Part 16

THE French had, since the year 1524, often visited the coasts of America opposite to France, but cursorily, and, as it were, while passing by. Finally, at the beginning of the last century, Samuel Champlain, who well deserves to be called the parent of the Canadian colony, entered the region of the interior. Already was the undertaking progressing very favorably, when Henry IV., more solicitous for religion than for commerce, resolved, in the year 1608, to introduce Christian rites into this part of the new World, and asked members of the Society to undertake this Apostolic enterprise. Upon being informed of the plan of the King, and ordered to choose as soon as possible energetic priests who would lay solidly the foundations of so great a work, Father Coton, the confessor of the king, informed the Commander of the Society. From the whole number, not only of youths but also of old men, who sought this laborious Duty, there were chosen Father Peter Biard, of Grenoble, a professor of theology in the college of Lyons, and Father Enemond Massé, of Lyons. The unforeseen death of the King delayed this auspicious enterprise, and diminished the enthusiasm of the friends of the Society, who were providing a ship and other necessaries for the voyage. But the pious Coton, unconquered by adversity, brought in the authority of the Queen, in order that he might overcome the difficulties in his way. As a result, the time was set for their departure, and the Fathers hastened to Dieppe, in order that they might sail thence for New France. But, lo! suddenly an unexpected obstacle. Their ship belonged to Poutrincourt, a French nobleman; it was, however, subject to the control of two Calvinistic merchants, since they had incurred no light expense toward providing her with equipments. As soon as they heard that members of the Society were to be embarked upon her, they refused to allow her to leave the port. The authority of the Queen was invoked; her commands were reiterated. They answered that they would not refuse admission to any other sort of priests, but that they were unwilling to have anything to do with our men. When Coton saw that the stubbornness of the rascals could not be overcome, he approached the matter by another way. There was a lady distinguished not less for piety than for birth, Antoinette de Guercheville. This woman was as solicitous for the interests of the Mission as for her own; and since she had acquired an uncommon influence among many, because of her reputation for integrity, she quickly collected a large sum of money, by means of which the heretical merchants were repaid the amount which they had spent in equipping the ship. So, although the merchants were disappointed and unwilling, the Fathers were admitted. But, because of the intervening delay, they did not sail until the 26th of January, when the storms of winter caused a raging sea. On this account the voyage was of four months' duration, although ordinarily of two, and was terrible because of disease within and tempests without. Having entered at last the mouth of the St. Lawrence river on the 22nd day of May, on the holy day of Pentecost, they came upon some traces of the Christian religion, which had been superficially impressed by those whom we have mentioned as having journeyed from France into this region. For, since the speech of the people was unknown [322] to them, and they had no certain and fixed residence in this savage land, there was no opportunity for educating those whom they chanced to baptize, and who, plunging again into their former habits, scarcely retained the Christian name, while defiling it with their native vices. The first concern of the Fathers was to build a chapel, to learn the language of the country, and to instruct the Frenchmen who had emigrated from old to new France. A solemn Thanksgiving was enjoined; the figure of Christ, covered with a canopy, was carried about with the greatest possible ceremony; and he came auspiciously into the possession, so to speak, of the happy land afterwards to be frequented by so many holy men. Next, attention was given to laving the infants in the sacred font, of whom some, after receiving the sacrament of salvation, departed to their homes in the land of the immortals, in the name, as it were, of the whole race. A girl aged nine years, afflicted with a grievous disease, had been abandoned by her parents. For, since the race is altogether ignorant of the art of medicine, they readily despair of the sick, and neither provide them with food nor care for them in any way. The Fathers asked her parents to give them the forsaken child, in order that they might sanctify her with the water of salvation. She was readily handed over to them; and naturally, inasmuch as she was considered no better than a dead dog. Taking her apart to their hut they gave her assiduous care; she was baptized, and, dying on the ninth day afterward, they introduced her into Heaven. The same charity of the Associates resulted more fortunately in the case of a young boy. His father was Membertou, who, they say, in the early days of navigation thither from France, first of all the savages became a Christian; he was an energetic man, and, according to the testimony of all his countrymen, far excelled others in vigor of mind, in knowledge of war, in number of dependents, and the distinction of a glorious name, for by public vote he had acquired the title of "Great Chief." This position Membertou held among the Souriquois, who inhabit Acadia about the mouth of the St. Lawrence river. Father Biard visited Membertou's son, who was suffering from a dangerous illness. He was surprised that there was no grief in the wigwam; no lamentations, no tearful dirges; instead, a feast, a dance, and two or three dogs fastened together. He asked what these things meant. They answered that the youth would die in a short time; that the friends had been invited, and for them the banquet was being prepared; that afterwards a funeral dance was to be conducted; and that the dogs which he saw were to be killed to appease the Spirit of the dead boy. The Father exclaimed that these things were quite unfitting for Christian men, and severely censured the impious custom. The parent of the youth excused his ignorance; he said that henceforth he and his son should be under the Father's direction; he begged him to instruct and command them, and said that they would execute his orders. The Priest forbade the killing of the dogs; he dismissed the rude dancers; a part of the repast he allowed, as not devoted to superstitious rites. He insisted that the patient should no longer be neglected; still more, he persuaded them that the boy should be taken to the dwellings of the French, although these were far distant, saying that he hoped, by the favor of God, for his recovery. The priest was favorably heard by Membertou; the patient was brought to us, although the sorcerers and medicine-men, who declared that the unhappy youth could not live, ridiculed this decision, and grieved that such a morsel should be snatched suddenly from their jaws. And indeed he was at the point of death, when, three days afterward, exhausted by the journey, and by sickness, he arrived at the French settlement. Nevertheless, by the skill and devotion of the Fathers, and by the kindness of God, he was restored; nor was he alone established in the Catholic faith, but many of his countrymen were inflamed with the desire of adopting it.

