the earth or the snowand fed on them, sometimes in secret and sometimes openly; although, notwithstanding their superstitious feasts on the bodies of their enemies, their repugnance and horror were extreme at the thought of devouringthose of relatives and friends. [ 1 ] An epidemic presently appeared, to aid the work of famine. Before spring, about half of their numberwere dead. 

[ 1 "Ce fut alors que nous fusmes contraints de voir des squeletesmourantes, qui soustenoient vne vie miserable, mangeant iusqu'aux ordureset les rebuts de la nature. Le gland estoit a la pluspart, ce queseroient en France les mets les plus exquis. Les charognes mesmedeterrees, les restes des Renards et des Chiens ne faisoient pointhorreur, et se mangeoient, quoy qu'en cachete: car quoy que les Hurons, auant que la foy leur eust donne plus de lumiere qu'ils n'en auoient dansl'infidelite, ne creussent pas commettre aucun peche de manger leursennemis, aussi peu qu'il y en a de les tuer, toutefois ie puis dire auecverite, qu'ils n'ont pas moins d'horreur de manger de leurs compatriotes, qu'on peut auoir en France de manger de la chair humaine. Mais lanecessite n'a plus de loy, et des dents fameliques ne discernent plus cequ'elles mangent. Les meres se sont repeues de leurs enfans, des freresde leurs freres, et des enfans ne reconnoissoient plus en vn cadaure mort, celuy lequel lors qu'il viuoit, ils appelloient leur Pere. "--Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1650, 4. Compare Bressani, Relation Abregee, 283. ]

Meanwhile, though the cold was intense and the snow several feet deep, yet not an hour was free from the danger of the Iroquois; and, fromsunset to daybreak, under the cold moon or in the driving snow-storm, the French sentries walked their rounds along the ramparts. 

The priests rose before dawn, and spent the time till sunrise in theirprivate devotions. Then the bell of their chapel rang, and the Indianscame in crowds at the call; for misery had softened their hearts, andnearly all on the island were now Christian. There was a mass, followedby a prayer and a few words of exhortation; then the hearers dispersed tomake room for others. Thus the little chapel was filled ten or twelvetimes, until all had had their turn. Meanwhile other priests werehearing confessions and giving advice and encouragement in private, according to the needs of each applicant. This lasted till nine o'clock, when all the Indians returned to their village, and the priests presentlyfollowed, to give what assistance they could. Their cassocks were wornout, and they were dressed chiefly in skins. [ Lettre de Ragueneau auGeneral de la Compagnie de Jesus, Isle St. Joseph, 13 Mars, 1650. ]They visited the Indian houses, and gave to those whose necessities weremost urgent small scraps of hide, severally stamped with a particularmark, and entitling the recipients, on presenting them at the fort, to a few acorns, a small quantity of boiled maize, or a fragment ofsmoked fish, according to the stamp on the leather ticket of each. Two hours before sunset the bell of the chapel again rang, and thereligious exercises of the morning were repeated. [ Ragueneau, Relationdes Hurons, 1650, 6, 7. ]

Thus this miserable winter wore away, till the opening spring brought newfears and new necessities. 

[ Concerning the retreat of the Hurons to Isle St. Joseph, the principalauthorities are the Relations of 1649 and 1650, which are ample in detail, and written with an excellent simplicity and modesty; the RelationAbregee of Bressani; the reports of the Father Superior to the General ofthe Jesuits at Rome; the manuscript of 1652, entitled Memoires touchantla Mort et les Vertus des Peres, etc. ; the unpublished letters ofGarnier; and a letter of Chaumonot, written on the spot, and preserved inthe Relations. ]

CHAPTER XXX. 

1649. 

GARNIER. --CHABANEL. 

 THE TOBACCO MISSIONS. --ST. JEAN ATTACKED. --DEATH OF GARNIER. -- THE JOURNEY OF CHABANEL. --HIS DEATH. --GARREAU AND GRELON. 

Late in the preceding autumn the Iroquois had taken the war-path inforce. At the end of November, two escaped prisoners came to IsleSt. Joseph with the news that a band of three hundred warriors washovering in the Huron forests, doubtful whether to invade the island orto attack the towns of the Tobacco Nation in the valleys of the BlueMountains. The Father Superior, Ragueneau, sent a runner thither in allhaste, to warn the inhabitants of their danger. 

There were at this time two missions in the Tobacco Nation, St. Jean andSt. Matthias, [ 1 ]--the latter under the charge of the Jesuits Garreauand Grelon, and the former under that of Garnier and Chabanel. St. Jean, the principal seat of the mission of the same name, was a town of five orsix hundred families. Its population was, moreover, greatly augmented bythe bands of fugitive Hurons who had taken refuge there. When thewarriors were warned by Ragueneau's messenger of a probable attack fromthe Iroquois, they were far from being daunted, but, confiding in theirnumbers, awaited the enemy in one of those fits of valor whichcharacterize the unstable courage of the savage. At St. Jean all waspaint, feathers, and uproar, --singing, dancing, howling, and stamping. Quivers were filled, knives whetted, and tomahawks sharpened; but when, after two days of eager expectancy, the enemy did not appear, thewarriors lost patience. Thinking, and probably with reason, that theIroquois were afraid of them, they resolved to sally forth, and take theoffensive. With yelps and whoops they defiled into the forest, where thebranches were gray and bare, and the ground thickly covered with snow. They pushed on rapidly till the following day, but could not discovertheir wary enemy, who had made a wide circuit, and was approaching thetown from another quarter. By ill luck, the Iroquois captured a TobaccoIndian and his squaw, straggling in the forest not far from St. Jean; andthe two prisoners, to propitiate them, told them the defencelesscondition of the place, where none remained but women, children, and oldmen. The delighted Iroquois no longer hesitated, but silently andswiftly pushed on towards the town. 

[ 1 The Indian name of St. Jean was Etarita; and that of St. Matthias, Ekarenniondi. ]

It was two o'clock in the afternoon of the seventh of December. [ Bressani, Relation Abregee, 264. ] Chabanel had left the place a dayor two before, in obedience to a message from Ragueneau, and Garnier washere alone. He was making his rounds among the houses, visiting the sickand instructing his converts, when the horrible din of the war-whoop rosefrom the borders of the clearing, and, on the instant, the town was madwith terror. Children and girls rushed to and fro, blind with fright;women snatched their infants, and fled they knew not whither. Garnierran to his chapel, where a few of his converts had sought asylum. He gave them his benediction, exhorted them to hold fast to the Faith, and bade them fly while there was yet time. For himself, he hastenedback to the houses, running from one to another, and giving absolution orbaptism to all whom he found. An Iroquois met him, shot him with threeballs through the body and thigh, tore off his cassock, and rushed on inpursuit of the fugitives. Garnier lay for a moment on the ground, as if stunned; then, recovering his senses, he was seen to rise into akneeling posture. At a little distance from him lay a Huron, mortallywounded, but still showing signs of life. With the Heaven that awaitedhim glowing before his fading vision, the priest dragged himself towardsthe dying Indian, to give him absolution; but his strength failed, and he fell again to the earth. He rose once more, and again creptforward, when a party of Iroquois rushed upon him, split his head withtwo blows of a hatchet, stripped him, and left his body on the ground. [ 1 ] At this time the whole town was on fire. The invaders, fearingthat the absent warriors might return and take their revenge, hastened tofinish their work, scattered firebrands every where, and threw childrenalive into the burning houses. They killed many of the fugitives, captured many more, and then made a hasty retreat through the forest withtheir prisoners, butchering such of them as lagged on the way. St. Jeanlay a waste of smoking ruins thickly strewn with blackened corpses of theslain. 

[ The above particulars of Garnier's death rest on the evidence of aChristian Huron woman, named Marthe, who saw him shot down, and also sawhis attempt to reach the dying Indian. She was herself struck downimmediately after with a war-club, but remained alive, and escaped in theconfusion. She died three months later, at Isle St. Joseph, from theeffects of the injuries she had received, after reaffirming the truth ofher story to Ragueneau, who was with her, and who questioned her on thesubject. (Memoires touchant la Mort et les Vertus des Peres Garnier, etc. , MS. ). Ragueneau also speaks of her in Relation des Hurons, 1650, 9. --The priests Grelon and Garreau found the body stripped naked, withthree gunshot wounds in the abdomen and thigh, and two deep hatchetwounds in the head. ]

Towards evening, parties of fugitives reached St. Matthias, with tidingsof the catastrophe. The town was wild with alarm, and all stood on thewatch, in expectation of an attack; but when, in the morning, scouts camein and reported the retreat of the Iroquois, Garreau and Grelon set outwith a party of converts to visit the scene of havoc. For a long timethey looked in vain for the body of Garnier; but at length they found himlying where he had fallen, --so scorched and disfigured, that he wasrecognized with difficulty. The two priests wrapped his body in a partof their own clothing; the Indian converts dug a grave on the spot wherehis church had stood; and here they buried him. Thus, at the age offorty-four, died Charles Garnier, the favorite child of wealthy and nobleparents, nursed in Parisian luxury and ease, then living and dying, a more than willing exile, amid the hardships and horrors of the Huronwilderness. His life and his death are his best eulogy. Brebeuf was thelion of the Huron mission, and Garnier was the lamb; but the lamb was asfearless as the lion. 

