,<^Jr^/>r<*^i J, -^r.^^-'- :„<^' ^.Slf^. ^' ^< .t4«*r'' r' l.«V« 5 ^ l€^ ^ ;,>2«/ V^ ,/ >W a' '^I^^D^^^^ M Mil M^^ M IBfen^^ ^# ^^3 ^ IraltaH BSi ^B^^a^^^i^'I^BS ffi I '% h ^^' \y ^^ ^ mk ' r 'f^'-A M iPF'^^^'^^^^Jlig^^.yJI 4liif^: i^V -4|mke^ i?>«' ?^\m ^ ti^aMl * >^ ^\ * t'^ ■^% -^*^ 'fiQ OUHPIIY ♦ «# JACQUES CARTIER, FIRST EsTABLlSHMliNT UF THE FaITH IN NEW FRANCE. FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ, RECOLLECT MISSIONARY. (^ ^J NOW FIRST TRANSLATED, WITH NOTES, BY JOHN GILMARY SHEA. Vol. I. New York : JOHN G. SHEA. 1881. SbSTok COLLEGE LIBRARY CHESTNUT HILL, MASS, Copyright, JOHN G. SHEA, 1882. .^A^ \ PREFACE. This is the first English translation of a work published in France in 169 1, and now become exceedingly scarce, but yet of high value to American scholars, since, with Henne- pin's " Description of Louisiana," it gives the earliest priiUed account of the explorations of Robert Cavelier, written by Recollect missionaries who were his companions for a series of years, and wrote from actual observation. It contains also a sketch of Canadian history, especially in connection with the missionary labors of the Recollect or Franciscan Fathers, who were the first clergy of the colony founded by Champlain, who visited what is now Ontario and New York, and in later days were generally the chaplains at the forts by which France endeavored to hold our western country. In translating, the original has been closely followed, and proper names are given as Le Clercq prints them, the correct form being added in the notes. References are made to other works and documents, especially to those collected by Mr. Margry. In the ]Jortion where the Jesuit Relations of their missions in Canada are so sharply criticised, the allusions have in most cases been traced. In the introduction will be found what is known of the missionary labors of tlie author, and a discussion of the ques- tions that have been raised in regard to the work. Elizabeth, N. J., July 22, 1S81. ILLUSTRATIONS. Portrait of Jacques Cartier, .... to face title. Le Clercq's Micmac Hierocjlyphics, . . to face page i6 Title of Prayer-book in Hieroglyphics, . . . page 19 Facsimile of original title-page of Le Clercq's work, to face page 37 Portrait of Samuel de Champlain, . . . " 65 Fort of the Entouhonorons attacked by Champlain, " 104 A SKETCH OF FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ, Recollect Missionary, and of the Works that bear his Naine. AS Brother Sagard was the annalist of the earlier Canada missions of that branch of the Franciscan Order known as Recollects, so we look to Father Christian le Clercq for details of the later labors of these religious in the same field. His chief work, " The Establishment of the Faith in New France," gives, from then extant documents, a clearer sketch of the first Recollect mission efforts than can be gleaned from the diffuse writings of Brother Sagard ; and for the commence- ment of the second mission Le Clercq is our only guide, ex- cept in the personal narrative afforded by Father Hennepin. After Le Clercq's time nothing was published by any member of that body except the Letters of Father Emmanuel Crespel. Le Clercq, in giving an account of the labors of his Cana- dian associates, devotes a large part of his work to the explo- rations of Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle, who, from the time he assumed command of Fort Frontenac, on Lake Onta- rio, to his ill-starred death amid the tall grass of a Texas prai- rie, was almost constantly accompanied by Recollect friars. 6 A SKETCH OF Though not himself among the number of those brought directly in contact with La Salle, Le Clercq wrote from the narratives of those who formed part of his expeditions, and were in full sympathy with the explorer. Le Clercq was born about the \ear 1641 at Bapaume, a fortified town of three thousand inhabitants, now embraced in the department of Pas-de -Calais, France. When the Recol- lects, or Reformed Franciscans, introduced into the kingdom in 1592, had so increased that the province of St. Denis re- quired division, and a new province was formed in Aitois under the patronage of St. Anthony of Padua, young Le Clercq resolved to renounce tlie world and don the gray habit nnd cord of St. Francis. He was the first to enter the novi tiate in tlie new province after its erection,* and then appa- rently assumed the religious name of Christian, by which alone he is known to us. Persevering in his vocation, he took his final vows, being thus also the first professed of the province. Louis XIV. had, by a rapid and unexpected campaign, wrested Artois from Spain, and the Recollect Fathers of the conquered province were, with those of St. Denis, employed on the American mission. After the recovery of Canada from the English in 1632 Cardinal Richelieu offered the spiritual management of that New Fiance to his favorite order, the Capuchins. They de- clined, apparently from lack of members; and the great car- dinal, who, as Grand Master and Chief of the Navigation of France, directly controlled the affairs of the colony, confided the province to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus.f * " Etablissement," ii. p. 115. f Cardinal Richelieu's order, Martin's " Bressani," p. 295. FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. 7 The Recollects felt keenly tlieir exclusion from a mission which they had founded, and the works of Sagard were is- sued in 1632 and 1636, apparently to convince the public mind that their labors had not been sterile. They had cer- tainly shown zeal, devotedness, and hardiliood. They had begun a mission among the Montagnais, penetrated to the land of the Hurons, and one, striking southward, crossed the Nia- gara to announce the Gospel witliin the territory now claimed by New York. One of their number perished by Indian treachery at a rapid whose name to this day clironicles his death.* At the same time other Recollects were threading the rivers and forests of New Brunswick, Maine, and Nova Scotia, one of them perisliing in his labors. Some Recollect documents and Le Clercq speak bitterly of their exclusion, and ascribe it to the Jesuits and their) in- fluence over the Company of One Hundred and its president, Lauson ; but the whole matter depended on the will of Car- dinal Richelieu, who showed himself no favorer of the Recol- lects in other fields. They could not well attack liim, and seem to have been unable to exert any influence that might induce him to favor their prior claim to be allowed to return to Canada. As the first and highest member of the Com- pany, and as Prime Minister, he was supreme. Even when Richelieu had passed away his policy was maintained, and the Jesuits may have sought to avoid any change. At last, however, the strong religious feeling pre- vailing in Canada declined with the coming of a regiment fresh from its varied campaigns, with officers and retainers not disposed to submit to the strict and almost Puritanical system prevalent in the country. * The Sault au Recollet. 8 A SKETCH OF Mgr. Laval, who had been sent out as Bishop of Petr^ea and vicar-apostolic, subsequently created Bishop of Quebec, gave additional force to the views of the early missionaries, and the priests formed by him, as well as those at Montreal, were equally rigid in their views. A struggle between the civil and ecclesiastical authorities was at hand. It began in regard to the sale of liquor to the Indians, which the clergy denounced and the civil authorities favored. In France a strong party was forming against the Jesuits, and they were denounced as too lax in their ideas. Strangely enough, their opponents, on reaching Canada, assail- ed them as being too severe. Governor Frontenac, La Salle, and the Recollects de- nounce the Jesuits, accusing them of exaggerating the good done in their missions, accusing them of trading and interfer- ing in all the civil government of the colony. It is creditable to the Jesuits, and in itself a striking fact, that in all tlieir writings under this whirlwind of vehement accusation there is no retaliatory spirit to be found, no attack, no attempt to make little of the good done by others. They seemed to have stood calm and unmoved in conscious innocence, this little band of venerable ])riests, most of them worn out by long years of mission' labor. To thwart them and the bishop, the government at last permitted the Recollects to return to Canada, and the friars of St. Francis promptly responded to the call. Already pre- possessed against the Jesuits, they at once arrayed themselves on the side of the governor against the bishop and all the clergy in the country. Such was the position of affairs when Father Le Clercq ar- rived in 1673. He came from Arras, where he had just in- FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. 9 troduced into the novitiate of the Recollect Fathers a young candidate who, as Fatiier Emmanuel Jumeau, was subse- quently to share his labors in America.* There was little scope for the exercise of the ministry by the new auxiliaries; Bisho[) Laval, anxious to give secular priests to the parishes and missions, was unwilling to confide any to a body avow- edly opposed to his policy. Tlie church at He Percee, near a remarkable rock on the coast of Gaspe, was, however, at last confided to the Recol- lects, as Le Clercq himself puts it, by the Count de Fron- tenac, with the consent of Monseigneur de Laval, Bishop of Petrtea. Father Le Clercq was despatched to tliis field of labor by the Very Rev. Potentien Ozon, Provincial of the Re- collects of St. Anthony of Padua in Artois, who had been sent out to Canada as commissary of his order there. f Two Recollects, Fathers Hilarion Guesnin and Exuperius de Thune, had preceded Le Clercq at this mission, to wliich tliey were invited by Richard Denys, Sieur de Fronsac, son of tlie proprietary and historian. He embarked at Quebec on the Lion (fOr, Cai)tain Cou- turier, and encountered such stormy weather, especially off Anticosti, that the captain was afraid to attempt to reacli the roadstead at He Bonaventure, and proposed to sail direct to France, carrying our Recollect as an unwilling passenger, and leaving at Gaspe men whom he had put ashore there to carry on the fislieries. Calmer weatlier, however, permitted him to make tliat ]iort on the 27th of October, and when the Golden Lion cast anchor Le Clercq landed at Denys' settlement * " Relation de la Gaspesie," p. 188. f Ibid., p. 22. lO A SKETCH OF about four o'clock in llie afternoon, and found that gentle- man's residence attractively seated on the shore of a basin called The Little River, separated from the sea by a tongue of land. Only three or four persons resided at this point. Thus Le Clercq began his mission on the Bay of Gaspe, where Cartier had planted the cross with the arms of France on the 24th of July, 1534. Rugged mountains, with Mount St. Anne towering over them, line the coast, and two spurs run down to the sea, form- ing lie Bonnventure and He de Percee, a remarkable natural monument, standing out on its landscape of sea and sky like some arched bridge built by Titans to unite Bonaventure to Mount Joli. There was but a small settled population on the coast, who were lost among those who in the season gathered there to fish or trade, and for whom chiefly a church dedicated to St. Peter was erected at Percee, and one, dedicated to St. Clare, on He Bonaventure. The Recollect applied liimself to do what good he could in the hearts ot the few around him, and took up some manu- script treatises on Algonquin whici) had been given hiin, in order to fit himself to converse with the Micmacs, then away on llieir winter hunt some fifty or sixty miles distant. His labor was to a certain extent wasted, as his Gaspesians spoke Micmac — an Algonquin dialect, indeed, but so remotely con- nected with that spoken on the St. Lawrence that he had to send in the si)ring for Micmac prayers from Quebec, and wait till they came by the first fisliing-smack. Then he learned the prayers in order to begin to teacii them, and picked up what ideas he could of their language.* * " Relation de la Gaspesie," pp. 25-29. FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. I I His floating summer flock of five hundred Frenchmen then demanded his services; and wliile going to He Percee, bearing in his canoe all the finest church ornaments and vestments, to give greater splendor to the dedication of the edifice, he was surprised by a storm and nearly per- ished, but was finally rescued by some Micmacs, who boldly put out from the shore on beholding their mission- ary's danger.* The next winter he passed in the wigwams of his Gaspe- sians, perfecting himself in their language, compiling a dic- tionary, and studying also a system of liieroglyphics whicli he found in use among them. His district embraced the missions of Gaspesie, He Per- cee, Ristigouclie, Nipsiguit, and Miramichi. Reaching these by land or water was often attended witli difficulty, and he records at length the sufferings he underwent while making liis way from Nipsiguit to Fronsac fort on the St. Croix.f Here he found a Micmac tribe, to whom he gives tlie name of Porte-Croix, because he found among them a remarkable reverence for the cross, which they regarded as a talisman in all dangers and perils. This veneration he believed to have existed among them before the arrival of the French in their country, as a veneral^le Indian named Quiondo, whose age was estimated at one hundred and twenty, declared that he had seen the first ship that touclied at their country, and tliat the Indians of Miramichi did not receive the cross and its use from strangers but from their ancestors. Other Micmac bands which had been converted by missionaries did not * " Relation tie la Gaspesie," pp. 17-19. \ lb., pp. 208-245. 12 A SKETCH OF adopt this custom, as they would have done had the mission- aries introduced it.* His labors for the first four years produced little result, and he was heartily discouraged; but Father Valentine le Roux, by a letter full of zeal and encouragement in the sum- mer of 1679, induced him to continue his labors in the sterile field.f After a time Father Emmanuel Junieau was sent to assist him, and Le Clercq, leaving his associate at He Perc6e, pro- ceeded to Mirmenagane.J In 1678 Father Le Clercq was summoned to Quebec, his superior having selected him and Father de Thune to pro- ceed to France, in order to obtain from the Sulpitians, through the Very Rev. Germain AUart, permission to es- tablish a house of their order at Montreal. § Some of the * " Relation de la Gaspesie," pp. 172-199, 266-277. Bishop de St. Valier, " Estat Present" (Quebec edition, p. 14), gives the same ac- count on the authority of Mr. Denys de Fronsac. Lafttau, " Moeurs des Sauvages," i. pp. 429-440, examines the whole story, and, from the silence of all previous missionaries and others on that coast, doubts the custom, which was unknown in his day. But Father Perrault, Rel. 1635, notes that, after teaching the Indians to make the sign of the cross, they painted it all over their bodies. f lb. pp. 279-304. |; lb. p. 193. Father Jumeau drew up in 16S5 a very curious map entitled " Carte de la Grande Baye de St. Laurens en la Nouvelle France, mise dans un jour 011 elle n'auroit jusqu'icy parije, I'exacti- tude, la curiosite et la justesse y aiant este observees autant qu'il a este possible." Catalogue of the Library of Parliament (Canada), p, 1616. § " Relation de la Gaspesie," p. 530. Le Clercq says he had then been six years on the Gaspe mission, but he apparent!}' counts from FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. T3 inhabitants there are said to have invited the Recollects to that place, and they themselves had great projects for mis- sions wliere Indians were to be taught to cultivate the land and acquire the language and manners of Frenchmen. Father le Clercq and his companion sailed on the Sie. Anne with letters to the Very Rev. Germain Allart, a Recol- lect Father, who was soon after raised to a bishopric, as well as instructions for the negotiation, in order to obtain of the king and the Sulpitians, then proprietors of the island of Montreal, permission to erect a cluirch and convent there. Our good Recollect seems to have been pursued by bad weather. He encountered so many storms that it took him seven weeks to reach He Percee, and the vessel was nearly wrecked on the Seven Islands. His adopted father welcomed the missionary, but, to his grief, heard that he was on his way to France. Runners soon spread the news, and the Gaspesians gathered to take farewell of their spiritual father, approach the sacraments, and obtain some of his Oiikateguenncs Kignaniatinoer, or Hieroglyphic Prayers. After distributing these and what tobacco and trin- kets he possessed Father le Clercq embarked once more, and in thirty days reached Honfleur, whence he repaired to Paris. The future Bishop of Vence readily obtained the royal sanction for the Montreal establishment, and the Very Rev. Potentien Ozon, then provincial, easily persuaded the Rev. Mr. Tronson, Superior of tlie Seminary of St. Sulpice, to give letters to Dollier de Casson, the local superior at Montreal, urging him to favor the project of the Franciscans. the .day he received orders in France, as he reached Gaspe really in 1675- 14 A SKETCH OF The object of their mission having been thus ])romi)tly and hajjpily attained, Father le Clercq received permission to visit Artois, where relatives, friends, religious and seculars, endeavored to persuade him to remain in France. He seems to have been influenced so far as to request his superiors to assign him to a field of labor at home, but a letter of Father Ozon dispelled his hopes : lie was ordered to Canada, espe- cially as the superior at Quebec claimed him. He accordingly left Bapaume and went to Arras, in order to make his annual retreat. Then, in company with Father Francis Wasson, who from an opponent had become a volun- teer for the mission, he set out for Paris. There the Rev. Mr. Mace, of St. Sulpice, requested them to take charge of two Hospital nuns of Beaufort, in Vallee, who were going out to tile convent of tlieir order in Montreal. They embarked at Rochelle about Whitsuntide, and after a voyage of thirty days, during which they were i)ursued by a Barbary corsair, they reached the mouth of the St. Lawrence and soon an- chored before Quebec* Le Clercq immediately proceeded to Montreal with his superior, Father le Roux, acting for the time as chaplain to the Count de FronteJiac. Tlie great desire of the Recollects was accomi)lished : Dollier de Casson granted them four acres of land near the river-side, not far from the chapel of Notre Dame de Bon Secours. Our historian had no cause for further delay ; he returned * " Relation de la Gaspesic," pp. 52S-572. Le Clercq does not give the year, but, according to Faillon, " Vie de Mile. Mance " (ii. p. 56), the two nuns, Sisters Gallard and Monmusseau, einbarked at Roclielle in the spring of 1679, and Le Clercq must have gone to France in 1678. ^ FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. 1 5 to Quebec and proceeded to Gaspe to resume his missionary duties. Here his work, the " Relation de la Gaspesie," leaves us, referring the reader to the work now translated for his sub- sequent labors in that field. However, the " Etablissement de la Foi," as published, gives no details, showing that part of Le Clercq's matter was suppressed. He was back again at Quebec in the summer of 1679,* having gone up to report the condition of his missions to the commissary, Father le Roux, but found liim absent on a visit to Fort Frontenac. Le Clercq remained two months at the Convent of Our Lady of Angels. After a retreat he returned to Gaspe. f During his stay at Quebec he proved to his fellow-friars the utility of his hieroglyphics by the facility with which a boy seven years old learned to read them. As these hieroglypiiics are still in use among the Micmacs, who write and read them, and a font of type for them has ac- tually been cast at Vienna, in which a prayer-book has been printed in our day, through the exertions of Rev. Cliailes Kauder, a Redemptorist missionary who spent some years at Tracadie, it will not be out of place to give Le Clercq's own words : "The easy method which I found for teaching our Gas- pesians their prayers with certain characters which I have formed, effectually convinces me that the majority would soon become instructed; for, indeed, I should find no more difficulty in teaching them to read than to pray to God by my papers, in * Le Clercq says that le Roux "arrived too late to meet Ribourde, Membre, and Hennepin, who had set out before he got there. They started in August, 1679. f " Relation de la Gaspesie," pp. 133-140. 1 6 A SKETCH OF which each arbitrary letter signifies a particukir word, and some even two together. They so readily grasp this kind of reading that they learn in a single day what they would never have been able to retain in a whole week without the aid of these cards, which they call Kignavwtinoer, or Kate- guemie. They preserve these instructive papers so carefully and prize them so highly that they keep them very neatly in little bark cases adorned with wampum, beads, and porcupine quills. They hold them in their hands as we do our prayer- books during holy Mass, after which they replace them in their cases. The main utility and advantage resulting from this new method is that the Indians teach one another, wher- ever they moy happen to be. Tlius the children teach the father, the wife her husband, and children the aged, their great age giving them no repugnance to learn from their little nephews, and even from girls, the principles of Christianity." * " It is, therefore, easy to judge hereby of the use of these characters to a missionary who wishes to produce a great deal of fruit in a short time throughout the whole extent of his district ; for, poor as our Indians' memory may be, they can not only easily learn their prayers by these characters, but when they forget them it is easy to bring them to mind again by counting them one after another, in the manner shown them. In fine, I employed them so usefully for the space of ten years, etc." f "Our Lord inspired me with this method the second year * "Relation de la Gaspesie," pp. 129-131. He has Kignamatinoen on p. 148 and Kignatanionoer on p. 151. \ " Relation de la Gaspesie," pp. 139-140. He went to Gaspe in 1675, invented these in 1677, so that ten years' use would bring him to 1687. THE LORD'S PRATER IN MICMAC HIEROGLYPHICS- ^ nnsbinen "Wajok Our Father in heaven ebin seated tchiptook delwigia may thy name JUL cfc I li/^ megaidedemek Wnjok n'tclidancn tchiptook ignemwiek te respected ia heaven tons maj grant thee ncniulek to see 1 i 2 3-1 ^ a coj^ uledcchinen. Natel wajok in staying. There In heaven dcU cbkeJooik as thou art obeyed tchiptook deli may so be chkedulek makimigiiek eimok obeved on earth ^vhere we are e^ c:^.^ 2 ii A. f=^ Tlelamukubeniguai echeniiegnel npch neguech kichkoaft. As thou hast "iven it to us in the same manner also now to-day tlelamooktcch pcnigiiiinonwin niluacn; dell ablkchiktakachik give it our nourishment to us; wo forgive thosa abikchiktwin ' clweultlck forgive our faults mu k"tygalinen kcginnkamkil not to fall keep far from us ■wegaiwinatnetnik clp kcl nixkam who have oflended us so thou God mclkeninrech hold ns stronjr winnchudil by tho hand £^r^ 311 hi?? 'IL winncliigucl euffericgs twaktwin. evils. N'delietchi Ameni .8DTn^Tjn"K:TT^ -^/vrjiv -■: '■'■vri?'' j^mhot 'q-H" i '^^j ^ ^ io ^iqkdbi vmsffst i=».p-^ ■■"• i ; J ■ ■ / eu iC.': .. , FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. I 7 of my mission, when, being greatly embarrassed as to the mode in which I should teach the Indians to pray, I noticed some children making marks on birch bark with coal, and they pointed to them with their finger at every word of the prayer which they pronounced. This made me think that, by giving them some form which would aid their memory by fixed characters, I should advance much more rapidly than by teaching on the plan of making them repeat over and over what I said. I was charmed to know that I was not de- ceived, and that these characters whicli I had traced on paper produced all the effect I desired, so that in a few days they learned all their prayers without difficulty. I cannot describe to you the ardor with which these poor Indians competed with eacli other in praiseworthy emulation which should be the most learned and the ablest. It costs, indeed, much time and pains to make all that they require, and especially since I en- larged them so as to include all the prayers of the Church, with the sacred mysteries of the Trinity, Incarnation, Bap- tism, Penance, and the Eucharist. But, after all, what ought we not to do for God's sake ? " " As I sought in this little formulary only the good of my Indians and the easiest and readiest method of instructing them, I always used them with greater pleasure since several persons of merit and virtue have been kind enough orally and in letters to exhort me to continue, even forcing me to send specimens to them in France, in order to show the curious a new method of learning to read, and how God avails him- self of the least things to manifest the glory of his holy name to these tribes of Gaspesie. The approbation of Monsei- gneur de Saint Valier, now Bishop of Quebec, has more than sufficiently authorized their use, nnd that worthy prelate has 1 8 , A SKETCH OF esteemed them so, highly tliat, after witnessing in person their advantage and utility in a very painful voyage which he made to Acadia, he asked some specimens from the Rev. Father Moreau, to whom I had imparted them some years before." * It is no little honor to the Recollect missionary to have established among the Indians a system of characters which has been maintained for nearly two centuries. None of the Jesuit missionaries lay any claim to any such means of in- struction, so that the title of Father le Clercq seems indis- putable. A government officer on that coast thus speaks of them in a recent report : "The earlier missionaries," says R. Macdonald, Indian agent, " had invented a system of hieroglyphics, which they subsequently gathered into a volume and handed to the first converts. By tlie good offices of a religious foreign society a reprint was made a few years ago, and many copies of this later edition are now in circulation. The publication is in two small separate volumes, which contain the Lord's Prayer, the Creed, the Hail Mary, a few other simple supplications, the Ten Commandments, the principal Roman Catholic Ec- clesiastical Precepts, the entire service of the Mass, the Office for the Dead, several selections from Sacred Scriptures, and a summary of Christian Doctrine in catechetical form; tliis, I need not say, is the poor Micmac's simple record through two liundred and seventy consecutive years. Each Sunday even- ing the head of the family, with profound reverence, takes the book into his hand, deciphers it from beginning to end, and * " Relation de la Gaspesie," pp. 141-145. I treated this matter ii the Historical Magazine for October, 1861 (v. p. 289). FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. 19 then with great earnestness impresses what he considers its most important truths on the minds of his by no means inat- tentive hearers." * The title of tlie htrger of the works here alluded to, and which embraces tlie two others, is as follows : BUCH X das enlhaltend den KalecliisraiB, Belracntung, Lol^? A ^ -^-i^^ Die kaiserliclie vie aacli kbniglichc Buchdruckerei bat es gedruckl Lc.1^^ rRTlv ^0^ in der kaiserlichon Sl.idl Wien in Ocli'jreidi ^^^ R. ^^ i2mo: Katechismus (8)146; Betrachtungsbuch, m pp.; (lesangbuch, 210 i)p. * " Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs," 18S0, pp. 45-6. The writer, I thinl<, overestimates their age. 20 A SKETCH OF The second work has the same title as the preceding, omit- ting the word Gesang and the character above it, and em- braces (8) 146 ; III pp. The third omits Katechismus and Betrachtungsbuch with their characters, and reads simply den Gesang, and contains pp. (8) 210. They were prepared by the Rev. Christian Kauder, and were printed by the Leopold Society at Vienna. They are dedicated to his Eminence Joseph Othmar, Cardinal von Rauscher, Archbishop of Vienna. In his " Relation de la Gaspesie " Father le Clercq refers to the " Etablissement de la Foi " for later details as to his missionary labors. The tvvo works appeared almost simul- taneously, and if the " Etablissement " contained any such matter originally we now seek it in vain ; it was omitted for tlie caustic and bitter satire on the Jesuits. Allusions to Father le Clercq after this are brief and few. Father Zenobius Membre, who was a cousin of Fatlier le Clercq, in his letter to his superior, written " from the river of Mississipi, June 3, 1682," announcing La Salle's successful descent to the gulf, and ascent of the river till he fell sick, closes by saying: "I cannot fulfil my duty, which would be to write to those to whom obligation compels me. I beg your reverence to supply my defect, as well as to all my Fa- thers. Do me the favor to give me news of Father Chris- tian."* The Jesuit Father, James Bigot, in tlie Relation of his Ab- naqui mission at Sillery and St. Francis in 1684, mentions the arrival of several Gaspesians at his mission, and adds : " God * Margry, ii. pp. 211-2. FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. 2 1 gave most of these Gaspesians the grace of dying at Sillery this year some time after arriving there. I call this a great grace for them, for you know the wretched life they lead in their country, and the Rev. Father Christian, Recollect, who spends most of his time, as you know, in the country of the Gaspesians, and who instructs them with great zeal, said to me some days ago that he desired only one favor for these poor Gaspesians, which is to see them come into our mis- sion, to which he influenced them all he could. Those of that nation here are doing well."* Mr. de St. Valier, afterwards second bishop of Quebec, visited He Percee in 1686. He says : " I went back by way of Miramichy. Instead of taking the route by Ristigouche and Mattane in order to reach Quebec, I took that of lie Percee, where I knew that my visit would not be useless. I did not reach it till the 26th of August, after experiencing much hardship; and during the stay I made there I had time to visit all the places where the fishermen carry on their trade. S(jme profited by my visit, and I have reason to be satisfied with them; but I found in many little inclination to lead a Christian life, notwithstanding the exertions of a good reli- gious of the order of Recollects, to whom they bear testimony that lie lives among them witli great regularity." f Father le Clercq himself tells us that he returned to France in 1687, J and those who represent him as having left He Percee only in 1690 § have overlooked this statement; had he been there in September, 1688, when Joutel and Father * Bigot, " Relation Abnaquise," 1684, pp. 3S-9. f St. Valier, " Estat Present " (Quebec edition), p. 42. X " Etablissement de la Foi," i. p. 427. § Tanguay, " Repertoire," p. 55 ; Harrisse, p. 158. 2 2 A SKETCH OF Anastasius stoi)ped tliere, lie could scarcely have failed to allude to it. In that year Le Clercq must have been in France, for he gives at length a letter from Father Emman- uel Jumeau, in which that religious describes the destruction of the churches at He Percde and He Bonaventure by the English in August, 1690. At this time Father le Clercq had been appointed guar- dian of the convent at Lens, a religious house destroyed at the time of the French Revolution. He held this position on the 30th of December, when the privilege was issued for his two books, and when the printing of the two was completed, in 1691. Paquot, in his "Memoires," says he died in 1695; but the " Nouveau Voyage " of Hennepin calls him in 1699 " Definitor of our Recollects of Artois." Father le Clercq has left us two works : I. Nouvelle | Relation | de la | Gaspesie, | qui contient | les Moeurs & la Religion des Snu- | vnges Gaspesiens Porte- Croix, I adorateurs du Soleil, & d'autres | Peuples de I'Amer- ique Septen- | trionale, dite le Canada. | Dedie'e a Madame la I Princesse d'Epinoy, | Par le Pere Chrestien le Clercq, | Missionnaire Recollet' de. la Province de | Saint Antoine de Pade en Artois, & | Gardien du Convent de Lens. | A Paris, I Chez Amable Auroy, rue Saint | Jacques, a I'lniage S. Je- rome, attenant | la Fontaine S. Severin. | M.DC.XCL | Avec Privilege dv Roy. | Title, verso blank (2) ; Epitre a Madame la Princesse d'Epinoy (22); Extrait du Privilege du Roi, dated December 30, 1690; Printing completed April 20, 1691 (2); Text 1-572. It concludes : " J'obmets ici les circonstances de cette seconde Mission, que je reserve pour le Premier etablisse- FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCO. ^v) nient de la Foi dans la Nouvelle France." He also refers to the same work on p. 20. 2. Premier Etablissement | de la Foy | dans la | Nouvelle France, | contenant la Publication ] de I'Evangile, I'Histoiie des Colonies Fran- | poises, & les fameuses decouvertes de- puis I le Fleuve de Saint Laurent, la Loiiisiane | & le Fleuve Colbert jusqu'au Golphe | Mexique, achevees sous la con- duite de | feu Monsieur de la Salle. | Par ordre dv Roy. | Avec les victoires | remportees en Canada par les amies de Sa I Majeste' sur les Anglois & les Iroquois | en 1690 | Dedie a Monsieur le Comte de Frontenac, | Gouverneur & Lieutenant General de la | Nouvelle France. | Par le Pere Chrestien le Clercq Missionnaire | Recollet de la Province de Saint Antoine de Pade | en Artliois, Gardien des Recol- lets de Lens. ] Tome I. | A Paris, | Chez Amable Auroy, rue Saint Jacques, ] attenant la Fontaine S. Seveiin a ITmoge | Saint Jerome. | M.DC.XCl. | Avec Privilege uu Roy. | Vol. I. Title, verso blank (2) ; Epitre " A Tres Haut et Puissant Seigneur Messire Louis de Buade, Comte de Fron- tenac," etc. (13) ; Preface (4); Table de Ciiapitres (8); Ex- trait du Privilege du Roi, dated December 30, 1690 (2) ; Printing completed April 20, 169 1 ; Text 1-559- Vol. II. Title, verso blank (2); Text (1-45S), 453-6 are not given. These two works received the royal privilege the same day, and the printing was completed A|)ril- 20 and July 26. Neither title alludes to any map, but copies of both occur containing a map entitled : Carte | Generalle de la | Nouvelle | France | ou est com-- pris I La Lovisiane | Gaspesie | et le nouveau Mexique | auec les Isles Antilles | Dressee sur les memoires | les plus 24 A SKETCH OF nouueaux. I 1691; I. Rouillard, delineavit ; L. Boudaii, Sculp. Some copies of the map are said to bear the date 1692. The last figure has something of the appearance of 2, but seems to be really i, and has probably been read differently. This title seems to be the more common one, but olliers — among which are that in the library of Baron James Roth- schild, Paris ; the Carter-Brown collection, Providence ; that of the Abbe H. Verreau, Montreal — have the following title, which I print from a transcript of Baron Rothschild's copy, made for me by the kindness of Mr. H. Harrisse, who is inclined to regard this form as that under which the book was first issued. As, however, the name of Le Clercq is given in the Royal Privilege in full, it is not easy to see why the initials only should have been used on the title ; but if, when the work ap- peared with his name, complaints were made, there would be a reason for printing a new title to keep it out of sight as much as possible. The second title is as follows : Etablissement | de la Foy | dans la | Nouvelle France, | Contenant I'Histoire | des Colonies Francoises, & des Decou- I vertes, qui s'y sont failes jusques a pre- | sent. | Avec une Relation Exacte | des Expeditions & Voyages entrepris pour la I Decouverte du Fleuve Mississipi jusques | an Golphe de Mexique. | Par Ordre du Roy | Sous la conduite du Sieur de la Salle, & de | ses diverses avantures jusques a sa mort. I Ensemble les Victoires |'remportees en Canada sur les An- glois et Iro- | quois en 1690, par les Amies de sa Majeste | sous le commandement de Monsieur le Comte | de Frontenac, Gouverneur et Lieutenant Ge- | neral de la Nouvelle France. FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. 25 I Par le P. C L. C. | Tome Premier. | A Paris, | chez Amable Aiiroy, rue Saint Jacques, | attenant la Fontaine Saint Severin, | a I'image Saint Jerome. | M.DC.LXXXXI. Avec Privilege du R03'. The second volume alsd gives only the initials of Le Clercq. Besides these two a third title exists, of which the copy in the Lenox Library, New York, is an example. This third form is as follows : Histoire | des | Colonies Francoises ] et | les fameuses decouvertes depuis | le fleuve de S. Laurent, la Loiii- | siane & le fleuve Colbert jus- | qu'au Golphe Mexique, ache- I vees sous la conduite de feu | Monsieur de la Salle. I Avec Les Victoires | remportes en Canada par les amies | de sa Majeste sur les Anglois & les Iro- | quois en 1690. I Tome Premier. | Imprime a Paris, & se vend | A Lyon, I Chez Thomas Amaulry, | rue Merciere, au Mer- cure Galant. M. DC. XCII. These copies all seem, except the title, to be part of the same edition, corresponding throughout, and all, after the " Ex- trait du Privilege," having a note that the printing for the first time was completed, some copies say April 20, 1691, the same date as the " Gaspesie," while others, in which the error seems to have been seen while printing, have July 26, 1691. Neither of Le Clercq's works was ever reprinted, nor did any translation appear, altliough it was noticed in the Journal des Scavans for February, 1692, and was made the text of one of Arnauld's diatribes against the Society of Jesus in his " Morale Pratique des Jesuites." The members of that order, of course, felt the attack on them, which they could not but consider unjust. It is often 26 A SKETCH OF stated tliat they procured the suppression of the " Etablisse- ment de la Foi," wliicli is now extremely scarce. But if we are to believe Arnauld, this was not the case. " The Jesuits," lie says, " opposed the book and did all they could to sup- press it. The Recollects, who have friends at court, main- tained that tlie book was good and contained notliing but the truth. The bookseller was for a time under arrest for his book, but when it was shown that tliere was nothing in it to be gainsaid the book passed and has ever since been sold freely." * It would seem, however, tliat with all the stir the book did not sell, as after a time it was put forward with the third title- page we have given. The " Relation de la Gaspesie " is evidently the work of le Clercq, describing as it does liis own missionary life, with re- marks on the Indians and frequent citation of Micmac words. Like every missionary of experience, he speaks strongly against the practice of selling liquors to the Indians. f The book is uniform in style througliout, and is confined to the affairs of the district in which he was, far removed from the more active life of the French colony. As to the " Etablissement de la Foi " questions liave arisen. Father le Clercq, as we have already mentioned, re- fers the readers of his Relation of Gaspe to it for a continua- tion of his mission career after his return from France, but there is not in the "Etablissement" the slightest allusion to his later labors ; and even his first mission duties are in one * CEuvres de Messire Antoine Arnauld, Paris, 1780, vol. xxxiv. p. 720, cited by Harrisse, p. 159. t P- 432. FATHER CHRIS riAN LE CLERCQ. 27 place utterly ignored, another missionary, d'Ethuiie, l)einu; represented as at Percee till 1683, whereas le Clerccj tells us that he succeeded that missionary in 1675. Evidently part of the book prepared by him has been suppressed, and a part inserted which was written by some one who knew little of his mission life. In the " Nouveau Voyage " of Father Hennepin, a volume drawn from the " Elablissement," the assertion is made that the real author of the latter work was Father Valentine le Roux, Commissary or Superior of the Recollects in Canada. The " Nouveau Voyage " is, however, too doubtful a work to be cited as authority. Joutel, an author of higher character, in his " Journal Historique," edited by Michel (p. 117), impeaches the " Etablissement " as drawn up from untrustworthy memoirs. In the more extended Jcjurnal published by Margry (iii. p. 190) Joutel impeaches statements of the " Nouvel Etab- lissement," or rather " Le Premier Etablissement de la Foy dans la Nouvelle France," as to tlie fort in Texas and the live stock, and remarks in a note : " The author of that book, which treats of the voyage of M. de la Salle, states that he drew what he alleges from the memoirs furnished to him by the Reverend Father Anastasius, with whom I returned from the said country; but I have not observed that the sai(i Father worked at that topic. I will say more : I have not re- marked that he wrote a single line during our return. He even expected that I would give iiim a copy of what I had written. Nor can I believe that he would have put forward a number of false statements. Now, there are some the fnlsity of which is evident, without any necessity of having been in said country to perceive it." 28 A SKETCH OF And on p. 396, in another note, he again impeaches it: " Hence I am surprised that the author of whom I have al- ready spoken can assert that Father Anastasius made them exhortations and made them understand the mysteries of our religion, which could not be done without understanding their language perfectly, which I have not remarked in the said Father, who did not even take the pains to write a single word." There were, however, reasons why Father Anastasius should keep his notes private. The Recollects certainly attempted to chronicle the voyage, but there was no in- tention of allowing them to speak freely. Joutel says (p. 99) : " On the 9th an accident befell one of our Re- collect Fathers, named Father Zenobius, Superior of the mission, which annoyed him. During the voyage he had written all that happened on board the Joly — that is to say, all the disputes that had arisen during the whole trip between Mr. de Beaujeu and Mr. de la Salle — and he had written them just about as they had happened. This Father left his desk open, or some one opened it ; but, however that happened, the memoirs having been seen by some one who carried them to Mr. de Beaujeu, he was extremely angry against the Fa- ther, so far as to say that if he came back on his vessel he would put him in the sailors' mess." Joutel shows himself to have been a mere partisan of La Salle, and not an impartial writer, for (p. 244) he tells us : "Some time after there was an incident in regard to Father Maximus [Le Clercq], who had written on wliat had occurred. Mr. Chefdeville informed me that he hnd seen a Relation by the said Father in which there were statements against Mr. de la Salle. I told the said sieur that I would have to seize FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. 29 that Relation, which was done, whereat tlie Fathers felt great- ly embarrassed, and especially the Father who was tlie aullior of that memoir, who might thus have reason to fear the re- turn of Mr. de la Salle. Hence Father Zenobius begged me not to let the matter go any further. I told him that I could not conceal it, as I was obliged to guard Mr. de la Salle's in- terests, and, besides, that it did not befit their character to write things of that nature; that, moreover, I was not the only one cognizant of it. However, these Fathers persisted till the said Relation was burned so that it should not appear. Fa- ther Zenobius had fallen into a similar fault in regard to Mr. de Beaujeu. As these gentlemen are extremely fond of writ- ing, they cannot refrain from it; however, it is not prcjper to tell certain things, but there are some who amplify." He states subsequently that La Salle, on returning to the fort, refused for a time to allow the Recollects to sit at table with him. This throws some light, and lets us see that while Joutel himself, from what he deemed his duty, wrote only to support La Salle, the Recollects were making notes constantly and so frankly as to offend both sides- And we may well imagine that, after the experience of his associates, Membre and Le Clercq, Father Anastasius did not parade what he wrote be- fore the eyes of Joutel. When Father Anastasius accompanied Iberville he con- tinued to keep a journal, but it was stolen from him with his breviary while stopinng at an Indian village.* Iberville criticises the " Establishment of the Faith " by Le Clercq, and his authority. Father Membre, in regard to the * Margry, iv, p. 273. 30 A SKETCH OF distances from the Arkansas to the mouth of the river, mak- ing it two hundred and sixty-three and a half leagues, wliile Membre's estimate was only one hundred and ninety. Tonty's (Margry, iv. p. iSo), however, agreed in the main with Mem- bre's, and Iberville shows strong prejudice. In another place he attacks a Recollect Father whom he does not name, and whom Mr. Margry supposes to be Hen- nepin, as he puts that name at the head of the page (p. i68). " Returning always," says Iberville, " to the Relation of the Recollect Father which he had made as to this river, not being able to believe that he would have been wretched enough to make a false statement to all France, althougli I knew well that he had lied in many places in his Relation, in what he said of Canada and Hudson Bay, where he lied shamelessly." This Recollect was certainly not Hennepin, but Membre, for he subsequently says (p. 182) : " This has no resemblance to what the Relation of the Recollect Fatlier states as to the lower part of the branch of the Mississipi by which they descended, but has really with the lower part of that where I am, although he states in his Relation that he descended by the western branch. I know that when he was at St. Louis Bay with Mr. de Beaujeu, he said, like Mr. de la Salle, that it might be the western branch of the Mississipi which fell into St. Louis Bay, not knowing it, as he descended by the eastern one. He is a liar who has disguised every- thing, whom I cannot consult to see tlie resemblance between this river and that wliich they descended." Membre was with La Salle at St. Louis Bay, and Hennepin was not, so that tiie Recollect referred to is not Hennepin, but Membre. Still later Father Charlevoix, in his " History of New FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. 3 1 France,"* treating of it in his List of Authors, says: "This work, in which there is reason to believe that the Count de Frontenac had a hand, is generally pretty well written." The work itself seems to show that several persons had a hand in it. The " Etablissement de la Foi " comprises, first, a sketch of the Recollect missions in Canada from 1615 to the capture of Quebec by Kirk in 1629, and of the efforts of the missionaries to return to Canada after its restoration in 1632. This part is clearly given, in a more connected form than Sagard's diffuse history, and has additional matter drawn from the papers of Father Joseph le Caron, the founder of the Recollect mission in Canada. This portion embraces fifteen chapters (pp. 1-5 13) of the first volume. The rest of the volume to p. 559 is a bitter satire on the Jesuits and a ridicule of the Relations of their missions in Canada. 'I'he second volume begins with a statement of the religious con- dition of the colony and the various establishments, with an- otiier sharp attack on the Jesuit missions, and includes an account of de Tracy's operations against the Iroquois. This portion extends to page 84. Chapter xix. is devoted to the return of the Recollects to Canada and to Governor Fron- tenac. Chapters xx.-xxv. (pp. 106-377) ^^e devoted to La Salle's discoveries, drawn mainly from narratives of Fathers Membre and Douay. The rest of the work (pp. 378-454) treats of Frontenac's operations in 1690 and his defeat of the English at Quebec, and is by another hand and based on de Monseignat's Relation and Frontenac's despatches. Harrisse f well remarks that the " Etablissement " " is as * Shea's " Charlevoix," i. p. 85. t " Notes pour servir a I'Histoire, a la Bibliographie et h. la Carto- graphie de la Nouvelle France," p. 159. 32 A SKETCH OF much a book of controversy as a history," and " is divided into several parts clumsily enough patched together, the sub- jects of which have been drawn from different sources." It would seem that a manuscript of Le Clercq's, intended to give simply a history of tlie Recollect missions in Canada generally, and of his own in more detail, was made to serve as a medium for introducing attacks on the Jesuits, against whom the Count de Frontenac was then arraying all the civil power, and for flattering that governor with a eulogy on his administration. As I have had occasion to note at various places, the edi- tor of the " Etablissement " takes the ground that the Indians are not susceptible of conversion and never become sincere Christians ; while in his " Gaspesie " Father le Clercq never puts forward such disheartening theories, but speaks of the piety of his converts, as other missionaries have done. The testimony in our time of tlie manner in which the Micmacs cling at the close of the nineteenth century to the hieroglyphic teachings of Le Clercq sustains tlie author of the " Gaspesie " and refutes the editor of his other work. Tliat editor felt the bias of his time. To understand the position of affairs in Canada we must examine what parties at the time agitated the colony. We find immediately that the civil and ecclesiastical authorities were then completely at variance, chiefly from two causes : the first was what may be called the brandy war, in which Bishop Laval, seeing the injury done to the Indians by the sale of liquor, had pro- nounced ecclesiastical censures against those who carried on the nefarious traffic; his clergy, and especially the Jesuits, sided with him and his successor entirely on this point, as being better able from daily intercourse to see the ruin of the FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. 33 native tribes by tlie use of spirituous liquors. But if the ec- clesiastical authorities pronounced censures, the civil officers were not slow in taking up most curious modes of revenge; and ridicule, above all, was brought to play upon tlieir an- tagonists. So far luid public ojjinion become vitiated that in a memoir drawn up apparently by the intendant Duchesneau with regard to the Indian village of Caughnawaga, the writer, addressing the French court, deemed it necessary to defend the Jesuit missionaries against the charge of preventing the erection of any tavern on tlieir lands at Laj^rairie, in the vi- cinity of their Indian village ! The only defence made is more curious: it admits the fact, but denies the necessity of taverns there, as Montreal was full of them. In this brandy war the Jesuits, being in charge of the missions, were clnefly attacked, and soon after a new charge was made against them personally. Frontenac especially insisted that Indian vil- lages apart would never result in civilizing the natives; his l)lan was a complete fusion of the two races by bringing them into perfect contact. The missionaries, convinced that In- dians living among the whites were irrecoverably lost, adher- ed pertinaciously to their original system of separate villages and gradual advancement. Frontdnac's theory is much up- held by the "Etablissement," and many arguments are adduced in favor of this plan, whicli is assumed to be that of the early Recollects. » Religion was at that time upheld by popular opinion in Canada ; a man in rank or office had to practise his religious duties ; indeed, he never thought of not doing so. Now, these duties in the Catholic Church are something very positive in- deed, and many in Canada found themselves under ecclesias- tical censures for trading in liquor with the Indians, and saw 3 34 A SKETCH OF no other alternative but that of renouncing a lucrative traffic, unless, indeed, they could find more lenient confessors. A party called for the return of the Recollects as earnestly as they had opposed it when they deemed them too expensive. Le Clercq states this ground of recall without a word of cen- sure. The Recollects returned, became the fashionable con- fessors, and were stationed at trading points. In this way they became involved in existing disputes, and, favored by and favoring Frontenac, found themselves arrayed in a man- ner against the rest of the clergy. A general charge made about the time seems to have been that the Jesuits had really made no discoveries, and no progress in converting the In- dians. With this as a principle, it would not do to allow the discovery of the Mississippi to be ascribed wholly or in i)art to one of the missionaries of that society ; hence a work de- dicated to Frontenac must naturally be a eulogy of his ideas and his friends, and a well-directed attack on his enemies. It must be, and be exjjected to be, a party affair, and docu- ments were altered to support their views. This explains the motive for the doubt as to the authen- ticity of the Jesuit Relations, and the treatment of their mis- sions as chimerical. In the account of the progress of Chris- tianity during the period in question there is no historical order preserved ; no mention is made of the Huron missions, their rise and fall with the nation, and the death of the va- rious missionaries, wliose last moments are a sufficient proof of their sincerity in tiie accounts which they had given. Of the Algonquin and Montagnais missions, and their almost eniire destruction by sickness and war, no notice is taken ; and what is said of the Iroquois is very much garbled. No missionary ever could have written this part. One FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. 35 instance will show the spirit of this portion. Speaking of the mission in New York in 1655-5S, he mentions the fact that Menard, at Cayuga, baptized four hundred, and adds : " Christianity must have advanced each year by still more happy and multiplied progress, and consequently all these people must be converted.'^ Then, as lie finds the mass of tlie Iroquois in 1690, as we find them in 18S0, pagans, he concludes tliat the accounts of the missions are false. Now, in the first place, the period of missionary effort in New York embraces only the periods from 1655 to 1658 and from 1667 to 1685 — in all not more than twenty years, with a few visits at inter- vals before and after these dates ; in 1690 there was no mis- sionary in New York save Father Milet, who had just been dragged to Oneida as a prisoner taken at Fort Frontenac And as to baptisms, no fact is more clearly stated in early writers, the Relations and all others, than this: that the bap- tisms were chiefly those of dying children and adults. Among the Iroquois there were, indeed, children of Christian Hiirons, who could be baptized in health, but only there. Hence the baptisms gave a very slight increase to the number of living neophytes, and in time of epidemics a very great number might be baptized, and yet the Church lose in point of numbers. To assume that four hundred baptisms gave as many living members, and tliat ten times as many gave four thousand, is a puerility in one who is not much acquainted with the matter, but a gross deceit in one who is. Le Clercq was not, I believe, the author of parts in the work that bears his name ; that two or more hands were em- ployed in it will, I think, appear to any one who will read it over attentively. That all the Recollects should have been at the time under some prejudice is natural. Fortunately these 36 A SKETCH OF LE CLERCQ. religious were soon relieved from their false position by the settlement of the disputes, and, without attempting new In- dian missions, labored for the good of tlie colony with a zeal l)eyond all praise. Chosen almost always as chaplains to the troops and forts, they were to be found at every Frencli post, and thus became tlie earliest pastors of some of our Western towns. Like the Jesuits, they were a second time exclud- ed from Canada by the English on their conquest of tlie country, and the last survivor has long, since descended to the grave. A few names are almost all that recall to the tra- veller the labors and merits of the children of St. Francis. They did mission service among the Indians in Maine, and at the present time a community of Franciscans of the Third Order, embracing some Indian members, is laboring among the Ojibwas of Michigan. AC TH iI3] lii^Viiv ^^ . I f PREMIER ETABLISSEMENT DELAFOY DANS LA NOUVELLE FRANCE, CONTENANT lA PURLIGATIOM* de rEvangile,rHiftoire dcsColonics Fran- qoifes , &c les fameufes decouvettes depuis le Fl^uve de Saint Laurent , la Louifianc & le Fleuve Colbert jufqu* au ^Golphc Mexique , achevces fous la conduite de feu MonfiCLir de la Salle. P^ R ORDRE L V RO f. /^ V E C • L E S V 1 C T C 1 R E S remporrees en Canacla par Ics armcs ie Sa. Ma;£Ste' fur les Anglois S<. les Iroquois en 165)0. XX/Iic a Mcnficur U Conte^ d £ FS-ONt ENac^i Coiiverneur & Lte-ts»ar.: General de Is Nc:'.Viue ¥rar.cc. J'.ir/t' P^rtf Chres TIEN LE Ci-^KcQ^AItjJtannafrA aeeoHef de la I'roviyire r!c Satni Antotne deV^ide tn Arthols , Gardun des KicoUsisde Lens, TOME I A PARIS, Chc7 Amable Auroy rue Saint Jacques atcciiaiu- la Fontaine S. Stvcrin a I'lrjagc Saint Jcron-.c. M. DC. .\CI. AvicFrivihge dn Roy. FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH IN NEW FRANCE, Containing the publication of the Gospel, the history of the French colonies, and the famous discoveries from the river St. Lawrence, Louisiana, and the river Colbert, to the Gulf of Mexico, accomplished under the direction of the late Mr. DE la SALLE. BY ORDER OF THE KING. With the victories gained in Canada by his Majesty's arms over the English and Iroquois in 1690. Dedicated to Monsieur, the Count de Frontcnac, Governor and Lieutenant-General of New France. FATHER CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ, Recollect Missionary of the Province of St. Anthony of Padua, in Artkois, Guardian of the Recollects of Lens. VOL. L Paris : AMABLE AUROY, RUE ST. JACQUES, NEAR ST. SEVERIN'S FOUNTAIN, SIGN Of ST. JEROME. 169I. WITH ROYAL PRIVILEGE. To the most high and puissant iord, Messire Louis de Buade, Count of Frontenac, Governor and Lieutenani-General for the King in Neio France, Acadia, the island of Newfoundland, and other countries of North America : My Lord : Did I not feel obliged to offer you this little essay in sa- cred history, to give a public mark of the veneration and respect which I entertain for your person, I could not with- out injustice publish under any other name the historical sketcli of a Church which owes its main and most solid estab- lishment to the protection and effects of your zeal. It has increased more than half in the number of subjects, nations, and extent of country under your administration; for nearly twenty years you have powerfully sustained its interests and in everything favored the ministers of the Gospel; just recently you have preserved it to God and the king by saving it from the incursions of a formidable army of savages and infidels, and a few days after from the attacks and descent of a nu- merous fleet of rebels to religion and the state who menaced it with total ruin. I do not undertake here, my lord, to include in the narrow limits of an epistle the glories of your house ; all France knows its merit, nobility, and antiquity, illustrated on the pa- ternal and maternal side by a long line of ancestors who have graced the first offices, civil "and military, who were eminent for their great deeds and an unswerving attachment to the in- terests of their prince, in even most dangerous times. 40 DEDICATION. It is known that, amid the host of knights of royal orders numbered in your family, you are descended from a father and grandfather both invested with that mark of honor. Others were ministers, secretaries, counsellors of state, marshals of France, governors of provinces, presidents a mortier, officers in the state or royal household, and even now they consti- tute a part of the ornament and support of the crown. It seems, my lord, that nature and grace have combined to present in your person the ideal of the Christian, political, and military virtues of your ancestors : that elevation and this extent of universal genius, which shows nothing but what is noble; that magnificent and liberal heart, so worthy of your birth ; that disposition, ever beneficent even to your enemies ; that easy access ; that magnanimity in all changes of fortune, where your courage alone has borne you up; valiant, just, equitable, upright, an enemy of disguise, always moderate in prosperity and adversity ; a heart according to God's heart, full of faith, religion, and piety — predominant qualities, the very soul of your conduct in the posts committed to you for the service of the king and state from the age of seventeen, wlien you made your first essay in the army ; colonel of the cavalry regiment of Normandy for eleven years; major-general in the royal armies ; commandant of detached corps, serving in Italy Flanders, and Germany, everywhere giving proofs of your valor and experience. The king having given peace to Europe by the treaty of the Pyrenees, your courage, my lord, led you, under the gui- dance of religion, to the Levant to battle with unbelief. Worthy of the choice of Louis tli^ Great and of the discern- ment of the ablest captain of our age (Turenne), appointed lieutenant-general in Candia, you were the terror of the in- DEDICATION. 