Some time afterward, the father of the young man fell sick, and wished to be also brought to us, where, after being received into our hut and even into the bed of one of the Fathers, he piously departed this life; and, what was novel and displeasing to the savages, he was buried among Christian people; for they themselves are very reluctant to be separated from the tombs of their ancestors. His funeral was observed, as far as the limitations of the case permitted, with marked ceremony. Nor was this savage's virtue unworthy in any respect of that honor; for, even before he had learned of Christ, he could not be induced to marry more than one wife, considering this more in harmony with nature and reason. But, after his acceptance of the Faith of Christ, he so lived that he was to the savages an object of admiration, to the Christians an example.

These things were accomplished at home. Then going forth, as it were, from the city walls, the heralds of the Gospel traversed a great part of the country. A godly act was performed whenever opportunity allowed; hands were laid upon the sick; parents and children were conciliated by means of little gifts; services were rendered to the French who were establishing new homes; nor were the seamen and ships' passengers neglected. There was not lacking a glad harvest for their patience. Meanwhile, so great a scarcity of provisions existed, that for each week [323] a ration was allotted, so scanty that it was hardly sufficient for one day; namely, ten ounces of bread, half a pound of salted meat, and a handful of peas or beans. In addition to this, each man was his own mechanic, mender, miller, cook, hewer of wood, and drawer of water. There occurred sometimes to the Fathers, in the midst of the miseries, the words of those to whom Moses had given the task of reconnoitering Canaan: [_Num. c. 13, 14._] _This land ... devoureth its inhabitants; ... there we saw certain monsters of the sons of Enac of the Giant-kind: in comparison of whom, we seemed like locusts._ But at the same time there came into mind the speech of Joshua and of Caleb, full of divine trust: _The land which we have gone round is very good. If the Lord be favorable, he will bring us into it.... Fear ye not the people of this land, ... the Lord is with us._

DOMICILIA SOCIETATIS & MISSIONES IN NOVA FRANCIA.