[ Garnier's devotion to the mission was absolute. He took little or nointerest in the news from France, which, at intervals of from one tothree years, found its way to the Huron towns. His companion Bressanisays, that he would walk thirty or forty miles in the hottest summer day, to baptize some dying Indian, when the country was infested by the enemy. On similar errands, he would sometimes pass the night alone in the forestin the depth of winter. He was anxious to fall into the hands of theIroquois, that he might preach the Faith to them even out of the midst ofthe fire. In one of his unpublished letters he writes, "Praised be ourLord, who punishes me for my sins by depriving me of this crown" (thecrown of martyrdom). After the death of Brebeuf and Lalemant, he writesto his brother--

"Helas! Mon cher frere, si ma conscience ne me convainquait et ne meconfondait de mon infidelite au service de notre bon maitre, je pourraisesperer quelque faveur approchante de celles qu'il a faites aux bien-heureuxmartyrs avec qui j'avais le bien de converser souvent, etant dans les memesoccasions et dangers qu'ils etaient, mais sa justice me fait craindre queje ne demeure toujours indigne d'une telle couronne. "

He contented himself with the most wretched fare during the last years offamine, living in good measure on roots and acorns; "although, " saysRagueneau, "he had been the cherished son of a rich and noble house, on whom all the affection of his father had centred, and who had beennourished on food very different from that of swine. "--Relation desHurons, 1650, 12. 

For his character, see Ragueneau, Bressani, Tanner, and Alegambe, whodevotes many pages to the description of his religious traits; but thecomplexion of his mind is best reflected in his private letters. ]

When, on the following morning, the warriors of St. Jean returned fromtheir rash and bootless sally, and saw the ashes of their desolated homesand the ghastly relics of their murdered families, they seated themselvesamid the ruin, silent and motionless as statues of bronze, with headsbowed down and eyes fixed on the ground. Thus they remained through halfthe day. Tears and wailing were for women; this was the mourning ofwarriors. 

Garnier's colleague, Chabanel, had been recalled from St. Jean by anorder from the Father Superior, who thought it needless to expose thelife of more than one priest in a position of so much danger. He stoppedon his way at St. Matthias, and on the morning of the seventh of December, the day of the attack, left that town with seven or eight ChristianHurons. The journey was rough and difficult. They proceeded through theforest about eighteen miles, and then encamped in the snow. The Indiansfell asleep; but Chabanel, from an apprehension of danger, or some othercause, remained awake. About midnight he heard a strange sound in thedistance, --a confusion of fierce voices, mingled with songs and outcries. It was the Iroquois on their retreat with their prisoners, some of whomwere defiantly singing their war-songs, after the Indian custom. Chabanel waked his companions, who instantly took flight. He tried tofollow, but could not keep pace with the light-footed savages, whoreturned to St. Matthias, and told what had occurred. They said, however, that Chabanel had left them and taken an opposite direction, in order toreach Isle St. Joseph. His brother priests were for some time ignorantof what had befallen him. At length a Huron Indian, who had beenconverted, but afterward apostatized, gave out that he had met him in theforest, and aided him with his canoe to cross a river which lay in hispath. Some supposed that he had lost his way, and died of cold andhunger; but others were of a different opinion. Their suspicion wasconfirmed some time afterwards by the renegade Huron, who confessed thathe had killed Chabanel and thrown his body into the river, after robbinghim of his clothes, his hat, the blanket or mantle which was strapped tohis shoulders, and the bag in which he carried his books and papers. He declared that his motive was hatred of the Faith, which had caused theruin of the Hurons. [ Memoires touchant la Mort et les Vertus des Peres, etc. , MS. ] The priest had prepared himself for a worse fate. Beforeleaving Sainte Marie on the Wye, to go to his post in the Tobacco Nation, he had written to his brother to regard him as a victim destined to thefires of the Iroquois. [ Abrege de la Vie du P. Noel Chabanel, MS. ]He added, that, though he was naturally timid, he was now whollyindifferent to danger; and he expressed the belief that only a superhumanpower could have wrought such a change in him. 

[ "Ie suis fort apprehensif de mon naturel; toutefois, maintenant que ievay au plus grand danger et qu'il me semble que la mort n'est pasesloignee, ie ne sens plus de crainte. Cette disposition ne vient pas demoy. "--Relation des Hurons, 1650, 18. 

The following is the vow made by Chabanel, at a time when his disgust atthe Indian mode of life beset him with temptations to ask to be recalledfrom the mission. It is translated from the Latin original:--

"My Lord Jesus Christ, who, in the admirable disposition of thy paternalprovidence, hast willed that I, although most unworthy, should be aco-laborer with the holy Apostles in this vineyard of the Hurons, --I, Noel Chabanel, impelled by the desire of fulfilling thy holy will inadvancing the conversion of the savages of this land to thy faith, do vow, in the presence of the most holy sacrament of thy precious body and blood, which is God's tabernacle among men, to remain perpetually attached tothis mission of the Hurons, understanding all things according to theinterpretation and disposal of the Superiors of the Society of Jesus. Therefore I entreat thee to receive me as the perpetual servant of thismission, and to render me worthy of so sublime a ministry. Amen. This twentieth day of June, 1647. " ]

Garreau and Grelon, in their mission of St. Matthias, were exposed toother dangers than those of the Iroquois. A report was spread, not onlythat they were magicians, but that they had a secret understanding withthe enemy. A nocturnal council was called, and their death was decreed. In the morning, a furious crowd gathered before a lodge which they wereabout to enter, screeching and yelling after the manner of Indians whenthey compel a prisoner to run the gantlet. The two priests, giving nosign of fear, passed through the crowd and entered the lodge unharmed. Hatchets were brandished over them, but no one would be the first tostrike. Their converts were amazed at their escape, and they themselvesascribed it to the interposition of a protecting Providence. The Huronmissionaries were doubly in danger, --not more from the Iroquois than fromthe blind rage of those who should have been their friends. 

[ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1650, 20. 

One of these two missionaries, Garreau, was afterwards killed by theIroquois, who shot him through the spine, in 1656, near Montreal. --De Quen, Relation, 1656, 41. ]

CHAPTER XXXI. 

1650-1652. 

THE HURON MISSION ABANDONED. 

 FAMINE AND THE TOMAHAWK. --A NEW ASYLUM. -- VOYAGE OF THE REFUGEES TO QUEBEC. --MEETING WITH BRESSANI. -- DESPERATE COURAGE OF THE IROQUOIS. --INROADS AND BATTLES. -- DEATH OF BUTEUX. 