41 fidel, the honor of the nation, the envy of the Italians. Su- perior in courage and resolution, the place would have held out far longer had your opinions been followed ; you had, at least, the glory of arresting the progress of the infidel, of being the last to leave the place, and of holding out alone with your troops for fifteen days. God thus, my lord, prepared your religion and zeal to combat a new barbarism and an infidelity far different in the New World to wliich his providence destined you; it was, too, a few years after that the king, wishing to show his love for New France, appointed you governor and his lieutenant-gene- ral, a post which your piety made less a fortune for time than an establishment for eternity, preferring it to more attractive ones which your favor, merit, and services promised you. It would be too little, my lord, to say that you have per- fectly honored the post, which was not worthy of you, except from the choice and confidence of your prince, the lionor of representing his person, and the glory of serving religion and the state. We know that in the first two years your wisdom reassured the colony, established j^eace with all barbarous nations, built a fort at the entrance of the Iroquois country to keep them in check, entirely destroyed the bushlopers, established security not only for trade but also for religion by full and entire liberty in the exercise of missions. No one ever knew better than you, my lord, to subdue and sweeten the fierce humor of so many different nations, to consult their interest and that of the colony, to lay open their designs, to dissipate their factions, to fix the instability of their mind and bring them to your ends for the king's ser- vice, to inspire them at once with love, fear, obedience, and respect, so that they have not dared during the ten years 42 DEDICATION. that you have been in the country to make any rupture with the French nor with our allies, in spite of the solicitation of the Europeans in New England and New Netherland. All these advantages were obtained, my lord, without ex- pense in money or troops, by your address, vigilance, and care alone, by the great blessings which God has given the up- rightness of your intentions; his glory alone having been the ruling motive of your conduct and the soul of your actions in a perfect disinterestedness. God has not, my lord, permitted so just and regular a life to be obscured by clouds raised by the malice of evil-minded men, except to establish more solidly the merit of your services, to add new lustre to your glory, and give publicity to the testimonials of approval be- stowed by the king on your wisdom ; in fine, to reserve to you alone the glory of saving Canada from ruin in the present wars, after having formerly so happily contributed to its establishment. In the last campaign we have seen that God continues to shower his blessings on the enterprises of Louis the Great ; that P'rance, though besieged on all sides by her enemies, has not failed to make powerful incursions into Germany, Flan- ders, and Italy; that the Dauphin scattered on the Rhine the formidable imperial army by his mere presence and the repu- tation and terror of his arms; the complete victories which the king has gained in Flanders, Piedmont, and on the ocean by the defeat of the confederate army, of the Duke of Sa- voy's, and of the combined fleets of England and Holland. We have just learned, my lord, that New France, under your government, presented in the same campaign as complete success on sea and land as we have seen in Old France, by the powerful irruptions which you made last winter more than DEDICATION. 43 a hundred leagues beyond the French settlements, storming forts and entrenched towns, and spreading terror in the hos- tile countries of New England, New Netlierland, and the Iro- quois ; that by your mere approach, at the head of an incon- siderable force, you have dispersed a formidable army of French and English rebels, of Iroquois and other savage nations; that, finally, you terminated the campaign by the defeat of a fleet of thirty-five sail, raised the siege of Quebec, which was attacked by sea and land, repulsed and dispersed an army revolted against religion and the state. All these favors sho^vered by your zeal and courage on this rising Church, with your natural love of truth, induce me to hope, my lord, that you will not take amiss my liberty in pub- lishing this little work under such favorable auspices, and to give you this public mark of the profound respect witJT which I am, my lord, Your very humble and very obedient servant, FRIAR CHRISTIAN LE CLERCQ. PREFACE. It would be useless to endeavor to win the reader by a studied preface in favor of the little work here published. As truth is the soul and proper essence of history, this has no need of being supported and authorized by aught else. No- velty and variety have their charm, even in a yet uncivilized barbarism. The plan of nearly two hundred different nations here spoken of, discovered and visited in our age, will afford some pleasure to the curious. Since the Son of God predicted that his Gospel should be preached throughout the whole world, the piety of the faith- ful has always sought to accomplish his prophecy amid bar- barous tribes and nations where the name of the true God was before unknown ; and all good Frenchmen, who share alike in the glory of the king and the advantage of the na- tion, will learn with pleasure that Louis the Great, even more zealous for the establishment of religion than for the aggran- dizement of his states, has borne the light of the Faith and planted the standard of the cross from the commencement of his reign in all the vast countries of the new world submitted to his power. Persons little versed in knowledge of distant countries im- agine that New France is included in the narrow bounds of the least part of America; they must know that it now com- prises nearly eight hundred leagues of known country from the great bay, ascending the St. Lawrence, and almost as much on the river Colbert, or Missisipi, from the Gulf of Mexico, and PREFACE. 45 that the depth in land of both river-shores contains vast pro- vinces peopled with infinite tribes; so that, without speaking of the Antilles, under the king's sway, his majesty possesses on the mainland more territory than all Europe, and a region capable of forming the greatest empire in the world, the first publication of the Gospel in which we here attempt to de- scribe. It seems enough from this title that, not to wander from my subject, I should but touch upon the situation, soil, com- merce, manners, laws, and customs of all these countries, so far as is necessary to give a main knowledge of the matter treated of, and of which I give only an abridged essay, sufifi- cient, however, to instruct the reader of the very moderate progress the Churcli has hitherto made. The first chapter will serve as a prelude and introduction to tlie rest of the work, which we divide into three ei)ochs. The first from 1615, when tlie first establishment of ihe Faith began, to 1629, when the English seized the country. The second from 1632, when the king resumed possession of New France, to 1663. The third from the said year, when the king took the coun- try from the hands of the Company, to the present year, 1691. If the reader finds neither numerous conversions nor a cluirch formed which answers in its progress to the untir- ing exertion of so many zealous, learned, and disinterested missionaries who have for nearly a century been laboring to clear that vineyard of the Lord, the reader's piety will have reason to adore, in a spirit of faith, God's design on liis peo- ple ; to conjure Heaven to liasten the auspicious time and mo- ment of grace, without which apostolic men can do nothing ; to acknowledge the signal favor of the Lord to us, excluding tliat multitude of nations who live without faith, law, or God in this world, and whose eyes are closed to the knowledge of truth. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. First discoveries of New France, ..... 49 CHAPTER n. First embarkation of the missionaries to plant the Faith in New France, . . . . . . . .81 CHAPTER HI. First establishment of the Recollects — The first Mass ever said in Canada — The missions made immediately after their arrival, 86 CHAPTER IV. Cjiamplain's voyage to France with the Reverend Father-Com- missary of the mission to represent the state of all the new discoveries and effect their establishment, . . . 108 CHAPTER V. New progress for the establishment of the Faith in New France from 1618 to 1620, ...... 138 CONTENTS. 47 CHAPTER VI. I'AGE The governor and chief men of the colony depuie Father George le Baillif to the king for the interest of New France, ........ 157 CHAPTER VH. Establishment of a novitiate and seminary in New France — Bap- tism of some Indians — Incursion of the Iroquois, and other different incidents in our missions, .... 175 CHAPTER VIII. Death of a Recollect on the mission of Acadia — Arrival of new missionaries at Quebec — Happy progress of the Huron mis- sion — State of those of the Nypisiriniens, Three Rivers, and Tadoussac, . . . . . . 199 CHAPTER IX. The Recollects of the province of Paris solicit in France a mis- sion of the Reverend Jesuit Fathers for Canada — They ob- tain it after overcoming the difficulties that arise — The Re- verend Jesuit Fathers go to Canada for the first time in 1625, ........ 229 CHAPTER IX. Murder of Father Nicholas, Recollect missionary to the Hurons, committed by the Indians — Fruitless attempts of the Recol- lects and Jesuits to reach that Father's mission — Deputation of Father Joseph le Caron to France — Wintering of the Re- collects and Jesuits at Quebec, with many historical recol- lections on the first establishment of the Faith, . . 242 48 CONTENTS. CHAPTER X. » PAGE The Jesuit Fathers proceed to begin tlieir first missions, conduct- ed by the Recollects — Several incidents happening in that and other missions, ...... 261 CHAPTER XI. The Reverend Jesuit Fathers are traversed again in their estab- lishment — Tragical fate of the Canada fleet — Unfortunate accidents which befell the colony, .... 277 CHAPTER XH. New misfortunes caused by the descent and irruption of the English in 1628 — Capture and desolation of the country by the said English in 1629, ..... 288 CHAPTER XIV. The King resumes possession of Canada — The Reverend Jesuit Fathers return — Unavailing efforts of the Recollects to restore their former mission — Arrival of the Jesuits at Quebec, ........ 310 CHAPTER XV. New attempts of the Recollects of the Province of Paris to re- turn to Canada, and various events which happened in this matter, ........ 347 CHAPTER XV. Progress of the Church in New France among the Indian nations during the years that the country was in the hands of the Gentlemen of the Company, Seigneurs and Pro- prietors of Canada by royal grant, .... 376 FIRST Establishment of the Faith IN NEW FRANCE. CHAPTER I. FIRST DISCOVERIES OF NEW FRANCE. T SPEAK here of the first estabhshment of the faith in New France only with regard to the order of God, who, in the ordinary course of his providence, knows the times and moments which he has marked for the conversion of men and wills that his Church be established by successive steps, and that his most holy truths be gradually dis- covered and announced to all the nations of the earth, in order to show more clearly the effects of his justice and mercy. 4 50 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Had the light of the faith been as common as that of the sun, it is clear that it would have lost much of its price and merit from not having that holy obscurity which captivates our minds, and the miraculous conversions which have taken place throughout the world, losing their difficulty, would also at the same time lose much of their splen- dor. It is, then, in the order of that ever infinitely adorable conduct that the numerous Indian nations of New France, after being long, by a secret judg- ment of God, buried in a profound blindness, were at last discovered in the reign of Francis L, and re- ceived the brightest lights of the Gospel in that of Louis the Just. It was not the art, or skill, or hap- py temerity of John Verrazano and James Cartier, who dared successively to approach these unknown shores amid the shoals, and storms, and tempests of the ocean ; but it was God alone, who, employ- ing the curiositv of those famous pilots and the generous inclination of a great prince who wnshed to extend the limits of his empire, the glory and OF THE FAITH. 5 1 majesty of his name in those vast provinces, chose to open to the ministers of the Gospel the way to New France. He it was, I say, who drew from his treasures those winds which impelled their ships, and, discovering to interested men the temporal riches of those great countries, communicated to those nations the undying riches of the grace of religion, by the preaching of his Gospel. The Son of God, who knows his elect, and the time and the moment having arrived in the year 1615, cast his eyes on the Recollects of the Pro- vince of St. Denis in France, and honored them with the glorious quality of his ministers, choosing them as the vases of election and the first apostles of Canada to carry the light of the faith there and the knowledge of his name. He wished his inher- itance to be first cultivated by the hands of those apostolic men, and thus a church was formed, and thus Christianity, as we shall see, was established amid the West Indies, as it was long before estab- lished in the East Indies, by the zeal and ministry of the religious of St. Francis. 52 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT It is notorious that the commencement of great undertakings is ordinarily very difficult. John Ver- razano, a Florentine by birth, after having, in 1524, happily discovered all the sea-coast and country be- tween Florida and the mouth of the river St. Law- rence, of which he took possession in the name of Francis I., derived, nevertheless, from that glorious though laborious discovery, only the honor of having made it. He had nearly the same fate as Moses; he merely saw that vast country promising him immense wealth ; he proposed to enter it, to make a second voyage and considerable establish- ments, but death, which surprised him on the way, gave him no time to accomplish his designs."* * The earliest allusion to French discoveries in America is in the " Chronicon of Eusebius," 1511 and 1512, where, under the )'ear 150S, reference is made to Indians taken to France by Aubert Shea's "Charlevoix," i. p. 106. The " Memoires Chronologiques de Di- eppe " make Verrazzano accompany Aubert. The authenticit)' of the account bearing the name of Verrazzano, published by Ramusio (iii. p. 423) in 1556, is discussed by Buckingham Smith, "An Enquir}' into the Authenticit)^ of Documents," etc., N. Y., 1S64 ; J. C. Brevoort, " Verrazano, the Navigator," N. Y., 1S74 ; Henry C. Murphy, " Voyage of Verrazzano," N. Y., 1875; B. F. Da Costa, "Verrazano, the Navi- gator," N. Y., 18S0. There seems no doubt that Verrazzano was hung in Spain as a i^irate. OF THE FAITH. 53 James Cartier was much more fortunate than Verrazano. This excellent pilot, one of the ablest of his time, wishing to signalize his noble courage by the discovery of some new land, sailed from St. Malo, the 20th April, 1534, where he returned the same year, after having visited and reconnoitred the coasts and lands which lie north and south of the mouth of the great river St. Lawrence.'"" His return, and the favorable account of all the im- portant things he had seen, joined to the eager- ness he showed to make a second voyage, and penetrate as far as he could into that unknown country, extremely pleased the court. King Francis I. gave him his commissions; Monsieur Philip Chabot, then High Admiral of France, contributed with all his power to the execution of that glorious enterprise, and the i6th May, 1535, James Cartier a second time set sail for the dis- covery of Canada, with three ships, one of a hun- * The narrative of Cartier's first voyage was printed by Ramusio in 1556 (iii. p. 436) ; at Rouen 159S (reprinted, Paris, 1S65) ; and from an early manuscript, Paris, 1867. 54 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT dred and twenty tons, the other of sixty, the third of thirty.'"' His voyage was prosperous and he had the honor of first entering the river St. Lawrence, giving names, w^hich still subsist, to the islands, capes, anchorages, and most important lands. He even penetrated with some barks as far as the island we call Mont Royal, or Ville Marie, and wintered in a river which even now bears his name, near the Little Richelieu ;f but the winter seemed so severe and difficult that, having lost the greatest part of his men, wdio died of the land disease, or scurvy, he was compelled to return to France and aban- don one of his three ships in the river, J having difficulty in finding men enough to work the other two. He weighed anchor May 6, 1536, and reached St. Malo on the i6th July in the same * Forty. " Brief Recit." f He really wintered in the Ste. Croix, now called the St- Charles (see authorities in Shea's "Charlevoix," i. pp. 116-7), and not in that known as the Riviere de Jacques Cartier. X He left a vessel at Ste. Croix (" Brief Recit," fol. 39-41) and a barque at Renouse, N. F. (fol. 46). He reached St. Malo July 6 (//■'.) The original account of the voyage is the " Brief Recit & succincte narration de la nauigation faicte es ysles de Canada." Paris, 1545 ; reprint Paris, 1863. OF THE FAITH. 55 year, not intending to return again to Canada, which he then beHeved to be incapable of settle- ment, both on account of the excessive cold and the extreme rigor of the winter season,"" and on ac- count of the diseases, which had utterly discour- aged him and had defeated all the steps he had taken to lay the first foundations of a colony in New France. This was the reason why the court for some years neglected this glorious design. The enterprises of the Sieurs de Roberval, of the Marquis de la Roche, and of Chauvin, who at different times in the reigns of Francis I., Henry IV., and Louis XIII. made several voyages into the river St. Lawrence, were not more suc- cessful. The first was a gentleman of the district of Vimeux, in Picardy, who, to show the king his zeal to please him and second the inclination dis- played by that great prince of a w^ish to resume in earnest that exploration, offered him his servnces, and in 1541 obtained of Francis I. the title of * This is not justified by Cartier's language. 56 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Lieutenant-General of his majesty, with the powers and commissions necessary for that noble enter- prise ; '^' but in order to succeed he endeavored by all possible means to secure James Cartier. That famous pilot yielded, and, banishino^ the recollection of the many toils and perils he had met before in his two former fruitless attempts, in the hope of more happy results undertook a third voyage to New France. The Sieur de Roberval gav^e him five ves- sels, with which he arrived safely in the river St. Lawrence, where he wintered. He even built a palisade fort f to protect himself from Indian at- tacks, to which he was frequently exposed. The scanty force, however, which he could oppose to the great number of the savages induced him to return to France to avoid a war which could not but be most disastrous. He had no sooner dis- closed his plan to the officers of his expedition * Roberval's commission, etc., arc in Harrissc, " Notes," pp. 243- 277. f He sailed May 23, 1541, and reached Ste. Croix August 23. He built Fort Charlesbourg Ro3'al, at Cap Rouge River, four leagues above his old fort. OF THE FAITH. 57 than it was carried out. They weighed anchor hastily enough,"' and were already in th(^ neigh- borhood of the great island of Newfoundland, when they met the Sieur de Roberval bringing succor. He fully persuaded them to return. They sailed on together f and arrived safely in Canada, where this little colony wintered, and even spent several years, during which the Sieur de Roberval undertook several important voyages in the Sag- renai" J and several other rivers. He it was who sent Alphonse, a very expert pilot, a native of Xaintonge, to Labrador to find a passage to the East Indies, as he hoped; but Alphonse, having failed in his design on account of the ice-moun- tains, which prevented further progress, was obliged to return to Monsieur de Roberval with no ad- vantage but that of having discovered the passage * In the spring of 1542. Hakluyt, iii. pp. 233-242. f Cartier did not return to the St. Lawrence, but kept on to France. Roberval rebuilt Cartier's second fort, calling it Charles- bourg Ro)'al. He did not remain for several 3'ears ; Cartier took all back in 1544. See Shea's " Charlevoix," i. p. 130 ; Ferland, " Cours d'Histoire," i. p. 45. X Saguena}-. 58 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT between the island of Newfoundland and the mainland north, in latitude 52°."' The English have made several voyages there in vain. John Davis advanced to 72°, and passed by the strait still called Davis's from him. Hudson, an Eng- lish captain, in 161 2 discovered at 63° the pas- sage leading to the bay which bears his name, Hudson. The Spaniards and Portuguese have not failed to attempt this western passage, but have never acquired more knowledge of it than the Dutch, wiio sought it by Nova Zembla. We had every reason to believe that this enterprise was reserved for Monsieur de la Salle, if wretches who deserved the severest punishment had not arrested the course of his glorious projects and brilliant discoveries by murdering that incompar- able man, as you will see in the relation which I shall make of it towards the close of this his- tory. * " Les VoA'ages auanturcux dv capitaine Ian Alfonce, saincton- geois," were printed at Poitiers in 1559, and at Rouen in 1578. His " Cosmographie " remains, in manuscript, at the National Library, Paris. Harrisse, " Notes," pp. 6-9. OF THE FAITH. 59 Monsieur de Roberval returned to France, and, setting out a second time with some ships that he had fitted out to continue his enterprise and the establishment of the colony of New France, was unfortunately lost with his brother, without any tidings ever arriving of the circumstances of their shipwreck. The great hopes conceived for Can- ada were blasted by the loss of so zealous a man, and nothing more of importance was done in the reign of Francis I. to settle the colony. The Marquis de la Roche, a Breton gentleman, revived the design in 1598, offering his property, services, and person to Henry IV. to accomplish it.* That prince, by a truly royal bounty, power- fully encouraged him to pursue his glorious de- signs, giving him well-equipped ships and every- thing necessary to facilitate the execution of his enterprise. But the idea conceived of Canada by * The first commission to the Marquis de la Roche was given by- Henry III. in March, 1577 (" Relation originale de Jacques Car- tier — Documents Inedits," p. 5), and renewed the next year. His letters-patent were issued January 12, 1598. " Edict contenant, etc.," Rouen, 159S. See Harrisse, " Notes," p. 11. 6o FIRST ESTABLISHMENT the little progress made there till then was so dis- advantageous throughout France that the Mar- quis de la Roche, finding none scarcely willing to embark with him, was at last obliged to take from the royal prisons men condemned to death or the galleys for their crimes. These wretches, to the number of fifty, gladly left their dungeons to serve in these ships and pass to a new world where men supposed they might honor the king's bounty by a life the opposite of which had brought them to the last of misfortunes. The voice of Hea- ven was not apparently unison with that of earth in favor of these wretches, and the king's pardon served only to display more strikingly God's jus- tice on the guilty, who perished at last by a death infinitely more cruel and terrible than that of the greatest criminals. Chidotel,^' a Norman by birth, who alone at the time had any great knowledge of the coasts of New France, was chosen to be the pilot and conductor of these ships. The safety of his voy- * Champlain has Chedotel, and some documents Chefdhotel. OF THE FAITH. 6l age justified the estimate formed of his great ex- perience. He anchored near Sable Island, where Monsieur de la Roche landed the men whom he had taken from the prisons by the king's order, and left them on the island with provisions and goods, intending to return for them as soon as he had found on the coast of Acadia a fit place to found a colony. He sought in vain ; head-winds, storms, and tempests baffled all his plans, and he was unwillingly compelled to abandon his men to chance and to return to France. On his arrival there everything traversed his design of returning to Sable Island, and, as though the sentence of death had been irrevocably pronounced on the wretches he had left there, he was himself imprisoned by the Duke de Mercoeur."'^ He regained his liberty, indeed, but met such invincible obstacles to his enterprise that, compelled to abandon it entirely, he died of chagrin. We leave the reader to imagine the deplorable * This must have been earlier. See Shea's "Charlevoix," i. p. 244. 62 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT fate of the poor wretches landed on Sable Island. Ignorant of the fate of the ships, what suspicions and judgments did they not form against Monsieur de la Roche, as if he had landed them only to aban- don them to despair and rage ! Extreme misery, want of all things, without any hope of aid, afflicted them, and, amid frightful pictures of a horrible and cruel death, which seemed inevitable, they dragged on for five years a languishing existence, which almost all ended wretchedly. They found, indeed, on the island some cattle and hogs that Monsieur de Lery and some Portuguese had left there when they endeavored to plant a colony there ; but hav- ing consumed their provisions and all that they could kill, they were compelled to live on fish and dress in sealskins, eating the flesh of those animals, which soon failed and left them at last in so great misery that of fifty men only ten survived when pilot Chidotel, on a codfishing voyage, took them off by the king's orders and presented them to Henry IV., who wished to see them at Rouen, and gave each fifty crowns to encourage them to OF THE FAITH. 63 return again to Canada or to console them in France for their misery and misfortune.'"* The three successive voyages made by Sieur Chauvin, captain of a royal vessel, with the Sieurs de Mons and Pontgrave, in the river St. Lawrence after de la Roche's death, in 1599, 1600, 1601, were not more successful. Sieur Chauvin, the head of the enterprise, having himself died in the third, and all his designs having completely failed.f After so many adventures and unsuccessful but often-re- newed attempts, the court, disgusted with these new countries, would have entirely abandoned the design of sending any one, had they not found an intrepid man in the person of Monsieur de Champlain, to whom God reserved the glory of laying the first foundations of the colony which now exists. In 1603, then, he appeared for the first time in Canada, where he arrived safely. He * As to La Roche, see Champlain, "Voyage," 1613, p. 4 ; Prince Society's edition, ii. p. 4 ; 1632, pp. 32-3 ; Laverdiere's edition, pp. 152, 695, 1311 ; Lescarbot, 1618, pp 21, 406-7. f Chauvin budt a house at the mouth of the Saguenay. See Champlain, " VoA^age," 1613, pp. 4, 172 ; Prince Society's edition, ii. p. 170 ; 1632, pp. 34-7. 64 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT explored the country during the stay which he made, drew up a plan and charts as royal geogra- pher, observed the manners and customs, and, as he had as much breadth of mind as zeal for his prince's service, he remarked, with great discernment, the advantages to be derived and the means of advanc- ing the glory of God and the honor of his king.^" Mr. de Champlain had made this first voyage at the instance and by the aid of Monsieur de la Chatte.f governor of Dieppe. This voyage hav- ing succeeded pretty well in exploring the country, he returned to France, made his report to the court, where he was favorably heard ; he was even * Samuel de Champlain, a native of Brouage, had served in the army under Heniy IV., and then made a voyage to Mexico in the Spanish servire, 1599-1601. "Brief Discovrs " ; Laverdiere's Cham- plain, Quebec, 1870; vol i. ; Hakluyt Society, 1859. His first vo3'age to Canada is described in his " Des Savvages," Paris, 1603 ; Laver- diere's Champlain, Quebec, vol. ii. ■\ Aymard de Chaste, Knight of Malta, commander of Lormetau, Grand-Master of the Order of St. Lazarus, ambassador in England, governor of Dieppe, obtained letters-patent after Chauvin, and died soonafter sending out an expedition. May 13, 1603. Harrisse, "Notes," pp. 16, iS ; Faillon, " Histoire de la Colonie francaise," i. p. 75. His tomb has recently been discovered at Dieppe. Faillon " Histoire de la Colonie," i. p. 84. SAMUEL de GHAMPLAIF. .i»i di',?,iuihnqOy'niBam/'i aitif tiv Ifcaamvf ?or'iri!if OF THE FAITH. 65 fortunate enough to find a person willing to support his explorations by his credit and means. This was Monsieur de Monts,"'"' of the province of Xain- tonge, Gentleman Ordinary of the King's Cham- ber. This gentleman, having obtained powers and •commissions from his majesty in i6o8,f equipped two vessels, and gave the command to Monsieur de Champlain, who sailed from Dieppe and arrived safely in the river St. Lawrence, advancing to the spot which was to be, as it now is, the capital of New France. Here he built a structure to serve as a storehouse, and erected a fort to defend them against the attacks of the Indians. This place is a promontory on the mainland which juts into the river St. Lawrence ; it was called Quebec. J * Peter du Guast, Sieur de Monts, was governor of Pons. His commission is in Lescarbot, 1612, p. 431, 1618, p. 417 ; " Memoires des Commissaires," ii. p. 441 ; Murdoch's " Nova Scotia," i. p. 21. f See letters in Laverdiere's Champlain, 1613, p. 136 ; Prince edi- tion, ii. p. 161. X He left Honfieur April 13, 160S, and anchored at Tadoussac June 3. After exploring the Saguenay he ascended to Quebec, reaching it July 3. He immediately began the erection of a storehouse and dwellings. Laverdiere's Champlain, 1613, pp. 148-156 ; Prince edition, ii. pp. 175-184 ; Sagard, " Grand Voyage," p. 52. 5 66 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT The scurvy or land disease, which carried off twenty of the strongest and most robust men of his twenty-eight, with the other difficulties which he had to surmount during the winter, could not damp his courage ; on the contrary, he derived strength from his weakness beyond what we can imagine. In the spring the Sieur du Pontgrave brought him men and relief. Animated by this succor, he left the Sieur du Pontgrave in the fort of Quebec, and ascended on a campaign against the Iroquois with the Hurons, Algomquins, and Montagnais," whose friendship he had gained. They entered the enemy's country by the river which goes to Chambly,t and thence to the lake by which we now pass to New Netherland, about eighty leagues distant from the first settlements of New France, and to which the Sieur de Cham- plain gave his name, which it has ever since "■ He met a band of two or three hundred Ochateguins (Hurons) and Algonquins camped ne;ir the present Batiscan (Laverdiere's Cham- plain, 1603, p. 29 ; 1613, p. 175 ; Prince edition, ii. p 202), and then re- turned to Quebec to prepare for the expedition. The Montagnais must then have joined him. f The Richelieu, or Sorel. OF THE FAITH. 67 borne.* The Iroquois whom he found on the banks of this lake discharged on them showers of arrows ; but the firearms of Monsieur de Cham- plain made so much noise, killed and wounded so many of the Indians, that the Iroquois, who had never known what guns and pistols were, thought that some spirit of the other world had come to make war on them. They fled with such precipita- tion that they left the victors twelve of their prison- ers, whom Monsieur de Champlains Indians led in triumph to their villages, everywhere bestowing a thousand praises on the great captain of the French, to whom they rightly attributed the honor of the victory which they had just gained over their most cruel enemies.f This first advantage and the success of this first war contributed greatly to the design which Mon- sieur de Champlain had of establishing his colony, * He entered Lake Champlain apparently about July 24, 1609. f This action with the Iroquois took place near Ticonderoga. Brodhead's " History of New York," i. p. 18 ; " New York Doc. Hist.," iii. p. I ; Prince edition of Champlain, i. p. 91, ii. p. 223. Laverdiere, Champlain, iii. p. 193, thinks it was near Crown Point. 68 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT as the Algomquins, Hurons, and Montagnais, who liad seen with wonder the surprising effects of our lirearms, for the first time asked the protection and friendship of the French, which was readily granted amid solemn feasts and reciprocal presents made on both sides to form an offensive and defensive league against the Iroquois, the common enemies of Canada. This new alliance facilitated the tw^o voyages which Monsieur de Champlain had re- solved to make to France, and which he, in fact, made in 1610 and 161 1, to inform Monsieur de Mons of all that he had done to found the colony. His wisdom and conduct were so universally ap- proved that the Prince de Conde, to whom he ap- plied, on behalf of Monsieur de Mons, to ask his protection, honored him with the title of his lieu- tenant in Canada, with full power to prevent other French ships from going to trade with the Indians on the great river St. Lawrence.* Many mechanics of all trades and a great many * Champlain's commission was dated November 22, 1612. Laver- diere's Champ., vi. p. 88. " Mc-moiies des ("ommissaiies," ii. p. 451. OF THE FAITH 69 farmers offered to follow him to cultivate the land. He accepted them, embarked, and set sail for Que- bec, where he arrived safely with all his company. It is easy to conceive the joy which his arrival gave our Indian allies, who now conceived the greatest hopes of entirely exterminating the Iroquois by the help of our men. Monsieur de Champlain first set to clear the ground, which from the next year began to promise the new settlers that abundant fertility which we now see there. After having provided for all dur- ing the stay he made there, this untiring man, whose zeal for the establishment of the colony continually increased, returned to France in 1614, drew up a plan and charts of Canada, and invited many families, who resolved to cross over in the first vessels, for which he was making all necessarv preparations. But to lay a more solid foundation he proposed two things : first, to form a regular com- pany supported by the king's authority ; and, second, to obtain missionaries full of zeal for the salvation of souls, disinterested men, who, like the apostles, 70 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT would seek only and purely God's glory, the con- version of the heathen, the establishment and spirit- ual consolation of the colony, without any temporal return for themselves. For this purpose he treated with the merchants of Normandy and St. Malo, who till then had pre- tended to have the liberty and right to trade with the Indians for furs. He showed them so clearly the advantages that they would derive from associa- tion that both parties repaired to Paris and formed a company for eleven years. It was approved by the Prince de Conde, then viceroy of Canada, authorized by royal letters-patent, and ratified by the associates, to the exclusion of the merchants of La Rochelle, who would not enter. After forming this company for temporal com- merce there remained now only to provide for the spiritual administration by the establishment of missions. He first consulted Monsieur Houel, the king's secretary and comptroller-general of the Salt-works of Brouage. Both opened their design to the Rev. Father Bernard du Verger, Provincial OF THE FAITH. 71 of the Immaculate Conception, a religious of great virtue and rare talent, powerful in word and work. This holy man received the proposition the more joyfully as he was all full of fire and zeal for pro- moting God's glory and the salvation of souls.''" For this purpose he sent two of his religious to Paris, addressing them to the nuncio of Pope Paul V. in France. f His eminence informed them that he had no authority to give them faculties, and that they would have to write to Rome to the procurator oY the order, in order to obtain them of His Holiness, All these difficulties, joined to many others which these good religious had not foreseen, obliged them to defer the project of a mission to a more favorable time. Sieurs Champlain and Houel were greatly disap- pointed, the more so as they had applied to the Recollects only on account of the renown then made in the world by the great progress of the Gospel and the prodigious number of conversions * Laverdiere's Champlain, iv. pp. 3, 4. f Robert Ubaldini, afterwards cardinal. 72 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT which God operated by their ministry in Eastern America, where, according to the testimony of the most ilhistrious Kumeraga,''^' first archbishop of Mexico, our fathers had baptized in that New World more than nine hundred thousand souls, totally destroyed fifty idolatrous temples, broken and burnt to ashes more than twenty thousand idols, consecrated to the glory of God countless chapels, oratories, and churches, abolished the abominable custom of those savages who every year immolated to their false god twenty thousand hearts of their little children. These gentlemen did not lose hope, and resolved to have our Fathers at any price. Sieur Houel applied to the Rev. Father James Garnier de Chapouin, first provincial of the Recollects of the province of St. Denis. He re- ceived the proposition, and regarded this mission, offered to him at the outset of his holy reform, with the same eye that St. Francis had regarded the conversion of the whole world at the founda- tion of his order ; he conferred on this great and * Juan de Zumdrraga, a Franciscan. OF THE FAITH. "^Z noble enterprise with the Princes of Conde, the cardinals and bishops then at Paris for the assembly of the States. The resolution of this great religious was gene- rally approved by all these lords, who, to share in the enterprise and the conversion of these heathen, gave the Sieur de Champlain fifteen hundred livres to purchase portable chapels, church vestments, and other necessary articles for beginning a mission.* His majesty gave him his letters-patent, the nuncio irranted him the mission according" to the orders which he received from the Pope while awaiting the brief which His Holiness issued under date of March 20, 16 1 8. The merchants all generously offered to feed, support, and carry free every year, to the num- ber of six, the Recollects who might pass to Canada to keep up the mission. All things being thus disposed, the Reverend Father Provincial thought now only of offering his enterprise to God and asking his light in the choice of men whom he should appoint to this great work, to be the first * Laverdiere's Champlain, iv. pp. 5, 6. 74 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT apostles of New France. The following are copies of the brief of His Holiness and the king's letters-patent, taken from the originals : BRIEF OF PAUL V. for the Canada mission, given by Cardinal Bcntivoglio to the Recollect Fathers of the province of St. Denis in France. Guido Bentivoglio, by the grace of God and of the Holy Apostolic See, Archbishop of Rhodes, on behalf of our Holy Father Pope Paul V., Apostolic Nuncio, etc., to the Most Christian King of France and Navarre, Louis XIII., and spe- cially chosen, commissioned, and deputed by our Holy Father Paul V. as judge and commissary in these quarters, to our well-beloved the venerable Father Joseph le Caron, priest, professed religious Recollect of the order of St. Francis, province of Paris or St. Denis, and to all other fathers and brothers Recollects professed of said order of St. Francis, raised to the holy order of priesthood and confessors ap- proved by the ordinary, who are on the point of receiving a mission and obedience from their Father-Provincial to proceed with you to some heathen and infidel countries to effect their conversion to the true faith and Catholic religion, or whom you may take with the leave and license of said Fa- ther-Provincial, health and sincere love in our Lord. Know that heretofore the Most Rev. Archbishop Count of Lyons, OF THE FAITH. 75 ambassador of his Most Christian Majesty to our Holy Father, having addressed the ApostoHc See and petitioned His Ho- liness that, with the good pleasure of his said Holiness and the conditions hereinafter written, it should be lawful for the Rev. Father-Provincial of the Recollect religious of the said order of St. Francis to send some religious of the same order and of his province of St. Denis in France who should be fit and proper men to preach and extend the Catholic faith in heathen lands and regions; and inasmuch as the work was in itself meritorious, and it had pleased His Holiness to give us full power to grant the necessary and competent means for the execution of all the above, for the causes and reasons above alleged, by apostolic authority and commission, we have given and granted, and do give and grant, to your reverend Father-Provincial, and you who have been named, chosen, and deputed by him, the following faculties and privileges, which you may use and exercise, in case no one is found in those parts who lias similar ones the time whereof has not expired, and so long only as you. Friar Joseph Caron, and your associates remain in those heathen and infidel coun- tries ; and the said privileges are of tenor, force, and effect following, to wit : to receive all children born of believing and unbelieving parents, and all others of wh:it condition so- ever they maybe, who, after promising to keep and observe all that should be kept and observed by the faithful, will em- brace the truth of the Christian and Catholic faith ; to baptize even outside of the churches in case of necessity; to hear con- fessions of penitents, and, after diligently hearing them, im- posed a salutary penance according to their faults, and en- joined what should be enjoined in conscience, to loose and 76 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT absolve them from all sentences of excommunication and other ecclesiastical pains and censures, as also from all sorts of crimes, excesses, and delicts, even those reserved to the Apostolic See and those contained in the letters usually read on Maundy Thursday ; to administer the sacraments of the Eucharist, Marriage, and Extreme Unction ; to bless all kinds of vestments, vessels, and ornaments where holy unction is not necessary; to dispense gratuitously new converts who have contracted or would contract marriage in any degree of consanguinity or affinity whatever, except the first or second or between ascending and descending, provided the women liave not carried off by force, and the two parties who have contracted or would contract be Catholics, and there be just cause as well for the marriages already con- tracted as for those desired to be contracted ; to declare and pronounce the children born and issued of such marriages legitimate ; to have an altar which you may decently carry, and thereon to celebrate in decent and becoming places where the convenience of a church shall be wanting. In faith and testimony whereof, we have commanded these present letters, subscribed and signed by our hand, to be dated, signed, and sealed with our seal by our well-beloved Louis Savanutius, our auditor and doctor in both laws, and Messire Thomas Gallot, clerk at Paris, licentiate in canon and civil law, notary public, sworn as well by apostolic au- thority as by the venerable Episcopal Court of Paris and according to the edict of the king, enrolled and matricu- lated on the registers of the diocese and court of the Par- liament of Paris, residing in said Paris, New Notre Dame Street, and our notary in this quarter. OF THE FAITH. ^^ Given at Paris the year of our Lord 1618, the 2otli of the month of March. ^ (Signed) G., ARCHER OF RHODES, Apostolic Nuncio. And lower down — By order of the said Most Illustrious and Rev. Lord Nuncio Apostolic and delegated Commissary. THOMAS GALLOT, Notary Public as aforesaid. LOUIS SAVANUTIUS, AuditorJ^ ROYAL PATENT FOR THE RECOLLECTS. Louis, by the grace of God, King of France and Navarre, to all who shall see these presents, greeting : The late kings, our predecessors, have acquired the title and quality of Most Christian by procuring the exaltation of the Holy, Catholic, Apostolic, and Roman faith, defending it from all oppres- sions, maintaining ecclesiastics in their rights, and receiving in their kingdom all religious orders who apply in purity of life to instruct the people and teach them by word and example ; and as we are also filled with an extreme desire of maintaining and preserving said title of Most Christian as the richest leaf of our crown, and by which we hope that all our actions will prosper, wishing not only to imitate wherever possible our said predecessors, but even to surpass them in the desire of * The original is in the Archives de Versailles — Recollets. Faillon, •' Hist, de la Colonie," i. p. 146. 78 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT establishing the said Catholic faith and announcing it in dis- tant savage and foreign lands where the holy name of God is not invoked. Our dear and devoted petitioner, the Father- Provincial of the province of St. Denis in France, of the relig- ious of St. Francis of the strict observance, commonly called Recollects, has heretofore, seconding our desires, offered to send to the countries of Canada religious of the said order to preach the holy Gospel there, and bring to the Holy Faith the souls of the inhabitants of the said country, who are erring and wandering in their conceits, having no knowledge of the true God ; and for this purpose having sent a number there, their labor, by the grace of God, has not been useless ; on the contrary, some of the said inhabitants of Canada, ac- knowledging their former error, have ardently embraced the Holy Faith and received holy baptism, tidings as agreeable as any that can reach us ; and it now remains only to confirm what has been begun by the said religious, which cannot be better done than by permitting said religious both to continue to dwell in said country and to build there as many convents as they shall deem necessary, according to the time and place, all which convents, monasteries, and religious shall be under the obedience of the said Father-Provincial of the province of St. Denis in France, and no other, and this to prevent all confusion that might arise if each religious, at his first impulse, was induced to pass to the said land of Canada. Desiring to remedy this in future, we have said and declared, and by these presents signed by our hand do say and declare, our in- tention and will to be that the Father-Provincial of the said province of St. Denis in France alone may, and it shall be lawful for him to, send to said country of Canada as many of OF THE FAITH. 79 his Rtcollect religious as he shall deem necessary, and when he deems pro[jer ; and we have permitted, and by these said presents permit, the said Recollect religious to inhabit said country of Canada, and build and construct there one or many convents and monasteries, as ihey shall deem proper ; and to which country of Canada no other Recollect religious shall have power to go, except by obedience given by said provincial of the said province of St. Denis in France, and this to avoid all dissension that might arise, forbidding all port and harbor masters to permit any religious of the order of St. Francis to embark, in order to pass and go to said country of Canada, except by the obedience of the said Provin- cial and of the one whom he shall name as superior ; and show- ing moie particularly our affection towards said religious, we hereby take under our protection and safeguard all their con- vents and monasteries together. We hereby command our dear and well-beloved cousin, the Sieur de Montmorency, Ad- miral of France, or his lieutenants in all the ports and har- bors of this our kingdom, and all our other justiciaries and officers to whom it may belong, to cause the contents hereof to be kept and observed, point by point, according to its form and tenor, and publish these presents in all ports, harbors, and places of their jurisdiction, without permitting it to be contravened. "VVe further command our viceroy of Canada, his lieutenants, and our other officers in those places to main- tain the said Recollect religious of the said province of St. Denis in France, in said countr\ ; not, however, authorizing them to receive any who have no obedience of the said pro- vincial of the province of France ; giving, moreover, their care to the execution of this our will, notwithstanding any letters 8o FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. to the contrary, which we have derogated, and by these jire- sents do derogate. For such is our pleasure. In witness whereof we have set our seal to these presents. Given at S. Germain-en-Laye the 20th of March, in the year of grace 1615, and of our reign the fifth.* * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," pp. 12, 17. He gives no date, and that here given by Le Clercq is evidently a misprint for 161S, the date of the preceding document. In March, 1615, the Recollects could not be spoken of, as in this document, as having already been sent there and made converts. CHAPTER II. FIRST EMBARKATION OF THE MISSIONARIES TO PLANT THE FAITH IN NEW FRANCE. A LEARNED author, eulogizing the religious state, once said, with as much truth as justice, that there was nothing greater or more glorious than the conversion of the New World. " Nihil prseclarius aut gloriosius, quam totius novi orbis conversio, quae quantacumque est religiosorum est,"* which, after the grace of the Lord, must be attribut- ed in all its parts to the apostolic labors of reli- gious in general, but especially, he says, to the un- tiring zeal of the religious of the order of St. Fran- cis, who have the honor of having been the pio- neers in this high and glorious enterprise. "Primos omnium qui tantam provinciam aggressi sunt Fran- ciscanos esse legimus."f " Nulli in tota India * Hieron. Plat., lib. i., " De Bono Statu Rel." f Hieron. Plat., ibidem. 6 82 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT erant religiosi prteter eos, quos dixi Franciscanos."* So that, by the account taken at the General Chapter of the order in 1621, the Recollects had then in Spanish America five hundred convents established and distributed in twenty- two provinces since Martin de Valencia, one of our first reformers, passed over there with a great number of Recollects to cast the first seeds of Christianity. This same glory is due to them, and no one can, without injustice, contest with them this illustrious advantage of having been the first apostles of New France, where they have fruitfully labored for the conversion of the Indians. It is, then, in the year 16 15 that we must acknow^- ledge the first establishment of the faith in Canada,f wdien the father- provincial of the Recollects of Paris selected Father Denis Jamay as first commis- sary of the mission, Father John d'Olbeau as suc- cessor in case of death, Father Joseph le Caron, * Teresul (Tuisellini). f This ignores the earlier labors of Messrs. Flechc, Aubr}-, etc., sec- ular priests, and of the Jesuits fn Acadia. OF THEBFAITH. 83 and Brother Pacificus du Plessis to lay the first foundations of Christianity in New France, whither they actually passed in said year and began this great work, which they have since continued with their brethren by indefatigable labors and happy progress, as will appear in the sequel."^ Here I cannot forbear making an observation on the year given by the Abbe de la Roque as the first epoch and birth of the Church in Canada, when he states the first establishment to have been made in 1637 and 1638 by the reverend Jesuit fathers. I have read what he has written in his " Memoirs of the Church " (printed at Paris in 1690) not only with pleasure, but with a singular esteem for the author's merit; yet, as he himself avows, he wrote only on memoirs given him, and on the account of persons whom he consulted orally at Paris. I can- not help telling him, with a respectful liberty, either that his memoirs are untrustworthy or that the persons whom he consulted disguised the truth on ■" Laverdiere's Champlain, 1619, iv. p. 7 ; Sagard, " Ilistoire du Canada," p. 11. 84 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT this point of history which I here treat of. The reverend Jesuit fathers themselves would agree with us and admit it in the country where we labor with them. The people now in Canada render public testimony ; the most faithful historians relate it ; in fine, you may still see in this New World the remains of our old establishments, many of which have been repaired since our return, without men- tioning other authentic proofs which we will set forth in the course of this work. It was, then, in 1615, on the 24th of April, about five o'clock in the afternoon, that the first four Recollect missionaries, whom we have named above, embarked at Honfleurs. After a voyage of thirty-one days they arrived safely at Tadoussac on the 25th of May,* a day consecrated to the festival of the translation of our Seraphic Father St. Fran- cis. We leave the reader to imagine with what ardor these new missionaries were inflamed on en- *They came on the Si. Eticnuc, of 350 tons, commanded by the Sieur de Pontgrave. Laverdiere's Cliamplain. \(n^). p. (j ; Sagaid, "Hist, du Canada," p. 22. OF THE FAITH. 85 taring that vast country, and with what fire the unction of the Spirit pervaded them at that first moment. We may say that, in the extreme desire of gaining to Christ all the savages of the New World, their hearts became by inclination as great as all Canada, grace there producing the same effect as in that of St. Paul, which, in the terms of St. John Chrysostom, became by zeal and charity as great as the universe : " Non erraveris, si cor Pauli, cor totius orbis dixeris." After spending two days at Tadoussac the Rev. Father Commissary chose Father John d'Olbeau to go on to Quebec and prepare all things. The Rev. Father Commissary followed him a few days after with the rest of his religious. CHAPTER III. FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE RECOLLECTS THE FIRST MASS EVER SAID IN CANADA — THE MISSIONS MADE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THEIR ARRIVAL. TIEGINNINGS are always difficult, and the greater the work the greater the difficulty. They also meet stronger opposition, especially in a religious establishment, even when it is proposed to push them on in a convenient country, where it should be easy to find all that is necessary for this design. It is easy, then, to imagine the difficulties which our first missionaries in New France sustained when they settled in that New World where there were only woods, forests, thorns, and brambles ; where all was to be cleared and the very neces- saries of life were usually wanting. But at last, animated and strengthened within by the same Spirit which had called them thither to be the FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. 87 corner-Stones of Christianity, they surmounted, with the help of Heaven, all these obstacles. Father John Dalbeau, having arrived at Quebec, had there, in concert with Monsieur de Champlain, traced the plan of our first establishment, a little chapel and a house to shelter the religious, on the very spot where the lower town is now. The whole was soon ready, for there was nothing but what was most simple and conformable to evangelical poverty. Father Denis, the superior, had merely passed by Quebec, and had set out at the same time for Three Rivers with Father Joseph le Caron, leaving to Father John d'Olbeau the charge of the work, which being finished, and the chapel in a fit state, he had, on the 25th of June, 161 5, the privi- lege of celebrating there the first Mass ever said in Canada.* * This point is in debate among Canadian scholars. Mass was evi- dently said in Canada in Cartier's time, on St. Barnabas's da}-, 1534, at Brest C Brief Discours," Paris, 1865, p. 25), and in February, 1536, at Quebec (" Brief Recit," p. 35). Even as to the first Mass b}- the Recol- lects there is a question. The '" Memoirc faict en 1637 pour I'alfaire des Peres Recollectz," Abeille vii. No. 25; Margry, " Decouvertes," i. p. 3, states that the first Mass was said at Riviere des Prairies (see Laver- 55 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Nothing was wanting to make this action solemn^ as far as the simplicity of this Httle band of a rising colony permitted. The celebrant and his congrega- tion were all bathed in tears (by an effect of inte- rior consolation which God infused into their souls) to see for the first time descending in those before unknown lands, under the sacramental species, the Incarnate Word and God. Having prepared by confession, they received the Saviour in Eucharistic Communion; the "Te Deum " was chanted amid the roar of their little artillery, and amid the accla- mations of joy with which that wilderness re-echoed on every side. One might say it was changed into a paradise, all there invoking the King of Heaven, blessing his holy name, and calling to their aid the guardian angels of those vast provinces, in order to draw these nations more efficaciously to the know- ledsfe and adoration of the true God.* Thus wrote diere's Champl., 1619, p. 16) ; and though Champlain leaves the date blank, it is supposed to have been on June 24, and to have preceded d'Olbeau's. But it seems strange that they should have let a month pass before saying Mass for the colonists. * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," pp. 24-5. OF THE FAITH. 89 the reverend Father d'Olbeau to a rehgious, a friend of his : "The affection which you have for the salvation of the souls of this country of New France, which has made us de- sire, and even seek in person means of assisting them, obliges me to give you news of our mission. We sailed from Hon- fleur on the evening of the 24th of April, and arrived May 25 at a port where vessels sailing here stop. This port is called Tadoussac ; it is full eighty leagues up the great river of Canada. Thirty-five leagues above is the French settle- ment, which 1 reached on the second of June, unaccompanied by our other religious, who came after as they found oppor- tunity. The reverend father-commissary and Father Joseph did not stop there, but sailed forty or fifty leagues along the river, in order to see the goodness of the country and to see the Indians, who arrive there in great numbers to trade with the French. On the 25th of June, in the absence of the reverend father-commissary, I celebrated holy Mass, the first that has been said in this country, whose inhabitants are truly savage in name and fact. They have no fixed abode, but cabin here and there as they can find game and fish, their ordinary food. Both men and v\omen are dressed in skins and always go bareheaded, wear their hair long, paint their faces black and red, are generally of good sta- ture. As to mind I cannot speak positively, having thus far conferred only with a few individuals. Thus far the tem- perature of the II ir lias seemed to me like that of France. The land appears good, but we must winter here to judge. I would write you more did I not believe tliat the reverend 90 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT father-commissary has written you amply about alL Since we have been on land I have been almost always alone with Brother Pacificus. Next year, when we have a better know- ledge, we shall write you at greater length. " I commend myself affectionately to the prayers of all our Fathers and Brothers, ever remaining, your very humble and very affectionate servant, "FRIAR JOHN D'OLBEAU. " Quebec, in New France, July 20, 1615." This letter is written to his friend, F. Didacus David. Meanwhile the father-commissary came down from Three Rivers, where he left Father Joseph le Caron. The latter remained there with the French either to administer the sacraments or to learn the manners and language of the Indians, in order to be able to satisfy his passionate desire of announcing the Gospel to them. By the help of the French and Indians he built a house and chapel there to begin . a sedentary mission which Father Denis Jamay, before his departure, had ordered him to establish. He erected an altar there, adorned according to the poverty of a wild and savage place. He had the honor of celebrat- OF THE FAITH. 91 ing Holy Mass there July 26, 161 5, with a sen- sible devotion. He had arranged all things for a solid mission, and would have wished to remain permanently. The savages even endeavored to keep him ; he left them two Frenchmen for their spiritual consolation, and as the reverend father- commissary undertook to extend his care to that mission, Father Joseph left Three Rivers and de- scended to Quebec, whither his superior sum- moned him, and his brethren awaited him to con- cert together on the knowledge they had acquired of the country, and agree upon the fittest means of advancing God's glory.''" While at Quebec they had many conferences with Monsieur de Champlain and the most intelli- * This does not agree with Champlain, who sa)^s that he learned on the 8th of July that Father Joseph le Caron had set out from the Riviere dcs Prairies for the Huron countr}', and of course could not have been at Three Rivers on the 26th. Laverdiere (Champ., 1619, p. 18) thinks that Father Denis Jamay, who was then descending the river, stopped at Three Rivers. Suite, " Histoire des Trois Rivieres," p. 35, takes the same view. Father le Caron stopped on his wa}^ down, June 15, 1616, and remained till the trade closed, Jul}' 11, but he was on his way to France July 26. Yet it seems probable that what Le Clercq states occurred at this time. (See Suite, p. 37.) 92 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT gent Frenchmen, who unanimously, after frequently invoking the aid of Heaven, made a kind of capi- tulary assembly, a little conclave, where, after the example of the disciples of the Son of God upon the descent of the Holy Ghost, these new apostles had to divide among them this vast country and this New World, which they were going to subdue to the empire of Jesus Christ. We may, with some sort of analogy, apply to this little troop what St. John Chrysostom applies to the great St. Paul, " parva machina gravida mundo," like the machine of the great Archimedes, which in idea and zeal bore this new Christian world. The result of this assembly, and the division made, were approved by the governor. The reverend fa- ther-commissary remained at Quebec, as the centre of the country, to administer the sacraments to the French in the colony and to form a mission for the Indians ; to extend his solicitude as far as Three Rivers, and establish others further down the river, over which he might watch. Father John d'Olbeau was selected for the Montagnais; Tadoussac being OF THE FAITH. 