ET esse cum servis suis, ac militibus Dominum, exitus comprobavit. Nam hoc anno MDCCIII. ineunte, cum hæc scribimus, præter Quebecense collegium, numerantur in hac _terra deserta_ prius _& invia_ triginta & amplius florentissimæ cultissimæque Missiones nostræ Societatis. Prima in conspectu Quebeci, decimo ab urbe lapide, Lauretana dicitur. Altera in pago Tadussaco sedet: ad ripam fluvii Laurentiani, leucis infra Quebecum LX. versus ortum. Tres aliæ supra Quebecum ipsum, longe procurrunt in Boream, circa lacum S. Joannis: una in eo loco, qui à septem insulis nomen habet; altera, in pago Chigoutimino; tertia, secus amnem Saguenæum. Excoluntur ibi Montagnæi, Papinachii, Mistassini, & aliæ passim gentes errabundæ. Jam, si versus obeuntis solis partes & fluminis Laurentiani fontem tendas, occurret in ejus ripâ septentrionali pagus Trium fluminum dictus, quia ibi tria quædam flumina confluunt: abest Quebeco septem octove dierum iter. Florebat illic AlgonKinorum Missio longe pulcherrima, sed hanc vinum igne vaporatum & stillatum, à mercatoribus Europæis, facilem inde quæstum male captantibus invectum, vehementer labefactavit inducta ebrietate. Pensat hæc damna virtus ac pietas AbnaKisorum. Triplex apud illos statio collocata una Quebeco non procul, in XLVI. gradu latitudinis, nomine S. Francisci Salesii & patrocinio insignita: aliæ duæ sunt remotiores; loco nomen est NipisiKouit. Trans amnem Laurentianum ad Meridiem funduntur Iroquæorum quinque nationes. Septem sunt apud illos præconum Evangelii domicilia, per centum quinquaginta leucas sparsa. Ex iis sex profligata fuerant bello Gallos inter & Iroquæos conflato circa annum MDCLXXXII. Revocata cum religione pax anno MDCCII. omnia priorem in statum restituit. In iis Iroquæorum Missionibus ea præcipuè floret, quæ à S. Francisco Xaverio nomen habet, ad Montem-Regalem.

Supra Iroquæos, versus occasum & Aquilonem, intra quadragesimum gradum & XLV. cernere est majores duos lacus angusto freto junctos: alter, isque amplior, Ilinæorum; alter Huronum dicitur. Hos ingens terræ lingua dividit, cujus in apice sedet Missio S. Ignatii, sive MissilimaKinacana. Supra duos istos lacus tertius est, ambobus major, quem superiorem lacum appellant. Hujus in aditu constituta est Missio S. Mariæ à Saltu. Interjectum inter hunc, & binos inferiores lacus spatium occupant OutaouaKi, apud quos plurima stativa Societas habet. Ejusmodi arces religionis (sic enim appellare Missiones licet) unde suos profert milites, & sacra explicat vexilla, tres circa lacum Ilinæorum positæ sunt, prima inter Puteatamisos: Missio Sancti Josephi nuncupatur: altera inter KiKarousos, MasKoutensos, & Outagamisos; S. Francisci Xaverii nomen obtinet: tertia inter Oumiamisos, Angeli Custodis. Infra memoratos lacus, supra ipsam Floridam, vastissimos pererrant campos Ilinæi. Ibi amplissima statio, cui nomen ab immaculata Virginis Matris conceptione impositum, tres in Missiones secatur, & ad fluvium usque Missisipum procurrit. Insidet ejusdem fluminis ripis missio Baiogulana, in trigesimo primo gradu latitudinis: demum ultima protenditur secundum eundem amnem versus Mexicanum sinum. Hæc visum est enucleare paulo distinctius, & quasi sub uno statim aspectu ponere, ut intelligatur quò singula referenda sint, quæ postea de Nova Francia narrabuntur.