As spring approached, the starving multitude on Isle St. Joseph grewreckless with hunger. Along the main shore, in spots where the sun laywarm, the spring fisheries had already begun, and the melting snow wasuncovering the acorns in the woods. There was danger everywhere, forbands of Iroquois were again on the track of their prey. [ 1 ] Themiserable Hurons, gnawed with inexorable famine, stood in the dilemma ofa deadly peril and an assured death. They chose the former; and, earlyin March, began to leave their island and cross to the main-land, togather what sustenance they could. The ice was still thick, but theadvancing season had softened it; and, as a body of them were crossing, it broke under their feet. Some were drowned; while others draggedthemselves out, drenched and pierced with cold, to die miserably on thefrozen lake, before they could reach a shelter. Other parties, morefortunate, gained the shore safely, and began their fishing, divided intocompanies of from eight or ten to a hundred persons. But the Iroquoiswere in wait for them. A large band of warriors had already made theirway, through ice and snow, from their towns in Central New York. Theysurprised the Huron fishermen, surrounded them, and cut them in pieceswithout resistance, --tracking out the various parties of their victims, and hunting down fugitives with such persistency and skill, that, of allwho had gone over to the main, the Jesuits knew of but one who escaped. [ 2 ]

[ 1 "Mais le Printemps estant venu, les Iroquois nous furent encore pluscruels; et ce sont eux qui vrayement ont ruine toutes nos esperances, et qui ont fait vn lieu d'horreur, vne terre de sang et de carnage, vn theatre de cruaute et vn sepulchre de carcasses decharnees par leslangueurs d'vne longue famine, d'vn pais de benediction, d'vne terre deSaintete et d'vn lieu qui n'auoit plus rien de barbare, depuis que lesang respandu pour son amour auoit rendu tout son peuple Chrestien. "--Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1650, 23. ]

[ 2 "Le iour de l'Annonciation, vingt-cinquiesme de Mars, vne armeed'Iroquois ayans marche prez de deux cents lieues de pais, a trauers lesglaces et les neiges, trauersans les montagnes et les forests pleinesd'horreur, surprirent au commencement de la nuit le camp de nosChrestiens, et en firent vne cruelle boucherie. Il sembloit que le Cielconduisit toutes leurs demarches et qu'ils eurent vn Ange pour guide: carils diuiserent leurs troupes auec tant de bon-heur, qu'ils trouuerent enmoins de deux iours, toutes les bandes de nos Chrestiens qui estoientdispersees ca et la, esloignees les vnes des autres de six, sept et huitlieues, cent personnes en vn lieu, en vn autre cinquante; et mesme il yauoit quelques familles solitaires, qui s'estoient escartees en des lieuxmoins connus et hors de tout chemin. Chose estrange! de tout ce mondedissipe, vn seul homme s'eschappa, qui vint nous en apporter lesnouuelles. "--Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1650, 23, 24. ]

"My pen, " writes Ragueneau, "has no ink black enough to describe the furyof the Iroquois. " Still the goadings of famine were relentless andirresistible. "It is said, " adds the Father Superior, "that hunger willdrive wolves from the forest. So, too, our starving Hurons were drivenout of a town which had become an abode of horror. It was the end ofLent. Alas, if these poor Christians could have had but acorns and waterto keep their fast upon! On Easter Day we caused them to make a generalconfession. On the following morning they went away, leaving us alltheir little possessions; and most of them declared publicly that theymade us their heirs, knowing well that they were near their end. And, in fact, only a few days passed before we heard of the disaster which wehad foreseen. These poor people fell into ambuscades of our Iroquoisenemies. Some were killed on the spot; some were dragged into captivity;women and children were burned. A few made their escape, and spreaddismay and panic everywhere. A week after, another band was overtaken bythe same fate. Go where they would, they met with slaughter on allsides. Famine pursued them, or they encountered an enemy more cruel thancruelty itself; and, to crown their misery, they heard that two greatarmies of Iroquois were on the way to exterminate them. . . . Despairwas universal. " [ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1650, 24. ]

The Jesuits at St. Joseph knew not what course to take. The doom oftheir flock seemed inevitable. When dismay and despondency were at theirheight, two of the principal Huron chiefs came to the fort, and asked aninterview with Ragueneau and his companions. They told them that theIndians had held a council the night before, and resolved to abandon theisland. Some would disperse in the most remote and inaccessible forests;others would take refuge in a distant spot, apparently the GrandManitoulin Island; others would try to reach the Andastes; and otherswould seek safety in adoption and incorporation with the Iroquoisthemselves. 

"Take courage, brother, " continued one of the chiefs, addressingRagueneau. "You can save us, if you will but resolve on a bold step. Choose a place where you can gather us together, and prevent thisdispersion of our people. Turn your eyes towards Quebec, and transportthither what is left of this ruined country. Do not wait till war andfamine have destroyed us to the last man. We are in your hands. Deathhas taken from you more than ten thousand of us. If you wait longer, not one will remain alive; and then you will be sorry that you did notsave those whom you might have snatched from danger, and who showed youthe means of doing so. If you do as we wish, we will form a church underthe protection of the fort at Quebec. Our faith will not beextinguished. The examples of the French and the Algonquins willencourage us in our duty, and their charity will relieve some of ourmisery. At least, we shall sometimes find a morsel of bread for ourchildren, who so long have had nothing but bitter roots and acorns tokeep them alive. "

[ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1650, 25. It appears from theMS. Journal des Superieurs des Jesuites, that a plan of bringing theremnant of the Hurons to Quebec was discussed and approved by Lalemantand his associates, in a council held by them at that place in April. ]

The Jesuits were deeply moved. They consulted together again and again, and prayed in turn during forty hours without ceasing, that their mindsmight be enlightened. At length they resolved to grant the petition ofthe two chiefs, and save the poor remnant of the Hurons, by leading themto an asylum where there was at least a hope of safety. Their resolutiononce taken, they pushed their preparations with all speed, lest theIroquois might learn their purpose, and lie in wait to cut them off. Canoes were made ready, and on the tenth of June they began the voyage, with all their French followers and about three hundred Hurons. TheHuron mission was abandoned. 

"It was not without tears, " writes the Father Superior, "that we left thecountry of our hopes and our hearts, where our brethren had gloriouslyshed their blood. " [ Compare Bressani, Relation Abregee, 288. ] Thefleet of canoes held its melancholy way along the shores where two yearsbefore had been the seat of one of the chief savage communities of thecontinent, and where now all was a waste of death and desolation. Then they steered northward, along the eastern coast of the Georgian Bay, with its countless rocky islets; and everywhere they saw the traces ofthe Iroquois. When they reached Lake Nipissing, they found it deserted, --nothing remaining of the Algonquins who dwelt on its shore, except theashes of their burnt wigwams. A little farther on, there was a fortbuilt of trees, where the Iroquois who made this desolation had spent thewinter; and a league or two below, there was another similar fort. The River Ottawa was a solitude. The Algonquins of Allumette Island andthe shores adjacent had all been killed or driven away, never again toreturn. "When I came up this great river, only thirteen years ago, "writes Ragueneau, "I found it bordered with Algonquin tribes, who knew noGod, and, in their infidelity, thought themselves gods on earth; for theyhad all that they desired, abundance of fish and game, and a prosperoustrade with allied nations: besides, they were the terror of theirenemies. But since they have embraced the Faith and adored the cross ofChrist, He has given them a heavy share in this cross, and made them aprey to misery, torture, and a cruel death. In a word, they are a peopleswept from the face of the earth. Our only consolation is, that, as theydied Christians, they have a part in the inheritance of the true childrenof God, who scourgeth every one whom He receiveth. " [ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1650, 27. These Algonquins of the Ottawa, thoughbroken and dispersed, were not destroyed, as Ragueneau supposes. ]

As the voyagers descended the river, they had a serious alarm. Theirscouts came in, and reported that they had found fresh footprints of menin the forest. These proved, however, to be the tracks, not of enemies, but of friends. In the preceding autumn Bressani had gone down to theFrench settlements with about twenty Hurons, and was now returning withthem, and twice their number of armed Frenchmen, for the defence of themission. His scouts had also been alarmed by discovering the footprintsof Ragueneau's Indians; and for some time the two parties stood on theirguard, each taking the other for an enemy. When at length theydiscovered their mistake, they met with embraces and rejoicing. Bressaniand his Frenchmen had come too late. All was over with the Hurons andthe Huron mission; and, as it was useless to go farther, they joinedRagueneau's party, and retraced their course for the settlements. 

A day or two before, they had had a sharp taste of the mettle of theenemy. Ten Iroquois warriors had spent the winter in a little fort offelled trees on the borders of the Ottawa, hunting for subsistence, and waiting to waylay some passing canoe of Hurons, Algonquins, orFrenchmen. Bressani's party outnumbered them six to one; but theyresolved that it should not pass without a token of their presence. Late on a dark night, the French and Hurons lay encamped in the forest, sleeping about their fires. They had set guards: but these, it seems, were drowsy or negligent; for the ten Iroquois, watching their time, approached with the stealth of lynxes, and glided like shadows into themidst of the camp, where, by the dull glow of the smouldering fires, they could distinguish the recumbent figures of their victims. Suddenlythey screeched the war-whoop, and struck like lightning with theirhatchets among the sleepers. Seven were killed before the rest couldspring to their weapons. Bressani leaped up, and received on the instantthree arrow-wounds in the head. The Iroquois were surrounded, and adesperate fight ensued in the dark. Six of them were killed on the spot, and two made prisoners; while the remaining two, breaking through thecrowd, bounded out of the camp and escaped in the forest. 