93 named as his post, whence he should extend to the end and mouth of the river St. Lawrence. Father Joseph le Caron had as his share the Hurons and other Western tribes ascending the river. Father John d'Olbeau accordingly left Quebec the 2d of December in the same year, to proceed to the spot appointed for his Montagnais district, in order to learn their language and be able to labor seriously for their conversion. We cannot express the inward joy of this all-seraphic man wdien he beheld himself at last able to show God, as St. Paul had done, that he had no other am- bition than that of enlarging the kingdom of Je- sus Christ. He devoted himself to it during the winter with unwearied zeal, and devoured with pleasure all difficulties found in familiarizing one's self in the knowledge and practice of the language of these barbarians, of which in a little while he learnt the elements. He built a small hut there, in which he arranged a chapel in the form of a cabin, to assemble the French and Indians for in- struction and pra)xr ; all was neat, though poor. 94 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT During the winter he endeavored to test the soil of the country, the natural temper and disposition of the Montagnais Indians; and as this nation is al- most always errant and vagabond, he underwent great hardships in seeking them and visiting them in all the principal places where they had assem- bled. He even went as far as the Bersiamites, Papanachois Eskimaux, and other savages, up to and beyond the Seven Islands, everywhere planting the sign of salvation, so that many years after there were found, in many spots, vestiges and marks of this course and of the zeal of this first missionary. After this discovery, in which he had acquired much information and opened the way for the es- tablishment of missions, he had to return to Que- bec to report to his superior.* Meanwhile the reverend Father Joseph le Caron had set out the preceding autumn f in the com- pany's barks which went to Three Rivers, and had thence advanced to the Hurons and other nations five or six hundred leagues further inland, with * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," pp. 26-7. f Summer. OF THE FAITH. 95 Indians who had come to trade, and twelve Frenchmen whom Monsieur de Champlain gave to the Flurons to defend them against their ene- mies." It is impossible to describe the hardships which this good father underwent during this painful voyage ; now amid the boiling whirlpools, the currents, the rapids and waterfalls, capable of appalling the most intrepid ; now bearing the in- supportable annoyance of the countless mosqui- toes and gnats, which gave him no rest by day or night. He WTote thus to one of his friends : " It would be difficult to t-^ll you the fatigue I have suf- fered, liaving been obliged to have my paddle in hand all day long and row with all my strength with the Indians. I have more than a hundred times walked in the rivers over the sharp rocks, whicli cut my feet, in the mud, in the woods, where I carried the canoe and my little baggage, in order to avoid the rapids and frightful waterfalls. I say nothing of the painful fast which beset us, having only a little sagamity, which is a kind of pulmentum composed of water and the meal of Indian corn, a small quantity of which is dealt out to us morning and evening. Yet I must avow that amid my pains I felt much consolation. For alas! when we see such a great number of infidels, and nothing but a drop of water is * The men went before Champlain came up. Champlain, 1619, p. 18. 96 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT needed to make them children of God, one feels an ardor which I cannot express to labor for their conversion and to sacrifice for it one's repose and life." This zealous missionary had appeared in the country of the Hurons, who had received him with all the mildness and friendship which they usually show their guests. This country is not of great extent, according to the description given by this good father. It can be easily traversed in five or six days' time. The climate is very agreeable — much more moderate than that of Quebec. The ground, though sandy in many parts, is fertile and produces in abundance Indian corn, beans, and pumpkins. Even French wheat would doubtless come to perfect maturity. This country is sur- rounded and intersected by very fine lakes; the most important of these, which is on their north, is called from its size "Mer douce" — "Freshwater sea."* There are eighteen f towns, comprising about ten * Lake Huron. Compare Champlain's description, "Voyage," 1619, p. 30 ; Sagard, " Histoire," p. 243 ; " Grand Voyage," p. 113. \ Sagard (" Grand Voyage," p. 115; " Histoire," p. 247), a few years OF THE FAITH. 97 thousand souls, under one same language, which is common to ten or twelve other nations, all seden- tary and populous. The most famous of their vil- lages is called Carragouha,* which is defended and surrounded by a triple palisade, thirty-six feet high, to defend themselves against their enemies. It was in this village that the Hurons, to show Father Joseph the joy which they felt at his com- ing, offered to lodge him in their common cabins. He represented to them that he had to negotiate with God affairs so important, involving the salva- tion of their whole nation, that they deserved to be treated with more respect, in solitude and retreat, far from the tumult and trouble of their families. They hearkened to his remonstrance, and with poles and bark built him a cabin apart from the village. Here he raised an altar to offer God the holy sacrifice of the Mass and perform his spiritual exercises. In these places the Indians went to later, says twent}' to twenty-five towns containing thirty to forty thou- sand souls. * This town v/as not far from Thunder Bay. See Laverdifere's Champlain, 1619, p. 28. 7 98 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT visit him to be instructed in the mysteries of Chris- tianity and learn of him how to pray to God. Soon after his arrival the father had the conso- lation of embracing there Monsieur de Champlain, who had followed him closely with two French- men and seven Indians, whom he had distributed in two canoes, in order to go to war against the Iroquois. He arrived at the Huron country soon enough to hear the first Mass which Father Joseph had the consolation of celebrating there* and planting, amid the noise of their muskets, the sign of our salvation amid the acts of thanks which they offered God by a " Te Deum " solemnly chant- ed for the first time in that barbarous country. Meanwhile Monsieur de Champlain, who had agreed to accompany our allies the Hurons in war against the Iroquois, only in the hope of thus secur- ing their friendship and more easily pursuing his glo- rious discoveries, proceeded to visit all the Huron * This was August 12, 1615. Lavcrdiere's Champlain, i6ig, p. 29. The " Memoire des Recollectz " (Abeille vii. 25 ; Margry i. p. 3) says August 10. OF THE FAITH. 99 villages, to plant the royal arms there and contract a strict alliance with them, arousing their youth to go and fight the common enemies of their nation and of the French. The war-kettle was raised ; feasts of arms were made in a full concourse of captains and warriors. Each one here took part, and, full of the fire and resolution which Monsieur de Champlain had inspired, they fixed the ist of September as the day of their departure."^ These savages do not need as much preparation nor munitions and supplies as Europeans and other civilized nations when they prepare for war. They carry no provisions, leaving all the care to the chance of being able to hunt deer, beaver, and all sorts of game, which are very abundant in these parts. While the main body of the army advances others are sent to fish, so that nothing is wanting, especially in the evening, their principal meal-time. Thus our little army of Hurons set out under the direction of Monsieur de Champlain, who had ten * Laverdiere's Champlain, 1619, p. 34. lOO FIRST ESTABLISHMENT or [twelve Frenchmen with him to command the savages.* After forty-eight days'f march, as they approach- * The route of Champlain in this expedition into what is now New York State, and the site of the fort attacked by him, have led to much discussion. Starting from Cahiague, between the Severn and Matche- dash Bay, they passed through Lake Couchichine, Lake Simcoe, Stur- geon Lake, the Otonabi and Trent to Lake Ontario. Laverdiere's Champlain, 1619, p. 28. Tliey then crossed the end of Lake Ontario to Stony Point, according" to O. H. Marshall and Laverdiere ; to Hen- derson, according to Brodhead ; to Little Sandy Lake, according to General John S. Clark. After marching along the shore to Salmon River (Laverdiere, Marshall), or Salmon Creek (Clark), they struck inland and crossed the Oswego at Fort Brewerton (Marshall, Clark). After this, but how long is not stated, they met a party of the enemy (October g) going to their fishing-ground on Oneida Lake, ten miles from their town ; and the next day reached the fort or town of the Entouhonorons. This General Clark, with no little probability seeks to identify with the remains of an hexagonal fort on Nichols Pond, in the town of Fenner, ten miles from the east end of Oneida Lake, while Mr. Marshall maintains it to have been on Onondaga Lake. Con- sult " Expedition of the Sieur de Champlain," by O. H. Marshall, Mag. of Am. Hist., Jan., 1877 ; General John S. Clark, Paper before the N. Y. Historical Society; notice on the same in the Penn. Hist. Mag., ii. p. 103; Rew Mr. Slafter, " Memoir of Champlain," Prince ed., i. p. 129 ; Mr. Marshall's Reply, Mag. of Am. Hist., August, 1878. Dr. O'Callaghan, N". V. Doc. Hist,, iii. p. 10, and the Abbe Laverdiere placed the fort on Canandaigua Lake, but this position is untenable ; Parkman and Slafter have adopted General Clark's theory. Brodhead adopted Mr. Marshall's view. The Entouhonorons were beyond question Onondagas f October 9. Laverdiere's Champlain, i6ig, p. 39. As they set out September i, it was the 39th. OF THE FAITH. lOI ed the first Iroquois town, they met an advance party of the enemy, eleven of whom our people took prisoners, the rest being killed, scattered, or put to flight. This defeat facilitated the approach to the town, which they found situated in a beauti- ful champaigne on the edge of a pond, encircled with four rows ot palisades thirty feet high, and strengthened by large trees interlaced in each other, above which these savages had made a kind of way which served as a parapet against arrow and gun-shots. They had also formed and distributed at intervals a number of gutters to throw water and put out the fire in case we attempted to burn their palisades. On approaching this fortress our savages perceiv- ed a great number of Iroquois, who were gathering their Indian corn and pumpkins, which form their only harvest. It was impossible for Monsieur de Champlain to arrest the ardor of the Hurons and retard the exe- cution till the next day, when success would have been easy. Impatient to attack and conquer, feel- I02 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT ing themselves supported by the French, they rais- ed their usual shouts and war-cries, engaging in combat with so little order and so much precipita- tion that they were in danger of defeat, had not Monsieur de Champlain rendered them victorious by an opportune discharge of firearms. The noise of this little artillery so terrified the Iroquois that they retired to their fort, carrying all they could of their wounded and of those killed in the heat of the fight. This victory was a glorious one to the Hurons, who lost only a single man and had only five seriously wounded. Our Indians' irregular way of fighting entirely disconcerted all the measures which Monsieur de Champlain had formed for a regular siege of the place. With his usual pru- dence he dissembled his chagrin, and withdrew the Hurons to concert with them the plan of a second attack on the following day. It was resolved in council to make a cavalier, consisting of timbers placed above each other, and on top a kind of parapet to secure our Frenchmen from the Iroquois' arrows ; that they should bring OF THE FAITH. 103 a quantity of dry wood to the foot of the palisade, to set fire to it by trains of powder ; lastly, to cor- rect the precipitation with which our Indians had acted on the last occasion, they promised to fol- low carefully, in the attack of the place, the orders of Monsieur de Champlain. On leaving the council the Indians labored stea- dily at the cavalier, which was finished in one night. Three hundred* of the bravest and stout- est men placed it amid a shower of stones which the enemy poured on them, and a cloud of ar- rows that they darted. Without being disheartened at seeing many of their comrades killed or dangerously wounded beside them, others with equal fervor brought the dry wood which they had gathered, set fire to it ; but it had no effect, because the con- trary wind turned off the flames and carried them aside ; besides, the Iroquois cooled their palisades by such torrents of water, which they * Two hundred. Laverdiere's Champlain, 1619, p. 43. I04 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT poured by the gutters, that the fire was soon ex- tinguished. Meanwhile the French ascended the cavalier, from which they fired incessantly on the enemy, who lost many ; they were even obliged to descend from their covered way and hide in the fort. Vic- tory would have been infallible, if our Hurons had not, contrary to their promise to wait for the sig- nal and orders of Monsieur de Champlain, resumed their ordinary precipitation. They discharged all their arrows above the fort, which wounded very few Iroquois ; so that our Indians, after three hours' fight, getting disgusted, lost all inclination for a further contest, the more so as Monsieur de Champlain, having been wounded by two arrows, one in the leg and the other in the thigh, left them without a leader. Never was greater consternation seen. The In- dians at first carried the captain and the wounded to the canoes, and after applying the first course of Indian remedies, which are withal specific and sov- ereign, resumed the route to their own country, OF THE FAITH. 105 having, nevertheless, left amid the Iroquois the terror of their own and the Frenchmen's arms. On the way Monsieur de Champlain recovered, as much by an effect of God's providence as by the help of remedies. After much pain and hardship he at last, on the 14th of January, arrived safely at the famous village of Carragouha, where Father Joseph received him with all imaginable joy.^ Charity and the interests of Faith so earnestly pressed our Huron apostle that, after having first laid the foundations of this Church in their country, he left there two or three of the Frenchmen he had with him, to continue the outline he had traced, and passed on with Monsieur de Champlain to the country of the Indians called Petuneux,t and seven other neighboring nations. This zealous mission- * Champlain (Laverdiere's edition, 1619, p. 57) seems to make them meet on the 15th. The Carantouannais (Garontawane), a tribe near the Susquehanna, were to have co-operated with the Hurons, but did not come. f Petun is old French for tobacco. These are the Tionontates, or Dinondadies. They reached them Februarj' 15 (Champlain, 1619, p. 57), though Laverdiere thinks in Januar)', as the edition of 1632 has it. lo6 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT ary had the consolation of suffering much there for the estabhshment of Christianity, as these In- dians cruelly ill-treated him at the instigation of their Ohi, or jugglers, who are the sorcerers and magicians of these nations. After learning the ideas and disposition of these Indians he returned to his Huron village. This expedition was not fruitless for God's glory, as he baptized some children and dying old men, for whom he thus procured eternal salvation. Having returned to the Hurons, he spent the rest of the winter there, completed the acquisition of a tincture of their language, and drew up a pret- ty correct dictionary, still to be seen and preserved as a relic. He devoted himself assiduously to the civilization of these Indians. The time had not come to effect great conversions there ; but they were gradually prepared to receive gently the light of the Gospel when it should please God to second, by the efficacy of his grace, the truth and the extent of his zeal and that of those who should follow him. Having then put all things in train, he set OF THE FAITH ro; out from Carragouha, and arrived at Three Rivers on the 15th of June, 1616."^^" Father John d'Olbeau, some days after his re- turn from the Tadoussac mission to Quebec, had proceeded to the same place in the company's barks, to visit it and see the state of the mission which Father Joseph had projected the previous year. A few days later God consoled them by the arrival of Monsieur de Champlain, who had pro- ceeded to the Lake of the Nepysiriniens. It was the trading time ; and this over, they set sail for Quebec, where the two fathers arrived f together with Monsieur de Champlain, and there they found the reverend Father-Commissary, who received them with joy. * They set out May 20. Laverdiere's Champlain, 1619, p. 102. Sa- gard, " Histoire," p. 30, makes them reach Three Rivers July i. fjuly II. Sagard, p. 31. CHAPTER IV. CHAMPLAIN's voyage to FRANCE WITH THE REVE- REND FATHER-COMMISSARY OF THE MISSION TO REPRESENT THE STATE OF ALL THE NEW DISCO- VERIES AND EFFECT THEIR ESTABLISHMENT. TN the origin of the Church we remark that the apostles, after having made a general and con- fused discovery of the disposition of the nations, assembled to concert together the means of sub- jecting the world to the faith of Christ. What our first religious had already done in one year was properly only a discovery of the temper of mind and customs of these tribes, the ways to bring them to the Gospel, and the difficulties to be overcome, having made only a rough draft for Christianity and a distant preparation for their conversion. As yet it was only a shapeless chaos, to be disentangled in time, so that, according to FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. 109 the project formed among them the year before, they should meet at Quebec this July to make each other a faithful report of their information and agree on what was to be undertaken for God's glory. They invited Monsieur de Champlain to be present (knowing him to be as zealous for the establish- ment of the faith as for the temporal w^eal of the colony) and six other well-meaning persons. For the good of the country they all unanimously agreed on the following articles, set out more at length in our memoirs still extant, in order that truth, which is the soul of history, may reign throughout this work. It seems, then, that it was resolved : " That with regard to the nations down the river and those of the North, including the Montagnais, Etechemins, Betsi- amites, and Papinachois, the great and little Esquimaux, an uncultivated, barren, mountainous country ; abounding, how- ever, in all kinds of wild beasts, seals, beaver, moose, bear, marten, otter, lynx — the Indians are nomadic, wandering in the woods, excessively superstitious, attached to their juggleries, with no form of religion, and, so far as regards the most part, it would require a long time to civilize them. "That, by the report of those who had visited the southern coasts, the Rivers Loup and Bic, the JMonts Notre Dame, no FIRST ESTABLISHMENT and had even penetrated by land to Cadie,* Cap Breton and Chaieurs Bay, Isle Percee and Gaspe, the country was more temperate and susceptible of cultivation. That there would be found dispositions less estranged from Christianity as the people had more shame, docility, and humanity than the others. " That, with regard to the upper river and all the numerous nations of Indians visited by Monsieur de Champlain and Fa- ther Joseph themselves, or by others, besides the abundance of game, which might attract the French there in hopes of trade, the land was much more fertile and in a soil and tempera- ture more convenient than among the Indians down the river. That those above, as the Algomquins, Iroquois, Hurons, Nip- siriniens,f Neuters, Fire Nation, J were indeed sedentary ; these nations being generally docile, susceptible of instruc- tion, charitable, strong, robust, patient, insensible, however, and indifferent to all that concerns salvation. Lascivious tribes, and so material that when you tell them that their soul is immortal they ask what they will eat after death in the next world. In general none of the savages whom they had known had any idea of a divinity, believing, nevertheless, in another world where they hope to enjoy the same pleasures as they take here below. A people without subordination, law, or form of government or system, gross in religious mat- ters, shrevvd and crafty for trade and profit, but superstitious to excess. " They remarked that none could ever succeed in convert- ing them, unless they made them men before they made tht-m Christians. That to civilize them it was necessary first that * Acadia, now Nova Scotia. f NipissinjiS. :j: Mascoutens, called Assistagucronon by the Hurons. OF THE FAITH. Ill the French .'-hould mingle with them and habituate them among us, which could he done only by the increase of tlie colony, the greatest obstacle to which was on the part of the gentlemen of tlie Company, who, to monopolize trade, did not wish the country to be settled, and did not even wish us to make the Indians sedentary, without which nothing can be done for the salvation of these heathens. " That the Protestants, op Huguenots, having the best share in the trade, it was to be feared that the contempt they showed for our mysteries would greatly retard the establish- ment of the faith. That even the bad example of the French might be prejudicial, if those who had authority in the coun- try did not establish order. "That the mission among such numerous nations was pain- ful and laborious, and so would advance but little, unless they obtained of the gentlemen of the Company a greater number of missionaries free of expense. We still see by the state of their project that all agreed that it would need many years and great labor to humanize these utterly gross and barba- rous nations, and that, except a small number of individuals, even then doubtful, they could not risk the sacraments to adults. This we still see, for, after so many years, missionaries have advanced little, although they have labored much. "It finally appears that it was decided that they would not progress unless the colony was increased by a greater number of settlers, mechanics and farmers; that free trade with the Indians should be permitted without distinction to all French- men ; that, in future, Huguenots should be excluded ; that it was necessary to render the Indians sedentary, and bring them up to our manners and laws. 112 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT " That, by the help of zealous persons in France, a semina- ry might be established in order to bring up young Indians to Christianity, who might afterwards aid the missionaries in con- verting their countrymen. That it was necessary to maintain the missions which our Fathers had established, both up and down the river, which could not be done unless the associat- ed gentlemen showed all the ardor to be expected from their zeal, when they were informed of all in a manner far diffe- rent from what they had been by the reports of the clerks whom they had sent the year before ; the governor and our Fathers having no ground to be satisfied therewith." This is nearly an abridgment of the conclusions taken in this little assembly of our missionaries and those best disposed towards the spiritual and tem- poral advancement of the colony ; but as nothing could be done without the aid of France, Monsieur de Champlain, who intended to go there, asked the Father-Commissary and Father Joseph to accompany him, in order to report all and obtain more effica- ciously all necessary help. It was hard to consent, but at last, considering how important it was to lay solid foundations to their enterprise, they yielded to the persuasions and instances of the company, and pre- pared all for their departure. They left among the OF THE FAITH. II3 Indians Father John d'Olbeau, a very learned, wise, and zealous man, in whom they confided entirely, Brother Pacificus having already greatly advanced in sharing his apostolic labors in instructing the In- dians ; so that they set sail July 20, 1616,* The voyage was pleasant, and they arrived in France, the vessels loaded with furs for the merchants, bear- ing, too, stalks of French grain which they had gathered, and plants and fruits of that strange and barbarous country. The associates awaited them at Paris, whither Monsieur de Champlain and our Fathers repaired with some other Frenchmen who had gone with him. A faithful report w^as made of all things, tem- poral and spiritual. These gentlemen, after many conferences, promised much, but without effect ; very zealous for their trade, they cared little to de- serve God's blessing by contributing to the inte- rests of his glory. It is true that our poor Fathers, who had enter- *Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 31 ; Laverdieie's Champlain, 1619, p. 107. They reached Honrieur September 10. 8 114 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT tained the best hopes for the advancement of the kins^dom of Christ, finding no encourao;ement from these persons, on whom all depended, began to re- 2:ret their departure, as their voyage had so little success. There are letters extant written by them at Paris to Monsieur de Champlain, who had returned to Normandy, by which advising him of what was going on at Paris, they showed him their extreme chagrin at seeing matters so little advanced. This, however, was incapable of cooling the ardor of these holy religious ; on the contrary, basing all their hopes in God and deprived of the help of these in- terested men, they abandoned themselves entirely to Providence, who raised up some charitable persons to Pfive them means to continue their work. The winter was spent in these arrangements. It is surprising to say that so noble and glorious a project as the conversion of a new world, of a barbarous country, which was then much spoken of in France, should find so little help, and even so much opposition. Monsieur de Champlain, on his part, forgot no- OF THE FAITH. 1 15 thing to sustain his enterprise, in spite of all the ob- stacles which he met at every step. He steadily pre- pared a shipment greater even than the last, but we may say that the most fortunate thing he effected was his persuading Sieur Hebert to go to Canada with all his family, which has produced, and will hereafter produce, good subjects, the most impor- tant and zealous in the colony,* The Recollect province offered subjects enough ; but the members of the company, over-economical, would give passage to two only. The superiors judged that Father Denis, the late commissary. * Louis Hebert, apothecary, is regarded as the father of Canada. He was the first settler with a family, and his house was the first one in the upper town, and is supposed to have been between the present Ste. Famille and Couillard Streets. In 1866 the foundations of a house were discovered in the garden of the seminary, which were supposed to have been Hebert's. After rendering great services to the colony he died in Januar}^ 1627, from the results of a fall, and was buried on the 27th in the Recollect cemetery, whence, half a century later, his remains were removed to their church in the upper town. Many of the distinguished Canadian families, Joliet, de Lery, de Ramsay, d'Eschambault, are descended from him. Mgr. Taschereau, Archbi- bishop of Quebec ; Mgr. Tache, Archbishop of St. Boniface ; and Arch- bishop Blanchet, of Oregon, all trace their ancestry to him. Tanguay, ■• Dictionnaire Gcnealogique," p. 301. Il6 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT might better remain in France, because, being tho- roughly aware of the state of Canada, he could manage its affairs better than any other and obtain advantages at court and elsewhere. Father Joseph le Caron was accordingly appointed commissary of the missions, and amons; the OTeat number of reliorious who offered. Father Paul Huet was given to him as a companion. All things being ready to set sail, they weighed anchor at Honfleur April II, 1617. The vessel was commanded by Captain Morel."- The voyage was long and dangerous. Storms and tempests often brought them to the greatest danger ; but the most evident peril, which caused them the greatest apprehensions, was two or three hundred leagues from Canada, where they met a bank of ice of prodigious height and extent, which, suddenly appearing in the fog, came bearing down on the ship like a huge mountain with incredible velocity, caused by the violence and rapidity of the currents. Many masses of ice of extraordinary size, ■" Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 32. OF THE FAITH. I 17 detached from the whole, seemed, from their diver- sity of shape and height, hke castles raised one above another and like cities of crystal. The pas- sage was closed for more than ninety leagues, so that they were obliged to turn off their route in order to coast along these ice-mountains, always be- tween life and death — the least part of this mass being capable of crushing the strongest ships. In so general a consternation Father Joseph, see- ing that all human succor could not deliver them from shipwreck, earnestly implored the aid of Heaven in the vows and prayers which he made publicly on the vessel. He confessed all and prepared himself to appear before God. All were touched with com- passion and deeply moved when Dame Hebert raised her youngest child through the hatchway to let it share with the rest the good Father's blessing. They escaped only by a miracle, as they acknow- ledged in their letters to France. God, considering their zeal and wishing to favor the conversion of the nations of Canada, saved them from this peril and n:iany others which they ran soon after in the Ii8 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT river St. Lawrence. They at last arrived safely at Tadoussac after a dangerous voyage of more than three months.* Father Joseph went on to Quebec in the first barks, leaving Father Paul Huet at Ta- douassac, where he found the little retreat and chapel, in the shape of a cabin, which Father John d'Ol- beau had constructed the year before. The Father repaired what had been damaged, and built another of poles and branches, the Indians themselves la- boring also, particularly those who had received some tincture of religion, which the French left there to trade with these Indians had confirmed. The Father celebrated holy Mass there amid the roar of the ship's cannon, the muskets of the French, and acclamations of joy, in wdiich even the Indians joined when they were told that these ceremonies were to bless and glorify Him who had made all, and to thank him for having delivered the French from the dangers of the sea, the par- ticulars of which were told them. A sailor stood on each side of the altar with fir-branches to drive * June 14. Sagard, " liistoiie du Canada," p. 34. OF THE FAITH. II9 off the clouds of mosquitoes, which gave great an- noyance to the celebrant. ■"■ After a short stay Father Paul set out for Quebec on Captain Morel's ship. They found the inhabitants of Quebec in great want of the necessaries of life, living only by the chase. Even powder began to fail. The reader will perhaps expect to hear that a great quantity of provisions and other necessaries were landed ; but the gentlemen of the Company, in their econo- my, had treated Monsieur de Champlain pitifully, giving only^goods for the Indian trade. Moreover, they cut oft' all means of colonizing French there ; and, lastly, the voyage had been so long that they had consumed a great deal of provisions, and there was nothing left but a barrel of pork and some small stores which Sieur Hebert and some other passengers had brought out on their own account. This happy arrival did not fail to console this little colony, which was reduced to fifty or sixty Frenchmen actually at Quebec, some of whom * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 35. I20 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT were attacked by the scurvy. Father Joseph, after seeing the state of all things, sent Father Paul to Tadoussac to continue the mission. Brother Paci- ficus set out to continue that of Three Rivers, and the Father-Commissary was detained at Quebec by Monsieur de Champlain, who prepared to return to France the same year. The perils of the voyage induced him to ask the Father Commissary to let Father John d'Olbeau accompany him to France.* Meanwhile, after the departure of the ships, the Father-Commissary celebrated, with the usual so- lemnities, the first marriage made in Canada. It was between the Sieur Stephen Jonquest, a native of Normandy, and Sieur Hebert's eldest daugh- ter.f He married his second ;|; some years after to Sieur Couillard, whose posterity has become so numerous in Canada that they number now over * Sagard, " Hist, dii Canada," p. 40, makes d'Olbeau go of his own accord to tr)' and influence the associates. f This marriage of Anne Hebert took place probably in the spring of 1618. Sagard, p. 41 ; Laverdiere's Champl., i6ig, p. 109 ; Tangua}', " Diet. Genealogique." X Guillemette Hebert married William Couillard August 26, 162 1. Tanguay. OF THE FAITH. 121 two hundred and fifty persons, and at least nine hundred connected with the family. Some of the descendants have obtained letters of nobility, and others have signalized themselves in old and new France by important services. A tragical accident happened about this time. It was a massacre committed by the Indians on two Frenchmen. These savages pretending to have received some affront, had resolved to exterminate all the French ; they nevertheless con- tented themselves with wreaking their fury on these two, whom they killed with hatchets, and, after tying large stones to the bodies, they threw them into the river at the mercy of the current, to hide from the rest the knowledge of this dark deed. It would never, indeed, have been dis- covered had not the cords rotted and broken, and the tide throw^n on the shore the mutilated and decomposed bodies.* * Sagard, p. 42, represents this murder to have occurred in April, 1617 ; but Laverdiere, Champlain, 1619, p. 113, places it at the close of the summer of 1616. The murdered men were a locksmith and Charles Pillet, a sailor. Champlain, p. 115 122 FIRST ESTABT.ISHMENT The Indians, seeing themselves suspected of the deed by the order given prohibiting them to ap- proach the fort or houses of the settlers, began to fear for themselves the just vengeance of the French, and to avoid its effects they went up to Three Rivers, and, to the number of eight hun- dred, held a council of blood and carnage, the result of which was that they should surprise all the French at Quebec and cut their throats. As it is difficult, in a council composed of such a numerous assembly, for all to agree and keep the secret. Providence, wdiich watched over the preservation of the colony, permitted one of the Indians, called "la Foriere " '''' (whom our Fathers had for the last two years befriended at Three Rivers, and who had become attached to them), to warn Brother Pacificus. He immediately in- formed the French, then intrenched in a little wooden fort, that was in wretched condition. They spared nothing, loaded the Indian w^th presents, promised him still greater, not only to learn what * Champlain lias La Feiriere. OF THE FAITH. 123 was schemed in his nation, but also to divert them from their plot against us. La Foriere executed his part well, and so judiciously worked on the minds of the Indians that he not only induced them to desist from their deadly resolution, but even induced them to contract a still closer al- liance with us, so that they begged him to effect their reconciliation with the French and procure them food, of which they were in great need. They sent fort}^ canoes of women to obtain a supply, and as great a quantity as the convenience of the time permitted was granted. The peace proposals made by la Foriere on their behalf were received with pleasure in full council, on condition, however, that the chiefs and captains of the nation should surrender the two murderers to the discretion of the French, and for this purpose the sachems of these barba- rians were ordered to come to Quebec to treat of the matter. This proposition, when carried by la Foriere to the assembly of the savages, at first alarmed 124 FIRST ESTAIVLTSHMENT these infidels, who nevertheless, reflecting on the natural mildness of the French, and relying on the authority of Father Joseph le Caron, who had always shown them great friendship, persuaded the less guilty of the two * to descend with them to Quebec, ordering their little army, nevertheless, to halt half a league from the fort to await the suc- cess of their negotiation. They presented the criminal then to the French, with many beaver robes, which they gave to wipe away their tears, according to the usual custom of these barbarians, who thus transact important matters. In fact, by presents they wipe away tears, appease anger, arouse nations to war, conclude trea- ties of peace, deliver prisoners, raise the dead — in fact, nothing is said or answered but by pres- ents ; hence in harangues presents pass for words. Those made for the death of a murdered man are very numerous ; but it is not generally the * This account is more full and cliaracteristic than Sagard's, who says that the Indians denied all knowledge of the murderers (p. 45). Champlain, 1619, p. 124, makes one of them surrendered. OF THE FAITH. 125 assassin or murderer who offers them, but, as usa^e requires, his relatives, town, or even whole nation, according- to the quality and condition of the mur- dered man. So that, if the culprit is met by the relatives of the deceased before satisfaction is made, he is put to death on the spot. According to this custom, then, before La Foriere, the sachems and chiefs of our Indians had begun to speak, they made a present of twelve moose-skins to appease the French, that they might favorably receive wdiat they had to say. They made a second, and threw it at the feet of the French, saying that it was to cleanse the bloody spot where these two murders had been committed, protesting that they had no knowledge of it till after the blow was struck, and that all the chiefs of the nation had condemned the deed. The third was to strengthen the arms of those who had found the bodies on the bank and carried them to the woods. They added two beaver robes for them to rest upon to recruit from the toil they underwent in burying them. The fourth was 126 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT to wash and clean those who were sulHed by the murder, to restore their mind, which they had lost when they made that unlucky stroke. The fifth, to efface all resentment from the heart of the French. The sixth, to contract an inviolable peace, declaring that their war-hatchet should be suspend- ed in the air without inflicting its blow, and that they would fling it so far that no man in the world should ever find it — that is to say, that, their nation being in peace with the French, the Indians would have no arms except to go hunting. The seventh was to show the desire they entertained that the French should have ears pierced — that is to say, open to the sweetness of peace and the pardon of the two murderers. They then offered a number of wampum collars to light a council-fire at Three Rivers and another at Quebec. They added at the same time another present of two thousand wampum beads to serve as wood and fuel for these two fires. Remark, if you please, that the Indians hold no assembly without the calumet in their mouth ; and as fire is necessary to take tobacco, OF THE FAITH. 1 27 they almost always lij2;ht one in every council, so that it is all the same with them " to lis^ht a council-hre," and "have a place to visit each other, and assemble as relatives and hiends who wish to speak and decide on their affairs." The eighth was to ask the protection of the French, and they added a large belt with ten beaver and moose robes to confirm all that they had just said. Whatever design had been entertained of pun- ishing the murderers to prevent such cruelties in future, they were nevertheless obliged to pardon them, as they were unable to resist these powerful enemies. Two hostages were demanded, and they gave Father Joseph two young boys to instruct, Niofamon and Tebachi, and the criminals were sent off, on condition, however, that on the arrival of the ships the whole affair should be finally de- cided.'"^ Meanwhile Monsieur de Champlain, who had * Sagard's " Histoire du Canada," p. 45 ; Laveidiere's Chanipl., 161 y, p. 126. 128 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT returned to France, employed aJl his address and prudence and the intrigues of his friends to obtain what was necessary for the estabhshment of his new colony. Father John d'Olbeau, on his side, spared nothing ; both spoke frequently to the members of the Company, but in vain, for these people, who always had their ears open to the flat- tering tale ol the great profit to be made in the Indian trade, closed them to the requests and en- treaties made them. They therefore contented themselves with what they could get. Be that as it may, they nev^ertheless induced some Frenchmen to go and take lands and form this new country. Our Fathers even could not resist the entreaties of Father John d'Olbeau to return to Canada with Monsieur de Champlain. He took with him Brother Modestus Guines. At last, early in spring, they left Honfleur, and, after a voyage more for- tunate than the last, arrived safely at Quebec.^' * They left Honfleur May 24, 1618, in a vessel commanded by Nich- olas de la Mothe-le-Vilin, who had been with the Jesuits at Mont Desert. Laverdiere's Champl., i6ig, p. 111-12. They reached Tadous-. sac June 24 lb. See Sagard, p. 40. OF THE FAITH. 1 29 Soon after Monsieur de Champlain embarked with Father Paul Huet for Three Rivers, where they found Brother Pacificus du Plessis, who had done his best to sketch out the work of the salva- tion of the heathen. In the year he had baptized, as he computed, fifteen or twenty of these savages, children, sick or dying. Here the murder of the two Frenchmen was taken up, and here Monsieur de Champlain confirmed the pardon promised to the murderers. The Indians a second time, by the usual pre- sents, invited Monsieur de Champlain to go to war with them against the Iroquois, but he did not deem proper to do so. His presence was ne- cessary at Quebec, whither he descended to gain the first jubilee ever published in Canada. Father John d'Olbeau had obtained it of His Holiness during his stay in France. It was opened with the usual ceremonies in the chapel of Quebec, July 29, 1618. "^" The French prepared with all possible devotion. Nothing was so edifying as * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 50. 130 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT the piety with which they visited the stations which our missionaries had prepared by httle cha- pels, in the form of cabins, in the environs of Que- bec. The Indians present, though ignorant of the Faith, made exteriorly the same postures and cere- monies as the French, and some of them a little more advanced in instruction recited the prayers, chanting their best with us. Monsieur de Cham- plain gave, meanwhile, the necessary orders, and that indefatigable man prepared for a new voy- age to France. A priest had to be given him for his consolation. The lot fell on Father Paul Huet.^^ A holy dispute arose between Fathers John and Joseph. The latter, burning with the desire of devoting his toil to the conversion of the Indians, which he always hoped to advance, although they could remark only very remote dispositions, be- sought Father John d'Olbeau to relieve him of his *Champlain embarked at Tadoiissac July 30, 161S, with Father Paul Huet and Brother Paciticus du Plessis. Laverdiere's Champ., 1619, pp. 142-3. OF THE FAITH. T31 office of superior, which subjected him to a more sedentary residence at Quebec. Father John con- sented, the more as he was given to understand that his eyesight would not stand the great smoke of the cabins. Father Joseph accordingly set out from Quebec for Tadoussac, with a young French- man and four Indians, on the 9th of November in the same year, not finding any opportunity of returning to his mission of Carragouha in the Huron country. This Father had a hard enough wintering and underwent great hardships. God did indeed raise him up one of the chiefs of these nations, who adopted him as a brother, so that by this means he gained ground with these barbarians and acquired credit to dispose them better and gain them more effectively to Christ. Such is the holy artifice used by the missionaries who go to winter with savage nations. They seek the most esteemed chief and the best inclined to the French. This Indian begets him (as these people say) amid a feast made expressly. This chief adopts him as a 132 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT son or brother, according to the age and rank of the person, so that all the nation considers him as actually a native of their country and a relative of their chief, entering by this ceremony into an al- liance with the whole family in the same degree — brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephews, cousins, and so on. The one who adopted Father Joseph as a bro- ther was called Choumin — that is, " Grape " — be- cause he loved liquor. The French called him the Cadet, because he was extremely neat in his dress, and because in all his actions he affected French manners. '"" Choumin accordingly did all he could for the consolation of his missionary. He entertained so much esteem and affection for him that, his wife having been delivered of a boy, he wished him to be baptized and called Pere Joseph. " I insist," said Choumin to this good religious when the latter endeavored to persuade him to give his child the name of Monsieur de Champlain or of the Sieur Pontgrave, "that he be called Pere * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 52. OF THE FAITH. T33 Joseph like you, and when he is large I will give him to you to instruct; for I desire with all my heart that he should live without a wife and be dressed like you." He had to satisfy the Indian, whose child was called Pere Joseph * and died in his innocence live years after his baptism. Our missionary then employed to advantage the friendship of the Montagnais chief, who helped him materially in building more solidly the house we had there in a beautiful spot which the gentle- men of the Company had in due form granted the year before. We cannot express how ardently Choumin labored himself to encourage his tribe by his example to continue this work, where he f remained with one hundred and forty neophytes, whom he had prepared for baptism, till the 15th of July, J when he descended to Quebec to inform the Father-Superior of all that had happened of im- portance during his wintering. He left in his mis- * Sagard, " Histoire dii Canada," p. 54. f Evidently meaning Father le Caron. :j: Sagard, "Histoire du Canada," p. 54, says he set out for Quebec March 11, 1619. He says nothing of his chapel or neophj'tes. 134 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT sion two Frenchmen, very good servants of God, in whom he had great confidence. I cannot give a more faithful account of the other circumstances of his wintering than by what he himself wrote the Reverend Father Provincial of Paris after his re- turn from Tadoussac to Quebec : " I went to Tadoussac to assist the barbarians of those parts, to instruct them, and administer the sacraments to the French and those who dwell there during the winter trade of our merchants. We have not had as much snow as in previ- ous years. The savages have had a great famine, and I will tell you that by the disorders of the people whom the mer- chants leave in these parts to trade we expected to be all killed, had not God withheld tlie barbarians and turned them from us. They have, nevertheless, since sought our friend- ship and alliance. These people are withal very docile, and I am astonished, seeing the disorders of our Frenchmen, that they do not commit more considerable deeds. I write to the gentlemen of the Company a part of what I have seen. I beg you, my Reverend Father, to take this to heart and do your best to have it remedied as much as possible, so that or- der may be established here. The Father Commissary and Monsieur de Champlain give me great hopes ; but, after all, we find no greater relief in that. Our merchants are always plunging into greater disorders. They give us a Huguenot as clerk and intendant of their stores ; the powder-magazine keeper is of the same religion as this Protestant who com- OF THE FAITH. 135 mands at this i)ost. If possible, the king ought to put a Ca- tholic lord in these parts, esteemed by him, who would give what is necessary to build a seminary. I would have had a great many children to instruct in the mysteries of our holy faith, if I had anything to give them to eat. I have taught the alphabet to some, who begin to read and write pretty well. Monsieur Hoiiel can show you a specimen which I have sent him. Thus I kept open school in our house at Tas- soudac,* in order to attract the Indians and render them so- ciable with us, to accustom them to our ways of living. If we knew their language perfectly I do not know what pro- gress could not be made with these people. We entered into some discourse — namely, who had made the heaven and earth — with two or three of the most aged and intelligent. As for heaven, they do not know how it is made, nor who was the first author, * If we had been there,' said they, 'we might know something about it.' As for the earth, they mentioned a certain Michaboche, and began to relate a thousand fables which someuhat resemble the deluge. At last, when I gave them the true account of the deluge, they told me it might well be ;is I said. They believe that there are certain spirits in the air who have the power of telling future things, and others who are physicians able to cure all kinds of dis- ease. This makes these people very superstitious; they con- sult these oracles with great attention. I have seen a master- juggler who raised a cabin with ten large posts, which he planted deep in the ground- In it he made a frightful racket to consult these spirits, in order to know whether they should soon have snow in great abundance, so as to have a success- * Tadoussac. o 6 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT fill moose and beaver hunt. He replied that he saw many- moose, which were still a great way off, but which would come within seven or eight leagues of their cabins. This caused great joy to these poor benighted creatures. I told them that God is master of all things, and that he it is whom we should ask for what we need. They told me that they did not know him, and that they would be very glad to know whether he had power to give them moose and beaver. I made them understand that we had intelligence to know how all had been made and by whom. Their only answer was that if I would come and reside there they would willingly give me their children to instruct. "I remarked a great trait of justice in their chief. After we made peace he complained that we sold our goods too dear when the Indians came to trade, and he asked that they should be sold cheaper in future. Our factor for the mer- chants, seeing his importunity, told him that he would sell cheaper to him but not to the rest. This Indian then began to say to this factor in a disdainful way : 'You make fun of me to say that you will sell cheap to me and dear to my peo- ple. If I did so I should deserve to be hung and beheaded by my people. I am a chief ; I do not speak for myself ; I speak for my peop-le.' This I witnessed. Think, then, I pray you, hov/ much may be expected of these Indians when they are once instructed in our holy faith. If you desire to know how we pass our time here, I will tell you that we pass it as we do in our convents. We say Mass every day, thank God ! with our Canonical Office ; we have reading at table during meals, and live as regularly as we can. I commend myself as earnestly as I can to all the prayers of our good re- OF THE FAITH. 137 ligious. I have baptized ten dying children, six of whom en- joy glory, having died since baptism. Many adults came to be baptized, but nothing must be done in haste ; 1 will wait till they are better instructed. I gave absolution to a Hugue- not who, by the grace of God, has entered into himself and abjured his heresy in my hands. He begs earnestly to re- main with us at Quebec this year, but I do not knou- whether our merchants will let him. I will see Monsieur de Cham- plain before his departure * from Tadoussac, this 7th of Au- gust, 1618." * What follows should evidently be printed as the date of the letter. CHAPTER V. NEW PROGRESS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH IN NEW FRANCE FROM 1618 TO 162O. r^ OD is ordinarily pleased to try his elect and ^^ even apostolic men in the most sensible point ; perils, hardships, sufferings, the sacrifice of life, would be a pleasure, if by becoming victims for their brethren God gave them the consolation of seeing some success in their enterprise for his glory in the conversion of souls. Whoever glances at the immense number of na- tions I treat of, the true state of the Canadian Church, the little progress it has thus far made among the Indians, who inhabit so vast an extent of country, in which so many learned secular priests and holy religious have everywhere borne the torch of the Gospel and given all the ingenuity of their zeal, will be obliged to admire the depth of God's judgments and exclaim with St. Paul: "O altitu- FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. 139 do!"* He would make us feel that the conver- sion of souls is the work of his grace, the happy moment of which not having arrived, he is content to see us groan under this dependence of his inte- rior aid, to be witness of our sighs and tears, to hear our prayers and desires, to receive our sacri- fices, to accept the constant entreaties we make him, to advance the time of his mercy for these nations buried in the darkness of ignorance. He nevertheless wishes all Gospel laborers to toil in preparing his vineyard ; that they bestow on it all their industry, but that they await the fruit in pa- tience. God will act at the time marked in his providence, and this just remunerator does not the less accept our labors and our sacrifices, but would only deprive us of that return of sensible joy if they were followed by numerous conversions, which might flatter our self-love and vanity. f 1 here give my readers an abridgment of the * Romans xi. 33 : O the depth of the riches, of the wisdom, and of the knowledge of God ! •j- This is given as an excuse for the small number of converts HO FIRST ESTABLISHMENT feelings of our old religious on the early missions of Canada, as appears by the authentic acts of the Assembly of the Superiors of the Province of Pa- ris, held on the return of Monsieur de Champlain and Father Paul to France, after the report made by that missionary and the more ample informa- tion given as to the disposition of the barbarians. Alas ! they saw with grief the difference between the missions of this New World and those of the Recollects, begun and then continued in America and Peru, where they daily converted millions of souls, while in Canada they could only see a ster- ile and unfruitful land, blindness, insensibility, a prodigious estrangement from God, and even an opposition to the Faith ; that centuries might be spent in preparing these barbarians for the Gospel before hoping any progress ; that, to crown the misery, God permitted the country to be in the hands of a Company of merchants guided by inte- rest and utterly insensible to the propagation of made by the Recollects, but he makes no such allowance for the Jesuits in chapter xvi. OF THE FAITH. 141 the Faith.'"' We see by the memoirs of that as- sembly with what penetration they had foreseen what we now know, and that, after so many years of apostoHc labors, so little has been done for the conversion of these tribes. In this I have admired the great faith of our first Fathers, who, in spite of all opposition, seemed to increase in zeal and re- solved to continue the work by all possible means. One of the chief instructions which our mission- aries had given Father Paul, when deputing him to France, was to consult the ablest of the pro- vince and the doctors of the University of Paris on the difficulty they felt in administering the Sa- crament of Baptism to the Indians. Such is still the disposition of these tribes, who, professing no religion, seem incapable of the most ordinary reasoning which leads other men to the knowledge of a true or false deity. These poor blind creatures hear as songs what we say of our * The anonymous " Plainte de la Novvelle France dicte Canada, a la France sa Germaine. Pour seruir de Factum en vne cause pandante au Conseil " (see Harrisse, p. 51), is perhaps referable to this period. 142 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT mysteries ; they take only what is material and meets the senses ; they have their natural vices and unmeaning superstitions, savage, brutal, and barba- rous manners and customs ; they would willingly be baptized ten times a day for a glass of brandy and a pipe of tobacco ; they offer us their children and wish them baptized, but all this without the least sentiment of religion ; even those who have been instructed a whole winter show no more discern- ment of the Faith. Very few are found not buried in this profound insensibility, which caused our Fathers great alarms of conscience, knowing that the few adults to whom they had administered the sacrament, even after having given them instruc- tions, had immediately relapsed into their ordinary indifference for the things of salvation ; that bap- tized children followed the example of their pa- rents ; that it was profaning the character and the sacrament. The case was more fully exposed and thorough- ly discussed. It was even carried to the Sor- bonne, and the resolution was that, as for dying OF THE FAITH. 143 adults and children beyond hope of recovery, the sacrament might be risked where they asked it, presuming that at this extremity God gave the adults some rays of light, as we thought we saw in some of them. As to the other Indians, the sa- crament should on no account be given them, ex- cept to those who, by long practice and experience, seemed touched, instructed, and detached from their savage ways, or to those habituated among our Frenchmen, brought up in our way of living, and humanized after being well instructed ; and in like manner to the children of these. Of this a formula and kind of fundamental canon was drawn up, which served as a rule for our mission- aries to conform to exactly. We had already established the previous years sedentary missions at Quebec, Three Rivers, the Hurons, and at Tadoussac, as has been shown, and our Fathers had left at the last two, devout and zealous young men who had offered themselves to us in France, to sacrifice their life with us in the apostolic ministry ; they labored their best to cate- 144 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT chise and humanize the Indians in their districts, living with them, adopted even by the leading men of the nation, thus seeking the salvation of the Indians and the good of our little establishments. Our Fathers would gladly have established semina- ries in all these spots to receive, support, and in- struct Indian children, whom their parents freely offered ; but as it was an expensive undertaking and our means were limited, it was deemed proper to order Father Paul to solicit in France necessary powers and alms to commence the great work by the establishment of a rea^ular convent at Quebec, with the title of seminary, where children should be supported and instructed. Father Denis Jamay, first Commissary of the missions in Canada, who, after his return in France, had been employed in different posts, at Chalons in Champagne for the good of the Province, and at St. Denis in France as superior and preacher, did not fail to advance with suc- cess the affairs of Canada, to which he was pro- mised a return the next year. He was then at OF THE FAITH. 145 Paris with Father Paul, and they acted in concert to obtain the estabhshment of a seminary. The powers were issued in due form. Monseigneur the Prince of Conde contributed the sum of fifteen hundred Hvres. Monsieur Charles des Boiiis, Vicar-General of Pontoise, an ecclesiastic of great piety, also wished to take part ; he accepted the post of General Syndic of our missions, and gave as his first alms the sum of six hundred livres, without mentioning many still more considerable services which he afterwards rendered.* Some other zeal- ous persons entered this holy enterprise, and a sum was raised by their charity, which was confided to Monsieur de Champlain. It had been remarked that it was good to use all kinds of workmen for instructing the Indians, and that seculars even, when well-intentioned, easily gained their minds. Father Paul had orders to obtain some in France, if possible, to serve as auxiliaries, and sometimes even as supplementary ; *Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 56; Laverdiere's Champlain. 1632, p. 326 ; "Memoire faict en 1637," L'Abellle vii. Nos. 25, etc., Margrj', i. p. 8. 10 146 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT as they came over at small expense, this pleased the gentlemen of the Company. Three were gain- ed, of exemplary mildness and piety, who voluntari- ly and gratuitously gave themselves to us as asso- ciates in the apostolic ministry, and who served us usefully. Two mechanics were also obtained on wages to work at our new buildings. The chant of the office was regularly kept up at Quebec, especially on Sundays and holidays, although there was only one priest. The French assisted, to the edification of the Indians, who loved our ceremonies, although celebrated wnth so little solemnity. Nevertheless Father Paul was happy enough, aided by Father Denis and Monsieur de Champlain, to obtain of the Company another religious, a priest. Father William Poulain, a religious of singular virtue, was preferred to the many who offered to go to Canada with Father Paul Huet* Meanwhile Monsieur de Champlain neglected nothing on his side to advance the temporal * Sagard, " Histoiie dii Canada," p. 49 OF THE FAITH. 