Restat ignota Europæis adhuc pars Canadæ immensa, ultra Missisipum fluvium, clementiori subjecta coelo, frequens incolis, armentis frugibusque læta; vitæ veræ ac salutis expers. Hæc generosos Christi milites vocat. Nec non altera [324] longe isti dissimilis, quæ rigidis circa Hudsonium finum, à gradu LV. ad LX. aut LXX. subjecta septentrionibus, nivibus ac pruinis demersa, tanto æquiùs implorat opem, quanto gravioribus incommodis conflictatur. Hic Societas ante annos paucos prima coepit figere vestigia. Illucescet illa, spero, dies, cum obvallatum periculis ac laboribus iter eadem perrumpet. Non sine magno molimine claustra Tartari, oppressas injusta servitute animas retinentis, perfringuntur; neque illa ipsa, tot florens modo coloniis, Missio Canadica statim suam est maturitatem adepta. Ægrè per sexdecim annos tanquam in salebris hæsit, nec suam quandam nacta formam est, nisi anno seculi superioris quinto & vigesimo, cùm se aliquando ex illis angustiis explicuit, P. Petri Cotoni, cui sua debebat primordia, beneficio, ut sexta Pars Historiæ fusius exponet.

Nunc ærumnarum ac periculorum plenos natales referimus laboriosæ Missionis, quæ vix nata, in ipsis cunis per Anglos propemodùm extincta est.

SETTLEMENTS AND MISSIONS OF THE SOCIETY IN NEW FRANCE.

AND that the Lord is with his servants and soldiers, the outcome has proved. For, in the beginning of this year 1703, while we are writing these things, there are numbered in this formerly _solitary and unexplored country_ more than thirty very prosperous and well-equipped Missions of our Society, besides the college of Quebec. The first of these, in sight of Quebec, at the tenth mile-stone from the city, is called Lorette. Another is situated in the district of Tadoussac, on the shore of the river St. Lawrence, sixty leagues below Quebec toward the east. Three others, above Quebec itself, extend far into the North about lake St. John; one in that place which takes its name from the seven islands;[49] another in the district of Chigoutimini;[50] the third on the Saguenay river. There they minister to the Montagnais, the Papinachois, the Mistassins, and other wandering tribes. Now, if you journey towards the regions of the setting sun, and the source of the St. Lawrence river, you will find upon its northern bank a district called Three rivers, because there three rivers flow together: it is distant from Quebec seven or eight days' journey. Here, there formerly flourished the most successful Mission of the Algonquins; but it has been much weakened through the drunkenness induced by brandy, brought in by European merchants who thus wickedly derive an easy profit. But these losses are compensated by the virtue and piety of the Abenakis. Among them a mission of three stations has been established; one located among them, not far from Quebec, on the forty-sixth parallel of latitude, distinguished by the name and patronage of St. Francis de Sales: the other two are more remote, at a place named Nipisikouit. Across the St. Lawrence river, to the South, extend the five nations of the Iroquois. There are among them seven stations of the Evangelists, scattered through a hundred and fifty leagues. Of these, six were destroyed in the war which arose between the French and Iroquois, about the year 1682. Peace, together with the recall of the missionaries, in the year 1702 restored all things to their previous condition.[51] Among these Missions of the Iroquois, that one is especially flourishing which is named for St. Francis Xavier, at Montreal.[52]

Above the Iroquois, toward the west and North, between the fortieth and forty-fifth parallels, one may see two great lakes joined by a narrow strait; the larger one is called the lake of the Ilinois,[53] the other the lake of the Hurons.[54] These are separated by a large peninsula, at the point of which is situated the Mission of St. Ignatius, or Missilimakinac.[55] Above these two lakes there is a third, greater than either, called lake superior. At the entrance of this lake has been established the Mission of Ste. Marie at the Sault.[56] The space between this and two smaller lakes is occupied by the Outaouaki, among whom the Society has many stations. Three such citadels of religion (for thus it is proper to call the Missions), whence she leads forth her soldiers and unfurls her sacred standards, have been located about the lake of the Ilinois: the first, among the Puteatamis, and called the Mission of St. Joseph; another, among the Kikarous, Maskoutens, and Outagamies, and possessing the name of St. Francis Xavier:[57] the third, among the Oumiamis,[58] has the name of the Guardian Angel. Below the lakes which have been mentioned, above Florida, the Ilinois roam through most extensive territories. There, a very large station, named from the immaculate conception of the Virgin Mother, is divided into three Missions, and extends as far as the river Mississippi. Upon the banks of the same river is situated the mission of Baiogula, at the thirty-first parallel of latitude;[59] and it extends down that stream towards the gulf of Mexico. It has seemed best to explain these matters somewhat fully, because the individual facts here specified will be referred to in what is to be hereafter narrated concerning New France.