The united parties soon after reached Montreal; but the Hurons refused toremain in a spot so exposed to the Iroquois. Accordingly, they alldescended the St. Lawrence, and at length, on the twenty-eighth of July, reached Quebec. Here the Ursulines, the hospital nuns, and theinhabitants taxed their resources to the utmost to provide food andshelter for the exiled Hurons. Their good will exceeded their power; forfood was scarce at Quebec, and the Jesuits themselves had to bear thechief burden of keeping the sufferers alive. [ Compare Juchereau, Histoire de l'Hotel-Dieu, 79, 80. ]

But, if famine was an evil, the Iroquois were a far greater one; for, while the western nations of their confederacy were engrossed with thedestruction of the Hurons, the Mohawks kept up incessant attacks on theAlgonquins and the French. A party of Christian Indians, chiefly fromSillery, planned a stroke of retaliation, and set out for the Mohawkcountry, marching cautiously and sending forward scouts to scour theforest. One of these, a Huron, suddenly fell in with a large Iroquoiswar party, and, seeing that he could not escape, formed on the instant avillanous plan to save himself. He ran towards the enemy, crying out, that he had long been looking for them and was delighted to see them;that his nation, the Hurons, had come to an end; and that henceforth hiscountry was the country of the Iroquois, where so many of his kinsmen andfriends had been adopted. He had come, he declared, with no otherthought than that of joining them, and turning Iroquois, as they haddone. The Iroquois demanded if he had come alone. He answered, "No, "and said, that, in order to accomplish his purpose, he had joined anAlgonquin war-party who were in the woods not far off. The Iroquois, in great delight, demanded to be shown where they were. This Judas, as the Jesuits call him, at once complied; and the Algonquins weresurprised by a sudden onset, and routed with severe loss. Thetreacherous Huron was well treated by the Iroquois, who adopted him intotheir nation. Not long after, he came to Canada, and, with a view, as it was thought, to some further treachery, rejoined the French. A sharp cross-questioning put him to confusion, and he presentlyconfessed his guilt. He was sentenced to death; and the sentence wasexecuted by one of his own countrymen, who split his head with a hatchet. [ Ragueneau, Relation, 1650, 30. ]

In the course of the summer, the French at Three Rivers became aware thata band of Iroquois was prowling in the neighborhood, and sixty men wentout to meet them. Far from retreating, the Iroquois, who were abouttwenty-five in number, got out of their canoes, and took post, waist-deepin mud and water, among the tall rushes at the margin of the river. Here they fought stubbornly, and kept all the Frenchmen at bay. Atlength, finding themselves hard pressed, they entered their canoes again, and paddled off. The French rowed after them, and soon became separatedin the chase; whereupon the Iroquois turned, and made desperate fightwith the foremost, retreating again as soon as the others came up. This they repeated several times, and then made their escape, afterkilling a number of the best French soldiers. Their leader in thisaffair was a famous half-breed, known as the Flemish Bastard, who isstyled by Ragueneau "an abomination of sin, and a monster producedbetween a heretic Dutch father and a pagan mother. "

In the forests far north of Three Rivers dwelt the tribe called theAtticamegues, or Nation of the White Fish. From their remote position, and the difficult nature of the intervening country, they thoughtthemselves safe; but a band of Iroquois, marching on snow-shoes adistance of twenty days' journey northward from the St. Lawrence, fellupon one of their camps in the winter, and made a general butchery of theinmates. The tribe, however, still held its ground for a time, and, being all good Catholics, gave their missionary, Father Buteux, an urgentinvitation to visit them in their own country. Buteux, who had long beenstationed at Three Rivers, was in ill health, and for years had rarelybeen free from some form of bodily suffering. Nevertheless, he accededto their request, and, before the opening of spring, made a remarkablejourney on snow-shoes into the depths of this frozen wilderness. [ Iournal du Pere Iacques Buteux du Voyage qu'il a fait pour la Missiondes Attikamegues. See Relation, 1651, 15. ] In the year following, he repeated the undertaking. With him were a large party of Atticamegues, and several Frenchmen. Game was exceedingly scarce, and they were forcedby hunger to separate, a Huron convert and a Frenchman named Fontarabieremaining with the missionary. The snows had melted, and all the streamswere swollen. The three travellers, in a small birch canoe, pushed theirway up a turbulent river, where falls and rapids were so numerous, that many times daily they were forced to carry their bark vessel andtheir baggage through forests and thickets and over rocks and precipices. On the tenth of May, they made two such portages, and soon after, reaching a third fall, again lifted their canoe from the water. Theytoiled through the naked forest, among the wet, black trees, over tangledroots, green, spongy mosses, mouldering leaves, and rotten, prostratetrunks, while the cataract foamed amidst the rocks hard by. The Indianled the way with the canoe on his head, while Buteux and the otherFrenchman followed with the baggage. Suddenly they were set upon by atroop of Iroquois, who had crouched behind thickets, rocks, and fallentrees, to waylay them. The Huron was captured before he had time to fly. Buteux and the Frenchman tried to escape, but were instantly shot down, the Jesuit receiving two balls in the breast. The Iroquois rushed uponthem, mangled their bodies with tomahawks and swords, stripped them, and then flung them into the torrent. [ Ragueneau, Relation, 1652, 2, 3. ]

CHAPTER XXXII. 

1650-1866. 

THE LAST OF THE HURONS. 

 FATE OF THE VANQUISHED. -- THE REFUGEES OF ST. JEAN BAPTISTE AND ST. MICHEL. -- THE TOBACCO NATION AND ITS WANDERINGS. --THE MODERN WYANDOTS. -- THE BITER BIT. --THE HURONS AT QUEBEC. --NOTRE-DAME DE LORETTE. 

Iroquois bullets and tomahawks had killed the Hurons by hundreds, butfamine and disease had killed incomparably more. The miseries of thestarving crowd on Isle St. Joseph had been shared in an equal degree bysmaller bands, who had wintered in remote and secret retreats of thewilderness. Of those who survived that season of death, many were soweakened that they could not endure the hardships of a wandering life, which was new to them. The Hurons lived by agriculture; their fields andcrops were destroyed, and they were so hunted from place to place thatthey could rarely till the soil. Game was very scarce; and, withoutagriculture, the country could support only a scanty and scatteredpopulation like that which maintained a struggling existence in thewilderness of the lower St. Lawrence. The mortality among the exiles wasprodigious. 

It is a matter of some interest to trace the fortunes of the shatteredfragments of a nation once prosperous, and, in its own eyes and those ofits neighbors, powerful and great. None were left alive within theirancient domain. Some had sought refuge among the Neutrals and the Eries, and shared the disasters which soon overwhelmed those tribes; otherssucceeded in reaching the Andastes; while the inhabitants of two towns, St. Michel and St. Jean Baptiste, had recourse to an expedient whichseems equally strange and desperate, but which was in accordance withIndian practices. They contrived to open a communication with the SenecaNation of the Iroquois, and promised to change their nationality and turnSenecas as the price of their lives. The victors accepted the proposal;and the inhabitants of these two towns, joined by a few other Hurons, migrated in a body to the Seneca country. They were not distributedamong different villages, but were allowed to form a town by themselves, where they were afterwards joined by some prisoners of the NeutralNation. They identified themselves with the Iroquois in all butreligion, --holding so fast to their faith, that, eighteen years after, a Jesuit missionary found that many of them were still good Catholics. 

[ Compare Relation, 1651, 4; 1660, 14, 28; and 1670, 69. The Huron townamong the Senecas was called Gandougarae. Father Fremin was here in 1668, and gives an account of his visit in the Relation of 1670. ]

The division of the Hurons called the Tobacco Nation, favored by theirisolated position among mountains, had held their ground longer than therest; but at length they, too, were compelled to fly, together with suchother Hurons as had taken refuge with them. They made their waynorthward, and settled on the Island of Michilimackinac, where they werejoined by the Ottawas, who, with other Algonquins, had been driven byfear of the Iroquois from the western shores of Lake Huron and the banksof the River Ottawa. At Michilimackinac the Hurons and their allies wereagain attacked by the Iroquois, and, after remaining several years, they made another remove, and took possession of the islands at the mouthof the Green Bay of Lake Michigan. Even here their old enemy did notleave them in peace; whereupon they fortified themselves on the main-land, and afterwards migrated southward and westward. This brought them incontact with the Illinois, an Algonquin people, at that time verynumerous, but who, like many other tribes at this epoch, were doomed to arapid diminution from wars with other savage nations. Continuing theirmigration westward, the Hurons and Ottawas reached the Mississippi, where they fell in with the Sioux. They soon quarrelled with thosefierce children of the prairie, who drove them from their country. They retreated to the south-western extremity of Lake Superior, andsettled on Point Saint Esprit, or Shagwamigon Point, near the Islands ofthe Twelve Apostles. As the Sioux continued to harass them, they leftthis place about the year 1671, and returned to Michilimackinac, wherethey settled, not on the island, but on the neighboring Point St. Ignace, now Graham's Point, on the north side of the strait. The greater part ofthem afterwards removed thence to Detroit and Sandusky, where they livedunder the name of Wyandots until within the present century, maintaininga marked influence over the surrounding Algonquins. They bore an activepart, on the side of the French, in the war which ended in the reductionof Canada; and they were the most formidable enemies of the English inthe Indian war under Pontiac. [ See "History of the Conspiracy ofPontiac. " ] The government of the United States at length removed themto reserves on the western frontier, where a remnant of them may still befound. Thus it appears that the Wyandots, whose name is so conspicuousin the history of our border wars, are descendants of the ancient Hurons, and chiefly of that portion of them called the Tobacco Nation. 