147 affairs of the colony ; and though neither at court nor elsewhere did they respond to his zeal or good intentions, yet he obtained something, after which he prepared a shipment, with such munitions of war as he could, with provisions and goods for trade, laborers, mechanics, farmers to cultivate the land ; but as he had more extensive designs, he deemed proper to remain in France to conduct them successfully, sending off, however, a vessel in which our Fathers, Paul and Wilham, embarked with the three donnes'"' and the two mechanics. The voyage was safe ; they anchored at Quebec in the month of June, 1619. The joy of their coming was damped by the death of Brother Pacificus, who died on the 23d of August in the same year. He was the first victim which Heaven received of our missions. His obsequies were celebrated with all the solem- nity that the state of the country w^ould allow, but accompanied by the regrets of the French and In- * Donnes — men who gave themselves as auxiliaries to the missiona- ries. hB first establishment dians, of whom there was a prodigious gathering. He was a man of God, of great mildness, zeal, and simplicity, and who, though but a mere lay brother, may be said to have labored extremely in a short time for the spiritual and temporal advancement of the mission.* Father John d'Olbeau, the superior, had sent Father William, immediately after landing, to Three Rivers with the two donnes, in order to put all in order and watch over that mission. Fa- ther Joseph, who had wintered at Tadoussac, la- l)ored there on his side with great application ; and as they had received from France with the regula- tions full powers and the first aid for building a re- gular convent and seminary, a place was selected for its site about half a league from the Fort of Quebec, where they proposed to build the city, and where our convent is now. This place represents a kind of little isle, surrounded by natural forests, where the waters of clear, fresh fountains pass and meander agreeably as they fall from a neighbor- * Sagarcl, " Ilistoire du Canada," p. 55. OF THE FAITH. 149 ing mountain, and which reach it insensibly ; hav- ing on the north a little river which empties near by, and on the east the river St. Lawrence ; the ground is rich, fertile, convenient, and easy ; the prospect grand, extensive, and very agreeable ; the air is extremely pure and healthy, with every charm of situation that could be desired. The little river was called by the Indians Cabir Coubat '^ on ac- count of the turns it makes as it winds and the points of land it forms. Our Fathers gave it the name of St. Charles (which it still keeps), in me- mory and honor of Monsieur Charles des Boues, Vicar-General of Ponthoise, father and founder of our mission by his care and liberality, f In this spot, then, our Fathers undertook to build the first church, the first conv^ent, and the first semi- nary which ever existed in the vast countries of New France. The Father- Superior built a lime- kiln very near by, the traces of which are still visi- *This is Montagnais. Sagard, " Histoire," i. p. 162. f He asked that the seminary should bear the name (Letter in Sa- gard, p. 71), but the convent was called Our Lady of the Angels. It occupied the site of the present General Hospital. Laverdiere, 150 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT ble. Materials were prepared at once and brought to the spot during winter with the planks and all else necessary. He opened pleasant paths through all the surrounding woods, and cleared the ground to begin gardens. Here they cabined in spring. French and Indians, under the command of the Sieur de Pont-Grave, contributed equally by their labor ; twelve mechanics were employed, who were paid out of the alms ; so that on the 3d of June, 1620, the Father-Superior"^" solemnly laid the cor- ner-stone. While things were going on thus in Canada Monsieur de Champlain was advancing the in- terests of the country in France, having obtained a little fleet with part of the aid necessary for the establishment of the colony, and as it began to assume form, his Majesty honored him with the * Father d'Olbeau. Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 56 ; " Me- moire des Recollectz," Margry, i. p. 7 ; " Memoire Inslructif," ib. p. 19. Father Jamay describes this convent at length in liis letter printed in Sagard, p. 59, and also separatel}'. Harrisse, p. 45. The " Me- moire des Recollectz "would give the idea of an extensive church, with a convent attached, whereas from Sagard it is clear that it was a frame house for a convent, in which they had a chapel. OF THE FAITH. i 5 i post of first governor of New France by letters- patent, which were issued to him with order to build forts there, to extend and govern the colony according to the laws and customs of the kingdom, and especially to give his care and attention to the propagation of the Faith. He also received new commissions from the gentlemen of the Com- pany, to whom the king had granted the country with absolute power. The Duke of Montmorency gave his consent as Viceroy of Canada, recently appointed by the king. Monsieur de Cham- plain had secured many persons for the service of the country, and, as he intended to settle there him- self, he arranged his domestic affairs, took with hnn all his property, and prepared his wife and all his family to proceed there in that year, 1620. Father Denis Jamay, who had begun this mission in 161 5 as first Commissary, and who was now in France as Resident, and Procurator of the mission and colony, had just returned to Paris from Ze- zane in Brie, where he had during the winter es- tablished a convent of our order as first Superior, 152 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT The province agreed to sacrifice him once more and grant him leave to return to Canada, more es- pecially as Monsiem' de Champlain earnestly asked it. His institution as Superior and Commissary Provincial was issued under date of the present year, and he prepared to set out with Brother Bonaven- ture. Father George le Baillif, a Recollect religious, illustrious for his birth, his personal merit, and the singular esteem with which his Majesty honored him, was also inspired by God to make the voy- age. * The Duke of Montmorency, the Sieurs de Villemont, Dolu, the former Intendant of the Ad- miralty and the latter Intendant of the affairs of New France, commanded Monsieur de Champlain to undertake nothing without the participation of that good Father, assuring him that they would approve all that he did in concert with him. All things being ready, the vessel set sail in said year, i620,t and arrived safely at Quebec. Our two Fa- *Sagard could not ascertain when this Father came over. " Histoire," p. 72. He evidently came with Champlain. Laverdiere's Ch.. vi. p. 5. f Father jama)^ left Honfleur on the Salaniandn', on Passion Sunda}', April 5, and reached Tadoussac on the Saturday after Ascension, May 30. Letter in Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 58. OF THE FAITH. I 53 thers, who had come out in different vessels, an- chored ahiiost simultaneously. Almost all the Frenchmen in the country were then at Quebec, and a great number of Indians of several nations who had never seen such a fleet. This happy arrival caused redoubled joy in all minds. Monsieur de Champlain, the Governor, was received and acknowledged amid the noise of cannon. He immediately repaired to the Recollect Chapel, where a " Te Deum " was sung. Father Denis Jamay, the Superior, made a pathetic exhorta- tion to induce the peoples to the submission which they owed to God, the King, and his Lieutenant- General* Monsieur de Champlain, untiring man, having closely examined the state of affairs, gave his orders everywhere. We say nothing of the goings and comings, or of the voyages he made in several parts after his arrival. He may with justice be called the father and founder of this new colony, having sacrificed all for its estabhshment. * Laverdiere's Champl., 1632, vi. p. 5. 154 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Meanwhile the Father-Superior neglected no- thing to support and advance our missions in the country, where he sent obediences in form to the missionaries who were in their districts, sealed with the great seal of the mission, to prepare the minds of the Indians remotely and obtain the mildest and most tractable of their children. He found the foundations of our convent and seminary laid on the banks of the river St. Charles, and, as he had brought a reinforcement, he set new workmen on it, so that the house was soon ready to receive the religious, and even some Indian children. They did not, however, leave the house and chapel which we had built in 1615 where the lower town of Quebec is now ; it served as a hospice and suc- cursal chapel, where we administered the sacra- ments and where the Divine Office was solemnly and publicly celebrated as well as in the new con- vent. The Father- Superior meanwhile steadily ad- vanced the building. The interior of the church was fitted up during the winter, so that it was ready OF THE FAITH, 1 55 to be blessed. On the 25th of May, 1621, our Fa- thers having arrived in Canada on the same day in 161 5, it was blessed under the title and patronage of Our Lady of the Angels, which our church and onvent still retain, as the first church and first re- ligious house in this new country, as the first house of the Order of St. Francis of Assisium was con- secrated under the same title of Our Lady of the Angels. We do not add here, on occasion of this conformi- ty, the singular favors then received by one of our Fa- thers with Brother Modestus Guinez, although they are confirmed by a letter of the Father- Superior to the Father- Provincial, and although I have myself heard it repeated from the lips of Madam Coiiil- liard, who was still alive when I was in Canada.* This kind of extraordinary favors has generally no place in history ; most people give them little credit, as appears by certain books of some Cana- dian lives which have been published.f It suffices * She was buried Oct. 20, 1684. Tanguay, p. 142. f This alludes probably to Father Raguenau's " Life of Mother Ca- 156 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. to know the particulars in the cloister and believe them piously, the more so as we have seen by the event the truth of all that God was pleased to re- veal at that time to these first apostles. tharine de St. Augustin " (Paris. 1671), and to the biographical notices in the Jesuit Relations. CHAPTER VI. THE GOVERNOR AND CHIEF MEN OF THE COLONY DE- PUTE FATHER GEORGE LE BAILLIF TO THE KING FOR THE INTEREST OF NEW FRANCE. '' I ^HE Company of merchants who had thus far ^ had the temporal direction of Canada expe- rienced the unhappy effect ordinarily attached to the error of those who forget God and prefer their own interests to his in the conduct of their enter- prise. One of the principal intentions of King Louis the Just, and the most essential condition of the powers granted by his Majesty to the Canada Com- pany, was that they should contribute with all their power to the establishment of the Faith and the pro- pagation of the Gospel among the savages of this New World ; that they should send and support a sufficient number of missionaries, take out men to 158 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT cultivate the ground, and transport mechanics and persons of every trade, in order to increase the colony bv means of French Europeans to be taken there, and to whom they should afford every advan- tage that could be reasonably expected ; that 'they would civilize the Indian nations, to dispose them more readily for the laws and customs of ours ; that Ihey would build forts for the defence of the French and of our Indian allies ; and, finally, that they would for this purpose maintain the necessary offi- cers and soldiers, in consequence of which his Ma- jesty granted them, free from all rent, the com- merce and advantages of those vast countries. They undertook it, but really in course of time fulfilled nothing at all. From the extreme cupidity of gain which they expected they entirely neglect- ed the progress of Christianity, even opposing the ways and means of advancing it ; they were al- ways most averse to the increase of the colony, and instead of building forts and fulfilling the other conditions they thought only of sordid lucre and of drawing out the substance of the country by the OF THE FAITH. 1 59 quantity of furs, then the great staple of Canadian trade. Monsieur de Champlain, who had himself formed that Company, had tried in vain during his stay in France to open their eyes and to appeal to their honor and conscience. To seek the good of the rising colony was to attack them directly, and the assistance which he had obtained was due solely to his tact and address ; he attracted settlers only against the will of these gentlemen, and all the establishments and forts which he built in New France were not at all at their expense. So that if this New World had not been upheld by the zeal of this excellent orentleman and able pfovernor. and by the care and application of the missiona- ries, the whole enterprise would have surely failed. A ship arriving from France in the present year, 1 62 1, brought news that the Duke de Montmo- rency, Viceroy of Canada, had formed a new Com- pany to oppose the old one, in hopes that it would more faithfully fulfil the above conditions. Messrs. William and Emeric de Caen, uncle and nephew, l6o FIRST ESTABLISHMENT were at the head.* The oldf Company had sent a vessel, which arrived early in the spring at Quebec, with orders to their agent to use the fort of the settlement and enter into all the rights of the country specified in the treaty, yet without inter- fering with the fur trade and effects of the old Company. The Sieur de Pontgrave, who was in France for the old Company, had left it and closely followed the Messrs. de Caen's ship. He arrived at Quebec, but was not permitted to enter ; they merely gave him some goods and permitted him to trade at Three Rivers for the benefit of his associates. He yielded, and soon after dropped down to Tadoussac to trade. There Monsieur de Caen arrived from France with the decree of the Council to settle differences, declaring that the two companies should trade freely together that year, and that both should * Laverdiere's Chaniplain, 1632, vi. p. 10; Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 56 ; Lettre de Montmorency a Champlain, Feb. 2, 1621, Mass. Paris Doc, i. p. 493. f Should be "new." OF THE FAITH. l6l contribute to the expenses and share the profits. These disputes caused great trouble and greatly re- tarded the progress of the colony, notwithstanding all the steps taken by Monsieur de Champlain to remedy them. Every one took sides, all was spent in disputes, and nothing was gained. "^^ Amid all these differences the governor, the Recollects, and the best-intentioned settlers formed a third party, and, having in view only the estab- lishment of the Faith and of the colony, lamented to see that all was about to be lost by quarrels of interest, which, when reported in France, would undoubtedly disgust the King and his ministers, and make them lose the good-will then enter- tained by the court for Canada. They drew up all the causes of complaint which they had. The affair was delicate. After all the attempts which Monsieur de Champlain had made in France he had little hope of being heard from such a dis- tance. But at last, as the governor and notables of the country, in union with their first missionaries, * Laverdifere's Champlain, 1632, vi. pp. 11, etc. 11 l62 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT had also made for themselves powerful friends at court, they resolved to send a deputation to the King, and to select one who had capacity and credit to negotiate successfully the affairs of the country at this juncture. There was no hesitation in the choice. Mon- sieur de Champlain's presence being absolutely ne- cessary in this New World, no one was found who could fill this embassy better than Father George le Baillif,"^* who, besides the access which his habit, virtue, and birth gave him at court, had also the advantage of being known by the King, who even frequently honored him by conversation and let- ters. This good Father, seeing the will of God in all the reasons alleged, accepted the commission. An authentic power was drawn up, signed by the governor and principal officers and inhabitants, and sealed with the great seal of the mission, f The Father, however, seeing in it several articles the negotiation of which was not altoa^ether suited * George le Baillif de la Haye. Ferland, i. p. 201. f It is given in Sagard, pp. 73, etc. OF THE FAITH. 163 to a missionary, protested to the Assembly that he accepted it only from their want of a disinterest- ed person and to advance what concerned God's glory, the King's service, and the establishment of the colony, absolutely necessary for the propagation of the Faith among the Indian nations. Father George, in virtue of his powers, accom- panied by statements of the country and necessary instructions, embarked on the 7th of September in the same year on the Sieur de Pont-Grave's ves- sel.* After a safe voyage he arrived in France, and, leaving the two companies to discuss their interests, he devoted himself solely to interest the King in the country. He had the honor of salut- ing his Majesty at St. Germain. He was very fa- vorably received, but did not enter into any details at that first audience. Some days later Monsieur de Montmorency obtained a second. After con- versing with the King in private on the general state of Canada and the chief articles which Fa- ther George had to present, this nobleman, who * Laverdiere's Champlain, 1632, vi. p. 33. 164 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT loved the counti\', introduced the missionary to this second audience, to which the Reverend Fa- ther-Provincial was also admitted. Father George made his harangue in the most respectful and touching terms ; presented his credentials, his de- putation, and a very humble remonstrance in form of petition to his Majesty, who received it with all possible goodness and piety, and gave it to Mon- sieur de Montmorency to be referred to his Coun- cil, promising the Father not only to render justice in the matter, but also to grant him personally his royal protection and favor. We cannot better inform the reader of this nego- tiation, and more suitably satisfy the proper curi- osity which he may have to know the condition of New France, its commercial basis, and the advan- tages to be derived from it, than by here giving to the public a copy of the petition and the essential articles of the deputation : " To all whom it may concern, know that in the year of grace 1621, the i8th day of August, in the reign of the most high, most ]niissant, and most Christian monarch Louis XIII. of the n.ime, Kinij, of France, of Navarre and of New France, OF THE FAITH. 1 65 called Western, under the government of the high and puis- sant Lord Messire Henry, Duke of Mont-morency and Dam- ville, peer and Admiral of France, Governor and Lieutenant- General for the King in Languedoc, and Viceroy of the coun- tries and lands of New France, called Western, under the lieutenancy of noble man Samuel de Champlain, ordinary Captain for the King in the Navy, Lieutenant-General in said countries and lands of said Viceroy, that, by permission of said Lieutenant, a general assembly was held of ail the French settlers in the country of New France, in order to concert the most proper measures in regard to the ruin and desolation of all tliis country, and to seek the means of preserving the Ca- tholic, Apostolic, and Roman religion intact, the authority of the King inviolable, and the obedience due to the said Vice- roy, after it had by said Lieutenant, religicnis, and settlers, in the presence of Sieur Baptiste Guers, commissary of said Viceroy, been concluded, and promised to live only for the pre- servation of tlie said religion, inviolable obedience to the King, and preservation of said Viceroy's authority, yet, in view of the imminent ruin of the whole country, it has by like vote been resolved that choice be made of a person in the assembly to be deputed, on behalf of the whole country in general, to go to the feet of the King and make the most humble submission to which nature, Christianity, and duty render all subjects obliged, and present with all humility a statement of the coun- try, in which should be contained the disorders which had occurred in tliis country, especially in this year 162 1 ; and also that such deputy wait upon our said Lord Viceroy to com- municate in like manner to him such disorders, and to beg him to unite in their complaint and reijuest for a remedy to the many evils that threaten these lands with coming ruin ; l66 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT and, finally, that such deputy may act, request, convene, treat and grant for such country generally in all times and places as shall be most for the advantage of said country ; and as all, with like consent and unanimity, knowing the holy ardor for the Christian religion, inviolable zeal in the King's service, and devoted affection for the preservation of the authority of the said Viceroy constantly and faithfully shown by the Reverend Father George le Baillif, Religious of the Order of Recollects, together with his great probity, learning, and prudence, we have commissioned, deputed, and delegated liim, with full power and charge to act, represent, request, settle, write, and grant for and in the name of all the settlers of this land, in all hu- mility beseeching his majesty, his council, and our said lord Viceroy to accept this our delegation, to preserve and pro- tect said reverend Father, that he be not troubled or molested by any person whatever or under any pretext whatever, that he may peacefully act and prosecute the affairs of the coun- try, to whom we forthwith give power to reduce all the infor- mation given him by individuals into a general statement, and to affix his signature thereto with the ample declaration we now make, to accept and ratify all done, signed, required, negotiated, and granted by said reverend Father in what shall concern said country. And we also empower him to name and appoint one or two Advocates in his Majesty's council, sovereign courts and jurisdictions, for and in his name and ours to write, consult, sign, plead, and petition his Majesty and council in all that concerns the affairs of New France. We humbly request all princes, potentates, lords, governors, prelates, justiciaries, and all to whom it shall be- long, to give favor and assistance to said reverend Father, and prevent his being disquieted or molested in this pre- OF THE FAITH. 167 sent delegation, while going or coming or abiding in France, with particular obligation of gratitude on our part as far as possible. Given at Quebec, in New France, under the sig- nature of the jirincipal inhabitants, acting for all, who, to authenticate still moie this delegation, have besought the Very Rev. Father in God, Denis Jamay, Commissary of the Religious who are in these lands, to affix his ecclesiastical seal the day and year as above. (Signed) CHAMPLAIN. FRIAR DENIS JAMAY, Commissary. FRIAR JOSEPH LE CARON. HEBERT, Royal Procurator. GILBERT COURSERON, Lieutenant du Prevost. BOULLE. PIERRE REYE. LE TARDIF. I. LE GROUX. P. DES PORTES. ^ NICOLAS, Prothonotary of the Jurisdiction of Quebec and of the Assembly. \ GUERS, Commissioner of my lord the Vice- roy^ and present at this election. Sealed witli the seal affixed of the said Reverend Father-Commissary of the Recollects. Ib8 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT "TO THE KING: "Sire: " The poor Recollect Religious residing at Quebec, in New France, most humbly show that for six years that it has pleased God to employ their ministry under your Majesty's authority, as well in the voyage to this strange land, discoveries of coun- try, as in the conversion of most savage nations to the know- ledge of God and their civil conversion, they have deferred giving their advice touching this enterprise until, experience seconding their good-will, they can with more certainty, as it behooves not to speak to kings but on well-digested and ma- turely-considered matters, propose to your Majesty what is necessary in this affair ; and although from the first years of their residence in the country it seemed their duty to inform your Majesty of what was needed for carrying out that great design, they have considered that the annual letters which they have written since their coming should suffice till the country and the nations were better known to them, so that, according as they should find out the disposition of the peo- ple and the profits to be hoped from the land, they might judge what would be most proper. Now that the visiting of the tribes has made them fully informed by observation, and that the voyages which they have made of five or six hundred leagues inland in company with the Sieurde Champlain, Lieu- tenant under your authority of Monseigneur de Montmorency, Viceroy of tlie country, have acquired them the much-desired knowledge of the people of different countries ; and seeing the great and manifest profit which might redound to God's glory, the increase of the sceptre and empire of the French, the singular pleasure of your majesty, and profit and advan- OF THE FAITH. 1 69 tage of all his subjects, your petitioners have deemed it ex- pedient, even greatly necessary, to declare what they know in conscience to be the state of all this enterprise, in order that it may please your Majesty to grant them what is con- tained in their annexed memorial. Your petitioners are, then, with God's grace. Sire, in a land commonly called Canada, but better New France, in a place called Quebec, built by the singular diligence and industry of the Sieur de Champlain, far up the river St. Lawrence. Having resided here, they have learned the riches of this quarter, and es])ecially of this river, accompanied by many beautiful and fertile islands, stocked with such an abundance of all kinds of fish as cannot be de- scribed, bordered by hills full of fruit-trees, such as walnuts, chestnuts, plums, cherries, and wild vines, with numerous meadows which adorn and embellish the valleys, the rest of the earth furnished and peopled with all kinds of game, more numerous and profitable than in France, as there is not only no lack of the game and deer ordinary in these countries, but tiiere are, besides, elks, or orignal, beaver, black fox, and other animals, the fur of which gives access and hopeof a very great trade hereafter. Moreover, the fertility of this country has been more and more established by the travels your petition- ers have made there, which have brought to their knowledge more than three hundred thousand souls desirous of agricul- ture and easy to be brought to the knowledge of God, being bound to no worship, by the aid of which tribes, rivers, streams, lakes of unspeakable length and breadth have been discovered by your petitioners ; but as good is not acquired without pain, there is no doubt that besides the great labors of your petitioners in these discoveries, and their stay in the I70 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT country, what gives them most trouble is not only to be left without the help of any comfort, but even of food, by those who are associated in this trade, on whom alone this obliga- tion rests ; but, moreover, these lauds and their abundance being recognized by other nations, the settlers here are in perpetual fear of surprise, expecting the hour wlien all who reside at said Quebec shall have their throats cut. For we must not trust so much to the closed eyelids of lions when we know that they bite when asleep, or think that the enemies of your crown, though they seem asleep, will not be attracted by such great hopes of gain and profit. In fact. Sire, who would not run the risk of coming to possess so rich a land, which gives from its bosom mines of steel and iron, yielding forty-five per cent., of lead thirty, of copper eighteen, and which promises gold and silver ? — a land which returns with usury all kinds of seed, and which even now gives materials proper for the construction of all kinds of vessels, furnishing staves, felloes, boards for windows, wainscoting, and moreover gum, pitch, and resin ; besides the peltry above mentioned, ashes and potash, of which alone a trade of more than a hundred thousand crowns can be established; and, what is more to be considered, any other in possession of this land could thence keep in check and constraint more than a thousand vessels of your kingdom which come yearly to the fisheries, from which they carry oil, codfish, whalebone, and salmon, which your subjects use. In truth, the attack once made by the English who destroyed the fleet in which M. de Poutrincourt was going to Acadia gives your petitioners fears, whicl^ are all the greater as they would regret to see the august title of New France changed into another, whether New Holland, New OF THE FAITH. T?^ Flanders, or New England ; for to believe that there is any- thing here now to resist such an enteri)rise is to deceive one's self in the prospect of an inevitable evil, unless it is remedied, and even if it does arrive it will not be without having been long threatened, without taking into account the plots and enterprises of the merchants of Rochelle, who every year carry arms and munitions to the Indians, inciting them to massacre the French and destroy their settlement, which is by no means inconsiderable. Your petitioners have, then, deemed themselves bound in conscience to inform your Majesty of his interest in preserving that land, which promises, by a continuation of former explorations, a favorable passage to go to China, which it is the more easy to preserve and main- tain. Sire, under your sway, as the preservation of these coun- tries depends on the support of religion by the authority of justice, when both are supported and maintained by the power of a garrison stationed in a Fort that ought to be built on the crest of a mountain, which will keep over eighteen hun- dred leagues of country subject, inasmuch as there is no known approach, except by the entrance of said river St. Lawrence. This will give success to commerce and will render it highly profitable, and thus your glory be augmented and a flower add- ed to the French crown. " On these considerations, Sire, may it please your majesty to grant your petitioners what is contained in the articles here- to annexed, for the preservation of said country, the increase and support of the Christian religion therein, and they will con- tinue their labors and prayers for the increase of your empire and your majesty's prosperity. Besides that, the souls which will be thus brought to Christianity will render their prayers, 172 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT their goods, and their lives tributary to his sceptre, if it please his Majesty to grant what is asked of him — to wit : As regards religion, that all your Majesty's subjects professing the pretend- edly reformed religion be forbidden to settle or maintain there any persons of any nation whatever of said pretendedly re- formed religion, under such penalties as shall be judged rea- sonable ; that it may please your Majesty to found, for six years only, a seminary for fifty Indian children, after which time they can be supported, in consequence of the increased return of the lands which will by that time be cultivated ; these children are daily offered by their parents to your pe- titioners to be instructed and brought up in the Christian re- ligion. " May it please your majesty to give your petitioners means to procure books, vestments, utensils, furniture, provisions, and funds to support twelve men to cultivate their land, and to supply cattle during those six years only. As regards justice : It is highly necessary that his Majesty allow justice to be exercised with so much the more power as the beginning of settlements is more important, in order to avoid the reproaches of our neighbors, and also not to permit that under his Ma- jesty's authority there be committed thefts, murders, ass;issina- tions, pillage, blasphemy, and other crimes, already kjo fa- miliar among some settlers in that country. As regards de- fence : May it please your Majesty to give where ivith to build a tower at Tadoussac, which is the only binding place for vessels, and to support for six years a garrison of fifty fit men to erect and hold said fort. " Finally, may it please your majesty to give to the Sieur de Champlain from his arsenal cannons, powder, and muni- OF THE FAITH. I 73 tions, and to increase liis authority and his allowance for him- self and his family, his pay of two hundred crowns being in- sufficient for such a support." The King was then engaged in conquering the heretics, from whom he had taken St. Jean d'Angely and sixty of their best places. The great enterprises of his Majesty against these rebels had afterwards still greater success, but the junc- ture of that great war was not favorable to Ca- nadian affairs. In this was seen the King's great piety, his goodness for New France, and at the same time Father George's great credit with his Majesty, for he succeeded in obtaining the prin- cipal articles of his commission,'"* and besides some very advantageous regulations for the good of the colony ; he even succeeded in consolidat- ing the two companies, and closed their disputes by a decree of the Council of State, so that the two companies now became one, adopting the same interests. * This is exaggerated. He obtained an Arret of the Council of State, but it was not obeyed. See Faillon, " Histoire de la Colonie," i. p. 199; Ferland, " Cours d'Histoire," i. p. 201. 174 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. As almost all the things which were regulated and granted would require long and tedious dis- cussion, which moreover regards chiefly the tem- poral establishment of the country, it would be tiresome to the reader to insert here all the authen- tic acts which were drawn up, the letters and re- plies of Father George, with the regulations which he addressed to Monsieur de Champlain ; they will appear better and more agreeably in the use and application which will be made of them for the good of the country in the course of our history. Father George, nevertheless, yielded to the Duke of Montmorency's solicitations to re- main in France, in order to manage the affairs of Canada more effectually as general agent, as Monsieur de Champlain had proposed to that nobleman by a letter which he had the honor to write him. CHAPTER VII. ESTABLISHMENT OF A NOVITIATE AND SEMINARY IN NEW FRANCE BAPTISM OF SOME INDIANS IN- CURSION OF THE IROQUOIS, AND OTHER DIFFER- ENT INCirjENTS IN OUR MISSIONS. ^^HE Superiors of the province, finding them- ^ selves obliged to arrest Father George's zeal and prevent his return to Canada for the good of the colony, in order to advance its interests effec- tually, at the instance of the Duke de Montmo- rency, they cast their eyes on the Reverend Fa- thers Galleran and Iren?eus Piat, two religious of great zeal ; the latter was living not more than fif- teen years ago, and died in his province, loaded with years and merits, in the odor of sanctity. Fa- ther William, who rendered himself estimable not only by his ability, but also by a singular gift of prayer and contemplation with which God had en- 176 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT dowed him, had offered himself the previous years, with great eagerness, to announce the Gospel to these savages, and satisfy there, if possible, his vio- lent ardor for martyrdom. This grace was granted to him ; and as Father George, Resident of the mis- sion in France, had persuaded the Definitory to es- tablish a novitiate at Quebec in the Convent of Our Lady of the Angels, which might subsist there with the Indian seminary, and would even contri- bute greatly to the edification of these young neo- phytes, the province chose this good religious, as a man full of grace, light, and unction, to carry for- ward the seminary and lay the foundations of this first novitiate, so that to his institution as Superior was added a special power authorizing him to re- ceive to our holy habit not only the French who might present themselves coming from the world, but also the Indians of our seminary, if in course of time they could be made good enough Christians to hope to advance them to evangelical perfec- tion. Monsieur de Caen prepared all for the voyage at OF THE FAITH. 177 Dieppe, and the vessels were ready to start in May, 1622. Our Fathers embarked and weighed anchor on the 15th of said month, taking with them some Frenchmen full of piety who wished to follow them, and a young Indian whom Father George had brought with him the year before as the first fruits of our seminary, where he had spent seme months* While all these things were passing thus in France, Monsieur de Champlain supported himself as best he might, and even made progress, in Canada. He strengthened himself by new al- liances with the Indians, the Iroquois alone re- maining impenetrable and indocile. This fierce and indomitable nation, which had long designed either to destroy or to subject all the others, per- ceiving that these received their principal force from the French, now made an effort by a pro- digious number of warriors, divided into different corps in order to attack on all sides. As so sudden and violent an irruption was not * Sagaid, " Histoire du Canada," pp. 91-2. 178 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT expected, many of our Frenchmen had scattered and gone up trading with our Indian alHes to the Rapids, now called Sault St. Louis. Father Wil- liam Poullain had offered to follow them. They were attacked by an Iroquois party, against whom they held out pretty successfully by the help of their firearms, and even took some prisoners ; but Father William, who was in a canoe apart, hav- ing landed with one Frenchman, was surprised in the woods by the Iroquois. This good religious bore with all fortitude and patience the indigni- ties and cruelties of these savages ; they had even already begun to apply him to the fire when our people, missing the Father, sent one of their pri- soners to treat with their chiefs. A number of the Iroquois who had been taken were given up, and they restored to liberty the Father with the Frenchmen and seven other Indians of our allies. Tliis great servant of God had indeed this conso- lation, that two of the Iroquois prisoners who re- mained in our hands refused in the sequel to re- turn to their nation and joined us. They were OF THE FAITH. I 79 instructed in Christianity, and even served us quite usefully afterwards against their own people."^^ The country is divided in such a way that the Indians, particularly the Iroquois, find many routes, by rivers off the main route, not only to escape from us, but also to come and attack us in our settlements. This in the beginning rendered de- fence difficult. This Indian troop joined a still greater one, which cut to pieces two or there Huron parties, and soon after entered the St. Lawrence with thirty canoes, passed Three Rivers, and to our surprise appeared near Quebec. They durst not approach the fort, although Mon- sieur de Champlain was then absent, having gone to explore the country while awaiting the arrival of the vessels ; but these savages, after several unsuc- cessful attempts on the French, came in full force to attack our convent. Fortunately, a little fort had been completed on the banks of the riv^er St. * Champlain and Sagard are silent as to these Iroquois hostilities. This raises some doubt, as they would scarcely omit all allusion to an attack on Quebec. l8o FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Charles. The house, too, was some defence. On this occasion we experienced the zeal and gratitude not only of the French, l)ut also of our Indian al- lies, who flocked to our assistance. Some of ours received arrow-wounds, of which two died a few days after ; and a servant received an arrow in his arm, which was not, however, attended with serious consequences. These savages, having lost heart when they saw seven or eight of their men killed on the spot, vented their fury on two Hurons, on v\iiom they inflicted the most cruel of all tortures — putting them to death by a slow fire, and even forcing them to eat their own flesh, which was more than half roasted. They completed the rest of their cruelty in the wood near our convent, and then retired without having caused us any great loss. I have often heard this adventure related by Ma- dam Couillard, who was then in the fort, where she admired the visible protection of God over Canada, ceitain that, had those savages known their force, they might easily have ravaged the whole colony in the absence of Monsieur dc Champlain. OF THE FAITH. tSi The Almighty, who never forgets his own, show- ed equal protection to the Httle fleet coming from France. I wiU not dwell here on the many dangers it encountered on the way, not only from storms and tempests, but also from several Rochelle ships which attacked it, and from which it happily es- caped. I shall not, however, neglect to give the reader an admirable instance of God's mercy in the predes- tination of his elect. It appeared strikingly in the case of the young Indian with whom our Fathers had embarked at Dieppe to bring him to Canada. Great expectations were based on him by reason of his great docility, and it was hoped that as he had been shown what was most important and beautiful at Paris and elsewhere, and the most holy spots, he would be of great aid in civilizing the little In- dian^ at our seminary or some other mission, and preparing them for the faith ; but God disposed otherwise, perhaps for the salvation of this young Canadian. He fell sick soon after sailing, and, in the different fits of fever, his mind was affected. 1 82 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT The point on which he wandered was to imagine that all had conspired his death. He had recourse to none but our Fathers. At the least movement made by the pilot or sailors he believed that they were going to throw him into the sea ; he imagined that the others wished to assassinate him, and that his bread and food were poisoned. Meanwhile his bodily disease was nearly dispelled, except the de- bility; he had lucid intervals, during which the rays of grace, clearing his reason, dispelled gradually the shades of infidelity and disposed him for the faith. God especially impressed him with the necessity of holy Baptism ; he was heard complaining night and day that he was not a Christian : " Me, why no Christian ! Me, why no baptized ! " He earnestly begged it of Father Irena^us, who never lost sight of him ; he would not eat or drink till his request was granted. This boy had talents ; he even spoke and understood French pretty well. Perceiving by the Father's answers that he was not sufficiently instructed in our mysteries to receive baptism, he begged to be taught what was OF THE FAITH.^ I 83 necessary, in which they succeeded by means of an interpreter who happened to be on the ship, and he was then baptized. We learn by the letters of our religious that there was something supernatural and divine in the sequel of this baptism. None of those present after this saw anything savage in this Indian, who showed an enlightened judgment, an unbiassed conception for all religious points, great docility, and so tender a devotion that he yielded up his soul to his Creator full of reason and grace, of which he gave all the marks in this extremity. His burial was that of a Christian at sea : Mass was celebrated in thanksgiving for his miraculous con- version ; he was neatly swathed and the burial or- dered, which was performed in the usual way — that is, attaching two cannon-balls to the feet and slid- ing him into the sea at the sound of a cannon, which serves as a bell on such occasions.'"' This precious deposit which our Fathers and all on board had placed in heaven was not useless to them. He acted as their intercessor in a storm which sur- * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," pp. 93-4. 1 84 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT prised them in the river, accompanied by a thick mist, in which it was difficult to see from one end of the vessel to the other. Father Irenseus, in a letter which he afterwards wrote to Monsieur de Boiies, Vicar-General of Pontoise, in which he re- lates the conversion and death of this Indian, sin- cerely acknowledges that they were all in extreme peril, when several of the passengers on board cried to God for mercy, and begged it in the name of that soul which he had just received. Either God had regard for the simplicity of their faith or he received the intercession of that glorious soul, for there suddenly appeared in the evening a light by which they saw that the vessel was about to be wrecked on some rocks thirty or forty leagues from Tadoussac. They veered off, and, keeping from the shore, soon after, by a favorable wind, reached the roadstead of Tadoussac. As Father Joseph had set out a fortnight before to make his retreat at Quebec, and to receive or- ders on the new, information he had acquired, the Father-Commissary judged proper to leave Father OF THE FAITH. 185 Irena:;us there while he pursued his way to Que- bec. He arrived, and landed first at our hospice in the lower town, where all the company received him with an extreme joy. Father Irenaeus follow- ed three weeks afterwards. They were both sur- prised to find a house so far advanced as that of Our Lady of the Angels, the grounds and garden ready, and even a little solitude cleared with devout little cabins in the woods, where our Indians were taken as to stations, and of which the sites and ves- tiges are still to be seen in the grounds which we possess. Meanwhile Father Paul Huet had gone up to Three Rivers, after Father Joseph's arrival at Que- bec, to administer the sacraments to the French. There he had the consolation of learning, by a let- ter of the Reverend Father William Poullain to the Father-Commissary, that, after escaping from the Iroquois, he had perfectly recovered and had been able to go on with the four French canoes to the Nepisiriniens. He stated that the Indians whom he had found on the way had appeared to him tole- 1 86 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT rably docile and tractable, and that if they could be defended from the incursions of the Iroquois by building a fort there for their defence, they might hope one day to make some Christians ; that, in accordance with the regulations and resolutions adopted in France, he had not ventured to baptize adults, but that, during his voyage and in that place, he had, since his departure, baptized more than thirty sick persons, infants and adults, at the point of death ; that in the rencounters they fought an Iroquois party; if the latter had the advantage in mortally wounding some of our Indians, it was a stroke of predestination for these poor men, as it procured them salvation by baptism. He then gives an account of a little Indian girl in whom he had seen something miraculous. She was twelve years old, and, as she had seen the ceremony of bap- tizing some others, she wished to do so to her com- rades and the other Indians of her nation. She learned all the prayers which had been translated into her language ; she recited them with an angelic memory, showing extreme eagerness for baptism ; OF THE FAITH 187 and, as the Father always refused, she made her companions sprinkle water on her and apply the ceremonies. " I assure you, my reverend Father," says he, " that, had I not been prevented by the regulation and resolution sent from France, which, however, I find, on the whole, very reasonable for Indians in general, I would have granted baptism to this young child, who received quite well, as it seemed to me, the instructions which I gave her ; but, as she belonged to parents entirely barbarous and insensible to religion, I felt that it would be exposing the sacrament. I shall see hereafter whether I can get her out of their hands and take her to Quebec, or, at least, I hope that God in some other way will show her mercy." "* The Father-Commissary did not find such happy dispositions in the Indians whom they were then trying to settle among the French, or who cabined in a little canton around Quebec, nor even among the few whom we had in the seminary, the fickle * Father PouUain died at Chalons, France, March 12, 1634. " Mor- tuologe des Recollets," MS. Tanguay, " Repertoire," p. 24. 1 88 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT and inconstant mind of these people not permitting them to remain long in one place. Nevertheless, some were found who seemed rational enough. Two marriages even were celebrated between Frenchmen and Indian women who had adopted our language and manners, and wdio afterwards per- severed in great harmony, peace, and union with their husbands. The boys were more wilful. Hunting and the woodland air attracted them, so that it was difficult to keep them. It is true that, had what was then sketched out been continued till now, success would have followed, and these Indian nations would perhaps be civilized, as we see that among our neighbors of New England and New Nether- land our Europeans, though heretics, but wiser than we in this, have drawn among them various Indian tribes, who have so far adopted their cus- toms that they are brought up to all kinds of trades and professions, a great many being well-instructed Christians. Some even serve as ministers for the instruction of the others, although these heretics OF THE FAITH. . 1 89 began the work after us. So that we may well fear that God will one day reproach the French on this point, that the children of darkness are more pru- dent in the propagation of error than the children of light in the true conversion of souls.'^'" Our Fathers, who had then all power and credit in the missions, did not despair of succeeding in time in civilizing some of these Indians. Their project would doubtless have had all the success they expected, but they passionately desired to raise some and instruct them sufficiently in the Faith to enable them to receive our holy habit, hop- ing by this means to attract other Indians to come to us and receive our instructions more joyfully when they saw some of their nation, clothed like us, explaining our mysteries to them. To facilitate this design they had asked power to open a novi- tiate. * This is a somewhat exaggerated account. The labors of Eliot, Mayhew, and others in New England had i)roduced beneficial results; there were Indian teachers, and a few learned trades. In higher education no great result had yet been obtained, and Eliot's Indian printer is the highest exami)le. In New Voik nothing had at this time been accomplished. IQO FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Providence had sent us a young man, a native of Rouen, named Peter Langoisseux, who had given himself freely to us, and who for three years had served our ministries for the instruction of our In- dians at Three Rivers. He had long pressed us to give him the holy habit, and as he was known and loved by the Indians of the country, having been adopted by the chiefs of several nations, the Father- Commissary considered this vocation as a particular conduct of God, who wished to favor the design of our zeal. He accordingly received him into the novitiate. The ceremony of his clothing took place in the month of September, 1622, in our Church of Our Lady of the Angels, in the presence of the Governor, all the French, and a multitude of Indians. He was called Brother Charles, from the name of our first Father-Syndic, whom we have mentioned.'^ At the same time, as some inhabi- tants were moved to vow their children to our Fa- ther, St. Francis, it was deemed right to second * Sagard mentions Brother Charles, p. loi, but sa^'s nothinp: of the reception. OF THE FAITH. 191 their pietv. Tlirec of these children were vested with the little habit, which contributed not a little to attract the savages, who asked us to grant the same thing to their children, and to make them Chitagons/'" (so some of these savages called us, on account of our bare feet). This first novice pur- sued his novitiate. He will make his profession and serve the Indian mission most usefully, as we shall see hereafter. Monsieur de Caen, although a Huguenot, was nevertheless a very upright man, and showed con- sideration for our Fathers. Persuaded of their dis- interestedness in seeking only God's glory, he had Father Irenasus sent to Tadoussac in September last, and Father Joseph followed some months after. Father Irenaeus, who was young, strong, vigor- ous, and zealous, fulfilled all the duties of a perfect missionary. He had acquired from Father Joseph "* This is Iroquois or Huron. Osita (foot in composition), Bruyas, " Racines," p. 28; Ochida, " Onondaga Diet.," p. 79; Achita, Sagaid, "Diet. Iluronne"; Agon (to be bare), Bruyas, p. 22 ; Rossitagon (he goes barefoot) ; Hondachitagon (they go barefoot). t 192 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT a tincture of their language, in which he soon made rapid progress by famihar intercourse with the Montagnais, so that he even added much to the dictionary which our Fathers arranged after enter- ing the country. He had the consolation of send- ing some Indians to heaven after administering baptism to them, and of giving others some light of the Faith ; but he had also the deep regret of fniding these people in a prodigious darkness, caused by their jugglery and superstitions. Yet, animated by the Spirit of God and jealously pas- sionate for the Lord's glory, which these heathen so openly outraged, he endeavored most adroitly to draw them away from these unhappy customs, which are their resource in sickness. He found an occasion in the illness of the brother of the one who had adopted him and supported him during his wintering. The natural affection which this Montagnais had for the sick man induced him to seek a remedy by all the simples, which they know perfectly. These failing, he determined to consult the oracle, the most famous juggler of the nation. OF THE FAITH. 193 He called him, and erected in the middle of his cabin a kind of tower with posts driven into the ground and covered with birch bark in order that in this little dungeon, full of shades and darkness, adorned with hideous figures representing the devil, he might learn what had caused his brother's ill- ness. The medicine-man entered alone. His ges- tures, postures, and contortions were horrible as he invoked his Monitou to come and reveal the au- thor of the malady of our Indian's brother. He struck his breast, tore his face, uttered fearful cries and howls amid the rattle and noise of a kind of tambourine. The earth trembled under his leaps and bounds, while he shook with his hands the posts of his cabin till he sweated blood and water, without taking a moment's rest. At last, after all these invocations, this accom- plished knave decided that the illness had been given by an Indian more than sixty leagues from the cabin ; and as if this imposture had been the final judgment of life and sentence of death pro- nounced against the imaginary author of the mal- 194 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT ady, it was resolved by all that one of the sick man's brothers should set off at once to kill the person who, they believed, had attempted their brother's life. This pernicious sentence was executed, nor was Father Irenseus able to save the life of an Indian so innocent of the crime imputed to him. This cruelty touched him, indeed, and compelled him to leave that cabin, shaking, as the Gospel says, the dust from his feet, to go to others more tractable and docile. Yet he did not find the satisfaction he expected.* Father Joseph, on his side, labored with more patience, having learned by a long acquaintance with these savages that the success of the Gospel is not to be so soon expected among these people. Father Irenseus hoped to make them enter into themselves by leaving them for a time, in order to make them recall him. In fact, the Montagnais, moved by his departure and conscious of the rea- * Sagard, " Histoire," i. pp. q7-99. OF THE FAITH. I95 son why he would not return to them, came to Quebec, with presents of moose tongues and muz- zles, to induce the Father to continue his mission. The protestations made by these Indians that they would profit by his instructions, and the aversion they pretended for their superstitions (saying that they had had no sense till then to follow the coun- sel of the Monitou, but that they wished in earnest to have recourse to the great Master who made all), touched the missionary's heart so sensibly that he determined to make a second excursion as he did with this Montagnais, but it was not happier than the first. This great religious, known in the province as having received of God the gift of tears, groaned and sighed till the end of his days, employing his fervent prayers and sacrifices to obtain of God in favor of these savages what he could not do by his words. These blinded wretches would tell him that he had no sense, not conceiving the secret of his intentions. Some, indeed, were touched, and this holy man afterwards told us that he thought he 196 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT should die of regret on this excursion, purely on account of their insensibility. When the time of returning came he set out with the Indians by a fav^orable wind, but as it became contrary they were forced to land. Here they made a vapor bath in the manner I have described in my " Relation of Gaspe."^- In this cabin, then, after sweating amid the usual songs and entertainments, they began to invoke their Manitou in order to have a suitable and favorable wind. Two young men whom they had placed as sen- tinels interrupted the jugglery, crying with all their might that the wind had changed. All rejoiced, telling the Father that it was not his Jesus who had given them so favorable a wind, but that they had obtained it of their Manitou. God, who is jealous of his glory and honor, was not slow in avenging the Father, for they were scarcely embarked when the air was troubled, the * Le Clercq, " Relation de la Gaspesie," pp. 511-3. OF THE FAITH. I97 thunder rolled, and there suddenly arose so violent a tempest that it was only by a wonder that they were not all swallowed up. God delivered them from ruin by permitting them to land. This gave the Father occasion to remonstrate strongly and catechise them well by reflections on the danger which they had just escaped, endeavoring to lead them to a knowledge of a first principle by ordi- nary and common reasons, and that God alone dis- posed of all things, that he was master of heaven and earth, and that in all their needs they should invoke him alone. You have had recourse, said he, to your Manitou to have a favorable wind, and he has given you a contrary one. He has deceived you and exposed you to danger of perishing. It is just now that we invoke the good Jesus, who will hearken to your desires, if you invoke him with all your heart. These brutal men, incapable of these familiar reasonings, nevertheless made the outer semblance of Christians, consenting to what the Father told them, prostrating themselves like him to adore God, but without any sentiment of re- 198 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. ligion. The weather beeame calm, and they ar- rived safely at Quebec.* Father Joseph meanwhile remained at Tadous- sac, now at the trading-post to administer the sacra- ments to the French, now following the Indians with an invincible perseverance. Amid the sterili- ty and little success of his labors he always regret- ted his Huron mission and sighed to return to it ; but, sacrificing all his inclinations to obedience, he devoted himself, with a pleasure and inclination of pure grace, to the mission of Tadoussac, God giv- ing him from time to time, amid infinite disgust and toil, extraordinary consolations, as he wrote to one of his friends in France, in the hope that the time would come to civilize these barbarians and open their eyes to the light of the Gospel. This holy religious, who was a man of great penetration, draws in his letter the true portrait of the Mon- tagnais, as they are still, just as brutal, just as in- sensible, always nomadic, vagabond, and incapable of Christianity. * Sagard, " Histoire dn Canada," pp. 106-111. CHAPTER VIII. DEATH OF A RECOLLECT IN THE MLSSION OF ACA- DL\ ARRIVAL OF NEW MISSIONARIES AT QUEBEC HAPPY PROGRESS OF THE HURON MISSION STATE OF THOSE OF THE NYPISIRINIENS, THREE RIVERS, AND TADOUSSAC. /^UR ancient Recollect Fathers of the province ^-^^ of Aquitaine, to whom the members of the Company first applied in 1615, in order to give evangelical laborers to Canada, finding different ob- stacles, as we have said, did not for all that lose the good-will and desire they entertained of going to share the apostolic labors of the Recollects of the province of Paris. They found a very favorable opportunity in the associations made at Bordeaux in 1 6 19, one for sedentary fisheries, the other for the fur trade. The members of the Company had treated with the king for all the continent from the mouth of the Gulf of St. Lawrence north and south to the 200 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT end of the country. Acadia is a vast province, containing many different nations of Indians. This country had been always reserved, and was not comprised in the treaty. It is not my plan to add here all the circumstances of these two little com- panies formed at Bordeaux, more especially as there was nothing important about them, being mere associations of merchants, Catholic and Hu- guenot. Our Fathers of Aquitaine did not neglect the occasions which offered. These gentlemen asked three priests and a brother, promising to sup- port them as long as their society lasted. They accordingly went and began a kind of sedentary mission there. In 1623 these Fathers had for four years cultivated with great success this vineyard of the Lord, of wdiich they have given an ample Re- lation to the public, to which I will add nothing.""' The Reverend Father Sebastian had labored there * Many 3-eais' search has failed to discover the work here vague- ly alluded to. The Public Library at Bordeaux has no history, manu- script or printed, of the Recollects of the province of Aquitaine, and the Abbe Compans, secretary to His Eminence Cardinal Donnet, kindl)' informs me that the archives of the archbishopric give no clue to the work or the labors of the friars. OF THE FAITH. 