There remains unknown to Europeans, up to the present time, an immense portion of Canada, beyond the Mississippi river, situated beneath a milder sky, well-inhabited, and abounding in animal and vegetable life; the whole, deprived of true life and of salvation. This region calls to the generous soldiers of Christ. So is it, likewise, [324] with another region far dissimilar to that, around the frozen Hudson bay, from the fifty-fifth parallel to the sixtieth or seventieth; lying at the north, plunged in snows and frosts, it even more justly implores aid, as it is afflicted by more weighty ills. Here the Society, a few years ago, first began to plant its footsteps. That day will dawn, I hope, when it shall break through the barriers of dangers and toils. Not without great exertion are the gates of Tartarus, which hold burdened souls in unmerited bondage, broken down; nor did the Canadian Mission itself, now flourishing with so many settlements, all at once attain its full development. Grievously, through sixteen years did it, so to speak, stick in a rough road; indeed, it did not take shape until 1625, when it was extricated from its perplexities by the aid of Father Peter Coton, to whom it owed its origin, as the sixth Part of this History will more fully explain.

Now we return to the natal days, full of hardships and dangers, of the toilsome Mission, which, scarcely born, was almost exterminated in its cradle by the English.

MISSIO CANADENSIS AB ANGLIS PROTURBATA.

SOCIIS illic degentibus venerant auxilio Idibus Maii anni MDCXIII. Pater Quintinus, & Frater Gilbertus Thetus, regio diplomate instructi, quo facultas ipsis dabatur novi domicilii commodo loco ædificandi. Gallos reperiunt incumbentes in condendam urbem, & periculi, quod instabat, ignaros. Angli paucis ante annis occupaverant Virginiam. Hæc Americæ septentrionalis ad ortum portio maritima, inter Floridam Novamque Franciam sita, tricesimo sexto, septimo, & octavo gradibus substernitur. Eò cum tenderent Angli æstivis anni MDCXIII. mensibus, & inscii locorum errarent, ob exortam caliginem, quæ huic mari densissima solet per eos menses incubare, paulatim delapsi sunt ad littus, ubi Galli consederant, haud procul portu Sancti Salvatoris. Postquam cognoverunt Gallicas naves ibi consistere, arma expediunt, & in portum invehuntur. Interea Galli ancipiti opinione suspensi, amicos an hostes censerent, quos recta in suam stationem ventus inferebat, eventum trepidi opperiebantur. Brevi, quinam essent patuit. Angli facto impetu in Gallicum navigium, paucis instructum propugnatoribus, ceteris ad condenda domicilia digressis, id nullo negotio expugnant.

THE CANADIAN MISSION DRIVEN OUT BY THE ENGLISH.

TO OUR COMRADES residing in that place there had come as a reinforcement, on the 15th day of May, 1613, Father Quentin and Brother Gilbert du Thet, provided with a royal commission, by which they were empowered to establish a new settlement in a suitable location.[60] They found the French intent upon founding a city, and unaware of the danger which threatened. The English, a few years before, had occupied Virginia. This eastern coast-region of North America, situated between Florida and New France, is comprised between the thirty-sixth and thirty-eighth parallels. While the English were sailing thither in the summer months of the year 1613, and, having lost their bearings and strayed from their course, on account of the fogs, which usually are very heavy upon this sea in the summer, they were gradually borne to the shore where the French had settled,[61] not far from the port of St. Sauveur. When they learned that a French ship was stationed there, they made ready their weapons and entered the harbor. Meanwhile the French, uncertain whether they should consider as friends or foes those whom the wind was bearing directly towards their position, tremblingly awaited the outcome. Who they were was soon apparent. The English attacked the French ship,[62] wherein few were drawn up in defense--for the others had departed to work on the buildings--and with no trouble captured her.

UNUS È SOCIETATE INTERFICITUR; ALII CANADA EJICIUNTUR.