[ The migrations of this band of the Hurons may be traced by detachedpassages and incidental remarks in the Relations of 1654, 1660, 1667, 1670, 1671, and 1672. Nicolas Perrot, in his chapter, Deffaitte etFuitte des Hurons chasses de leur Pays, and in the chapter following, gives a long and rather confused account of their movements andadventures. See also La Poterie, Histoire de l'Amerique Septentrionale, II. 51-56. According to the Relation of 1670, the Hurons, when living atShagwamigon Point, numbered about fifteen hundred souls. ]

When Ragueneau and his party left Isle St. Joseph for Quebec, the greaternumber of the Hurons chose to remain. They took possession of the stonefort which the French had abandoned, and where, with reasonable vigilance, they could maintain themselves against attack. In the succeeding autumna small Iroquois war-party had the audacity to cross over to the island, and build a fort of felled trees in the woods. The Hurons attacked them;but the invaders made so fierce a defence, that they kept theirassailants at bay, and at length retreated with little or no loss. Soon after, a much larger band of Onondaga Iroquois, approachingundiscovered, built a fort on the main-land, opposite the island, butconcealed from sight in the forest. Here they waited to waylay any partyof Hurons who might venture ashore. A Huron war chief, named EtienneAnnaotaha, whose life is described as a succession of conflicts andadventures, and who is said to have been always in luck, landed with afew companions, and fell into an ambuscade of the Iroquois. He preparedto defend himself, when they called out to him, that they came not asenemies, but as friends, and that they brought wampum-belts and presentsto persuade the Hurons to forget the past, go back with them to theircountry, become their adopted countrymen, and live with them as onenation. Etienne suspected treachery, but concealed his distrust, andadvanced towards the Iroquois with an air of the utmost confidence. They received him with open arms, and pressed him to accept theirinvitation; but he replied, that there were older and wiser men among theHurons, whose counsels all the people followed, and that they ought tolay the proposal before them. He proceeded to advise them to keep him asa hostage, and send over his companions, with some of their chiefs, to open the negotiation. His apparent frankness completely deceivedthem; and they insisted that he himself should go to the Huron village, while his companions remained as hostages. He set out accordingly withthree of the principal Iroquois. 

When he reached the village, he gave the whoop of one who brings goodtidings, and proclaimed with a loud voice that the hearts of theirenemies had changed, that the Iroquois would become their countrymen andbrothers, and that they should exchange their miseries for a life ofpeace and plenty in a fertile and prosperous land. The whole Huronpopulation, full of joyful excitement, crowded about him and the threeenvoys, who were conducted to the principal lodge, and feasted on thebest that the village could supply. Etienne seized the opportunity totake aside four or five of the principal chiefs, and secretly tell themhis suspicions that the Iroquois were plotting to compass theirdestruction under cover of overtures of peace; and he proposed that theyshould meet treachery with treachery. He then explained his plan, which was highly approved by his auditors, who begged him to chargehimself with the execution of it. Etienne now caused criers to proclaimthrough the village that every one should get ready to emigrate in a fewdays to the country of their new friends. The squaws began theirpreparations at once, and all was bustle and alacrity; for the Huronsthemselves were no less deceived than were the Iroquois envoys. 

During one or two succeeding days, many messages and visits passedbetween the Hurons and the Iroquois, whose confidence was such, thatthirty-seven of their best warriors at length came over in a body to theHuron village. Etienne's time had come. He and the chiefs who were inthe secret gave the word to the Huron warriors, who, at a signal, raisedthe war-whoop, rushed upon their visitors, and cut them to pieces. One of them, who lingered for a time, owned before he died that Etienne'ssuspicions were just, and that they had designed nothing less than themassacre or capture of all the Hurons. Three of the Iroquois, immediately before the slaughter began, had received from Etienne awarning of their danger in time to make their escape. The year before, he had been captured, with Brebeuf and Lalemant, at the town of St. Louis, and had owed his life to these three warriors, to whom he now paid backthe debt of gratitude. They carried tidings of what had befallen totheir countrymen on the main-land, who, aghast at the catastrophe, fled homeward in a panic. 

[ Ragueneau, Relation des Hurons, 1651, 5, 6. Le Mercier, in theRelation of 1654, preserves the speech of a Huron chief, in which hespeaks of this affair, and adds some particulars not mentioned byRagueneau. He gives thirty-four as the number killed. ]

Here was a sweet morsel of vengeance. The miseries of the Hurons werelighted up with a brief gleam of joy; but it behooved them to make atimely retreat from their island before the Iroquois came to exact abloody retribution. Towards spring, while the lake was still frozen, many of them escaped on the ice, while another party afterwards followedin canoes. A few, who had neither strength to walk nor canoes totransport them, perforce remained behind, and were soon massacred by theIroquois. The fugitives directed their course to the Grand ManitoulinIsland, where they remained for a short time, and then, to the number ofabout four hundred, descended the Ottawa, and rejoined their countrymenwho had gone to Quebec the year before. 

These united parties, joined from time to time by a few other fugitives, formed a settlement on land belonging to the Jesuits, near the south-western extremity of the Isle of Orleans, immediately below Quebec. Here the Jesuits built a fort, like that on Isle St. Joseph, with achapel, and a small house for the missionaries, while the bark dwellingsof the Hurons were clustered around the protecting ramparts. [ 1 ]Tools and seeds were given them, and they were encouraged to cultivatethe soil. Gradually they rallied from their dejection, and the missionsettlement was beginning to wear an appearance of thrift, when, in 1656, the Iroquois made a descent upon them, and carried off a large number ofcaptives, under the very cannon of Quebec; the French not daring to fireupon the invaders, lest they should take revenge upon the Jesuits whowere at that time in their country. This calamity was, four years after, followed by another, when the best of the Huron warriors, including theirleader, the crafty and valiant Etienne Annaotaha, were slain, fightingside by side with the French, in the desperate conflict of the LongSault. [ Relation, 1660 (anonymous), 14. ]

[ 1 The site of the fort was the estate now known as "La Terre du Fort, "near the landing of the steam ferry. In 1856, Mr. N. H. Bowen, aresident near the spot, in making some excavations, found a solid stonewall five feet thick, which, there can be little doubt, was that of thework in question. This wall was originally crowned with palisades. See Bowen, Historical Sketch of the Isle of Orleans, 25. ]

The attenuated colony, replenished by some straggling bands of the samenation, and still numbering several hundred persons, was removed toQuebec after the inroad in 1656, and lodged in a square inclosure ofpalisades close to the fort. [ In a plan of Quebec of 1660, the "Fortdes Hurons" is laid down on a spot adjoining the north side of thepresent Place d'Armes. ] Here they remained about ten years, when, the danger of the times having diminished, they were again removed to aplace called Notre-Dame de Foy, now Ste. Foi, three or four miles west ofQuebec. Six years after, when the soil was impoverished and the wood inthe neighborhood exhausted, they again changed their abode, and, underthe auspices of the Jesuits, who owned the land, settled at Old Lorette, nine miles from Quebec. 