20I for three 3^ears when, in 1623, we learned at Que- bec by two Indians the news of his death. This ofood reh2:ious had started from Miscou for St. John's River, where the chief mission of the Re- collects of his province had been established. He was overcome by misery and fatigue while travers- ing the woods and the great extent of country between Miscou and Port Royal, so that he per- ished of hunger after having holily exercised the apostolic ministry in the conversion of infidels. As he had visited our Fathers at Quebec and wintered there, our religious considered him in esteem and affection, as a member of our mission, and offered the usual suffrages for him at the Convent of Our Lady of the Angels. Our Father-Commissary and the religious had sent to France by the vessels of the previous year all necessary information as to the state and wants of all the missions, chiefly to Father George le Baillif, their agent and procurator in France, who used his influence at court to advance God's glory in our missions, and who had in the winter of 1623 202 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT obtained of the king letters-patent in form, sealed and registered, first, for our land and Convent of Our Lady of the Angels, including two hundred arpents of land from St. Charles River to the top of the mountain in the direction of Our Lady of Foi '^' and the place now called Pointe aux Lievres on the Quebec side, in order to favor the education of Indian children in the seminary and form their parents, who resided near the convent, to the culti- vation of the soil. He had also obtained dona- tions of sufficient land for the missions at Three Rivers, Tadoussac, and the Hurons by the king's authority, added in confirmation to that of the Company, in order, if possible, to render these es- tablishments perpetual for God's glory. This o;ood Father, who forgot nothing that could be proper, also obtained, by means of his friends, several church vestments and other necessary aid. The Nuncio even contributed, but, above all, the Queen-Mother, Anne of Austria, who, among * Notre Dame de Fo^e, now called Ste. Foi, near Oiiebec. See Shea's " Charlevoix," iii. p. I54- OF THE FAITH. 203 Other ]:)resents, gave a complete chapel, of which the chalice, of silver-gilt, marked with her Majes- ty's arms, is still preserved in our chapel of Our Lady of the Angels as a sacred monument of the piety of that great princess. As Father George had a full knowledge of the mission, the Superiors left to him the choice of the proper persons to be sent out this year, 1623. It was known by experience that as the chief matter was civilizing the Indians and disposing them for the light of the Gospel, lay Brothers were not mere- ly not useless, but of great service and fit associates in the apostolic ministry. Brother Gabriel Sagar'"'" was accordingly named. Father Nicholas Viel, who had for the last three years made great entreaties to go, received permission at Montargis. They pre- pared for their departure, and, after receiving the blessing of the Nuncio and their Superiors, they set out from Paris on the i8th of March, 1623, and embarked at Dieppe in the beginning of April * Sagard, author of the "Grand Voyage au Pays des Hurons" and of the "Histoire du Canada," Paris, 1636. 204 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Their voyage had no mishap, and they arrived at Quebec on the fifty-fifth day of their navigation."" This addition of missionaries came seasonably for the embassy that Monsieur de Champlain wished to send to the Hurons, fearing lest their zeal for the French should cool and they make an alHance with our enemies. Father Joseph had obtained leave to return there to visit this rising church which owed its first establishment to him. Father Nicholas and Brother Gabriel, both full of fire and charity, earnestly begged to be sent with him, which could not be refused. They embarked, accordingly, in the Company's sloop as far as Three Rivers, where our missionary received them with joy and led them to the cabins of the Indians, where prayers were said. Two days after they pursued their way in canoes prepared for the pur- pose. Monsieur de Champlain gave them eleven Frenchmen, which was a considerable number in these beginnings, to support and defend the Hu- * Tliey arrived June 28. Sagard, pp. 159-60; Laverdiere's Cham- plain, 1632, vi. p. 5g. OF THE FAITH. 205 rons. Our Fathers took two donnes"^ with them ; the rest were Indians, our neighbors, accustomed to firearms, aheady moderately instructed and trust- worthy. They had no mishap, and arrived safe- ly at the Hurons, where they found five or six Frenchmen still living with those savages, f Although the Indians are not animated by any principle of religion, it is impossible to express their joy on seeing Father Joseph again, coming to visit them with two of his brethren, according to his promise on leaving them. He found his old cabin or habitation, J which the French had used in his absence. It was on a little hill, at the foot of which ran a pleasant stream. This house, which was pretty neatly restored, was twenty-five feet long and twelve or fifteen wide, in * Zealous men who gave themselves for mission work. f Sagard reached the Huron country St. Bernard's day, Aug. 20, and soon after arrived at Tequeunoikuaye, or Quieuindohian, called by the French Rochelle and by the missionaries St. Gabriel. It was afterwards called Ossosane, and by the Jesuits Conception. Laver- diere's Champlain (1619), iv. p. 2S ; (1632) vi. p. 250; ''Grand Voy- age," p. 83. X At Ouieunonascaran. Sagard, " Ilistoire," p. 2iS. 2o6 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT the form of an arbor, covered outside with bark and Hned within with pieces of wood, which they used also to divide it into three rooms. The first near the door was their kitchen, dormitory, and room to receive and entertain the Indians who came to be instructed in the Prayer. The second was the refec- tory, where they kept their food, utensils, and other things necessary for their use. The third, where there was erected an altar of pieces of wood and little cedar boards, which the Indians had very neatly trimmed, served as the chapel, where holy Mass was daily said for the spiritual consolation of the French and the edification of the Indians, who loved our ceremonies. These missionaries recited the Divine Office in common, as if they had been in a regular convent, whenever they were together — for they often were out discharging the various functions of their ministry with the savages."^" The religious simplicity with which one of these * Sagard, ' Histoire," pp. 223-4 J " Grand Voyage," pp. 98-100. This was the second chapel in the Huron country, the first having been at Toenchain. Jb. OF THE FAITH. 207 missionaries describes their mode of life in the country of these savages is most edifying : "We took our meals," says he, ''on a rush mat on the ground. A billet of wood was our pillow by night, our cloaks a blanket in default of the one which we had, out of charity, given to the sick Indians. The ground or our knees was our table, not like the Indians, who sit on the ground like monkeys, for we sat on logs, our ordinary chairs. We had no napkins to wipe our hands but leaves of Indian corn. We had, indeed, some knives, but they were not at all necessary at our meals, having no bread to cut. Meat, too, was so rare with us that we often passed six weeks or two whole months without tasting a bit, unless a small piece of dog, bear, or fox, given to us in banquets, except at Easter-time and in autumn, when our Frenchmen gave us abundantly from their hunt- ing. " Our ordinary food was that of the Indians — that is to say, sagamity, made of meal of Indian corn, boiled in water, squashes, and^,peas,lnto which. 2o8 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT to give it some flavor, we put marjoram, purslain, and a kind of balsam, with wild onions which we found in the woods and fields. Our drink was the water of the stream which ran at the foot of our house ; and if, when the trees were in sap, any one was un- well or felt any weakness in the stomach, we made an incision in the bark of a maple, which distilled a sugary water that was gathered in bark trays, and which was drunk as a sovereign remedy, though in truth its effects were not very great* "When the wine which we had brought from •Quebec in a little barrel of twelve quarts failed, we made some of wild grapes which was very good. We put it in our little keg and in two bottles which we had for our use ; a wooden mortar and one of the chapel towels served as a press. The vat was a bark bucket, which, being too small to hold all our wine, obliged us, to prevent losing the surplus, to make resine of it, which was almost as good as that made in France, and on which we regaled ourselves * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," pp. 226-7 i " Grand Voyage/' p. 102. OF THE FAITH. 209 on holidays and to welcome Frenchmen who came to trade with the Indians.* "The candles we used were only little rolls of bark, which lasted but a moment, so that we were obliged to read and write by the light of the fire during the winter evenings, which was a great in- convenience to us. f " Although the ground near our house was sterile and sandy, we nevertheless made a little garden, enclosed by good palisades to prevent the free ac- cess of the Indian children. Peas, herbs, and the seeds of various vegetables which we planted suc- ceeded very well. We should doubtless have had a great abundance had the ground been properly tilled, having been obliged to use an old axe for a spade and a pointed stake as our only agricultural implements." Father Nicholas wrote in nearly the same terms to the Father-Commissary at Quebec, adding that all that consoled them in so painful a life was the * Sagard, " Histoire," p. 227 ; "Grand Voyage," p. 103. f Sagard, " Histoire," p. 226 ; " Grand Voyage," p. loi. 14 2IO FIRST ESTABLISHMENT hope of one day seeing the Faith of Christ planted in all those vast provinces by the blessings which God would give their labors ; that these nations showed them some desire of being; instructed in our mysteries, coming attentive and very assiduous to prayers, although they did not yet remark in them sufficient openness of mind to enter into the truths of religion, and that some even came to instruction only from interested motives and to get knives, beads, and the like from our religious. Thus they spent the winter, though with little progress for the conversion of these savages ; but they gained some families whom they found better disposed, more docile and tractable, to induce them to sfo down to Quebec and live with the French or cabin on our ground. They baptized only two adults, a father and daughter, of whom they seem- ed more assured. As it had been resolved that they would not abandon this mission, but, on the contrary, make it a central establishment, whence religious should spread to neighboring na- tions. They merely prepared this vineyard of the OF THE FAITH. 211 Lord, the care of which, after ten months' resi- dence, was left by Fathers Joseph and Gabriel Sa- gar to Father Nicholas. They had perfected the dictionary of the Huron language, and, as a large fleet of canoes was ready. Father Nicholas was appointed to watch over this little church with the Frenchmen who remained ; the other two went down to Quebec. Father Joseph had borne the chief part in this little embassy w^hich Monsieur de Champlain had sent to these nations, of whom he obtained all that he could expect; so that in the spring of 1624 sixty canoes, loaded with beaver and other furs, and two hundred Indians, were ready to start. They delayed, nevertheless, till the month of June, waiting for Father Joseph, whom they insisted on taking as the person in whom they had most confi- dence with the French. His presence, too, was necessary at Quebec to make a faithful report of the state of these missions and resolve with our Fathers what would be most expedient for God's glory and the salvation of these nations. The 212 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT general rendezvous for the trade was at Three Rivers, where Monsieur de Champlain had also in- vited the Iroquois to send their deputies. They came in twenty-five canoes loaded with furs. Fa- rther Joseph, on the advice of Monsieur de Cham- plain, had sent two Frenchmen to the Nipissiniens and other neighboring nations to obtain deputa- tions in form. These Indians came down at the same time as the Hurons and Iroquois to the num- ber of thirteen canoes. Never had there been seen till then a concourse of so many different nations. Yet there was no trouble, so clear were the orders given by Monsieur de Champlain. There were interpreters for each; all the ordinary ceremonies were made — the kettle of peace, presents, feasts, dances — on the part of these nations, to which the French responded in like manner. At last the much-desired peace was concluded between the Iroquois and the French with the Hurons and our other allies. Nothing better could be desired for the establish- ment of the Faith than this tranquillity of the OF THE FAITH. 213 country and this general peace between these dif- ferent nations. Our Fathers accordingly seemed to revive and resume new hopes ; they began to give greater extent to their design and count on some success, if they were fortunate enough to ob- tain a greater number of evangelical laborers to an- nounce the Gospel. Father Joseph descended to Quebec with his little conquests, which consisted of some Huron families."^ Our other missionaries had also gained some, so that the environs of Que- bec were peopled with Indians of different coun- tries, whom they were trying their best to form after the French manner. I have thought that the reader would be glad to see here a natural portrait of the general disposition of the Indians, such as I have found it in the fragments of the memoirs which the Superior of the mission sent to the Reve- rend Father-Provincial in France this present year, 1624 : *Sagard, "Histoire," pp. 790, 835 ; "Grand Voyage," 336, 375. Sagard gives no dates and relates onl}- his personal adventures. He reached Quebec July 16, 1624. Laverdiere's Champlain (1632), vi. p. 80. 214 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT FRAGMENTS OF THE MEMOIRS OF FATHER JOSEPH LE CARON, Addressed to France on the Disposition^ Character, Supersti- tions, Good and Bad Qualities of the Indians. " Father : '' As you are curious about the natural affairs of this coun- try, and still more about what concerns the conversion of souls, and you ask me some account of both, I have deemed it proper not to mingle sacred and profane, but am obliged to separate the two subjects in two different answers. " I sliall not give you much satisfaction by a great number of souls converted. Few real conversions are made among our Indians ; the time of grace is not yet come, although nothing is spared to dispose them for the Faith. It must be hoped that as the colony is peopled we shall civilize the In- dians. This is necessary first ; their mind will oi)en and their good sense, of which they have the base. They will be regu- lated by French laws and modes of living, in order to render them capable of understanding such profound mysteries; for all that concerns humane and civil life is a mystery for our Indians in their present state, and it will require more ex- pense and toil to render them men than it has required to make whole nations Christian. It does not follow that the work must be abandoned ; on the contrary, we must apply ourselves tlie more steadily and await the fruit in patience. " We must, then, await from God the dew and blessing of his grace, which so many holy souls in Old and New France will perhaps advance by their prayers, and meanwhile labor to remove all obstacles to their conversion that arise on the OF THE FAITH. 215 side of our Indians. We continually send to heaven a great many infants and some dying adults whom God touches in this extremity, and who are baptized without difficulty. But for the rest there is little good to be done. When, then, you ask relations, God forbid that, to satisfy your piety, I spread before you a numerous Christianity, existing only in our desires and in the seed of the Gospel word, which sprouts but feebly. God would not be glorified by falsehood and imposture. The success of tlie work, all know, depends on him and not on us. Our church is as yet but the little flock of the Gospel — ' pusil- lus grex ' ; but considering the multitude of these savage nations, you will not be surprised at our slow progress when you are informed of the almost invincible obstacles presented on their part to the Gospel. I will give you but a sketch of them, having already sent so many memoirs to France. **We have thus far traversed more than six hundred leagues inland, and even wintered several years with the prin- cipal nations. They do not lack good sense in what concerns the public or private interest of the nation ; they reach their end, and even adopt very fit means and measures ; and it is the subject of my surprise that, being so enlightened for their petty affairs, they have nothing but what is extravagant and ridiculous when you treat of religious dogmas or rules of morality, laws, and maxims. We have visited eight or ten different nations down the river towards Tadoussac, and we have found that almost all the Indians of Ne^v France ac- knowledge no divinity, and are even incapable of ordinary common and natural reasonings on this point, so material and benighted is their intellect. Nevertheless, amid their blind- ness we discover some confused sentiments of the Deity : I 2l6 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT some acknowledge the sun, others a genius who rules in the air ; others regard the heavens as a divinity, others a Monitou, good or bad. The nations up the river seem to have a uni- versal, spirit that rules everywhere; they generally imagine that there is a spirit in everything, even in those which are in- anim;ite, and they sometimes address them to conjure them. Yet these nations do not acknowledge any kind of divinity in a spirit of religion, but only by way of fable, prevention, ca- price, or obstinacy ; they have not even exteriorly any cere- mony for their worship — no sacrifice, temple, priest, or other mark of religion. " Dreams take the place of prophecy, inspiration, laws, commandment, and govern their enterprises in war and peace, in trade, fishing, and hunting. It is, indeed, a kind of oracle. You would say that they are of the sect of the Illu- minati. This idea impresses on them a kind of necessity, be- lieving that it is a universal spirit that commands them, so far even that if it orders them to kill a man or commit any other bad action they execute it at once. Parents dream for their children, captains for villages. They have also men who in- terpret and explain their dreams. " We remark that when there is any rapid difiicult to pass, any peril to avoid, they throw in the very place a beaver robe, tobacco, wampum, and other things by way of sacrifice to conciliate the good-will of the spirit who presides there. " They commonly believe a kind of creation of the world, saying that heaven, earth, and men were made by a woman, who with her son governs the world; that this son is the principle of all good things, and that this woman is the prin- ciple of all evil. They believe that both enjoy all pleasures ; OF THE FAITH. 217 that this woman fell pregnant from heaven, and that she was received on the back of a tortoise, which saved her from drowning. If you make nny objection on the absurdity of this idea they answer that this is good for us and not for them. "Others* believe that a certain being that they call Ata- hauta is the creator of the world, and that a being called Messou restored it after the deluge — thus falsifying and con- founding by their tradition the knowledge which their ances- tors had of the universal deluge. They say that as Messou was one day going to hunt, his dogs were lost in a great lake, which, overflowing, covered the wliole earth in a short time and made all the world an abyss ; that this Messou, by means of some animals, gathered a little earth, which he used to re- store the world. As they believe that the French live in a different world from theirs, when we wish to disabuse them of their folly by telling the real creation and restoration they say that this seems to be true of the world we inhabit, but not of theirs. They often ask even whether there is a sun and moon in Europe, as in their country. " It is deplorable to see with how many chimeras the devil confuses their mind. Although they imagine all souls corporal, understanding by their Manitou only a kind of material main- spring, giving being and inovement to all things, yet they pro- fess to believe in the immortality of the soul and a future life where men enjoy all pleasures, where they find even abundant fishery and chase, Indian corn and tobacco in all plenty, with *The Montagnais. See Sagard, " Histoire," p. 504, who reads Ata- hocan. In the " Grand Voyage " he gives Ataouacan as the Canadian word, p. 228. 2l8 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT a thousand other curious, beautiful, and necessary things. They hold that the soul does not abandon the body imme- diately after death; hence they inter with the body a bow and arrow, Indian corn, meat, and sagamity to support it while waiting. As they ascribe souls to all sensible things, they be- lieve that men after death hunt the souls of beaver, elk, foxes, wild geese, seals, and that the soul of their snowshoes serves to keep them above tlie snow, and the souls of their bows and arrows to kill beasts- They hold the same of fish and fisliing ; so that the dead need the arms which are buried with them only to make the journey to the next life.* They imagine that they ramble invisibly through the villages for a time and share in their feasts and banquets, where they al- ways set aside a portion for them. This goes so far that many of these nations have certain general feasts of the dead, accompanied by horrible chants and cries ; feasts where all must be eaten ; dances and presents of different kinds. They take the body from the village, and bones, which they call bundles of souls, and change them from one tomb to an- other adorned witli skins, beads, belts, and other like riches of the country, believing that all this serves to render the dead more happy f I will not stop here to follow out the supersti- tion of tlieir belief on this point ; the various places where they believe that the souls have their retreat, the character of their occupations, their manner of life, war, peace, govern- ment, and hnvs, are as many extravagant and ridiculous tradi- tions, founded on fables, which their ancestors have endorsed * Compare Sagard, " Grand Vo)^age," p. 233 ; " Histoire," p. 497. f Compare Sagard, " Histoire," pp. 700, 71S. OF THE FAITH. 219 and transmitted to their descendants, who are strongly at- tached to them.* " There is no nation but has its jugglers, whom some con- sider sorcerers ; but it is not likely that there is in their case any real pact or communication with the devil, who never- theless rules in their deceit and imposture, which he employs to deceive these people and remove them the more from the knowledge of the true God ; for they all have faith in these jugglers, although they every day fail to keep their woid.f These impostors are regarded as prophets who predict the future from the Almighty. They boast of making rain and clear weather, calm and storm, the fecundity or sterility of the earth, fortunate or unsuccessful hunts ; they act as physi- cians, applying remedies which have often no healing power. Nothing is so hc-rrible as the cries, noise, racket, fury, and contortions of these cheats when they begin to juggle and make their kind of enchantment. They have, however, great dexterity ; for, as they heal and predict only by chance, they have a thousand tricks to deceive these savages when the event does not answer their expectation and the predictions and remedies of these pretended prophets and physicians, who do nothing without presents and recompense. If, in- deed, these jugglers are not adroit in getting credit and turn- ing their very blunders to account when the person dies or the enterprise fails in the desired success, the juggler is some- times executed on the spot without any other formality. "These poor blind cieatures also profess a thousand other * See Jouvenc)% " De Regione, etc., Canadensium," in " Hist. Soc. Jesu," lib. XV. p. 5, O'Callaghan's Reprint, p. 25. f Sagard, " Histoire," p. 475. 220 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT superstitions with which the devils entertain them. They believe that many kinds of animals have reasonable souls ; . they have an insane superstition against profaning certain bones of elk, beaver, and other beasts, or letting their dogs gnaw them.* They jireserve them carefully or throw them into a river. They pretend that the souls of these animals come to see how their bodies are treated, and go and tell the living beasts and those that are dead ; so that if they are ill- treated the beasts of the same kind will no longer allow themselves to be taken either in this world or the next. " Their sins have apparently spread a darkness and insensibility in their souls for all kinds of religion such as historians have never remarked in any other nation in the world. For amid their countless superstitions there seem to be none to which they cling from religious motives. It is pure fancy. When pressed on their reveries they make no answer ; their mind remains, as it were, stupid and dull. If pressed on our mysteries they hear all with as much indiffer- ence as if they were relating their chimeras. I see many who seem to yield to this truth, that there is a principle which has created all things ; but this only flashes on their mind, which immediately relapses into its former lethargy and insensi- bility. " Hence they do not generally care for instruction ; they come and cling to us only from fancy or natural inclination, or for the welcome and attention given them by the care we take of their sick, or from interest to get something from us, and, lastly, because we are Frenchmen and they are allied with us against their enemies. We teach them the prayers, * Sagard, " Histoire," p. 495. OF THE FAITH. 22 1 and they recite them without any discernment of the Faith, Hke so many songs ; and even those whom we have long cate- chised, except a very small number, are not to be depended upon if they return for ever so short a time to the woods. " I know not whether their ancestors knew any divinity, but the fact is that their language, natural enough for any- thing else, is so sterile on this point that we can find no terms to express the Divinity nor any of our mysteries, not even the most common. This is one of our greatest difficulties. " One of the greatest obstacles to their conversion is that most of them have several wives, and that they change them wlien they like, not understanding that it is possible to submit to the indissolubility of marriage.* ' Just see,' they tell us, ' you have no sense. My wife does not agree with me and I cannot agree with her. She will be better suited with such a one, who does not get on with his wife. Why, then, do you wish us four to be unhappy the rest of our days ? ' " Another obstacle, which you may conjecture from what I have said, is the opinion they have that you must never con- tradict any one, and that every one must be left to his own way of thinking. They will believe all you please, or, at least, will not contradict you ; and they will let you, too, be- lieve what you will. It is a profound insensibility and indif- ference, especially in religious matters, for which they do not care. No one must come here in liopes of suffering martyr- dom, if we take the word in its strict theological sense, for we are not in a country where savages put Christians to death on account of their religion. They leave every one in his own belief ; they even like our ceremonies externally, and * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 319. 222 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT this barbarism makes war only for the interests of the nation. They kill people only in private quarrels, from intoxication, brutality, vengeance, a dream or extravagant vision ; they are incapable of doing it in hatred of the Faith. '* Every inclination of theirs is brutal ; they are naturally gluttons, knowing no other beatitude in life than eating and drinking. This brutality is remarked even in their games and diversions, which are always preceded and followed by feasts. There are farewell feasts, complimentary feasts, war, peace, death, health, and marriage feasts. In their banquets they pass days and nights, especially when they make feasts which they call ' eat all,' for no one is permitted to leave till he has swallowed everything. * " Vengeance offers a great obstacle to Christianity. Al- though they show great mildness towards their nation, they are cruel and vindictive beyond all idea to their enemies. They are naturally inconstant, mockers, slanderers, unchaste — in fine, amid a host of vices in which they are swallowed up you can perceive no principle of religion or of moral or pagan virtue, which is a great drawback to their conversion. " To convert them they must be familiarized and settled among us. This cannot be done at once, unless the colony multiplies and spreads in all directions. And even when they have spent a month with us they must go to war, hunt or fish to get a living ; and this debauches them strangely. They must be fixed and induced to clear and cultivate the land, to work at different trades, like the French. After this they can be gradually civilized with each other and with us. * Sagard, " Histoire," pp. 296, 299, 302, 476; "Grand Voyage," p. 144. OF THE FAITH. 223 " The other nations above seem better disposed than those below. I speak more fully in my other letter of the natural plan and disposition of all these tribes." As this good Father gives also a sketch of the customs and manners of the Gaspesians and Aca- dian Indians, the reader may satisfy his curiosity in the New Relation which I have made of Gaspesie, where I treat it at some length."* " We have," continues our missionary, " attracted some Iroquois here. For all that is said of the fierceness and cruelty of this nation, I think that they have more mind, rea- son, and policy than the rest, and consequently are better capable of conceiving our truths. Our seminary would be a great resource, if we had the means of supplying all ; but, on account of the poverty of the country, we can support but a small number of Indians there. The rest of our church is spread in the neighborhood among the French and Indians, and some are in the woods with three of our Fathers and one Brother. It will always be much to gain some souls to God ; we expect the rest from his grace. " We have since that time had a great solemnity, when all the settlers were present and many Indians, for a vow we have made to Saint Joseph, whom we have chosen Patron of the country and protector of this rising church. You, sir, are that of our house by your care and liberality. We send to France Father Irenreus, who will communicate to you our * Le Clercq, " Relation de la Gaspesie," Paris, 1691, passim. 224 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT little designs in order to establish more solidly the kingdom of Christ in this New World by new evangelical workmen with whom we can labor in this vineyard of the Lord. Remember me in your sacrifices, and believe me entirely yours." * Our missionaries who were then at Quebec, after having invoked for some days the light of the Holy Ghost to concert what was most expedient for the establishment and propagation of the Faith in these countries which had been committed to their care, casting their eyes on the great number of different nations, and seeing that the colony begin to form, decided that the harvest was too great for so small a number of workmen, and that the mem- bers of the Company thought they were making a great effort in supporting annually six Recollects ; that for the rest they must rely on Providence ; that their salaries were scanty for the establishment of the missions ; that it would be enough for us, supported by little succors and alms from France, to maintain the five missions, which promised some * Father Irenseus Piat and Brother Sagard probably went together. Champlain went at the same time. Laverdiere's Champ. (1632), vi. p. 84. OF THE FAITH. 225 success ; and that, finally, if some religious com- munity could be found willing at its own expense to sacrifice to this New World a number of mis- sionaries, some advantage might be expected. With this view our Fathers did not hesitate ; hav- ing no share but uprightness, simplicity, the glory of the Almighty, a sincere desire of furthering it, without envy, by the conversion of these tribes, they all agreed to depute some one of their num- ber to France to propose it to the reverend Jesuit Fathers, whom they judged best fitted to estab- lish and amplify the Faith in concert with us in Canada. This project was not without its difficulties. It was ascertained that Father George le Baillif, Pro- curator of the mission in France, had already sound- ed the associates ; our Fathers had done so with Monsieur de Caen's agents at Quebec. But all showed an unwillingness to hear of it ; and it was the same with the inhabitants of the country, wiio had not such broad, pure, and disinterested views as our missionaries. Monsieur de Champlain 15 2 26 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT was sounded, and his opinion was very equivocal ; so that it was agreed in our meetino; to keep the resolution secret, the better to ensure success in France before the King and with the reverend Jesuit Fathers, provided they gave their consent ; so that the Chapter deputed Father IreuDcus Piat to go to France and negotiate this matter which the mission had at heart. Monsieur de Champlain, after having given peace to the whole country, resolved to sail to France by the first vessels.* He arranged all his affairs for the first that cleared. Father Irenoeus received all his instructions ; even before his departure he had the consolation of seeing two of our Fathers set out, one for Tadoussac, the other for Three Rivers with Brother Charles Langoisseux. A French canoe coming from the Hurons brought him letters from Father Nicholas, who showed great perseverance, asking to live and die in his mis- sion. But what crowned the joy of our religious and all the French of the rising colony was the hap- * He sailed Aug. 15, 1624. Laverdiere's Chanipl. (1632), vi. p, 83. OF THE FAITH. 227 py arrival of three illustrious Recollect missiona- ries of the province of Aquitaine, who, having em- barked in the ships of the Company which traded in Cadie,* came to Quebec in canoe by the River Loup, with two Frenchmen and five Indians, two days before the departure of the vessels. They had left the mission which they had on St. John's River a month before, in consequence of orders which they had received from their provincial in France, and they wished greatly to devote them- selves to the apostolic labors of ours and labor in concert with our Fathers in converting the heathen in this New World. Father James de la Foyer asked to go and winter with the Nepisiriniens, and he went with Brother Bonaventure, a Recollect of the province of St. Denis. The other two, name- ly, Father Louis Fontiner and James Cardon, re- mained at our convent of Our Lady of the Angels, and labored with fruit for the salvation of the sur- rounding nations. The little fleet at last weighed anchor. It was, indeed, driven by a storm into * Acadia, now New Brunswick. 228 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OV THE FAITH. Gachpe ^' Bay, where they had to stay some time ; but the wind having become favorable, they sailed on safely and arrived in France, f Monsieur de Champlain having taken his wife with him. * Le Clercq himself, in his other book, always writes Gaspe. f He reached Dieppe Oct. i, 1624. Laverdiere's Champlain (1632), vi. p. 85. CHAPTER IX. THE RECOLLECTS OF THE PROVINCE OF PARIS SOLICIT IN FRANCE A MISSION OF THE REVEREND JESUIT FATHERS FOR CANADA THEY OBTAIN IT AFTER OVERCOMING THE DIFFICULTIES THAT ARISE — THE REVEREND JESUIT FATHERS GO TO CANADA FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 1 625. T7ATHER IREN^US lost no time, and, '^ though in a season which began to be un- pleasant, after taking two days' rest at Dieppe, he set out for Paris, where he arrived safely, and put his commission and papers in the hands of the Su- periors, whom he informed at length of the state of our missions. Among other things he exposed the necessity in which the country was of a greater number of missionaries ; that, indeed, the three Recollects of Aquitaine who had fortunately ar- rived to aid our missions before his departure from Quebec could facilitate new discoveries ; yet, after all, the harvest was too great, and they must cast 230 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT their eyes on some religious order to labor with us in the conversion of this New World. He pre- sented for this purpose the most humble remon- strance made by the Chapter of Quebec to the reverend Father-Provincial, and to his definitory to call the Jesuit Fathers to their help, if it was judged expedient, in order to cultivate this vineyard of the Lord. The reverend Father-Provincial, to whom, apart from every other, the mission was subject as Pre- fect, to send whom he pleased thither by virtue of the apostohc brief already mentioned, soon after as- sembled his definitory to deliberate on the affairs of Canada, of which this was the most important. Father George was summoned to it with Father Irenseus. It is true that many persons without, distrusting the project, had sought to divert our Fathers, on the ground of their own interest, showing us that we had every reason to fear that the Gospel saying, " And the first shall be last," would be verified to our prejudice, if we were not in course of time OF THE FAITH. 231 actually excluded altogether from these missions. Other persons diverted us from interested views of their own. All their reasons were maturely weighed on both sides, but charity dissipated all the clouds. The singular esteem so justly due to that illustri- ous body, the close union which the Recollects have always maintained and still keep up every- where with the reverend Jesuit Fathers, this faith- ful and cordial understanding overcame all these considerations. The assembly deputed Father Irenasus to make the proposal to Father Noirot, who was then the reverend Father-Provincial of the Jesuits, He fulfilled it faithfully. The pro- position was 'accepted with joy and every promise of gratitude and union on the part of the Jesuits. It now only remained to have it approved at court. Monsieur de Montmorancy was no longer Viceroy of Canada ; he had transferred the title and duties to Monsieur de Ventadour, his nephew."^ Father George, accompanied by Father Irenaeus, * Ventadour's Commission to Champlain is in "Edits et Ordon- nances," iii. p. 13. 232 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT communicated their project to him, and that noble- man, seeing the parties agreed, consented without difficulty. He undertook to petition the King to confirm it by his royal authority, and even to influ- ence the gentlemen of the Company, who were very averse to it. The reverend Jesuit Fathers did not appear. Monsieur de Ventadour obtained his Majesty's consent, and at last the gentlemen of the Company were made to understand that they would be obliged to agree to it, willingly or by force, and that they might better consent with a good grace ; that, moreover, it was not pretended that this was to be at their expense, nor in prejudice to the num- ber of Recollects which by their contract they were bound to support in Canada. Meanwhile, after the Recollect Fathers had thus overcome all obstacles to the establishment of the Jesuits, these reverend Fathers found means of propitiating the gentlemen of the Company, who appointed them a day to meet the Recollects at their office, in order to consult together on what was to be done. How we know not, they forgot OF THE FAITH. 233 to notify us ; the Jesuit Fathers were there alone at the appointed day and hour. The gentlemen of the Company were bound by the treaty with the King to carry out and support six Recollects in Canada. The terms are : " 'l"he said de Caens or their said Society shall be l^ound to carry to Canada and support there in the ordinary way six Recollects, including two who will often be on explorations in the country among the Indians. Done and agreed between us, the undersigned, November 18, 1620. (Signed) " de Caen." But, notwithstanding this contract, it was found that, by the result of the meeting, these gentlemen granted the Jesuits two of the six places, of which we were in possession by right of time. The Re- collects, informed of what had happened, had re- course to Monsieur de Ventadour, who, being in- formed of it, commanded his secretary to write promptly in his name to the directors of the Com- pany that he wished no change made in anything that had been done in favor of the six Recollects, either as to support or passage, and that in case of violation he absolutely revoked the permission 234 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT which he had given the Jesuit Fathers * to go to Canada. The reverend Father Noyrot, Provincial of the Jesuits of Paris, appointed Fathers Charles Lalle- mand, Enemond Masse, John Brebeuf, Spiritual Coadjutors, and Brothers Gilbert Buret and Fran- cis Charton, Temporal Coadjutors, to begin the mission of the Society of Jesus in Canada, f The reverend Father-Provincial of the Recollects of the province of Paris on his side appointed Fa- ther Joseph de la Roche-d'Allion, of the house of the Counts du Lud, a Recollect religious of the province of St. Denis, as illustrious for his zeal and virtue as for his birth. There was still time before embarking, so that both parties had leisure to prepare for the voyage. J *Sagard, "Histoire du Canada," pp. 861-6. f No Jesuit letter or Relation gives the names of this first party till Creuxius, "Hist. Canadensis," 1664, p. 5. Champlain (Laverdiere's ed., vi. p. 86) gives them, omitting the family name of the two Bro- thers. Instead of Buret, the Relation 1635 (Quebec ed., p. 23), and F. Charles Lallemant (Cara3'on, " Premiere Mission," p. 120), and Creux- ius give Burel, and the last writes Charreton. I Laverdiere's Champlain (1632), vi. pp. 86, 92. OF THE FAITH. 235 Among the young Indians whom our Fathers had previously taken to France was one called Ahinsistan, who had made much progress in Christianity, in the usages of the world and the French mode of life. He had learned French so well that he had forgot the Canadian language. The Prince de Guimene did him the honor to hold him over the font, where he was christened Peter Anthony."^' His illustrious godfather had maintained him at his studies for five years ; he had made great progress in Latin and in many natural and civil acquirements. We had three others, who had been distributed in our convents of Paris, Rouen, and St. Germain. They were trained to piety and the service of the altar, even teaching them Latin. These young plants gave the best thinkers some hope of forming the Cana- dians in time. They showed docility, vivacity, * Peter Anthony Pastedechouan was subsequently Father le Jeune's Montagnais teacher. Relation 1633, p. 7 ; Creuxius, p. no. Sagard (" Histoire," p. 936) calls him Patctchounon and a Canadian, meaning, apparently, a Naskapee. Le Clercq's name, Ahinsistan, looks like Huron, ahd is probably put here by mistake. See Sagard, p. 874. 236 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT and a tolerably easy conception. After the first eight or ten months' stay in France there was one, among others, who had learned to write so well that we have Relations of the country and instructive letters of our Fathers in his handwrit- ing. As Peter Anthony was more advanced, hav- ing made five years' stay in France, which he did not wish to leave. Father George and Father Jo- seph thought proper to persuade him to make a voyage home. As he was tractable and docile, he yielded to their entreaties from a pure mo- tive of God's glory ; for he was a Christian, and so devout as to shame many who laid claim to piety.* The fleet for Canada was making ready to sail. Monsieur de Caen had reserved the direction to himself, so that when the Jesuit Fathers and Fa- ther Joseph de la Roche Dallion had embarked they set sail. The voyage had nothing particu- lar beyond being shorter and more pleasant than previous ones. They arrived at Quebec, where * Sagard, " Histoire," pp. 864-5. OF THE FAITH. 237 they were received with the universal joy of the French and Indians.''^' We may here remark that the Abbe de la Roque did not write on faithful memoirs when he places the first apostolic labors of the Jesuits in Canada only in 1637 and 1638, as all the world knows, and so many Relations and His- tories of the country attest, that they were led there by our Fathers, and that these five mis- sionaries of the Society of Jesus anchored there in 1625. The Recollects had already labored there for the space of ten years in the first estab- lishment of the Faith. The highest and holiest enterprises for God's glory are usually the most opposed. One would have thought that the Jesuit Fathers, willing to sacrifice themselves for the country and begin their mission by so large a number of excellent men, would have been received with all possible gratitude, and even cheerfully ; but, far from that, there was no one either of the chief men or of * Sagard, p. 867 ; Creuxius, " Historia Canadensis," p. 6. 238 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT the settlers but showed a repugnance. All una- nimously refused to receive them, unless they saw absolute orders and a command of the king for their establishment. They did not even find any one willing to lodge them ; for as they had been satisfied with obtaining a mere verbal consent of his Majesty, no steps had been taken to obtain authentic letters for the establishment of these reverend Fathers. The enterprise was about to fall through, they were on the point of return- ing to France in the same ships and abandoning their design entirely, when our Fathers, after much coming and going, at last obtained of the gene- ral and settlers their consent that the Jesuit Fa- thers should take up their abode with us, to make only one spirit and body of missionaries, without being a charge to the country, till it pleased the king to order otherwise. This ar- rangement being made, the Father-Commissary and his religious set out in the convent boat to go on board to do honor to the reverend Jesuit Fathers and take them to our convent with all OF THE FAITH. 239 the joy that can be supposed. Our religious, seeing their desires accomplished by the arrival of these Fathers, chanted a Te Deum in thanks- giving, and showed them every welcome which the state of the country and holy poverty could permit. They were offered and accepted the half of our convent, garden, and cleared enclo- sure, which they chose, and they remained there for the space of two years, living and laboring in perfect harmony with our Fathers, while their affairs were advancing and settling in France and in the country itself for a perfect establish- ment. This was aided materially, no doubt, by the deputation of Father Joseph le Caron to France by our Fathers chiefly on this matter."** He returned in triumph the next year, proud of having obtained a part of his negotiation and of what we desired in the matter. The public will be at once pleased and edified to see that the reverend Jesuit Fathers were not ungrateful. Among other proofs that could be * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 871. 240 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT given here, we copy two letters of the Rev. Father Lallemant, first Superior of the Jesuits in Canada, written to Monsieur de Champlain in France and to the reverend Father-Provincial of the Recollects of the province of St. Denis : "Sir : " Here we are, thank God ! within the limits of your lieu- tenancy, where we arrived safely after having had one of the best voyages yet experienced. The general, after declaring to us that it was impossible for him to lodge us in the settle- ment or in the fort, and tliat we must either return to France or retire to the Recollect Fathers, has compelled us to accept this last offer. These Fathers have received us with so much charity that they have put us under obligations for ever. Our Lord will be their reward. One of our Fathers went to the trade, intending to proceed to the Hurons and Iroquois with the Recollect Father who came from France, as they should arrange with Father Nicholas, who was to be at the trade and confer with them ; but it has happened that poor Father Nicholas, Recollect, was drowned at the last rapid. This has obliged them to return, having no knowledge, lan- guage, or information. We accordingly await your coming to resolve what it is expedient to do. You will learn all that you can desire to know of this country from the reverend Fa- ther Joseph. I accordingly content myself with assuring you that I am, sir, your very affectionate servant, "CHARLES LALLEMANT.* "Quebec, 28th July, 1625." * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 868. OF THE FAITH. 241 The following is a copy of that which he wrote to the Rev. Father-Provincial of the Recollects of Paris : " Reverend Father : " Pax Christi. It would be too ungrateful were I not to write to your Reverence to thank you for the many letters lately written in our favor to the Fathers who are here in New France, and for the charity which we have received from the Fathers, who put us under eternal obligation. I be- seech our good God to be the reward of you both. For myself, I write to our Superiors that I feel it so deeply that I will let no occasion pass of showing it, and I beg them, although already most affectionately disposed, to show your whole holy order the same feelings. Father Joseph will tell your Reverence the object of his voyage, for the success of which we shall not cease to offer prayers and sacrifices to God. This time we must advance in good earnest the affairs of our Master, and omit nothing that shall be deemed necessary., I have writ- ten to all who, I thought, could aid it, and I am sure they will exert themselves, if affairs in France permit. Your Reverence, I doubt not, is affectionately inclined, and so vis unita, our united effort, will do much. Awaiting the result, I commend myself to the Holy Sacrifices of your Reverence, wliose most humble servant " I am, "CHARLES LALLEMANT.* " Quebec, July 28, 1625." * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 869. 16 CHAPTER IX. MURDER OF FATHER NICHOLAS, RECOLLECT MIS- SIONARY TO THE HURONS, COMMITTED BY THE INDIANS FRUITLESS ATTEMPTS OF THE RECOL- LECTS AND JESUITS TO REACH THAT FATHEr's MISSION DEPUTATION OF FATHER JOSEPH LE CARON TO FRANCE WINTERING OF THE RECOL- LECTS AND JESUITS AT QUEBEC, WITH MANY HIS- TORICAL RECOLLECTIONS ON THE FIRST ESTAB- LISHMENT OF THE FAITH. ^T~^HE Church of Canada, reinforced by these ^ new evangelical laborers full of light and fervor for its establishment, would have received considerable -increase had the time of grace ar- rived for these nations buried in darkness and a horrible obduracy. Union, friendship, disinte- restedness, God's glory, the conversion of the In- dians, and the propagation of the faith were the soul of these apostolic men ; and although they were of a different institute, it appears by their FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. 243 whole conduct that they always preserved the same spirit, undertaking nothing except in con- cert, especially in these early times, making one heart, one soul, and, so to say, one mission. After the Jesuit Fathers had reposed and were settled in our house both agreed to go up to the Hurons to advance that mission, which seemed to promise something. Father Brebeuf, a Jesuit, and Father Joseph de la Roche Dallion, a Re- collect, were appointed for these missions, and set out at once * for Three Rivers on the Company's barks which went there to trade. They were charitably received by our missionary who re- sided there, and who shared in the common joy of our Fathers at the arrival of these new apos- tles. There were several Huron chiefs there, who facilitated the means of pursuing their route and conducted them with their little baggage to their country and to the residence of the Recol- lects. Our traders gave beads, knives, kettles, * About the month of July, 1625. Sagard, " Histoire," p. 874 ; Lallemant in Carayon, " Premiere Mission," p. 188 ; Lettre, Paris, 1627, p. 51. 244 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT and other articles to these Indians to ensure the voyage and pay for our missionaries. They were getting ready to start when a ru- mor began to spread of the death of the Recol- lect Father Nicholas Viel, This good religious, who had gone up to the Hurons two years be- fore with Father Joseph le Caron and Brother Gabriel Sagar, who had remained there all that time with some Frenchmen who took turns go- ing and returning to Quebec, had been solicited by the Hurons to go down with them to trade. He seized the opportunity to come and make his retreat at our convent of Our Lady of the An - gels, and even took one of his disciples, little Ahaut- sic, whom he had instructed in the Faith and bap- tized. There were in the party many pretty good Hurons, among whom were some brutal men, enemies of religion, yet pretending to love and respect the good Father. A storm scattered the canoes, and unfortunately this religious was left in his with three wicked and impious Indians, who OF THE FAITH. 245 hurled him into the water with his httle disciple, Ahautsic, at the last Sault descending to Mont- royal, the deep and rapid waters of which en- gulfed them in a moment. They saved only his chapel and some writings which he had drawn up in books of bark paper, comprising a kind of mission journal ; he had left his dictionary and other memoirs among the Hurons in the hands of the French."^' The place where this good re- ligious was drowned is still called the " Sault au Recollet." f If we may acknowledge as martyrs those who die in apostolic labors either by the cruelty of the Indians of these countries, who have little or no light of any divinity, true or false, we might justly acknowledge Father Nicholas and his lit- tle disciple as the two first martyrs of Canada. He was, moreover, a very great religious, who, after having lived in the odor of sanctity, came to Canada only from his burning zeal for martyr- dom. The pains and toil he had to undergo in * Sagard, " Histoiic dii Canada," pp. S74-5. ] This is still true, 246 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT his mission, as reported by Frenchmen worthy of credit, cannot be described. He had pro- duced much fruit ; and, finally, we learned from the Hurons themselves assembled at the trade the cruel manner in which he and his neophyte had been put to death, whom God had received into his glory as the first fruits of the Huron mission. The Hurons had scattered his vestments, except the chalice ; strips of them were gathered, of which they had made trimmings in their style ; but at last Fathers Brebeuf and Joseph de la Roche Dallion, having learned this sad event, believed that it would be rash in them to trust themselves to these savages on so long a voyage. Accord- ingly, by the advice of the wisest Frenchmen who were there, as well as of the best-disposed Hu- rons, who would not answer for their country- men, they resolved to go back to Quebec, put- ting off the matter for another year.'^ Their ar- rival announced and soon spread the news of the tragic death of Father Nicholas. He was uni- * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 874, OF THE FAITH. 247 versally regretted by the French, Indians, and even by the Huguenots, who were won by his talents and merit. The ordinary rites and suf- frages were performed for him, and his funeral service was celebrated with much solemnity, al- though every one was persuaded that God had already put him in possession of his glory. The ships were ready to start. Our Fathers and the Jesuits had several conferences on what was to be done for the good of the country. It was agreed that Father Joseph le Caron should go to France with the necessary instructions. The pro- gress of the mission was principally addressed to the king, to whom he had the honor of being known, having even had the advantage of teach- ing his Majesty the first elements of the Faith, tie set sail at the close of August, 1625. The ar- rival of this good religious in France, as well as his return the next year to Canada, was pros- perous, f f He came back with Champlain in 1626, sailing April 15 and reaching Quebec July 5. Lavcrdierc's Champlain (1632), vi. pp. 96, 124. 248 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Meanwhile our Fathers were divided in the principal missions, except that of the Hurons ; those who remained at Quebec spent the winter with the Jesuits, rendering all possible aid to French and Indian. I am surprised that a historian attributes to the Jesuit Father le Jeune the first dictionary of the Montagnais language, as that missionary, accord- ing to this Relation, went to Canada only in 1632.'^'' I have seen another which says almost the same of the Huron and Algomquin languages. Yet it is certain that, during the ten years that the Recollects were the only missionaries in Canada, they were scattered everywhere in sedentary mis- sions and the remotest in every nation, but parti- cularly in that of Quebec, whither they had at- tracted several cabins of the Huron, Montagnais, and Algomquin nations, of whose languages they had formed and perfected dictionaries, of which I * Le Jeune (Relation 1633, pp. 2, 7; Cicuxius, p. iii) speaks of studying the language and making a dictionaiy, but lays no claim to pri- ority, and admits that he had received a small dictionary in France. OF THE FAITH. 249 have myself seen several fragments which have re- mained to us in the handwriting of our ancient Fathers. The dictionary of the Huron language was first drafted by Father Joseph le Caron in 161 6. The little Huron whom he took with him when he returned to Quebec aided him greatly to ex- tend it. He also added rules and principles dur- ing his second voyage to the Hurons. He next increased it by notes which Father Nicholas sent him, and at last perfected it by that which that holy religious had left when descending to Quebec, and which the French placed in his hands : so that Father George, Procurator of the mission in France, presented it to the king with the two preliminary dictionaries of the Algom- quin and Montagnais languages in 1625,* It is * It is curious that Le Clcrcq does not allude to the Huron dic- tionary, " Dictionaire de la Langve Hvronne ncccssaire a cevx qui n'ont I'intelligence d'icelle, onl a traiter auec les savvages dv pays," Paris, 1632. It accompanies both Sagard's works, and is found separate. Of the three presented to the king no trace has ever been found. The assertion as to Recollect interpreters seems doubtful, 250 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT true that as our Fathers had always kept aloof from trade, so as to avoid the slightest appearance, the gentlemen of the Company often used inter- preters in their trade ; but none of these interpre- ters had any knowledge of the languages, which they knew only by routine, as we now see mere peasants who, after eight or ten months' stay in the Indian country, understand and speak the lan- guage pretty well. It is mere fancy to say that these interpreters were in the Company's pay, as, on the contrary, the French, who knew a little of the language, eagerly acted as interpreters, in or- der to have a share in the trade themselves; for in all other intercourse with savage nations, either for peace or war, as well as for the establishment of the Faith, no interpreters were employed ex- cept the Recollects. So that what we find written to the contrary is pure artifice and imagination. The task of our Fathers this winter after the departure of the ships was to communicate to the reverend Jesuit Fathers not only all the knowledge and light which they possessed as to the country, OF THE FAITH 251 but also their dictionaries, of wliich a very exact revision was made, to serve as a preparative to the projects which they were forming together for the conquest of souls. Undoubtedly these reverend Fathers, who are very skilful in teaching languages, have since greatly contributed in put- ting a finishing hand to the dictionaries which they drew up on our notes and on more am})le know- ledge. But this justice is due to our first labors, to Christian simplicity, to the candor of our Fa- thers, to the sincerity of their intentions and their great charity, which had not nor has any secret for those illustrious missionaries. The winter thus passed very agreeably for both, although in a suffering and laborious life. They worked in concert to edify the French, instruct the Indians who came to them and the children who were in our seminary. There was nothing else in particular concerning the establishment of the Faith. It is nevertheless seasonable to make an obser- vation on the remarks of a Latin historian when 252 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT he says in his preface that the Recollects, hindered by the heretics, had done nothing for religion, ex- cept among the French settlers, from 1615 to 1625, when he begins his history; that the re- verend Jesuit Fathers established religion there, which tottered greatly, and spread it on all sides of the river St. Lawrence.'"' I do not undertake to refute this epoch of the first establishment of the Faith in New France to its whole extent. We might be imposed upon, if we were some centuries off ; but every one who knows the country in the least, and the people * " The same heretical pravily baffled the pious labors of the vene- rable Recollect Fathers, of whose order when four priests, Denis (whose cognomen I have not found) to be Commissary, as they say, John d'Olbeau, Joseph le Caron, Pacificus du Plessis, set sail from Honfleur, a town in Normandy, with the same Samuel de Champlain, in the latter part of 'March, 1615, wicked men effected by their arts that for the whole ten years almost nothing could be advanced, except that they underwent abundant labors and cares, which, indeed, as the Apostle Paul declares, is to be reckoned a great benefit, and that by their severe and unblemished discipline of life and manners they retained most of the French in their dut}^ and cultivated all by means of the sacraments and the word of God, and fortified them by the most strong and sweet aid of the daily sacrifice of Mass. Thus, in the twenty-fifth year of our ccntur}', all things were still wavering," etc. Creuxius, " Historia Canadensis," Pracfatio, p. 7. OF THE FAITH. 