Chaumonot was at this time their missionary. It may be remembered thathe had professed special devotion to Our Lady of Loretto, who, in hisboyhood, had cured him, as he believed, of a distressing malady. [ Seeante, chapter 9 (p. 102). ] He had always cherished the idea of buildinga chapel in honor of her in Canada, after the model of the Holy House ofLoretto, --which, as all the world knows, is the house wherein SaintJoseph dwelt with his virgin spouse, and which angels bore through theair from the Holy Land to Italy, where it remains an object of pilgrimageto this day. Chaumonot opened his plan to his brother Jesuits, who weredelighted with it, and the chapel was begun at once, not without theintervention of miracle to aid in raising the necessary funds. It wasbuilt of brick, like its original, of which it was an exact facsimile;and it stood in the centre of a quadrangle, the four sides of which wereformed by the bark dwellings of the Hurons, ranged with perfect order instraight lines. Hither came many pilgrims from Quebec and more distantsettlements, and here Our Lady granted to her suppliants, says Chaumonot, many miraculous favors, insomuch that "it would require an entire book todescribe them all. "

[ "Les graces qu'on y obtient par l'entremise de la Mere de Dieu vontjusqu'au miracle. Comme il faudroit composer un livre entier pourdecrire toutes ces faveurs extraordinaires, je n'en rapporterai que deux, ayant ete temoin oculaire de l'une et propre sujet de l'autre. "--Vie, 95. 

The removal from Notre-Dame de Foy took place at the end of 1673, and thechapel was finished in the following year. Compare Vie de Chaumonot withDablon, Relation, 1672-73, p. 21; and Ibid. , Relation 1673-79, p. 259. ]

But the Hurons were not destined to remain permanently even here; for, before the end of the century, they removed to a place four miles distant, now called New Lorette, or Indian Lorette. It was a wild spot, coveredwith the primitive forest, and seamed by a deep and tortuous ravine, where the St. Charles foams, white as a snow-drift, over the black ledges, and where the sunlight struggles through matted boughs of the pine andfir, to bask for brief moments on the mossy rocks or flash on thehurrying waters. On a plateau beside the torrent, another chapel wasbuilt to Our Lady, and another Huron town sprang up; and here, to thisday, the tourist finds the remnant of a lost people, harmless weavers ofbaskets and sewers of moccasins, the Huron blood fast bleaching out ofthem, as, with every generation, they mingle and fade away in the Frenchpopulation around. 

[ An interesting account of a visit to Indian Lorette in 1721 will befound in the Journal Historique of Charlevoix. Kalm, in his Travels inNorth America, describes its condition in 1749. See also Le Beau, Aventures, I. 103; who, however, can hardly be regarded as an authority. ]

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

1650-1670. 

THE DESTROYERS. 

 IROQUOIS AMBITION. --ITS VICTIMS. --THE FATE OF THE NEUTRALS. -- THE FATE OF THE ERIES. --THE WAR WITH THE ANDASTES. -- SUPREMACY OF THE IROQUOIS. 

It was well for the European colonies, above all for those of England, that the wisdom of the Iroquois was but the wisdom of savages. Theirsagacity is past denying; it showed itself in many ways; but it was notequal to a comprehension of their own situation and that of their race. Could they have read their destiny, and curbed their mad ambition, they might have leagued with themselves four great communities of kindredlineage, to resist the encroachments of civilization, and oppose abarrier of fire to the spread of the young colonies of the East. Buttheir organization and their intelligence were merely the instruments ofa blind frenzy, which impelled them to destroy those whom they might havemade their allies in a common cause. 

Of the four kindred communities, two at least, the Hurons and theNeutrals, were probably superior in numbers to the Iroquois. Either oneof these, with union and leadership, could have held its ground againstthem, and the two united could easily have crippled them beyond the powerof doing mischief. But these so-called nations were mere aggregations ofvillages and families, with nothing that deserved to be called agovernment. They were very liable to panics, because the part attackedby an enemy could never rely with confidence on prompt succor from therest; and when once broken, they could not be rallied, because they hadno centre around which to gather. The Iroquois, on the other hand, had an organization with which the ideas and habits of severalgenerations were interwoven, and they had also sagacious leaders forpeace and war. They discussed all questions of policy with the coolestdeliberation, and knew how to turn to profit even imperfections in theirplan of government which seemed to promise only weakness and discord. Thus, any nation, or any large town, of their confederacy, could make aseparate war or a separate peace with a foreign nation, or any part ofit. Some member of the league, as, for example, the Cayugas, would makea covenant of friendship with the enemy, and, while the infatuatedvictims were thus lulled into a delusive security, the war-parties of theother nations, often joined by the Cayuga warriors, would overwhelm themby a sudden onset. But it was not by their craft, nor by theirorganization, --which for military purposes was wretchedly feeble, --thatthis handful of savages gained a bloody supremacy. They carried allbefore them, because they were animated throughout, as one man, by thesame audacious pride and insatiable rage for conquest. Like otherIndians, they waged war on a plan altogether democratic, --that is, each man fought or not, as he saw fit; and they owed their unity andvigor of action to the homicidal frenzy that urged them all alike. 

The Neutral Nation had taken no part, on either side, in the war ofextermination against the Hurons; and their towns were sanctuaries whereeither of the contending parties might take asylum. On the other hand, they made fierce war on their western neighbors, and, a few years before, destroyed, with atrocious cruelties, a large fortified town of the Nationof Fire. [ 1 ] Their turn was now come, and their victims found fitavengers; for no sooner were the Hurons broken up and dispersed, than theIroquois, without waiting to take breath, turned their fury on theNeutrals. At the end of the autumn of 1650, they assaulted and took oneof their chief towns, said to have contained at the time more thansixteen hundred men, besides women and children; and early in thefollowing spring, they took another town. The slaughter was prodigious, and the victors drove back troops of captives for butchery or adoption. It was the death-blow of the Neutrals. They abandoned their corn-fieldsand villages in the wildest terror, and dispersed themselves abroad inforests, which could not yield sustenance to such a multitude. Theyperished by thousands, and from that time forth the nation ceased toexist. [ 2 ]

[ 1 "Last summer, " writes Lalemant in 1643, "two thousand warriors ofthe Neutral Nation attacked a town of the Nation of Fire, well fortifiedwith a palisade, and defended by nine hundred warriors. They took itafter a siege of ten days; killed many on the spot; and made eighthundred prisoners, men, women, and children. After burning seventy ofthe best warriors, they put out the eyes of the old men, and cut awaytheir lips, and then left them to drag out a miserable existence. Behold the scourge that is depopulating all this country!"--Relation desHurons, 1644, 98. 

The Assistaeronnons, Atsistaehonnons, Mascoutins, or Nation of Fire (morecorrectly, perhaps, Nation of the Prairie), were a very numerousAlgonquin people of the West, speaking the same language as the Sacs andFoxes. In the map of Sanson, they are placed in the southern part ofMichigan; and according to the Relation of 1658, they had thirty towns. They were a stationary, and in some measure an agricultural people. They fled before their enemies to the neighborhood of Fox River inWisconsin, where they long remained. Frequent mention of them will befound in the later Relations, and in contemporary documents. They arenow extinct as a tribe. ]

[ 2 Ragueneau, Relation, 1651, 4. In the unpublished journal kept bythe Superior of the Jesuits at Quebec, it is said, under date of April, 1651, that news had just come from Montreal, that, in the precedingautumn, fifteen hundred Iroquois had taken a Neutral town; that theNeutrals had afterwards attacked them, and killed two hundred of theirwarriors; and that twelve hundred Iroquois had again invaded the Neutralcountry to take their revenge. Lafitau, Moeurs des Sauvaqes, II. 176, gives, on the authority of Father Julien Garnier, a singular andimprobable account of the origin of the war. 