253 who are now there, most of whom are descendants of the French who began to settle in 1625,'^ know the truth and exclaim loudly against this false- hood. It is true that there were some heretics among the gentlemen of the old Company, but we know that, if they hindered Frenchmen coming to Canada, they were bound to the king by treaty to send a certain number of Recollect missionaries for exploration and for the Indian missions through- out the country. There came over indeed a num- ber of Huguenots, who remained in Canada, and Monsieur de Caen even wished to compel French Catholics to attend heretical prayers ; f but, besides the fact that it was only in 1626 that the Jesuits were there as well as we, nothing was then done of the kind. Monsieur de Caen, who was a Calvinist, was recalled. A Catholic chief was substituted in his place at the solicitation of Father Joseph le Caron. Moreover, this did not concern the estab- lishment of the Faith among the Indians here in * Few remained after 1629. t The Recollects asked their exclusion. Ante, p. in. 254 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT question. Would to God that from this time, 1625 till now, our Catholics had witnessed as much ardor for the conversion of the Indians to the true faith as our neighbors, the English and Dutch, ^' have taken care (with all the success that they could expect) to convert the nations near their colonies to their erroneous opinions, to their pre- tended faith, even to civilize and govern them, as we have amply remarked above. When this kind of Relations is read to people in France who do not know Canada, they give such credit as they like, and it is easy to make people believe when men come from afar ; but for me, whose only share is simplicity, the truth of a mis- *This reference shows little knowledge of history. In New Eng- land steps were taken to found missions in 1644-6, and Eliot began his labors in 1646. The Indians formed prajang-towns, not all the inha- bitants being converts, and man3' of these were broken up b)' Philip's War before Le Clercq wrote (see Palfrey's " New England," i. p. 189) ; and some Indians from the New England praying-towns joined the missions in Canada. The Dutch had done nothing as late as 1656. O'Callaghan's "New Netherlands," ii. p. 319. Even in 1690, the very year this work was printed, there was no regular mission in New York, and one single convert made by Dominie Dellius is a matter of boast. Brodhead's " New York," ii. p. 613. OF THE FAITH. 255 sionary and a historian, I merely appeal to the sentiments of all the French now in New France, who consist perhaps of fifteen or sixteen thousand persons, who have notably increased the Canadian Church by multiplying the church of the French. They will tell you sincerely that even now there is scarcely any Christianity among the Indians, ex- cept some individuals in very small number, still uncertain and fickle enough, who would willing- ly abandon their religion for a mere nothing in the way of interest ; and that thus, since 1625, we do not find a church more real and solid than that found there in that year, and that, consequently, either there was then a church beorun amonof these savages in the missions which the Recollects main- tained, or there is none there now. There has per- haps been some success in civilizing these Indians more than they were ; but all the country knows that they are not more Christian, as nevertheless they would, to all appearance, be if God had per- mitted the path then traced out to be followed. This was, to maintain a solid peace with the nations, 256 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT to attract them, mingle them among the French, in order to render them men of order, more docile and tractable. As to the assertion that religion tottered in 1625, there was then one established. It is true that among the Indians it consisted then, as now, of a very small number, and if these tottered in their faith those in our days are not firmer. But, lastly, we can vouch for the small number sent to France from 16 1 5, and for some who were in the semi- nary and who had been adopted by the French settlers ; while now none are seen living among French Europeans, but only in neighboring villages, cut off from intercourse, living in the Indian way, incompatible with real Christianity, giving no signs of religion but the chant of hymns and pray- ers, or some exterior and very equivocal cere- * It was one of the complaints against the Jesuits at this time, made b)'^ Frontenac and others, that they had not made the Indians adopt the dress, language, and manners of the whites, but kept them isolated and taught them in their own language. The Recollects were brought over to adopt a different plan. They did not succeed at all. No Recollect mission has been continued to our time, while the Jesuit OF THE FAITH. 257 Father Joseph le Caron did his best in France to draw the king and persons of rank and piety into the interests of our missions and the Jesuit Fathers. He went to see the Reverend Father- Provincial of the Society of Jesus, gave him the letters of his religious of which he was the bearer, and, as he v/as acquainted with the country by a ten years' stay, having traversed it from the upper to the lower river, he gave a very full detail, so that these reverend Fathers took the mission to heart and resolved to send new aid there. The view of our Fathers in this project was to obtain for Canada the establishment of a Company, not only learned and enlightened for the increase missions among the Hurons at Loretto, Abenakis in Maine, and on the St. Francis, the Iroquois at Caughnawaga and St. Regis, and among the Chippewas and Ottawas on the Upper Lakes, among the Potta- watamies, Winnebagoes, and Peorias, have been continued by other missionaries to the present time, and the Sulpitians have for nearly two hundred and fifty years guided an Algonquin and an Iroquois mission near Montreal. In this country missionaries of all denomi- nations have followed more or less the same plan, and the immense' sums expended by Government have failed to make Indians into white men. This whole passage is evidently by a different hand from the preceding portion. 17 258 fFIRST ESTABLISHMENT and propagation of the Faith, but also powerful enough to sustain the common work by their credit, so as to draw a good number of settlers there, clear the land and support the French and Indians, help both temporally, and augment the colony by considerable establishments. This the Recollects could not do, on account of their state, having no portion but the apostolic word. This Father Joseph le Caron represented earnestly to the Fathers of the Society of Jesus. Fathers Noirot and de la Noue, with Brother John Gaufestre, Jesuits, were chosen for Canada. They embarked and brought over with them a vessel of eighty tons, which they chartered on purpose, twenty mechanics, and all that was ne- cessary to winter and settle in this New World."' The king was then engaged in warlike opera- tions, and at court they did not lend a favorable *Champlain sailed from Dieppe May 24, 1626, with five vessels. According to Laverdiere, Champl. (1632) vi. p. 97, the Jesuit vessel was rAlouctte. He reached Quebec July 5. Creuxius, " Hist. Cana- densis," p. 9, makes them embark in April. See Champlain (1632), p. 127. OF THE FAITH. 259 ear to needed expenses for distant lands ; yet his Majesty ordered in favor of Father Joseph some aid for the instruction of our Httle seminary and for the new converts, but all this was in vain. The king found it necessary to cause a part to be delivered in his presence to one of the Father's friends. Monsieur de Champlain, who was in France on behalf of the affairs of the country and his own, conversed with Father Joseph, and, learning that Monsieur de Caen, General of the fleet, had mo- lested the Catholics during his stay at Quebec, they both drew up very humble remonstrances to the king to grant new commissions. His Majesty ordered that Monsieur de Caen should not go on this voyage, but, with the Viceroy's approbation, appoint a Catholic to conduct the ships. Monsieur de Caen appointed the Sieur de la Ralde. Mon- sieur de Champlain prepared to return to Quebec in his ordinary capacity of Governor with the Sieur du Boule, his brother-in-law, and the Sieur des Touches, the one as lieutenant, the other as 26o FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. ensign.* After which Father Joseph le Caron, impatient to be again in our missions of New France, set out for Dieppe with Brother Gervase Mohier and the reverend Jesuit Fathers. They set sail, and the missionaries arrived safely at Tadoussac, where the great trade was going on. Our missionary received them with all possible joy. They witnessed a solemn feast prepared for a party of two hundred Indians, and soon after pro- ceeded to Quebec, which this fleet reached safely.f * Laverdiere's Chaniph.in (1632), vi. p. 94. f Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. S71. CHAPTER X. THE JESUIT FATHERS PR(3CEED TO BEGIN THEIR FIRST MISSIONS CONDUCTED BY THE RECOLLECTS —SEVERAL INCIDENTS HAPPENING IN THAT AND OTHER MISSIONS. ^T^HE safe arrival of these missionaries gave ^ great joy to all the mission. The Jesuit Fathers and ours were burning with desire to go up to the Hurons, situated at the extremity of the country, and to visit many other surround- ing nations. Father Joseph de la Roche Dallion had during the winter gained some Hurons of his acquaintance for this great voyage, believing that he could trust himself to them in their canoes. As these savages were not yet accus- tomed to the Jesuits, who had appointed Fathers Brebeuf and de la None to go up with him, these Indians refused to take them, giving as a pretext the weight of Father Brebeuf, who, said they, was too heavy and would capsize the canoe. These 262 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT reverend Fathers, however, having made some presents to others who were more civil, they took them on board, and they made the voyage together, which was a safe one. '^' As Father Joseph de la Roche Dallion had dur- ing the winter learned the Huron language by means of the dictionary which Father Joseph le Caron, the first apostle of the Hurons, had left him, and had practised even at Quebec with the Hurons wintering there, and the French who knew the language, he had much facility with Fa- ther Brebeuf, who had also acquired a tincture to make himself understood on the various occasions which they met in the course of the journey. These missionaries labored together among the Hurons, where the Reverend Father Nicholas Viel had spent two whole years. Father Joseph le Caron two years *on two voyages, and Father William Poulain some time. They saw what had been es- tablished and advanced there for the glory of God. They endeavored to support and extend it. Fa- * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. S75. OF THE FAITH. 263 ther Joseph left the two Jesuit Fathers in our house and pushed on to the Neutral nation, ^' where he made some progress during three months' stay, after which he returned to the Jesuit Fathers in the Huron country. We shall content ourselves with giving here to the public the abridged Relation which Father Joseph de la Roche Dallion sent to one of his friends in France, taken from that preserved in our convent at Paris : "SiR:t " Though far away, it is still permitted to visit our friends by missives whicli render the absent present. Our Indians are amazed at it, seeing us often write to our Fathers at a distance, and that by our letters they learn our ideas and what the (same) J Indians had done at our place of residence. After having made some stay in our Canada convent and communi- cated with our Fathers and the (Reverend) Jesuit Fathers, I was imjielled by a religious affection to visit the sedentary na- tions whom we call Hurons, and with me tlie reverend Fathers Brebeuf and de la Noue, Jesuits. Having arrived tliere with * Called by the Hurons Attiwandaronk. They lay on both sides of the Niagara River. f Sagard gives the letter, pp. SSo, etc., but begins, "Sir: My humble salutation in the mercy of Jesus." :j: The words in parenthesis arc in Sagard, 264 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT all the hardships that any one may imagine by reason of the wretched way, some time afterwards I received a letter from our reverend Father Joseph le Caron, by which he en- couraged me to pass on to a nation we call Neutral, of which the interpreter (Brusle) told wonders. Encouraged, then, by so good a Father and the grand account given me of these people, I started for their country, setting out from the Hu- rons with this design October 18, 1626, with a man called Grenole and Lavallee, Frenclimen by birth. " Passing to the Petun nation, I made acquaintance and friendship with an Indian chief who is in great credit, wlio promised to guide me to this Neutral nation and supply Indians to carry our baggage and what little provision we had ; for to think to live in these countries as mendicants is self-deceit ; these people giving only as far as you oblige them,, so that you must often make long stages and often spend many nights with no shelter but the stars. He ful- filled what he had promised to our satisfaction, and we slept only five nights in the woods, and on the sixth day we arrived at the first village, where we were very well received, thanks to our Lord, and then at four other villages, which envied each other in bringing us food — some venison, others squashes, neinthaouy, * and the best they had. All were astonished to see me dressed as I was, and to see that I de- sired nothing of theirs, except that I invited them (by signs) to lift their eyes to heaven, make the sign of the cross, and receive the Faith of Jesus Christ. What filled them with wonder was to see me retire at certain hours in the day to * Neintahouy, Sagard, p. SS2. Defined in his Dictionary, under " Viande," to be Bled rosty, parched corn. OF THE FAITH. 265 pray to God and attend to my spiritual affairs (for tliey had never seen religious, except towards the Petuneux and Hu- rons, their neighbors). At last we arrived at the sixth vil- lage, where I had been advised to remain. I called a coun- cil. Remark, by the way, if you j^lease, that they call every assembly a council. Tiiey hold them as often as it pleases the chiefs. They sit on the ground, in a cabin or the open field, in profound (very strict) silence while the chief ha- rangues, and they are inviolable observers of what lias once been concluded and resolved. " There I told them, as well as I could, that I came on be- half of the French to contract alliance and friendship with them, and to invite them to come to trade. I also begged them to allow me to remain in their country to (be able to) instruct them in the law of our God, which is the only means of going to heaven (Paradise). They accepted all my offers, and showed me that they were very agreeable. Being much consoled at this, I made tliem a present of what little I hud-, as little knives and other trifles, which they esteem highly. For in this country nothing is done with the Indians without making them some kind of present. In return they adopted me, as they say — that is to say, they declared me a citizen and child of the country, and gave me in trust — mark of great affection — to Souharisser (Souharissen), who was my father and host; for, according to age, they are accustomed to call us cousin, brother, son, uncle, or nephew. This man is the chief of the greatest credit and authority that has (ever) been in all tiiese nations ; for he is not only chief of his village, but of all those of his nation, composed of (in number) twenty-eight towns, cities, and villages, made like 266 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT those in the Huron country, and also of several little hamlets of seven or eight cabins, built in various parts convenient for fishing, hunting, or agriculture. " It is unexampled in the other nations to have so abso- lute a chief. He acquired this honor and power by his courage, and by having been repeatedly at war with seven- teen nations which are their enemies, and taken heads or brought in prisoners from them all. " Those who are so valiant are much esteemed among them, and, although tliey have only the club, bow, and arrow, yet they are, nevertheless, very warlike and adroit with these arms. After all this cordial welcome our Frenchmen re- turned, and I remained, the happiest man in the world, hoping to do sometliing there to advance God's glory, or at least to discover the means (which would be no small thing, and to endeavor to discover the mouth of the river of the Hiroquois, in order to bring them to trade). " I did my best to learn tlieir manners and way of living. During my stay I visited them in their cabins to know and instruct them. I found them tractable enough, and I often made the little children, who are very bright, naked, and dishevelled, make the sign of the (holy) cross. I remarked that in all this country I met no luimpback, one-eyed, or de- formed persons. * * Here in Sagard is the following : " I have always seen them con- stant in their resolution to go with at least four canoes to the trade, if I would guide them, the whole difficult}- being that we did not know the way. Yroquet, an Indian known in those countries, who had come there with twenty of his men hunting for beaver, and who took fully five hundred, would never give us any mark to know the mouth of the river. He and several Hurons assured us well that it was only ten OF THE FAITH. 267 '^ During three months I had every reason in the world to be satisfied with my people ; but the Hurons, having discov- ered that I talked of leading them to the trade, spread in all the villages where he passed very bad reports about me : that I was a great magician ; that I had tainted the air of their country and poisoned many ; that if they did not kill me soon I would set fire to their villages and kill all their chil- dren. In fine, I was, as they said, a great Atatanite — that is their word to mean him who performs sacrileges,* whom they hold in great horror. And know, by the way, that there are a great many sorcerers who pretend to heal dis- eases by mummeries and other fancies. In a word, the Hurons told them so much evil of us to prevent their going to trade :f that the French were unapproachable, rude, sad, melancholy people, who live only on snakes and poison ; that we eat thunder, which they imagine to be an unparalleled chnnera, relating a thousand strange stories about it ; that we all had a tail like animals; that the women have only one nip- ple in the centre of the breast ; that they bear five or six children at a time, adding a thousand other absurdities to make us hated by them and prevent their trading with us, so da3's' journey to the trading-place ; but we were afraid of taking one river for another, and losing our way or dying of hunger on the land." This was evidently the' Niagara River and the route through Lake Ontario. He apparently crossed the river, as he was on the Iroquois frontier. The omission of the passage by Le Clercq was evidently caused by the allusion to trade. * Sortileges {i.e., magical rites). Sagard, p. 886. f Always told them so much evil of the French as they were able to devise, to divert them from trading with them, 268 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT that they might have the trade with these nations themselves exclusively, which is very profitable to them. " In fact, these good people, who are very easy to persuade, grew very suspicious of me. As soon as any one fell sick they came to ask me whether it was not true that I had poisoned him, and that they would surely kill me if I did not cure him. I had great difficulty in excusing and defending myself. At last ten men of the last village, called Ouaroronon, * one day's journey from the Iroquois, their relatives and friends, coming to trade at our village, came to visit me and invited me to come and see them in their village. I prom- ised to do so without fail when the snows ceased (melted), and to give tliem all some little presents (trifles), with which they seemed satisfied. Thereupon they left the cabin where I was living, always concealing their evil designs against me. Seeing that it was growing late, they came back after me and abruptly began a quarrel without provocation. One knocked me down with a blow of his fist, another took an axe and tried to split my head. God averted his hand ; the blow fell on a bar (post) near me. I also received much other ill-treat- ment ; but that is what we came to seek in this country. Be- coming somewhat appeased, they vented their wrath on what little goods were left us ; they took our writing-desk, blanket, breviary, and bag, which contained some knives, needles, awls, and other small objects of the kind. And having thus strip- ped me, they went off all that night, full of joy at their ex- ploit. On arriving at their village and examining the spoil, * Tliis is a tribal name, ronon signifying people. They came from a village of the tribe called in Rel., 1635, p. 34, Ahouenrochronon ; Rel., 1639, p. 59, Ouenrohronon. OF THE FAITH. 269 touched, perhaps, by repentance coming from the Most High, they sent me back our breviary, compass, desk, blanket, and bag — empty, however. When they arrived in my village, called Ounontisaston, there were only women there. The men had gone to hunt stags. On their return they declared that they were much grieved at the misfortune which had befallen me (after which no more was said about it). "The report at once spread to the Hurons that I had been killed. On this the good Fathers Brebeuf and de la Noue, who remained there, sent Grenole to me at once to learn the truth, with orders to bring me back if I was still alive. The letter they wrote me (with the pen of their good-will) also in- vited me to do so. I did not wish to gainsay them, as this was their advice and that of all the Frenchmen, who feared more misfortune than profit by my death; I according- ly returned to the Huron country, where I now am, all ad- miring the divine effects of Heaven. ! "The country of this Neutral nation is incomparably larger, more beautiful, and better than any other of all these countries. There is an incredible number of stags,* great abundance of moose or elk, beaver, wild-cats, and black squirrels larger than the French ; a great quantity of wild geese, turkeys, cranes, and other animals, which are there all winter, which is not * Here Sagard has, " which they do not take one by one, as is done on this side, but, making three enclosures in a spacious place, they run them all ahead, so that they enclose them in this place, where they take them, and have this maxim for all kinds of animals, whether they need them or not, that they must kill all they find, for fear, as they say, that if they do not take them the beasts would go and tell the others how they had been hunted, and that then, in time of want, they would not find any more." 2 70 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT long and rigorous as in Canada. No snow had fallen by the 22d of November, and it never was over two feet deep, and began to melt on the 26th of January. On the 8th of March there was none at all in the open places, though there was a little indeed still left in the low grounds (woods). A stay there is quite recreating and convenient ; the rivers fur- nish much excellent fish; the earth gives good grain, more than is needed. They have squashes, beans, and other vege- tables in abundance, and very good oil, which they call Atouronton (a Touronton).* So that I have no hesitation in saying that we should settle there rather than elsewhere. Undoubtedly with a longer stay there would be hope of ad- vancing God's glory, which should be more sought than aught else, and tlieir conversion to the faith is more to be hoped for than that of the Hurons.f Their real business is * This seems the earliest allusion to petroleum. Sagard says Otouronton does not mean oil, but much, or rather : Oh ! how mucli there is of it. " Histoire," p. 893. f Sagard adds : " And I am astonished how the Company of Mer- chants, since the time they came to these parts, have not sent some Frenchmen to winter in the said country. I say positively that it would be very easy to bring them to trade, which would be a great ad- vantage to go and eome by so short and easy a route as I have already told you. For there is scarcely an)^ inducement to go to trade with the Hurons over so man}^ difficult rapids, always in danger of being drowned, and then to make a six days' journey from the Hurons to this countr}', crossing the lands by fearful and terrible routes as I have seen ; these are insupportable hardships, and he alone knows it who has found himself there. Now, I say that the associated gentlemen ought, in my opinion, to send some Frenchmen to winter in the coun- try of the Neuters, less remote than that of the Hurons, for they can proceed by the lake of the Hiroquois to the trading place in, at most. OF THE FAITH. 271 hunting and war. Out ot that they are very lazy, and you see them, like beggars in France, when they have their fill, lying on their belly in the sun. Their life, like that of the Hurons, is very impure, and their manners and customs are quite the same. Their language is different, however, yet tiiey understood each other, as (the Algoumequins and) Mon- tagnais do.* ten days. This lake is theirs also, the one on one side, and the others on the other. But I see one obstacle, which is that the)^ know little about managing canoes, especially at rapids, although there are only two, but these are long and dangerous." * Le Clercq's omission here destroys the sense. Here Sagard adds : " As for clothes, do not seek any, for they do not wear even breech- cloths, which is very strange, and is scarcely found even in the most bar- barous nations. And, to tell you the truth, it would not be expedient that all sorts of persons should pass here, for the evil life of some Frenchmen is a pernicious example before them, and in all these coun- tries the nations, although barbarous, reproach us with it, saying that we teach them things contrary to what our French practise. Think, sir, of what weight our words could be after that ; yet something better is to be hoped, for what consoled me on mj'^ return was to see that our fellow-countrymen had made their peace with our Lord, having con- fessed and received communion at Easter, and had put away their wo- men, and have since been more guarded. " I must tell 3'ou that our Fathers have been treated so harshly that even two men, of whom the Jesuit Fathers deprived themselves to ac- commodate them, have been forcibl}' driven awa)', and that they have not been willing to give any food to maintain and nourish some Indian children who wished to live with us, although we promised to make it all up to them by aid from some of our benefactors. It is cruel to be treated in this way by the very men of our own nation, but since we are Friars Minor our condition is to suffer and to pray that God may give us patience." Sagard, p. 891. 272 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT " They say that two new Fathers have come to us from France, named Father Daniel Boursier and Fatlier Francis de Binville, who had been promised us last year. If this is so I beg you, in addition to all the trouble you take for me, to let me have by a safe hand a habit that is sent me. It is all I ask (for there is no cloth made here, and, ours being all worn out, I cannot do without one). The poor religious of St. Francis, having food and raiment, have all their earthly portion. We hope heaven from Go'd's goodness (by the favor of our good God), and for it most willingly serve in the salvation of these blinded nations ; we risk our lives, in order that it may please him, if he accepts our efforts, to make Christianity bud forth in these countries. God permits martyrdom to those who deserve it. I regret that I am not in a fit state, and, nevertheless, am not ignorant that to be recognized as a true child of God we must expose our- selves for our brethren. Let pain and toil come bravely then ; all difficulties and death itself will be agreeable to me if God's grace is with me, which I beg by means of the prayers of all our good friends over there, of whom and of you, sir, I am " The most humble servant in our Lord, " JOSEPH DE LA ROCHE DALLION. " Dated at Tonachin (Toanchain), a Huron village, this i8th July, 1627." While these things were passing among distant nations during the years 1626 and 1627, the mis- sionaries of the two institutes continued their OF THE FAITH. 273 labors down the river. Our Recollects even went to a little mission formed at Cape Tourment, seven leagues below Quebec, where an advanced fort had been constructed for the defence of the country not only against the Indians, but chiefly against our European enemies. Two remarkable circumstances happened at Quebec in regard to two young Indians. One was Peter Anthony,* godson of the Prince de Guimenee, whom Father Joseph had brought from France. He wintered in our Seminary of Our Lady of the Angels, but as he had lost all idea of his natural language and the Indian mode of life, he was a naturalized Frenchman and very devout. He avoided intercourse with the few Indians who came. Our Fathers judged proper to send him to make some stay in his own country, that, resuming his language, he might announce the kingdom of God with the missionaries. He long showed a repugnance, begging the Father Superior, with tears in his eyes, to dispense him. ■*Ante, p. 235. 18 2 74 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT "How, Father," said he, "would your reverence send me among those beasts who know not God ? " But the Superior overcame him by reasons of grace, telHng him that it was to make them know God, to help and contribute to the salvation of his kindred and countrymen. He was confirmed by giving him rules of conduct, and we may say that he rendered great service to the mission under the guidance and direction of our Fathers."^' The memory of the Reverend Father Nicholas Viel was in singular veneration among the Hurons when he set out on the voyage on which he was put to death. A head of family, who was attached to him, had promised to go down and take him his son. He kept his word ; he came to Quebec the same year, 1626, and brought his son to be instructed in our convent. He was received and brought up for some time by the Superior with great care. This boy was particularly distinguish- ed among all those in the seminary. He was six- teen years old, well made, had talent, showed docil- * Sagard, " Histoire," p. 865. OF THE FAITH. 275 ity, was amiable and by no means fickle like the rest, so that when the ships were on the point of startins: for France several were eao-er to have the boy. He clearly belonged to us as the conquest of Father Nicholas, and, moreover, his father had put him in Father Joseph le Caron's hands. Yet the Reverend Jesuit Fathers wished to have him, and the Sieur Emeric de Caen asked him of us. At last, as Father Noyrot was going to France, Father Joseph yielded this young neophyte to him. This could not be done without the consent of the young Huron's father, who used duplicity. Father Joseph asked him for the Jesuits, and he did not wish to disoblige him. He had also to conciliate the Sieur de Caen on account of the trade. He promised him to both, received their presents, leaving him, nevertheless, all the wdiile on deposit in Father Joseph's hands till the de- parture of the vessels, when the Sieur de Caen pretended that he had the right to him. He embarked him, in fact, and took him to Rouen ; but the Jesuit Fathers, by Monsieur de Venta- 276 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. dour's authority, obtained him from his hands, and afterwards took the honor to themselves with great eclat. The archbishop administered baptism to him solemnly in the cathedral church of Rouen, where Monsieur de Longueville and Madame de Villehars held him over the font. He was chris- tened Louis de Sainte Foi amid a countless crowd of people, the report having spread that he was son of the king; of Canada, while in fact he was only the son of a miserable Indian.* * Louis Amantachn. See Lalemant, Relation 1626, p. g. During the English occupation he lost his fervor (Laverdiere's Champlain [1632], vi. p. 267 ; Creuxius," Historia Canadensis," p. 11), but became a support of the missionaries afterwards (Rel. 1632, p. 14 ; 1633, p. 31, etc.; 1635, p. 39; 1636, p. 71), although he was taken b}' the Iroquois (Rel. 1634, p. SS). On April 29, 1627, Cardinal Richelieu passed the " Act for the establishment of the Companj^ of One Hundred Asso- ciates." " Edits et Ordonnances," i. p. 5. CHAPTER XI. THE REVEREND JESUIT FATHERS ARE TRAVERSED AGAIN IN THEIR ESTABLISHMENT TRAGICAL FATE OF THE CANADA FLEET UNFORTUNATE ACCIDENTS WHICH BEFELL THE COLONY. ^T fE mentioned, though but incidentally, a voy- age to France proposed by the rev. Father Noyrot, Jesuit. He executed it in the year 1626, and went back in the same ship in which he came to Canada, in order to procure a more solid estab- lishment and obtain more abundant succor for the country, where most frequently there was a want of everything, and finally to complain of the Sieur Emeric de Caen and the Sieur de la Ralde, who greatly traversed the Fathers of his Society and even troubled the Catholic settlers. He had con- ferred with the reverend Father George le Baillif, Procurator of the Recollects of Canada, to sup- port the interests of the missions, which zeal for 2yH FIRST ESTABLISHMENT God's glory and charity made both esteem aHke. The Sieurs de Caen and de la Ralde sailed the same year. We will say nothing of the negotiations of these two religious in France till their return, finding no important circumstances. Father George obtained some little aid for the support of the seminary and missions. Father Noyrot, whose establishment in Canada was not yet begun (the Reverend Jesuit Fathers doing us the favor to continue their stay in our convent), had need of greater efforts. He fit- ted out a ship furnished with all necessaries ; but the Sieurs de Caen and de la Ralde took umbrage, and having, moreover, heard that the Fathers had made some complaints about their conduct, these mer- chants acted so skilfully that they stopped what was on account of the Jesuits.* Although Father George had shared in the same complaints, these gentlemen nevertheless received on board, as they vV'Cre bound to do by their treaty, whatever was for the Recollects. Some bales and utensils were also * See Laverdiere's Champlain (1632), p. 145. OF THE FAITH. 279 put on board, under their name, for the account of the Jesuit Fathers. The Sieur de la Ralde was somewhat displeased at it, for he showed it at least in words to our Fathers in Canada, when he ar- rived there safely with his fleet, so much so that when Father Joseph le Caron, on his return to France, asked him to take a young Indian whom he had instructed in the Faith and baptized by the name of Louis, he refused to do so. Missionaries of both institutes were equally cha- grined at the news that the intrigues of the Sieurs de Caen and de la Ralde had prevailed in France against the reverend Jesuit Fathers, which, depriv- ing them of their expected reinforcement and the supplies necessary for their support and buildings, almost crushed their project at its birth. They were already forming a resolution to return to France,"^' and had Fathers Brebeuf and de la Noue been at Quebec they were all ready to give the whole up, convinced even then that no great fruit was to be " Laverdierc's Champlain (1632), vi. p. 145. They were preparing to send back the workmen, whom they were unable to winter. 28o FIRST ESTABLISHMENT gained in converting the Indians, and that they were deprived of the means of estabhshing them- selves and increasing the colony ; but, encouraged by Father Joseph le Caron and our other missiona- ries, and animated, too, by some secret motives that flattered them with better hopes after all these contradictions, Father Lallemant, the Superior, re- solved to leave the rest of his Jesuit brethren and go back alone with twenty mechanics.* We had at this time another cfrief. Monsieur Hebert, the first settler of the colony, of whom we have spoken in the beginning of our history, fell sick, exhausted by the hardships he had undergone, and after lingering some days he paid the debt of nature. His death was universally regretted. He may be called the Abraham of the colony, the father of the living and faithful, since his posterity has become as numerous as we have heretofore said : that it has produced many officers, civil and mili- tary, able merchants in trade, worthy ecclesiastics, * He sailed carl}' in September willi de la Ralde. Crciixius, " Hist. Canad.," p. 13. OF THE FAITH 28 1 finally a great number of good Christians, many of whom have suffered much and others been killed by the Indians in the common cause."^' He was sol- emnly buried in our cemetery ; but as the place was disturbed after our re-establishment in Canada, his bones were found in 1678, still enclosed in a cedar coffin. The Rev. Father Valentine le Roux, then Commissary and Superior of all our missions, had it taken up from that spot and solemnly transport- ed to the vault of the chapel of our convent church which he had built ; and the body of him who had been the stock of the inhabitants of the country is the first whose bones rest in that vault, with those of Brother Pacificus du Plessis. Madam Couil- lard, daughter of Sieur Hebert, who was still alive, had herself carried there, desiring to witness this translation. Although the reverend Jesuit Fathers were a little disgusted with the mission on account of the contradictions we have mentioned, they soon * He died January 25, 1627. Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 5gi ; Laverdiere's Champlain (1632), vi. p. 132. 282 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT resumed courage. Our Fathers, who had made it an affair of God to have them as associates and to effect their estabhshment with all their power, wished to facilitate the means. They had lent them a house-frame, all ready to put up, for a new building of about forty feet long by twenty-eight wide, with which we intended to enlarge our semi- nary, and this present year, 1627, they also lent them another which they had prepared to extend our convent. These Reverend Fathers accepted them cheerfully in the necessity to wdiich so much opposition had reduced them, and they used them in the buildings which they raised l)eyond the little river, eight or nine hundred paces from us.* About this time occurred a very tragic accident, happily repaired by the skill of Monsieur de Cham- plain and the conversion of some Indians. A certain Mahican-aticouche, a Montagnais by nation, killed two Frenchmen f who were asleep * " At the place commonly called Jacques Cartier's fort," says Sagaid, " Histoirc," p. 868. He says 40 b}' 23. f Henry and Dumoulin, in October, 1627, apparently at La Canar- diere. Laverdiere's Champlain (1632), vi. p. 150; Sagard, 895, 913. OF THE FAITH. 283 by the water-side, wrapped in their blankets. This Indian had been ill-treated by Madame Hebert's baker and by another whom he asked for bread, perhaps too importunately. He watched them, and, believing those to be the same who were asleep on the bank of the river, he killed them with hatchet strokes and threw them into the water. Monsieur de Champlain, who was return- ing from Cape Tourment, first saw the blood along the beach down to the water's edge, and, suspect- ing the crime that had happened, had the two bodies sought and buried in our chapel at Quebec. The murderer was sought, but he had fled to the woods to escape the justice of the French, and the Sieur de Champlain kept one of his children as a hostage till he appeared at Quebec with the other Montagnais. Meanwhile these savages, wishing to appease Monsieur de Champlain, and knowing the extreme pleasure that he took in getting Indian children to have them brought up in Christianity, they asked him, through Father Joseph le Caron, whether he would not 284 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT accept three of their daughters to take them to France. The Sieur de Champlain accepted them very willingly, the more so as he could never con- vict the one suspected of having committed these two murders. He took particular care of their education, and, having had them instructed in the truths of Christianity, he did them the honor of being their sponsor. Father Joseph le Caron bap- tized them, and Monsieur de Champlain gave these three girls the names of Faith, Hope, and Charity.* As to the accident which gave occasion to the rupture of the peace between the Iroquois, our allies, and us, it did not terminate so happily ; for the Iroquois having killed a Frenchman named Peter Magnian, with three Indians, because the Algonquins had previously killed some Iroquois, peace w;is broken and war was enkindled more fu- riously than ever.f These disorders were followed by another mis- * Laverdiere's Champlain, vi. p. 155-6 ; Sagard, p. 913. \ This occurred in July-Aug., 1627 ; lb., p. 142. OF THE FAITH. 285 fortune which reduced Canada to the grreatest ex- « tremity by the defeat and capture of ^ the fleet which was coming to Canada, commanded by the Sieur de Rocmont. The reverend Jesuit Fathers, having resumed courage in France, had sent out on it two of their Fathers ; "^ we had also two mission- aries on board. Fathers Daniel Boursier and Fran- cis Girard, Recollects of Paris. This fleet, com- posed of large vessels, set sail from Dieppe about mid-April, 1628. It defended itself successfully against two Rochelle ships when leaving the Eng- lish Channel. Never was voyage more crossed. At last, on the river St. Law^rence, they fell into the hands of an English fleet. A battle ensued, but our fleet was beaten. f The English captured a number of Basque J ships employed in fishing, carried off our people, and put ashore at Cape Breton several Frenchmen and our two Fathers, from whom they could expect nothing. The English left them one of the Basque ships which * Father Charles Lalemant and John Ragueneau. Creuxius, p. 19. f July 19. Creuxius. I Barque in text. 286 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT they had taken ; but some of the Basques, liv- ing escaped from their victors, found the means of coming in boats and suddenly seized their ves- sels as their own ; so that our religious and the French, among whom was a gentleman"" with his family, -a physician, and other persons, were left ashore and remained without a ship. The ladies, and especially the gentleman's wife and three daughters, gave admirable proofs of virtue. The sailors passed in a sloop to Placentia island, and thence to France in ships which they foun^ there. Our poor religious, after much constancy, found their resource in a wretched I3asque fly-boat which came by chance, and which was soon joined by two others that were little better, having been roughly handled in a storm which the one bearing our Fathers escaped miraculously by a vow made to our Father, St. Francis ; but it was only to fall into the hands of a Turkish corsair, to whom they aban- doned the vessel, the poor passengers escaping in the boat to the Spanish coast, which they had "■ Sieur le Faucher. Sagard, p. 953. OF THE FAITH. 287 sighted. They arrived at Bayona, in Galicia, where they received every kindness from the governor and his wife. The crew found positions elsewhere. Our Fathers and the rest of the French reached Sant Jago,'^ where the archbishop and cardinals who were there at the time distributed to them all that was necessary for their stay and voyage to the colony. The governor sent them in his brigantine to the city of Har.f with orders to entertain them honorably in the town-house as long as they should desire, which was done faithfully during the two weeks that they remained. There they waited in vain the fitting out of a vessel for France. They had to go on foot to the town of Fou- rolle,J where they eml)arked in a pinnace and ar- rived safely at Bayonne, in Languedoc. It would take too long to express all the pains they suffered in the voyage of three hundred leagues they were obliged to make to Paris. The news of this sad mishap reached Quebec, where the settlers, de- prived of everything, suffered the greatest misery.§ * Compostella. f Perhaps Arosa. j^ Ferrol. § Sagard, " Histoirc du ("anada," pp. 945-971. CHAPTER XII. NEW MISFORTUNES CAUSED BY THE DESCENT AND IRRUPTION OF THE ENGLISH IN 1 628 CAPTURE AND DESOLATION OF THE COUNTRY BY THE SAID ENGLISH IN 1629. /^~^ OD is admirable in the conduct of his pro- ^-^ vidence ; he has designs which are impene- trable to us in their outset, in their ends, and in their effects. The colony of New France seemed to take form from day to day. For some years dis- coveries and the preaching of the Gospel had been greatly extended. Commerce was increasing, the French were multiplying, chapels and oratories were built in several places, the country assumed a form of government and order, when God permitted the defeat of the colony, of Catholicity, order, laws, and commerce with France. The English then favored the heretics and rebels in France, wdiom Louis the Just was everywhere FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. 289 subduing. Some English partisans equipped a fleet to seize Canada in 1628. Two little towers on the fort of Quebec, which fell of themselves in calm weather on the 9th of July, seemed to pre- sage the evils of New France.'^' The English, on their way, took a ship which we had at Isle Percee,f advanced to Tadoussac, and by means of a bark which they found sent twen- ty men to seize Cape Tourment. Two Indians J escaped and gave warning at Quebec. Monsieur de Champlain at once asked Father Joseph to go on and ascertain the truth. The alarm was but too true ; he found confirmation at five leao^ues from Quebec, and had only time to take to the woods. The religious whom we had at Cape Tourment came by land. These two religious, with the Sieur de Faucher, the commandant, came to an- nounce at Quebec that Cape Tourment had been surprised by a stratagem, that they had burnt * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," pp. 915, 977. f Sagard, " Histoire," p. gi6. X Napagabiscou and a comrade. Laverdiere's Champlain (1632), vi. p. 170 ; Sagard, p. 917, 19 290 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT everything, killed the cattle, overturned the chapel, and profaned our sacred vessels. The Frenchmen had escaped to the woods. Only three fell into the hands of the English,* one of whom, named Piver,f soon after appeared with his wife and niece before Quebec, accompanied by an officer of the Sieur Querk,J admiral of the English fleet, who, by a letter to Monsieur de Champlain, summoned the place to surrender. § But the brave governor. * Laverdiere's Champlain, pp. 172-5 ; Sagard, pp. 917-21. There seem to have been no friars at Cap Toiirmente. " Notice Historique sur la paroisse de St. Joachim," L'Abeille, i. No. 41. f Nicholas Pivert, one of the oldest and most respected settlers at Quebec. Laverdiere's Champlain. X David Kirke, son of Gervase, of Greenhill, Derb3^shire, England, and Elizabeth Goudon, of Dieppe, was born in 1597. After the restitu- tion of Quebec to the French he obtained a grant of Newfoundland, Nov. 13, 1637, and established himself at Ferr)dand. His brothers, Lewis and Thomas, who had been with him in America, fought for Charles L during the civil war, Thomas djing in battle. After Charles's death Sir David was deprived of his province and carried to England. He'was finally allowed to return, a ruined man, and died soon after. Kirke's " First English Conquest of Canada." In the voyage in the text he sailed from Gravesend with six ships and two pinnaces, April 5, 1629. Laverdiere, "Pieces Justif.," p. 4. § The letter is given in Laverdiere's Champlain (1632), vi. p. 175 ; Sagard, " Hist.," p. 921 ; and Champlain's reply, Champlain, p. 177 ; Sagard, p. 924. OF THE FAITH. 29I though in the last consternation, remaining ever firm and intrepid, made him so bold an answer that the Englishman, helievinor Quebec in a better state of defence than it was, gave it up and sailed for England. This English general thought, indeed, that he had done a great deal in having taken, among other prisoners, the young Huron named Louis de Sante Foi, of whom we have spoken, who had been baptized two years before by the Archbishop of Rouen ; the other Frenchmen, to gain credit, having assured the general that he was son of the king of Canada. The Englishman imagined that this prisoner would aid him to conquer the whole country the next year ; but when he really took Quebec the year following he was much astonished to find that his father was a miserable, naked Huron without authority. They gave him back his son in a very ordinary dress, and the enemy kept the splendid attire which they had brought for him, and which till then he had enjoyed.* This * Sagard, " Histoire," pp. 920-1. 292 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT reputation of being a king's son was unfortunate for this poor boy, and perhaps the occasion of his eter- nal ruin ; for he resumed his savage maxims, and lost the ideas of Christianity which he would have preserved among the French, if this pretendedly ofreat extraction had not induced the Enorlish to keep him when they put the Frenchmen ashore at Cape Breton in 1628.* On the alarm given by the coming of the Eng- lish many Montagnais Indians, as our trusty adhe- rents, came to offer their^services to our Fathers, among others Napaga Biscou, who, having been in- structed and baptized by Father Joseph le Caron, sought only an opportunity of serving his benefac- tors in defence of Christianity. As soon as he escaped from the. English he came to tell Father Joseph that if these heretics did at Quebec as they had done at Cape Tourment, all would be lost for the rising Indian Church. " I beg thee, then," said he, " to give me two or three of thy brethren ; they shall not fall into the hands of the English ; they * See ante, p. 2S5. OF THE FAITH. 293 will confirm me in the Faith, and we will teach the others who are not yet instructed, I will support them ; they shall not fare worse than myself, and we will come back when the English leave the country." Father Joseph found his proposal con- formable to his own zeal and that of his religious ; he appointed himself and granted the same favor to two others. The Indian wished Brother Ger- vase Mohier to be of the party. They were to winter in the Algomquin country. They set out at once ''*' for Three Rivers and met many perils on the way. Their canoes having broken fifteen leagues above f Three Rivers, they were obliged to make the rest of the journey in the woods. They were well-nigh being carried off by the tide, which rose and surprised them. At last, by means of a canoe which they found by chance, they reached Three Rivers, where the vilkiijes formed of Mon- tagnais and Algomquins, who were waiting for their harvest to ripen, showed them the natural * July 19, 1628. Sagard, " Histoire," p. 929. f Below. 294 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT affection which they still have for our religious. There they received tidings that the English were well out of the river, but that they had fought, beaten, and scattered our fleet, ''^ and that the governor and other Frenchmen begged Father Joseph to return. Meanwhile they beheld twenty Fluron canoes arrive bearing Father Joseph de la Roche Dallion. The grief of Napaga Biscou was inexpressible when they had to part, but the order was positive. This poor Christian, become the apostle of his tribe, did not fail to come to our convent in Quebec in the month of March following, where he came every year to obtain new strength when- ever he did not And any of our Fathers at Three Rivers.f I shall not forget here the stratagem which a Christian Indian used to get out of the hands of the English and show his fidelity to the French * De Rocquemont's fleet. Laverdiere's Champl. (1632), vi. p. 1S4 ; Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," p. 939. " Mcmoire des Recollets," Margry, i. p. 10; L'Abeille, vii. No. 29. f Sagard, " Histoire," pp. 933-4. OF THE FAITH. 295 nation. His name was Peter Anthony Atetkoua- non, of whom we have spoken before, baptized in France,'^ Prince de Guimenee being sponsor. He was at Tadoussac when the EngHsh appeared ; he was taken with the others, carried on board, and questioned in French and Latin. He pretended to understand nothing. Captain Michel, a French deserter, knew this Indian to be versed in these two hmguages, and told the admiral, who kept him to act as interpreter and to bring his nation down to trade. Peter Anthony could no longer conceal that he knew the languages and that he was a Christian, but he hit on an expedient : feigning to join the English, he told the admiral that as he had measures to take with the French and espe- cially with the Recollect Fathers, to whom he was indebted for baptism and all he knew, he conjured the admiral to spare him on this point and not carry him to Quebec ; that he could serve him more usefully if he let him go to Three Rivers with two canoes full of provisions and goods, and that he * Other forms of his name are given, ante, p. 235. 296 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT would bring many Indians to trade. They relied on his word, gave him all he asked ; but Peter Anthony, once out of the hands of the English, made straight for He rouge, passed to the other side of the St. Lawrence to River Loup, and after that the admiral heard no more of him.'"' It was a hard winter at Quebec from their want of all things and the loss of the ships which had been taken by the English, so that they had to deal out what little provisions they possessed. Our religious might have claimed a share, but they contented themselves with Indian corn and the vegetables they had planted. Dame Hebert aided them with two barrels of peas. They also lived on roots, and even on acorns, overjoyed to hnd some eels. Providence multiplied these arti- cles, so that they afforded enough for three semina- rians whom they kept and many other needy per- son s.f It happened even that Mahican-Aticouch's son, * Sagard, " Histoire," pp. 936-8. f See Laverdiere's Champlain (1632), vi. pp. 1S6-190 ; Sagard, " His- toire," p. 941. OF THE FAITH. 297 of whom we hav^e spoken, i^ave us his son on con- dition that he would give him up entirely to Father Joseph to instruct, and even send to France, as was done. The reverend Jesuit Fathers, who were then lodged in their house, employed themselves to relieve the French/^ Early in the spring the Sieur de Champlain, see- ing the necessity in which they had been during the winter, begged Father Joseph to grant him a part of our land near the Pointe aux Lievres ; four other persons did the same. They were roughly cleared and planted with wheat, peas, and Indian corn. The Sieur de Champlain had sent towards Gas- pee to see whether they could not find a French ship. They got no news of any by the return of his boat ; but although the Gaspesians offered to support twenty families, their wives and children, the Algomquins and Montagnais offered still greater aid, a bark was prepared to go to France. The Sieur du BouUe, Monsieur de Champlain's * Sagard, " Histoire," pp. 942-3. 298 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT brother-in-law, took the command, havincr the Sieur des Dames, agent of the Company, as heu- tenant. As they approached Gaspee, in the great bay of St. Lawrence, they fortunately met a French ship commanded by the Sieur Emeric de Caen, which brought them rehef and announced that the king had sent the Sieur de Razilly to fight the English and save the country. The bark was loaded, and the Sieur de Boulle was retracing his course to Quebec when he unfortunately fell in with an Eng- lish vessel, which made them all prisoners.* Meanwhile the Hurons arrived at Quebec with twenty canoes. A quantity of Indian corn was bought of them, some of which supported us and the Jesuit Fathers till the coming of the English, which was not delayed.f Their ileet surprised us, having appeared in the "morning of the 19th of July, 1629, opposite Que- bec, at the point of Isle Orleans. It was composed * Sagard, " Histoirc," pp. 983-4. f Laverdiere's Champlain, vi. p. 231-5. OF THE FAITH. 299 of three ships, followed soon by six others which they had left at Tadoussac. The Jesuit and Re- collect missionaries were ordered to retire with the other settlers into the fort, where there was powder for only two or three volleys of cannon and eight or nine hundred rounds of musketry, Sieur Querc, general of the English fleet, sent an English gentleman to the Sieur de Champlain to summon the place, with a very civil letter. The wretched state of the country, which had neither provisions nor ammunition (having received no supplies from France for two years), made him re- turn a milder answer than the last. The Sieur de Champlain deputed Father Joseph to go on board the flagship to negotiate for favor- able conditions, and especially to obtain a delay. He asked a fortnight. The general, informed by the prisoners on the sloop of the distress in which Quebec was, refused to hear of it. The Father then asked at least a week. The council of the fleet assembled to consider, but his only reply was that the English would wait only till evening of 300 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT that day. He asked the Father to go and tell Monsieur de Champlain, and that besides he had only to draw articles of capitulation, which he would execute faithfully. He advised Father Jo- seph to retire with our Fathers to the convent, promising to do them no injury in any event. Two French prisoners, named Baillif, formerly agent, and Pierre de la Ray, a wheelwright, had pre- judiced the captain against the Jesuits, persuading him that he would fmd much booty at their place. Accordingly, the captain, in great fury, declared to Father Joseph that had the wind been more favor- able he would have begun by the house of those leathers. Father Joseph did not fail to inform them confidentially of the unjust fury of those heretics, in order to take their precaution in the articles about to be made. Father Joseph having received this answer, the captain took him all over his ship and showed him his armament and force. He was then put ashore and made his report to Monsieur de Champlain. There was a difference of opinion. Father Jo- OF THE FAITH. 301 seph, who had not seen among the enemy a great force in men, their regular troops not exceeding two hundred men at most, badly organized, who had not even carried arms, and besides relying much on the courage shown by the settlers, would have inclined, as would the Jesuit Fathers, to risk a siege ; but at last Monsieur Champlain's opinion prevailed. The articles of capitulation were drawn up and sent on board the flagship, and, all these things being arranged, they asked the Eng- lish to orive them time till next mornino-/^" At the same time the Indians friendly to the French, and especially Chaumin, already mention- ed, strongly urged Father Joseph, the Superior, and our Fathers to grant him two or three of our mis- sionaries to retire into the woods and thence into their country; for although he was not yet grounded in the principles of religion, he nevertheless was greatly attached to these poor Fathers. The pro- *La-v'erdiere's Champlain (1632), vi. pp. 237-244 ; Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," pp. 986-997. " The Depositions of Captain Dauid Kyrcke," in L'Abeille, x. No. 12. 302 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT ject was taken into consideration ; on one side it was thought that the EngHsh would not long be possessors of tiie country ; that the king, by treaty or otherwise, would sooner or later recover it ; that while waiting the good work begun among the Indians might be constantly advanced, as they be- sides ofifered to support our missionaries ; and that, finally, when the country returned to the French sway we should be in Canada, ready to continue our evangelical labors and support our establish- ments everywhere. They were more inclined to it as the English general had made great show and protestation of friendship to Father Joseph. Finally two of our Fathers offered to sacrifice them- selves to this project. Father Joseph himself was not averse to it. Yet there was no time to lose ; they must needs start and escape that very day, as some French did, in canoes with the Indians. It is trying for apostolic men to be stopped in their most useful, reasonable, and holy projects by force. The Council of Quebec and other officers opposed it, and it was decided for several purely OF THE FAITH. 303 political and human reasons, either from respect to the English, who had knowledge of it, or the re- proaches which they pretended to fear in France, or from distrust in God's providence over our Fa- thers, or because they did not believe that the French would return to Canada. The Fathers had to yield, and this was the only ground of com- plaint at court, and especially in the province, against Father Joseph, the Superior, that he had not had firmness enough to give full effect to his zeal ; for, in fact, it would have happened that these Indian nations which had put all their confidence in the Recollects would be now better disposed than they seem to Christianity. Father Joseph cleared himself as well as he could by throwing the responsibility on the Quebec Council, as appears by his answers to the defini- tory of the province after his return, when giving an account of the mission. The next day, July 20, 1629, the Sieur de Cham- plain having gone on board, the articles of capitu- lation were signed on both sides ; the English 304 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT landed and were put in possession of the country by the Sieur de Champlain. I say nothing of the articles of capitulation, which do not enter into my plan. The Sieur de Champlain saved not only his family and all his property, but even gained some advantage. The French settlers were to have each twenty crowns, the rest to be confiscated to the conquerors. Great complaints were made of this, some then proving to be very rich. Those who chose to remain in the country obtained some advantage, especially the family of Monsieur Hebert. As to the Recollects, the English did not forget their promise to Father Joseph not to permit them to be harmed. Yet, for all the care the captains took, they could not prevent one of their soldiers stealing a chalice from us ; but those gentlemen showed so much re- gret that they swore that the culprit should under- go an exemplary punishment if they caught him. The reverend Jesuit Fathers received a very dif- ferent treatment. Their house was pillaged, and all found there became the booty of the soldiers ; OF THE FAITH. 305 they were even forced to embark the next day with the Sieur de Champlain and all the French, who sailed for Tadoussac ; but Sieurs Louis and Tho- mas Querc, one admiral, the other vice-admiral of the British fleet, permitted our Fathers to remain at Quebec. They even declared openly that they would willingly leave them in Canada, if they had not had positive orders from the King of England to carry them to France. That they might never- theless act familiarly with them, with the same liberty they had before the capture of Quebec ; that they would cheerfully receive their visits, and, far from interdicting the exercise of our re- ligion, they begged them to use no wine in cele- brating Mass but what they cheerfully offered.* Our Fathers lived thus in peace for six weeks after the capture of Quebec, and received much civility from the English till September 9, i629,f when they embarked with the Sieur de Pont- Grave, who had been detained at Quebec by ill- * Sagard, " Histoire," pp. 1000-2 ; Laverdiere's Champlain, vi. p. 248. f July 24. Laverdiere's Champ., vi. p. 251. 3o6 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT ness, to go and join the Jesuit Fathers, the Sieur de Champlain, and all the French of the colony, who had been sent to Tadoussac the day after the capture of Quebec. One may judge of the grief of the missionaries of the two institutes at being thus obliged to abandon a mission they so tenderly loved. In the hope that our Fathers entertained of returning soon they hid a part of their utensils in different places, and enclosed the principal church vestments in a leather box, before leaving Quebec for Tadoussac. The fleet set sail for England on the 14th September, and arrived on the i8th of October at Plimout, where our religious stayed five or six days, after which they were taken with some Frenchmen to London ; from London to Calais on the 29th of October, in the same year, 1629, and then arrived safely at our convent in Paris. * Thus these first apostles of New France were obliged to abandon this rising church with as *Sagard, p. 1004; " Memoire des Recollects," Margry, i. p. 10; Abeille, vii. No. 25, etc. OF THE FAITH. 307 much grief and regret as they had shown eagerness and zeal to create there the first and true spirit of Christianity. The mere thought that they left helpless the few Indian Christians whom they had begotten in Christ by the preaching of his holy Gospel, made them feel keenly the sense of that great misery of which the apostle feared the de- plorable results when they considered that the English had already entered like ravishing wolves into this little flock of the faithful, which was all the fruit of their apostolic labors, and that they would not except any Indian from the resolution they had taken to draw them into their errors. They saw too affecting a proof already in the case of the Indian girls, whom we have already men- tioned. Faith, Hope, and Charity, whom Monsieur de Champlain earnestly desired to carry to France with him to take care of their education. The English would not let them embark, in spite of the entreaties of the reverend Jesuit Fathers, of Monsieur de Champlain, and our Fathers, and the tears which those good girls shed abundant- 3o8 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT ly to obtain of the English permission to go to France in order to preserve the sanctity of Christianity which they had received from our first missionaries/' They were obhged to return from Tadoussac to Quebec and retire to Madam He- bert's, who took care of them, in order to pro- tect them from the persecution of these heretics, who expected only to establish in New France a Babylon of error and confusion by the exercise of a religion as detestable in its followers as it is impious and sacrilegious in its principles. But, after all, as the designs of the wicked break and STO to wreck ag^ainst the immutable decrees of Divine Providence, which plays as it likes with their strongest resolutions, it pleased our Lord to take pity on his people. He remembered his mercy, and, after having heard the tears, prayers, and vows of these poor Israelites, who groaned under the heavy hand of these cruel Pharaohs, he raised up another Moses in the royal person of Louis the Just to deliver his people from the persecu- •* Laverdiere's Champlain, vi. p. 242 ; Sagard, "Histoire," p. 1003. OF THE FAITH. 309 tion of the English ; and this monarch, as illustrious for his piety as for the happy success of his victo- rious arms, knowing well that, according to the judicious reflection of that famous and celebrated queen in sacred history, God had raised him to the throne and allowed him to bear the sceptre and purple, the glorious title of eldest son of the Church, only for the salvation of his peo- ple, compelled the English to leave New France, which was no sooner for the second time under the sway of its first master' and monarch than that pious prince restored there the empire of Christ, as well as his own royal power and au- thority, in the manner we shall see in the sequel of this history. CHAPTER XIV. THE KING RESUMES POSSESSION OF CANADA THE REVEREND JESUIT FATHERS RETURN UNAVAIL- ING EFFORTS OF THE RECOLLECTS TO RESTORE THEIR FORMER MISSION ARRIVAL OF THE JESU- ITS AT QUEBEC. /^^ANADA groaned under the tyranny of its ^"^ new masters, and the CathoHc relio"ion, estab- lished for fourteen years by the zeal and toil of the rehofious of St. Francis, would soon be darkened and insensibly extinguished in the hands of the English by the errors of the new sects, had not God cast an eye of mercy on this new church and been touched by the groans, tears, prayers, and sac- rifices of so many holy missionaries, settlers full of piety, and the little flock of Indian neophytes ; and, finally, if he had not inspired the resolution and conducted the means of delivering his people from their double captivity. FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. 31 1 The English were three years in possession of this new world, and although they neglected no- thing to gain the friendship of the Indians and draw them to their interests, yet the presents, flat- teries, advances, projects, and treaties of alliance which they proposed had not yet weakened the strong liking they had conceived for the French and the attachment felt by almost all, except the Iroquois, who have never had any for any nation. We learned this in France by secret correspond- ence which we had kept in the country ; and this, joined to the pressing entreaties made by the mis- sionaries at court, and the remonstrances of the gentlemen of the Company, contributed not a little to bring it under deliberation whether it was expedient to resume the country and whether it was worth while to enter into negotiations with the English about the matter. The Ministry were somewhat divided in opinion on the matter, and perhaps even the honor and glory of the nation would not have prevailed had not the matter been thoroughly examined. Those best versed 312 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT declared that from the time of Francis I. France had made similar efforts on the coast of Ame- rica where the two Floridas and Virginia are now, and that they had failed ; that the same designs had been resumed subsequently, and new establishments made unsuccessfully on the coast near Canada. Moreover, as the gentlemen of the Company had affected to conceal the gains and profits of the Canada trade, no one felt convinced of the benefit it would be to the kingdom. As regards religion, it was known, by the accounts of the Recollects who had visited and examined the whole country, that very moderate fruit could be expected, these savages showing only opposition to the faith ; that to make these new countries valuable numerous colonies must be sent, which would, perhaps, drain France of men, as Spain had been greatly weakened by her colonies in Mexico, Peru, and other Eastern and Western enterprises ; that as Europeans were already begin- ning to form considerable settlements on all the sea-coast from the Gulf of Mexico, Rio del Spiritu OF THE FAITH. 3^3 Sancto, to the strait where Florida, Virginia, New York, and New England are now, it would require of us great outlays to maintain our ground against these nations, more skilful than we in settling new countries; that the Indians, having no inclina- tion to submit to laws, still less to politeness, could never be subjected to our manners and customs nor brought over to our interests. The most enlightened, on the contrary, alleged that since the discovery of the country in the last century France had become mistress of the great fisheries of green and dry fish, in which consider- able trade was carried on in warm countries, which then employed a thousand or twelve hundred ves- sels. That the great bank and other neighboring banks, the Islands of New Foundland, Cape Bre- ton, Isle Percee and the coasts of Acadia, being the only places fit for abundant fisheries, if we ex- cept those of the North, belonged to France as first occupant ; and that these fisheries were inex- haustible mines for the kingdom, which no one could dispute with us if we maintained the colony. 314 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT That many Basque and other French ships went there to take porpoises, whales, and seals, from which they made a prodigious number of barrels of oil, necessary in our manufactures and domestic use, and which were even exported to foreign countries. It was known that by this fishing trade alone which our European neighbors carried on off our Canada coasts they had already made great establishments in America ; that as yet we had had neither time nor means to explore the country to find mines ; that nevertheless tin, lead, copper, and iron had been found in many parts, and more would doubtless be discovered in time, as the country was w^ell suited to them, and the forests of great help in making them available. That even at Quebec and elsewdiere the stone seemed a kind of spurious marble ; there were in several places abundant mines of coal fit for forges, and a certain plaster which is a kind of alabaster. That the further you advanced into the country you found beautiful forests full of gummy trees for tar for ships, tall trees for masts, pines, firs, cedars. OF THE FAITH. 315 maple, proper for all kinds of work, and especially for ship-building. As France, under the ministry of Cardinal Richelieu, Superintendent of the Seas, Commerce, and Navigation of the kingdom, was then preparing great naval armaments, and the king was laying the foundation of that great power the kingdom now possesses on the ocean and the Mediterranean, giving the law to all Europe, they considered well the necessity in which they were of seamen for the naval forces, and that they could not get them unless sailors found employment at all times to support their families, and unless they were formed to the sea by commerce and naviga- tion Westward, as our Eastern trade did not com- prise a large number of vessels. That the fur trade already began to produce great profits in moose, bear, beaver, lynx, fox, otter, marten, wildcat and other skins, the gentlemen of the Company drawing thence every year at least one hundred thousand crowns in beaver-skins alone, which would increase greatly as the trade extended, not including the gain of individuals. In fact, I will 3l6 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT tell you that on my return to France in 1687 this sum had more than trebled in furs with which our ships were loaded ; for though they now go further to seek them, it is a trade which will never run dry, as those know who have explored furthest. They considered that the great characteristic of Frenchmen was not to stay in the king- dom — there were few countries in Europe where they were not scattered, and even settled ; that Canada had vast provinces where colonies might be formed, subject to the king, without greatly affecting the kingdom ; that, the Indians be- coming civilized and allied to us, the country would soon be peopled and strengthened at very moderate expense ; that, finally, as there were on our coasts a quantity of produce, manufac- tures, and merchandise of every kind which could not by a great deal be all sold in the kingdom, commerce would be the more ad- vanced by carrying them to Canada, where they could be readily disposed of OF THE FAITH. 317 By this means New France derived benefit from its own misfortune, for otherwise they never, perhaps, would have understood how important that country is to our well-being, if the English had not taken it from us. In this we must ac- knowledge and admire God's providence in not wishing all countries to be equally furnished with all things, in order to establish society, inter- course, and commerce between different nations, so as thus to spread over all the world the truths of the Gospel and make all nations on earth share in the merit of redemption. It was, too, the chief motive of Louis XIII., who, penetrated with sentiments of faith, piety, and fervor which animated all his conduct, thought little of having gained so many battles, suppressed the rebellion of a great part of his subjects, and triumphed everywhere over the for- eign enemies of the crown, if he did not also extend the kingdom of the Son of God over infidelity and barbarism, and subject new nations to his empire. This was, then, the great motive 3l8 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT of Louis the Just, and of that great genius who pfoverned under his orders — I mean Car- dinal RicheHeu.* For this purpose negotiations with England were entered into to induce them to restore a country unjustly usurped at a time when the two countries were at peace. His Majesty wrote to the King of England. All these negotiations were long, and England, knowing how advanta- geous these vast countries could be to her, put us off with fair words from 1630 to 1632 ; but at last the cardinal, who knew by four years' experience the injury done to France by the * There is no documentary evidence of any such discussion in the French council. Quebec was taken July 20, 1629. In Novem- ber Cardinal Richelieu instructed the French ambassador extraor- dinary in London to demand the restoration of Canada, which had been seized after the treaty of Suze, April 24, 1629. On December 3 the English declared that they could not then restore Canada, and France, in consequence, declined to restore ships captured after the treaty of peace. In April, 1630, the English king promised to restore Quebec, and the new French ambassador had already been instruct- ed to press the point. This following up of the subject is inconsis- tent with the idea of any such discussion as Le Clercq supposes. See the point examined by Faillon, " Histoire de le Colonie Franjaise," i. p. 256-7. OF THE FAITH. 319 loss of this trade, fitted out a fleet of six men- of-war, with four tenders, to take forcible posses- sion of a country which in all justice belonged to us. The command was given to the Cheva- lier de Razilly, as general of the armament. When information of this step reached London, it obliged the King of England to speak and consent to the restitution of New France. His Most Christian Majesty revoked the orders given to the Chevalier de Razilly ; the treaty was signed between the two crowns, fixing the lim- its on the New England side, where we yield- ed some extent of country between Port Roy- al and Baston, which belonged to France as first occupant."" While the reverend Jesuit Fathers were act- ing in concert with us for the good of the country, we learned that they had all to do, in erecting the Company which was forming, in * Canada was restored by the treaty of St. Germain-en-Laye, March 2g, 1632. " Memoires des Commissaires," iii. p. 5. Champlain mentions Commander Razilly's preparations, Laverdifere, vi. p. 342. " Pieces Justificatives," pp. 25-6. 320 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT the choice and nomination of those who were to compose it. Our natural uprightness made us really believe that things would only go bet- ter both for the settlement of the country and for our own benefit, relying on the probity and virtue of those reverend Fathers and their grati- tude, of which they frequently made us avowals and protestations. Their return was ordered and decreed in full form, the commercial Company erected by letters-patent, and a new contract which gave them the country as lords and pro- prietors. Monsieur de Lauzon was appointed su- perintendent and president. A kind of Supreme Council was established at Quebec, composed of the governor, the Superior of the Jesuits, and the syndic of the country. Such were the pro- ject and regulation which they formed, to be afterwards observed in all circumstances as soon as they entered into possession of Canada.* * There is strange confusion here. No new Company was formed at this time. The Company of One Hundred established April 29, 1627, before Kirk took Quebec, still existed. " Memoires des Com- missaires," ii. p. 462 ; Mercure Francois, xiv. ii. p. 232. The appoint- OF THE FAITH. 32 1 We prepared for our return in the year 1631, and did not anticipate the least difficulty in the matter, as we had our establishments formed, patents from Rome and France in good form ; a possession of fourteen or fifteen years, with untiring labors which we had undergone, rendered our right incontest- able. In fact, his Majesty gave consent. The cardinal chose to favor our preparations by his lib- erality, as did the Duchess d'Aiguillon. The gen- tlemen of the Company amused us with fair words, which we took to be sincere and in good faith. The reverend Jesuit Fathers, our old associates and coadjutors, also made us every civil advance. The Superiors of the two Institutes seemed to act with equal sincerity and understanding. Monsieur de Champlain took our interests to heart, but durst not appear ; he was even the first to advise us of ment of de Lauson was made at the very outset, May 7, 1627. " Memoires," etc., p. 478. The Jesuits are not mentioned in any docu- ment cited in the " Memoires." There is no order in regard to the erec- tion of a Supreme Council at this time. It was not till 1647 that a kind of Council was established, of which ^he Superior of the Jesuits, until the appointment of a bishop, was a member. " Jesuit Journal," p. 93 ; Ferland, " Cours d'Histoire," i. p. 356. 21 322 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT the real intentions of those who pretended to serve us, but in fact thwarted us. An incident which befell us gave our Fathers some suspicion. The gentlemen of the Com- pany informed us that from them we could expect nothing but permission to go to Canada, and that they could not continue to pay the salaries of six hundred livres nor grant free passage, being bound to the Jesuit Fathers by a regular contract, by which they promised to support three of their Fa- thers in each settlement. * Our six places belonged to us by an incontest- able right, as this Company, though augmented in the number of associates, was still the same as the old, succeeding to its obligations and charges, as well as to its rights and privileges, by virtue of the treaty made with the king, and consequently they were bound to support six Recollects by an agree- ment made with the province. * The edict establishing the Compaii)' of One Hundred required them to maintain three priests in each settlement, but did not specify whether regular or secular. OF THE FAITH. 323 Nevertheless, this was not an obstacle for our Fathers, accustomed to live on Providence and be content with little. They agreed to subsist, without any aid from these gentlemen, on the alms from France, for which their syndic. President Loysel, and other men of rank became security before a notary in an act presented to the Company to give them every security. But the sequel showed that this was only a stratagem devised by Monsieur de Lauzon, who soon after sent us a counter-order to prevent our departure. The missions of New France are very different from many others. There is nothing there to please nature ; nothing that does not contradict the in- clination of the senses — insurmountable fatigues, sterile and thankless toil, little success in the con- version of souls, obstacles perfectly odious ; and yet all who serve there with true zeal avow that there is a secret charm which binds them to the task, so that if obedience or the necessity of circumstances withdraw them they have to do violence to their own feelings. 324 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT This invisible charm has always seemed to me a happy augury for Canada, in the thought that God will not abandon it for ever, but supports our hopes of seeing Christianity one day flourish in that bar- barism by the continuation of that secret vocation and powerful attraction which he imprints on the heart of missionaries. It was not only our Fathers who had labored in New France who were possessed with this ardor ; the whole province was in the same senti- ments, especially Father Joseph le Caron, who since his return had been appointed procurator of the mission ; but as he saw that all his efforts were useless, he experienced the same fate as St. Fran- cis Xavier, who, when on the point of entering China, found so many secret obstacles to his pious design that he fell sick and died of chagrin. So was Father Joseph a martyr to the zeal which consumed him, and of that ardent charity which burned in his heart to visit his church again ; and, seeing himself and his brethren interdicted by a secret conduct, he could not survive it, but died, OF THE FAITH. 325 full of merits, in the odor of sanctity, on the 29th of March, 1632, a few days before the fleet sailed. * We shall see elsewhere how, in the course of time, he will pursue the design of his apostolate by means of Monsieur Soiiart, his nephew, a great servant of God and true heir of the virtues and talents of that great apostle, and of that fervor which he had for New France, where this holy ec- clesiastic will spend his best days, the space of forty years, till a great but happy old age. f The fleet got ready, and the Jesuit Fathers, more fortunate J than we and more powerful, got their * Father Joseph le Caron, who may be regarded as almost the first Apostle of Canada, was in March, 1631, Superior of St. Margaret's Convent, near Gisors, in Normandy, when a contagious disorder broke out in the place, and in the sanitary measures adopted all his writings on Canada were burned. " Memoire dcs RecoUets," Margr)^ i. p. 11, f Rev. Gabriel Souart was a Sulpitian. He reached Quebec July 29, 1657, and, proceeding to Montreal with Mr. de Queylus, became first parish priest of that city. He was superior of the seminary there, 1661-8, 1674-6. He died at Paris, March 8, 1691. Juchereau, " Hist. de I'Hotel Dieu," p. 242 ; Tanguay's " Repertoire," p. 43 ; Faillon, " Histoire de la Colonic." X Cardinal Richelieu offered the Canada mission to the Capuchins, an order he greatly favored, and January 20, 1632, ordered de Caen to take three Fathers of that order. At their request he committed it to the Jesuits, ordering le Jeune, de Noue, and Buret to go. Passport issued by Card. Richelieu in Martin's " Bressani," p. 295. The origi- 326 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT shipment ready. The Reverend Father le Jeune, Superior of the residence of Dieppe, was appointed Superior of the mission. As associates there were assigned to him Father de la Nolle and a Brother temporal coadjutor. ''" Monsieur de Champlain was appointed governor ; but as the Sieur Emeric de Caen had sustained great loss in 1628 and 1629 in the siege and capture of Quebec, his Majesty granted him the enjoyment of the country for one year only, in order to reimburse him. He was not only general of the fleet, but also governor of Canada till the following year. The Sieur du Plessis Bouchard was his lieutenant, and com- manded under him. The letters-patent and orders of the kings of France and England were given him, with all powers to restore the colony. As soon as all things were ready for their departure at Dieppe f they set sail in the month of April, nal, on parchment, signed b}' him, was a few 3-ears since in the Canadian archives. See Relation 1632, p. i. * Brother Gilbert Buret. f The vessel sailed from Havre, and left lionfleur April 18, 1632 (Le Jeune, Rel. 1632 [Oueb. ed.], p. i), and anchored before Quebec July 5 (ib. p. 7). OF THE FAITH. 327 1632. The fleet arrived safely at Quebec, where the Sieur de Caen having presented his orders to the Sieur Louis Querk, the Enghsh general, the latter, without any opposition, surrendered the place and country, of which possession was a second time taken in the name of the king. * We leave the reader to judge of the joy which this return produced in the hearts of the French in the colony who had been permitted by the English to remain. The Jesuits visited them first and saw the sad ruins of their house, which these heretics had destroyed. Happily, they had spared our con- vent of Our Lady of the Angels, which was found in good enough condition to receive the Jesuit Fathers until they had restored their house. f Our Fathers had confided to Reverend Father le Jeune before he left France the spot where we had hid- den the church vessels and vestments, with all pow- er to use them in the divine offices till our return. J * Le Jeune, Rel. 1632, p. 8. f Le Jeune represents the Recollect house as in the worse con- dition. X It is pretty clear that the Recollects made no serious effort to go 328 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT The reverend Fathers kindly did us the favor to use them as their own, as well as the church, house, and lands, a part of which remains in their possession till this day, from a spot called la Gribane to near the edge of our ditches. Their first care was to restore their house beyond the river St. Charles, and, as they hoped that we vvould never return to Canada, they transferred among other things the name and title of our con- vent to their house, which they called Our Lady of the Angels. I shall not omit in this connection an obser- vation on the letter falsely attributed to the Reverend Father Charles I'Alemant, written at Quebec in 1626, inserted in the third volume of the Mercure Francois, by which, among other articles contrary to sincerity, he tells his Provin- cial that he enters into his idea to dedicate their church to Our Lady of the Angels, and that ours was consecrated to the name of St. Charles. over in 1632, and, as here stated, authorized the Jesuits to recover their church property. The next year they attempted to go and were defeated. OF THE FAITH. 329 This makes me judge that this letter could not be from Father I'Alemand, as he was not ignorant that historians of the same time had witnessed that the first church in Canada be- longed to the Recollects and had been conse- crated under the name of Our Lady of the Angels.* We shall leave those Reverend Fathers to re- store their missions while we resume our history of the new efforts made by our Fathers in France to follow them to this new world. The province * This is a very vague foundation for doubting Lalemant's author- ship of the Relation of 1626. Sagard, in his " History " (1632), chap. vi. p. 50, speaks of " the commencement of our Convent of St. Charles in Canada," but in the text (p. 56) says, " Our Convent of Our Lady of the Angels." The confusion is easil}' understood if what Father Lalemant states is a fact — that is, that the chapel in the Recollect convent of Our Lady of the Angels was dedicated to St. Charles. Sagard gives no name to this chapel, and has nothing to contradict Lalemant, whose letter was written on the spot in 1626 and published in the same year. There were no historians at that time whose works could help him know the name of his own chapel ; and Sagard, writing six years later, to some extent from memory and in France, might easily confound the names of the convent and its chapel. Another fact is that on March 10, 1626, the Jesuits obtained of the Duke de Ventadour a concession called Notre Dame des Anges on the River St. Charles near Quebec. " Seignorial Questions," A iga 330 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT was constantly strengthened in the hope it en- tertained of resuming the mission. Father Wil- liam Galleran was made procurator.'^' The news received every year from Canada en- kindled our zeal more and more. We learned with agreeable surprise, by the ample Relations printed, the great progress of the Gospel in that country ; all France admired that this barbarism, by an un- expected stroke of grace, was civilized and regu- lated in so short a time. The numerous conver- sions appeared every year to augment on paper, even among nations that had seemed to us quite brutal. O God ! what eagerness this success in- spired the hearts of all the province to go and share in so wonderful a change, if they were as real as they were said ; for at that time all France was duped by them, although the Relations of New Eng- land and New Holland quite contradicted them.f * Father William Galleran, according to the ' Mcmoire qui faict " (L'Abeille, vii. No. 29), and which was drawn up in 1637, "died the year before while charitably ministering to those sick of contagion in the city of Metz." f No works are cited. New York historians, O'Callaghan and OF THE FAITH. 331 Our Fathers deputed to Rome the Reverend Fa- ther Anthony Baudron to obtain powers and spi- ritual authority. He was supported by letters from the king for his ambassador at the court of Rome. Urban VIII. then filled the Holy See. A relation of the state of our missions and the progress made in them by the province was pre- sented to him, so that there was no difficulty in being heard in a proposal where we asked only to sacrifice our rest and lives to maintain a church which God had begun by our toil. The Holy Father, who favored us throughout, gave us an express command, and, in spite of the intrigues set on foot to defeat our project, he wrote to his Ma- jesty and addressed him through his Nuncio. A new decree of the Sacred Congregation de propa- ganda fide was issued under date of February 28, 1635, of which the following is a copy : " On the report of his Eminence Cardinal Monty the Brodhead, find the Jesuit Relations and Dutch documents to harmon- ize and not contradict. The statements of the Relations and of Jesuit documents like those of Druilletes and Bigot, then unprinted, are not contradicted by New England authorities. 332 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Sacred Congregation has ordered that the mission of the Re- collect Fathers of the province of Paris to go to North Ame- rica, commonly called Canada, and established under the auspices of Paul V. of happy memory, should be confirmed ; and in order tliat it be henceforth better conducted and bear greater fruit, it has in the first place judged proper that the Father-Provincial of the said Recollects be, during his term, constituted and established prefect of the said mission, with full power to appoint a vicar or a prefect, who shall be obliged to reside in said country of Canada, long since or recently discovered, or to be discovered, provided, nevertheless, that there is no other mission, and shall take care of them and see that they observe regular discipline. " In the second place, it wills that, with the knowledge of the Nuncio resident in France, the said Father-Provincial and his definitory increase the said mission by twenty religious, whom they may send there at once, or at several times, as during his time they shall deem proper. " In the third place, it grants said Provincial prefect of the said mission, for the space of ten years, the same privileges granted to the missionaries of the Indies, with all power to communicate them to his vicar or vice-prefect, and even to the missionaries both of the old and of the new mission, in whole and in part, and when he chooses, and he may also suspend or recall tliem entirely, as the necessity of the mis- sion shall require. " In the fourth place, it enjoins the said Provincial to ob- tain every year of his vice-prefect a Relation of the progress of his mission, which he shall send to the Most Eminent Pre- fect of this Congregation. In the last place, it commands OF THE FAITH. 333 that for the execution of said faculties recourse shall be had to the Holy Inquisition.* Signed, "ANTHONY BARBERINI, [Sealed.] Cardinal and Prefect." And lower down, "FRANCIS INGOLUS, "Secretary." The Holy Father, moreover, added several more authentic privileges, permissions, and authorities in nineteen other articles, which I omit for brevity, by which we see that our Holy Father Pope Ur- ban VHI. granted such permissions to the Pro- vincial who was and should be of the Recollects of the province of Paris, for the term of ten years, all dated March 29, 1635, signed Francis, Cardinal Barberini (L.S.) ; Francis Ingolus, Secretary; John Anthony Thomas, Notary of the Roman Church and Universal Inquisition. The Sacred Congregation, not content with all these precautions, wrote by Signor Ingolus to the Reverend Father-Provincial and to the Guar- * Sagard, " Histoire du Canada," Appendix. 334 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT dian of Paris.* The Most Eminent Anthony Barberini, Prefect of the said Congregation and Protector of our order, condescended to add his letters, all addressed in France to Monsignor Dascoli, Nuncio of the Holy See, who, having some time after received new orders and privi- leges, put the whole into our Fathers' hands and conjured them to continue the effects of their zeal for the missions, so useful and necessary for the salvation of souls. The letters from Rome having been obtained, that of the king, new orders of the cardinal, the Reverend Father Ignatius le Gault, Provin- cial f of the Recollects of Paris, now presented himself in person at their meeting on the 6th of September, 1635, and there pleaded our cause so clearly that these gentlemen not only granted us our return, but also the same allowance for the * The letters of the secretary, dated January i6, March 13, Decem- ber 18, 1635, are in the Paris Documents in Canada, Series II. vol. i. p. 75-81. f He was Vicar-Provincial, the Provincial, Father Vincent Mors, being absent in Guienne. " Memoire " in L'Abeille, vii. No. 30. OF THE FAITH. 335 passage of our Fathers and the six hundred livres appomted for their maintenance on the spot. This the president was compelled to announce from them to the Reverend Father-Provincial, and to have it committed to writing at once in his pi'es- ence ; he even came afterwards to our convent at Paris to assure us of it, yet without consenting to give us a copy of the result. The province made its preparations for the voyage and the re-establish- ment of our missions in the country. Six religious were sent, namely : Father Potentien de Mont- mellier, Superior and Vice-Prefect ; Fathers Paul Huet, Giles du Tilliet, Florent Morel, and Bro- thers Gervase Mohier and Charles Langoisseux.* Mechanics were hired ; alms were received from per- sons who chose to contribute. At last, when every- thing was ready. Monsieur de Lauzon, f President, * The " Memoire " (L'Abeille, vii. No. 30) says Rev. Potentian de Mommeillier, from Nevers, Superior ; Father Paul Huet, from Metz ; Father Anthony Soue, Guardian of Vordin ; Father Gratian Charme, from Gisors ; Brother Gervase Mohier, from Vitry ; Brother Germain Petit, from Melun ; and Brother Lazarus, Oblat. f John de Lauson, born in 1582, was Intendant of Vienne in Dauphiny, Royal Councillor in the Council of State and Privy Coun- 336 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Strictly forbid us to go, sent his orders to that effect to the fleet, and on our remonstrance gave as his sole reason that we would not live in peace there with the Reverend Jesuit Fathers — a reason the more frivolous as these Fathers themselves refuted it in verbal and written assurances ; charity not permitting us to believe that the said Sieur had any understanding with them in his insincere con- duct towards us. The president came frequently to propose and even solicit us to sell to the reverend Jesuit Fa- thers our convent, church, land, vestments, fur- niture, and generally all that we owned in Canada. I am willing to believe that he acted on his own cil, Maitre des Requetes ordinaires de son Hotel, and President of the Grand Council; was appointed b)' Cardinal Richelieu in 1627 Intendant of the Affairs of New France and of the Company ("Edits et Ordon- nances," i. p. 16 ; " Memoires des Commissaires," ii. p. 501 ; Tanguay, " Dictionnaire G^nealogique," p. 172; Lafontaine, " Memoires de la So- ciete Hist, de Montreal," i. pp. 65-96). He was, according to Rague- neau ("Vie de la Mere Catherine," p. 319), very active in establishing the Company of One Hundred Associates, and from the positions he acquired must have stood high in favor with Richelieu and been that great minister's agent in carrying out his plans. He was appointed Governor of Canada January 17, 1651, and remained in office till 1656, when he returned to France, and died at Paris February 16, 1666. OF THE FAITH. ZZ7 impulse ; but as our Fathers would never consent, he hoped to drive us to it by raising all obstacles, until he openly declared himself against us in the meetings and on all occasions. To depreciate our chief house and our lands, they had drawn up a verbal to their fancy when the vessels arrived in 1633; but, being found un- faithful, our Fathers in good faith applied to Mon- sieur de Lozon, who by his letters ordered a new examination in 1634. This second verbal was more false than the first, diminishing the number and condition of the cleared lands, the state of the buildings, and church furniture. Summation made March 7, 1636, to Monsieur de Lauzon, President of the Assembly, and to all the gentlemen of the Company, at the request of Presi- dent Loisel, in the name and as Syndic-General of the Recollects, tending to our return to Can- ada. They replied in our favor, unable to refuse it to the justice of our cause and the orders of the courts of France and Rome. Similar summation at Dieppe, whither our Fa- 33^ FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OJ thers had repaired for passage, dated April 3 in the same year, at the request of said Sieur Loisel, in the said name, tending to the same end. They trifled with our poor Fathers and put them off with words till the moment when they had to set sail ; then a counter order was given by the gen- tlemen of the Company, seigneurs, and proprie- tors of the country and the vessels, so that the general refused to take them. As the Sieur de Lauzon had no reason but the interest of the Reverend Jesuit Fathers, our Fa- thers had only time to write them pressing letters, which were sent to Canada. The original an- swers have been found from the Reverend Father Charles Lallemant, Superior of the missions, dated at Quebec August 19, 1636, which are a kind of manifesto by which he not only justifies himself of the imputation of having caused our delay, but also protests that he and all his religious desire nothing so much as our return.* * The case of the Recollects was a hard one, and this work shows how bitterly they felt their exclusion, which they ascribed to the Jesu- OF THE FAITH. 339 Backed by this testimony, a new request was addressed to the king's council January 4, 1637. It was granted in our favor, but remitted for execu- tion to the Company, to whom the Reverend Fa- ther Ignatius le Gault presented the request. It was read by Mr. OHer in his presence on the 15th of* January in the same year. The request an- its. There is, however, reason to believe that the whole was decided by Cardinal Richelieu. His orders to the first Jesuits show that he first offered the Canada mission to the Capuchins, and then assigned them to Acadia and removed the Recollects from that province. "Archives des Affaires Etrangeres k Paris," vol. Ameriqiw, fol. 10?, 106, cited by Faillon, " Histoire de la Colonie," p. 280. The Com- panv of New France was created by Richelieu and could not oppose his will. Le Clercq nowhere intimates that his order appealed to the cardinal, who could have restored them in a moment. The Recol- lects had, moreover, taken a step that gave umbrage to the govern- ment. They had solicited at Rome the appointment of a bishop for Canada, and one of their order, a native of Guyenne, well known in Rome, seems to have been actually named, as French ecclesiastics tried to induce him to resign in their favor (" Memoire des Recol- lectz," Margr}-, i. p. 15). When the Jesuits sailed in 1632 with their passports the Recollects did not attempt to go ; no reason is given, but from the cardinal's policy it is evident that he had or would have refused to give them a passport. See Faillon, " Histoire de la Colo- nie," pp. 2S0-2. The Jesuits received their passport at the last mo- ment from the hands of a nephew of the cardinal (Rel. 1632), and must have had already powers from the Recollects, who evidently did not attempt to go. 340 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT swered, was granted, not for this year but for an- other time, under different pretexts and new inci- dents so well kept up that we had in fact to await a more favorable time."^' Our Indians believe that there is a certain invisi- ble Spirit which governs all, one good and one bad, yet without power to understand or specify which is the fortunate, which the unfortunate genius. We learned in after-years that they spoke thus when told of the obstacles which retained us. These Indians, who do not lack good sense, told our French that the Manitou which kept us was an evil spirit, and that in our world we had not jugglers expert enough to conjure it ; for they im- agine that the world ends at the end of theirs and at the beginning of the great lake which is in our ocean. *The " Memoire qui faict pour I'afFaire des Peres Recollects de la prouince de Sainct Denj's ditte de Paris, touchant le droict qu'ils ont depuis I'an 1615, d'aller en Canada soubs I'authoritfe de Sa Maiest6, at mission des Souuerains Pontifes, soubs la faueur desquels ils ont basty vn conuent et Eglise a Quebecq, ils ont celebr6 les SS. Mysteres en diuers endroits du diet pays les premiers " was apparently prepared at this time. The original is at Versailles. The text in L'Abeille, vii. No. 25, seems more accurate than Margry's, " Decouvertes," i, p. 7. OF THE FAITH. 341 Although these people judged by all these delays that we had not as much mind as they thought be- fore, inclination, however, and the desire to see their first Fathers again, were unaltered, as we learned by the letters of our friends and those which came every year from Canada. I myself had a sensible proof a fortnight after my arrival from France at Quebec, when I first visited the Indians of the mission of Laurette and Syllerie ; for the Hurons, Montagnais, and Algomquins had still — some by tradition, the older by themselves — the re- collection of and present inclination for our old Fa- thers ; so that some old men among them, unable to make me understand in their language, of which I had no knowledge, what they wanted to say, they knelt before me, in' the presence of the Rev- erend Father Chaumonot, Jesuit, their missionary, clasped their hands, and with their hands raised to heaven several times repeated the names of Father Joseph and Father Nicholas, sprinkling water on their heads to show me that those apostolic mis- sionaries had baptized them — so true is it that the 342 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT memory of the just is precious before God and be- fore men. I admit that religious discernment had not as great a share as the natural inclination and preference they had in our favor, but after all it is certain, as events afterwards convinced us, that these tribes being people of habit, and having become accustomed to our Fathers, our removal greatly retarded their conversion ; and, without speaking of the means which we had put in use, to which, however, no great regard was afterwards paid, missionaries of different institutes would have greatly advanced the work, the harvest being, be- sides, ample enough to give employment to ten thousand ; not that the little rising churches we had left there'^' belied their faith, except two or three who could not place confidence in new mis- sionaries and did not sustain their vocation with all perseverance. We must, however, hope that God gave them grace to see their error, although some * These "Indian churches " are rather at variance with other parts of the work, and can mean onl}- the few converts whom they had made in the fourteen years. OF THE FAITH. 343 writers have damned them with full right, as they have canonized others who are not less suspicious ; for Canada is a country where they decide sover- eignly of the eternal lot of folk, even when they are still full of life, and where they damn or save men with plenitude of power and without any forms of law. It is just to add here, to the glory of Father Wil- liam Galleran, an apostolic man, that he met the same fate as Father Joseph le Caron had experi- enced ; and that this last attempt, which seemed so well supported, having failed, this poor religious began to despair of our return and made no long struggle, for he died of regret the same year (1636), in great repute for virtue. We may be- lieve that God, who regards our services in the preparation of the heart and good-will, wished to anticipate his crown and give him the reward of many years of toil which he had designed to under- take in Canada. This did not fail to make some noise at court among those interested in the good of the country, 344 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT each one taking a side, some from an interest in re- ligion, others from poHcy, many impelled by fear and hope ; for though the two bodies were per- fectly united together and persuaded of their good intentions towards each other, nevertheless the rev- erend Jesuit Fathers saw themselves suspected of preventing the return of the Recollects. They chose to exculpate themselves by a certificate, by protestations, by authentic letters which I have read, one from the Reverend Father le Jeune, Superior of the mission, to the Father-Guardian of Paris, dated August i6, 1632 ; another from the Reverend Father Charles Lallemant to Father Baudron, secretary of the Reverend Father-Pro- vincial of the Recollects of St. Denis in France, dated September 7, 1637; and a third from the same Father Lallemant to Brother Gervase Mohier, in which he complains greatly that the Fathers of the Society were suspected in France and Canada of being opposed to our return. These were authentic proofs of their sincerity which leave no doubt of the truth. OF THE FAITH. 345 Our Reverend Recollect Fathers of the pro- vince of Aquitaine, who had from 161 9 given so many proofs of their zeal for the establishment of the Faith in Acadia, had been driven out by the English in 1628, but they were more fortunate than our Parisian Fathers in obtaining their return to their former missions after the king resumed possession of Canada and the limits of Acadie had been settled between the two crowns ; for as these Reverend Fathers found no one to compete with them, and besides it was not necessary to come to court and move machinery as difficult as that of the gentlemen of the great Company, the Asso- ciates of Acadie anticipated the Reverend Fathers, and, remembering the good they had received in the spiritual order without their interfering in other matters, they had recourse to their old missionaries. Our Fathers accordingly passed over in 1633, and afterwards distinguished themselves by their merito- rious labors and zeal for the French and Indians as long as the affairs of the former were able to sup- port their enterprises, and a spirit of peace reigned 34^ FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. among these gentlemen. I shall not give a detail of their missions, referring the reader to the natural and simple Relation which the Fathers of the same province have given to the public* * These three Recollects were sent out by the Company of New France in 1630 and settled at Port la Tour (Champlain, Prince ed., i. p. 298), but Le Clercq suppresses the fact that Richelieu in 1633 ordered them to be sent to France and Capuchins to be despatched in their stead (Faillon, i. p. 280). This confirms the suspicion that the whole matter of missionaries in the colony was decided absolutely by Cardinal Richelieu, and that he did not wish Recollects to be employed. CHAPTER XV. NEW ATTEMPTS OF THE RECOLLECTS OF THE PRO- VINCE OF PARIS TO RETURN TO CANADA, AND VARIOUS EVENTS WHICH HAPPENED IN THIS MATTER. T T is a glory and great subject of consolation -^ for our iioly order that the religious of St. Francis had the advantage of being the precursors of the Reverend Fathers of the Society of Jesus in all countries by the preaching of the Gospel, of making the first discoveries, of clearing the vine- yard of the Lord, and preparing the way for those apostolic men in both Indies, Africa, Asia, Bar- bary, and Turkey, and generally in every place where the sons of St. Ignatius have marched in the foot-steps of the sons of St. Francis.'^ In the East Indies, where they are now so power- * The Franciscans were established in 1209, and the Jesuits in 1540, more than three centuries later. 34^ FIRST ESTABLISHMENT ful in credit, merit, and possessions, it is known that eight Friars Minors were sent there in 1500 to an- nounce the Gospel at Calicut and Cochin, and even received the crown of martyrdom there, ex- cept Father Henry, who on his return to Spain be- came confessor to the King of Portugal and Bish- op of Cepta. In 1502 a more numerous mission of our Fathers was sent there, who extended the ex- ploration, planted the standard of the cross, and made prodigious conquests to the Gospel in the conversion of those nations. In 15 10 our Fathers built the famous college and seminary of Goa, which they conducted and increased for twenty- eight years, till at last in 1542 they resigned it to St. Francis Xavier, in order to devote themselves entirely with that great saint and his disciples to preaching the Gospel to those barbarous nations, as the historians of those times and the authors of the life of that saint, especially Father Horace Tursellini, admit in early editions, although in later ones this mark of gratitude has been omitted, though so justly due us. OF THE FAITH. 349 All know the glory we have had in all these countries of the East, even in Japan, of sharing with those great men their apostolic labors, and even the crown of martyrdom ; that the Recollects opened to them the way of the Gospel in the king- dom of Voxu, in the eastern part of Japan; that by their preaching the king and his kingdom acknow- ledged the religion of the true God, burnt more than eight hundred idols, and planted everywhere in his empire the arms of our salvation, so that the king in 161 3 deputed a famous embassy of a hundred Japanese gentlemen, who embarked on the 28th October, 161 3, and landed in Spain on the loth of November, 16 14, under the guid- ance of Father Louis Sotello, a Recollect, who presented to the Pope the ambassador, who acknowledged him as head of the Church in the name of the king and his subjects. As regards the West Indies, otherwise called America, it is not less known that this great part of the world was entirely discovered in the years 1492-3 by Christopher Columbus, accompanied by 350 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT religious of St. Francis; that in the year 15 16 we had ah-eady considerable houses and convents at Cubagnia, Cumana, and Markapana, where our re- ligious were everywhere massacred ; that there were Recollects in the kingdoms of Tlaxcalla, Mechioacan, and Mexico, and, to be brief, in the year 1 540-1 Spain had already conquered more than a hundred kingdoms and a vast extent of country of which Europe is not a third, while our religious, the first and sole evangelical laborers, had subjected a part of its subjects to the empire of Christ.* In these vast countries they afterwards called, introduced, welcomed, received, sustained, loved, and favored the Fathers of the Society and continued their evangelical labors with them. It is not less clear that in other parts of the * The Franciscans were not alone. Benedictines, Dominicans, and Augustinians were also engaged in these American missions. Yet it is true that the Franciscans had a very large part in these efforts. The Spanish Franciscans for manj' j'ears directed missions among the In- dians in New Mexico, Florida, Texas, and California, and of sevent)'- eight Catholic priests and religious who were killed amid their labors within the limits of the United States, no fewer than fift)'-five were Franciscans. OF THE FAITH. 351 world the Franciscan religious even now support powerful missions established in the origin of the order. Alexander IV. in 1254 bears witness in one of his letters, "that they were scattered in all the lands of heretics and unbelievers." These are the very words of this Sovereign Pontiff : "Alexander, to our well-beloved the Friar Minors con- ducting missions in the lands of the Saracens, Pagans, Greeks, Bulgarians, Cumanians, Etluopians, Syrians, Hiber- nians, Jacobites, Nubians, Nestorians, Georgians, Armenians, Indians, Mossellaniques, Tartars, Hungarians of Lower and Upper Hungary, Christians captives among the Turks and other infidel nations of the East, or any other part whatever, health and apostolic benediction." In 1272 Father Jerome Dascoli, afterwards Pope Nicholas IV., with his disciples, not only effected the reconciliation of the Greek and Latin churches, but also carried the Gospel to Tartary. The reli- gious of our order were invited by the princes of both Armenias in 1289, ^"^ were still extending their conquests in 1332. Turkey and the kingdoms subject to the Grand 352 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Seigneur have been and are theatres of their zeal and witnesses of our apostoHc labors, and it is known that the Holy Land and several other parts subject to the Turk are still governed under the prefecture of the children of St. Francis, who there honor the reverend Jesuit Fathers and with plea- sure give them employment. History mentions in 1342 missions of ours in Bosnia and Slavonia against the infidels, among the Grand Tartars who now possess China, in Per- sia, Media, and Chaldea. In 1370 the mission was augmented by Urban V, with sixty of our religious, the order being every- where honored with a great number of martyrs. The embassy of Eugene IV. and the mission of forty religious to Prester John in 1439, after- wards supported by a still greater number, is also well known, as also the reduction of his states and their submission to the Roman Church. I should never end, were I to undertake to set down the most famous missions with which we have been honored throughout the world where OF THE FAITH. 353 the reverend Jesuit Fathers are scattered ; but they there entered into our labors, or rather we have the advantage of continuing them with those apostoHc men, acting everywhere in admirable concert and perfect union for the sake of the glory of God and of the Gospel which we seek there solely. Hence our Fathers of Paris, having invited that illustrious body to Canada to aid them in laboring in the conquest of souls, had on the one side great joy to learn every year the happy progress of the establishment of the reverend Jesuit Fathers; but this joy, though free from jealousy, was clouded by a holy sorrow to see that, if we had preceded them in all the other missions of the New World, that of New France was the only one where we had not the consolation of continuing our apostolic la- bors with them, the more so as the reciprocal char- ity between the two bodies, which had never been weakened, persuaded us that these Fathers, full of virtue and merit, regretted it as deeply as they manifested in their letters. 23 354 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT We shall not give the detail of a new attempt made in 1639. Two deputies arrived in France from Canada and secretly addressed our Fathers at Paris to show the gehenna in which the consciences of the colony were to see themselves governed by the same persons in spirituals and temporals, con- juring us to do our best at court to obtain our restoration. Father Paul Huet accompanied them to some of the gentlemen of the Company, who were friendly to us and who freely opened their mind to us, showing us that they were persuaded of the necessity for our return, even for their own interest, and promising all kinds of favor. New request presented to the cardinal, the grounds of which will be given hereafter. It was granted according to its tenor, and, as before, sent to the gentlemen of the Company, who in private gave us their word ; but when they had consulted the oracle our own friends turned their backs on us, not willing even to give us leave to go to Cana- da, which they did not refuse laborers, mechanics, and farmers. OF THE FAITH. 355 We had thought that this occasion would be all the more favorable to us, as they were that year, at the request of the reverend Jesuit Fathers, send- ing out to Canada some Ursulines and Hospital Nuns for the spiritual and corporal aid of the colony ; but finally, secret reasons having excluded us, we had to let the matter rest there and conform to the orders of God. Meanwhile our Fathers, always relying on the justice of their cause and more and more strength- ened by the impulse of new zeal, did not despair of a more favorable time when the clamors of the country and the force of circumstances would over- come the active intrigues which prevented our return. The queen, whose piety had formerly greatly fa- vored our mission, still showed her inclination for it ; her justice was impatient to see us thus baffled, so that when she became regent of the Kingdom after the death of Louis XIII. she showed her approval of our request. Her confessor, a re- ligious of our order, and many other persons of 356 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT rank, strongly and even efficaciously interested themselves in the years 1643 and 1644. At this time came new complaints from the country and the gentlemen of the Company. The latter having for many years seen that the outlay greatly exceeded the income ; that the trade, far from profiting, was entirely ruining, them ; that since the establishment of their association a com- pany had been formed in the Company, and a society in their Society ; that some of them pro- fited by the wreck of others, by private under- standing with the agents on the spot and the most intelligent and influential persons in the country, they had then opened their eyes in earnest to their own interest, and felt a little too late that they had taken false measures and established their com- merce on ruinous foundations. We shall else- where see how they were in consequence obliged to abandon the trade to the settlers in Canada. The discontented members joined us, and, backed by letters from the chief men in Canada, we presented our request to the queen and her OF THE FAITH. 357 council. This request was accompanied by a fac- tum, of which, to avoid fatiguing the reader, I shall here give merely the substance and summary : "We there humbly remonstrated our most just right : ist, that we had been sent to Canada in 1615 by a mark of dis- tinction which the late king and his council had bestowed on the Recollects and by letters-patent granted to all our es- tablishments ; 2d, that many persons of rank, piety, and even of the first degree in the kingdom, princes of the blood and the queen-mother, had contributed of their charity ; 3d, that the province had expended considerable sums in build- ings at Quebec, which gradually depreciated, as well as in distant missions ; 4th, that the public were aware not only that the Recollects had been the first and only apostles of New France, but that for fourteen years they had cultivated that vineyard of the Lord with some success, spiritually di- rected the French in the colony, and announced the Gospel to more than fifty * barbarous nations, bearing during all that time the burden of the day and the heat ; 5th, that the gentle- men of the Company had originally agreed in their treaty with the king, and by a special contract with the province, to send over and maintain there a number of Recollects, iind in pursuance of this treaty we had borne all the expense till '29, when the English took possession of Quebec, where we suffered great losses ; 6th, that these gentlemen had con- stantly trifled with us from 1632, the province having three times in different years, on their word, prepared embarkations * It is not easy from his account or Sagard's to make out fiftj^ tribes. 