An old chief, named Kenjockety, who claimed descent from an adoptedprisoner of the Neutral Nation, was recently living among the Senecas ofWestern New York. ]

During two or three succeeding years, the Iroquois contented themselveswith harassing the French and Algonquins; but in 1653 they made treatiesof peace, each of the five nations for itself, and the colonists andtheir red allies had an interval of rest. In the following May, anOnondaga orator, on a peace visit to Montreal, said, in a speech to theGovernor, "Our young men will no more fight the French; but they are toowarlike to stay at home, and this summer we shall invade the country ofthe Eries. The earth trembles and quakes in that quarter; but here allremains calm. " [ Le Mercier, Relation, 1654, 9. ] Early in the autumn, Father Le Moyne, who had taken advantage of the peace to go on a missionto the Onondagas, returned with the tidings that the Iroquois were all onfire with this new enterprise, and were about to march against the Erieswith eighteen hundred warriors. [ Le Mercier, Relation, 1654, 10. Le Moyne, in his interesting journal of his mission, repeatedly alludesto their preparations. ]

The occasion of this new war is said to have been as follows. The Eries, who it will be remembered dwelt on the south of the lake named after them, had made a treaty of peace with the Senecas, and in the preceding yearhad sent a deputation of thirty of their principal men to confirm it. While they were in the great Seneca town, it happened that one of thatnation was killed in a casual quarrel with an Erie; whereupon hiscountrymen rose in a fury, and murdered the thirty deputies. Then ensueda brisk war of reprisals, in which not only the Senecas, but the otherIroquois nations, took part. The Eries captured a famous Onondaga chief, and were about to burn him, when he succeeded in convincing them of thewisdom of a course of conciliation; and they resolved to give him to thesister of one of the murdered deputies, to take the place of her lostbrother. The sister, by Indian law, had it in her choice to receive himwith a fraternal embrace or to burn him; but, though she was absent atthe time, no one doubted that she would choose the gentler alternative. Accordingly, he was clothed in gay attire, and all the town fell tofeasting in honor of his adoption. In the midst of the festivity, the sister returned. To the amazement of the Erie chiefs, she rejectedwith indignation their proffer of a new brother, declared that she wouldbe revenged for her loss, and insisted that the prisoner should forthwithbe burned. The chiefs remonstrated in vain, representing the danger inwhich such a procedure would involve the nation: the female fury wasinexorable; and the unfortunate prisoner, stripped of his festal robes, was bound to the stake, and put to death. [ De Quen, Relation, 1656, 30. ] He warned his tormentors with his last breath, that they wereburning not only him, but the whole Erie nation; since his countrymenwould take a fiery vengeance for his fate. His words proved true; for nosooner was his story spread abroad among the Iroquois, than theconfederacy resounded with war-songs from end to end, and the warriorstook the field under their two great war-chiefs. Notwithstanding LeMoyne's report, their number, according to the Iroquois account, did notexceed twelve hundred. 

[ This was their statement to Chaumonot and Dablon, at Onondaga, inNovember of this year. They added, that the number of the Eries wasbetween three and four thousand, (Journal des PP. Chaumonot et Dablon, in Relation, 1656, 18. ) In the narrative of De Quen (Ibid. , 30, 31), based, of course, on Iroquois reports, the Iroquois force is also setdown at twelve hundred, but that of the Eries is reduced to between twoand three thousand warriors. Even this may safely be taken as anexaggeration. 

Though the Eries had no fire-arms, they used poisoned arrows with greateffect, discharging them, it is said, with surprising rapidity. ]

They embarked in canoes on the lake. At their approach the Eries fellback, withdrawing into the forests towards the west, till they weregathered into one body, when, fortifying themselves with palisades andfelled trees, they awaited the approach of the invaders. By the lowestestimate, the Eries numbered two thousand warriors, besides women andchildren. But this is the report of the Iroquois, who were naturallydisposed to exaggerate the force of their enemies. 

They approached the Erie fort, and two of their chiefs, dressed likeFrenchmen, advanced and called on those within to surrender. One of themhad lately been baptized by Le Moyne; and he shouted to the Eries, that, if they did not yield in time, they were all dead men, for the Master ofLife was on the side of the Iroquois. The Eries answered with yells ofderision. "Who is this master of your lives?" they cried; "our hatchetsand our right arms are the masters of ours. " The Iroquois rushed to theassault, but were met with a shower of poisoned arrows, which killed andwounded many of them, and drove the rest back. They waited awhile, and then attacked again with unabated mettle. This time, they carriedtheir bark canoes over their heads like huge shields, to protect themfrom the storm of arrows; then planting them upright, and mounting themby the cross-bars like ladders, scaled the barricade with such impetuousfury that the Eries were thrown into a panic. Those escaped who could;but the butchery was frightful, and from that day the Eries as a nationwere no more. The victors paid dear for their conquest. Their losseswere so heavy that they were forced to remain for two months in the Eriecountry, to bury their dead and nurse their wounded. 

[ De Quen, Relation, 1656, 31. The Iroquois, it seems, afterwards madeother expeditions, to finish their work. At least, they told Chaumonotand Dablon, in the autumn of this year, that they meant to do so in thefollowing spring. 

It seems, that, before attacking the great fort of the Eries, theIroquois had made a promise to worship the new God of the French, if Hewould give them the victory. This promise, and the success whichfollowed, proved of great advantage to the mission. 

Various traditions are extant among the modern remnant of the Iroquoisconcerning the war with the Eries. They agree in little beyond the factof the existence and destruction of that people. Indeed, Indiantraditions are very rarely of any value as historical evidence. One ofthese stories, told me some years ago by a very intelligent Iroquois ofthe Cayuga Nation, is a striking illustration of Iroquois ferocity. It represents, that, the night after the great battle, the forest waslighted up with more than a thousand fires, at each of which an Erie wasburning alive. It differs from the historical accounts in making theEries the aggressors. ]

One enemy of their own race remained, --the Andastes. This nation appearsto have been inferior in numbers to either the Hurons, the Neutrals, or the Eries; but they cost their assailants more trouble than all theseunited. The Mohawks seem at first to have borne the brunt of the Andastewar; and, between the years 1650 and 1660, they were so roughly handledby these stubborn adversaries, that they were reduced from the height ofaudacious insolence to the depths of dejection. [ 1 ] The remaining fournations of the Iroquois league now took up the quarrel, and faredscarcely better than the Mohawks. In the spring of 1662, eight hundredof their warriors set out for the Andaste country, to strike a decisiveblow; but when they reached the great town of their enemies, they sawthat they had received both aid and counsel from the neighboring Swedishcolonists. The town was fortified by a double palisade, flanked by twobastions, on which, it is said, several small pieces of cannon weremounted. Clearly, it was not to be carried by assault, as the invadershad promised themselves. Their only hope was in treachery; and, accordingly, twenty-five of their warriors gained entrance, on pretenceof settling the terms of a peace. Here, again, ensued a grievousdisappointment; for the Andastes seized them all, built high scaffoldsvisible from without, and tortured them to death in sight of theircountrymen, who thereupon decamped in miserable discomfiture. [ Lalemant, Relation, 1663, 10. ]

[ 1 Relation, 1660, 6 (anonymous). 

The Mohawks also suffered great reverses about this time at the hands oftheir Algonquin neighbors, the Mohicans. ]

The Senecas, by far the most numerous of the five Iroquois nations, now found themselves attacked in turn, --and this, too, at a time whenthey were full of despondency at the ravages of the small-pox. TheFrench reaped a profit from their misfortunes; for the disheartenedsavages made them overtures of peace, and begged that they would settlein their country, teach them to fortify their towns, supply them witharms and ammunition, and bring "black-robes" to show them the road toHeaven. [ Lalemant, Relation, 1664, 33. ]

The Andaste war became a war of inroads and skirmishes, under which theweaker party gradually wasted away, though it sometimes won laurels atthe expense of its adversary. Thus, in 1672, a party of twenty Senecasand forty Cayugas went against the Andastes. They were at a considerabledistance the one from the other, the Cayugas being in advance, when theSenecas were set upon by about sixty young Andastes, of the class knownas "Burnt-Knives, " or "Soft-Metals, " because as yet they had taken noscalps. Indeed, they are described as mere boys, fifteen or sixteenyears old. They killed one of the Senecas, captured another, and put therest to flight; after which, flushed with their victory, they attackedthe Cayugas with the utmost fury, and routed them completely, killingeight of them, and wounding twice that number, who, as is reported by theJesuit then in the Cayuga towns, came home half dead with gashes ofknives and hatchets. [ Dablon, Relation, 1672, 24. ] "May God preservethe Andastes, " exclaims the Father, "and prosper their arms, that theIroquois may be humbled, and we and our missions left in peace!" "Nonebut they, " he elsewhere adds, "can curb the pride of the Iroquois. "The only strength of the Andastes, however, was in their courage: for atthis time they were reduced to three hundred fighting men; and about theyear 1675 they were finally overborne by the Senecas. [ Etat Present desMissions, in Relations Inedites, II. 44. Relation, 1676, 2. This is oneof the Relations printed by Mr. Lenox. ] Yet they were not whollydestroyed; for a remnant of this valiant people continued to subsist, under the name of Conestogas, for nearly a century, until, in 1763, they were butchered, as already mentioned, by the white ruffians known asthe "Paxton Boys. " [ "History of the Conspiracy of Pontiac, " Chap. XXIV. Compare Shea, in Historical Magazine, II. 297. ]

The bloody triumphs of the Iroquois were complete. They had "made asolitude, and called it peace. " All the surrounding nations of their ownlineage were conquered and broken up, while neighboring Algonquin tribeswere suffered to exist only on condition of paying a yearly tribute ofwampum. The confederacy remained a wedge thrust between the growingcolonies of France and England. 