358 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT at great expense ; 7th, that at present, as the Company was negotiating with the settlers in regard to trade, they should take no more interest or assume authority, as the colonists, subjects of the king, and the Indian nations asked for us most earnestly ; 8th, that we were bearers of testimonials showing all the services we had rendered in the discoveries of tlie coun- try ; 9th, that the very Indians still regretted our absence, and that the auste'rity of the Recollects, the disinterestedness of their conduct, simplicity, humility, and charity, and all these externals of abjectness, powerfully attracted these In- dian nations ; loth, that, having our establishments in the country already, we needed little to restore them, contenting ourselves, moreover, with poor fare for our support; iilli, that, far from being a burden to the rising colony, the pro- vince depended only on aid from France, it being known by the public voice that a blessing and secret multiplication of Providence had supported us there for fourteen years, and that God's arm was not shortened to support us again ; 12th, that we would not excite the jealousy of the reverend Jesuit Fathers, as some members of the Company alleged, as these reverend Fathers had assured us by letter, the harvest being so great and ample in that vast extent of country and differ- ent nations, that all the religious bodies in France might find employment there ; 13th, that we were not indeed an institute to maintain and advance trade and commerce, but that we were equally incapable of partaking in its profits directly or indirectly ; that, on the contrary, merchants would bear testi- mony that our Fathers, perfectly disinterested for themselves, had favored them in all that depended on their ministry ; 14th, that the Recollects were not of a state and institute to enter OF THE FAITH. 359 into competition with any one for credit and pre-eminence, ranks, dignities, funds, rents, lands, seigneuries, and all other hopes of fortune, asking only to devote their toil and life to the vineyard of the Lord and the establishment of his kingdom ; 15th, that if Monsieur de Lauzon, President of the Com- pany, alleged that we were not fit for a new colony, our insti- tute not permitting us to send over and support a number of inhabitants, clear lands, establish farms, villages, towns, and seigneuries, and make capital available, whence he pretended to conclude that it would be more advantageous to multiply the establishments of the reverend Jesuit Fathers than to send Recollects there, we showed at length that this reason could not pass with Christians, and that it was altogether contrary to the apostolic spirit, foreign to the intentions and end, ac- tually destructive of the fruit and effect, of missions ; that, moreover, this reason showed little policy, as these establish- ments would be made gradually by seculars and lay persons, and that after many ages they could aver that the religious of St. Francis had no more right than the first day to the lands and property in those vast countries ; while, should the country one day be peopled, the principal seigneuries, farms, and best property would be possessed by missionaries, mas- ters alike of temporal and spiritual." At last, in reply to the frivolous reasons al- leged by Monsieur de Lauzon to support the charge that religious without fixed income were not proper for new countries, we inserted a de- tail of the almost infinite number of colonies 360 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT established for many ages in the East and West, with so great progress in spirituals and tempo- rals, although none -were employed on them but the religious of St. Francis or others without fixed income, to whom kings, princes, states, and commercial companies had on this point rendered most flattering testimony ; and that there was no reason why New France should be on this point an exception. The Reverend Father Ignatius Legault, for- merly vicar-general of the order, was then pro- vincial of the province of Paris. He himself, in company with Father Paul Huet, presented a most humble remonstrance joined to our mani- fest. He did the same at the Company's office. As it was not possible to deny the justice of our reasons, the request was granted in council and orders were issued ; but in spite of all the precautions we could take not to be sent back to the gentlemen of the Company, more cunning and powerful persons played their part so well that it was inserted in the order that we should OF THE FAITH. 361 be obliged to obtain the approval of the Com- pany. This was putting us off, as the proverb is, to the Greek calends, as we should always find in our way Monsieur de Lauzon, President of the Board, and three or four others of these gentle- men, who put a good face on false play, and who, always admitting our right, were too much slaves of certain persons to consent against their will to the justice of our cause. The best-inten- tioned of the gentlemen nevertheless consented to take our papers once more. Our Reverend Father- Provincial was at the office on the ap- pointed day ; the extract of our reasons and the orders of the court were read. Our Fathers left the office. Discussion followed. It was said that they granted us wiiat we asked, on condi- tion that we should wait till the following year, these gentlemen not wishing to decide finally till they had consulted the colonists to whom they abandoned the trade. Meanwhile, as all these negotiations were spun 362 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT out and the preparations of the fleet were pro- ceeding, Monsieur de Repentigny,* General, had asked of us, and even obtained of our Reverend Father-Provincial, three of our relig^ious, offerinsf to carry them over at his own expense and sup- port them for some time in the country. He had set out for Rochelle, where a part of the pur- chases necessary for our establishment had l)een made in our name. Monsieur de Repentigny, who was already at Rochelle, sent his certificate in our favor and that of three or four Cana- dians then in France, The whole presented to the interested gentlemen, they answered our Fa- thers, through Monsieur de Lauzon, that we must abide by the first order and wait till next year, adding that he wrote in earnest, that our Fathers had only to remain at Rochelle on his word, that the answers would infallibly be fa- vorable, and that all sort of satisfaction should be given us. * Peter le Gardeur, Sieur de Repentign}', Lieutenant-Governor. " Journal des Jesuites," pp. 3, 65, etc. OF THE FAITH. 363 Soon after a member of the Company, an in- timate friend of ours, revealed to our Fathers that it was a trick played by Monsieur de Lau- zon ; that he had been the first to ridicule our manifests and arguments, and that he and Mon- sieur de la Madeleine * had tried to persuade the meeting that they must not have religious without revenues in new colonies, and that the queen-mother had quite recently been preju- diced. He added that while conversing with Monsieur de Lauzon on our affairs a few days before, the latter had told him in express words : "The Recollects must sell their lands, renounce their rights, and agree with the Jesuits, who will do well by them. These Fathers understand nothing with all their reasons ; they are not for our times, that was good formerly ; but in the age we live in morals have been reformed, and we have even discovered that we must use the * Evident!)' the Rev. James de la Ferte, Abb6 de la Magdeleine de Chateaudun, councillor and almoner to the king, one of the Hun- dred Associates. Creuxius. 364 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT temporal to establish the spiritual. A country is then better governed. The Recollects are your friends; tell them to think no more about it." This was enough to deprive our Fathers of all hope, seeing themselves thus sent from Cai- phas to Pilate. The province, however, con- tinued to make new protestations in the name of the syndic, declaring that if we were stopped by force we did not abandon our case. •Mean- while a procuration was made out to the Reve- rend Father-Guardian of Rochelle for the use of eight arpents of our cleared lands to Monsieur de Repentigny ; and although this grant was purely gratuitous on our part, that gentleman, who has left his hereditary probity, generosity, and liberality, to his family, one of the highest in Canada, chose to make us an annual return ; the rest of our lands had in preceding years been similarly given up to the Hospital Nuns on condition that it should be without prejudice till our return, and that they would by letter make the avowal to the province. OF THE FAITH. 365 Subsequent to that time Monsieur d'Avau- gour granted a part by concession to Monsieur de Lobbinier,"^' Lieutenant-General. It is true tliat some years after — namely, in 1668 — the Sieur Bequet,f Notary Royal at Quebec, hav- ing asked us some portion, particularly the con- vent ground and three or four arpents around, the province granted him the use without preju- dice to our rights. It happened that in November, 1650, one of our friends in the Canada Company took the trouble to come to our convent at Paris to pay a visit to Father Placidus Gallemant, his particular friend, then guardian of the house, on purpose to ask him whether we would not send religious to Canada, assuring us that we were more and more desired by the majority of the French settlers, as deputies just come from Canada had severally as- sured him — namely, Messrs. Geodfroy, Admiral of * Louis Theantre Chartier de Lotbiniere, member of the Council and Lieutenant of Quebec. Daniel, " Nos Gloires," i. pp. 177-9. Tangua}', " Dictionnaire Genealogique," p. 120. f Remain Becquet died in 1682. Tanguay, p. 36. 366 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT the fleet;* de Tilly, a gentleman; and Maheu, syndic of the country ; f that we could see them about it ; that he had spoken to several of his as- sociates, who said that there was no difficulty — on the contrary, that our return was absolutely neces- sary ; that it was an act of justice ; that the set- tlers had no quiet in conscience on account of cer- tain clashings of interest which had arisen in Ca- nada with those to whom they had to confess (these are the words of his statement). He added that if we did not take this step the deputies and the Company, in default of us, would take measures to send over secular priests. On these advances the Reverend Father Raphael le Gault. then provincial, wished to try in his turn whether he would be more fortunate than his pre- decessors. He summoned to Paris Father Paul Huet, who was of the community of Rouen, and Brothers Gervase Mohier and Charles Langois- * John Paul Godfrey. Tanguay, p. 274; " Jesuit Journal," p. 144. f Probably James Maheu (Tanguay, p. 403), though I do not find that he ever held any such position as syndic of the colony. OF THE FAITH. 367 seux, who knew Canada, and gave them as asso- ciate Father Zachary Moreau, a man of intelh- gence and mind, in order to negotiate our return once more. We called on our friend, who advised us not to go to court, hut to apply directly to the Company, to whom we could present our request at the general meeting to be held on the i6th of January, 1651, and that we should surely find no opposition ; that even Monsieur de Lauzon was entirely changed, provided it cost the Company nothing ; that we must visit them privately, and above all confer with the deputies from Canada. No part of this advice was neglected. The deputies told us more than we wished to know, and more than charity permits me to give to the public, and at last they told us resolutely that they sought some one to place as parish priest at Que- bec and at some of the principal places, their con- sciences being too much hampered in having to treat with the same persons in temporals and spir- ituals, having no one to whom they could confi- dently communicate the difficulties of their con- 368 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT science, and that on our refusal they would look for others. The members of the Company, instructed by these deputies, addressed us nearly the same lan- guage, especially Monsieur Rose, Director ; Messrs. Margonne, des Portes, Beruhier," and Chamftou, adding in direct words : " Fathers, it would have been far better to let you go back to Canada rather than others. It is a great injustice they do you and the settlers. We see well where this comes from. Present your reasons, and justice shall be done to you and the people of the country." We then called on Mr. Cheffault, Secretary of the Com- pany, who told us: "Formerly, Fathers,,! was against you, and I beg God's pardon. I had been deceived. Now I see that I was wrong. Would to God that you had gone there long ago to act as parish priests ; they want you there for the repose of their consciences." * John Rose, merchant, of Rouen ; Claude Margonne, of Soissons, Royal Councillor and Treasurer ; Peter des Portes, Seigneur de Lig- nery ; James Berruyer, Sieur de Mausellemont. OF THE FAITH. 369 Fathers Zachary Moreau and Paul Huet begged and entreated him to assure these gentlemen that, even if permitted to return to Canada, we should not undertake to exercise parochial functions there, in order to avoid jealousy, unless the Reverend Jesuit Fathers showed us the same cordiality as our old Fathers had done them in 1625, when Father Joseph le Caron, the Superior, permitted and even begged them^ in order to maintain friendship, to exercise parochial functions alternately with us at Quebec ; that we should merely exercise our ministry there, as in France and everywhere, for the relief of consciences and in concert with the re- verend Jesuit Fathers. They also called on Monsieur de Lauzon, Inten- dant of the Company, who, as usual, appeared to decide in our favor. We even presented him the bonds of our syndic and others to show him that we could not be a burden to the country nor the colony, with the draft of a request which he ap- proved. He asked how many religious we wished to send, and was told three — two priests, and one 24 37<^ FIRST ESTABLISHMENT lay brother to go and examine the grounds. He even directed the request to be given to him when ready, and answered for our success. In fact, our Fathers were simple enough to have no doubts of success. They even took all measures with the Canada deputies. The religious were got ready for the voyage, and at ast the re- quest was taken to Monsieur de Lauzon on the 15th, signed " Father Raphael le Gault, Provin- cial ; Vincent Paladuc, Definitor ; Placidus Galle- mand. Guardian of Paris," in the name of the whole province, accompanied by a manifest con- taining our reasons and rights in detail. The meeting was held on the 1 6th of said month of January in Monsieur de Lauzon's own house. It began, proceeded, and closed without our said Sieur de Lauzon's producing our request till the meeting adjourned and the members rose to leave ; then Monsieur Clarantin ^' said to Monsieur de Lauzon : " You say nothing of the request of the poor Re- collect Fathers." The members sat down again. * Simon Clarentin. OF THE FAITH. 371 The said Sieur de Lauzon read a part of the re- quest, which he interrupted to make a harangue directly against our interests. At last the decision was pronounced that as the Company had relin- quished the trade to the inhabitants, and in conse- quence were sending no vessels to Canada, he "" re- mitted our matter to the judgment of the inhabi- tants, and, in case they had no objection, he ^ per- mitted us to pass. So three of the members, intimate friends of ours, informed us, and they told us to beware of Sieur de Lauzon, because he had not wished the result to be entered at the time in the Company's book or endorsed on the re- quest. According to this decision, we had reason to believe our matter sure, as of four Canadian set- tlers, who were deputies in France, the three already named absolutely demanded the Recol- lects, and we were sure of their constancy ; but we were greatly surprised when, on the 19th of January, our request was returned thus answered : * Evidently for " they." 372 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT " As the Company has resigned the beaver trade to the inhabitants of the country, and accordingly send no vessels to New France, the Company has resolved that the request be transmitted to the Council of Quebec and the syndic of the country, that on their report the Directors and Asso- ciates may provide. To whom it shall belong, by resolution made January i6, 165 1, at the meeting of New France. " Signed, A. CHEFFAULT, " Secretary of said Company " (with scroll). This written answer, as can be well seen, was not according to the Assembly's resolution, as Monsieur de Lauzon had inserted in that answer that it should be communicated to the Council of Que- bec, while the Company, as most assured us, had asked, what was quite different, to communicate our request to the deputies and inhabitants of the country then in France.* Our Fathers had recourse to these deputies, who all gave us their certificates and told us at the same time that they had learned from good sources that our affair would come to nothing, unless the gentle- men of the Company gave another answer on a * This is not borne out by his previous statement, where nothing is said of deputies in France. See p. 371. OF THE FAITH. 373 new request ; that it was trifling with us to no pur- pose to send us to the Council of Quebec, which was composed of the governor,"^' a creature of the Jesuits, of the Superior of the mission, f a syndic and inhabitants who could easily be gained so as to prevent our return ; they also added that they were on the point of sending Monsieur de Lauzon as governor, and that we might take measures ac- cordingly. A new request was presented to the Company on the 30th of January at a meeting held at the house of Monsieur des Portes. Monsieur de Lau- zon contrived to have none of our friends there but Messrs. Margonne and Robinot; the others, espe- cially Monsieur de la Madeleine, declared that the answer endorsed on our request must be adhered to ; that, moreover, they gave us all permission to go and advocate our matter before the Council of Quebec, which answer w^as formally announced to us. * Louis D'Ailleboust, Sicur dc Coulonges. See Shea's " Charle- voix," ii. p. 205. f Father Paul Ragueneau. 374 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Thus closed all our negotiation, which ended in sending the matter to Quebec with letters of recom- mendation from several persons. We obtained let- ters even from the Reverend Father-Provincial of the Jesuits and the Reverend Father Lallemant, Superior of the professed house, who was then in France, Superior of the missions, the latter promis- ing us every kind of favor when he should be in the country ; he even wrote a letter protesting it to our Reverend Father-Provincial and the province, so that we did not yet despair of returning. The reader may think that if the reverend Jesuits had been in our place, and the Recollects in theirs, we should not have failed to make their request succeed and be approved, and employ our credit in doing so, as we had formerly held firm against the whole country in calling them to Canada, and maintaining them there when they arrived in 1625, and the governor and inhabitants opposed their reception. Charity, which is upright and simple, persuades us that these Reverend Fathers did not lack good-will to do the same for us in this case, OF THE FAITH. 375 and that they only wanted credit and power in the Council of Quebec, as they assured us the next year by letter. It is easy to judge that the deci- sion was not in our favor, and that Monsieur de Lauzon, who then went to the country as gov- ernor, did not fail to continue the Recollects the services he had so far rendered them. CHAPTER XV. PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH IN NEW FRANCE AMONG THE INDIAN NATIONS DURING THE YEARS THAT THE COUNTRY WAS IN THE HANDS OF THE GEN- TLEMEN OF THE COMPANY, SEIGNEURS, AND PRO- PRIETORS OF CANADA BY ROYAL GRANT. A LL the Christian world recognizes as a system ^ ^ of religion and first principle of faith that the real and sincere vocation and conversion of tribes and nations is the great work of God's mercy and power, and the triumphant efficacity of his grace and spirit. If this be true of infidel and idolatrous nations which are already civilized, ruled and ordered by laws, whose reason is, so to speak, prepared to re- ceive the instruction of the Gospel and the Chris- tian religion, apostolic men should much more ac- knowledge this sovereign dependence on God with regard to barbarous nations who have no idea of religion, true or false ; who live without rule, with- FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. Zll out order, without laws, without God, and without worship ; whose reason is absolutely buried in mat- ter and incapable of the most ordinary reasonings of religion and faith. Such are the nations and the tribes of New France of whom I here treat. Missionaries must in good faith acknowledge that their conversion is beyond our powers ; that it belongs only to the Father of Spirits, as St. Paul says, and Him who holds the hearts of all men in his hands, to raise the veil which covers the eyes of this barbarism, to clear their reason, disperse the chaos of darkness in which they are buried, change their inclinations, melt the hardness of their inflexible hearts, civilize these people, render them susceptible of laws which right reason suggests and subject them to those which religion prescribes ; in a word, to en- lighten the blind and lead them by the power of his grace to the knowledge and love of truth. This is the foundation of the true apostolate of the native tribes of Canada which are known to us. The great point of simplicity 37^ FIRST ESTABLISHMENT of faith, humility, grace, and the unction of the Spirit should animate those whom God ap- points and calls to the publication of the Gos- pel in these nations. It must be laid down as a principle that no one can be drawn efficaciously to Christ, the Son of God, unless the Father of lights draw him by the power of his victorious grace ; that his invisible Spirit breatheth where it wills and when it wills ; that the moments of grace are known to God and in the hands of the power of the father and master of our destiny ; that, having called all men to the Faith in the pre- paration of his good-will common to all, he gives them, in truth, in time the natural and supernatural graces interior and sufficient to at- tain it, as distinguished from those efficacious and triumphant graces which cannot be resisted ; that the work is not only and simply of him who runs, nor of him who wills, but chiefly of Him who enlightens and touches by an effect of his great mercy ; that d fortiori the work OF THE FAITH. 379 and glory arc not his who preaches, who plants or waters— he is but a feeble instrument — but rather 1 1 is who by his grace gives the in- crease; that faith is a gift of God; that the sacrifice of all nature is not capable of meriting by any right the first grace of vocation, which does not depend on merit ; that men labor in vain to raise the spiritual edifice of the faith, unless God aids, prepares, and disposes the in- dividual. Humble simplicity which should be the soul of apostolic labors and the application of the missionaries of Canada ; to attach them to their ministry in this spirit of dependence as simple organs and feeble instruments of the cha- rity of Him to whom alone should be referred the glory of the conversion of the little flock ; but profound annihilation under God's orders, when zeal has not its effect, too happy to be able to say we have done our part, what God demands of our ministry, even when want of success should oblige us to acknowledge that we are useless servants. 380 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Undoubtedly the sons of St. Ignatius are tru- ly apostolic men, a body full of light, ability, virtue, grace, zeal, and courage to undertake all for the conversion of souls, to support the most arduous difficulties, and suffer contradiction and chagrin in the accomplishment of their ministry. We know that by a special vow they are de- voted to the missions as vessels of election, des- tined to bear the name of the Lord to the tribes and nations to the ends of the earth ; that Providence has fortified the church militant with this new body to second the labors of all others, religious and secular, in the establishment of the kingdom of Christ. We have in previous chapters brought these reverend Fathers to New France, where we left them in their house near Quebec, which was afterwards for a time the centre of all their mis- sions. On them must roll during the present epoch the whole Canadian church, they being confident that the harvest was not too ample for their great zeal, and that they had men OF THE FAITH. 38 I enough to minister to the French and instruct the Indians. We doubt not they undertook and continued the work in that interior disposition which we have described in the beginning of this chapter. This has always convinced me that, as they glory only in their toils and suf- ferings, they had no part in the Relations* of * The Jesuit Relations, commencing with Biard's (1611) and Lale- mant's (1626), are continuous from 1632 to 1672. The permission to print the last was given Jan. g, 1673. This whole series was reprinted at Quebec in 1S58 in 3 vols. 8vo, and comprises a vast amount of in- formation as to Indian tribes, their language, manners, etc., as well as of the labors of the missionaries. The enthusiasm of zeal may have made some too sanguine, but their honesty is attested by the accuracy of their statements where we have any means of testing them. The other works on Canada during this period refer to the Relations as authentic. Boucher, " Histoire Veritable," Avant Propos ; Marie de rincarnation (" Choix de Lettres," p. 85, etc.) ; Dollier de Casson, "Histoire de Montreal," pp. 12, 16 ; St. Valier, " Etat Present" (Que- bec edn.), p. 72; Vaudreuil, " N. Y. Col. Doc," ix. p. 371, iii. p. 507. Bishop Laval contributed to the Relations and asked others to do so. Dollier de Casson, p. 209. The only charges against them besides this of Le Clercq's work, which cannot be regarded seriously, are those ascribed to the Sulpitian Francis d'Allet, secretary of the Abbe de Qu61us, and, of course, a party in the disputes of that gentleman. The Jansenist Arnauld published in his unscrupulous "Morale Pra- tique des Jesuites " (" CEuvres," edn. 1780, tom. 34, pp. 724-734) a loose memoir received from a friend of d'Allet in June, 1693, without dates or authorities, and a memoir drawn up from conversations with him, in which he says : " All the Relations that the Jesuits have written on 382 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Canada, which have been printed, apparently, on false memoirs, at least in what regards the ad- vancement of the Faith among the Indian nations. I have already taken the liberty in the first chapters of this work of rectifying the chrono- graphic remarks of the Abbe de la Roque, go- ing back to 1 61 5 to find the first establishment of the Faith in New France by the labors of the Recollects of the province of St. Denis, Canada must be regarded as full of falsities. As soon as they were printed in France care was taken to send them to the ecclesiastics who were in Montreal, and they groaned to see that things were related altogether different from what they were in truth." He adds : " Mr. de Courcelle having informed the court of this, the Jesuits were ordered to make no more Relations." There is no trace of any au- thority for this, and the fact is that the Jesuits did prepare Relations after de Courcelle's time. Rel. 1672-3, 1673-9, 1675, Relations In- edites. D'Allet's memoir closes with a silly story, and the last lines contain a misstatement that shows either that d'Allet never wrote it or that his memory was gone in 1693. D'Allet arrived in Canada in 1657, and represents de Lauson as dying in Canada. That very year, 1657, he went to France, leaving his son, de Lauson Charn}', to replace him till a new governor arrived. The son was subsequently a priest in Canada, but neither father nor son died there. The attack on the Relations in the scurrilous " Recit " in Murgry (i. p. 374) makes still worse work with histor}', and, whether by the Abbe Renaudot or the Prince de Conti, is b)^ one who was never in America and of no authority. OF THE FAITH. 383 which Sieur de la Roque ascribes to the years 1637-8 and to the zeal of the reverend .Jesuit Fathers. He has wished to rob these reverend Fathers of four or five years, or rather elude what he could not but know, as these illustrious missionaries had scarcely reached Quebec in 1632 and the following year, when their ardent cha- rity spread among the nations up and down the river St. Lawrence, the coast of Cadie,* the isl- ands of Cape Breton and Miscou ; and that, having in that and the following years received powerful reinforcements and many members of the society, they extended and divided, (always) in the bounds and limits of our former discove- ries, f where during the present period they formed missions of which this is the plan : Their mission which they called Our Lady of the Angels, at three-quarters of a league from Quebec, was the head ; that of Our Lady of * Acadia. f The missions to the Attikamagues, Iroquois, Ottawas, and other tribes on Lakes Superior and Michigan, the Miamis and Illi- nois, were all beyond the Recollect bounds. 384 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Recouvrance at Quebec, of Conception at Three Rivers, of Our Lady at Mont-Royal, of St. Jo- seph among the Hurons gradually divided into three others during the time of this epoch ; the mission of the Holy Cross at Tadoussac, of St. Ann at Cape Breton, of St. Charles at Miscou, of Our Lady of Consolation of Nipisiguit, whence they spread to Cadie and Chaleurs bay ; the mis- sion of St. Michael at Sillery from the year '35, soon after that of the Holy Family at Isle Or- leans, so that in the year 1635 the truth of his- tory already numbered twenty Jesuits attached to the river missions, without including those then employed in advanced posts in Cadie and the adjacent islands to the number of five or six laborers full of zeal.* We find, too, towards the close of the present epoch, in 1657, the first establishment of their missions among the Iroquois, distributed in five * This is exaggerated. There were not more than sixteen Jesuit Fathers in all. See List in " Bannissenient des Jesuites," pp. 111-2 ; Tanguay, " Repertoire," pp. 21-31 ; Rel. 1635, p. 23. The Indian mis- sion on Isle Orleans was long after 1635. OF THE FAITH. 385 residences, according to the division of the chief cantons which compose that nation : the first of St. Gabriel among the Agniets (Mohawks), on the south, near New Netherland, which reckon- ed three or four hundred men in three or four towns ; the second at the Onnejout (Oneidas), westward, which could form one hundred and forty warriors ; the third, St. John the Baptist, fif- teen leagues west at the towns of Onnontaguets (Onondagas), about three hundred combatants, which is, as it were, the centre of the Iroquois missions ; the fourth, St. Joseph, thirty leagues thence west at the Ojongouen (Cayugas), divid- ed into three towns, counting full three hundred warriors ; the fifth, St. Michael, at the Son- nontoiians (Senecas), towards the end of Lake Frontenac, the most considerable canton of the Iroquois nations, which in three towns comprised about twelve hundred combatants.'^' * This is so dishonest that it is not easy to trace the statement. The Relation for 1657 gives the beginning of the mission of Our Lady of Ganentaa at Onondaga, but no such list of missions as is here paraded. 25 386 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT It is not my design to trace here the plan of these five cantons, and remark how much country these nations have conquered since 1657, extending their limits and multiplying their families by the de- struction of other nations whom they have taken captive, and by whom they have fortified and in- creased the number of their subjects. I here pass in silence what they have dared to advance in these Relations, that in the year 1632-3 they could perceive in all these Indian nations no mark of Christianity or form of a church, not even the remembrance and idea of the instruc- tions, the least perceptible smatterings of the Faith ; that there was not yet any knowledge, even gene- ral, of the principal languages ; and, finally, that all that the Recollects had been able to do was to keep the French in duty* — as if so many zealous missionaries of our provinces of Paris, Aquitaine, and Thoulouse had stood idle with folded arms * There does not appear an}' such charge in the Relations. The Recollects never reached the Fire Nation (Mascoutens), and no mission of Recollects from Toulouse is known at all. OF THE FAITH. 387 from 161 5 to 1629, when these Fathers were in constant action in Cadie, on the sea-coast, and from the mouth of the river, right and left, to the Neutral and Fire Nations, the Petuns, Algon- quins, Nipissiriens, Montagniaits, and the depen- cies of Quebec, where they supported that of the Algonquins, living with them for ten years in the neighborhood of Three Rivers, having on the spot, especially at the Hurons, made six or seven win- terings, the last by the Reverend Father Joseph de la Roche Dallion, Recollect, with the Reverend Fathers Brebeuf and de la Noue, Jesuits. Formerly, before our return to Canada, and for the space of thirty years that our Fathers at Paris made such frequent attempts to return, they learn- ed every year, with as much joy as admiration and surprise, that this barbarism, by a stroke of grace, was sensibly civilizing and visibly converting ; that in the year 1634 the nations showed extreme eagerness for instruction ; a great number of bap- tisms — these appearances of an ample harvest which began to whiten in '34 ; the surprising cir- 388 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT cumstances of the conversion of Sasousmat ; the effects of advanced faith in these savages ; the oracles which he pronounces, the perceptible light which appeared after his death at the same time in different parts of Canada, forty leagues distant, rising and lowering three times ; ^" the miraculous circumstances of the conversion of Manitoutchat- che, his sentiments of devotion, the solidity of his faith in resisting his wife and family, and on points of religion ; f the fervor, zeal, and lively faith of Kioiiiriniou and his family at the bap- tism of his son ; J the marvellous events of the conversion of an Ourontinoukouen § squaw, the animated sentiments of that woman, her apos- trophes to the crucifix ; verification of a great number of sorcerers || scattered through the coun- * This is to ridicule the Relation 1634, pp. 3-4. It is certain that this chapter and pp. 164-6 of this volume were not written by the same person. See those pages where a Recollect miraculously converts an Indian, a supernatural light follows his death and delivers the vessel from shipwreck. t lb. pp. 5, 6. t lb. p. 7. § lb. p. 8. II For the missionary le Clercq's belief as to the medicine men see " Rel. de la Gaspesie," p. 333 : " I cannot convince myself, too, but that the devil dominates in their deceits and impostures, which he employs OF THE FAITH. 389 try, used by the devil to oppose Christianity and sap its foundations.''' How in all parts, from the first years, eyes are opened to the truth, parents sending their children, by an instinct of faith, to have them instructed ; the enlightened though impious arguments against God and religion attributed at this time to an Indian ; baptism of twenty-two catechumens ; extraordinary impres- sions of constancy and firmness of faith in that woman baptized at Three Rivers in '35.t Can we believe that these savages at first durst not become converts, be baptized, perform the ex- ercises of religion, and produce in public the in- struments of salvation, for fear of drawing on them the raillery of others ? — as if we did not know now that they are steeped in perfect indifference on the subject of religion, J to delude these nations and estrange them all the more from the know- ledge of God." * Rel. 1634, p. 14. f Rel. 1635, pp. 5, 9. X Yet compare Mere Marie de I'Incarnation, " Choix de Lettres," p. 55, and the Recollect Father Lc Clercq, a practical missionar3% in his " Relation de la Gaspesie," p. 206, where he seems ignorant of this in- difference. 390 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Among the Hurons we see eight neophytes go through all the villages exhorting and instructing their countrymen ; that among the Montagniais Christianity had already so multiplied and ad- vanced in '41-2 that the Indians confessed in crowds, avoided banquets, or went there without tasting anything, in order to approach communion ; how their faith is so lively that they shudder at the slightest appearance of sin, that they feared not the fire or sword of the Iroquois, but only the fire of hell. Those combats of Christian squaws, and even young men, for purity, from respect for their baptism. That little St. Cyr who resisted the threats and promises of his grandmother : " Here are my hands, feet, body," said he, " but I shall never forsake my religion."'^'' We admire the rising town of Sillery, spreading up and down the river and to Miscou the holy odor of Christianity and the ardor of conversion among the Indian nations ; that reciprocal emulation for * Rel. 1642, p. 4, etc. Compare Marie de I'lncarnation, " Choix de Lettres," pp. 42, 66, 87. OF THE FAITH. 39 1 the Faith of husbands in regard to their wives ; the frequent confessions and communions ; the sacrament of marriage commonly administered.* We do not doubt the devotedness of the Ursu- h'nes to the education of Indian girls, but we are surprised that these little girls, by an advanced faith, instruct Indian families f who come to see them; we admire their ejaculatory and mental prayers, their eagerness, their preparation for communion, their delicacy of conscience, elevation and inten- tion of mind ; how there were some who, after leavinor the Ursulines, wrote to these ladies from the depth of the woods their regret at not being able to go to confession and communion every fortnight as formerly.;]; The rules and exercises, the fervor of whole villaQ;es, which would efface * Rel. 1642, p. 14 ; 1643, p. 8. Marie de I'lncarnation, pp. 140, 185. f The author of the " Relation de la Gaspesie " (p. 131) tells how the children there instructed the aged. I Relation 1642, pp. 32-3. Mother Mary of the Incarnation, cer- tainly as clear-headed a person as Le Clercq or his editor, confirms the Relation in her letters. " Choix de Lettres Historiques," pp. 68, 94, etc. See, too, in regard to the Indian pupils of the Ursulines, Father Le Clercq, " Rel. de la Gaspesie," pp. 128-g. 392 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT that of the primitive Christians ; what edification to see the captive churches sustaining pretended railleries and not blushing at baptism and the marks of religion ; the great number baptized in a single mission ; the letters, full of faith and com- pliments, which the neophytes write to France ; how^ the chiefs correct indevotion and repress even the slightest faults of individuals.* We see the Attigamets come in a body, headed by their chief, to ask holy baptism and receive it with their children down the river. Nations before inaccessible, so remote from civilization and the Faith, are converted in confusion ; we even see at times chiefs set over prayer, conferences, and the affairs of God.f We remark towards the end of the second epoch neophytes at Three Rivers who thunder like Pauls and« Chrysostoms against impiety and vice, in discourses full of zeal and fervor of spirit. From this time the Indians down the river adopt French customs, renouncing their ancient usages, * See Relation, 1641, pp. 3, 4. f Relation, 1641, p. 32. OF THE FAITH. 393 their rustic manners, greased hair and painted faces, formed to politeness ; and in '46 we find that during the winter, away from the missionaries, they had learnt of themselves more than they knew the preceding autumn. What may we think of all those fictions of the Indians of Tadoussac, who, in simplicity of faith, appoint chiefs to administer the sacraments of baptism, confession, and Mass ; that commonly during the winter these poor WTCtches practise the holy fast ; accordingly the missionary, as soon as he meets them in the spring, baptizes sixty ? * It is beautiful to see how at Montroyal in '46-7 Indians resist French libertines ; those great colloquies of new converts against those who were not ; the number of catechumens and neophytes, the admirable effects of their penance and faith ;f * This is a gross perversion of Rel. 1646, pp. 30-1. For the piety of the Indians in these parts see Le Clercq, " Relation de la Gaspesie," pp. 197, 206, 259, 534, etc. f Relation, 1646, p. 42. 394 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT that of the Hurons, so ardent that it could not be contained in their village : they pass to the neigh- boring nations ; we see there a kind of martyrs, evangelical preachers, fanciful prophets who an- nounce divine vengeance, Elis who resist pro- faners, fathers who resist children, husbands con- verted at the entreaties of their wives ; we find some who roll in the snow, others making a bed of live coals and firebrands to extinguish concupiscence ; extraordinary impressions of the Spirit of God in view of his intimate presence, in prayer, communion, the fervent exercise of virtue ; how they believe without difficulty the most sublime mysteries of religion ; marvellous effects of a firmness of faith among the Nisipis- siriniens and among the Indians of the mission of the Holy Ghost ; how they support the truth in dogmatical disputes with their still heathen countrymen. So many favors of a visible and miraculous Providence and sensible blessing^s which we find expressed in all these Relations, Visions, revelations, prodigies are not spared. The OF THE FAITH. 395 mission of tlie great Gulf of St. Lawrence at last produces great fruit."* All France has admired and received with singu- lar edification the wonderful operations of grace on the Huron Church in Isle Orleans ; the fer- vor, regularity, uniform assiduity of these Indians ; how the Sodality of the reverend Jesuit Fathers was in great fervor among them ; that in '54 they had already eighty Sodalists ; the letter of asso- ciation of this Indian Sodality, written to the So-. dality of the Professed house at Paris, was circu- lated through all France, and drew tears of devo- tion from all.f But unfortunately about the year '56 this Huron Church is attacked by the Iroquois, who carry all off by treaty and reciprocal convention to the Iro- quois country to make only one people, one heart, one mind, and be installed in their families ; in fact, all these Hurons were distributed among the * A burlesque of the Rel. 1646. Huron part chs. iii. to viii. f Rel. 1654, ch. X., Oueb. edn., pp. 22-8. If the letter was ever printed separatel}^ as here suggested, it has escaped our bibliographers. 396 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Mohawks and Onondagas, adopting immediately their manners, interests, and customs.'^' We cannot refuse our devotion to the subse- quent Relations when they describe the disposi- tion of these Israelites, banished from their coun- try, groaning under the captivity of this kind of Babylon. The Reverend Father Brebeuf, who was em- ployed in missions to several different nations in Canada, alone converted seven thousand in his Huron mission, and produced a church truly animated with the Spirit of God, as we may see in the life of Mother St. Augustine, Hospital Nun of Quebec, book iii.f What fruit did he not pro- duce in other missions ! I shall say nothing of the great progress of the Church in the Iroquois nations. We read that the mission commenced in the year '57, and that the * Rel. 1657, ch. iii., Queb. edn., pp. 5-7. f Ragueneau, " La Vie de la Mere Catherine de Saint Avgvstin," Paris, 1671, p. 179. The Rel. 1649, p. 17, says he had the consolation of seeing seven thousand Hurons baptized, but does not ascribe them all to him. OF THE FAITH. 397 first year the reverend Father Menard had bap- tized more than four hundred Iroquois in his single mission of Dojongouen ; * the missionaries in the other four cantons in proportion. We may judge that in the last thirty-seven years Christianity must have advanced annually by more happy and multiplied steps, and, consequently, that all these nations must be converted. We may make the same remark and draw the same conclusion as to the other Indian nations of New France ; the knowledge we possess es- tablishes pretty nearly the number of souls that compose them, so that, making a total of the con- * Cayuga. The Rel. 1657, ch. xvi., Quebec edn., pp. 42-4 ; "Early Chapters of Cayuga History," pp. 21-26, gives the account of Menard's first year, but does not state the number of baptisms. It states that the nucleus of his flock were Hurons. After Menard's death the Rel. 1663, ch. viii. (Queb. edn., p. 23), in a somewhat inflated passage speaks of his gathering " an Iroquois church which in a short time he composed of 400 Christians." This, in the text, is disingenuously transformed into 400 baptisms, although the Rel. 1657 shows that most of his ilock were Huron captives. The Cayuga mission did not con- tinue from that time thirt)'-seven years ; it was almost immediately broken up, and not restored till 1669. Its whole history can be seen in Hawley's "Early Chapters," Auburn, 1879. Seech, xviii., vol. ii., for the condition of Canada. 39^ FIRST ESTABLISHMENT versions each year from the return of the French to Canada, we may be sure that the Church is per- fectly estabHshed there, and that there is very little infidelity left intermingled. We must also see that they aspired there to Christian perfection : they ordinarily accused them- selves of the slightest imperfections ; public con- fessions and penances were in use, a kind of in- quisition, devotions and the frequentation of the sacraments. We see squaws draw a crucifix from their bosoms and present it to libertines with these words : " Wretch ! wouldst thou again crucify Him who died for thy salvation ? What ! wouldst thou ruin me and ruin thyself for a sin which God abhors ? " ^' We see squaws, too, disputing with the Dutch about the veneration of images, speak like theologians, and confound those heretics; we see others menace them with death for the cause of God, and mock their torments ; we see fervent * Father le Clercq, "Relation de la Gaspesie," p. 146, relates how his neophytes were scandalized by an angry woman who threw her hieroglyphic prayers in the fire ; and on p. 151 her repentance and reparation. See Bishop St. Valier, " Etat Present," p. 68. OF THE FAITH. 399 Christians exhort their brethren in death by the most touching words.* Yet we cannot bear that they should impose on a missionary whom I knew by making him say in the fourth decade that he announced the first words of the Gospel to the Onnontiogats, Neuters, and Hurons, captives among the Tshon- notouans,'!' and that the first two nations had never scarcely seen Europeans ; yet it is notorious that from 1616 to 1629 missionaries had announced the Gospel to them, w^hich that rev^erend Father himself could not deny. J Would to God all these * This alludes to Rel. 1670, ch. v. § 5 (Quebec edn., pp. 32-3). It will interest bibliographers to notice that the Jesuit Relations even at this time had become scarce. This fierce attack on them cites, so far as I can trace the allusions, onl)^ the volumes for 1634, 1635, 1642, 1646, 1649, 1654, 1657, and 1670. Arnauld, the great Jansenist op- ponent of the Jesuits, had his attention drawn to the Relations by this work, and he found difficult)^ in getting at them. " It was not easy to find any after such a lapse of time, for all know that this sort of ephemerals (feuilles volantes) are easil}' lost." However, at a "great library," which he does not name, he discovered those for 1633, 1636, 1637, 163S, 1640-1, 1642, 1643, 1644, 1650-1, 1653-4, 1661-2, 1662-3, 1666-7, 1671-2. " Morale pratique des Jesuites." f Senecas. X What Father James Fremin really sa)-s in the Rel. 1670, ch. ix. (Quebec edn., p. 69), is : " This town (Gandougarae) is composed of 400 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Relation churches were as true and real as all the country admits them to be chimerical. Had they formerly existed, could they become invisible, espe- cially in '74-5, when, the colony, increasing much more, more frequent and open commerce with France has caused the disappearance of this great number of conversions, as well as the Relations, which they have ceased giving to the public, now disabused of such fictions. In this they have acted wisely, for what will those who come after us say, on reading year by year such great progress of re- ligion, except that antiquity wished to impose on them by a vain ostentation, or else that these pre- the remnants of three different nations which, having been heretofore destroj'ed by the Iroquois, were obliged to surrender at discretion to the conqueror and come and settle in his country. The iirst nation is called Onnontioga, the second the Neuters, and the third the Hurons. The first two have, as it were, never seen Europeans, nor ever heard the true God spoken of." As to the Onnontiogas this is absolutely true. There is no trace of any missionar}'. Recollect or Jesuit, reach- ing them, nor of an)^ French intercourse with them. The Neuters were visited bj^ the Recollect Father de la Roche d'Allion in 1629, and by the Jesuit Father Brebeuf in 1640 (Rel. 1641, p. 71 ; Rel. 1649, pp. 18, 20) ; but there was no permanent mission, and for this work here to pretend that there was a Recollect mission in these two tribes from 1616 to 1629 is monstrous. OF THE FAITH. 401 tended churches gradually perished by the negli- gence of missionaries ? * I make, then, a broad distinction between the zeal, labors, and unwearied application of the mis- sionaries and the pretendedly great success which is boasted of without even the appearance of truth. The justice we are obliged to render the labors and care of these apostolic men in New France, which really surpass all we can express; they equal, if you will, the enterprise, courage, sufferings of the Apostle Paul, the perils of life, privations, persecutions, silence even amid mur- murs, calumnies — witness what has been so often imputed to them in depreciation of their dis- interestedness ; although their reputation is well enough established on this point, and that their conduct in all the missions of the Christian world justifies itself and puts them above such reproach in Canada and everywhere else.f These Reverend * Yet Le Clercq's hundreds of thousands converted in Mexico (ante p. 72) would be somewhat difficult to find. f This is, of course, ironical, and the distinction between the labors of the Jesuits and the Relations of them a mere mask. It is to the 26 402 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT Fathers, however, thought proper to print and pub- lish an authentic certificate from the gentlemen of the Company, by which they declare, to whom it may concern, that these Fathers had no share in their Company."^" Exertions have been made to civilize this bar- barism, to render it susceptible of laws,f stop as far as possible their brutal outbursts, disabuse them of their vain superstitions, thus preparing remotely the way for the Lord, although little progress is made ; these nations being yet so savage, so at- tached to their ancient maxims, their profane usages, gluttony, slander, pride, intoxication, cruel- ty, indocility, that we seek civilization and change among the Iroquois. They are the same as they were thirty years ago, and yet they will tell us that credit of the Jesuits that they bore without retaliation the unjust treat- ment the}' here receive ; and it is for well-wishers to the Franciscans to deplore that they were ever made the instruments of petty malice. While this part bears no resemblance to Le Clercq's " Gaspesie," it is very like Frontenac's cipher despatch, " N. Y. Col. Doc," ix. pp. 93-4. * Relation 1643, Quebec edition, p. 82. f See in Father le Clercq, " Relation de la Gaspesie " (pp. 76-85), the argument of a Micmac chief against adopting French houses and manners, and the missionary's reflections, p. 85. OF THE FAITH. 403 they then built more chapels and churches than they had destroyed before, and that these invin- cible Philistines had made such great progress in the Faith. What depends on their ministry is faithfully dis- charged ; nothing is wanting in the instructions either as to the tact or assiduity employed ; but the seed of the word falls in a barren and fruitless soil, on stones, on the highway, or amid thorns. If these nations do not correspond to the grace of redemp- tion offered them, we have this resource of faith, that they are rendered inexcusable and God is jus- tified in his condemnation of these savages. It is much, but not too much, to say that the envoys of God in this barbarism baptize children and dying adults ; this is a sure gain for eternity. But for adults in health the number of conversions is so rare, the number of those who persevere more so, that it is hard to believe, when we con- sider the great labors of a good number of mis- sionaries for over sixty-six years ; but yet would not the devotedness of a missionary, and even the 404 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT sacrifice of his life, be gloriously rewarded if they had converted and saved but a single soul ? The surest function of the missionaries is to minister to the French who go to trade ; hence it is true to say that as furs become less plentiful in the cantons, and the French no lonsrer q-q there to trade, the reverend Fathers are no longer found there, judging their presence useless among the Indians; witness most of the missions estab- lished and cultivated since '32, the chief of which we have specified in the beginning of this chap- ter, but which they have been obliged to leave, as the French are no longer drawn there by tempo- ral interest. Of this number are the missions on the great Gulf of St. Lawrence, Ristigouche, Nip- siguit, Miskou, Cape Breton, Port Royal, River Loup, Cap de la Magdelaine, Three Rivers, Nipisi- riniens, several missions among the Hurons up the river.* So, too, they were compelled to leave * Father le Clercq (" Rel. de la Gapesie," p. 204) pays a tribute to the Jesuit labors from Nipsiguit to the St. John's. In i6go the Huron country was un'uhabitcd, and had been for near forty years. OF THE FAITH. 405 TadoLissac to settle at Chig^outimi, without men- tioning many others which do not now subsist. The reverend Fathers also serve other ends ; for as these savages are led only by the senses, they regard the missionaries as chiefs and important men, as envoys and perpetual residents of the French colony, who maintain their alliance with us, arrange peace and war, who remain in their cantons to act as hostages and sureties when these nations come to the settled country to trade ; otherwise these Indians would be con- stantly distrustful and in fear of being stopped, if they had not among them persons responsible for their life and property. The missionaries also exercise the functions of guardians of the Indians, which duties they fulfil per- fectly, exercising these savages in clearing the land in different cantons, which are so many advances for the colony and to the profit of the Church. We even owe to the credit and zeal of these Fa- thers their having solicited and obtained in France from powerful persons several foundations for In- 4o6 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT dian missions, which they manage admirably, as well as the annual allowance and grants from the king for the same purpose. These Indian missions are properly the places where real saints are formed by the devotedness of an unwearied zeal, charity to undertake all and bear all, disinterestedness, humility, mildness, in- vincible patience, enlightened faith to adore God's designs ; it is an apostolate far different from what has been seen in other nations of the world. But as to the progress and success, can it be pos- sible that this prodigious number of Christian In- dians escaped the knowledge of crowds of French- men who go every year three or four hundred leagues in the forests, to the extremities of the known country, where they stay for years ? Is it possible that these fervent and numerous churches have disappeared before such of our Fathers as have penetrated in all directions, visiting all these nations, and so many other intelligent and discern- ing people ? We know that a multitude of canoes come every year to the settled country to trade, and OF THE FAITH. 407 there a concourse of the Indians of all nations is seen, who are the pick of these tribes. All the country knows that in their customs and manners they are quite savage and barbarous and show no signs of religion ; all the proof they give among us or at home is being present like idols at our Mys- teries, instructions, and prayers, but without attach- ment, without any discernment of faith or spirit of religion ; as they are naturally idle and slothful, and besides our ceremonies are new to them, they go by routine, some from interest, some from fear or esteem for a missionary whom they regard as an important chief.* * This reasoning rests on a fallacy. The Relations, properly read, show baptisms of dying infants and adults, but comparatively few of persons in health. They do not claim large numbers of converts. The Huron and Iroquois missions, those among the Montagnais and Abe. nakis, still subsist. The Ottawa, Chippewa, Menomonee, Winneba- goes, and Miamis show to thisday the influence of the old Jesuit labors ; and even the Illinois, where, after the Recollects retired, the Jesuits resumed their labors, became entirely Christian. Le Clercq's chief field of labor was an old Jesuit mission at Gaspe, and his own account of his labors is so like that of the Jesuits that he could not possiblj' have written this chapter ; he was practically too well informed, and himself boasts of the piety of his converts who visited Quebec. " Re- lation de la Gaspesie," p. 132. 4o8 FIRST ESTABLISHMENT All that can be done is to draw from the depth of the woods certain families which show more do- cility, and conduct them to the settled country, where they still form two villages near Quebec, and two more near Mont-royal cut off from in- tercourse with the French. It is in these places, then, the Indian Church is gathered ; and, though their language as well as their customs still remain savage, the neophytes are kept in order and trained to piety by attraction. There are some good Chris- tians, and although many, and even whole families, escape from time to time from the missionaries after ten or twelve years' stay to return to the woods to their former torpor. We are told that there are many Christians in Europe who stray from their duty and profane their character by a worldly and pagan life ; but we are not speaking of corrupt morals in the baptized In- dians and neophytes, but of the substance of re- ligion and faith, which is absolutely effaced from their minds by an apostasy, a prodigious insensibili- ty and profound blindness, although it be said in OF THE FAITH. 409 the Relations that even the Sacrament of Confirma- tion '"' has been administered to them. It is for us to admire the judgment of God on these nations, and to acknowledge his favor and mercv in our behalf, in having allowed us to be born of families enlightened by Faith, in a country and nation where it is secure, where all preaches to us piety and virtue, and Vviiere the multitude of in- terior graces and exterior aids offer us means of securing our calling and election, if we are faithful to them. Let us render glor}^ to the Lord for the distinction he has made in our favor, and say in heart, applying to ourselves the w^ords of the pro- phet, " Non fecit taliter omni nationi, etc." (He hath not done in like manner to every nation, and * Confirmation can be conferred ordinarily only by a bishop. This is, therefore, an attack on Bishop Laval, who, soon after reaching America, in 1659, confirmed one hundred and forty at Gaspe, Le Clercq's future mission (Relation 1659, p. 10). He also confirmed one hundred Algon- quins and Hurons at Quebec, August 24, 1659 (Jesuit Journal, p. 262) ; and again confirmed Indians at Tadoussac in June, 166S (ib. p. 361 ; Relation 1668, p. 24) ; and at St. Fran5ois Xavier du Sault (Rel. 1673-9, p. 238). In the disputes then going on in Canada, Frontenac and his party were arrayed against the bishop and his secular priests, as well as against the Jesuits. 27 4IO FIRST ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FAITH. his judgments he hath not made manifest to them — Ps. cxlvii. 20), but ever in sentiments of terror and fear, in view of the more exact account we shall be oblieed to render him. END OF THE FIRST VOLUME. EXTRACT FROM THE ROYAL PRIVILEGE. By the favor and privilege of the king, given at Paris on the 30th of December, 1690, signed by the king in his coun- cil, Menestrel, permission is granted to the Reverend Father Chrestien le Clercq, Recollect Missionary of the Province of Arthois, Guardian of the convent of Lens, to cause to be printed a book which he has composed, entitled " Le Premier Etablissement de la Foi dans la Nouvelle France," during tlie time and space of eight consecutive years, to count from the day when the said book shall be completely printed for the first time; and prohibition to all publishers and otliers to print, sell, and issue without the consent of the said appli- cant or his legal representatives, under the penalty of fifteen hundred livres fine, payable without deposit by each who contravenes, confiscation of pirated copies, and of all damage and interest, as is more amply set forth in said privilege. Registered in the book of tlie Community of Booksellers and Printers of the City of Paris, this 5th January, 1691, according to the Arret of Parlement of April 8, 1653, and that of the king's council February 27, 1665. (Signed) AUBOUIN, Syndic. Printing for tlie first time completed July 26, 1691. The said Reverend Father has ceded his privilege to Amable Auroy. Q u.> \ 1 BOSTON COLLEGE 3 9031 01631046 8 IU\'4\£: r%_