But what was the state of the conquerors? Their triumphs had cost themdear. As early as the year 1660, a writer, evidently well-informed, reports that their entire force had been reduced to twenty-two hundredwarriors, while of these not more than twelve hundred were of the trueIroquois stock. The rest was a medley of adopted prisoners, --Hurons, Neutrals, Eries, and Indians of various Algonquin tribes. [ 1 ] Stilltheir aggressive spirit was unsubdued. These incorrigible warriorspushed their murderous raids to Hudson's Bay, Lake Superior, theMississippi, and the Tennessee; they were the tyrants of all theintervening wilderness; and they remained, for more than half a century, a terror and a scourge to the afflicted colonists of New France. 

[ 1 Relation, 1660, 6, 7 (anonymous). Le Jeune says, "Their victorieshave so depopulated their towns, that there are more foreigners in themthan natives. At Onondaga there are Indians of seven different nationspermanently established; and, among the Senecas, of no less than eleven. "(Relation, 1657, 34. ) These were either adopted prisoners, or Indianswho had voluntarily joined the Iroquois to save themselves from theirhostility. They took no part in councils, but were expected to joinwar-parties, though they were usually excused from fighting against theirformer countrymen. The condition of female prisoners was little betterthan that of slaves, and those to whom they were assigned often killedthem on the slightest pique. ]

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

THE END. 

 FAILURE OF THE JESUITS. --WHAT THEIR SUCCESS WOULD HAVE INVOLVED. -- FUTURE OF THE MISSION. 

With the fall of the Hurons, fell the best hope of the Canadian mission. They, and the stable and populous communities around them, had been therude material from which the Jesuit would have formed his Christianempire in the wilderness; but, one by one, these kindred peoples wereuprooted and swept away, while the neighboring Algonquins, to whom theyhad been a bulwark, were involved with them in a common ruin. The landof promise was turned to a solitude and a desolation. There was stillwork in hand, it is true, --vast regions to explore, and countlessheathens to snatch from perdition; but these, for the most part, wereremote and scattered hordes, from whose conversion it was vain to lookfor the same solid and decisive results. 

In a measure, the occupation of the Jesuits was gone. Some of them wenthome, "well resolved, " writes the Father Superior, "to return to thecombat at the first sound of the trumpet;" [ 1 ] while of those whoremained, about twenty in number, several soon fell victims to famine, hardship, and the Iroquois. A few years more, and Canada ceased to be amission; political and commercial interests gradually became ascendant, and the story of Jesuit propagandism was interwoven with her civil andmilitary annals. 

[ 1 Lettre de Lalemant au R. P. Provincial (Relation, 1650, 48). ]

Here, then, closes this wild and bloody act of the great drama of NewFrance; and now let the curtain fall, while we ponder its meaning. 

The cause of the failure of the Jesuits is obvious. The guns andtomahawks of the Iroquois were the ruin of their hopes. Could they havecurbed or converted those ferocious bands, it is little less than certainthat their dream would have become a reality. Savages tamed--notcivilized, for that was scarcely possible--would have been distributed incommunities through the valleys of the Great Lakes and the Mississippi, ruled by priests in the interest of Catholicity and of France. Theirhabits of agriculture would have been developed, and their instincts ofmutual slaughter repressed. The swift decline of the Indian populationwould have been arrested; and it would have been made, through thefur-trade, a source of prosperity to New France. Unmolested by Indianenemies, and fed by a rich commerce, she would have put forth a vigorousgrowth. True to her far-reaching and adventurous genius, she would haveoccupied the West with traders, settlers, and garrisons, and cut up thevirgin wilderness into fiefs, while as yet the colonies of England werebut a weak and broken line along the shore of the Atlantic; and when atlast the great conflict came, England and Liberty would have beenconfronted, not by a depleted antagonist, still feeble from theexhaustion of a starved and persecuted infancy, but by an athleticchampion of the principles of Richelieu and of Loyola. 

Liberty may thank the Iroquois, that, by their insensate fury, the plansof her adversary were brought to nought, and a peril and a woe avertedfrom her future. They ruined the trade which was the life-blood of NewFrance; they stopped the current of her arteries, and made all her earlyyears a misery and a terror. Not that they changed her destinies. The contest on this continent between Liberty and Absolutism was neverdoubtful; but the triumph of the one would have been dearly bought, and the downfall of the other incomplete. Populations formed in theideas and habits of a feudal monarchy, and controlled by a hierarchyprofoundly hostile to freedom of thought, would have remained a hindranceand a stumbling-block in the way of that majestic experiment of whichAmerica is the field. 

The Jesuits saw their hopes struck down; and their faith, though notshaken, was sorely tried. The Providence of God seemed in their eyesdark and inexplicable; but, from the stand-point of Liberty, thatProvidence is clear as the sun at noon. Meanwhile let those who haveprevailed yield due honor to the defeated. Their virtues shine amidstthe rubbish of error, like diamonds and gold in the gravel of the torrent. 

But now new scenes succeed, and other actors enter on the stage, a hardyand valiant band, moulded to endure and dare, --the Discoverers of theGreat West. 

Appendix: Transcription notes:

This etext was transcribed from a volume of the Twentieth Edition. 

The principal works of Francis Parkman: The Oregon Trail, 1849 The Conspiracy of Pontiac, 1851 The seven works comprising "France and England in North America": Pioneers of France in the New World, 1865 The Jesuits in North America in the Seventeenth Century, 1867 LaSalle and the Discovery of the Great West, 1869 The Old Regime in Canada, 1874 Count Frontenac and New France Under Louis XIV, 1877 Montcalm and Wolfe, 1884 A Half-Century of Conflict, 1892 (2 volumes)

This book contains five hundred sixty-eight (568) footnotes: - Footnotes are always presented in square brackets. - Where practical, the footnote is presented at the point that the footnote is referenced. - Otherwise, a numbered reference [ 1 ] is shown at the point that the footnote is referenced, and the corresponding numbered footnotes are presented immediately following the paragraph. 

In those cases in which I felt it would be beneficial, underscores areused to denote _words and phrases_ which are presented in _italics_ inthe printed book. 

Detailed notes include: - modifications applied while transcribing printed book to e-text. - instances in which a footnote referred to a specific page in the printed book; these references have been modified to identify the appropriate chapter. - problems transcribing the text. 

 Introduction: Page xxxv, in the French footnote the word "come" is printed with a straight line over the "o". This character is not available in code page 1252. 

 Chapter 4: Page 31, fixed typo ("fumee", wrong character accented) in footnote Page 31, footnote is not printed clearly, word appears to be "mais" Page 31, apostrophe is not printed in "qu'a" Page 33, fixed typo ("laiss", should be "laisse") in footnote Page 37, footnote refers back to page xliv

 Chapter 6: Page 62, there is a footnote 1 on this page, but no clear reference mark within the page. I placed the footnote at the end of the second paragraph, where it appears that there might be an intended but mis-printed reference mark. 

 Chpater 7: Page 76, French footnote contains the word "Atsatone8ai". No similar word occurs elsewhere in the text, so I did not know what to change it to, so I left it as is. 

 Chapter 8: Page 85, "i" is not printed in "i'auoue" Page 85, footnote is not printed clearly, word appears to be "cherche"

 Chapter 12: Page 144, footnote refers back to page 109

 Chapter 15: Page 195, rightmost digit of year in footnote is poorly printed, appears most likely to be 1659

 Chapter 18: Page 263, poorly printed word in footnote, appears to be "de"

 Chapter 19: Page 281, fixed typo ("die", should be "dine")

 Chapter 22: Page 330, footnote refers back to page 264

 Page 333, fixed typo ("Govornor")

 Chapter 23: Page 339, footnote refers back to page 137

 Chapter 25: Page 364, footnote refers back to page 214 Page 364, footnote 4, add missing close-quotes Page 371, I assumed a comma at end of page Page 372, fixed typo ("apres", wrong accent on "e") in footnote Page 372, I guessed ":" after "dit-il"

 Chapter 28: Page 392, footnote refers back to page 108

 Chapter 29: Page 397, footnote, add missing close-quotes

 Chapter 30: Page 407, fixed typo ("maitre", wrong character accented) in footnote

 Chapter 31: Page 412, fixed typo ("neges", should be "neiges") in footnote

 Chapter 32: Page 431, footnote refers back to page 102